Museum of Masks (Paranormal Public Series)

by Maddy Edwards

  “I don’t know much about it,” said Sip. “I know that he’s a pretty powerful vampire, or else he wouldn’t have that position. He also has the complete trust of the faculty here.”

  “Isn’t it strange that I wasn’t allowed to pick my own elective? And that of all the ones they decide to place me in, the one they choose has nothing whatsoever to do with Astra?”

  “Hum,” said Sip, examining the schedule more closely. “Lough, you should dream what’s going on here and then tell us.”

  Lough grinned. “I wish. Maybe after this semester I’ll have better control of it. I’m still afraid of just hurting everyone,” he said in a strangled voice. Last semester he had tried performing a waking dream and ended up giving everyone else in the class nightmares, including one for me that involved my mother. Needless to say, I hadn’t appreciated it.

  “I’ll just have to meet this Dacer and find out. He can’t be worse than Zervos,” I said, shrugging. I was already wondering if these masks were something I could use against the demons and hellhounds. That might prove useful indeed.

  “He’s a vampire,” said a strong female voice behind us. “We’re all terrors.”

  I twisted around. Standing behind me was the vampire princess Lanca. She was a senior and she was absolutely gorgeous; her long dark hair and pale skin shone. Last semester, she had looked confident and untouchable at all times, but now there was a tint of sadness in her black eyes, and I knew that her cool demeanor was a front for the sadness she must still be feeling.

  As a vampire princess, the only one currently at Public, she was entitled to a certain amount of protection from other vampires. One of her most loyal protectors, a Starter named Tale, had died last semester when we battled the demons. I knew she missed him. No one wants someone else to die for them.

  “Hi, Lanca,” I said, grinning up at her.

  “Elemental,” she said, nodding at me. “May I sit?”

  She indicated with one delicate hand the chair next to me and I nodded.

  Even if Lanca didn’t look like much, I was pretty sure that if she wanted to, she could throw me across a room without really having to think about. In that way she and Lisabelle were very similar, except that Lanca was bound by the conventions of the vampires, while there was nothing to keep Lisabelle, and especially the tongue lashings she liked to give everyone, in check.

  Lanca sat in one graceful motion. I tried not to be jealous. I would never be as graceful as a vampire. Heck, I’d be lucky to be as graceful as a jackrabbit.

  “How are you doing?” Lanca asked, looking at me with concern. “It is my understanding that you have moved to your proper quarters?”

  “I don’t know if that’s how I’d put it,” said Sip. “She was fine in Airlee. She’s all alone in Astra.”

  “But being in Astra will allow her powers to develop,” said Lanca. “Besides, she’ll have added protection, and Astra house will blossom under the attention of an elemental.”

  “There are probably a lot of fun things to explore,” said Lisabelle. “We didn’t scratch the surface when we were there cleaning.”

  “Speaking of cleaning Astra,” said Lanca, “where is Keller?”

  I glanced around. Keller, fallen angel, Dash player extraordinaire, my former tutor, and my most amazing kiss, was nowhere to be seen.

  I blushed furiously and shrugged. Lanca patted my arm comfortingly. She liked Keller, mostly because there were a lot of powerful women at Public and Keller treated them as equals, possibly because he was so powerful himself. I hadn’t talked to him since the night he kissed me. One of the conditions of my leaving Public for Christmas had been that I not communicate with paranormals I wasn’t with. The demons would have liked nothing better than to find me, and the more I contacted people the easier it would have been for them to do just that.

  Keller had also said that he was going to be with his family and would have a hard time getting in touch.

  “And your internship is at the Museum?” Lanca asked, her eyes brighter. There was an unspoken question burning in their depths. “With Dacer? That’s so impressive.”

  “Yes,” I said carefully. “I don’t know why, but Sip was just telling me about it. Sounds like it will be interesting.”

  “I’m sure it will,” Lanca mused. “It’s hard to get admittance there, let alone an internship. There are masks that are very important to the vampires, that’s why Dacer is the curator of the Museum. He is trusted by all.”

  “Is he as bad as Zervos?” Lough blurted out.

  Lanca smiled. “I think he will be kinder to Charlotte, but then again, Zervos put his life between Charlotte and the demons. A frosty personality is just how we vampires are. But no, Dacer is unusual, to say the least. Anyway, I must depart, but I will return this evening for the Demonstration.” She rose as gracefully as she had sat, and moved away.

  “Well, it was nice of her to stop by,” said Lough. “Maybe this Dacer won’t be so bad, but I don’t agree with her about Zervos. He’s a terror.”

  “There was something she wasn’t saying,” said Lisabelle thoughtfully. “I wonder what it was.”

  I didn’t want to admit it, but I wondered as well.

  “She’s nice,” said Lough. “For a vampire. Anyway, I have to go. Apparently one of the transfers is a dream giver, so I’m helping her move in.”

  “Her?” Sip asked, batting her eyelashes at Lough.

  “It’s not like that,” he mumbled. For the second time at breakfast he went bright red.

  “Sure, sure,” said Sip as he grabbed his tray and left to clear it.

  “So, what’s the plan for the rest of the day?” Sip asked right before Lough left.

  “We need a plan?” Lisabelle asked.

  “Of course,” said Sip. “The Committee is arriving soon, so we have to watch that, and then we have to finish moving your stuff in, and I’m sure Charlotte has lots to do over in Astra, and then we have to come back and watch the second semester Demonstration.”

  “Well, I’m going to leave before the day gets any more complicated. I’ll see everyone at dinner. Let me know if you need anything,” said Lough, waving cheerily.

  “I wonder if he’s on something. Happy pills maybe. It’s definitely not normal to be that chipper,” Lisabelle said thoughtfully as she stared at his back. Her spoon trailed through her soup.

  “If he is, we should ask him to share some with you,” said Sip, ducking the napkin Lisabelle threw at her. “Then again,” she continued, “he might not have enough.”

  Right after Lough left, a sophomore, who I knew was a fallen angel but whose name I didn’t know, came stumbling into the dining hall, bracing her hands on her knees while she caught her breath. Everyone stared.

  “Spit it out, girl,” snarled an all-too-familiar voice. Zervos.

  “The Committee’s here,” she said, “Oh, and demons have surrounded Public.”

  Then she collapsed.

  “Oh, good,” said Lisabelle sarcastically as we watched the girl fall. “Starting right where we left off last semester.”

  Chapter Seven

  My friends and I of course knew about the demons - maybe not that there were enough of them to surround the campus, but still, the fact that they were nearby didn’t come as any surprise to us. Judging by the panicked outcry of other students, though, most people weren’t aware of the demon presence.

  “CALM DOWN,” Zervos bellowed. They could probably have heard him on the other side of campus. “WE ARE PREPARED FOR THIS EVENTUALITY.”

  Students calmed down, but I felt sure it was because they were more afraid of Zervos than they were of demons.

  “Let’s go greet the Committee,” Zervos continued, his voice several octaves lower. “I am sure they will have everything in order.”

  I wasn’t sure what that meant, but all the other students suddenly stood up and started to file out of the dining hall. Many looked pale and a couple were shaking, but demons or no, we were going to watch the
Committee’s arrival, except for a couple of fallen angels who went to tend to the girl who had collapsed.

  “Oh, we found out who another Committee member was,” said Lisabelle as we followed the crowd out of the dining hall.

  Sip nodded. “There’s a vampire named Dove, but that’s about it. I’m not sure who the fallen angel rep is going to be,” she continued. “There was a lot of contention over who got to be on it. It’s a very powerful position.”

  “Running the University?” I asked skeptically.

  “Yeah,” said Lisabelle. “Well, they’re molding young minds and all that nonsense, so the choosing of a President is a big deal. Besides, now whoever they choose is in charge of guarding the only existing elemental, so basically the fate of all paranormals rests on the shoulders of God-Willing-Not-A-Pixie.”

  Cale, standing nearby, turned his head, but Lisabelle ignored him.

  Sip snickered. “Would you please walk faster?” she asked Lisabelle. “We’re not going to get a prime viewing location.”

  “Do you have an unlimited amount of energy? It is my deep-seated wish that one day you get tired,” Lisabelle muttered.

  “Not likely.”

  “If anyone ever gives you caffeine they’ll have to answer to me,” Lisabelle muttered.

  We walked in silence for only a few steps when Lisabelle added, “The paranormal from Airlee is my uncle.”

  Sip came to a dead halt, forcing the senior pixie behind her to jump out of the way to avoid trampling the much smaller werewolf.

  “What?” She gasped. “That’s what you meant last night by finding out about it at your Christmas party? Your uncle??”

  Lisabelle stopped to glare. “My uncle.”

  “Why didn’t you say something earlier?” she squealed.

  “You didn’t ask . . . ?”

  “Well, that’s a stupid excuse. You should just assume I want all possible available information. Don’t you know me at all?” Sip stamped her foot impatiently.

  “Do you notice how when she does that her weight hitting the ground barely even moves the snow? She’s that small. Hmm,” Lisabelle said wickedly.

  Sip got in her friend’s face and said, “It’s not the size of the werewolf in the fight. It’s the size of the fight in the werewolf.”

  “Sometimes when I talk to you I feel like we’re in a relationship. One where you nag,” said Lisabelle, rubbing her temple tiredly.

  Sip crossed her arms over her chest. “Who is your uncle?”

  “He’s a bounty hunter. He’s not my favorite.”

  We were now outside, standing in the brilliant sunshine and snow. I shivered. Coming down one of the paths towards the Tower was a short file of adults. Two were dressed in black, the third wore white.

  “That’s them,” Sip whispered excitedly. “Can you imagine how much time and devotion they had to dedicate to paranormals to get where they are? Amazing.”

  “Why do I have a feeling we aren’t going to like them?” Lisabelle muttered.

  Sip leaned over her shoulder. She had to stand on her tiptoes to do it. “Because one of the members of the Committee is your uncle and you said you didn’t like him?”

  Lisabelle turned her head to look at Sip. Their faces almost touched. “Yup. Sounds about right.”

  “Is it possible he’ll be the next President?”

  “No one on the Committee is eligible,” said Sip. “That’s why Zervos isn’t on it.”

  “Zervos wants to be President?”

  “Is that really so hard to believe?”

  “I was just hoping he’d confine his particular brand of crazy to the vampires,” said Lisabelle.

  He helped us in the end,” I pointed out. I felt compelled to defend him. He had almost been killed, after all.

  “He’s a pain in the ass,” said Lisabelle.

  “Why Ms. Verlans, if I had known you were capable of such eloquent language I would have made the history tests harder,” Zervos drawled venomously behind us.

  Lisabelle was the only one of us who didn’t jump. Sip let out a little squeal. She hated surprises.

  “Professor Zervos,” she greeted politely.

  “Ms. Quest,” said Zervos. He didn’t look at her. He was staring at Lisabelle. I wondered what it was about her that bothered him so much. I had thought he couldn’t stand me, but it was like comparing a bump in the road to Mount Everest. He really hated Lisabelle.

  “Ms. Rollins,” said Professor Zervos, turning his cold dark eyes away from Lisabelle’s blazing black ones, “given your newfound status, it will hardly do to have you standing about the lawns of Public gawking.”

  “Maybe she likes gawking,” said Lisabelle, folding her arms across her chest. Sip and I knew that look well. She was about to get into trouble and probably drag us down with her. Oh joy.

  “Come on,” said Sip, grabbing one of her arms while I grabbed the other. “Wonderful as ever to see you, Professor Zervos,” said Sip as we passed him.

  “Why do you insist on mouthing off?” Sip demanded when we were out of earshot. Her face was mulish.

  Lisabelle shrugged. “Because sarcasm is my native language. You wouldn’t want me to change for someone else would you? Become what someone else wants me to be? I hear that’s not healthy.”

  “Don’t spout some relationship mumbo jumbo at me,” said Sip sternly, starting to turn away. Then she turned back. “And I want you to do exactly as I say at all times. Obviously.” She grinned at me. “Wouldn’t that be wonderful? Better than Christmas.”

  “Imagine what we would have her do,” I said eagerly, ignoring Lisabelle’s groan. “Flowers in her hair, and I think baby pink would bring out her scowl wonderfully.”

  Lisabelle walked away without another word. “I’d rather hang out with Zervos,” she called over her shoulder.

  “Careful,” said Sip, “you just might get what you wish for.”

  We followed Lisabelle away from the procession. I was a little sorry to go; I hadn’t even gotten a look at the Committee members. But there were so many students standing around that it was hard to get close enough for a view. I also wanted to hear what they had to say about the demons surrounding campus sooner rather than later. I knew Public had defenses in place to deal with such attacks, but it didn’t feel realistic that we could just keep the demons out without acknowledging their presence.

  “I should get back to Astra,” I said darkly. I had a lot of unpacking to do. It wasn’t how I had planned to spend my first full day back, but every time I made a plan it seemed to fall by the wayside. Maybe the moral of the story was that plans sucked.

  I trudged back to my dorm alone, my mind a whirl of new events. I was excited for classes to start and to start seeing other students. I was also nervous. I didn’t want anyone to treat me differently. I was worried they would treat me . . . carefully. And it would drive me crazy.

  I spent the day quietly unpacking and organizing. There was no sign of Mrs. Swan, for which I was grateful. I wanted the peace and quiet that came with putting my physical possessions in order. Doing it made me feel like I was putting my life in order as well.

  Instead of going back to the dining hall for lunch, I wandered down to the kitchen to see what I could find. Not only was there a scrumptious-looking lunch set out on the island, but there was also Mrs. Swan.

  She gave me a soft smile as I entered, and I almost felt like I was somehow disturbing her peace.

  “Hello, Charlotte, how goes the settling in?” she asked. Today she was wearing more flowy blue drapes, only these were of a very light blue, almost the color of the sky.

  “It’s going pretty well,” I said, shrugging as I grabbed an apple and started to munch.

  “Did you watch the Committee arrive?” she asked. Her voice was so soft that I had to stop chewing when she talked or I wouldn’t have been able to hear her.

  I nodded. “Only for a minute. Lisabelle started to argue with Zervos, so Sip dragged us away.” I wasn’t sure why I was t
elling this woman everything, but I was.

  Then, because I couldn’t contain my curiosity any longer I asked, “Do you know who they are?”

  “Oh, yes,” said Mrs. Swan. “They were, after all, in charge of my hiring here.”

  I nodded. “So, you’re close with the Committee?” I tried not to make it sound like an accusation, but I was leery of this Committee, and not just because no one who was closely related to Lisabelle was going to be easy to deal with.

  “I wouldn’t say that,” she said. “Being close to my employer would be complicated, but they know a lot about me.” She gave me a look I couldn’t read before she continued chopping veggies. “Have a seat, and I’ll tell you what I know of them.”

  Obediently I sat down, wishing Lisabelle and Sip were there to hear what she was going to say. But I could always repeat it to them at dinner.

  “Well, so let me see,” said Mrs. Swan thoughtfully. “There’s Dove, the vampire, and of course Lisabelle’s uncle Risper for Airlee. The pixie representative is a fine youngster named Oliva, and the fallen angel representative is Gertrude Erikson.”

  I was just taking a bite of baked chicken with bread crumbs when the name Erikson hit my ears. I choked.

  “Wh-what did you just say?” I asked.

  Mrs. Swan didn’t stop chopping. “What did you say?” I repeated myself.

  “I said Gertrude Erikson,” said Mrs. Swan blithely.

  “Don’t take that innocent tone with me,” I said. “You would have been told about Keller. She has the same last name as Keller. And she’s a fallen angel. Spill. Please.”

  Mrs. Swan paused in her chopping, only to continue seconds later. “I see there is no use pretending. Yes, I was given a detailed background of your history. Yes, I am aware that you and Mr. Erikson are . . . close. Gertrude is his aunt.”

  I had to force myself not to grind my teeth. It was hard to talk about Keller when I hadn’t seen him in weeks.

  “Anyway,” I managed to grit out, “what is his aunt like?”

  “Ah, she’s a battle-axe of a woman,” said Mrs. Swan with appreciation. “Very talented. Graduated at the top of her class at Public. Takes a no-nonsense approach to . . . everything. She was the one who insisted I work here. She thought I would be a good influence on you.”