Chapter Eight

As I collected the last of the berries from the bush, I felt a presence behind me. I was busy collecting the berries, so I didn't bother turning to look at Carlisle as I asked, "Did you find what you needed?"

"I found you didn't I?"

I whipped around, almost dropping the berries in the process. Jasper was stood in the middle of the clearing, directly in a pool of moonlight. He had his hands linked behind his back, and his chin tilted down, a half smile playing on his lips as he gave me a penetrating gaze. The moonlight illuminated his hair, like a halo, and I felt my breath catch – to my annoyance. I bit my lip guiltily, "Jasper, I-,"

"Don't apologize, Morgana. In fact, I should be thanking you for not murdering me where I stand," His sarcasm made me even more annoyed,

"Yeah, you should."

I turned away from him, about to go and look for more resources, when he sprung forward and caught my bandaged wrist, pulling me back to him in a move more like a dance like anything forceful. Before I could fully understand what was happening, Jasper's lips were crushing mine. He held my wrist between our chests, but his other hand rested on the small of my back. I still don't know what I would have done if I had full control of my body, but my mind was still reeling after he'd pulled away. Finally, when my senses came back to me, I pulled out of his grip, "Are you completely out of your mind! I thought you hated me. And besides, I wouldn't worry about the Cult. Alice will have torn us apart before they have a chance. What if she finds out!"

"She already knows,"

"You told her!" I screeched,

"Alice can see the future,"

"Oh, that's just great," I flung my arms up in anger, "Then why didn't she see all of this happening?"

"She sees how decisions affect the future," He paused, and smiled faintly, "Which would mean that you were never definitely going to kill us,"

I narrowed my eyes, that wasn't possible. Was it?

Maybe he was just trying to make me feel better.

"Just...don't decide anything to do with me," I lectured, jerking my hand in expression.

He rolled his eyes, "Is there anything else you need?"

I checked my bag, now almost full, "There's just one more thing I need."

He nodded, and I didn't move, "Well...are you going to go back?"

He shook his head, "I can't risk you runnin' off,"

I sighed exasperatedly, "Fine, come on. We'll have to run."

We started to run, and although I knew that I was slowing him down, and that he could carry me faster, I'd rather keep my feet on the ground. In a few minutes, we made it to my old campsite. I walked over to the ashes still left by the campfire, and orientated myself.

"What are you doing?" Jasper asked from the edge of the campsite. I walked past him, "Finding my bag."

I climbed the tree quickly, and pulled out the bow and quiver of arrows that were still hidden there. Dropping to the ground, I held out the bow, "Do you know how to use one of these?"

Jasper looked embarrassed, "No,"

I groaned, and slung it over my body, so the string was across my front and the wood was pressing on my back, before shouldering my quiver too. "Can anyone in your family use a bow?"

He thought for a moment, before shaking his head, "We've never needed to use weapons,"

"Perfect," I said sarcastically,

"Can't we just fight them?" He asked, as he followed me back towards the house.

"You can try, but you won't last long against too many of them. That's what the traps will be for."

Carlisle was already back in the house when we arrived, and I couldn't help but cast Alice a glance. However, she seemed to be too absorbed in her own thoughts. When Esme saw me watching her, she whispered, "Alice is watching for any signs of the Cult."

Jasper overheard, and I cast him a look. I couldn't help but feel relieved. Maybe she hadn't seen. To be honest, I wish that I hadn't seen. I mean, acting in that way - or at least a sexual way - with vampires wasn't new to me, but it was different with him. He just...he seemed to mean it. Like it was more to him than just lust. It would hurt him in the end, but I knew the reality of his feelings. I should have expected something like this, I thought angrily. To distract myself, I set the bag down on the kitchen table, and set to work. I had a lot to do.

...

When I'd finally finished, daylight was breaking. Carlisle had stayed with me through much of the night, helping me and running through plans whilst I worked. When I set down the last of the devices, he noticed the shadows I was sure were forming beneath my eyes. "You should get some rest."

I shook my head, "We don't have time. The others need to know the plans and the location we should use and-"

"Morgana, leave that to me. Go to bed," He kind voice softened the command, but there was no arguing with him. Instead, I gave him a weak smile,

"Until tonight,"

He patted my shoulder as I left, and when I'd reached my room, after what seemed like a much too long walk, I collapsed onto the bed, too exhausted to even begin to think about what I would awake to.

I was surprised when I woke up replenished. I'd expected a more turbulent sleep, but I hadn't had a single dream. My hip bone ached where I'd been lying on Iris all day, but luckily I hadn't drawn any blood. For a few minutes, I just lay in bed and thought. The words, the faces, spiralled through my head: Jasper, Carlisle, Alice, Esme, Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, the Cult, Nicholas, my father, my mother...

Myself.

I squeezed my eyes shut, and shook the images from my head, before I told myself to get up. I went and changed into a pair of soft black sweatpants, a black vest and a thin sports jacket, which I zipped up quickly. Speed and manouverabilty were key, after all, I could only dodge the worst of the attacks that were sure to head my way. Armour was pointless. I tied my hair up, and grabbed the small rucksack I'd taken with me last night, which I'd left by the door. Throwing it over my shoulder, I headed out of the room, not giving it a second glance, despite knowing that I wasn't ever going to be staying here again, no matter what happened. The coven was assembled downstairs, and Carlisle was running over the plans, and by the sound of his voice, it probably wasn't the first time. I stood a little behind him, waiting for him to finish. Once he had, I stepped forward, "We should go now. The earlier we go, the more time we'll have before they catch your scent."

Carlisle nodded, and I nodded back, before grabbing what was left in the kitchen. "Do they all have what they need?" I asked, as Carlisle came in behind me,

"Yes,"

"And they all know what to do?"

Carlisle put his hand on my shoulder, "Try not to worry. We all know what to do."

Finally, I scooped up my bow and quiver, and turned to him, "I'll try. I can't promise anything,"

We followed the others outside, and Edward presented me with the picture of the location. An abandoned warehouse, by the looks of it, and it already looked foreboding. He pointed out a tower behind it, "We thought that that could come in useful,"

"Right," I said, although I had no idea how a tower would help. He rattled off the coordinates, and once I'd gotten my bearings from the stars, I began to run. I'd told them to run as fast as they could, as if they were hunting, but to give me enough time to get there before them. That way it looked like they were hunting me. It took me around fifteen minutes to arrive at the warehouse, and it looked even worse in real life. A freezing cold wind blew strong, carrying ethereal howls and screams that put me on edge.

Focus Morgana, I thought, and began to work around the circumference of the warehouse, setting up traps as I went, before I headed back to where the vampires were set to appear. I didn't want to risk them triggering anything before the Cult arrived. I'd set traps that were more 'natural' – that could be easily explained as a natural occurrence - so they didn't suspect before they entered the warehouse. I only had to wait for another minute before they arrived.

Edward stood in front of me, and pointed off behind me, "There. That lighthouse. We thought that it may come in useful. What do you think?"

"Oh, I see," I looked up at the lighthouse towering behind the warehouse, and for the first time, I heard the crashes of distant waves, "We might be able to use it as some kind of escape route, or a trap, I guess."

That lighthouse was not going to be useful.

I addressed the others, "Okay, if you follow right behind me, you won't hit the traps out here. Remember, they're designed to kill vampires, but they'll work on witches too. When we get inside, you all know what to do."

They all nodded, and I led them down the grassy slope, with wild foliage perfect for hiding traps. The moon hung low above the lighthouse, and it cast a dim light over the buildings. Once we'd gotten inside, the damp stench of the empty building, combined with a continuous dripping sound and a distant metallic clinking, sent a shiver down my spine. We split off into pairs and smaller groups, and we each found places to set traps – none too close to where we were going to wait, and working from the ground floor up. I was in a group with Emmett and Rosalie, and I did most of the work seeing as Rosalie wasn't particularly keen on risking a nail-break, and Emmett had more chance of setting the thing off. I didn't speak to either of them as we got rid of our traps, and soon we were hanging around waiting for the others. Carlisle, Edward and Esme came first, followed eventually by Alice and Jasper.

"Right, once they get here, we won't all be together for long, and we certainly won't stay here. Even if the traps do take out some of them, there will be a battle."

"Awesome," Emmett said from the back,

I rolled my eyes, "Good luck,"

We were going to need it.

...

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