Meanwhile, Candace had talked to Greek. Now there was tension. Right before the first Cornerstone of the semester.
Great.
Greek had also noticed, and now he was shaking his head. “Does everybody know the plan?” he asked.
I looked around at my teammates and saw shadows flicker across their features, overset with snowflakes. Most of the students on the other two teams had also arrived.
It turned out that the transfer vampire, Beatrice, was a Hellcat. She was smiling and talking with Palmer as if they were old friends. It made me realize that all I had seen her do since she arrived on campus was smile and talk.
On the other hand, Logan, the new dream giver, who was normally terrified and standoffish, was finally being spoken to as if he were a real paranormal. I knew it was mostly because of how valuable he was in this game. We’d have to watch out for any magic he performed. If he sent us into a dream, we might very well lose Cornerstone tonight. I had some experience if dream givers and the dreams they sent. As a freshman, Logan might not be that powerful, but I was pretty sure he could still be deadly in the right circumstances.
As for us, for once we had a plan for using our darkness mages to our advantage. Thinking about that made me realize that there was no sign of Ostelle.
The others came to that realization just as I did.
“Have you seen Ostelle?” Greek asked me.
“No,” I said.
“Keegan? What about you?” Greek said.
“Why do you think he would know?” Hannah demanded, staring at Keegan. I wondered if she was trying to work out whether Keegan had a thing for Ostelle.
“We’re good friends,” said Keegan with a shrug.
Candace hid a smirk behind her hand. Hannah looked momentarily stricken, then composed herself. “Very well then. Should we go looking for her? I don’t think so,” she said.
“The only problem is a part of our plan relies on having two darkness mages. One darkness mage is less than two,” said Averett.
“Thanks for the lesson in addition,” said Hannah. “I suppose one of you could go try and find her.”
“Find who?” Ostelle asked, hurrying up as if she hadn’t meant to be so late. There were dust patches on her knees, as if she had been crawling around somewhere. I raised my eyebrows at her, but she refused to meet my gaze. Still, relief filled me at the sight of her.
“Find you, apparently,” said Greek. “Is everything all right?”
“Of course everything is all right. I’m on time, am I not?” she demanded.
“You might be on time, but everybody else was early,” said Keegan.
“Whatever. Maybe I have more to life than the rest of you. Get the show on the road,” she said.
She ignored the rest of us and went to stand with Eighellie. The two of them had a plan for tonight. I was supposed to come in at the end, bringing a little bit of my essence out for once.
“If everyone can gather around, I think we’re ready to begin,” Dobrov cried out. He was flanked by several professors. I had been so preoccupied with the infighting of our own group that I hadn’t noticed them arrive.
We went to stand with the other students. The snow was drifting down harder, and I could see one of the professors moving toward the three great metal rings. They were barely visible in the darkness, but in a moment that would change. They would be lighted and let loose. Magic would keep them slightly off the ground and moving, making the targets more difficult to hit.
“Welcome to the first Cornerstone of the semester,” began Dobrov. “I am proud to continue this tradition, which involves working together and fighting amongst each other. You must problem-solve these battles in order to succeed. You must test each other. None of that will be easy. But it is necessary in this paranormal world we currently live in.
“Now, I have heard some complaints from other students on a certain subject. Some point out how unfair it is that fire is involved in this game when one of you has an ability with it. Sometimes opponents have advantages and sometimes they do not. I’d like to make it clear that I have heard this complaint and I have decided to do as follows.
“Ricky Rollins is not allowed to use the fire on the rings to his team’s own benefit. That should solve that problem. I caution the rest of you, though. Usually we are allowed to take from our own environment in battles such as these. It is often how they are won or lost. Because I am keeping Ricky from using the fire, the rest of you are also cautioned not to draw too much on the natural environments to win here. In future games your own magic might be restricted as Ricky’s is tonight. I trust that will be no hardship for him. My understanding is that he has several types of magic at his disposal.”
Dobrov smiled, and several students exchanged slightly confused glances. Even I was surprised that he had made reference to my magical abilities. Usually he wasn’t supposed to show favoritism. Maybe what he was doing wasn’t actually showing favoritism, but still, he was setting me apart.
I tried so hard to pretend that I was just like them.
But I wasn’t.
A growl went up from the Lightmares. To my surprise, they were all displeased.
Dobrov noticed and said, “I understand that I am only placing a restriction on one team.”
“And right before the start. How are we supposed to execute our plan now?” Greek complained. Several Hellcats smirked.
My other teammates didn’t move or speak. In my mind I reviewed what our plan had been, but there was no part of it where I was supposed to take the fire from the fire rings and use it. Greek was bluffing. Now the other teams would think we’d be in disarray, that I had been central to our only plan.
“It will force more quick thinking and teamwork. I realize it’s short notice, but I’ve made my decision,” Dobrov explained.
Greek continued to look furious, but didn’t argue further.
Several students gave me and the president of Public dirty looks. I was happy to ignore them, but as usual Keegan was not. He snickered into his hand. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous of an elemental, now, are you?” he asked the group at large. Before anyone could answer, he stalked away.
Eighellie and Ostelle stayed behind, whispering intensely the entire time Dobrov was speaking. Neither of them paid any attention to the president’s speech.
Eventually they noticed that the rest of us were annoyed by their secret whispering, but they didn’t care. In fact, they made a point of turning their backs on us.
I thought wryly that they could join Candace in that practice. She was turning her back on Greek, and though the rest of us didn’t know why, she clearly thought he deserved it.
But ignoring each other was dangerous. We weren’t going to win Cornerstone if we didn’t communicate. I just hoped that whatever the two darkness mages were cooking up, it was something we could pull off when the time came. Whatever it was, we’d have to be fast enough and vicious enough, because the other teams wouldn’t hold back.
As I turned away, Greek fell into step beside me. “Are you ready for this?” he asked.
“I guess so. There’s no avoiding it now,” I said.
He grinned. “That’s the spirit.”
“What happened?” I asked.
He watched me look at Candace, then back at him, and he understood the unstated question. He cleared his throat and said, “This is something I couldn’t say to another fallen angel because it would get back to her, but I can say it to you.” He paused, then shook his head. “Man, women are complicated.”
I glanced at Eighellie and nodded sadly. “I agree with you there, man. My sister once told me that it was best to smile and nod and agree with whatever they wanted. Her husband laughed until he nearly cried. Then he agreed with her.”
“You mean Keller?” he said.
“Yeah, that’s who I mean,” I said.
“He’s a good guy. Charlotte is lucky to have him. He would have risen as high as he wanted in the ranks of fallen angels,” G
reek whispered.
“You mean if he hadn’t taken up with my sister and become happy?” I asked stiffly.
“Yeah, that,” said Greek. Real regret filled his eyes.
“Okay. Let’s move,” I said.
The other teams were getting into position, each starting behind its own ring of fire. I wouldn’t have been surprised if Eighellie threw aside any plan we had made in order to stay right behind the ring of fire. That was probably the only place she was going to be warm.
I hadn’t been nervous until this moment, but now I was. Suddenly it felt as if a lot was riding on this event, even though I knew that less than usual was actually at stake. I mean, the paranormals were already not getting along; it could hardly get worse.
Tonight’s event couldn’t possibly do more damage than had already been done on that score. But on top of that, neither was Cornerstone likely to improve relations. None of us were in the mind for betterment or harmony.
Apparently, improving our ability to work together, in or out of battle, was also irrelevant.
I knew who my teammates were. We worked just fine together. Eventually, when we stood up against the Hunters, that would be all that mattered.
Whether Candace noticed my signal tonight didn’t matter at all.
I cleared my throat. Ostelle had finally left Eighellie’s side and come over to stand next to me. “You expecting to see any elementals tonight?” she asked.
“About that,” I said. “Do you have any idea who the elemental was?”
She frowned. “No, and I must admit that I have bigger concerns. Other concerns,” she said.
“Like the white light you shine into the sky?” I asked.
“It’s just driving you crazy that you don’t know what that’s for, isn’t it.” she said. A statement, not a question.
“Yeah, it is,” I said. “It’s dangerous for you to be doing stuff like that. Vampires are out at night and they’re not all friendly.”
“It’s all dangerous,” she said. “I don’t know anything about any elementals who don’t have the last name of Rollins. I even went so far as to ask friends of mine, people I know back home. They were as shocked as anyone. Do you really think there could be a third elemental?” she asked.
Now that I had brought it up, I regretted it. It was just that the Ostelle problem niggled underneath my skin. Still, Cornerstone wasn’t a good time for such a conversation. If Ostelle wanted to know what I honestly thought, I’d tell her. But what I honestly thought was that there was no chance in the world that there was another elemental besides Charlotte and me. I had examined every possibility and even wondered if it could be a family member of mine that had shown up. I had decided that it could not.
Was my dad suddenly going to come back from the dead? I highly doubted it. Could it be somebody else who had hidden away all these years, prepared to sit by while his fellow paranormals were slaughtered in the magical Nocturn War? I highly doubted that as well.
There was only one other explanation. I had meant to look into it, but I hadn’t had time. It was something I had also thought about running past Lisabelle, but she wasn’t exactly a wealth of information these days. Not that she didn’t possess it, she just didn’t possess the emotional ability to share it. Somehow she got stuck on the word share.
“Begin!” Dobrov yelled.
Chapter Thirteen
At the start of Cornerstone, there was madness and mayhem.
Unlike every other time we had played this game, our team immediately splintered, every single Lightmare for themselves. Ostelle and Eighellie were supposed to rejoin each other away from the field of battle, but in the secret shadows where no one could see them. We weren’t supposed to get caught in the building and nearly die. Greek had warned us against that danger. He wanted us to stay on the ground, to drive the other teams through their own rings of fire. If we were further apart from each other, we’d be harder to attack and corral.
We couldn’t be herded together like cattle. At least I hoped not. That was the goal.
Without a second thought I turned on my heel and ran away, passing Keegan as I went. He reached out a hand and clapped me on the shoulder, but neither of us stopped. I didn’t even bother to meet his eyes.
My back was now turned to our ring of fire as I made for the shadowed woods. What had previously been out of bounds was now in bounds. I would disappear into the darkness and they would have to drag me out.
I wasn’t to return until we were close to winning. The fallen angels were assigned to herd members of other teams towards their own fire rings. The moment the game started, they shot into the air and raced to block any escape, but other teams had not been as determined to get away from the middle of the field as the Lightmares were anyhow.
I only glanced over my shoulder once, to see Logan standing in the middle of the field looking lost. Then one of the Burble siblings slammed into him. Logan went flying through the air. I closed my eyes before he landed with a thud. I could hear the mud splat from a distance.
Without wasting another second I dashed through the darkness in the woods. I knew my friends were going to fight without me. I hated to leave them, but this was the plan. It was too risky to have us all out there at once, where we could be cornered and driven through the fire rings.
The fallen angels would be our first wave of attack, followed by several more.
I crashed deeper into the woods, weaving around tree trumps and over brush. I tried to move as silently as possible, but stepping on twigs made it difficult. When I was sure I was far enough away from the action and yet still in bounds, I stopped and bent down behind a fallen log.
I searched the trees for any sign that someone was coming after me, any hint that I would soon be under attack by a Hellcat who had seen me and given chase.
When a team member was forced through the rings, it would be broadcast over the loudspeaker, and I was already hearing the names. The Razorhawks were losing team members at an alarming rate—alarming for them, at least. I was relieved, because that had been our plan.
We were going to go after the Razorhawks first because they were the weakest. We also worried about Logan. The dream giver could cause us too much damage. We were hoping that somebody else would take him out first, but we knew he’d be well protected. On the other hand, he was a freshman, so he wouldn’t step strongly into his power. He wouldn’t know how to use it. We were counting on it.
“I thought I might find you out here,” said a whisper in the dark. I tensed at the sound and saw a black movement of shadow. I nearly fell backwards, but caught myself just in time. My ring throbbed at the spike of fear that rose in me.
I wondered if I should attack or retreat. They clearly knew where I was, all too soon. I tried to focus my eyes on the moving shadows in the black night. This was the problem of coming out into the woods; I could see almost nothing.
Then Averett materialized right next to me, literally inches away from my arm. I nearly fell over again, but caught myself in time and glared at her. She smiled.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I came to find a place to hide. I found an elemental while I was at it. So many interesting things in the woods, it seems. I hear you’re only one of two in the world. Unless that’s changed?” she asked.
“I highly doubt it,” I said.
Averett knelt down beside me but kept her eyes trained in the distance. It was as if they could sense fire in a single direction as she watched for movements through the trees. I felt better having her there. The idea of splitting up had not been mine.
“My cousin’s wife will be relieved to hear it. At least secretly,” said Averett.
“I would think she’d want another elemental. Now that Charlotte and I are being difficult in her eyes, if there were another elemental then she could cast us over. Not that they haven’t already kind of done that,” I muttered.
“I certainly don’t think you’ve been cast over. No, more elementals si
mply complicates everything. Where would they have come from? Where can they be now? Why haven’t you sensed them? These are all issues that no one wants to deal with. Much better that we already know where all the elementals are, so we can keep an eye on the troublemakers,” she said.
“Maybe it’s a Hunter. Maybe that’s what’s happening. Maybe they had been in hiding for years and only surfaced now to fight. To defeat darkness once and for all. By making it even darker. More evil and more deadly,” I said.
“You have quite the imagination,” she said.
The announcer had started to name some Hellcats who’d been driven through the fire rings. Only one Lightmare had been announced so far. I wondered who’d gotten caught out.
Everything was going to plan. Now Candace was supposed to act as a distraction and a decoy, luring some of the Hellcats to go after her. She was strong, and they’d want to give chase, turning their backs on the rest of us. Candace would send a flare into the air when she was the target. When she was about to be sacrificed. That was our signal.
“Should we stop hiding in the woods and go?” Averett asked. Her hand twitched, as anxious as she was to get into battle. Averett didn’t have the muscles to sit on the sidelines. She conveyed a sense of intimidating strength, and she liked to use it. Hiding behind a log in the woods was boring.
“Might as well get the show on the road,” I said, and stood up.
Averett waited until I moved past her. “I think you can go first. If they see you I can disappear.”
“Using me as a shield. How charming,” I said.
“That’s me. The charming murderous vampire,” she said, amusement in her voice.
I started walking and felt her following as close behind me as if I had a shadow on my shoulder.
In a way I kind of did.
Even so, I was relieved that I was the first to notice the Burble twin waiting for us. He lounged against the wall, for all the world looking like I couldn’t blast him to bits if I chose.
His eyes met mine and he smirked, then straightened up, as if offering me the wall back. My eyes narrowed on him and his smirk only grew.
Elemental Unity Page 9