Hector was exactly the opposite of what Lily had imagined.
After Jasper's stories and her encounter with the Nomad and Billy, she had imagined a crude, mean, bloodthirsty man. She was all the more surprised when she saw this boy infront of her.
Lily estimated his human age to be 14, maybe 15. His face was so boyish that it carried a certain beauty with it. It reminded her of Edward, at least in its positive aspects. He was about her height and had fair hair. It wasn't as noble blond as Carlisle's but light enough to pass for blond.
Carlisle.
Immediately, Hector's gaze was on her.
She didn't know what abilities he had yet, Billy couldn't tell her either, and she didn't feel like he was lying to her. At least not about this.
Based on his reaction, she guessed he could tell or interpret wishes or maybe urges. His piercing red gaze was on her before he turned his attention back to someone else. The red eyes were still unfamiliar, and though she didn't look any different, she longed for Carlisle's honey-colored eyes.
Again Hector glanced at her.
Perhaps, like Jasper, he was an empath? But she wouldn't have realized yet that her feelings were being manipulated, and Billy hadn't said anything of the sort either. You'd think such a famous man, or rather boy, had no secrets left. But apparently he had managed to keep his.
She didn't.
Billy told him about her power and the fight at the first opportunity. Inwardly she groaned.
She knew, of course, that he would do anything to rise in Hector's favor but had still hoped he would leave her out of it.
This brought a wave of unwanted attention that Lily knew could be dangerous. She knew about Aro and his "collecting" Hector might as well want to use her as a trophy or a wonder weapon. She had to be careful.
Hector showed her his kingdom, it was large but in this collared landscape, something very quickly took on a vastness, no matter how large it actually was. She longed for the damp woods from Forks.
Proudly, he told her what he had created and that he had ensured peace.
Warmongers always brag about peace, no matter in what way or at what cost they had produced it. So she didn't believe a word he said, but she hadn't come to learn about his good character either.
He kept insisting that Craster was uncivilized, that he was not in control of his armies, that he was causing far too much of a stir and it, would only be a matter of time before the Volturi showed up here again.
Lily had the feeling that he would do everything he could to prevent her from visiting Craster. Thus manipulation as a force fell away, someone who could control or influence her thoughts would not go to such lengths to talk her out of something.
Which he didn't have to.
She'd heard enough from Billy to know that she definitely didn't need to meet Craster. The silence of her phone was answer enough. If she had decided to meet him, Alice would probably try to contact her.
Hector tried to quiz her as unobtrusively as possible. As he did so, she noticed that he kept trying to find out how big her clan was and whether she had a mate. She assumed that her longing had already betrayed her, because he never let up on the subject, no matter how evasive her answers were.
The Cullens could not appear on his radar, that much was certain.
So she made her story as uninteresting as possible.
She gave the north as the location and the size of the family varied. She didn't tell anything about their eating habits, too great was the risk that he might have known one of them. Vegetarians were not common among vampires, that much was certain, and he would know immediately who she meant.
Eventually he let it go, however, she had a feeling he was just waiting for a better time. His curiosity had been directed at something else.
Her power.
Lily knew she had to show him something. She couldn't deny him everything or she might get into trouble. Hector may have been a military genius, but he was young and had the temperament to match.
She lifted wrecked cars and rocks, flinging them several hundred yards with a flick of her arm.
Hector followed the experimental objects spellbound and the corners of his mouth twitched upward.
Immediately, she knew she had to control herself. She couldn't show him everything, even if Billy had spilled the beans. If she presented herself as too unique, she might be a guest longer than she wanted.
She knew that they could not force her to stay, but she doubt that her presence would stay a secret for long. Aro sure would be hearing about her and that was some attention she really did not want.
Their adventure seemed to have come to an abrupt end when her phone vibrated. Hector's eyes immediately shot to her pocket and his brows shot up.
"A phone? Interesting."
His voice was higher-pitched than she was used to and raspy. It was dulcet and obviously meant to deceive her counterpart into thinking its owner was an innocent child. But the attention was already creeping Lily out.
She wanted to get out of here as fast as she could.
"Could you give me a moment."
Hector nodded eagerly and turned away, but his focus was still on her.
Puzzled, she stared at the display.
She was still young, especially considering her time as a vampire, but she had never heard that it was possible.
Bella was pregnant.
Lily tried not to let on, one wrong reaction could make her life harder than it needed to be.
"Are you all right?"
The sweet voice sounded concerned, as if her well-being was his concern. He must have sensed her inner turmoil, so there was no point in lying.
"No, I'm afraid I'll have to cut my adventure short."
"What, why?"
He sounded dismayed. He obviously hadn't expected her to be honest.
"Yes, unfortunately. I have a question for you, I'm obviously too young to know, I'm sure I'll have better luck with you."
She cajoled him and immediately saw that he liked it when she classified him as more experienced. It had to be tedious to look so young, to be constantly underestimated by everyone.
"I'll do my best."
He looked eager and Lily was pleased, her tactic had worked.
"Have you heard anyone talk about a human getting pregnant by a vampire?"
Suddenly his youthful face twisted into his wide grin and he laughed.
"Pregnant?"
He shook his head.
"The act itself, a human wouldn't survive. Let alone a whole pregnancy."
Lily continued to look at him and his grin disappeared.
"Do you have proof?"
There was the curiosity again. She had to throw him off the scent.
"No, no. But on my way here, I've heard stories and wondered if they were true."
He swallowed her bait again.
"You hear a lot of things when you're on the road, yet you shouldn't believe every scary story."
Lily nodded and thanked him.
There was no point in continuing to look for the answer here, for these vampires to even seek contact with a human was absurd, let alone leave one alive to impregnate.
She had to get back, Carlisle needed her and she could only hope that she could leave here as easily as she had come here. But a dark feeling crept over her that she had already attracted far too much attention.