Elemental Shining (Paranormal Public Series)

by Maddy Edwards

  “Okay,” I said, shrugging. “So, you’re Elam?”

  Jenkins eyebrows raised and again he looked surprised, like I had taken the conversation in a completely unexpected direction.

  “Why would you think I am the paranormal world’s greatest thief? And what does that have to do with anything?”

  Now it was my turn to be surprised. “Risper can’t catch you. It all makes sense. You just said that you steal. You are here, and here is the one place that Risper hasn’t looked. Not only that, but you traveled with him for all of those years when he was trying to catch Elam and couldn’t.”

  “So, you naturally assume that, even in my condition, I can pull off any heist and disappear into the night like a falling star? That’s sweet,” said Jenkins, his voice dry.

  I looked him up and down. His shoulders were sagging and he appeared to be shrinking before my eyes. “So, you weren’t after the Mirror?”

  “Oh, no, I was. Am,” Jenkins corrected himself. “The demons have gotten more demanding of late. They want me to find it. My other clients aren’t paying enough. I have had the most miserable semester, as you can see.” He took in his appearance with a sweep of his hand.

  “What is happening to you?” I asked, wondering about the melting look and how similar it looked to the Valedication children.

  “I do not have magic of any kind,” he said tiredly. “I was stripped of it in an accident. I was struck by lightning, and against all odds the only damage it did was that I was no longer blessed with pixie powers.”

  “So, you have done this for years and it’s been all well and good until the demons told you to steal something you couldn’t find. The Mirror Arcane.”

  Jenkins nodded. “I’m sick. Without the medicine I have no magic, no strength, no nothing. I must have the Mirror.”

  I shifted my weight. My left hip had started to throb painfully from the last fall I had taken.

  “And you were the one,” Jenkins sneered, “who hid it from me.”

  Not until recently, I thought, thinking of Risper’s warning.

  “I was hiding it from Elam,” I said. “Not some poor imitation.”

  Jenkins puffed out his chest. “Your logic that I am Elam is flattering. The idea that I’m the greatest thief in the paranormal world and capable of avoiding the likes of Risper is impressive, but it is faulty logic. You think I’m Elam just because I was in the places where the robberies occurred, but that is only because Risper and I were. . . .”

  Suddenly, strangely, he broke off, his eyes burning with some deep realization.

  “Care to share?” I asked him. He shook himself, still staring at me, then, like a high-pitched crow’s call, Jenkins started to laugh. Not some little tinkle, but full on massive bark of crazed laughter.

  “Oh, oh oh oh oh,” he cried gleefully. “Isn’t that brilliant? It’s so good isn’t it? Oh, my flying Volans anyway! THAT is impressive.” He continued to cackle while I stood there, watching a professor I used to admire go crazy.

  Just as quickly as he had started to laugh he stopped. Getting hold of himself suddenly, Jenkins locked his eyes on me and his face contorted in rage. “Never mind that now. I have done everything the demons asked of me and I will do this one last thing. You will lead me to the Mirror Arcane.”

  I rocked back at his change in topic, but quickly recovered. “Or what?” I asked. “Are you going to try and kill me? You and everyone else. The demons want me dead, now my fellow paranormals want me dead. Just try.”

  I knew I was talking crazy. I had no power left, but I had no intention of taking him to the mirror. It belonged in my beloved Astra and there it would stay.

  “Let’s go,” said Jenkins, lifting the club. He managed it, if barely. I watched his face break out in a strange sweat that trickled down his loose skin. He watched me and waited. When I didn’t make a move to use my magic and defend myself, his face broke out in a massive grin. “That’s what I thought,” he scoffed. “Can’t defend yourself, can you? Now let’s go.” He menaced the club at me, pointing us toward campus.

  “This is insane,” I said without moving. “You can’t get away with this.”

  “Sure I can,” he said almost jovially. “I already have.”

  A growl behind him made me smile. I knew that growl, just like I knew why the beast growling was too small to see. She was just a sophomore, after all. Jenkins tried to turn, but his legs had started to shake violently and he almost fell. I made to step forward and take the club from him, but Lisabelle beat me to it. She wasn’t tired, and she moved in one fluid motion to rip the club from Jenkins’s gnarled hands. He let go with a cry when he realized that he was surrounded. Lough and Dobrov also came crashing through the woods to flank my other two friends.

  “We called for help,” said Lisabelle cheerfully, her eyes bright. “Not that I need it.”

  “What are you going to do?” Jenkins hissed. “You don’t even have your wand!”

  Lisebelle’s smile was cold, but she didn’t address Jenkins. She addressed the werewolf threatening him. “See what a good idea that was? I win.”

  I grinned and sat down on the ground as Sip started to shake her shaggy head vehemently and then transformed from werewolf to human.

  “Rake,” she yelled. “A little help?”

  She waved at me sitting on the ground. Rake shouldered his way through the crowd, or rather, since he was by far the biggest paranormal there, our fellow students moved for him. He stared at Sip for only a second before he bent to pick me up and carry me.

  Lisabelle was staring at Sip with a newfound respect and I heard Sip mutter, “You just have to know how to talk to them.”

  “Them being vampires?”

  “Them being men,” said Sip. “come along.”

  Lisabelle rolled her eyes.

  “Is that why you are no longer interested in Mickey?” Lisabelle asked. Mickey was a werewolf Sip had liked for a long time. He had been away last semester and when he had come back things had changed between them. Rake’s ears perked up.

  “No more boys for me,” Sip muttered. “I’m going to spend my time doing interesting, less hurting activities. Like watching paint dry and playing rugby.” Rake looked a little crestfallen as he held me between my friends.

  Everything happened quickly after that. The professors came crashing through the woods to meet us, which was good, because Jenkins was about to have a nervous breakdown. Sip was back in werewolf form, and she wouldn’t stop nipping at his heels. He had practically melted by the time Dean Erikson found us. She led a long procession of paranormals, and even she, who must have seen many battle wounds in her time, couldn’t keep from flinching when she saw what Jenkins had become. Jenkins continued to crow about Elam while he was taken into custody, but no one listened to his mad rantings. Without a word to the rest of us they took Jenkins away.

  I realized too late that I didn’t want them to. I still had questions for him, like had he found any of the other artifacts for the demons.

  “Don’t worry about it,” said Lisabelle later, when the three of us were in Astra and I was bemoaning my failure to think quickly enough. “The important thing is that he didn’t get the Mirror.”

  I told my friends about our conversation. “He said he wasn’t Elam.”

  “Elam is probably some great mythical creature,” said Sip. “Not anyone we will ever know.”

  “Yeah,” I said, chewing my lip. “Maybe.”

  “Don’t worry so much,” said Lisabelle. “Risper’s back now. He’s going to come see us tomorrow and make sure we’re okay. Like, you know, that’s necessary.”

  “What’s bothering you?” Sip asked me, her purple eyes locked on my face.

  “He realized something while we were talking. About Elam.”

  “We don’t care who Elam is,” Lisabelle pointed out.

  “Yes, we do,” I said, getting more comfortable under my blankets while my two friends sat at the end of the bed. “Elam is after the Mirror to
o. I have to protect it. The mirror belongs in Astra.”

  I sat in silence for a long time while my friends talked about other things. That was fine with me. I was stiff and tired and content to enjoy the chance to rest quietly.

  Keller had flipped out when he saw my injuries. Apparently I looked as bad as I felt, go figure. His aunt had tried to order him away from me, but he had refused to go. She couldn’t go into a rage at him in front of everyone, but I knew he would catch a lot of trouble later for defying her. As it was, he had helped heal the worst of my wounds and I was now comfortable, if not entirely free of pain. Sometimes she still had trouble pretending to like me.

  Over and over again I replayed the conversation with Jenkins. Over and over again I thought about what Risper had said about my moving the mirror out of Astra “to a safe place.” Well, Risper and I disagreed. The safest place in the world for the Mirror Arcane was Astra, so what, then. . . .

  OH.

  I jumped to my feet, startling my friends. I nearly knocked over the lamp as they both looked at me in surprise.

  “Come on,” I said, hurrying off.

  “Where are we going?” Sip wondered as she and Lisabelle followed behind.

  “To get the Map Silver,” I said grimly.

  “Did that demon attack make you crazy?” Lisabelle asked as she followed me.

  “Maybe hit your head too hard?” Sip asked worriedly.

  “I’m fine,” I muttered. “Really.”

  “Then why are you getting out of bed?” Mrs. Swan asked, her hands crossed serenely in front of her.

  “I have something to do,” I said hurriedly. “I won’t be long.”

  “Dacer would be furious at me if he knew I was letting you get out of bed.”

  “He doesn’t have to know,” said Sip, grinning mischievously.

  Mrs. Swan rolled her eyes, but she did let us pass.

  It did not take long to get to Risper’s. I pounded on his door. We had never been to his house before; he had the place to himself instead of living in Airlee, and we had never had any reason to go there. He was not the friendly type, like Dacer, that wanted to have visitors.

  “Why doesn’t he live in Airlee?” Sip wondered. “Like the other deans live in dorms.”

  “Who in their right mind would want Risper supervising children?” Lisabelle asked.

  “Fair point,” said Sip as she waited on the steps behind me.

  “You think my uncle knows who Elam is?” Lisabelle asked. “Is that it? Is that why you dashed out of bed like a mad bat?”

  “I think he knows exactly who Elam is,” I said. I pounded again.

  “If he knew, why wouldn’t he have arrested him years ago?” Lisabelle asked, exasperated.

  “Good question,” I said. I raised my hand to pound again.

  “Just don’t mention Jenkins to him,” Lisabelle suggested.

  Just then the man himself yanked the door open. When he saw who was standing there he raised his eyebrows, his face softening from a scowl to a mere frown.

  He was shirtless. He wore black workout pants, with a black towel casually draped over one shoulder. Somehow I had never realized what good shape Risper was in. His chest rippled with sinewy muscle and water droplets dripped down his torso. His upper half was covered in scars.

  Granted, he was in his forties, but even a man half his age would think twice about starting a fight with him if they saw him like this.

  “Uncle R,” Lisabelle greeted him with a nod of her head. “Nice to see you aren’t dead.”

  “Same to you. What can I do for you?” he asked, rubbing his hands dry on the towel.

  “We came to talk to you about Elam,” said Lisabelle. “Well, Charlotte did, anyway. Go easy on her. She’s had a long night.”

  Risper stood aside, his mouth crooked in a slight smile, and the three of us filed past him.

  I was surprised at how beautifully his apartment was decorated.

  “Drinks?” he offered. I had forgotten that Risper drank alcohol, something incredibly dangerous for paranormals, but Risper obviously lived dangerously in more ways than one.

  “You really shouldn’t drink,” said Sip, folding her arms across her chest.

  Lisabelle made a choking noise. Sip just couldn’t help herself sometimes.

  Risper chuckled. “I was going to offer you apple cider. ’Tis the season, after all. What I do with my own time is none of your concern, little Quest.”

  Sip blushed and ducked her head.

  “Please sit while I get the drinks,” said Risper. It might have been my imagination, but I thought his eyes flicked to me.

  “What is it I can do for you?” he asked, his back turned to us while he fussed with some glasses. “I’ve been gone a long time and I have a lot of work to catch up on.”

  “Yeah, Charlotte, care to explain what we’re all doing here?” Lisabelle asked waspishly.

  I took a deep breath. “I think I know who Elam is.”

  Sip’s jaw dropped open. Lisabelle sat up straight and Risper paused mid-pour. All three of them stared at me.

  “Definitely hit your head at some point,” said Lisabelle. “You think you’ve figured it out without tracking Elam at all, while my uncle has spent years tracking him and hasn’t caught him?”

  I couldn’t even bring myself to look at Risper. I started to say something, but Risper interrupted. “I should probably put a shirt on for this explanation of yours,” he said. “I’ll be right back. He handed each of us a drink and disappeared into his bedroom. I twisted the glass in my hand while I waited nervously.

  We waited in silence for a while, with Lisabelle just glaring at me. Finally she said, “I can’t believe you’re bothering him when he just got back, and you’ve just almost been killed. Again.”

  “You don’t even like him,” Sip countered, raising her eyebrows at Lisabelle.

  “He’s family,” Lisabelle shot back, throwing up her hands.

  I cleared my throat nervously. Now that I was about to confront Dean Risper, I was less confident than I had been in the quiet of Astra. I was about to accuse a famous bounty hunter and universally renowned darkness mage of high treason. Not only that, but he was my best friend’s uncle.

  Minutes passed and nothing happened. There was silence from the bedroom.

  “Uncle Risper,” Lisabelle called, draining her glass and getting up.

  Still no sound came from the bedroom, or anywhere else in the house. The three of us waited, straining to hear any sign from Risper.

  Lisabelle, not patient, walked down the hallway and knocked politely on the door.

  More silence.

  “Uncle?” she called. Frowning, she put her hand at the bottom of the door.

  “There’s a cold draft,” she murmured.

  Sip and I stood behind her as she tried the doorknob. It twisted open easily.

  A blast of cold air hit us as we entered. Risper’s bedroom was spare, just the bed, a nightstand, and a dresser, all in black wood and with black sheets. Above his bed was a window, which at the moment hung open, letting in the freezing air.

  “He’s gone,” said Sip with wonder. “What the. . . ?”

  Lisabelle stared at me, then looked at the window, back at me, and back to the window.

  Then she started to smile.

  Risper had left a note saying that he was going traveling over Christmas. I had to assume it was to chase after the other artifacts. I still couldn’t believe that I had one of the six artifacts on the Wheel of Power, but I did. Now I just had to protect it. What I now knew was that Risper had tried to get me to move the Mirror out of Astra, so that he could steal it. When I hadn’t done that he realized he would have to trust me to keep it safe, like Elam wanted.

  I couldn’t wait for the semester to end. I missed Ricky and I was tired. Although Jenkins was under arrest, his treachery was still all that was discussed on campus. There was a funeral for Professor Lambros and Ulrik. Zervos gave the eulogy for Lambros. I hadn’
t known it, but apparently they were friends. Keller’s aunt continued to be indifferent toward me, which was good, because I would be meeting his sister over winter break and I was nervous.

  “It will be okay,” said Lisabelle.

  We were sitting with Sip and Lough in the common room of Airlee, sipping hot chocolate, except for Sip, who insisted on having tea.

  “Will it, though?” I asked skeptically.

  “Yes,” said Lisabelle with assurance. “The Knights of Darkness won’t get you or all the artifacts on the wheel. You will get better than awful at Tactical and everything will be fine.”

  “Thanks, Lisabelle,” I said. “What is everyone doing for the rest of the day?”

  “I might visit the lake,” I said. It was where I felt closest to my mother, and I still hoped that one day she would reappear there.

  “Want some company?” Sip offered.

  “No,” I said. “This is one thing I have to do alone.”

  “Just remember, though, you aren’t alone,” said Lough. “Never will be.”

  I smiled around at my friends, knowing how lucky I was to have them. In the end, that’s all that mattered. I had wonderful people to love and I was even more lucky that they loved me back. I set my hot chocolate down and pushed myself out of the comfortable chair, looking forward to Christmas, and after that another semester at Public and whatever the school could throw at me. My dream at the start of the semester, of Lisabelle possessed, had faded, but remembering it still brought a sense of foreboding. Maybe I wasn’t ready for what might come, but that was okay. I had my friends. I wasn’t brave, but I wanted to be.

  The End

  ~

  Also by Maddy Edwards:

  One Black Rose Series

  One Black Rose

  August

  Autumn

  Susan’s Summer

  Paranormal Public Series

  Paranormal Public

  Elemental Rising

  Spiral Series

  Spiral