Deathless Page 21

  Leesa looked from Cali to Edwina in disbelief, unsure what had just happened. One second Edwina was leaning toward Cali’s throat and the next she was smashing into a tree. An image of the wastebasket flying across her room rose in Leesa’s head. Had she somehow done the same thing to Edwina—make her fly across the field with the power of her mind? It did not seem possible, but she could think of no other explanation.

  She rushed over to Cali and began pulling at the ropes that bound her. Before Leesa could even partially untie the knots, an icy hand grasped her wrist.

  “I don’t know how you did that,” Edwina said, her voice cold with anger. “But I am not done with Cali.”

  She yanked Leesa away as if she weighed next to nothing. Leesa struggled to free herself, but Edwina’s grip was unbreakable. She dragged Leesa a few feet from the tree then suddenly kicked out at her good leg. Leesa fell sprawling to the ground.

  “Let’s see if you can do that again,” Edwina said. She bent into a protective crouch, bracing against a possible second onslaught.

  Leesa pushed herself up into a sitting position. Despite the pain in her leg, she focused all her thoughts on Edwina, trying to picture her flying back across the field again. But as hard as Leesa tried, nothing happened. She had no control over whatever power was inside her.

  “I thought not,” Edwina said, her voice dripping with disdain. “Now watch closely, Leesa, while I begin draining your friend of her sweet, hot blood.”

  Once again, Edwina’s fangs dropped down from her upper jaw. Leesa watched helplessly as Edwina opened her mouth and bent toward Cali’s neck.

  Dominic studied his list of Connecticut colleges as the bus carried him north from Hamden, where he had spent a day searching Quinnipiac College for any sensation of Leesa, toward Hartford. He needed to decide soon whether to go directly to the Hartford area with its half dozen colleges, or to make side trips to two schools a few miles west of the freeway in New Britain and to another in Middletown, ten miles to the east.

  If he was going to head to Middletown, he had to decide by the time the bus reached Meriden, just one exit ahead. There was no real reason to decide one way or the other—he would have to choose on instinct.

  Suddenly, a brief blast of magic rocked his senses. He whipped his head around to the east—toward Middletown. Could it have been Leesa? The magic seemed far too powerful. How could she have produced magic of such strength without training? Yet the magic felt familiar, though slightly twisted somehow. If it was not Leesa—and he didn’t see how it could be—then it could only have been the work of his enemies. He wondered if it might be some kind of trap. That didn’t make sense, though. His foes would have no way of knowing he was searching for Leesa or for magic. They should not have any idea where he was, either. There was no reason for them to expect such a trick to accomplish anything—unless he had slipped up somewhere and given himself away.

  The bus was nearing the Meriden exit. He had to decide quickly. In the end, the decision was an easy one. This was the first real inkling he’d had that he might be nearing his goal of finding Leesa. He would be careful, but he had to chance it, trap or no trap.

  Grabbing his jacket, he got up from his seat and headed for the front of the bus. He could be in Middletown in less than an hour.

  41. VAMPIRE KISS

  Leesa watched in horror as Edwina’s fangs inched inexorably toward Cali’s neck. She knew Edwina was moving so slowly to torment her but was helpless to do anything about it.

  Suddenly, out of nowhere, a dark blur flashed across the grass and smashed into Edwina, knocking her away from Cali. Leesa watched in startled amazement as the two figures tumbled across the ground, growling and yelping like two wild animals going at each other. She hoped the pain-filled moans were all coming from Edwina. The battle turned out to be no contest. In less than a minute a black clad figure stood up over Edwina’s motionless form, blood dripping from his mouth.

  “Stefan!” Leesa cried. Her eyes flew back and forth from Stefan to Edwina. A grisly wound gaped from the right side of Edwina’s neck. No blood flowed from the wound though, which made the ragged gash look even more ghastly. Leesa wondered about the blood on Stefan’s lips.

  Stefan wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “Hello, Leesa,” he said. Amazingly, he didn’t seem to be breathing hard.

  Leesa scrambled to her feet and threw her arms around him. Even through her parka, she could feel the chill from his body. She didn’t care. Stefan had saved Cali from a horrible fate. She didn’t know how and she didn’t know why, but Stefan had sided against one of his own kind for her.

  “Thank you, Stefan,” she said. “Thank you.”

  Stefan returned Leesa’s hug for a brief moment, then eased back out of her embrace.

  “What happened just before I got here?” he asked. “Something sent Edwina sprawling, but I saw nothing. What was it?”

  “I don’t know,” Leesa said. She wasn’t lying—she really did not know—but she wasn’t telling the complete truth, either. She saw no need to reveal to Stefan that she might have done it with a power she did not understand and could not control.

  Stefan’s black eyes, so like bottomless pools now, bored into hers, as if he was looking for something deep inside her soul. Leesa didn’t know if he found what he was looking for, but after a moment, his eyes became black mirrors once again, completely unreadable.

  “Edwina disobeyed my direct order,” he said, answering Leesa’s unasked question of why he had done what he did. “Such behavior must be punished.”

  Leesa looked down at Edwina’s prostrate form. “Is she dead?”

  Stefan’s lips curved into a wry smile. “My kind are all dead,” he said. “And yet we are not, of course. But no, she is not dead, not in the way you mean. But she will never bother you—or any other human—again. I promise you that.”

  “Hey,” Cali called from behind them. “What does a girl have to do to get a little help around here?” Her voice was remarkably lighthearted for someone who had just gone through what she had endured.

  Leesa laughed, the tension finally draining out of her. Stefan moved to Cali’s side and ripped apart the ropes holding her as if they were strands of thread. Cali pulled the loose pieces from her arms and began rubbing her wrists, which were red and chafed from her efforts to free herself.

  “Thank you, Stefan,” she said. “We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Cali.” She held out her hand.

  Stefan looked at Leesa, a bemused smile on his lips. Leesa shook her head in amused resignation and shrugged. Cali was just being Cali.

  Stefan took Cali’s extended hand and kissed it lightly.

  “Wow,” Cali said. “Kissed by a vampire!”

  “Ha! Down, girl,” Leesa said. “You know you can never tell anyone about this.”

  Cali sighed. “Yeah, don’t worry, I won’t. But I know it happened, and that’s what counts.”

  Leesa turned back to Stefan. “How did you know what was happening?” she asked. “And manage to get here just in time?”

  “Edwina acted very suspiciously the last time she returned from the outside,” Stefan replied. “She has been angry with me for taking your brother, and I guessed that she would be blaming you as well. I gave her specific orders to stay away from you, but I did not trust her. So when she left our caverns this time, I followed her trail.”

  Leesa had never been quite sure how she felt about Stefan. He had asked a terrible price to rescue her brother, but when he had been unable to complete her transformation, he still kept his part of the bargain. She was a little bit afraid of him, but she admired him for his honor—honor as he saw it, anyhow. And she could not deny the sensual pull she felt toward him on some deep, primitive level.

  Now he had saved Cali, so Leesa owed him double. Still, she wouldn’t mind if she never saw him again, but she was awfully glad he had been here today.

  “I’m sure glad you followed her,” she said. “Thank you again.”

&nbs
p; “I only did what was necessary,” Stefan said. “Besides, I have not completely given up.”

  Not completely given up? Leesa wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but the words struck a distinctly uncomfortable chord in her head.

  Once again, Stefan’s eyes bored into hers. Leesa felt the pull, but this time she forced her eyes away from his. After a moment, the feeling vanished. She thought Stefan looked as if he wanted to say more, but instead he bent and lifted Edwina’s limp body effortlessly over his shoulder.

  “Be safe, Leesa,” he said.

  Stefan turned and loped off into the trees without another word. Leesa watched him disappear into the shadows.

  “Wow,” Cali said. “How cool was that?”

  Leesa stared at her friend in amazement and disbelief.

  “Cool? I was scared out of my mind.”

  “Well, me too,” Cali said. “But then Stefan ripped into that bitch Edwina and everything was fine.” She looked down at the back of her hand. “And I got my hand kissed by a vampire,” she added, grinning. “Have I told you lately that you are the coolest best friend ever?”

  Leesa shook her head, but couldn’t help smiling. “What am I going to do with you?” she said.

  42. TOO LATE

  One hour after Leesa and Cali left Brennan Field, Dominic strode quickly across the empty meadow. After so many painstaking and frustrating months, he hoped he might at last be drawing near to finding Leesa. The magic was long gone, he knew—it had been at least an hour since its vibrations had jarred his senses on the bus—but it had been so powerful he could still sense where it had occurred, across the field near the edge of the woods. The picturesque Weston college campus spread out behind him, but before he began his search for Leesa there, he wanted to examine the place where the magic had originated to see what he might learn.

  He slowed his pace as he neared the trees, his senses guiding him unerringly to a spot a few feet from the boundary of the field. This was the place. He stood perfectly still and slowed his breathing until his chest barely moved, focusing his concentration on the tiny vestiges of magic that remained. That he could still sense the vibrations at all was more evidence of how strong the magic had been. What kind of magic had been performed here, he could not tell. The remnants of the weaves were familiar, yet they were not. In some tiny details, they were different from anything in his long experience. In one way, he knew this was a good thing. Had the magic been identical to his, it would have drawn the attention of the same enemies who for so long had been seeking him. He wondered if perhaps they might have sensed it anyway. They had no reason to be anywhere near here—he hoped the distance combined with the differences in the weaves would be enough to hide the magic from his foes.

  When he was certain he could learn no more from the remnants of the magic, he let his focus widen—and was surprised to detect traces of vampire. What had happened here, he wondered? A dozen questions flashed through his brain. Had Leesa somehow become involved with vampires? If so, had she survived the encounter? There was no way to know. He did not even know if the magic had anything to do with her or was something else entirely.

  He walked slowly, in an ever-widening circle, seeking answers. He found a spot where the brown grass was crushed and twisted, telling him there had been a struggle here. Kneeling down, he examined the grass and the ground more carefully. He sensed a slightly stronger vampire presence in this spot—more than one of the creatures had been here, he decided. The whole thing was becoming more mystifying by the minute. Had a pair of vampires ganged up on someone or something? He had no way to tell.

  He continued on with his search. Happily, he detected no sensation of death. Whatever had happened here, no one had died. He breathed a sigh of relief—if Leesa had been involved in this, she was still alive, at least. He prayed she had not been taken by the vampires; that would be just as bad.

  Unfortunately, he still could not detect any direct sense of Leesa. He did not know for sure if she had been here, and if she had, he had no way to follow her trail.

  He turned and headed back to begin his search of the Weston campus. If Leesa was indeed here, that was where he would most likely find her.

  43. SECRETS REVEALED

  Rave showed up at Leesa’s door a few hours later.

  Leesa and Cali were inside, still talking about their amazing afternoon adventure. Leesa was sitting on the bed, but Cali remained amped up by the excitement and spent most of her time walking about the room and gesturing with her hands. She did most of the talking, of course, describing over and over again what had happened before Leesa arrived, as well as reliving everything that occurred after. Her favorite part was when Edwina went flying through the air like she had been grabbed by an invisible hand, but Stefan kissing her hand was a close second. She also peppered Leesa with crazy questions about Stefan and vampires in general, most of which Leesa answered with “how the hell would I know that?”

  “What do you think will happen to Edwina?” Cali asked.

  Before Leesa could reply once more that she didn’t know, Rave strode in through the open door, his handsome face etched with concern.

  “Rave!” Leesa shouted. She leapt up off the bed and flew into his arms.

  “Are you all right?” Rave asked, hugging her tightly.

  Leesa lifted her head from his chest and looked up into his gorgeous eyes.

  “I’m fine. And now that you’re here, I’m way better than fine.”

  “We had a pretty exciting time a few hours ago,” Cali said, her tone hinting at mysterious secrets. “But everything’s cool now. I’m not sure how much I’m allowed to tell you, though.”

  Leesa stepped back from Rave’s embrace but kept her hands linked around his arm. She would tell Rave everything, of course, but wasn’t sure how much to say with Cali there.

  Rave spoke instead. “What happened, Leesa? I felt your need and came as quickly as I could.” He laid one hand atop Leesa’s hands where they circled his forearm. “I was afraid I was going be too late.”

  Cali looked back and forth from Leesa to Rave, her confusion evident.

  “How did you know we were in trouble?” she asked.

  Rave thought for a moment, deciding what to say.

  “Can we trust her to keep a secret?” he asked Leesa.

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  “I know so,” Cali said adamantly. “When I put something in the lockbox, it stays there.” She mimed putting a key into a lock and turning it, then theatrically dropping the key down her shirt between her breasts. “So c’mon, what gives?”

  “Go ahead,” Rave said to Leesa. “She’s your best friend. Tell her everything.”

  Leesa looked at Rave for a moment to make certain he meant what he had just said. He nodded for her to go ahead.

  “You can’t tell anyone,” Leesa said to Cali. “I mean it. Even my mom and Bradley don’t know what I’m about to tell you.”

  Cali made a crossing motion with her finger in front of her heart. “I promise.”

  “Rave’s kinda different,” Leesa said.

  Cali looked incredulous. “That’s it? That’s your big secret? Please, tell me something I don’t already know. He’s a Maston—of course he’s freakin’ different. They’re all pretty strange.” She looked at Rave and smiled sweetly. “No offense, Rave.”

  Rave smiled back. “None taken.”

  “No,” Leesa said. “Much more different than you can imagine. I think maybe you should sit down.”

  Cali looked more confused than ever, but she plopped herself down on the edge of the bed.

  “Rave’s a volkaane,” Leesa said.

  “A volk what?”

  “Volkanne,” Leesa said. “Show her, Rave.”

  Rave held out his right hand, palm up. “Touch it,” he said to Cali.

  Cali looked at Leesa and then back to Rave. She reached out and placed her hand in his palm.

  “Wow! It’s so warm!”

  “Wait,” Rave tol
d her. He sent more heat into his hand.

  Cali’s eyes widened. Finally, she lifted her hand away and brought it close to her face, staring at it in disbelief of what she had just felt.

  “What does that mean?” she asked after a moment. “How hot can you make it?”

  Rave looked at Leesa.

  “Go ahead,” she said.

  Rave let his heat grow, until the familiar tiny blue flames flickered from his fingertips.

  “Holy crap!” Cali exclaimed, remembering tales about the Mastons and strange blue fires. “That blue fire stuff is real!”

  Rave smiled and let the flames disappear. “Yes, it is,” he said. “One of the only stories people tell about us that is actually true.”

  “What do you do with it?” Cali asked. “It looks pretty and it’s way cool and all, but I’m guessing it’s not just for show?”

  “He kills vampires with it,” Leesa said matter-of-factly.

  Cali’s eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her head. She swung her head back and forth between Leesa and Rave like it was on a swivel.

  “You’re kidding, right?” she asked Leesa. She turned to Rave. “She is kidding, right?”

  “My people are vampire hunters,” Rave said. “We use our fire to slay them.”

  Cali sat silently for a long moment and then broke out into a wide grin.

  “Leesa, you definitely are the coolest friend ever. First Stefan, and now this. Wow!”

  “Stefan?” Rave asked, looking at Leesa. His eyes narrowed. “What’s this about Stefan?”

  Leesa sensed Rave’s barely restrained anger. She took his hand.

  “Stefan saved us today. At least, he saved Cali.”

  “And he kissed my hand, too.” Cali held her hand out, displaying it. “Right here.” She looked at Leesa. “I’m allowed to tell Rave, right?”

  Leesa smiled. “Yes, you can tell him anything.” She turned to Rave and began describing the afternoon’s events.