Elemental Fate (Paranormal Public Book 12) (6 page)

The other problem was the smell. For days, countless cooks had been in and out of Duckleworth preparing a feast fit for hundreds of the fanciest paranormals. Now all those smells were coming to a head. The whole castle smelled amazing. My stomach rumbled.

“Shush,” said Keegan, coming slowly down the stairs behind me. “I can hear you from here.”

“Sorry, but when’s dinner?” I asked, feeling my stomach rumble again.

“You mean the celebration of the century as told by food? Not soon enough,” sighed the tree sprite. “How do I look?”

Keegan was dressed from head to toe in brown, the tree sprites’ ceremonial color. “Is the suit too big for you?” I asked.

“Are you saying that because it’s so long, I’m walking on the pants and the sleeves are covering my hands? Why yes, as a matter of fact, it’s too big,” he said. “Good catch.”

“Sorry,” I said.

“It was my dad’s,” said Keegan. “My mom can’t bring herself to hem it, and it’s not exactly like we can afford a new suit at the moment.”

Keegan and his mother had spent years running from the Hunters because of Keegan’s much sought-after ability to speak with dragons. We didn’t talk about it often, but I knew it affected every aspect of his life, including, apparently, his wardrobe.

“Shall we go look outside?” Keegan asked. “I bet he decked out everything outdoors just as much as he did the inside.

Knowing that Keegan was right and wanting to see everything before guests started arriving, I hurried down the great staircase at his side.

Every so often as I climbed these stairs, a memory would come back of the night when Zellie had attacked me. She hadn’t been herself, I knew that, and other than her apologies we hadn’t talked about it again. Dacer had never said anything either, offering not one word of explanation about what he thought had happened that night. But Zellie had clearly been possessed, by what or whom I had no idea. Dacer didn’t seem worried that it might happen again, but I wasn’t sure his optimism was comforting. How could he know if he didn’t know what had happened in the first place? An even more enraging thought was that he did know, but he just wasn’t telling me.

While I mused about the past, Keegan got to the front door and tugged it open. There, standing in the doorway with her arm raised to knock, was Eighellie. Her eyes brightened when she saw us.

“Wow,” said Keegan.

Eighellie blushed a little and reached down to fluff the flowing skirt she was wearing.

“Oh, um,” Keegan said, his eyes focused intently on our friend. “I was saying wow to the grounds.”

Eighellie’s shoulders sagged and she glared. “Oh, sure, okay,” she said.

“You look great,” I added over Keegan’s shoulder.

Eighellie was wearing a dress, something I hadn’t seen her do all last semester. It made sense, because Paranormal Public University was a physical school that asked a lot of you, and beyond the regular curriculum you never knew when someone might try to kill you in the night. Why put a pretty outfit at risk?

Eighellie’s dress was green velvet, with long sleeves. Her blond hair was free and hanging over her shoulders. She clearly liked the dress; I could tell because she kept swishing her hips.

“I didn’t know you wore dresses,” was Keegan’s next comment. Eighellie’s frown only deepened as he turned his gaze again to the grounds.

To be fair, the grounds were amazing. Dacer had spared no time or expense, and when your creativity was as boundless as Dacer’s, that clearly made for a wonderland. Everything sparkled with stars and light. The trees were laced with twinkle lights of all sizes and colors. The flowers looked particularly brilliant, and the driveway was lined with white stones.

“You both look good,” said Eighellie, although she clearly had some doubts about Keegan’s attire.

“Thanks,” said Keegan. “I know you’re lying, but thanks.”

Eighellie grinned. “Hey, you couldn’t even be bothered to notice my dress.”

“I noticed,” he said. “I noticed after I noticed all this stuff that Dacer did.”

Eighellie glanced over her shoulder. “I hope the fallen angels appreciate the work he’s done. I couldn’t make something look this beautiful if I spent my life trying.”

“That probably won’t be necessary,” said Keegan. “You have assassin training, after all.”

We headed indoors, but as soon as we were inside the front hallway the darkness mage whipped around, bumping into me and knocking me a couple of steps backwards. She moved behind Keegan and placed her pale hands on his shoulders to keep him still.

“Um?” Keegan questioned.

“Don’t look,” Eighellie demanded, grinning evilly. “I want you to tell me what I’m wearing. As many details as you remember.”

Keegan groaned. “Stop being ridiculous,” he said. “Let me go.”

Eighellie held firm, and Keegan, who wasn’t really going to struggle, stopped moving altogether. For a few seconds the tree sprite remained silent, then, much my surprise and Eighellie’s, he did as was told.

“Your dress is forest green velvet,” he said, “with a slightly lighter green at the hem of both the skirt and the sleeves. You have a boat neck, as they call it, with tiny green jewels in the shapes of leaves at the edges. You have gold fern earrings that match your gold fern ring and your gold fern bracelet. Your shoes are a deep mustard yellow, which is a stretch for you, but you’re going with it, and um, they have blue clasps just for fun. How’d I do?”

Keegan turned around and found both of his friends gaping at him.

“That’s what you get for underestimating a tree sprite,” he said.

There were several moment of confusion as waiters and other Duckleworth staff bustled toward the ballroom. As Keegan paused for a moment to talk to Cather, Eighellie’s eyes swung from the tree sprite’s back to mine. What I saw in her expression surprised me. Her entire face was glowing as if she’d just received the best compliment in the world.

I raised my eyebrows. Eighellie quickly looked down, but the damage was done.

Tiny explosions were going off in my head. Eighellie had a thing for Keegan. I mean, that shouldn’t be particularly shocking, since Keegan was a good guy. He was also a bit clunky, but it seemed as though Eighellie must not have minded.

Oh, boy, I thought. This was likely to change our friendship for sure.

But speaking of crushes, I didn’t have one these days. I had spent most of middle school suffering from unrequited crushes on cheerleaders, but when I had finally figured out that they only wanted football players – one of which I was not – I came to my senses.

At Public, it was easy enough to see that there were a lot of pretty girls at college. The fallen angels were pretty, the pixies were pretty, even some of the vampires were attractive if you didn’t mind sharp teeth. With all the divisiveness among the groups, though, there wasn’t much chance for relaxed socializing, and even college policy as a whole didn’t encourage it. Dobrov had explained to everyone that this year was a trial run at Public, and that if all went well, next year would be more like the old days. Next year we’d have dances and even some supervised parties. This year was bare-boned by design. We just had to get through both the reopening of the university and our hormones, apparently.

“Eighellie, so good of you to come!” exclaimed Dacer, unintentionally interrupting our little group dynamic. He had emerged from the ballroom and was speed walking past us, his arms pumping to give him momentum and his head turned sideways to meet our eyes. He wasn’t going to stop to talk, but he was certainly going to make his presence felt.

As Eighellie’s attention was claimed by Dacer, Keegan turned to me and started dancing a little jig and mouthing, “How do you like me now?”

We continued to stand in the entryway talking for a few minutes, glad to be reunited. I could have looked out on the decorated grounds for hours, but soon Dacer clapped his hands sharply.

“PLACES!” he cried.

The three of us exchanged glances. We had no idea where we were supposed to be, and Dacer, spotting our confusion, swept to a screeching halt and gave a gusty sigh. “You are supposed to be in the ballroom, because you are guests. Since you are here early, you can make it look populated, an important part of any party. Now, if you please?”

“Do you think he’s this stressed all the time?” Eighellie asked.

“No, only for special occasions,” I said. The three of us did as we were told and moved into the ballroom, which was decorated about as much as the rest of the place, only with the addition of a gigantic table complete with hundreds of place settings. The settings were all of silver and the napkins were in the shape of stars, as were many of the dishes.

“Food,” said Keegan.

“How eloquent,” said Eighellie.

Luckily, the three of us were sitting together at one of the side tables, the main table having been reserved for the real grownups. Dacer had asked if I wanted to sit with Charlotte, since being the brother of the bride was kind of a big deal, but I had told him I’d be just fine out of the way. He seemed to agree. “As a matter of fact, I think you’d thrive there,” he muttered.

We found our places and took our seats. Waiters bustled in and out constantly as the three of us talked quietly and other guests filtered in. General Goffer arrived, along with a second general and Cather. Several other paranormals entered, eyeing us curiously. Duchess Leonie had even threatened to make an appearance, a prospect that truly terrified her son.

“Is Queen Lanca coming?” Keegan asked. He knew that Charlotte was friends with the vampire queen, and after Averett had left campus to let her family know what had happened to Sip, Keegan had a new appreciation for the powerful circles Charlotte moved in.

“Dacer said that she and Vital are coming, but they like to arrive last. It’s fitting for their station, and safer, because then she isn’t just sitting around letting herself be a potential target,” I explained.

“Duckleworth is safe, though,” said Eighellie. “Maybe not for you two when you walk in the woods, but otherwise, surely it’s well protected.” Her voice trailed off into a half question.

Keegan and I exchanged glances. Last semester we had been walking in the forest, with Keegan talking on and on and telling me all sorts of facts about trees that I didn’t care about, when we had suddenly been attacked. The werewolf who had jumped Keegan had gotten away, but not before it had knocked him down and come close to savaging him. Dacer had examined the branch I’d used to hit it, but he had never told me what he discovered, if anything. Later that same night Zellie had attacked me, and I found it curious that I had never heard any explanation of the events of that day from either of them.

“Something’s wrong,” said Keegan, examining the room.

“What?” I asked, looking around to try and figure out what my friend was seeing. There was no sign yet of Charlotte or Keller, who I knew wanted to make an entrance once most of the guests were in their places. Bertrum also had yet to arrive, although I wasn’t convinced he was really coming anyhow.

“There aren’t any fallen angels,” said Eighellie instantly.

“Cather’s here,” I said, pointing out Keller’s old friend.

“Yeah, that’s one, but this is Keller Erikson we’re talking about,” she said. “He knows every fallen angel alive. His family is powerful, he has siblings, so where are they all? Shouldn’t his parents at least be here by now?”

I shifted uncomfortably. Now that Eighellie had pointed it out, I knew she was right. I looked around and tried to figure out what was going on, but I couldn’t see any more guests arriving, even through the door into the entrance, through which Dacer had disappeared some time ago.

As I peered out of the ballroom, though, none other than Dobrov Valedication arrived in company with a solidly built paranormal with salt and pepper hair. The companion was dressed all in black, more appropriately for cat burgling than for a party. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t quite place him at first.

“Wow,” said Keegan.

“Is that the only word you know how to use?” Eighellie demanded, following Keegan’s gaze.

“Wow,” she breathed.

“Told you,” said Keegan. “Opportunity for smugness number two and we’re only in minute five!”

“What are we wowing?” I asked. “Risper?”

“Um, yeah,” said Eighellie, turning to me with excitement. “You know him?”

“I’ve met him,” I said. After the Nocturn War I had met Lisabelle’s uncle briefly before he disappeared again. Charlotte refused to tell me much about what was happening with him, but the basic idea was that he was another badass darkness mage. I mean, he was related to Lisabelle, so obviously.

“He’s famous,” said Eighellie.

“Don’t you mean infamous?” asked Keegan.

“That too,” she said.

Dobrov nodded his head in our direction, while Risper ignored us. Eighellie sighed. “He’s wonderful. He’s the most famous bounty hunter in the world. I bet the Hunters would have loved to have him on their side.”

“What makes you think he isn’t?” Keegan said.

“Well, he’s not going to go against his niece like that, is he?” said Eighellie. “You don’t go against family.”

I thought Eighellie’s view might be a little rose-colored, though I didn’t say so out loud. All you had to do was look at Dobrov. He and his sister had gone against each other, and his sister had died. Dobrov would never be the same, for all that she had been super evil.

“At least two more paranormals have shown up,” sighed Keegan.

We looked around the ballroom. Until Keegan and Eighellie had said something, I hadn’t felt like there was anything wrong. This was my sister’s wedding celebration, after all, and she had a right to be happy. But now that my friends had pointed it out, I could see that the hall was awfully empty, especially of Eriksons.

The fact of the matter was that Keller’s family, which was now Charlotte’s, wasn’t coming. That knowledge now colored every aspect of this day.

At the end of the evening I gave Charlotte a hug and she smiled sadly at me. “I’m just sad for Keller,” she said. “Of course I wanted them all to be here, especially for the baby. They’re family, and it’s not as if there are a lot of Rollinses to make a big extended clan for the baby to grow up in. Keller was really hoping, and then they go and do this. And poor Dacer . . .”

“Where’d Keller go?” I asked.

“I think he went out back,” she said. “He might be flying around. You might want to take a broom.” I was a terrible flyer, but it wasn’t a big deal to fly around a back yard. I nodded, and after explaining to Keegan and Eighellie where I was going, I headed out. They didn’t care that I was leaving, they were too busy arguing about something or other, as per usual.

Most of the guests had left. Duchess Leonie had appeared at one point to, as she claimed, cheer everyone up. Later she had leaned over to me and said that Luc would have to think she was crazy to miss such a feast. She came down on the side of cheerfulness, but she really didn’t care as long as there was food. I thought she sounded a lot like a certain teenage tree sprite of my acquaintance.

The house still smelled wonderful, and all the party lights were still on. Star patterns were everywhere, but I had to wonder at the sort of paranormals who would do what the Eriksons had done, both to Keller and to Dacer. Maybe the fallen angels were not as kind as I had always been told, and had thought.

As I walked out of the ballroom I heard someone say, “Crying shame, but at least we get to eat!” A lot of the servants that Dacer had employed for the event were from the surrounding towns, and when we had ended up several hundred guests short, Dacer had given them permission to eat whatever they wanted.

The night was windless, dark, and cold, and the ground still had a snow cover despite the fact that it hadn’t snowed since I’d left Public. As I went outside I saw Dacer in the yard throwing balls for Crumple, Useless, and some of the other dogs, looking like he didn’t want to be disturbed. Crumple stopped for a moment to look at me, but then another ball took his attention and the moment was broken.

I wondered if the dog could smell the sadness on me. Basically I was fine, but I felt awful for Charlotte and Keller. My sister in particular had been looking forward to this night and to Keller’s happiness at having his family celebrate with him. The evening had not gone as planned.

I inhaled deeply and watched my breath come out in a thick, white fog. Scanning the sky, I decided that Keller must be flying high over the clouds. I had thought he’d be visible, soaring in front of the stars, but half of the sky was overcast, and at first there was no sign of him. I walked further and further away from the house, closer to the forest and away from the lights of Duckleworth, trying to catch sight of him.

At first I wondered if he had actually left the castle and gone to see his parents, to ask them why they had done what they did. But I doubted he would have left Charlotte at such a time, and she wouldn’t have approved of such foolery anyhow, of that I was sure.

Suddenly I saw a dark shape looming. At first I thought it might be a fire bird, but on closer inspection I saw that the wings were the wrong shape. I had taken Charlotte’s suggestion and brought a broom, though with no particular relish, and now I forced myself to mount it. I was bad on a broom, and I wished I could just use the air, since I was an elemental, but I knew I didn’t have that kind of control. Anyhow, Keller might not appreciate being buffeted out of the air by massive gusts of wind. So broom-riding it was.

I took to the night and soared upwards, trying to catch the exceptional fallen angel flyer who was my brother-in-law. At first it was impossible. He hadn’t seen me, so he just kept wheeling around at a frantic pace, circling over and over, not pausing or changing course. I was hoping for his sake that the speed was alleviating some of his frustration, but it didn’t seem likely that anything could on such short notice.

After what was starting to feel like a fruitless chase, I finally caught him, only because he saw me and stopped what he was doing. For a second I had the feeling that he wanted to race in the opposite direction, but then he glided toward me.

He came slowly, as if he needed the time to compose himself.

“Hey,” he said. His skin was very pale, but his cheeks were flushed in a way that reminded me of Lough, and I had a sharp pang of missing our dream giver friend.

“Hey,” I said.

“Not a fan of brooms, huh?” he asked with a little smile.

“How can you tell?” I said.

“The white knuckles were a tipoff,” he said.

I tried to loosen my grip, but then I felt like I was falling off. “Yeah, sorry,” I said. “I didn’t want to wave you down.”

“Thanks,” said Keller. “I’m not ready to come down yet.”

“Yeah,” I said. I sucked at this this cheering up stuff.