(AN) Where does Jezebel go when she wonders off? Who knows? I haven't really decided that myself. There's really no limit to where she could go, she's seen almost the entire world, but I like to think she just goes out and hides in the woods until she feels like coming out again. Also, Stella's southern accent becomes more pronounced when she's riled. You don't mess with a werewolf's imprint, but you also don't mess with a witch's kid ;-) Next chapter is all about Echo, btw. I feel like I haven't given her enough time :-)
Chapter 12: Afraid of the Wolves? Why?
"Vampires." Jake whispered. "She's seeing vampires." I turned to him, gaping, my mouth open. Paul was looking at Eva with a look of absolute horror, the protective urge I understood too well causing him to grip her a little more securely. It was probably the same unconscious urge that caused Jacob to shift so he was blocking me from some danger, real or imagined.
"No wonder she's having nightmares if you two are telling her about vampires." Paul hissed, glaring at Stella and Zack. I opened my mouth to try and defend them, but Stella was already standing up. Despite the fact that she was a good foot shorter than Paul, she still managed to look imposing.
"We would never tell her anythin' like that! Y'all can't be possibly thinkin'…we don't even have any horror movies in the house! The worst thing she ever saw was Bambi for the love of God!" She threw back, I could see her curls trembling. I was afraid Jacob was going to have to leap in front of Paul to protect him.
"Alice." Zack whispered. I turned to look at him, the dark expression clouding his face.
"Alice?" Bella and I asked at the same time. Edward growled.
"Alice." He said darkly, almost like a curse. I blinked, trying to make sense of what was going on.
"She said something…yesterday. She had a vision, and then she took Evie right out of my arms. She said… 'Evie and I are going to be best friends'. And then just took off giggling…"
"Alice." I said again, my tone similar to Edward's. Bella had already whipped a small silver phone out of her pocket and was talking into it rapidly. I couldn't understand the words or the thoughts racing through her head, so I didn't attempt. Instead I skillfully maneuvered Echo out of Jake's arms and slipped her back under the covers, kissing her forehead.
"Alice is on her way." Bella finally whispered, shutting the phone.
"Let's get out of here before we wake Echo up again." I suggested. We all began to funnel out. Jacob waited for me, taking my hand.
"What do you make of it?" He whispered into my ear, his dark eyes worried.
"I…I don't know. It looks like they're manifesting witch powers…but they're too young. Their bodies shouldn't be able to handle it." I replied.
"Eva if kind of sickly…" Jacob pushed hesitantly.
"But Eva isn't the only one developing powers. All the signs point to the fact that Echo and Blaze are too. They might already have powers, we might not even be aware of them." I looked over at my sleeping daughter. "Echo and Blaze are perfectly healthy and strong."
Jake pulled me into his strong arms, so much stronger than mine ever were and began to tug me down the stairs.
Jake was so much stronger than I could ever be. We were at the bottom of the stairs before the realization fully hit me.
"That's it." I said, stopping. "That's why Eva's so weak."
"Why?" Stella asked, turning from her place on the couch. "What did you figure out? Is she okay?" She asked, her voice raising an octave.
"Their powers are manifesting early." I said softly. "That's the only way Eva could even begin to ponder what a vampire is, is if some other sense was telling her about them. They have the marks, they have the eyes, and they're all very similar, except that Eva's frail…and my kids are perfectly healthy. That, and their blood…" I looked back up the stairs, then to Jacob.
"Our kids are part werewolf…and they carry that strength with them. That's why the early manifestation isn't bothering them. Eva's all witch, she doesn't have the extra strength mine do."
Everyone was silent as they pondered that. Eva was drifting off to sleep again in Paul's arms, oblivious to the goings on about her.
"I can read Echo and Blaze's minds." Edward said suddenly. "But I can't get anything from Eva. They've inherited some strength from the werewolves…but obviously some weaknesses as well. They don't have that shield that witches do."
"It's a good thing." Zack said suddenly. I looked at him like he was mad. "Not that Eva's frail now…but that she'll grow out of it eventually. When her body finally reaches the stage where it can handle her powers, she'll get stronger. Right?" He asked uncertainly.
Nobody had time to answer him, because at that moment Alice burst through the door, her face a picture of remorse.
"If I would have known she was having visions now, I would have said something! I didn't connect the dots!" She defended instantly.
"Visions?" Paul repeated. Alice sighed, looking despairingly at Edward, then back to all of us.
"I had a vision yesterday…when you brought the kids to come see us. I saw Eva and I…and she could see the future too. I called her an annoying future-seeing sprite, and she told me I was the pot calling the kettle black. She looked about thirteen or so…I didn't think she was having them now." Alice explained.
Everyone was silent for a moment, but I could see something passing between Zack and Stella, a silent conversation. "The dreams." Zack whispered softly.
"I have to know for sure. Something I wouldn't know otherwise." Stella said absentmindedly.
"The one you had every other night. With the wolf." Zack said, reaching out to take her hand. Stella turned to Paul, her mouth set in a determined line.
"I've never seen you as a wolf before, Paul, correct?" Stella asked. Paul nodded slowly, smoothing Eva's hair as she dozed on his shoulder.
"Then I should have no way of knowing that you're a gray wolf. I shouldn't know that you're huge looking with black marks on the tips of your ears, underneath your right eye, on your neck, muzzle, and tail." Stella said softly.
"That's Paul." Jacob said immediately. "But you shouldn't know that. All except the huge part, anybody could guess that." Stella left the couch, crossing the room to stare out the window.
"I never guessed, I never made the connection." Zack mumbled.
"When I was pregnant with Evie…I used to have the most vivid dreams, with the brightest colors. I could have almost believed they were real when I woke up. They were different a lot of the time, sometimes I would see Zack and I as if I was someone else looking in. I'd see us doing unimportant things, cooking, cleaning, and walking through a park. But…it always felt so real. Then I could see this place, and Cassie and Jacob…even Echo sometimes. I thought it was because I used to think of you a lot, worry about you sometimes. I thought it was because I missed you. Then…I would see the wolf. Always the same one, different times, usually the same general place. I would see Paul. The dreams stopped after Eva was born…then I assumed it was the hormones. I'm…I'm beginning to realize those weren't my dreams." Stella finished, turning back to Zack and hiding her face in his shoulder as his arms wrapped around her.
"She sees the future in her dreams." Alice said, matter-of-factly. "You should feel special then, mutt. She's been dreaming of you since she was in the womb."
Paul looked down at Eva as if seeing her for the first time again, awed beyond words, but I was two steps beyond them in this little revelation.
"Wait. Wait. She saw vampires. Here. And I assume the big dogs she was talking about were the wolves, and she said I was on fire and Stella and Zack were hurt. Does that mean…?"
"Er. I should probably tell you something else too." Alice began. "Jezebel…took me to the future."
"What did you see?" I asked immediately, my mind traveling to that red headed girl on the banks of the icy lake. My Delilah.
"All of you." Alice said, her voice suddenly cold. "Dead. I think…the Volturi are coming."
I stopped feeling then. I was suddenly no longer aware of anything. Stella and Zack dimly explained Jezebel's power (one of them, at least) to everyone unaware. I couldn't bear to hear Alice recount the future she'd seen, because my mind was caught up in the future Jezebel had taken me too…so very different than the one she had seen.
"Your contacts are right here, Eva."
"Delilah Black, if mom finds out you were on the ice before anyone tested it…"
Our children, skimming carefree over the ice. There was hope in that future, as dim as it seemed now.
"She showed me a different one. We survived in that one." I finally managed to whisper. Jake turned to look at me.
"How do you know we survived?" He asked softly.
"Because all the kids were there. Ice skating. Jezebel showed it to me so I would fight. We had another daughter. She looked about…three years younger than Blaze. Maybe."
That brought up another problem. Blaze had just turned three so that gave me roughly twelve months to be pregnant. She would be born within the year, and I could not afford to be pregnant right now. Would that be the price? Losing Delilah so I could protect Echo and Blaze?
"Then there's hope." Stella said softly, turning to me. "There's always hope."
Time passed, amazing how it could. Alice eventually left, although Paul stayed, sleeping on the couch. Stella and Zack lay on the air mattress, talking, trying to console each other.
"What's her name?" Jacob asked softly as we lay in our own bed. "The daughter we're going to have. Do you know her name?" He pressed.
"Delilah." I whispered, her name choked me. I loved her already, and she wasn't even conceived. Having to give her up was an impossible dagger to my heart.
"Are you pregnant now?" He asked hesitantly. I shook my head.
"Not that I'm aware of." I responded, laying my head on his shoulder.
"Delilah." He repeated softly with a small sigh. "It'll work out Cassie. It always does."
"Not without some personal tragedy for me." I mused bitterly.
Going to work felt sort of pointless, Jacob closed the shop for the day. The wolves and Cullens were meeting to discuss this new threat this afternoon. The day dragged by slowly as I wearily cleaned up after the children in my care and graded art projects. I was in a rush to get home. I was a little short with Echo while trying to get her to hurry along. I would feel bad about that later and have to make it up to her.
"I don't like bringing them there." Jacob said as I handed Echo her coat after feeding them a light snack. "They might be scared, they're too young."
"They're already a part of the supernatural. Better they see the good of it young, so they'll remember that when they have to see the bad parts." I said gently. I didn't like this any more than he did, but it seemed urgent. My children had to know the world they were growing up in.
"You know, most of the imprints didn't even take the news of us so well. Kim told Jared she must have been a vampire, Lucy said Embry was on crack…" He rattled off.
"And I just said 'Oh, okay.' They're part me too, Jake. Besides, Claire knows about you all and she's not frightened."
"Claire didn't see Quil as a wolf until she was ten! They're five, four, and three!" Jake sputtered indignantly. I stood on tiptoe to kiss him.
"It'll be fine." I said softly. "How could they be scared of a big bunch of puppies?" Jake finally gave up, shrugging his shoulders. "You'll meet us there?"
"Yeah, we're gonna have our own meeting first, get all the information out in the clear so we're all on the same page. Sam, Embry, and Jared are coming out of retirement." He snickered a little bit at that as I guided Echo and Blaze out the door.
"Hey, wait." He called, running down the porch steps and swinging Echo into his arms. I watched as I began to strap Blaze into his car seat.
"Echo, sweetheart." He said softly. "You know all those legends, about the wolves that protect our town?" Echo nodded, tilting her head to the side. "Well…I just want you to remember something. The wolves that you hear howling at night? They're your friends, okay? And I'll never send you anywhere scary or let anything happen to you, okay? I promise."
"I know, daddy." Echo kissed his cheek and he opened the car door with a sigh, strapping her into the booster seat.
"I'll protect you, and your mommy, and Blaze." He mumbled softly. Echo grinned up at him.
"I love you daddy." She said sweetly. Jacob smiled.
"Yeah. I love you too kiddo. Have fun, I'll see you soon." He said as he shut the door, coming over to my side of the car. He leaned in the open window and kissed my cheek.
"Be safe?" He asked. I giggled.
"What do I look like now? Bella?" I asked, rolling my eyes. He chuckled as the engine started.
"Love you!" I called out as I pulled out of the driveway and wound my way down the roads of La Push and onto the highway. It was only a couple of minutes. I contented myself with listening to Echo sing along with the radio. The directions Alice had given me were very direct. I pulled onto a gravel road and followed it till it ended in a wide circle. The Cullen cars were all there, it seemed, along with three of the Cullens.
"Cassie!" Bella called, running to meet us at the car. Edward and Emmett followed, grinning.
"Hey, are we walking the rest of the way?" I asked as I stepped out of the car. Bella was already fiddling with Echo's booster seat and Edward had Blaze, so I felt pretty useless.
"Nope. Not unless you want to take a half a day to get there. We're running." Emmett declared. I looked at my kids nervously.
"They'll be fine, Alice already checked. Well, she can't see Blaze, but Echo will be okay. Eva handled it well."
"They're already in the clearing?" I asked.
"Yep. Come on Red!" Emmett picked me up and I had to fight the urge to squeal. Echo laughed as Bella tossed her onto her shoulders.
"Okay, Echo, Blaze. We run really fast, so if you get scared, close your eyes." Edward said softly. I closed my own eyes.
The wind rushed past too fast and it was a little hard to breathe. I ground my teeth together, listening as the wind whipped past, carrying noises of laughter from my kids.
At least they were having a good time, I thought ruefully. I clenched Emmett's shirt in my hands. We came to a stop suddenly, but I was finding it hard to move my fingers.
"I'm too old for this, Emmett." I declared. He laughed, gently setting me on the ground.
"You're fine! Open your eyes!" Bella laughed. I sat down on the ground and slowly opened my eyes. Echo was running across the field, tackling Eva in a huge hug. I giggled, looking around me. There were baseball bats to my right.
"Baseball?" I asked. Bella nodded enthusiastically, sitting beside me while Blaze ran to his sister and cousin.
"Yep. We were gonna play a game after the meeting, it's going to storm. You should stay and watch, maybe you can even play." She offered, tantalizing. I shook my head and lay back in the grass, trying to relax.
I might have dozed off, because the next thing I heard was a howl in the woods. I sat up straight, looking out into the forest the same direction everyone else was. I managed to miss the person next to me.
"Awake, sunshine?" Jezebel asked, bemused. I started, placing a hand over my heart as I turned to look at her.
"When did you get here?" I asked with a hiss. She shrugged her delicate shoulders.
"Not certain. Your wolves are coming." She said. And sure enough, I could feel them, each a point of energy as bright as a fire. I turned to watch them as they emerged from the trees. As the first two emerged into vision, my Jacob and Sam, I turned to look at my children.
They were frozen in place, staring wide eyed as the wolves approached cautiously. They didn't look frightened, but fascinated, in awe. Suddenly, so fast I was almost certain it wasn't really happening, Echo took off.
Not from the wolves, but toward them.
I stood quickly, but Jezebels vice like fingers quickly wrapped around my wrist. Zack and Stella moved to prevent Eva and Blaze from running the same way. I was sure the Cullen's could catch her, but it would be dangerous for them to get that close to the wolves. I could blink to get her…
"Beltane, stay where you are, let her go." Jezebel ordered, pulling me back down. I looked at her like she was mad for a second, trying to pull my wrist away from her. I couldn't even blink, it was like she was holding me back.
"It's fine, sunshine. Look." Jezebel inclined her head and I followed her gaze. My eyes widened in surprise.
Somehow, Echo had known which wolf was Jacob. She was clinging to the russet brown wolf's leg now with an expression of childish delight. Everyone else looked as surprised as me when she giggled.
"Daddy, is that why you told me not to be afraid? 'Cause you're a wolf? Cause you're all wolves?" She asked lightly. Jezebel to my side, laughed lightly.