Chapter Forty Nine

Bella

I just ran with no idea where I was going or what I would do only knowing I needed to get away from everyone. I had been lied to, abused by the man I thought was my sire, and abandoned by the man who really was. What had I done to deserve all this? All I had wanted was to live with my dad in Forks, finish school and start my life, decide what I wanted to do, attend college, find a man, fall in love, get married, and have a family. Instead I was a vampire living on blood with no chance at any of the things I wanted. And who was to blame for all this? The Quileute wolves, the Cullens and Garrett, not to mention my loving sire. Well I couldn't have the life I dreamed of but neither would they, that would be my mission in life, to destroy their lives as they had destroyed mine. I would get revenge...yes...revenge was an easy thing to focus on. I was a vampire and once I knew exactly what that meant I would use my powers to make sure my enemies suffered.

I didn't stop running until I was hundreds of miles from the Cullens, in North Carolina in fact. I forced myself to stop then, I needed a base if I were going to plot my revenge but that took money and papers and I had neither so I hung around a few shady bars and clubs watching and listening. I stole money to live and booked myself into a small motel in Charlotte and reinvented myself. I knew my parents would start looking for me eventually, especially my dad so I needed to change my appearance and my habits. I streaked my hair with red highlights and wore bright coloured make up and clothes, no more jeans and tee shirts but short skirts and skimpy tops, the one up side of being a vampire was a good figure! I stopped reading and buying books instead downloading them onto an I pod which I listened too all the time while those around me thought I was listening to music. I bought high-heeled shoes and boots and spoke little instead watching. The effect this new Bella had on the human males was amusing although none of them did anything for me. I could look after myself now and I was fearless, taking what I wanted when I wanted it with no thought for anyone else. I forced all my human memories into a box and sealed the lid tightly pushing it into the back of my mind.

Eventually I found what I was looking for, someone who could furnish me with a new identity, the papers I needed to finish my reinvention and I found my way to her door. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised it was a woman but then I fell into the same trap most people did, thinking George was a guy.

"So who told you about me?"

I shrugged, I did a lot of that finding it easier than talking,

"I heard your name around."

"It's not cheap you know"

"I know"

"What exactly do you need?"

"The full works"

"Now that will be expensive and I need some up front."

I handed her a manilla envelope stuffed with cash I'd stolen from those well able to sustain the loss and she pulled the bills out flicking through them

"OK, I need a week, a photograph, and a name."

"Here"

I handed her a set of passport photos I had already taken,

"And the name...Adrestia Fury."

"Well it's certainly different but OK. I'll see you in a week"

She didn't see me until the week had passed although I watched her carefully. I wanted no link with my old life, no loose ends, and I didn't feel bad at having to snap her neck after she handed the paperwork over, she was just collateral damage. Besides she specialised in new identities for criminals who could afford her fees and they'd soon find another supplier. The police would be choked with suspects and end up chasing their tails. Now I was a new being, a being who was unstoppable and my time had finally arrived. I had spent the last two weeks deciding just how I would go about my task and found out that not only did I possess great strength and speed but a very special gift, one that ironically could have saved me from all this. I had a shield, I could hide from others, stop them from reaching me, or if I concentrated very hard I could turn it into a weapon to smother and kill humans which could be very useful at times.

I bought a sports car, a shiny new green Porsche, something Bella Swan would never have picked but it fitted Adrestia perfectly. The goddess of revenge was about to start her work and I smiled as I drove away from the dealers and out of Charlotte headed north once more. I had decided my first stop would be the Quileute village, the wolves were about to pay for their part in my sad story. I would avoid the town, I didn't want to run into the one person who might recognise me, Charlie, but when I got close enough, just outside Port Angeles I decided to stop off and feed. I alternated between humans and animals not wanting either to have power over me, I hid my kills very carefully and so far nothing had been discovered. This time it was an animal I hunted and after feeding I threw its carcass in the river, I didn't care if it was found, it would look like a lion kill, poor deer!

Then I drove into town and found myself a motel for the night and went out to see if I could find any information on Forks. An internet café gave me an opportunity to check the local papers and I found that Forks had a mystery, the Quileute tribe had packed up and moved away just like that. Only a few were left behind and everyone wanted to know when or if the rest would be back. Well guess what, they wouldn't. Or if they did it would be to a ruin. Would I run into my dad on my way to revenge? I didn't really care, after all he hadn't been able to protect me from the Quileutes or the vampires had he? And wasn't that what a father should do? Protect his children? Besides I found it better not to care about anyone, just myself, and I drove straight through Forks the next morning and to within a mile of the Quileute village before parking up and going the rest of the way on foot.

It was quiet, far too quiet, almost ghostly. I could see a few figures moving about but it wasn't the thriving village it once had been. I decided to observe for a while and I discovered only a dozen still lived there and none of the elders I had found out about. Something had happened and most of the tribe had moved out. I wanted to know why so I waited in ambush until one of the remaining women came close to my hiding place and I was able to snatch her.

"Where is everyone?"

She was shaking with fear but I was impatient so I spoke again very slowly to calm myself,

"Where is everyone? What happened to the elders?"

"They've gone. They were taken away after the pack died."

"All the pack died?"

"Sam and Leah are still alive but they aren't guardians any longer. We have no one to protect us, that's our punishment for their actions"

"Such a shame, how many of you are there?"

"Three families, we had nowhere else to go, this is our home"

"Not any longer, you have no home. Go back to the village and tell your friends they have half an hour to pack up and get out before I fire it and anyone still in it"

She didn't ask any questions just ran away but I knew she would pass on the message, whether the others would heed the warning was down to them.

I gave them exactly thirty minutes before moving in to torch the village and I could hear nothing, so they'd heeded the warning, just as well for them. As the flames licked the wooden cabins I watched. Did the Quileutes really think I would let any of them live in peace, in their homes when they'd denied me the same privilege? If so they didn't know me at all. I left Forks as the flames took a good hold satisfied I'd made my first move in my plan of revenge. Next I would hunt down Leah and Sam before trying my luck with the elders. It would take time but then that's all I had, an empty eternity stretching before me and revenge gave me purpose.