The Prophecy Read online

  "Careful," Kyle warned, and he grasped her arm, pulling her up.

  At last she stood and took a faltering step.

  Her knees buckled and she wrenched back, teetering over the edge, the rooftops whirling below her.

  Kyle gathered her against him, his warmth seeping into her, reviving her. "I've been looking for you."

  "Like I wasn't trying to find you," Catty snapped, through chattering teeth, as she gratefully pressed her face against his chest.

  "Can you walk?" He started guiding her down, his feet clanging against the metal.

  "I think I can." She struggled to take a step.

  "Try," he said. "We only have minutes before the demon star blinks again."

  Catty sensed his urgency, and her heartbeat quickened. She didn't want to be trapped in Nefandus a moment longer. She shuffled forward, the stairs rattling and swaying beneath her numb feet. "Have three days passed already?"

  "Time is different here," Kyle explained, his eyes filling with new concern. "Do you want me to carry you?"

  "No." She shook her head and forced her legs to move more quickly. "I can do it."

  When they finally reached the street below, Kyle glanced at his watch. It was different from any Catty had seen before. The face looked like a map of the stars.

  Kyle caught her curious expression. "I use it to follow the earth's sky when I'm inside Nefandus," he explained, pressing her forward. "We have to hurry."

  Catty hesitated. Kyle was her only hope, but could she trust him?

  "What now?" Kyle didn't bother to hide his impatience.

  Her fear was immense. She was afraid he would let go of her if she angered him now, but she had to say what was on her mind. "How can I trust you after what happened?"

  "That wasn't my fault." His jaw clenched.

  "But—"

  "I'm leaving," he interrupted, and started forward, loosening his grip on her hand. "And if you want to live, you'll come with me."

  "All right." She took a long breath of air, resolute, and followed him, running from archway to porch stoop, hiding in the black shadows near the houses.

  She tried to stop the negative thoughts that were buzzing in her head, but she couldn't quiet the nagging sensation that Kyle was dragging her to another encounter with Regulators.

  At last, they turned down a familiar street lined with tall, narrow houses, and she was instantly overwhelmed by the sweet fragrance of roses. Gargoyles sat on rooftops, their grotesque heads projecting from rain gutters. Catty recognized the neighborhood, and hope surged through her. She wanted nothing more than to be home, taking a long bubble bath and drinking a cup of frothy hot chocolate.

  They neared the cramped passage between two brick houses where they had entered Nefandus and started walking more quickly, anxious to leave, but a sudden change in the air made them stop.

  "They've found our entrance," Kyle whispered, edging back.

  Blue sparks rippled across the darkness, spinning somber shadows into a thickening blackness. Then a Regulator materialized in the whirling shadows and stepped toward them, the air trembling with his power. Wiry hairs jutted from his ears and nose, and seeping sores sealed his eyes closed, but even stone-blind he seemed to sense them and lumbered forward with deadly intent.

  The Regulator's noxious odor filled Catty's lungs, and she jerked back, coughing.

  "What are we going to do now?" Catty squeezed against Kyle, holding her free hand over her mouth and nose.

  "There are other exits," Kyle said, stepping backward and pulling her with him. "But most of them are more dangerous."

  "It can't be worse than trying to outrun this guy," Catty said.

  Unexpectedly the Regulator shrieked, making a terrifyingly brutal sound. The scream echoed off the walls with a force that made Catty cringe.

  "He's calling others." Kyle scowled.

  More shadows began to pull together, writhing into phantom forms that stretched and twisted into Regulators.

  "We can't fight so many." Catty pulled Kyle's arm, trying to make him move. "What are we waiting for?"

  "They're slower when they're visible," Kyle explained.

  Catty glanced at the creatures' misshapen feet and understood.

  "Now!" Kyle screamed as the last Regulator formed and shambled toward them.

  Catty jolted back, then turned and sprinted, her legs pumping hard in spite of the pain shooting through her.

  The ground rumbled with the heavy foot steps of the Regulators .

  Catty strained, trying to keep up with Kyle. She glanced back, and her heart skipped a beat as the first Regulator dissolved, his spectral shadow spiraling into a cloud and speeding after them.

  "What are we going to do?" Catty screamed, her footsteps slowing in surrender.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  "CO M E O N!" K Y L E yelled back, yanking on her arm.

  Catty quickened her pace and followed Kyle up a zigzagging road to the top of a hill. A breeze flew around them, scattering leaves and bringing the haunting music of a cello from a house perched on an outcropping of jagged rocks. Kyle ran through a maze of twisting tree trunks, then across a grassy field, pulling Catty with him toward the edge of a cliff.

  She stared down at the brightly lit streets below.

  "Jump!" Kyle yelled, preparing to leap forward.

  "Are you crazy?" Catty held back, grabbing Kyle's wrist with her free hand and stopping him. She didn't have the willpower to make herself dive over the ledge.

  "Have faith." Kyle looked at her encouragingly.

  Catty turned. Shadows shifted beneath the long line of trees, and the Regulators became visible.

  She sucked in air and nodded. "Okay."

  "Screaming helps." Kyle held her hand more tightly, his tension obvious.

  "Like you needed to tell me that," Catty shouted.

  She sprang forward and threw herself off the steep face of the hill. She plunged through the air, legs kicking. The wind whistled around her, shrieking in her ears, her own yells joining the wind's song. She tumbled downward, fingernails digging into Kyle's skin, her stomach churning violently.

  Suddenly a thin membrane congealed around her, stopping her fall and freezing her in the boundary between the two worlds. Her body felt deadened, all sensation lost to her, and then, as before, a dull ache pulsed through her, awakening her senses, and she stumbled forward, stretching through the moist film and into the soothing night air. Palm fronds clicked lazily overhead.

  Catty stood still, disoriented, her back stiff against a brick wall, and then the rich, spicy smells of fried dumplings and barbecue swept into her lungs, and her stomach cramped with hunger. Her eyes snapped open.

  She was back in Los Angeles, gazing into Kyle's beautiful blue eyes, the upswept eaves and undulating gables of Chinatown glistening in a bright array of flashing neon lights behind him. Traffic sounds and thundering music added to the clamor of people rushing down the sidewalk, pushing past them.

  "It's Friday night," Kyle said, easing her away from the dark recess in the building. "I don't think anyone saw us step from the wall. It's too dark in there."

  Catty glanced quickly around. Everyone looked too busy and lost in their own thoughts to have noticed their sudden appearance. She sighed in relief.

  "Thank you." She hugged Kyle, then pulled away, laughing, and twirled into the crowd. She lifted her face to the moon in gratitude, her body soaking in its luxurious light. Her cloak spiraled about her like a bright, shiny flame.

  At last she stopped, breathless, and bumped into an elderly couple carrying groceries. The white-haired woman bustled around Catty disapprovingly.

  Quickly, Catty glanced down at her mud stained legs. Her toes were blistered and bleeding, her sandals caked with dirt and grass. A sudden draft made her touch her chest. Her top had been torn from her shoulder and was flapping loose, exposing too much. She yanked the cloak around her, heat rising to her cheeks, and glanced at Kyle, hoping he hadn't noticed. She stepped back in
to the dark alcove.

  "Sorry." He shrugged. "I was going to tell you."

  "When?" Catty asked. "Next year?"

  Kyle touched her cheek, his eyes suddenly serious. "Maybe."

  She caught her breath. His caress surprised her, and she felt suddenly shy. His hand slid down her neck to her shoulder, his fingers working the silky cloak until his palm was against her skin again, sliding down her arm. She eased forward, her lips parting.

  "Let's go to my loft," he whispered, his breath mingling with hers.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  BE F O R E C A T T Y C O U L Danswer, a thought came to her.

  "Will the Regulators follow us out?" Catty asked.

  "Probably not, or they would have come here already." Kyle gathered her into his arms, ignoring the people bumping around them. "I'm sorry, Catty. I never meant to put you in so much danger. Your father swore it would be safe for me to take you to his home."

  "You can't trust his kind," Catty answered, her voice finding its natural tone again. "Who are you? Why did you live there?"

  Kyle took her hand and started walking. "I was a servus, a slave."

  "Like the little boy in my father's house?" Catty adjusted the cloak, pulling it over her shoulders and pinching it shut, her bare feet cold on the sidewalk. "Did Regulators kidnap you?"

  He shook his head. "I went there to rescue a friend."

  "What happened to him?" Catty asked.

  "At first I'd thought he had run away from home," Kyle explained. "Later, I found out he'd been lured into Nefandus with promises of learning magic."

  "Who got him to go there?" Catty shuddered, remembering the cold mists.

  "I don't know." Kyle shrugged. "I tried to rescue him, but instead I was captured and enslaved myself."

  Catty felt terrible for the bad things she had thought about Kyle in the past. His loner behavior and bad attitude made sense to her now. "How did you escape?"

  "A monk helped me." Kyle stopped in front of a food cart.

  "A monk?" Steam wreathed around Catty, filling the air with the savory aroma of soy sauce, cabbage, and pork.

  "The monk showed me the portals, then told me about a black diamond that fell from the crown of the Atrox centuries back." Kyle bought two steamed meat buns and handed one to Catty. "If I can find it, then I will be free, and you and I won't have to worry about Regulators taking us back."

  They started walking again, threading through the crowd.

  "I've never heard of a black diamond." Catty thought of Maggie, wondering why she hadn't told them about something that important. Sorrow flooded through her; she missed Maggie desperately.

  "Your father offered to tell me the location of the jewel if I brought you to him." Kyle turned and looked at her, his voice beginning to sound drowsy. "He told me how much he wanted to see you. I didn't know he had another plan."

  "I believe you," she answered, lost in his gaze.

  He cradled her face in his hands with a sweet look of longing. Her hands slipped around his waist, her body relishing his closeness.

  "Let's go to your place," she murmured, surprising herself, and at the same time praying he hadn't forgotten his invitation.

  He searched her face. "I was afraid you'd be unforgiving," he whispered. "For everything that had happened."

  "My father betrayed me, not you," she said, her voice barely audible. She didn't want to waste the moment with words. "Kiss me."

  She closed her eyes, and then his lips were on hers, soft and hesitating, making her yearn for more.

  Without warning, someone grabbed Carry's arm and swung her around.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  "WH E R E H A V E Y O U been?" Jimena held a stack of yellow papers, the edges ruffling in the breeze. "I've been plastering flyers with your picture all over L.A ."

  Catty took one, and a chill passed through her as she stared down at the blurry photograph of her own face, the word MISSING boldly printed on the page. She wondered if Vanessa, Serena, and Tianna had tried to stop Jimena and failed.

  Only a few weeks back, Catty's absence wouldn't have alarmed Jimena; she would have assumed Catty was time-traveling. Now, the care and concern in her eyes made Catty want to cry. "I'm sorry. I know it looks—"

  "You're right, it looks." Jimena glowered. "You can't imagine what I thought had happened to you."

  Sudden apprehension curled through Catty's stomach. Maybe Jimena had had another premonition.

  "I'm going to take you home." Jimena grabbed Catty's arm and glared at Kyle, daring him to contradict her.

  Kyle backed away, the wind tousling his hair. "I'll call you, Catty." He waved, then turned and sprinted into the crowd.

  "Come on." Jimena started toward the public parking lot.

  Catty could feel the anxiety building inside Jimena. She was sure Jimena wanted to say more. "Are you all right?" she asked.

  "Why shouldn't I be?"

  A sudden gust whistled around them, snatching the flyers from Jimena's hand. The yellow papers twisted into the air, stringing out like a kite's tail. Then the wind stopped, and the sheets fell to the ground, fluttering uneasily around them.

  Jimena kicked some of the papers aside, and finally snapped, "You're going to get a bad reputation if you hang out with tipos like Kyle and do what you did."

  Her accusation shot through Catty. "You think I was . . . that I . . ."

  "I think you let him own you," Jimena answered.

  Catty stopped dead and stared at Jimena in disbelief. "That's not what happened."

  "Then what did happen?" Jimena folded her arms over her chest, her gold rings catching the street light.

  Catty hesitated, wishing she could tell Jimena everything. "You know me better than that," she said finally.

  "I thought I did." Jimena looked suddenly weary, her eyes searching, as if she were waiting for Catty to say more.

  "You're just going to have to believe me." Catty didn't want to lie, but she couldn't tell Jimena the truth, either.

  Jimena nodded, then started walking, her steps slower now, as if she were thinking.

  By the time they reached the car, the wind raced around them, slapping their hair and clothes about their bodies. Jimena paused at the car door, a haunted expression on her face, as if she were seeing something visible only to her.

  "What?" Catty asked, a grim feeling building inside her. She was certain Jimena was having a premonition, and she had never known Jimena to be forewarned about anything good.

  Jimena shook her head, and the wind grabbed her scarf, twirling it out behind her. "I'm just having weird thoughts lately."

  "Can you tell me?" Catty shouted over the screeching blasts of wind. She slid into the passenger seat and slammed the door.

  Jimena took her place behind the steering wheel. She turned the ignition key, but instead of backing out of the parking slot, she sat and stared at the trash spinning up the side of a gray building. Shoppers rushed down the sidewalk, heads bent into the wind.

  "I'm scared, Carry," she whispered as a sudden gust jostled the car.

  "About what?" Catty touched Jimena's cold fingers, trying to comfort her. She had a nagging feeling that Jimena was on the verge of a breakdown, and it made her feel helpless and hollow inside.

  "It's just that . . ." Jimena pressed her foot on the accelerator and backed up, then shifted into drive and eased out of the parking lot. "I'm remembering things I couldn't know."

  "Maybe it's something you read about and—"

  "It's not like that," Jimena interrupted. "I'm not talking about something I studied in school. I'm talking about memories. ¿Me entiendes?"

  "I'm sure there's an explanation," Catty said, with a confidence she didn't feel.

  "Ojala."Jimena nodded but didn't say more.

  By the time they reached Catty's house, the winds had cleared the sky and blown down branches and leaves. Palm fronds lay scattered across the front lawn.

  "You want to come in?" Catty asked, wondering if it wer
e safe to leave Jimena alone.

  "My abuelita is expecting me," Jimena answered softly.

  Catty nodded and climbed from the car, then leaned back in through the window. "Thanks for putting up all those posters."

  Jimena turned, her black eyes glistening.

  “Catty . . .”

  "Yeah?" Catty's heart pounded in anticipation.

  "You've got to make some decisions soon."

  Jimena looked as if she were forcing herself to say something that confused her.

  "About what?" Catty asked, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.

  "I just know you need to trust your heart." Jimena shrugged and waved. "Chaucito."

  Catty watched the car pull away from the curb, then rushed to the porch, anxious to get inside. The frantic music of wind chimes jingled overhead. She lifted the mat, snatched up the key, unlocked the door, and slid into the dark living room.

  Wind skated over the roof, its wail echoing through the empty house. She dropped the key on the glass coffee table and ran upstairs to the bathroom. She took a long shower, letting the hot spray work out the cold and pain in her back and legs, and then, after she had washed her hair, she turned off the water, wrapped a towel around her, and hurried to her bedroom.

  The Scroll still lay on the middle of her desk, where she had left it.

  Catty started to reach for a comb, when something about the Scroll caught her eye. She stood, frozen. Wind sighed around the house, brushing tree branches against the window screens and sweeping shadows across her desk, but she was certain that what she had seen had not been a trick of the light. She switched on her desk lamp and swallowed, her mouth dry, and then she leaned closer, studying the Scroll's borders.

  Letters were intertwined in the design, as if someone had camouflaged the words. She opened her drawer and pulled out a paper and pencil, then puzzled over the design, jotting down each letter until she had made a sentence.