The Whispering Woods

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Edward kneeled in front of his mother, waving his hands in front of her face, only to get no reaction. She didn't even blink. "Do you have a guess?"

Carlisle's brow knit with concern. "My guess is it's some kind of spell or trance. Do you know why they were together?"

Edward and Bella realized it had to have been unexpected to learn they were together.

Bella tipped up her chin, refusing to apologize. "I tricked them to meet with us so that they'd provide answers." She turned away from Carlisle's probing gaze, snapping her fingers near her father's ear. "It seems their senses had been taken from them. Where was I? Oh, but my dad got a call in the middle of showing off the armor. The caller explained the incident I had with Mike Newton at school."

Carlisle's entire demeanor changed the instant Bella said Mike's last name. Determination and power replaced the worry and concern in his blue eyes.

Carlisle needed clarification. "Incident?" He listened while the kids explained, attempting to remain neutral on the outside.

The usually cool and calm man cursed suddenly, which was rare to witness.

"Their instincts would've been to confront the Newtons."

Bella shared a look with Edward, each wondering if they should tell him everything. "My dad left after saying he'd kill him." She shook her head. "He wouldn't do it, kill him, I mean."

Carlisle scoffed. "I'm well aware of that, my dear, though he would want to talk to him alone first. I can guess the other two followed him shortly after leaving."

Edward ran a hand through his hair. Seeing his mother like that fucked with his head. "Yeah, they also said they'd meet us back here once they got to Charlie."

Carlisle started to pace. "It's obvious something happened there, considering they were found together. If I went to confront them myself, I assume the same would happen to me." He mumbled something the others couldn't catch.

Bella's fingers were restless against her thigh, watching Carlisle pace made her nervous. "Would it affect me?"

"You're not going over there," Edward blurted out, sensing what she wanted to do. "Are you crazy, Bella? We have no idea if this is temporary. Whatever this is could potentially kill us. We don't know for sure. There are too many unknowns. Going there is not an option, for any of us."

"We can't leave them like this!" Waving her hands around, Bella accidentally smacked her father's shoulder. He still didn't react to her. "What are we supposed to do if we don't know what was done to them?"

Edward understood the need for answers and a solution to the situation, but not at the expense of their lives. Something bothered him now; it had niggled in his mind since Carlisle's arrival. He turned to his father. "How did someone from the diner know to call you? Why not one of the other local sheriffs, considering their police chief is like this?"

Carlisle winced, for some reason, alarming them. They were about to learn something they would not be happy knowing. "We don't know how the magic works, but there are individuals who simply stop whatever they're doing to fulfill a need we may have."

Edward's eyes widened as Bella muttered, "What the fuck?"

"Like when Bella's car was at the trail entrance when it had been parked at home? Whoever drove it there knew I'd leave her there."

Edward didn't miss the disappointment in Carlisle's gaze, but it disappeared quickly.

Bella tugged on her hair roughly. "Do they remember doing these things?"

"They do, but only for a while." Carlisle sighed when Bella didn't seem satisfied by his answer. "They only remember when necessary. They call themselves acolytes."

"That is so fucked up!" Edward threw his hands in the air, turning where he stood, trying to ignore his natural flight response. "We are not fucking religious figures they need to blindly follow or assist." He looked at Carlisle and Bella, incredulous and angry. "Magic seems to be manipulative and it obviously can be abused." He gestured toward the human zombies in the room.

Carlisle approached his son with caution, but stopped when Edward shook his head. Touching him at that volatile moment would be a mistake. "Yes, magic can be those things, but the acolytes have assured us in the past they are happy to do it. We've come to learn they are rewarded for their help, too."

"This explains so much." Bella appeared to be lost in her thoughts. "But when we traveled…"

"The farther we are from Forks, the less help we get," Carlisle quickly added.

She shook her head. "We need to know more about that shit, but first, back to the situation at hand. You brought them here for a reason. Why?"

Edward didn't need to read Carlisle's mind; he could see it in his eyes. "He thinks we could help pull them out of this trance with our combined powers."

AN: Thanks to MC for the quick turn around and for being one of my cheerleaders. I'm currently in Arizona visiting my best friend and collab partner in crime Kyla713. Its a sort of venting, writing, relaxing retreat! Someone asked if I could post direct links to my Venmo, Ko-Fi, , CashApp, and Zelle information here, but FFN doesn't allow me to, but they all can be found in my Facebook Group - Ericastwilight Fanfiction and my twitter account profile which can be found under Ericastwilight. I'll post WW again later this weekend, see you soon!