Chapter 3
Edward found it quite amusing how many people were being "neighborly" and dropping by to see "who bought the new Lawson place." He didn't exactly find it as amusing that everyone thought they were a gay couple, but it was easier than explaining why exactly he didn't date, so he hadn't bothered to correct anyone who had dropped by since yesterday.
Today Jasper was working on getting their Internet working, so Edward had answered the doorbells. Not that everyone in town had dropped by, or anything like that, but the realtor must have told everyone she knew. He supposed it was strange to see a "young gay couple" moving into Forks, but he insisted that he and Jasper loved the outdoors and the lack of snow, as well as being close to the ocean.
Of course, it was a bit tricky being close to humans when you hadn't had a proper meal in a few weeks. They probably should call Carlisle once the Internet was working - at the least he could tell them some good places to hunt. Big game tasted better than small, and anything would taste better than those awful raccoons. He remembered that being around humans was easier that way, although there was only one way of getting rid of that throat burn.
Suddenly the doorbell rang. "Way to go, telepath," snarked Jasper.
Edward was shocked. He checked, and yes, there was someone at the door - someone stupid, apparently. Well, perhaps not stupid, he had read the minds of morons, and they thought thoughts, just not very original ones. So what was this? Someone who had ... murky... thoughts? Perhaps it was like that one vampire who could block him fully - this must be what her thoughts would have been like as a human.
He walked towards the door and checked himself. "Jasper?"
"What?"
"Can you smell that?"
He sniffed. "It's a human. What the hell, man. Blocking you?"
"It smells really good to me," he explained.
Jasper suddenly focused his empathic powers on Edward. "Holy hell, boy, you best sit tight. Go to the basement."
"No, I think - I'll just stop breathing and see if I can get the laptops working."
Jasper grunted his assent, put in some brown colored contact lenses, and opened the door.
A teenage girl with a newspaper and her father stood on the porch. "Hello," he said. "I'm Charlie Swan, and this is my daughter Bella. We live about three doors down, thought we come to welcome you."
"Pleasure to meet you, sir, my name's Jasper Whitlock. That there yonder's Edward Masen, but he's a mite busy fussin' with the network."
"Hello," Edward managed to wheeze out. Two people? He replayed the past few minutes in his head, and in fact, yes, there had been two heartbeats and footsteps and breathing patterns, two people walking to their door. He couldn't exactly verify, but it seemed that it was the man whose thoughts were murky. Which meant that he couldn't read the daughter's thoughts. At all. So it probably was a genetic-witch-sort-of-thing. He was actually the local police chief, and quite certain that the two of them were "queer".
"Very nice to meet you, I thought you two might like a copy of the paper? Since you just moved here?" The girl sounded cheerful.
"Why that's mighty thoughtful of you, Miss Bella," said Jasper, taking the paper. He hadn't attempted to shake their hands, which was probably for the best. Jasper didn't seem to find Bella as delectable as Edward, but why take chances? "We bought this house yesterday," he began, gave the spiel about the wilderness and the ocean, invented a relative who died for a windfall, and ended with the truth: "After living in Montreal the past few years, it seemed the right thing to do."
"Well you better behave, don't drive that fancy British car too fast," Charlie joked. "See you two around."
"Not professionally, I hope, sir, g'night." Jasper flashed a friendly smile.
"Nice to meet you." Bella returned his smile and tried to catch a glimpse of Edward, but since his eyes weren't properly drained of red, he turned his head away from her. She gave up, closed the door, and Edward finally resumed breathing.
"Damnation, it's the girl. She smells - O God! - so good. And can you believe it, her mind isn't there for me, at all, not one bit!"
"Like Elis?" asked Jasper, referring to the vampire who had blocked him and Aro.
He shook his head. "I could tell Elis was there, like a wall. Bella is like... like walking in a marsh, where it looks like grass, but actually water. Can't even tell it's there."
His singer is undetectable to him! "Well, I could read her feelin's, but they were kinda basic. Usually humans are easier, but she reads like she's a vamp already."
"Ugh, a singer down the road, just what I needed. At least the 'net's up."
"Well, think you better call on your sire?"
"Definitely. Do you want to come with me? He's probably still at the hospital."
Jasper shook his head. "Really don't want to be around bleedin' people, y'know?"
"Good point. I'll ask him to come by, then." He pulled out his cell and dialed the number for Doctor Cullen's office.
A once-familiar voice answered. "This is Dr. Cullen."
"Hello, um, this is Edward. Masen," he added unnecessarily.
"Ed - Edward? Edward Masen? Are you - wait, are you here?"
"Uh, yes, I just moved to Forks." He gave his address. "Just past the Swans?"
"Yes, the old Lawson place, I know - why - I'll just come over after my last patient, is that all right?"
"Certainly, see you soon."
He put his phone away. "So he's coming over."
Jasper took out his contacts. "I happen to have excellent hearing, thanks."
They read their email while they waited for Carlisle to arrive, and it wasn't more than two hours before the doorbell rang again. "Come on in!"
Carlisle entered. Vampire memory was supposed to be perfect, yet it still surprised Edward that Carlisle looked just as he remembered. Just under six feet, blond, attractive in the vampire manner - and his eyes were golden-honey. Jasper fixated on them. I have to get that, he swore to himself.
Edward stood up as Carlisle approached then embraced him. "Edward, my God, it's been so long." His eyes. At least they aren't pure red. "What have you been doing with yourself?"
"Jasper and I work with the Volturi. Aro sends his best; he misses you and often thinks of you."
The Volturi? "Did they send you here?"
Edward nodded. "We're establishing another outpost in Seattle. Well, here, really, but the main address will be Seattle. That's what we do. We just set one up in Montreal."
"Jasper Whitlock sir, very good to meet you." They shook hands. "We look over cities and areas to verify vampire behavior. If anything looks too obvious, we alert the big guns."
"So you - I'm sorry. How long have you been doing this?"
He was asking Edward - concerned. Almost disturbed. "Well, you know I met Jasper after I - left. I tried to find him again, after Rosalie killed those men, and I found the Volturi. Jasper's dam, Maria, had created some newborns so they could kill him, and they made enough of a stir for them. It was Jane, Alec, Eleazar and Demetri."
"Yes, Eleazar told me he met you when he met Carmen." She had been one of the newborns, and Eleazar and her turned out to be mates. He had been curious enough about Edward and Carlisle to go to Alaska, where the other "vegetarian" coven had lived.
"Are they still there? Perhaps Jasper and I should pay them a visit."
"Please, continue," said Carlisle.
"Well, they, they tortured Maria to find out why she had acted in such a reckless manner, and she told them about Jasper, and I - I'd been eavesdropping, you see, but after they actually killed her, I was terrified that Jasper was next, so I ran up them and announced 'Carlisle Cullen says hello!'"
Jasper was grinning to beat the band, and Carlisle started chuckling himself. "And that worked?"
"Didn't Eleazar tell you that part?"
"No!" He laughed again.
"Well, anyway, we convinced each other that no harm would be coming to Jasper, and after finding him, Eleazar went to Denali, and Jasper and I went to Italy. Jasper was fine with joining, but I wanted a more active role, so Aro and I hammered out the whole outpost idea. Any vampire that kills enough to make people suspicious, I track, Jasper immobilizes, and we either send him to Aro -"
"Or send 'em to God," drawled Jasper.
"I - I see."
"Oh calm down Carlisle, we called you because we want tips on your diet," said Edward, exasperated.
"Oh! Truly?"
"That's right, sir."
"Please, call me Carlisle."
Edward grinned. "He calls Aro 'sir' too. Of course, Aro likes it."
Carlisle chuckled. "So neither of you found mates, I assume?" He was remembering Rosalie. He turned Rosalie partly in hopes that at least Edward would want to stay for her, but neither of them really liked each other much. Apparently Rosalie was mated now, however, with the last vampire Carlisle created, a large dark-haired man called Emmett.
"Please, don't ever try to set me up again," he laughed.
"I don't know, I wouldn't mind meeting some women," said Jasper.
"None of the Denali coven?" asked Edward, but saw Irina in Carlisle's memories, holding hands with a dark-skinned vampire called Laurent. "All right Jasper, how does this sound? Two vegetarian vampire women, single, who encouraged the legend of the succubi."
"Sounds like a good Friday night."
"Back to the main topic. Should we go hunting with you tonight? We do try, you see, but haven't gotten the percentages to your level."
Carlisle smiled. "Why don't you come by tomorrow after moonrise? Esme will be delighted, and I'm certain you'll enjoy meeting Emmett, and seeing Rosalie again." He shook Jasper's hand again, and embraced Edward. "So good to see you again," he whispered before leaving.
"Well, all things considered, I like your sire better'n mine."
"You like Jane more than you liked Maria."
"That ain't the point," he said, and spat for emphasis. His mind went to that dark, hateful, lusty place that meant Maria to him. The Volturi's killing of her was reason enough for him to join them, but his emotions had never really settled. Edward suspected they never would, unless he did end up finding a mate. Jasper had never forgiven her while she lived, and didn't see how with her dead.
He decided to distract him again. "Well, it should be fun to hunt with Carlisle."
Jasper grinned, grateful for the new subject. "Hunting animals is pretty fun, I gotta say. If only they didn't taste like ass."
"True, but the pure physical challenge of tracking prey for hours - and then their thoughts won't bother us when we do catch them."
He nodded. "That'll be great. What should we do tonight?"
"Well, we haven't scented any vampires, but that doesn't mean they aren't around."
Jasper stared at him as if he were insane. "How long has Carlisle been living here?"
"Ummm... over two years?"
"Then there won't be any vampires around here. And we shouldn't go anywhere populous, where they might actually be, till we've been on this new diet awhile."
Edward actually blinked. "I hadn't thought of that," he admitted.
"That's why I'm here," said Jasper, smirking.
