Elemental Shining (Paranormal Public Series) Read online

  “Sit down, Sip,” said Lisabelle. “Your hackles are raised.”

  Sip stood for another few seconds, then slowly pulled her chair around and sat back down. Turning to Risper she said, “You may continue.”

  Risper raised his eyebrows, but when all Sip did was cross her arms and wait, Risper started talking again. “The unusual paranormals,” he said, “or the sixth class, don’t factor into the power of Five, obviously. Examples of these include Tempests and Fiends. The sixth class, as you know, is not represented at Public. It is too small and too . . . unusual.”

  I leaned over to Sip. “What’s a Tempest?”

  Sip rolled her eyes.

  “Tempests are wild creatures. They hate the demons with a passion, which is good, because the demons are targeting them next.”

  “Next?” I asked.

  Sip’s eyes filled with worry. “After they take care of all of the elementals.”

  “Now,” continued Risper, ignoring my little exchange with Sip, “some of the main issues of contention among paranormals have included artifacts of power and decision-making powers. Can anyone think of a pressing decision paranormals might be fighting over currently?”

  Sip’s hand shot into the air.

  Risper looked past her to Daisy, who had also raised her hand.

  “The demons want the elemental dead,” she said. Her voice was dull and flat. There was no sense of any emotional response, not even anger.

  “Can you say that any more eloquently?” Camilla sneered. “Really, Starters just know nothing at all.”

  “Since you know so much, Ms. Van Rothson, maybe you could elaborate on Daisy’s point?”

  “Yes, of course,” said Camilla, smiling.

  “No, need,” said Daisy. “I can say more. The demons are trying to exterminate the paranormals. All of us. If you have darkness magic, if you are a mage—like you, Professor, or that thing of a niece of yours—or if you are a vampire, you have a slight chance of not dying a slow and painful death, but if you are neither of those then you are pretty much a goner. Elementals are the first to go. Now there’s just one left.” Daisy’s lifeless eyes locked on me.

  “Don’t stare back at her,” said Lisabelle.

  “Why not?” I whisper-shouted back. “You would.”

  “I can pull it off,” said Lisabelle.

  Daisy continued to look at me. There was no emotion at all. She was like a hull, a husk of a paranormal, freakish in her total lack of empathy or caring. It was disconcerting in the extreme. Not to mention her brother, who never looked up, not even at the sound of his sister’s voice. Instead, he continued to use a long hunting knife to carve symbols into his desk. Risper ignored him. It was probably a small price to pay for not having to have a direct interaction with the hybrid.

  “He’s really good with that knife,” I said to Lisabelle.

  “Yup,” said Lisabelle. “We should start a list of all the crazy people on campus who want you dead.”

  “Maybe it should be a list of everyone who doesn’t,” said Lough. When we all looked at him he shrugged. “It’d be shorter. They’re starting to blame Charlotte for what’s happening.”

  “Are you three talking about something you care to share with the class?” Risper’s voice cut in icily. “Or are you really laboring under the delusion that it’s alright to wander off on tangents while I’m teaching?”

  “Sorry, professor,” the three of us chorused.

  “And the artifacts?”

  Lisabelle raised her hand and her uncle called on her. “The Map Silver,” she said. “If that were to fall into demon hands none of us would be safe.”

  “So?”

  “So, it makes it very difficult to decide what to do with it,” said Lisabelle. “Used for the right purposes, like finding other missing artifacts, it’s invaluable. Used for the wrong purposes it’s the most deadly of weapons.”

  Unfortunately, Risper was interrupted before he could continue. He had just turned back to face the class when the door burst open and Zervos burst in, wild-eyed.

  “They need you instantly at Dean’s Den,” Zervos barked.

  “How dare you barge in here and interrupt my class!” Risper shot back.

  “It’s urgent,” said Zervos, breathing hard. “Very urgent.”

  A look passed between the two, so brief I barely noticed it before it disappeared, but it was definitely there. Risper suddenly burst into action. He left his papers on his desk and raced past Zervos, who stumbled out of his way, still looking out of breath. It took the vampire a few seconds before he realized that forty pairs of student eyes were staring at him.

  “What do you think you’re all looking at?” Zervos demanded.

  “Is he coming back?” Lisabelle asked.

  “Of course you want to know,” Zervos sneered. “You think that because you’re the niece of one of the deans you can just demand to know anything you want.”

  Lisabelle’s face turned stony and her eyes hardened. She and Zervos hated each other with a passion. When Sip had heard that we had a class with Zervos this semester she had almost cried. Luckily, it was only once a week, a gathering to discuss our Tactical outcomes. I had a feeling he was going to be very hard on my team and all the teams that my friends were on.

  There was a soft tap at the door and Zervos’s face fell. “I guess he showed up after all,” he grumbled.

  Without waiting for Zervos to answer it, the door seemed to swing open on its own. A couple of gasps went up from the students when they saw who appeared. The new professor we had heard rumors about, Jenkins, was standing there grinning. He was an old friend of Risper’s and had come as a visiting professor for this semester. Lisabelle said they had been best friends for years. He was tall and elegant, but he didn’t look delicate. In fact, he looked like he would do very well in a fight, even against a legend like Risper himself.

  “Hi there,” he said. “I heard you needed a stand-in for your errant professor.”

  “He’s on an important mission,” Zervos growled. “I can’t believe it happened.”

  Jenkins face turned serious. “You’re right,” he said quietly. “But if anyone can figure out what happened and what to do about it, it’s Risper.”

  Zervos chewed on his lip, then muttered something about foolish bounty hunters and foolish paranormals.

  “He better fix it,” he said. “That’s all I have to say.” He looked around the room, his eyes scanning each of our faces. “Good luck with this bunch. Good for nothings almost every last one of them. You better hope Risper comes back soon.” And with that he stormed out.

  Jenkins’s face never altered from placid indifference. He nodded a goodbye to Zervos without so much as batting an eye at the other’s hostility, then turned to face us, smiling pleasantly. His hair was a tawny brown that had yet to go gray, even though Risper’s hair had turned salt and pepper. His eyes were also brown and shaped like almonds, and he had a wide mouth, made for smiling. Like Risper he wore simple clothing, dark khakis and a white button down shirt, as if to hint that he might fit in well on a safari. I would have to ask Lisabelle later how the two had met. They seemed an unlikely pair; as far as first impressions went, they looked like opposites. Jenkins was kind and peppy, almost bouncing when he stepped, while Risper was cold and hard, giving the impression that he was battled-tested and had come through victorious.

  “Now, I suppose you’d all like to know a little bit about me if I’m to be your teacher,” Jenkins grinned, flashing his perfectly white teeth. He chuckled. “I mean professor. Here it is: I’ve been a professor for going on ten years now. Before that I worked for the government in the Paranormal Peace division. It’s a very hush hush division and when I got out I never wanted to go back. But let me just say, they work hard to keep the demons at bay and for that we should all be grateful.”

  Sip’s hand shot into the air.

  “Yes, Ms. . . . ?”

  “Quest,” said Sip.

  “Ah, I had
no idea the Quest family had a girl,” said Jenkins, stopping his pacing to lean casually against the edge of his desk.

  “Mom and Dad finally got lucky,” said Sip, grinning.

  Jenkins threw back his head and laughed. It was a large laugh that consumed his body and expanded throughout the room. I liked him instantly. He was more dynamic and promised to be more fun than the stiff Risper.

  “Very good, Ms. Quest. What’s your question?” He crossed his arms over his chest and waited, fixing his brown eyes on Sip.

  “What good does the Paranormal Peace division do if demons are always attacking Public?”

  “If you’re referring to last semester, I can’t necessarily tell you, because I had long been just an ordinary paranormal by that time. But I do believe that the demons were assessed to be a low threat level and therefore were not thought to merit a confrontation.”

  “So, the Peace Division left us on our own to be slaughtered,” said Sip. “Charming.”

  “I can assure you,” said Jenkins, some of his serious air returning, “that no one would have left Public in a vulnerable state had they known that’s what they were doing. The children of powerful paranormals attend this college, and it would be remiss to assume that those powerful individuals aren’t very vigilant about their protection.”

  Sip nodded, but she didn’t look convinced. I thought it had been very bold of her to ask.

  “Now,” said Jenkins, “since I’m sure Risper will return at any moment, let’s practice something fun before he does, just so I can say I really did teach his class.”

  Jenkins rolled up his sleeves. “I should mention that my talent lies with physical objects. And, by the way, the elementals were famous for imbuing physical objects with power. It’s a complicated process and one that the elementals were well suited for. The most famous objects that have been made the target of such power, as I believe Ms. Rollins knows, are the masks.”

  Jenkins turned his eyes to me. I was surprised that he knew who I was, but I guess I shouldn’t have been. Not knowing what to say, I merely nodded.

  “We won’t be doing anything so impressive today,” said Jenkins. “Just a little ring work.” I glanced down at the blue Astra ring on my hand. I had come to rely on it as a lifeline to the elemental world. I was excited to use it.

  “Hold out your rings,” said Jenkins, as he followed his own instruction. His ring was the deep green of the pixies. He was a pixie? I thought in surprise. He was too big, and not green at all, but that was their color.

  “Yes, I know,” he said, a crooked smile on his face, “I don’t look like a pixie. But never mind that, let’s just continue. With your other hand, cover your ring and close your eyes. I want you to think that you are in the dark and that you need your ring not only for light, but for heat. Winter is coming and we can never be too warm.”

  I did as I was told, resisting the urge to peek.

  After several minutes of concentrating, my head was starting to pound furiously. This was hard work.

  “Okay, without taking your hands off your rings, open your eyes,” Jenkins instructed.

  I did as I was told, looking around bleary-eyed at my classmates.

  “Now, move your hands,” he said. My hand was so hot at that point that I could barely keep it in my ring. When I revealed my ring, a burst of light went up, casting away any shadows.

  “Very good,” said Jenkins, grinning. “Very good indeed.”

  “Now, if only the rest of the semester could be that easy,” murmured Lisabelle. “But I highly doubt it will be.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  The next three days passed uneventfully. Tactical was scheduled for Friday night; Risper, who had run Tactical last semester, still wasn’t back from his mysterious errand. I had my other classes and liked them well enough, but I was kept so busy with my work that I wasn’t able to slip out to the Long Building to practice. That changed on Thursday night.

  Sophomore year had started off well, I thought as I walked to Keller’s. Classes were over for the day, and I wanted to visit Aurum. Keller had been working a lot on healing this semester and I could see why. Everything about Aurum was light and soothing, a product of the fallen angels’ natural impulse to fix things. I enjoyed being there almost as much as I enjoyed Astra.

  Reports had been coming in all week of demon attacks, but no demons had been sighted at Public. My mind had locked on the notion that the demons were out attacking other places because they had failed at Public. The thought made me sick to my stomach, because if it hadn’t been for me, none of this would be happening. On the bright side, at least there had been no more dreams. But still, whenever I tried to shake off the dark thoughts they only came back twice as strong.

  When I got to Aurum, Keller’s tall and wiry friend Nate let me in.

  “Hey, Charlotte,” he said with a big smile. Nate was nice. So nice it was hard to be around him sometimes. Going from him to Lisabelle was like going between an ice bath and a gate of fire.

  “Hey,” I said. “How are you?”

  Nate shrugged. “Good, professors working us too hard. They’re desperately trying to get us all to learn how to heal. I think they’re worried about the demons, but there just isn’t anyone left on campus with any injuries.”

  I laughed. “I guess we can’t wish pain and suffering on anyone.”

  “No,” said Nate, seriously, “but we might get what we wished for come the time for Tactical trials. I can’t believe they’re sending us outside the walls. Especially you.”

  I nodded. I had noticed that too and I didn’t like it.

  “I’m sure it will be fine,” I said, even though I didn’t believe it.

  “Keller’s in his room,” said Nate, pointing at the stairs.

  I headed up, my feet landing softly on the white carpet. As I reached the top of the third flight of stairs, I saw Keller’s door open and a blond head slip out.

  “Hi, Charlotte,” Vanni bubbled while the door was still open. Her eyes were large and her face was pale, but she gave me a big smile.

  “Hi,” I said, staring at her. I knew that she and Keller lived in the same place, but . . . I hadn’t really thought about her hanging out in his room.

  “Hey,” said Keller, appearing at the door. He wore jeans and a blue t-shirt, which brought out his blue eyes. Even dressed casually he was the best-looking guy I had ever seen.

  “Hi,” I said. “I just came by—”

  I couldn’t finish. I had come by because tonight was the night I was going to sneak out to the Long Building and practice stuff that the deans had told me I wasn’t allowed to practice.

  “Yeah, come in,” he said, opening the door wider.

  “I was just leaving,” said Vanni, and she darted off down the hall, giving one last look at Keller over her pretty shoulder.

  “Was she crying?” I asked Keller, following him into his room. He had a single, which was a big deal on campus.

  Keller rubbed the back of his neck. “Charlotte,” he began—then stopped.

  My stomach dropped. He was done with me. We had never even decided we were in a relationship and now he was done with me. My heart was going to stop right then and there.

  “Wow,” I said. “What? Are you ending it? We never even started. I know stuff has been crazy, like, really crazy, and as an elemental I can’t exactly, I mean, it’s hard, but you can’t, just because some cute blond girl simpers at you?” I was frantic now. Keller and Vanni? No way. Come on.

  Keller put his arms on my shoulders. Just the nearness of him made it hard for me to think.

  “Hey,” he said softly. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “Having cute single Starters who give you googly eyes hang out in your room isn’t exactly comforting,” I muttered bitterly.

  Keller laughed. “You think she’s cute? Nice of you.”

  I shoved his shoulder. “Shut up, Keller.”

  He laughed and wrapped his arms around me.

  �
�She wanted to know if you and I were dating,” he said into my ear.

  I stiffened. It wasn’t that I wanted to be official with Keller so that girls like Vanni would leave him alone, because I knew all too well that a lot of girls liked going after guys who already had someone.

  “She’s not that cute,” I muttered.

  Keller just laughed quietly.

  “What did you tell her?” I asked. My heart had basically stopped beating and I fought the urge to grab his shirt and hold on for dear life.

  Keller paused. “I told her I had to talk to you, but it was whatever you wanted as long as you wanted it.”

  “So, you’d be fine just hooking up?” I asked incredulously.

  Keller pulled back enough to see my face. “It’s not what I want. I know my aunt is being . . . unpleasant, but I’ve made it clear to her, and to my parents too, that I’m on your side. The idea that I have to marry a fallen angel is antiquated.”

  “Marry?” I squeaked.

  He grinned. “Not that we should get ahead of ourselves. And Charlotte,” he said seriously, “I’m not with you just as some sort of rebellion from my family. I had no idea they would react this way to you. I think part of is it that they don’t want me to get hurt. As an elemental you have a destiny that will be hard, but. . . .”

  “I know,” I said. “I never doubted that.”

  His aunt had been nasty to me last semester and he had stood up for me. I knew it must have cost him. He hadn’t said anything about his parents’ reaction, but I was sure they weren’t happy either. Now he was proposing that we date, officially. Maybe other students knew we were together in some fashion already, but this was different.

  “Are you sure you want to bring that down on yourself?” I asked quietly. “I don’t have family to approve or disapprove of what I do. I wish I did. Just Ricky, but he doesn’t really count for this. My little brother is NOT deciding who I date. You do, and you’re going to defy them?”

  “Do you want me not to?” Keller asked. “This time, they’re wrong.”

  I thought about that. Of course I wanted him to.