Chapter 8: Starry Night

Edward ushered the last civilian he could find into a barn he had filled with all the villagers he'd sworn to protect. He locked it with a large wooden panel and stood guard outside; panting heavily as his eyes darted around for any signs of danger. All he could hear was his own heart; all he could smell was the foul odour of Dark blood stained on his body; all he could see was darkness dotted with flickering lanterns in the distance.

Something was wrong; it was way too quiet seeing as he was in the middle of a raging war. With those last minutes of silence he closed his eyes and tried to forget about how many creatures he'd killed. And how many Emmett had killed. Edward had lost sight of him only 10 minutes after he'd killed that first troll and hadn't seen him since. He prayed to whoever was listening that Emmett stayed safe.

Then just as he opened his eyes, he felt something pierce his right shoulder sending a blast of pain through his body. "Shit!" He yelled in pain before pulling a circular razor blade from where it was wedged into his body. It was a vesica, a majorly sharp blade that was forged by the Sytrix. And that meant there was Sytrix around. Double shit. Edward thought. He'd never fought a Sytrix before and didn't want to. Ever. But that didn't matter because he was going to in about 3…2…1…

He spun in the air and fly kicked his enemy in the face before landing in his warrior stance. He studied the face of the mortal enemy of his race as they circled each other, both hissing. The guy was reasonably tall and built with short black hair and frighteningly silver eyes; the common features of every Sytrix.

Edward quickly ran through all the battle techniques he'd been taught in his mind, and just when he'd opted for one, his enemy spoke. "Prince Edward Cullen." He spat.

Edward's eyes widened as he recognized his voice. "Demetri?" He said disbelievingly. Demetri used to go to Edward's school; he'd Turned Dark just last year.

"Oh, I feel honoured that you remember my name, Your Highness," He said sarcastically, his eyes almost glowing with evil, "But that won't really matter because I'm going to commit treason or regicide … or whatever it's called when you kill a royal." He looked genuinely confused. Wow, he's stupid.

A split second later, Demetri was smiling as hundreds of small sharp rocks flew in Edward's direction; had he not blown them away with aire, he'd have about a million gaping holes in his body. Shaking the image out of his head, he unsheathed his sword and began battling his opponent fiercely.

Just as he was getting into the fight, he'd heard many other hisses and growls coming closer and closer to where they were. "Shit!" He exclaimed for the hundredth time that night as he backed away from the oncoming white-eyed army. "There's too many of them." He whispered to himself. As they advanced on him, he knew his time was coming to an end. "I'm sorry, Mother," He heard them chuckle at his last words. "But I'm not going down without a fight." He concluded.

Jumping up from his crouched position, he swung his sword around, expertly slicing the throats of about 4 men. He then grabbed a dagger from his belt and stabbed each one in the heart; freeing all the energy they'd sucked out in their seemingly short Dark lives. He snapped his head up at the sound of heavy footsteps and a deep growl. Running towards him were some more opponents, each one throwing vesicas at him with precision. Using aire he stopped the blades in midair then turned them around and aimed them at his attackers.

2 more Sytrix charged at him from his left and right. With all the hope and strength he had left, Edward threw daggers at each of them, piercing them in their hearts before collapsing to the floor. He clutched onto his shoulder as he kept losing blood. Drowsy and tired, he heard people running towards him. Each step on the soft soil of his land was another step closer to his death. He sensed someone standing right above his head and felt the tip of a blade resting on his chest. This is it, he thought to himself.

As he closed his eyes in anticipation for his death, he heard a blade piercing flesh and a loud groan right above him. Opening his eyes a little, he saw another Sytrix fall to the ground.

"You didn't think we'd let you die, did you?" Standing at his feet he saw some Almorean soldiers and his brother, Emmett, reaching out his hand. He smiled weakly before clutching his brother's hand to lift himself up.

After he was patched up in the infirmary, he remembered the words Uncle Charlie had told him, "Look after my Isabella please." He put his fighting leathers back on and grabbed his weapons before running out to the stables. Edward heard Kira's soft neighing then went over to her and walked her out. He climbed onto her back and stroked her beautiful silver-gray coat that was dusted with black specks as he relished the happiness he felt with her. With a soft kick, they started towards the house on the hill where Charlie had hidden his daughter. Thankfully, he got there without having to fight anyone and in less than 10 minutes.

It was a very small and picturesque cottage; the ones you see in storybooks. It had a shingled roof and a little chimney that was puffing a large amount of smoke and soot. The panes were all painted off-white, accompanied by walls made of cobblestones. Cute was the word that came to mind when he saw it. It was a breath of fresh air compared to everything else he'd seen that night.

Smiling, he dismounted Kira and ran up to the door then stopped in his tracks. The door was ajar and that sense of danger tingled on the back of Edward's neck. With his sword in one hand and the other freed for the use of aire, he stalked into the room hyper-aware of everything. The kitchen and the living room were clear with no signs of a disturbance. He crept towards the first bedroom that had the name Bella scrawled on the door. Slowly, he pushed open the door and saw the body of a small girl sprawled on the floor with a cloth beneath her. Edward moved closer.

That was Isabella Swan. And the cloth was a pool of blood.

Suddenly, the smell hit him. It was as if his brain waited until he recognized her to bombard him with the rancid coppery smell of blood and death again.

Edward collapsed beside her form and rolled her over just to make sure it was her. It was.

He didn't know how long he'd sat there just staring at her before he gathered her up in his arms just as he'd done with Alice earlier and carried her to where Kira stood waiting. With a large amount of effort, he managed to lift himself onto his beloved horse and pull her up with him.

When he arrived back at the castle, he tied Kira's rope to one of the pegs in the stable, then picked Bella up again and took her into the infirmary. As he walked in, all conversations ceased and everyone turned to look at him. For a while, no one moved or said a word, until one short and chubby nurse with flushed cheeks hurried over to him and said "Put her down over here, love." He complied silently then stood back to look at her again. The blood that stained her frilly pink nightgown was a stark contrast between the bleached white sheets. The nurse was trying to wipe it away whilst putting an IV in before Edward laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Stop." He ordered softly. "She's dead."

He dropped his hand then walked out with sounds of gasps and cries echoing in the large room as he went. Edward held in the tears that threatened to spill and was about to try and find solace in the gazebo outside when he heard frantic voices coming from around front gates. He ran over to the voices to find 2 soldiers, Peter and Charlotte, carrying a bloodied man in the direction of the infirmary.

"What happened?" He asked, putting his arms under the man's torso to help carry him, "Who is…" He was lost for words when he looked at the man's face. There were 3 huge gashes from his left temple down to the right side of his jaw. He was completely mangled; almost unrecognizable. But Edward did recognize him. It was Lt. Col Charles Swan, aka Uncle Charlie, aka Isabella's father.

He bit his lip as he tried not to cry. Please don't die, Charlie. He pleaded through their faint psychic link; a sign his life force was fading.

They burst through the large oak doors then placed him onto the last free bed. Nurses flittered over to the best leader their army had ever seen and told everyone to back away whilst they tried to save him. Edward stood a few feet away from him, making sure he was still in his line of sight.

Edward, Charlie's voice said softly in his mind, I know you'll look after her, son. I have faith in you. And you'll eventually take my place as Lieutenant soon too. Edward looked up at the man who had been there for him his whole life with tears now running down his flushed cheeks. He was the one who had taught him everything from hunting to how to kill an enemy. In some ways, he was more of a father to him than Carlisle is. Tell my Bella how much I love her, okay? And I love you too, Edward Cullen.

Edward dropped to his knees as their mental connection dissipated into nothingness. He's dead. He said in his mind. And I didn't look after Bella because she's dead too. I failed. I should be dead, not them.

With that thought he got up and ran out of the hall, across the foyer and back to the stables where he unhooked Kira and mounted her quickly. He kicked Kira hard this time, but she never flinched because somehow, their minds were connected too. She sensed his conflicting emotions so just ran fast for him, knowing it was what he needed. Thank you, Edward thought. Kira neighed in reply then just kept galloping until they got to Tipiza Hill.

Edward breathed in deeply, the air fresh and packed with that warm scent of the lavender that grew there. He wiped away the trails of tears on his face then sighed as he looked around him. The sky was a deep navy blue with gleaming stars flickered here and there. It was like any other night sky and if you closed one eye and turned your head to the side just an inch, you'd think it literally was any other night.

But it wasn't. The lower half of the sky was filled with pitch-black smoke; almost stained with all of the darkness and evil that came upon Almorea that night. Huge billows of smoke and fire whirled around in the air; kind of like Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' but with much less hope and wonder. Well away from the city, Edward couldn't hear people crying for their loved ones through his ears and through his heart. He didn't want to. He wasn't sad anymore, he was just angry. Filled with an anger and hatred that ran so deep that all he wanted was revenge.

"I will avenge their deaths." He vowed, "I swear I will find and kill every single Sytric on this Earth. Even if it kills me."

A/N: I am SO sorry I took so long to update you guys ! I've just been so busy the past few weeks so I just never had time to write anything. So here is a chapter that I whipped up quickly and I hope you enjoyed it !

I bet your thinking, how can Bella be alive now if she died before ? Well, you'll have to wait until the next few chappies to find outt ! = D

Please leave reviews ! Do you like Almorea ? Do you think its described well or whatever ? Just ANYTHINGGG !

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- Nae xx