“Here I was thinking you were brave.”
“Ew, could they really be
dating?” said Lough in horror. “I swear, if Faci has gotten a girlfriend before
me. . . .” He just shook his head angrily as Sip gave him a sympathetic pat.
“Maybe he’ll stay here next
year,” she said. “They can beat the darkness right out of him.”
“Not likely they’ll want to keep
him,” said Nolan. His eyes were fixed and his voice shook.
“Still, maybe we’ll get lucky,”
said Lisabelle. “Then again, he didn’t seem to think we were going to live
until next year. We can’t die this semester. We have too much to do.”
The only reason I’d been worried
about coming here this semester was because other than missing Paranormal
Public, I felt sure that it would set me back in my efforts to find the objects
on the Wheel. Despite my hopes to the contrary, it was probably also going to
set me back in my attempt to understand why elementals had murdered my mother,
who was the mother of her own elemental. But I was here now, and I had to make
the best of it, starting with breakfast.
Breakfast was served outside in
the walled courtyard we’d feasted in the day before. I expected a simple setup,
with maybe some cereals, toasts, and jams, after last night’s extravaganza, but
I was starting to find out that Golden Falls University didn’t do simple. They
did spectacle, and they did it very well.
“Who are they?” As I said it I
pointed to two men dressed in bronze, who flanked the glass double doors we had
just come through.
“Golden Falls Happiness
Enforcement Officers,” said Nolan brightly, as if it should have been obvious.
“Ah, um, I guess the name says it
all?” I asked uncertainly.
Nolan chuckled. “They just help
keep peace.”
“Given how opposed this place is
to war, I’m surprised they’re needed,” Lisabelle commented. Her customary black
clothing contrasted sharply with all the gold and other bright colors around
us. As usual, she didn’t appear to care.
“Hi, I’m Pearl,” said a Golden
Falls student who came up to me just as we were getting our food, and stuck out
her hand. She had masses of brown hair, a sprinkling of freckles, and a bright
smile. She was only a little taller than Sip.
“Um, hi,” I said, trying to
balance the plate I had piled high with food while shaking her hand. I had gone
a little overboard on breakfast. We all had, never having seen so many good
things to eat in one place before. Pearl just had fruit and a biscuit on her
white porcelain plate.
“I wanted to welcome you to
Golden Falls,” she said, giving me a warm handshake. “We’re thrilled to have
the last elemental here this semester.”
We talked for a few minutes. She
informed me that if we ever had any questions, any at all, we should come
straight to her, or really any Golden Falls student. The only time her chipper
behavior slipped was when Lisabelle joined us. She tried to keep the
conversation going, but her heart wasn’t in it. After only a couple more
sentences she excused herself, giving Lisabelle a wide berth.
“She left fast after I showed
up,” the darkness mage commented, chewing on a strawberry.
“I’m sure she just wanted to let
us eat our breakfast in peace,” said Sip, munching on peach slices covered in
honey.
After breakfast Nolan led us to
our first lesson. I was expecting something amazing, and of course we got it.
The class was run by a woman named Annabelle, who was dressed in a silvery
gown, with silvery hair piled on top of her head. She was going to teach us the
art of “Veneer,” which was basically a form of concealment. “Given these
dreadful times,” she explained, “we need all the help we can get.”
I left the class completely
confident that if necessary I could hide the small pimple at the base of my
cheek, although what that had to do with stopping demons was any paranormal’s
guess.
The next class was much the same,
right down to being taught by another
“Ew, could they really be
dating?” said Lough in horror. “I swear, if Faci has gotten a girlfriend before
me. . . .” He just shook his head angrily as Sip gave him a sympathetic pat.
“Maybe he’ll stay here next
year,” she said. “They can beat the darkness right out of him.”
“Not likely they’ll want to keep
him,” said Nolan. His eyes were fixed and his voice shook.
“Still, maybe we’ll get lucky,”
said Lisabelle. “Then again, he didn’t seem to think we were going to live
until next year. We can’t die this semester. We have too much to do.”
The only reason I’d been worried
about coming here this semester was because other than missing Paranormal
Public, I felt sure that it would set me back in my efforts to find the objects
on the Wheel. Despite my hopes to the contrary, it was probably also going to
set me back in my attempt to understand why elementals had murdered my mother,
who was the mother of her own elemental. But I was here now, and I had to make
the best of it, starting with breakfast.
Breakfast was served outside in
the walled courtyard we’d feasted in the day before. I expected a simple setup,
with maybe some cereals, toasts, and jams, after last night’s extravaganza, but
I was starting to find out that Golden Falls University didn’t do simple. They
did spectacle, and they did it very well.
“Who are they?” As I said it I
pointed to two men dressed in bronze, who flanked the glass double doors we had
just come through.
“Golden Falls Happiness
Enforcement Officers,” said Nolan brightly, as if it should have been obvious.
“Ah, um, I guess the name says it
all?” I asked uncertainly.
Nolan chuckled. “They just help
keep peace.”
“Given how opposed this place is
to war, I’m surprised they’re needed,” Lisabelle commented. Her customary black
clothing contrasted sharply with all the gold and other bright colors around
us. As usual, she didn’t appear to care.
“Hi, I’m Pearl,” said a Golden
Falls student who came up to me just as we were getting our food, and stuck out
her hand. She had masses of brown hair, a sprinkling of freckles, and a bright
smile. She was only a little taller than Sip.
“Um, hi,” I said, trying to
balance the plate I had piled high with food while shaking her hand. I had gone
a little overboard on breakfast. We all had, never having seen so many good
things to eat in one place before. Pearl just had fruit and a biscuit on her
white porcelain plate.
“I wanted to welcome you to
Golden Falls,” she said, giving me a warm handshake. “We’re thrilled to have
the last elemental here this semester.”
We talked for a few minutes. She
informed me that if we ever had any questions, any at all, we should come
straight to her, or really any Golden Falls student. The only time her chipper
behavior slipped was when Lisabelle joined us. She tried to keep the
conversation going, but her heart wasn’t in it. After only a couple more
sentences she excused herself, giving Lisabelle a wide berth.
“She left fast after I showed
up,” the darkness mage commented, chewing on a strawberry.
“I’m sure she just wanted to let
us eat our breakfast in peace,” said Sip, munching on peach slices covered in
honey.
After breakfast Nolan led us to
our first lesson. I was expecting something amazing, and of course we got it.
The class was run by a woman named Annabelle, who was dressed in a silvery
gown, with silvery hair piled on top of her head. She was going to teach us the
art of “Veneer,” which was basically a form of concealment. “Given these
dreadful times,” she explained, “we need all the help we can get.”
I left the class completely
confident that if necessary I could hide the small pimple at the base of my
cheek, although what that had to do with stopping demons was any paranormal’s
guess.
The next class was much the same,
right down to being taught by another
Similar Books
