No copyright infringement intended! I will start using songs in my story starting in this chapter. Those songs do NOT belong to me in any way. I'm only using them for this story.

CHAPTER 5

Bree runs over to me and hands me the jacket that she had been wearing. It didn't even occur to me that I had burned all of them completely topless. However, for modesty's sake, I take the jacket with a word of thanks and check to see how she's holding up.

"That was impressive." Bree says to me.

"What was?" I ask. I already know the answer, but that just fills my head with more questions.

"The way you screamed and made not only the glass explode, but caused everyone to fall to their knees." she states. "It felt like nails on a chalkboard, a high pitched ringing, and an explosion all in the same noise. It was deafening. How did you do that?"

"I'm not sure." I tell her honestly. "I just knew that if I screamed, it would make them stop. I guess it was instinct more than anything."

"Huh." she says back.

We stand in silence for a few minutes, just watching the last bits of the goons burn and then she turns and walks off leaving me to my thoughts.

The next day Riley comes over to me to ask me about what happened. He and Victoria were out doing god only knows what, and someone had told him about what I could do. Victoria wasn't pleased that I had killed 4 of her warriors, but I couldn't be bothered to care what she thought. Riley, however was intrigued and wondered how I could have incapacitated an entire group of vampires from just a noise? I wasn't sure and neither was he it seemed, but I needed to find out. Quickly.

From that point on, he would walk me up the stairs in the building as he continued to try working with what he called a 'gift' that I may have. It was infuriating and painful to keep that amount of screaming for elongated periods, and considering I had never screamed when I got bitten in the sparring ring, that was saying something. The pain in my throat was excruciating and took far more blood to soothe it than I would have liked. It was during one of these training sessions that Riley kept insisting on that I began to sing to myself just to calm my nerves. It had helped when I was human, so it couldn't hurt to try now. Riley was aggravating and annoying me and I just wanted him to leave me alone, but he seemed bound and determined to "help" me see the full use of my gift. My temper was rising and I knew if I didn't calm down, I would attack him and then I would be severely punished for that hasty act.

"Riley, I don't understand why I have to keep doing this. We haven't progressed at all and my throat hurts!" I shout at him.

"Amanda, if you are gifted we need you to start testing the full range of that gift. You would be an immense help in defeating the Cullen clan. I really need you to focus and get back to work." he replied back coldly.

"And what if I don't want to? Did you ever think of that Riley? What vendetta do you have against the Cullen's, anyway? Furthermore, what makes you think I even want to be a part of this in the first place? What have they ever done to you?" I shout back.

"They have scared my mate and NO ONE scares Victoria and gets away with it." Riley shouts back. "They have her fearing for her very life and I will END them! All of them. You play a part in this just as much as the rest of them do. Maybe a bigger part. That's the only reason you're even alive."

"What am I supposed to do? Thank you for turning me into this?" I ask. "Because you're sure as hell not getting that!"

He doesn't hesitate before he turns to me and slaps me across the face. It doesn't hurt per se, but it is humiliating. I growl at him with anger flashing in my eyes and turn away from him. He ignores me and says "You will do exactly what I say from now on, or I will pay a very nice visit to your family in Georgia, Amanda. I'm tired of you defying me and I will not stand for it anymore. The only reason you are still alive is because I requested it. You are seriously trying my patience."

I was shocked that he would even know about my family, let alone threaten them. I had never even mentioned why I was in Seattle to start with, nor had I mentioned that I had children awaiting me. How did he find out? More to the point, when did he find out? If he requested me to be turned, I'm sure as hell going to find out why. Maybe this was it, my gift. Is that what he was looking for? I didn't dare ask. Not yet. I would have to butter him up a bit before I broached the subject with him.

"Can I at least have a few minutes, before we continue, to calm myself down?" I ask nicely. I had to play nice. I didn't know how much he already knew about my family, but I was going to prevent him from going as much as I could.

"Fine." He states. "I'll be back after I've fed. You better be prepared by that point."

After he walks back down the stairs, I start thinking about the best thing to calm my frazzled nerves. Music was always my go-to. I used to sing in the car during rush hour traffic, while I was doing chores that I hated, and even just for fun. I hadn't tested out my singing skills in this new body yet, so I might as well give it a go. One of my favorite songs to relax to is Enya's "Watermark", unfortunately it has no words, but I begin to hum and sing the main chords and notes to it. I begin my decent downstairs about halfway through the song and can't fathom what I see when I get back. I see everyone crowded by the staircase and they all seem to be in some sort of daze. Eyes glassy, shoulders down and relaxed, some even have wistful expressions on their faces.

It's a bit unnerving to see everyone, so when I stop humming to ask Bree why she's looking at me the way she is, they all come back to their senses and look at each other confused. I have no idea what happened and I'm not sure they do either, but it's something to inform Riley of when he gets back. Speaking of, I could really use a hunt myself. I take the chaperone-free opportunity that I have and inform Bree that I will be feeding, so if Riley comes back, he'll know I haven't gone far. Homeless are in abundance around here and one or two wouldn't be missed.

As I return, finally free of the burn in my throat, I've had a chance to think about what could have happened with everyone earlier. The only thing that makes sense is that somehow I caused it to happen. Not sure how, but it's another thing Riley and Victoria need to disclose to me. I head back upstairs to the second floor and notice that Riley is back. Sighing heavily, I know it's time to tell him what I found out.

"They were all looking at me with odd expressions. Almost as if they were stuck in pleasant memories. They all seemed a bit disoriented when I finally stopped, though." I said to him.

"Well, I'm glad that you've chosen to cooperate Amanda. Now let me have a demonstration. Would you please grab 3 of the others and bring them up here?" He asks.

"Sure." I state as I run to the stairs. I knew who I would get first and foremost, Bree. The rest, I didn't really care, but I knew she would be honest about what she was experiencing. After I spoke with Bree, she suggested two others join us. Matt and Dave. I'm not sure why she chose those two, but I wasn't going to ask. I'm sure she had her reasons.

We walked back up to the second floor and Riley placed me in front of all 3 of them. He asked me to think of another calming song, so I thought about it for a minute and came up with a Florence and the Machine song. "Never Let Me Go" was rather good, and I had perfect recollection of how it sounded, so once I had told Riley my choice, I had begun.

"Looking up from underneath
Fractured moonlight on the sea
Reflections still look the same to me
As before I went under"

As I began to sing, I noticed that Riley as well as the others had a very unfocused look in his eyes. He must be feeling the effects of whatever this is as well. That probably wasn't quite so good. I would need him focused so he could explain this to me. As I began the second verse, I placed my hands at my sides, curved them to form them into a concave shape, and focused just on the 3 in front of me. It seemed to be working, so I kept singing and kept focusing on getting Riley out from under my influence. By the first round of the chorus, he was himself again and trying very hard not to look excited. He kept motioning me to continue until I finished the song.

As everyone returned to their senses after the last note, Bree was the first to speak. "That was amazing!"

"I know what she means." Matt said.

"It was almost like being on the ocean floor, just laying there, forgetting all of your problems. You could even see the reflected moonlight on the water and feel the sand under your fingers." Said Dave.

"I'm not sure how you managed to do this, Amanda," said Riley, "but I will work with you to better improve your technique and see if you can, over time, influence just one person, multiples, or go back and forth between them. I need to talk to Victoria about this and see if she's heard of such a gift before."

I had never seen Riley so enthusiastic. Ever. About anything. He continued to surprise me by telling me to take the rest of the night to enjoy myself. I was apparently free of any duties until he heard back from Victoria. He even told me of a house near here where I would find clothes and a hot shower. I asked him why he was just telling me now and he said simply, "You had to earn it sweetheart and that icy personality wasn't getting you anywhere".

I ran off in the direction that he told me and came upon a dilapidated old house about a mile from our camp. Riley, Victoria, and at least 3 others had been here recently. I could smell them everywhere. However, I was more interested in the luxurious shower, full and fluffy towels included, and full closet of clean clothes and shoes that I found.

I was in heaven when I stepped under that hot water. I savored every drop of it as it ran over my skin. I could see all of the dirt and blood that had been on me was washing right down the drain. That left me able to see my new body with clearer eyes than I ever had before. My tattoos were still where I had put them, thank God, and even they stood out in sharp contrast to skin that could give my Connor a run for his money. I wasn't sure how they would have held up under the transformation. Unscented shampoo, conditioner, and body wash were all waiting for me and I almost squealed in delight. Before I knew it, I had shampooed my hair twice, conditioned it, and started washing the rest of me. I stayed in the shower a bit longer than was completely necessary, still relishing in the cleanliness.

Eventually I did get out and wrap myself in a really fluffy towel. A part of my brain was calculating exactly how fluffy, but the main part didn't care. I was cleaner than I had been in almost a week and it was a lovely feeling. I stayed in the bathroom to fix my hair and got a really good look in the mirror. My hair had actually changed color. It was still red, but this was a darker, more striking tone of the shade. My eyes were red, too which was a bit unnerving, although expected, but they matched my hair almost perfectly. I noticed that my face now held only sharp lines and accentuated all of the features I had grown to love about my face, without any of the negative things like crow's feet or excess roundness around my jawline. The muscles in my arms looked more defined, although the bite scars stood out in sharp contrast to the perfection, but it somehow made me feel better having them and showing them off. The same went for my torso and my legs. So, the venom makes us runway models? Who would have known that? Pleased by what I had seen, I wrapped my hair in a towel and made my way over to the closet. I found some frilly underwear in a drawer hidden behind the closet door, so I put that on, followed by a basic black tank top with built-in bra, dark wash jeans with a boot cut, and I finished the look off with a pair of black motorcycle boots. This felt right, this new look. It fit the new me and I loved it.

I go back into the bathroom to see the whole outfit and make sure I can pull it off. Satisfied, I take my gaze away from my body long enough to start the always arduous process of getting my hair to cooperate, but find that my hair is silky, smooth, tangle free, and has decided to fall in a wavy cascade down my back. I may be a bit vain, but I have to admit that I like the new look. It suits the new me. As I head back to camp, I grab a black leather motorcycle jacket to complete my badass ensemble and walk out the door. Now I just have to prove that I have the badass attitude that the clothes insist I have. I may have to work on that one.

A/N: Just to clarify, Amanda doesn't remember mentioning to Riley that she had family in Georgia. She was newly turned and in panic when she did so. Her brain wasn't able to process everything at the time, but since Riley is older to his vampire life, he can remember what she said.