A/N: Hello, awesome readers! Thank you all so much for your encouraging reviews, PMs, and emails! You guys rock the hardest. Ready?
Moments behind Edward's eyes to my lovely prereaders, Keye, Sandy, and Aleea. I don't know what I'd do without these ladies. Mwah!
Huge thanks to my super awesome betas, Katmom and Sue (chayasara), for their mad skillz. They spoil me so goooood.
Chapter 29
~Summoned~
Hell is empty, and all the devils are here. ~William Shakespeare
It's been three days since the bathtub incident. Carlisle has Isabella on a higher dose of the Neupogen substitute and has warned her multiple times that it's a very temporary measure. Each time, she yeses him, but I hear the stubborn edge in her voice. I know it all too well.
She talks to me when everyone is gone and we're alone, whispers her thoughts and fears and secrets while I lie here, silent on the outside, screaming on the inside. I want her to allow Carlisle to administer the serum, but she knows this. My girl knows me so well, I don't need to say the words out loud, and I know her well enough to know nobody can convince her otherwise once she's made up her mind.
Carlisle and Esme just left after giving Isabella her injection. She stretches on the bed alongside my body with a sigh. As always, her warmth sears my consciousness, the only sensation I've felt since Hunter shot me in the face with his "death ray."
"I know you're disappointed, Edward, and I'm truly sorry. But there's no way I'm going to live for eternity without you. Carlisle said the serum can only be used once, possibly twice, before my body stops responding to it. As my blood regenerates, the anomaly will return, and then it will become dangerous or simply ineffective to attempt turning me. I won't take that chance. I can't." She sighs deeply, shifting next to me. "They keep trying to use Hannah to guilt me into it, but we don't know what kind of mother I'll be as a vampire—or even if I'll be able to be a part of her life without endangering her. Sue has already agreed to raise Hannah when . . . if I die. Please forgive me, my love, but I can't do this if you're not here. A normal human life without you is unappealing, so you can imagine how horrific the thought of eternity is."
Yes, I can. But what if you die and then Carlisle cures me? What will I do without you? The thought causes such agony within my mind that I fear it will implode. I do understand how Isabella feels, why she's doing this. How can I argue against her decision when mine would likely be the same in her position? The selfish part of me doesn't believe a world should exist without her light, without her faith. She's the closest I've come in a century to meeting a saint.
"I'm strong, Edward—stronger than anyone knows. I'm not dying until I . . . know for sure. I refuse to let go of you as long as there's a chance you'll come back to me. Do you doubt me?"
Not for a moment, sweet one. I never underestimate the wonder of you.
Isabella kisses my lips. I hear the soft sound they make against my stone ones and almost feel the petal soft warmth of her mouth against mine.
"Goodnight, sweet prince."
Sleep well, my love.
The next morning, after Isabella has finished breakfast, Rose shows up to administer the Neupogen substitute. She checks Isabella's temperature, which has remained stable since the medication increase.
"There. How are you feeling? Any bone pain or chills?"
"No, I feel pretty good." Isabella's voice is not convincing.
"Tell me what's wrong." Rose's tone is gentle but demanding.
"It's just . . . I miss him. Maybe this sounds incredibly weak, but I need him." By the breaks in her voice, I can tell she's crying.
"I know, honey. We all want him back, but you need him back. When Emmett was gone, part of me was missing, too."
"I'm not giving up. Carlisle's aggravated with me, but I know what I'm doing." The stubborn is back.
"Isabella, you have to understand that Carlisle is a healer, first and foremost. He has an ingrained need to save lives. Right now, he can't save Edward, and you're road blocking him from saving you. Deep down, he gets you. We all do."
"Thank you for that."
"Not that what any of us say or do would budge you one iota. You're made of strong stuff." There's a great deal of admiration in my sister's voice, and my heart swells with love for them both.
I feel it when Rose stiffens beside me. The atmosphere in the room changes from loving admiration to cold steel. Isabella gasps, sensing it, too. Once again, I curse the fact that I'm paralyzed and without my keen senses.
A moment later, the front door slams open. The rushing sound of many feet converges upon the bedroom.
"Fuck. It's time," Rose mutters.
"Already?" Isabella whispers. So she knows what's happening, too.
"Esme, take Isabella to Sue's as planned. Quickly! We haven't much time." Carlisle's voice is brusque. He has an innate instinct to be polite, and this is a further indicator that something serious is afoot. "Emmett, go with them."
"No way, Carlisle." Emmett's fist smacks into his palm.
"Go!"
"Em, do what he says. It's imperative that we protect Isabella and Hannah." Rose is the voice of reason.
"Okay, babe. Be careful."
"You, too. I love you."
"Come, Isabella," Esme urges.
"Okay." Isabella leans in close to kiss me. "I love you forever, Edward."
What the hell going on? Why is Carlisle in such a panic?
"Carlisle . . ." For the first time, I hear true fear in my mother's voice.
"Try not to worry. I'll see you soon, my heart." I imagine Carlisle cupping a hand around Esme's face.
"I love you. Be careful."
Emmett and Esme escort Isabella from the cottage. I can tell from Isabella's dragging footfalls that she's reluctant to leave me, but she allows herself to be spirited away. If Carlisle's behavior didn't convince me that something was terribly wrong, her willingness to go without argument clinches it for me.
A tense silence falls over the room. I've been in stasis for enough time that I no longer fear disappearing; I'm anxious to know what the hell is going on.
"Are you all prepped?" Carlisle asks.
"Yep."
"Any last minute questions? We have two minutes."
"No, I've got it covered. Are you sure . . . this will work out?"
"Nope. But what other choice do we have, Rose?"
"None, I suppose. I won't let you down."
"I know you won't. It's time." Carlisle's medical bag is unzipped, and plastic rustles. "Rose, I need you to assist me. We need to give him enough to correct the damage." His voice has changed—it's now businesslike and brusque.
"Okay, just direct me . . . I'm not sure how to do this." There's a false note of insecurity in Rose's tone.
What in the world is going on?
"I'm going to dose this out based on my calculations . . . but be prepared to hold him down if necessary."
"Got it."
My confusion grows as I listen to them talk. Both of them sound almost wooden, as if they're spewing rehearsed lines. The abrupt change in the conversation is mind-boggling, and once again, I'm frustrated that I can't simply read their minds and find out what's happening.
As it turns out, I haven't long to wait for part of the mystery to be resolved.
An authoritative knock sounds upon the front door, one that leaves no margin for misunderstanding—whoever is on the other side expects a rapid response.
"Can you see who that is, Rose? And tell them we're in the middle of something."
Carlisle's words are immediately followed by another insistent knock, and before Rose has a chance to leave the room, a deep voice addresses him. "Carlisle Cullen, you will cease and desist whatever you're doing in the name of the Volturi."
"Shit," Rose mutters.
The Volturi?
"I'll handle this." Carlisle is calmer and leaves the room at an almost human pace. When he opens the front door, his tone is tight. "Felix, Alec, Jane, to what do I owe a visit all the way from Italy? Is Aro with you as well?"
"No, Aro sends his regrets." Felix's deep baritone fills the small cottage. "However, he would like to see you, so I need you to come with us."
"Okay. I can be there in a week or so. I just need to clear my—"
"No. Now." And then Felix's voice is closer, in my room. "Poor Edward. What a state he's in, eh? Can't use his smart mouth like that, now can he?" His cruel laugh makes me wish I were faking.
Fuck you, Neanderthal. Volturi muscle—the only reason they keep your sorry ass around.
"Felix, be reasonable."
"You're skating on thin ice, Cullen. Aro should have been informed about the . . . project you've been working on, a threat to our very race—and you didn't see fit to let the Volturi know? Gather your cure and your notes. You're coming with us."
"Do you need some convincing?" Jane's amused voice breaks in. "Alec and I haven't had much fun of late."
"That won't be necessary. At least let me administer the cure to Edward first."
"No. You and your coven will be far more cooperative this way." Felix's haughty tone sends another jolt of anger blazing through me.
"You can't do that!" Rose doesn't make it two steps toward our guests before she drops to the floor with a strangled scream that quickly grows into a high-pitched wail.
"Stop! Jane, stop!" Carlisle yells. "I'll come willingly. There's no need to harm anyone."
"All right, then. Tell tigress here before she gets more than she bargained for."
"Enough!" Felix puts an end to the discussion, his tone final. "Get your shit and let's go. We need to visit your lab before we leave. All records and journal entries are now property of the Volturi and must accompany us back to Volterra."
"What about Edward?" Carlisle persists.
"His fate, and yours, will be decided by Aro. No more discussion. Jane, Alec, if anyone gets in our way, dispense with them. Aro's orders."
The Volturi bustle my father and sister out of the cottage on their way to the main house to pillage Carlisle's weeks of meticulous research. And yet, something isn't right. Carlisle knew they were coming, and I have to believe that means he made some kind of contingency plan.
For three hours, I slowly go insane. I worry about my father and the rest of my family, about Isabella and Hannah, about my own precarious fate. It's obvious James made it to Italy and blew the whistle, but how much does Aro know? Were they even now corralling Isabella, and maybe even Hannah, to bring back to Italy? The thought causes a sourceless but intense pain to radiate through me. The inability to protect my girls rankles, but I have to believe if Carlisle had some advance notice, he also had a plan.
The door of the cottage opens slowly, and I snap to attention.
"You're so damn stubborn! I'm going to get my ass kicked if it's too soon." Emmett attempting a stage whisper is amusing to say the least.
"Get out of my way, Emmett. I'll take full responsibility, okay? Surely you wouldn't manhandle a sick human."
Isabella. Thank God.
Her warmth envelops me as she sinks down beside me with a relieved sigh. "My Edward."
"Shit. It doesn't matter how long he's been this way; it never gets any easier to see. Fuck." I imagine Emmett scrubbing his huge paw over his face, as he tends to do when stressed out.
"It shouldn't be much longer though, right?" Isabella's voice is full of hope.
"Shouldn't be. Rosie and the pixie are working as fast as they can."
"Do you know how it works? Will he . . . will he be himself again? Can this damage heal?"
"Carlisle seems to think so. I just hope he did the right thing double-crossing he Volturi. They ain't exactly forgiving, you know?"
Even within my addled mind, some of the pieces begin to click together. Carlisle knew the Volturi were coming, so he hoodwinked them. The scene with Rose was all an act for their benefit, so they would go on their merry way and my family could bring out the real cure. The big question is how Carlisle will keep that information from being discovered once Aro touches him?
"What will they do?"
"Um . . ." Emmett hedges, obviously reluctant to tell Isabella the ugly truth. I know she won't let him off so easy.
"What happens, Emmett?"
"We all die."
Isabella is silent beside me for a moment before answering. "Things will just have to go as planned then. We always have our secret weapon."
"Secret weapon?"
"The wolves. James and the Volturi don't know about the wolves."
"Yeah, but the wolves don't give a shit about us."
"But they do give a shit about me—and Hannah. If it comes down to it, they'll fight."
"Good news!" Emmett interrupts. "I hear the girls coming. They want me to go out there with Esme and patrol the area, just to make sure nothing goes wrong."
"Okay."
"I sure as shit hope you're right about the wolves—we need every advantage we can get."
Emmett's footfalls retreat and less than a minute later, Rose and Alice enter. Alice's tread is tentative, very unlike her. Then again, it was uncharacteristic of her to avoid visiting me, too.
"Isabella, are you feeling okay?" Rose asks.
"Yes. Please, just tell me what's going on! And Edward . . . he'll want to hear this, too."
"First, let me apologize again." Alice's words are dripping with sorrow. "I love Edward, and I've missed him so. When his future went black, when yours went black, I couldn't handle it. It was cowardly of me to stay away."
"Alice, I'm not angry with you, and I know Edward will understand. Please stop beating yourself up about it."
I can't find it within me to be angry with Alice. Knowing how completely she relies on her gift, it must have been nearly impossible to function without it. Couple that with the separation from her mate, and I'm surprised she's been able to hold herself together at all.
"You're too kind. I only hope Edward will be up and around to give me a hard time soon. Rose and I worked together to find the right version of Carlisle's cure."
"And you've found it?"
"Yes. Rose kept deciding to give Edward a certain version, and I would 'see' what effect it had. We finally came up with the right combination."
"Didn't Carlisle know which one was the cure?"
"Nope. Once I saw the Volturi coming, we decided to run the experiments in a cell-type structure. None of us had all the pieces." Alice sounds pleased with herself, and I can't say I'm not relieved.
"How did you know Carlisle didn't take the real cure to Italy then?"
"Early on we put aside one that didn't work. Carlisle kept coming up with new ideas, but he never got to see which ones were successful. It made for some frustration when he was stuck on an element that needed to be eliminated, but it kept anyone from knowing the winning formulation. We used an elaborate color and numbering system for each piece of the puzzle."
"This is all really nice, but can we try to fix Edward already?" Rose cuts in impatiently. "You can preen about this while he's healing."
"Yes, of course. Are you okay, Rose?" Alice sounds duly chastised.
"I'm fine! This has just been . . . really stressful."
I suspect the tangle with Jane earlier is haunting Rose. I've never experienced Jane's power myself, but I hear it's brutal—especially for a being that is unused to feeling pain. I'm fascinated by the process my family went through to come up with the cure, but I'd much rather hear about it after they administer it, as Rose suggested.
"Isabella, are you prepared for this? Would you rather leave the room?" Rose asks in a gentler tone. She really seems to have a soft spot for my mate.
"Thanks, but I'll be fine. Don't forget, I've been through this with him before."
Yes, you have, my love. You stayed by my side through everything and never gave up. A feeling of pride wells up inside me. We may be immortals with an unimaginable strength behind us, but Isabella is just as strong in her own right.
I hear liquid being shaken in a container, and then Rose says, "Here goes nothing . . ."
It's different from the time in the cabin. At first, the only way I know Rose has poured something into my mouth is through their conversation, but ever so slowly, my taste buds activate. Synthetic blood does not taste good. If I didn't know this was saving my life, I'd try to spit it out. The rancid taste causes me to think of ancient dirt, squirming maggots, and worms that have left their element to writhe on the pavement to die. When my gag reflex comes back on line, it's all I can do not to spew the cure back out. I relax my throat, allowing the thin, unnatural liquid to coat the inside as it slides down.
My fingers twitch uncontrollably, soon joined by every muscle in my body. My legs shake, my abs ripple, my arms shudder, muscles in my face tic, and the lids of my eyes fly open of their own accord. Like a newborn baby, I only see blurs and shadows.
The entire room and everyone in it have disappeared from my radar. I am turned so far inward, all attention focused on the changes in my body, that I have no idea what's happening outside of me.
And then the pain starts.
I find my voice, hoarse cries surrounding and echoing inside my head. Screaming hurts and feels cathartic at the same time. The shuddering takes over my entire being until I think the very teeth might rattle right out of my mouth.
Has something gone wrong? Did they give me the wrong formulation after all?
An undeterminable amount of time later, my movements are restricted. I thrash and fight, afraid of being put back into that miserable cage of silence. The pain becomes a welcome sensation; it means I'm alive, that something is happening. I cleave to the crawling sensation spreading under my flesh, and I'm finally able to sense the others around me.
"Isabella, stay back! You could get hurt," Rose snaps. The closeness of her voice suggests she's the restriction across my upper body.
"Edward would never hurt me. He needs me, Rose."
"Of course he does, sweetie, but he's not in control right now. Be patient, okay?" Alice's soothing voice comes from the bottom of the bed where she must be sitting on my jittery legs.
Isabella sighs but doesn't argue. "Edward, I'm here. I'm right here. You're doing so well, baby."
Her words wrap around me like a soothing blanket, and I focus on her voice, attempting to ignore everything else. She continues to coo to me without fail; it's as if she knows this is just what I need to lead me out of the dark. I calm, my body calms, and my vision slowly returns. It's far from vampire quality, but I see Rose sitting on my chest, her long blonde hair flowing over her narrow shoulders, one lock almost tickling the end of my nose. Shifting my aching eyes to the right, I finally see my goddess.
"Isa . . . bella," I whisper. It takes a lot of effort to coax my lips to form her name.
Her eyes are already on me. They've probably been on me for hours. Isabella sits on a chair against the wall, wringing her hands. She's paler and thinner than I remember, with dark shadows beneath her warm brown eyes, and the clothes hang off her slight body. She's the most welcome sight that has ever graced my eyes.
"Come here . . . beautiful."
Tears fill her eyes, and she hurtles across the room, pushing Rose out of the way. Then her arms are around me, her face buried in my neck. "Oh, Edward, thank God!"
Warm drops of salt dampen my skin, and I want nothing more than to taste my beloved's tears on my tongue. My arms tremble violently, but I manage to slip them around Isabella and cradle her against my chest. She sobs against my skin, her fingers clawing at me.
"Let me . . . see you."
Isabella lifts her head. Up close, her eyes are sunken and her cheekbones sharp with purplish hollows beneath. Tears stream freely over the contours of her face.
"Oh, God. It's so good to feel your arms holding me." Isabella's lids flutter closed as she presses her lips to mine, light as a feather.
I tighten my hold around her frail body, crushing her to me. Our mouths move together, fitting perfectly as they always have. Her falling tears mingle between our joined lips, the tang finally soothing the vile taste of synthetic blood from my tongue.
Our kisses slow, and Isabella rests her head on my chest. I run my hands all over her softness to assure myself this is real.
"Isabella, I love you so much."
"I love you, too. I'm so relieved that you're back."
"You kept me sane the whole time." I stroke my fingers through her hair, the movements more precise now.
"It was so hard to see you lying there . . . crushed. I prayed you could hear my words, or at least feel my love for you. It's simply remarkable how your body healed once Rose fed you the cure."
"I heard you talking to me. Your warmth was the only sensation I felt the whole time, and it kept me anchored here. You saved me." I press my lips to the top of her head, loving the feel of her silken hair. I've never taken Isabella for granted, but I know the moments we touch will forever be even more precious to me now.
"I'm so glad. I'd do anything for you."
"Do you mean that?" I kiss her temple, tangling my fingers in the hair at the nape of her neck.
"Of course I do."
"Then let them give you the serum."
~*RK*~
A/N: Oh, boy. What are you guys thinking? One of my favorite things is reading your reactions, so talk to me.
I'm working on the sequel to my novel during NaNoWriMo, so November might be a very slow update month. I won't make any promises I can't keep.
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