Redshift, Ashlynn Chantrea [early reader books .TXT] 📗

run. We followed after him, Edward in the lead. When we were within yards of him he decided to turn back and face us.

The feeling was incredible. It was akin to the sensation of being sprayed directly by a skunk. The atmosphere felt thick and putrid. Edward and Pim collapsed. They looked sick, Pim even dry heaved a couple times.

I diverted the sensation at top speed, not wanting him to get the opportunity to continue running.

“We don’t want to hurt you, Fred.” I said, lifting my hands to show I meant no harm. “We came to ask for your help.”

“How do you know my name?” He glared at me suspiciously.

“Bree,” Edward croaked.

The atmosphere cleared quickly. Edward and Pim were able to stand. They stood beside me but neither of them could look Fred in the eyes. They couldn’t even look in his direction.

“Bree thought very highly of you.” Edward said, “I hope she was right.”

“How do you know Bree?” He asked.

“She was with Riley, with the others but she surrendered rather than fight.”

“You’re the yellow eyes Riley was after.” He said, connecting the dots, “I’m guessing he didn’t survive.”

“Only Bree survived the fight. But Bree knew some things, things she wasn’t supposed to know. So another group came and destroyed her before she could tell others of what they had done.”

“I wanted her to come with me.” He sounded sad, regretful, “She had to go back for Diego.”

“He was already dead.”

“I thought he was.” Fred replied, nodding, “What about these other vampires? What did they have against Bree?”

“She was proof of their wrong doings. The Volturi are a powerful group of vampires. They keep our kind in check, keep them from exposing us. Your army should have been taken out long before they ever made it to Forks. The Volturi knew about the army and did nothing. They wanted us to be destroyed as much as Riley and Victoria.” Edward explained.

“Why spare her if you only meant to let them destroy her later?”

“If you knew them, you’d know no one could have stopped them.” I protested.

“We pleaded on her behalf, asked them to leave her to our charge but they refused.” Edward added.

“They’re powerful and on their way to becoming damn near invincible if we don’t stop them. We need your help. We’re different from them, different from most vampires, really.” Pim said.

“We aren’t asking you to fight the Volturi. We can do that on our own. But we need your help clearing the area of humans. Your gift could be useful in making sure we aren’t exposed and that there isn’t collateral damage from the fight we’re starting.” I said.

“The ones that killed Bree, they’ll be there?” He asked.

“Definitely.” Edward replied.

“I’ll help if you let me kill the ones that killed Bree.”

“Felix is the one you want.” Edward answered. “And we guarantee you’ll be the one to burn him if you help us.”

Fred didn’t hesitate, “I’m in.”

Chapter 12

We returned to Forks with Fred. He kept his talent under control. Edward and he talked a long time about Bree and her thoughts before her death. He was surprised by her thought to Edward, telling him to be nice to Fred. There was definite sadness in Fred’s tone as he spoke of her. I wondered how much he had really liked her. Had he connected to her like Edward had to Bella or me to Laney? And had it been one sided? Could it work that way?

We returned to the Cullen’s house to find many others there with the Cullens. Tanya and her family I recognized as soon as I caught their scent but there were a few others I didn’t recognize.

“News travels fast.” Edward muttered.

Others had come when they’d heard we had declared war on the Volturi. But how many of them were here to join us and how many wanted to deter us?

“Carlisle?!” Edward called as we entered the house.

Carlisle appeared in the entryway, looking calm.

“I thought we agreed we wouldn’t involve our friends if we didn’t have to.” Edward murmured.

“News of Adam’s family going to the Volturi spread faster than any of us could have anticipated.”

Pim chuckled, “That’s us, the Adams family.”

“Seems appropriate, doesn’t it?” I remarked, snickering with him.

“You could have claimed ignorance. You didn’t have to tell them what we’re planning to do.” Edward said to Carlisle.

“I couldn’t lie to them. Besides, the young ones were only too willing to share their story. Ignorance is something I couldn’t claim even if I had wanted to.”

“Stefan and Vladimir?” Edward asked, he sounded dubious.

“They were the first to arrive.” Carlisle answered. “Hardly surprising.”

“Alistair?” He seemed confused.

“We were all surprised by his arrival.”

Edward laughed hard for a moment before speaking, “He’s sorry he came now.” He looked over at me, “Zephyr’s been annoying him almost constantly since he arrived.”

“Where is she?” I asked, worried that she might provoke this vampire without realizing.

“She’s on the roof.”

“Is he on the roof as well?”

“He’s in the attic. His preferred hiding spot. He prefers to be alone. Zephyr has been communicating with him telepathically since he hid in the attic.”

“Perhaps you could convince her to leave me alone.” An unfamiliar voice said from up the stairs. Alistair.

“Zephyr, wasn’t it you that gave the lecture on the indecorous use of powers?” I said.

“But he’s all alone.” She whined from the roof.

“Go bug your sisters and leave the poor man be.”

“But,” She argued.

“Zephyr!” I snapped.

She huffed, “Fine!”

“Teenagers,” I sighed, “Tell me it gets easier.” I said, looking at Carlisle.

“You’ll grow accustomed to the drama and stress they cause.” He answered with a smile.

“We’re not so bad.” Edward said to his surrogate father. He paused before adding, “Well, I’m not that bad.”

A general scoff of disagreement came from the backyard. His siblings didn’t seem to agree with that assessment.

“Edward,” Carlisle said in a lighthearted tone, “You may be the worst of all.”

Edward’s eyebrows pulled together and his lips pressed into a thin line. There was truth hidden in Carlisle’s teasing.

Bella joined us inside, hugging Edward around the waist.

“I’m the bigger troublemaker.” She defended her mate, “I caused a lot of trouble as a human. Most of the trouble he got in to was my fault.”

“Water under the bridge, I’m sure.” I was speaking more to Edward than to Bella. He seemed to need the reassurance more than Bella did. “No sense dwelling on it.”

Edward met my eyes, his gaze scrutinizing. He nodded once but didn’t really seem to let go of what was bothering him.

We went outside to join the others. Tanya, Kate and Garrett were standing with the triplets, talking quietly together. Pim ran over to them and joined the conversation. Meadow threw an arm over his shoulder and rested her head against him for a moment. It was a welcoming gesture, a sisterly gesture. They really were bonding like siblings. Odds were they wouldn’t ever be as close as the triplets were to each other but they did have a bond.

Bella and Edward stuck close to Fred, making him feel welcome. He seemed to find Bella’s presence comforting. She had no trouble looking at him.

Esme, Jasper, Alice, Rosalie, Emmett and a crowd of others were taking turns practicing sparing. I spotted Laney, Hector and Bianca in the bunch. Carlisle and I moved over to them, watching them. Laney moved to my side, taking my hand.

I looked around at the crowd. They were all friends of Carlisle’s. Willing to stand with him. Possibly die with him. He inspired a sense of loyalty. I remembered how quickly I had offered to stand up for him, to do anything to keep him and his family from fighting. And as I looked around, I thought I figured out why.

His gift.

That candlelight drew us to him. He was a magnet. He drew allegiance from those that were close to him. It wasn’t strong enough to change our character on a fundamental level. It wouldn’t overcome Aro’s ambition. Nor was it transmitted deliberately. But if you allowed yourself to care for him, that magnetism drew you in and made you fiercely devoted.

“I think I figured out your gift, Carlisle.” I murmured.

“Oh?” He replied.

“You draw loyalty from those around you. Those that care for you, would follow you to Hell and back.”

He contemplated for a moment before responding, “I think not. They are just good friends. They would do the same for any other friend. Not that I would ask this of them.”

“Apparently, you don’t have to.”

“I think, if I have a gift, it might be my willpower. I have often wondered if my ability to resist the instinct to hunt was something more than natural determination.”

“It’s just a theory.” I said with a shrug, “But you draw loyalty from a wide range of personalities. Whether natural or supernatural, it is still impressive.”

Emmett and Jasper were in the center of the crowd. They appeared more playful than I remembered Felix being during training. They were actually practicing, but there was a lightheartedness to their sparing.

“Want to give it a try, professor?” Emmett asked me.

I laughed a little, “I don’t think that’s necessary. If even half the vampires present are coming with us, none of us are going to be doing any sparing. This will be the proverbial shooting fish in a barrel.”

“It can’t hurt to be prepared, Adam.” Jasper said.

“Don’t worry about him,” Pim said, joining the crowd, along with the others he had been talking to. I noted that Tanya stood beside him instead of her own family. “He can take care of himself. He’s taken on Felix and won.”

“Twice.” Rain corrected him.

Everyone turned and stared at me.

I shrugged, “The second time wasn’t all that impressive. I took down Felix but Demetri and Jane would have destroyed me if Rain, Zephyr and Meadow hadn’t shown up.”

“He’s being modest.” Rain said.

“I’m being honest.” I countered. “And I don’t think I said thank you for coming back for me.”

“We wouldn’t just leave you there.” They replied, shaking their heads at me.

“Anyway,” I said, redirecting the conversation, “We should work this as an execution rather than a battle. We go in, contain, disable, destroy. If we move quickly and efficiently, there won’t be a fight. Does anyone have a problem with that?”

Carlisle shifted uncomfortably.

“Remember,” I said, looking at the ground but aiming my comment at Carlisle, “No one is required to come.”

“We’re with you.” Carlisle answered.

“As are we.” Tanya said. There was a fierceness to her tone. She had a score to settle. Many of them probably did.

“What of our families, Tanya?” I asked.

“Eleazar and Carmen are with them.” She assured me.

“We all have an interest in seeing this through.” A dark haired vampire with the same papery skin as Aro, said. “If you are unsuccessful, it will affect us all.”

“All I ask is that we maintain order. I know you all have a bone to pick with them, but if we lose order, there is a chance someone will slip through the cracks. Even one of them escaping will make this an unresolved issue for us. We don’t want one of them getting away, creating another army and coming for us again in the future. But we also don’t want to condemn the innocent. We know there are those that are being forced to be in the army. They deserve a chance to live peacefully.”

“Such a humanitarian.” Another ancient looking vampire commented mockingly, “You are very peaceful for one so young.”

“You have no idea.” Edward said under his breath.

“You say that like