Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight nor Tomb Raider. I just play around with the worlds and make them collide. No copyright infringement intended.
AN at the bottom.
The mountains were cold and inhospitable, nearly impossible to cross. The peaks were covered with miles of unrelenting snow, waiting to be awoken to slide down in an all destructive avalanche. The valleys were made up of untouched, raw wilderness, millions of trees, bushes and accompanying wild life. It was near impossible for mankind to cross.
There was one mountain that stood out from the rest, hundreds of metres taller, its peak obscured by clouds and snow and ice. If one would look closely, squint against the reflected sunlight, and dedicate time and patience, they would see the small, narrow opening in the wall of the mountain.
Through that gap was an incomprehensible labyrinth of passageways, nature's way of leading and misleading. The tunnels were dark and damp, the air thin and surprisingly hot. Around bends, through hidden openings and over deep tumbling drops into a seemingly endless abyss, a door waited to be opened. The door was thousands of years old, made out of thick, pure oak. It was engraved with runic texts, some faded to the point of being impossible to read.
Through this door waited a power so vast, so impossible to fathom. The cave was dark for all but one beam of light dropping down from the very top of the mountain and it shone on a massive, metal crafted stature of a tree.
The tree had nine large branches, branching away from each other and yet connected through the thick stem of the tree. Seven of the branches went up or to the side in the air, two others went down into the deep, clear water that surrounded it.
This tree was the earthly manifestation of Yggdrasyl, the tree of life. Nordic mythology told of nine realms in the universe. The realms were Asgard, Alfheim, Hel, Midgard or Earth, Jotunheim, Muspelheim, Nidavellir, Svartalfheim, Vanaheim, Niffleheim and lastly, Valhalla.
The Vikings believed this tree to be the construction of the universe, each realm connected by the branches and each one of them dependant on it.
The tree that stood in the mountains had control over planet Earth and so it was an absolutely deathly force. Though it was made out of thick, unearthly metal, the tree seemed to breathe the air around it, pulsing with energy. It was alert yet unaware that far away, thousands of miles from its location the very people that would ensure its safety were only just meeting each other.
~*TR*~
After Bella and Edward had reluctantly agreed to work together, she kicked the agents from her property without pardon. The sheer audacity that the FBI displayed by coming onto her property...in her vicinity, was enough to have her reeling with residual fury.
But despite herself, she was raised as a Lady and she felt obligated to be a good host to her new guest. She watched him as he was on the phone with his own team and worried her bottom lip. He was a handsome man, ridiculously so even. His physique was long and muscular, but not bulky. He looked agile and fast, predatory in the way he held his body even in rest.
His face was carved with a strong jawline and a strong nose. His lips were full but not too full, just enough to make Bella wonder what it would feel like to softly bite down on them. His eyes were incredible, the most vivid shade of green she had ever seen. On top of his head stood an unruly mop of hair, imperfection to offset the rest of him. It made him seem more approachable, less deity-like.
She was attracted to him, she had felt it last year when she had relished in the feeling of his gaze on her body during the exhibition. But it was that same attraction that annoyed her wickedly. She needed her wits about on the case, couldn't afford to be distracted anymore than she already would be by the sudden additions to her team.
She had invited Edward to bring his team to her mansion. It was large enough to house any number of guests and she felt more comfortable being on her own turf. Also the amount of books she had on Nordic mythology was staggering and they could use all the information they got.
"Alright, see you in a bit," Edward told the person on the other end of the phone connection and he snapped his phone shut. Turning back to her, he took a deep breath and made his way to the desk she was sitting at.
Sitting down opposite of her, he said. "My crew is on their way."
"Good," she said with a nod of her head, fixating her eyes onto the file in front of her. The same file they had fought over. God, he's annoying, she thought a little bitterly. She wasn't used to being denied or being told what to do. Which in this case meant working with him.
She knew of Edward Cullen, obviously. He had made amazing discoveries and he was just as renowned as an archaeologist as she was. She didn't question his competence, nor his talent to sniff out potent information or deter dangerous threats; it was just that she didn't like working with others.
"When will they be here?" she asked, looking up to find him staring at her. She felt a sudden, cursed blush creeping up the back of her neck as he shook himself out of his thoughts.
"Sorry," he said, clearing his throat. "In about two hours. If they can find the way." he finished with a hearty chuckle. Bella smiled despite herself.
"Do you want Jasper to call them with the exact coordinates?" she teased, baffling not only Edward but also herself.
"They'll be fine," Edward assured her. He motioned towards the file with his hand and she silently handed it to him. His brow instantly turned into a frown as he read the information he already knew by heart and she frowned along with him.
"Something wrong?" she pried and he shook his head briefly.
"Not wrong per sé," he said. "Just worried about Black, Inc."
Bella nodded a little. Black, Inc was a large crime organisation, mostly known for smuggling weapons and making biochemical weapons of mass destruction to sell to the highest bidder. At the head of the organisation stood Bill Black, a particularly ruthless man; and on his right hand, his son Jacob Black. Black, Inc was infamous for their viciousness, not caring how much blood they spilled in their quest to expand their ever-growing financial status.
And now they were after Yggdrasil. If they got their hands on it, they could turn the ancient force into a weapon strong enough to wipe away entire continents in one fell swoop. The governments of the world would be tripping over each other to get it, outbidding each other relentlessly. It would make Bill Black an unfathomably rich man.
It was now up to Bella and Edward and their teams to find it before Black, Inc did and secure its safety; and that would not be an easy thing to do.
"We'll handle them," Bella said confidently and Edward nodded. She saw a darkness in his eyes that she hadn't seen before but chose not to ask him. There was no need for personal questions, no incentive to truly know each other. All she needed to know from him was if he was competent enough to contribute to her safety during the quest.
He got back up. Fidgety, Bella thought, inserting that piece of data in her mind. He walked along the bookcases, running his long fingers across the spines and humming under his breath. She took a deep breath but found herself staring at him once more. His ass in particular, seemed to really call out to her.
It moved perfectly in his somewhat tight jeans as he strolled around and she had to clench her fist in an attempt to stop her fingers from wanting to grab him. Her eyes narrowed involuntarily into a glare, her lip getting caught between her teeth. It was an old habit, one she couldn't shake.
"Are you glaring at my ass, Bella?"
"What? No!" she sputtered, furious with herself as she stumbled over her words, betraying herself. "Of course not!" Her English accent thickened substantially with her discomfort and soon Edward was chuckling up a storm. He reached back and patted his own ass, causing her to roll her eyes in exasperation. Her lips pursed, back straight, chin tilted high. It was a clear sign that she was aristocratic.
People like her rarely showed annoyance or anger, but there were subtle signs. They hid behind rigidness and putting up an arrogant front, becoming unapproachable to the subject of their discomfort. Edward had seen it before on royalty and he promptly dubbed it the 'Princess face'.
Edward was still smirking when he pulled a book off of the shelves and settled into one of the comfortable chairs in the corner of the room. Silence fell as he read and Bella was busy studying the case some more.
Finding Yggdrasil wouldn't be easy. Picking a loose thread of beginning wouldn't be easy. But they had to and so she let her mind go a hundred miles an hour. Thoughts of Yggdrasil turned to thoughts of Norse mythology. In her mind she went through the pages of the Edda, which she had read many times in her life. Runic symbols danced around her mind, taunting her with the answer and she responded in kind.
Runes were the ancient symbols of Norse mythology. Modern day witches now claimed the script to be their own, given to them by their pagan gods.
Witches. Bella mused silently. Witches, covens, clues and signs.
"Hmm," she hummed at which time Jasper walked through the door of the office.
"Are you two playing nice?" he teased causing Edward to chuckle.
"Just send in reinforcements when you start seeing nun-chucks flying through the house," he replied.
"Or bullets," Bella added with a quirk of her eyebrow. To say she was not amused by the situation would be a gross understatement. While she was fine working with her own team, it was an altogether different story to work with another raider.
Raiders are notoriously territorial and competitive and while they often worked with a team of supporting archaeologists and tech-managers, they had vastly different mentalities than their team mates. Which was probably the main reason they could work together. But raiders amongst each other would inevitably turn into a pissing match. To see who could outdo the other. Glory was a fickle thing and raiders craved it like they craved adventure. Glory, when attained, would be bitter if they had to share it with someone else.
Working together with Edward was a tough pill to swallow for Bella. And vice-versa.
Jasper smirked at Bella. Having known her for so long, he could tell by the look in her eyes that she was sulking, much to his amusement. She was always somewhat controlling in nature, a dominance about her that was as relentless as it was strong. It would be interesting for him to see her relinquish some of her control to Edward.
"How about I introduce you to the rest of the gang?" Jasper proposed.
"Yeah, definitely," Edward replied with a grin and got up to follow Jasper out of the office. He looked back over his shoulder at Bella and shot her a quick smile, but she seemed to be a million miles away, lost in thought. She was ridiculously beautiful like that.
He shook his head to clear it and followed Jasper through the impressive corridor and down the stairs, through the warmly decorated living room and past a lmassive glass wall that separated the large computer lab from the living room.
"Alice is gonna lose her shit," Edward chuckled quietly, letting his eyes roam over the computers.
"Hmm?" Jasper inquired.
"Nothing," he replied with another chuckle. "One of my team mates is gonna flip when she sees this lab."
Jasper chuckled too and opened a thick door that led into a large, homey kitchen. The smell that wafted up Edward's nose was mouthwatering and he looked inside to see the woman Jasper had whispered to when he and the agents arrived bustling around.
"Esme," Jasper called out and she turned around with a smile. It was truly a beautiful woman, soft in every sense of the word. She was short and curvy, her hair a honey brown color and her face kind and open. Edward felt the strange urge to hug her.
"Oh hello!" she exclaimed, wiping her hands on the kitchen towel tucked into her apron and meeting Edward half way in the kitchen to shake his hand.
"Welcome, dear," she said with a warm tingle in her eyes. "My name is Esme."
"Edward Cullen," he introduced himself with an equally warm smile. "It's good to meet you."
"Likewise, dear," she said. "Would you like some coffee?"
Edward nodded, looking around the kitchen as Esme made him his coffee. It was a large open space but, despite the risk of becoming a cold, hollow room, it was furnished and painted in such a way that it was cosy and homey. He had no doubt in his mind that this must be one of the residents' favorite rooms to be in. Sitting down on one of the stools that ran along one side of the impressive kitchen island, he ran his hand through his hair and turned to Jasper, who had been quietly observing him. The coffee Esme put in front of him smelled delicious and he blew into the cup before taking a sip. He could still feel Jasper's gaze on him and it was starting to make him uncomfortable.
"What?" he chuckled causing Jasper to chuckle in return.
"Nothing," he said, sitting down too. "I'm just really interested to see how your collaboration with Bella will pan out, is all."
Edward groaned softly. Working together was gonna be hell. It would be like having two captains on one ship. It was bound to be a problem. Now, in all honesty Edward had to admit that he didn't mind working with Bella so much...it was Bella herself that he felt was gonna pose a problem.
Though he wasn't exactly what you could call a celibate man, he had never before had such a strong pull towards a member of the fairer sex. She was strong willed, hardheaded and absolutely dominant. All the traits he himself possessed and it made for some wicked bedroom scenarios in his mind.
Would she lose some of her rigidness in the throws of orgasm? Would she relinquish control to him, let him pin her down as his body moved deep inside hers? He doubted it; but the thoughts were enough to make his jeans uncomfortably tight.
A loud ding coming from the computer lab made him startle a bit.
"That must be your friends," Esme said with an excited smile. Edward shot her a smile back and they followed Jasper out of the kitchen and into the lab. As Edward looked at the monitor, it was confirmed that his team had arrived and he went outside to welcome them with a huge grin on his face. With his team here he didn't feel so out of place.
He waited while Emmett, Alice and Carlisle pulled up to the house; and when they got out, he jogged down the steps to welcome them.
"Wow, this place is beautiful," Alice breathed, giving Edward a quick hug around the waist.
"Isn't it?" he asked unnecessarily to which she nodded and went to the back of the car to get the luggage Emmett was hauling out.
Emmett's posture was enough to make Jasper, who was standing in the doorway, uncomfortable. He observed the man quietly. He was tall, easily 6'4", and quite possibly just as broad in the shoulders. His shirt barely hid the muscles underneath.
The second man was a different story. He was shorter, way less muscular and yet he bore a natural air of leadership. Parental almost. His hair was blond but his eyes were a shade of brown that came close to black. It was an odd combination.
Jasper's eyes then landed on the girl and his breath hitched in his throat a little. She was small, much tinier than the women he lived with and it made him feel naturally protective over her. What was her business being in such a danger-ridden life as team member to a tomb raider? Her face was delicate and absolutely feminine, outlined by long flowing jet-black hair that brushed the small of her back.
He only barely managed to stop staring at her in time for them to reach him and introduce themselves.
"Good afternoon," he spoke jovially, extending his hand to the largest man. "My name is Jasper."
"Emmett," he introduced himself calmly.
"Carlisle," the blond man said, taking over and lastly the girl introduced herself in a bell-like voice.
"Alice."
"Welcome to Swan Manor," Jasper told her, a little too warmly for Edward's liking. "Please make yourselves at home."
~*TR*~
Bella was still in the office when she heard the newcomers come in and she slowly closed the case file in front of her. Her earlier thoughts about witches had led to an idea that she was eager to share with her team. And Edward.
She made her way out the door and into the corridor that looked out over the living room. Looking down she observed Edward interact with his team mates a short while before moving to join them.
"Hello," she called out as she made her way down the last few steps of the stairs and claiming the attention of everyone in the room. Introductions were made quickly, and repeated when Rosalie finally joined them, and soon they were sitting on the comfortable couches.
Bella watched the people around her interact and was surprised by how easily they all fell together. Emmett was a quiet man, never saying anything that wasn't worth saying, whereas his younger sister Alice was a ball of hyperactive fire, fluttering around the computer lab and rarely sitting down longer than a few seconds.
Carlisle was, as Bella deduced, the Esme of Edward's team. Parental, a guardian and the one who kept them in line. It was clear to see how much Edward looked up to him.
The most surprising interactions between the teams, though, was how Rosalie reacted to Emmett. Usually, she was calm and collected around men - some would even say cold - but this man rendered her down to blushing and stammering with as much as a look her way. It was as amusing as it was disconcerting to watch.
Edward and she filled their teams in on the case. The silence that followed was filled with weary anticipation and hearty excitement. Weary about Black, Inc. and excited about the case itself.
Finding Yggdrasil would be...invigorating.
"Norse mythology has been absorbed into modern day paganism," Bella spoke out.
"Wicca," Edward offered, looking at her. She nodded.
"Exactly," she continued. "We need to be looking for covens that may know more about Yggdrasil. Covens that might specialize in viking magick."
"I agree," Edward told her.
"But how to go about that?" Carlisle asked. "It's not like we can do a google search."
"And knocking on every high priestess' door this side of the world would take too long," Emmett completed.
"True," Bella mused, losing herself in thought. How to go about it indeed.
"Well, fortunately witches aren't nearly as cryptic as they like to believe," Edward chuckled. "And a google search isn't that bad an idea."
"We might be looking for covens that practice old-order witchcraft," Rosalie said. "I don't think the location to Yggdrasil would be handed to a bunch of Charmed-wannabees."
"Very good," Edward nodded. "Although I wouldn't mind running into Alyssa Milano on the way there." He couldn't help but add, receiving a handful of chuckles and an eye roll from Bella.
"Let's think logically here," Bella said in a clipped tone. "Where do the strongest witches reside here in Europe?"
"Avalon?" Alice offered, giggling a little nervously. She was actually quite serious.
Bella smiled. "Fair enough, but I doubt we have enough time to find Avalon and Yggdrasil."
"Ireland," Edward stated, looking down at the floor in thought. "Definitely Ireland."
"I agree," Bella said. "And their coven would represent their goal to keep Yggdrasil hidden from the world."
"Right," Jasper said. "Their name would be an indication."
"But why would they do that?" Emmett asked. "Wouldn't it be a big fat neon sign that says: 'Hey, come find us, we hold the key to the ultimate power'?"
"Witches are arrogant," Esme encountered. All seven pairs of eyes were suddenly on her and she smiled bashfully. "They're arrogant enough to trust in their power to keep themselves hidden. They believe nothing can touch them."
"Well, potions and charms won't stop a few hundred speeding bullets," Emmett hissed. "If Black, Inc. were to find the coven before we did, that's exactly what will happen."
"They won't," Edward whispered. "We'll make sure they don't."
Emmett sighed, nodding only slightly. He recognized his friend's and leader's stubborn streak from a mile away. Edward would find a way to make it happen. Emmett just hoped it wouldn't be too late.
The group disbanded after that. Alice and Jasper went to do a computer search on possible covens, while Edward and Bella hit the books with that exact same goal. Rosalie followed Emmett out to the car to help him carry in their supplies and Carlisle and Esme went into the kitchen to make sure the group would be properly taken care of.
In the office/library, Bella was watching Edward as his eyes sped across the pages in the book on his lap.
"So what's your story?" she asked suddenly, before she could stop herself.
Edward's eyes fluttered up to hers before looking back down.
"How do you mean?"
"I mean how did you become a raider? Glory? Money? A video game perhaps?"
Edward chuckled quietly, before scratching the scruff on his jaw with his thumb. The sight momentarily rendered Bella stupid.
"I was raised to be one," he offered after a moment.
"Really?" Bella asked, quite baffled. She, herself, was raised to be one but this was the first time she had ever heard of someone that was like her.
"Yeah," Edward said, clearing his throat and keeping his eyes stubbornly on the page before him. "When my parents died, I took over."
"Oh," Bella breathed. "I apologize, I didn't mean to pry."
Edward finally looked up into her eyes and held her gaze. In the emerald depths of his suddenly swimming eyes, she saw an endless supply of understanding and pain, but also vast wisdom - the kind of which she would have never credited him for ten minutes prior.
"It's fine," he whispered. "I'd ask for your story but Lord and Lady Swan's deaths weren't exactly a quiet affair in the biz."
This made Bella uncomfortable. She'd known that her parents' death had caused a shock wave throughout the raiders and archaeologist community, especially because of the suspicious circumstances. Death was a necessary evil in their lifestyle. Your safety as a raider was never ensured but the fact was that not only her father, but her mother also had been murdered in their sleep and that, to the community, was too suspicious.
"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Edward whispered and she shook her head as if to dismiss the fact that she was.
"We all have our sad stories to tell," she offered him cryptically and he took it with a nod.
"Yes," he agreed, squinting back at the book. "And I think I found our coven."
~*TR*~
The small town of Kilrush, Clare County was a quiet and quaint place nestled along Ireland's treacherous and impressive coast line. The town housed the coven of Alina, which would be translated as Coven of the Distant Place and they specialized in Viking magic and mythology. The Internet search had found nothing on them, but the book Edward had been reading revealed they were a centuries old coven and that they never had located away from the place they resided today.
Edward and Bella's gazes met as they drove into the town and they both took deep breaths. They had decided to go alone, leaving not only the house protected but also assuring that they wouldn't be shunned by the coven due to sheer overwhelming strength on their part.
They needed to talk to the high priest and priestess, Gerald and Peitre, about Yggdrasil and make them see that Edward and Bella weren't interested in finding it for monetary reasons but purely to protect it. It wasn't going to be easy, witches were notoriously stubborn and secretive. They would need to tread carefully.
As they pulled up to the address that they had been provided with by Jasper and Alice, they were surprised to find a tall and scowling woman awaiting them. They had barely stepped out of the car before they were forced on their knees by a power they could neither see nor fathom. The woman smirked arrogantly as she held one fist in the air.
"You must be Peitre," Edward grunted from his position on the ground.
"Yes," she confirmed with a hateful hiss. "And you are not welcome here."
Sorry! I know it's been too long since I updated but as some (most) of you might know I've started another story called 'Saving Grace' and I couldn't be pulled away from it.
On to the ass-kissing: My lovely beta Smmiskimen deserves a round of applause for managing to churn out this chapter while trying to raise kids and write a paper. I applaud her. She's Superwoman to me.
And then the insanely talented SoapyMayhem for making a stunning banner for Tomb Raider, which can be found on my blog.
Yes ladies, I have a blog now! Visit me at pixiedawnff (dot) blogspot (dot) com. There are pictures there to be found as well as info on me and my stories.
Kisses to you all. Pix.