Elemental Fire (Paranormal Public Series)

by Edwards, Maddy

“Lough,” I said, “we’ll use the Contact Stone if we need to.”

  Lough nodded in agreement, but his eyes were filled with shadows. “They haven’t been working,” he said, fidgeting with his collar as if he was nervous. “After I got through to Dobrov, all the Contact Stones went dark.”

  “Maybe there’s a problem with the channel,” said Lisabelle. She didn’t look concerned.

  “Doesn’t anything worry you?” Sip demanded.

  “Since I met you, LOTS has worried me,” Lisabelle muttered.

  “Funny what caring about people does,” said Sip hotly.

  “Funny, that isn’t how I thought about it,” Lisabelle drawled.

  “Let’s get going,” I said. “If we waited for you two to stop sparring before we left, I’d be old and married.”

  “You really think someone’s going to marry you?” Sip asked as the three of us turned away from Lough.

  “Ha. So funny I forgot to laugh,” I replied, and Sip’s white teeth flashed in the darkness.

  Lough refused our offers to hug him, saying it was a girly thing to do. He didn’t want to admit that we might be going into danger, and he refused to believe that if we were all going to die, we would die at Public, our safe haven.

  “There’s a decent chance that such a thing does not exist,” Lisabelle said.

  “And there’s a decent chance that you’re wrong,” Lough retorted, glaring.

  “Less than a decent chance, actually,” said Lisabelle.

  Now we were about to find out which of them was right. Seeing the dark forest ahead of us, filled with shadows, thick branches, and secrets, I had a terrible feeling that it would turn out to be Lisabelle.

  “How close will we come out to the Long Building?” I whispered to the darkness mage. Sip was in front, scouting the trail she wanted to take. With her werewolf senses she was more attuned to the ground and what we walked over than either Lisabelle or I, which meant that she should lead, and she did.

  “Very,” said Lisabelle. “Which is good. The less time we’re in the forest risking demons and detection, the better.”

  “Are there demons here now?” I wondered, looking up at the sky. It was a perfect, clear night. Branches reached across my view, their gnarled twigs seeming to cup the sky. If only I had been looking up from the safety of my room in Astra, I could have appreciated the cold beauty of the stars.

  “Probably not,” said Lisabelle. “I would think they’re holed up with Malle planning how to kill you.”

  “Ah,” I said. “Thanks, I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “You’re welcome,” said Lisabelle. “I’ll be here all night.”

  “I was being sarcastic,” I muttered.

  “I wasn’t.”

  “You two HUSH. Gosh, now I know what Charlotte goes through all the time listening to us.”

  “Don’t try and sympathize with me,” I said. “You have no idea.”

  Sip came to a halt so quickly I almost slammed into her back. Lisabelle, who was more agile than she looked, stopped instantly.

  “Did you see that?” Sip asked, her eyes intent on one of the trees in front of us.

  “I saw nothing,” I said. “But my eyes aren’t very good in the dark.”

  “Lisabelle?” Sip whispered. She was standing so still she was nearly vibrating. A mixture of anxiety and fear washed over me. This had been a bad idea. We should have just waited outside Public until other paranormals showed up, we had run out of food, or the Contact Stones worked and we could ask Dacer what was going on. Now the three of us were alone in the woods, and we had split up and left Lough all by himself. He was hiding, sure, but if more than one demon found him he would be easily overwhelmed.

  I turned around to look at my darkness friend, but she was nowhere to be seen. She had disappeared into the night.

  Chapter Three

  “She’s gone to see what’s up ahead,” I murmured in Sip’s ear.

  “We hope,” said Sip.

  I was so close to my werewolf friend that I could see that the tips of her ears were red, but I wasn’t sure if it was from cold or fury. We stood stock still and waited. The only sounds were of the wind gently rustling the branches and the occasional animal calling out a greeting.

  It didn’t take long for Lisabelle to come back. As we waited, I didn’t want to move. Fear and anticipation warred inside of me.

  “Lisabelle, WHAT are you doing?” Sip hissed, glaring at a spot to our right. When I followed where Sip was looking, I could see the outline of my friend. She was moving carefully, but for her quiet movements were a way of life. I was sure she could sneak up on Risper himself if she wanted to.

  “Making sure there’s nothing out there that wants to kill us,” she whispered, not looking the least bit sorry.

  “And how’d that go?” Sip demanded in a whisper-yell. She fisted her hands on her hips and glared up at our friend.

  “We’re good for at least ten feet,” said Lisabelle cheerily.

  “Lough should have come,” I whispered, staring at the spot in front of us that Sip pointed to, where I saw only darkness.

  “He should have,” Lisabelle agreed, “but he didn’t. He’ll be fine.”

  “How do you know?” I asked, thinking of turning back. “I could stay with him. Keep him company.”

  “Absolutely not,” said Lisabelle harshly. “Dacer would have my head if he found out I let you out of my sight.”

  “Could he kill you?” I asked, my mind shifting gears. I thought of Lisabelle as indestructible, and even though I knew it wasn’t technically true, it was probably close.

  “No,” Lisabelle whispered. “I don’t think so. But sometimes I want to pretend that any of you could keep up with me. Don’t want you to think I have an ego or anything.”

  “Okay, so you two scared whatever was stalking us off with all your chatter,” Sip grumbled. “Congratulations. You’ve won the annoying awards for January.”

  Lisabelle put her hand over her heart. “I solemnly swear to have the same success the rest of the eleven months of the year.”

  We were still making our way slowly through the woods. Sip valued quiet more than speed, which meant we stepped carefully over every fallen branch and broken pine needle. The air was cold on my face and hands, and I found myself tucking my fingers into my pockets, as much to hide my ring as to keep them warm. It was still definitely winter, even if there was hardly snow on the ground.

  “How much further,” I asked, hoping that we were nearly finished with this dark journey through the woods.

  “A ways,” Sip said, barely turning her head. “I’m not sure what’s out here.”

  A grip like steel bit into my forearm and I looked back at Lisabelle. Her eyes were like chips of black ice and her voice was harsh when she said, “I mean it when I say do not leave us. I don’t care if it’s Sip or me, but be with one of us at all times.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “I can take care of myself,” I said warningly. I loved that my friends cared, but I didn’t want to be mothered, least of all by Lisabelle.

  Lisabelle snorted. “I know you can, Charlotte. Believe me. I wouldn’t want to fight you. Vital was saying the same thing. You’re quick and observant and somehow you always have the instinct to do the right thing. Still. . . .” She paused, considering. “More is better. There’s no replacement for time and Sip and I have spent so much time with you. . . .”

  “Alright, that’s it. You two are behaving like total girls,” Sip said in a hoarse whisper. “Charlotte, go first. According to Lisabelle you can keep yourself from getting killed, so please try. I’m separating you two,” she said by way of explanation when Lisabelle only glared. “You might as well be walking through these woods with a beacon yelling our location, and I’m tired of it. I refuse to let you two break my perfect streak of not getting caught breaking rules.”

  When Lisabelle still only stared, Sip realized that the darkness mage was shutting up as ordered. Sip gave one curt nod, then pr
oceeded to shoo me forward, and somehow I knew I was going to feel better with both my friends at my back. I took my hand out of my pocket, checking on my magic. It was a pleasant throb through my shoulder, down my bicep and elbow, through my forearm and into my fingertips. A comforting simmer in a bleak battle.

  “Something keeps flitting across my vision,” I murmured. It was almost like a white shadow, and I could even have believed it was a trick of the moonlight, except that the pattern was clear.

  “It might be a White bat,” said Sip. “They’re harmless enough as long as they’re not working for Dove.”

  “Do bats work for vampires?” I asked. I had heard as much, or at least that vampires kept them as pets.

  “I hate bats,” said Sip, shivering. “They are sooo gross.”

  “They’re just little guys,” said Lisabelle. “You can’t possibly be afraid of something so small, can you?”

  “Small can be devastating, thank you very much,” said Sip, sticking her nose in the air.

  “Ah, you took that personally too,” said Lisabelle. “Not everything is about you, Sip.”

  “Pot. Kettle. Black,” Sip muttered. “Now be quiet and let’s go break some rules.”

  “Finally you say something I understand,” said Lisabelle. She extinguished the tiny light she had used to make her way back to us and Sip tapped my shoulder lightly, telling me to move forward. Ahead was just night, but behind there wasn’t anything either.

  The forest was thinning, the branches becoming thinner and fewer. We were almost to the tree line. If it hadn’t been for the large slope we were coming up on, I would have been able to see my beloved Public. At the top of the slope, far on one edge of campus, was the Long Building.

  I paused at the edge of the rise. Sweat broke out on my forehead despite the cold, while Sip kept shifting nervously and Lisabelle’s back was razor straight.

  The grass looked like a black blanket laid across the ground, barely stirred by the air. I was cold, but not shivering, and the sky was so bright and clear we didn’t need a light. Even with the possibility of Slime Dwellers waiting, I looked toward the Long Building as a safe haven. I didn’t like being out in the open one little bit.

  “When did the wind stop?” Sip whispered hoarsely in my ear. “And what happened to the force field?”

  Sip was right, we should have passed the force field by now, or at least tried. It made no sense that we could just walk through it as if it weren’t there.

  “Maybe the force field is in front of us, and it’s blocking the wind?” Lisabelle asked, but even she didn’t sound convinced.

  “No,” said Sip. “Wind should pass through the force field like it isn’t there, unless the wind carries some ill intent. We shouldn’t be able to pass through it at all without using our powers.”

  Idly Sip twisted her finger, looking down at her dull ring. “Be ready,” she murmured. “We won’t have much time.”

  Slowly and in unison the three of us moved forward. My stomach twisted and my heart pounded so fast I was sure it would bring Dove. The hair stood out on the back of my neck. There was something very wrong. How could something I loved so well strike such fear in me?

  “Do you hear that?”

  “Sounds like rain,” I said, frowning. There hadn’t been a cloud in the sky when we set out. I looked up, and at first I didn’t know what I was looking at, but Sip did. My friend let out a scream before Lisabelle clamped a hand over her mouth. The whole sky blazed a startling white.

  Like frozen falling stars pelting down, hundreds of white burning shards sped toward our heads.

  “What th-” I started to say.

  “If those things hit us they’ll kill,” Lisabelle yelled. “Run.”

  “Where?” Sip cried frantically.

  “The Long Building,” Lisabelle commanded. The three of us forgot all pretense of secrecy and ran. When my legs protested the sudden increase in speed, I just pushed them harder. But before we got very far, I made the mistake of looking up. We were about to be gutted and speared, like some feral animal, by a million ivory daggers.

  “We aren’t going to make it,” Lisabelle cried, her words laced was fear. “What kind of magic is this?”

  I halted, letting my friends pass me. My neck throbbed as I bent it backward, never taking my eyes off the sky.

  “Go,” I yelled. “I can handle this.”

  “You keep moving with us or none of us moves at all,” said Sip, roughly grabbing my arm.

  “Fine,” I said. “Don’t let me trip. I need to keep my eyes on them.”

  I called to my magic, but it was already there, sensing I needed protection. Deep inside me, where the inner light burned that no one else ever saw, were the resources that would save us. Ah, the wind, I thought. Here was something that was all mine.

  Meanwhile, the onslaught from above came on, as if someone had dumped a massive box of painted knives down on our heads. They shimmered and blazed and singed the air, and the noise was growing louder, drowning out the normal sounds of night. I called to the wind. It was the part of my elemental magic I was least comfortable with, because wind was unruly and unpredictable. When given the option, I always gravitated to water.

  But water wouldn’t protect me against being cut, only the wind could do that now.

  I felt Sip drawing closer.

  “Sip,” Lisabelle yelled over the whistling of the knives. “I would tell you to duck, but you’re already so close to the ground there’d be no point.”

  I felt Sip shake a bit next to me and wondered if it was from fear or amusement. Magic poured out of me and enveloped us with wind. I slammed it upward, trying to knock the thousands of knives off course.

  “It isn’t working,” Lisabelle observed as the knives whistled through the wind and kept right on coming.

  “It slowed them down a little,” I yelled back, watching the progress of the blades anxiously.

  “When something cuts you,” said Lisabelle, “you’d rather have it done fast than slow.”

  “In other words, I made it worse,” I yelled back. The whistling was now so loud that I could barely hear Lisabelle.

  “Yes, in those words,” said Lisabelle, nodding. “Try one of your other branches of power.”

  Earth. Air. Fire. Water.

  “Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “For something new and different. I hope this works.”

  “Brace yourselves,” I ordered. Again I called to the wind. I heard Lisabelle protest, but when she realized what I was doing she stopped. Instead of sending the wind to meet the blades, I slammed it into the ground. At the same time I ordered the frozen dirt to rise. In great chunks right in front of us the brown dirt came free from the earth. In another whirl of speeding air it started to swirl, higher and higher in a circular motion, until two branches of my magic had combined to create a powerful funnel.

  “Now what?” Sip demanded. “Those things aren’t going to throw all the knives off.”

  “They’ll keep them from hitting us while we run,” I observed. “Let’s move.”

  And again we started to run. I had never done magic on the move before. Not only was my body in motion, but the circular funnel over our heads, acting as a glorified roof, had to come along with us. If it was off by only a few inches, then -

  SLAM.

  The first of the knives struck our canopy and I cried out. My ring shot out a burst of light and then faded to dimness.

  The canopy faltered.

  “Damnit, keep that above our heads,” Lisabelle roared. She was leading the way - the cool head in a crisis. I nodded, though no one was looking, and forced my mind back to my task. My magic was still there, just startled and momentarily hesitant. The knives were obviously laced with magic, and my own power was having trouble absorbing the tiny stab wounds. Every time a blade struck it felt like a tiny pinprick in my body.

  It hit me then: our protections would fail.

  In a matter of seconds the combination of earth and
air that was the only thing keeping us from being stabbed to death by thousands of what looked like tiny avenging angels would disappear and we would die. In the morning Dove would find our mutilated corpses.

  “Stop thinking gross thoughts,” Sip cried over her shoulder. “I can tell, because you’re gripping my arm so tightly you’ve cut off the circulation. Don’t worry about it. I’m right-handed. But we’re going to be fine.” I loosened my grip.

  I didn’t dare look up until Lisabelle flung open the doors of the Long Building. Our canopy was still protecting us, but even so I heard a hiss every time a knife landed with another attempt to kill us. Every so often tiny sparks would shoot down and hit me in the shoulders or forehead. I winced, but the pain was bearable. I hardly noticed.

  Once the three of us were safely inside I let go of my canopy - or it let go of me. I barely had the power to hold it anymore.

  I put my fists on my knees and panted. Next to me Sip sat down hard and stared straight ahead. Lisabelle stood in one of the open doorways, watching the silver rain come down hard.

  The ground was taking the beating that had been meant for us. There were splinters and shards everywhere, as if very clean snow was blanketing the dark and tangled grass. Some of the knives even hit the roof of the Long Building, and I heard them bounce off with a clang. The slivers didn’t stay on the ground for long. Instead, they disintegrated with a hiss into nothing at all.

  “Makes it kind of hard to examine them,” Lisabelle said thoughtfully. Her eyes continued to scan around us. “I wonder if that was the intention.”

  “Who cares what the intention was,” Sip said, her breathing slowly returning to normal.

  I stood up straight and walked over to Lisabelle. My legs felt like Jell-o and my back throbbed from tension. “It must be,” I said. “And I think I know what they were from.”

  Both my friends looked at me in surprise. “Fallen Angels?” Sip asked. “They have the right coloring.”

  I shrugged. “Sort of. They were from the force field. When we went through we must have tripped an invisible mechanism that alerts the field to intruders. That attack” - I pointed to where the last of the knives were dissolving - “was the result.”