We had briefly met up with Peter and Charlotte again, to introduce Tom and Joseph, and then parted ways once more. We were beginning to head west again, back the way we'd come essentially.
Currently I was standing in the middle of a rectangle shaped room, the length and breadth of the building I was in, my head focused on the stairway, waiting. It had once been used for storage which has since all been removed. The floor was made up of large wooden panels, all unevenly shaped. I was sheltering from the rain that flew at an angle through the gentle sunlight that lit up the earthly brown of the floor I was stood on.
On the outside I was as still as a statue in contrast to the speed and chaos of the thoughts in my mind.
Jasper was out hunting.
I didn't want him to ever doubt my trust. I knew he wouldn't, but still I felt that he thought he had something to prove to me. My old visions were still haunting me.
I had been so preoccupied with Jasper's future, looking out for ways his suffering might be minimised; I had not really looked for mine. Of course they were intertwined, but I'd not looked out for anything that might threaten me.
But, just moments before as I walked across the room, a sudden flash in my mind had stopped me in my tracks. What had it been? I had rewound back a second within my head and mentally pressed pause. A man casually dressed, but with pale granite skin and red eyes, auburn hair swiftly moving up a set of stairs.
That had caused me to sigh in frustration; it seemed that our own kind could not leave us in peace! I wished then I could see the motivation behind this scene, help me shed some light. Maybe he had just come across our scent and was curious. I had closed my eyes trying to find out when this visitor would be arriving. A ripple of surprise had run up my body and made my eyes shoot open. It was a matter of minutes away. How had it taken me so off guard? Of course, I had been preoccupied with Jasper. I had hesitated then, suddenly feeling unsure, and a small growl of annoyance had escaped my lips at the sense of déjà vu I was feeling. I relied on my power, and if it was letting me down…
So I now occupied the short space of time it would take to wait the studying the tedious room that I could re-sketch every angle of if I so wanted to just from my peripheral vision. On the west end was a hole in the floor like an open trapdoor, through which the stairs came up from below. Two thin wooden rails jutted up either side through it and then bent down to meet the floor again. There was a long line of large windows along the south facing wall, half way between the ceiling and the floor, giving a panoramic view of the top of the forest. The roof was built at hexagon like angles, causing the north wall to be smaller.
I could hear and smell him now, as well as see him in my mind. My expression was calm, my hands cupped together in front of me, relaxed, waiting. His figure emerged, and then stopped, watching me.
'Hello Alice.'
I inclined my head a fraction, trying to hide my surprise that he knew my name. And surprise was a word I did not like to use.
'I see you're expecting me'. His expression took on a slightly smug aura. 'Only just though…am I right?'
He stood across the room from me, but despite his large build, he hardly forced a squeak out of the old floorboards.
'Who are you?'
'You and I Alice, we go way back.'
He smirked, cutting straight to the chase.
'I was going to change you myself, make you my mate. You were alone, in the dark… you would have surely stayed with me, and I would have guided you through the torment, the pain…whereas he…no he was just for the kill. I saw the potential you had, you see…it's my talent, I see the potential in humans, which ones should be changed…its like a different light shines over them, a sort of reddish glow, so easy to pinpoint. A wasted power in some ways. Wasted on humans, but useful too. I change them for others of our kind, most searching for mates; at a high price of course...
'I'm afraid I don't understand what you are talking about.' My tone was polite, but with an obvious steel that sliced through his train of thought.
'No…no. I don't suppose you do. Visions of the future but no insights into your past.'
He stepped forward and ran his finger down the length of my forearm. I snapped it away.
'I doubt that lasts very long' I retorted, ignoring his last statement 'If they are so talented surely they can use their talents to leave.'
'Of course. But once they have got part the initial stage of bloodlust, they have often blindly fallen in love. Either that or they are outnumbered…it depends on the situation. Powerful thing, love. A powerful weapon for those in control of it. And a weaknesses for those that aren't. But of course I am digressing. I am trying to woo you, after all. I lied, to myself about my intentions. I believe I would have made a good actor if I was human. And defeated lie detectors most probably… but still, I must keep to the point!'
'I cannot be your mate.' I spat the word. 'I am already married.'
He seemed to sense he was losing. Or did he?
'If you come with me, I will show you where you came from, everything you want to know.'
My expression changed the tiniest bit.
I could barely conceal my burning curiosity, my longing to know what he was talking about. Who was this man?
'Why would you do that?'
The unpleasant grin returned. His eyes were like flint, playful but dangerous.
'For you, of course. There's no point in lying, you'd see right through me Alice.' He winked.
'Well, as I said you would be under a false impression. I have a husband. Of course if you really cared about me as you seem be claiming you do, oh person-who-knows-everything-about-me- you'd be willing to divulge the information anyhow.'
He was standing only a meter in front of me, blocking my exit. That wasn't a problem though.
'I must be on my way now; I don't expect to hear from you again.'
As I took a step forward, suddenly my mind seemed as if it was being filled with some sort of black smoke. My literal vision, as well as my foresight, was clouded.
'I am afraid I have not been entirely honest, Alice my dear. See, I have… other powers. Another little talent I forgot to mention. The potential I see…well it is for my own advantage, potential that I can use for my own ends. When I am near the person in question, I can take on – to a certain extent – and meddle with their powers. I am like a chameleon, I like to think; Scrounger at the worst…funny that; another word for bloodsucker. Still many worse names I have been called by others. Strange, don't you think that the least worthy get the most rewards?'
'Perhaps it is countered by the fact they feel the least fulfilled' I growled, completely and horrifyingly disorientated but fighting hard against showing my sudden weakness.
I made a sudden lunge towards the sound of his voice, but my blindness was confusing. He grasped my hands. I kicked him with full force, and then grinned as I heard him curse.
'You' I hissed, the truth suddenly dawning on me. 'You caused me to have those visions of Jasper committing murder.'
'I was only messing with your thoughts…playing with your fears. I was merely an influence, not the perpetrator. And I have one more little confession to make.' He chuckled slightly, at himself it would seem. Idiot.
'I caused that unfortunate human's little accident. After I tracked you I planned this little event; poor sighted human, jagged, slippery rocks; I used basic human ingenuity of all things to carefully set a hazrd in his path. I set him up for a fall. literally. Hmm I like that, it fits with the human and your husband both don't you think? It was ridiculous that it actually worked, really, even though I was borrowing a small part of your sight. It was so fun to watch from a safe distance, so you wouldn't smell me, I admit. I knew your husband was weak.'
A vicious hiss tore from my mouth. He…there were not words enough for this abominable creature. I wanted to tear him to shreds, and believe me I would do it.
But then the blackness seemed to become denser. I wondered if this was what it felt like to fall unconscious. Except I was still aware of my own mind, only my senses felt numbed down. Well, maybe this was just how it felt to be human...slipping away into darkness that engulfed and incapacitated me.
I slowly felt myself returning, although not completely. Where was I? outside, definitely…he had taken me somewhere. My legs and hands were bound with metal chains. Of course I could normally break through them but I felt strangely drained…weak. He was like a leech, sucking the strength from me. Apt, I suppose.
Suddenly I could feel Jasper's presence. Not Jasper's power; him. That meant Jasper had returned, foiled that man's plan to take me away. Yes he must have seen Jasper's return with my borrowed sight, anticipated a fight, made sure I was unable to fend for myself. What was his plan now?
'Come a step closer and I will destroy her. I have control over her powers; I need them. It would only take me a second to destroy her.'
Jasper was about twenty feet away, propped up against a tree, his body language seemingly at ease but his golden eyes were hard and cold. I felt such a surge of pride. Yes, his golden eyes. He was not a monster.
'And yet' said Jasper, 'You said that you need her. Lets face it…you've already lost.'
'I want her!' He snarled. 'I shall have her as my mate, and if I don't have her then you shan't either.'
Jasper's voice was light but menacing. 'If you so much as harm a hair on her head, which you won't, your life will be over; you can be sure of that.'
Listening to Jasper's voice seemed to revive me in some ways. I felt the power my super-enhanced senses creeping through the empty vessels of my dead nerve passages.
I snapped through the metal as if it was a paper chain.
Shooting like a dart from behind and with a well aimed kick I had him sprawled out on his front, pinned to the floor. I hissed at him, my nostrils flaring.
'I was just messing with you. As if you could hold me hostage.'
Jasper's POV
He was flung to the ground. In less than a second she had pinned him down, her face inches from his in a viscous smile. I grinned. Truly frightening. The sparkle in her eyes seemed flat and dark.
'Maybe you caught me on a bad day' I mocked. 'I'm as sweet as honey normally but I have had as much as I can take with interfering annoying vampires trying to separate me from my husband. You picked the wrong woman.'
'She can look after herself.' I agreed, smirking into the eyes of the man. His eyes ferociously glaring up at me, his chin have stuck in the earth. 'You underestimated her, you though I was the threat to what you wanted. Ha. I didn't even need to be here.' I held out my hand. 'Come on Alice; let's forget about this pathetic creature.'
She put her mouth to his ear, teeth bared. 'If you ever come near us again, it will be the last thing you do; I'll make sure of that. I am Alice Whitlock Cullen and I take no prisoners. Now, I and my husband are going to go that way and you can leave in the opposite direction.'
Alice's POV
I stood up and high-fived Jasper.
'Cullen?' he quizzed. I grinned sheepishly. 'It just came out'
I saw him coming. I was ready and he couldn't touch my mind this time. In a moment it was over. I looked down at his broken form, taking sharp unnecessary breaths. My voice was flat.
'I did warn him...' He knew where I came from, I think, unless he was lying. I guess I'll never know.'
Why didn't you try and force it out of him?
'I don't know' I answered feeling vulnerable. 'I don't think he had any intention of telling me. I tried to see him telling me in the future, but I couldn't… I still don't know who I am. I didn't even learn his name, so I have no leads.'
Maybe I would never know.
That final thought hung in the breathless air with some sort of poignancy that left me surprisingly unruffled. As I tried to sort through the misty layers of my future in search of any contradiction to my realisation I felt a sudden spark of emotion that had left as quickly as it came. I couldn't tell whether it had been fury of grief. That strange prickle up my spine was almost akin to a knee jerk reaction to a bloodcurdling scream, but I heard nothing. It left the tiniest echo of something tragic but another second passed and it was lost forever.
Currently I was standing in the middle of a rectangle shaped room, the length and breadth of the building I was in, my head focused on the stairway, waiting. It had once been used for storage which has since all been removed. The floor was made up of large wooden panels, all unevenly shaped. I was sheltering from the rain that flew at an angle through the gentle sunlight that lit up the earthly brown of the floor I was stood on.
On the outside I was as still as a statue in contrast to the speed and chaos of the thoughts in my mind.
Jasper was out hunting.
I didn't want him to ever doubt my trust. I knew he wouldn't, but still I felt that he thought he had something to prove to me. My old visions were still haunting me.
I had been so preoccupied with Jasper's future, looking out for ways his suffering might be minimised; I had not really looked for mine. Of course they were intertwined, but I'd not looked out for anything that might threaten me.
But, just moments before as I walked across the room, a sudden flash in my mind had stopped me in my tracks. What had it been? I had rewound back a second within my head and mentally pressed pause. A man casually dressed, but with pale granite skin and red eyes, auburn hair swiftly moving up a set of stairs.
That had caused me to sigh in frustration; it seemed that our own kind could not leave us in peace! I wished then I could see the motivation behind this scene, help me shed some light. Maybe he had just come across our scent and was curious. I had closed my eyes trying to find out when this visitor would be arriving. A ripple of surprise had run up my body and made my eyes shoot open. It was a matter of minutes away. How had it taken me so off guard? Of course, I had been preoccupied with Jasper. I had hesitated then, suddenly feeling unsure, and a small growl of annoyance had escaped my lips at the sense of déjà vu I was feeling. I relied on my power, and if it was letting me down…
So I now occupied the short space of time it would take to wait the studying the tedious room that I could re-sketch every angle of if I so wanted to just from my peripheral vision. On the west end was a hole in the floor like an open trapdoor, through which the stairs came up from below. Two thin wooden rails jutted up either side through it and then bent down to meet the floor again. There was a long line of large windows along the south facing wall, half way between the ceiling and the floor, giving a panoramic view of the top of the forest. The roof was built at hexagon like angles, causing the north wall to be smaller.
I could hear and smell him now, as well as see him in my mind. My expression was calm, my hands cupped together in front of me, relaxed, waiting. His figure emerged, and then stopped, watching me.
'Hello Alice.'
I inclined my head a fraction, trying to hide my surprise that he knew my name. And surprise was a word I did not like to use.
'I see you're expecting me'. His expression took on a slightly smug aura. 'Only just though…am I right?'
He stood across the room from me, but despite his large build, he hardly forced a squeak out of the old floorboards.
'Who are you?'
'You and I Alice, we go way back.'
He smirked, cutting straight to the chase.
'I was going to change you myself, make you my mate. You were alone, in the dark… you would have surely stayed with me, and I would have guided you through the torment, the pain…whereas he…no he was just for the kill. I saw the potential you had, you see…it's my talent, I see the potential in humans, which ones should be changed…its like a different light shines over them, a sort of reddish glow, so easy to pinpoint. A wasted power in some ways. Wasted on humans, but useful too. I change them for others of our kind, most searching for mates; at a high price of course...
'I'm afraid I don't understand what you are talking about.' My tone was polite, but with an obvious steel that sliced through his train of thought.
'No…no. I don't suppose you do. Visions of the future but no insights into your past.'
He stepped forward and ran his finger down the length of my forearm. I snapped it away.
'I doubt that lasts very long' I retorted, ignoring his last statement 'If they are so talented surely they can use their talents to leave.'
'Of course. But once they have got part the initial stage of bloodlust, they have often blindly fallen in love. Either that or they are outnumbered…it depends on the situation. Powerful thing, love. A powerful weapon for those in control of it. And a weaknesses for those that aren't. But of course I am digressing. I am trying to woo you, after all. I lied, to myself about my intentions. I believe I would have made a good actor if I was human. And defeated lie detectors most probably… but still, I must keep to the point!'
'I cannot be your mate.' I spat the word. 'I am already married.'
He seemed to sense he was losing. Or did he?
'If you come with me, I will show you where you came from, everything you want to know.'
My expression changed the tiniest bit.
I could barely conceal my burning curiosity, my longing to know what he was talking about. Who was this man?
'Why would you do that?'
The unpleasant grin returned. His eyes were like flint, playful but dangerous.
'For you, of course. There's no point in lying, you'd see right through me Alice.' He winked.
'Well, as I said you would be under a false impression. I have a husband. Of course if you really cared about me as you seem be claiming you do, oh person-who-knows-everything-about-me- you'd be willing to divulge the information anyhow.'
He was standing only a meter in front of me, blocking my exit. That wasn't a problem though.
'I must be on my way now; I don't expect to hear from you again.'
As I took a step forward, suddenly my mind seemed as if it was being filled with some sort of black smoke. My literal vision, as well as my foresight, was clouded.
'I am afraid I have not been entirely honest, Alice my dear. See, I have… other powers. Another little talent I forgot to mention. The potential I see…well it is for my own advantage, potential that I can use for my own ends. When I am near the person in question, I can take on – to a certain extent – and meddle with their powers. I am like a chameleon, I like to think; Scrounger at the worst…funny that; another word for bloodsucker. Still many worse names I have been called by others. Strange, don't you think that the least worthy get the most rewards?'
'Perhaps it is countered by the fact they feel the least fulfilled' I growled, completely and horrifyingly disorientated but fighting hard against showing my sudden weakness.
I made a sudden lunge towards the sound of his voice, but my blindness was confusing. He grasped my hands. I kicked him with full force, and then grinned as I heard him curse.
'You' I hissed, the truth suddenly dawning on me. 'You caused me to have those visions of Jasper committing murder.'
'I was only messing with your thoughts…playing with your fears. I was merely an influence, not the perpetrator. And I have one more little confession to make.' He chuckled slightly, at himself it would seem. Idiot.
'I caused that unfortunate human's little accident. After I tracked you I planned this little event; poor sighted human, jagged, slippery rocks; I used basic human ingenuity of all things to carefully set a hazrd in his path. I set him up for a fall. literally. Hmm I like that, it fits with the human and your husband both don't you think? It was ridiculous that it actually worked, really, even though I was borrowing a small part of your sight. It was so fun to watch from a safe distance, so you wouldn't smell me, I admit. I knew your husband was weak.'
A vicious hiss tore from my mouth. He…there were not words enough for this abominable creature. I wanted to tear him to shreds, and believe me I would do it.
But then the blackness seemed to become denser. I wondered if this was what it felt like to fall unconscious. Except I was still aware of my own mind, only my senses felt numbed down. Well, maybe this was just how it felt to be human...slipping away into darkness that engulfed and incapacitated me.
I slowly felt myself returning, although not completely. Where was I? outside, definitely…he had taken me somewhere. My legs and hands were bound with metal chains. Of course I could normally break through them but I felt strangely drained…weak. He was like a leech, sucking the strength from me. Apt, I suppose.
Suddenly I could feel Jasper's presence. Not Jasper's power; him. That meant Jasper had returned, foiled that man's plan to take me away. Yes he must have seen Jasper's return with my borrowed sight, anticipated a fight, made sure I was unable to fend for myself. What was his plan now?
'Come a step closer and I will destroy her. I have control over her powers; I need them. It would only take me a second to destroy her.'
Jasper was about twenty feet away, propped up against a tree, his body language seemingly at ease but his golden eyes were hard and cold. I felt such a surge of pride. Yes, his golden eyes. He was not a monster.
'And yet' said Jasper, 'You said that you need her. Lets face it…you've already lost.'
'I want her!' He snarled. 'I shall have her as my mate, and if I don't have her then you shan't either.'
Jasper's voice was light but menacing. 'If you so much as harm a hair on her head, which you won't, your life will be over; you can be sure of that.'
Listening to Jasper's voice seemed to revive me in some ways. I felt the power my super-enhanced senses creeping through the empty vessels of my dead nerve passages.
I snapped through the metal as if it was a paper chain.
Shooting like a dart from behind and with a well aimed kick I had him sprawled out on his front, pinned to the floor. I hissed at him, my nostrils flaring.
'I was just messing with you. As if you could hold me hostage.'
Jasper's POV
He was flung to the ground. In less than a second she had pinned him down, her face inches from his in a viscous smile. I grinned. Truly frightening. The sparkle in her eyes seemed flat and dark.
'Maybe you caught me on a bad day' I mocked. 'I'm as sweet as honey normally but I have had as much as I can take with interfering annoying vampires trying to separate me from my husband. You picked the wrong woman.'
'She can look after herself.' I agreed, smirking into the eyes of the man. His eyes ferociously glaring up at me, his chin have stuck in the earth. 'You underestimated her, you though I was the threat to what you wanted. Ha. I didn't even need to be here.' I held out my hand. 'Come on Alice; let's forget about this pathetic creature.'
She put her mouth to his ear, teeth bared. 'If you ever come near us again, it will be the last thing you do; I'll make sure of that. I am Alice Whitlock Cullen and I take no prisoners. Now, I and my husband are going to go that way and you can leave in the opposite direction.'
Alice's POV
I stood up and high-fived Jasper.
'Cullen?' he quizzed. I grinned sheepishly. 'It just came out'
I saw him coming. I was ready and he couldn't touch my mind this time. In a moment it was over. I looked down at his broken form, taking sharp unnecessary breaths. My voice was flat.
'I did warn him...' He knew where I came from, I think, unless he was lying. I guess I'll never know.'
Why didn't you try and force it out of him?
'I don't know' I answered feeling vulnerable. 'I don't think he had any intention of telling me. I tried to see him telling me in the future, but I couldn't… I still don't know who I am. I didn't even learn his name, so I have no leads.'
Maybe I would never know.
That final thought hung in the breathless air with some sort of poignancy that left me surprisingly unruffled. As I tried to sort through the misty layers of my future in search of any contradiction to my realisation I felt a sudden spark of emotion that had left as quickly as it came. I couldn't tell whether it had been fury of grief. That strange prickle up my spine was almost akin to a knee jerk reaction to a bloodcurdling scream, but I heard nothing. It left the tiniest echo of something tragic but another second passed and it was lost forever.
