Disclaimer. All publicly recognizable characters, settings etc., are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. I only do this for fun. –B

Chapter 28
(Jasper's POV)

Something was wrong.
I could feel it in my gut.
Not only that, but the mating pull was beginning to burn in my chest. I looked over in Alice's direction as I got ready to question her only to find her in a vision. Her emotions were radiating panic and fear.

I waited impatiently for her to come out of her vision and moments later, she snapped out of it and immediately turned to me with wide eyes.

"They're gone."

"Gone? Where did they go? Why? What did you see?" I rushed out.

"The ballet studio." She whispered out as she covered her mouth with her hand.

I jumped up ready to follow the pull to this ballet studio but before I could make it three steps, Alice stood and grabbed my arm.

"No, Jasper…you can't go after them yet. We need to wait for Edward, Emmett and Carlisle to get here or the girls will be as good as dead." She stressed.

I took in a deep shaky breath and balled up my fists as I locked up my legs to keep me from running. I slowly began to nod my head.

"Good." Alice sighed and patted the arm that she was holding and dragged me to sit down. I leaned forward and put my head in my hands as I bounced my leg impatiently. The pain in my chest continued to increase the further away from me that she got.

I knew that Lilly could take care of herself and Bella, but Lilly hasn't perfected her gift yet, nor has she had nearly enough fight training to go against a seasoned vampire and win. Lilith is the only one that knows how to use every aspect of it and her fighting is good, but could be better. Not only that, but she doesn't know how to willingly let Lilith gain control without a serious trigger. This only worried me more.

God, please let them be alright…

(Bella's POV)

There was no time to look back at my house, and I didn't want to see it as it was now – empty, a symbol of fear instead of sanctuary. The last person to walk through those familiar rooms was my enemy. From the corner of my eye, I could see my mother standing in the shade of the big eucalyptus tree where I'd played as a child. Or kneeling by the little plot of dirt around the mailbox, the cemetery of all the flowers she'd tried to grow and failed. The memories were better than any reality I would see today. But Lilly and I raced away from them, toward the corner, leaving everything behind us.

I felt so slow, like I was running through wet sand – I couldn't seem to get enough purchase from the concrete. I tripped several times, once falling, Lilly catching me under my arm and steadying me on my feet before plunging forward again. I knew that Lil was straining to keep herself going at my pace rather than speeding down the empty street at vampire speed.

At last we made it to the corner. Just another street now; we ran, sweat pouring down my face, gasping while Lilly kept up her steady pace without a problem. It was twilight, Edward's favorite time of day, but even then it was still hot. I smiled to myself at the thought of him even though the guilt for leaving him was weighing heavily on my shoulders. More fiercely that I would have dreamed I was capable of, I wished for the green, protective forests of Forks…of home.

When we rounded the last corner, onto Cactus, I could see the studio, looking just as I remembered it. The parking lot in front was empty, the vertical blinds in all the windows drawn. I couldn't run anymore – I couldn't breathe; exertion and fear had gotten the best of me. I thought of my mother to keep my feet moving, one in front of the other.

As we got closer, I could see the sign inside the door. It was handwritten on hot pink paper; it said that the dance studio was closed for spring break. I paused with my hand on the handle and took a deep breath. I felt Lilly's slightly cooler hand on my shoulder. I always noticed that her skin temperature was cooler than mine, but warmer than the Cullen's. I looked up at her and saw her looking at me with a mix of concern and reassurance.

"Everything will be okay, Bella. I won't let anything happen to you or your mom. I promise." She murmured.

I gave her a weak smile and pulled her in for a hug. She obviously knew what I was trying to do, because there was no way that I would be able to make her move on my own.

She pulled back with a soft smile and nodded. "Let's go."

I touched the handle and tugged on it cautiously. It was unlocked. I fought to catch my breath, and opened the door.

(Lilly's POV)

The lobby was dark and empty, but no problem for my enhanced eye sight. It was cool and the air conditioner was thrumming. The plastic molded chairs were stacked along the walls, and the carpet smelled like shampoo. The dance floor on the west was dark and even though I could see through the viewing window in to the dark room, I knew that Bella couldn't. The dance floor to the east, the bigger room, was lit. But the blinds were closed on the window.

Bella gripped my hand as soon as she took in the light coming from the east dance room and she seized up by obvious terror. It seemed that she couldn't make her feet move forward.

And then her mother's voice called.

"Bella? Bella?" In a tone of hysterical panic.

She ripped her hand from mine and sprinted to the door to the sound of her voice. I followed a little ways behind her and looked around the room for James at the same time. I could smell him, but oddly enough, I couldn't smell the human scent of Bella's mother or hear another heart beat other than mine or Bella's.

"Bella, you scared me! Don't you ever do that to me again!" Her voice continued as we ran into the long high-ceilinged room.

Bella stared around herself, trying to find the where her mother's voice was coming from. We heard her laugh and whirled around to the sound.

"There!" I exclaimed and pointed to a dark wood armoire where her voice was coming from. We ran up to it and Bella ripped open the double doors, only to reveal a small TV screen with Bella and her mother as she tousled her hair in relief.

"It was Thanksgiving and I was twelve." Bella explained with her eyes transfixed on the screen. "We'd gone to see my grandmother in California, the last year before she died. We went to the beach one day, and I'd leaned too far over the edge of the pier." I watched it happen on the TV as she went on. "She'd seen my feet flailing, trying to reclaim my balance. She called out to me and brought back from over the edge just in time before I fell over."

And then the TV screen was blue and I could smell his scent stronger now.

We turned slowly. He was standing very still by the back exit. In his hand was a remote control. We all stared at each other for a long moment, and then he smiled.

He walked toward us, quite close, and then passed us to put the remote down next to the VCR. I turned carefully to watch him and Bella with most of my attention on James.

"Sorry about that, Isabella, but isn't it better that your mother didn't really have to be involved in all this?" His voice was courteous, kind.

And suddenly it seemed to hit both of us at the same time. I could tell by the reaction in Bella's eyes. Her mother was safe. She was still in Florida. She'd never gotten her message that she left for her the other day. She'd never been terrified by the dark red eyes in the terrifying man before us. She was safe.

"Yes," Bella answered, her voice saturated with relief.

"You don't sound angry that I tricked you in to meeting me; that I tricked you in to delivering yourself and Lillian."

"I'm not." She answered, lifting her chin in the air defiantly.

"Neither am I." I added. After all, what did it matter now? I would rather have everyone as far away from this mess as possible.

"How odd. You both really mean it." His dark eyes assessed her with hunger and then turned on to me with interest. The irises were nearly black, just a hint of ruby around the edges; thirsty and lustful. "I will give your strange coven this much, you humans can be quite interesting. I guess I can see the draw of observing you. It's amazing – some of you seem to have no sense of your own self-interest at all."

He was standing a few feet away from us, arms folded, looking at Bella curiously and then turning his attention back to me again.

"But you, my dear Lillian, you are truly unique." He smirked. "A vampire that is part human." He paused and looked me up and down. "And the power you radiate. I can almost taste it." His eyes flashed in an almost startling manner.

"What do you mean 'I radiate power?" I asked confused and tilting my head slightly to the side.

James chuckled and continued to slowly pace in front of us. "There are many forms of tracking. Most track a creature using their scent or disturbances in the land. Others have a gift." He paused taking our reactions in. "Demetri of the Volturi is one example of a gifted tracker. All he has to do is see you or smell you and then think of you to find out where you are anywhere in the world. Others have extra senses that allow the tracker to follow an almost visible trail based on the scent that they are tracking. Me, on the other hand…I may not be as gifted as Demetri when it comes to tracking…but I do have certain quirks that come with my gift."

"What quirks?" I pressed.

He leveled a gaze at me and gave me a sardonic smile. "I happen to track a subject it is all through scent. But if I happen to get a full look at my target, I acquire bits of knowledge about them that would help me track them through their scent that way. For example, when I target a vampire, I will pick up on their dietary habits, preferable climates, hunting ranges and so on. Humans are a little different. I will receive their address, favorite spots, favorite foods…"

Bella and I exchanged glances before looking back at James questioningly.

"How did I know what our beautiful Lillian is when I never have seen anything like her? Or that her diet is a mix of criminal humans and a mix of animals, but prefers carnivores? As for Isabella, it is odd for me and a first that I can't seem to get anything from her scent. So I had to do some research on her part and picked up a few useful tid-bits that helped Victoria and I track you. I knew that you both went to Forks High School and that is how I got your old address here in Phoenix, Isabella." He chuckled.

There was no menace in his face or stance. He was so very average-looking, nothing remarkable about his face or body at all. Just the white skin, the circled eyes I'd grown used to. He wore a pale blue, long-sleeved shirt and faded blue jeans.

"I suppose you're going to tell me that your boyfriend will avenge you?" he asked Bella, hopefully it seemed to me.

"No, I don't think so. At least, I asked him not to." She murmured as strong as she could, but I could still detect the fear in her voice.

His eyebrows shot up. "And what was his reply to that?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "I left him a letter."

"How romantic, a last letter. And do you think he will honor it?" His voice was just a little harder now, a hint of sarcasm marring his polite tone.

"I hope so."

"Hmmm. Well, our hopes differ then. You see, this was all just a little too easy, too quick. To be quite honest, I'm disappointed. I expected a much greater challenge with you." He sighed. "Well, at least I still have high hopes regarding your Major, Lillian." He eyed me out of the corner of his eye as he said my name. "Anyway, when Victoria couldn't get to your father, Bella, I had her find out more about you as to find out where you had disappeared to after that cleaver Houdini act with your scent. There was no sense in running all over the planet chasing you down when I could comfortably wait for you in a place of my choosing. So, after I talked to Victoria and put together what she told me with what I already knew about you, I decided to come here to Phoenix to pay your mother a visit. When I scoped out Lillian's house, imagine my surprise when I discovered that the two of you live across the street from each other. You were arguing with your father at that point and I'd heard you say you were going home. At first, I never dreamed you meant it. But then I wondered. Humans can be very predictable; they like to be somewhere familiar, somewhere safe. And wouldn't it be the perfect ploy, to go to the last place you should be when you're hiding – the place that you said you'd be, and to do it with Lillian no less!

"But of course, I wasn't sure, it was just a hunch. I usually get a feeling about the prey I'm hunting about their destination, a sixth sense, if you will. I listened to your message when I got to your mother's house, but of course I couldn't be sure where you'd called from. It was very useful to have your number, but you could have been in Antarctica for all I knew, and the game wouldn't work unless you were close by.

"Then your boyfriend got on a plane to Phoenix. Victoria was monitoring them for me, naturally; in a game with this many players, I couldn't be working alone. And so they told me what I'd hoped, that you were here after all. I was prepared; I'd already been through your charming home movies. And then it was simply a matter of the bluff.

"As for you Lillian, consider yourself lucky that your parents haven't been home and from the strength of the scents in your home, it is clear that they haven't been home in weeks.

"But even with that, it was very easy, you know, not really up to my standards. Everything that led me here, I got through research on Isabella. So, you see, I'm hoping you're wrong about your boyfriend, Edward, isn't it?"

She didn't answer and it was then that he turned his attention towards me.

"How about you, Lillian? Did you write a last letter to your Major? You won't have the chance to do that again, so I hope it gave him incentive to come after you. I always dreamed of challenging the great Major of the South to a fight to the death!"

"No, I didn't know until it was too late that I was going to be leaving with Bella." I answered and smiled at the brief look of disappointment that appeared on his face before it was gone.

"No matter," he sighed, "knowing what I do about him from others and what I picked up through his scent, I know that he is the type that will stop at nothing until he gets you back." He smirked. "But that's not going to happen. You are going to be mine."

"I will never be yours!" I growled. "I have a mate and I will never submit to you that way!"

"Don't you already have a mate in Victoria?" Bella pressed before he could respond to my objection.

"Very good young Swan." James praised her. "She is my mate, but I want more. I will still have Victoria, but I will have you, Lillian, as well."

"Why me?" I questioned.

"You will find out in good time, my dear." He said. "All in good time."

I could tell that the bravado was wearing off. I sensed that he was coming to the end of his gloat. It wasn't meant for us anyway.

"Would you mind, very much, if I left a little letter of my own for your Major and Edward?"

He took a step back and touched a palm-sized digital video camera balanced carefully on top of the stereo. A small red light indicated that it was already running. He adjusted it a few times, widening the frame. Bella stared at him in horror and me in alarm.

"I'm sorry, but I just don't think he'll be able to resist hunting me after he watches this. And I wouldn't want him or your Major to miss anything. It was all for them, of course. You, Isabella, are simply a weak human, who unfortunately was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and indisputably running with the wrong crowd, I might add. Though you are a fine prize, Lillian, and will serve me well with my purposes, but the Major had wronged me one too many times in the past and it would be my privilege to be the one to end his existence. What a way to get to him more than to have you submit to me on tape." He paused and zoomed the camera in for a close up on my face. "Do you know how I plan to do that?" I shook my head, even though I had a feeling that I knew. "I will first defile you and then give you a master's mark."

My eyes widened in horror at the thought of a master's mark. Jasper had told me all about them. He used to distribute them to some of the more disruptive newborns when he was with Maria. If you mark a vampire on the back of their neck on the spine and pump your venom in to them, they will have no choice but to submit to you. The more venom you inject, the stronger and longer the master's mark works. It will eventually wear off, but by then the vampire that marked you will have done it again.

He stepped toward Bella, smiling. "Before we begin…"

I felt a curl of nausea in the pit of my stomach as he spoke. None of this was anything that I had anticipated, but it was not the right time to use my gift on him.

"I would just like to rub it in, just a little bit. The answer was there all along, and I was so afraid Edward would see that and ruin my fun. It happened once, oh, ages ago. The one and only time my prey escaped me.

"You see, the vampire who was so stupidly fond of this little victim made the choice that your Edward was too weak to make.

"When the old one knew I was after his little friend, he stole her from the asylum where he worked – I will never understand the obsession some vampires seem to form with you humans – and as soon as he freed her he made her safe. She didn't even seem to notice the pain, poor little creature. She'd been stuck in that black hole of a cell for so long. A hundred years earlier and she would have been burned at the stake for her visions. In the nineteen-twenties it was the asylum and the shock treatments. When she opened her eyes, strong with her fresh youth, it was like she'd never seen the sun before. The old vampire made her a strong new vampire, and there was no reason for me to touch her then." He sighed. "I destroyed the old on in vengeance."

"Alice," I breathed, astonished and Bella gasped out loud and covered her mouth with her hand.

He nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, your little friend. I was surprised to see her in the clearing. So I guess her coven ought to derive some comfort from this experience. I get the both of you, and they get her. The one victim who escaped me, quite an honor, actually. And she did smell so delicious. I still regret that I never got to taste…She smelled even better than you do, Isabella. Sorry – I don't mean to be offensive. You have a very nice smell. Floral, somehow…"

He took another step toward Bella, till he was just inches away. He lifted a lock of her hair and sniffed at it delicately. Then he gently patted the strand back into place, and he put his fingertips against her throat. He reached up to stroke her cheek once quickly with his thumb, his face curious. It was clear that she wanted to run, but was frozen. She didn't even flinch.

"No," he murmured to himself as he dropped his hand, "I don't understand." He sighed. "Well, I suppose we should get on with it. And then I can call your friends and tell them where to find you, and my little message to the Major and young Edward."

This was it…it was now or never.

I pushed my gift to work and instructed him to back away from her, but to my shock and horror…it didn't work!

"Lilly…" Bella pleaded.

"I can't! It's not working!" I panicked. There was no way that I was strong enough to take him on my own.

He started to laugh a deep sadistic chuckle and shook his head.

"Do you think me a fool? I knew all about your special talent, Lillian! Call it another perk from my tracking gift. I can pick up on a person's gift and how it works!"

"B-but, how?" I stuttered.

"I think it is time I introduce you to someone…" He smirked as we heard footsteps approach the door the connected the studio that we were in with the dark studio next door.

A/N: Dun Dun Dunnn! Cliff Hanger! Who do you think it is and why isn't Lilly's gift working? What is going to happen next? Any guesses? Remember, it's not the same as the book!

If you have any questions or comments, post them in my reviews and I will answer them in my next Author's Note!

Check out my other stories!

'Attempting to Covet'
'Dhampir'
'Far Fetched Realities'
'Mirror Image'
'Other Worldly Beauty'
'Perplexing Revelations'
'Pretexting'
'The Heart's Desire' NEW!
'The Major'
'Twilight ReVAMPed'

If you enjoyed this story so far, check out some of my other stories on my FanFiction page! Also, I am still accepting Twilight stories that involve Jasper/any female leads or Bella/selected male leads if anyone is looking for a Beta Reader. I will make exceptions on the characters depending on the plot. I am also now accepting Phantom of the Opera FanFictions that include Erik! I will also be accepting Titanic FanFictions featuring Jack, and Law and Order SVU that feature Elliot. PM me for details!
- Bella'Xo
Xo BellaItalia oX