Semua Bab Leesa's Advent: Bab 161 - Bab 170

Friday afternoon at two o’clock, Dominic showed up at Leesa’s room. Since she was going to the Valentine’s Day party tonight, they had agreed to squeeze in some practice beforehand. Leesa had been catching up on some studying while she waited for him to arrive, but was happy for a reason to close her books.As soon as she got up from her desk, she could see that Dominic’s face looked more serious than usual.“What’s the matter?” she asked.Dominic took off his jacket and hung it atop Leesa’s parka in her closet.“What makes you think something is wrong?”“The look on your face. You look concerned.”Dominic smiled. “I didn’t know it showed. You are getting very observant.”Leesa returned his smile. “So? What is it?”“It’s Josef,” Dominic said. “He’s getting closer.”&ld

The evening air was crisp but not uncomfortable. Leesa, Cali and Rave walked three abreast down the sidewalk with Rave in the middle, heading for Fraternity Row. Streetlights fashioned to look like hundred-year-old gas lamps poured golden light onto the sidewalk and onto the tiny piles of snow along the edge of the street that were all that remained of the big snowstorm.Leesa and Rave held hands while they walked, and since Cali knew about Rave’s volkaane nature, he let out enough of his heat to keep her warm as well.“This is so cool,” Cali said. “It’s like walking with one of those portable quartz heaters beside me.”“Only this heater is touchable,” Leesa said, rubbing up against Rave’s side.They 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. No one wo

Shortly before eleven o’clock on Saturday morning, Leesa and Dominic checked into a small motel along the side of a two-lane state highway about twenty miles south of Albany, New York. An off and on again drizzle made the drive more taxing than it should have been, forcing Leesa to concentrate more on her driving than usual and to constantly fiddle with the setting on the windshield wipers. At least it was daytime, she thought. Tonight, the water on the roads might freeze into slick patches of ice. The small and very dated motel office was manned by a bored looking guy who appeared to be at least seventy years old, if not older. His face was lined with deep wrinkles and stained with dark liver spots. His bony hands showed even more spots than his face. Still, he flashed a friendly smile when Leesa and Dominic walked in. Leesa guessed the guy was probably happy to see anyone, whether they were customers or not. They selected adjacent rooms, paid for in cash by Dominic

Despite her frustration with some of her magic and with the lumpy motel mattress, Leesa slept peacefully through the entire night, wrapped up in Rave’s loving arms. When she opened her eyes, his face was only inches from hers. His eyes were open, and he was smiling at her.“Good morning, beautiful,” he said.“Mmmmm…Good morning.” Leesa snuggled even closer to him. “I could get used to this.”“What? Sleeping on a lumpy mattress in a rundown motel?”Leesa smiled. “No, sleeping in your arms, you dope.” She reached up and brushed her hair back from across her face. “Did you sleep at all?” she asked, knowing how little sleep Rave required.Rave shook his head. “No.” He grinned. “I couldn’t take the chance I might have a bad dream and end up burning you to a crisp.”“Ha! Very funny.” Leesa stretched her arms out above her

Ten miles away, Josef strode through a wooded hillside, his waziri senses guiding him unerringly toward the place where his vampire pets had been destroyed. He had received two more rides in his journey south, including one that took him from just south of Springfield all the way to Hartford. He had walked the rest of the way, in the rain for the last day and a half. He did not mind at all. Indeed, he scarcely noticed that the rain had just stopped.He was almost there, he knew, so he slowed his pace, not wanting to miss anything. If there was any trace of magic in the area, he would know it.Finally, he found what he had been seeking—two piles of soggy black ashes, pounded almost flat by the rain, scattered on the ground about twenty feet from each other. Josef stopped and focused on everything his senses could tell him.The first thing he sensed was vampires, many of them. He sorted through the vibrations and counted five, including his two pets. The pil