"Depends," the man said slowly, "what are they?"
"Don't hurt any of them, the human included, and that we go to Alaska. I've been meaning... to meet up with some old friends of mine."
The two looked at each other, wondering what to make of the conditions.
"What do you think, Kyle?" she asked, doubt filling her eyes.
"I think... hm, it's reasonable enough," he said and Naomi relented into an agreement, not fully trusting me yet. "All right, that's settled," Kyle said, looking at the wolves. "How about them? Will they agree?"
I looked at them, hoping they would agree to the conditions and realized they could not talk in this form. "Sam? Kyle, let him go so he can phase to a human, please," I requested. The black one took a step forward, growling softly and Kyle set him free and Sam and went off to hide behind a bush. Once he phased back, he came to my side.
"You realize this is stupid, Bella?" he growled in my ear, trying to figure out a way around the two vampires.
"I know," I murmured sadly. "I can't think of any other way, and I was going to go on a trip there anyway."
Sam shook his head, wearing a face of disgust and looked at the two vampires, "We won't come after you, you have my word, give us the human girl and leave us alone. You better not hurt Bella."
Kyle allowed the plants deliver Sam the girl and he grabbed her gently.
"Please... be safe, don't change your diet and come back to us when you can," Sam said, looking at me in the eyes. "Or give us a call."
I nodded as the plants loosened its hold on me and I stood on the ground again.
"Let's go," Kyle said as Naomi left the clearing. I looked over the pack with a forlorn look and looked at Sam.
"Bye," I said and went after Naomi, hating myself for joining a vampire group that preyed on humans. Soon, Kyle joined us and the three of us ran for a while in silence.
"So, what's your name?" Naomi asked.
"...Marie," I said coolly. "So, are we going straight to where I want to go?"
"Sorry, we're making a quick stop in Seattle, if you don't mind," Kyle said, looking at Naomi briefly and looked away. I stared ahead, wondering what that was about, trying to piece the facts together.
"Do you know the Cullens?" I asked, watching their reaction.
"We don't know them, just rumors," Kyle replied.
"What do you know then?" I asked, getting impatient.
"They're the ones that started the whole thing with the Volturi," Kyle said, looking at me with a frown, "Everyone knows that."
"I haven't exactly been following Vampire News Channel," I said, annoyed with their attitude. "You two are the first vampires I've met since I was turned."
"Ah, I see..." Kyle muttered, "Well, because of them, all of the vampire folk have been doubting the rule of Volturi over us."
"Huh?" I asked, getting confused.
"You know," Naomi spoke up after a moment of silence, "there's a reason why we need you."
I quirked an eyebrow, willing for her to continue.
"Your power, if my powers doesn't work on you, and from what it looks like, you were able to share that power with your dogs... I wonder what sort of powers you are immune against... we'll have to test it," she said, getting carried away.
"Get to the point," I snapped.
"The Volturi have a guard that protects them, they are made up of abilities, powers that are powerful, and if you are immune to two of our friends in Seattle, then you have one powerful ability that will help us against them," she said, still trying to think things through. I held my tongue in telling her to get to the point already. "Help us overthrow the Volturi. There are many other covens in the world wanting to take power from them, and we're going to take that."
"And why should I help you?" I asked acidly. "What of my second condition?"
"If you survive, we'll let you go to wherever you want to go," Kyle said replied, "That's a good motivation as any. Your reason to help us."
I let out a growl in my throat, pissed off with the situation I got myself into. I couldn't believe it had only been less than two hours ago that I had left the house for Denali. I looked at both of them, running alongside on either side of me as though guarding me.
I need to get out of here now, before I get in any deeper, I thought, trying to find the weak spot, an opportunity to escape.
"If you try to back out now or any time in the future, don't," Kyle said, watching me, " my power can be activated up to two miles away. I can capture you before you even get out of my circle of power."
I scowled at the piece of information. Damnit! Is he calling bluff? As we journeyed on, I wondered what was in store for me, and new questions came up concerning the Cullens.
What happened to them and the Volturi? Is that why they can't find me now? I pondered.
I remembered Edward's comments about the Volturi, how they were like the ruling family of the vampire world and if you messed with them, it's usually because you wanted to die. I also remembered that Carlisle stayed with them for a time, and they sounded nice then. That was all I knew about them. I let out a sigh of frustration, wanting to know what is going on now.
"Can you tell me what's going on with the Volturi?" I asked.
"You seem well acquainted with the knowledge of Volturi and the Cullens," Kyle commented, studying me carefully. I said nothing, waiting for answers. "Especially if you say we're the first vampires you met since your rebirth."
I said nothing, not wanting to reveal the fact that I knew the Cullens personally before they left me in Forks. Kyle then decided to talk to fill the silence around us.
"Well, this is all I know: when the underworld found out that they sought vampires with powers to add to their guards to keep themselves protected and powerful, it caused an upheaval in our world. We questioned their... ability to rule over us. It was because of the Cullens and the witnesses that were there that we all found out. I'm not sure of the details of the whole thing myself. I just know that the Cullens were vegetarians, which made their eyes gold, and they fought against the Volturi."
"We began poking around here because there were some rumors that the Cullens stayed here occasionally," Naomi said. "Is it true?"
I kept my tongue, wishing not to give them any ammo. I had spoken too much already. Naomi harrumphed and shrugged.
"Suits you, we were just curious, not that we want to do anything with the Cullens. They have price on their heads."
"They do?" I demanded, and stopped running, causing the others to stop and spun to face me. "What do you mean, price on their heads?"
"The Volturi is willing to offer any reward if any of us could bring them one of the Cullens, especially the one with mind reading ability," Kyle explained. I felt my stomach drop out from under, and leaned against a tree for balance. "You do seem awfully familiar with the Cullens. Maybe we should turn you in to the Volturi..."
Oh god, oh my god, I thought, closing my eyes. What in the hell happened here? I shook my head, trying to get my bearings about me and trying to do something about the subtle threat of being turned over to the Volturi.
"I'll help you--don't need to turn me over to them."
The two stared at each other, wondering about my current state of mind.
"I'll help," I repeated, "just don't ask me anymore, please," I said, taking a few calming breaths.
"I don't know, you could be one of the Cullens," she said, walking around me, studying. "You do have golden eyes, as the rumor says."
"No, I'm not," I answered truthfully. At least, not yet... "They aren't the only ones with the same type of eyes I do. I was just searching for ones that share my diet, the vampire that turned me told me about this type of diet and about the Cullens," I babbled, trying to worm my way out of this. "Can we go?"
The other two stared at me, trying to figure me out and looked at each other again. Naomi sighed and turned to continue running and I followed, Kyle joined on the other side of me.
If I stayed with them, then maybe I can find out more of what's going on, I thought, praying that the Cullens were safe. I still need to go to Denali, but I can not wait until things blow over. This could be an all out war... What if they did turn me over to the Volturi? If all of this is true, I can't trust anyone!
"We're almost there," Kyle annouced.
Panic rose in me, wondering how I could escape now rather than being surrounded by more vampires.
"Ah, I smell a hiker nearby, Naomi, help yourself," Kyle said, slowing to a walk as Naomi ran off to hunt and I stopped running, wearing a scowl. Then I realized that I could use this to my advantage.
I sighed, pretending to have my guard down, leaning against a tree.
"So, how long have you been a vampire?" he asked, sitting down on a fallen tree.
"Long enough to escape you," I said, sending a roundhouse kick to his face—a move I didn't know I was capable of—and ran as fast as I could in the opposite direction Naomi went in. I saw plants around me growing rapidly and I let out a snarl, pushing myself to run faster. I listened for anyone behind me and heard no one chasing me. Only plants rustling and moving to grab me.
Maybe he wasn't lying... damnit! I cursed, dodging a vine that nearly tripped me. If only I had a lighter or something.
I felt something dragging me down and realized the plants were going after my duffel bag too and I snorted angrily, tugging the bag closer to me. I hadn't been aware of carrying the bag the entire time since I found the body back at the camp site. I tried to keep ahead of the growing perimeter of plants around me, reaching just far enough that I could escape the small vines. I was not taking any chances at all, I was using my full speed to escape and it felt both exhilarating and terrifying. I knew why I was scared—there was still a chance of being caught and I wondered if they would go after the wolves if they were unable to catch me.
This can't get any more complicated, can it? I groaned mentally. Up ahead, I suddenly realized I ran into a huge wall of vines, twisting and squirming as it grew, looking menacing, the wall was too high for me to jump over safely and I stopped running. I realized this was as far as Kyle could control. If I could just make my way to the other side, I gritted my teeth in frustration and anger.