“Ohhh, man,” Lough muttered. “We couldn’t just leave this place behind without having another big problem.”
“Not with our friends dead,” I said.
Lough shrugged. “Faci and Daisy did it. I don’t know why. Kia probably borrowed Camilla’s hairbrush without asking, so Camilla had her killed.”
I looked around for any of the names Lough had just mentioned, but none were present. Neither, as I thought about it, was Ferwick. I didn’t have time to worry about where they had gotten to.
“Enough of this,” I muttered, looking around. “Sectar or one of the Golden Falls students killed our friends. They have to answer for it.”
I stepped forward, but just as I was about to speak, another man, looking a little the worse for wear, but easily recognizable, stepped forward.
Mark Doblan. He was the fallen angel member of the Council that we’d picked up on our way to Vampire Locke, who had then tried to kill us and subsequently disappeared. He had failed at the first part but accomplished the second very handily. It probably hadn’t hurt that President Caid did not seem that interested in looking for him.
“What’s he doing here?” I demanded. Sectar glanced at him.
“You’ve been allowed to speak too freely,” he said. “You have no right to demand answers from me, but since I feel like telling you, I will. Council Member Doblan is here to do some work. He was in the Medical Wing and discovered your presence.”
The breath caught in my throat. So, that was the fallen angel presence Keller had sensed that wasn’t his own. But how?
I didn’t want to think about it anymore.
“Did you kill Marcus?” I asked him. “He found you out somehow and you had him killed?”
“Something like that,” said Sectar, “except that, as usual, your concept is too simple.”
“So, who killed our friends?” I demanded frantically.
Zervos was tugging at my sleeve and Duchess Leonie was trying to get me to stop, but I couldn’t. It was only when Lough stepped forward and pointed that I did. Everything felt closer, and something had changed about the Golden Falls students. Those black rings had ignited in a dark fire, and the students’ faces were cast in shadows. Pearl, Jewel, Devlin, and the rest didn’t look like themselves anymore.
“We’ve been doing experiments, because we have contracts with darkness,” Sectar explained, his tone more that of a teacher giving a class lecture than anything else. “Our way of life is expensive, you see, and we would have been overrun had we not made some sort of deal with the demons. Mr. Doblan needed space to create hybrids for the war with the paranormals. We gave him that space and chances to experiment, for which the Darkness Premier was very grateful.”
“I don’t suppose you could dream us out of here,” Duchess Leonie asked Lough. Her eyes were darting in every direction.
Lough shook his head. “They aren’t going to kill us in front of all the Golden Falls students, are they?” he whispered. Obviously he hadn’t noticed the looks on the faces of the students.
I spoke again, because, you know, why not?
“Who killed Kia and Marcus?” My voice trembled, and Lisabelle gave me a sharp look. I wondered if she suspected what I had just realized.
“We all did,” said Pearl, coming forward, her eyes shining. “We did it to make you see how damaging darkness is. There had to be casualties, but you didn’t understand, so we made a deal with the Nocturns to weaken you, which will make it easier for them to take you filthy Public students off our hands.” She stepped back, glancing at Sectar, who nodded approvingly.
“Is there a President of Golden Falls?” Zervos asked quietly.
“He died several years ago,” said Sectar. “I would have announced it, but I realized it better served my purposes to keep that little fact quiet. He was the last of his family. I never thought my little charade would last so long.”
“Pearl,” Lough sputtered, “How could you!”
Pearl glanced at Lough. “I wanted you to understand,” she said. “We hoped we could help you see that darkness is wrong, but you hopelessly cavort with that thing.” She glanced disparagingly at Lisabelle.
“Get over yourself,” said Lisabelle, eyes still blazing. “You made deals with the Nocturns.”
Pearl shrugged. “We all did. We did it collectively. I’m sorry to say that Kia never stood a chance.”
“We have to get out of here,” said Lisabelle. “We’re totally outnumbered.”
“How do you propose we do that?” Zervos demanded. “They have Officers at all the doors and the students are looking at us like we’re a meal.”
“Why should we take you with us?” I demanded. “You got us into this mess in the first place.”
“How did I do that?” Zervos demanded coldly. His back was razor straight and he had edged closer to us.
“Well,” said Lisabelle, “you didn’t let us leave all semester.”
Zervos shook his head. “I had no idea Sectar had lost his mind. Oliva also thought he was still of sound mind. We were both wrong and now they have Ms. Quest. None of us could have foreseen such a consequence.”
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed this,” said Lisabelle, “but we have to get out of here.”
“Because Sectar killed our friends?” I asked. I felt like I’d jumped into a lake in the middle of winter. My body felt numb and my mind slow. I was trying to understand, but nothing made sense.
“Because all of us at Golden Falls killed them,” Pearl corrected me, as she still watched Lough intently.
Shocked, the dream giver backed away until he bumped into a table. Turning slightly toward me he said, “See this? Girls are crazy. It’s better to have an unrequited love, because then I’m not in danger of ending up with any of them.”
“If Lisabelle. . . .” I cut myself off. Now was not the time to point out to Lough that if Lisabelle wanted, Lough would be there before she finished the sentence.
Sectar took another step forward. Zervos sprang in front of the Public students, spreading his arms wide. “You’ve done enough damage, Sectar,” said the vampire. “We are going to leave now.”
Sectar paused, but the smile on his face did not convince me that he agreed with my professor. “No,” he said, “they must be turned over to the demons now. All of you, although Zervos, we have always been friends and I would grant you leave to escape should you wish it.”
“How very generous of you,” said Duchess Leonie dryly. The small woman sounded like Lisabelle, only Lisabelle was past the point of sarcasm now and had gone deeply into unquenchable rage.
A wave of gasps went up through the Golden Falls students, who were all facing us. I didn’t want to risk turning around, though. The gusts of wind were getting stronger, blowing my hair into my eyes and the leaves around us. I couldn’t lose my focus.
“They’re just pretending,” said Lough. “They don’t really see anything.”
Lisabelle glanced over her shoulder. She had calmed down a little, but she still looked like she wanted to rip something, preferably a Golden Falls representative, apart.
“Fires,” she murmured. “The sky’s on fire.”
“Demons,” said Lough. “He just said that demons were coming to take us away.”
“They will take you to Malle,” said Sectar, raising his hand like he was making a point of order. “She wishes to speak with you.”
My heart lifted for a fraction of a second. Keller was with her. Maybe. . . . I slammed the idea away. Malle wanted me dead. She had put a bounty on my head. Now, here were the Golden Falls representatives proving that it had never been removed.
“Malle wants Charlotte dead, and you just want to hand her over, giving the demons the biggest advantage they’ve ever had over the paranormals,” said Duchess Leonie. “How stupid are you? Don’t you realize that if Charlotte dies all paranormals are in danger?”
Sectar glared at the older woman. “They are already in danger, or didn’t you notice? No pl
ace is safe so long as the demons are in power and work for the Nocturns! It’s ridiculous to think otherwise. Public has been attacked every semester since Charlotte arrived, and now they’ve moved on to Vampire Locke.”
My heart clenched. Lanca.
“Enough of this,” said Lisabelle. “It’s not Charlotte’s fault. We’d all be dead if not for her. You really are an idiot masquerading as a paranormal who deserves to be in charge.”
She rolled up her sleeve. I hadn’t seen her tattoo in a long time, but now that I did I gasped. It had spread over all of her arm that I could see. From all the way to her wrist and past her elbow, her skin was covered in ornate black markings.
The Golden Falls students gasped and stepped away. The burning fires in the sky behind us were forgotten as Lisabelle advanced, a whirl of black power surging around her.
“Get her!” Annabelle and Marybelle yelled in unison. Both women advanced. I couldn’t help but think they were far less beautiful now, their faces locked in ugly dark shadows as their hair flew around them. Marybelle was the quieter of the two, and I had disliked her on principle since she had threatened to fail me in “Presenting.” But now they were both equally abhorrent.
One of the statues, was of a large man in armor, suddenly came free of its mooring. With a groan and grating noise, billowing black smoke, it slammed at Marybelle. At the very last second the paranormal saw it coming, but it was too late.
The statue hit the woman hard on her side. She crumbled instantly in a pile of gold silk.
Annabelle screamed and lunged.
“Lisabelle,” I screamed. She didn’t appear to realize that Annabelle was running right at her. A long, metal weapon that looked like a spear appeared in her hand. I wondered if she had always had it, but had kept it hidden behind a Veneer over it.
Annabelle was five feet away, then two. Lisabelle suddenly pivoted to face the Golden Falls professor and raised her wand arm. A wall of sheer black power appeared right in front of the darkness mage. Annabelle didn’t have time to stop. Instead, she ran right into it and fell backward, stunned.
Chaos erupted all around us. Golden Falls students were attacking Public students. Rake, who was nearly as angry as Lisabelle about Sip, had simply started throwing students out of his way if they came too close. Most had stopped even trying. Trafton and Lough had started dreaming white demons and sending them, like ghosts, to attack Jewel, Pearl, and Devlin. I had lost track of Professor Zervos and Sectar, but Duchess Leonie was still nearby. She was shooting red sparks out of her “cane” and cackling about not underestimating your elders. I really should have expected nothing less from Dacer’s mother.
“Paranormal women aren’t dainty,” said Lough, panting as he continued to weave dreams. “I like that about them.”
“Good,” I said, “because I think you’re stuck with us.”
He gave me a tired grin and stared at the battle going on around us. The Golden Falls students just kept coming in waves.
“There are too many of them,” he said. “Pretty soon the rest of the Nonsense Enforcement Officers are going to figure out we’re fighting, and then we’ll really be in trouble.”
“I have a feeling Lisabelle took care of them in order to get to us,” I said quietly, watching the darkness mage. She was unstoppable. Power swirled around her as she beat back ten Golden Falls students at a time.
“I’m just glad she’s on our side,” said Lough reverently. His cheeks were red and there was sweat dripping from his brow, but he showed no sign of slowing down. “Public better feel really bad about sending us here,” he continued. “This is just not okay.”
“Retreat,” Leonie yelled. Happiness Enforcement Officer reinforcements had appeared and were rushing into the courtyard. Now we were in real trouble. The Public students, with the exception of Lisabelle, who held her ground, came together in a tight ball. Duchess Leonie was on the outside. Mark Doblan came forward to confront her and he held a white powder that looked like a swirling mass of tiny demons. He ket throwing it at Duchess Leonie and it kept exploding. She kept twirling her cane in front of herself, creating a red wheel that ate away at Doblan’s attack. No matter how he came at her she was ready.
The Enforcement officers attacked viciously. I heard cries from Evan as he was hit with something that looked like melted gold that burned his skin.
“What do we do?” Lough demanded. “We can’t wait around until those demons get us.” He turned around, and out of the corner of my eye I saw his jaw go slack and a look of shock take over from the exhaustion and the fear.
I risked a look behind us and gasped.
“Not demons,” I murmured, stunned.
Dragons were flying toward us. Lots of dragons. I remembered them from last semester. Faeries had brought them to Public. Those ones hadn’t been very big, but I wondered. . . .
Golden Falls had also been forced to pay attention. Lisabelle was the only one who hadn’t noticed.
“They need cover to land,” said Lough. “We do want them to land, don’t we?”
I didn’t even think about it. “Yes,” I cried. “Lisabelle!” The darkness mage, who had ignored everything up to that moment, turned at the sound of my call. When our eyes locked I pointed to the sky. She glanced up and saw the dragons and nodded.
“Uh oh,” said Lough. “What is she going to do?”
“I don’t know,” I said, “but I’d duck if I were you.”
We all got down as Lisabelle drew her power in. “We should help her,” said Lough. I nodded. Staying as low as possible, because the Enforcement Officers had started to throw darts of hot gold through the air that exploded on contact, we reached our friend. She had climbed out of her crater and now stood at its edge, blasting anything that came near her, and a few things that didn’t.
Just as we reached her I saw flashes of white. There were faeries coming out into the courtyard from all sorts of strange places, appearing out of hidden doors that opened out of the grass, and jumping from windows. Their white, undernourished bodies pelted toward us.
“We have to give them cover, too,” I cried to Lough. Lisabelle saw what we were doing and fell back behind us to concentrate on helping the dragons land safely.
Lough and I started to spin a dream. He created a wall of white ghosts while I called to the earth. Lisabelle had already helped me, she had split it open. Now it desperately wanted to close back up again, and wouldn’t it be nice if it closed up with some Enforcement officers along the way?
I felt sweat trickle down the side of my cheek and brushed it away. I didn’t even want to think about how long it was going to take me to recover from this.
Duchess Leonie and Rake came to stand with us.
“Anything we can do?” the burly vampire asked.
I pointed to Lisabelle. “Help her with the dragons.” He gave a curt nod and turned around.
Duchess Leonie, her wispy hair standing up at the ends, had finally started to look tired. She said, “Dacer told me you were something to behold. I’ll be honest, I didn’t believe it until just now.”
I warmed at the compliment, but I didn’t have time to think about it. I had never called to so much earth before.
I felt the ground start to roll and shake under me and I put more of my focus into it.
“Step back,” I murmured, but Dacer’s mother already had.
Everything became a blur. The ghosts, the shots of gold, the rings of black, my friends and my enemies. Everything closed off to the single point of earth I was trying to close. It had created a line in the sand in front of us, protecting us from attack. While I dealt with the face to face attack, Lough dealt with the attacks from a distance, his and Trafton’s dreams keeping assailants in the air away from us. I didn’t want to think about the injuries. Was Evan okay? Sip? Where was Zervos? It didn’t matter. The faeries had to get to us and the dragons had to land.
“Charlotte!” Lisabelle’s voice penetrated my fog. “Charlotte. Stop. You did it.”
>
“I just have to close,” I muttered. I’d never gone so deeply into my magic before. I couldn’t see. I was lost in power and memory. That close a connection to my core had never happened before. In my altered state I saw my mom’s wooden box, the one I couldn’t open. I had decided to send it back to Public. I had asked Keller to do it, because I didn’t want it anywhere near the Happiness Enforcement Officers. It was the last favor Keller had done for me. Now the box was in my mind’s eye, but when I remembered it I could see the design on the otherwise plain cover.
It was the outline of a thistle. Only deep in my power could I see the thistle, as the box sat without me in Astra. I didn’t know what it was, and at the moment I couldn’t remember the importance of the thistle. I just knew I had to remember.
“Charlotte, come on,” Lisabelle said. “You did it.”
Slowly, I opened my eyes. She was right. The earth was perfectly smooth, like the first day we had come out and feasted. There was no sign of a crack, or of any kind of upheaval.
But Golden Falls was burning.
“Nice,” I said, swaying. “Gold and fire look good together.”
“Yeah,” said my friend dryly.
“Lisabelle? Can you catch me.” I collapsed in a heap, remembering nothing else.
I woke up several times, but I kept fading in and out. I had the sensation that I was floating through spring air. I saw deep white clouds and felt the warmth of a fire nearby. At some point there was a conversation that went, “She has to go first. The rest of us don’t matter. Did you see how Golden Falls treated her? There was a reason.” I didn’t know who they were talking about. Maybe Lisabelle? Maybe me. I was too tired to think about it.
“Charlotte,” came Lisabelle’s voice. “You want to stay dreaming, that’s fine. Just don’t roll to your left or your right.” I found myself smiling. Then I didn’t think about much at all.
Elemental Earth (Paranormal Public) Page 23
