A/N – Please don't forget to review. There's nothing I love better than reading them.
Every vampire had frozen with the exception of myself. I didn't bother to turn around to look at the newcomer. It would just be another conversation about my human scent. I was too preoccupied with trying to make sense of what I'd experienced so far.
I couldn't help but stare at the pixie like Alice. What had Carlisle meant when he'd asked her about her vision? It was impossible for vampires to have eye problems so I'm guessing he hadn't meant it in the literal sense of the word. And he'd mentioned gifts. I couldn't help but groan mentally. I hated being a newborn and knowing hardly anything.
"I knew it would be a surprise that I'm leaving but I didn't expect it to be quite this bad." The velvet voice says quietly from near the doorway. I could tell the vampire who had spoken was yet fully in the room. "You know I'll be back… I just need some time to wrap my head around this." He sounded worried.
Nobody answered. I heard the vampire take another step in the room, but I still didn't turn around. All the hairs on the nape of my neck were standing on end. I felt as though I was on a precipice and if I turned around I would fall. "What's wrong with you all? Carlisle? Esme?" I could hear the frown in the velvet voice. "What's shocked you so badly? Why are you all standing there like that?" His voice sounded frustrated. "Is this some trick to try and get me to stay here?" He growls sharply, finally entering the room fully. "Well I'm not…" He comes to a choking halt and I can't help but turn around and stare at him. I'd never heard a vampire choke before.
I was immediately shocked at what I saw. A tall, hard-muscled vampire stood there. He looked younger than Emmett and Jasper and his hair was a tousled bronze that was just as windswept as mine. He was as beautiful as Rosalie, his pale skin highlighting the beauty of his golden eyes. His hands were big and masculine but he had long slender fingers like a pianist. He was less bulky and lankier than Jasper and Emmett. He was absolutely stunning, except for one thing.
He was staring at me with an expression so torn between hatred and surprise that I couldn't help but flinch. His golden eyes burned into mine so ferociously I felt weak-kneed for a second.
"NO!" Alice screamed, unfreezing suddenly.
And then he lunged across the room with absolutely no hesitation, just a blur even with my vampire senses. He was fast. Extremely fast actually. I barely saw him coming.
Luckily my newborn instinct saved me. I ducked down so fast the room swirled around me. The bronze haired vampire smacked harshly into the wall directly behind me but it did not faze him even momentarily. He smoothly flipped backwards over my head, grabbing at me again.
Instead of trying to dodge out of the way like I would if I was still human I positioned myself so that when he reached me, my hands closed round his throat easily, lifting him off the ground. I knew that I could hurt this vampire, I was stronger than him, but I reined it in and controlled myself, focusing instead on keeping him still so he wouldn't hurt himself accidentally.
I was doing okay, even though the vampire was doing his best to lunge for my throat when suddenly a huge pair of hands closed around the struggling vampire's shoulders, yanking him cleanly out of my grip. The vampire continued to struggle, his frenzied golden eyes fixated on me and I found myself smiling gratefully at Emmett who was the one who had taken the bronze vampire from me.
Suddenly in a move so fast I almost missed it, the vampire broke out of Emmett's hold as he readjusted his hands as if the bronze vampire had seen it coming and knew what Emmett was going to do before he did it. A pale brown blur reached for the bronze vampire but he dodged it without any extra effort, still fixated on me.
I sighed and then jumped the vampire, completely surprising him and knocking him off balance. In no time at all I had him pinned, his hands under my knees, unable to move. And still he growled senselessly at me, writhing uselessly. His eyes were unfocused; he wasn't seeing me. He was focused solely on my scent.
"Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper. Get Edward out of here. Now." I'd never heard Carlisle's voice sound as hard as it did now.
The three vampires instantly flitted over to me, grabbing Edward firmly. Emmett nodded at me and I instantly backed away, watching grimly as they yanked him out of the room.
The silence in the room was heavy as Carlisle turned to Alice. "Alice. Do you want to explain what just happened?" He asks sharply.
The pixie like vampire sighs. "I did try and warn you. Bella's human scent drives Edward insane" She sniffs the air. "While she smells nice to us, she smells inexplicably lush to Edward."
Both Carlisle and Esme gasp. "She's his singer." Carlisle breathes.
"What?" Alice and I ask simultaneously.
Carlisle sighs. "In the vampire world when you have a human that smells the way Bella does to Edward we call them singers, because their blood sings to the vampire. It's viewed as a great pleasure to find a singer, drinking their blood is mean to be savoured. It's a rare thing." He explains. "Unfortunately it means it's going to be pretty much impossible for Edward to even be around Bella."
Esme looked even more shocked by his explanation than I felt. "How do you know all this Carlisle?" She asked softly.
"The Volutri." He says simply.
Esme looks unhappy but does not respond. "The Volutri?" I question.
Three sets of golden eyes stare at me. Carlisle is the first to speak. "You don't know of the Volutri?"
"No. I'm a newborn remember?" I ask slowly.
Carlisle frowns. "I'm aware of that Bella but your creator should have told you about the Volutri and their rules for our society. You are your creator's responsibility." He visibly shudders. "Thank goodness you didn't go on a rampage. The Volutri would never allow you to run wild, it's against their rules."
"So the Volutri create the rules for vampires?" I ask eagerly, keen for new knowledge on my new world.
Carlisle nods slowly, assessing my emotions. "They do. Their word is law."
"So they're like the royalty of the vampire world?" I press, this idea a strange concept. I'd operated under the belief that vampires did as they pleased. It wasn't as though it would be easy for humans to kill us.
"They are the rulers of our world, yes." He answers quietly.
"And do they rule fairly?" I ask, before I can stop myself.
"Corruption is strife within the Volutri. All they care about is collecting valuable vampire slaves for their army." Alice interrupts scornfully.
"Alice!" Carlisle says sharply, before turning back to me. "Yes they try to, I suppose. Their purpose is to maintain the secrecy of the vampire world from humans. This is vital in this day and age with the creation of new weapons able to even kill a vampire. In some ways in also protects human from a vampire's murderous traits as the Volutri require us to be discreet."
"So what do they do with vampires that break the rules? What is effective for a human won't affect us. I suppose they could maybe deprive us of blood or something." I muse.
Carlisle looks uncomfortable at my question and Alice rolls her eyes. "They kill them Bella. Then they can't do it again." Both Carlisle and Esme glare at her and she shrugs softly. "What?" She's a vampire, not a child. She needs to know these things. I know you have different views on the Volutri to the rest of us Carlisle but Bella needs to know upfront what they are like."
"A vampire can be killed? I thought we were immortal." I frowned. "Do they stake us or something?"
Every vampire in the room looks incredulously at me. "Do you not know… well anything about being a vampire Bella?" Esme asks softly.
"Only what I've guessed myself and what other covens have mentioned. Like I said, I left my creator pretty much as soon as I was changed." I say quietly.
"It was a miracle you were able to think rationally with the bleeding human next to you." Carlisle comments. Esme gasps, she hadn't known about that. I nod at her as Carlisle continues speaking again. "No wood doesn't hurt us Bella. We have to be ripped apart and the pieces burned to die. If the pieces aren't burned we can reform." He looked uncomfortable at such a subject.
I was saved from trying to think of a suitable reply by the arrival of Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie. "Edward's run off. We couldn't catch him. He's too fast." Emmett says loudly, his expression clouded. Carlisle looks unhappy and Esme worried. Neither of them say anything.
"Do you want to explain what the hell you did to my brother?" Rosalie snarls suddenly, her beautiful face contorting into something fierce and untamed.
Anger grips me suddenly and I growl so much more menacingly than Rosalie had. I step towards her, still growling. "I don't know Rosalie! Why don't you stop being such a bitch to me? I know just as much as you!" I glare at her, noticing that Emmett and Jasper had both stepped closer to her.
"Emmett! Are you going to tell that bitch not to call me names?" Rosalie growls, staring at Emmett expectantly.
"Well… angel, Bella's right. You can be a bit of a bitch." He grins at Rosalie's shocked expression. "Just keeping it real, sweetheart." He adds, taking her hand and I realised suddenly they were together. As in together. I felt a strange pang in my chest as this new information sunk in.
"Bella's human scent drives Edward insane. She will smell sweeter to him than any other vampire or even human. He couldn't control himself and no wonder, with no preparation, so he attacked her." Carlisle explains when I don't answer, staring at Emmett's and Rosalie's now linked hands.
I sighed wistfully, suddenly missing human interaction. I wished that I could be loved even a fraction of what I could see between Rosalie and Emmett. Esme's soft voice broke into my reverie. "Is that what your vision about, Alice?" She asks softly.
Alice shakes her spiky hair. "Not the first one." She says simply.
I frown at her, curiosity getting the better of me, but she shakes her head furiously. "No Bella. I'm not telling you what I saw yet. You have to figure it out for yourself." She sings.
"Is… Edward going to come back?" I ask hesitantly, finally voicing the worry that had been bothering me for a while.
Six sets of golden eyes stare at me. It's Alice that finally speaks, her golden eyes slightly unfocused. "I see him surrounded by snow. He's in the North… He's on his own. He doesn't have any plans to come back yet." She says truthfully.
I couldn't help the lance of guilt that instantly speared my chest and Jasper speaks, his words softer than I'd heard them so far. "You shouldn't be feeling guilty Bella. You can't help the way you smell."
Rosalie snorts but I ignore her as I turn my attention to Jasper. "How did you know I was feeling guilty? Was it that obvious?" I ask quietly.
Jasper cracks a smile for the first time and it lightens his whole face. "I can sense people's emotions as well as manipulate them. It's my supernatural gift." He explains.
I frown briefly, processing this information before turning to Alice. "Does this mean you have a gift too?" I ask. It would explain her strange behaviour.
She nods. "Yes Bella. I can see the future."
I blink in surprise, wondering if it were possible for me to have misheard. "You see the future? Seriously?"
"Yup." She laughs at my expression.
I grin. "That's… that's incredible. Do all vampires have gifts?" I aimed this question at Alice but it was Carlisle who answered.
"No. Only a few do." He answers quietly.
I turn to look at him. "Why do some vampires have a gift and others don't?"
"I believe that when you turn into a vampire you bring your strongest trait with you. Alice was precognitive as a human and Jasper was probably susceptible to people's emotions just as Edward was to people's thoughts." Carlisle explains.
"Edward can read minds?" I ask, this thought making me uncomfortable for some reason.
Jasper looked at me strangely as Carlisle answered and I focused on keeping my emotions under control. "Yes. He's a mind reader."
"I have to go and find him." I blurt out suddenly, before I can stop myself.
Silence falls in the room.