Chapter 28
A Dustland Fairytale
"Saw Cinderella in a party dress but she was looking for a nightgown. I saw the devil wrapping up his hands. He's getting ready for the showdown. I saw the minute I turned away. I got my money on a palm tonight. Change came in disguise of revelation, set his soul on fire. She says she always knew he'd come around. And the decades disappear like sinking ships. But we persevere, God gives us hope. But we still fear what we don't know. The mind is poison. Castles in the sky sit stranded, vandalized. A drawbridge is closin'. Saw Cinderella in a party dress, but she was looking for a nightgown. I saw the devil wrapping up his hands. He's getting ready for the showdown. I saw the ending when they turned the page. I took my money and I ran away. Straight to the valley of the great divide. Out where the dreams are high. Out where the wind don't blow. Out here, the good girls die. And the sky won't snow. Out here the birds don't sing. Out here fields don't grow. Out here the bell don't ring. Out here the bell don't ring. Out here the good girls die. Now Cinderella don't you go to sleep. It's such a bitter form of refuge. Oh, don't you know, the kingdom's under siege, and everybody needs you. Is there still magic in the midnight sun, or did you leave it back in '61? In the cadence of a young man's eyes, I wouldn't dream so high." A Dustland Fairytale by the Killers (Read the A/N at the end of this chapter please!)
Disclaimer: I do not own the wonderful series of Twilight, that is being very annoying at the moment because of excessive products and whatnot, but the creative Stephanie Meyer does. I just like to take her characters and mix the plot a little.
BPOV
His lips touched my forehead, right where a sapphire crescent moon was placed. "I'm sorry," he whispered against my skin. When I opened my eyes, he was gone. I took a shaky breath to steady myself.
What had just happened?
"Hey B, they're ready for you at the house," Jack said as I moved back to the yard. He had his arms full and was leading a group of other Dark Daughters and Sons.
"Where are you going?" I asked as some of the members moved passed us.
Jack beamed; he had a lot of energy I noticed for someone so small… Kinda like Alice. Then he said, "Aphrodite is going to lead a cleansing ritual over at the clearing where the battle is going to go on at tomorrow. It is so that none of our traitors can use evil spells and whatnot. A good way to keep the battle fair since we do not practice evil spells."
"Oh, well I will see you later then," Jack nodded enthusiastically and skipped away to catch up with the others. Okay, I had no problem what so ever about homosexuals. But I had never met a gay vampire before I met Damien and Jack. But I thought it was sweet that they were able to find each other. What are the odds of finding a gay vampire, and one that was a perfect match for you?
"Oh there you are B," Shaunee sighed as I reached the group that was standing near the back porch.
"Yeah, we were kinda getting worried about you when you disappeared in the woods with that Ethan guy for so long," Erin added with a shrug.
I had the sudden need to rip people's throats out; Erin being my victim. Edward had heard her and eyed me suspiciously. I shook my head and caught Alice's eye. She was basically screaming at me, so I pushed my shield out.
"Ahhh!" several voices screamed as they were shot back. My shield had gone to Alice and surrounded her, but anyone who was in touching distance of it was sent flying yards away.
"Oops," I smiled guiltily.
"Ow," Zoey said standing and rubbing her head. "Bella, did you do that?" She looked at me with a shocked expression.
"Um, yeah, I'm sorry. I really am. The same thing happened to Ethan. Why I went in the woods," I added specifically for Edward's convenience.
"I saw that," she mentioned quietly, thinking. "Can you control that?"
"Yeah, just like with my old shield, but this one is physical."
She pondered for a moment. "Can you make force shields elsewhere, like, not connected to you?"
I shrugged, "Never tried it."
"Well, try it."
"Where at?" I asked.
"Make one around Damien," Zoey gestured to the knowledgeable boy.
I nodded and concentrated. The others were staring at me expectantly, but I just thought about Damien and protecting him from an oncoming attack. I closed my eyes after memorizing every detail about Damien and where he stood still a few feet away from me. Feeling the film that wrapped around my brain, I made it spread. It moved along my body like little wisps and stopped when it covered me completely.
I heard several gasps and knew that it looked cool. A smug smile pulled at my lips. I went back to concentrating on Damien. I pushed my shield out until I felt it wrap around his backside snugly. I then concentrated on cutting the hall like area between us. I pushed more shield out and made it come down on his front side and pressed against his whole form. Now we were only linked through a long line on the ground.
With great effort, I cut that link like a yarn with scissors. I heard several gasps when I thought of the scissors to cut it. In my mind I imagined it as scissors cutting it. I peaked from under my lids and saw the most amazing sight ever.
A translucent pair of scissors, in the material I nicknamed film, was dangling in the air with nothing attached to it. The 'yarn' was cut in two and was slithering back to both of our shields. Damien's shield had held when I cut it! But the scissors disappeared as I put them down in my mind.
"OH MY GODDESS," Damien gasped as he waved a hand in front of his face, staring wonderingly at the thin film that wisped around him.
His words broke the silence and began a hushed murmur of amazement went through the group.
"Bella, try to make shields in your hands and throw them at me." Zoey said confidently.
Stark shook his head, "No throw it at me."
Zoey shot him a look. He shrugged. "I swore to protect you, Priestess." A cocky smile spread across his gorgeous features and he winked. Zoey's stern expression fell and she smiled back.
"Okay, throw them at Stark."
I nodded, "If I can," I reminded them of the 'if'. Concentrating even harder, I made a ball in each hand of the film/shield and reared one hand back and threw it at Stark carefully, not hard. It sped through the air anyways and hit him straight in the chest, forcing him to shoot backwards anyways. He landed with a 'humph' a few yards away. The little ball of force hovered in the air, waiting for a command.
"Come back," I whispered quietly. The ball came back to my hand, "Good job, you may go now," I released the shield. Damien's disappeared just as mine did. Stark was already standing back with the group with a proud smile.
"Very good, Bella," he complimented. I returned his smile with one of my own. A strong hand grabbed mine. I looked up into those sparkling emeralds that were dancing with proud love. I projected the thought, I love you.
I love you too. He thought back. And I didn't even have my shield up! Edward's affinity had grown so he could send thoughts too.
"Try the shield on several people at once," Zoey continued. I nodded and concentrated on moving my shield to surround Edward, Zoey, Stark, and Damien.
After successfully surrounding them completely with the shield, making sure no one was in the way first, I imagined the scissors again. This time my eyes were open so I was able to watch as it formed in mid air. It was simply amazing and unexplainable. The scissors snapped and the yarn like wisps went back to the main shields it was still connected to.
"Can we move around?" Zoey inquired.
"Think so, try it."
Zoey took a step forward and back. A little flare went up in the part of my brain where I concentrated on keeping the shields up when she moved. It was like that part of the brain was moving too. Zoey told the others to move when she did. When they moved, the flares moved. The flares were like white blotches of color in that little part of my mind. I could feel the blotches moved as they moved back and forth, the shield staying with them though.
"Well done, Bella." Zoey praised with a kind smile.
I thanked my shield and let it fall; the white blotches disappearing as well.
"Okay, let's get the circle started," Zoey rubbed her hands together and started directing where we should cast it. "Let's do it in the front and direct the protective shield back."
We all got into our positions. Zoey's circle sat up, Stark, Edward, Alice and I were in the middle with Zoey. She had a white sage stick in her hands that I remembered as a smudging stick to purify the circle. Each person was focused on their element as I was focused on my shield. I spread it to cover each individual in the circle, severing the lines when I accomplished that task. I nodded for Zoey to begin.
"Air, cleanse this property of any wickedness and shield it from any other forces wishing to work against Nyx's light," Zoey spoke musically while waving the stick around Damien's body. "Air, I call you to the circle," she called out and lit the candle. A gust of wind surrounded the two. Sharing a quick smile, Zoey then moved on to Shaunee.
"Fire, burn away any traces of evil and warm this place with love of Nyx to prevent any more evil from entering these grounds. Fire, I call you to the circle!" Again, the candle lit itself ablaze and danced with bright light. The air grew warm and I could feel the love radiating from it and seeping into my pours.
Zoey then went to Erin who stood with her hood down and the blue candle held out expectantly. "Water, wash away any memories of malevolence and purify thought with those of Nyx so that wickedness cannot return to the grounds. Water, I call you to the circle," After waving the smudge stick around Erin, she called the element to the circle. Zoey lit the candle and I heard waves crashing and the smell of the ocean filled the air.
Stevie Rae's smile grew as Zoey neared her. "Earth," Zoey began with that alluring and commanding voice that just drew you into its depths. "Grow new soil and protect this area from the impending evil forces at work against us with the love of Nyx." Zoey finished purifying Stevie Rae and lit the candle, calling the element to the circle. Birds chirped from far away and flowers grew around the girls' feet.
"Spirit," Zoey said, picking up the purple candle and cleansing herself as she spoke. "Move through the inhabitants and cleanse their souls. Move across this area and cleanse every life form. Spirit, in Nyx's name, I call you to the circle," Zoey lit the candle. Something I hadn't noticed the other night was that when she lit that candle, a silver line connected each circle member. It glowed with the love of Nyx and showed that she was proud them.
"Bella, I want you to place a shield around your property. Extend it to the end of your front yard and back; don't exert yourself too much," Zoey advised.
I nodded for the umpth-teen time today and closed my eyes. Imagining the area in my mind, I pushed my shield up to avoid ramming into anyone and over the property and down around the edges where Zoey had recommended.
"Very good B," she complimented before moving on. "Nyx, protect this property from any surprise attacks that would give us a disadvantage. Alert us if any…"-
As if on cue, my eyes glazed over.
Alice was having a vision, and she had pulled me in with her.
"Who is that?" Ambrosine asked as she jumped from her perch on a large oak that was at the edge of the clearing.
"That is Jack and Aphrodite leading the group. Darius is behind her and then the others are part of the Dark Daughters and Sons. They're here to cast cleansing spells," the dark haired beauty smirked. Crystal blue eyes were sparkling with dark humor as the group set up to cast.
"Do you me want to run them off Erik?" Another face appeared. She had long blonde hair and wicked violet eyes.
The guy, Erik as the girl had called him, smiled devishly. "No, I got it Venus." Something sparked in his crystal eyes and they grew lighter and lighter till the entire eye was white.
The sky darkened and the wind started howling. The image shifted to the unexpecting group of vampires that were starting to cast a circle. Jack looked up at the sky and called the group to a stop. I heard Aphrodite whisper in a startled breath, "No. Erik! Run!"
Just as she shouted to run, the sinister looking clouds started making rumbling noises. A tornado formed and started descending from the clouds, making its way right for the fleeting group.
A strike of lightening landed right next to Aphrodite and she was yelped, getting picked up by the large warrior, Darius. The group entered the trees, one going down when a lightning bolt hit them, momentarily paralyzing them since it wouldn't actually cause them to die.
The vision faded as the group hit my shield, knocking them back further into the woods towards the approaching twisters.
"NO," I shouted. That grabbed everyone's attention. I realized that the circle had continued even though Alice, Edward, and I had been distracted.
"What is it?" Zoey eyed the three of us.
"Some guy Erik is going to attack the group in the clearing!" Alice answered quickly.
"Erik?" The whole group gasped. Edward nodded once.
"Priestess, let me go warn them," Stark readied his arrow and took a step towards the trees.
"No, Shaunee, send a message to Jack, I will close the circle."
Shaunee nodded and whispered under her breath quickly. A bolt shot out of the hand she had dropped from the candle that she still held. The bolt traveled up into the sky and away towards the clearing. Now that was cool.
"Bella, close the shield so they can enter," I nod and call my shield back.
"Spirit, you did well, I release you," Zoey started going counter-clockwise and releasing the elements. When she was finished, a lightning bolt struck Shaunee's awaiting hand.
Shaunee's eyes glazed for a moment. Then she said, "They're on their way back now. They don't have enough power on them to handle Erik alone."
Zoey sighed. "Was there anyone else in the vision?"
"Yeah, Venus and Ambrosine; she is one of the Secret Guard," Edward answered.
"Venus?!" Zoey exclaimed.
"Venus was there?! I'm going back there and kicking her ass!" A pissed off Aphrodite said, entering the yard with the group behind her.
"Hag from Hell, we don't have time for you to go and do a suicide mission," Erin said incredulously.
"And Hag from Hell number two has you beat affinity or no affinity," Shaunee added, crossing her arms.
Aphrodite turned to the two of them. "Dorkamese Twins, shut it!"
"Guys," I tried to stop the bickering. Successfully grabbing their attention, I continued, "We really need to take care of the situation at hand." They all nodded and listened attentively for me to go on. "If Ambrosine and two ex members of the Dark Daughters and Sons is there, that means the whole group is not far away. Maybe I could go over there and…"-
Edward cut me off.
"NO, you are not going over there by yourself!" He was outraged, eyes darkening.
I just looked at him with a shocked expression. "Edward, I'm the only one Aro would even imagine talking to."
That shut up his ramblings. Everyone just stared at me.
"B has a point," Stevie Rae interrupted the silence with a steady, twanged voice.
"That she does," Damien agreed.
The Twins nodded and Aphrodite bobbed her chin once.
"Alice?" I gave her the look that she knew meant 'look into the future'.
Alice nodded and once again Edward and my eyes glazed over with Alice's as she peered into the near and very possible future.
"Isabella? Is that you? A Dark Daughter, I should have guessed. What is your affinity, my dear?" A very intrigued Aro babbled.
Bella was standing in her cloak in the middle of a camp with several red and bright colored eyes piercing her harshly. She stood alone, but looked like she had an army behind her. Head held high and brown eyes fixtured on Aro alone. Caius and Markus were standing a little further back. Caius had an amused expression, while Markus looked bored.
Bella peaked from under her hood with a smirk.
The vision blurred and vanished.
"Edward," Alice said it as a curse. "I cannot have a vision when you are insistently thinking of tying Bella to a tree and not letting her move."
He just smirked. With a sigh, I said, "Look, I'm going whether you like or not."
That got a reaction out of him, "It could be a trap!"
I glanced at Alice. She shot Edward a look that said 'Do it again and see what happens.' Then she brought us into another vision.
"Isabella," Aro warned. "I told you before…"
"I know what you said. I was hoping I could prevent the loss of lives tomorrow."
"And how is that?" Caius stepped forward with a mocking smile.
Bella rolled her eyes before saying, "I have explanations for your reasons of being here."
"Oh, is that so?"Caius smiled devishly.
The hood fell back to reveal a confident Bella. "Of course it is. That little girl you think is an immortal child is merely a hybrid. She is half vampire and half human. My mate's sister gave birth to her a month ago. One of my coven, Emmett, is the father. I cannot give you my memories without putting you in my shield and I doubt Reneta would allow that." Bella gave the vampire who had a hand touching Aro's shoulder a pointed look.
"Wait, shield?" Aro asked.
Bella nodded with a smug smile.
"You have a shield?" He elaborated.
"I had one as a regular vampire, but it has grown in power since becoming a true Daughter of Nyx," Bella said smoothly, ever so confident as well.
"Hmm, may you show me?"
And the vision disappeared. Alice gave me a look of worry. "I can't see past that."
"You're not going," Edward said matter-of-factly.
"Yes, I am. It's the only hope we have of preventing tomorrow," I argued.
Zoey held a hand up in thought. "You go, Stevie Rae will be there in a way through the Earth; I will be there through Spirit; Shaunee will be there in Fire; and Erin in Water and Damien Air. Stark can go with you and be your escort. It would be too foolish to go in there without back up. Jack can hover through electricity in the sky unless Erik is controlling the weather, then I wouldn't advise that…"
"So it's settled. Stark goes with me in body form, and the others in their elements," I summed up quickly.
Edward shook his head, "Let me go. I can read their minds and see if they're planning to attack."
"Whoa, cutie got looks and brains," Shaunee said while batting flirtatious eyes at Edward. A growl worked its way from my chest to my throat. Shaunee held up her hands innocently. I glanced at Edward who had a smug smile on his lips but kept his eyes adverted.
"I have to say ditto twin," Erin nodded in agreement. I moved my piercing eyes to her. She mimicked her 'twins' previous gesture.
"Okay, Edward and Stark, you two go with her. Everyone else can send their element to watch over just as a precautionary. Alice, I want you in the future right now." Zoey started listing instructions for everyone's affinities.
I tuned out and started focusing on my shield and wanting it to protect everyone with this mission. This 'mission' was going to turn out into a brawl or preventing tomorrow's horrible battle. Let's hope for the latter.
Zoey turned to me, "Are you ready for this Bella?"
"Ready as I ever will be."
With nods, we departed. I pulled my hood up and entered the dark and deserted woods. Well, so it seemed deserted.
A/N: Not where I was going to leave it. Heck this wasn't the way the chapter was going to go. I was going to have them the next day at the battle field. But… I'm going to leave it where it's at. I am super sorry for the long wait! You have no idea how much I have been prancing around this chapter. I would write a few words and then go do something. Plus it's been crazy at home with school starting in a week. Oh my, school starts in a week!
Anyways; the reason I wanted you to read the author's note is that I was curious as to what you think of my story so far. I mean, it's come such a long way. What were your most favorable or memorable moments? Least favorites? I am just asking since the story is coming to a close… NO worries, an epilogue is much due to all of my fabulous readers.
Oh, if you reviewed last chapter and I didn't reply, something is up with fanfic. I don't know what, but the stories I read are having the same problem.
Oh, I also love the song I used as the chapter title! If you have never heard it or the Killers, you're missing out on a great band and song! The lyric excerpt up there was perfect for the chapter I had in mind. But it turned out differently… I guess it still fits though.
Lyrics Game: Congrats to everyone who guessed because my Yahoo mail just totally messed up. I am SO sorry!! All of my emails passed page two were deleted, and I don't know how!
The song was Knock You Down by Keri Hilson featuring Kanye West and Ne-Yo.
This chapter's lyric excerpt:
Maybe it's not my weekend but it's gonna be my year
And I'm so sick of watching while the minutes pass as I go nowhere
And this is my reaction to everything I fear
'Cause I've been going crazy
I don't want to waste another minute here