Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight
There was no time to waste. The sooner they retrieved Quil and got him to the relative safety of the Cullens' home, the sooner they could all take a collective breath...at least until the other La Push kids' wolf scents got stronger. Bella felt a nagging worry that maybe they should warn the Cullens before barging in with Quil, but ignored it. She couldn't think of a way to start that conversation over the phone and besides, it was too late. His home was approaching fast.
"Why are they still in there?" Jacob muttered out loud. He furrowed his eyebrows in worry and impatience.
They should have indeed been halfway to Forks by now. At the very least, they shouldn't still be in the house.
Bella didn't answer and instead accelerated until they glided through an open window on the second floor of Quil's house. A few seconds later they tumbled down the stairs, stopping only when they caught sight of a most unusual scene.
The first thing that caught their attention was the wolf in the dining room. It had Seth's coloring, and the poor thing was pacing carefully and trying not to destroy the furniture all around him in the cramped room. He did not look particularly comfortable.
"Oh crud," Jacob groaned. "Leah, let him go!"
Leah growled with vexation, for she was the second thing that caught their attention. She had her arms twisted around a boy's head in what appeared to be a very painful looking headlock. Quil gave a start at the extra unwelcome guests in his home, although he could've been crying out from suffocation.
"He won't listen!" Leah yelled and tightened her grip even more. Bella grimaced at the yelps coming from Quil. "Even after Seth phased for him, this obstinate idiot just won't listen!"
The boy they were all here to rescue was going to die in Leah's grip. If the situation wasn't so tenuous it would be kind of funny.
"Bells..." Jacob started.
"Right," she agreed, stifling the choke of a laugh that had been threatening to come out. A moment later, all movement in the house ceased as Bella's power broke the struggling pair apart.
Jacob bounded for Quil who was sweating profusely. He stood straight in front of him and looked into his eyes as he spoke. "We don't have time for this," he said urgently. "Everything they told you is true. The legends are true. We're shifters, and so are you. And there are some nasty vampires who want a go at you first. We're here to help. Nod if you understand."
Bella gave Quil some control over his body so he could nod, and he did as Jacob instructed.
"Shift back," Jacob said to Seth, who scurried into another room after Bella released him to do just that.
"I gave him the same speech!" Leah grumbled in frustration. "The same fucking speech..."
Quil was leaning heavily against a wall while everyone else gathered their composure. Bella went to him when she saw how unsteady his legs were, and even helped prop him up with a strong gust of wind when he nearly tipped over.
"He doesn't look so good," she said quietly as she gave him a once-over. "What did you do to him?"
"Nothing!" Leah exclaimed, her hands up in the air. "He was surprised to see us but he let us in. Seth talked about the legends. I asked him if he noticed anything odd about himself. We told him the truth. He thought we were crazy. Seth phased to prove it. He went nuts and-oh gross!"
Quil, who was turning greener by the second, finally had enough and leaned forward to wretch. He threw up his breakfast and probably yesterday's dinner too judging by the copious amount of vomit on the floor. And still his stomach heaved and heaved.
And then a slow wave of understanding, laced with horror, crept onto Jacob's face. Leah too, when she stopped wincing in disgust at the sick on the floor to look at Jacob briefly, felt the flicker of understanding.
"It's happening," she whispered. "Shit, shit, shit! It's happening!"
Bella looked between the two and tried to grasp at what she was clearly missing. "What is happening?"
"It's the sickness," Jacob said. "The last thing I remember before phasing is being sick. Sicker than I'd ever been. I had an awful fever."
She managed to put a hand on Quil's forehead in between his bouts of retching. Her eyes widened when she made contact. He was burning hot.
"We gotta go!" Seth reminded them, and rightfully so. If this was indeed the last stage before phasing...and Victoria and Laurent were waiting for the perfect time to strike...this was most certainly it.
"Bella. Now," Jacob said. "Now!"
She didn't need to be told twice. They were closest to the front door and so that's where they went. The four of them piled out, Bella in front, Jacob propping Quil up behind her, and Seth and Leah bringing up the rear.
But when Bella stepped through the door and into the break of day just across the other side, she came face to face with none other than Laurent himself.
The eyes. These eyes were just like ones that crept into her dreams. Two rubies that dripped hunger and leaked ambivalence...mocking her...laughing at her.
But they were far from the eyes that haunted her in sleep. Blood red yes, but these eyes didn't belong to a mad man. This man, this Laurent was a follower. Edward's description of him and his personality flickered through her mind as she took him in, and she felt a strange mixture of both panic and disappointment. This wasn't James. Even if she killed him, it wouldn't feel half as good as it had felt before. She shook off the tangy taste of disappointment.
Killing him would still give her satisfaction.
The lighter was in her hand before she realized she'd summoned it. Its metallic plate sent shivers up her arm, and her head pounded with ever faster thrums as she swallowed her next breath.
Fire.
Wordlessly, he dodged the fireball. Bella saw it make contact with a child's wheelbarrow and light it up. She felt herself simmering inside. Something within her was uncoiling and rearing itself, spreading out until her skin felt stretched beyond imagining.
Another spray of fire shot out of her hand. It left her body and Bella felt its movement in the air as if it were her own arm. She felt it whipping and lashing, grab onto a mailbox pole and disintegrate it an inch from where Laurent had jumped.
She hummed with energy. The power leaving her body was so strong she could hear it pounding in her ears. All other noise, including the shouts of people behind her, dimmed until the vibrations in her head were the only things Bella could feel.
That, and revulsion for the smiling vampire in front of her.
"Bella!"
She stepped into the path her raging inferno carved for her. Laurent never stood in one place for more than a split second. Bella couldn't see him, but to her surprise she felt more elated than frustrated. This was so much more challenging than the pathertic wolves. Her powers felt like stretching muscles aching for a real opponent. On the one hand she wanted to destroy the blur racing around her. But on the other hand if she did, then it would be over too soon.
And she was just starting to have fun.
"Bella, he's shifting! Get us out of here!"
She ignored Jake's cry and focused more fully on the whirlwind that was Laurent careening around her. The inferno protected her and her wolves. She could afford to take the time to fish for Laurent.
Unfortunately it didn't take long for all of them to realize the gaping hole in their rear. In their rush to leave the house with the ailing Quil, and the moments of panic and the ensuing fight with Laurent, they all forgot that the wooden house behind them was no protection against a vampire.
Materializing through pulverized drywall, insulation and miles of wiring, Victoria appeared with only the crunching noise of destruction for a warning. Two things happened right then. The first was that Laurent slowed down enough for the wind to alert Bella of the change. She immediately latched on, freezing him in his tracks.
The second thing that happened was Victoria securing herself to a half shifted Quil and biting him squarely on the neck.
She slowed down enough for Bella to get a good look at her, and the redhead returned her gaze. A snarl escaped Victoria's lips followed by a cocky smile that was gone, along with the woman herself, before anyone could react.
Quil's screams pierced the stunned silence. Jake immediately threw himself onto the boy, who was thrashing so much that Seth and Leah's grips on him had loosened.
"Quil! Can you hear me?" Jacob implored. "Finish the shift! I need you to finish the shift!"
If he could hear, they could not tell. Quil continued to scream in agony, his body not recognizable as human or wolf, but some abominable thing in between. He was not changing any which way. Leah and Seth looked on in horror as the possibility of Quil's fate dawned on them-that this may be Quil's everlasting future.
Victoria was gone again, and Bella, shaken at what she had just witnessed, trembled with rage. Victoria was out of reach yet again, but this time at least she had a consolation prize.
Bella turned to look at the immobile Laurent. His former relaxed face was now etched with fear at his predicament. Victoria made no effort to rescue him. She was never, both he and Bella now understood, ever going to save him.
And there would be no saving him from Bella.
Her hands shook in anticipation as she stroked the lighter in her palm. She stepped forward until they were mere inches apart, then brought forth a curtain of hellfire that veiled them both from view.
The fire obscuring Bella and Laurent was so hot that Leah's eyes continued to burn even after she and Seth transformed to help Jacob. Jacob had already earlier opted for the stronger form, and it seemed for a while that the three of them together may succeed in holding Quil down.
What then, she had to wonder. They needed to get him off the reservation. The Atearas' property was remote, but no way could they any longer avoid attracting attention with this raucous, not to mention those damn flames. Carlisle would be able to help, she thought reluctantly, thinking of the stalled transformation of the still screaming boy. But it was miles from here to the Cullens' home. How would they get Quil there?
'Help me!'
The unfamiliar voice cut into her thoughts, and Leah looked at Quil in horror.
'Oh my god,' Seth sounded like he might cry.
Jacob, whose wolf form couldn't disguise the shock that Quil was coherent enough (and wolf enough) for his telepathic consciousness to seep through to them, quickly tried to get through to him.
'Quil, it's Jacob. Can you hear us?'
Amid the screams, Leah made out, 'What's happening? Fuck, fuck it hurts!' from the thrashing boy.
Quil whimpered helplessly and Leah wished she could think of something to say that would help.
'I know you're in a lot of pain, buddy, but I need you to try to calm down. Can you walk on your own?'
Quil's hysterics continued. Now and again, she caught a high pitched whimper emanating from his shifted vocal cords. If anything, his pain seemed to worsen.
'I don't think he can hear us, Jake,' said Leah.
'But we can hear him,' Jacob growled. 'Which means he's part of our pack. Damn it. Bella...'
He continued to wrestle with Quil without pause, but both Lean and Seth looked toward the impenetrable sphere of fire. She winced at the intensity. There was no sound or any sign of change. Without Bella, Leah loathed to admit, they were helpless to watch Quil and wait.
They should've guessed that would be too much to ask. After what felt like hours of listening to Quil scream in agony but was probably just a couple of minutes, the La Push pack arrived.
Sam's voice thundered despite his human frame. Paul and Jared bounded beside him as wolves.
"What have you done?!"
Leah watched Sam take in the scene. The house was rubble thanks to Victoria. Much of the grounds lay smoldering after Bella's brief struggle with Laurent. A small impenetrable sun hovered 20 yards from where she stood. And finally Quil, barely recognizable in the grass, writhing from the combined pain of a first shift and the fatal venom of a vampire.
"What did you do to him?"
Jacob shifted to answer. Now in addition to the aforementioned state of the Atearas' land, there were two very angry, very naked boys shouting at each other.
"Victoria beat us," Jacob said. "She bit him mid-shift."
Sam chanced a look at Quil and didn't bother to hide his horror. Quil's appearance was indeed difficult to digest. He was easily as big as Leah, but his proportions were completely off. He was like a caricature of what a wolf would be. But worse still, parts of him had not yet completed the shift so that he looked more like a Salvador Dali painting than any living creature.
"Kill it," Sam whispered to his pack mates. He at least had the decency to look remorseful.
"What?" Jacob cried. "No!"
But Paul and Jared were already charging. They yipped forward slowly. Jacob rushed back to protect Quil, shifting before standing over the quivering boy.
Leah and Seth immediately stood in formation, positioned in front of Paul and he by Jared. In a moment, Sam too had shifted and was making his way threateningly toward Jacob.
With all chances to communicate gone, the only thing left to do was fight.
Finally...
Leah did not become a violent woman until recently. A year ago, she was in love and looking forward to college. But Sam and his pack, in that short stretch of time, had ruined her simple life. Leah would not wish on her worst enemy the torment of what she had gone through. She couldn't tell you what was worse. The person you thought you'd spend the rest of your life with inexplicably leaving you for your cousin? Her father passing? Her becoming a wolf protector for a tribe she had always longed to escape? Sharing her mind with Sam and all those asinine pups? Though she had found a sliver of peace with Jacob and yes, she was loath to admit even the bloodsucking Cullens, she still harbored a deep resentment towards the fates for their recent cruelties. Worse, she was angry at the short tempered, irritable person she had become-the only defense she managed to muster against the onslaught of bad tidings that plagued her existence.
Luckily, anger could be channeled, and there's no better way to accomplish that than opening a can of whoop-ass on someone.
Today that someone was Paul.
With a satisfied snarl Leah barrelled into him without hesitation. Not that she needed any more fuel for her rage, but her link to Jacob's mind afforded her fresh takes on the most recent encounter between him and Sam's pack which sent her snapping at his neck.
Encouraged by her ferocity, Seth leaped for Jared and struck him hard. He recovered and fought back almost immediately but the fight was off to a good start with Jacob's pack on the offensive despite their defensive circling around Quil.
'Nice one Leah!' she heard Seth yell after she tossed Paul into the remnants of Quil's house.
Jacob swatted at Jared, preventing him from landing a hard blow to Seth's back right leg.
'Focus Seth!' He yelled. 'Don't take your eyes off of Jared!'
Seth kept his barrage on Jared while Leah swiped, shoved, and bit Paul without pause. She almost wished for a renewed link to his mind so she could bear witness to his sorry ass taking the dishing she'd been wanting to dish for so long.
Jacob maintained the most defensive of stances in front of Quil, who by now was falling in and out of consciousness from the pain. Terrible for him, but good for them as his erratic movements had diminished considerably, allowing them the room to fight while keeping their vigil.
Still, as strong as they were, they had the added burden of protecting a helpless body in addition to fighting. Sam's pack had the upper hand and they all knew it. It didn't take long for Sam to score a blow, then another on Quil's body beneath Jacob.
'I need you closer!' Jacob yelled to Leah and Seth after he fought off both Jared and Seth simultaneously, keeping their jaws away from Quil's neck.
Just then, Sam and his packmates catapulted back a dozen feet into the remains of the living room wall. Slowly as if in shock, they gingerly found their footing before all their movements stopped.
Bella landed softly by Jacob's side.
Leah breathed a sigh of relief as she briefly glanced around her to assess their situation.
Quil lay still save for a twitch here and there. She, Seth and Jacob stood between him and what was a moment before unrelenting approaches from the other three wolves in the room. Sam's pack remained exactly where they were when Bella froze them.
And Bella...
Bella stood catching her breath next to Jacob. The miniature sun that had encased her and Laurent had dissipated without a trace. And the vampire in question? He too was gone.
Leah gave her a quick side-glance before averting her eyes to the pack in front of them. Had she really done it? Just like that?
Bella conjured a snaking line of fire between her friends and Sam's pack. If any of those dogs tried anything, she was sure her reaction time would be fast enough to engulf them all in flames.
"Hey," Jacob gestured to the rising flams, "Keep that down. We don't want to scare them."
We don't? Bella did as he asked and tried to ignore the disappointment bubbling up inside her. She tried to ignore her shaking hands too.
Jacob's pack had already phased back and dressed. They waited while the others did the same. All the while, Bella watched and waited for one of them to slip...waited for just the hint of a misstep. Just one excuse...
She looked down suddenly to find Jacob's hand holding one of her own. The shaking subsided.
Behind them, Quil let out another pained groan which snapped them all back to the reality now before them. What were they going to do about Quil?
"Let us take him," Bella said. "Carlisle can help him."
"He's not yours to take," Sam growled.
"Be reasonable, Sam!" Jacob stepped in. "What can you do for him? You were trying to kill him 5 minutes ago. At least with us he has a chance."
"He's one of them now," Sam insisted. "A leech. A monster. He needs to die!"
Bang. The hearth-what was left of it-disintegrated in a shower of embers. Bella's eyes flashed as she pushed the three boys back until they stood flat against the only remaining wall in the house.
"Bella! Don't-"
"I am done with the three of you," she hissed. Jacob tried to intercept her but she was too fast and quickly made her way directly in front of Sam. "If you're not gonna listen to the guy who's still being nice to you despite your attitude, then I'm gonna make you listen to me. Me, the one who managed to make 50% of your vampire problems go away in 10 minutes."
"This is only happening because of you!" Sam bellowed. "From the very beginning, our people have been dying because they wanted you!"
Smack.
Silence.
Everyone stared at the red mark on Sam's cheek and at the girl who caused it.
"Bitch," Sam snarled.
Smack.
Again, she slapped him hard, only this time she added an extra sting so that the mark left a sizzling burn on his cheek.
"Stop!" Jacob shouted, horrified.
But Sam's face, after he registered and moved past the pain, transformed into an ugly grin. "Was that supposed to convince me?" He chuckled wryly. "Really, was that supposed to convince me how wrong about you we are? Oh please hit me again. Maybe the third time will be the charm."
It was Leah, not Jacob who held Bella back before she could attack Sam for a third time. Leah shared a look with Bella that gave her pause, and she instinctively moved aside as Leah stepped forward.
Smack.
Oh shit.
Bella raised her eyebrows in surprise while Jacob just looked resigned. Behind them, Seth maintained the vigil over Quil but looked on to witness.
"Shut. The fuck. Up," Leah enunciated her words carefully. "You stupid, righteous, pathetic motherfucker."
Her words had the effect Bella's and Jacob's didn't. Sam shut up.
"You are a shit protector, Sam. And a shittier leader. You wanna know what a good leader does when they get free help? They say thank you. Thank you, you oversized canine!"
Smack.
"A good leader listens to logic. A good leader admits when they're neck deep in horseshit. A good leader tries to dig their way out of the horseshit."
Smack.
"In addition to a shit protector and shit leader, it turns out you're also a shit person, Sam. You are a shit, stupid, short-sighted baby. Because only a stupid baby spits on the only person who can solve all their problems. Fucking. Baby."
Smack.
"This girl that you insist on antagonizing just killed a vampire. By her fucking self. How many does that make for you?" She turned to Bella.
"Two."
"A yes, two. How many have you killed, Sam, you miserable excuse for a dog?"
Smack.
"Zero. You have gotten exactly nowhere in two months. A better person, which we've established you are not, can still salvage this situation, work with the people offering their help and friendship, and make something of the shit world we now occupy. But no, you've decided to piss on the olive branch, piss on your tribe, not to mention piss on the most powerful motherfucking badass person in the world, because you're too fucking proud and stupid to do otherwise."
Everyone in the room braced themselves for another smackdown, but none came. Seeing that Bella and Jacob were still staring wide eyed at her, Leah continued.
"Quil Ateara is dead," she paused. "That's what you're going to tell the tribe and the council. Victoria and Laurent attacked, and they specifically targeted him because they smelled he was close to shifting. Which is the truth just as we warned you, you son of a bitch. We'll deal with Quil. You deal with this mess. Nod, shitface."
Sam nodded.
Leah turned her back on her ex and faced her pack mates. "Let's go," she ordered.