Catalyst (Forevermore, Book Two) (28 page)

Noah took me out to the parking lot and led me to a beat up 4x4 truck that I’d not really noticed before. I hadn’t really considered before which car belonged to whom any other time when I’d passed by the lot. Even under the layers of snow, I could tell that it was in bad shape. There was a dent in the bumper and the passenger side window was covered in plastic where the glass should have been. He unlocked the driver side door and had to lean across the seat and pop open my door from inside. I hesitantly climbed in and was relieved that the thing at least had working heat so I wouldn’t freeze to death. I had to keep reminding myself of why I was doing this — for Mathias and Hannah.

We headed out of the parking lot and I glanced through the barely see-through
, makeshift window toward Haven and felt my heart sink. This could have been my last time ever seeing the building — and Mathias was still in there, probably unconscious. I hated myself for not taking just a few minutes to say goodbye.

“
He’ll be okay,” Noah said quietly without turning his attention from the road.

The streets were empty, thanks to everyone being safely tucked indoors with their families and plates full of warm food. I acknowledged him with a smile that likely went unseen, then resumed peering out the window.

At some point during the near-
conversationless seventy mile drive, a light snow began to fall again. Just my luck. Noah was taking me off to the Rocky Mountains in the dead of winter with a truck that barely ran and now it was starting to snow. I clamped tightly onto the handle of my door and inhaled a shaky, nervous breath. I hoped I wouldn’t die before I even made it to the Nefastus … I hoped I wouldn’t die at all.

It felt like we
’d been putting along for hours. The moon was high in the sky, faintly peeking out from behind a mass of dark, puffy clouds. I wondered what my adoptive parents could possibly have fought over after dinner, and how had my friends reacted? Did they resent me for abandoning them there without explanation? Alan probably thought I left him there to go see Mathias ... and what about Serena? I’d essentially run off with her new boyfriend and didn’t tell anyone where I was going or when I’d be back ...

“
Hold on,” Noah warned suddenly and I found myself gripping even tighter to the handle and the edge of my seat.

He swung the truck slowly off onto a semi-hidden dirt road. Even in the darkness, I could tell how steep and icy it was outside and that there were drops to
one side that could end both our lives. The front of the truck neared the edge of a cliff and I screamed, holding on for dear life, certain that we would plummet over the side and die. The truck stopped abruptly and Noah was staring at me with large, concerned eyes. I exhaled shakily and my head fell back against my seat.

“
Are you crazy?!” I shrieked, refusing to look out the windshield where I knew there was nothing but darkness.

He laughed.
“We’re safe, I promise. Just get out.”

“
N-no. I could fall off and —”

Noah rolled his eyes and stepped out of the truck, then came
over to my side and waited outside my door until I pushed it open. I nervously glanced down and found that he was standing on solid ground several feet away from the drop.

“
Come on.”

I took the hand he offered to me and pictured him swinging me out of the
truck, over the edge of the cliff, and releasing me, but I knew that wasn’t going to be the case – or I hoped.

With a deep breath, I stepped down fro
m the truck and looked around. “Is this where the hideout is?” I asked as he fumbled around for something in the truck bed.

“
Not quite,” he answered and pulled out a rope.

Wide eyed, I asked,
“Um, what exactly is that for? I sure as hell am not climbing down a cliff.”

He laughed.
“They have to think I captured you, right? I’m tying you up.”

I
huffed irritably and shivered — it was freezing cold out and somehow Noah was unaffected. I figured it probably had something to do with his gift. I was at least glad there would be no climbing involved.

He gently took my hands
and placed them in front of me then began winding the rope around them; the material itched and scratched at my exposed skin.

“
It’s too tight,” I said and tried moving my hands — it was no use.

“
Has to look real,” he said and went back to the driver’s side of the truck, got something out, and cut the engine. I couldn’t see him or anything else around me now that the lights had gone out; I was temporarily afraid that he was going to leave me there for the Nefastus to find. I’d be the perfect bargaining chip to trade in for his sister. I gulped. How had I not thought of that before? It was obvious now. I struggled against the rope, but it was no use. For better or worse, I was Noah’s prisoner now.

Despite the situation, I almost
laughed when a light turned on and I saw Noah wearing a headlamp.

“
Alright, let’s go,” he said and lifted me up into his arms, with one hand on my back and the other under my knees.

He carried me into the darkness for what felt like forever, the light of the head
lamp not helping me in any way — all I could see were rocks, snow, mountain and Noah’s face. I wondered why he didn’t just drive the truck the rest of the way over. Thankfully, Noah’s body seemed to radiate warmth and kept me from freezing. Dusk was on the verge of emerging from behind the clouds, casting a faint radiance around us, making it slightly easier to see. I couldn’t believe we had been driving and walking for so long. Noah lowered me onto the ground and clicked off the headlamp, then scanned the vicinity.

“
Why’d we stop?” My teeth began to chatter now that I was no longer up against the walking-talking-radiator.

“
Because we’re here.” He motioned his hand to my left and I turned my head.

My mouth fell
open in awe. There was a vast tower with a crumbling spired roof that had clearly been damaged by falling rocks and the pull of time. I knew that we were in a very remote area, but it seemed pretty odd that this tower — their lair, apparently — would be out in plain sight on the side of the mountain. It had to have been discovered before by hikers and other random passersby.

“
How ... how has no one found this before?” I asked, continuing to examine the building in the distance. It seemed like it was almost carved into the side of the mountain itself. The more I looked the more detail I noticed — there were actually two spired towers, one shorter than the other, less damaged, and a little further back than the first. Both of them had three wide windows along the upper section with a wraparound balcony. Underneath them was a set of arches and another wraparound along the base that ended in a slope of gray stone stairs. Atop the stone railing was a row of black metal lanterns illuminated with flickering blue flames. Surrounding the base was a thick layer of rock that jutted out and upward, forming what almost looked like huge, stone teeth.

“
Only those with magic in their blood can see it,” Noah explained and started walking toward it. “Same as Haven, like I told you.”

“
Wait, you said people had to have something special to see it.”

“
Yeah, magic blood.”

“
Then why don’t the Nefastus see Haven? Isn’t that kind of stupid and ineffective?”

“
Look, to be honest, I don’t know what all spells are around Haven. Believe it or not, Artemis doesn’t trust us all with that sort of information. Maybe he thinks one of us would, I don’t know, betray him.”

I shivered again, partially because of the cold, but also because the fear of still not being certain or not which side Noah was on.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“
Um, tied up … remember.”

“
Right …”

Despite the cold, sweat beaded on his forehead as he picked me up again and began walking.

I looked up and admired the architecture of the building some more as we crept by the thick wall of stone and up the slippery, snow-coated steps. Noah kept me steady so that I wouldn’t fall, and I was thankful to have his warmth against me again. We passed beneath one of the massive archways; menacing-looking icicles clung overhead. There were two large, iron doors ahead of us. Noah let go of me with one hand to knock on them, but before his fist made it to the surface, the door swung open seemingly of its own accord. I swallowed and looked worriedly into the darkness that had previously been concealed by the door.

Noah
stepped through the threshold and into the blackness; the doors slammed behind us with a loud bang that startled me and echoed through the structure. Noah notably jumped as well, but continued walking forward as though unafraid. Candlelight began filling the room — first in black iron sconces on the walls, then on a table in the entrance room, and then finally began trailing up either side of a staircase to our left.

A voice from atop the stairs
, its owner still shrouded in shadow, spoke. “Ah, of all the places in the world, I never once thought you would turn up here without my intervention.”

I struggled to see who was speaking, but all I could tell was that they were robed, and definitely a man judging by their voice.
Noah leaned forward and stood me up the best he could with the ropes wrapped around me.

The man
descended the steps, his cloak flowing down the stairs behind him like a black waterfall in his wake. As he moved, I noticed other doors opening and eyes peering out at us from the halls and upper floor. I had never imagined there could have been so many Nefastus here, there had to be at least forty or more. My mind went down the familiar road of wondering if Noah was bad, and how stupid I had been to agree to join him regardless, but there was no turning back now.

The
figure came into full view, his robe was black silk with blood-red trim, the hood lowered and revealed his face in its entirety. He was young — younger than Artemis, but older than me — handsome, with short light brown hair and pale blue eyes, angular features, and a sense of authority about him.

This can
’t be Constantine,
I thought to myself as I looked him over again
. He’s too young.

“
Oh, but I am,” he said with a smirk.

Startled, I
tried to step back, almost falling and bumping into Noah. Could he read minds? Was that his gift?

“
No, Daughter of Luna, I cannot read minds. Faces, however ... the emotions you wear are as clear as though you were speaking to me. It isn’t even a magical gift, that, just … experience,” he said and turned his attention to Noah, extending a pale, bony finger in his direction. “And who might
you
be? Ah, wait, I believe I know the answer to that one as well.”

Constantine turned his head and looked over his shoulder, back toward the dark halls above.
“Chloe, dear, do make yourself present.”

A slight figure gracefully stepped down the stairs behind Constantine, sheepishly peering from behind him. She was Noah
’s sister, there was no doubting it. Those same gray eyes and dark brown hair with tints of gold.

“
I said to present yourself, not cower behind me, stupid girl,” he snarled and whipped his head around to look at her. “Come down. Now.”

Chloe obeyed, walking past Constantine and standing beside him.

“This is your brother, is it not?” he asked, gesturing again toward Noah.

The girl nodded.

Constantine smiled, pleased with himself. “You have done well, Nefastus Palmer.” Noah noticeably flinched at the title given to his younger sister. “It would appear that your brother has finally come to his senses and decided to join his dear sister.”

Noah shifted uncomfortably and let go of my arm.
“I ... yeah ... well, maybe,” he stammered and looked at his sister. “Look, I got the Summoner girl to turn herself in ... I mean I captured her ... sort of.”

The Nefastus leader looked amused.
“Well, which is it, then? Did you catch her, or did she turn herself in? Did you forget how to speak coherently?”

Noah gulped and went to answer, but I spoke up instead.
“I told him I would turn myself in.”

Constantine
’s attention was back on me and he sneered, seeming disappointed that I had answered and not Noah. I got the impression that he had been enjoying watching Noah squirm. “Foolish Daughter of Luna,” he said with a shake of his head. “Or, perhaps, smart? You have decided to join us, willingly? Is that it?”

“
I ... no. Do whatever you want to me, but I made a deal with Noah.”

He looked from me to Noah and then back again.
“Oh, really? A deal? This I must hear, do go on.”

“
He said that if I turned myself in you’d free my aunt and help save my friend. And …” I looked over at Noah. “And free his sister, too.”

Noah
’s eyebrows scrunched and he looked at me in utter shock. If it were possible … if I were somehow going to die here … I might as well get as much out of it as I could.

“
Oh, did he now?” His eyes flickered to Noah once again. “So, you made a deal with this boy, expecting something from me in return? Not very smart of him to promise things that he cannot deliver, especially when they are not his to offer. I have you here now. I need to give nothing to have you. You aren’t a very intelligent girl, are you?” He shook his head with disappointment. “Such great power wasted on someone that cannot even understand how a negotiation works.” He laughed and I heard snickers and giggles from the myriad of hidden faces throughout the room.

“
Silence!” They stopped at his command.

Scared, but unwilling to back down, I took a deep breath to steady my nerves.
“Do you have my aunt or not? Tell me that, at least.”

“
Your aunt? I am afraid I am unfamiliar with any relative of yours that I am aware of. Tell me, who is this aunt of yours?”

“
She’s ... she’s a vampire,” I spat out.

Constantine looked surprised
for a fleeting moment, then his expression grew serious. The mentioning of the word
vampire
seemed to cause an abundance of quiet whispering throughout the lair.

“
I don’t imagine that she is the little blonde creature that was climbing the east tower three or four nights ago, was she?” he mused. “If so, it is no wonder that you have little brains or wit if your heritage derives from her lot.”

I was beginning to get
tired of being called stupid over and over. “She’s not stupid, and neither am I! She was just trying to help me.”

“
Oh?” He seemed legitimately intrigued, but it was hard to tell. If anything, every attempt at getting my point across was humorous to him.

“
She was trying to find out about a cure for ... for my friend.”

“
A cure? Whatever could you mean?” He smiled, and I had the sudden feeling that he already knew what I meant, but there was no way to tell for sure.

“
She was looking for the Shimmerer that lives here.”

He laughed.
“Dominic?” A shake of his head. “Pity. Dominic has been absent for months on some … business of mine.”

Sadness and defeat was beginning to overwhelm me; had what Noah said about the Shimmerer
— this Dominic person — been false? How long ago had he heard about it? We’d gone through all of this trouble and the guy wasn’t even there anymore. I’d sent my aunt, and now myself, into this for nothing.

“
Where is he exactly?”

Constantine shrugged
. “It matters not to you.”

I
sighed and looked at Chloe who seemed lost, standing beside the man that controlled her life. “How is it that he hasn’t died? I mean ... my friend ... he’s a Shimmerer too and he’s starting to —”

“
Fade away?” Constantine grinned knowingly.

I nodded and Noah stepped closer to me, almost protectively, but not enough that anyone would be able to
notice. “Do you know the cure?”

“
Know it? I’m the one that created it for Dominic.”

“
Are ... are you serious?” I asked in awe. “I’ve turned myself in and given you permission to do whatever you want with me. All I ask is that you let Hannah go and send the cure back with Noah to Mathias and … and release his sister.”

Constantine looked almost to be weighing the options, then shook his head.
“I don’t think I will. As I already said, what is the point? I already quite clearly have you in my possession.”

“
Please!” I begged desperately. “For once in your life just do something for someone else. Do something good! He’s so young ... you can’t just let him die ... he’s — he’s Artemis’s nephew!” I shouted, unsure why I felt the need to point that out. Noah stiffened beside me, obviously having been unaware of the fact, and probably because I’d just given Constantine even more reason to let Mathias die — why would he want someone important to his enemy to live? I had been so stupid. Reckless. Maybe he was right …

I was sure I
’d seen a hint of shock and horror cross over his face for a brief, fleeting moment, but it turned back to his normal, devilish expression almost as quickly as it had changed. He turned to Noah’s sister, who was looking blankly at the two of us.

“
Nefastus Palmer, go upstairs to my alchemy room. There are a number of vials on the slate desk. Bring me the white one.”

Chloe looked
scared and confused. It was crazy how even Constantine’s own followers were afraid of him. She started to walk away but her Clan leader quickly turned and caught her by the wrist.