"Why Ms. Verlans, if I had known you were capable of such eloquent language I would have made the history tests harder," Zervos drawled venomously behind us.

Lisabelle was the only one of us who didn't jump. Sip let out a little squeal. She hated surprises.

"Professor Zervos," she greeted politely.

"Ms. Quest," said Zervos. He didn't look at her. He was staring at Lisabelle. I wondered what it was about her that bothered him so much. I had thought he couldn't stand me, but it was like comparing a b.u.mp in the road to Mount Everest. He really hated Lisabelle.

"Ms. Rollins," said Professor Zervos, turning his cold dark eyes away from Lisabelle's blazing black ones, "given your newfound status, it will hardly do to have you standing about the lawns of Public gawking."

"Maybe she likes gawking," said Lisabelle, folding her arms across her chest. Sip and I knew that look well. She was about to get into trouble and probably drag us down with her. Oh joy.

"Come on," said Sip, grabbing one of her arms while I grabbed the other. "Wonderful as ever to see you, Professor Zervos," said Sip as we pa.s.sed him.

"Why do you insist on mouthing off?" Sip demanded when we were out of earshot. Her face was mulish.

Lisabelle shrugged. "Because sarcasm is my native language. You wouldn't want me to change for someone else would you? Become what someone else wants me to be? I hear that's not healthy."

"Don't spout some relationship mumbo jumbo at me," said Sip sternly, starting to turn away. Then she turned back. "And I want you to do exactly as I say at all times. Obviously." She grinned at me. "Wouldn't that be wonderful? Better than Christmas."

"Imagine what we would have her do," I said eagerly, ignoring Lisabelle's groan. "Flowers in her hair, and I think baby pink would bring out her scowl wonderfully."

Lisabelle walked away without another word. "I'd rather hang out with Zervos," she called over her shoulder.

"Careful," said Sip, "you just might get what you wish for."

We followed Lisabelle away from the procession. I was a little sorry to go; I hadn't even gotten a look at the Committee members. But there were so many students standing around that it was hard to get close enough for a view. I also wanted to hear what they had to say about the demons surrounding campus sooner rather than later. I knew Public had defenses in place to deal with such attacks, but it didn't feel realistic that we could just keep the demons out without acknowledging their presence.

"I should get back to Astra," I said darkly. I had a lot of unpacking to do. It wasn't how I had planned to spend my first full day back, but every time I made a plan it seemed to fall by the wayside. Maybe the moral of the story was that plans sucked.

I trudged back to my dorm alone, my mind a whirl of new events. I was excited for cla.s.ses to start and to start seeing other students. I was also nervous. I didn't want anyone to treat me differently. I was worried they would treat me . . . carefully. And it would drive me crazy.

I spent the day quietly unpacking and organizing. There was no sign of Mrs. Swan, for which I was grateful. I wanted the peace and quiet that came with putting my physical possessions in order. Doing it made me feel like I was putting my life in order as well.

Instead of going back to the dining hall for lunch, I wandered down to the kitchen to see what I could find. Not only was there a scrumptious-looking lunch set out on the island, but there was also Mrs. Swan.

She gave me a soft smile as I entered, and I almost felt like I was somehow disturbing her peace.

"h.e.l.lo, Charlotte, how goes the settling in?" she asked. Today she was wearing more flowy blue drapes, only these were of a very light blue, almost the color of the sky.

"It's going pretty well," I said, shrugging as I grabbed an apple and started to munch.

"Did you watch the Committee arrive?" she asked. Her voice was so soft that I had to stop chewing when she talked or I wouldn't have been able to hear her.

I nodded. "Only for a minute. Lisabelle started to argue with Zervos, so Sip dragged us away." I wasn't sure why I was telling this woman everything, but I was.

Then, because I couldn't contain my curiosity any longer I asked, "Do you know who they are?"

"Oh, yes," said Mrs. Swan. "They were, after all, in charge of my hiring here."

I nodded. "So, you're close with the Committee?" I tried not to make it sound like an accusation, but I was leery of this Committee, and not just because no one who was closely related to Lisabelle was going to be easy to deal with.

"I wouldn't say that," she said. "Being close to my employer would be complicated, but they know a lot about me." She gave me a look I couldn't read before she continued chopping veggies. "Have a seat, and I'll tell you what I know of them."

Obediently I sat down, wishing Lisabelle and Sip were there to hear what she was going to say. But I could always repeat it to them at dinner.

"Well, so let me see," said Mrs. Swan thoughtfully. "There's Dove, the vampire, and of course Lisabelle's uncle Risper for Airlee. The pixie representative is a fine youngster named Oliva, and the fallen angel representative is Gertrude Erikson."

I was just taking a bite of baked chicken with bread crumbs when the name Erikson hit my ears. I choked.

"Wh-what did you just say?" I asked.

Mrs. Swan didn't stop chopping. "What did you say?" I repeated myself.

"I said Gertrude Erikson," said Mrs. Swan blithely.

"Don't take that innocent tone with me," I said. "You would have been told about Keller. She has the same last name as Keller. And she's a fallen angel. Spill. Please."

Mrs. Swan paused in her chopping, only to continue seconds later. "I see there is no use pretending. Yes, I was given a detailed background of your history. Yes, I am aware that you and Mr. Erikson are . . . close. Gertrude is his aunt."

I had to force myself not to grind my teeth. It was hard to talk about Keller when I hadn't seen him in weeks.

"Anyway," I managed to grit out, "what is his aunt like?"

"Ah, she's a battle-axe of a woman," said Mrs. Swan with appreciation. "Very talented. Graduated at the top of her cla.s.s at Public. Takes a no-nonsense approach to . . . everything. She was the one who insisted I work here. She thought I would be a good influence on you."

I frowned. "How?"

Mrs. Swan gave another soft smile. "We will see, won't we?"

"And she's going to be here all semester?" I didn't know why the thought of meeting, or even seeing, Keller's aunt gave me b.u.t.terflies, but maybe it was because it almost as big an event as meeting his mother or something.

"She is harsh, but fair," said Mrs. Swan. "When you do something wrong she will look at the facts and make an impartial decision."

"What do you mean *when'?"

Mrs. Swan's smile grew wide. "Sorry, I just a.s.sumed. . . ."

I sighed in spite of myself. "It's not like I go looking for trouble."

Her eyes became more serious as she said, "But given your position and given who your friends are, trouble is bound to find you."

I raised my eyebrows. "What do you mean about my friends?"

Mrs. Swan brought over the plate of veggies she had been working on and sat down across from me.

"Your friends," she said, "surely, you must realize how impressive they are."

My forehead wrinkled in thought. "Lisabelle is a powerful darkness mage," I offered, not sure what she was getting at.

Mrs. Swan nodded encouragingly. "Yes, she is powerful. So is her family, as you will find out when her uncle Risper speaks tonight. Lough, despite his kind and gentle nature, is a rare talent as a dream giver, which is a rare specialty to begin with, and what Sip lacks in exclusivity she makes up for in enthusiasm and talent. Then, of course, there's Keller."

"The school's golden boy," I muttered. "I also have enemies, though," I said, feeling it necessary to point that out. Whenever I got too comfortable on campus I ran into Camilla, and that interaction brought me back to reality quickly.

Mrs. Swan took a bite of carrot. "Yes, you do."

If I had been hoping she would argue and say that I didn't, really, I was sorely disappointed. Mrs. Swan pulled no punches.

"Now," she said, "there are a few things we still have to discuss, but for now you should probably finish unpacking and head to dinner. Once the Committee has briefed everyone you will probably have a better idea of what we need to talk about."

I frowned. I didn't like the sound of that. Not one little bit.

"I wish they would just e-mail us like I hear they do at normal colleges," I muttered. Announcements were never good. I felt a deep sense of foreboding.

Chapter Eight.

Heading to dinner that night, I realized I had a lot to get through. I would watch the Demonstration, probably a pretty small one, because for spring semester it only involved transfer students. And I would possibly see Keller for the first time since he had kissed me, and get introduced to the Committee and listen to whatever they had to say. Hopefully they would talk about the demons that surrounded Public; I felt like that was a pressing issue. At some point after all that, Mrs. Swan and I had to have a talk. And I had already been attacked by the demons.

And this was all before cla.s.ses had even started. It was looking very possible that my hopes for a quieter and more relaxed semester, now that I had my ring and knew I was elemental, were futile.

I loved walking towards the Tower. As the largest building on campus it really stood out. The rainbow-colored gla.s.s shone in the cold light, visible from everywhere on campus. Public wouldn't have been the same without it.

Stepping into the dining hall for dinner was a completely different experience than stepping into it for breakfast. Now it was filled with my fellow students, as if we had all never left. I made my way over to the tray stand, and as I went I realized that something odd was happening. When I had walked into the room there had been the usual chatter of voices, but as I moved the noise diminished. Finally, once I had turned around, almost no one was still talking. Instead, pretty much the entire dining hall, all the students at Public, were staring at me.

I raised my eyebrows, unsure what to do.

"Well, don't everyone just stand there staring. It's not like we've never seen an elemental before," said a nasty voice to my right.

For the first time in my life I was glad Camilla existed.

"Besides," she added, "she's not worth your time and effort."

Well, my gladness was short-lived.

It was easy to find her in the crowd, since she was the only one talking. Of course she was sitting next to Cale. His red hair stood out next to her brown, and the slight tint of green on his skin might have gone a shade darker.

Slowly, chatter started to pick back up again, but I could feel eyes boring into my back. It took every bit of self control I had not to turn around and scream. I didn't want this attention! I just wanted to learn how to be an elemental and hang out with my friends.

As I turned around I almost collided with a dark chest. "Oof, sorry," I started to mumble, and then I looked up. My tray started to slip out of my hands, but Keller's own covered mine, keeping the tray, and my pasta dinner, from clattering to the ground.

"Charlotte," he said with pleasure, a smile touching his lips.

I blushed furiously. My face was hotter than the center of the earth. If I had walked outside at that moment, I would have melted the snow. He must have been able to tell. Oh, my G.o.d, I thought to myself. I expected to have more time before seeing him.

Get hold of yourself, I ordered. I tried a smile, but it just felt forced, as if my lips must look like melting gum.

"Charlotte, I . . . " he started to say. His voice sounded achingly familiar and at the same time like I hadn't heard it in years. It had been desperately hard not to talk to him over Christmas break.

"I have to go," I muttered, and dashed away before he could say anything else.

"That was smooth," said Lisabelle, appearing at my side. "Just about as smooth as sandpaper."

"Shut up, Lisabelle," I muttered as I collapsed into a chair.

"So, you aren't about to start dating the school's golden boy?" Lisabelle asked. "Because you realize that when people are dating, and I know you don't have a lot of experience with this, you run towards them, NOT away. Away is bad. For dating."

"What would you know about relationships, Lisabelle?" Lanca asked, appearing at our table again. "Mind if I eat with you?"

I frowned, but nodded. I knew the paranormals had come together to fight off the demon attack, but going by the seating arrangements tonight, where no paranormal dorms mixed, that had been a one-time thing. Doing anything to get my mind off my shockingly pathetic behavior just now in front of Keller, I examined Lanca more closely.

What I noticed made me concerned. She looked pale and drawn. That was almost an oxymoron for a vampire, but usually her skin shone out like a star, whereas now it looked sallow, like old cheese. Still, she was probably just tired from traveling to Public for her last semester of college.

"Problem?" she asked, her dark eyes turning towards me. She had caught me watching her.

Hastily I tucked into my pasta. "No," I mumbled. "Sorry."

Glancing at Sip, I could see that she had noticed that something was wrong too. She raised her eyebrows at me, but all I could do was shrug. Lanca was a senior. The only reason she was hanging around us was because she had known I was elemental, not because she wanted to be questioned by a bunch of Starters.

"Are the Committee members here yet?" I whispered to Sip, who was sitting on my left. She nodded, inclining her head slightly to the front of the room. I turned to see where she was looking.

It looked different from before. Instead of a table made up of professors and students, there were simply four chairs, two on each side of the podium. Down below, off to one side towards the tables of food, sat the other professors. I couldn't get a good look at any of the Committee members, because they had their chairs facing the podium. Don't they eat? I wondered. My stomach was growling and I had already started in on my dinner.

As I watched, one of the Committee members stood up. He was easy to see, because he towered above the tables of diners. He must have been at least six and a half feet tall, with salt and pepper hair and a beak for a nose: the vampire, Dove. He didn't even look nice. Oh, this semester was going to be such fun.

"Good evening students," he said. His voice was loud and carried to the furthest reaches of the large room, a not so subtle command telling everyone to be quiet and listen. We all complied.

"As you know, your President is no longer in charge here. In fact, she is now an outlaw of the paranormal community, and as I'm sure many of you have heard, will be killed on sight."

My breath hitched, as if I'd been wading through deep water and a wave had suddenly slammed into my chest. I hadn't heard that she was supposed to be killed. I didn't want her killed, I wanted to ask her about my mother!

Lough, sitting on my other side, reached his hand over to pat my leg. He must have felt how upset I was, because he didn't remove his hand even when I gave him my best glare.

He leaned over to whisper. "Sorry, but it's one of the drawbacks of hanging out with Lisabelle. No one else's glare comes close."

I almost giggled, then remembered how angry I was. It might have just been my imagination, but I thought Dove's eyes flicked in our direction and his voice got a little louder.

"Now, for clarity's sake, before we get to the Demonstration - there are only three new students this semester, so it will be brief - I would like to introduce the other members of the Committee and give you a little idea of what we'll be doing here this spring.

"I am Dove. I am not a professor, so you will simply call me Committee Member Dove. As you can all tell, I'm a vampire, and I attended as a Cruor (blood) student when I was at Public. Do not think, however, that I will therefore show favoritism. I will not. All our dealings with students will be completely impartial. We are here to run the school and find a suitable president, not to turn it into a prison. I have taken a leave of absence from my current post, which is as the head of the vampire family in Montana. As the head I was responsible for our family's safety, as well as vampire cooperation with neighboring wolf and pixie families. Now, that is enough for the moment. Here is Risper." He gave a small cough before sitting down.

The next man to stand up could only have been Lisabelle's uncle. I felt a stab of pride when I realized that Lisabelle was a tad more impressive, although no one would have called Risper a slouch in the looks or intimidation department. Lisabelle, sitting on the other side of Sip, stiffened slightly. I wondered what kind of terms they were on. Even though she looked uncomfortable and had said that Risper wasn't her favorite, I was sure that there was pride shining in her eyes when she looked at her older relative.