Halcyon
PART III
Chapter 4
Cold. A fight. Red. A fiery pain in my neck. Warm blood. Me screaming. Bella crying. Blackness.
I feel warm tears stream down my cheeks as something cold tightens it's grasp on my. I open my eyes and see Jasper sitting there, brushing the hair off my forehead. I curl up right into Jasper's side as he wraps his arms around me, placing a kiss on my head. I feel myself grasping his shirt, trying to keep him as close as possible. The only place I really feel safe. I feel myself start to sob as I try to form a sentence.
"J-Jasper...I..I.." I watch him but he shakes his head.
"Shhh, it's okay. I'm here." Jasper soothes me and I crash back down to his chest. I stay like this while he gently rocks me, my sobs subsiding. I take deep breaths and calm down as Jasper controls my emotions. I'm not as scared anymore, but it's not completely gone. When it's time for me to get ready, Jasper sits up, still holding me.
"I'll see you after school. I love you, Lily." he assures me and I nod.
"I love y-you too, Jasper." I tell him and he smiles, placing a quick kiss on my lips.
Pulling myself out of bed after Jasper leaves, I walk into the bathroom thinking about my dream. Cold. A fight. Red. A fiery pain in my neck. Warm blood. Me screaming. Someone crying. Blackness. What does that mean? I had the same one in Florida. I felt the pain and it was agonizing. It was like a thousand hot knives piercing my body and I couldn't do anything but scream.
And the blood.
There was so much blood. I remember a hazy view of Bella crying.
I push those thoughts away as my stomach turns and get out of the shower, wrapping a towel around myself. I walk back into my bedroom to get changed, grabbing a purple hoodie and jeans out of my closet and slipping them on. Don't think about last night, don't think about the dream, just focus on today. Less than a week of school left. Don't think about the dream.
I slip on my grey converse and clasp the Cullen crest around my neck, an uneasy feeling settling on my chest. It feels weird putting it on knowing that someone touched it last night. I shake my head of that thought and throw my hair up in a bun, grabbing my book bag and walking downstairs to get breakfast. Dad is drinking his coffee and reading the paper at the table, Bella is next to him, already eating.
"Morning." Charlie says before taking a sip of coffee.
"Morning." I reply, grabbing a granola bar out of the cabinet. I already know my stomach won't be able to take anything big right now. I can feel Bella's eyes on me and I take a bite of my breakfast, trying to push last night to the recesses of my mind. Charlie finishes his coffee and puts the cup in the sink, grabbing his coat off the table. "I'll see you girls later."
"Bye, dad." Bella says and I nod.
"Bye." I say, throwing the wrapper in the trash. I look out the window and see the volvo in the driveway. "Edward's here." I tell her and she nods, putting the bowl in the sink. I grab my bag off the table and walk outside with Bella, sliding in the backseat, giving Edward a pathetic greeting in my head. I look out the window as Edward gives a concerned look to my sister who shakes her head. He drives us both to school as I attempt to push all the bad thoughts to the side for today. Just focus on this easy day of school. He pulls into the parking lot and parks in his normal spot and I immediately get out, walking into the building. Just focus on this easy day.
School goes by slow and my mood doesn't lift. I drag myself over to Edward's car with Bella and Edward walking in front of me. I slide in the backseat of the car as Bella and Edward get in the front, the latter pulling out of the parking lot to drive home. Bella called Jake last night and he's meeting us at our house when we get home to smell out the house. When we get in view of the house, I see the Jeep parked out front with Jasper outside of it. I also see Jake on the front porch, glaring at him. Edward pulls into the driveway behind Bella's truck and Jasper walks over, opening the door for me and offering his hand as I get out. I have to smile a bit as I see him as he leans down to place a quick kiss on my lips. When I look over, Bella walks up to Jake who gets a smile on his face, greeting her. I wait outside with Jasper and Edward as Bella and Jake walk in the house so he can sniff it out. I look over to Edward who remains calm and cool on the exterior, but a couple of emotions pass through his face as he probably hears Jake's thoughts. I curl into Jasper a little bit more as he tightens his arm around me. I close my eyes and taking a deep breath, definitely feel a lot better. A little while later, Bella and Jake walk out of the house and over to us.
"Whoever it is, he left his stink behind. It'll be hard to miss when we cross him again." Jake says as Bella walks over to Edward. "We'll handle it from here."
"We don't need you to handle anything." Edward says and Jake sneers, stepping right up to Edward who remains calm.
"I couldn't care less what you need." Jake snaps and Jasper moves me behind him, stepping up to Jake to help his brother.
I look over and see Bella getting in between them. "Great, so we'll all work together. We all have the same goal, right? To catch the bad vampires -"
"Like there's a distinction." Jake says, glare on his face.
"Watch yourself, dog." Jasper says, and I place a hand on his arm, trying to calm him down. I don't want an all out brawl between the vampires and the wolf.
"Jacob, I feel that one day, you and I are going to have words..." Edward stops, gritting his teeth when he reads something from Jake's mind. "That's it. I -" They both prepare to launch at each other, Jasper ready to back Edward up while I try to pull Jasper back, but it's more like trying to move a giant boulder.
"Stop!" Bella snaps and they both simmer down. "Just stop it. I'm tired of you putting Lily and I in the territorial dispute of mythical creatures. From now on, we're Switzerland." Jake starts to speak, but Bella cuts him off. "Look, I don't expect you guys to chuck a football around, but we have bigger problems. And this is just temporary. Can we just remain civil? For Lily and I?" she asks. Jasper nods first, then Edward, and finally, Jake. "Good, we need coordinate. Like schedules and stuff. Would the pack prefer days or nights?" she asks Jake.
"Nights." he says and Bella turns to Edward and Jasper.
"Would days work for your family?" she asks him and they nod. "Good. See, how hard was that?"
Agonizingly hard, obviously. It's quite obvious that Jake is in love with Bella and it's difficult to see her with Edward. It's also hard for Edward when Jacob can't keep his thoughts about Bella pure. Me? I'm just trying to be there for my sister in her little dilemma of her best friend and boyfriend's desire to kill each other in the most gruesome way possible. She's caught in quite a pickle.
Jasper comes into my bedroom, to stay with me as I sleep like every other night. It usually helps keep the nightmares away. It also makes me feel a lot better because I can't sleep soundly alone since the intruder. The nightmares I've had are just awful. The intruder just kills me in my sleep, draining me of my blood. He could have done that if he wanted. He had the chance. He had clear access to my neck when he touched my necklace. Jasper doesn't want to leave me alone, anyway. He just leaves to hunt and even for that, I basically need to shove him out the door, assuring him that the wolves are watching over the house. I know that I feel better when he's here, but I'm concerned for him feeding.
The Cullens are on a hunt tonight and the wolves are watching over us. I peek out the window and see Jake's wolf watching over us. I offer him a small wave and lay back down on my bed, the moonlight illuminating my room. I often wonder about God and Heaven. I feel there is something out there, something that watches over us. I don't where we go when we die, but I don't want to think about that now.
"As I-I lay me down to sleep, I pray the L-Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take." I whisper into the dark. It might be crap to some people, but it helps me feel better. I close my eyes and hope that no bad dreams come to me tonight.
When I open my eyes, I'm back in the Volturi castle. Lacrimosa is walking quickly down the hallway, passing by some vampires in black hoods. She's older, probably around sixteen and very beautiful. Her long, white-blonde hair is falling down to her waist in ringlets and she wears a light-blue dress. Her face is saddened as she walks into the throne room. Aro stands up, smiling as he walks over to her.
"Lacrimosa. Do you see any trouble in the future, my dear?" he asks and she holds out her hand.
"An immortal child in Spain. She slaughters a whole town tomorrow." Lacrimosa says as Aro releases her hand, turning to Caius and Marcus, speaking something. He then turns back to Lacrimosa and smiles at her. "Thank you, Lacrimosa."
"Master." Lacrimosa bows and Aro turns around, walking back over to Caius and Marcus, now next to them are Jane, Alec, and Demetri. Lacrimosa turns around and exits the room, walking down the hallway, sullen. She's stopped by a gentle hand on her shoulder as William stands there, face looking concerned.
"Lacrimosa, what troubles you?" he asks and she looks down.
"An immortal child." she simply says and William nods, seemingly understanding why she's so sad. He brings a hand to her chin and gently tilts it up.
"I know that it is difficult because it is a child, but they aren't right, Lacri. They're unsafe and should not have been made in the first place. It is the creators fault for making them and the child's death and their own falls on their hands." Lacrimosa nods, taking a deep breath as William smiles. "Come on, where's that beautiful smile?"
Lacrimosa smiles and a rosy blush runs across her face as she looks down. William chuckles and leans forward, placing his lips to her forehead. Lacrimosa smiles as he does this and then looks back up at him.
"Thank you, Will." she says and he smiles, placing a hand on her cheek.
"My pleasure, Lacri."
The first thing I think about when I wake up are the "immortal children" she was talking about. People actually turned children into vampires? Why would they do that? She said that "she slaughters a whole town." That's horrible. I couldn't even imagine. One thing I'm glad about, is that it wasn't a nightmare.
Pulling myself out of bed, I realize that its Wednesday and we graduate in two days. Bella is also going to the reservation to hang out with Jake, much to his delight and Edward's annoyance. He's driving Bella to the line between their territories and dropping her off where Jake will pick her up. She told me that Quil also is a wolf, too. She also told me about the imprinting, which I'll admit, is a little weird. I asked her if Jake did it to her and she said no, which I find a little odd. He's in love with her, so why isn't she his "imprintee." I shake my head of those thoughts and walk to the bathroom, taking a shower and brushing my teeth.
When I walk back to my room, I pull on a taupe-colored cardigan, black leggings, and my black boots before blow drying my hair and putting on mascara. When I study myself in the mirror, I see some purplish shadows under my eyes from lack of sleep. Groaning, I grab my book bag and sling it over my shoulder, walking downstairs. I look out the front window and see the cruiser gone, Charlie going into work early and staying late to help look for that Riley Biers kid.
Walking into the kitchen, Bella is putting her bowl in the sink and I don't have much of an appetite, so I just grab a bottle of water out of the fridge. Movement catches my eye out the window as they Jeep pulls in to the driveway. I smile and grab my book bag "Jasper's here. I'll see you later, Bells." I call out, walking out the front door and over to Jasper, leaning against the Jeep. I walk right into his embrace, wrapping my arms around him tightly. I feel him do the same, placing his lips on my head. When I look back up at him, I smile, seeing his eyes shining bright gold. Absolutely beautiful.
"Miss me?" he asks and I lean up, lips meeting lips.
"Always." I whisper and Jasper smiles, grabbing my hand and opening the passenger side door. I slide in and close the door, Jasper already in the driver side. He pulls out of the driveway and takes my hand, driving to school. When he pulls into a parking spot, I turn towards him.
"Jasper, w-what are immortal children?" I ask and he looks over to me, brows furrowed.
"Where did you hear about them?" he asks.
"I had a dream last night. Lacrimosa reported an immortal child to Aro." I tell him and he sighs.
"Immortal children were vampires who were children when they were turned. Some were two-year old toddlers that could destroy a whole village. Since they were so young, they couldn't be taught. They were frozen at whatever level of development they'd achieved before being bitten. If they hungered, they fed, and no words of warning could restrain them. They were like newborn vampires times 100." He tells me and I frown. It's basically what I was thinking. "She had a vision about one of them?" he asks and I nod.
"Yeah and William said something about their death and their creators d-death." I say.
"Immortal children had to be eliminated and as punishment, so was the creator and everyone who defended them. Tanya's mother, Sasha, she made an immortal child." he tells me and my eyes widen. "The Volturi killed her, along with the child."
My mood completely falls as I think about the children. Who would turn those little children? Why would they even think about doing that?
Jasper tightens his grasp on my hand, pulling my attention toward him. "I know that it's tough to think about." he says and I nod.
"Do you think...do you think we could get out of here?" I ask him and he looks at me for a couple of moments, before smiling, bringing my hand to his lips.
"Of course." he says, starting the car again and pulling out of the parking lot, passing Edward's volvo pulling in. Jasper holds my hand as he drives down the road, towards the Cullen house. I really don't think that I could have handled school today with what I just found out about the children. I don't even want to think about it right now, I just want to relax with Jasper. He pulls up to the house and parks his Jeep in the garage.
He walks over to my side and opens the door as I slide out the car, taking Jasper's hand and walking inside. I smile as we walk into the house, already feeling at home. I see Esme walking towards us, with a raised eyebrow. "Skipping school, Lily?" she jokes and I just shrug. She walks up and pulls me into a warm hug. She releases me and I smile at my future mother in law.
I let out a squeal as I'm hauled off my feet and lifted high off the ground. When I look down I see Emmett holding me on his shoulder. "What's up, shorty?" he asks and I roll my eyes, scowling at him.
"Emmett, Lily is not a toy. Please, put her down." Jasper says and Emmett playfully pouts, setting me back on my feet. I see Rosalie walk in the room, rolling her eyes when she sees Emmett putting me down. Jasper shakes his head at his brother and wraps an arm around my shoulder.
"Shouldn't you be in school?" Emmett teases and I shrug, getting an indifferent look on my face. "Oh, so you're a rebel now?" he asks and I nod. He laughs and shakes his head, walking back over to a cold Rosalie. They both exit the room and Jasper grabs my hand and leads me up the stairs and into his room. We stay in there for a while, until I walk downstairs to grab one of Jasper's books out of the living room when I pass Rosalie on the way. She looks at me and gives me a nod, walking by. Something comes over me and I turn around towards her.
"Rosalie." I call out and I see her stiffen up, turning around with a raised eyebrow. I open my mouth, trying to find the right words. "Did I...do something to make you hate me so much."
She surprises me when her lips curl into a smile that doesn't reach her eyes and she lets out a laugh. There's definite bitterness behind it. "I don't hate you, Lily...I'm...jealous of you."
I immediately frown when she says this. She's jealous...of me. Has she looked in a mirror? What on this earth could make her jealous of me? What do I have that she doesn't?
A choice. A voice in my head tells me and I look up at her, the glare gone from her face. "Let's take a walk." she says, leading me through the house, to the back porch. She looks out to the land surrounding the house, the sun actually shining a bit. "Would you like to hear my story, Lily?" she asks me and I nod, walking to stand next to her.
I read her perfectly sculpted lips as she talks "I lived in a different world than you do, Lily. My human world was a much simpler place. It was 1933. I was 18, and I was beautiful. My life was perfect." A fond smile twitches the corner of her mouth upwards. "There was only one thing in this world that I wanted, but didn't have...I wanted a child, badly. My very closest friend was a girl named Vera. She married young, just seventeen. A year later she had a son, a beautiful little boy with dimples and curly black hair. It was the first time I'd ever felt truly jealous of anyone else in my entire life, but I thought that I was going to get all of that." she says, the smiling falling from her face as her eyes turn dark. "Royce King was the most eligible bachelor in town and I barely knew him, but at the time, I was in love with the idea of being in love. So young and naïve." she pauses shaking her head "On the last night of my life, I left Vera's house late and I wasn't far from home. Royce was outside a bar with all of his friends, incredibly drunk. He called me and I foolishly went over to see him. He wanted to 'show me off' to all of his friends and I tried to get away..." she trails off, pained look taking over her face. She doesn't really need to say it for me to get a clue what they did to her. How awful. "They left me in the street thinking that I was dead, and believe me, I wanted to be. Carlisle smelled all of the blood and found me, he thought he was saving me."
I lay a comforting hand on her shoulder and she looks at it, confused before lifting her eyes to mine. I'm not pitying her, because I believe that she is the type that wouldn't appreciate that, I'm just trying to let her know that I'm here and listening. That I care. "I got my revenge on them...one at a time." she says, a small smile gracing her lips. "I saved Royce for last. I hoped that he would hear of his friends' deaths and understand, know what was coming for him. I hoped the fear would make the end worse for him. I think it worked. He locked himself in a windowless room with a thick door, guarded by two men, thinking that would stop me. I actually stole a wedding dress for the occasion." she says and I raise my eyebrows. At my look she smiles and gives a shrug. "I was a little theatrical back then. I didn't spill any of their blood and I pride myself on that. I didn't want any part of those animals in me." she tells me her face intense, before it recedes. "Things got better after I found Emmett. I got luckier than I deserved. He is everything I would have asked for if I'd known myself well enough to know what to ask for. He's exactly the kind of person someone like me needs. And, oddly enough, he needs me, too. But, we'll always be...this. Frozen in time, never moving forward. I would give up anything to be a human again, Lily, and that's why I envy you...but I do not hate you."
I stand there for a couple of moments, processing what she just told me. "I think you're incredibly strong, Rosalie and you're a really good person that didn't deserve the bad stuff that h-happened to you." She turns to me with a frown, checking to see if I'm genuine, which I completely am. "If it means anything, I think that y-you would of been a great mom. Your child would have been lucky to have you as a mother." I tell her and I mean it, from the bottom of my heart. I just hope that I'm not stepping over any boundaries. She just stares at me with wide eyes for a couple of minutes, her face soft. Those golden eyes are shining, the first time I've ever seen them do so. Rosalie isn't a shell or a bad person, she's a good person that had bad stuff happen to her. She didn't deserve any of it.
"Thank you, Lily." she says and I smile, nodding at her. She actually gets a small smile on her face, looking at me. "You know, if I ever had a daughter, I would have wanted her to be like you."
I'm stunned at this as my eyes widen. "Me? Why me? I'm nothing...I'm just..."
"I've been nothing but mean and cold to you, but you still made an effort to talk to me and you didn't judge me. You were nice to me when I've done nothing nice to you. You're a very good person, Lily."
"Thank you, Rosalie. That means a lot." I say and she nods, looking back out to the forest. I take this as my cue to leave and smile, walking to the living room and grabbing what I came for in the first place. I pass Alice on the way and she smiles at me while I smile back, my mood high. I'm happy that I talked to Rosalie and I'm happy that she doesn't hate me. I walk back into Jasper's room and he looks up as I enter, smiling at me. I return it and walk over to him, cuddling up on his couch.
Later, Jasper and I walk downstairs and into the living room as Esme and Carlisle walk into the room, the latter looking concerned. He switches on the large television to the Seattle news and I see Emmett walk into the room. Jasper wraps his arms around my waist from behind as we watch a news report about the disappearances comes on tv. When I look over to Carlisle, I see his face looks concerned.
"Seattle is in a state of terror." the reporter says and I frown. "Police are baffled by the escalating murders and disappearances." Bella and Edward enter the room, watching the report. "Theories range from a vicious new gang to a widly active serial killer."
I see Emmett grinning at Bella as she walks over. "Look who survived the dog park. Need something for those flea bites?" he asks and Bella smiles, shaking her head. "I'm good, thanks."
"Seattle?" Edward asks as Jasper moves next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.
"It's getting worse. We're going to have to do something." Carlisle says.
"Alice still hasn't had any visions to who's doing this." Edward says and Emmett suddenly gets excited.
"So we track him down and kick his bloodthirsty ass! Let's go, now! I'm bored as hell." Emmett suggest and Esme gets a pointed look at him. "Emmett." his adoptive mother warns and he sighs, rolling his eyes.
Edward turns towards Jasper and frowns before nodding. "I didn't think of that, but...yes, it makes sense."
"Guys..." Bella says, letting them now that some of us can't read minds.
"Tell us, Jasper." Carlisle says and I tilt my head to look at him.
"It takes more than one of our kind to cause the damage they're reporting. Quite a few more. They're undisciplined, conspicuous -" he stops looking at Edward then Bella. I turn my head to look at her, as she looks baffled.
"Newborns? Like...new vampires?" Bella asks.
I look up to Jasper "It's when we're at our most vicious, uncontrollable, insane with thirst..." I feel something ruffle my hair and turn to Emmett.
"Something to look forward to." he grins, looking back and forth between my and my sister. I roll my eyes and shake my head, looking back to Jasper.
"No one has trained these newborns, but this isn't random." He says.
"Someone's creating an army." Carlisle says and I frown. An army of newborn vampires. A flash of cold fear runs down my spine and I shiver a bit. Jasper looks down at me, placing a kiss on my temple as a wave of calm washes over me. A whole army of newborns would be incredibly power. Army, marines, air force, and navy combined, times ten. Jasper has told me about the Mexican coven, Maria, and her army of newborns. Why would someone create a whole army, though?
"Oh, now we definitely gotta go!" Emmett says.
"Wait, an army? Of vampires?" Bella asks.
"There hasn't been any newborn armies in a century that I know of." Carlisle says and I feel Jasper talking.
"There is now. And they've been created to fight someone." Jasper says and I frown, curling up closer to him.
"We're the only clan even close to Seattle." Edward says.
"Regardless, if we don't put a stop to it, the Volturi will. I'm surprised they've let it go for this long." Carlisle says.
"Maybe they're purposely ignoring it. Or even behind it." Everyone snaps their heads to look at him. "When we were in Italy, I read it in Aro's mind. He wants Alice and I to join him as our gifts would make them even more powerful, but he knows that we wouldn't as long as our family is still alive. He was also interested in you, Lily. I kept seeing this blonde girl in his mind." he says and I frown. Lacrimosa. Jasper and I share a glance with each other as I feel him stiffen up. "An army could solve this all for him."
"We can't wait, you need to change us, now -" Bella starts and I widen my eyes. Jasper shakes his head, cutting her off.
"Two newborns would be a liability. You'd be easy targets." Jasper says, tightening his arm around me.
"There's also your father to consider. And your mother. How devastated would they be if you both disappeared?" Carlisle says and Bella sighs, unable to argue. We can't just take off on Charlie like that. It's not the right time. But, we need to do something about this army before the Volturi comes.
Lacrimosa and I are linked, but what happened to her?
Hey guys!
So, I wanted Rosalie and Lily to have a little moment. Did you guys like it or is it to unreal?
Pictures of Lacrimosa and William are on my profile.
To everyone who reviewed, added Halcyon to your favorites, and added Halcyon to your story alerts, thank you so much. I really appreciate it and I'm happy that you are liking my story.
Pictures, playlist, tumblr, and wiki link is on my profile.
Thank You!
-Jalen-
