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Alice POV

CHAPTER 8

Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Why did they have to go and change her of all people? Why? I'm so livid I'm surprised I don't have smoke coming out of my ears! Everything was perfect in my life until that decision was made. I had a vision a week ago that someone was stalking her, but I couldn't get a clear read on who she was or why she was important. Just some random stranger on a Seattle street. Now that she's been changed, I understand and I do not like.

Jasper hasn't been oblivious to my visions, but he's waiting patiently for me to go to him and explain. He just doesn't understand that I can't. How would I even begin to explain this? Nothing I ever said or did for him was a lie, but of course he'd be wrecked if he knew. That I did see.

That's why I'm on a mission to Seattle myself. To sort this. I know that Peter called, so that would be a distraction and possibly get me the time I needed to complete this. He thinks I've given him the usual silent treatment, so I'll need to make it convincing when I get back. Instead, my mission is to find her and destroy her. If I don't, everything I live for will be gone. One look, that's all it would take and he wouldn't be mine anymore. He wouldn't ever forgive me if he knew, but she's too dangerous to be kept alive.

Need drives me. I find the Army right where I knew I would. I'm downwind, so they can't smell me and none of them has a gift to sense me here, so this is a good vantage point. They aren't hiding very well, not like it would matter to me. I see three people, two red heads and a sandy blonde, standing in the middle of a circle of around twenty newborns. One of them is who I'm after, one is not who I expected, and the last, a male with the sandy hair, I don't recognize. I see Victoria start forward. She is speaking to what is obviously her Army, but because she's speaking so quietly I can't quite hear what she's saying. So she's the one behind this. It's a blunt way to handle a single human, but unfortunately it's effective. Jasper has told me over the years how much damage newborns can cause when not controlled. I'm actually surprised that they aren't fighting with each other and have a calm enough mind to take orders.

The sandy blonde one comes forward and introduces the second red head. His voice is a bit louder, so I can make out what he's saying.

"Amanda is now our third in command. Without her gift, we would not be able to grow this Army to its full potential without the threat of infighting. Please show her the same amount of respect that you show to Victoria and I. She is a great asset and a wonderful fighter."

Another male in the crowd looks at Amanda curiously, "What is it that she can actually do?" He asks.

"I think a demonstration is in order, what do you think?" sandy asks Amanda.

The sandy male looks over at Amanda and gestures for her to move forward. He stops her and whispers something in her ear, when she looks at him and nods, he pulls away. I can get a better look at her now that she's not standing behind anyone. Her hair is a different shade of red from Victoria's fiery locks, it's darker…like the actual color of blood and falls in ominous waves down her back to in between her shoulder blades. She's tall, I would say 5'8" from this angle and thin. Though not overly so. Her face is striking, even with the scars of battle criss-crossing patterns over her, she high cheekbones and deep hollows, but her eyes are what capture me. They're the exact same color as the red of her hair. Deep blood red. I've never seen a vampire's eyes that color before. I have to say that Amanda's beauty does make me a bit jealous, but I still don't really see what makes her powerful enough to have Victoria of all people trust her.

Amanda smiles at sandy and says with a slight Southern twang to her voice, "Thank ya, Riley." That makes me shudder in the worst way. I hate that accent and have been trying to wean Jazz off of it for decades. I know that name 'Riley'. It takes a minute to register in my head, but I bet that's Riley Biers. The boy who has been missing for over a year. I'll feel bad that his parents will never get answers as to what happened to him. He'll just be a cold case in a dusty file somewhere.

I get hit with a vision of me laying, eyes wide and unseeing, laying in the dirt a few seconds before Amanda opens her mouth. She stands facing most of the crowd, with the palms of her hands facing forward and her fingers splayed out. I think she's about to speak and explain what she can do, but I don't hear any words. I see both Riley and Victoria cover their ears and I idly wonder why before I feel it. What does assault me is hypnotic. The most beautiful vocal music I've ever heard has me completely enraptured and it seems to be coming from Amanda herself. There are no words, yet I can feel my body responding, relaxing at every note, enjoying the sensations of calm and happiness that are infusing themselves in my very soul. Time means nothing. Movement means nothing. Self-preservation means nothing. I could listen for the rest of my life and never tire.

I'm not sure how much time passes before the assault finally stops. It could have been seconds or days. I'm quick to get on my feet and notice that I wasn't the only one affected. Everyone surrounding Amanda, Victoria, and Riley seem to be in the same position I was. Unseeing and laying down on the ground. I now understand why Victoria and Riley covered their ears. Seeing other vampires incapacitated like that, just from a voice, is not a comforting sight. Especially if the vampire wielding that power is not fighting for you, but against you.

I've heard one of Carlisle's friends, Zafrina, can make you see anything her still heart desires. She makes you believe you are really wherever it is she puts you. This is different. Amanda can actually influence a hypnotic state among our kind and hypnosis in a fight isn't good. Her voice could be lethal. That's why Alec is feared so much in the Volturi Guard. His gift is similar, but instead of hypnotizing you, he cuts off all of your senses using a mist-like substance.

I refocus on the group as they all come to their senses, snarling at Amanda. That could be beneficial to me. The Army hates what they've just been through and now they're pissed. Riley comes forward to speak to Amanda again. Whatever he says to her, she seems compliant with. Not happy, but compliant.

"Amanda has just demonstrated for you one effect that her talent has. Her voice is our greatest weapon. She can take an entire rival Army down with just a few notes, but that is not all she is capable of." Riley states as he looks at Amanda proudly.

"You mean to tell me that there's more?!" A blonde female almost yells.

"Much, much more." I hear Riley's voice, but he didn't speak. Instead, Amanda continues to speak, borrowing Riley's voice. "You all are probably wondering why there hasn't been any fighting amongst us in the past few months, am I right? Well, truth be told I have been quietly singing to myself every day over the past few months. Singing was something I did to calm my nerves when I was human. It was actually Riley who made me aware of, and helped me better control, my gift. Apparently I was calming everyone around me as well as myself without even realizing it. I can also mimic any sound that I hear. Any. Sound. That means voices, cars, rain, and even the wind."

I stare at Amanda a bit shocked. Having someone else's voice is extremely creepy. It's like a part of you is being stolen and mutilated into something else entirely. What she could do with that voice was way too risky. I've seen two very different demonstrations from her and there's no telling what all she could do. If she sang a certain song, I may be willing to throw myself on a pyre without thinking twice. Not good at all.

I can see her hand fly up to her throat. She must not be too old to this life yet, but she's still a force to be reckoned with. She turns to ask Riley and Victoria for permission to hunt so she can cool the soreness in her throat. Since she has been successful in her endeavors this evening, she's given permission and runs off towards the city. I follow her to see if I can catch her off guard during her bloodlust. That would be the perfect time to strike. She had to be dealt with for more than one reason. A) Because my family would be defenseless if we met them in battle. You can't fight by keeping your ears covered and earplugs and earmuffs can only do so much for a vampire. B) This woman was going to take Jasper from me. She was his true mate.