Parachutist2 – Our New World
Chapter 21 - Fight
A/N As usual, the images for this chapter are on the thread at Twilighted net
http:/www(.)twilighted(.)net/forum/viewtopic(.)php?f=33&t=17854
Previously (Edward's PoV)
I can concentrate on Yves with no distraction, then. He knows he can't escape me and is crouching, waiting for my assault. He also knows, like I do, that only one of us will walk away from here.
No PoV
"Jasper, go, look for Carlisle and Emmett," Alice says loudly, knowing that her husband, not visible, can still hear her. "They are just a few miles from here, southwest. You'll find them. I think we all need help here. And Bella needs a doctor, urgently."
Alice's throat burns, so once more she has to stop breathing. She is frightened, because the outcome of the fight between Edward and Yves isn't clear. Too many variables. She could join her brother but, when approaching the cabin, she smelled the presence of predators of the four legged variety not too far away, as wilderness has reclaimed the abandoned camp. She can't leave Bella alone and defenseless, the smell of her blood is too attractive.
Plus, Alice is the second line of defense, in case, God forbid, Yves escapes Edward. A snippet of a vision told her that it could happen. Previously she Saw Irina fighting like a hell cat to reach her lover, until Jasper subdued her and finally her sister had to stun her again. But Kate hates what she had to do and might lose her determination, now that Jasper has gone. Maybe to send him away was a mistake, but with Bella's blood spilled… Too many things could change: some of the images she is Seeing are not reassuring…
In the tiny clearing in front of the collapsed hut, Edward is alone with his enemy. He went directly for Yves' throat, but had managed to bite off only a small chunk of it when the Canadian clawed at his eyes. Edward saw the intention, but could only back down…
So, there is a sort of impasse, now.
They are circling around each other, growling, feinting and waiting for the right moment to strike. Obviously Yves has some experience with fighting; you don't survive a long time as an immortal if you don't. In his mind Edward can see the red lust that Bella's veins represent for him and the desperate need to overcome… bypass… obliterate the vampire that is making it impossible for him to reach his singer again. Yves can't see Bella but, she must be near, he still smells the unique scent of her blood. Vampires' minds are vast, however, so he is also trying to strategize…
But it is to no avail, because before he can come up with a plan, Edward jumps on him, the collision resonating loudly. He hurls Yves's body through the air, making him land flat on his belly. Keeping the Canadian down with a hard knee on his back, Edward restrains his arms and tries to bite a hand off. Reacting to the sharp pain and collecting all his strength, Yves is able to free himself, however, and stand up. He bumps his head on Edward's chest while at the same time kicking his knee. It is so fast that Edward reflexes are not good enough this time. He falls and bangs his head on a rock protruding from the ground. The impact pulverizes the stone, but he experiences a moment of blankness.
"Edward!" Alice cries. She has Seen it happening and is torn. Should she leave Bella alone for a moment? Where the hell are Carlisle and Emmett? Bella has regained her senses in the meanwhile and has heard the loud noises coming from below with growing concern. Why is Edward not with her? Alice's cry makes her spring up and run down the slope. Her sister could stop her easily, but she doesn't, lost in a vision.
Triumphant, Yves is crouching over his adversary, battering his head on the hard soil and preparing to twist it, when he sees his singer in front of him, still semi-nude and blood smeared… A moment of distraction is all that Edward needs. He frees himself and throws Yves against a tree, which is uprooted by the impact.
Now, no more mistakes. Edward grabs his enemy's body, keeping it upright, then his knee jerks on his crotch and, when the Canadian folds, he is finally able to rip one of his arms off. Then the other follows and finally Yves is at his mercy, disabled, his mind a chaos of hate and despair.
He tries to kick, but Edward avoids him easily. Keeping him down and grasping his head, he is about to finish him off, but the fact that Bella is in the small clearing now, a hand covering her mouth, her eyes big as saucers, gives him pause. 'She shouldn't see me like this, doing this,' he thinks.
Then another thought reaches him. Yves is about to plead for his life, telling him that Bella was his singer, impossible to resist, but if he spares him now, he'll run to Canada with Irina and never return… From something Emmett told him, Edward knows about singers and the implacable call of their blood on vampires. But the bastard wanted to do so much more to Bella than drain her… Just remembering what he has seen in Alice's mind twists his insides… and still he hesitates… 'but for the grace of God I could be like him… Can I believe what he is telling me?' he asks himself.
No, he can't, because behind the forefront of Yves' mind, as the Canadian is in too much pain to protect his secrets, there is a promise: 'I'll be back when you never expect it, damn you.'
A second after, Yves' head is rolling on the ground.
Edward
"I'll take care of it, give me your lighter and go to her." Alice has joined me. Again, as it happened in Italy three years ago, my trusted Zippo is going to torch a vampire. But Bella is my priority now.
She has collapsed again, the horror of what she has seen me doing must have been too much for her. I gather her in my arms. Her skin is cold and clammy, she is practically naked. I take off my jacket and cover her with it. Her poor feet are scraped, she ran to me barefoot. Still, she is alive and doesn't seem too badly hurt. Not bleeding anymore. The pain she must have experienced inside is another matter. Alone in the hands of a monster… and married to another. While the aromatic smell of the bonfire that is now Yves pervades the air, I rock her gently, sadness and self doubt crushing my spirit. Once again, as on Tiber Island, she has seen what vampires are, what a vampire can do. How is it possible for her to choose this life?
My sick musings are interrupted by the arrival of three members of our family: Jasper, with Carlisle and Emmett. Alice quickly tells them what passed. Vaguely I hear that she is also aware of what happened between Tanya and me and of Rose and Carmen's intervention. Not important, right now.
"Carlisle, come here, please." I call to my father anxiously, "I need to know how Bella is, if there something wrong with her that I can't see."
He kneels near Bella and checks her vitals. I know that, while he is obliged to use medical implements to keep the charade, he can very well do without, as his senses are better than any instrument.
"Apart from the cuts, that I need to treat as soon as we are at home, she is well enough, considering, but she should be kept warm and stay in bed…" he says to my relief. Bella opens her eyes, sees him, smiles, than realizes I am holding her and turns toward me. Somehow we both find it difficult to speak. I explore her face, fearing to see the revulsion she must surely feel. But I see only a great exhaustion. Her eyes are closing again.
I am preparing to run home, anything else can wait, when a high scream pierces the air.
"Yves, Yves…" Irina has escaped her sister, who probably had not the courage to stun her again, and she is here, her eyes scanning desperately the area. Kate has followed her. The pile of ashes still smoking and the fact that she can see only us Cullens are answer enough to Irina's mental questions. She falls on her knees and starts rocking right and left, clutching her stomach. Nobody knows exactly what to do, when she abruptly rises.
"Who killed him, who..?"As nobody answers her, she looks around until her gaze stops on Bella.
"It is your fault," she hisses, preparing to attack my wife.
Faster than me, hampered by having Bella in my arms, Carlisle, the gentle, humanitarian vampire, reaches her, slapping her face with such strength that she falls. Then he hovers over her supine body. His voice is cold and hard when he speaks:
"Yes, Irina, those are the ashes of Yves, who tried to torture and drain Edward's mate. With your help. Your remains should join his, do you realize that? If Edward claims your life, I won't interfere. It is his right."
"No," Kate wails, almost incoherent in her anguish, "Edward, Carlisle, have pity. Irina was not herself… It was Yves, his power on her…
My brothers have taken Irina and are keeping her upright. I realize I have only to say a word… I long to say it, her death a balm for my torn spirit…
Bella opens her eyes:
"Edward, let her be. Take me home, now," my angel whispers.
…***…
Back at the house things move fast. Carlisle examines Bella, with a silent question in his mind 'Did he abuse her sexually? She doesn't seem hurt that way. At vampire speed I tell him I that don't know and I am not asking. That is for her to tell me, in her own time. I saw Alice's vision, but not its conclusion. I also saw her dead, but she is very much alive. So maybe it never happened.
My father cleans and bandages Bella's wounds, pronouncing them on the mend already, no infection. Some scars will remain, though. 'Of course when she is changed they'll vanish,' he thinks. But, will she want the change now? The future I was both dreading and desiring is blurred again in my mind, I don't know what to think, what to hope…
Esme, who was the first to come back home and has been fretting near the radio-phone all this time, charged with keeping everybody on touch in case it was needed, reheats a soup, which I almost force Bella to eat. Then my wife is allowed to sleep. We have not spoken, apart for a few words of practical nature. I would like to curl up on the bed with her, for as long as I am allowed it, until she sends the monster away… but I need to speak with the others, as we must compare notes, to make a sense of all that has happened.
Rosalie also came back and, when I see her, I embrace her tightly for what she has done for me, preventing the unspeakable betrayal of my wife that I was about to commit. Gruffly, she gives me a shy smile, and then she tells us that, after I left for the miners' camp, Eleazar and Kate found them. The latter, as I know, followed me with the intention of stopping her sister, while Eleazar decided to stay and take care of the armless Tanya. He knows how to help the reattaching of a detached limb, a painful process. Accordingly, he and Carmen took Tanya to the Denali residence.
"You have spared Irina's life," Carlisle says to me. "I am proud of you."
"I wanted her dead," I admit, "it was Bella's decision, not mine."
"You have been enormously wronged by Tanya too," Carlisle continues, "her behavior was despicable, and you could avenge yourself on her, but I pity Kate. She has been steadfast and brave, honoring the friendship between our two covens….
"Don't worry, Father, I will not do anything to her. Only, I don't want to see the two damn sisters' faces anymore… or at least for a long, very long time," is my firm answer. I am still very angry.
"Me neither, I have to say. But… I feel I have to assist with Tanya's recovery… and make sure that we don't have to expect further nasty surprises from their side."
Carlisle leaves shortly after that, taking Emmett and Jasper with him, just in case. I go back to my room, dreading the moment Bella will open her eyes. What will I tell her, what will she tell me?
Endnotes:
Yes, they should have a good talk now. What do you think their state of mind will be?
It is really a pity that cell phones had not yet been invented, isn't it? Present day Cullens have it so easy, but in 1947 communications were hard…
Due to the situation's unpredictability, Alice's visions precede the actual events only by moments, as decisions are made. When Bella rushed where Edward and Yves were fighting, Alice Saw that her arrival would determine the outcome positively and let her go.
I have realized that, without exactly choosing it, those who have helped Edward are all women. Rosalie, Carmen, Alice, Kate and eventually Bella herself, distracting Yves. They just took over... and why not? Girl power for them!
An angry Carlisle is something to behold. Is his reaction OOC? I don't think so. It is in the nature of vampires to be vengeful and administer punishment. His ingrained Christianity might let him forgive, if he was the one wronged, but here the victims were Edward and Bella. You offer your own cheek, not somebody else's.