Elemental Darkness (Paranormal Public Series)
Read Elemental Darkness (Paranormal Public Series) Online
Authors: Maddy Edwards
Elemental Darkness
(Paranormal Public, Book VIII)
by
Maddy Edwards
Copyright © 2013 by Maddy Edwards
Cover Design © K.C. Designs
This novel is a work of fiction in which names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real persons, places, or events is completely coincidental.
All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without the written consent of the author.
My blog:
http://maddyedwards.blogspot.com/
My goodreads page:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5288585.Maddy_Edwards
Table of Contents
Ricky glared at me as I kicked a pebble angrily across the sand, squinting out at the late summer sun. Not even the warm weather could improve my mood, and I ignored my brother while, for the millionth time this summer, I replayed the conversation in my mind.
My thoughts were stuck on that night, the last night I had seen Dacer, Vital, and Lanca before having to return to Ricky and Carl.
I had never expected that there would be a night when the paranormals would straggle into Public, the last vestiges of resistance gathering to discuss our future. In my wildest dreams I had never thought I’d be there without Sip and Lisabelle.
Queen Lanca had paced furiously back and forth, her angry strides sharp and hard as her small feet slammed into the wood floor of Oliva’s living room. While Lanca paced, I sat curled up on the couch, as if that would protect me from the attack we all knew was coming. Oliva had left. He wanted to take a small force of paranormals to try and find where some of the others who had escaped from Golden Falls had gotten to. Dacer was worried about his mother, and we were still missing Zervos, Nolan, Rake, Trafton, and the rest. Not to mention that Lisabelle had gone over to darkness so that our enemies would release Sip, but Sip hadn’t shown up yet, so they were both . . . elsewhere.
“If they harm a hair on her blond head. . .” Lough had threatened. It was the first sign of life he had shown since I had explained, through tears, where Lisabelle was.
“At least she’s not dead,” I tried to say, but that had only made Lough angrier. Now he had gone silent.
“Lisabelle would never let that happen,” I reassured him.
“How does she think she can protect Sip? How does she know that if she goes to darkness, they’ll release Sip?” Vital asked.
“She’s the most powerful darkness mage of her generation,” said Dacer. “She could do damage most Nocturns can only dream of. I imagine they won’t allow her into their midst only to anger her. Sip might be leading the charge for the Sign of Six, but that’s still a fledgling organization. I imagine they’ll keep their word and let Sip go once they have Ms. Verlans.”
“Well, they have Ms. Verlans,” I said bitterly. “Definitely.”
Dacer started to say something else, but I held up my hand. Glancing at Lough, I could see that his eyes were filled with pleading. “I can’t talk about Lisabelle right now,” I said softly. “I just can’t.”
Dacer appeared to understand. He nodded and said, “I know. We’ll have to talk about it, but not till you’re ready.”
“When Sip gets here,” I said, “that will be the time. She’ll be furious if she finds out we were planning without her.”
“
If
she gets here,” said Vital.
“Shut up,” Lough yelled. “Just shut up.”
“I want an army,” Lanca said, changing the subject before Vital could respond. “Doblan was doing experiments in the Medical Wing at Golden Falls? Fine. Good. Whatever, we can do experiments of our own. I’ll experiment in beating up darkness mages.” Lanca could barely speak through her controlled rage.
I had told the group about the Medical Wing, but it had been difficult, because I was unaccustomed to being the focus of attention. Usually I shared my exploits with Sip and Lisabelle, and this time had been no exception, but now they weren’t there to share in the aftermath.
I wondered if Keller and Lisabelle were together. Lisabelle had been so calm. She’d just walked away. It stunned me how unsurprised she was by the whole thing. She had known just what to do.
“Lisabelle’s a darkness mage,” Lough pointed out quietly. He was sunk down in a corner, his shoulders slumped and his eyes looking around dully.
You never really know someone until you see how they react to tragedy. My mom used to say that, and now I wondered what had prompted her to do so. Given what had happened, I figured it must have been something awful.
Lanca paused in her frantic pacing. Vital, who had refused any medical help, never took his eyes off his mistress. “Yes, and where is Lisabelle now? Right. Taking her place alongside the Nocturns.”
“Lanca,” I said, “tell me what happened. It was Nocturns and not demons?”
Lanca swayed a little where she stood, her eyes feverish. I wondered how many days in a row she’d gone without sleep.
Dacer got up quickly, his sharp eyes taking in her exhaustion. “Sit,” he urged her, taking her by the elbow and leading her to the couch. “I’ll get you some water.” She started to argue, but Dacer raised his hand.
“Far be it from me to tell a Rapier Queen how to behave, but you are doing yourself and your subjects no favors by wearing yourself to exhaustion.” He pointed an imperious, gold-painted finger at Vital.
“Neither are you. Get medical attention. Clean yourself up. Then return.”
Vital stared hard at Dacer, who matched him glare for glare.
“Do not let my calm demeanor fool you,” Dacer advised quietly.
“His mother is called the Unforgiver,” Lough chirped.
Now Vital stared at Lough, who didn’t shrink away and more than Dacer had.
“For a reason,” Lough added. “She earned it.”
Dacer smiled thinly. “Ah, Mummy.”
Vital sighed and looked at Lanca. Since he was her personal bodyguard, it was really her blessing he needed. She waved him away. “They’re right,” she said. “We have a difficult road ahead. It will do us no good to have you too exhausted to fight.”
Vital nodded and peeled himself up off the couch. With an effort, he moved slowly toward the door. His right foot dragged strangely and I could see blood that had dried in a streak down the side of his neck.
“Before I get started,”
Lanca said, taking a shaky breath, “I want to say something about Faci.”
“Faci?” Dacer raised his eyebrows. “The vampire student here?”
Lanca nodded, her eyes troubled.
“Alright,” said Dacer. “If it’s that important.”
“It is,” Lanca assured him.
“
Faci tortured and killed his sister, or so the story goes,” Lanca whispered.
I
clapped a land over my mouth. “That’s disgusting and horrible and. . . . How can his father even look at him after he did something like that?” I breathed.
“It was easy for him,” said Lanca quietly. “His father wanted boys. Once he had Faci he didn’t want more children. He viewed his daughter as a mistake. She wasn’t born strong. Neither was Faci, but over the years he’s gotten stronger. She never had a chance.”
“What happened?” I asked.
Lanca took a deep breath. “We found her in the Blood Throne room. She was. . . .” Lanca took a shaky breath. “I’ll spare you the details. Faci was there. His sunken eyes passed over her body like it wasn’t even real.”
“He did it in public?”
“No, he just left her in public.” Lanca’s eyes were haunted. It was the first time I’d
ever seen her afraid.
“It’s thought, at least my dad thought, that he tortured her for at least two days first. His mother wasn’t so forgiving. She screamed from the top of Locke that her son was a murderer and she wanted him imprisoned.”
“But your dad refused?”
“My dad didn’t have a choice,” Lanca explained bitterly. “Faci’s his father’s heir. He claimed self-defense.”
Lough’s head jerked upward. “What happened to his mother?”
Lanca looked at her long, thin hands. She was quiet for so long I feared the worst.
Even so, when she finally spoke I was surprised by what she said.
“She disappeared right after Faci was let off. Hers was an arranged marriage. Castov didn’t love her. She’d long ago provided him with his precious heir. He or Faci killed her.”
“You know that for sure?” Lough asked.
“All I know is that Faci is
one of the purest embodiments of evil I’ve ever known,” she whispered. “You have to be careful.”
Dacer sat quietly for several minutes, then nodded. “Thank you, Lanca,” he said. “I’m glad you told us.”
I shifted. I had known that Faci was evil, but I’d had no idea that he was so far gone as to be capable of killing his own family. From the looks on my friends faces, they hadn’t either.
It was now the middle of the night, which meant it was vampire time at Public. Vital could float to the infirmary if he wanted. When I heard the door bang closed behind him I looked back at Lanca. She leaned her head against the sofa and closed her eyes. Now for the other telling.
“Vital and I were gone. We had a meeting I couldn’t miss, and when I returned, it was already too late.” She paused to take a cup from Dacer, then continued. “We didn’t know anything was wrong until we were inside Vampire Locke. As soon as the gates closed behind us, we realized it was a trap. The demons had attacked in force as soon as we left for the meeting, and our forces were already thin from recent battles. The demons had been picking us off, and it takes time to train new fighters, but the Rapiers were working on it. Whenever Vital was at Vampire Locke he spent hours in the training facilities. We fought bravely. We died bravely. There were only a handful of Rapiers left by the time we got back, and by then they were prisoners. The demons used them to get my party to come inside, and once we were inside. . . .”
Dacer sat on the couch next to Lanca and covered her hand with his.
She nodded, her eyes following the memory, and took a deep breath before continuing.
“The demons must have known I had powers tied to Vampire Locke by my role as its queen. The Blood Throne is mine. It will be mine until I die, which won’t be for a very long time.”
“Which is probably why they wanted you to come back,” Dacer said quietly. Lanca nodded.
“Yes, I’m sure. They need to kill me in order to truly possess Vampire Locke. As long as I have no children, whoever kills me will inherit the throne.”
I gulped. “And all the powers that go with it?”
Lanca gave us the ghost of a smile. “Yes. But as you see, they didn’t kill me. Vital realized something was wrong immediately, and stepped in front of the shot that was meant for me. It went clear through his shoulder, but he never faltered.” She smiled. “He gave me just enough time to call to Vampire Locke’s core.”