Restless (5 page)

She opened her eyes and found Dominic staring
intently into her face.

“
It worked!” she said. “I saw it all, just like mine—only a hundred times brighter and more alive.”

“I know,” Dominic
replied. “I could feel the presence of your magic inside me. You did exceedingly well—so well that my hopes for what I am about to attempt have grown several fold.”

He looked at Rave. “I’m pretty sure we are alone, but will you make certain no one is anywhere
nearby where they might stumble upon us? Or even spy us from a distance?”

“
Of course,” Rave replied.

He turned and raced
silently off into the trees. Even watching him go, Leesa was amazed at how quickly he disappeared from her sight. Few creatures moved as stealthily as a volkaane in hunting mode. She peered hard into the shadows, but could detect no movement at all. She had no idea which way Rave had turned to begin his search.

Waiting for Rave’s return, Leesa’s
curiosity about what Dominic had planned returned with a vengeance. First the two hour drive out here to practice, and now having Rave scout the woods to insure they were totally alone—Dominic clearly needed secrecy and privacy. She didn’t think it was going to involve him using active magic, because neither distance nor the thickest forest would prevent his renegade brethren from detecting its use.

She did
not have much time to ponder it, though, for Rave was back in just two or three minutes. Despite the brevity of his absence, Leesa knew he would have made a complete circle of their location.

“We’re alone,” Rave told Dominic. “
I made a pretty wide circuit. There’s no one within two hundred yards in any direction.”

“Good,”
Dominic replied, confident that if Rave said there was nobody around, then they were indeed alone. He held out his hands to Leesa. “Take my hands again.”

Leesa did as she was bid
, laying her fingers onto Dominic’s open palms. This time, she kept her eyes open, looking into the wizard’s grey eyes and waiting.

She expected some kind of instruction from him, but he said nothing. Instead, he closed his fingers
loosely around hers and met her gaze with a penetrating stare of his own.

Leesa felt a
faint tingle begin to crawl up her forearms, almost like a very mild electric current was passing from Dominic’s hands into hers. The feeling was not unpleasant at all. It moved slowly up her arms into her shoulders and then down through her torso. In less than a minute, she felt like her whole body was vibrating softly.

If possible, Dominic’s stare seemed to
become even more focused. The lower part of Leesa’s right leg began to grow warm. Suddenly, she felt a flash of intense heat just above her ankle, but it was gone before it could bring any pain. Dominic let go of her hands.

“It is done,” he said.

“What’s done?” Leesa asked. “What did you do?”

Dominic held up a finger, silencing her.

“Just a moment,” he said. He closed his eyes.

Leesa recognized the look of intense concentration that etched itself into Dominic’s features. It lasted maybe ten seconds, and then the wizard opened his eyes. He smiled.

“My part worked,” he said. “Now to see about your part.”

“My part of what?” Leesa asked, still mystified about what had just happened.

“Walk,” he told her.

“Walk? Why? Where?”

“Anywhere. Just walk.”

An idea began to dawn on Leesa
—she wondered if it could possibly be true. She walked five or six steps away from Dominic and Rave. Her leg felt strange, but strange in a very good way. She realized she was not limping at all. Walking without a limp was a completely new sensation for her—no wonder it felt strange.

She turned around. Dominic and Rave were both smiling at her.

She moved back toward them, looking down at her leg as she walked to make certain this was real.

“My leg,” she said
when she stopped in front of Dominic. “You fixed it.”

“Yes, I did
.”

Leesa could not believe it. After eighteen years, her leg was cured. She skipped
around in a small circle, just because she could. Twigs and dead leaves crackled under her weight as she trampled through the underbrush, delighted with her newfound mobility.

Suddenly, she stopped and spun around to face Dominic.

“Wait a minute,” she said worriedly. “Isn’t healing active magic? Won’t the black waziri be able to find you now? Will you have to go away again? Healing my leg is not worth you having to leave—not when there’s still so much for me to learn.”

“Do not worry,” Dominic assured her. “I need not go anywhere.”

“I don’t understand. Why not?”

“H
ealing is indeed active magic—you are correct in your surmise. However, I channeled my magic through yours, mixing the two. As I hoped, the altered vibrations of our combined magic cannot be detected by my brethren. That’s what I was checking a few moments ago.”

Leesa thought abo
ut that for a moment. She hadn’t known such a thing was possible. Obviously, it was. She still had questions, though.

“
If this was safe for you to do, why did we have to come so far to try it?”

Domin
ic grinned. “In case I was mistaken, of course. If this failed to work as I hoped, I did not want to lead the black waziri to Middletown.”

Leesa guessed tha
t made sense. She was glad Dominic had been right, though—she would have hated for him to go away for a month or more again.

“I have one more question,” she said. “
It’s not a complaint, I promise—but if you could heal my leg so easily, how come you waited so long to do it?”

Dominic rested his hand on Leesa’s shoulder
. “I had to wait until you were in touch enough with your magic to be able to visualize it the way you did earlier, and then to be able to visualize mine. Without those steps, I could not have wrapped my magic inside yours the way I did.” He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Otherwise, I would have healed your leg the day we met, I promise.”

Leesa
remembered how guilty Dominic had felt over the possibility that he might have been the cause of her deformity, by imparting his magic to her before she was born. She wondered if he had been carrying that burden inside him the whole time since he had found her. She certainly had never worried about it. Until now, a limp was all she had ever known.

“Okay,
I guess you’re off the hook,” she said lightly, to let him know the matter had never bothered her.

“I think our work here is done,” Dominic said. “Let’s head back home. Your energy can rep
lenish itself a bit on the ride, and the we can do some more practice when we get near Middletown.”

Dominic turned and headed
off into the trees, back the way they had come. Leesa and Rave followed behind him. Every few steps, Leesa found herself glancing down at her foot, as if somehow she might start limping again. When they reached the trail, she stopped her companions.

“Hold up a second
, you guys. I want to try something.”

Rave and Dominic looked at her expectantly.

Leesa turned away from them and took off running down the path, thrilling to her newfound agility and speed. Because of her limp, she had always avoided running, even jogging. She had made up for it with long daily walks, but now she could do either. She stopped after about thirty yards and turned back to face her companions.

“What do you think
, Rave?” she called. “I know it’s not volkaane fast, but it’s pretty good for me.”

“You r
un beautifully,” Rave said. “I think you would look even more beautiful running toward me, though.”

Leesa didn’t need a second invitation. She raced back to Rave and jumped up into his arms.

“Don’t think that just because I don’t limp anymore that this isn’t still my favorite way to travel,” she said as she snuggled her cheek against his warm chest.

Rave squeezed her against him. “I’m
very glad to hear that. I’d hate to think I’ve become unnecessary.”

Leesa twisted her head and kissed his neck. “Never,” she said.
“Never, ever.”

6.
SHARING THE NEWS

THE RIDE HOME FROM NEW YORK
passed quickly. Leesa and Dominic talked some, but mostly she just enjoyed being behind the wheel, cruising at highway speeds through the scenic wooded hills of western Connecticut. She didn’t get to drive all that often, especially on the freeway, so she still got a kick out of it. Since it was pretty early in the afternoon, traffic was light, making driving all the more enjoyable. She wished Rave could be making the ride with them, but of course that was impossible.

In less than two hours, they were back on Route 66, heading through Meriden toward Middletown. Just before they entered the town that had become her home, Leesa glanced toward Dominic.

“Do you mind if we take a little side trip?” she asked.

“Not at all. Where do you want to go?”

“To East Hampton, to show Cali what you did to my leg. She’ll be thrilled.”

“
I’m certain she will be.” Dominic closed his eyes. “Wake me when we get there.”

Leesa grinned. She doubted Dominic would be sleeping—he closed his eyes much more for thinking than for sleep.
She wondered what he had been thinking about on the ride home. Mysterious and dangerous wizard stuff, probably.

She guided the SUV through downtown Middletown and across the river over the Arrigoni Bridge, whose shiny steel latticework gleamed in the sunlight.
Once across the bridge, it took only about fifteen minutes to reach East Hampton. Leesa had been here a couple of times with Cali, so she knew exactly where she was going. She pulled the car into an empty spot at the curb a few doors down from the small boutique where Cali worked.

Dominic opened his eyes. “I
will wait here,” he said. “Take your time.”

“I won’t be very long,” Leesa promised as she opened the door and climbed out of the car.

As she headed down the sidewalk, she watched herself in the storefront windows, walking without any trace of a limp. When she reached Cali’s store, she stopped for a moment, looking at the trendy summer outfits displayed on four mannequins in the window and thinking what a perfect place this was for Cali to work.

Leesa opened the door and went inside. Cali was arranging some clothes on a r
ack to the side, her back to Leesa. She was wearing a purple and black top that left one shoulder bare and jeans with sparkles on the rear pockets.

Leesa crossed over behind her. “You
guys got any cute outfits in this place?”

Cali spun around, a big smile on her face. She gave Leesa a quick hug.

“What are you doing here? Is everything all right?” Cali knew that where Leesa was involved, you could never be sure.

“Everything’s great,” Leesa assured her. “I’ve got something to show you.”

Cali gave Leesa a quick check with her eyes. Leesa wasn’t carrying anything, nor was she wearing anything unusual.

“What?”
Cali asked.

“Can you come outside for just a minute?”

“Sure. I’ve got a break coming up. Let me just go tell Sue.”

She headed over to a middle-aged woman
fussing with something behind a counter in the rear of the store. The two spoke for a moment, and then Cali returned.

“I’ve got ten minutes,” she said. “Let’s go.”

They exited the store, Cali leading the way. As soon as they were outside, she looked up and down the street and then turned to Leesa.

“So, what am I supposed to be looking at?” she asked.
“I don’t see anything.”

“Watch.”

Leesa started walking down the sidewalk in the direction of the SUV. She had gone only a few steps before Cali noticed.

“Holy crap!” Cali exclaimed, hurrying to catch up. “Your limp is freaking gone. What gives?”

“Dominic healed my leg this morning,” Leesa explained. She skipped a short distance down the sidewalk and then circled back. “Isn’t it awesome?”

“Totally.” Cali’s eyes narrowed. “If his magic could heal you, why’d he wait so long to do it?”

“I asked him the same question,” Leesa replied.

She
explained as best she could about how she had to get good enough at her magic to be able to visualize Dominic’s. Since she didn’t fully understand the whole thing herself, her explanation left Cali somewhat confused.

“I don’t quite get it,” Cali said when Leesa was finished. “But this isn’t the first time I didn’t understand something where magic is concerned.
It doesn’t matter, though. Either way, I’m thrilled for you.”

Leesa smiled. “I kinda like it myself. I just have to remember to keep limping
a little when I’m around my mom and Bradley. They’ve noticed that my limp has improved, but I don’t want to have to explain how my leg is suddenly completely cured.”

“Tell them I kicked you in the ankle,
” Cali said, grinning. “And the next thing you knew, your limp was gone. Like a miracle.”

Leesa chuckled
. “Cali’s miracle kick cure. I’ll have to remember to use that as my fall back excuse if I mess up.”

“I’
d better get back to work,” Cali said. “Thanks for coming by to share. I’m so stoked for you. We’ll have to go out dancing some time soon.”

For the first time in her life, going dancing didn’t sound like a bad idea to Leesa—that didn’t include slow dancing with Rave, of course, which was positively heavenly.

The two girls exchanged hugs. Leesa watched as Cali headed back into the store, then she returned to the car, eager to get back to practicing her magic as Dominic had promised.

An ocean away, important news was also being shared.

T
he apprentice waziri Jordan rushed into the chamber where his master Viktor and fellow black waziri Andre sat at a wooden table, studying an ancient parchment.

“Master, he’s alive!” Jordan exclaimed breathlessly.

The two waziri looked up at the excited young apprentice.

“Calm down,” Viktor
admonished him. “A wizard should not allow himself to become so emotional.”

Jordan nodded and took several deep breaths, calming himself.

“I’m sorry, Master,” he said when he had collected himself.

“Now, who
is alive?” Viktor asked.

“The stable
hand we sacrificed to the zombies last night. He has returned from the dead without any help from our magic.”

Viktor and Andre exchanged glances. This was big news indeed, a
huge step forward in the Necromancer’s plans.

“
We must inform our liege immediately,” Andre said. He withdrew the golden amulet he wore under his cloak. The amulet was round, about three inches in diameter, and hung from his neck on a thin silver chain. Elaborate, engraved runes decorated the surface of the gold.

He
flicked a hidden catch on the side of the medallion with his thumb and the face sprang open, revealing a smooth, shiny black surface inside. The ebony interior was fashioned of the same material as the Necromancer’s magic table.

Andre focused his gaze on the black surface and softly chanted a spell. After a moment, an image of the Necromancer’s bulbous head appeared within the locket.

“What news?” he asked without preamble.

“Jordan reports that last night’s subject has reanimated,” Andre replied.

“Excellent. Bring him to me immediately.”

“Yes, my lord.” Andre closed the amulet and stood up. “Let’s go.”

The three of them hurried to the chamber where the unfortunate victim stood motionless against the stone wall, held there by a spell from Jordan. Other than a couple of gaping wounds in his side and one on his cheek where the zombies had gnawed his flesh, the man looked little changed from the day before. His skin was perhaps a shade or two more gray, but that was it.

“Release him,” Viktor
ordered his apprentice.

Jordan uttered a brief incantation and the reanimated servant lurched hungrily toward them. Viktor stopped him with a quick spell.

“Follow us,” he commanded.

The zombie trailed them though the dim hallways to the table chamber. Inside, the Necromancer waited in his specially reinforced chair.

When Viktor
halted a few feet from the table, the zombie stopped as well.

“Here he is, my lord,” Viktor said.

The Necromancer studied his former servant. What passed for a smile creased his round face.

“Let him go.”

Viktor ended his spell. The zombie immediately lumbered toward the Necromancer, who let the creature come within a single step before stopping it with a spell of his own.

“We have achieved contagion,” he said. “This represents a very big step—a very big step indeed.”

Viktor, Andre and Jordan took their seats at the magical table. The Necromancer had activated it before they arrived, and its depthless black surface glowed with haunted eyes.

“I make it approximately sixteen hours since he was bitten,” the Necromancer continued. “
Our next goal is to get it down to less than an hour. I have no doubt we will get there sooner rather than later.”

“We
shall redouble our efforts,” Viktor promised.

Andre and Jordan nodded their agreement.

The Necromancer held his palm out toward the zombie. “Circle the table,” he commanded it. “Do not stop until I tell you to.”

The creature began lumber
ing around the magical table, moving with a slow, awkward gait. While it walked, its bulging eyes remained fastened hungrily upon the watchers, but it made no move to deviate from its path.

The others observ
ed the zombie silently for two or three laps, studying the thing, before the Necromancer spoke.

“I want to see how long the reanimation lasts,”
he said. “The rest of you may return to your tasks.”

The two black waziri and their acolyte
immediately stood up and left the chamber. The Necromancer continued patiently watching the zombie as it circled the table. With each revolution, the Necromancer grew a little more pleased. Finally, after more than an hour, the zombie stumbled and crashed to the floor, where it lay motionless. The reanimation had worn off. The man was once again dead.

The Necromancer
let out a long sigh. Excitement and impatience warred inside him. He was getting closer to his long sought goal, but there was still much work to be done. He could not wait until the moment came when he could unleash armies of the undead upon the world, armies filled with creatures who would remain alive indefinitely unless slain.