Cordelia ran as fast as she could through the thick green forest. As she ran she kept her hands in front of her ready to push away anything that could make her trip. Glancing over her shoulder she saw the vampire break from her mind's hold and start after her again. She turned and threw her arms out toward the vampire as if she were pushing something heavy. The strain was becoming too much for her. The vampire hit a tree with so much force that the tree snapped in half. She didn't wait to see how far away the vampire landed. She was running again. But her concentration was wearing down. She knew she didn't have the strength to rip him apart but she might be able to fend him off long enough to get away. She glanced back just long enough to see that the vampire was no longer behind her. As her eyes shifted back she hit something hard and was thrown backwards. The vampire was standing over her. His red eyes glared down at her.
"Gotcha!" He hissed excitedly. "The Volturi will reward me for thisss.." He moved to grab her and she flung her hands in front of her face. The vampire was thrown back. She stood, still dazed, but managed to hold him back. He struggled against the hold and blood trickled from her nose. "You can't keep this up forever you know." He smiled wickedly. Cordelia's eyes shifted slightly and her grimace faded into a grin.
"I don't have to." She released the hold. A fraction of a second later a huge black wolf charged at the vampire knocking him back. Cordelia fell to the ground exhausted. She saw flashes of grey and brown pass by her in the direction of the vampire. All at once the howls died away and a single voice was speaking.
"Take her to the Cullen's. The doc can look at her." She felt herself being lifted. Warmth hit her and her muscles began to relax. She gazed up into a pair of concerned brown eyes.
"You're safe." A voice whispered. Then the world melted away.
"That's her! That's the girl I saw. I'm sure of it." Cordelia kept her eyes shut as a very feminine voice spoke excitedly. Cordelia's head ached and her body was begging her mind to just let her rest.
"Alice, she can hear you. Don't scare her." This voice was male and velvety. "Miss, you can open your eyes, we won't hurt you." Cordelia peeked open her eyes and blinked at the brightness that assaulted her. The lights dimmed slightly. "Is that better?" She only nodded still not wanting to sit up from her reclined position. Slowly she let her eyes wonder around checking the eyes of everyone around her. "Don't worry." The velvety voice spoke again. "We are vampires but we don't harm humans. We're the ones you've been looking for." Cordelia sat up suddenly and then regretted it. The room spun around her. Cold hands reached out and held her shoulders. She faced a blond vampire with gentle golden eyes.
"You should lie back." He spoke like he knew what he was talking about so she obeyed. "Edward can you…"
"Yes." The male with the velvety voice got up and left. Cordelia took a second to wonder where he was just sent off to. The blond vampire brought her attention back to his face.
"My name is Carlisle. Can you tell me your's?"
"Cordelia Howard." Her voice cracked.
"Are you feeling any pains or soreness?" Cordelia looked at him questioningly. "I'm a doctor. I can help you."
"I just have a headache. It'll pass."
"My son Edward is making something for you to eat. Is there anyone I can call for you? Family?"
"No, I don't have anyone." A shadow passed over her face and she saw Edward return with a food tray. The pitying look he gave her just then caught her off guard and she quickly looked down.
"If you need a place to stay while you get better you are more than welcome to take Edward's old room. He and his wife Bella have their own house now." Carlisle nodded towards a dark haired female near the door.
"I.." Cordelia started to speak but Edward interrupted her.
"Cordelia you don't need to explain anything. We know who you are and why you're here. We won't let the Volturi get to you. You're safe." Those last two words caused a spark in Cordelia's memory. You're safe. Someone else had said that to her. Those concerned brown eyes flashed through her memory. "Hmm." She heard Edward say. She looked at him curiously. "Sorry." He seemed almost embarrassed. "I can read the thoughts of people around me."
"Oh." The one word held a lot of weight. Cordelia realized that he had been reading all of her thoughts about the vampire that was chasing her, the Volturi, and her family. It also explained how he knew who she was and why she had been looking for the Cullens and the shape shifters. "Would you mind explaining to them? I just don't feel up to it."
"Of course. We'll leave you to eat." Edward said already standing up. It wasn't until they all started to clear out that Cordelia saw the room she was in. It looked like a mad science lab. The tray in front of her made her eyes go wide. A tuna salad sandwich, chocolate chip cookies, and a tall glass of tea. She could smell the mint in the tea. How had he known her favorite? Oh yeah, mind reader… She'd have to get used to that. She looked up again and found she wasn't alone. He was tall, lean, and very muscular. Even through his sleeveless shirt she could see his chest was well defined. His black hair was cut short but still fell slightly over his forehead. It was his eyes that captured her. She knew those eyes. They were fixed on her; set with a mixture of concern and something she couldn't quite identify.
"Embry." Edward's voice called. This made the young man jump slightly. "Let her eat." Reluctantly he left the room after throwing her one last longing look. Slightly shaken, Cordelia began to eat.
Back in the front room the Cullens found themselves joined by Jacob, Renesme (who now looked around nine), Sam, Quill, and Embry who came in slowly. "I know, but she needs to rest. And you need to hear this." Edward said directly at Embry. He just nodded and sat down on the floor next to Quill.
Edward sighed and glanced towards Bella before he began. "Cordelia, who I get the impression actually prefers Cordy, is telekinetic. She can move things with her mind. Basically her mind uses psychic energy to manipulate matter. She can use her power to move an object across the room, or to rip apart a vampire into a million pieces." Renesme gasped. "Don't worry, she won't hurt us. She's here to ask us for help. Her family was on vacation in Scotland a year ago. Cordy had just gotten accepted into MIT for a science program and her parents took her on the trip as a gift. They were on a tour when four vampires attacked their bus. At this point Cordy's gift was like a flickering candle. She had had the powers her whole life, but she was too scared to really use them, so she was weak. But watching vampires murder her parents turned that flickering flame into a raging inferno. By the time it was all over, she had torn apart three of the vampires. The fourth ran. He went straight to Aro." Bella hissed. "He showed Aro what had happened and Aro set out messengers telling every vampire they could find that if they found Cordy, they were to bring her to Aro. He wanted to turn her himself. Any vampire who aided in bringing Cordy, still human, to him was going to be rewarded."
"How do you know all that? Can you read Aro now?" Quill interrupted.
"No but I'm getting to that." Edward went on. "Two months ago in Peru, a group of seven vampires found Cordy. She had been living there since her parents died. Her mother had friends there. She managed to destroy three of them but she weakened herself. They took her prisoner and got her pretty close to Italy. They sent one ahead to announce their arrival. I'm sure Aro was not pleased when they never showed up." Edward grinned. "They had stopped for the night to hunt and Cordy was pretending to sleep. She heard them talking about Aro and the reward. How he wanted to use Cordy as a weapon against other vampires who had stood against the Volturi. That's how she learned about the "strange yellow eyed vampires" and the wolves who were allied with us. She made up her mind then that she would try to escape and find us. That was the moment Alice saw her. That's how she knew Cordy would be in the woods today running from the last remaining vampire who had captured her."
"Way to go Al." Alice glared at the nickname Quill kept calling her.
"So what's the deal with Embry?" Emmet had not missed the way Edward had been talking to Embry earlier.
"It seems Embry has finally imprinted." Edward said hesitantly.
"Why is she rejecting me?" Embry sounded desperate. "I can literally feel her pushing me away. Is it her powers?"
"Well, yes and no. Her powers have weakened her mind. It's like any muscle. If you over extend it, you have to give it time to heal. Right now her mind has been pushed so far that it's hard for her to focus on anything, including the fact that she has been imprinted on. She's not pushing you, her mind just can't calculate properly right now. The headache she mentioned is her mind pushed almost to the breaking point. Once she has healed, she will feel the effects of your imprint on her." Embry let out a relieved sigh. Bella shared a smirk with Jacob.
"Well, if Embry did imprint on her, she's already under the protection of our pack." Jacob spoke casually but everyone caught his meaning.
"Our pack as well." Sam finally spoke. "Do you think this will cause the Volturi to return here?" His question was directed at Carlisle.
"Eventually yes, but Alice will tell us when." Alice perked up and smiled.
"I don't see anything yet. No decision has been made. Aro might still be waiting on news from the vampires Cordy has already atomized. So we may have a lot of time." Edward suddenly stood up.
"It seems our guest is done eating. She's coming in here." They could all hear her light steps pattering towards them. Slowly, all of them stood, not wanting to make sudden movements to frighten her as she came into view. Alice cringed slightly at the girl's torn and dirty jeans and bloodstained sweatshirt.
"Cordy if you'd like, I can get you something else to wear." Bella rolled her eyes at Alice's inability to restrain the fashion beast inside her. Cordelia glanced down at her clothes and comprehension finally dawned on her face. When she looked back up their were tears in her eyes. Edward could hear her mind break as the memories of whose blood was on her clothes came rushing back. A strangled cry unleashed from deep inside her and all the furniture in the room suddenly lifted three feet and then crashed down. Cordelia collapsed onto her hands and knees still weeping. Embry reached her first. He gently lifted her carried her to the couch. He shot Edward a pained look.
"Her mind is still in shock, just give her a few moments. She's very fragile." Edward mumbled almost inaudibly. Frustration filled Embry's eyes but he nodded. "Cordy, Alice is right. We need to get you cleaned up. So when you feel alright..." She nodded. He could feel her mind retreat and switch to auto-pilot. Her mind registered only necessity, no emotion. He wondered for a brief second if this was what Bella's mind did when he first left her… He shook his head and focused on Cordelia as she began to stand and let Alice and Esme lead her upstairs.
