Out of the Darkness

Chapter Thirty-Four

"And her death?" I asked.

"Charlie is taking care of it," Esme said. "But, you will be called in to identify the body."

"I'm confused. How can we have a body?" I asked.

"I'm going to become Bella," Alice said. "We can alter our appearances, slightly. Bella and I look similar, but our eyes are different colors. My eyelids will be shut."

"How is it going to work?" I whispered.

"Riley was the one who abducted her," Charlie said. "We reattached his head to his human corpse and it's going to be a car accident. Seth is setting it up and Alice is going to fly over there once the set-up is complete. Acting as an officer of the law, I'm going to take the lead on the investigation."

"What about the rest of the minions?" Alice asked.

"They're lost," I answered. "The few that remained after Riley/Lucifer was sent back to Hell, were killed by the legion. The rest scattered. They will remain in limbo until they are arrested or they die, but their minds will never return to what they once were, but what about Rosalie? The one who was aiming for me?"

"I got her," Seth replied, walking into the living room. "We're good to go, Charlie."

"You got her, meaning you killed her?" Esme asked.

"She was distracted when Bella stepped in front of Edward and I sliced her in half. Her body didn't make it to the ground before it disintegrated into fine ash. She's gone," Seth smirked. "Lord Edward, do you have Bella's clothes?"

"Uh, yeah," I said, shaking my head. "And Seth, please ... just don't. I'm still me."

"Okay, okay," he laughed.

I went and got Bella's destroyed clothing, giving them to Alice. She wrinkled her nose as she put them on. With concentration, she added bruises, lacerations and cuts along where Bella's clothes were tattered. Alice also made her skin paler, with dark circles under her eyes. She looked like a walking corpse. "How did I die, Seth?" she asked.

"Internal bleeding," Seth replied.

"I'll hold off adding that until closer to being discovered," she said. "How long, Charlie?"

"An hour or two," Charlie nodded. "Alec is going to be conveniently driving past and see the skid marks."

"Kay," she nodded, walking out with Seth and they left.

"Anything else?" I asked.

"No. It'll be a day before 'Bella's body' is going to be released for a funeral. I will need you to come in to identify her, Edward. I'm sorry, but we can't let this linger," Charlie said. Esme, despite her grief, nodded in agreement.

"I know, I know. Hopefully, her wings will have poked through and the pain is not as bad," I said. "I need to ..."

"Go to her," Esme said. "Can you hear her thoughts?"

"They're distant. A whisper," I shrugged. "Is it because she's transforming?"

"If anything, her voice should be louder now," Esme frowned. "Perhaps Riley's corruption went deeper than we believed."

I nodded, leaving them in my kitchen. I stripped off my shirt and spread my wings. I lay down, wrapping my new wings around her body as she snuggled to my chest. Her head was laying just on top of my heart. "Edward," she breathed, moving closer. "Safe ..."

"As are you, pretty Bella," I said, sliding my arms around her waist and closing my eyes, relishing in her warmth, her safety and her love.

xx OOTD xx