The Witch Bearer
A/N: Adult content and language
Disclaimer: Twilight and all it's characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.
No copy-right infringement of any other books or related media is intended.
Chapter 1.
Bella woke with cry of fear and of pain. She was drenched in sweat, struggling to breathe.
Please, let it be a nightmare, she pleaded as she sat up, shaking violently, let it be just a nightmare.
The beast, Naberius she gasped.
So much blood, it covered everything. Naberius, the room, the walls and the floor. He had reveled in it, in the pain he caused, the terror, drank the blood that spilled from the wounds he rendered in tender flesh.
He had laughed.
The room had looked familiar to her, but she wasn't seeing it as an observer. Snippets of visual clues were the only way she was seeing anything.
When Naberius looked into a mirror hanging on the wall, she could see his evil face, and he could see hers. He roared with anger, seeing her, the one being who could be his triumph or his downfall, the one being he could not find…yet.
Bella stared into the face of her curse and trembled. He was already so strong and would only get stronger. How was she suppose to defeat him?
"Bella Swan," he had said to the mirror, "Where are you?"
He held up the body of the nun, her dying expression one of horror, her clothing ripped from her body, her midsection eviscerated and internals exposed.
"You aren't here." Then he laughed.
Bella raced to the bathroom before she could be sick on the bed.
During the days, Bella helped at the convent and the soup kitchen. She even went into town and helped out at the orphanage. She loved being with the children and they all seemed to love being with her. Of course, when they were hurting or feeling down, she was able to help them, healing them.
She couldn't help but to help. It was not in her to allow the children to continue to suffer, and the nuns began to call her their angel of mercy, for they saw how the children responded to her where they might not otherwise with others.
Still, she had yet to take her vows and join the convent officially. To be honest, she wasn't Catholic, although she did believe there was a higher power, she just didn't name it "God".
Plus, she had her secrets and she could not allow the nuns to discover it.
The modern world thought that the Inquisition was over and done with, a bloody chapter in humankind's history, but in fact, it still was going on. She did NOT want to experience what her people had gone through those hundreds of years ago, especially when the means for torture had become more advanced as humankind evolved.
It really was too bad that evolution did not mean betterment. If anything, mankind had become more cruel and bloody. Look at the achievements. Diseases still continue to wipe out millions, and if that wasn't enough, look at the technological development of weapons of mass destruction and mankind's ready use of it. Mankind preferred to spend their money and advancement in creating more weapons against one another over weapons that would eradicate diseases. It was a sad thing.
No, she would rather continue as she was than turned over for torture and dissection to discover how she existed.
She was not a nun, but she was in training, although, she really had no intention of taking the vows to become a nun. She couldn't, not in good conscience. She had other beliefs, other abilities. She was using the convent as sanctuary. She wouldn't be able to for very long. She would have to make some decisions and make them soon.
She pulled her coat closer around her as she walked back towards the poor side of town, to the convent. It was almost Christmas and she spent what money she had available to take a cab to the orphanage with goodies collected by the nuns. Every child would receive something for Christmas thanks to donations. It might not have been much, but it was better than nothing, and she couldn't see the children get nothing. It was bad enough they were in the orphanage. It did no harm to do what she could to make it better in however she could.
It was clear and cold, the moon was full, and she loved it. It was peaceful and quiet, even the yearning deep inside of her was still. It was a yearning for something she couldn't explain, wasn't sure how to go about in explaining. It had started not too long ago, but every night, it grew stronger. Sometimes, it would cause her to lose sleep and she would spend it meditating or scrying.
The peace was shattered when a low rider pickup pulled up along side of her, two men inside, two outside in the bed, as she was walking back to the convent. She was probably about five blocks from the orphanage, maybe a quarter of the way back. They crudely called out to her, making suggestive comments.
"Look, it's a nun! Bet we could show her what she's missing!"
Bella tried to ignore it, to continue walking, but the men in the bed of the truck hopped out and started to approach from in front of her. She stopped, eyeing them warily.
"Come on, Sister…you don't want to die a virgin, do you? Not like God's gonna fuck you."
The others laughed. The truck was parked and the other two got out, joining their friends. Bella was well and truly surrounded, and it would take very little to set these men off. They were intent on trouble. She would be on the receiving end of it if she didn't do something to stop this.
"Excuse me, but I need to return to the convent."
"We'll give you a ride," one said, grinning evilly, "and then we'll drop you off."
One reached out to grab her, another touched her face, ignoring the way she tried to jerk away from the touch, "You're so pretty, too pretty for a nun."
He stared at her amber colored eyes, her pale delicate features. He reached up and pulled off her head covering, her auburn hair spilling down her back.
Another whistled softly, the four starting to crowd even closer.
Bella didn't want to do it, but if they pushed her, she would have to defend herself. She stood there, calm, but wary.
None of the group noticed the black limo approach. It slowed when the driver noticed what was happening and the happenings reported to the passenger in the back of the limo. The limo pulled to a stop some yards back, but no one exited.
Not until they removed her head covering.
Then the door opened and a man slid out of the back of the limo. He was dressed in a black suit, the noticeable bulge of a pistol under his left arm was visible.
He had bronze hair and green eyes, he was tall, about 6'3, and muscular, but not overly so. He was a rather handsome man, somewhat stern in appearance, but it could have been the way he was dressed as well.
Edward Masen stood, leaning against the limo as he watched the four young men harassing the young nun. They were street punks, or at least dressed that way, but none of them seemed to be carrying heat. The young nun was calm, if a bit wary, but she seemed resigned to what was happening.
"Come on, Sister, is it true that you nuns are all lesbians in the convent?"
Edward frowned and started toward the group.
"Is there a problem here?"
The group turned to look at Edward.
"We ain't got no beef with you, mister, so's you better just get back in that stretch and get the hell outta here."
Edward smirked and made his way toward them, unbuttoning his suit jacket to expose the shoulder holster. The four men's eyes saw the pistol and stiffened, edging back from Bella.
"I think you four better get back into your vehicle and get lost before you find out what it feels like to get plugged."
"Look, man, we don't want no trouble."
They raised their hands and headed toward the truck, "She's not worth it."
They hopped into the low rider and pulled out, Bella flinched from the flying gravel as it hit her. Edward cursed softly and made his way over to her.
"Are you all right, miss?" he stopped near her, looking her over.
She was exquisite. She had delicate features, her eyes were a golden amber, with a thin ring of black around the iris. Her hair was auburn, her eyebrows arched, her skin was smooth and the palest white. She was thin and lithe, and despite the clothing she wore, he knew she was perfectly formed.
"I'm fine, thank you," she replied, smiling softly at him.
He extended his hand to her, "Mr. Edward Masen, at your service, miss."
She took his hand and he bowed over it in an old world gallantry.
"Bella," she replied softly.
He lifted a brow playfully, "No last name, Miss Bella?"
She shook her head with a smile, "No, Mr. Masen."
He smiled, "That just means I'll need to find a way to get you to tell me."
"I'm afraid you'll just be disappointed."
"I don't think there's a thing about you that could possibly disappoint me, Miss Bella."
She blushed softly.
"Let me offer you a ride home. I'd rather not worry about your safety."
She chuckled softly at that. If he hadn't come by as he had, she would have taken care of the problem on her own. However, she hadn't had to expose her secret with his appearance, which she was grateful for.
"I really shouldn't, Mr. Masen. It's not…proper."
He started to lead her toward the limo, "I'm sure Mother Superior would agree that your safety comes first."
She looked at him in surprise, "You know the Mother Superior?"
He winked, "She and I go back a long way, before she became the Mother Superior. I think I still have scars on my knuckles from her ruler."
Bella chuckled softly and Edward lifted her hand to his mouth, kissing her knuckles lightly, "I'm glad to see these are unmarked."
She blushed and looked away, starting to pull her hand back, "I should go."
Edward allowed her to pull her hand back, although he retained a hold of it.
"Allow me to escort you. I'd feel better if I knew you were safe."
Bella wondered how far that offer would be extended if he knew about her. Still, it would be nice to get a ride back instead of the long walk in the cold and she wasn't sure if the young men were just waiting for her hero to leave. She sighed softly.
Edward grinned, knowing he had won this round, "Excellent." He started walking with her back to the limo.
The door opened and another man slid out, standing by the door. Bella hesitated, then started to draw back.
"It's all right, Miss Bella. This is my employer, Mr. Carlisle Cullen, Mr. Cullen, this is Miss Bella with no last name."
Bella studied Mr. Cullen. He was tall, though not as tall and muscular as Edward, but with blond hair and paler skin, he also wore dark glasses.
"Miss Bella," Cullen said, giving her a slight bow.
"Mr. Cullen," she said softly, nodding her head to him without taking her eyes off of him.
Bella knew Cullen's secret. Her natural abilities were revealing to her things that Cullen probably didn't want known, or revealed. Warning bells were sounding off in her head, warning her against getting into the limo, warning her against riding with the dangerous, if handsome Mr. Cullen.
She hesitated in speaking, pulling her arm from Edward's polite hold. Edward glanced between Cullen and Bella.
"I wouldn't want to put you or Mr. Cullen out," she said softly, "I'm sure you have more important things to do."
Cullen said nothing. Edward protested.
"Miss Bella, we cannot in good conscience, allow you to remain unescorted. You were accosted by those punks. Let us at least see you to the gates of the convent so we know you're safe."
She looked away from Cullen finally, instead glancing at Edward, about to argue with him on it, but seeing the expression on his face, the argument sputtered and died. How could she deny him when he was so solicitous of her safety?
The warning bells continued to clang, but she only sighed.
"All right," she said softly, with a polite smile.
Edward grinned and motioned to the limo. She glanced at Cullen, who nodded his head to her, and she slid into the back. Cullen slid in after her, sitting across from her, Edward was the last in, closing the door, and sitting beside her.
The driver then pulled the limo back onto the street and down the road.
"Would you like something to drink, Miss Bella?" Cullen offered, his tone polite and disinterested.
Bella wondered if it was Cullen himself, or the fact of what he was that caused him to be so dull.
"No, thank you, Mr. Cullen. You've already gone far beyond the call of duty for escorting me back to the convent."
Her tone was just as polite as his, with a tinge of wry sarcasm.
He studied her, a flicker of amusement coloring his eyes and he gave her a slight nod as if acknowledging something.
Edward adjusted the heat in the back, reaching up over her, leaning in toward her slightly, to turn the vents toward her.
"You must be cold," he said, "walking this late in December."
She glanced at him, "Thank you."
He smiled at her. He was drawn to her. It was more than just a physical attraction, lust was simple, but there was something about her that drew him more so than anyone else he had ever met. Yes, he wanted her, but not just for his bed. He wanted to get to know her, to spend time with her.
Bella's eyes flared wider a moment and then she blushed faintly, looking away from him. Edward was not as his employer was and therefore easier to read. He wasn't hiding his interest in her, though he was being polite about it.
"What were you doing that made you walk so late in the evening?" Cullen asked. His voice was smooth and even, a sense of power in them, as if he was in control.
Bella turned her head to look at him, "I was delivering donations to the orphanage so that the children had Christmas gifts to open."
She met Cullen's eyes, did not look away. She could feel a gathering of power inside the limo, and a whisper sensation in her mind. She slammed her mental barriers down, trapping the intruder.
You were not invited here, she thought.
Who are you? Cullen asked her.
You already know my name is Bella.
He pushed at her mental barriers, testing them. He was impressed. She was strong for a mortal. Very few mortals had any sense of control over their minds. Bella seemed to be extraordinary in that aspect. Still, she was just a mortal.
He withdrew the pushing, waiting a moment for her to relax her control, then slammed into the barriers, slicing an opening for him to escape. Bella stiffened and gasped softly, the pain excruciating.
Edward looked between the two, but knew better than to question or protest.
Cullen pressed the speaker button and spoke to the driver, speaking Italian, then released the button.
Bella rubbed her forehead, then gave Edward a weak, apologetic smile, "Forgive me, it's just a headache."
"Would you like aspirin?" he asked.
She shook her head, "I'll have some tea before retiring when I return to the convent."
She refused to look at Cullen, to be drawn into a mental battle with him. She was not prepared for any battles, and she didn't want to underestimate him. She would have to do some research, some investigating.
Perhaps tonight, she would do some scrying. In the mean time, she would just remain quiet.
"Perhaps a drink will help, Miss Bella," Cullen suggested.
She glanced at him then quickly glanced away again, "Thank you, but no."
She glanced out the tinted window and then frowned. This was taking too long, they should have been at the convent by now. In fact, they were just pulling up to a wrought iron security gate. The gate swung open as the limo pulled off the road and onto the drive.
Bella looked at Cullen in suspicion and accusation, "What are we doing here?"
He only smiled.