Chapter Thirteen
Was is so wrong to feel pleasure from his pain? He caused so much trouble to the natural balance of the world, even the blond doctor didn't go as far as Edward. But really? Was the sadism justified? No. But what else was there to do? Let them go unpunished? The Volturi said they had a handle on things, but that was a LIE! They let the boy go unpunished, then again, they too were vampires. The only reason Alec was still walking the planet was because of her, and even then he fled at the height of the great purge. Vampires were not to be trusted and broke their own vow.
"'A Necromancer's bane is a life lost in vain. A warlock's power runs stronger by the hour. An immortal is chilled when their love is killed.' I almost pity you. It can't be easy being a vampire with nothing. I can't blame you on trying to settle down with a little family of your own. Carlisle made it look so easy. But the thing is, it's against my laws." The woman encircled the writhing male, her voiced laced with a malice that only a true sorceress whom had suffered could use.
Whispering, "Bella…" Was all Edward could manage. The girl's screams had long since faded. At least the vampire knew that his wife was still alive when her cries were still to be heard, but this? It was killing him, like Nimueh had plunged her hand into the man's diamond chest and tore out his cold, still, heart, and held it above her as if offering it to the gods.
All my friends were slaughtered in front of me by a traitor. He knew the terms, one life must be taken for another to be given. If only he listened. The dragons fell. The vampires fled. The werewolves and waters silenced. Druids and wizards alike sent into hiding. The truth is, the number of wizards never truthfully declined. What of little Edward here? He has magic, practiced yet forgotten. A pity. He belongs in this time with our people, but the rule of Necromancy was BROKEN!….
No matter how hard he tried, Edward could not regain the connection with Nimueh's mind, as if she only allowed him to see what she wanted him to. "EDWARD!!! ED!!" Suddenly, his small, pixie-like sister flew through the trees hugging him with as much force as possible. The girl was sobbing. Edward could feel warm tears run down the back of his neck.
Pulling his adoptive sister away to face him, he noticed her cheeks were red, her eyes human. What had they done to her? "They've -- Taken -- HIM!!" The girl cried with each sob. "They're going to kill him! PLEASE EDWARD!" Alice was hyperventilating, and not consciously clawing at the copper haired vampire's face, her nails splintering as she did so.
Looking up at Nimueh Edward pleaded, "Stop this! Please, I'm begging you. Whatever you want, have it. HAVE IT!"
Calmly, the woman replied, "There is nothing you can possibly give me that would pay your debt. It is the way of the Old Religion. A vampire creating a family by transformation is, fine, if controlled. But the birth of a supernatural entity as unnatural as little Renesmee cannot go unpunished. I, unlike the Volturi, don't care if you told the whole of mortal kind of your existence, but the creation of an abomination such as little 'Nessie' must be dealt with." This was the last straw, within a flash of light, Edward had dove at the woman, only to fly back several feet.
"I'm next." Whispered the male, slightly light headed, weakened. He felt a major palpitation and his, once still, heart beat furiously, sulphur racing through his arteries. His vision blurred. Then darkness. The face of Bella printed on his mind. Bella, the teenage girl who met her premature death in me. He loved her, and in that, killed her. No matter what he did, it just led her into more trouble. He had left her once before, and it was as if he had just thrown her into the jaws of the wolves. They were safer that the undead, by far.
Feeling the chill of air around him, the boy rolled onto his side, only to see the body of Merlin. He had forgotten about the boy whom he admired. All through Edward's childhood he read stories of wizards, their abilities, and Merlin, helping Arthur, saving his life countless times. And Nimueh, she whom the stories underestimated. Never had the young Edward Anthony Masen ever contemplated that she was so malicious, so sadistic.
Choking, the boy fell straight onto his back again. His eyelids felt heavy. Just as he was falling asleep, two icy hands dragged him up by the neck. Edward was face to face with James, who's teeth were bared and a snarl rising deep from within. "You'll be joining your girlfriend soon, human."
Defenceless, Edward was dragged into the darkness of the forest. The ground seemed to become sodden with a thick liquid. Blood. The further into the forest the thicker the liquid. They reached another clearing, flooded with blood, a still pale figure, her hair matted, stuck to her face. The body of Bella.
Being dropped beside the girl's body, Edward's blood boiled with rage. His eyes flooded with tears. But he was too weak. He was dying and he could not save the one he loved. She was gone. Forever.
Suddenly, there was the sound of Alice, crying out to someone. The name undecipherable from the sobs. She was thrown into the blood soaked clearing, alongside the corpse of Merlin. Nimueh never felt so powerful, the forces of the Old Religion streaming through her. But there were other mysteries that were supposed to unfold, other journeys travelled. Maybe fate was avoidable, for it was not carved in stone that Merlin was to help Arthur to the thrown, or that Edward was to end like this. Magic had a lot to answer for, and so did Carlisle.