Chapter 14 – Alive for Now

Edward was alone in his room, the door shut to separate himself from the curious eyes of his family. His lack of change in his demeanor worried them, especially since they knew he was courting Amy. Confining himself to the solitude and the comfort of his room, some of his favorite music played softly on his sound system, the acoustical tones calming his mood as he scribbled in his journal.

Edward . . .

His head snapped up as Amy's voice filtered through his head like a breeze, then disappeared like a fading echo.

Edward . . . I need you . . . help me . . .

She was numb. Frozen and limp on the ground like a piece of roadkill. He shot up from his chair and flew to the door, the paper of his journal flickering in the breeze he generated. As he whipped open the door, a blur of color flew up the stairs and stopped before him. Alice. He was already reading her mind before she spoke.

"They plan to kidnap her," Alice said quickly, her eyebrows contorted into an expression of concern. Neither of them knew who "they" were, but they understood the danger awaiting Amy's fate. "I don't know why, but I think this is bigger than a simple abduction. She's a target for something. I can feel it."

Like a blast of lightning, Edward soared downstairs and jumped out of the open window at the landing as a new image began to form in his mind. Two vampires were approaching Amy's lifeless body. They planned to take her. Swinging down from a large tree branch, he bolted forward as his feet hit the ground. Briefly taking his focus away from Amy, he sensed his family was not far behind. Their loyalty made him run even faster.

* * *

Even though she knew it was useless, Amy fought against the paralyzing solution coursing through her veins. Her left cheek was in the dirt, the tiny grains of earth piercing into her skin.

Edward, please. Please hear me. I can't move. I need help.

She wanted to scream as she heard rapid footsteps approaching.

"Get her," a quiet voice said as the footsteps slowed. She felt the presence of two figures surround her own. Both were behind her and obscured from her line of sight. She felt ill, as if the beginning of her death was already in play. "I can't believe he picked this spot to get her. Goddamn fool, "the voice finished. "Hurry up. I'll keep a lookout."

Two cold arms snuck underneath her body at her torso and thighs, then flipped her around so she was facing the sky as she was lifted from the ground with ease. With an arm secured under her back, her head fell limp and dangled downward at an uncomfortable angle. She still could not see the two men, but the one holding her was strong. His body was solid and frigid, and a new, horrifying thought entered her mind: they were vampires.

She felt the brisk night air run across her exposed neck, but with another terrifying realization, she knew the vampire was smelling her, the cool tip of his nose grazing along the warm flesh of her neck.

"Just as I remembered," he drawled, exhaling slowly as he savored her scent. "Perhaps we'll be allowed a taste when Lorenzo is finished with you."

The vampire's tongue slowly licked across the length of her neck, the uncomfortable, cold wetness sending a shiver through her body. Amy had never felt more trapped, more helpless. Her mind told her to fight, to kick, to thrash, to scream, to run, but she couldn't respond to its request. The lack of connection from body to mind was maddening, and the result caused her to lose hope. A rumble of thunder simmered through the sky.

"Go. A full coven is coming. At least five," the other voice called from farther away.

Amy wouldn't have realized she was moving were it not from the sudden blur of the world around her. She was now hidden from view within the lush limbs of the nearby trees.

"Vincent!" the farther voice called, his tone alarmed.

Whipping around, Vincent suddenly dropped Amy, her limp body colliding harshly with the earth. Her head drooped to the right toward the direction they had come from, her condo now around 500 feet away. And coming toward them, his body partially crouched as he moved with the wind, was Edward.

In another second, she heard his guttural growl as Edward lunged forward, his body soaring over hers before smashing into Vincent's body. The sound of the colliding bodies mimicked the thunder before they dropped to the ground.

Vincent growled as he somersaulted several feet away from Edward, landing on his feet in a predatory crouch.

The next several moments happened too quickly for Amy to process them at once. Carlisle was suddenly on the ground beside her, his hands gently moving along her limp body, examining her for wounds.

"It's okay. We're here," Carlisle said quickly and quietly.

We? Amy thought, her head aching to turn toward Edward. More growls cut through the humid air as a flash of lightning briefly lit the night sky. Additional bursts of air whipped past them, the sound of snarls following the blurred figures.

"Edward!" Carlisle called to his son as his fingers lightly grasped her neck. Turning her head upward, he examined her face, and Amy was finally free to look at something other than the dirt.

"Is she hurt?" Edward's voice floated through her ears, filling her with the secure warmth she craved. He knelt on the ground above her head and slipped his hands under her armpits, easily pulling her upward so her back could rest into his chest. She couldn't move, but she could smell him, an indescribable scent that tickled her nose and brought her entire body to life. She focused on her breathing, on his scent bringing her back to life.

"I'm trying to find the injection site," Carlisle said, the anxiety evident in his tone. "If we can find it, I can try to remove the numbing agent."

Edward lowered his head toward Amy's and inhaled loudly through his nostrils, sifting through her appealing aroma, the tantalizing burn in his throat, to seek out the foreign scent of the solution.

"Here." Edward carefully pushed Amy away from his chest and held her upright and away from his body so her back and neck were exposed. "Her left shoulder blade."

If she had control of her body, she would have flinched when Carlisle's frosty hand pulled her shirt away from her shoulder to expose her pale skin. She wanted to gasp when his mouth covered her flesh and began to suck at the injection site.

What the hell is he doing?! Am I becoming a vampire?

"Relax, baby. He's trying to help you move again," Edward said, reading her thoughts. The fact that he could unnerved him. It meant she was still extremely frightened.

Within seconds, she felt a tingling sensation in her limbs – first in her shoulders and arms. The prickly warmth flowed downward through her belly and finally to her legs and toes.

"Keep going, Dad. You're doing it," Edward said, his nerves calming slightly as he watched Amy's limbs began to quiver.

"Edward . . ." she moaned, her mind fighting against her vocal chords. She could almost move, almost turn around and curl up in Edward's arms.

"I'm here," he said softly, leaning forward. She gasped when the tip of his cool nose brushed against the smooth skin of her cheek.

Carlisle suddenly pulled away and dropped onto the ground, enabling Edward to secure his arms around Amy's waist and pull her backward against his body. Slinking an arm under her knees, he turned her sideways, allowing her head to rest comfortably against his left shoulder as her legs draped over his own. Amy reached her still-quaking arms around his neck, her rapid breaths expression her fright.

"Vampires . . . " she said quietly, her voice strained. "Were those—"

"Yes. The rest of the family went after them."

"But—"

"Relax, sweetheart. We'll find out what's going on." Edward paused, the image of Amy's previously lifeless body flashing through his mind. He wanted to fight them. "Please look at me," he requested quietly. "I want to go after them. I could kill them—"

"Don't. Please don't leave me." Amy lifted her head from Edward's shoulder and locked her blue eyes with his. Her right hand cautiously left its position against his neck, and her fingertips slid upward to run through his hair. Edward's lips parted, and he slowly lowered them to softly kiss her forehead.

"I won't leave you." His right hand brushed her cheek, then drifted down across her jawline, finally coming to rest at her neck. Edward's lips brushed against her forehead again, the sensation sending a shot of adrenaline through her core.

"Lorenzo. They said something about a person named Lorenzo." Amy said suddenly. Edward's liquid topaz eyes narrowed as he met her gaze. "They were going to give me to him. I think . . . to eat." The phrase sounded awkward to say, but the rage that filled Edward's eyes told her she was accurate. "Do you know him?" she asked, the worry filling her voice more than she wanted.

"No." Edward replied, his eyes still narrow.

"I do." Carlisle sighed, his eyes moving from Amy to Edward. "He's a former member of the Volturi."