Chapter 19

Arados gave a heavy sigh and continued to stare up at the ceiling. He was getting more than a little sick of his bedroom now, but every time he thought about leaving it his stomach just knotted sickly. His brother might have turned down whatever it was he amped up to make him agoraphobic in the first place, but that didn't take away the damage it had done. No, not it, he. The damage Arados had done. The revelation to himself that he could behave in a terrifyingly monstrous way almost against his own control. Squeezing his eyes shut in frustration, he tried to block out all the thoughts that were rising within him. He was terrified if he left the room he would hurt other people and that's what it came down to now. He didn't fear the wideness of the space or the uncertain unknown, he feared himself and that just made it all the worse.

'Are you okay?' The sound of Catilin's voice forced his eyes open.

Sitting up he stared across to where she was standing. She had Kasey in her arms and a strange looking paintbrush sticking out of one of her pockets.

'Hiya Ara,' Kasey wriggled out of her mother's arms.

'Hey,' Arados shot her a small smile, feeling more than a little confused, 'what are you doing here?'

'Mummy wanted to come see you, but couldn't find anyone to look after me,' the little girl grinned at him.

'Oh?'

'I hope you don't mind us dropping in like this,' Catilin moved towards the foot of his bed, 'it's just that I need your help with something.'

'With what?'

'Would you hold out your right arm for me?'

'Why?' Arados stared at her.

'Why what?' Catilin blinked innocently at him.

'Why do you want me to hold my right arm out for you?'

'If I told you that it would spoil the surprise,' she giggled, 'but I guess that does mean I beat Duke here.'

'What?'

'Please hold out your right arm for me.'

'Not until you explain why you want me to.'

'But I told you, that would ruin the surprise.'

Pressing his lips together he found himself studying the Silkoneon queen carefully. He knew as well as anybody she didn't exactly see the world in the same way everyone else did. For Lilac's sake he'd always been glad they'd known she was an active Calicaccu from the off and had been able to keep her sanity intact so far, so compared to Catilin she was pretty much normal. But that just made Catilin's behaviour all the more eccentric in comparison and because the adults were always so understanding of her behaviour Arados couldn't help but wonder if she even knew what right and wrong meant, let alone understood the difference between them.

'I'm not doing anything for you Catilin,' his words came out slow and carefully, 'not until you explain to me why you're here.'

'And I told you that would ruin the surprise.'

'I don't like surprises, so just tell me.'

This made her hesitate for a few moments, before shuffling up the bed towards him and taking hold if his arm.

'CATILIN!' Arados resisted the temptation to push her off, knowing it would send her flying halfway across the room.

'Arados please, I'm not trying to hurt you, this is for your own good,' her voice somehow managed to be both calm and child-like in the same breath. 'Now stop being so stubborn and give me your arm.'

'No,' he pulled it tightly back against his chest, with the certainty there was no way anyone would be strong enough to pull it away from him, 'I'm not doing anything for you until you explain to me what it is you're doing.'

'Solving all your problems.'

'What?'

'Give me your arm, you'll see.'

'Catilin you're not acting right.'

'Of course I'm acting right,' she looked almost hurt, 'how could I possibly be acting wrong?'

'Very, very easily.'

'You think I wanna do something bad to hurt you, don't you?'

'No…' he hesitated, 'no I don't think you're trying to hurt me. But I do think you've lost your mind, because anyone with even a lick of sanity wouldn't be trying to force someone one million times stronger than they were to give them their arm.'

'You wouldn't hurt me in front of Kasey though, would you,' her lower lip quivered slightly as she indicated towards her daughter.

Kasey was playing contently in the corner of Arados's room, clearly not fully aware of what was going on right next to her.

'You're right, I wouldn't,' Arados pressed his lips together, 'but that doesn't mean I'll just do what you're asking me to. Not unless you explain why, or what for that matter, you're doing.'

'I told you; I'm trying to help you. To solve all of your problems. Don't you see?'

'No, I'm not sure I do. Because I don't know how you think you're going to achieve it.'

'Give me your right arm and I'll show you.'

'Catilin…'

'Please Ara,' her eyes became wide and pleading.

'Fine,' he jerked his right arm out towards her.

'Thank you,' she laughed as she took hold of his wrist with her left hand.

Arados then watched as she pulled the strange looking paintbrush out of her pocket. For a few moments she ran its bristles across his palm; that tickled slightly and almost made Arados squirm away from her. Glancing up to meet his gaze, she tapped the bristles against his palm three times, before taking the pointy end and pressing it hard into his arm just inside of his elbow. Almost as soon as she had she dragged it down towards his wrist, making Arados wince more than slightly. It didn't hurt exactly, but it definitely felt uncomfortable.

'There,' she nodded at him, letting go of his wrist and standing up, 'I'll be back in a day or two to see if it's worked.'

'To see if what's worked?' Arados shot her a strange look. 'Catilin I need to know what the hell you've just done to me.'

'You'll find out soon enough.'

'How soon?'

'Patience,' she moved across the room to her daughter and swept the little girl back up into her arms, 'I have to go now. If Duke comes don't tell him I was here.'

'Cat…' before he could even finish her name she'd vanished. 'Great,' he sighed, before staring down at the red line running along the underside of his arm, 'perform some freaky voodoo on me and run; very mature Catilin.'

Flopping himself back down onto his bed, he resumed staring miserably up at his ceiling. For a few minutes there was nothing, then the red mark on his right arm began to itch terribly.

'Stupid paintbrush,' he sighed as he tried rubbing the itch away, 'it probably gave me a splinter.'

He continued rubbing and lightly scratching his arm for almost five minutes, before getting up and going into his small ensuite bathroom. Once there he stuck his arm under the cold tap and began running water on it. That seemed to sooth the itchiness for a little while and also gave him a chance to study the mark, which had now turned a funny colour of blue.

'What have you done to me Catilin,' he frowned, as he gently ran his fingers along the line and was almost shocked to feel movement below his skin. 'The hell…? This isn't right.'