Elemental Shining (Paranormal Public Series) (6 page)

“That, and because you would be treated like a celebrity,” said Sip, moving on to my desk.

“Sip, leave those papers alone. I like my controlled chaos. It’s calming to be able to count on something.”

“But who’s controlling it?” Sip asked, starting to straighten. I eyed her skeptically but didn’t argue.

“Why was New York crazy?” I asked. Something was troubling Sip and now it was her turn to vent.

“I’m not sure,” she said, concentrating on my desk. “One of my brothers is there and he’s been . . . weird.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you know how paranormals can’t drink? Or at least it’s one of those terrible ideas, right up there with fake nails and watching the Simpsons.”

“Yeah,” I said. “Is your brother drinking?”

“No,” she said. “Well, I guess I don’t entirely know, but I don’t think so. I think . . . I think it’s drugs.” She said it so quietly I had to lean forward to hear her. Her face was white and her lips were one thin line.

“Are you sure?”

“No,” she said. “I didn’t, like, see him doing anything or look through his stuff. But the way he was acting was pretty weird. I wanted to tell my parents, but I didn’t want to get him in trouble. He’s only twenty, and I know a lot of stuff goes on in New York, a lot of temptations, not like here. He never wanted school. He was just here for a year and then he left, so I understand he’s there doing his thing and that’s fine. I don’t want to ruin that. I just want him to be okay.”

“How was he acting?”

“He was saying strange things. He had a hard time focusing, and then he would get really, super angry and I had no idea why. It was over nothing. I don’t know. I just don’t know. On top of that he was talking about how some rare artifact was close to being found or something. I don’t know. We will probably hear more about it soon.”

She sighed and fiddled with some stuff on my desk. “I’m sure it will be fine,” she said, composing herself. “I know I like to worry.”

“Maybe he’s just having a hard summer and it’s not drugs at all?” I offered.

“Maybe. I’m going to ask Lisabelle about it, and maybe Trafton.”

“Trafton certainly gives off the fountain of wisdom vibe,” I drawled.

“Because Lisabelle knows a lot about bad stuff for the body, potions and poisons and such, and Trafton is the kind of guy who would hang out with that sort of unsavory crowd. If there’s crap going on, he knows something about it.”

“You should tell Trafton that’s your logic when you ask him.” I grinned.

I had almost forgotten about Trafton over the summer. I hadn’t talked to him, although Lisabelle had mentioned that he called her periodically. She said she would temporarily forget how to answer her phone.

I knew he liked her, but I wasn’t sure how much of that was because he enjoyed pissing Lough off. It didn’t matter, because Lisabelle was having none of any of it.

“Does Lanca even have a sister named Dirr?” Sip asked. She could see that I had become distracted again by the dream.

I glanced quickly at her. “Yeah, I checked. She does.”

“Has Lanca ever mentioned her to you by name?” Sip asked. She looked afraid to ask.

“I don’t think so, Sip. I really don’t.” I exhaled a deep breath.

The day passed slowly. Sip left to go get their room ready for Lisabelle, and I had a horrible feeling that it might mean more neon room decorations. Lisabelle might talk big, but she handled living with Sip amazingly well, probably because she had instituted quiet hours. I remembered that conversation well.

“I need some quiet time at night,” Lisabelle had said. “In case you didn’t notice, I’m an introvert. I need to be alone to recharge.”

“Okay,” said Sip, waving airily toward the wall. “You can plug yourself into a wall here and do that.”

“Awesome,” Lisabelle said dryly.

“How much quiet time will you need?” Sip asked. She sat on the edge of her bed, her hands folded in her lap. Her polite position and attentive posture belied a backbone of steel.

“That depends,” said Lisabelle. “How much are you planning on being in the room?”

Somehow the two of them managed.

“We will make a social person of you yet, Lisabelle,” Sip had said gleefully.

“Not if I can help it,” Lisabelle had said.

A little later in the day Keller showed up. I hadn’t seen him all summer and by now I missed him terribly. I was in the ballroom dusting the glass case that Keller had showed me during my first semester at Public, the same case where I had later picked up a silver mirror and seen a vision. I heard the front door open but I didn’t pay much attention; I just assumed it was Mrs. Swan. But when I heard the ballroom door open behind me, I knew who it was and I didn’t hesitate. I threw down my cloth and darted to greet him. I had been crabby and tense recently and I knew at least some of it had been simply because I missed him.

And now he was here.

Just the sight of him stepping through the door, tall and strong, with his dark hair, bright blue eyes, and skin slightly tanned from the summer, made me giddy.

But then I paused, suddenly unsure. We hadn’t spoken all summer, because he had been on some sort of specialized research mission for the fallen angels, acting as an apprentice somewhere deep in the valleys of Locke, in Canada. He hadn’t been able to communicate with me at all for fear of disrupting the spells he and his mentor had set in place.

Our lack of communication had frustrated me, because I had felt like we left our relationship up in the air at the end of spring semester. Now he was here, standing right in front of me. I halted a few feet away from him, our eyes drinking each other in.

“Hi,” I breathed, trying to contain my excitement.

What if he didn’t feel the same way anymore? What if he had met some cute Canadian fallen angel and forgotten all about me?

“Hi,” he said, his eyes bright.

I twisted my hands behind my back. I didn’t like feeling shy and awkward. “How were your travels?”

He shrugged, his eyes still on mine. “Too long.”

“Too long?” I repeated stupidly.

“Yes.”

“For what?”

“To be away from you.”

I threw myself at him. Not even kidding—with pure happiness I leaped into his arms. It was the most athletic thing I had ever done in my life. Ricky, a great baseball player, would have been proud. My arms closed around Keller’s neck, and his locked on my waist. Laughing, he tried to steady us, but he quickly gave up and we simply sank to the ground. I sat on his lap, his mouth found mine, and I forgot to think about anything else for a few minutes.

“Why are you two on the floor and Keller is feeling up your arms?” Lisabelle asked from the doorway. “I thought he knew better than that.”

Keller’s hands were indeed rubbing up and down my arms, but he pulled away a little to get a look at my darkness friend.

“Hi Lisabelle,” he said. “Nice summer?”

“No, thank you for asking,” said Lisabelle, folding her arms over her chest.

“I had planned to meet you,” I told her. “You look funny so tall.”

“I never look funny,” said Lisabelle. “And you didn’t show.”

“We came looking for you,” said Keller, helping me sit. I leaned into the crook of his arm, taking comfort from his solid presence. He was solid and real and we were together again. All my fears and worries about him all summer melted away in the circle of his strong arms.

“Sip told me you had a bad dream last night,” said Lisabelle, coming into the hall as Keller sprang to his feet and then helped me rise. “What was it like dreaming about me as a violent, snide, and manipulative human being with murderous tendencies?” she asked.

“Pretty accurate, I’d say,” replied Sip before I could answer. She was peering around Lisabelle’s shoulder and she had meant it as a joke, but something about it stabbed me in the heart.

“Maybe it would be better if we moved into Astra,” said Lisabelle. “Easier to look after you and wake you up from your nightmares if we’re here.”

“No, no” I protested, sitting up a little straighter. “This semester is going to be fine.”

“Clearly,” said Lisabelle, raising one of her black eyebrows.

“Come on, Old Woman,” said Sip, helping me stand while Keller continued to support me. “The Committee wants to see you.”

I gulped. Before I left the ballroom I glanced at the mirror as it lay in the case. Keller had told me to leave it there, not wanting any of us to touch it before we could ask Mrs. Swan or Dacer what exactly had happened. Locked inside its depths was a vision of murder that I had almost been a part of. Now it lay there, alone and innocent looking, but I knew the truth. The demons were everywhere. And it was only a matter of time.

Keller, Sip, and Lisabelle walked me to the Committee members’ office, which was now called the Deans’ Den.

“How do you feel about the Committee staying on and continuing to govern Public?” Sip asked as we walked. It was entirely dark now and the air outside was warm and wet, one of summer’s last battles to win the night before fall took over. I felt safe walking with my three friends and I threw my head back to look up at the stars.

“I’m glad they’re sticking around,” said Lisabelle. “Uncle Risper isn’t in as much danger here as when he’s out in the field hunting.”

Lisabelle’s Uncle Risper, one of the four Committee members representing each wheel of the paranormals, was a bounty hunter, one of the most successful and most feared. The other deans were Professor Erikson, Keller’s aunt and a powerful fallen angel; Dove, a by-the-book vampire, unlike my mentor Dacer, who ran the Museum of Masks and was just about as far from your typical vampire as anyone could be (yesterday he had braided daisies into his hair and worn a suit of gold to work); and Oliva, formerly known as Lealand, the young pixie representative. The elementals should have had a dean too, but since there were none to fill that role, the seat was left empty. There had been whispers that I should do it, but of course none of the senior paranormals would allow any such thing.

“You think Public is safe?” Sip asked, raising her eyebrows. “What gave it away? All those demon attacks?”

“The safest place for paranormals is where the Power of Five is active,” said Lisabelle confidently. “There’s only one place left like that.”

None of us said anything at first. Lisabelle was right, but I couldn’t help but hate it.

“That might be true, but it also puts everyone here in danger,” I said, after a moment of thought. “The demons wouldn’t have been attacking Public in the first place if I hadn’t been here. If I were somewhere else, everyone at Public would be safe.”

“Don’t be silly,” said Lisabelle. “You put us in danger, but you also give us hope. We have to protect you and we want to.”

“I bet Camilla doesn’t want to,” I said grimly.

“Camilla is an idiot,” said Lisabelle. “She couldn’t find a book in a library.”

“‘Pixies are wonderful’ is something no werewolf said, ever,” Sip muttered.

We reached the house that the deans were using for their Deans’ Den. I paused outside, relieved that they weren’t using the same building that the President had inhabited. I didn’t want to look at the pond near the President’s small brown house, the same pond where my mom had appeared, at least not today, when so much had already happened.