Eros and Psyche, by Camilla10
Chapter 9 - The Cougar
The tomb in Tuscany
Edward
Darkness…fading. Faint light. Dreaming… her beloved face, my Bella... Other dreams… Somebody else's dreams intrude. Carlisle, Alice? I am floating. In fact I am floating over my body. I see it lying down on a bed of stone. I rise higher and higher to the vaulted ceiling of this…tomb, then I am outside, flying, flying ...
Now I am somewhere else. A beautiful place, nature pristine and intact. I crouch. No, I am not crouching, I am standing, standing on all fours. My right arm is a leg now, covered in a tan colored fur. My paw is armed with strong claws. I spin around, trying to see more. My powerful muscles flex and I find I can do movements that should be impossible for a man, or a vampire, at that. I turn my head halfway around. I have a tail. What else I can see of my body tells me it is the body of a big predatory cat, the very kind I used to hunt. And it feels just right.
I am not alone. There is a beautiful woman looking at me. I remember her from the confused memories of my other self, when I was a man turned immortal and she had manifested herself. She is Venus.
My mind clears a bit, but I am still confused. There are questions I should be asking, but I cannot speak. I want to know where I am, what I am, where is my body, where is my real self. She must hear my thoughts, albeit I cannot hear hers, because she answers.
"You are in my universe, undead one," she says, "I gave your spirit the strength to leave your entombed body and come here. You projected yourself into this form. Don't be surprised: in the past primitive men left their reality under the effect of some powerful brew and assumed the form of their totem, normally an animal that was important to them, or had their characteristics. In your world, you were a hunter and your favorite prey was the cougar. So now you are one."
I look behind me and I notice another group of animals, six of them, each one different from the other. Are they, could they be …my family?
But Venus speaks again. "Yes, they were also affected when I used my power to awaken your spirit. But, each one of them has its mate, while you don't. You have to find her and be my messenger. You cannot linger, because your spirit will return here very soon. You will awaken again, but shortly, and there are many things you must to tell her, so that she can start her quest. You will know what to say and what to show her, but you will not tell her anything else, you will not think of anything else. Go, find her. Use your love for her to get where she is. It is strong enough. Go!
I close my eyes and see my beloved. I can be with her again, at least for a while. A big wave of happiness washes over me. Everything is so simple in this form…
Yale
Bella
I suppose that there was a lesson, and I had sat for an hour apparently listening to it. The truth is that I didn't hear a word. I tried to figure out what had happened to me. Evidently, Alice had left me a message the last time she had visited us. She wanted me to find it when the course started, that is to say, after they had all disappeared.
She was subtle, my sister, and I needed to concentrate and see the different layers hidden under a single word, penned on a notebook that had looked untouched. If I was supposed to find that …that clue, only after they had left, it meant that I was not to know before, for some good reason. She, therefore, must have seen that my ignorance would have positive, not negative, effects. It was frustrating, but I trusted her, trusted them. Most likely, if I had known in advance the reason why they were going to disappear, I would not have consented to it. Only a terrible danger would have justified it, and I surely would have insisted that I shared the risks with them, with Edward. The short call I got from her after Edward had left was to avoid my panic and despair, and, in fact, it had worked. Now, if I was left … that could mean that I had a role to play. Sure, I had to find them.
So far, so good. She had also told me to wait until my course was clear. Now, what did I know of Hecate? The lesson had ended and I gathered my things and sped home. I was up for some computer research.
I googled the name and looked for information about this unpleasant deity. While I was reading, a memory slowly resurfaced. It was from my human life, dimmed like all of those memories were. Still, it was coming back to me.
We were all gathered in the Cullens living room in Forks, some weeks before Edward and I were married. Carlisle had spoken of Hecate. I had been sitting near Edward, his arms around me while his father reminisced, and I had been quite distracted. The impending marriage itself, the stress it represented, and what was going to happen afterward, the fulfilling of Edward's promise to make love to me while I was still human, those things were occupying my mind much more than Carlisle's words. I concentrated and slowly the essential elements came back. Carlisle had lived in Rome centuries ago, and he had discovered that an idol worshipping Cardinal and his acolytes were about to sacrifice a virgin to Hecate. He had intervened, interrupting the pagan rite and saving the victim. But, for a few minutes, the goddess had been summoned into this world, and had promised him her vengeance. It had been a terrifying moment, Carlisle had concluded, but the opening between the different universes had closed again, and he had hoped it remained so.
What if the connection had been re-established again, I mused, what if Hecate was again in our world, seeking revenge?
What if she had succeeded and Alice had seen it in advance?
What if…I blinked.
The transparent mountain lion who I had seen on my way to the classical studies' hall, was now sitting on my sofa. The feline's beautiful golden eyes were boring into mine. And then it spoke. In my mind, not in my ears. It was the velvet voice that had captivated me once and forever. Edward's.
"Hi Bella" he said.
"Edward, where are you?"
"In Italy, I think. At least my body is. I am lying in an Etruscan tomb, in total darkness. This is not really me; I am a…projection of my spirit. Listen, I have little time. I tried to make contact before, but I was drawn back. I have to tell you things. She wants me to. I am Venus' messenger. I'll show you, it's easier."
……..
The cougar, no Cougward, had gone. I sat on the sofa where he had been, overwhelmed by the visions we had shared. Now I knew why they had left, why he had left. I had seen the goddess of love, more beautiful than words can say. She wanted me – me! – To restore the balance of the universe altered by her persecution of Psyche. That had happened eons ago, but in her timeless state it did not matter, evidently. And she wanted me – me! – To close the door between the ancient gods' world and my own. Hecate would then be forced back where she came from and her power on my universe would cease. My family would be freed. At least that was what I had understood. I remembered my feelings when I had my 'non-dream', sent by Venus herself, I had to believe at this point. I had felt connected with Psyche. She had gone questing to find her lover again, and even then I had suspected that the same was asked from me. Now I was sure.
And I had seen them with the Volturi; I had seen Edward making a terrible promise to Aro, that he and Alice would be his, if he managed to deliver them from the tomb that was waiting for them, the tomb where in fact, he was sending them now. I saw it and saw a human raising his arm and freezing them, corpses of stone. Was he a servant of Hecate?
But, where were they? How could I find them? And even if I managed, how would I awaken them? How could I counter the power of an evil goddess? In fact, I had been told it. I had to close the gate. I felt despair, for the impossibility of the task. She was, after all, a goddess! I needed help; I needed to know more…
The cougar appeared again, near the computer this time, but the image was getting fainter and fainter. And so was Edward's voice, barely a whisper
"Bella, you have to find the entrance to the gods' world. You must find a way to Hades, the only way to close the gate lies in Hades. You…have... to go… there…"
"Wait, wait, where is the gate?" I cried, but he was gone.
Where the hell was the gate, how could I find it?
And then, I thought, this nightmare had started in Rome, and the myth I was meant to replicate was a Latin myth.
So it was clear. I had to go to Rome.
Chapter endnotes
Introducing the concept of totemic animals I intend to do homage to another mythical world, that of the America's natives, such as the Quileutes.
The sprit projections of the rest of the Cullen family are not really essential to the story. Only Cougward is (do you like the name?). But once I got the idea, I could not refrain from imagining – with the help of Jshay - what animal form would each one of them project. Carlisle? Emmet (easy)? Rosalie?... So you will see them all in a later chapter. If you care to guess their forms and the reason for it, tell me in a review. Or send me a review anyway, please…
I have a story to recommend, complete: As AU as it could possibly be, tragic for a long time (Edward seems impossible to redeem - animal blood is not an option for vampires here) and still full of humor, it had me laughing aloud.
And then, eventually and surprisingly …. You'll see. The name is: And with Thee Fade Away by Derdriu oFaolain
