AN: I'm sorry for making people wait so long. I really wanted to do the last moment in this chapter justice. I hope it will be worth the wait.
Cassie held Renesmee close to her chest as they both huddled against a thick tree trunk as every manner of mystical beast and monster tore by. The salamander robe that Cassie had draped over them both protected them from the sight of the retreating creatures. When the last beast disappeared from sight, Cassie allowed Renesmee to slip out of her hold.
"Well," Cassie said, once she was sure none of the beasts would double back. "It looks as if your plan is progressing quite well. So it shouldn't take too much longer for everyone to return."
"Then would it be okay for us to go to the stream bank?" Renesmee asked. "So we can meet them when they come back?"
"Yes, I suppose that would be all right," Cassie agreed. However, just as Cassie was starting to lead the way to the forest stream, Renesmee froze.
"Wait!" she cried, clutching the hem of Cassie's dress to stop her. "Something's coming!"
"What is it?" Cassie whispered, turning back to the small girl immediately.
"I…I don't know," Renesmee admitted. "I can just hear something coming closer. But I don't like it."
A visible tremor washed over Renesmee's body as she clung to Cassie, eyes wide with fear. Without giving a conscious thought, Cassie crouched down and pulled her into a hug, trying to offer her some comfort while straining her ears in an attempt to hear what was scaring the small child so badly. But, no doubt to the fact that she only had a mortal's sense of hearing, she couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary. For that reason, she had no true warning when a good number of smoke hands burst into view. Gasping in shock, Cassie stumbled back slightly, pulling Renesmee up into her arms again.
"What's going on?" Renesmee cried, wrapping her arms around Cassie's neck in fright. Cassie, however, needed a few moments before she could respond.
"I'm not sure," she replied. "I wonder if this is part of Josiah's ritual. He must have been able to complete it."
"But what about Mommy and Daddy!" Renesmee shouted with wide, fearful eyes. "What about Jacob! Are they okay?"
"I don't know, dear." Cassie shook her head in worry. She was about to say more when a horrible noise pierced the air. Before Cassie and Renesmee's eyes, the smoke hands began to pull a good number of the creatures who had just escaped back towards the carnival. Each one of the poor beasts were crying out in anguish, frantically struggling in vain against the smoke hands' ironclad grips.
Out of nowhere, a new smoke hand manifested in front of Cassie and Renesmee. Instinctively, Cassie tightened her hold on Renesmee and started backing away, realizing that this smoke hand was attempting to snatch her up. However the hand seemed to follow her every move. Before too long, Cassie's back was pressed up against the trunk of a tree, with the smoke hand poised right in front of them. However, right when Cassie was sure the smoke hand was going to try and pull Renesmee from her grasp, it suddenly stopped, simply hovering in front of them, almost as if it was sizing them up.
After a few moments of the smoke hand doing absolutely nothing, a giant eye appeared in the smoke hand's palm. A scream of fright instantly slipped from Cassie's mouth and Renesmee recoiled even more. However, the smoke hand continued to hover where it was, the eye simply staring at them both.
"Oh my," Cassie said, suddenly realizing what was going on. "It… it must be your human side! Those hands must be trying to round up every immortal beast and monster that the carnival had a record of. But you, Nessie, are only half vampire. The part of you that's human has confused this smoke hand; it doesn't know what to make of you."
Slowly, Renesmee started to relax and loosened her grip on Cassie. Just as she was about to gesture for Cassie to return her to the ground, the smoke hand shook violently and drifted back the way it came, as if an invisible tether was pulling it back. Upon looking around, Cassie and Renesmee saw that the same thing was happening to the other smoke hands. Her face betraying her bemusement, Renesmee pressed her hand to Cassie's neck.
"I don't know," Cassie replied to the unspoken question over why the hands were withdrawing. Without any noticeable warning, Renesmee squirmed out of Cassie's arms, landing effortlessly on the ground.
"What about Mommy and Daddy?" she cried. "And Jacob, Grandpa Carlisle, Aunt Alice, or Mr. Vermundr? What if the smoke hands grabbed them?"
"Ness, no!" Cassie's plea came too late, as Renesmee had already run off towards the forest stream, and the carnival's location. Without hesitation, Cassie hurried after her, despite knowing that it would be impossible for her to catch up.
Right before the forest stream came into view, the sounds of a sudden commotion reached Cassie's ears. The reason for it became evident when she stepped around a particularly large tree. There, in the middle of the stream, was Josiah, staring at Renesmee, who was standing a few feet away from him, meeting his gaze.
"Renesmee," Cassie spoke in forced calmness, holding out a hand to the child. "Step away from him. Please, come on back over here, dear."
"Well," Josiah said, his eyes zeroing in on Cassie as Renesmee obediently began to back away. "It appears that it's a very good night for meeting old acquaintances."
"Josiah." Cassie acknowledged without a trace of fear on her face. Without taking her eyes off her old enemy, she addressed Renesmee again. "Ness, listen to me. Run on back to the estate. Do not stop until you get there. We'll all join you there soon enough."
"But…"
"It's all right, Ness. Now go on." Renesmee's expression reflected her reluctance to comply with Cassie's wishes, but she dashed off without a word. However, she moved at vampire speed, something that instantly caught Josiah's attention.
"Now, what might that little girl have been?" Josiah asked, staring unblinkingly at the direction Renesmee had disappeared in.
"That is none of your concern," Cassie replied with a tone of finality. If Josiah was angered by Cassie's defiance, he showed no indication of it. Instead, he returned his attention to Cassie, a cruel smile forming on his face.
"I suppose I should not be too surprised to have seen you here Cassandra," he sneered, slowly sauntering forward. "Where Abraham and his pet vampire are, you couldn't have been far behind. But it appears your personal guards are not here this time. Perhaps, we can continue where we left off last time."
Without any further warning, Josiah lunged across the remaining distance between them, reaching out to grab Cassie. At the last possible moment, Cassie managed to duck, avoiding his outreached hand and with a well-practiced fluidity, she produced a simple dagger from a hidden pocket in her dress and slashed out at Josiah, successfully cutting into his cheek. Shouting out in pain and surprise, Josiah stumbled backwards, pressing his good hand to his now-bleeding cheek.
"You are not the only one who has not forgotten the last time we met, Josiah," Cassie stated, keeping her dagger poised to strike a second time. "After that night, Abraham and Vermundr made sure I would at least know how to defend myself from mortal enemies. They are both good teachers; they taught me well."
"So it would seem," Josiah replied, fixing Cassie with a piercing glare, not even bothering to wipe away the blood from his wound. "However, I must ask. Did they teach you how to act when your opponent wields a long range weapon when you only can attack in the short range?" With that said, Josiah whipped out his old pistol once again and began to aim it at Cassie. Before he could complete his movement, however, something shot out from the surrounding woodland, latching onto Josiah's gun-arm. Instantly, Josiah cried out in pain, dropping his gun into the stream as he staggered back a few paces. When he looked back at Cassie, he saw that Renesmee had returned and was standing between them, glaring at Josiah in fierce anger.
"Renesmee!" Cassie cried in alarm. "You were supposed to return to the estate!"
"I couldn't," Renesmee insisted, turning to look back at her. "I couldn't leave you behind. I remember what you said about Josiah and what he's like."
Josiah didn't seem to hear the conversation going on in front of him. He was too busy staring at the small, fresh bite-mark on his arm with dawning realization.
"Vampire," he whispered, lifting his sights up to Renesmee. "And yet, not a vampire. The question is, exactly how much of a vampire is this young one?"
Taking advantage of the fact that Renesmee and Cassie were still not paying enough attention to him, Josiah slowly slid his hand into a small pouch that had been carefully concealed behind his pistol's holster. It was only when he'd already hurled the small capsule he'd withdrew at the ground that the two friends seemed to remember that he was there. The instant the capsule hit the ground, it exploded with a small pop, releasing a surprising amount of thick smoke. Almost instantly, Renesmee fell to her knees, coughing uncontrollably.
"Nessie!" Cassie, her voice filled with immediate concern, crossed the space between them in seconds.
"Well," Josiah said, watching as Cassie crouched down at Renesmee's side. "It appears I was right. This child does have at least some vampire in her. But yet, she's still not a true vampire, otherwise she wouldn't even be able to move right now."
"Josiah, you will stay away from this child!" Cassie ordered, moving to shield Renesmee, brandishing her dagger once again to back up her demand.
"You think," Josiah taunted, eyeing Cassie's dagger, "that just because I've lost my pistol, I would be intimidated by that knife? You are not the only one here who has received specific training since the last time."
With no further warning, Josiah lunged for Cassie, who side-stepped his attack. However, before Cassie could recover her stance, Josiah dropped to the ground and struck his leg out, successfully connecting with Cassie's ankle. The unexpected blow sent Cassie stumbling forward in a desperate attempt to regain her balance. In the process, she snagged her foot against an uneven rock poking out of the ground and she tripped, slamming into the ground.
"Cassie," Renesmee whispered, trying to fight off the bloodroot as she struggled to get up on her hands and knees. As Renesmee watched, Cassie tried to get back up, but when she tried to put her weight on her left foot, she fell back down again with a sudden shout of pain, grabbing at her ankle in the process.
"Well now," Josiah sneered, visibly satisfied at the sight of Cassie lying defenseless on the ground with an injured ankle. "Isn't this how I've always pictured seeing you; crouched on the ground and at my mercy?"
"Then what's stopping you?" Cassie demanded, managing to keep her voice strong and fearless despite her obvious pain. "As you said, I can't fight you off. Go ahead and do it, then."
"Oh, Cassandra," Josiah replied, shaking his head. "You know perfectly well I'm smarter than that. As much as you need to be reconditioned to know your place after spending so much time with that weak, sentimental fool and his vampire lapdog, I know fully well that it's only a matter of time before your friends start coming after me, leaving me vastly outnumbered. I think it would be far better for me to just cut my losses. After all, I may have lost the battle for today, but thanks to that remarkable little half-vampire, I may very well have my ticket to win the war."
"Josiah, NO!" Cassie cried out, eyes widening in alarm as she saw him approach Renesmee and, taking advantage of her inebriated state, lifting her up over his shoulder while taking careful measure to ensure she wouldn't be able to bite him. "Let her go! Please!" Josiah paid no attention to Cassie's words and hurried off with his hostage. In desperation, Cassie attempted to stand again, but her ankle throbbed in protest and she stumbled to the ground once again.
As Cassie began to feel true panic, she was alerted by a sudden sound, like something large crashing through the nearby forest stream. She looked up just in time to see the russet wolf that was Jacob running towards her, with Edward and Bella at his side.
"Cassie! Where's Nessie!" Bella asked the instant she'd reached her side.
"Josiah," Cassie said, speaking through her tangible pain. "He was here. He realized what she was and took her. I'm so sorry! All of you!" Cassie spoke quickly upon seeing the expressions that had appeared on everyone's faces, accompanied by Bella's enraged roar. "I…I tried to…" her words trailed off as she thought about what had happened, trying to decide if there was something she should have done differently.
"No, Cassie." Edward forced himself to respond to Cassie's thoughts. "You did everything you could have done to stop him. And he hasn't gone off too far yet. Bella and I can catch up to him."
Jacob, no doubt noticing Edward did not include him in that statement, let out a low, pleading whine, glancing back at him with equally beseeching eyes.
"I know you want to go after him, too, Jacob," Edward stated, meeting his gaze. "But Cassie needs help, too. You can see for yourself that her ankle is already starting to swell. She's going to need someone to get her to Carlisle." Jacob, after sparing a glance back at Cassie, let out a low huffing sound before lowering his head in reluctant agreement.
"We can take it from here, Jacob," Bella announced. Without further hesitation, Edward and Bella both raced off at vampire speed, leaving Jacob with Cassie. Together, the pair moved through the forest, dodging past the trees and low-growing vegetation as they followed Josiah's scent trail. After a few moments, they reached a break in the trees as they came to a well-traveled road, the same road they'd traveled along when they were returning from Baga Yaga's tree. There, standing on the opposite side of the path, was Josiah, seemingly waiting for them with his pistol drawn. Renesmee was lying listlessly at his feet with a heavy cloth, no doubt doused with bloodroot, firmly tied over her mouth.
Before either Edward or Bella could make even the slightest movement to get Renesmee back from him, Josiah fired the pistol, hitting the incense burners that had been deposited at the base of the tree next to Edward. The moment the scent reached their noses, Edward and Bella fell to their knees.
"Well then," Josiah said as her returned his pistol to its holster again. "That should keep you from following after us. I do have to applaud your efforts tonight. I confess myself impressed with what you've done here. I am a big enough man to admit when I'm beaten. But I'm sure you'll agree that everyone deserves a consolation prize." To emphasize his words, Josiah bent down and scooped up Renesmee again
"LET HER GO!" Edward ordered as Bella let out a terrible snarl.
"No need to shout," Josiah replied tauntingly. "Now that you've disrupted my cleansing ritual, I need a new way to rid the world of your filthy kind. This little wonder child who is both vampire and yet not vampire may just be the key."
Bella, seething with rage at Josiah's plans to use Renesmee to achieve his genocidal goals began to try focusing all her strength in resisting the bloodroot's effects in order to lunge at him. Before she could make a move, Edward's hand closed around her wrist, gently giving it a squeeze. Catching on to the subtle attempt at communication, Bella glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and saw that his eyes were trained slightly upward. Following his gaze, Bella was quickly able to see what was holding Edward's interest. There, perched on a thick tree branch positioned above Josiah and Renesmee, was Grimalkin. The sight of the thin grey cat momentarily left Bella surprised and amazed. Had she really followed them all the way out here?
As if knowing they had noticed her, Grimalkin spared a glance at them before returning her eyes, which were now narrow slits, back to Josiah. Just as he was starting to make his escape with Renesmee in tow, Grimalkin launched herself off the tree branch and landed on his shoulder with a skill only a cat could possess. Without hesitation, Grimalkin began to attack Josiah by clawing at his face and scalp while biting savagely on his ear. Shouting in surprise and pain from the unexpected assault, Josiah lost his grip on Renesmee, resulting in her slipping from his arms. The moment Renesmee was safely on the ground, Grimalkin, after giving Josiah one more slash, leapt down and landed neatly on Renesmee's chest. In an instant, the pair seemed to vanish from sight in a bright flash of light, reappearing mere seconds later in front of Edward and Bella.
"Nessie!" Bella cried, scooping her daughter up in relief and tearing off the makeshift gag before pulling her into a tight hug while Edward stroked her hair in relief. As he did so, he glanced over his shoulder in silent wonder at Grimalkin, who was sitting contently at his side calmly washing her face. There was no sense in denying that Grimalkin had somehow managed to use teleportation in order to get Renesmee away from Josiah. No sooner did he start to wonder how a cat could have a gift like that did he remember something Abraham said to them on the day they had first came to this time.
We figure that her previous life of being constantly exposed to Baba Yaga's magic left some lasting effects on Grimalkin.
If what he had just seen was any indication, Abraham's words were probably truer than anyone had previously guessed. Grimalkin clearly had some magic in her, too.
"Don't think this is over, monster!" Josiah's angry words managed to alert Edward and Bella to the fact that he was still there. Returning their gazes to the bitter man, they could see in his face that while he knew they were too inebriated by the bloodroot's effects to pursue him, it was still unwise to even think about approaching them in order to reclaim Renesmee.
"I will find a way to rid this world of your filth yet!" Josiah vowed, starting to back away. "Make no mistake about that."
"Joisiah!" Bella gasped, suddenly seeing what was coming up behind him. "Stop!"
"I do not even hear the words your foul tongue utters!" Josiah shouted, a truly manic look on his face. "Treasure what's left of your disgusting existence while you can!" Josiah's laugh died in his throat as he turned to race off, nearly running straight into the three creatures before him. It was probably only because they had studied Abraham and Vermundr's books that Edward and Bella were able to recognize the three beasts as a kikiyaon, a harpy and a manticore. All three of the beasts that were now towering over the shocked Josiah had the Carnival of Darkness' brand mark burned onto their chests or side and it was clear, as their growls and snarls indicated, that they knew all too well that Josiah had been the one responsible for their imprisonment.
Bella, instinctively knowing what was about to happen before it actually did, turned and hid her face in Edward's chest, but she could still hear Josiah's terrified scream cutting off abruptly with a sickening crunch, followed by the unmistakable sound of a human body being torn apart.
"Let's go, love," Edward whispered in Bella's ear while rubbing her back in a comforting manner. "We should get out of here. While they're distracted." Bella simply nodded and allowed Edward to lead her and the still listless Renesmee away from the scene, with Grimalkin trailing behind them. It was only when they were sure the trees around them would even obstruct a vampire's eyesight that they stopped and shared a long glance. Neither of them had to say anything to know that they were thinking the same thing. In spite of everything he'd done, had Josiah really deserved what had just happened to him?
"Mommy? Daddy?" Renesmee muttered, slowly opening her eyes again. "I'm ready to go home now."
"I know sweetheart," Edward replied, smiling down at her. "We'll go home very soon. I promise…." Edward's statement cut off mid-sentence as he sank to his knees without warning, letting out a sudden scream, gripping his head in the process.
"Edward!" Bella cried, dropping to Edward's side in alarm. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"Bella," Edward gasped out, breathing heavily and looking extremely pale.
"Daddy?" Renesmee looked up at her father in concern and worry.
"We need to get back to the others," Edward said, his voice shaking slightly. "Quickly."
"No," Bella gasped, her eyes widening in alarm as Edward staggered to his feet. "Something happened! What is it, Edward? Did something happen to Carlisle? To Alice? Jacob?"
"I don't know," Edward admitted, shaking his head. "But…I heard… Vermundr's thoughts. His thought wasn't coherent enough to hear what happened. All I could determine was the timbre."
"And that was?" Bella prompted.
"Pain," Edward answered, hurrying forward once again, Bella and Renesmee at his heels. "Pain and anguish." Immediately, Bella felt a thrill of foreboding. What could have made Vermundr feel distress so intense that the very thought of it brought Edward to his knees? Her first thought went to Brynhildr and she started to despair at the thought that something had separated the two siblings right when they had finally been reunited.
Just as Edward, Bella and Renesmee were nearing the spot where they'd left the others, a sudden rustle ahead of them announced the approach of Jacob in his wolf form, mere seconds before he emerged from a particularly large patch of ferns. The moment he caught sight of them, his tense stance relaxed significantly and he strolled forward, his eyes focused on Renesmee as if checking for any visible injuries. With a gentle smile, Renesmee reached out a hand and patted Jacob's nose in greeting.
"Jacob?" Bella asked hesitantly, fearing the answer. "What happened?" Jacob, after meeting Bella's eyes momentarily, lowered his head and emitted a low, mournful whine. With a tangible sadness, Jacob turned and led them all the rest of the way back to the clearing where the now-vanquished Carnival of Darkness had been. The first thing they saw upon entering the clearing was Alice and Brynhildr. The pair of them stood with their backs to them, but upon hearing their approach, they turned in unison to greet their friends with weak, half-hearted smiles before returning their gazes back to the scene ahead of them. It wasn't until they had taken their places at Alice and Brynhildr's side that they all saw what was happening.
A few feet ahead, Cassie was lying across the unmoving Abraham's chest, her body wracked with sobs as a sorrowful looking Carlisle knelt by her side, gently rubbing her back in comfort. Vermunder was crouched at Abraham's head. His shoulders were hunched and head bowed, but his hair fell forward, obscuring his expression from view.
"Abraham," Alice said, her voice warbling with emotion. "He used his telekinetic powers to smother the ritual fire and hold back the smoke hands. But… it was… He was still only human. Carlisle thinks the mental strain involved was too much for him, causing a severe brain hemorrhage."
"Can't we stop it?" Bella asked urgently, staring down at Abraham in shock. "There has to be some way to…"
"No, Bella," Carlisle interrupted gently. "If Abraham had stopped when the hemorrhaging first began, there might have been a chance. But in his determination to completely stop Josiah's ritual cleansing, he kept the barrier up far longer than he was physically able to. By the time he lost consciousness, the bleeding had already spread too far. Even if I had access to the medical advancements from our time, there still would be nothing I could do. I doubt…I doubt even vampire venom could save him. His heart has already stopped."
Even though the majority of those present possessed an advanced mental processing speed, the shock of the moment still kept them from fully taking in what Carlisle had just said. The moment it did, however, everyone's grief was tangible. Even Brynhildr, who hadn't gotten the chance to even meet Abraham, had difficulty in keeping her composure from the weight of the situation. To think that one single human had saved all of their lives by giving his. After a long silence that may have lasted many minutes or even hours, Jacob let off a single, mournful howl that seemed to echo throughout the entire forest.
As Jacob's howl died away, Cassie finally pulled herself up into a kneeling position. With her eyes remaining fixed on Abraham's face, she began to speak.
"We… we need to bring Abraham back to the estate," she decided. "We shouldn't… we can't leave him lying here for much longer."
"I think that's a good idea," Carlisle agreed. However, when he moved to carefully pick up Abraham's body, Vermundr suddenly moved, lunging forward with a primal snarl. Setting baleful eyes upon Carlisle's surprised face, he hovered over Abraham's body protectively.
"Vermundr, I'm sorry." Carlisle spoke slowly and carefully, trying to calm the enraged vampire. "There's nothing you can do for him now. Please, we need to move his body. You don't want to just leave it out here, do you?" Vermundr showed no indication that he'd even heard Carlisle. Instead, he continued to glare, a low, threatening growl echoing in his throat.
"Vermundr?" Cassie whispered, fearlessly reaching out despite his growls and taking his face in her hands. "Please, Vermundr. Please hear me. Help us bring Abraham back home. Please." Ever-so-slowly, the fury melted away from Vermundr's expression until he looked simply numb. Wordlessly, he gathered up Abraham's body in his arms and, without a backward glance, he staggered off back towards the estate, the others following after him.