Previously on Under a Killing Moon...
After putting together a battle plan, Bella heads to the res to enlist the aid of the wolfpack in dealing with the nomads and Volturi. Bella loses her cool with a dominerring Jacob, and realizes her shielding ability has a physical manifestation. Jacob agrees to send some of the pack to fight after some minor manipulation.
Back at the Cullen Manor, Renee's thoughts irritate Edward almost into a homicidal rage. Bella has another sheildsplosion as her and Renee fight over the future. Now that Bella is a mature adult *cough* Keeper, it seems her involuntary sheild is fading and Edward is able to get a glimpse into her mind when she was most vulnerable. Discerning that they love each other in the face of impending doom, they kiss.
Alice and the gang make a plan to ambush the nomads at Prom. Bella is forced to dress up. They spot the nomads in the gym, but the fighting waits since the pack decides to crash prom. Leading the vampires away from the gym full of humans, one nomad follows Edward and Bella. She uses her Keeper training to get rid of the vampire on their trail.
Chapter 15
BPOV
We turned off some road out in the middle of absolutely nowhere. I wondered, briefly, if vampires had some kind of weird GPS navigation system along with all their other superhuman abilities. He threw the Volvo into overdrive as we took a few wicked turns. My head smacked against the passenger window as I adjusted myself in the seat.
"Are you okay?" Edward asked, almost too quietly for me to hear.
"Wonderful. Do you know where we're going?" He took another sharp turn and we whipped past forest at a sickening rate. I had to look away before I threw up all over his custom floormats.
"Alice's visions took place out here, she thinks. But, I assumed they would follow me as long as you were in the same car." His hands tightened around the steering wheel and the car jerked slightly as he gave it more gas.
"Are you okay?" Clearly he was bothered about something. Maybe it was all the vampire sized dents that were going to be all over the exterior of his car. "I'm sure you can pound it out all the body damage, no need to brood."
"I'm not worried about the car, Bella, it can be replaced. You, on the other hand, are not so replaceable." The car spun out around a curve and my stomach lurched. My hands gripped the seat as I slid slightly to the right.
"I can take care of myself," I replied quietly.
He loosed my grip on the seat and linked his fingers with mine, I felt dizzy. Something wasn't right. The unmistakable shred of Hendrix's guitar faded into my consciousness and I wondered how long Edward had been listening to it. While the adrenaline worked its way out of my system, I became more aware that something was wrong. Jimi's licks only made me feel more uneasy.
Edward released my hand and skidded down a side road. My stomach clenched as I flung my hand out to brace myself against the window and the driver's seat.
"Something's wrong," I practically yelled.
"What is it?" He asked without taking his eyes off the road.
"Stop the car," I replied, shifting forward and bracing myself on the dash.
"What is it?" He asked again, as the car halted.
"Listen," I whispered.
We sat in the car for a few minutes. I reached for the door handle but he grabbed my arm.
"I don't hear anything," he replied.
"Exactly. Where are the murderous vampire thoughts? Why can't we hear the pitter-patter of wolf paws closing in on us? Something is wrong." I shook myself from Edward and threw open the door. The clouds wrapped around the moon and it was almost too dark to see anything. The only noise was Edward pretending to breathe beside me. He tried to call Alice, but I doubted she'd answer.
"Do you know where they are? Where we should be?" He asked as he flipped his phone shut.
"I think so, but you need to let me drive. It's an instinct thing." He shrugged and opened the driver side door for me.
I turned the Volvo around and felt Edward tense next to me. My mind tried to focus on the nightmares of James. Clear pictures of trees started form and I stepped on the gas harder, driving toward the destination in my thoughts. The general electricity between Edward and me, paired with his obvious unease with the way I was handling his soccer mom car, kept distracting me. The gleam on James's teeth would come into view while the image around him would start to build, and Edward would shift and I would lose the whole thing.
Rain started to fall as I backtracked through the maze Edward had travelled. I hoped Alice had as much fight in her as she had fashion sense. I may have hated those shape-shifting assholes, but I certainly didn't want to be responsible for the death of their Alpha. My hand reached out to the gearshift and Edward's fingers found mine. For a moment, my mind wandered to the Volturi. What would happen if we couldn't quash the nomad threat?
Whatever the outcome, it would be my fault.
"She's right. That crazy woman is right," my words felt flat.
"Who's right?" Edward asked.
"Renee. I know, I know. It's crazy but it is true. You've been a real distraction for me since the day the first day I saw you charging into the lunchroom looking all ethereal and vampiresque. I cried in the fucking arms of a vampire, for Christ sake." I took a sharp turn and skidded out onto the highway.
"Those nomads have been circling me for months, and I've been so busy trying to figure you out that I didn't even notice. And where the hell are we, anyway? If it weren't for your dazzling skills, I would have noticed we were going the wrong way to begin with!" I yanked my hand out of his grip and slammed them both down on the steering wheel. "She was right, Edward. My mother was right. Mark it on the fucking calendar."
"Are you done?" His voice was strained.
"Yes, I believe I am," I sighed. Again with the emotional breakdowns, and I'm 0 for 2. I was really hoping it was the mutation making me go through some kind of second puberty, or that Edward's pretty face had my hormones kicking it into warp speed.
"If you really feel that way, I can leave." He whispered.
"I don't know how I feel. Well, I think I do. But what if this is all some sick kind of test? It's normal, you know? Before you join ranks you have to complete a mission. What if you're really my mission? Oh, wouldn't that be rich. Renee would be doing the "I-Told-You-So" Dance all the way back to Volterra."
"My feelings for you are not some kind of test, Bella." The irritation was coming out loud and clear.
"Maybe I should just go out there, burn those fucking vampires alive and head back with Aro. After all, isn't that what I'm supposed to do? It would sure as hell keep the rest of you out of trouble. I'm all about living on the edge, but I'm not going to let the Volturi slaughter your whole coven and wipe out an entire tribe of shape shifters just because you're a total V.I.L.F."
"I'm not sure I know what that means, V.I.L.F. But, if you want to go spend the rest of your immortality enforcing vampire law with Aro and his league of extraordinary monsters, be my guest. I know how I feel about you." He was gritting his teeth and his knuckles were turning white. The center console cracked under his grip and it looked like he was about to take the door off with him.
"Well, I have been training to do this," I was throwing hand gestures all over the place, "for ten years, and ever since I met you I keep fucking it up!" I yelled.
And he was gone. Right out the fucking door. Like a real man, avoiding confrontation.
I tried to hold my rage in, remembering the last two times I let my temper get the best of me and not wanting to blow up the Volvo. He'd probably forgive me for being such a bitch. I didn't think he'd get over me blowing up his car.
Warm tears started to run down my face, which was perfect. Emotional breakdowns have a 3 point lead! To add insult to injury, I was snotting all over my Cure t-shirt. Robert Smith would not be happy. But, although Edward's absence had already began to make me feel empty, I could finally think straight.
The gentle rain had turned into a downpour by the time I finally turned off the highway and headed into the woods. The roads became narrower the further off the beaten trail I traveled. At one point, there was barely enough room for me to pass over a small bridge. I felt close to where I should be, and stopped the car. Unfortunately, the silver bullet was not made for all-terrain. I wrapped my hair up tight before getting out of the car, because nothing is a bigger pain in the ass than your hair getting in the way when you're trying to aim at an enemy. Except when your hair is all wet and sticking to your face. No thanks, I'll spend the thirty-seconds securing the coif.
I rummaged through my bag of weapons quickly, trying to decide what would be useful. Not a lot of man-made crap can kill a vampire on its own. Silver is a joke. Crosses are like teddy bears. Sacred and hallowed ground? Forget about it. The only way to kill a vampire is to rip one apart and burn that motherfucker to the ground. Of course, you can bury the body parts around the world, it won't kill them, but it sure does piss them off. You can also set them on fire without the dismemberment, but that's hit or miss. Sometimes you can get them, sometimes the put themselves out. But, diamond tipped knives have a way of penetrating their crazy vamp skin. An over load of venom can knock one out for a while. But, the most effective way to kill a vampire will always be dismemberment and cremation.
The problem was that even at full strength, a Keeper isn't strong enough to do it without help. I wasn't sure what state I would find the rest of the Cullens in when I reached the clearing.
I pulled out all the crazy weapons I had. Anything those Van Helsing wannabes created, I concealed on my person. I had a cross bow tucked into the back of my pants, a pair of diamond tipped butterfly knives shoved into my boots and a vial full of venom stashed in an inside pocket of my jacket.
The rain was hitting my face like pin-pricks when I finally exited the vehicle. Lightning and thunder crashed around me, and I felt the ground shake beneath me. I pulled my hood up around my face and started to run, hoping that the heavy scent of rain would mask the fear and adrenaline coursing through me. After about 20 minutes and total body numbness thanks to the freezing rain, I thought my instincts forsook me.
Then I saw the carnage. Native American boys, probably younger than me, were scattered across the trail I was following. There were at least five of them, all dead. Many ripped apart in the process, a few just happened to land in the wrong place. I searched for Jacob, and was relieved when I didn't see him. The tribe and the rest of the pack weren't going to take this kind of loss lightly. My future, if I made it out of here alive, was beginning to look dim. No Edward and the entire pack after me, sounds awesome.
"We were ambushed," Jasper whispered from behind me, throwing out calm vibes.
"How the hell did they get through all these shape shifters?" I replied, without pulling my eyes away from the gore.
"No idea, it happened fast as all get out. One minute, we're right behind you. Then, we're in the middle of a mess of Indian kids." Jasper's eyes were darting around in the darkness behind me. A flash of lightening lit up the forest around us.
"Where's Alice?"
"She went off after the female. These vamps are crazy, Bella. Where's Edward?"
Panic was starting to roll off Jasper in his usual empath style. I knew if I answered with the honest, "I have no fucking idea where Edward went," he'd only stay by my side instead of going after Alice.
"He'll be along shortly," I lied. "Find Alice."
I leaned down to close the eyes of the kid closest to me, Jasper wooshed past me. Thunder rolled and the rain began to fall heavy. My jacket was soaked and weighing me down. I shoved the bottle of venom into my jeans pocket and discarded the jacket. Another strike of lightening illuminated the glistening bodies around me, I had to close my eyes and take a deep breath.
Then the trouble started.
I felt his presence within me before I heard his sick chuckle. He was behind me, then circling me while staying out of my line of sight. The rain was making it difficult for me to see. I started backing up, taking a defensive stance and waiting for James to show himself. The wait wasn't long. Before I had time to process, James was standing right in front of me.
"It's about time you join the party, Isabella." He smirked, before taking several steps back.
"If I don't kill you, the Volturi are going to. So, let's not draw this out."
He laughed, his face was twisted with some otherworldly darkness. Two strikes of lightening hit around us. One clipped the branch of a tree a few feet behind me. I could feel it fall, making me vibrate.
"How do you plan on beating me by yourself? Surely you're not strong enough. Do you really think that crossbow tucked under your shirt is going to do the job?" He sneered while he began to circle me, slowly appraising me. His hand reached out and he stroked my cheek.
"Enough," I snapped, shoving his hand away from me.
"You belong to me." He moved to push me down, but I stopped his advance.
"I belong to no one. Don't you forget it." I tried to channel all the anger I ever remembered having and imagined throwing it at James. My body began to vibrate again, everything started to turn bright white and my muscles began to ache. I thought about Renee's deal with Aro. I thought about whatever happened in the car with Edward. But, the last thing I focused on was James and how he invaded my dreams and came after me like I was some possession.
There was a flash. Everything was silent. For a moment, I thought I died. I channeled all my rage, and it killed me. Which would not surprise me at this point, considering all my other so-called great ideas had fizzled out in a blaze of 'what-the-fuck'.
"Bella! Bella! Are you alright?"
The words echoed around me and bounced between my eardrums. He sounded so far away. I started to come to my senses, literally, after what seemed like time enough for James to kill me. My vision cleared first, and I could see Edward and James snapping at each other. There was a trench in the ground from where I pushed James. I would have been a lot more smug about it, had James not been gaining the upper hand.
My hearing came back to me next, but all I could hear over the thunder was the low growling coming from the vampires. A few trees crashed down in the distance, which I guessed was Alice or Jasper. Lightening was illuminating the clearing, but it was too wet to ignite anything.
My muscles finally began to move and I ran to Edward as fast as my shaking body would carry me. I didn't know if I was freezing cold or seizing, but I was vibrating. There was more growling and a lot of grappling, and I wasn't sure I would be strong enough to fight. I could almost touch Edward when the fighting stopped. There was a split second when James looked at me and then he was gone.
Then I was hurtling backwards at a speed that made me want to vomit. My back stopped against a tree trunk and I could hear a crack. I took a few deep breaths to check for broken ribs, it was excruciating. I could barely see Edward, but he paid attention to me for a minute too long. James lunged back at him, and he was knocked into the trench. I couldn't see them , the rut was too deep. My head slid back against the tree and I thought I was going to pass out from the pain burning in my veins. The taste of rust and salt filled my mouth and I shallowed my breathing, hoping to take the edge off.
There were loud thuds, low growls and a blend of hissing and yelping coming from the trench. My wet clothes weighed me down, but I tried to push up against the tree to help myself up. Growling started to surround me and I wondered if the other nomad took down Jasper and Alice. I took a deep breath and pushed until I was standing upright. I spit a mouthful of blood out and checked for missing teeth. With my back straightened, the pain increased for a moment. I gritted my teeth and took a step away from the tree.
A loud growl came from behind me, and a giant wolf stood between me and the trench. It was Jacob Black. He barred his teeth to me and I stepped back. The hair on his wolf body stood straight and he snarled a little bit before he jumped into the fight, landing right on James's back. He distracted him long enough for Edward to recover from the ambush. His strong vampire fist met with James's vampire nose, the fist one the confrontation and his nose broke. I heard the crunch over the rain and wondered how long it would take for his nose to heal, or my ribs, for that matter.
"We're going to need a dry place to light a fire," a voice called behind me.
Renee was wearing a black rain jacket and hauling a barrel covered in a tarp. The lightening hit a few trees over from where we were. Sparks flew as it struck a branch, but was quickly drowned by the torrential downpour.
"Are you kidding me? There's not a dry place in the entire state of Washington right now," I yelled back.
She shook her head at me, and continued to drag the barrel. I tried to grab the other end, but it fucking hurt. Wolf claws came into view and I took a precautionary step backwards, behind Renee. I wondered how long Edward would last down there, and hoped Jacob wasn't going to try to take him out too. A few more wolves came running from the other end of the forest and jumped into the pit. Edward quickly jumped out and looked at me and Renee.
"We have to head into the forest where there's more cover. Start a fire in a dead tree. Otherwise, there's just going to be a lot of fighting and dismemberment, and then they'll just pull themselves together. Come on, suck it up and get it into gear." She pulled the bottom of my t-shirt forward with her.
Edward ran off to find Alice and Jasper, I figured. The wolves growled and chomped on James, but he only laughed and flung them off. They'd growl and bite again. Repeat. I stopped fighting my mom and followed her a few yards into the trees. It wasn't dry, but it wasn't getting rained on nearly as hard as the clearing. I helped her roll the tarp out across a small gather of trees, securing it as well as I could. My head was starting to spin and I was still spitting out blood. Maybe it's a brain injury, which would explain why you're doing ANYTHING with your MOTHER.
She had a fire going in minutes. Alice and Jasper showed up seconds later with the female vampire. Renee and the vamp shared a dubious look, then she was ripped apart by Alice, with Jasper snapping her head off and popping it into the fire first.
"She almost killed Alice, that bitch." He shrugged.
"The fire won't last long," Alice noted, and then ran off.
With another lightening flash, I noticed Edward's coppery flash was already back to attacking James. How fucking long does it take a vampire and three wolves to kill a guy, seriously?
As soon as Jasper and Alice caught up with the fight, it was over. With a Cullen on each side, one of the wolves sliced James clean through the middle. It would have been disturbing to watch if it wasn't so satisfying.
He was already pulling himself back together when they made it back to the fire. Edward jumped up behind him but Renee stopped him.
"May we?" She asked. He obliged and James choked out a laugh.
Alice and Jasper bent him down so we could reach him. Renee stood on one side, I took the other. With our combined strength, and some help from Alice, I felt all the bones in his spine and neck snap. I pulled backwards and nearly fell with his head in my lap. Edward steadied me and I tossed his head into the flames. Alice and Jasper took care of the rest of the body. Jacob had disappeared, with one of the wolves. The other lay dying inside the trench.
"He's going to drown down there," I yelled.
"He'll die either way," Edward replied, laying his hand on my shoulder.
I insisted we pull him out, and jumped into the trench in a tantrum. Edward pulled the young wolf, who was starting to turn back into a young boy, out. Alice helped me out and we headed back to the tarp. The water was already starting to weigh it down, and it would soon collapse.
"They're here, now," Alice whispered. Jasper and Edward both turned around, dropping the dying pack member.
"I'm going to ask you to do something," Renee yelled, pulling the boy up and dragging him back to the fire.
"And you should do it," Alice began, "because I think it will work."
Edward looked pissed, but there was a good chance it had more to do with what happened between us than what my mom was about to propose.
"Esme and Carlisle are only going to be able to get us two more minutes," Alice said, nodding toward Aro and Marcus as they were joined by Esme and Carlisle.
"Sweetie." Renee moved in front of me, grabbed my shoulders and looked me in the eye. Just like she did on my first day of kindergarten. "When the Volturi get here, I am going to need you to focus all the energy you have into blowing this area up."
"Okay," I replied, shaking at the thought of what it would do to me. She embraced me tightly and I sucked in a deep, painful breath.
"Here's the catch," Alice huffed, pulling Renee out of my face. Renee opened her jacket, and she was lined with something that looked like dynamite. "It's cocktail. C-4, ammonium nitrate, some nitroglycerine and some light steel for shrapnel."
"It'll take out the whole forest," I whispered, tears welling up and burning my cold face as they fell.
"Honey, it's the only way," she assured.
"Can't they hear us," I replied, looking back at Aro. The rest of the Volturi joined them, and they began walking toward us. Carlisle and Esme went the opposite direction. Fear caught in my throat.
"Bella, I need you to do this."
Alice grabbed my hand and squeezed softly. Edward snaked his arm around my waist and kissed my temple. I spit out another mouthful of blood and wiped my nose.
"Isabella, this is quite the debacle you've staged tonight." Aro's once benign voice made my skin prickle. He laughed at my reaction. "I see your mother has informed you of our arrangement."
Edward's grip on me tightened and Aro's eyes narrowed.
I struggled out of Edward's grip and stepped up to Aro, Marcus and Demetri flanked him. Renata and Jane circled around my mother as she nodded her head at me. Alice stepped in front of me, and smiled sweetly at Aro while pushing me back.
I could feel the rage building. James thought he owned me. Aro thought he owned me. My mother was going to sacrifice herself to save me, which really just pissed me off. Alice's shoulders backed into my chest and I let it go. The white heat rushed through me and I saw big stars until my vision went dark completely. Several loud pops filled my ears until the only thing I could hear was ringing. The air rushed around me, and the last thing I smelled was burning vampire flesh and heavy rain.
Important bits of my rage inducing playlist:
www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=sWmh_9dQHeM - Under a Killing Moon, Thrice (the story's namesake...)
www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=IXnQZUOlYws - Praise, Sevedust
www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=En6i6Zc6FaY - Battle Axe, Deftones (this video is fanmade, based off an anime and kind of graphic)
www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=SdNH1i2SNR4 - You're so Vague, Queens of the Stone Age (Bella's theme)
www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=o9sxcL3d7ko - Spit it Out (hyper version), Slipknot
www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=woR6ohiFeYE - Rocket Skates, Deftones
A/N: I have no excuse for myself. So, I won't even try to make any. Next time, I'm going to wait until I have a good bit of the story finished before I start posting it, shit. Only a few more chapters left. Hope this wasn't too anti-climatic..
Since I fail at updating...here's some good stuff (better than my stuff!) you can check out in the mean time:
La Canzone della Bella Cigna - fanfiction(dot)net/s/5125499/1/La_canzone_della_Bella_Cigna
Living Backwards - fanfiction(dot)net/s/5074723/1/Living_Backwards
Fault (Completed) - fanfiction(dot)net/s/5429064/1/Fault