Annie stared at the girl curiously, wondering why she was staring right through her. Then Edward snapped his fingers, as if the world's largest penny had dropped.
"Bella's human," he explained quickly.
"Oh," said George. He, Annie and Mitchell looked at each other, wondering instantly what a vampire was doing with a human.
"Right!" said George, smiling. "Sorry, Bella, this is Annie. You can't see her. She's…well…dead."
"Like a vampire? I can see vampires."
"Not a vampire," said Mitchell patiently. "A ghost. A human ghost."
Bella's eyes widened. "Really?" She put her hand through Annie and both of them felt a cold chill. She drew back in horror. Annie, remembering the notepad and pen George had bought at the airport, took it out of his pocket and wrote a note. She passed it to Bella, who looked suitably horrified at it floating in the air, like rubbish caught in the wind.
Don't worry. Takes a bit of getting used to.
Bella smiled weakly and nodded, trying her best to wave in the right direction.
"So vampires can see ghosts?"
"And werewolves," said George quietly.
"You're a werewolf?" asked Bella, remembering Edward calling George a wolf.
"We'd better move," said Edward. He had read the mind of the motel receptionist, who had been staring at the five (or, as he thought, four) since they had assembled. The receptionist, a paranoid man by the name of Dave Harper, was wondering if the people in the parking lot were merely dealing drugs or something more sinister. Edward couldn't tell how long it would be before Harper called the police, but he didn't want to stick around.
The rent-a-car, an attractive looking Buick, followed Edward's Volvo all the way to the Cullen house. Mitchell felt a brief sense of foreboding when he approached; the Cullens were his last hope, and the first he had met so far would not think too poorly of killing him.
The house itself looked superb. It was curiously modern for the deep-forest surroundings. Most vampires, himself included at one point, chose to live in places without much light. But the Cullen house had many windows and even the dim light now shone in.
"Nice place," he said softly.
"Thanks," said Edward, stiffly but without hostility.
"Definitely is," said George, enthusiastically. Edward smiled. He'd been able to read George's mind much easier than Mitchell's, and while he hadn't found anything about why the three of them were here, he got a lot of goodness from George. Annie, as well.
"That's…"
Esme cut off, speechless. She and Carlisle sat silently at the kitchen table. The rest of the Cullens were sat down, hearing Mitchell's story. George had told the last part, about the death of the Herrick I had heard so much about. Annie, the ghost, had filled in some of the details and Edward was whispering her words in my ear.
"…Touching," she finished.
"That's a lie," said Rosalie hotly. "It's ridiculous. Maybe the wolf did kill Herrick. But who's to say he's not just one of Mitchell's lackeys, sent to topple Herrick so he could take over the coven over there? Whatever God-forsaken corner of Britain it is."
"Bristol," said George, somewhat indignantly.
"I can read George," said Edward softly.
"The wolf," said Rosalie, as if correcting him.
"I can read George. Annie too, although the lines are blurred because she's…"
A faint whisper in the air, as if a response, and he nodded. "Dead. Yes. But I read them. They weren't lying when they told their parts of the story."
"Maybe they weren't," said Jasper, quietly. "We've got no quarrel with the two of you. But there might be an ulterior motive here."
"I mean, what's the alternative?" said Rosalie, her voice raised. "A werewolf, a ghost and a vampire decide to live like humans do?"
"They get jobs, a house, and a TV license," said George whimsically, but he then flinched as if remembering where those words had come from, and not liking it.
"It's ridiculous," repeated Rosalie.
A slightly louder whisper in the place Annie was supposedly standing. Rosalie glowered, and Edward raised his eyes and shook his head.
"I won't translate that," he said.
"Look," said Mitchell for seemingly the first time in hours. "I'm not asking for you to do anything that would put you into danger. I know I don't have any right to ask for favours."
"What exactly are you asking for?" Edward asked.
"I'd like you to plead my case to the Volturi."
There was that word again. Volturi. I'd already forgotten about it from last week. I was sure I would forget it again completely, like in a few weeks when Edward would mention them. I would have no knowledge of their name, thus saving the author the lengthy task of evading the large plot hole he's dug for himself.
"And why would we do that?"
"Herrick's dead," Mitchell said simply. "So is Seth. The old order have drifted away. The Bristol coven is finished. All I want is to live in peace with my friends. No more fighting. No more vampire politics."
"No," said Carlisle, suddenly. "We don't want to go anywhere near the Volturi. Especially for an enemy of the coven."
"I don't want to beg you," said Mitchell. "Not for old times' sake, or anything like that. And I won't use my friends as an excuse. The Volturi don't know them. It's only me."
"You're honest, at least." Carlisle gave a furtive look around. I saw his eyes catch mine, and they moved on quick. "You're staying at a motel, right?"
"Just about two miles out. We've got a rent-a-car."
"Come back and see us tomorrow," he said, exchanging a glance with Esme. She suddenly nodded, secretly. "You might want to get some sleep. You've had a long flight. Come round and see us about midday?"
"Midday." Mitchell nodded.
"Until then, I guess you're welcome to stay for dinner." The smile had been a thin one, and more addressed to George and (apparently) Annie instead of Mitchell. "You should take a ride into town as well. Enjoy the sights of the Pacific North West."
George yawned as Mitchell parked the Buick back up at the Cullen house. It had been a long night. They had stayed for dinner, and had gone to a bar within walking distance of their motel. Dave Harper had given them a suspicious look as they had left their motel that morning, heading to downtown Forks. They had browsed the shops, Mitchell keeping a close eye on his watch. He wanted to make sure they were not late.
They were welcomed in by Carlisle and Esme alone. Both had taken time off work for this meeting, and looked solemn. They sat at the window overlooking the woods.
"I wish we could have gone over this last night," said Carlisle carefully. "But we'd rather not worry Bella by bringing this up in front of her. It concerns her…pretty deeply."
"It's no problem," said Mitchell, sipping his coffee.
"Not too long ago, a nomad coven came to Forks. They'd been travelling all over America, feeding." Carlisle looked up at Mitchell, as if accusingly.
"I'm clean," said Mitchell, somewhat defensively.
"So you say," said Carlisle softly. But he didn't labour on the point. "They came to Forks, and their leader, James, sniffed out Bella pretty quick. He decided to hunt her, so Edward had to kill him. Now, his mate Victoria has been seen in the forests at night."
"You think she's after revenge?"
"We're sure of it. Edward kills her mate so she kills his."
"An eye for an eye," said George quietly.
"Exactly. So, you can see why we haven't told Bella yet."
Mitchell nodded. "I think I know what you're asking here. But don't forget, I'm different to you. I can't run as fast. My senses aren't as strong."
"You're right," said Carlisle. "But there's a full moon within the next few days."
Annie, George and Mitchell looked at each other, and came to a horrendous realisation.
"No," said Mitchell firmly. "George has already…already killed to save me once. He's not going to do it again."
Carlisle nodded, and turned to George. "From what my family have read of you, you're completely innocent in all this. You don't have to do anything you don't want to. But for my family to plead for the life of a killer of a coven leader is a huge risk for us. We need to have something in return."
George looked horrified. He was silent for a few moments, remembering Herrick's death again. After what seemed like a minute, Mitchell spoke.
"You're not doing it, George. You shouldn't have come in the first place. I can't ask you to do this again."
"I owe you, Mitchell. And besides, if we don't kill this…what's her name, Victoria? She might kill someone else."
"Anything I can do?" asked Annie. "I mean, I can't do the…you know, the gnashing and the clawing and the killing too well, but I can throw stuff!"
Esme smiled. "Everyone in the coven has a function." She turned to face the three. "What do you say? Will you become members of the Olympia coven, at least until Victoria isn't a problem anymore?"
Mitchell turned to George. "You're sure about this?"
"I'm sure."
Mitchell nodded. "Okay. We accept with thanks."
"I guess it all started at school," I said, casually. "He saved me from being run over. Asked too many questions and found out the truth."
I was sitting with George and, apparently, Annie, in Charlie's house. They'd been around a few times while Mitchell stayed with the rest of the Cullens. I didn't know what they were doing, and didn't think Edward would be too open in telling me. George and Annie seemed to be around my place more since the other day when they had come round for dinner. Part of me had the impression they were watching over me, but against what?
"Does it still occasionally freak you out?" asked George, inclining his head to indicate a question from Annie.
"Sometimes," I replied, smiling. "Edward and his family do their best to keep it from being weird."
"Vampires for in-laws must still be pretty hard to get used to." No incline of the head this time.
"I guess."
"I didn't exactly get a good baptism with them. Having your head kicked in doesn't exactly give you confidence."
"Do you ever wonder about if Mitchell hadn't come along?" I asked, remembering the story he had told.
"Yeah. Just a dead werewolf to them. Mitchell's a rare breed. But I think the Cullens are as well."
"How did you die, Annie?" I asked, quickly adding, "If it's okay for me to ask."
George wrinkled his nose. "It's kind of an unpleasant story. Some people are just bastards." Changing the subject, he asked, "Would you want to be turned? To a vampire, I mean."
I shrugged. "Edward's totally against it. He won't even talk about it. He says he doesn't want to curse me."
"I just know our condition too well to subject Bella to it, I guess," said Edward. He walked through the woods with Mitchell, waiting for dusk. The others were exploring further along. "I wouldn't want to take her humanity."
Mitchell nodded. He'd gotten considerably closer to Edward and the rest of the coven in the last few days. Only Emmet and Rosalie were still openly hostile to him.
"I know what you mean. There's something tragic about taking their life away. I had a girlfriend in the sixties, Josie. I could have turned her. Instead, I left her human. She withered and got old, but…she was human, you know?"
Edward smiled sadly. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"Our kind has to drink, even if it's livestock. But yours…it's all or nothing. You can drink from humans, and that's it. Once you go clean…"
"The cravings?" Mitchell nodded solemnly. "Always there. Sometimes it hurts too much to bear. All I have to do is see blood, and my ears start pounding."
"Jasper is having more problems than the rest of us. He's the latest vegetarian."
"It's a tough road, for all vampires. Your type or mine."
"Hey," said Alice, speeding towards them from a clearing. "She's on the move."
Mitchell stood while Edward tore off in Alice's direction. He knew his function. If the others could lead Victoria to him, he could cut her off as she passed.
Alice and Edward ran together, catching onto the trail led by Jasper and Emmet. They could sense her ahead, and occasionally saw a flash of red hair through the trees. She could sense their presence as she ran, sprinting through the trees. They wouldn't stop her. Her self preservation would prevent that.
She was going to kill the girl. Not now, but soon. The rest of the Cullens as well. The newborns would rise and she would lead them. She would run closer and closer to Forks, and they would have no way to stop her.