Catalyst Read online

  “What about Mother?” I asked.

  “She left.”

  I was silent for a bit, not sure what to say. Did she leave wanting to explore this world for herself, or what happened? I would find her and bring her back, so I could speak with her.

  “She left you a letter explaining what exactly happened, but she went back to who she was before all of this.”

  I was confused.

  “What does that even mean? She went back where? It’s not like she can go back to the past.”

  “No, she can’t,” Patro confirmed. “I didn’t mean it like that. I meant her essence. It returned to where it should be. She belongs to the sea now.”

  I stood upright.

  “What?!” I yelled waking Elani up. I quickly averted by reassuring her. “Baby, go back to sleep. It’s nothing,” I said as I got up and walked out of the cabin in the jet.

  I went to sit down in one of the seats. Looking out the window, all that could be seen were clouds.

  “What do you mean she returned to the sea? She can’t just go like that. How was she able to do that?”

  Patro sighed loudly.

  “The moment I found Cyril…Jace, whatever, I captured him. Then, I got a hysterical call from Stacey. She was going nuts, wondering why she was at my place and wanting me to explain what happened to her. Even though your mom’s essence took it over, Stacey was still there as if an audience to her own life being taken over. When I got to my house, she was sitting down crying and holding a letter in her hand, something that Thetis left for you.”

  I pulled my hair out of the restraining ponytail and vigorously scratched at my scalp. I shut my eyes, feeling an anxiety attack coming on. I tried to breathe slowly in and out, but nothing was working. I couldn’t believe my mother was gone, and I didn’t…I refused the second chance at truly speaking to her. I wanted to say so much. I wanted to apologize for her death, for leaving her like that, and to tell her she didn’t have to feel like I never loved her. She was my mother, and I loved her the best way I knew how.

  I was having a panic attack! I knew it and there was nothing I could do! I heard Patro shouting my name over and over on the phone but nothing. I couldn’t properly breathe. Even when I reminded myself to try, nothing worked. I didn’t want to go there; I needed to be stronger. This wasn’t the time to do all of this.

  As fast as I was having the attack, a hand covered mine. I looked up to see Elani looking down at me with concern in her eyes. She didn’t say anything as her other hand reached out and caressed my cheek. She breathed slowly and efficiently, making me watch her as she did so. I started to mirror her movements and slowly felt like I was relieving myself from the demons that tried to creep up on me on multiple occasions. I was okay and so was she. We could do this. As I watched her eyes, I knew she was saying the same thing in her head like a mantra.

  Elani

  After Ales had calmed down, and we were off the jet on our way home, I knew something else was on his mind besides the news of his mother. No matter how much I loved him, I knew he needed help that I couldn’t supply properly. He held my hand as he looked straight forward while driving.

  “Baby?”

  “Hmm?” he answered.

  “I think it’s best you see someone qualified enough to deal with not only your panic attacks but also what you suffer from. I can’t outright claim it’s PTSD, but I want you to see someone about it. If not for yourself then for your daughter.”

  The whole time I watched him for a reaction. Some people flipped out when they needed to see a specialist about the issues in their lives. I waited for him to respond, not wanting to push him. His knuckles turned white from the excessive squeezing of the steering wheel, yet the hand that held mine wasn’t squeezing my hand. Finally, after some time, he spoke up.

  “I’ll try. I can’t guarantee anything, but I’ll try my best, not just for you and our daughter but for myself as well.”

  “That’s all I wanted to hear, love. Just as long as you try, Ales, then I’m okay with it. You’re no longer alone.”

  At those words, he smiled. He pulled my hand up to his lips and planted a kiss there.

  “Good. Also, I have to go away for a couple of days. I think it’s best you stay with Stacey.”

  “Yeah, I think it’s best I’m there for Stace… I know she probably has a lot of questions, and she’s probably much more confused than I was when I remembered.”

  “I’m bringing you to your old apartment. Lady is there too, so don’t worry about her. Patro is coming with me.”

  I turned to look at Ales. I wanted to make sure he was okay. I never asked him about his missions. They were none of my business, and I doubted the government would want me to know what he did or where he went. I had to ask Ales this one question about that message on his phone before I forgot.

  “Ales…” I called his name out.

  He looked at me from the corner of his eye as if he knew what I was going to ask him. I almost snickered, but stopped myself, so I could be serious.

  “Yes…”

  “The text, the message I saw when I first woke up in your house? Why wasn’t I supposed to see it? Who was it you had to eliminate?” I fired question after question at him.

  Ales groaned. “Baby, if I tell you more, it can risk either one of our lives. These are top secret missions. The fact that you even know what I do for a living is a stretch.”

  “This isn’t the first time you’ve told me about a secret mission. I’ve always kept my mouth shut, and it won’t be different this time around either. Just tell me. It’s something I’ve been thinking about. My brain won’t rest until you tell me, and you know how I am.”

  Ales rolled his eyes. “Ugh! If you must know, it all happened six months before I found you. We were sent on an overseas mission, which I will not go into the details of, even if you continue to ask me. I refuse for you to know too much. They had an asset that belonged to us captive, so we had to extract him, which we did. Now the issue is our raid went south. The same person who we extracted was turned, and he turned from one of our greatest assets to our enemy. So, we had to get rid of him. No more Elani. I’m done.”

  I rolled my eyes but understood where he was coming from. I could admit when I was just being nosy. It was becoming interesting to me.

  “So, what you did to Hector?” I don’t know where that question came from, but I just remembered hearing about the great Achilles as he attached Hector’s body to his chariot after he killed him and dragged him around for nine whole days.

  “Yes. It’s all true, and I won’t hesitate to do it to anyone who posed a threat to us. I’m done playing nice.”

  I nodded.

  “Torture then?”

  Ales smirked at me, knowing I never had an issue with how he dealt with his enemies. I watched him do it once, and I never shied away from his touch. I should’ve, but none of it bothered me. The memory of it popped up in my head, tearing me away from this conversation.

  Achilles swung his spear around back and forth as he captured the soldiers who thought they could infiltrate their camp. That time, I was bringing him food and things his mother wanted him to have. When I walked into the tent, I was shocked for a moment, but the initial shock wore off as I had seen some of these things being done to people from my village. I was immune to it. If anything, I was fascinated by trying to understand what made people want to endure that kind of pain until the end. Achilles turned around, and he smiled up at me with blood smeared diagonally on his face. There was that dangerous glint in his eyes that could only be fulfilled by killing or sex. Right then, he seemed high on the captured soldier that was half alive.

  That one should be glad he wasn’t displayed out for the other soldiers or even mutilated. Achilles was quite the torturer. I watched him as he came closer to me. He was covered in blood everywhere, but I didn’t care. To me, he still looked handsome as the first day I saw him.

  “Alana…” The hunger in his eyes switched
attention from the soldier to me.

  “My liege,” I said to him and curtsied.

  His lip curled, and I knew he was holding back from laughing. He took the items from my hands, and off my shoulders, setting it down in the far corner. When he walked back toward me, each step reverberated through my body. His heavy footfall matched my heartbeat’s intensity.

  I bit my bottom lip, not knowing what he would do next. As soon as he reached me, he captured my jaw in a firm grip making me look up at him. Before I could take a breath, his lips came crashing down on mine. I moaned into his mouth, trying to control myself. I didn’t have time to think as he ripped his lips away from my mouth and turned my body toward the table on my left. He lifted me up placing me on the table.

  “On all fours,” he commanded.

  I obliged and got on all fours. I turned to look at him, but he lifted my gown up to my waist and entered me in a matter of seconds. I threw my head back at the intensity and the rough way he was taking me. I wanted to scream out, but his arm snaked around my throat and held me in place.

  Achilles was always rough, and it never bothered me, but this time, it was different. He was draining me, killing me and reviving me all at the same time. I wanted to yell out how he made my body feel, but I couldn’t think straight. He moved us and now we were facing the soldier. His blue eyes met mine as Achilles continued to take me from behind. The soldier, although he was losing blood, seemed to have enough blood for his member, as he became aroused at the display in front of him.

  I wanted to be mad, but I couldn’t think straight as Achilles continued, not relenting. My body arched into him loving the way he was taking every ounce of life from me. I wanted to scream at him to drain me and take everything, but I started seeing black spots, the ones indicating I would lose consciousness. I was seconds away when he removed his hand from around my throat and ripped my release from me. My throat was sore from the screams lodged in my throat. Achilles slowed as he was close to his release. I turned to look at him, as he stared hard at the soldier, with a look that promised vengeance, torture and nothing great for the soldier’s life.

  Achilles looked down at me as he released, and it became so powerful that he threw his head back in pure ecstasy. I was conflicted as he slipped out of me; I wasn’t sure if I should’ve been turned off by what he just did, but I still wanted to be with him. I didn’t say anything as he planted a kiss on my shoulder. I didn’t know when or where he got something to clean me up, but he cleaned me then told me to head back.

  He kissed me once more, and I just stood there. I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to see what he would do to this man.

  “Can I watch?” I asked him.

  He looked at me perplexed, and I shrugged my shoulder.

  “Want to learn how to torture, love?” he asked me with a strange glint in his eyes.

  I nodded.

  He smiled as if he had just won the world for himself. He walked away fixing himself. When he came back, he had a knife in his hand that was a good size for my hand and he walked me over to the soldier.

  “Do what I taught you when you’re fighting. Don’t kill him but injure him.” He started off teaching me how to torture an enemy.

  I was snapped out of the memory by Ales calling my name multiple times. I looked at him and frowned.

  “Sorry. I spaced out. What did you say?”

  He smirked at me before continuing as if he knew what I was remembering.

  “You were thinking about that time we tortured the soldier together, weren’t you?”

  I shook my head.

  “I can tell by the look on your face. You mirrored my look. But from now on, you won’t have to worry about that ever happening again.”

  I looked him straight in his eyes and smiled. “I’d love it if we ever got the chance to do it again.” I bit my lip.

  Ales chuckled. “We’re here at your old apartment. Go inside and stay with Stacey. Nowhere else, babe.”

  I leaned in and kissed his cheek. Ales turned around, wrapping his hand on the nape of my neck, pulling me in and kissing me as if I was the first sighting of water in the middle of the desert. He finally let go after a moment and rested his forehead on mine.

  “I love you, baby.”

  “I love you too,” I said as I kissed him again. I pulled away from him, opening the car door. I stepped out and was greeted by Patro. He smiled at me. “You take care of him Patro, you hear me?” I stated.

  He winked at me, keeping his smile in place.

  “Yes, sister-in-law.”

  I grinned at him and made my way into the apartment building. I looked back out the glass building door, and waved goodbye at Ales. Then, I walked into the elevator toward Stacey.

  Chapter 13

  Ales

  I would say I was the most patient person in the world. I sat there for two days and tortured Cyril/Jace using the slowest, crucial way possible. I kept him in a dark chamber with limited breathing space one size too small for him, but did I care? No, I didn’t. Finally! I said to myself as I lined up my knives. These knives were specially made from my sword, my spear and shield. No one could take away from me what I once was. I picked up one knife and twirled it in between my fingers, loving the way it felt so familiar to me. It was as if I was holding my spear, my sword and my shield all at the same time.

  Before I could go to get Cyril out of the chamber, my cell phone went off. I looked down at the caller ID and it was the person who found Cyril for me.

  “My boy!” I exclaimed. “You came through for me like you always do.”

  He chuckled.

  “Always. You’re like a brother to me Achilles, you know that.” He reassured me.

  “I know Alf… I know, not too many good brothers come by easily.”

  “Don’t I know that! You calling me Alf brings back old memories. Haven’t heard that name in a while.”

  I was astonished.

  “Really? What does everyone call you now?”

  “They just call me Sebastien now, or you know, the king of Soleuvre whichever works for you.” He laughed loudly and proudly.

  I joined him in his laughter.

  “You’re still the same as ever, but you know me, I prefer the Beast of Soleuvre the most. I heard you went and got yourself married with kids?”

  He chuckled. “Yep. Got me a wife and kids now. Guess who it is?”

  “Who?”

  “The bloodlust.”

  I didn’t think anyone, or anything, could shock me.

  “What? Damn… now that’s something else. The gods truly know how to mess around on us, huh?”

  “You don’t have to tell me twice… hold on Achilles.” I heard him shouting in the back. “Cory, leave your brother alone. He doesn’t feel like showing you any more magic tricks… Hello?”

  “Yes, I’m still here.”

  “These damn kids are going to drive an old beast like me to be fully gray.”

  I laughed so hard at that, but then I settled down when I saw Patro bring in Cyril for me. I nodded at him. He saluted me as a joke and walked out of the room.

  “I guess I’ll be joining you soon then, my friend. I’m having a girl.”

  “Oh, congrats, brother… please tell me you didn’t go out and have a baby out in the world and forgot all about Alana?”

  “No, no…in fact, Alana is now Elani. Hence, this fool I had you look for. I don’t know how he slipped into this world, but I plan on burying him alive, so he can die slowly.”

  “You never cease to amaze me at the new ways you come up with when it comes to torturing people. Also, I’m happy you found her. Come visit so our wives can finally meet each other.”

  “I won’t hesitate to once we’re done here.”

  “Good… I can hear you have business to handle. Say hello to Patro for me, will you?”

  “I will. Until next time, brother.”

  “Yes.”

  I smiled, knowing I looked deranged as I turned to face Cy
ril. This was going to be fun. As soon as he woke up, he’d see the same person he ran away from here just to remind him he should never lust after things that don’t belong to you. Well, in this case, the woman that never will and never has belonged to him. I planned on destroying his entire body piece by piece for not only betraying me but using my mother and killing her as if she was nothing but a mere fly on the wall. He was mine for the kill.

  ***

  Jace opened his eyes and looked around the dimly lit room before setting his eyes on me. My sinister smile spread the moment he recognized who snuck up on him and took him. I was sitting back on a chair as I twirled a blade between my fingers.

  “Finally…” I began. “You’re up. Here I thought you would miss all the fun.”

  I watched his eyes as he realized he was held up on a torture device. No way would I have him upside down like I had the nameless one. I smiled because I knew letting him hang upside down would have killed him faster, but I didn’t want that kind of death for him.

  I tilted my head a bit as he tugged on his restraints on both wrists and ankles.

  “Going somewhere?” I taunted him.

  He screamed, and I laughed.

  “Can’t hear you. Might want to speak up,” I said. “Let me help you with that!” I flicked my right wrist and the throwing knife flew in the air. Bullseye! Right in the gut it stuck.

  Jace screamed, but the gag placed in his mouth prohibited him from screaming louder. I stood up and walked over to him pulling the knife out of his gut. I watched as blood rushed out. I stuck the knife in the same spot and lengthen the cut more to his midsection.

  I tsked. “Don’t you worry, Jacey, you won’t be dying anytime soon, or would you prefer I call you Cyril?” I shrugged my shoulders as I pocketed the knife and placed my palm on his wound.

  I pushed hard, and tears fell from his eyes, but it was too early for tears. I was nowhere near done with him. I removed my hand, looked at my palm then looked back at Jace’s pathetic face.

  “You killed my mother, huh? You thought you could betray both of us like that?” I walked up closer to him, nose to nose. I noticed the moment his pupils dilated, and he knew I was now tapped into the craziness of the greatest warrior to live. I continued.