A F T E R D A R K | PAUL LAHOTE - 1

52

He made a small noise of discomfort but he showed no sign of pain and after thirty seconds or so Kate let go of him, "It's painful but it's bearable." He told us.

Bella broke out into a smile and nodded triumphantly, "Okay, we should go again."

Edward turned to his adoptive brother, "Emmett?"

"I'm good." He protested immediately.

I sighed, rolling my eyes softly before I came up with an idea. I glanced to my sister, "I've got an idea."

"You do?" She asked.

I nodded, "If no one wants to face Kate's electrocution of course." I told her, "It helps both you and me."

Edward nodded once, "What's your idea?"

"What if Bella stands in front of you guys." I said, directing my conversation to Emmett, Edward and Garrett, "She projects her shield and I use a gift of someone else's to see if she can block it."

"Depends on who's gift you're going to use." Garrett said skeptically, "I wouldn't classify some of them as gifts."

I nodded, "I was thinking one that would be used against us.. Alec's quite possibly."

Emmett's face twisted, "I don't know about that—"

"—I wouldn't let it get that far." I interrupted, "If Bella can't project it I'll stop."

The three of them all exchanged small glances before looking back to me, all nodding. I looked to Bella, "Only if you're okay with it?"

She too nodded, "Yeah, why not?" She asked, moving to stand in front of the three, "It gives us both the practice."

I took my own spot directly opposite her but standing a few feet away. Alec's vapour could spread fast if you allowed your focus to get too carried away with how it grows. Everyone who wasn't participating in our experiment stepped back out of caution.

I held my hands out, palms towards the sky and looked solely at Bella, "Are you ready?"

She only nodded and I did in return, taking a deep breath as I focused on the black vapour. My hands started to tingle as I felt the fog dripping out of my hands, it seeped on to the ground and pooled around my ankles as it travelled across the forest floor growing closer and closer to Bella every second.

I could see Edward and Garrett cringing back slightly out of my peripheral vision as Emmett dropped his crossed arms.

The black smoke was vast in majority but it was completely at my mercy, I was the one controlling it and it reached Bella's feet. Instead of seeing it engulf her legs it began to disperse outwards, disappearing, as if it was evaporating into the air. Bella had successfully projected a shield strong enough to protect herself plus three others from a paralysing vapour.

I dropped my hands completely, any remaining black fog disappearing at my disposal as I grinned at Bella. She smiled triumphantly back at me as Edward, Emmett and Garrett visibly relaxed, all three of them sighing loudly in relief.

Bella had this. Producing a shield to protect other people was something she could nail with a little bit more practice and it would be something I would be able to achieve too — once she worked out how to teach me of course.

* * *

I relaxed fully in the drivers seat, drumming my finger against the steering wheel softly as I listened to the quiet tune of the song playing on the radio. I drove the familiar route from Charlie's place to Carlisle's casually, actually sticking to the legal speed limits.