Chapter Twenty-Three: Battle Scars and Whisper Wars
We could have laid there for hours, lying to ourselves, pretending that there wasn't a war about to rear its ugly head at us on the other side of that door. We talked until someone- Jasper, I believe, given the drawl in his voice- knocked on the door and demanded our presence.
Some other vampires had arrived. Nomads, this time, their double arrival unplanned but convenient nonetheless. The woman, Mary, shook our hands with wary eyes. They didn't ask as many questions as the Irish or Amazon covens had.
It was nice, I felt, to not have someone scream at us the second the laid eyes on the twins. Tanya, it appeared, was the only one who had such a strong reaction.
All the while, Renesmee sat with Jane on the couch, who had been clutching onto the armrest so hard her nails pierced the fabric.
"You're going to get stuck," Alec grinned, flopping down next to his sister, "You're like a cat, Jane."
She looked up at him, eyes narrowed. "You need to stop leaving me alone with these people. Anyone of them could turn on me in a second, and without my powers, I'm fucked,"
Ness cocked her head, "We aren't going to attack you. Don't you know that? We're friends now-"
"Allies," Bella amended, breaking away from her conversation with Mary and Randall for a half-second. "We have a mutual enemy, Renesmee. That doesn't make all of us friends."
"Mama, you can decide to be friends with whomever you want, and I will do the same," She retorted, tilting her chin up. Bella blinked but shook off her daughter's attitude.
"I think we all need to check the animosity towards one another," Alice sighed. "We'll find time to hunt within the next few weeks. That should help with everyone's agitation,"
"We went without blood for almost a year," I said, "A lack of it isn't an excuse to be irritable."
"I am allowed to like who I do and don't like," Bella hissed. "Jane has wanted nothing more than to hurt my family from the second we met in Volterra."
Jane removed her nails from the upholstery and rose to her feet in a fluid motion. "Is that what I wanted? Swan, congratulations on the newly found mind-reading abilities."
"I don't have to be able to read your mind to know. You couldn't stand it- you couldn't stand that your gift didn't work on me,"
"No, I hated that Aro thought you were so special," She corrected, her teeth gritted together. Alec leaned forward on the couch- some odd combination of a ready-to-spring crouch and a desire to watch the exchange. "You were just a human,"
"And you sought out every opportunity to use your ability,"
"I used my gift when I was told to. It's the only way I have to defend myself. Fucking shit, Swan. I'm four-eight. Do you want me to headbutt you instead?"
"That's not the point. You didn't use it as a defense. You used it as a display of power. You tortured Edward anytime you had the opportunity,"
"Actually, it was twice. Both on Aro's order. You've met me three times and you think you have the fucking right to make assumptions about me?" She seethed, her chest rising and falling as tremors racked her body. "Do you want to fucking see what happens when you tell Aro no?"
Behind her eyes, something flickered. The beginning of an apocalypse.
Without us saying anything, she whirled around and pulled her shirt up. Scars crisscrossed her porcelain flesh, covering every surface of her skin until her back was, all in all, nothing more than a mass of torn flesh. If a human saw her in such a state, they'd only notice the newest ones, puckered and ripped. I looked down at my arms. Compared to her- I'd gone through a spa day with Audrey.
"Jane…" Renesmee breathed, her barely audible voice enough to shatter the heavy silence. I glanced at Alec. He sat frozen at my side, hands shaking. I presumed with the unrelenting desire to snap the head off of the person who'd done that to his twin. I could hardly remember my brother, other than the fact that he existed. Still, I understood that bond. I closed my eyes and cupped my head.
Bella swallowed, her arms wrapped around her body. "Listen. I'm sorry. For making assumptions. It doesn't-"
"You're a very narrow-minded person, Bella," Jane said, her head cocked to the side as she allowed her shirt to drop back into place. "I don't say that to be cruel, but maybe you should learn from it. I'm not the only person who isn't going to like you."
"This isn't about you not liking me," She protested. "I'm not that immature,"
"I think you are. It's not your fault. You're young. You'll learn."
"I'm older than you are,"
"No. Only in appearance. That doesn't count for much when you can live forever."
"Fine," Bella snarled, swaying back and forth. She gave the impression of someone who wasn't often told no. "I still don't have to trust you,"
"You can be paranoid and continue holding grudges all you want. It doesn't affect me."
"I think we all need a break," Jasper suggested, swinging Alice's arm back and forth. "We'll go outside and train. Both of you have energy that needs to be expended."
It wasn't an option. We slugged off to the back of the house and sat on the porch with the other covens. Mary and Randall spent the time locked in hushed conversation- something about their travels.
Jasper held everyone's attention, though. All eyes were on him- or Bella. Except Renesmee, who sat, lurched forward, her eyes locked on Jane's every move.
She fought well. Better than I thought she would. For someone who spent years only relying on a mental power for protection, the short time Jasper spent training us paid off. She dodged smoothly, putting her height to good use. Bella could barely grab onto her, needing to duck and lunge in order to get close.
"Damn," I breathed. Jane whipped around, dodging attack after attack.
"She's incredible!" Renesmee breathed, her chest rising and falling as she fiddled with her hair, watching with unblinking eyes. "Mama can barely keep up!"
"Shouldn't you be cheering for your mother?" I asked, but she shook her head.
"I've cheered for ma-" She broke off with a low hiss. Bella finally got ahold of her opponent. Fingers wrapped around Jane's neck, she jerked her to the ground.
Alec tensed. Bella sat across the smaller girl, fingers digging into Jane's throat.
"G-G-ge-get- the- fuck-off- of- me-" She screeched, arching her back in an attempt to knock Bella off.
"You can get out yourself. You'll figure out a way." Bella said, her voice calm despite how tight she hung onto Jane's throat.
"Get. OFF!" Jane screamed that last word, her fingers tearing desperately at Bella's.
"Jasper," Alec began as he stood up. "Call it off."
Jasper merely held a hand up. "She'll be fine. She needs to learn how to get out of difficult holds."
"This isn't helping!" Alec hissed. "Tell Swan to get off of her or I will personally drag her off by her hair."
On the ground, Jane gave a faint sob and whimper. "G-et...o-off…"
Something, I suppose, about the defeated tonality in her voice jogged Bella's mind. She removed her knee from Jane's stomach.
Her shirt was covered in a strange, silvery substance.
"Alec-" I started, but he bolted past me, dropping to his knees next to his sister.
Bella no longer held her down, but she hadn't moved at all.
"Shit!" He snarled, pushing up the shirt. Gashes covered her stomach, and they were dripping with a substance that appeared to be silver blood.
"The fuck is that?" I asked, wrinkling my nose at the smell of it as Ness and I drew closer.
"Child of the Moon venom," He declared, brushing a few fingers across her wounds to collect it on the tips. It sizzled on his skin until he wiped it on the grass. "It reacts with our venom- like oil and water. Since they can't mix, our venom will push the CoM venom to any open wounds in an attempt to get it out."
"You think-"
"Exactly,"
Renesmee, fists clenched, rounded on her mother. "You should have stopped, mama! Why didn't you stop!"
"Baby, I wasn't trying to hurt her," Bella sighed, placing her hands on Ness's shoulders. "When we're fighting Aro's armies, people aren't going to be kind to one another. They aren't going to care if she's in pain. She has to learn how to defend herself,"
"Might I suggest, with all due respect to the almighty Swan, perhaps you should have taught her that before pinning her to the ground?" Alec snarled. He'd pulled off a piece of his shirt, and had taken to dabbing away the venom. The issue, though, was that the fabric practically disintegrated on contact. Jane groaned on the ground, her body arching. I jumped the last few steps and knelt next to him..
"It's not so serious. The venom just stings." He smiled lightly, continuing to dab it away despite how it just ruined his shirt. "Can you see if Carlisle's in the house?"
I rose fluidly and bolted back up the stairs and into the house.
"Carlisle?" I called from right inside the door. If he was there, he'd hear me.
A note, taped to the counter, caught my eye.
Esme and I are going to Switzerland to speak with some covens there. We'll be back by tomorrow evening.
Great. I grabbed the note and threw open the door.
"Carlisle and Esme have gone," I said, holding out the crumpled paper for anyone who might want to inspect it. "Switzerland. To try and find more allies,"
"Great," Alec hissed, gathering his twin in his arms. In his arms, she didn't look quite as tiny as she had in Jasper's.
"I can walk," She huffed, pushing herself up in his arms, her head cocked to the side. "It's not so bad you- gah!"
He grinned. "It's won't take long to heal, but I suggest you rest until it does. I was hoping that Carlisle would know how to keep the venom from burning you-"
"Alkaline," Renesmee said, falling into step at his other side.
"What?"
"We need an alkaline solution. I studied the chemical makeup of vampire and child of the moon venom. Both are highly acidic. We need to make something that can counterbalance it and that should neutralize the pain,"
"Delightful," Alec said, beaming. "Can you make it?"
"Sure. Uncle Jas has a chemical lab in the basement," She answered with a shrug. "If you can get me a sample of the venom, I can start on it right away,"
He collected less than a teaspoon of venom in a dish set out on the steps to collect water, and Renesmee disappeared into the house. Her footsteps clicked on the steps to the basement, and one floor above her, we could hear her rushing about with vials and glass.
Jane settled into our bed, her fingers clamped over the open wounds. The second he'd laid her down, her eyes flew open.
"I'll kill her," She snarled, and she pushed herself up onto her elbows only to fall back with a squeak of pain a second later. "If she pulls that shit again- I swear. I don't care if I have my gift back or not, I'll-"
"You were sparring," I reminded her, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I'm sure she just got too into it. We don't need anyone fighting now, so please don't."
Her eyes narrowed. "Don't what? I told her to stop plenty of times. She didn't listen. Now, I have to lay here and let my brother baby me."
"And that is precisely what I'm going to do," He bent over the other side of the bed and kissed her cheek. "Lay down."
Her voice faded away. I could hear it. There's no way I couldn't have heard it. But I didn't register it anymore after that. She protested his commands. I understood that from the tone of their exchange, but they could have revealed secrets to me and I'd have no recollection of them, later.
My world enveloped itself in silence, my own thoughts cramming my brain so full of sound until I couldn't have heard them- even if I wanted to. My eyes trailed over the siblings for a moment, analyzing their interactions. Still, their voices remained muted, for the buzzing in my brain, coupled with the frantic words that ran rampant through my mind, became deafening.
Ripping away, I threw open the nearest door and threw my hands down onto the bathroom countertop.
Stop it. Stop it. He's… it's just his sister. Don't be jealous.
His sister? Perhaps, but do you really believe he loves you as much as her? Familial love is just as strong as romantic. Didn't you know that?
He can love us both.
Let's not forget that other girl, shall we?
She just had a crush on him. That was it.
Maybe, at first, but imagine what he'd do if he saw her now. Hybrids are meant to be beautiful after all. Look at Ness.
She is pretty, but.
It's not a matter of if he loves you or not, but who he loves the most. Who would he save?
Inhaling sharply, though the air did nothing for me, I dug my nails into the granite and left gouges. My eyes lingered on my reflection.
Nothing was wrong. I knew there would be scars. I knew I wouldn't be the same as before, but something about my own appearance frightened me. I reached up and brushed my fingers across the glass where my eyes reflected.
An emotion lingered in them, right behind the irises where a light should have shined. Shit- what the fuck's wrong with me?
Alec doesn't give me attention for nine seconds and I feel like I'm about to crack? How stupid is that? Selfish, really. He's the one that I should worry about. I talked to Carlisle about what happened to me. Us. That should have been enough.
It wasn't, and that became clear with each second I stayed in the bathroom.
There could have been a fire beyond it. I wouldn't have known. Audrey could be right outside of the door.
I wouldn't have known.
I closed my eyes and let my hand rest on the doorknob, preparing myself to go back into the real world. I had to act fine. I needed to be okay, for him. I couldn't help my mate if I had my own issues to deal with.
So, I imagined that they didn't exist. Better yet, I decided to believe that everything that happened in Volterra was nothing more than a dream, an illusion carried over from my days as a human.
I pushed open the door and returned to life.