Chapter 7
Theories, Crests and Boundaries.
Edward took Bella home shortly after 'Shoe-gate'. She made me swear on the Lamborghini that I wouldn't kill Alice, who had been remarkably unrepentant through the whole debacle. She claimed she was doing me a favour. In her opinion, I was too good to be wearing skate shoes. I in turn promised her that if she ever threw out any of my clothes without asking again, I would take great pleasure in cutting one arm and one leg off of every item of clothing she owned. After much shouting, hissing and slight cursing on my part, the new 'Show me what you are throwing out' treaty was spawned, hugs were exchanged and laughs to be had by all.
After the almost cat-fight, we waited for Edward to get back. I somehow drifted towards the stunning grand piano that stood in the hallway, like a gift from the gods of music. I perched myself on the end of the bench, staring at the keys. I loved all kinds of music. My personal preference reflected my physically and mentally twenty year old self and focused around rock and heavy metal music, which explained my current obsession with guitars. When I had my more mature head on, I was able to appreciate the classics. I loved piano music. I found it soothing and uplifting and soul destroying at the same time. Any instrument that could garner that much emotion from it's audience was a work of art. And the piano in front of me was no exception.
My fingers softly brushed against the ivory keys as I thought about the music that I liked and that inspired me. As my finger pressed down gently on one of the ebony keys, a tune started to take shape in my head. A quietly, sombre melody formed and I let my hands drift along the keys, pressing the ones which matched the melody in my mind. As my hands weaved their way through the profusion of notes, I felt Esme come and stand just behind me. The music's tone shifted and started to travel upwards, having more positive feel. Her presence never slowed me or distracted me and for a whole ten minutes, she stood stock-still and listened. When the piece came to its natural, slightly optimistic conclusion, Esme sighed and placed a hand on my shoudler.
"That was wonderful, dear." she breathed "Does it have a name?"
"Thanks Esme. And no, It doesn't have a name. Just a story, I think."
"Which is?"
"I suppose it is about finding ones place in the world." I said quietly, closing the lid on the piano and turning to face her. She beamed at me.
"I'm glad you found your's with us." Her eyes glistened and her face was almost fierce with the depth of her sincerity.
"Finally!" Emmett jumped off the sofa. Trust the bear to ruin the 'Hallmark' moment. In his defence though, Esme and I were gushing. He had heard Edward's car hit the driveway. Two minutes later, one rather flustered and still strikingly handsome bronze-haired vampire came into the room and marched until he was six inches from my face. "Alright, spill it."
"Edward, can you please back up? I haven't been around anyone for decades and my personal space doesn't appreciate you being in it."
"Sorry." He said, just slightly too quickly to properly mean it. "What did you need to talk to Carlisle for?" Speak of the devil...
"Why don't we all sit at the table?" Carlisle suggested, appearing out of thin air. We all trooped into the Dining Room and dotted ourselves around the table.
"First off, I'm sorry if I alarmed anyone with my behaviour earlier tonight. I just wanted to make sure I got the facts straight in my head before I took them to anyone else." I said, staring at my hands, feeling seven pairs of vampire eyes glare at me. "I think we may have a problem. A big one."
"What do you mean?" Edward pressed, starting to lean towards me again.
"Have you been watching the news recently? Have you seen what has been happening in Seattle?"
"They have a killer on the loose."
"Well, yeah. Probably not a human one though." I quipped, waiting for the eruption of noise and shouting.
"What makes you say that?" Jasper asked, sliding into the room and sitting next to Alice.
"Apart from the fact that the killings are escalating and no evidence has been found and dental records were needed because the bodies have been mangled so bad not to mention the disappearances. Oh yeah, thats a human." I finished sarcasrtically.
"It's a rogue vampire then." Emmett said. "The volturi will deal with them."
"Therein lies the problem." I waited as the other vampires in the room unfroze as thy caught up to what I was saying. Emmett, on the other hand, still looked a little lost. "We don't want the Volturi to come here, Emmett. Think about Bella. They can't see her, not yet. "
"The best we can do is monitor the situation. If we need to hide Bella, then we will." Carlisle concluded.
"Gonna be honest with you, I will kill anyone or anything that comes near her with the intention of harming her. " I said softly and evenly. A couple of mouths fell open in shock, others smiled and one mashed down into a hard, giggle-surpressing line.
"That's slightly extreme there, Kali." Emmett said, forcing himself not to laugh.
"No, it's really not." I said flatly, before turning and heading for the door. "I'm going hunting, and I have a boundary line to find. Anyone who is going, shift yer arse."
"Kali. Hold on. Yes, Emmett, we will be leaving shortly." Edward answering his brothers unspoken question. He walked backwards towards Esme, smiling like a lunatic. Maybe my little outburst had tipped him right over the edge. "Alice, Calm down. God, you guys need to relax! Kali, before we go out, Esme would like to know how you feel about gifts."
"Huh?" I felt like a moron. I was gifted and so was he and two others here.
"Presents?" He clarified. Oh. Why would I need a gift? I got a new family two weeks ago. I had everything I could want.
"Um, honestly, I'm not sure. Haven't been given one in centuries. Although, I got a new family about a fortnight ago. Can't imagine what else I would need or want."
"If Esme were to give you something...If all of us gave you something,. Would you accept it?"
"Okay? It's not big is it? I have a feeling that I don't like big gifts." With that, Esme shot out of the room like a bullet. I turned to Edward and gave him my strongest 'What The Hell Did I Do?' look. He simply shook his head and looked to the door that Esme was coming back through now. She had reappeared at the door carrying a little velvet box. She shot a quick look at Edward, who nodded once, and then looked back to me. Smiling, she took a couple of steps towards where I was standing and held out her hand, palm on her palm, the green velvet box was offered out to me.
"Kali, I wanted to give you this sooner, but Edward told me to wait until the time was right." She said, that same fierce sincerity was in her eyes again. Not only was the look back, but the strange glistening was putting in another appearance. I swear if she could cry, she would be doing it right now.
"Kali, It's a 'welcome to the family' sorta thing. Just open it. I know you will love it. " Alice chirped. Reluctantly, I did what I was told. I tried to keep out of my mind that I was never one for jewelry but Edward's face twitched into a quick smile when he heard my thoughts.
"If you mention it, telepath, I will rip your ears off." I threatened silently.
The response I recieved was a quick roll of the eyes and another pointed nod towards the little velvet 'Elephant in the Room' box. I lifted it off of Esme's hand and felt suddenly like every pair of eyes on the entire planet was watching me. It was rather unnerving. I held my breath as I pinched the lid of the box gently with my fingers and lifted it. The hinges allowed the lid to swing back to reveal its contents. The breath I had been holding came out in one big whoosh. I was shocked into silence again.
Inside the little green box, nestled in pale yellow silk, was a necklace. It was stunning. Sterling silver chain who's simple links came to a point where a large oval pendant sat proudly. The design on the pendant was breathtaking. The shiny black onyx of the pendant swam around a sliver lion which stood on a clover covered banner. Above the lions head was a hand holding the number 'nine'. It looked like the lion was wearing a crown. I noted the design on the pendant and realised I had seen it before. Esme, Rosalie and Alice all had pendants like this. Emmett had a blet bucle with this on it. Jasper and Edward both had wrist cuffs with this design on the front and Carlisle had a small painting of it in his study.
"Kali, " Esme said quietly. "I know you haven't been here long, but I consider you to be part of this family and as such, I- We would be honoured if you would bear our crest." Now my eyes were stinging. They pricked at the corners, like the venom from my system was trying to escape through them. Still way beyond words, I stepped forward and pulled her into a crushing hug. My arms wrapped around her waist and squeezed harder than I probably should have, but wasn't reprimanded for it.
"Welcome to the family. " She whispered in my ear. Those simple words defrosted me.
"Kali Douglas Cullen." I said in a quiet voice before the sudden urge to laugh rocked through me. Snorts of laughter shook my whole body as I tried to compose myself. Esme took the pendant out of the box and placed it around my neck. She looked like she might explode with pride. It just caused me to laugh all the more.
"Alright, alright, ladies! Enough. I'm hungry, we have a boundary to show off and this is getting to be a whole load of greetings card, disney bullsh- ...OW!" Esme must have seen what was going to come out of his mouth, because she let go of me, and was next to him in less than a second and slapping up the back of his head. Hard. Her eyes flashed with anger.
"What was that for?" He complained, rubbing his head theatrically.
"I told you once already today, Emmett. Watch the language." She said coldly, giving him the unltimate in mommy death glares. I shuddered at how effective they were. Her facial expression was borderline violent. A soft and very subtle calm spread through the room as Jasper's tolerence for the atmosphere hit it's limit.
"Edward, let's get Emmett out of here before Esme dismantles him." I suggested, not taking my eyes off of Esme for a second. Her rage was glorious, if not terrifying. As I passed her, Alice handed me a small over-the-shoulder bag.
"You will need that." She said simply. I offered my thanks and grabbed Emmett by the elbow and hauled him outside with Edward.
"Come on Em, lets go find you a bear." I suggested. He nodded once, muttered a grudged 'sorry mom' and walked towards the river with Edward and I.
"You know Em, she is going to rip your tongue out one of these days." I told him, just as I was lnading on the other side of the Sol-Duc.
"How come you get away with it and I don't?"
"Because I am 'new' and I am British and we don't know better." I said, causing Edward to stumble on landing and laugh like a lunatic.
We only hunted for a couple of hours. Edward had to get back to Bella, so we only ran about half way up the mountain. We were not disappointed. One mountain lion for Edward, One for me and a rather irritable grizzly bear for Emmett. I almost lost it when he woke up the huge female bear from her sleep... by pulling her ears. Apparently, if they were angry, they were better sport. I watched intently as he wrestled with it before he sank his teeth into the hot, pulsing spot in her neck.
"Does he always play with his food?" I asked Edward, who was leaning against the tree closest to the boulder I was sitting on.
"Pretty much." Edwards replied flatly. He waited patiently for Emmett to finish, before tapping his brother gently on the shoulder.
"Time to go to the boundary now Emmett." He nodded and stood up out of his feeding crouch. Oh good God, the boy was a mess. Covered head to toe in dirt, fur and blood. I rolled my eyes, reaching for the bag that Alice had given me before I left. His shirt was left in rags after the attack on it from the bear. Inside was a fresh shirt, pair of combat trousers and a bottle of water. Thank you, pixie! I shoved the bag into his hand and spent the next five minutes, with Edward's help, trying to convince him to go into the woods a little to change. Emmett, was not shy, about anything. He finally gave in though, and we were moving back down the mountain and heading west to the treaty line.
We maintained a reasonable pace, with Edward and Emmett taking the lead. As we ran, hints of something foul-smelling polluted the air. It smelled like dog, but even more ran further until the god-awful smell had increased tenfold. It hurt my nose and I scrunched my face to protect it. I looked to Edward, whose face mirrored mines and Emmett looked like he had stopped breathing all together. We came to a graceful stop in the middle of the woods.
"Kali, about thirty yards that way, " He said, pointing west. " Is the Quileute treaty line. I need you to memorise that scent and never get any closer to it than you are right now." His tone was firm and entirely understandable. I nodded and sniffed through my nose reluctantly. My instant reaction was to hold my breath and run as far away from the smell as my very strong vampire legs could get me. "If you get any closer than this, you will be in danger and so will everyone else. The wolves will not hesitate to attack any of our kind caught on their land."
"It's okay Edward. Carlisle explained it to me. I just need to-" My thought processes were interrupted by the sound of animals approaching, in formation, from the west. I heard their large, bounding hearts thud from the exertion of running. The ground trembled beneath us as their paws struck the earth. I peered into the woods, scanning for the animals, waiting for them to pass. But it would have seemed they were running straight at us. The wind shifted and, Dear Lord! The smell! It felt like I had been punched in the face. The putrid, rank smell nearly knocked me clean over. My whole face hurt as the wind continued to beat the stench into our faces. I instinctively held my breath and fought the urge to run in the opposite direction. Three large sets of eyes became clear about fifty yards away. They moved slowly forward until the difused moonlight caught against them and threw them into relief. Oh crap. Wolves.
"Sam." Edward acknowledged the wolf in front as I felt myself pull closer to Emmett, who wrapped an arm around my shoulders. The Sam-wolf itself was huge. The other two weren't that far behind it. they radiated heat, hotter than normal wolves. As much as their insane body heat and the loud thump of their hearts should have had venom dripping down my chin by now, I was completely repulsed. My instincts screamed at me to either run like hell, or kill them all. I honestly didn't know which scenario I liked best.
I watched as the other two wolves, made their presence known. An enormous rust coloured wolf came to the leaders right hand side and a slightly smaller grey wolf to his left, teeth bared and a low continuous growl issuing from it's chest. I instantly hated its stinking guts. The leader was nothing short of monstrous. Huge, covered in thick black fur and exuding authority over the other two. He huffed once and retreated into the cover of the trees. The other two held their place as the air around us shimmered slightly. I was about to throw out a mental "What the fuck?" to Edward when my answer walked back into the little meeting area. A dark-haired, slightly over-muscled man in demin cut off shorts and nothing else walked in between the two wolves and stopped just ahead of them.
"You have no business being this close to the treaty line, Cullen." He said, trying to maintain the authority that his wolf-self possessed.
"Neither do you, Dog." Emmett retorted, using the last word like a curse. Sam's eyes scanned over Edward and Emmett and rested on me. I did not like him looking at me. I wanted to gouge his eyes out. My reaction brought me up short. Even as a savage, I wasn't this violent. I shook my head, trying to get control. I looked to Edward, who was filtering through the minds present. I thought and focused on his gifts, as my brain was immediately battered with noise.
"Stupid fucking leech!"
"Is that a new one?"
"Must be one like them. Gold eyes."
"Treaty broken?"
"No it isn't." I said, replying to the mental question. "The treaty is not broken. I am not 'new'."
"Sam, we don't want a fight. Kali, will be staying with us. She is our newest sister. She lives the same way we do and we are simply showing her the line, so she knows not to cross it." Edward reasoned, trying to calm people down.
"She understands the restrictions?" Sam asked him, still not addressing me. God, these wolves needed a lesson in manners.
"I am right here." I said, anger building in me again. "If you have a question, ask me, not them. Yes, I understand the restrictions. Yes, I know where the boundary is now. No, I won't cross it and no, I won't kill humans. Is there anything else?"
"Why is sam letting that bloodsucker talk to him like that?"
"We should just kill it."
A small hiss escaped from between my teeth at their new internal musings. Edward stiffened by my side. When he spoke, his voice displayed just how precarious his restraint was getting. his anger wouldn't hide itself for long.
"Are you so ready to break the treaty, pup?" Edward was losing control of himself.
"Edward, we should head back." Emmett said. "It's after twelve and Bella will be waiting for you." I never would have pegged him as a peace-keeper. I allowed it, because as much as I wanted to rip these disgusting things limb from limb, I needed to get this under control and get out safely. My train of thought was derailed when I saw one of the wolves reactions to the word 'Bella'. The pain and anguish that twisted on it's face was clear, despite the fact that it was a dog. The russet coloured wolf was tormented by the mere mention of my new sister. I couldn't focus on him long enough to find out why. The leader, Sam, was walking steadily towards the trees again. The air shimmered once more and the two other wolves bolted from the little meeting area. A ear-splitting howl broke the quiet night air before cutting off abruptly and everything was still again.
"The shapeshifters?" I asked, not really bothered about who answered.
"Yep." Emmett replied "Can we go now?"
"Yeah, let's go home." Edward said. I didn't have to be in his mind to know he wasn't coming home tonight.
"Emmett, you were right about one thing, by the way."
"And that was?"
"The wolves to fucking stink." I quoted his earlier outburst, causing laughter to bubble through each of us before he took off for home, running full tilt.