"They can leave too," Emmett insisted.
Nessie followed this debate with growing worry. She continued to keep an eye on Edward. She knew that he would push the argument towards confrontation if she or Bella looked to be at risk. Jasper was following the debate from a tactical perspective, weighing the facts and factions in play.
"I won't uproot my parents if I don't have too," Bella insisted.
Nearly all within the family were confused about how to react or what to suggest. Suddenly Edward's attention swung to Jasper who had just then formulated an idea he thought might work as a compromise.
"What about Charlie and Renee," Jasper queried with a turn of his head to Alice? "What do you see in their future?
Alice went silent for a moment as she searched through her memories.
"Nothing, their fine," Alice reported after five seconds of thought.
Carlisle perked up in response to this. A new question came to his mind. "So, we can use them as a gauge?"
"Yes," Alice responded with a hint of enthusiasm. "I see them clearly. Nothing changes for your parents, Bella, at least not for the next five or six days."
"So all you have to do is monitor Charlie and Renee," Esme questioned hopefully?
"Yes," I think that'll work," Alice answered with a nod in the affirmative.
"To make sure it works, I think we should make a pact to call them should anything happen to any of us." Jasper added this suggestion behind Alice's affirmation.
Bella was quick to accept this idea. Nessie was instantly relieved by Edward's look of approval. Rosalie and Emmett grudgingly surrendered with a nod of acquiescence. Carlisle and Esme were gratified by the family's agreement. Jasper visually tabulated everyone's concurrence and added his on to the end, "okay."
"So, how long do we sit here and do nothing?" Emmett queried Carlisle after a pause.
"Let's take it a day at a time for now."
7- Escalating Tensions
That summer, Nessie did not do any traveling off the peninsula with her parents. The Cullens decided to stay together in Clallam County, Washington. The family of vampires did not want to leave the area unguarded by at least one or more of their number. Because of the recent development with the shape-shifters, they elected not to be less than full strength on the peninsula for the foreseeable future.
Nessie spent the summer with her friends from Forks High School when she was not at home with family. She was under strict orders from her vampire relations not to travel onto the Quileute Reservation. This instruction was easy enough for her to comply with under the circumstances. The Cullen vampires promised to come after her if she did travel there. Nessie knew that this act would be a serious breach of the treaty between the two sides and that a confrontation would have been inevitable. This was something she desperately did not want to happen. Subsequently, she kept clear of the reservation with a passion. The thought of her vampire relations and the shape-shifters fighting terrified her.
Nessie did see several of the shape-shifters in the town of Forks and Port Angeles over the summer. She eagerly attempted to approach them, but her beckon was rudely rebuked each time. As this trend progressed, Nessie became increasingly convinced that the shape-shifters had become collectively hostile towards her. This thought was only half as hard to bear as the thinking that Jacob shared this enmity. She attempted on several occasions to contact him by phone. Each time the call either went unanswered or was disconnected shortly after she spoke. Even Billy, who did not share in this animosity towards her, was obliged to hang up after Jacob refused to take the call. It was, for the most part, an unpleasant summer for Nessie. She returned to Berkley, in the fall, depressed and afraid of what might happen on the peninsula while she was away.
Over the summer, Charlie and Renee had become increasingly alarmed by the elevated tension between the Cullens and the Quileute. Nessie's repeated inquiries to them about their contact with Jacob signaled a loss of communication between the two. They too were also surprised by Jacob's absence from them. The big brother bond that had developed between he and Phillip had made them accustomed to regular visits from Jacob. Billy's report to Charlie and Renee that all was not well among the shape-shifters supported their suspicion that something was amiss. Concerned about the situation, they made an earnest effort to extract from Bella the truth behind this strange new behavior.
"There's nothing happening for you to be concerned about," Bella pleaded to her parents.
"Come on Bells," Charlie challenged back. "There's got to be something going on here. You and those wolves are not talking to each other and neither are Nessie and Jacob."
"Feelings are a little raw right now," Bella carefully stated. "But this will pass."
"I saw Nessie the other day and she didn't seem to share your conviction on this," Renee bluntly contradicted. "I know her almost as well as I know you, Bella. There's something you're not telling us."
"Mom, I might be down playing it a little, but you know everything I know. Nessie and Jacob have broken up and it has created a bit of a schism between us and them." Bella laced these words with a hint of exasperation and finality.
"I'm not buying it, Bells," Charlie immediately retorted. "You're not even supposed to be here right now. The whole Cullen clan is on the peninsula. Now that's got to mean something."
"Yes, Dad, it means we're all concerned for Nessie and that we're here to support her." There was much more than a hint of exasperation in these words.
Charlie and Renee grudgingly accepted this explanation because they had no contradictory information to dispute it. They went back to their home and their lives with only the feeling that the other shoe had yet to drop.
The Cullen vampires spent the summer diligently monitoring the forest about their home and the visions coming to Alice. The absence of any significant activity in either began to wear on their patience. By summer's end they were all hoping for something to happen so that they could affect some kind of resolution. Eventually they came to an agreement to force a reaction from the shape-shifters after Nessie had returned to school. This they did not tell her.
Three weeks into Nessie's junior year of college, the Olympic Coven contacted Billy Black by phone. They requested a meeting with the shape-shifters. The request was relayed to Sam Uley. He, in turn, declined the request with the remark, "we have nothing to say to the Cullens." Not satisfied with this reply, Carlisle sent this message to Sam via Billy. We are moving towards a conflict that I can see no way to avoid without a dialogue. If you value the lives of your pack you will meet us, noon tomorrow, at the clearing where we stood together against the Volturi. Sam gave no answer to this summons. He saw no need for there to be one. He had every intention of being at the clearing, but avoiding a conflict would not be his design for going.
The entire pack of Quileute shape-shifters were confused and angered by the tone of Carlisle's summon. They suspected their shunning of the Cullen family was motivating this request. What was not expected was the level of hostility within their message, and it was greatly resented. They needed little encouragement for a fight with the Cullens. A perpetual foul mood since the events of the last Christmas, ten months earlier, made them quick to anger about anything, the Cullens most of all. Jacob's emotional wound renewed their enmity towards the Cullens each time they shared his thoughts. Only a fraction of this anger carried over into their human form, but this was still enough to maintain a general vexed sensitivity for the family of vampires. This veiled threat from the Cullens suddenly had the pack spoiling for a fight.
The next morning the Cullens stood in readiness for this day's event. All were anxious to confront the shape-shifters. Emmett and Rosalie were leading this charge. Four months of wondering if or when the shape-shifters might attack one or all of them made them ready for a showdown. Alice was equally infuriated. Blind spots in her vision were always an annoyance to Alice, but she had learned to live with them so long as the originator was someone she cared for or perc
eived inoffensive. The Quileute shape-shifter no longer maintained either of those distinctions with her. If she had to be near the shape-shifting wolf-men, she would rather be fighting them, than hiding from them. Esme, too, was tired of wondering who might be lurking in the forest. She, like the rest of her vampire family, considered the shape-shifters a minor threat on the whole, but this was an opinion she suspected they did not appreciate. The thought of them waiting in ambush to attack someone she loved had her ready to give the shape-shifters and education regarding the pecking order on this peninsula. Edward's anger was cold and quiet. He simply wanted to find the shape-shifter that dared to think of doing harm to Bella and rip his heart out.
Carlisle was looking forward to this day as well. The prolonged silence from the shape-shifters coupled with Alice's vision had him convinced that the only solution was a forced encounter. It was his hope to avoid a fight. His respect for the shape-shifters and their long history as guardians of their people made him reluctant to harm them under most circumstances. It was, however, their embittered stance, their refusal to speak with them and their potential for harm to his family that pushed Carlisle to the edge of his patience. After four months of waiting, Carlisle was no longer prepared to stay in a defensive huddle against a threat that refused to come. Bella's decision not to transplant her parents and brother to a new location took the only other option off the table. In his mind the time had come for the shape-shifters to either listen to reason or take their best shot.
Bella was not as combative about the situation as the rest of her vampire family. She had grown to perceive the shape-shifters as whining little children who were having a temper tantrum. This by itself was of no concern to her, but the inconvenience this was causing had come to annoy her immensely. She did not care for the idea of having to rearrange the lives of her parents and her brother around a pack of pouting children. She had to believe that an amicable relationship between them could be restored if they would only talk to them. However, if talking failed, she was prepared to entertain their grievance in whichever format the shape-shifters had in mind.
On the morning of the next day, the Cullens made no special preparations for the meeting to come. They had nothing to do but wait for the time to be right for them to set out for the clearing where they stood side by side with the shape-shifters against Aro and Caius. This location was chosen by design. Carlisle wanted to remind the shape-shifters of their history as allies and friends. It was his hope that this would aid him in suppressing the ill feelings they obviously had for the Cullens at this time.
There was no nervous fidgeting. There were signs of tension. For the Cullens, as was true for all vampires, emotions were usually overpowered by their acute and powerful intellects. They seldom slowed down their thoughts to give consequence to these distractions. The Cullens went about their morning as if nothing of importance was to occur later this day. Thirty minutes before noon, the Cullen family of vampires gathered in front of the house before streaking off into the forest. They were on course and on pace for their rendezvous with the Quileute shape-shifters.
The Cullens had no guarantee that Sam and his pack would be at the clearing. They were going on the assumption that they would be there, despite their non-response. All were of the belief that the wolf-man pack would rise to the challenge of Carlisle's implied ultimatum. There were varied hopes between them with regards to the manner of their reaction. Nonetheless all were on their guard for an all-out attack.
It was a bright day despite the overcast sky. The clouds above seemingly glowed as if they were soft white light bulbs. A million pin holes in the forest canopy permitted the sun's rays to beam through and illuminate the landscape beneath. The forest was a maze of shadows and light. The Cullens raced through this scene in a tight line. The still air erupted into a turbulent wake behind their run. The nearby underbrush was tossed about violently by the aftermath of their passage.
The Cullen family of vampires came upon the clearing at five minutes before noon. They promptly walked out onto the open field and formed up into a line near to the middle of the clearing. Each member of the family stood two arm's lengths away from the person next to them, just far enough apart to touch finger tips with another. The clearing and the forest around it was quiet. The faint sound of grass rustling beneath the gentle breeze across the clearing was loud enough to impact upon the silence. The trees in the distance stood nearly like statues. It took a deliberate study of one of them to note a gentle sway against a soft wind. The Cullens detected no smell of the shape-shifters. They knew from this that they had not been in this field before them nor were they nearby at present. Edward gave no report of thoughts in the vicinity. The family knew from experience that he would have informed them if anyone was nearby. Undaunted, the Cullens stood their ground and settled in for what they anticipated to be a short wait.
Four minutes later, Edward got his first read on the minds of the shape-shifters. He could tell by the vague sensation of thought that they were still far off, but they were also moving fast.
"They're coming," Edward called out to the family.
"How many," Jasper queried back?
"All of them," Edward responded a second behind.
"Good," Emmett bellowed forcefully. "We won't have to go looking for any of them."
"Don't get over anxious," Carlisle instructed loudly. "We're here to talk if we can."
"You talk Carlisle," Rosalie seethed. "Just let me know when the talking is over."
Carlisle allowed Rosalie's retort to go unanswered. He did not want to admonish anyone and possibly anger them anymore than they were. He knew that all would hold their stations until given cause or instructions to do otherwise.
"What's their intention," Carlisle queried Edward five seconds later?
Edward continued to study the distant tree line as he filtered through the shape-shifters thoughts and pondered out his reply.
"They're angry, all of them, but I don't know what their plans are yet." Edward studied the tree line for a few seconds more before speaking again. "They know we're here. They smelled us coming twenty minutes back."
"Mutts," Alice spat out with disgust.
"Sam's wondering what our plans are," Edward spoke up a second behind Alice. "Nearly all of them are hoping that we've come here for a fight."
"Good," Emmett yelled out his support. "We're on the same page."
"Will they talk with us," Carlisle called out to Edward?
"They might," Edward answered back, "if Jacob can hold the line."
"Jacob?" Bella queried with a surprised inflection.
Rosalie was annoyed, nearly beyond her patience, with the talk about talking. She roared into the conversation with the question that was most on her mind. "When will they be here?"
"They're here now," Edward responded calmly.
Across the clearing, beneath the line of trees, all was still. The Cullen family of vampires began to study the darkness beneath this canopy with greater scrutiny. A dozen seconds into this study, a figure took shape from beneath the line of trees. A large, black, wolf slowly emerged from the shadows with carefully measured steps. He had not fully cleared the dark of the forest when a long line of wolf-men suddenly took shape to either side of him. Each of them moved with the slow approach of the black wolf-man in the middle. All eyes across the way were focused on the Cullens. Heads were slightly lowered, but not a sound was being vocalized from any of them. Their pace never quickened. Their stride never varied. The Cullens counted nineteen massive wolf-men moving at an interminably slow walk. Their line held straight and unbending. Nearly a minute into this procession, the wolf-men came to stop near to the middle of the clearing. Five yards distance was all that was left between them. As if on cue, each of the wolf-men immediately crouched a bit in their stance, lowered their heads an inch and, in unison, rumbled out a chorus of growls.
8- The Confrontation
Emmett was encouraged by the display of ferocity in the shape-sh
ifters. He fidgeted in his stance with anxious approval for this thinking. Rosalie was equally eager to entertain this thought. She leaned forward and glared at the shape-shifters with all the malice she could configure in her expression. Alice, Jasper and Esme held their composure. There was no obvious evidence in their stance or expression that they were there to fight. Bella and Carlisle were the only two of the Cullens to examine the line of shape-shifters with looks of apprehension. For both, their only concern was that they might not be able to avoid a fight. Edward stared directly across from him, towards the nearest shape-shifter, as though he was looking through him. His posture was straight and relaxed. His expression was bland and frozen. Carlisle slowly scanned the line of shape shifters, back and forth, with a swing of his eyes and a slight turn of his head.
The wolf-men held their focuses straight across to the Cullen nearest to them. The low rumble of their growl maintained a constant level. The hum of their combined growls sounded almost like a combustion engine on idle. Sam stood in a fixed stance across from Carlisle and impatiently waited for the lead vampire to speak whatever words he came to say. As much as he would have liked to rip this vampire's throat out, Sam was loathed to go against the feelings of Jacob. Even in his wolf form he could understand that it was Jacob's anger that was fueling his own. He also knew that it was Jacob's presence that was making him equally reluctant to harm any member of Nessie's family. It was this strong regard for Nessie, and subsequently her family, that was keeping Sam in check. He in turn was doing the same to the pack.
Across the way, Edward was reading this tenuous affiliation with fascination. In his own mind he was ready to shut down the thought processes of each of the shape-shifters, but his perception of their collective minds told him that the peace would hold, for the short term, if he took action to reinforce it.
The Malevolent Vampire Page 6
