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Chapter 34
“Once upon a midnight dreary…while I pondered…weak and weary,” intoned the tall young man standing behind the lead singer's microphone. He was wearing a Friday the 13th Jason mask and carrying a bloodstained machete that looked awfully real. His voice was deep and dramatic, and the room grew steadily quieter as he boomed out his lines, reading from a piece of paper.
“While I nodded…nearly napping…suddenly, there came a tapping…as of someone gently rapping…rapping at my chamber door.”
He certainly knows how to get a room's attention, Leesa thought as she held Rave's hand and listened along with almost everyone else in the place as he introduced himself as Butch Morrison, president of the BPDs.
“That rapping is not Snoop Dog or Lil' Wayne, either,” he continued, pausing while a ripple of laughter flowed through the room. “Campus Security has asked me to share a few words with you.&
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Leesa's Advent Chapter 35
The top of the hillside was crowned by a stand of leafy maples. In the moonlight, the red leaves appeared dark purple. Leesa knew there were wooden benches spread among the trees—beautiful places to sit and relax in the shade on a warm day, but cold and uninviting on a chill night like this. Despite the bright moon, the area under the trees was shrouded in black shadows. Leesa suspected Rave could easily navigate the darkness of the copse, but the twisted roots would present a hazard for her. Without a word, Rave steered her around the edge of the grove.Leesa's heart jumped when a dark figure detached itself from the shadows and stepped into their path. She squeezed Rave's hand, but relaxed when the moonlight revealed it was only a kid, fifteen at most, exceedingly slim with a boyish face and long blond hair. He flashed them a toothy grin, and she relaxed still further. The boy seemed clueless about how dangerous it was to be out here alone, and she wondered what he wa
Leesa's Advent Chapter 36
“Who's there?”The thick wooden door muffled Professor Clerval's voice, but Leesa was glad he was in his office. She had arrived early for her appointment, and with no yellow glow seeping from beneath the door, she'd been afraid he might not be here yet.“It's Leesa Nyland, Professor,” she called loudly.A moment later, she heard the click of the old lock and the door swung open. The office was dark, lit only by two flickering candles atop the professor's desk. No wonder she hadn't seen any light under the door.“Come in, come in,” Dr. Clerval invited as he stepped back from the doorway. As soon as Leesa was inside, he pushed the door closed and turned the lock.Leesa wondered why he was keeping the door locked. “I'm sorry I'm early,” she said, standing in the center of the small office and letting her eyes adjust to the dimness. The air was thick with the fruity scent of his pipe tobacco, and she saw
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Leesa cringed at the image—thank God her mom had settled for tomato juice. “What does that have to do with my mom?”The professor looked up from the manuscript and smiled. “It's the next part I think you'll find interesting.” He ran his finger across the page, finding the lines he wanted. “The farmer tried getting help from the local shaman and even from the church, but nothing helped. Then a few years later, he and his wife came across the man she said had bitten her. The farmer killed him with a machete, and then watched in horror as she threw herself upon the body and began drinking his blood. The farmer pulled her off as quickly as he could and took her home.” Professor Clerval looked up and met Leesa's eyes. “She never drank blood again.”Leesa took a moment to digest what the professor had just said. “You mean…?”Professor Clerval smiled. “Yes. Apparently, the woman became her o
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A column of smoke rose straight and thin from the short stone chimney atop the old log cabin—Leesa wished the thoughts in her head could be so simple. No chance of that, though, not with all she had learned in the past few days and all she now had to figure out and make decisions about. And that didn't even count the amazing trip that had carried her here. “Carried” was exactly the word, too. Rave set her down gently on the narrow dirt road in front of the old cabin, more a wide path than a road, really. She still didn't quite believe the trip she had just experienced—maybe she was dreaming. If it was a dream, it was one of the best she'd ever had, Rave effortlessly carrying her cradled in his arms from Weston to Moodus, moving easily through the trees, following old game paths where he could, at speeds that should have been impossible. The fifteen-mile jaunt had taken little more than an hour—a wondrous hour Leesa spent pressed against his chest, soaking in his delicious he
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Vampire blood? What the heck was he talking about? Her brain did another few flip-flops. If this kept up, she was going to end up in a padded cell somewhere. If she did, she hoped they served mead.Rave recognized the confusion on her face. “Didn't you say your mother was pregnant when she was bitten by the grafhym?”“Yes, but…” Leesa's mouth opened wider as the pieces clicked into place. Her mother's blood was her blood. But if that were true, why didn't she have any of her mom's symptoms? “But I'm not sensitive to sunlight or anything like that,” she said. “Heck, I don't even like tomato juice. How come?” Rave shrugged. “I don't know.”“Maybe the placenta filtered your mother's blood enough to keep you from being affected in the same way she was,” Balin said. “I think young Rave was kidding when he said he was drawn by your vampire blood, but perhaps he's rig
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Rain fell that night, a slow, soundless rain, and Leesa loved it. But even if she hadn't, it would not have mattered—not with the memory of that amazing kiss still lingering in her brain and warming her heart.She was sitting on the lawn in front of her dorm, her back propped comfortably against the smooth trunk of a stout maple, protected from the wet grass by a black plastic trash bag. Rave had dropped her off a few hours earlier, following another dreamlike journey cradled in his arms. After eating a tasteless dinner of mac and cheese—in her euphoric mood, it could have been cardboard and she wouldn't have minded—she had tried to study, but found herself too restless and excited to stay cooped up in her room. Every time she thought about that wonderful kiss—which was anytime she didn't force her thoughts elsewhere—her pulse quickened, her skin grew flush, and she couldn't keep from smiling.So she had donned her bright blue waterproof W
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“If I am out of my mind, so be it,” Leesa said, struggling to keep the fear out of her voice as she stood between Rave and Stefan. “But I'm not going to let you two hurt each other.” Her eyes shifted back and forth from one to the other, trying to perform the impossible task of watching both at once. Rave and Stefan cocked their heads to the side, unwilling to break eye contact, even with her in the way. She knew if she moved back a step or two she would be better able to see them both, but then she wouldn't be between them, and it was only her presence there that was keeping them apart. Now, if she could just figure out a way to keep them that way. In the blink of an eye, Rave flashed to his left, trying to create an opening, but she countered by quickly moving closer to Stefan. With the tree behind Stefan, Rave couldn't get to him without endangering her, and she knew he'd never risk that. And Stefan had sworn he would never hurt her, and somehow she believed him,
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