Semua Bab Leesa's Advent: Bab 241 - Bab 250

The storm had weakened considerably by the time Leesa and Cali headed for the library after dinner. It was still raining, but nowhere near as hard as it had been that morning, and the wind had died down to almost nothing. Still, it was a cold, wet night, and both girls were wearing raincoats and carrying umbrellas. Since it had rained all day, the sidewalks and streets were minefields of giant puddles that reflected pale golden circles of light from the streetlights above. The falling raindrops made the reflections shimmer and dance. Leesa imagined that some of the puddles might be deep enough to dive into, though of course she knew that was foolish.“This is kind of fun,” she said, enjoying the unsettled weather as always.“Which part?” Cali asked as she swerved left to avoid a puddle that covered most of the sidewalk. “Freezing our asses off, or having to watch every step we take so we don’t fall into one of these monster puddles a

Six or seven cars sat in the lot, telling her there were ample potential victims inside. She hoped at least one of the drivers had come here alone. Keeping to the shadows, she skulked as close to the building as she could and peered in through the long plate glass windows. Most of the diners sat in pairs or trios, eating and chatting away, but there were two men seated in booths by themselves. The guy closest to her seemed to be nearing the end of his meal. Satisfied that a bit of patience would soon be rewarded, Leah melted back into the trees and waited for her opportunity. While she waited, silent and invisible as a wraith, a dark SUV pulled into the lot and swung into a spot not too far from where she hid. Leah watched closely, unable to see into the vehicle past the bright glare of the headlights, but thinking perhaps she might get lucky and the driver would be alone. She readied herself to pounce, just in case The motor shut off, leaving the night in sudden sil

“It’s just a guess on my part, but yes. It’s one reason why we waziri kept such a low profile for so many centuries. The xenorians are zealots. And like most zealots, they are ruthless in following their beliefs. They do not care how many innocent people suffer in their quest to destroy anyone with magic. They have killed far more ordinary humans than they have people with magic, but to the xenorians that is simply the cost of what they seem to think of as a holy quest. They are totally heartless in their zeal.”“This is way worse than I thought,” Cali said. “The woman was totally creepy, for sure, but I never expected anything like this. Maybe you and Leesa need to get away from here, at least until we know Smith, Jones and Rome are gone.”Leesa watched anxiously as Dominic pondered the idea. She did not want to leave, especially with Rave gone. With no means to contact him, how would he ever find her when he returned? I

“I’m pretty sure this welcoming committee is not here for me,” Bradley said, smiling. Leesa dropped down onto one knee and wrapped her right arm around Max’s shoulder, using her other hand to give the golden retriever his favorite greeting, a vigorous chest rub. His tail wagged furiously as he panted into Leesa’s ear. Finally, she stood up. Her mom was waiting for her, arms outstretched. Leesa melted into her mother’s embrace, certain she would never tire of hugging her. For most of her life Leesa had received nothing more than perfunctory hugs from her withdrawn mom, but that had all changed since Professor Clerval, with some help from Rave, had injected her mom with the blood of a grafhym, a one-fanged vampire. Her mom was pretty much back to normal now, and Leesa was enjoying it immensely. As she stepped out of her mother’s embrace into an almost equally warm hug from Aunt Janet, Leesa marveled at how much her family life had changed. For most of her child

 As if responding to her unspoken thought, the magical bed tilted slightly and she found herself in Rave’s arms. He returned her kiss, opening his mouth and tracing the inside of her upper lip with his tongue.Leesa’s fingers curled into Rave’s thick, dark copper hair as their kiss deepened, her body pressing hungrily into his. As always, his amazing magical heat flowed into her, but she knew that somehow, in this place, his fire would not harm her.With no need to pull back, their tongues explored each other slowly, in no hurry, yet filled with love and passion. This was what Leesa had been waiting for, and it was even better than she had imagined it would be.Finally, their lips parted, and a soft, satisfied sigh escaped into the magic of Azure.Leesa had never felt so loved, so cherished, so fulfilled. And yet a part of her wanted still more.“Rave…” she whispered into his neck as she held him cl