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Chapter 12
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Leesa couldn't believe how fast the first month of school flew by. She was thrilled to finally have a best friend, and she and Cali hung out as often as they could. They did lots of stuff with Stacie and Caitlin as well. Caitlin had a Wii in her room, and quiet Stacie had turned out to be quite the star at Guitar Hero. Leesa didn't play the game much, but she enjoyed listening to the music and watching her friends pound their toy guitars like amped-up rock stars. She was doing well in all of her classes, even enjoying a couple of them, especially Professor Clerval's. The leaves around campus were beginning to turn, and she knew it wouldn't be long until they began to explode with color.
She was getting to know the surrounding area, usually with Cali, who knew lots of fun places to go. Leesa, Cali and Stacie had gone hiking at nearby Sleeping Giant State Park—Jersey girl Caitlin had remained behind because she
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Leesa's Advent Chapter 13
She heard the festivities before they even turned the corner onto Fraternity Row. Thumping dance music seemed almost to vibrate the sidewalk, and the tumult of voices and laughter was nearly as loud. Anyone heading for the Borderline's party wouldn't need exact directions, that was for sure.The BPD house was white with green trim, located near the center of the string of huge wooden houses that made up Fraternity Row. Three big green Greek letters—beta, psi and delta—were attached above the raised front entrance. Light spilled from all but one of the dozen or so front windows. A bedsheet painted with giant green letters proclaiming “Thirsty Thursday” flapped beneath one of the upper windows. Outside, a small crowd of kids milled about on the front lawn and sidewalk, but the bulk of the noise emanated from inside the old house.Cali grabbed Leesa's arm and led her toward the front steps. A short line of kids filled the stairs, waiting to show ID
Leesa's Advent Chapter 14
It was an odd-looking vine. Large, striated leaves clung to the corner of the building, inches from Stefan's face, their shadows hiding his dark, motionless form from the noisy students milling about in the nearby yard. He watched them idly, not hunting now, for he had been given no permission to do so. It would be awhile before he was allowed to take a human again, but there was nothing to stop him from observing or even mingling with them if he chose. So far, no one in the yard was of much interest to him—until a new arrival caught his eye. Tall and blond, she stood by herself a few feet from the back steps. Not beautiful, but near enough. Something about her tugged at him, made him want to get closer. A lust and a hunger, yes, but different in some way. The pull was thrilling, but disconcerting. Different was intriguing. But different could also be dangerous.Backing farther into the shadows, he let his eyes sweep the yard and surrounding grounds, alert to anything a
Leesa's Advent Chapter 15
Blue fire began to glow unbidden from his fingertips. He curled his hands into fists to hide the telltale glow and willed the heat down, forcing himself to be patient. There was no need to rush. If the guy was a vampire, he would do nothing in so public a place. But what was he doing here? And why had he singled out Leesa? Was it mere chance, or something more ominous?His mind raced. He had to do something, but this was no place for a fight. Too many humans could be hurt, not to mention the attention a confrontation would bring. He could not allow the creature to continue working its spell, though. He felt the heat begin to rise inside him again. This time, he let it grow, careful to keep it under control.He saw the guy stiffen, watched his head swing from side to side. There was no longer any doubt about him being a vampire—he had sensed Rave's heat and registered the danger. Rave forced his fire down now, locking it inside him. He didn't want the cre
Leesa's Advent Chapter 16
It's another hot night, dry and windless. Indian summer, Cali had called it. Not something Leesa was familiar with in San Diego, where it was like summer most of the year, and not all that cold the rest of the time. But here in Connecticut, the near-eighty degree temperatures were fifteen degrees warmer than normal for the second week of October. For three days now, the kids at Weston had been sporting shorts and T-shirts, or even bathing suits, spending as much time outside as they could, tossing Frisbees and footballs or lounging on colorful towels and blankets spread out on the grass.Definitely not vampire weather, Leesa thought as she strolled home from the library, the night air feeling especially warm after her stint in the air-conditioned building. She made a mental note to ask Dr. Clerval about that in class tomorrow. Did vampires really hate the sun, or was that just part of the legend that had grown up around them? If they existed at all, she reminded herself. Rave
Leesa's Advent Chapter 17
The sun was slowly sinking into the deep green hills west of the campus as Leesa and her three friends waited on the sidewalk in front of the dorm for Uncle Roger to pick them up and take them to Meriden for a home-cooked meal. Leesa had been back for dinner several times since school started, but this was the first time she was bringing her friends. After a month of subsisting on dorm food, they were going to love her aunt's cooking, and she couldn't wait until they tasted one of her uncle's pies.The Indian summer of a few days before was now but a pleasant memory, and the late afternoon had grown crisp. Leesa zipped her San Diego sweatshirt up against the chill. Cali had dressed down for the occasion—“rule ninety-nine: don't make the relatives think I'm a bad influence,” she had joked— wearing her pink hoodie with the checks on one sleeve, hip-hugger jeans with no rips, and a pair of gray Nike running shoes adorned with pink swooshes. Her “gir
Leesa's Advent Chapter 18
“They say when trouble comes, close ranks,” Professor Clerval told the class. “And that's what the vampires did. Once solitary creatures, they began collecting into covens, for protection and to maintain some kind of order, to put limits on the indiscriminate killing that was calling too much attention their way.”“Protection from what?” asked a voice Leesa recognized. She had chosen the back row, as always, in case Rave showed up again. A few rows down to her right, she spotted the questioner's familiar red hair. Stanley. The guy asked at least one question every class, usually a good one. She wished she were as confident.“From us,” the professor replied. “And whatever else hunts them.”“You're not saying vampires are afraid of us, are you?” asked another guy, the disbelief evident in his voice.“Individually, no, of course not. Vampires are much too powerful. But whe
Leesa's Advent Chapter 19
She couldn't tell whether he meant he was here because she was, or simply that once he had seen her, he wanted to say hello. She wasn't sure which she preferred, and she was too embarrassed and afraid to ask. “It's nice to see you again,” she managed to say, hating how lame she sounded.“I see you have a special interest in vampires,” Stefan said, his eyes beginning to take on that same bottomless look Leesa remembered from the party. She felt herself being drawn into them. “I'm curious,” he continued. “Where did you hear about the one-fanged kind?”“Oh, just some stories my mom told me when I was little,” Leesa said, trying to make it seem of little importance.There was a general shuffling in the room, the sound of notebooks closing and students getting to their feet and filing out of the lecture hall. She hadn't even heard Dr. Clerval end the class.“I know you need to talk with Professo
Leesa's Advent Chapter 20
Professor Clerval carefully turned the page. “At first, the man didn't know anything was wrong.” He looked up at Leesa. She was sitting on the edge of her chair, her attention riveted upon him.“How could he know?” he asked. “After all, a person only gets bitten once. But the vampire knew.” The professor returned to the book. “She writes that he smiled at her and reached out his hands for hers, but was taken by surprise when she faltered back. I'll quote her now: “I recoiled in horror as he opened his mouth, for it revealed a thing of which I'd only heard stories, had never seen, and hope never to see again. Just one lone fang dropped from his upper jaw—the mark of a grafhym. The man I wanted for my consort was damaged, imperfect.‟ She goes on to say he was banished from the tribe immediately, forced out into the forest to live his life alone.”He turned another page. “The final section talks ab
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