The High Council meeting was in full swing. The paranormals seated at the circular table looked stiff and important. Lanca looked darkly stunning, sumptuous velvet the color of her hair. Sycophants circled their masters.
The chair in front of me remained empty.
The members of the High Council were arguing. There were eight seats with one left open for an elemental, leaving seven for the debate that was going on.
The meeting started off fine, with the council members discussing trade between the pixies and the vampires.
It wasn’t until the topic changed that problems started.
“And what progress has been made with the search for Hunters and fugitives?” one of the fallen angels asked.
Lanca’s eyes skated my way.
“The Hunters are well under control. We’ve had very little trouble with them this semester,” said President Yeast.
“They’ve been here,” said Dobrov.
“To our knowledge there have been no injuries and few sightings, and we have no proof that they’ve obtained any of the artifacts that we’re trying to keep out of their hands. I’d say that counts as success,” said President Yeast.
“I would agree with you,” said Mistress White Forest. “The fugitives, on the other hand, are a problem. The government makes itself look weak by not making arrests.”
I stood up. My chair scraped back. I knew I was flushed. President Yeast glared at me. “Yes?”
“You invited me here,” I said. “I take it that it wasn’t to participate.”
Her lip curled. “Your sister is a known fugitive.”
“My sister is innocent of all charges. You do not have an elemental represented on the High Council.”
“What of it?”
“I don’t see how you can make decisions for all paranormals when we aren’t all represented.”
“Sit down,” spat out one of the older fallen angels. Wisps of white curled around his hair. He might have healing magic, but he looked as if he delighted in causing pain.
I leveled my gaze at him. He must have expected me to sit down and cower back in my chair. When I didn’t, his eyes widened slightly.
There was a tug on my arm and I glanced around to see Rake. He had come to stand in the empty elemental section. Reluctantly, I sat down.
The fallen angel continued to glare at me.
“We have to discuss the arrest warrants,” said a pixie. Small and fine-boned, she had sharp features and white hair.
“Yes, Mistress White Forest?” asked President Yeast. “What about them?”
“Have any of the six we’ve issued warrants for appeared?” she asked.
President Yeast turned her head sideways, effectively glancing at her shoulder. Behind her one of her aids coughed.
“No, there is no sign of any of them,” said President Yeast.
My blood was turning cold. Six arrest warrants? One had to be for Charlotte, but who were the others for?
“With limited resources, they won’t be able to stay on the run forever,” said the other vampire on the council. With all the fighting going on between the three vampire sects, I wasn’t surprised that Queen Lanca wasn’t the only representative.
“How do you think the resources are limited?” asked someone else sharply.
Only the werewolf on the council was silent, a young man with purple eyes and several other werewolves behind him.
My mind raced.
Was one of Sip’s many brothers on the council? Had the werewolves sent him in an act of defiance, or was there some family discord that made him not support Sip? I had a feeling that the Quest family supported each other until their last breaths.
Which meant that maybe I had an ally on the council.
“We’ve limited them,” said President Yeast. “The resistance of any other paranormals is broken and shattered. I have faith that the six with arrest warrants won’t be on the run forever. Which is where you come in,” she turned toward me.
I tried not to look impressed. Or furious.
Given the concerned looked that went around the room, I failed at both.
President Yeast’s eyes went a shade colder.
“Do you know where your sister Charlotte is?” she asked. “As you may have heard by now, a warrant has been issued for her arrest. An elemental has been doing damage, and since we know it wasn’t you, that leaves only one option.”
I licked dry lips and shook my head slightly. “I’m not going to tell you.”
“We thought you might say that, of course. Calling you in here to discuss her whereabouts wasn’t likely to get us anywhere good. Elementals are famously difficult,” said the president.
I leaned forward and folded my hands on the table in front of me. A challenge.
“It is in your best interest to tell us everything you know. Otherwise, we will be forced to do something drastic,” she said.
“So far you’ve been so relaxed in your measures,” I said dryly.
“Of course you might not realize what I mean, but I must tell you, if Charlotte stays in hiding she will be found. She will likely be hurt,” said President Yeast.
“Hurt by what? By whom? You?” I demanded.
The president looked at her lap. “A lot of artifacts are still missing, very powerful ones, but many have been found and are in safekeeping with the government. Some are dangerous and can do a lot of damage should they fall into the wrong hands. Those artifacts in our possession could wreak havoc. That’s why we work so hard to keep them safe,” she explained.
There was utter silence in the room. My mind understood what she was saying, but it hadn’t reached my heart yet. I wasn’t letting it, because when it did I just might shatter something.
“Now wait one minute,” said Rake, still seated behind me.
I was grateful for his presence. He was one of the most respected and hardworking paranormals in the world. There were a precious few who could stand with me and get away with it. That he chose to put his reputation on the line was a choice I was very grateful for.
Then again, I knew who he was doing it for, and it wasn’t me.
“You can’t release any of the artifacts we’ve worked so hard to get back. Lives have been lost. We certainly aren’t going to use any of them to go after our enemies,” said Rake. “Or our friends,” he gritted out.
Again President Yeast glared at us. “I do not believe that you are in charge of what happens to the artifacts. You were tasked with finding them and you did your job well. Now it is up to us to make the right decisions for paranormals everywhere. If we decide that the artifacts will serve another purpose, then so be it.”
“You mean the purpose of going after our own?” said the purple-eyed werewolf.
“Minister Quest, what are you accusing us of?” asked the second vampire icily.
“Nothing, yet,” said Sip’s relative. He might be a cousin, but I was willing to bet he was a brother. He looked a lot like Sip. I wanted to turn around and see what Rake made of this, but I didn’t dare.
Right then I took note of another familiar face in the room, that of Cather Helm, a fallen angel and a friend of Keller’s. He wasn’t sitting on the council, but rather behind the fallen angel council members. His face was impassive. I wondered what he thought of an arrest warrant being issued for his friend’s wife. Next they’d probably issue one for Keller. Would Cather do anything to stop it? I doubted it.
Cather’s eyes met mine. There was no sign of recognition or even a nodding of the head. I looked away.
“Are you saying you will not provide information that might lead to the location of your sister?” President Yeast asked, drawing my attention back to her.
“That’s about right,” I agreed.
“And if we hold you in contempt of this court?” she asked.
A murmur went around the room. I didn’t know what that meant, but at this point I welcomed it.
The sudden scraping of a chair drew my attention to Dobrov. The pre
sident of Public looked paler than usual. I wondered how upset he was himself about a warrant having been issued for Charlotte.
“If problems continue we will have to issue more arrest warrants,” murmured one of the pixies, his eyes fixed on me.
My essence understood what was being said before my brain did. Suddenly my ring exploded in heat and power.
Half the room shot to its feet. Hands went to weapons, readied for spells, Vital stepped in front of his wife. She stepped to the side of him.
For a long moment, no one in the room moved or breathed. Dobrov was still there, and now, as he began to move ever so slowly, eyes suddenly cut to him.
Except for a few, the ones that stayed trained on me.
Dobrov came to stand in front of me. For only a moment did his eyes lock on mine, then he pivoted, putting his back to me.
It was a dangerous thing he did in the minds of many here, turning his back on such a dangerous paranormal. Given how dangerous his own sister had been, I supposed he’d seen worse.
He spoke softly to the room.
Most of it I didn’t catch.
The paranormals sat down. I didn’t bother to leash my magic. President Yeast was breathing hard and staring at me. I had the feeling she wanted to blast Dobrov out of existence and come for me. In her eyes, there was precious little between us.
The Lanca nodded. Only once. Vital was staring at her. My ears were ringing.
Dobrov ushered me out. Apparently they didn’t want to talk to me after all, they just wanted to pry information out of me that would help them arrest Charlotte. How they had been so stupid as to think I’d show up and give up my own sister I didn’t know.
But for once I had to admit it, Lisabelle was right.
The High Council was a problem. I needed to make it clear I wasn’t powerless.
Chapter Twenty-Five
I was furious. Boundless rage blinded my vision. Dobrov went right back into the meeting after ordering me to return to Astra, but I already knew I needed a place to direct my burning fury. My feet chewed past the ground as I rushed to get away from the High Council before I did something foolish.
All alone on the campus of Public, I raised my right hand. Colorful sparks drenched my fingertips. I let every single bit of magic I could feel come exploding out of me.
Suddenly the path in front of me was on fire. On either side of the path, the earth started to roll and buck. Large chunks of dirt rose up to cover the fire.
It started to rain. The wind was so strong it slammed the rain sideways.
My essence swirled around all of it, a soft casing for the pounding magic I was letting escape from me. My beautiful clothes tore, wind tugged at my pants, shirt, and hair.
I knew Eighellie would be disappointed in me. I could feel water against my skin, soaking through the garments. I could feel my feet skip through the fire as if it were nothing. But as I continued to pour magic out of myself, I suddenly felt better.
Okay, only a little bit better.
Fury still pounded against my temples. I had been told to remain calm. I shouldn’t get angry. I was just a student, after all. All of that garbage argument now seemed unforgivable, and I was finished heeding it.
I had no intention of being calm. I had no intention of not defending other elementals. There was only one, but somehow I would get to the bottom of whoever was setting up Charlotte. Somehow I would make them pay.
Sooner rather than later.
Through the haze of magic in front of me I saw a couple of paranormals skirt away from the path I was walking.
One of them might have been Logan, but I couldn’t be certain. At this point I really couldn’t even begin to care. The fear I saw etched in their faces meant nothing to me. If they wanted to stand by while the government destroyed the paranormals, that was their choice. Now it seemed that only darkness held us together. The paranormals would say that Lisabelle was holding us prisoner, but I didn’t think that was true. I thought she was holding the attention of the government. If she weren’t keeping them busy, they would turn to nastier ideas. Plans.
I could not stand for that any longer, but before I could take effective action I had to figure out who or what had created the elemental magic we had seen last semester.
Who could have been the driving force behind such an attack, such a naked display of power? Why then? To make us all run around as if we were crazy? To waste our time? It could be any of those things, or none of them. I had to know.
When I saw that the coast was clear and there were again no students in front of me, I waved my hands. Long strips of water came flashing down out of the sky, so much water I could have filled Astra with it. I could have filled the entire school. I continued to call the water, making the strips ever longer and thicker, ever more powerful as they swirled together in a growing funnel.
I was nearly home when I paused and sent fire up to deal with some of the water, encouraging the rest of it to go back where it came from.
This turned out to be no easy feat. As soon as I tried, I realized that a lot of magic would be required. But that was irrelevant now. I had a lot of magic and I intended to use it.
I stormed back to the dorm, where I found my friends waiting for me. Having been told what was happening, Ostelle had decided to show up and see how I was doing. This time, I didn’t really care that she was there, and I didn’t want to talk about it.
For once her eyes shifted over me with something close to caring, something like concern, but I was too preoccupied to do anything about it.
The idea that the elementals were going to be held responsible for what was going on was absurd.
At least the Rollins elementals.
Eighellie was offended and appalled by how terrible I looked. She asked if I had walked into the sea and been attacked by a wild band of fish, to which I had said of course not.
“That’s what happens when you try to look like an adult. If someone makes you angry and you can control rain, it’s a problem,” said Keegan with satisfaction.
Eighellie turned furious eyes on him and he wilted.
“Just saying,” he grumbled.
I knew my friends wanted a more complete explanation of what had happened, but I couldn’t give it to them tonight. I didn’t want to scare them with the rage that boiled inside me. Coming into my own with magic was one thing, but having my friends see it in the flesh was another.
How could anyone think Charlotte would attack Public or her own brother? She had risked everything to save the paranormals. She had given up so much already! One of her best friends had been murdered. She was now in hiding for fear of her life, and what did they think? That she’d stormed the grounds? That she wouldn’t have cared if I or anyone else had gotten hurt? To what end! The elementals were easy scapegoats for harder problems because there were only two of us. There was no one on the High Council to defend us. Even Lanca, once one of my sister’s good friends, wasn’t doing it.
Once they needed the Power of Five, of course, they would come around. Maybe they just thought they were designing such an exceptionally good government that they’d never need Charlotte again.
They’d better hope she was less likely to hold a grudge than I was, because I wasn’t going to forgive the High Council for today.
Only the werewolf representative had shown any sense, and he was outnumbered.
I came out of this silent rant to find Eighellie and Keegan watching me with concern. I took a deep breath.
Ostelle stepped toward me as if to reach out, but stopped just short.
Would they really like to know that the entire path from our meeting place to my dorm was now scorched earth? I didn’t think so.
My eyes met Ostelle’s. She took a deep breath and said, “Just tell us what happened.”
Something in her voice thawed the tiniest bit of my fury.
Anyhow, I hadn’t done it to show my friends something, I had done it to get the attention of the president of the Paranormals.
When she emerged, she would see. So with the queen of the vampires and everyone who was with her. That might make them think twice about what exactly they were deciding to do and who exactly they were deciding to do it against. If they hadn’t been clear up to now about what they were dealing with, I intended to remedy that little omission.
I gave my friends the headlines and went to bed. The one relief was that tomorrow there was another Cornerstone. I really wanted to make something go up in flames.
Chapter Twenty-Six
At least the next night’s Cornerstone served as a distraction. This one was earth, and it was to involve mountains of mud.
No one was very happy about it. Before the first Cornerstone we’d had plenty of warning. This one’s structure coming as a surprise pissed off a lot of students.
At least the president didn’t place any restrictions on my own power for Cornerstone number two. Still, messy conditions were enough to dampen enthusiasm even without any restrictions.
Because of the lack of notice, the Lightmares were not as prepared as we had been before.
It turned out that working on the fly was different from working from a carefully crafted plan.
We were quickly defeated and the Hellcats went on to win easily.
As the winter deepened, so did the mood around the school. Fear permeated everyone’s day. The Tabble reported arrest after arrest. The paranormal government had become more active, determined to fight Lisabelle. Nothing else appeared to matter to them. Even when Hunters started turning up at random, apparently tied up by unknown assailants, the police were not pleased to find them. There were arrest warrants out for many of the Hunters, but that didn’t matter.
No one could figure out who would do such a thing, since clearly it couldn’t be Lisabelle doing the police a favor. On the other hand, no one else would have the power.
It remained a mystery.
More mistrust seeped in. The one bright spot was Rake’s class. He was lively and entertaining and always ready with a story. He wanted us to learn and learn well.
Elemental Unity Page 17