Museum of Masks (Paranormal Public Series)

by Maddy Edwards

  With a start I realized that Mrs. Swan was already dressed for the day.

  “Interesting arrangement you have here,” said Cale as we headed into one of the sitting rooms. The first one we came to was for earth, and I figured it would do. No one could possibly expect me to go far on an empty stomach anyway.

  “How are you?” he asked. “How was Christmas break?”

  I sank onto a brown chair while Cale took a green sofa. He looked uncomfortable.

  “It was good,” I said. “I spent most of it at Sip’s. She has as lot of brothers and they’re really protective of her. Of course, Sip doesn’t want to be protected by anyone, so it’s pretty funny.”

  Cale grinned and nodded. “I was home, mostly. I saw your family.”

  I stiffened a little. Cale never mentioned my family.

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah, I saw Ricky. . . .” Cale let that hang there until I gave him an encouraging glare.

  “I think he misses you,” said Cale, “and I think your dad is drinking again.”

  Oh, well, that would be obvious. My stepfather had been drinking for most of the time he was with my mother, and he had probably never really stopped. I nodded at Cale and said, “Ricky’s getting older, better at handling himself. I don’t know what else there is to do.”

  “Yeah,” said Cale. “Is he getting any protection?”

  “I think so,” I said. Before I left for Christmas break I’d had a long talk with Professor Lambros, a pixie, about my own protection and my family’s. I was pretty sure she had sent a senior paranormal to shadow Ricky. Even if he never developed powers, the demons still might try to use him against me, and if they did it might well work. I couldn’t imagine anyone else I would die to protect, but I knew I would die for Ricky.

  “Is that what you came to tell me?” I asked curiously. Cale still looked nervous.

  “I thought you should know,” he said. “But I also wanted to apologize.”

  I knew my face showed surprise, because Cale laughed softly.

  “You think I’m so terrible that I wouldn’t care how awful Camilla is to you?”

  Ohhhhh, Camilla, I thought derisively.

  “I guess I just thought that if you cared, you wouldn’t be with her,” I told him simply.

  “She really does have a good side,” he said. “I don’t know what it is about you that sets her off . . . must be your grace and charm.” He grinned.

  I gave a very unladylike snort. “Yeah, that must be it. I learned it all from Lisabelle.”

  Cale groaned. “That girl could strip paint from the wall with a look. She’s scary.”

  Now it was my turn to grin. “She’s the best.”

  He smiled at me, but I could tell he didn’t entirely believe it.

  “How about her uncle, huh?” he said thoughtfully. “Risper’s just as intimidating. It must run in the family.”

  I agreed. “Do you know when your Committee representative is showing up? Oliva?” I asked. I had still seen no sign of the pixie representative at the bonfire the night before.

  Cale shook his head. “No, I guess he’s being held up indefinitely, which will make the selection of a new school president all the more complicated.”

  We both thought about that prospect in silence for a moment, not quite knowing where to go next.

  “Well,” Cale finally said, “I should head out before I miss breakfast.” He stood up, rubbing his hands over his jeans.

  “Do you miss Dash?” I asked, thinking that only having the sport in the fall must be difficult.

  “Not really,” said Cale. “We have a lot of other stuff going on. It will be back next fall.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “I guess we do.”

  “And congratulations on your internship. That’s a pretty impressive get,” said Cale. “I mean, I know that as the only elemental around you’re pretty impressive in general, but still,” he said, smiling.

  “Thanks, Cale,” I said, leading him out. For a moment it seemed like he wanted to say something else, but then it looked like he thought better of it. He disappeared into the bright sunshine of January.

  I was just leaving Astra after my little visit from Cale when a figure stepped in front of me. Before I realized what I was doing, I had taken a step back. The day was crisp and cold and the air billowed in front of my face as I looked at Professor Erikson.

  “Morning,” I stammered.

  She nodded to me. “Good morning,” she said, smiling. “I wonder if I might have a word.”

  “Of course,” I said. Well, she was one of the Committee members of the college. What did she think I was going to say?

  “I’ll walk with you. Wouldn’t want you to be late,” she said. “Then you might get in trouble and be sent to speak with the Committee.” She smiled at her own joke, but I could only muster an awkward nod.

  “What can I do for you?” I asked as we fell into step side by side.

  “Ms. Rollins,” she began, “I know you have been through a lot since August.”

  Oh, do you know that? What gave it away? I wondered silently. There are times when it’s not appropriate to act like Lisabelle, however strong the temptation.

  “Between finding out that you’re a paranormal and coming to the school, which I know was sudden, it has been difficult. Most children, when their parents tell them what they truly are, have plenty of time to absorb and understand it. You did not. For that I am sorry.”

  “It wasn’t your fault,” I muttered.

  “No,” said Professor Erikson, shaking her head, “but we could have done a better job of trying to find you. As it was, your mother kept you very well hidden.”

  “Given what happened when I was discovered, that’s probably a good thing,” I commented, glancing down at my beautiful Astra ring. Sometimes I found myself just staring at it, and it was always comforting.

  “Do you know what Aurum means?” she asked.

  “Shining dawn,” I responded promptly. “It’s the fallen angels’ dorm.”

  Even I knew that. Sip had taught me the basics last semester. Now I wondered what Professor Erikson was getting at in stating the blazingly obvious.

  “We fallen angels are here to keep peace,” she said. “We’re here to protect and we’re here to give, when necessary.”

  “Okay . . . ” I said, unsure where she was going with this conversation.

  “It’s our duty to stand between you and the demons. It’s in our blood, some of us more than others, obviously, but we all exist under the same title.”

  Now I was confused. Had we just changed topics?

  “That’s why I’ve come to talk to you this morning,” she said, pausing. “It is of the utmost importance that we speak.”

  Good thing we’re doing it then. Ohhh Lisabelle is a BAD influence, I thought, then smiled. Professor Erikson noticed and frowned at me, and my smile instantly disappeared.

  “What I am trying to say is that fallen angels are pure beings. Not like pixies and certainly not like those vampires,” she continued. My heart started to beat harder in my chest. If she thought badly of vampires, she most definitely thought badly of darkness mages. Was this about Lisabelle?

  “Which is why I want you to stay away from Keller.”

  I nearly tripped over my own feet, and preventing that from happening brought me to a complete halt.

  “Excuse me?” I muttered, barely able to get the words out properly. “You want what?”

  “Allow me to explain,” she said, opening her arms graciously.

  “Oh, by all means,” I said, folding mine across my chest.

  “My nephew has a good heart, one of the best if I do say so myself, which, unfortunately, means that sometimes he associates with . . . those who are not the right people. He has done this for a long time and it leads to . . . difficulties within the family. I know he means well,” she hastened to add, “but he just does not understand the privileged position he holds. Because he’s an Erikson, his bloodlin
e is almost entirely pure. He is the future head of the household, as all of his brothers and his sister are younger. Therefore, whom he associates with . . . in all forms . . . must be strictly monitored. There are very few who can meet the standards of the fallen angels, and none who surpass them. He could be a future Committee member, or better, if he continues on the right path.”

  I had stopped breathing a couple of paragraphs ago. I knew that my mouth was hanging open and I tried to close it, but I honestly didn’t have the strength.

  “You want me to stay away from Keller?” My voice was soft, because I was trying so hard to control the rage inside of me.

  Professor Erikson took a step forward. I took a step back, watching her warily.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” she said, hurt creeping into her eyes. Somehow she thought that she could stand there and insult me and yet somehow it shouldn’t hurt.

  “Oh, I know you aren’t,” I said. I resented everyone’s notion that I was too delicate to take care of myself. Maybe I couldn’t handle a field of demons the way Lisabelle could, but I still wasn’t going to let anyone walk all over me.

  She gave me a hard stare while I just stood there, refusing to flinch.

  “Stay away from my nephew,” she said, her voice deadly and low.

  “Make me,” I said back. I was surprised at my own boldness, and if I were being honest I’d have to admit that knew Keller and I would attract problems. Not only was dating a different type of paranormal frowned upon and nearly unheard of, but it wasn’t as if I, or even Keller, was just any old paranormal. I was the only elemental alive, as far as anyone knew, and as Keller’s aunt had just gotten finished so charmingly explaining to me, he was an important person in the fallen angel hierarchy.

  “You will do as you’re told,” said Professor Erikson, her eyes flashing at my defiance.

  “Actually,” I said, “I won’t. Not this time. I’ve had enough of doing what I’m told. Given my privileged position, I have a feeling I’ll have to be doing a lot more of it in the future, but no, in relation to Keller there’s only one side I’ll be on: his. Deal with it.”

  I soon realized, though, as if I had been fitted with chains, that what I had said to Professor Erikson might be all talk. I knew in my heart of hearts that I could never do anything to harm Keller’s good name, even if the only thing harming his good name was me.

  Chapter Fourteen

  My classes that day were all continuations of classes I had had last semester, including Intro to Para Studies II with Korba and A History of Your Paranormal Type with Anania, who could barely contain her excitement that she would get to talk about elementals now. She rambled on and on about how the elementals were the foundation of the paranormals and how every werewolf and vampire owed a debt to the elementals, who had come before and helped make the earth safe for them.

  I liked that class, mostly because Lanca was in it with me, which went a long way to counteracting the fact that Kia and Camilla were also there. Luckily there was no Cale, nor was there anyone else who was nasty. Lealand was in it, which I quickly learned meant that the two of us would be friends. The only member of our four person Tactical team missing from Paranormal Type was Keller. It didn’t look like I would have any classes with him this semester after all. I tried to brush away the sadness, but every time I thought I had stopped thinking about it, it would creep back into my mind.

  “So, today we’re going to talk about vampires,” said Anania. “After all the introductory stuff we don’t have a lot of time, but I have a few things to clear up before we proceed.”

  I sat next to Lanca, only half listening to Anania as I mused about the vampire princess. She didn’t look any worse than she had the night before, but she didn’t look better either. I was worried about her. Learning more about vampires felt fitting at the moment.

  “Vampires are, in a way, the most unusual paranormals. They have their own hierarchy, as the Princess Lanca here today proves. They also have the biggest restriction, their inability to go out during the day without protection. They cannot simply run to a friend’s aid, they must be awakened, and they must prepare. Now, today we are going to learn a bit about their early history and how they achieved such land mass and power.”

  Lanca’s hand rose into the air. “Is it really necessary to relive this? We’re not exactly proud of our conquering heritage,” she said.

  Anania fixed her with a beady-eyed stare. “You might not be, but it’s part of your history and it’s a VERY big part of why you’re here today. If you gave all the lands back to the people and families you took them from in the first place, you’d have a lot fewer homes. Even YOURS, Princess Lanca, would be gone.”

  Lanca did not look like she appreciated this reminder, but she sat back quietly in her chair. Lealand patted her hand comfortingly but frowned slightly when he touched her skin.

  “Besides, other paranormals do not know about the history of the vampires, and if we skip that history, it would only be fair to skip all of them. And then what would I teach?” Anania asked. I knew she was kidding, but the majority of the class was actually made up of vampires, it was the last class of the day and it was entirely dark outside now, and they didn’t laugh.

  “Now, as I said, without much time I’m going to just say a couple of things today,” Anania continued as if there had been no protest. “First, the vampires came here from various European counties. In fact, the first vampire came over shortly after the Mayflower. Of course, none of the colonists knew that there was a vampire in their midst.”

  “So, what was the difference between how a vampire took land and how colonists took land from the Native Americans?” I asked.

  “Good question,” said Professor Anania. Lanca shifted uncomfortably next to me. So did a couple of the other vampires, who I could only assume knew more about the history of their type than I did.

  “The main difference,” Anania continued, “was that if families didn’t comply with their demands for land, they took children away from their families and turned them into the undead. Or, in worse scenarios, entire families were killed except for one, so that that one would have to live with the consequences of defying the vampires.”

  A couple of gasps from a pixie and a fallen angel I didn’t know burst into the silent room.

  I had never heard of the undead before, but by the looks on the vampires’ faces they were angry, and by the looks on everyone else’s faces they were horrified. It was not a good situation. I was interested to notice that Lealand looked neither angry nor horrified nor surprised. He looked more just politely interested.

  “Now, the undead. I’d like you all to look up as much as you can find about them. Their lives were lost so that the vampires could prosper, and I would like everyone to understand that. Many were children or young adults. Parents were rarely made undead, because the vampires liked to force the parents to watch their children being turned into something grotesque. Can someone tell me what an undead looked like?”

  Lanca raised her hand and Anania nodded to her.

  “Undead can take a number of forms, most are marked by the flaking of their skin. Once dead they no longer require food to sustain themselves, instead they require power. The closer they are to powerful paranormals or energy forces the better off they’ll be.”

  “And how many undead are left?”

  Lanca looked uncomfortable. “We know a couple fled to Europe. There are no known undead left in the U.S.”

  “And how were they made undead?” Anania asked. She didn’t look like she cared how upset Lanca was getting.

  “They were drained of blood and left in the sun for three days,” she said quietly. “Normally vampires would tie up their family members, as you said, mostly parents, to watch. After three days they became undead.”

  “Which means what?”

  “It means, as I said, no longer needing food. They live indefinitely, until they’re killed. But it is a half life. They never can experience re
al joy and they’re weak. Well,” Lanca amended herself, “they’re weak initially. Any who were allowed to survive would have become stronger.”

  Anania nodded. “I hope you understand, Princess, that I ask because you know much more about it than most other paranormals, even vampires. I just have one last question for you: Why were they all eliminated?”

  I stared at Lanca. Her eyes had dilated from a piercing black to something more unfocused, as if she was having a hard time breathing or seeing.

  “They were eliminated because they were becoming a danger to vampires,” she said. “We thought most of the undead would just die off after we turned them, but a few didn’t. A few prospered, and they were angry about what we had done to them, their families, and their land. They would have wanted revenge, so they were destroyed.” Her voice was quiet, but firm. I did not hear remorse in her words.

  “And how do you know so much about this, Princess Lanca?” Anania asked, although it looked pretty clear that she already knew the answer.

  “Because my father was in charge of the executions,” Lanca gritted out. The room was hushed. I had never heard Lanca mention her father, but given that she was a princess, it went without saying that he must be powerful.

  “Thank you, Lanca. I appreciate your honesty,” said Professor Anania.

  “Like I had a choice,” I heard Lanca mutter as we got up to leave.

  “Don’t worry, Lanca,” said Lealand as we walked out. “It’s not like the pixies have a glimmering past either. We’ve all done our fair share of horrible things.”

  Lanca shrugged. “Did you kill a bunch of innocent children and ruin countless lives so that you could live on protected land?”

  Lealand grinned. “Of course not. Don’t you know anything about the pixies? We’re dishonest and manipulative. We talked people out of their life savings and livelihood. We didn’t force anyone.”

  Lanca gave a small smile, but I could see that the class had tired her even more. “I’m just sick of reliving it,” she said. “We made up for it, you know, we did what we could for the descendants of the families. They didn’t get their exact land back, because the vampires needed it, but they got land and compensation. Why didn’t Anania say that?” She shook her head, veering away from us as Evan Drapper appeared at her side. Whenever they weren’t in class he was her silent shadow.