A/N
I know most of you don't read these A/N's but I thought I'd write anyway for those few who do.
As ALWAYS~ HUGE Thank you to Bripearl and LetsJustDance! My betas of higher powers!
*****Response to some of the reviews and PM's for last chapter~ You have to remember that Jasper's been mated to Izzy for only two weeks. And although that bond is unbreakable and undeniable… Beast was Maria's Poppet for 100 + years. She is also his Sire. I think that's got some weight behind it. Beast is running on instinct.
He hasn't seen Maria for what? 80 years? In those 80 years Jasper has completely suppressed Beast ~ so hard ~ Beast hasn't had control or real consciousness for 80 years… until Izzy got him to come out. So he's… well… out of practice and out of control.
Maria is Jasper's Sire… but she's also Beasts' Maker. She forced Major and Jasper to create an alter ego to Survive. Beast responds to her, whether we all like it or not.
So Jasper, Major and Beast are struggling to cope. To co-exist. Struggling to control each other.
Major was trapped deep down in Jasper for 20 years. Jasper's been running the show and doing an emo job of it. Wallowing in his shame, hate, blame and thinking he might have lost his mate.
Give the boy a chance to redeem himself. Lol… I loved your reviews, I did. Even the ones who got a little nasty… it means you're emotionally involved and that takes my breath away.
Thank you.
Previously;
I shuddered, standing before the door, my chest heaved. I breathed through clenched teeth and avoided allowing air into my nostrils.
It didn't help. Now her scent was on my tongue.
Seeping into my pores.
Clouding my mind.
Taking my shirt, I ripped it off and wiped my nose further.
I could suddenly smell the sour foulness in the air that seeped from the door in front of me.
My Maker.
Maria.
She was beyond this door.
Lifting my hand, I pressed it to the panel beside the door, the door hissed and opened.
~DEMONS RELEASED, LET THE GAMES BEGIN~
~JPOV~
The door lay open.
My hand was still on the panel, giving me free, unobstructed access.
Directly in front of me, bare crevassed wall.
To the right; mirrored glass.
Part of a table standing at the base of the bare wall held tools of torture. I could see nothing else.
But I could smell.
Scent hit me, bringing back memories.
Memories best forgotten and locked away.
Memories that lay just below the surface.
The scent, sour and foul, even to me. My scent no longer seamlessly tangled itself well with it.
My scent was clean and untainted by the horrors of long ago.
I held my gag back.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the braided haired one standing, watching me.
I wanted to scream at her.
What had she done?
What did she do to me to make the sour scent foul?
It wasn't foul.
It couldn't be.
I remembered it and once embraced it.
Bathed in it.
The tart sour stench of my Maker's scent always brought me a sense of being. Gave me the ability to survive this life and anything thrown at me. I belonged.
The scent meant food and reprieve from my thirst.
Reprieve from my fantasies.
I stood still, waiting for the zest that always came with that cloying scent.
It faltered.
Stuttered.
It never came.
There was no wave of relief that I would be fed.
There was no sense of excitement coming that my Maker could use my body to relieve her malevolent fantasies. Fantasies that spoke of blood, torture, cruelty and death.
I didn't want her forms of relief, either.
That can't be right, could it?
What had the dark haired braided woman done to me?
The braided woman.
The woman who bested me twice without effort.
The woman I had tried to attack, even though my body had told me she was mine.
The woman who with one session, taught me that fantasies didn't have to be painful.
Even if the fantasy was dark, it didn't have to come with the price of a piece of my soul.
The braided haired woman gave pleasure but with the ownership of a mate.
I had made her mine.
She made me hers.
No ultimatums or killing involved.
She hadn't taken a piece of my soul. If anything she'd given some back.
She was worthy of us.
She'd proven that over and over. I had watched from the sidelines as Major and Jasper had taken her. Made her theirs.
I didn't believe in their assessment.
I had been proven wrong.
The filthy smell from the room before me finally grew to fusion, and I gagged.
I let go of the panel and the door hissed shut as I stumbled backward a step.
What was this?
Snarling, sputtering, spitting venom I sought the rage that drove me.
Did the dark haired beauty to my left make this happen?
Did she put a spell on me?
Was that what it was?
I didn't think so.
I was strong. A warrior.
I felt it in my venom and in the human blood that was racing through my body.
Empowering me.
I stood, staring at the door and trying to make sense of it.
Why was my Maker's scent not capturing and causing the usual euphoria?
Why did my Maker suddenly have no hold on me? I didn't want to go into the room.
I didn't want to face her.
I didn't want to fuck her.
I didn't want to drink with her.
I wanted to kill her.
My Maker's scent and the one of the braided woman swirled around me and I wanted to separate them. I didn't want the sourness to taint my mate's scent.
Mate.
My mate's scent.
My mate.
The beautiful braided haired woman, who had almost as many scars as me, whose scent stuck in my nostrils and made me crazy with confusion.
I didn't like uncertainty.
I wasn't a victim of confusion. I had known from the moment I had awoken, only a sense of recognition of all things. I knew how to survive. I knew how to get Major and Jasper out of anything and I took the brunt of all things evil. They couldn't do it. They were weaker than I was.
I sounded like they did, right now.
Weak.
I didn't think things through. I destroyed. No questions asked.
So why now did I have this hesitation? Where was it growing from?
Why was I being a fucking emotional fucktard?
I pushed Jasper and Major down further.
Getting distance. Their influence would not tarnish me.
My hand shot out and with a lurch of my body, it landed on the panel, releasing the door once again.
It hissed and without hesitation this time, I stepped in.
I turned left to take in the Maker whose body had been deformed.
They had removed her arms.
Shackled by her neck and legs, she hung from the wall.
Her head snapped to me, but the restraint of her bindings around her head, around her jaw, kept her voice from me.
I walked forward, slowly watching her eyes track me across the room.
I saw the evil of me reflected back in her ruby shadowed depths.
The origin of my becoming the tyrant I had needed to be. The origin of my foulness that once hung over me and made me who I was.
Stopping two feet from her, I took her in.
This was my Maker.
My Sire.
Maria.
The woman taught me; I didn't know evil until she had shown me.
No pain until she'd granted me the pleasure.
I hadn't known true thirst until I was at her mercy.
She controlled me.
She had controlled me.
No longer.
I killed men, woman, children, old, middle-aged, young, newborn, trained, human and vampire for her. By her side.
The more I killed, the more my thirst was quenched.
It was survival.
If I did not become what nightmares are made of, I did not get rewarded.
If I did not kill, I became the hunted.
I was the one who chased the damsel through the forest and did the unspeakable.
I was the one who ravaged and pillaged.
I was the one who hid in the closet the children would scream at and run to their parents to seek comfort from.
I was the one who made horrendous look good in a suit.
I was the one who nightmares were made of.
All for survival.
All for this woman.
All for my Maker.
My deeds fed her soul.
The more inane, the better the reward.
Reward. Torture.
The torture released me. Made me pay for my sins.
Dismemberment.
Drained of my venom until I was mad with thirst.
Only she gave reprieve.
Only my Maker could help me atone for my sins.
She chained me to her.
Made me beyond obedient.
Chained me to her.
Chained.
Suffocated.
She was the one now chained before me.
She was repulsive.
I felt it coming and before I could stop it, I howled with every memory of my incarceration in her hands.
I roared to the heavens of the injustice of it all.
I bellowed with the fucked-up, never-ending circle of depravity.
It came from deep within my soul.
It came through my body in a rush and surge that poured from me.
I had no control over it.
I didn't want control over it.
I growled my rage.
I released my pain into my Maker.
The chains rattled and shuttered around my soul.
Chains holding me prisoner clattered and shook.
My chains strained, I wailed and screeched.
They broke.
Gave way.
I let go of my sins, freeing them from within.
A century and more of torment.
A century of destruction.
Years of blood.
Years of weakness.
Years of madness at the hands of the most polluted creature ever made.
I let it go.
I pushed it into her.
I made her take it.
Made her feel it, wallow in it.
Dancing on the wall, her body jerked and trembled, fighting the onslaught.
She floundered as it swallowed her, consumed her.
Terror filled her.
Horror.
She spasmed in her restraints, breaking the ties around her head with feral agonized screams.
Venom leaked from her nose as she shrieked, arched, and convulsed against the wall.
Venom drooled out of her mouth and down her chin, splattering her throat and chest.
Her body slapped against the slabs of gray, tan and brown rock wall in an attempt to get away from the onslaught of grief that I pummeled her with.
Shale chipped and flew into the room as I roared and she screamed.
I watched her eyes bug from her head as pain ripped her apart from the inside out.
I knew nothing but the woman before me that had held me prisoner for more than a hundred years.
Her foul acerbic smell filled my head, making it impossible to liberate her from the constraints I put her in.
She was mine.
Her will was mine.
Her pain was mine.
I gave it all back.
I forced her to feel everything she'd ever given me all in one dose.
Years of stored emotional and physical grief… I let her have it all.
Something released inside me as I bellowed away the pain, hate and rage residing and contained within me.
Something profound released from my body in waves.
I felt it leave.
The shackles came off.
The control once placed on me by my Maker, slipped from me.
I was no longer confined.
No longer chained.
I felt it leave me and strike her with an almost audible cuff as I took control of HER.
I saw the terror in my Maker's eyes…. I saw fear. I could smell it mixing with her foulness.
The tarting sour scent burned bitter on my tongue.
Her body recoiled away from me and tried to sink into the wall behind her.
I hadn't even touched her yet.
…I rejoiced.
Her neck strained, tendon and muscle bunched, appearing as if it would snap from strain and pressure.
Her teeth gritted in pain, a high keening noise releasing from the pits of her hell.
I pushed harder, liberating myself of the immorality, darkness, depravity, corruption, debauchery, and perverseness that filled my being… my soul. It rushed from me pummeling her in a steady flow, building in her, and producing convulsions she couldn't deny.
She couldn't deflect, not only because she was incapacitated to do so, but also because there was no hiding from me. No hiding from the weight I saturated her with. I could feel it empty from me, into her, and I couldn't stop it.
I wanted her to feel it.
I wanted her to own it.
Not just for me, but for all those centuries of pain and debauchery she'd caused for hundreds… thousands of sentient beings. She'd given and taken life so many times, that no one knew where it began and where it ended.
No, that wasn't right. I knew where it ended. It ended here.
It ended now.
This was the beginning of her end.
With Alice it was a public execution. I had been surprised that standing at Alice's Pire, I'd felt no closure. I felt deprived of revenge. Vengeance.
I would not deny myself this time.
The warfare of emotions trickled out of me as I finished letting go of the rancid blackness that once wrapped itself around my soul.
I felt lighter.
I felt free.
No more pull to the flesh before me.
The darkness was gone.
I searched for it.
I felt an emptiness where it was once filled with murky shadows of darkness.
I didn't know what to do about that. It was hollowing, yet comforting.
It was something I wasn't used to, something completely foreign.
I wasn't sure what just happened. It was like something allowed me to let go of all the obscurity that held me prisoner.
Jasper and Major were closer than they ever had been before. Their emotions mixed with mine and I staggered back away from the iniquity before me. Shutting down my gift quickly, putting a barrier up so I didn't take it back in, I gained my balance and tried to gain some semblance of gravity.
I was still Beast, but not.
I knew I could kill with precision.
I knew I could be the Beast I was meant to be.
I knew this part of me could bring down the heavens if needed.
But the need for pain and desolation no longer drove me.
I felt disoriented without it. I'd lived with it for so long….
That black hole of death that accompanied me wherever I went… was absent.
I could feel the opening it had left. Waiting to be filled again.
Did I want to fill it?
I wasn't sure.
I didn't think so.
It felt so gratifying that there was an empty space.
It was gone.
I wasn't anyone's bitch.
I was my own monster. I could create from anew.
I stared at the woman before me.
Her being was wrapped in rancid foulness. Thicker than before.
I'd given her my demons.
I'd forced her to take them back.
I'd given her every scar, every mark of blackness, every sick perverseness, every ailing pain I'd ever had and thrown it back at her, making her live it all at once. It stuck to her and held.
I was shaken to my core.
How did that happen? How had I done it?
Was it my gift that allowed me to be able to force it back on her?
Did my gift allow me to make her suffer the ills of my soul?
I wasn't sure.
I faced the female banshee before me and felt… nothing.
She had no chains on me.
She did not control me.
She was nothing.
The pull was gone.
Maker or not, she had no pull on me.
"Hello, Maria."
Her answering pants were all she managed in response.
The top of her head wrenched back so far it was flat against the rock, her chest thrust forward, stuck in the air. Venom slid down her throat and sides of her neck, soaking her cloths. The stubs of her arms leaked even more venom; it ran down her sides, saturating her tattered clothing.
She spasmed once in awhile, like electricity in a live wire, sporadic and charged. Her remaining limbs jerked and seized.
"Welcome to your Judgment Day." Menace dripped from my voice. That was good. I'd be shit fire pissed if I was going to be a pussy boy after this. I wasn't Eddie-boy. No emo-chick here.
Maria's body sagged, muscles quivering in the aftermath. She had to rock her head back and forth to work it up the wall and out from its precarious position.
She finally worked it free and lifted her face; her eyes pitch black, soulless, staring at me with unspeakable hate.
"Major." She rasped.
"Mmm, yes," Cocking my head I observed her with detached emotion, "your personal, come to life, nightmare."
Her laugh was husky with previous exertion before she spoke, the rasping no better than the first time, "My nightmares are darker than your worst."
"We shall see," I murmured. A slight breath behind me drew my attention. Turning to the door, the dark braided haired woman stood as a statue.
Maria hissed and before I could stop the motion, my hand whipped out, backhanding her. Her head rocked back, ricocheting off the stone behind her. Venom flew from her mouth, nose, and face, splattering the crevasses of rock on the far wall.
"Not allowed, watch yourself," I hissed at her.
Turning once again to face the braided haired woman… Bella…. Isabella… my mate, moved forward to stand to the left of me.
Her eyes met mine and a thousand wordless conversations passed between us.
Her forgiveness, relief and love swept over me and I exhaled the breath I'd been holding. I could feel the pain she was trying to hide and my eyes slipped down her body.
"Well aint this fucking nice," Maria's sneer ended with another backhand across her head from me.
"No talking, unless I tell you I want to hear your nasty mouth," the low unspoken threat was backed up with a dose of intense fear, keeping the fool's mouth shut. My new punching toy.
"Is she more use to us alive or dead?" my mate asked.
My eyes still on my Maker, I looked her over. Maria was of no use to me anymore. But I didn't want her to die. I didn't want to see her life force snuffed out.
I could feel her, the fear coming off of her, intensifying her foulness.
I wanted to spend years torturing her. I wanted to see how black I could make her soul. I wanted to see if I could make the pits of hell themselves come for her.
I faced Isabella, "She is no use to us, but I have better plans than to kill her, yet."
Isabella searched my face and gave me a sharp nod. Whether it was understanding or support, I wasn't sure. But she didn't question me.
"You won't kill me." Maria sneered again. Woman wouldn't learn.
"Darlin'," I asked Isabella, "Would you do me the honor?"
"With pleasure," She said as bindings were already around Maria's head, shutting her mouth shut once again.
The door hissed as two people entered, took one look at my eyes, and dropped theirs to the floor.
"I will need her restrained here until I see fit. She is not to be harmed by anyone," I commanded.
The two new faces shot a look at my mate, their faces shocked. They didn't look at me. They glanced at Maria who suddenly found a new thing to fear as she struggled. She was staring at the new occupants with dread and utter alarm.
"He means to torture her for a length of time unknown. Calm down." Isabella did understand my intentions, but why was she telling them what I had already told them? My face must have belied my puzzlement.
Isabella turned to me, reaching up to cup my face, "They thought you were keeping her alive for her sake, not for your use."
OH.
I guess I wasn't firing on all cylinders yet.
Whatever darkness I'd released into my Maker was still leaving me lopsided.
"That won't be a problem, Major. She can stay as long as necessary." The male said. Peter.
His mate stood beside him. Charlotte.
The fog slowly lifting from my mind, I looked back to Isabella, running my eyes over her again. Her shoulder was out of place. Dislocated as mine had been. Remembering her recent injuries my mind went into panic.
I stepped forward, reaching for her, running my hands over her looking for more injuries.
She winced and I hissed.
FUCK! She'd jumped out of the jet after me with recently healed ribs and arm. Damn it!
I needed to re-group. Taking Isabella's body into my arms, I held her cradled to me as I walked out the door, throwing instructions over my shoulder. My Sire forgotten as my need to take my mate away, overcame me.
My pace slowly picked up until we were blurring down tunnels.
We came out at the falls and I set her down gently.
Taking her shoulder in my hands, "This is going to hurt" I murmured. Leaning forward, I kissed her, sending her calm and love, then I jerked, popping her shoulder back into place.
Her gritted teeth and sharp keening left me at a loss. Anger boiled in my veins as I thought of her following after me when she was already hurting.
"I can't believe you jumped-" I started.
"Hush." She said and her lips met mine again.
Standing fully clothed under the cascading water, I pulled Izzy to me carefully and pushed my nose into her neck. I felt myself slipping away with her smell. My salvation.
Breathing her in, I tried to process the events of the last couple of hours.
Grasping at feelings and developments of which had led me here. I'd let Beast take me out of a jet thousands of feet in the air.
I'm not sure when he'd given me back control or if I was still working on his dime.
Maybe somehow we'd combined over the last forty-five minutes when we forced Maria to take the blackness for her own.
I just wasn't sure.
Izzy held onto me, saying nothing. She was healing. She was safe.
Beast didn't hurt her.
Then I realized she'd taken me down in that tunnel when she was hurt. That pissed me off again. Feeling the turbulent emotions in me, Isabella rubbed my back and arms, bringing me back down again.
I remember Beast not recognizing her, but at no time was there any real threat to her. He'd thought it a couple of times. But never once had he truly meant to hurt her.
I marveled at that.
I thought back to the room that confined the she-devil. What happened?
"When I got to that room?" I whispered, the rush of water covering up and taking away my words, but I knew she heard me, "I don't know what happened."
Her grip tightened but waited for more, "Beast… he… I don't know." I pulled back from her and held her face between my hands. "Something happened… something profound, I think. I let out all the emotions that had held me prisoner and forced Maria to take them."
Izzy nodded, "Is that what you did? I saw it."
"You did? What do you mean?"
"When you roared.. er… howled or whatever that was the first time, it was like… a black cloud come out of you and started wrapping around her." She stuttered out.
"Really?"
She nodded again, "It was like… shit I don't know how to explain it. It was as if you gave her some kind of blackness. Or.. something. At first I thought it was just our bond and I could see you manipulating her emotions, but it was more than that. The blackness moved and seeped into her and your aura lightened. Sounds crazy speaking it out loud." She muttered.
"That's what it felt like too." I told her. Because it was the truth. I had felt the darkness leave me, I felt lighter.
"Really?" she asked. We were both being articulate.
"Yah, I could feel myself pulling all the… hate, rage, anger, death out of me and pushing it into her. When it was done, I could see it on her for a few minutes before I regained myself. It was like I gave her my demons. I gave her back the emotional shit she'd given me for years. I'm not sure how it happened. I've never done that before. But when it was done… I didn't feel the pull anymore either." I whispered.
"Pull," She growled and leaned back to look at me with a frown.
"There's a pull to your Sire. Ask Peter about it. He and I've talked about it before. It's different than the mating pull. It's on a shallower level than what I have with you. But when Beast took over it seemed to be stronger. I guess maybe because Maria not only was my Sire, but how Beast really came to be what he is. He took control and I could do nothing to stop him."
"So you could feel her pulling you in the jet? Is that why you jumped?" I felt the pain and hurt radiate from her.
"No, I don't think so. I jumped because Beast saw her being taken down. It enraged him. Years and years of programming is hard to break, especially for a vampire. It was more instinct than anything. But, once I hit the ground and started running, I could feel her. When I got to camp I found her by that pull."
"I see," She wasn't happy. I didn't blame her one bit. I'd struggled to stop Beast the entire time.
"I'm sorry, darlin. You have no idea how sorry I am. Once you and Beast had our confrontation out in the hall, he fought with himself going in. I don't know why you did what you did, but Beast remembered you because you gave him something to ground himself with. Your scent brought some sense back to him. Maria… she smelled the same and different. It repulsed me. Repulsed him," that made my mate happy, "then I saw her… and Beast woke up to a new crazy.
"I don't know if it would have happened the same if you hadn't gave us your scent to focus on. To ground us. I like to think Beast would have pulled his head out eventually. But needless to say Beast didn't want to be near her. I definitely didn't want to be near her. I hated her. Beast and I wanted her to feel the pain she'd given us for all those years. Beast wanted her to taste what it felt like to have the burden of all the pain she'd given us for so many long. The rage built up and I just released it all." I shook my head, "It was like a physical pain released in me and I couldn't stop pushing it all on her."
"And the pull is gone?" Isabella made sure.
"Yah, it's gone, darlin'. All of it. Whatever happened severed the line between her and me." I assured her.
She grinned and the relief she felt was palpable.
Her hand came up and wiped the wet hair out of my face.
"You seem… I don't know… younger? That's not it, but something. You're you… but without… I don't know."
I laughed. I was free. I kissed her.
"Are you ok?" I asked putting my forehead to hers.
"More than ok. You scared me. Don't do that shit again." She said between kisses to my face. "I was a little crazy myself. It took monumental effort to let you go when you were tied up in the tunnel. You do that shit again I'll tie you up forever. But I had to know. I had to know what would happen. I don't ever want to feel that pain again." She said and the sadness in her voice killed me. I had hurt her.
"I won't. I promise. I love you. I'm sorry. But the good thing is, I think Beast is completely into you." I snickered, "I'm sorry you have to put up with all my baggage." I didn't know how the woman before me kept me in line, but I would treasure it for eternity as corny as that sounded.
"Really? Yah think he is?" She gave me a salacious grin. "I love you, too. But I'm serious with those threats." She dropped the grin to stare me down. I knew if it happened again, things would go completely different.
"I know ya are and I'll hold ya to them, and yah - I do know Beast respects and recognizes you fully now," I said kissing her forehead and sighing with my own relief, knowing full well he did. He would have killed her the first time he turned around if he hadn't. He'd recognized her. I ran my lips down her neck, finding my mating scar on her skin. I nipped it and felt her responding purr shudder through me.
"I love you." I whispered to her.
"I love you." She said as she moved my head for access to her mating scar on my neck. I purred in response at her ministrations.
"I wish we had time for this, but there's some things that happened while you were… 'Dealing' with Maria," She told me.
"How do you know that?"
"Nevell slipped me his ear piece before I jumped from the jet. I've been listening to clean-up and Mac's Place."
"Ok. Let me have it. What's the damage." It was kind of a relief to switch topics.
"Well, where to start. In the navigating to defend the Compound we lost the satellite tail on the last three helicopters from the Giant Island. Last known, they were in Siberia somewhere. He's starting the search there. Eleazar called during the chaos, we're scheduled for a meeting with him." She went on updating me on the recent battle and what had happened while I was freeing myself from Maria.
"We need to join the clean-up. It's taken some time to sift through the remains. We don't want to burn something someone needs." She said.
"Alright." I agreed reluctantly. Something to give me a distraction from thinking about the last couple of hours.
"Are you up for it?" She asked warily.
"Actually, I feel better than I have… ever. And that's saying something considering how I felt after I married you, Mrs. Whitlock." I joked, but I knew she knew that I was serious.
"That's good to hear, Mr. Whitlock. Come on, let's go help." She pulled me out of the water.
(=+=+=+=+=+=+=+)
We leapt through the sheet of cascading water and Izzy told Mac, via the COM she'd snagged before she followed me out of the jet, that we were going to help clean up. He said he'd let the others know.
We spent the next few hours looking for body parts and getting food for the wounded. Putting pieces back together, and tearing bodies apart. The valley filled with smoke… the smell of battle won, filling the air.
We'd lost two ghouls, two vampires and a dhampir. The camp grieved and rejoiced in one breath. It could have been so much worse. I felt like I had let them down in that we hadn't helped in the battle.
Peter told me to knock it off with the guilt, he said it could have gone differently if I'd shown up sooner, before Maria had been taken captive. I thought about that long and hard. He was probably right. Who knew what could have happened. I more than likely could have easily fought on her side as against her. Peter was right; I could've killed our own instead of the enemy. I stopped feeling bad.
In the end there were only half a dozen kept alive from Maria's crew and they were locked up in the underground city safe and sound.
The past seer had lost her life. She was ghoul, believe it or not. Isabella said it was rare that ghouls had any gifts at all. They were few and far between and that could, more than likely, account for the lack of information the past seer was able to put forth.
The past seer's head had been taken off… there was no coming back from that for a ghoul. Every body part on a ghoul could grow back except the head. She was a lost cause.
Emmett and Rose helped both in battle and clean up. I was told by the sentry crew they were with, that they'd done well. Especially Emmett. They talked to us for a while, telling us that they wanted to go with Eleazar, but they wouldn't mind coming back to train. Emmett said he was seriously thinking about joining our ranks. Rosalie, not so much. I had a feeling that Emmett was going to win this battle. Rosalie's emotions were subservient. Emmett was taking control of his life. It looked good on him.
Izzy told them that Rosalie didn't have to join in the sentry guard if she didn't want to, she could join the wives and husbands that stayed behind at camp. Rosalie perked up slightly at that news. She said she wasn't averse to helping, just not fighting.
I was a little surprised. I figured Rosalie would want to fight given her past. I'd lived with her for so many years, and although I was probably closer to her than the others, I was finding I didn't really know her at all. But she was adamant that fighting wasn't for her.
Izzy at some point went to call her dad.
Before the ceremony of our vows, she had called her father to tell him the news. I had talked to him briefly before asking him for her hand. He actually threatened me. Considering he was a friend of the wolves, I took him seriously. He said he was sorry he couldn't be there, but maybe we could tape it for him. He did obviously give his blessing. We did tape the ceremony and Mac sent the wolves and her dad a copy. The wolves weren't equipped and didn't want to be equipped with the technology we had and so her dad couldn't watch live like the others had.
Her dad had called to tell her he'd gotten the tape so she went to call him back.
Isabella told me that Eleazar had called, telling us that he'd made headway with Liam. He wouldn't give details until we were all together to hear it. He said we had time to play with. He also told us that he was actually disappointed that he'd missed the fun. I wondered when was the last time he'd even had to fight, other than a little skirmish here and there.
We were scheduled to have a phone conference with him within the hour.
My head slowly acquired the balance and semblance of gravity. It felt like I was coming back online. If anyone noticed my disorientation, no one said anything. Izzy threw me concerned glances every now and then, but never said anything. Her constant love through our bond never wavered.
By the time we got back underground, Mac had a pile of shit to go over with us.
They were still looking for the Giants. I told him that Eleazar, more than likely, could give us some insight into that.
We got caught up and soon we were in the Command Room, waiting for Eleazar to grace us on the monitor.
"You're really going to leave Maria prisoner? Why don't you just kill her," I was slightly surprised that Edward would ask.
He and Nevell were already in the room when we entered, and Nevell had been showing him around.
I answered him, "Yes. She'll be a prisoner until I see fit to kill her. Why, you want a piece of her? Want to try to read her mind?"
He choked, "No, I don't want a piece of her, just surprised you didn't kill her outright. If you want, I could try to read her mind."
I scrutinized him for a moment, "I'll let you know." I told him. I had plans for a long torturous future for Maria.
He nodded.
Eleazar popped up on the monitor screen and we turned our attention to him.
"It is good to see you all in one piece!" Eleazar smiled from ear to ear, "I have much news for you. I think it will continue your good moods."
"Tell us, Eleazar, don't leave us in suspense like this, it'll give me heartburn." Peter snarked and rubbed his sternum.
Eleazar laughed, "You wanted to know about the Games, I have… obtained some information for you. Liam was… resistant to giving information, but through persuasion I convinced him of the benefits of sharing."
I could only imagine what Eleazar meant by that. I snickered and Eleazar smiled with a Cheshire grin.
"Liam has informed me that the Games are scheduled nine days from today. There are only coordinates as way of location to said Games. No one will know the exact coordinates until the last minute. Anyone involved in the actual participation of the Games themselves, gets a two-day head start to get settled before observers and gamblers are given directions. Those who will merely watch and bet on the Games get two days to get there. This gives 4 days total before the Games even begin.
Nine days. No one said anything, so Eleazar continued, "That gives us a total of five days from today before the first coordinates go out to the first wave of attendees. This time they are in Siberia. Good news is, Liam has the coordinates since he is Royalty to the games."
"So we have five days to get there and stop this madness," Peter growled.
Eleazar shook his head, "Wait, please, until I finish before you start making plans. The Giants you are tracking are being moved in first to set up security before anyone else moves in. As of this moment, anyone who shows up before the given times they are supposed to, will be executed on sight. They are very strict, very secretive. Liam is scheduled to move out in five days. He has told me that there are helicopters in the nearest cities to the location, to transport attendees. You are allowed to come by your own means of transportation, however, you must give precise times of when you are to arrive and who will be accompanying you.
"Liam has his own transportation as does all Royalty. There will be a camp set up outside the arena to house fighters, security, gamblers and owners. They are all kept in different sections depending on who you are. I'm sure you can deduce why this is.
"Opening day is to be nine days from today, as I told you." Eleazar continued, pausing between the new information chunks he gave us. Letting us absorb one before giving more.
"Liam has been most gracious in allowing you to replace his six fighters with ones of your own. You get six fighters and a medic. The medic does not fight, they are only allowed to heal his own group's injuries only. Liam has entered both individual and team fighting events; you must follow this if you choose to fight. Anything else will bring suspicion and immediate disqualification and death. No matter who you are. Liam is not above the rules. He can persuade, but all Royalty, for the most part, must follow the Game Rules. No exceptions."
I held my hand up, stopping him, "You're saying we have to go in as fighters?"
"I'm saying it's your best chance to get anywhere near the event. Whether you fight or not is up to you." Eleazar told us solemnly.
"If we chose to go, we can't take more than seven people? Is that what you're telling me," Peter wasn't happy.
"Yes." Eleazar nodded.
Well, fuck. "Liam can't bring more than his fighters?" I asked.
"Yes and no, you have to register your fighters and guests before you come. Anyone caught not on the list will be dismembered and taken before Royalty, upon their judgment they most likely would execute whoever disobeyed the rules."
"How far out does their security go?" I asked. There had to be a way to get in more than seven people. What the hell would we do with seven people against probable hundreds? Other than get ourselves killed?
"They have a two hundred mile radius in which they secure before the Games. They have already secured it. Think of it this way; it's like a target board. The outer rim having the least amount of security, the next sector toward the arena has more and then the next has even more, until you get to the Arena itself and it is guarded better than Fort Knox. Better than the Queen's jewels. Being as secluded as they are, they are able to keep a tight grip on that area. They patrol by helicopter and by ground. Once Royalty arrives, all airways are a no fly zone, except for authorized flights. They scrutinize it around the clock." Eleazar said sadly.
"So we can't move in without them knowing we're there." I stated rather than asked, thinking out loud. This was no good. Even with Mac's technology, there wasn't a way we could run 200 miles without being detected. It would take too many of us to attack sufficiently to be any threat, or to sneak up on them. All we would end up doing is end up dead. There had to be a way to get more than seven of us in there.
"No." Eleazar answered, "They are very tight. Liam has informed me that over the years, Alice was part of that security, without her, they are even more on guard. They know she is dead, via Maria. This is also some information you will be interested in."
"This outta' be good," Isabella remarked.
Eleazar nodded, "You are correct in that Maria had a past seer. She was a ghoul however, and had limited ability. The past seer did see Alice dying, and Jasper being taken. Maria has known that someone was watching them for some time now. That was why she so easily took your sentry hostage. She informed Heidi, who in turn informed Vladimir and Stefan of this. Word got out quickly to the Royalty that they could be under attack. Heidi was sent to retrieve Maria before she could do something stupid and get herself killed. They know that the Major is alive and believe he is being held against his will."
"Didn't they see me mated to Isabella?" I asked incredulous.
"Yes, but Maria would not believe it. This works in your favor. If what Liam is telling me is the truth, then there a couple of flaws. Maria's past seer tried to tell them that you were not being held against your will. That the Major was mated now to a woman in leathers who wielded a sword. Maria wouldn't believe it. She convinced Heidi, once the past seer found where your Fortress was, to go in on a rescue mission to save the Major. Heidi relented. She even sent Maria with some of her own guard to help in Maria's plight.
"The army you just destroyed was part of the Volturi and Heidi's own personal guard." He informed us. That wasn't good news.
"How does that help us?" I couldn't make the connection with how this information was to help, rather than hinder. Cause all I saw was more problems in the near future.
"Well, beyond that Maria is no longer a threat, they don't really know what you look like. Any of you. The past seer was no help in that department. Maria was the last one to know what the Major looked like. They do know what Izzy looks like, but only by description, that could easily be overcome. Heidi may know what you look like, but I doubt it. She would have a description of any of you, especially anyone who ever came in contact with Alice or Maria. But from what Liam has told me, they don't know that Peter and Charlotte are Peter and Charlotte. Nevell, is just another dhampir to them."
"So you're saying we can't attack them. We'll have to go into the Games to even get close. And you're saying that if we disguise ourselves, then we might be able to get away with joining the Games." Peter verified.
Join the Games? Not that we hadn't thought about this as being a possibility, but it was a last resort. Looking at it from the angles Eleazar gave us, it would seem that a last resort was the only way we were going to get anywhere close.
"We're going to have to discuss this, Eleazar. Going in not knowing if we'll be recognized or not… that's a risk I'm not sure we're willing to take. Only being able to have seven of us there, makes this a suicide mission. We can't do anything with seven people against the amount of security they have." Isabella told him.
"Not only that, but even if we tried to make a dent in their endeavors, it's not going to stop them from continuing. The whole point of this is to stop this activity, not join them. What are we going to actually accomplish from going?" Nevell's concerns joined Isabella's and from the feel of the room, these things were weighing heavy.
"I understand, but I want you to think about something," Eleazar told us, "Even if you dropped an atomic bomb on this charade, it will start again. It will not stop the Labs from existing. But if you go in there and pretend to be Liam's fighters, you could learn more information from anyone. If you take Edward, he could pick their minds. You could find out where these training facilities are located. There is a barrage of information you could obtain. I'm not condoning joining them. I would have to seriously think your sanity has left you if you did that. But you have fought to find information for years, here is your chance to obtain just that."
"I could do that. I will do it if you want," Edward promised.
We all turned to him as he stood, boldly staring back. He lifted his chin up, "I could be the medic."
"How do you figure?" Peter snorted.
"I have a couple of degrees in medicine, and I AM vampire. Besides, while you're all fighting, I can concentrate on reading minds to see if anyone recognizes us. It won't give a big advantage, but maybe it's a head start to get the fuck out of there alive and intact."
"So you want to go with us?" Charlotte turned to the rest of us, "I know we've given some leeway here," she glanced at Edward to make her point, "but do we trust this one with having our backs when it comes to life or death?"
"I have a lot to make up for. I've fucked up. In more ways than one, in more ways than I can count. I won't mess this up. This would help you and prove that I'm not just some emo-bitch in need of babysitting." His eyes slid to Nevell.
"You know if you do go and somethin' happens to us makin' it so we don't get out, and you make it out of there without us, you're a dead man." Peter convolutedly told him.
"You don't have to tell me that. I know." Edward gritted and his determination ampted up, "If you guys don't make it out, neither do I. I know what you think of me Peter, and I can't change that with words. All I can do is show you that I will do anything I can to make it up to all of you." Edward's words were just as determined as his emotions.
It was obvious we needed to discuss this at more length.
Leaving Edward's words hanging, I turned back to Eleazar, "Is there more information, anything you think would help us?"
"No. Do not take too long to decide what you will do." He warned.
"What are you going to do, Eleazar?" Izzy asked him.
"Ah, this is something I must think about. I do have more information for you. Remember it was suspected that Rosalie was there in place of someone else? She was. I would bet money that it is why Vladimir came to see Alice in her tent. Liam says he is the other member of the Royalty. Vladimir was very angry at being pushed out at the last minute. No one knows how Alice got him to relent his position in the Box of Royalty. But she did, and it was allowed that Rosalie would be in his stead."
"That confirms some things. It would make sense why he was so pissed. I wonder what she had on him." Isabella said.
"I do not know, it was something that was between Alice and Vladimir. He actually presented his absent position as being volunteered. Bringing us to this; it seems that Liam may bring guests with him to the event. I may wear a hooded robe and attend the event without being known. I wish to attend. Carmen has other ideas of course. She does not want me anywhere near the Games. But I am adamant about this. If I do not go, then I will be sending Garrett in my place." I just bet Carmen didn't want him to go. If she didn't want him to go, then he wouldn't.
"He can only bring one guest?" Isabella asked.
"Yes. It is a condition of the Rules. It cuts down and limits the amount of damage that can be done to them. It also makes it plausible for them to kill the guest and disguise it as something else. Hence the reason Carmen does not want me to attend." Eleazar huffed.
"I don't blame her. Is Kate going to be okay with Garrett going?" I asked him.
"No, probably not. But they will not disobey me. Carmen has reminded me that Garrett would have a better time fitting in than I would. I must admit that she is right. I will have to give it some thought and talk to Garrett and Kate about this. We have asked them to join us already, here at Liam's. They have been told to speak nothing to the sisters where they are going, and they have agreed. We will not tell them anything until they arrive." Eleazar assured us.
He was taking precautions to his promises to not let Irina know anything. I could appreciate that. He wasn't being stupid about this.
"Anything else?" I asked.
"No. I think I got everything. Please make a decision quickly. I will not be going if you decide to not go," A snarl in the background that sounded suspiciously like Carmen had Eleazar back peddling, "If you do not go I will not be sending anyone either."
We all tried to hold in our laughter. Eleazar could be the biggest bad ass he wanted, but he was just like the rest of us when it came to his mate, whipped. He would listen to her and send Garrett if we decided to go, that I was sure of.
"Fair enough. We'll call you when we come up with a plan." Peter said, Eleazar nodded and the connection was cut.
"We go." Isabella said.
"I agree." Peter said.
"We need to come up with the seventh person. I can't imagine anyone here not wanting to go, am I right?" Peter asked.
Everyone shook their heads. We were all in, and I guess that meant Edward was going. It would be stupid to not take him. He would actually be the only reason we could go. Walking in there was going to be suicide.
"This is only going to be for information gatherin'. Nothing else." Charlotte warned.
"We have to fight in the Games," Nevell reminded her.
"Well there's that. It feels wrong that we've fought to keep people from goin' and now we're jumpin' in with both feet. We're goin' to have to get information from Liam's fighters. We'll have to know what to expect and then we'll have to train with each other. Figure out which groups and individuals will fight and with whom." Peter rattled off.
"So, who's going to be our seventh?" I asked
"We could take Ivan. He's fast and smart as fuck. He's a great fighter," Nevell suggested.
"Yeah, and he's not mated. Whoever we take will have to not be mated." Peter added.
"There's Ivan, or there's Taggart," Char suggested.
"Taggart doesn't use his head all that much sometimes. His control is less and he doesn't have the experience that Ivan does. He is stronger than Ivan is though," Isabella mused.
"What about Jacob?" Nevell asked.
"He won't go without someone else from the tribe and there's only one spot open." Isabella supplied.
"Are you sure about that?" Peter asked.
"Positive, besides, I don't want anyone knowing who doesn't need to know, about the Quileute wolves." Isabella said sternly.
"That's true." Peter relented.
Names were thrown on the table and all I could do was listen. I didn't know enough about the other sentry to make any kinda' guess who to take. That was frustrating. Ivan was good, I trusted the man. I'd spent the most time with him. He was a good guy and a hell of a fighter from the little I'd seen. He was a thinker. He'd be good.
They went through a list of people and in the end it was decided to talk to Ivan. They sent for him as we went on to other topics.
"So I take it we're going for sure?" Nevell asked, although it was more of an observation.
"I don't see how we have another choice. We can't pass up the opportunity," Isabella, always the one ready to jump into shit. She was so much like me when it came to fighting. Always up to spill venom. I had to smile at that.
"We need to figure out what to do with Mexico." Peter frowned.
"We do as we planned on the jet-" Isabella started.
"YOU, planned on the jet." Peter reminded her.
"Whatever," She waved him off, "We've been compromised here. We send a skeleton crew with loaded down jets, take everything important, and drop it off. That will give Mac enough time to be ready to go when they get back to take the last load. It won't be the optimum way to do this, but it's our best option." She voiced.
Peter sighed, "Yeah, I guess it is. WHERE are we going to set up?"
"I can help with that," Mac interrupted as the door hissed open and he strolled in, "Our guys just called from Rucker's. They've been out with the scouts. How would you guys feel about setting up next to Rucker? He had his guides show our guys a place not too far from him. The ruins he suggested are pretty much destroyed, but from the pictures they sent, it has potential. I just got off the phone with Rucker and he's willing to give us access to his bunkers while we get situated."
"Bunkers?" I asked.
"Yeah, I guess you guys didn't get the full tour." He grinned.
"We didn't really get any tour," I frowned. I liked the idea of being close to an old acquaintance. I think Isabella liked him too.
"Well, he's got a place, not too far from the bar, that he has for people hiding from Maria." Mac caught us up, "There were about twenty people who'd taken up permanent residence there. With the news that Maria is incapacitated, they were all too happy to get out and get on with their lives or go find family that Maria had taken. Or something to that effect. It sounds like we're not going to have to do much where cleaning up the rest of Maria's troops is concerned. Enough people have gathered up and joined forces to take care of them for us. It began even before you left down there. Point being, Rucker's going to let us use it for now. It's a cave, with the basics. Nothing fancy. We can store our shit there for now. He says he owns a building in a town on the edge of the mountain range that he keeps for when he hunts and for whatever else. He owns the building. He's going to let me use it to set up our technology shit there."
"Is it big enough? Do you have enough time to get there and get set up?" I asked.
"Yes and Oh, yeah. From what he says it's a four-story apartment complex that's been torn apart and renovated into a house of sorts. Plenty of room for a lot of us to stay. The rest of us can stay with Rucker and hang out at the bar. He was pretty excited that his revenue is going to be going up. We're good on the time frame, it'll be close, but I've got a great team, so I'm not worried about it." He was excited.
"I bet he was," Peter laughed, "Make sure you keep our sentry on their toes and don't let them get into too much trouble. If there's already uprisings going on, we'll be in the crosshairs. You're going to be busy with us, we'll be hopefully taking Ivan, maybe Josh and Jamie can help you with keeping our sentry together."
"That would be a load off actually," Mac nodded, agreeing, and then was off to the next, "Everyone will listen to them too. The jets are being loaded now. It'll take months to get everything out of here. I don't think we should leave anything behind. Not knowing who knows we're here could end up deadly." Mac said.
"Yeah. And we don't want to leave any of this shit just lyin' around. But for now, until the Games are over, just take the personal shit. All the buildings and shit leave behind. We can tear it down later and haul it off for donations or somethin'. Maybe Eleazar or Carmen would know someone who wanted it." Charlotte suggested.
"Seems like such a waste. I'm going to miss this place." Isabella sighed and leaned into me as I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed the top of her head.
"I know," Peter dramatically sighed along with her, "Lot a good memories here, but we can't afford to stay here now." Peter's agreement brought a snort and a raised eyebrow from Isabella.
"You were ready to rip my head off, telling me we were staying." She snarked.
"That was just to argue and keep ya' all from fucking like the fuckers ya' are," Peter told her, but no one was buying the bullshit he was shovelin'. Isabella reached out and smacked him.
"As far as Maria goes," I added, "Leave her to me. I'll make sure she can be transported with a little more ease," I was looking forward to makin' her into packages more manageable.
(=+=+=+=+=+=+=+)
A/N
SEE? It all worked out. If you didn't read the upper A/N… there's some words for thought up there you should check out.
I loved all your guys' words you gave me for last chapter! Thank you for sharing them with me.
We're going to be hearing from Izzy and Monstress again, soon. She's got some stuff to say. You might understand a little better what Izzy was really going through when Beast was out to play.
Things are going to progress a little rapidly from here on out.
Lol, more so than usual. We're moving on from this little drama
And gettin' to some nitty gritty.
Next chapter will be next Thursday….
Please leave me your wordy thoughts.
;)