Chapter 10

The Guardian

God's angels often protect his servants from potential enemies. – Billy Graham

I stirred sometime around seven in the morning and laid around in bed for an additional hour before deciding to rise. The sun wasn't visible—it was still too early—but there was a faint light that gave the surrounding forest an eerie glow. It was moments like this where I actually felt like I was starring in a supernatural movie. The world looked so different during the wee hours of the morning and during twilight, otherworldly.

I was grateful to find fresh clothes, neatly folded, on Edward's sofa, and quickly dressed for the day. It was strange to be surrounded by such a thick calmness, seeing as I had awoken to more trying circumstances the two days prior, but didn't fight it. As I brushed my teeth and my hair, I smiled and sighed, appreciating the restful quiet that surrounded me.

Downstairs, it was an entirely different story.

When I climbed down the staircase, I walked into what appeared to be a meeting between Avarice, Lazarus, Carlisle and Edward. I stopped at the top of the stairs momentarily, hoping to catch what this was all about. I knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but by the time I realized I should know better, I was already heavily involved.

"I'm sorry, it's just impossible." Carlisle shook his head and turned away from Avarice, who looked surprisingly bored by the conviction behind the Cullen Patriarch's words.

"Carlisle," Edward said and pinched the bridge of his nose, his trademark move. "What exactly are we dealing with?"

"Avarice?" Carlisle gestured to the younger McRae brother, requesting that he inform Edward about…whatever they were talking about. "You have more experience that I."

"The Pure Bloods are the ultimate lawmakers in the Vampire World," Avarice explained, his word taking on a darker tone. "The Volturi are like Senators…lobbyists, if you will, but they, themselves', are created beings. Their strength compares nothing to their creators."

"But they're destructible, yes?" Edward leaned forward, his intense gaze fixated on his clasped hands. "They can be killed?"

"Indeed," Lazarus interjected, nodding.

"Then pardon my brazenness, but what's the issue?" Edward's brow furrowed and he seemed momentarily distracted, but eventually growled. "Is there any way you can pull it down, just for a minute?"

"I pull down this shield," Avarice said, offhandedly, "and they find her…and us."

I figured Edward was asking Avarice to take down his shield, which was currently protecting the entirety of Forks—according to Lazarus. What I didn't understand was why Edward would want it taken down at all. Regardless, I continued listening, hoping to learn more about the Pure Bloods—and maybe something about Ary.

"But, to answer your question," Avarice continued. "The Pure Bloods are more than just an ancient vampire hierarchy—they're scientists, inventors."

"In what way?" Edward prodded, looking intrigued and disturbed.

"There was a time when they started experimenting with alchemy," Avarice explained, detailing how the Pure Bloods venom—different from the venom of the Volturi and every other vampire—was capable of changing the physical properties of several metals. However, it wasn't until the Renaissance that they made the most dangerous discovery. "They successfully blended venom and metal, making the most violent weapon imaginable."

"What kind of weapon?" Edward seemed to pale in appearance, if that was possible. In fact, the more I looked at him, he looked ill.

"Your leader knows what I speak of," Avarice answered and pointed at Carlisle, who nodded gravely. "Blades, a variety of lengths, capable of piercing vampire skin."

"Impossible!" Edward was on his feet, glaring daggers at the two McRae brothers. "It can't be true…it must be a rumor!"

"A rumor?" Avarice's head snapped up and he was immediately on his feet, staring down at Edward. The two remained that way for a few seconds, and I wondered if they were ever going to move, when Avarice took a step backwards. With one swoop, he pulled his shirt off, exposing his long, lean torso. My cheeks pinkened and I averted my gaze for a moment, but my attention was immediately diverted to the scar running diagonally across his chest.

It was dark purple, a stark contrast against his pallid skin, and was ragged, like his skin had been almost torn off. My heart went out to him and I wondering how on earth he had gotten such a brutal wound, but my mouth fell open as I continued to stare at Avarice. His scar was similar to Eric's; had they gotten them at the same time? I remembered they had said something about provoking the Pure Bloods—what had happened?

"This is a token from our recent encounter with the Pure Bloods," Avarice snarled, holding both arms out so that Edward and Carlisle could see the entire mark. "Does this look like a rumor to you?"

Both Cullens were silent.

"We're not here to prove anyone wrong," Lazarus said softly while Avarice put his shirt back on. "Our main concern is Bella's safety."

"Something we can agree on." Edward nodded.

"The truth of the matter is that they're coming." Avarice stalked up to Carlisle, stopping with only a foot of space between them. "Whether you like it or not, a war is at your doorstep."

"This is not our fight," Carlisle answered with a sigh and turned away. "Avarice, I apologize for my transgression against you and your family, those many years ago, but you cannot expect me to idly put my loved ones in harm's way. It's just not possible."

"You think the Pure Bloods will allow you to live, don't you." Avarice seemed genuinely shocked. Carlisle turned to him and his expression voiced his feelings perfectly—that's exactly what he had hoped to happen. "What did they teach you of the Pure Ones in Volterra? Obviously, it wasn't nearly enough."

"The Zion Guard will not only destroy us," Lazarus said, moving beside his brother. "They will kill you for housing us—and they'll slaughter the entire town."

"They can't do that," Edward growled, shaking his head. "It would risk exposure."

"The Volturi would come up with a public excuse," Avarice answered, his voice cold and unfeeling. "They've done it several times before. It would probably be a plant explosion, or something."

They were silent, each one caught up in their own thoughts, while I was going out of my mind. According to Lazarus and Avarice, the Pure Bloods' Guard was planning on wiping out life from Forks. Why on Earth was Carlisle still thinking about this? What would the Cullens do? Would they move on, like they always did, or would they come back after the damage had been done? What about Jacob and the pack? There was no way Carlisle would be that ridiculous.

In fact, I decided that I wasn't going to wait for him to answer. I jumped up and marched down the stairs, taking extra care not to trip and humiliate myself. I had a feeling that they had all known I was there, but they didn't show it. Before Edward or Carlisle could react to my presence, I moved in between Lazarus and Avarice.

"I'm staying here," I said firmly and smiled up at Lazarus. He sighed and shook his head, chuckling lightly. "Carlisle, Edward, you can run away, but I'm going to stay and support the McRaes."

"Bella," Edward said, disparagingly, and ran a hand through his hair. "You don't know what you're saying."

"Yes, I do." I huffed and glared at him. "I'm standing up for a family that's done nothing wrong—" I turned my eyes to Lazarus again—"I'm doing it for Ary."

The room was divided—us versus them—and I looked expectantly at the Cullens. What course would they take? Would they abandon me, again, or would they stand up and fight? After all, my dad and all my friends were in Forks—surely they wouldn't sacrifice them.

After a few seconds of awkward looks and uncomfortable silence, Carlisle sighed. "Well, we can't very well leave Bella here, especially with what's coming."

I sighed and, without thinking, I crossed the room and hugged Carlisle. It was a big difference from the punch I'd given him only a few hours earlier. While I still harbored some animosity towards him, I was happy that we were on the same side. He smiled in response to my embrace, but it was a sad smile. "Is this what you want, Bella?"

"It is," I answered without hesitation. "They need your help, Carlisle."

"I'll agree to that," he responded and looked to Edward. "There's no other option, son."

Edward nodded and hesitantly agreed. With a brief kiss on my cheek, he and Carlisle left the room with Avarice, saying something about needing more help. This left me and Lazarus alone in the Cullens' living room.

"Do you never shy away from putting yourself in harm's way?" Lazarus laughed at the scowl I gave him. "Don't get me wrong, Bella, I'm happy you're so devoted to my family, I just hope it won't get you killed in the end."

"I know what I'm doing," I muttered and crossed my arms.

"Well, regardless, thank you," he said and bowed elegantly. "So, what are you going to do today?"

"I don't know," I said and shook my head. I had gone from being confined in one house, to being confined in another. Frankly, part of me wanted to go home and see Charlie.

Charlie! I was ashamed that I hadn't given any thought to my father, and remembered that Lazarus had said something about taking care of him. What had they meant? Panic swelled in my chest as I wondered if they had made him forget about me. They wouldn't do that…would they?

"Lazarus?" He quirked his eyebrows. "What did you do to my dad?"

His eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"You didn't make him forget me, did you?" I wasn't sure how I'd react if he had locked away Charlie's memories. Seeing as how I'd be a vampire in a few weeks, it might be a good thing but I wasn't sure.

"Of course not," he exclaimed, looking disgusted. "Why on earth would you think I would?"

"I don't know." When I thought about it, the idea seemed relatively silly. However, given Lazarus had done the very same to me, I felt I was somewhat justified. "Well, you did it to me."

He smiled. "Are you always going to hold that over my head?"

I shrugged. "Possibly."

We both shared a laugh and fell into a comfortable conversation about what Lazarus had done to my father. One of his talents was making people—humans and vampires—see something that isn't there. It was one of the first things he had perfected. In a nutshell, whenever he was home, Charlie was always under the impression that I was up in my room studying. It sounded weird the way Lazarus described it, but I tried not to think too much about it—I didn't want to develop another headache.

After awhile, I turned on the television, quickly navigating away from any of the news channels, and finally rested on the cooking channel. The simmering food on the screen quickly made my stomach grumble, which Lazarus found amusing. I thought about heading to the kitchen, but forgot what house I was in. There was a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and a glass of orange juice in front of me before I could blink.

I looked up at Esme, who looked flawlessly beautiful and terribly sad. "Esme? What's wrong?"

"I'm so sorry we weren't there for you, Bella," she said morosely and hung her head. "I feel like I've failed you."

"You didn't fail me." I couldn't help laughing at the absurdness of her statement. If Esme had intervened, the McRaes would never have retrieved me and who knows what would have happened. "The McRaes are friends, Esme, not enemies."

"I know," she said and smiled at Lazarus. "I just can't stop feeling this way."

I rose off the couch and hugged her. "Everything's all right, Esme—everyone's safe."

She patted my cheek and left the room, giving me my space to eat. The moment she was gone, I practically inhaled the food, murmuring how delicious it was in between bites. It was still amazing that someone who was not enticed by human food could make something so delicious! I was three quarters of the way through when I heard snickering from beside me.

I slowly turned my head and found Lazarus laughing at me. "What?"

"Hungry?" His broad smile reached his eyes, which were twinkling in the light.

I rolled my eyes and returned my full attention to my plate of food. However, a light blush developed in my cheeks as I silently appraised Lazarus's appearance. For the first time, I actually realized that he was relatively attractive. His face was angular and curved, similar to Edward's, and his dark hair was a sharp contrast to his pallid exterior. Then again, it may have been his calming presence and demeanor that shined through.

It also dawned on me that he followed me…everywhere.

"Why do you follow me?" It wasn't that I necessarily minded his company, but I was curious why he'd decided to latch onto me.

"I made a promise," he said and his face fell. "Before she…Yana requested that I look after you…should anything happen to her."

"Oh." It warmed me to know that she hadn't forgotten about me, that I still mattered to her in the end. However, I felt bad that Lazarus was only her out of obligation to her and wouldn't have him suffering in silence. "Well, you shouldn't feel obligated to stay. I mean, there are tons of vampires here that can look after me if you want some time to yourself."

He shook his head. "Only part of my presence is here because of obligation—the other is here because I genuinely enjoy being around you."

"Thanks." My cheeks reddened. "You're not so bad yourself."

We fell back into silence, watching television and occasionally making comments on what we saw. However, there was an air of sadness—something that we hadn't addressed. I finally decided to point out the white elephant and talk about Ary.

"I miss her." My brow indented as I tried to pull up every memory I had of Ary, but it was proving difficult. "I wish I could've seen her, one last time."

"There are ways, Bella." I turned to look at him and found him staring intently at me. "Although Avarice would likely kill me for it."

"What are you talking about?"

"Implementation," he said, smiling. "That's what I call it, at least."

I shook my head, not understanding anything he was saying. He explained that implementation was something he had learned from the Romanian Coven, who had a member that was similar to Lazarus. The general synopsis was that Lazarus could take his memories and give them to someone else. Since he was a vampire, and his memories were extremely detailed, it would be as if the receiver was actually there.

There was no doubt it my mind; I wanted to try this.

"When can we do it?" I made no attempt to hide my excitement. While it wasn't the same as seeing Ary in person, it was a close second. "Should we do it here or outside?"

"Calm yourself, Bella." Lazarus rested his hands on my shoulders and shook his head. "If I decide to share this with you, we'll have to take our time. We'll also have to leave Forks."

"Leave? What on earth for?" I didn't understand why we'd have to leave for him to share his memories with me. It didn't make sense.

"Because Avarice has the entire town under his shield," Lazarus pointed out. "It's very tricky to work around."

"But, you used your telekinesis," I said, remembering how he'd made the sticks float in the forest and how he'd destroyed the Cullens' lamp. "I saw you."

"Vicinity is a great determining factor with Avarice," he explained, frowning. "My physical telekinesis can work within the shield, but my mental kinesis is limited by how close I am to him. This is why Edward's mind reading was greatly affected. His shield is greatly suppressing my talents because I'm physically close to him."

"Oh." So, in order for us to do the memory swapping, we'd have to leave the protection of Avarice's shield.

"It's very dangerous," he cautioned me. "I'll need absolute concentration. If I slip, I could easily cause irreparable damage to your psyche."

I quietly absorbed what he was saying, but it did very little to deter me. I made up my mind that, regardless of the risks, I would do anything and everything to convince Lazarus to do it. I knew that it wouldn't bring Ary back, but it would help me move on. It would give me closure.

Author's Note: Next chapter will showcase how Melena and Dante have changed since the loss of their mates. Things are going to get fun.