Elemental Dawn (Paranormal Public) (28 page)

“Of course you’re okay,” he said,
laughing while he nearly cried. “Thank the day.”

I pulled back to look at him.
“How are you so clean?” I asked in wonder. His clothing was perfectly pressed
and there wasn’t a spot of dirt on him anywhere. He no longer wore the vampire
ceremonial robes, but had somehow found the time to change into a plain white
shirt. His pants still held color, though: sunbursts and lilies against a blue
sky.

“Is that really a fighting
outfit?” Sip asked, raising one nearly white eyebrow skeptically.

Dacer looked down his long nose
at her. “I’m always ready to fight, young werewolf. Appearances can be
deceiving. If only others had followed my lead.” He eyed Vital critically.

“Some of us were busy,” said
Vital. The vampire bodyguard looked tired, but his eyes still burned. There
were cuts on his hands and arms and a bruise the size of a fist had formed on
his jaw. His black hair was coming loose from his ponytail and his shirt had a
reddish streak drying on it. I had a feeling I knew what it was. I quickly
looked away.

“Dacer stashed a change of
clothes here a long time ago. He was ready for this eventuality.” The quiet
voice came from King Daemon’s chair. I turned in surprise as the chair spun
around, having thought that Vital and Dacer were alone in the study.

Queen Lanca stared back at me out
of a pale face. The lines around her eyes were pinched and her lips were
pressed into a thin line. Her white dress was covered in blast residue and
ripped to reveal the white silk pants she wore underneath. There was not a
scratch on her, but she had the same telltale signs of blood on her dress that
Vital had, as if she had cradled a dying paranormal..

“Queen Lanca.” Dobrov, quiet
until that moment, gave a deep bow of respect.

“Dobrov,” she murmured, inclining
her head. “Thank you for bringing my friends to me.”

“Of course,” said Dobrov. “I
would say it is my pleasure, but it is a mixture of that and duty.”

“I understand,” said Lanca, still
in that quiet and restrained voice. There was a slight rasp, as if she had been
crying - or screaming. “I respect the sacrifices you are making.” Dobrov nodded
once, and I wondered what exactly she was talking about. But more than that, I
wondered if she was real. I had no idea what was going on, but Lisabelle did.

“So, Dirr died?” Lisabelle asked,
her eyes filled with sadness and something that looked remarkably like
sympathy.

Lanca’s lower lip trembled
slightly and Vital gave Lisabelle a ferocious glare.

“We have to know,” said
Lisabelle. “We have to find the Fang and we have to get out of here.”

“Dirr died,” Lanca confirmed,
“protecting me. She didn’t understand that I was the one who . . . who . . .
was supposed to protect her.” I now saw Lanca as a puzzle, very delicately held
together and as if the least little wind or bump could shatter her into a
thousand pieces.

Sip moved fast. Vital didn’t stop
her. The werewolf wrapped her tiny arms around Lanca and held on. After a brief
struggle the queen let her friend hold her, but she still didn’t cry. Vital
looked away. I had the distinct feeling that Sip was doing something that he
desperately wanted to do himself but could not.

“Oh, Lanca,” I breathed.

“She was always trying to protect
everyone,” said Lanca, shaking her head angrily. “I told her we could take care
of ourselves. Even you . . .” She pointed toward me and I started.

“What do you mean? When did she
protect me?” I asked.

“She locked you and Keller in the
basement,” Lanca explained, dabbing at her eyes with a black handkerchief. “She
only told me right before the coronation. I was going to tell you afterward.
She felt bad about it and didn’t really think it through, but she was hoping
you would be stuck down there for days. I told her that you had paranormals
protecting you and that drawing you away from them was actually dangerous. But
she was
so
stubborn, it was hard to make
her listen. She also stopped at Sip’s on the way back to Locke after dad died, just
to check on the three of you. She said she gave you all a fright, but she was
too shy to come forward. Little idiot.”

“I wondered about that,” said
Lisabelle thoughtfully. “I had thought that if Charlotte were in danger she
would have been hurt, but she wasn’t. Sip’s house also makes sense. The
presence I sensed was not hostile.”

“It was Dirr,” said Lanca. Her
eyes moist. “Trying to help. Always trying to help.” She choked on a sob and
buried her face in Sip’s shoulder. Vital started forward, then stopped, looking
on helplessly.

“Dacer,” I murmured. “Did Faci
kill Dirr?”

Dacer nodded soberly. “He was
aiming for Lanca, of course, but Dirr saw the danger and stepped in front.
Little idiot. Faci, or Castov, also killed King Daemon or at least tipped the demons
off so that they could kill him. It is the only explanation.”

“She should have let me do it,”
Vital growled. “We saw Faci at the same moment. She shoved me out of the way.
She had no right to protect my life. My life is worth nothing in comparison.”

“Wouldn’t she just have become
queen?” I asked. “Sacrificing one princess for another?”

“She didn’t think herself fit to
rule,” said Lanca. “You have to make hard choices as queen, take hard lines and
have a backbone of steel. At least that’s how my dad raised us. But that wasn’t
Dirr. At heart, Dirr was sweet and good.”

“What happened to Dove and Oliva
and Keller’s aunt?” I asked. “Shouldn’t they be with you?” I had thought maybe
they had stayed to fight after all.

As Dobrov had said, most of the
senior paranormals had left at the time of the battle, but the halls made it
clear that many paranormals hadn’t escaped. While we had been safely in the
crypt, a massacre had taken place at Locke. I wasn’t sure I would ever forget
the stench of rotting flesh.

“They went back to Public,” Dacer
confirmed. “They wanted to get the school ready in case. . . .”

“In case it is attacked?”

“If you die it will be attacked,”
said Dacer, his eyes serious. “If you live it is less likely.”

“Then you would think they would
be here trying to protect me,” I said dryly.

“Paranormals can only do so
much,” said Dacer, running his fingers through his hair. “They didn’t know
where you were, and the thought was that a large group isn’t always optimal.
You’re a bigger target when you move around with many. When it’s just the trio,
or as I have started to call you the triumvirate, it’s easier. Also, Professor
Erikson thought that surely her nephew, your boyfriend, would convince you to
do the safe thing and leave. She knows nothing of the objects of the wheel.”

“I shouldn’t have involved you in
that,” said Lanca, her shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry. The Fang is mine to
protect. I think that’s partly what Dirr was thinking. She knew that I knew
where the Fang was, and that I could protect it. She didn’t have the same
confidence in herself.”

“That has all worked out so
well,” said Lisabelle. “If only Charlotte weren’t so hard-headed.” Before Sip
could say anything Lisabelle waved a hand at her. “I know, I know. You blame
me. What else is new.”

“Not much,” said Sip,
straight-faced.

“So, you have the Fang?” I asked
Lanca, intense relief flooding me. I had had visions of a quest through Locke,
tripping over bodies and avoiding the paranormals Malle had sent to kill me,
and all of it a waste of time because Malle had already found the Fang.

“I know where it is,” said Lanca,
nodding. “It is safe.”

“So, we can all go home,” said
Sip, clapping her hands together. “Wonderful.”

“No,” said Lanca. “We can’t go
home until Faci is dead.”

“Yeah, that’s right, why are you
hiding here?”

“Because Castov has turned the
Rapiers against me. The only way I can get their respect back is to challenge
Faci and win,” Lanca explained. “I am queen. Now I have to earn it.”

“Couldn’t one of us kill him for
you?” Lisabelle offered. “I would rather enjoy that.”

Lanca shook her head. “Normally
it isn’t the queen’s duty. She would appoint a surrogate.” Her eyes flicked to
Vital, but she didn’t say anything. “However, he killed my sister. There is no
forgiving that.”

“Alright,” I said. “The Fang is
safe. Let’s go.”

“Oh, no,” said Lanca. “This is
not your fight. Faci might have tried to kill me to gain power, but that
doesn’t have anything to do with you. President Malle should never have been
here. I should never have allowed her at Locke. You’ve spent enough time with
your life at risk. You should go to Public and start the semester.”

“No way,” I said firmly. “I’m
seeing this through. Dirr was my friend too and I need to show the darkness
mages and the Rapiers who have gone over to their side that I’m not afraid of
them.”

“Big words,” said Lisabelle,
rubbing her hands together. “I like it. Let’s go fight.”

It wasn’t hard to find Faci and
the Rapiers who followed him. He was still at the top of Locke, no doubt
plotting how to kill Lanca, since she wouldn’t marry him. To say that he was
surprised to see us was an understatement.

“This might not have been such a
good idea,” said Sip, looking around. There were at least thirty vampires, not
to mention a couple of other paranormals who could only be darkness mages. I
saw one pixie, but she was trying to hide.

“Sorry, we’re not going to talk
about this,” said Lanca as Faci came forward with a smirk. Without another
second’s warning, Lanca raised her arms. Faci shouldn’t have waited until after
she was crowned to kill her. She now had the full weight of the Rapiers’
ancient royal powers behind her.

Faci wore a black hat over his
bald head and his clothes were unwrinkled. He had even taken the time to shower
at some point since he had heartlessly murdered Lanca’s sister. He stood with
his feet apart and his hands at his sides, confident and relaxed. His sunken
eyes were alight with triumph.

Lanca grew before my eyes. Her
arms lengthened and she grew taller and more imposing. Her eyes, almost black,
widened until there were no pupils left.

Faci paused for a split second.

It was a mistake, but I could no
longer watch. Other vampires and darkness mages were coming after us.

The battle would be a bloodbath.
Lisabelle and Sip closed in on either side of me, while Dacer came forward.

Vital looked to his queen.

“Vital,” Lanca said, never taking
her cold eyes away from Faci. “Don’t worry about me. It is not my day to die.”

I hadn’t realized how many
darkness mages had stayed to fight, but now that they all stood together, black
power emanating from them, their wands raised in readiness, I saw that we were
hopelessly outnumbered. There were only seven of us; there were at least fifty
of them. I looked for a familiar face, but the only one I recognized was Daisy.
She lounged toward the back, looking extremely bored. Just like her brother,
she had kept her clothing spotless. I felt sure she hadn’t spent the night
sleeping on the cold ground. I also recognized Doblan, the fallen angel who had
tried to get us killed on the car ride to Locke. He was the first fallen angel
to turn to the Nocturns, but with a sinking feeling in my heart I knew he would
not be the last.

Vital, normally accustomed to
arguing with his queen, this time turned his immeasurable strength against the
nearest darkness mage. The mage was an older man, short and squat, with a flat
nose that looked like it had been punched several times. He was just raising
his wand when Vital sprang. The darkness mage didn’t even get his wand up
before Vital was on him like a wild animal tearing into its prey. The darkness
mage screamed in agony, the sounds echoing off the walls of the hall.

“Duck!” Dacer yelled, as a ball
of fire, both deep maroon and red, pelted toward us. Sip and I ducked,
Lisabelle did not. I twisted my torso to shield my face from the pulsing heat.
Lisabelle raised her arm, exposing her tattooed wand, which now burned black.

She stuck her arm directly into
the flame.

I flinched and looked away. Sip
screamed.

When I didn’t hear Lisabelle’s scream
I inched one eye open. The fire was slamming into Lisabelle’s uplifted arm and
her wand was absorbing it, burning with blood and power and then fading back to
bright black.

“Alright,” said Sip. “If she can
fight. . . .” My friend sprang into the air, transforming to werewolf as she
did, and darted head first into the mass of vampires.

We fought  a losing battle. Three
darkness mages came at me and I didn’t know where to turn. Frightened now
beyond clear thought, I crouched low and pulled a shield. My magic didn’t come
easily; it seemed to know we were outnumbered. I had lost sight of Sip, while
Dobrov had gone to his sister. I hoped he didn’t intend to challenge her,
because I had a feeling he would lose.

In front of me, Lanca was
fighting Faci. He was faster, but she was obviously stronger. The problem was
that every time she got the upper hand, three darkness mages flicked black fire
at her arms and legs, bringing her down and giving Faci a chance to recover. He
would fall and then push himself quickly to his feet. I started to have a
feeling that his nose had been broken so many times while he trained to fight.