Chapter 24
New Divide
"That I get what I deserve. So give me reason to prove me wrong to wash this memory clean. Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes. Give me reason to fill this hole connect the space between. Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies. Across this new divide." –New Divide by Linkin Park
Disclaimer (because I don't think I've done one for a long time on this story…): I don't own the Twilight series or characters. The great Stephanie Meyer does. I just like to put them in crazy situations!
"BELLA, you didn't!" Tanya jumped up and down and Edward picked me up, swinging me around in the process.
I laughed at Tanya, "Yes Tanya, I did."
"Well, when are we going to call him?" she was still jumping up and down, but her topaz eyes were anxious.
Edward sat me down and I pondered for a moment before answering. "When we get home. I don't think we'll be having any more problems so we can catch the next flight to Seattle." Both agreed and we went to buy plane tickets.
Two hours later we were on a plane.
"Just think, we will be home before midnight," I sighed, leaning my head on Edward's shoulder. And I was right. We were pulling into the driveway at ten-thirty. I was stunned, as were Edward and Tanya, at the number of cars parked in front of the house. I saw a variety of colors and models of Porsches, Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Audis, and a numerous other Italian cars.
Alice was sitting on the front porch when we got out of the car. "Bella, you got the phone!" She squealed, pulling me into a tight hug.
"Yes, I did," I chuckled at her.
"You will never believe who is here; the Dark Daughters." Alice mentioned in a squeal of delight, but it came out low.
Edward opened his mouth, and then closed it. Then he said, "The Dark Daughters?"
"Okay, supposedly there was this coven of witches that had been thought extinct for centuries. Well, history buds got it wrong. They've been hiding in secrecy because of the Volturi. You know Aro and his collections. When they found out about us going against the Volturi, they jumped right in. The whole coven is here! Although the coven of vampires there and a few others turned down the offer because they thought we were stupid for trying to go against the Volturi and would be slaughtered." Alice rambled. If it wasn't for my vampire heightened hearing, I would never had caught one word of what she had just said.
"Alice, breathe," I reminded her. Even though we didn't need the air, it filled our voice boxes so we could speak.
Alice took a deep breath before continuing. "But they said they had a few Dark Daughters and Sons join the Volturi when the battle between witch and vampire took place three centuries ago. That explains the chant they were thinking to clear their minds," Alice explained quickly. Her and her psychic abilities, I thought humorously.
"So, are you going to let us go in and meet everyone?" I asked sarcastically. Alice gave me a look before stepping aside and allowing entrance. I froze over the threshold at the numerous amounts of people in my foyer and living room. I saw several others in the kitchen, a few on the stairs, and from where I was standing, in the dining room.
Tanya had gasped and Edward had stilled as well. Alice passed by me with a smirk. "Allow me to introduce everyone to you," Alice began. The first nomads we met were from Texas.
"This is Braize Amberley and her mate Chance Hart." We shook hands with them. Braize had long golden hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. Red eyes found mine, but I saw that she was nice and not hostile. Her mate, Chance, was tall and had shaggy brown hair. His red eyes were calculative and trustworthy.
Next we met a Brazilian coven. The leader, Rya, looked every bit of a jungle-natured girl with cat eyes and a pale caramel skin tone. Her stance and eyes were those of a hunter. She was very cautious, but I liked her. She was just like Braize and Chance at the age, about nineteen to twenty. Rya's mate, Davi, had similar skin colorings and long, thick braids. He was smaller than Chance, but looked like he would beat him in a fight to the death. He was stealthy and lithe. Yara was the other member of their coven. She had Rya's red eyes, like a jungle cat's, measuring their opponents and fierce. Her long caramel hair fell to her thighs, just slightly longer than Rya's black hair.
The next coven was from Great Britain. We welcomed Alistair, Charles and his mate Makeena to Forks and our home. Alistair had a wistful look to him, with short blonde hair and was short himself. Charles was quite the contrast. He was tall and muscular, with a shock of long black hair. Makeena was beautiful. She had curly red hair that was cropped short around her shoulders.
"This is Leighton and Tristan," I held a hand out to the dark brunette and blonde male. "Remy finishes up this coven from France." Remy had a shock of fiery red hair that flowed in waves past her waist. She was tall and lithe, unlike Leighton. She looked a little scary to be honest; like she would rip my throat out with any wrong movement on my part.
"Here are some nomads from parts of Africa," Alice gestured to a small girl who looked very young, but dangerous. There was something about her features that made you shiver. Ashla, I soon learned, had mocha skin and black hair that was pulled into long braids. Her mate Omari was similar, but more muscular. Dakarai was shorter with cropped hair. He was a little shyer than his friends.
"Ryker and Sofie are Dutch who all but jumped for the opportunity to fight the Volturi no matter how many times Adah told them that it might not come to a fight, well, that's what we are hoping for anyways." Alice finished, sadness creeping into her voice before she perked right back up for our guests. Sofie and her mate Ryker were stark contrasts. Ryker was tall and bulky with short black hair. Sofie was a small girl with long, blonde curls. She had an impish look to her that was also a little scary.
Alice then introduced us to a nomad from Japan. Akiko had jet black hair that came to her shoulders and a fierce glow.
"We have Kris and Angel," Alice gestured to a couple that was lounging on the stairs talking to Eleazar and Carmen in fluent Spanish. Kris, an olive skinned dark hair beauty, and Angel, a caramel hair and olive skinned girl, turned at their names. We greeted them and Carmen and Eleazar as well. They had missed us.
"Now, Alice, I know everyone else, can I go see the rest of MY family?" I asked, exhausted. That was fifty vampires, including my family and the Denali's. Lillian would make fifty-one. My head was reeling at the numbers. Kachiri, Senna, Zafrina, Amun, Kebi, Tia, Bomani, Maggie, Siobhan, Liam, Stefan, Vladimir, Boaz, Adah, Adiva, Gabriel, and Ethan made up for the rest. Then we would have to add the wolf pack and Dark Daughters and Sons.
"Yeah, the Dark Daughters are out in the backyard casting a ritual cantation or something or another. Esme and everyone else are watching." Alice mentioned before disappearing into the crowd. I shrugged and lead Tanya and Edward out to the backyard.
Alice was right. There was a large circle of black cloaked figures with their hoods pulled up, candles were the only source of light besides the moon and cast an eerie glow on the circle. There was one cloaked figure in the middle looking up to the sky with her arms opened up wide as if she/he were welcoming in the night with a hug. I spotted my family and Tanya's sitting on the patio watching with awe.
As soon as we came in sight, Emmett jumped up and threw me into his arms in a giant bear hug.
"I missed you, too Em," I grunted. Emmett chuckled before setting me down with a pat on my head.
"You know I missed you Bells," Emmett loomed over me, eagerness coming off him in waves. "Oh, shall I introduce you to the new members of the Swan family?" Emmett asked calmly, but a faint smile tugged at his lips.
"No way," Edward gasped besides me. Tanya had already dived in the embraces of her family. I peered around Emmett's side to see Rosalie holding a sleeping Lillian, Esme holding Carli- whoa! Carlisle's blonde hair was paler than it had been when I left. As is his skin, which was almost as translucent as my own. Red eyes smiled at me from his face. He was much more handsome as a vampire, I realized.
"Hello son, Bella," Carlisle greeted with a wide smile that flashed pearly white teeth that were very sharp. We all laughed.
I then turned my line of vision to Jasper. He was sitting perfectly still, unnaturally still. The blonde curls that had been a honey color were now shiny and each curl was perfect. His red eyes were calm and collected. I was sort of surprised at this. "Don't tell me you skipped the newborn years, too?" I asked the both of them skeptically.
"Actually," Carlisle began but Jasper cut him off.
"Actually, I'm having trouble with the, err, diet. The mail man delivering the newspaper almost had his throat ripped open the other day while I was taking a stroll on the driveway with Alice." Jasper admitted guiltily. But I was proud of him for being the one to admit it. "But, I have an ability. I can feel and control other's emotions."
I beamed and hugged him tightly. "Good job Jasper, but don't harp on yourself because you can't just skip the typical newborn years like Edward or Rose. But Rose isn't really a vampire," I gave Rosalie a sharp glance.
"What?" She inquired in shock.
"Nothing," I realized Alice hadn't told them yet, so I decided to let her tell them of her vision. "I'm proud of you Jasper. You are doing great, keep it up. Carlisle you look handsome by the way," I winked at him. He chuckled lightly. Esme smiled and pulled me into a tight hug while Carlisle patted my back fatherly. Jazz squeezed my hand. Rosalie handed me Lillian and gave me a half hug.
"Missed you sis," she whispered in my ear. "I believe you," Rosalie added, too low that no one else heard.
"Bella, we missed you too," Garrett and Kate squealed and pulled me into half hugs so that Lillian wouldn't wake up.
"Same," I grunted through the hugs. That was when the Dark Daughters started blowing out candles. When they were finished, one cloaked figure came to us.
"Merry meet Isabella," the figure, a girl, said with an American accent.
"Hi, um…?"
"Zoey, Zoey Redbird," the cloaked figure pulled back her hood. I almost gasped by her beauty and the markings on her face. Black hair flowed over the hood and down the cloak until it almost reached her thighs. It was straight and thick and simply beautiful. Zoey had dark violet eyes that were very wise, but still young, but had seen too much in one lifetime. But her markings are what shocked me. A dark blue crescent moon was in the center of her forehead. Swirls with runes flowed from it, around her eyes, and across her high cheekbones. They were purple and blue. The design was so intricate that it was hard not to stare at. I felt very rude, so I decided to look at her eyes, and only her eyes. But they weren't annoyed, but used to people staring, I felt bad.
"Zoey," I held a hand out to shake. But she grasped my forearm instead of my hand. I noticed she had the same designs on her hands.
"Sorry, that's how we greet. When you spend so much time in hiding with your own kind, you forget about some things." Zoey spoke with high authority, I noticed. She must have been the one in the middle of the circle. "I am the High Priestess of Dark Daughters. I have the affinity of each element."
"What?" I asked curiously.
Zoey laughed musically. "An affinity is like your ability to create a mind shield that can able you to listen to other's thoughts and share your own and block out the voices for Edward who has the ability of mind reading which is truly an extraordinary affinity." Zoey praised. "There are four elements; Air, Fire, Water, Earth, and Spirit. In our circle, I represent Spirit. And my best friends each represent the element they were blessed with an affinity with by our Goddess Nyx."
"Wow," I commented pathetically. It was really interesting what she was talking about. "So you are witches?" I inquired.
"Yes, and vampires. That is why Aro wants to add us to his collection. He thinks of us as his new experiments. That was what caused the battle three centuries ago because we refused to let him do his little 'experiments' on us." Zoey carried an air of self assurance and confidence. I envied her for her boldness. "But I wanted to speak with you to tell you that we are more than willing to help you and your family against the Volturi."
"No, thank you," I said, just as another cloaked figure neared. The hood was down, revealing a handsome young man with light brown hair that was shaggy. A cocky smile was present on his features. As was a light blue crescent shaped moon and maroon arrows that shot out of the moon on either side and came to a stop on his cheeks, pointing at his nose.
"Oh, this is my mate Stark. He is also my warrior," Zoey practically cooed. His cocky smile spread wider. They were both my age, maybe a year younger. "Nyx gifted him with the affinity to always hit his mark," Emmett snickered at her choice of words. "With a bow and an arrow," Zoey added sternly, but a faint smile tugged at her lips. Good, she has a sense of humor.
"Aphrodite is complaining, again," Stark informed his Priestess and mate.
Zoey groaned. "Excuse me for a moment, Aphrodite is never pleased. I swear the real Aphrodite probably wasn't this demanding." I laughed as she stomped back to the group, but her stomping didn't come off childish, just graceful.
"You just got to love her," Stark gazed longingly at his mate. "And her choice of words," he added with a chuckle.
"You think?" Emmett snorted.
"Just wait till she says poo or another substitute for a curse word." Stark laughed before trotting off to the group.
I laughed and handed Lillian back to the waiting Emmett. He sat down and rocked her gently in his arms, playing with her hair and staring at her lovingly. I felt that familiar pang in my heart and looked away. "Hey Bells, Zafrina is looking for you," Kate mentioned. Relief flooded through me and I went off to find Zafrina with Edward in tow.
"Who is Zafrina?" He asked as I looked around for tall people.
"She is part of the Amazon coven. Her 'affinity' is that she can create an illusion. She is really good at it," I answered just as I spotted three very tall, dark, muscular women talking to a smaller guy I had never met before. "Zafrina?" I called out to the tallest one.
The one with long dreads and a ripped tank and pants turned around. She was tallest out of the group. Large red eyes were savage and she loomed over Edward a whole head taller. Her jaw line was tight and she looked every bit a true Amazon queen. "Isabella!" Zafrina exclaimed before pulling me into an Emmett-like hug.
"Zafrina," I managed to say. She laughed and sat me down.
Zafrina eyed Edward curiously before realization warmed her blood red eyes. "You must be Edward, Bella's mate." She patted his shoulder. Edward just looked at her, stunned silent. I nudged him in the side and then he struggled out a 'hi'. Chicken, I thought humorously. "I trust you trip went well."
"Yes, we recruited many, as you can see. And my friends from Israel helped out tremendously. Speaking of them, I haven't seen one of them yet." I remembered suddenly that I hadn't seen them.
"I'm not sure where they are. Oh, Edward, this is Kachiri," Zafrina gestured to a slightly smaller version of Zafrina, "and this is Senna." Senna was darker than the other two and heftier.
"Hello," Edward nodded to the two Amazonian women, hiding a grimace. I bit my lip to repress a giggle.
"Bella, I believe you haven't met Null yet." Zafrina assumed correctly. I quirked an eyebrow and shook my head at the unfamiliar name. "Null, this is Bella," a lithe young man stepped out from behind her. He was maybe a few inches shorter than Edward. Long black hair flowed over his olive skin. His red eyes were murky.
"Hi," I held out my hand to shake. He regarded it for a moment before shaking it with a firm hand. Null released my hand quickly and said a quiet 'hello'.
"He is the only male half-vampire half-human." Zafrina was explaining. "He has many sisters, but no brothers. Lillian is the only one he has found that is not his sister."
"I knew Lillian wasn't the only half-y out there!" I beamed.
"Bella, you are needed in the backyard," Jasper said, coming out of nowhere besides me. I nodded and followed him into the backyard.
The large circle of cloaks had dispersed into smaller groups. I didn't see my family or the Denali's anywhere.
"Bella," Zoey called over from one of the groups. I walked over, I then noticed I was by myself. I smiled at Zoey and then at her friends. "Bella, this is Damien, he represents his affinity for Air in our circle." I grasped his forearm instead of his hand for a handshake. He wasn't muscular, but very handsome. Short brown hair barely covered the light blue crescent moon and the blue swirls that moved across his face and over his cheekbones. "This is Shaunee, she has an affinity for fire," I repeated my previous greeting with the mocha skinned beauty who had a bright smile and blue flames spurting out from the crescent moon. "Erin, her twin even though they look nothing alike, if you spent two point five minutes with them, you would understand. She has the affinity for water." The blonde, with blue waves cascading around her eyebrows and across her cheeks, did look nothing like Shaunee, she wasn't curvy, but they had a similar light to their bright eyes, which I noticed Erin's were blue. Strange, vampires had only three eye colors; black, if you were hungry, red, if you just ate, and/or topaz if you had my diet.
The next person in the group had an affinity for Earth, her marks were blue vines with flowers throughout them. Her name was Stevie Rae and she had a very heavy Okie accent. "And last, but certainly not least, Aphrodite. She was the previous Priestess in training, but got that license revoked after some bad magic." Zoey winked at Aphrodite but had a smirk on her lips. Aphrodite was Aphrodite. She had long blonde hair that Rosalie would even envy. She had lapis lazuli eyes that reminded me of Rosalie's before she had turned. But that was about it for similarities between the two. Aphrodite was slim and not curvy like Rosalie. Her hair was paler and longer. She was as confident as Rosalie, maybe even more so. Aphrodite had blue swirls with small hearts woven in.
"It was nice meeting you all," I told them excitedly. Their kind was truly fascinating. I was captivated in their beliefs and practices. I had always thought they were extinct. But I had the real Dark Daughters in my backyard!
"Bella, I was hoping to speak with you about a proposition. You don't have to decide now. It's a big decision. And that is if we even survive the next few days," Zoey added sadly. Then she returned to her seriousness, "I would love it if you would join the Dark Daughters. I have come across many other vampires here today that would be a good addition to our group. Since going into hiding, our numbers keep dwindling. Simply put, Bella you have so much potential. Nyx is telling me that she chooses you to help lead us back into the world." Zoey finished with a flare of hope in her eyes.
"I know it's a lot. Trust me, I know. When I was chosen, I was blessed by Nyx with my mark already filled in and then every good thing I did, I got a new set of marks. You've seen my hands. The marks lead from my neck, down my shoulders and back and around my waist, around my legs and the tops of my feet. I was so honored to have these markings. She even made a scar I have across my chest become a beautiful scar, one of importance and grace, not something to be looked disgusted at. I was also gifted with an affinity for each element, something no one else has been given. Nyx is so wonderful. I just hope that you would join us and learn our ways. It's really life changing. Before being chosen, I was just a nomad vampire, by myself with no purpose. But since being chosen, I know my purpose. It's time you find yours."
I felt a little overwhelmed. I was chosen by their Goddess Nyx? That was amazing. Should I accept it though? What are the consequences for doing that? Would I have to leave my family? I couldn't do that. I was a package deal. No if ands or buts about it. But then again, being a Dark Daughter would change eternity for me. I would belong to something that was changing the world for good. That was something I could do. That was the purpose of eternity I was looking for.
"You know what Zoey, you're right. I think this would be the best thing for me. I would be honored to become a part of the Dark Daughters." I was practically glowing, as was Zoey.
"Let's do it then."
A/N: here come the excuses… I'm SO sorry for the long wait. My Only One is in progress right now. I had writer's block. Then I talked to edwardsince1901 about it and figured it out. So, now that I'm done with this, SORRY HAD A GOOD IDEA, I will go back to My Only One.
Oh my gosh, my computer has been jacking up! I have had it running on safe mode because of that virus. Well, it doesn't show you your battery charge on safe mode… LOST this chapter and My Only One's chapter. I was MAD. Then tonight, I open Microsoft Word to restart the chapters, and thank god for document save things!
Right now, my computer is running normal, except for that virus. It is getting annoying. Sometimes when I look stuff up on my search engine on internet, it will take me to another page when I try to go to a website.
Love Bites: What is going to happen with Bella and the Dark Daughters? Oh, explanation for the Dark Daughters. I totally wasn't going to use House of Night, but instead they were going to be called the Night Sisters. But then I started thinking, House of Night is one of my favorite series (much better than Twilight). And I wanted to incorporate that into my story. I'm sorry, but I'm getting burned out on Twilight. I don't know if it's all the fan girls and their obsessions (I know I had an obsession). But now, it's getting old. yeah, I'm still excited for New Moon and the other movies, but I just don't really care anymore. This also means Underworld will be my last Twilight fanfic. Even though I have an AWESOME idea for a parody. Edwardsince1901, I will talk to you about it! Promise!
But I want to make fanfics about HON, Vamp Diaries (ooh, they made a tv show!), Night World. Other books that aren't getting totally over done and popular. If you agree, yeah! If not, oh well. Tell me what you think! Review!
Lyrics Game: Congrats to Lambofthenight, 15, and BloodySilverThorns for guessing The Reason by Hoobastank! If I forgot anyone, tell me. I'm sorry if I did!
This chapter's lyric excerpt (super easy):
See you sexy in them jeans got me on 10.
1-2-3… Think I got you pinned.
Don't tap out, fight until the end.
Ring that bell, and we going to start over again.
(LOVE THAT SONG! My mom hates it though…. Ha-ha!)