Chapter Five

The scent of scorched venom wafted through the air as Collin and I followed Una to the street. It was an interesting smell, possessing both sweet and savory elements, which in turn made my mouth water. I stretched my limited memory, trying to find a tangible human food to comparable to the luxurious aroma filling my nose, but the only likeness I could derive was s'mores, and I knew that wasn't even close.

Tobin and Rix were squaring off with a pack of leeches in the middle of the street. The blood suckers' clothes were smoldering, revealing the burnt flesh beneath, and the venom pouring through their singed wounds electrified the air and sent a figurative shiver down my spine. In the past month, I had learned that fire stopped a leech's healing process. The only way to kickstart it would be to tear off the burnt skin. Until this occurred, the wound would continue to leak venom. Although I had sated my thirst ten times over, I hungered for their icy reservoir, which was pooling at their feet with each passing second.

The leeches advanced on Tobin and Rix, and without hesitation, Collin, Una, and I fell on them. For the sake of honesty, Tobin and Rix did not need our help. Both were skilled warriors and capable of defending themselves. Defending one another was second nature to us, though. Also, I was still on a high from my intimate moment with Collin, and my body refused to stand still. I wanted more; I needed more. It took only a minute or two for the last of the leeches to be caught and dispensed, and when the final dead head was burnt, we howled into the night sky, which was made red by the burning flames.

"Where is Shiloh?" Collin asked, his gaze panning around for our leader, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Rix angled his head to the building. "There was a burrow beneath the building. She and Dex went in to clear it out."

"Should we join them?" Una asked.

The group began to buzz with questions regarding our next move. Tobin insisted that we clear the area, since the blaze would be seen for miles and was certain to draw attention. The last thing we needed, after all, was a horde of leeches to find us there. Shiloh had wanted no witnesses, so there would be no witnesses. However, the rest of the group wanted to follow Shiloh and Dex, just to ensure they did not need assistance. I listened to the others debate, not sure whether to voice my opinion or not, and tried not to reach out to Collin, who stood beside me.

The winds shifted, putting us downwind of the city. Among the copious amount of human and city odors, there was one smell that was stronger than the rest, which meant it was closer. It was vampiric but different, earthier. There was almost a gamey quality to the scent, which was different than the metallic sweetness of the everyday leech. There was something remotely familiar about it, though, which set me on edge.

"Bella?"

I had just inhaled when the soft voice called to me from the darkness, and I turned to find a lone leech standing about 30 feet away. His golden irises pierced through me, and I felt myself take a step back. At the same time, I noticed the deliberations between the others had ceased, and a quick glance behind me confirmed they had heard his voice, too.

"Bella? Love?" The leech took another step forward but stopped when Tobin and Rix moved in front of me, obscuring him from my view. When I peered around Tobin's head to see him, the look on his face confused me. He looked desperate. "Please, Bella, speak to me."

Collin moved behind me, whispering, "Do you know him" into my ear. A sudden growl emanated from the leech's direction, and my two brothers arched their backs in response. As I turned back, the vampire's look of desperation had been replaced by something resembling anger, which was strange. I shook my head to Collin's question. I had never seen him before…had I? There was a tugging in the back of my mind, almost like mild déjà vu. I tried to push it away, wanting to deal with it later, but it clung to me.

Tobin, remembering that we had the upper hand, chuckled and stepped forward. "Well, it looks like we missed one."

The anger vanished from the vampire's face, and his posture melted, suggesting subservience. He held out his hands and said, "Please, I am not your enemy."

As soon as the words had left his lips, my brothers and sister laughed, and, to be honest, I chuckled a bit, as well. Our response clearly disturbed him, as I noticed him glance nervously to the darkness behind him. What was he looking at? He moved to speak, but Tobin cut him off.

"Are you a vampire?" My brother asked, taking a few steps closer.

"I am."

"Then you are our adversary," Rix said, sidling up to Tobin. There was a brief pause before he added, "That is an interesting eye color."

The vampire nodded. "I feed on animals. It makes my eyes yellow."

"How fascinating," Tobin commented, taking a step to his left.

"Very much so," Rix agreed, taking a step in the opposite direction.

True to their predatorial nature, Rix and Tobin began to circle their prey, looking for an opening. A part of me wanted to stop them and question the bloodsucker, but a part of me just wanted it to end. It was strange since I had fought to retain my past since waking a couple months after my change and discovering my memories were fading quickly. My intuition told me that this leech knew something about me, had some connection to my past. My desire to know more screamed at me, but my love for my present and future trumpeted over the wails of my past.

I turned from him, my eyes focusing on Collin, who stared down at me with a mixture of adoration and concern. Warmth blossomed from my chest and embraced every part of me. I wanted this feeling to stay. Nothing this leech could offer me would ever be like this—it would never be enough. For the first time since my change, I felt my soul stretch out and connect to those that I had come to love. Una, Tobin, Riklin, Collin, Declan, and, of course, Shiloh. They were all I ever wanted, all I ever needed.

"Bella?" Collin asked, smirking. He nodded to the scene behind me. "What should we do?"

I shook my head and glanced back to the yellow-eyed leech. His yearning expression did not move me. "It doesn't matter to me. Kill him and be done with it. I want to go home."

Tobin swept forward and gripped the leech around the neck, forcing the leech on his knees, chortling as the leech called out my name. Something stirred within me as Tobin strategically placed his hands on the leech's neck, ready to rip his head from his shoulders. It was small, a flicker, a spark, but it was there none the less. Was it a memory, or the last remnants of a humanity best forgotten?

As Tobin leaned in, and I began to question my resolve, a loud snarl pierced through the night. My brother straightened up as another vampire appeared in the distance. This one was tall like the other but blond, and he walked with a confidence that the previous had not.

"More yellow eyes," Tobin said, and with that, he walked toward the uninvited guest, dragging the leech behind him. "Any more leeches hiding out there?"

Almost on cue, five more leeches appeared before us. Three of them I recognized from the blood den—the short one, the large one, and the younger looking blond male—but the other two were new. There was a blonde female whose sharp eyes darted from face to face before resting on mine with a look of pure contempt, and another female who smiled almost lovingly at me. I shook my head. That was impossible; leeches were incapable of love. That was one truth I had retained from my human memories.

"Buail mo mhac!" (Drop my son) The blond leech closest to Tobin demanded, his eyes flashing angrily as Tobin's grip tightened. "Ba mhaith liom labhairt le do ceannaire!" (I wish to speak to your leader)

Tobin sneered in response. "Cén fáth?" (Why?)

The blond leech glowered. "Ní hábhar imní ort." (That is not your concern)

"It is my concern!" Tobin snarled, his grip tightening even more on the leech's throat.

Without hesitation, he lifted the vampire to his lips, aching to rip his head from his shoulders. What was one more headless leech? One more body for the smoldering pyre?

Before Tobin could finish what he had started, the blond leech swept forward and planted a foot on his chest, sending him spiraling back toward us. Rix reached out to him, but the bloodsucker easily fought him back, tossing him like a ragdoll. I felt my breath figuratively hitch as I watched my brothers sail through the air, and as soon as they recovered, I felt angry. The blond leech, meanwhile, had reached down and grabbed the youthful, copper-headed vampire around the collar. He threw him back to the rest of the yellow-eyed coven, warning them not to intercede.

The blond leech started forward, and Tobin was already there to meet him. Leeches fought in a specific manner, which made their movements easy to predict. This leech, however, was different. He anticipated every attack and defense, and even though Collin and Rix joined in, he was able to defend himself from their onslaught. It was shocking. It was almost as though he knew how we fought, understood how we moved. Even when Una and I jumped in to assist, he kept us at bay. He never lost focus.

"Enough!"

Dex's voice cut through the night air, and our fight ceased immediately. We separated as he landed between our two groups, possibly having been observing us from above. It would not have been the first time. He kept his back to our prey, which was strange for him. One of our cardinal rules dictated that we never turn our backs on leeches; you never knew what they would do.

"Ba mhaith liom babhtáil a dhéanamh do shaol mo theaghlach," the blond leech stated. (I wish to barter for my family's life.)

"Níl aon cheart agat ag teacht ar ai," (You have no right coming back) Dex said. The words slipping through his lips were laced with malice. Before the leech could respond, Dex turned to face him. "Tá do chuid éilimh folamh, Brother Cullen." (Your demands are empty, Brother Cullen.)

My knowledge of the ancient language was still developing, but I could tell by the way Dex spoke that there was a familiarity between him and the leech. This was confirmed when the leech exhaled in a strange, choking sound, something akin to a sob, although leeches could not cry.

"Declan?" The leech managed to call the name of our brother. The creature smiled at him, which confused me. "Mo dheartháir, saol fada leat."

Dex growled. "You are no brother of mine."

"You are right," the blond vampire said, nodding. "Forgive me."

"Never," Dex all but spat at him. "Cén fáth a bhfuil tú anseo? Cén fáth a leanann tú ar an saol seo a ionfhabhtú?" (Why are you here? Why do you continue to infect this life?)

"We came here looking for Bella," the leech said, his eyes cutting to me, and Collin's snaked protectively around my waist. "She's in danger… or, we thought she was. I see that is no longer the case." He nodded to me before continuing. "I must say, I never expected you to become a ceannaire, Declan. It suits you."

A bit of movement caught my attention, and I watched as Shiloh slipped from the top of a nearby building and stood behind the group of leeches. She moved so effortlessly, so silently, that the leeches were unaware of her arrival. There was something different about her, though. From where I stood, almost thirty feet away, I could see it. The way she moved, her expression, everything was different. Why was that?

She moved behind the leeches, each of them unaware of her presence.

"Tá tú dall anois mar a bhí tú ansin, Carlisle," Dex said. (You are as blind now as you were then)

Carlisle, as Dex had referred to him, frowned in confusion, and after a few moments of silent deliberation, he said, "You… aren't a ceannaire?"

"He learns fast," Rix said, mocking the leech, Carlisle.

Carlisle frowned, a strange expression washing over his face. "If you are not the ceannaire… who is?"

Dex bent at the waist, silently saluting our ceannaire, and as he did so, the winds shifted and blew Shiloh's scent to us. This was when the strangeness intensified.

(3rd person perspective)

Carlisle stood before the pack of hunters, anxiously trying to read their movements and expressions. If he said the wrong thing or made the wrong move, they would be dead. His only hope was that he could appeal to their leader with his knowledge of their culture and history. Even then, he was not sure it would work. He was riding on the hope that, whoever their leader was, they were unaware of who he was or what his role was in their history.

Declan's presence complicated that hope. Still, he was happy to see a familiar face in this dark place. The malevolent acts he had witnessed in the vampire's blood den was enough to send him into hiding for the next two decades. It was those atrocities that had sent him to the newly discovered Americas anyway. Well… those atrocities, as well as the death of his only love. The memory of her, bleeding and lifeless, haunted his every moment. For almost 100 years, he had kept his memories of her from Edward. His son's talent left little room for privacy, and yet, Carlisle had done it. Esme knew about the wildling from the green countryside—the black-haired beauty who owned Carlisle's heart, even after her death. She sympathized with him and offered what comfort she could, but it was hollow frivolities to the blond vampire. He was a hollow shell since that night, the last night he had seen her.

As Dex bowed to the darkness, the winds shifted and blew every scent from the south to the north. There was the familiar odor of humanity that permeated every corner of the earth, as well as the subtle scent of the earth and all its wonders. There was one, though, that washed over Carlisle, one that overtook him and forced him to his knees.

It was the memories of the past.

It was the burn of the fire that had consumed everything he had loved.

It was the emptiness of his years since then.

It was her.

**** Author's Note:

This chapter was shorter than I had previously intended, but I think it hits all the points I wanted to hit. I'm hoping the next chapter won't take as long. I still don't know if I'm going to make the multiple POVs a thing in this story. I'm kinda meh about it, but at the same time, it does provide an easy answer to the problem of sharing the Cullens' POVs. Eh. We'll see.

I'm excited. I start my "Big Girl Job" on 2/12! Wheeee. I'll try to get some headway made in this story before then. BTW. If you haven't already, pick up a copy of Naomi Alderman's The Power. It's a great book!

As always… Questions? Comments? Concerns? You know what to do!

Also, the Walkers language is NOT intended to be modern gaelic or irish.