Edward and Bella: together at last 9

‘Bella, calm down. Everything will be okay.’

Everybody was thinking this all at once, trying to take control of the insane situation that had caught us so crudely off guard.

After I had seen the limp cloak hanging from the tree my entire body and mind shut down. I couldn’t think, I couldn’t see, I could barely hear what the others were thinking. For a moment I feared that Alec had gotten to me.

I fell to the frozen ground in a crumpled heap and sobbed dryly into my palms. Edward, my entire universe, was gone. The thought of his never coming back again wounded me tremendously and only made me breath more jaggedly. From the moment I had gazed into his golden eyes I had seen with a new light, only revolving around him. For weeks I had dreamed of him, thought of him, examined his siblings’ and his habits, fascinated by every aspect of him. Even when I had learned of his true identity, which I now held, I could only look deeper into those gold, liquid orbs and dream of the day I would become one of them. Now, the entire edifice of my life was being threatened, and we were all in grave danger.

These thoughts had only lasted the length of time it took for me to feel Alice’s thin arms wrap around me in a consoling embrace with thoughts that brought me back down to earth; mere seconds in the long search that would ensue.

Along with her current thoughts, her thoughts throughout the day flitted before my eyes in a matter of seconds, and I saw the visions that had narrated the duration of her morning. Edward. With the Volturi. Being taken away by Aro and Jane when he went off from our little charade in the woods, swathed in old jeans that he must have picked up from the house and a dark, brooding grey cloak.

I leapt to my feet and sniffed the air. Alice smiled to herself when she saw that I had gotten the message. Looking frantically in all directions, I caught sight of the cloak.

Carlisle’s thoughts interrupted my sniffing the garment. ‘Well done Bella, find the tenor of the scent and follow it to where it will lead.’

Unlike Carlisle, Emmett had another tactic in mind. ‘I’ll rip them limb from limb; bury them into the ground like sick little puppies. Those mutant, infantile, little cretin….’ I was with Emmett. There was no way this would go down peacefully.

It smelled different then we did. A more human sent along with the sweetness that went along with all of our species. Also, some misused hair product and the musty sent of dust. I wondered what it was and realized it was from the dust mites that had settled into Aro’s and Marcus’s clothing. I brushed at my own clothing in a sudden wave of paranoia and turned to Rosalie.

I addressed her quickly, “Rose, could you take a whiff? I’ll need all the help I can get.”

“Okay, Bella. All of us?”

“Yes. All of us.” And I sprang over the river to the fresh trail left by their scent. It was a bit diluted from the river water; however, after a few hundred feet the scent was as strong as it was before.

I supervised my family through their thoughts, avoiding Emmett’s homicidal attitude, and more on Alice’s and Jasper’s practical mental faculties. When ever I took Emmett’s consciousness into mine I would get even more agitated, and, try as he might, Jasper could not calm me down. I only moved more rapidly at the sound of him attempting to calm my system.

The trees flew by like they had never before. In the earlier hours of the day, when I ran I could make out the trees and every animal between them. Although, now I only saw a blur and my family complained of losing sight of me ahead of them. I almost stumbled onto a bird’s nest in an attempt to get further ahead by taking to the trees again, and when I came back down to the earth I nearly came into another skirmish with a herd of Elk. I only stopped to drain one so I could build up strength and headed off again ahead of the rest.

I suppose at another time it would have been beautiful. If I could have seen the trees I would have admired their patterns and marveled at my new sight, even described to Edward what I saw and hear him laugh at my simple amazement. But to my dismay I was searching desperately for my lost love, wondering whether I would see his marvelous face and awe inspiring half smile again.

Just as we reached the main highway leading into an Inuit village (a good 2 hours later is my guess; we had covered around 700 miles), Jane’s consciousness was within hearing distance, and I could hear Aro and Marcus. Caius having been killed prior to the event, his mind was absent, and they had added even more security than they usually had.

“You guys stay behind,” I whispered almost incoherently, even to myself. “Jane and Alec are with them and I don’t want you to be incapacitated. Alice will know when to assist.”

Emmett clearly disapproved. “There is no way in hell that—”

“Don’t speak Emmett, think.” I chastised in an airy hiss.

‘Fine. But there is no way in hell that I’m gonna’ miss out on kicking Felix and Demetri’s asses. I’ve been waiting too long for that.’

“Emmett, you’ll get to fight, but after I stop them from attacking you.”

‘Aawh, but then it’s no fun.’

“What do you think Rose will think, or do, if you get hurt?”

He scoffed in my direction, but Rosalie looked at him heatedly and hissed under her breath.

‘She can’t ALWAYS be so pessimistic, can she?’

“Maybe you can take that up with her while I’m gone. Guys, keep him in check. Alice, you’ll know.” And I was off.

I took careful steps as I ran, watching both the Volturi and Emmett, making sure that both situations were in check. Judging by their thoughts they weren’t really planning a trap, they were just detained by a new member who didn’t understand proper conduct. Julianne (her name apparently) was used only for her skills, and I trod cautiously on the frozen ground as I got closer. She had psychokinetic powers, shifting objects without touching them, that sort of thing, except much more advanced then any human possibly could be. I wondered how powerful she had been in those years to make her so effective now. Her ability was purely physical, so I couldn’t replicate it. Julianne was, or had been, on guard duty with Edward.

Edward was humming my lullaby quietly and it had driven her mad. In a sudden whirl that Edward had grinned knowingly at while she attempted to rip his head off, she had breached her control. He had easily bypassed her attack, but this replay in her thoughts still put my teeth on edge.

Now Aro was criticizing her about her lack of control in a grand and airy way in the way that only Aro can. His mind was a strange and erratic place. It went everywhere all at once in a weird jumble of mental pictures and simple thought; Sanskrit, his original language, smudged all of his thoughts—making them harder to understand—but it was obvious once he easily translated them into English in his mind. Solely focusing on grief and regret, he chose his words quickly out of his unbelievable vocabulary, sending poor Julianne into a spiral of apologetic penitence.

“And to imagine that we have granted you this amazing opportunity”—I was within easiest hearing distance now—“, and you have shown as scant a gratitude as to disobey the only orders you had been given.”

“I’m so sorry Master,” she breathed, remorse and sorrow covering every thought, facial expression, and gesture she made. She was so enthralled in his scolding that she wasn’t even aware of the quiet sound of my feet in the trees a mere 800 feet away.

Edward inclined his head infinitesimally my way, easily missed by the distraught Julianne and preoccupied Aro. The cloak that had previously lain on his shoulders was missing, but Demetri and his greasy hair also wasn’t wearing one. Most of the other members were bored out of their minds, while others watched their “Master” in amazement. Edward knew I was there. I blew him a mental kiss while I tested my new abilities. This would be so entertaining. I hoped that Alice was seeing this.

I focused my gaze on Jane. Her sweet and angelic complexion was marred by a glazed and bored look. ‘I wonder if I can just torture her. It would be easier than listening to this drawl.’ She thought to herself, quickly taking back what she said about Aro’s never ending speech. She smiled at Julianne, and I heard the process of her unmerciful mind.

Julianne fell to her knees and shrieked into the air.

‘Well Jane,’ I thought. ‘, I believe it’s time for a taste of your own medicine.’

Just as Aro turned to chastise her blatant unrestraint in this situation, I turned my gaze to her as well. Jane had just showed me what to do herself, and I was eager to try out my new skill. I smiled at Jane from my hiding place and imagined a knife being stabbed into her head, penetrating deep into the lobes of her brain.

She fell to the ground and I sent a fresh spasm rolling through her mind. The next thing I imagined was an angry mob coming to grab her and her being drawn and quartered while they jeered and laughed at her stupidity and inability to get away from them. Soon lightning was electrocuting her mind, she was drowning though she had had no need of air for hundreds of years; needles pricked and scratched her skin, her fingernails were being ripped from their nail beds.

I stopped the commotion and began another tactic. Her brother, Alec, was beginning to unfurl his clouds of numbness to ease his poor sister’s pain, and I now knew that mind game as well.

I let the overcast wave of numbness that would be used to anesthetize everyone there. Poor Emmett. I guess he wouldn’t get much fun after all.

But Alec could see the cloud as well as I could; the drowsy slumber only moved in a slow roll and no faster, so he ran to Aro, tapped his palm, and he immediately knew of what I was intending for them.

I screamed my decision in my mind, preying that Alice would be able to see in time.

‘Restrained attack, wait for the signal,’ were the final imaginings of my choice as I moved from where I listened.

I tumbled gracefully from the trees and flashed to Edward’s side. I nodded to Aro blandly and threw a dazzling smile to Jane, who glared at me menacingly.  I giggled under my breath, catching Julianne’s attention.

‘I can’t believe I let Master down this way! I was too distracted. Stupid, stupid, stupid Julianne…’

“It’s okay Julianne. You won’t be kicked out; much too valuable.”

My reply to her thoughts stopped the girl in her tracks. Had she not known what I could do? Surely Aro had touched Edward in the past few hours. But then again…

I scanned Aro’s consciousness. His disorganized mind was jumping from thought to thought of every explanation, but he hadn’t a clue. In his jumbled thoughts there wasn’t a trace of touching Edward.

“Ah, Bella. I see you’ve excelled in your extra abilities,” was his final choice of words about two seconds later. He stretched his hand out, just to check that I wasn’t completely blocked up to his mental abilities, and I took it reluctantly, a knee jerk reaction, though I was eager to see the true inner workings of his mind instead of the small scratch on the surface with his current thoughts.

More confusion met my expectant hand. I discovered his principles, his past, his loves, his hates, and, most of all, his own little mind expeditions. I almost let out a small wave of hysteric laughter from my lips as I saw what he had seen, the centuries of stupidity and horror he had witnessed from his victims. The taste of blood to him was so amazing, my mouth reacted with a small bit of venom, and the taste was equal to the scent.

‘Is that really how humans taste to normal vampires?’ I thought when it ended after about six seconds, longer than the usual mind flashes I had gotten previously. A longer lifespan, more to see. Think. Hear.

I pulled my hand from his, a smile playing at the edges of his lips; my stomach coiled in a strange way as a reaction. Not as severely as with the scent of human blood, but with a strange dread. A dread of knowledge. Knowing you’ve been discovered.

I checked his thoughts once more.

‘Hello Bella dear. Can you hear this?’

Crap. While I nodded my head his smile widened into a look of pure glee.

“Oh Jane?” he addressed her. “I do believe that we have a little prodigy here. You have a remarkable talent on your hands Edward; I hope that you use it wisely.”

I saw Edward’s jaw tighten before he replied, “She does have some incredible abilities, but I will not use her like a worthless toy, easily replaced, as you have with the poor beings under your control.”

‘The pompous bastard!’ Julianne screamed in her mind. A low growl of warning escaped my lips. Edward was selfless and only protecting me with his insult, making me want even more to pull him from this hopeless situation.

She snapped to attention before she stepped away from me, fearful thoughts dripping from her overworked brain like blood off an executioner’s blade.

While Aro gave another long reply I looked to each of his guard’s thoughts; eight minds including Jane, Alec, and Julianne. Demetri, Felix, Julianne, Jane, Alec, Deadorin, Michael, and another gifted female Renata. She seemed to have a physical shield that guarded physical attacks and hovered around Aro like a little girl protecting her dolly from her dolly killing older brother. Deodorin was a male, his ability being chosen invisibility. His delusion was routed in the brain, making the eyes ignore the light reflecting off of his skin, making him invisible to the average human or vampire. A human or vampire that didn’t have a mental block in their mind. Michael also had an uncanny ability to camouflage, by not only making himself invisible, but also made others do what Deodorin could.

I hadn’t taken Marcus into account though. He wasn’t a guard of course, but instead a depressed, hostile person who had grown tired of Aro’s enthusiasm over too many a millennia together. I looked deeper to the source of his morose, and found it to be lost love. Didyme, his mate and love, had been killed in an assassination attempt over 200 years ago. They had been together for ten times that long, and his sorrow made me want to reach out and give him a great, big hug. He really needed one. Like him, she could sense relationships, but could cause them as well. Poor Marcus had always doubted his love for her, though it was as deep as Edward’s and mine, thinking she may have manipulated it but he no longer cared. He didn’t care about anything but helping Aro in his harebrained schemes, and even that gave him too much time to think about how he could have never saved her.

Other than his never ending love for Didyme causing his depression, his sixth sense sent him into a whirl pool that sucked the life out of him. A whirl pool of hate, and passionate anger, and regret, and guilt. I saw through his eyes the relationships of the people around us. Emotions were shown through strings of light; the thicker and brighter the string, the more the two people cared for each other. Jane and Alec had one of the strongest relationships between the guards, and Julianne had a fairly strong relationship with Michael; Aro and Marcus had a bright string, but it was thin and easily breakable, as with the guards to them.

However, the strongest and brightest light was between Edward and me. The string was not a mere thread between the two of us, but a thick rope that is often seen on old ship’s anchors. An iron rope at least four inches in diameter was connecting us from our silent hearts. Light emanated from it as though it were the sun, no longer billions of light years away, but just ten feet away. My eyes would have been blinded if I were still human.  

I stared, in shock through Marcus’s mind for a few moments, over come by the sheer magnitude of our relationship. ‘What? How? Really? Do we love each other that much? Do we honestly, truly, love each other that much?’

I squeezed Edward’s hand, and he squeezed mine, both knowing that our love was sincere, seeing it through a gifted vampire’s eyes. Aro stopped his speech short, though it had only run a few moments while I surveyed his guardians’ minds.

“But do you have other abilities?” he asked curiously. “Unbeknownst to us? Some things that you are… hiding.”

We both stayed silent, unwilling to respond to a question that could very well reveal my true power to this unmoral group of vampires. A twig cracked in the nearby trees that distracted Julianne. Her head whipped in its direction, immediately bending the trees and making them part. I had already known it was a wild cat, I’m not sure which, but it was too small to be a mountain lion and too big to be a house cat. Julianne settled down when she saw what it was and turned back to Aro, replacing the trees. She was nervous with her surroundings.

“Secretive, hmm? Well, we’ll clear everything up in a bit, shall we?”

Renata moved like a shadow behind him when he came to grasp Edward’s hand. Her physical force field was impressive, and easily workable, but it took time to discover how to work it as well or as strongly as she did, so I was unable to use mine for more than a few seconds. I couldn’t even extend it two centimeters, let alone two inches.

I didn’t see Edward’s thoughts in Aro’s, much to my disappointment. The fact that I couldn’t see his mind was driving me up a wall. Insane! Was this really how he felt all of the time?

He nodded his head knowingly but was disappointed at the lack of information he received. My mouth twitched with the threat of a grin breaking out on my face.

“Yes—well—in good time dear ones, in good time.”

Edward and I saw his thoughts at the same time and I snapped my fingers quickly. Alice, with the rest of our family in tow, burst through the fringe of trees.

I electrocuted Aro’s mind, sending him to his knees, and multi tasked in using Michael’s keen skill to turn others invisible.

Emmett and Demetri were in a fight to the death, but with Emmett’s new invisibility he had the fight made. Alice was zipping around, dodging attacks and taking off a few limbs like a petite, fairy tornado of destruction. Carlisle and Jasper were holding their own, and I watched in horror and amazement as fierce growls and threatening hisses escaped from Esme’s and Rosalie’s perfect lips. Edward went strait for Jane, who was unable to torture anyone because she couldn’t see them; I had put up my new invisibility defenses almost immediately.

Marcus came at me. We began our own dance; I anticipated his steps while he tried to foreshadow mine. I was young and inexperienced, and my mind was preoccupied with Aro and making the others disappear, so I was short handed against the Ancient who barred my way to victory so savagely. However I was taking tips from every one around me, watching what they did and mirroring them in my defensive and forward attacks. I was so close to loosing, but I was on the brink of winning. I had seen many vampire attacks (even if it was only two it was many, considering the rarity of people living through them) and I had learned to not be controlled by my instincts, to watch and observe, to think things through.

Unfortunately, our victory was short lived. Michael also used his defenses, and though I tried to call out to each of them the position of who they were attacking my family could not keep up with it. Each of the fights was too even. I had used Deodorin’s defenses for myself and I was able to see Marcus so my invisibility helped defend me from his superior skills; an even fight. Edward and Jane were still fighting; Edward had the upper hand, but Julianne was helping out by moving the ground beneath Edward’s feet or making trees fall around us. Alice was whizzing around helping people, Emmett and Demetri were crashing through others; Jasper traded Felix for Demetri when Emmett shot past, Esme and Carlisle were double teaming Alec and Michael, while Rosalie took on Deodorin.

Julianne was on her own though, and she came over to help out Marcus with me. She was older than I, a little more experienced and well trained; I had to use almost all of my strength blocking both of their blows. I was also distracted by the flood of thoughts that blocked my view for milliseconds at a time. It was almost impossible to see between the two of them trying to kill me and their thoughts from the last 200 to 2000 years blurring my vision.

And then the rest of them came.

Led by Heidi, at least fifteen grey swathed figures began to fall in and attack.

“Let’s go!” I called, and B-lined for the house, my family following behind. Edward came up on my right and called to me, “Faster!” I was going as fast as I could possibly go but the determination in his eyes drove me forward. I could not lose him.

We were all running as fast as we could possibly go, even Emmett, who grumbled at the lost fight as we shot through the trees.

When we reached the house they had almost caught up with us. We darted into the house to make a diversion but they could simply blast through the walls after us. Everything was a mess, a sea of minds crashing over me; my thoughts couldn’t assess the situation, I only knew that I needed to protect Edward.

I grasped his hand and pulled him to the roof.

“Stay here,” I commanded. I begged. “Please Edward. Just run away. Save yourself.”

But as I turned to run he pulled me back into a sultry kiss and said, “I’ll never leave you to fight on your own. I’ll always stay with you.” He bit my hand over the scar of James’s bite and I returned the gesture in the exact spot as he bit me. Our mark for each other to see. Who ever made it out would know that the other was with them. We were swearing not to kill ourselves if the other died, and believe me it was the hardest promise I had ever made.

“I love you.”

“I love you more. Forever and always.”

“Forever and always….” I echoed.

The house began to crumble beneath our feet warning us to go and help. The swarm was coming and though our moment of passion had only lasted an instant we had to move.

We tumbled down the stairs and formed a circle with the rest of our family back to back. We were already surrounded, what was the use of facing one side?

The amount of extra abilities coming in after us was remarkable. I tried the numbness cloak and it made it through the first row of people but stopped after that blocked by Alec’s. I observed each person’s gift and used the ones I could on the other side, multi-tasking. We hurried to kill whoever came upon us but Alec was in the back and he made the cloud of numbness wash over us. I tried to pull Edward away. I tried to protect everybody.

I stood there snarling, my own cloud of anesthesia coming out and blocking the way for the full blast of it to come in. Everyone’s minds were jumbled but they could still fight adequately, even if it was marred by pins and needles in their toes. I couldn’t make it strong enough.

When the cloud took over I jumped to Edward and grabbed him, but with his last strength he pushed me away with a kiss to my hand. Emanating from his lips, his entire life’s thoughts washed over me. His love for me was so intense I could barely stand and that was Emmett’s opening. Emmett grabbed my waist and threw me through the wall, the last of the house coming down on them.

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” I shrieked.

In those last seconds I heard Edward. I heard his mind. The thing that I had craved since I had discovered I could read minds, and I was in the worst situation imaginable.

‘Live.’ He thought. ‘Let me go. Go and live. Do what you must to leave me behind. This for you, love. Just know I’ll be there with you, always. I love you.’

I could smell the gasoline and hear the ripping of limbs and the satisfactory snarls. I could also hear the pleas of love between my family and me and their mates. Alice, Jasper. Rosalie, Emmett. Esme, Carlisle. Going over their history together, giving their last goodbyes.

And though they all told me to run, that I didn’t have to see this, I could not bring myself to leave.

I respected Edward’s wish though. I had too.

I moved my feet back, one step at a time. I didn’t turn my gaze away. I listened to Edward and I knew he could hear me as well.

‘I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU!!!’ I screamed at him in my mind. And we cried and called and listened to each other. ‘I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU!!!’

When they all cut off I choked. I continued to scream to him in my thoughts as I bolted through the trees, trying in vain to escape the heavy smoke. But I couldn’t run as fast as Edward. In a million years I would never be able to run as fast as he did.

In the wisps of wind passing me by I could hear echoes his velvet voice shouting to me, ‘Faster, faster!’ and I did as he had wished me too. Just as when he had left me so long ago—it felt as if it was a life time ago—he wasn’t there, but I could hear him. Clear as day, I could hear his voice calling out to me. I had to obey the voice of my lost love.

‘Good bye Bella,’ Aro thought. ‘I’m truly sorry if there are any hard feelings betwe—’

I ran out of hearing distance and into the happy human minds in the surrounding areas. They were all so content, so happy, and so… so… undead. My senses were dead. I couldn’t feel anymore. Nothing. Nothing but the throb of my heart and my hand where he bit me. I looked at the bite and licked it, tasted his venom, tasted and smelled his scent, the absolute perfection that made up my love. And now that love, my life, was gone.

‘I will always stay with you.’ He had said. A cruel truth was what he had told me. A truth that would way me down and lift me up while I continued to live and he did not.

I would always be with him. Wherever he went and wherever I went I would always be with him. Our souls were entwined and I was his. Forever. I had promised forever and I would belong to him. We belonged to each other.

When I smelled the familiar rains of the Olympic Peninsula I broke down. I fell to my knees and crumpled in a heap, crying multiple bloody tears into the ground. What I had thought was my last tear was just the gateway for others to fall through. I finally knew what Jane’s power felt like even though she could never hurt me herself.

My tears that had once fallen without pain now burned my eyes and cheeks like acid. I tasted the blood that rolled into my mouth and spat them out with pure contempt for the foul taste that felt like rancid milk on my tongue. To get rid of it I licked my stinging wound that tasted of Edward. His essence. I almost resurfaced, but I remembered what day it was. September 13th, my nineteenth birthday, and the day my soul was destroyed. I continued to weep.

I sobbed and sobbed, blood pouring endlessly over my pale features. When I at last stood again, it was the ending of three days. How strange, that in the amount of time it took to begin this, it took to end it. The clouds were darkened and twilight had fallen over the forest. I let the rain wash away the blood stains on my cheeks remembering my junior prom I had spent with Edward in that ridiculous blue dress in my cast and being human with him. I remembered the feel of his cold skin against mine when he had kissed my throat after we had escaped the decorated mess of a gym that Forks High School had so ‘generously’ provided for the dance. I remembered waltzing around the gym to the wrong music on his toes and how I hated it when he let me go.

I ran over both fuzzy human memories and new clear ones while I ran to the Quileute border line and waited for them to come. When I realized waiting was pointless I went back to the house just outside of Forks. I nearly broke down again when I got there. I went in to use the phone and I saw the damage we had caused when we had left. I saw the shattered part of the window and I saw the wreck of trees around it. The bottom half of the house had burned and some of the trees had been burnt into a black sea. Had it only been a week since we had left?

I dialed Seth’s number first but rethought it and tried Billy’s. After several rings Jacob picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

“Jake?” My voice was hoarse from crying for so long. I didn’t feel any pain and I cleared my throat once to get rid of the phlegm left over.

“Bella! Oh my God, what happened?!” He could sense the stress behind my voice, th3e abnormal roughness to it.

“Can you come to the house? It’s a lot to explain…”

When he came I heard his frantic thoughts and I opened the door to a concerned and half naked Jacob.

I took him to the ashen couch and explained and when I got to the last part I fell into his chest and wept, with out tears but just as painfully. He was wearing the necklace I had given him and when I looked at my hands I found my charm bracelet. I was amazed that it hadn’t broken, but I noticed that there was a crack in the diamond Edward had given me. I wept harder.

When I had calmed down I looked at Jake and saw the conflict in his eyes and thoughts.

“And then I came here.” I concluded, not mentioning my earlier bout of tears.

“Bells, I don’t think—”

“It’s okay, I’ll be fine; I’ll stay here. No reason to make things awkward with the pack.”

“You sure?”

“Of course. I’ll be fine, go home, I just needed to announce I was here and my cell phone was broken from the fight.”

“Honey… I’m so sorry.” He said this with sincerity and his thoughts proved it.

“Thank you.” I whispered.

I heard him run off and heard his rage and didn’t really know what to do at first.

I trailed up the steps slowly, fingering the loose screw that had sealed our fate. A majority of the staircase was burned, but the fire had somehow stayed controlled and hadn’t made the entire house collapse. My small wait had no effect on the blackened wood, and the awful smell filled my senses throughout this floor of the house.

I froze in the doorway of our bedroom. Our wedding bed still stood in messy disarray that smelled of our passion that night. The sheets were still rumpled, my wedding dress lay on the floor, his suit with the small freesia flower stuck in the button hole.

For some reason when I picked up my wedding dress and his clothes and collapsed on our bed an irresistible instinct came upon me. I had to kill them. The Volturi had killed my family and Edward; the very core of my being had been destroyed. I had to kill them….

I had no control over these feelings. I just remembered their thoughts and what Marcus had seen. Recalling what his thoughts had been I saw what he had seen so vividly I nearly started to weep again.

I saw each of the lights; the thick strings disintegrate between my family members and me. All but one. The iron rope connecting Edward and I disappeared like the rest, but the incredible light remained between us. It became an aura around me and his burning body and as the smoke began to unfurl, the aura drifted to me. Bright light surrounded my still unbelieving figure before I turned to run and finally centered around my hand.

The hand where James, and now Edward, had bitten me.

But the most eerie of them all was what Marcus had thought in parting. ‘Now you know how it feels. I hope you enjoy the agony.’

I looked down at the now healed scar and the bloody tears began to spill over again—not as many as before, but enough to make me pucker my face in disgust at the smell.

My head turned into the bed and I inhaled the scent that wafted off of the sheets and I lay there, begging for death and sleep and felt my heart rip apart. I knew this feeling, but now it was worse. The pain returned from when Edward had left me only a few months ago, but was so much more severe. He had no chance of coming back now. Wrapping my arms around my stomach—trying to hold it together—I let the spasms of pain roll through my body.

They would never leave me.



‘Twilight’ © Stephenie Meyer

‘Together at Last’ © Bernadette-Cullen