Our boat was still filled with holes, but we were moving serenely along. Ahead I could see a stream drifting off into the distance, and our fire canopy had changed into a canopy of beautiful flowers. It wouldn’t have surprised me to have Trafton reach out, grab one of the flowers, and present it to Lisabelle, but he was too busy steering our deathtrap of a boat.
Lisabelle turned to stare at Trafton in amazement. He had also changed our clothes, so that we were now all dressed in jeans and shirts. Of course, Lisabelle was all in black, while Sip wore purple and I blue.
“You did that yourself,” he murmured. “You are each in your own dreams. I tried to make them similar, but I would never presume to dress any of you.”
“That’s what I’d call a solid life choice,” said Lisabelle, and for the first time since we had begun our journey her face broke into a smile. Trafton nodded, but continued to concentrate. We were getting close to the stream that was flowing out of the lake.
“Rake, I’d take cover if I were you,” Trafton warned. “Unless you put a lot of sunscreen on.” Vampires could exist in daylight, but only if they applied a special cream, which they uncreatively called sunscreen. But they weren’t happy about it. Rake was already one step ahead of Trafton, burrowing under a canopy.
“You dreamed us out of the waterway?” Sip asked, incredulous. “Trafton, do you know how powerful you have to be?”
I looked down at my dirt-covered hands, which belied the beautiful escape Trafton had crafted for us, and looked quizzically at Trafton to see what he’d say.
“As a matter of fact,” said Trafton dryly, running his fingers through his wavy blond hair, “I do. I dreamed us through the waterway.”
“Of course he does,” Lisabelle shot back, glaring around at all the sunshine as if it were there to personally offend her. “He’s the one doing it!”
“We’re technically still in the tunnels,” Trafton explained. He looked more at ease than I had seen him all semester. Obviously using his magic agreed with him. “But nothing can harm us as long as we stay in the dream.”
“Even Vanni?” Lisabelle asked, eyeing the fallen angel. Vanni was curled up in the seat I had recently left, staring around in wonder. Some of the green had gone from her skin and she no longer looked like she was about to throw up.
“Trafton,” she breathed, “this is beautiful.”
“Why thank you, Vanni dear,” he said, making the girl blush. Sometimes I forgot just how good-looking Trafton was, but apparently Vanni hadn’t, even here.
Rake turned to Sip, a faint blush staining his own cheeks. “Good job with the hellhound.”
The werewolf raised her almost white eyebrows. “Thanks, you too. I liked watching you throw him overboard like the useless sack of potatoes that he is.”
The warm and fragrant breeze brushed over us and I turned my face up to the warm sun. If I hadn’t known better I would have said that Rake was blushing just as much as Vanni now.
“Lisabelle,” said Trafton, “Can you paddle a bit? I don’t want Charlotte to use her magic. Just in case.”
He had a point. We didn’t know what would happen to the dream if too many of us were using our powers, and I was more than happy to be where we were and just relax. Trafton took up the other paddle, which was missing half its flat end, and started to help Lisabelle guide us down the narrow stream. As we moved I felt the air grow colder, and my fear returned. The clouds darkened and I knew that Trafton’s dream was coming to an end. He had only conjured it to get us through a passageway that otherwise would have killed us, and now we were coming out the other side.
“This was nice,” said Sip dreamily. “I’d like to come back.”
“I’ll bring you anytime,” said Trafton over his shoulder, and I couldn’t help but notice that Rake looked disgruntled.
Suddenly black water splashed up over the side of the boat and my neck and head felt hot from the fire burning overhead. My eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the darkness as I gave an inward sigh. We were back in the waterways under Public. It was an abrupt change from the beauty of Trafton’s dream.
“Just how much of this existed before and how much did she create out of nothing?” Vanni asked bitterly. It was the first real interest she’d shown in anything since we’d gone underground.
“Good question,” said Sip, eyeing the black walls. We could still see the ledges, but they were no longer teeming with hellhounds. “I’d like the answer to that myself.”
“I think we have just one more thing to get through,” said Lisabelle harshly.
“Oh, joy,” Sip and I chorused together, and then smiled at each other.
Lisabelle was right. We had one more thing to get through or past, but it wasn’t like anything we had fought yet.
“Do you see the other boat?” I called. We had come out into what appeared to be an underground lake. The water was perfectly still, except that every once in a while I saw a ripple, as if there might be fish under the surface.
“Why isn’t the water moving in that corner?” Vanni asked, pointing to the spot directly in front of us. The water appeared to be flowing around it, as if that spot was glass rather than real moving water.
We all stared. Vanni might be a basket case, but she wasn’t stupid or crazy.
“I don’t know,” Lisabelle muttered. “We don’t have time to find out right now.”
We continued to float around the lake. “Where now?” Sip asked. “Charlotte?”
I nodded. I was best with water, so I allowed my powers free rein over the space we now occupied. I looked around, feeling with my powers, my ring pulsing blue and white, searching for the opening. We had to hurry. We hadn’t seen the other boat since it had gone through the narrow passageway, and since they hadn’t burned or smashed they were probably almost to the end by now. I hated the thought of losing to Camilla Van Rothson almost as much as I hated the thought of losing to Daisy.
Almost instantly I realized the trick. The lake wasn’t flowing, but there was an opening. It was just covered up with magic.
“Right ahead,” I pointed, forgetting about the dead space of water directly in front of us.
“But. . . .”
Before Vanni finished her protest, we found out exactly why the spot wasn’t moving. I had merely assumed it was more magic, and it was, but not from Vale.
I heard a cry that sounded a lot like Dobrov was getting hit, and then spears launched at us. Three zinged right for our boat. Lisabelle caught one barehanded and incinerated the other two without so much as blinking. The Glories’ boat suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and I remembered that the pixies’ power was best with trickery and that Camilla was the only pixie in this game.
“What did you wait for us for?” Sip yelled. “Why didn’t you just go win?”
As she asked the question, the answer became obvious. They couldn’t figure out how to get out of the lake. I saw no outlets and the water flowed in no direction at all.
“You’re fast,” said Adver with approval. Apparently he was the one who had thrown the spears. He was from Airlee, but he had always kept to himself. He hadn’t looked happy when he’d been told he was assigned to the Faston team, and I wondered now if he had thrown the spears lightly enough so that Lisabelle would be sure to catch them. Lisabelle responded by chucking the spear back at his head. He ducked and retreated back to stand with Dobrov. The hybrid’s gray tunic was stained with something dark. I just hoped it wasn’t his own blood.
“Go, GO,” Trafton cried, mostly to me, because I was the water elemental. I wanted to tell him that he looked good, even in pink, but now wasn’t the time.
I called to all the power I had left, and every last once went into shooting us forward, trying to get through the opening before the other boat did. Lisabelle was blocking furious attacks from the Glories as they hurled spears, tricks, and balls of power at our fleeing craft. I felt the wind in my hair, and for the first time since we’d landed in the waterways I didn’t smell d
ead fish. It was incredible, speeding forward as our boat pushed the water to the sides.
“Is Dobrov alright?” Sip yelled, her eyes fixed on the other boat as we shot past.
“First name ‘who’ second name ‘cares,’” Lisabelle yelled over her shoulder right before she reached out and grabbed another spear out of midair.
Not to be deterred by the scariest paranormal at Public, Sip shot back, “First name ‘SIP’ second name ‘QUEST.’ We owe him that much!”
I realized with a sinking feeling that we were never going to make it. The other boat was too fast and too new. Even though we had a head start on them, once I’d revealed the hidden passageway we had already lost.
My teammates did everything they could, but it wasn’t enough. Just as we reached the entrance the Faston boat pushed past ours. In a shower of sparks the two boats scraped together. Theirs, built of new metal or whatever the boats were built of, moved past without a scratch, but ours, much older and less sturdy, started to sink.
“No,” Sip yelled, pounding her fists against the sides in frustration.
“Bye-bye,” Faci called, his eyes bright with triumph. He was lifting his hand to wave smugly when he caught sight of Lisabelle’s face. Quickly, he dropped his hand. The party had been only two days before and he hadn’t forgotten the beating he’d taken. How could he when there was still a purple welt on his cheek from where she’d struck him?
The Faston boat shot through the tunnel and was gone. I removed my hand from the water, ordering my last reserves back into my ring so I wouldn’t waste them. There was no point in rushing now.
The outlet from the underground waterways dumped us into the Cruor moat. At first I was disgruntled, because that wasn’t a very fabulous ending, but when it finally sank in that I was wet and covered in mud and bruises, and on top of that we had lost the first of three Ultimate Tacticals, Cruor felt like the least of my problems.
Anyhow, whoever had said we’d come out at Aurum had been wrong. I would have preferred Aurum. I had a feeling most of us needed healings.
The whole school stood on the banks waiting for us. I vaguely wondered when they had found the time to file over and watch the conclusion of the Tactical in the early morning light, but then I realized that as with so many things that had been happening recently, I just didn’t care. All I wanted to do was sleep. From the look of my teammates, they were thinking the same thing.
Airlees hurried to meet us, while Cruor students rushed to Rake. Vanni, a trembling mess, was embraced by what looked like every fallen angel on campus. Most of their faces were inscrutable and they avoided eye contact with me. I wondered what had happened to Betsy.
Meanwhile, the Glories were being congratulated by President Vale. She had strode over the bridge while we were pulling in, having obviously been elsewhere. A stab of fear penetrated my nerves as I remembered the Mirror Arcane. Before I could sleep I had to check on Sigil. I was heartened to notice that Vale did not look pleased, despite her daughter’s victory. I exchanged glances with Sip and Lisabelle, who had both seen the same thing I had. Maybe the Mirror was still safe.
It was hard getting out of the boat. I hadn’t realized how close I felt to the elementals while I was in the water. Living in Astra was one thing, but living my powers was another. I rubbed my ring absently, wondering if Vale was going to address us, but she wasn’t. She merely motioned for Baxter to lead the winning team away, and the brothers did.
“Let’s go home,” said Sip wearily, rubbing her forehead. Her finger left a brown streak. “I need to rest before I do my homework tonight.”
“And my homework,” said Lisabelle cheerily.
“Yeah, you keep thinking that,” said Sip. “I’ve never had such a lazy roommate before.”
“That’s because the only other roommate you’ve had is Little Miss Hard Worker over there,” said Lisabelle, pointing with her chin at me.
“Ladies, it’s been lovely,” said Rake. “Until class tomorrow.” His eyes lingered on Sip, who turned around and grinned at him, then threw her arms around his neck in a big hug.
“Thanks for your help with the hellhound,” she said, releasing the shocked vampire. “We make a good team.”
“If you’re into that sort of thing,” Lisabelle muttered.
“What sort of thing?” asked Sip, for once bewildered.
“Teams,” said Lisabelle, rolling her eyes.
Before Lisabelle could get out of the way, Sip had hugged her too. “We make a good team too, Crabby.”
I trudged back to Astra. I had better dream of Keller tonight, or else, I told myself. I’m not sure who I was threatening, maybe the god of dreams or my own head. But I wanted Keller.
Before I could sleep, though, I had to make sure the Mirror Arcane was alright.
Sigil was in the ballroom waiting for me. I had expected him to be reading, but he wasn’t. He was examining every inch of the space in minute detail. He had made it all the way up to the ceiling.
“Did I know you could fly?” I asked him, bending my neck backward when I got over the initial shock of not seeing him in the room at first.
He tittered a bit. “Ghosts are hard to know. There are so few of us.”
Seeing Sigil flying was fun, but I was so tired my eyes were starting to go unfocused. I couldn’t get to my bed soon enough.
Before I escorted Sigil back to the library I took one look at the Mirror Arcane, just to make sure it was still there. I breathed a little easier when I saw that it hadn’t moved.
Now I could sleep.
Keller’s warm breath on my neck was comforting. Seeing the grateful shining in the eyes of Betsy when I’d placed her on the rock outcropping, barely alive but not dead, had reminded me of him, and he had kept me company in spirit ever since.
“I don’t like that you’re in danger,” he murmured softly.
“Hum?”
“Do you ever listen when I talk?” he laughed.
“Sure,” I protested. “I like the sound of your voice.”
“Just not the words coming out of my mouth,” he teased.
“I like your mouth,” I countered.
“Oh, do you?” he said, bringing his lips to my ear. I sighed happily as he kissed the base of my neck. I turned my head and let him kiss my cheek. Carefully, his arms tightened around me.
“Thanks for the rose,” I said, rubbing my hands over his, which were firmly laced on my stomach.
“You’re welcome,” he said. “I was saving it for a special occasion.”
“You didn’t want me to die without knowing you cared,” I said softly.
He was silent for so long I had to turn around and check to see whether he was still awake.
He was and he was smiling. We stayed like that until I woke up.
Chapter Twenty
I visited Betsy in the infirmary the next day. Vale had branded her a traitor to her team and was sending her home. Betsy was distraught. She was supposed to be the first paranormal in her family to graduate from college, and she didn’t want to disappoint her mother when she was ill.
She was lying in a room by herself, on a white cot. A thin sheet covered her frail body and she looked nothing like she had before we started Tactical. I felt certain that if I touched her she’d break. My heart ached. Her face was pale and drawn and there were little white lines crisscrossing her skin. She must have been tortured by the Fire Whips and then healed and then tortured again. As the realization dawned on me a slow fury pounded at my temples. Next to her bed was one tiny candle, flickering gaily.
Gingerly, I sat on the edge of her bed and took her hand. At first she didn’t open her eyes, she didn’t even acknowledge my touch, but eventually her eyes fluttered open and she smiled a little.
“Charlotte,” she murmured. I squeezed her hand and her smile solidified. Her watery eyes flicked to the candle and her face darkened. “I wish they hadn’t put that in here,” she murmured. “I don’t like it.”
“It’s just
to light the room,” I murmured reassuringly. She turned her haunted eyes back on me.
“Betsy,” I said, my voice soft, “what happened to you?”
“Oh, nothing,” she murmured. “Truly, I’m okay. Don’t blame yourself.”
I gave a heavy sigh. The trouble was that I did. I shouldn’t have saved her.
“They said I was supposed to die, but you got in the way, but you weren’t supposed to get in the way.”
“Then they should punish me and not you!” I cried.
Betsy gently shook her head. “I’m okay,” she said. “It’s okay. I promise. Help me sit up a little.”
I put my hands on her back and felt her shoulder blades protruding through the thin fabric of her gown. I tried not to flinch or cry, but it was difficult. She was so thin.
Betsy sat and stared into the flames. Her eyes were haunted and her voice shook as she said, “So many paranormals have abilities with fire. It is the strongest element, you know. Malle believes that. Fallen angels have no such power. Neither do pixies. Only a very few Airlees have the power. Well, Lisabelle.
“Of course, the vampires would like to have talents with fire, but they don’t. That just leaves elementals. You were always so strong. Don’t waste it. You must fight with fire. That is the medium they have chosen to challenge the paranormals on. You can either rise to meet the flames or be consumed by them.” She paused, staring at her clasped hands. “No one thinks about fire, because they always see it. Fire is a part of everyday life, just like air. It’s warm and necessary. No one thinks about fire.”
I let her ramble. I hadn’t expected her to want to talk much, but apparently she did. Until this semester I hadn’t known Betsy all that well. Lisabelle thought she was a silly girl, but I had come to like her.
Betsy turned to me and grabbed my hands. Hers were cold and felt like dead fish. I tried to pull away, but she just gripped me tighter. She leaned forward, and I could smell the alcohol on her breath, hear the despair in her voice, and see the wretchedness in her eyes. I didn’t look away. Somehow I knew I had to hear what she had to say. I had to respect that she had chosen to say it to me. “You must pay attention to the fire. Don’t let it consume you. Fight fire with fire and you’ll do just fine. Lisabelle will help. She always knows what to do. Once you explain things to her, once she sees the truth, there won’t be a paranormal in the world that can stop you three. What a wonderful three.” I stared at her, letting the words sink in as she leaned back onto her pillows.
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