“This is gross,” said Lough, as we sloshed through muck.
“Yup,” I said. “Get used to it. No matter what you say, you and I are the highest value targets. We are going to be spending a lot of time cowering like fraidy cats.”
“You are anyway,” said Lough. “Me, they don’t hate with a passion like they hate you. I figure I’ll be okay.”
“Geez, thanks,” I said dryly. Lough grinned apologetically at me. I knew he was trying to cheer me up.
“Why don’t we do something like you did last semester and create a distraction?” he asked.
“I can’t do that again,” I said. “Not without Keller. They’re expecting something like that, just waiting for me to mess up.”
“I could try something,” he said. “We dream givers are crafty.”
“I know you are,” I said, grinning despite my worry.
“Do you think Keller is going to look for you here?” he asked. “He must know this is where you’ll be.”
“I don’t think so,” I said. “I think just the opposite.”
“Yeah,” said Lough. “We talked about it and we would rather see you safe than catch you. The demons are trying hard enough at that as it is, and with that Map gone it’s probably just going to get easier for them.”
Once we were settled low in the reeds, where it would be nearly impossible for us to be seen, Lough leaned over and whispered, “I’m sorry about what Camilla said.”
I nodded. “Me too.”
I drew myself together and tried not to look at the lake or the empty house. The house was the same brown color it had been when President Malle had her office there. Now it went unused, as if it was cursed. The dark windows weren’t covered with curtains, and I felt like the house was staring out at me in a noiseless howl. Of course, that was probably just the remnant of Malle and her hellhound, but it still gave me the creeps. There was no sign of my mother’s ghost, or whatever had visited me that time at the lake, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to see her again anyhow. I knew she wasn’t my mother, but I also knew that she was the closest thing to her that I had left. I still had so many questions about what had happened, and I didn’t have time to try to find the answers to them, even if I could. What. Had. Happened. To. My. Family?
I just didn’t know.
Maybe I never would.
The cloud of questions and doubt hung over me until a bright light burst at the corner of my vision. My head snapped up to see the night sky painted red, orange, and yellow. I gasped, while next to me Lough swore.
It wasn’t long before we heard the explosions. I looked up from where I was huddled, seeing orange and yellow lights bursting into the night sky. Something was on fire. Accompanying the blast was a strange sort of ringing sound.
Time passed, the stillness near us made me fidget.
Next to me, Lough cocked his head in the inky night. “What is that?” he asked, his voice hoarse.
“Screaming,” I said grimly. “That’s screaming.”
I didn’t know what to do. The only reason I hadn’t been caught yet was because I was so well hidden, and leaving to see what was going on meant not hiding anymore. I grabbed the grass, wet from the rain, wishing the green blades were knives that I could wield to defend myself. The air had chilled considerably.
“Should we go check it out?” he asked quietly.
“Yes,” I said. “We’re no good just sitting here.”
Lough clambered awkwardly to his feet. He was not the most graceful person. As I watched him rise I said, “You don’t have to come. This might be just a diversion.”
Lough looked aghast. “I am coming,” he said. “I never thought I’d be the kind of person who runs at danger and not away from it, but since I met you girls—” he shrugged. “I had no idea girls were so cool. My sister’s pretty cool, but she’s also totally insane.”
I grinned. “Brothers always say that about their sisters.”
“Yeah,” said Lough. “I’m sure that once I meet Ricky he’ll say the same thing about you.”
I grimaced. I had emailed Ricky, but otherwise we’d had no contact. I figured it was all for the best. Give him as long as possible to enjoy his childhood before I had some tough things to explain to him.
“Let’s go,” I said, and we started running. I had no idea where everyone else had gone, and I saw no other students as we dashed toward the blaze. The light was coming from around the same area where the bonfire had been.
As we got closer the screams got louder, and as we rounded the last crop of trees the view sent shock waves through me. Students were running up the hill, away from the blaze that had grown until it was as tall as one of the houses on campus. Everywhere there were screams, and it looked like some of the students had been burned by the fire. All around me paranormals were shoving to get away.
Lough grabbed my arm in a painful grip and yanked me backward as a group of pixies ran past. They didn’t care if they hit us. One even stuck his elbow out and tried to hit Lough, but my friend was too quick for him.
“What is going on?” Lough asked no one in particular. “What happened?”
I ignored him. My eyes were scanning the area, looking for our friends. I knew they wouldn’t leave, so where were Sip, Lisabelle, and Keller? I would even have been happy to see Trafton in this mayhem.
Out of the smoke and acrid air I saw a small werewolf dashing toward us. It was too dark to see her eyes, but I knew it was Sip. When she reached us she transformed, instantly clothed. It was a trick I always found impressive.
“Are you both alright?” she asked, breathing hard.
“Yeah,” I said. “We are.”
“I guess this would be the wrong time to catch both of you and win the Tactical game?” Sip said.
“Yeah, because if anyone gets credit for catching them it’s me,” said Lisabelle, appearing on our other side. She had a long soot train across her cheek and her black eyes were blazing.
“What is that fire and who’s attacking us now?”
I looked back to the fire, but I couldn’t see any clue to how it had started. “Maybe it was just an accident.”
“No,” said Lisabelle. “It wasn’t.”
She started forward, Sip and me at either side. Lough hung back, helping students who had been knocked over by the blast. There was no sign of the professors anywhere, including Zervos. It was like they had vanished and the three of us were alone with the raging fire.
I was still looking around, seeing students running for safety while the fire continued to rage. It was swallowing everything around it, like a great black hole stained red. At the top of the hill leading back to the school I saw a familiar form, dark wings outstretched: Keller. I imagined he was helping heal any of the injured. Breathing a little easier, I followed my friends.
The three of us walked side by side, watching our flanks. The fire only seemed to get larger while the air got more cold and brittle, as if fall was racing toward winter right on this very night. Burning leaves blew around us, carried by a gusts of wind that whipped the fire larger.
“I think I see something,” Sip cried, squinting in front of us. As a werewolf she had exceptionally good eyesight, much better than either Lisabelle or I did. She danced forward, simultaneously trying to protect herself and get a better look.
“Oh no,” she murmured. “Oh no no no.”
The wind was blowing the fire away from us, giving us a better view of the charred and blackened earth around it.
“Care to elaborate?” Lisabelle asked. Her wand was already in her hand from the Tactical that we hadn’t finished.
“It’s a body,” Sip breathed. “In the fire. Someone is burning!”
“Who, who is it?” Lisabelle hissed, but I could already see. Daisy Valedication was lying prone in the middle of the fire, face down. She had been the one to cause the blaze.
“Well, that’s good, at least,” said Lisabelle as she started to wave her wand.
“How is that g
ood?” Sip demanded. “One of the students is on fire.”
“She’s half fire anyway,” said Lisabelle. “Fire is like the one thing that couldn’t possibly hurt her. I have no idea what she thinks she’s doing, but I’m very sad to report that there’s no way she could be dead. She would use fire as a protective measure, not for harm. For a hybrid like Daisy, fire is a safety net.”
Somehow, hearing that she wasn’t dead made me feel better, but it didn’t explain what had happened, or why she was on fire.
Then I looked overhead. The sky, already dark, was now an unfathomable black, blotting out the stars. I saw why instantly. Soaring overhead, against the barriers that kept them at bay, were hundreds of black and red shapes.
While I gaped at the demons, one of Daisy’s teammates, Kia, jumped out of the woods. We had been tricked, called by a fake fire, so that Daisy’s team could capture us, and it had worked beautifully.
Worse, the demons had returned to Public. Daisy had called them, so that she could win Tactical. The games had truly begun.
Chapter Nineteen
“Get Daisy,” I cried, darting forward. “Stop her!”
“No,” said Lisabelle, grabbing onto my arm and holding tight. “The fire is supporting the force field. She had the fire up first before the force field realized what was happening. She called the demons and now she’s protecting Public from them. We have to help her.”
“I thought the force field would just hold?” I said weakly. The sky, a teaming mass of evil, made me queasy.
“Don’t want to risk it,” said Lisabelle, her eyes on the sky.
“All of you inside,” Zervos’ voice rang out across the field. “Now.”
We looked around.
The professors had come back, their rings blazing as they ran forward in a line, all eyes directed upward. No one looked happy.
“She needs help,” said Lisabelle pointing at Daisy.
“What she needs is a good flogging,” said Zervos. “Now go.”
Reluctantly, we joined the stream of students heading up the hill. The fire was dying down and the screams had stopped. Daisy still lay on the ground, but the demons were clearly trapped on the other side of the barrier. They weren’t getting into Public tonight. Her performance had been incredible.
“I mean, we knew they were there somewhere,” said Sip. We could see Airlee in the distance now, warm and inviting as ever. “I’m just glad they’re finally out in the open.”
“The deans are going to kill Daisy” said Lisabelle. Her voice was ragged and there were dark circles under her eyes. It was now late and all I wanted to do was sleep.
“We have to talk,” I said tiredly.
“Yeah,” said Lisabelle. “Tomorrow. I need to return to our someone-vomited-Barbie bedroom and sleep.” She gave Sip a glare, but the blond werewolf ignored her.
“Are you all right?” Keller asked, rushing up to us. “All of you?”
I nodded. “We’re fine. It’s Daisy I’m worried about.”
“She’s going to be okay,” he said. “We have the best healers here.”
“I know,” I said, smiling as our fingers tangled together and held.
“Want me to walk you back to Astra?” he asked.
“Yes,” said Sip and Lisabelle together. I glared at my friends.
“You shouldn’t be alone,” said Sip. “I don’t care what you say, you’re liable to do something idiotic.”
“Yes,” said Lisabelle. “Agreed.”
The next morning I woke up groggy and worried. At least I hadn’t dreamed.
“Want to see the news?” asked Mrs. Swan as she came in with my breakfast. I had already decided to skip breakfast in favor of some quality time in bed, but apparently she had decided otherwise.
“Yes, please,” I said.
Paranormals communicated in various ways. There were the human ways of texting and email, but that was risky. There was also something called Tabble. Somewhere, at the governmental headquarters for paranormals, there were scribes who worked feverishly every night to write down the paranormal world’s latest news on a large roll of paper. As they wrote on that paper, the very same words appeared on the rolled tablets in the home of every paranormal. I had a Tabble in my bedroom, and while I had been busy tossing and turning in my bed, that morning’s news had appeared. It was something I hadn’t cared about last year, but now I thought it was time to start paying attention.
“There was an attack on another student last night,” said Mrs. Swan, as I sat up. She brought me the Tabble with my breakfast and I scanned it while I ate.
“Another?”
“Like the one that happened to Sip,” said Mrs. Swan. “Dacer went to the deans after the second attack happened.”
“Who was attacked?” I asked, breathless. “Was it the same man who attacked Sip?”
“They think so,” said Mrs. Swan. “A Starter was attacked late, in the library. Same thing. Hit in the head. The Starter said that the Shadow, as the deans are calling him, was looking through books.”
I shook my head to clear it. “So, Public has a Shadow and he’s looking for something? Then why was he in the Long Building?”
“Same reason he was in the library,” said Mrs. Swan, patting my hand, “He hasn’t found it yet.”
“And the demons are back,” I murmured. “That didn’t take long.”
“Not the best day, is it?” she asked, gently brushing a strand of hair away from my forehead. She could say that again. The curtains on my window were still drawn, and I was perfectly happy to leave them that way. I didn’t want to have to see the demons.
“What do you know about Elam?” I asked her, thinking maybe the Shadow and Elam were somehow connected. Mrs. Swan seemed to have an endless depth of knowledge about other paranormals, and I had come to rely on her for it.
Now she gave me a bright smile. “Elam is a legend among legends for the feats he has accomplished and the treasures he has stolen that others didn’t even know were there. It is one of our greatest success stories.”
I stared at her open-mouthed. “You think a master criminal is a success story?”
She shrugged, still smiling. “Many have tried to catch him. It hasn’t been just Risper, though he has always been on Elam’s tail. Paranormals have tried and tried over the years, but they’ve come up with nothing. The rumors of him are legendary, but I have a feeling that the truth is even more so.
“He stole the Lonely Jewel right in front of the entire paranormal court. It was sitting there in the middle of the meeting hall, in the middle of everything, and the next second it was gone. He always leaves a mark, a flourished E, as he did on that occasion. He stole the ceremonial vampire crown out of the throne room. That created a massive ruckus and led to an increased effort to find him. I like to think that’s why he did it. He was bored with the same old same old and wanted more of a challenge. Angering every vampire in the world certainly provided him with that.”
“Wow,” I said. “What are the rumors of who he is?”
“There was a short period of time when Valedication’s name was mentioned, but that’s been disproved in any number of ways. Most clearly, because Valedication doesn’t have the use of his legs and Elam is known for scaling walls. Also, he was in different places at various times when the crimes were committed.”
“Is it possible there are several Elams?” I asked. “Instead of one master criminal, just a man who takes over the name of Elam when the last one is done?”
Mrs. Swan shook her head. “No, it’s the same man. We have seen him from the back. He’s a big and strong man and the same every time. The E has also been analyzed and found to be consistent.
“What else has he stolen?”
“Lots of things. Money, jewels, artifacts. He collects mirrors. It’s very strange, but he will steal a mirror that isn’t worth nearly as much as some important book that it’s lying next to. He always takes them, regardless of what the rest of us think they’re worth. So
me say it’s for a lady friend, but I don’t believe it. I think there’s something more fundamental there.”
“Why?”
“Some think it’s because he’s looking for the Mirror Arcane, but that mirror is just a myth. However, his taking the Map Silver supports that theory. If there is a Mirror Arcane he has a better chance of finding it now.”
“He stole something that was lost to find something else that was lost?” I mused. “What does this mirror do?” I asked.
Mrs. Swan busied herself by folding and re-folding a napkin in her lap. “Don’t you worry about it dear, it’s just a myth.”
I didn’t ask any more questions, but I was most definitely going to find out about the Mirror Arcane.
“Risper went after him. Again. Why is this time different? Elam’s been stealing stuff for years.”
Mrs. Swan nodded. “I’m not entirely sure why. The Map is very important. It was supposed to be secure, of course, but were it to fall into the hands of Malle. . . . I hate to think what could happen. Now, I have things to do for the day. Read up and eat breakfast. I’m sure you have a lot of studying to do yourself.”
Did I ever. I was already drowning in homework and it was just my first week of classes.
I grabbed another piece of toast and started to read. A lot of the Tabble was boring. There were long lists of government actions for that week, as well as Dash scores from around the world. Smaller updates included job listings at different paranormal universities and accidents that had happened, big and small. “Cat in tree, werewolf tries to climb up and save it. Werewolf gets nose scratched.” I’d have to show Sip that one, I thought, amused.
On the last part of the parchment I found what I was looking for, a long letter from Mound. He had started putting letters in a few days ago, but I hadn’t realized it until yesterday. Now, steeling myself, I started to read:
“Today, we are going to learn the history of one of the most evil paranormals ever to grace the halls of Public. I am sure you all know who I am talking about at this point. President Malle, obviously. She has reached a level of terror, death, and destruction that was previously only dreamed about by paranormals. She has killed, murdered, stolen, and conspired with the paranormals’ worst enemy, the demons. Even worse, now many darkness mages who were related to her in one way or another are shifting over to the side of the Knights of Darkness.
Elemental Shining (Paranormal Public Series) Page 15