Evil Angel - a Twilight fanfic (Part Seven)

7. Seven Hours1

Though the motion was of blinding speed, the actual bite was surprisingly gentle.2

His hands began to quiver, and then his arms and his torso. The motion was barely perceivable, but still present. With a slight snarl, he began to sink his teeth further into her flesh. The flavor of her blood was almost heavenly, so much sweeter than anything that he was used to...3

She was sure that she would be terrified by this if she hadn’t been in so much pain - scared that even though he had wanted so much to protect her before, he would kill her now. She had almost completely forgotten about his backup plan until they held him in restraint, and forcibly pulled him back.4

Despite having personally devised the backup plan, the two pairs of iron hands upon his upper arms caught Charles completely by surprise, and, instinctively, he began to struggle – Bella’s blood affected all of his senses, driving him nearly insane with desire. Fortunately, Duncan and Samuel resolutely – and successfully – restrained him.5

Moments later, Charles finally managed to compose himself. He sighed, and bowed his head in frustrated shame. “My apologies, dear Bella. It seems that I vastly underestimated your allure.”6

She could hardly hold it against him – when a vampire smelled blood, vegetarian or not, it became nearly impossible to stop themselves from feeding on it. Tasting it had the same effect…only it was worse then. She had forgiven him nearly instantly.7

Her skin warmed, a low, tolerable burning sensation – a fever – branching out from limb to limb. She knew that she only had minutes, or maybe she only had seconds, each of them counting down to the most miserable three days of her entire existence. . .8

“You’ll want to lie down,” Duncan advised her calmly.9

Else, she would collapse to the floor where she stood.10

* * * * * *11

With a sudden, violent motion, Edward’s elbow slammed into the passenger door, flinging it open – and forcing Alice to counter the sudden drag toward the right. Jasper reacted nearly as quickly as Alice, snatching Edward by the shoulders and forcibly jerking him back into the vehicle, against the seat.12

“What are you doing, Edward? What’s going on? Tell us so that we can help you.” Calm radiated from him, subtly encouraging Edward to cooperate.13

Edward jerked himself away from Jasper's clutch, and spun to glare at him. “We have to go back now – as quickly as possible. Charles is turning Bella; he just bit her.”14

Jasper’s expression changed from frustrated to stunned. He remembered the last time that something like this had happened, two years ago. They hadn’t arrived on the scene with much time to spare, but in the end, it hadn’t been needed…15

His head almost snapped to the left, and he looked at Alice.16

“Can we get there in time to save her?”17

Alice bit back her natural response, and shook her head sadly. “There is a chance that we might arrive there in time, but the chances that we’ll be able to save her are rather slim. Charles is still there with his entire coven, and as we established before, the odds are definitely not in our favor.” Though she wanted as much as Edward to rescue Bella, someone needed to consider the logic. “Edward, you know that I want to save her. I just don’t know if that would be possible.” Her voice was nearly cracking with emotion.18

“Reasoning with him is out?” Jasper said, his gaze returning to Edward.19

It was more of a fact seeking confirmation than a question.20

“No one can reason with Charles.”21

Edward’s response was abrupt and full of frustration. He recalled how stubborn Charles had been – it was the main reason for their split in interests eighty years ago. Though he desperately wanted to charge back to rescue Bella, he forced himself to hold still.22

“But why?” Alice asked, looking at him and frowning.23

And why did he hate him so much?24

“Now isn’t the time to discuss this! Bella’s humanity is slipping away as we speak. We have to do something,” Edward snarled as he slammed his clenched fist into the door, crushing the armrest and denting the lining into the metal exterior.25

Suddenly, Jasper was holding a small silver phone. He dialed a number in seconds, and waited while it rang. There was scarcely time for a ‘hello’ on the other end before he was explaining their entire situation to Carlisle and Esme.26

“Tell everyone,” he said. “Tell them we need their help.”27

Meanwhile, Edward stared wistfully out of the window, at the trees receding in a blur. ‘This is all my fault.’28

* * * * * *29

The moaning and fast, harsh breathing steadily increased in volume. Even from the kitchen, Charles and his family could hear Bella’s extremely painful – and soon to be intensely vocal – turning, and in an attempt to ignore it and pass the time, they sat around a large wooden table, listlessly playing cards.30

A turning wasn’t a particularly enjoyable time, not for anyone. If it weren’t for Charles’ order to stay in the building for ‘safety reasons’ (he hadn’t taken the time to explain what exactly the reasons were), they would have avoided the audible range all together.31

Charles especially. Causing a human pain, however non–fatal and necessary that pain might be, did not sit well with his conscience. He attempted to brace himself. After all, he was only about to feel worse.32

Elizabeth’s younger sister Jessica glanced at the clock suspended near the back door. The next day wasn’t far off. Hopefully it would prove more normal – her family might not survive another day like this completely intact.33

A particularly loud gasp broke her train of thought.34

Sighing, she returned her attention to the cards.35

Not long now before the screaming would begin.36

“You may as well get used to it,” Janet said matter–of–factly (though there was a hint of a sigh), looking at the hand displayed in front of her.37

“One down, three billion to go,” Jesus agreed.38

“And at three or four a year, that’s…”39

Mary – the redheaded girl with orange-red eyes – trailed off, disliking the statistics and conclusion that she had come up with. She glanced at Charles.40

Jack laughed. “We’ll have been so dead by then, it’s insane.”41

“…That isn’t good,” Mary finished, looking at the table again.42

“Okay, so we could pick up the pace a bit–”43

Bella’s first tormented screams pierced the relative calm, and some of them looked in the living room’s direction while others stared ahead and cringed. 44

Samuel gave Charles a comforting pat on the shoulder.45

“She’s going to be okay.”46

Charles knew that, but it was still good to hear.47

Mary quietly attempted to continue the conversation. “…To what? Eight or nine a year? That’s still pathetic…”48

“Just until we have enough to get rid of the Volturi,” Jack assured her. “Then we can turn eight or nine thousand a year if we want to.”49

* * * * * *50

Two of their number stood guard in the living room, sitting at the foot of the couch that Bella lie on. The sunlight streaming through the windows was fading fast. Duncan sighed, and frowned at Elizabeth.51

“I’m actually hoping that the Cullens try something – watching over her is a little boring, do you know what I mean?”52

Elizabeth shook her head, giggling slightly. “Yeah, you hope that now – but just wait until they actually do.” She glanced exaggeratedly at her watch. “You’ve got about seven hours to enjoy your boredom.”53

* * * * * *54

Seven hours.55

It had been random; Elizabeth had only been teasing Duncan. . .but it really didn’t sound like such a terrible idea. Charles considered it, while he listened to the others – they were bored, as well. . .annoyed. . .anxious. . .but surely they could handle seven more hours of this, and then they could leave, miles away from the audible range in minutes, and more entertained than they had been in months.56

Mary tucked a stray strand of auburn hair behind her left ear, rose from her chair, and began to walk gracefully toward Charles. Her bright eyes swept over him, gathering information about his mood and possible intentions; though she was unable to read his thoughts, she had been with him long enough to learn his body language. She kissed him lightly on the neck, and whispered into his ear, “What is your plan, dear?”57

The question came with an urging that only she could evoke.58

Charles looked at her out of the corner of his eye, and gave her a small half-smile. “Who said I had a plan?”59

He resisted the urge. . .for now. Once they were away from the others, she could request of him what she wished – ‘Come on. I want to know. Tell me.’60

He told her nothing.61

“No one,” Mary answered, smiling. Their steadfast resolves warred. “If these past three months have taught me anything – besides, of course, that my family could have been a lot weirder – it’s that when you’re thinking, you’re usually planning. . .and it has something to do with her?” she guessed. He didn’t miss the undercurrent of jealousy in her casual voice.62

“We’re going to kill him!” Jesus exclaimed cheerfully.63

Charles shot him a dark look. “Ruin all my fun, why don’t you?”64

Jesus laughed and gave him a thumbs-up, and while he was distracted by this, Mary prompted him a second time.65

“Alright, alright!” Before she could force him to say something that he didn’t want to just yet, Charles cleared his throat loudly, claiming the attention of everyone that was packed into the kitchen. “As all of you should know by now, we are currently in the process of acquiring a rather talented young lady to our cause. Considering her current abilities, I believe that she will be an asset. However, as with any bargain, there is a catch.”66

He paused dramatically, using his gaze to direct their eyes toward the window.67

“There is a certain family of vampires. Though not previously of any great threat to our coven, their nature will force them to champion against our cause now. This family is the sacrifice required for the acquisition of our prize. While she sleeps, our family will hunt. Before she awakens as our sister, her family will die. For the best, the Cullen family will die tonight!”68

“It sounds brilliant,” Mary told him glowingly, smiling. Motivated, he returned his attention to her, and her beautiful face. “And it would be even better if we could somehow work in a hunting trip. I beg of you.”69

Charles smiled understandingly - she was a three-month-old newborn who had been shut up in the same house with a particularly appealing human, and under those unpleasant circumstances, she had done exceedingly well. For his sake. He gestured toward the window; the stable wasn't far off, even from a human standpoint. “Go ahead - take your pick.”70

Mary started to turn to go and do so, but stopped when she realized that he wasn’t standing. Surely he was suffering as badly as she was. . .?71

“You aren’t coming?”72

“I’m alright,” he said, and then recalling his lapse earlier, he added as an afterthought, “Yes. . .yes, I’m better now. And as for the rest of you?”73

“All of us?” Nadine asked in surprise.74

She had been certain that Charles would never allow that.75

“Including Duncan and Elizabeth. I should be capable of watching over her for five minutes.”76

Nadine’s surprise was mirrored in Elizabeth’s fine-lined face. “But, what if...?” 77

Her murmured question was abruptly interrupted by Duncan’s snort. “Fools, every last one of you. Let’s eat. Then we hunt and kill. Nothing can happen to this one while so many of us are around. Besides, Charles has a reason for everything.” He winked at one of the younger newborns. “Can’t have someone taking a little snack before she’s able to bite back, now can we?” With that little speech, he strode toward the door - and was the first out of the house.78

Mary ghosted through the living room after he and Jack, who edged past her in his impatience. Elizabeth remained hesitant to leave Bella alone - she was still thrashing and screaming (louder now), begging for them to kill her; killing her would extinguish the fire. This wasn’t worth it. “Mmm, so appetizing. . .,” she muttered, cringing, before she exited also.79

She shared one of the wolves with Jessica, ignoring its vain struggle and attempts to bite her, and of course, with only half of the share, the fire in her throat was still raging unbearably. . .but all of the other animals in the stable had been paired up and taken.80

Upon her return to the house, she changed into another shirt and sat down close beside Charles, despite the noise. It was a fortunate thing that vampires couldn’t get headaches. She nudged his arm, and he obediently lifted it and placed it around her shoulders.81

Charles leaned over to kiss her cheek, and then paused with his lips barely hovering above her skin. “And now we wait until they get close enough to hunt. Shouldn’t be long now, love.” His voice was a whisper, inaudible to the rest of the room. With a smile, he kissed her, then closed his eyes in concentration. As soon as any of the Cullens got within range, it would begin.82

* * * * * *83

Edward’s eyes, closed in concentration, opened again.84

He had watched the entire scene through Charles’ eyes, listened to her scream and plead - Bella was truly beginning to suffer now - and listened to him suffer on the inside (how he deserved it) while planning for war. It would be an almost even fight - seven against nine - so they definitely had a chance. . .85

If four of those seven arrived in time.86

If not. . .87

Turning sharply on his heel, Edward began to quickly stride away - in the opposite direction of the ranch. He growled the response to Alice’s unvoiced question without turning or slowing. “Nine against seven is a fairly even fight; nine against three is suicide. As much as I hate to admit it, Bella can’t be rescued by corpses.”88

After sighing unhappily, Alice took Jasper’s hand and followed.89

It’s wings a mere whisper in the light wind, a screech owl dropped out of a nearby tree to land lightly upon the car hood. Completely undisturbed by the trio of vampires disappearing into the forest’s gloom, the bird gazed at the blacktop with unblinking eyes - searching for a hint of movement that would begin his hunt.90

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *91

. . .Six hours later. . .92

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *93

All eleven vampires stood together in the living room, Janet off to the side against a wall, having already resigned to her given post as a watchdog. They looked around, at Bella, at each other, at the dark window, and at the front door. . .All of them were ready to leave, including Jesus, who demanded that he not be left behind.94

“How can you really expect me to stay and babysit her” - he looked from Charles to Bella, frowning, appearing almost disgusted, although it was not with her, but with the idea - “after all that practice, and everything that you said in there? Hell no! I want to be a part of this!”95

Why couldn’t Charles tell Elizabeth or Nadine or Jack to stay behind instead?96

They weren’t ‘A’-list fighters, so they wouldn’t be needed in the fight to come.97

A grin spread across Charles’ face as he turned to face Jesus full-on. “When you were younger - and not so much of an ‘A-list fighter’ - did you ever hear of a game called Capture the Flag? Children play it fairly often, and get rather violent at times.” He paused for a moment to let Jesus consider. “Well, think of Bella as the ‘flag’. If one of those Cullens comes in and carries her out, we lose. And unlike in the childrens’ games, we don’t get a round two.” With a offhand gesture toward Bella’s writhing form, he added, “That’s how special she is. And that’s why I’m having an ‘A-list’ fighter like yourself guard her. Fail in that, and we lose. Remember that, Jesus, and complete your duty with your best.”98

When he said it like that, it sounded more like he was being granted a position of honor, rather than a chore, or a punishment. “Okay,” Jesus consented now, “. . .but what if they never show up? What if we end up staying here for nothing?”99

“It’s eleven-thirty,” Elizabeth informed everyone, looking away from the kitchen clock. The collective rise in mood and morale was almost physically tangible.100

Charles leaped to his feet, then offered his hand to Mary. “It’s time, my love. Let’s play.” He knew how his love intended to fight, and knew that, to her, it truly was play.101

Everyone in the room followed his example in excitement.102

“We’ll run them down - catch them by surprise before Edward can raise the warning. It’ll be over before they know it!” His voice rang out over the accompanying calls of agreement as the increasingly agitated vampires poured out the door.103

“Which one should I go for?” Mary asked him seriously on their way out, though she was close to bursting with excitement on the inside.104

“I trust you to make the correct decision. You'll probably want either Emmett or Jasper. The first is the large, muscular one - he’s the one that'll be fighting like you. The second is the other male - he can rip a newborn apart,” Charles called out, surprisingly quietly considering that he was matching the rest of his family for speed as they sprinted toward their destination, and calling out orders as quickly as his lips could move.105

“. . .And you’ll ignore me. Don’t forget that,” Jesus muttered under his breath, watching them run. He sat down in front of Bella, where Charles and Mary had been shortly before. . .and waited.106

* * * * * *107

Edward had raised the warning long ago, and it still sounded with every passing hour, no matter how far away from the ranch they were. He couldn’t hear Charles, and it followed that Charles couldn’t hear him, and therefore couldn’t lead the others to their hiding place. . .but they were still on edge.108

They knew what those monsters, those lunatics, could - and, qualmlessly, would - do to them, and that was terrible enough. . .but neither of the three knew for certain what might become of the child, for now, held safe in his father’s arms. 109

* * * * * *110

Hours later, Jack snarled as he lashed out at a random tree - one of thousands that he’d seen during the hunt. The viciousness of his blow nearly ripped the tree out of the soil. Though he was the only one to act out, the entire family was feeling that same futile frustration.111

“Where the hell are they, Charles?” He spun around, snarling and glaring about for the focus of his ire. Instead of finding Charles, Mary stood directly before him - her eyes steeled and locked upon his.112

The dark glower on Mary’s face wasn’t the only clue for Jack to know that she was angry. Quiet, insistent whispers rumbled incoherently in his mind. His face paled even beyond its normal pasty white as he recalled that those whispers could force him to do absolutely anything. “Never! Never speak to Charles with such a tone! You know nothing, and you never will! Your life is his to allow or END at will!” She paused for a moment to allow him to react. “So, do you have a complaint that you want to take up with me?”113

“No. . .,” Jack said meekly, trying and repeatedly failing to maintain eye contact with her. “It’s just he promised us a fight. . .” He shot a fleeting glance towards the trees in the distance. “And they’re not here. . .kind of seems like a disappointment, a waste of our time. . .”114

“I can give you something to fight, if you’re that desperate.” Her offer was accompanied by a purposeful half-smile intended to unnerve him.115

It served that purpose well, and Jack backed away.116

Out from behind a tree appeared Charles, having patiently observed their exchange. After swiftly kissing Mary upon her cheek, he motioned with his arm to signal all of the others to gather closer. “As many of you have undoubtedly noticed, the Cullens have managed to elude our hunt. Some might call this a loss, but they couldn’t be more wrong. This is our victory. The Cullens have proven themselves weaker than us. So take heart that when they do decide to come for their lost newborn, we cannot lose.”117

“So we’re going home, then?” Mary surmised. Jesus wouldn’t have wanted to come along with them after all. “Well, this takes a gigantic weight off of our shoulders as far as killing them goes - they attack us while we’re at home, minding our own business and trying to keep her safe, we defend ourselves, they don’t relent, and we kill them. She should be able to understand that.”118

“You have the right of it, mi’love. Though not quite as ‘fun’, this will end up with the situation much more in our favor - not only will it be easier to assimilate Bella into our family, but killing the Cullens will be that much easier, as well. That said, we need to head back as quickly as possible and set up our defenses. Stay ready for a fight - keep your eyes and ears open.” The confidence that was exuding from Charles was almost visible. “Oh, Jack, don’t forget to pick up our nice new car on your way home,” he called out with a grin, before turning and sprinting toward his domain.119

“Of course, master; I’ll get right on that.”120

Mary snarled at him before running after Charles, but as she wasn’t going to turn him into her own personal marionette, Jack paid her little attention, lifting the Porsche into the air and carrying it home with Nadine’s help.