Paranormal Public: Elemental Darkness Part 24

Youre just going to disappear from campus again like they wont miss you? You cant take such risks. What if youre caught and confined to Astra? Then who can you help?

Sip, I said, just leave me alone. I cant be the only elemental and spend all my time holed up in Astra studying and pretending like theres nothing wrong.

Sip threw up her hands. I cant believe you think thats what I want you to do. Ive been here with you every step of the way, she yelled.

Well thanks for that, I yelled back. Fat lot of good its done us.

Whats the matter with you? Sip panted. I glared at her and she held up her hands. Sorry, poor phrasing, but youve been tired and irritable and you arent dreaming. Whats going on?

You think its easy being the only elemental? I cried. My boyfriend of two years and I broke up and I cant even talk to him and you want me to walk around with a smile on my face all the time?

I stomped away, tears p.r.i.c.king my eyes.

Chapter Thirty-Four.

I went back to Astra alone. I wasnt sure if Sip came or if she went to Airlee, because I closed the door to my room and climbed under the covers. Sip and I had never fought this way until recently. The stress of the war with the demons, and Lisabelles absence, had changed things. I felt tired and sad.

Tomorrow Id have to apologize to Sip. She was only looking out for me, and I knew that. But before I did that, tonight I would dream.

It wasnt what I expected. I fell into an uneasy sleep but somehow managed to remain aware.

Sip had brought out into the open something that had bothered me all semester about my lack of dreams; I had just had so much going on that I hadnt taken the time to think very hard about it.

I thought of Keller all the time. Tonight, I wanted to dream of him.

I closed my eyes and settled back into bed, trying to relax.

But my dreams felt clouded. I kept my thoughts on blue eyes and strong comforting arms, but there was still nothing. Frustrated, I got out of bed and glared at the picture Id hung between the two big windows in my room, then pulled it down. It was a peaceful scene of a field blooming with flowers of all colors.

Behind it I had hidden the Mirror Arcane.

Grabbing the Mirror, I closed my eyes and let its power sink into me, deep down, penetrating every layer, seeping into my mind, letting the mist wrap around my own fog, giving it a brightness and a clarity it hadnt had all semester.

After a few minutes of deep meditation, I replaced the picture over the Mirror and got back into bed.

Closing my eyes, I simply tried to sleep.

I saw Keller almost instantly. Well, saw might be a stretch. I felt him. He felt the same. He felt just like I did, because we were one. I found myself smiling, and I reached for him, then frowned. He was closer, even closer than I had dared to think possible, but there was something wrong, something in the way. I reached for him again. Why was he so close, but I couldnt touch him?

Keller! I cried, trying to get his attention. The picture of him was solidifying in my mind. He was sitting at a large desk, dressed simply all in black. He looked good in black. He looked good in everything. My hands itched to touch him.

Keller! I raised my hands and waved frantically, like an idiot, but he still didnt see me.

He didnt move. I wanted to scream in frustration. When it was clear that I wasnt going to get his attention, that whatever sort of dream I was having it was not the living dream in which I could hold his hand, I forced myself to calm down. I examined the room he was in, looking for any detail that would give me a clue to where he was.

Keller was alone in a barren room. There was a red rug on the floor, extending beneath the large desk at which he was sitting. I could see light streaming in from one side, but the window was out of my vision. I still had no idea where Keller was.

I dont know how long I stayed in the dream, hoping hed recognize me. But it was a very long time.

The next morning I woke up simultaneously feeling relief and frustration. I now knew that something was blocking my dreaming and that I could fight through it if I used the strength of the Mirror Arcane. I wanted to have a living dream, but I couldnt. I hadnt all semester, even when Id dreamed of Lisabelle. But I didnt know if even the Mirror would get me that far.

Maybe Lough and Trafton were having the same problem. I wondered how Id tell Sip that the reason I couldnt dream of Lisabelle was because of me and not because of the Nocturns she was with.

I decided to meet my friends for breakfast in the dining hall instead of eating in Astra. We rarely went to the dining hall now, not with fellow students so hostile, but I thought it was important that we not act afraid.

I had just started telling Lough about Keller and my dream when the Tabble lit up. I leaned over my breakfast to read.

The known Traitor Lisabelle Verlans has been spotted, cried the latest headline in the Tabble. I threw it down, only to pick it up again, hungry for any news of my friend. Had a she really been seen?

Lisabelle Verlans, deserter of paranormals, was spotted simply taking a walk, of all the seemingly innocuous things. Some reports say she was actually holding a book, a BLACK book, obviously, probably with the names of all her future victims written out on its pages.

Obviously, when Ms. Verlans was seen there were several brave-souled paranormals who went to confront her, but she was gone before they got close.

Can anything better be expected from a gutter-dwelling traitor?

Stop reading that drivel, said Lough hotly. What theyre saying is that they ran away crying like babies when they saw her. For no reason. Shes never hurt anyone. If they really saw her they didnt stick around long enough to know what she was doing.

I quirked an eyebrow at him, surprised by the anger in his voice. Wed been dealing with dumb Tabble stories all semester.

Okay, shes hurt Faci, but who hasnt wanted to do that? Lough said.

I see your notorious friend is at it again, said Faci, stopping at our table.

Oh, Faci, I said. Speak of the devil.

Faci, you eat? Lough said. Shocking. I thought you scared food away.

Its not alive, said the vampire coldly. He tried to shift away, but not before we saw that he wasnt even holding a tray.

Right, said Lough, shaking his head. What do you want?

Since you are my teammate in Tactical, it is my duty to inform you that we have practice tonight, said Faci, his dead eyes looking anywhere but at the dream giver.

Lough stared at him. What are we practicing? How to walk around campus with our eyes open?

Facis face darkened. Youll be there if you know whats good for you. I wont lose Tactical because of a stupid dream giver. And with that he stomped off and left us alone for the moment.

Practice, Lough muttered furiously. Ridiculous.

Sip joined us not long afterwards, looking hara.s.sed.

Whats wrong? I asked.

Sip shrugged. Ive been summoned to Olivas tonight. He wants to discuss my thesis. He thinks he might know a werewolf or two who can help me.

Thats good, isnt it? I asked.

Paranormal Public did not have many werewolf professors. Sips parents, Hyder and Helen, thought it was because Public didnt allow the freedom that most werewolves required. Regardless of the reason for the scarcity, though, it had left Sip with some gaps in her thesis for which she was having trouble finding resources.

If youre both busy tonight, I said, what will I do?

Sip rolled her eyes. Arent you behind on Professor Eriksons a.s.signments?

It was true. After every cla.s.s Professor Erikson buried us under an avalanche of homework, almost as if she was trying to keep us from having any free time at all.

I guess, I said dully.

You could always go out with Darrow, Lough suggested. He might see your true colors and stop giving you puppy dog looks from across the room.

I choked on my bite of eggs. Lough was right. Darrow often watched me, but I just couldnt go out with him. I wasnt anywhere near over Keller, even if we hadnt talked in months now.

Sorry, said Lough, seeing my distress. I was only kidding.

I gave him a half-hearted smile. I know, I said. Its not you.

Anyhow, come on, said Sip. We have to get to cla.s.s.

As we walked, I told Sip and Lough about my dream.

I dont think anything is blocking you, Charlotte, said Lough, but you should have told me about this earlier.

What do you mean you dont think anythings blocking me? I asked, unable to keep the edge out of my voice.

Sometimes you dont dream for a while, said Lough, shrugging. Trafton and I are mainly dream givers because of what we can do with waking dreams and others dreams, not because of the ordinary dreams we have while were sleeping.

Fine, I said, but I used to dream of Keller all the time and now I dont at all. And what about Lisabelle? I saw her that first night and now I havent seen her since!

I dont know, said Lough slowly. But I dont know how a paranormal could block your dreams, and besides, he continued, eyeing me is if I was about to hit him, you dreamed of Keller when you were together. You arent anymore.

It was like hed punched me in the stomach. Sip gave me a sympathetic look, but she didnt say a word. I could tell she agreed with Lough.

I fell into a subdued silence, frustrated that I thought I finally had the answer and my friends didnt believe me.

I spent the evening doing homework while Lough was at practice and Sip met with Oliva about her thesis.

Sip got back to Astra first.

I cant believe Caids still here, said Sip as she settled in on her couch, getting comfortable in the living room that the three of us had been using as a headquarters. Before she joined me she had made herself tea, and she now cradled the steaming mug in both her small hands.

It sends the wrong message, I agreed. It makes him look scared. Like he needs Publics protections to keep him safe.

As the leader of the Sign of Six, said Sip grimly, I refuse to be scared.

She took a deep breath and held it for so long that I glanced at her. In her hands was a white piece of paper that she kept turning over and over.

Can you read this? Sip asked finally. She handed me the sheet. I took it with a raised eyebrow, seeing that it had beautiful ornate writing on it.

Sure, and what is it? I asked. I had a feeling I knew, but Sip looked so happy when I agreed to read it that I wanted to give her a chance to tell me about it.

Its the Sign of Sixs new const.i.tution, she said, beaming. Nolan said that since I was the better writer, I should be the one to do it.

Very cool, I said. It was pages and pages long.

Ill leave you to it, said Sip, glancing at me nervously.

I nodded and curled up on the couch and started reading.

The Sign of Six is an organization of paranormals. All paranormals who wish to work toward the good of the whole are welcome. Our t.i.tle comes from the Artifacts on the Wheel, from which our power as paranormals was first derived and where it is still held most safely. The Articles on the Wheel are of paramount importance to our defenses against any and all forces that would wish to do us ill.

The Sign of Six is growing in number by the day, and there must be rules in place to accommodate the growth.

1. Every three months we will hold new elections until our membership has stabilized.

2. For every one hundred new paranormals who join, a new seat in the Sign of Six Congress will be created, so that representation may be adequate.

3. Representation is not initially dependent on paranormal type. Should there be types that are not adequately represented, steps will be taken to rectify the matter. The underlying point is that in the abstract, paranormal type should not matter, but in practice we know that it does, and under no circ.u.mstances should a paranormal type be made to feel uncomfortable by any of the others. That even goes for pixies.

4. The point of governing as the Sign of Six is to find reasonable and if possible peaceable solutions to the problems of the paranormals, even if that means working with darkness. As some of our members, notably the vampires, possess darkness of their own, it is not for us to judge. We must, however, be prepared to act if necessary.

5. As important members of the paranormal community have signed this missive, I would like for you all to understand that the signatures are not binding. If at any point they feel like the Sign of Six does not protect them, then they are free to look elsewhere for protection. The second we are forced to follow a paranormal government that does not protect us adequately is the second we put our lives at risk. There is strength in numbers, and I wish for us to be very strong.

I want you to sign it, said Sip. She was standing at my elbow, twisting her hands in front of her and watching my face closely. I was so wrapped up in reading that I hadnt noticed her come back.

I glanced at her in surprise. Me? I gasped. You said important members of the paranormal community.

Charlotte, said Sip dryly. Youre the only elemental. You actively refuse to realize this, but youre important.

I think Im more notorious at this point, I said quietly. For what, I have no idea.

Its not your fault that paranormals fear what they cannot understand, said Sip sagely. Its actually pretty normal. Theyre also getting a lot of misinformation, and unfortunately theyre believing it. Its hard to see the truth if the truth is scarier than fiction, if youre even told it. Besides, youre a known a.s.sociate of the famous traitor Lisabelle Verlans.

I knew Sip was trying to make me feel better, but I still didnt think I should sign her doc.u.ment. Sip, however, had no intention of taking no for an answer.

Youre the last elemental, she said, insistently. Of course you have to sign it.

If Im the last elemental, I said, why does Ricky send me letters saying he keeps seeing a big black dog around? The first time I had gotten such a letter from my little brother Id been terrified for him. I could only hope that his protections stayed strong.

Because your neighbors are hunters? Sip offered. No, I dont know. Ricky might be one as well, but at the very least the demons know you care about Ricky more than anyone else in the world. If they ever need to find you, they will go through him.

If they go after him, they wont need to find me, I said grimly. Ill come to them.