Disclaimer: Characters you recognise belong to Stephenie Meyer. Characters you don't, belong to me.
A/N: Thanks for your reviews and because I just know someone is going to ask me this:-p Cat Sidhe is pronounced "Kett Shee" or you can pronounce it "Cat Shee"
Dance
Rosalie refused to tell us what Siobhan had said until we were all assembled. She would however tell us that it was nothing good. So we had to wait a whole fifteen minutes for Seth and Embry to get back from patrolling. Then when we called Esme and Alice, they were still grocery shopping, so we had to wait for them to come home. An hour later, I wanted to remove Rosalie's skull from her head.
We all stared at each other. Some of us in disbelief, some of us still swallowing our tongues, but all of us were dumbfounded.
"A what?" I sputtered.
"Cat Sidhe, also known as Cat Sith. Legends vary. Some say it's a witch, some say it's a fairy but in all of them, it's a black cat with a white patch of fur on its chest."
Emmett let out a big, booming laugh. "A...fairy?"
Rosalie glared at him then rolled her eyes at his placating grin. "That's just a legend. Like vampires sleeping in coffins and werewolves and their silver bullets. Doesn't mean it's true. Siobhan said she's never seen one, she thought they were just a myth, but the description matches."
Carlisle bit his lip, thoughtfully. "Did she mention the hypnosis?"
"No...but like I said, the myth is just a basis. They may have abilities that are unknown, they may even be completely different as the legends describe them, but at least it's a start."
Jacob sat back in his chair and sighed. "I dunno. It sounds...weird." We all stared at him in silence. Weird was rich coming from a werewolf. He sat up and leaned forward, his face entirely disbelieving.
"Vampires being hunted and killed by a shapeshifting, Irish fairy?" He enunciated.
Yeah. That was weird. The room descended into madness. People were shouting over each other. The lines were clearly drawn. Some thought it was outrageous, others thought it was nuts but worth looking into. A few, one of whom I am no longer related to, though it was a perfectly normal explanation.
Rosalie raised her hands to quiet everyone down. When that didn't work, she settled for screeching, "Shut the fuck up! All of you."
We did.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes in an effort to gather her composure. Her shoulders relaxed slightly but the death glare remained firmly in place. "Just because people say it's a goddam fairy doesn't mean it's true. They say vampires are evil and that we have no souls, and that we are destined to burn in hell, which is completely ridiculous."
Edward shifted uncomfortably in his chair and looked at Bella from the corner of his eye. Hmm. Interesting. If deadward thought he was destined for hellfire then why was he all set to change Bella before creepy baby made an appearance? He looked at me, his face twisted in pain and shame. I sent him my most comforting thought. Hey, you did her a favour. At least she can stand up now without falling over.
His expression changed and he turned away from me with a disgusted glare. Honestly. That's the last time I ever try to be nice to a leech. Renesmee, who had awoken from her nap and was now perched on the chair arm next to Jacob, gave me a soft smile. I begrudgingly, against my better judgement, nodded at her and looked at the ceiling.
"Okay, so we have an idea of what these things are. Do we know how to kill them?" Emmett asked. His face lit up at the idea of a possible fight. He looked like a little boy at Christmas.
Rosalie sniffed and threw him a warning glance. "She doesn't know. She guesses they'd be susceptible to the same attacks as we are." She said, gesturing round the room. "Fire, vampire, werewolf...the usual...but she doesn't know," she added quickly, probably not wanting to be blamed if the info was a dud. She glanced over at Alice and after a slight pause, addressed the tiny vampire.
"Can you see---?"
Alice cut her off, more harshly than necessary. "I can't see anything!And I won't while they're involved,"she spat, glaring at Jacob. Her short, black hair was in a state and her usually immaculate clothes were crumpled. The combination of trying to induce a vision and self annoyance over her failure to do so had left her with a throbbing headache and a short temper. Jasper went to her side, his long fingers smoothing gently through her messy hair and resting on the back of her neck. She relaxed slightly as they worked her tense muscles.
I felt a kick in the pit of my stomach but forced it down, telling myself not to be so weak and emotional. Still, it must be nice to have someone who cared enough to try and make it all go away. Jasper's eyes flickered to mine briefly but his face remained impassive. One thing I liked about this leech. He never pretended to give a shit.
"Did Siobhan have any more information?" he asked Rose. "Did she know what other abilities they might have?"
Good question. Probably the most important one. Guess you never stop being a soldier, even after a hundred years.
Rosalie shook her head, blonde hair cascading over tenses shoulders. "No. She's going to see if she can find anything else. She said she'll call back later and speak to Carlisle about it."
Aro who had been watching the exchange in silence, rose from his seat on the sofa. Jane and Alec moved beside him and Felix, after a low huff of annoyance, also stood. Only the head leech's wife, Sulpicia, remained seated. Aro moved a little closer to Rosalie.
"Is this, Siobhan, going to join us, here?" He asked. Rose straightened instinctively but her expression was one of boredom.
"She won't come. They are having a dispute with another coven. One of them has taken an, unrequited, fancy to Maggie and she won't take the risk of leaving them."
Aro nodded. "Very well." He said, reclaiming his seat on the sofa. The others remained standing.
"We need to find as much information as possible." Jasper said, his hand still on Alice's neck.
"Leah, Bella and I can continue sifting through the legends and myths. Esme can help us when she has some spare time." He paused and looked over at Carlisle, who nodded, before he continued. "Jacob and his pack can continue to control the perimeter."
"I'll have to talk to Sam. Let him know what's going on." My stomach dropped as Jacob said his name. It had been so long but it still wasn't going away.
Aro stood once more. "We can continue questioning the vampires we know of," he said, gesturing to what was left of his coven. Jane looked positively thrilled at the idea.
Jasper nodded. "Of course," he said with more respect than I thought the leech deserved. "It might be worth trying to track down the other tribes. See if they can give us any information."
"Emmett and I will do that." Rosalie said. And just when everyone thought she was being particularly selfless and helpful, she added, "It's been a while since we've had some quality time together."
She was so gonna spend her mission shopping and sunning herself in Africa. Alice stood up with a weary sigh. "I'll join you." Both Rosalie, and Emmett, seemed determined she wouldn't but it was Jasper she turned to. "I need to get away for a while. This place is giving me a headache, literally."
She looked up at him from under her eyelashes. His face remained impassive and his jaw was set. I felt a wave of worry and love sweep over me and a steady determination that I would not let her go anywhere. I wasn't the only one judging by the look on everyone else's faces.
"Jasper..."she said, beseechingly.
"I'll go with you," he said.
Alice looked at me and Bella, her face a mixture of barely concealed delight and guilt. Looked like Rose wasn't the only one lusting after another honeymoon. Jasper looked a little guilty himself, having knowledge of the pure torture that was endless research. Rosalie glared at me, imploring me to beg Jasper to stay. To throw such a tantrum that he'd seem like a dick if he left. He would never let Alice out of his sight with an unknown threat out there, and she wouldn't go with his consent.
Because I'm not a completely heartless bitch, I ignored her. I let out a sigh.
"Jasper, why don't you research from the road? You can call in with any information you find and Bella and I can look into it. Y'know, with the computer and all."
Both him and Alice looked at me as though they wanted to eat me. Yeah, they were pretty happy with me at that moment. Rosalie smirked. "I have an idea. Why doesn't Felix stay behind and help you two research?"she said, far too sweetly. What. A. Bitch.
"That's okay. We can manage." I replied, through gritted teeth.
Felix grinned and rolled his shoulders. "I'd be glad to help you out." He said, leering at both me and Bella. Edward hissed but he ignored him. "Just tell me what you two need and I'll be entirely at your service."
As everyone exited the room, I pulled Jasper to one side. He looked worried, probably picking up the intense waves of anger emanating from my body. "Just remember something when you're passing through Europe, leech. Belgian chocolates are my favourite."
He smiled, a broad grin, and grabbed my wrist. He dropped a kiss on top of my head. I waited until he'd left before I wiped my hand over my hair.
She danced around a blazing fire, wind whipping her hair. It was bitter cold but she was too happy to notice. A young girl played a fiddle, fast and sharp, and she changed her pace to match. Far in the distance, the wolves howled. She smiled, head tipped back as she revelled in the noise.
Milosh pulled her cousin, Kizzy into the bushes, a deep laugh rumbling from his chest, as they played a familiar game and she smiled at the joy on both their faces. Men fell over drunk and women taunted them for their inability to hold their liquor.
The wolves sounded again, both sharp and deep, and the contrast made her blood freeze. A warning that she had only heard once as a child. She looked to her grandmother. Her old face was tense with worry but her lips were tight in defiance.
"Mirela," she whispered and the young girl rushed to her side. "Help Nadya put the children to bed."
She did as she was asked, her hands trembling as she lay them down to sleep and laughed off their worried questions. The music played once more. Outside, the men took up thick branches, blazing with fire and ash, and Kizzy and Milosh hurried from the forest, the girl adjusting her skirt. The atmosphere had changed, a thread of fear and tension weaving through the cold, night air but still they danced on.
A/N: Cat Sidhe is a real mythological creature. Meaning it's probably not real and never was but I didn't make it up :-) I used the basic idea and twisted and changed it until it suited me. I know this has probably been a little slow over the past two chapters but I needed to get all these details in here. Next chapter, we will be getting out of that living room. I promise. For the most part anyway;-)