บททั้งหมดของ Leesa's Advent: บทที่ 391 - บทที่ 400

“You heard her,” Dad says. “Let’s get out of here. Down to the dock, everyone.”We make our way over the lowest section of the old wall and head down toward the water, staying grouped together for safety, just in case. I walk alongside my dad, with Radar on my other side. The Miracles are all close by. A ring of very alert Marines with rifles at the ready surrounds us. I notice that most of them have their faces turned skyward, which makes sense. Other than the serpents Kai warned about who only come out in darkness, there shouldn’t be any danger left on the island. Threats from the air, we’ve learned all too well, are another story. A gauzy layer of fog blowing in from the ocean masks portions of the sky, adding to the atmosphere of danger.As I follow the soldiers’ gazes upward, I’m a bit surprised to see the sun floating so low in the eastern sky, where the fog hasn’t yet reached. With everything that’s happened already today, it feels like it should be later in the day. We landed

The crossing doesn't take long, fifteen or twenty minutes maybe, which is just fine with me. Every time we hit a patch of rough water, my stress level bounces upward with the boat, despite my best efforts to remind myself that everything is fine. As we slow down to approach the wharf, the mermaids swim closer to our vessel. The dolphins remain a bit farther away.“I guess…this is farewell…for now,” Selene calls up to us.I realize we haven’t had a chance to tell them about our plan to go into their world. I wonder if they’ll be returning as well, or if they’re stuck here in our world.“The woman who sent you here has asked for our help,” I explain quickly, knowing our time to talk is short. As soon as we dock, we’ll be hurrying away from the water.“We’re heading for higher ground,” Radar adds, “so she can open a portal for us to enter your world through.”Selene’s almond-shaped eyes widen in surprise. She clearly had not been expecting this.“Be careful,” she says. “Our world…can be

The unexpected explosion of green light had momentarily blinded Leesa. When her vision returned it was as if she were looking through a thick film of green plastic, the afterimage of the flash of Ralin’s magic, she knew. Closing her eyes, she massaged her eyelids softly with her fingers. She felt Rave’s hands gently grasp her by the shoulders.“Are you all right?” he asked, his voice heavy with concern.Leesa nodded. “I think so.”When she opened her eyes again, she could not believe what she saw—and more importantly, what she didn’t see.She whipped her head around frantically, desperately searching the unfamiliar landscape. What had happened to their backyard? Where was Ralin? And Dominic? What was going on here?“Where’s Ralin?” she shouted. “What’s happening?”Rave’s voice was calmer than he felt as he drew Leesa against his chest. There was no point in adding to her anxiety.“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Some kind of magic, apparently. I don’t know any more than you do.”Of cours

As Leesa and Rave pushed onward across the barren plain, they encountered no more serpents, saw no creatures of any kind. Nonetheless, Leesa kept the invisible shield wrapped around them, protecting them from any more strange and unexpected dangers this place might suddenly throw at them.Another hour of hiking brought them close enough to see that the dark line they had viewed from a distance was indeed the edge of a large wooded area—more of a forest, actually. The trees bore no resemblance at all to the grotesque, stunted trees that dotted the plain, nor did they look at all like any trees Leesa had ever seen.They weren’t all that tall—perhaps thirty-five or forty feet at most—but they were astonishingly lush and beautiful, covered with bright, emerald green leaves edged in a golden hue so bright it almost glowed. The leaves grew so close together they formed curved, mushroom-like caps that blanketed the top half of every tree. So thick was

We leave the scene of the motorcycle gang massacre quickly, in case the sound has drawn unwanted attention.As we hurry up the hill on the side road at a rapid march, Kai maneuvers himself alongside me. I hold back a smile—it’s always nice to have him close by. His scouting duties don’t allow this to happen nearly enough for my liking. I almost long for those few days when I had him all to myself, before the others caught up with us back on the California coast. Not that I’m not thrilled to be reunited with my dad and my friends, of course.“Are you okay?” he asks.“Yeah, I’m fine,” I say. “Those guys never even got off a shot.”Kai doesn’t say anything—he’s not the most talkative guy I’ve ever known, for sure. I like being reminded that he cares, though. I struggle to come up with something to keep the conversation going.“You reacted awfully fast back there,” I say. “Before any of the Marines.”Kai shrugs. “I was ready. It was pretty clear there was going to be trouble, so I had an