Catalyst (Forevermore, Book Two)

by K. A. Poe

  Mom smiled and began to explain before I could respond. “She’s actually over one hundred years old … not quite five-hundred; she’s just trapped in the body of a sixteen year old,” she said, her smile turning into a frown. “But seeing her now, compared to me, sometimes makes me regret becoming mortal again ...” I wondered if that was the only reason she regretted it.

  Serena scoffed. “You look great for your age. And besides, if you stayed a vampire, there’d be no Madison.”

  Mom smiled warmly at Serena. “I can see why she’s your best friend, Madison.”

  “Because she flatters you with her compliments?” I asked sarcastically. “Which are true, by the way.”

  My mom laughed and the sound filled me with a flutter of butterflies. It was a rare occurrence, and sometimes it sounded forced — but this laughter was genuine. She seemed happier now than the last few days, and I figured it had something to do with Jason’s company. They’d been best friends even before they were my age, and I knew that he could comfort her in ways that I couldn’t, kind of like Serena did for me. And hopefully nothing beyond that ...

  “Let’s go before he decides we’re not coming,” my mom said and stood from her bed. “I told him we’d leave as soon as I got here.”

  “Why didn’t he just come with you?”

  “He says something about this place makes him uncomfortable. I don’t think he’s ready yet to accept that you’re not just a plain old mortal like he’d hoped.”

  With a nod, I climbed off of the mattress and led my mom and best friend out of the room and into the noisy hallway. I spotted Mathias walking toward the end of the corridor, but he was turned away from us and headed in the opposite direction. The lobby was emptied now, with scarce evidence that anyone had been in there recently.

  Chapter Two

  When we got to Hannah’s apartment, I was surprised to find Mitchell sitting beside his brother on the futon. He looked understandably uncomfortable in my aunt’s house, after years of convincing himself that vampires didn’t really exist, despite having told me that he had once been attacked by a group of them. It was his own stupid mistake, after practically begging my parents to let him go with them during a hunt. He smiled at me when I came down the hallway, and stood up to hug me.

  “I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” I said as he released me.

  “Well ... I tried to get a hold of Jason at Eila’s house, but she told me I’d have better luck finding him here in some … not so pleasant terms.”

  “I sort of forgot to tell him where I was,” Jason muttered.

  Serena had left us to go meet up with Zach at the movies, leaving Mom and me alone during our walk to the apartment. We’d barely uttered a word the whole way and I couldn’t help but wonder what was on her mind, as she looked deep in thought. Had I known how to control my Clairvoyance, I’d have easily been able to pry into her thoughts and find out ... but I hadn’t quite gotten that far yet.

  “Where’s Hannah? And Ezra?” Mom inquired after sharing a hug with Mitchell. He held on longer than I was expecting, but it wasn’t that much of a surprise — they hadn’t seen each other in a long time, though I wasn’t sure how close they had been.

  “Ezra’s upstairs. Hannah is ... out,” Jason said.

  “Ah,” Mom said and eyed me briefly. “It’s so good to see you, Mitchell. You look great, and I’ve heard plenty of stories about you becoming a chef like you always wanted. I always knew you’d make it there.”

  “It’s not a big deal, really. Not to say I don’t enjoy it, obviously. I’m glad you’re out of Littlehaven, though, it’s been ... different without you,” he replied and hugged her again. “Get used to this kind of attention, you owe me sixteen years’ worth.”

  My mom laughed and shook her head at him. “I’m not complaining. It’s nice after being alone for so long.”

  “Mitch is just taking advantage of you, not just making up for the last sixteen years,” Jason said with a teasing grin. “This is probably the most contact with a girl he’s had since high school.”

  My uncle glared at his brother and stepped back from Alex. “I’ll have you know that I had a girlfriend in Washington! Things just didn’t work out.”

  “I know all about Keira,” Jason said lightly with a slight roll of his eyes. “She just couldn’t stay committed to one man, right?”

  Mitch frowned and looked truly pained by his words. “I’d rather not talk about that again. Besides, I decided to move back to Colorado to be near you and Maddy ... so it doesn’t matter. Wouldn’t have worked either way.”

  “Well, I’m glad you came back no matter what the reason,” I said with a smile.

  “So am I,” Jason butted in. “I didn’t mean anything—”

  “Oh, shut up,” Mitchell said. “It doesn’t matter, like I said. Now if you’ll keep your lips shut for a second I’m trying to tell you that I came here to offer you the spare room at my apartment.”

  Jason’s eyes lit up and he looked at his brother in shock. “Seriously?”

  “Yep. It’s not too big, but it’s better than someone’s couch ... if you can even call it that. This way, you’d at least have a room to yourself.”

  My adoptive dad’s eyes were on my mom now, and he looked uncertain. “I don’t know if I could do that ... ”

  “Jason, don’t be stupid. Go, stay with Mitch. I have a place to stay until I get on my feet, and now you do, too.”

  Jason nodded and smiled reluctantly. “I guess that settles it then.”

  My mom sighed and slumped down onto the carpet, hugging her knees against her. “Things would be a lot easier if I could just go back to Willowshire. You and Madison could stay with me, and we may have better luck finding jobs in the small town, where people know us ... ”

  “Alex ... you’re the one that said you weren’t ready to go back there. Don’t just fall back on that idea just because you’re desperate for a place to call home. You already said you have a place to stay, and I think it’s best if that’s where you stay for now. Besides, I’m not ready to give up on Denver, yet.”

  “Y-yeah, I guess you’re right,” she muttered and stared bleakly at the lopsided coffee table.

  “It’s not like I’m abandoning you here,” he pointed out. “We’ll still look for work together and stuff.”

  My mom didn’t appear to be listening any more.

  The front door creaked open and my aunt stepped over the threshold, her eyes rimmed with a red glow. I thought instantly of the red-eyed boy I’d seen reflected in the lake with Mathias. Mitch averted his eyes and swallowed hard. “Let’s go ahead and check out that room,” he said toward Jason. “We can come back afterward, or meet up at Eila’s to pick up some of your stuff.”

  “Sure,” Jason said and stood from the futon. “Call me if you need anything, either of you.”

  Mom and I nodded and took their spots on the futon. My eyes were focused on those of my aunt.

  “My brother ... ” I began, and Mom’s attention was immediately on me, “his eyes are red, permanently?”

  Hannah smirked and leaned against the wall beside the TV. “I knew this was coming.”

  “I was hoping to avoid it,” Mom murmured.

  “Come on, Alex. She is going to be curious.”

  “They are, right?” I asked again.

  “Y-yes,” my mom said. “They are.”

  “But why? How is he a vampire, but I’m not? And how is he aging if he’s a vampire?”

  “He’s only half vampire,” Hannah answered for my mom, who looked appalled. “Technically speaking, it shouldn’t even be possible ... but I suppose under the circumstances of Alex and Salem’s relationship and the fountain, something remained in Alex or Salem’s bloodstream that was passed along to the boy.”

  “But why him, and not me?”

  “I don’t know ... my vision never even showed you as a possible outcome. All I saw was Silas.”

  “His name is Liam,” Mom said quietly but fi
rmly.

  “Right ... whatever. You can call the little bastard Fred for all I care.” Hannah said as my mother clenched her fist. For a moment I thought she was going to lash out, but she simply stayed where she sat.

  “Where is he? And what makes you think he’s so bad?”

  “He is in Romania. That’s all I can tell you, Madison. He is being trained by an incredibly powerful vampire with evil intentions. There will be a war, brought on by your brother’s behalf.” My mom tensed up again, and Hannah grimaced in response.

  “Why is he in Romania, though?” I asked, trying to hold back my fear at the idea of a war — a war between who? And how was I involved? How was Salem involved? Was that why the man in the trench coat was injecting him with that serum? To aid in this war?

  “Your mom was coaxed into visiting a man by the name of Cassius in Romania. He is a cunning shit who tricked your parents from the very beginning, but he was a convincing friend who turned out to be an enemy. Your mother went into labor during an attack between a group of hunters and the former Vampire Lord, Malik. When a girl was born, I was relieved ... but then the boy came, just as I had seen. Cassius took him from your father’s hands, seemingly in a friendly gesture ... only to ... only to kill him when he tried to stop Cassius from leaving with the boy.”

  My mom was pale and silent throughout the entire conversation, her hands fisted at her side. Hannah and I shared a knowing look, as we were aware of my dad’s current position — which wasn’t six feet under as we’d thought mere days before.

  “What would he have been like if he’d been brought home with Mom and Dad ... if everything had turned out right?”

  Hannah shrugged. “Nothing would have ‘turned out right’. He probably would have had a similar future. Like I said, he’s demon spawn. His destiny was always sealed, and your parents made sure it happened.”

  “Hannah!” Mom shrieked. “How dare you say that?!”

  “I’m just telling the truth. Somebody’s got to.”

  “You don’t know ... ”

  “Neither do you. I can only assume that what I saw was true. My vision showed him growing up to be evil from the very beginning, just as I’d warned you.”

  “That’s enough,” Ezra said calmly as he entered the room. “You’re petrifying the poor woman.”

  “He’s right,” I said and comforted my mom with a hug. “I’m sorry ... I shouldn’t have asked.”

  “No. You deserve to know the truth. It’s just not easy for me to hear … even after all these years.”

  My phone vibrated in my pocket and I reluctantly pulled it out and glanced at the screen — Jason had texted me saying they were on their way to Eila’s house and to meet them there. I was dreading the idea, but I needed to get Willow, and there was a small part of me that wanted to see the woman I had referred to as ‘mom’ for the last sixteen years, and to make sure she was okay.

  “I’m going to stay here,” Mom said quietly, eying the words displayed across my phone screen.

  With a nod, I tucked the device back into my pocket. “I understand. Can you give me a ride, Hannah? Or should I just walk?”

  “I’ll drop you off. We can’t afford to be too careless now that the Nefastus are likely keeping an eye out for you. You two shouldn’t have even walked here.”

  My mom looked concerned but kept her mouth shut.

  “Try to drive slowly this time,” I said as we headed toward the door.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Hannah grumbled and grabbed her car keys, opened the door and pushed me gently outside.

  I warily climbed into the passenger side seat, having little faith in my aunt’s promise to drive at or below the speed limit. She was notorious for speeding, and it was terrifying in the back seat — I couldn’t imagine what it was like in the front. My belt was fastened tightly and I gripped the handle above the door before Hannah even started the ignition. She looked at me with an amused grin and pulled out of the parking lot.

  “We’re not in a hurry to get over there, so I promise I’ll try my hardest to go slow. It’s just … so boring.”

  “Thanks,” I uttered but didn’t loosen my grasp.

  “Your mother is still clueless ... about Salem, right?”

  With a nod, I confirmed her question. “I figured that was obvious, by how she reacted when you mentioned his name and all.”

  “I just wanted to make sure. This hasn’t been easy for me either, I hope you realize that. It’s not that I don’t want to go after him, believe me, I’d be in Romania by now if I felt that it was the right thing to do ... but we need to wait.”

  “Until I’m ready for whatever it is I need to be ready for,” I said with a groan. “Am I ever going to know just what that is?”

  “In time, yes. As I’ve said, even I don’t entirely know what you are capable of or just why you’re needed.”

  My eyes narrowed. “You don’t know what I’m needed for? You said you saw something ... something that made you decide to fill me in on who and what I am, yet you don’t even know what that is? What if you’re wrong? What if you just saw me in Romania, but I wasn’t actually helping in any way?!”

  “Calm down,” she said with a flair of annoyance and turned down a street a little too sharply, sending me forward in my seat, but thankfully my seatbelt was tight enough to keep me from flying forward. “There is more to it than that. You try to stop Silas. That much I do know.”

  “Try.” I gulped. “And by stop … do you mean ... do I have to kill him?”

  She looked at me with a shrug. “I don’t know, Madison. I just know that you help end the war.”

  “H-how can I possibly do that?” I asked aloud, more so to myself than anything.

  “That’s what you’re joining the Castus Clan for, isn’t it? To learn more about what you’re capable of. You’ll soon get the gist of your abilities and be able to control them ... and your dreams will only increase. They may even occur during the day as visions, similarly to mine.”

  That somehow terrified me — especially when I thought of Mr. and Mrs. Dupont. “Have you had any more visions about the war? Or about Silas? How come you never had a vision about Salem?”

  My aunt looked tired, which I knew wasn’t literally possible — vampires didn’t sleep and never felt tired. Perhaps she was mentally exhausted, or, more likely than not, annoyed. “I don’t know why I never saw him. You have said yourself that I am more vampire than witch; maybe my gift has some restrictions that yours doesn’t. My visions have never been something I could control, not really, anyway.”

  “You technically did see Salem,” I said, “through me. How did you do that?”

  She didn’t look like she had an answer. “I don’t know. I’ve never been near a Clairvoyant before. Maybe there’s a connection between us, to where our visions can be shared without physical contact.”

  I nodded and my eyes dreadfully landed on the house up the road. The Halloween decorations were still up even though it was now a week into November. The pumpkins had rotted and were now deformed orange lumps. Wind had blown the dangling paper skeleton away, aside from one bony arm that was left hanging from a piece of tape on the door. With a frown, I climbed out of the car once we’d pulled into the driveway behind Mitch’s vehicle. Hannah stayed behind the driver’s seat and said she would wait for me.

  “No. It’s okay. I’m sure Uncle Mitchell can take me back to Haven, but thanks.”

  “You best not try to walk it.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Okay.” She didn’t look convinced, but waved and slammed the car into reverse.

  I stood for a moment, watching as the car squealed down the road. When I turned around, I saw that the front door to the house was now wide open and Jason was awaiting me with a smile, but I could tell there was something hidden underneath — obvious sadness.

  Chapter Three

  Eila was sitting in the blue denim chair, staring off into space and seemingly unaware of my presence. Mitch glanced at
her with a concerned frown, then looked at me and gestured for me to go upstairs to my room. She barely seemed to even notice Jason or his brother; it was like she had completely shut her mind off and was somewhere else. As I walked down the hall, I heard Mitchell say something in Eila’s direction. I couldn’t understand what it was and heard no response.

  My bedroom was just as I had left it — covers in a bundled up mess and halfway on the floor, pillows askew, and a few articles of clothing littering the otherwise clean floor. With a shock, I saw that the makeup Serena and I had left out from Halloween was still strewn across my mattress. It had barely crossed my mind that I hadn’t been home since that night — I’d been staying with Hannah and Ezra, and now at Haven. Willow was staring up at me from my bed with a look of disdain, and, to my surprise, she looked slightly thinner than when I had last seen her. Had Eila neglected to feed her? I ruffled her fur gently and reassured her that everything would be okay, and she seemed to glare at me, as if it was my fault she wasn’t being fed; I guessed it was. I rummaged through my closet until I came up with a dark green duffel bag. Without any forethought, I grabbed randomly at the clothes in my closet and stuffed them into the bag, followed by all of the penguins that had made my dresser their home for the majority of my life. Just like me and Willow, they had a new home awaiting them.

  I gathered my laptop and put it in my book bag, along with my sketchbook and pencils. The last thing I grabbed before leaving my room was my makeup bag, the sparkling lavender eye shadow was still resting on the top of the pile of cosmetics, reminding me ofthe time before I knew I had agift — it somehow felt much longer ago than it really was. I hastily shoved all of it into the bag, zipped it shut, and set it with my other luggage. Not once in the years prior had I thought I would be moving out at the age of sixteen, especially not into a motel run by a witch.

  When I returned to the living room, with my hands full of bags, I saw that Eila hadn’t moved an inch. Mitchell gathered the bags from me and went to take them out to his car. Jason was in the hall behind me, staring at the same thing I was — the woman with the honey-colored curls and round face that I was so used to seeing with a smile, not this blank, empty look. Cautiously, I knelt beside her. She didn’t move or seem to notice me, and I glanced back at Jason. His face was painted with sadness and guilt, but he wasn’t acknowledging my look — he was still focused on her.