Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.
Chapter 27: Revenge
BPOV
I had been following the events from my perch above in one of the trees nearby. I was strategically placed - close enough, but far enough away so that she wouldn't sense me. Alice had insisted that the whole family wear certain colors, all dark, to blend in better with the shadows of the forest. I had to admit, she had been right - no matter how odd I felt, perched on a tree limb in the forest wearing black, no one would see me up here, unless they knew where I was, and I was thankful for that.
Waiting, my anticipation was building to where I could barely contain it. When Victoria came within sight, I caught my breath as Edward and Alice secured her. I had wondered at Edward's strength when Alice had let go, realizing he didn't need her help. Edward began to taunt her, showing her the wolves waiting to devour her. I took notice of Jake, as he fought to maintain his position. When Edward whirled Victoria around to see the Cullens surrounding from both the east and west, I smiled bitterly to myself, feeding off the fear from this woman. Her thoughts made me want to laugh. She was so sickly insane. James had wanted to kill me, not date me, or even change me - how incredibly delusional. Now that I understood my gift better, I purposefully kept any thoughts from her, just in case - I didn't know if she'd hear me, but I didn't want to clue her in, nonetheless. As Carlisle had reminded me, we still weren't sure if it was only the Cullens that I would share powers with.
When she spoke of my parents, I bristled, shaking with anger. I had almost leapt from my tree right then, but Rosalie had stepped forward, reassuring me to wait. She was almost as disgusted as I was.
Edward had decided to have a bit of fun with Victoria. He wanted to instill the real meaning of fear in her. He wanted to break her, to be the one to rip her to pieces. Knowing this, I only appreciated him more, as he was willing to overlook his needs for mine. He settled on tormenting her a bit instead. I almost laughed aloud as he spoke of the wolves' connection with me, as Jacob stalked toward her menacingly. It took every bit of self control Jake had not to attack. He was begging Edward to let her go, to lightly push her forward into his reach. Somehow, he'd managed to maintain himself - he was doing this just for me. It didn't surprise me when he turned, threateningly, snapping at Victoria...he just wanted to get his point across a bit more. Again, I fought to keep the bitter laughter within.
I was wondering how much longer it would be, when suddenly, I heard Edward call out, "Bella, love..."
Crouching, I leapt from tree to tree. Within seconds, I found myself in the correct place, at the tree that I wanted. I lithely jumped to the ground, and found myself staring at Victoria and Edward; Edward smiled at me lovingly.
"I told you that you wouldn't like this option..." Edward whispered into Victoria's ear.
Victoria's eyes were bulging, her head rolling. She was beside herself, disbelieving. Suddenly, she snapped her attention back in my direction.
"Bella...." she hissed maniacally. "I thought I'd already taken care of you. Remember? Remember your pathetic father? Your mother? All of them! Weak, like you!" she ranted. "You're nothing!"
"Are you ready?" Edward thought. I simply nodded once in response, the rest of my entire being focused on the woman in front of me.
Edward leaned into Victoria, murmuring, "I would gladly tear you apart limb from limb right, and make you beg for mercy; however, I must gracefully bow out to Bella. She deserves this honor far more than I do," he said, releasing Victoria, and stepping behind me to block the north.
The Cullens started to spread out. They moved slowly, positioning themselves into our familiar circle formation. The wolves started to spread out around the perimeter of the circle, just in case they were needed. They kept their distance out of respect, but didn't stray far - they didn't want to take too many chances.
Victoria looked up, her eyes meeting mine. She had no one restraining her, but she did not run. As soon as she met my gaze, her eyes became wild.
"Bella," Victoria whispered, grasping her head as she as she swept to the side, tormented. She was deranged. She froze, her hands still entangled in her flaming red hair. Suddenly, she dropped them back to her side. She tilted her head, studying me. Nostrils flaring, she slowly began laughing.
"This is actually a wonderful surprise, Bella. The very people who claim to love you so much have brought you here, to me. A newborn, completely useless - yes, you may have strength, but I have so much more than strength, Bella. I know newborns, I know how they think, how they fight. These people..." she glanced all around her, "these people who you think so much of, who say they love you, have grown tired of you. Tired of your whining, tired of your stupidity, tired of everything about you. Even as a vampire, you simply bore them. So, you showed up on their doorstep and they took you in - I guess they had to, otherwise they'd feel responsible for letting a newborn roam wildly through town. If they loved you so much, you know they wouldn't put you here, right in front of me...no, they wouldn't. They went to such lengths to keep you from James..." Victoria trailed off as she mentioned James, her eyes glazing over.
I'd had enough of her senseless tirade. Just to figure out what I needed to know, I thought to her..."James hated you. He thought you were crazy." She didn't respond - she was still lost in her memories.
So, I had my answer. I only share my gifts with the Cullens. Since I could hear Victoria's thoughts, I knew that I could use a particular power on other vampires if one or more of the Cullens are around me, but I wouldn't share them with anyone outside our family. I was quite sure that if Edward were here, but not Jasper, I would be able to hear Victoria's thoughts, but I wouldn't be able to influence her emotions. Thankfully, they were all here. It would go as we had hoped, only better now, knowing that Victoria couldn't connect with me the way the Cullens could.
Victoria shook her head, as if trying to clear it. She turned her attention back to me, seething. "So your precious little family wants to watch you die, Bella. How does that make you feel?"
Slowly, I began circling her. Victoria automatically mirrored my movements. "Victoria, you know nothing of love," I hissed softly. "What's more unfortunate, is that you never will."
There was an intense array of emotions surrounding me - the tension was thick, as my family waited for me to attack.
"Don't you say that to me! James loved me, Bella! Not you! Never you!" Victoria screeched, her delusions taking over again. Her thoughts became crazed, diseased. She lost control and flew towards me.
Immediately, Emmett began concentrating on his power, and I focused myself on him. As Victoria flew into me, I grasped her by the left arm, twisting her around so that I was holding her against me, her arm pinned behind her back, the crease of my elbow secured around her throat. I had no problem restraining her.
"I never said he did, Victoria. You see, you've become delusional. Believe me, I never wanted anything to do with your sick, depraved James. Just as I never wanted anything to do with you, Victoria. But for some reason, neither one of you ever seemed to be able to leave me alone!" I growled, sending her flying across the circle, straight into Emmett, who eagerly reached out to stop her. He grabbed her arm before throwing her back towards the middle of the circle. Victoria's furious screams filled the air.
"Sorry, Bella - I couldn't resist," Emmett thought to me, holding one of Victoria's arms in his hand.
I smiled grimly back at him. "I know," I thought back.
"Hey Vicky - here's your arm back, I'm sure Bella will want to remove it herself later," Emmett called out, tossing her arm back at her.
Victoria caught her arm, which twitched, as it reattached itself to her body. She was really losing it now. Fear, panic, and sheer madness were overwhelming her mind. She looked all around her, desperate for some way to escape. Her instinct to evade was taking control again.
"Do you know what I want, Victoria? I want you to know how I've felt...I want you to feel the pain I've experienced, losing my parents - to you," I said softly, beginning to circle again.
I began to focus on Rosalie, and the tenacity instantly poured into me. At the same time, I felt Jasper react to the situation, and pulled the desired emotions from him, mixing the fear, despair, and panic with the tenacity. As it combined within me, I pushed it towards Victoria, who suddenly looked like she'd been hit by something. Her head flew back, and she stumbled, before completely falling back to the ground. Her hands grasped her head, and she curled up into a ball. She began gasping for air, rocking back and forth. I increased the intensity, thinking strongly of my parents, willing her to feel what I've felt. Sobs began to rip from her throat, the pain unbearable.
I walked up to where she sat huddled on the ground, sobbing hysterically. Standing there, looking down at her, I continued to let her endure the despair for a while. I played with the levels of it - first I toned it down, so that she thought it was almost over, and then, as she would begin to quiet, I unleashed the full force of it back onto her, sending her into convulsions all over again.
Eventually, I leaned in close to her. "It hurts, doesn't it? Trust me, I know," I hissed softly. I slowly let go of my focus on Rosalie and Jasper, and Victoria began to uncurl herself. She sprang to her feet, stepping back from me, her head whipping around wildly, looking for some way out.
"Sorry, Victoria, there's really no where left to go," I whispered, sinking into a crouch. She turned back towards me, mimicking my motions, growling fiercely.
Readying myself, I attacked. We met, crashing together. I could fully utilize Emmett's ability and end this quickly, but that's not what I wanted. I wanted to make her fear me, to fear death itself.
Focusing on the elements I needed, I only used what I wanted. My strength, combined with the ability to hear her thoughts, put her at a great disadvantage. I read every move she thought to make, and countered before she could act. Enjoying the shock and confusion emanating from her, I took my time, the sickly sound of her snapping bones only encouraging me. My family stood by, solemnly watching over me, ready to protect me, although I didn't need it. Finally, I came to terms with ending it, and threw her to the ground.
She began crawling backwards, away from me. Standing slowly, she moved awkwardly, many of her broken bones forming unusual angles. I let her take a few more steps backward before mentally stopping her, exercising my ability to control her actions. Enough anger coursed through me that I didn't need Jasper's help, as I made Victoria freeze in her steps. She moved unwillingly towards me, her eyes bulging. Controlling her movements, I brought her to a stop right in front of me. She involuntarily sunk to the ground at my feet, her mind fighting every movement I forced her to make.
"Interesting, isn't it Victoria? In trying to kill me, you ended up contributing to what I've wanted - eternity with Edward and his family. What's more ironic, is that in doing so, you basically gave me what I need to kill you," I said sarcastically. "However, you did take some things from me, things that weren't yours to take, and that was very wrong..." I drifted off as I focused on Jasper, silently letting him know what I needed. He responded, and I sent a wave of absolute terror at her. She cried out; every part of her body was screaming for her to run, and her mind was full of panic at the inability to control her own actions.
I latched on to Emmett's strength, and rushed forward. Within mere seconds, I had dismembered Victoria...almost. I left her head and torso intact, just for one last moment.
I gathered the other body parts, and formed a neat pile, a few yards away from her. One of the arms started twitching, and began to crawl back towards her. I picked it up and tossed it back to the pile.
"Well, we can't have that now, can we?" I asked softly, looking into Victoria's eyes. Her insanity screamed at me. She was truly terrified.
Glancing at Edward, he met my gaze soberly, reached into his pocket, and tossed me his lighter. I turned back to Victoria.
Without saying a word, I lit the pile of her limbs. Victoria's screams pierced the air, as she watched half of her body burn in front of her. I glared back at her, not feeling even an ounce of regret.
As the pile disappeared, and the flames diminished, I spoke softly to Victoria. "I wanted you to see half of your life disappear before your own eyes. Now you know how I felt, watching my father die. Now you know that there's no possible way out of this for you." The terror coming from her was immense. She was full of hatred for me, yet entirely fearful of me as well. I smiled to myself.
My family members were full of reverence for me, and I was filled with gratitude to have them here. I caught sight of Jacob, back in the distance. He focused his thoughts on me, and he too was full of admiration. Finally, I turned my attention back to Edward. As I met his gaze, I saw nothing but sincere, intense love for me. His thoughts filled my mind. "Finish this, Bella."
Closing my eyes, I bowed my head, and began to concentrate. I focused on each of my family members, and my love for them. Jasper's waves of anger rushed towards me - this was intense, unrestrained anger - he was holding nothing back this time. Raising my arms out to my sides, my palms up, I welcomed the surge of animosity. The wind began to swirl all around me. I hesitated, letting the power build to an unfathomable level. As the wind rocked through me, I snapped my head up, meeting Victoria's panicked eyes.
"Oh, how the powerful fall," I hissed, throwing everything I had toward her. It made me stumble back, as did the rest of the Cullens. The wolves had already cautiously moved considerably further back, sensing the charged, unstable atmosphere.
The full force of my power hit what remained of Victoria. Upon impact, she literally shattered. Her piercing screams echoed, pieces of her flying in all directions, landing all around us.
My family, as well as the wolves, sprung into action, collecting every piece there was, combining them into a pile. When every last piece was collected, Edward approached me, where I had sunk to the ground.
"Bella, it's time..." he began.
Standing slowly, I looked into his eyes. "Edward, why don't you do it?"
He was thankful for my suggestion, as he strode to the remains and flicked his lighter open. He felt great satisfaction in disposing of the last bits of her.
As the final pieces of Victoria burned, the Cullens and I all came together, encircling the small fire. The wolves moved in closer, observing with us. We all felt a sense of closure as the last flames licked viciously, consuming our enemy.
After the fire died down, the wolves turned, disappearing into the forest. Jacob lingered for a moment, studying me, making sure I was all right, before he turned to follow the pack.
Edward turned to me, reaching out his hand. I grasped it, and we turned our back on the putrid violet smoke, heading hand in hand back to our home, with our family following closely behind.