Daughter of Three Suns
Chapter 17
Edward removed the knife from my throat and stepped around in front of me. Like Emmett, it was very beautiful. It's legs and body were covered with the same type of clothing James wore. Large golden eyes stared at me, and its hair was also golden but shot through with the same ochre, amber, scarlet, and brown that I'd seen in its feathers.
The throbbing in my chest confirmed what I already knew. It was definitely my soulmate—the one Grandmother Spirit had selected for me. I couldn't understand its reaction though. Why was there so much hate in its eyes? Why had it taken me prisoner?
Edward blinked rapidly, then turned away. "I'm going to get Felix to carry this … thing"— it waved its hand at me—"to the basement labs."
After it left, I glanced down at the shackles and chains on my ankles and wrists. The metal was old and flaking away. As discreetly as possible, I pulled on the chains connecting them. I felt them stretch and knew I could probably break them both.
"Not yet."
James was watching me closely. It stepped nearer, then peeked out the doorway where Edward had gone. "Be patient," it whispered urgently. "This will get you into the labs where the others are. Then you can break them and help us all escape."
"Why should I trust you?"
"Victoria is my mate. I had to help Edward and Aro so they wouldn't hurt her. Besides," it continued, "I didn't take your knife, did I?"
I nodded my head, and James stepped away quickly. Although hesitant, I decided to trust it and wait to see what was happening before making my escape.
I could smell Felix before it arrived, a thick cloying stench much like rotting fish. A hulking "thing" followed Edward into the room. Although it was shaped like us, I hesitated to call it a person or even an animal. Its blank, unfocused eyes and shambling shuffle hinted at a limited intelligence or self-awareness. Irina had called them "mindless monsters", and that seemed a fitting description.
"Carry it downstairs," Edward told Felix. "But carefully. Aro will punish you if you hurt it."
It threw me over its shoulder so that my head hung down against its back. I coughed, gagged, and tried to raise my head away from its body. Edward laughed. "Stinks, doesn't it. Might as well get used to the odor—you're going to be here a long, long time."
The climb down the stairs seemed to take forever. Felix paused on each step before lunging to the next. The jarring rhythm shook my whole body, and my hips were soon hurting. I pushed on its back with my shackled hands, trying to raise my upper body. Edward was following us. I noticed my belt with its bag was thrown over its shoulder, and it was carrying my staff. Our eyes locked. Both Mother and Rosalie had said they could hear what their basherter was thinking. I wondered why I could not hear Edward's thoughts. Maybe it could hear mine.
"Edward. Why are you doing this?" I let the words form in my head while I stared at it. "Help me free my people and return to my world. It's beautiful there, and we'll be happy." I pictured the desert, sparkling golden in the sun, the rock island of my home, its pond teeming with fish and growing plants. I showed it the Anamnesis, the women and men sharing the ecstasy that created babies. "We can have all of that together. Please, Edward, do not let this Aro person hurt me."
Its golden eyes widened for a moment, and I thought perhaps it had heard me. Then it frowned, and I felt anger, hurt, and a great rage flow from it. I thought of Alice's words. "Two," she had said. "There will be two, and then a third. One who hates, one who helps, and one who will betray. Beware them all."
The two I had met, and it was obvious which one hated and which one would help. I wondered who the third could be.
…..
The basement was a dimly lit maze of walkways and tunnels lined with rooms. Some had open doorways and some were closed off with the metal barriers Irina had called doors. Everything looked old and dirty. There were noises: grunts and yelling behind some of the doors, and crying behind another. A map of the twisting and turning formed in my head as we walked. I knew I could find my way back to the stairs it I needed to.
We entered a large room, and Felix dropped me on a tall metal table. I grunted in pain when my back and head hit the hard surface. "I told you not to hurt it," Edward snapped.
In truth, I wasn't actually hurt but had decided to copy what Irina had done—act weak and helpless. Perhaps they would not notice my strength and become careless.
"Well, well. What do we have here?" Another man stood beside the table, staring down at me. Its gray skin and hair hung loose and limp on its head, and there were open sores on its face. Several of its teeth were missing from gums that were red and swollen. It looked sick and smelled unhealthy. What caught my attention, however, were its eyes. They were a basherter's glowing gold.
"Who? What?" I whispered.
"My name is Aro, my dear, and what are you called?"
"Bella."
"Lovely name for such an ugly creature." It laughed. Aro picked up one of my arms and drew a finger along the darker skin of my scar before examining the other arm. "Interesting markings on this one. Almost as if it's been burned before." It scrapped the skin with its fingernail, then poked at the muscle under the brown skin. I shied away from its touch. "Be still, or I'll have you tied to the table," Aro warned. I stilled my movements.
"As to what I am," it continued, "I am a man who was once trapped on your hellhole of a world in my shapeshifter form until I was able to flee the woman who captured me and escape to this world."
Aro continued to touch me, squeezing my arms and legs, examining my claws, and inspecting my teeth and ears. "A very healthy specimen," it muttered. Aro tilted my head back and peered closely at the wounds on my neck where Edward had cut me. "Who did this?"
"I did."
Aro chuckled at Edward's words. "She almost get away from you?"
"No," Edward spat back his reply. "But you've seen its claws. I wasn't taking any chances."
Aro laughed again. "Shrewd choice." It pulled my clothing away from my upper chest and drew back in surprise at the circle embedded in my flesh. "What is this?" One finger traced the scarlet ring and it leaned over for a closer look. I drew back in disgust when spittle from its mouth landed on my chin.
Aro frowned down at me. "I warned you to be still, didn't I. Edward, get the restraints and strap her to the table, and James, go get my medical equipment."
Edward wrapped a wide strap across my chest and secured it to the table. Then it placed another across my lower thighs. Even though I watched closely, it refused to look at my face. Resentment flowed from it.
I turned my attention back to Aro. "You are a liar. No woman took you captive or held you against your will. Grandmother Spirit sends us to the places were the basherti are in danger. Your world must have been dying."
"I was a scientist," it screamed back at me. "I could have fixed what was wrong, but I'll never know now, will I? My world died because a woman from yours interfered and kept me from completing my work." More spittle flew from its mouth as it yelled and shrieked at me. An ugly red flush stained its cheeks, and it trembled with the force of the words. "I was a powerful man, respected for my intellect and cunning. I could have been the ruler of my world and everything in it. Instead, I was reduced to a pet bird, never allowed to speak or be myself."
"But you were loved, weren't you? This woman you accuse was your soulmate. You shared ecstasy with her and had children who loved you. You could speak to her with your mind. Food and a home were both provided for you, and you had the freedom of the sky. Wasn't that better than perishing on a dying world?"
My words angered it even more. It choked and sputtered and shook violently. Aro fisted its hands, and for a moment, I thought it might strike me. I noticed Edward watching warily.
"Loved, was I? Children you say? Ha! Three nasty little girls who took all their mother's attention. Bitch couldn't even give me a boy. I saw this open door and flew through it to a better place. One where I'm in charge and make the rules. With my knowledge and a few of your women to experiment on, I've been able to start my own race of shapeshifters. Soon, we'll rule this world."
The raving was interrupted when James appeared, pushing a small table. It was covered in thin metal things. Some of them looked very sharp.
"James here was my first," Aro said, patting James' shoulder. "And now I have Edward. I would have had a third if Esme hadn't escaped and gone back to your world, leaving her two sons here with no one to raise them. Some loving mother she was!"
"Now I know you lie." I glared at it. "Esme was my aunt. She would never have left her children, and she never returned to our world. We honor her memory at our Anamnesis."
Aro reared back as if I'd pushed it. "Bitch," it said and reached for a piece of cloth lying on the small table. "I'll fix that mouth so we don't have to hear any more of your lies." The cloth was tied tightly over my mouth.
Aro fumbled with the medical equipment on the table. When it turned back to me, it was holding a long, pointed thing. "This might hurt a little," it chuckled with a sickening grin. "You can scream if you want to."
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Thanks for reading.
