A/N: As promised, I'm posting this one early. Sorry for the delay over the weekend. Hopefully I'll get the next one written in the next day or two.

Thanks to tiffanyanne3 for the beta and radar1230 for the pre-read.

Disclaimer: The Twilight Saga belongs to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended

Sacrificial Love

Edward

I was lying on the ground in a small copse of trees. From the corner of my eye, I spotted a shake-shingle roof. Directly above me, the sky was a dull, slate gray—the shade that appeared either at dawn or dusk. I had no idea which one it might be. I had no sense of space or time.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I was bombarded by conversation. There were at least four separate voices, and they were all talking at once. They weren't whispering, but I could not make out the words; each voice was distorted, as if it were coming from behind a closed door. I tried to concentrate on one single voice in order to make some sense of the discussion, but the harder I tried, the more garbled the words became. It was disconcerting. After a moment, the constant, droning din became too much to bear. Raising my hands, I covered my ears. It didn't help. The voices were just as noisy, just as distressing.

Suddenly, one voice spoke. It was loud and clear, unlike the rest.

"Be still!" it commanded. "Clear your minds."

While the words did not make sense, the cacophony inside my head quieted, although it did not fade away entirely.

A figure stepped into my peripheral vision.

"Edward! Welcome back. You had us worried."

The voice from earlier greeted me. It was cheery, as if welcoming an old friend, but there was something behind the words—something that had the hair on my neck standing on end in warning. Warily, I turned my head in the direction from which it had come. A sharp, cramping ache in my neck accompanied the motion. I grimaced.

The man was tall and thin. He was adorned all in black, starting at his feet and going all the way to his head—black shoes, black pants, black shirt, and black… robes? Even his hair was black, an absolute contrast to the pale, pasty skin of his face. He was walking in my direction and eyeing me curiously, an air of… sympathy, maybe… in his dark gaze.

"I'd like to apologize for Demetri's actions earlier. I assure you that he was not acting under my orders. His impetuousness has been duly… punished."

He nodded his head toward the smoldering remains of a fire. Smoke was still rising, its acrid odor an affront to my nostrils. I frowned in confusion.

Someone had been burned for what they had done to me?

The quiet hum of distorted whispering began anew. While I couldn't decipher the words, I could sense the mood of several voices: three were frightened—short, punctate mumbling was a clear indication; one was curious, questioning; and one was… angry. Fuming, actually. The anger was not directed at me, as far as I could tell, but it was impossible to ignore. I shivered slightly at the malevolence that I detected.

Feeling disadvantaged by my prone position, I righted myself. The movement from vertical to horizontal caused my head to spin, my vision turning fuzzy for a moment. For just a second, I squeezed my eyes shut against the dizzying sensation. Without my sense of sight, my other senses immediately compensated. The voices I could still hear whispering grew louder in my mind. I became aware of each and every thing that I was touching—the grass beneath my palms, the tattered clothes on my body. Air filled my lungs, and my brain instantly catalogued each scent. And suddenly, the back of my throat began itching and burning with the need for hydration and nourishment.

I opened my eyes and looked around. Six people were standing in the yard in front of a small cabin in the woods. They were all watching me intently, as if they were expecting something to happen. I could still hear the voices, but surprisingly, none of their mouths were moving. The feeling of panic began to expand inside of me. My focus was diverted when the man who had spoken came to a halt next to me.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, his voice concerned.

I couldn't answer; my tongue was immobilized in my mouth, heavy and thick. And dry. Oh, so dry. My entire mouth yearned for something wet to soothe the ache. Reaching up, my hand settled against my throat.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. You must be thirsty. We should hunt."

Hunt?

"But first, I need some information from you."

Reaching out his hand, he looked at me expectantly. I just stared, unsure of what he was asking or what he expected. After a moment, his kindness and concern was revealed to be an act. Irritation flashed on his features and from his tongue.

"Take it, Edward," he hissed. "You know what I want, and I will have it one way or another. Far better to give in willingly…" He glanced at the small vampire by his side and smiled coldly.

As soon as my hand slid into his palm, it felt as if he had reached inside my head and squeezed my brain. It was an uncomfortable sensation, and it caused me to gasp. I felt his frustration when he came up against the wall. He pushed and shoved, exerting his will against the emptiness that was my mind, to no avail.

"What are you doing, Edward?" he asked in annoyance.

Nothing, I thought, still unable to form the words.

"Nothing? Nothing? How are you keeping me out?"

Keeping you out? I don't understand…

The man's eyes narrowed. "You know better than to play games with me, Edward," he chided with a disapproving tsk.

He nodded his head toward the woman at his side, and I was overwhelmed by pain. I screamed, but the only sound that emerged was a dry, rasping squeak. If I wasn't already on the ground, the pain would have dropped me, for sure.

"You will tell me what I want, Edward," he stated furiously. "Where is she? Where is Bella?"

.

.

.

A/N: Uh oh. Poor Edward… He has no idea about what is going on right now. Then again, maybe he's best off not knowing!

Thanks for reading.