Deathless Read online

  Bradley and Uncle Roger were sitting on the couch, watching a football game on the widescreen. Uncle Roger was wearing the blue and red number twelve Patriots jersey he always wore when he watched football, whether his team was playing or not. Bradley wasn’t sporting any team colors, but he was an avid Jets fan, the result of living in New Jersey for the first ten years of his life. Leesa wasn’t much of a football fan herself, but she knew those two teams hated each other, and that Bradley and Uncle Roger would be in for some animated afternoons when their teams met. She thought how wonderful it was to be thinking of her brother arguing about football, rather than about the ordeal he had suffered for the last two years, when no one knew what had happened to him.

  She didn’t see her mom or Aunt Janet, and guessed they were still busy cooking. The delicious smells emanating from the kitchen made her stomach rumble again. She smiled, wondering if Rave could hear it from outside. She hoped his hearing wasn’t that good.

  Bradley popped up from the couch to greet her.

  “Hey, pumpkin,” he said as gave her a warm hug.

  Leesa thought her brother looked great. Especially for someone who had been kept captive for almost two years by a female vampire as a “feeder”—a kind of human blood bank. When Stefan brought Bradley to her that fateful night she’d bargained for his freedom, her brother had been paler even than Stefan, and was so thin and weak he couldn’t stand on up his own. Now, his color was back to normal, and he had gained some much needed weight. He could still use another ten pounds, but Leesa expected Thanksgiving dinner should be good for a few pounds, at least.

  Uncle Roger followed Bradley’s hug with one of his own. As she wrapped her arms around his ample form, she wished she had some magic powers of her own, so she could magically transfer a few of Uncle Roger’s extra pounds to her brother. She was certain they would both go for that.

  “Is that my beautiful daughter I hear?” Judy Nyland, hurrying out of the kitchen.

  Leesa smiled. “Hi, mom.”

  They embraced each other tightly. Leesa couldn’t believe how much her mom had changed. Her pallid complexion finally had some color to it, and there was barely a trace left of the anxious, timid woman Leesa had grown up with. She’d spent her entire childhood thinking her mom was crazy, with that insane story about having been bitten by a one-fanged vampire. But the story turned out to be true. One of Leesa’s professors had cured her mom, by injecting her with the blood of a one fanged-vampire Rave had captured for them. Her mom was becoming more and more normal every day.

  “Where’s Rave, honey?” Judy asked when they finally ended their embrace.

  “He’s outside, enjoying the neighborhood. I’m going to take Max out for a couple minutes, and then we’ll all be back in.” She looked at her uncle. “Is that okay, Uncle Roger?”

  Uncle Roger grinned. He had the widest smile Leesa had ever seen.

  “Sure is. And I’m pretty sure you won’t get any argument from Max.”

  “Do I need his leash?”

  “Not as long as you’re staying in the yard. He won’t go anywhere.”

  “Okay. I’ll let you guys get back to your game. We’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  Leesa held the door open, and Max raced outside. She pulled the door closed and watched as Max bounded down the stairs and galloped toward Rave. She had never seen Max this excited. She didn’t know what was going to happen next, but was glad she had closed the door so no one else could see, just in case.

  Rave held out his hand, palm out, and Max skidded to a halt five feet in front of him. Rave turned his palm down and lowered his hand. Max sank obediently to his belly on the grass.

  Leesa was amazed. Max was an obedient dog, but he had never met Rave. She wasn’t sure even Uncle Roger could have gotten Max to stop that quickly.

  She moved closer, watching as Rave walked over to Max and knelt beside him. He seemed to whisper something into Max’s ear, and then petted him on top of his head. When he stood up, Max got to his feet and stood next to him, waiting. They looked like they’d known each other forever.

  Rave smiled at Leesa. “It’s all good now. Max and I are buddies. We can go inside. He will behave normally.”

  “Wow. That was something,” Leesa said. “Max always has a lot of energy, but I’ve never seen him quite that amped up. I’m glad you thought to meet him outside. I’m not sure the house could have withstood that much Max.”

  They went inside. Rave had already met everyone, so no introductions were necessary, just hellos. Leesa watched as Rave moved easily about the room. He moved with such fluid grace you wouldn’t notice unless you were watching closely for it, but he took care to remain a safe distance from anything electrical—the television, stereo, even lamps.

  This time, Aunt Janet was able to pull herself away from the kitchen, so she and Leesa exchanged a warm embrace. Aunt Janet was four years older than her sister, but Leesa thought the two looked remarkably similar, now that her mom had lost the haunted look she had borne for so many years. The matching blue and white checked aprons both wore over their dresses did not hurt the similarity.

  Aunt Janet was fifteen or twenty pounds heavier than Leesa’s mom, but from the neck up no one could fail to see they were sisters. Both wore their dark blond hair medium short, styled casually with loose curls framing their faces. Aunt Janet had obviously taken her sister to visit her hair stylist. The most striking feature of each woman was a pair of bright blue eyes almost identical to the ones Leesa saw reflected in her mirror every day.

  “Dinner will be ready in ten or fifteen minutes,” Aunt Janet said.

  “Then it’s time for some of my special appetizers,” Uncle Roger said, hurrying toward the kitchen with a big smile on his face.

  Leesa smiled, too, knowing what was coming. Uncle Roger owned a bakery famous for its pies. His favorite saying was “life is short, eat dessert first.”

  Sure enough, Uncle Roger emerged from the kitchen carrying a platter filled with bite-sized squares of steaming apple pie. Toothpicks topped by red or blue foil streamers protruded from the center of each piece, making them easy to eat. Leave it to Uncle Roger to figure out how to turn pie into hors d’oeurves. He offered the platter to Leesa first.

  The cinnamon-laced aroma of baked apples made her stomach rumble again. She grabbed a piece with each hand and plopped one into her mouth. The pie tasted even better than it smelled. The chunks of apple were soft and tangy, and the buttery crust simply melted in her mouth. Dessert first was definitely not a bad idea!

  Dinner was just as delicious as Uncle Roger’s appetizers. The turkey was moist and tender, and Aunt Janet’s gravy was to die for. Side dishes included mashed potatoes, tender green beans sautéed with shallots and pine nuts, buttery sweet potatoes, cranberries and homemade stuffing made with raisins, almonds, celery and tiny bits of sausage.

  Leesa ate healthy quantities of everything. Her hunger had long since been satisfied, and she was rapidly approaching the point of being stuffed. Reluctantly, she put down her fork, determined to save room for dessert.

  She was glad to see Bradley reaching for a third helping of turkey—the more food her brother ate, the better. Uncle Roger was still eating with his usual gusto, and Rave did not seem to have slowed down, either. She could only imagine what his metabolism must be like, with all that inner heat.

  She noticed her mom staring down at her plate, slowly pushing a piece of turkey around with her fork, but making no move to eat it. Her face seemed strangely sad.

  “What’s the matter, Mom?”

  Judy looked up. “Oh, nothing, honey. I was just thinking how happy you and your brother look. I’m sorry I never made a dinner like this for you two.”

  “Mom, we’ve been over this. It wasn’t your fault.”

  “We’re the ones who are sorry, Mom,” Bradley added. “Sorry we didn’t believe your story. Maybe we could have done something differently if we had.”

  “Thankfully, all that’s in the
past,” Aunt Janet said. “This year we have so much to be thankful for. Let’s remember that.”

  “Amen to that,” Uncle Roger said as he reached for another helping of turkey.

  “I can’t imagine anything better than this,” Leesa said. “Being here with all of you, eating this delicious food… and with dessert still to come!”

  Everyone laughed, but it was her mom’s laughter that warmed Leesa’s heart the most. She truly had never been happier.

  Now if only that Destiratu thing Rave had told her about didn’t mess everything up.

  2. THROWING STONES

  “This must be the place,” Leesa said.

  She stood with Rave and Max at the top of a long asphalt driveway above Black Pond State Park. Below them, the waters of a large lake sparkled in the sunshine. Leesa was wearing her heavy blue sweatshirt over a long sleeve pullover shirt and black leggings. Rave had on a dark brown, long sleeve waffle-knit shirt and jeans. With their inner heat, volkaanes didn’t require much in the way of clothes, but Rave made sure always to wear something somewhat appropriate for the weather, to avoid drawing unnecessary attention or questions.

  Uncle Roger had suggested Black Pond as a good place for a hike, since it was less than a fifteen minute walk from the house. Leesa almost wished it had been farther, so she could have enjoyed another ride in Rave’s arms. But she wanted to get some exercise, and as wonderful as it felt to have Rave carry her, it did not qualify as exercise—even though it certainly got her heart rate up!

  Max waited patiently in front of them, his side pressed up against Rave’s leg. His tail wagged excitedly as he looked down toward the park, but he made no move to head down the driveway without them. Rave carried Max’s leash in his hand—he had unfastened it as soon as they were out of sight of the house. Leesa had looked at him worriedly when he undid the leash, but Rave assured her there was nothing to worry about. He had knelt and whispered a few words into Max’s ear, and Max had not strayed more than a few feet from them the whole way here. Leesa was amazed; every time she’d walked Max he was constantly pulling on his leash, wanting to smell or chase something. But not today. Not with Rave here.

  It was just past ten o’clock on Saturday morning. The day promised to be a nice one, especially considering the season. The temperature had already topped forty degrees and the few puffy white clouds in the sky betrayed no hint of any coming bad weather. Perfect hiking weather, so that’s what Leesa and Rave had decided to do.

  Thanksgiving weekend was going great. Leesa was staying at her aunt and uncle’s house, sharing a room with her mom. Since Bradley still lived there as well, they were all together for the first time in years. They had done some shopping and gone to a movie at the mall on Friday, then enjoyed Thanksgiving leftovers that evening. Rave had gone home Thursday night, but he had returned this morning.

  A nice long hike gave them the perfect excuse for some alone time. Holding hands, they walked down the driveway toward the lake. Below them, a half-dozen boats and canoes floated lazily out on the water. All but one had at least one fishing pole hanging over the side. Leesa wondered what kind of fish lived in the lake.

  The eastern shore was steep and rocky, plummeting into the lake at a sharp angle, so they turned west at the bottom of the ramp and followed a dirt trail into the mostly leafless trees. The path was flat and well-maintained, making walking easy. Max led the way, his tail wagging happily as he bounded along the trail. Despite his exuberance, he never got farther than twenty feet or so ahead of them, not even when they heard small animals rustling their way through the underbrush nearby.

  “How are you doing this?” Leesa asked Rave when a rabbit streaked across the trail less than ten feet in front of Max and he made no move to chase it. “Dogs love to chase rabbits. I know Max does—I’ve seen him. But you’ve got him behaving like he’s on an invisible leash.”

  Rave smiled. “It’s no big deal. I just told him to be a good dog and stay near us.”

  Leesa looked at him skeptically. “That’s it? You just told him to be a good dog?”

  “I told you, volkaanes and dogs have a special affinity for each other.”

  “A special affinity?” Leesa said, frowning. “There’s got to be more to it than that.”

  Rave shrugged. “I’m not sure I can explain it any better than that. It goes back ages, when volkaanes and werewolves forged an alliance against vampires, who were dominant back then. Wolves and dogs are closely related, so I guess some of that spilled over somehow.”

  Leesa stopped abruptly and grabbed Rave’s arm. “Werewolves?” she asked. “Don’t tell me werewolves are real, too.”

  “Of course they are. Or, at least they were. Something, or someone, wiped them out centuries ago.”

  “Vampires?” Leesa asked.

  “No one really knows, at least not that I’m aware of. But I do not think vampires were behind it. We would know if vampires had done it, I think. It could simply have been a disease of some kind—or it could have been something more sinister.”

  Leesa’s head felt like it was spinning. She had asked a simple question about Max—well, maybe not all that simple—and all of a sudden they were talking about werewolves. She wanted to know more, but decided she’d heard enough for now. She had to admit, dating a volkaane was never dull.

  They hiked for another twenty-five minutes, and Leesa loved every bit of it. Sometimes the path carried them within a few feet of the water, other times it meandered farther back into the trees. Part way along, she began to grow warm, so she peeled off her sweatshirt and tied it around her waist. Max continued to resist all temptations to leave the trail. Finally, they reached the far side of the lake. The trail continued on, but it turned away from the lake and led off into the hills, so they stopped at a small dirt beach. It was a peaceful, pretty spot, and they had it all to themselves.

  Leesa stooped and dug a small flat stone out of the soft dirt. Max rushed over and sniffed the rock, hoping Leesa had discovered some sort of treasure. He moved away after only a moment, clearly disappointed. Rave watched with interest as Leesa hefted the stone in her hand and studied it like it was something special. It looked like an ordinary rock to him.

  “Watch this,” Leesa said.

  She bent slightly at the waist and whipped the stone out over the water with an underhand, sidearm motion. The stone skipped four or five times atop the lake’s surface before sinking out of sight. Max began to run after the rock, thinking it was a game of fetch, but he stopped before his paws were barely wet.

  “Hey, that’s pretty good,” Rave said.

  “Pretty good, yeah,” Leesa said, smiling. “But not good enough. Bradley used to tell me that if I could skip one six times, I could make a wish that would come true. I only got five that time.”

  Rave bent and picked up a rock. “Let me try.”

  Before he could throw it, Leesa laid her hand on his forearm to stop him. He had obviously never done this. With all the stuff he knew and all the amazing things he could do, it always surprised her when he was clueless about something as simple as skipping a stone on the water. Somehow, it made him seem more human.

  She took the stone from his hand. “You have to use a flat one. This one’s way too round. No way you could get it to skip.”

  She tossed it underhand into the water and squatted to find him a better rock. When she found one she liked, she pried it out of the ground and brushed the dirt off it.

  “Try this one.” She wrapped her thumb and index finger around the edge of the stone, like a backwards C. “Hold it like this.”

  She gave the rock to Rave and he gripped it the way she showed him. Trying to mimic her motion, he winged it out onto the lake. The rock flew so fast Leesa could barely follow it. It hit the water with a loud splash and sank without bouncing even once. Rave looked at her sheepishly.

  “No wishes for me, I guess.”

  “It takes practice.”

  Leesa picked up another stone and hurled it out
across the water. This time it skipped so many times she lost count. It was definitely more than six, though. She closed her eyes and tilted her head tilted upward, making a wish.

  “That was great,” Rave said when Leesa opened her eyes. “Nine skips.”

  Leesa looked at him skeptically. The tiny little skips at the end were almost impossible to count.

  “You could count even all those little ones at the end?”

  “Sure. No problem. Volkaanes have very keen eyesight. What did you wish for?”

  Leesa smiled and shook her head. “If I tell you, it won’t come true,” she said. And she very badly wanted this wish to come true. “It’s like blowing out the candles on a birthday cake. If you reveal the wish, you lose it.”

  Rave looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face.

  “I guess volkaanes don’t have birthday cakes, huh?” Leesa said. She grinned as she pictured Rave bent over a big chocolate birthday cake. Instead of blowing the candles out, he was blowing on unlit candles and igniting them with his magical fire. Naturally, the candles all burned blue.

  Rave smiled. “We do not even have birthdays.”

  “Oh. Well, don’t worry about it. Just know that if you tell your wish, you lose it. And I don’t want to lose this one.”

  “I want a wish, too. Let me try one more.”

  He picked up a flat, round stone and threw it, mimicking Leesa’s form. This time, it skipped off the surface and flew several hundred feet before it skipped again. By the time it finished skipping, it had flown almost clear across the lake. Even Max seemed mesmerized by Rave’s throw.

  “Holy crap!” Leesa said. “I forgot how strong you are. Good thing you didn’t hit one of those boats—you’d have sunk the thing for sure.” She swiveled her head back and forth, checking to see if anyone had witnessed Rave’s throw. “I hope no one saw that. I’m not sure how we’d explain it.”

  “Was it good enough for a wish?”

  Leesa grinned. “Yeah, it was. I’d say it was good for one gigantic wish.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the shoreline. “Let’s get out of here, though, just in case someone happened to see.”