Chapter Nine: Spirit

The warmth of September was swept away as October bloomed trees of crimson and gold, welcoming sunny days and cool weather. Eden had kept her distance over the last few weeks, feeling betrayed by her sister. She understood exactly what Ren meant, as it was clear how the Cullens felt about Eden, but nonetheless, she expected more of her sister. It was becoming quite clear to her that she shouldn't expect much at all, however, Alec disagreed. They had found their place in the woods, near a small creek in an alcove of bushes. A wall of sediment cocooned them from the walking trail, forming a small waterfall that sputtered with the force of the river five miles north of where they sat. They rested on a fallen tree, the sun glittering past the swaying brush of the tall trees.

"She's naive, younger at heart than you or I," he said, reaching out to tuck her long hair behind her ear. It was an attempt for her to meet his gaze and it worked, she turned her head. Their eyes met. His were softer than usual, a compassionate gleam she hadn't seen before, "She has nothing if she doesn't have her family."

"She would have me." Eden sighed, "Though I know that's not enough for her. She's starved for attention, no matter how much she has."

Alec smirked, tilting his head, "She was raised that way, dove, you cannot fault her for a learned behavior."

"Why defend her?"

"Why attack her?"

Eden felt her chest grow heavy, her shoulders tightened with denial and shame, "I never did such a thing."

"You think ill of someone you love dearly, merely because she felt something very real: fear. Fear of losing the only people she's ever known at the cost of an accident, a mistake; fear of rejection and loneliness. Be aware, I agree not with her choice to allow your suffrage at the cost of her happiness, but you must admit, if the roles were reversed, you would know no better. Tis not her actions I defend, but her ignorance."

"Why defend her at all?" Eden said, her tone clipped. "What do you owe her?"

"I owe her nothing, but this conversation hurts you."

Her back straightened, "You do not know everything, Alec."

His laughter filled the air. It was a rare sound, but one that Eden had fallen for. She couldn't hold her pinched face while someone so beautiful glowed, illuminated by amusement and adoration. Peach and lilac danced around his form, the edge fuzzy with rose pink. There was a darkness near the center of his aura, telling of his focus on the conversation, but nonetheless, he was happy. She couldn't help but taste the sweet nectar of such a pure emotion, a small grin cracking the serious shell that cemented her expression.

"No... Not everything, but most things, dove; most things I do know. I know you miss her. I know you want to talk to her. So, do it. Speak with your sister, let her know that she has burned you. Renesmee is not cruel, but she's weak of heart. She would benefit from your strength."

"Perhaps."

Alec smiled, shaking his head at Eden's stubbornness, but he reached for her hand. As their fingers tangled together, Eden decided she would talk to her sister. She must, if she wanted to salvage their relationship. Alec's hand squeezed hers, reassuring and solidifying her resolve. He may be right about most things, but there was one thing he was wrong about; Eden did not think she was strong, for it was she who benefited from his strength.

Renesmee paced around the living room, her ears perked for her sister's footsteps. They were different from others, softer, lighter, quieter. She almost couldn't hear Eden approaching most of the time, unless she listened for her. She asked Jasper if it was the same for him, as he was the only one that had warmed up to her twin. Jasper conceded that indeed, Eden was stealthy. She missed Eden desperately and the guilt that had lifted from her chest upon her confession had only fallen upon her shoulders when her sister disappeared from the room. No one else had noticed, but Renesmee had felt it with a resounding punch in the stomach. She didn't mean to rub salt in the open wound, but she had ripped out Eden's heart and shoved her nose in it. It was an awful feeling, but she knew it could not compare to what Eden must feel.

The second she heard Alec's footfalls, which were only slightly louder than Eden, she took off. Ren flew out the door and shot to the opening of the brush just as Eden and Alec emerged, hands clutched together. Renesmee worried about Eden's fascination with one of the most feared immortals, but she saw the way he looked at her. His stone exterior seemed to fall away and a warmth she never realized he could express shone through. They exchanged a knowing look, Alec smirking as he walked on into the house. Eden turned and met Ren's gaze, not attempting a fake smile. She held her neutral expression with her eyes guarded.

"Can we talk?"

Eden lifted her chin, "About?"

"Let's walk," Renesmee suggested, raising her arm in a sloppy gesture to the woods. "I need to apologize for what I thought the other day. It was a horrible, awful, ugly thing to have even formed into words; Eden, I am so sorry. Please, give me a chance to explain."

"There's nothing to explain, Ren, I understand." Eden said, her stare still frosty.

Renesmee refused to let it go so easily. Grabbing her sister's hand, she met her gaze and forced Eden to feel her woe. Eden's eyes widened. Genuine remorse filled Ren with coal, darkness straight to her core and laced with a deep, maroon guilt. It tasted bitter, smelled of sulfur, and felt grainy on her tongue. Eden tugged gently, enough to convey she would comply. The duo walked into the woods, hand in hand. It was quiet at first, neither spoke in to the silence of the coming dusk. Renesmee released a weighted sigh, "I love you, Eden, I didn't mean for that thought to hurt you. No one expects others to be listening in on their thoughts..."

Eden was speechless. The notion hadn't occurred to her that most people did not hear thoughts or filter them accordingly. She hadn't considered that it was only she and her father that were capable of such talents, meaning everyone else lived in blissful silence. She had stupidly assumed everyone could hear thoughts and everyone was reserved with thought, only thinking so loudly when alone. A few things clicked in that moment and suddenly, Eden realized she had been very selfish and very ignorant. Those hadn't been her thoughts to be listening to at all; it was none of her business what her sister thought in her own, private mind.

"I was wrong, Ren, I shouldn't have been listening to you to begin with; it wasn't my place."

Renesmee shook her head, "No, no, no. It was my fault; it was awful for me to even think that."

Eden reached out and pulled her twin into her arms. They clutched each other as if they would be separated forever should they let go. All faults were forgiven, as the twins had easily resolved their dispute with the love and understanding that sisters know better than themselves. However beautiful a moment, Eden tensed. She sensed approaching immortals, their dusty age and copper-flavored bloodlust a pungent odor in the air. In a single, swift movement, Eden had placed Renesmee behind her. Four figures emerged from the trees in the distance as the sun sunk below the horizon, a curtain of darkness draped over the earth. Glowing crimson eyes was all Ren could see, her heart dropping and her stomach churning. She felt Jacob, but he was far. Too far. She sent out a call anyway, having no other hope of contact.

"Evenin', ladies," a deep drawl echoed to their ears, sinister with intent. "A bit late for such pretty, young dames like you two to be roaming about, don't you think?"

Eden's throat rumbled, a low growl vibrating her chest.

"Interesting... Neither one of you smell like us," the man said, his eyes flashing to Renesmee, "You smell absolutely divine, darling, but what are you?"

Eden saw every inch of all four vampires, her eyes as accustomed to the dark as they are in the light. Zane was their leader and eldest brother, as his thoughts identified himself. His dark hair hung in glossy waves to his shoulders, his face symmetrical and carved from hard, smoldering angles. He was large, tall and wide. Zane popped the collar of his leather jacket. Eden stood taller, surveying his crew. Only one other made her uneasy, due to his size. He exceeded six foot and was all brawn, but he held an air of arrogance drawn in by the fact that he knew he was intimidating. The other two were smaller, younger in the face, but still filled with conceit as they rolled with two seasoned nomads. They wouldn't be an issue to discard.

Renesmee shook, her bones chilled from the fear. Eden remained stoney, her only thought was to protect her sister. She needed a plan. She surveyed her opponents and concluded her biggest battle would be Zane. She hadn't figured out his weakness, beyond Renesmee, but she was absolutely not about to use her sister as a distraction. Mount Everest on his right was clumsy, she could tell from the way he stood as if he might lose his footing at any moment. Dumb and Dumber grinned like chesire cats on Zane's left, as if they were untouchable. She was almost positive they would flee, but she couldn't allow that. They might return with a bigger group, if not for revenge. Loose ends were unacceptable. This was a one woman job and it would have to be executed flawlessly. Zane turned to Eden next, his eyebrows raising and vulgar thoughts filling his mind. He noticed her gaze, which made him noticably uneasy, but he was not threatened by her. She was relieved by this and glad to know her plan would work perfectly. Kill the brothers, kill Zane.

"My, my, my... what do we have here?" he said, his voice light and musical. "Now, I know you're not an immortal child, but I'll be damned if I ever see such a pretty young thing like you that looks near identical to a grown one; you are the most beautiful thing to ever walk this earth, anyone ever tell you that, darlin'?"

Eden snarled, "You don't know what I am."

"I sure as hell don't, but you won't know what you are either when I'm done with you."

Zane thought his move out before he took action, which became his first mistake. Eden anticipated his roundabout method: cut her off from her sister and get them separated. He would grab Eden and push Ren down, knowing she was weaker. The force he planned would most likely break Renesmee's arm. Eden acted fast, scooting Renesmee back just far enough that she had room to whip around in time to pump her foot straight into Zane's chest. Renesmee screamed as Zane ricocheted off Eden's shoe and split a tree in half with his hurdling body. Big boy came running up, but he was just as clumsy at Eden had assumed. Leaping in to the air, she landed on his shoulders. Her legs wrapped around his throat and without thinking, Eden swung her body off while tightening her leg's grip. In a single twist, the bigger immortal's headless corpse collapsed. His head plopped on the ground several feet away from his body.

The two younger immortals tried to run, but Eden had guessed as much. She sprinted, leaped, and flipped through the air, landing right in front of them. Their faces dropped with horror as she gripped one's throat and tugged. His neck shattered, his eyes moving frantically until glazing over. The other fell to his knees, begging her to spare him, but she was no longer Eden. She had become a fighting machine. Red clouded her vision and she had no concept of mercy. With a single, swift kick, his head smacked the ground with a crack and shattered against the dirt. Zane had just regained his senses, removing himself from the tree to find his family dead. He and his brothers had all been turned together by their father who had returned from the war with a horrible fever. Now, after three hundred years, they were dead. He wanted to feel anger, rage, something other than this despair that wracked through his chest. All of his strength left him as he met the empty gaze of his youngest brother; they were all he had left. They had been stupid and greedy in their early years, severing most ties to other immortals. To this day, their choices had been foolish and Zane knew that. He was facing the rest of eternity totally and completely alone.

"Kill me, please." He whispered, all of him exposed as he looked to Eden with a genuine plea. She didn't want to satisfy him, give him anything of what he wished, but she didn't have very many options. Kill him or let him go. He would suffer a greater deal of pain than she could ever cause should she let him live, but in the time of his turmoil, revenge would be plotted. He would return. She couldn't allow this pathetic scum to threaten her twice.

She narrowed her eyes, grasped his throat, and grinned, "My pleasure."