Chapter 4: Avoidance

Two weeks had passed since the eventful gathering the night I moved into my new quarters. "Home," they called it. But this was not home. This was to be a temporary stop in the efforts to find and capture the escaped creatures of Allovar. I had not foreseen or taken into account the possibility these creatures could be capable of devising a ruse and manage to remain hidden within Seattle. Controlled chaos. They were not known to be of sound mind. They were soulless monsters. And yet the activity these past two weeks were minimal, practically nothing on the radar.

I had also not foreseen my new complication. Fight as I might, I could not deny what happened the night of the gathering. I, Isa, Warrior of Aezarant, was matched. I have done my best since that gathering to avoid Edward Cullen. This could not be. The matching was not ceremoniously sealed. So long as I kept this from happening, Edward Cullen and I could survive to be apart from one another.

Apart was inevitable. Aezarant was home. Not the Earth Realm.

I checked myself in the mirror before grabbing my bag to set on my hunt of the day. This was becoming very routine. Rose and Alice were already awake and sitting around the island drinking what I came to discover was coffee. The aroma of it was distinct.

"Morning!" Alice exclaimed. Alice was a morning person, I had gathered. Very hyper and ready for the day. Rose, however, was the opposite. She merely groaned in response to Alice's morning greeting.

"Good morning Alice. Rose," I acknowledged.

"You're at an 11 Alice," Rose mumbled. "Take it down to a 5."

"Or you can take your 5 and up it my level," Alice rebutted.

"Not an option when I barely slept," Rose grumbled.

"Oh, I seen," Alice looked at her with a newfound understanding. "Emmett kept you up late again?"

"We're not talking about that," Rose grabbed her coffee and quickly headed to her room, slamming the door behind her.

"Gets her every time," Alice laughed. "Mention Emmett, she'll bolt so fast you'll forget she's operating on little heading out for the day?"

"Lots to do," I stated.

"Any luck on the collectables?" Alice asked, taking interest. "You haven't seemed to be coming back with much…"

"Activity seems low," I told her. "Hoping for a good catch today. My boss is looking for a more positive report this time." Alice looked at me. She looked slightly dazed for a moment before refocusing on me. Interesting.

"Have you checked out the Chihuly Garden and Glass since arriving in Seattle?" she asked.

I shook my head no. I've been mission focused. There was no time for more off coarse activities. "You should. You just might fight what you're looking for."

"I'll take note," I replied. "Have a good day Alice."

"Happy hunting!" she exclaimed as I closed the door behind me.

So odd.

I made my way to the staircase, fully intent on scanning the city from the rooftop. I heard my name from behind just as I reached the door.

"Isabella! Isabella wait up!"

I turned slowly, dreading this moment.

"Hey! I feel like I've barely seen you since you moved in!" Edward said as he came up to me. He seemed unsure of how he should or should not greet me. If I was not mistaken, I sensed he wanted to embrace me. He moved his hand to scratch the back of his neck in a last moment decision he seemed to have made—very awkward.

"Hi Edward," I acknowledged. I tried to avoid eye contact but he kept trying to catch my eye. "I actually have to run so…"

"I'll head down with you." He stated. It seemed final. As though taking a no for an answer would not deter his plans. I would have to access the rooftop a different way and from a different building.

"So where've you been?" He asked.

"Around." I shrugged as we descended the stairs.

"Hey," he stopped suddenly, catching my arm to stop alongside him. "I hope I didn't offend you that night when I left to deal with Lauren…"

"Of course not," I lied. His attempt to hide from the half-naked booty call utterly failed when she caught him and I chatting on the balcony. There wasn't much opportunity to avoid her once she saw him and she knew he saw her. Of course, he had to leave to handle the situation. I just could not resist the foreign surge of jealousy I felt when I saw him greet her outside and her poor attempt to brush her barely covered chest against his. It took all my self-control to not leap over the balcony and handle her once and for all. I could challenge her and take her down, easily.

Control, Isa. I had to chant, repeatedly. I was not used to this and could not complete my mission if I continued to be around him and the slew of women Alice and Rose implied came around.

Though I will say, as I tried to stay away from him these last two weeks, I did take note that no woman caller has been around. It made me wonder who was right about his nightly activities.

"You're sure?" he asked.

"Positive," I assured. "I have strict deadlines with work." I started back down the stairs, trying to relay to him that this conversation was nearing its end.

"I understand deadlines," I replied. "Maybe once things settle for you, we can grab a coffee."

"When things settle, I'll likely be moving on." I told him. He suddenly stopped short, the look on his face looked almost panicked.

"But you just moved here…" he said.

"This was temporary Edward," I told him, confused by his reaction. "Look, I really do have to go. We can reconvene another time."

I took the opportunity to quickly make my way across the street and into the alley before he could look back up to acknowledge what I had said and respond. I could see from my hidden spot he hadn't expected my quick and swift disappearance. He was looking for me.

I leaned against the wall of the alley, taking a deep breath.

Focus, Isa.

Finish the mission and move on, I told myself. He would be fine without me.

With no one evidently surrounding the area around or in the alley, I lept up to gain access to the roof top. Once there, I laid down my bag and took a deep breath. Focus.

I closed my eyes, channeling the energy in the city. My full focus and attention devoted on the task at hand, determined to bring Amira more news than what I've accomplished thus far. It's been pitiful. Shameful for a warrior of my standing.

When I opened my eyes, I looked around the scenery around me. My focus drawn on reading the energies of the city…looking for indication of suspicious and unnatural activity. In the immediate perimeter, nothing stood out.

I refused to accept this.

I looked in my bag for my scry. The scry—used only for emergent situations such as this—was an enchanted crystal-like ball which could be manipulated to search for black auras. It knew no bounds. I outstretched my hand in front of me, scry placed in my open palm and closed my eyes. No words were needed to be said. My will, sole purpose, fueled and empowered the scry with its mission.

Slowly, it began to rise up and out of my palm. It hovered for a few seconds, allowing me to loop my bag around my torso to be ready at a moment's notice to take off in the designated direction.

Just as quickly as it levitated, it took off in the southeast direction. I used the rooftops for as long as logistically possible to follow where it was taking me. We were connected…the scry and I. When I could not follow, it stopped, allowing me to catch up. These moments included red lights and cross walks when the rooftop ran out.

Eventually, the scry came to a stop, falling into the palm of my hand. I took a moment to see where it led me and gasped in surprise. I stood at the entrance of the Chihuly Garden and Glass. The same place Alice had suggested I visit. The place she implied I would find what I was looking for. "Happy hunting," She had said as I left. Could it be Alice herself was a creature I was tasked to locate and bring in?

I broke out of my revere when I saw people come rushing out of the studio in a panic. Unlike the panicked herd, I headed to determine the cause of the commotion.

"Miss, I wouldn't go in there!" A man advised me in warning.

"What is happening?" I asked.

"Everything was fine...we were here enjoying the fine sculptures." A woman said in a panic.

"And then random sculptures started falling, flying across the garden, shattering!" Another person chimed in.

"It was like it was aiming at each of us," A man stood up from tying his shoes. I looked down at his shoes and back to his eyes, raising my eyebrow In question. "Sorry, somehow my shoelaces were tied together. I tripped in my haste to get out."

"We were excited the exhibit had reopened too," the first woman added.

"It had closed?" I asked.

"We heard similar incidents were happening several weeks ago. They had to shut down these last two weeks to clean up and ensure all sculptures which remained were safe to showcase. They just opened back to the public today." She told me.

"And of course, the moment we set in things got weird." One of the men added.

I nodded in understanding, listening carefully to the description of the activity they had heard of prior to their own experience today. Imps. It had to be. Imps were demonic like creatures known for being pranksters. Often times someone was controlling them as they came out when summoned to do one's bidding. While they could be captured by enchanted artifacts, it would still lead to the big unknown. Who is controlling them? And is the same person controlling these imps the same person who causes the rift in the realms?

I didn't notice the men and women had left in their haste. I focused on finding where these imps could be hiding.

With caution, I proceeded inside but halted. I needed to be fully prepared. Invisible: even playing field with the imp. They remain invisible until ready to attack. It's how they successfully can deceive unsuspecting mortals.

With my enchantment in place, I made sure the entrapment capsule was on hand at the ready.

Glass was shattered around in the lobby and throughout the garden. Shameful, the damage this creature created. Each exhibit contained some form of damage. I entered the garden and saw someone standing by the decorative glass-like tree: a sculpture, taking in the damage. They seemed deep in thought.

I approached but maintained a distance to ensure all focal points were within my purview. To this person I was invisible. But close, nonetheless. A slight movement caught my eye. It apparently caught the eye of the person in the garden because they quickly brought their gaze in the direction of the movement. Just as swift as it came, it stopped. And once the person looked away, shaking their head trying to convince themselves they were imagining the movement, it resumed. Several feet away, at the nearest sculpture. I could see a disruption in the space surrounding the sculpture followed by a piece of the sculpture starting to crack and break off. I knew. I knew in that moment the imp was continuing its mischief in destruction and worse, possibly be daring enough to cause harm to this person in the garden.

I brought out the encapsulation device, knowing this imp could not see me nor were they focused on anything else but the mischief at hand. I waved my hand in a circular motion above the top of the device, directing it where the sculpture was. The smoke released, flowing undetected towards the statue. As soon as it circled the surrounding area of the statue, the imp appeared. It was trapped in the enchantment of the smoke working to capture this imp once and for all. Its short stature and devilish red appearance would be clear to any paying close enough attention. It snarled in anger as the smoke fully encircled the creature, gradually engulfing it and capturing it inside the device. The smoke cleared.

The person in the garden stood frozen.

They had noticed and heard the creature as it was captured and disappeared. But being able to explain who or what captured it…they would not be able to do. I was, after all, invisible.

The person shook their head, thinking they had imagined the incident or had lost their mind.

"Angela, are you coming?" A voice called from a distance. This person, Angela broke out of her reverie to acknowledge the voice calling her.

"Yes, yes I'm coming." She said, her voice shaking slightly. "I'm losing my mind." She said to herself before heading out of the garden and towards the other room, no doubt to assess the damage that would likely cause the center to close once more.

My hope was this would be the last this place would have to encounter unnecessary damage to the exhibits.

I turned around to start to make my way out and stopped short.

Off in the distance, outside of the building and across the street stood a tall figure. It was not lost on me the dark aura surrounding this figure. I could not make out its face to discern male, female or even creature. But I sensed darkness and a void of life. Such hatred poured off of it.

I felt as though it was staring at me in anger. As if I interfered with some grand scheme it had. But my enchantment was still in place. I should, in theory, be invisible to this thing that stared at me.

I stared back, calculating. Regardless of the chance of it seeing or not seeing me, it did not fear me. The challenging stare down angered it more. I could distinctly make out a scowl as its eyes began to glow red. A disturbance filled the air around it as it lifted its hand towards me.

Unexpectedly, an invisible force hit me straight in the chest. The unexpected nature of this caught me off guard and flew me back several feet. I landed in the chards of glass, face down. I didn't let that stop me; I was back on my feet ready to engage in battle with this figure but it was gone. Nowhere in sight.

I shook off any glass I had landed in that remained on my person as I stood and ran outside the building, trying to find the figure. No dark auras were present in the surrounding area with no luck.

I spent hours using the scry the try to locate something. It was as though any immediate activity that would have been present suddenly ceased. This was no coincidence.

As the sky darkened, I finally made my way back into the apartment. I needed to communicate with Amira as soon as possible. But first, I knew there were several things to sort out. The figure, for one. There had to be a connection to it suddenly appearing upon my capturing the imp and all activity ceasing. And Alice. She had to know something. I just was not sure what.

"There you are!" Alice exclaimed as I entered the apartment.

"You've been gone all day, hungry?" Rose asked. I looked up to acknowledge them only to see all had once again assembled. Edward included.

"What the hell happened to your face!?" Alice exclaimed rushing over. Edward was on his feet in an instant but kept himself in place.

"My face?" I asked, confused as my hand reached up as if I knew where the troubling image originated. I winced when I reached my left cheekbone. I made my way over to the nearest bathroom, Alice and Rose hot on my heels. I looked in the mirror to see a cut along my left cheekbone with dried blood that had dripped down. I must have cut myself when I had fallen into the broken glass. I grabbed a washcloth and turned on the sink to wipe away the dried blood.

"Well?" Rose asked, hands on her hips. "What the hell happened? Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," I sighed, I really was. Within a few hours, this cut would heal and no evidence would be left in its wake. I now had to concern myself with explaining the marks disappearance. I should've been more mindful of it being there. I could have used an enchantment to heal it faster so as to not draw attention to it.

'" It doesn't look like you're fine, Isabella." Alice said. "You've been gone all day and most of the night and when you come back, you're injured. Who did that to you?"

"Rose, Alice," I turned to face them. "Believe me when I say I am fine. Truly. Occupational hazard. There was an accident at the exhibit today and some glass broke. I was unfortunate as to fall into the broken glass. Klutz by nature, I'm afraid." They stared at me, trying to find a shroud of deception in my explanation but could not find one.

There was no deception. There was an accident at the exhibit. There was broken glass. Rose seemed to accept my explanation but Alice continued to stare at me. Trying to see something further into what I had to say. I stared back at her, almost challenging.

"You found what you were looking for." She said simply and turned and walked back out to greet the others. I looked at Rose who simply shrugged her shoulders unsure of what Alice could mean. But on some level, I knew. And I would not be deceived.

Rose and I left the bathroom, joining the others. Edward was at my side, much to my dismay.

"Are you ok? Alice said it was a work accident…" he asked in hushed tones, lifting his hand to brush gently against my cheek. Warmth spread at his touch, the red hue returning to wrap around us, happy to see us in close proximity. I fought the temptation to lean into his touch.

"I'm fine, really." I assured him, backing away several steps out of his reach. I glanced around at the others. Rose and Emmett were getting their coats on, they seemed to have plans tonight. Alice and Jasper sat at the table...he was fighting to avoid my eyes.

"Glad you're ok Isabella," Emmett said. "Lovely to see you, as always. Edward, come on. We gotta go."

"Maybe I should stay," Edward said, uncertain of his previous plans.

"Whatever your plans are…I think I'll be getting cleaned up and heading for bed." I said. He seemed disappointed but accepted staying wouldn't offer him an opportunity.

"Right then," he said. "Sleep well Isabella. Let's go…" he grabbed his coat, disappointment etched on his face and left ahead of Rose and Emmett who shrugged off the behavior.

With them gone, I gave a pointed glare at Alice and Jasper who seemed to be purposely finding something to keep themselves occupied.

"You two," I said, "Right this way."

I didn't bother wait for a response. I went into my chambers, keeping the door open for them to enter. With hesitancy on Jasper's part, the two entered the room. I crossed my arms.

"So…what's up?" Jasper asked, voice slightly cracking. Alice looked at him with amusement.

"Anything you feel like mentioning?" I asked. "Anything you've shared that perhaps you should not have shared?"

"Nope," he said quickly. "What could I possible have to share that I shouldn't have shared? That would imply I know something I'm not supposed to know, right?" He was borderline hysterical.

"Alice, anything you'd like to share?" I addressed her.

"Like?" she met my stare, not backing down. Jasper looked scared, unsure what I would do.

"Happy hunting? Go to Chihuly Garden and Glass today…I would find what I was looking for…. Care to share how you knew that?"

"Oh, so you did go check it out? Did you like it?" Alice smiled.

"Alice…" Jasper almost warned in caution.

"I'm far too tired and old for games," I said, undeterred by her attempt at a distraction. "You know something."

"About what?" Alice asked, feigning innocence. I walked over to my chest at the edge of the bed and opened it. No longer intending on hiding its contents. Waving my hand in a circular motion to uncloak the enchantment, the weapons and ancient books appeared. Jasper tried to not act like this freaked him out...Alice seemed unphased, which further lead to confirming she knew something long before I stepped foot into these quarters.

"You don't seem surprised," I sat down across from her. "Why don't we start there?"

She smiled at me. "Ok, let's start there." She replied in agreement.

The glimmer in her eye was not lost on me.