FEARLESS
SCOTT PRUSSING
This is a work of fiction. All the characters or events portrayed in this novel are either fictitious or used fictitiously.
FEARLESS
Copyright © 2012 by Scott Prussing Publishing
All rights reserved.
Scott Prussing Publishing
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Suite 2
San Diego, CA 92109
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any mechanical or electronic means without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review. The scanning, uploading and distribution via the Internet or via any other means without the written permission of the author is illegal and punishable by law.
RECAP
Perched high on a sturdy branch, a large brown and white owl watched in dismay as a magical battle unfolded below it less than two hundred feet away. Despite its curiosity, the bird dared get no closer—the leafless winter trees provided little cover and the powers being unleashed by the two wizards were far too dangerous. Still, even from this distance, the owl’s sharp eyesight allowed it to take in every detail of the contest. Its large round eyes swiveled back and forth between the two battling wizards and the volkaane who was trying to help one of them.
The owl was no stranger to magic, but it had never dreamed magic this powerful existed. The black energy being called forth by one of the wizards was especially disturbing. Even from its lofty perch, the bird could feel the dark magic’s foul malevolence.
The prudent move would have been to fly away, far from the danger, but the owl remained in the tree. Something told it that what was happening below could be of grave importance. So the regal bird remained where it was, determined to watch and to learn everything it could.
Hidden behind the gnarly trunk of a thick tree, Leesa’s heart raced, her body shot full of adrenaline. The evil wizard Josef’s bolt of black magic was moving ever closer to Dominic, pressing his yellow-white beam backward. In moments, the dark magic would overwhelm her wizard mentor. And once Dominic was out of the way, the black waziri would turn his full might against her volkaane boyfriend Rave. Alone, Rave wouldn’t stand a chance against him. She had to do something.
She pulled her eyes from Rave and Dominic and scanned the woods around Josef, searching desperately for some kind of idea.
She spied a small log, a foot thick and maybe eight feet long. In the short time she’d been practicing magic, she had never moved anything nearly this heavy. In desperation, she had once sent Edwina hurtling through the air, and Edwina was a vampire. Leesa still wasn’t sure how she had managed that—the anger had just welled up inside her and somehow taken over—but if she could just get the log rolling, then maybe….
She pictured the log bouncing along the ground toward Josef’s legs. Very slowly, the log began to roll, picking up speed as it drew closer to Josef. Leesa held her breath as the log prepared to smash into the back of Josef’s legs. She wondered if a wizard’s legs might snap as easily as a person’s, but she didn’t get the chance to find out. Somehow, at the very last moment, the black wizard sensed the danger behind him and leaped into the air while the log rolled harmlessly beneath him.
Leesa watched as Josef scanned the woods behind him, seeking the source of this new attack. She had hoped the unseen threat would distract him more than it had, but Josef’s inability to sense her magic was actually working against her. Since Josef could detect no other source for the magic, he seemed to assume the attack had come from Dominic.
Leesa was crushed. She didn’t know what else to do.
Josef redoubled his attacks on Dominic and Rave, unleashing the full might of his black magic. Dominic’s knees began to buckle under the onslaught as the dark bolt pushed against his lighter beam.
Leesa saw no other choice—there was only one thing left for her to do. She sucked in a deep breath and limped out from her hiding place behind the tree.
Josef stared at her in surprise, but when his senses detected no magic he turned away, confident she represented no danger.
Leesa needed to show him different, to prove she was a genuine threat, even if she really wasn’t. She concentrated on the log again.
It rolled more easily this time, heading back toward Josef from the front. Once again, he easily stepped over it. This time, however, he focused his gaze on Leesa. For the first time, she saw a trace of confusion on his face.
“Blitha egras sumuss,” she chanted loudly enough for Josef to hear. A tiny branch near the end of the log began to grow longer. The twig itself was inconsequential. She just needed to show Josef that she possessed magic. She needed him confused, distracted.
Josef stared at Leesa, an incredulous look on his face. She knew what had to be going through his mind—he had just heard her utter a waziri spell, yet he would not be able to sense her magic. Such a thing should not be possible—he had to be wondering why he couldn’t detect her magic. More importantly, he would have to worry about just how big of threat she might pose. So far, her efforts had been weak and ineffectual, but she could see he did not like the idea of leaving a source of magic unopposed on his flank.
Dominic took advantage of the distraction to once again press his attack, but Leesa could see he was nearly out of energy. Josef beat back Dominic’s assault easily, then pulled his left hand away from Rave and raised it toward her.
Leesa knew her meager magic would provide no defense against the coming attack. The power that Dominic and Rave could withstand, at least for awhile, would consume her in mere seconds. She could only hope her sacrifice had been enough.
As Josef turned his focus to confront the mysterious new threat, the bands encircling Rave weakened. His volkaane strength reinforced by the danger to Leesa, Rave burst from his magical bonds and was upon Josef in a flash, pressing his mouth over the black wizard’s face and unleashing the full force of his inner fire before Josef could defend himself. Dominic had said that not even a waziri could withstand a volkaane’s fire, and Rave quickly proved him correct. In less than a minute, Josef collapsed lifeless to the ground. A moment later, his body disintegrated into a pile of coal black ash.
Leesa rushed into Rave’s arms and hugged him tightly. Wrapped up in his embrace, the emotions of the last few minutes began pouring out of her—the fear, the frustration, the worry, the anger. She couldn’t hold them in any longer. She began to cry—great, heaving sobs. Raves simply held her tighter and tenderly stroked her hair.
Dominic joined them, but stood a few discreet feet away, giving them space. No one noticed the owl that fluttered silently closer and landed on a branch twenty feet above their heads. Its pointed ears twisted forward and down.
Finally, Leesa had no more tears to cry, no more emotions to let out. Spent, she stepped back from Rave’s embrace, but kept her arms linked around one of his. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was that this gorgeous guy, with his long, dark copper hair and smooth bronzed skin, was in love with her.
“Sorry about the crying,” she said. “I couldn’t help it.”
Rave and Dominic smiled.
“Sorry?” Dominic asked. “Sorry for saving us? Sorry for being the bravest person I have ever met? Sorry for confronting one of our deadliest enemies and confusing him so much that Rave was able to destroy him?” His smile widened. “Yes, I’d say you have a lot to be sorry for, young lady—a whole lot.”
Leesa smiled. “I guess I did do pretty good for a beginner, huh?” She pulled one arm free from Rave and wiped her crystal blue eyes with her sleeve. “But I don’t see either one of you crying like a baby.” Her smile assured them she was at least half joking.
Rave and Dominic both laughed.
“I never expected the growing spell to come in so handy,” Dominic said. “I only taught it to you so you could experience casting your first spell, not as something you would use to help destroy a black wizard.” He looked over to the pile of dark ashes that had once been Josef. “There’s one more thing I need to do.”
He crossed to the pile of ashes and held his hands above them, palms down. White light shone down from his hands and the ashes began to crackle and vibrate as his magic burned into them. A thin rope of black smoke curled up from the ashes as they slowly disintegrated. Soon there was nothing left but the narrow stream of smoke, which slowly disappeared into the dimness above. Up in the tree, the owl held its breath as the awful smelling smoke drifted past.
“Josef’s foul magic is gone forever now,” Dominic explained. “Nothing can be done to reanimate it.”
Leesa was very glad to hear that. Unfortunately, there were still three more like him out there…and a Necromancer as well.
1. MAKING PLANS
The thought of the deadly enemies still searching for Dominic sent a chill through Leesa’s body that had nothing to do with the cool, damp February afternoon. She moved closer to Rave and slipped her arm around the back of his waist, pressing against his side. Sensing her agitation, he draped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her lightly on the forehead.
Leesa sighed as Rave’s volkaane heat flowed into her. He felt even warmer than usual, his body and lips still heated from the battle. She wished his magical fire could melt away her troublesome thoughts as easily as they soothed her body.
She looked at Dominic, whose mind was clearly elsewhere. His blue-grey eyes bore a vacant, faraway look as he absently stroked his pointed, salt-and-pepper goatee with the fingers of his right hand. He looked so ordinary, she thought, in his black shirt and khaki pants. It was hard to reconcile his appearance with the powerful magic he had just displayed.
Leesa was pretty sure she knew at least the general thrust of his thoughts right now.
Dominic had been fleeing from his enemies for more than a century, all the while trying to concoct some kind of plan to defeat them and forestall their attempts to break the magical seal the waziri had placed between the world of the living and the world of the dead. For more than a hundred years he had steadfastly refrained from using his active magic, the kind his foes could sense and track. Eighteen years ago, he had done something none of his kind had ever tried—instead of passing his powers on to a young male child, he had imparted his magic into Leesa while she was still in her mother’s womb. He hoped the unheard of action would produce an ally whose magic the black waziri and the Necromancer would be unable to detect.
Unfortunately, he could not have known that Leesa’s mom would be bitten while still pregnant by a grafhym—a one fanged-vampire that was a crippled version of the real thing—and that the taint of grafhym passed on to Leesa via her mom’s blood would alter Leesa’s magical vibrations enough so that Dominic had been unable to find her until just a few weeks ago. As a consequence, she was way behind in the training Dominic should have begun with her before her dormant powers began to awaken.
This was not the immediate problem, though, and she knew it wasn’t the focus of his current thoughts. This morning, Dominic had been forced to use his active magic to save her from being crushed by a drunk driver. The tell-tale magic had drawn Josef to him and forced the confrontation that had just ended. She was certain Dominic was now plotting their escape, deciding the best way to avoid being caught by the three remaining black waziri, who could now track him through his magic. She was glad to see that Dominic was displaying no real urgency. They must have a little time, at least, before danger could find them.
The thought of leaving filled Leesa with sadness. She loved her life here in Connecticut. Her mom was finally behaving normally, and the two of them were just beginning to get to know each other the way a mother and daughter should. She also had her big brother Bradley back after he’d been missing for almost two years, held captive as a feeder by a vampire coven. A deal she’d struck with the vampire Stefan had saved Bradley. She thought she was going to have to let Stefan turn her into his vampire consort to secure her brother’s release, but luckily, it hadn’t turned out that way.
In addition to having her family back intact, she was also enjoying her friends at Weston College, especially her best friend Cali. She hated the thought of leaving her family and friends behind, but knew she didn’t really have a choice.
Her thoughts darkened further when she suddenly realized she didn’t even know if Rave would be able to come with them. She knew he’d want to, but the volkaanes were a very clannish bunch and she didn’t know if they would allow him to leave, especially in these dangerous times. She shook the thought from her head—she didn’t even want to think about not being with him.
Rave was the main reason she had accepted the burden of her as yet mostly untapped magic in the first place. When Dominic had appeared in her life a few weeks ago, he had given her the choice of pushing her power down so it would never bother her again or accepting her magic and letting him train her to control it. At first, she thought the choice was a no brainer—why put herself in all the danger the magic would bring? But then Dominic told her if she embraced her magic, she could live a couple hundred years, at least—if she survived their enemies. A couple of hundred years was all she’d needed to hear—the chance to spend all those years with Rave was something she could not pass up, despite the dangers.
She needed to remember that, she told herself. Even if she was separated from Rave for a short time, for a few months even, Dominic’s training would give them a chance to spend centuries together enjoying their amazing love. The pain of separation would be well worth it in the long run.
Dominic’s voice pulled her from her thoughts.
“Time is short,” he said. “We have much to discuss before I leave.”
“I know. I was just thinking about that. I don’t want to go, but I’m ready to.”
A thin smile curved the wizard’s lips. He rested his hand lightly on Leesa’s shoulder.
“You did not hear me,” he said. “I said that I must leave. Not you. You are staying here.”
Leesa’s brow furrowed in confusion and the fingers of her right hand began to dance nervously in her long blonde hair.
“I don’t understand. What do you mean I’m staying? I don’t get it.”
Dominic turned his head and glanced at the spot where the black ashes of Josef had lain until he destroyed them just a few minutes ago.
“The danger is to me, not to you. Josef proved that. Until he heard you cast your spell, he had no idea you possessed magic, not even when you rolled the log at him. That’s all the proof we need that the black waziri are unable to sense your magic, just as I had hoped.”
“I know,” Leesa said. “And believe me, no one’s happier than me to learn that. But why can’t I come with you?” She couldn’t believe how quickly her thoughts had shifted. Just a few moments ago she had been thinking about how much she would hate leaving, and now here she was asking Dominic why she couldn’t go with him.
“If you came with me, you would be in constant danger. Here, I think you’ll be safe.”
“But I can help you,” Leesa protested. “We did pretty good together against Josef.”
Dominic smiled. “Yes, we did. Of course, we got a bit of help from Rave.”
“If Leesa goes with you,” Rave said, “I will come, too.”
Leesa was thrilled to hear that. She grabbed Rave’s hand and squeezed it.
“See?” she said. “The three of us should be able to handle any black waziri unlucky enough to find us.”
Dominic shook his head. “One of them, perhaps. But what if the Necromancer sends two, or even all three of them? What then?”
Leesa hadn’t thought of that. She had no answer. She looked at Rave and then back at Dominic. Together,
the three of them had barely defeated Josef. She knew they couldn’t defeat two or three of the evil wizards. Not yet, anyhow, with her magic as weak as it was. She needed to get much, much better at using her magic before they would have any chance.
“How will I learn to use and control my magic without you to train me?” she asked.
“I’ve been thinking about just that.”
Dominic reached into his back pocket and pulled out his old leather wallet. Holding it in front of him, it looked much too large to have fit in his pocket, but Leesa knew the wallet was magic. Not only did it fit in places it shouldn’t, but it somehow held more stuff inside than a good-sized suitcase. She had seen Dominic pull stacks of cash and handfuls of jewels out of it. She wondered what he was going to take out now.
Dominic unclipped the brass fastener that held the walled closed and reached inside. His hand disappeared halfway up to his elbow as he rummaged around inside the magic container. When he drew his hand out, he was holding a thick, leather-bound book the size of a small dictionary. The book was much larger than the wallet that had just contained it. Leesa wondered if things shrank when they went inside, or if there was just more space in there than the normal laws of physics would allow. She guessed it didn’t really matter—magic was magic. The laws of physics did not apply. She looked at the book more closely. There was no lettering anywhere on the cover that she could see.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Right now, it’s just an empty book.” Dominic opened the cover and flipped through the pages, showing Leesa they were blank.
Closing the book, Dominic waved his hand slowly over the cover and mumbled a few words in what Leesa recognized as the waziri language. She knew he was casting a spell of some sort. What kind of spell, she had no idea. So far, he had only taught her two spells, the plant growth spell and an air shield spell. She had yet to come close to successfully completing the shield one.
Fearless (The Blue Fire Saga) Page 1