He quickly moved to right the gray mask, but while he fumbled with it the door burst open.
On the threshold to the shed stood a furious-looking fallen angel. In my total exhaustion and panic all I could do was grin dopily. Keller had found us.
"What the . . . ?" He stared from one of us to the other.
"If it isn"t wonder boy Keller Erikson," Mark sneered. "Let"s see how cool you are once you experience my mask. . . ."
He tried the funnel trick again, but although it pulled air and all manner of furniture towards Mark, Keller himself didn"t budge.
Mark stared at him in shock. "I don"t understand. . . ."
Slowly, Keller started taking steps forward. "I"m a fallen angel, you see," he said, and his tone would have seemed almost sweet if it hadn"t been for the fury in his eyes. "It"s not MAGIC we have. It"s blood. That mask doesn"t work on blood. Do you have a mask for what I"m about to do?"
Keller kept walking as he talked. "Because I"m a fallen angel, and I"m pretty sure you weren"t expecting that."
Before Mark could reply, Keller launched himself at the undead. Keller was fast, but as an undead of several hundred years" standing, Mark was just a bit faster. As a last act of defiance he turned and shoved me against the burning hot woodstove.
"No," Keller yelled, but it was too late. I was already falling against the hot metal as Keller slammed into Mark.
Chapter Thirty-Seven.
"Why am I here?" I asked sleepily. I was in my own bed in Astra. I knew, because my blankets smelled like vanilla and peaches and at the moment vanilla and peaches were filling my nostrils. I felt warm and safe, not at all as if I had been shoved onto a hot stove.
"Because you refused to go to the infirmary," came Lisabelle"s dry voice. "You"re becoming more difficult by the semester, I swear."
"By senior year there will seriously be no living with you," said Sip laughing. I opened my eyes to look at my friends and grinned.
"Actually, she already lives by herself," Lisabelle pointed out helpfully.
"The semester is over in a couple of weeks," I murmured. "You won"t have to put up with me for long. What happened?"
"I"ll tell her," said Keller, coming into view. I felt my heart do a little silly dance at the sight of him. I wondered if seeing him would always thrill me. Something told me that it would.
Keller sat on my bedside, and despite my protests took my hand in his.
"First and foremost, words cannot express how glad I am that you"re alright," he said, his blue eyes soft and bright. I started to melt and stopped pulling my hand out of his. "I"m only sorry it took me so long to get to that shed. Second, my aunt has left. She"s going to return next semester as a professor, but after the events of the past few days she"s decided that her talents could be better used elsewhere. She"s pretty upset that you took matters into your own hands, successfully no less, when she wasn"t getting anywhere at all."
"He"s trying to tell you that you totally have a boyfriend now," Lisabelle said from the other side of the room. Ignoring glares from both of us she continued gleefully, "and his name"s Keller."
Sip took a playful swipe at our friend while Lisabelle, said, laughing, "I"m just trying to translate shy-people talk. Seriously, it"s fascinating. Sometimes I wonder how quiet people get themselves into relationships at all. I just have to a.s.sume they have great friends like me."
I tried to wipe the smile off of my face, but I couldn"t. I was relieved to see that Keller was having the same problem, and I could even see a faint blush dusting his cheeks. I had never seen him blush before.
"Anyway . . . " I encouraged. Boys were all well and good, but I had to get some questions answered first. "Lanca?"
"She"s fine," Keller a.s.sured me, squeezing my hand. "Mark had kept the mask hidden under a floorboard in the polishing shed, so once Oliva got there it wasn"t hard to find. Luckily, not only did we find it, but Oliva was able to use it enough to kickstart some good blood for the vampires."
"I"m really mad that Lough didn"t tell us about that, by the way," Lisabelle interrupted again. "Now we"lll never hear the end of it about how much smarter he is than we are."
"Okay," said Sip, interrupting to take control of the situation as only the tiny werewolf could. "We"re going to give them some Keller and Charlotte time," she said to Lisabelle. "Let"s go."
When Lisabelle started to protest, Sip gave her a purple-eyed stare. "Do not confuse small stature with weakness, Lisabelle Verlans. I will not be trifled with." Since Sip barely came up to Lisabelle"s shoulder, to an outside observer this would have been comical. But anyone who knew Sip also knew that she was more than capable of handling herself.
"Kissing is the best remedy!" Lisabelle said, and gave us one last grin before she waved and disappeared.
"All the vampires are recovering," said Keller, taking up the thread. "Their finals have been canceled, but that"s only because they haven"t been in cla.s.s in weeks. Tactical is going to continue next semester, possibly in place of Dash or possibly on top of it. Lots of professors were excited that there"s an elemental representative to partic.i.p.ate if she wants. . . ."
The idea of playing Dash hadn"t even occurred to me, but I grinned at the thought.
"And Mark?" I asked, trying to keep the hatred out of my voice. I had blacked out before I saw what Keller did to Mark.
"Dead," said Keller with heat in his voice. "He and I were fighting when Oliva and Risper got there. He never had a chance. I guess it"s not all that hard to kill an undead, and Risper is rather experienced at a range of killings. He took care of it in a matter of seconds. That man is impressive. If Lisabelle grows up to be like him, we really will have to stay on her good side."
"Dacer?" I tried not to let too much hope seep into my voice, but I couldn"t hep it. If he had died before I could save him, I would never forgive myself.
"Oh, Dacer is just fine. It would take more than starvation to bring him down. The entire campus knows he"s fine, because when he came outside - wearing a green and yellow leopard print bathrobe, I might add - and saw what had happened to his Museum, he started creating a racket that even the demons on the other side of the barrier could hear. I think you have a summer internship helping him out if you want it."
The thought of being at Public for the summer sent warm shivers down my arm to mingle with the ones that Keller"s touch was already creating. I smiled.
"How did you find me?" I asked quietly. Now that I thought about it, I knew it had been stupid to go there alone, but patience has never been my strong point. At least I was still alive to realize that.
"I saw you walking away from campus and got concerned," said Keller. "Then Oliva showed up at the Museum and I knew. He ran to get help while I followed you. He knows that going after an undead alone is a terrible life choice."
Keller eyed me sternly, but there was mirth at the side of his eyes. I blushed and looked down, but he slid one pale hand over my chin, forcing my eyes to meet his.
"Luckily, even though he"s a Committee member I don"t think he"s going to hold all your rule-breaking against you."
I grinned. "No, because he knows Dove and Zervos will do plenty of grudge-holding and punishments all on their own."
"This last week . . ." he said, and his eyes clouded as he changed the subject. I put my hand over his mouth. "I"m fine," I said. "We"re all fine. The demons are gone. The vampires are safe. It"s been a successful semester."
I felt Keller"s mouth move in a smile. "Not yet. We still have finals."
I slumped back on my pillows and groaned. "They aren"t going to let me out of that?"
"No," said an all too familiar voice from the doorway: Zervos had arrived to kill any and all happiness in his path. Just business as usual for him.
He looked thin, thinner than before, and there was more gray hair framing his face, but his eyes were as intense and awake as ever. He walked slowly into the room, as if he had aged ten years. The lack of food had taken its toll.
"You"re right," I murmured to Keller. "I"m definitely being punished. Severely."
"Ms. Rollins, you are the personification of trouble," said Zervos. "I thought you were difficult last semester, but it didn"t hold a candle to this one."
I waited for the scolding to continue, but instead Zervos held out a book. "This is something you should have. I have the only copy, because it was entrusted to me by a dear friend, but I think he would want you to have it. I know you are searching for more information about your family. This might contain something useful, although I cannot tell you exactly what."
Zervos handed me the book, the cover of which had one red strip, one blue, one green, and one brown. "It"s a hand-written history of elementals," he said, "complete with spells. I think you will find the first-person account useful."
My throat constricted as I took the book from Zervos. "So," I asked in a shaking voice. "You aren"t here to yell at me?"
Zervos gave what could only be described as a chuckle. "No," he said. "I"m not here to yell at you. I"ve given up, former Probationer. You are impervious to reason. Luckily, since that stupidity sends you headlong into battles that you cannot possibly win - except that you do - it also means you must have a very hard head."
After nodding to Keller and with one last sly smile, he moved slowly towards the door. "Good thing Professor Erikson is gone," he called over his shoulder. I was so shocked that Zervos was teasing me that I was momentarily at a loss for words.
When I had my composure back and I was sure we were alone I set the book reverently by my bedside and eyed Keller. He combed his fingers through his dark hair, and if I hadn"t known better I would have thought he was nervous. He started to say something, but I ignored him. Instead, before I lost all nerve or he ruined the moment with words, I took action, placing my hands on his shoulders and pulling his face towards mine.
Epilogue.
"Yay for family dinners," said Ricky, grinning. "This oughta be fun."
I couldn"t help it. I giggled and settled in for another dinner at home. I wouldn"t be there long, but I had needed to see Ricky. I was more than delighted to know that he had needed to see me, too.
"I"m home. To celebrate, I"m going to cook dinner for everyone," I announced.
I bustled around the kitchen, where everything felt odd and unfamiliar. At the best of times I wasn"t a good cook - even if Ricky tactfully never actually came out and said it - and now, having been at college for a year, I was not only still bad, but rusty to boot.
Ricky"s dusty blond eyebrows disappeared under his bangs. "If we"re celebrating, why are you cooking? Shouldn"t Dad and I get a chance to be happy? Let"s order pizza. I"ll let you dial."
"Ricky," I groaned, but it was too late. I was already laughing as Ricky walked over to me.
Sliding his small, pale hand over the handle of the frying pan I was holding and easing it out of my grip, he said, "Put the kitchenware down. I know you hate Dad, but I wouldn"t wish your cooking on your worst enemy."
Unbidden, an image of the President flashed through my mind. Ricky might think differently if he knew who my worst enemy really was. He might think very differently indeed.
At dinner Ricky said, "I love these family meals. All this togetherness. All this lack of bonding. It"s wonderful to be reminded of everything there is to appreciate about family. For example, that Charlotte basically lives on a separate continent. These family dinners really make me appreciate that. How far away she is. Wonderful."
Ricky wasn"t smiling, but I knew, as I knew that the demons would come again and that the vampires were safe, that Ricky accepted that his father and his sister would never get along and couldn"t even stand to be in the same room together. He still loved both of us.
"Good point, Ricky," I said, nodding. "You are definitely right."
"For once we agree on something," said my stepdad wonderingly.
"It only took almost eighteen years," said Ricky, lacing his fingers together on the table. He leaned forward on his elbows. "Credit goes to me, of course."
For the first and only time, all three of us smiled at each other, and I found myself wondering not what the summer would bring, because I knew I would be holed up in the Museum for the summer except for the visits I would have to friends.
No, I wasn"t thinking about summer. I was thinking about the next year at Public, trying to imagine what it would be like, what would happen. I tried to imagine who else I would lose, who else I would fight.
I straightened my shoulders.
I wasn"t going to lose anyone else that I cared about. Not if I could help it.
And I was going to fight.
I was only staying one night at home, so after we had finished cleaning up Ricky followed me up to my room to chat while my stepdad stayed downstairs to zone out to the TV.
"If you"re dating a guy, what have the two of you done?" Ricky demanded, sitting on the edge of my bed. I choked. My own gray eyes bulged. I had told Ricky about Keller, because I felt like it wasn"t official until the most important person in my life knew about it. Now that he did I was sort of regretting it.
Ricky caught my meaning instantly and threw up his hands. "Mind in the gutter, I swear." He shook his head sadly. "Ew. I meant for FUN. Have you gone to the movies? Taken romantic strolls along the water? Do you live near water?" His forehead creased in a frown.
A blush warmed my cheeks. As usual, I felt awkward talking to my little brother about my sort of boyfriend, while he looked completely fine with it. Nothing fazed him.
"Um, we study together . . . we . . . jog together." It seemed as though that"s what I was going to call fighting off demons and playing Dash: "Jogging."
"We"ve watched a movie or two. . . ." Now I just sounded pathetic.
Ricky looked skeptical.
"Look, Ricky, I know you don"t approve of me dating, even though I"m eighteen and that"s plenty old enough and it"s technically none of your business anyhow." I said the last bit fast, to stop him from cutting me off. "But you will always be the number one man in my life."
I meant that. I cared about Keller. In the deepest reaches of my heart I thought that I might even love him. But I knew I loved Ricky. He was my family. He was it, and I would always choose him first.
Ricky rolled his eyes. "Duh. That"s not what I"m worried about. Although I do hear that convents are nice, and they"re still around. You could always join one . . . ?"
At my sour expression he continued. "I"m worried that guys and girls clearly do not understand each other, and let"s face it, girls make everything WAY more complicated than it needs to be, and you definitely do that, and I"m worried you"ll get hurt."
At my outraged gasp he hastened to add, "I mean that in the nicest possible way."
"Thanks, Ricky, I said. "Talking to you always makes me feel better. Like beating a mallet on my toes. You"d get along great with my friend Lisabelle."
"I probably would," said Ricky, sitting up straighter. "I"d like to meet your college friends. I"m sure Lisabelle"s wonderful." His grey eyes were thoughtful.
"Only people who don"t know her describe her that way," I muttered.
"So," asked Ricky carefully, his eyes to the view out the window, "you haven"t cooked for this guy yet?"
"No, why? How"d you know I hadn"t?" I asked, panicked for a second that I had told Ricky more than I meant to or that "cooked" was some sort of slang for something else. I was very careful never to mention magic around him, but I was always worried I had slipped up. I felt super old all of a sudden.
"Because if you"d cooked for him he"d have been gone like a shot. You"d only see dust on the road where he ran away as fast as he could."
"Ricky!" I groaned.
"All I"m saying is that you should cook for him sooner rather than later. That"s all I"m saying." And with that, my brother gave me a brilliant smile.