Hey guys! So here is chapter 33! Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favourites. It means so much Enjoy reading and I'll see you at the bottom
Edward was walking back to where Nana and I were seated. He walked quickly, not sparing a look at anyone or anything. He seemed very focused on getting back to us as fast as possible. I continued to stare at the book hidden in the jacket. I couldn't make out much of it, other than that it is big, brown leather and it appeared to be old. As Edward took his seat next to me, I returned my focus back to my Nana. Edward had temporarily distracted me from the conversation I was having with Nana. Her eyes were filled with worry, understanding, concern and something I couldn't identify. I thought back over what she had told me. Our family was supposed to be the Guardians of Immortality. What the hell does that even mean? What did she mean by binding my father's magic? For how long did she know about my mother and her plan? How was my father part of her plan?
A million more questions ran through my head. My breathing grew heavy and my heart was thumping like crazy. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down before I start asking questions. I have had so much on my plate that I didn't know if I wanted to know more or if I'd be able to hear more. Is there a limited as to how much one person can take in such a short time? It was starting to feel like the world was closing in on me and there was no escape. I kept reminding myself to breathe and to relax. Edward placed a hand on my knee and stared at me with a concerned expression.
I knew that he was already aware of what my Nana had told me and he was still here. Edward had always stayed right by my side through all of the crap that had happened over the last few weeks. I knew that whatever my Nana told me, Edward would still be by my side. With that knowledge, I relaxed nearly completely. I looked at Edward and gave him a reassuring smile. I noticed that he no longer had the book hidden behind his jacket. Edward looked down towards the floor and I followed. He had sneakily placed the book in my bag without me even noticing. Instead of question Edward about the book, I decided to turn back to my Nana and ask her to explain to me what she is going on about.
"Nana, what are you talking about? How are we guardians? What does that even mean? Does immortality really exist?" I fired my questions at her.
"Sweetheart, I know this is a lot to take in. I'm so very sorry for keeping this from you for so long, but I wasn't sure how much you would have believed if I had told you when my illness started." Nana said with a soft concerned voice. I guess that made sense. When her illness got really bad, I was still young and knew very little about magic. I had also thought that neither my father nor my Nana were witches. In all fairness I would not have believed her if she had told me earlier, I would've simply put it off as her illness messing with her head too much.
"Ok, Nana. I understand why you have kept this from me. I'm not mad, just extremely confused. What do you mean by our family are the guardians of immortality?" I said as my head raced with questions I wish she could answer.
"Well dear, do you know anything about guardians or immortality?" Nana asked.
"I know nothing about guardians. I have heard some, well one, theory about immortality. However, I'm not exactly sure how reliable the source is." I admitted, thinking back to my conversation with Amelia. Granted that was a dream in which a dead evil psychotic bitch, I mean witch, told me that there are people that believe that the world resets once it has reach point beyond redemption and that if they can stop this they will achieve immortality.
"What have you heard? Why don't you believe the person who told you about it?" she asked intrigued. I guess she thought I knew nothing. Well, truthfully I didn't know anything other than what Amelia had told me and that wasn't much to start with. I looked over at Edward for guidance. I wasn't sure whether or not I should tell my Nana about what has been going on at the University and about my dream with Amelia. Edward looked sceptical. I guess he didn't think it would be a good idea to tell my Nana everything. Maybe I shouldn't tell her everything, only what is important. I didn't want to overwhelm her with all the trouble brewing in the Unknown or about my life possibly, well most certainly really, be in danger. I wondered how much she already knew about me and my mark. Perhaps she already knew I will be hunted down like an animal. Considering she knew about my mother's plan, and knew more about it then I did, she probably knew my life was in danger. I felt guilty. She is stuck in this hell hole, sick and alone. I didn't want to worry her or add to her stress. I wanted her to get better, not worse. Before I had time to make a decision as to how much I was going to tell my Nana, Edward spoke.
"There has been some trouble at the University lately. Bella was visited in a dream by Amelia. Do you know if that is truly possible? Can a dead witch really intercept a dream?" Edward asked. I was thankful to have him next to me. He was able to read my Nana's thoughts and was better able to evaluate how much she was able to handle. I placed my hand over his and gave it an appreciative squeeze.
"Yes, I have some knowledge of who Amelia is. That is if you mean Amelia the evil princess that went on a killing spree?" Nana asked. Both Edward and I nodded in answer.
"Yes, Edward it is able for a witch to intercept another witch's dreams. It is quite rare and very difficult to do. The witch performing the spell must be very skilled and powerful. It also makes it easier if the witch they are calling is also very powerful. So I take it Amelia is your source of information about immortality then Bella?" Nana said.
"Yes, Nana. She told me about a theory some witches has about immortality." I said.
"Tell me about what she told you." Nana pressed for information. I told her about what Amelia had told me about immortality and the theory. She sat patiently listening to me. I was unable to discern her expression.
"I have heard of that theory from many witches. It's an interesting notion and there has been a lot of pf speculation about it among witches. I don't know if it's true or not but there is another way to achieve immortality." Nana said.
"So there is another way to become immortal?" I asked intrigued. I couldn't see the attraction of immortality. In my opinion, it would make you take less appreciative of life. If we only had a set time to be alive, surely that would push as to make the most of it, to love with everything we got before it was too late.
"Yes. As I said before, our family are the guardians of immortality. It has been so for many centuries. However, there has been no guardian needed after the creation of the University. Ever since witches fled from the Unknown when Amelia went crazy there has been no need for a guardian. When witches starting fleeing from the Unknown the Guardian remained. The book Edward went to collect from my room is believed to be the book written by the last Guardian. I have tried to find a way of opening it and reading it, but I have been unable to do so. The book has what appears to be a special lock on it that has four leather straps connected to it. Making it impossible to open it without a key." She explained. I pondered over what she had said. So Amelia is the reason there is no longer a guardian of immortality. There is a book that she hadn't been able to read as you need some special key to open it. She still hasn't explained how someone can become immortal. I was confused as to why she was telling me about this? I studied my Nana for a moment. She was pale and getting paler by the second. She had sweat on her brows and her hands were shaking.
"Nana, are you ok? You are shaking." I asked as I took her hands in mine. I look down at her old fragile hands that look so breakable. The point where her thumb and wrist join there is a faint black mark. The same mark that was painted in blood on my parent's foreheads, and that we found on Liam in the Unknown. It was Amelia's covens mark. I ran my thumb over the mark and my Nana quickly pulled her hand back. I looked up at her with confused eyes.
"Nana what is that," I asked in shock. Nana looked almost defeated, her features were marred with sadness.
"Bella I don't have a lot of time left. You need to listen to me carefully." She said seriously.
"I don't understand. What's going on?" I asked concernedly. Edward grabbed my hand and squeezed it.
"Bella, love you need to listen," Edward whispered in my ear. I nodded and turned my focus back to my Nana.
"Ok dear, I don't know where the key is or what exactly it is. The story passed on within our family is that the key to open the book is a locket, like a necklace. The last person who apparently had the necklace was none other than Amelia. The story goes that she had a love affair with the last guardian before his death and he gave her the necklace. You need to find that necklace Bella and hide it far away so that they can never find it. We don't know what or where or how you can get immortality. It is all written in the book and if the wrong person gets their hands on it, it could have dire consequences. Your mother married you father because she was after the book. Once she discovered who his family was she made it her mission to get to him. What she didn't know is that your father didn't have any power as I bound them when he was born. Magic was not a life I wanted for him and that ultimately cost him is life. I will never forgive myself for that." Nana explained and a tear rolled down her cheek. She was shaking even more now and her eyes were darker and slightly glazy.
"Nana what is the mark on your hand?" I asked. I needed to know what it was before I left. Nana's eyes were wild and instead of answering my questions she leaped off her chair and jumped towards me. Edward was faster and caught her before she could attack me. Edward kept holding on to her as she kicked and screamed obscene things at me. I couldn't move. I sat in shock watching my Nana go crazy and watched as she tried to get free from Edward's hold to attack me. I could feel the tears running down my cheeks. Edward quickly pulled his keys from his pocket and threw them on my lap, breaking my free from my trance.
"Bella go wait in the car. I'll help them calm her down. This isn't something you want to see. I turned around and saw that men and women dressed in white were running towards us with a trolley of odd things. I nodded at Edward, not able to find my voice, and grabbed my bag and started for the door. I quickly made my way down the creepy empty hallways back to reception. I ripped the visitor's pass from my neck and all but threw it at the rude man in reception. I ran out the door. It was raining heavily and I cherish the cold against my skin. I quickly unlocked the car, threw my bag in and got into the passenger side. I was out of breath and my heart was racing. My hair and jacket were soaked, but I couldn't find it in myself to care enough to take it off. I sat there alone in the car, listening to the rain pummel on the car and all around me. I couldn't focus on anything other than my Nana's face. She looked completely out of it like someone flipped a switch in her and made her go bat shit crazy. Tears continued to stream down my face as I thought about her and how fragile she is. I would never have thought my Nana would end up like this.
The opening of a door pulled me from my thoughts. Edward quickly jumped into the car. He looked upset, confused and soaking wet as the rain had drenched his clothes. Edward turned on the heating and slipped off his jacket. I was in a trance, just watching Edward go through the motions but not really registering anything.
"Bella, love you need to take off you jacket before you get hypothermia," Edward said as he took my hand and started rubbing it to get some heat into me. I slowly removed my jacket with the help of Edward. The heater heated up the car very quickly, but Edward never let go of my hands. He continued to rub my hands. Only then, I noticed then that I was shaking.
"How are you doing love?" Edward asked concernedly.
"I'm ok. How is my Nana?" I asked, still worried about her.
"They had to sedate her. She is resting in her room right now." Edward said gently.
"Do you know what had happened? Why did she lash out like that?" I asked, hoping that he saw something in her thoughts about it.
"The mark you saw on her hand, it's a hex. The hex is causing her to hallucinate and have personality disorders. Your Nana was lucid for a short time because she managed to cast a spell to restrict the effects of the hex. It took a lot from her to do that. The spell only lasted for a few hours so the person you saw back there who tried to attack you is not your Nana," Edward explained.
"How did she know to cast the spell? Will the hex kill her?" I asked and swallowed the big lump that form in my throat.
"She has the same ability as Alice. Your Nana can see the future too, that's how she knew to cast the spell. She saw you coming to visit her." Edward explained.
"And will it kill her?" I asked quietly.
"Unfortunately it will eventually kill her," Edward said delicately. I started crying again. My body wracked with sobs at the thought that someone deliberately set out to do this to my Nana and she will die because of it. Edward moved as close to me as he could and wrapped his arms around me and let me cry. I tried to wrap my head around it and then suddenly a thought occurred to me, who did it? Who placed the hex on my Nana? I was afraid that I already knew the answer to that that I wasn't ready to accept it, I needed confirmation.
"Edward do you know who placed the hex on my Nana?" I asked quietly.
"I only got a glimpse of her thoughts about that Bella, but from what I could tell it was your mother when she found out that your Nana bound you father's powers," Edward said sympathetically and I continued to cry into his shoulder. I didn't know for how long we sat there or for how long I cried but eventually Edward informed me that we needed to leave. Edward drove out of the care home and down streets, the traffic had cleared up. Edward stopped at a small coffee shop to get us some coffee and pastries. I sipped on the coffee enjoying the way it warmed me up. I was starving so I sneakily grabbed a donut from the bag. Edward caught me and just chuckled at me. I munched on the delicious donut and smile around it as I caught Edward taking one out of the bag as well. Within no time, we were back at the apartment. Edward took my hand and led me to the elevator and then up into the apartment. The apartment looked cold and dreary as the floor to ceiling windows flooded the apartment with the grey light coming from outside. Edward flipped on the lights and the apartment instantly looked warm and inviting. We have been pretty much silent since our talk outside the care home and it was the first time I didn't enjoy the silence.
"Edward can we talk about what my Nana told me about the guardian?" I asked as I took a seat in the living room. Edward turned on the fireplace and took a seat next to me.
"Of course we can love," Edward said and added a kiss to my cheek. I cuddled into Edward, needing the comfort of his warm body.
"So from what she said all I know is that there were guardians of immortality and only they knew where it is and how to use it. There is a book with all that information in it but we need a key to unlock it and the last person who had the key was Amelia. And lastly the guardians have all been from my family." I concluded going through what my Nana has told me.
"Sounds about right. Your Nana didn't get time to tell you that she was telling you about this because you are the last living member, apart from her, of the Swan family meaning you are the last person to be a guardian. She also knows about the plan to resurrect Amelia and if they succeed a guardian will be needed." Edward informed me. It made sense. My father didn't have any siblings, it would be up to me to continue on the family lineage and to keep telling the story of the guardians. Oh god, that means if I didn't have children there might not be another guardian of immortality again. That's a lot of pressure, I'm hardly nineteen and now I have to think about one day having children! This is way too soon to think of stuff like that.
"Has anyone ever been able to become immortal?" I asked Edward.
"From your Nana's thoughts there has been four witches who have become immortal," Edward said as he took another donut from the bag.
"Who were they?" I asked intrigued.
"The oracle. They are all immortal. They needed to be immortal to carry out their duty." Edward said as he scuffed down the donut.
"I wondered about that. Is there a way to contact them? Can we ask them about it? Surely they would know how we can open the book or where Amelia hid the necklace." I rambled.
"None has ever been able to contact the oracle Bella. They exist in secret." Edward said sadly. Well fuck there goes that plan.
"Ok let's focus on the present problem. Once we get through all the trouble Lizzie is causing then we can go back and try and find the key." I said. It is easier to tackle one problem at a time and right now the most urgent problem is Lizzie.
"Actually I was thinking that if you are still up for it, we can still go on our date," Edward said unsurely. I was tired after the eventful weekend we have had so far but the distraction of a date was a welcomed one.
"I'd love that Edward. What did you have planned?" I asked with a smile.
"I bought tickets to the opera. I have organised a dress and shoes and all the other jazz girls need for a night out. Alice helped me with that and it is waiting for you in the bedroom." Edward said with a smile. Opera was my guilty secret and I was truly looking forward to it. People my age aren't all that interested in it, but I loved it. I always use to go with my dad. It was a passion we both shared.
"Oh wow that amazing! I love the opera. Thank you so much, Edward" I said and gave him a kiss. Before the kiss could get carried away I went to get ready.
I showered quickly, washing my hair as I felt it was still smelling like smoke after last night. I dried my hair and softly curled it to give it more volume. I put on a small amount of makeup, focusing more on creating a smoky eye look. I grabbed the gorgeous dress Alice had picked out for me. It was a floor length bloody red dress. It was backless and had a slip that came up to mid-thigh. It had a sweetheart neckline and showed a modest amount of cleavage. Overall it looked amazing on me, as it hugged my body in all the right places. I put on the gold strappy heels and the delicate jewellery Alice left with it. I grabbed a coat and a golden clutch that matched my shoes and went to the living room where Edward was waiting for me.
"Wow, Bella you look stunning. Just wow." Edward stumbled over his words as he looked me over. I gave him a small twirl and he grabbed me and kissed me passionately.
"Fuck Bella you look so good," Edward whispered.
"If we don't leave right now I won't be able to stop myself from fucking you against the wall." Edward purred in my ear. I was ready to rip my dress off and tell him to take me, but Edward took a step back. I looked at him with pleading lust filled eyes. He looked positively delicious in his crisp black tuxedo.
"Stop looking at me like that Bella" Edward warned in his velvety voice that made me want him even more. It should be illegal to sound and look that sexy. Edward was pure sin.
"Fine, let's go. We will have time for that later," I said with a wink. I grabbed Edward's hand and dragged him into the elevator. The elevator ride had been pure torture. Being stuck in an enclosed space with Edward was unbearable as all I wanted to do was have my wicked way with him. We had made it out of the elevator without tearing off each other's clothes. We got into the hired car and it was even worse. I rubbed my thighs together to get some relieve, but it was no use. I couldn't look over at Edward as I knew that I would jump him. I was beyond relieved and sexually frustrated by the time we made it to the theatre. It was only seven in the evening and it was already dark outside. We walked into the theatre hand in hand, smiling like total fools. To other people, we must look like a young couple madly in love. Is that what we were? Madly in love? I thought it over and couldn't stop an even bigger smile crossing my face. I was in love with Edward. It was liberating finally admitting it to myself. The theatre was big, old and extraordinarily beautiful. It was a rare thing to find such an old building still being intact with the original architectural structure.
"Wow, Edward. This place is beautiful." I said as I admired the building. Edward kissed my hand and smiled at me. Before he could say anything his phone started ringing. He took his phone out of his pocket and killed the call without really looking at it.
"Edward you can answer your phone I don't mind," I assured him.
"No way Bella. Tonight I'm all yours. It is about time I get to take you on a proper date." Edward said determinedly. We walked towards the entrance. Edward's phone started ringing again before we made it inside. Edward looked at his phone and sighed.
"It's Rosalie. Sorry love I have to take the call." Edward said with another sigh.
"It's fine," I assured him. Edward stepped to the side to answer the call and I continued to admire the beauty of the theatre. Edward's voice got louder and had an edge to it. When I looked over at him he looked absolutely furious. I walked over to him and placed a hand on his arm to try and calm him before we started attracting attention. Edward hung up the phone and looked at me with a worried expression.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Sorry love but we are going to have to miss the opera," Edward said as he grabbed my hand and started running towards the car.
"What did Rosalie say? What's going on Edward?" I asked.
"We need to get back to the university as soon as possible. Rose has organised a flight for us that leaves in half an hour. It will get us back to Los Angles in less than three hours as it's a jet." Edward explained. We got in the car and it sped down the road towards the airport.
"Why do we need to get back? Is your dad ok?" I asked worriedly.
"My dad is fine. Professor Colton's family organised a ball in honour of his birthday. It is starting in an hour and all the students will be in the assembly hall dressed formally just like in Alice's vision. Tonight is the night that the werewolves will attack, that's why we need to get back as soon as possible." Edward said restlessly. Oh shit…..
Uh Oh wonder if they will get there in time to save Alice….