Elemental Air (Paranormal Public Series)

by Edwards, Maddy

  Lough leaned forward until I smelled the fresh scent of his soap and his early morning snack of banana. He was hardly breathing.

  “She can’t possibly be alone,” he said, so close that his lips brushed the tip of my ear. I shivered. He was right. There had to be demons or hellhounds or both nearby. She might be by herself when she met me in dreams, but not here. The real question was what on earth was she doing talking to Saferous and Caid. When had Saferous arrived, and why wasn’t he in one of the fallen angel eyries?

  A shiver ran down my spine as I looked at the spindly head and patches of gray that were all that was left of Malle’s hair.

  She was sitting so close to me I could almost hear her breathing, yet I couldn’t confront her. Fury ripped through my chest and anger made my temples throb as I saw how easily she sat there, relaxed, for all the world as if she hadn’t murdered hundreds of paranormals and ruined all kinds of lives.

  It was a good thing Lough kept a firm grip on my arm, because left to myself I would have raced down and flung myself on Malle, and that would have been disastrous. As it was I had to content myself with glaring down at her and clutching my fists so tightly that my fingers throbbed.

  “Get down,” Lough hissed. “You don’t know where the demons are. What if she has a Demon of Knight with her?”

  Those were the nastiest kind of demons, faster, smarter, and more powerful than the other kinds. Sip, Lisabelle, and I had been with Sip’s parents on our way to Lanca’s coronation when we had had the unfortunate experience of running into one, or rather being led into one by a corrupt paranormal, and almost dying.

  “We can’t hear if we aren’t closer,” I hissed.

  “We can’t hear if we’re dead, either,” said Lough, still keeping a firm grip on my arm.

  I glared at my friend. I had to get closer, and Lough, realizing I wouldn’t be deterred, finally let go of my arm. With a shake of his head he crouched closer to the trunk of the tree, trying to keep out of sight.

  I moved as silently as I could toward the group by the water. All the time I had spent with Sip helped, because it hadn’t taken me long to notice how quietly my friend walked. It was the werewolf in her. She padded silently everywhere she went, and I had picked up the habit. Of course, Lisabelle had always moved silently too, so she was another model. With her it seemed to be something about how much she enjoyed the frightened cries of her friends when she came up and surprised them.

  Now I snuck forward, keeping low to the ground and avoiding anything that would crunch under my feet. Behind me I heard Lough praying to the dream giver god for safety and protection from insane friends.

  My eyes moved everywhere, checking under my feet before I stepped and making sure that none of the three senior paranormals sitting in front of me was about to turn around and check behind them. I also had to make sure that none of the many guards that Caid kept around the place were anywhere to be seen. He seemed to be out there without any protection.

  But why?

  Finally I reached a vast tree trunk, a spot where I thought their voices would carry more clearly while I still maintained a safe distance from the little group. Since they were right on the water, their voices echoed over the open space.

  “So, it’s a deal, then?” That was Malle’s voice, raspy and thick, as if she didn’t use it often. She probably didn’t if she spent most of her time with hellhounds.

  “Yes,” said Caid, sounding for all the world as relaxed as he did when he talked to Dacer. I bristled. If Caid was on the side of the Nocturns, what chance did the good paranormals stand? Caid had been elected because as a fallen angel he was supposed to be almost incorruptible. I could have seen it if it had been Zervos, and as it happened I was pretty sure Zervos was corrupt anyway. But the thought of Caid secretly working against the paranormals broke my heart.

  Saferous, too, was a mystery. He sat silently watching the proceedings, and I had yet to see his lips move or his head so much as nod. He seemed to be there as a witness only.

  “When will it be done?” Malle asked. I could see her head turn slowly, rotating from side to side. I flinched as I watched her neck try to move. Her skin was almost falling off, and I could almost hear the creak of muscle and the crack of bone from where I was hidden.

  Caid’s heavy shoulders shrugged. I desperately wished I could see his face, but he was turned toward the water like a king surveying his lands. Somehow, the early morning gloom that had now come over Lake Timarity forced me to see Caid in a different light. Instead of a beacon of hope for the paranormals, I saw his large form and easy smile as something else, sinister and dark, and I didn’t like it one bit.

  “These things can’t be rushed,” he explained, his voice carrying a lot more easily than Malle’s had. He wasn’t looking at the president of darkness, but rather at the calm water. I wanted him to get up and shout, to wave his eyes and fight. Here he was with a chance to battle the head of all the evil forces that were fighting to destroy paranormals, and instead he sat calmly opposite her, for all the world as if he was talking to an old friend.

  I couldn’t hear what Malle said after that, even though I was twisting myself so far around the tree that I was almost falling over. My arms strained and my feet slid a little on the hard ground; it wasn’t a position I could hold for long. Quickly I looked around, making sure there were no Demons of Knight floating toward me, and even though I didn’t see anything, just then something sharp hit my shoulder and skidded away. I glanced at it, but I couldn’t see what the projectile had been.

  Suddenly there was Lisabelle standing with Lough, and next to her was Sip. Both my friends had faces like thunder clouds ready to burst. I could see the little werewolf’s arm arch back, as if she was all ready to throw more stones in my direction.

  The second Lisabelle caught my eye she motioned for me to come. I vehemently shook my head, but it was no use; she was insistent. I would rather have fought Lisabelle than Malle, but it was a close call, so I pursed my lips and made my way carefully back to my friends. Lough was still there, but he was crouched even further into the tree. Sip and Lisabelle, both safely out of view of the waterfront patio, made way for me to get behind the tree with the three of them. Sip had her hands on her hips, a move she normally reserved for dealing with Lisabelle, and she looked as mad as a cat who actually had to work for breakfast.

  “I’m a dreamer, not a fighter,” Lough said plaintively at me. “We can’t let ourselves be seen.”

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Sip demanded. “Are you trying to get us killed?”

  “I had to know what they were saying,” I argued in as loud a whisper as I dared. “And I didn’t ask you to come. Stay sleeping.”

  “Speak for yourself,” said Lisabelle, her dark eyes unreadable.

  “What?” Sip asked, looking at Lisabelle for the first time since she had drawn my attention.

  “I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to get killed.”

  “Too stubborn to die,” said Sip. “Wonderful.”

  “Where did you get such a hard throw, by the way?” I asked, rubbing my shoulder. “I think you drew blood.”

  “She didn’t,” said Lisabelle, shaking her head. “I’d know.”

  I didn’t want to ask how she’d know.

  “Can we get out of here?” Lough asked. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

  “Why?” Lisabelle asked. She cracked her knuckles together. “I haven’t fought a demon all summer.”

  “What are we supposed to do?” Sip said. “Give you a prize for restraint?”

  “If you’re offering,” said Lisabelle. “I like prizes. Not sure I’ll have room with all my other ones, though. I guess we can take some of your stuff out of our room.”

  “We’re moving,” said Lough, ignoring the incessant banter of our friends. He quickly stood up and grabbed me by the arm.

  “Why are you manhandling me?” I demanded. “They’re the ones bickering and taking the risk of draw
ing attention to us,” I added, pointing at Sip and Lisabelle.

  “Because you’re the one who started the trouble. Lisabelle scares me, but she can draw attention to herself if she wants, because even demons know better than to mess with her. You aren’t so lucky. All the demons want to do is kill you.”

  “I sincerely hope not,” said Lisabelle wistfully. “I’d be so bored.”

  Despite her casual words, Lisabelle was very careful. The four of us knew how to hide from demons; we’d been doing it ever since we were Starters at Public.

  “Why did you come out here without us?” Sip demanded.

  We were all walking away from the patio by know, and Sip was behind me. Lough led the way and Lisabelle brought up the rear. I didn’t bother to turn around, because I knew I’d just be looking at a furious pair of purple eyes.

  “You were sleeping,” I said, hoping she’d drop it.

  “Right,” drawled Lisabelle. “We’re just impossible to wake up.”

  “You do sleep soundly,” said Sip. “And Bartholem left without waking us too.”

  “Speaking of that thing,” said Lough, “what’s he doing hanging around all the time?”

  “He likes us,” said Lisabelle.

  “Yeah, exactly, doesn’t that make you question his mental state?” said Sip. “At least the fact that he likes you.”

  “He’s looking after me because I hang out with werewolves, who are always getting into trouble.”

  “Near as I can see, you just hang out with one. When you get it right the first time you don’t have to keep trying,” said Sip.

  We were almost to the main house, and I had no idea what I was going to tell Dacer, if I was even going to tell him anything. When my friends showed up, I had lost my chance to think alone about what Malle and Caid were saying. I wasn’t sure what to make of it, and I wanted to run it by my friends before I carried it any further. It seemed like there was a good chance that Dacer wouldn’t even believe me. Caid was his longtime friend, after all, and no matter what double game Caid was playing, there was no way I could believe that Dacer knew anything about it.

  A howl of warning was all we had. At the sound of the shrill noise the four of us closed ranks, our backs to each other and our shoulders touching. Lisabelle had already pushed up her sleeve, and I felt Sip trembling next to me, an indication that she was ready to shift into wolf form. Then I saw a dart of white speed past us and head for another tree, disappearing behind the thick bark. It was Bartholem, letting us know we were in trouble, and he was none too soon: we were in fact already surrounded. If I had learned to be quiet from hanging out with a werewolf, I wondered where all the hellhounds that now circled us had learned it from. I looked toward the house. I could just see it through the trees and over the backs of the two hellhounds that stood between me and safety. It was still early in the morning, and I was sure that none of the other residents of the house would be up yet.

  We were trapped, with no chance of escape. Hellhounds surrounded us, at least twice as many demon beasts as there were paranormals.

  “Can’t even have a morning walk,” Lough griped.

  “Without hellhounds attacking us?” I said, sparing my friend a quick glance before quickly returning my eyes to the growling black beasts.

  “Without that stupid cat butting in,” said Lough. Bartholem was still nowhere to be seen.

  “So, now’s not the time to tell you that he’s coming to Public with us and living in Airlee?” Lisabelle said. Normally so composed, even she was trying hard not to laugh at the dismayed noise Lough made.

  Dismay turned to fear when a hellhound lunged. Lisabelle and I were back to back, and it came right at me. Without thinking, I held up my ring, delighted to feel the power coursing through me. I hit the hellhound right on the nose with an icy blast of wind. Hellhounds had red eyes and were powerful, but they hated cold, probably that whole thing about how they lived in the dark world, where it was close and hot.

  “The hellhound whimpered and backed away,” I told Lisabelle, who hadn’t turned around to look.

  “They must be under orders not to attack,” said Lisabelle. “Curious.”

  “If they’re here defending Malle, that makes sense,” Sip growled. A hellhound growled in response and I felt Sip bristle.

  She transformed into werewolf before I knew what was happening.

  Sip was small, even as a werewolf; the bodies in human and animal form usually mirrored each other, and Sip’s was no exception. She still had intense purple eyes and light-colored fur that was now standing on end as she bared her fangs at the hellhounds.

  “Enough,” called a voice I knew instantly as Caid’s. “You will leave. He wasn’t talking to us. He was talking to the monsters.”

  I watched in shock and dismay as the hellhounds slowly backed away, never turning their backs to us as they disappeared from sight.

  “Aren’t you going to go after them?” Lisabelle demanded. I knew she must be facing Caid, so when the hellhounds were almost out of view I allowed myself to turn my head around slightly.

  Caid was coming through the woods with Saferous. For a second I almost asked where Malle was, but I caught myself just in time. There was no way in the world I was going to admit that I’d been spying on the president of the paranormals.

  “No,” said Caid, shaking his head. There were dark circles under his eyes, and the area around his mouth was tight. “Now is not the time for fighting.”

  “Clearly you need to spend more time with Lisabelle,” Lough muttered.

  “Or she with me,” said Caid quietly. He shook his thick head. “They should not have been here.”

  “No kidding,” I said.

  “What were you four doing out here anyway?” Saferous asked. I had first met Saferous at Vampire Locke, Lanca’s mountain stronghold for the Rapier vampires. He was a friend of Keller’s parents and a powerful paranormal. He was tall and thin, with a shock of white hair.

  “Going for a morning walk,” said Lough, giving a long stretch. “It’s good for you.”

  Saferous met Lough’s eyes. I felt sure that if Lisabelle had said the same thing Saferous would have thought she was mocking him, but Lough was harder to read.

  “I see,” he said, his face unreadable.

  “Are you going to tell us it’s not safe?” I said. “That’s kind of obvious.”

  Saferous’s eyes hardened. “It is safe here, elemental,” he said coldly. “Believe me.”

  I looked at the two paranormals who, until this morning, I had thought were at the forefront of our protection. Now I had no idea.

  Caid gave a jovial laugh, but we could all tell it was forced. “Ms. Quest, please join us again,” he said, extending a hand to the Airlee, who was still in wolf form. Sip instantly transformed. She even did a good job of hiding of how angry she was.

  “Alright,” he said. “We have a lot to do to get ready for tonight. Come. Others should be arriving, and Dacer should be awake by now.” He glanced at the sun. “And it’s definitely time for breakfast.”

  “It’s always time to eat,” said Lough, rubbing his stomach.

  “Didn’t you already have breakfast?” I asked him.

  “Yes, but it was just cereal,” he said. “I think President Caid has more up his sleeve.”

  “You’ve come to the right summer house,” said Caid jovially, slinging an arm over Lough’s shoulders. I was impressed by my dream giver friend’s ability to pretend that everything was fine. I would have been hard-pressed not to yell if I had had to talk much, but luckily no one was focusing particularly on me.

  As we trailed inside one at a time, Lisabelle and I exchanged glances. We tried to hang back, but Caid called to us to hurry up. I couldn’t help glancing into the trees, wondering how far away the hellhounds had gone. I had a very bad feeling that they hadn’t gone far at all, that just out of view past the next few trees, pairs of red eyes waited and watched.

  “Are you okay?” Lisabelle asked me.
>
  I nodded. “Yes,” I whispered. “I just wonder who to be loyal to now.”

  Chapter Five

  We were staying one more night on the shores of Lake Timarity. President Caid was having a large party, to which many of my classmates - and their parents - were invited. Even Keller would be there.

  I had missed my friends all summer, especially Keller, and I was delighted that we would finally be reunited. We hadn’t been together, but our time apart had given us an appreciation for what we had when we were together, and what we didn’t want to lose. As much as I valued my friends, Keller was still the only one who knew what Sigil had said about my mother.

  Sigil was the ghost of Astra, as I had started to call him in my own mind. He lived in the library, which I had not gone into for the first year and a half I had been at Public. When I finally did he appeared immediately, and we struck up a friendship of sorts. He was a former professor at Public and had died, but he had steadfastly refused to tell me how or why he was waiting there in ghost form. All he would say was that he had promised to do something. I had spent all of last spring semester trying to get more information out of him about my mother and about the elemental she had married. Finally, right before we left for the summer, he had come to me and explained that she had in fact been murdered, but not by anyone I knew as an enemy. She had been murdered by elementals.

  Ever since I had found out that I was an elemental and that Malle was evil, I had felt sure that Malle, or some other darkness mages, had killed my mother in an effort to do away with the last elemental. Sigil had thrown that theory into chaos with the sparse bit of information he had given me.

  Keller had been sleeping next to me when Sigil had made this revelation, and after Sigil left the room I instantly shook Keller awake.

  “Charlotte,” he muttered groggily as I poked him repeatedly in the shoulder. “We just need one night off before there’s another disaster. Tell the demons to come back tomorrow.”