Chapter 4

Edward and Bella sat on opposite sides of the table with their plates full of pasta that both were just picking at. They stole slight smiles, the conversation mostly in mind, though they didn't seem to notice.

"Tell me where Alice is, please." Bella said before placing a fork full of noodles that were twisted carefully around the tines.

"She's with Jasper." He smirked, eating his own fork full of fettuccini.

"Not enough information." She countered.

"It's hard to say because they travel often."

"But she's okay."

"She is now, yes."

"What does that mean?"

It wasn't how Edward wanting their dinner conversation to go, he had wanted her to ask more questions about him and he would in turn get to ask about her.

He should have known better.

"Jasper found her, luckily, before it was too late."

"Where was she? What happened?"

"She was scrapped."

"I hate that word."

Edward shrugged. "It is effective. It is what they do and it creates a sense of fear which is warranted. She was found quite by accident, at a picnic. No one really even knew she was missing for several hours. She was taken quickly, most likely with a threat of violence. I won't get into it here, but she was found in a psychiatric ward where she sat in darkness for many weeks, if not months and that did have an adverse effect on her. Luckily, she has been getting better. Her sight is still minimal, not that it matters. She can see fine in her head."

He gave a dark chuckle. It was obviously a joke she didn't understand.

"Jasper has helped a lot. He has a soothing way about him- to her- and they work well together. He does tend to have a bit of a temper, though. He doesn't usually let anyone get too close, if at all. I've seen him shred people to nothing. Not a fun sight to see."

"Is he like you?"

"Similar, not the same. Emmett and Carlisle are the same."

"Carlisle?"

"My father, Carlisle Cullen."

Bella gasped. "I know that name."

"I know you do."

"You knew about me since I was a baby because of your family."

"We've kept watch here longer than we care to say- ensuring your safety. I, on the other hand, was not allowed to stay. I could have been a threat-"

He didn't continue his thought. It just stopped like a door was shut on it.

"What is Jasper?"

"He is more of a bug-type species of sorts." Edward winked, thankful for the slight change in topic. "He has some creepy ways about him, for sure. I think because people don't take well to bugs that they unknowingly avoid him. He's pretty repellant, even on his good days.

Bella scoffed, trying to imagine her friend's face when he turned into a giant praying mantis. She giggled watching the Alice in her mind ripping his head off after they were intimate.

"Gross." Edward chuckled, amused.

"What other types are there?"

"Oh, they are endless… almost anything you can imagine has a humanoid outside and other stuff on the inside, just like you."

"Just like me?"

"You know you're from the stars?"

"I have been told."

He gave a Cheshire grin. "One of the most prized and sought after."

"Lovely." Bella frowned. "What's my inside goo? You didn't say."

"Light."

"How anti-climactic." She took another bite.

"Not when you glow and there are some that are in the dark. What would those who are in the dark want most?"

"Light. I get it."

"You're an energy source to some, but to some others you are more. They think by consuming you they would evolve their kind into something else."

"Would they?"

Edward shrugged. "Though they have tried, they haven't found one yet that facilitated that."

"Are you talking about having a soul?"

Edward paled. She was quicker than he had thought. "In some aspects, yes."

Bella couldn't decide if she was disgusted or if she was disturbed, but it felt like both.

"Why me?"

"You don't see yourself clearly, do you?"

She remained quiet.

"You're the game changer." He whispered.

"What does that mean?" She seriously didn't know.

"You are the healer, the shield, the light… and even though everyone is in some way or another, you came here right from the stars, where others were born with it. You are the light personified."

"Like Jesus?"

Edward laughed, clapping his hands. Her naiveté was amusing. "No, not like Jesus, the Son of God. No. Not like him. You're so amusing."

"Then like what?"

Edward looked around the room until his eyes landed on the fireplace.

"Look at that fire. In your mind, tell the fire to grow, but not too much to overtake the room."

Bella concentrated and told the fire to grow as directed and watched as it did.

"That is just a bit of what you can do." Edward cupped his hand over hers. "Can you warm my hand?"

Bella did the same thing, said "warm" in her head and instantly felt the energy moving through her and out her hand.

"A natural." He sighed, relishing in her warmth.

"So I am a star."

Edward shrugged. "You are of that energy dynamic, yes. You control your own energy, amplifying it and the like at will. A force to be reckoned with, I'd say. A shield, when needed and more, I am sure. Hopefully it doesn't get into the wrong hands. That's where I come in."

"So the intense warmth I'm feeling?"

"Easy. You didn't turn it off."

"Oh!" She withdrew her hand from his and he instantly felt cold. He grabbed her hand back into his, feeling the instant warmth again.

"You don't have to remove your hand; you just control its intensity with your mind."

"You're so cold."

Edward scoffed. "Part dragon will do that. Cold blooded."

"I guess." Bella smiled. "So our kids?"

She didn't have to finish the words before Edward's nostrils flared and he began to slowly turn to look out the door.

Several moments later a man entered the restaurant with a woman on his arm. But Edward knew better. She was nothing more than an optical illusion. The man was alone and only Edward could see his true form.

"It's time to go." Edward said. He pulled out his wallet from his jacket pocket and placed a large bill on the table that was enough to pay for their meal and a decent tip.

He rose and took Bella's hand. She quietly obeyed, though she was curious to find out what Edward had seen in the couple that set him on edge.

The man was short with black shoulder length hair that curled at the end. He looked unassuming to her and definitely not the kind of guy Edward would be worried about.

"Look again." He said in his head as they moved through the room and touched the marking on her arm with a swipe of the finger.

Bella looked again; even though it was a mere few second glance it was enough. The man wasn't a man at all, but some kind of alien. His skin looked like it had been burned and charred at one point in his life. Half of his face was missing, it seemed.

"Sad."

Edward sneered. "You get burned when you play with the light."

They moved through the back door of the restaurant and didn't go to the car. In a moment that felt like a dream, Bella was in the sky and flying, Edward, in all his glory, donned wings and muscular limbs tipped in razor sharp claws.