32.

Edward's perspective –

There was nothing but silence as we made our way up the drive. The house loomed in front of us like a great white ghost, daring us to enter inside and find out what kind of dirty secrets it kept hidden. Carlisle was at the head of the group. He reached the door and tested the knob.

It's open, his voice echoed in my head as he pushed the door open slowly and carefully. Not a peep could be heard. I could see inside the house now. A triangle of light shot out from the opening. A marble floor lay ahead of us, flanked by green walls and huge paintings. I saw Carlisle's head move from side to side as he inspected the inside. It was empty; no one was in sight as we all stepped inside. I was the last one in, so I closed the door silently behind me.

Where do you think she could be? asked Carlisle as he glanced back at me, looking for direction. I looked around and saw a door ahead, opened slightly, revealing stone stairs. I looked back at Carlisle and held up two fingers to signify we should split up. With one finger I pointed up, and then with two I pointed down. He glanced back at the stairs and nodded. He split us up evenly, signaling who should go where. I was going upstairs with Bella, Carlisle and Esme.

You go first, spoke Carlisle in my mind.

Carefully I inched forward, Bella at my heels. I could almost feel her tension; I didn't need Jasper to tell me that. We made our way up the stairs in silence, the others moving away from us as they went down. There was a wooden door at every level. I carefully pushed open each one of them. The first two opened up to pitch black hallways. As I opened the third and last door, an eerie glow of light pushed through the crack and unto the stone wall behind me. I peered into the hallway; empty. Wooden doors like the two we had just passed lined the wall. I checked to make sure no one was inside and stepped into the dimly lit hall. Carlisle came in right behind me.

I moved to the first door on my left, Carlisle to the first on the right, and I slowly cracked my door open. Silence and blackness met me. I peeked around the whole room just incase but saw nothing but a bed and some other furniture.

These must all be bedrooms.

I nodded. If we were lucky, Lisa would be in one of these, unharmed, though something in my gut told me this wouldn't be the case.

We moved from door to door in silence. The fourth door I opened gave me a glimmer of hope. Light was shining in the room; all around the space were candles hanging on the walls. I stepped inside and felt my hope shrivel. The room was completely empty. But this was Lisa's room. I could smell her and see she had been here because of the rumpled sheets. A purple gown lay draped over the bed. Something in the room was giving off a stale odor, almost like cold blood.

I growled quietly. "What have you done to her, Aro?" I muttered angrily under my breath.

I moved to the bed and examined the dress. Dark spots stained the left side of the dress; when I lifted it to my nose, I recognized the smell immediately. The blood of humans was a smell you never quite forgot as a vampire.

I threw the dress down angrily and stormed out of the room.

Everything is clear, Bella reported. Hearing her voice in my head cooled me down a little. Every once in a while she would let her shield down so I could read her mind. The whole car ride here she had shared her thoughts with me, giving me a running dialogue of what she feared we might find here tonight. I glanced at my true love and nodded. Even in this house of unknown horrors, I couldn't help but think about how much I loved this woman.

"Let's move," I mouthed.

We moved like we were on a hunt, creeping down the stairs. I listened for any kind of noise or thought to alert me as to where the others were. We had just passed the door for the main level when complete silence filled my mind. I nearly tripped over myself in shock.

I glanced back at Carlisle and he looked at me questioningly, but I heard nothing. I turned back around so he couldn't see the angst on my face. Only one time before had this happened, and I wasn't really looking for a repeat.

I moved down the stairs until we came to a door that hung slightly open, spilling light into the stairwell. Sounds of scuffling could be heard from behind it. I glanced back at the others to see if they had heard it and all nodded. I didn't have to hear their thoughts to know what they were all thinking: let's go.

I pushed open the door completely and sprinted into what looked like a jail hall. Steel doors lined the walls, complete with little barred windows. I scanned the room and saw what had caused the noise. Emmett must have been advancing the giant who stood blocking a door when he got stopped in his tracks. He hung suspended in the air, hands out like claws, looking very much like a stuffed tiger. Alice, Jasper, and Rose all stood frozen in different positions of attack.

"What the…" I heard Bella utter behind me.

I wasn't sure how I figured it out, but something inside me told me there was some sort of mental magic going on, and it was coming from the huge guard. He was ghostly pale, scars littering his exposed chest. He looked like the Hulk, nearly a head taller than me. His eyes were fiercely red, his mouth nothing but a line. A gross mutation distorted his facial features.

"Bella, your shield!" I shouted just as the giant's eyes shifted to the four of us.

Immediately a shimmery bubble enveloped me and then the rest of us. I heard Emmett fall to the ground as the guard's hold on them was broken by Bella's protective shield.

"What is this, Edward?" Carlisle asked me, sounding slightly worried.

Frustration bubbled up inside before I pushed it down. "I have no idea. I'm completely blind here."

"Me too," murmured Alice as she looked up at me. I knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Aro has created a super ghost."

I heard Esme utter a gasp. "Not like the ones…"

"Like Camilla," finished Carlisle, determination and anger ringing in his words.

A scream rang through the hall, echoing off the doors. "Lisa," we all said in unison, looking past the guard, who stood dumbfounded that he had lost his power, at the steel door. Through the little barred window I could see an old-fashioned asylum bed in the middle of the room. Everything else was hidden, but I was positive Lisa was in that room.

The guard had begun waving his hands around stupidly, uttering words I didn't understand, looking completely lost.

"He's as dumb as rock," said Emmett. "He doesn't have a clue what's happening to him."

"That's probably because Aro never trained him to do anything but defend him and whoever else he commanded him to."

Esme shook her head sadly.

"You're right about that," spoke a cold voice from behind me. "I see you've met my little friend."