“So, no one knows what it looks like?” I asked.
“Nope,” said Lough, piling his plate high with strawberries for dipping. “Except the vampires.”
“What do you think they thought of Airlee?” I asked.
“We thought it was too bright,” said Lanca. She’d moved up silently, like she was the mist I knew she could turn into. I jumped. “Tale said everyone was too friendly.”
Lough and I just gaped at her.
“Aww, do I scare you?” she asked. “I don’t bite…things that would taste like cleaning solution.”
“Ouch,” said Lough. “That almost hurt our feelings.”
She glared at him. “Stay out of this, Dream Giver. At least until you can control those powers of yours.” She flipped her long black hair over one moonlit pale shoulder and smiled. Lough blushed.
One of the guys who always trailed after her, tired of her divided attention, said something just then, and Lanca was forced to turn away. I turned to Lough and rolled my eyes.
“Hi,” said Lisabelle, coming up next to us in line.
“Where’d you go off to?” I asked, covering all my strawberries with chocolate.
“Nowhere,” said Lisabelle. Her cheeks were a little flushed.
“You should stay out in the open,” Lough cautioned. “Not in a corner making out with someone.”
“Why?” asked Lisabelle, refusing his offer of a chocolate-covered strawberry. “If I want to make out with someone it’s my own business.”
“Because otherwise they might think you’re summoning demons or something,” Lough growled. The three of us left the line and went to find an open spot along the wall with a good view of the dance floor. I was glad to get away from the vampires, and I still hadn’t seen any sign of Cale or Camilla. She was probably coming fashionably late, I thought sourly.
“Do you see any demons?” Lisabelle asked.
“No,” said Lough, “but we wouldn’t until they were actually here.” Lisabelle just ignored him.
“Hey, Charlotte,” said Cale, appearing at my elbow out of nowhere. He looked good. He usually looked good, but tonight he looked better than good. His red hair was its usual tousled self, and he wore jeans and a blue t-shirt I’d never seen him in before. Even better, Camilla was nowhere to be seen.
“You look great,” he said. I blushed and mumbled something about how he looked good too. Lisabelle smirked. I had wanted to be friends with Cale, but Camilla had made that hard. Now I didn’t know where to look.
“Want to dance?” he asked. I hadn’t been this close to him in a while; he smelled faintly of spices.
“What about Camilla?” I blurted out. Last I’d heard he had dumped her, but that was weeks ago.
Cale didn’t look fazed. “She doesn’t own me,” he said.
“Alright,” I said, eyeing the dance floor. Sip was still out there with Mike. Pixies, vampires, and fallen angels danced around them. Since they were known for their coordination and grace, I’d easily be the worst dancer on the floor. Still, hesitating only for a second, I took Cale’s offered hand and let him lead me onto the floor.
It wasn’t the sort of perfect dance I’d always imagined in my daydreams of special nights. We were in a tent, not a grand room like the one in Astra Dorm. The music was loud and blasting, and I didn’t want to think about what some of the students were busy doing in the dark corners along the wall.
I didn’t care about any of that, though. Cale was there. An old friend, someone I knew from home and who had always been kind to me. It also didn’t hurt that he was really cute and, as long as Camilla wasn’t around, we’d have a great time.
After the first dance ended Cale asked me if I wanted to dance another, and then another. My good mood increased with each dance. It was only dampened at one point in the evening, when I looked up and saw Keller watching us. Tension radiated throughout his body. The blond girl who’d been hanging off his arm most of the night was talking to him, but he didn’t look like he was listening. Seconds later he led her out of the tent and I misstepped and crashed into Cale.
While I got my balance back I felt a pair of furious brown eyes locked on me. Camilla was standing a few feet away, surrounded by her friends.
At the first sign of my faltering, she swooped in.
“Cale,” she asked, her voice too high and too fast, “can I speak to you?”
Cale paused. “Can’t it wait, Camilla?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “Outside.”
“After the dance,” he told her. She looked on the verge of tears as she went back to her friends.
We continued to dance, but the spell had been broken. I knew Camilla would never let us have another dance together, and Cale looked upset. I was so preoccupied with Camilla and keeping track of where my feet were that I didn’t see Kia swoop up next to us. She was dancing with a pixie and looked like she was totally engrossed in what he was saying.
As they passed us, she let out a shrill laugh, and I realized that she’d used the opportunity to stick her foot out, right where my feet were about to go. As if in slow motion, I tipped sideways. This wouldn’t have been so bad, except that Cale and I had been dancing very close to the Chocolate Fountain, and I landed right in it.
I had never wondered what it was like to take a bath in warm chocolate, and I never would again. Unfortunately, the fountain was unstable, and when I hit it, the whole thing toppled over with me. My elbow hit the ground with a bang, and I swallowed a mouthful of chocolate.
I struggled to sit up. Before I reached a ninety-degree angle Camilla was on top of me. Her hands were like icy white sparks alight with pixie dust. They dug painfully into my shoulders.
“Get off her,” I heard several voices yell, but I was too distracted by the crazy pixie trying to kill me to notice that anyone was speaking. I tried to use magic, but, familiarly, not even the most basic spells would come. I gasped for air. Black spots were forming in my field of vision. My hands were locked around her hands that were locked around my throat.
I felt her yank away from me, and then the small amount of weight disappeared from my stomach.
Cale had pulled her off me, but she continued to scream and wail, reaching for me. If I hadn’t been the one on the floor covered in hardening chocolate I would have thought it was funny. Camilla, in a gorgeous white dress now covered in chocolate, just kept yelling.
I found my balance and staggered to my feet. Before she knew what was coming, I had launched myself at her.
At the moment I slammed into her and the hapless Cale, a voice as cold as steel said, “What is this?”
The President walked into the light, her gray hair glinting. I saw other professors flanking her, but I was too dazed to take a good look at them. Camilla shoved me off, and I slipped and landed on the floor again.
Camilla instantly calmed down. Apparently her anger disappeared when confronted with the head of Public. Cale waited a second, then let her go.
“It was an accident,” said Camilla, brushing a strand of chocolaty blond hair out of her face. “She tripped and then I slipped on the chocolate. She was clumsy enough to knock it over and I fell.”
“Which led you to have a screaming fit?” asked the President curiously.
Camilla had the grace to blush. “I was just sad about my dress.” She fanned the white fabric out around her. The jewels stuck into it winked in the light. If Camilla ever wanted to be an actress, she could have the starring role.
“Camilla Van Rothson, you are from one of the oldest and most powerful pixie families,” the President said, walking slowly toward Camilla, her eyes glued to Camilla’s and her hands clasped behind her back. “You have no right to embarrass your family, yourself, or this excellent institution by acting in such a disgraceful manner.”
“But what about her?” Camilla whined, pointing at me. I was trying to get some of the chocolate out of my hair. My legs were covered in brown smears.
“That’s what we expect fro
m Airlee students,” Professor Zervos cut in, materializing out of the crowd. Apparently he was back from his vacation. For once I was happy he had spoken, because I had no idea what to say.
I realized that I had to get out of there, fast, or my hatred of him might show. I tried to stand, but it was useless in the slippery muck. Without so much as a word, Keller came forward, reached down, and grabbed me under the arms. I heard the squelch of chocolate between his hands and my body as he pulled me to my feet. His blue eyes met my gray ones and for the briefest of seconds I forgot that my face was smeared with chocolate. Then I breathed again.
“I could do that too if I were a fallen angel,” I muttered.
“You’re welcome,” he said, still holding me. I told myself that it was for my own balance, which turned out to be true, because when he tried to lead me out of the ever-spreading puddle, I slipped again. He caught me easily and we kept going.
“Ms. Rollins,” the President called after me.
Keller and I stopped. “I expect you in my office tomorrow to discuss this,” she informed me. I only nodded. I should have expected as much.
“If there was an award for the student who visits the President most frequently, you would win it,” Keller said softly into my ear. “You should be more careful.”
I shivered, but the chocolate was warm on my body.
Sip, Lisabelle, and Lough surrounded us, leading me out of the tent. Just as we got to the door, someone blew past us heading in the opposite direction. I recognized him as one of the cooks. He was young and friendly, but he wasn’t a paranormal. He skidded around, his head snapping from left to right.
“Where’s the President?” he screamed. “Where is she?”
The President stepped forward. Everyone else in the tent was too shocked to react. The young man collapsed in a heap on the floor. His breath was coming fast and shallow as he stared up at the President.
“I saw….” he gasped, unable to go on. The President didn’t move. Professor Zervos was about to step forward, but the President stopped him with a shake of her head.
“Spit it out,” said the President. It was the first time I’d ever seen her lose her temper.
“Hellhound,” said the boy. “On the grounds.” He collapsed. And with that, chaos erupted.
Chapter Twenty
Just as Lisabelle and I were about to dash back into the madness that had become the homecoming tent, Sip grabbed us and propelled us quickly away. Her small, purple-painted nails dug painfully into my arm.
“We are going back to the dorm,” she announced. “I will not have either of my friends get detention, expelled, or set on fire by a hellhound tonight.” All five feet of her stomped away, not releasing either of our arms. “Bye, Keller,” she yelled over her shoulder, without looking back.
“Bossy thing, isn’t she?” Lisabelle asked, glaring at the tiny blond head that was leading us away. At least we weren’t alone. Lough was still with us, and we were surrounded by other students. “Besides,” said Lisabelle, “Charlotte here needs to wash before that chocolate hardens and everyone starts trying to lick her.”
“Very funny,” I murmured.
“Move along, move along,” said Professor Lambros from right behind us. She was staring around at all the students; her pixie ring was shining into the night like a flashlight. “Students are to return to their dorms and to stay there until further notice,” she announced, even though that’s where all the students were headed anyway. “We are on lockdown. That means you go nowhere. You got that? Nowhere, without a professor present.” No one argued with her.
When the four of us reached Airlee, we separated. There was nothing to do at that point but go to sleep and hope for news in the morning. Besides, I had to get up bright and early to go see the President, yet again, and learn my punishment. I wondered why Keller had come back to the tent after he’d left with the blond, then helped me without saying a word. He must be so disappointed in me. Not only couldn’t I do magic, but I had embarrassed myself in front of the entire school. Again. I fell asleep fuming.
The next morning when I padded out of the dark room, Sip was still snoring. Downstairs was the Professor of Medieval Magic, whose name I couldn’t remember. He told me I had permission to go to breakfast and then to see the President, provided I stayed on the biggest paths. “Just during the day,” he informed me. “No one will be able to wander around after dark.” That meant that the second part of our classes would have to be closely chaperoned, because they all took place after the sun went down.
Outside, the campus seemed different. Now that I knew it wasn’t safe and that what I’d seen on my last night at home, a hellhound, had been walking around on campus the night before, a dark shadow fell over my experience at Public.
After breakfast I headed toward the President’s office. I still thought it was in an odd place, at one end of campus looking out over the elementals’ pond. Since it was still early morning and we were on lockdown, there was no one on the paths as I made my way over the grounds.
The morning was cold and wet, with a hint of winter. The colors, from the tree leaves to the sky, were rich and deep as they can only be in the fall.
I was early for my appointment, so I decided to sit by the pond and wait. I tried not to go too far off the path, but I wanted to be near the water. I figured no hellhound would be hanging out in front of the President’s office anyway, and I had a lot to think over.
Ever since I’d arrived at Public I’d been struggling; I knew that. I was supposed to be a mage, but I couldn’t do magic. Sometimes I wondered if that went back to my mother and what had happened to her. There was magic somewhere in me, there had to be. I just had to figure out how to draw it out. The President had been kind enough to give me the chance to try. She believed in me, like my stepdad never would.
Glaring, I picked up a nearby rock and threw it into the water. All I wanted to do was perform the magic I was supposed to be capable of. Every other Starter was. My ring was the only one that hadn’t lit up with power yet. Sometimes it felt heavy on my finger.
The pond rippled. A fish – or something, I thought with an ominous shiver – must be swimming underneath the surface. Or a breeze too slight for my skin to feel. There was always wind in the fall. I threw another rock, then another.
I was about to throw my fourth stone when I realized that the water was rippling on its own. The smooth surface writhed. Scrambling, I tried to push myself away from the edge, but it was too late. The water was now churning into the air in great gulps, as if a blanket had been thrown over a giant who was now coming awake.
I tried to make my legs move, but they seemed rooted to the ground. I looked around frantically to see if there was anyone in sight who could help, but just as I understood that I was as alone as could be, and just as suddenly as the water had come alive, it subsided. Slowly, in one great, everlasting swirl, it calmed down. But now there was something different there that hadn’t been there a moment before.
In the middle of the pond was my mother.
At least, it looked like my mother. The image was more transparent than a real person could possibly be; it looked like if I ran up and hugged it my arms would go straight through. But it was definitely my mother. Since I’d never met my dad, or even seen a picture of him, I wasn’t sure which side of the family my brown hair came from, but my eyes were definitely from my mom, and so was my height. Or lack of it.
I stood up, unsure of what else to do. I wanted to be ready to run, or fight, I wasn’t sure which. Without speaking, the specter of my mother came toward me. I should have been frightened, but I wasn’t. Instead, everything else around me simply fell away. The morning had been cold, but I forgot about that. I forgot that I was supposed to meet the President, and I forgot that she was probably going to blame the whole chocolate fountain incident on me, because it couldn’t possibly be crazy Camilla’s fault.
“Hi, Mom,” I said. It sounded so natural. It had been the most natural t
hing in the world for me to say for years. I wished with all my heart that I still had a reason to say it. My steady voice surprised me.
The figure smiled, but didn’t speak. Nervous, I shifted my weight, rubbing my hands on my legs until the friction hurt.
“What do you want?” I asked. I knew this wasn’t my mother, but I didn’t know what it was.
“Someone you trust cannot be trusted. I want you to look in the right place. Most of all, Charlotte, you must stay safe. You of all people. Must. Stay. Safe.”
My mother – was it my mother? or was it some kind of she-devil? – was very close to me now. Her gray eyes were a mirror of my own searching ones. I had a million questions tumbling through my mind, and this was the moment when I could ask her all the questions I’d wished I could ask her since she died, like how could she marry that jerk in the first place, and worse, how could she leave me with him when she died. It all came tumbling through me. I wanted to know why she’d never shown me how to use the magic. I wanted to know why she’d refused to talk about it all those years. I had a right to know. I was a mage too, and I’d been dragged off to the paranormal school with no warning and no preparation. And last of all, or was it first of all, I wanted to know what she meant by what she’d just said.
I was just trying to decide which to ask first when the figure started to fade. Fast.
“Wait,” I gasped, reaching out my hands to the wispy figure. “Wait.”
But that was all I had the chance to say. She had come in a huge wave of water, but she was going quietly, evaporating into the morning air as if she had never been anything but a little fog to begin with. I gasped as I saw the last bit of her, the last bit of my mother, disappear into nothingness.
I tried to remember what she had said. Looking down I realized that I was clutching my ring. But it was still dull, not lighted by magic.
“Ms. Rollins, are you coming or not?” the familiar voice of the President demanded behind me.
I jumped. In the shock of seeing the water figure appear and my desperation to have my questions answered (of which I’d gotten none), I had completely forgotten what I was doing there in the first place.
Paranormal Public (Paranormal Public Series) Page 17
