Elemental Dawn (Paranormal Public) (6 page)

Our darkness friend was so
desperate to get out of her own house that she agreed to make nice with Mr. and
Mrs. Quest.

To Sip’s total shock, the visit
had turned out spectacularly well.

Lisabelle had some of her uncle
Risper’s grainy charm when she chose, and she instantly liked Mrs. Quest when
the werewolf said she wouldn’t hug Lisabelle if she didn’t want to be hugged.
Lisabelle had muttered something to me about how Mrs. Quest’s daughter could
use some of the same restraint.

“Is everyone ready?” Hyder asked
after everything was cleaned up in the kitchen. “Then let’s go,” he said,
having gotten nods from all of us. He grabbed his suitcase as we all gathered
to leave, and I decided it was a good thing we were going by car. He was not a
tall man and the suitcase was nearly half his height.

I was nervous. Except for the
Quests, I hadn’t visited any paranormals, or indeed been in the paranormal
world at all. Now I was starting off with the coronation of a vampire queen, a
new generation set to rule the most powerful vampire sect in the world.

Our friend Lanca was the
princess, soon to be the queen, of the Rapiers. They lived in a mountain called
Locke, which I had only heard about, but which was legendary. Vampires rarely
allowed visitors into their home, but for the coronation of a new queen they
made an exception.

“It will be alright,” said Sip,
placing a hand on my shoulder comfortingly. “It’s long past time you were
introduced to other senior paranormals.” I just wished that her eyes weren’t
betraying so much worry.

“Yeah, all of whom will be
present,” I muttered. I wanted to feel good about this coronation, but there
was a heavy and sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. There would have been no
need for a coronation if Lanca’s father hadn’t been murdered by demons. That
was not a comforting thought.

“Not to mention the darkness
mages,” said Lisabelle casually from the back of our little procession out the
door.

Mrs. Quest, walking in front of
us in jeans and a black sweater, stumbled, but only for a second, then turned
to Lisabelle with a horrified expression on her face. Hyder hid his horror a
little better, but even he pursed his lips and stared at Lisabelle. There was
an uncomfortable silence, then Sip’s father spoke.

“The darkness mages are coming?”
he asked, clearing his throat loudly.

“Yes,” said Lisabelle serenely.
“All of them. They’re not officially allied with the demons, and since darkness
calls to darkness . . . and the vampire coronation will be the darkest ceremony
paranormals will ever have that is still mixed with light . . . yes, they will
all be there. Uncle Risper might even grace us with his crooked presence,
though I doubt it.”

We hadn’t told anyone that Uncle
Risper was Elam, the most famous thief in the paranormal world and a man
searching desperately for a group of ancient artifacts that would give their
possessor ultimate power. The artifacts were known collectively as the
Paranormal Wheel: the Mirror Arcane, which I had hidden, Fang First, which was
supposedly in the hands of the Rapier vampires, the Globe White, which may or
may not be with the fallen angels, the Pinion Wings, which of course the pixies
had lost, and the Scepter Silver, which had been missing for centuries.

“That can’t be,” Hyder croaked.
“There will be war, slaughter, carnage.”

“I do believe the second two are
results of the first,” Lisabelle quibbled. Hyder was already used to
Lisabelle’s overactive tongue and he just ignored her. “Bloodshed,” she added.
“Let’s not forget bloodshed.”

“It’s tradition,” said Helen
sadly. “They can’t crown a queen without darkness present. To complete the
ceremonies, they must allow the darkness mages to be there.”

“Lisabelle will be present,” said
Sip cheerfully. “She’s enough darkness for anyone.”

“Thank you,” said Lisabelle,
inclining her head.

It was time to leave for Vampire
Locke to watch Princess Lanca crowned ruler of the Blood Throne.

As we walked out of Sip’s house
heading for the Quests’ car, Sip’s parents fell back. I couldn’t hear what they
were saying, but I knew they were arguing about something.

It was a cold and blustery day
and I pulled my coat more firmly around my body. Sip ignored her parents,
busying herself with the fasteners of her suitcase. While we waited, Lisabelle
piled her stuff in the trunk of the car and then did the same with everyone
else’s.

The three of us stood and waited,
Sip rubbing her hands together briskly. Though it was cold, there was no snow
on the ground. It had only snowed once so far this winter, right at the end of
the semester, and the ground was barren and dull, the color of wet tree bark
and old leaves. The air was fragrant with the smell of ice and pine trees.

“What do you think they’re
talking about?” Sip asked, glaring at her parents, who were still standing in
the open doorway.

“They appear to be arguing,” said
Lisabelle mildly, taking in Mrs. Quest’s flushed face and Mr. Quest’s wildly
gesturing hands. The lights from the house spilled out, creating a cheery
contrast to the dark day.

“You don’t say,” Sip drawled
sarcastically.

“Me,” I said grimly, my eyes
locked on the pair. “They’re arguing about me.”

Sip gave me a startled look for
just a second, then replaced it with a frown. Lisabelle didn’t look at all
surprised, and I wondered if that’s what she had calculated earlier. “Well,” I
said. “I’m going.”

“My mom might have something to
say about that,” Sip warned me. “Quests are famously hard to argue with.” I
just shrugged.

“None that I’ve met,” said
Lisabelle smugly.

I ignored my friends. All I knew
was that I had to be there for Lanca. She was probably upset and overwhelmed
and she had been nothing but kind to me. “I’m going,” I said again.

Sip sighed. “I know. I just don’t
want you in danger.”

“I’m going to be in danger until
I die,” I said softly. “I’ve accepted it. You might as well too.” And with
that, I headed back to talk to Sip’s parents.

“I accept nothing I don’t want to
accept. Have you not met me?” Sip called after me. Lisabelle laughed.

Mr. and Mrs. Quest didn’t even
appear to notice me standing next to them, their argument was so heated. Up
close I could hear what they were saying, and I was indeed right. They were
arguing about me.

During my whole visit Mr. and
Mrs. Quest had appeared entirely human, until now. Snapping jaws, flashing
eyes, and deep growls showed me the animal within.

“I am going to Lanca’s
coronation,” I said. When they didn’t stop arguing I raised my voice.

Louder: “I am going to Lanca’s
coronation.”

Now they both paused, but only
momentarily. When they started fighting again I stepped between them.

“Now look here,” Mr. Quest
started sternly. “I know you’re Sip’s friend and you’ve been through a lot, but
we’re not going to send an innocent child in to be slaughtered.”

“None of us are kids anymore,” I
said. I wasn’t going to argue about this. The truth was that I was no match for
a couple of grown werewolves, but he needed to know that times had changed.

“We might not be at war, but it’s
only a matter of time,” I said, crossing my arms. Ever since I found had out
who I was and where I came from the paranormals had been getting weaker, not
stronger, and I didn’t do anyone any favors by appearing weak, even among my
friends. I looked back and forth between Sip’s parents without budging. Helen
worried her lower lip, while Hyder glowered down at me.

Still, butterflies hammered
around my gut. This whole brave thing bordered on stupid sometimes.

A wind as crisp as Lisabelle’s
voice carried my friend’s words to us, as if she was standing right behind me
shouting. “Can we get this show on the road? The sun isn’t good for my
complexion.”

“Neither is frowning,” said Sip.

“Whatever, furface.”

“How original. Oh, no, wait, it
wasn’t.”

“You don’t need to be original
when you’re right,” said Lisabelle sagely.

“You don’t need to be right when
you’re you,” said Sip. “You still feel the need to talk.”

“Enough,” said Helen. She sighed,
suddenly appearing tired, as if the weight of the whole paranormal world were
suddenly pushing on her shoulders. “We’re going to go, but we’re going to be
careful. Charlotte should be there for her friend.” She gave me a sympathetic
look and patted me on the shoulder. Her touch surprised me, and though she was
in human form and it was a hand that had touched me, somehow I felt claws.

Hyder walked to the car and
finished loading his and his wife’s suitcases into the back. Lisabelle stepped
aside to let him work, seeming to realize that he needed activity, something to
do, to steady his nerves.

“It’s my choice,” I said. “You
should not feel responsible.”

Helen held me back and said, with
a sad smile, “You are everyone’s responsibility. I would have thought you
understood that by now.” She walked away before I could say anything, letting
me chew on that on my own.

The first couple hours of the car
ride were silent, but as the afternoon went on and the light started to fade,
the chatter got louder. Sip and Lisabelle didn’t even trade any barbs. The
severity of the situation we were heading for weighed on us.

It was strange to be riding in
the back seat of a car, not really paying attention to what was happening
around me, just watching the world fly by, and suddenly come to a screeching
halt. Truth to tell, my thoughts had been lost in Keller at the time.

I couldn’t help it. When my mind
had a quiet moment it always wandered to his blue eyes and dark hair. He had
messaged me to say that he would be at the coronation with his family, which had
almost made me refuse to go. I had yet to meet his parents, and I wasn’t sure I
was ready for that yet. But I didn’t have a choice. In just a few hours we’d be
together again, and I tried to focus on that.

My first warning that something
was wrong was when my head almost slammed into the seat in front of me, which
was no warning at all.

Sip’s cry and Lisabelle’s
colorful swearing followed, prompting a glare from Mrs. Quest.

Dust had settled over the world,
tinting my vision with gray. The man standing in the middle of the road wore a
flowing white robe, reminding me of Professor Erikson and the white robes she
always wore.

“Stay in the car,” said Hyder,
his voice harsh.

“Hyder . . .” Helen started to
say, her eyes filled with fear.

“No,” he barked. “We have no
choice. He’s a fallen angel. He won’t hurt us.”

“I think the lines of who will
and will not hurt us are blurring,” Helen said.

“Who is that?” Sip asked, staring
at the man in front of us. His face was thin and gaunt, as if he hadn’t slept
in weeks, and his silver eyes burned out from his skull as if they were lit
with fire.

“It’s
Mark Doblan
,” said Helen, “of the Doblan
House of Angels. They are the second most powerful family of fallen angels,
behind the Eriksons, whom I believe you’re familiar with?” She glanced in the
side mirror at me. From the pamphlet about the paranormal government that
Lisabelle had given me I knew that the Doblan house was represented in various
agencies. There was even a Doblan on the
High
Council.

“But who is he?”

“He’s on the High Council. I
imagine he’s here to warn us off.”

“Maybe he’s here to offer to help
us,” said Lisabelle skeptically.

“Please,” said Helen.
“Paranormals do not trust each other enough anymore to help.”

“That’s funny,” said Sip.
“Because I’ve been under the impression that the only way we can survive the
demons is if we work together.”

“Then I’m screwed,” said
Lisabelle, her grin not the least bit repentant.

“I always knew that,” said Sip
primly.

Hyder was out of the car now.
Doblan bent his head low and appeared to be speaking in quiet tones. Hyder’s
face was clearing and calming as they talked.

“Whatever he’s saying, my dad
likes it,” said Sip, watching closely. She was sitting forward in the middle
seat, straining against the seatbelt.

“Your dad is too nice,” Lisabelle
observed from the back seat. “No wonder his daughter suffers from the same
complaint.”

“My husband is no fool,” Helen
snapped, finally taking offense at Lisabelle’s comments.

Lisabelle never took her eyes
away from Doblan. I watched, fascinated, as her face clouded.

“No, he’s worse. He believes
there is good in everyone,” she murmured. “It’s not a problem I will ever
have.”

I kept quiet. I wanted to know
what Doblan was saying, especially since it seemed like his eyes periodically
snapped to me.