I nearly laughed. “Sip, you’re the best werewolf here. I imagine you could do pretty much whatever you wanted. I’m sure Lisabelle would understand.”
Sip shook her head. “It just wouldn’t be any fun without my friends. I don’t want a government job. I want to fight darkness. There’s no way to do that unless you join the Paranormal Police Academy, like Cale, and I don’t think I’d make a very good police officer.”
“Why not?” I said. “You excel at giving lectures.”
Sip grinned at me.
“What will you do after graduation? Find out about your mom?”
When I had first come to Public, I had meant to find out about my mom immediately. But a lot had happened since then that to clue me in to the fact that my quest was going to take longer than I wanted. I shrugged.
“Maybe,” I said. “There’s not much I can do. Malle tells me a little something, Sigil tells me a little something else. I just have to wait for another puzzle piece.”
“No you don’t,” said Sip firmly. “You control what you know. Find out more. Anyway, I do have to get to that meeting.” She smiled and gave me a big hug. “Thanks for the pep talk,” she added. “I needed it. I’m sure Lisabelle won’t mind my going to Europe with her. But right now I have to go. Big stuff happening tonight.”
She gave me a cheerful wave, and with that she was gone.
I watched her nearly skip away. I wanted to yell after her not to let Lisabelle know that I was the one who had put that idea into Sip’s head, but having Sip mad at me was almost as daunting as upsetting Lisabelle, so I thought better of it.
Once I reached Astra, I couldn’t let go of what Sip had said. She had told me to find out more about my mother, and it had reminded me that there was one thing I had wanted to try for a long time, but I hadn’t dared.
With Martha nowhere in sight I headed for the Mirror Arcane. It was the elementals’ object, after all. Ever since Ricky had said that Mom had a locket, I had wanted to find it. But since I was pretty sure my stepdad had it, looking for it was going to mean another visit home.
As I carefully took the Mirror Arcane out of its case, the glass blazed in my hands, nearly blinding me. I would have to be careful walking around the grounds with it, so I went and found some brown paper in the storage closet and awkwardly wrapped the mirror into a package. But when I opened the front door to head out, I came to a sudden halt.
Standing on the steps was Keller. He had raised his hand to knock, but when he saw me he gave me a bright smile, his deep blue eyes sparkling with pleasure at seeing me. I felt the same way.
“Hi,” he said, then he frowned. “What are you doing? First you fly and now this? Are you turning into a crazy bandit paranormal?” He said it lightly, but I could see concern fill his eyes.
“Crazy is probably a good way to describe me,” I agreed. “I’m taking the Mirror to the lake.”
His eyes sparked with concern. “Is that a good idea?” he asked quietly.
“I need to talk to Mom,” I said stubbornly. “If she’s there.”
“What if she isn’t?” he asked worriedly. “What if something happens to you and no one can help you because there’s no one else here who knows about elemental magic?”
I shrugged. “That’s always a worry with anything I do, isn’t it? If something happens, get Sigil. He’ll know what to do, or if he doesn’t, he’ll know what book to look at to find out what to do.”
Keller sighed, obviously unhappy. “Fine,” he said, “but I’m coming with you.”
I beamed at him. “I expected nothing less.”
He took the Mirror from me, nearly dropping it.
“I didn’t realize it was so heavy,” he said. “Unlike certain other students, I always knew better than to touch it.”
It didn’t take us long to reach the pond. My first semester I had been waiting to see the then-President Malle, whose office was the brown house right next to the water, when a vision of my mother had appeared. Ever since then, whenever I went past I thought of her and hoped to see her again. This semester the house that President Malle had used was unoccupied. According to Dacer, there were plenty of other rooms on campus that Oliva could use as an office, and some of the professors and staff had started to wonder if the place was cursed. I couldn’t blame them.
“My aunt says they’re talking about tearing that building down,” said Keller, pointing to the house with his free hand. I had wrapped my hand around his arm, enjoying touching him as always.
“Your aunt wants to know what my life plans are after graduation,” I said. I couldn’t help it. I hadn’t planned to mention it to Keller, because I always felt bad about putting him in the middle, but it had weighed on me since she and I had talked.
Keller glanced at me. “That’s a good thing, isn’t it?” he said. “Had you thought about it?”
I bristled. “It’s not really her place, is it? I mean, she’s not my mom.”
“But your mom . . .” Keller started, then stopped, grimacing.
We had reached the edge of the lake, and now we stopped. The air was cool, with promises of snow soon, and the ground felt hard beneath my feet. I wasn’t looking forward to wading into that water, but that’s what I felt I’d have to do to get any results at all. Dusk was also rushing up to meet the day, and by the time the two of us left it would be entirely dark. We would be breaking curfew yet again, but at least we were together.
“No, go ahead and say it,” I said shrilly. “My mom’s dead, so any professor who feels like it can just take over in her place, right? No big deal.” Tears had started to fall down my cheeks and I swiped angrily at them.
“Was she wrong?” Keller countered. “Did she say something you needed to hear or not? Had you thought about it? Look who you’re talking to. It’s not like my life is free either. If anyone can understand, it’s me. You’re the only elemental. You don’t have the luxury of choice the way a paranormal like Lisabelle does.”
“What does that mean?” I demanded, my voice watery.
“It means you have options, but they all carry the weight of serious responsibilities. If she wants, Lisabelle can disappear to Europe for years and help her uncle hunt for treasure that may or may not exist.”
I had calmed down enough to laugh a little. I tapped the Mirror, which was still safely tucked under Keller’s arm.
“They exist,” I said. “We will find them all.”
“Yeah, maybe in the possession of the demons,” said Keller. “This,” he said, holding up the Mirror, “isn’t something we can rely on.”
He tapped my shoulder. “This,” he said, grinning as I swatted at his hand, “is.”
I hated having this conversation with Keller, even if it was something I needed to hear.
“I don’t want the weight of the paranormal world to rest on my shoulders,” I said desperately. “Look,” I said, patting my own shoulders, “they aren’t big enough.”
Keller threw back his head and laughed. “I love how you say things,” he said, still chuckling. “Have I ever told you that?”
I smiled a bit, glad that our fight had passed so quickly. “Nope, but it’s good to hear.” I resolved in that instant not to talk about his aunt anymore. Keller and I hardly ever fought unless we were talking about Professor Erikson, and it was just pointless and stupid.
Glancing at the water, I sighed. “Okay,” I said. “I’m going to wade into the water, then you hand me the Mirror, okay?”
Keller nodded. I frowned.
“What is it?” Keller asked, seeing the distress on my face.
“It’s just,” I said slowly, “you probably shouldn’t touch me. I don’t know where I’m going, but I don’t want you to be in danger.”
From the look on his face I knew Keller didn’t like that one bit, but he didn’t argue with me. Instead, he just nodded sharply once.
“Deal,” he said. “You just promise not to do anything stupid.”
I gave him a lopsided grin.
“Whatever you say.”
The water was freezing and I sucked air in through my teeth as I stepped in. Taking a deep breath every time I took a step helped, looking at Keller helped even more. He smiled encouragingly at me and I wondered, not for the first time, what I would do without him. As usual I pushed that thought away. There was no reason to think I would ever be without him.
When I was waist-deep and dreaming of a hot bath or the desert, whichever was easier, I turned to face Keller. He was standing at the water’s edge, bracing one foot so that it would be easier to hand me the Mirror.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked. His eyes looked black in the light and his voice was filled with worry.
“Do you n-n-not see my t-t-teeth, chat-t-t-tering?” I demanded. “I better get something out of being this cold.”
“I thought it was heights you didn’t like,” said Keller, grinning at me.
“It was,” I confirmed, “but the mask is helping with that.”
“Okay,” said Keller, “here goes nothing.”
Carefully, so that I wouldn’t have to hold all its weight at once, Keller handed me the elemental heirloom.
The second my hands touched the gilded sides of the Mirror, they blazed with power. I saw Keller shield his eyes, but I didn’t shield mine. Instead I stared into the ancient magic that was burning into me, and smiled. All around me I felt elemental magic surge, and power rush to embrace me. I felt heat on my face, neck, shoulders, and arms. The cold of the water was a distant memory. I was soaking in a hot bath, I was racing across the desert, I was anywhere but breaking curfew with my boyfriend so that I could try to talk to my dead mother.
Suddenly I felt myself spinning, staggering. I gripped the Mirror tighter as my vision closed and the heat seeped away.
There, in front of me, stood Malle. I sighed in exasperation.
“Can’t you just leave me alone?” She seemed far away, and I felt like I had to yell. We weren’t in any of the places where I was used to seeing her. Instead, it just looked like she stood on black darkness.
“Why would I do that when you keep visiting me?” her raspy voice called out.
“I’m not visiting you,” I shot back. “I’m not asleep and this is not a dream. Go away.”
“I will shortly,” said Malle. I saw her lips part in what she probably thought passed for a smile. Instead I just saw a gaping black hole where her teeth should have been.
“Don’t you have your monsters to look after?” I demanded.
“They do not need my constant supervision,” said Malle. She frowned at me. “Where are you? How did you get here if you’re not dreaming?”
I shifted uncomfortably. I didn’t want to tell her about the Mirror Arcane and I was relieved that here, in this black space, she couldn’t see me holding it.
“I don’t know,” I lied. “Must just be lucky.”
Malle threw her head back and laughed. “I’m sure lucky is the word I would use,” she said with amusement.
“What does that mean?” I said. I couldn’t keep the harshness out of my voice. Keller and I had gone to all this trouble so that I could talk to my mother and find out why elementals, paranormals of my own heritage, had had her killed, and instead I had gotten Malle. Calling it a poor trade didn’t come close.
Suddenly, instead of answering my question, Malle grew ten times in size. I staggered back as her large form shot forward, ringed by fire.
“It means you should be dead,” she screamed.
“Time to go,” I said. There was no way I was going to try and fight Malle again in some dreamscape or Mirrorscape or wherever I was. Instead, I willed my mind back to my Mirror, and even then the only way I managed it was by thinking of Keller, with his warm eyes and smile waiting for me on the bank of the pond. What I found instead was a rude awakening.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I felt my cold fingers let go of the hot metal of the Mirror, felt it slip past my thighs and knees, and waited to hear it splash into the water. My senses were back at Public, while my vision of a fiery Malle was fading.
But I didn’t hear a splash. Confused, I opened my eyes and staggered. It was now nighttime, but there were torches burning in front of me. My eyes couldn’t handle the light so I closed them again, but not before a stab of fear shot through me. I had seen more than one shape waiting for me on the bank. Keller was not alone.
“Steady there, girl,” came a man’s voice. I recognized it, but I couldn’t entirely place it.
“Let me help her.” That was Keller, and he was really angry.
“I think you’ve helped enough,” came the first man’s voice again.
Ignoring them, my hands weakly searched the water. Where was the Mirror?
“It’s no use,” Keller’s tired voice came again. “He took it.”
Fear stabbed into my heart and I opened my eyes again to take a good look at my boyfriend’s new companion.
Standing on the bank next to Keller was President Caid. His large shoulders worked to hold something up, and now I could see what he was holding. I splashed forward, making a desperate grab for the Mirror Arcane.
“No,” I croaked, my voice tired from lack of use. I wondered how long I had stood in the water.
Caid shook his head at me. “You had no right to bring this out here and use it,” he said, his eyes sparking angrily. “What if a demon had come along and taken it?”
“Yes,” I said icily, “that is so hard to picture.”
Caid’s eyes got a shade darker. “What are you implying, little elemental?” His voice came out as a hiss.
“Nothing,” I muttered. “Just give me my Mirror back.”
“Ah,” said Caid, hefting the heavy mirror. “I don’t think so.”
Cold washed over me as if I had stepped back into the icy water.
“You can’t take it,” I stammered. “It doesn’t belong to you.”
“It doesn’t belong to you, either,” said Caid. “Now get out of that water before you freeze to death.”
Without waiting for permission, Keller hurried forward and took my arm. He ignored the fact that his legs were getting wet as he helped me onto the grass. I would have collapsed if not for Keller’s strong arm holding me up, but I wasn’t sure if that was from exhaustion or rage.
“Don’t let me catch you out here again, or I will not be so kind,” Caid cautioned. He still stood with my Mirror, which was now safely tucked under one of his arms. I wanted to reach for it, but I thought better than to try.
“Come on,” said Keller, when he could see I was ready to argue.
I stared at Caid, who hadn’t moved. The Mirror rested darkly in his grip. It did not light up for him.
“It belongs to my ancestors,” I said desperately. “It should be at Astra.”
“If it should be anywhere, I agree that it should be at Astra,” said Caid comfortably. “I was not the one, however, who took it away from Astra.” In the depths of Caid’s eyes I saw something that was horrifyingly like triumph. Shaking, I let Keller pull me away.
Caid’s eyes watched us all the way.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Leaving Keller staring worriedly after me, I raced to Dacer and burst into his house, breathless with running and pushed on by the fury that pounded through my temples and crawled over my skin like lightning. It was now so far past curfew I didn’t care if Oliva caught me out. He would just have to find another building for me to paint.
I braced my fists on my knees as Dacer stared at me, wide-eyed.
“What is it?” he demanded. “Are you alright?”
Dacer in his bedtime clothing was a sight. I mean, he was always a sight, but I was used to his day to day wear, even if the population of Harring was not.
The vampire professor wore a white cap over his head and something that looked remarkably like a long nightgown. It had sky blue buttons going down the front and a blue hem. He wore white slippers with little blue bows.
“Caid took th
e Mirror Arcane!” I nearly bellowed.
“Why did Caid take the Mirror?” Dacer asked with maddening calm. I glared, trying to catch my breath. My cheeks were flaming.
Dacer saw my discomfort and raised his eyebrows.
I told him everything as quickly as possible. The only movement he made was to fold his arms across his chest, but his face remained unreadable. When I finished he sighed.
“You shouldn’t have taken it outside,” he said tiredly. “Between demons and the Sign of Six, you didn’t have much chance of hanging onto it.”
“I could have fought demons or the Sign of Six, if that even exists,” I argued. “I couldn’t fight the president of the Paranormals.”
“If you had tried, I’m afraid it would not have gone well for you,” said Dacer, rubbing his forehead as if he was deep in thought. After a while he asked, “Alright, well, what do you want from me?”
“I want you to go to Caid and demand that he return my property,” I said stoutly.
Dacer raised his eyebrows. “It is not yours. It is Astra’s, and it might even be Public’s, but no one has left it to you. Furthermore,” he continued, holding up a hand for silence, “you should not have had it out of Astra to begin with. Caid was concerned that it would fall into the wrong hands, and so he confiscated it, as is his right as the president of the Paranormals. I see nothing wrong here.”
It’s already in the wrong hands. Caid is the wrong hands, I wanted to yell desperately. Was it any coincidence that I had been talking to Malle, and then Caid had just so happened to show up?
Dacer shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I just don’t think there’s anything I can do.”
I felt helpless. I stared at my mentor, and before he could say another word I spun on my heel and raced away.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Meanwhile, Malle sat at a massive black desk that filled the room. It was so high that it came up to her chest when she sat, but she had always refused to replace the chair. The desk had belonged to her father, who had given it to her brother when he graduated from Paranormal Public with honors. Her brother, Grecko, had been a much bigger paranormal than Malle.
Elemental Air (Paranormal Public Series) Page 19