Chapter 26
I've walked a slippery road, felt a twitch in my soul
Through the wind and the cold with no protection
Just one direction, destruction
I've paid for all my mistakes, takin' all I can take
'Til I'm ready to break, I'm feeling vicious
And so, outrageous, it breaks us
I'm bleedin', still breathin', I'm tearin' through these chains
Carlisle seemed to be at a momentary loss for words observing the exchange of words between Esme and his family. So it was Tanya who approached Eliza. "I've never seen the like. I… we are in your debt. Thank you for saving us." Her voice was quiet and genuinely grateful. A breeze blew over the clearing from the south as she spoke. Somewhere in the distance, an owl cawed into the night air.
Eliza shrugged, "It's part of why we're -" Eliza stiffened and frowned, sniffing at the air. The sudden breeze carrying a faint scent that both Isabella and Eliza noticed.
Isabella crouched slowly then murmured quietly, "Just one. Go." Eliza promptly vanished, leaving most of the Cullens and Denali astonished. Isabella picked up the matches she had been looking for and stood.
"Where did she go?" Tanya asked, her expression puzzled. She glanced around at the scattered bodies that were in random spots all over the clearing.
Isabella shrugged. "She'll be back shortly." She frowned after a moment and held out her hand. "I apologize for my rudeness. I know we've seen each other before, but Eliza and I were in the middle of rushing from one crisis to the next when we bumped into you in Alaska; and there hardly seemed time tonight. We've not been formally introduced. I'm Isabella Volturi."
Tanya hesitated glancing back at her coven mates before slowly taking Isabella's hand. "I'm Tanya Denali. This is my cove-" She was interrupted by the sound of a female's frightened cry.
Everyone turned to see Eliza holding another vampire in the air by her throat, pinning the struggling girl against a tree. The vampire was a dark haired girl who grabbed desperately at Eliza's hand around her throat.
The girl was whimpering pitifully, "Please no! I haven't hurt anyone. I'm sorry! Please don't kill me. I didn't have a choice! I had to go with them or they were going to kill me!"
Eliza frowned looking undecided for several moments before slowly setting the girl down on her feet, stepping back and crossing her arms to regard the vampire. Eliza didn't step out of arm's length, making it clear to the girl she wasn't free to go. The girl's hand went to her throat and she looked at Eliza with frightened eyes, trembling slightly.
When Eliza set the girl down, and didn't make a move to immediately dispatch her, Irina snarled in fury. "Looks like you missed one." An equally angry Kate was a step behind Irina, clearly they both intended to finish the job started by Isabella and Eliza. The rest of the Denali watched, but made no move to assist or to deter the two enraged women. .
Eliza was frowning, clearly puzzled and she seemed to be oblivious to the approach of two angry vampires. Her eyes moved slowly up and down the girl in appraisal. Eliza saw the fear in the girl's eyes as they focused behind Eliza's shoulder and backed against the tree behind her doing everything short of trying to hollow out the tree to climb inside. Eliza frowned at the expression on the girl's face. There was something else about her though. Something elusive that Eliza couldn't quite put her finger on. The girl flinched back from Tanya and Kate's anger, Eliza made her decision.
Just before they reached the girl, Eliza spun to face them, stepping directly and deliberately between the oncoming duo and the frightened girl. She very calmly crossed her arms wearing her best take no prisoners expression. Yet another look she'd learned from her mother. She hadn't quite mastered it as Isabella had though. Isabella was able to cow even Caius or Jane when she used that expression. Eliza's wasn't so effective but it still showed that she meant business.
Irina stopped short, noting Eliza's sudden territorial stance, and she snarled. " It's our right to destroy her. She's one of the group who attacked us and tried to kill us Get out of the way."
Eliza looked first one woman and then the other in the eyes. Her violet eyes met their yellow eyes as she shook her head slowly, set her shoulders and said simply. "No."
Isabella turned her head and frowned at her daughter from fifty yards away where she had been gathering a bit of brush to start the fire. "Eliza? What's the deal? They have the right…" She stood up slowly, keeping her face blank and looking utterly unconcerned with the developing disagreement as she tossed brush into the beginnings of a pile.
"I can't let them just kill her, she hid rather than fight." Eliza replied, the tone of her mental reply making it clear she wasn't as sure of this decision as her calm demeanor might indicate. She didn't know what it was about the girl, just sympathy or some inexplicable bond, but Eliza felt the need to defend her.
Isabella frowned, "She's a newborn and she was part of a newborn army. Her life is already forfeit. They attacked the Denali. They have a right to demand her execution." Despite her words, Isabella could feel Eliza's desire to help the girl, making Isabella doubt the conviction of her own words.
"Mom… she's… she's just like me. Scared out of her mind, and caught up in something she had no control of." Eliza replied, her voice desperate. Isabella frowned further, turning it over in her mind as she looked for a way out of the brewing confrontation.
"You're Volturi. By your own law her life is forfeit!" Irina snarled though she didn't step closer to Eliza. The girl shook her head but otherwise made no sound, afraid of changing the mind of this stranger who'd gone from prospective killer to protector in a matter of seconds.
The rest of the Denali moved forward. Eliza stood fast and shook her head slowly, "No, I won't let you kill her." Isabella recognized the tone in her daughter's voice. She was committed to her action now, and nothing short of Isabella forcing her would deter her.
"Her… group hurt my mate. Her group attempted to kill us. Their failure was not for want of effort, you know that better than anyone! By law her life is forfeit." Kate's voice was a low growl. She shifted her body to better prepare herself to attack. The Denali coven was clearly irate enough to provoke a confrontation. To have a Volturi, a group which they had little love for, defend someone who tried to kill them was more than enough to push them over the edge. They were spreading out slowly and subtly in a semicircle around Eliza.
Eliza shook her head slowly again, keeping herself as much between the girl and the angry coven as she could. "No. You won't hurt her. You wouldn't be alive to hurt her if we hadn't decided to defend you."
Carlisle attempted to defuse the brewing storm. "Maybe we should see if she knows anything. Attacks like this don't just happen randomly. We don't have to kill her." His tone was compassionate as he tried to defuse the situation.
Tanya who turned to him, an angry scowl on her normally calm face. "You didn't spend the past few hours running for your life like we did. You didn't watch the home you'd spent years building, with everything that had any sort of sentimental value turning to ashes, as you fled for your life. You didn't wonder whether or not your mate was going to survive when you were separated like Kate and Irina did. Your mate wasn't hurt like Kate's did."
Carlisle was taken aback by the rage in Tanya's voice. He'd known her many years but he'd never seen or heard her this angry before. He turned to glance at Jasper who shook his head. Emotions were running far too high for Jasper's abilities to do any good.
Edward stood beside Carlisle and was frowning at Eliza and the girl. His brow was furrowed in concentration as he stared and then he slowly shook his head. "Her mind is all jumbled up. It's like she's in pain. But it's hazy, like I can't get a clear picture" Frustration was evident in his voice, he glared at Eliza as if blaming her.
Eliza raised an eyebrow in genuine surprise, another mannerism she had picked up from her mother. She shrugged her shoulders slightly in response. She wasn't sure why Edward wouldn't be able to read the girl and she didn't have time to get into an argument with him at the moment.
Eliza turned her attention back to the Denali's. "She hasn't done anything, she's scared. Give her a chance." Her voice was part coaxing, part plea for them to calm down.
"The same laws you used to execute Sasha, our mother, are the ones giving us the right to execute her for her attack on us." Tanya's own anger was growing. Years of resentment boiling on top of the anger of tonight's events, and she turned to Eleazar for confirmation.
Eleazar was considered expert in Volturi laws. He had been a valuable and high placed member of the Volturi for many years. His knowledge of all things Volturi outstripped even Carlisle's. Eleazar nodded slowly, if reluctantly, in agreement. "She's right. If you prevent them from killing her you're in violation of the laws yourself, and subject to the same punishment." His voice was calmer then the snarls of those around him. He too was trying to soothe everyone.
Kate spoke, her voice ice cold, and dripping with malice. "Like we were told when your coven killed our mother. The Volturi do not give second chances." It was obvious this was more about getting some measure of revenge against the Volturi for executing their mother than it was about exacting revenge on one faceless newborn.
Eliza looked at the faces surrounding her, she didn't think she could fight them all and protect the girl. She also knew they had a point. They were correct in claiming the laws favored them. She looked left and right for a moment as if searching for a way out of the predicament. When nothing came to mind she looked over the shoulders of the surrounding Denali and called out in a desperate plea. "Mother… please."
Isabella had been halfheartedly piling some brush and heads up while she'd tried to think of a simple way out of the escalating conflict. Her thoughts were interrupted by her daughter's plea, and her reaction to that plea was instantaneous. Her body was a blur as she pushed through the semi-circle and interposed herself between the Denali and the frightened girl. She stood shoulder to shoulder with her daughter and fixed the Denali with her own imposing glare. She was rewarded when the Denali each took a slight step back.
Isabella didn't necessarily feel the same as her daughter, but Isabella couldn't ignore a request from the only person she could truly say she cared about. She certainly wasn't going to leave her daughter to face any hostilities by herself should things continue to escalate.
"Mother?" Edward's voice asked in shock, speaking the thoughts of every member of his family. The Cullens were staring at the two of them with shock on their faces yet again. Both Isabella and Eliza ignored his comment.
Alice had been standing back, not approaching the situation or Isabella still assuming the two were mates. When she heard Eliza's comment her jaw dropped and eyes went wide, completely forgetting about the looming fight. She looked back and forth between Isabella's face and Eliza's face, as if looking alone would bring her the confirmation she sought.
Jasper stared at Isabella and Eliza until he felt a surge of what he could only call hope, coming from Alice. It replaced the deep and numbing sorrow which began to grow after the newborn attack had begun a few minutes earlier.
The exchange passed unnoticed by the Denali clan. "If you stand with her, you're just as in violation of the laws." Kate snarled.
Eliza's relief at Isabella joining her was palpable. Isabella looked at the Denali with a frown and then she nodded slowly. Her mouth turned upward very briefly in a smirk, as she realized she had a way out. Her voice was calm. "You're claiming your right to execute her because her group was going to kill you. Correct?"
Tanya was slightly surprised at the calm tone, and her reply was wary, because she hadn't missed the brief but small smirk on Isabella's face, but she nodded. "Yes the same laws justifying the Volturi in killing our mother."
Carmen broke her silence. She and Eleazar had been looking at the frightened girl, and their own compassion was evident, replacing the anger they had been feeling. "Tanya, maybe we should step back and consider this. We're all worked up from tonight."
To the surprise of everyone, it was Isabella who shook her head and held up her hand. "No, No. It's okay. They've claimed the right. It is theirs."
"Mom!" Eliza protested from her side, sounding deeply hurt at this sudden betrayal. She turned to face her mother in open-mouthed shock. The confirmation of their relationship seemed to jolt the Cullens, but Eliza didn't notice.
Isabella held up her other hand at her daughter, looking ever so briefly like a demonic crossing guard, silencing the forthcoming tirade. "Don't worry. I've got this." she said in Eliza's mind.
"You may, of course, exercise your right. Her life is forfeit." Isabella said as she looked around, there was a whimper of fear from the girl behind them, but before any of the others could do anything, she continued. "However, since we're adhering so strictly to that law, I wish to exercise my own claim."
There were several blank looks from the Denali's. Eleazar spoke first, his brow furrowed slightly. "What claim?"
Isabella turned her head and pointed deliberately behind Irina. "I claim Laurent's life as forfeit."
There was an immediate snarl from Irina at the implied thread to her mate, followed by other snarls from most of the members of the coven. "None of us have attacked you this evening." Eleazar protested, speaking for the group. "While we grant you saved our lives this evening, it does not give you the same right to take them."
Isabella shook her head. "It has nothing to do with tonight. My claim pre-dates yours by about… 90 years or so."
Laurent's eyes were narrowed speculatively, "What are you talking about?"
"Let me see if I can jog your memory a bit." Isabella said, then her voice shifted and she mimicked Laurent's deeper voice and French accent. "She will not be happy about my killing you. But I just can't help myself, you're so mouthwatering."
Laurent and Irina both blinked. Irina turned her head to look at him in surprise. Laurent's face showed nothing but confusion for several seconds at Isabella's words. Then he blinked when he associated this Bella with the girl in his memory, staring at Isabella in openmouthed shock. "You? But that was… I… didn't… I mean… I didn't know."
Isabella nodded slowly, her eyes locked on his burning with a sudden intensity. "You made plain your intention to kill me. You thought I was someone's mate. Yet you were still willing to kill me, before confirming that any other claim had been relinquished."
Laurent shook his head slowly. "You were still human then, it's not the same thing." he protested.
Isabella shook her head but rather than reply, she turned to look at Eleazar for qualification. He met her eyes and then slowly spoke up. "There's.. no provision in the law for separating when someone is a vampire and when they're a mortal. She has a valid claim."
Isabella nodded as her eyes bored into Laurent's. "And as your coven mate so eloquently stated, the fact your attempt was interrupted and failed doesn't change the fact that you were going to kill me."
Irina frowned, glaring at Isabella for several long moments, resisting the urge to attack this perceived threat to her mate. She turned and looked up at Laurent questioningly, "When was this?"
Laurent sighed, "It was not long after we met; when I was having a lot more problems adhering to our diet. After I left James and Victoria's coven. The two of them were insane, but I still owed Victoria. She told me we would be even if I came back to Forks to see if the rumor she heard about the Cullens being gone was true. She wanted me to find out if Edward's mate was still protected by the coven and she wasn't. Victoria was... an evil bitch. Victoria had horrible plans for her. I thought if I killed Bella I'd be doing her a favor."
"Proof of just how great Edward's plan of 'leaving me for my own good' was." Isabella snorted and shook her head. Edward growled but didn't say anything. Eliza couldn't resist it and winked in Edward's direction.
"What interrupted you?" Carmen asked Laurent curiously.
Laurent frowned, and his voice came out tinged with anger. "A pack of wolves interrupted me. They showed up right as I was about to kill her."
"Then we chased your ass all the way to Canada, leech." An amused masculine voice said, preceding Jacob from the woods. He was in a pair of jean shorts and followed by several members of his pack, including Tekali and Leah.
The Denali coven all took a step back and took defensive stances, snarls erupting from all of them, except for Eleazar who looked at the newcomers curiously.
"What are they doing here?" Tanya growled out.
"They just helped us save you. The correct response is usually 'Thank you.'" Eliza spoke up with a scowl of her own.
"Hey Bells, picking fights again? You haven't had enough for one night?" Jacob asked with a grin, his relaxed stance belied by the alertness in his eyes. He had been listening to the last quick exchange, which is why he chose to make his entrance with the rest of his pack.
Isabella couldn't help a small grin crossing her face at the Denali clan's reaction. She shook her head, " Hey Jake, no…not at all. We're simply negotiating."
Isabella turned her head back to meet Tanya's eyes. Tanya's eyes flicked to Isabella's immediately at the word 'negotiation' trying to figure out what Isabella meant. "As Eleazar said, my claim has merit. The only reason I'm here today is because Jacob and his pack saved me. So, if you would all be so kind as to step aside, I will take his life, as is my right."
The entire Denali clan faced Isabella. Irina snarled and settled into a low growl as they glared at her.
Isabella noted all of their reactions before speaking calmly as she met Tanya's eyes. "Now, do you really wish to pursue this claim over a frightened teenager who didn't actually hurt any of your coven?"
Tanya's eyes showed she understood the hint from a few moments earlier. She looked over her shoulder at Laurent who shook his head slowly. Tanya turned back to look at Isabella. "We forfeit our claim, and in return you do the same?"
When Isabella nodded in response, Tanya nodded slowly. "Done."
"Thanks Mother." Eliza was clearly grateful to Isabella as she relaxed. Eliza turned back to look at the girl who slid down the trunk of the tree, so that she was sitting on the ground, a terrified expression on her face, her arms and legs were shaking slightly. Eliza didn't blame her. The poor girl was surrounded by beings wanting to kill her. Eliza murmured quietly to the scared teen, trying to calm her.
The Denali clan backed up several steps and were regarding the wolf pack with cautious looks. Carlisle had informed the Denali about the Quileutes and the treaty, but this was the first time any of them had come into contact with the pack. The only member of the Denali who's expression was more curious than apprehensive was Eleazar.
Isabella turned and moved a few steps away from her daughter, giving her some space to talk to the girl. She saw Leah crouch down next to Eliza and couldn't help but smile almost imperceptibly. She picked a pile of three bodies lying on top of one another. Isabella took the matches, struck one and then tossed it on the pile of bodies, which quickly caught fire.
Jacob was surveying the devastation on the field, and shaking his head. "You weren't kidding about being able to take care of yourself were you?"
Isabella grinned slightly and chuckled. "I told you, we could handle it. You didn't sound like you did so badly either." She casually picked up two heads and toss them into the flames.
Jacob frowned, turning back to face Isabella."Yeah, we need to talk about that."
Isabella turned her attention from building the fire, to Jacob, a frown crossing her face. "Yeah you mentioned it before the fight. What's up?"
Jacob opened his mouth to reply but Edwards voice interrupted him, "Mother? You had a kid? With who? What the hell is going on Bella?" Edward half shouted his questions from behind her, choosing an awkward moment to speak. His tone demanded answers.
Isabella gritted her teeth and kept her shoulders squared and her attention focused on Jacob, deliberately ignoring Edward. She gestured for Jacob to continue, but before he could speak up, Edward gripped Isabella's arm and spun her around to face him.
Utter silence fell over the clearing. The whole area seemed to darken slightly. The shadows getting darker, and the fire's brightness dimming.
Both Jasper and Eliza's head's whipped around in unison as they felt the sudden upsurge of pure rage that erupted out of Isabella in that moment. Their responses were identical.
"Oh shi-"
Their cries were cut off by Isabella's savage roar of fury as she twisted her arm and grabbed Edward's wrist. She spun using her momentum to send him flying into a nearby tree. He hit the tree hard enough the impact of his body sent bark flying.
Edward recovered his equilibrium just in time to see Isabella hurtling towards him. He barely scrambled out of the way as her fist slammed into the trunk of the tree he had just been thrown against. The trunk where Isabella's fist hit exploded into splinters and the tree toppled. Isabella turned in the direction Edward dodged to speed after him again, snarling the entire time.
"Oh hell…. Watch her!" Eliza shouted to Leah as she got to her feet, darting after her mother. Leah blinked in surprise, turning her attention away from the confrontation to look at the vampire teen who was still on the ground shaking.
Edward realized the gravity of the faux pas he'd just committed when Isabella's fist shattered the tree. He sprinted across the meadow, past his family, Isabella hot on his heels. Emmett attempted to grab Isabella as she passed him, but he wasn't quick enough and ended up sprawled on the ground. Edward weaved along the tree line, scrambling from tree to tree trying to keep anything he could between himself and Isabella. More than once he'd tried to shout her name, only to be interrupted by the sound of a "boom" when Bella's fist connected where he'd been moments before.
Between one tree and the next he was jerked up short by a hand closing around his neck, twisting his body to slam him into the ground. Before he could recover, the iron grip on his neck drove him into another tree, with enough force his body ended up embedded in the thick trunk. Isabella's completely black eyes and snarling face was all he saw, contorted with rage, her fist pulled back and prepared for a killing blow.
"Mom! No!" Eliza leapt on Isabella's back, both of her arms wrapping around Isabella's upraised arm. Her legs braced on either side of Isabella's waist as she strained to hold the arm back. "He's not worth it!"
Isabella didn't seem to hear her daughter's voice. One of her hands was closed around Edward's throat in a grip of steel no amount of struggling could dislodge. Her other arm was engaged in a struggle to swing forward. Isabella's strength was heightened by her rage, while Eliza held on with both arms in an attempt to stop her. Both of them were trembling with exertion and they seemed stalemated.
Alice ran between Isabella and Edward. At the moment she was mad enough at Edward that his welfare was hardly a concern for her, however she didn't want her family to go through losing one of their members. She also didn't want Isabella to do something Alice thought she might eventually regret.
Eliza saw Alice interpose herself between Edward and Isabella and her eyes widened, "Alice! Don't! She's-" Eliza was cut off as her lapse in concentration allowed Isabella's fist jerk forward slightly.
Alice ignored Eliza's directive and placed her hand very lightly on Isabella's arm right at the crook of the elbow. The same arm and the same place Edward had grabbed a few moments earlier; the same arm currently keeping him pinned inside the trunk of the tree. Alice's voice was soft and pleading as she looked up into Isabella's eyes. Alice didn't even flinch when she saw the eyes had gone completely black. "Isabella, please don't."
Isabella blinked as Alice's face came into focus and a strange sense of calm seemed to diminish the rage engulfing her mind. She stared at Alice as she slowly lowered the arm Eliza clung to. She seemed surprised to find Eliza holding it. Isabella's black eyes glared at Edward for a second before releasing him, though he was embedded so deeply into the tree trunk he didn't immediately drop to the ground.
Eliza was so surprised that she let go of her mother's arm and tumbled to the ground. She looked back and forth between her mother and Alice. Her mother was still trembling with rage, but somehow Alice's very presence was holding it in check.
Eliza looked back and forth between her mother and Alice several times before she murmured very quietly. "Alice take her for a walk, let her clear her head."
Alice didn't even glance Eliza's way in acknowledgement, her eyes on Isabella's face. She began to lead Isabella away. Eliza tensed as she stood up, as Alice guided her mother gently by her arm away from Edward, and rather than into the clearing, lightly guided her further into the forest.
To say Eliza was stunned was putting it mildly. The rare times her mother had lost control like this, the only person who'd been safe had been Eliza. On top of that, saying her mother didn't like to be touched was like saying mice might be a tad uncomfortable around cats. Eliza hadn't been there, but other Volturi still talked about the first time Aro had tried to hug her. They had to replace two of the three chairs the Volturi kings used and fix several dents in the floor, stairs and wall. She had eventually relented to his brief embraces but even he knew not to press his luck. It was practically a cardinal rule for the Volturi, with the exception of Eliza, Isabella did not like to be touched.
The rest of the family were watching with obvious relief as Isabella turned away from Edward, slowly walking away, Alice gently guiding her, and Isabella following without complaint.
"Everything will be ok, I promise," Eliza overheard Alice whisper as she guided Isabella away.
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Author's notes
1) WHEW! You guys were SO super awesome with reviews on the last chapter we decided to get this chapter out tonight rather than wait until tomorrow night!
2) Soooo many people loved the LOTR part, I'm so glad. What actually surprised DarkBella and myself was that more people were worried about Alice's interpretation of the relationship between Eliza and Isabella. Admit it. You all totally thought i was going to draw out that angst for about 20 chapters didn't you? ^_^ (Seriously i think i'd have a reader riot on my hands) I'm glad to say that I'm not that sadistic. Obviously the big secret came out here tonight. But what surprised us most was that no one asked what the french words in the last chapter meant :P Those props totally go to Darkbella
3) Bonus points to justareader21 and samraven who recognized the smeghead comment as being from the TV series Red Dwarf. Funny mini story with that. I was 7 or 8 and watching that with the captions and asked my grandparents what the sign language for "smeghead" was. They had to explain to me the concept of made up words
4) Any guesses as to who the girl is? :P O_O You might even get a shout out!
5) DarkBella's Author's note: Thank you for reviewing our story so much and so well, it really motivates us. We seem to have these great chapters when we bitch at each other a lot but I'm too fond of her to do that often.
6)If that holds true... that means chapter 27 is going to fucking rock ^_^.
7) The next chapter was actually going to be something completely different. Because i was all "bah... no one wants to read a conversation here between Alice and Bella! It's not the right time. It'll just bore them!" but then DarkBella's all "Ooh! Do it!*threatens to stab me with spork.*" and I'm all "NO LOLOLOLOL" and then she's all *stabstabstab* and then i'm all "bleedbleedbleed"
The wounds are healing nicely. and i should regain full use of my extremities. Though the vision loss in one eye is probably permanent.
No really though, I actually had this part coming slightly later. X_X only to realize slightly is about 30k words from here. But it flows so much better for the next chapter.
Thank you for reading and reviewing. I did not respond to reviews from the last chapter because i wanted to get this chapter out. I promise I will respond, probably tomorrow!
Please read and review this as well! We appreciate it.
Next chapter: Pure Bella and Alice O_O holy crap.
