Catalyst (Forevermore, Book Two) Read online

  “You really shouldn’t be out here,” I said as I approached him. “Everyone’s saying you’re sick ... you could get worse up here in the cold.”

  Even through the darkness I could see a grimace form on his face.

  “I’m fine,” he replied and shrugged. “I wanted to apologize for ignoring you and being rude to you over the past couple of days.”

  “Don’t worry about it. You don’t need to be around me all the time watching me and everything. I know that Artemis says you’re supposed to protect me, but it’s not like I need a bodyguard.”

  “I-I feel responsible for ensuring your safety,” he said and let out a deep breath. “Watching over you isn’t the only reason I try to be with you as often as I can without it looking creepy ... I enjoy your company, Madison ... I like seeing you. I like being with you.”

  I went to say that I liked being with him too, but then I realized how strangely he was dressed. Black sunglasses covered his eyes, he wore a beanie on his head, and gloves concealed his hands. I could have passed two of the three off as being from the cold, but it seemed suspicious. Short strands of hair crept out from beneath the hat and it somehow seemed paler than before. Maybe it was just from the nearly full moon that was creeping out from behind the dark clouds, illuminating him with its silvery glow.

  “What’s going on ...?” I leaned forward to lift the glasses from his face but he turned his head just in time for my fingertips to brush across his cheek.

  “No. Don’t,” he muttered.

  Ugh. I wish those glasses and that stupid hat would just fall right off.

  Startled, I backed up and watched as the shades and beanie appeared to almost float through the air, caught on a gentle chilling breeze that swept by, and then fell over the side of the building. Before I even had a second’s chance to be shocked by the coincidence, my focus was solely on Mathias. The beautiful, brilliant green eyes I had become accustomed to seeing no longer had a silver ring around them. Two pools of silver stared back at me, engulfing the entirety of his irises — the same way they did when he used his gift.

  “Your ... your eyes, Mathias ... what’s going on?”

  He shook his head, loose hair blowing lightly in the returning breeze; it was definitely lighter than before. “I don’t know.” Something in his voice worried me; he sounded scared and uncertain.

  “Come with me, we’re going to Artemis,” I said and held my hand out toward him.

  “No,” he said stubbornly.

  “Why not?”

  He shrugged and glanced away again.

  “Please, Mathias ... tell me why not.”

  “I’m afraid, okay?” His voice shook when he spoke, sending shivers through me.

  “What are you afraid of?” I asked, stepping closer again but he held up a hand and I paused.

  “I’m afraid ... that there’s something wrong with me.”

  Frowning, I said, “Obviously there is.”

  “Evidently ...” He sighed and tightened his grip around his knees, resting his chin against them. “My body is changing against my will, behaving as though I am using my gift, when in fact, I am not. I’m weakening, I feel it. I feel it in my mind, my heart, my bones. If … if I am dying … I would rather not know.”

  My eyes were involuntarily warm with tears and I ignored his protest as I approached him and put my arms around him. “You’re not dying, Mathias ... and if anyone has the answers to what’s going on, it’s Artemis. You know that.”

  “I don’t want the answers. Telling him would make it real.”

  “It is real! And yes, you do! Without them, things could get worse. Artemis will help, just please come with me.”

  I held him in silence, listening to the sharp intake of breath when he finally gave in and agreed.

  When we reached Artemis’s room, I knocked as quietly as I could while still being sure he could hear it from inside. Mathias stood idly behind me, his head lowered and his hands trembling. Prior to that moment, I hadn’t thought I would ever see him so vulnerable. He was the brave witch that was protecting me from harm, and yet there I was, delivering him to our Clan leader for advice on whatever was ailing him.

  “We should just come back later ... when it is daylight,” he insisted.

  “No. We’re doing this now,” I said and pounded my hand against the door, no longer caring if I woke anyone up. “Artemis! Open the door!”

  The door opened and Artemis was standing there, his wheat hair ruffled and his eyes blinking tiredly.

  “Can I come in?” I asked.

  “This is highly irregular, Castus Young. Whatever this is, it can wait until the morning.”

  “Please, Artemis ... this is important.”

  With an annoyed huff, he asked, “Is this relating to the Nefastus? Are you in danger?”

  He appeared to finally be waking up enough to realize that what I came to say might actually be important. A worried look passed over his features.

  “No,” I replied.

  “Then it can wait.”

  Right as he went to shut the door in my face, I put my hand up and stopped it, pushing it wide open.

  Artemis looked angry for the first time since I had met him, and for a moment I thought he may push me out the door, but then he saw Mathias. His eyes widened and he nodded in understanding. “Come in …”

  We followed behind him, into the room I’d briefly viewed just the day before. He switched on a light and insisted we sit down. There was a dining room table in the kitchen area of his room, where we both sat. He began pacing on the tiled floor, his bare feet moving hurriedly.

  “Would you like some tea, perhaps? A cool glass of milk? Water?”

  He appeared to be scrambling, worried about something he wasn’t confessing to.

  “No, we don’t want anything,” I said, beginning to grow impatient. “Do you know what’s happening to Mathias or not?”

  Cautiously, Artemis approached the table, bent forward and looked at Mathias. He shook his head and said, “I didn’t think this could happen. I never believed it was true ...”

  “Believed what?” Mathias asked, his voice hollow.

  Artemis resumed pacing, his eyes darting over in our direction and then away. “As you know ... shimmering is a relatively rare gift. I know of only two that now live, and there is ... there is said to be a reason for that.”

  Worriedly, I glanced at Mathias — he looked perturbed too, his eyes averted to his lap where his hands were clasped in their thin winter gloves that were no doubt concealing the discoloration of his nails. When I decided he wasn’t going to speak up, I spoke for him. “What do you mean?”

  “As I said, I didn’t believe that it was the true reason that there aren’t many.”

  “What reason?!” I yelled impatiently.

  Artemis looked taken aback, then composed himself and sighed. “Just ... let me do some research, okay? I will figure this out. Don’t use your powers, Mathias, under any circumstances. Do you understand?”

  Mathias didn’t look up. He appeared to be deep in thought, but he nodded his head.

  Looking between the two of them, I couldn’t believe any of what was happening. Why was Artemis being so mysterious about whatever it was that caused Mathias to be in this condition? And how could Mathias possibly just sit there? Didn’t he want answers too? Then again, he blatantly told me otherwise when we were up on the roof. He’d rather not know what was wrong. Was Artemis hinting that this could kill him? Was that why there were so few Shimmerers – all the others had died from this … this whatever it was?

  Frustrated, I stood up and looked from one of them to the other. “Really? You know something about what’s happening, but that’s all you’re going to tell us? You won’t do anything to help?”

  He turned his attention to me and glared. “Remember who I am and your place here, Castus Young,” he stated — up until that point, I hadn’t thought it was possible for Artemis to be so fierce.

  “Fine. Come
on, Mathias ... we’ll figure something out on our own.”

  I stalked over to the door, only pausing when I realized Mathias had not left his seat. “Are you coming?”

  He didn’t even lift his head to look up.

  I shook my head at the two of them, turned and slammed the door shut behind me. I wasn’t sure what to do or where to go to find answers, so I headed to my room. My mom was absent still, and that only further fanned the flames of my growing fury and frustration. I knew that there was no way I would be able to sleep after all of that, no matter what time it was and how tired I had been when I was first awoken. I couldn’t talk to Mom about it, considering she was away — probably with Jason — and I didn’t want to wake anyone. Serena would probably forgive me if I went to her with my concerns, but she needed to rest after everything she’d gone through in the past couple of days; I couldn’t put another burden on her right now. Hannah was the only person I could think of that would be awake at this hour, as she didn’t need sleep like everyone else.

  “Wait! That’s it! If Artemis won’t tell me, maybe Hannah will. She’s been a witch way longer than him, after all,” I said aloud to myself, jumping up from my bed now that I had an idea of what to do.

  I changed out of my pajamas, even though I didn’t think that my aunt would care if I had shown up in my night clothes. The outfit I’d chosen would keep me warm in the early morning chill of Denver — jeans, thermal top, a thick jacket, and rain boots. I stuffed my phone into my pocket, not even stopping to consider calling Hannah before I just randomly showed up in her place unannounced — she’d done that plenty of times at my house.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Traveling alone so early in the morning, when the sun hadn’t even risen yet, wasn’t the smartest idea. I’d been told already that there were probably Nefastus witches scouting the area in search of me thanks to somehow having two gifts instead of one. Without Mathias following me for protection, I felt vulnerable and paranoid. Every movement or sound made me jump, and my eyes were constantly flicking from one place to another, searching for things that weren’t even there. Would I even know ahead of time if an enemy witch was approaching? This was a time where one of those fancy radar amulets would come in handy.

  Fresh snow had begun falling, illuminated by the moon and streetlights, and I was instantly grateful that I had changed clothes. Even in my new outfit I still shivered and my teeth chattered. I wished I’d remembered to bring a pair of gloves to keep my hands warm, then felt at ease knowing I could have a pair any time I wanted.

  Two thick lavender gloves appeared in my hand and I slipped them on, almost instantly feeling relief from the cold. My ears were sheltered by the hood of my coat, but unfortunately there wasn’t much I could do to prevent the rest of my face from freezing.

  As I continued along the way, I wondered what Artemis knew about Mathias’s condition. He obviously knew something, whether it was big or small, it was more than I knew. That left me feeling empty and helpless, like I couldn’t do anything to save Mathias when he dedicated so much time to protecting me, even when I felt that I didn’t need it. Then again, there were potential enemies all over the place. School had seemed perfectly safe until the whole James incident ... if there could be Nefastus roaming around there then they could literally be anywhere.

  So much for calming the paranoia.

  I could see the apartment complex in the distance and breathed a sigh of relief. All I had to do now was cross the street and walk through the frost-covered grass and I’d be there. Yet, I still felt uneasy, as though something was following me or watching me silently from the shadows. With a shudder, I raced across the empty road and stepped onto the field. The frozen blades of dead grass crunched beneath my boots and I was comforted that they were the only ones making any sound. Surely if someone else was around, I’d have heard their footfalls.

  I nearly slipped on the slick ground, then steadied myself and slowed my pace just enough so that I wouldn’t fall. The door to the apartment was right ahead of me and I finally felt safe. I knocked and waited for Hannah to let me in.

  To my surprise, I didn’t have to wait long at all.

  “Oh, hey, Ezra,” I said with a hint of disappointment and tried peering around him to see if I could catch a glimpse of Hannah in the background.

  “Good morning, Madison,” he said and frowned. “It is awfully early for you to be awake. Hannah isn’t home, if you were in search of her. Is everything all right?”

  Just my luck. Could anything else go wrong?

  Shaking away the negative thoughts, I forced a smile and tried my best to hide the truth. “Everything’s fine ... any idea when she’ll be back?”

  “Soon, I suspect.”

  “Is it okay if I come in and wait?”

  With a nod, he opened the door wider and let me inside. “How are you enjoying your time with the other witches?”

  I shrugged. “It’s good. Like I said last time I visited, I haven’t really learned much yet ...”

  He led me into the living room, where he sat in the armchair I had summoned during my last visit. At that, I had to smile. I made my way over to the futon and sat down.

  “I am sure you will soon enough. How is Alexis?”

  “I don’t really want to talk about it ... nothing’s turned out like I thought it would.”

  He nodded again and clasped his fingers over his lap. “Yes. It is a rare occurrence that things turn out as they are planned or expected in this life.”

  “Yeah, no kidding,” I grumbled.

  The sliding glass door slid open and Hannah glided in. Her eyes were a startling shade of crimson that made me shiver — I was yet again reminded of the red-eyed boy: my brother. It still seemed unreal.

  My aunt looked shocked to see me, which was surprising. I had come to believe she knew almost everything that was going to happen when it involved me. She knew my future better than I did. Looking her over, I noticed she wasn’t wearing a jacket or anything to keep her warm ... in fact, she was dressed in a tight-fitting tank top and black leather pants — which to my horror were splattered with blood. She grimaced when she saw where my eyes were settled.

  “Pity, isn’t it? I have always been a bit of a messy eater, though,” she said teasingly and I caught a quick glimpse of her fangs.

  I withdrew an unsteady breath. “Aren’t you cold?”

  Hannah laughed her melodic, almost musical laugh. “Vampire, remember? I don’t get cold.”

  “Right ... what were you doing out at four in the morning, anyway?”

  “Eating.”

  “I thought you didn’t eat food, and isn’t it kind of early ... or would that be late? ... to be going out for food —”

  She rolled her eyes — the seemingly signature move of Hannah Young. Or whatever her last name was since she was married to Ezra. “Blood, child. Blood. Honestly, you have the shortest memory —”

  “Right …” I interrupted. “Look, I just have a lot on my mind and —”

  She interrupted me again, “Don’t we all.”

  “No. This is different. It’s about Mathias.”

  My aunt’s lips twitched. “Oh, please. You want my advice about your boyfriend? Stay away from him. If you back track enough, love is the root of most evil in this world.”

  Ezra looked bothered and shifted around uncomfortably.

  “Oh, you know what I mean,” Hannah said as she looked at him. “Get over it.”

  With a disgruntled sigh, my uncle rose from his chair and left the room. It wasn’t long before I heard the unmistakable sound of him walking upstairs.

  Hannah scoffed and plopped down into the armchair. “See what I mean?”

  “He’s not even my boyfriend. We’re just —”

  “Yeah, yeah,” she said and I was beginning to get annoyed with her interruptions. “That’s how it always is, but whatever. What’s wrong with your pretty little boy-toy now? Did he get his precious little face beaten by the mean, nasty, bad w
itches?”

  Her taunting sent my anger overboard.

  “No! And would you stop being such a bitch all the time?! Why can’t you just listen to me?!”

  To my surprise, she looked taken aback, and yet oddly happy about my outburst. I wasn’t sure what that could possibly mean, and I didn’t expect her to explain it to me either.

  “Well then.” She smiled. “Get on with it.”

  I filled her in on everything that had happened — the way Mathias’s eyes changed so drastically from one day having a ring of silver around them to suddenly being completely engulfed by the color, how his hair had turned whiter than before, and how afraid he seemed of this unknown ailment. “Do you know anything about this? About witches with shimmering gifts?”

  “Nope.”

  Her plain, simple answer only further annoyed me; it was like she didn’t care. I wouldn’t have doubted that being the case. “How is that even possible? You’ve been a witch forever.”

  “Yeah, but I never felt the need to join any of their stupid little clubs. I have had better things to do. You and your mother seem to like to point that out a lot, how I may as well not be a witch; I’m surprised you didn’t remember ... then again, there is that short memory of yours.”

  I said and slumped back on the futon. “Can you help in any way?”

  “We don’t need the boy.”

  “What?” I mumbled, at a loss for words.

  “Mathias. He’s not part of any of this ... not that I have seen. He’s pointless.”

  Speechless, all I could do was stare at the girl with the golden ringlets of hair who looked so innocent. How could she be so cold?

  “It’s true. Whether you like it or not, your purpose is to stop your psychopathic brother and, preferably, Cassius as well. Nothing else.”

  I had to grit my teeth to avoid saying or doing anything I might regret.

  “Now, now ... don’t look at me like that. It’s not my fault. You have mommy dearest to blame for that. All of this is her fault, after all. Speaking of which ... where is she? Why didn’t you go to her?” She paused for a brief moment, the slightest hint of a smirk hidden in the corner of her mouth. “Ahhh, that’s right, she’s probably out ... comforting Jason. If she hadn’t been locked up, she’d probably have been with him before my brother’s body was even cold, assuming he was dead, and all.”