Chapter Twenty Five

Death Of My Hero

I awoke in the morning to pain filled cries I practically jumped up, the children were all around me obviously terrified. I ran out of the tent to see the camp in chaos, vampires were everywhere. I saw my mother fighting literally tooth and nail with two of them, her dark brown hair waving in the breeze. I joined the battle hoping that we might stand a chance of survival.

All around me people were dying, people who I never got a chance to know, just because they were different. I did not have much opportunity to experience the world in my seven years but I know that this was not right. I felt something primal stir within me and I let out a roar, everyone stopped battling and turned to me I felt like ripping something to shreds or more appropriately some vampire.

"HOW DARE YOU?" I screamed and it didn't sound like my voice but another's. It was steely and sharp as knives it at once excited and frightened me. I wanted them to die for what they would have done, I had never felt such anger before in my life, I let the flames consume me and to my surprise I grew wings! The feathers were as sharp as knives and they whistled as the air blew into them. I charged the vampire closest to me and with one sweep of my wing cut off his head. I threw it onto the fire and something within me snapped taking the still writhing body I started to pull at the arms and legs the venom like blood on my lips dark as night.

I stopped just short of disemboweling the vampire and threw him onto the flames, I then turned to the others assembled trying to pick out what I would go for next. I wasn't myself in that moment, I had left Nessie behind and become something else entirely. I was scaring even the undead which is quite an accomplishment. The fighting started again as the people I wanted to protect attacked the vampires in earnest. The vampires started to fight back, their fear giving way to the will to survive. I remembered some of these vampires from before now that I was thinking with a clearer head. Aro was battling a flyer who was attempting to avid him by going into the air and spiraling down, sometimes he would come back up with a piece of Aro in his mouth.

"Fight like a man." Aro said.

"You would kill me because I am not a man and now you are telling me to fight like one?" He asked Aro. "I have never been a man, I was born to fly freely on the breeze and I can think of no better death then in the air." I myself found a rhythm attacking the vampires that assailed me or got too close, my wings were stained black with the blood of vampires, I felt a love of my family burning within me as I saw my mother fearlessly defending me and those she loved. My Uncle Emmett was roaring in defiance as Rosalie fought beside him. Around me the other half vampires those who I had only met briefly looked like avenging monsters. I was the only bird, but I could see Abigale she looked like a sphinx half cat half human she destroyed anything that came near her with her claws. Lucian, Gabriel and Nahuel seemed unable to transform but were staring openly at their female counter parts.

I felt something claw at my back and I whirled around, a vampire had gotten behind me somehow. He was more wary then the others he wouldn't let me get a swipe at him wit his fangs instead he dodged from side to side darting everywhere and nowhere. I was paying attention to him blocking out the cries around me completely focused on getting the upper hand. I felt something tear into my skin and start to burn like cold fire, the blasted vampire had bitten me. I swung around and lobbed off his head while he was too focused in sucking my blood to notice his mistake. I threw him onto the fire and turned back to the battle.

A group of vampires were nearly at the tent and I could hear the frightened cries of the children from within. I ran my wings outstretched and suddenly I was in the air, it felt like something I was born to do, that I was made for. I smiled then and they stared at me I saw the fear in their eyes and drank it in before rounding on each of them. I first found myself facing someone who did not look to be much older then me. I smiled and attacked the thing that this once living person had become, it had chosen wrong and would slauter innocent children. I threw it on the fire watching the body as it arched downward onto the flames, smiling grimly I rounded on the other two, they both put up a better fight then the other one but soon they were also so much skibob. I smiled and let out a call of triumph the other vampires scattered and I chased after them, however soon Marcus tore open his white tunic and waved it in the wind. They knew that they were beaten and now they decide to come to an 'agreement'.

"Truce." He said to all of us and I knew more then one person was considering attacking him anyway. I felt something calm rush over me and I allowed myself to let go of my anger and nod at him."The leaders of the species should come together to sign a treaty." Marcus said. "I have lost my brother Aro already and I do not think that senseless slaughter is a good idea."

"In other words you want to save your own neck." One of the mages said. "We too have lost enough people however, but we should wait for the guard to arrive."

"The guard I don't think will be arriving anytime soon." A vampire cackled delightedly. "Do you think that they would let us in? No we killed them." Everyone stared at them and I thought of Jacob and the pack, they had all been on the night guard.

"Not all of them." Marcus said. "We bound a few, even though we do not have talents to draw upon its amazing what lengths someone will go to to save their life. Lucian was most obliging." I remembered then that Lucian had indeed gone out with the patrol.

"What is your talent traitor?" Gabriel hissed. "I cannot believe that you would betray these people and your own brother to save your skin."

"He's immortal so he wouldn't have died anyway." Nahuel said apparently casually.

"Wouldn't have died?" Aro asked and Nahuel nodded, he cut off his own head but it regrew instantaneously he then threw himself into the fire and stood in it as if it were nothing more then scenery.

"We are immortal, trust me I should know, there was a period in time that I did everything I could think of to kill myself." He said and Lucian stared open mouthed at Nahuel.

"My talent is getting people to do whatever I want them to, even against their will." He said and seemed to concentrate for a moment. "It is however limited and if I take on more then twenty at once I too am forced to do the thing that I was forcing them to." A moment later the warriors were running back to camp, I looked around and didn't see Jake with them.

"The fighting has stopped." Nahuel said. "Marcus is disgussing a treaty."

"Before we do that I suggest we attend to the hurt, but still living." A mage said and everyone nodded. Seth came over to me and looked at me, I knew that whatever he was going to say was bad news.

"Jacob was defending the camp, we were all tired and he... well he wasn't fast enough a vampire bit him." Seth said and I felt my heart settle around my feet. Before I knew what I was doing I had ran away from the camp from everyone and towards Jacob, I passed the bodies on the way, apparently before Lucian had turned many had fought to the death for those they loved. I found Jacob eventually, at first he looked like he was sleeping but his breathing was much too unnatural for normal sleep. I ran to him and cradled his head in my lap I saw the bite it seemed so innocent on his hand, not a haranguer of death. I bit down upon it desperate to save him but as I did so I knew I was too late, the venom had entered his system and Jacob was slowly dying.

His eyelids lifted at my bite and one arm came up to gently touch my face wet with tears. "I am not afraid." He told me his voice was clear. "I just wish that you could come with me. We both knew that this would happen eventually, it is better this way, this way you remember me young and strong not some drooling old man. I will love you forever whether in this life or the next, remember the good times we had together when you were little not this. I want you to be happy with Nahuel and have a wonderful existence. Just promise me that you will never forget me."

"I will love you till the end of time Jake." I replied and he nodded.

"I want you to try with me for a child if it does not happen then that is fine, but I want a part of me growing within you that you can charrish."

"Jacob your dying." I said gently.

"I know that but please Nessie, all I ever wanted from the moment I saw you was to bare your children." I nodded I took off my clothes and laid on top of him, his warmth that had always been there that reassuring heat was almost gone as I pushed myself to love Jacob with my soul heart and body. After I rolled over onto the grass and held his hand kissing his face, showing that I would always love him, I listened for his breath. In and out in and out in and out, in in in and then in a rush out. His heartbeat that even in my earliest memories had comforted me was now gone. I put on my clothes and pulled Jacob's jeans on him. I then laid on his chest and cried.

Nahuel came for me a little later putting his arm around me. "He's gone."

"He died with you in his arms, I am sure that you made his last moments heaven on earth. You are so beautiful and so kind, I wish for your sake that he had not died but I think nether of us would have ever been completely content with sharing you." I put my arms around Nahuel as I sobbed knowing that his words were true, that if it weren't for this horrible disaster eventually I would have to have chosen. My heart was now broken but had I had to choose between them or if they had left me it would have shattered. Now in time I would heal with Nahuel by my side.

"I love you." I sobbed and he gently wrapped his arms around me.

"I love you too, more then anything in this universe you make my existence worthwhile with your smile." I smiled weakly Jacob oh Jake why did you have to go. "Marcus has agreed to allow us to sleep before the meeting and the treaty." He said and I growled.

"They should all die for what they did to us and to the other families, they created orphans and the only reason some of the warriors came back alive is that they were to eager to go on killing." I said and he nodded.

"Many agree with you, but put aside your anger for a moment, the Volturi clearly felt threatened by our existence and now that we have beaten them they will think before they attack us again." I nodded and he held me gently. "Lets get away from here, from the death around us." I nodded I hated seeing Jacob like this dead on the ground, his last words to me had been to remember the good times we had together, all the grief in the world would not bring him back to me. Nahuel steered me into the trees and cradled me in his arms as I fell asleep, exhausted from the battle.