Fearless (The Blue Fire Saga) (43 page)

Rave laughed. “No, you wouldn’t want that, I know.”

“And then when we get those things out of the way, I have some stuff to tell you, and I’ll want to hear all about how you volkaanes are doing up here in Massachusetts.”

“Deal,” Rave said. He turned to his volkaane companions. “C’mon guys. We’re going for a little jog in the woods.”

Thirty minutes
later,
the four volkaanes and Leesa were gathered in a small clearing among the leafless trees
not too far from th
e field
where Leesa had met them
.
Rave had carried her in a zigzagging pattern through the woods, carefully remaining out of sight of any possible onlookers.
Ever watchful, Balin,
Dral
and Bain were all looking
out
in different directions. Leesa and Rave were looking only at each other. Leesa fluffed her hair with her fingers, trying to smooth out
some of
the snarls inflicted by her wonderful ride in his arms.

“That was fun,” she said, smiling. “Sure beats renting a car.”

Rave grinned.
“Much cheaper, too.”

“And better for the environment,” Leesa added.

“Yes, we volkaanes have always been very green, long before it became fashionable.”

“
You certainly have,” Leesa agreed. “
Now, let’s get that kissing
stuff
you’re always pestering me about out of the way so we can get down to business.”

Rave laughed.
“Yeah, I know how much of a bother
my
constant demands must be.”

Leesa smiled sweetly. “Don’t worry
, sweetheart
. It’s
really
not so bad.”

Rave grinned. “I’m certainly glad to hear that.” He looked at her expectantly.

Leesa met his gaze with her eyebrows raised. “What, are you waiting for me to make the first move?”

“Well, I don’t want to seem pushy or overeager,” Rave said, smiling as he repeated Leesa’s words back to her.

“Ha!
Touch
é
.”

On the spot now,
Leesa thought for a moment about how she wanted to begin.

“Hold out your arms like you just did while you
were
carrying me,”
she said
.

Rave dutifully held his arms extended in front of him,
palms up,
elbo
ws resting against his sides. Leesa
smiled and
hopped up into them
, wrapping
her hands behind his neck.

“I like this position,” she said. “
It’s so comfy and
snuggly.”

Rave playfully lifted and
then
dropped
his hands under her butt
a few times
, bouncing her gently
.

“I like it, too,” he said
teasingly
. He fastened his dark eyes on Leesa’s.

Leesa sighed as she felt herself becoming lost in Rave’s gorgeous eyes. Keeping her eyes locked on his, she inched her head forward. When she could see almost nothing but his eyes, she closed hers and pressed her lips against his
mouth
.
“
Blast off
”
was her final thought as
she felt her heart and soul begin to soar.

If she could have formed one more cogent thought, she might have wondered how something as simple as two mouths pressed together, tongues intertwined, could cause such amazingly exquisite pleasure—a pleasure that yanked her out of all consciousness and left her spinning and flying and floating in a space filled with symphonic melodies and indescribably beautiful fireworks. But she could no longer think; all she could do was
feel
and enjoy, lost in a timeless void that was both comfortably familiar and enchantingly new and exciting.
She had no choice but to give herself completely to the sensations—but even if she had a choice, she would choose this, every time, again and again, now and forever….

Finally, as if no human heart or soul could stand any more of such pleasure, her lips eased away from his. She drew in a long breath and opened her eyes.

“Quadruple wow,” she
said,
her voice barely more than a whisper.

“
Mmmmm
,” Rave said. “
Part of me
hope
s
that
my fire never comes back to full strength.”

Leesa’s head snapped up. “Don’t even
think that,” she said sternly.
“If that ever happened, I’d feel guilty, even though I know it’s not my fault.”

“Don’t worry,” Rave said. “It’s not going to happen.” He kissed Leesa’s forehead and set her gently down onto her feet. “You said you had something you wanted to tell me?”

“Oh, yeah.”
It took Leesa a moment to gather her thoughts after the last few minutes in paradise. “I met a witch. She’s helping me practice my magic.”

Balin turned around and walked over to join Leesa and Rave. His keen volkaane hearing had heard what Leesa said.

“Was her name Jenna?” he asked.

Leesa looked at the old volkaane in surprise. “Yes. Do you know her?”

“No, but I have heard of her. She’s very reclusive.”

“Yeah, she seems to be. I’m not sure how happy she’ll be to learn there are people who know about
her.”

Balin smiled. “Tell her not to worry. Very few people know she exists. But it’s hard to share the same local area
for centuries
with someone els
e magical
and not hear at least something.
”

“I guess that’s true,” Leesa said. “She certainly knows about volkaanes.”

Balin nodded. “I’m not all that surprised. Like I said, central Connecticut is not that big a place. But I am surprised that you met her. Tell me about that.”

Leesa slipped her hand into Rave’s. “She just knocked on my door a week or so ago and said she wanted to ask me something about my magic.” She felt Rave’s hand tighten protectively around hers.

“How did she know about your magic?” he asked.

“She
saw our battle with Josef
. And then she followed us when you carried
me home. That’s how she knew where
to find me.”

Rave
’s
eyes narrowed
.
“How?
I sensed no one else anywhere nearby. And how could she follow me?”

“
Let me guess,” Balin said.
“Shape
-shifting.
It
i
s said to be one of her powers.”

Leesa nodded.
“Yeah.
She watched the fight from up in the trees as an owl. She followed us the same way. It’s her favorite animal form.”

“Why did she seek you out?” Rave
asked
,
his concern clear
in his tone
. “What did she want to ask you?”

“Like us, her magic suddenly became weak. She wanted to know if I was also afflicted, or whether it might be some attack directed at her. I assured her the same thing had happened to me.”

“I can see why the weakening of her magic
would worry her,” Balin said. “Enough to bring her out of hiding and reveal herself to you. You said she has been helping you practice. What do you mean? From what
little
I know of it, witch magic is different from wizard magic.”

“It is,” Leesa replied.
“But Jenna is able to impart some generalized magical energy into me
by touching me
while I practice. It strengthens my magic. Not to the level it was before this whole thing started, but better than when I try on my own.”

“She funnels her magic into you?” Balin as
ked, his features tightening.

“Yeah, I guess that’s one way to describe it,” Leesa said. “
You look worried
. Why?”

“Not much is known about witches,” Balin said.
“At least by me.
Nothing in the little I’ve heard about Jenna was bad, but we still cannot be sure she doesn
’
t have some ulterior motive of her own. She could be doing something besides strengthening you when she places her magic into you.”

Leesa hadn’t thought about anything like that. Once again, she wished Dominic was here, with his vast knowledge of things magical. She couldn’t believe Jenna meant her any harm, but how could she be certain. Jenna certainly knew a lot mo
re about magic than Leesa
did, and if the witch was working some
other kind of spell, Leesa would have no idea. But with Jenna’s magic seemingly as diminished as everyone else’s, it didn’t seem likely that she could be doing anything but lending Leesa a bit of magical strength. Stil
l, Leesa resolved to be careful in the future.

“I don’t think she’s up to anything sneaky,” she said to Balin. “Her magic is pretty weak right now. She showed me how all she could manage when she tries to shape-shift is to change her feet into an owl’s feet. But I’ll try to be careful. And I’ll try to get to know her a little bit better next time I see her, too.”

Balin nodded. “Good. Caution is always wise in matters like these.”

3
4
.
TROUBLING NEWS

B
y the time Leesa arrived back at her
dorm
, it was nearly seven-thirty
. She had stayed with Rave right up until sunset, when the volkaanes had to leave and head back to wherever they were hiding.
She had reluctantly kissed Rave goodbye and then watched him and his companions disappear into the darkening woods.
Having gone
all day without eating—and not really missing it because she was having so much fun—she
stopped for a fast-food burger along the highway on the way home.
That, plus some rush-hour traffic
outside Springfield and in northern Connecticut
had delayed her return.