Bylaphemy
Disclaimer: See previous chapter
Part VI
Bella POV
I woke up lying on the floor of a shack. I realized where I was instantly. I sat up quickly. Too quickly. The fire had spread through my entire body while I was unconscious. I looked up at Carlisle and Alice's anxious expressions. "Why didn't Edward tell me he had a brother?" I demanded as soon as I had found my voice.
"Edward's older brother, Ethan, ran away from home at age ten. Edward was only six at the time. His childhood has always been a hard time to recall, and it probably would cause him pain to relive it. Ethan somehow ended up in Brazil after running away. Apparently, he was changed at nineteen, by a man he had lived with for about a year. We don't know what happened to who changed him, or much more about either of them." I wanted him to continue talking, to take my mind off the transformation. But he hesitated, and I realized he either didn't know much, or he didn't think it was his place. He stood up.
"Alice, she's been in the transformation for an hour now. I don't believe there would be anyway to stop the venom now. Let's get her to the house." He grimaced at the word. I felt a sharp stab of sympathy, and then of rage. What possible reason could Edward's brother have to hunt them, to force them from their home?
Alice somehow managed to hoist me up on her back gently without too much pain. We arrived at the house. Carlisle seemed very worried about his son's reaction. But this is what I had wanted. It was my decision. Edward would have to live with it. Carlisle reached for the door, but it flew open. Edward's face was livid.
Edward POV
I couldn't believe it. I had smelled Carlisle and Alice coming, but Bella's smell had been with them. Not only did they bring her here, which I actually didn't mind too much -- it had been so long since I had seen her --, but I noticed her hand was bleeding terribly. I realized at once what had happened.
A snarl escaped my lips. "I want to know who bit her, and I want to know why!" I whispered fiercely. There was no need to yell. The anger was clear.
Alice had an odd combination of smugness and fear on her face. "Edward, she's in pain, move aside. We need to lay her down." She tried to push past me. Did she really think I would allow that? Instead I grabbed Bella and marched her into my room. Why had Alice done this? Hadn't Bella and I had enough pain and suffering? I was happy she was here. But transforming? I refused to look at any of them.
I laid her down on the ground, wishing we had a bed for her. Alice suddenly appeared, right on cue, with a pillow and a blanket. I sighed. "Why, Alice?" I moaned, my head in my hands as I sat next to Bella. "Hasn't she suffered enough?" I received a hard glare from Bella at that, and then she cried out in pain, clutching her head. I wrapped my arms around her. "I'm sorry, Bella," I whispered.
Alice rolled her eyes. "Come on, Edward, you knew this would happen, you're both so hard-headed. She wants this. I know you want it too. Someone had to do it because you're too stubborn to admit you were wrong for once," she growled. My eyes narrowed and I was about to protest, but Bella moaned again. I kissed the top of her head. "I'm so sorry. It will all be over soon, my love." I murmured. "Just three days." Just three excruciatingly long and painful days, I thought to myself.
Bella POV
This was dreadfully painful. I hadn't prepared myself for this much pain. Fire coursed through my body. Edward was sitting next to me on the ground, arms wrapped around me protectively. He never took his glare off Alice. Carlisle was no longer in the room. I tried to break the silence, trying not to concentrate on the transformation.
"Is anybody going to explain to me exactly what's going on?" I asked angrily through gritted teeth. Anger was easier than pain. Edward looked down at me now, his smile apologetic.
"Yes, how rude," he mused. He stared at the ceiling for a minute, then glanced at me with another smile.
"My brother has anger issues," he murmured, the ghost of a frown threatening to pull his mouth down at the corners. I saw Alice perk up in the corner to listen better. "My memory is a little spotty, seeing as human memories fade. Though I've searched his mind, and putting it together with what I remember, I know a fair amount about him. You see, Ethan ran away from home when he had enough of my parents. They were not very religious people, and Ethan saw that as a problem. He had always had very different views on the world than my parents. They saw it as you do what you can to live as you like, but of course, look good in the social world. We were fairly rich, well mannered people. We were respected where we lived. But my brother thought we were all wasting our lives. He couldn't stand seeing the world as it was, with thieves and criminals running about.
He ran away from home and went to Brazil. I don't know why he came here, and I don't think he ever remembers. He lived in an orphanage, unable to live on his own. Finally he moved out at 18, and found a man to share an apartment with." Edward frowned as he recalled these facts of his brother's life. I stared at him expectantly, the transformation forgotten.
"He lived with this man, Henry, for about a year. One night, before Ethan was about to turn in, Henry told him his secret. He told Ethan that he was a vampire. Ethan laughed at him and thought he was kidding. When he was asleep, Henry bit him. Ethan woke with a start, and Henry explained everything to him. Ethan was furious, though too weak to do anything. As soon as he had changed, he killed Henry. It was a remarkable feat, actually. New vampires are usually very weak." His face was a mix of fascination, and disgust. I then noticed the rest of Edward's family was standing in the doorway listening. There was a mingling expression of shock, and in a few cases fear, on each of their faces. I tried to comprehend.
"But how does this concern you?" I wondered.
Edward smiled sweetly. "My love, he has not stopped at killing his creator. The biggest mistake in his life was residing with that vampire. Becoming one of us confirmed his beliefs of evil in the world. He soon found out he was not the only vampire. He recoiled from the idea of bloodsucking monsters. He had managed to be a vegetarian vampire, like us, for quite some time. When he found more vampires, he gathered followers. He has five that have followed him since the beginning. Their goal is to rid the world of our kind, of evil. They don't care what the vampires feed off of; they know we could lose control. That's too much for any of them to think of." His tone was acidic by this point. I still didn't understand.
"But there are seven of you…Besides, why would you come here to see him; you wouldn't be in any danger if you stayed in Forks!" I half shrieked, rather hysterically. I bit my lip, trying not to yelp. The pain of the transformation was getting hard to ignore.
Carlisle spoke this time. "He has…Many powers. One of them tracks other vampires, wherever in the world they are. Alice saw him coming for us. This part of Brazil is where they live, and is very remote. It made more sense to come here, where we wouldn't expose our existence, then to stay in Forks. He'll know where we are regardless. He is also very strong; as strong as Emmett." Emmett snarled at that. He obviously did not like that fact. "He has a few more powers, but we aren't completely sure what they are."
I grimaced and looked at each of their faces. This was real fear, not just for me anymore. I instantly regretted making any complaints about my pain. I was then reminded why I was here now. This was not only for my own benefit, becoming a vampire.
"But how am I supposed to help?" I asked slowly. Did they really think I'd make a difference, or were they just desperate?
Alice glided over to me and sat gracefully on the other side of me. She smiled sweetly, her red-tinted eyes on me. I frowned at that. I hoped her eyes didn't stay like that for long.
"I acted irrationally. I should have talked with Carlisle and Esme, to see what powers you might possess. But they don't even know. I have a good feeling about you, though. I don't see Ethan and his little coven coming for at least a week. Although most new vampires take awhile to adjust, I think you'll do quite well."
I sighed. "Fine, but I don't know how much help I will be. I'll probably get us all killed." Edward chuckled lightly beside me.
"I think you will be an extraordinary help, Bella. No need to worry. I'm actually very interested in what your powers will be." I groaned at that.
"Just one problem. I probably won't have any powers. But maybe I'll just trip more than usual -- if that's possible." Edward's family burst into laughter, then all filed out of the room, leaving me on the ground beside Edward.