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Chapter 525
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2024-10-29 19:42:56The next morning, I headed for the Weston campus. The beautiful gray clouds that had blanketed the sky the day before were breaking up, allowing the sun to peek through for increasingly long intervals. I didn’t care, though. I wore a hooded sweatshirt and gloves to protect my skin. As much as possible, I kept to the shade, but if I had to bear the burning rays of the sun for a bit I would do so. Time was of the essence—there was no time to wait for nightfall. I wanted to begin putting my crazy plan into motion as soon as possible.
Most of the route between our lair and the college is sparsely populated, so I raced at vampire speed through the wooded hills. Only when I neared the southern reaches of the town did I slow to a fast, determined walk.
When I arrived at Leesa’s dorm, I crossed quickly to the stairwell. Since today was Sunday, there were no classes, so I hoped Leesa would be there. By the time I reached the second floor landing, though, I kne
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Leesa's Advent Chapter 526
The sun was beginning to sink below the western horizon when I headed back to Leesa’s dorm. The small bit of blood I had consumed had restored full control over my appetite, so I passed through the doorway and entered the stairwell without apprehension.Halfway up the stairs, I sensed her presence and knew immediately that she had returned. When I reached her doorway, her door was wide open—waiting for me, I hoped. She was sitting on her bed reading a book, but even though I made no sound, something made her look up from the pages.She closed her book, but remained sitting. “I got your message,” she said. “What’s up?”I had been hoping for a bit more of a greeting, but at least she was there, waiting. I stepped into the room, leaving the door open behind me.“That’s it?” I asked, smiling. “A vampire shows up in your room and says he wants to talk to your volkaane boyfriend, and all you have
Last Updated : 2024-10-29Leesa's Advent Chapter 527
From far back in the shadows, I watched Rave enter Leesa’s dorm. Step one of my plan had been accomplished: Leesa had successfully gotten a message to the volkaane. For a moment, I wondered how she had managed it, but I brushed the thought aside. How she had reached him was unimportant—what counted was that she had, and that he had come.I wished I could get near enough to the dorm to hear Rave’s reaction when Leesa told him I needed to talk to him, but getting that close meant he would detect my presence. I didn’t want to risk doing anything that might spook him, not when I needed his help so badly. I needed to let him come out to me. Leesa would tell him I was waiting nearby—if Rave was willing to talk to me, he would come outside to find me.A few minutes later, he did just that. Rave and Leesa stepped out of the front entrance onto the walkway.I watched as Rave carefully scanned the night, seeking some trace of my presence with
Last Updated : 2024-10-29Leesa's Advent Chapter 528
The following night, I waited well back in the woods with two carefully chosen comrades while my soon-to-be volkaane allies gathered at the edge of Brennan Field, where we were to meet. That Leesa had accompanied Rave did not surprise me, but there was no way I was going to allow her to come along. I hoped Rave felt the same—together, we might have a chance to stop her. I was surprised, though, to see a fifth person with them who was not a volkaane. That was not part of our agreement.For my own companions, I had selected two of the more powerful members of our coven, including Leah, who had first brought Ricard and me to the caverns so many years before. As one of the original members of the coven, Leah also had a position on the High Council.My second choice was Marcio, a nearly four hundred year old Italian vampire. For several centuries, Marcio had been content to hunt the lands of southern and central Europe. Early in the twentieth century he had decided to
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We were moving through the tree-lined hills above a large reservoir when Rave motioned our party to a halt. I crossed over to join him. The look on his face told me he was puzzled about whatever he was sensing. As I had warned, there was something strange about the renegade vampires.“They are perhaps two hundred yards ahead of us,” he told me. “Moving slowly east to west on a path that will intersect our own.”I nodded, happy to have located our quarry so soon.“Good,” I said. “As agreed, my comrades and I will move ahead, projecting as much of our power as we can without being obvious about it. Hopefully, doing so will mask your presence. I think Jarubu’s arrogance will work in our favor as well. He will be anxious to end what we started last time, and I intend to give him the chance.” I started to head back to my companions, but then stopped and turned back to Rave. “See that you remember your part,
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A single keystroke changed the world forever.Three men huddled in front of the computer monitor. The guy pecking at the keyboard appeared young enough to pass for a college student, and his jeans and black T-shirt with a dripping red peace symbol on the front did nothing to disabuse the notion. The other two men—one in his mid-fifties, the other long past sixty—stood behind him, each dressed in a white lab coat.Their hunched postures betrayed their eagerness for this last task to be completed. The big moment was nearly at hand—the moment they had devoted eight years, countless man-hours and millions of dollars toward.All three men were universally acclaimed to be among the top people in their respective fields. Ask the CEO of any tech giant to list the top five computer programmers in the world and Briggs Brennan—the man typing at the keyboard—would show up on every list. He had joined the project two years earlier, at the ripe old age of twenty-four. The man on the right was Timot
Last Updated : 2024-10-29Leesa's Advent Chapter 531
The club was packed. Scores of young pleasure hunters milled about in the dimness, proudly peacocking trendy fashions, the bolder among them aggressively trolling for action, the less confident hoping a connection would come to them. The crowd was thickest in front of the bar, where customers fueled their courage with drinks whipped up with impossible quickness by a quartet of black clad bartenders. Out on the parquet dance floor, limber bodies gyrated to the rhythms of a driving hip-hop beat. A swirling kaleidoscope of colored lights danced among them, changing and distorting the colors and shapes of the revelers with staccato swiftness.Pete Weber ignored the dancers, focusing his attention instead on the stunning blonde threading her way through the throng by the bar. Quite a package, he thought approvingly—long hair cascading down her back, generous breasts that stretched the fabric of her red silk blouse, long slender legs lengthened further by a pair of black stilettos. Her body
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Casey Filip Conner—“Case” to anyone who was more than a nodding acquaintance—waited alone on the perfectly manicured first tee of one of L.A.’s most exclusive country clubs, gently stretching the muscles of his slender six-foot frame. He’d been playing here twice a week for several months now, but he still felt out of place at the posh club, whose membership counted some of the city’s wealthiest and well-known citizens. An ex-cop like him just did not belong in these surroundings. But that was no big news to Conner; nowadays, the feeling of not belonging seemed to grip him no matter where he was.He sucked in a deep breath of ocean-scented air, reflexively turning his thoughts away, as he always did, from anything beyond the simple, non-threatening life he had created for himself. That was how you survived, when you lost your only son to cancer, and then killed someone else’s kid barely a year later. Keep everything simple. Force down dangerous thoughts before they even began. Think a
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Conner motioned to the young blond waitress, indicating he wanted a draft beer. Sloane raised two fingers to show he wanted the same.Conner decided there was no point in delaying things. He nodded at the thin beige folder in front of Sloane. “Let’s hear what you’ve got.”“The body was discovered early Wednesday behind a market over in Hollywood,” Sloane explained, without consulting the file. “She was naked. We ID’ed her from her purse, which her killer conveniently left nearby. Christy DeMars, with a capital M, age twenty-four. The address on her driver’s license was three years old—we’re still trying to trace her to find next of kin. You know this town; hardly anyone sticks with their given names. No cash or credit cards in her wallet, but the killer left a gold bracelet behind.”“Good-looking?” Conner asked.Sloane grunted. “At my age, they’re all good-looking, but see for yourself.” He reached for the folder.Conner’s hand shot forward. He slammed his palm down on the cover of th
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Serena awoke to the sound of birds chirping and the smell of fresh coffee brewing. She rolled over lazily, reaching out for Raphael, but the space was empty. With eyes still closed, she frowned. Where is that man? That man had probably been out of bed since the crack of dawn, beside himself with nerves for today’s big event, she thought regretfully. They were to be married today. Their lives intertwined for all of eternity. What man wouldn’t have cold feet at the prospect? And they’d known each other such a short time, too. She opened her eyes and blinked a few times, and frowned again. She had awakened in the safe house. Last night, she’d killed a man in her own home, and knew she could never go back there ever again. She didn’t care how good the Brethren’s cleanup crew could restore her home. It would never erase the vivid memories and horrors of what had happened there. She and Raphael would have to find themselves a new home, together. Until such time, this place would be it, th
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It’s going to be a long day without Raphael, Serena thought, as she washed and dressed. But she carried on. With so many loose ends to tie up, final checks to be made, people and places to coordinate, she scarcely had time to think about anything else. Except for her father. In the quiet moments between the bedlam of planning a wedding, she reflected upon him and her heart ached. She had arranged for a nursing home staffer to drive him and his wheelchair to the Chapel of the Holy Cross for the wedding. They didn’t usually allow weddings there, but somehow, Raphael swayed their decision. Kemuel promised to wheel her father down the aisle beside her, and she loved him instantly for that. But her dream was to have him walk her down that aisle. A sob caught in her throat, and she quickly shook her head to whisk it away. None of that nonsense, Serena. Don’t be greedy. At least he is alive and here to be a part of it all. As the day waxed on to evening, Serena felt unsettled. She hadn’t s
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Raphael spent the next few days cloistered with Serena, away from everyone and everything, like a honeymoon before the wedding. But every morning he made creative excuses to tear himself away from her for a little while and work with Fred. To make sure she didn’t visit her father, he dropped her off at her shop first so she could plan a small wedding with Callie and catch up on the mountains of paperwork.The healing sessions with Serena’s father went spectacularly, and with Raphael’s charisma, he convinced the nursing home staff to keep any improvements secret from her. They thought it romantic that he came to help with his fiancée’s father’s rehabilitation. Everyone there rooted for him, amazed at his miraculous awakening. All of the therapists worked their tails off during his therapy sessions, wanting to see their severely stroke-damaged patient beat the odds and walk his daughter down the aisle.On the morning of the fifth day, Raphael got Fred walking without any assistance.“Co
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Raphael grabbed her hands. “Do it!” he demanded. He placed them on his temples and spoke to her through their bonded connection. She felt every thought he had had of Sirona over the years straight to the present down their threaded connection. She heard every thought he’d had of her, including every word he had spoken while holding her in his arms at Dr. Chappo’s estate. He sent her everything that filled his heart and soul about her, and finally, at last, she knew.She knew. And knowing was everything to her. He gently brought her hands away from his face, kissing her fingertips as he eased them down, and she took a few steps backward, looking at him as if for the first time. No one before had ever felt about her the way he felt about her, let alone express so strongly all he’d expressed when she’d lain dying in his arms.“You’re in love with me.” She gasped, astonished. Tears welled again in her eyes, but this time, for a very different reason.“Yes.” He took a bold step toward her.
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A bundle of nerves, that’s what she’d turned into. Since leaving her father’s, Serena had been nothing but a bundle of nerves, rehearsing over and over again what she would say to Raphael up on the Rock. Looking all around her now, frightening memories kept popping into her mind, making her think that at any moment, Steve or Wheezer were going to jump out and nab her. Unfortunately, she had gotten to the summit way too early, and now paced like a caged bobcat. It had to stop. The bad guys are dead, Serena. Think positive, and let go the past. So, finding a suitable rock to sit on, Serena decided to do a little meditation to soothe her worried heart. “When I see him, I’ll know the right words to say,” she notified the birds. It may sting for a bit, but it’s for the best.****Raphael showed up at the base of the mountain with time to spare, and noticed Serena’s Jeep already parked. Perfect, he thought. He checked his pocket for the millionth time, making sure the ring box hadn’t fallen
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Raphael watched Serena leave the nursing home from behind one of the bushes in the front. She seems in good spirits, he thought. Only when he saw her disappear down the street did he dare to venture out of his hiding place. He walked into the nursing home and headed straight to the reception desk.“Hello, I’m here to see Mr. Sikes.” He smiled amiably at the receptionist.“Wow, two visitors in one day. Fred’s a lucky guy. Sign in right here, please. You’ll sign out before you leave. Take this badge so we know you belong here. Room 103 is down the hall, make a left, and he’s at the end on the left.”He looked at her name tag, and winked. “Thanks so much, Judy.”Walking down the hall, he found himself fidgeting with the badge in his hand. Am I actually nervous? Hell yeah! Raphael, the man, is about to meet the father of the woman he loves. Raphael, the man, is about to ask for this guy’s daugh
Leesa's Advent Chapter 721
Great! Just great! There’s a leak in my bedroom ceiling. Wait a minute, that’s not right. I’m not in my bedroom. I’m locked away in Dr. Chappo’s house. She remembered more. Being bound to a gurney, her body broken and dying. But I’m not lying on a gurney now, and I actually feel great. How could she be dying and still feel great? And what’s with the rain shower on my face? Slowly her eyes fluttered open, and she gasped.It was raining. Angel’s tears. Raphael’s tears, to be exact.She lay in his arms, and from the way he shuddered and sobbed, she thought maybe he didn’t know she lived. To be honest with herself, she’d only realized this fact just a few moments before. Iridescent wings were outstretched and trembling though no breeze made them flutter so.She gently raised her hand to caress his cheek and whispered softly. “Shh…there now, Raphael, shh. It’s all right. I’m ok
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Raphael noticed a knob on the box. It made sense to dial it to its lowest setting. He followed the tubing to its clamp on Serena’s side and decided to completely clamp it off. Now, no more blood could flow. But he still needed to get the needle out of her arm. He found gauze and tape on the tray stand and proceeded to extrude the catheter from her arm carefully so as not to injure her. He replaced it securely with the gauze and tape. His hands shook. I can’t fall apart like this right now! He quickly shrugged off the threat of paralyzing fear.“Hey, Raphael, this guy says his name is Steve. Isn’t that the name of one of guys who assaulted Serena?” Gabriel asked.“Yes, yes it is,” he said through gnashed teeth. Rage filled him and he clenched his fists, trying to gain some semblance of control. “Bind him, tightly. Make sure he can see Dr. Chappo. I’d like him to see what happens to assholes like him when they choose
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Searing hot pain shot like lightning throughout every inch of Serena’s body. Well, every inch she could feel, which left her very disturbed indeed, because she couldn’t feel anything past her waist. She could barely breathe without severe pain ripping through her chest and back. She knew what that meant—broken ribs. But what about her legs? Where were they? And why did her wrists feel shackled? Oh, dear God! What’s become of me? Her shallow breaths quickened. Her heart raced and fought for freedom behind her aching chest. Tears burst through her closed eyes and flowed untapped down the sides of her face.A voice sliced through the whooshing sound in her ears. A voice she knew all too well, and had come to despise with every molecule in her being.“Uh, Doc, I think she’s coming ’round. What do you want me to do?” Steve asked.“Hmm? Oh, nuffin. Nuffin, Seeve. Jus’ keep watchin’,” Dr. Chappo sl
