Free Elemental Earth (Paranormal Public) by Maddy Edwards Page A

hand, could
leave the barrier unharmed, but once he was out he wouldn’t be able to get back
in. I wasn’t quick enough, and my power was too burnt out to let the shields
down before Faci slammed Evan backward toward us.
    The vampire hit my barrier with a
sickening thud and a hiss, followed by a bone-chilling howl.
    Faci yanked Evan forward and
slammed him back again. I could see the barrier burning away Evan’s skin; the
back of his head was now spotted with patches and painful-looking red welts
where he’d hit the barrier. Evan flailed desperately against Faci, but there
was nothing he could do.
    Faci paused for just a second,
his black eyes meeting my gray ones. They looked like two smooth surfaces, with
no soul behind them, no passion, no pain, no love, only a longing for
destruction.
    “Faci,” I said hoarsely.
“Enough.”
    Sectar, who had watched the
proceedings in horror, nodded sagely. I was shocked by how calm he was. Had
Oliva been there, the pixie president would have been barking orders and
beating Faci to a pulp for such a public display of savagery. “He is darkness.
His behavior is not a surprise,” was all Sectar said. His quiet tone and his
succinct statement said that the most awful things would not be a surprise if
they were acted out by paranormals who partook of darkness.
    Lisabelle’s eyebrows shot upward,
and I prayed to the paranormal gods that she’d keep her temper.
    “Isn’t it?” Faci demanded,
slamming Evan back again.
    My friend gave a whimper. I eyed
Zervos, who stood there, his mouth pressed into a line.
    “How can you not be doing
anything?” I yelled at him, throwing my hands up in the air in disgust and
frustration. “How can you just let them win?”
    Zervos stared at Faci, but still
he didn’t speak.
    In anger I slammed my power
forward, but I stumbled in exhaustion as I did it. There was hardly any power
left for me to use.
    Faci just kept smiling. The place
where his lips should have been stretched wide over his gums. I didn’t even
want to look at him for very long, let alone talk to him.
    “Exhausted from a recent battle?”
he asked lightly. “You should take better care of yourself.”
    I stared at the crazed vampire in
front of me.
    “I can’t believe a father
actually raised you,” I spat out. “Mine’s dead and I’m still a better
paranormal than you.”
    The smile disappeared from Faci’s
face. He slammed Evan forward once more. The vampire screamed and dropped to
the ground, landing awkwardly, half on his injured arm.
    Behind Faci something stirred,
probably Sectar backing away to a safe distance. “I cannot participate in such
violence,” said the Golden Falls representative by way of explanation.
    “I was no part of the attack
earlier,” Faci said breathlessly. “I attack in the open, which is where I will
kill you.” He pointed a shaking finger at me, but I matched him glare for glare
before he turned on his heel and whirled away.
    Sectar stepped forward now, a
bastion of calm. “You all need your rest,” he said lightly. “My camp is nearby
and we will be safe there. In the morning we should finish your journey. Your
arrival is eagerly awaited.”
     
     

Chapter Eleven
     
    I was so shocked by what Faci had
just done that for a few seconds I couldn’t move. Keller hurried forward and
reached through the barrier to Evan, touching him lightly and healing the worst
of his wounds.
    “He’s healed enough to pass
through the barrier,” Keller said.
    I reached through the barrier and
grabbed Evan. At first he tried to push my hand away, afraid that when he
touched the barrier again it would rip his skin, but I shushed him. “You’ll be
fine,” I murmured. “Promise.”
    I glanced at Keller, but he
didn’t look back at me, he just continued to work on Evan. Hurt by his refusal
even to glance my way, as if the fact that Evan had been injured on my barrier
was somehow my fault, I went back to my friends. Sip was wide-eyed and staring
as