Cataclysm (8 page)

“Yikes.” Noah seemed very uncertain about what he had just heard. “So Cyril has no idea that you are all in contact with Arie, and that she’s fine? That’s pretty harsh. How long are you planning on letting this go on?”

“We’re hoping only days. It’s just that Arie thought every second they were together, he was a step closer to sacrificing himself to Azazel to save her. I think things are starting to click for him. Plus, the pull to find Arie is only helping put things in perspective,” I added.

“I understand where you’re coming from, and I respect it. I’ve seen firsthand what these lies can do.” His voice was strained. I looked over at Noah and noticed his brown hair was completely disheveled. He reminded me of someone who was constantly in the pursuit of something or someone. He caught me staring, and his green eyes locked on mine. Blushing instantly, I looked back towards the phone to hear Athen begin speaking.

“Well, let’s hear some of the info that Noah’s found out for us. I’m itching to hear it, and I want to get my girl back home tonight,” Athen said.

“It’s gonna be like two in the morning,” I teased. Secretly, I wanted to be on the next ferry back to him, but I had to keep reminding myself to step outside of my wants.

I felt Noah’s eyes on me once more and wondered if Arie caught any of this as well.

“I’ll keep an eye on her for you.” Noah’s words tumbled out, leaving me to wonder if there was anything hidden in that meaning, since his eyes seemed to be scanning me for some sort of response.

Catching Arie’s glance, she winked at me, which told me everything I didn’t want to know.

“Uh, okay, buddy. Appreciate that, but I’m kind of hoping she makes the last ferry,” Athen said, cutting off any ideas Noah tried to introduce. “Anyway, what do you have for us?”

I suddenly wished Athen’s voice was not merely being transmitted over the phone, but rather, that he was here in person to deal with this weirdness I never expected from this guy or any in our world. He was a nice guy, and I’m sure whatever emotions were running through him were based on some stage of mourning or something. However, it wasn’t a scenario that I’d ever expected to be the focus of.

Spreading out everything Noah had put together for us was mind-boggling. Athen couldn’t see any of it, so it felt almost pointless for him to be on the phone. Noah had attacks all charted out. There were graphs based on the type of attack, with trend lines based on location or quantity of who had been turned. I now understood why he looked like he was constantly chasing something. He’s been chasing Azazel’s movements.

“Wow!” Arie uttered. “How did you get all of this data?”

“I’m pretty dialed in. With all of the emails that you’ve been sending out, I’ve been reaching out to those families who, in turn, put me in contact with more families.”

“So your hair doesn’t always stick straight up like that?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

“No, not generally.” His smile was filled with warmth.

“You know? The worst part, of this whole thing, is that I know I’ll never get her back. I’ll never get to joke with her, like we just did. It’s tough. I think that’s why I’m channeling everything into this. Once we defeat Azazel, I don’t know what I’ll find to do with my time. The thought wears me out. Anything without her makes me ill.” Every syllable that Noah said was drowning in sorrow.

Knowing the thoughts that were running through his head, made my stomach twist in knots.

“This isn’t something that I’m proud of, but I know a little of what you’re feeling. There was a brief time when I thought I wasn’t going to get Athen back, and I actually contemplated the dark side. I thought it would be better to wander around like an idiotic ghoul, than be without him. It took me to a place I never thought I’d go.” I couldn’t believe I told an almost complete stranger this.

“Really?” Noah’s voice was quiet as he spoke.

“If you’ve been thinking it, don’t. There’s always hope. You can never give up on hope. Things can change in a blink of an eye. We’ll focus on the here and now. Then we can deal with what will lay ahead for us all after the battles.” I had to swallow so badly, but I thought doing a big gulp after a statement like that would only make me seem like I didn’t believe it either.

“Dude,” Athen’s voice filled the room. “We’re here for you and most of us remember these horrors ourselves all too intimately. Right now, let’s turn it into the fire we need to bring the dark side down.”

Hearing Athen’s voice radiate the strength that I was feeling, filled me with such pride.

“You are as much of an optimist as I am, hun. I knew you had it in you,” I said, laughing. “Now since you can’t see any of this, let me tell you that what Noah has brought us is pure gold.”

“I’ve got it on this, encrypted, in case it gets lost or into the wrong hands,” he said, holding up a hot pink jump drive. “Thought the pink would throw someone off. You can take it to Athen, so he can check out everything. I have another copy. I just thought it made more of an impact like this.”

“Boy, does it!” Arie exclaimed.

Pointing to the maps of the US, I traced my finger along the blue trend line, noticing what a steep incline it had taken in recent weeks.

“This isn’t comforting. I hope we don’t need something like this for the mortal world too.” I shook my head, wishing I hadn’t spoken those words.

“I’ve already got one going, actually. It’s following the same pattern. The mortals are falling into the traps as well. I have no idea what Azazel is doing to get them to come over,” Noah said.

“It’s got to be lies he’s telling them!” The anger began trickling through my veins. “There’s no way mortals would sign up for that!”

“I’m sure a lot of it is lies,” Noah agreed.

“There are mortals out there that like to dabble though. Don’t forget that, angel,” Athen chimed. “I know you don’t like to think anyone would choose this, but I think we’d all be surprised.”

“Regardless, I’m sure Azazel is telling huge lies to get them to sacrifice themselves!” I said. I got a sudden urge to investigate the initial introductions these dark demons were performing with the mortals.

“I don’t doubt that. I’m just saying that I think there are some who are closer to the line than we know.” Athen treaded lightly.

“It’s a tough concept to think about.” Arie hugged me. “I wasn’t expecting to see these types of numbers. I’m thankful Noah started this.”

“I think it tells us to start preparing on both fronts. We’ve got to start paying attention to the mortals and the immortals. Also, as you can tell, it’s all around the globe. I’m not trying to be inconsiderate, but I think we need to tell Cyril soon. If there’s a chance that memsors can keep a family together, we are really doing a disservice,” Noah said.

Arie tightened up. I knew that was not what she wanted to hear, no matter how true it might be.

Looking over at Noah, I saw no ill intent. He was only trying to be the voice of reason right now. He looked up at me, and the worry in his eyes couldn’t be hidden.

“I didn’t mean anything by it,” Noah muttered.

Arie looked over at him and nodded.

“The worst part is that you’re right. It’s a horrible thing for me to keep this from the rest of the white demons another day longer than I have to. But you proved my worst fear earlier. You wanted proof. If we gave proof to the white demons, and it got out to Cyril before we had a chance to tell him,” she sighed. “I can’t even imagine how that would go down.”

Athen’s voice started up again from the phone.

“Hey, sweetie. I’m gonna hang up. I hear something downstairs. Cyril might be up. I’ll see you soon. You guys need to stop while you’re ahead for the night. I think you’re all tired and cranky.” Athen’s ability to put things in perspective was a trait I valued beyond anything I could quantify.

“No, that’s okay. I’m gonna help Arie before I head down.” I knew I probably should take him up on his offer, but something felt a little off. “We’ll see ya tomorrow. It was nice to meet you. Wish it was under better terms.”

“Yeah, totally.” Noah fumbled a little. I wasn’t sure what I recognized about him, but it made me feel a little bad.

“You’ve got my number. I can get here as soon as you need,” he offered.

“Thanks for that,” I said, walking him to the door. “You’ve done some fabulous things here. I can’t wait to show Athen. I’m glad you’re on our side.”

“Noah’s right. I think we need someone like him who’s on the outside of our little circle to point out the obvious. Truthfully, there may come a point when I need to hear things that I don’t want to.”

“I’ll let Athen know when I get back home, which if I leave now shouldn’t be too late,” I said grinning.

“All right!” she wailed playfully. “I get it. I’ll be here waiting for you bright and early.”

“Don’t count on too bright and early.” Giving Matilda a few more pets, I longed for the moment when she would be with us again. “I’m not much of an early riser unless it’s an emergency.”

The morning came much quicker than I had anticipated, and my idea of sleeping in didn’t come to fruition. Athen was already downstairs with Cyril. He wanted to waste no time getting Cyril out to meet more families.

“Hey, sweetie,” I kissed Athen quickly. I didn’t want to rub it into Cyril even the slightest, although, I didn’t see him around anywhere. Always feeling like every day might be our last, I didn’t want to miss out on an opportunity for affection. Going fifty years without it will do that to a person.

Athen let his arms slip right around my waist, and he pulled me in closer to him. His tight grip, around my body, brought me to an immediate place of happiness. Athen’s lips fell onto mine, gently kissing me as if this moment could be our last morning together. Closing my eyes, I enjoyed everything the moment had to offer. When he slowly released his spirit from mine, I looked up to see his eyes, seeing the affection so deeply.

“Is everything alright?” I whispered, still in a bit of a haze from our encounter. I hoped that sensation would linger. It was too intoxicating to let it go.

“Just be careful around that Noah guy.” He smiled lightly, his eyes full of mischief.

“Are you serious? Do we have a Lilith situation going on, a tad bit of jealousy maybe?” I teased him, gently. “Seriously though, whatever gave you that idea?”

“Nothing that you did. I promise you that, but I happened to do some research of my own.” His tone turned serious, and I couldn’t fathom what kind of research could bring him to worry.

“I know nothing would ever tear us apart, but I think we need to be sensitive about something that we never could’ve guessed.” He winked at me, as the electricity began zipping through my body once more. “We’ve just got to be gentle with something, that’s all.”

He grabbed a piece of paper out of his back pocket and unfolded it, presenting it to me with a bit of hesitancy. Looking over the wrinkled photo, I saw a similarity in the face of the woman looking back at me.

“Yikes, that’s eerie,” I mumbled to Athen. “That kind of explains things, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, the poor guy. It’s not his fault, and I know you’d never go there, but I wanted you to be aware.” Athen caressed my shoulders. “From what I’ve heard, he’s a good guy. Actually, he’s an amazing guy. He’s only being modest when he downplays what he and Vanessa accomplished in their time together.”

Shaking my head, I traced the figure staring back at me.

“How can she resemble me so closely?” Pausing, I thought carefully about what to say next.

“I’m not sure. I mean, she’s not like a dead ringer or anything. But, I could see where you could certainly remind him of her.” His lips tightened a bit. “I’d let Arie know, too, so she doesn’t tease him or anything if he seems a little attached.”

“Totally, but Athen,” I paused. “I can’t believe how thoughtful you’re being. You always say I’m the nice one. I don’t know about that.”

“Well, I’d still take him out if he tried anything,” Athen said, grinning. “You’d probably try to talk sense into him. That’s the difference.”

“I didn’t hear the car, but let’s go check outside.” Quickly scanning the full garage, we darted outside. Following Athen’s direction, I went down to the beach, and he went up the property towards the road. We were both calling for Cyril and still nothingness was returned. Circling back to one another empty handed, we headed inside quickly to regroup.