Just a note, this chapter is short, and I am sorry for that. I'm a teacher, and we're currently in full swing state testing. I have not lost interest, and I will continue to write and update when I can. I'm sorry I spoiled you guys with everyday updates of either this story or LambWolf. Bear with me, it's going to be a long couple weeks. *cries*
The car screeched to a halt, going from 120 to stopped so fast Bella thought she was going to hit the dashboard. Alice looked at Bella, who found herself being examined by dark, searching pools. Alice's eyes had gone from a bright honey gold to dark burnt wood, ashes glaring back at her from the driver's seat. "Alice are you okay?" Bella asked, concerned by the deadly look Alice was giving her. Alice took a deep, harsh breath. Her eyes seemed to recover a bit. "Alice, your eyes," Bella commented, watching breathlessly as the smaller girl's eyes changed. Bella wondered what Alice could be. Whatever she was, the girl wasn't human. Bella reached out and gently touched Alice's hand where it rested on the gear shift. Alice's hand tightened at the contact and she looked away from Bella. Bella pulled back from Alice, even though the contact had sent a jolt through both of them.
"I could say the same about you," Alice responded.
"What?" Bella pulled down the visor and looked in the small mirror. Her eyes were a molten, reflective silver again. She should be better at this by now. "Yes," Bella blinked, bringing back her preferred green, "I suppose you could."
"What happened back there?" Alice asked quietly, seeming to prioritize her questions.
"They were predators. They were coming for me."
"No, I-" Alice huffed. "I know. I know what they were planning on doing. I could see it…" Alice looked back at Bella. "How did you get out of there without even a scratch? You took on six full-grown men."
"I would argue five. One was fall-down drunk, so, you know." Alice glared at Bella, who realized something Alice had said was strange. "Wait, what? What do you mean you saw what they were going to do?"
Alice pinched her nose. "Sometimes I know things. I can sort of guess what people are going to do." She sighed. "Unless they change their mind."
Bella sat quietly. She considered what Alice was saying. Alice wouldn't be the first psychic she'd met in her long life; The Oracles were revered for their predictions. "Okay," Bella agreed.
Alice moved her hand, considering Bella. "Okay? That's it?"
Bella shrugged. "I believe in things bigger than what I can see. If you say you're psychic, I can see that."
Alice's forehead creased in her confusion. Bella was a very strange human if she was even human at all. "I don't, Bella, what do you-" Alice dragged her hands down her face, making prayer hands in front of her chin. "What are you?"
"Depends on who you ask," Bella shrugged. "What are you?" Bella considered Alice. "I've never seen people so beautiful, so perfect. And yet your whole adopted family is flawless. You're cool to the touch. Your eyes change color almost every day. How has Masen been alive so long?"
"You don't answer a question, but you want to ask questions?" Alice growled. "Fine, different question: Why do your eyes change color?"
Bella considered Alice for a moment before she finally decided to tell the truth. "Humans are more comfortable with more natural eye colors. Shining silver doesn't sit as well with mortals as green does. Why do your eyes change color?"
"Because I'm hungry."
Bella lifted an eyebrow. "What?"
Alice shrugged and said, "The hungrier I am, the darker they are."
"That's a new one!" Bella seemed delighted, and a surprised laugh escaped her. It made Alice smile a bit, even though she still had a million questions. "What were you doing out there tonight?"
The smile disappeared. Alice contemplated Bella. She worried about ruining whatever she could feel between the girl and herself, but Alice felt like lying was out of the question. She dragged a hand across the back of her neck, looking away from the questioning green eyes. "I was following you."
"Why?"
"I knew you were going to be in trouble. I can't see you, you're kind of a blur, but I could sense those men, their plans, and then nothing. I knew it meant they were coming after you."
"A blur?" Bella frowned. "You can't see at all?"
"No, not really. Where you are there's a void, a kind of blurry inhibitor. It's like you're not supposed to be there, or like you're not really there, maybe? I don't know. You're the only person I can't see."
"Cool," Bella grinned.
"Basically, I find you by looking for what I can't see."
"That sounds infuriating."
"You're infuriating." Bella winked. lice growled, "No, really, you frustrate me beyond belief. There are so many things I want to know."
"You could ask."
"You haven't answered most of what I have asked." Alice grumbled.
"I said you could ask. I didn't say I would answer."
Alice seemed to have calmed down. She gave Bella a small smile before turning the car back on. They pulled back onto the road and continued the drive to Forks. "Where are you from?"
"Do you want what my birth certificate says, or where I'm actually from?"
Alice smiled at the road ahead of them. "Actually, please."
"I was born in the EU." Alice gave Bella a look, and Bella amended, "I was born in what is now known as the EU."
Alice nodded. "When?"
"Isn't it rude to ask a woman's age?" Alice laughed, and Bella's heart warmed at the sound. "Can I just say a long time ago? Time was counted differently then. I'm not sure exactly how long ago. Before Christ."
Alice inhaled sharply. "Wow. A long time before?"
"A very long time before." Bella smiled at Alice. "You're taking this well."
"I've met a few supernatural creatures." Alice's eyes sparkled. They had lightened again, a warm golden brown that betrayed her amusement.
"Are you going to tell me what kind?" Bella asked as she tried to put the clues together first.
"Are you going to tell me what you are?"
"There's a chance that I might. There's a chance I might not." Bella waited to see if Alice was going to offer any more information, then rolled her eyes. "Fine. Tell me about other creatures you've met."
"I know a few werewolves," Alice bragged.
Bella tensed, her entire body becoming a tautly drawn bow. "True wolves?" She hissed. "Sons of Lycaon?"
Alice took in Bella's sudden stress. "I don't think so. They're just shapeshifters, it seems."
Bella exhaled sharply. "Oh. That's good." Bella watched the trees go by. "I would like to meet them."
"Well, I'm sure you would. I can't introduce you to them. They uh...don't like my family very much."
"Why is that?"
"Long story," Alice hedged. "Have you met any supernatural creatures?"
"I have." Bella smiled. "So, you know my dog, Charlie?"
Alice rolled her eyes. "Let me guess, he's Cerberus." Bella looked at Alice, her smile growing wider. "What, no he's not!" Bella winked at Alice. "You have Cerberus?"
Bella let out a full belly laugh. "No, I don't."
"You're an ass!" Alice yelled, slapping Bella's arm.
Bella rubbed the spot, then said seriously, "Cerberus is his dad."
Alice's jaw dropped. "What?"
"Yeah. The dog who guards hell? He was captured once. Long story, Herakles is a jerk, also, his name was Alcaeus, little brat. He pulled Cerberus from his post, and while out of the underworld that little horn dog had a litter of puppies! He's been by my side ever since."
"Cerberus." Alice murmured quietly, almost to herself. "Cerberus. So wait, it's all real?"
In response, Bella turned her eyes the color of Alice's. She made them a bright, warm gold. "Maybe it's all real."
"Maybe? Just maybe? How did you get to keep Cerberus' son?" Alice's voice had risen an octave, and Bella laughed.
"Are you freaking out? Because I'm pretty sure you should worry more about dead bodies in an alleyway than you should who sired my hound."
"Sired your hound," Alice grumbled.
Bella's smile faded as she finally answered one of Alice's questions. "I've been alive for a very long time, Alice. There will always be men who see a woman and desire to take what isn't theirs. It is very rare that I allow those men to leave that situation with their lives. A woman is not a beast to be hunted. You don't get to decide she belongs to you. I have struck down very many men for making this assumption." Alice nodded. The car slowed down, and Bella realized that they were outside her house. Charlie's booming bark could be heard from inside the house.
"I would invite you in," Bella nodded towards the house, "but the only furniture I have so far is a bed. Bella looked down, realizing what she had said. A small blush brightened her cheeks.
"We'll continue this conversation later?" Alice asked.
"Will I be able to avoid this conversation later?" Bella retorted.
"No, I don't think so." Alice looked out the driver's side window, watching a deer bound by in the darkness. "At least, I hope you don't avoid this conversation."
Bella's stomach flip flopped. "I don't think I could avoid you, Alice."
Alice smiled a dazzling smile that made Bella's heart leap into overdrive. "When will you tell me what you are?" Alice inquired.
Bella got out of the car, shutting the passenger door and leaning in the open window. "When you tell me what you are."
Alice eyed Bella, weighing her options. Curiosity might kill her if she had to wait much longer. "We're vampires, Bella."
Bella inhaled sharply. "No," she whispered. "You can't be."
Alice was happy she couldn't cry because the shock in Bella's voice felt like a rejection. "We are," she spoke lowly, preparing herself for Bella to run away.
Bella turned away from the car, and Alice felt like her heart was breaking. She didn't know why she was so attached to Bella, but the rejection felt like pieces of her stone skin breaking away. Bella surprised Alice as she walked around to the driver's side of the car. She pulled open the door. "Get out." Alice stepped slowly out of the car, unsure of herself and, if she admitted it to herself, slightly afraid. Alice stood in front of Bella. Bella's eyes searched Alice's. "May I?" She asked, her hands hovering in front of Alice's face. Alice nodded. Bella touched Alice's cheeks. She ran her fingers along Alice's chin and gently touched Alice's neck. Alice didn't know what was happening, but she knew if she died at this moment, she'd be okay with it. Bella leaned in close, looking at Alice's eyes, watching them turn dark again. "This is amazing." Bella was so close that Alice could feel the taller woman's breath on her lips.
"What?" Alice's eyes closed as she took in the feel of being this close to Bella, whose hands, gingerly touching her face, were sending warmth through her entire body. "What's amazing?"
"I created vampires," Bella said quietly.
Alice's eyes snapped open. "What?" Bella's eyes flashed brighter than ever, the green in them reflecting the moonlight. They mesmerized Alice, and she considered leaning in and kissing Bella. She squashed that idea as quickly as it came. Not now.
"I created the first vampires. Literally. I am the reason you exist." A small smile appeared on Bella's face. "Well," she gave in, "It seems I owe you an explanation then." Bella let go of Alice's face, and Alice immediately missed the warmth. "You wanted to know what I am. I've been known by many names. Just a few of them were Argrotora, Potnia Theron, Kourotrophos, Locheia, Cynthia, Pheobus, or Diana. Occasionally I am called Bast, Luna, or Selene. My true name, and the one I'm known most widely by, is Artemis." Bella smiled down at Alice. "I am a God."
I hope that was satisfying! so much more to come!