Free Elemental Darkness (Paranormal Public Series) by Maddy Edwards Page A

politely, “Professor.”
    Professor Erikson nodded. “We’re just waiting for Professor Zervos,” said Professor Erikson, “then we’ll get started.”
    I felt a pit in the bottom of my stomach. Of course Zervos would be joining us; as our chaperone from Golden Falls, he was in the best position to explain what had happened. But I still dreaded it.
    “Here I am,” said Zervos, sweeping into the back garden. There wasn’t a fifth chair and he didn’t have much choice but to stand.
    “Very well,” said Oliva, looking around at the four of us, his expression troubled. President Oliva was a young pixie. In fact, during his first semester at Public he had passed for a student named Lealand and had befriended us in that guise. But his relationship to the students was different since he had been made President of Public. He was harder, colder, and there was no trace of the friendship he had once cultivated behind the eyes that now looked back at me.
    “Professor Zervos, let’s start with the end, when Ms. Rollins disrupted carefully laid and very powerful spells in order to ‘save’ her friend,” said Oliva, getting right to the point.
    I sucked in my breath. I had hoped Oliva would see that I had had no choice. When fighting demons there wasn’t time to talk and share information, so anyone would have had to act quickly. I clenched my fists at my sides and looked straight ahead, willing myself not to lose my temper.
    Professor Zervos nodded. “Ms. Rollins does that sort of thing frequently,” he said coldly, “though she’s not as bad as Verlans. Was.” He sneered the last word, as if he relished saying it.
    Oliva nodded thoughtfully before turning to me. “Charlotte,” he said, his face unreadable, “you must understand why you cannot go about disrupting the powerful workings of paranormal professors, and why it only makes sense to have you at home this summer. Dacer was going to explain. Did he?”
    I nodded once, and then again, feeling numb. Why were we reviewing this? Dacer had already told me. Oliva just liked to drive the point home that I was powerless.
    “If you were any other student,” Oliva mused, starting to pace, “I’d have to expel you.”
    I saw Sip’s eyes go wide, but I tried to remain impassive. There was no way I’d let myself be separated from Astra.
    “As it is,” Oliva continued, “I’m going to let you off with a warning.”
    He leaned back in his chair, signaling that he was finished with me, and turned his attention to Sip, who was sitting quietly next to me with her hands folded in her lap. Her face was equally impassive, although I was sure she was hiding a growing anger.
    “Now, Professor Zervos, I would very much appreciate it if you’d recount how Ms. Quest’s missives in the Tabble caused disruptions at Golden Falls that hindered you from carrying out your proper duties as chaperone.”
    I choked on my surprise. From Sip’s expression, that was also not what she had been expecting to hear.
    Sip turned slowly to look at Professor Zervos, but the vampire professor didn’t bother to look at her in response. Instead, as if he was reciting one of his lectures, he started to explain in great detail, in a somewhat bored-sounding lilt, how Sip’s writing was a detriment to the paranormals and was possibly even helping the Nocturns.
    Zervos launched, in great detail, into his version of how Sip’s missives had created tension with the Golden Falls students and staff. She had gone on and on, he said, without any thought to what her words might be doing to our hosts. He explained that he had dreaded the release of each Tabble and that Sip had ignored repeated requests by him to cease and desist.
    At first Sip sat silently, but as Zervos’s claims became more unreasonable - he had never once told her to stop writing in the Tabble - Sip started to protest. Oliva silenced her with a raised hand.
    “Ms. Quest,” said Oliva sternly, “we really are in a dire situation