A/N: First off I'd like to say that I think I'm getting good at these little note things (Not that that says a whole lot about me.) I'd just like to tell my Constant Readers that I'd recently suffered from a major amount of writers block lately; and well it finally lifted today so I'm feeling very generous so I thought I would share it with all of you by posting another chapter! This is the point where I finally nailed out an outline for the plot, so here's where it gets better.
Chapter 13
I got out of the car as fast as I could, but it was pointless. She was gone. There wasn't even a blur. I crawled back into the car and sat there. Sooner or later she would have to come back, or at least send someone back for it. There was nothing left for me to do. I leaned my seat back and decided to take a nap.
I was just dozing off when there was furious knock on the window. I shot up and readied myself for a fight. Alice was standing there smiling. Good god she did it again. Maybe leaving someone seemingly stranded is funny, but I just don't get the joke.
"Are you coming in or what?" She asked poking her head in.
"I thought you left." I replied.
"Why would you think that?" She said overly cheery.
"Because I said something heavy and emotional that was against the rules we just set up and then you seemed upset and left. Other than that I have no idea why I would think that."
"Oh, hmm I thought if we discussed it then one of us would get upset. That can wait 'til you eat and I feed." She said flashing her smile. I noticed that the dark circles under her eyes had become more pronounced, and that her eyes were much darker.
"Ok, sounds good." I said climbing out of her car. I started walking towards the restaurant; the smell hit me like a mac truck. This was the first time in almost a week that I would be able to put a real meal in me. Alice caught up and fell right into step, not that it took any effort on her part. "I thought you were going to feed?"
"Are you kidding," she said laughing, "it's the middle of the day."
"Ah," I said, "how silly of me." I said opening the door "After you, love." I said going back into English. Having to use this accent until June is going to kill me.
"Thank you," she said entering. Alice worked her magic on the host and got us the worst table in the place. Of course worst normally means the far back in a corner with a good view of the exits. That means to a paranoid person like me it's the perfect table.
The waitress came by and took our, mainly my, drink order; she was out of there as quickly as she could. It was something I was used to by now, most normal people get a bad feeling when there around a vampire, and most perceptive people feel the same way around a wizard. Put the two together and most people want to run away as fast as they can without looking back. Case in point our waitress.
She hurried back with the tea; hey I am trying to be British. I managed to rush out an order before she had a chance to leave. She breathed a sigh of relief knowing that she would only have to be back one more time, twice if she doesn't leave the check when she brings my food. "I know this goes against our agreement, but I have one question." I said in a low voice.
She gave me a look that I couldn't really identify, but eventually gave the smallest nod.
"Why are you so comfortable around me? By all rights I should be the enemy. Whether Jasper was acting differently or not, doesn't make a difference." I asked not knowing where this would lead.
She gave a small closed mouth smile, before saying. "This may sound weird, but he told me that you weren't bad, not to be upset with you. That what happened was unavoidable."
"You mean like a dream," I said regretting the word choice. Damn it, how can she dream if she doesn't sleep? Stupid slip of the tongue!
"No, more like a voice in my head." She said as if she was looking for the voice.
"A memory than, like you know what he should be saying." I suggested. I've never heard of anything like this.
"No, no, it's clearer than a memory, like he's talking to me." Then it clicked.
"A shadow," she gave me a funny look, "when you're 'talking' to him, if you close your eyes do you see him? Or have there been other times you can actually see him, see him like he's right next to you?" She gasped sharply before nodding. "Normally a shadow is a bad thing, something that comes from something cursed. It tries to wear someone down and convince them to use the cursed thing. But this, this is an imprint of someone you love, your soul mate. I've never heard of this before." What I didn't tell her is that the only 'cursed things' that cause this phenomenon that I've heard causing this thing are thirty silver coins that contain spirits of fallen angels.
"What's all that mean, that he's a shadow?" She asked obviously confused.
"I'm not entirely sure, but it means that he could stay with you, in your mind, for the rest of your life." We were interrupted by our waitress bringing my dinner. I inhaled the ambrosial smell. The scents of Mongolian Beef and fried rice mingled delicately in the air before wandering gently to my awaiting nostrils. Alice scrunched up her nose at it. Vampires, what do they know about fine dining. The waitress, who managed to never introduced herself, left the check at the same time. See one more trip.
The realization set in. "Will this 'shade' thing disappear?" She asked wide eyed.
"I don't know. It may, with time, or it could just be there to guide you. I'd have to ask around."
"Why did you ask?"
"Well," I began with a mouthful of food, "If you haven't noticed I'm paranoid." I said after swallowing. "I was worried that you were using what you saw of me to get close enough to…" I slid my thumb across my throat. "And seeing how I'm tied, without my sword, I'd say I make a pretty easy target."
"I thought about it, until Edward helped me upstairs. That's when Jasper's 'shadow' started talking to me. He told me that everything would be alright, when you came in, he said 'we' should listen."
"Okay, that answers my question." I don't really remember eating. I guess that really shows how hungry I was. I cringed as I reached for the bill. Wardens haven't seen a decent raise in at least forty years, and I managed to waste most of my savings on forged books in California. Today's afterschool lesson: always by near ancient books from reputable dealers.
"I got this." Alice said as she snatched the bill away from me at the last second, "something tells me that you don't make that much."
"Umm, thanks," I replied. With dinner done and paid for, the two of us headed back out to the car.
The sun was just beginning to set behind the seemingly constant cloud cover. Let's think, the distance from Aberdeen to Forks is just over 100 miles. The way Alice drives we would probably make it back before dark.
The drive back was slightly less interesting than the drive down here. At least then there was something to look at aside from darkening treeline. My second full day in this hell hole was coming quickly to an end. There was just one problem; I had two new boxes full of shit and no place to put them.
"What's wrong?" Alice asked turning to face me.
"I was thinking I needed a place to set up, magically speaking."
"I think I know just the place. How about an abandoned lighthouse?"
"If it's private, it works." I answered. Setting up wards would be much easier if it was someplace I could control access to.
"I like to go there to think."
"I have a problem seeing you in an old lighthouse. You seem like someone who would much rather be outside, someplace beautiful." I said shrugging. Sleep was starting to overtake me, which was rather pathetic, it's not even six. "A meadow maybe." I said yawning.
"What's the matter sleepy head?" She asked.
"The magic really drained me." I responded through a thick haze of pre-sleep. I'm not entirely sure it made sense, but I didn't have the strength to correct myself before I dozed off.
I couldn't have been asleep very long when a small cold hand gently shook my shoulder, "Where here. C'mon!" I opened my eyes and strained them against the inky black.
"Where's here?" I groaned. Nothing looked familiar, not that I could see much aside from the soft green glow cast by the clock.
"The lighthouse." She said like I should know.
"Why now, I want to sleep." I moaned as she opened her door letting in a freezing cold blast of wind that instantly turned any thoughts of sleep into survival instincts to get away from the cold. "Alright let's take a look around so I can sleep!" I grumbled opening my own door.
"Aren't you going to take your stuff?" She asked.
"Not tonight, I'm not leaving it in an abandoned lighthouse until I get some wards up." I growled, I'm never in a good mood when I'm not allowed to sleep when I want to.
"C'mon grumpy," she said pulling my arm. She parked far enough that I had to walk more than I wanted to.
"First I'm sleepy, now I'm grumpy; let me sleep 'til I become doc." Oh I'm so witty at times it hurts. See how I made the connection to the seven dwarves. Damn it my humor is so lost on people.
My notable resistance to the idea was noted and fundamentally dismissed. I tried to struggle but she was by far stronger. "Let's move it doc. See your doc now, happy?" I gave up fighting and just went along before she broke my arm.
"The faster I look around the faster I can go to sleep right?" She looked at me stone faced, "Right?" I pressed. The expression on her face didn't change, "if you're going to kill me do it now, so I can get some rest!" I walked towards the lighthouse. I had already started planning what I would do with this place.
Alice hadn't moved an inch, but a wry smile crept onto her lips. Ha who is she fooling, her eyes hadn't glazed over. Any apprentice would know that she wasn't having a vision she was just pretending. "Give it up, Pixie!" Yes I finally found a good condescending nickname for her. "I'm not buying it." I said getting to the door, or rather what was left of the rotting door. It should still work. The first thing I would be doing was a simple web around the school. Just to see if what I felt was someone who was just coming into their powers.
If they were I wanted to get to him slash her quickly before he slash she actually succeeded in poking into someone's brain, getting himself slash herself killed in the process. God that would probably mean working really, really late. So much for sleep.
"We need to go now!" Alice said with a kind of urgency I hadn't heard from her before.
I spun around on my heels running to the car before I had even finished turning. "What is it?" I questioned without bothering to stop. She didn't stop to answer; instead going straight for the car. She was in, and the car on before I had taken another step. I doubled the pace using whatever energy I had left. It seemed like an hour before I reached the car, in reality in was probably only a few seconds.
I opened the door and was only halfway in when the car pealed out in reverse, and did a complete one-eighty throwing me against her and slamming the door on my ankle. I screamed as we sped off into the darkness. Another three hours went by before I managed to get my seatbelt on. "Explanation time!" I demanded.
"Bella." Was the only word I got. It was enough. In the now two and half days I'd been in town I'd seen enough to know that she gets in way over her head with no real way out. I get in over my head…a lot… but my magic acts as a life raft. I knew there was danger, and I knew that in my near exhausted condition I was slightly less than a liability. I'd used all the magic I could use today, before we even left Forks. Now the only thing I could do was get to my warden's sword in time.
"What's after her?" I asked as I was checking what equipment I had on me. Blasting rod? Check. Shield bracelet? Check. Enough magic to make them useful. Highly doubtful. When we got back I would need to get my sword as fast as I could. But I was screwed until I could get to it.
"Victoria." She said facing me. Her eyes were jet black now. I could only assume Victoria was a vampire. I turned my focus to the back seat and began rummaging through the back seat looking for the familiar black box.
"How much time do we have?" I asked still not finding what I was looking for. Of course I had no way of knowing just how much damage a fifty caliber steel core round would do to a Rose Courter. But it would give me something to fight with until I got to my sword.
"Minutes." She growled.
"What about Edward?"
"Hunting." She answered as I finally found my little black box.
"I'm borrowing this," I said pulling my cannon out of its resting place, "You can have it back afterwards." I finished by slapping the magazine in with unnecessary drama. "What's the plan?" What's the point of planning something when you're around someone who can see the future?
"You go in the house, tell Bella to call Carlisle. I'm going to keep watch outside. When we get there we'll have four minutes and thirty-two seconds." I clicked the safety on, and tucked the pistol in my coat pocket.
"What about Charlie?"
"He won't be there. He must be on the reservation, I can't see him." We screeched to a halt across the street from Bella's. "Four minutes twenty-five seconds." She said opening her door and disappearing into the darkness.
I hurried into the house. The door was thankfully open. Less than four minutes a voice in my head chirped. No lights were on downstairs. God Damn it. I rushed upstairs to her room. Empty. Fuck. I rushed into the bathroom, finding her just getting out of the shower. Politeness jumped from the window and ran away with the danger.
"What the fuck are you doing!" she screamed covering herself us with the towel as best she could. Normally I would follow my hormones and ogle her girl parts; right now there wasn't enough time.
"Victoria, three minutes! Call Carlisle now!" I shouted myself before leaving abruptly. Bella followed my lead, not bothering to exchange the towel for anything more substantial.
I ran down as fast as I could to my sword bag. I quickly strapped on my sword belt, and pulled on my grey cloak. Grabbing a small lancet, from the small side pouch I headed into the kitchen; Bella was already on the phone with the good doctor, talking as fast as she absolutely could. I could care less at this point. Back up or not I was going to make sure this ended favorably. It was my duty to protect all mortals from supernatural things that would harm them; at least that's what I told myself. I tore through the cabinets as fast as I could. I needed to make a circle and fast. I thought about using the chalk in my bag as well. I decided that I would need something more than just a thin line of chalk.
Bella hung up the phone. "They'll be here in five min…" I grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her toward the stairs before she had time to finish her sentence.
"We don't have that much time. Follow me!" I sure as hell wasn't going to give her the option of thinking. When we reached the top of the stairs I threw her into her room, turning off her light. "Okay, sit down." She started to sit on her bed. "On the floor!" She actually complied without question.
"Shouldn't we be running?" She stammered, looking at me with pure unadulterated fear.
"No, You're hiding… in plain sight." I said as I started pouring the salt into an irregular circle around her. She was now confused as well as scared, "Give me your finger," I demanded, 'two minutes remaining', the voice said in a computer like manner. When she didn't surrender her finger to me immediately I grabbed her hand. "I need to seal the circle. If it works you'll be completely hidden unless she actually sees you." She gave me a look that screamed fear, "But she won't see you." I pressed the lancet against the side of her ring finger and pressed the tiny white button. The small spring unleashed the needle with a slight twang.
"Ouch." She gasped and tried to bring the finger to her mouth. I kept a firm grasp on her hand.
"Touch your finger to the salt right here." I commanded indicating where I had started the circle. She touched the blood to the salt and there was a soft shimmer of magic as the circle was empowered. This is one of the most basic forms of magic and one that any normal person can do. "Do not, under any circumstances, cross the circle. And do not, I repeat, do not break the circle."
I hoped that the smell of the small drop of blood would be covered by the circle. It should, but I was taking a hell of a chance. I crossed to the widow. There was less than a minute now before she would show up. I don't know why one vampire was making me panic like this. Maybe it was seeing Alice react the way she did, or the fear in Bella's eyes. My heart sank. This wouldn't be an easy fight; not that any fight is really easy.
I wanted to charge outside, sword in hand and tempt her to attack me. She wouldn't know what hit her. I pulled my cannon out and quietly clicked the safety off before sliding it back into my pocket; I didn't think it would do much good, but it was all I had. I grasped the hilt of my sword drawing it halfway out of its scabbard. It went much easier this time. The minimal light in the room danced off the silvery blade, like small diamonds, or in my price range tiny cubic zirconiums. I shut the window and drew the curtains. I wasn't going to give this Victoria any advantage if I could avoid it. She already had surprise mostly on her surprise, but we had a wizard (me) and the hope that
"Bella, you okay?" I asked in a hushed whisper.
"I'm cold." I hadn't noticed before, she left the bathroom in such a hurry that her hair was still soaked and there was water on her skin. I felt bad now that I didn't giver anything warmer than a towel. If it wouldn't have broken the circle's power I would handed her some sweats that were scattered about her room.
"Fifteen minutes at the most." I said as reassuringly as I could. I hoped that it would only be fifteen minutes. Fights like these happen faster than most people would think. It isn't some long drawn out fight. It's short and sweet. If everyone knows what they're doing it's even shorter. Fifteen minutes was a high side estimate, I hoped.
A bell went off in my head, at the same time the sound of thunder rattled through the window.
She was here!
Second Note: To those Dresdenphiles who are reading; I know that wards have to be anchored to a threshold; I was just kind of lazy. In my world wards only have to be anchored if there are walls, a ceiling, a floor, and a door; or at least that's the way I thought they worked pre Turn Coat.
As is my new catch phrase please tell me what you think, good or bad.