YESTERDAYS DUSK…
'Aro,' I tenderly cradled his unconscious head in my lap and battled the demons who instructed me to sink my jaws into his neck and drain him. No, Aro I would keep, the plans I had for him were monumental. He had finally passed out from the burning pain, after several hours of writhing on the hay-strewn stone floor. My throat burned too, although I knew it wouldn't be as bad as what I was putting Aro through, and I was sorry for that, truly. But, it was going to be worth it; from the second I scented Aro in the packed market square, I knew his spectacular worth. Luckily, as his human life was fading away, his delicious scent was too. But, his supernatural ability was clarifying, becoming stronger. I could barely wait for him to wake up, new, a vampire, just so I could see how strong he was.
He stirred gently, a word stirring from his lips. 'Lil…ith.' Well, at least he remembered me. I grasped his hand with mine, feeling the warmth dissipate, dissolving like a puddle in the sun. It wouldn't be too long now. My throat burned again, I knew I needed to feed, but I was loathe to leave him. What if he awoke and I was not around? I knew if he left I could find him again, but not before he did damage to the town – not that I cared much for the value of human life – but we didn't need the vampire hunters out in force. No, I decided if anyone wandered close enough then I could feed, but if not, well I would have to wait…
2…I watched the Anglican Pastor's golden haored son, more intrigued with a human than ever before. Aro had been my first perfect conversion, and I had not been disappointed with his ability. As a human he had been able to sense a persons thoughts if he were close enough, and if he touched them he got an indication of their past mood or possibly a memory from earlier that day. Now however, just a single touch of his hand to another individuals skin and he could read every thought that had ever entered his mind. But this Carlisle…I considered something I had never before. As a human, I sensed his human compassion as his strongest trait. How would he fare with that as his overwhelming talent as a Vampire?
Aro had his two perfect companions in Marcus and Caius, and they were smart and refined, I was proud of the secret family I had begun. But I considered that there could be great use for a soul like Carlisle, if his compassion carried though his transformation, in our Volturi home. I had never felt such compulsion to turn someone, such a pull that bringing them to our life would be beneficial to our kind and our future. Not Carlisle, or even any children he would make, but the significances he could set in motion, the amazingness that could be achieved. Yes, I decided he would be important. I decided the fact that my quarry was setting out to conduct some vampire-hunting was a sign. I closed my eyes and drew down a disguise, and stepped out into the night…
3…The girl was tiny and delicious, and had she not been human I would have felt immensely sorry for her. The things humans put each other through simply out of fear, well it was enough to turn anyone away from mortality. Her visions of the future were real, and no-one believed her, they kept her tied up in the dark, to 'expel the devil'. I wanted to shake them until their necks snapped, had they no idea the preciousness of a gift such as hers? Yet, I was grateful, excited, I knew this Alice was integral to the plans ahead. I was glad I was already wearing my disguise, James was stalking her also, I had chosen a truly amazing hunter in him, but he was annoying me, and I couldn't let him have her.
Carlisle's mob had believed me dead, and I knew it would also work with James. I was probably the only vampire in existence who could not be killed in the conventional ways. The prophecy that had spun from the star during my creation had not mentioned anything about being torn to pieces and burned. It had spoken of one individual, and one only, who would finish me. It was an end I would welcome by then, almost a millennia in the human world, following my instinct to choose who to bring over, to create a beginning of supreme predators, so the chosen one could kill me. I waited for James to be watching, then moved towards Alice…
4…I was fairly certain no vampire would agree with me, but I truly believed that my ability to disguise myself was the most effective and safe weapon any of us could possess. The snow stuck to the ground and I stood behind my first sons, Aro, Marcus and Caius. Aro was the only entity on earth who knew who I was, and not a thought of his was shielded from me, therefore no mind ever heard by him passed me by. The things I had learned through him were imperative, and even better than that was that the wonderful Edward couldn't hear any thoughts Aro had about me, Aro couldn't even whisper my name, my shield was that brilliant.
The recently turned and stunningly beautiful Isabella delighted me, her shield was stronger than I had ever possibly hoped, she seemed to be everything I had heard and then some. The child she protectively hovered in front of was the only being in the clearing who interested me more, but I knew now was not a good time to try to approach her. Excepting Aro, every member of the Volturi believed me to be simply another fortunate and 'accidental' acquisition of Aro's, and certainly my super ability to 'find' gifted humans to be turned seemed to keep them from trying to kill me. I missed being called Lilith, and I occasionally didn't answer when called Savannah. Eleazer had been the first 'seeker' for the Volturi, but I made sure Aro allowed him to leave when he chose to, it wasn't worth the fight. Now, I simply hovered in the shadow of the powerful ones as part of their guard, but I preferred it. For the most part, I was happy, although more than once I wanted to bite Jane's stupid cute head off, just to rid her of her arrogance, but I held back, she was helpful.
Everything was going along the way it should, not only had I created smart, gifted new vampires, but they were in turn creating more. The age of the newborn armies had shaken my confidence, but we had taken care of them in the end. The immortal children had been another scary time for us but again, we had managed to control the situation. The Cullen family and their small army approached us…
5…'Renesmee!' Jacob called. 'They're here!' Even from almost a mile away I could hear everything he said as if I was standing next to him, could see that well too from my vantage point of the giant conifer. I watched as Edward, Bella and Elizabeth step from the small shiny car they had just arrived in, sun glinting off their bodies. Jacob and Renesmee ran forward to embrace their daughter, who at 17 years old had reached her full maturity and was no longer growing just like them; although all five of them resembled teens regardless of the many years between them. Renesmee also hugged Edward and Bella, Jacob giving them both a high five. It was possibly the strangest family dynamic I had seen in my life – and I was thousands of years old – this group of magical people, yet the perfect love they shared made for nothing more real and right.
I shifted slightly, for a better view, hoping I had the right day. Elizabeth turned then, lifting her nose in the breeze. All vampires were attractive with flawless pale skin and inbuilt luminosity. Bella had been the most stunning newborn, and Renesmee had been possibly more heart-wrenchingly beautiful. But Elizabeth…Elizabeth looked exactly like me with no disguise. It wasn't arrogant of me to call myself the most lovely being ever to exist, it was true, there was no-one or nothing more stunning than me. Except…Elizabeth. Elizabeth had blood flowing in her veins, life inside her and that made her more spectacular than even I. She sniffed and turned her perfect head slightly in my direction…
6…
'Who are you? What are you?' Elizabeth asked. She now stood fifty metres away, her family fanned out in a protective semi-circle behind and around her. It didn't matter, she was stronger and faster than them all, but that didn't stop any one of them showing full determination to put their lives at risk for her. I knew it was confusing for them all – Elizabeth and I looking practically identical, her skin showing a little less sparkle, and slightly more colour – and it was obvious I was a vampire.
I chose not to answer. If I explained, they may try to spare me, and that wasn't the plan. I'd been around long enough, served my purpose. They could never know the love I felt for them, them and all my children, how proud I was of who and what they had become. When it had all began I had never imagined how humane our race would be, I simply had not seen it coming. But it was right, fate had taken us on the correct path, Elizabeth was proof of that.
'My name is Lilith.' I told her. 'And I'm here to kill you, Elizabeth.' I lied, I knew that would be the only way to ensure she ended me. Her family snarled in unison and although Jacob was the only one who visibly moved, the entire group seemed to swell.
I closed my eyes and waited for them to come closer; I was ready for this. I remembered the words I heard as I opened my eyes for the first time, the disembodied voice from the start that had told me what I was to do, who I was.
'Thousands of years it will take, for the lives you need to create.
'You, Lilith will begin a new race of perfect beings to reside in this world. These creatures will be adaptable, beautiful, amazingly clever. Subsisting on human blood and surpassing the physical ability of any other being, they will be ultimate and unbeatable predators.
'You, Lilith, will begin this creation. Follow your instinct and trust in your choices in who you choose to bring to this life, and fate will take care of the rest. Almost a millennia it will be before it is time for you to return to me, and gladly you will do so.
'Only one can end you. One who is more beautiful than any other in existence ever, iced blood inside warm skin, diamonds and scarlet in her cheeks. She will be more human than any other of her kind, yet stronger than all. Her body will be stone, yet changeable upon choice and decision, to the very creature designed to destroy the other half of her species.'
I felt them approach and considered my options. Elizabeth had to be the one to do it, and if they all attacked, she may not get the chance. I had to run, she was the only one who could catch me, but I had to give her motivation. I summoned my strength and pulled her love, David, from behind the tree and held him in front of me. Elizabeth's eyes widened but she didn't move. I placed a hand on the back of his head and snapped his neck cleanly. His body tumbled slowly to the ground as Elizabeth shrieked in fury and anguish as she began running for me.
I wasn't going to run, I knew she would reach me before any of the others. Every step closer Elizabeth came to me, I felt more alive. The air was crisper, sweeter than ever before. I could hear everything in the world, every heartbeat, every emotion. Each tiny particle of the suns rays warmed and tingled my skin, it was amazing. The fake image I'd created of David's body faded, but Elizabeth didn't notice. I took one more glimpse at the amazing sight before me. Two vampires, one werewolf, one vampire-human hybrid. And, then there was the chosen one, who was part everything, Elizabeth.
I closed my eyes once again as her feet hit my chest and her fingers wrapped around the back of my head. Her breath was warm as her teeth bit into the skin on my neck and I felt my body begin to be torn into pieces. A harmonious hum began in my ears, the star was awake again and calling me back. I smiled, it was time, it was right. Fate was wonderful.