Heartless (Blue Fire Saga) (20 page)

She led him toward the back of the cavern. After just ten steps, it was noticeably dimmer, and when the passage made a slight curve, it suddenly grew dark. Leesa could barely make out Rave’s form beside her. The walls of the cavern might as well have been a hundred feet away, or a mile. They were invisible to her.

“You can still see fine, right?” she asked him.

“Yes, I can.”

“Perfect. I can hardly see anything.”

Leesa held out her free hand and pictured the spell she wanted in her mind.

“
Illuminati verdus
,” she said.

The golden orb that appeared above her palm seemed extra bright here in the darkness. The light shimmered slightly, making shadows caused by cracks and rough spots in the cavern walls seem to flicker and move. Without Rave by her side, the moving shadows might have made Leesa worry there were other creatures hiding here in the deeper reaches of the cave.

“One of the ways my book describes this spell is as ‘a light to guide you in the darkest places.’ This seems like the perfect place to put that to the test. I sure can’t imagine anywhere darker.” She gave Rave’s hand a squeeze. “And just in case my magic light falters, I’ve got you to lead me back.”

“Good planning,” Rave said, smiling.

Hand in hand, they walked deeper into the cavern. Leesa had been hoping this cave might be like some she had seen pictured in books, filled with glittering crystal formations, sharp pointed stalactites and stalagmites, and maybe even an underground river or stream. They found none of that in here, however, even when they ventured farther into the cavern than Rave had ever gone. The passage twisted and turned, usually descending at a gentle grade and occasionally ascending, but it was always the same—rough walls and ceiling fashioned of uneven, gray and brown stone. Now and then tiny crystals embedded in the rock gleamed under her magical light, but it was nothing more than could be seen in an ordinary piece of quartz she might pick up off the ground outside. In some places the cave widened enough to be called a chamber, in others it narrowed so tightly she and Rave had to walk single file. Even then, she kept a firm grip on Rave’s hand, just in case.

Despite the lack of beauty or unusual discoveries, Leesa was hardly disappointed. Her light remained bright and strong, even after more than fifteen minutes of steady walking. The illumination from her hand spanned at least a dozen feet in front of them and almost as far behind, though the light to the rear was dimmer due to the shadows cast by their bodies. The uneven floor of the tunnel kept their pace slow, but even so, she guessed they must be at least a quarter of a mile inside the mountain by now. Her glowing orb was a light to guide her in the darkest places, for sure!

They had just entered a particularly narrow, low-ceiling section of the tunnel when something suddenly fluttered out of the darkness and whizzed by Leesa’s ear. She let out a shriek as she felt it brush against her hair. Frightened and distracted, she lost her concentration and her light winked out. Blackness immediately enveloped them—a blackness deeper and thicker than any Leesa could ever have imagined.

She felt Rave’s hand tighten reassuringly around hers.

“It’s okay,” he said. “It was just a bat, that’s all.”

“Are you sure?” Leesa asked, her heart pounding inside her chest. “Did you see it?”

“I can’t see a thing. But I heard it. It was definitely a bat. The poor thing was probably more scared of us than you were of it. There must be another entrance to this cavern somewhere, because I’ve never seen any signs of bats back in the section where my people stay.”

Leesa barely heard Rave’s explanation. Instead, her brain was focused on him saying he couldn’t see a thing. How was he going to lead them out of here if he couldn’t see a thing? Why had he let her bring them so far underground? She tried to call forth her magic light again, but her brain refused to work. Her thoughts were racing in too many directions, none of them good.

“Rave, I can’t access my magic!” she cried worriedly, her panic growing by the moment. “If you can’t see, how are we going to get out of here?”

Rave’s voice was calm in the blackness. “Take it easy,” he said. “Everything will be fine.”

Five tiny blue flames appeared in the darkness as he let his fire loose through his fingers. The flames steadily brightened until they burned like a handful of small candles. The light they cast wasn’t all that much, but it was more than enough to light the ground immediately in front of them. If necessary, they could easily use it to retrace their steps.

Leesa felt like slapping herself upside the head. She couldn’t believe she had forgotten about Rave’s fire—she should have known he would never have let them get into danger. Even worse, she had allowed herself to panic, thus cutting herself off from her magic. It was a lesson she hoped she never had to repeat.

She pressed herself against Rave’s side.

“I’m sorry. I lost my head there for a minute. It was stupid of me.”

“Don’t worry,” Rave said. “It’s much too pretty a head for
me
to ever lose.”

Leesa sighed. Her heart was still beating rapidly, but it was no longer from fear or panic. Not for the first time, she wondered how she had ever gotten so lucky.

“Let’s see if I can finish what I started.”

She held her right hand out in front of her. Just to be on the safe side, she kept her grip on Rave’s hand with her left hand.

“
Illuminati verdus
.”

Her light immediately flared up above her palm, just as bright as it had been before she had lost control and allowed it to go out. She leaned over and gave Rave a quick kiss on the cheek.

“You can put your fire out,” she said. “I’ll take it from here.”

Rave kissed her forehead. “That’s my girl. Lead the way.”

Leesa’s light never faltered as they followed the passage back up toward the surface. If it had not been for her momentary panic, she would have been quite proud of herself. She had easily maintained a very bright light for at least half an hour. Remembering Dominic’s admonishment to accentuate her successes and not to dwell on any failures, she tried to strip as much emotion as she could from her unfortunate lapse. It was an important lesson to remember, she reminded herself, nothing more. No harm had come from her miscue.

When they reached the chamber where she had slept, Leesa extinguished her light. More than enough daylight filtered in through the cave’s opening for her to see easily. Still, she had a yearning to step out into the sunlight.

“Can we go outside?” she asked Rave. “I want some fresh air—and some real daylight.”

“Of course. There’s nothing around for miles, no one to see anything. We can stay outside as much as we want.”

“Let’s go, then,” Leesa said, heading for the entrance and pulling Rave along behind her.

As soon as she stepped outside, Leesa sucked in a long, deep breath. After so long underground, the air out here smelled and tasted wonderfully fresh, laced with the scent of pine from stands of evergreens that covered parts of the hillsides, which stretched in rolling waves as far as her eyes could see. The sky was a clean, bright blue—cleaner and brighter than she was used to in Connecticut. A dozen or so small white clouds, shaped into wispy, miniature tornados by powerful high altitude winds, dotted the azure sky.

The air was slightly cool, but the sun felt wonderful on her face.

“It’s so beautiful out here,” Leesa said. “And so quiet and peaceful, too.”

Rave scooped her up in his arms. “You should see the view from the top.”

He took off, racing up the hillside with long, smooth strides. Leesa barely had time to snuggle her cheek against his chest before he set her down. She wasn’t about to complain, though. The view from up here was even more spectacular than from down by the cave.

They stood on a gray granite outcropping that capped the mountain peak. From here, a three hundred and sixty degree view of the surrounding hills spread out before them. Some were covered by thick pine forests, others by deciduous trees still mostly bare of leaves. A few of the peaks were more rock than trees, and their barren gray slopes stood out in stark contrast to their tree covered cousins. On the higher reaches of several of the peaks, Leesa spied white patches of leftover snow in places shaded from the sun. Down below, she saw several lakes nestled in the nearby valleys, their sun-dappled waters reflecting the perfect blue sky.

Except for her two flights in planes, Leesa had never been up so high. She almost felt like she was standing on top of the world. The thought gave her an idea that made her grin. She wet her finger in her mouth and then held it out, testing for any wind. She felt very little, which she guessed was probably not the norm up here atop the exposed summit. But it suited her purposes perfectly.

“What?” Rave asked, wondering why she was grinning and testing the wind.

“I just learned a new spell a few days ago,” Leesa told him. “I haven’t really gotten it to work so far, but I think this might be the perfect place to try it again.”

Rave glanced around, wondering what kind of spell this spot could be perfect for.

“Go for it,” he said.

Leesa closed her eyes and took a deep breath, picturing an image of what she wanted to happen. When she felt ready, she opened her eyes.

“
Levictius arrami
,” she said confidently.

For a moment, nothing happened, but Leesa kept her visualization firm in her mind. Slowly, she began to rise, floating upward until her feet were a full foot above the mountaintop. The strength of her renewed power and her ability to control it thrilled her.

She looked down at Rave and smiled. “The view is even nicer from up here.”

Rave’s eyes were wide with astonishment. “That’s absolutely amazing! I don’t know what I was expecting, but it was definitely not this. You can fly.”

Leesa felt herself beginning to grow heavy, so rather than have the spell end and drop her into an ungraceful landing, she pictured herself floating back down to the ground, which was exactly what she did.

“It’s not really flying,” she said when she was standing on terra firma once again. “It’s levitation—more like floating. Even if I get good enough to go higher, I won’t be able to move in any direction but up or down. Unless a strong wind is blowing, that is. My book says I need to be careful about that, or I could get blown somewhere I don’t want to go.”

Rave grinned. “We certainly do not want that. Maybe I should attach a string to you, like a kite.”

“Ha! Good idea. I would never mind being tethered to you, that’s for sure.”

“So, have you got any other tricks up your sleeve to show me?”

Leesa shook her head. “No, that was the only one you haven’t seen.” She hopped up into Rave’s arms. As usual, he caught her easily.

“You can take me back down now,” she said. “I can practice the rest of my stuff on my own.” She kissed him quickly on the mouth, drawing her lips away almost before they touched him. “
You
need to get to work practicing that
Rammugul
thing.”

26. AN UNWELCOME RETURN

L
ate Monday afternoon, Cali lay stretched out on her bed, relaxing to Pink’s greatest hits CD. Pink was one of her favorite artists—Cali loved her rebellious, raucous lyrics and the way she wove swear words into her songs that you didn’t get to hear in the radio versions. Pink was shooting some guy down by telling him it was “just him and his hand” that night when a knock sounded at Cali’s door.

Pushing herself up off the bed, Cali turned down the volume and crossed to the door. When she pulled it open, she was surprised to see BSI agents Smith, Jones and Rome standing there. Missi, a girl from the second floor, stood behind them. The three agents were dressed exactly the same as the last time they were here. Cali wondered if they each only owned one suit, or if they had a collection of identical ones.

“Hello, Miss Farnsworth,” Smith said. “Remember us?”

Act dumb
, Cali reminded herself. “Yeah, sure. You’re the CSI agents, right?”

She was pleased by the exasperation that flashed across Smith’s face.

“BSI,” he said, emphasizing the B. “BSI. CSI is a television show.”

“Oh, yeah. That’s right. Sorry.”

“May we come in,” Jones asked.

“Uh, I guess so.” Cali backed away from the door and sat down on the edge of her bed. “What’s going on?”

The three agents followed her into the room and remained standing. Missi remained just outside the door. Cali was pretty sure Missi was waiting for the agents. Cali wondered what that was all about.

“We’re checking to see if anything strange or unnatural has happened in your dorm since we were here last,” Jones said. “Have you noticed anything unusual?”

“What kind of things do you mean?” Cali asked, wide-eyed. “Besides zombies, of course.”

“Anything that could be considered magical,” Jones replied. “Strange noises or lights, things moving around or disappearing—anything like that.”

Cali shook her head. “I sure haven’t seen any of that,” she said emphatically. “I’d definitely remember if I did. One brush with that supernatural stuff was more than enough for me, I’ll tell you.”

“We’re also doing follow-up exams on everyone,” Smith said. “We want to make sure there aren’t any delayed infections anywhere. Zombies can be very infectious, you know.”

“Really? All I know is what I’ve seen in the movies. Like if one bites you, you’re done for. I didn’t know you could catch anything just from being near them, though.”

“You never know,” Jones said. “To be frank, there hasn’t been all that much research done on the things. Better to be safe than sorry, don’t you think?”

Cali nodded vigorously, exaggerating her enthusiasm. “For sure. I don’t want to wake up dead one morning—walking dead, I mean.” She flashed an overly wide smile at her little joke.

Rome moved forward. “None of us want that,” she said. Her voice sounded colder than Cali remembered.

Rome reached out and placed her hands on either side of Cali’s head. A momentary look of intense concentration flashed across Rome’s face.