The Movement of the Earth -- Chapter 12
Title: The Movement of the Earth
Author: audreyii_fic
Fandom: Twilight (Team Jacob)
Rating: T
Characters: Bella, Jacob, Charlie, and others (J/B)
Genre: Romance/Angst/Wolfpack!Humor
Warnings: Language, violence, and references to adult behavior
banner courtesy of lilabut
Summary: Jacob imprints on Bella. It changes things. A re-write of New Moon, beginning on page 242 in Chapter 10: "The Meadow." ( Link to the beginning.)
Chapter Twelve:
Disclaimer -- Back in Action: I am lifting bits of the Twilight saga for use in this fic. I do so shamelessly and without apology, in spite of the fact -- yes, in spite of the fact! -- that I am not Stephenie Meyer. If I was I'm pretty sure my husband wouldn't have married me; his refusal to wear body glitter would have been a deal breaker.
no wealth, no ruin, no silver, no gold / nothing satisfies me but your soul
Jen Titus, "O Death"
12. Endgame
"Bella! Bella!"
"Hush. She's fine. You worry too much."
Voices. A throbbing in my head. Wind blowing across my face.
"Get your hands off--"
"Calm down, little puppy. Wouldn't want to lose our temper, now, would we?"
The smell of salt. The crashing sound of waves. Cold moisture seeping into my back through my clothes.
"Stop it, stop it, stop it, don't touch her--"
"Oh, good lord, child. I'm only waking her up. You're going to give yourself an ulcer."
Icy water dripped onto my face. I flinched away from it, and a pleased, babyish soprano said, "See, there, I told you that would do the trick! So much fretting for nothing."
I pretended not to hear. I felt fuzzy and disoriented, but I still knew that nothing good could come of waking up. I wanted to stay in the pleasant oblivion of midnight. It was better than the alternative... because even though I'd never heard it before, I could guess at the owner of that voice. I didn't want to open my eyes and have my fears confirmed. Better to stay in the darkness.
"Come now, Isabella Swan, you can't fool me. I know you're awake."
Then I heard a strangled noise that resembled my name -- a noise that finally motivated me to return to consciousness. Jacob. Jacob was here. Was he hurt? What was she doing to him?
I opened my eyes, and there it was: the beautiful feline face, the bright orange hair, the vivid red eyes. "There we go," Victoria crooned gently. She was crouching by my side. Frigid cold seeped into my body as she stroked my matted hair back from my forehead. "How are you feeling?"
I blinked several times, trying to bring the world into focus as a granite hand at the small of my back helped me into a sitting position. Wet sand stuck to the palm of my left hand. The beach. I was on the beach, near the shoreline. The surf lapped close to my legs, only a few feet away -- it had been ocean water that Victoria flicked onto my face. The last pale light of evening was long gone; I must have been unconscious for quite awhile.
"I heard Jacob," I croaked. The pain in my head was lessening, but the disorientation grew worse. I felt dizzy, but strangely calm. "Where is he?"
Victoria shook her head, and her flaming curls jostled around her elegant face. "The two of you get so apprehensive." She pointed towards the forest's edge. "No need to worry, Isabella, your wolf is right over there."
It took me a moment -- my eyes seemed to need extra time to adjust to the darkness, even with the waxing moon glowing behind light clouds -- but then I saw him. Perhaps forty feet away, Jacob paced back and forth, his bare feet shifting on the dry sand. Another moment of focusing, and I could see how badly his body was shaking. My voice cracked as I called, "Jacob?"
For a moment his entire shape rippled... then with a low growl and clenched fists against his temples, Jacob coalesced back into himself. He didn't come any closer. Why wasn't he coming any closer?
I struggled to stand. If Jacob wouldn't come to me, then I would go to him. But I underestimated my own dizziness; no sooner had I raised myself to my knees than I collapsed backwards again with a moan, the world spinning around me. I had to have a concussion, at the very least.
When I fell, Jacob took an involuntary step toward me -- but at a quick glance from Victoria, he retreated. And he resumed his pacing.
"I would be careful with the puppy," Victoria whispered next to my ear. Her cold hand climbed up to rest gently against the base of my neck. "He's under a bit of stress right now."
Somewhere inside I could feel the steady throb of panic, but it didn't reach my senses. My limbs were relaxed; my mind was tranquil. "What did you do to him?"
"Nothing," Victoria said innocently. "Nothing at all. He just doesn't care for the rules of our little game. It's a shame; if not for challenges and sport, life really wouldn't be much fun."
A game. She wanted to play a game. This was James' mate, all right.
Swallowing down nausea, I fought to stand again. If I was standing, there would at least be a chance -- however small -- that I would get to run. Escape was impossible from a sitting position.
Victoria watched my awkward movements with surprise. "Don't push yourself, Isabella. You did take quite a hit to the head. It would be unfortunate if you fainted again; I don't think the boy can manage for much longer."
"Come and get me," Jacob spat at her. "I'll manage just fine."
"I'm okay," I said. My vision blurred again as I put my good hand down into the wet sand to lift myself. I tried to push away Victoria's assisting lift on my elbow. "I can do it," I insisted.
"Don't be petulant," Victoria admonished me as she helped me to my feet. I'd forgotten her height, and had pictured a warrior woman in my mind; in reality she was only a few inches taller than myself. That, combined with the bubble-gum girlish voice, added to my hazy bewilderment. "I have to apologize, by the way, for your head. I didn't expect you to drive into me; you're very lucky not to have been injured worse. Or, rather," she smiled, "I'm very lucky."
I tried again to take a step toward Jacob, but her solid fingers tightened against the base of my skull. "Tsk tsk tsk. None of that, now."
Jacob's strides grew longer, his pace more frantic. "Bella," he called, his voice desperate.
"I'm all right," I replied, answering his unspoken question. Once again I had that strange, disconnected feeling, as though I were watching these events unfold from outside myself. I was only a witness, not a participant. There was nothing to be frightened of.
"How's your balance?" If it hadn't been for our circumstances, Victoria would have come across as a caring, consciencious friend, perhaps even a sister. Maybe this was all a dream. If it were real life, surely I would be afraid of her; instead, her tone soothed me. "Will you be able to support yourself, or do you need my help?"
I would have shaken my head, but I couldn't move it while I was in her grip. "I'm fine."
She paused for a moment and gave me an assessing look. "I must say, you're holding up better than I expected," she said finally. "Last year you ran; now you stand. I underestimated you and I don't do that often. I am quite impressed, Isabella Swan."
I felt a strange, glowing flush of pleasure at her words, and found myself smiling happily.
"Whatever you're doing to her," Jacob yelled at Victoria, his shape rippling again, "stop it, or I swear I'll kill you as slow as I can."
Victoria laughed, and the sound rang -- not tinkling wind chimes, but soft, mellow church bells. "Temper, temper," she warned. "I promise, you'll get your chance. Just be patient, little one."
Jacob growled in response.
"Besides," she continued, "I'm not doing a thing. Your anxiety issues are appalling. If you live, you should probably see someone about that." She smiled. "Maybe Miss Swan can stand on her own feet after all, did that occur to you?"
The pride in my chest swelled. It really was an amazing thing, if someone as lowly and human as me could earn the approval of a goddess. Except something tickled at the back of my mind -- Jacob knew me, he knew me better than anyone. He would know if there was something wrong, wouldn't he?
No. There was nothing wrong. Nothing bad was going to happen, I knew it. Victoria wouldn't hurt us.
"Are you ready for me to explain the game?" Victoria said, still smiling. Her serene expression had an unreal loveliness about it, like a Renaissance portrait. I felt myself calming even further, my mind sedated--
Sedated.
I'm the world's best predator, aren't I? Edward had said. Everything about me invites you in -- my voice, my face, even my smell.
I took a deep breath -- and inhaled the sweet, intoxicating scent of vampire.
Everything clicked into place. My brain began to function, even if my senses didn't; the unnatural calm remained as I started to work through the puzzle. This was why I wasn't consumed with terror: the predator was made to keep me close. Victoria was pressed against my side, and at such close range, her mind tricks were keeping the hysteria at bay.
What was more, she didn't seem to realize it.
Well, it was something. "Okay," I said, foggy but not frightened. "Go ahead and explain."
"That's a good girl, Isabella." One cold finger stroked along my hairline. "See your wolf?"
I nodded. Now I noticed the racing of my heart, the sweat on my face. My hands shook uncontrollably. It was such a strange sensation, to have the knowledge that frenzied horror was racing through me but to not feel it. "I see him." Of course I saw him. How could I not see Jacob?
"If he comes closer, or takes on his alternate form, I'll break your neck," Victoria said softly. Her hand clenched just a hair tighter against my spine. "Do you know it isn't really like snapping a twig? It's more like a carrot, or a celery stick. It's wet."
A low, pained sound carried to me across the sand. I might be drugged, but Jacob was staving off panic by the skin of his teeth. I was a hostage and it was killing him.
"He's fast," I argued. "He'll kill you."
"But not before I kill you," she retorted. Her fingers tightened another fraction of an inch; I could feel a dull pain. There would be five little bruises left behind... if anything was left behind. "He knows that. You know that."
Unfortunately, I did know that; Jacob was quick, but he'd still have to phase and make it the short distance. Victoria's hand was around my neck -- all it would take was one quick movement of her marble wrist. There was no chance, none, that he'd get to me in time. "But he'll kill you once I'm dead," I pointed out.
"Do you think so?" she said pleasantly. "It's certainly possible. I've been watching him in action for awhile. He's talented for his age. But, Isabella, look at him." She brought her mouth to my ear and whispered, "Really look."
I looked.
Jacob paced across the sand, muttering something under his breath. He moved like an animal, all light footfalls and tense muscles, his entire body vibrating with what I knew had to be the sheer effort of keeping from phasing. He was furious, that much was obvious; everything in his entire being had to be telling him to explode into the wolf and and rip apart his mortal enemy. His eyes kept flicking from Victoria to me and back again, waiting for the smallest opening. Only his terror for my life was keeping him in one piece... but that desire to protect his imprint would surely be steadily feeding his rage as well.
It was only a matter of time before Jacob lost control.
"I think he likes you," Victoria said in a little sing-songy voice. She shook me by the neck, very slightly, and Jacob moaned; his pacing sped up to beyond the bounds of normal human capability. "Think of what will happen to him when he sees me drop your broken body onto the sand. Think of how he'll feel. Do you honestly believe he'll be able to fight me after that and win?"
My mouth went dry. I knew the answer to that question. "Then the other wolves will kill you," I argued. Once Jacob phased, he'd be able to call to them; even with the nightmare they were currently living through, the pack would come running. If Jacob could hold it together -- if we could stall for time -- they might even figure out what had happened to us without being called. "You won't get away."
Victoria paused, then let out a sad sigh. Her breath was intoxicating, and I suddenly felt sorry for her pain; I squeezed my eyes shut and fought off the unwelcome emotion. "They probably will kill me," she conceded. "But I will have had my justice, and that's the important thing. James is gone. Eternity no longer sounds appealing. Though," she said, "before I go, I wouldn't mind a bit of retribution for this." She gestured to her left side, and for the first time I looked down.
Victoria had a hole in her abdomen. An gaping hole, at least three inches deep; it spanned from her stomach to her hip. Her torn clothing fluttered in the light breeze, and everything inside of her was still and unmoving, exactly as though someone had taken a sledgehammer to a marble statue. Something dark and silvery dripped off of the jagged edges of her innards.
Sam had gotten a hit.
"This is going to be very inconvenient," she continued. "And I liked this shirt. Is he dead, by the way?" she asked casually. "The one who did this. I can smell his blood all over you. It's revolting."
"I don't know," I said. I couldn't see how Sam could still be alive, but then again, he should never have made it off the forest floor in the first place. Werewolves were strong. "Probably."
Victoria hummed slightly. "Almost a pity. I would like to have ended him in person. He's been quite an annoyance." She shrugged. "Oh well. Now that you understand your situation, are you prepared to play?"
I felt like the blood was draining out of my head into my feet; the world began to spin again. I wanted to sit, but I needed to remain standing. "If you're just going to kill us both, why should I?"
She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Kill you both? Oh, no, Isabella Swan, don't you understand? Only you have to die."
Jacob came to a halt at her words; his shape expanded around the edges into the night air before he squeezed his eyes shut and pulled himself together again. Then the pacing resumed. He seemed to be beyond coherent speech.
"But your wolf, well... I could break a few of his legs. Hit him on the head. Incapacitate him, certainly, but there wouldn't be any long-term damage. He can live... if you want him to. It all depends on whether you play by the rules."
The horror trapped inside my body flared, burning through my veins and into my racing heart. I'd gotten it wrong, all wrong. I wasn't the hostage. Jacob was.
I swallowed hard and took another breath. Victoria's perfumed smell relaxed me and pushed the horror back down; I needed the space to think. It wouldn't do any good to fall apart now. "Why should I believe you?" I said, and thankfully my voice didn't shake.
"My word is good." She sounded shocked that I would have imagined otherwise.
I watched Jacob move; his eyes were on Victoria now more than they were on me. He wanted to destroy her; not only was she his natural adversary, she was a danger to the thing that mattered most to him in the world. If he was here, there would be nothing I could say or do to save him. Broken legs or broken skull, he would fight her until she took the last breath from his body.
But he didn't have to be here. There was an easier solution to all this. Victoria wanted me, not him. She would never leave my side to pursue someone who meant nothing to her beyond a bargaining chip.
I had to break my promise again.
"Jacob," I said with the most commanding tone I could muster, "run."
He came to a sudden halt. I watched as he took a half-step backward... then clenched his hands into fists. His fervent, frantic stare felt like fire across my cold skin. "No," he rasped. "No."
The hope that had briefly risen in my chest died abruptly. Apparently leaving one's imprint to be killed counted as one of the 'big things' that orders couldn't control.
"Bella." I heard him murmur my name, then repeat it over and over under his breath, a mantra that seemed to bring him back into focus. For the first time, Jacob stood still. For the first time, he was focused only on me.
Victoria glanced back and forth between us, clearly intrigued. "Well. He's a bit more than just an interested party, isn't he?" She giggled, a chirpy little sound that matched her girlish voice perfectly. "You surprise me again, Isabella Swan. Have you told your mate about this yet?"
My eyes filled with tears -- Jacob was going to watch me die; even if by some miracle he lived, he would never recover -- but even as they spilled over, I felt nothing but that strange, perverse calm. "All right," I said, still looking at Jacob. "What do you want?"
Victoria paused, then gave a soft, pleased sigh. "I have to say," she remarked, "I'm not sure I even deserve this. I've made so many mistakes. Do you know, I let Edward Cullen track me all the way to South America before I realized he hadn't taken you with him?"
I blinked, startled. "What?"
"I have to admit it. I was blinded by my own desire for revenge; I didn't take time to think. It never occurred to me that he would leave his mate behind. A risky gambit, but it worked... for awhile, at least." She leaned her icy cold cheek against the top of my head, and the tips of her fingernails dug into the skin of my throat. "After all, here we are."
"Here we are," I echoed blankly. The sound of the crashing waves behind us seemed to reverberate through my skull.
"And then, once I figured out you were still here, I found you protected by a pack of shape-shifting wolves!" She shook her finger disapprovingly at Jacob. "Who, might I add, murdered Laurent. I don't take kindly to people who kill my friends."
The day in the meadow. The russet-brown wolf who stared at me hungrily and took a step away from my side. How could we be here, now, about to die under the hand of a honey-voiced murderer who'd set up a fixed game we couldn't win?
My heartbeat thundered in my ears.
"If I hadn't seen the two of you on the cliff, I would never have figured out how to make this work, how to get you to obey rather than just rip you apart once I found you," she continued with a little smile. "And even then your dogs would certainly have killed me if they hadn't suffered such fits this evening. He--" she gestured at Jacob, who growled "-- was the only one who followed. And here I thought I'd have to lure him away... but look how it all worked out. So perfect. Too perfect. So you know what I think, Isabella Swan?" She leaned in to whisper in my ear; her sweet breath fanned across my face. "I think fate is on my side. The side of justice and right. That's why we're here. It's the only explanation."
"Just tell me what you want, Victoria," I said, hating her and yet cut off from my hate like a nerve had been severed.
She smiled charmingly, her even white teeth gleaming in the moonlight. Then with a swift movement she reached to my front -- Jacob tensed and crouched -- and ripped open the front pocket of Emily's hoodie. The contents spilled into the wet sand. In the same instant she pushed hard on my neck, and I fell to my knees.
"Call him," Victoria said, nodding to my cell phone. "Call Edward. Call him so he can listen to you die."
I froze. "What?"
"Call him," Victoria repeated, her voice finally taking on an edge. "If you don't, I'll kill you and then rip your wolf into pieces. Edward should have to hear his mate's death, but I can accept having him find about it second-hand. Maybe literally. I could mail him your fingers."
"Just try it," I heard Jacob growl. I glanced up at him -- his outline was blurring constantly now, like a watercolor in the night air. Once again he only had eyes for Victoria.
He couldn't do this for much longer.
"I can't call Edward," I whispered. "I don't know his number."
Victoria observed me quietly for a moment, then remarked, "You know, I've destroyed shape-shifters before. They tend to revert to human once they're seriously injured. But if I killed your wolf fast enough, do you think I could skin him? His pelt is such a lovely color, it would make a beautiful coat."
For some reason, I couldn't inhale. The air wouldn't come into my lungs.
"Come and get me, bitch," Jacob shouted, "and we'll see who scalps who." His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides, and every few seconds I swore I could see claws.
"You don't understand," I insisted. My heart raced, my vision swam, my breath caught. The terror inside was dangerously close to overwhelming the vampiric hold Victoria had over me. "I don't know how to get in contact with him. He left, but not to protect me. He just... got bored." I was vaguely aware of some dull pain in my chest as I said those words. "I can't call him."
There was a long moment of silence as Victoria considered my words -- silent, that is, except for the sound of the low growls coming from Jacob. Finally, she said, "I don't believe you."
The panic welled up higher, fighting to break through my sedation. It hadn't occurred to me that Victoria might ask for something I couldn't provide. "I'm telling the truth."
"No," she said coldly, "you're not. You're his mate. He would never have left you entirely unguarded. He would have given you some way to get ahold of him in an emergency. You're protecting him."
"I'm not!" Was that my voice that was sobbing? "I swear I'm not. I'm not his mate. He doesn't love me anymore. He left. I haven't spoken to him in months. Don't kill Jacob, please, I can't give you what I don't have!"
"Liar." Victoria crouched next to me, her snarling face inches from my own. Even in murderous rage she was hauntingly beautiful. "We don't fall out of love. We don't move on. Humans change, but we do not. I will see James' face every moment for the rest of my existence, just as Edward will hear the sound of your neck snapping until his body crumbles into dust. That will be justice." She grabbed the back of my neck again, roughly, and pushed my head down until my nose was an inch from the phone. "Call him or the game ends now."
"Stop touching her!" Jacob shouted. He stepped forward, and Victoria snapped her head to the side to face him.
"Back up," she said menacingly. And she kept her eyes on him until he retreated.
She kept her eyes on him.
The fog in my brain -- the unnatural calm -- gave me the space to think. Just barely.
Victoria claimed she would kill me the instant Jacob moved, but her instincts were as strong as his: she would face her natural enemy. She would still break me apart before Jacob could get close enough, but she would look away first. Just for a moment.
And right in front of my face, lying on the sand next to the cell phone, was Embry's lighter.
Something silvery dripping in her side. Better than gasoline.
It would have to be fast. It would have to be so fast, almost certainly faster than I was capable of. But Jacob and I were both going to die anyway, weren't we? It wasn't like there was anything to lose. But first I needed a distraction -- a big distraction.
I looked up at Jacob. Phase, I thought at him as hard as I could. I didn't think telepathy was part of our mystical bond, but I tried to tell him with my eyes what I needed him to do, to mouth the word slightly on my lips. Phase.
He didn't look at me. He only saw Victoria. He could only see the threat to his imprint.
I was out of options.
"Okay," I whispered. "I'll call Edward."
Victoria glanced back to me approvingly. "Good," she said, her voice compassionate and girlish again. "I knew you would see reason."
I nodded, then forced my panicking body to inhale a few times. To hold in as much of that drugging scent as I possibly could... because I was going to need it. "But I think you're just jealous," I said.
Victoria smiled in amusement. "Oh, am I."
"Yeah." I swallowed. Here went nothing. "Because I saw James in the end and you didn't."
Her expression hardened. "Cute," she spat. "Trite, but cute. Do you really think such a cheap little trick will work on me?"
"Did he leave you anything to remember him by?" I continued, calm even though I was shivering convulsively. I didn't know if I could do this. "Because I have something you don't." I lifted my right arm, and Victoria's eyes went to it. "Look," I said, nodding to where the edge of James' scar peeped out of my cast. "He bit me. I get to see him every day."
A crazed light came into Victoria's face as she bent to examine my fingers.
"Bella!" Jacob shouted desperately. His entire body quivered. "What are you doing?"
My left hand brushed over the cell phone and closed around the lighter.
"I see," Victoria said softly, trailing her frigid thumb across the exposed tissue. She looked up from the cast to meet my eyes with reverence as her fingernails dug into my skin, and I realized she was about to rip the scar right off my bones. "Thank you, Isabella Swan. I will carry this mark with me always."
Then she tightened her hand around my cast, crushing the plaster with a sickening crunch and driving it into my still-broken bones. I cried out in pain.
The next moment seemed to last for an eternity.
At the sound of my cry, Jacob finally lost control and exploded into the russet-brown wolf with an ear-splitting roar--
--Victoria looked up from my arm--
--pain shot through my right hand and I clicked on the lighter with my left--
--the wolf's paws flew across the sand--
--Victoria whirled to face her enemy--
--and I jammed the lit lighter into the gaping hole on her side.
Spots exploded in my vision. Everything became blindingly bright, and I tumbled backward as something hot and soft brushed across my face. Strange light flickered before my eyes and there was fur and flame and sand everywhere, then almost immediately a chorus of faint, furious howls in the distance, and screaming, so much screaming...
...my throat hurt, and my head, and my hand, no, my hands...
I looked down.
My left hand was on fire.
I rolled a few feet and pushed my arm into the surf as flaming meteors flew through the sky, and then I passed out for the second time that day.
***
Chapter Thirteen: Visitors
Sanity Update: My throat is sore and I'm running a fever. I am sure this is Stephenie Meyer's fault. I should have arranged for a medical researcher to follow me around while I wrote this fic, because we may have been able to conclusively prove that the Twilight Saga lowers antibody levels in the human bloodstream. Is there any other explanation for my chronic physical sufferings? I think not, ladies and gentlemen. I think not. (And for the record, I don't give a shit that this isn't the Victoria Meyer gave us in Eclipse. I'm considering Eclipse!Victoria as one of the "Meyer going OOC with her own creation" canon violations. Two books of build up for twelve pages of fighting and one damn line of dialogue? Huge disappointment. So fuck it. This is what I expected Victoria to be, and so that's how I'm fucking writing her.) (Also, yes, the song is my Supernatural fangirl coming out again.)
Author: audreyii_fic
Fandom: Twilight (Team Jacob)
Rating: T
Characters: Bella, Jacob, Charlie, and others (J/B)
Genre: Romance/Angst/Wolfpack!Humor
Warnings: Language, violence, and references to adult behavior
banner courtesy of lilabut
Summary: Jacob imprints on Bella. It changes things. A re-write of New Moon, beginning on page 242 in Chapter 10: "The Meadow." ( Link to the beginning.)
Chapter Twelve:
Disclaimer -- Back in Action: I am lifting bits of the Twilight saga for use in this fic. I do so shamelessly and without apology, in spite of the fact -- yes, in spite of the fact! -- that I am not Stephenie Meyer. If I was I'm pretty sure my husband wouldn't have married me; his refusal to wear body glitter would have been a deal breaker.
no wealth, no ruin, no silver, no gold / nothing satisfies me but your soul
Jen Titus, "O Death"
12. Endgame
"Bella! Bella!"
"Hush. She's fine. You worry too much."
Voices. A throbbing in my head. Wind blowing across my face.
"Get your hands off--"
"Calm down, little puppy. Wouldn't want to lose our temper, now, would we?"
The smell of salt. The crashing sound of waves. Cold moisture seeping into my back through my clothes.
"Stop it, stop it, stop it, don't touch her--"
"Oh, good lord, child. I'm only waking her up. You're going to give yourself an ulcer."
Icy water dripped onto my face. I flinched away from it, and a pleased, babyish soprano said, "See, there, I told you that would do the trick! So much fretting for nothing."
I pretended not to hear. I felt fuzzy and disoriented, but I still knew that nothing good could come of waking up. I wanted to stay in the pleasant oblivion of midnight. It was better than the alternative... because even though I'd never heard it before, I could guess at the owner of that voice. I didn't want to open my eyes and have my fears confirmed. Better to stay in the darkness.
"Come now, Isabella Swan, you can't fool me. I know you're awake."
Then I heard a strangled noise that resembled my name -- a noise that finally motivated me to return to consciousness. Jacob. Jacob was here. Was he hurt? What was she doing to him?
I opened my eyes, and there it was: the beautiful feline face, the bright orange hair, the vivid red eyes. "There we go," Victoria crooned gently. She was crouching by my side. Frigid cold seeped into my body as she stroked my matted hair back from my forehead. "How are you feeling?"
I blinked several times, trying to bring the world into focus as a granite hand at the small of my back helped me into a sitting position. Wet sand stuck to the palm of my left hand. The beach. I was on the beach, near the shoreline. The surf lapped close to my legs, only a few feet away -- it had been ocean water that Victoria flicked onto my face. The last pale light of evening was long gone; I must have been unconscious for quite awhile.
"I heard Jacob," I croaked. The pain in my head was lessening, but the disorientation grew worse. I felt dizzy, but strangely calm. "Where is he?"
Victoria shook her head, and her flaming curls jostled around her elegant face. "The two of you get so apprehensive." She pointed towards the forest's edge. "No need to worry, Isabella, your wolf is right over there."
It took me a moment -- my eyes seemed to need extra time to adjust to the darkness, even with the waxing moon glowing behind light clouds -- but then I saw him. Perhaps forty feet away, Jacob paced back and forth, his bare feet shifting on the dry sand. Another moment of focusing, and I could see how badly his body was shaking. My voice cracked as I called, "Jacob?"
For a moment his entire shape rippled... then with a low growl and clenched fists against his temples, Jacob coalesced back into himself. He didn't come any closer. Why wasn't he coming any closer?
I struggled to stand. If Jacob wouldn't come to me, then I would go to him. But I underestimated my own dizziness; no sooner had I raised myself to my knees than I collapsed backwards again with a moan, the world spinning around me. I had to have a concussion, at the very least.
When I fell, Jacob took an involuntary step toward me -- but at a quick glance from Victoria, he retreated. And he resumed his pacing.
"I would be careful with the puppy," Victoria whispered next to my ear. Her cold hand climbed up to rest gently against the base of my neck. "He's under a bit of stress right now."
Somewhere inside I could feel the steady throb of panic, but it didn't reach my senses. My limbs were relaxed; my mind was tranquil. "What did you do to him?"
"Nothing," Victoria said innocently. "Nothing at all. He just doesn't care for the rules of our little game. It's a shame; if not for challenges and sport, life really wouldn't be much fun."
A game. She wanted to play a game. This was James' mate, all right.
Swallowing down nausea, I fought to stand again. If I was standing, there would at least be a chance -- however small -- that I would get to run. Escape was impossible from a sitting position.
Victoria watched my awkward movements with surprise. "Don't push yourself, Isabella. You did take quite a hit to the head. It would be unfortunate if you fainted again; I don't think the boy can manage for much longer."
"Come and get me," Jacob spat at her. "I'll manage just fine."
"I'm okay," I said. My vision blurred again as I put my good hand down into the wet sand to lift myself. I tried to push away Victoria's assisting lift on my elbow. "I can do it," I insisted.
"Don't be petulant," Victoria admonished me as she helped me to my feet. I'd forgotten her height, and had pictured a warrior woman in my mind; in reality she was only a few inches taller than myself. That, combined with the bubble-gum girlish voice, added to my hazy bewilderment. "I have to apologize, by the way, for your head. I didn't expect you to drive into me; you're very lucky not to have been injured worse. Or, rather," she smiled, "I'm very lucky."
I tried again to take a step toward Jacob, but her solid fingers tightened against the base of my skull. "Tsk tsk tsk. None of that, now."
Jacob's strides grew longer, his pace more frantic. "Bella," he called, his voice desperate.
"I'm all right," I replied, answering his unspoken question. Once again I had that strange, disconnected feeling, as though I were watching these events unfold from outside myself. I was only a witness, not a participant. There was nothing to be frightened of.
"How's your balance?" If it hadn't been for our circumstances, Victoria would have come across as a caring, consciencious friend, perhaps even a sister. Maybe this was all a dream. If it were real life, surely I would be afraid of her; instead, her tone soothed me. "Will you be able to support yourself, or do you need my help?"
I would have shaken my head, but I couldn't move it while I was in her grip. "I'm fine."
She paused for a moment and gave me an assessing look. "I must say, you're holding up better than I expected," she said finally. "Last year you ran; now you stand. I underestimated you and I don't do that often. I am quite impressed, Isabella Swan."
I felt a strange, glowing flush of pleasure at her words, and found myself smiling happily.
"Whatever you're doing to her," Jacob yelled at Victoria, his shape rippling again, "stop it, or I swear I'll kill you as slow as I can."
Victoria laughed, and the sound rang -- not tinkling wind chimes, but soft, mellow church bells. "Temper, temper," she warned. "I promise, you'll get your chance. Just be patient, little one."
Jacob growled in response.
"Besides," she continued, "I'm not doing a thing. Your anxiety issues are appalling. If you live, you should probably see someone about that." She smiled. "Maybe Miss Swan can stand on her own feet after all, did that occur to you?"
The pride in my chest swelled. It really was an amazing thing, if someone as lowly and human as me could earn the approval of a goddess. Except something tickled at the back of my mind -- Jacob knew me, he knew me better than anyone. He would know if there was something wrong, wouldn't he?
No. There was nothing wrong. Nothing bad was going to happen, I knew it. Victoria wouldn't hurt us.
"Are you ready for me to explain the game?" Victoria said, still smiling. Her serene expression had an unreal loveliness about it, like a Renaissance portrait. I felt myself calming even further, my mind sedated--
Sedated.
I'm the world's best predator, aren't I? Edward had said. Everything about me invites you in -- my voice, my face, even my smell.
I took a deep breath -- and inhaled the sweet, intoxicating scent of vampire.
Everything clicked into place. My brain began to function, even if my senses didn't; the unnatural calm remained as I started to work through the puzzle. This was why I wasn't consumed with terror: the predator was made to keep me close. Victoria was pressed against my side, and at such close range, her mind tricks were keeping the hysteria at bay.
What was more, she didn't seem to realize it.
Well, it was something. "Okay," I said, foggy but not frightened. "Go ahead and explain."
"That's a good girl, Isabella." One cold finger stroked along my hairline. "See your wolf?"
I nodded. Now I noticed the racing of my heart, the sweat on my face. My hands shook uncontrollably. It was such a strange sensation, to have the knowledge that frenzied horror was racing through me but to not feel it. "I see him." Of course I saw him. How could I not see Jacob?
"If he comes closer, or takes on his alternate form, I'll break your neck," Victoria said softly. Her hand clenched just a hair tighter against my spine. "Do you know it isn't really like snapping a twig? It's more like a carrot, or a celery stick. It's wet."
A low, pained sound carried to me across the sand. I might be drugged, but Jacob was staving off panic by the skin of his teeth. I was a hostage and it was killing him.
"He's fast," I argued. "He'll kill you."
"But not before I kill you," she retorted. Her fingers tightened another fraction of an inch; I could feel a dull pain. There would be five little bruises left behind... if anything was left behind. "He knows that. You know that."
Unfortunately, I did know that; Jacob was quick, but he'd still have to phase and make it the short distance. Victoria's hand was around my neck -- all it would take was one quick movement of her marble wrist. There was no chance, none, that he'd get to me in time. "But he'll kill you once I'm dead," I pointed out.
"Do you think so?" she said pleasantly. "It's certainly possible. I've been watching him in action for awhile. He's talented for his age. But, Isabella, look at him." She brought her mouth to my ear and whispered, "Really look."
I looked.
Jacob paced across the sand, muttering something under his breath. He moved like an animal, all light footfalls and tense muscles, his entire body vibrating with what I knew had to be the sheer effort of keeping from phasing. He was furious, that much was obvious; everything in his entire being had to be telling him to explode into the wolf and and rip apart his mortal enemy. His eyes kept flicking from Victoria to me and back again, waiting for the smallest opening. Only his terror for my life was keeping him in one piece... but that desire to protect his imprint would surely be steadily feeding his rage as well.
It was only a matter of time before Jacob lost control.
"I think he likes you," Victoria said in a little sing-songy voice. She shook me by the neck, very slightly, and Jacob moaned; his pacing sped up to beyond the bounds of normal human capability. "Think of what will happen to him when he sees me drop your broken body onto the sand. Think of how he'll feel. Do you honestly believe he'll be able to fight me after that and win?"
My mouth went dry. I knew the answer to that question. "Then the other wolves will kill you," I argued. Once Jacob phased, he'd be able to call to them; even with the nightmare they were currently living through, the pack would come running. If Jacob could hold it together -- if we could stall for time -- they might even figure out what had happened to us without being called. "You won't get away."
Victoria paused, then let out a sad sigh. Her breath was intoxicating, and I suddenly felt sorry for her pain; I squeezed my eyes shut and fought off the unwelcome emotion. "They probably will kill me," she conceded. "But I will have had my justice, and that's the important thing. James is gone. Eternity no longer sounds appealing. Though," she said, "before I go, I wouldn't mind a bit of retribution for this." She gestured to her left side, and for the first time I looked down.
Victoria had a hole in her abdomen. An gaping hole, at least three inches deep; it spanned from her stomach to her hip. Her torn clothing fluttered in the light breeze, and everything inside of her was still and unmoving, exactly as though someone had taken a sledgehammer to a marble statue. Something dark and silvery dripped off of the jagged edges of her innards.
Sam had gotten a hit.
"This is going to be very inconvenient," she continued. "And I liked this shirt. Is he dead, by the way?" she asked casually. "The one who did this. I can smell his blood all over you. It's revolting."
"I don't know," I said. I couldn't see how Sam could still be alive, but then again, he should never have made it off the forest floor in the first place. Werewolves were strong. "Probably."
Victoria hummed slightly. "Almost a pity. I would like to have ended him in person. He's been quite an annoyance." She shrugged. "Oh well. Now that you understand your situation, are you prepared to play?"
I felt like the blood was draining out of my head into my feet; the world began to spin again. I wanted to sit, but I needed to remain standing. "If you're just going to kill us both, why should I?"
She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Kill you both? Oh, no, Isabella Swan, don't you understand? Only you have to die."
Jacob came to a halt at her words; his shape expanded around the edges into the night air before he squeezed his eyes shut and pulled himself together again. Then the pacing resumed. He seemed to be beyond coherent speech.
"But your wolf, well... I could break a few of his legs. Hit him on the head. Incapacitate him, certainly, but there wouldn't be any long-term damage. He can live... if you want him to. It all depends on whether you play by the rules."
The horror trapped inside my body flared, burning through my veins and into my racing heart. I'd gotten it wrong, all wrong. I wasn't the hostage. Jacob was.
I swallowed hard and took another breath. Victoria's perfumed smell relaxed me and pushed the horror back down; I needed the space to think. It wouldn't do any good to fall apart now. "Why should I believe you?" I said, and thankfully my voice didn't shake.
"My word is good." She sounded shocked that I would have imagined otherwise.
I watched Jacob move; his eyes were on Victoria now more than they were on me. He wanted to destroy her; not only was she his natural adversary, she was a danger to the thing that mattered most to him in the world. If he was here, there would be nothing I could say or do to save him. Broken legs or broken skull, he would fight her until she took the last breath from his body.
But he didn't have to be here. There was an easier solution to all this. Victoria wanted me, not him. She would never leave my side to pursue someone who meant nothing to her beyond a bargaining chip.
I had to break my promise again.
"Jacob," I said with the most commanding tone I could muster, "run."
He came to a sudden halt. I watched as he took a half-step backward... then clenched his hands into fists. His fervent, frantic stare felt like fire across my cold skin. "No," he rasped. "No."
The hope that had briefly risen in my chest died abruptly. Apparently leaving one's imprint to be killed counted as one of the 'big things' that orders couldn't control.
"Bella." I heard him murmur my name, then repeat it over and over under his breath, a mantra that seemed to bring him back into focus. For the first time, Jacob stood still. For the first time, he was focused only on me.
Victoria glanced back and forth between us, clearly intrigued. "Well. He's a bit more than just an interested party, isn't he?" She giggled, a chirpy little sound that matched her girlish voice perfectly. "You surprise me again, Isabella Swan. Have you told your mate about this yet?"
My eyes filled with tears -- Jacob was going to watch me die; even if by some miracle he lived, he would never recover -- but even as they spilled over, I felt nothing but that strange, perverse calm. "All right," I said, still looking at Jacob. "What do you want?"
Victoria paused, then gave a soft, pleased sigh. "I have to say," she remarked, "I'm not sure I even deserve this. I've made so many mistakes. Do you know, I let Edward Cullen track me all the way to South America before I realized he hadn't taken you with him?"
I blinked, startled. "What?"
"I have to admit it. I was blinded by my own desire for revenge; I didn't take time to think. It never occurred to me that he would leave his mate behind. A risky gambit, but it worked... for awhile, at least." She leaned her icy cold cheek against the top of my head, and the tips of her fingernails dug into the skin of my throat. "After all, here we are."
"Here we are," I echoed blankly. The sound of the crashing waves behind us seemed to reverberate through my skull.
"And then, once I figured out you were still here, I found you protected by a pack of shape-shifting wolves!" She shook her finger disapprovingly at Jacob. "Who, might I add, murdered Laurent. I don't take kindly to people who kill my friends."
The day in the meadow. The russet-brown wolf who stared at me hungrily and took a step away from my side. How could we be here, now, about to die under the hand of a honey-voiced murderer who'd set up a fixed game we couldn't win?
My heartbeat thundered in my ears.
"If I hadn't seen the two of you on the cliff, I would never have figured out how to make this work, how to get you to obey rather than just rip you apart once I found you," she continued with a little smile. "And even then your dogs would certainly have killed me if they hadn't suffered such fits this evening. He--" she gestured at Jacob, who growled "-- was the only one who followed. And here I thought I'd have to lure him away... but look how it all worked out. So perfect. Too perfect. So you know what I think, Isabella Swan?" She leaned in to whisper in my ear; her sweet breath fanned across my face. "I think fate is on my side. The side of justice and right. That's why we're here. It's the only explanation."
"Just tell me what you want, Victoria," I said, hating her and yet cut off from my hate like a nerve had been severed.
She smiled charmingly, her even white teeth gleaming in the moonlight. Then with a swift movement she reached to my front -- Jacob tensed and crouched -- and ripped open the front pocket of Emily's hoodie. The contents spilled into the wet sand. In the same instant she pushed hard on my neck, and I fell to my knees.
"Call him," Victoria said, nodding to my cell phone. "Call Edward. Call him so he can listen to you die."
I froze. "What?"
"Call him," Victoria repeated, her voice finally taking on an edge. "If you don't, I'll kill you and then rip your wolf into pieces. Edward should have to hear his mate's death, but I can accept having him find about it second-hand. Maybe literally. I could mail him your fingers."
"Just try it," I heard Jacob growl. I glanced up at him -- his outline was blurring constantly now, like a watercolor in the night air. Once again he only had eyes for Victoria.
He couldn't do this for much longer.
"I can't call Edward," I whispered. "I don't know his number."
Victoria observed me quietly for a moment, then remarked, "You know, I've destroyed shape-shifters before. They tend to revert to human once they're seriously injured. But if I killed your wolf fast enough, do you think I could skin him? His pelt is such a lovely color, it would make a beautiful coat."
For some reason, I couldn't inhale. The air wouldn't come into my lungs.
"Come and get me, bitch," Jacob shouted, "and we'll see who scalps who." His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides, and every few seconds I swore I could see claws.
"You don't understand," I insisted. My heart raced, my vision swam, my breath caught. The terror inside was dangerously close to overwhelming the vampiric hold Victoria had over me. "I don't know how to get in contact with him. He left, but not to protect me. He just... got bored." I was vaguely aware of some dull pain in my chest as I said those words. "I can't call him."
There was a long moment of silence as Victoria considered my words -- silent, that is, except for the sound of the low growls coming from Jacob. Finally, she said, "I don't believe you."
The panic welled up higher, fighting to break through my sedation. It hadn't occurred to me that Victoria might ask for something I couldn't provide. "I'm telling the truth."
"No," she said coldly, "you're not. You're his mate. He would never have left you entirely unguarded. He would have given you some way to get ahold of him in an emergency. You're protecting him."
"I'm not!" Was that my voice that was sobbing? "I swear I'm not. I'm not his mate. He doesn't love me anymore. He left. I haven't spoken to him in months. Don't kill Jacob, please, I can't give you what I don't have!"
"Liar." Victoria crouched next to me, her snarling face inches from my own. Even in murderous rage she was hauntingly beautiful. "We don't fall out of love. We don't move on. Humans change, but we do not. I will see James' face every moment for the rest of my existence, just as Edward will hear the sound of your neck snapping until his body crumbles into dust. That will be justice." She grabbed the back of my neck again, roughly, and pushed my head down until my nose was an inch from the phone. "Call him or the game ends now."
"Stop touching her!" Jacob shouted. He stepped forward, and Victoria snapped her head to the side to face him.
"Back up," she said menacingly. And she kept her eyes on him until he retreated.
She kept her eyes on him.
The fog in my brain -- the unnatural calm -- gave me the space to think. Just barely.
Victoria claimed she would kill me the instant Jacob moved, but her instincts were as strong as his: she would face her natural enemy. She would still break me apart before Jacob could get close enough, but she would look away first. Just for a moment.
And right in front of my face, lying on the sand next to the cell phone, was Embry's lighter.
Something silvery dripping in her side. Better than gasoline.
It would have to be fast. It would have to be so fast, almost certainly faster than I was capable of. But Jacob and I were both going to die anyway, weren't we? It wasn't like there was anything to lose. But first I needed a distraction -- a big distraction.
I looked up at Jacob. Phase, I thought at him as hard as I could. I didn't think telepathy was part of our mystical bond, but I tried to tell him with my eyes what I needed him to do, to mouth the word slightly on my lips. Phase.
He didn't look at me. He only saw Victoria. He could only see the threat to his imprint.
I was out of options.
"Okay," I whispered. "I'll call Edward."
Victoria glanced back to me approvingly. "Good," she said, her voice compassionate and girlish again. "I knew you would see reason."
I nodded, then forced my panicking body to inhale a few times. To hold in as much of that drugging scent as I possibly could... because I was going to need it. "But I think you're just jealous," I said.
Victoria smiled in amusement. "Oh, am I."
"Yeah." I swallowed. Here went nothing. "Because I saw James in the end and you didn't."
Her expression hardened. "Cute," she spat. "Trite, but cute. Do you really think such a cheap little trick will work on me?"
"Did he leave you anything to remember him by?" I continued, calm even though I was shivering convulsively. I didn't know if I could do this. "Because I have something you don't." I lifted my right arm, and Victoria's eyes went to it. "Look," I said, nodding to where the edge of James' scar peeped out of my cast. "He bit me. I get to see him every day."
A crazed light came into Victoria's face as she bent to examine my fingers.
"Bella!" Jacob shouted desperately. His entire body quivered. "What are you doing?"
My left hand brushed over the cell phone and closed around the lighter.
"I see," Victoria said softly, trailing her frigid thumb across the exposed tissue. She looked up from the cast to meet my eyes with reverence as her fingernails dug into my skin, and I realized she was about to rip the scar right off my bones. "Thank you, Isabella Swan. I will carry this mark with me always."
Then she tightened her hand around my cast, crushing the plaster with a sickening crunch and driving it into my still-broken bones. I cried out in pain.
The next moment seemed to last for an eternity.
At the sound of my cry, Jacob finally lost control and exploded into the russet-brown wolf with an ear-splitting roar--
--Victoria looked up from my arm--
--pain shot through my right hand and I clicked on the lighter with my left--
--the wolf's paws flew across the sand--
--Victoria whirled to face her enemy--
--and I jammed the lit lighter into the gaping hole on her side.
Spots exploded in my vision. Everything became blindingly bright, and I tumbled backward as something hot and soft brushed across my face. Strange light flickered before my eyes and there was fur and flame and sand everywhere, then almost immediately a chorus of faint, furious howls in the distance, and screaming, so much screaming...
...my throat hurt, and my head, and my hand, no, my hands...
I looked down.
My left hand was on fire.
I rolled a few feet and pushed my arm into the surf as flaming meteors flew through the sky, and then I passed out for the second time that day.
***
Chapter Thirteen: Visitors
Sanity Update: My throat is sore and I'm running a fever. I am sure this is Stephenie Meyer's fault. I should have arranged for a medical researcher to follow me around while I wrote this fic, because we may have been able to conclusively prove that the Twilight Saga lowers antibody levels in the human bloodstream. Is there any other explanation for my chronic physical sufferings? I think not, ladies and gentlemen. I think not. (And for the record, I don't give a shit that this isn't the Victoria Meyer gave us in Eclipse. I'm considering Eclipse!Victoria as one of the "Meyer going OOC with her own creation" canon violations. Two books of build up for twelve pages of fighting and one damn line of dialogue? Huge disappointment. So fuck it. This is what I expected Victoria to be, and so that's how I'm fucking writing her.) (Also, yes, the song is my Supernatural fangirl coming out again.)