I sat huddled in the tent, like a criminal waiting for the cops to find him.
As the acid of guilt and shame ate its ways through my mind, I found myself thinking of an old samurai movie I'd seen once. When a samurai brought dishonor on himself or his family, the only way to restore his honor was to perform seppuku, or ritual suicide by sword through the stomach.
I thought wistfully that didn't sound so bad right now. I didn't want to ever have to look myself in the face in the mirror again.
There was no sound to warn me. Not so much as a rustle of the bunched up sleeping bag—I'd pushed it aside so I could sit directly on the cold ground—or the sound of the zipper flap. One moment I sat where I was, alone, my head bowed in deepest shame, the next I felt cool fingers stroke my arm gently, soothingly.
I flinched away from her touch as the guilt hit me again.
Edythe pulled her hand back automatically, but she continued to look at me with concern. "What's wrong?" she asked softly. "What happened?"
I didn't answer. I didn't need to. Sarah Clearwater was back outside the tent, pacing, and I knew Jules had probably phased already, and the entire pack would know what I'd done. No doubt her memories would be more than vivid enough.
Edythe was quiet, and as I finally forced myself to look up at her, I saw that her face had gone blank, her eyes unfocused as she no doubt saw the memories for herself firsthand.
I felt like a coward. I suddenly had the overpowering desire to get out of the tent and make a run for it. Maybe I would find a sword somewhere. Or, if I was really lucky, maybe I would run into Victor. Some well-deserved torture before the end.
"Oh," Edythe said after a moment. "I see." Her eyes refocused on me.
I bent my head, waiting for the onslaught. After everything she had done for me. Even going so far as taking me to let me see my friend for myself, always trusting what I said that I only loved her and I only ever saw Jules as a friend—I was a worm. A loser.
The one thing I'd always consoled myself with in my unequal relationship with Edythe, the one thing I felt I didn't have to be ashamed of when I didn't have anything to offer her, was at least I was true. Faithful. My heart belonged to her and I'd never even looked at another girl.
And now I couldn't even claim that much.
However, when Edythe spoke, she didn't sound angry. She sounded almost impressed.
"Wow," she said, shaking her head. "I never thought I would live to see the day when I was bested in underhanded, unscrupulous tactics—but that day has arrived. That was a bold, artful stunt... I'll have to congratulate her when I see her next."
She continued in a musing tone, "Of course, I did warn her what I would do to her if she kissed you again without your express consent, and so technically I would now have the right to cause her serious bodily discomfort—but, in light of the circumstances, and the skill of her performance, I suppose that this time I must be lenient."
I shook my head. "Are you saying..." I began in a low, hoarse voice.
"You don't really think she would have done that, do you?" she asked, smiling. "Go out in a blaze of glory so she could clear the way for me? Her worst enemy, and a vampire?"
I didn't answer.
"Not that the thought of being so selfless didn't cross her mind," Edythe continued quietly. "And her pain and desperation when she overheard our conversation...that was real. That was part of why she was able to sound so convincing. But Julie Black is not the suicidal type, trust me."
I shook my head, and I realized that part didn't matter in the slightest. My desperation to save her might have started things, but it had only made me realize something that had been there all along.
My gaze dropped from hers, and the sick feeling of shame and guilt once again rose in my throat.
"I don't know how you can sit there," I muttered in a dry, hoarse voice. "Sit there like nothing's happened." I suddenly turned to glare at her. "You know now. I'm not the man you thought I was. I'm not the man I thought I was."
"What kind of man did you think you were?" she asked, very gently.
"I thought—" I began, and though I choked on the words I forced myself to continue. "I thought I was loyal at least. That was the only thing I ever—but all along I've just been—"
Edythe wrapped an arm around my back, rubbing my shoulder soothingly. Making me feel worse.
"It's okay, Beau," she murmured softly. "Everything is okay."
"Don't say that," I said hoarsely. "It's not okay. I betrayed you I cheated on you. I betrayed myself." I'm nothing more than a rotten cheater.
Edythe reached up to stroke my jaw, again kindly, soothingly. "You love her, Beau. And I think it's better that you realized that now."
I wanted to deny it. To undo my treacherous act. But as much as I could beg for forgiveness for what I had done, I knew the bigger problem was my treacherous feelings.
"I still love you more," I whispered.
Edythe sighed, stroking my cheek again, before she let her hand fall. "Yes, I know. But I'm not entirely surprised...I mean her and you. When I left, I know how badly I hurt you. And she was the one who helped you, who brought you back up again. You're bound together, you and her—I don't think you could have helped this if you tried. And I know how hard you tried, Beau. You have nothing to reproach yourself for it's not really cheating because of the situation I put you in."
I shook my head. Why did she always have to be this kind? This understanding? Why didn't she come down on me like a flaming angel of judgment, and make me beg and grovel at her feet to take me back? Or just—give me up as a lost cause, and ditch me altogether, like she should have done a long time ago?
Edythe had suddenly gone tense. At first I thought she was finally letting slip her real feelings—but then I realized she was listening to something outside.
"Is it getting close?" I asked quietly.
"Yes," she answered. "Very close. Only a few more minutes."
She was silent a moment, and then she turned her eyes to me. "I only want you to be happy, Beau," she said quietly. "Remember that, whatever you decide. I will always be yours, and whatever part you want of me will always be available to you...or none at all, if that's what you prefer. I would rather step aside, than see you tear yourself in two. Don't let your choice be clouded by any perceived past obligations or debts you feel you owe me. You have already given me everything, more than I deserve, and you owe me nothing, Beau."
I stared at the empty space in front of me. At last I muttered, "Stepping out of the way. Noble self-sacrifice. Do you mean that, or are you just taking a page out of Jules's book?"
Edythe laughed softly. "No, I really do mean it, Beau. You can have a future with Julie Black, if that's what you want. Maybe it would be a better future than one with me. I would go away, if you wished, or I would be your friend. I would help Julie Black keep you safe, and your children safe. Whatever you want of me, Beau...whatever you need of me..."
I turned to gaze down at her again, a deep slash forming between my brows. "What happened to fighting?" I asked quietly. "Aren't you going to fight back at all?"
Edythe gazed at me evenly. "That was my intention, for awhile. To fight her, to win the right of being yours. And maybe that is how a part of you wants me to love you. You want to be assured of my love by seeing me act selfishly, acting on my ferocious jealousy—which is there, make no mistake—turning you into one of us, so I can keep you for myself. I made you happy when I told you that, didn't I? But I have felt wrong all this time for having said it, and now I realize why.
"When I saw how Julie Black loved you—unashamedly, recklessly, sometimes selfishly, I found myself unconsciously imitating her. Some part of me felt that was the kind of love you craved, and I wanted to satisfy it—and yet, you were shocked when you saw me acting as she did. Because that wasn't me. I was trying to act like someone I wasn't.
"Beau, I love you. Maybe it won't always be the kind of love you want from me. Maybe, though it might seem like completely, disgustingly selfless love to you now, you'll realize that it is not everything it seems, that her love is what you really need. Her love, that took her to battle to fight for you and the people she cares about, as opposed to my love, which kept me here with you, because you asked me to. But this is the kind of love I have, and hers is the kind of love she has. The choice is yours, Beau...and I promise, I won't interfere."
We sat in silence for a long moment. I thought of everything she had said, her gentleness, her understanding. There was a depth there I had never fully appreciated before now—and I couldn't help but love her all the more for it.
"I chose you," I said, very quietly. Then, because I didn't like the past tense, I said in a stronger voice, "I choose you. And I won't ever betray you again."
Edythe was quiet a moment. Then she slowly leaned her head against my shoulder. "Whatever makes you happy."
She suddenly stiffened and a moment later the sound of Sarah's strident howl cut through the quiet of the campsite.
"What?" I said, straightening, feeling my stomach plummet. "What's happening?"
Edythe relaxed slightly. She took my hand, clenched into a fist, and smoothed my fingers out. "It's close," she murmured. "Sarah wants to be there with her sisters—she doesn't like being left behind. But it will be over soon. We have training, skill, and surprise on our side—they don't stand a chance."
I turned my hand over to grip hers. "Tell me," I said. "Tell me everything."
Edythe's eyes were slightly glazed as she concentrated on Sarah's thoughts.
"The newborns are reaching the end of the trail now," she began, voice calm, like a narrator reading a play. "Jessamine's plan worked like a charm. Now they've caught the scent of the ones in the meadow, so they're splitting into two groups now, just as Archie said they would. Sam's taking the pack around to head off the ambush party..."
Her eyes suddenly refocused, snapping back to my face. "You're not breathing, Beau."
I realized she was right and I forced my lungs to start working again.
Edythe's eyes slipped out of focus again, and her attention was once again on things happening far away. She was so intent on what she was hearing and seeing that when she spoke again, I noticed she spoke in the plural, talking from the pack's point of view—as though she had become part of the hive mind, too.
"We know the first group is in the clearing—we can hear the fighting."
I was perfectly still, rigid, and I had to concentrate to make sure I was still breathing.
"It's a slaughter," Edythe continued. She smiled a little, coming out of the pack mind enough to look at me and say, "They can hear Eleanor. She seems to be enjoying herself."
Her eyes glazed over again, immersing herself in the thoughts of the pack.
"The second group is preparing themselves—but they don't know we're there. They haven't heard us yet... Ah! No, that's better. One of the newborns caught our scent, but Lee took her down before she could even turn. Sam's helping him finish her off...Paula and Jules got another one, but the element of surprise is gone. The others are wary...they don't know what we are. They're being cautious now... No, you have to keep them separated! Don't let them protect each other's backs."
I couldn't tell if this was Edythe's advice, or if she was repeating orders from Sam, but I watched her face carefully, the fight folding out in disturbing detail in my mind.
Sarah growled, then whined, as she watched her sisters fighting through their eyes.
"Yes," Edythe whispered, a touch of triumph in her face. "Now, drive them toward the clearing."
I was studying Edythe's face so closely that I noticed immediately when something changed. She went completely rigid, her face suddenly white as death.
At the same time, Sarah's growling whines immediately cut short.
I was as still as Edythe as the terror gripped my stomach. Someone was surely hurt. Maybe killed. Or was it worse than that? Had something in the plan gone terribly wrong—were they all about to be slaughtered?
Your fault, whispered a voice in the back of my mind. Edythe is a mind-reader. If she had been there, she might have been able to give warning, enough to stop it. She could have maintained communication between the Cullens and the wolves. But you...
I felt weak. However, before I could ask Edythe to tell me, we were very suddenly both on our feet, Edythe's arm around my waist, gripping the back of my shirt. The tent collapsed in ragged shreds around us, leaving me dazed and blinking in the blinding sunlight.
I was startled to see that Sarah was right there, her giant wolf form right in front of us, her eyes no more than six inches from Edythe's as they had some kind of lightning fast-communication. The sun shattered off Edythe's skin, sending colored glimmers dancing across the sandy fur.
Then Edythe's eyes flickered to the forest. "Go," she whispered urgently. "Go!"
Sarah wheeled around, and took off for the forest in a blur, disappearing into the shadows.
I opened my mouth to ask what was going on—if Sarah needed to be there, in that clearing—but the words were snatched from my mouth as I felt as though a gust of wind had hit me in the side of the face.
I blinked, and saw the remains of the tent someway off, and I realized we'd moved, so fast I hadn't even realized it. Edythe had moved me.
I had my back pressed to the sheer rock wall of the cliff, and Edythe stood in front of me, her back bent, defensive.
It took a second for my brain to catch up, to realize what was happening. Whatever had gone wrong, it wasn't in the clearing.
The crisis was here.
"Who?" I said simply in a low voice.
Edythe's answer was a snarl.
"Victor," she spat. She spoke very fast, not bothering to keep her voice down, and I knew that meant it was too late to hide. "He was following the newborns to watch the fight—he never intended to fight with them—when he crossed my scent. He guessed that you would be wherever I was, and he made a snap decision to follow my trail." She gritted her teeth. "And he's not alone."
Victor. And he was closing in, close enough that Edythe could hear his thoughts.
I was strangely relieved to find out it was in fact Victor behind everything, and not Sulpicia and the Volturi. Victor was obviously smart, but he was just one vampire, maybe with a few recruits. Like Joss, he could be fought, even if it was a hard battle. I didn't know everything about the vampire world, but I knew enough to know that if the Volturi were against you, you didn't stand a chance.
Edythe shifted slightly, and I turned my eyes, following her gaze to a particular part of the black forest. I was frozen where I was, barely breathing.
And finally, they appeared.
Two figures edged cautiously from the dark forest, their skin glistening like diamonds as they stepped from the shadows into the brilliant sunlight.
One was a girl. Tall, with long blond hair that fell halfway down her back, and wearing a black coat. Though she didn't look much older than me when she was changed, her features were hard, angular. Her eyes glittered a brilliant ruby, more vivid than any I had ever seen, and they burned with hunger and determination.
My eyes lingered on her a moment, then, at last, I forced my gaze to turn to the second figure. And I felt my blood freeze in my veins.
Victor was almost exactly as I remembered him. Sinewy, all liquid muscle, like a jaguar. His red hair was wild, a bright, burning color, standing up from his head like it was made of fire.
His eyes were jet black with thirst, and he was not grinning, like he'd always seemed to in my imagination. Instead his mouth was set in a firm line, eyes narrowed and calculating. His gaze shifted back and forth, between me and Edythe. However, each time, his gaze lingered longest on me.
His entire powerful body was tense, like a lion coiling to spring. Even though I couldn't read his mind, every time that hard, vicious gaze flickered to me, I knew what he was thinking.
For all these months, he'd had one purpose in mind. To kill me and finally have his revenge on Edythe. Now the target was finally in his sights—he was close. So close.
I saw immediately how this would go. It was two against one. Victor would send the girl at Edythe first, and once Edythe was distracted—even if it was only for a moment—Victor would slip in and make quick work of me. Maybe snap my neck, or tear out my beating heart. Maybe I ought to be grateful—grateful Victor wouldn't be able to torture me first as he'd originally intended.
A wolf's howl echoed in the still air, but it was off in the far distance—too far to have a chance to get here in time to help. And even if they could have, they were busy with their own battle.
The girl stood poised on the balls of her feet, watching Victor out of the corner of her eye as she waited for his command.
I guessed from the bright crimson eyes that she was a new vampire. She might be strong, stronger than Edythe, maybe faster, but she would also be without skill or experience, plus Edythe had her mind-reading. Edythe would beat her quickly, though I knew that wouldn't save me—and by extension, Edythe. If only I could have made it so one of us could escape—if I could somehow give myself up to save Edythe. But Edythe would never allow it.
Victor jerked his chin in Edythe's direction, and the girl started cautiously forward, a look of supreme concentration on her face.
"Reilynn..."
I was started to hear Edythe's voice, gentle, pleading.
The girl froze, shocked to hear her own name, said in such a familiar way.
"He's lying to you, Rei," Edythe said softly, still pleading. "Please, listen to me. He's lying to you, just as he lied to the others now being slaughtered in the clearing...as he had you lie to them."
Reilynn hesitated, momentary confusion flitting across her face. In spite of her angular features, the expression made her look younger. Not quite as threatening.
Edythe shifted slightly, and Reilynn automatically mirrored the movement. Keeping herself between Edythe and Victor.
"He doesn't love you, Rei," Edythe said gently, her velvet voice almost hypnotic. "He never has. He already had a mate, and all along he's only been using you to get revenge for her."
Victor's lip curled back from his teeth, and I could see the fury in his black eyes. But his eyes remained fixed on me, never once glancing away.
Reilynn sent a frantic glance in his direction.
"Rei," Edythe murmured.
Reilynn's crimson eyes automatically refocused on Edythe.
"He knows I will kill you, Rei," she said quietly. "You are no more than an expendable piece in a game to him... But you've suspected that all along, haven't you? Seen the false note, the insincerity in his eyes as he looked at you, held you, told you that he loved you... You always suspected the deception beneath the facade."
Edythe shifted again, this time moving a few inches forward, toward the girl and away from me.
Victor watched the increased gap with sharp eyes that missed nothing. His back was bent, his legs tense as he prepared to spring forward the moment the opportunity presented itself.
More slowly this time, Reilynn repositioned herself, her mouth pressed in a hard, determined line, but her wide eyes betrayed her uncertainty. Edythe's words were having an effect on her.
"You don't have to die, Rei," Edythe said softly. "There are other ways to live...better ways. You don't have to die for his madness."
Edythe crept forward ever so slightly, shifting to the side. There was a foot of space between us now. Reilynn circled around too far, overcompensating this time. Victor was leaning, eyes fixed on me, ready to spring at any moment.
Reilynn's wide eyes turned automatically to Victor, searchingly, looking to him for answers.
"I told you about their mind tricks, Rei," he answered, and his voice was low, deep, like a tiger's growl—only softer this time, his voice almost as gentle as Edythe's. "Don't listen to her. Shut her out—you know I've only ever loved you."
Reilynn's jaw clenched tight and her eyes hardened as she turned back to Edythe. All uncertainty gone, resolve firm. She tensed, ready to spring.
Victor was ready—ready for the moment Edythe would be forced to turn, to move to attack Reilynn and leave me exposed. His black eyes narrowed, lips pulled back from his teeth in a feral snarl. His entire frame buzzed with energy.
A wild snarl cut through the campsite from the forest, and my eyes turned to see an enormous tan blur launch itself into the center of the clearing, slamming head-long into the girl. Reilynn fell backward, her back slamming into the ground, and in a moment the creature was on top of her, snarling with fury, sharp teeth flashing.
Victor roared with fury as he watched the wolf as it ripped a chunk of flesh from the girl and hurled it against the cliff face, where it hit with a smack and fell to the ground feet from where Edythe and I stood.
I watched, horrified, but Victor didn't even look at the girl as the wolf tore into her again with snarls that echoed off the rocks. His eyes were still on me, his face contorted with such rage he looked almost deranged.
"No!" he snarled, and it was a deep, almost guttural sound that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. He took a quick step sideways, as though to make a lunge, but Edythe mirrored the movement perfectly, keeping herself between him and me all the time, her back bent defensively in front of me, her face a mask of concentration.
Reilynn was not beaten yet, and from the ground she aimed a vicious kick at Sarah. Sarah leaped back out of the way, but the strike connected with one leg. I heard a crunch of bone and she backed off, limping. Reilynn lurched to her feet, though her face was strained with pain, and I noticed one of her arms was nothing but a stump, the hand completely gone. Regardless, she bent her back, lips curling back over her teeth, ready for the fight.
My eyes flickered back to Edythe and Victor. Victor lunged to one side, then the other, trying to get closer, to find a hole in Edythe's defense. But she matched him perfectly move for move, forcing him to stay back. Sometimes she even moved a fraction of a second before he did, reading his intentions.
Sarah lunged at Reilynn from the side and her teeth found purchase, tearing another heavy pale chunk from her arm and hurling it into the forest. Sarah jumped with a nimbleness that was unreal for a creature of her size, avoiding every blow as Reilynn struck out with blinding speed with her still whole hand.
Victor had backed up now. He weaved back and forth through the trees, bouncing on the balls of his feet like a tennis player ready for a serve. He backed up another step. His eyes flickered toward the depths of the forest, then back to me, then again to the deeper forest.
I could see the conflict in his eyes—the instinct to run, to save himself to fight another day, and the instinct to kill me. The target he had stalked for months was so close...
"Victor," Edythe called, and though she spoke softly, her voice carried across the clearing.
Victor hesitated, and his gaze snapped briefly from my face to hers.
"Don't go, Victor," she murmured. "You know you'll never have another chance like this. This is the closest you'll ever be. Are you going to just give it up?"
Victor showed his teeth at her, but he hesitated, his eyes on my face again. He looked like he might bolt at any second, but something held him back. He couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from me.
"You have a talent for running, don't you?" Edythe continued in the same melodious, taunting tone. "So, you can always run later, once you've met your goal... You know, I wondered why someone like Joss would have chosen someone like you. Why she kept you. But now I see. You had a talent she found useful for her games."
Victor's eyes were black as pitch and he looked at Edythe with pure hatred.
A hint of a cold smile touched Edythe's lips. "She never cared about you, you know," she breathed. "You were a tool, a convenience, no more than that girl over there is to you."
Edythe's eyelids sank. She whispered, "I really don't know why you've bothered to go to all this trouble when she never even loved you..."
Victor let loose a roar of rage, and he came bolting from the forest again like a wild animal. However, at the last second he feinted to the side to catch Edythe off guard, but she anticipated him and was instantly in front of him. His eyes blazed as he jumped back, but he didn't back toward the forest again. Instead I watched the blur of his form as he feinted left, then right, but was blocked at every turn, as Edythe moved so fast in response that for moments at a time she seemed no more substantial than a breath of mist.
Just then Reilynn's good fist caught Sarah's flank and she staggered back, a low yelp coughing from her throat. She backed away, shoulders twitching as if trying to shake off the pain.
I was rooted to the spot, watching both fights with horror. Sarah, fighting that monster—in my mind I saw the smiling girl that looked no older than twelve. And here she was, fighting in a dangerous battle where at any moment it might be her end.
Edythe had more experience, and the advantage of mind-reading—and yet watching that turned my stomach every bit as much. To see Edythe's small, slight form go up against the lion-like speed and power that was Victor. He was like a wild animal in human form, too ferocious to be denied anything he set his dark, hungry eyes upon.
Reilynn was advancing on Sarah, driving her back toward the cliff face beside me.
Victor watched out of the corner of his eye, for some reason suddenly interested again. I saw the spark of an idea in his dark eyes.
Edythe laughed. The sound was cold and harsh, and I could see from the side of her face as she smiled again. "Too bad, Victor," she said softly, with just a hint of a sneer. "She won't turn on me."
Sarah was no longer limping, and she was beginning to circle, snapping at Reilynn to keep her from even thinking of approaching me. As though to prove Edythe's words, Sarah's movement took her within feet of Edythe, so close her tail brushed Edythe's back.
Victor's eyes widened with shock, then narrowed again, fury redoubled.
In his moments of distraction, Edythe had moved an inch closer to him. She continued in a low, melodious voice, "But while we're here, Victor, shall I tell you what else I gleaned from Joss's thoughts before the end? After everything you've done for her, everything you've been through, I think you deserve to know..." Another inch.
Victor growled, shaking his head as though to fight her attempts to distract him, but his eyes seemed unable to move from hers—his real enemy. The one all along he hated the most, who had been the true target of his vengeance all along.
"She never forgave you, you know," Edythe breathed, her voice so low I almost didn't catch it. Her face was a mask of concentration, and yet as she spoke I saw a burning light in her eyes. Her inhumanly beautiful face seemed alight with taunting satisfaction.
Edythe continued, "For getting in her way. Her one failure, and it was because of you. She only stayed with you because you still made a useful tool. Without your convenient ability, she would have dropped you in a heartbeat."
Victor's rage was radiating off him in waves. "You are a liar," he said in a low, dangerous voice, and once again the last word sounded like the growl of a lion.
Edythe had shifted another half inch. Her eyes were focused with absolute, deadly concentration on Victor, but her mouth was turned up a little at the corner. "You can choose not to believe it if that's easier. I just thought you deserved to hear the truth."
Victor was visibly trembling with fury, but then he stilled, breathing deeply in, mastering himself. His face was still contorted, and yet I could tell each movement was pure precision, nothing motivated by emotion.
Victor was no inexperienced, instinct-driven newborn. He was something different—a fighter. A good fighter, who knew exactly what he was doing. I knew if Sarah had taken on him instead of the newborn, she'd probably already be dead.
However, for every move of Victor's, Edythe matched him. They were slowly closing in on each other now, Victor sashaying back and forth, searching for an opening to get to me, Edythe keeping pace perfectly, always keeping directly between us. Closer and closer they grew—until they met.
They moved so fast, hands slashing out in powerful strikes no more than a series of blurs to my weak human eyes, than I couldn't tell what was happening. I heard sharp metallic crunches and cracks as someone made mistakes, but I couldn't tell who it was. Who was winning.
The fight drew the attention of the newborn for a split second—perhaps concerned for her partner—and in that moment Sarah struck, teeth seizing Reilynn by the stump of her bad arm. Another white piece of flesh came free, and Sarah tossed it away.
The girl gave a roar of fury, and spun. On instinct she lashed out with her good hand, striking Sarah hard in the chest.
Sarah was thrown back, and her back struck the cliff face with a sickening crunch. Shards of rock rained down on my head as Sarah fell back to the ground barely feet from me.
She tried to hobble to her feet, but collapsed back with a weak whine of pain. Reilynn advanced.
I could feel my heart hammering in my chest as I realized what very well may be about to happen. Sarah was about to lose her fight. And if that happened, Edythe would be outnumbered. If she tried to fight one, the other one would be able to take advantage and strike.
I still couldn't tell if Edythe was winning or losing against Victor, and I felt the panic and terror rise inside me—but there was nothing I could do about that now. But Sarah—she was close. Maybe even I, a weak and helpless human, could do something. As my mind flashed back to the old legends of the Quileutes, I knew exactly what to do.
Reilynn was advancing on Sarah's shuddering form as I bent to the ground and picked up a sharp shard of rock. Grabbing the sleeve of my sweater I yanked it up, then pressed the tip of the stone to the crook of my elbow. I didn't know if Sarah would be able to heal fast enough to act, but this was the only thing I could do. I drew in a quick breath—then forced the rock to pierce the skin.
A crimson line appeared as I forced the rock up my arm, and the liquid spilled over, dripping onto the rock beneath my feet.
Reilynn did not react. Perhaps she was so focused on the wolf in front of her she did not see the appetizing red liquid, or perhaps the wind was simply not blowing in the right direction for her to smell it. She lurched forward, mouth opening wide as she prepared to rip out the wolf's throat.
However, as I wondered if I needed to choose a spot that would bleed more profusely, if I needed to pierce deep enough to hit an artery—Victor did react.
His black eyes found me for just a fraction of a moment. However, he didn't look wild with uncontrollable thirst or a desire to murder me, as in the legend. Instead, he looked almost confused.
The blurred-out fight came to an abrupt end. So fast it took my mind a moment to catch up and comprehend, Victor flew back, like a bullet from a gun, and his back slammed into a spruce tree across the clearing. When he dropped to the ground, however, he was already crouched and ready to spring again.
In that same moment, Edythe went to Sarah's aid. She twisted back and caught Reilynn, still distracted by her own opponent, seizing her still-good arm and wrenching it back. In a blur I couldn't make sense of until it was over, I saw Edythe sink her knee into Reilynn's back, holding her in place, then, planting her other foot on the ground, she pulled in a swift, violent motion. Suddenly Reilynn's good arm was disconnected from her body with a metallic screech, and the sound mingled with her matching shriek of agony.
Sarah instantly leaped to her feet, and charged after Reilynn's deformed figure.
In that moment, Victor looked straight at me, his way finally unblocked, and his wild face contorted in a terrible grin. He was bent almost double, as though he couldn't stand up properly, but it didn't seem to matter as he launched himself straight at me in a flash of teeth and power.
"Victor!"
The shriek of terror was Reilynn's, as I saw out of my peripheral vision as Sarah pounced on her, pinning her to the ground. Sarah's teeth sunk deep into the shoulder of Reilynn's remaining arm and, with another metallic screech, it, too, was flung into the forest.
Victor didn't even spare her a glance as he sped toward me, his eyes wild with a fierce joy—
Without warning, Edythe was suddenly there again, blocking his path, her face even and smooth, back bent defensively, but otherwise I could make out no sign of injury in her posture.
Victor came to a stop, and his wild eyes burned with insane rage and ferocious disappointment. For the first time, his gaze flickered momentarily to Reilynn. Her screams had abruptly cut off, and now only the metallic shrieking as Sarah continued to tear the inert form apart continued. There was not so much as a flicker of pain in his eyes, no mourning, only the bitterness of disappointed hopes as he realized he was alone, and his chance to get me was gone, once and for all.
With a snarl of frustration and an oath, he backed away slowly, then abruptly spun, taking off for the forest. He was like a missile, a blur of red and white.
But Edythe was faster.
I was watching Victor escape, rushing toward the protection of the forest, and I hadn't even realized Edythe had gone until I saw her there, right behind him.
She caught his unprotected back, right at the edge of the forest. I saw her small white hands flash, glittering like diamonds in the bright sunlight, with a movement at once so slight it looked almost gentle—and also violently, brutally efficient.
As I watched, Victor's head toppled from his shoulders, rolling toward the shadow of the trees.
authors note
Hey! :)
So, I know many of you wanted to kill me last chapter, and I won't be surprised if quite a few of you want to kill me this chapter too after the responses and questions I've been getting on tumblr lol. I don't know if it will help, but I'll go ahead and try to explain some of my thoughts on a couple of particular decisions.
First, Beau's betrayal—this is one part of Eclipse that was always in the cards to stay about the same as the original. Just as Bella unwittingly fell in love with Jacob in Edward's absence (as confirmed by Stephanie Meyer in at least one interview), Beau also had fallen in love with Jules, but because Bella/Beau are inherently such loyal/stubborn people, and because it's such a different kind of love from that with Edward/Edythe, it took the later events in Eclipse for them to finally be made aware of it. (The actions and nuances of emotion played out pretty much the same for Beau as for Bella.)
Of course, in Breaking Dawn, after Jacob imprints on Renesme, Bella and Jacob attribute this love and the intensity of it to something to do with that. Some of you have asked me how that will work out in my Breaking Dawn reimagined, considering there's no imprinting—the truth is, that tidbit from Breaking Dawn was something I was never fully comfortable with. It came across to me as simply an excuse to eliminate Bella's culpability in the whole thing, not to mention it felt a bit dismissive of the real bond Jacob and Bella had forged through being there for one another in difficult times throughout the books. (So I personally didn't mind having that aspect eliminated entirely for this Reimagined version.)
And now, the other perhaps not so popular decision... Edythe's reaction to Beau's betrayal.
Long before we even got to the chapter I just posted last time, I'd already had more than one person ask me if I would consider altering Edward's response to Bella's betrayal for Edythe. Although I already had the draft of this chapter written long before that, I did think it through again, and wondered if there could be any in-character portrayal of Edythe that could make her come across a little more upset, a little more angry and betrayed in the whole thing. And, looking at the situation critically again—I couldn't see any way that Edythe would ever act differently from Edward here.
Of course, in a normal relationship situation, the girlfriend/boyfriend of the person who seems to be falling/has fallen for someone else is going to struggle with feelings of hurt and betrayal, and an overly quick response of 'I forgive you, everyone makes mistakes' (without pausing to reflect on what it means in terms of the betrayer's character and integrity, or holding them accountable for their choices) often would indicate the opposite of a healthy relationship.
However, the situation here isn't normal, for several reasons. First, Edythe knows that she's the one who ultimately instigated this by leaving Beau in New Moon, that Jules was there for him to help him during a dark period in his life when she wasn't. Edythe knows that it's because of her interference in his life that he is probably going to have to become a vampire, and be separated from his family. She knows that Jules intentionally brought the situation about through manipulation (which Edythe herself instigated by revealing to Jules the truth about her and Beau's engagement on the sly, making her desperate) and she knows that Beau has not been lying to her or deliberately going behind her back, and that he was as surprised to find out about his feelings as anyone else. She also knows just how horribly guilty Beau feels already.
Under all these circumstances, I just didn't see Edythe would ever be righteously up-in-arms about what Beau did, or try in any way to make him feel worse as punishment. Edythe's kindness and understanding toward Beau is part of who she is, and I'm sure if the situation were reversed, Beau would also give Edythe the freedom to decide what was best for her, without blaming her for anything, or trying to add to her guilt, as Edythe does. I would agree that the fact that Edythe never holds Beau responsible for anything he has done (in fact, I personally think Beau's emotionally manipulating Edythe into staying with him even if it meant a potentially greater risk to her family was much more despicable than his momentarily giving in to his unexpectedly discovered feelings for Jules) is in fact a flaw, but it's one that, at the moment, is integral to who she is, and won't change so easily.
Anyway, those were my thoughts as I was working on these chapters. I think part of what I like about the Twilight series is that the characters don't always do what you want them to do, and things aren't always neat and easy. So even if some things change here and there over the genderswap, that is something I wanted to preserve in the events here that they are not perfect they are still young teenagers even tho Edythe has been a teen for 100 years really lol and that they make mistakes.
Thank you all again so much for reading, and for all your feedback last chapter! You all help me refine my thinking more than you know, even if there are many disparate opinions on how things are playing out. Not sure Beau will ever be able to completely redeem himself, and he might dig himself a bit deeper in the next couple of chapters, but then, if he was too perfect he might have to get hated for that too. (I know I would.) If you have a moment, let me know what you thought, and see you next time!