“No, I want to walk him. It’s always fun. My umbrella will keep me dry.”
Leesa hooked Max’s leash to his collar and grabbed her umbrella.
“We won’t be long,” she said as she stepped out into the rain.
As soon as they had ventured far enough along the edge of the road to be out of Aunt Janet’s sight, Leesa squatted down at Max’s side.
“Rave, we’re outside now,” she said into Max’s furry ear.
She still felt a little funny talking to Rave through Max like this, but she had seen ample proof that it worked. She straightened up and continued walking.
Max pulled harder on his leash now, almost tugging it out of her hand. It wasn’t long before she saw why. Rave, Dral and Bain stepped out onto the road a few hundred feet away.
Leesa unhooked Max’s leash and let him go racing off toward the volkaanes. She knew he would go straight to them and nowhere else, which is exactly what he did. She restrained her own urge to run with him, although she did quicken her pace.
By the time she reached the volkaanes, Rave had already introduced Dral and Bain to Max, who was happily receiving attention from both of them. His tail was going back and forth as rapidly as Leesa had ever seen it. Both volkaanes looked up at her arrival, nodding to her in greeting.
Standing under her umbrella, Leesa felt a little strange to be the only one concerned about the rain. She was tempted to just close the thing and snuggle close to Rave, but if she came back wet her aunt would wonder why.
“It’s done,” Rave told her, slipping his hand into hers. “Dral and Bain have connected with Max the same way I did.”
“That was quick.” Leesa was not surprised—she remembered it had taken only a few seconds for Max and Rave to become best buds. “I think I need to get a dog of my own,” she said, smiling. “Then I won’t care that you don’t have a cell phone. I’ll just call you through my dog whenever I want to talk to you.”
“That might be a pretty one-way conversation,” Rave replied, smiling, “but it’s actually not such a bad idea—if your mom would go for it. Remember, you won’t be able to bring a dog with you when school starts back up, so she and Bradley would have to take care of it.”
Leesa hadn’t considered that. “You’re right. I don’t even know what my mom thinks about pets, now that’s she’s finally normal again. We never had any growing up, but maybe that was because of the way she was.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about it for the next couple of weeks, anyhow. I have no intention of leaving your side.”
Leesa liked the sound of that. She squeezed his hand and pressed herself against his side.
“That’s right,” she said, grinning. “You have to stay close to me—you need me to protect you from all those nasty vampires.”
Her comment drew a loud chuckle from Dral and Bain.
Rave grinned. “I suppose I do.”
14. A NEW ROOMMATE
“OF COURSE RAVE CAN STAY HERE,” Judy said. “From what you’ve told us about how sharp his senses are, he’ll be better than any home security system.”
Leesa grinned. “That he will, for sure.”
She was sitting on the couch beside Rave. Judy was nestled into the easy chair, while Bradley still sat at the dining table. Most of the dishes had been put in the dishwasher, but Bradley was still working on a big piece of the blueberry pie Leesa had brought home from Aunt Janet’s.
“I don’t know how comfortable Rave will be sleeping on the couch, though,” Judy said. “He’s pretty tall—I’m not sure how well he’ll fit.”
“I’ll be fine, Mrs. Nyland,” Rave assured her. “I don’t sleep all that much.”
“Really? Do you have trouble sleeping?”
“No, it’s just a volkaane thing. My people do not require much in the way of sleep.”
Judy smiled. “Well, I guess that’s a good thing, since none of you can use an alarm clock to wake yourselves up. And if you’re going to be awake most of the night, you’ll be an even better security system.”
Bradley looked up from his pie. “Not that I’d ever complain about having some protection from vampires here in our apartment,” he said, “but I don’t get why Rave needs to stay here.” He looked questioningly at Leesa. “Are you in some kind of danger that you’re not telling us about? Is that why you want Rave to stay with us?”
Leesa grinned. More and more, Bradley was returning to his protective role as her big brother, which made her very happy—even though she no longer needed him to look out for her. He didn’t know that, though.
“Actually, it’s exactly the opposite,” she replied, taking hold of Rave’s hand. “My big strong boyfriend needs me to protect him from the vampires.”
Bradley looked perplexed and amused. “Now I really don’t understand.”
“Me, either,” Judy added, looking back and forth from Leesa to Rave.
“It’s kind of complicated,” Leesa said. “It has to do with the solstice, among other things.”
Bradley shook his head. “Okay, now I think you must be pulling our legs. Are you sure this isn’t just some made up excuse to get permission to have your boyfriend around?”
Leesa laughed. “It’s not, I swear. Cross my heart.” She made a crisscross motion over her chest with her finger. “Remember last year when Rave was gone for a few weeks?”
Judy nodded. “I remember. You were very sad the whole time.”
“Sad?” Bradley said, grinning. “She was downright mopey.”
Leesa put her finger in front of her lips. “Shhhh… you’re not supposed to tell him that.” She smiled, showing them she didn’t really mind.
Rave squeezed her hand. “You were mopey? I guess it’s a good thing I’m not going away this time.”
“Oh, shush,” Leesa said, still smiling. “I was a little bit lonely is all.”
“So, getting back to the solstice and you protecting Rave from vampires,” Bradley prodded. “Explain, please.”
“All right,” Leesa said. “I’ll try to make it as clear as I can. There’s this weird thing going on called Destiratu, which I’m definitely not going to attempt to explain, mostly because no one seems to understand it fully. Somehow, though, it makes it harder for vampires and volkaanes to control their appetites for each other. The solstice makes it all worse. So to avoid any problems, the volkaanes retreat to a mountain hideout in New Hampshire for a week or two. That’s why Rave was gone last December. And that’s why the volkaanes are leaving again tonight.”
“Okay,” Bradley said. “I guess that makes sense, sort of. But why isn’t Rave going with them this time?”
Leesa grinned and rested her head on Rave’s shoulder. “Because he’d miss me too much, of course.”
Rave chuckled. “Of course.” Since Bradley and Leesa’s mom knew nothing about Leesa’s magical powers, he couldn’t say anything about not wanting to leave her alone with other potential dangers lurking.
“And what’s this about you protecting him from vampires?” Bradley asked Leesa.
“Oh, that. It seems our family is kind of off limits to the local vampire coven,” Leesa said matter-of-factly. “Because of what happened to you, and with Edwina’s attempt to get revenge on me, Stefan has ordered everyone to stay away from us. We’re off limits to them. Stefan is some kind of bigwig among the vampires, so as long as Rave is with me—or any of us—he’s pretty safe, even with no other volkaanes around.”
“I, for one, am very glad to hear about that off limits thing,” Judy said. “This family has had enough problems with vampires—more than enough.”
“Amen to that,” Bradley added.
Sometime in the middle of the night, Leesa awoke to a pleasant, warm feeling. She opened her eyes and found Rave sitting cross-legged on the bed, his eyes gazing lovingly down at her face. His skin seemed to glow faintly blue in the dimness, but she thought that might just be her imagination playing tricks on her. She smiled up at him, having long ago overcome any di
scomfort about Rave watching her while she slept. Still, she was surprised to see him here in her bedroom—not that she minded.
She untangled her left arm from beneath the sheet and rested her hand lightly on his thigh. Even through his jeans, she could feel his magical heat.
“Hi, handsome,” she murmured.
Rave smiled back. “Hi, gorgeous. I hope I didn’t wake you.”
Leesa rubbed the sleep out of her eyes with her free hand. She glanced at the clock and saw it was a little past two o’clock.
“How long have you been here?” she asked.
Rave shrugged. “An hour or two. You know me—I don’t pay much attention to time.”
“Well, if you’ve been here that long you certainly didn’t wake me. I can hardly ever hear you move even when I’m wide awake, let alone when I’m sleeping.” Leesa gently squeezed his leg, which felt almost like marble under her fingers. “I think my brain may have sensed there was something wonderful nearby that would be worth waking up for, though.”
“I hope you don’t mind,” Rave replied. “I like looking at you. It’s one of my favorite pastimes.”
Leesa pushed herself up so that she was sitting with her back against the headboard. Rave took her hand in his.
“Not at all,” she said. “I’m not sure my mom would feel the same, though. What if she gets up and sees you’re not in the living room? She might check in here.”
Rave grinned. “Have you forgotten I’m a volkaane? I would hear anyone getting up as soon as their feet hit the floor, and I’d be out there on the couch before they had taken two steps.”
Leesa had seen Rave move at full volkaane speed plenty of times and realized he was right. There was nothing to worry about. He could probably even wait until he heard her mom or her brother open their door and still make it to the living room with time to spare.
“Yeah, I did kind of forget,” she said. “My brain must still be sleepy. I guess you can stay as long as you want. It’s certainly okay with me.”
“Thank you. Now get back to sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up, unless your mom or brother gets up first.”
Leesa sighed. “Okay. Goodnight.”
She fluffed her pillow and then slipped beneath the sheet. Rave leaned forward and kissed her tenderly on the forehead. The warmth of his lips seemed to immediately relax her. In moments, she was fast asleep, comforted by the knowledge that the guy she loved was close by her side.
15. HAPPY DAYS
THE DAYS FLEW BY as June slid peacefully into July. Except for the one blissful week she and Rave had spent alone in the mountains of New Hampshire a few months back, they had never been together as much as they were now. Leesa loved every minute of it and wished it could go on forever, though she knew it would have to end one day soon. She took comfort in knowing that eventually she and Rave would be together for hundreds of years. She could not even begin to imagine the details of what that was going to be like, but she knew it would be amazingly wonderful.
The only times they separated during the entire period was when Leesa drove Dominic to wherever they were going to practice her magic, which they did once every day. Rave could not come with them in the car, of course, so they always told him the general area they were heading for. No matter how deeply into the woods they ventured, the tinge of vampire in Leesa’s blood allowed Rave to easily track and join them.
A string of bright, sunny days followed the big storm, allowing him to travel alone through the trees with little concern about vampires. Even compelled by Destiratu and the solstice, he knew the creatures would confine their hunting to the night, or at least to dark, cloudy days. Still, he always moved with his volkaane senses on high alert, and Dominic made sure to end all of Leesa’s sessions well before sundown. Depending on how directly the roads led home from wherever they practiced, Rave sometimes beat her back to the apartment.
They spent the evenings hanging out with Leesa’s family, or sitting close together on the front steps for hours, talking and gazing up at the stars. One night, they saw three different meteors flash across the sky, and Leesa made a different wish for her and Rave each time. Every one of them involved a long happy future.
Treasuring this time with him, she always stayed awake as long as she could manage, until the fatigue brought on by her intense practices won out and forced her to bed. So draining were the practice sessions that she seldom made it past midnight. If anyone else was still up and about that late, Rave would wait in the living room until it was safe to join Leesa in her bedroom. Sometimes she awoke in the middle of the night to touch and talk to him; other times she did not see him until she opened her eyes early in the morning. Whenever it was, she always smiled like it was the first time she had seen him in ages. He did the same.
On the morning of July 2, the moment Leesa had been dreading finally arrived: Dral and Bain showed up at the apartment to escort Rave back to the settlement. The volkaane clan had returned home the night before, having decided they were now safe from any effects of the solstice.
Rave had sensed his friends’ approach a few moments before they reached the door. Leesa pulled the door open before they could knock, and she and Rave stepped outside to join them. A blanket of dark clouds masked the sun for the first time in more than a week—a fitting omen, Leesa thought, for the way she felt right now.
“Do you really have to go?” she asked Rave, taking both his hands in hers. “I love having you here with me, and I’m sure my mom wouldn’t mind you staying a bit longer. I’m pretty sure the settlement can get along just fine without you for a few more days.”
“I’m sure they can,” Rave replied, smiling.
He brought Leesa’s right hand up to his mouth and kissed it. She thought he must have put a little extra heat into the kiss, because the delicious heat flowed all the way up her arm to her shoulder.
“If I stay here,” Rave continued, “I can’t get back to practicing Rammugul with Balin. Are you certain that’s what you want?”
The mention of Rammugul combined with the way he had just kissed her hand immediately sent Leesa’s mind spinning off to wonderful memories of long, lingering kisses. Letting Rave go now would definitely pay off in the long run, she knew. Still, it took a moment for her to respond.
“Well, when you put it like that,” she said, “I guess I can spare you for a day or two. But you’d better practice hard—you can be sure I’ll be paying you a visit soon to test your progress. And I can be a tough grader when I want to be.”
Rave laughed. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He brushed his lips lightly against hers, giving her the merest taste of what was to come. “It’s a test I’ll look forward to.”
Leesa sighed. “So will I.”
The two lovers would not have been quite so lighthearted if they knew about the events unfolding several thousand miles away.
16. THE TIME HAS COME
THE NECROMANCER LEANED BACK in his oversized chair in front of his magic table, thinking hard. If he had been a walker, he would be pacing the chamber, but walking required far too much effort from someone of his bulk. For months now, he had been drawing ever closer to his ultimate goal—and he was now so close that he could almost taste it. The seal preventing him from summoning the dead to his side in unlimited numbers was nearly broken. Likewise, he and his black waziri henchmen were progressing with the contagion problem. They had cut the time it took for a bitten victim to reanimate into a zombie down to only two or three hours. He was confident that before long, they would get it down to a matter of minutes, not hours.
The shorter duration was absolutely necessary for his plans. Once he started his attacks, he knew the authorities would soon discover that burning the bodies of victims would prevent them from ever returning to life. He could not allow that to happen. His ultimate goal required an army of zombies that kept growing at an exponential rate, until there were so many that nothing could stand before them.
At present, any bodies he reanimat
ed were clumsy, slow moving creatures, but once he fully destroyed the seal, he expected that to change. Long dead corpses would always be slow, but the more recently deceased should be capable of moving almost as fast as living humans, making them far more dangerous.
He wished he could have reached this level of success a century ago, before the armies of the world became so mightily armed with modern weapons of destruction. He was still learning back then, though, and he hadn’t had the black waziri to aid him. Still, he was confident his will would eventually prevail, despite the might of the armies that would oppose him.
There was only one foe with the power to thwart him—the infernal wizard, Dominic. He alone had the power to restore the seal to full strength and thus foil the Necromancer’s desires.
The Necromancer’s jaw tightened at the thought of his archenemy. He had planned for the renegade waziri to wipe out all their brethren in one fell swoop, but somehow Dominic had escaped the battle and had managed to elude them ever since. Already, the wizard had cost the Necromancer two of his most powerful followers and three of their apprentices. It was time to draw Dominic out of hiding and to put an end to his interference once and for all.
The Necromancer pulled his golden amulet from beneath his dark cloak and summoned his lieutenants. Viktor, Andre and Jordan arrived together within minutes. They headed for their seats, but he ordered them to remain standing. The three of them glanced questioningly at each other, but no one said anything. To question their leader was to draw unwanted attention to oneself, something no one ever wanted to do unnecessarily.
“I have reached an important decision,” the Necromancer told them. “We will be leaving here later this afternoon. Expect to be gone for several weeks, at least.”
This time, the surprised, inquisitive looks were directed at the Necromancer. He rarely left the castle, and neither Viktor nor Andre, who had been with him longest, could remember him leaving for more than a day or two in many decades. The table in front of them was by far his greatest source of power—if he was choosing to distance himself from its magic, then whatever he had in mind must be very important indeed. Still, none of them dared to voice the questions rushing through their minds. Their master would tell them what they needed to know when he felt like it and not before.
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