Lahat ng Kabanata ng Leesa's Advent: Kabanata 401 - Kabanata 410

Dawn has barely broken when we’re up and preparing to be on our way. No one is tired or complaining, though—we’ve gotten used to going to bed early and waking up with or before the sun. We all down a quick, cold breakfast of energy bars and C-rations and then we’re ready to go.Kai is waiting outside for us. His long hair is damp and plastered against his head—whether from an overnight rain or a heavy mist I don’t know—but he looks completely rested and refreshed, even though I doubt he slept much, if at all.As soon as we step out the door, Kai comes directly over to my dad and me. I’m pretty sure I see excitement in his eyes. And why not? We’re all pretty sure we’re going to find the portal we are waiting for today. For most of us that means venturing into unknown dangers, but for Kai it means going home. So why wouldn’t he be looking forward to that?“Good morning, Leah,” he says before turning to my dad. I only have time to smile before he begins giving Dad his report.“Everything

There was nothing Leesa and Rave could do about their diminished powers, so they set back out on their trek along the magical path. Always ready and alert, Rave’s keen senses were now extra aware and heightened. He was still supernaturally strong and fast, and with his fire remaining hot inside him, he hoped if it became necessary he could still use it in the way he slew vampires—by using the fire from his mouth. He wasn’t sure if that would work against the kinds of monsters that seemed to dwell in this place, however.For her part, Leesa had never felt quite so anxious. In all the adventures she had survived in the past, Rave had always been beside her at full strength. Usually Dominic had also been there, and she had her own magic to rely on as well, even though her magical abilities were much weaker back in those early days. Now, in what was probably the most dangerous place she had ever found herself short of the Necromancer’s magic table, her mag

We trek down the hill from the portal, maintaining a moderate pace and following as direct a route as possible as we weave our way among the many boulders. Kai makes sure to give a wide birth to the dangerous gray ones. We stay bunched close together in the order he suggested, with one exception. To the surprise or concern of no one, Jordy has taken his usual place beside Radar, right behind Kai and me. Plush and Lights follow behind them, with Doc and Rerun coming next. Sneak walks by himself, with Dad and Sergeant Moss bringing up the rear. The two of them should provide enough protection to the back of our small column.As we hike down the slope, Kai’s head seems to be on a swivel, constantly moving back and forth, his keen eyes alert for any sign of danger on the ground or in the air above. Thankfully, we reach the cover of the woods without incident.Close up, the trees look even more gnarled than they did from atop the hill. Even the tallest of them rises n

We head out  through the trees again, in the same formation as before. Raj drifts back behind our small column to serve as a one man rear guard. As I watch Doc’s eyes follow him, I smile. She’s probably feeling the same way I always feel when Kai disappears on one of his scouting forays. I want to warn her it will probably grow even worse if she gets to know him like I’ve gotten to know Kai, but that’s not my place. Besides, we’ll be leaving tomorrow, and Raj will just become a fading memory.We walk for maybe an hour before we’re forced to a halt by a thick wall of the poisonous vines that reaches almost down to the ground. I glance to the left and then to the right, but the tangled mass of vines stretches as far as I can see in both directions.I look at Kai. He doesn’t seem surprised or upset, but I don’t understand why he’s not. Our way is most definitely blocked.Raj joins us at the head of the colu

Moving only her eyes, Leesa shifted her gaze slowly from one giant snarling cat to the next. The six sabre-tooths all looked remarkably similar—identical, in fact, as far as she could see. She could find no identifying markers to individualize them anywhere on their sleek, golden-brown coats. The beasts had obviously come from the same litter, but Leesa had seen plenty of litters of cats, and none looked even close to as similar as these creatures did. She felt Rave’s arm tighten slightly around her lower back. Had he somehow sensed that the cats were about to attack? Leesa had detected no change in their posture, but volkaanes were far more in tune with animals than humans were. Her already rapid heartbeat ratcheted up another level. “They will not harm you,” said a female voice from behind them. Leesa’s first impulse was to spin around at the sound of the unexpected voice, but she still didn’t trust the intentions of the cats. Instead, she slowly twisted he