"What just happened?" Trafton asked. His eyes looked haunted. "I know Public went through a lot last semester, but I wasn't expecting this. She's a vampire princess. . . ." He was basically saying that she was too important to fall, and yet she had.

"Something is making her sick," said Lisabelle with certainty. "She's known it since she got here."

"I think we should always just blame Zervos and Camilla. They're both evil, and at some point we're bound to be right about them," I offered.

"There are a lot of evil people in the world who don't try to kill others," Sip argued. "Neither of them has done anything wrong. In fact, Zervos has been really quiet this semester. He was obviously not feeling well tonight either."

"A lot of the vampires have been quiet," said Lisabelle softly.

"What are you saying?" I asked.

Lisabelle shrugged. "I think there's something wrong. I don't know for sure, but the vampires have been struggling. You saw what happened at Tactical tonight. Most of the first eliminations were vampires. Lanca wasn't, okay, but no one paired with Keller would get eliminated early. He was protecting her, otherwise someone would have gotten to her.

I blushed at the compliment to my . . . nothing. What was he? Nothing.

Grrrr.

"Do you know what's wrong with them?" I asked softly.

"So, you've noticed it too? Not just with Lanca, but with the others?" Lisabelle asked me.

I shrugged. I had just sort of blamed it on the cold winter, but now that Lisabelle had said something explicit, I was worried that she was right.

Sip got to her feet and started to pace. "I have as well. This is bad. It's obviously not demon-related, because let's face it, the vampires are the most powerful paranormal type outside of the fallen angels, and there are lot more vampires than fallen angels."

"What difference does it make what it is?" Trafton asked.

The rest of us stared at him, shocked.

"What do you mean what difference does it make?" Lough demanded, outraged.

"It's not like they're going to tell us what's going on, or we're going to be able to help!" Trafton argued.

"She's our friend," Sip cried. "And she's sick!" With tears in her eyes she stormed out. Glaring at Trafton, Lisabelle and Lough followed after. Once they were gone Trafton didn't stay much longer. We didn't have much to talk about.

In a dramatic and terrible twist of fate, Zervos filled in for Professor Anania the next day, so I had the pleasure, or something, of seeing him two days in a row. All morning I had heard nothing at all about Lanca, and I was desperate for information. One look at Zervos's face told me I wasn't going to get it from him.

I sat so close to his desk that when he slammed down a pile of books, a rustle of air hit my face. Cla.s.s wasn't going well. Zervos had come in looking irritable and tired, and everyone was in various states of panic after seeing Lanca go down the night before. Lisabelle had just told Zervos that she didn't want to be first to recite the list of the ten ancient vampire artifacts that were kept in the Cruor bas.e.m.e.nt. Zervos's response - "Sometimes you are the windshield and sometimes you are the bug" - had almost sent Lisabelle into hysterics.

After she had recited the list, she put her head on her arms and pretended to sleep while Zervos talked at us. At one point she raised her head a fraction and murmured to me, "Has he stopped talking?"

"No."

"Under no circ.u.mstances are you allowed to wake me up unless he's finished," she directed, and dropped her head back onto her arms.

Lough, sitting on my other side, watched us whisper. Camilla, watching us in her turn, said meanly, "Do you wish you were one of Lisabelle's arms right now, Lough? So that her head was resting on you?"

Lough's face went redder.

"Shut up, Camilla," I said, surprising both of us with my harsh tone.

Camilla recovered quickly. "Oh, look, the elemental speaks. Lucky us."

Suddenly Zervos spun around. "Ladies!" he cried.

He was about to yell at Camilla, but something happened. Zervos, who had been looking worse and worse as the cla.s.s wore on, suddenly clutched at his chest. His eyes rolled backwards, showing white, and with a loud crash he fell to the ground. Unlike Lanca the night before, he had no one nearby to catch him.

Instantly Sip sprang into action, rushing out of the room to find help. Other students cried out, some asking if he was okay, others shrinking away in horror. Within seconds Lambros materialized, racing to Zervos's side. Her harsh voice rang out. "Cla.s.s is canceled. Everyone out."

We all filed out in a daze. I took one last look at Zervos lying on the ground. He didn't look asleep, it was more grotesque. His body was twisted in a way that couldn't possibly happen to someone sleeping comfortably.

"This is bad," Lough muttered as we left the room. Sip appeared at our side, agreeing with him as we walked away.

"The vampires are dropping like flies. What's the result of that going to be?" Lisabelle asked.

"Angering the vamps is like angering Lisabelle," said Sip.

Lough nodded in agreement. "Always a bad idea."

Chapter Twenty-Three.

After Lanca and Zervos collapsed, it felt like time stopped. I went to cla.s.s, went to the Museum and tried to stay present with my friends, but the strain showed on all of us. I wanted to know more about Lanca but we weren't allowed to see her.

So I threw myself into my work at the Museum. I wanted to impress Dacer, and maybe in some indirect way to find out more about what was going on with Lanca.

I reached the Museum early one morning, just in time to wave to the guard. Dacer was already there, but he looked strained. Ignoring the questioning look in my eyes, he set me to work.

I was surprised when Lealand showed up later in the day. Without a word to me he disappeared into the back part of the Museum. Not long after that Keller found me, experimenting with masks in the elemental gallery.

"How is it going?" he asked, shoving his hands into his jeans. His cheeks were slightly pink from cold and his hair was tousled. I smiled.

"Pretty well, but I think there's something wrong with Dacer," I told him.

"Like what?" he asked, his face clouding.

I shrugged. "I don't know, but Lealand of all pixies just showed up to talk to him."

"Lealand likes masks," said Keller, nodding. "He was excited about this place."

"Then he should be the one with the internship," I murmured, replacing the brown and muddy mask I held in my hand back in its rightful place on the wall. I usually thought of my parents when I was in this room, even though it was hard without having any real image of my dad to think about, but I felt closer to them when I was here, even when I was holding a mask made of mud.

"Do you want to go see Lanca?" Keller asked, drawing me back to the present.

I spun around. "We can?" It had been almost a week and I was going crazy with worry. Lanca had become a good friend, someone I could rely on and wanted to take care of. Her illness had been devastating.

"Yeah, she sent a message saying I could bring you."

"Let's go," I said, rushing towards him. He laughed softly as I dragged him through the galleries. "How long do we have?"

"She said come any time, but I don't think they'll let us stay long," he said.

Right before we left the Museum Dacer and Lealand came from the back. Their heads were bent together as if they were deep in conversation, and I wondered what Dacer could possibly have to say to a junior transfer.

"Ms. Rollins," said Dacer. He wore an orange suit today, with blue shoes and a blue bow tie. "May I have a quick word?"

I glanced at Keller who nodded. "Lealand and I can talk Tactical strategy."

Dacer drew me away from my teammates, wrapping a thin arm around my shoulders. At some point over the last few days Dacer had started to appear weak. I had to remind myself that he, too, was a vampire, since he acted so differently from the others at Public. He was getting sick.

"Are you alright?" I asked softly.

Dacer nodded, waving a hand impatiently. "I need to tell you something and I don't have a lot of time." He coughed, covering his mouth with a shaking hand. I was horrified to see specks of blood dot his palm before he quickly folded his hand out of few.

"One of the masks is missing. I have, of course, alerted the Committee to this fact, but they want to investigate further before they make a determination."

"Which one?" I asked, although my heart was sinking. I had a bad feeling I already knew which one.

"The oval vampire mask that you saw on the first day is no longer hanging on the wall. Professor Erikson suggested I might have misplaced it." He didn't even seem angry at Professor Erikson for implying that he was careless, even though I knew him to be anything but. "That obviously is not what has happened."

"Why does it matter if just that one is missing?" I asked. "Isn't it more dangerous if the first one, the one with two ovals is gone?"

Professor Dacer turned sad eyes on me. Not even the fact that they were outlined in silver glitter gave them any life. "No," he said, "Because the damage from that mask has already been done."

I almost ran to Cruor. Keller had to stride along next to me in order to keep up. On the way I told him everything Dacer had told me.

"So, someone took the double oval vampire mask from the Museum, used it to poison all the blood for miles around, and then replaced it and took the mask that can perform the cure?" Keller asked in clarification. I had spat everything out so fast he had had trouble following me.

"I think that's what Dacer thought, anyway," I said. "It doesn't sound like the Committee really believes that's what's happened, but Dacer doesn't make mistakes. It's not like he misplaced the oval mask that carries the power to cure."

I was panicking now. Dacer's theory confirmed my worst fears, that the vampires were under attack in the very place that existed to protect us.

"Who would do that?" I demanded of Keller. "Is it a demon?"

Keller shook his head. "Demons cannot use those masks. It has to be someone with some sort of supernatural powers."

"Maybe it's Lealand," I mused. "He's around the Museum a lot. It has to be someone who got in and out without detection."

Keller frowned. "Let's not worry about who it is just yet, although I don't think it's Lealand under any circ.u.mstances. Let's just worry about getting the vampires better."

"But we can't get them better without the mask, and we can't get the mask without knowing who took it," I wailed. This was the first time I remembered talking to Keller where he didn't support me, and I didn't like it. I wanted to talk to Sip and Lisabelle. Maybe they would have a good suggestion.

Cruor was just how I remembered it, which was unfortunate, because I remembered it as being terribly creepy and intimidating. Then again, I would expect the place where the vampires lived to be exactly that. Cruor had been built with a graveyard as its front lawn. I had always wondered if vampires slept in that ground, but I had never had the nerve to ask anyone, even Lanca.

I was concerned to see that we were ushered inside not by a vampire, but instead by one of the nurses.

"Are they that bad?" Keller asked her quietly. She was a small woman with round eyes. All she had to do was nod.

"Princess Lanca is three floors down," she whispered to us. Quickly Keller and I followed her pointing finger.

Cruor was decorated in red and black. Everywhere we looked, the furniture, the carpet, and the walls were a combination of those two colors. It would be an incredibly depressing place to live, I thought. I was glad I had Astra.

I followed Keller down three flights of stone stairs. With each step it got colder and the air swirled around us, coming up from somewhere we couldn't see.

"Do you want my jacket?" Keller offered. He was wearing a winter jacket and so was I, but he was big enough so that I could have worn his over mine with no problem.

I shook my head. "I'm sure Lanca's room will be warmer."

Half of Keller's mouth crooked up in a smile. "Maybe."

I realized that vampires, since they were technically dead, did not feel temperature the way we did, and therefore it was entirely possible that Lanca's room would be freezing. But I had already refused Keller's nice offer, so I didn't say anything more.

As a princess and a senior Lanca was ent.i.tled to an impressive room, and that's exactly what she had. Her black wooden double doors were guarded, again not by vampires but by two professors. One of them was Korba, and he gave me a delighted nod as we walked in. I had a hard time believing that anything could penetrate far enough to attack Lanca, but I knew that the professors were there more out of respect to her station than anything else. Besides, there was obviously something loose on campus that wanted the vampires dead.

"Just go in," said Korba, pushing the door open. "She's expecting you."

Lanca's room looked like the inside of a palace. Everything was deep gold and gray, with hints of red. "Wow," I said, my eyes locking on Lanca herself. She was in a ma.s.sive four-poster bed, the biggest I had ever seen. I could barely see her head above the shiny gold covers that that engulfed her.

Without another thought I rushed to her side. My feet felt like they were landing on a forest floor covered in moss, her carpet was so soft. Unsure if I should touch her, I just stood alongside her bed awkwardly.

"Are you alright?" I breathed, looking down on her. At this point, if she were to faint in the snow she would disappear, her skin was so pale.

Ever the princess, she gave me a weak smile. "I'll be fine." Her voice was low and weak, but still Lanca's. I allowed myself to feel a bit of relief.

"Keller," she said, her voice growing a bit stronger when she looked at the fallen angel standing behind me. "What's the news?"

Her question was directed at both of us, but her eyes had returned to me. There was something desperate in those eyes. Any relief I felt disappeared. Lanca was very ill.

"Hey, at least whoever did this isn't after you," she said, smiling. "Now all you have to deal with is the hundreds of demons trying to break into Public." I laughed, even as I felt like crying.

"Sure thing," I said. "Want me to tell you everything we know?"

Lanca started to laugh, but it sounded more like a chain saw trying to cut through metal and she stopped almost immediately.

"Don't look at me with that worry," she muttered, trying to sit up. I quickly moved forward to help her. "It's annoying."

Despite the seriousness of the situation I grinned. "You sound just like Lisabelle."

Keller and I settled in on either side of the bed, which was so big that all three of us could sit comfortably and not be even close to touching. Keller, who I saw with a bristle of jealousy was totally comfortable in Lanca's room, even in her bed, lay back against the pillows and laced his fingers behind his head. It took every ounce of strength I had not to glare at him. He wasn't mine to glare at.

Once I started talking I kept going for a long time. Every few sentences Lanca would interject a question, and I was relieved to see that her mind was still totally clear. Whatever was causing this illness, it was only ruining the vampires' food supply, not affecting their mental powers. It was a small comfort, but better than nothing.