Helpless (Blue Fire Saga)

by Scott Prussing

  She glanced out her window. The sun had been down for well over an hour. She was a little surprised Stefan had not returned with the onset of darkness and simply waited outside her room for her.

  She shrugged off her coat and refolded the note, then scribbled Be right back on the outside before sticking it back onto the door using the same piece of tape. She didn’t plan to be gone long, but just in case Stefan came by while she was downstairs, she wanted to make sure he’d wait for her to return.

  Taking the stairs as quickly as her limp allowed, she hurried down to Cali’s room. The door was open, so she knocked lightly on the doorframe and stepped inside. Cali was sitting at her desk, scribbling what was probably some last minute homework for one of her morning classes. She swung around at Leesa’s knock.

  “I got your note,” Leesa said. “I can’t believe Stefan came here to talk you. How did he even know where you live?”

  Cali grinned. “He said because he had kissed my hand, he could sense me.” Her grin widened. “Now that he’s kissed it twice more, I wonder if he’ll be able to find me from even farther away?”

  Leesa shook her head, but couldn’t help smiling. “You do remember our talk, right?”

  “Oh, yeah. For sure. You said Stefan could be nice, and he definitely was nice this afternoon.”

  “Did he say anything more than what you put in your note?”

  Cali thought for a moment. “Not really. Just that he wanted to talk to you and Rave, and that it was really important. Oh, wait. He did say Rave was the one he really wanted to talk to. I think he just wants to talk to you so you can tell Rave.”

  “I don’t get it.” Leesa’s hand moved to her head and her fingers began twirling in her hair. “What could Stefan possibly want with Rave? The one time they saw each other, they were ready to kill one another.”

  Cali shrugged. “I don’t know. What are you going to do? Are you going to tell Rave?”

  Leesa sat down on Cali’s bed. “I’m not sure. I guess I’ll wait to hear what Stefan has to say.”

  “You want me to come up and hang with you while you wait? You know, to help keep you safe when Stefan gets here?”

  “Ha! Nice try. I think I’ll be okay, though.” Leesa stood up. “I’d better get back up there.” She headed for the door.

  “Tell me about it when you can,” Cali called after her.

  Leesa twisted her head around. “If I can,” she said and then headed down the hall toward the stairwell.

  Upstairs, she didn’t have long to wait. Sitting on her bed, she tried reading her psychology book, but she was too distracted by the riddle of Stefan’s visit to get much out of her reading. She did not hear him approach, but when she looked up from her book, there he was, standing in her doorway.

  He looked like he always did—seductively handsome and not at all threatening, unless you allowed yourself to get lost in his eyes.

  Leesa tried to act nonchalant. She closed her book, but did not get up.

  “I got your message,” she said. “What’s up?”

  Stefan stepped into the room, leaving the door open behind him. He smiled.

  “That’s it?” he asked. “A vampire shows up in your room and says he wants to talk to your volkaane boyfriend, and all you have to say is ‘what’s up?’”

  Leesa scooted up to the edge of her bed. “Okay… yeah, I’m a little intrigued—more than a little. What’s going on?”

  “I cannot tell you any details. All I can say is that I need Rave’s help, and I need you to ask him to talk to me. I can’t very well go marching up to volkaane settlement and try to find him.”

  “Why do you think Rave will help you? You two aren’t exactly best buds.”

  Stefan took a step forward, looking like he was going to sit down beside her, but at the last minute he twisted around and sat on her desk chair instead.

  “I’ve helped two people who are very close to you, Leesa. I’m hoping that’s enough to get Rave to listen to me, at the least. If he does, I think I can convince him to help me.”

  Leesa knew Stefan was probably right about the first part, anyhow. “I think I can get a ride out to go see Rave tomorrow. If he agrees to talk to you, he could probably be here tomorrow evening.

  It was usually almost impossible to read Stefan’s face, but Leesa thought she saw a bit of disappointment.

  “You have no way to contact him tonight?” Stefan asked.

  “Just how do you think I could do that, signal flares? You know he doesn’t use phones or anything.”

  “I know. I was just hoping you two had figured out some way to get in touch.”

  Leesa thought about how she was able to contact Rave through Max and wondered in Stefan somehow suspected something like that was possible. Using Max tonight carried the same problem as going out to the volkaane settlement—she would need a car. She supposed she could call her aunt or uncle and ask them to drive Max out here to her dorm, but how would she explain a strange request like that without revealing more than she wanted her family to know?

  “There might be a way,” she said after a few moments. “But it’s ten miles away. I’d still need a ride.”

  “I could give you a ride,” Stefan offered.

  “You? I didn’t know you had a car.”

  Stefan smiled. “I don’t. But I do not need a car to give you a ride.” Stefan’s grin grew wider. Leesa almost expected to see his fangs drop down. “You are not that heavy, Leesa. Besides, I’m guessing you and Rave have already tried it.”

  Leesa blushed and began twirling her fingers in her hair. Of course Stefan could carry her. He was even stronger than Rave. And while Stefan was not as fast as Rave, she was pretty sure he could carry her to Meriden in not much time at all. Somehow, though, the thought of letting Stefan carry her made her feel disloyal to Rave.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I’m not sure how I would explain showing up at my aunt’s without a car.”

  Stefan walked over to the bed and looked down at her, doing that strange thing with his eyes again.

  “Are you sure that’s the reason you are hesitant?”

  Leesa forced her gaze away from Stefan’s black eyes. She knew Rave wouldn’t like it if she let Stefan carry her, but he would probably understand, especially if what Stefan wanted to talk to him about was as important as he said.

  “If you are going to carry me somewhere, why not just take me out near the volkaane settlement and wait while I fetch Rave?”

  Stefan shook his head. “I wish I could. But my kind do not venture within ten miles of the volkaane settlement, just as they do not come near our lair. If any of them were to sense my presence before you could get to Rave, it would mean trouble—big trouble.”

  Leesa realized Stefan was right. “Yeah, I guess it would at that,” she said. “Let me think for a minute.”

  She stood up and limped over to the side window. She stared out into the night, not really seeing anything, while she considered the problem. Dominic had a car, but he was no easier to contact than Rave. She supposed she could try to unleash some kind of blast of active magic—doing that had brought him all the way from Meriden once—but even if she could, her “signal” might be detected by far less friendly senses as well. No, finding a way to get to Meriden or to Rave’s was the best answer. Finally, an idea came to her. It wasn’t perfect, but it would probably work. She turned back from the window.

  “I think I know what we can do,” she said.

  In what seemed like the blink of an eye, Stefan was next to her.

  “What?” he asked.

  He smiled when she told him.

  Being carried by Stefan was nothing at all like being carried by Rave, Leesa thought as Stefan bore her easily through the darkness. For one thing, it was cold—very cold. Being carried by Rave was like being enveloped in a warm cocoon; with Stefan, it was more like being encased inside an ice cube. The frigid night air whipped against her cheeks, and the chill of Stefan’s vampire body only adde
d to the cold. She tucked her hands under her arms and tried to turn her face away from the wind.

  She was glad when Stefan finally deposited her two blocks from her aunt’s street. Stefan was going to head immediately back to the Weston campus, to wait somewhere where he could see her dorm, but not anywhere close enough that Rave would sense him if Leesa’s message was successful. Leesa was going to tell her aunt and uncle she had been bored at school and had bummed a ride with a friend who was driving through Meriden. Her story was thin, she knew, but it should work. She planned to visit with them for half an hour or so, then get one of them to drive her back to school.

  Stefan stared at Leesa with his deep black eyes after he put her down.

  “Are you making me leave you here because you don’t want your aunt and uncle to see me, or because you don’t want me to know where they live?” he asked quietly.

  Leesa hesitated. She was never quite sure how to talk to Stefan.

  “A little of both,” she admitted. “You’d have to leave me at the end of the block anyhow, or they might wonder why they didn’t see or hear a car when I showed up. But yeah, I’m more comfortable with you not knowing.”

  “You still do not trust me?”

  Stefan’s eyes became bottomless pools again, drawing Leesa in. She pulled her eyes away before she lost herself in them completely and focused her gaze on his black soul patch instead.

  “I trust you right now, or I wouldn’t be trying to set up a meeting with Rave. But you’re a vampire, Stefan—things could change. You could use my family to get to me, perhaps to get to Rave.”

  Stefan smiled an amused smile. “I could make you show me, you know, without using any force at all.”

  Leesa believed him. Despite the many times she had felt the pull of his eyes, she knew she had never felt their full mesmerizing power.

  “I know. But I don’t think you will. For one thing, Rave wouldn’t be very happy with you if you did.”

  Stefan smiled again. “No, I do not think he would.”

  “Plus, you’ve never forced me to do anything before. I don’t expect you’ll start now.”

  “You’re right. I was just being hypothetical, for the fun of it.”

  Leesa turned to go. “I know you could follow me without me knowing, but I’m trusting that you won’t.”

  Stefan nodded. “You have my word.”

  As Leesa hurried along the dark streets toward her aunt and uncle’s house, she almost wished Stefan was following her, but she pushed aside her fears. She was not a little girl anymore, afraid of things that go bump in the night, despite learning in the last few months that many of them were far more real than that little girl had ever imagined.

  Aunt Janet’s face lit up with happy surprise when she saw Leesa at her door. Max quickly raced over to greet her as well.

  “Come in, come in,” Aunt Janet said. “Honey,” she called to her husband. “Look who’s here.”

  Leesa greeted Max with a vigorous chest rub. She wished she could give him the message for Rave right now, but that was impossible with her aunt hovering so close. She figured she’d have a chance later.

  “How did you get here, dear?” Aunt Janet asked after they had all exchanged hugs. “I didn’t see a car.”

  “A friend dropped me off,” Leesa said. “She was going up to Newington, so I asked her for a ride. I’m hoping one of you will drive me back.”

  “Of course we will,” Aunt Janet said. “This is a wonderful surprise. Would you like something to drink?”

  “Or to eat?” Uncle Ralph added. “I’ve got mince pie in the kitchen.”

  Leesa smiled. “Well, maybe just a teeny piece. And just a glass of water to drink.”

  “Would you like some ice cream on your pie?”

  Leesa shivered. She hadn’t quite warmed up from Stefan’s ride yet.

  “No ice cream, thanks,” she said. “It’s too cold out for ice cream.”

  “Coming right up,” Uncle Roger said. He pivoted and disappeared into the kitchen.

  Leesa and Aunt Janet sat down on the couch. Max took up his position right by Leesa’s feet and she stroked his furry head.

  Uncle Roger reappeared a moment later with her pie. The “teeny” piece she had asked for was at least three inches wide.

  Leesa ate slowly, chatting with her aunt and uncle about school, her friends and Rave. The pie was delicious, as usual. When she finished, she rubbed her stomach contentedly.

  “That was great, Uncle Roger. But now I’m feeling a little stuffed. How about I take Max for a short walk so I can burn off a few calories?”

  “Sure, go ahead, dear,” Aunt Janet said. “You won’t get any complaints from Max, that’s for sure.”

  Max bounded behind Leesa as soon as he realized she was heading to the door, his bushy tail wagging furiously back and forth. She donned her parka and grabbed Max’s leash from the peg beside the door.

  Outside, the night didn’t feel as cold as it had when she was in Stefan’s arms, but it was still chilly. She walked Max half way down the block, building up some body heat, before she stopped and knelt at his side.

  “Rave, I need to see you as soon as I can,” she whispered into Max’s ear, feeling a little bit foolish despite her past successes sending Rave messages through Max. “Tonight, if you can. I think it’s important, but it’s not urgent,” she added, not wanting Rave to think she was in trouble of any kind. “Come to my room.”

  She kissed Max on the snout and then grinned, wondering if Rave would feel the kiss. She didn’t think it worked that way, but she didn’t fully understand the whole thing anyway, so maybe he would.

  After walking Max for another five minutes, she turned and took him back to the house. Inside, she visited with her aunt and uncle for a few more minutes, then got a ride back to her dorm with her uncle.

  When Uncle Roger dropped her in front of her dorm, she scanned the darkness, wondering where Stefan might be hiding. She didn’t see him anywhere, but she was sure he was there somewhere. Now she would just have to wait to see if Rave showed up. Then the fun would really begin.

  25. STRANGE BEDFELLOWS

  Rave arrived at Leesa’s room shortly before eleven o’clock. Leesa had decided she would give him until midnight, so she was wide awake and fully dressed when he walked in through her open door. She bounded up from her desk and gave him a big hug.

  “You made it,” she said happily. “I’m so glad you got my message.”

  “I told you Max would come in handy one of these days,” Rave said.

  “I think it was plenty handy I could use him to tell you I love you,” Leesa said. She stepped back from his embrace. “But this is even better.”

  “I’m glad you added it wasn’t urgent.” Rave took Leesa’s hands in his and kissed the top of her head. “Otherwise, I would have been worried. So, what is it? I’m more than just a little curious.”

  Leesa sat down on her bed and pulled Rave down next to her. “It’s a little bit strange and a little bit complicated. Promise me you won’t get mad when I start to tell you.”

  Rave looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face.

  “This is sounding strange already. Go ahead, I promise not to get angry.”

  “Stefan came by to see me earlier.”

  Leesa could see Rave’s features tighten at the mention of Stefan, which was exactly why she had made him promise not to get mad.

  “What did he want?” Rave asked evenly.

  “That’s the strange part. He said he needs to talk to you.”

  The surprise on Rave’s face made it clear this was the last thing he had expected to hear.

  “He wants to talk to me?”

  “That’s what he said. The only way he knew to reach you was through me. He even went to Cali when I wasn’t here so she could leave me a note.”

  “Do you know what it’s about?”

  Leesa shook her head. “I don’t have clue. He wouldn’t tell me.”

  She st
ood up and Rave did likewise.

  “Stefan is outside now, waiting,” Leesa said.

  Rave frowned. “I didn’t sense any vampires when I came in.”

  “I told him to stay far enough away so that you wouldn’t,” Leesa explained, “but to pick a place where he could watch the dorm. He knows you’re here.”

  Rave walked to window and looked out. He did not really expect to see Stefan, of course, but he needed a moment to think.

  “I don’t like this,” he said, turning around to face Leesa. “It goes against my nature…it should go against Stefan’s as well.”

  “I know. That’s why I thought it must be important.”

  “All right. I’ll go down and talk to him.”

  Leesa grabbed her parka. “I’m coming, too.”

  Rave put his hand on Leesa’s forearm. “I think it’s better if you stay here.”

  “No way.” Leesa slipped her arm from his grasp and slid it into her parka. “I’m the only thing that kept you two from trying to kill one another the last time you saw each other. I’m going to make sure you both behave yourselves.”

  Rave smiled. “For a human, you have an awfully big opinion of your influence.”

  Leesa smiled back. “I’m not just a human. I’m a fledgling wizard, remember?”

  Rave chuckled. “Oh, yes, now I remember. But no wizardry tonight, okay?”

  “Okay, sure.” Leesa winked. “No magic—unless absolutely necessary.” She knew the only wizardry she would need was that neither Rave nor Stefan would want any harm to come to her.

  As soon as they stepped outside, Rave moved toward the big oak tree on the front lawn, using its thick trunk to protect his back. He tried to keep Leesa a step behind him, but she was having none of that. She stood directly at his side. The only concession she made to the possibility of danger was that she did not take his hand or his arm, leaving him completely free to defend himself, just in case.

  She watched as Rave carefully scanned the night, certain he was using his special volkaane senses as well as his eyes and his ears. When his eyes locked onto a spot a bit to their right, she knew he had located Stefan. She followed his eyes, but saw nothing but darkness and shadows.