Hey readers! Well guys I have to admit I'm really quite sorry the chapters are so short so far so I'm making this one actually long so you don't throw virtual rocks at me. (Hey- it could happen)
Well here you go.
I got into the parking lot just in time to see Bella and Edward speeding off in a car far too quickly. I pulled on the magic within me and flowed after them invisible to all but my own kind. I was rather troubled by the fact he seemed to be able to read mine and Aaron's thoughts when we spoke to each other. I could hear what Edward was saying into his phone, and it gave me chills.
"I don't know Elizer (Tanya's coven) I just think it might be trouble, I can only hear them when they talk to each other."
There was a pause as he listened to the other line.
"No,"
"Possibly, Carlisle just wanted you informed."
Another pause.
"No, we would never expect you to…"
"I hadn't thought of that – sure."
"See you soon."
Edward took a sharp left, I followed easily. Reasonably I knew there was little cause for worry, but there were so many things that could mean. He could be calling for reinforcements or the vampiric equivalent of scientists. My form quaked at the very thought of Doctors – good intents or not…
I stopped thinking like that. It didn't really matter at the moment and I was nearly visible in my weakness. Either of the options was bad.
Aaron and I could only take so much drain. Or, I should say Aaron could only take so much strain. I would be cut off from before it was too dangerous. I was a conduit after all, too valuable to lose.
Poor Aaron- ridiculously I was already mourning him in a corner of my mind. I knew the stories- vampire interactions rarely ended peaceably- not without a few threats anyway.
And all it really took for me to lose my brother was an overly extravagant show of strength.
We were driving down a path now, well they were driving I was following. Bella spoke up for the first time as a beautiful white house came into view.
"What's going on?" She sounded scared.
A thought occurred to me – Edward, a vampire was driving her to what was obviously his house while Bella, a human sat rooted to the seat, her breath coming too quickly. I'd put even money her heart was racing- though I didn't bother to listen that close, too much information.
Why was Edward driving her to this extremely secluded area?
"It's fine, Bella, love. The new children know about us, my family and me. I don't know exactly what they are, Carlisle's never seen or heard of anything like them, I just wanted to make sure you're safe."
His answer seemed to satisfy her and it calmed me, if only slightly. Surely, if she knew so much this couldn't be a one-way trip.
He parked the car in the drive and opened her door for Bella, and then something happened that nearly shocked me out of my ethereal state.
Edward kissed her- not lightly before moving back to a safe distance, lovingly – slowly – like he was pouring the beauty of the sun into her. When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against hers.
"Bella," he breathed, she only smiled back at him.
There was no triumph in his eyes, no fierce bloodlust, (though they had darkened a shade), no amusement at how very ensnared she was, only love.
I must admit I almost made that "Awwww" noise you probably made just now, but that would have given the game away. My last thought snapped me out of whatever trance I was in.
I was on a mission here, I quickly circled the house. Noting a side building I stopped blocking out sounds so I wouldn't miss any conversation. I moved to the building, circling it too before phasing though one of the walls.
It was a garage, I admired the cars briefly careful to memorize the license plate numbers before going back to the main house. Looking through the windows.
It was beautifully decorated and were it any other time I would have admired the designs. I moved quickly checking for potential risks- though I wasn't really sure what this entailed.
Usually Jim took the risks assement missions but there were too many initial threats for him to leave Trevor and Cadence alone, not that they would have minded leaving Aaron on his own or me, for that matter. The fact that I was here proved that, a brief flash of resentment before I quashed the thought. Such things were dangerous when you shared your mind with the one most likely to be angered if they were revealed.
I pondered it for a moment before squishing back to the corner of my mind along with other un-patriotic thoughts, pursuits of men and fading memories of my mother. Things Cadence would never touch if I could help it.
The house seemed safe enough so I flew (what I did wasn't quite flying, it was more like… shifting through space though many misunderstand the difference) back to where the drive met the real road. I popped (again not quite the right word) back into existence and informed the others of my progress. Jim told me to run to the house so I didn't startle Edward into something protective and dangerous.
It was only a few miles to the house for I took off at human pace speeding up quickly until I'm sure I would have seemed blur to anyone looking. I could keep pace with werewolves and out run vampires if I really got moving.
I kept it below vampire standard pace giving them the option of running if the wanted to. Normal Seers couldn't run like conduits could, a gift from the high priestess long ago. A gift in part a curse in majority. I shoved the traitor thoughts, far too often today into the corner reserved for them as the house came into view.
Edward? I sang in my head, knowing better than to wait for a response. Just me, excuse the intrusion but I followed you home to approximate threats, I paused a moment wanting him on my side badly for Aaron's sake and risked the vaguely ad thought. Orders are orders.
I jumped onto the porch in a single lithe leap planting myself as softly as any vampire. Before I had a chance to be pleased with myself, however my remaining momentum propelled me forward so I bashed my head into the door instead of knocking.
Not what I meant by curse but it fit neatly into the same category.
"So much for graceful, Nicole. At least I didn't really dent the door, much." I mumbled
aloud fully aware Edward could hear me he was on the stairs now moving at human pace. This was another tip from Jim, vampires liked to feel in control, if we negated their powers it made them feel vulnerable, and there fore unpredictable.
He suggested I give back some of there gifts, so I volunteered my thoughts. Granted, it was an odd note to start on but it was still a thought.
Edward opened the door looking a little confused. I waved not entering.
"It's just me, sorry for following you but I had to make sure you weren't calling in troops, usual procedure, you know." He did not know, but nodded anyway.
"Are you Nicole, or Cadence?" His brow furrowed as though trying to find a cue.
"Nicole," He nodded as though he had guessed that and stepped back from the door.
"You didn't need to worry about Bella, we won't hurt anyone before a shot is fired." I smiled reassuringly. But it seemed to have the opposite effect.
"How do you mean?" His words harsher but still perfectly articulated. I ran the words over in my head and realized the problem.
"Oh, no. I only meant we won't hurt you if you don't hurt us." His face calmed. (phew).
"Well are you going to stand outside all night?" I stared at the threshold, annoyed by the stupid Seer quirk.
"You have to invite me in." Edward looked stunned before laughing.
"I thought that was supposed to be a vampire thing." I laughed too.
"So was garlic and wooden stakes," He nodded.
"True, true. Come in Nicole." I smiled, he hadn't specified in to where, or when until when, modern times gave us such freedom. I could always enter this house from now on.
The house was more spacious than it looked from out side. His eyes danced around the room for a moment before he darted up the stairs at the soft sigh of Bella's voice that I could only just make out.
"Edward?" I nearly smiled at his attentiveness. However unnatural their love was, however close to the edge they must come every time they touched, however impossible it seemed Edward's and Bella's love was so, pure. He murmured things to her and I choose not to listen, instead inspecting a grand piano on a dais.
They came down Edward carrying her bridal style at vampire speed and set her on the couch. Sitting beside her, I walked over and took a seat on the floor across the coffee table from them crossing my legs so a foot was in the crook on each of my knees.
Edward chuckled; I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Our sister Alice sits like that all the time." He said I marveled that Bella's heart rate sped at the words "our sister".
"So, now what?" I asked no one in particular.
"I don't know, why are you here?" Bella asked.
"Well, I'm here so Cadence knows that you're here. But that's it, so…" I trailed off trying to think of a safe conversation, the words "safe conversation" caught my mind and again vague anger bubbled to the surface of my thoughts.
"Can she access your mind now?" Edward asked, our mind, her mind, I thought automatically, seething in my corner of the world.
"No, she has to leave her home mind to access another's. She can view my thoughts without me knowing or feed me ideas if she wants, but she'd lose control of her real body." I said struggling to keep my thoughts clean, she would want to see this conversation later.
"Is it a two way connection?" He asked leaning forward. "Is it a two way connection?" he asked me, I hadn't thought about it but then nothing had brought it up. My eyes widened, was it?? Could it be?? She didn't know I was her conduit until she reached for my mind, if it was, if she kept that from me…
"Nicole?" Edward's voice pulled me from my treasonous thoughts, if she had I was contemplating violence, that was traitor enough I shoved that whole park of the conversation away erasing it from my mind and replaced it by bashing my head against the coffee table as hard as possible, hiding that I did it on purpose and blinking widely.
"No, it's not a two way thing, but she can walk in a lot of other's thoughts besides me." I said quickly trying to convince him with my expression to droop it and the fact that I just purposely injured myself.
"Can every Seer do that?" Bella asked somehow understanding the need to move on normally.
"Well it depends on the bloodlines, that's how magic passes in our world. The closer you are to the throne the more power you have, or so it should be. Scattered normal Seers sometimes have great power- though no one knows why."
No one knows for sure anyway, I corrected in my head. If I had more freedom of thought I was sure I could figure it out quickly, I had the sneaking suspicion the answer was painfully obvious but I had shied away from such thoughts before.
"Can you do it?" Edward asked frustrated again that my thoughts were silent to him. I thought he would ask that, I didn't let the question brush my mind at all.
"Hun, I hadn't thought about it, but of course I couldn't I'm low born." I said my thoughts said the same. I really hoped I couldn't walk through other's minds, I really hoped the obviousness of the truth would die down again and be easier to ignore.
Edward's expression changed again. He looked about to speak when I heard the crunch of tires on the gravel road a few miles away, I didn't acknowledge the noise but Edward perked up at the sound.
"My family's returning, I should make sure they know you're here." I nodded and his form moved to fast out the door, my eye caught it like always- Jim couldn't even see things like I could- the thought intertwined with the traitor ones and the connection drove me to bang my head on the table again.
The pain made my mind blank again. I grasped for a subject to keep my mind clear.
"So," I began, smiling at Bella conspiratorially. "Dating a vampire Hun?"