Elemental Fire (Paranormal Public Series)

by Edwards, Maddy

  “Right, well, if I do then you should probably just go back to the library,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. Talking to ghosts was a strange business.

  “Oh, I will,” said Sigil. “Don’t die.”

  “I’ll try not to,” I muttered, but it was hard assignment when so many talented paranormals wanted me dead.

  “Sigil,” I said. “Can you protect this room?”

  Sigil raised his eyebrows at me. “You’ve come to the right ghost,” he said stoutly. “I’ll protect it with my life.”

  “But you’re dead,” I responded, before I could stop myself.

  “Details,” said Sigil. “I promise when you return in the morning everything will be as it was when you left.”

  “Thanks Sigil,” I said. I left him staring out from behind the curtain.

  Outside there was a light rain coming down. I guess it’s better than snow, I thought worriedly. I didn’t like leaving Astra. I knew the Baxters or Vale or someone would break in that night, and I felt like I was deserting the place. I was the elemental, and I should take care of it. But I did trust Sigil. He was a little nuts, but I knew he’d try to keep the ballroom safe, and that was really all I could ask for. Besides, I needed to turn my attention to the Tactical. Vale hadn’t told us anything about it, other than saying there were only two teams. It was anyone’s guess what that woman would devise for us, but if she was trying to “accidentally” get every paranormal on my team killed, I’d have to be ready for anything.

  We’d been ordered to meet between the woods and the Long Building, about as far away from the rest of campus as you could possibly get. I had taken so long with Lough and Sigil that I didn’t end up being early. As I got closer I smelled smoke and figured there must be large bonfires, but that realization was nothing compared to what I actually saw in the open space of the field when I got closer.

  The Dash field was now set up out there by the woods. Since it was so far from campus we hadn’t seen it, but there it was. The bleachers were filled with rows of silent students, waiting and watching.

  At one end of the field was Dobrov’s team. My heart ached for my friend. Whatever flashes of life he’d shown last semester were gone now. Almost every day when I saw him he had new bruises on his body, and his head was always bowed. Most of the time Daisy wasn’t far away. It made me hate her even more, and his mother as well, for treating him so badly. Vale might have said that she was there for her children, but she was really only there for Daisy.

  Now, on the team known as the Glories, Dobrov stood between Camilla and Faci, who almost appeared to be holding him in place. Faci had a bruise blooming on his cheek, which gave me a bit of satisfaction. Betsy Butter was also part of their team, but she stood a little bit apart, looking fearful. Each of them was dressed in dark gray, and each had two bands clamped to their wrists. I wondered what the bands were for, but I was too busy looking toward my own team to worry about it right then.

  Then I saw them, and flinched. Lisabelle, Sip, Rake, Vanni, and Trafton, were standing on the opposite end of the field: wearing pink. The girls were dressed in pink skirts and sweaters, while Rake and Trafton wore pants and t-shirts. Cale and Evan had been chosen as “alternates” by Vale, an arrangement which, she explained, would only be relevant if one of the participants on either team died.

  Cale and Evan wore very light gray outfits, probably in a nod to supposed neutrality, but I didn’t at all like what it implied that Vale supposed we’d need alternates. It meant that she expected us to end up hurt, or worse. It confirmed our most pessimistic fears.

  Our team had been named the Verrmin. Lisabelle was incensed at the implications, but we weren’t going to let the names goad us into a show of helplessness. Anyhow, forcing us to wear pink uniforms, I mean . . . Sip probably didn’t mind, but Lisabelle looked like she was in shock. It was just cruel.

  The pixies were having a field day. Many of them were zipping around on their tiny, delicate, green wings, laughing and pointing, never staying in the Volans section for long.

  The rest of the field looked like we were at a circus. Colors were everywhere. I saw every shade of blue, green, and purple, flapping on banners and covering tables laden with more food than I’d seen all semester. Even the stands were draped in colors. From azure, indigo, and cobalt to amethyst, lilac, and lavender, the field was an assault on the eyes.

  Vale stood at the center of everything, dressed in silk and lace of a creamy color. She had brass buttons down her front that were so polished they shone. As always, her dress was long-sleeved and full-bodied. The Baxter brothers, wearing their usual black leather jerkins, flanked her on either side, each with his hair combed back and his eyes forward. On either side of them waited the lizards. There were lots of them today, each with an orangish rusty glow.

  Circling them all was a ring of gold fire.

  I gulped. The fire reflected in Vale’s eyes and gave her a sickly glow. She looked eager. I felt sick. But when her eyes met mine I held her gaze as she slowly lifted her arm high into the air. With one wave of her wand I felt a tug on my arms and legs, my torso and shoulders. Gasping, I looked down.

  Now I was dressed in pink too.

  A loud cheer went up from the crowd. They’d seen me coming and, with the exception of the pixies, they were all cheering. Many of the students were waving banners and looking on excitedly. I saw with relief that some even had the marks of Astra: earth, air, fire, and water. At least some of them wanted my team to win.

  I increased my pace and trotted over to my friends. Lisabelle looked like she was about to explode. Her eyes were snapping, she was breathing hard, and her fists were clenched at her sides. She had pulled her black hair back into a tight ponytail, which made her look more severe than ever.

  “If it looks like I might kill someone, it’s because I’ve been having fantasies about it for the last ten minutes.”

  “What happened ten minutes ago?” I asked, though I was pretty sure I knew the answer.

  “I got turned into a clown and made a fool of,” said Lisabelle bitterly. Her gaze was trained upward, as if she couldn’t even bring herself to look at the color of our uniforms.

  “No one’s making a fool of you,” said Trafton kindly. “Besides, pink is cool. No other team has ever been pink.”

  “Yeah, pink is SO cool. And there’s a reason no other team has ever been pink,” Lisabelle shot back. “Because it’s embarrassing.”

  “Here’s how this is going to work,” said Vale, raising her hands for silence. “You’re going to have a boat race.”

  A murmur went up around the school. There was no water nearby except for the stream that flowed into Astra and the moat around Cruor, but neither of those would exactly accommodate a boat race.

  “The race will take place in the underground waterways,” Vale explained.

  My heart started to pound. This was unexpected. I had heard of those; Dacer had mentioned them when he showed me around the Long Building, but it was an “at least the catacombs are better than the waterways” sort of thing. The waterways had been closed off and sealed after too many students got lost and died, or “disappeared” into them.

  “You have until tomorrow morning to come out with your assigned item,” said Vale. “Should you fail to come out with the item, we will hand you over to the lizard cage for a day. Then maybe you will understand the value of finding what you seek. Should you fail to come out at all. . . .” She paused and looked around, shaking her head. “We will not search for you.”

  “This is ridiculous,” Vanni wailed. “It’s not even Tactical. What game is she playing at?”

  “She’s trying to kill Charlotte, dummy,” said Lisabelle. “Pay attention.”

  “She’s not,” said Sip. “If she finds the Mirror. Charlotte being dead is just a bonus.”

  Vanni’s jaw snapped shut and she stared wide-eyed at the darkness mage, then turned her round eyes on me.

  “She can’t be,” she murmured. “No wa
y the other paranormals would stand for that.”

  “News flash,” said Rake. “The other paranormals left her here for the semester. With giant, crazy lizards. I’m pretty sure it’s out of their hands.”

  Vanni clutched at my arm, protesting. “No way. Vale can’t hurt you. If she does, this place will be overrun with senior paranormals. All of the first powers. She won’t stand a chance.”

  Vale was getting too comfortable, I thought, disentangling myself from Vanni. Vale didn’t really have jurisdiction here. The only way she ran anything was through blackmail. She’d kidnapped the school. It’s not like anyone with real authority had given her permission to run the place. Then again, if she had two goals, kill me and find the artifacts, all while appearing to be reforming students, she very well might reach both of them before the next sunrise.

  “So,” said Trafton, slapping his hands together. “Who knows how to drive a boat?”

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Where exactly is the entrance and exit to the waterways?” Sip asked, looking around. “I’ve never seen any gaping tunnels.”

  “The exit is behind Aurum,” said Rake. “It’s a cave mouth that’s roped off. I imagine the students will wait for us there.”

  “I guess I’ve never been behind Aurum,” Sip murmured. “Charlotte, have you ever seen such a thing?”

  “No,” I said. “But I don’t think Keller’s room ever faced that way.” I saw Vanni jerk a little bit at the mention of Keller, but she didn’t say anything. I let myself feel a little bit satisfied.

  “This Tactical is called The Roller Coaster,” intoned Vale.

  Under different circumstances I might have just collapsed onto the floor rolling around in laughter. True to form, Lisabelle leaned over to me and whispered, “That makes me think we’re in elementary school.”

  “This is an incredibly dangerous mission,” Vale finished.

  “What does that make you think?” I whispered back.

  Lisabelle met my gray eyes with her black ones. “That I hope our boat has a life raft.”

  I started to walk toward Vale, assuming she was ready to lead us to the starting point, but then I realized that no one else was moving. The students all still sat in the bleachers, their eyes locked on our teams.

  I stepped back in line with my friends just as Vale said, “Please, if all the participants will join me here in the center?” Her cronies moved away from her, but one lizard stayed, as did the ring of fire. Slowly, we all walked forward. Even that became a competition. Neither team wanted to appear to be in a rush, while at the same time neither wanted to be last.

  As we walked Sip murmured, “This is a strange mix of Dash and Tactical.”

  “How is this anything like Dash?” Rake asked. He walked behind us, his burly presence comforting even if we weren’t expecting any attacks from the rear. No one bothered to answer.

  We reached the ring of fire and stopped, but the other team didn’t. Instead, Faci walked right through. I crinkled my nose at the smell of burning hair and smoke, then, taking a deep breath, I stepped into the fire. A sigh of relief escaped me as I felt nothing more than a tingling sensation instead of being burned to a crisp.

  “Students,” Vale said, once we all stood in two rows behind her. “Today marks the true beginning of your transformation. There is only one path as paranormals. You must be independent and strong. You must stand up for yourselves, not for others. You cannot rely on the goodness of fallen angels forever. You see what consorting with the enemy does to you.”

  I was stunned to see that she was pointing to her own daughter, the hybrid, the combination that had gone so badly. “I will have no more of that. You fight darkness, but darkness is not your enemy. Camaraderie is your enemy. You must see clearly to persevere.”

  I fidgeted, feeling more and more uneasy with each word. Vale made no sense whatsoever. The scariest sorts of paranormals were the ones who acted like they were making sense when they were really speaking gibberish.

  “By tomorrow morning we will have our first Tactical winner. You must use tricks and cunning. At some point this semester you will be offered a choice. You must choose to turn against your friends or not. That choice will impact your life exponentially. For most of you today, you get to watch while others fight, but it will not always be so. Soon, you will all be forced to fight and choose. I can only hope that this semester gives you the tools to choose the right side.”

  It occurred to me at that moment that Vale was trying to indoctrinate the entire campus of Paranormal Public, all the future paranormals who were to fight against darkness, into a mindset that would bring them over to the side of the Nocturns. Her arguments were subtle, but her approach was not. One of the best lessons Zervos had ever taught was about the use of the elimination of hope in breaking down your opponents: eliminate their hopes, what they use to cloak and defend themselves, and you eventually break down their strengths until you’ve neutralized them and eliminated the threat. A very good way for Vale to eliminate hope from the paranormals would be to destroy all hope they had of defending themselves.

  Our best defense was already obvious. It was the Power of Five and the artifacts Vale was after. We just had to make sure she didn’t get them.

  Bringing myself back to the present, I took comfort in the fact that on my right and left were Sip and Lisabelle. Sip looked at me, meeting my eyes with her serious purple ones, then past me to Lisabelle. We didn’t have to say a word.

  “Let the Ultimate Tactical Begin,” Vale cried. She raised her arms up just as I felt a tremor shoot through the ground. I stumbled backward, grasping onto Sip and Lisabelle for balance, but the tremors didn’t stop. Instead they grew stronger. Like a train running over uneven tracks, the earth shook beneath my feet. I gasped, as right in front of Vale a hole was opening up. The earth was coming apart at the seams. Some students in the bleachers were screaming, while I could see others grabbing onto each other as the ground was rent in two. Above us, the sky had suddenly turned from sunny, to gray, to black. Night had come early.

  “Students do not understand the importance of their decisions,” Vale was screaming now as the winds whipped around her, yanking at her hair and pulling at her clothes. I felt the force of the winds, but somehow my pink clothing was spelled to protect me. I should have felt cold, but I didn’t. Instead, a tremor shook my entire body. Vale was using powerful magic to open a passage to the waterway, an opening she would have no problem shoving me and my friends down into.

  “One last thing,” she said, holding up her hand. The winds died down a little at her gesture. “All magic is fair game. Go.”

  That was bad for us, because Camilla, Faci, and Daisy especially knew tricks that we didn’t. But it also meant that Lisabelle could do whatever she wanted and Sip could transform. Lisabelle often spent her free time locked away studying advanced darkness magic, and when her uncle was there she’d study with him. I hadn’t seen her use much of what she had learned, but the fact that she could use it now gave me a little more hope.

  Still holding my hand, Sip clenched her jaw. She didn’t look afraid, she looked determined. Her expression was set and her eyes were hard. I didn’t have to look at Lisabelle to know that she looked the same.

  “This is wrong,” Trafton said, glancing sharply at Vale.

  “Glad you noticed,” I said dryly, as the wind whipped hair into my eyes.

  Trafton shook his head. “No, I mean, she shouldn’t be able to do this sort of magic.” He pointed to Vale, who still appeared to be controlling the gaping hole that had appeared in the center of the Dash field at her command. I hadn’t even thought of it, but he had a point. Ripping apart the world was elemental magic, and Vale certainly wasn’t an elemental.

  “Let’s worry about it when we finish Tactical and aren’t dead,” Sip advised fearfully.

  “We have to jump first,” Lisabelle yelled, after the wind kept howling, the ground gaped in front of us, and the sky blackened another shade. B
ut no one moved.

  “Jump?” Vanni cried. “No way. Nu ah, I’m not crazy. I refuse to jump down there and break my neck. If Vale really is trying to kill us, we have to make her try harder than voluntarily jumping to our deaths.”

  Lisabelle rounded on the fallen angel, who recoiled in fear. “Let me be clear. When I tell you something, you do it. I understand your pathetic fear of dying, but you have to understand, yes, you MIGHT die if you jump, but-you-WILL-die-if-you-disobey-me.”

  Lisabelle’s furious eyes met Vanni’s frightened ones. It didn’t take Vanni long to blink, silent tears streaming down her face. “Why do I always get paired with the elemental?” she wailed. “What did I ever do wrong?”

  “You are going to jump and you are going to like it,” said Lisabelle menacingly, but then she paused. “Actually, I don’t really care if you like it.”

  We were so busy dealing with Vanni that we didn’t see Faci pick Betsy up until it was too late. Her screams of fear drew our attention. Without warning he flung her over the cliff and into the abyss. My last image of the kind fallen angel was of her falling sideways, her innocent eyes wide and her mouth open in a scream.

  Lisabelle swiveled around and glared at Faci, realizing that they had struck first. She then let loose such a string of colorful swear words that even the Baxter brothers looked impressed. Almost for no other reason than to get Lisabelle to stop swearing I raced forward, and before my friends could stop me I flung myself after Betsy. The Glories stood by, opened-mouthed at my temerity.

  I closed my eyes as I jumped, taking comfort from knowing that at least Lisabelle would follow me down. At first panic overwhelmed my senses. I fought to draw breath as I fell faster and faster. The first hint of water didn’t come until it splashed against my back and legs, sending a rolling cold down my neck and spine.

  I made the mistake of opening my eyes as I plunged into the churning black water. For the first time in a long time I was glad that my mom had insisted I learned how to swim.

  I pushed myself to the surface, needing to get out of the way, needing to find the boat Vale had said would be there, and needing to find air and prove that I wouldn’t drown, alone in the frigid water.