Hey everyone! So, I have a dilemma. Should I do this story in different POV's or do another story completely of Altan's POV? Review and answer me. If I don't get any input, I won't do either! Ha ha! I win!
I also got some great questions from afraidofeverestlove (see reviews to read questions)
The "friendships"- these friendships are based on power first and attraction second. Like with James, Laurent, and Victoria. Sometimes physical attraction is part of it, but not always. I didn't mention this before, but all the vampires were in their teens when changed. Victoria wanted the mood swings to make them good fighters, but it also made them feel the need to fit in with others. Basically, this is like high school to the extreme. Sara and Max (and now Bree) are the populars and Lester's group is the group that always seems kind of popular but not. Poor Altan is an outcast.
Trust issues- The reason Bree was so easily manipulated was because Sara has been a vampire for a few months already. Sara was the first one changed, followed by Altan and then Lester. Jasper said in the third book that it was possible for young vampires to work together with him there. Sara has the gift of leadership. Because she is still young, it's not very strong yet but it's strong enough for them to trust each other to not attack when their own back is turned. Her power fully developed would make Lester stop trying to take her place, but like I said, she's still young.
Altan's self control- I'm not sure I understand what you mean by this. Do you mean: how is Altan able to not attack Bree when she sneaks up on him? The answer to that is he has been a vampire for a while, so he understands what he's hearing. Bree wasn't exactly being silent and nor was she trying to sneak up on him. She was just looking around and stumbled on him. He knew she was coming and didn't really want to be found, but he put up his gift to soon and exhausted himself right before she arrived. If you mean: how is he able to not go on a killing rampage throughout Seattle? The answer to that is the mill is isolated. No human has been there in years. There is no scent for him to catch. If he went anywhere where there was a human scent, he would kill the human in seconds. He can't break out and get far though because Victoria is guarding the mill from humans getting in and vampires getting out.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bree, Riley, Sara, or Victoria, but all other vampire characters in the vampire army with names are MY OWN CREATIONS! I don't mind if others would like to borrow them; but PM and ask me first, please and thank you.
Chapter 4
Training
I left Altan to be alone. Strolling back out into the courtyard, Sara and Max strolled over stood so Max and I were flanking Sara. Sara then led us to an overhang over the main doors leading into the mill. She jumped up and lounged on the wet concrete. Max followed, sitting down next to her. I jumped up last and leaned against the back wall.
"So Bree," Sara said, leaning into Max's hand as he stroked her hair. "You know about our group and Lester's group. How much do you know about the others?"
"The only one I know outside of those you said is Altan," I answered. Max and Sara stared at me funny. "What?" I asked. Why was everyone looking at me like that today?
"Altan's power is the ability to disappear," Max said slowly. "He can disappear for up to one minute at a time. Once he has it developed more, he'll be unstoppable. That's the only reason he's still alive."
"What do you mean 'still alive'?" I asked alarmed. He seamed nice enough to me. Sara looked off into the distance.
"He doesn't listen to Riley. He fights on his own terms." She said softly. "He's a good fighter, too. Too good to kill. Riley thinks once his strength goes down a little, he'll obey the rules a little more. Then Riley will allow him to rebuild his strength. He could uproot me if he tried. But what do you know about the others?"
"Nothing." I looked out over the courtyard. The other vampires were in small groups.
"They," Sara pointed out two girls sitting together, "are molly" she pointed at the one with blond hair "and Isla," she gestured to the one with black hair and tan skin underneath the paleness, "they will side with us if need be. They were born around the same time." She then pointed out a boy with dark curly hair and a girl with strawberry blond hair. "Those are Eli and Kendra. They will stick with Riley. They don't care who's next in charge, just who's in charge now. And lastly," she growled, "Grace and Hope. Don't let their names fool you, they are deadly. They have telepathy with each other, so when fighting together they're unstoppable against a single opponent. They double team that one person, fighting in perfect time. Two on two with them is easy, though. They get overwhelmed easily, since they can't control their power." The last two were identical, both with ringlets of tawny gold. The only difference was Grace had a crescent scar on her cheek and Hope had one on her shoulder.
"Where's Riley?" I asked.
"He hunts and talks with the creator during the day then at night we do fight training." Max explained. "He should be back soon," he said looking at the small shard of sun exposing the sunset through the clouds. At his words, Riley jumped down into the clearing.
"Everyone! Gather for training!" he called over the mill. People started assembling in a line. I noticed Altan slip out of the cover of shadows in the mill. The setting sun cast a soft red light over the clearing before slipping away. In that second of light, I saw Altan more clearly. He had scars covering almost all of his neck and shoulders.
"Listen, Bree," Sara pulled me aside quickly. "Every time a newborn is brought here, Riley has us rip the newborn apart to see how long they can go on fighting." I swallowed loudly. This wasn't going to be fun. "He should pick out some easy fighters, someone where you actually have a chance of fighting off. He feels if you give up, he won't know what you're capable of. Just ignore the pain. It will go away in the end. Good luck." She straightened up. We were now all standing in a line. Riley's eyes moved up and down our ranks before coming to rest on me.
"Separate into teams," he ordered. "Sara, Max, Bree, Eli, Kendra, Isla, and Altan are in one group. Oliver, Lester, Jaro, Molly, Grace, Hope, and I are in the other. Bree, you're new so let's start with you fighting from your team. Grace, Hope, you'll be fighting for our team. No one can join the fight until I join."
A small snarl touched Sara's lips. She wasn't happy about me facing Hope and Grace. Neither was I for that matter. We separated until Sara's team was in one line with Riley's directly parallel to it about 30 feet away. I stepped out of my line towards my opponents. Grace and Hope looked at each other once before they started stalking towards me with growls building in their throats. They mirrored each others movement perfectly, right down to identical growls. I growled back. My growl was deeper, fuller, then theirs. Their growl sounded like a wild cat. Mine was like cracking thunder. I knew I should be scared, but I couldn't manage it. They were challenging me, and I would prove that I wouldn't take it. We had progressed to the middle of the space between lines. They started to circle me. Reaching deep down, I found my power to make people freeze. It would only work for a second, but that was all I needed. If Sara was right, when they were fighting, stunning one would be like stunning them both. I just hoped that Sara understood what she was talking about.
Throwing my power toward Grace, I leapt at Hope. My plan worked. Both of them were stunned and I managed to tackle Hope to the ground before they could react. As I was pinning Hope down, she woke up and started struggling. A half a second later Grace landed on my back and started pulling at my shoulders. I gritted my teeth and leaned down, biting Hope's neck. Hope and Grace cried out as I clamped down. I got ready to pull Hope's head from her shoulders when an outside force unclenched my jaw. The same force pushed me off Hope and onto my back. I struggled, but it was no use. Grace and Hope jumped up to take advantage of my weak position, Hope holding me down like I just did to her and Grace pinning my legs. Sara gasped and let out a full roar directed at Riley. Nearly all the other vampires were growling at him. Riley simply smiled.
"Riley! How dare you?" Sara snapped. "She almost beat Hope! How could you interfere?"
"Easily," he replied. "I still have to know how she takes getting ripped up, and if I have to force her to submit using my power, I will." I threw my legs up, trying to dislodge Grace, but it was no use. Grace had a firm hold and Riley's power kept beating me down.
"Returning the favor," Hope whispered before sinking her teeth into my neck and jerking her head up. The result was a long gash that led from the base of my neck to the bottom of my collar bone. Along with mind blowing pain. I screamed. Riley smiled. Hope and Grace laughed. My head fell back, Hope's venom burning in my skin.
Then I heard a roar and both Hope and Grace were thrown off me. Altan stood above me in a protective stance. His lips were drawn back in a full snarl, deep growls ripping from his chest. He sounded like an avalanche or water fall, his tone drowning out the weak kitten snarls coming from Hope and Grace. Suddenly his form flickered and he was gone. Hope and Grace stood wide eyed waiting for him to show himself again. Riley scanned the battle field for his invisible foe.
I felt a hand cover my mouth to warn me not to jump. Then soft fingers started gently rubbing the cut Hope had left me. Altan's invisible fingers were pushing all the venom out of the bite and it slowly began to disappear. My own venom sealed the cut shut, with only a faint crescent scar to show where Hope's teeth had marked me. I felt Altan's hair fall against my cheek as he worked to get my neck fixed before Riley saw.
He wasn't fast enough.
His body became slightly visible again without him noticing. Riley noticed, though. Riley crouched and sprung in one movement. He was fast. I was faster. I threw out my hand, knocking Altan away, before rolling onto my shoulders and pushing off. The timing was right so my feet hit Riley square in the chest. Riley flew away and landed flat on his back. I stood up and roared Riley down. It was pretty intimidating.
To bad I didn't factor in Grace and Hope.
They hit my side, one after the other. Hope bit the top of my left arm and Grace got my right shoulder. I dipped my head and fixed my teeth into Grace's neck. Riley wouldn't stop me this time.
I pulled up, ripping Grace's head from her shoulders. Hope screamed. I didn't wait to behead her. Their bodies fell silently to the ground. I looked around the fight that had broken around my ears.
After Riley joined the fight, it turned into a full blown battle. Eli was already in piece and Kendra didn't have much of a chance. Jaro was fighting Kendra with ease. Oliver and Max circled each other. Isla and Molly were taking occasional snaps at one another. Lester and Sara were locked together, trying to force each other to step down with pure strength. The most fearsome fight was that of Altan and Riley.
They were clawing at each other's faces. They pushed against each other, but neither could unbalance the other. Both had wide snarls. Both were growling and roaring. Altan's maroon eyes were bright with fury. Riley slashed and found purchase on Altan's neck. Oh no you don'tmy lips drew back into an involuntary snarl. Riley was jerking his head to tear Altan's neck. Taking off running, I leapt half way across the clearing and landed hard on Riley's back. My knees holding on to his waist and my hand next to Altan's on Riley's shoulder. I had so much momentum, it pushed Altan and Riley back a few steps.
"I like to be able to fight my own battles," I snarled into Riley's ear. "Don't you?" He twisted his head to try and bite my face. I threw my power at him and bit down into his neck. Then I ripped up, causing an identical gash to the one Hope had given me. Altan bit into Riley's jaw as my power faded away.
"Go," Altan said through his hold on Riley. I nodded, brought my feet beneath me, and pushed off. Jaro had just finished off Kendra and was moving toward Max. I blocked his path.
"Well, Bree," he said. "Aren't you lucky no one has torn you up yet? I remember my first time getting beaten. It was hell, but at least once it was over I knew how to dismantle a vampire. I'm sorry, but if I have the chance I'll do the same to you. That's just how things work here."
"Why, thank you Jaro!" I said sarcastically. "So nice to know you'll rip me limb from limb if you get the chance! What a friend you are." He laughed.
"Well it doesn't sound too good if you put it that way!" he cried, still laughing. I smiled a little then attacked. Anyone could tell he didn't have anything against me. Like he said, that's just the way things go here.
Jaro was a good fighter. He almost got me on several occasions. Almost being the key word there. After a little while, Riley called for everyone to stop.
"Once again," Riley spat. "Altan has broken the rules once again." His voice was deadly quiet. "Jaro, Molly, hold him." Jaro and Molly darted forward and grabbed Altan's arms. Altan curled his lip slightly, but otherwise gave no sign that he had been overpowered. Riley walked up slowly until he was only inches from Altan. Riley's hand shot out and pushed Altan's head back, exposing his neck. I took a step forward, but Sara put her hand on my shoulder as a warning. Riley leaned in and bit deep into Altan's neck. Altan involuntarily cried out before squeezing his eyes shut and going silent. When Riley released a moment later, I could see the cut was deep and full of venom.
It would make another one of many scars.
Riley stalked away and the rest of the army dispersed. I walked over to Altan, who still had his eyes closed tight. I lay on hand on his shoulder so he wouldn't be startled. He didn't even open his eyes. He would know me by my smell. I started rubbing the bite on his neck, mimicking what he had done to me to get the venom out. Slowly, the bite began to heal. Once it finally left its scar, it was lighter then the others. Altan opened his eyes at last.
"Why?" he asked.
"Returning the favor."
So, review and tell me about Altan's POV. I don't know about you guys, but I'm falling in love with Altan. In case anyone is confused, here are all the vampires in the army. Riley, Altan, Bree, Sara, Max, Oliver, Jaro, Lester, Eli, Kendra, Molly, Isla, Grace, Hope. Please review! this chapter is my pride and joy! I need to know other people like it too.