Hey Guys! So here is Chapter 37. Sorry it took me so long to update but I struggled with how to end it. This will be the last chapter in the story. I might be written a sequel as there is a lot more to the story, but I haven't decided yet. I want to give a big thanks to all my readers, reviewers, followers and favourites! You guys are awesome! This chapter is graphic so if that's not your thing give it a miss. Enjoy reading!
My heart was pounding like crazy as I ran up the stairs as fast as my legs would carry me. I was both worried and extremely angry at Edward. How could he do this? How could he chase after the crazy bitch after he made me promise I wouldn't?! The more I thought about it the more worried I became about why Edward was chasing after his lunatic of a sister. I ran down the hallway towards the assembly hall, the eerily quiet and empty hallway. The quietness was oddly creepy and worrying. It was like calm before the storm but was the werewolf attack, not the storm? What else could possibly go wrong? I could feel my stomach tightening up in knots at that thought. For a second, I would have preferred the roar of the werewolves and the cries of frightened students.
The foyer was just as quiet as the hallway but by no means empty. Just as we had left it, the foyer was covered in blood and body part of both students and burning werewolf carcases. Smoke and the smell of death hung in the air like a personalised aroma of the tragic events of the night. The non-burning dead werewolves were starting to return back to their human form. I couldn't focus on the aftermath of the massacre that was surrounding me. I needed to find Edward. I didn't have time to mourn my fellow students or get upset over what I was looking at. I needed to be strong and fast and get to Edward. I had a terrible sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach and the small voice at the back of my head was screaming at me to prepare for the worst.
I look down at my wrist where my scorpion mark currently rested. I knew it was just as anxious about this situation as I was. I found comfort in my mark because no matter how alone I can find myself I will always have my mark. Something was off. Something was not right and in the back of my mind I had a suspicion, but my heart refused to allow me to voice it even to myself. My muscles tensed as I reached for the door leading into the assembly hall. I took a quick deep breath as I pushed the door open. The door opened and my heart stopped. I could feel my stomach threaten to bring up my lunch from earlier today, but I forced my legs to keep moving. The hall was destroyed. All the window were broken with glass scattered over the floor. The paintings that decorated the walls now litter the floor.
The body count was less than in the foyer. I counted a total of five dead students and seven dead wolves as I ran to the hidden doorway. Death hung in the air and clung to my skin as I moved my legs as fast as they would go. There was too much blood for my stomach to manage and I could feel the dizziness creep up on me. I needed to keep a clear head. I made it to the door without any further glances at the bodies scattered across the hall. I wondered why there were so many more dead in the foyer. It almost seemed like the wolves came from inside the university and not from Lizzie's secret entrance. Granted the tunnel leading from the Unknown to the assembly hall was too small to fit a werewolf.
The hidden door was already open when I got there and there was a faint smell of Edward's cologne still in the air. My heart rate picked up as my legs carried me down the creepy stairway. The room still looked the same since I last saw it. The platform still held the mirrors and there appeared to be no disruption at all. Well, I guess this wasn't the way the wolves got into the University. There was unsettling nagging feeling at the back of my mind. I felt like I was missing a vital piece of information and I had a feeling it had something to do with how the wolves managed to get into the university.
I still couldn't understand how Lizzie had managed to get feral werewolves that had most likely lost all of their humanity, to attack the college. How would she have communicated with them? How did they not just kill her? Did she have help? Edward and I have spoken and agreed that she did most likely have an accomplice, but we are still clueless as to whom it is. There was so many unanswered questions and only she could answer them.
I pushed all the unanswered questions to the side and made my way over to the entrance of the tunnel. I would have time to torture that bitch in order to get those questions answered but not before I find Edward and he is safe. I took one last glance back at the mirrored platform, the vocal point of my nightmare a few nights earlier. Amelia's words kept playing on my mind like an endless loop.
"Who would you save Bella?"
"Only you can stop this Bella."
Amelia had known about Alice, but she said I would lose her. Alice was still alive but did we still lose her to the werewolves in the end? I could still feel the horror and heartache rush through me as I remembered her showing me how the mysteriously cloaked person killed my friends. Was there still a bigger threat then I have assumed? Would I still have to choose between my loved ones? Will I end up losing someone I love? Will I be in time to save Edward?! I felt the tears stinging my eyes. I shut my eyes tightly and took a deep breath. Dammit Bella, pull yourself together. You do not have time to freak out right now! I chastened myself.
I let out the deep breath and started making my way through the small, dark, damp tunnel. It wasn't long before I could see the moonlight at the end of the tunnel. It was eerie quite in the tunnel and I could hear my heart frantically beating in my ears. I push my legs to go faster and when I finally made it out of the tunnel I let out a huge breath I didn't even realize I was holding. A shiver ran down my spine and I couldn't decide whether it was because of fear or the cold wind raging in the Unknown. The small clearing we had found at the end of the tunnel last time was empty but beautiful. The ground was covered in a thick layer of clean white snow. It was a cold cloudless night with stars littering the sky and the moon was big and bright.
I took in my surroundings, confused as to where to begin looking. I had no idea where Edward was. I felt lost and alone and fear was starting to creep up my body threatening to paralyse me. Dammit Bella focus! I needed to get a grip on my whirlwind of emotions. The forest stood thick and proud. The trees were clustered together and freakishly tall. It looked intimidating and I could feel the fear creeping up some more. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that I killed werewolves earlier tonight. I am strong and can take anything that is thrown at me. But most importantly if I let fear control me, then Edward might get hurt or worse.
With that thought in mind I started walking into the clearing, towards the wall of evergreen trees. The trees were tightly packed and it was nearly impossible for me to walk through them. The further into the forest I got the darker it became. The moon was still shining brightly up ahead but due to the vast amounts of trees not much of the light made it down to me.
I kept walking, climbing over fallen trees and rocks covered in moss. I had no plan, no sense of direction and no idea where Edward was or how to find him. All I had was instinct and intuition and right now it screamed for me to walk faster. It started snowing lightly and I could feel my body start to shiver from the cold. I was only wearing my dress and uncomfortable heels, but I didn't care. I didn't have time to stop and think about grabbing a jacket and even if I did have time I would have done something more productive. Like perhaps asking someone if locator spells were a real thing for us witches or if that was just TV nonsense.
I kept pushing my way through the forest, simply relying on my intuition as a guide. For some reason I knew it wouldn't fail me. My Nana did always say that there is nothing more powerful than a woman's intuition. My legs were getting tired and achy. For a split second, I wondered if it wouldn't just be easier to clear a path using my telekinesis like I had done when Emmett and I carried Liam back to the University through the Unknown. I resisted the urge and pushed the other temptation of summoning my mark to get me through the forest faster as I was sure it would gather too much attention and I didn't need that right now. I needed to be invisible until I find Edward.
After a few more minutes of clawing my way through the overgrown forest, I started to smell smoke. Something was clearly burning but what? And who was behind the fire? I started moving faster as I could only spell smoke but couldn't see a fire yet. The further I walked the stronger the smell became. There was something different about it though. It smelled of smoke mixed with something else, some kind of herb I couldn't identify.
My heart was racing and my palms were sweaty despite the freezing weather. My dress clung to my skin as the snow has soaked it through completely. I followed the direction the smell was coming from and after a few minutes I was able to see amber flames in what appear to be a small bare field. I walked fast but tried to remain quiet and hidden.
I was so focused on the flames that I didn't notice the large tree roots sticking up from the ground. My foot caught on the root and I fell to the floor. I managed to land on my knees and hands without making too much noise. I looked around me to make sure I didn't draw attention to myself. I was still clueless as to what creatures might be roaming the Unknown. Edward has warned me about how dangerous the Unknown can be so I was rather relieved when my eyes couldn't find anyone or anything around me other than rocks, trees and moss.
When I looked in front of me I realised I was practically at the edge of the bare field. I slowly crawled the last few feet on my hands and knees. When I got to the edge of the field, still hidden by the trees, my heart stopped and my breath caught.
The field was completely bare of any green. There was no trees, no grass, no flowers or plants. It was just rubble and dirt. The colour of the ground appeared more black in colour than the usually brown one would expect. It was almost like the field was a result of a massive fire. In the middle of the field, there was a huge fire. At first it appears to simply be a large bonfire but on closer inspection it was far from an ordinary fire. It was a sigh that you would have seen in history books or movie that was centred on the Salem witch hunts.
There was a small wooden platform with a large wooden pole in the centre. There were wooden planks placed strategically around the platform that has been lit. The fire was roaring with the snow not deterring it in the slightest. What made my heart stop and my eyes tear up was the fact that Edward was tied to the large wooden pole. His hands were tied above his head. He was tied at the waist, the knees and the ankles. He was still awake and struggling against the restraints. It was like watching one of my worst nightmares unfold in front of me.
I knew that it would have been smarter of me to stay hidden and access the situation first, but I could control my body when Edward's safety was involved. I jumped from my hiding spot not bothering to look at who else was in the field and ran towards the fire, that was caging in Edward. Tears were running freely down my face as I ran to Edward. Edward spotted me running and his face morphed into one of shock and alarm.
"Bella no!" Edward screamed looking extremely worried. His words fell on deaf ears as I kept running. Counting on my power of telekinesis I focused my mind on the fire and willed my power down to my hand so that I would be able to swipe the fire away from Edward.
"Bella don't do! Your magic won't work!" Edward screamed trying to warn me of what was about to happen, but he was too late. I moved my hand to the left, focusing all my power into it but it did not to the roaring fire. Instead, the blow of my power was bounced off the fire and back at me hitting me with such a force that it threw me to the other side of the field.
The force threw me like a ragdoll across the field. It knocked my breath right out of me. My body bounced off the ground a few times, ripping my dress and bruising my body. My leg hit of some sort of rock and I could feel it tear open my skin. I could hear Edward screaming frantically, but I couldn't find my voice. I laid face down in the dirt for a few seconds, trying to catch my breath. As I regained my breath I forced my body back up. Just as I managed to get my battered body up enough to sit on my knees I was hit with the smell. The overwhelming smell of blood that was now mixed in with the smell of smoke and herbs. It made my stomach turn and my head feel fuzzy.
I think I would have preferred to be tortured by the smell for the rest of my life if it meant I could erase the image that assaulted my sense as I looked up. A few feet from where I sat on my haunches was a large stone table. Four miss formed spherical rocks held up a large rectangular shaped stone tablet. Blood was dripping from the table creating a pool of blood that surround the table. On top of the table was a body, one that was still breathing. From what I could see it was a man and he was tall. His feet was nearly hanging of the table. His skin was a beautiful rustic colour. As I got to my feet I could see clear who the poor unfortunate soul on the table was. Oh god, oh god it was Jacob. Over friendly Jacob Black from the coffee shop.
He was bound to the table with chains and shackles. His eyes were wide with were and his face was drained of colour. He had deep cuts across his body, one on his forehead, across both palms and biceps. There were cuts on his legs as well, but the most disturbing cut was the one on his chest. It was the same symbol that was cut into Liam's chest when we found him in the Unknown. Amelia's coven's mark. It was cut much deeper into Jacob's chest than it was in Liam's. Blood was pouring from it with every rise and fall of his chest. There was candles placed on either side of Jacob's torso, one above his head and two on each side of his ankles.
"It's so nice of you to join us, Bella. Now be a good girl and sit your ass down and stop interrupting me." Lizzie sneered at me. Lizzie stood to the side of the table, wearing her signature black cloak. Her hair appeared to be icy blonde, a shade away from grey. Her eyes were black with fury and her lips painted blood red. She looked absolutely menacing. Evil bitch. In one hand, she held a dagger that looked insanely sharp and the other hand was a candle.
I could feel my own anger and disgust build and once again made the same mistake and swung my hand at her as I focused my power to try and knock the bitch on her scrawny ass. Instead of sending Lizzie flying across the field I was once more knocked down and sent tumbling across the field like a ragdoll. Only this time when I felt the force hit me I was prepared. I kept my body slack and didn't try to fight it. It knocked me all the way over to Edward. I landed on my face once more and stayed down. I needed Lizzie to think I was knocked out so that I can figure out what the fuck was going on with my magic.
I laid as still as I could as I listened to her hysterical laughter and her mockery of me. Keep talking bitch, I'm going to kick your ass just wait and see.
"Bella! Bella! Oh god no! Bella, love please wake up!" Edward cried as he continued to struggle against his restraints. I slowly moved my hand to pick up a small rock, being careful not to move the rest of my body. I managed to throw the small rock at Edward's legs without bringing unwanted attention to myself. Edward looked down at his legs and then back over to me. My eyed were open and pleading with him to stay quite. He caught on to my plan quickly and nodded. As my back was to Lizzie I was able to talk quietly without her taking notice. She was chanting random crap anyway and seemed too absorbed in poor Jacob to pay much attention to me.
"Edward, are you ok?" I whispered.
"I'm fire love. Just a little hot," He said with a wink. I couldn't help but smile at his joke.
"Why won't my magic work?" I asked urgently.
"The field is protected from outside magic. Only she can use magic here. Your mark won't work either." Edward whispered. Well fuck. Fuck! Fuck! FUCK! What the hell am I supposed to do now?!
"How do I break the spell?" I asked hopefully.
"With magic," Edward said with a sigh. Well, how ironic is that? Evil stupid smart fucking hag. Think Bella. Think! Before I could give any more thought to it I got a sharp kick to the back of my thighs.
"Ow! Fuck!" I screamed as I leaped to my feet.
"Ah, Bella dear I see you are awake then," Lizzie sneered. God, she looked ugly when she sneered.
"What the fuck are you up to now Lizzie? What did Jacob ever do to you?" I bit back.
"Well see Jacob and his family are just a means to an end. See his sister was the one I wanted but then she copped an attitude, grew some morals and well I had to get rid of her. You know the story of what happened there, don't you Bella?" Lizzie mocked.
Images of Rachel Black's lifeless body hanging in the air flew through my mind. I wish I could forget that night, forget what happened, but I couldn't. So I guess that explains the accomplice, but why the Blacks?
"You're wondering why the Blacks, aren't you Bella? Why are they so special?" Lizzie said as she walked back to the table. I noticed that the candle she was holding earlier was now placed in the middle of Jacob's torso.
"Well, you see Bella, some time ago there was a werewolf that managed to escape from the Unknown and into the mortal world that was never found. That wolf went on to have a lovely family and pass on the werewolf curse to his children. Turns out that the werewolf curse gets passed on to their offspring. Turns out the Blacks are part of that escaped werewolf's linage. All those lovely werewolves that stormed the university tonight were the extended Black family. A lovely bunch aren't they?" Lizzie mocked as she lit the candles.
Well, that explains why I couldn't figure out how the wolves got into the university. I had so many more questions, but I needed to focus on a way to get Edward out of here. The fire was getting out of hand and closer to him. I could see he was barely hanging in there and is struggling to breathe and stay awake.
"Well if he is your lap dog, why are you killing him?" I asked as I took a few steps closer to her.
"He needs to serve another purpose now," Lizzie said calmly and then started chanting. I walked faster towards her. I figured that the spell would be broken if the witch casting it is dead. I just needed to get that dagger from her hand and then make sure it goes straight through the bitch's heart.
She was chanting louder now and a small wind was circling her and Jacob and the candles were burning brightly.
"Oh really? And what purpose would that be?" I asked only a few feet from her.
She closed her eyes and raised her hands above her head with the dagger clutched securely in them.
"To start the resurrection ritual," She said as she lowered her arms with lighting speed sending the dagger straight through Jacob's heart. Jacob screamed out in pain and I charged at Lizzie. I tackled her to the ground and pulled my arm back and punched her straight in the face. As my fist collided with her face I could hear the sickly crunch of her nose breaking. I jumped to my feet and ran to Jacob. He was already dead and there was nothing I could do for him. I wasn't really sure if there was something I could do for him if I would've wanted to. I pulled the dagger from his heart and as I was about to turn Lizzie jump on me. The dagger flew out of my hand and landed a few feet from me.
I tried to push the crazy bitch of me, but she kept swinging her hands at me. She managed to get a few hits in. When she went to punch me in the face I grabbed her arm and used the momentum to roll us over. I punched her in the throat hoping to keep her down from loss of breath as I jumped towards the dagger. As I grabbed the dagger Lizzie was pulling on my legs.
"Let go of me you crazy bitch!" I screamed as I tried to kick her away from my legs.
"You are ruining everything you fucking whore!" she screamed and then bit my legs. Yes, she really bit my fucking leg like a rabbit dog! I kicked at her and managed to get a proper kick in that sent her flying. We both got to our feet and Lizzie charged at me again. Only this time I held the dagger at the right angle so when she managed to tackle me to the ground she pushed her body into the dagger. I could feel her blood soak my dress as she started as me with horrified eyes.
"Enjoy hell," I said as I rolled her off me. Once I was free I ran to Edward. He was hardly awake and breathing. The fire was roaring like crazy. This time I focused on my affinity for fire. Surely if I could create fire like I have seen Edward do, then we should be able to put it out to. I took a deep breath and focused on the fire in front of me. I picture the fire dissipating slowly into the soil and when I opened my eyes the fire was gone much to my relief.
"Edward! Edward talk to me!" I screamed as I tried to get up to the platform to him. It was a task getting up there as the wood was burned to ash and I had nothing to step on. I managed to get up to Edward and the first thing I did was check if he was still breathing.
"Edward? Edward, I need you to look at me?" I said as I took his face in my hands and made him look at me. He looked both terrified and heartbroken. His face had grey and black smudges due to the smoke and his eyes were red and tears were running down his face.
"Bella?" Edward croaked out.
"I'm here, love. I'm here. I need to get you down from here." I said as I moved to untie Edward. I quickly untied him and had to jump to catch him as he was unstable on his feet. We carefully made our way down to the ground and sat down trying to catch our breath. Edward wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly. We sat there in silence just holding each other. I felt the tears roll down my face as I thought about how close I came to losing him.
"Bella, love. We need to start moving. Do you remember how to get back to the tunnel?" Edward asked softly.
"Yeah, I should be able to find our way back. Are you sure you don't need to rest some more?" I asked concerned.
"No. Lizzie has started the resurrection ritual which means witches will start coming here and we need to leave before they get here," Edward said as he stood up and offered his hand to me.
"They are going to start looking for me now, aren't they?" I asked frightened.
"Yes. I tried to stop her from going ahead with the ritual when I figured it out, but she knocked me out before I could do anything." Edward explained.
"What are we going to do now?" I asked as I wrap my hand around his and started walking towards the tunnel.
"We prepare for a war," Edward said and gave me a kiss on the head.
As we walked hand in hand back to the university I knew three things;
One, I was completely and irrevocably in love with Edward, two what was still to come will only be the battle, the war is still to come and thirdly I knew that I would fight even if it cost me my life.
So that's the end of Aluthsia University. Another big thanks to the loyal readers. Hope you enjoyed the story as much as I liked writing it