“Who are they?” As I said it I pointed to two men dressed in bronze, who flanked the glass double doors we had just come through.
“Golden Falls Happiness Enforcement Officers,” said Nolan brightly, as if it should have been obvious.
“Ah, um, I guess the name says it all?” I asked uncertainly.
Nolan chuckled. “They just help keep peace.”
“Given how opposed this place is to war, I’m surprised they’re needed,” Lisabelle commented. Her customary black clothing contrasted sharply with all the gold and other bright colors around us. As usual, she didn’t appear to care.
“Hi, I’m Pearl,” said a Golden Falls student who came up to me just as we were getting our food, and stuck out her hand. She had masses of brown hair, a sprinkling of freckles, and a bright smile. She was only a little taller than Sip.
“Um, hi,” I said, trying to balance the plate I had piled high with food while shaking her hand. I had gone a little overboard on breakfast. We all had, never having seen so many good things to eat in one place before. Pearl just had fruit and a biscuit on her white porcelain plate.
“I wanted to welcome you to Golden Falls,” she said, giving me a warm handshake. “We’re thrilled to have the last elemental here this semester.”
We talked for a few minutes. She informed me that if we ever had any questions, any at all, we should come straight to her, or really any Golden Falls student. The only time her chipper behavior slipped was when Lisabelle joined us. She tried to keep the conversation going, but her heart wasn’t in it. After only a couple more sentences she excused herself, giving Lisabelle a wide berth.
“She left fast after I showed up,” the darkness mage commented, chewing on a strawberry.
“I’m sure she just wanted to let us eat our breakfast in peace,” said Sip, munching on peach slices covered in honey.
After breakfast Nolan led us to our first lesson. I was expecting something amazing, and of course we got it. The class was run by a woman named Annabelle, who was dressed in a silvery gown, with silvery hair piled on top of her head. She was going to teach us the art of “Veneer,” which was basically a form of concealment. “Given these dreadful times,” she explained, “we need all the help we can get.”
I left the class completely confident that if necessary I could hide the small pimple at the base of my cheek, although what that had to do with stopping demons was any paranormal’s guess.
The next class was much the same, right down to being taught by another beautiful woman. It didn’t surprise me when one of the Golden Falls students told me that this was Annabelle’s sister, Marybelle. They looked strikingly similar. She wanted us to learn “Presenting,” which Lisabelle said historically was a form of proper dueling, but in this class had more to do with serving an excellent dessert.
“I still like this place,” said Sip thoughtfully, “but they have strange ideas about what’s important.” She had tried to bring up the Sign of Six but had been shut down with a curt, “We do not discuss violence here.” Sip had sat back and folded her arms, looking disgruntled.
We were on our way to our third class, still full from lunch, when Kia finally appeared. We hadn’t seen her since the night before, because at some point she had disappeared with Camilla. Now, luckily, she was alone.
But she passed us without looking, as if she was afraid to make eye contact. Sip punched Lisabelle in the arm.
“What’d you do?” demanded the small werewolf, her eyes blazing. “You scared her off.”
“I did not,” Lisabelle protested, holding up her hands in surrender. “I haven’t even talked to her since we got here.”
“Well, something’s wrong with her,” I said, watching Kia walk away. She passed a mirror gilded in gold, but she didn’t pause to look into it. She passed other Golden Falls students, but she jumped out of their way as if they’d burn her if she got too close.
Lisabelle grabbed my arm and pulled me down the hall. “You can talk to her when we’re all back in the suite tonight.”
“Yes,” said Sip, “I don’t want to be late for this next class.”
“What is it?” Lisabelle asked.
“Ancient symbols,” I said automatically. I’d been studying our schedule, which had arrived for us in sealed envelopes and was handwritten in gold ink.
This subject was a long time coming for us. The magical world was filled with symbols of power, and we had studied them a bit over the years while we focused on other topics, but this would be different. This would be a focused study of one of the most important elements in the paranormal world.
“Who’s teaching it?” I asked. I had been more concerned with what we were taking than with who was teaching the various classes. None of my professors here could possibly compare with Professor Dacer.
“I’ve never heard of him,” said Lisabelle, shrugging. “Then again, I hadn’t heard of Annabelle either.” She made a fake coughing motion and covered her mouth with her hand.
We walked into the room. I had fully expected another grand classroom, complete with a gold fountain and maybe a piano, but now I halted in surprise, because we weren’t in a classroom at all, but a library. Just not a kind of library I’d ever seen before.
“What is all this?” Sip breathed, looking around. The place was nothing like the rest of Golden Falls. There were shelves everywhere, covered in strange-looking objects. Some were just pieces of paper, while others were wooden or metal. Some were made out of substances that I didn’t recognize. It was like a mad scientist’s workshop.
The floor was dusty and covered with what looked like old newspapers. It was hard to walk without stepping on one.
“This is crazy,” said Sip. “Hasn’t this guy heard of a broom?”
“As many of you know,” came a voice from somewhere in front of us, sounding more scholarly and dreamy than present, “brooms have always been the ancient symbol of witches. They were used first by witches as a means of travel, but later they became a symbol indicating in which direction to travel. The current use of the broom symbol is for flying. Have no fear, that will not be on the test, though I do have a number of eighteenth century brooms in . . . well, they’re here somewhere, should students want to study them more closely.
We exchanged glances as our professor came into the light.
“I’d say mad scientist is a pretty perfect description for that guy, wouldn’t you?” Trafton said. “What sort of paranormal is he?”
“Can you get a look at his ring?”
“Um, no, his hands have gloves on them, probably to handle all the fragile objects he has here.”
“Maybe he too wears a black ring,” said Lisabelle. “If he doesn’t, I bet he knows all about them.”
“Why, because he’s a mad professor?” Sip’s voice was much softer now.
The professor had white hair sticking up at all angles. He wore spectacles that were so large they covered half his face. I was pretty sure he hadn’t changed his clothes in weeks, because they were rumpled and worn and there was a bit of muffin hanging off his sleeve. Now that I was standing in the dingy room I could see a cot in one corner, which I’d have bet anything was where he slept. Annabelle and her fellow teachers must hate this professor.
He clapped his hands together as we assembled. All the Public students, plus lots of Golden Falls students, like Pearl, were in this class.
The Golden Falls students clustered together. One girl, standing nearby, had very long red hair and pale skin. She smiled at me. I smiled back. She whispered something to a girl standing next to her and the girl stared at me in wonder. Sometimes being the only elemental meant having very uncomfortable social interactions.
“I’m Professor Ferwick,” said the rumpled teacher, gathering our attention. “Um, let’s see, what else do you need to know?”
The red-haired girl raised her hand. “Can you tell us what that symbol is?” she asked, pointing to the wall. She wore several rings, all jeweled. The symbol w
as a jagged line with a rearing tiger.
“Ah, yes, that’s fascinating. It’s a small European tribe, now extinct,” said Professor Ferwick. “They were known for their fighting skills and their loyalty. If you left the tribe you were never allowed to return. Unfortunately, their numbers were small, which meant two things in their history. First, they were more vicious than most paranormals, thus the jagged line. Secondly, they were easy for an army of vampires to wipe out, which is unfortunately what happened. But for a while they were feared by all.”
“What paranormal type were they?” the red-haired girl asked. She stood politely, with her hands clasped in front of her.
Ferwick scratched his head. “I do believe they were werewolves,” he said. “Yes, that sounds about right. The werewolf, of course, is still alive and well, but that particular tribe did not survive the vampire attack.”
And so it continued. Golden Falls students would ask Ferwick questions, sometimes about objects in the room and sometimes on different topics altogether, and he would answer at length. He knew everything. There was never a moment when he appeared confused except when he tried to remember details not related to symbols. At the end of class the red-headed girl, who had asked several questions, turned to us.
“I’m Jewel,” she said, stretching out her hand to me. “It’s nice to meet you.”
I shook her hand. “You too,” I said. “Thanks for hosting us.”
She let off a peal of laughter as other students streamed past us. Pearl waved to us as she left.
“Oh, happy to,” Jewel said. “It’s always good when the exchange students come from Public.”
“Ah, Jewel beat me to it,” said a guy who came up to us just then. He was solid-looking, as if he would be at home as part of a brick wall. He had close-cropped brown hair and brown eyes. There was nothing remarkable about him; he too wore the black clothes and the black ring. “I’m Devlin,” he said.
Once introductions had been made, our two new Golden Falls friends walked us to the courtyard for dinner. Other Golden Falls students stopped to talk to us or smiled as we passed. I heard several whispers about elementals and tried to ignore all the attention, but I could feel my face getting hot.
Jewel smiled. “I want to hear all about Public. It’s supposed to be the best paranormal university in the world.”
“We’d love to hear more about Golden Falls, too,” said Sip. “It’s such an impressive place.” Jewel and Devlin smiled at each other.
“What’s it like here during the winter months?” Sip asked.
Devlin shrugged. “It’s not so bad,” he said, grinning. “Most of the time we don’t go outside, so don’t be surprised.” Sip looked a little disappointed. She was a werewolf and as such she loved to run.
“I hear you have Professor Dacer at Public,” said Jewel, her eyes lighting up as she said his name. “What’s that like?”
“He’s Charlotte’s mentor,” said Trafton proudly, pointing at me.
“Wow, really, you know him?” Jewel asked. “That’s amazing. He’s world renowned for his study of masks. I suppose he would like to mentor the last elemental.”
My blush deepened.
“Well, anyway, it’s nice to have you here,” said Devlin, his tone changing quickly. Instead of coming into our dining room, which is what I was about to invite them to do, they excused themselves, explaining that they had lots of homework.
“How do they have lots of work to do when we don’t?” Lough asked. “Cherries?” he added, holding up a bowl of the bright fruit for us. Sip took one.
“Don’t mind if I do. Now, let’s talk about the Sign of Six,” she said with determination.
The most puzzling thing to mar our introduction to Golden Falls was the presence of faeries. When we went to dinner I saw faeries everywhere, faeries who were very like the white and glittering king and queen at Caid’s summer house who had disappeared so quickly. None of them met my eyes.
“What are faeries doing here?” I whispered to Keller, who had finally shown up. I hadn’t known faeries acted as servants to anyone. They barely tolerated Paranormal Public’s existence, let alone worked there.
Keller looked troubled. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’m sure they’re being paid well, though.”
I looked at his face. It was very familiar to me at this point. I knew his moods. I knew that when the corner of his mouth tilted down he was trying not to laugh. I knew that when his eyes were hooded he was thinking, and I knew that when his jaw was clenched he was worried.
But this was Golden Falls University. What could we possibly have to worry about?
Chapter Fifteen
The first week took on a quiet pattern. Every day we would have classes. At night, Zervos would gather us together for a meeting. He didn’t say much. He was surprisingly quiet, in fact, and I wondered if he had worries of his own, or if he was on the Nocturns’ side and just biding his time until he proved it.
I also made the mistake of asking my Veneer professor if I would be asked to help strengthen the Golden Falls defenses. At least I did it out of earshot of the other students. Annabelle actually laughed in my face.
“You’re a cute child,” she said, patting my cheek. “Golden Falls has defenses you can’t even begin to understand.”
I hadn’t liked her touch, and after that day I made more of an effort not to draw attention to myself.
There was only one strange thing, which happened when Marcus took out his Contact Stone and Zervos ordered him to hand it over, then ordered everyone to hand over their Stones. There was an avalanche of opposition, but in the end he got what he wanted, and we were all stripped of our Stones. I had planned to talk to Dacer on a regular basis, but that was now out of the question. Zervos suggested that we spend the evenings studying quietly in our suites instead of wandering the halls, and said we wouldn’t miss the contact with the outside world.
“Golden Falls wants peace and harmony. They can’t have that if we’re always chattering away on Contact Stones,” Zervos explained. He continued to explain how this semester was about eliminating darkness, and how Golden Falls would help us with that. I thought Lisabelle did a good job of not hitting anything - or anyone - while she sat and listened.
After Zervos and the male Public students left our suite, we all settled in to study. I was staring hard at our “Veneer” textbook, trying to make sense of it, but I fell asleep on it instead, so that Sip and Lisabelle had to shake me awake. When Lisabelle said the academics here were difficult, she wasn’t kidding.
The next morning, having slept badly, I was late for courtyard breakfast and told Sip and Lisabelle to go on ahead without me. On my way there, busy thinking about the symbols homework I hadn’t finished, I almost ran into Kia.
Kia hurried up to me. “Can I speak to you privately later?” she asked. “Maybe I’ve made some mistakes in the past, but I refuse to make them worse now.” She looked around furtively as Golden Falls students streamed past us, and she flinched away from them as if they’d burn her. She was already paler and thinner than when we’d arrived, as if she’d stopped eating.
She bit her lower lip, her eyes begging. “Please.” She looked desperate.
“Okay,” I said gravely. “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head, looking around again as if she was sure demons were about to appear and cart her off to prison. “I’ll tell you tonight. Just promise me you’ll be there.”
“Do you mind if I bring Sip and Lisabelle?” I asked, thinking that it would be easier if they heard whatever she needed to say directly to save me the need of repeating it.
She shook her head. “Of course not. I was hoping you would.”
I nodded once, and before I could ask anything else she’d melted into the crowd.
I wanted to find Keller, but first I had to go to class. I stepped inside the classroom and an uncomfortable silence followed. Professor Zervos glanced at me, but for once he didn’t say anything. Even he looked tired,
and I found myself wondering for the first time if this was an assignment that he had wanted, or if he’d been forced into it.
Professor Zervos didn’t even have Dove now, and Public had decided for whatever reason not to send another professor in Dove’s place. I had wanted Dacer to come, but apparently he was still refusing to leave Public. Zervos wasn’t showing it overtly, but I wondered when the strain of being there on his own would start to show.
“Nice of you to join us,” said Zervos. “Not like we’re here as guests trying to set a good example and you’re lateness tarnishes our reputation or anything.” His voice was icy and dry. Happiness didn’t seem to agree with him, either. I slid into a seat in the back, not saying a word.
Sip and Lisabelle were already far in front of me.
Zervos’s class was another history class, which I was sure he was happy about, since history was his specialty.
“We are going to cover paranormal types at length,” he said, pacing back and forth, and he wasted no time plunging into the subject matter. He looked uncomfortable and out of place in our rich surroundings.
“There are the five obvious types, and of course the sixth type as well, which is an umbrella type for paranormals more unusual than the ones known to Airlee Dorm.”
Pearl raised her hand. I would have sworn she was a pixie, she was so small, but I wasn’t sure. She also wore a black ring.
“What’s Airlee?” she asked.
Jewel and Devlin both smiled a little as she said it, and I wondered if they already knew what it was.
Zervos eyed the girl as she sat next to Lough. Besides the fact that she was small like a pixie, in this light her skin definitely looked green. She was perfectly put together and she held her chin high. She might even have been a relation of Camilla.
“Airlee is one of the Public dorms,” said Zervos. “Home to werewolves, darkness mages, dream givers and the like.”
Pearl was about to say something else, but Zervos cut her off. At least he was treating us all equally badly, I thought.
Elemental Earth (Paranormal Public) Page 9
