“Ouch,” said a familiar male voice. “Lisabelle, that you? Why’d you have to hit so hard? Or, you know, at all?”
“Lough?” the three of us chorused in astonishment. Quickly I pulled out the box of matches, since we had been ordered not to use magic (an order we all routinely disregarded, but still) and lit one of the small sconces on the wall.
It illuminated Lisabelle standing with her hand firmly around the back of Lough’s neck. Unsurprisingly, Lough didn’t really seem to mind. Lisabelle quickly let go and I saw Lough drop down an inch or two. He was dressed all in black, with a black hat covering his hair, but his cheeks were as red as ever and his eyes were bright as he looked at us. I covered my mouth with my hand. He looked like the cartoon version of a master spy.
“What are you? A burglar?” Sip said, eyeing Lough’s outfit. He didn’t usually wear black, saying that there was enough darkness in the world and it was just not his color.
Lough puffed out his chest. “I’m being sneaky. I had to get in and see you three, and walking in through the front gates, or the back forest, was not an option.”
I sighed and rubbed my forehead. I was not going to get to sleep any time soon, and any chance of my reading more about the elementals tonight was gone. “We should go to my room and talk,” I said. “Come on.”
Once we were back in my room Lough explained everything.
He said that after we left he couldn’t sleep, and by the next morning, when we had not come back, he had realized that something must be wrong. He had just started to figure out how best to summon help when it had showed up in the form of all the paranormals who were supposed to be at Public but had stayed at Locke. The group included Dacer, Keller, Saferous,, and a couple hundred others. Lough was relieved, because he hadn’t wanted to leave. They already knew something was amiss, explaining that Dacer had tried several times to contact the school. As a professor he wanted to stay in pretty close touch, but he had been unable to get through.
“Dacer was furious,” said Lough reverently. “He’s the most awesome professor ever. You should have seen him. He was livid, and he was already wearing red. He said his mood should match his outfit. He was sure that Dove and Erikson were being held against their will.”
Lisabelle snorted.
“Erikson is especially upset,” said Sip. “She was arguing with one of the Fire Whips until the Nocturn nearly struck her, so she gave up.”
“What was she arguing about?”
“Vanni, I think,” said Sip. “She’s trying to protect the Aurums, but it’s hard to argue with crazy.”
“You have no idea,” said Lisabelle.
“That’s getting to be an old joke,” Sip sniffed.
“It’s not old if it’s accurate.”
“Another old joke.”
“Why do I bother talking?”
“I ask myself that everyday.”
Lough plopped his chin on his hand. “Gosh, I wish I could stay here forever,” he said dreamily.
“That makes one of us,” said Sip. “So, then what happened?”
“So, then we waited for daylight,” said Lough, remembering. “Everyone was angry. Especially Keller. He was stomping around and muttering to himself. He was really worried about you, Charlotte.”
Sip elbowed me. “See? You guys are just on a break. No need to be upset about it.”
Easy for her to say. I was upset. So much had happened that I hadn’t really had time to think about it, but in my quiet moments it was hard not to cry.
“Oliva was the only one who stayed calm. He said he had confidence in the students’ abilities. He also said to call President Caid.”
“Wow,” Sip breathed. “That’s a big deal. Caid . . . he doesn’t usually bother with little spats.”
When I raised my eyebrows she explained. “There’s a lot of drama on the international paranormal front. He spends most of his time out of the country; he didn’t even come back for Lanca’s coronation.”
“You don’t say! This can no longer be qualified as a little spat, then, can it,” said Lough. It was a statement, not a question.
“But he’s coming here?” I whispered. “He thinks it’s serious?”
Relief flooded me. I had known that it was serious from the beginning, since mine was the family that had been murdered, the event that in a way was really the start of the conflict that we were enmeshed in now.
“After what happened at Locke, all paranormals think it’s serious,” said Lisabelle, crossing her arms over her chest and nodding reassuringly. “And they’re right. Obviously.”
“He’s apparently friends with Dacer,” Lisabelle continued. “Uncle Risper told me as much. So, if Dacer calls him he comes. They grew up as neighbors or something.”
“Dacer knows everyone,” I said, shaking my head in admiration. My mentor loved to socialize, entertain, and party. Any excuse to have a good time and he was there.
“So, there’s a camp outside Public as we speak,” Lough continued once the excitement about Caid had died down. “I didn’t want to leave. They tried to get me to go back to Locke, but proximity is important to me. Lanca of course said we were all welcome, but many of us refused, including Dacer, Keller, and Oliva. Even Saferous has come and gone frequently, though none of his children are still in college. You should hear the ruckus parents are making, worrying out loud about their children. Well, at least some of them are. Some parents think it will be good for you guys. Gosh, I wish I were here.”
“Did you ask?” I said. “Did you ask to return for the semester? What did Vale say?”
Lough nodded, looking offended. “Of course I did, but she said no. Worried that I would trade news of the outside world to you, probably. They’re very happy having you believe that everything is fine and that the senior paranormals are not worried about you. Well, spread the word, the senior paranormals are most definitely worried about you.”
I grinned and nodded. “Good to know. Now you should get out of here before we all get in trouble.”
Lough nodded and stood, pulling his black cap over his head once more. “I’ll come back when there’s news, or sooner if I can,” he said. He hugged each one of us in turn. Even Lisabelle let him hug her, though she looked pretty disgruntled as he did it. Soon after we had seen Lough on his way, Lisabelle and Sip went theirs as well. It didn’t make sense to risk a longer visit under the circumstances.
Once my friends had left I slipped into bed, too tired to visit Sigil tonight. I would get more reading done over the weekend and then visit him again. Maybe by then he would have found out more about Grace Lancing.
I fell asleep with a smile on my face.
Unlike every other night since I had returned for my fourth semester at Paranormal Public, this time I didn’t dream of Keller. I wasn’t transported to that grassy hill with the fragrant scents and the warm sun shining down on us and I didn’t get to wrap my arms around his hard body.
I had started to look forward to sleeping almost more than to being awake, so not seeing Keller was a harsh blow. The place I was transported to only made it worse.
Instead of finding myself with Keller, I was taken to a wasteland. I already knew who I was going to see before I opened my eyes on the barren, black earth.
Unfortunately, I didn’t brace for the attack quickly enough.
With a cry of vicious fury Malle sprung at me. I ducked and rolled away just before a jet stream of black fire slammed into my chest. I landed hard on my left shoulder and let out an ooffh.
She looked even worse than when I had seen her at Locke. Her chest was sunken in on itself and she was bent over, her shoulders slumped low as if they were pulling on her neck. Her hair, what was left of it, was in two great, gray clumps, one coming out the back left side of her head and one on the other side. Her skin was sallow and her nose was large and beaked looking. She was barely recognizable as the same person I had first met two years before.
Malle came on again as I scrambled to my feet,
pushing backward in the dirt and trying desperately to create some room between me and my nemesis.
I wanted to remember to ask one of my dream giver friends why Malle and I only saw each other in dreams, but I was a little busy at the moment.
“How DARE you interrupt me?” Malle screamed at me. I saw her rotting teeth; very few were left, and most of the inside of her mouth was covered with black splotches. I imagined that there would also be a stench if I got too close.
She came on again, firing shots of black fire. I dodged and rolled. Dimly I realized that I needed to avoid using my ring in case Vale found out. More practically I realized that was crazy. It didn’t matter what Vale found out if Malle murdered me here in the dream realms.
“Believe me,” I said under my breath as my eyes searched for any protection in the empty landscape, “it was not my intention.” There was not even a tree to hide behind.
Malle halted. “Where are the artifacts?” she demanded. “The Fang? The Map? The Mirror? The Globe? You may not have them all, but you know where they are.”
It struck me that she hadn’t mentioned two of the artifacts on the Wheel, and with horror I realized that there was only one reason she wouldn’t.
She saw understanding dawn in my face and smiled. “Ah, yes. As a matter of fact I am in possession of the Scepter and the Wings. How very good of you to wonder.” Her face darkened then, as if she was angry with herself for revealing something she hadn’t meant to.
Since Lanca had the Fang, Elam the Map and I the Mirror, that just left the Globe White as the only missing artifact. Where was it? If Malle already had two of the artifacts there was no way I could let her get the Mirror Arcane. It belonged in Astra, and I had to make sure it stayed there.
Malle was watching me intently, like a shark that smelled blood. “Don’t be shy about it,” she murmured, sashaying forward. “Worried about your precious Astra?” she spat. “It will crumble, just like the power of the paranormals. I have the demon underworld at my beck and call. You do not stand a chance.”
I shrugged. “That stuff’s not really important to me,” I said casually. I saw a flash of anger in her eyes and kept going. “I just want to survive. And you are not as powerful as you think. You know the whereabouts of two measly objects on the Wheel. That’s it? Pathetic. You’ve spent more than a year trying to kill me, and look, I’m still standing. Also pathetic. You’ve tried for longer than that to destroy the paranormals and you failed SO miserably at it that you’ve given up and started looking for the artifacts, so that they can do the work for you.”
I was about to say more when Malle raised her wand and fired. I wasn’t quick enough this time. I tried to dodge, but the stream of black power slammed into my right shoulder. I screamed in agony as my arm burst into pain. I felt my skin melting as the blast pushed me flying backward. I had no idea how long I flew through the air; all I knew was that I woke up in the dead of night, back in my bed in Astra, with my shoulder throbbing in unimaginable pain. For a few seconds I just lay there, letting my eyes adjust to the dark.
Normally when I was in pain, if I just concentrated on something else for a few minutes the pain lessened. It came in waves and each wave was a little less strong until it was bearable. I had discovered this trick when I was a kid, running around in the woods with my friends or hiding from my stepfather in the bushes. I viewed every scrape and bruise as a game because I knew the pain would go away eventually, it was only a matter of how long. I would focus on something else, or rub the spot around the wound, to take away the sting.
None of that worked this time.
I waited, giving it a chance, but the throbbing pain only got worse until I felt like it had spread to my entire body. My temples were pulsing with such force that I could barely see straight.
Carefully I rolled onto my left side, desperately trying not to disturb my arm. Each tiny movement was agony. I fought with all the energy I had to keep still, but I had to get help. My flesh was burning off my body.
I stumbled to the door, crying out in pain as I nearly tripped and the movement jarred my arm. It was like a poison was coursing through my veins.
I got to the stairs, feeling so dizzy that all I wanted to do was close my eyes and sleep. Until that moment I had avoided looking at my arm, but avoiding doing something you shouldn’t do takes energy, and just getting to the stairs had sapped my strength. No longer able to stand, I collapsed, tumbling down the stairs as I went.
Chapter Fourteen
“Charlotte?”
A dim voice called, but I was too groggy to respond. Instead I flailed, asking for peace. I just wanted to sleep.
“Charlotte? It’s time to wake up. You’re going to miss ‘Magical Murders that go Undetected but Should Not.’”
I snorted and covered my ears.
“Arrghhggga oonnnndd,” I responded. Feeling satisfied with my answer, I tried to go back to sleep.
A wooshing sound was my only warning before I was drenched in water. I cried out and came awake with a start. I stared around blearily, although whether it was from exhaustion or the water in my eyes I wasn’t sure.
“You can’t say I didn’t warn you,” said the young man standing in front of me. I glared at Trafton.
“Was that really necessary?” I demanded harshly. “I’m tired.”
“I know you’re tired,” he said. “You damn near died.”
Everything came back to me in a rush and I gasped. Quickly I turned to stare at the stairs, then sucked in my breath. My ribs hurt. For that matter, my arm, hand, and hip also all hurt. Trafton wandered away while I examined my wounds. I was covered in bruises. My shoulder was bandaged - I didn’t even want to think about how he had managed that - and I was sitting on a cot on the floor in the elemental fire study.
“Why didn’t you take me to the infirmary?” I called to Trafton. He reemerged from the other room carrying a glass of water and smiled. “Vale closed the infirmary, something about needing to toughen us up.”
“Someone should tell Lisabelle that Vale thinks she’s a weakling.”
Trafton grinned. His wounds were entirely healed except, that there were some thin, pale lines where he’d been cut on the arms that still showed when he wore a t-shirt.
“I was with Cale when we heard about the infirmary,” said Trafton. “I was really worried until Cale made a joke about Lisabelle, then it was just kind of funny.”
I grinned, thinking of Cale. The smile disappeared from my face when I thought of Camilla. Trafton saw the change come over me and nodded his understanding. “I know, they’re to the point where it’s hard not to think of one without the other, and boy is that depressing.”
I grinned. “Yeah, it is. I keep hoping they’ll break up.”
Trafton shrugged. “You never know what draws two paranormals together.”
“Don’t get all philosophical on me,” I said. “I’m too tired.”
“Okay,” he nodded, pulling a chair up next to my cot. I was covered with a blanket, and next to me was a silver bowl filled with some sort of liquid. I had to guess it was a disinfectant of some kind. There was also a stack of bandages, clearly the supply from which my shoulder bandage had come.
“Did I know you were a healer?” I asked. Trafton was busy jotting something down in a notebook, his perfectly messy blond hair falling over his forehead. He looked up at me, his blue eyes bright.
“Nope,” he said, his face breaking into a grin. “We dream givers are just full of surprises.”
I laughed, but quickly stopped. It hurt my ribs. And my jaw. “Yeah,” I said. “So, what did you do?”
“Well,” he said, shrugging modestly, “I knew you were dreaming. I could sense it all the way over in Airlee, and I knew that Sip and Lisabelle had come to see you. So even though they hadn’t invited me, I also knew there was a way to get over here. When I realized you were in distress, I snuck out and came to find you. I think I covered my tracks pretty well. You’d need the Map Silver to track
me.”
“Thanks for coming,” I said gratefully. “I didn’t know dream givers could do that.”
He shrugged. “Well, we can if we want to. I’ve been trying to keep an eye on you three since you got here. You’re always getting into trouble, after all.”
“Could other dream givers do that?” I said thoughtfully. “Track their friends’ well being?”
“Somewhat,” said Trafton. “It’s harder if the person knows and doesn’t want you to do it. Lisabelle, for example, seems to have a blanket policy on friendliness. Her policy is that she doesn’t support it, and she’s blocked absolutely every type of tracking and help that she possibly can.”
“Sounds like Lisabelle,” I said, yawning. “What about my shoulder?”
“Ah,” said Trafton, his eyes clouding. “That was a tricky one. Definitely not something I ever want to see again, that’s for sure.”
“That bad, huh?”
He nodded grimly. “Worse. Your skin was black. It was pretty gross. I had to dream some pretty powerful healing spells.”
“I never thought of dream givers as conjurers, but that’s exactly what you are, aren’t you?”
Trafton laughed. “Like I said, we’re just full of surprises. Now, get some rest. You only have today and tomorrow to recover. No one will be able to explain that you’re missing class Monday because you did battle with Cynthia Malle in a dream.”
He had a point, so after thanking him again I lay back down. He assured me that he would risk sneaking out again to come back and sleep here. He wanted to talk to me about my dreams, and all he had to do was sneak past the hellhounds that patrolled the campus late at night.
“Definitely a step down from the vampires that are usually around here,” I murmured. I desperately needed to sleep, but I had to talk to Trafton a little more first.
Elemental Fire (Paranormal Public Series) Page 11
