Deathless (14 page)

Leesa guessed there were close to a hundred people already circled around the fire, with more streaming in by the minute as word of the impromptu party spread across campus. The driving beat of a hip-hop song she didn’t recognize blasted from the open window of a nearby room. Kids were dancing, singing and throwing things into the blaze—anything to blow off the accumulated stresses of final exams. The flames snapped and crackled, leaping at least fifteen feet into the air. Leesa could see the charred outlines of two wooden desk chairs and a square table outlined inside the dancing flames. She shuddered to think what else might be burning in there.

A string of fire crackers exploded from within the fire, their staccato bangs sounding like a series of gunshots, and a loud cheer erupted from the crowd. Leesa and her friends moved to within twenty feet from the fire—even from here she could feel its heat. She pulled off her gloves and rolled her cap up above her ears.

Another loud cheer burst from the revelers, and she watched as the crowd parted for two bare-chested guys wearing only jeans and sneakers running toward the fire carrying a small, very ugly couch.

“
Go! Go! Go!” the onlookers chanted as the two guys used the momentum from their run to toss the couch into the center of the fire. Golden sparks shot upward into the night as the upholstery ignited. The guys bowed happily as the crowd applauded. Leesa suspected they would rue the loss of their couch in the morning—she hoped it belonged to them, and not to someone who had neglected to lock his or her door—but the two guys were certainly having fun tonight. One of them took a long chug from a bottle of Tequila, and then handed it to his friend, who did the same. The crowd cheered again, and the bare-chested pair launched into a crazy, alcohol fueled dance. They bounced up and down, sometimes linking arms and spinning around in a circle, throwing their other arm wildly into the air without apparent rhyme or reason. It reminded Leesa of a scene from one of The Lord of the Rings movies, when two of the hobbits—Merry and Pippin, she thought—were drinking and dancing wildly atop a table.

Something about the fire made her miss Rave. It was stupid, she knew. He had only been gone a few hours, and she was used to going days without seeing him, sometimes even longer. This time was different, though. She knew she wouldn’t be seeing him for some time, and that caused an empty space inside her.

She glanced over at her friends. They were all watching the fire and the dancing guys. Cali and Caitlin bobbed their heads to the music, while Stacie seemed to be studying the whole scene, like she was going to write a term paper or something on it later.

Someone passed Cali a red and brown bota bag of wine. She lifted it up in front of her face and shot a stream of red liquid into her mouth. She noticed Leesa watching and offered the bota to her. Leesa shook her head. She wasn’t much of a drinker, and alcohol was the last thing she needed right now, with the way she felt.

Cali gave it to Caitlin instead, who took a long drink before passing it on.

“
Pretty fun, huh,” Cali said to Leesa.

“
It’s wild, alright.”

Cali looked at Leesa more closely. She sensed something was not right.

“
What’s wrong, Lees? You don’t look like you’re having as much fun as the rest of us. You still feeling wiped out?”

“
A little, but that’s not it. It’s Rave. I miss him.”

Cali grinned. “So, what else is new? I told you not to get involved with a guy without a phone or car.”

“
I’ve gotten used to that. This is different. He’s gone for a couple of weeks, at least. They’re all gone.”

Cali linked her arm around Leesa’s, a concerned look on her face. “What do you mean he’s gone? That they’re all gone?”

Leesa hesitated, trying to think of something she could tell Cali that would not reveal Rave’s nature. “All the Mastons are gone,” she said after a moment. “They left today. Went up north somewhere.”

“
All of them? The whole clan? Why?”

“
It’s some sort of pilgrimage thing. It has something to do with the winter solstice. I don’t really understand it,” she added, to keep from having to explain any further.

“
Pilgrimage, huh?” Cali said. She grinned. “Are you sure it’s not for some secret human sacrifice ceremony?”

Leesa smiled back. When she had first told Cali she had met one of the Mastons, Cali said there were stories they performed human sacrifices.

“
I’m pretty sure it has nothing to do with any sacrifices, human or otherwise,” Leesa said.

“
They’ve always been strange and reclusive,” Cali mused, “but I don’t remember all of them disappearing at once. The solstice happens every year. I’m sure we would have noticed.”

Cali had grown up in East Hampton, which was one of the closest towns to the Maston’s isolated settlement. She would know this was something different, so Leesa decided she could safely tell her friend a little bit more.

“
Yeah, I know. But there’s something special about this solstice. Rave said it happens less than once every hundred years. Like I said, I don’t understand exactly it.”

That seemed to satisfy Cali.

“
And he didn’t say when he would be back?” she asked.

“
No. He said he didn’t know. It’s not up to him. It’s up to the elders.”

Cali grimaced. “That sucks. But at least he’s coming back eventually, right?”

“
Yeah, he is,” Leesa said. “I hope.”

Cali squeezed Leesa’s arm. “He’ll be back, don’t worry. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. There’s no way he won’t be back.”

Leesa smiled. She had seen it, too, of course. But she did not know if it would be up to him.

18. A NEW HOME

L
eesa was sitting on her bed reading when her mom and Bradley walked in through the open door. She had gotten a good night’s sleep after the bonfire and was feeling pretty rested this morning. Smiling, she bounced up off the bed and gave her mom a big hug. When she was done, she moved into Bradley’s arms.

“
Hi, pumpkin,” he said, squeezing her tightly.

“
How are you feeling, big brother?” she asked when she stepped out of his embrace.

“
I feel great.”

In truth, he did look great, a far cry from the gaunt, glassy-eyed apparition Stefan had led out of the darkness when he had come to fulfill his side of his bargain with Leesa. Bradley’s blue eyes were bright and clear, and he seemed to have put on another pound or two since she had seen him a week or so ago. But the best thing about him was his wide smile, a smile that had helped Leesa through so many difficult days during her childhood.

Her mom looked great too, but she’d had much more time to recover than Bradley. They were here to drive Leesa back to Aunt Janet’s house, where they would all be staying for the holidays, at least until they found an apartment of their own to move into. Leesa could have remained on campus, but she would have had to move into another dorm, one the college left open for students who could not go home over the break for one reason or another. It would be a bit crowded at Aunt Janet’s, but a lot more fun. Besides, Cali, Caitlin and Stacie were all going home for break, so Leesa would have been pretty much alone if she remained on campus.

Her suitcase was already packed so she grabbed her parka from the closet and was ready to go. Bradley beat her to her suitcase, so she let him wheel it out to the elevator. For a split second she thought of protesting, but realized the small gesture was his way of trying to restore their normal big brother/little sister relationship. He had spent most of his childhood taking care of her, and she sensed that he wanted to get back to his role of caretaker, even though they both realized she didn’t need it any more. She didn’t mind—she kind of liked the idea of having a big brother again.

The elevator stopped on the third floor on the way down. The door slid open to reveal Caitlin standing there, along with a slightly older girl who looked so much like Caitlin she had to be her sister. None of the others had met each other, so Leesa and Caitlin made the necessary introductions. Leesa was glad her mom got to meet Caitlin for the first time when Caitlin was wearing a coat, rather the one of the risqué T-shirts she liked to wear during the warmer weather. First impressions counted, and Leesa did not want her mom to get the wrong idea about her friend, who was much more talk than action.

Since Caitlin lived in New Jersey, Leesa would not be seeing her again until school started up in January. They hugged each other good-bye outside the dorm, and then Leesa limped over to Aunt Janet’s blue Ford Taurus.

“
Can I drive, Mom?” Leesa asked. “It seems like forever since I’ve had a chance.” She had borrowed her aunt’s car once to drive to see Rave, but other than that, she hadn’t driven since summer.

“
Of course, dear,” Judy said, handing Leesa the keys.

Leesa got behind the wheel. Her mom slid in next to her and Bradley climbed into the back seat. A moment later, they were on their way.

“
We need to make one stop, honey,” Judy said when they pulled out of the main Weston College gate onto Washington Street. “It’s right on the way.”

Leesa guessed they would probably be stopping at a store to pick up something to bring back to Aunt Janet or Uncle Roger, so she was surprised when her mom told her to turn into the driveway of a large apartment complex three miles from campus. She swung the Taurus into the driveway. She had ridden past this complex many times, but had never been inside the grounds.

“
Take the second right, and then the first left,” Judy said.

Leesa did as instructed, winding her way among a series of two-story apartments constructed mostly of grey wood. Narrow lawns fronted the buildings and small bare trees filled the spaces between them. The place had a weathered, lived-in look, but both the buildings and the grounds appeared to be well-maintained. Strips of bare dirt lined the front of each building, and Leesa could imagine them filled with flowers in the spring and summer.

“
Park over there, in space forty-seven,” Judy told her.

Leesa pulled into the parking space. She switched off the engine and turned to her mom.

“
What are we doing here, Mom? Do you know someone who lives here?” She did not see how her mother could know someone outside her family well enough to be visiting like this, but could not think of any other explanation.

“
I have a surprise for you, honey. C’mon, let’s get out.”

Leesa looked back to Bradley, who was smiling. Clearly, he was in on the secret, but he wasn’t telling.

They got out of the car and her mom led them toward one of the apartments, number twenty-four. The door was painted a dark blue.

“
This is our new home,” Judy said proudly. “At least it will be, right after Christmas.”

Leesa looked at the door, then back at her mom and Bradley, thoroughly confused.

“
I don’t understand,” she said. “I thought we were going apartment hunting next week. How’d you get a place already?”

“
I found it on the internet,” Bradley said. “On Craigslist.”

“
We looked at it in person the other day,” Judy added, “and we both agreed it would be perfect. It’s got two bedrooms and a loft. You can use the loft as your room, honey, during the summer or any other time you want to come over from school. And I can’t believe how much cheaper apartments are here compared to San Diego.”

“
Wow, Mom, that’s great,” Leesa said. “It’s awesome you found a place already. I’m proud of both of you.”

She really was glad to see her mom and Bradley were well enough to go out and find an apartment by themselves, and it seemed like they had chosen a nice one. Best of all, the place was only three miles from campus, easy walking distance for her. She was mildly disappointed they had found it without her—she had hoped apartment hunting would help keep her mind off missing Rave.

“
We don’t have it officially until January 1
^st
,” Judy explained, “but the manager said we could move in any time after Christmas. I wish I had the keys right now, so I could show it to you. I know you’re going to love it.”