the
satisfaction of seeing my fear.
“I’m pretty sure the other
elementals have some idea about that,” I said coldly. Even that might have been
an overstatement, though. The other elementals were dead, but I had recently
found out that they were the ones who had killed my mother, an Airlee. Now I
was more confused than ever about my past and the death of my mom, and I had to
assume my dad’s as well. But of course I had no proof, other than my mother’s
word, that he had even died.
“Hey, Keller,” I said, so that
Zervos couldn’t hear, “will you and I be in the same carriage?” I stood as
close to him as it was possible to be without actually touching him.
“I was going to fly outside,” he
said glancing up at the sky as if to check the conditions for flight. The wind
ruffled his dark hair and I smiled. “I want to keep my eyes open up there, but
I’ll fly next to your carriage unless you want me in it with you. I promise I
won’t go far.”
I blushed and ducked my head,
because I had to be strong, even if it meant that Keller wasn’t holding my hand.
“Will you mind if I keep an eye on you while you fly?” I asked, resting my head
on his shoulder. The chuckle he let out was comforting.
“Never ever,” he whispered back.
“We’re going to be just fine.”
“I know,” I said, “I just worry
about whether we’ll be fine together.”
He kissed the top of my head.
“Even if we’re not together we’re together. Trust me.”
The carriages pulled by demons
landed one by one, and I flinched each time I got a look at a new demon. There
were anywhere from one to three pulling each carriage, and they all looked
starved. I hadn’t even known that demons had to eat, or what sustained them,
but these barely had the energy to fly. Now they would be forced to carry more
weight on the return trip, with the carriages filled with students.
Each carriage was painted a
bright and shiny black. The demons - boiling masses of black, sometimes with
red sparks shooting out of strange places in their bodies, like veins winding
through skin - set down their burdens with heavy sighs. It was a strange sight
in that they didn’t really seem to know we were there, and yet I was sure they
did.
The demon closest to me took a
step forward. When nothing happened he took another step. Even if he wasn’t
looking at me he sensed my elemental core.
My pulse quickened.
Keller let out a low growl and
moved to stand between me and the darkness, stretching out his powerful wings.
“Load ‘em up,” Dove bellowed as
he strode down the line of carriages. Students quickly moved to do as he
ordered. Keeping one eye on the demon, I scurried to the nearest carriage,
where Sip and Lisabelle were already waiting. Lough was about to join us when
Trafton sidled over.
“This doesn’t really fit with the
Golden Falls reputation for hating darkness, does it?” Lisabelle murmured.
“Why don’t you join us guys for
once, instead of always hanging with the ladies?” he asked Lough. Trafton,
blond-haired, blue-eyed, and gorgeous, inclined his head over to Rake and Evan.
Lough, his brow puckered, gave us a sad little wave before he followed the
other dream giver away.
I jumped into the closed
compartment of our carriage. It smelled musty, and the couches were worn. The
windows were covered with a brown cloth, the only light coming from a flame
that was a disconcerting dark blue.
“I feel claustrophobic,” said
Sip, glaring at the covered window.
Lisabelle nodded. “It’s only for
a couple of hours. Why do you think they’ve covered the window, anyway?”
I shrugged. “Probably so that we
can’t see all the demons trailing after us.”
Lisabelle looked grim. “You might
actually be right.”
I sincerely hoped I wasn’t.
Keller would be flying outside.
“Everyone in,” I heard Zervos
yell. I glanced at the empty seat next to me. Maybe we’d get lucky and not have
a fourth.
“Kia, you’d better find a place
in
Team Rodent: How Disney Devours the World