Love all the wonderful reviews! I decided to go ahead and upload two chapters tonight to say thank you for reading my stories. And Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there.
Chapter 3 - Missing
Jasper growled menacingly, amber eyes trained unwaveringly on his prey as he began to inch his way closer. A high-pitched shriek met his ears followed by the increased scent of adrenaline in the air. The blonde vampire smirked and prepared for the chase. This was his favorite part of the hunt… the moment when the quarry realizes their safety is no longer assured.
"No, Ja'per!"
Emmett laughed loudly at the sight of his brother pretending to chase after Hera. The tiny three-year-old squealed with excitement as she dodged the blonde vampire's halfhearted attempts to snatch her from the ground. He and Edward had paused in their game of catch in order to watch the spectacle. Just as Jasper's hands were about to grab the little girl, a sudden flash of what looked to be green fire encompassed the phoenix and when it left little Hera was transported to parts unknown.
Jasper gasped in a mixture of shock and panic, multiplied by three as his brothers' emotions swept through him. "Hera?!"
All three paused, their senses reaching as far as possible in order to ascertain where the little girl went. The visiting deputy headmaster had warned them that Hera was very strong and more of her powers would be manifesting soon, but the reality of it was much more frightening.
"Okay… everyone calm down," Emmett said. "She can't have gone far."
Edward, whose eyes had turned the color of onyx in his panic, looked incredulously at his brother. "Can't have gone far?! Did you not hear the part where Fredrickson said Hera would be able to flash to school in Ireland when she started?!" Consumed with worry, the tawny-haired vampire began to pace. "What if she flashed herself into a volcano… or a snake pit… or to the top of a tree?"
Emmett scratched his head. "She would just fly down, right?" At his brothers' level stares he continued, "Well, she's got wings!"
Edward gasped with sudden realization and clutched the front of Emmett's shirt. "What if she appears in front of humans?!"
"Okay… enough!" Jasper tried once again to calm them down to a state where they could think logically, willing away images of Hera strapped down to a table while the military tried to dissect her for study. "We'll find her. Emmett, you go check the house, Edward… the pond. I'll look by the road. When you're finished with your area, we'll meet back here."
All three vampires disappeared in a blur, only to reappear a few minutes later with no Hera in tow. Edward growled in frustration and pulled out his cell phone. "I'm calling Alice."
"NO!" Emmett dove for the phone, but Edward easily dodged the attempt. "If Rosalie finds out we lost Hera, she'll castrate all three of us!"
Jasper scoffed. "We didn't lose Hera, Emmett… she lost herself."
Emmett looked aghast at his brother. "Do you honestly think that will matter to Rosalie? Have you even met Rosalie?!"
Edward glared. "And how do you think she'll react when she finds out we had a chance to find her through Alice but didn't utilize it?"
The brawny vampire's eyes widened. "You're right… she'll have our balls either way."
Edward placed the phone to his ear, waiting impatiently for his sister to pick up. "Alice, look for Hera," he urged before the seer could even get a word out. He and his two brothers cringed when they heard Rosalie's voice in the background spit out an enraged "What?!"
Suddenly Rosalie was on the line, most likely having snatched the phone out of Alice's hand. "You three listen to me… if one hair is out of place on that baby's head I'm going to rip all three of yours off and bury them in a place where your mates will never find them. And Emmett McCarty, I won't even be looking for yours!"
Emmett whimpered in fright, knowing his head strong mate would be more than willing to follow through on her promise.
Alice's voice came back on the line, sounding much relieved. "I'm getting no information telling me where she is now, but I do see her flashing back into her room safely."
All three males and Rosalie snapped out, "When?"
"No idea… it'll be daylight, so I'm hoping it's still today."
No sooner had she finished speaking than Edward ended the call and raced off at full vampire speed to Hera's room, ready to inspect his mate for any damage upon her return. He was soon joined by Emmett and Jasper, and all three waited anxiously.
Meanwhile….
Hera gasped as she experienced flashing for the first time. She was confused at first because one moment she was playing with her big brother and then she was suddenly in another place. The phoenix wasn't scared because she knew in her heart that her Edward wouldn't ever let anything bad happen to her.
So it was with that thought that she decided to explore this new world she found.
At first Hera thought she had only flashed herself deeper into the forest surrounding her home, for everything around her was lush and green, but then she realized that none of the places she'd seen have ever been this green! Thick vines stretched as far as she could see into the trees. The ground beneath her feet was soft from layers upon layers of fallen leaves.
A cacophony of birdsong and animal chatter filled her hears as she curiously explored her new environment. Hera giggled as a small monkey appeared on a low hanging branch in a nearby tree in order to inspect her. Though she was much too short to reach him she still reached up toward the furry little creature causing the primate to look at her oddly before disappearing into the taller branches once again.
Hera pouted for a moment before the tinkling sound of laughter distracted her. Running through the thick foliage wasn't easy, but curiosity kept her mind from the struggle.
Finally reaching a clearing, the phoenix was able to see from where the joyous sounds were coming.
Three hours had gone by as the five eternal teens, (Alice and Rosalie having returned from their shopping trip two and a half hours ago), kept vigil.
Time had never passed so slowly to the vampires stuck waiting for the small child's return, and inside the tension-filled atmosphere Edward couldn't help but imagine all kinds of perilous situations in which the phoenix could have found herself. Unfortunately for him, he was a mind reader and thus had to contend with his siblings' imaginations as well. Amidst the fear and frustration, he found a small bit of amusement in the fact that all five of them at one point or another had visualized Hera appearing at the seminar with Carlisle and Esme just as her father was making his planned speech to the room full of medical professionals.
Part of him was grateful that Hera chose to pull this while Esme was away. If it were possible for a vampire to have a heart attack, she would be the best candidate to test the theory.
He was coming in at a close second.
I thought some of you may be tired of waiting for some drama, so here you go :)
