Catalyst (Forevermore, Book Two) (9 page)

“
When my foster father was driving me back to the orphanage, I was seriously beginning to wonder if my gift was involved with demons,” he said and yet his smile didn’t fade. “Artemis explained everything to me, though. He treated me like a real person. No. More than that. He spoke to me like I was an adult and not a child.”

Before I had a chance to respond, I saw Noah approaching our table with a hurt look on his face.
“Why wasn’t I invited to this little get together? I thought we were brothers, Mathias!” He looked back and forth from one of us to other. “Ohhh, wait. I see! I know what this is! And now I’m even more hurt. It’s a date!”

Mathias and I both looked at each other and simultaneously said,
“It’s not a date.”

I was somewhat surprised by how disappointed I felt that it
wasn’t
a date. Did he feel the same?

Noah looked unconvinced.
“Man, if you wanted to take my new girl out on a date, you could have at least had the common courtesy to ask me.”

Mathias looked annoyed and clenched his fists on the tabletop, which I almost didn
’t notice through my burst of laughter. He pushed his chair back and stared dejectedly at me — he was clearly upset at not only Noah, but my reaction to the outlandish things he had said. He scooted his chair back and said, “I have to go.”

“
No! Mathias, wait!” I said louder than I meant — people were now staring at our table.

Without another word, he placed a few bills on the table and head
ed out the door. Ignoring Noah — who didn’t seem entirely surprised that Mathias was upset — I ran out of the diner and caught sight of him right as he faded off into nothingness.

Once I made it back to Haven, I sped down the hallway
— ignoring the pair of witches sitting on the sectional — and went straight for Mathias’s room, hoping to find him there. I twisted the doorknob. It was locked. With a frown, I knocked loudly against the wood and tapped my foot impatiently as I waited for a hopeful response. After a few minutes passed, I gave up and went to the far end of the hall and knocked on Artemis’s door, hoping that he’d have an idea as to Mathias’s whereabouts. No one answered. Frustrated and feeling defeated, I stalked down the hall in the direction I had come. I couldn’t understand why Mathias had overreacted about Noah’s sudden appearance at the diner, and I wanted some answers. I approached his door again and knocked one more time, hoping that maybe he’d returned somehow while I was down the hall, but there was still no answer. Giving up on any hope of finding him in either room, I returned to the lobby. Elijah was sitting on the sectional with a lanky black haired boy that I assumed was Forrest; they both smiled at me.

“
Hey, I saw you earlier talking to my sister,” Elijah said.

I looked at him and saw once more the resemblance between him and his younger si
ster. “Oh, yeah. You’re Elijah — I mean … Castus Chance, right?”

He nodded.
“Yep. This is Forrest, or Castus Bowman, if you want to get technical.”

“
Hey,” Forrest said and I noticed a long scar marring his right cheek. “You’re Castus Young, then.” It was a statement, not a question.

“
I am. I guess being the only new witch around here makes that kind of obvious, huh?”

Forrest and Elijah both laughed at the same time.
“Nothing wrong with being new. Hopefully Eden will take your place as ‘the new kid’ soon.”

“
Yeah, but she still won’t really be
new
around here the same way I am. It’ll be neat though, still. I really want to see what her power ends up being.”

“
Me too,” Elijah replied and placed a hand over Forrest’s. “She’d really like it here, and I think you two could be friends.”

“
I think so, too.”

The door swung open and I was disappointed to find that it was only Noah and not Mathias, but maybe he knew where I might find him. The two
of them were best friends, so he had to know something.

“
Hey, didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s rude to run out on your boyfriend without saying bye?” he asked.

I ignored his sarcasm and looked apologetically at Elijah and Forrest; they didn
’t seem to mind. “Have you seen Mathias?” I asked.

“
Uh, I
just
got here, and if you remember, the two of you ditched me at the diner,” he said, a little more rudely than I anticipated. “He didn’t come back by to watch me finish my hash browns or anything, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“
You’re the one that just invited yourself to sit down with us.”

Without waiting for an answer, I started heading back down the hall and to my room, but turned around and went for the front door. There was only one place that I knew of where Mathias might be, one other place we had gone together before, and while it was a long-shot, it was the only one I had.

When I made it to the lake where Mathias had taken me to practice my gift of foresight, I was actually surprised to find him standing at the shore of the water. His arms were crossed around his chest, eyes set straight on the water that before long would have a layer of frost over it once winter truly began. A sudden chill came over me that had nothing to do with the snow beneath my feet, but the memory of the last time I had been
there and witnessed my brother’s blood-red eyes staring back at me through the once-rippling water.

“
I thought I might find you here,” I said quietly as I approached him.

He turned, looking shocked, but he nodded and gave me a brief smile before re
turning to staring at the still-water.

“
Why did you get so upset earlier?”

He shook his head.
“It was nothing ... just forget about it. I didn’t mean to take it out on you or anything. I’ve just been stressed out lately.”

“
What do you mean? Stressed about what?”

“
I don’t want to talk about it.”

My hand was on his shoulder, turning him gently to face me, before I even had a second to consider my action. I took his hand in mine and squeezed it reassuringly. Looking up into his eyes, I noticed again the subtle change in color.
“You can trust me, Mathias,” I insisted with a pleading look.

“
I know I can ... but it’s just not something I want to talk about right now. With anyone.” He stated the last words firmly.

Looking downward at the dirtied snow beneath my shoes, I realized I was
still holding his hand. To my surprise, it felt comforting and for lack of a better word — it felt right. Like that was where my hand should be. As I examined the slenderness of his long fingers I noticed not only that his fingernails were chipped as though he’d bit them out of nerves, but that they also had a strange white-washed discoloration. There was a silvery hue to them that I’d never noticed. Alarmed, I looked up at him and my brows scrunched in confusion and worry. “What happened to your fingers?”

“
Nothing!” He jerked his hands away, stuffing them into his pockets.

I
huffed and stepped away. “You know what? I don’t care. You’re acting like a real jerk. First you ran out from breakfast and left me with Noah of all people, and then after I find you and try to get you to open up to me, even after what you did, you just act like an asshole. If that’s how it’s going to be, then I don’t want to be here. I’ll see you around. Maybe.”

Turning on my heel, trying to hold back the burn of tears welling up, I was stopped by his hand encircling my arm. I turned around to face him, bright red anger burning my cheeks, only to fade when I saw how upset he looked. He slid his hand gently down
my arm, grasped my hand and intertwined his fingers with mine. “I am sorry,” he whispered, “truly.”

Silence surrounded us for a second, and then he looked amused and said,
“I take it your date with Noah didn’t go that well, then?”

I laughed and shook my head, released my hand from his and playfully hit him on the shoulder.
“Noah is the last person in Haven I would go on a date with.”

He looked like he was about to ask something, bit his lip, and glanced away for a second.
“Can you see anything in the water today?” he asked as he knelt down to tie his shoe.

With a shrug, I stepped closer to the lake and saw that there weren
’t any fish swimming around this time. The reeds were wilted and leaning to the side, dying in the harsh cold temperatures of the oncoming winter. I struggled to focus on the water, peering beyond the surface, hoping yet fearing, that I might see something. My mind was filled with worrisome thoughts about Mathias and the sudden changes in his eyes and fingernails, making it difficult to focus. When I finally thought something might be shaping in the water, something cold and wet hit the back of my head; I jumped in surprise and twirled around to see Mathias grinning widely, another snowball prepped and ready in his hand.

“
You so weren’t tying your shoe!” I accused and gathered my own ball of snow.

I tossed my snowball in his direction and he disappeared.
“Hey! That’s cheating!” I yelled and scanned the area trying to find where he’d vanished to. Another cold mass hit me, this time in the side. I spun around and saw him standing a few feet away with a grin on his face — his eyes were fully illuminated by silver now, the after effect of shimmering. Ignoring the color as best I could, I looked away and gathered a handful of snow and packed it together tightly. “No shimmering this time, promise?”

He gave me a crooked grin and a shrug.

I hurled the ball in his direction and it hit him right in the shoulder. I jumped in victory and shouted, “Yay!” He began to laugh and so did I.

Mathias dropped me off at my door in Haven and stared deeply into my eyes, almost searchingly, and lifted a hand up to brush loose flecks of snow from my hair. “I’m sorry, again, for leaving you at the diner.”

“
It’s fine,” I said, passing it off as jealousy over Noah’s flirtatious behavior — then again, it never seemed to have bothered him before. Flirting seemed to be a second language for Noah. “Thanks for breakfast, by the way.”

“
Anytime,” he said and leaned in closer. I thought for a second that he might kiss me.

“
Castus Forsythe, Castus Young,” Alan addressed us from down the hall. Mathias stepped back, his cheeks flushed. “You missed out on the celebration.”

I looked toward Alan who was dressed just as nicely as yesterday.
“Celebration? For what?”

“
For the newest witch to join our Clan,” he said and shook his head in Mathias’s direction. “You of all people ought to have known there is always a celebration in honor of new initiates.”

Mathias scowled.
“I didn’t think that Madison was in the mood for a big party.”

“
It isn’t your place to decide what Madison wants, now is it?” he asked snidely.

Mathias
’s hands clenched at his sides, his discolored nails digging into his palm. “She wasn’t feeling well enough to —”

“
But she was well enough to go stomping out through the snow with you? Regardless, you could at least have had the decency to tell the girl, who quite clearly seems to be clueless about the whole ordeal.” Alan looked in my direction, his eyes settling on my own. “I apologize on Castus Forsythe’s behalf. It was a shame that you could not be present.”

“
It’s fine ... Mathias is right. I wasn’t ready for anything like that ... especially with it being a surprise.”

Alan looked
a little annoyed but shrugged. “Very well. It is an honor to have you among us as a Castus Clan member officially. There is something I would like to give you, also.”

I perked up with interest
— a gift? There was something inside me that always loved presents — big or small.

“
No, Alan. I had hoped to be the one —” Mathias protested. I was surprised he hadn’t used his title.

“
Nonsense,” Alan said, gesturing for Mathias to leave. “I have this covered.”

Mathias exhaled sharply, his fists still clenched at his sides, and he gave me a final look before flickering out of existence and vanishing down the hall.

“Was that really necessary?” I asked with a frown, wishing that Mathias had stayed — his company was comforting and he’d already been hurt enough for one day.

“
It was inconsiderate of him to forget the celebration,” Alan countered and opened my door for me.

I stepped in reluctantly, noticing that my mom wasn
’t there. I assumed she was probably out with Jason — hopefully looking for jobs and not actually
out
with him. The idea made me uneasy, especially when I knew my father was alive somewhere. I took off my coat and placed it on a hanger in my closet while Alan sat on the edge of my bed. He was handsome, there was no denying that. His hair was wet as though he had recently gotten out of the shower, and his clothes were clean and without wrinkles.

“
You always look like you’re about to go to a dance or an interview or something,” I pointed out and he smirked.

“
It’s how I was raised. My mother, being a corporate business woman, made sure that I always dressed in a presentable manner and talked properly.”

“
That makes sense,” I said, looking at him with unease.

“
Look, Madison ... I hadn’t meant to come off as rude toward Castus Forsythe ... I just felt that you should have been here when there was a party held in honor of you. I’m not sure he is thinking so clearly.”

I relaxed and smiled somewhat.
“I get it. It’s okay. I appreciate you feeling that way, but really ... I’m not too fond of parties. Especially after the last one I went to.”

“
I understand. Perhaps we could celebrate on our own,” he suggested.

My brows arched with curiosity.
“What do you mean?”

“
Well, you’re a Summoner, are you not? You could summon up a cake or something.”

I wanted to laugh, but somehow I knew that he was being serious and I held back.
“Was there a cake at the party?”

He nodded.
“A big, fancy one. Artemis had it ordered especially for you.”

My heart hammered in my chest
and I wondered if he had, by some chance, ordered it from my mom’s bakery. “Oh.” I frowned and began pacing, feeling worse now that I knew my Clan leader had gone through the trouble of getting a cake and everything. “Is there some left? We could just go now …”