Chapter Thirty-Three
Nahuel watched the snow whirl around the empty fields, as he clung tightly to Leah's fur. He could hear the patter of Seth's large paws behind them as they soared through the barrens lands of Austria.
After what felt like an eternity of running, the sounds could be heard up ahead. Shouting. Screaming. Crashes and bangs. Yelling of commands. Shrieks of horror. Leah leapt over the small incline in the snow, and froze immediately.
Before them was the battle, as though someone had merely picked up the entire fighting mass and dumped them unceremoniously in the middle of the serene setting.
The vampires were moving so quickly, it was difficult to see who was fighting who - or who was winning. The large, snarling figures of the wolves could be seen scattered amongst the masses of fighting vampires.
Stony cold body parts littered the white snow, with only bits of spattered blood from the wolves making the battle look gory.
Seth had frozen just beside Leah and Nahuel, and Leah looked over at her brother curiously for a moment. The two seemed to share a silent conversation, before returning their attention to the battle ahead... and charging forward with full speed.
Nahuel's heart began pounding as they neared the hideous destruction before them. As they grew closer, he was able to make out specific faces... Rosalie, Caius, Emmett, Marcus, Sam, Embry, Zafrina...
There were many more vampires that Nahuel did not recognize. Too many. Seeing a familiar face was becoming a rarity as Leah moved quickly into the midst of the battle.
Suddenly she stopped, jerking her head towards the ground. Nahuel quickly leapt off, hitting the snow carefully. He was about to thank Leah, but she had already run to Sam's side.
Nahuel stood frozen for a moment, unable to bring himself to leap into the fight as easily as Leah and Seth. Carefully, he began moving through the scattered carnage and brutality, searching for someone he knew... someone who could explain....
"ARGH!"
Nahuel leapt out of the way just in time to have Marcus thrown down before him, none other than Carlisle Cullen landing on top.
Nahuel watched in stunned horror as the always calm and composed Carlisle tore into Marcus's neck, ripping his head from his body in one swift motion.
Before he could begin his battle with the rest of the body, Carlisle swung his head up... and froze, his golden eyes growing wide.
"... Nahuel?" he choked.
Nahuel was unable to speak, frozen in shock as she stared at the near-primitive version of Dr. Carlisle Cullen that sat before him. Carlisle quickly leapt to his feet, rushing to Nahuel's side.
"Come with me," he urged, grabbing tightly to Nahuel's arm as he began dashing through the battle.
Nahuel followed Carlisle, unable to resist the force of his grasp. As they flew through the crowds, Nahuel spotted a few more allies. Benjamin, from Egypt. Quil, the wolf who had helped him escape Enterprise. Vladimir, from Russia.
Carlisle had stopped in a patch of snow just outside of the raging fight. Cold, gray, twitching limbs lay scattered all around them. Several heads could be seen lolling in the snow only yards away.
Carlisle grabbed Nahuel's shoulders, staring into his eyes intently.
"Nahuel, do you know where Renesmee is?" he asked, his voice a low rumbled mutation of its usual musical, calmness.
Nahuel just stared back at Carlisle, his mouth hanging open in shock as she continued to take in the insane look in his eyes, the disheveled strands of his usually perfectly coiffed blond hair. The shredded clothes that hung from his body made his pale skin glitter in the sunlight.
"Nahuel!"
Nahuel was pulled from his shock as Carlisle let out a desperate bark, shaking him slightly.
"Did you hear me?" Carlisle demanded. "Do you know where Renesmee is?"
"Yes," Nahuel finally spluttered out, his heart beginning to pound as it occurred to him just how close Nessie was to the battle.
"Is she anywhere nearby?" Carlisle asked.
"She's about four-hundred miles east," Nahuel blurted quickly, afraid that if he let his gaze linger too long on Carlisle, the horrible thoughts would start coming back.
"Oh, God..." Carlisle uttered, releasing Nahuel's shoulders and turning away, grabbing his scattered blond locks tightly.
Nahuel turned his gaze away from Carlisle, unable to look at him any longer without picturing the rabid vampire, another man's head in his mouth...
But as Nahuel turned, an overwhelming sensation of sickness overcame him, and he had to clutch tightly to his mouth. His head began spinning, his heart pounding too fast to bear. He was going to pass out. He could not look any longer.
Alice Cullen lay only feet away, a giant sword sticking straight through her torso. The blade ran into her stomach, and it glimmered in the sunlight on the other side, where it came out her back.
Jasper knelt beside her, the most pained expression Nahuel had ever seen on a creature plastered onto his face, as he clutched her hand, stroking her pale face.
Alice did not shimmer like the others under the gleaming sun.
"Nahuel - oh, no."
Carlisle had grabbed Nahuel, forcefully turning him away from the scene. He held tight to Nahuel's arms, refusing to let him turn back around.
"What happened?" Nahuel choked out in horror.
"Alice was stabbed with the Sword of Lilith," Carlisle muttered in reply.
Nahuel's head was sent reeling, as all the old myths and stories Huilen had told him as a child came flowing back into his mind.
The Sword of Lilith. A Medieval sword with the powers of Black Magic, able to destroy a vampire from the inside out with only one strike. It was a known fact to all vampires that the sword was just a myth. It did not exist.
"Oh my God," Nahuel uttered, clutching his stomach as he struggled to remain standing.
"Nahuel, I need you to find Renesmee. Get her as far away from Austria as possible," Carlisle instructed.
"That's why Alice hasn't been able to have a vision," Nahuel muttered, a million thoughts running through his mind at once.
"Nahuel, stay focused," Carlisle commanded. "Alice is not dead yet. But if we don't save Renesmee, then this will all have been in vain."
"And that's why Nessie is seeing them..." Nahuel continued absently.
"What?"
Nahuel looked up at Carlisle, who had stopped, a concerned expression on his face.
"Nessie started having visions of the battle. That's why we came back," Nahuel said.
"Who is 'we'?" Carlisle demanded.
"Me, and Leah and Seth. We left Nessie and Jacob-" Nahuel uttered.
"Where are Leah and Seth?" Carlisle asked.
"They're here," Nahuel replied, turning to stare out into the battle again. He could not make out anyone's face any more. Not even those only feet away.
"Leah and Seth are fighting?" Carlisle moaned, more a statement of grief than a question.
Heads and limbs flew through the air around Nahuel, screams and shrieks filling the skies incessantly. Though the vampires were moving unbelievably fast, everything felt like slow motion.
"Nahuel, listen to me," Carlisle said, jerking Nahuel back around to face him. "You need to protect Renesmee. Make sure she doesn't come anywhere near here."
"I don't know where-" Nahuel began.
"You have to do this. Our entire cause is depending on you right now," Carlisle insisted. "Go - run. Find Renesmee."
Before Nahuel could protest, Carlisle had disappeared again, dashing back into the battle. The feral vampire was back.
Nahuel stood, paralyzed by the shock of everything around him. He tried to make his feet move forward, but he could hardly take a step.
He turned back to Alice and Jasper, and his heart began thumping wildly the moment he laid eyes on the huge blade.
He had to find Nessie. She had to come out of this alive, because her own family might not.
Nahuel turned, prepared to run through the fighting hoards of vampires to find Nessie...
... only to find himself face to face with Edward.
There was a hideously agonized look in Edward's light golden eyes that sent a shiver down Nahuel's spine. He did not speak immediately, which caused Nahuel to grow even more nervous.
"Where is she?" Edward finally croaked, as he grabbed Nahuel fiercely by the shoulders, staring into his eyes.
"I'm going to find Renesmee now," Nahuel replied. "I have to get her away-"
"No!" Edward shouted, his fingers digging deeper into Nahuel's human skin. "Where is she?"
"I don't know!" Nahuel cried, trying to pull himself from Edward's grasp.
"Edward."
In an instant the hands were gone, leaving Nahuel's arms throbbing as he stumbled away from Edward.
Bella held tightly to Edward's hands, staring up into his eyes sadly. Her own eyes were filled with fear.
Finally Bella turned to Nahuel, the fear and pain becoming even more evident as she stared at him.
"Go, Nahuel," she said softly.
"But-" Nahuel uttered, staring at Edward in fear.
"Go," Bella repeated, more firmly.
Nahuel quickly turned while he still had the courage, darting off through the fight, searching wildly for any break in the gigantic mass of vampires and wolves.
Emmett and Rosalie were on a rampage, instantly tearing apart any member of the Volturi with whom they came face to face.
Rosalie now stood staring down Jane, who grinned her sickeningly angelic smile before the agonizing pain began.
Rosalie screamed as she hit the snow. Bella was too busy to come to her rescue now. She was on her own.
"Look at the pretty Cullen girl," Jane sighed, in an almost sing-song tone. "So beautiful... like a doll."
Rosalie's nails dug through the snow into the dirt, as she writhed in agony below Jane's eerie grin.
"Pretty, pretty dolly," Jane continued, grinning still as she neared Rosalie's twitching body. "Where is your big, strong lover? Perhaps he's with the others... your other pretty sister. The little one. Such a large blade, such a small girl..."
Rosalie let out a hideous scream, as images of Alice's tiny, crumpled body, the huge sword running through her, swarmed her thoughts.
And with that, Rosalie wrenched her head up out of the snow.
She managed to twist her neck upwards, still screaming as she began dragging her pain-crippled body across the snow. The terrified look in Jane's eyes was enough to keep her going, the pain growing more intense the closer she crawled.
"Pretty little-"
Before Jane could spew out another verse of her sickening tune, Rosalie had latched onto her ankle.
The pain stop instantly.
Rosalie bit down as hard as she could, and the sound of Jane's horrified shrieks only encouraged her more.
Jane's entire left foot was thrown up into the air seconds later.
Jane hit the snow, still screaming as Rosalie crawled over, running her nails across her tiny face teasingly.
"Such an ugly, horrible little doll," she mocked, as her hand tightened around Jane's throat.
Jane stopped screaming, staring up at Rosalie, her red eyes wide and almost child-like.
Rosalie bit down right in the middle of Jane's face, before tearing her head from her body, biting all the while.
Just as the screams ended, Alec's arms were around Rosalie's waist.
"You killed my sister!" he shrieked, as Rosalie clawed frantically at his grasp.
"You killed mine," she returned, before whirling around and scratching his eye.
Alec shoved Rosalie out of his grasp, and she hit the snow with a deafening thud. Before she even had the chance to react, he was above her, fangs barred.
Just as he lunged at Rosalie's throat, Emmett's huge, stony arms had him by the waist, throwing him aside like a rag doll.
"Rose."
Emmett was at Rosalie's side in an instant, though she had already picked herself up off the ground. She turned to face Emmett, and immediately his lips were on hers.
Rosalie could not even bring herself to protest, merely accepting the kiss, and savoring the moment with the love of her life.
"Rose, I'm so sorry I couldn't stop her," Emmett began rambling, the moment Rosalie pulled away. "I saw her torturing you, but Felix and Demetri had me..."
"Shh," Rosalie hushed. "It's all right."
She turned slowly towards Jane's mangled body below them. Emmett gaped at it in awe for a moment.
"Oh my..." he trailed off, before turning back to Rosalie. "You are the most incredible woman on the earth."
"No, she's laying over there in the corner about to die, if we can't find some way to help her," Rosalie corrected.
Emmett nodded, as he and Rosalie both turned to run and join Alice at the side of the field.
Alec stood before them, glowering hideously.
"You'll die for what you did to my sister," he growled.
"I could say the same to you," Emmett spat, grabbing Alec's head violently.
Immediately Felix and Demetri were on either side of Emmett, holding tightly to his arms. They each began twisting, as Emmett let out a holler.
Rosalie grabbed Alec up off the ground, her fangs only centimeters from his neck in a second.
"Let him go," she growled at the two men holding Emmett. "If you don't, I kill him."
She jerked Alec's small body forward threateningly as she said so. Demetri released Emmett's arm. Felix merely grinned as he stared at Rosalie.
There was a hideous howl and a deafening tear, as Emmett's right arm hit the snow below them.
Rosalie was sent into a furious whirl, and Alec's head was removed from his body in one motion as she lunged at Felix.
Emmett knelt helplessly in the snow, gasping and staring in horror at the empty space where his arm had been torn from his shoulder. The stony limb lay only feet away, limp and cold, as he gaped at it, too shocked to move.
"Not so tough any more, are you, Cullen?"
Demetri stood over Emmett now, sneering arrogantly. He reached down, grabbing Emmett's shirt and dragging him up to his feet... only to punch him so hard in the face that he was sent flying several yards across the battlefield.
Emmett struggled to lift himself back up, finding it almost impossible at first, as his balance was completely destroyed. Demetri was before him again just as he made it to his feet.
Emmett's face was back in the snow in an instant, though only for a second, as Demetri wrenched him back out, and began gnawing viciously at his face.
Emmett hollered desperately as he struggled to break free from Demetri's grasp. He could feel the sharp point of Demetri's fangs boring into his eye...
As quickly as it had latched on, Demetri's grip was gone. Emmett fell forward onto his knees, managing to catch himself before his face hit the snow again.
He stared around in shock, searching for Demetri, and wondering why he had so suddenly changed his mind.
A pale, scarred hand offered the answer to Emmett's questions.
"Come on."
Jasper grabbed Emmett's shoulder, pulling him to his feet. Emmett stared at his brother in awe for a moment, unable to speak.
"Jasper-" he uttered.
"Follow me. You can't keep fighting," Jasper insisted, dragging Emmett back through the fighting.
"What about Demetri?" Emmett demanded.
Jasper jerked his head backwards, and Emmett turned to see Demetri's head rolling across the snow behind them, before it was punted across the snowy field by one of the French vampires.
"Where's Rosalie?" Emmett asked.
"She's got things covered," Jasper said, staring across the battlefield in wonder.
Emmett followed his brother's gaze... and his jaw dropped as he spotted Rosalie standing over the mangled pieces of both Jane and Alec, Felix's head lying not inches behind.
"Come on, Emmett," Jasper urged, grabbing his brother's one hand and dragging him away from the fighting.
"Jasper, wait."
Jasper stopped, turning back to Emmett, who stood behind him, staring at him intently.
"You saved me," he stated.
"You're my brother," Jasper replied, as if that single statement explained the entire situation.
And Emmett merely nodded, before obediently following his brother off of the field.
Nahuel was running quickly through the ongoing battles, dodging many stray blows from vampires and wolves alike.
His mission was to find Nessie. Get back to the clearing where he had left Nessie and Jacob, and get them far away from the destruction occurring before him. Nahuel needed a mission to stay focused, because if he stopped for even a second, the images of Alice and the sword would overwhelm him.
Finally, he could see a break in the mob of fighting vampires. The clear white snow ahead was gleaming in the sunlight, and Nahuel quickened his pace, desperate to escape the fighting and screaming...
Just as he was about to step outside of the brutality, a large mass of gray fur flew down before him, nearly crushing him.
Nahuel leapt back, stumbling and falling backwards into the snow. The gray wolf was struggling to get to its feet, when suddenly a gorgeous blonde vampire leapt on top of it.
Nahuel was frozen as he watched the vampire open her mouth, her pointed fangs shooting directly for the helpless wolf's throat.
The wolf let out a cry of fright, and Nahuel's heart began pounding as he recognized the agony behind the sound.
Without thinking twice, Nahuel had thrown himself at the blonde vampire with so much force, she was knocked down into the snow, rolling several feet before stopping.
Leah Clearwater had regained her stance by the time the vampire was back on her feet, and Nahuel stood in between the two menacingly.
The blonde snarled, charging at Nahuel, who stood his ground. He could hear Leah whimpering behind him, though he remained where he was.
The blonde used Nahuel as a platform to propel herself up to Leah's level, latching onto Leah's back, her fangs barred again. Leah began jerking herself forward frantically in an attempt to lose the vampire woman, who could not bite as long as Leah was moving.
Nahuel turned quickly, searching for any sign of the Cullens, or Zafrina. Anyone who could help Leah in her battle.
At that moment, the sun landed on the blade of a dagger laying only feet away. Nahuel snatched it up off the ground, dashing back to Leah's side.
Leah had had little luck with the vampire woman, so Nahuel hoisted himself up onto Leah's back, grabbing onto the blonde's dark robes so as to climb.
The vampire hissed as she turned to face Nahuel, prepared to shove him back into the snow.
As she turned, Nahuel scratched the dagger across her left eye.
Completely deterred, the blonde fell from Leah's back. Nahuel was close behind, leaping after her and scraping the dagger forcefully across her other eye.
The vampire woman let out a shriek as she stumbled aimlessly into the middle of a coven of the Japanese vampires, all of whom were waiting with a sickening patience for their prey.
The blonde's final screams rang through the skies, as Nahuel turned, running back to Leah's side.
She had phased back into her human form, and knelt in the snow, her arms wrapped around her naked frame as she shivered.
Blood dripped down her entire back.
"Leah."
Nahuel knelt down before her, quickly tearing his jacket from his own shivering body and wrapping it around her shoulders delicately.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Leah demanded, though her fierce demeanor was somewhat ruined by her quaking and tears, as she struggled to glare up at Nahuel.
"I'm helping you," Nahuel replied, just as firmly.
"I can take care of myself," Leah muttered.
"I don't care. I can't leave you here," Nahuel insisted.
"There's a battle going on. What are you doing?" Leah demanded, tears streaming down her cheeks as she stared at Nahuel imploringly.
"I love you."
Leah froze, the dark brown of her eyes glinting in the sunlight as she gaped at Nahuel in shock.
"Wh-"
"I'm in love with you, Leah," Nahuel repeated. "I didn't realize it until only a few days ago, but I love you. And I'm not going to leave your side, no matter what you say."
"You don't mean it," Leah muttered, frantically trying to wipe the tears from her eyes.
"I mean every word," Nahuel insisted. "Come on. I'm getting you to safety."
"What about Nessie?" Leah demanded.
"Renesmee has Jacob. And you have me," Nahuel stated, grabbing Leah's hand tightly. "You are going to follow me away from all of this, because I can't see you get hurt anymore."
Leah was sobbing, as Nahuel carefully helped her to her feet, wrapping the jacket tighter around her shoulders, and escorting her carefully away from the battlefield.
"Nahuel... thank you," she managed to utter through her sobs.
Nahuel kissed her head gently, squeezing her hand where it sat in his grasp.
"I would do anything for you."