Catalyst (Forevermore, Book Two)

by K. A. Poe

  But I found nothing. Not even static.

  Chapter Twelve

  Panicked, I tried to listen for thoughts again, but I still came up with nothing. Maybe it was because I was so unpracticed with it that I didn’t know how to find the source of the voices. Serena cleared her throat and I opened my eyes.

  “Sorry,” I mumbled. “I was just ... thinking.”

  “Thinking? More like zoning out. You need more coffee. That’s always the answer.”

  “Y-yeah. Maybe,” I said and rapped my shaking hand against Artemis’s door one more time.

  Serena sighed with impatience. “I’m going to go try to call Cam, see if I can visit him later and if he is okay.”

  “Would he even be able to answer his cell phone in the hospital?”

  “They don’t keep you in the hospital for just a broken hand, Madison.” She rolled her eyes.

  “Then where is he?”

  “I don’t know, I haven’t talked to him since … since last night.”

  She gave me a quick hug before she left. I was suddenly aware of how alone I was outside Artemis’s door.

  The door swung open and I blinked in shock. Standing before me, with a navy towel wrapped around his waist, and his wheat-colored hair wet and dripping, was Artemis. My eyes wandered briefly, admiring the toned muscles in his bare abdomen and arms, then quickly averted my eyes and mentally scolded myself for essentially checking him out.

  Artemis’s cheeks reddened and he looked apologetic. “I hadn’t expected ... well, I am not sure who I expected, to be honest. But it certainly wasn’t you, Castus Young. I suppose this would be a time when foresight would come in handy.”

  “You could say that,” I replied still glancing away, my eyes directed toward the floorboards. “I had wanted to ask you something but ... it can wait.”

  “No, wait here ... let me just get dressed and we can talk,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

  Only a few minutes passed before he emerged from his room, fully clothed and his hair brushed back yet still damp. I had never really thought of him as handsome before now, but he was. He was also older, though, and not to mention my Clan leader. I wondered for a moment how and why he was single, but shrugged it off.

  “I apologize for ... my lack of decency a moment ago,” he said with flushed cheeks. “What did you wish to ask of me?”

  “It’s fine,” I assured him and glanced down the hall, hoping that Serena would hurry and come back. “I don’t know what your policies are on non-witches living here, I’m guessing it’s not a common thing, though ... but my best friend really needs a place to stay, and she has nowhere else to go. Would it be at all possible for her to stay in one of the empty rooms here or something?”

  Artemis frowned and placed a hand on my shoulder. “While I sympathize with the issue of your friend having no place to stay, you are correct in your assumption. The Haven is a home strictly for magic users. This is not a halfway house.”

  “What about my mom, though? She’s not a witch.”

  “Your mom is a special case. She may not have magic in the sense that you do, but she does have magic inside her.”

  My brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

  “She carries with her the gift of the raven — that itself is a gift of magic. One even rarer than yours.”

  “There’s no way you could make an exception in this case?”

  Artemis shook his head and lowered his hand. “While I admire you for your exquisite gifts and am honored to have you as a member of the Castus Clan, I cannot hold favoritism. If I allow your friend to live here, everyone else is going to want to do the same.”

  “I guess you’re right,” I replied glumly, then went to turn around and leave.

  “Cam wants to meet me in thirty minutes for brunch,” Serena announced as she came down the hallway. “Oh ... hi there.” Her smile and wide eyes gave away that she too had noticed Artemis’s good looks.

  His eyes narrowed in her direction as if he truly were trying to read minds, though that was impossible. “Hello. You must be Madison’s friend.”

  “Serena,” she said. “And yeah ... that’s right.”

  “Madison, I am sorry about before. I was too harsh. There are plenty of empty rooms here and it would be silly to keep them unoccupied when … when friends of ours are in need. I will assign a room for your friend,” he said and smiled in my direction.

  “Wait ... what made you change your mind all of a sudden?”

  “I’ll have Castus Palmer show you to room 4, Serena,” Artemis said, ignoring my question completely. He stepped around me and guided my friend down the hall toward the lobby. Once again, I was left alone outside the door.

  I sighed and walked down the hall behind them. I wasn’t sure why Artemis had changed his mind, but I wasn’t about to object. Serena would be safe among the rest of the Clan, and I could see her any time I wanted. When I entered the lobby, Noah was talking to Artemis and Serena, his eyes never leaving my best friend. That boy was going to get his heartbroken in a matter of days — if not less.

  “Do you have anything you need to get from your house?” I heard Noah asking.

  Serena shrugged and looked toward me. “Kind of ... but I really can’t go back there.”

  “I could go for you,” he offered and I rolled my eyes.

  “You’d do that? Really? You don’t even know me.”

  “Yeah. We’re all a team here, even if you’re not a witch. We help each other out.”

  Especially when we want to get in bed with them, I thought to myself, shaking my head in disgust.

  “Thank you for being so supportive, Castus Palmer. Please show Ms. … sorry … Serena, is it? What is your last name?”

  “Dupont.”

  “Show Ms. Dupont here to her room and then you may make arrangements to pick up her belongings if she so desires.”

  “I’m on it,” Noah said and offered Serena his hand.

  She hesitantly took it and he led her toward me. “I was going to say, by the way, that Cam said you could come too, if you wanted,” she said to me. “He wouldn’t let Mom come anywhere near him after he got his hand wrapped at the hospital ... but I don’t blame him.”

  “Your mom didn’t do anything to either of you,” I said. “And it’s okay. I’ll eat something here … you two probably want some time alone, anyway.”

  “She cheated on my dad and it led him to murder someone! That’s not nothing, Madison.”

  “I guess,” I said with a sigh, even though I didn’t agree entirely.

  “Mathias should be getting up by now if you want to go see him,” Noah said as he walked by with my best friend.

  “Actually, Castus Forsythe has requested to have no visitors. He isn’t feeling very well,” Artemis said.

  “He seemed fine yesterday ...”

  Artemis frowned and looked through the front windows. There was snow falling once more, dancing down from the sky and landing upon the frosty carpet on the sidewalk. “He was outside for a long time yesterday; he could likely be coming down with a cold passed on by someone unknowingly infected.”

  “I guess,” I repeated and frowned. So much for having a day off where I could enjoy myself. My best friend was understandably occupied with her own grief and drama, my mom was probably out on a date with the man I had grown up calling ‘Dad’, and Mathias — who was supposed to be training me — was sick, or maybe making up excuses not to see me. The latter wouldn’t surprise me all that much, even if we did leave on a positive note last night. There was one person I could count on being there if I needed them, though … I hoped. I went to my room and collected my coat, key, and cell phone before heading through the lobby doors and into the bitter chill of the oncoming winter.

  Ezra opened the apartment door and welcomed me into the warm front room. The heater was blasting out hot air and it began to ease the cold out of my skin. Discarding my coat, I left it hanging in the closet and followed my uncle into the living r
oom. Hannah was sitting on the futon with one leg propped over the other, flipping through a book that I recognized as one of my mom’s diaries — why would she have those?

  “Research,” she answered with a twisted smile. “Kind of boring, though, when you already know the whole story. Just checking for anything I’ve missed. What are you doing here?”

  “I had something I needed to tell you,” I said and sat next to her on the futon. “You know ... I could summon you a whole bunch of furniture to make this house more ... comfortable.”

  My uncle appeared interested, but Hannah waved the idea away. “It’s plenty comfortable. And, really? You st0pped by to play interior decorator? What an awesome use for such power!” She rolled her eyes and then began to read again.

  “Believe me, I wish that’s all it was.”

  Ezra looked concerned as he leaned up against the counter.

  “Oh, that’s enough,” I grumbled and summoned a black leather recliner a few feet in front of the sliding glass door. “There. Go sit down.”

  Hannah’s eyes enlarged and even she looked tempted by the new piece of furniture as she watched her husband claim the new chair. “Okay, so spit it out.”

  “My mom and Jason ... they are sort of seeing each other, if you know what I mean.”

  My aunt eyed her husband — was she keeping Salem a secret from him too? Surely he wouldn’t spill the news of him being alive ... but then again, I didn’t know my uncle that well.

  “I’m not sure I understand how this is negative news,” Ezra said, leading me to believe he was indeed left out of the secret. “Should we not be happy for them? I mean, yes, it is a sad thing what has happened to Jason and Eila, but if they are truly done, then why not? And Alexis … well … it has been sixteen years since she lost Salem.”

  “No, Ezra. We should not be happy for them because, shockingly enough, my brother is not dead. As much as I’d like for that bitch to never be with my brother again, I know he’ll run straight back to her if we ever set him free.” If I thought it was possible, I would say that Hannah looked paler now than she ever did. “Madison and I both had a dream — a shared vision — of Salem. He is trapped in some sort of cellar or dungeon. Cassius is doing experiments on him, from what I could gather ... giving him some sort of injection to stop him from using his summoning ability to escape, as well as trying to transfer the gift onto the boy …”

  Ezra’s expression was that of surprise and horror. “And just how long did you intend to keep such a secret from me? Or worse, Alexis? Haven’t you done enough to make her suffer?”

  Hannah frowned. “As much as I care about my dear sister,” She paused, giving me a sarcastic look, “this is not about that.”

  “Then what is it about, pray tell?

  “It’s about ... protecting her. Madison isn’t ready to face Cassius or Silas, and until she is, Alex cannot know about Salem being alive. She would want to leave for Romania immediately. Madison would sure enough follow right along and then they both would die and just like that, the world would end.”

  My uncle appeared to understand and nodded, despite my aunt’s tone and possible over-exaggeration. “How will we know when Madison is ready?”

  She shrugged. “I believe she is well on her way to learning just how ... special she is,” Hannah replied and looked over at me, a sly grin forming on her thin lips.

  “What are you talking about? I’ve done no training at all. I know nothing. I’m nowhere near ready.”

  She continued to smirk. “Some things just can’t be taught. You have to figure them out on your own. You will realize soon enough just how much you are changing. I told you all along that you wouldn’t need any special treatment from a Clan, but you wouldn’t listen. I told you not to get involved with that stupid boy, but of course you didn’t listen. You got that from your mom, no doubt. Regardless, with or without their training, you will discover your true power.”

  I tried to ignore her obvious jabs. “Can’t you just tell me, as apparently you seem to already know so much?”

  “What did I just say?”

  Ezra spoke up then, “It would make the process quicker, however. If you could just tell her whatever you know …”

  “No. That’s enough. She needs to learn it on her own. Now, run back to your little house of witches and let me know when you realize what has changed.”

  “Changed? What’re you even talking about?”

  Hannah sighed. “Really? Did you not understand a word I just said? Go home and don’t come back until you’ve figured it out. Go on. Shoo.”

  I looked toward Ezra for help but he merely shrugged and frowned. With a huff, I rose from the couch and left the apartment.

  Serena was nowhere to be seen when I returned to Haven. She hadn’t left me any text messages or voicemail, either. The lobby was empty, although it smelled like it had recently been eaten in, and the scent churned up some previously unnoticed hunger. Due to all of the stress about my mom and Jason, as well as Serena, I’d completely spaced out eating breakfast. It was a good thing I could summon food whenever I wanted, or else I would likely starve myself to death with everything that was going on around me. I headed straight for my room, only to be stopped halfway by Alan.

  “I’ve been looking for you,” he said. “I wanted to make sure that you were all right. Word has it you have a non-magical friend here ... everyone’s talking about it. It’s … well … it’s most unusual, to say the least.”

  “Great,” I mumbled sarcastically. “It’s no big deal. I mean, it is ... but it isn’t. She’s just staying here while some things blow over, I guess.”

  “Oh, I understand. Castus Palmer seems to be rather fond of her.”

  Scoffing, I walked by him and unlocked my door. “Noah is the type of guy who seems fond of anything with breasts.”

  I entered my room and saw there was a note on the mini-fridge from my mom — she was out with Jason yet again. There went my appetite.

  “You can come in,” I said to Alan as I filled Willow’s food dish. “I didn’t mean to just rush by and seem like I was ignoring you or anything. It’s just been a long day and I don’t know … I haven’t even eaten.”

  “We could go someplace, if you want,” he suggested as he stepped over the threshold and into my room. “To eat, that is. It can’t be a lot of fun summoning every meal you eat.”

  I laughed. “It’s actually pretty convenient, but yeah ... it’s nice having other people actually make my food for me, even though picturing a simple sandwich takes so much less time.”

  “If you don’t feel like going anywhere, we could just eat here. I haven’t had lunch, either.”

  “I, uh, sure ... we can eat here. I have no plans ... it seems that Serena is ignoring me, and my mom is occupied with ... other things, anyway. Not to mention Mathias doesn’t seem to be talking to me today.”

  Alan frowned and stepped over to where I stood in the kitchen. “Artemis is the only one that has seen Castus Forsythe all day. He’s been cooped up in his room, and no one is allowed to enter but Artemis ... he claims he’s sick with the flu now, but I’m not sure I believe him.”

  “Why wouldn’t you believe him?” I asked worriedly even as I struggled to concentrate on summoning a sheet of lasagna, two plates, glasses, and a bottle of cola.

  “Any other time a Clan member had a serious illness that Artemis could not mend, they were sent to a doctor ... not shut up in their room and refused visitors. It’s just not normal. Plus, he’s changed.”

  Swallowing, I tried to hide my concern and recognition. “What do you mean by changed?”

  Alan looked at me with disbelief. “You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed. His eyes are changing ... it’s like the shimmering effect is leaving a permanent mark on him.”

  “What do you know about Shimmerers? Why are they such a rare type of witch?” I inquired uneasily and pulled out one of the dining chairs. Alan sat across from me.

  “This smells great, by t
he way,” he said before scooping out a square of lasagna for me and then one for himself. “All I know is the basics. They can essentially teleport from one place to the other unseen, and over time, it has some minor side effects.”

  “Like his hair,” I stated and blew on a forkful of pasta. “Do you think that’s what’s causing his eyes to change too?”

  Alan shrugged and looked thoughtful. “I really don’t know.”

  It was tough eating and enjoying the conversation with Alan when all I could think of now was Mathias. Was his gift changing him even further? Would it stop at his eyes and fingernails? Would he eventually just look like a silvery, white-washed person? Was that even all that bad? And my mother ... how was I to keep her away from Jason, especially if Hannah didn’t plan to intervene? Surely she had to know how awful it was. Then again, maybe she didn’t really care if my mom and dad were together again — seeing as she practically said that plain and clear. She was definitely the type to hold a grudge. She just cared that Salem was alive. Although if she really wanted my mom out of the picture she could just let her go and die over there. But she was right … I would go with her, no matter what. And that would mean Hannah would have to follow. Then I realized – she was scared. Despite the front she always had, this vision of a war to come truly frightened my aunt. If someone like her – so confident and strong – feared for the future, then who was I to stop it from happening?

  She seemed so sure that I would come into some sort of power soon … part of me hoped she was right, while another wanted to shed all of this away and be normal and oblivious again. The eyes of a brother I had never known flashed through my mind again, and I shivered.

  Chapter Thirteen