Solar Flare

Chapter 5

Review!

Fan!

Leave a Comment!

Part 5

Alice

            When I resurfaced from the flood of sorrow ten hours later, the sadness and numbness that I had felt was replaced by a strong determination. Sitting here would do no good. I had to protect my coven from the menace of my ex-brother.

            Sprinting towards the scent of Rosalie’s Pink by Victoria’s Secret perfume, thoughts bounced around in my head. My attitude was changing every second, from hopeless, to cool, to lonely. Regardless of what I had thought before, I was feeling a mile a minute.

            I was several miles off the east coast, and the four mixed scents of Emmet, Rosalie, Carlisle, and Jasper were practically hitting me in the face. The panicked smell of vampire sweat, jumbled together with the peach softener that Seem used threatened to make me sick again.

            They were going after Edward. They assumed that he had gone to Italy to kill himself after drinking Bella’s blood. Naturally, that’s what they thought. Edward was their little angel, he had abstained from drinking Bella’s blood for so long, it was a forgivable mistake that he had murdered her. They hadn’t gone home yet, couldn’t have seen the carnage in our very own backyard. And most importantly, they didn’t know the real reason that Edward had paid a visit to the Volturi.

            Across the water, my eyes could almost make out the Cullens. Rosalie’s glossy hair could be seen from outer space. But my family was a good hour away. They were on the beach, while I was wrenching myself out of the weed groves and coral reefs. I submerged completely and accelerated, spinning like a torpedo. But my attempts were futile. I watched helplessly as the Cullen’s ran out of my line of vision. My phone was waterlogged, and theirs probably wouldn’t be on.  I slowed to a front crawl and frowned in defeat.

Part 5: Section 2

Esme

            “Oh, poor Edward,” I thought as we ran towards the crimson walls of our city. “It must be so hard to live with yourself after committing those awful crimes.”

            I was overflowing with compassion and empathy for my son. He had made the gravest mistake I could imagine, but he was paying to highly for it. And Bella, my poor, poor daughter. I hoped that she was reading in some corner of heaven. The thoughts of her were pushing down on me.  Not now, I reminded myself. My living child was my first priority.

            We ran past the guards, too fast for them to comprehend anything but a gust of cool air. My relief grew as we neared an entrance to the tunnels. We were so close. It was only eight o’clock and the tourists must have been feeling lazy. The February weather certainly didn’t encourage visitors. The walls of the city were shielding us on two sides, with a quaint café blocking the third. I heard the breaths of my family, took one of my own (force of habit) and jumped.

            Rose’s hair whipped my face like little blond tentacles. The fall was frightening at best, but it only lasted a few seconds. The floor wasn’t carpeted; my bare feet felt a squishy surface, moss perhaps?  The walls were a bright red color, and I was ashamed to feel an urge to run up and lick them. The passage was dark, but even human eyes could make out the large oak door on the far side of the hall. Without another thought, I followed Carlisle as he strode over and gingerly pushed the door in.

            What I saw hardly surprised me. I had been in the throne room many times. We had entered from a side entrance, so the carpet rolling up to the thrones was diagonal to my feet. On the three golden thrones, sat Aro, Caius, and Marcus. Flanking the thrones were twenty-two guards, eleven on each side. A twenty-third guard stood behind Caius’s throne in the middle. The room was lit naturally, but the guard’s faces and bodies were completely covered in black silk, the girls black lace as well, so we were the only glittering ones.

            “Carlisle, what a pleasure!” Aro cried. “ I have missed you so! The guard just isn’t the same without our little radical!”

            “As have I Aro. But I am afraid that I have not come today on a purely social business. I was wondering about Edward. Has he arrived yet?”

            “Oh, Carlisle I think our newest lieutenant will be able to answer any questions that you have concerning Edward Cullen,” Aro said gleefully.

            “Lieutenant,” Aro cried. The man behind Caius’s throne circled the throne and took a step right so that he was facing Aro, knelt, and kissed his hand.

            “Yes master?” the man inquired in a strong voice that sounded extremely familiar.

            “ Our guests have asked about Edward Cullen. They should be informed all we know,” Aro ordered.

            The man turned to face us. His robe had a mark on the front, and I realized that I had been wrong about him having more authority than the others. He was simply not an officer yet. He lifted up a pale hand and pushed off his hood. I gasped as a familiar face stared at me.

            This wasn’t the Edward I knew, the lean yet pale and tired boy who was my son.  His skin was still white, but shone with health and blood. His under-eye-circles were gone, and his hair had grown springy from lack of gel. His eyes were the red color you see in a ripe apple, and his pupils had grown small and beady. Then I understood, Edward hadn’t come here to relinquish his life. He came to claim power.

            As the pair of unfamiliar eyes stared me down, I felt a shiver go up my spine.