Hello people! Here's Chapter 14!
Big thanks to roselally for pre reading.
All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 14
I woke up in a dark, damp room. My hands were tied behind my back. My mouth was covered with a hard fabric. My eyes adjusted to the dark easily, thanks to the glow from my bright eyes. My head was killing me. I felt like there was a cloud hanging over me that I finally lifted off to wake up.
The room was small and smelled of rotting wood. There was a low wooden desk in the corner with a small matching chair. I was placed in the center of the room, in front of a low bed that looked like it belonged in a jail. In front of me was a large door without a doorknob.
Suddenly, the door opened and James walked in. "Good, you're awake, finally." He came up to me and removed the fabric from my mouth. "We won't need this anymore."
"Where am I?" My voice was raspy, my throat dry.
"No need to worry about that either." James grabbed the chair from under the desk and sat down facing me.
Edward? I tried reaching out to him in my mind, knowing he could probably hear me, but he didn't answered. My mind strained with the force I was using to try to get heard.
"Don't bother trying to reach your friend, my love. He won't hear you." He reached his hand out and touched my face, trailing his hand down to my collarbone, over my shoulder and down my arm. I flinched away from him, my skin crawling where he touched.
How did he know about that? Where was I? Was I too far away from Forks that he couldn't hear me? What did James want with me?
While all these questions ran through my head, James sat, staring at my face, a smile growing on his lips.
"Bella, Bella, Bella…" He pushed his chair closer to mine, our knees touching. He placed his hand on my calf, bringing it up to my thigh and leaving it there. "You should have come back to New York with me. All of this could have been avoided."
"What do you expect will happen, James, when my family realizes I'm missing?" My voice was barely above a whisper, my fear rising as he smiled.
"Nothing, they won't know. Apparently, you left them a note saying you went back to New York. You said you were tired of living in a small town, tired of the people, of your new life. You told them you wanted your old life back, your old friends." He smirked.
"They'll never believe that."
"Trust me, Isabella, they will." He gripped my knee and I tried to get away from his hand. He held on tighter, forcing me to stay within his grasp.
I tried untying the ropes that bound me to the chair, trying to use my powers to escape.
"Don't bother using your little witchy powers, Isabella. They won't work here. This room was especially designed to keep you here."
"What powers?"
"Don't play dumb with me, Bella. I know your secret. I read that book of yours, in that classroom."
"I don't know what you're talking about." How did he find out about the Book of Shadows? Was he following me? This was getting out of control. Why couldn't I use my powers? If I can't reach Edward, they'll never find me.
"Oh, but you do, honey. I know everything, including how to keep you from using these special powers of yours." He laughed silently, tapping his hand on my thigh. "All I have to do is draw this," he held out a sheet of crumpled paper from his pocket, "on the outside of a room, and voila!"
I looked at the paper, noticing a small symbol resembling our families' crest with a sword piercing through the lion. The sight of this symbol brought chills through my bones. My hands felt blue with cold, my face felt frozen.
Where did this reaction come from? I've never seen this symbol before in my life. Even with one glance, I feared it. It scared me beyond reason.
"I knew you wouldn't like it," he smirked, shoving the strip of paper back into his shirt pocket.
"What do you want with me, James?" I felt unusually tired, like if I just finished running a marathon.
"In the beginning, I wanted you. But now, I want your powers. And I'll do anything to get them."
"And Tanya and Irina?" I asked, curious on their part in this whole mess.
"Tanya's an idiot, Bella. I just used her to figure out where you were. And Irina? Irina's not as stupid and gullible as you might expect her to be." He smirked. "Irina has a little fascination with witchcraft, didn't you know? This was all her idea. She helped me. Learn not to trust so easily, my love."
I expected so much more from Irina. I couldn't believe she would be the one to turn her back on me and betray me like this. How did they even find out about me and the others?
He stood and walked over to the desk in the corner. He pulled out a key from his pocket and unlocked the small drawer. From inside the drawer, James pulled out the Book of Shadows. "I figured you could look through this and find a way to make this happen."
"I'm not giving you anything. Go to hell, James." I eyed the Book, afraid of what he was asking me.
"See, Bella, that's where you're wrong. You will give me what I want. Or, you'll never see the outside of this room. Now," he set the Book on the chair in front of me and untied my hands. I flexed my fingers as he said, "Let me know when you find something. Don't keep me waiting, Isabella." He walked out of the room, sealing the door closed.
I felt my tears rolling silently down my cheeks. How was it that I should find myself in this situation? It was impossible to comply with what James wanted. Not only did I not know how to give up my powers to him, could I really bear to lose this significant part of my life? I couldn't think about it.
I picked up the Book of Shadows and opened it to the front. The Founders' crest looked ominous to me. Before, this was a symbol of family, of bonds stronger than anything I could ever imagine. And now, all I felt was trouble and fear.
Who was going to help me now? Who was going to save me from James? How far would he go to get what he wanted?
I got up from my seat and set the book down on the chair. I heard the bones in my back cracking with relief. My body hurt from sitting so long. I searched around the room for any sort of opening, anything that could help me.
Nothing.
The glow from my eyes made me realize how claustrophobic the small room was making me.
I grabbed the pillow from the makeshift bed and put it on the hard chair. I sat down, pulling the Book towards me.
I needed to find a way out of this predicament, powers intact. I knew that I couldn't bear parting with my powers. I was born to use them, destined to have them until I could pass them down to my child. Because of my powers, I met Edward. I met the man I wanted to be with for the rest of my life. I found a family with Emmett, with Jasper, with Alice, with Rosalie. These were my brothers and sisters in all sense of the word.
How could I risk throwing all this away?
But on the other hand, how could I not?
Is that what it has come to? Give up my powers or die?
No. I will find some other way out of this.
But where would I start? Could there be somewhere in this barely legible book that could help me? This wasn't the book of spells. And if I couldn't use my powers in this room, how was I supposed to make this work?
I opened the Book again, feeling stronger. I searched through the first couple of pages, glancing here and there at words that included our powers.
A couple days have passed. I couldn't tell exactly how many, considering there were no windows in this room. I relied solely on my internal clock, sleeping when I was desperately tired on the uncomfortable bed. James would bring me a meal every few hours that consisted mostly of bread and a type of broth. It was horrible, but it was all I had.
I kept wondering if my family was looking for me. What was Edward thinking right now? Did he truly think I abandoned him right after finding him? My parents must be so worried. They know me. They know I wouldn't just up and leave like this.
I was nearing the end of the book, after what felt like of days of searching, where I found what I was looking for. It was information on the crest with the sword piercing through it. It made me uneasy just to look at it. I felt my empty stomach churning as I read through the short paragraph under the symbol.
"This symbol should be avoided at all costs. It will keep away your powers, temporarily disabling all connections. You must find it in yourself to burn the symbol. Alone it is near impossible. Together, manageable. Stay away."
Burn it? How should I be expected to burn it without my powers?
Then it hit me. I'd become so dependent on my powers I'd begun to neglect the ways from before. It made me forget how I managed before my powers.
But how should I retrieve any sort of match or candle in this empty room?
I got up from the chair and pounded on the door. I only had to wait a couple seconds before James opened it, a smug look on his face.
"Figured it out?" he asked.
"No," I said as his smile evaporated. "How do you expect me to see in the dark?"
I wasn't going to tell him that the bright glow from my eyes was letting me see everything. But seriously? How stupid could James be to not give me any sort of light from the beginning?
"Oh, you have a point." He walked out of the door again, locking the door behind me. I hoped with all my heart he wouldn't trust me with a flashlight or lamp, that he would bring me a candle or something with a flame.
About a minute later, James waltzed back into the room, bearing two large round candles. I tried to compose my face as relief swelled my heart.
"Vanilla," he said handing them to me, "your favorite." The flames flickered in his face, brightening the room.
He set them down on the desk, pulling the chair up.
"Look at that," he said pointing, "perfect little workspace for you. Anything else?"
"No," I said, my voice breaking. I let a few tears slip from my eyes for effect.
"Oh, don't cry, Isabella." He came up to me and held my face in his hands. I tried not to flinch away from him. "I still love you, you know." I felt his thumb catch a fallen tear. "You could stand right by me. We can be together. We can be powerful together."
"Um, I…" I started to say.
"Shh," he said, he hugged me to his body. "You don't have to think about this now." I left my arms limp as he hugged me, disgusted.
He let go, kissing my cheek, and walked out of the room again, sealing the door.
The shock of his kiss wore off quickly. My mind raced with different plans to achieve my goal: getting out. Once I was out of this room, I'd have my powers back, I could feel it. The first thing I would do is send a message to Edward if he could hear me, a cry for help.
First things first, I needed a bigger fire. I was entirely against burning pages from the Book of A. I knew it in my heart that it was taboo. I plucked the pillowcase and the blanket from the bed, hoping it would work.
While I was gathering my supplies for the fire, there was a loud commotion outside of the door. I threw the pillow back on the bed and rushed to the door, afraid of James' suspicion.
I put my ear to the door, listening. I heard male voices, but the door was apparently too thick to make out anything from what I heard.
My head was against the door when it opened, launching me through the doorway. Hands caught me and I quickly cowered away from them, assuming the hands belonged to James.
"Isabella?" I looked up into Edward's dark face, full of worry. The terror I was holding back flooded out along with a large sob, relief replacing the fear I held. I felt the tears falling uncontrollably down my face. My hands shook, my chest shuddered as I struggled to breathe.
"It's okay," Edward said, pulling me into his chest. "You're safe, you're okay."
He held me tightly, keeping me together, while I calmed down. Tears were still falling but my breathing was starting to even out.
I looked up from Edward's arms to see James's limp body lying against the wall, Emmett, Jasper, Alice, and Rosalie standing around him. I unhooked myself from Edward's embrace, keeping his hand, and walked over to them, hugging each, a smile on my tear streaked face.
I just knew they wouldn't think I left them.
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