Thanks to those of you who are reviewing... I was bitching to one of my fellow writers about the lack of response and she recommended that I add specific questions about the chapter for people to respond to... So, hopefully it will work. See foot note!
Chapter 45: Good Will Hunting
Darkness blinked as the blazing star of day came into view. The intensity of color and form was magnified three-fold under the dazzling light of the sun. The sky rolled with soft puffy clouds that sailed like a fleet of ships disappearing on the horizon. The gentle wind disclosed the secrets of the vault of heaven whispering softly to come and play. The singing sounds of a lazy afternoon shone as brightly as the day. The vibrations of the busy mortals surrounding the lair of the Volturi swept over me in a cacophony of overlapping voices coupled with the steady beats of millions of ephemeral hearts. The sensations of life swept over me and a long smile pulled across my face. I was still alive.
Along with this realization came the bombardment of pain. I settled back into consciousness and into reality as a sharp ache traveled through my body as if someone flipped the switch on an electrical circuit. My flesh erupted, spewing volcanic matter throughout my blood stream. I fought back the tears and the roar growing inside of me. An echo trickled like a stream of silvery water winding through the wasteland of a desert. "Embrace," came the androgynous voice of Anryon from the trench of my mind.
I felt the drag of the chains straining against my wrists and ankles. Every inch of my skin stung and burned and I felt the dark blood stirring within me. I closed my eyes to the light of day and fell into the sanctuary of my mind. I fought to shut out the voices that sounded in my head. I pushed them away and forced myself into the depths of deafening silence. I allowed soft black eyes framed by copper skin and long black locks to accompany me on my journey. I focused my mind outward to my protector. I could feel the hum of his energy and hear the soft drum of his heart. Breathing in the sun-drenched air which smelled delicious, I wrapped my self around Jake. My mind's eye saw him holding Tala, all wrapped in a pale pink blanket and sleeping in his tender arms. I could feel his love for our child singing from deep within him. I gathered strength from him and moved through my mind toward my mother, my human mother. I fell back into the familiarity and warmth of her womb. I listened to her bell-like voice as she fought for my life and for her own. The love that I innately held for her washed over me like waves lapping at the shoreline. I felt a glow beginning to generate within my dark blood. The roars of the monster within me were far away, but I could hear him calming, listening to my memories and thoughts.
I shifted to the bronze statue that was David. His charming appeal and the sweet taste of his life-saving blood flashed in my thoughts. I felt the heat of the dark gift pulling me back from the nothingness. I felt his white hand extending out to save me as he poured so much of himself into me. The beauty of his perfect face and the marbleized flesh of his arms enveloped me in comfort and love that came only from my Maker. I felt a smile fall gracefully onto my lips as the glow within me grew warmer. Suddenly, the rest of my family surrounded me. Carlisle's wisdom flowed freely into my mind as he bestowed upon me the gift of knowledge and the compassion that accompanied it. Esme's nurturing and care smiled down upon me with love that can only come from a grandmother. Alice's twinkling voice chirped joyfully in my ear. A smile beamed from her pixie face. Her thoughtfulness and love drove me forward to Rosalie. Her beauty truly shone from within her, it was her human appearance that which she clung to. She embodied beauty as the mark of her humanity. Emmett's strong arms blanketed over her as a broad smile boomed from his laughing face. Mischief gleamed in his eyes and I thought of youthful prowess and the strength that came with a certain amount of immaturity. His love was innocent and pure and loyal. My emotions shifted, growing stronger as Jasper stepped into my thoughts. Crescent scars glowed from his flesh and the pain and suffering that he endured in obtaining them drew dark shadows in his eyes. Partially tamed blood lust seethed within him, just below the breaking point. His intense ability to give and receive washed over me as I absorbed his mental strength. And as if he had been waiting, saving himself for last, the handsome image of my father sat at the piano, motioning for me to come and join him. The sweet sound of lullabies from my fleeting childhood filled the air. The keys danced beneath his skilled fingers as he played for me. I could feel his love and protection wrapping around me. I peered into his amber eyes and knew unconditional love. He smiled and I saw my future flash before my eyes. The music and love rolled through my mind and into my blood. A strange sensation overcame me. I was filled to the brink with emotions borrowed from all three of bloodlines. The watery thoughts poured down the mountainside of my mind, racing toward the damn. Swirling and teeming with raw emotion and unbridled power, they tore through the barrier breaking the levy. My emotions cascaded into a waterfall that crashed into my blood. The waters ran red as I embraced the past and the present. Through this acceptance I gained a future.
My blood sang an epic ballad as it rejuvenated my mind and body. It swept through me on a speeding current healing my wounds and restoring my strength. The power ripped through me, easily stripping me of my confinements. The cloud gift lifted me from the surface that Marcus had chosen to be my death bed and propelled me up into the sapphire sky. I thought my body would burst from the surge of energy that blasted outward as my skin threw the rays of the sun back up to its celestial birth place. Rolling laughter erupted from deep within me as sheer joy shivered like tiny drops of morning dew out into the expanding sky. I threw my head back in pure elation. My skin had turned to a slate of flawless diamonds, glistening and pulsing as it rejected the shining blaze of the sun.
Before I realized my travels, I was far above the earth's surface lost among the white fleet. My awareness returned and my mind sparked one thought. Marcus. God-like power swelled within my veins. My eyes narrowed in focus as I delicately lowered myself within earthly bounds. Like a blossom born of a cherry tree, I descended lightly and effortlessly upon the back of the wind without so much as whisper. The vast color scheme of the landscape stole the air from my lungs. Lusciously vivid color sired newly captivating enchantments below. The artist's pallet bore witness to colors unseen, unimagined. I gasped with pleasure at the sights and sensations that saturated my body entirely. To say that it was difficult to focus would have been ludicrous. My sensations were swirling on overload. The dark blood pounding within me reveled in ecstasy at its ability to bask in the light of day. I could have lost myself for centuries upon the drifting wind. I would have let the waves of the sea wash me from shoreline to shoreline across the vastness of the indigo waters of the ocean. My attention would not falter nor wane under the undeniable majesty of nature's creation.
It was a scream that awoke me from my fascination-- a horrible scream. My eyes flickered hastily as I returned to the present. My mind quickened as I began the search for the source. I had underestimated my power because before I could command my brain to get to work, the blood had already propelled me straight into the blood-sucking mouth of danger. In a hasty blur, all was realized.
"Alice!" I bellowed. "Let her go!" Rage boiled my blood as the image of the three sentinels bent over her restraining her tiny body instantly burst into flames, screaming in pain and fear they fled for their immortality. Alice fell in a heap to the ground. Blood leaked from the puncture wounds that the guards had inflicted creating a grotesque seen. My aunt lay bleeding and weak. I fell to her aid, running my hands soothingly over her face and jetting hair. In panic, I stole a glance of my surroundings. The Volturi walls stood high above gazing down upon the hideous scene.
Alice was weakened, but still conscious. She peered up at me as I held her limp body in my arms, "So beautiful," she whispered in exhausted astonishment Her eyes widened, "Nessie, the others..."
My attention quickly flickered away from the drained pixie. Jasper rushed instantly to my side, his crescent scars gleamed in the silverly sun light. His face twisted in utter shock and horror as he stared down at his lover and wife, "Get her out of here! Find my dad and Carlisle. She will know where to go!" I cried, pushing her into his arms. The two locked eyes as Alice fought to steady her emotions. "I said go!" Jasper took one fleeting look of panic into my eyes. The thought screamed out of his mind and into mine, Power! He felt my radiating intensity and he instantly trusted my strength. He hugged Alice close to his chest as he catapulted himself over the wall.
Volturi soldiers flew into the open courtyard from every direction. Marcus' voice blared from the tower above, "Stop them!" He yelled after Jasper and Alice. His cry was impregnated with rage and abhorrence. His vision jumped down to me. The image of his dark crimson eyes burned into the very depths of my soul. I jumped as the wall beside me erupted in a fountain of rumble as the twisted body of a sentinel smashed against it.
"How do you like them apples?" Emmett's voice boomed with laughter as he seized his next attacker. He roared like a lion on steroids as he ripped the vampire in his clutches to shreds. Another threatened to over take him from behind. Again, the blood reacted as I sent the would-be assailant crashing into a heap of broken bones and pooling blood. "Whoa," he exclaimed, "What the hell happened to you, Ness? You been eating your Wheaties, or what? Oh, and nice bling!" he said with an approvingly thuggish nod.
"Emmett! Where's Rose and my mom?" I said ignoring his usual banter. Leave it to Emmett, in the face of certain annihilation, always with the jokes.
He turned his head from side to side with a shrug, "Oh don't you worry about them, Rosie can take care of herself and your mom... Well, we all know what happens when someone comes after her family..."
I couldn't help but laugh and nod. "Yeah, okay you're right..."
A daunting shadow blocked the sun and Emmett's sparkling skin went back to stony white. "How?!" Marcus screamed down at me, breaking up mine and Emmett's light-hearted fun. "HOW?! You should be dead, reduced to a pile of ashes by now, how the hell did you survive?" He swiftly flew from the tower at blinding speed. His rage coupled with confusion and hate and all I could see were his dark eyes diving down upon me. In one easy swing of his enormous fist, Emmett knocked Marcus off coarse, sending him crashing to the ground at my feet.
Emmett snarled viciously and crouched into attack mode, baring his teeth in a feral manner. His snarl was joined my the combining hiss of my mom and Rosalie taking his side. The three of them stood between Marcus and I, poised and ready to spring. Marcus rose lightly to his feet and threw his head back in mad laughter. "You think that you can destroy me?" His face twisted into an evil grin. "You will bow to me, my children. To destroy me is to destroy yourselves and each other. You have no choice, you will surrender to my will or you will die along with the rest of your wretched vegetarian family!"
My three protectors made no move toward submission. Emmett rashly launched himself into Marcus' waiting arms. The two snarled and snapped striking viciously out at one another. Emmett managed to deliver a slicing blow carving a long line across Marcus' now exposed chest. Marcus gasped in pain and crouched to defend himself, but in seconds there was a triple gasp as Emmett, Rose and my mother all clutched their chests in pain as long thin lines of blood formed across their chests. Emmett's face drained of all amusement and he stared in horror at the wound that he had inflicted upon Rosalie. She winced and stared down at the blood covering her hands and then shot a look of absolute terror at Emmett. Marcus' laughter filled the twilight sky. "You cannot destroy me! I am your father and you are my children! You will obey me or you will suffer, even if I have to inflict pain upon myself to make it so. Now, seize them!"
A swarm of roguish looking vampires surrounded us, Emmett moved to attack. "No!" I yelled, "He will hurt you all, just do as he says." Emmett's jaw twitched and his muscles stiffened, but he obeyed my command.
"Ah, the young one again speaks wisely," Marcus sneered, "but I will not be fooled this time. Chain her as well. The steel will not bind her, but she won't risk the harm of her precious family." His eyes were cruel and cold as he pranced before us in clear amusement. His deep red eyes glistened in the last straining rays of the setting sun, "Take them into the great hall. I think they will have the pleasure of being spectators at our next feast."
So, you get the title right? Can you tell me both meanings?
How are you feeling toward Marcus? Do you hate him? Feel sorry for him?
Do you think that Nessie's actions are warranted? Is she abusing her powers?
How do you feel about Nessie's character development? In comparison to how you felt about her earlier in the story? How you felt about Bella in the Twilight series?
Is the diction (word choice) working for you? Is there too much detail? Not enough? Are you getting a vivid picture of the surroundings?
Just some food for thought... I'm trying to keep this story entertaining people and could use the feedback! Please answer any or all of the questions in your response or present thoughts and opinions of your own. Thanks for reading. Hope you are enjoying it as much as I am!