Elemental Unity

by Maddy Edwards

  High in the air I flowed over the earth. At first all I saw were rolling hills of black and midnight. The breeze blew into my face and the sparkling stars mirrored each other in the dark sky. Then a sweeping stone castle covered in dark ivy came into view, standing by a black lake.

  I swooped overhead as if I were on a broom. I knew this to be terribly unlikely, because I was awful at flying. Still, somehow I had an aerial view of a gorgeous estate with endless spires sticking up into the sky.

  In my dream I could almost smell the fresh air, crisp and cool off the water. The imposing black building was lit up. Fires burned all over it, not to mention the lights in the windows. It was all in a far-off, remote place that I didn’t recognize.

  I was so preoccupied with what I was seeing it took me a few moments to notice all the movement going on below me, on the ground.

  Fancy stage coaches were winding their way toward the castle down a perfectly manicured gravel road.

  Numerous figures on brooms were also making their way toward the castle, their long capes flapping behind them. Many of them had large and vicious-looking birds trailing them, as if to guard their backs.

  This was right out of something that Duke Dacer would enjoy.

  I swooped closer to the castle entrance to get a better look at the spot where the coaches were stopping to let people out. Women in beautiful dresses and masks mingled with men clad in darkly rich clothing.

  This was some sort of private party with a lot of guests. I didn’t recognize anybody, but then again, everybody was wearing a mask.

  Steeling myself in the dream, I floated inside after one of the women. Her long black skirt billowed behind her as she laughed with a couple of other women. One long moon-colored arm held a fan, while her other wrist waved idly one way and then another. People looked at her as she passed and moved out of her way.

  Everyone was headed toward the cavernous ballroom of whatever castle this was. The ballroom turned out to be as sumptuous a room as I had ever seen. In a space adorned with gold and mahogany and more jewels than I thought the world could hold, black drapes were pulled back to let in the spectacular view.

  The smell of incense and burning candles met my nostrils. I had never before had a dream where I could smell anything.

  I was still floating high above the scene, but luckily the ceilings in the castle were vast and lofty. Of the hundred or more paranormals in the ballroom, the most numerous types were vampires and darkness mages. There were also a few pixies, though, smaller and lighter afoot than the others, and some of them quite tall. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see Camilla, but she would have had to cover her blonde hair or she’d be very noticeable.

  I couldn’t for the life of me imagine whose home this was, not to mention whose party.

  Then I saw someone I surely recognized. He was wearing a mask, but it didn’t matter. I knew his stance and had recently seen his shoulders moving in battle.

  A rather large group of women encircled Lough with a rush of fabric, fans, and pale skin. Some whispered and batted their eyelashes at him. Others tried to get his attention by waving a fan or tugging on his arm.

  Shocked, I didn’t know what to do. My mind raced. What was he doing here?

  Then a ripple went through the crowd as the front doors were thrown open. I hadn’t realized that they had been shut behind us, and now it seemed that I must have been inside for longer than I had thought.

  Lough’s attention turned to the doors. All of the women around him looked as well.

  I felt my breath catch.

  A masked man entered, tall, black-haired. I recognized him instantly. Horveth’s cold expression swept over the roaring crowd. His sharp features and dead black eyes sometimes spoke of a delight in torture. My blood ran cold as I looked at him.

  I remembered that the last time I had dreamed of him, I had seen him committing a murder. I remembered that he had once been an architectural designer and that he had lived for at least a hundred years. What he was doing now on the side of the Hunters I had no idea.

  Horveth was in the thick center of what was going on in the paranormal world. Without a doubt he was one of the ones driving the Hunters forward, one of the ones trying to kill off the paranormals and Lisabelle. And he was definitely one of the ones who knew what had happened to Sip.

  I spiraled downward to be closer to the crowd. Much like the outside of the castle, the inside was a darkness paradise as the gathering of Hunters and Nocturns tumbled into full swing. Dark liquid and laughter flowed everywhere. I saw many weapons on many paranormals. I saw a few knives sharp enough that even Lisabelle would have been jealous.

  As the party wore on another figure caught eye.

  She was wearing a russet-colored dress that fell to the floor like a waterfall. There was nothing spectacular about her with the mask on, except that the colors were deep and eye-catching in a way that none of the other dresses were. She was wearing long sleeves and a mask of black opals. All I could think was that she must be incredibly wealthy.

  She caught the eye of many of the men and then strolled past them as if they were nothing.

  Many of the women held up fans in front of their faces to cover jealous looks.

  Her black hair was balanced high atop her head in a fancy pile that I felt certain my lady friends would know what to call and I did not.

  Then, as if the mist of the lake had seeped inside the ballroom, gray smoke started rising from the floor, further obscuring the attendees.

  I wondered if this was some sort of party trick or something else entirely.

  Snatches of conversation darted past me, mostly politics and fashion, with some gossip sprinkled in for good measure.

  More time passed. I didn’t feel tired or bored for a moment, but slowly, guests started to disappear and some of the fires in the corners went out. The embers ceased to burn so brightly and become came warm black rocks instead.

  Hours later the party was over. I had stayed the whole time and not been bored for a moment. The Hunter and Nocturn celebration had ended long ago. Still, I didn’t leave and I didn’t wake up. Something told me to wait inside the dream, in the dark night of the ballroom ceiling in the strange castle by the lake.

  A lingering hint of magic curled into the air. Black smoke, an empty ballroom, creatures fading into the corners.

  And then Lough stepped in.

  I had never seen him look like this before. He looked adult, grown up, powerful and dangerous.

  But he wasn’t the only one left in the room. A woman had faded into one of the corners, and now, as if appearing from behind a thick cobweb, she stepped out in a russet-colored dress. Lough seemed to know who she was. He stilled.

  Then I knew too.

  Lisabelle Verlans paused as her eyes tangled with his. I might just have been imagining it, but I almost thought she might not be breathing.

  Lough stepped forward. He had filled out. Muscles rippled beneath his fine black clothing. There were still two small splotches of red on his cheeks, evidence of the boy he had been. They expanded slightly as he looked at Lisabelle.

  He had spent the night dancing with Hunter women, all interested in gaining his favor. The elusive Hunter. The betraying dream giver. Now he and Lisabelle were alone in the vast and cobweb-filled hall. Wherever this was, Lough knew his way around.

  So did Lisabelle.

  She stepped forward.

  Each knew their way to the other.

  He stilled for a moment, his eyes never leaving what he could see of her face. Tattoos had started to curl up Lisabelle’s collarbone; I wondered how far they would go. Somehow I felt as if they would stop right there, a necklace of power in case anyone was unsure of who she was or what she was, but they wouldn’t mar her face. Her porcelain skin looked especially white in the moonlight casting through the window and mirrored off the lake.

  For a moment neither figure moved or spoke. Then Lough stepped up and gave a gentle bow. When he straightened, he held
out his hand.

  For a moment the world stopped. Lisabelle didn’t move and Lough didn’t breathe.

  Then the painting changed.

  The two flowed together, entwining their arms as if this was not the first time they had danced.

  Lough dancing was one thing, but Lisabelle dancing was unimaginable.

  And yet here she was.

  The two of them continued to stare into each other’s eyes. Lisabelle’s expression was intense and more present than I had ever seen before.

  Lough’s was filled with a longing that threatened to bring down castles and change landscapes from night to day.

  One thing became as clear to me in that moment as the surface of the lake outside in the night.

  She loved him.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  My meeting with the High Council the next morning gave me little time to think about the dream, but I tried to nail down as much of it as I could before other matters took my attention.

  Groggy, bordering on disoriented, was not a good start to a day when I had such an important event to get through.

  Could that scene with my sister’s friends possibly have been real?

  It had felt real. I could almost smell the perfume and taste the succulent-looking food.

  Why I was dreaming of such things I had no idea.

  Bleary eyed, I stumbled down to the Astra kitchen. To my shock, Keegan was already up and making breakfast. Eighellie had come over bright and early. The dark circles under her eyes made me wonder whether she had slept at all.

  “I hear you have an important meeting today,” she said. “I’ll pick out your outfit.”

  “There are a lot of clothes to choose from,” I mumbled, sitting down heavily on a stool at the island.

  “I know! I can’t wait! You didn’t think I got up just to be supportive, did you?” she asked, hurrying out of the room.

  Astra had several walk-in cedar closets hung with sumptuous clothing from years and generations past, probably spelled for preservation. I had looked inside the closets once and then never again. Mostly I’d seen dresses, but I knew that somewhere there were also men’s clothes. Unsurprisingly, Eighellie apparently knew more about it than I did.

  “Did I know you could cook?” I asked Keegan. Somewhere he’d found an apron.

  He turned to me and grimaced. “No, because if you did then you’d want me to cook all the time.”

  “Yeah, this is really good.” He’d made me a breakfast sandwich with a bagel and it was delicious.

  “Any time you’re fixing to go meet with the High Council I’ll cook you something up,” Keegan promised.

  “Now he’s probably torn about whether he wants that to happen often,” said Eighellie, coming back in with an armful of clothing.

  “Morning,” I mumbled through a mouthful of food. She eyed me coldly. “You don’t have a lot of time to shower and get ready. Be quick about it.”

  “Don’t I have hours?” I asked.

  “How long does it take you for fancy dress?” she asked.

  “No idea,” I told her.

  “Exactly,” she said.

  “I have to go steam your pants,” she said, and left again.

  “That sounds like a threat,” Keegan informed me.

  I chuckled. “Most likely.”

  “How are you feeling?” Keegan asked.

  Before I answered I took another bite of my sandwich. Keegan wasn’t one to talk about feelings. He didn’t mean it, but I knew it was a sign of the seriousness of what was happening that he had even asked.

  “I’m glad Charlotte is safe. She spent so many years protecting me. Now I can help do the same for her,” I said.

  “How’s that?”

  “If they’re so focused on me, they might forget about her. On top of that, Lisabelle is right. It’s time the High Council stopped treating us elementals as pawns.”

  “How are you going to make them do that?” Keegan asked.

  I glanced down at my midnight rainbow ring. “I have a couple of ideas.”

  Eighellie came bustling in just as I was finishing my meal. “Why are you still eating? You have to start getting ready!”

  “I still have hours,” I grumbled.

  “No. I’ve picked out what you’re going to wear! Come see!” she said.

  She dragged me up to the dressing rooms I never used and led me to one with hanging suits and shirts and mirrors. The carpet was a dark brown and there were patterns of leaves in it, meant to mimic the earth, I supposed.

  “Here it is,” she said, proudly holding up the suit she’d picked out. “They aren’t going to know what hit them.”

  I examined what she’d chosen, a sumptuous dark blue suit with a midnight cape edged with black thread, plus silver clasps and buttons. Wisps of silver thread decorated the shoulders, like wind swirling over midnight water. An image of the lake I’d dreamed popped into my mind.

  “I found this as well,” said Eighellie. “Still pinned to one of the dresses.”

  I examined the pin. “This was Queen Ashray’s.”

  “Your house. Best to remind them of that today,” whispered Eighellie. “I’ll pin it on.”

  My face flushed as she reached up and fixed the pin near my collar.

  “Now, don’t mess up your hair. You look . . . grand,” she murmured. I saw her hands twitch as if she wanted to continue fixing and adjusting my clothes but was stopping herself with an effort of will.

  I was ready for a battle of a more civilized kind, but no less deadly.

  “Ricky! Get down here! You’re going to be late,” Averett yelled.

  Eighellie made a couple more last minute adjustments. I had to shake her off in order to get going. Then I grabbed a tie and hurried down the stairs.

  The light had changed. It was now late morning. My meeting time was coming soon.

  Averett was standing with her feet planted wide, also dressed in her fanciest clothes, with several weapons strapped to her waist and legs. Her features seemed more cut than usual.

  Keegan was standing with her, while Eighellie perched herself on a marble-topped side table.

  The second I came to the top of the stairs, Averett’s eyes took in the fine midnight blue clothing, the pin, the ocean wave and fire belt.

  “You look different,” she said.

  “No, he looks like what he’s always been,” said Eighellie coolly.

  “You look like an adult,” Keegan screwed up his face.

  “And that’s a good thing isn’t it?” Eighellie demanded.

  “I guess,” Keegan grumbled. “Just be sure not to do that to me.”

  “Sorry, but you don’t have a walk-in closet filled with fancy clothes and jewelry,” she said.

  “Small mercies,” Keegan shot back.

  Averett diverted her eyes from me for just a moment to give the other girl a cold stare.

  “I didn’t realize I needed an escort,” I said to Averett by way of greeting. She was wearing black leather, buttoned high up her neck. Her hair was pulled back into a sleek updo. Meanwhile, Ricky was dressed in britches and a white shirt covered in sawdust and breakfast, while Eighellie was in her usual black robes.

  My friends wouldn’t be going with me, though.

  “I figured it was easier if we went together since I’m joining the vampire delegation for the talks today,” said Averett.

  “Right. I’m my own delegation,” I told her.

  Averett’s eyebrows raised. “This is going to be interesting.”

  “Something like that,” I said.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  We walked in silence to the Table Chamber. Used for fancy occasions, this space was attached to the lecture hall where Charlotte used to have presentations.

  I would see President Yeast up close today. She hadn’t so much as looked at me on any other occasion when I’d been in her presence. No surprise there. She was the paranormal president while I was a no one student.

  Except that
I had to stop thinking that way.

  I was much more than a nothing student.

  I was the second-to-last elemental, and something had happened with elemental magic last semester. Secretly I still thought that somehow Ostelle might know something about it. She was conspicuously absent this morning.

  Then again, there was a chance Ostelle didn’t even know that the High Council had arrived.

  A chance, but not a large one.

  When Keegan had told me last semester that I was one of the most powerful paranormals in the world and I wasn’t asserting myself accordingly, I had let it go. The White Light Society had disappeared after the attack on our initiation meeting, or whatever it had been.

  Keegan still had a point.

  Only now—with Sip attacked and Charlotte threatened—was I truly ready to fight.

  As we entered the chamber, I tugged at my collar and tried to get some air. Several pairs of eyes turned to stare at me. A few did a double take. Eighellie had made me comb my hair. I felt like an idiot but that couldn’t be helped now.

  We stopped, and I felt Averett sway slightly, her eyes on the vampires. Lanca and her consort were there. So were several other powerful figures.

  A couple of the fallen angels also looked vaguely familiar. Candace’s mother was a member of the delegation. An Erikson cousin of Keller was an actual member of the council.

  “Here goes nothing,” Averett whispered.

  I knew she wasn’t talking about herself.

  Someone ushered me to a chair in a corner by myself. It was only then that I noticed something interesting. A chair had been left vacant. I was offered one of the seats behind it.

  The vacant chair, I realized, was the High Council spot that should have been filled by an elemental. President Yeast had carefully ensured that that couldn’t happen. There was only one senior paranormal elemental to fill that seat, and she was now under investigation, the arrest warrant having been issued precisely so that Charlotte could not take her place there even if she had wanted to come out of hiding.

  My eyes skated to Lanca. She hadn’t so much as looked in my direction since I walked in.

  I almost wondered if Averett was going to catch flak for even talking to me. I hoped she wouldn’t.