Paranormal Public: Elemental Darkness Part 15

He went back to the door and again wrenched it open. This time we were ready as its deadly forced slammed into us. Sip grabbed the back of Loughs sweater and I grabbed the back of Sip. We ducked low and formed a train as we made our way out into the gale. The rain poured down so hard we were instantly drenched, and it also added a layer of difficulty to the task of seeing what exactly we were fighting.

I heard Sips voice, pitched high as if she was trying to yell something to me, but the noise of the storm was too loud. I quickly looked around, but I couldnt keep my eyes open for very long at a time. The wind felt like it had icy daggers in it, but I had to see what we were up against, and where the other paranormals were.

In the front of our little line Lough stumbled, and I felt Sip go down with him. If I wanted to stay connected to my friends I had no choice but to go down as well.

What I saw when I was a little below the worst of the wind-driven, icy rain staggered me.

The demons were in swarming formations, intense cl.u.s.ters of black that moved around like beehives. Some were definitely hybrids, no longer just demons, but something more awful and more deadly. The people on this deck, mostly senior paranormals, were clinging to the railings for dear life. As I watched, at least two lost their grip and slipped away. The water below was choppy with white caps. It seemed to me that the demons shouldnt be winning; there just werent that many of them. But they were. What was going on?

Its magicked, Sip yelled. They put magic in the wind. We cant fight and we cant run.

Indeed, a quick glance at the sails showed that we were barely moving. The wind was whipping around us, but it was more of a weapon than anything natural. I saw Dacer and Risper, Zervos and Oliva. I saw Saferous and several others. Caid was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Gussy.

What do we do? Rake had crawled over to us, his pale skin covered in a sheen of sweat mixed with rainwater. Im better when I can get my hands on one of those demons. He made a strangling motion with his ma.s.sive hands.

Can you fly or float at all?

Rake shook his head. Not in this wind. Youd think wed be able to run.

Look! Sip pointed. Thats where the magics coming from. Through the sheets of rain I saw another s.h.i.+p. It looked black and tattered, as if the wood was barely holding together.

So, they dont like the sea, huh? I yelled over the noise. Why arent the water spirits helping? Why didnt they warn us?

Theyre probably under attack too, said Rake, his eyes on the s.h.i.+p. By the paranormals, Id like for that thing to get closer.

Sip shook her head. No way. If they get closer were done for.

But as it is right now, you cant fight, Lough yelled. Youre a werewolf. Dont you want to sink your teeth into something?

All Ive wanted to do for weeks is fight, Sip growled. Her eyes were scanning the cl.u.s.ters of demons, and now I could see that their movement in formation was smart, smarter than anything I had seen from them in any of our other battles. I wished Lisabelle were there. She would know immediately what was happening and what to do about it.

Theyre protecting the s.h.i.+p, said Lough, pointing to how the cl.u.s.ters would attack and then dive backward.

I dont see why, I said. Its not like any of our senior paranormals can reach that far anyway.

They could, said Sip, her voice nearly taken away by the wind, if they werent busy keeping us from sinking.

I felt water trickling down my cheeks and nose and rubbed it away, trying to get a clear view.

I have to talk to Dacer, I yelled. Rake shook his head. Hes another vampire. Theres not much he can do.

There might be, I said. Vampires had magic that mostly dealt with darkness and sleep, and I was frantically trying to think how we might put it to good use in this situation.

Queen Lanca? Lanca hadnt been at the dinner the night before; she and Vital had gone back to a.s.sist in the siege at Vampire Locke. But I remembered her calling to the power of the Blood Throne when she was under attack at her coronation, and I wondered if there was anything similar that the vampires could do here.

Before I could even ask the question, though, I saw Saferous stand up. He was a fallen angel, so he could fly, and given his age and standing he was surely very powerful.

Theres no way I could stand up in the wind like that, said Lough, shocked.

As we watched, Saferous launched himself into the air. Followed by several other senior paranormals, he shot like an arrow right at the nearest cl.u.s.ter of hybrids. They must not have been expecting any of the paranormals to do something like that, because they instantly scattered. All around the deck I heard pockets of applause, quickly followed by silence. Any paranormal who let go of the railing for longer than a moment was sure to go over the edge and into the water.

Lets get closer to Dacer, I said. Sip nodded, and the four of us, Rake now bringing up the rear, made our way over to the Museum of Masks curator.

It was slow going. Dacer wasnt very far away, but in this storm it felt like miles. Lough led the charge, trying to block most of the wind from striking us. Every time Saferous and those helping him attacked another group of demons there was a smattering of applause, barely audible above the noise of the storm.

How long do you think they can keep that up? Sip asked from in front of me, sounding breathless.

Not long, I said grimly. I knew that the black s.h.i.+p, still trailing us but getting slightly closer by the minute, was eventually going to strike back at the senior paranormals who were trying to defend us. I had a bad feeling about what would happen to the paranormals when it did.

I still dont understand how they found us, Rake muttered, just as we reached Dacer. My mentor glanced at us and nodded.

This wasnt supposed to happen, he yelled.

You dont say, said Sip, without a trace of humor. Dacer made a face.

We cant stop them, he said. This has been going on for an hour and the s.h.i.+p just keeps getting closer.

Do you think Malles on that s.h.i.+p? I asked, worried for Keller.

But Dacer shook his head. I dont think we would recognize any of the paranormals on that s.h.i.+p. Malle finished her obvious attacks at Queen Lancas coronation. Shes now working from behind the scenes to destroy us, letting other people do the hands-on dirty work.

And Caids letting her, I said bitterly. Dacer looked sad, but he didnt argue with me.

We have to stop the s.h.i.+p, said Sip. At least get away from it.

Weve been trying, said Dacer breathlessly. Every time we create any separation the wind pushes us back against them. We cant do anything unless they stop controlling the wind.

I can help with that, I said. I am an elemental mage, after all.

Dacer vigorously shook his head. Out of the question. Its far too dangerous for you.

I glared at him. When are you people going to stop using that as an excuse and accept that Ive been in danger my whole life? And not only in danger, but in danger because of who my father was, which you cant even be bothered to know!

It was the first time Dacer had ever actually looked hurt by my words, but he held firm. I will not watch you risk your life, he said. Then, leaning closer and speaking so that only I could hear, he added, Especially after what happened at dinner last night.

If you dont let me risk my life now, pretty soon none of us will have lives left, I said, trying to make Dacer understand.

We were interrupted by a series of cries, quickly followed by a ripping sound. We all looked to the sky and saw, hurtling toward us, something that looked a lot like the black power Nick and Nicole had attacked me with. It was a ma.s.sive black fireball, and it was heading right for us.

My mind went blank with terror and my magic did the work for me. I didnt even have time to think, and if Rake hadnt been hanging onto my upper arm I surely would have tilted over the side of the s.h.i.+p.

I felt the s.h.i.+p rock precariously as other paranormals scrambled to defend us.

Its gaining speed, Lough cried frantically, as our defenses tried and failed to stop the ball of fire hurtling at us.

I closed my eyes and sank deep into my magic. I forgot about Caids accusations and plans for Lisabelle, I forgot how excited I was to return to Public and how much I missed Ricky. I even forgot that Rake was desperately hanging onto me, and that without his strong hands clutching me I would surely slip overboard.

I slammed my magic through all the resistance outside me, forcing it outward in every direction. I demanded the winds attention and filled it with lightning. I took a breath and breathed as the wind. I pushed the ocean back. No, I ordered it back, mine to command. I felt its pain at its fiery shackles and encouraged it to break free. All around us was wind that wasnt controlled by the Nocturns, and that wind I swept toward us, through us, clearing the air, tossing out the Nocturns spells like I would toss an empty milk carton into the trash.

I was so lost in my magic that I barely noticed that the rain wasnt pounding so hard on my face and the screams of my fellow paranormals had died down.

Can you direct some of that wind to the sails?

Dacers voice broke into the magical trance I had entered, and I tried to do what he asked. I searched for the sails with my eyes still closed and found them easily enough, because the wind was pus.h.i.+ng against them, still using the sails to drive us closer to the black s.h.i.+p.

With one ma.s.sive push I used the wind to direct us away. I didnt care where we went, so long as we got no closer to the Nocturns. High overhead, I heard cheering. When I opened my eyes and looked up I saw that Saferous and the other paranormals had stopped fighting the demons, because the demons were scurrying back to their masters. I had used the wind to knock them off course, disrupting their battle, but I had avoided doing anything to interfere with the paranormals.

I didnt acknowledge the cheering. I was too angry.

Thats enough, Dacer called, his voice filled with just a touch of wonder.

I took a deep breath and gently let the winds go. Now that I had released them from the darkness magic, they freely flowed into their normal patterns. I nudged them just a bit to get them to carry us in the direction where Dacer wanted us to go.

We must hurry and get to Public, Dacer said. We will be safer there.

Thats funny, said Sip tiredly. I thought we were safer here.

Chapter Twenty-One.

I had thought wed get yelled at, or Caid would come out and make a speech, but neither of those things happened. All the paranormals were too shocked. Saferous landed on the deck and clapped me once on the shoulder, then wearily followed his companions inside. Dacer and I continued to sit on the deck with Sip, Lough, and Rake, watching the sky clear and the clouds form. The wind had propelled us far out of the black s.h.i.+ps reach. To Sips glee, it just couldnt keep up with us.

Take that, you nasty Nocturns, she yelled, jumping to her feet.

Despite the battle there was still a hum of activity around us. I would have been happy to simply sit there and stare around in shock, but other paranormals were rus.h.i.+ng around busily.

Soon Dacer excused himself, muttering something about talking to Caid. We spent a brief time talking to the Quests, and I met the rest of Sips brothers. They all told me not to worry and a.s.sured me that they were on my side.

But the problem, as I saw it, was that there were sides at all.

We should get our sleeping bags rolled up, said Sip, when the crier up above finally gave notice of land. We dont want to be stuck on this thing while everyone else is headed to Public.

We made our way down to the galley, and as we went I quietly asked Sip, Who do you think was on that s.h.i.+p?

Honestly, said Sip quietly, I dont think it was anyone important. Like, not the premier or anything. I have a feeling these groups of demons are just going around and attacking paranormals. Its not very elegant, and Malle definitely likes elegant, so it doesnt seem like she would have been the one in charge.

Thats probably why they want all the objects on the Wheel, said Lough thoughtfully. If they get them, theyll have a better handle on controlling the demons, and all the rest of darkness for that matter.

While simultaneously destroying any chance we have to fight back, I said.

Thats not true, said Sip, turning to look at me. You were brilliant today. We still have you. I gave a small smile, but I didnt feel very good about it.

Before we could reach the galley, Risper intercepted us. He was standing in a corner, off to the side, as if trying to blend with the wall. He motioned to me and I nodded.

Well pack up your stuff and make sure it gets off the s.h.i.+p, said Lough. I thanked him and hurried over to the former Public committee member.

Without a word I followed Risper down, lower and lower, until we were in the very belly of the s.h.i.+p.

I didnt think there were rooms down here, I said in surprise.

Risper chuckled a little. I appropriated a s.p.a.ce from a very fl.u.s.tered captain. He wasnt about to argue with me, he said.

Yes, sir, I said.

I felt strange seeing Risper. The last time Id seen him Id been about to expose him as the renowned thief Elam, who possessed the Map Silver and was after the Mirror Arcane. He had gotten away before Id done that, and he hadnt returned to Public. As far as we knew, he had been spending his time since then looking for the last object on the wheel, the Globe White.

Which we still didnt know the location of.

You are becoming quite the little fighter, Risper said as we walked. He wasnt being ironic, he clearly meant it.

Thank you, I whispered, blus.h.i.+ng slightly at the compliment.

After a short silence during which we entered one of the engine rooms, he said, Here it is. The room was spotless, but it was also dark and small, not a place where I would want to sleep. But Risper seemed at home.

Theres a trap door, he explained, pointing. Well, I created it from magic so that if I should be trapped in here, I can always get away.

You mean if they figure out who you really are? I asked.

Risper looked at me sharply. Who I am is a darkness mage, a bounty hunter, a brother, and an uncle.

I sighed. Right. I miss Lisabelle.

His eyes softened and he nodded sympathetically. I do too. I came as soon as I heard. He looked more tired than I remembered him, and there were more lines around his eyes.

Youve been here all summer, then! I cried, angry that I had missed so many chances to speak with him.

I traveled back, he said shortly. It took nearly a month and would have taken longer if I hadnt already been planning my return.

All else was forgotten when the weight of his words sank in. You know where the Globe White is? I asked eagerly.

Risper, who had busied himself packing up his own things, started to pace.

Yes, Charlotte, I do, but its worse than I thought.

How could it possibly be worse than we thought? I demanded. We cant even get back to Public without being attacked.

Ill know more in a week or so, said Risper. Im going to try and get it myself.

The way he said it made me think it was incredibly dangerous, but he looked relaxed despite the risk to his life. Lisabelle often projected much the same look of deep calm.

What if you need help? I asked. Please let us help you.