Author's note: Howdy, folks!
So, the bad news is that summer is almost over (in the UK, anyway waaaaahhhh ), but, the good news is that I have a new update for you all. I originally planned to post this at the weekend, but, managed to find a new house to move into much quicker than originally thought, so I've decided to do it early, before I get lost in the chore of packing.
Also, thank you to everyone who replied to my plea for a new story title. And, the winner iiiiisssss...Matthias Stormcrow! It was a close call, but, I could only pick one, so thank you for your suggestion :) It also means, funnily enough, that, due to his choice, the title of this story isn't going to change. Here I was, thinking this title was rubbish, yet, most people said they like it as it is.
Another shout out goes to Ivorygirl1990 whose title suggestion wasn't chosen for this story, but, I've decided to use it for another one I'm planning. It's going to basically be Not What It Seems, but, from Carlisle's POV. I'm excited about doing it, whilst terrified at the same time. I'm predicting that writing for a four hundred year old vampire will be far more challenging than a woman in her twenties :/ I'll let you all know when i start posting it up on here :)
So, without further ado, let the next chapter of Not What It Seems commence!
Chapter thirty four
Carlisle Cullen moved like a man possessed. In a way, he was, but, what gripped his soul wasn't any spirit or demon, it was fear. The instant Alice roared his name, he hurtled out of his study for the front door, needing no explanation. There would be only one reason for her reaction and, as I followed him, my body cutting through the sheets of rain like a scythe through wheat, that same fear ran through my veins. I prayed we reached Isabella before any harm befell her.
Movement in the wind behind alerted me to Jasper's presence, with Alice following closely. What she lacked in size, she more than made up for in speed and it wasn't difficult for her to catch up and overtake me. She ran alongside Carlisle and it reminded me that the love she bore for hte girl very much equalled his, albeit in a different way.
We travelled through the woods, needing to move as quickly as possible, without any humans spotting us and it wasn't long before we reached the street where Isabella lived. I wondered if Charlie had born witness to the event, or if he was still blissfully ignorant of what had happened to his daughter. My chest constricted empathetically. With the Seattle Ripper still on the loose, any number of horrific notions would be flying through his mind and the pain of losing a child was one I understood well.
Before morbid thoughts could override my brain completely, I focused my attention to the task at hand. Rather than make wild assumptions, we needed to know exactly what was going on, as Alice hadn't had time to properly explain and I was banking on the smallest chance that we might make it in time. As soon as we neared the driveway of the Swan residence, it was hard to discern whether we were too late. The house itself looked perfectly normal, but a growl from behind made us all halt and turn. A wolf emerged from the shadows, followed closely by a human Sam.
"Where is she?" Carlisle demanded immediately, having no patience for pleasantries.
"I'm sorry," Sam said, the regret gleaming in his eyes. "She's gone. Taken by one of your kind."
My frozen body turned even colder, a feat I had presumed to be impossible. We were too late and, now, the thing we had feared most was becoming a reality.
"How is that possible?" Carlisle asked, his usual cool demeanour vanishing beneath his distress. "You were supposed to be watching her."
"We were," Sam insisted. "I had three members of the pack on duty, but, they were ambushed and, by the time reinforcements arrived, Bella was already gone."
"Ambushed?" The panic in my voice rang loud and clear. Had the Volturi come already? They couldn't have; this wasn't the way they did things, but, I couldn't ignore the niggling at the back of my brain which told me that underhandedness wasn't beneath them, either. Who else could it have been? Edward had motive, but, if the pack was ambushed, who else was working with him? Had he managed to convince a group of lesser Volturi members to assist him?
Sam was about to start explaining, when another wolf emerged from the brush, unfortunately all-too familiar to me. The recognisable wolf advanced and his body began contorting, before he transformed at an incredible rate before our very eyes, back into his human form. In other circumstances, the fact that Jacob Black was completely naked may have been a distraction, but, the unadulterated fury and loathing in his eyes made it impossible to look anywhere else. He strode towards Carlisle and everything about the lad's posture projected hostility. This situation needed to be diffused now. I could feel the blonde vampire beside me trying desperately to contain himself, but, this was one of those rare situations where his temper could easily snap.
"Are you happy, leech?" Jacob snarled, his progress halted when the Alpha gripped his arm, although, it didn't stop the tirade. "I told her this would happen! I warned her time and time again that you were dangerous and, now, look where we are!"
Jacob pulled free of Sam's grip, but, didn't come any closer to us. Despite his anger, the Quileute was aware of the consequences if he lost it again.
"You should have left her alone," he continued. "Hell, you should've left the state, if you knew what was good for her." He jabbed a finger towards Carlisle. "This is on you, Cullen! Every wound she suffers, every bit of pain she endures is because of you."
My own anger was beginning to surface and I had to clench my fists to keep from launching at the idiotic child. This wasn't helping, it was only wasting time. The blame game could be played later. Right now, we needed to formulate a plan to get Isabella back. It was time to get Mr Testosterone under control. I saw Jasper take a step forward to do so, but, luckily, Sam decided to beat him to it. That was for the best, as, Jacob could easily start a fight with us, but, had no choice when it came to following his Alpha.
"That's enough, Jacob," Sam commanded. "You're supposed to be helping Seth and Leah. Get back to it."
Jacob didn't respond at first, preferring to glare at Carlisle some more. His nostrils flared and broad chest expanded, as he took in a deep breath, before lifting an accusatory finger once more to further emphasise his words.
"Whatever happens to Bella," he said, his voice lowering and becoming far more threatening. "It's your fault."
"Move!" Sam demanded, in a tone that brooked no argument.
With that, Jacob Black turned and marched away, the Alpha's eyes fixed on his back to ensure he didn't come back for more. Once Jacob was out of sight, I allowed myself a quick glance at Carlisle. His face was blank, but, an almost imperceptible mood in his eyes showed the words had cut deep. He was probably already blaming himself, but, the pup's tirade would have only convinced him that the guilt was well placed. I wanted nothing more than to console my companion, as he didn't deserve any of this. By rights, this should have been the happiest point of his existence, having finally found someone who could offer him the love and joy he had given to so many others. At times, Fate could be immeasurably cruel.
With the temperamental pack member gone, Sam was able to continue explaining the situation and I could feel Carlisle's restlessness beside me. He wanted to look for Isabella now, but, we couldn't go about it blindly.
As per usual, three Quileutes had been guarding the house, arranged in a triangular fashion. The first watched the left side, the second watched the right, with the third guarding the rear of the building. The rest of the pack was patrolling the town's borders, on full alert for the arrival of any of the vampires we warned them about. Less than ten minutes ago, a vampiric presence had been detected near the house, the unfamiliarity of the scent meaning it couldn't be any of us. The trio of wolves prepared themselves and the number of vampires was soon revealed to be three. I didn't believe in coincidences at this point, so the fact that the vampires and wolves were evenly matched alarmed me. Someone had been paying close attention.
The vampires knew the Quileutes would attempt to annihilate them as quickly as possible, so they did all they could to lure the wolves away from the house. The plan didn't work as well as they hoped, but, the vampires managed to distract them enough, that the presence of a fourth vampire went undetected. One of the wolves managed to kill his attacker and decided to forgo secrecy to warn Isabella and Charlie, but, despite knowing both residents were home, no answer came. After ramming down the door, the Quileute discovered an unconscious Charlie in his bedroom, with no sign of his daughter.
Through the telekinetic link between the wolves, reinforcements had been called the second the enemies revealed themselves, but, by the time they arrived, it was too late.
"The vampire we caught has been disposed of, so you won't be able to identify him," Sam said. "But, I can describe him. He was a little under six foot, with short, light brown hair and wore frayed, dirty clothing. He was also barefoot, as were the others."
The description didn't ring a bell for me, nor did it for any of my three companions. Whoever this vampire might have been, we had never met him.
"You said Charlie was found unconscious," said Carlisle. "What happened to him?"
"There are no signs of assault," answered Sam. "So we can only assume it's probably something chemical."
That would be where our expertise came in, Carlisle's in particular, but, I wasn't sure if he would be up to the task of examining Charlie, when all he really wanted to do was find his mate. Then again, he had been the first to enquire about the police chief, so, maybe he was willing to spare a few moments to give the man a quick check up.
"Do you know which way the vampires went and did they all head in the same direction?" Jasper was now in full tracking mode, his own area of expertise, and getting to the crucial heart of the matter: locating Isabella.
"We know which way the two of them went, but, saw nothing of the one who took Bella. I already have half the pack circling the town's perimeter, with the remaining half searching the town itself."
Jasper nodded and I could almost see the thoughts skimming through his mind. "It's highly unlikely they will have left Forks just yet," he mused. "On their own, they would have no problem, but, having a human in tow makes things far more difficult. Their best means of transportation would be a vehicle, which limits their escape routes. If they decide not to leave right away, we need to find where they're holed up. As we don't need to change forms to use our enhanced abilities, it'd be best for us to focus on that."
Sam nodded, listening intently and, in that moment, I didn't see two opposing creatures, bred to be natural enemies, forced to work together for a mutual goal. I saw two experienced soldiers, pooling their knowledge in order to overcome a common adversary. That, more than anything, proved how good a leader Sam Uley really was. He may not hold any great love for us, but, he wasn't going to let prejudice blind him to the skills we had to offer. If only he could teach some of the other members of his tribe that.
"There are two other members of this coven who don't currently live in Forks at this moment," I began. "Will you allow us to contact them to enlist their help?"
"Are they like you?" Sam asked and I knew he was referring to our diet.
"They don't feed off of humans," I confirmed.
"We'll need a full description of them, along with their names and expected time of arrival."
"I will call them to see if they will come," I said, to which he nodded his agreement.
Jasper spoke once more. "Before we begin our search, I'll need to pick up the scents of these vampires. Can you show me where they were?"
Sam led the way for Jasper to follow.
"I will see to Charlie," offered Carlisle, striding towards the house, without waiting for any response. Watching him walk away was enough to make my dead heart ache in sorrow. This was all wrong; it shouldn't have been this way.
I glanced at Alice and, the moment I saw her face, knew what was going through her mind. Gripping each arm, I forced her to look into my eyes.
"Don't you dare," I warned, able to identify her levels of guilt were rapidly matching Carlisle's. "You have no control over your premonitions, otherwise you would have been able to see all of this clearly. You did all you were able to do, so, now, you must focus on saving her, rather than dwelling on what-ifs and should-have-beens."
She was trying to believe me, I knew she was, but, Alice was always her own biggest critic. Be it designing a wardrobe, or keeping an eye on the stock market, she would accept nothing less from herself than absolute perfection and success. There was little else I could do or say, so, hoped that the task of finding Isabella would be enough to distract her from self-doubt. She eventually nodded and I gave her arms a quick squeeze, before she decided to follow Jasper and Sam, leaving me to do something I initially considered the first day Edward arrived.
I began strolling towards the house, as I took my cell phone out of my jacket pocket and scrolled through the list of contacts to reach the desired number. Heading up the stairs, I had expected Carlisle to be in Charlie's bedroom, but, a quick survey proved it to be sorely lacking in vampires. The only other room logical for him to be in was Isabella's and my spirit sank, as I imagined how badly he would be torturing himself over her disappearance.
Reaching the doorway, the door itself was wide open and Carlisle was stood in the middle of the room, his back to me. I pressed the call button on my cell and lifted the device to my ear, praying the people at the other end would pick up. The line started ringing and that was when I saw it, the reason Carlisle Cullen had turned to metaphorical stone.
Resting against the window ledge was a large board, its width just short of matching the window. Decorating the board was a collage of assorted black and white pictures and every single one shared a common focal point. Whether disturbingly close-up, or so far away that only our eyes would have been able to spot her, each one was a photograph of Isabella. A message was scrawled across the photos, written either in red pen or paint and, thankfully, not blood. It was only two words, words that, in any other context would have been completely harmless. However, in this situation, they caused my chest to constrict in terror.
Guess who...
"Oh God," I breathed.
I was so lost in my dread, that it took a voice to practically scream down the line at me, before I realised my call had been answered.
"Esme?" called the increasingly panicked voice. "Answer me, for goodness sake!"
"Rosalie," I eventually managed to say. "We need your help."
000
Pain was what registered first. It pulsed with every heartbeat and felt like thunderclaps in my brain. My neck and shoulders hurt, too, but, it was hard to register their discomfort against the pounding of my head. It was so bad that I found it impossible to fall back to sleep, even though I wanted to do nothing more. In the end, I gave up and slowly opened my eyes.
Darkness was the second thing to greet me. It confused me. Shouldn't I be able to see something? A surge of panic overwhelmed me, as I thought I may have gone blind in my sleep, until I noticed a faint, dull blur, far off in the distance. Where the Hell was I? Before I could even try to locate my last memories, I shifted to sit up, assuming greater clarity would be accomplished from that position, but something stopped me. In my grogginess, it took some time for me to realize that I couldn't move. My confusion grew with every moment. Had I become a paraplegic, too? Blind and crippled, that was quite a debilitating combination.
A shake of the head quickly ended that bizarre tangent, as a fresh wave of agony enveloped my skull. I waited for the pain to subside and then settled for allowing myself a moment to properly get my bearings. Wherever I was, it was dark, so I had to rely on my other senses to figure the situation out. I was lying on my left side, my arm uncomfortably pinned beneath my torso and my hands were resting at the small of my back. I twisted my wrists and felt something rubbing against them. It was coarse and further exploration by my fingers revealed it to be...rope?
The headache immediately ceased, to be replaced by blind panic. I was tied up! Why was I tied up? Where was I? Why was it so dark? Who did this to me? Those were four of the many, many questions assaulting my useless brain and, in a desire to not seem as useless as I felt, I tried sitting up once more, but it was hard to do at such an angle without the use of your hands. My legs proved equally unhelpful and I discovered that they, too, were bound together. I was stuck, with no idea of where I was, or what was going to happen to me.
I didn't give up straight away. In fact, it wasn't until the rope started causing friction burn that I finally stopped trying. Whatever was going on, I knew that broken wrists wouldn't aid me. Instead, I settled for attempting to gather my thoughts again and work out the last thing I remembered. It was easier said than done and I ended up squeezing my eyes shut, hoping it might help. It didn't. I was too wound up and still feeling the effects of sleep (or unconsciousness) to be able to perform the task successfully.
I was unable to stand the thought of just laying in silence for an infinite amount of time, welcoming whatever horrid fate awaited me, so, tried to change positions for the third time. Rather than sit, I decided to simply roll onto my other side, if only to allow blood to flow through my left arm. As I rolled, something touched my face. It wasn't quite as rough as the rope around my hands, but it came close and I suddenly realised there was something covering my head. Any doubt that may have remained was banished and I finally acknowledged the conclusion I'd come to the second my fingers touched the rope. I had been kidnapped. With that acknowledgement came the sought after flash of memory and I remembered being in my kitchen, preparing some kind of food. There had been a noise, a knocking, perhaps and I'd gone to locate the source. The longer the scene played out, the sharper the image became and I saw myself walking to the front door, reaching for the door handle. Then...
Nothing. That was when the memory ended and darkness reigned supreme. I must have been knocked unconscious. Surprisingly, knowing that actually calmed my fears, rather than heightening them. At least I knew what was actually going on. Of course, that didn't mean I was anywhere near consoled by the news. Someone had kidnapped me...but...who? A suspicion immediately rose in my mind and I shut my eyes again, as if trying to block out the suggestion. It was too frightening to consider, but, the sensible part of my mind told me I'd have to confront it at some stage.
That stage came sooner than I either wanted or expected, as my ears picked up a faint sound. It was soft, like a palm brushing against cotton, or a comb running through hair and I stilled, listening to the sound, as it grew steadily in volume. Eventually recognising the noise as footsteps, my breath hitched in terror, as I considered the possibility of my worst fears becoming realised. The feet stopped beside me and a period of silence passed. I counted the seconds in shaky breaths, my heart thudding deafeningly against my chest and almost screamed when something encircled my arm. Luckily, I was able to strangle the sound, minimising it to a high-pitched whimper. I wasn't sure of the reason for my reluctance to verbalise my fear. Perhaps it was because I had a feeling the person I suspected to be my captor got off on that sort of thing. Pleading for mercy would only spur him on.
Without warning, the darkness was stripped away, to reveal blinding light. My eyelids slammed down and I tried to avoid the glare by burying my face in the floor, feeling moisture prickle against my sensitive eyes. Within moments, a pair of strong fingers hooked under my jaw and forced my face back into its original position, but, the light was still too painful for my eyes to open. Behind my lids, I felt the light dim considerably, although it was nowhere close to its previous darkness. It was enough for my eyelids to attempt fluttering open, but took a while for them to widen fully. My vision was blurred, but, clear enough for me to discover the reason for the sudden dimming of the light. Someone was crouched before me-a man-and I blinked furiously to sharpen my sight. The second the male countenance reached full definition, I begged for unconsciousness to return.
"Good evening, Miss Swan," purred a cool, satiny voice, which held the ability to stop my heart.
I may have pleaded silently to the Heavens above for the man to be anyone but him, but, had there really ever been any doubt? The moment I woke, lying on the floor, head covered, hands and feet bound, deep down I'd known exactly who my captor would be; the dread roaring through my veins told me so.
So, eyes wide with trepidation and lips trembling in fear, I, for the third time, gazed upon Edward Masen.
A/N: I tried my hardest to make this a TA-DAH moment, but, I think you all knew who it was going to be. Oh well, speak to you all very soon :)