A/N: I have officially changed the name of this sory after I discovered there was another Twilight fan fic with the same title. Hopefully, that's not confusing for anyone.
I also added a chapter to the beginning of the last chapter so I could make sense of this one. It was only posted in it's original form for about an hour. So if you want to go back, it's the second paragraph. If you don't care, read on!
BTW, this is dedicated to BecBlue who reviewed so long ago that I need to clarify the differences between the vampires in each story. I hope you like my idea!
Disclaimer: Nothing's mine.
Chapter 8
Others
or
The Missing Link
The stench of death and blood hovered in the air around the old building. Most of the windows to the top of the fifth floor had been boarded over, but where they weren't, the blackness inside was chilly even to me.
Are you sure this is a good idea? Jasper wondered anxiously.
Hell, I didn't care if it was a good idea. I was only interested in one thing: finding Bella. No matter what it took, I would do it.
I nodded once to Jasper who held fast to Alice's hand. She saw the outcome, and I knew it would be relatively painless, for us at least. These vampires weren't like us. They would be no match.
I sprinted up two stories to the nearest open window and ducked inside the gloom. Of course I could see easily, but it was absolute darkness inside. Jasper ducked in followed closely by Alice and we stared into the blackness.
It seems so... Alice's mind had a hard time putting words to this place, but what she couldn't figure out, Jasper had a grasp on the instant he was inside.
Dead.
These were a species an entire world apart from most of the vampires we would ever run into. We shared many of the same qualities with them, but we were not alike in all ways. The differences in our changing was the most significant. They were buried, and laid dead six feet under until they awake and claw their way to the surface. While relatively painless compared to our change, it must have been difficult to look down on your own grave after you had personally exhumed yourself. I imagined there could be no more lonely a feeling than that. On the other hand, we burn from the inside out, and feel every surge of poison as death takes us.
Also, these creatures had been able to shape shift into small rodents and bats since the dawning of time, where we developed unique abilities which seemed to depend primarily on strengths we had while human. They burned to ashes in the sunlight, and we sparkled. They had always seemed a darker side of my own nature, but I wasn't sure how accurate that truly was. I had my own struggles with the blood lust, and had seen my entire family battle with it in their own way, so the very core of our instincts were not much different.
Carlisle had explained the reason to me, but I hadn't ever accepted it as plausible. I could remember the conversation clearly. Carlisle sat on the opposite end of his desk from me as his soft voice and tranquil thoughts flowed from him casually.
"Descendants of angels inhabit this world, Son. Though humans are likely to run into them nearly every day of their lives, the sons of angels go largely unnoticed. By humans, that is. These Nephilium walk the earth with the sole mission to rid the world of all nonhuman entities. Naturally, battling against the likes of said creatures has its drawbacks. They mark their bodies in the angel's own alphabet to protect themselves, but are not always fully prepared.
For instance, a Nephilium charged in completely prepared to hunt a pack of werewolves, but the wolves were engaged in a battle with vampires. Unprotected from the latter monsters, the Nephilium was bitten. The venom poisoned the man just as it always would.
It's the blood itself makes the real differences. The angel part clings inside a newborn's venom, therefore giving it the ability to pass on the mutation."
"So you were bitten by one of these vampires?" I had asked.
Carlisle shook his head. "No. It's more likely that the coven that got me were offspring of one. Maybe even a few generations back and maybe only one of them was. It's hard to tell for sure, but I'm fairly confident it wasn't actual angel spawn who changed me."
I hadn't really set much truth to this theory. I thought it more likely it had less to do with angels and demons and more to do with evolution. My eyes roved the room quickly, assessing we were alone. To maintain as much cover as possible, I motioned to the other two with a silent jerk of my head toward the door.
Without even disturbing the dust beneath our feet, we walked stealthily toward the exit. I reached to grab the handle of the decaying wooden door but hesitated, looking toward Jasper.
I can't feel anything, he thought.
That was something I somewhat expected. These creatures were dead in every sense of the word. Alice sighed audibly, her unease spilling over into both of us. There was nothing I could do. My Bella was missing.
I yanked upward on the ancient iron handle and the door swung outward with a squeal. There was even more darkness behind it. But this was not empty space as the room had been. My own sensitive hearing was just able to register a soft papery sound, similar to the rustle of leaves, or of bat wings.
"Oh, lord, it's true," Jasper mumbled aloud.
As if in answer, a shriek pierced through the black wall and two dozen or more shaped suddenly loomed in the darkness.
A high pitched female voice shouted, "What do you want here? Your kind are not welcome."
"Come now, Sarah. Is that any way to treat our guests?" This voice was deeper, but not by much. It seemed to be young, but convey a definite authoritative tone to it. A torch was lit somewhere behind the mass of bodies, and brought them all into sharp focus. Their pale faces and flickering black eyes penetrating Alice, Jasper and I as we stood in the open doorway. More than one smirked madly, anticipating the upcoming fight. The numbers were definitely in their favor, at least eight to one, but that didn't factor in our gifts.
I put a hollow smile on my face, and walked toward the chastiser. He was a small vampire, and was very young when he changed, perhaps only eight or nine. He had glossy black hair, which looked ridiculously like the old Hollywood Dracula, widow's peak, pale skin, and blood red lips, only this was still a child.
"I am looking for some one." I said placidly.
"She has brown hair, brown eyes..." Alice began.
"A human, then?" The boy asked through his thick Spanish accent, his curiosity piqued.
"Is it lunch time?" One of the females cackled.
A low growl vibrated through my chest, but Jasper placed a steady hand on my shoulder and my aggression abated some.
"No disrespect is intended. We just need to find our friend and were hoping you might know something."Jasper said softly.
"We don't receive many guests." The small vampire chuckled. "Certainly not many humans."
Many of the other vampires laughed aloud. I smiled with no amusement, only to bare my teeth at them. "Her scent is here. Not recently, but I know it was her." I snarled. Despite Jasper's best attempts, my anger was boiling.
There was a laughter among the coven. "You can't expect us to remember every human that comes through here." The dark boy chuckled.
"Listen, boy--" I started furiously, but Alice interrupted.
"She's the type that sticks with you. You'd remember her." She said in earnest.
The young vampire seemed to deliberate for a moment. "You say you recognize her scent? Inside as well? If that's the case, I'm sorry. She will be gone."
Fury was battling it's way out, but I inhaled deeply, searching the stagnant air for some sign that Bella had been inside the building. Her scent had been all over the southern side, in the alley, but that didn't mean she came in. There was a flicker of hope that she had merely walked by...and stopped to gaze through the filthy windows...in a dark and desolate alley...
Beside me, I heard as Jasper and Alice also tested the air for signs that my love had been here. Shaking my head slowly, I inhaled again. There was nothing there. She hadn't been in after all. I felt it as the three of us relaxed considerably.
"I take it you've found your answer, then?" The boy asked with the curious eyes of a child. Then he stepped forward, arm outstretched in a very adult fashion. "My name is Raphael," he said as I slowly reached out to greet him properly. His small hand was lost in my grasp, but I felt the firm pressure of his grip.
A low hissed erupted from behind Raphael. The others were not happy about his open acceptance. The assault of images from their minds was suddenly overwhelming. All were imagining vicious and heinous ways of tearing us apart where we stood. To my right, Jasper took a hesitant step backwards, undoubtedly feeling their hatred spilling towards us.
Raphael held up a hand with out looking away from me and gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "Don't worry about them. They do as they are told, and that is it. They all want to cling to the past, but I keep trying to tell them it is a new century. Our brand of nightmare isn't terrifying to the masses anymore. I was more scared of the gangs at the end of the block than the vampires in this building. They just don't understand. Changing times demand change from us as well. We just can't go around killing everything that crosses our path. It pays to have allies. There is much to fear aside from the supernatural."
"We don't want any one to fear us," Alice said in an uncharacteristically soft voice. "We're just looking for Bella."
The coven shifted restlessly. More than one was now considering taking Raphael out to get at us. As much as I was eager to release a bit of my pent up aggression, I was adverse as Jasper was to allow Alice to fight.
Quickly deciding to for go the carnage, I held a hand out to Raphael again and spoke directly to him. "We mean no harm to your coven or any one else. Thank you for your help."
I felt Jasper and Alice began to back slowly toward the room we entered from, when I heard a voice echoing from the alley outside.
"Where have you been?" It demanded.
There was no answer, but after a pause he spoke again. "My mom? What does she have to do with anything? Wait a minute...loony bin? Where have you been, Clary? You should have called."
Loony bin? Alice and Jasper thought at the same time. Who ever that was might be the way to find Bella.
Tentatively, my siblings and I stepped into the gloom behind us to the open window, and the vampire in the alley. I saw shadows shifting from the corner of my eyes. They were on the brink now. We had to move if we were going to get out of here with out fighting.
Alice's mind mirrored the attackers decision, and both thoughts bombarded me at the same time. But I still had enough sense to duck as the gangly vampire jumped at me from the left. His long fingers clutched at my back, anticipating my neck, but clutched at nothing more than air.
Alice had danced over and grabbed the aggressor's greasy black hair, yanking him against gravity. He cursed loudly, grasping for her hands. Jasper was at Alice's side in an instant, swooping down to stare at the irate vampire kicking uselessly in his wife's grip.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he hissed, baring his teeth.
The other vampire looked petrified and seemed to pale even more. His eyes, black and thirsty were wide as he looked back at Jasper's own midnight eyes. The difference was Jasper's swirled with the intensity of anger. He was not acting on instincts like the adversary.
Outside the voice was speaking again. "Well, I'm sure Jace saved the day again." It said sarcastically.
Another coven member, rushed into the room, eyes looked onto Jasper. Her long ginger hair trailed behind her like furious flames. "Jasper!" Alice shouted.
He turned around, and sprang to his feet. The female struck him at full speed, a loud crash resounding sharply in the enclosed room. The force sent Jasper into Alice and the first attacker, and they all fell into a tangled heap on the ground.
There was nothing I could have done, so I turned my attention toward to the four other vampires slowly slinking forward. All sets of black eyes were trained on me. I tried to pick any random coherent thought from their minds as they crept slowly forward.
"I can see what it's like." The voice outside mumbled softly. "Do you know how completely morbid and sick this little fantasy is, Clary? It's completely unhealthy. You're wasting you life thinking about some one you should never, ever want. And I can't believe I have to tell you that...again. What is in your head? What are you thinking? That's why I left with Maia. She can--"
One of the stalking vampire spoke, cutting off the conversation from outside. "Your other pet Simon has less sense than these three, and we don't like it, these half-breeds running around like they rule the place. We say it's enough."
"Shut up, Nando," Raphael hissed. "I am you leader, and you will listen to me. These three did not enter to maim or harm us or steal our secrets. I say let them be on their way. I do not think many of you would survive a fight against this little coven."
There were a few chuckles from the others, but now they sounded wary.
Jasper and Alice had disentangled themselves from their attackers, who had slunk off into the shadows. Jasper inclined his head to Raphael and Alice hastily muttered a word of thanks. They turned their backs and jumped quickly from the window.
"Thank you," I said earnestly, before following them through.
I landed lightly on the grimy surface the alleyway next to Alice. We walked toward the street, but eyes roving everything, trying to catch a glimpse of the anonymous vampire, whose phone conversation below the window a minute ago left me no doubt he was critical in finding Bella. There was no sign of his presence at all, not even a distinct scent among the foul odor emanating from the building.
Once we stepped into the light of the street, I sighed. "I thought for sure we would find something here. Her scent was everywhere out there."
Alice was the one to answer me, and her tone was bright. "You should be glad they didn't know anything. You heard what Raphael said. If she gone inside, there'd be no chance."
And that was something to be thankful for, despite my wary feeling in regards to why Bella had been in that particular alley. It was too much to dismiss as coincidence, then there was the mysterious man in the alley discussing a 'loony bin' which also seemed too much coincidence. It had to be connected and the link to it all was that voice.
"What now?" Jasper asked, breaking my thoughts.
I shrugged and took a long look down each direction of the street. Both ways were lined in abandoned buildings, eventually slated for demolition. "I guess we need to find some place far enough away they can't smell us, but close enough to keep watch for anything. One of them knows what we need, even if he doesn't know it himself."
Jasper nodded their agreements, and Alice looked at me with wide eyes, the reluctance to take up residence in anything in this area plain on her face. I reached up to put my hand on her shoulder.
"I know you were right before, about not leaving her. You don't have to stay, but I'll be indebted to you if you will. I need you and Bella will need you."
Her face brightened instantly. "Indebted to me, huh? I like it."
She reached to grasp Jasper's waiting hand, and they ran down the dim road. I spared another glance behind me, and swore I saw the shredded remains of a curtain sway behind a closed window. I ran off after Alice and Jasper.
They, of course, were standing just outside a building two full blocks away from the vampire lair. "This is it," Alice sighed. "From the top we'll have a perfect view of the main exits of their hideout."
Jasper squeezed her hand and I saw her turn her head as I walked toward them. I could feel him trying to comfort her.
"After we find Bella, I'll take us all to the nicest hotel you can think of." I said chuckling.
Finally, I saw the familiar spark in her eye. "Turtle Island?" She asked quickly.
I laughed as her mind became very graphic. Jasper just looked confused. "Turtles?"
Alice began laughing aloud too. "It's not the local fauna I hope to devour," she said, then reached up, kissed his lips and ran in to the gray building before us.
"Well, you can't argue with that," I said.
Jasper turned a bemused expression to me and shrugged. "You can't ever argue with Alice."
Just then, Alice's voice shrieked from inside our new residence. "I can see her!"
Jasper and I looked at each other again, then followed her fading echo into our temporary abode.
A/N: Please review!
