In the Grip of Twilight
By: OliviaTannis Moore
Chapter Nine: The Vault
It was nearly eight o'clock when Edward cocked his head and announced that Carlisle was pulling into the driveway.
Esme pushed away from the table and stood. "I'll come back later after you've had a chance to talk." She squeezed Edward's shoulder affectionately, "I'm going to call Emmett and Rosalie home. It's really too bad; they just left for the cabin this morning. But I'll feel better knowing they're here with us."
"Yeah, me too." He paused for a moment, glancing swiftly at me and then back to Esme. "How are we going to keep this hushed while our guest is here?"
Esme looked thoughtful, then said, "We'll do the best we can. I do wish Carlisle would send her home—she'd be safer there. But then there would be questions…"
"—and we don't need the Volturi involved," Edward finished for her.
Esme leaned down and kissed the top of Edward's head. "Carlisle will know what to do when the time comes."
"Know what?" Carlisle said from the door. I hadn't heard it open. He stood there still in his hospital garb, stethoscope slung around his neck. I wondered if he found it unbelievably ironic that a vampire would use such a device, even if it was a prop.
Esme smiled and went to her husband. "I'll let Edward tell you." She stood on the tip of her toes and kissed her husband. "Welcome home." And then she left, closing the door behind her.
I stood up, thinking Edward would probably want to speak to Carlisle in private. But Edward caught my hand and held it. "Stay," he told me. "Whatever concerns me, concerns you, right?"
There was this vulnerability in his eyes; it caught my heart and held it. "Always," I whispered, and sat back down.
Carlisle was incredulous when Edward told him of the Forgotten attacking me in the forest. He listened patiently for a while, then interrupted. "I'm not saying that it's impossible…but are you absolutely certain it was the Forgotten?"
"He's in the vault under the garage. You can check if you like," Edward said.
Anxiously, Carlisle stood. "I think we'd better."
We walked out back to the long garage and Carlisle pressed the security code into the number pad. Then once inside, he reached around a shelving unit and pushed a lever. The entire south wall of the garage slid open to reveal yet another door. I was excited; I'd never been this close to the vault. Earlier, I had stayed outside the garage door while Edward took the creature's body down. And now I was looking at our reflections in the polished steel as we waited for Carlisle to open this last door.
When at last this door swung open, there was a set of stairs which appear to be cut from stone. Old fashioned electric sconces lit the narrow walls as we descended down. The air, surprisingly, was not musty or damp, but had the scent of cedar and antiquity. It was easy to imagine ancient vampiric artifacts and Cullen family heirlooms that were too fantastic and otherworldly to display in Carlisle's office.
The vault itself was a little disappointing. It was just a large rectangular room about the same dimensions as the garage above. And it wasn't like a museum at all, but more like a large storage room where century-old trunks and armoires were stored. I counted more than two dozen of the ornate streamliner trunks stacked three high and scattered randomly about the room as we made our way around and through the clutter.
"I put him over there," Edward pointed to a corner of the room, "in the Egyptian chest. It was the only one deep enough…"
Carlisle strolled to the chest and flung the lid up. He stood peering down into the chest for a long minute. Standing a few feet behind him, we couldn't see his face, but his white-knuckled grip on the walls of the chest told us plenty.
"Is it a positive identification?" Edward asked solemnly.
"I'm afraid so," he said, shoulders slumped. He kept his back to us, staring down at the creature. His remorse was palpable. "I don't think you know what this means…"
Behind us the heavy steel door creaked. The three of us immediately turned around to see Elena standing there, hand on her hip.
"What's so fascinating over there?"
***
(Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hi! It's nice to meet you. –OTM)