Cali doubled over with laughter. “Not quite what I had in mind,” she said when she straightened up. “But at least I’ve collected a wizard’s kiss now. I have to say, Lees, you’ve got a ways to go before it measures up to a volkaane kiss or a vampire kiss, that’s for sure.” She glanced at Rave. “No offense, Rave. I’m sure you enjoy Leesa’s kisses just fine.”

  Rave reached out and took Leesa’s hand. “That I do. More than just fine.”

  Leesa squeezed his hand. “Good answer, sweetheart. Now stand back you two, it’s time for me to get to work.”

  Leesa let go of Rave’s hand and turned her attention to the dark stone in the center of the soaked clearing. In a few minutes, she would attempt to make it grow, but first she needed to warm up with her magic. All this time, she had effortlessly been maintaining a shield over her head to protect her from the rain, but now she would need to combine spells if she was to stay dry. She remembered Cali’s earlier suggestion and thought that might be a good place to start.

  She held out her hands and called forth a yellow illumination globe above her left palm and a blue one above her right. When both were glowing brightly in the gloom, she sent them floating up toward her invisible shield. When they struck the barrier, she concentrated hard on mixing the different magics, infusing the hues into the shield. Half of it suddenly shone yellow and the other have glowed blue.

  “That’s what I’m talking about!” Cali cheered. “Add some color to that thing, so we can see it! It’s pretty, too.”

  Leesa smiled proudly. She wasn’t done yet, though. Continuing to visualize the colors filling the shield, she broke them into six different blue and yellow rows, alternating them in sections similar to the segments in Cali’s umbrella. Where the colors met, thin strips of green appeared. The green light made Leesa think of the child inside her belly, and a warm glow filled her. When she was confident she had the colors locked firmly into place, she turned to Cali.

  “How about now?” she asked.

  Cali’s eyes were fastened on the yellow and blue barrier above Leesa’s head. “Even better. Way cool. Not as cool as hot pink, mind you, but cool enough.”

  Leesa smiled. She was pretty sure she could make colors other than blue and yellow, but those were the two she had always used. Trying to fashion other colors would have to wait for another day.

  Pleased with her success so far, she felt ready to get to work on the stone. She let the blue and yellow glow fade from her shield—maintaining the barrier while she tried to make the rock grow would be difficult enough without trying to keep the colors in place as well.

  She stared down at the dark stone, once again fixing every angle and sharp edge in her mind. When she felt ready, she pictured it expanding an inch or so in every direction while she cast her spell.

  “Blitha morun sumuss,” she chanted. “Blitha morun sumuss.”

  Nothing happened. The stone remained exactly as it was.

  Leesa was not deterred. Getting it to grow on her first attempt today would have been a surprise—a pleasant surprise, to be sure, but a surprise nonetheless.

  She inhaled several slow, deep breaths, then fixed her eyes onto the rock.

  “Blitha morun sumuss,” she said, even louder this time. “Blitha morun sumuss.”

  Once again, the stubborn stone remained unchanged. When two more attempts failed as well, Leesa knew she had to try something different.

  She turned toward Cali. “Come over here, please. I need your help.”

  Cali’s raised eyebrows showed her surprise, but she hurried over to Leesa’s side. She didn’t know how she was going to help Leesa, but where magic was concerned she was always willing and eager to try.

  “What do you need? Are you going to try to draw on some of MY magic?”

  Leesa let her air shield dissipate and ducked under Cali’s umbrella.

  “I wish I could. But your magic is just my magic. There’s nothing to draw from.”

  Cali’s brow knitted. “What then?”

  Leesa grinned. “I need your umbrella. I think maintaining my shield is working against me. I need you to keep me dry for a few minutes.”

  Cali returned Leesa’s grin. “I can do that, for sure.”

  The two girls moved closer to the rock, both staying close under Cali’s umbrella. Leesa fixed her gaze upon the stone once more.

  “Blitha morun summass,” she chanted.

  The edges of the rock seemed to shimmer for a moment, but it was difficult to tell with so much water streaming over its surface. It didn’t grow, though. That much was clear.

  “I think you almost had it,” Cali said.

  Leesa thought so, too, but she wanted to be sure. She looked over at Rave. He had by far the sharpest eyes among them.

  “Did you see anything?” she asked him.

  Rave nodded. “The edges vibrated for a few seconds. I thought it was about to grow, but it didn’t.”

  Leesa smiled, pleased that her magic had begun affecting the rock at least a little. “That’s what I thought, but I wasn’t sure.” She turned back to Cali. “Let’s get the rock under the umbrella as well.”

  Squeezing even closer together, Leesa and Cali stepped toward the stone until they were almost standing on top of it. The umbrella was barely big enough to protect the two girls and the rock from the rain, but barely was all Leesa needed. She decided to make one more change as well before she attempted her spell again. She wanted to dry the stone off first. A heat spell would do the trick, but she had a better way.

  “Rave, will you come dry this thing off, please.”

  Rave crossed the clearing with four quick strides. He squatted and placed both palms upon the rock, using his heat to quickly evaporate the moisture. In seconds, the rock was as dry as if it had never been rained on at all.

  “Don’t tell me,” Cali said, smiling. “He earns another kiss for that.”

  Leesa laughed. “Not now, but maybe later, yeah. Right now, I’ve got a date with this rock.”

  Rave backed up a few steps, and Leesa fastened her gaze upon the stone once more. Her confidence buoyed by Rave’s confirmation that her last attempt had vibrated the edges, she focused her concentration as strongly as she could upon an image of the rock expanding in size.

  “Blitha morun sumuss,” she chanted, repeating the incantation three times in a slow, firm tone.

  On the third chant, the stone began to shimmer, so she repeated the spell again. This time, the shimmering edges moved outward. She had done it! The rock had definitely grown.

  Leesa smiled, pleased with herself. The rock hadn’t grown much, but she didn’t care—she had caused a rock to grow, all on her own, without any help from Jenna or anyone else.

  “You did it!” Cali exclaimed. Her excitement caused her to move the umbrella slightly, allowing the rain to soak Leesa’s right shoulder and half of her head. As soon as Cali realized what had happened, she hurriedly shifted the umbrella back into place.

  “Uh, sorry, Lees.”

  “Not a problem,” Leesa replied.

  She was about to use a spell to dry herself off, but Rave had already bounded to her side. He put one hand on her shoulder and used the other to stroke her wet hair. Both dried quickly as Rave’s heat spread into her from his fingertips.

  Leesa smiled. This was so much better than a boring drying spell. She wished she could let Rave’s hands linger, but she wanted to continue her practice while the image of the stone enlarging was still fresh and clear in her mind.

  Reaching up, she grasped the hand that was stroking her hair and gave it a gentle squeeze.

  “Thank you,” she said as she lifted Rave’s fingers from her hair. “I hope you don’t mind, but I want to get back to this rock right away.”

  Rave gave her hand a gentle squeeze of his own. “I don’t mind at all. I love watching you when you’re beginning to master a new spell.” He stepped back two paces.

  Leesa returned her attention to the rock. Not every attempt was successful, but by the end of her session she had made the stone grow half a dozen times, including once while maintaining an air shield over her head.

  “I think that’s enough for now,” she said, tremendously pleased with that final success. “We can leave this rock right here. From now on, I’m pretty sure any old rock will do.” She moved to Rave’s side and took his hand. “Cali, you don’t mind if I catch a ride home with Rave, now that he doesn’t have a rock to carry, do you?”

  Cali grinned. “Of course not. Why would you want to ride in my crummy old car when you can have Rave carry you? I’ll drop that table off at the side of the road for you to pick up.”

  “Great.” Leesa was about to hop up into Rave’s arms when she stopped herself. “Oh, one more thing before we go.” She stared at one of the pink sections of Cali’s umbrella for a few seconds. When she was ready, she lifted her head toward the invisible shield above her. A moment later, the barrier glowed pink.

  “How’s that?” she asked Cali.

  “Totally awesome,” Cali replied, smiling. “Totally freaking awesome.”

  13. A SECRET REVEALED

  IN WHAT HAD BECOME a weekly ritual that Leesa loved, she and Rave were visiting her mom and Bradley for Sunday brunch. Every week, Leesa asked if she could help in the kitchen, and every week her mom refused. Judy enjoyed cooking for her “kids,” a position Rave had now earned by marrying Leesa. Leesa never pushed it—she knew her mom was making up for all the lost years of their childhood. Bradley and Leesa didn’t mind the making up in the least.

  This morning, Judy had fixed French toast. The first time she had attempted the dish several months before it had come out bland and dry. Today, though, Leesa thought it was delicious. Judy had used cinnamon-raisin bread, and Leesa had topped it with maple syrup and powdered sugar. The combination of flavors was nearly as tasty as most desserts.

  “This is really good,” she said to her mom after swallowing a few bites. “Really, really good.”

  Judy beamed. “I’m so glad you like it, dear.” Her eyes narrowed slightly. “Are you telling me the truth? I remember you saying you liked it the first time I made it, and even I knew how bad that batch was. You’re not just being polite now, are you?”

  Leesa shook her head. “No way. This tastes great.” She popped another big bite into her mouth.

  “It does, Mom,” Bradley agreed. “It’s delicious.”

  “I’m so glad,” Judy said, smiling again. “I love cooking for all of you.”

  Everyone returned their attention to the meal. Leesa’s bottom piece of toast was beginning to dry out, so she reached across the table for the small crystal pitcher of syrup. Just before she could wrap her fingers around the handle, the pitcher suddenly slid a few inches across the tablecloth, heading for Bradley’s lap.

  Rave was on his feet in a flash, snaking his arm above the table with such quickness that Leesa could hardly see it. He snatched the pitcher just as it was about to tumble over the edge.

  Bradley looked at the pitcher in Rave’s hand in wonder. He had seen very little of Rave’s supernatural abilities.

  “Nice catch, Rave,” he said, trying not to sound overly amazed.

  “I’m so sorry,” Leesa said, hoping Rave’s supernaturally quick reflexes would distract Bradley from realizing what had actually just occurred. “That was awfully clumsy of me.”

  Bradley stared at his sister for a few seconds, a quizzical look on his face. Leesa wondered if he had noticed exactly what had happened. More importantly, why had that damn pitcher moved at all? She hadn’t meant to use telekinesis, and it had been nearly a year since she had caused anything to move without meaning to. She hoped she wasn’t beginning to lose control over some of her powers again. She wondered if pregnancy could do that to her.

  “Hey, don’t worry, Sis,” Bradley said finally. Accidents happen.”

  Accidents do happen, Leesa thought—but not accidents like this one. Trying to appear unconcerned, she picked up the pitcher, poured a generous amount of syrup onto her toast, and resumed eating. The French toast really was delicious, and she soon forgot about the moving pitcher, for the moment, at least.

  When they had all finished eating, Judy grabbed Bradley’s dishes and her own and headed for the kitchen. Leesa quickly scooped up hers and Rave’s and followed her mother.

  “Thank you, honey,” Judy said as she pulled on a pair of blue rubber gloves. “Just put them in the sink and get back out there with your brother and Rave.”

  “Yes, Mom,” Leesa replied. She knew better than to try to help her mom. She carefully placed the plates and bowls in the sink and then gave her mom a kiss on the cheek. “The French toast really was delicious.”

  “I’m glad you liked it, dear.” Judy flicked the back of one of her gloved hands toward the kitchen doorway. “Now scoot, you.”

  Leesa laughed and turned back toward dining table. When she sat down, Bradley was staring at her.

  “What?” she asked. “Do I have powdered sugar on my nose or something?” She rubbed her nose, but her fingers came away clean.

  “Is there something you want to tell me?” Bradley asked.

  Leesa drummed the fingers of her right hand slowly atop the table, wondering what her brother meant. Of course there were things she hadn’t told him yet, but she didn’t know which he might be talking about. Had he somehow sensed she was pregnant? Or had he realized she had never touched the syrup before it fell. She decided to play dumb, for the moment at least.

  “What do you mean?” she asked, trying to look and sound as innocent as she could.

  Brother and sister stared at each other for several moments before Bradley broke the silence.

  “Okay, I’ll go first. Would you care to explain how that maple syrup almost ended up in my lap? You never touched the pitcher, so what made it fall?”

  Leesa widened her eyes, still playing dumb. “Are you sure? Syrup can’t move all on its own.”

  Bradley shook his head slowly and smiled. “I know. That’s why I’m asking what happened. I didn’t know we kept secrets from each other, Pumpkin.”

  Now Leesa felt guilty. She didn’t like keeping things from her big brother, but had been doing so for his own good. Bradley seemed fully recovered now from his horrible ordeal of being kept as a feeder—a kind of human blood-bank—by the vampire Edwina, so Leesa decided it was time to tell him about her magic. He certainly was used to the idea that there were supernatural things in the world; her wizard powers should not be too much of a stretch for him to accept. The pregnancy thing could still wait, however, until she and Rave were more certain how it would turn out.

  “There is something,” she said softly, “but you have to promise not to tell Mom. I don’t want to worry her any more than necessary. Promise me.”

  Bradley nodded. “I promise.”

  Leesa glanced into the kitchen. Her mom was still busy with the dishes, humming softly to herself as she washed them. Leesa couldn’t think of any way to ease into the topic of her wizard nature, so she decided just to come directly out with it.

  “You were right about the syrup,” she began. “It didn’t move on its own. I moved it. I’m a wizard. Telekinesis is one of my powers.” She left out that she hadn’t intended to move the pitcher. Since she herself had no idea what had caused it, she wasn’t going to saddle Bradley with the problem.

  Bradley’s eyebrows climbed up his forehead. Whatever he had been expecting to hear, it certainly hadn’t been that. He recovered from his surprise quickly and turned his head toward the kitchen.

  “Mom, we’re all going to go out for a little walk. You don’t mind if we leave you for just a bit, do you?”

  Judy twisted her neck around. “Of course not. It’s a beautiful morning. Go out and get some fresh air.”

  Leesa, Rave and Bradley pushed themselves away from the table and headed for the door. Bradley grabbed a lightweight black sweatshirt from the clothes pole beside the door. Leesa took hers—a light blue zippered hoodie—as well, for appearances sake. Wearing nothing but a short-sleeved shirt on a cool day like this could attract attention.

  They stepped outside, and Bradley pulled the door closed behind them.

  Their mom was right; it was definitely a beautiful morning. The air was cool and crisp, with just a hint of a breeze out of the north, and the sun shone brightly in a blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds. The autumn foliage had not quite reached its peak yet, but there were plenty of bright colors adorning the neighborhood’s trees.

  Bradley got directly to the matter at hand.

  “Tell me, Sis,” he said as they headed down the walk with Leesa in the middle of her two favorite guys, “you didn’t know any of this before I went away, did you?”

  Leesa shook her head. “Of course not. None of it started until after I got to Weston—not that the college has anything to do with it.”

  Bradley seemed to take that in for a moment. “Okay, then. Out with it. Tell me everything.”

  “It’s a long story.”

  Bradley draped his arm around Leesa’s shoulders. “It’s Sunday, Pumpkin. I’ve got all day.”

  They left the apartment complex grounds and turned west along Washington Street. Leesa took a moment to gather her thoughts, then started at the beginning, when she had moved a can of Red Bull and then a wastebasket without knowing how or why. Back then, she needed strong emotions to unleash her hidden powers. She told him how Dominic had finally found her after years of searching and how he had imparted his magic to her while she was still in their mom’s womb. She explained about the treachery of the black waziri, and why Dominic had chosen a female to become his protégé and secret ally.

  “Are you following this all so far?” she asked, pausing to let it all sink in.

  Bradley nodded. “I think so. Where’s this Dominic guy now? Surely you can’t be done with your training?”

  “I’m not. Not even close. But you need to hear about our battle with the Necromancer and his minions before you can understand what happened to Dominic.”