Chapter 9
I followed Carlisle down the stairs and into the den, it's a large room mostly made of glass like the rest of the Cullen's house, there is a massive L shaped sofa, a huge TV and books lining the only non glass wall space, Bella and Edward are sitting here and Esme is pottering in the open plan kitchen at the other end of the room, it's a strange sight I've never seen a vampire potter before and I have to fight a smirk on my lips, I expect him to keep walking and lead me through the open doors and to the forest but he stops and turns to face me. "When I said private..." I start.
"whatever we discuss can be shared in front of my family, either you tell us all or I tell them later it's up to you" he says, I nod in acceptance, he has no secrets from his family I have to respect that.
"His name is... sorry was Godwin, Godwin Bette Noire, I don't know about a mate but he does have family, nothing too large and with his death they're now much less of a threat he had a strong defensive ability one I'm glad I wont have to deal with again" I say.
"What was it?" asked Carlisle.
"He could move organics without touching them, the second you got close he'd fling you away with a swipe of his hand, it made tearing the son of a bitch's head of a real chore" I say "but I can tell you from experience he's not the talented one in his family, he has two sisters Cheryl and Adelie" I tell them, Esme comes and stands next to her husband looking concerned.
"And they are gifted?" she asks, I nod.
"Cheryl makes your head feel like your thousands of feet below sea level or up in the atmosphere, and if she takes you high or low enough..." I trail off not wanting to be too graphic
"Your brain explodes from the inside out" chips in Edward.
"Pretty much" I nod in agreement.
"What about the other?" asks Carlisle.
"Well Adelie is a little different, her ability is more physical, I've never felt it myself but I have seen it" I pause thinking about the first and only time I saw Adelie use her ability, I feel the crush in my chest and and hold the edge of the table Esme's voice snaps me back out of my memory.
"Fable are you alright?" she asks I'm actually touched by her concern, I shoot a look at Edward unsure of how much of my memory he saw, all I can do is hope he has the decency not to repeat it, I give him a warning look hoping it's enough to curb any snide comments he might have a treaty with the wolves but I don't one remark about this and I will not be responsible for my actions. Edward narrows his eyes at me and sigh.
"It saddens me that you think so little of me Fable" he says "I would never..." he starts but I cut him off I don't wanna hear it.
"Then don't give me reason to" I snapped back and Bella came to stand next to her husbands side.
"Adelie's gift?" she asks me.
"If she gets her hands on you... well that's pretty much it it's time to start saying your prayers put it that way, when her hand comes into contact with your skin, she cooks you alive, it's brutal" I finish and sigh trying hopelessly not to relive the memories.
"I'm so sorry Fable" says Edward, he doesn't elaborate what his apology is for, but I can tell is in condolence for the flashback he just witnessed.
"And what of their creator?" Carlisle asks.
"I'm not overly familiar with him, I believe his name is Ivan" I say, I notice Carlisle and Esme exchange a look, I tilt my head and narrow my eyes at him "You know him?" I ask.
"Possibly, I knew an Ivan when I was living with the Volturi, of course he wasn't under the name of Bette Noire then he was a scientist and an inventor. Aro went through a brief period of obsession with the genetics of other species; the experiments he had Ivan perform were barbaric, he became friendly with one of the test subjects, He grew too comfortable around her and one full moon she broke free, she killed his mate and many others after that he became sullen and sadistic, he started to take pride and enjoyment in his work. The man I knew, my friend was gone" he says, he hangs his head at the memory.
"Well if this is the same Ivan we could have serious problem" says Edward.
"Especially since you ripped his son's head off" Bella adds.
"If this does cause problems then it's only a problem for me you and your family need not worry or involve yourselves in this" I say.
"All due respect Fable but if the Volturi are hunting you, which it seems that they are, you can't afford to be choosing your allies. Aro pretends otherwise but the Volturi are no friends of ours either if they are coming this way than we can be sure they will be paying us a visit also" says Carlisle.
"And this time we might not be so lucky" says Bella.
"We don't condone fighting but we certainly won't just sit idly by either" says Esme "The Volturi promised to leave us to our existence, our relations with them have been better than ever in recent years, but we're not fools, we know Aro's tolerance of us is only to keep a close eye on Alice, Edward, Bella and Rennesme there's only one reason they'd return now" she says, I wonder what she's getting at? Did the Cullen's have some sort of run in with the Volturi at some point in the past maybe? Did this Aro want something they had?
"When Nessie was born they believed her to be an immortal child" Edward says, I involuntarily gasp.
"How could anyone think that of Nessie, she has a heartbeat for starters" I say, Edward nods in understanding.
"It's a long story, it was basically a misunderstanding on one of our cousin's part, and they came to kill Nessie, those who created her and all those who stood to defend her" he says "we were very lucky to survive with no casualties"
"Speaking of Nessie reminds me, I assume you knew you were of vampire origin?" asks Carlisle.
"Indeed I did" I reply.
"And you choose not to tell us why?" he asks.
"I didn't know how much the doctor patient confidentiality thing went" I say, I glance at the faces in the room before turning back to Carlisle "clearly not very far" Carlisle sighs but doesn't protest the point "so other than being a freak of nature what's the diagnosis doc?"
"well, other than slight traces of venom still in your blood stream you're fine, once it's out of your system you should be able to phase normally, I'd say in day or so" he tells me.
"Good because right now shifting hurts like hell" I say.
"So what are you thoughts about Ivan and his daughters, any plans?" asks Edward.
"Hold on I'm all up for talking tactics but I think the wolves should be present for that conversation, I hate repeating myself" I sigh.
"I agree" says Carlisle.
"I'll call Nessie" says Bella.
"Does..." I'm suddenly cut off by the shrill buzz of a phone ringing, Carlisle sighs and excuses himself, and he picks up the phone from the kitchen counter and presses it to his ear.
"Alice what's wrong, slow down?" he says, the rest of the vampires listen to the conversation intently, they can probably hear the other end of the line, my hearing only allows me to know the voice on the other side if female but I can't make out actual words "Yes actually she is here... of course" Carlisle says, he takes a few steps closer to me and hands me the phone I look at him with confusion on my face, he says nothing and reluctantly I take the phone as soon as it touches my ear a high voice that almost sings out of the phone at me, its a vampire alright.
"Fable my name is Alice I'm sorry for not doing this in person but I just had another vision and we need to talk" she says, talk about what? What the hell did she see was I in it? "Do you have a son? Brother? Maybe a cousin he looked quite young" she finally blurts out, oh no Gabe?
"What happened!" I practically yell.
she trails off she's still babbling to me but I can't hear a word she's saying, the blood is pulsing in my ears too hard and too fast, my breathing in erratic and my heart is pounding, I should have known I should have predicted he'd come looking for me, the room starts spinning and I only just hear someone call my name from behind me as I fall to the floor. Hot hands grab me and Skar briefly comes into my field of vision before my vision clouds yellow and everything goes black.