Chapter Thirty-Six: Surrounded by Monsters
Hand me a pen and I'll rewrite the pain. When you're ready, we'll turn the page together.
Open a bottle, it's time we celebrate. Who you were, who you are
.We're one and the same."
- Rina Sawayama, Elton John - Chosen Family
Monday, September 19, 2005 - Edward
"On foot, you've got to be fucking kidding me." Emmett swore in frustration. We had managed to catch her scent and I found echoes of her mental signature just outside of Mexico City. She was heading southeast in practically a straight line without regard to roads. We eventually had to abandon the rental jeep at a dead-end road in the middle of nowhere.
"We don't have a choice." I said, trying to hold in my own exasperation. While she was on foot, she had a solid head start. Which meant we would likely have to follow her all the way to her destination.
"Well this will be fun." Emmett grumbled; we both knew this would keep us from home for days, maybe even weeks.
"Think of it as an extended vacation." I said pulling my backpack straps tightly around my stomach and starting the first stretch of our run at relatively human speeds. I kept my telepathic eye open to observe local minds, that way we would know when we could let loose and move at our full speed.
Even as immortals, we found her trail difficult to keep on top of, especially as it moved through residential areas and larger towns and cities. She moved through Mexico in just a handful of hours, then down through Guatemala and deep into the mountains and wilderness of Honduras before crossing into Nicaragua. We eventually tracked her to a well-hidden and sizable compound situated in a beautiful valley that was practically inaccessible to mortals. There were no roads to access the site, just a helicopter pad and a private air strip.
It was so far out of range of any kind of civilization that even with our strength and speed it was difficult to get close enough to observe. Cell service had been patchy for most of the journey, and to make matters worse on the fifth day we took a shortcut that ended in a mudslide destroying my phone and damaging Emmett's so that he could no longer get a signal.
Catching Victoria was out of the question when we found her destination. It was all we could do to keep from being seen by the roving patrols of vampires guarding the grounds. We waited in silence trying to catch a glimpse of her, until finally on the second day of our arrival Victoria and Maria appeared on a large upper veranda. Then we trained our ears and my gift on their conversation.
"Cullen's, why on earth did you pick a fight with them? They are one of the largest and most closely-knit covens in the world." Maria said with obvious disappointment, practically scolding Victoria.
"James set his sights on a human they had adopted, probably to turn. Turns out her mate is an ancient who eventually bested him." Victoria shook her head. I couldn't read her expression but her mental state was boiling over with barely restrained fury.
"Arrogant and foolish, I never could understand what you saw in him. Was it at least one on one?" Maria sighed in mild exasperation when Victoria shook her head, nearly lashing out at Maria but holding back the impulse.
"No, I was there. We outnumbered him, and even had his mate to use as a bargaining chip. But James had to push the fight. It would've gone our way if Laurent had been there. But he left to join another Coven months ago, one I've heard rumored to be tied to the Cullen's. He barely gave me anything when I called in a favor before coming here." Victoria said with a small sneer.
"Any information can be useful, what did he tell you?" Maria advised, but her words were lost on Victoria who shook her head again, her mind full of single-minded thoughts of revenge. The things she planned for Angela made my skin crawl. Needing at least a short reprieve, I directed my focus towards Maria instead. Her mind was very calm and organized, but deeply cold. Despite the kinship she felt towards Victoria, who she thought of as a daughter despite the fact Victoria was much older than her, she held no real love for her.
"All he would give me was that the Cullen's have a telepath and a seer." Victoria's anger came through, and her mask of sadness cracked in front of Maria who just frowned slightly.
"Hmmm, that complicates things. The only way to make it work, if you plan on using my tactics, would be to have a General, one you can trust, that can work autonomously. Turning one is usually a good choice, but it takes time. The upside is you can create a specific kind of unwavering loyalty. Of course, not even my Sophia could match Jasper, how I miss him." She mused, and as she spoke of Jasper, I could see her memories of him, they had shared a bed until he left her coven. I hadn't realized he had been that close with her, and her feelings for him were far closer to love than I expected.
"From our observation of their coven, Jasper is no longer among them. I got the impression there was some drama there, but no one spoke of him directly. Maybe you have a chance to win him back." I took in a deep breath of anger realizing they had watched us without us knowing. If I had been able to use my power then, we would never have been so blind. It just drove home the fact we needed to get back as soon as possible. Maria's mind went spiraling with the possibilities but shook her head after a moment before settling on a truth she found could accept no matter how painful it was for her.
"After sixty years? Unlikely. However, I am no longer actively at war and my army has matured to provide security rather than mindless fodder. Which means Sophia is rather bored. I would consider lending her to you, for a price." Her words were carefully chosen, and I could hear a name rolling around in her head. Alice. I felt myself tense up because I couldn't quite read what she had in mind.
"Name it." Victoria said quickly, and scanning her thoughts confirmed her excitement in finding a shortcut to her revenge.
"One of the Cullen's is responsible for keeping my Jasper away, I believe her name is Alice. I would like you to bring her to me, alive." Emmett let out a small growl, and I had to put a hand on his shoulder to keep him from charging, no matter how much I wanted to follow the same impulse.
"Easy Emmett, we are vastly outnumbered here." I sent him telepathically.
"I know." Emmett thought specifically towards me.
"That could be tricky, why do you need her?" Victoria felt betrayed, while she didn't really care about the rest of the Cullen's, she wanted them dead by association.
"It is somewhat complicated, but the Volturi have been problematic lately and I would like to get into their good graces. Rumor is that Aro wants this girl as a part of their guard." She was playing it coy but looking deeper I could see she had been in contact with Aro directly to secure her own future over her rivals. Something vague and violent in store for my family. The Volturi had been planning the end of Carlisle and our coven for years.
"Maria and Aro have been talking in secret about getting rid of us." I projected towards Emmett who flashed me a look of surprise, and then his nostrils flared in anger.
"We need to get home. Don't we have enough?" Emmett's thoughts made me ponder it for a fraction of a second but shook my head.
"Not yet." I sent it towards him and directed my gift back towards the conversation.
"Okay, that could work. What can Sophia do for me?" Victoria looked almost thoughtful, so I checked, and was surprised to find she had calmed down and was now thinking strategically about her upcoming plans, including how she could work around both my gift and Alice's visions.
"She will recruit, train and organize an army discreetly to not draw the attention of the Volturi or the Cullen's. When they are ready, she will lead them to your enemy's doorstep and unleash them. Her success rate is second only to Jasper, so she will provide you with what you desire." Maria sounded satisfied with her general, and I checked and there was a great respect for the woman she had found to control her armies. But unlike Jasper, she did not love her at all. She was merely a tool to use in warfare.
"The human." Victoria specified, Angela was still her target.
"Well yes, but, the goal will be to wipe out Cullens. I must ask, while they are rather reclusive, they do have a lot of friends. Are you sure you want to risk destroying them?" Maria asked not really caring but was curious how far Victoria would take this mission of vengeance.
"I don't care about collateral damage; I only want her. The rest is a bonus." Victoria said with a wide smile, the thought of killing an entire coven felt satisfying to her as memories of an ancient pain welled up in her chest. Thoughts of a coven slaughtered by the Volturi flashed through her mind. It made me momentarily wonder about her story.
"Victoria, don't be sloppy." Maria shook her head at Victoria, but the fury in Victoria's eyes made her stop.
"Fine, a deal is a deal. Just make sure it is never traced back to me." Maria stood and motioned towards the door. A deathly thin, darkly dressed woman with straight black hair and dead black eyes appeared. She came to stand next to Maria and glared at Victoria. I attempted to touch Sophia's mind, but it was as blank as Bella's, making me wonder if she had a shield of some kind. In the same instant she whipped her head towards the forest in my general direction and narrowed her eyes. She stared at our hiddenly location searching, until Maria spoke.
"Vicky, may I introduce Sophia." Maria sounded strange, and I couldn't quite figure out her expression, and her thoughts were directed entirely on the situation.
"This is who you want me to use?" Victoria looked at the woman with a note of obvious disappointment.
"She can stay here if you don't find her satisfactory." Maria raised an eyebrow, and Victoria immediately shook her head realizing her mistake.
"No, I appreciate your help." Victoria smiled and looked towards Sophia more appreciatively. The other woman just glanced at Victoria briefly before looking back in our direction.
"Good. Sophia, what's wrong?" Maria said looking out into the forest, her mind turning towards an enemy to the south that had been sending small numbers of newborn meat at her for the last few months.
"Company. Someone directed something at me, a gift of some kind." Sophia's voice matched her appearance, it was emotionless, and she sounded almost bored. Yet there was something icy in her tone that gave me shivers. I frowned, and finally acknowledged we had overstayed our welcome.
"We've been made." I sent telepathically to Emmett.
"No shit Sherlock, never would've guessed." He responded sarcastically with a mental message. We turned and ran as carefully as we dared, and when we were sufficiently out of range we stopped.
"Do we go back?" Emmett asked, and I shrugged.
"We aren't going to get to Victoria now, she's probably going to take one of Maria's planes back to the States. We need to get back home." I argued and Emmett bobbed his head a few times in agreement.
"Wait, do you have the first clue where civilization is?" Emmett asked, looking around. "My phone is dead."
"We came due Southeast; I would guess we head Northwest and we'll eventually reach something." I was at a bit of a loss; I hadn't been paying that much attention to my surroundings as we followed her.
"Well shit." Emmett kicked a small stone in frustration, and I nodded in agreement. We looked at each other and started off in a generally northwesterly direction. Five hours and nearly a hundred miles later we emerged from the canopy to realize we had gone south after all.
"We're vampires, we're not supposed to have a bad sense of direction." I said in frustration.
"Says who? We're not omnipotent." Emmett shrugged and gave me a small smirk.
"Nice. Did Rose make you read the classics finally?" I snapped back, and instantly regretted it. Emmett glowered at me for a moment, then his expression softened.
"I have sixteen college degrees, Edward, I'm not as dim as I play most of the time." Emmett gave me a mildly disappointed look, which stung more than it would've if he had been justifiably angry at my remark.
"I know, I'm just upset. I'm worried about this army. We need to warn them." I hated feeling closed in with no options.
"What are we going to say? I mean we barely know anything." He frowned, and I opened my mouth a few times to respond before shrugging.
"I don't know." I said feeling a bit lost.
"Keep going and hope for the best?" Emmett suggested with a small shrug, nod and then spread his hands wide motioning in all directions.
"Sure." I frowned because I had no better options. We continued walking for another couple of hours before we crossed a smaller tree and I realized it looked exactly like one we had passed before.
"We're actually going in circles now." Emmett said as he noticed the tree at nearly the same time I did.
"Yes, I just noticed that myself. I don't understand." I said as I ran through the last few hours of memories and realized we had been curving slightly to the right the entire time until we eventually looped around.
"Sun is setting, so that way is west. We go that direction and we'll hit the coast or a town eventually. The western part of this country is more populated." I extrapolated, pointing towards the darkening horizon.
"Sounds like a plan, but we'll have to go back into the thick again." Emmett frowned, but with little choice we started into the forest again. While we made some good time, after a while I felt something at the edge of my telepathic range. I opened up my gift and felt several minds following us at a distance that we wouldn't be able to detect by scent or sound.
"We're being followed." I sent towards Emmett and he glanced at me with an almost imperceptible nod.
"Not just followed, I tagged one a while back on my right flank." He directed his thoughts back at me, and I could feel his worry. If they were Maria's scouts we could be in mortal danger.
"There are seven of them." I sent towards Emmett as I realized how many were chasing after us. "Do we try to outrun them?" I projected towards him, and then he quickly flashed through scenarios and all of them ended badly for us.
"No, we should stop. They know this area, and we don't want to risk a fight when the odds are worse than two to one." Emmett let out a small grunt before he stopped running.
"Point." I sent the thought to him, as I stopped next on his right flank. They emerged from the shadows of the trees in a coordinated way, that made me think they had a lot of experience in combat. We were quickly surrounded, and a tall man with very short black hair and dark red eyes stepped forward.
"You follow us." His accent was very thick, and his voice was hoarse despite his vampiric nature. I nodded without speaking, and Emmett followed suit. I could see it was killing him to stand down from a fight. But we both knew we wouldn't have won if we had decided to engage this group.
They led us back along a different path further south until we came upon another large development nestled in the wilderness with no obvious way in or out. While the compound wasn't nearly as large or extravagant as Maria's, there was an intentional almost utilitarian quality to it. There was also something else, and at first I couldn't place it, but then I realized it was the minds. There were dozens more people here, and not just vampires. Humans were imprisoned somewhere on the compound, and they were terrified.
As we were taken through the compound, I realized how many vampires were present, and it set me on edge. We weren't just outnumbered; we were vastly and almost comically outnumbered. We were taken to a large office overlooking the still rather impressive estate and the northern expanse of wilderness. A handsome young-looking man, clearly a vampire, stood at the window looking out without bothering to acknowledge us. I immediately tested his mind and found nothing. It wasn't like Bella or Sophia, or even Charlie. It was a bit like Mason, a mental training or defense of some kind.
"I can't read him, play this cool." I sent a quick message towards Emmett without looking at him.
"Damn. Okay, I'll be cool." Emmett responded not letting the frustration show on his face.
"Sir." One of the guards accompanying us said after a moment.
"Leave us." Our host said without moving.
"When you came south, I thought you were spies. My men seem to think otherwise, you were spying on Maria." He asked still without turning around, his arms crossed and his voice relatively neutral.
"Yes, she has a friend that means to harm us." I said hoping that the old adage that the enemy of my enemy could be my friend.
"Interesting. Please excuse my lack of hospitality, we rarely have guests." He turned and motioned towards two basic upright wooden chairs in front of a large blocky legged table in place of a traditional desk. "I am called Ricard, and you are?"
"Edward Cullen." I said easily, and then motioned towards Emmett. "This is my brother Emmett."
"Cullen." He said in surprise, a wide smile crossing his face. "Maria has chosen her enemies poorly."
"Our quarrel isn't with Maria; it is with a woman named Victoria." Emmett corrected, but Ricard didn't seem bothered and nodded thoughtfully.
"I know of her; she is close with Maria, as I once was." He sighed slightly, and stroked the bottom of his chin, where he had a thick well-groomed goatee.
"Were you one of her companions?" I knew a little of Maria from Jasper, and her tendency to turn people as generals and companions to keep her company.
"Not exactly, I was one of her soldiers. Jasper helped me escape. To honor him, I will forgive any trespass on my lands, however, you cannot leave." He said with a touch of sadness, but I wasn't sure how much of his expression was real and how much of his displayed emotion was performance.
"Can I at least make a call?" I asked, hoping we could at least let the family know we were alive.
"No, however, when I am satisfied with your innocence, I will allow the use of my plane. We are within range of a number of airports that can take you to the States." Ricard nodded thoughtfully then gave me a slightly hostile smile, his eyes cold and dangerous.
"If you were one of Maria's, how can you use the same tactics as her?" I had to do something to make him an ally, and of the list of available options pushing at his humanity felt like a good choice.
"You think my people are simply cannon fodder? While, yes, I have newborns, I utilize them for strength. Yet I don't kill them when they mature like Maria does. I welcome them into my guard or release them out into the world, their reward for service with me." Ricard said proudly, his system of course was fundamentally corrupt, but I couldn't fault him for making the best out of an awful, if self-imposed situation.
"And those humans?" I asked, moving my eyes towards the hold with the nearly two dozen terrified minds trapped inside.
"Interesting, I won't ask how you knew they were there. However, the answer should be obvious, we need to feed, but we turn them all." Ricard narrowed his eyes at me. "So, the rumors of your soul reading are true."
"All. My god, how bad is it down here?" Emmett interjected, effectively distracting Ricard from his question about me. Ricard stared at me for a moment, but then turned his attention towards Emmett.
"Unfortunately, the war consumes dozens per year. We have gone further and further out to recruit; it was starting to draw attention." Ricard looked a bit frustrated and sighed slightly looking down at his desk.
"Okay, if I give you information about Maria, will that be enough to let us go?" Emmett asked pushing things forward a little, although it was a dangerous tactic admitting that we had been watching Maria in the first place, although if his people had been watching us there was no point in lying.
"Perhaps. But I must be sure of your identity before listening to your… information." Ricard said with a slow nod.
"I have a driver's license." Emmett said, reaching towards his wallet.
"Please, our kind traffic in falsehoods. Maria has resources to generate any false identity. No, I need details only a Cullen would know." Ricard said with a shake of his head and an incredulous smile.
"Anything, we need to get back to our family." Emmett continued, holding his hands up in a gesture that meant he was an open book. Ricard glanced at me, and I nodded in kind.
"Hmmm, perhaps. But not tonight. I will fetch you tomorrow evening, and we'll discuss this over dinner." Ricard's eyes widened excitedly; he was going to test us in the vilest way possible.
"You must know of our chosen lifestyle, my eyes prove we are different, we don't feed from humans." I said letting out the disgust I felt at his thinly veiled threat.
"Yes, I believe you are Edward Cullen; however, I have no reason to trust you." Ricard leaned back and pursed his lips. He was playing with us, and I felt a pang of desperation overwhelm my logical mind.
"My family is in danger, please. I beg you." My voice had a tinge of desperation, the same tone that my mother had when she begged Carlisle to save me back on that bed in the isolation ward, echoes of a human memory nearly a century gone.
"Fine. Tell me what you know about my old master?" Relenting, Ricard stood and started to pace in front of the window.
"She is working with the Volturi. From her discussion with Victoria, she is going to give them a gift to keep them off her back. That might also mean she would clue them in about you." I said as factually as I could without including Alice in the information.
"You would have me believe she is close to making a deal with the Italian's?" Ricard stopped and stared at me, his gaze intense.
"It's true." Emmett said defiantly, sitting forward a bit. Ricard shook his head slightly in disbelief. I closed my eyes and felt my body sigh despite the situation.
"I can show you." I offered reluctantly.
"How?" Ricard's eyebrows were raised, and a twitch of a smile curled up the right side of his mouth.
"I am a telepath; I can show you my memory of that conversation." I wasn't entirely sure it was within my ability, but I had to try.
"I… accept." Ricard looked slightly wary, but there was an excitement in his eyes. I closed my eyes again and scanned him to see if he had dropped his mental walls. Much like Mason, I could feel his thoughts as he lowered his defenses. I quickly organized my memory, trying to skip over Alice's name, and project it towards Ricard. I realized quickly it would be just a disembodied conversation with no visuals, but I felt it would be enough. After playing out Maria and Victoria's entire exchange, omitting only Alice's name and any direct reference to her connection to our family.
"My god. That power is astounding." He gasped, as I finished, and his mental wall slammed closed. "Okay, I believe you. I will also allow you the use of my plane." He took his seat again and wiped a hand over his face. Then he gave me a tired smile and took an exaggerated breath before continuing.
"Unfortunately, there are two problems." He frowned and shook his head slightly, getting up again and looking out the window. "My plane is on a recruiting run, and it is not expected back for another fortnight."
"Let us go then, we'll find something local and get to an airport ourselves." I tried to not sound desperate as I spoke, but I couldn't quite hide it anymore.
"Yes, well that's problem two. I cannot allow you to leave right now because we are about to go to war." Ricard's tone was somber, he looked down at the grounds and closed his eyes in obvious pain. I had to give him credit for genuinely caring about his people.
"Lovely. Can I at least use your phone?" I asked again, hoping for a better response.
"Of course." He smiled, but then leveled me with a dangerous look. "When the hostilities are over."
"How long will that take?" Emmett asked, clearly agitated but restraining his usual bombastic response.
Ricard cocked his head. "Normally we wouldn't risk an entire crop of recruits on one assault, but Maria is forcing my hand and our new recruits will be here soon. If all goes to plan, three days to turn. A week to train. Two days to travel in stealth, and then however long the conflict takes. You are welcome to join if you think it would affect the outcome."
"We need to remain neutral as much as possible, however we do welcome your hospitality." I gave him a serious look and nod.
"I guess we're stuck here for two weeks no matter what." Emmett thought in my general direction.
"Looks like. Not the end of the world, but I hope Victoria isn't ready by then." I projected back towards him.
"A pity, but understandable. Make yourselves at home during this time, the only restriction is that you cannot leave the grounds. We'll speak again soon." Ricard said loudly enough to draw his men back in and we were quickly escorted out. Ricard made sure we were given decent accommodations and entertainment. We were given mostly free range of the compound, and found he was being completely up front about his people, they loved him. While they were war weary, most had retired from active combat and lived in relative luxury, entrusted to turn new recruits and train them personally. For as brutal a cycle of war and death, it was oddly civilized. Of course, all the humans were turned that first night, and within days twenty newborns emerged.
Most were obviously local to Central America, Columbia Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. All ranged in age between roughly eighteen to early thirties. Except for five of them. A black woman, a Korean woman, two white teenage boys, and a young white girl were among the group that emerged that day. While likely tourists, the young woman stood out more than the rest. Her pale skin and red hair drew attention, but it was her age I found disturbing, she couldn't have been more than fifteen. While not young enough to be considered an immortal child, she was far too young to be going to war. We were standing next to Ricard when they came out of the hold into the yard and I wasn't entirely sure how to react.
"She's too young." I pointed out to Ricard who took note of her, possibly for the first time.
"Ah yes, she was an unusual find. It was hard to extract her story, and my recruiter rarely bothers. But from what we can tell her father was killed in… I want to say Brazil. Anyway, she was wandering the streets when Lupe found her, and we never overlook a wayward soul lost in a foreign country where no one will care. She isn't a perfect fit for our cause, and I will admit she is a bit young, but youth has advantages." He gave me a slight shrug. I considered my options; I couldn't go to war, but I also needed to make sure she was safe. There was only one thing I could think of.
"May I mentor her?" Ricard looked at me and let out a short explosive laugh. He slapped me on the shoulder and then continued to chuckle.
"Of course, she's yours." I glanced at him and realized he took my compassion for something else entirely. I was about to correct him but realized it didn't really matter what he thought of me. "Please, by all means introduce yourself."
I looked at him, and after a minute nodded. Then I leapt over the railing and into the courtyard. That drew the attention of most of the newborns, some hissing viciously at me. I let out a small growl of dominance and they all backed away. Slowly I made my way through the crowd, trying not to start an unwanted fight, extending out my gift for any signs of danger. I found the girl near the furthest wall, cowering behind some boxes, sobbing softly to herself. I knelt down a few feet away.
"My name is Edward." I said softly, trying to be soothing. She looked up at me and swallowed a few times.
"Lexie." She said in a timid voice, as she almost reluctantly met my eyes. "What happened to me?"
"There is too much to explain, but you were brought here by the man over there." I pointed with my thumb towards Ricard. "He needs soldiers in an upcoming fight. I'm here to help you."
"Fight, I don't want to fight." She shook her head and shut her eyes to drown out the chaotic voices surrounding us.
"I don't know if you have a choice, but I will teach you how to survive." I offered, and she looked back up at me.
"Why does it hurt right here?" She pointed at her chest, where the heart of our thirst rests.
"This will sound impossible, but you're a vampire. What you are feeling is your thirst." I said trying to explain a difficult reality to someone who may have no idea how to interpret that kind of change.
"Dracula or Rice?" She asked furrowing her brow, making me smile.
"Closer to Rice, but we're a little different from fiction. I'll explain everything in time, but first we should take you hunting." I looked over at Ricard who gave me a strange look. I tapped at my temple and he rolled his eyes.
"Allow me to take her on a hunt of wildlife in the area. Just me. With Emmett here I would never risk running." I sent him telepathically trying to be as open as possible.
"A rather pointless endeavor, but I'll allow it. No more than two miles out, any further and I will be forced to use unpleasant measures." He sounded different in his mind, a touch deeper in voice but softer in tone. It gave me the impression he was decent at heart, despite his monstrous operation.
"You mean drink blood. I won't hurt anyone." She shook her head, clearly upset by the idea.
"You don't have to hurt anyone, there are two basic choices. You can feed like I do, exclusively from animals. Or you can feed off people. Unfortunately, it isn't like the movies, if you choose human blood, you will end up killing." She stared at me for a few seconds, and eventually nodded.
"Can I join you?" I looked up to find the two women standing a few feet away. The black woman had a lovely alto voice, but I could detect a touch of desperation in her tone.
"Of course." I said with a happy smile, pleased to find anyone willing to forgo bloodshed. "What's your name?"
"Cassandra, my friends call me Cassie. This is Hana, she doesn't speak much English." She held out a hand and I shook it easily. Her manner was polite and confident, despite the obvious strain she was under. While she was managing to hold back her newborn aggression, her hand was shaking slightly, and she had trouble meeting my eyes.
"Cassie, Hana it is an honor to meet you both." I started and Hana made a motion towards the two boys huddled close together.
"She thinks they need help too." Cassie glanced towards them and back at me.
"Of course, are you acquainted with them?" I asked and Cassie shook her head.
"That's Greg and Eric." Lexie said from beside me, she had gotten up and was standing close to me. Upon hearing their names they both looked over and I motioned for them to join us.
"Who are you?" One of them asked as they approached.
"My name is Edward Cullen, I was hoping to help all of you through the upcoming struggle, and perhaps show you a different way of living as a vampire."
"Vampire, you fucking with me." The same boy said incredulously.
"That pain in your chest that is thirst, only blood will quench it. As I was saying to Lexie, Hana and Cassie here, you have a choice. You can partake of the blood the people here will provide you, or you can come with me and I can show you a different way to feed."
"What's the difference?" The other boy asked.
"It is a moral choice, the blood on offer in the compound is human blood, which will fully sate you, but will eventually require you to kill those you feed upon. They may supply you with blood bags from willing donors for now, that will not always be an option for you." As I highlighted the downsides of feeding from humans the one boy who first started speaking shrugged, as if it wasn't a big deal. The other one blanched slightly, and started to look around.
"What's the other way?" The second boy asked, his voice was small and afraid.
"Animal blood." I said simply, and the boy just started to nod.
"I'm Greg, that's Eric." The first boy said as he actively joined my little group. I looked over at Ricard who was actually chuckling and shaking his head at me, but didn't make a move to stop me as I took them all out for their first hunt.
Monday, September 26, 2005
"Five lives are all I'm asking for. I can pay you whatever you feel is fair." I pleaded, but Ricard simply shook his head with a soft sad smile on his face.
"Edward, you amuse me to no end, but I cannot risk my chances by depleting my numbers by so many. Five bodies could mean the difference between winning and losing against an entrenched position like Maria's compound. Now if you were willing to throw in yourself, I might be willing to listen." Ricard's old refrain was starting to make sense to me, I cared about everyone else more than myself and if it was just me, I would go without hesitation. But there was more than just my life on the line.
I frowned, because I didn't want to say no, "I wish things were different but if Emmett and I join your fight we could be making an enemy of more than just Maria. She has friends, not the least of which is one of my brothers."
"Then I'm sorry, but they fight." Ricard did look upset by the refusal, but resigned to the decision.
"What about the girl, you agree she is too young to be of much use." I attempted to push the argument, because if he relented for Lexie, maybe I could convince him the others were worth being spared as well.
"I'll consider it. Will you join me this evening?" Ricard offered, but rather than accept his hospitality, I shook my head with a pleasant smile. I held no grudge against him anymore, he was a good man despite his goals. I fully believed in a different situation we could've been close friends.
"I would, but I actually have other plans." I said feeling almost normal for the first time in over a year since Bella's accident. So much of my life had been wrapped up with her situation and eventual fate as one of us, that I became obsessed. Now that I had some distance and perspective, I could see that I was utterly wrong in so many ways and shouldn't have ever made a claim on her heart. I was lucky that she fell for someone else, even though Emmett had been hurt in the process.
"The dancing, right?" Ricard asked, pulling me from my inner drama.
"That's right, I am going to entertain tonight. Play some piano on that old upright you have down in the training room. I spent most of yesterday getting it tuned." I felt proud to have gotten the instrument into good enough shape to enjoy. While functional, it was clearly a decorative piece and not maintained.
"That sounds lovely. Perhaps I will make an appearance." Ricard gave me a friendly smile, and I bobbed my head a couple of times before leaving his office. The wave of pride about my little accomplishment quickly dashed when I found Emmett and Cassie waiting, hand in hand, just down the flight of stairs from Ricard's office. I shook my head slightly in confirmation of my failure.
"Fuck." Emmett said under his breath, and pulled Cassie into a hug. Their relationship had developed quickly and unexpectedly. She was incredibly strong and had already managed to gain a moderate amount of control over her emotions and thirst. She had chalked it up to working for decades alongside her husband in the middle of nowhere, surviving on very little to help as many people as they could. A combat nurse who left service to start life-long work as a missionary. She made me feel privileged and lazy hearing stories of her adventures.
At fifty she had decided to take a vacation in Brazil after a long life of service, only for her husband to die of a heart attack. She decided to stay in the area, and took up some local causes, and after another decade she ended up on the wrong end of a recruitment truck and found herself here. Her restored youth was a marvel, and confirmed something I had always wondered about the transformation process. Charlie also appeared quite young, but his mustache aged him just enough that it didn't seem as extreme.
Emmett and Cassie fit together in a way I never thought would happen after seeing him with Rosalie. While Cassie was gorgeous, she was completely different from Rose. She was full of life and love, and despite the situation she always had an easy smile to give. She felt warm to be around, and was frequently the leader of any social gathering or conversation. Emmett quickly gravitated towards her, and within days they were practically inseparable. I caught them kissing the day before, and after that they began to openly show their affection.
I didn't want to admit it, but I could see it in Emmett's eyes. He wasn't going to let her go into this battle alone, which made my argument to stay out of things somewhat pointless. Yet I had to do something to protect the family back home. All of this was swirling through my mind as I made my way down to the auditorium. It was mostly empty outside of official training, but at one point it had been a place for parties.
Lexie squealed when I arrived and rushed over to me, taking my arm. I couldn't repress the smile I felt upon seeing her, the girl had quickly wormed her way into my heart. If I was able, I was tempted to adopt her and bring her back to the family. Hana on the other hand was a different story. While Cassie and Emmett found each other quickly. Hana was very hard to get to know. She was quiet and observant, and while she seemed to prefer my company, I hadn't been able to bridge the language barrier with her.
Hana was already sitting on the piano bench, and patted the seat next to her. I cocked my head, I hadn't expected to find her there. She gave me a small grin as she placed her fingers on the keys and began to play. The melody was unknown to me, but it was haunting and beautiful. I listened intently until she got to the end and looked over at me with a curious look. I opened my mouth to say something, but I didn't really have the words. Her dark brown eyes examined my face as I began to smile at her. She lowered her eyes, and pushed her long glossy black hair behind her ear.
"You play." She said with a thick accent. I nodded, and thought about what I could do next.
"Something fun." Greg said with a bored voice.
"Something we can dance to." Cassie added.
"Coming up!" I said with a small flourish of keys, and began a fun easy melody, that Hana quickly began to accompany. It felt good to play music with someone else again, and it was several hours later when we all finally stopped. We were all laughing and Hana fell against me as we finished a rather silly song that I happened to know the words to, singing with goofy abandon. She pulled away almost immediately but the look she gave me was one of longing.
We had all fallen into an easy routine, happy to be in each other's company. Despite being prisoners in the compound it was a happy time. More so than I could remember feeling in decades. Lexie rarely left my side and seemed to absorb information like a sponge. While she did struggle with tactics and basic combat, she excelled at listening for movement and tracking. The rest of our students made a surprising amount of progress considering they were newborns without the benefit of Bella's shield. They all had their moments of struggle, especially the boys, and Eric eventually gave in and started on the human blood after less than a week. I felt a pride I had never felt before, a hope that even in a place like this one there could be a spark of humanity.
I had taken to laying down most nights, letting my mind wander. It was so quiet in my part of the compound, even with Emmett, Cassie, Lexie, Greg and Eric getting occasionally rowdy during card games that stretched for hours. Hana spent most of her time reading and observing. But on that night she was openly staring at me. Eventually I looked over and started to chuckle.
"Do I have something on my face?" I asked with a big grin.
"I enjoyed music with you." She moved over to sit on the bed next to me.
"Me too." I felt my brow furrow as I realized our time was limited. In less than a week all of them would be marching off to battle.
"Ricard will not let us go." She said looking down at her hands. I reached out and took one of her hands in mine, and she didn't resist.
"There might still be a way." I hedged, hoping Ricard would see reason. Then I glanced at the card table and felt my heart sink as I saw Lexie throw down her card with a winning hand.
"Love her." Hana said with an unmistakable look of affection directed towards Lexie. I nodded easily, but I couldn't let my affection blind me to the fact that these people were all living on borrowed time, and there was nothing I could do about it.
Friday, September 30, 2005
"Today you will fulfill your purpose. It is why you were given the gift of immortality. There is a great enemy to the north of us, and she is intent on killing every single one of us, unless we attack her first. We will march to her compound and burn it to the ground. You have learned much over the last several days, but I know that is not enough to properly prepare you for battle. I understand your fear, I understand your bloodlust. But the time to hesitate is through, we will be victorious!" He raised his hands above his head, and for the most part the crowd cheered. Cassie gave me a look that spoke volumes.
"I'll watch their backs." She looked down then, and I knew she had no illusions that she was coming back from this battle. Emmett nodded to me too, his arm around Cassie's waist, clearly choosing her over his own safety. I gave him a small nod and a sad smile as I turned towards my room.
"I'm going to check on Hana and Lexie." I said with a somber tone of voice, and they both nodded without another word. I idly wondered if it would be the last time I would see my brother, and that made my heart feel heavy.
I turned towards my room and found my feet were heavy as I walked up the stairs to face two people that meant more to me than I had ever expected. Hana was brushing Lexie's hair, and Lexie was smiling again, happy to be in her company. Hana met my eyes in the mirror and a warm smile curled up her lips. It was then I realized what I was about to give up, a family. My family. Hana was more than a friend, I loved her with every fiber of my being. And Lexie… I felt myself gasp as I realized I was her father now, and it brought me to my knees in pain.
"Edward?" Hana got up and ran over to me, sliding to her knees to bring herself down to my level. She immediately clasped her hands in mine and interlaced our fingers.
I couldn't face her, I couldn't believe how blind I had been. I shook my head and then reached out to touch her face. "I love you." I said softly, and her eyes widened in surprise before she smiled with such joy that I thought she was going to consume me body and soul. Which almost made me laugh, because they had revealed my soul to me. My love, which dwarfed anything I had felt for Bella, was heavy and powerful.
"I love you too." Hana wrapped her arms around me and pressed her lips to mine. I gave into the kiss, and felt my mind unravel as I realized what I had to do. I let myself give into the passion for almost a minute before I heard Lexie clear her throat.
I pulled away from Hana and looked at Lexie and found myself smiling at her. "Yay." She grinned at us and then ran over to join us. I pulled us into a group hug and held them for a while, unwilling to let go. But then my resolve became clear, and I reluctantly pulled away.
"It's time." I said with a heavy sadness, and I stood and turned away from them both.
"Wait, you go?" Hana asked, her voice cracking. "No." She muttered, as she pulled on my arm. "Stay." She begged.
"I have to go, I cannot lose either of you."
"No, no, no, no!" Lexie said, shaking her head quickly, her face intense and her newborn anger coming through in her expression.
"No?" I said in confusion, brushing some of her hair from her face with my free hand.
"We just found you. We can't lose you too." Her face and voice were twisted in fear and pain.
"Emmett is going, so is Cassie and Greg and Eric. We'll watch each other's backs." I said with surprising confidence, knowing that there was a chance if we stuck together. "I love you both so much, and I will do everything I can to come back to you." I kissed Lexie on the forehead, and then gave Hana another long kiss before I pulled away and stood. Leaving them both on the floor staring at me as I turned to make my way up to Ricard's office.
He was standing at his desk as though waiting for me, and nodded once. "I'll make sure they are both safe, and will send them to meet your family if you do not return."
"How did you know?" I asked, because I had just made the decision.
"I watched you fall in love, and as humbling an experience as that was, I cannot let them go without a trade. I'm truly sorry, friend. Once my conflict with Maria is over, I would be willing to help you if you should call on me again." He reached out a hand to me, the exchange implicit. I nodded, and I found it easy to give him a friendly smile. The cost of freedom for my family was to march off to war. It felt like an easy trade.
"I'll hold you to that." I clasped his hand tightly and we stared at each other for a few seconds to confirm each other's truth. He briefly let down his mental wall and revealed to me that he had always intended to keep Hana and Lexie back, because he knew how much they meant to me. But for appearances he had to have me stand in for them, he was backed into a corner just as much as I was. I nodded at him once and released his hand.
"I'll see you soon." He said with genuine emotion behind his words. I left him then without another word and made my way down to the front entrance.
Then I took a deep calming breath before turning and joining Emmett, Cassie, Greg and Eric along with all the others on the long march towards war. Just as we were about to crest a hill, I glanced back and found Ricard, Lexie and Hana standing on one of the external balconies watching us go. I hoped this wouldn't be the last I saw of them, but I had no illusions that this could be goodbye. I gave them a hopeful smile, refusing to let them see my fears, and they waved as I moved over the hill and lost sight of them.
"You'll see them again." Emmett said with a reassuring nod, pulling me into a side hug.
"I know." I felt my heart settle as I turned my attention forward, determined to succeed and return to my family.
Author's Note:
This chapter was originally in Book Three, but I realized I had pushed the plot with Edward and Emmett off so long that it made it feel very disconnected. I hope you all like Cassie, Hana and Lexie, I don't tend to like doing full OC, but in this case it couldn't be helped. I will say that the resolution to this situation will be in Book Three so sorry for the cliffy.
Next Chapter: Tempting Fate - Alice
Thank you all for the reviews and likes, I see fan fiction net is starting to sort through their issues.