Kayla’s POV

Breaking the news to Kyo that his mother was gone was not easy. He refused to accept that she was gone and he continually called for her. Charlie thought that the boy was just grieving and tried to soothe him but he pushed Charlie away. Zach and I tried to speak to him but he didn’t want to see us. He blamed me for Loretta disappearing, which was partly right. I had kicked her out of my body but I hadn’t banished her from the face of the earth. Maybe she had just accepted her fate and passed on. But something didn’t move on with her. Like her love for her child. The time she’d spent in my body, short as it was, had opened my mind to the possibility of having children. That bond between a mother and child was indescribably beautiful. The lengths at which they’d go to stay together, horrible though they were, was nothing short of amazing. I wanted that bond. I wanted to have something to love and love me back. I had Edward, I loved him and he loved me, but he wasn’t my baby. I wanted to carry something precious inside me and I wanted to give birth to something special. I wanted to have a child of my own. But I knew it could never happen. I wasn’t a vampire, I was sure I could still conceive, but Edward was. He was dead. He couldn’t have children. Rosalie was right. But I wouldn’t admit that to her. I wouldn’t tell Edward I wanted to have a baby. I was eighteen for Christ sake! It was just a phase I was going through, I’d get over it. Hopefully.
Zach and Kyo didn’t stay for long. Zach wanted to leave as soon as possible because he wanted to rebuild his life somewhere new. He wanted Kyo to have a new start.
“There’s something I need to tell you,” Zach said. We were standing just outside my house as he was preparing to leave. Kyo was at his side and looking intently up at me. Charlie had said his goodbyes and was back inside watching a film with Tess. They two were inseparable.
“What is it?” I asked, curious.
“It’s about how Loretta died,” he said. He looked down at Kyo who nodded.
“It’s okay,” Kyo said, quietly. “You can talk about her death if you must. I don’t mind.”
Zach looked back at me and his face looked sombre. Sadness was in his eyes and I felt my heart accelerate. This wasn’t going to be a cheery discussion. He was going to tell me something bad.
“We thought we’d escaped death when we left the castle,” Zach said. “But we hadn’t. At first Loren’s Shadow Hunters chased us, trying to kill us on his orders but we evaded them. We found refuge in a forest where we built a shelter. But he found us.”
“Loren?”
“Mitchell.”
Mitchell? He wouldn’t do anything to hurt them. Mitchell was a good guy in all of this. He’d helped us. He’d saved me. He wouldn’t hurt anyone.
“He found us and he blamed me for a part in his father’s death. He said that if I hadn’t of helped you when you were kidnapped, if hadn’t let you go, Loren would be alive. I argued that he wanted him dead. He didn’t like Loren’s ways, he detested it. But he’s been warped by grief.”
“Mitchell killed Loretta?” I found this hard to believe. He was gentle and sweet and loving. He wouldn’t hurt anyone.
“She’d tried to fight him but she wasn’t a fighter. He killed her with a wave of his hand. It’s amazing we got out alive but not without some injuries.”
“You must be mistaken, Zach,” I said, my voice uneven. “Mitchell wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
“Kayla you must be careful,” Zach’s voice was grave. “You must be cautious and watch your back.”
I knew what was coming but I still wouldn’t believe it. I’d heard Zach and Loretta discussing this two days ago. How I was going to be murdered by someone and she didn’t want to go through another painful death. But Mitchell wouldn’t hurt anyone. He wouldn’t. It’s not him. He isn’t a killer. He isn’t a monster. He isn’t his father.
“He’s coming for you. He wants his revenge. And when he’s killed you, he’ll kill Charlie.”
I shook my head.
“You’re lying,” I said, completely in denial. “It isn’t true. I thought it was over, I thought I was finished dealing with you Jenzis. He can’t be coming to kill me.”
Zach nodded and put a hand on my shoulder.
“It is true and I’m so very sorry.”
“Why didn’t you tell Charlie? Why didn’t you tell him and let him deal with it?”
“Have you seen him?” he gestured towards the house. “He’s smitten. I couldn’t dump this on him, he’d go insane. But you, Kayla, you’re different. You’re strong and powerful and very special. You can deal with Mitchell.”
With that he left. Kyo waved and I heard his thoughts in my head.
You are special. There have been prophecies written about you and that’s why I wanted my mum to have your body. She’d live forever.
I went back inside and sat down with Charlie and Tess. Tess, as I’d predicted, couldn’t stay mad at me for long and was back to being my best friend again. She smiled happily when I sat myself down next to her and snuggled into Charlie who put his arm around her and rested his head on hers. I watched them, wondering how the hell I could tell Charlie about Mitchell. Zach was right, he would go insane. He’d get all crazy and protective and set out to hunt Mitchell down, just like he did with Loren. But I couldn’t keep this to myself. Right now it was tearing me up inside, panic soaring sky high, my heart beating erratically. My mind was going through all the possibilities on how to stop this but I couldn’t think of anything. Then that stupid Azdi part of me, that little voice inside my head that never seemed to leave me and popped up at the worst moments, spoke.
Death, it said.
I was shocked. I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t kill someone. That was not me.
You killed Loren, the Azdi voice said. I remembered the feel of the gun in my hands, using it as a threat and nothing else. I remembered my finger on the trigger but knowing I could never bring myself to push down on it and hurt someone. But then a flash of silver and instinct took over. The gun had exploded and a bullet tore into Loren’s skull before I could blink.
But he’d been very much alive when he’d fired three bullets into my chest so I really hadn’t killed him.
But you did, the voice said. That was just a fluke. If you hadn’t of healed Charlie you wouldn’t have accidentally healed Loren.
Who’s side are you on? I shouted angrily at the voice. I cannot kill anyone! I am not capable of hurting someone.
Unless you’re angry....
Images flew around in my head. Charlie lying on the floor, blood streaming out of his head....Jacob lying in his wolf form against a tree, a branch at his side....Rosalie slamming into a wall....
So that was the only option? I had to set out and kill Mitchell?
Yes,the voice said. You must. It’s your purpose. Jenzis are the enemy.
My purpose. I had forgotten about that. My stupid purpose in life was to protect people from stupid supernatural beings. What if I didn’t want to do that? What if I wanted to be a normal girl? Well, as normal as I could get being an Azdi.
You can’t ignore your need to protect, the voice whispered.
That was true. I always wanted to protect people. I couldn’t ignore it. So what was I supposed to do? I wanted to protect Charlie from this vampire coming to kill him and I wanted to protect him from Mitchell. But I couldn’t do it without help. I didn’t know where Mitchell was and I didn’t know when this stupid vampire was going to kill Charlie. This was so stupid! Why couldn’t things just go right for a change!
“Are you okay?”
Charlie was looking at me, his eyes worried. I’d realised too late I’d hit the sofa in frustration. My hand was still balled in a first on the arm of the sofa.
What do I tell him? The truth or a lie?
I was opting for a lie when Alice burst into the living room. Her topaz eyes were brimming with fear and she was breathing fast.
“Kayla I need to speak to you,” she said, urgently. She motioned with her hand to follow her and I got up quickly. What was wrong with her? Was she okay? Did she see something?
I followed her outside to the edge of the forest. Edward was there and he looked just as fearful as Alice. I was beginning to think I would never be able to live a normal life.
“I saw Edward die,” Alice said so fast, I had to ask her to repeat it. When she did I stared at her, mirroring her fear.
I tried to speak but it came out as a choked gasp. Suddenly, I didn’t feel so steady. It seemed as if my whole world had come crashing down around me. Not only did it seem as if Charlie was doomed to die, now Edward was going to die. Now all I could see in my mind was images of him being torn apart and burned at alive.
My knees buckled underneath me and I almost fell to the ground but I felt Edward’s strong arms around me, supporting me.
“That’s not the worst part,” he said, his voice as shaky as I felt. “Tell her Alice.”
“I saw you die too.”
I tried to be casual about this. I tried to think of a joke to lighten the mood. But it was like panic mode in my head. Loads of little people were running around inside my skull, screaming and some where in corners rocking back and forth and some had even tried to flee my mind before they realised they were only figments of my imagination and given up and killed themselves. I’d faced death plenty of times before. This should not shock me. But it did. I’d escaped so many times that I was the luckiest girl alive. I’d come out of some horrifying situations, not totally unscathed, but at the very least alive. No one had ever seen me die in a vision. Not even Alice and Alice was an amazing psychic and could see almost everything. She’d seen me hurt and bleeding, she’d seen me almost dying and near to death but never my actual death. See, if Alice had seen a vision of me dying then it was almost certain to come true. I could argue and say her visions were only based on people’s decisions but I doubt my killer would change his mind on this one.
“It’s nothing to worry about,” Alice tried to reassure me but the fear still remained in her eyes. “We’ll sort this out.”
I shook my head, side to side, so many times Edward put a hand on my head to stop me. He was trying to keep his mind completely blank. He was trying not to think about my death but sometimes it just slipped in and he felt indescribable agony that brought tears to my eyes.
I wanted to believe her. I did. But I knew it was going to happen and she saw it happening which made it even more undeniably true. It was too late. Far too late. I remembered how Zach had said Loretta had died. A wave of Mitchell’s hand and she was dead. All he had to do was wave at me and I was gone. I wouldn’t be able to put up a fight. And if I died well Edward was sure to die too. The thought of me with another man had him contemplating going to the Volturi so surely my death would have him running to them.
Alice broke down. She fell to the ground, dry sobs racking her tiny chest. She punched the earth with her small fists, leaving deep holes. I pulled away from Edward and cradled her to my chest. I was the one destined to die and I was comforting her.
“We must be able to do something!” she cried. “This cannot be the end!”
I was going to tell her it wasn’t. That death was not the end but the beginning of a new journey but I knew she’d only hit me if I did. For me to speak so casually about death was horrendous to them because I was not as indestructible as them. I wonder how I died in her vision. Was it bloody and gory? Was it slow and painful like Loretta had thought it would be? Or was it quick? Over in seconds so I didn’t even know?
“Mitchell.”
The word came out of Edward’s mouth in a ferocious snarl. His eyes were blazing with a fierce rage and his hands were balled up in tight fists so his knuckles were even whiter that his already pale skin.
“How did I die?” I asked so calmly it was like we were discussing the weather or something mildly pleasant.
“He waved his hand over your face,” Alice sniffed. “It was like he was blessing you because you were on your knees in front of him.”
“I was?” I asked, surprised. I don’t think I would succumb to death so easily. I would put up a fight. I’d go out dying, fighting for my life. Not on my knees begging for mercy.
“You weren’t begging for mercy,” Alice said, as if reading my mind. “You said ‘Kill me’.”
So there must have been a reason for me to ask for my death. This was getting more worrying.
“Tell me about it,” Edward muttered, still angry. He looked down at me and his golden eyes were ablaze with fury. I had to calm him down before he did anything rash.
I gently slid Alice off my lap and stood up.
“Calm down,” I said to Edward, touching his face with my hand. “Just-”
Everything swam before my eyes. The scenery of the forest blurred and changed to the outside of a castle. The castle stood tall and proud upon its grounds. There were turrets, many of them, jutting out of the sides of the castle.. A moat surrounded the mass of grey stone, still filled with water. A drawbridge stayed tucked close to the stone wall. Suddenly, I was inside the castle. It was cold and grey inside this room of the castle. Nothing was on the walls, no furniture in the room. A bonfire was in the middle of the room and a pale, bronze haired teenager was strapped to the bonfire. He stood there, his face contorted with anger.
“Leave her alone!” Edward shouted.
Next to the bonfire stood an equally angry man. His chocolate brown eyes held so much fury it was surprising he managed to stand so still. In front of the bonfire kneeled a girl with black hair, ivory skin and intense dark green eyes. Before her stood a man with blond hair and piercing blue eyes. He looked down on the girl with disgust and barked at the boy strapped to the bonfire.
“Be quiet or I’ll burn you right now!”
“Leave him alone!” the girl screamed. “It’s me you want dead!”
“Kayla, don’t do this!” The chocolate-eyed man shouted. “I killed Arianna and Loren. You shouldn’t pay for this.”
The girl looked behind her to the boy and the man.
“I want to protect you!” she called back, tears flooding down her cheeks. “I have to protect you. Loren wouldn’t be dead if it wasn’t for me. I should be killed for it.”
She turned back to her murderer and stared up at him. She didn’t look scared, there was no fear inside her. She looked up at him fiercely.
“If you kill me, Mitchell,” she said, her voice steady despite the tears crawling down her pale cheeks. “You must promise not to harm them. You must let Edward free from the bonfire. You must let them walk away unharmed. Promise me.”
Mitchell smiled.
“Promise.”
She nodded and looked back again.
“I love you,” she said to them. “I’ll love you both forever.”
She turned back again for the final time and wiped her eyes.
“Kill me.”
Still smiling, Mitchell waved his hand in front of her face. She seized up, her eyes bulging and then she dropped to the floor.
Screams of anguish ripped from the mouths of both the people she’s died to protect. Charlie ran forward and pulled the girl onto his lap, kissing his hair.
Mitchell looked down at them both and raised his hand.
“Goodbye Charlie,” he said. Charlie looked up just as Mitchell waved his hand in front his face. He slumped to the ground.
“NO!” Edward screamed trying to break free. It seemed whatever was used to tie him to the bonfire was stronger than him. “You promised not to hurt us!”
Mitchell lifted his other hand. Two fingers were crossed.
“I had my fingers crossed.” Laughing he lit a match and tossed it onto the wood surrounding Edward. They caught fire far too quickly. They must have been doused in something flammable. The fire licked at Edward’s skin and he screamed in pain. Still laughing, Mitchell walked out of the room, leaving Edward to burn.
Then as I watched Edward burn, his skin melting off his bones and thick purple smoke filling the room, it all blurred and I was on the ground staring up at Alice and Edward. I looked at Edward, who was still alive and not burning in a castle, and broke down in tears.
“What did she see?” Alice asked as Edward picked me up crushed me to his chest. I just saw myself die, I saw Charlie die and I saw Edward burned alive. I hadn’t died, begging for mercy. I’d died trying to save Charlie and Edward. He just killed them so easily. He was laughing as he left Edward to burn. I clutched onto Edward, determined not to let him go.
“She saw our deaths,” he said, quietly. He crushed me even closer to his chest and kissed my forehead.
We’re not dead yet, he thought to me. There is still time.
Edward seemed so composed on the outside but I was the only one who really knew how he felt. He was distraught, he was panicking, he was scared, he was trying to think of ways to protect me but he knew there were slips and gaps in his methods and he was angry. Nothing was working for him and he didn’t know what to do. He knew as well as I did that most of Alice’s visions came true. He knew that mine were more certain to come true. 99% certain.
“Okay,” Alice said. She began to pace up and down. “We need to tell the others and the wolves. We need to think up a plan on how to take down Mitchell. We need constant protection for you and Kayla. We should probably tell Charlie as well. He’ll want to know that his daughter’s life is in danger.”
I had buried my head in Edward’s shoulder but now I looked up.
“We can’t tell him,” I said. “He’ll try to track down Mitchell. He’ll be killed.”
“She saw that too,” Edward said.
“Well what else can we do?!” Alice shouted. “We can’t just sit here and wait for him!”
Yes we could. If we waited, if we didn’t rush into this, we would be in control. Mitchell would have no choice but to leave me alone. The Cullens would be with me, the pack would be here so he would be outnumbered no matter what fatal trick he could do with his hand.
Edward put me down but wrapped his hand around my waist.
“We stay here,” I said to Alice. “Here we are stronger and at an advantage. You tell the others and I’ll tell the pack.”
“And Charlie?” she asked.
I wanted to tell him. He was my father and he died in my vision too. Even if I did die to protect him Mitchell would still kill him. I didn’t want to ruin his happiness.
“We have to tell him,” Edward told me. “His life is at risk too. It would be cruel to leave him in the dark.”
I nodded.
“Go tell your family,” I said to Alice and nudged Edward in the direction.
He shook his head and planted his feet firmly in the ground.
“I stay with you.”
I smiled and stood on the tips of my toes to kiss his lips. Despite that fact I’d just seen the deaths of two people I loved and my own, I couldn’t help but feel amazingly grateful I’d found someone who would still stick with me even though they knew where that led. Or rather ended.