"She's tracking us," Edythe states upon entering the house. Everyone is standing around Laura, the red-headed Vincent nowhere in sight. She rubs her temples, shoulders sagging.
"I was afraid of that," the gravelly voiced Frenchwoman says, eyes closed tight. "I have never seen her react to a human like that before. Not even one she wanted to kill. How does she know you?"
"I uh ... might have run into her a couple days ago. My mom shot her shoulder off." Laura's eyes go wide.
"Wait! That was you? The witch?" She laughs, holding her stomach. "Ah, petit garçon doux, your mother is the one Jane truly wants then. It is unheard of for a human to injure a vampire so severely. What manner of gun does she have?"
"I honestly don't know...I know it's custom, but she doesn't let me around it." Laura nods thoughtfully, tapping her chin. "I can honestly only assume the bullets are made of something hard enough to break vampire skin. Maybe diamond?"
"That could work... this is just remarkable. But, all the same, you must kill Jane now. If there was a chance for her survival, it disappeared when she realized who this boy is. His mother insulted her, from her ranting, and so she wants her revenge. If it means killing her child, so be it. It wouldn't be the first time she took her... affections for a young man too far, anyway."
Immediately, Alex appears, clinging to Jasmine's side and whispering at the speed of sound in her ear. They both set down a couple duffel bags and go back up the stairs, earning a look of confusion from Roland.
"What will she do?" Clarice asked Laura, her face and voice hard.
"Chances are, she's wanting to draw the mother out. I cannot stop her hunt, nothing can. She is unlike anything I have ever seen, and I've been around for a few centuries." Laura looks at me, approaching slowly. "But I believe you might be the one weakness she has. You struck her down before your mother critically injured her. That was a strike to her pride. And she cannot control her actions when she's enraged. She might ... slip-up. Though, you will have to decide if you're okay with an unlife, should it come to that."
Clarice looks at Edythe and raises her hand. I glance to find Edythe's claws back out, her fangs visible. A warning — keep away. Her growl echoes through the room, and Laura takes one step backward.
"Your way of life is interesting, but I don't think it is wise for me to stick around. Jane may try to use me against you. And I have no qualms with this coven." She looks at Ezra. "You said your allies, the Denali, might take me in?"
"If you're truly wanting to change..." he starts.
"Then I will go to them. I wish you all the best of luck. Adieu."
Clarice steps forward and bows slightly, "Go in peace." A solid minute passes after Laura vanishes out the door, and Clarice turns to Edythe. "Is she still near?"
"She's rendezvoused with Vincent, three miles past the river. But now that we know there is a definite risk to Charlie, we have to warn her." My phone is out in an instant, her number dialed and tone ringing out to the room.
"You've reached Chief Charlotte Swan. I can't make it to the phone right now, but if you'll leave a name and num—" I hang up, brows furrowed.
"She ... she always picks up for me. She's answered my texts at 4 in the morning before."
"We need someone to run out to Charlie's hide-out, then." Clarice volunteers, grabbing a passing Emma. "You're with me on this."
"No problem."
"What about Beau?" Edythe goes to Clarice, hiding her claws to grab the elder vampire's arm. "He's still in danger."
"Go forward with his plan. Use him to draw Jane out in a place he knows. It's all we have right now, unless Alex sees something different."
"I do," Alex floats down the stairs with Jasmine in hand. "If we take Beau somewhere close by, she'll flank us. And considering how fast her mind changes, no one will see exactly where until she's on us. But, if we take Beau away from Forks, she'll have a dilemma. Go for the easy kill, or go for the vampire hunter. She still prefers to kill Beau to hurt Charlie."
"We're running him south," Jasmine cuts in, pulling both bags onto her shoulders. "Not too far. Rural California would be safest for all involved. McCloud is a hiking destination during warmer weather, so there will be cabins, places we can hide-out."
"I've got us lodging reserved, we can be there in just under a day. But we have to go now. Make sure Jane can smell him." Alex pulls on one of my flannels and giggles softly, flapping his arms in the sleeves. "Heh, this is huge on me." I look right at Jasmine, who shakes her head.
"Uh-uh, I've got this," she pulls out one of my beanies and hides her hair in it. "Your clothes are massive on me, and it ain't as cute as him. Also, please change shampoos. Old Spice is a little overwhelming."
"Stop wearing my hats, and you won't have to smell it." Jasmine makes a fist and shakes it at me, handing me a duffel. "C'mon, we'd better get going if she's to take the bait. Everyone needs to scatter to monitor the bitch. And Edythe," she points directly at the trembling red-head, "Keep Alex and I updated every second. Okay?"
She stiffens, eyes lingering on me, but nods. "Alright... I can do that."
I go straight to her, scooping her in my arms. "I'll be okay, Edie. I promise." She clings to me, her strength almost forcing me to my knees.
"I swear, if anything happens to you, I'm going to tip Jane to shreds..."
"And I'll be right there beside you. I swear on my life. Be safe, baby." I press my lips to hers, holding on to her like it's the last time we'll ever kiss. Because... it very well could be.
"Alright, autobots!" Jasmine raises her voice, and Edythe breaks from our embrace, growling. "Roll out!"
"Ezra, Roe, take the cruiser. The boy will follow that while Jane follows us." Alex calls to the other two, and they hop on in. "Don't worry, Beau, they won't crash it."
"That's... reassuring." I go for the car Jasmine is leading me to when Edythe stays by my side, pulling me tight against her chest. It isn't painful, not until we squeeze my broken arm between us. I squeak and look up at her. "Go, I'll be okay."
She meets my gaze, her eyes hollow, and with a soft sigh she turns away, vanishing into the forest with Clarice.
Alex pulls me to him, guiding me to the car while tears slowly trickle down my cheeks. The three of us sit in the car silently, as if waiting for something. Ezra and Roland start down the driveway and out of sight. Then Alex nudges Jasmine.
"Now. Edythe says the man is on Ezra's trail, we can pull Jane away from her." She starts the car and does exactly what I didn't expect. Goes a relatively normal speed out of the woods and onto the road, southward bound. I rub my eyes, curling up on the leather upholstery.
A soft conversation happens in the front seat before Jasmine captures my attention by saying my name.
"Beau, stop that."
"What...?" I ask, catching a yawn in my throat.
"You're feeling it again. But you're wrong, like before. You shouldn't feel worthless, or guilty." She chuckles and meets my eyes in the mirror. "It's amazing, really. Your mind is impenetrable, but your emotions radiate off you like rays from the sun. It never ceases to amaze me just how scared you always are, but never for yourself."
Why should I be? I ask myself, curling up against the door. If I die, then I die. What matters is that everyone else is safe. All I can do now is close my eyes and hope for the best.
It's always confusing to wake up somewhere that isn't your bedroom. But a hotel room that's stylized to look like a log-cabin in the middle of northern California is especially trying to adjust to first thing in the morning. I slowly remember the little black car, Jasmine's words, and the real threat right on our tails.
Sleep had evaded me for hours, my eyes aching and straining through the morning light to nightfall, and finally sealed once I saw a "Leaving Washington State" sign somewhere along the line. I sit up and instantly check my phone. No texts from the boys, or Charlie, or Edythe. Every blink between my blinding phone screen and my eyes fully adjusting. If Charlie isn't contacting me, what did Clarice find in her cabin? What don't I know? Has Jane already slaughtered the one family member who understands?
"Hey, finally awake." I look over at Alex, sitting on the headboard above Jasmine's sleeping body. "Stay quiet if you can, she doesn't normally go this long without nightmares." He glides over to my bed, sitting cross-legged beside me in his nightshirt. "Edythe called while you were asleep, said that ... that Charlie was nowhere to be found when they got to her hiding place. But — " he raises his hands, catching my phone before it hits my lap, " — that means nothing bad. She didn't smell Jane, and there were no signs of your truck. Maybe she went somewhere else to be safe."
"You can't check?" I prod, putting on my eyes. Alex scratches his head and shrugs.
"Charlie is kinda like you ... I can't see your decisions, so I can't see your future. Jasmine's been the only one of us to have any influence on either of you. Edythe even has problems reading her mind occasionally."
"Ah, I see. Thanks anyway, Alex." I bite my lip and take his hand, squeezing gently. "I know this can't be easy on you, seeing Jane again." He looks me in the eyes, mouth agape. "How did you escape her the first time?" And like that, she knows.
"You really are a witch, aren't you?" He asks, looking at the gemstone that never leaves my neck. "After she killed the doctor, I couldn't move. She was so furious. I could tell she didn't know what to do. She had thoughts of killing me, but that would have ended in her being killed by me. She wanted to slaughter the hospital, but then the Volturi would have ... in her confusion, I ran. I ran until my thirst overpowered me, and I collapsed."
"That's when I found him," Jasmine's voice makes me jump, despite it being slurred and low from sleep. "I could feel his hunger and confusion from a small town nearby. I'd never met someone with such powerful emotions." She sits up, pulling her hair from her face, which is somber and soft. "I raised him, essentially. Made sure he got fed, clothed, and knew the rules of this life. In return, he taught me to be a quote 'vegetarian' vampire because he already knew where our path would lead us."
"Right into the arms of Clarice Cullen," he finishes, rocking in place. "And on a grand adventure."
"You have a demented definition of adventure, Alex." I slide from the bed, stretching my back until the bones pop. The red glare of the clock states it's five in the morning, and my stomach awakens with a low rumble. Alex goes straight to the phone and orders room service, finding more vegetarian options than I ever imagined for a tourist trap.
"We'll have to stay inside until tonight, and then we'll lure her into the forest when it gets dark."
Jasmine turns the TV on and flicks around until a cartoon comes on. She and Alex sit side-by-side, only moving when my food arrives to collect it for me. I eat slowly, not paying attention to the show, but to Alex's ever-changing expressions.
Panic.
Content.
Relief.
Fear.
Horror.
Confusion.
All within a few seconds, I see a full spectrum of futures. And so far, I only survive one or two. Then he grimaces and looks down. I push the now empty plate away and look over at Alex.
"Hey, you okay, Alex?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." His eyes are wide, honest. But I don't trust them.
"Are we waiting for something other than nightfall?"
"Clarice will call with an update on Jane's location soon. The family will contact us when they have something to say, that's the rule-of-thumb." I nod, my hands starting to tremble. I reach for Edythe on instinct, only to remember as I clutch empty bed sheets that he's somewhere else. Risking his life for me.
This isn't fair on any of them...
A million thoughts race through me. What if they lose contact with us? With each other? If something happened to Ezra, Clarice, Roland ... Edythe ... and if Vincent were to figure the trick out, would he flank them? Will they spot him soon enough? And we still don't know where my mom even is...
Can I live with myself is something happens to them? I don't deserve all these people trying to save my life. There has to be another way. My fingers tingle, making every hair on my body stand up.
"Beaumont, I will come over there and wrap you in a burrito of happiness if you don't start focusing on your emotions." I meet Jasmine's intense, worried glare with wide eyes. Fuck, right. Thank the lord that Edythe isn't an in-tune to my thoughts as Jasmine is. "Try to find a positive here, don't be afraid for anyone. We're doing this because we don't want to lose you. We as in the entire coven and your mom and the Blacks and our friends at school."
"Besides, you're the first person to draw Edythe out of herself. And I've known her for decades. Clarice can tell you how she was before she met you," Alex shakes his head, recalling the times. "I don't think you know the impact you've had on all of us, on Forks. I honestly don't think I could look her in the eyes if she were to lose you. You're her world."
And she is mine...
That adds a lot of weight to my shoulders, though I can feel Jasmine trying to make me feel better internally. I put on a smile, remembering to wrinkle around my eyes, and watch the window as the light slowly rises to its peak.
So far, Alex and Jasmine have handled the mini quarantine of ours better than I have. I pace, fidget, write in my journal, and go to the living room of our lodgings after the fifth hour of SpongeBob.
I keep writing to Edythe in my dream journal. Telling her my thoughts and emotions, getting them out of me without triggering Jasmine's near-maternal instinct. I wonder if that's her relationship with Alex, and I even write that down to ask Edythe later. She does seem a lot older than the others — save Clarice, who is literally ancient — especially in her eyes. Maybe her role in the family is deeper than it seems.
"Alex?" I ask around 1 in the afternoon. He's in the living room with me, laying on the back of the couch and looking at the ceiling absently.
"Yeah?"
"What are they doing?" I hear him take a breath in.
"Edythe wants to forego using you as bait and rip Jane to shreds as soon as she spots her. Ezra and Roe are looking for your mom, who hasn't gotten a hold of them yet." I look at the undelivered texts to Charlie I sent, stomach turning to lead. "And Clarice is messing with the hunter's head, making small noises just downwind enough to keep her from being located." His hand plays with the longer side of my hair. "I'm honestly going on a 'no news is good news' basis."
I close my eyes and lean back on the couch, hearing Jasmine leave the bedroom and groan.
"Okay, that's it. I am getting cabin fever and am craving something salty. Will it mess anything up if I go to a gas station and get some Funyuns and beef jerky?"
"It'll only mess up your breath." We both make a sound of disgust and Jasmine points at us both.
"Just for that, I won't get either of you a snack."
"If I tell you your hair is prettier than Roland's, will you get me a couple energy drinks?" I bat my eyes, tongue sticking out.
"... dammit, he got me. Just for that, you also get a Snickers bar." She pulls up her hood and slides on a pair of sunglasses before leaving the lodge.
"Don't worry, I won't tell Roland what you said." Alex giggles, sliding down to sit beside me.
"You, I trust. Her? She's gonna brag. Uh ... tell me when she can't hear us."
Ten minutes pass by.
"Okay, we're good. She's gonna take her time to stake out the area."
"Awesome. Awesome. Um ... I have a question, and you may not like it." He simply sits and waits. "How does it work? Becoming a vampire?" His smile falls, and he sits quietly. My question must have taken him off guard, his eyes dart around like someone searching for the answers themselves.
"Edythe doesn't want me to tell you that," he says finally.
"Why not?"
"She won't tell me. But it doesn't seem right to me."
I watch him, waiting, knowing his urge to tell me is stronger than Edythe's desire to keep it from me.
"She doesn't even have to know. This is between you and me. It's honestly just curiosity. I honestly don't think becoming a vampire is for me, at least not currently."
He looks at me with his gleaming, wise eyes, pained and choosing.
"Okay, I'll tell you. It'll be mostly theory, I can't really remember my transformation too well. At least not actively. That's just me, though. Clarice can explain it in more detail in the future if you'd want. Being the older vampire, she's got better words to describe it, anyway."
I wait, watching him figure out how to say it.
"You know we're predators. We have weapons, more than is necessary. Strength, speed, acute senses. And then some of us have sixth senses, like Edythe, Jasmine, and I. And like a carnivorous flower, we're able to attract prey with a glance." I remember the moment in the meadow where Edythe, even in her horrifying true form, could draw me in. Alex's lips form an ominous smile, his fangs peeking out. "But we're more like spiders or snakes in this aspect. We're venomous."
"I ... really?"
"Here, watch." He hooks his finger under his fangs, a dark, opalescent liquid dripping from their tips. "If you drink it, so long as there's no internal damage, nothing will happen. If it gets in your blood, there are only a few paths for it to take. You're weakened, you're killed, or you change. Though weakened is putting it lightly ... Edythe told me, even though she was already dying, she was in enough pain from the venom just entering her neck that she almost screamed. Typically, it works out of your body. If your body is too weak to recover, it will kill you."
"But if neither of those happen, you change?"
"Yes. If your body is strong enough, and there is enough venom in you, slowly you'll become a vampire. It can take days, up to weeks. But if there's enough, some changes are minutes long. And the pain burns into your memory." He hugs himself and leans on my shoulder. "Like being set on fire from the inside. It changes your bones, your blood, your organs. Your brain. Eventually, the heart stops and restarts. But in that time, you'll feel yourself die. The end never comes, no matter how much you pray for it."
Somehow, it still sounds better than being a source of constant danger to everyone.
"All of this depends on if the person survives being fed on in the first place, though. Even the scent of fresh blood sends most of us into a frenzy, it's almost impossible to bite the need down. And if the person is a Singer, then it's almost a guarantee they're going to die."
"You didn't..."
"Didn't die? Are you sure? I have a grave in Mississippi, a half-brother I never met, and a nephew who doesn't know I ever existed. Michael Alexander Brandon died in 1915, just like Edythe Masen died in 1921. If Roland had his way, he'd be underground with his great-grandchildren visiting him with lilies and kind words." Alex looks away, his eyes glazing over.
We're sitting in silence when Jasmine returns, setting a can of Ultra Paradise on the coffee table in front of me. She's got crumbs on her cheek, and she's bouncing like an excited child. "I drank four on the way in, I think I'm as close to Hell as I'll ever be."
"Jasmine, you absolute moron," Alex laughs and throws a pillow at her head. She dodges it easily, still munching on her snack. "Your heart is going to explode if you're not careful."
She thumps her chest. "Solid crystal heart, mijo."
Be it her powers or just the natural shift of the mood, we all laugh and enjoy the small stash that she bought. If it weren't for the cold air that always comes from their bodies, I'd think I was with two normal siblings. No vampires. No danger. Nothing to fear. Alex's laughter and Jasmine's smile are just enough to get me to breathe easily.
And then Alex sits up straight, causing Jasmine and I to jerk up in response. He looks around, grabbing the nearest sheet of paper and a pen. And then he scribbles, staring into space, his eyes looking around like he's taking in a new place.
"Something changed... a room. Nothing but lockers, and a row of benches in the middle. She's just sitting there, with someone on the ground beside her. Panting. Angry. But I can't see who it is. She's just waiting..."
"Do you know where the room is?" Jasmine asks, leaning in to look at his now readable drawing. I bite my tongue and let them continue. And then he draws an arch just over where Jane and the unknown person are, and it all clocks in for me.
"I can't tell. There's something missing, like she has to make another choice. But I can't see it." He closes his eyes and breathes in deep. "She's in the dark, watching a television, an old one. No ... running a VCR. She'll go to the mirror room soon, maybe in the next day or two. And the person is with her, but I can't see them. Only hear their breathing."
"She's going to elude everyone in Forks..." Jasmine mumbles, covering her mouth. "She got past Edythe too easily."
"Should we call someone?" I ask, my voice just over a whisper. Right then, Alex's phone rings, and he pounces it.
"Clarice!" He nods, listening to the voice on the other end. "Yes." A glance at me, and then silence. "I just saw her. She got on a plane? Did Edythe... she... she has? Oh, no..." His eyes widen, and Jasmine gasps, eavesdropping. "I-I'll let him know. Uh... she's going to a..."
"An old locker room." I blurt out, both of them snapping their heads toward me. "I uh... I played football in elementary school. Broke my leg during a game, and never went back. The locker room we used was part of the old middle school. It's abandoned now." Ramble ramble, but that helps Alex from the relief on his face.
"... a locker room. Clarice, he played football. Do you think? Yeah, yeah, okay. Beau?" He reaches his phone to me. I take the freezing block of plastic and hold it to my ear.
"Clarice?"
"Not quite," Edythe laughs.
"You're alright! Thank goodness, I was so worried..."
"Don't you worry about me, Beau. I'm not in danger here. I guess you already know we lost Jane's location. She stayed far enough away for me to miss most of her thoughts, save a handful of 'fucks'. She got on a plane in Vancouver, and Emma is leading the others back to Forks to be sure she isn't retracing her steps."
"That's a good thought, I uh... I'm sorry, my words aren't working right now."
"They're going to shut down after this ... Beau, you mom is missing. Billie Black called it in. She missed every phone check-in and there are no traces of her in town or the surrounding forest. No one knows where she is. All her scent trails are too old to follow. I-I'm sorry, Beau." My heart drops to the floor and I squeeze my eyes shut.
"Here's Alex again..." I reach the phone in his direction, dropping it and pulling into myself on the couch. I'm frozen, I can't breathe. I hear air come in and out of me, too fast to be healthy, and the far-off conversation of Alex and Jasmine.
Gone. She's gone. But she wouldn't just go. I look over at Alex's drawing, and my heart stops beating.
Long, rectangular. Tile flooring. Grungy, rusted lockers that go for yards along the walls and down the center of the room. The showers are in the back, the bathrooms to the right. And a hallway to the left where you could exit to the main part of the school.
And the shapes denoting Jane and the unknown hostage. My eyes widen in horror as the realization hits me.
I know where Charlie is.
"Beau, you said you played football as a kid," Jasmine kneels beside me, a hand on my shoulder. My fear washes away, and I'm able to think. "Is this the same locker room as before?"
"I ... no, I don't think so. It didn't have a TV on the wall, or as many lockers. And the layout is —" exactly the same "— different. The doors are in different places. But like I said, I haven't played in a decade. I don't think anyone even remembers that I used to."
All star. Rene remembers. The old school is down the road from our house in Phoenix, I would walk there with him during my years there. If Jane is going there, then she found our records. She found my dad's old house. I've never been so thankful that he and Philippa ran off to Jacksonville.
I lay on my side, curling up tight.
"We'll leave you alone for a while..." Alex covers me with a blanket, rubbing my arm like a concerned mother. "I'm sorry about your mom, but I'm sure we'll find her soon! She's one human, she can't go too far." With a soft kiss to my temple, he and Jasmine go to the bedroom, chatting amongst themselves too softly and too quickly for me to understand.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I pull it out. I have to force down the scream that tries to come out of my throat.