Cataclysm Read online

  “Lila...”

  “I know what my name is, Liam! You don't have to keep saying it over, and over, and over. I said I'm not ready.” she snapped, and watched him physically recoil from her. It stung, but it was her own fault. She knew she was picking fights for unfair reasons, and she hated herself for it, but her tongue was a weapon which refused to be silenced. She had no idea why he continued to put up with her. Part of her didn't want him to put up with her – it was easier to wallow in her misery if he weren't here. Which was exactly why he refused to leave. At this rate, she wouldn't have any friends left. Lila gave him a last look before dropping back down on to her bed and pulling the covers over her head. She lay there for what felt like an age, stoic and silent, until she heard her bedroom door open softly and close with a click.

  Then, when she was alone, she sobbed. She sobbed for her loss, for her fearfulness and for the splintering sense of self she worried she would never succeed in cementing back together again.

  Chapter Two

  When Adam had suggested backpacking, he'd entirely forgotten that his sister was still hobbling around in crutches, her leg encased in a full cast. Naturally, the plan had been reworked, but he wasn't quite sure how backpacking had turned into two weeks at a luxurious spa, somewhere in the outback which had taken hours of sweating and being bounced on a bench seat to get to. No doubt he'd been hoodwinked, and in this case he was completely happy to be. After all, whatever made Sadie and Rose happy and relaxed was okay by him. He'd used funds his parents had left them, sure that they wouldn't mind after the last few months they'd endured. It was rest and relaxation for their minds, too. However, as selfless as Adam had been in letting the girls choose what they did, he was having a hard time finding anything to do which wouldn't challenge his masculinity.

  Despite his grumbling, he only lasted a total of two hours until he was booking in for something called a 'manly-cure', some time sweating in a sauna and two hours at the gym. As it turned out, he enjoyed the manicure – sorry, manly-cure – immensely, though his nail beds felt like they were too far back, and his nails had been buffed so much they had a shine to them which rivalled his shoes. He would not be telling anyone about this. Not that he would need to – Rose was on the case, updating her social media status and adding pictures every minute of every day. There was a nice close-up of his glossy nails all over her profile, tagged and shared amongst her friends. As much as he dreaded the embarrassment, he also had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that they wouldn't have much time to tease him about it – he'd left a bad situation, and he knew it. Trying to pretend it wasn't going to rear its ugly head was only going to last for a short while, which was the entire purpose of this trip; their minds needed a rest, or they would completely crack.

  Prior to leaving, Rose had visited a salon and shorn a considerable amount of hair off. It was cropped to slightly longer than her jaw and choppy. Adam, who had been reading self-help books for days since his sister was injured, recognised that the need for physical change was a pro-active attempt at healing and purposefully avoided teasing her, instead saying that it made her look very mature. This had pleased her; after all, she'd been fighting alongside adults as an equal contributor, and had hated being babied, no matter what age she was; it was because of their lack of training that Adam had come so close to losing her, and he would never make that mistake again. Better that she were prepared for the worst than kept in the dark and caught off guard.

  He had no lingering illusions of keeping her innocent to the world they were now living in – she had become a valuable member of their team, though Adam would always prize her safety above all, even if it infuriated her. Part of his revised parenting plan included never letting her leave his sight again. Logically, that would be his best chance of stepping between her and whatever danger came their way. Rose, however, had different plans; she was determined to stake out her independence, at least as much as she could on one leg. She was resistant to his attempts to shield her from some of the gorier details of what had happened after she'd been hurt in the last battle, prying for the deepest specifics of what he'd seen and arguing that she needed to be prepared if something went wrong again.

  Sadie had flourished in the spa, some of the bright, bubbly girl she'd once been showing through now that she was removed from the situation back home, and he wondered if she was as willing to go back as she seemed. Not that they had a choice. None of them were naïve enough to think that their crisis was over, but they were certainly putting their all into pretending it was. Giving up on the illusion was going to be painful, and only time would tell if they were making the right decision, coming here in the middle of a war. As much as guilt stung like acid against his bones, Adam remembered Lila's not-so-gentle insistence; Tear-streaked and gripping his hands with a surprising strength for someone so short and slight, she'd looked up at him seriously, her eyes full of desperation. If not now, then when? What if you never get another chance? she'd asked. The point had been so valid and earnest that he'd booked the flights half an hour later, taking just long enough to confirm with the doctors that this was a viable timetable for the rehabilitation of the girl's conditions.

  Looking up as the suite door opened, Adam watched Sadie flounce in as though she were the same age as Rose, and pass a piece of folded up paper to his sister, whose whole face lit up as she read what was written on it. He had no idea what was going on, but after similar instances, he knew better than to ask either of them – this was girl talk, and he'd been told there were no boys allowed. Of course, he argued against this rule every chance he got, mostly because it usually led to laughter and teasing.

  “You got it?!” Rose shrieked, high pitched and excited. Adam stuck one finger in his ear, wriggling it in an attempt to end the ringing affecting his eardrum. Rose was the only person he knew who could achieve the pitch she did when she was worked up, and he had missed the sound, strangely, despite how annoying it was.

  “Yep, and he said you should call him.” Sadie answered, and the two girls lapsed into chuckling. Adam's eyebrows shot up as he realised what was going on, and he held up his hand to get their attention, only to be shot down by Sadie before he could utter a single word.

  “Nope. Girls indulging in boy talk is strictly off-limits to older brothers.” She warned, sticking out her tongue childishly. Sadie and Rose had bonded even more over this journey, and were now inseparable. Only now did he realise that their budding friendship was not only sweet to watch, it was also the first step to being ganged up on. Maybe if Rose did get a boyfriend, he'd have some backup. Of course, the downside of this was that in order to get backup, his little sister would have to date a boy.

  Adam made a mental note to get hold of the number, have Noah trace it for a home address, then he would go and warn the boy not to go near his little sister, on pain of castration and whatever else he could think up. Maybe he'd even add a few ominous tremors of the ground for dramatic effect. She could get involved in life-or-death fights, but she was not allowed to date.

  “Hey, Rose, you're not allowed to date boys, okay?” He informed her light-heartedly. She stuck out her tongue, a witty response brewing in her eyes long before it escaped her lips – all he could do is prepare himself to hear it.

  “That's okay then, I'll just date girls until the ban is lifted.” she shot back. “I'm bisexual.”

  “You mean I have to worry about you with everyone?” Adam groaned, and Rose gave him a suddenly serious, exasperated look. Instantly, he was aware that he was about to get one of her lectures on how he sucked at being PC.

  “Okay, just gonna come out with it... don't ever say that again. You don't have to deal with everyone, you just have to deal with the people I'm actually attracted to – which is mostly in my age bracket, but also a couple of celebrities who are a little older.” Rose informed him, and he tried to backtrack and find out where he'd been offensive.

  “But you could be attracted to anyone, that's all I meant.”

  “Not just anyone. It's the same as you – are you attracted to just any girl? Or do you have a type?” Rose asked, her arms folded. Sadie was biting her lower lip to keep from interrupting. She loved watching Adam getting intellectually challenged by his little sister.

  “Okay; I see your point. Don't shoot.” Adam held up his hands in surrender. “Sorry. Can you at least tell me who I should actually worry about in advance so I can kill them?”

  “You're a turd.” she retorted. At least some things never changed, like her infantile insults. No matter how old either of them got, childish jokes would always plague their vocabulary.

  “I know. It's a burden I carry every day.” he sighed, fanning his face as though he felt suddenly faint at the 'weight' on his shoulders.

  She picked up a handful of pot-pourri, throwing the dried leaves at him. They scattered, some falling straight on to his lap as he ducked the higher pieces, the rest fluttering down into a mess around him.

  “Thanks. Now that I smell great, and have fantastically shaped and clean nails, I can finally rest easy.” he responded. Rose laughed, then turned back to talk to Sadie, voice lowered.

  He could hear the croak of exhaustion in his sister's voice, even as she babbled excitedly about what she was going to say to this mystery boy, and knew that it was time to step out of the playful conversation and be the adult in their relationship.

  “Okay, fine, I'll stay out of the love life talk – but it's bedtime. No, you can't stay up all night chatting, Rose. Bed.” Adam insisted. He'd been growing more comfortable giving her orders like this, filling the vacuum their father's death had left. Sadie was a big part of this; she'd been truly wonderful, an absolute natural at drawing the divide between friend and authority figure. It was important to keep th
is up – Rose had no one else, and it was his responsibility to make sure that she still felt like she was loved and secure emotionally.

  “But -” Rose protested.

  “Bed.”

  “Fine.” she sighed, then dragged the back of her hand along her eye, smearing some black make-up out at the corner. Parental though he was becoming, Adam smirked, and completely neglected to mention this as they made their way to their bedrooms.

  *

  The nights seemed far shorter in Australia, and every morning, Adam was dragged out of sleep by his alarm, only to sort out his sister's medications and make drinks for all three of them. The familiar sound of coughing from the bed made him turn, watching Sadie wake up. She still felt the need to clear her lungs every morning, but it was psychological need rather than one based on a physical ailment. Thanks to the fire witches they'd been put in touch with here, both invalids had received more than adequate and consistent care. What was more, they'd made some useful contacts who could be called upon if their own sizeable coven proved unable to fight whatever was thrown at them. Not to imply the other covens in the world hadn't been dealing with their fair share – they'd had fewer incidents as most problems were drawn to the magickal nexus Beth had created, but they'd been chasing down the local spirit outbreaks nonetheless, and had noticed an increase in 'poltergeist activity' according to the local churches.

  Adam tried his best not to talk shop whilst on holiday, but he wasn't fantastic at small-talk and had gotten to know the lay of the land while they were dealing with Sadie and Rose. It would be negligent to ignore absolutely everything, after all. Especially since this was the kind of one-on-one intelligence they couldn't really get easily, since their problems tended to consume the entirety of their time and energy.

  Once Sadie had taken her drink and was sipping from it delicately, Adam picked up the small tub of medication he'd sorted for his sister and balanced the glass edge of the other drink between his spare fingers, using his free hand to push open the door as he was leaving his room and knocking on Rose's partially open door before he walked in anyway so that she wouldn't try to get up before she'd medicated herself. She was so stubborn that, the first day they'd been here, he'd found her down by the pool, trying to pretend her leg wasn't causing her agony. The alarm clock had been a fixture ever since.

  “Hey, sleepyhead, time for the pharmaceuticals.” he called, and Rose's head poked up from the covers, her hair a tousled mess. His hunch from the night before was correct; she'd forgotten to take her make-up off last night, so Adam put the pills and the drink on the side, then pulled the travel mirror closer to the edge of her night stand, flipping it to the full magnification side and pointing it her way so that she could see the smudged black around her eyes which made her look like a raccoon. He left the room abruptly after that, but not soon enough to avoid the enraged pterodactyl-like screech from his sister. Adam smirked, closing the door before she could start with her 'how dare you show me what I look like in the morning!' tirade, then made his way into the bathroom to shower before he lost it to the girls.

  It would be so easy to fall into this lifestyle with his little family, if he could only forget about those they'd left behind him. As it was, he felt guilty for even entertaining the thought of life without them. In a world where all of them had lost practically everyone they considered family, they were the next best thing – a bunker family, forged in war and blood and loss. When Adam looked in his own eyes in the bathroom mirror, there was something deeper there than there had been even following his father's death. He had been lava, crashing over the world and reclaiming the land in the name of something ancient, and without the battle, he had begun to cool, leaving another layer of armour which he used to shield not only his own heart, but the body and soul of each of the people he'd throw himself in front of in a heartbeat.

  “Adam, come on! You can't show me what I look like and then hog the shower!” he heard Rose's voice from outside the door and sighed, his quiet reflection time clearly at an end. He took the time to shave quickly but carefully, splashing water on his face to clear the shaving cream and exiting the bathroom, only to be nearly knocked over by Rose, who was surprisingly mobile despite her injury.

  “You're welcome!” he called, shaking his head and moving into the bedroom he was sharing with Sadie. To his surprise, she was already at the vanity by the window, applying make-up. Catching his eye in the mirror, she smiled, in the middle of applying lip gloss.

  “I'm going to hang out by the pool. I'd rather shower at the end of a sweaty day.” she explained, though he was too busy admiring the way she swept the deep pink gloss across her lips, and the way her mouth seemed immediately more plump and kissable – though that could have had something to do with the fact that he loved everything about her already, and she could make trash duty seem graceful and majestic.

  “That sounds promising,” he countered, raising one eyebrow. “The sweaty day part.” Oh, it was cringe-worthy and he knew it, but things in that department had been exceptionally active recently, probably because of the time away from all the stress.

  “Adam Dyzek, I know you didn't just make that joke with your sister in the next room.” Sadie scolded, pausing in her process, the lip gloss wand held in mid air as she caught his eye in the mirror, amusement dancing in her brilliantly blue eyes.

  “Two rooms away.” Adam corrected her. She threw a compact mirror at him, one he hadn't seen beneath the larger mirror – why did she need two? - obviously anticipating his quick reflexes, but not quite how they manifested. He threw up his hands defensively, catching it, and crushing it between his fingertips as his powers flared, all without piercing his skin, which seemed to have hardened to the consistency of stone. Pieces of mirror spilled out of his grip and on to the carpet. Sadie had gone pale, still frozen.

  “I hope that's not really bad luck.” she whispered, almost too low to hear. It wasn't hard to tell that she was serious; she'd gone paler than the white hotel sheets on their bed.

  Adam was relieved of the obligation to reply by the sound of his phone chiming on the night stand. Reaching over, he picked it up, unlocking the screen to see a message from Liam.

  No change. Don't know what to do.

  For the millionth time that week, Adam felt guilty for leaving – until he looked over at Sadie, who had moved on from the incident, but he couldn't miss the slight shake to her hand, which clutched a blusher brush a little too tightly, the strokes deliberate in intent but the result less than perfect. No, he had his own casualties to deal with.

  Will organise a Skype call later. Give her our love.

  He fired the message back, then put his phone down to move over and wrap an arm around Sadie. Lila had Liam, and she had been the most avid supporter of this trip – she not only understood why he was here, she had practically prescribed the rest and relaxation they'd been experiencing recently. Regardless, it was easier to patch up the emotional well-being of someone when your own mental state was at optimum levels.

  They were getting there, and he had faith that Lila would sort through her issues, too. One day at a time.

  Chapter Three

  Grace loved a challenge. The chance to work with the Government, if a little unconventionally, was a dream she was willing to fight for; However, even she had to admit that the learning curve was steep, particularly when it came to magickal terminologies and the sheer extent of power out there. It seemed that every case was as individual as the person's DNA, and while each witch had an affinity to an element, many had the ability to use two or more at different levels of proficiency. Then there were the subdivisions of magick, the individuals who had odd abilities to manipulate electricity, metal, even the cloud cover overhead. The 'rogue' witches brought in by Finn and the others were mostly those who had delved too deeply into their special skills and had been either unwilling or unable to pull themselves back from the edge. At least now, under the new directive, the witches would be passed back to their covens for treatment – they had changed hate to care, and culling to treatment.