**warning: mild adult theme: consumption of alcohol (just a small bit). 13 and older, please.

In the Grip of Twilight

By:

Olivia Tannis Moore

Chapter Eighteen:

A Day of Legends

I scrambled out of the way on my hands and knees—a miraculous feat for everything happened so quickly…There was chaos, a launching of bodies: Edward launching at Aro; the white-haired Marcus, with Caius at his side, leaping for Edward and colliding just short of Aro. Then I watched in horror as the rest of the Cullen clan spilled into the room, no doubt alerted by Edward's blood-curling roar. Elena was the last to enter the room, and her eyes narrowed as she watched the scuffle.

Emmett bounded from the arched doorway to the ceiling above, then down to the floor where Marcus and Caius were trying to restrain Edward. When he tried to grip Marcus and pull him from Edward, Marcus shoved him with a force that sent him crashing into the fireplace hearth, inches from the roaring fire. I gasped and would have gone to him but Rosalie was there before I could move a muscle. Her eyes flashed with anger as she quickly helped Emmet to his feet before turning her rage to Marcus and Caius who still struggled with her brother. She threw herself against Marcus, breaking his hold on Edward, and they rolled across the floor in a whirl.

I was suddenly scooped from the floor and twirled backwards to the safety of the far wall. I turned my head to see Alice, her arms still around me, eyes surveying what was happening about the parlor. Her eyes grew wide and I followed her gaze to where Carlisle stood in front of Aro. The next moment had Alice and I both gasping, for Aro suddenly leaned his head back and laughed—it appeared to be the most genuine and spontaneous emotion I had yet to see since we arrived.

Aros then clapped Carlisle's shoulder in good humor and raised his hand. "Cease!" he called out, and the room abruptly went still and silent. "It is a day for celebration—not combat!"

Rosalie appeared reluctant to let go of Marcus, but finally did, brushing herself off as she rose from the floor in one elegant leap. Caius immediately released Edward, and Carlisle helped his son from the floor.

Aro said something and Caius left the room only to return seconds later with a wine glass filled with what I could only hope was red wine.

Aro raised the glass in the air as if he were toasting the entire room.

"My friends, my family," he called. "Today is truly a momentous event! A day of legends!" Aro gestured to where Carlisle and a still enraged Edward stood, "My friends have delivered the fabled beast, the Forgotten, to our care—thus ensuring our position over the Lycans."

He paused in his speech long enough to fix me with an appreciate stare. "But who would have thought—when first meeting the delightful Isabella Swan—that we would have amongst us such a rarity…a gift from the humans that sustain us. For in you, Isabella, I have tasted and tested the blood of a Reformer!—the first Reformer in over twelve hundred years!"

***

Every head in the room swiveled around to stare at me. But I looked only at Edward. He was bewildered; his mouth silently formed the word, "No," in one long, drawn out motion.

I didn't know what I'd just been accused of. It sounded like some high honor, except that Edward obviously didn't think so.

Alice still had hold of my arm. "What does it mean?" I asked her.

Alice's usual carefree expression was replaced with one of worry. "It means that things around here are going to be very unpredictable from now on."

Which told me nothing.

"I don't understand…" I said. But Alice obviously thought it was best that I was surrounded by the Cullens. She urged me forward toward Edward and his family. We walked the short distance and stood by his side. There were so many questions I had. He gazed down at me for a split second before turning and whispering to Carlisle.

"My dear," Aro addressed me, "you will be a great asset to us." He raised the wine glass to his lips and drank a small bit before reaching out and handing the glass to me. My quivering hand received it. I assumed I was to drink out of the glass in some ceremonial custom. I sipped at the wine tentatively at first, peering over the rim at Aro. Then the wine was flowing into my mouth and I was gulping at it greedily. In my mind, as clear as if he whispered it into my ear, I could hear Aro's voice encouraging me to drink deeply.

Instantly Edward's hand was pulling the wine glass away from my lips. "She's not used to wine," he told Aro, and I heard the faint rumble of challenge in his low voice.

"Ahhh, my apologies" Aro conceded. "But surely it is not so offensive in light of this wondrous occasion."

I didn't think so. The wine had warmed me, and I now felt as though I could stand there in the presence of these supernatural beings without flinching with fright. I was amazed at what a little bit of wine could do to calm me.

I peered up at Aro, boldly. "If I might ask, what is a Reformer?"

He seemed pleased that I asked. "My child," he said, "A Reformer is one with blood so powerful that it has the ability to enhance the blood of others, or change them from within."

That didn't make sense. I was human. How could my human blood change anything within a vampire?

"Think of it like this," Aro told me. "The blood carries your DNA, which is a blueprint of all your strengths and weaknesses. As a Reformer, and with time, you could erase those weaknesses found in the blood of humans…no more illness or disease. As to what you would bring to our kind…"

"I would strengthen your powers," I finished for him.

There were murmurs throughout the room.

"Yes," he smiled wryly. "Over time. You'll have to develop your skills."

I finally got the general idea of it. No wonder Aro and his brothers were ecstatic about finding another of these reformers—I still couldn't wrap my head around the idea that I was one of these people, couldn't decide if I was truly lucky or not. Besides, there was still one huge question I had to ask.

"Would I have to become a vampire to do this?"

Aro darted a glance at Carlisle and Edward before answering me carefully. "Yes…and no."

***

(Just so that everyone knows, I've tried since Monday morning to get this new chapter posted and couldn't due to this site's technical problems. Also, I've ripped some of the ideas for this story from my own original fiction—Reformers, the virus, and so on—simply because I can't seem to keep Science Fiction (or Fantasy) out of anything I write. And the temptation of mixing mythical creatures with the sci-fi elements was irresistible.

As always, thanks for reading. ---OTM)