Oblivion Part Five The grotto was by far much better than Catherine had remembered. The stalactites and stalagmites were huge. They made her feel as though she was walking through some giant monster’s rib cage. Leaning against some as she moved between them, she found their chalky smoothness a pleasure to touch. It had never surprised her to learn that they were thousands of years old, yet it seemed to her that in her absence of twenty-two years, they had grown much larger. The entrance to the grotto was very high, and narrowed as one descended into the mountain. Catherine was pleased to find that the two mile route was still in operation and that the tunnel had been widened and strengthened by the British Museum. Further excavations had revealed more bones of humans had been found, and she was delighted to hear, a crystal cavern with underground lakes, which reflected the dazzling crystals. The lakes had held the remains of humans and animals alike, and much was being discovered into how they had lived so far beneath the earth. Asking a guide if she would be allowed to walk down to the crystal cavern, he smiled as he replied, “Well you can walk if you like, though it would take you all day. Personally, I would take the train.” “You’re British!” Catherine exclaimed, “Do you work for the museum?” “Yes I am part of the team. We realised people would want to see what we have unearthed, and to my mind the inside of the mountain is more spectacular than the outside. Its only a personal opinion mind. I think that the inside takes your breath away, like the outside never can, and though the trip doesn’t come cheap, I can assure you it is worth every penny and more. We have to charge so much for the running of the train, well its a glorified buggy really, but its much better than walking. Are you still interested?” “Yes, I first came here with my father as a child, and I always promised myself I would return. How long is the journey?” “About ninety minutes. There’s a lot to see on the way down too, and of course you have the added pleasure of listening to me ramble on all the way down there, about all the things we have found. Though unfortunately we have never unearthed the remains of a dinosaur.” “Yes I have read about that. People seem to think that dinosaurs should have roamed this continent, but as yet no-one has uncovered any remains. Isn’t that odd?” “Yes I think it is. Could be the height of course, though we ascertain that once the mountains were much lower, mere hills in parts. As the sea subsided, it opened up miles of land and huge mountain ranges. We believe that the sea will eventually reclaim its own, and the land as we know it now, will, one day be under water. Imagine in thousands of years’ time some team of archaeologists will come along and find our remains and wonder about our way of life. It is quite awesome to think about it. Yet even knowing all this we have found that even in the lowlands there still have been no dinosaur discoveries. Perhaps we aren’t looking in the right places.” Catherine smiled at him, “I wonder what they will make of your buggy, thousands of years from now.” She had just spotted it in front of her, it wasn’t nearly as bad as he had implied. Several little carriages bolted together on a small track. Each carriage carried four people, each facing forwards two behind each other. The walls were lit with lanterns and candles, where floodlights could not penetrate, and the dancing flames brought eerie shadows that added to the atmosphere and the pleasure of the grotto. “Well then, whose for the trip into the mountains?” asked the guide. Several people stepped forward, and Catherine joined them to climb into the carriages, but Catherine found a hand on her elbow ushering her to the front carriage to sit alongside the guide. She had an unmistakable feeling that he wanted to get to know her better, and this unnerved her. “My name is Scott,” he told the passengers, “And you are going to love every minute of this trip, I hope you can all understand English?” Most of the passengers affirmed, but for a few who were French. Scott was fluent in many languages, French being one of them, but he wasn’t about to let Catherine know that, “Oh dear, I don’t know French. Do you?” Catherine nodded, “Let me guess you are going to ask me to translate for you, right?” He nodded, “Am I so obvious.” Catherine smiled, “Then I shall have to sit nearer those people, so they can hear me.” “No bother,” he quickly jumped from his seat to go across to them, and brought them back to be nearer Catherine, “there that will do.” “I hope you are going to give me a free trip for my services.” Catherine joked. “Not only that, but I’d like to buy you dinner this evening too.” Scott winked at her, making Catherine laugh out loud, and she blushed when she saw the other passengers smiling. However, Catherine had no wish to get involved, and told him as gently but as firmly as she could, “Sorry a free trip will have to do, I’m not on holiday alone you know.” “Then bring your father with you. He can enlighten me with stories of your childhood. Say does he have any snapshots of you in the bathtub?” The mention of her father made Catherine sad. “My father passed away.” she told him softly, “I am here with a friend, he has gone sightseeing elsewhere today.” She emphasised the he, on purpose. As much as she liked Scott, that was where it ended, he was attractive, yes, but she wasn’t looking for romance, and with the mention of her father the trip had somehow lost its gloss. How he would have enjoyed the trip into the mountain, and she regretted that they had never returned sooner to the mountains, and had allowed the pressure of work to prevent her spending more happy holidays with him. Hearing Scott apologise, Catherine was silent as the carriages trundled away down the slope into the mountain, and she became unaware of his anxiety, as he took note of her expression. He wanted to kick himself, such pain showed on her beautiful face, great sadness etched lines there. How gorgeous she had been when he had said something that had made her face light up, her smile took his breath away, and Scott wished he could kiss away all her problems. He wondered who her companion was, and what he meant to her. Slowly Catherine shook aside her misery, ‘this would not do’ she chided herself, the French family waited expectantly for her to translate, and she had to make the trip memorable for them, “Its okay Scott,” she smiled weakly, “Honestly just something I thought of. Please proceed.” Seeing her smile again, he was cheered a little, though her smile did not touch her eyes, and he longed to see them dancing with life again, “Do you have a name?” he enquired. “Catherine.” she told him, and the passionate way he repeated it made her sad again, as she thought of Vincent. Between translating, Catherine thought about snatches of the conversation she’d had with Devin the day before, and how he had helped her regain her senses. And as they travelled deeper into the mountain, the tunnels made her want to weep. The longing for Vincent intensified with every passing yard, and Catherine began to wonder what she was doing there. Even the candlelight emphasised her longing, and great need for familiar surroundings, ones that took her to Vincent’s world. Suddenly the desire to get out and leave the buggy was overwhelming. She glanced back, ‘how far had they come?’ Noticing her unrest, Scott touched her shoulder, “Are you all right?” he asked her quietly. The French family waited in expectation, and Catherine grew hot with embarrassment, for she had not heard a word Scott had been saying. When she didn’t answer, Scott stopped the buggy, and waited for her to speak. But Catherine’s mind was racing ahead. The all round trip was some five hours, in that time she could be half way to America. Though she had promised Devin she would stay, she simply had to get back to Vincent. The longing for him made her weak, and it was almost as if Vincent was calling her home through the rock. He needed her, she was certain of it, and she simply had to go to him. “I’m sorry Scott.” she heard herself say, “I have to go, there is something I should be doing instead.” “It was something I said wasn’t it?” “Perhaps, but mainly it’s being here, in these tunnels, it reminds me of somewhere precious to me, where someone special waits for me, and I simply have to go. I’m sorry I can’t say more than that, please let me out, I will walk back.” Scott gave a sigh of regret, “I should like to have got to know you better Catherine. If you are ever in the Dolomites again, look me up will you, or if you are in London, call in at the Museum, I may be there. I wish you well Catherine, and hope that you find whatever it is you are searching for.” Catherine thanked him, then apologising to the other sightseers, and especially the French family, she climbed out of the buggy. “Just keep to the path Catherine, “Scott called out to her, “Goodbye.” “Goodbye”, she called back without turning around. Whatever must they think of her? Probably conclude that she had claustrophobia, still she didn’t care. How could she have fooled herself into believing that she could have made this trip and not be unaffected by the tunnels, the candlelight, the atmosphere, and not have thought of Vincent? She was wasting her time beneath the earth of the wrong country, and had wasted too much time already. Vincent needed her, she was sure of it. And try as she had to forget, she needed him too. Her life these past few weeks had been like time travel through tunnel vision, yet now she had found the light at the end of the tunnel and suddenly her life was filled with brightness and hope. Never before had she found her footsteps so slow. She wanted to run but could not on such slippery ground. When at last she saw daylight ahead of her she sighed with relief. Now at last she could begin her journey home, back to the loving arms of the man she loved. “You will come back, won’t you Cathy? I really need your help on this one?” Catherine’s revelation of the sudden departure had worried Devin. “I promise you Devin, I really want to help you on this, anything we find out about Vincent’s past will be a bonus.” “You won’t tell him though will you? If I uncover anything I really want to be the one to tell him, it means a lot to me. And if Vincent knew of our intention he might think it too dangerous to have you return.” “No, don’t worry, I won’t tell him. If you need me desperately, call me at the apartment, and I will be on the first flight back, but if I haven’t heard from you within ten days, I’ll come looking for you.” Devin relaxed. She had thought of everything after all, and wouldn’t let him down. He hugged her, feeling the old familiar stirrings, and it grieved him. He knew what she meant to Vincent, it would be no good having feelings for her too. Still what his mind told him did little to prevent his body’s reactions to how it felt to hold her in his arms. “Just remember Cathy, don’t get married until I am there.” Catherine smiled at him, “You can count on it Devin, without you I would still be lost, you made my pathway straight again, thank you.” she kissed his cheek, making his heart beat faster, and he reluctantly let her go as they heard her flight being called. “See you soon,” he whispered, as she disappeared through the departure lounge, then he made his way back to his car, happy that he had helped her find her way, but sad that he felt so alone without her. *** *** *** “Vincent?” Father enquired as he came through the entrance leading into Vincent’s chamber, “Are you in here?” He stopped at the sight that met him. Vincent sat holding his tiny son in the crook of his arm, reading quietly to him, and it reminded him so much of the many times he had done likewise with Vincent as a baby, that it brought a lump to his throat. Looking up from the book he was reading, Vincent tilted his head in acknowledgement to the old man, who stood leaning heavily on his walking cane, holding out a piece of paper towards his son, “A telegram has come for you, it is from Devin.” “A telegram, for me, from Devin!” Vincent was surprised, “What does he say?” Father fumbled with the piece of paper, “It was addressed to the both of us, but Devin has only written your name inside, it is a strange message, leaving a lot unsaid, and bringing forth many questions. See for yourself.” He hobbled over and handed Vincent the telegram, but Vincent told him, “My hands are full Father, could you read it to me please?” Pushing his glasses more firmly up his nose, Father proceeded to read aloud; ‘Dear Vincent, I know you must be worrying about Catherine, but don’t. She is safe with me. We are in Karten, staying at the hotel 'Mittag Kogl'. It is on the Austrian/Italian border. Cathy is very mixed up right now and doesn’t know I am contacting you. Don't worry Vincent, I will take care of her. Devin.’ Vincent frowned and spoke aloud, “Catherine with Devin... But why, how?” “That’s what I keep asking myself. I thought Devin was in the mountains with Charles. I can’t imagine what he is doing in Europe with Cathy. Did he meet up with her by chance do you suppose?” “What are you saying Father, that they planned this?” Vincent’s voice was low and menacing, making Father look up sharply. “I don’t know what I am saying Vincent, just thinking aloud really. I know Devin has a wandering spirit, but it is so hard to believe that he and Catherine met up just like that.” “Do you think they planned it Father?” Vincent did not want to know the answer, his own heart was troubled. “I cannot imagine that Devin would get up and leave Charles, unless he found something far more important. It just does not make sense.” With every word he said, Father unknowingly, only made it worse. Vincent felt a tide of anger rising within him. He began to remind himself of the way he had sensed Catherine the past few days, someone had lifted her from her sadness, made her laugh again. But the weight of Father’s suggestions terrified him, he could not comprehend that the two people he loved most in the world save for Father and Jacob, could have betrayed him, the thought was absurd. And then to write and tell him! Surely not! But wait, hadn’t Devin said, that Catherine was unaware of his writing? Vaguely aware that Father was lifting Jacob from his arm, Vincent’s thoughts ran riot as he got up from his chair, letting the book slide to the floor to pace his chamber. Surely Catherine, his Catherine and his brother Devin were not together, not in that way. He could not believe they would do this to him, not those two, they loved him didn’t they? And as he paced up and down, the anger subsided, No, Catherine would never do that, not to him, not with his own brother. The last time he had seen her, she showed no signs of living a lie, and he did not seriously believe that she and Devin were having a relationship behind his back, did he? Picking up the note that Catherine had sent him earlier, he re-read it, trying to read between the lines in accordance with Devin’s telegram. No, there was nothing to connect the two, and even in contemplating her with Devin, still her words gave nothing away. The only reason Devin had written was so he would not be worried about her, and Vincent was relieved in the knowledge that Devin was taking care of her. Yet she had told him to forget her, so had she forgotten him, did she have romantic notions towards his brother? Did Devin know this, was that why he had written without her knowledge, did he feel guilty? Vincent slumped down into the great chair, to allow the sense of her to come through to him. He had felt her happiness earlier, a lightness of spirit that set his own soaring. And he had not felt that in her for a long time. Yet why did she feel this way, and for whom? Vincent groaned as he thought of her living with Devin, learning to forget about him and their son, and all the hope he had held within his heart suddenly shattered. A couple of days later, Vincent willed himself to concentrate on a game of chess with Father after they had discussed the contents of Devin’s telegram until they both despaired with it. Neither could come to a logical conclusion as to how Devin and Catherine had met one another in Europe, and they knew it was useless trying to work it out. The coincidence of two people that knew one another being in the same place at the same time was about a million to one. It had been Mary who had lightened that load, when she told them of incidents that she knew of, where people had literally bumped into relatives and neighbours somewhere across the world, whereas back home they rarely saw one another. Yet Father felt such concern as he watched his son day after day. He had seen the anger rise and fall within him, and then burn itself out. For Vincent knew in his heart that Catherine felt nothing in that way for Devin and he did not want to torture himself with imagining her in Devin’s arms, so instead he allowed himself that pleasure instead. Picturing her return he let his mind feed on the sensuous pleasure that he had come to think about with her of late. Since his memory had returned he had found a longing for her that had deepened daily, whereas once he had tried to suppress that feeling, now he let it run riot through his veins. Father recognised the signs and very delicately tried to subside Vincent’s mounting and painfully obvious passion. Every evening, he found a way to distract Vincent, to have him help with something. A riddle, a game of chess, to have him quote something from Shakespeare, or some poetry, anything to take Vincent’s mind from his reunion with Catherine. Finally unable to tiptoe around it any longer Father spoke directly to Vincent about it. “Vincent, these past few days I have grown increasingly concerned for you. I have seen your growing passion for Catherine. It frightens me. You have got to get a hold of yourself, for to be re-united with Catherine now with all these feelings burning inside you, will do more harm than good. If she should return and find your passion so strong, you could well frighten her away again.” “Father I know you mean well,” Vincent whispered, slightly embarrassed, “and I would never ever do anything to hurt Catherine, but I cannot divert these feelings I have for her, they are too intense.” “Yes but Vincent, surely you can see that feeding your mind on the memory of the one shared time you spent together will not make it easier for you. It will only add to the height of your emotions, You have to use self-control Vincent, or the longer Catherine is away, the more likely it will send you insane. These feelings, they are new to you, and you have to gain mastery over them, or they will lead you as a slave.” Father watched Vincent, trying to read his thoughts, his eyes mirrored a fire within their depths, and he could see that his words had made little impact. Father felt he had waited too long to utter them and he had failed. Vincent’s desire for Catherine was out of control, and Father feared for the both of them. Vincent’s tremendous roars of unleashed passion throughout each night had disturbed the tunnel dwellers for days, and there seemed to be no end to it. Suddenly Vincent raised his head, alert, listening and Father knew that look, though it had been a long time since he had seen it. Forcing back his chair, Vincent was on his feet, and with a voice cracked with desire, he cried, “Catherine!” Then in a hushed and husky whisper continued, “Father, its Catherine, she is returning to me.” And before he had uttered the final word, he had already left the chamber, as Father called out “Vincent wait!”, but Vincent had already gone. *** *** *** As Catherine sat in her seat, her excitement grew. She was going home. Home to his world, it would be her world from now on. She could imagine his joy at seeing her again. She’d go to the apartment, shower and change then make her way to him. How good it would be to hold him again, to feel the security of his arms around her, to have the scent of him as her head rested on his firm shoulder, and to listen to the gentle rhythm of his heart. It felt as though she had been away for years instead of three short weeks, she had never done so much thinking in all her life, but now her mind was made up, and she knew exactly what she wanted. Devin had told her the answer had been before her all along. She yearned for a husband and a family, and it had never dawned on her that Vincent could ever be her husband. The thought warmed and thrilled her. To know that she would belong to him gave her peace of mind. And the fact that he did not remember that first time, would make the first time after their marriage seem perfect. As her plane came in to land Catherine gave a great sigh of relief. Collecting her luggage later, she made her way first through customs, and then out into the cool New York night, hailing a taxi that would take her home. Vincent paced the balcony to Catherine’s apartment, up and down, up and down. He could feel her closeness, his body yearned for hers. Fire coursed through his veins. Dismissing everything that Father had told him, he could only think of Catherine, the sight of her, the scent of her in his arms, to have his lips upon hers and to make love to her. He groaned, weakened by his desire. Like a person demented he kept pacing. This moment for which he had longed was almost upon him, and he was hardly able to contain himself. ‘Where was she?’ he growled as the beast within took control. Suddenly Catherine's apartment flooded with light, momentarily startling him, and then he stood mesmerised as she stepped through the doorway, kicked off her shoes, and started undressing as she made her way to the bathroom to turn on the shower. Vincent watched, his hunger mounting as she walked from room to room taking off her clothing. It was a strain to turn away, and he could hear Father’s voice in his head telling him, “Self-control, Vincent, you have got to have self-control.” His knuckles turned white as he gripped the balcony wall, willing himself to look out over the New York city lights, rather than watch Catherine undress. He listened as she showered, his mind reeling at the thought of her nakedness. His hardness pained him stretching the fabric of his jeans and throbbing with desire for her. For once it did not shame him, he glorified in the feel of it, the ripples of sensation that coursed through his body, and he made no attempt at disguising his longing by covering his cloak over himself as once he would have done. He wanted her to see what her presence did to him, know that this night they would be as one. Hearing the drawers opening and closing as she dressed, Vincent could feel her urgency, and it thrilled him that she anticipated their reunion as he did. Then he could feel her as she crossed over to open the balcony doors, and his breathing seemed to stop as he waited for her to see him. Her sudden in drawn breath made him turn slowly, “Vincent! You’re here!” The delight in her voice thrilled him. And as his eyes met hers and held for an eternity, he was mustering all his self control and fleetingly his hardness subsided, as now the moment was here, he was unsure of her, unsure of himself. And then she was in his arms, her hands around his waist, the scent of her heightening his emotions once again. Her touch was fire and ice that burnt him and the love in her eyes sent his arms crushing her against him never to let her go. “Catherine.” he groaned as his eyes filled with tears, “I love you so much.” She smiled up at him pleased and thrilled by his words, surprised when he brought his lips down to fasten on hers, and she melted away in the intensity of the passion that engulfed her. She had not expected this, and as his fingers traced a loving line up and down her back, she shuddered. Vincent deepened his kiss, and when his tongue parted her lips to seek the sweetness of her month Catherine’s legs turned to jelly, and she clung to him for support, her mind reeling. He had never initiated a kiss with her before, and warning bells sounded in her head as she felt his hands gathering away her clothing. Though she delighted in his new-found passion, she had to try to slow him down, she wanted him desperately, but they had to do it right, they had to be married first. It was important to her. Yet Vincent did not seem to notice her unsettled feelings, and though she tried to pull away, he held on to her tighter. Catherine felt his arousal against her thigh, it thrilled her and she longed to touch him there. The feeling was intense, so strong and Catherine moaned beneath his lips, as engulfed in a mist her mind could conjure up no wilful thoughts, as she found that her body translated what her mind would not, and she cleaved herself against him torn between the desire for right and wrong. Catherine could not believe his transformation, he was she realised with anxiety, totally out of control, and knowing Vincent as she did she felt certain that in the cold light of day his actions would destroy him. Struggling to gain control she pushed at his chest with both her hands, and in a voice broken by sobs, she whimpered, “Vincent... Don’t. Please stop.” Surprised at the pleading in her voice, Vincent let go of her abruptly, dropping his hands to his sides, he stared at her wildly, his breathing heavy and ragged. Suddenly embarrassed and guilty at his so obvious aroused state, he felt ashamed, and the look in her eyes was difficult to read. He could see she was disturbed by his passion, knew that her body had responded to his, but her rejection confused him. There was conflict within her, and he did not understand why. When Catherine saw what her rejection had done to him, she felt remorseful and slid her arms around him again to comfort him, “Oh Vincent...I’m so sorry.” she began and recoiled when he grabbed both her arms and tore them from his body snarling, “Dont...touch...me!” He needed to hide, needed to put as much distance between them as he could in his shame, and made to leave, but Catherine ran to him, grabbing his sleeve. “Vincent don’t go please look at me, there is something I have got to tell you...” The shrill of the telephone halted her words and as the answer machine picked up the call, they both heard Devin’s voice fill the room, “Hi Cathy, It’s me Devin. Have you got home yet? I’m just calling to say I’ve arrived. Have you seen Vincent? How did he react to your news? Cathy the scenery is beautiful here, but I really missed your company on the ride over, nothing looks the same without you to share it with me. Give my love to the old man will you? See you back here next week. Bye Cathy.” As Devin ended his message Catherine felt Vincent slip away from her apartment, over the balcony wall, and in an instance he was gone. Bending over the wall she called to him, beseeching him to return, but he did not. Everything had gone horribly wrong, and she did not know how or why, only that everything had happened so quickly leaving her no time to think, and there seemed to be too many misunderstandings, too much left unsaid. Catherine simply had to speak to him, make him understand what it was she needed, nonetheless as she let her body slip to the floor, she had a feeling she had lost him forever. Vincent’s heart ached. An ache that reached right into his soul, and he was incapable of feeling anything. Standing alone in the park he could still see Catherine leaning over her balcony, calling to him, imploring him to return to her. Once he would have gone to her, for any misunderstanding would soon have been rectified. He would have been compelled to go to her to ease her sorrow, to wrap her in his arms and comfort her. Now he felt nothing. He closed off their Bond, he did not wish to feel her feelings, his own pained him too much. Knowing too late that he should have listened to Father did not help him in any way. He was ashamed by his own behaviour, and now he had frightened her away, yet not only that, there had also been Devin’s untimely, or was it timely, call. What had that been all about? That Devin missed Catherine he had made obvious, and that they had already made arrangements to be back together was also obvious. So why then had Catherine returned? Were Devin and Catherine having a relationship? It did not bear thinking about, but it was more than a possibility. Yet she had seemed so pleased to see him, had wound her arms around him just like old times, had hugged him to herself, and he had felt her love for him. Had she slept with Devin, was that it? Did she feel remorseful about it and regret it? The thought cut him deeply, and Vincent roared in anguish before walking dejectedly back into the tunnels, not knowing what to believe anymore. Catherine heard his roar, it broke her, and she slumped into a heap and sobbed. Reaching the tunnels, Vincent was grateful for the security of their walls as they enveloped him. He leaned against the tunnel wall, trying to shut out thoughts of Catherine making love with Devin, trying to make his breathing return to normal, for his thoughts to regain some credibility. He had missed Catherine so much and had sensed her returning to him, yet she had already made plans to return to Devin too. Maybe Father had been right all along, and as much as he hated to accept that, perhaps Catherine and Devin had fallen in love and had secretly planned to leave him. Without the Bond, their plans would have been so much easier. Vincent laughed somewhat wickedly, ‘oh how surprised she must have been to know the Bond had returned.’ And with a kind of hypocritical glee Vincent allowed himself to open the Bond to get the sense of her, to know her emotions. What he had expected he didn’t know, relief perhaps, relief that she had made him see that she no longer wanted him? He was not prepared for the total loss that she felt, void of all feeling, and felt the shuddering as sobs tore through her body. For a moment his heart lifted, was he mistaken about everything? Surely she was happy now? His earlier actions stifled him, he was ashamed at how he had let himself get out of control. It wasn’t like him, she would have been stunned. Suddenly he felt sickened by his actions, he had been wrong to have let the penetration of such thoughts to cloud his usually clean thinking. No wonder she had reacted the way that she had. It had been her sudden rejection that had brought him to his senses. Vincent groaned inwardly with distress, and burying his face in his hands he slid to the dusty floor, as the tears streamed down his cheeks. He had assumed too much and now he had lost her. He would have to let her go. Go to Devin - they could live in the world Above, and Devin would make her happy, give to her all the things he could not, and perhaps because Devin knew about his own existence, Catherine would be given time to heal by having someone to confide in. Vincent knew he could never see Catherine again, nor his brother. Knowing that she loved Devin was too much, yet he felt certain that she would still try to come to him, to tell him about it, how it had happened, why it had happened, and he did not want to hear it. For hadn’t she told him; “Vincent there is something I have to tell you”? These words were left unfinished as Devin’s call had interrupted them. What was it that she had been going to tell him? That she had come home just to tie up some loose ends before returning to her new love. To Devin? His brother? How could they? Rising to his feet, Vincent made the weary journey home, slowly, painful, his heart crushed and dying with every step he took away from her. He would collect Jacob and the pair of them would make a fresh start for themselves, somewhere deep in the earth, somewhere deep enough so that even Mouse could not find them. For without Catherine, Vincent did not want to live, had no compassion left to give to Father, or to his family of tunnel dwellers, for his dark side would assuredly take over now, and he was powerless to stop it. To be continued in part six.