Elemental Shining (Paranormal Public Series) (26 page)

When I got there, the Astra ballroom was filled with shadow, with the floor to ceiling windows giving a beautiful view of Public’s grounds, lighted by the full moon. I slipped into the huge room and eased the door closed behind me with sweaty palms.

There was no sign of anyone. I looked around carefully, checking every corner. When I was satisfied that the room was empty I headed for the glass case that was my favorite part of the ballroom. My heart was still pounding, but I wanted to check that everything was still in its place.

There was the mirror, all the old artifacts. A beautiful jar filled with butterfly wings was another centerpiece. Many of the objects were blue, but several were red, green, and brown. There were even two that were gray. These objects were now as familiar to me as my own hands, since every Saturday morning I still came into the ballroom to clean the case and its contents. I owed my ancestors that much.

Carefully, I reached out to touch the glass. Picking up the mirror, feeling its cold metal and its weight in my hand, calmed me and made me realize just how jumpy I had been.

“No more demons are going to break into Astra,” I muttered to myself. “Get it together, Charlotte.”

Last semester a demon had managed to get into my home, the ancient headquarters of the elementals. There had been so many demons assailing a weak force field that one had managed to slip through and I had been forced to defend myself until Mrs. Swan arrived. Turned out she was a badass water sprite. Who knew.

A shuffling noise behind me broke me out of my reverie and almost made me drop the mirror. I kept my wits about me well enough to deciding that it was more important not to drop and break the mirror than almost anything else, and I managed to set it back carefully in its place in the case before I spun around to defend myself.

I crouched low as I turned, staring into the inky darkness. At first I didn’t see anything, but then, over by the curtains, I picked out a slight swishing out of the corner of my eye.

Of course, I said to myself, cursing silently: the curtains. I hadn’t checked behind them, and anything could be hiding there. Staring out into the dark, I watched the curtain slowly come to a standstill.

There were no drafts in the Astra ballroom. That meant that there was only one thing that could be moving one of those massive, heavy drapes.

A paranormal was in the ballroom with me.

Steeling myself, I moved forward, keeping my eyes focused like a laser on the curtain.

The curtains looked black, but they were really a very dark blue. I preferred them to be pulled aside to show off the windows—I never liked them closed, because I felt that the ballroom should be flooded with light whenever possible. It didn’t matter in the same way at night, but still, I wasn’t accustomed to seeing the curtains closed.

When I was five feet from them, I stopped.

“Show yourself,” I commanded, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

Nothing happened.

Taking a deep breath, I said, “You’re in my home. Coming after an elemental on her own turf is a bad idea.”

The demons had never had the guts to do it until I was the only one. They always snuck up on unsuspecting elementals who were traveling, or separated from their power objects or friends. Never at Astra.

I took a step forward. Then another step, barely daring to breathe. I raised my hand, preparing to pull back the curtain. I knew it was madness, because I had no idea what was behind that curtain, but I was going to confront it—alone, since I seemed to have no other choice.

As soon as my fingertips brushed the fabric, something big and strong hurtled past me and I cried out as I fell backward. The man, the Shadow who had attacked Sip and the Starter, was strong beyond my imagining. It felt like a massive rock had just slammed into my side as I crumpled to the floor with a cry of intense pain.

My first instinct was to cover my head against the blow that was sure to follow. My ribcage throbbed where a sharp elbow, or something—I wasn’t even sure of the shape of the thing that hit me—had speared me, and my hip was bruised from the fall. I tried to control my fear, but it was suffocating. I squeezed my arm more tightly over my head, trying to protect myself if I could.

Instinctively I called to my powers, asking for a shield around my body. The response was weak, but a shield moisture appeared and started to surround me, the simplest shield a water elemental could do and the only one I had learned. It wasn’t very good, but it would cushion a blow.

After a few seconds of suspense while I waited for the contact, though, I realized that instead of coming back at me, the heavy footsteps were receding. The Shadow was running. He wasn’t going to attack again. But he was also going to get away.

“Oh, no you don’t,” I muttered, jumping into motion despite how difficult it was to just stand up. My right side hurt and I was disoriented from the fall, but once I made it to my feet I put my head down and tore after the Shadow. I had to hold my right side against the throbbing, but I could still move. I’d have to get Keller to heal my injuries later.

The Shadow was racing through the maze that was Astra, but running through the halls hot on his trail made me bolder. This was my home; he was the one breaking in. I wasn’t going to let him get away.

As I ran, I tried to call to the ancient powers that Astra was built on, the wisps and remnants and whispers of my ancestors, the ones who I will forever miss, to help stop the Shadow. I knew from my classes that even the walls of the dorms had powers, that if only you could awaken them they would fight for you. But while I was concentrating on my magic, my foot caught on the edge of a plush rug and I tripped forward, barely catching myself before I smashed into the floor. Pain flared in my side again and I gasped, pressing my hand harder to my ribs.
One thing at a time,
I told myself. I would just have to catch the Shadow without help.

But I was quickly realizing that catching him wouldn’t be so simple. He dodged and weaved through one room after another, and when I lost track of where he was I was forced to slow down in case he was waiting for me around a corner. I had been sneak attacked enough times that I didn’t want to risk the Shadow getting the upper hand on me, and the sight of Sip’s body lying on the floor of the Long Building after had she tried to stop the Shadow was still fresh in my mind.

I made it into the fire elementals’ living room, which faced the same way as the front door, with one big bay window. I skidded to a halt when I saw the window hanging open, letting in the cold fall air. Breathing hard, I dashed to it and looked out, but I saw nothing except gently sloping grass and, in the distance, the outline of buildings where lights shone in the windows like stars in the night sky. I pressed my ear out the window, hoping to hear running feet, but silence was the loudest noise.

I glared out into the night before I slammed the window closed. The glass creaked and I felt the frame shudder with the force, but I didn’t care. I was furious with myself for letting the Shadow get away. He had been right here! The man who had attacked Sip had been right here in my home, and I couldn’t catch him.

What I didn’t understand was how he could have gotten away. Astra was a maze, and it had taken me weeks to learn the twists and turns and to know which hallway led where. Many times I had tried to get to the kitchen and had ended up outside instead. Okay, not many times, really only once, and when I told my friends they had said it was like something Lough would do. But still. The Shadow had known where he was going. It was the only way he could have outrun me. And it could only mean one thing.

The Shadow had a map of Astra. He had been there before.

Keller opened his dorm room door and gaped at me. I hadn’t looked in a mirror before I left Astra, I only knew I had to get to Keller to stop the throbbing in my side. I wasn’t thinking clearly, and I didn’t even realize that there was a nasty gash on the side of my head until I saw the worry reflected in Keller’s eyes.

“What happened?” he demanded, putting a comforting hand on my back that was in contrast to his sharp words. I knew he was touching me because that made it easier for him to assess the damage to my torso, but I still found his touch comforting. Leaning on him, I allowed him to guide me to the side of his bed so that I could sit down. He sat next to me, his fingers cool and gentle as he touched the side of my head.

I told him everything. While I talked he worked, but he didn’t say a word. He got a cloth and wet it with warm water, then fetched his kit of healing tools. I had seen the kit before, but I had never seen him use it. It was a roll of cloth, with various bandages and salves in tiny glass jars wrapped up in it.

“The Shadow is looking for something,” he said grimly, as he rubbed salve into the wound in my head. Wanting desperately to touch him, to reassure myself that my heart was there, wrapped securely in flesh and bone, I reached out and brushed a few free strands of black hair off of his forehead.

He sighed a little, leaned into my touch, and shook his head. “I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to you,” he said seriously. “I don’t think I could stand it.”

“Nothing happened to me.”

He nodded.

“What do you think the Shadow is looking for?” I asked, turning slightly so that he could get a better look at my injuries. “What’s in Astra that he’d risk getting caught over?”

“I don’t know,” I said Keller. “All those artifacts are priceless, so it could be anything.”

“But they’re treasured just for sentimental value,” I argued. “It’s not like there are elementals to use them.”

Keller frowned, deep in thought. “I’ll do some research. I remember all the stuff that was in Astra from working there. For all we know the Shadow is working for President Malle.”

Alarmed, I said, “But what could she possibly want with the stuff in Astra?”

“Maybe she wants a bargaining chip. Something to use against you,” Keller said, his voice still far-off and thoughtful.

“Should we tell the deans?” I asked. “Oliva’s a decent sort.”

Keller smiled at the bitterness in my voice. Sometimes I still had trouble forgiving Oliva’s deception.

“We can tell them,” he said skeptically. “I just don’t think they’ll believe us.”

I sighed gustily. “Why not?”

“Because it’s Astra. Because unless one of them is being attacked, they aren’t going to care. They have bigger things to worry about and will probably just accuse you of making stuff up.”

I looked away, knowing he was right. The deans had a lot on their plates at the moment, so why would they care if I told them someone was sneaking around campus stealing stuff? Especially if I was the only one who had seen him, and it was only elemental stuff he was after?

“I just need proof,” I muttered. “To take to the deans.”

Keller didn’t argue, but I knew he didn’t like the sound of that. “Just be careful.”

His face was so close to mine that when I looked at him I went cross-eyed, then giggled. He stared at me, worry plain in his beautiful blue eyes.

“Sorry,” I said, trying to stop acting like a lovesick girl. “Stress.”

He nodded, his jaw tight. Not wanting him to worry for me, I slid my hand into his and tried to smile reassuringly. He smiled back.

“Alright,” he said, back to business. “Let me see to your rib cage.”

Lucky for me I hadn’t broken anything, but it had been a hard hit. Keller’s hands found the hem of my shirt and carefully rolled it up to reveal the bruise and nothing else. I sucked air in through my teeth when his hand touched the bruise. Even the most gentle touch hurt.

Still, I was fascinated by Keller’s ability to heal, and to be the subject of the process made it even more interesting. His eyes sort of lost focus and became two warm pools of blue lake. His power was a kind of shining magic that made my eyes see spots even as my ribs started to feel better almost instantly. I smiled when he took his hand away.