Hey guys! So here is Chapter 27. Enjoy reading and I'll see you at the bottom:) And thanks for the reviews guys!
Ps: Mireads and sujari6, it isn't Maria or Alice but keep guessing ;)
My eyes were trained on the big blackboard at the front of the lecture room. Esme was currently writing notes on the board as she explained something. I had no idea what she was writing or talking about. I just stared at the blackboard, lost in my own thoughts. I mentally started to make a list of all the events that has occurred in the last few weeks that we have linked to this mystery person. First there was the Banshee attack. This mystery person must or could have been responsible for getting them across the portal. This person must have known all the faculty members and students would have been in the assembly hall at that specific time. What if they also wrote that degrading message on the wall of the main hallway about Outcast? I remember Carlisle saying that they did catch the student responsible and that he was expelled so surely he couldn't have had access to the university to orchestrate the other events. During the Banshee attack, Liam went missing and when the witch soldiers/army people went to look for him they got attacked by a pack of werewolves.
What if this mystery person knew they were going and made sure there was a pack of wolfs waiting for them? What if that was a trap? What if this person didn't want them to find Liam? What if it was Liam? He is close friends with Edward so he might have known about the protection spells and getting kidnapped by a Banshee would be a perfect cover. The only thing that didn't fit with it being Liam is that he had the mark of Amelia's coven cut into his chest. It had been done in such a way that would have been, close to impossible for him to do himself and would he have known about the dark witches and their mark? Liam was a possible suspect, but my gut told it wasn't him. Next on my list of possible suspects is Heidi. I still can't figure out why this person would put a painting of Heidi in Edward's room unless it was personal. I'm well aware of Heidi's personal issues with Edward. She was very close to both him and his family so surely she would have known about the protection spells. It still didn't fit though. How would she have known about the books? She also didn't seem like the type to go into the Unknown to get her hands dirty. Nor did she seem smart enough to pull this off.
The thought just occurred to me that Edward has heard both Heidi and Liam's mind about a million times so he would have been able to pick up on something if they were behind this. The only other people I can think of that are close enough to Edward and his family is well his family and then Emmett and Alice. I know Emmett to well and I know for a fact he would never do something like this especially not to Rose. I don't think Alice would have it in her to do something so evil either. Plus she is the one with the dreams and feelings about the future. If she was behind this surely she wouldn't have opened up to me about it right? And why would she warn us about terrible things coming? She saw that night the soul eater attacked in a dream. She knew it was going to happen and she warned us about it. If she truly was behind it would she not have kept quiet about it? I highly doubt that Carlisle is behind this considering he almost died in the Banshee attack and has been in hospital ever since.
Thinking back to that night and Carlisle's injuries it seems very extreme compared to the other injuries caused. It was like it was a personal attack on Carlisle. The same with Professor Colton. Why only kill Colton and then nearly kill Carlisle? Maybe there were more things that had gone missing or more protection spells that had been broken and they knew. I thought back to what Esme told me about Carlisle's health having another setback. What if whoever is responsible for all these thing, is still going after Carlisle? What if there is a magical reason his health is deteriorating? What if this person is trying to finish the job and kill him? Is Carlisle safe being in that hospital? I was so lost in my thoughts that Emmett had to push on my shoulder for me to snap out of it. I looked at him with wide panicked eyes. What if I'm right about Carlisle? I need to find Esme and talk to her about this. I know Edward will be waiting for me outside so I can just get him to come in here so I can tell both of them at the same time.
"Emmett I just need to have a quick word with Edward and Esme. Edward is waiting outside the room for me. Would you mind just asking him to come in here, please." I asked and I could hear the panic in my voice.
"Yeah, no worries Bells. Is everything ok?" Emmett asked worriedly.
"No not really but after we are done talking to Esme Edward and I will meet up with you guys and explain everything," I said as I got up from my seat. I could see Esme sitting behind the desk and curiously watching us.
"Ok, no problem. I'll send Edward into you guys. Where do you want us to meet you guys?" Emmett asked.
"We are all supposed to get coffee at the other coffee shop on campus and then head outside. We will need privacy for what we want to talk to you guys about so let's meet up on the rooftop of Edward's dorm block." I said as we made our way down the stairs towards the door.
"Ok, I'll grab a coffee for you guys and tell the others where to meet," Emmett said and gave me a quick hug before heading out the door.
I slowly made my way over to Esme. I waited until all the students left the room before I addressed her.
"Hi Esme. Do you have a moment to spare? I really need to talk to both you and Edward about something." I said softly.
"I'll always have a spare moment for you dear. Would you like to talk here or back in my office?" Esme asked with a warm smile.
"Um no, here is fine. Are we alone here? Nobody will overhear us talking will they?" I said as I looked once more to see if all the students had left the room.
"Yes we are alone here and no, nobody will overhear us. What's on your mind dear? I could tell you were miles away during my lecture." Esme said without judgment.
"I'm sorry about that. I was thinking about who this mystery person is that is doing all these shitty things." I said sheepishly. I could feel a blush tint my cheeks at being caught by my lecturer for, not paying attention. Before I could say more, Edward walked through the door. He looked over at me and must have seen that I was silently panicking. He locked the door behind him and gave us an extra layer of privacy.
"What's going on?" Edward asked as he took a seat next to me.
"Bella has just started telling me what is on her mind," Esme said to Edward in a soft voice. I forgot things between them was still a bit rocky after this morning.
"What's going on Bella? Is something wrong?" Edward asked worriedly.
"I was just telling Esme that I couldn't stop thinking about this mystery person causing so much chaos. I went through a list of what this person has done that we are aware of. The thing that stuck out though was the night of the Banshee attack. The attack on Colton and you dad seemed like it was personal. Almost like they target them specifically. Colton is dead and your father nearly died when all the other students and faculty escaped with minor injuries." I explained. I watched as they took in the information, their eyes widened and the blood drained from their faces.
"I think whoever is responsible for these things is still going after Carlisle. I think they're trying to kill him. It would explain why his health keeps having setbacks and he isn't getting better at all." I continued.
"Oh god no" Esme cried and covered her face with her hands.
"Why them though? Why is this rat going after them? Why target them?" Edward asked angrily. Esme looked up at me with tears in her eyes.
"I think they knew who it was or at least knew what this person was up to. I think things started going missing before we noticed anything. I think this rat has been very busy before we noticed, but Carlisle and Colton knew. I think that's why they were targeted." I explained.
"Did dad say anything to you?" Edward asked Esme.
"No, but if he was suspecting someone of this kind of behaviour he wouldn't have involved me. Colton has always been his confidant though, so Bella your theory could be correct." Esme said sadly.
"Please tell me he has a guard with him at the hospital," Edward asked Esme.
"Yes, he has one guard with him. Dimitri is currently looking after him." Esme confirmed.
"We need to get down there immediately and see what the hell is going on," Edward said as he stood up.
"Edward calm down. I will go down there immediately and I will that Sue with me. She can tell us if there is a magical reason why he isn't getting any better." Esme reasoned.
"I'm coming with you," Edward said as he grabbed his bag.
"No Edward you're not. I will go with Sue. Whoever is responsible for this will be watching all of us. We need to keep going on with our lives as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened. If we start acting differently it will be like waving a red flag telling this person that they have us worried. It would be like admitting that they are winning." Esme said in a stern tone.
"Edward, she's right. We can't let this person know they are getting to us. We need to be smart about this." I said.
"Ok, fine I'll stay. Promise me that you will call me when you know what is going on with dad." Edward said softly.
"I will, I promise," Esme said giving Edward a smile.
"I'll tell Rose what is going on. Send him our love." Edward said as he helped me up.
"I will. You guys be careful out there, ok." Esme said in her motherly voice.
"We will be. Tell Carlisle I hope he gets better soon." I said as I grabbed my bag.
"I will, dear. If he feels up to it I will ask him if he knows anything about this rat we have in the university and if this person has done anything else before." Esme said.
"That would be helpful if he does remember anything. Also do you think it would be ok if Bella and I leave Friday morning to retrieve her mother's grimoires?" Edward asked. I wonder if I'd be able to visit my Nana while we are there.
"Yes, of course. The sooner you guys can get your hands on them the better." Esme said.
"Thank you, mom. I'll see you later." Edward said as he took my hand in his.
"Bye Esme," I said with a small wave as we walked out the door.
"See you guys later and be careful," Esme yelled after us.
"I told Emmett to tell the gang to meet us up on the roof top of your dorm block," I said softly as we walked down the hallway.
"Good thinking. The roof top will give us enough privacy to tell them about the latest development." Edward said with a sigh.
"You ok?" I asked as I gave his hand a squeeze.
"Yeah, I just hope my dad is ok," Edward said quietly.
"He's a fighter Edward. He will get through this." I said softly and secretly hoping I was right. I can't imagine what would happen if something happened to Carlisle.
"I should be thanking you for catching on to what is happening to my dad," Edward said as he gave me a small smile.
"It's only a theory so far. We don't know if I am right yet" I said softly. A part of me hoped that I was wrong and that this person isn't evil enough to want to kill Carlisle but the heavy dark feeling in the pit of my stomach told me there was truth in my theory.
"It makes sense when you think about it though," Edward said with a far away look in his eyes. We walked up to the roof top in comfortable silence. Edward opened the heavy steel door that led to the rooftop and held it open for me to pass. The gang was sitting on a blanket that has been haphazardly thrown on the ground. They were munching on pastries and sipping their coffees as they laughed and chatted. They looked young and carefree and here Edward and I are about to drop a bomb on them. At that moment, it hardly seemed fair to burden them with this but the reality of the situation is that it also affects them.
"Hey guys," I said and sat down next to Emmett. Edward greeted everyone and came to sit next to me. Emmett handed us our coffees and I was so happy to finally have a sip of my addiction. The coffee was still relatively warm, but it wasn't nearly as good as Billy's coffee. They allowed us to enjoy our coffee and pastries first before the questioning started.
"So Emmett tells us that there is something you guys need to talk to us about," Jasper said and everyone turned to look at Edward and I. I sat down my now empty cup of coffee and decided that I will start off.
"Yeah, we have a few things we need to talk to you guys about. After what happened last night I found it hard to sleep. I tried reading a book but got bored. So I then looked through the paintings Edward kept in his dorm room. The last painting was a portrait of Heidi." I explained and everyone turned to look at Edward.
"What the fuck Edward! I have asked you do paint a portrait of me for years now and you keep turning me down and telling me that you don't portraits." Rose said angrily at Edward. I looked over at Edward with a smirk, but I was relieved to hear Rose say that. It just confirmed that Edward wasn't lying about, not painting Heidi.
"Calm down Rose. I didn't paint it ok. There is more to the story." Edward said annoyed. Rose let out a huff and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Ok, right well anyway to make a long story short, Edward told me he didn't paint it and had no idea how it got there. Edward started rifling through his things and noticed other things had gone missing. Whoever put the painting in his room stole a few books and one of them being the book about the history of black magic that I got from the library." I explained and everyone bar Edward stared at me with wide eyes.
"Someone broke into your room?" Rose asked shocked.
"Yes and they stole from me. Whoever did this knew about the protection spell on my room and managed to get past it." Edward explained.
"Was it Heidi?" Rose asked in disgust.
"No. Heidi no longer has permission to enter my room and honestly she's too stupid to find a way around the protection spell," Edward said.
"This is bad, very bad. That spell is very powerful and it will take a very skilled witch to get past it. What do they want with the books?" Jasper said with a serious expression.
"There is more to what we need to tell you guys. Esme informed us that the book about the life and power of Constance is missing from the forbidden section of the library." I said glumly.
"Shit. This person clearly knows what they are doing and what they are looking for." Jasper said angrily.
"There is more. We think this person is also responsible for getting the Banshees and the soul eater onto campus." I said. Everyone looked at me in shock.
"We think the Banshee attack was directed and Colton and my dad. We think this person has done similar things before and they found out about it. We also believe that this person is still trying to kill my dad." Edward said softly and Rose gasped in shock. Edward moved over to her and gave her a hug.
"Rose, dad's condition is getting worse. Mom and Sue are on their way to the hospital to see if there is a magical reason behind his deterioration in health." Edward said softly as he gave her another hug.
"What do we do know? How do we find this bastard?" Rose asked angrily as she wiped her tears away.
"Bella and I are going to her apartment in Forks on Friday to retrieve her mother's grimoires. We hope to find some helpful information in there." Edward said as he moved back over to sit next to me.
"In the meantime we will continue to look for clues as to who the fuck this person is and we will see what other information we can get from the forbidden section," I said.
"No offence Bella but what if your mothers grimoire are a dead end. What do we do then?" Alice asked softly.
"I don't know. I'm hoping she left something in her grimoires that will direct us to what is going on with the dark witches." I said hopefully.
"If the grimoires are a dead end then I think we are left with the plan B," Edward said.
"What's plan B?" Emmett asked.
"We do a séance and call upon witches that would know more about black magic and the Unknown. We no longer have the books we wanted, but we can call upon the dead writers to tell us what we need to know." Edward explained.
"Edward that's a very risky thing to do. We need a powerful witch to perform it and even if it is successful there is never a guarantee who will come through." Jasper warned. I don't know a lot about séances other than the crap in horror movies, but even then it seemed like a god awful idea.
"Yes Jasper I am aware of the dangers attached to performing a séance, but we are running out of options." Edward reasoned.
"I understand your point but let's keep a séance as our last resort," Jasper said.
"Fair enough. We do ask that all of you keep your eyes and ears open for any information or anything that looks suspicious. Also, try act as normal as possible. We don't want this person to think they are affecting us or intimidating us." Edward said.
"That's not a problem. I think it would be best if Rose stays with me or I stay with her since this person is getting past the protection spells." Emmett said.
"I think that is a good idea," Edward said.
"How about you stay with me. I wouldn't want to encroach on Jasper's space." Rose said softly.
"You Jasper be ok alone though?" Alice asked shyly.
"I'll be alright little darling," Jasper said to Alice with a wink and I saw her blush bright red.
"Ok, well since that is settled, we all need to head off to our lectures," Edward said.
"Always the responsible one Edward." Jasper mocked.
"Someone has to be" Edward countered and everyone laughed. We all got up and started walking back to the main building. Alice seemed deep in thought and was uncharacteristically quiet. We all said our goodbyes outside the main building as we were heading in different directions. Alice and I walked silently to our Biology lecture with pervert Banner. Something was clearly bothering Alice. We took our seats in the lecture hall and I decide that I can't take the silence anymore.
"Alice are you ok? Is something bothering you?" I asked quietly. Alice looked at me with her big sad eyes and it looked like she was about to burst out in tears.
"I had another dream." she whispered and a tear rolled down her cheek.
"What was the dream about Alice?" I asked worriedly.
"There was so much blood Bella. Student's were screaming and running, but they weren't was enough," she whispered dreadfully.
"Alice, what were they running from?" I asked sensitively.
"They were running from glowing yellow eyes." she whispered just as pervert Banner called us to attention.
Banner started lecturing us about the formation of DNA. It was a complex topic as he went into great detail. It was fascinating and I actually paid attention to the lecture even though I was dying to ask Alice more about her dream. In no time, the lecture was over and Banner was dismissing us. I had been so absorbed in his lecture that I had completely forgotten to take notes. I looked down at my notepad and gasped quietly. I had absentmindedly drawn a pair of evil looking eyes on my notepad. The eyes were of an unfamiliar person, a woman as they appeared very feminine, There was something sinister about those eyes that I couldn't shake. I quickly shut my notepad and shoved it along with my other books into my bag. I looked up to find Alice sprinting out the door. I quickly ran after her. I caught up to her and pulled her into an empty hallway. Alice was sobbing hysterically and I grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. I knew I was going to be late for my training session with Edward, but I'm sure he will understand.
There was an old med-evil looking wooden bench placed against the wall of the hallway. I gently led Alice over to the bench and sat down next to her. I wrapped my arms around her and just held her as she cried. After a few minutes, her crying slowed down.
"Alice you need to tell me more about your dream. Why are you so upset about it?" I asked softly as I stroked her back in a comforting manner.
"Last night was a shock to my system. When I stumble into that room and saw Rachel suspended in the air and just hanging there so lifelessly and then seeing that thing attack you it was all just too much. It was like I was living that dream, that horrible nightmare in person. I tried to scream but it was like someone was sitting on my lungs and I couldn't breathe. Edward and Emmett came rushing into the room shortly after me. Edward helped you and Emmett caught me as I fainted. I'm not sure what happened after that, but Rose helped me back to my dorm room once I was awake and conscious. The doctor gave me a sleeping tablet and I took it the minute I heard that you woke up and that you were ok. I took the pill and crawled into bed. I just wanted to forget about what had happened. I thought that the pill would put me in a deep dreamless sleep." Alice said and then she started crying again.
"Alice you have to calm down." I tried to soothe her.
"In my dream there were students running around the university in ball gowns and tuxedos. They were all terrified and screaming. I ran to the assembly hall and there was just so much blood. There was discarded limbs all over the place. It looked like a massacre. I saw the yellow eyes and the sharp teeth. I started to run. I lost my shoes half way out the hall, but I kept running." Alice said softly and then started to sob.
"Alice what happened then?" I asked quietly as I felt a darkness creep up my body.
"I wasn't fast enough. There was so much pain but then it went away and everything went black." Alice said in a dark tone.
"Did you wake up?" I asked anxiously.
"No, I didn't wake up Bella. I died," she said quietly as tears streamed down her face.
Sorry for the cliff hanger :) Till next time guys :)