She had the golden brown eyes of an
animal feeder. They all did. Edward could hardly keep his disgust in check as
he looked upon the pathetic group. How dare they call themselves vampires.
"I neither want nor need your
help," he said. “Even if I thought you were capable of providing it.”
The little one who'd spoken smiled
wide.
"You and I are going to be the
best of friends," she said.
"Like brother and sister." She was practically squeaking as she
talked. Edward scanned her thoughts. She was genuine. She believed the
propaganda she spewed.
At least these vampires were not
from the Volturi. He'd be headless already against a group this large.
"I don't have time for
this," Edward said. He knew he had to check on Bella. There was no telling
when the Volturi would show up again. No telling what they'd already discovered
about Felix's death.
He turned to go.
"Bella's fine," the girl
said. "I can't wait to meet
her."
Edward spun back around. "How
do you know that? And what makes you think you'll meet her? You'll stay away if
you know what's good for you."
The big man laughed. The striking
blond next to him rolled her eyes.
"Carlisle?" said the
small one.
The vampire in the back of the
group stepped forward.
"Proper introductions are in
order," the man said. "I'm Carlisle Cullen, and this is my
family."
"Esme Cullen," said the
dark-haired woman with him.
"I'm Emmett," the big guy
said.
"Rosalie," said the
blond.
"I'm Alice," said the
chipper one. She gestured toward the only vamp left, a tall, silent ball of
muscle to her right. "And this is Jasper. The love of my life."
She beamed like the teenage girl
she once was and still appeared to be.
"Alice sees the future,"
Carlisle explained. "It is her gift. We, as a family, try to use it to
render aid when one of our kind is heading for trouble. We know the Volturi
well. We have something of an understanding with them."
"A family?" Edward said.
He laughed. "Yeah. I've heard of so-called families like yours. Denying
your true nature, pretending you can blend in with the humans. You cower. You
hide behind a facade. You are slaves to humanity's superstitions. Feeding on
animals like second-class citizens. You disgust me."
Edward saw Jasper clench his jaw,
highlighting a criss-cross of faint scars. The muscles in his forearms tensed.
Edward faced him, ready for whatever he was about to deliver. He sensed that
Jasper’s struggle mirrored his own.
"We like to think of ourselves
as vegetarians," the one called Carlisle said, casually moving between the
two men. "We co-exist with humans. We live rich lives, Edward. One should
not judge what one does not understand."
"You do nothing but delay your
inevitable demise," Edward spat. “And you suffer, willingly. I have no use
for your kind. You people don't live. You just float."
He began walking away.
"We're staying in a cabin up
near the lake," Carlisle called after him. "Come. Find us. It
shouldn't be too difficult for you."
Edward made for Bella's house, his
anger barely under control. How dare they, he thought. He spent the day angry,
watching over Bella from his spot in the woods.
Charlie came home after the sun had
gone down. It was near 10 p.m. He looked weary and exhausted, though his
thoughts gave nothing away. He was concerned only about Bella.
She had already retreated to her
room, though. Edward assumed she didn’t want to continue her confrontation with
Charlie from earlier in the day. It took all of Edward’s strength not to go to
her. He knew he shouldn’t. His presence in her life did nothing but complicate
it. He didn’t know why, but he felt guilty about what he’d done to her. He’d
put her life in danger, and now there was little he could do about it.
He watched the house all night,
brooding over what he had gotten himself into, over the arrival of this vampire
“family” that he wanted nothing to do with, over how he was going to protect
Bella alone.
Before the sun began to rise behind
him, Edward stirred. He approached the house from behind, listening for signs
of movement. He knew from experience that humans were most vulnerable in the
moments before dawn.
Edward hunched down and quickly
made his way through the grass, covered in morning dew. He settled in beneath
the porch. He wanted to be closer than the woods in case of trouble, but not in
the open. He did not want Bella, or especially Charlie, to see him.
Soon, the morning edition of the
Forks Forum hit the ground with a thud, the Sunday ads weighing it down. Edward
spied the headline. It was written in a font so large it covered nearly the
entire front page.
Grisly
Murder
Killer at Large
Oh no, he thought. He’d completely
forgotten about Waylon, the scumbag at the cemetery. A missing teenager was one
thing. But a body that had been bled out and abandoned could do nothing but
bring unwanted attention. He imagined there were not many murders in Forks.
This rare, brutal one would galvanize the town. He was already in enough
trouble with the Volturi and under suspicion by the police. This was too much.
He knew he should leave and never come back.
He heard footsteps and ducked back
under the porch. He could see Bella through the slats between the wood as she
bent to pick up the newspaper.
“What the fuck is this?”
She sat down at the small table on
the porch. She opened the paper quickly, abandoning her coffee.
“Oh no,” she said. “Not Mr. Forge.”
She was quiet as she read the rest of the article. She got up, ripped the front
door open, and slammed it closed.
“Charlie! Why didn’t you tell me
about Mr. Forge?”
She was crying then, banging on her
father’s bedroom door.
“Bells, what’s wrong?” Edward heard
the door open. He remained under the porch, uncertain.
“Waylon Forge is dead? Are you
kidding me? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Calm down. You were asleep when I
got home. I was going to tell you first thing in the morning.” He sighed. “The
last thing I wanted was for you to read it in the paper. I’m so sorry, Bells.”
“What happened?”
“He was found in the maintenance
shed at the cemetery. He was barely recognizable, he’d lost so much blood.”
She stalked off, pounding down the
stairs. The front door flew open a moment later, and she virtually leapt off
the porch as she headed for the woods. “Edward, you motherfucker,” she muttered
under her breath.
He considered leaving, but he knew
he couldn’t. So he crawled out from under the porch and went after her.
“Bella. Wait.”
She turned as she passed the first
tree.
“You did this, didn’t you?” She
waved the newspaper in his face.
Edward said nothing.
“You fucker!” She hit him in the
face, smacking the jagged scar that ran down his cheek. She winced after and
cradled her injured hand.
“I should tell Charlie,” she said.
“You don’t want to do that.” He
took her hand in his and caressed it as softly as he knew how.
“And why not? You tell me nothing.
You stalk around here like some kind of monster. You leave a girl without her
father. For what?”
“I am a monster,” he said, releasing her hand and turning around. “Get
that through your thick head, girl. Killing humans is what I do. It is no
different than you having a hamburger for lunch. We are each here to fulfill
our destinies.”
She touched his shoulder and forced
him to face her. “Don’t give me that crap again, Edward.”
He winced when he heard her speak
his name again.
“If that were true, you’d have
killed me long ago. You decide what you’re going to be, just like the rest of
us. There’s a person in there, behind the mask.” She ran her fingers over his
scar. “And you know it, whether or not you’ll admit it.”
They each stood there, looking at
the ground.
“He was sick, Bella. Remember how I
told you I read people’s thoughts? Well, his were unclean. Disgusting memories.
Sickening, the way only mankind can be. He has a daughter?”
“Yeah, Michelle used to babysit me
when I was little. But what’s she got to do with it?”
He waited for her to realize what
he was saying.
“No. It can’t be true,” she said,
covering her mouth with her hands. “He abused his own daughter?”
“He did.”
She ran back toward her house.
Edward let her go. She would come to learn the truth about humanity one day, or
she would not. Either way, it did not change the face that every man was vile,
every man’s thoughts depraved.
He watched her go, stomping through
the damp grass as she slapped the newspaper against her leg. He imagined what
would happen if he simply chased after her and took her in his arms. He would
look into her eyes and help her learn the truth. He would inhale her scent. He
would brush his hands through her hair as he tilted her head back.
Something slammed into him from
behind, ending his brief daydream. His body went soaring, stopped only by the
branches of a massive oak.
He bounced off the tree and hit the
ground face first, but righted himself quickly and crouched into a fighting
stance.
“Demetri,” he said.
Before him stood a lean, tightly
wound vampire with olive skin and long black hair. He was smiling.
“When Felix didn’t return, Aro
decided to send a professional,” the vampire said.
Edward did not speak. He knew
Demetri’s tactics. The man was a phenomenal tracker, able to hunt down anyone,
no matter where they were, no matter who they might be. He somehow locked into
their minds and was able to track them as if they had GPS devices attached.
But Demetri was more than that. He
was also smooth. Edward knew it would be in his best interest not to engage
Demetri in a verbal sparring match. He would surely lose.
So he said nothing.
“Do you want to play, or would you
rather just come with me? The Volturi has long needed a man with your ability,
Edward. You may join us, or you may die. It’s your choice.”
Edward said nothing.
“Play it is then,” Demetri said.
He lunged for Edward, and Edward
ducked to the ground. He quickly rose to his feet, expecting Demetri to be on
the attack.
Instead, he saw Emmett Cullen
holding the lithe vampire in the air by his shirt. Carlisle stood to the side.
“You can put him down, Emmett,”
Carlisle said.
The giant gently lowered Demetri
until his feet were back on the ground.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Edward said.
Carlisle all but ignored him and
turned toward Demetri.
“We’ve come to discuss the truce,”
he said.
“I can handle myself,” Edward said,
getting between the two men, facing Carlisle. “I don’t need your protection.”
Emmett smirked. Demetri growled.
Carlisle tensed.
A new voice entered the conversation.
“What’s the hell’s going on here?”
Bella stood behind them all, the
shotgun at hip level. It was cocked and ready.
Demetri lunged for her, but Edward
was too fast. He had the tracker in a headlock and pinned to the ground before
he took his first step.
“Touch her and die,” he said
through gritted teeth. He was not surprised that he hadn’t sensed Bella
approach, now that he’d become used to her. But for her to sneak up on Demetri
like that was phenomenal. It made Edward wonder if Demetri’s powers didn’t work
on her, either.
Demetri looked directly at Edward.
“You’ll regret doing that.”
Edward let him up, but stayed
between him and Bella.
“Who are these people, Edward?”
Bella said.
He approached her and put his arm
over her shoulder, protectively. He put his hand on the shotgun and forced its
barrel toward the ground.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said.
“It’s dangerous.”
“I thought I heard something, and,
well. I thought you might need help again.”
“Oh this is delicious!” Demetri
said. “Was it she who dispatched Felix? Oh, please tell me it is so.”
“She’s none of your business,”
Edward said.
“Gentlemen, gentlemen,” Carlisle
said. He approached them both while Emmett stood close by.
“Let’s talk, shall we?” He looked
from one to the other as each of them nodded. “And this appears to concern you
as well, Miss Swan. Please stay if you’d like.”
“You couldn’t chase me out of here
with a pack of vampires,” she said. “Hi, by the way. I’m Bella. But I guess you
know that already. Who the hell are you?”
He chuckled. “I am Carlisle Cullen.
This is Emmett,” he said. “The rest of my family is as eager to meet you as was
I. It is delightful.”
He took her hand in his and brought
it to his mouth. She caught her breath, but Edward only rolled his eyes as
Carlisle kissed her hand.
“Enough with the pleasantries,”
Demetri said. He watched Bella for a moment, and Edward scanned his mind.
Demetri was considering whether to bring up that having a human in their midst
was strictly against the rules, but he badly wanted to track her. Edward was
certain now that Demetri was as powerless when it came to Bella’s mind as he
was. He couldn’t use his ability to track her.
He saw her as a challenge.
“You mentioned the truce?” Demetri
continued. “I can only surmise you mean the agreement the Volturi has with your
family.”
“Indeed I do.”
“But surely you don’t mean to save this one,” he said, nodding at Edward.
“The man is beyond hope.”
“We’ll judge that for ourselves,
tracker. You bring this message to Aro: We get him for a month. If he’s able to
adopt our ways within that time, you’ll leave him be. If not, then you know
what happens.”
“What if I don’t agree to any of
this?” Edward said.
“Then you’ll come with me,” Demetri
said, “and Aro will decide what to do with you."
-30-
A/N Edward has wedged himself into a corner here. Do you think he’ll be
able to do it? Will he even try? I cannot wait
to write the next chapter. So much coolness is about to go down.
Many thanks are due to wife/beta/resident hot chick MazzyStarla, without
whom all the cool tracker stuff might not have materialized. It differs from
canon because I wanted it to, not because Mazzy got it wrong. She knows more
about Twilight than anyone else in my house. Me? Let’s just say I like my
vampires a little darker than Ms. Meyer does. ;)
Speaking of Mazzy, did y’all see the news? Her story is up for Fic of the
Week at The Lemonade Stand! Woohoo! Pretty thrilling news over here in the
cracked household. If you haven’t already, give her fic a read. Go vote for it
if you like it. She’ll appreciate it.