Chapter Seventeen

Edward

In some parts of the world, the seasons seem to melt into one another. Scientists say global warming is messing with the climate. Others say it's just the planet's natural cycle of change. I'm not an environmental expert so I'm not going to comment on something I know nothing about, especially as heat and cold don't affect me anymore. What I do know is there's some strange shit going on with the weather patterns in countries below a certain latitude, and heads are being scratched in governments all over the world.

Apart from glaciers retreating at an alarming rate, Alaskan seasons haven't altered much from when I first arrived here in 1918. Basically, it's winter all year round, except for June, July, and August. I suppose May and September are the Spring and Fall months respectively and are my favorite times to be here. The weather changes rapidly when the daylight noticeably lengthens or shortens. Mother Nature alters the landscape almost every day. Whichever time of the year though, Alaska is stunningly beautiful, simply because the vast majority of this pristine environment hasn't yet been touched by man.

Eleazar and Carmen's cabin sits in a deep dip in undulating terrain on the edge of the Denali National Park. I loosely describe their home as a cabin only because the external structure is 100% made of timber. The footprint of the building is huge, the interior palatial, and when winter arrives, the considerable expanse of its sloping roof allows the cabin to disappear against the wall of snow covering the mountainous backdrop. From the single-track road that ends on their land, you wouldn't know the cabin was there until you were almost on top of it.

Privacy is what Eleazar and Carmen told me they were seeking when they chose to settle in Alaska. Considering they were born citizens of the part of the United States previously owned and governed by Mexico, I found their choice difficult to comprehend. When I first met them and asked why they'd moved here rather than stay in what is now Southern California, Eleazar's answer was simple. 'People and abundant wildlife.' They hated the former and needed the latter.

Eleazar doesn't actually hate humans individually. He's an environmentalist and loathes watching the Earth's natural landscape being destroyed by the rapid increase in the human species and what he considers to be the profligate way they misuse the planet's finite resources. He was probably the first person on earth, or at least in the industrialized world, either human or vampire, to express concern about sustainability, and he prides himself that his carbon footprint is close to zero. Of course, if you're a vampire, this is so much easier to achieve. No processed or intensively farmed food, no requirement for light or heat in your home, or the need for a vehicle as you can run faster than anything except a jet plane. Also, being able to afford clothes made with natural materials is a bonus. I admire him for his choices, but it's easy to be pious about your environment when you have all the tools necessary to defend it at your disposal.

I've spoken to Eleazar only three times since I arrived a week ago and then only briefly. I asked him to give me space for a while before I joined the throng in the communal areas. Carmen has put her head around my door several times, blowing a kiss each time she leaves. Like Eleazar, she exudes a sense of calm. It follows her like an enveloping cloud. They are two beautiful and extraordinary individuals.

My room has doors that lead onto a west-facing terrace that overlooks the rear of the cabin. From there, I can watch the sun setting on the distant horizon through a perfectly placed gap between the peaks. I'm sure Carmen allocates me this room because she knows how much I love sunsets, especially Alaskan sunsets, where the unpolluted atmosphere enhances the already spectacular colors.

Last night the cabin's residents were treated to a sight of the Aurora, which curled and crackled above the cabin for almost an hour. While I watched the show from my terrace, I couldn't help thinking that Bella would adore being here as she'd professed to a love of nature. I have no doubt she would fall for Alaska as soon as she moved away from the charmless towns and traveled deep into the incredible wilderness. I could never risk her being here though. Despite Eleazar's rules about not feasting on the neighbors, the cabin would still be full of vampires and I'm yet to meet one who hasn't succumbed to temptation at some point in their existence, apart from Esme.

When I'd shaken my fist at my first Alaskan sunrise for years, my onward journey through Denali as the land warmed helped me to de-stress. By the time I reached the cabin, I'd come to terms with the fact that Bella and I would never have a relationship unless she became like me. Standing on that rock with my skin blazing had been the low point of my journey, despite relishing the buzz I'd received from allowing myself to be bathed in sunlight with no fear of discovery. I'd run my anger off between the river crossing and Denali just by drinking in the beauty all around me, and by reminding my almost hundred and nineteen-year-old self that even if I had survived the Spanish 'Flu in 1918, I'd be dead now anyway.

I'd thought about Bella while I ran through the park. Being realistic, I don't know her well enough to trust how I feel about her. Whether it could just be fascination, or base desire, or the beginnings of love I can't tell. I accept my feelings for her grow each time I get close to her. I'd listened to her thoughts and dreams while I lurked outside her apartment, and during our conversation in the airport lounge where I could tell she was being careful what she said. Being smitten is new territory for me. I've had short-term relationships with female vampires before, but love has never been the reason – not even affection. A girl in Argentina described what we had as 'scratching an itch', which I suppose is a less crude way of saying we used each other for sexual relief.

When I arrived at the cabin and after I'd exchanged pleasantries with Eleazar and Carmen, I put my cell on a charge while I took a long shower and changed into the clean clothes Carmen had laid out for me. Missed calls, WhatsApp messages, and voicemails from Alice were ignored. I'd been anxious to check my emails to see whether Bella had contacted me. She hadn't. Initially, I felt a sense of relief because I wouldn't have to answer the awkward question about 1923, but I'll admit I felt disappointed that I hadn't been her first priority after she got settled in her father's house.

A full week has passed since Bella and I parted at JFK. Why is she holding out? She must be intrigued – she's a journalist for fuck's sake. Even I would've been on the phone or email to ask the pertinent question about 1923. My cell beeps a different sound when anyone emails me on both my addresses, so I don't need to keep checking, but I still can't stop myself from looking for the flag on the icon every half hour. She's the only person who has this particular email address so I'll know it's her immediately my cell gives me an alert.

I can hear bodies moving around the cabin and occasionally I tap into their thoughts. Apart from Carmen and Eleazar and two others, I've no idea who else is here but there are at least six unknowns. Meeting new vampires is stressful for me. Most have some sort of psychological issue which is unsurprising. When they find out I can read minds, there is universal and immediate hostility which is also unsurprising. I insist on being honest with every vampire I meet as being a mind-reader is personally intrusive and a skill I wish I didn't possess, even though it has proved useful with both vampires and humans over the years.

If a vampire really takes issue with me being here, Eleazar has a quiet word with them. He reminds them that I didn't choose to be inflicted in this way and that over the years I have never used my skill to gain an advantage. In most cases, once they've had a chance to put themselves in my position, they relax and are okay. Only a few have chosen to leave rather than be exposed to my ability.

When I say I've always been honest and upfront about my gift – I actually mean with everybody except for one group of three I met thirteen years ago.

In 2007, I decided to spend some time here while Carlisle and Esme were running a medical practice in Detroit. To be honest I was sulking. Previously, in 2003, Carlisle had decided to leave New York after only eight years instead of the usual ten. I wasn't ready to relocate. I tried to talk him out of moving but failed. Carlisle craftily suggested I take over his New York practice if I was so keen to stay, but he was only calling my bluff. He knew I would never take on that level of responsibility so he was being just as belligerent as me. I stormed off in a huff like any seventeen-year-old would do. Laziness is a flaw in my character that I don't like being reminded of.

After spending eighteen months on Liam's farm while he returned to Ireland to be reborn as old Liam's 'great nephew,' I visited Alice in Chicago and ended up spending a couple of years there. When I'd had enough of Alice's controlling ways, I sought solace in Eleazar's wellness center rather than go crawling back to Carlisle in Detroit, not that I've got anything against Detroit.

About three months into my Alaskan stay, Eleazar had the first of two groups of visitors. Three sisters turned up – all beautiful vampires who if they'd been human and could sing would've been instantly snapped up by Simon Cowell. They'd make Beyonce look drab if they stood next to her. Carmen whispered to me once that they were a photo negative of the Kardashians. I nearly choked laughing. Tanya, Kate, and Irina. Tall, blonde, fabulous figures, sparkling teeth, and vampire's eyes – a fatal combination for any man who laid eyes on them, human or vampire. All three had designs on me for a sexual relationship. Single young vampire, I would be easy prey for their obvious charms. At our first meeting and before I had the chance to warn them about my ability, their thoughts were frankly pornographic. Fortunately, they took my admission well and even joked about what had been going on in their heads.

I liked them as companions. All three had traveled extensively in Europe which is where they'd been born and changed. Listening to their experiences became a great time-waster. Tanya, the eldest of the three, told me quite bluntly that she still wanted a relationship despite my ability. Even though I found her interesting, she was an itch I didn't dare scratch. She was on the hunt for a permanent partnership and I could sense she could be quite vindictive if she didn't get her own way. I let her down gently, saying that I'd come to Alaska because I was messed in the head. I wasn't in the right place to start a relationship. I respected her too much to lead her on … blah blah blah. I picked up that she wasn't convinced, but vampires have all the time in the world to be patient. I didn't need Alice's skill to guess I could have trouble with her in the future.

About a month after the girls arrived, another trio turned up on the doorstep. Three nomads, one woman, and two men. Eleazar invited them in but didn't offer them their own space. Both he and Carmen were instantly wary. For a start, their eyes blazed red showing they had recently feasted on local humans which upset Eleazar. Their general demeanor troubled me. They were suspicious of everyone. One of the men had difficulty controlling his aggression. For the safety of everyone in the cabin, I asked Eleazar to keep my ability a secret so I could read their minds and discover what their intentions were. I retreated to my room where I concentrated on singling out their thoughts.

The red-haired female, Victoria, proved to be the easiest to read. She had hooked up with the aggressive sandy-haired vampire called James. Because she was in the first throes of love, I learned that she was prepared to follow him wherever he led her. She hadn't been a vampire long – perhaps forty to fifty years at the most. She dressed like a hippy from the 1960s so I took a guess she was a flower child of California. There were definitely some recent traumas bouncing around in her head, but I wasn't interested in delving deeper to find out what they were. She seemed harmless compared to the other two, so I concentrated next on the male called Laurent.

Here was an itinerant soul. I could sense he wanted to move on the moment he stepped inside the cabin. His appearance was striking – dark-skinned, huge bright eyes, and impressive braids that must have taken many years to grow before he was changed. I heard him speak when he arrived and presumed he'd been born in the Caribbean. I guessed he suffered from claustrophobia as he never moved more than a few feet from the door. I wondered why he was like that. Could he have been locked up somewhere in his past – in a dungeon? This made me wonder whether he'd been brought to North America from Africa in the hull of a ship, not seeing the sky for weeks. It is more likely though that he'd been in prison. I couldn't get why he seemed so agitated? When he spoke to Eleazar he was polite, but guarded about every word he said. Like Victoria, there was something in his memory that troubled him. More worrying, I could tell he was frightened of James, which made me wonder why he stayed with him.

The moment I fixed my attention on James, I began to understand Laurent's fear. I've heard of people having an evil streak, but this man/person/vampire … I couldn't decide how to describe him as it would be an insult to assign him to any group - he was pure evil. Each vampire he encountered he imagined how he could make them terrified of him. When he saw the sisters, what he wanted to do to each one of them made me want to retch. Even Carmen didn't escape his disgusting thoughts and for that alone, I wanted to tear his head off. James was a cruel killing machine, nothing less, and I could foresee trouble if he stayed here for any length of time. It was distasteful tuning into his thoughts and once I'd made my mind up about him, I did my best to block him.

Two days after they arrived, Eleazar came to see me in my room to find out what I'd discovered. I told him my assessment of all three. He silently nodded in agreement. He wanted them gone but couldn't figure out a way of asking them to leave without antagonizing James. Eleazar had told them straight away that the house followed vegetarian principles, and if they needed to feed, he'd asked them politely that they at least leave the national park first because he didn't want the police or the park rangers to come calling if anyone went missing. James had scoffed at the suggestion but Laurent had stepped in and vouched for his two companions.

They stayed for five days before disappearing without even a thank you to Eleazar and Carmen for their hospitality. On the day they left, I was reading a book on my terrace and had not expected them to walk behind the cabin. The sun had just sunk below the horizon and a warm glow covered the barren slopes of the surrounding hills. I found this the most tranquil time of the day. James must have sensed somehow I was there because he stopped walking and turned to look at me. Our eyes locked for only a few seconds but I was utterly drained by the time he broke the link. I genuinely had the feeling that I'd been in a battle. Afterward, I could only describe the sensation as having my life force sucked from me, and then realized that is exactly what I do to humans when I feed.

James' sick mind had overloaded my own. His thoughts were terrifying. He sensed I had a gift and presumed I had purposely avoided being near him and the others for good reason. He immediately marked me as a rival and resolved to kill me if he ever met me when I was unprotected. While our minds were locked together, I tapped into why he had visited the cabin. His reason was to check whether there were any vampires here who he could recruit as followers in the future, but, more importantly, he was investigating whether there were any capable of challenging him. What his ultimate goal was I couldn't make out during the brief seconds our eyes were locked, but the way his mind worked disgusted me.

He pointed at me and mouthed, 'You will die when we meet again,' before turning towards the gap in the hills and disappearing in a flash. Victoria followed immediately, but Laurent remained and stared into my eyes. His mind was open.

'Whoever you are, you need to be wary. James is incredibly dangerous.'

I nodded at Laurent which I presume gave away my secret. I didn't have time to read Laurent's mind again as he'd already followed his companions over the horizon.

I couldn't wait for Eleazar to visit my room. I jumped out of my chair and went in search of him. He looked stressed when I found him and instantly sensed he knew something about James that he hadn't yet disclosed to me.

"What is it," I asked as I dropped onto the sofa next to his chair.

"James is dangerous, Edward. Unfortunately, he has a powerful ability; one that I've never seen before in a vampire."

"What type of ability?" I asked while I attempted to pre-empt Eleazar's response before he told me.

"Compulsion, coercion, persuasion, Edward. He has the power to make you do things you don't want to do, or, more importantly, what he wants you to do. I suppose something like what a hypnotist does to susceptible people. Luckily for us, he is still in the early stages of learning how to use his ability to his advantage."

Now I understood why I felt drained when James and I locked eyes. He was trying to control my mind from afar but hadn't succeeded apart from making me feel exhausted. I physically shuddered at the thought of what he could do in the future. Eleazar continued.

"From Victoria and Laurent's demeanor, I would guess they were the type to be susceptible to hypnosis when they were human. Now they are incapable of leaving him. I would also guess they are his guinea pigs, meaning they have already done unspeakable things at his command. James is young in vampire years, twenty maximum I would guess, but his ability is growing rapidly. Once he gets full control, he will be invincible. He could persuade me to kill Carmen I'm sure."

"Holy shit!" I responded and shuddered at the thought of coming up against a vampire with that level of power.

If Eleazar was correct, and I had no doubt that he was as spotting abilities is one of his skills, this could be the reason why Laurent was fearful. Victoria was just starry-eyed. If James had made Laurent and Victoria do things they didn't want to do, that would also explain the bad memories.

"So what are we going to do, Eleazar," I asked.

"The only thing we can do is to warn our fellow vampires about him. You need to tell Carlisle, Liam, and Alice. I'll spread the word among my contacts. I'm seriously debating whether to ask the sisters to travel to Italy to inform Aro. I would call him, but he's still living in the dark ages. No phone, no internet, no nothing. The man's a Philistine. He will listen to a beautiful woman though. Three even more so."

I nodded in agreement. Aro's vanity where women were concerned was legendary in the vampire world. He wouldn't be able to resist granting Tanya, Kate and Irina an audience. He wouldn't like what they came to tell him though.

"Aro won't tolerate a challenge to his superiority in the outside world or his castle, or over other members of the Volturi, Eleazar. He'll crush James without hesitation."

"True, that will be his plan, but James might get to him first. I foresee trouble ahead, Edward. I think you need to get to Detroit and explain the situation to Carlisle. And lie low. James will have picked up your scent so he'll know when he's near you. Out of all of us here, I would guess you are the only one who could pose a threat to him as you will know what's in his … mind. I nearly said, heart."

I wasn't ready to leave Alaska but accepted I had to. I could make a call to Carlisle and the others, but Eleazar was right – I needed to protect my family. How ... I hadn't worked out, but I had hopes that James would have difficulty controlling my mind. He'd tried when we locked eyes and somehow I had managed to repel him. Whether I could do that in the future when James became stronger, only time would tell. I went back to my room and booked myself on the next Alaskan Airline flight to Detroit which wasn't for another two days.

Eleazar heard the next day that a pair of young hikers and their guide had disappeared without a trace almost immediately after James left. This upset everyone in the cabin. We'd been relieved the three had gone; the tension had been unbearable at times. After hearing about the murders, Eleazar felt enormous guilt that he hadn't asked them to move on straight away as they may have left the park before they needed to feed again.

Eleazar drove me to the airport in Fairbanks. The mood in his SUV was somber. We were both anticipating the danger that lay ahead, but how long we had before James began to wield his powers was anybody's guess. I called Carlisle from the airport to say I was on my way. I was expecting the standard Prodigal Son dig. It didn't come. Maybe Carlisle picked up something in my voice.

I'd called Alice from the cabin and told her to get in her car and drive to Carlisle's – no arguments, just do it. Her Porsche could cover the usual five-hour journey from Chicago in under four, so she'd easily get there before me even if we set off together. While I waited in the lounge for my flight to be called, I rang Liam and told him what I knew. He had a ranch-full of vampires visiting from Ireland, so he said he would spread the word. Eleazar had managed to freeze-frame a picture of James from his security camera back-up and forwarded it to me in a message. I sent this on to Liam saying I would be in touch again, once I got to Detroit.

Carlisle picked me up from the airport. I told him I didn't want to talk about why I was here until we were all together. In the car, we made small talk about life in Detroit. His clinic sat in the middle of one of the most deprived areas of the city which made me feel guilty because I should have been around to help. Esme and Alice were at the door when we pulled up outside. I jumped out and ran into Esme's arms. I hadn't seen her for four years which made me feel even more guilty.

I didn't hesitate to explain why I had returned. I showed them James' photograph, plus some more screenshots of the other two that Eleazar had forwarded while I was in the air. I promised to stay close to Carlisle and Esme from thereon until the James situation had been resolved. Alice agreed to inform Carlisle if she foresaw any danger from James in the future which would at least give us a window of time to prepare.

That was in 2007. It is now 2020. Apart from hearing from other vampires about the trail of destruction the trio left as they moved through Canada and then zig-zagged across the United States towards Mexico, nothing has been heard from them since 2011. They had gone to ground somewhere, but nobody knew where. The sisters visited Aro in Volterra, who immediately despatched a substantial portion of the Guard to North America to search for James with specific instructions not to leave until he had been destroyed. Knowing James is out there somewhere has been in the back of every vampire's mind since then.

Even though I'd promised not to leave Carlisle and Esme unguarded, after five years during which Carlisle moved his practice back to New York, I felt I could spend time with Liam again and occasionally visit Alice in Chicago. The Guard had instructions to notify Eleazar and Carlisle if or when they had news of James. Whether they would be capable of making the call when that happened was another matter.

Sitting on my verandah and specifically looking at the spot where James and I had locked eyes has brought it all back to me. I'm stronger now than I was back then but whether I'd be able to block having my mind controlled by this monster remains to be seen. I am not looking forward to the day when we lock eyes again. One day he will come after me and I will have to be ready.

I check my emails – still nothing. The signal here is good so I can't blame intermittent Wi-Fi. Eleazar paid to have a 4G mast erected close by. What the hell has Bella been doing over the week?

The time has come for me to mingle in the communal areas. Tanya and Kate will be there, no Irina though. She remained in Europe after visiting Aro. Tanya especially is looking forward to my emergence from my self-imposed week-long solitude. Should I tell her that I have a love interest? Maybe this is the only way I can avoid an awkward conversation. There's no way I'm telling her my love interest is human though.

Carmen gives me a hug when I enter the vast living room which is bathed in the morning sun. There are six sparkling vampires spread out on her white leather sofas. Four males and two females. I don't recognize any of them but they all smile and say hello when I walk in. Eleazar has already made them aware of my ability and they seem comfortable with me which is an enormous relief. I take a seat on a chair next to the fireplace and introduce myself. The four males are semi-nomadic who wander for twenty years or so before returning to a coven in New Mexico. The two females are Canadian who traveled to Alaska from the Toronto area to learn more about the vegetarian way of life. We chat about the virus and other matters until Tanya and Kate enter the room.

Tanya's eyes blaze when she spots me. I get up and walk over to greet the sisters politely, kissing them both with pecks on the cheek.

"Great to see you again," I say while trying to block out Tanya's profoundly disturbing sex-related thoughts. What disturbs me more though is that she knows I can read them. Shit! I'll have to be frank with her or I'll have to leave.

I return to my chair. I'd chosen to sit on a single seat rather than on a sofa to avoid Tanya sitting next to me, but she follows me over and slides onto the arm. I feel her fingertips touching my neck before her hand rests on my shoulder. I get this is her way of staking her claim on me before the two female vampires even think about me as a romantic possibility. I don't want to embarrass her by shrugging her hand away but I genuinely have no idea how to handle this situation.

I'm halfway into telling the others about the Covid situation in New York when my cell vibrates in my pocket. I say, 'excuse me,' and get up from the chair. It's Alice, so for once I answer as this has given me a good excuse to get away from Tanya.

"Hey, Alice. What's happening? Are you and Jasper okay?"

"Yes, fine. I'm calling about Bella Swan."

"What? Why? Is she in trouble or sick?"

"No, but look, Edward. I can't believe I'm saying this. You must do everything in your power to protect that girl. You were right. She is somehow vital to our well-being. Our survival even. I don't know why or how, but I'm working on finding out."

"What should I do. I'm in Alaska."

"Find her, Edward. Get to her as fast as possible. Take her somewhere safe and keep her there. I'll call you as soon as I know more."

Alice hangs up leaving me holding my cell in mid-air just as an impressively large Moose and her fawn wander past the floor-to-ceiling windows. As I digest what Alice has said, I realize that the vampires sitting behind me have stopped talking. It's plain they have heard both sides of the conversation as all of them are waiting for an explanation.

I have my back to Tanya but can feel her fury like a source of heat. Before I have the chance to turn around, she breaks the silence by venomously spitting …

"Who the fuck is Bella Swan?"

Oh dear! A touch of the green-eyed monster here. What will Edward say to her?

Yes, Tanya is a pain in the ass again. Sorry if this is a bit obvious, but I know from experience (and current reviews) that you really enjoy hating on her.

So, James is why Edward had felt vulnerable in the past. He has an ability that could prove very dangerous not just to Edward, but to all vampires. Alice has obviously seen something in the future which involves Bella, but can't (or won't) give Edward any more information yet.

The next chapter is the fallout after Faith's declaration. Life in Forks is getting even more turbulent for Bella which will have implications for her immediate future and also on whether Edward travels to Forks. (I know you guys want him to - I really really do)!

Have a great weekend.

Joan x