Elemental Earth (Paranormal Public) Page 3

  “Dawn,” she said. “Although I hate to leave Vampire Locke unprotected.”

  “You’re not the only one who can protect Locke,” he said, taking three big strides closer to her.

  She lifted her delicate shoulders in a shrug. “Are you staying here?”

  “Not for all the gold in the world,” he said quietly, his eyes intense.

  Lanca cocked her head. “You and I are the only two I trust to take care of the place.”

  Vital nodded, then sighed. “Then it will be vulnerable.”

  “Yes,” she said, “Exactly what I’m afraid of.”

  “I don’t mind winter,” Lough grumbled as snow crunched under our feet. “I just don’t like the cold weather, all the clothes it takes to stay warm, the dry air, and the short days.”

  “So, um, what do you like about it?” Sip asked. She was wearing a purple knitted hat and matching gloves. The rest of us were just as bundled up in coats and scarves.

  “Well . . .” Lough started.

  “While he’s thinking about that, can we discuss why we’ve all been called to Oliva’s?” Lisabelle said. “We need to sleep. We’re leaving first thing in the morning.”

  It was already dark outside, and just our first and only night back at Paranormal Public. I was relieved to return, because being away, even if it had been to see my little brother, hadn’t felt right. Now we were trudging through knee-high snow that had only barely been cleared from the school paths. The moon turned the snow from white to silver. A black blanket of darkness sprinkled with a wash of stars completed the cold picture.

  Sip’s breath puffed out in front of her as she spoke. “For once your cheeks are redder than Lough’s, Lisabelle.”

  The darkness mage was the only one of us not wearing a coat, scarf, or gloves. Her black eyes sharpened when she looked at her long-suffering (Sip would say) roommate.

  “That’s not true. I wear makeup and throw parties when you’re not around.”

  “I doubt it,” said Sip. “No one would come.”

  “I would,” said Lough, raising his hand in the air as if we were in one of Zervos’s classes.

  Overhead I heard a flapping. The next second, black wings spread out above us. I craned my head back to watch my boyfriend of nearly two years - wow, could it really be so long? - land gracefully on the snow next to me.

  “Hi,” I cried, leaping into his arms despite the deep snow.

  He laughed and swung me around.

  When he had finished nuzzling his nose into my ear - it tickled, but that was okay - he set me back on my feet and smiled at me.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “Of course. Why?” He looked worried, and I didn’t like it.

  He shrugged. “You don’t know what Oliva wants?”

  “Well, I know,” said Lisabelle, her voice almost echoing over the expanse of empty campus. “I don’t think the rest of them have figured it out yet.”

  Sip turned to her indignantly, bracing her purple-covered hands on her small hips. “Excuse me? Secrets? Inappropriate.”

  Lisabelle shrugged. “You didn’t ask.”

  “He’s going to tell us that going is a privilege and that we mustn’t upset the balance, and to avoid demons while we’re at it, and that if we run into President Malle - because don’t the most crazy hang out in New York? - we are to avoid her at all costs.”

  Keller nodded. “He’s also probably going to tell you that I’m going with you.”

  I gave a cry of joy and leaped into his arms again. This time he wasn’t expecting it, and I knocked him over into the snow.

  “It’s entirely possible that you could have caught yourself with your wings,” Lough said worriedly as Lisabelle snorted and Sip giggled.

  “And miss having my girl on top of me?” Keller asked from where he was resting comfortably in the snowy pile I had dumped him into. “Not on your life.”

  “Don’t say that,” said Lisabelle quietly. “The times are getting darker.”

  As if in answer, we heard a strangled noise somewhere out in the woods beyond the force field.

  I started to push myself away from Keller, but he was faster than I was. With the dexterity only fallen angels can muster, he flipped us over and upright, steadying me as I wobbled.

  “Wow,” I breathed.

  “No one will accuse you of sweeping a girl off her feet,” said Lisabelle.

  Keller slung an arm around my shoulder and pulled me close. I was grateful for more than the warmth of his warm body next to mine.

  We all looked around as Sip sniffed, her purple eyes cloudy with worry. Lough started forward - he hated the sound of anything in pain - but Sip stopped him. As another cry shattered and pulsed through the trees she said quietly, “Don’t bother. It was just a doe walking alone. The demons already got it.”

  “The demons are hungry,” said a voice from behind us. We all spun around in surprise.

  Daisy was standing there with her twin brother, Dobrov. As usual, he stared at the ground, while her black eyes shot daggers at us. They were hybrids, a mix of darkness mage and vampire that should never have happened. Their skin was an ugly burned color, and to this day I had never seen Lisabelle look as sick and afraid as she had on the day when Daisy showed up on campus.

  Daisy Validification took a step forward. When Dobrov didn’t follow her instantly she turned around and gave him a vicious punch. He whimpered and rubbed the offended area. I had a pretty good idea that if his body hadn’t been covered by layers of warm clothing we would have seen bruises all over it.

  “Daisy,” said Keller. “Do that again and I’ll give you a reason to regret it.”

  Her eyes flashed at him as her mouth broke into a slow smile.

  “Threats, fallen angel? You’re one to talk,” she murmured. Keller stiffened.

  “What does that mean?”

  “Only that you talk awfully big for a guy who lets his mummy and daddy dictate his life.”

  “At least my mummy and daddy aren’t categorically insane,” said Keller coldly. I had never heard him use that tone before.

  “Just let it go, Keller,” I said. “She’s trying to make you mad and you’re letting her.”

  Keller stood for several more breaths, glaring at Daisy with his hands clenched at his sides. Finally, he relaxed.

  She was looking at me now, a sick smile on her face. “Are you heading to Oliva’s as well? I would offer to walk with you, but I see clearly that you’re afraid of me, and I would hate to disrupt your evening with anything like the truth.”

  “What’s the truth?” Lisabelle asked as Daisy grabbed her brother’s arm and started to pull him away. Even from where I was standing I could see her fingernails pressing down into his clothes and digging into his body.

  Daisy shrugged. “The truth is that we’re all going to New York for the semester, and very few of you will make it back alive.”

  “I hope you’re including yourself in that grouping,” said Sip, glaring.

  Daisy shrugged again. I could see Dobrov tug against her slightly, but she only tightened her grip. Her eyes had gone another shade darker.

  “I want you all dead. I will see it happen. You are like the doe in the woods, sitting ducks. You have no idea what’s about to hit you.”

  Lisabelle stepped forward. Daisy watched her, unafraid, and it was only after Lisabelle pulled her arm back, then launched it forward, connecting her fist with Daisy’s face, that we all woke up and realized that Lisabelle had just punched the hybrid.

  Daisy staggered backward, letting go of Dobrov and clutching her jaw. Lisabelle stood there, shaking out her arm from the jarring impact of flesh-covered bone on flesh-covered bone.

  Keller rushed to Lisabelle and took hold of her wrist.

  “Funny,” said Lisabelle, panting a little. “You knew exactly what was about to hit you. Did that make you feel better?”

  There, on a cold night at the beginning of January, as I stood with my friends on the way to l
isten to the president of Public’s announcement, something happened that I will never forget.

  Daisy Validification, hybrid, paranormal public student, darkness mage, and vampire, Nocturn and friend of the demons, started to cackle. It wasn’t a laugh, because I equate laughter with something light and happy, a joyous sound. It was a sound of evil triumph.

  Lisabelle clenched her jaw as Daisy stopped stooping and stood up. When she turned to us my jaw fell open. There was blood dripping from the side of her mouth and nose where Lisabelle had struck her. It was black. Like the night.

  “Oh, paranormal gods, what will become of us?” Sip breathed, as Daisy continued to heave and snicker.

  Chapter Five

  “Golden Falls University is world-renowned. They support light and they hate darkness. They do not take lightly to slacking off, tardiness, rude behavior, or disrespect,” Oliva continued.

  “Why do I feel like he’s looking at me when he says all that?” Lisabelle whispered to me.

  “I have no idea,” I whispered back. Sip did a face-palm.

  “You will be on your best behavior,” Oliva ordered, his jaw set.

  Lisabelle raised her hand.

  “What, Ms. Verlans?” Oliva sighed. He did not look at all pleased that Lisabelle had a question, while Zervos was staring daggers at the darkness mage.

  “It’s just so hard to behave well all the time. To string something together for an entire semester is going to be so difficult,” Lisabelle complained. Oliva rolled his eyes.

  “I’m sure you’ll find a way, Ms. Verlans. I’ve never in my life met a paranormal so capable of controlling her emotions.”

  “She doesn’t control her emotions,” said Daisy.

  “She just doesn’t have them,” Sip said at the same time. The two paranormals glared at each other.

  “You, Ms. Validification, what happened to your face?” Oliva demanded, pointing in the hybrid’s direction. “It’s hardly appropriate for me to send you to another school looking like someone smashed you into the pavement. You should see a fallen angel immediately, or go to the nurse, or both.”

  Daisy glared. “I won’t have their filthy disgusting hands on my skin.”

  “Wouldn’t want them to get burned,” said Lough. Daisy elbowed Dobrov sharply while she glared at the dream giver.

  “Silence,” she hissed. “You dare to talk to me like that?”

  “And just who do you think you are?” Dacer asked lightly. He was sitting with some of the other professors, including Korba, Erikson, and Zervos.

  Daisy looked like she was about to burst. Her face was getting redder and her hands were clenched at her sides.

  Dacer covered a yawn, looking bored. Oliva stepped in and said, “If I may continue? I am the president of this university.”

  “You may continue,” said Daisy, as if she actually had the right to give him permission. Oliva’s eyes sparked a little, and for the first time I thought he might really dislike Daisy. But he recovered quickly. As the president he didn’t have the luxury of hatred.

  “The junior class will be going en masse to Golden Falls, a university in the New York countryside. It is very old, and because we are no longer allowed to conceal our buildings from humans, this is one of the few safe places left. It is in a location so remote, so stunningly beautiful, that we feel very comfortable sending our students there. This is an exchange program that goes back hundreds of years between our two schools. Last semester we had several visiting students from Golden Falls, whom I know some of you have befriended. Now you will have a chance to see those students again.”

  All around us were murmurs and excited looks, but a few students declined to join in the excitement. I could see Daisy making a sour face. Apparently going to any place with a beautiful name like Golden Falls made her look ill, or maybe her face was just set like that.

  Keller rubbed my shoulders, which caused me to look at him and smile. I covered one of his hands with one of mine. “Is this place really as happy as all that?”

  He shrugged. “We make our own happiness. You and I will be there. What else do we need?”

  “Tea,” Sip interjected. “Lots of tea.”

  “And Sip,” I said, grinning.

  “Which means peace and quiet is out,” said Lisabelle sadly.

  Oliva cleared his throat. “Local students will be meeting you when you get there. They are our friends, and we trust them implicitly. They will have already had a day or so to settle in, so look to them for advice and guidance. You are to follow all the rules of Golden Falls. It doesn’t matter if it was done a different way here, the way they do it there is what matters.”

  Lisabelle raised her hand again as Oliva sighed wearily.

  “Yes, Peanut Gallery?”

  “No,” said Lisabelle, shaking her head. “That’s Sip.”

  Oliva didn’t say anything, but he did give Lisabelle a look that she normally only got from Zervos, a look that said he wanted to drop a brick on her head.

  “What kind of protections does Golden Falls have against demons?” Lisabelle asked coolly.

  Dacer raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow, but didn’t otherwise stir.

  Murmurs went up around us as students looked at each other and at Lisabelle. She had clearly touched a nerve. Despite the fact that the demons were all around us, they were rarely mentioned by Oliva.

  The president of Public took so long to answer that I started to shift nervously in my chair.

  “Golden Falls has the very best,” he said, his voice low and his eyes icy.

  “Which means it’s as difficult to get out of there as it is to get in?” Lisabelle asked, just as Oliva was preparing to go on.

  “I’m sure they would make an exception for you, Ms. Verlans. All they need to do is meet you,” said Oliva wearily. “Alright, no more questions. I will finish this talk and be rid of you.”

  My friend was determined to settle a dark cloud over the proceedings, and I could tell that other students, like me, were becoming apprehensive about leaving Public after the initial excitement of the announcement. Now Oliva finished quickly and released us.

  “It’s just that it sounds so safe,” said Lough as we left the meeting. Keller had gone to take a call from his parents, looking grim as he left. I asked him what was wrong, but he waved me off. He’d been doing that more and more recently when it came to his mother and father, and I didn’t like it. I still hadn’t met them, and I didn’t like that either.

  “Public?” I asked. “The Power of Five is strongest here. Dacer already told me that while I’m at Golden Falls I might be asked to help their professors strengthen their own shields.”

  “That makes sense,” said Lisabelle. “Are you coming to Airlee or are we coming to Astra?”

  I was surprised. “I’m going to bed,” I said. “What do you need to come to Astra for?”

  Lisabelle rolled her eyes. “We have to talk. We can’t do it on the road tomorrow, because we’re all going to be on the lookout for demons the whole time.”

  “But it’s Golden Falls,” said Lough reverently. “What’s to worry about? The stories say that it’s set against a backdrop of a waterfall of honey instead of water.”

  “Right,” I grumbled. “Fine, if you have something that you need to say, come to Astra.”

  “Do I need to be there for this?” Lough yawned, covering his pale face with his beefy hand. “I don’t want to be depressed.”

  “We’ll fill you in tomorrow,” Sip promised. She obviously already knew what Lisabelle wanted to say.

  Astra felt empty without a house mother. Martha had informed me that she’d be by to use the kitchen from time to time, and I was glad of it, but otherwise there was still no sign of Mrs. Swan, and I’d refused all other help.

  “Okay,” I said, putting my hands on my hips as we stood in the kitchen, where I’d gone in search of cookies, “what do you want to talk to me about?”

  Lisabelle grabbed a cookie off the plate on the
table. “I think you have the best of both worlds with Martha,” she said. “She bakes for you and then she disappears. Keller can come over whenever he wants.”

  “Yeah, like tonight,” I shot back. “Hurry up.”

  Lisabelle grinned at me. “Good to know you like him better.”

  “I like him best,” I whispered, but neither of my friends appeared to hear me.

  “Sip?” Lisabelle asked, sitting at the large counter. “Want to do the honors?”

  Sip jumped onto her own chair and turned serious purple eyes to me.

  “We are going to a foreign school,” she began. “I know it’s supposed to be wonderful, but we are natural skeptics. Yes, Nolan is there and yes, he helped found the Sign of Six, which is meant to protect us and fight back against the demons when other paranormals will not. I guess there’s a New York City campus and an upstate New York campus and Nolan will be at the same one as us this semester,” She took a deep breath before continuing. “But that doesn’t mean we’re safe.” She glanced at Lisabelle, who was still eating, and rolled her eyes. “Isn’t it always drilled into our heads that we’re never safe? So, we are never going to leave you alone. I mean, I suppose you can go to the bathroom alone. I mean the stall, but one of us has to go with you.”

  I was dumbfounded. I looked back and forth between my friends as if they had totally lost their minds. This was Golden Falls; even I’d heard of it. Lough clearly wasn’t worried, and I had spent the last two and a half years of my life in danger, so I didn’t see what was so new about the situation we were heading for.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I sputtered. “You can’t be serious! You want to babysit me?”

  “Much like we did first semester, yes,” said Lisabelle, grabbing a second cookie. “Only by this time we will have perfected the art of fear and intimidation.”

  “You were born a master at those,” said Sip. “I’m surprised you’re surprised,” she said, turning to me.

  “It’s ridiculous,” I sputtered out. At this point I was tired and already nervous about the next day’s travel, never mind about being at Golden Falls for the semester. But I was also excited. I too had heard the stories of a honey waterfall, and I secretly held out hope that Golden Falls would hold some of the secrets of the elementals that I so longed to know.