A/N: I'm sure you've all been eagerly anticipating this chapter. Hope you won't be disappointed. I would love to hear what you think, whether it's bad or good. Was it what you expected?
Enjoy!
Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews I received and to everyone who added me/my story to their favourites/alert lists. Thank you all for your continuing support of, and love for, this story. That means a lot to me.
My amazing beta KayMarieXW deserves a special thank you. I don't know what I'd do without her and her insightful comments.
There will be no update next week. Instead, you'll get two chapters the week after next. However, depending on how much progress I make what I'm working on at the moment, I may update next week after all. But I'm close to panic mode regarding my exams (and what little time I have left to cram everything I need to know into my head), so I can't promise anything.
Recap: Bella and Edward have both been caught by Victoria's vampires. Neither the Cullens/Denalis nor the wolves have made an entrance yet, although our two heroes are in desperate need to support.
Disclaimer: The Twilight Saga is property of Stephenie Meyer. I'm only borrowing.
43. FEAR PART 2
BELLA
And my heart is a hollow plain
For the devil to dance again
And the room is too quiet
Breath of Life by Florence + the Machine
The world seemed to have stopped.
That's what it felt like—that it had stopped revolving around itself and that everything else had stopped too. I stared at Edward, horrified, as two vampires appeared at his back, grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him on his knees. They held him in a way that made it impossible for him to free himself, but he didn't look as if he had enough strength left to do that anyway, although that wasn't possible. He looked drained and exhausted and… defeated.
How?
That was the only word my vast mind seemed to be able to hold.
How had they caught him? He was smart and fast and he had his gift; he should have been able to escape easily, even if he was being followed. He should have been at the rendezvous point with the others, waiting for evening to approach and with it whatever future Alice had seen. Had she seen this? Were they still at the rendezvous point, or even still in Anchorage, or already on their way? They must be. Alice would have come after me the moment she had had the vision. She would never sit back and let something like this happen to me.
But why weren't they here yet?
Only Edward was, a prisoner like me, and his eyes were wide and full of terror I wasn't used to seeing in them. His lips were moving, but all I could hear was a strange hum in my ears and a high-pitched keen that I couldn't place. I just stood there, staring at him, and my heart felt like it had turned to ice. Hard and cold. But also hollow. Empty.
This wasn't supposed to be happening. This couldn't be happening. But it was and I was here and so was Edward and I would do everything Craig wanted me to do because if I didn't, they'd hurt Edward and I couldn't let that happen.
But how?
There's only one logical explanation, isn't there? a voice whispered in the back of my mind, clear and distinct and perfectly audible. He followed you despite what Alice said and they caught him. And now you're going to have to pay for his stupidity.
Someone grabbed my shoulder, shaking me hard. The keen broke off abruptly, but I kept seeing everything through a strange haze. It felt like I wasn't really here, was just an observer. Like I was Alice, glancing through the looking-glass into a world of craziness where nothing made sense. Only I, unlike Alice, had already climbed through the mirror and was looking back into my world of normality, a world governed by sense. A world that was out of reach now.
That's what I felt like. Like everything had been turned upside down from one instant to the next and now I was stuck in this nightmare I couldn't escape, with reality—a reality where Edward and I wouldn't be held hostage, a reality where none of this would ever have happened—just beyond reach.
Something hit the side of my face, hard enough to make me stagger sideways. That finally cut through the trance I was in and everything came crashing back with brute force.
Edward snarled. From the corner of my eyes, I saw him struggle to get his feet underneath him. One of the vampires, the blond one who'd been waiting for me at the airport, punched him in the back so hard I heard something crack. He sank onto knees again, the menacing growl rumbling in his chest resonating through my bones.
Craig chuckled as I straightened and ran the back of my hand over my cheek, although of course it didn't hurt. "Do I have your attention now?" he asked, sounding more amused than irritated. Clearly, he was enjoying himself.
I glanced at Edward without meeting his gaze and his eyes were fixed on Craig in horror, a reaction to something he was seeing in his mind. I swallowed. For a moment I was tempted to peek, then decided that I didn't want to know what he was thinking, what he was planning to do to me.
That would only make it real and I couldn't deal with that yet.
It's his fault. Everything is Edward's fault.
I didn't know where the thought came from. But suddenly it was there and with it came rage. It started as a small spark igniting in my chest, but it quickly spread through my body like a wildfire, burning the fear away as it went.
Why couldn't Edward just do as he was told? Why did he always have to screw things up? Without him here, this wouldn't be happening. Without him here, Craig wouldn't be able to force me to do whatever his depraved mind came up with.
Why did Edward have to keep hurting me?
He couldn't have known this would happen. Not even Alice had, so how could he? And he had never intended to hurt me—in all that he'd done, he'd always acted in what he thought was my best interest. He'd meant well, but it didn't matter. Intentions didn't matter. Nothing mattered except that he was here and that he would die if I didn't do exactly as Craig said.
I clenched my hands into fists.
Where are the others? Why aren't they here yet?
"So?" Craig prompted to remind me that he was waiting for an answer.
I ground my teeth together to keep the answer on the tip of my tongue from getting out; I didn't trust myself to speak. I gave a jerky nod instead.
I didn't want to be a victim. The predator inside me, governed by self-preservation, demanded that I fight, that I do everything to keep this from happening, that I protect myself at all cost. But if I fought, if I resisted, then Edward would die. Even if Edward somehow managed to free himself, there were only two of us… and too many of them.
I looked at Edward again and for a moment our eyes met. I didn't know what he saw in my face, but he shrank back.
"Good," Craig said, smiling his disturbingly polite smile. He stepped to my side, placing his hand on my shoulder. I wanted to elbow him in the ribs, or at the very least slap his hand away, but I locked my muscles in place and went very, very still. Venom pooled in my mouth, but again it tasted strange. There was no rush, no nothing. Just disgust.
The knot in my stomach tightened.
Stay angry, I told myself, but the flames of rage receded and fear flared up again.
"Now," Craig continued. His hand travelled down my arm and settled on my waist, slipping underneath the hem of my tank top. As his skin touched mine, a shiver ran down my spine. He chuckled huskily into my ear, his lips brushing across my temple.
A strangled sob rose in my throat and I choked it back down, but my distress must have been showing because Craig started laughing in earnest now, a melodious and very pleasant sound that seemed at odds with his disturbed nature. His thumb traced the waistband of my jeans.
Edward snarled.
"Now, do you need a presentation as to what happens if you don't do as I say?" Craig gestured at Edward with his free hand. "Nobody needs all ten fingers."
Edward's breath came in quick gasps now. I had never seen him this terrified. Craig wasn't bluffing.
"No," I whispered quickly. My voice sounded rough.
"Good." Craig nodded as if we had just shaken hands on a business deal and gave me one of his polite smiles. This time there was a predatory edge to it, a sense of happy anticipation. He was looking forward to it. "Then would you be so kind and take off your clothes now? We don't have all day and I had rather Skadi didn't walk in on us." He grimaced. Whoever this Skadi was, he didn't like her very much. "Chop, chop." He clapped his hands twice. "Clothes off. And make it look good."
"Don't!" Edward snarled, straining against the vampires' grip again although it was useless. It was the first time he had spoken since they brought him. "Bella, don't. I'm not worth it. Please." His voice broke on the last word. "Please," he whispered pleadingly. "Please don't. Not for me, Bella."
"Hate to break this to you, buddy," Craig said, his lips twitching in amusement, "but I'm going to get what I want with or without her… cooperation. This way it's just a little more fun for me."
I watched Edward, waited for his temper to get the better of him, but his expression remained oddly calm. Almost… calculating. But then I met his eyes, saw the despair in them and knew I had misinterpreted the expression on his face.
"Victoria sure knows how to pick them," Edward spat. "Is this what you did as a human? What you got off on? Rape women while you made their husbands and boyfriends watch? You're disgusting."
If Craig was surprised by Edward's question, which was surely based on something he'd seen in Craig's mind, he didn't let on. Instead he shrugged. Maybe he thought that Edward had made an educated guess. Or maybe Victoria had told him that he could read minds.
"Among other things," he said, trying hard to sound moderate and failing miserably, "and yes, so I have been told. Repeatedly. You know, it still makes me feel all warm and fuzzy when I think about how the FBI are never going to catch me now. Especially since they were this close." He held thumb and forefinger of his free hand a millimetre apart. "I have been thinking of paying the lead agent assigned to my case a visit when this is over. She is very pretty, for a human. And now get on with it."
As he removed his hand and stepped back, it felt as if a weight lifted off my chest, but my relief was short-lived.
Craig was looking at me expectantly. "What are you waiting for?"
He gave the blond vampire a quick nod and he grabbed Edward's hand, twisting it backwards until it was bent in an unnatural way. Edward's lips were pressed together so tightly that they were paler than usual. It couldn't have hurt, but it couldn't have been pleasant either.
"Don't," he pressed out. "Bella, don't. Please."
"Start undressing or the hand comes off," Craig said impatiently. He kept glancing out the glassless window, obviously waiting for something. Or someone.
"Please," Edward whispered, shaking his head ever so slightly. There was something in his eyes now beside the despair, something that I couldn't identify. Should I read his mind? But if I did, I'd see into Craig's too and I didn't want to know what he was thinking. The images would never go away.
With shaking hands, I started unbuttoning my ruined blouse.
"I hope for your sake that you have an excellent explanation for what you're doing," someone said in a chilling voice.
I froze and so did Craig. His expression hardened and, very slowly, he turned away from me. I followed his gaze, my fingers still grasping the top button of my blouse.
"So?" the female vampire standing in the doorway demanded, her face completely blank. Only her voice betrayed her emotions and she wasn't happy at all.
Craig's shoulders tensed. He wasn't afraid of the vampire who I assumed was Skadi, but he was clearly apprehensive as to what she might say. Or do.
"I'm waiting." Her eyebrows rose and she slightly cocked her head to the right, her expression turning inquisitive. She seemed merely curious and she way she stood there, with her arms by her side, was completely non-threatening. But she still had an air of authority about her that wouldn't tolerate disobedience and her voice, although calm and even, cut like a knife.
"You're back early," Craig said eventually, suppressed anger in his voice. He was losing his composure. No, he definitely didn't like this vampire. And the feeling seemed to be mutual.
"We got bored," she replied curtly. She was neither short nor tall, but fairly average in height, with a rather stocky build. Her blond hair, still wet from the rain, fell in a long braid over her shoulder. She wore a black tank top, black leggings and black flat-heeled boots. Her hands were in bright red leather gloves that matched the colour of her eyes. She had fed recently.
It was her eyes that I found the most unsettling, not because of their colour, but because of the expression in them. I was terrified of Craig, but I knew just from looking at her that this female was much, much more dangerous than he could ever be, even though she looked fairly harmless, if somewhat eccentric.
"Care to explain to me what you're doing? Don't bother telling me the 'why'," she added as an afterthought. Disgust had crept into her voice. "I already know that."
"I'm doing exactly what it looks like," Craig ground out. His confidence was starting to crumble. "Vic said I could play with her."
"I'm sure this," she gestured from Edward to me, without directly looking at either of us, "was not what Vic had in mind."
His hands clenched into tight fists, Craig growled, but it somehow lacked volume.
"Get out," the female ordered. "Go hunting with the others. Go," she said again, with more emphasis this time and even I heard the warning in her voice. "And take your goons with you." She glanced at the vampires holding Edward, who bristled at being called 'goons'. But when her gaze settled on them, they let go of him instantly and nearly tripped over their own feet in their haste to clear the room.
Sauntering out of the room, hands in the pockets of his pants, Craig gave me a long, hard stare that said that this wasn't over. I suppressed a shudder. "Get out of my way, imp!" he snarled at someone in the hallway as what little composure he had left vanished.
Outside, he started yelling at the others although they could hear him just fine and from the window I saw them march into the woods in single file, like a group of first-graders going on a trip. Nobody protested.
Then we were alone.
I looked at the vampire, unsure of what to do. I wanted to feel relieved because she had saved me from something too awful to even contemplate, but I had a feeling that the other shoe had yet to drop. That this female—Skadi—wanted to lull us into a false sense of security. Because she was dangerous. And she was also working for Victoria.
Edward was still on his knees. He started to get up, slowly and ungracefully like he had forgotten how to. His eyes flicked to the female, but he didn't seem overly concerned. Whatever he was seeing in her mind didn't worry him.
No immediate danger then. I relaxed marginally, but instead of the relief I had expected, the anger came flooding back, sweeping across my mind like a tidal wave. I turned to face Edward, watched him scramble to his feet.
"Bella," he whispered, arms raised defensively, like I was holding him at gunpoint. "I am so very sorry. I can't even begin to…"
That's as far as he got.
Something inside me snapped.
"You're sorry?" I demanded, my voice barely a whisper, but my tone stopped him cold. A red haze clouded my mind. Somewhere deep down I knew that this was neither the place nor the time to confront Edward, that there was time for that later when we were all safely out of here. But I really didn't care.
"You're sorry?" I repeated. "You're SORRY? Alice told you to follow her instructions to the letter, but no. You had to come chasing after me, screwing everything up like you always do because you thought you had to protect me. Because you thought you knew better than the psychic. And look where that got you. Where it got me. I would have let him do this tome, Edward. Because of you. For you!"
"Bella," he whispered, so much pain and misery in his voice that I hesitated for a moment.
But only for a moment. I hope he feels wretched, I thought, furious. Because he should. He had screwed up and I couldn't forget that I nearly would have had to pay for his mistake. This time I couldn't forget.
But he didn't mean it, reason put in calmly.
Didn't matter. His intentions didn't matter.
But he loves you.
Then why did he keep hurting me?
"I don't want to hear it, Edward," I retorted harshly and he cringed like I had punched him in the guts.
"Silence," the female said. She never even raised her voice, a pleasant contralto, but it was the kind of voice that sliced through steel. No wonder Craig didn't like her. He didn't seem to do well with orders—unless he was the one giving them.
I couldn't identify the expression in her eyes as she looked at me. Curiosity? I glanced at Edward despite myself, my hands clenched so hard that my fingernails dug into my palm. I didn't even want to be in the same room with him right now, let alone shield him—and feel his mind so close to my own—but maybe his expression could tell me something about what the female was thinking.
It didn't. He had sank back on his knees, head lowered. He was staring at the mouldy floor and his face was empty, blank. The expression was a familiar one; it told me that wherever his thoughts had taken him, it was a place to dark, so ugly, that I would never ever wish someone to feel what he must be feeling now.
He deserves it, I thought coldly, but I couldn't banish the concern from my mind. I was angry, yes, and hurt and disappointed. And some very petty part of me wanted him to suffer. But I had never wanted him to return to that dark place inside his mind, where he was hanging on to his sanity by the thinnest of threads.
"You must be Bella," the female said, breaking into my train of thought.
I turned to face her, uncertain of what to expect.
She had clasped her hands behind her back and was watching me was intently as I was watching her. She pursed her lips, deliberating for a moment, then she sighed—the way people sigh when they are almost a hundred per cent certain that what they're about to do is against their better judgement—and pulled off her right glove.
"I am Skadi," she said, not unkindly. She held out her hand for me to take, but I hesitated—I was having a déjà vu. Skadi rolled her eyes and, clucking her tongue disapprovingly, closed the distance between us, touching her fingers against my forehead. I flinched, which she must have expected. Her other hand, the one still wearing the glove, closed firmly around my left upper arm and pulled me closer.
For one terrible moment I thought that her fingers would drill into my skull Replicator-style—God, I should never have let Seth make me watch all ten seasons of Stargate!—but she withdrew her hand an instant later without anything happening.
I watched her put the glove back on, wondering why she had touched me. But for whatever reason she had, it seemed to have cleared things up for her. Confirmed something she had only suspected. She relaxed visibly and gave me a smile that lit up her whole face. She wasn't a beauty; she looked fairly ordinary for a vampire, easily overlooked. But nobody would be able to forget her after they had seen her smile.
I felt my lips pull into a smile as well, although there was a chance that she was playing me, trying to win my trust and then stab me in the back later. But her smile seemed too real.
"Bella," I said eventually. "But you already knew that."
"Yes, indeed I did." She studied me for a very long time, frowning. With every passing second the crease in her forehead deepened. She was unhappy about something. "You're not what I expected," she said eventually. "Victoria made it sound like you were ten feet tall and wielding Thor's hammer."
I lifted my eyebrows.
Skadi's smile widened, although there was an edge to it now that I couldn't place. Regret? I glanced at Edward again, but it didn't look like he was even following our conversation.
"Well," she allowed, "that's not exactly what she said. Her exact words were 'conniving bitch'."
"That doesn't surprise me," I said slowly, carefully.
"You're wondering why I'm telling you this, aren't you?" she asked. "Well, the answer to that is fairly simple, although you'll probably have difficulty believing me." She took a step towards me, squarely meeting my eyes. "I'm having second thoughts. I have been for a while, but what I saw just now and what the child showed me… Let's just say it cleared things up for me." She grimaced. "I wish I was wrong, but I'm not going to hide from the truth."
"Child?" I asked, puzzled, though that probably wasn't the question I should have asked. Hope fluttered in my heart. What are the odds of her being here?
Skadi looked over her shoulder, saying something in a language I had never heard before. A head attached to a pair of narrow shoulders appeared in the doorway, a small round face that was framed by a crown of raven braids. Her eyes, bright red but with a hint of orange, kept flicking nervously from Skadi's face to mine.
Not very surprising, considering that the last thing one of us, Rosalie to be precise, had said to her was that we didn't want her.
"Freya?" I asked, relieved, slowly crouching down so that I was at eye-level with her. I was also giving Skadi a chance to attack me from above; I probably wouldn't even see the blow coming. Not that I'd be able to do much about it, in any case. Skadi looked like she could take me apart in a matter of seconds.
But she surprised me by stepping away and leaning against the blue wall, arms by her side. Again she tried to look non-threatening. But she kept her body angled slightly toward me, ready to pounce should I attack Freya. She was protecting her.
I hadn't expected that.
Freya slipped into the room, chewing on her bottom lip. She wore new clothes, a blue sweater, sturdy jeans and hiking boots. She looked incredibly young, much younger than eleven, but at least she seemed well cared for. Although she had ended up with Victoria like we had feared, she didn't appear to have been harmed.
"Hey," I said, giving her the kindest smile I could muster under the circumstances. "It's good to see you again. We were worried about you."
"You were?" she asked in her high voice. A dubious frown creased her face. "But Rosalie said…"
I waved my hand dismissively. "Rosalie doesn't speak for the rest of us. And she's very sorry that she said those awful things to you. She didn't mean to and she would like to apologise to you in person if that's alright with you."
"I don't know," she replied, glancing nervously at Skadi. She wasn't sure what to do. She also wasn't sure she could trust me.
Skadi gave her an encouraging smile. "It's true, ketlingr. I saw it. You can trust her." Her gaze shifted from Freya to me. "I can trust her."
"Trust me?" I asked, thoroughly confused now. What was going on?
Skadi let out her breath slowly. "I owe you an explanation, but I fear that particular story is a rather long one. I'm not sure I'll have time to tell you everything before Craig and the others get back."
"Try," I said pleadingly. I had a feeling that this whole situation was far more complicated than we could have guessed. She had to tell me. The others were on their way—hopefully—and if something had changed, they needed to know.
"Your coven is on their way, correct?" Skadi asked.
My mouth dropped open.
Her lips twitched into a smile. "I'm going to explain later. Here." She handed me her cell phone. "Call them. Tell them what's going on and that you'll call again as soon as you know more. Go on." She nodded at the phone in my hand when I didn't start dialling immediately. "Call them."
"You can trust her," Freya whispered, moving to Skadi's side and taking her hand. "She hates Victoria too."
"Then why do you work for her?" I challenged.
Skadi sighed, unhappily this time. "As I said, it's a long story. Just call your coven, let them know you and your…" Her gaze wandered to Edward, eyebrows arched questioningly.
"Mate," I said softly.
"Let them know you and your mate are unharmed," Skadi finished. "After that I'll tell you everything you want to know."
"What about Liv?"
"Your human friend. Yes, I was getting to that. I have an idea that may save her life if we act quickly. I fear she's already too far gone. Maybe you should take a look at her. I've been told you're a doctor."
"Take me to her," I said firmly, adding quickly, "I'm calling my family now," when Skadi started to protest. "Freya?" I asked as I entered Carlisle's number. I wasn't sure I'd actually get a chance to speak if I called Alice. "Could you do me a favour?" I said to Freya.
"Sure, I guess," she said, but only after exchanging another look with Skadi.
"Could you bring me my bag, please? It should be in the trunk of the SUV. There's a medical kit at the bottom."
"Sure." Freya gave a quick nod—and a hesitant smile—and darted off.
I followed Skadi into the narrow hallway. She headed for the staircase that led to the attic. I jumped up after her, wedging the phone between head and shoulder so that I would have my hands free once Freya returned with my bag.
I still had no idea why Skadi was helping us, or if I could even trust her, but if it meant saving Liv after all, I was willing to take my chances.
Carlisle answered on the second ring. "Hello?" he said in a flat voice. It was strange to hear him this tense. I thought of Carlisle as the calm anchor of the Cullen family, the one who kept everything together when it started falling apart.
In the background I could hear the others talking, voices rising and falling. It sounded like they were arguing. Every now and then someone snarled, but whether it was vampire or wolf I couldn't tell.
"Carlisle, it's me," I said quietly.
On the other end of the line it was instantly silent.
"Bella?" he asked, in a mixture of disbelief and relief. "Are you alright? Alice saw…" A brief hesitation. "Alice saw you getting hurt. She also saw you not getting hurt, but right now she doesn't know what to believe. She says the future hinges on too many unmade decisions."
"I'm fine," I said hurriedly and Carlisle breathed a sigh of relief. "Edward's fine too," I added before he could ask. "And so is Freya. She's here. Victoria's had her all along."
"She is?" Carlisle asked sharply.
In the background I heard someone laugh shakily, relieved. Esme.
"She is," I confirmed. "Liv is still alive as well, but it doesn't look good. I need to get her out of here and to a hospital as quickly as possible. Where are you?"
"At the rendezvous point waiting for Sam. We left Anchorage as soon as Alice saw what would happen, but it quickly became clear that if we were to attempt a rescue mission, you and Edward would be killed before we could get to you. We weren't willing to take that risk. So we're here, waiting. Alice still sees Victoria there with you, later today. In the evening, after nightfall. We don't understand though." He sounded confused. "I thought she knew this was a trap?"
"I'll explain later," Skadi said quietly. She'd been listening to our conversation.
"Who's that?" Carlisle wanted to know.
"One of the vampires working for Victoria," I explained.
"A decision I've come to regret deeply," Skadi muttered darkly as she pushed open the door to the attic. The hinges squealed in protest. "Look, girl. I know you don't trust me, but you're going to have to take a leap of faith. I may have an idea how to get your friend safely out of here, provided your coven promises not to harm Freya if I send her back to them."
"Why would they harm me?" Freya asked from the bottom of the stairs, clutching my medical kit. Her eyebrows were knit together in confusion.
"We would never harm her!" Esme exclaimed, indignant, her voice closer now. She must have taken the phone away from Carlisle.
"Then why did she run away from you?" Skadi asked evenly, but I heard the accusation in her voice and, clearly, so did Esme.
"Because," she began, annoyed now, but it was Rosalie, who continued, "because I'm stupid and arrogant and selfish and I never should have said the things I did. Freya, I'm sorry. Please believe that. I want you to know that you'll always be welcome here."
Freya looked from me to Skadi and from Skadi back to me, uncertain. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know if she could believe what Rosalie had said.
"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry," Rosalie said quietly. "You don't have to say anything, Freya. I'm handing the phone back to Carlisle now."
"Freya will be safe with my family," I said to Skadi. A promise. "What did you have in mind for Liv?"
"Well." Skadi gestured for me to enter first and I stepped past her. The stench of filth assaulting me was overwhelming. "The others have been pestering me for quite some time now. They want me to kill the human. They don't like having her in the house because she poses a constant temptation and they're upset with me for not allowing them to feed on her. To be honest, I don't know why I've kept her alive for so long. Anyway, I don't want Freya here when the fighting begins. I suggest that she takes your friend to your coven and someone stays behind with her to make sure nothing happens to her. That way they'll both be safe. I promise you won't be outnumbered."
"Can we trust her?" Carlisle asked, dubious. "Have you discussed this with Edward, Bella? What does he think?"
I thought of Edward in the room downstairs, trapped inside his mind. I didn't like lying to Carlisle, but I was fairly certain he was in no condition to speak. But if Edward couldn't make certain that we could trust Skadi, then I would have to.
I spread my shield over him before I could change my mind, bracing myself for the darkness that would surely try to swallow me. And it did. It swept across me, spilling into my own mind and threatening to drag me down into the spiral of despair Edward was caught in. I felt my control slipping; my mind was trying to protect itself from the onslaught of darkness. I searched for Skadi's mind, hanging on to my shield by a thread—
Something inside my mind snapped.
Edward's mind was gone and so was Skadi's.
But the split second I had been able to read her thoughts had been enough. There had been no trace deceit. Hopefully, what I had seen was the truth.
"Yes, I have," I replied, hoping Carlisle wouldn't hear the guilt in my voice and praying that he wouldn't ask to talk to Edward personally. "Edward says we can trust her."
That seemed to be enough for Carlisle. "Alright," he said. "Let's do it."
A/N: Did you like it?How do you like Skadi? Do you think she's up to any good? Did you expect to see Freya again? Remember, a teaser for everyone who leaves a review, no matter how short or long. (Maybe this time I'll finally manage to send them out sooner than on the day I post the actual chapter…)
A side note: If you review as guests and thus anonymously, I can't get the teaser/review reply to you.