Breathless (20 page)

For the second time in little more than a week, Leesa told the story of her mom’s encounter with the one-fanged vampire and her gradual withdrawal from the outside world and from her family. She was surprised when Rave’s expression turned from curiosity to what looked like jealousy, before finally settling on concern and compassion.

“I never knew my mother,” Rave said. “So I can only imagine how sad and confusing that must have been for you.”

So it
had
been jealousy she’d seen on Rave’s face. It was hard to imagine anyone being jealous of her mom. “What happened to your mom?” she asked.

Rave swiveled around to face her, pulling his feet up onto the wall and balancing easily with his arms around his knees. He didn’t look at all upset.

“My people do things differently from yours,” he explained. “We don’t have families. We don’t have parents.”

Leesa frowned. “I don’t get it. How can you not have a mother and a father? What do you volkaanes do, spring full grown from a cocoon or something?”

Rave chuckled. “No, nothing quite so exotic. But we don’t marry, and we don’t live as couples. Children are raised communally. I’ll tell you as much as you want to know about it later. But let’s get back to your mom and the
grafhym
.”

Leesa’s head was filled with questions about Rave’s childhood, and it took her a moment to remember where she’d left off with her story. “Professor Clerval might have found a way to help my mom,” she said. She repeated everything the professor had told her, finishing up with how
grafhym
blood might cure her mom.

“Professor Clerval knows a lot about vampires,” Rave mused. “More than I would have guessed.”

“His office is filled with books and old manuscripts. He read to me from one that was two hundred years old, written in Italian, no less. Supposedly by a female vampire.”

“What he told you fits with what I know about
grafhym
,” Rave said. “They’re rare, and my people don’t hunt them, so I’m no expert. But it sounds like your mother’s story could be true. Whether the other stuff is real, I can’t say. Maybe the sun does hurt her skin, maybe not.” He smiled. “I’m a little skeptical about the tomato juice, though.”

“Yeah, I know. That always seemed the silliest part of the whole weird thing.”

“Maybe some of her behavior is the result of being bitten by a
grafhym
, and some is simply her mind’s reaction to it,” Rave said. “I just don’t know.”

“But you think there could be a
grafhym
in Sleeping Giant Park?”

“Sure, why not? It’s a big park. I’m sure a one-fang could find plenty of places to hide.” Rave dropped his feet from wall and slid closer. “Want me to find it for you?”

Leesa’s eyes flashed open wide. “Could you find it? Would you do that for me?”

Rave slipped off the wall and pulled Leesa into his arms. “I told you, there’s very little I wouldn’t do for you, Leesa.”

Leesa sighed. She’d never felt so loved, so protected. It was wonderful. She pressed her head against his shoulder, relishing his warmth and his strength.

“So, about that kissing stuff?” she said when she finally pulled her head off his shoulder and looked into his face.

Rave’s face broke into a wide smile. “I was hoping you hadn’t forgotten about that.” He rested his forearms on her shoulders and clasped his hands behind her neck. “There’s been a bit of progress on the kissing front.”

Leesa was delighted to hear that. “Really? Tell me.”

“Don’t get too carried away. It’s still dangerous, and we have to be careful. But…” his voice trailed off, teasing her.

Leesa playfully pounded her fists against his chest. “What? What?”

“I’ve been doing some special breathing exercises my friend Balin showed me. So we should be good for five seconds or so.”

Five seconds sounded disappointingly quick to Leesa, until she realized it was more than five times as long as their first kiss. And she certainly remembered how amazing
that
was. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

“Patience, sweetheart. I said we have to be careful. Balin suggested we’d be safest if we kissed with someone there to pull us apart, in case we both lost control.”

Leesa frowned. She wanted to kiss him right now—and she didn’t want anyone watching! “I guess we could get Cali. I’m sure she’d
love
to watch. But she might let us go longer than we told her to, just cuz she’s Cali. Stacie would be a safer choice, I think.”

“I’m not sure how we’d explain it, anyway,” Rave said. “We can’t tell them my kiss could kill you.” His face brightened. “Do you have your phone with you?”

Leesa patted the pocket of her shorts. “Yeah. Why?”

“Does it have an alarm?”

“Yeah....”

She smiled as Rave explained his idea, finishing by reminding her not to be touching him when she switched her phone on. Just to be safe, she moved another step back before setting the cell’s alarm to go off in one minute and placing the phone atop the wall. She waited while the seconds ticked off. It seemed to take forever, but finally there were only five seconds left. She moved into his arms and pressed her mouth to his.

The feeling of warmth that exploded into her as their tongues connected was beyond imagining. She felt like she was flying, like a thousand tiny mouths were kissing every inch of her body, like her skin was wrapped in the most delicious chocolate and every pore could taste it. Way, way, way too soon, her phone’s alarm beeped, and she felt Rave’s lips pulling away from hers. Sighing, she collapsed into his arms.

They held their silent embrace for several long moments before Rave spoke. “Triple wow,” he said.

Unable to speak, Leesa replied with a long “mmmmm” as she remained nestled against his chest. Finally, she pulled her head back and looked up at him.

“Did you have much trouble controlling it?” she asked, still a bit breathless.

Rave smiled. “A little,” he admitted. “I’m glad we had the alarm. I’m going to keep working on those control exercises, that’s for sure.”

Leesa grinned wickedly. “You’d better, mister. I’m not sure I want you spending your time doing
anything
else.”

Rave laughed. “What about the
grafhym
?”

Leesa pursed her lips. “Oh yeah, that too.” Her face brightened. “You can practice the exercises while you’re looking for it,” she joked. She grabbed his hand and led him back toward the building. “Let’s get back to the party. Maybe they’ll play another slow song.”

22.  RING AROUND THE MOON

“
O
nce upon a midnight dreary…while I pondered…weak and weary,” intoned the tall young man standing behind the lead singer’s microphone. He was wearing a Friday the 13
th
Jason mask and carrying a bloodstained machete that looked awfully real. His voice was deep and dramatic, and the room grew steadily quieter as he boomed out his lines, reading from a piece of paper. “While I nodded…nearly napping…suddenly, there came a tapping…as of someone gently rapping…rapping at my chamber door.”

He certainly knows how to get a room’s attention, Leesa thought as she held Rave’s hand and listened along with almost every one else in the place as he introduced himself as Butch Morrison, president of the BPDs.

“That rapping is not Snoop Dog or Lil’ Wayne, either,” he continued, pausing while a ripple of laughter flowed through the room. “Campus Security has asked me to share a few words with you.” He looked back at his notes and read a few sentences about the unfortunate girl who was killed and the one who was missing, emphasizing the importance of everyone being as safe as they could—not walking alone at night, not letting strangers into the dorms, not opening their room doors until they were sure who was there. He reminded them of the escort service available for anyone who needed someone to walk them home simply by calling Security, whose number he provided.

“So remember,” he said, dropping his voice into a melodramatic tone once more, “if you hear a tapping…a gentle rapping at your chamber door, use the peephole to make sure you know who’s there before you open it.”

The room filled with the buzz of conversation as he walked away from the microphone. Most of the kids had already known about the murder, but the second missing girl was news to many of them. Even the ones who had known about both were impressed by the seriousness of his tone.

“That won’t be enough,” Rave said. “Not even if the killer is human, but especially if there’s a thirsty vampire out there. There’s always someone foolish enough to ignore such warnings.” He squeezed Leesa’s hand. “But I know one girl who’s definitely getting home safely tonight.”

A warm feeling that had nothing to do with Rave’s fire flowed through Leesa’s body. With Rave by her side, she felt totally secure and protected, no matter what was out there, and she was certain nothing bad would ever happen to her as long as he was around. But the thought of a vampire preying on her schoolmates was terrifying.

“Can you do anything about this?” she asked. “Scare it away or something?” She knew it was foolish, but she preferred to think of Rave chasing the vampire away rather than fighting it.

“I can try. But it’s a big campus. If I’d known before I came, I’d have brought a few of my brethren along.” He grinned. “For one of the very few times, I wish my people used phones.”

Leesa returned his smile, but didn’t say anything. Instead, she studied his face for a few moments. She was pretty sure she knew what he was thinking. “You won’t hunt him as long as I’m here at the party, will you?” she said at last. “Even if I promise to stay inside with my friends?”

Rave shook his head. “I’d rather know you’re home safe in your room. Too many things can happen here. I can’t be distracted worrying about you when I hunt.”

“Then take me home so you can get started. I’ve had enough partying anyhow.” She grinned and pecked him on the cheek. “I already slow danced and got kissed. What more could a girl want?”

Rave pulled her into his arms. “Or a guy,” he said softly into her ear.

They threaded their way through the costumed crowd until they found each of Leesa’s friends. Cali and Andy were hanging near the bar—no surprise there, Leesa thought. Caitlin and Stacie were talking with pirate and tuxedo man—Danny and Jeremy were their names, she learned—near the front of the room. She told her friends she wasn’t feeling well so Rave was taking her home, admonishing them to be careful and not go anywhere alone. Andy assured her he’d get Cali home, along with Caitlin and Stacie if they wanted to leave at the same time. Caitlin and Stacie promised they would either have Danny and Jeremy bring them home, producing wide grins on both boys’ faces, or they’d get an escort.

Satisfied her friends would be okay, Leesa led Rave toward the back of the building. “Let’s use your private exit,” she said. “We can cut across the grounds to my dorm.”

Outside, the temperature had dropped another few degrees and the wind had stiffened, making it feel even colder. Rave gave her his jacket again and put his arm around her as they crossed the broken asphalt toward the cinder block wall they’d sat on earlier.

Leesa glanced up into the sky and suddenly stopped walking. “Wow, look at the moon.”

The high clouds that had shrouded the moon earlier had dissipated, leaving a golden moon surrounded by a glowing halo four times its size. Leesa had seen halos around the moon before and knew they had something to do with ice crystals high in the atmosphere, but she’d never seen one like this. It seemed twice as big as any she could remember, and brighter too, striped with faint rainbow colors. The whole thing seemed almost to pulse with energy.

“
Brillig
,” Rave said.

“Huh?” Leesa said, uncomprehending.

“
Brillig
,” Rave repeated. “It’s a kind of magical energy. It’s enhancing the ring around the moon, adding the colors.” He briefly explained about the
brillig
and the
tove
, and how when those twin energies grew too strong, they fanned the bloodlust of the vampires and the hunting lust of his people. “We call it
Destiratu
. It’s probably what’s driving the vampire, if it is a vampire, that killed the girl here.”

Leesa struggled to understand. “So it’s this
Destiratu
thing that’s making the vampire kill?”

“No, not exactly. This is not
Destiratu
yet, but the energies are increasing. They may or may not grow powerful enough to create
Destiratu
. If they do, things will get much worse. But I think they’re strong enough now to drive a young, weak vampire.”

Leesa was afraid to ask what “much worse” meant. It was bad enough a vampire had probably killed two of her schoolmates and might be somewhere on campus even now, hunting. As Rave said, even with the school on high alert, there would still be plenty of unwary targets.

They resumed walking, stepping easily over the low cinder block wall onto a gently sloping hillside. The bright moon bathed them in a pale yellow glow as they strolled hand in hand across the wide lawn, the music from the party just a low hum behind them now. The farther they got from the facilities building, the quieter the night became. As usual, Rave’s steps made no sound at all. Leesa was happy that even her awkward limp produced only the faintest brushing noise on the soft grass. She loved how Rave never seemed to notice her limp.