Catalyst (Book 1) (4 page)

She went to her bed and reached underneath, where she kept a box with her few treasures. She returned with a scroll, handing it to me. “You’re going to need this to get where you’re going.” It was a map, showing a path to the dangerous and mysterious White Mountain.

I gasped. Out of all the places in the world, I had to go there? I might as well go to the Wastelands while I was at it. “The White Mountain? You’re joking right?”

“You must.”

“But how in the world am I going to survive with no help? I’ve heard the tales. No one has climbed the White Mountain and lived. How can I possibly make it to the top? I’m only a fourteen and—”

My mother put a finger to my lips. “I believe in you, son. You can do anything you put your mind to. If you weren’t meant to survive this journey, the angel wouldn’t have told me to send you there. Have faith, and you will find the answers you seek. He
will
guide you. You have the power of fire. Use your gift and it will protect you from the cold…Hellsfire.” She teased me, but not in the way some of the others did. My mother smiled, and, despite my nervousness, I couldn’t help but do the same thing.

“Help me gather your things,” she said. “You’re going to have to buy some supplies and warmer clothes. These just aren’t going to do you any good.” My mother tugged at my clothes, making me feel like a child again.

I futilely tried to shoo her away. “Mother.”

“And buy food that can survive the cold. Use the money Her Highness gave you. But don’t waste it. Only buy what will help you on your journey, and make sure you can carry it all.”

“Are you sure you won't need any money?”

“The princess gave it to you, son, and you're going to need it. I can manage just fine on my own.” She studied me for a moment. “And take this. You’ll need it more than I.”

In one fluid motion, she pulled a dagger out from under her clothing. My own mother went armed, in our quiet, peaceful town! And this was no shoddy, nicked peasant dagger. The blade was fine quality, and the hilt was inlaid with gold. It was balanced and lightweight, yet strong enough to kill a man. Flawless. Even someone with my limited fighting skills could use it. There were some markings on the hilt, but I couldn’t read the language.

“Where did you get this?” I asked, my eyes still tracing the dagger.

“Your father got it in the Burning Sands and gave it to me before he died. He would have given it to you in time. The ancient inscription says ‘I will be with you, always.’ You never knew your father, but I’m sure he’s watching us from heaven. Keep the dagger close. It will protect you in your time of need, as it has protected me many times.”

Why would she have needed protection? I stared at my mother, seeing a completely different person from the one I'd known my entire life. She wasn't just my mother and someone who took care of me. She was a woman with a past.

She handed me the dagger. I slid it into its scabbard and squeezed it inside my girdle. The dagger felt like it had an unexplainable energy to it—as if it completed me in some way.

“Goodbye, Mother,” I said, and embraced her one last time. I made sure to hug her longer than usual, not only because I was going to miss her and it might be a while before I saw her again, but also to slip some money into her pocket. “I’ll miss you and I love you.”

“I love you too, son. Remember what I’ve taught you, and please be careful.”

I sniffled back some tears. “I will.” I let her go and grabbed my belongings. I stopped at the doorway and took one last look. I wondered if she’d be all right without me. What would happen to me before I next saw her? I had to find out why I had power over fire and learn to control it. I couldn’t stay and hurt my mother again.

I went into Sedah, buying the necessary supplies while people were just opening their shops. I was grateful for the money the princess had given me. My mother and I could never have afforded all the things I bought. I got plenty of strange looks from people, more so than usual. They thought it was a bit peculiar to be buying winter gear in the middle of spring, but I didn’t care.

I bought a cloak, leather gloves, and, most importantly, a fur coat. I also needed a pair of leather boots and some sheepskin blankets. After the clothes, I bought some food, preserved meat, and a backpack to carry everything in.

The shop owners tried to make conversation with me. I was careful to bring out the exact money I needed, and not show them my pouch, but it was as if they knew I had money. Some even tried to raise their prices on me. When the items I bought started to pile up, I had to start lying. I told everyone I was buying things for Farmer Andrick, the man my mother and I worked for. It would be common knowledge that I was gone soon enough. No need for the gossip to start now.

 
My biggest expense was an aging horse. We had never been able to afford one before. Even after that, I still had quite a bit of money left. I wished I could say goodbye to what few friends I had, but if I saw them, I might never have the courage to leave. I loaded my supplies on my horse and walked her northwest, towards the White Mountain and my strange, unknown destiny.

Before I reached the edge of town, I saw the one person I didn't want to see. The only thing in my favor was that he was alone. Normally I would have cut through the woods, but because of the horse and the direction I needed to go, I had to stick to the road. I avoided looking at him and tried to use the horse as a barrier. It didn’t work.

“Going somewhere, Hellsfire?” Nathan asked, sauntering up to me.

“No.”

“Then what's with all this? Did you steal it? Where could
you
have gotten the money from?”

“That's none of your business.”

“I'm making it my business.” Nathan said, blocking my path.

I met his eyes. “I don't want any trouble. Not today.”

“That's too bad.”

Nathan grabbed the reins from my hands and shoved me hard. I fell to the ground, landing on a rock. My cloak shielded me from the worst of it, but I was still going to have a bruise on my back.

Nathan loomed over me and laughed. “At least it wasn't mud.” From the look in his eyes, he wished it was.

He started walking off with my horse. I scrambled to my feet. “Stop!”

He turned around and gave me a quizzical look.

“It ends here,” I said.

“It does, does it? It ends when
I
say it ends.”

Nathan stormed over to me. I balled my fist, but he was too big, strong, and fast for me. I was knocked to the ground again, grunting in pain.

My hand went to the dagger secured at my waist. I wanted to get revenge for all the pain Nathan had caused me over the years. For a moment I thought about drawing, but then I let go of the hilt. That wasn't why my mother had given me the dagger. I wasn't going to let her down. All I wanted was my horse and supplies. I wasn't leaving without them, and he wasn't taking them.

I tried to get up again, but he yelled and hit me as hard as he could. I fell to the ground once more, breathing dirt instead of air.

“Why won't you stay down?” Nathan asked.

Blood trickled from the left side of my mouth. I ran my hand over my bruised cheek, feeling how bad a mark I was going to have.

“Please,” I said, gasping for air. The fire within me roared. The heat boiled against my body as I struggled to contain it. “Stop. I don't want to hurt you.” That was a lie. A part of me did want to hurt him for all the times he had beaten and humiliated me. All I had to do was let go. But I was afraid of my uncontrollable power. I didn't want to kill him.

“Hurt me? That's a joke.”

Nathan bent down to hit me again. I put my hand up to try and stop him. All the pent-up emotion—the frustration, the anger, the pain—poured out. It became fire and funneled towards him.

Nathan’s eyes widened in surprise. He was quick enough to turn at the last second. The flame still scorched the right side of his face. He fell to the ground, howling.

I rushed to him, smothering the lingering flame. His once handsome face was scorched and blistered. I reached out, trying to see if there was anything I could do to help him.

He slapped my hand away. “Get away from me, you freak!” His expression, normally full of so much anger and hatred, had changed into something I'd never seen before on his face. I had recently seen it on my mother’s. “You really are a monster!”

Nathan forced himself up, wincing in pain with every movement. He ran, stumbling and falling because of how often he looked back at me.

I checked to see if anyone had seen what happened. I breathed easier when I saw no one. I thought of returning to my mother and warning her of what had just happened. There were bound to be plenty of questions and accusations. I had no idea what she would tell them. If she was lucky, no one would believe Nathan. They all knew what he did to me, even if they didn't stop it. They might even
interpret it as me besting him.

The only thing I knew was that I couldn't stay here any longer. If an outburst like this happened while other people were around, they could be seriously injured or even killed. Afterwards, they would want to hang or burn me and my mother as demons. We'd both have to flee. No, it was best I go now, before things got worse.

Things did get worse. And in the way I most feared.

CHAPTER 4

Shortly after leaving Sedah, I met a small group of travelers heading north. They were suspicious of me at first, but when they saw how young I was and that I was alone, they allowed me to travel with them. They were a nice family, heading north to look for work. They wanted to know more about me, why I traveled by myself, and where I was going. I didn't tell them anything except where I was from and that I headed north for part of the way. I wasn't sure if they would want to travel with someone who could shoot fire out of his body.

“Still not telling us where you're going?” Mara, Kenneth's wife said, while we finished up our evening meal by the campfire.

“I should only be with you for another day or two,” I said. “Then I'm heading west.”

“Can't believe that before we picked you up, you were traveling by yourself,” Kenneth said in his deep voice.

I shrugged. “It's not that bad.”

“That's because you're young. Ah, you'll learn. I traveled a lot in my youth, and I learned it's always best to have someone who'll watch your back, and if worst comes to worst, make for another target. Young and alone, you'll be easy prey. When you get older, you had better be handy with a blade.” He patted the dagger lying on the ground next to him. He looked at my waist, eyes narrowed. “I see no blade on you, Hellsfire.” I kept my mother’s dagger hidden.

“Kenneth!” Mara said, glaring at her husband. “Stop scaring him. You make it sound like you traveled where there were nothing but bandits. I'm going to put the children to bed.”

Kenneth put out the campfire and said, “I may have exaggerated a little, but you should still be careful when you leave us. You've got first watch tonight. Wake me in a few hours.”

I nodded. “I will. And Kenneth—thanks for letting me travel with you.”

I took up a position against a strong oak tree, where I would be able to see everything around us. For the last two days, I had been getting used to taking a watch, but it still bored me. Only the sounds of the crickets and the occasional owl kept me company. There was nothing to watch but the stars and animals that hunted in the night.

While I liked Kenneth's family, being with them didn't allow me to practice my gift—or my curse, depending on what you wanted to call it. Before I met up with them, I had been practicing when I could, though it drained me. I needed not just to be able to access the fire, but to control it. While I still didn't have complete control, I was beginning to understand some of what I could and couldn't do. But I would have to make much more progress before I reached the White Mountain. I needed the fire to battle the cold.

Tonight's watch gave me the first opportunity to practice in days. I had chosen to take my watch in a spot that was partially screened from where Kenneth and his family were sleeping. Between the underbrush and the partially clouded moon, they shouldn't notice me as long I didn't try anything too big.

I moved behind a nearby bush and held my hands out, letting go of the pent-up heat inside of me. It coursed through my body, and I concentrated on directing it to my hands. In my earlier practices, my hands had glowed and felt warm, as if I were holding them in front of a fire. Sometimes I had spurted a few flames. But tonight was completely different.

The fire spewed out of my hands, setting the bush on fire. I tried to stop it. I couldn’t. The fire wouldn't obey me. I was afraid to close my hands, in case that made it spread out in all directions.

The fire seemed to have a life of its own. I watched in horror, fighting it while it hopped from bush to scrub to grass, until everything burned. The deadly and relentless light illuminated and devoured everything.

Finally, the fire stopped coming out of me. I concentrated on the flames, trying to put them out, but I knew that even extinguishing a small flame with my mind made me collapse with a splitting headache. This was impossible.

And then I remembered I wasn’t alone.

I rushed over toward Kenneth and his family, jumping over the small fires, dashing around the big ones, yelling to wake them up. The rising smoke made me cough and gag, but I put my arm over my mouth and kept going.

My shouts had awakened the family. Kenneth was trying to gather all the supplies and animals as quickly as he could, but some of the animals had scattered, and there were far too many things for him to carry. The two children were clinging to their mother, staring at the flames and crying.

Kenneth glared at me with cold eyes. He looked like he had plenty of questions, but all he said was, “Take care of my family. I can trust you to do that, right?” He disappeared through the flames without waiting for my answer.

My eyes stung. Whether from the smoke or his words, I couldn't tell. This was all my fault.

I grabbed my backpack, bedroll, and one of the children. Little Clara hung around my neck, squeezing so tight it was hard to breathe. Mara ran alongside me with her child and an armful of blankets.

When we were safely away, I put everything down and took off my singed cloak. “Stay here.”

I ran back into the flames, lifting my tunic to my face to block out the smoke. I did everything in my power to help Kenneth save what we could. Before the flames engulfed the campsite, we managed to save the cart, one mule, one cow, my horse, and a few caged chickens. More than half the food and water was gone.

The flames burned themselves out relatively quickly—too quickly to be natural. I stood with Kenneth and surveyed what was left of our campsite. His clothes were scorched and tattered. He coughed to get the smoke out of his lungs before turning to me, his eyes as ferocious as the flames.

“What happened, Hellsfire?” he yelled. “You were supposed to keep watch!”

I put my hands up. “I don't know!”

“How can you not know? Where'd the fire come from? What’d you do?”

After what I had done to him, I realized I owed him part of the truth. “I…started a fire and it got out of hand.” When my eyes met Mara's and saw her terrified children clutching her, I looked down in shame.

“You started a fire? You were supposed to be on watch! And how could it have gotten out of control like this?” Kenneth threw his hands up in frustration. “You could have gotten us all killed! Our supplies and half of our animals are gone. What are we supposed to do now?”

“I know. I'm sorry. Here.” I reached into my purse and withdrew some money. A lot more than was necessary to replace what he had lost. He eyed the coins in my hand, but didn't make a move to take them.

“Thank you, Hellsfire,” Mara said, coming up and taking the coins. “But I think it's best if you left now.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but closed it. The fire was my fault. I looked at the little children, whose eyes were full of fear. I had almost killed them.

“You're right.” I picked up my belongings and slung them on my horse. “Thank you for letting me travel with you. And thank you for letting me be a part of your family, even if it was for a short time. I'm sorry.”

“We hope you find what you're looking for,” she said.

I sighed, taking one last look at the family I had almost destroyed. “Me too.” I left them, leading the horse.

After that, I tried to avoid people whenever I could. Not because I feared bandits, but because I feared for regular people like Kenneth and Mara. I was far more dangerous to them than any sword, arrow, or axe.

I saw the White Mountain days before I reached it. The closer I got, the fewer people I saw, as if they were avoiding it. Soon there were no roads or people—only myself and my ability.

I had to get control of the fire. I slowed my pace so I could practice. It always drained me if I practiced for too long—like doing a hard day's work. Summoning it was easy enough—far too easy—but I needed to restrain it. I couldn't let what had happened with Kenneth’s family ever happen again.

I made small fires at first. Just stopping them from flickering gave me a headache. If I tried to move the flames with my mind, my head throbbed until blood trickled down my nose. But I wasn't going to give up. My fear of what I had done to Kenneth's family and the look on my mother's face drove me. Gradually, my body adjusted not only to summoning the fire, but controlling it. I no longer ached from it, nor did I want to pass out.

But I still wanted to know why I could do this. Why me?

Whenever I had such thoughts and frustrations, I would lose control. My anguish and anger fueled the flames. I tried not to dwell on such thoughts, but it was hard, especially on those days when the fire wouldn't do what I wanted.

While I heeded Kenneth's warnings about what could happen while traveling, I didn't run into any trouble of the normal sort. That left all my energy for worrying about climbing one of the most treacherous mountains I had ever heard of.

I tried not to look at it at first, but the closer I came to the mountain, the bigger it grew, until it dominated the landscape. It never seemed to stop growing. I eventually stared at it while walking, wondering how I was going to survive such a monstrous and desolate place, and what waited for me at the top. Why was I supposed to come here?

In its own way, the mountain was quite wondrous. It stood alone, surrounded by flat land, smothered in the winter season. It was forever frozen in time. No one knew why. There were stories, of course, yet unlike the Wastelands or the Great Barrier, which were remnants of the War of the Wizards, this mountain's origins were mysterious. But its winter had lasted for centuries.

I reached the mountain at midday. While I was anxious to start the climb, I made an early camp so I could rest. I was going to need all of my strength, and more, to reach the top.

A shiver rode along my spine as the towering mountain looked down on me. There was no mistaking it. This mountain was my enemy—a far more dangerous enemy than Nathan, Rowe, or Bruno. I had to find a way to do what no one else had ever been able to do—defeat it.

I scouted the base of the mountain, sizing it up. Everything had a weakness, even the White Mountain. Heavy, smothering snow concealed most of the slopes, but exposed rocks occasionally poked through like unsheathed blades. Cold air enveloped the mountain in an icy shield, seeping across the plain. Its peak shot through the clouds like an arrow. I squinted, trying to see the top of it. It seemed to go up forever. I shook my head. No. It had a summit. I had seen it when I was still a week away from here. I would get there. I had to.

As I explored the foot of the mountain, something began to bother me. The coldness felt wrong—as if it wasn't real, or as if something lurked behind it. I couldn't shake the unnatural feeling, but there was nothing I could do. I had to go on and stay alert for danger.

 
Finally, I found what I was looking for. It wasn't a fatal flaw in the mountain’s armor, but it was something to help me climb it—a faint path. It would make the first few days of my climb much easier.

That night, I ate well and enjoyed the warm food. It would be my last for a while. I didn't bother to practice with the fire. Judging from the look of the mountain, I would get plenty of practice.

When the sun rose, I gathered my belongings and put on my heavy cloak and gloves. I jumped up and down, shaking my fingers and rolling my neck. In tune with my nervousness, the fire started to surface. I didn't let it rise, as I didn't want it to burn my gloves. I would need them. The fear of what I was about to do made it hard to control the fire. When I saw the horse staring at my movements, though, I couldn't help but laugh. It relaxed me a little.

I rubbed the horse’s neck and scratched behind her ears. She made a soft sighing noise. I smiled, glad I had her along. She hadn’t been as scared as the other horses during that wildfire I caused, and she never seemed bothered by the fire I created. She also was a very good listener. I frowned, remembering why I bought the old girl, but I pushed the thought out of my mind. I just wished I had an apple to give her.

I walked her to the path. I craned my neck, gazing up at the White Mountain—my enemy—and whispered, “Gods help me.”