The Prophecy Read online

  When she had finished, she read the words out loud: "Cum oculus daemonis coniveat, ini in terram vetitam." Then she whispered the translation, "When the demon eye blinks, enter the forbidden land."

  A sense of power overwhelmed her. She felt certain that this was the first step. The writing in the body of the manuscript had been only a distraction, in case the Scroll fell into the wrong hands.

  She knew the "forbidden land" must be Nefandus, the realm "not to be spoken of." Her heart raced, she knew she had to return there to follow the path.

  With new excitement, she nudged the Scroll with her pencil, turning it, searching. She was careful not to touch the parchment, remembering how it had cast a spell on her before. Her intuition told her it was even more dangerous now that she had uncovered its secret. She stared at the intricate patterns, inspecting the small animals and insects hidden within the vines, each miniature now a mystery to unravel. The rich jewel colors flashed with unusual brightness, as if the Scroll were trying to pull her attention away from the delicate drawings in front of her.

  For the next three days she slept only when she could no longer keep her eyes open. She let her machine pick up her calls. By Sunday, she had found the third and fourth steps, concealed within the flowing wings of a choir of angels.

  The night went by, and Monday morning came. The doorbell rang twice, but she ignored it, certain it was Vanessa pestering her about school. She was too close to completion to stop now. She studied the decorative tendrils and spiky ivy until her vision blurred.

  Finally, she had uncovered nine steps. Exhausted, she fell across her bed, but as she drifted into slumber, an eerie humming made her glance up. Leaves scraped against her window. She assumed that their motion across the class had made the shrill sound. She didn’t see the glow coming from the manuscript.

  The temperature dropped, and the air filled with hostile forces as the Scroll struggled to untangle its delicate decorations and obliterate the tenth step before Catty found it hidden within the drawing of a tree. The painted borders wiggled, the interwoven designs squirming into the blank margins, trying to unfurl and free the words entwined in the twisting branches.

  Catty rolled over, pulling the covers around her unaware of the danger.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  LA T E R T H AT N I G H T,Catty awakened with a start. The wind pounded against her bedroom window, and at first she thought a strong gust had startled her in her sleep, but then she smelled freshly brewed coffee. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, surprised by the sharp chill in the room.

  "Mom?" she called.

  When no one answered, she darted into the dark hallway, certain her mother had come home early. More than anything, she needed to talk to Kendra and tell her everything that had happened. Maybe Kendra would even know something about Nefandus after all her years of translating old Latin manuscripts.

  But at the top of the steps, Catty stopped abruptly; she clutched the newel post, and stared down at the living room below. She didn't see anything to explain the alarm rushing through her, but instinct told her something was wrong.

  She breathed deeply, trying to settle her nerves. The aroma of coffee filled her lungs again, but this time it held new meaning. Even if her mother had come home unexpectedly, she wouldn't have been drinking coffee at this hour. She'd have been sipping orange spice herbal tea. Besides, Kendra always awakened her when she returned from a trip. So, who was in the house?

  Tree branches lashed back and forth in front of the streetlights outside the downstairs windows, sweeping shadows across the living room. Catty eased her way down the stairs, her arms and legs shaking violently, eyes watchful and expecting Regulators to emerge from the whirling dark.

  When she reached the landing, a sudden gust rattled the front door, jiggling locks and dead bolts. She breathed in sharply and, after a pause, crept toward the kitchen. She pressed against the door and peeked in.

  Kyle sat at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and thumbing through one of her mother's Latin texts.

  "Kyle!" Anger shot through her, replacing her fear. She threw the door open and let it bang against the wall. Glasses rattled in the cupboards.

  Kyle flinched, spilling his coffee, then looked up. A slow smile crossed his face. "I didn't mean to wake you yet."

  "You scared me to death." Catty stomped into the kitchen and folded her arms over her chest. "What are you doing here?"

  "You didn't answer your phone or the door." He grabbed a paper napkin and wiped up the puddle of coffee .

  "So you just broke in?”

  "I needed to talk to you." He shrugged, as if breaking into a girl’s house were perfectly normal. "What was I supposed to do?”

  "You’re supposed to wait, like everyone else” She surveyed the kitchen. The chain lock hung motionless from the door, her mom’s crystal collection sat undisturbed on the windowsill, and the security bar was still in place, locking the class sliding door to the patio. "How did you get in here?"

  He hesitated, an odd twitch in the corner of his eve. "I guess you could say I floated."

  "You’re a shape-shifter.” She slumped into a chair next to the table. "One of them.”

  "I couldn’t let you know everything about me, Catty.” he said apologetically. "If I had, you never would have trusted me to take you to Nefandus. 1 know how much you hate Stanton— ”

  “You’re a Follower?”

  "I’m not a Follower, but if I had shown you all my powers from the beginning, I wouldn’t have been able to convince you otherwise.”

  "I wish you had told me the truth." She searched his face, knowing he had used her. How could she have allowed herself to be deceived so easily? She looked down, not wanting him to see her tears.

  "I didn't use you, Catty," he said softly.

  Her head snapped up. "I didn't say that. I only thought it. Are you able to read my mind, too?"

  He grinned sheepishly. "Not as well as Serena can, but I'm better at catching emotions. It's necessary for survival in Nefandus."

  Catty raked her fingers through her hair, trying to recall all her steamy daydreams. How many of her sex-hungry thoughts had he caught?

  "That time hiding between the bookcases . . ." she began timidly.

  "I got those feelings, loud and dear." His smile broadened. "You wanted me to kiss you, but then you switched time—"

  "You can't know I traveled into the past!" She stood abruptly, knocking her chair over. "No one knows when I change time."

  "I do," he said simply. "When you live in Nefandus, you develop perceptions that people don't have here."

  She groaned and rubbed her temples. No wonder it had been so easy for him to use her. He had known from the beginning how infatuated she was.

  "What's wrong?" he asked.

  "Wrong? I thought you were good at picking up emotions. I feel like a complete fool. Just leave."

  "I can't." He stood and stepped toward her.

  "Yes, you can." She walked to the back door and started to unlatch the chain lock.

  "You need to go back to Nefandus with me, Catty." He took hold of her hand. his fingers clasping hers.

  "I'll never go there again," she whispered and leaned her forehead against the doorjamb, but there was no conviction behind her words.

  "You have the Scroll," he said, touching her elbow. "But the Keeper is missing, and you need him. I can help you find him."

  She jerked back, staring at him, her suspicion rising. "Do you know what happened to Chris?"

  "I don't," he said. "But the monk who helped me escape does."

  "What did he say?" Catty asked.

  "He won't tell me," Kyle replied. "He'll only speak to you. I'm supposed to take you to him."

  "Back to Nefandus." Catty eyed Kyle skeptically. She wanted to trust him, but could she?

  He held his hand up as though he were taking an oath. "I swear I'm telling the truth."

  She studied him. Physically, she was attracted to him, and if she
hadn't been a Daughter she could have fallen for him in the biggest way, but she couldn't allow the feelings stirring inside her to get in the way of making the right decision.

  "Tell the monk to come here," she said at last.

  "He can't," Kyle answered, stroking her bare arm with his finger. "We have to go to him."

  Catty shook her head, but her heart was already racing, anticipating the journey. She needed to meet the monk if she were going to find Chris, but why would a man who had withdrawn from life to devote himself to prayer and solitude live in Nefandus? Only Followers lived there.

  "He helps the servi, Catty," Kyle answered her thoughts, his hand working its way around to her back, caressing her gently.

  She stared at him, wondering if she could depend on him. If she went back to Nefandus she'd have to trust him to hold on to her, or she'd be lost in that frightening, foggy world.

  "I not using you," he said abruptly, as if he understood her conflicting emotions better than she did herself. "My feelings for you are real."

  "I want to believe you," she whispered.

  His hand slid around her waist, and he pulled her to him, but instead of resisting, she slid her hands over his sweatshirt and chest, enjoying the warmth of his body and the sweet ache rushing through her own. Her breath caught as a thought filled her mind: they were alone; her bed was empty upstairs.

  "You have to trust your heart,'' Kyle whispered, nuzzling her ear .

  At first Catty thought he was asking her to take him upstairs; then she realized he was talking about Nefandus, giving her the same advice Jimena had offered her. She tried to silence her mind, but her thoughts kept coming back to her mistrust; she felt certain Kyle was using her even though she didn't understand what he had to gain by it. Still, if there were any chance he was telling the truth, then she had to go with him to help Chris.

  "What do you know about the Keeper?" Catty asked finally, her lips moving against his, wondering why he didn't kiss her.

  "I know enough about Chris to know he didn't tell you the truth," Kyle answered bluntly.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CA T T Y R A N I N T O H E Rroom, the scent of Kyle's spicy aftershave still clinging to her hair and cheeks. She tore off her T-shirt, grabbed a black sweater, and pulled it over her head. She tried to figure out what lie Chris might have told her, but her mind kept returning to Kyle. He was the one she couldn't trust. Then she remembered Jimena's advice and took a deep breath, hoping to still her thoughts and hear her heart. But before she could clear her mind, she noticed something on the Scroll.

  She stepped closer to her desk, an eerie feeling rushing through her. The borders had altered. The tree on the bottom left side of the manuscript looked oddly bare, as if leaves had fallen from its branches during the night.

  "Catty, you have to hurry," Kyle called from downstairs.

  "I'm dressing!" she yelled back and pulled on her cropped jeans. She slipped into her sneakers, still studying the florid design. The artwork couldn't have just changed, yet she felt certain the intertwining branches had straightened out.

  "We have to go, now!" Kyle shouted, his footsteps pounding up the stairs.

  "I'm coming!" She ran into the hallway and slammed into Kyle.

  He steadied her, his hands strong and comforting. "We don't have much time."

  "Then why don't you just turn us into shadow and take us there?" she snapped. "I thought that's what shape-shifters did."

  "And run into Regulators or Followers?" He looked down at her, his breath sweet and warm. "I care about you, Catty, and I don't want you to have to face them again."

  For a moment she thought he was going to kiss her. She brazenly hooked her fingers into the front pockets of his jeans, her heart racing with anticipation.

  "Don't you ever think of anything else?" he asked.

  She opened her eyes.

  Irritation flashed across his face, but in the light cast by the lamp in her room she also caught something else before he pulled away. His eyes looked pained. She stared at him, puzzled. "What's wrong?"

  "There's no time now." He took her hand, guiding her forward.

  "No time?" she asked, descending the stairs behind him. "I thought guys always had time for that."

  They ran out into the cold night. A gust howled around them, tousling their hair.

  Whatever answer Kyle gave her was whipped away.

  "What did you say?" she asked over the wind.

  If he heard her question, he didn't respond. He opened the car door and helped her in, then ran around the front and jumped into the driver's seat. He turned the key and gunned the engine. The car pulled away from the curb and blasted down the street.

  They rode in silence, her body too aware of his closeness. Kyle pressed the accelerator hard and wrenched the steering wheel, making a sharp left turn into Chinatown. Tires squealed, and the car fishtailed.

  He drove two more blocks, then parked, turned off the ignition, opened his door, and glanced at the sky. "We can still make it if we run fast enough."

  Catty climbed out and started running after him, her feet hammering on the sidewalk. The demon star looked as if its eye were starting to open. "We're never going to make it!" she yelled, wondering what would happen if she became trapped in the boundary when the portal closed.

  "We will," he answered with confidence. "Dive!" Kyle shouted, and he plunged head first toward the storefront of It Pun Fortune Reading.

  Catty dove after him, praying that her aim was accurate. The tips of her fingers hit the glass, and she screamed, certain she was going to crash through the window. But the building gave way, and she found herself suspended. A membrane sheathed her. Her body went numb, frozen in midair, and then a blunt pulsing awakened her senses. She fell, tumbling into the roiling vapors. She swiped her hands through empty air, searching for Kyle. "Where are you?" she shouted, her voice echoing oddly.

  Immediately clouds gathered around her, the cold mists pawing at her face, seeming to scrutinize her.

  Just as she started to panic, Kyle grabbed her wrist, and his touch made Nefandus appear.

  A golden haze hung over the city, and colored its gargoyles, turrets, and rooftops with an amber dust. The sun set, hurling red flames into the black sky. Lanterns hanging from an iron fence sparked, their fires flaring behind the glass in a dazzling fanfare of rainbow lights.

  Catty stood in the same narrow street as before. "I thought Regulators had closed this entrance."

  "They can't guard all the gates." Kyle started walking. "And they wouldn't think we'd be stupid enough to use the same entrance again."

  She stared after him in disbelief. "Is that meant to comfort me? It didn't."

  "Come on." He guided her in a different direction, away from the road they had taken the last time.

  Instead they circled the remains of an old castle. When they reached the other side, strange music filled the air. The sound vibrated through Catty, filling her with an odd nostalgia; but how could she miss something she had never known?

  Kyle stopped beneath a twisted pine tree, his eyes searching and more alert. The spiky needles brushed over them, tickling the back of Catty's neck.

  "Be more careful now," he ordered, studying the cobbled street in front of them.

  "Right," she answered. "Like I've been reckless up till now."

  He threw her a look, then crept stealthily forward, dodging from one shadow to the next, as the music became louder. Abruptly, he stopped and drew Catty toward him.

  A couple walked past them, dressed in black velvet and speaking in muffled tones, their hair long and dangling in their eyes.

  "Now," Kyle whispered.

  Catty dodged across the street and followed Kyle down a narrow path. They ducked under low-hanging branches and circled an outdoor club, the drumbeat booming through her.

  She leaned on a tree trunk, her chest on fire, her lungs unable to draw in air. "I have to rest," she whispered.

  Through the leaves she watche
d Followers dressed in black leather and lace dance across the patio. Small fires hanging magically in the air cast flickering lights over their faces.

  A guy looked up, his eyes flashing as if he had sensed her presence. He stepped away from the others and bolted over the shrubbery, bearing down on her with a speed that shocked her.

  Terror shot through her. "Is he flying?"

  Kyle pushed her behind a line of flowering bushes; her chin hit the dirt, and then Kyle fell beside her, his body tight against hers. "Don't move," he whispered.

  Adrenaline rushed through Catty. Her muscles ached with the need to run, and her mouth went dry with fear.

  The Follower paused, hovering in the air over them, then settled, his feet just skimming the ground, eyes gazing into the darkness. Catty held her breath, fearful he would glance down and see her. His hand grazed the bush, scattering flowers. White petals floated lazily to the ground, covering her face.

  The music changed to a slow, sultry song, and glittering dust twirled around the guy. A girl appeared from the gold specks, caressing his arms. A crocheted sweater covered her like a spiderweb, revealing patches of pale skin beneath the mesh.

  "It's party time," she said in a petulant voice, her hips swaying against his leg. "What are you doing out here?"

  He wrapped an arm around her. "I saw something."

  "A night owl?" She laughed in a sly, flirty way, then turned his face toward her, with the tip of her finger. "How can you be searching for something when you have me?"

  He smiled at her, and then together they dissolved into billowing smoke and twirled back to the dance floor, forming again beneath a glinting flame, already moving in time to the beat.

  "Are you all right?" Kyle helped Catty stand and then pulled her behind another tree.

  "No," she whispered harshly and stopped, awestruck.

  Kyle looked so handsome, standing next to her. In spite of the darkness, his eyes seemed startlingly compelling. Catty realized that in Nefandus his features had altered. Why hadn't she noticed that before?

  He stared back at her with longing, seemingly overcome with emotion. "You look different, too, Catty," he said. "Dangerously beautiful."