BELLA
I knew Edward would fine someone. He didn't love me. Okay, he never loved me. And now I get the joy of seeing him holding a blonde vampire…and not moving. None of the vampires are moving.
"That's disorienting," Jen states calmly.
"What just happened?" Bethany asks. She sounds scared. I shake myself out of my haze.
"Well, you put this area into a temporary shield that stops the passage of time," I explain to her.
"…what?" Bethany now sounds really upset.
"There is nothing wrong to be upset about darlin'. You haven't fully grown into your powers. You also don't have enough training to have the discipline needed to control your powers. It happens to all of us. When I first presented I accidentally blew up my father's police cruiser. You want to talk about a mess. Compared to that, this is nothing," I try to assure.
"Yeah, that was a mess, but it was so funny," Jen laughs. I can't hold back my own giggles either, but Bethany does not look amused.
"I'm still confused. Like a time warp? That sounds complicated to me. How did I do that?" Bethany stutters.
"Okay, I told you that I think you might specialize in Healing, right?" Jen asks.
"Yeah…" Bethany tentatively answers.
"There are a few reasons I feel that way. One of them is because you have a heightened ability to feel other people's pain, which is a good quality for a Healer. Bella was suddenly faced with the love of her life holding another woman. You could feel her pain before it even registered with either of you. Your magic reacted and this time warp was created to help Bella avoid the pain of talking to the ass that broke her heart," Jen carefully explains.
Damn. She's right. I was completely caught off-guard. The shock of seeing them all again masked my pain at seeing Edward holding another woman. Now they all stand frozen in time…at least until Bethany gets so far away from the clearing. I don't have to have the awkward conversation that was about to happen. That's a relief. However, now I am faced with a jealousy that borders on hatred of the blonde vampire. Jen senses the change in my mood and looks at me. All I can do is glare at the 'happy couple.'
"Bethany, you need to be a ways away for time to resume. Bella will go with you and you two will wait for me," Jen says with authority.
"You're not coming with us?" Bethany's pitch gets higher and higher.
"She needs to take care of the arm and the piles of ashes. Hunters don't leave a trace unless it's someone to deliver a message," I explain as I try to shake off the jealousy that was growing in me.
"Oh, okay…we'll see you soon?" Bethany asks.
"Definitely. All I have to do is burn the arm and blow away the ashes. I'll do it from a tree so they won't see me, and then I will follow you, erasing any trail you may inadvertently leave," I can't tell If Jen is trying to soothe Bethany or me…maybe both of us.
Bethany and I head off. We make it to the edge of the forest and stop to wait for Jen. Bethany fidgets and looks like a kid that was caught with its hand in the cookie jar. It only takes a few moments to meet up with us. We move in silence until we reach the safe house. This area's safe house is more like a huge private estate. The house is really a mansion. There is a state of the art security system too, not that we need it. We use alternative forms of protection. None of us talk, even as we enter the mansion. Then Bethany tries to apologize. Jen and I assure her that is was not a problem.
"So… how does one do a time warp?" Bethany finally asks the question she's been dying to since the clearing. Jen and I look at each other and grin mischievously.
"Well," Jen starts," it's just a jump to the left."
"And then a step to the right," I add in a serious voice that Bethany does not seem to buy.
"Put your hands on your hips," Jen continues.
"And bring your knees in tight," I can't hold back and my grin gets bigger and bigger.
"Do the pelvic thrust 'til it drives you insane," Jena and I sing together," Let's do the time warp again!"
"I can't believe you guys sometimes. What are you two, like twelve years old?" Bethany tries to sound like she's in a huff, but she joins in our giggles.
We watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show and our laughter fills the rest of the night. This kind of thing always makes Bethany feel better. She really gets depressed whenever Jen and I have to take a life…existence…whatever. She understands the reasons that Jen and I do what we do, but she doesn't like it. So, Jen and I try to ease her discomfort after a hunt.
Jen's phone rings and she takes the call in another room. I hope it is Eliot. Jen hasn't heard from her husband in a couple days. That's not unusual when he's on an undercover assignment for the Council, but they get kinda down whenever they don't at least hear each others voice for awhile. They both hide it well, of course, but I have been with them for a long time. At first it was hard to be around them as they are really and truly in love with each other, but I never wanted them to be apart because watching them was hard for me. Just because I missed out on true love doesn't mean that everyone else should, especially those two. They deserve the happiness they bring each other.
Eliot is a hunter, like us. In fact, when this assignment is over, he will be joining us. That means that our team will be even more solid. Jen and I are good, but with Eliot and Dakota we really are the best. They both should be joining up with us about the same time. As this hunt continues, more and more people will want to join our team. Normally Jen and I would shy from creating too big a team, but there are a lot of Guard members and other things that need to be taken care of. So, more mythical beings will join up with us as they are able to. Who are we to turn down people who are invested in taking down the Volturi? They have made a lot of enemies in the mythical world and they will get more and more possessive about their information as we take out more and more of their precious Elite Guard.
"Our Seer informs me that someone will join us tonight. Dakota can't see who they are, but she does see you opening the door," Jen tells me as she enters the room.
I wonder who will be coming. So, Dakota sees me opening the door tonight. That's not really unusual. She can't see who they are. That means that they are mythical, but not a witch. Hmm…there are just too many possibilities. I guess I will have to wait until they get here. Suddenly a howl rings out through the night, a howl that I would recognize anywhere. Jacob Black.