Hello again, my dear readers. I just finished this chapter, and boy, it nealry had me in tears. It's a tough read, so be careful. I have to go to work before long, but I wanted to give you this.
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
Disclaimer #2: This chapter contains emotional stress and some violence and mentions of gory stuff. Please be careful if you find that kind of stuff hard to read.
I think I will be writing on this story alone, until it is done. Updates should be faster that way, because I can focus my inspiration on one thing only. Or so I hope.
Right, I will let you get on with it.
Bella's POV
The silence was complete as the little lady stared at her. Bella turned all the way around, facing her enemy. She had no patience for any mind games at the moment. She had just discovered something completely new about herself, and she felt drained, which was weird because a vampire should not be able to feel like that.
"Can I help you?" She finally asked wearily, wanting nothing more for the lady to leave her be.
There was no answer, but Annetta's dark eyes glinted darkly. Bella sighed exasperatedly, and throwing her long hair over her shoulder, she stepped closer to the bars.
"What do you want Annetta?" Silence. She nearly turned away in frustration, when the older lady spoke.
"I have just been to see your dear mate," She said softly.
Bella gasped softly, feeling something squeezing her chest hard.
"I swear, Annetta if you lay so much as a finger on him!" She snarled menacingly. She was suddenly furious. First her father and now her mate. She would kill her without hesitation.
"Don't worry, my dear, Marcus is unharmed. For now, at least," she said, smirking.
"Though he did seem rather distraught," she added, chuckling.
Bella glowered at her enemy. Clenching her fists, she stepped closer to the bars, growling softly. It was time to put an end to this. She had had enough of the games of this freak, and she wanted to go home. She was thirsty, and her body ached for the touch of her mate, needing him more than anything.
Annetta seemed to notice the change in her, her face was filled with curiosity, as if waiting to see what Bella would do.
"Do not be silly, my dear. There really is nothing you can do at the moment. When I am ready, I will decide if I want you to live or not. The same goes for your father, and your dear mate," She spoke softly, but with relish, clearly enjoying the torture she saw in her prisoner.
Bella's fury pounded through her, and her growl grew into a snarl. She felt her body hum, and she glanced down at her hands, seeing that shimmering coming through her skin enveloping her hands. She looked up at Annetta. The lady had not noticed or she could not see the shield as it manifested.
Bella let her anger flood her body, breathing deeply allowing the humming to penetrate her very soul, and suddenly the shield seemed to morph, racing up her arms, spreading across her entire body.
"I do not think that is up to you just yet," Bella said, her voice steely.
And with that she stepped through the bars of her prison, seeing with great satisfaction, the face of her enemy changing from a smirk into a shocked mask.
Marcus' POV
Marcus was standing in the dark side alley, his brothers at his side. They were waiting for Jane to return. She was scouting the area, finally they were going to rescue his mate. Their tracker Demetri had eventually succeeded in tracing their enemy, though it was not how they had found them at first.
Aro had had no trouble reading Eiylien, when she took his hand. Caius had been doing research, and had discovered that Aro's gift might not work on the fae. Caius had however had the idea, that if she touched him willingly at his invitation, it might just be different. And so, they had set the trap, allowing their enemy entry into their lair.
Jane had done a great job at pretending that her gift did not work against the little lady, and so Eiylien had allowed Aro to take her hand, believing that his gift too would be futile against her. How very mistaken she had been. Now he knew everything, and their plan had been set in motion. They discovered that Bella was unharmed, kept in an old basement, owned by the family. She was being kept there, by a simple illusion. The fae had many tricks, and one of them was glamours and illusions. Of course Bella would not know this. Her vampire senses could not detect those things, so she would believe herself to be trapped by an unknown magic.
Aro also saw where Charlie, the father of Bella, was kept. He was weak, and the son, Bartolo, or Alaion, as Aro now knew his real name, had not been able to resist harming him to some degree. The fae despised the humans almost as much as the vampires it would seem. If he was not rescued soon, he would not make it. Marcus knew that his loss would devastate his mate, so they had to save him too.
Strangely enough Aro had seen that it was only Eiylien and her son that were the enemy here. The father of Eiylien was another victim it would seem. He was kept in the dark by his daughter, as she used glamours to keep him happy and working, knowing that he loathed the city, the proximity of the technology of humans almost hurt him, his nature not doing well so close to the unnatural world of houses and cars.
Suddenly Jane appeared around the corner. Marcus straightened up, waiting for her to speak.
"We have an issue," Jane said, her consternation clear in her voice.
"What is it?" Caius asked hastily, but Aro was having none of it. Without further ado, he took Janeøs hand in his, and his frame grew rigid.
"It would seem that we do indeed have a problem," he said, turning towards his brothers.
"We have been tricked," he said darkly. There is nothing down there."
Marcus felt his innards turn to ice.
Bella's POV
Bella grabbed Annetta by the throat. The lady gasped loudly, her eyes wide as she looked into the face of the young vampire. Then she manifested herself, and Bella felt something surge against her shield, pushing it back. The sting made her hiss, and she concentrated hard, her anger boosting her gift, as she physically shoved her enemy backwards.
"No," Bella growled into her face.
"You will not keep me any longer," And with that she pushed her up against the wall, intending to strangle the little lady if need be.
Except that the wall was not even there.
As Bella pushed against it, the illusion seemed to dissolve, and she almost fell straight through it, her hand still holding onto Annetta. She glanced around, confusion clouding her mind. She gasped. It was like she was in a great cavern of some kind, deep underground. It appeared to tunnel on forever. But that was not what shocked her. As she looked around, she saw hundreds of coffins all around. They were all closed, but that did not stop the smell of the decaying bodies from assaulting her nose.
Marcus' POV
He felt empty, angry, infuriated. Their plan had failed so suddenly, he had hardly had any time to believe it. After Jane's revelation, they had searched the premises, finding nothing of what Aro had seen in the mind of Eiylien. It would seem that the tricks of the fae were far more advanced than they had thought. She had tricked Aro, making him see exactly what she wanted them to see, and now they were back to square one. She was taunting them, and Marcus felt like it was over now. They had nothing to go on. His mate was out there in the void, and he had no idea how to find her.
They were back home again, and Caius had stalked off to his study, clearly wanting to be alone.
"I don't get it," Marcus said, glancing at Aro who sat beside him on the throne. Aro took a deep breath, sorting out his mind before speaking.
"We knew they would be a formidable enemy, of course. But we could never have known that she would be this dangerous. I am so sorry, Marcus," he said wearily.
"I am afraid that Bella is on her own for now." he said sadly.
At this, Marcus got to his feet and stormed from the throne room. He flashed aimlessly through the castle, not knowing where to go or what to do with himself. Grief tore at him, but he refused to let it consume him. There was still hope. There had to be.
Bella's POV
She glared at the little lady. Annetta seemed to be even more shocked than before.
"How did you discover your gift? It is not your time yet!" She hissed, her hands coming up to try and remove Bella's grip, her face changing slowly into the alien appearance Bella had seen earlier. Bella reacted on instinct. She used both her hands to hold onto her, and then she swung her backwards, slamming Annetta's back into the ground, pushing her down hard. Her anger made her shield pound against the skin of her enemy. The lady halted her transformation.
"Where's my father?" Bella hissed, her face closing in on Annetta's.
"How did you discover your gift so soon? It is not possible!" Annetta insisted, she was clearly furious at the turn of events.
"You can thank your son for that," Bella said, and with that she placed a knee on Annetta's chest, restricting her breathing.
"Now, where's my father?" She growled, putting all her weight on her.
Annetta wheezed softly, her hands scrabbling at Bella's knee. She was strong, and Bella had to exert all her newborn power to keep her in place.
"Don't think that I will not kill you!" Bella said darkly.
"Give me my father, or I will kill you and torture your son until he tells me everything,"
"You will never find your way out of here," Annetta said with as much menace as she could muster, even if her breath was short.
"That is not your concern," Bella gave a push, and her shield throbbed against her enemy. She had felt the beginnings of another illusion tingling at the edges, and she needed to keep her focus, so that she was not fooled again.
"You just tell me what I want to know," She hissed.
Unable to speak, Annetta's eyes shot a glance to the right, towards a particularly large pile of coffins. Bella glanced at them.
How would she be able to find her father there. She could not use her sense of smell, as the devastating smell of death hung in the air. She homed in her hearing, focusing intently, trying to hear the beat of a human heart. Her breath caught in her throat as she suddenly heard it. It was faint, and slow, but it was there. She nearly sobbed with relief, as she glared down at the lady beneath her.
You better stay out of my way Annetta, or I will come for you," Bella snarled into her face.
And with that, she let her go, flashing to the coffins, homing in on the heartbeat she had heard. Hastily locating the right coffin, she lifted the lid easily. A shocked gasp escaped her as she saw her father lying there, unconscious. He had been beaten severely, his face was practically one big bruise.
A deep, snarling growl was the only warning Annetta had, as the vampire was on her in a second.
A scream reverberated around the room, and then it was cut short. Bella was kneeling by the now silent body of Annetta, her breathing harsh. She had barely been able to see anything, as her shield had nearly blinded her, her fury making her vision blood red. She looked down at the now still corpse. The head was twisted in an unnatural angle, clearly broken.
Bella did not let her shield down, and she watched mildly horrified as the corpse began to change in front of her eyes. It seemed to be wilding, turning into a mush like substance, looking like rotten leaves, decomposing into the ground.
She wearily got to her feet, not wasting any more time, as she went back to her father. He was still unconscious. Slowly she lifted his limp form free of the confining space of the coffin, and cradling him as gently as she could, she began to look for a way out.
Marcus' POV
He had spent the day wandering around, and it was with only a mild shock that he found himself at the hilltop, where he had taken Bella once. It seemed like a lifetime ago. He stood in the dark air and stared disconsolately out over the shadowy landscape. A soft breeze swept over him, gently stirring his hair, a strand blowing across his face. He did not remove it. He felt frozen. The dark night had nothing on the darkness swirling within him. He knew with certainty that he would not survive the night. He would make sure of that.
Bella's POV
Bella ran as fast as she could through the dark tunnels. She had no inkling of where she was, but her senses helped her a lot. This had to be one of the strangest places she had ever seen. The smell was terrible for her sensitive nose, and she wanted nothing more than to escape the place.
As she moved through the darkness, she glanced at her father's face once in a while, checking to see how he was doing. He was weak. His frame was nothing but skin and bones. He hadn't woken once during their flight.
Suddenly she sensed a change in the air, and she came to a place where three tunnels led off. As she could smell less death in the first one, she took that and went into the darkness.
Suddenly, she was hit by something, violently flinging her into the wall of the tunnel, nearly making her drop her father. He groaned softly at the impact, but didn't stir.
Crouching somewhat, she looked through the darkness, willing her shield to come forth.
A figure was standing behind her, his breathing fast, as if he had been running.
Bella could see his face easily through the gloom. Bartolo.
"You should not be here," He said softly, looking her over once.
"Neither should you," she answered coldly, bracing herself for another confrontation.
"How did you get out?" He asked her, not able to keep the note of discomfort from his voice. He was scared.
"My mother will get you, you can't escape, my lovely Isabella," He said, stepping closer. Bella nearly laughed. He had no clue, did he.
"Tell me," Bella said, "did your mother promise me to you or something?"
He didn't answer, but his breath caught in his throat.
"Oh wow, she did!" Bella exclaimed, acutely aware of her father's breathing becoming increasingly shallow.
"Listen, no offense, but you're not my type," She said darkly.
"If you will excuse me, I am leaving now," she added, turning away.
"No!" He shouted at her, angrily stepping forward.
"I will get my mother, she will stop you, and you won't stand a chance against her," He said, trying to sound menacing.
"Listen squirt, I have no time for this," Bella growled. "Besides, your mother is dead," she added harshly.
"What?" He sounded stunned, taking a step back from her.
"You lie!" He hissed.
"I would try and convince you, but I have to go," With that she flashed from his presence, leaving him as he gave a wail of despair, it reverberated through the dark tunnels, chasing her as she finally saw the dusky light of the night through an opening, and she gratefully skidded to a halt in the fresh night air, just outside the opening into the ground.
Then she began to run in earnest, leaving the cursed place behind. She knew she was not out of the woods yet. She still had to find out where she was. Suddenly her father's breathing gave a soft stutter. She stopped everything, her chest suddenly constricting with fear.
She lowered him to the ground, gently cradling his head. His eyes opened slightly, and a long moment later he gave a struggling swallow.
"B-bella?" He whispered in a cracked voice. Bella nearly sobbed. He was dying, she knew it.
"Yes, I'm here," she said gently, her hand caressing his cheek.
He hummed softly, his eyes closing again. She heard his breathing as it softly gave out.
"No," she said desperately. She shook him, trying to stir him back to life, but nothing happened.
She looked wildly around, desperate for help, not knowing what to do to save him. Then she stilled, anguish filling her, as she knew of only one way she could bring him back, but she had never done it before.
Her breathing was laboured as she gently turned his head sideways, exposing his throat, she bent down, and slowly sank her teeth into his skin. She tasted human blood for the first time, drinking from her father. She felt her thirst manifest itself harshly, making her almost drink deeply. She squeezed her eyes shut, concentrating with every fibre of her being, so she would not drain him completely. Then suddenly she heard his heart give out. Silence rang through his body.
Breathing deeply, she forced herself to stop, and straightening up, she gave a scream of anguish. The pain in her throat was terrible, but it was nothing compared to the pain she felt at losing her father.
Marcus' POV
As he stood, trying to master his own grief, a scream suddenly rent the air. It was far away, but he heard it nonetheless. He turned sharply, his entire being prickling ominously. A deep sense of foreboding tore through him, and he began running towards the sound even before he realised he was moving. He had never run so fast in his vampire life, and he was swiftly moving further into the wilderness. The soft hills was a blur to him, as he homed in on a particularly rolling landscape. He knew very little of this place, except that people sometimes found an old lava tube and ventured in, never to be seen again.
He located the source of the scream, just as it was cut short. Slowing down, he stepped closer, seeing a man on the ground, cradled in the arms of his young mate. She was filthy, and he was broken. Her head was bent forward, her hair obscuring her face from his view.
Marcus felt an odd sensation course through him, as he kneeled down in front of her, and without a word, took her in his arms, embracing her, the body of her father between them.
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-Pancakes