Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
Chapter 9: Immortal Day
"It's clearing up. Yes... clearing up quickly now." It was a familiar voice, magnified somehow as I burned but the name would not come to mind. The burning was taking over my reasoning abilities. The feeling was intensifying, centralizing into my heart, pushing it faster as I fought to calm it down.
"Will he... what about?" Why couldn't they finished their sentences? The bell-like voice was not clearing up my confusion, only making it worse. I wanted to growl at them, to shake whoever was speaking but I refused to move until the burning stopped. Would it ever stop? They seemed to think so.
"It will be close, it all depends on his choice." There were footsteps then, my hearing was expanding to accommodate what was around me and I could hear the movements of whoever was around me. I could hear those who occupied the rest of the house I was in and yet it expanded further until I was listening to the soft scratching of the animals around the house.
I held my body on lockdown as the thumping increased, my heart racing faster and faster as I endured the burning. I could hear the way the people moved, as though they were preparing for something. I felt my curiosity burn through the pain for a moment as I wondered what they could be preparing for.
"Bella, please... we need you down here. They will be here any moment." The voice couldn't have been speaking above a normal conversational tone but I could hear the desperation in it. The same voice that had been speaking only moments before in the same room I occupied. Bella. The name resonated within me as whatever I was laying on lifted slightly. I could hear her soft footsteps as she glided towards the beckoning voice.
I felt the sudden urge to cry out, to call her back to me. Her presence was one I had taken for granted as I had burned and now she was gone to face God only knows what fate.
"You have disobeyed us, you have broken the law. You have taken what was rightfully ours." The voice was calm as I spoke and I tried to pay attention through the pain. I hadn't heard the car pull up. It was in that moment that I felt my heart squeeze out it's last beat before it stilled within my chest. I tried to pull in a breath, to sooth the sudden ache in my throat, but the whistling of air down my throat did nothing to relieve the burn. I stopped breathing, reveling in the taste of the room around me. I could taste her.
"He is not your property. He has the right to make his own choice. We have done nothing wrong here. The secret is kept, that is all that you ask." Another familiar, male, voice spoke calmly but I could not put a name to it. I stretched out my fingers, curiously exploring the power I could feel running through my new body. I heard a sharp intake of breath and my eyes flew open to glance about the room. Yet the noise came from downstairs as I relaxed once more, curious to know more about what was going on downstairs that would cause such a reaction.
"Wrong, we came for him, to protect our kind. You have created a monster, something that cannot be controlled. For that you must be destroyed. Though, Bella, I will gladly accept you back into our ranks should you choose to forfeit." The voice was light, papery, as he spoke. I heard a growl reverberate through the room and found myself up against the wall in the next moment. I wanted to laugh when I realized that the growl had come from me. I was not pleased that this strange man was going to destroy the familiar voices. I certainly did not like the idea of him taking Bella.
There was a pause downstairs and I knew they could hear me. I could hear a few of the strangers step forward, crouching to pounce on the familiar voices. That was when the screaming and writhing began. I clamped my hands to my ears in an effort to block it out but it did no good. They were going to torture the only thing I understood in this new world. I could feel my anger rising, my whole body shifting into a crouch as I tried to block out the screaming.
I could concentrate on anything except my anger as my body automatically reacted. Next thing I knew I was standing at the top of the stairs.
"Freeze." I froze, waiting for whoever had told me to do so. The screaming died in that moment as those downstairs froze as well. I opened my mouth again in an attempt to voice my confusion.
"I..." My mouth snapped shut. That voice... I was the one who had told them to freeze. I felt my lips curl as I bared my teeth in a large smile. My voice was new too. I guess that made sense. I could hear a small giggle erupt from the main floor as I made my way down the stairs to a most curious scene. Near the door stood a trio of my kind and in a half circle in front of them stood, what I assumed to be, their guard. All of them stood frozen, their eyes trained on where I stood. It was almost comical, the fear their eyes held. I swallowed back my humor. My eyes wandered, taking in the familiar voices that stood close together in the center of the room.
They too were frozen, watching me, though the fear was absent in their eyes. My body went ramrod straight as the fuzzy memories started to surface. Edward... my name... Anabelle... my parents... Isabella... Bella... Alice... I knew their names and I knew the strangers were the Volturi. I wanted to shout for joy. I had beaten them to the punch and they were now helpless under my power. I was now heady with the power as I looked over my enemies. I caught a glimpse of Alice's form on the floor.
She had been the one screaming, I knew, somehow. She had also been the one to giggle. She had known that her screams would make me do what I did. Clever girl. I let my gaze wander again, finally taking in each individual face as I recalled the memories attached to them. My breath caught as my gaze met a sea green eyes I knew all too well. I could see them clearly even through the fuzz of my human memories.
Bella. The intense emotions swirling through me at the mere thought of her name made me want to dance but I knew it would not be prudent in that moment to be dancing. Her eyes were wide as she stared back at me, her full lips slightly parted. I wanted to touch her, to prove she was real. Through all the good and bad, I was finally starting to understand why she was the way she was. I breathed in a large, unnecessary, breath. It took all my concentration to break our gaze and turn back to the invaders.
"You need to leave, crawl back to your sewers or I will kill you... all of you." My head snapped over as Alice tried to get my attention, clear her throat as best she could in her frozen state. Apparently I was doing something wrong. I need to unfreeze some of them. I felt my frustration build as I tried to remember how I had done it the first time. We would be here forever if I didn't figure it out. The first time I had been angry... I thought back to those feelings, letting them crash over me as I fought to control what came out of my mouth.
"Alice, come here please. Bella, Carlisle, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, and Esme you may move about freely." I let my anger seep away as the Cullen's breathed sighs of relief before moving to stand around the Volturi guard and the trio of leaders. Alice was quick to hop up from her position of the floor and appear before me with a wide smile.
"Welcome to... whatever this is." Her grin grew impossibly wider as she hopped around in front of me. She had just as much energy as she did before my change. I bit back a laugh, keeping my expression serious. We had a job to do. I lowered my voice so she would be the only one to hear.
"What do I do now?" I could tell she wanted to laugh at my inexperience. She reigned it in though. Even she knew that my gift would be difficult, especially since no one really knew quite how it worked. The only one who did know had been destroyed centuries ago. I could feel my worry and stress building up again, overtaking the constant ache in the back of my throat. Alice stilled for a moment, placing one hand lightly on my arm. I felt an unbidden smile cross my features.
She was trying to keep me calm. She didn't like to see me stressed out any more than I did.
"Well. You can either order them to leave and never come back to bother us again. Of course, you must be careful, make sure it's fool proof or they will be back. Or we can kill them all and see how Volterra fairs without it's leaders. Unless... you would like to take their place." She sounded hopeful as she looked up at me but I immediately stepped out from her hand, my body freezing again. This time in fear. I was not a leader. I could not be a leader. Her expression softened as she observed my reaction. I tried to relax again but it was impossible.
"I don't want to kill them and I cannot take over. I am not a leader, Alice. If the first option is what I am willing to do... then how do we make it fool proof?" She resumed her bouncing then, smiling at me, as she stepped back. I could feel the tendrils of trepidation grow. The look in her eye was disconcerting.
"I think you can figure it out, Edward. I think you can come up with something. We have eternity." She whispered, a glint in her eye. I could feel my anger rising to the challenge, my frustration with her non-helpful helpfulness. She hopped over to Jasper, throwing her arms around him with a wide smile. His expression held nothing but love and devotion for her. I tried to remember if I had noticed such things when I was human.
It was fuzzy though, all of it was so obscure. I shook my head, fighting back another growl of frustration. I wasn't getting anywhere with this. As soon as I made the conscious choice I found myself back up in my room, pacing in agitation. It didn't change anything though. I could still hear them, their whispers as I vanished up the stairs.
"Moody little bugger, isn't he?" Emmett commented. I could almost see the shit-eating grin on his face as he said it. I wanted to run down their and make him do something really stupid just to wipe the grin off his face. I could feel my fists clenched at my sides as I paced. At that thought I froze. This was the fear, this was why I didn't think I could do this. With a temper like mine...
I didn't want to abuse the power I had but it was a big possibility that if I got too angry, I would. Strip it down to the basics and my power is to take away free will. I will be doing to others what was done to me. Though it turned out for the best... I was a prisoner and I know how awful that can be. I could feel my frustration ebb away and I moved to stand by the window, gazing out into the backyard. They had such a sprawling property, so light and human.
Which I was only a few days ago.
I shook my head, clearing it from such thoughts. I had made my choice and I would follow it through, just as I did with everything else. I let my thoughts lull, letting them run on their own as my hearing gave me a small preview into the world around me, the one I had never experienced as a human. I could hear the scurrying in the surrounding forest, the pulse of something, wet and welcoming. I swallowed reflexively, the raging ache surfacing as I listened to the blood pulsing and pushing.
My whole body began to tense, coiling up. I would break through this window if it would satiate this horrid burn. In that moment Alice had her hands on both sides of my face, her golden eyes staring into me as she spoke. I could hear what she was saying, it wasn't making sense. It didn't matter. I briefly considered forcing her to step away from me and her eyes widened. She could see it too. That brought me up short. My body uncoiled and I stepped from her grasp.
I didn't want to take away her free will, not when there was no harm in what she was doing. She was trying to help me. I opened my mouth but her hand covered it before I could get the words out.
"No apologies, Edward. Believe me, we are all surprised you have lasted this long, most cannot. I would let you go bounding off into the forest but we do still have a situation downstairs. Try to focus." Her last three words were in a mere whisper as she pulled her hand away. I smiled at her though it was short lived.
"Thank you, Alice. For being so kind to me, for being my friend." I watched as a grin spread across her pixie features. She looked like she wanted to hug me or jump up and down. She couldn't seem to decide, so she merely stood in front of me.
"You know... it isn't often that I am surprised... but you've just managed to surprise me." She smiled again and then began skipping towards the bed to sit down. It was so human. I felt no need to sit, my body was strangely comfortable standing. I hadn't had any thought of sitting until Alice had done so. I sighed softly. I had so much to learn. I moved quickly and sat down beside her. Her expression was now very serious, any trace of happiness or humor having vanished at whatever was running through her mind.
"Okay, enough of the bonding. Time to figure out what your going to do with our intruders." Her voice was low again, keeping our words from the aforementioned intruders. I tried to relax but the whole idea was stressing me out.
"I'm going to help you. I shouldn't have left you to do it on your own. Not that you couldn't... it's just that your so new. I can see how it would be difficult. Okay... so we want them to leave and leave us all alone. What to say that would make sure they can't get around it?" She began tapping her fingers to her chin as she leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. I felt laughter bubble up and fought to keep it back. She was just so tiny and with the determined expression it was actually comical.
"You mind as well just laugh. I can already see you laughing." I could feel the laughter bubbling out of my mouth as she merely continued thinking. Only Alice... The laughter trickled away as I tried to focus on the task at hand.
"Okay... how about... I name them and then say 'you will leave this house and never return. You will never see the Cullen's again nor will you see me. You will not try to contact us, nor will you send anyone outside of this group to hunt us down. You will cause us no harm.'" I watched Alice hopefully. She didn't move for a few minutes as she mouthed the words over and over, searching for a hole. I watched as her eyes glazed over, no doubt seeing something. It was quickly, harmless as she opened her eyes again, looking at me clearly.
"That should work for now. I can't be 100% sure but if they come back we will just beat them back again. Oh and I would add in that they should not speak of what happened here to anyone." That sounded about right. I smiled and ruffled her hair lightly. She squealed and smacked my hand away before darting out of the room to the first floor. I followed behind her at a more leisurely pace, taking my time as I planned out my words. Once I was half-way down the stairs I stopped, searching for Alice. She smiled at me in encouragement.
I worked, for a moment, on focusing my gift. I didn't want to have to be angry every time I wanted to use it.
"Tell me your names." My voice rang out across the silent room. I listened as they gave me their names in soft whispers, angry that they were unable to refuse me. I catalogued them away for future reference and then began my commands.
"Aro, Caius, Marcus, Jane, Alec, Demetri, Felix, and Renata, all of you shall leave this house and never return. You will never come to see the Cullen's again. Nor shall you come to see me. You will not try to contact us, nor will you send anyone outside of this group to hunt us down. You will cause us no harm. Lastly, none of you shall ever speak to anyone, not even each other, of what happened here nor why you can here."
I watched, a triumphant smile on my face, as the group shuffled out of the foyer and back into their cars to go to Volterra. I had saved the day, sort of. I stepped down into the living room and Alice practically bowled me over in a hug as she whispered her congratulation to me.
"Now, would you like to go hunting?" She inquired, stepping back from me and taking Jasper's hand. The thought immediately had me tense as I tried to control my reaction. How had I managed to forget about it for so long? I could feel waves of calm being sent in my direction and smiled at Jasper in thanks. I had never really gotten to know Jasper, having only really met him once with very little interaction afterward.
I smiled and Alice leapt away from me, towards the back door. We were running into the surrounding forest in seconds and I was finally able to test out the resource of strength that was constantly running through me. I stretched out my strides, pushing faster and faster until Alice and Jasper were far behind me. I was surprised to experience the ease with which I was able to run. I could have gone on like that forever but Alice's voice floated to me through the trees.
"Edward! Were you planning on running to Antarctica?!" I chuckled at her words, entirely set on seeing how long it would take to get to Antarctica until the burn flared up again and I flipped myself around to run back to Alice. I stopped in front of her incredulous eyes, our noses almost touching. I couldn't help my reaction and I began to laugh, full out belly laughing at her expression. She turned back to Jasper, confusion evident in her expression.
"I can't be sure if it is the newborn part of you or what but you are faster than any of us have ever been. Even as newborns." Jasper commented with a smile. He hugged Alice to him for a moment and then let go. He was ready to hunt.
"Okay, take a whiff. What do you smell?" Alice inquired. Jasper vanished into the surrounding trees. Apparently he had found something to his liking. I took a deep, unnecessary, breath through my nose, letting the smells assault my senses. I wrinkled my nose in distaste. It wasn't quite what the monster inside was calling for.
"There is a herd of deer very close to here but they don't smell very good." I commented quickly. Alice chuckled at my observation.
"Of course they don't. Do you smell anything else?" I filled my lungs again and froze for a second before vanishing into the trees. Alice was hot on my trail as she spoke to me.
"Smells better doesn't it?" She inquired. I didn't bother answering. I could hear it's blood, pulsing hot and sweet through it's veins. The smell was not repulsive like the deer. My brain screamed out predator but whatever was in front of me was about to become my prey. I could feel myself pulling away from Alice before she halted completely. No doubt to find her own hunt.
I stopped trying to think about Alice as I crouched down behind the large cat that was stalking it's own prey. A low growl rumbled through my chest and the mountain lion turned sharply to roar back at me, warning me away from his own catch. He was my catch, I roared back and pounced for him. I threw back my head and laughed as his claws ripped through my shirt and bounced harmlessly off my chest. It felt like a feather across my stone body as I twisted his neck.
As soon as I had broken his neck my teeth were tearing through skin and muscle to the jugular to get at the hot, pulsing, blood within. I could feel it run down my throat, soothing the burn though not quite eliminating it. I dropped the carcass into the dirt and jumped up to go find Alice. I froze as my eyes took in my appearance, my clothes dripping in blood. I sighed. Alice would not be pleased though I could see how she expected me to be neat and clean. I had never done this before.
"Argh, of course you wrecked your clothes." I whirled around, my eyes wide as Alice leaned against Jasper with a grin. I jumped at her to knock her down but she dodged out of the way. Of course, she could see me coming before I even did it. I changed course and landed gracefully on my feet. Jasper chuckled and shook his head.
"You'll never catch her," He tapped his head with another laugh, "I've tried."
I beat both Alice and Jasper back to the house by half a minute but they didn't seem to mind as we returned to the living room laughing at Alice's antics. My eyes searched the room quickly for Bella but there was no sign of her. Alice watched me, her expression knowing as I shrugged my shoulders and moved farther into the room.
"Edward!" Esme ran up to me and threw her arms around me. Alice started cracking up silently beside Jasper who looked like he was fighting laughter as well. Carlisle smiled at his wife, the love clear in his eyes.
"Welcome to the family. Well I mean if you would like to stay." She let me go, startled as the sound of glass shattering emanated from the kitchen. Alice got there first, no doubt having seen it happen, but we were all close behind her as we ran to the kitchen. I felt my whole being tug as Alice moved to clean up the glass on the floor in front of a frozen Bella. Her eyes were wide with fear as she stared at us. Before anyone could say a word she vanished, out of the house and into the forest.
"Don't, Edward. You'll only upset her more." Alice looked up at me as she spoke and I revised my plans to something more docile, like figuring out more about being a vampire. She looked sad and a little lost, which was different for Alice. Once the glass was cleaned up the rest of the family scattered throughout the house to go about their own activities. I had to wonder how often Bella just vanished that they could be so calm about her doing it now. I was feeling very far from calm though.
I could see the fear, clear in her eyes, but what was she afraid of? The Volturi were gone and I wasn't about to let them get at her. Ever. I sighed in frustration and exited the kitchen only to end up in the living room. I let my thoughts wander, wondering what I could possibly do with all the changes I was experiencing. I looked around the room, searching for a computer. As soon as I found one, I sat down and powered it up with a grin. This could get interesting.
I opened up the web browser and looked around the room, searching for some kind of inspiration for what I was about to try. I chuckled as the piano came into view and with that I turned to the computer. I lifted my hands to the screen and typed in 'free piano lessons'. After reading through an entire site of information, memorized in ten minutes time, I stood and moved to the piano.
I let my fingers follow what the lessons had said, letting them stroke the keys gently. I froze as I sweet melody seemed to flow out of the keys. This was unexpected, I hadn't really believed it would work. I took a deep breath and pulled out the sheet music I had memorized of Yiruma. A song called River Flows In You. I could hear Esme stop what she had been working on, the scratch of pencil on paper ceasing and she moved to the stop of the stairs.
I tried to ignore the fact that I had an audience, letting the music flow through me. It was calming when I was feeling so agitated over Bella's disappearance. I closed my eyes, visualizing what I was playing. I let it morph and change into something I hadn't memorized, something far more personal. This melody was coming from my own mind. The notes held all the anger, frustration, and care I felt towards my ex-kidnapper.
Most everyone on the property had stopped what they were doing, laying down their tools or pulling away from their soul mates to listen. I let the music surround me, the shock wearing off into joy as I let my subconscious weave a complex melody of the emotions I couldn't understand. As the last note rang out I dropped my hands from the piano, staring out into the gathering darkness.
"I didn't know you could play the piano, Edward." Esme's soft, motherly, voice spoke from behind me. I sighed, placing my hands back on the keys, as another melody began to run through my mind.
"Neither did I," I whispered before a new melody began under my fingers. I pulled my fingers off the keys when I realized who the melody was for.
"Don't stop." Esme pleaded, placing one comforting hand on my shoulder. I smiled up at her. I wasn't going to let her hear the song I knew was for her until it was perfect. It was a song for the mother I never had. I went back to the previous melody, the one that had vented all of my feelings about my first immortal day, the day that would never truly end.
I stood after that and the occupants of the house went back to their original tasks. What could I do when things came so easily? I could learn everything I wanted to know in a 24 hour time period. So, with that, I decided to do something that wouldn't require any amount of thinking on my part. I pulled out the video game consoles and played until the moon had risen high in the sky.
Bella still had not returned as I finally switched the games off, feeling no better than I had hours earlier. My thoughts turned to Anabelle. I missed my baby sister, more than anything as I considered what she may have been going through without me to protect her. I could hear Alice scrambling up from her computer and heading in my direction.
"Edward..." Her tone was warning me that I was pushing my luck. She knew, just as well as I did, that I couldn't see Anabelle just yet. I wasn't ready for it yet. I had yet to run across the scent of a human, let alone had any practice fighting the lure of their blood. Alice froze at the top of the stairs, waiting to see if the future would continue with me in the house.
I wanted to go hunting, alone. She sighed in frustration but made no move to stop me.
"If you change your mind, I will know." She whispered as I ran out the back door and into the surrounding trees.
"Don't go south," She called to me before I was out of ear shot. I changed my direction slightly, letting my run take over every other thought in my mind. The wind trying to rip at my stone body, useless against my strength. I bowled over a tree in an effort to release some of the tension I was feeling but it folded under my power. I howled to the stars, unleashing my anger on the twinkling sky. I took a deep breath and screamed again, letting it reverberate through the darkness surrounding me.
I could hear the anguish in my screams and I let myself go, let the emotions ebb from my body as I took it out on the midnight. I took a deep breath through my nose and let my muscles do all the work as I sped off into the forest towards my prey. My mind was blissfully quiet for the first time since I had completed the change, reveling in the lack of emotion in my body as it floated to the bright moon overhead.
Where has Bella gone? hmmm...
It seems there are some speed bumps ahead. hehe Gotta love speed bumps. :)
Reviews? Would be wonderful! Let me know what you think about Edward's adventures.