Looks of anguish, despair, fear and pain filled every one of ghastly orbs. What passed for a smile twisted the Necromancer’s thick lips as he used his power to summon their magic. Alive, they would have resisted him to their last breath—indeed, a century ago they had done just that. These were the souls of the waziri, defeated by his black magic and the magic of their traitorous comrades.
In victory, the Necromancer had not let them die completely. Doing so would have been a foolish waste. Instead, he had imprisoned their energy within his table. The wizards had refused to serve him in life, but in their quasi-death they no longer had a choice.
When he had awakened enough of their power, the Necromancer changed his spell. His voice grew louder and names began to appear within his incantation: Tomas, Viktor and Andre, his three black waziri lieutenants. Reflexively, he almost included Josef, but caught himself before uttering the name.
Very slowly, dark shimmering forms began to coalesce above three of the four empty chairs. The forms morphed into human shapes, their features barely visible, and settled onto the seats. They were not the actual black waziri; rather, they were energy projections, dark shadows of the Necromancer’s servants summoned for communication.
“You all know what has befallen Josef,” the Necromancer began without preamble.
The three spectres glanced at one another before the one in the center spoke. Though his lips did not move, his words were heard by everyone.
“Yes, my lord,” Viktor said. “He has been vanquished.”
“Killed by Dominic,” Tomas added.
One of the novitiates winced, the one who had borne a trace of sadness in his features. He was Rafael, Josef’s disciple. He had been grieving since he had sensed the loss of his master, but hearing the words spoken brought his feelings to the surface. Without his mentor, Rafael’s training as a black waziri would never be completed, though he would remain a servant of the Necromancer.
“How is that possible?” he asked. “Dominic does not wield the black arts. He should have been no match for my master.”
Everyone looked at the Necromancer. The same question had been weighing on all their minds, especially those of the three black waziri, who were charged with finding and destroying Dominic. They had not expected that Dominic could defeat their brother.
“I do not know,” the Necromancer admitted. “Perhaps Josef was overconfident. He was always the most arrogant of you four. I trust you will learn from his fate, and that none of you will repeat his mistake.”
“Is it possible Dominic’s powers have somehow grown in the years he has been in hiding?” Andre asked.
“In the realm of magic, almost anything is possible,” the Necromancer replied.
“Would we not have sensed it if Dominic was practicing new magics?” Tomas asked.
“Perhaps…but perhaps not,” the Necromancer replied. “I think it more likely Josef made a mistake, or that Dominic had help.” He settled back in his seat, as if the effort to keep himself on the edge of his chair was too taxing. “Either way, Dominic has now been revealed. Having released his magic, he can no longer hide from you.”
“What are your orders, my lord?” Viktor asked.
“Now that you can track him, there is no need for the three of you to remain separated. Indeed, until we know how he vanquished Josef, I do not want any of you facing him alone. Your first task is to get to America. I suggest you to meet up in New York City. It’s the easiest place to get to, and far enough from Dominic’s last location that you won’t run the risk of encountering him before you are together. Are you all close enough to an airport to reach New York tomorrow?”
The three shadowy forms responded in the affirmative.
“Good. Once you’re all together, head for the place Dominic defeated Josef and see if you can learn anything. I expect Dominic will be long gone, but if he is not, you will know it.”
“If he is there, we will destroy him,” Tomas promised.
“And if he is gone, we will follow him,” Andre said.
The Necromancer thought for a moment. “Not all three of you, at least not at first,” he said. “There may be a reason he chose to reveal himself to Josef in that particular place. Perhaps he has a secret ally there, or something else that ties him to it. If we can find who or what it is, maybe we can draw Dominic back. Viktor, you will remain there while the others pursue Dominic. You and I will see if we can conjure up enough mischief to attract Dominic’s attention, or perhaps to draw out his secret ally if there is one. I will have some ideas by the time you arrive there.”
The Necromancer reached out and dropped his hands onto the table.
“You have your orders. Go now.” He rubbed his hands across the tabletop and the three phantoms vanished. A moment later, the eyes inside the table disappeared as well.
3. CARRIED AWAY
Leesa breathed out a soft sigh as she and Rave neared the edge of the trees. She wasn’t ready for her wonderful ride in his strong arms to end. The ride had been all too short—Rave had covered almost a mile in little more than two minutes, and she knew he could have done it faster had he needed to. Once they reached the road where they could be seen, he would put her down and they would walk the rest of the way like normal people. And that was not nearly as much fun. She thought about asking him to circle back to make the ride last longer, but she didn’t think it very wise to return the vicinity of the battle. It was best to put as much distance from that place as possible. She would just have to be satisfied with the ride she had gotten.
So she was totally surprised when Rave slowed his pace at the wood’s edge but did not stop to put her down. Instead, he kept her cradled in his arms and began walking east along the road.
Leesa pulled her cheek away from his deliciously warm chest and looked up into his face.
“What are you doing? People can see us out here.”
Rave smiled down at her. “So? Where is it written that a guy can’t carry his beautiful girlfriend if he wants to? Just because I can’t use volkaane speed out here in the open, there’s no reason I can’t carry you awhile longer. People will just think you hurt your leg or something.”
Leesa realized Rave was right. While it might be unusual to see someone being carried like this, there was nothing to indicate anything supernatural was going on. She certainly wasn’t going to protest, not when it meant she could snuggle against him for a few more minutes. And she did feel a bit tired—expending as much magic as she’d just done was tiring for a beginner wizard.
“You’re right,” she said. “I just might let you carry me all the way back to the dorm.”
Rave bent his head and kissed her forehead.
“It would be my pleasure,” he said.
“Mine, too,” Leesa sighed. She pressed her cheek back against his chest, determined to enjoy every minute.
At normal walking speed, it took almost fifteen minutes for them to reach Leesa’s dorm. Rave stopped on the sidewalk outside the front entrance, but still didn’t put Leesa down.
Leesa opened her eyes and looked around. The wrecked Blazer—the result of the accident that had started all this—still sat alongside the curb. She guessed that the campus police would do something about it by tomorrow. There was nothing inside the vehicle to tie either her or Dominic to it, so she decided she would just let security take care of it. The guy who sold the Blazer to them was in for a surprise when the police contacted him—since she and Dominic had never registered it, he was still the official owner. She hoped he wouldn’t get into too much trouble. She bet he might even be happy to get the car back, despite its damaged rear end. After all, he still had the four thousand dollars. He could fix the Blazer for much less than that and then sell it again. Remembering the satisfied look on his face as he counted the thick wad of cash, she was pretty sure that was exactly what he would do.
“Hey, are you all right?” a familiar female voice called from behind Leesa and Rave. Leesa turned to see Cali hurrying toward
them from the dorm’s entrance. Her face bore a serious look of concern.
Leesa smiled at the sight of her best friend. Only the ends of Cali’s neck-length hair poked out from beneath her rainbow-colored Rasta tam, but enough was visible for Leesa to see that Cali had streaked her hair with bright pink highlights. She had also found a pink stud to put into her cheek piercing. When Leesa had first met Cali back at the start of school, Cali’s dark hair had been streaked burgundy, almost matching the port-wine stain on her cheek that looked like a map of California and was the source of her nickname. Her stud had also been burgundy.
“I’ve been really worried about you,” Cali said. “Your smashed up car has been sitting here for a couple of hours, but I couldn’t find you anywhere and you weren’t answering your cell. Thank goodness I didn’t see any blood around the thing, or I would have been more of a wreck than the car.”
“I’m fine,” Leesa said. “Sorry I worried you.”
Cali was not convinced. “If you’re so okay, why is Rave carrying you? And out here in the open, yet?”
Rave lowered Leesa gently to the ground. She took a few steps in place, exaggerating the movement, to prove she wasn’t hurt.
“Oh, I see,” Cali said, grinning now. “You two were just being romantic, doing that carrying thing. I thought you only did that in private.”
Cali knew all about how Rave carried Leesa at high speeds and how much Leesa loved it. Cali was the only person who knew about Rave’s volkaane identity and powers. She had even gotten to see what it felt like to have him effortlessly hold her, after begging Leesa to let her try. Leesa still hadn’t told her mom or brother about Rave not being human, figuring they’d both had enough of the supernatural for awhile, after their suffering at the hands of vampires. She would tell them eventually, but not yet. Not even Cali knew about Dominic or about Leesa’s magic, though, so Leesa couldn’t tell Cali anything about the afternoon’s amazing events.
“Usually, we do,” Leesa said. “But after the accident, I needed something to calm me down, so Rave took me for a ride. We only did the speed thing out in the woods, but it felt so good, I decided to let him carry me all the way home—at walking speed, of course.”
Cali looked suspiciously at Leesa and then at Rave, convinced there was something Leesa wasn’t telling her. When she shifted her gaze back to Leesa, her eyes locked onto Leesa’s book.
“Hey, what’s that?” she asked, pointing to the book. “It looks really old.”
Leesa glanced down at the book, trying to think of something to tell Cali. She wished she had a magic wallet like Dominic’s that she could hide things in. Thinking of the wizard gave her an idea.
“It’s Dominic’s,” she said. “I’m holding it for him.”
“What’s in it?” Cali asked.
Leesa shook her head. “I don’t have a clue. It’s all written in Romanian or something.”
She opened the book and showed it to Cali, knowing she wouldn’t know the difference between Romanian and waziri.
Cali studied the flowing script for a moment. “It looks cool, but it’s all Greek to me. Where is Dominic, anyhow? I thought the Blazer was his.”
“Uhh...he had to leave,” Leesa said. “He’s going to be gone for awhile, I think.”
Cali’s eyes narrowed. “There’s something you’re not telling me,” she said. “But I guess you’ve got your reasons.” Her eyes brightened. “Tell you what. If Rave will carry me for a moment, I’ll stop pestering you with questions.”
“Ha! Have I told you that you’re incorrigible?” Leesa said, grinning.
Cali returned Leesa’s grin. “Yep. I think you mentioned that. It means cute as hell, right?”
Leesa shook her head in resignation. Cali really was incorrigible, but that was one of the things Leesa loved about her. She looked at Rave, who smiled and held out his arms.
Cali hopped up into Rave’s waiting arms and then snuggled briefly against his warm chest.
“Mmmmm,” she sighed. “I could get used to this.”
“Ha! Don’t even think it,” Leesa said as Rave set Cali back down onto her feet.
Cali grinned again. “Rule thirty-two: Never pass up a chance to get carried by a volkaane.”
Leesa smiled. Cali had a rule for seemingly every situation. She’d long ago admitted she made most of them up on the spot. A few seemed to be genuine, though.
Cali turned toward Rave. “When are you going to bring those two cute volkaane friends of yours around again? Maybe I can get one of them to give me a ride. We could make it a double date.”
“Don’t push your luck,” Leesa said, still smiling.
“Actually, that’s not a bad idea,” Rave said.
Leesa looked at him in surprise.
“Not the double date thing,” Rave added hurriedly. “But having Dral and Bain around for a few days might be smart. And with Destiratu continuing to strengthen, it would make the elders more comfortable about me remaining outside the settlement.”
With so much else going on, Leesa had forgotten about the Destiratu thing. The magical phenomenon resulted from a rare combination of magical energies in the earth and the air. She didn’t understand the thing completely, but she knew it fanned the hunger and killing ire of vampires and volkaanes, and it affected other magics as well. Luckily, Destiratus happened less than once every hundred years, but Rave had told her a strong one had been forming for several months now. Both volkaanes and vampires took extra care during the period of magnified appetites, which was why the elders were not keen on Rave being away from the volkaane settlement alone. Now that she was dabbling in magic herself, she supposed she’d better learn more about the phenomenon sometime soon.
“You’re right,” Leesa said. Whatever the reason, she loved the idea of having Rave with her for at least the next few days. “It is a good idea.”
“Why don’t you two go inside,” Rave said, “while I head back to fetch them. We’ll be back in a few hours.”
“Too bad you can’t just call them,” Cali said, knowing volkaanes didn’t use electrical or battery operated devices. Most people thought the Mastons—as the reclusive clan was known to the local people—didn’t use modern technology for religious reasons, like the Amish, but Cali knew better. Volkaanes couldn’t use them because their magical energy simply shorted out such devices.
“Yeah, too bad,” Leesa agreed. Not being able to communicate with Rave when she wanted to was one of her biggest frustrations with his magical inner fire. But the way his heat always made her feel more than made up for it.
She rose up onto her toes and gave Rave a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Get going, sweetheart,” she said. “The sooner you leave, the sooner you’ll be back.”
Rave smiled. “As you wish.”
Leesa loved that he had adopted that phrase as one of his favorites to use with her.
Rave turned and strode rapidly down the sidewalk. Leesa and Cali watched him until he disappeared around the corner, then they headed up to Leesa’s room to wait for his return.
4. FLIRTING
Monday morning, Leesa awoke wrapped up in Rave’s arms. As usual when they spent the night together, she opened her eyes to find his eyes already open and looking at her. He smiled.
“Good morning, beautiful,” Rave said.
Leesa brushed her hair away from her face, then leaned forward and impulsively gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Despite the brevity of the contact, the familiar, delicious warmth shot through her. She couldn’t think of any better way to start a day.
“Hi, handsome.”
The first time she had slept in Rave’s embrace, Leesa had felt self-conscious when she opened her eyes and found him looking at her. Rave had assured her she didn’t drool or snore or do anything else embarrassing in her sleep and that he loved watching her. She still hadn’t quite gotten used to the idea that he usually stayed awake and watched her all night, but any discomfort was more than made up for by how peaceful
ly she always slept when she was with him.
Rave rolled over and sat up on the edge of the bed. Leesa pushed herself up next to him. She saw Dral and Bain sitting on the floor, their backs against the wall on either side of the door. Both were wearing long sleeve waffle-knit shirts and jeans. Dral’s shirt was dark blue and Bain’s was a deep crimson color.
“Good morning, guys,” she said.
They nodded to her and then stood up in unison, remaining beside the door. With three volkaanes looking out for her, Leesa couldn’t imagine feeling any safer, unless Dominic was here, too.
She wondered how far away the wizard had gotten overnight. He had probably spent all night on a bus or train and would be hundreds of miles from Connecticut by now. She wished she could have fashioned a ring for him similar to the one he’d given her, so she would always know where he was. Unfortunately, such magic was way beyond her current abilities.
Thinking about magic made her want to dive into her magic book right now and start practicing, but Dominic had told her to limit her practice to an hour a day, so there would be plenty of time for that later. For now, she would have to be content with being a normal college student, with classes to attend and homework to do.
Her first class this morning was English, the only class she shared with Cali. With Dral and Bain here, Leesa was pretty sure Cali would be knocking on the door earlier than usual, giving her extra time to flirt with the two handsome volkaanes.
“I’ve got to go shower,” Leesa said to Rave. “You guys need to stay in here. We can’t have three guys as gorgeous as you hanging around in the hallway—it might cause a riot. Not to mention the R.A. wouldn’t be too keen about it, either.”
“Are you sure?” Rave asked. He grinned and put his arm around her back, rubbing the area between her shoulder blades with the palm of his hand. “I was hoping maybe I could wash your back for you.”
Fearless (The Blue Fire Saga) Page 3