Catalyst (Forevermore, Book Two)

by K. A. Poe

  She shrugged with disinterest. “Why are you telling me this and not them? If you hadn’t noticed, I’m not a Shimmerer.”

  “I know that. I just thought that maybe you could help me get to them.”

  “And why would I do that?”

  “I don’t know, maybe because you’re my aunt and it would prevent someone from dying?”

  Hannah almost looked amused as she leaned back in the chair. “I have been alive for a very, very long time, Madison. I have lost countless people over the years, and there aren’t many of them that I miss. People come and go; it’s the way life works. As long as I am here, that’s all that truly matters, isn’t it? And well, you too, I guess. I do sort of need you to make sure nothing happens to me in the long run.”

  Slightly taken aback — although I probably shouldn’t have been — I asked, “... what about Ezra?”

  She shrugged. “Him, too, I guess ... but better he die than me.”

  With a gasp, I stared at her in awe of how cruel she was. “You’re a cold-hearted bitch. Really.”

  Hannah didn’t seem affected in the least by my comment and only smirked.

  Shaking my head in disgust, I was tempted to leave right then and there, but I had to get out what I came to say.

  “I know where the Nefastus’s hideout is and I thought that you could maybe sneak in and get some answers. Manipulate them with your vampire powers or something. That other Shimmerer, he’s one of them. It’s somewhere hidden at the base of the Rocky Mountains ...”

  She looked amused and tilted her head to the side. “Sneaking into a magic-protected lair of evil witches isn’t quite the same as popping a lock on a teenage girl’s window, now is it?”

  “I just thought —”

  “It doesn’t matter what you thought. You need to forget about all of this and leave it alone. You’re supposed to be working on your gifts for when the time comes where we’ll need them. Not getting yourself mixed up in fascinations over boys who will only break your heart in the end.”

  “Whether you help me or not, I’m going to talk to this guy. Even if I have to walk up to the front door and ask them right then and there. If you’re so worried about keeping me alive, you’re going to have to either help me or stop me.”

  I turned and headed out the door, slamming it behind me. Deeply inhaling the cold air, I felt myself shudder with resentment and annoyance. It was beginning to feel like no one wanted to help me, and my aunt was only using me for the sole purpose of killing my twin brother. I didn’t know what to do next, but I needed to do something. Death wasn’t something I wanted to face — not now, not yet, preferably never — but nor did I want Mathias to die, and it felt like I was the only one willing to make sure that didn’t happen any time soon. I contemplated the idea of asking Serena to drive me to Rocky Mountain National Park, but I didn’t want to endanger her; she’d been through enough already.

  As I continued walking, I wracked my brain with what I should do – what I was supposed to do. Should I just let Artemis handle it? No, I had to do more. I didn’t even know exactly where this Nefastus place was even if I did decide to waltz in there, though. The only person I could think of that might be able to help there, through some persuasion, was Noah. He knew a lot about the location, apparently … and seemingly much more. I glanced down at my feet and spotted a small stone and kicked it out of frustration. I jumped in surprise when I heard someone yell “Ow!”

  I recognized the voice immediately and was more than a little surprised to find Hannah standing less than fifteen feet in front of me.

  “I will help you, just don’t do anything stupid. Give me a little time to figure something out, and I’ll go.”

  Fighting the urge to hug her, I just nodded with an appreciative smile. “Thanks.”

  “Don’t even bother. I’m not doing this to make you happy. I’m doing it to make sure you don’t die.”

  “Still seems like something to be thankful for to me.”

  She didn’t reply, just walked past me and back toward the apartments. Despite having essentially gotten what I wanted, I felt no relief. Hannah said she’d need a little time to figure out what to do, and I wasn’t sure how long she meant. If her perception of a little time was anything like Artemis’s, Mathias could be gone by then.

  Exam days came and went. I had a feeling my results weren’t going to be good ones, but I hardly cared. My mind and energy was waning; all I could think about was Mathias and Hannah. I hadn’t heard back from her and it had already been three days since she’d promised to help me. Phone calls made to her went unanswered and I told myself if I didn’t hear anything after Thanksgiving night I was going to go over to her apartment again and demand answers. Eila gave me permission to invite any of the Clan members I wanted to our Thanksgiving dinner, since it was already going to be disjointed and weird and lacking most of our relatives anyway. Her parents hadn’t come for a holiday since I was really little, and Jason’s parents were separated and didn’t want to bring any drama with them to the celebration.

  Elijah and Forrest declined, saying they’d be spending the day with each other, reminding me that they didn’t celebrate the holiday. Iris opted out, too, because she didn’t celebrate either. Alan, Noah, and even Lydia, all said they’d come. Lydia shocked me the most, considering how uncommunicative she was and how she was afraid to be around people. I wondered if she was becoming lonely and lost in her mind, that she needed this as an excuse to let others in, even if she was afraid of the consequences.

  And then there was Mathias.

  He was still confined to his room, now under strict observation on Tobias’s behalf. He told me that Mathias’s condition was worsening, that he was deteriorating rapidly, and that any strain was not ideal. I wanted desperately to push Tobias out of the way and force myself into the room and through that damned force field ... because if there was a possibility that I might lose him altogether, I wanted at least a moment with him before he was gone. Tobias wouldn’t let that happen, though.

  At first the suffering came out in pitiful whimpers that barely made a sound, wracking my body until the tears finally flooded down my cheeks and I cried until I couldn’t breathe. Alan found me like that, huddled up in the hallway, tucked away into a corner bawling my eyes out, only a few feet away from Mathias’s room. I couldn’t handle it anymore.

  “Madison —”Alan’s voice was panicked as he ran over and kneeled down by me. “Madison?!”

  He pulled me up from the floor and I hung limply in his grasp. He shook me and I struggled to look at him through my bleary eyes.

  “Madison ...”

  I felt my weight lifted from the ground as he cradled me in his arms. Darkness swarmed overhead and I felt it tugging away at my mind. The movement of his body told me we were going down stairs, and my body jerked and bounced with each descending step. Alan lowered me after walking for what felt like a long time. He steadied me as best as he could, my head lolling to the side until finding a resting place against his shoulder.

  “Madison, listen to me,” he said in a strained voice. “Are you listening?”

  My head forced a painful nod.

  “We’re going to help you through this,” he explained and I was suddenly aware of another person in the room shuffling about in the distance, although I couldn’t tell who it was. “Take a deep breath and clear your head.”

  Stubbornly, I shook my head and held my breath.

  “That’s not going to fix anything,” Alan said sternly. “Take a deep breath and clear your mind. It will help.”

  My throat burned when I inhaled and exhaled, causing me to clench tightly onto Alan’s arm, but he didn’t flinch. His arms were steadily circling me and keeping me upright despite my legs’ fighting desire to crumble to the ground.

  “Here,” I heard the voice of the other person in the room — Forrest. “Take a drink.”

  A cold object met my lips and water splashed into my mouth. Coughing, I felt the cool liquid
slide down my throat, burning along the way as it nearly choked me. Alan’s grip loosened and I found myself able to stand and rubbed my sleeve gently over my eyes. We were standing in a room I’d never seen before — the weapons room.

  Daggers, knives, longswords, shields, bows and arrows, maces — every type of weapon I’d ever seen in movies and TV shows, aside from guns, was displayed on a massive wall at the end of the room. The entire area was lined with various punching bags, dummies, and other equipment. They all gleamed underneath the flickering ceiling light overhead. Forrest was now at a table sharpening the blade of one of the many daggers, his eyes never once leaving the steel.

  “Why did you bring me here?” I croaked and took another swig of water.

  “You’re upset,” Alan stated matter-of-factly. “When I am upset, this is where I go to vent my frustrations.”

  I looked at him, confused. “Why here? To sharpen knives with Forrest?”

  He smiled gently and shook his head. “To sharpen my skills with those knives, rather. As well as my fists.”

  “You come in here to practice fighting?”

  “Of course. That’s what it is for. But it isn’t only for that, it can help clear the mind and vent frustration.”

  “How can you play around in this stupid room while Mathias is up there dying!?”

  Forrest stopped sharpening the blade momentarily and frowned. “We’re only trying to help, Castus Young. Castus Forsythe is our friend too ... we don’t want anything to happen to him any more than you do, but there is nothing we can do. He is in Artemis’s hands. There is no better place.”

  I scoffed. “Yeah, that’s what everyone keeps saying.” I wiped my eyes and sniffled, then looked around the room again. “Why do you even bother using all this stuff? Why not just use magic to fight?”

  To my surprise, Alan smiled. “Magic is a drain on the mind. We have to train our bodies to be prepared to continue on from the point when our energy weakens or if it ever fails us. You cannot always rely on your gifts. It is equally important to strengthen one’s body as it is their mind. Someone that is strong in one aspect and weaker in the other is always more likely to lose than one whose body and mind are equally balanced.”

  I blinked. “I see …”

  “Besides, not all of us have powers that are … shall I say, battle oriented?”

  I thought of Alan’s ability compared to something much more common like a Pyromancer or Telekinetic. He was right in that regard, for sure. Without weapons and shields he’d be worse than useless against those.

  He smirked and walked over to the wall of weapons and took down what appeared to be a long piece of smooth wood. He offered it to me and went to retrieve a second.

  I looked at him skeptically. “A stick? What good would a stick do me against someone throwing fireballs ...?”

  Alan laughed. It was a pleasant sound after such a terrible day. “It’s called a staff, and you would be surprised.”

  He gripped the second staff in his hands and stepped over to one of the training mats on the floor that I’d previously not noticed. He beckoned me forward with a gesture of his hand and I obliged, stepping onto the cushioned material.

  “Try to hit me,” he said.

  “Um, are you serious?”

  Alan looked amused once more. “Go ahead. Try to hit me. You won’t hurt me.”

  I scoffed and looked at him incredulously. “Okay, but remember that you’re the one that told me to.”

  I went to swing at him with the staff and he darted out of the way, causing me to nearly fall forward. The smile he typically wore stretched across his face once again.

  “Hey!” I exclaimed in surprise and tried again. He moved out of the way just as quickly. With an agitated grunt, I thrust the staff in his direction and he dodged it again.

  “I thought you wanted me to hit you?!” I shouted, breathing heavily now.

  Alan grinned and returned to his position in front of me. “I said I wanted you to try to hit me. I never said anything about me standing idly while you whacked at me with that ‘stick’, as you call it.”

  At that, I swung the staff toward him again, feeling winded as sweat trickled down the side of my face. I kept pushing myself until Alan had dodged himself away into a corner. I thought excitedly to myself, I got this, there’s no more room for him to get away. I went to slice the staff downward at his shoulder but he quickly blocked it with his own stick, and, to my surprise, started smacking at me with it.

  Shocked and semi-freaked out by his sudden attack, I nearly let myself get lobbed in the side of the head. I started stepping backward as he smiled, relentlessly smashing his staff into mine. With a startled gasp, I found myself tripping and falling backward. Fortunately I landed safely on one of the training mats.

  Alan stood at my feet and stared down at me.

  “You didn’t say anything about hitting back. That wasn’t fair at all!”

  He laughed. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t, either. You think an enemy is going to just stay on the defense?”

  I smirked and swung my stick hard at his feet and watched the smile on his face turn to shock as he lost his balance and landed hard against the floor and started coughing.

  I jumped to my knees and rushed over to where he lay. “Are you okay?” I asked, but by the time the words were out of my mouth, he was laughing.

  Alan reached a hand up and caressed the side of my face; I was briefly conscious of the fact that Forrest was still in the room and likely watching us, but it scarcely mattered. I leaned down and pressed my lips gently to his, only to be startled away by the sound of my phone ringing. He looked disappointed but stood up, brushed the dust from his pants, and went to set the staffs back on the wall while I answered the phone.

  The screen displayed Serena’s name and I was confused and surprised that she’d be calling me. When I hit the button to accept the call, all I could hear were sobs and my best friend’s muffled voice.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  I stepped out of the weapons room and sat on the edge of one of the stairs I never knew existed before. Phone against my ear, I listened to Serena wailing and muttering — nothing was coherent.

  “Serena, calm down, I can barely understand you,” I said into the receiver. “Are you okay?”

  Through the sobs, I could make out her saying ‘No.’ before resuming her crying.

  My mind wandered into the darkest of places as I listened to my best friend’s wails — had something or someone hurt her? Did something happen with her mom, or her dad? There was so much going on in her life that it was hard to know what might be wrong, especially when she wasn’t able to tell me. Finally, something legible came through, and my heart sank.

  “Zach ...” she muttered between sobs, “he ... he broke up ... with me!”

  Alan stepped through the weapons room door and looked worriedly at me. “Is everything okay?”

  I put my hand over the receiver. “Yeah ... Sort of. Serena needs me.”

  He nodded and went back through the door. Without really thinking, I found myself walking up the stairs and down the hallway while Serena explained to me what had happened.

  “I-I don’t know what happened. It was like ... all of a sudden he doesn’t want to be with me anymore. I was asking him when to show up at his place to pick him up for Thanksgiving tomorrow and he was just like, ‘Yeah, it’s not working out. We can still be friends and all but…’.” Before she could say more, she went back into hysterics.

  I hardly noticed that I was walking through the lobby and Lydia and Noah were in there until Noah sprang up from the couch.

  “Is that Serena? Do I hear Serena? Is she crying? Is something wrong?” He looked genuinely concerned and upset.

  I scowled at him and shook my head, then tried to turn back in the direction I’d come from. He followed after me, repeating himself and asking if she was okay, where she was, and if he could have the phone. Throughout him asking me questions and Serena bawling hyste
rically through the phone, I couldn’t make sense of what anyone was saying anymore. I clasped my hand over the receiver and turned sharply around to face him.

  “Would you just shut the hell up?!” I yelled.

  In a blink of a second, Noah had reached out and grabbed the phone and jerked it out of my hand. He started running toward the front of the motel while placing the device against his ear. “Hello? Serena? It’s me, Noah.”

  I chased after him as he pulled open the door and stepped outside. I ran out after him but he was already gone. I saw footprints in the snow heading around the corner and again took off in pursuit.

  I couldn’t believe that he wasn’t in sight. The footprints on the ground now mingled with dozens more; I couldn’t find him or get an idea of where he’d gone. Furious and out of breath, I leaned against the side of a building and thought of how right Alan was — I definitely needed to get in better shape if I wanted to stand a chance against more seasoned witches.

  I stepped forward into the snow, glancing around for any sign of Noah. After a few minutes I heard the unmistakable sound of his laughter. Speeding up, I ran down the nearest alley and spotted him standing at the end of it behind a dumpster. He seemed to either be ignoring me or was oblivious to the fact that I had found him.

  The ground was slick with slush and puddles of melted snow and I had to carefully step through it to ensure that I didn’t slip and fall. I got closer to Noah and saw him smiling, my phone still against his ear.

  “See you then, bye,” he said and hung up with a grin. He finally looked toward me and tossed the phone in my direction. “Here you go.”

  I caught it — barely — and glared at him. “What the hell are you doing? Don’t you EVER grab my phone again or I’ll … I don’t know what I’ll do! I was trying to figure out what was wrong with Serena and help —”