Both girls turned to Dominic.
“Is it supposed to hurt when I try to heal her?” Leesa asked.
Dominic shook his head. “When healing is done correctly, the patient should not feel anything but a slight sensation of warmth as the injury mends. It can hurt a bit the first few times, though. I was counting on Cali’s bravery to handle the pain.”
“That’s me,” Cali said. “Brave to the core.” She held her arm out to Leesa. “Go ahead, Lees, do your worst. I can take it.”
“What did you picture while you were trying to heal her?” Dominic asked Leesa.
“I pictured the scrape healing—closing up.”
“And what did the book tell you to picture? What did I tell you to picture?”
Leesa thought for a moment. When she realized what Dominic was talking about, she felt like slapping herself in the head. She could be so dense sometimes.
“I’m supposed to picture the wound already healed—as if nothing had happened to Cali’s arm.”
“Exactly,” Dominic replied. “Go ahead, try it again.”
Leesa placed her palm close to Cali’s elbow. This time, she concentrated hard on an image of unblemished skin. She thought she felt a bit of heat radiating from her hand, but couldn’t be sure she wasn’t imagining it.
“That should be enough,” Dominic said.
Leesa moved her hand away from Cali’s arm. All three of them looked down at her elbow. There was no trace of the scrape—no blood, no loose skin, nothing. Instead, they saw a smooth patch of skin, several shades lighter than the rest of Cali’s tan arm, but otherwise unblemished.
Leesa couldn’t believe she had healed Cali’s scrape on just her second try. It hadn’t been much of a wound, for sure, but it was completely gone nonetheless.
“That is freaking amazing,” Cali said, running her fingers softly over the new skin. She looked up at Leesa and grinned. “Couldn’t you have made it a little more tan, though, to match the rest of my arm?”
Leesa laughed. “If you want to scrape it up again, I’ll try.”
Cali laughed, too. “No thanks,” she said, putting her arm down at her side. “I think this will do just fine, thank you.”
During their banter, the two girls failed to notice Dominic studying them. Finally, Leesa saw the thoughtful look on the wizard’s face.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I’m not sure.” Dominic stroked his short, pointed beard, the way he often did when he was deep in thought. “Do me a favor and hold each other’s hand.”
Leesa and Cali looked at each other with puzzled expressions. Cali reached out and took Leesa’s hand. They turned to face Dominic.
“Now what?” Leesa asked.
“Do your everywhere/nowhere, and then just think hard about your magic. Do not try to perform any of it; just concentrate on reviewing all the magic you already know in your head.”
Leesa had no idea why Dominic was asking her to do that, but knew he must have his reasons.
“Okay, here goes.” She closed her eyes and mentally recited “breathe.” She began thinking about everything she had learned from Dominic over the last five or six months. She started with one of her first powers to materialize—her ability to move things with her thoughts—then moved on to the plant growth spell, the air shield, the illumination spell and the energy beam. She had just begun thinking about her levitation spell when Cali uttered a sharp gasp.
“Holy crap!” Cali exclaimed.
Leesa’s eyes flew open. She thought maybe she had somehow hurt Cali again. Instead, she found Cali staring wide-eyed down at their clasped hands. Leesa followed Cali’s look and felt her own eyes grow wide with astonishment.
A soft golden glow had enveloped both their hands. It wasn’t very bright, but it was definitely there. Leesa was pretty sure this had nothing to with her illumination spell—she had not uttered the incantation. So what the heck was going on?
“Are you doing this?” Cali asked her, entranced by the slightly pulsating light surrounding their clasped hands.
Leesa shook her head. “No, I’m not.” She paused, studying the strange glow. “Not on purpose, anyhow.”
She looked up at Dominic. “What is it? What’s happening?”
For a long moment, the wizard did not reply. He kept his gaze fastened on the two girls’ hands. The golden glow slowly faded, until it disappeared completely.
“I’m not sure,” he said finally.
Leesa let go of Cali’s hand. She brought her palm up closer to her face and studied it carefully. Cali did the same. Their hands now appeared normal in every way, with no trace of any glow or any other change.
“I need to think about this,” Dominic said, more to himself than to Leesa and Cali. He recognized the looks of concern that darkened their faces. “Do not worry. This is unexpected, for certain, but I do not believe it is anything to be concerned about.”
Leesa stared at him, waiting for something more in the way of an explanation, but Dominic said nothing else on the matter. She knew better than to question him further—getting more out of the wizard than he wanted to say was next to impossible, she had learned.
“I think we have done enough magic for today,” Dominic said. “Grab your things.”
Without waiting for a reply, he turned and headed across the clearing, back the way they had come. Leesa grabbed her pack, and she and Cali hurried after him, both of them wondering what the heck had just occurred.
4. A SECRET NO LONGER
SINCE SCHOOL ENDED two weeks earlier, Leesa had been staying with her mom and brother in their Middletown apartment. Her mom was fully recovered from any effects of the long ago grafhym bite—indeed, she was now able to joke easily and freely about the one-fang vampire that had caused so much trouble for the family. Without the worried and haunted expression that had perpetually darkened her face, Leesa thought her mother looked at least five years younger. Bradley’s recovery was even more amazing than their mom’s, if that was possible. He was pretty much back to his old light-hearted self after his harrowing ordeal as a captive feeder for the vampire Edwina. He had regained all his weight and now looked tan and strong.
For the first time in way too long, Leesa truly felt like she had a family again. Things had been getting better ever since Professor Clerval had cured her mom with blood from a one-fang, but now that Leesa was actually living with her mom and brother the circle felt complete. She was feeling so good about the way everything was going that she had made a very important decision, one that she was now about to implement.
The three members of the Nyland family sat at the dinner table, having just finished a home-cooked meal of baked chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and salad. Some leftover strawberry-rhubarb pie from Uncle Roger’s bakery had provided dessert. Now that they were done eating, Leesa glanced at Bradley, who nodded. She had discussed her decision with her brother, and Bradley had agreed that it would be okay.
Leesa turned to her mom. “Mom, there’s something very important I need to tell you.”
Judy looked at Leesa with full attention. “What is it, honey?”
Leesa drew in a deep breath. “It’s about Rave,” she said. “This is going to come as a huge shock, I know, but I promise you it’s a good thing—a very good thing.”
She certainly hoped her mom would think it was a good thing. Rave was going to be coming by in a little while, and Leesa wanted to be done with her revelation before he arrived.
Judy studied her daughter for a moment and then smiled. “Please don’t tell me you two are getting married. I think Rave is great, but you’re much too young for that.”
Leesa smiled and shook her head. “No, Mom, don’t worry, it’s nothing like that.”
Judy made a show of wiping her forehead in relief. “Whew. I’m glad to hear that. So, what is it, then?”
Leesa had rehearsed this dozens of times in her head, but she still wasn’t sure where to start.
“Rave’s differen
t,” she began. “He’s not quite like us.”
“Of course he’s different, dear,” Judy said. “I know that. He’s one of those Maston folk. I know none of them drive or use cell phones or anything like that.”
“Yeah, but he’s a lot more different than you think.”
Judy’s brow furrowed in puzzlement. She stared at her daughter, waiting.
“Rave is…uh…he’s…uh…not quite human.” As soon as the words were out of Leesa’s mouth, she wished she had phrased it differently. It was too late now, though.
The furrows in Judy’s forehead deepened as she tried to fathom just exactly what Leesa was trying to tell her.
“I don’t understand. What do you mean, he’s not human? What else could he possibly be?”
“He’s a volkaane, Mom.”
Judy looked more confused than ever. “A volk what?”
“A volkaane, Mom. A volkaane.”
Judy clearly had no idea what Leesa was talking about. “What the heck is a volkaane? I’ve never heard that word.”
“They’re, uh…supernatural vampire hunters.”
Judy looked over at Bradley, as if for confirmation she had heard Leesa correctly. Bradley nodded. She turned back to Leesa.
“A vampire hunter? Who in their right mind would hunt those horrid creatures?”
Leesa smiled. “That was my first thought, too, when Rave told me. But he’s got this magical blue fire inside him that can burn a vampire from the inside out.”
“Blue fire? Inside him?”
“Yeah. That’s why his people don’t drive or use electrical appliances. Their magical energy shorts them out. He fried my cell phone once before I knew about it.”
Leesa could see that her mom was still totally bewildered, and Leesa didn’t blame her. She recalled an incident she thought might make it a little easier for her mom to understand.
“Remember that day we all had lunch on the deck outside the restaurant, a week or so after we got Bradley back?”
Judy nodded. “Of course. That was Bradley’s first time out.”
“Do you remember what happened to your camera that afternoon?”
Judy nodded again. “Yes. The batteries died. They were pretty new—they must have been defective.”
Leesa smiled. “They weren’t defective, Mom. The batteries died because you handed your camera to Rave so he could take our picture. As soon as he touched the camera, that was it. Zap. Fried.”
Judy felt relieved to be back on familiar ground. “I get it—I think. So that’s why Rave’s people don’t use anything modern? I thought it was a religious thing of some sort.”
“Yeah, that’s what they let people believe. It’s the only logical way for them to explain it without giving away their secret.”
Judy thought it over for a moment. “That makes sense, I guess. But what’s this about hunting vampires? Isn’t that awfully dangerous?”
“Yes, Mom. It’s very dangerous.” This was precisely the reason Leesa wasn’t going to tell her family about her own magical powers. She didn’t want them worrying about her. “Rave is very careful. And besides, there’s not all that many vampires around.” She didn’t feel badly about that little lie, because it would ease her mom’s concerns. Besides, in all the time she had known Rave, he had only killed two vampires that she knew of.
“Rave is very strong,” she added, to further comfort her mom, “and he’s even faster than a vampire. He carries me in his arms like I weigh nothing, and he moves so fast it feels almost like we’re flying.”
Judy took another moment to try to absorb everything Leesa was telling her.
“So that’s how you two get places? He carries you? I was wondering about that.”
“Yeah, and it’s the absolute coolest thing, too. Way better than driving or taking a bus.”
Judy turned to Bradley. “And you knew about all this?”
Bradley nodded. “Not at first, but Leesa eventually shared it with me.”
“I didn’t tell you,” Leesa said to her mom, “because I didn’t want to worry you while you were recovering. I was so happy to have you getting back to normal that I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that.”
“I understand—I guess.”
“You can’t tell anyone any of this,” Leesa said. “It has to stay a secret. But I wanted you to know.”
Judy’s face took on a rueful look. “Who am I going to tell? People would just think I’m crazy again. I’ve had more than enough of that, believe me.”
Leesa got up and hugged her mom from behind. She was glad her mom hadn’t asked anything about whether Rave’s fire could be dangerous to her. Talking with a parent about kissing was yucky in any case—having to talk about the possibility of being turned to toast by a kiss would be far worse.
A knock sounded at the front door, saving Leesa from having to continue the conversation.
“That’s probably Rave,” she said, letting go of her mom.
Judy grinned. “At least now I know why he doesn’t use the doorbell.”
Leesa smiled as she made her way to the door, happy her mother was taking the news so well. Her smile grew wider when she pulled the door open and saw Rave smiling at her.
She pulled him inside by his hand and closed the door behind him. As soon as the door was shut, she jumped up into his arms. Despite his surprise, Rave caught her easily.
Leesa twisted her head around. “See, Mom. I told you he was strong.”
“I can see that, dear,” Judy said. She and Bradley got up from the table.
“Good to see you again, Rave,” Bradley said. “Forgive me if I don’t jump up into your arms like my sister.”
Rave grinned and put Leesa down. She circled her arms around one of his muscular forearms and clung close to him.
“I hope what Leesa told you didn’t come as too much of a shock,” Rave said to Judy. “I understand how you might be concerned by it, but I promise you, I would never let anything happen to Leesa.”
“It’s going to take a little getting used to,” Judy admitted, “especially with this family’s history. But I’ve never seen Leesa happier than when she’s with you, and that’s all a mother can really ask for.” She gave Rave a stern look. “Just don’t be putting my daughter in any danger.”
Leesa tried hard to hide her grin while she gave Rave’s arm a quick squeeze. She had been in plenty of dangerous situations since she had met Rave, but none of them had been his fault. Indeed, Rave frequently teased her about being a trouble magnet.
“I won’t,” Rave promised. He almost added, “She does a pretty good job of that all by herself,” but he managed to hold his tongue. Any talk about Leesa’s extracurricular activities was off limits, he knew. Leesa was keeping everything about her magic a secret for the foreseeable future.
Judy crossed the room and took Rave’s free hand. “Come over and have a seat,” she said, guiding him toward the couch. She turned to Leesa. “You, too, honey. You can sit beside your boyfriend.”
Leesa moved across the living room with a big smile on her face. This whole thing had gone even better than she had hoped.
It was nearly midnight when Leesa finally said good-bye to Rave. She walked him to the door and gave him a big hug.
“See you tomorrow,” she said.
She opened the door and gave Rave a quick kiss on the lips. A moment later, he disappeared into the darkness. Leesa closed the door and turned back into the room.
“You could have given him a little bigger kiss than that, dear,” Judy said, smiling. “Bradley and I would have turned our heads, but you didn’t give us a chance.”
Leesa smiled. “Uh, about that, Mom…Rave and I have to be pretty careful about our kissing. His magical fire can be dangerous.”
Judy raised her eyebrows. She hadn’t considered that.
“Well, as your mother, I guess that’s a good thing.” She winked at Leesa. “I won’t have to worry about you two going too far, too fast.”
&nb
sp; Leesa blushed. This was so not a conversation she wanted to have with her mother.
“Well, you don’t have to worry. We’ve been taking things very slowly.”
Thankfully, her mom did not press the matter any further. In fact, she had been quite circumspect the entire evening, asking a Rave a few questions about what his magic did to appliances and a few more about vampires, since it was a family interest. Rave answered simply, never giving any real hint of the dangers Leesa had faced in their time together.
Leesa was pleased with how easy the evening had gone—other than those few questions, her mom hadn’t treated Rave any differently than the times he’d spent with them before she knew his secret. Her mom had even teased him about whether it was safe to turn the television on with him in the room. Rave had assured her it was fine, as long as he didn’t touch it. They had watched half an hour of American Idol and a bit of Vampire Diaries, which had Rave shaking his head at the total unreality of the vampires who populated the show. Rave had joked that he was glad the show didn’t have any volkaanes in it.
As for Leesa, she didn’t care what the heck they watched—she was happy just to snuggle up on the couch with Rave and to have one less secret to keep from her mom.
5. SOMETHING NEW
LEESA GUIDED THE SILVER SUV into the parking lot of Whippoorwill Ridge Park, a few miles across the New York border. She had purchased the vehicle for Dominic two months ago through a private ad online, using some of Dominic’s seemingly endless cash. She registered the car in her name—Dominic was too far off the grid to be able to register a vehicle—but it really belonged to Dominic. After decades of relying on buses and trains, the wizard found the flexibility and mobility of the SUV convenient and freeing. Leesa was pretty sure he even slept in the vehicle—if the half-awake state that passed for most of the wizard’s rest could truly be called sleep.
Even though the car belonged to Dominic, whenever the two of them traveled together, Leesa did the driving. Dominic did not possess a driver’s license, and besides, Leesa was a much better driver.
The park looked far different today than the last time Leesa was here. Back then, winter had stripped the trees of their leaves and turned the fields brown. Now, the woods were thick and green, the grass lush. Instead of a nearly empty parking lot bordered by piles of plowed snow, Leesa turned into a lot packed with cars. Last time, she and Dominic had practiced some simple spells right here in the lot. Today, they would need the shelter of the woods to give them privacy.
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