Restless (7 page)

9
. SCARY THOUGHTS

LEESA AND DOMINIC SAT IN THE SUV
, which was parked in front of Leesa’s apartment complex. Dominic had driven over as soon as he received her call, not wanting to waste any time hearing the details of what she had to say. When Leesa came outside, he had simply slid over into the passenger seat. With the windows down, the fresh, cool morning air flowed over them. Leesa could smell the sweet scent of a nearby morning glory hedge.

As
she recounted her dream, Dominic listened with the same look of relaxed concentration he usually bore whenever she told him something important. He nodded now and then and asked one or two questions to clarify a point, but for the most part he just let her tell the story in her own words. When she finished repeating the details of her dream, she told him about the results of her computer search.

“
I was going to tell you about the dream in any case,” she said. “But when I read the article about the murders, I knew I had to call you right away.”

Dominic sat silently for a few moments, strok
ing his trim beard.

“I was afraid of this,”
he said finally.

“Afraid of what? What do you think it
all means?”

“
I think it means that the Necromancer is getting close to achieving his goal,” Dominic said solemnly. “I have had a feeling it might be so, and now your dream points to it as well.”

Leesa shuddered. “How close do you think he is?”

Dominic continued to absently stroke his beard. “I do not know. But your dream came to you unsummoned, so something in your magic must sense that our foe is getting dangerously close.”

This was exactly what Leesa had been afraid to hear.
She tried not to show it.

“So, what do we do?”

Dominic blew out a slow breath. “Right now, there is little we can do, other than to be extra vigilant. And to increase your practice so you will be as ready as possible for what is coming.”

Normally, Leesa would have been thrilled to hear that Dominic was going to let her practice her magic more, but not this time—not when the reason was
an impending threat from the Necromancer and the black waziri. She had known the day would come eventually—after all, this was why Dominic had imparted his magic to her in the first place, so that she might serve as his secret weapon. But she had hoped she would have much more time to master her powers. She was not ready for anything like this—she was nowhere near ready.

“How can I b
e vigilant?” she asked. “I can’t sense when the black waziri or the Necromancer use their magic like you can.”

“Monitor your technology for any reports concerning the dead returning to life,” Dominic
instructed. “Bring to my attention any you deem relevant—like the incidents in Ohio and Massachusetts a few months back. I believe the Necromancer will slowly increase the magnitude of his efforts as he draws closer to breaking the seal. We must stop him before that happens.”

The wizard
’s expression turned grave. “If he succeeds in completely destroying the seal, even your modern militaries will have difficulty defeating the vast armies of the undead he will be able to unleash. Every person who has ever died will be at his disposal, save those whose bodies have completely deteriorated.”

It took Leesa
several moments to fully realize the import of Dominic’s words. She had no idea what the exact number of zombies would be, but the dead had to number in the billions. If the Necromancer controlled even a portion of them, he would be virtually unstoppable.

“I’ll set a
lerts on my computer to flag any reports of zombies,” she said. “Most of the stories will probably be mistakes or pranks, but I’ll be on the lookout for anything that sounds like it could be real.” She paused for a bit, wondering if she should tell Dominic about Cali’s dream. Based on what Dominic had just told her, it suddenly seemed less important. Still, she should probably let him decide what was important and what was not.

“There’s something else,” she said.

Dominic raised one eyebrow. “Something else? Was there more to your dream? Some additional message from the three ghosts, perhaps?”

“No, nothing like that. I told you everything about the dream.
This is about Cali.”

Dominic’s expression turned thoughtful. “What about Cali?”

“She called me this morning and told me about a dream she had last night.” Leesa hesitated for a moment, gathering her thoughts. “It was almost exactly the same dream as mine. She and I were in a cemetery up at UConn, and we got approached by three ghosts—a mom and her two kids.”

Dominic
pursed his lips. He did not appear as surprised as Leesa thought he might, but that was often the way with the wizard. He could be difficult to read sometimes.

“
You said ‘almost exactly.’ What was different about Cali’s dream?”

“She could see that the ghosts were talking, but
unlike me, she couldn’t hear them. That’s the only real difference, as far as I could tell.”

“Did you tell Cali what the spirits said?”

Leesa shook her hea
d. “I didn’t even tell her I had the same dream. I wasn’t sure if I should. I decided I’d better talk to you first.”

“Good choice,” Dominic said. “When
ever you are unsure about something where magic is concerned, it is always best to be careful. I do not know if there is any reason not to tell Cali, but I want to think about it for a bit.”

“What do you think it means?
” Leesa asked. “That Cali and I had the same dream, I mean.”

“I
am not sure.” Dominic’s lips curved into a half smile. “Rather than guess, I think I will follow my own advice and be careful about sharing any conjectures.”

Leesa was
disappointed to hear that—she had been hoping Dominic would be able to explain the strange coincidence. He would tell her when he was ready and not before, she knew. But that did not mean she couldn’t try to pry a little something out of him.

“
Won’t you share even one little guess?” she asked.

Dominic’s half-smile broadened into a full-fledged grin. “You are becoming as stubborn and persistent as a wizard,” he said.

Leesa smiled. “Well, you have only yourself to blame for that. You’re the one who gave me magic, and you’re the one who’s training me.”

“
That I am.” Dominic gazed out the front windshield for a few moments before turning back to Leesa. “I will give you one thing, and no more. I believe it may have something to do with
Destiratu
. It can cause all kinds of unexpected things to happen with magic.”

Leesa’s eyes widened. She had
not been expecting that answer.
Destiratu
was something she had been hearing about almost since she first met Rave, but she still did not fully understand the thing. It was some sort of rare mingling of magical elements in the earth and the air that caused all kinds of side effects among magical beings. She didn’t think anyone fully understood
Destiratu
, not even Dominic. She was glad it usually happened only once every hundred years or so—and she would be even more glad when this one faded away. She had no idea when that might be, however. This current one had been building for more than nine months now.

“When is this
Destiratu
thing going to end?” she asked. “It seems like it’s been going on forever. How long do they usually last?”

“No one can
predict when a
Destiratu
will come to an end,” Dominic replied. “This one is not even fully formed. It could get much worse before it gets better.”

Oh, great,
Leesa thought. That was so not what she wanted to hear.

10
. MIXING MAGIC

“ARE YOU READY TO PRACTICE
some magic?” Dominic asked.

“
You bet,” Leesa replied. She started up the SUV. “Where to?”

“
Let’s try somewhere new, to spread around any traces your magic might leave behind.” Dominic thought for a moment. “You have been to Sleeping Giant, right? Can we find the privacy we need there?”

Leesa nodded
, thinking about how large the park was.

“For sure.
”

Sleeping Giant State Park
held a fond spot in Leesa’s heart. It was the place where Rave had captured the one-fang vampire whose blood Professor Clerval had used to cure her mom. The huge park was a popular hiking spot, but there were many off-trail areas that would provide plenty of privacy, especially with the foliage as thick as it was this time of year.

“If a
grafhym
can hide away there for all these years” she said, “I’m sure we can find a nice secluded spot to practice.”

“
Sleeping Giant it is, then,” Dominic said.

Leesa guided the SUV out of the complex and turned west on highway 66. They cruised through Meriden, passing with
in a couple blocks of her Aunt and Uncle’s house, then headed south on the picturesque, tree-lined Wilbur Cross Parkway.

Dominic spent most of the
thirty minute drive with his eyes half-closed in thought, so Leesa had no further chance to try to pry anymore information from him. In addition to the trip to the park to help her mom, she had been to Sleeping Giant a couple of times to hike with Cali and Stacie, so she knew the way. Even if she hadn’t, signs along the parkway alerted drivers to the proper exit.

Figuring they would find a secluded spot more easily by avoiding the main parking area, Leesa pulled over to the shoulder of the road along the park’s border. For all she knew, she could be
stopping very near to where her Uncle had parked the night they came here to help her mom. It had been pretty dark that night, and it had been raining besides, so there was really no way to tell for certain.

As soon as the car stopped,
Dominic opened his eyes. He looked out the window at the thick woods just a few feet from the side of the road and smiled.

“I think this will do nicely,” he said.

They got out of the car and walked a few steps along the edge of the trees until they came to a spot where the growth was a little less thick than elsewhere. Dominic turned and led the way into the woods.

He moved carefully, pushing his way through the leafy underbrush and small saplings that grew beneath the larger trees. Anytime he had to bend a branch too far, he held it until Leesa could grab it so it wouldn’t snap back
and whip against her.

This
section of the park was even wilder than Leesa had imagined. Low groundcover a foot or two high covered most of the forest floor, and the thin branches of saplings only slightly taller than she was formed a barrier she and Dominic sometimes had to pick their way through. High above, the thick green canopy blotted out most of the sky, allowing them to see only small patches of blue. With no breeze today, the air was still and warm despite the shade. The only sounds to reach their ears were the singing of birds and the rustlings of small animals hustling away through the underbrush.

Leesa
didn’t expect they would have any trouble finding a secluded spot in which to practice. From what she had seen so far, the opposite might be true—they might have difficulty finding a clearing large enough to move around in.

The going continued to be
slow until they came upon a narrow game path—probably used by deer, she guessed. Dominic turned onto the narrow trail and Leesa followed, heading deeper into the trees. The path sloped gradually upward, climbing the outer flank of one of the tall ridges that when viewed from a distance resembles a sleeping giant, thus giving the park its name. They passed several small areas that Leesa thought would serve their purpose, but Dominic continued on, obviously having something specific in mind.

Finally, he stopped. They had reached a place where the trees were a little less thick because a rough outcropping of gray rock had pushed up from the ground. Parts of the rock
created areas of solid ground bare of growth; the rest formed a jagged, almost vertical wall at least twenty feet high.

“This will do nicely,” Dominic said. He sat down atop a rounded boulder. “Warm up,” he told Leesa.

Leesa spent ten minutes running through some of her best spells and magic. She created some illumination spheres, levitated herself a few feet up into the air—about as high as the overhanging trees would allow—and sent some broken branches and pieces of loose rock sliding across the ground with her telekinesis. She was about to shoot a magic energy beam at the wall of rock when Dominic stopped her.

“Just a minute,” he said, standing up and
crossing over to Leesa. “Your instincts are good. The reason I chose this place is so you could fire your magic at the stone, but I want to talk to you about it first.”

Leesa lowered her arm
and listened closely.

“Your dream indicates it may not be long before we must confront the Necromancer and his
followers,” Dominic continued. “The energy beam will be one of your most important weapons, especially if zombies are involved. Blasting their heads with bolts of magic will be the surest way to stop the creatures.”

Leesa
tried to picture herself firing yellow beams of magical energy at an approaching horde of zombies. She wasn’t sure she was quite up to that yet.

“I can see how that would be true,” she said. “I’m not sure I have the skill or power for that, though.”

Dominic nodded. “You do not—not yet, anyhow. But that is why we are here: to practice, and to try something new.”

The wizard
extended his arm with his palm pointed outward, as if he were going to shoot out a beam of his white magic. “When you fire your beam, I want you to open and close your hand like this.” He closed his fist for half a second and then opened it for perhaps twice as long before closing it again. He repeated the sequence several times to be sure Leesa got it. “When you do this, I want you to picture the beam ending each time you close your hand and starting up again when you open it. Understand? It will be like firing a series of short blasts.”

So far,
Leesa had only fired continuous beams of magic, and that was all she had seen Dominic employ when he had battled the black waziri. Still, she was pretty sure she could picture what he had in mind. It would almost be like firing short bursts from the laser pistols she had seen in some science-fiction movies. She could imagine each blast striking a zombie in the head.

“I think I’ve g
ot it,” she said. She saw no reason to describe the laser gun analogy to Dominic, since she didn’t think he had ever seen a movie in his long life.

“I wish
I could show you,” Dominic said, “to provide you a better visualization.”

“
I know, but then the black waziri would sense your active magic and be on your trail again. Don’t worry, though. I’ve got a pretty clear image of what you want from some movies I’ve seen.”

“Good. When you master this, you
will not only prevent collateral damage by better targeting your blasts, you will conserve your magical energy as well.”

Leesa nodded. That made sense.
She had learned early on that magic was not an infinite resource. It could be drained, and when it was, only time could replenish it.

“I hadn’t thought of that,
” she said.

She
raised her hand and pointed her palm toward the rock.

“Okay, here goes.” She visualized laser bursts s
treaming from her hand. “
Magnus irrundi
,” she chanted.

The familiar yellowish beam shot from her hand. She closed and opened her
fist a few times, picturing the beam stopping and starting up again as she did so.

The result was nowhere near as crisp and clean as
she would have liked, but she did manage to break her beam into several uneven parts. The hard rock was unmarked by the blasts, but that didn’t concern her at this point.

“Not bad for a first attempt,” Dominic said. “Not bad at all.” The wizard returned to his seat upon the boulder. “Try again.
”

For the next twenty minutes, Leesa repeated her effort more than a dozen times. Occasionally, Dominic would stop her and offer some instruction. With each attempt her control grew better, until
her final try resulted in quick bursts of energy that were nearly all the same length.

Dominic
pushed himself up from the boulder. “Well done,” he said. “Now we need to work on the strength of your beam.”

He
shuffled over to the rocky outcropping, motioning Leesa to follow. She joined him beside the rock wall.

Dominic held his hand out so that it was just two or three inches from the stone.

“Get your hand this close,” he instructed. “Fire a continuous blast until I tell you to stop.”

Leesa did as
the wizard instructed. She had never used an energy beam this short, but she concentrated as hard as she did for longer beams. After a few seconds, the rock began to sizzle audibly where the energy struck it. The unexpected sound pleased her but caused her to lose focus. The yellow beam vanished. Leesa frowned, her satisfaction with herself quickly turning into frustration.

She
looked at the rock. Where her beam had struck it, the gray stone was charred dark black. The mark was darker and more pronounced than any she had managed to achieve in the New Hampshire cavern with Rave. That was something, at least.

“Sorry,” she said. “I know I was supposed to try to keep going until you told me to stop. The sound
of the rock beginning to burn surprised me and broke my concentration.”

Dominic nodded. “
As I’ve said before, not allowing oneself to be surprised is one of the bigger challenges facing any wizard. Losing focus is never a good thing.”

“I know. I’m trying, I promise.”

“Do not be too hard on yourself,” Dominic counseled. “You have not been at this all that long. Just keep it in mind and try to control your thoughts. Be ready for anything, and then nothing will surprise you.”

Leesa was pretty sure that was much easier said than done. “I will,” she assured him.

“Do it again,” Dominic said. “Move a few feet to the side.”

Leesa took two steps to her left. This time, she was not surprised when the rock began to pop and sizzle in front of her. She kept her beam focused on the same spot until she felt her energy begin to weaken. She ended the spell and looked at the stone.

Not only was the spot charred completely black, but it was slightly indented. Her magic had actually
eaten away a tiny bit of the stone!

She
smiled at Dominic. “That should be strong enough to fry any zombie skull,” she said. She shook her head wryly. “If I can sneak up on one and get my hand this close to its head, that is.”

Dominic smiled back. “Let u
s hope that is not necessary. With luck, we will have enough time to work more on this before you actually need to use it.”

“Amen to that,” Leesa replied.

“I had you put your hand that close to the rock because I wanted you to witness the effect of your power when concentrated on one spot like that,” Dominic explained. “It’s important that you realize the strength of your magic when properly controlled and channeled. Now that you have the visual in your head, you should be able to dissolve the rock from farther away.”

He tu
rned and walked a few steps farther from the outcropping. Leesa followed him.

“There is something else I want to try as well,” Dominic said. He put his hand
on Leesa’s shoulder and nodded toward the rock. “Do it again, from here.”

Leesa looked at the wall of rock, nearly ten feet away now. She wasn’t sure she could even make her beam reach the stone, let alone have any effect on it.

“Use a solid stream,” Dominic said. “Do not worry about breaking it up, for now.”

Leesa summoned her complete concentration. “
Magnus irrundi
,” she intoned.

The yellow beam streaked from her palm, stopping about two feet short of the rock. She willed the energy forward. It inched closer to the outcropping, but she could tel
l it was never going to reach the stone. She was not about to give up though. She redoubled her efforts.

Suddenly, she felt a
powerful increase in her energy, igniting its power like someone squirting lighter fluid onto a fire. Her beam shot forward, striking the rock with a loud hiss. Pieces of stone crumbled from the rock face. She watched in stunned awe for a moment before the beam disappeared.

She turned to Dominic, who was still holding her shoulder. The wizard was smiling.