I sat in the taxi thinking about my two vampire families, and I was sad that they were worried about me. While they knew that I could take care of myself, they were all still violently aware of the fact that I was still human, and James was a vampire.
The taxi dropped me off at my mother's house and I ran in, using the spare key that mum always left taped under the outdoor table in the backyard. It all looked the same, but sure enough, when I checked our home videos, one was missing. He had taken it with him.
After making sure the house was still neat and tidy, and that mum wouldn't notice anything when she came home, I locked the house, replaced the spare key and headed down the street to the ballet studio. I searched out with my shield and found James hiding in one of the backrooms of the studio. Thankfully the entire place was empty- apparently nobody came in on public holidays.
I confidently opened the door and stepped in, locking it behind me in case any humans decided to get too adventurous and come near. Once inside I could hear a loop running of my mother's panicked screams. Playing my part I dashed towards the sound, yelling, "Mum, Mum! I'm here, where are you?" I closed in on the sound, yanking open the door of the room that the sound was coming from. Inside I found a TV set playing the scene I remember of me as a child in Volterra. I grinned- I had James right where I wanted him now.
I felt him creep up silently behind me, but I wasn't scared- my shield was secure, and I had expanded it out so that he wouldn't be able to get within a foot of me. "Well done Bella, that was very fast," his dark voice complimented me.
Still playing the weak and terrified human, I whirled, allowing myself to take a deep breath and gasp in shock, "Where's my mother?" I asked, my voice deliberately trembling.
He chuckled, an evil grin appearing on his face. "Your mother is fine Bella, in truth, I have no idea where she is- I never had her to start with," he gloated.
"You tricked me," I accused, my voice still wavering.
"Of course," he sounded smug, "How else was I supposed to get you to ditch your little protectors and meet me here?"
I stayed silent, wondering how much he would divulge. He pulled out a video camera and started filming my terrified face. "You see Bella," he explained, "I had a feeling that you would want to go somewhere where you felt safe- humans always feel the need to go somewhere familiar to them when they get scared. So I had Victoria break into your school and get your details- you are the only Isabella in the entire school. Imagine my delight to find that you had a mother living in Phoenix. Of course I immediately headed here on the hunch that I might find you, and I was very pleased when Victoria overheard your mate in the airport in Alaska saying that he was catching a flight here. It just confirmed my suspicions that you were already here."
I let him continue to gloat, pleased that he had fallen right into my hand. "Of course, I was a little disappointed that your mother wasn't here- I had planned on actually using her as bait," I shivered at that thought, "But when I found your home movies I soon realised that I wouldn't need her after all." His eyes glinted in the dark- a deep burgundy that told me he was hungry.
"I have to admit, in all my years, you are the second most tantalising scented human I have ever come across. The first was my singer," his eyes showed a deep rage at that. "She was supposed to be my gift. But I was cheated from my prize by another vampire- a yellow-eyed animal drinker like your little family. She was in a mental asylum, barely aware of her surroundings, but the vampire fell in love with her." He snorted at that, "Must be a side-effect of drinking animal blood- they all go crazy. In any case, he found out that I was after his little pet and he changed her before I could get to her. To this day she is the only one that has ever gotten away from me." He paused for a second, "Imagine my surprise when I found her with your coven."
My eyes widened. I had been right- he did know Alice's past. "Alice," I whispered.
"Yes," he confirmed, "When I'm done with you I'll find her and kill her- she will not be a mark on my perfect record for too much longer. I killed the vampire who changed her," he was snarling now. The evil glint in his eyes was now in full force.
Then his demeanour changed, the look on his face now stealthy. His voice became smooth and persuasive. "Now Bella, just because your life ends here, doesn't mean my hunt is over. I'm really looking forward to your mate coming after me to avenge your death." His eyes sparkled with a sick kind of excitement. He zoomed the camera in on my face, "Beg him to avenge your death." He urged.
I stayed silent, casting a glare in his direction. Now that I had confirmation about his knowledge of Alice, it was time to drop the charade. I was quivering all over- not with fear, but with rage. How dare he try to hurt Alice? How dare he threaten my family and my mate?
He didn't like my silence. He walked closer, a menacing look on his face. But I dropped my facade of being scared. I glared right back at him. "Ask him to avenge your death Bella!" he yelled at me; furious that I'd disobeyed him and annoyed that I no longer looked scared.
"No," I said firmly. I wrapped a shield around the video camera, forcing it out of his hand and settling it a safe distance from us, still filming. His anger suddenly turned wary as he stared me in shock.
"Telekinesis?" he whispered, his eyes wide.
"Guess again," I snarled, throwing a shield at him and sending him crashing into the wall.
His look turned venomous as he got up and lunged at me, growling threateningly. I threw him back again, growling right back at him.
This time he stayed down a bit, his look turning contemplative. I grinned triumphantly. If he thought I was going to let him get away he was sorely mistaken. Before he could make any move to escape I grabbed him in a shield and dragged him towards me. He struggled desperately against the invisible force that moved him towards me. I tightened my shield and he cried out in pain.
Once he was within a few feet of me I pushed him down on his knees so that he was looking up at me. "How does it feel when your prey becomes your predator?" I challenged him. My rage was peaking now.
He stayed silent, his eyes ambivalent, but his face showed a determination to remain silent. I simply compressed my shield again, causing more screams. "Do you like feeling like your victims? Do you find pleasure in torturing them with your sick games?" I snarled at him.
He showed absolutely no remorse. "Yes," he said, his eyes daring me to do something about it. "But you're not like me, you don't kill people. You don't have the strength to kill me," he taunted.
My gaze got blacker. "On the contrary James; you are not the first vampire I have killed, and I strongly doubt that you will be the last. But understand this: I have absolutely no problems killing anyone who plays sick; sadistic games such as yourself- in fact I won't even feel a smidge of guilt over it."
His eyes widened at my revelation and for the first time I saw some uncertainty flicker across his face before it relaxed back into a taunting sneer. "If you kill me Victoria will come after you," he threatened.
I laughed, "Then I will happily give her the same fate," I informed him calmly. My determination became stronger, I realised I didn't have a lot of time before the Cullens showed up. No doubt Alice knew exactly where I was. It was time to see what else I could get out of him. "What else do you know about Alice," I demanded.
He glared at me, remaining silent. I simply smiled, compressing my shield around his pinkie finger until it fell off and hit the floor with a soft thud. James moaned in pain before collecting himself and glaring at me. "Start speaking now or you'll lose the whole hand," I threatened.
"If you're going to kill me anyway, why should I tell you anything?" he snarled.
"So that your death is quick," I answered, "If you don't answer my questions I will tear off all of your limbs one by one slowly and painfully while you scream and beg for mercy- a mercy which you never gave to any of your victims." I was determined that he should pay for what he'd done. I sliced off his other pinkie, feeling a sick sense of power when he cried out in pain. "Your whole hand will be next," I warned.
He started talking. "Her name was Mary Alice Brandon- she was born in Biloxi and was placed into the asylum at a young age due to her apparent ability to see visions of the future. She had a sister called Cynthia. Her parents placed her into the asylum, then claimed she was dead- they even gave her a grave." He chuckled darkly, "The date on her tombstone and her admittance papers were the same. It's not like anyone would have missed her if I had killed her, in fact I gathered from her family that they would have welcomed her death so that they wouldn't have to pay any more bills from the asylum. I would have been doing them a favour."
He sounded so confident of that that I was chilled to the bone. My anger spiked, and I could no longer hold back. "This is for Alice," I snarled before grabbing his head in my shielded hands and twisted hard, ripping it off. I crushed his body thoroughly with my shield, his life ending with a loud screech.
I calmed down after that, slowly using my shield to rip up some of the wooden floor and stacking it against the vampire pieces. Reaching in my pocket I pulled out the lighter Felix had given me all those years ago and flicked it open. Bending down, I was just about to set him on fire when the doors burst open with a loud crash. I straightened up to see the Cullens rush in, their faces worried and fearful.
Their anxious looks turned to shock as they took in James' crushed body parts lying on the floor, the large pile of wood, and the lighter in my hand. Edward was the first to rush to my side, grabbing me and holding me tight. "Thank god you're alright," he whispered as he buried his nose in my hair.
As the adrenaline started to wear off I realised how much energy this confrontation with James had spent, and I wilted into his arms, enjoying the sensation of being with him again. "I missed you," I whispered.
He sighed, "I missed you too. I was so worried Bella." He pulled back to look into my eyes. His golden eyes were serious and worried. "Please don't ever do anything like that ever again," he begged me. I just nodded in agreement.
We were broken from out embrace by Emmett. "Aw Bella, couldn't you have waited? I wanted to fight him," he whined, looking like a little boy that had been denied his favourite toy.
I just rolled my eyes. "Sorry Emmett, If you're lucky I'll save the next one for you," I promised. Edward growled at that.
"Well done Bella," Jasper said quietly as he scrutinised the remains. Carlisle remained silent.
I extracted myself from Edward's embrace and flicked my lighter open again. Bending down I let the body and wood catch fire.
We stayed until the fire began to roar and the body was in ashes. On the way out I grabbed the video camera and turned it off. Edward stared at me quizzically, but I just shook my head. "Later," I promised.
It was obvious that we weren't going to make it back to Forks for another day, but Alice took care of it- ringing Charlie again and saying she just hadn't had time to shop for everything, so we were going to stay for another days. She was very persuasive, and Charlie caved pretty easily. With that done we headed home- Emmett, Jasper and Alice driving back, while Carlisle, Edward and I flew.
I kept the video camera on me at all times, knowing that it would be very important to Alice- I wasn't sure how much she'd already seen while scanning the future, but I knew she'd want to know the whole story- as horrible as it was. Often on the flights as I lay in Edward's arms I spotted him eying the camera speculatively.
Edward was literally glue to my side the whole time as we travelled back to Forks. He seemed worried that I would disappear on him at any moment, and he always had at least one hand on me. Not that I minded- in fact I loved having him so close all the time.
When we finally arrived back in Forks- Esme picking us up at the Port Angeles airport in Edward's Volvo, we arrived home to find the rest of the family all back. Alice danced towards me as soon as I got through the door, and I handed her the video camera. "If you want us to leave while you watch it we will," I told her quietly.
She shook her head, although there was indecision in her eyes, "No Bella, I want you all to find out with me."
I nodded and lead Edward over to the sofa while Alice connected up the camera to the TV. I noticed everyone's curious glances and explained. "James knew Alice when she was human, he knows about her past, and why she can't remember."
Their eyes widened, and they turned back to the screen urgently as Alice pressed play. We all watched in silence as the video started. When Edward saw James telling me to ask him to avenge my death he snarled, drawing me closer to him as if to reassure himself that I was really here. They all tensed when James lunged for me, but the relaxed slightly when they saw him flung into a wall.
They were absolutely silent as they watched me torture the information about Alice out of James. When the video finally finished with us watching James burn into ashes, I turned to look at Alice. She was quivering in Jasper's arms as he attempted to calm her. We sat quietly, the rest of the family's gazes moving between Alice and I.
Finally Alice calmed. She turned to me, "Thank you Bella- not only for finding out the information, but for killing him for me," she said gratefully.
I smiled at her, "Your welcome Alice, you would have done the same for me."
Jasper nodded at me, new respect and gratefulness in his eyes.
Emmett of course, couldn't bear the seriousness of the situation and broke it up. "Wow Bella, remind me to never get you mad," he exclaimed, "You're incredibly scary when you're angry."
Everyone broke out into stilted laughter at that.
Carlisle had picked up on a different part of the dialogue between James and me. "He's not the first vampire you've killed?" he asked softly.
I shook my head. "No, a few years ago a vampire tried to attack me, and I killed him as a reflex," I explained, leaving out the part where I was in Volterra at the time.
The relaxed a little, though they all seemed to have finally understood how dangerous I was to them. "I would never hurt you guys though," I promised urgently, worried that they might suddenly not want me around now that they knew I could easily kill them all.
"We know dear," Esme assured me, a genuine smile on her face, "We trust you just as much as you trust us."
I relaxed, relieved, into Edward's arms. I looked over at the clock and realised that it was late on Tuesday afternoon. It was time for me to go home. I knew Alice needed some quiet time to think about all she had learned, and Charlie would need his dinner.
Edward and I got up- and after grabbing some clothes out of my wardrobe and placing them in a couple of shopping bags we headed out. I needed the clothes to keep up the pretence that Alice and I had actually been shopping for the last couple of days.
Charlie was happy to see me, and glad that I'd had a good time shopping with Alice and Rosalie- although he warned me that it couldn't become a frequent occurrence for me to miss school for shopping, even if I did already know everything that was being taught.
While I waited for Edward to reappear before I went to sleep, I called Volterra, and they were relieved to hear that I was fine- Felix and Demetri congratulating me on my trapping and killing of James. They were all now eager for the Cullens to know about them so that they could come and visit me every now and then. While I argued that I didn't need them babysitting me, secretly I was happy that I would get to see them regularly- I missed them all.
I fell asleep that night in Edward's arms happy that everything was back to normal after such a hectic few days.