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Chapter 535
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Leesa's Advent Chapter 536
Of all the years of my long vampire existence, those first few decades were among the most exhilarating. While none of my subsequent feedings quite matched the exquisite pleasure of that first taste of human blood—only the thrill of sucking down hot blue volkaane blood could match that—those early meals remained especially delicious.Ricard and I roamed the country, going where we wanted when we wanted, feeding whenever our appetites called to us. There was much for me to learn in those early days and Ricard was a patient and excellent teacher. He showed me how to control my vampire venom so as not to leave a trail of new vampires in our wake, how to make the best use of the mesmerizing power of my eyes and what dangers even we vampires must avoid.It turns out that most of the tales about how to ward off our kind are untrue, stories made up by frightened humans to comfort themselves from our deadly menace. Garlic has no effect on us, other than the smell being even more pungent and d
Last Updated : 2024-10-29Leesa's Advent Chapter 537
I HAD BEEN A VAMPIRE for nearly a century when I met Gabriela. I still remember that autumn night as clearly as any in my long existence. Ricard and I were hunting along a country road that twisted among the wooded foothills of the mountains of what is now Austria. Thin, wispy clouds drifted in front of a strikingly full moon, at times cloaking it in a gauzy film and at other moments floating aside to reveal the golden orb’s full luminosity. The wind blew out of the north, carrying the chill air of the mountains with it. As usual, we smelled our quarry before we saw them: two humans, one male and one female, approaching from the east. Pairs were always our preferred targets, since they provided one victim for each of us and required no needless killing of any witnesses. Their scent came with the smell of horses. From the sound of the hoof beats and the clackety-clack of wooden wheels on the hard-packed dirt, we knew the humans were traveling in a wagon or a carriage. Ricard an
Last Updated : 2024-10-29Leesa's Advent Chapter 538
Gabriela’s death devastated me. I felt like a part of me had perished with her, like someone had reached into my gut and plucked out a piece of my insides. So great was the pain that for the first time since I had become a vampire, I began to wish the transformation had never occurred. Had I remained human, I never would have met her, and thus never would have lost her. What good was eternal existence when it meant unending years of pain and sorrow?Were it not for Ricard, I’m certain I would have gone on a killing rampage, totally uncaring for my own safety, wreaking havoc across the land until the populace finally destroyed me and put an end to my suffering. Ricard would not allow it, though.At first, he restrained me by force, using his far greater strength to hold me in check, despite the bites and gashes I managed to inflict upon him in those early days and nights. Later, he held me back through reason, advising me that no matter how much I hurt right the
Last Updated : 2024-10-29Leesa's Advent Chapter 539
The new land provided everything Ricard and I had hoped for. Untold miles of forest and hills to explore, isolated farms, small towns and villages, and a few growing cities for when we felt the need to prowl the streets of a more urban setting. We fed where and when we wished, making no distinction between the dark-skinned native peoples and the newly arrived immigrants from our former homeland. As Ricard had predicted, America was for the most part a savage land. Only in the cities did we bother to hide our kills. Otherwise, we let the deaths be chalked up to the warring tribes and wild animals that filled the sparsely populated sections that made up most of the country.The more southern areas near where we had come ashore turned out to be too hot and sunny for our tastes, especially in the summer, so we gradually worked our way northward. We spent time enjoying the bustling cities of Philadelphia and New York before drifting north once again into New England, whose clime we found m
Last Updated : 2024-10-29Leesa's Advent Chapter 540
One night, I stood concealed in the dark shadows near the corner of an empty house used for office space on the campus of Weston College. Several houses away, a throng of noisy students milled about in the backyard, the overflow from a party at what I knew to be a fraternity house. I watched them idly, not hunting now, for I had not been granted permission to do so. I had fed only a week or so before, and it would be some time before I was allowed to take a human again.Up until now, no one in the yard had piqued my interest—until a new arrival caught my eye. Tall and blond, she stood by herself a few feet from the back steps. She was not classically beautiful, but lovely enough to draw my attention. Something about her tugged at me as I studied her, making me want to get closer. Some combination of lust and hunger, for sure, but different in a way I could not describe. I felt a brief pang of loss and pain. I had not been drawn to a human like this since Gabriela, though this new fema
Last Updated : 2024-10-29Leesa's Advent Chapter 541
I waited a few weeks to see if my interest in Leesa might fade. I did not dwell on her; rather, I let my experience with her percolate inside me, not forcing my thoughts to take any particular shape. I knew too few details about her to make any real judgments, so I just let my mind wander where it would, hoping something might come of it. When nothing did, I decided it was time seek her out again, thinking perhaps a second encounter would be less enthralling than the first and might rid me of the feelings gnawing inside me. How wrong I was!A thick overcast sky offered the perfect chance to return to the college. With Leesa’s spoor embedded in my brain, I knew I would be able to find her without much difficulty. Giving it no further thought, I took my leave of our caverns and headed to Middletown. I wandered the campus for twenty or thirty minutes before my sensitive nostrils picked up her trail. When I discovered where she was that afternoon, I couldn’t help smiling.Professor Clerva
Last Updated : 2024-10-29Leesa's Advent Chapter 542
“No way to tell until the fangs come out, that is,” a guy in front remarked, drawing more laughter.Professor Clerval chuckled. “Well, there is that. But it’s probably a bit late at that point. No pun intended.”The class laughed again. I turned toward Leesa to see if she found the joke funny. She had a smile on her face, but it faded when she raised her hand. I watched her draw a deep breath before she spoke, and could tell that speaking up in a group like this was not easy for her. All of which fit nicely with my earlier impression of a shy young woman, uncomfortable with attention. Her limp may have contributed to that, but I was pretty sure there must be more to it. I wondered what it might be.Professor Clerval extended a finger toward her. “Yes?”“Have you ever heard of a one-fanged vampire?” she asked.To say her question startled me would be a major understatement. Very few humans knew about the one-fangs, or grafhym, as we call them. The creatures are very rare—where on earth
Last Updated : 2024-10-29Leesa's Advent Chapter 543
For several hundred years, our coven has used the perpetual night of our caverns to avoid the hated sun and to remain hidden from the ever-increasing human population as well. Cut eons ago under the tree-covered hills on the eastern side of the Connecticut River by a now-vanished underground waterway, the caverns provide the perfect hideaway. Thousands of hours of labor have shaped the various chambers to suit our needs—but what are hours, or even years, to those of us who have all eternity stretching out before us?The largest of the natural chambers serves as our Council chamber. It’s a vast natural amphitheater more than one hundred feet across with a ceiling almost thirty feet high at its tallest point. Rows of stone benches carved from the uneven floor can hold the more than three score vampires who make up our “family.” The benches face seven seats hewn directly out of the limestone wall. When our entire coven gathers, the members of the High Cou
Last Updated : 2024-10-29
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Leesa's Advent Chapter 727
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
Leesa's Advent Chapter 725
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.
Leesa's Advent Chapter 723
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
Leesa's Advent Chapter 722
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
Leesa's Advent Chapter 720
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
Leesa's Advent Chapter 719
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
