Red Moon/Akatsuki
By "Matrix Refugee"
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Yami no Matsuei, aka Descendants of Darkness, it's characters, concepts and other indicia, which are the intellectual property of Yoko Matsushita, Hiroko Tokita, Manga Entertainment, Viz Media, et al. I do not own the Twilight series, its characters, concepts and other indicia, which are the intellectual property of Stephanie Meyers, Summit Entertainment, et al: I'm just borrowing them, though given the propensities of some of the YnM cast (or one character in particular), I have no guarantees on the condition they'll be in when I put them back where I found them… I don't own the "silver-grey haired old gentleman in his forties"; if he's who I think he is, he belongs to Hideaki Anno, Project Eva-Gainax/khara. I also don't own the synthetic blood substitute created in Japan: that was devised by Charlaine Harris in her Southern Vampire/Sookie Stackhouse novels, aka "TrueBlood"
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'd better start with a warning: I am contra-Twilight. I find the books badly written to the point of being painful, and I also think they put out a bad message to impressionable young girls, that it's okay to stay with an emotionally abusive and possessive man who stalks you obsessively, and that it's okay to be so emotionally dependant on someone that you go into self-destruct mode if you're separated from them, but that's a whole other rant. However, I'm past the "Kill it with fire!" stage of despising it. I honestly think that the concepts behind the plot and the characters are good, but I don't think Stephanie Meyers handled the material as well as she could have. Just my two cents (or whatever it is in Yen). Also, this fic is working towards two character deaths, and one of them a messy one at that. One of the fandoms I based this crossover on features just about the most diabolic villain/antagonist I have ever seen in anime (so far, at least), and let's say he gets off on… working over his victims in detail.
That said… I'm a relative newcomer to Yami no Matsuei, aka Descendants of Darkness: I utterly love the anime and I recently started reading the manga (here's hoping Vol. 12 is released soon). The bit in Vol. 1 where the main villain of (eventually) several story arcs is described as being vampire-like set the gears turning in my head and I couldn't resist seeing what would happen if a certain sparkly-skinned vampire were to cross paths with him. But I didn't want to write the usual "X from Y introduces Edward to Mr. Pointy" fic which tends to be written by Antis and Contras; I can promise you this much: this fic is going to be a well-developed story with a fitting explanation as to what happens (there again, this involves a guy who doesn't need a whole lot of motivation for killing people…). And given the fact that elements from two other fandoms show up, this is probably an AU/Elsewhen of sorts, but if I had to place it anywhere, I'd have to say it's roughly about the beginning of Breaking Dawn (if Bella hadn't gotten pregnant right away); not sure where to fit in the YnM timeline, which has a dream-like quality about it to begin with (at least in the manga continuity).
"The reason vampires have been hated and feared since the distant past is because they live by eating other humans." -- Tsuzuki, "Yami no Matsuei (Descendants of Darkness)" Vol. 1
Chapter One: Kyoto
I feared death for a long time, and I seem to be a magnet for dangerous creatures. I had grown up thinking that death was something dark and painful and frightening. But even after I'd lived among vampires for as long as I had, I never guessed that death could wear a handsome face or that it could come sweetly. I suppose I should have guessed it, since I had at one time expected to die at Edward's hands, but I didn't expect where and when it came from. I expected to someday die in Edward's arms, whether it was the death of being turned into a vampire, as he drained away my life, or if he left me to age and fade as a normal, unturned human. I never expected it would end in a land of flaming red maples and strange twisted trees.
Edward and I had just returned to the Cullens' house in Forks, after our honeymoon in Brazil. I wished we could have spent an eternity on the Isle of Esme, but when Carlisle got the news, he had contacted us, asking us to return to Forks soon. I was looking forward to going to college with Edward, but fate or destiny or whatever had other ideas, as I would soon find out.
"An old friend of mine in Japan has invited me to join him on a biochemical project at a research university in Kyoto," Carlisle announced, when the family -- my new family -- had gathered around the rarely-used dining room table. "An old friend of mine, Dr. Daisuke Yamada and some colleagues of his have been working for some years on creating a synthetically derived blood substitute, and they're close to creating one that is virtually identical to human blood."
"So what does this have to do with us?" Emmett asked, skeptically.
"Let him speak, I think I know where this is going," Alice put in, smiling with anticipation.
Carlisle smiled. "You're very close to what I was about say, Alice, and I admit, I was a little skeptical myself. The main aim of this study is to create a blood substitute to be used in surgery, especially in poorer nations which may not have a lot of blood donors, or during natural disasters where there have been a lot of injured and relief workers may not have access to a steady supply of donor blood. It seems some of the researchers in the metaphysical biology department have suggested that this blood substitute might enable vampires to feed without having to hunt anything. The Volturi have notified me and told me they want me to look into it, though of course they don't share my optimism about the project; this is where we come into the study. Dr. Yamada and I agree that we'd make a good test group for the first trials."
"So when do we leave?" Edward asked.
"As soon as we can pack and close up the house: we could be away for a while, the blood substitute is still in the experimental stage, and this could take two or three trials before they find the right blend of chemicals," Carlisle said.
"But what about Edward and I going to Dartmouth?" I said. As important as this study was, so was my education and as embarrassed as I was to be attending an Ivy League school when I hadn't really earned the privilege, I was not about to pass it up.
"I've arranged for you to continue your studies over the Internet; a lot of schools are doing that these days," Carlisle said.
"And if we're away long enough, maybe you can transfer to a college there," Alice said.
"But… I don't speak Japanese," I objected.
"I do, I can teach it to you," Edward said.
"When did you learn that?" I asked. I got the feeling that as well as I knew Edward, he would continue to surprise me with his capabilities, and not just the ones that related to being a vampire.
He shrugged one shoulder. "When you're ninety years old and you don't need to sleep, you have a lot of time on your hands," he said.
While Esme and Carlisle started going over the preparations they would have to make, I excused myself and headed to the room which Edward and I now shared, pretending I was starting to pack. That was only one reason: I needed to hide the confusion and concern I was feeling.
Jasper must have sensed something was up; someone tapped at the door. "I'm busy, um, really busy," I called out, as I started going through my recently filled wardrobe, trying to decide what to take. What was the climate even like there?
The door opened anyway and Edward entered. "Bella, you went off in such a hurry, we didn't get a chance to tell you what you'd need to pack, though I'll leave that between you and Alice.," he said.
"I just had to step away for a moment," I said.
"It's more than that," he said, looking me in the eye.
I sighed. Guilty as charged. "All right, I understand this means a lot to Carlisle and to the rest of the family, but what about us? We were going to college. Besides," I fingered his collar. "You haven't fulfilled your promise to me." He had told me he would wait two or three weeks before he made me into what he was, and I had every intention of holding him to that promise.
He took my hands in his. "You heard what Carlisle said: this could change everything for us, for all vampires who are willing to nourish themselves on a blood substitute so that they no longer need to hunt or hurt anyone. I want to wait a little while longer, till they come up with something that works. I don't want you to be newly turned and mad with thirst, waiting for the scientists to get their formula just right."
I sighed. "All right, I guess I can hold out that long. I just hope they don't take too long. I don't want to age any more on you."
He gave me a small smile. "Knowing the team that Carlisle is working with, it won't take them too long. This is one of the most prestigious research institutes in the world: they're close to finding what we need, and with our help, they can complete their work."
"With your help," I murmured.
"You might not be what I am yet, but we're in this together," he said, with a fierce reassurance.
A week and a half later…
In matters relating to the world of the dead, there is an institution that judges the sins of the dead, the Ministry of Hades. The Summons Section of the Judgment Bureau comprises a group supporting the ministry's operating functions by guiding the lost souls that wander the mortal world. They are also known as the Shinigami, or the Guardians of Death…
An autumn day on the grounds of the Ministry's headquarters. The cherry trees that surrounded the grand buildings bloomed as they did all year, but the lawn below had started to take on a yellow-brown tinge in between the drifts of fallen petals. Asato Tsuzuki, one of the Shinigami assigned to the Kyushuu region, had stepped out for a breath of the fresh, crisp air and to enjoy a cup of tea on a small terrace. This time of year, with the earth preparing to go to sleep -- even in this mirror image cast by the spirit realm -- always left him feeling nostalgic for old faces and past loved ones, but he had to take care to avoid the darker memories that came with it and the shadowed corners in his psyche. He tried to avoid one especially dark corner in which the image of a steely pair of eyes lurked, waiting for him to acknowledge their presence, but the same old feelings of mingled revulsion and acquiescence came back to haunt him.
Someone cleared their throat behind him and he jolted, nearly splatting his tea. He turned to find Seiichiro Tatsumi, the secretary of the Summons Section and Chief Konoe's second in command, though some suspected this younger Shinigami was the real head of the department.
"Oh, Tatsumi, I didn't hear you at first," Tsuzuki said, trying not to sputter in embarrassment.
"Having a moment's reflection out here? It's a season that invites one to pause and look back on what has passed behind us," Tatsumi mused. Coming back to the present, he added. "Just don't get too wrapped up in your thoughts, you're needed inside: we've just had a new case sent our way."
"We've had a call come in from the Seattle office," Tatsumi said, once the team had gathered in Chief Konoe's office. "There's a name that's been on their list for two years now, but they wanted us to look into it, since the person has recently arrived in Japan."
"Two years? That's a bit long," Chief Konoe said, the lines on his brow deepening.
"The person in question made a half-hearted suicide attempt by diving off a cliff into the water, near Forks, Washington," Tatsumi continued, holding up a file folder. "They've sent some of her records to us to give us some background on her. It seems she was imitating some local Native American boys who've made a sport out of diving off the cliffs; at that time she'd recently broken up with her boyfriend of several months and she was suffering a deep depression that left her barely functioning as a human being."
"One reason I'm glad I didn't live long enough to fall in love," Hisoka murmured, leaning back in his chair, his arms folded on his chest.
"Aw, don't slam it unless you've been there and had your heart broken," Tsuzuki teased. "Besides, just because you're in the afterlife, doesn't mean you don't have a second chance." He gave Hisoka a fond look, though the younger Shinigami coolly ignored it. That was to be expected: though they had grown closer and the bond between them had deepened, Tsuzuki knew they would likely never be more than friends: the trauma and the curse that had lead to Hisoka's death had left the younger man too deeply scarred to consider anything more than a deep friendship, but it was a friendship that brought him a sense of balance and harmony.
Tatsumi caught the look in Tsuzuki's eyes and cleared his throat, forcing Tsuzuki to refocus. "Are you still with us, Tsuzuki?"
"Oh, yes, sorry," Tsuzuki said, snapping back to reality.
Tatsumi laid the file folder open on the table. "Her name is Isabella Swan, now known as Bella Cullen since she was recently married. Her husband's adopted father is a medical doctor who was recently invited to join a research team at Shion University in Kyoto.
"There is one thing that makes this case unusual: the Count tells us that her candle in the Hall of Candles has been flickering and guttering since her name appeared on the Seattle office's list," Tatsumi continued.
"What could that mean?" Hisoka asked. "Is she sick?" A flicker of a painful memory ticked across his face, then passed, leaving his usual calm sang froid behind. Tsuzuki felt a twinge of empathy dart through his heart: he knew the cause for that pain memory and the man behind it.
"Possibly: there could be any number of things that could be disrupting her life force: illness, a demon or a psychic predator of some kind," Tatsumi said. "Because Watari is still… tied up trying to reverse the results of from his latest ..experiment, we need someone covering District ."
"Tsuzuki, that means you and Hisoka will have to cover this case," Chief Konoe announced.
"Ooh, the fall foliage should be peaking about now; we can get some sightseeing in," Tsuzuki cried, perking up and clasping his hands.
"Once you find out what's going on with Miss Cullen," Chief Konoe put in. "This is a delicate case, not so much because of the life involved, but because we're dealing with a foreign office: we have our reputation to maintain, and the Seattle office, like a lot of the offices in the United States, is known for their meticulousness. I need you two to keep focused and find out exactly what is going on with this girl. If there is something affecting her life force, we need you to protect her from it."
"So basically we're like detectives hired to follow a girl who's being stalked," Hisoka observed.
"Hey, maybe she's good-looking in person," Tsuzuki said, dropping a wink at Hisoka.
"She is young, but she's also married," Tatsumi added, adjusting his eyeglasses.
"There's no rule saying two young people can't appreciate each other's looks," Tsuzuki said.
"Ugh, you sound like an old matchmaker," Hisoka groused.
"Don't forget, we're still keeping you on a tight budget: I've located a small inn with reasonable rates," Tatsumi said, handing Tsuzuki a card bearing the name and address of the establishment. "We'll be sending along the Gushoshin to help you stay in contact with us."
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Hisoka said, his eye on the file.
"What? The hotel? I'm sure it'll be clean and tidy for us," Tsuzuki said.
"Not that, Tsuzuki, I mean this girl. I can't put a name to it, but something isn't right about any of this," Hisoka said, half closing his eyes in thought.
"You'll just have to find that out," Tatsumi said with a smile of encouragement.
We settled into Kyoto fairly quickly: Esme had friends who had moved there a few years ago, who helped us find a place to live. Then it was just a matter of packing what we'd need and flying to Japan. We unpacked and the apartment set up in just a day, which is just as well since I'd gotten several emails from Dartmouth about my delays in getting started in my online coursework.
Studying over the Internet had its good points and its bad ones. At least I didn't have to go to class and compete with other students who'd had higher SAT scores than I did, but I missed seeing faces other than the Cullens'. And it wasn't like I was able to make a lot of friends in our neighborhood, since most of them didn't speak much English, and I didn't speak any Japanese.
It got worse when Carlisle brought us to some part of the university called the Institute for Frontier Medicine one day for a presentation the scientists were giving to the students: at least part of the lecture on the study was in English, but it went completely over my head. Carlisle introduced us to one of the scientists, a silvery-grey haired old gentleman in his forties named Fuyutsuki (I think that's how it was spelled) who was in the metaphysical biology department and his assistant, a very pretty brunette with green eyes who was young enough to be his daughter, who tried to patiently explain to me how it would work, but the communication barrier got in the way again. I don't just mean their English wasn't great -- they actually spoke it very well -- but I only just barely passed regular old biology, never mind metaphysical biology which seemed to have something to do with the biology of the soul and supernatural entities. That doesn't really make sense, but I put it off as some weird science thing. I felt jealous when Edward chatted up a storm with them, but then again, he's had the time to learn about stuff like this.
And then it turned out they had a delay in getting to the next phase in the project, since one of the main guys on it had a medical practice in Tokyo which he couldn't leave just yet till he had arranged for someone to take his place; I suggested to Carlisle that they could always start without him, but he told us that wouldn't be possible since the guy was also helping fund some of the research, so they couldn't exactly move on without him. In the meantime, Edward and his family would have to go hunting. At least there were fairly dense wooded areas nearby, particularly around the shrines or whatever they were; that provided them some cover for their hunts. Emmett was pleased to find out there were Asian Black Bears he could hunt; they might not be quite the challenge that an angry grizzly offered, but it inspired Jasper to make jokes about Emmett being adventurous and trying "Asian cuisine". For all the mountains and hills, there weren't any mountain lions, so Edward had to make do with foxes.
Shopping was a hassle: at least Alice knew enough Japanese that we managed to get what we needed when she got me to go out with her. The whole matter of dollars to Yen made my head spin. And then there was the food: at least Alice found some places that sold recognizable American food so I could cook for myself, but getting lunch if I went out was a hassle: how much rice do they use in Japan? Don't get me started on sushi: Alice raved about it as if she'd actually tried it at some point, but you couldn't pay me enough to try eating anything with raw fish and seaweed in it. I couldn't help hoping the scientists got this project going and soon: I didn't think I was going to last for long in this strange country
Oriya, the keeper of one of Kyoto's oldest traditional restaurants, only knew her as Inari, though he suspected it was not her real name; she came to Kokakuru at least once a week since, as with many of his clients, she had tastes she could indulge only in the secrecy his establishment afforded in its carefully concealed private rooms, given her public status as a fairly well-known model in Tokyo. Here, in Kyoto, she could be her true self, she had once told him, and while Oriya would not let it on to anyone, he knew there was more than one meaning to her statement: as she sat in one of the public rooms, he had seen her shadow on the wall move and change its shape, which could only mean she was not entirely human.
She generally came once a week, as regularly as the moon cycles, but that one week in September, she abruptly missed her usual assignation. He had assumed she had had a busier than usual schedule, but then she arrived, three days later. Her pale face looked haggard, her long, blue-black hair seemed to have lost some of its sheen, and her yellow eyes looked hollow with sorrow; she even ordered a second bottle of sake, which was something she rarely did.
"Is something troubling you, Inari-san?" Oriya asked, approaching her table.
She looked up from her empty glass, her eyes glittering. "I would tell you, Oriya-sama, but can I trust you to keep my words between us and only between us?"
Oriya seated himself across the table from her. "Of course I can, I have been called the keeper of secrets."
She held his gaze with hers. "You know that I am not what I seem to be." Glancing over her shoulder, he noticed her shadow moving of itself and changing shape, passing from the form of a woman to the shape of a fox with its head hung in dejection.
"I suspected this for a long time, but it was not my place to speak of it," he said.
She fingered her glass thoughtfully. "If you wonder what kept me from keeping my usual appointment here, it is because there was a death in my clan: my mate and his brother as well as several others were killed."
"There has been talk about something stalking the local wildlife and draining the blood while abandoning the remains," he said. "Someone attributed it to poachers, but why would poachers drain only the blood?"
"If only it were something as simple as poachers," Inari murmured, shaking her head. "It is something worse, something beyond the reach of your human laws and beyond my people's strength to turn against the threat without putting ourselves at risk."
"What do you mean?"
She lowered her voice and leaned closer to him, across the low table. "It was the work of blood drinkers… vampires."
"I would have thought kitsune could make short work of vampires," Oriya said.
She shook her head. "My clan has lost enough members to them, I would not risk sending more to meet their deaths." She reached across the table, putting a hand on his wrist. "You know a lot of people, Oriya-sama, you entertain many powerful men and you have connections with the government," Inari said. "I imagine you know someone who could avenge my fallen people."
Oriya peered out of the corners of his eyes, scanning the room and the other guests without turning his head and drawing attention to himself. "I know a man who could take easily care of this problem," he said in a low voice. He hated to bring his old friend into this, but he knew of nobody else skilled enough to take on something this dangerous.
Inari's eyes brightened and she lifted her head in a way that made him think of a fox pricking up its ears, her shadow echoing the movement. "And what is his price?"
"Not money, as he's independently wealthy," Oriya said. "He's a medical doctor and something of a researcher. He'd just need a few tissue samples in return."
Inari shrugged and Oriya thought he saw her shadow move as though she flicked her tail. "That is none of my concern: he is welcome to these blood-drinkers, what matters to me is that they die the final death for what they did to my lovers."
"Can you tell me anything about these… vampires?" Oriya asked.
"I am told they go by the family name Cullen and they recently arrived from America," she said. "I have asked around among my kin who were able to track them better than I. They seem to be connected to some research going on at the University."
"I will let him know," he said.
"Ask him but one thing: ask him to bring me their fangs, particularly the fangs of the young male with the pretty face," Inari said. "It was he who drank the blood of my mate."
Oriya covered her hand with his free one. "I will tell him, but it will be his decision to take this offer or not."
I usually spent my days working on my courses or reading; in the week and a half since we arrived, I'd started going for walks in the area around our apartment, but I didn't usually go too far: I couldn't risk getting lost and having to stop someone and ask for directions only to find I'd had the bad luck to run across someone who didn't speak much English. I had to get out since the apartment which Esme and Alice had found us was cramped for its size. At least the climate here was tolerable, except the nights were chilly, though that was to be expected since it was autumn now. But sleeping at night was a hassle, since Esme had chosen a somewhat traditional house for us to live in, which meant sitting on large cushions on the floor and sleeping on what looked like big thick mats. And she was always after Edward and I to take our shoes off when we came in the apartment. She said it would broaden our horizons, but I couldn't help but wish the scientists could keep working on their project so that we could go home to some place familiar.
Alice came along with me on those walks, and it was one particular crisp day, when I had to go out for toothpaste and other toiletries when the travel size ones I'd brought along had run out, that she insisted that I let her come with me. She looked perturbed, and I suspected she had had one of her visions and she didn't want Esme or Rosalie to overhear it. She covered it with her usual chatty friendliness
"What's on your mind?" I asked, when we were on the way back to the apartment.
"Well, I don't think I have to tell you I've had another vision," she said. "Be careful if you go hiking around here. I saw you lying in a ditch, you were dying and a dark man was standing over you."
"That's not going to happen any time soon," I said. "The hills around here are so steep, I'm not going to try that. I'd fall and break my neck for sure, unless Edward was there to catch me."
Alice smiled at me, but it didn't reach her eyes. "There was more, well, not much, but… I saw the moon rising blood-red over a Shinto shrine, but I couldn't make out which one. It was… it was as if someone reached into my head and poked my sight, as if someone had poked me in the eye."
"How can someone do that?" I asked.
"I don't know, it's never happened before, at least not like this," she said. "I've had glimpses of things, but I've never felt blocked."
"Maybe it's something in the foxes you're eating," I said.
She laughed her sweet silvery laugh, but her eyes looked worried.
That evening, Carlisle announced that the project was moving forward at last, since the missing Dr. Kazutaka Muraki had finally deigned to join the team. For once, luck was on my side.
"Am I some common cut-throat whose services can be hired out?" Oriya's most recent guest replied, almost the moment he received Inari's message.
"I do enough for you, hiding the messes that you've made," Oriya replied. "Consider this a favor to an old friend, requested by Inari's avatar."
His companion regarded this in silence, almost dumb-founded. "Very well, if one of her kind makes this request, who am I to turn it down?" A small smirk quirked one corner of his thin but sensuous mouth. "Nor can I turn down the challenge offered in a blood-drinker. Let the hunter become the hunted and learn how it feels to be tracked by a true predator…"
The next day was mildly overcast, which allowed Edward some cover: he wanted to show me some of the shrines in the area where he and the others had been hunting. I had my misgivings, after Alice had warned me about going hiking, but I would be with Edward after all, and if there was anyone quick enough to save me from a fall, it was him.
The scenery was lovely: we found one shrine which stood in the middle of a large stand of maples, their leaves a brilliant, fiery shade of crimson. The only catch was, it stood at the crest of a hill, with a staircase leading to it which seemed to go on forever.
We'd paused so that Edward could take a few pictures with my camera. He pestered me into posing against a backdrop of maples, the spire of a pagoda visible over the treetops. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw two young men watching us from the shadows of the trees, or pretending not to watch us, it was hard to tell. One was shorter, maybe in his teens, dressed in a casual green zip-up jacket over jeans and sneakers; his wheat-brown hair was neatly combed down around his ears, except for a tousled fringe about his forehead. But I had to force myself not to stare into his large emerald eyes: they looked calm and collected, but they held a deep wisdom beyond his years, as if he had seen pain that he shouldn't have had to endure. Something terrible must have happened to him to have made his eyes look this way.
His companion was about a head taller, taller than Edward, well over six feet high and slim -- no, slender was a better word for him. He wore a black overcoat that made me think of a detective in a black and white movie, unbuttoned and with the belt untied, over a black suit. The collar of his white shirt was unbuttoned over his throat and the knot of his black tie had been loosened, giving him air of a kind of rumpled elegance. I had to tilt my head back to get a good look at his face and as soon as I did, I had to keep my jaw from dropping. His face was beautiful, with a kind, gentle look about his delicate features, but I could see a deep compassionate look of mingled cheerfulness and sadness in his large violet amethyst eyes, which peered from under his tousled mane of brown hair. Something in those eyes and the quiet smile that crossed his face suggested thar he had suffered greatly and wished to prevent others from suffering as he had.
Maybe this country isn't so bad after all, I thought. There's a good number of guys who are easy on the eyes. I had to stop these thoughts before they went any further. I couldn't very well do that now that I was newly married to the most perfect, ageless man ever, and he was right there by my side.
I felt Edward's hand on my shoulder, tugging me toward him. I looked up at him. "What are you staring at?" he asked, his voice suddenly cool and suspicious.
"I thought I saw someone watching us under those trees," I said. I glanced back, but the shady spot was empty, as if the two young men had simply vanished. Was I seeing things now, or had I caught the attention of some sort of local spirits who were going to haunt me?
Edward looked over my shoulder in the direction of the trees, clearly looking for what I had seen; his topaz eyes narrowed. "I don't see anyone there now," he said. "Are you certain you saw something?"
"I don't know. It might have a trick of the light, or a ghost," I said.
"Come, let's keep going," he said and turned me around, leading me up the steps.
Something rustled under the trees and a white furred creature like a large cat with a thick, bushy tail burst from the shadows, fleeing down the steps. I realized, as it darted out of sight, that it was a large, white fox. I jolted at the sudden movement and lost my footing on the steps. I felt myself falling over backwards as I tumbled head first down the steps. Light exploded in my eyes and pain shot through me as I felt the back of my skull crack against the steps. I heard Edward yell my name and I saw him blur as he ran after me. But even he was too slow against the power of gravity. Everything went black….
To be Continued…
