Elemental Earth (Paranormal Public) by Maddy Edwards Read Free Book Online Page B

think Dove is?”
    When I had seen Zervos traveling
at the back of our caravan, about as far from me as possible, I’d been
relieved, but now that relief had turned to fear. It was clear that he was too
far away, or held up by his own battle, to help us out.
    I felt Sip brush past me as
Lisabelle collapsed into the werewolf’s arms. Purple eyes met gray and Sip
said, “A little help, please?”
    I darted forward. Kia seemed to
have used up her bravery for the day and was again cowering against a carriage
wall that was melting away.
    Now that the top and walls of our
transport were disintegrating, I could clearly see what was going on around me.
    But I wished I couldn’t.
    Everywhere I saw paranormals
doing battle with demons. High in the air, we were no match for them.
    “I think we’re totally off
course,” Lisabelle muttered. “The demon was leading us the wrong way the whole
time.”
    I shook my head. “How could that
be? Where’s Dove?”
    The former committee member, who
was at Public this semester in an advisory role, was nowhere to be seen.
    “We have to get out of here,”
said Lisabelle. “If I call my broom can you help it along?”
    I nodded and took a firmer hold
of the winds swirling around us.
    “There’s Keller,” Sip cried,
pointing. Keller was shooting toward us, his black wings outstretched. He was
easily outrunning the demon that chased him.
    “He looks a little worse for
wear,” said Lisabelle dryly. The shirt he’d been wearing when we left was in
tatters, as if it had been burned off his body. I wondered what his wounds had
looked like before he’d healed them. “Not that any girl would complain about
seeing him shirtless.”
    “This is a total ambush,” said
Sip grimly. “I wish we were on the ground, so that we could fight.”
    Lisabelle, who was still slumped
against the werewolf, straightened. “It’s time we did fight,” she said. “I
refuse to be a sitting duck to these incompetent demons.”
    “How are they incompetent?” Kia
cried. “They took us by surprise, didn’t they?”
    “They’re incompetent because we
aren’t dead,” said Lisabelle. “Obviously.”
    Before Sip knew what was
happening, Lisabelle had grabbed her beneath the arms. Sip barely had time to
change into werewolf form before Lisabelle launched her at the nearest demon.
    Sip gave a furious battle cry as
she slammed into the Demon of Knight, who rode what looked a bit like a
hellhound with wings. Powerful haunches and paws were covered by black fur,
massive jaws dripped red saliva, or maybe it was blood. Our carriage lurched as
Sip’s weight transferred. The demon gave a roar as the werewolf’s jaw tore into
its armor. The wings of the beast beat furiously and I saw that they were
tattered and torn, with scraps of flesh hanging off them.
    “What is that creature?” I yelled
to Lisabelle as we watched our friend do battle. The fear on Lisabelle’s face
mirrored my own. If Sip didn’t win that battle, student against a powerful
darkness demon, she was dead.
    “It’s a hybrid and it shouldn’t
exist,” said Lisabelle grimly. The thing was trying not to move, because if it
bucked Sip it also bucked its rider. “Demons fly on their own. If they can’t,
then they don’t fly at all.”
    The thing turned its burning eyes
on us and I flinched away. Something in it looked almost gleeful, and my heart
was ripped in two for my friend.
    “But can’t a Demon of Knight
fly?” I yelled back, as more demons converged on the chariots.
    Lisabelle nodded. “Yes, which is
why the fact that they’re riding flying animals is concerning. What’s the
point?”
    “Can we worry about the fact that
we’re a mile in the air and our transport is burning around us?” Kia yelled.
    Lisabelle gave one curt nod.
“That’s the first smart thing I’ve ever heard a pixie say.”
    Kia was about to reply when
another burst of flames slammed into us.
    The demon pulling our carriage
started to plummet downward. My