บททั้งหมดของ Leesa's Advent: บทที่ 231 - บทที่ 240

Leesa swung the Ford to the curb about half a block down the street from the entrance to her dorm. She would return the car to the rental company tomorrow; all she wanted to do right now was take a shower and lie down. She was not even certain which of the two she wanted to do more—maybe she would just lie down in the shower! There was something she had to do first, though.Twilight was deepening into dusk as she limped up the sidewalk toward her dorm. The evening was growing cold, so she hugged her arms across her chest as she walked. She was glad she had nabbed a parking space so close to the dorm.Inside, Leesa spotted one of her dormmates, a girl named Missi, waiting for the elevator. Leesa walked over to join her. More often than not Leesa used the stairs, but she was tired and with Missi having already pressed the up button the car should be there quickly. Leesa didn’t know Missi very well—really just to say “hi” to when Missi droppe

Back upstairs in her room, Leesa stripped out of her grimy clothes and tossed them into the canvas hamper at the bottom of her closet. She put on her comfy terrycloth robe and rubber flip-flops, grabbed her shower kit, and limped down the hallway to the communal showers at the far end of the corridor. At this hour of the day, she had the place all to herself, which was just fine with her.The sixteen girls on her floor shared five showers, each one separated by a red plastic curtain attached to a curved metal ring suspended from the ceiling. Leesa took off her robe and hung it carefully on the chrome hook behind the stall farthest from the door—she had learned from experience that things sometimes slipped off the hooks if you weren’t careful. The floor looked clean and dry now, but that did not mean it was going to stay that way. She pulled the shower curtain closed and turned on the water, standing off to the side while the water warmed up. The hot water heaters

Later that afternoon, Cali was sitting at her desk studying when she heard a firm, staccato knock on the doorframe of her open door. She turned around to see two men in dark blue suits with black ties framed in the doorway. They were each tall and well-built, with short, but not quite military style haircuts. Both had light brown hair. Cali guessed they were somewhere in their late thirties or early forties—about the same age as her dad. They didn’t look quite enough like each other to be brothers, but they were close. More importantly, they looked like cops. No, she thought, not cops—more like FBI agents or something. Behind the two men stood a woman, but Cali could barely see her past the men’s bulk. All Cali could tell was that she was wearing a pants suit just a shade lighter than her companions, and that her shiny black hair was pulled back tight against her skull.Cali wondered what the men wanted. She didn’t do drugs, so it was doubtful th

When Leesa returned to her room after her last class, she found Cali sitting on the floor alongside the door, waiting for her. This was never a good sign—since Cali lived only one floor down, she could have easily just left a note on the door and returned to the comfort of her room to wait. Obviously, whatever was going on was important enough that she wanted to talk to Leesa as soon as possible. Leesa hoped it wasn’t anything that was going to get in the way of her being a normal student for awhile, but doubted she was going to be that lucky.Cali scrambled to her feet as soon as she saw Leesa emerge from the stairwell.“Hey, Cali,” Leesa said as she fished inside the pocket of her jeans for her keys. “What’s up?”“Not out here,” Cali said, her voice low, yet urgent. “Inside.”Leesa’s sense of foreboding grew as she inserted her key into the lock and pushed the door open. She stepped

Leesa had to admit, this was about as private a spot as she could imagine anywhere on campus. The fact that it sat atop a bustling library made it even better.“It does seem perfect,” she said.She took off her coat and hung it over the back of her chair. Cali did likewise.“Okay,” Cali said, smiling. “I want to see some magic. Show me what you got.”Leesa was glad to have Cali here with her. Ever since her magic had become diminished, practicing had been becoming more and more boring. It had been more fun when Jenna had added her magic to Leesa’s, but Leesa wasn’t sure when or if that would ever happen again. Both she and Jenna were likely to be a bit uncomfortable around each other for awhile.Cali would be an appreciative audience, Leesa knew. She just wished her powers were at full strength, so she could really show off. Still, Cali loved everything magical and supernatural, and she was bound to b