-1AN: Sorry it's taken so long to get this out. I've been working on it when I can, life seems to have other ideas however. I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I do not own twilight, new moon, or their characters. They are all the property of Stephenie Meyer.
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And death shall have no dominion.
Dead men naked they shall be one
With the man in the wind and the west moon
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
They shall have stars at elbow and foot,
Though they go mad, they shall be sane,
Thought they sink through the sea they shall rise again,
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.
And death shall have no dominion
Under the windings of the sea
They lying long shall not die windily
Twisting on racks when sinews give way
Strapped to a wheel yet they shall not break
Faith in their hands shall snap in two
And the unicorn evils run them through
Split all ends up they shan't crack
And death shall have no dominion
And death shall have no dominion
No more may gulls cry at their ears
Or waves break loud on the seashores
Where blew a flower may a flower no more
Lift its head to the blows of the rain
Though they be mad and dead as nails
Heads of the characters hammer through daisies
Break in the sun till the sun breaks down
And death shall have no dominion
"Dylan Thomas"
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Previously:
I strode forward, resolute, the last of my heart breaking as I cast all hope aside of ever being with my Bella again, knowing that heaven would be kind to her, and walked through the gate.
Chapter 3: Broken Spirits
Edward POV:
I stumbled my way over the broken stones of the walkway, a thick, viscous fog obscuring any vision of what lay ahead. All around me I could hear the shuffle of many feet, a large crowd by the sound. Their voices rising in a mixture of anguished grief and angered screams of violence, blending together in a single rhythm of pain, my own voice however, was silent. I, unlike the others, knew my presence here was just, and that my punishment could never equal the severity of my crimes.
I quickened my pace, moving forward through the gloom, my mind, unbidden, playing memories over and over in my head, memories of her, of the first time I saw her, our first conversation, our first "date" after I had saved her in Port Angeles, That first day in the meadow when we had declared our love for one another. I could hear a soft whispering in the back of my mind, though too softly for me to make out any words, a faint buzzing noise that seemed to grow louder as I went on. It wasn't the thoughts of those I was with, I hadn't been able to hear anyone's thoughts since I'd arrived here, and this wasn't the same sensation as when I could hear them before. It was a dull throbbing sensation, bordering almost on pain.
Other memories came then, painful ones, when James took her, the day I left her, and finally, of how I'd killed her. As the last memory flashed its way into my thoughts, the pain became intense and a loud hiss rose out of the whispers "Murderer." I couldn't disagree with it, I was a murderer. I had taken countless lives as the monster I am, though none so precious as the last. I looked up then and saw that the fog had lifted and I could see ahead a short way in the dark.
The ground began to slope downward sharply to the bank of a great river and, as I had guessed, a large crowd of people waited nervously at it's edge. It was the river Acheron, across which lay the uppermost circle of hell. I looked past the crowd, out across the waters and became aware of a large boat swiftly approaching. In it, stood a black robed figure, a single oar held fast in his gnarled, bony hands as he steered the boat across the vast waters to the shore. His cloak was of a heavy sackcloth, falling in large folds to where it met the floor, his hood falling over his face, concealing it in the dim light. It was Charon the ferryman, whose duty it was to carry the souls of the damned into hell. The boat came to a sudden stop, the keel scraping across the thick mud and rocks of the bank. He raised a hand, beckoning us, and the frightened souls began to slowly straggle into the boat, Charon waiting silently for us to board. He looked up at me then, noticing my silent observation.
"You who lingers there, make haste" his voice rasped in dry, croaking whispers, like the sound of many stones being ground into dust. "The hour of your judgment is at hand, to delay will not lessen your punishment." I then noticed that I was the only one who remained on the shore. I silently obeyed, stepping swiftly into the boat and settling myself on my knees in its bough, staring out into the vast darkness across the waters with dead eyes. The boat sped away then, crossing the waters smoothly, leaving barely a ripple in its wake. Charon stared at me from under his hood, studying me intently as he began to speak.
"You come quietly for one of your kind, your kind are usually more… violent in their crossing, indignant and angry. It seems almost, as if you desire this fate."
"I accepted this fate long ago, and no punishment conceivable in heaven, nor hell could do justice to the evil I have done. I go to my torment freely, willingly."
"You will feel differently soon. Upon the further shore, something worse than Minos waits to judge you, and they will be none too happy with your complicity. They rather enjoy the struggle I think" he laughed then, a harsh gravelly sound. The opposite shore loomed suddenly into view, bleak and ominous and the others around us began to shake violently in fear. I stood then, stepping out onto the bank as soon as the boat was near enough. The buzzing in the back of my mind becoming clearer, and I was able to pick out three distinct voices, though still, I could not decipher any words.
"I wont, I deserve far worse than I could ever receive. Nothing could ever change my mind about that." I said, looking over my shoulder at him as I climbed the steep, slime covered path. I stumbled then, the voices in my head ringing out sharply in a seething hiss.
"Murderer."
"Betrayer."
"Oath breaker"
My hands moved to clench the sides of my head as I staggered to my knees, the visions of her dead face surging to my mind once again. As suddenly as the voices were there, they were gone, fading to the background back into the soft buzzing of before. I stood then, straining to regain my footing, and resumed my climb, Images of her ,cold and lifeless, playing ceaselessly in my mind. The pain they caused was unbearable, and not for the first time in my existence, I wished in vain that I could cry.
When I turned my eyes back to the path before me, I was met with a startling vision. Standing there before me, was Minos. A giant of a man, if man you could call him. He towered over me, his massive arms and torso knotted with thick muscles that could easily put Emmett to shame. His head was that of a horned bull, his face twisted, and terrible to behold. Trialing behind him, was the great length of his tail which he used to determine the destination of the damned by the number of times he wound it about his body. I stood before him waiting silently, my eyes, devoid of emotion locked upon his frightening face, and waited.
He snarled then, fire streaming from his nostrils as he sneered down at me from his great height, his voice harsh as he growled down at me. "Your sins are few for one of your kind demon, though still enough to earn your place in several circles. You are doomed to reside here by your very nature, as are all of your kind. However, your fate is not for me to decide, but for the furies to determine. Great sin indeed you must have done to have been charged to them."
Another wave of pain assaulted me as the voices seethed back to the surface of my mind again and I screamed in pain, my hands flying once again to my temples. A vision of my beloved flashing before my eyes, her cold lifeless body lying in my arms. "Murderer!"
"Betrayer!"
"Oath Breaker!"
The voices screamed into my mind with cold fury. I sank to my knees, whimpering in pain as the image of what I'd done replayed over and over again before my eyes, the voices in a constant chant now. My hands moved to cover my head as I pressed my forehead to the ground. I cried out then, tortured sobs wracking my body as I watched myself murder my love and, for the first time in nearly a century, tears began to stream from my eyes.
Never before had I so ruthlessly hated this thing that I am, the monster inside me. I clawed at my eyes, trying to rid myself of the sight before me, of the pain that the words caused. I was struck suddenly with an even sharper pain and I froze, paralyzed. I lay still for a moment, the visions fading slowly as the voices once again retreated to the back of my mind. My sobs quieted though the tears still flowed freely, I moved my hands then, placing them palm down on the ground at my sides as I slowly lifted my eyes to the place where Minos had stood.
I cringed at the sight before me. There, behind him, stood three black winged creatures, female in form, their pallid skin glowing in the dim light that surrounded us. They were scantily clad, wearing thin gauze-like cloths soaked in blood, a long blood red cape swirled behind them down to their clawed talon-like feet. They were armed each with a whip of serpents clasped tightly in their clawed hands. Their appearance was savage, and wild, their faces hideously contorted into an evil sneer, and blood dripped in ceaseless rivulets from their crimson eyes. Adorning each of their heads, was a thick crown of snakes that writhed and coiled, ready to strike, and each of them had a large snake coiled about their waist. Sisters they were, Alecto, the unceasing anger, Megaera, the grudging, and Tisiphone, the blood avenger; the furies. I pushed myself up to stand before them, awaiting judgment. The one in the middle met my gaze as the voice rang out sharply once again
"Murderer! This pain is but a preview of what awaits you demon"
They moved toward me then, two of them taking hold of my arms as if to hold me in place, their claws tearing roughly into me. It was a needless act, I wouldn't be running anywhere. Minos stood back, observing with a troubled expression as I stood there, unmoving with silent tears streaming down my face.
"Alecto…he cries. How comes this? It is a task impossible for his kind, no matter how great the pain,… yet...it is so."
"Pay it no mind Minos, it is but a poorly attempted plea for mercy, a trick to deceive us. You know as well as I that no vampire can cry. They feel no remorse, it is their purpose to deceive and destroy. This one's deception goes beyond that of any."
"Yes Minos, he is charged to us, have a care to mind your own charges, lest your duty be found lacking. His tears are a ploy, a desperate gamble for leniency. He seeks mercy where none exists."
"Take care yourself Tisiphone, lest your thirst for vengence cloud your wits."
Their voices were but harsh resonant whispers, like the hissin of many snakes. I spoke then, my voice choked between sobs. "I am deserving of any such fate as you should choose a thousand times over. My love is dead, her blood on my lips, and for that, I could never atone. I have done the greatest evil, to the one thing which was good and pure and true on the earth. My punishment is just, I ask not for mercy. Do your worst, though even that could never equal my crime."
It was Megaera who spoke in answer. "Silence demon, you would do well to hold your tongue. We shall be the judges of what you deserve, and what is just. It is to the Malebolge for you foul thing, the bottom of the pit, Cocytus. A place befitting such a traitor as yourself."
"Nay Megaera, this I cannot allow" Minos stepped before them, blocking their way " His soul is repentant, Hell is home to souls who show no remorse for their misdeeds, for those who realize them not. Clearly, he recognizes the wrongs he has done, and he mourns them. For this he should be able to atone for them. It is to Purgatory he should be sent. The frozen lake should not receive him."
At this I was thrown roughly face first onto the rocky ground again, one of the sisters, Megaera, pinning me there with her large talon-like foot. "You dare to challenge us?"
Alecto stepped towards him then, standing tall with her shoulders back, her wings spread wide, chin raised in defiance..
"It is no care of ours if he is repentant or not, he is charged to us, and we shall punish him according to his crimes. Ours is an errand of justice, mercy has no place in our realm, regardless, none of his kind are permitted entrance to the blessed realm. Purgatory would be pointless for one such as him. He has betrayed his oath of love, and murdered the one he called his own, this alone would earn his place in our charge, though in less wrath. His beloved, was the incarnation of a divine messenger, one of the archeiai, for this, no amount of remorse can atone. The murder of an angel…is unforgivable. Step aside Minos, and you will not suffer our wrath"
He backed away, turning slowly to return to his task of judging the damned souls as they arrived on the shore. "Very well, Alecto, though I fear your brand of justice will be your undoing ere the end."
"Let not your worries be for us, but for your own task, we answer to none. Come sisters, our errand awaits"
There was a blinding pain in my shoulders as Megaera grasped them in her talons, the claws piercing their way through as her grip tightened. My eyes squeezed shut, and I felt a strong rush of wind about me as I was pulled sharply upward, the beat of her wings creating a gale force as we rose higher from the ground. The pain in my shoulders intensified as the weight of my body hung, helplessly in her grasp. My jaw clenched at the added pain, but I did not cry out. No, this mere physical pain paled in comparison to the torment I was undergoing in my mind. The now unceasing images of those last moments with my beloved, my Bella. "Betrayer" I had broken her heart, her spirit, "Oath breaker"I had betrayed my vow of love, and broken my vow of keeping her safe…"Murderer" I had killed her.
I stared out before me, my vision blurred with tears as we flew, the screams of torture and fear, and the foul stench of blood, death, and human excrement were strong even at such a great height. We flew for an indeterminable amount of time, the pain in my shoulders barely registering. My body was all but numb, my grief taking over completely, drowning me.
We slowed slightly, flying over the tall outer walls and battlements of a great city of stone and flame. The city of Dis, at the center of which, lay the entrance to the pit, the Malebolge it was called, and Cocytus, the frozen lake. As we passed over the city, we slowly began to descend, the crackle of fires and the smell of burning flesh, and boiling blood overwhelmed all of my senses. My body wretched with dry heaves at the stench. Just ahead loomed a forest of dead trees, each with a rotting corpse caught in it's boughs, the souls of the suicides, trapped forever within the form of trees, forced to watch for eternity the wasting away of their bodies as a reminder of what they had done to themselves, their voices unable to mourn or cry out unless a branch be broken from the tree. Past the forest lay a vast desert, littered with people writhing in agony in the blistering sand as flakes of fire rained down upon them.
As we passed the last stretch of desert, a vast chasm opened wide beneath us and we began to descend at a rapid rate, plunging quickly into its icy depths. We moved past vast ditches filled with souls in various stages of torment, the speed at which we were moving making it impossible to tell where one ended and another began, the echoing cries of the damned becoming louder and more desperate as the punishments became worse as we descended.
As we reached the final circle, we passed through a ring of giants, standing guard over the edge of the deepest recesses of the pit lest anything should attempt an escape. We descended this last depth and I was suddenly falling, dropped into the vile, icy waters of Cocytus. I was drawn to my feet by some unseen force as the waters hardened into ice around me, encasing me to my waist, my hands trapped within the ice at my sides. All at once I was assaulted with the visions, the voices, my mind a whirl of blood and fear, grief and pain. The tears flowed in rivers from my closed eyes as I sobbed endlessly for my lost love, for what I had done. My senses were suddenly assaulted with her scent, and my eyes flew open…she wasn't there, she would never be there again.
The three furies circled me, their voices, their cruel laughter pounding in my mind, forcing me to hear, to see them. The whips they held unmercifully tore into the flesh of my back as they came down in harsh strokes, my mind reeling as they continued their assault. I could see her, my Bella, lying dead in my arms, feel the brush of her lips across my cheek, her arms embracing me. Her scent was all around me, the taste of her blood on my lips, the voices in my head a maddening roar now. I wailed in terror, my voice a thunderous roar as I screamed out in pain and inconsolable grief, unceasing tears flowing from my unseeing eyes as I was forever lost to pain and madness. I was broken.
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Ok, so sorry once again it took so long to get this out, and that there wasn't any Bella in this one. I was going to put her in but I thought it would make the chapter a bit long, its already up to 9 pages. Anyways, The next chapter will be Bella POV and I will have it up as soon as life allows, hopefully in less time than this one took. Please review!