A/N: Will they win? Will they lose? What is going to happen next? I have been trying to play with the gifts a little more in this story, and wanted to use a couple things not seen before, but still make sense. In nature a chemical reaction can cause a spark and create fire. If he actually never touches it, he should be able to use it. Does this mean he is unstoppable? Maybe. I'd like to thank Kantorkan for the original idea of a vampire that could control fire. Enjoy the new chapter!
Chapter 50 – Battle of Fire
"This just got more dangerous," Jasper whispered. He did not know how to even begin to fight someone like that. Were they all doomed even before the real fighting began? NO! He refused to back down now. Being a vampire, it did not matter if he could hurl fire or create the atom bomb, he could still be killed. "Everybody keep your wits about you and don't lose focus!" He yelled as he turned up his own gift, forcing the two women to curl into a ball in fear.
They had two of the vampires down, but what next? If they tried to approach in order to dismember the women, they risked retaliation by the male nomad. If they stood there and did nothing…Jasper couldn't hold them forever. Someone had to do something. Who? What?
Looking around him, Emmett growled in frustration and before anyone could stop him, he rushed forward, a loud bellow ringing through the clearing.
"Emmett! NO!" Rosalie screamed. This could not be happening, but then again, she half expected her mate to do something like this, she just wished he wasn't so…Emmett.
"Shit. Major, keep it up. I'll go get the idiot!" Peter ordered and rushed after the bigger man.
A laugh, eerie and dangerous, surrounded them, growing louder and louder the closer the two men got to the female nomads. The first fire flared up in front of them, forcing them to skid to a stop and missing the flames by mere inches. Was fire normally this hot? They jumped to the side, two more flames rose up on their outside flanks. Instead of advancing, they started to retreat, the fires following them, increasing in number in front and on the sides. They believed if he could, the third stranger would wall them in a box of fire, but since he could only throw fire and not make it appear anywhere, at least their backsides were safe.
Her body shaking, Bella kept whipping her head to and fro, muttering, "No. He can't do this. No."
"Bella, you have to stay calm," Charlotte tried to get through to her, but even she had to admit she was scared and worried.
With flames only five feet in front of them, Mercedes and Katrina tried to fight the control Jasper had over them. They wanted to move away from the flames, away from the danger their partner presented, but they couldn't move.
"Katrina, why are you doing this?" The blonde asked her partner.
"It's…It isn't me!" Katrina growled. "It's him!" Her trembling hand lifted to point towards Jasper.
"Stop him then!"
"I'm trying!" Katrina hated to admit defeat, but even she could see this stranger with the scars had a more developed and powerful gift than hers; however, that did not mean she was down for the count. Taking a deep breath, she centered herself, and then screamed, sending as much despair towards the group as she could. It was almost rewarding to see the man that had tried to overpower her, drop to his knees. Control broken, the two women slowly got to their feet, their breathing deep and ragged, still trying to shake off the last vestiges of terror he had sent their way. Snarling, she said, "Let's kill them, and at least now we don't have to start a fire!"
Together the women ran towards their targets, Jasper could hear them coming and his head popped up. He laughed.
Katrina, her raven hair blowing in the breeze, stopped short. Why was he laughing like that? He should be in despair and grieving.
"What's wrong, Katrina?" Mercedes questioned.
"Something…" she began.
Jasper's laugh grew, "You know there are some emotions that are stronger than others, emotions that can override others. Do you know what they are?"
Mercedes stepped backwards until she ran into the other woman. There was something about those eyes that made her afraid. "What's he talking about?"
"Nothing. He doesn't know anything," Katrina growled and started forward intent to tear the blond limb from limb, but no more than two feet away, so close she could taste victory, Mercedes grabbed her around her neck and threw her to the ground. Before she could say anything, her companion brutally pressed their lips together, sealing off all protest. She tried to push her off, but couldn't. Her arms were pinned against her head, Mercedes sat on her stomach, pinning her to the ground. She tried to send sleepiness or other emotions, but nothing worked. What the hell was going on? Another dark laugh, and out of the corner of her eye, she found Jasper once again on his feet.
"Confused? One thing you should know, some emotions are stronger than others. Love, hate, and lust…mixed together it can be a heady combination, and one that is hard to surpass."
Unable to control herself, the blonde held her partner to the ground, grinding her hips against the woman under her. Never before did she want someone as much as she wanted Katrina right now. She knew it wasn't real, her mind told her that, but whether real or fake, her body did not care. It needed to be sated.
With one eye on the women and the other on the male nomad, Jasper turned up the volume on his gift and directed it so that it would encompass both females. Their travelling companion seemed almost bored by this whole display, leaning against a tree, his arms crossed over his chest. He was almost too realized to Jasper's way of thinking. There had to be a way to defeat him. If they got too close, he could torch them. Based on what the southern man had witnessed, the other vampire could only throw his fireballs so far before everyone was out of range. That could be used to their advantage, but without attacking and ripping him apart, they couldn't kill him. Even if they all attacked at the same time, it was possible that everyone in the Cullen coven would die. While he could use his own gift to subdue the other vampire, much like he had done with the females, it would still require someone getting close and tearing him limb from limb. A dangerous job, and one that still held many risks; however, as dangerous as it was, it had to be done.
A growl pulled his attention down to the two writhing females on the ground. The dark haired one was fighting his gift with her own, but she would lose. As strong as she was, she was no match for him. Observing her for a moment, her sole focus was on trying to break his "spell", and she could no longer control her gift. His family was dropping with sleepiness, but it wasn't reaching him yet due to his similar gift. What she didn't know, what he had not yet revealed, while he may have turned up his gift, he wasn't using even a fraction of his true power. Crouching down low, he dared not to get too close until both were under his complete control, and he whispered, "You won't win. You are at the end of your life."
"Wh-Who, the he-hell are you?" Katrina demanded before her voice broke ok a moan as Mercedes bent her head and began to suckle at her friend's breast. The lust in her was growing, and as hard as she was fighting, she knew the man was right. She was on the verge of losing. There was a part of her that wanted to buck Mercedes off of her, rip her clothes off so that they could pleasure each other, while they bit and destroyed each other at the same time.
"Me?" He laughed, "Jasper Whitlock at your service, ma'am." She apparently had heard of him because her eyes grew, the sense of defeat and loss increased, and she finally succumbed to the feelings she had been trying to fight. The moment she stopped using her own gift, his family was released and stood to their feet once again.
Unable to fight any longer, Katrina broke one hand free, twisted it in Mercedes hair, and pulled her down. She crushed their lips together, and then her tongue trailed down to her neck. If her friend had been human, this is exactly where her pulse would be, but she wasn't, and she didn't care. Biting down, she broke the skin and then moved to the other side, marking her territory.
With her free hand, Mercedes reached between them and ripped the front of Katrina's jeans away, leaving nothing to cover her lower half. Venom pooled in her mouth at the succulent sight before her. Her mouth desired to taste the treat, and her fingers dived in, pushing into the other woman. She threw her head back as two digits were instantly surrounded by a moist heat…and then everything stopped.
While the women were occupied, Charlotte and Peter quickly moved towards them and ripped off their heads, throwing them into the fire the other man had started. Their bodies soon joined their heads and the flames climbed higher as the vampires began the process of being turned to ash.
Two down, one to go.
"Major, how do we handle the other one?" Peter asked his friend.
Shaking his head, Jasper answered, "We don't. I do."
"No!" Bella screamed. She refused to allow her mate to do something so dangerous. She could already feel the anxiety and fear rising up in the pit of her stomach. If anything happened to him, she couldn't survive it.
"Darlin', there is no other way. I promise I will come back to you," he declared softly, pulling her into his arms. Over her head, his eyes met those of Emmett and Peter, and he mouthed the words, "Be ready."
"You can't do this, son," Charlie tried to plead with the other man on behalf of his daughter.
Jasper told his clan, "This is the only way. I need everyone to keep an eye on Charlie and Bella. Be ready to run if you need to, and don't do anything stupid." He released his hold on his mate and gave her a hard, fast kiss before releasing her and turning towards the stranger.
When he made it to the furthest scorch marks, Jasper took a deep breath. He was scared. There was always a level of fear in every battle, but he had never before experienced something like this. This stranger could control the one element all vampires feared. How he had lived and escaped Volturi execution seemed like an interesting mystery…one Jasper refused to dwell upon for too long.
"I'm impressed. You were able to subdue and kill two trained, heartless killers," the stranger called out.
"I do what I can," Jasper retorted, grounded to his spot, waiting to see if this final nomad would make the first move.
"I never thought I would ever meet the legendary Jasper Whitlock from the Southern Vampire Wars. Maria always spoke highly of you."
What? Trying to keep his surprise hidden, the Texan asked, "Oh really? And how are you associated with that bitch?"
The fire thrower laughed, "Let's just say, she's a mutual friend."
"Last I check, you and I ain't friends."
"But we could be. I hear Maria wants you back. Can you imagine killing her and ruling things for ourselves? Fuck, we could even kill those pigs in Italy."
"I'm good where I am."
"I thought you might say that."
"You seem to know who I am, but who the hell are you?"
"Me? I'm Eric. James and I have the same creator, and that's all you really need to know before I kill you."
"If you can."
"You really think the tricks you used on those rutting sluts are going to work on me? Think again," Eric took a menacing step forward. For every step he advanced, he also stepped to his left in order to escape the fire; and for every step he took he noticed Jasper took a step in the opposite direction. "You keep going in that direction, and I'll be able to fry your family."
Jasper's eyes narrowed in anger. He would not let this man control him with just a few petty words. He had to keep his head and wits about him, he had to think smart, and attack expertly. His feet stopped moving, he turned towards his enemy, and got ready to leap over the flames that separated them. It would be dangerous because Eric could block him in with flames, but the other man was right; if they kept circling each other, eventually, the enemy would be at the Cullen's door. His fists clenched and unclenched, his eyes darted towards his mate, and he smiled. He would not lose because he had a reason to live.
Watching his adversary, Eric observed him closely. Surely he would not jump through the flames. That was suicide…not that it mattered to him what Jasper decided to do. Granted the other man could also jump over the flames, but Eric could throw fire upwards just as well as he could throw it in front of him. If Jasper did come to him, there would be a wall of fire behind him. Stupid. Jasper would die.
He mouthed the words, "I love you," to his mate before leaping over the flames and landing safely on the other side. Jasper was now in range for Eric to hit him with fire, but the southern vampire believed he would be able to dodge the flames and get to his prey before succumbing to the fire. There really was no other way to handle this man. Using his gift, he sent out feelings of love, peace, harmony, and sleepiness.
Laughing, the other man yelled, "I told you it wouldn't work. I may feel all happy go lucky, but I'll still kill you, and even if I do want to sleep, I can still lift my arm like this." He threw a ball of fire towards Jasper.
Jumping to the side, Jasper dodged the flame sent his way. He could see eyes dropping on the other man, how he moved slower, but it did not seem to hamper him too much. Turning up the power on his gift, he started advancing and increasing his gift with each step he took, dodging the fire thrown at him as he got closer and closer. And then he could not take any more steps forward. He was boxed in.
"I win," Eric's snide voice could be heard over the crackles of flames. He looked towards the Cullen's and noticed how Bella fought to break free from three vampires that were holding her. "Maybe I'll have a taste of your mate before I turn her over to my brother. Goodbye." Holding his hands palms up, he sent four fireballs into the air, to land on the other side of the wall of flames, directly on top of his enemy.
Jasper hoped and prayed he calculated everything correctly. There was only one hope to defeat this guy, and it lie hidden in his mate.
"JW! NO!" Screamed Bella, and then something happened. Falling to the ground, a pulse of something shot out of her, surrounding the area, and extinguishing the flames immediately.
All eyes turned to Bella, even those of Eric's, and that was when Jasper made his move. Running, he reached his target and ripped off the head before the other man realized what happened. A lighter in his hand, he flicked the switch, started a flame, and lit the head on fire before throwing it onto its body. Everything happened within seconds. "Nope, I think y'all lose." One minute he was on his feet, and the next, he was lying in the charred remains of grass.
"You bastard!" Bella pounded his chest, and then leaned down to kiss him. If she could cry real tears, she would be.
"I'm sorry, darlin', but there was no other way."
"Bullshit!"
"You knew?" Carlisle asked.
"I hoped and believed."
"What the hell are you two talking about?" The brunette asked as she clung to her mate.
Holding her tightly, Jasper kissed the side of her head and explained, "Eleazar said your shield could do other things and he wasn't sure how to git it to come out. I just had this feelin' that you would be the one who could help me. My gift didn't completely take him down, which meant no one would be able to get close enough, but I had a feelin' you could git me close to him. It was like instinct."
"Idiot! What would have happened if you had been wrong?"
"Then, darlin', we wouldn't be havin' this discussion right now."
"Amazing. Simply amazing," Eleazar whispered. "I've never seen anything like that before. Her shield completely surrounded this whole area. It extinguished the fire and neutralized his gift. He wouldn't have been able to use it on you after that."
Shaking her head, Kate said, "It was a hell of a risk to take without knowing."
"I just knew," Jasper repeated. He focused his attention on his mate, "I'm okay, Bella. I'm fine. I promise." Brushing her hair out of her face, he kissed her and told her, "I love you. I told ya, I ain't goin' anywhere."
Rosalie muttered, "Well, I guess this means we just have to deal with James, Edward, and the newborns. At least none of them can throw fire…can they?"
"I don't see any fire gifts, but I didn't see this one either. I don't think the newborns have gifts though," Alice said.
Charlie announced, "And we have the wolves."
One battle was over, but the war was far from ending. It seemed as soon as they crossed one problem off their list others appeared, and Jasper knew from experience, the wolves would not be easy to deal with. They probably posed a bigger problem than the newborns. How were they all going to make it through onto the other side?