Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Twilight...damn!
A/N
Thank you once again to Black Hale for sorting this chapter out for me. Sorry I've taken so long to post but RL has been quite hectic!
Please take a second to review at the end...I promise I WILL get around to answering you all. Your words brighten my day! xx
Chapter 7
"What's going on?" Bella asked, now wide awake watching Edward go insane. He was tugging on his hair then rubbing his eyes and gasping
"Well, which one is it, Alice?" He asked quietly, letting her know he was seeing Alice's visions. Bella's heart beat picked up its pace as she felt panic rising in her blood.
"What? Edward, what did she see?" Bella asked, grasping at his arms and moving him to look at her.
"She...shit, there were three of them...I don't know which one is going to happen." Edward replied through gritted teeth.
"Alice? Get in here!" He shouted, which was completely unnecessary. As soon as he had said her name, Alice barrelled through the door, locking it swiftly behind her.
'Okay, deal with each vision at a time'Edward thought as he ushered Bella over to the en suite bathroom.
"Stay in here for a minute, okay?" He said softly, about to turn away until he notice Bella shaking. Her whole body trembled, her eyes were wide with worry and fear as she squeezed Edward's hand.
Leading her to sit on the edge of the bath, Edward crouched down in front of her, prised his hand from hers and placed them on each of her cheeks.
"Its okay baby" He murmured, kissing her lips softly. "I'm just going to leave you for a few seconds to check something. I'll be back really quickly."
Edward waited until Bella nodded at him before kissing her again and walking back into his bedroom, closing the door on his way.
Alice was still standing at the door, her eyes focussing and un-focusing as she searched for the right vision. Edward could still see the three original visions circling through her mind as he turned out the bedroom light and glanced into the trees outside. He centralised his hearing outside of the house, listening for movement or a stray thought. He heard nothing. He noticed Emmett creeping into the very spot he was looking at. Emmett stood still, his body tense as he tried to catch a whiff of scent. Finally, Emmett glanced in Edward's direction and shook his head gently, alerting Edward that there were no untoward scents in the vicinity.
"That was a future vision, Edward." Alice whispered as Edward turned towards her.
"So was the second, but the third...it felt like a past event, which makes me think that Bella's parents are there. Do you know the cottage?" She whispered again.
Nodding, Edward made his way back over to the bathroom where he opened the door to the sight of Bella. Her knees where tucked into her chest, tears streaming down her face.
Moving to her quickly, Edward scooped her up into his arms and cradled her against his chest.
"Just tell me what she saw Edward. You wouldn't believe what images my mind has conjured up." She sobbed as Edward sat on the floor, his back against the bath and Bella snuggled on his lap.
"Alice saw three visions consecutively. The first was of James and Laurent outside in the trees, looking into our bedroom window while you slept here..." he started.
Bella gasped. They had been watching her?
"...but we think this was a future vision. Emmett just went to the spot they were seen in and he doesn't smell them. It also explains why I didn't hear their thoughts. Even though I wasn't actually here, I would have heard them on my way back here. Alice would also have seen them there, so we don't need to worry about that one, because there is no way on earth that I'm leaving you alone now." Edward said, placing a kiss on the top of her head.
Bella looked unconvinced but nodded for him to continue.
"The second vision was...of James...here, banging on the bedroom door." Bella again gasped, her eyes widening as she glanced towards the door.
"Again, it's a future vision, so it is something we can either avoid or deal with when it comes. In my experience, it's something we can avoid." Edward explained, trying his best to sooth her but fearing it was to no avail.
"And the third?" Bella asked quietly, actually wondering to herself if she really wanted to know. However, she needed to deal with it, whatever it was.
"The third was a past vision, Alice thinks, it was of a cottage deep in the woods. I am actually familiar with it. I pass it almost every time I hunt, although I haven't been in that direction for a few weeks. Alice thinks it is where your parent's are being kept." Edward explained, hoping the last vision at least would brighten her slightly.
Bella found her heart stuttered as she took in what Edward had said. He knew where her parents were?
Thank God!
"REALLY?" Bella shouted, throwing her arms around Edward's neck and kissing as much skin on his face that she could find.
Grasping her face, Edward nodded. "Yes, but we need to go tell the others. Although they are probably already aware, we need to make a plan of attack." Edward said, lifting Bella up as he stood and placing her feet gently on the tiled floor. Linking their hands together after Bella had dressed in some black jeans and a blue t-shirt, they made their way to the living room where everyone had already assembled.
Sitting down together, next to Jasper and Alice, Edward briefed the family on Alice's visions. Jasper rubbed his hands up and down Alice's arms in a soothing pattern as she moved from the arm of the chair to his lap, winding his arms around her waist, intently listening to Edward.
Esme was sitting across from them on another chair as Carlisle stood behind her with his hands placed on her shoulders.
Rosalie was standing next to the window, arms crossed, her eyes darting between Edward and the dark forest behind the glass. Emmett stood behind her, moving now and again to kiss her head, or squeeze her waist.
Bella was in awe of them. They were all so different from each other but there was no way of ignoring the love they shared for one another and the way they bonded together as a team and a family was astonishing.
By the time Edward had finished explaining Alice's visions, Bella found herself sitting in Edward's lap, one of his hands clutching her waist and the other rubbing the outside of her hand delicately.
"...Emmett has already been outside and didn't detect anything unusual which makes me think that the vision was a future event..." Edward continued as Carlisle interrupted
"Where I would usually be inclined to agree Edward, please remember that they have successfully hidden their scents from us before. Although we have no idea how they did it, we can't assume they haven't done it again."
Shit! Edward hadn't thought of that.
"I hate to say this Edward, but we need to call in the wolves." Emmett said as Rosalie glanced at him over her shoulder, her nosed turned up and eyes scrunched together.
"Do we have to? It took Esme and I ages to get their stink out of the house." Rosalie whined.
"Do you need me to call him?" Bella asked as Edward reluctantly agreed.
Bella stood and started towards the stairs, sensing Edward follow her.
"I'll be one minute Edward. I need to use the bathroom anyway." She said, placing her hand on his chest to halt his movement.
"Tough. I'm not leaving your side after those visions." Edward said, clutching her hand and moving her towards the stairs.
Bella huffed slightly making Edward smirk. She wanted to insist on him staying put but in all honestly, hearing the vision again in front of the family made her quite frightened, especially as they all visibly shivered when hearing it. She surmised that if they were shaken about it, then it would be wise to feel the same. She was grateful to have them all here, willing to help in any capacity.
Stepping inside the bedroom first, Edward kept Bella behind him as she listened inside the room and glanced into the darkness. Appeased that the coast was clear, he turned on the light and ushered Bella inside, closing the door quickly.
"My phone is in my bag in the corner there." Bella said, pointing to her rucksack.
"I'm going in there and you need to tune out. The thought of you hearing is quite unsettling to be honest." She muttered, making her way to the bathroom as Edward chuckled and walked towards her bag.
After washing her hands, Bella walked back into the room to find Edward gone.
"Edward?" she called as she heard noises from outside. Pacing over to the window, Bella saw Edward and Emmett wrestling two other men outside, just inside the tree line.
"EDWARD!" She screamed, preparing to run downstairs. Just as she moved towards the door, Bella heard Edward scream her name. She looked back down towards where Edward was standing a few seconds before, only to see the figure of a man jumping towards the window. He was moving so fast that she was sure he would break through the glass with no problem. Screaming, she ran towards the bathroom, slamming the door shut and locking it.
#~#~***~#~#
Edward chuckled as Bella ushered him away from the bathroom door, not letting her know that he had heard her use the bathroom quite a few times.
He picked up her bag quickly finding her mobile phone. Dropping the bag a little too hard, various items fell out of the overstuffed bag. Edward crouched down to pack the things back in as movement in the trees outside caught his eye.
Not wanting to alert the intruders that he had seen them, Edward placed the bag back on the floor and moved towards the bedroom door.
Once the window was out of sight, Edward jumped down the flight of stairs, grabbing Emmett and Jasper on his way out towards the dark figures he'd seen. Carlisle and Rosalie followed them as they sped towards the looming figures in the darkness.
The blonde haired guy who Edward immediately registered as 'James' smirked smugly as the air suddenly smelt of fresh blood...fresh human blood. Jasper and Emmett stopped dead, trying to rein their need as Edward raced ahead, the smell apparently not fazing him, letting out a loud roar as he neared the duo.
The other vampire who was with James, showed shock and panic as he muttered "Pourquoi il n'arrête pas ?".
"Speak fucking English Laurent!" James spat in the dark skinned vampires face, his eyes staying on Edward as he raced towards them.
"I thought you said the blood would stop them and the girl would be easy prey!" Laurent shouted, his eyes dancing with fear.
James growled in Laurent's direction and launched himself towards Edward.
Edward stopped a few yards from James's approaching figure.
"Well Edward, we meet at last. I've heard quite a few things about you and your 'family' and I must admit your strength with blood is quite remarkable. You even managed to fuck her! I'm praying I'm just as lucky when I get my hands on her." James chuckled as he spoke.
Edward's mind was suddenly bombarded with James's thoughts. All were horrific and all involved Bella in some way. If he had been human it would have made him heave. Instead, Edward let out a feral growl and lunged towards James, catching him by the arm and hurling him into the nearest tree. James merely smirked in his direction as he pounced, his fist catching Edward's jaw causing him to stumble backwards. He caught Emmett and Laurent fighting out of the corner of his eye but noticed that Emmett was obviously far more skilled than his opponent. Laurent was lacking the co-ordination to win, plus, Emmett was huge!
Edward's mind was again occupied with another of James's thoughts of Bella. She was bound at the hand from a wet stone wall and bleeding from various slices on her shoulders, neck and chest. Her mouth formed a straight line but her chest was heaving as she stood motionless.
"She will be mine Cullen and I am going to enjoy Every. Single. Minute." James' smarmy voice rang out as he felt his legs go from under him. As he stood to catch James's falling foot, he heard Bella scream.
"EDWARD!"
"Oh good, she's ready." James chuckled.
Edward swung around, missing James's collar by milliseconds. James bent at the knee and launched himself towards the window of Edward's bedroom, the window Bella's face appeared at.
"BELLA!" Edward screamed, his legs already crouching for the same jump James had just made.
"JASPER! MOVE!" Edward heard Emmett shout as the fight continued on the ground.
Edward was seconds behind James but he knew that was all James might need. If he was just trying to distract Edward with his sordid thoughts and he really just wanted Bella dead, she would be.
Landing on the window pane and throwing his body through the window, Edward caught James just as he knocked through the bathroom door, and appeared shortly after with a nail file in the eye.
"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" He heard Bella shout. Her voice was so calm and cold but Edward's body relaxed slightly when she spoke. Thank God she was okay.
James's chuckle alerted Edward's body back to high awareness. James was looking at Bella with a wide grin, tilting his head to the side as he appraised her.
"Yum, I'm really going to enjoy you, my darling." he said, licking his lips and taking a step forward.
"I don't fucking think so!" Edward snarled, his legs carrying him forward before his brain demanded it.
Just as Edward reached James, his body went stiff.
"Sorry Edward, but it looks like my reinforcements have arrived." James smiled as he reached into the bathroom and dragged a struggling Bella from behind the door.
Her eyes were hard as she tried her best to pull away from James's grip. Edward's body was trying desperately to move towards her but he couldn't even move his head. His frustration got ahead of him as a growl erupted from his chest.
"That's right baby. I love to hear you growl." A voice purred into his ear. He would know that voice from anywhere and even if his body wasn't currently immobile, that sound would have certainly stopped him dead in his tracks.
"Jane." Edward stated, feeling a hand caress his shoulder, moving down over his chest.
"It's been way too long baby." She said, moving in front of him and showing him her face.
"Edward!" Bella gasped as Edward saw James grasping her around the waist with one hand and slapping his other around her mouth.
"Bella! No! Don't you fucking touch her!" Edward snarled as James started moving towards the window.
"Aw, don't ya just hate goodbyes." Jane laughed as Bella moved out of Edward's line of sight.
"Jasper! Alice! Where the fuck are you!" Edward shouted, his body shaking with the need to protect Bella. To save her.
"They can't help you baby, I have you all to myself. Finally." Jane whispered in Edward's ear as she began to unbutton his shirt.
"Jane! Let me go!" Edward said through clenched teeth, his mind panicking.
Where was Bella? Where were his family?
"Hush now Edward. I'm not going to let you go this time, I've waiting too long for you and you're going to be punished for making me wait so long." Jane replied with a fake pout.
Forcing his body to relax slightly, Edward tried another tactic.
"Jane baby, let me go. I need to touch you." He purred at her, almost gagging as he finished. Jane's eyes flashed with lust as her lips turned into a smirk.
"It's about time you saw things my way Eddie. I'm going to make you forget all about the silly human." she said, slowly releasing him from her hold. Edward's body relaxed even more as her power faded around him. He forced his lips into a smirk as he reached for her arms.
Jane closed her eyes in pleasure as Edward moved his fingers over her the skin of her arms, shoulders, neck until suddenly she found herself slammed into the bedroom wall with Edward's hands over her eyes.
"You see Jane, what you neglected to realise was not only am I well aware of your stalker tendencies over the last fifty years, but I'm also aware that your power doesn't work if you can't see your victim." Edward whispered into her ear causing her whole body to shudder.
Then his hands were gone and replaced by a thick piece of fabric. She soon after found herself bound to the bed. Edward had hidden reinforced chains in every room of the house. After hunting so many vampires over the years, he had learned to always be prepared. Thank God!
"If you can't see me Jane, you can't control me. Now tell me where my family are? Tell me where Bella is?" He asked directly into her ear.
Jane winced as she heard the humans name fall from Edward's lips.
"Why is she so important to you Eddie?" Jane hissed. "We could have been great together. I would have loved you and fought beside you, but instead you fuck a human?"
Edward heard the need in her voice, didn't she understand that if there was any attraction there for her, he would have done something?
Jane wasn't ugly. Not by far. She was a vampire, therefore she was unearthly beautiful but in no way Edward's type. She was almost childlike in stature, Edward surmised long ago that she was probably turned at the age of 16, if that. She had bobbed blonde hair and shining red eyes and she always called him 'Eddie'. But what was most off putting about Jane was her power.
Jane had the means to totally incapacitate an enemy by simply looking at them. She could manipulate any or all of the bodies nerve endings, meaning she could make your body do almost anything. Her two favourite things were halting all bodily movement, much like she had just subjected Edward to, and making her opponent writhe in pain. It was no wonder she was the Volturi's golden girl for decades.
Edward had met Jane in the 1950's when he visited Italy. She seemed like a nice girl, as human draining vampires went, but her seemingly obsessive thoughts got the better of him after a few weeks and when he decided to leave, she almost kidnapped him and kept him locked in her study.
Thankfully, Edward had warned Carlisle about her worrying thoughts and Alice saw Jane's decision to capture him.
Over the years Alice had gotten some visions of Jane showing up unexpectedly, but they had always managed to avoid trouble.
Why hadn't Alice seen this?
Shaking his head, Edward moved back to the matter at hand. Finding Bella and his family.
"I'm not fucking her, I'm in love with her! She's my mate!" Edward snarled at her disgusted tone.
"Is Alec here with you Jane?" Edward asked quietly as Jane's body stiffened.
That was a no. Thank God!
Jane's twin brother Alec was just as deadly. His power was to block any sensation of feeling in the body. He had also developed his power into blocking mental feelings. He was the anti-Jasper. It was lucky Alec hadn't followed Jane. It would have made the whole process of fighting back much more difficult.
"ALICE? ROSE?" Edward shouted as he re buttoned his shirt, walking over the shards of broken glass towards the smashed window. Peering out, he noticed Emmett running back through the trees towards the back of the house.
"Emmett! Get the fuck up here now!" He shouted at the approaching figure. Emmett titled his head in Edward's direction and leaped through the window into Edward's bedroom.
"Holy fuck! Is that Jane?" Emmett whispered, even though the level of his voice was utterly useless.
Rolling his eyes, Edward quickly checked Emmett over for any harm. Seeing none he started barking orders.
"Em, you need to do a sweep of the house. I've been calling the others but I can't even hear their thoughts."
"Rose and Jasper chased after James and Bella." Emmett said as he left the room in search for the others.
Edward paced, thinking of ways to handle Jane, wondering whether Jasper and Rose had managed to catch or at least see where James had taken Bella, and hoping that the others were nearby and unharmed.
Minutes later, Emmett returned with Esme and Alice in tow.
Alice, if it was possible, looked green. Edward hugged her closely as she dry sobbed into his chest. Then he was bombarded by dozens of visions.
Bella screaming...
Bella crying...
Bella bleeding...
Bella dying...
Bella with red eyes...
By the time the visions stopped, Edward was on his knees, quietly muttering 'no' under his breath. Alice continued to sob as Esme tried her best to comfort them both.
"Can we stop them?" Edward asked quietly as Alice caught his eye.
"I don't know." Alice whispered back, her voice full of terror and fear.
Suddenly, Jane started laughing hysterically from her corner.
"Silly little children." She said eerily. "Don't you realise that now she's with him, there is no way back. He'll be keeping her alive for a while, enjoying her, but as soon as you make your move, he'll bite her. To tell you the truth, I don't think he's really decided whether to kill her or turn her." she said, chuckling all the way through her little speech.
"You fucking psycho." Alice screeched, running towards Jane. Emmett caught her arm just as she reached the bed, her fingers threatening to rip Jane limb from limb.
"Where's Carlisle?" Edward asked Esme.
"Trying to find something that will hold Miss Stalker for longer" Esme said gently, trying her best to sooth him.
Carlisle appeared seconds later with handcuffs.
"I really don't want to know where you got those." Emmett said quietly.
Over the years, even though they were not related, Esme and Carlisle had become every bit of the mother and father roles they played. Emmett always found it hard to understand that they were adults and had sex.
Esme rolled her eyes and giggled. Edward found himself getting more and more agitated. Every minute that passed meant Bella was farer away and closer to harm.
"They are from the holding cell. I figured we'd need to use something the would enable us to move her down there. I don't like the idea of just holding her and carrying her." Carlisle said
"Okay! That's enough! Carlisle, for God's sake, do something about Jane before I rip her to shreds! Emmett, call Rose and see where the fuck she is, and will someone please contact Ben and fill him in! We need all the help we can get at this point." Edward said, his voice showing no emotion. The group dispersed immediately.
Carlisle and Esme moved towards Jane and fitted the handcuffs around her wrists. With the blindfold still in place, Jane's power would be weakened and the group hoped that this would be enough to keep her arms in place while they moved her down to the holding cell in the basement.
When the family first started hunting, they agreed that it would be a good idea to have some sort of room where they can hold and interrogate. They rooms were sound proof and contained two-three metal cages. Each cage had handcuffs in place to hold the prisoners in place and the floors were scattered with motion detectors. Should the prisoner move, or try and escape, a large serrated piece of steel would fall, taking their heads clean off.
Emmett called Rose, but when her phone went straight to answer phone, so Emmett decided that he needed to follow them. Even though Jasper was with her, Emmett didn't feel comfortable not knowing where she was.
Edward immediately jumped up and left to find Bella.
Running through the forest, following Rose's scent, Edwards mind kept going back to Bella. He prayed that she wasn't hurting. He searched the forest for signs of her, but when he continued to find nothing, his chest started to feel tighter. He missed her and he was fearful for her.
He just wished he'd told her he loved her when he had the chance.
After searching through the forest for what seemed like hours, Rose came into view.
Emmett crushed her to his chest, whispering how much he loved her into her ear.
"Where's Jasper?" Emmett asked as Rose looked towards Edward.
"We followed James to the cottage Alice saw in one of the visions. They are definitely there. Jasper is stationed outside. You need to hurry Edward. We aren't sure how long they will stay." Rose said quickly as Edward immediately jumped into action, running full pelt towards the cottage.
As he neared, he noticed there was indeed signs of life within the building. The windows had recently been boarded up, but there was smoking billowing from the old chimney.
Edward looked around, searching for the best way to enter just as Jasper fell at his feet, obviously from his perch in a nearby tree.
"There are three excluding Bella, James, Laurent and Riley. I haven't seen any signs of James's mate. Bella looked more or less unharmed when she went in and I haven't heard anything that would make me think she is hurt at the moment, but we need to hurry and figure out a game plan." Jasper explained as Edward quietly continued to search for a way in.
"I'm worried that if we just barge in, they will do something drastic. Have you smelt any other human scents?" Edward said, climbing one of the nearest trees and straining to hear the thoughts through the house.
"No dude. No sign of Bella's parents." Jasper said quietly.
Jasper's phone buzzed once in his jacket pocket and he quickly removed it, answering it with a frown.
"Are you okay sugar?" Jasper asked down the phone as Edward heard Alice talk a mile a minute down the receiver.
'Put Edward on'Alice said as Jasper handed the phone over to him.
As soon as the phone got to his ear, Alice said the words he was dreading
"Edward, you need to hurry. Things are going to get very bad, very soon!"
Dun Dun Dun!...Whatcha think?