Catalyst (Forevermore, Book Two) (14 page)

“
Why didn’t you ever tell me? And why didn’t your mom do anything about it?”

“
I couldn’t tell you. There were times where I tried, but I couldn’t. Talking about it would make it real, and I preferred to live in a make believe world where my dad was a saint. Mom sent me away to summer camp briefly to get me away from him; I’m sure you remember. They went to counseling when I was away, and when I came back ... things were normal. We all pretended like nothing had ever happened. Dad started working much longer hours and was home less often. Everything was … good … sort of.”

I nodded as I took in her words, trying to make sense of it all.
“And Cam? Alan — the boy who saw the vision — he said that Cam was taken ...?”

She looked even more upset than she had when I
’d asked about her side of the horror story. “Child Protection. They took him away when he was like, five or six. He told me about it a few years ago. It’s all messed up. My dad was abusing him too, and that’s part of why he came back while Dad was away on his business trip ... not just to make sure Mom didn’t cheat on Dad, but to make sure Dad didn’t come home and beat on her … or me.”

“
He used to beat her, too?”

“
Used
to? More like still does. Or did. I don’t know. I don’t agree with what she did — cheating on him and all — but she’s been trapped with him this whole time, afraid to try to escape, and I can kind of see why she’d do it.”

“
I guess that explains why she always treats his business trips like a vacation of her own.”

She nodded and looked at me.
“I’m sorry I never told you before, it’s just ...”

“
No. Don’t apologize. I’m just glad that you’re safe, now.”

Mom came home later that evening looking worn out. I explained to her what happened with Serena moving in, that Artemis was against the idea of her staying, then suddenly changed his mind and gave her a room of her own. She thought it was kind of weird, but we both passed it off as sympathy for a young lost girl. She told me about the few places she’d applied for — a shoe store, coffee shop, and a nail salon.

“
Don’t tell me Jason applied for the salon too,” I said with forced humor.

“
No ... he was somewhere else. He’s looking into hardware stores and electronics, things that appeal to him more. He’s actually gotten an interview call, so that’s good.”

“
Yea, that’s good. Does he like staying with Uncle Mitchell?”

“
He seems to. They lived together for the majority of their lives, so it’s sort of like old times. He misses you ... Jason, that is.”

“
I miss him too ...” I said with a sigh and threw away the remains of the chili I’d just eaten for dinner. “And I miss you. I’m sorry about how I behaved last night. I think I was just stressed about Serena and the news about you and Jason … surprised me ... a lot.”

“
I know. I shouldn’t have just pushed it on you like that, especially not after what you had already gone through ... but if you feel up to it, Jason wants to take us out tomorrow night, just the three of us.”

“
Umm ... sure. I guess. That’s fine. I’m going to go ahead and just go to bed ... it’s been a long day.”

“
Same here,” she said with a faint smile. “Goodnight.”

“
Night.”

My phone flashed in the darkness and I blinked repeatedly until my eyes adjusted to the brightness. A new text message had come through and the vibration against my hand disturbed me in my sleep — I had fallen asleep with it in my hand while reading a digital book on the tiny screen. My heart raced with nerves and unexpected excitement when I saw who the message was from.

Mathias.

When I checked the time on my phone, I realized a few hours had passed since I’d fallen asleep. I could remember snippets of a dream I’d had before the phone disturbed me — reflections of a red-eyed boy submerged in the depths of a frozen lake. Shuddering, I finally looked at the message Mathias had sent —”Are you awake?” I almost wanted to be annoyed that I’d been woken up, but instead I was relieved that he’d texted me. My fingers rapidly tapped at the phone’s buttons. “Yeah, what’s going on?” Shutting my eyes while awaiting a response, I wondered what he was doing up at this hour. Noah had mentioned that he wakes up an hour or two later than everyone else, but I didn’t think he’d be going to bed too much later than me.

Only a few seconds passed before
the next message came through. “Can you meet me somewhere?” I stared at the phone for what felt like a long time, my heart racing and my mind wandering. Why would Mathias want to meet with me at such a late hour? Wasn’t he sick? Despite my doubts and worries, I asked him where he’d want to meet and waited again. This time, the response came a little later. Maybe he was trying to think of a place to go.

“
On the roof,” was the next message to come through. Skeptically, I replied, “Are you serious?” He then responded explaining that there was a ladder out back that goes up to the fire escape, then up to the roof. Hesitantly, I sent a quick message saying “Okay, be right there.” and sat up. My hair was a disheveled mess and I was sure that I looked awful. It was dark out and he likely wouldn’t care anyway, though. Dressed in flannel pajamas and fluffy slipper boots, I went over quietly to my mom’s bed to see if I’d woken her up. I hadn’t. She wasn’t there.

I stormed out of the room, slamming the
door shut behind me. There was a brief sense of regret due to the fact that everyone else in the building was likely asleep, but it washed away quickly.

I was out of breath and shivering when I reached the rooftop, despite the thick material of my pajamas. There was snow covering the top of the motel building, and sitting with his knees brought up to his chest, on a damp blanket over the snow, was Mathias. In the darkness, I could barely see him — nothing but a shape draped in shadow. Snow crunched beneath my feet and I could feel the moisture seeping into the fabric of my slippers. Hopefully I wouldn’t wind up getting a cold, too — if he even was sick.

“
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 li
ghtly 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.”

Fro
wning, 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?”

H
e 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 t
o 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.