Bella opened her eyes. She spent most of a minute staring up at her apartment ceiling. Her vision was... sharpened. More clear. She heard someone clear a throat beside her.
Her head whipped to the left faster than she would have thought possible, and she saw Edward Masen sitting in her living room sofa, regarding her with a comforting smile. Memories flooded back to her. Her dead roommate, her death sentence at the hands of the man across from her, only to be moved by her plea to live to change her into... whatever she was now.
She was about to speak when Edward spoke. "Astonishing. You didn't scream once. And I still can't read your mind. I'm so glad I didn't kill you Isabella. I couldn't ask for a better first member of my coven."
"How long was I out? Why would I have been screaming? What's a coven? What are we?" Bella asked the four questions at a mile a minute, than giggled and said, "Sorry."
"Nothing to apologize for Isabella. To answer your inquiries, your change took two-and-a-half days. You should have been screaming your throat raw because it's more painful than any Human could imagine. A coven is a group of our kind united- the closest Human adjective would be a family, although the bonds are much stronger than that among us. And for your final question... well, to answer that, I think you should come with me.
Edward started to walk out of the room and Bella bounced up from the floor and followed him. "Where are we going?"
"That would be the alleyway."
"Um. OK, cool, but the door to the stairs is that way and -- Oh my God!!Bella rushed to the seventh floor window Edward had just jumped out of and stared down with a pained look on her face, expecting to see little more than a pool of blood on the pavement. Instead she saw Edward standing 70 feet below with an amused grin on his face. With her new vision, she could see he was making a come-hither motion with his hands.
He can't be serious. Thought Bella. But then she reasoned it out. Edward wasn't Human, and could survive a seven story fall. She was what he was now, so shouldn't the same apply for her? Nervously, she slipped her legs out the window. Apparently she could hear better now too, because she clearly heard Her Edward say that there was no need to be nervous and he would catch her.
She frowned. MY Edward? Where did that come from? She shook her head, took a deep pull of air, and leaned forward. About five seconds later she was standing on the ground in front of Edward Masen. She whipped her head up. Yes, that was her open window up there. She looked back to Edward and said in an accusatory tone, "You said you'd catch me."
Edward guffawed. "You didn't need it. Now come on, I still need to answer your question."
They walked down the alley until they came to a pile of plastic garbage bags. Edward Masen lifted up and tossed aside three of them in quick succession to reveal a man, probably around thirty, with his wrists bound by handcuffs and duct tape covering his mouth. He turned to Bella and asked, "What do you want to do to him?"
Bella considered the question. I don't know why, and it'll sound ridiculous... but his blood is... calling to me. I want to drain him of it."
Edward nodded. "What does that tell you?"
"That you've either turned me into a sadist or a vamp... ... ... WAIT..."
Edward nodded. "Congratulations, Isabella. Here Is your reward." He picked up the clearly unconscious man and handed him to her. Bella found she had no trouble holding him, even though he must have weighed at least one-and-a-half times as much as her.
Bella, still reeling from the news that she had joined the ranks of the undead, found it in her to ask, "Does this man deserve to die? I'm not sure if I have it in me to kill an innocent. not yet, anyway."
Edward nodded. "I was like you when I first broke away from my maker. Don't worry Isabella. Until your ready to take the next step I'll find your prey for you. As for this man, he is a murderer and rapist and will certainly not be missed by anyone."
Bella smiled at Edward. "You're too good to me, Mr. Masen." With that, she lowered her head and sunk her teeth into the man's neck.