Chapter 6

Muffins and Shoes

Watching TV while Emmett had the remote was something to behold. The channels whizzed past at a rate way beyond that of a human, normally resulting in us watching some form of sport or ending up mentally twitching at the speed the channels flew past at. It was a chore to try and keep up with his channel-surfing, but it was nothing compared to the sixty minutes of slow torture that I had been subjected to at the hands of Alice.
I had been pulled , prodded and poked. I had been dressed and redressed twenty times until Alice found the perfect outfit for me. I knew she was messing with me. She would have saw the finished ensemble in a vision before I even entered the room. Bloody pixie.

After what seemed like an eternity, I was released from my couture nightmare. She had settled on a bottle green halter top (Apparently, green was my colour), Black, fitted leather jacket and ridiculously tight jeans in the most astonishing indigo colour. She finished off Kali Barbie play-time by stuffing my feet into five inch high heeled boots. I was five foot seven inches tall. I didn't need the height. I figured that I would be about two inches shorter than Edward in them. I had considered arguing with Alice, but after some rushed and honestly terrifying remarks from her brother and her mate, I conceded defeat and took the punishment like a good soldier.

"Emmett..."

"What's up?"

"I was talking to Carlisle earlier. He told me that you and Edward would take me out to show me the treaty line."

"No problem, Kals. I'm going hunting tonight anyway. I'll take you out. Although, I could just point in the direction you need to go and tell you to run. You would know when you hit it."

"How so?"

"The wolves fucking stink!" He said, chuckling. I laughed with him for about two seconds until a stern voice called from the kitchen.

"Emmett McCarty Cullen! If I hear you speak like that again, I WILL wash your mouth out." Esme sounded lethal. The laughter immediately died and was replaced as apologies were murmured. While he was distracted by feeling thoroughly ashamed, I snatched the remote for the TV out his hand and ran to the other side of the room.

"Give it back, Kali." Emmett's voice was low and steady. The boy meant business.

"Emmett, I have sat for the past hour and watched you flip through the channels in a manner that I can only describe as seizure-inducing. I want to watch the news for five minutes. Is that okay?"

"The news is boring.!" He complained, throwing himself across the sofa like a petulant toddler.

"Oh, get a grip, Emmett." I grumbled, turning the TV over to CNN. I hadn't watched the news for almost a week now. I had been preoccupied with the whole 'I just got a family thing' to pay attention to the outside world. Emmett pouted. I burst out laughing."Emmett, just give me five minutes and you can go back to watching sweaty grown up men chasing balls around a field."

"Bite me." He hissed. I was too distracted by the newsreader to pay any more attention to his huffing.

The situation in Seattle was getting worse. A lot worse. They were at fifteen dead and twelve people missing. It was not looking good. No human was that proficient a killer. Even multiple humans would struggle to pull this off. I had been here for almost two weeks now and since then, the murders had doubled. Something was definitely wrong. I would have to talk to someone about it. There was a link somewhere that I was missing and I just couldn't get a hold of it. I needed to talk to the others about this. Carlisle first though.

"Emmett..." I said, turning to face him. He was staring pointedly out of the window. God, he was worse than a child sometimes. "Emmett, if I give you the TV remote back, will you answer me?"

"Maybe."

"Em, come on, man." I pleaded, tugging at his shoulder playfully.

"Fine." He held his hand out for the remote. I placed it slowly into his hand, an impatient hiss slipping through his teeth at my speed. I laughed once the remote had touched down and Emmett immediately resumed his quest to look at every single cable channel in the space of three minutes.

"What is it you wanted to talk about Kali?" He asked, his expression infinitely calmer now he held 'The Buttons'.

"Oh, I was just wondering what time Carlisle was due home at?"

"About eight thirty. Why?"

"Hmm. Could you give me directions to the hospital? I need to talk to him about something."

"Like what?" His eyes tightened.

"Do you want me to pull out the 'woman's problems' card or do you wanna just give me the direction?"

"You don't have 'womans problems'." He stated confidently.

"No, but you might have woman problems when Rose finds out you took out her BMW last night."

"You wouldn't!" He gasped in horror. The one thing you did not do was touch Rosalies BMW M3.

"You think so, big boy?" I teased.

I didn't recieve an answer. At that moment, the sound of tires hitting soft dirt rang through the house. Bella and Edward were here now. I stood up from the sofa that I was sharing with Emmett - When I say sharing, I mean that he was sprawled over it like a ragdoll and I sat on a tiny little square right at the very end...after I punched his head to get him to move over. - And moved over to the front window. I watched as the silver Volvo hurtled into the garage and heard the brakes scream in protest as it stopped. "I swear to God Edward, If you do that again..."

"Sorry, love. Everyone is just anxious to see you."

"Is Kali still here?" Bella asked tentatively.

"Yes, of course she is."

"Brilliant!"

"Kali, you're killing me here..." Jazz complained, holding his head in his hands. I could imagine that he felt my excitement, love and awe for this little human girl. "Kals, I'm begging ya. Please! She loves you just like she loves the rest of us. Chill out!" Jasper demanded.

I tried to do that. I focused on the light bulb of all things. Watching as the single white hot light from the filament shattered into the full eight colour spectrum. The colours merged seamlessly into one another. Red into orange; into yellow; into green; into cyan; into blue; into violet and then finally ultra violet. I liked the last one the most. Humans couldn't see it, but vampires could. It was an astonishing colour that there really wasn't a description for. I could almost taste it. It was very odd indeed.

"Much better, Kali. Here they come." Jasper said, placing a hand on my shoulder, which seemed to magnify his calming effect.

"Thanks Jazz." He simply nodded and looked pointedly at the door. I watched as Edward trooped in, Bella bringing up the rear and holding his hand. I shifted my gaze towards Bella. Her smile was unfaltering. She let go over Edward, walked across the room confidently and hugged me around the middle. Venom flooded my mouth and I held my breath against the scent of her. As soon as I was positive that I had 'The Beast' under control, I sniffed once through my nose. Fire. Lots of it. But manageable.

"Well hello to you too!" I said in surprise. "How are we today, Miss Bella?"

"Good thanks, you?"

"I'm alright actually. Esme is in the kitchen sorting out sandwiches for you."

"That's nice of her. I didn't get the chance to eat anything before I came out." She stated, walking with me to the kitchen. Entering the kitchen was like hitting a wall of sewage. Even though everything was raw, uncooked, it still smelled vile. My nose scrunched and I shook my head to clear the smell out of my nose. Bella noticed my discomfort and smiled apologetically.

"Don't worry about it, Bella. I've smelled worse."

"Kali," Bella asked, taking in my appearance for the first time. "Did Alice get to you?" Sympathy rolled off of her.

"Could you tell? I've decided to go to a toy store and buy her a couple of Barbies. They will at least be more compliant than I am."

"I heard that!" Alice's voice rang out from somewhere inside the house.

"You were meant to, Pixie!" Edward and Bella both laughed as Esme handed Bella her sandwich and hugged her shoulders. "Actually Alice... I have to go shopping before the weekend is out, and I'm sure that I can out-last you during a whole day's retail therapy."

You could have heard a pin drop. For two whole seconds, the entire building was silent, save for the steady thump of the human's heart. Then the house explodes. Waves and coughs and spasms of giggles, laughs, chuckles and guffaws rocked the very foundations of the house, causing them to vibrate pleasantly.

"You're nuts." Emmett stated, bounding into the kitchen. I shrugged my shoulders and waited for Alice to confirm our plans.

"Be ready for seven AM on saturday." She stated, calling from upstairs in a very business-like fashion.

"Anyone want to bet on the outcome?" Emmett asked, shoving his big hand into his pocket to retrieve a wallet.

"Ask Alice what direction you should be betting in." Edward suggested.

"Like she is going to tell him." Bella quipped.

Direction. Directions. Oh yeah...

"That reminds me. Esme, could you give me directions to the hospital? I wanted to talk to Carlisle about something and I'm going to swap cars anyway. I figured I would drop in." I could tell from Edwards stare that he was trying to get into my brain, so I treated him to a very rousing rendition of the Scottish National Anthem.

"Oh Flower Of Scotland, When will we see your likes again?" I sang loudly in my head. If Edward could have blushed from anger, he would have.

"Oh, of course dear! Hold on one second." Esme said, smiling.

"That fought and died for, your wee bit hill and glen"Edward's face was priceless.

And stood against him; Proud Edward's army"

The perfect mixture of confusion and frustration. Esme had returned with a piece of paper and a basket of something hot and honestly, smelled like dog sick.

"And send him homeward, to think again."

Edward's face twisted again. He tried to straighten it out before Bella would see, but she caught him just before he could manage it. Her head swiveled and looked at my apparently amused state.

"Kali, are you keeping him out?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because he was being nosy." I stated plainly. Bella erupted into giggles and Edward just scowled at me.

"Feeling patriotic, Kali?" He said, annoyance thick in his voice.

"Decidedly so."

"Kali, the directions to the hospital are here and these are for the nurses at the hospital. Those poor dears work so hard all the time." Esme said. I took the note and walked towards the door with the basket at arms length. Whatever was in that basket smelled like it had died months ago.

"Bells, what time are you here until?" I asked

"Um... about nine thirty? Curfew is at ten." She huffed. Oh, the trappings of being a human teenager.

"I'll see you when I get back then." I said.

I didn't turn around to talk to the person I wanted to.

"Edward," I called out mentally. "I'm sorry, I will tell you about it later, once Bella is home. Okay?" He simply nodded his agreement and shifted out of the way to allow me to pass by him.

"Good luck on the muffin run." he said sarcastically as I headed out the door. I threw him a quick, mental 'fuck you, kid.' and climbed into my car.

I had gotten a few snide remarks about this car when I had picked it up the other day. Turns out, it was the best option for today. My 'disposable' car, the Ford Ka was never going to stop hearts or break any records, but it was the car in my current collection that I didn't mind losing if need be. If the reek that came from these muffins was anything to go by, I wasn't getting that smell out of whatever car I took, so best make it the one I cared least about. I dumped the offending articles in the boot of the car, got in and took of at the speed that the hairdryer on wheels that I was driving considered to be it's top speed. The smell coming from the boot was nothing short of monstrous. This car would HAVE to go.

It didn't take long for me to get to the hospital, despite being challenged in the car area. Esme's instructions were easy to follow and I soon found myself in a corridor with a long row of doctor's offices and a nurses station at the end. As I walked past the dark wood doors, I noted which one bore Carlisle's name and continued onto the nurses station to drop off the toxic basket. I could smell the reek of it on my clothes. Ugh.

"Can I help you dear?" One plump, older nurse asked me, eying me suspiciously.

"I'm looking for my uncle, Dr. Cullen? I'm his niece, Kali."

"Oh. Of course, sweetheart. Hold on a second." She got up from her chair and scooted down the hall to Carlisle's office. After a quick discussion with whoever was in there, she shuffled back towards me.

"He is in his office dear. Fifth door down on the right." She offered with a smile.

"Oh, these are for you guys." I said, shoving the basket of muffins at her. "My Aunt Esme sent them down for the nurses."

"God Bless that woman. She always does things like this. Tell her we all said thank you."

"Will do. I'll see ya later!" I said cheerfully before skipping down the corridor to Carlisle's office. All the lies and deceptions were annoying. I forgot just how bloody tedious they were. No wonder I spent decades at a time away from humans. This was hard work. I shook the thoughts from my mind and I knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in." Carlisle's voice called at human volume. Bloody pretenses. He could have spoken at this volume when I was in the carpark and I would have heard him. I walked into the office and closed the door behind me. I turned to find him sitting behind his desk, poring over a stack of patient files with his head bent down. When I turned to face him, he looked up, leaning over a fat medical text book and smiled at me.

"Kali! To what do I owe the pleasure?" Carlisle asked. He sniffed the air once and crinkled his nose. "Esme had you bring baked goods for the nurses again, didn't she?"

"Muffins." I replied. Just the thought of those noxious little demons make me want to throw up the blood from my previous hunt. A physical impossibility, but still- . Carlisle laughed at my facial expression but quickly steeled himself when he saw it change from disgust to worry.

"What's wrong, Kali?"

"I'm really sorry to bother you at work Carlisle, but I needed someone to talk to and everyone else at the house would freak out. Plus, Bella is there and I don't want to scare her and Edward would lose it..." I rambled. I wasn't sure if he caught anything that I had just said.

"Calm down. Start from the beginning." He suggested, clasping his fingers, like he did in his study. I noted this as his listening intently pose. I took a very deep and wholly unnecessary breath before I began.

"Its do with these news reports that have been heard in Seattle, Carlisle. Two weeks ago, before I left, I was disturbed by a news report about some missing people in the city. Six people went missing in the space a month. The two weeks after that, another six... like it was getting worse. The murder rate and missing persons count in Seattle was getting out of control. In the past week alone, five more have been found dead, and it isn't slowing down." Carlisle was statue-still as I spoke. He didn't interrupt me, so I continued to speak.

"The problem is, it's too good. There is no evidence at all. No forensics, nothing. Its too proficient for a human, or even, humans. They would have slipped up by now. Made themselves known."

"You think this is one of our kind?" Carlisle asked quietly.

"Its the only explanation, Carlisle. I only ever ventured into the city before I hunted, when my eyes were dark enough not to cause alarm. I never noticed anything unusual. I caught vampire scents but noting out of the ordinary. Seattle is a big city and there were bound to be either nomads or settlers there. I had been there for a year myself. Nothing came up until about two months ago. If it is one of our kind, Carlisle, we have a problem. A big one. Whoever it is, is getting themselves noticed in the worst possible way. They will step in."

"The Volturi." Carlisle correctly surmised.

"They can't be allowed to get that far, Carlisle. Its not safe. Your whole... our whole family would be in trouble. I know that they already know of your 'unusual' hunting style and the size of the coven you keep. They know about Bella. She hasn't been changed yet. They will kill her. They will kill me for being around people who they perceive to be trouble-makers again. None of us will be allowed to survive."

I was rambling again. Not so much talking to Carlisle, but talking all the horrors out of my own head. I Sounded like I was pleading. I guess I was. I was pleading with Carlisle to tell me I was an idiot. I had survived the loss of my human family, my vampire companion, centuries of attacks from others of my kind and the one thing, the only thing I was truly terrified of, was the thought of the Volturi being allowed anywhere near my family. I looked to Carlisle to tell me I was wrong.

No such luck. He stood up from his desk with a strange look on his face. "I'll be back in a moment, Kali." He whispered before ghosting it out of the office. I listened to his murmured conversation between him and another doctor. He was back in the room before I had chose to properly listen to what they were saying. He slipped behind his desk, bent under it, retrieved his briefcase and started loading papers into it.

"What's going on?" I asked, standing quickly and moving closer to the desk. I am sure I looked appropriately confused. I felt like my head was going to explode.

"I'm taking an early day, today. We are going home." He said as he snapped the clasps on his briefcase shut. He made for the door and I followed.

"Um, Carlisle...?"

"Yes, Kali?"

"Can I ride with you? My car absolutely reeks of muffins. I can't go back in there. " He let out a strained little chuckle before smiling at me.

"Esme's killer baking strikes again!" he quipped as he opened the office door. "Of course you can, Kali." He gestured to me to go first, like a proper gentleman and we headed home.

We had arrived back at the house in a time I would never have thought possible. This was due mainly to the fact that Carlisle, even by vampyric standards, drove like a total lunatic. We were never in any danger, of course, but still... I didn't know S55 AMG's went THAT fast. We didn't discuss my theory in the car, settling for small talk, like my decision to start school with 'the kiddies' on Monday and the shopping battle that Alice and I were preparing for. We drove into the garage and walked to the house.

Everyone was scattered around, pursuing their own hobbies and interests. Rose was browsing a car magazine, Emmett watched TV...again. I swear that boy would rot his naturally brilliant vampire brain if he watched anymore. Alice was fiddling on the computer with the design for a bottle green corset. I shuddered a little. Alice told me that bottle green was my colour. Jasper was reading War and Peace on the overstuffed chair next to Alice and Esme was sketching on a drawing pad. I could tell from the heat and the sound of classical music that Edward and Bella were upstairs.

"If I go up there, am I going to see anything that should be kept to a biology program... or late night pay-per-view channel?" I asked. Several stifled laughed pinged in the air.

"Won't make much of a difference." Emmett said, rolling his eyes and finally controlling his hilarity. "They don't do anything." Pretty sure that in that moment, I should have kept my mouth shut. I felt suddenly embarrassed for the two lovebirds. The human and the vampire, surrounded by the sensitive senses that our kind were gifted with. Poor sods.

"I'll get changed first." I suggested, heading for the stairs. First order of business before I even took to the first step was to take these goddamn boots off. I loved Alice, I really did, but as far as every day vampire activities were concerned, five inch, spike heeled biker boots were not appropriate.

"Don't let her hear you say that out loud." Edward said quietly from above. "Come on up, Kali. Bella is waiting to see you before she goes home."
I took the stairs three at a time. I stopped at the room I was given after the 'Yes Ceremony' as Emmett had taken to calling it. Throwing my boots in without really looking where, I heard them connecting with the bookcase. I then stopped outside the room next to mines, taking a deep breathe. Announcing my presence for Edward before I knocked. I tapped the door lightly with my knuckle twice, careful not to crack the wood.

"Come on in Kals." Edward said cheerfully. I clutched the handle, pressing down gently and swung the door open.

It just then hit me that this was the first time seeing Edward's room. I had never come in here. When we hung out, we just kind of chose to go hunting stay downstairs. The first thing to hit me was the view. The stunning scene that played in the windows. The Olympic mountain range spreading out endlessly, touched only by the forest and the fast moving river nearby. The second thing I noticed was how this room was slightly different than the others. Decorated slightly darker, using several shades of gold and brown throughout. There was one wall in this room that was dedicated soully to music. CD's, LPs, cassette tapes. Thousands of them. Tens of thousands. A collection to rival my own. The last thing I registered was the black leather sofa. It was the last thing because it was the thing that i knew my attention would be focused on from this point onwards. This was mainly due to the fact that one vampire and one furiously blushing human sat on it, school books splayed around them.

"Sorry about earlier guys. Got a bit much for me." I said to them as I stepped around the now closing door.

"That's alright, Kali." Bella said "Jazz does it all the time." God, did this woman's compassion have no boundaries. I folded myself gracefully onto the floor, watching them. Bella was doing homework while Edward sat, playing with her hair.

"Edward" I thought. "When you drop Bella home. Come back here as quickly as possibly. we need to talk." His eyes reached the ceiling and then the floor. An affirmative answer.

"So, Bells, what you studying?"

"Calculus. Edward is helping me though."

"Why Mr. Cullen. I do hope you aren't helping this young lady with her homework?" I accused playfully, mock horror spreading over my face.

"I would never dream of such a thing Miss Douglas-Cullen!" He placed a hand over his heart, as if mortally wounded by such an accusation.

"Well if you ain't doing hers, can you do mines for me?" I asked, hoping Bella would pick up on it.

"You don't do homework." She said, confused.

"I do starting Monday."

"Huh?"

"On Monday, I will join the ranks of Forks high school."

"You are going to school with us?" She asked, excitement lighting up her face.

"Yep. There are only twelve weeks left in term, so I figure, why not? I haven't been in sixty years and Jazz did the paperwork for me."

"Brilliant. I will need to get a new car for going to school though. The Ka had to go. It stank of muffins."

"I'll help you." Rosalie said stiffly. My eyes widened. Rose offered to help me. That was new... "We will go on Sunday." She stated. No problems here with that one.

"Well, I guess that is settled." I said turning back to Bella and Edward. "I'm going to go play more chess with Jasper. I have to go and find my purple skate shoes though. You guys seen them?"

"The purple and black ones?" Edward asked.

"Yes." I looked into his face...Alice. Alice did it. "What did she do to them?"

"I think someone may have sent them on a trip down the river."

"Alice!!" I was on my feet and hurtling down the stairs before Bella's laughs even cause the air to vibrate.