Chapter 4 – Power

Carlisle spent most of his time watching Elise as she slept. Edward and Jasper joined him every now and then, offering him what enlightenment they could. Alice stayed away from the little room where Elise slept. She danced around the house cleaning, or arranging flowers while she tried to see.

'It's like she is a black hole in the house.' She was saying to me the day after Elise arrived. 'I can't see anything when I'm near her, and all our futures are blurry now that she is here. It makes me so edgy when I can't see clearly.' She huffed, and then went back to dusting the house again.

Carlisle came down the stairs from Elise's room then. There was an interesting look on his face as he walked up to me. 'Bella, could you please come up stairs to see Elise for a moment?'

'Yeah, of course. Is she awake now?' I asked him. I started to feel a little nervous about having to see the abnormally beautiful girl again. Carlisle shook his head.

'She isn't awake yet, but it's almost been 48 hours, so we are expecting her to wake soon enough.' He answered me as we walked up the stairs.

'What do you need me for then?' I was curious. 'What can I do for you?'

Carlisle just smiled at me encouragingly and held open the door to the little guest room. I walked in, him following and closing the door behind us. Edward was standing in the corner of the room, his arms crossed over his chest, and I walked over to him. He smiled at me and nodded his head towards the girl.

'She has not moved since we placed her there. Not even slightly. She is completely comatose.' He said matter-of-factly. I looked in the direction of the bed. It was true; the girl did not move at all, just the even rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. Her black hair was splayed out around her head and her mouth was held slightly ajar, but it did not affect her astounding beauty.

'So what now?' I asked Carlisle. 'What is it you needed me here for?' I waited patiently while they looked at each other, and then Edward nodded at him, giving Carlisle permission. He looked in my eyes and started to explain.

'Edward and I have a theory that maybe your shield could help us find out a little more about Elise.' He suggested. 'Edward cannot read her mind, in this comatose state or when she was awake.'

I shrugged. 'All I can do is cover her in the shield, and at the moment I don't think she needs any protecting from mental attack.' I looked at her as I spoke. She was still sleeping like a statue. Edward stepped into the conversation.

'At first, that's what we thought as well. But then Carlisle realised that there is a possibility that she is under mental attack. This unconscious sleep could be the result of another vampire's abilities. Of course, we don't know why someone would want to keep her comatose, but if you can bring her out of this sleep for a little while, we might be able to learn a little about her.'

Understanding dawned on me. Of course, there was always a chance that someone else could be doing this to her. It wasn't unlikely that a vampire could have a talent like that. I was reminded of Alec's gift and shivered.

'Then again, this might not be caused by someone else; it might just be something that happens to her naturally.' Carlisle explained his theory to me. 'Edward said that when you first discovered how to use your shield properly you found that could see the life force of people?'

I frowned, wondering how this could do anything for Elise. 'Yeah, that's true, it's sort of like a glowing light surrounding people, like an aura, but I've never thought of it as a life force before.'

Edward came closer to me and held my hands in his, facing me. 'It's the conclusion that Carlisle and I came up with. We were hoping that if Elise's condition is not caused by someone else, then maybe you might be able to tell us just a little bit more about her. You could examine her... light, for us, and tell us if there is anything different about her, anything at all.'

I nodded. Their reasoning made sense, and either way, we would gain some knowledge about Elise. I took a deep breath and turned towards the unconscious girl. I had become reasonably apt at using my shield. Stretching, bending and shaping it had become second nature to me now. As I slowly expanded it outwards from me now, I felt Edward's familiar bright fire flash into existence behind me, his arms around my waist. Carlisle's aura was not quite as bright, but he was still a fiery light beside me. As the edge of my shield reached Elise's sleeping form, I slowed down. There was a slight pressure against the outside of it where her body lay, and I had to push harder to get her body inside the protective cover.

As soon as the shield slipped over her, I was blinded. Her light was a fantastic, bright gold that emanated from her entire body. It was the brightest thing I had ever seen. It was like the sun had made its way into the tiny room. Elise's light rolled off her in waves, and I could feel each one flowing over me. Another familiar feeling became apparent as her light burst into appearance. This girl's mind was not alone. There were three others connected to her. I was reminded of the werewolf pack and their mind connection.

I could only look for so long before I had to retract my shield. It was impossible to stare at the blinding light for an extended period of time. The moment it rebounded back into in my head, the fantastic light went out, and the room was dark again. I let out a gust of air and slumped back into Edward.

Carlisle came over to face me, his face concerned. Edward's grip around my waist tightened as he held me up.

'Wow...' I breathed out. 'That was amazing.'

'Bella?' Carlisle sounded worried and his eyes were trying to look into mine. 'What did you see? Is the girl being manipulated in some way?'

'No, not at all.' I said, shaking my head. There was still a strange light burning behind my lids and I blinked a couple of times, trying to get rid of the glare.

'Then what happened, Bella? Are you alright?' Edward sat me down on a chair in the corner of the room and was staring into my eyes. His hand lightly brushed a stray hair out of my face, and I opened my eyes.

'I'm fine Edward, really, just a little stunned.' I smiled meekly at him, reassuring him. 'Elise's light is the brightest thing I have ever seen. I could even feel the intensity of the light coming from her.' I stared at the sleeping girl opposite me with a new fascination. What I had seen was incredible; I didn't know such a glorious light could exist. Then I remembered the connection her mind had held.

'There's something else too. Elise isn't being manipulated, but she is connected to others, three in total if I'm not mistaken. It's almost like the connection between the werewolves, but this seems stronger, a clear connection between them.' I explained to them.

Carlisle's eyebrows raised, and then he closed his eyes. His lips pursed in concentration, and he took a deep breath in. After he breathed out again, he opened his eyes, his expression shocked.

'I'm surprised I hadn't noticed that before, Bella. Edward, close your eyes and concentrate on the girl's presence in the room.'

Edward did as he was told, and when opened his eyes, he had the same expression of surprise.

'What is that, Carlisle?' Edward asked. His eyes were wide, and he had stood, resting his hand on my shoulder. 'It's like she is giving off some sort of... I don't know.' He shrugged, at a loss.

'If I'm not mistaken,' Carlisle answered, rubbing his chin, 'that is power she's giving off. It's just raw power.'

Edward's eyes widened and his grip on my shoulder tensed. 'Power?' He repeated slowly. 'How is that even possible? For us to feel that, without any talent at all, the amount she must be giving off, the amount she must possess, has to be immense.' He was shaking his head, trying to comprehend what Carlisle was saying. I remembered the magnificent light I saw pulsing from Elise, and I believed Carlisle's analysis.

'It's true Edward,' I said, looking up at him. I was positive of what I saw. 'You didn't see what I did. It is entirely possible that Elise really does hold as much power as Carlisle says she does. I can't even describe what I saw to you.'

'I don't think you will have to try, love.' Edward whispered. His eyes were trained on the bed. They were hard and wary. I followed his gaze slowly, a horrible feeling bubbling in my stomach. A rustling was coming from where Elise lay.

She was waking.