Authors' Notes:

Courtney: So we're posting this a little early in honour of MysteryHeart's birthday today! So wish her a happy birthday and check out her other stories! And if you'd like to leave her a present, comments, kudos, bookmarks and subscriptions always makes her heart smile ?

Joy: Especially comments! I love reading all your comments! In honour of my birthday this will also be a double upload! Both on this story and Rise of Mercy.

Courtney: So hang around and get ready for all the updates you can enjoy!

Chapter 30
Misplaced Trust

Alice's POV

March 19th, 2003
Timestamp – 5:30am

I sat on my windowsill, watching the sun rise and contemplating the last week. I'd had three visions of our impending fight with Victoria where I'd watched my sister die over and over. In the heat of that moment I'd decided to hide the visions from Bella, and not even tell anyone but Jasper the full extent of my reasons. It was easier to have them all think of me as a _ than for them to know what Bella had done. It would have destroyed Rose and Edward if I'd told them, and it would have destroyed any hope of making a proper plan to come out of this alive. And if I'd told Bella, she would have taken it as a reason to sacrifice herself all over again. In Bella's mind if it came down to either me or her she would always save me. .

And I couldn't go through that again.

But in not telling Bella, I'd made her hate me and now she'd never trust me again. And not only that, but all the stress I'd put on her by excluding her from this, it had made her have a heart attack!

I dropped my head back against the window, closing my eyes. What was the point of being able to scry if what I saw pushed me into making terrible decisions?

Not to mention my scrying was changing. To get a premonition not once, but twice in a day was an impossibility—or so I'd have believed even a week ago. And yet when Bella was in hospital, I'd gotten two in the space of a few minutes. It should have been impossible! Especially without the aid of my scrying bowl. Circe, to get two such premonitions in a year would have been abnormal.

Why was it happening now? Was I getting stronger? I knew some seers had more frequent visions than I did, but they were all hundreds of years old. I wasn't even seventeen yet! Even when I had turned seventeen in my past life I hadn't experienced anything like I had a few days ago.

And the oddest part was that it wouldn't stop, I had barely slept these past few days—even more so than usual. Every time I drifted off my mind was invaded by flashes of partial visions; all filled with Victoria and her lapdog James—or who I assumed to be him anyway. I could never make out a face, but I could clearly see his blonde hair— It was as if my magic were waving danger flags in front of my face at all hours.

But what use were danger flags if I couldn't get a damn lick of sleep?

And scrying was of no use. The last time I'd tried, an image had barely begun to form before the entire bowl had shattered.

I sighed, pulling my knees into my chest and resting my forehead against them. I couldn't think; it was all too confusing. Trying to parse out my thoughts was like wading through concrete, and I knew if I could just sleep, even for a moment, I'd be able to figure it out.

So I tried. Surely this time it wouldn't be so bad. I closed my eyes, slowed my breathing and stopped fighting. And just like that, I fell asleep.

~Scene~

I stumbled; the gravel sliced at my knees, cut into my palms. It felt like I was being pulled into the depths of the earth, even as I just tried to stand. I reached for my magic, for anything to fight back, but it was out of reach.

She laughed; a menacing and delighted sound. "Come on, little seer. Surely you can do better than that."

My arms gave out and my face met the gravel road too. As every drop of energy left my body, I used the last of it to snarl at the bitch, but Victoria just laughed. Her hair was like flames floating by her head, and I wanted desperately to rip it out.

My eyes closed, and in the last gap of my energy, I saw her turn to someone and say with a laugh, "Thank you for your help. I couldn't have done this without you. Good luck in your search."

I tried to focus on him, the familiar stranger behind her—I knew that stance, the tilt of that chin, I just had to see their face—but suddenly my world was shaking. There was a pressure on my shoulders and I—

~Scene~

Timestamp – 6:00am

"—ice. Alice!"

I lurched upright, half a scream still lodged in my throat. Jasper's face crowded my vision, and something in me flinched.

"Darlin', it's me. It's Jasper. You're okay. It was just a nightmare. You're safe. You're okay." he hushed soothingly. His hands curled around my shoulders. Once he loosened his grip I realised he'd been shaking me awake.

I wrapped my fingers around his wrist and held on. The constant cold and the unyielding hardness beneath my skin always served to ground me after nightmares or during panic attacks, but now it wasn't working. It only made everything feel like it was closing in faster. I pulled out of his grip and darted to the window, sticking my head out into the cool night air.

"Darlin'?" The concern in his voice made my heart twinge but I was too exhausted and wrung out to reassure him.

I scrubbed a hand over my face. "I haven't slept since Bella had a heart attack," I muttered. "It's been three days and the longest I've slept is a handful of nightmare-filled minutes. And I don't even know if what I'm seeing are visions of what's to come or just random shit my mind's making up."

"Darlin'—"

I spun around. "So do you know what I've been doing instead? Torturing myself on the side effects of having a fucking heart attack." I laughed, a hollow sound of self-loathing. "Did you know it can take anywhere between two weeks and three months to recover, and yet my sister is on a three-day vacation like that'll solve everything! Or how about how people who've had heart attacks, any time they feel pain they can become terrified that they'll die again. So then I went into a spiral of how my sister could be Eostre-knows-where freaking out about dying because she has indigestion, meanwhile I'm possibly having visions of Victoria ambushing us, and Rose is stress-building a fucking library in the yard."

I yanked at my hair, pulling desperately at the roots like that pain could take my mind off everything else tormenting me. I dropped to a crouch and focused on not falling apart.

"And then when that didn't help, I started looking into what sleep-deprivation can do to the human body—cause gods know I sure as hades am, but apparently there aren't any witch-related websites—so not only could I start hallucinating, but I could also have an actual fucking seizure. So that's fun to look forward to." I dropped my hands into my lap and whispered, "I feel like I'm falling apart, Jas."

He settled on the floor beside me, but he didn't touch me and the ache in me only widened. Then he held out his hand and murmured, "Let me help."

I blinked slowly, my thoughts sluggish. "How?"

"I can keep the nightmares away. And help you get the sleep you need."

I felt like we'd had this conversation before, like this wasn't the first time he'd offered it, but I couldn't think. "So, what…you can just put people to sleep?" I tried to joke, even as my entire being begged me to accept his offer. "Why are we even worrying about Vic then?"

The corner of his lips twitched. "I can just dull your emotions down until sleep overcomes you, darlin'. How's that sound?"

I dropped my head on his shoulder, giving in entirely. "Fucking delightful. Dull away, cowboy."

And despite how something in me itched that it was wrong, that something horrible was coming, that I just had to look, I fell asleep.

~Scene~

Timestamp – 1:00pm

"I can't find my toothbrush!"

I glanced back at Rose, darting about the bathroom. "It's already in the car. It was the first thing you packed, remember?"

She wilted a little. "Right." Her hands trembled as she closed the bathroom door and stopped in front of her room. "Right."

I dropped my duffel bag at the top of the stairs and wrapped my arms around her. "It'll be okay, Rosie. We'll be coming back. This is just to protect Dad and make sure Victoria doesn't catch us off guard. Bella got away before Victoria could get to her, and she's safe in the air now."

It had been a couple of hours since Bella had called with the news of Victoria and we'd started tossing things in the car. Dad was in his study locking up everything police-related and we were responsible for packing what we needed into his cruiser and our truck. Well, I'd done most of it and Rose had spent the time trying not to freak out.

A part of me was surprised I wasn't freaking out alongside her, but the rest of me was cool and calculating everything we needed. Just like Bella would have been. It wouldn't do for all of us to lose our heads.

Rose took in a shuddering breath and nodded. "I know. I just—" She twisted her fingers. "I didn't expect it to come this soon."

I cupped the back of her head and pressed our foreheads together. "Me neither." I pulled back, raising my chin. "But we're McKinnons. We take shit as it comes, right?"

She straightened her spine, nodding. "Right."

I knew I had to give her something to do. "Rose, you're better at picking locks than I am. Pick the lock on Bella's room and get the Grimoire as well as the protection bracelet Bella was weaving for Dad. She already finished it so we'll make him wear it; it's just as strong as our pendants. Oh, and also grab our personal spell books," I added. If the house wasn't safe, we didn't want Victoria to get her hands on any more of our spells.

She nodded and hurried off, grateful to have something to do. While she did that, I took my duffel and hers down to the truck and threw them in. We didn't have much—I'd had to watch Rose to make sure she didn't sneak in an extra bag of her car tools or fall into despair again—and now all that was left was protecting the house. We were taking the most important stuff, like the Grimoire and any of Dad's work stuff he couldn't lock up, but everything else would have to be hidden away.

I was hopeless with wards, but Bella had set up a ward stone that would do most of the work. She had designed the rune sequence, and Rose had carved them. As soon as Rose and Dad were out I would lock down the wards against anyone not of McKinnon blood.

A moment later Dad and Rose exited the house, their arms full. I darted towards the tree nearest Bella's window and waved my hand over the large boulder sitting at its base. Violet runes appeared on its surface and I tapped in the lockdown pattern. The runes took awhile to fully vanish again—which was worrying—but we didn't have time for Rose to ensure everything was working perfectly.

With that done I joined Dad and Rose beside the cars. "Everybody ready?"

"I'll follow you to Billy's," Dad said, his voice gruff and eyebrows low. "And don't leave my sight."

"We won't." Rose flashed him a smile as she climbed in behind the wheel. "See you there."

~Scene~

Timestamp – 1:15pm

As we pulled up to Billy Black's house, I prepared myself for whatever glares the mutts would give us. Dad had obviously called ahead as they were all gathered outside the house along with some older people I didn't know. Two of them I recognised as Sue and Harry Clearwater. I'd texted Bella during the drive and we'd agreed that Rose and I would meet her at the Port Angeles Airport and come back to Forks together.

Rose wrinkled her nose slightly as we exited the truck. Dad had already parked the cruiser behind us and had approached Billy and the other old people who were with him.

Rose had a grip on the Grimoire; she knew Dad wouldn't be happy about what we had to say.

"Dad," I began. "Bella's plane just landed and Angela's parents are collecting her from the airport, so we're going to go and get Bella and bring her back here."

Rose nodded along with me, afraid saying something would seem too much like we were railroading him into accepting, which we were, but he didn't need to know that.

Dad looked affronted at the very thought. "Like hell you are! There is some deadly danger after you girls that you won't tell me about and you want me to let you go alone to get your sister? I don't know what the hell is going on but what I do know is letting you girls go out alone is just asking for trouble."

I grimaced and looked down at my phone, quickly texting Jasper. Maybe backup would help. He responded immediately.

"We won't be going alone." I held up my phone. "Jasper is coming with us; safety in numbers and all that. We're going to drive to the rez border and he'll pick us up there."

Dad opened his mouth to argue, however Rose stopped him with a raised hand. "Dad you can't stop us from going. Would you rather Bella make her way from Port Angeles to here alone? That significantly increases the odds of her being attacked and you can't go get her because you have no idea what these people look like. They could get within two inches of you with you no one the wiser. We're running out of time and Bella is going to be in the airport waiting alone in less than twenty minutes.

Dad looked upset but what could he say? 'I'd rather your sister be in extreme danger?' Instead he just said, "Fine, but hurry back!"

"We will. Take this; it's our Grimiore." I handed it to him. "On the very miniscule chance that something happens to us—which it won't!" I hurried to say at his immediate look of panic. "Take this back to the house, go into Bella's room and on her dresser there's a drawer with a finger sized notch around the edge. Place your finger there and put the book in the compartment when it opens."

Dad looked confused but agreed. Rose, without asking, tied the protection bracelet onto his wrist. He stared at it confused but didn't protest

As we walked back to the truck, one of the females, a younger one with a shoulder length bob hopped into the bed of it. "I'll bring the truck back here," she murmured. "I'm assuming you'll be going to get Bella in the blonde leech's car."

I nodded, passing her to the driver's seat since I was driving this time.

"The only reason the pack's not coming with you to bring Bella home is because the elders have ordered us to stay and protect the rez against the incoming leech invasion," she continued as I slammed the door and wound down the window to wave to Dad. "But if you get in any danger, message us and we'll be there. For Bella."

I murmured my thanks as Rose slid into the passenger's seat and we were off.

~Scene~

Timestamp: 2:34pm

"What do we do?" Rose whispered, tearing the napkin between her fingers to shreds. "Are we going to fight her? Is that what we're planning?"

We sat in a cafe just a short drive from the airport. Jasper had gone to get us drinks, and give us some privacy as we talked to Bella for the first time this week. Rose and I sat on one side of the table, and Bella on the other. She'd hugged us the moment we saw each other at the airport and for a moment it was like everything went right in the world. But after that she'd pulled back. And now it was like there was more than just the table between us.

I'd known nothing from before had been forgiven in the slightest—as was Bella's every right—but this was still a tortuous reminder of everything I'd ruined.

"Of course we're going to fight her!" I clenched my fists. "That bitch is dead."

"I don't disagree," Bella said slowly, staring into the salt shaker at the centre of the table. "But we also have to think about Dad. The bracelet reacting like that bodes terrible things to come. For all of us. We can't just charge after her without a plan. We'd just be running to our deaths."

I blinked, taken aback a little. Bella had always been the one to come up with the plans that kept us safe, but I'd never seen her so closed off. So turned in on herself. So…reserved.

"So what do we do?"

"We head back to the reservation and we come up with a plan. Together. We know we can't beat her alone, so we need to plan and see what allies we actually have with us." She still hadn't looked up, focused entirely on the packet of sugar flipping between her fingers, and I wondered if she was feeling all this more than she let on. If she really was terrified of dying after the heart attack scare. If she was tired of always having to be the one to come up with the world saving plan.

Rose curled in on herself a little; her voice small as she said, "Together?"

Finally Bella looked up, and my stomach dropped. "Yes." She held each of our gazes, just like she would any reluctant acquaintance. "We'll finish what we started."

She glanced up at Jasper just as he reached our table, but I couldn't focus on anything except yet another reminder of how clearly I'd ruined everything. Bella couldn't have been more clear than if she'd slapped a restraining order on us. After this thing with Victoria, she was done. I didn't know if that meant she never wanted to speak to us again, or if she was disappearing to Timbucktoo with Angela. But I did know I'd royally screwed up.

"I got you ladies some bottles of lemonade. Drink up; it would do you good to get some sugar into your bodies.

Rose quickly unscrewed hers and drank as if she had gone days without water—probably to distract herself from the knowledge that after we dealt with Victoria and her puppies we would likely never be family to our eldest sister again.

Bella drank hers more slowly, while I took a sip and screwed up my face. What kind of swill did they serve here? It tasted like they'd mixed it with cement rather than lemons. And yet Rose had finished the bottle and Bella was halfway through hers—had I fallen into an alternate world where Bella didn't kick up a fuss over shitty lemonade?

My heart sank again as I realised that she might be beyond caring.

I glanced up at Jasper—my gaze dragged to him as always—but he wouldn't meet my eyes and a shiver ran down my spine. Something was off.

"We need to go," I said, my eyes on Jasper. He still didn't react, just kept his eyes on the half-drunk bottle in Bella's hands.

Something was very wrong.

"Yeah, Dad will be expecting us to arrive soon, come on," Bella said standing up. However she had her eyes trained on me as I watched Jasper. "What's wrong, Alice?"

Rose, oblivious to the undercurrent of tension, nodded and got up. But her eyes seemed a bit glassy—was she coming down with something? A horrible feeling settled in my stomach as Bella went to grab us a few snacks for the road, taking the opportunity to scan the area.

Something was coming. Or maybe it was already here

~Scene~

Timestamp: 2:42pm

Jasper walked ahead of us as we entered the parking lot. The sun would be setting soon; it was getting dark and a stiff wind had begun.

I heard Rose stumble behind me and turned to look at my sister. Her eyes were glassy, unfocused and there was a thin sheen of sweat covering her face. Bella seemed little better as she struggled to hold our sister up when she never had before. I took a step towards them and my vision swam. Jasper stood off to the side, his face a blank mask.

"Wha—?" I slurred and blinked. My mind had become slightly muddled.

Bella blinked rapidly as she sank to her knees, still gripping Rosalie. "Drugged…"

Oh.

"The…lemonade." I turned to Jasper, impossibly betrayed by the person I'd just forgiven for his first betrayal. "You…"

My legs slowly gave out and I sank to the floor

A cackle sounded across the lot. I shuddered, recognising the sound. We all turned—with varying levels of difficulty—to face the woman we wished would burn.

Victoria walked up to us, a smug smile stretched across her lips as she mockingly tsked, walking in a slow circle around my sisters and I. I wanted to claw her eyes out. I prayed to Zeus that lightning would come down and strike her dead. By the gods I wanted her to die.

"Oh dear, what is this? Three little witches so far from home and no one to help them… Oh whatever shall I do with such a tasty treat." She reached up to pat Jasper on the cheek. "Thank you, Jazzy. You played your part perfectly. After this you'll never have to see these naughty little witches again, no you won't," she cooed, saying the last in a voice that was more fit for a dog than a person.

Still, Jasper did not move, and I hoped his shame would burn him alive. I felt my throat constrict in pain. I had trusted him, loved him… and this was how he repaid me? My heart broke at the betrayal, yet I couldn't focus on that. As much as I wished to wail and cry and yell at him, my strength was leaving me fast and I had to conserve as much as possible.

Rose was already out cold and I knew Bella wasn't far.

Victoria moved over to my sisters, taunting them. She used the tip of her boot to tilt Bella's chin up. "Oh, brave little Bella—or should I call you Esmerelda? To have failed again at protecting your sisters. What would your mother say? Now you'll be able to watch them die for a second time." She grinned. "But I'll make sure this one is slower than the last…won't that be lovely?"

Bella snarled and bit the end of her leather shoe, actually managing to bite the tip off when Victoria yanked her foot back. Bella spat the piece out.

"You little bitch! These were my best heeled boots!" Victoria snapped.

Struggling to snarl again—the small attack had obviously taken a lot out of her. "Gonna kill…you…slowly," she ground out before collapsing again, finally succumbing to the drug

Victoria cackled once more. "Oh I'd like to see you try! No, this time you'll die for good! And I'm going to make sure you don't come back!" she said with a mad little grin before walking over to Jasper speaking so quietly I could hardly hear what she was saying. It almost sounded familiar?

My thoughts swam as I rapidly looked from my fallen sisters to Victoria and Jasper who was still as a statue. Victoria moved away to place a call, cackling all the way, I knew I had mere moments, seconds really before my body succumbed to the drug. I had to do something. I couldn't just let her take us without a trace,

Bella—she was usually the most level headed and strongest of us, but she and Rosalie had drunk far more of the lemonade than I had so they were both out cold. It was up to me to do something.

With herculean effort I turned myself onto my side and jerked my head back, wincing as I felt strands of hair pulling away from my scalp, just as I had intended. I couldn't leave much but I could leave DNA and— That's it!

Moving as slowly as I dared, I stretched my fingers towards my purse, pulling out my phone and slowly dialling Dad's number. I couldn't dial the Cullens—Jasper had already betrayed us, who was to say the others hadn't too? We had to rely on Dad and the mutts; there was no other choice.

I waited with bated breath as the phone rang, one, twice, three times, with every ring my heart sank lower until I heard the faint tone of voicemail. I prayed he would check it as soon as the recording stopped.

"What is the pixie one doing, you imbecile?" Victoria snapped.

My heart sank; if she realised she was being recorded…

With as much strength as I could muster I turned, leaving my phone behind my back and still recording, fighting valiantly to throw off the effects of the potion. Hekate willing I would be able to fight it for another minute… If I were very lucky. "Why…are you…doing this?" I groaned. "What did we…ever do…to…you?"

Every word sapped my energy until my vision began to crawl with black. I didn't have long

Victoria scoffed. "Why? You should know why! Your empty kind shouldn't breathe, that's why! Oh, you little witches have been a thorn in my side since I first laid eyes on you, because of you my life was ruined! Why couldn't you just stay dead the last time I killed you, hmm?" Her laugh was dark and hateful. "Oh, but that hardly matters now. No now I'm going to accomplish what should have happened years ago. I'm going to end the damn McKinnon line…for good!" she cackled madly.

Anger coursed through me like never before. Well, if I couldn't stop her I could at least leave as much evidence as possible to make sure all of our allies were on her damned tail. Even now, as I felt the cursed drug slowly pulling me under, with my last bit of strength I lurched into a semi-standing position and threw as much untamed magic at her as I could muster—which wasn't much. Victoria—seeming surprised—ducked, but not before the spell caught some of her hair and sliced through it, causing a flurry of trimmings to fall to the floor.

I stumbled; the gravel sliced at my knees, cut into my palms. It felt like I was being pulled into the depths of the earth, even as I tried to stand again. I reached for my magic once more, for anything to keep fighting, but it was out of reach.

She laughed; a menacing and hateful sound. "Come on, little seer. Surely you can do better than that."

My heart lurched at the familiarity of this. My vision! I had seen this happen and I just hadn't been smart enough to take heed or stop it!

My arms gave out and my face met the gravel as well. I could hardly focus on the pain as every drop of energy left my body. I used the last of it to snarl at the bitch, but Victoria just laughed. Her hair was like flames floating by her head, and I wanted desperately to rip it out.

I twisted towards my still recording phone in one last ditch effort. "Victoria—you, James and Laurent…will never get…away…with…this."

"Oh, but I already have," she said darkly

My eyes closed, and in the last gap of my energy, I saw her turn to Jasper and say with a laugh, "Thank you for your help. I couldn't have done this without you. Good luck in your search."

All my fault. This was all my fault, I had the opportunity to save my sisters and I failed yet again. A tear slipped down my cheek as my mind faded to black. My sisters; forgive me for what I have done.

Authors' Notes

Courtney: Don't worry, we won't leave you on this cliffhanger. We're working on the next chapter and hope to get it to you by later today ?

Joy: Also, at the time of our posting it's my birthday! And I know gifts are usually given to the birthday girl, but I thought to give you all a gift by posting these chapters early, so you get them today rather than tomorrow, yay! That way we are all celebrating something! I hope you enjoy these chapters!