"How's your team?" I asked my friend.

Sip grinned. "Well, Tat's a vampire from China. I didn't know there were any of those, but he keeps saying things in Mandarin and then correcting himself, because none of us speak it. I mean, I speak several dialects of werewolf, naturally, but that's about it. Oh, and we're all excited. Those of us who are werewolves are looking forward to turning." She grinned at me. I knew Sip loved a good werewolf chase.

"Let the Tactical begin," Risper's voice boomed, and instantly our attention was on nothing but the challenge of the Tactical.

Sip dashed off, giving me one last grin as she went. Then Lealand was at my side, towing me away. Keller and Lanca had already disappeared into the night. Panic started to wash over me. I was obviously the weakest link on this team; it wasn't as if Keller and Lanca were ever going to get caught or that anyone was even going to have the stomach to go after them, since it was pretty obvious that anyone who attacked either of them would be decimated. Lanca was the vampire princess, so no vampire was going to do it, and Keller was fast and strong and good at everything, which seemed to be irrelevant to everyone but me. No one was going to go after him, either. Only the pixies would even be foolish enough to try.

I grabbed hold of the back of the jacket of the pixie I was with. Lealand could move fast and silently, and I realized with a start that with the exception of last semester, when we had enacted the Power of Five during the battle with the demons, this was the only time I had worked with a pixie. I actually liked Lealand a lot. I just hoped I didn't get him "killed" tonight.

"Let's let the initial fighting end," he said quietly as we crouched behind a few bushes that were dangerously close to the force field. I could feel its power crackle and move, but I forced myself to keep my eyes towards campus.

"How long do you think this will take?" I whispered.

Lealand shrugged. "Probably a while. I think everyone spent a lot of time on their Tacticals. But we can't stay hidden for long. Soon you'll have to do that bit we talked about."

"Will you, Lanca, and Keller be able to get a lot of people?"

Lealand chewed his lower lip. "I'm pretty sure we will. Keller and Lanca are both deadly. They should be able to work efficiently. I just hope that no one gets to Lough or Trafton before they can."

"I doubt they will," I murmured. Lisabelle might not like Trafton, but she also hated to lose. It was right up there with puppies and hugs; she just couldn't stand for it, which meant that Trafton would be very difficult to get to indeed.

"Besides," Lealand continued, "Trafton himself obviously knows what he's doing. Besides the fact that everyone else on his team will be trying to protect him, he should be able to keep himself safe almost on his own."

I nodded again, thinking about Camilla protecting Lough. I wondered if she would bother or if she would hang Lough out to dry for Cale. Sadly, either way wouldn't surprise me.

A burst of color, like a small bit of fireworks, ripped into the air.

"Fighting's started," said Lealand excitedly. He reminded me of Sip, crouching forward in antic.i.p.ation.

"Let's go," he said, and we moved away from the bush. We hadn't seen anyone since we crouched down; apparently no one else's plan involved hiding so near to the dangerous force field. Bursts of light were coming fast and thick. A lot of students must have decided that this battle would be easier fought in light, and they were throwing out spell after spell. If, while they were at it, they also happened to hit someone and eliminate a whole group, so be it.

Suddenly, right in front of us, Marcus staggered. He was a soph.o.m.ore on the team that included Lough, Camilla, and Evan, and he was also good friends with Keller. He might not have had Keller's powers, but he was still a talented fallen angel. I didn't trust him, and it turned out I was right.

Fast as lightning he straightened from his pretend fall. "I found her," he yelled over his shoulder, pointing his ring at me as dark wings spread out behind him.

"Change of plan," cried Lealand, lunging in front of me. "Go! Before it's too late!"

Chapter Twenty-One.

Without another word I dashed away, using the few seconds that Lealand had bought me to disappear. I shifted, moving along the force field as quietly as I could. I knew I was far away from the main action, but it wasn't time yet. I was supposed to give Keller and Lanca ten minutes. We were almost there, but not quite.

I left my hiding place and raced towards the pond that I now thought of as my mother's. If I could just get there before anyone caught on, I could hide among the reeds until it was time for the next step in our plan.

I went sliding towards the frozen water, barely catching myself before I hit the ice. Scrambling to my knees I tried to get into the reeds to wait for Keller and Lanca's signal.

"It's going to be fine," I murmured to myself. "I can do this. I won't get caught." Not only could I not let anyone else find me, but I also couldn't be seen without Lealand. We were supposed to stay together and if I was found alone we would lose before we'd even had a chance to start.

I wasn't worried about the magic bit; I hadn't had any trouble since I got my Astra ring. Now I was just worried about being able to provide a distraction and then get away without being killed. Lisabelle would definitely try to kill me. This was like her dream come true, not to mention Camilla's.

Just then a jet black stream shot into the air. It was laced with sparkles, which meant that it was a combination of angel and vampire raw power. My sign.

Vampires couldn't really do magic. They were strong and could sometimes manipulate objects, not to mention suck blood and live forever, but Lanca was stronger than most and could pull off something like a shot of black power.

Seeing my chance, I dashed towards the open field where we had gathered and where the fire that Risper had started was still burning high into the air.

As I ran I could tell that my cla.s.smates were taking notice. I wasn't exactly going for stealth, instead I was trying to get everyone's attention just before disappearing. My fingers were crossed that Keller's idea would work.

Other students started to run after me. I could see them readying spells. I slid onto the ground, ducking someone's fire. Lanca appeared in front of me, blocking others. I was attracting a ma.s.sive crowd, just as I had meant to do.

"Duck," Lanca yelled to me.

"I already ducked," I muttered. "What am I supposed to do with my head, lay it on the ground?"

I saw immediately why she was yelling, though: Camilla was barreling down on me. Off to the side I could see Sip, standing by, unsure exactly what to do.

Before Camilla and a couple of the other pixies could reach me, I started to pull power out of my ring. It blazed blue, lighting up the surrounding area with a new color. Since I was the only one who was blue, I was sure to attract even more attention. I didn't notice when Lanca melted away, only that she was gone. I started to spin my magic around me, faster and faster. It came in waves, just like the ocean when I had put the mask on only hours before - when Keller had held my hand.

I kept spinning the watery magic, making it easy for everyone to know my location but difficult for anyone to pinpoint exactly where I was.

This had better work, I thought.

There were too many of them, but just as I was getting worried I started to hear cries and yells of frustration. To my left, a couple of people melted away from me.

"Go, Charlotte!" I heard Keller's voice yell. I went. Seeing the opening that was a little wider now on my left side, I threw myself through it. Camilla had never made it all the way to my side; she had lost any sense of a clear goal when I started the magic. The fact that no one had seen elemental magic in a long time was definitely working to my advantage.

Hitting the ground hard, I started to crawl. A strong hand gripped me tightly, helping me along. At first I thought it was Keller, but when I looked sideways I realized it was Lealand.

"I love this school," he whooped. "Awesome."

"Did it work?" I coughed. There was a lot of different magics flying around. Two vampires ducked past us and I heard a howl somewhere nearby. Others were joining us, including Trafton.

"Lough is holding out," said Trafton, "but I think Lisabelle is going to get my friend the dream giver."

"Surprise, surprise," I said, grinning. "And I'm pretty sure Lough doesn't like you." As usual, Trafton merely grinned in response.

Once we were a safe distance away from the action, I turned to admire my group's handiwork.

Pixie magic specialized in trickery, so Lealand had used his powers to help me along, making me look more impressive than I was, drawing more students, MOST students, into watching what I was doing.

Meanwhile Keller, who as a fallen angel was best with manipulating s.p.a.ce and time, was using his ring to mold a very large cage. Lanca had helped. I had crawled out just before the completed cage dropped down on almost everyone except Lough, effectively ending the night's game.

Lough and Lisabelle had had enough sense to stay away from me. Later on, with a grin, Lisabelle would tell anyone who asked that it was because she didn't find me all that impressive.

After losing the rest of his group to Keller's cage, Lough had started to spin a powerful dream around himself. Unfortunately, Lisabelle, who knew just as much about dream givers as Lough did but had a lot less concern for bodily injury, had stamped through his dream to grab him by the collar and "kill" him. It wasn't as if Lough could send a nightmare after Lisabelle; he cared about her too much. Trafton had watched it all with glee.

Lots of the students were now huffing and yelling, angry at being so easily caught by Keller and Lanca. I grinned. This training might turn out to be fun after all.

The students were dispersing, many of them giving me grudging looks as they pa.s.sed. Keller, Lanca, Lealand, and I had won easily. It had been my distraction that had brought out the other valuable students, and Keller and Lanca had picked them off easily.

I looked for my teammates, excited to congratulate them and talk about our first victory of the semester. Lanca and Keller were off in the distance towards the main part of campus, talking quietly, while Lealand was trudging towards them. Right when I started to move, Keller turned his head and smiled at me as I came up. I felt my body give a sigh. I had gotten used to that smile.

Just before I reached the group, Risper appeared at my side. The man made me nervous, but then again he probably made tigers nervous. In fact, he probably made everyone nervous. Everyone, that is, but his equally intimidating niece. Lisabelle would probably have been insulted to hear that I didn't find her more intimidating than her famous uncle.

"Nice work, Charlotte," he said warmly. "It was impressive of you to risk yourself like that for the good of the team. Not something most people would do."

"I don't know," I said, tearing my eyes away from Keller. "I think there are more people out there who would do that than you think."

Risper gave me a long look but only said, "Perhaps. With such a spectacular start to the festivities, I wonder what you'll have in store for the rest of the semester."

Without another word he stalked away, while I was left to wonder what exactly had he meant, and whether it was a challenge or a warning. Glancing away from his retreating figure I could see Dacer standing far off in the distance. I could see him even in the dark because he was wearing a glow-in-the-dark coat. His arm went up in a merry wave and I waved back. It was nice that he had come out to watch us compete, and it was even nicer that he had seen me do well. In the little time since I had been back at Public I had decided that I liked Dacer a great deal, and I was looking forward to working with him for the rest of the semester.

"Nice job," said Lealand, once Risper was gone.

"Thanks," I said. "You as well."

"Yeah," said Lanca, her voice so soft that I had to strain to hear it. "Nice."

I stared at her in alarm. Her normally pale skin was a translucent white and I had the alarming notion that if I breathed on her too hard she might fall over.

"Lanca," I murmured, "are you alright?"

Her eyes burned into me, showing a feverish light. "Of course. Just a bit tired. I should be fine in the morning."

But when she turned to walk away she stumbled. As if in slow motion, Lanca, probably the most graceful student on campus, started to fall, her frail body giving out beneath her. Keller, who I later realized was prepared for just that sort of occurrence, caught her right before she hit the ground. Her bodyguards, the other vampires who were always with her, had not yet rejoined her after the Tactical had finished; they were too far away to give aid. It might have just been my imagination, but I had the fleeting notion that Lealand didn't look entirely surprised.

With Lanca safe in his arms, Keller gently lowered her to the ground. She was unconscious. An explosion of motion happened around us as every vampire in the vicinity descended on us, drawn by the sight of their p.r.o.ne princess.

I glanced upwards, towards the invisible force field, then wished I hadn't. There was nothing but a ma.s.s of demons overhead, blotting out the night stars. Definitely more than fifty, just waiting for our defenses to crack.

Chapter Twenty-Two.

I got into bed that night almost too tired to move. All on its own the magic I had done would have been enough to tucker me out; I was new to paranormal magic in general and elemental magic in particular, and tonight's effort had been major.

But that had turned out to be the least stressful event of the evening. I had barely had time to cry out after Keller lowered Lanca to the ground before I was ushered away from the scene. Keller and Lealand had also moved away as the professors had gathered, Zervos first in line, and rushed her to the infirmary.

Keller had gently taken me by the arm, murmuring something in my ear. I was too stunned to listen to his actual words, but when his fingers put gentle pressure on my flesh I moved, allowing him to lead me away. I didn't pay attention to what happened to Lealand or to my friends. All I knew was that I had feared that Lanca was ill, and now it was clear that she was.

"Is it possible it's just, like, a cold?" I asked. It sounded stupid coming out, but seriously, how often do twenty-two-year-olds collapse and it's anything major?

"No," said Keller quietly. "She's a vampire princess. That's not possible."

The walk home was cold. My body felt numb, my heart beat wildly, and an icy panic washed over me. This wasn't supposed to happen. Lanca was a friend, fast becoming a good one. The only warmth I could feel came from the body next to me; Keller was, as usual, a source of strength. We reached Astra without another word and in desperation I turned to him.

"Want to stay?" I asked breathlessly. I couldn't see his face, but I knew his eyebrows shot up.

"Stay?"

"Yeah," I hurried on, not sure what I was asking. "Just stay somewhere in Astra. Like my room."

An image of Sip holding an imaginary shovel and pretending to dig a hole popped into my head.

"I mean, I don't want to do . . . like, we obviously aren't. I just want you to be near." I finished lamely. It was winter and my cheeks felt like they were on fire. My goodness, I was awkward.

Relief washed over me when Keller laughed softly. "I would stay . . . somewhere . . . in Astra . . . because we aren't. . . ." - he mocked me with a smile - ". . . but I don't think Mrs. Swan would approve."

"Forget Mrs. Swan," I cried recklessly. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her!" What I really wanted to say was forget Professor Erikson, but I knew I couldn't.

"How am I supposed to get in?"

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Just fly. Sneak in through an upper window or something. Improvise. I thought you were smart."

I was rewarded by a flash of teeth in the dark as Keller's jaw dropped open. If he had been any less smooth, the noise he made would have been a snort.

"Charlotte, you live in a fortress. Maybe you don't realize it, but Astra is the safest place on campus."

I stared at him. It was clear that he was serious, and since I would have done anything to keep him talking - to keep him from leaving - I said, "Tell me more."

He grinned and shook his head. "I should go. It's insanely late. And we fallen angels need our beauty rest."

You'd be beautiful sleepless and covered in donkey dung. . . . Oh, the things we think in our heads, where no one else can hear. . . .

"Why are you making that weird face?" Keller asked.

"No reason," I murmured. Deciding to be bold, I stretched my arms out, wrapping them around Keller's hard middle. "Thanks, Keller," I whispered.

I was more relieved than I was willing to admit when he didn't pull away. Instead he seemed to welcome the contact, wrapping his arms just as tightly around me. I didn't pay any attention to how long we stood like that, but it felt like forever and just a few breaths all at once. At the end he placed a soft kiss on the top of my head.

"Sleep well," he murmured, and then he was gone.

After the mayhem created by Lanca's collapse, everyone somehow still managed to come to Astra, minus Keller, obviously. My friends were all so shocked and upset that even though the hour was very late, none of us really wanted to be alone.

We trudged into the fire sitting room, all looking glum. Sip looked like she might cry, while Trafton looked concerned. Lealand, Lisabelle, and Lough distributed themselves in chairs around the room, while I sat on the couch with Trafton and Sip. Lealand had been invited, but he had made some excuse not to come. Mrs. Swan brought us cookies and milk but seemed to know that we just needed time to ourselves. When we told her about Lanca she didn't look surprised, which worried me more than anything else. And she had done the oddest thing, she had asked me how Zervos was holding up. When I told her what he had done to me and showed her the marks his fingerprints had left on my arm she paled, but before I could ask her to explain she had bustled away.