Chapter Six
Stranger
Lena's head whipped up from the neck of her prey - an elk, still warm though no longer moving. She swallowed the last of her meal down, and dropped the head of the animal abruptly. It smacked against the earth.
Someone was here.
Lena could sense them. She could smell them, could sniff out the fresh scent of rain settling on their skin, the light dusty smell which clung to them, and blood. Human blood.
Jasper's hand on her arm was her only caution. Like most of his warnings, it was one she did not take very seriously.
No longer was she interested in the meal by her feet. She wasn't interested to begin with. No, this new, strange scent was far more enticing, far more curious.
She stood, and launched herself from the trees.
Jasper's footfalls behind her were, as always, inadequate. He was fast, but never fast enough. Lena arrived at the house long before he did - nearly ten seconds. If her intent had been to kill, there wasn't a doubt in her mind that he would have been far too late.
Only, Lena, oddly, wasn't feeling particularly monstrous. Curiosity clung to her bones, like a cape. It draped around her, wrapped her up in something heavy and misty - something she wished to remove.
Whoever was in the house was not human. It was one of her own, one who still ate as she knew she was meant to.
She tugged off her muddy boots, and left them by the door.
"Don't rush off like that," Jasper said. "You make my brother worry."
Lena hummed. She didn't like Jasper very much. He nagged. Edward was interesting, at least. He bickered with her like it was a sport. Emmett was her favourite of the Cullen brothers. For the most part, he left her alone. A shame, then, that he always brought awful snacks home.
"I'm serious," he said. "He doubts your temperance."
"I don't know what that means," she said, and opened the door. Temperance. They all used such big words. English was an awful language, she decided. Ugly, too.
"Self control."
Again, she hummed, unbothered by it. Self restraint wasn't exactly a trait she thought useful anymore. Besides, she was far more interested in the man seated in the living room, looking right at her.
He was a tall man, hunched over in his seat in a way that hinted at some sort of weakness. Lena smiled at the thought, though there was something about his gaze - anxious, ancient - that told her any attempt at violence would be pointless.
His pale skin was exaggerated by his dark clothes, hidden away beneath a brown fur-lined coat. Blond locks of hair curled in at his neck. Stubble dusted over his jaw only accentuated the sharpness of his face. His features were all angular, all perfectly aligned and perfectly symmetrical. But most alluring was his gaze, his dazzling red eyes that tracked her every movement, hawkish in their attention.
Alistair.
The name echoed, bouncing off of damp walls. Stone, she realised. She could almost feel the ridges of the rock beneath her fingertips, could almost feel their moisture, as if she were truly there.
I will only say this once, so listen -
Lena looked towards the source of the voice. A pasty white man. He looked sick. His bright red eyes, like two rubies set deep within his handsome face, exaggerated the bags beneath them. His white blond hair just barely brushed his shoulders. Greasy, but he was beautiful in spite of it.
He stood in front of Alistair, the darker blond. He wore a brown shirt, pants, and a pair of worn leather boots. All of it appeared to be from a different time, made of a poorer quality, although she suspected he was far from a servant.
- and avoid the sun. You draw too much attention already.
He paused, nodded as though satisfied he had said everything of value. Then, he swooped towards him, and bit him.
She blinked, twice, and the thoughts dissolved before her into nothing. Alistair was still sitting opposite her, though something in his face had changed. His eyes were wider, his jaw clenched shut. His body was rigid. It was as if he saw a ghost.
"I see you've met Lena." Carlisle appeared by the staircase. He paused, then chuckled lightly when his friend remained silent. "I know it's been some time, but I had hoped you would remember how to greet a stranger."
He said nothing, and continued to stare directly at her.
"Alistair? Are you alright?"
Alistair.
His name was Alistair.
He shook his head, and dragged his gaze to Carlisle. "It's nothing."