I think you will all enjoy this final chapter- it's fun, light, and LONG. Happy reading!
Even Tanya couldn't shake my good mood when we got back to the house. Eleazar had already run home after disposing of the blood, wanting to shower the stench off.
"I hear congratulations are in order," she said from the roof; she was back to her repairs. In my excitement, I jumped right up beside her as Carlisle continued on into the house.
"Thanks," I said, handing her the next sheet of metal.
"I have to admit, I'm impressed. It probably took me thirty years to get to the point you got to today."
"There's no telling how long this would have taken, if Eleazar hadn't figured out the problem. He's the best."
"That he is. Although I can think of one or two other men who measure up," she said, her thoughts purring at me.
I laughed out loud, surprising her so much that her mind stopped composing the next step in her seduction.
"You are in a good mood, aren't you?" She scooted closer to me, sliding her hand up onto my shoulder and beginning to pull. Good enough to relax those Victorian trappings for once?
"Nope!" I laughed again, ducking out of her grasp and rolling right off the roof. Tanya threw down her hammer in mock anger.
"You are so frustrating, Edward Cullen!" she hissed- a human would have run, terrified, from the look on her face. But I could tell she wasn't really angry, or even close to giving up. Oh well.
I ran into the house to see if Esme and Emmett had already been informed of my success. I found Esme in the library, perched fifteen feet above me on one of the top shelves as she browsed. I leapt up onto the shelf beside her, pecking her on the cheek. "Where's Emmett? I want to- oh! They didn't tell you?"
Esme just looked at me in confusion, wondering where Eleazar, Carlisle and I had been all afternoon. "Tell me what? And where's Carlisle?"
I grinned, but before I could speak, my father entered the library as well. "Eleazar was so confident in your success this morning, that he asked everyone to keep it a secret from Esme. We thought you'd like to be the one to tell her."
Esme jumped down to the floor, and I followed. "Tell me what?" she repeated.
Then Eleazar appeared as well, toweling off his hair. "What, you didn't tell her yet?" he asked mischievously.
Esme turned to me and bared her teeth. I held up my hands in surrender. "All right. Guess who just got less than a quarter mile away from body-temperature blood, with no venom flow?"
Esme gasped and jumped into my arms, hugging me so hard the back of my shirt started to tear. "I knew you could do it! But how? You're never been anywhere near that close before!"
I set her down and the three of us told her the story. By the time we were finished, Emmett had joined us.
"Okay, since you're talking about it now, am I allowed near my mother yet?" he asked, punching me in the arm. Nice job, bro. Nice.
"Thanks."
"I'm so glad you don't need to do those horrible blood challenges anymore," Esme said happily. "You know I always hated seeing you put yourself through that."
I frowned at her. "What do you mean? This is only the beginning."
Esme closed her eyes. "Edward…"
"I have to agree with him," Eleazar put in. "I'm curious to see how his progress continues, now that we've figured out the problem. In fact, I think we should repeat today's experiment at least two more times- with Carlisle present in both cases, with and without holding his breath. This would allow us to measure how effective Edward's gift is at blocking the input of Carlisle's sensory-"
"Eleazar," Esme interrupted, crossing her arms, "we're all grateful for your help, but I think that Edward has already proven how advanced his control is. I don't want you putting him through useless experiments that will only cause him more pain." I mean it, Edward. I don't want you doing this. I could never understand why you always have to do things like this to yourself. Your control is good enough!
"It's my decision, Esme," I said, my voice coming out more sharply than I had intended. "And I want to continue."
Esme looked pleadingly at Carlisle, who glanced between us, his gaze finally resting back on my face.
"It is Edward's decision," he conceded, steeling himself against Esme's disapproval. "And if you choose to continue, I will help you in any way that I can. But I'm curious as well. How far do you intend to take this? Did you have a particular goal in mind?"
I nodded, and felt the question in everyone's thoughts. I took a deep breath; now was as good a time as any. "I'd like to return to my original goal of attending medical school. Only… for myself this time."
I had somewhat expected the elation that Carlisle's sudden smile gave me, but I savored it nonetheless. Emmett just shook his head in amused disapproval, and Eleazar burst out laughing, earning him another glare from Esme.
"I think it's a wonderful goal," she said in my defense, as she turned back to me. "I do, really. You know I always thought you would make a wonderful physician."
"I don't know if I'll make it that far," I admitted. "Even if my control is eventually as good as Carlisle's, I'll always look too young to really be a doctor."
"Let's take this one step at a time, shall we?" Carlisle said. "For one thing, we're about to head to the Amazon, and I wasn't planning on being anywhere near humans – or hospitals- down there. Let's give this some thought, and make a plan. And as pleased as I am with your progress, I think we have a ways to go before you're ready for the risks that medical school would bring. Stale blood- and in such a controlled setting- is quite different from the unexpected flow of fresh blood from a human patient. We're going to take this slow."
"Agreed," I said quickly. "And I realize that we might need to put this on hold, while we're traveling. There's no rush."
Esme laid her hand on my arm, looking up at me with love and pride. I'm sorry for what I said before. I see now why you want to keep challenging yourself. If this is truly what you want, then you have my support.
I looked down at my mother, feeling a tug inside my dead heart. I was usually so focused on emulating Carlisle that I sometimes forgot how much Esme's love and approval meant to me. And I had forgotten that she had been the first one to truly believe that I could graduate medical school someday. Having her understand, and be proud of my decision, gave a whole new dimension to the joy that today's success had brought me.
I drew her close again, enveloping her in my arms as I shared a smile with Carlisle over her shoulder. "Thank you, Mom," I whispered in her ear.
.
.
.
Five days, twelve attempted seductions by Tanya, and one polar bear later, we were ready to begin our nomadic vacation, and our world tour. We had originally wanted to swim down through the Pacific to South America. But we had just been about to abandon this plan, in favor of travelling "dry", so that we could carry changes of clothes, maps, Carlisle's med kit, various identity documents, and currency, but Kate solved the problem for us.
Since they had a unique level of access to the wildlife in and around Alaska, the Denalis had always been in the habit of occasionally harvesting and curing hides from their prey. It was a hobby they all enjoyed, and it provided a nice income. So when we presented our dilemma, Kate said that she already knew how to construct water-tight rucksacks out of sealskin, so that we could swim without damaging the few items we would be carrying. Of course, Emmett's immediate response had been to ask what seal blood tasted like.
"It's an acquired taste," Kate had admitted. "I don't often feed from them myself, but their hides are excellent for things like this." She, Irina, and Esme had worked furiously during the final two days of our visit, preparing five of these sacks. They were worn on the back, firmly secured to the body by two vertical straps which passed down the front of the torso, and these straps could be adjusted for fit. Since we would be swimming, Kate had designed an extra strap across the front, connecting the two vertical ones. The only addition we would need to make to our "baggage" was a repair kit, so that Esme would be able to keep our rucksacks in top condition.
"You should sell these to high school students," I told Kate as I was being fitted for mine. "If they used something like this to carry their books, maybe I wouldn't have to listen to their mental griping about sore backs all day long."
She had just laughed and reminded me that, at least during the next leg of our travels, I wouldn't have to bother with any human thoughts.
Hallelujah.
Before the Denalis saw us off, we all went down to Kodiak Island for one last hunt together. Emmett wanted to kick off our "World Safari", as he called it, by hunting the largest bear in the world. Eleazar was of the opinion that polar bears were the largest, while Tanya argued that Kodiak bears held the title, and that since she was the oldest, her vote held more weight. Emmett announced that the only fair way to decide was for him to hunt both species, and then announce the winner. It wasn't a fair contest, of course- any given specimen could be any given size. But Tanya and Eleazar agreed to the contest, and their bet was that the loser would have to replace the siding on their entire house.
In the end, Emmett declared Tanya the winner. He had, before drinking, given both bears an experimental toss, and decided that the Kodiak seemed at least a hundred pounds heavier. Eleazar was a gracious loser, sheepishly admitting that he should have learned his lesson about betting after his loss the previous week to Carlisle.
After cleaning up and donning our rucksacks, we bade our cousins goodbye. Tanya somehow managed to get to me last, and I steeled myself for her final attempt. But she remembered her manners, for once, and I gratefully accepted her hug goodbye.
We dove into the ocean and began the long swim south. Emmett was hoping that we would encounter a Japanese submarine, but much to his disappointment, Carlisle's planned route would keep us fairly close to the Americas the entire time. In any case, he forbade Emmett from approaching one, were such an encounter to take place.
After a few tests, we decided that Kate's sacks were living up to her claim, and we spent much of the trip down near the ocean floor. It was rather disconcerting at first to go so long without air- sometimes six hours at a time- but it was worth it. There was a whole other world down here, and we were all surprised at the vibrancy of colors in a place where humans wouldn't normally have enough light to appreciate it. It just reminded us that there was more to our planet than humanity. And while I didn't really get a break from my family's thoughts, the relative silence of this new habitat was a treat. Most of what we heard was foreign to us- the shifting of an unknown animal against the seabed, the mating call of another, the sonar of another; it was delightful to be so disoriented, and I was glad that none of us had put too much time into researching this leg of our journey. We were used to being knowledgeable to the point of boredom; here, everything was new and mysterious.
A few of us tried feeding on some of the larger species, but it proved rather difficult, as we kept getting water in our noses. But on the fourth day, Emmett finally got his wish. We were a few feet under the surface when Rosalie spotted an enormous shadow drifting by us, perhaps a mile and half away.
Japs! Emmett thought triumphantly. I wonder if they have any legends about underwater vampires. I'll bet that Rosalie could pass for a mermaid…
I shook my head, gesturing to the surface. We all popped up and inhaled deeply, looking over toward where the mystery object lay hidden beneath the waves.
"There aren't any thoughts," I reported.
Carlisle grinned, looking at Emmett. "I think I know what it is. Listen."
We all stilled and turned one ear back down into the water, and sure enough, the slow, steady thud of a huge heart was just audible. A couple seconds later, we were rewarded by a swell in the water off to the right, and we all gasped in wonder as a geyser of ocean water exploded into the air.
"Looks like you've got your whale, Emmett," Carlisle announced. Emmett let out a whoop and we all followed him toward his prize. We caught up to it easily, and to our surprise, the whale didn't seem to mind our presence. I reached out and touched the skin as I floated by, intrigued by the toughness of it. I almost inhaled water again as my instincts screamed for me to take in the scent of this new, unorthodox prey.
We all waited, thinking that Emmett would like to make the kill. It was conceivable that all five of us would be able to feed from the whale at once- an arrangement that was impossible on land. The sheer size of the animal, and the way that our instincts were muted without our sense of smell, presented quite a unique opportunity. We would, of course, need to pull the carcass up to the surface in order to feed. What would it taste like?
But Emmett wasn't making his move. At first he was simply at a loss as to how to kill the creature- he knew nothing about whale anatomy, and he didn't want to strike in a way that would cause the whale any unnecessary suffering. It was an unspoken rule that we all followed, whenever we hunted. Kill first, feed second.
The longer Emmett delayed, the more reluctant he became. He was fascinated by the creature, and I was surprised to see the softening of his mind as he thought about what a shame it would be to kill such a magnificent, mysterious creature. He finally pointed to the surface, and we all joined him.
"I can't do it," he told us. I can't kill it. It's too beautiful. "It's just too big," he said aloud. "Besides, this might be the only one we ever see. Can't we just follow it for a while?"
We all agreed, and dove down again. When we were both underwater, Emmett gave me an embarrassed nod, silently thanking me for not laughing at him. I just nodded back in approval- I hadn't wanted to kill it, either. We all swam back to the whale's side, and for the next two days, we followed it wherever it wanted to go. It was fascinating to observe the whale's habits, and to follow along in its graceful slow-motion dance through the ocean. And on the second day, we were treated to the haunting beauty of its song. Everyone agreed, later on, that this was one of the most spectacular sights we had encountered on our travels, and that Emmett had made the right decision.
.
.
.
We gave Mexico and Central America a wide berth. None of us really had any way of knowing what the status of the Southern Wars was right now, and we didn't want to find out. We continued south and, after waiting in the shallows until dark, made landfall in what we guessed to be the southern coast of Peru. We cut our way east under the cover of darkness, and, after cutting through a valley between the peaks of the Andes, soon entered the wild, tangled beauty of the Amazon Rainforest.
It was immediately apparent that this was a very different world than the temperate Rainforest we had left behind in Washington State. The diversity- especially in tree species- was astounding, and the ambient smell, while not unpleasant, was so heavy that I was at a loss as to the direction in which we should begin our hunt. It seemed that we were submerged in a field of varying shades of green, and the air was swimming with the scents of life, growth and death. At least the air itself was clearer here, despite the humidity.
We had all hunting sparingly during the final week of our swim, in anticipation of the prey awaiting us here. I, for one, was eager to see what jaguars were like, both in behavior and taste. Emmett had his heart set on finding an anaconda, and the others were just excited to be here, Carlisle especially. He had never been anywhere in South America before. Even Rosalie had her hair tied back, her appearance forgotten for now as she stood in wide-eyed appreciation of the new world she found herself in.
We decided to hunt right away. We traveled deeper into the heart of the Rainforest to minimize the chance of human interaction, and then went our separate ways, agreeing to meet back beside a certain tree at dawn.
I headed south, toward what was simply entitled "Wetlands" on my map. I didn't know much about jaguars, but I had learned that they could often be found near water. My sense of smell wasn't much help; there were so many new smells that I had never encountered before, that I couldn't make heads or tails of any of it. After wandering for hours and skipping over smaller prey, I finally decided to stand still for a while, and take it all in.
I closed my eyes and stood motionless for at least two hours, sifting through the scents one by one until I had a clearer idea of what was plant and what was animal. I finally opened my eyes and moved forward again toward the Wetlands, searching for any scent that reminded me of mountain lion. Finally, I was rewarded with a semi-familiar aroma dancing on the breeze off to my left. I started running, smiling when I heard the soft padding of cat's feet running away from me.
I finally caught sight of the jaguar entering a copse of ancient-looking trees at the edge of a marsh, and I splashed through the muddy obstacle with as little noise as possible. I caught up him again and chased him up one of the trees. I followed him out onto a branch, which was itself the diameter of a good-sized tree. He finally turned to face me, hissing his warning and backing away in a crouch, his tail twitching like an animal all its own.
He was the biggest cat I had ever hunted, and his color and markings were beautiful. He opened his huge jaws, displaying his razor-sharp teeth and roared. I grinned, closing my eyes against the hot wind of his breath. When he was finished, I roared back, and he jumped in surprise, scrambling to get away and losing his footing. But I was determined to complete the hunt up in the branches. I hooked my left knee around a knob in the branch, dropping the rest of my body to hang as I reached out, grabbing the jaguar with both arms as he fell. He roared in confusion, writhing in my embrace and trying to free his forelegs. I shuffled him higher in my grip- just to be fair- and he attacked my face with teeth and claws, all at once. I felt a little guilty as his teeth broke off against my throat, though; I hadn't intended for him to suffer at all. I shifted his body weight over to just my left arm, and wrapped my right elbow around his neck, killing him with a single jerk of my shoulder.
I drank him dry, still hanging upside down. The flavor was complex, but no better than that of his North American cousins- if anything, it was too tangy. But the final moments of the hunt had been quite challenging- I couldn't wait to tell Emmett.
It was almost dawn, and so I buried him quickly, running back to the meeting place. But as I approached my family, I could immediately tell that something was wrong. There were three unfamiliar scents on the air- vampires. I ran faster, passing through the trees as silently as I could. I finally picked up the minds of my family, and they were all standing in a… train station?
What was this? I was in the right place, wasn't I? Had they gone exploring, and found some sort of underground research facility? But there was no mistaking the image that was I was getting from their minds. They could all see each other, but instead of the Rainforest, they were standing in what reminded me of the subway stations in New York City. I could even see the tracks. What…?
I ran closer, hearing the frantic questions in their minds and conversation. It seemed that they had been all gathered by the appointed tree, waiting for me, when the train station had suddenly appeared around them. It was dark, lit only by a few gaslights up on the brick walls. In fact, it was too dark- a vampire standing in such a place should have much better vision than what they were experiencing. They were huddled together on the platform, wondering if they should try walking down the tracks, or stay still. They had caught the scent of the three strangers, but hadn't encountered them yet. Maybe they were underground. Where was the entrance to the station?
I could hear the three strangers' thoughts now, but I couldn't understand a word of it. The mental voices were all feminine, and the harsh, hostile tone of the thoughts made me break into a sprint. I could see my family through their eyes, huddled together- but standing in the Rainforest, where they should be. To my relief, I soon saw them with my own eyes, and I ran into the clearing to join them, scanning the trees for the –
I gasped, the green lightness of the Rainforest disappearing instantly to be replaced by the train station. I stumbled in my shock, halting my run before I fell off of the platform. It was so dark I could barely see my own feet. How did I get here?!
"Edward!" Carlisle said in relief. "Are you seeing what we are?"
I spun around, feeling panicked and closed in by the walls which had suddenly appeared around me. "Yes. There are three strangers looking down at us," I said quickly. "And there isn't a train station. We're standing in the rainforest."
"I know," he answered in confusion. "Touch the ground."
I knelt down, reaching my hand out to touch the cold cement of the platform. But what I felt was the soft, damp soil of the forest floor. I stood up again, closing my eyes and searching for the three minds I had heard. I could hear them coming from almost directly above us now- definitely three women, and they were still watching us stand still in our confusion. I opened my eyes, looking up at the dark ceiling above me, moving my gaze to where I guessed the women were in reality.
I heard three feminine gasps of surprise, and two of the viewpoints shifted to show me the third woman: her appearance itself was quite fierce, but I was more concerned with the way she bared her teeth and opened her eyes wider as she stared down at us. I heard my family cry out in alarm, and I opened my eyes to see the walls of the train station beginning to move inward, the station shrinking closer to us on all sides.
"They're going to crush us!" Esme cried, pressing backwards into Carlisle's chest. How?!
"Everyone, stay calm!" Carlisle ordered. "It's not real- and even if these were real walls, we wouldn't be crushed. Edward?"
"Three women, and they're right above us, in the trees," I said quickly, moving my gaze back up. "I think one of them is gifted. She's staring down at us, and her mind is the only one sharing the-"
Everything went black, and I looked around wildly, my body crouching down in a defensive posture. I could still hear the others, but they all shared my blindness. At least Carlisle and Esme had been touching, and could still feel each other's embrace, though Esme began to cry anyway. Emmett and Rosalie were both snarling as they lashed out blindly, trying to find each other.
I found myself taking deep breaths, in a human effort to calm myself down. This was the first time in twenty-two years that I had experienced total darkness, and it would have been terrifying, without the extra sight of my gift. Still, it took every ounce of effort to stand up straight again, closing my eyes and returning my focus to the woman's mind. She was definitely the one causing the illusion- and it was definitely a supernatural gift, not a device. I could practically feel the vibrations coming out of her mind, just like the intangible flare I had observed in Eleazar's gift, while he was using it to examine my own. I tilted my head up and forced my eyes to gaze up into the eerie darkness, using my gift to watch myself through the stranger's mind. I adjusted my gaze until I was looking at my own eyes, and grinned slightly as her mind recoiled in fear.
"Release us," I said with as much authority as I could muster. "We will not harm you."
She answered me with the most terrifying illusion of all. I was suddenly standing in an open field of snow, with an army of snarling vampires running toward me. My body tried to react, but I held on, refusing to release her from my blind gaze. "Release us!" I demanded again. "We did not realize this was your territory. We only wish to speak with you!"
The illusions melted away, and we all jerked again in surprise as the Rainforest reappeared. I pointed up to where I was hearing the minds from, and three female vampires melted out of the camouflage of the trees, landing in unison in front of us. All three were wild-looking, and very imposing. They were all quite tall and thin, as if someone had stretched them. Was this an illusion as well? But it didn't seem to be. Instead of dresses, they were attired in various scraps of leather, jaguar hide and some sort of plant-based cloth. All three had long black hair, braided down their backs. Their skin was a chalky olive tone, evidence of darker skin in their human lives, and all three looked as if they might be related. They stood in a tight triangle, surveying us with apprehension.
Carlisle stepped forward, holding his hands up peaceably. "We mean you no harm," he said gently. "Can you understand English?"
"We understand you," the tallest woman said. Her voice was a deep, rich contralto, and she spoke with perfect pronunciation. To my consternation, they all continued thinking in their native language, even as they spoke and processed our own tongue.
"But we do not understand how you have confounded my sister's gift," said another. Both she and the first speaker glanced to the third woman, who was looking at me with fury in her eyes- but with a very subtle smile, at the same time.
"I am gifted as well," I announced, stepping forward and meeting her gaze again. "I am a reader of minds."
She inclined her head slightly, as if in respect. I stifled a sigh of relief as her thoughts switched effortlessly to English. Is this better, mind-reader?
"Yes, thank you," I said politely, nodding back to her. As if on cue, the other two sisters began thinking in English, as well. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously, wondering if their minds were somehow connected, like the wolves.
"I am Zafrina," the gifted one said, speaking aloud for the first time. "And these are my sisters, Kachiri and Senna," nodding to each as she spoke their name. Kachiri was tallest one- the one who had spoken first.
"I am Carlisle Cullen," my father replied, lowering his hands slowly. "This is my wife, Esme. These are Rosalie and Emmett, and the mind reader is Edward."
"What is wrong with your eyes, Carlisle Cullen?" Kachiri asked.
"This is their normal appearance," Carlisle answered. "We don't drink human blood- we only hunt animals. Our diet is reflected in our eye color."
All three women raised their eyebrows in surprise and amusement. "You sustain yourself this way?" Zafrina asked, her superior smirk returning.
"Yes," Carlisle replied. "We believe in respecting human life."
"How strange," Zafrina said, laughing a little. I shivered slightly- even when she laughed, she looked menacing. Her mind was flying through some of her more recent hunts, in villages scattered throughout the Rainforest.
"So, you see," Carlisle continued, "We are not in competition with you in this territory, since we seek different prey. But if you are uncomfortable with our presence, we will leave in peace."
"Most peculiar," Zafrina said again, shaking her head. "You are unlike any vampire we have ever met, Carlisle Cullen." So calm and civilized. So… human.
"Don't go," Kachiri said, raising one hand to us. "We find you interesting. Travel with us."
"And we apologize for our deception earlier," Zafrina added. "It is not often that we meet with others of our kind."
"So when you do meet them, that's how you say hello?" Emmett muttered.
Zafrina held his stare. "Yes. And that is also how we say goodbye," she said evenly.
I swallowed, realizing how easy it would have been to destroy us as we stood there, blind. Even with my ability, I might not have been able to react in time. And if I had shown any sort of organized defense, they probably would have just dismembered me before the others.
"I don't get it," Emmett said darkly. I mean, I do, but I hope I'm wrong.
"We do not kill all our visitors," Zafrina qualified, attempting to make her voice sound calm like Carlisle's. Most of them, yes. But not all. Not these. Most peculiar!
"I'm curious why you did not attack us, when you had the chance," Carlisle asked delicately.
"Your coven is unusually large," Kachiri answered. "And we always like to observe our enemies while they are subjected to my sister's gift."
"You learn a lot about a person by how they react to something like that," Senna finished, her gaze flickering to me with accusation.
"I have a question, as well," I said. "How old are you? And how are you so… connected, mentally? It's as if the three of you are always ready to finish each other's sentences."
"We are old," Kachiri said simply. "Though I am eldest. After I was changed, I returned to my human village and made my two closest friends like me. Now they are my sisters."
"And when you have been with someone a long time, it is easy to think together," Senna added, echoing the words in her sisters' mind. "You will understand, in a millennium or so."
Carlisle sighed in wonder, and glanced over at me. Anything we need to worry about? If not, I'd like to take them up on their offer.
As much as my instincts were itching to run away from these women, I shook my head. I was intrigued, as well. And despite the evidence to the contrary, I didn't believe we had anything to fear.
"If my family does not object," Carlisle said to all of us, "I will accept your offer to travel together for a while. I am curious to learn more about you, and this habitat."
Rosalie, of all people, was the first to nod her agreement. She was fascinated by these women- they were just so other, that they seemed almost a different species. Emmett sighed in resignation, and Esme slipped her hand nervously in Carlisle's, nodding her agreement, as well.
We spent a full week with the Amazons, as we had unofficially named them. They took us on a lightning-speed tour of their home, circling up through Brazil, and passing back down through Bolivia to show us their beloved Wetlands, which was where they had lived as humans, and where they spent most of their time now. It seemed that the sisters had never left South America even once, though they had, over uncounted years, travelled every inch of the continent, including the cities.
As we began to relax around our new friends, we told them more about our unusual diet, which was endlessly amusing to them. They insisted on watching us hunt, and helped me find another jaguar. When I came out of my frenzy, I was annoyed to find all three women laughing at me, though not unkindly. I regained my pride by boasting to Emmett about my upside-down meal the day before. He was duly impressed, and grudgingly admitted that he hadn't been able to find an anaconda.
The Amazons promptly found one and brought it to him, waiting to see what he would do. But as with the whale, he was at a loss as to how to even begin feeding. He picked up the thirty-foot snake, shrieking in delight when it wound itself around him, coiling again and again until he looked like a stack of tires. Kachiri finally took pity on him and showed him where the heart was, which he promptly bit.
We all waited curiously, and I took advantage of the new knowledge Eleazar had given me about my gift. I closed my eyes, fully entering Emmett's mind and experiencing the taste with him. It was rather oily and bland, though not unpleasant.
"That was amazing," Emmett sighed when he was finished. "Brings back memories of frying up rattlesnake with my Granddad when I was a kid." We all just laughed, trying to picture Emmett tossing the anaconda in a huge frying pan.
Throughout the week, the Amazons were more than happy to help us in our quest to experience the exotic flavors of the Rainforest. We tried tapir, capybara, ocelot, giant river otter, sloth, tayassu tajacu, and even a few breeds of monkeys. Emmett's anaconda remained his favorite flavor, although his favorite hunt was, hands down, vampire bat.
"Vampire bat," Rosalie echoed in disbelief, when he announced his plan.
"Yeah! Come on, you all have to admit this is our kind of prey! One sanguinivore devouring another!"
"Ugh! They're rodents, Emmett!"
"They're not rodents," I corrected, "And I'd also be curious to see they taste like, considering their diet. But I think you're forgetting something, Emmett. They can fly."
Emmett raised an eyebrow in superior fashion, and Rosalie doubled over laughing when she realized that he was imitating me. "I know they can fly," he said slowly. Idiot. "That's why this hunt is going to be so much fun."
The Amazons thought Emmett's idea was intriguing, and tagged along to watch. They took us to a hidden cave, motioning us inside.
"No, I want to hunt them," Emmett reminded them. "Not snack on them in their sleep. Where's the challenge?"
So we stood silently by the entrance, waiting until nightfall, when the bats would come out to hunt. While we waited, Zafrina entertained us all with her gift, showing us some of the places she had visited in her long life. Now that we weren't afraid, we all enjoyed the illusions. And for the first time ever, the rest of my family had their first taste of what it was like to be a telepath. Being bombarded by another's mind with whatever they chose to give you- it was something I had always endured alone, and it was rather nice to have my loved ones understand me a bit better.
"I'm curious, Zafrina," I asked as I wandered silently through the streets of Quito, "have you ever tried giving sound, along with the illusions?"
"I cannot, young Edward," she admitted. "Though my gift has grown slowly over time. At first I could only give the illusion to one person, and it was a still picture. Now I can affect an entire group, if they are directly in front of me, and I can create moving images, as you see. Perhaps in another thousand years I will achieve sound, and in another thousand, texture."
Carlisle was especially intrigued with some of the older images- it seemed that the sisters dated back to a time long before the Incan civilization. When we finally had our sight back, we all felt very, very young standing next to these women. And reflecting on Zafrina's gift made me wonder about my own. Would I ever be able to develop it further, in range or power? I wasn't sure I wanted either, but it was an intriguing thought, nonetheless.
When it was quite dark, the bats began flying out, their eerie sonar-song whizzing through the air as they passed us. The airborne colony spun around us a couple of times in confusion, and then dispersed. Emmett and Rosalie decided to follow a bat who had flown off toward the East, and so I followed them- I knew that we all couldn't share the miniature meal, but I was curious to see what Emmett was going to do. How was he possibly going to catch it?
We lost the bat almost immediately, and their scent was so bland that we couldn't hunt them that way, either. It proved much easier to follow their sonar. We darted around for a while, chasing the elusive bats, until we found one latched on the neck of some kind of sleeping pig. Emmett crept up behind it and pounced, but the bat danced away through the air. Emmett jumped with everything he had, but it wasn't enough. When his ascent began to slow, he grabbed a nearby vine and began swinging through the trees, his Tarzan yell echoing through the night. He swung around the area in a wide circle, and soon picked up the sonar of another vampire bat in his path, stretching his arm out and catching the bat's wing as he passed. He fed in mid-swing and somersaulted back to the ground beside us, bowing to our applause.
"Well?" Rosalie asked.
"It's… complicated. Like drinking ten different animals at once," he said thoughtfully, running his tongue around inside his mouth. "I know I can taste tapir, and I think… monkey?"
We all returned to the cave, easily catching and tasting some of the bats that were perched inside. Emmett was right- I tasted three bats and each one was different, depending on what they had fed on. And the blood in their tiny stomachs was different from their circulatory blood. It was, by far, the most complex meal we had ever had. We felt positively gourmet.
My personal favorite- in terms of taste- was still jaguar, but I was surprised to find caiman a close second. The flavor was spicy and sweet all at once, and the wrestling was fantastic. It turned out the Amazons sometimes wrestled the caimans as well, just for fun. Senna even tried feeding on one while her sisters looked on in disgust, but she spat the blood back out almost immediately.
"What's the matter, Senna?" Emmett laughed. "Crocodile got your tongue?"
She frowned, wiping the blood away distastefully. "What?" These Americans are so uncivilized!
He just sighed. "Nothing." Nobody gets me.
"This is awful," she growled. "I do not see how you sustain yourself on such poor fare. Why don't you come hunting with us tonight?"
We all declined politely, and decided it was as good a time as any to move on. Carlisle told them that he would like to travel back West and check out the Andes next, and our new friends gave us directions to some of the places that they thought we might find interesting.
"I am sure Emmett will find the condors challenging," Senna said a smirk, "now that he is an expert in aerial hunting."
"You should see him hunt underwater," I muttered under my breath, earning a curious smile from all three sisters.
"Birds?" Emmett echoed, his eyes growing wide. I never even thought about that…
Carlisle smiled pleasantly, bowing his head slightly as the sisters turned to go. "Zafrina, Kachiri, Senna. Meeting you all has been an extraordinary pleasure. I hope to see you again one day."
"And you as well, Carlisle Cullen," Zafrina said with a warm smile. I wasn't afraid of her anymore- still, I would hate to be on her bad side. "We have enjoyed your visit." She pledged her coven's eternal friendship with our own, and invited us to visit again in a century or so.
After bidding the Amazons goodbye, we decided to reach the Andes through Peru, back the way we had come. After that, the plan was to follow the range south through Argentina.
And then?
We were as free as we had ever been. In the few short weeks since our departure from Washington, we had encountered sights, flavors, and people that we could never have dreamed about before now. And the strangest feature of our journey so far: we hadn't encountered a human in weeks, and we had no plans to do so in the near future. Carlisle's thoughts were going a mile a minute, remembering his travels in previous centuries, and planning possible routes that we might take now out of South America. He was immensely proud to be traveling the world with his family this time, instead of alone.
As we began our ascent toward the cloudy peaks of the Andes, my own heart was light, and my mind was swimming with possibilities. Carlisle had urged all of us to choose some of our destinations, and I began to wonder what I would like to try. Antarctica? The jungles of India? The sky was the limit. And, as Emmett had proved this week, even that was not totally closed to us. Would humans, and even vampires, someday journey away from the earth, in pursuit of the stars?
But for now, I was excited with our plans, and hopeful for the near future. If my success with the blood challenges continued, it was conceivable that I might be ready to enter medical school before long. Of course, the outcome of the War would have an impact on that possibility. By the time I did get to medical school, would all of my lectures be in German? It was a sobering thought. But regardless of the future that awaited our human peers, my own was bright. There was only one thing missing, and that was having someone to share my future with.
I had my family, and I loved each one dearly. And I would not betray the thoughts that Rosalie and Emmett were attempting to hide from me: they were thinking about going off on their own soon, though not for the reasons that I had thirteen years ago. They had every intention of keeping to vegetarianism; they just wanted to see what it was like to live on their own, and perhaps play older roles for a while. When the time was right, they would tell Carlisle and Esme. I would stay, of course; Esme would be heartbroken if all of us were to leave at once. And it would be rather nice to be an only child again for a while. Besides, where would I go, if I was alone? Half the fun of traveling was sharing the experience with those I loved. Perhaps someday, I would travel the world again, with my wife at my side.
I froze, halting my climb up the side of the mountain. We had just met three new females because of our travels, hadn't we? And while I hadn't felt drawn to any of them, it was entirely possible that during our travels, I would encounter my mate. Perhaps-
A shock went through me, and I gasped aloud at the strength of it. What if I was going to meet her this year? We were on a world tour, after all! I had, with increasing frequency, felt a longing for the missing half of me, but my daydreams about her had always had a "someday" quality. What if my waiting was almost done?
What if she were waiting for me, here in the Andes? Sitting there in Washington State, wondering if I would ever meet someone, was one thing- but here I was, actively combing the world with my family. Who knew what other vampires we would stumble upon?
I grinned- it was a fool's hope, I knew- but I reached up to the next rock with renewed vigor, and started to climb faster.
The End
Up next, the one we've all been waiting for... 1950! I am leaving tomorrow on vacation, so it will be a couple of weeks before that story begins. (I will post an announcement here when the first chapter goes up.) I hope you enjoyed the final installment of 1936- please take a moment to review with your final thoughts :) As always, I have to say thank you for all the wonderful reviews, and for enjoying the Tale Of Years along with me. And don't forget to request outtakes as you read along!
See you all in a couple of weeks! Thanks for reading!
