10. DENALI

Tanya didn't know how to go on. How could their family exist without their mother, their creator? Her sisters looked to her now but she didn't know how to take on the role of a leader. How could she be strong enough?

After the Volturi had departed the girls wept tearlessly at the pile of ashes. It was all that was left of their beloved mother. Kate was so defeated. She tried to protect her family since she was the only one with an ability but was overcome by Corin's venom. She felt so powerless. Irina took it very hard. She was so angry that her mother was killed because of a child. She harbored ill feelings toward Vasilii for being the cause of her mother's death.

"What do we do now, Tanya?" Kate asked her sister.

Tanya breathed in a deep sigh. "We do what mother told us to do. We need to find Denali."

The girls left their mother's ashes and moved east. They walked across the frozen ocean and picked up the scent of where their mother had traveled with Vasilii and Demetri and Felix. The trail finally led them to a great mountain. They found the tribe of Athabaskans that told them the mountain was Denali. The girls went up the mountain and found a satchel that smelled like their mother. Inside was the piece of bark with a letter from their mother written to them.

Tanya, Kate, and Irina,

If you are reading this letter then that means I am gone from this world. I am so sorry for any pain that I have caused you. Know that I have loved you more than life itself. You girls have been my guiding stars in an endless night. When I met each of you I thought I was offering you a better life. I thought I was giving you power. Now I see the error of my ways. I took away the last bit of power you had left, the power to be good. In taking away your life I have taken away your divine nature and turned you into monsters. I am no better than the men who have abused and suppressed us. For this I am eternally regretful.

But there is hope. While Vasilii and I have been living in the wilderness, we have found that it is possible to sustain ourselves through the blood of animals. It is not as sweet and delicious as human blood but it is enough to keep us alive. I want you to know that you have a choice. You can be more than what I made you. You can have your divine nature back. It is up to you, you know that I love you no matter what path you choose.

Again, I am so sorry for the pain I have caused. I love you all, always and forever.

-Sasha

The girls were somber when they read the letter. Tanya packed away the piece of bark back into the satchel. She placed an arm on each of her sister's shoulders and said, "Well my dear sisters, looks like we've got some hunting to do."