Chapter Six

My eyes bore into the blue light of the alarm clock someone had so conveniently placed on the table sometime during the night. I think it was around four, that’s when I heard the door click closed, and couldn’t sleep after that. Of course I knew they didn’t sleep but knowing one of them had been here while I was asleep? Didn’t like any part of that. They could have bit me! I’d almost jumped out of bed to check but that meant I had to go across the hall to the bathroom. I didn’t feel like stepping outside the room while I was half asleep.

Listening to the house during the night had been odd. I lay in bed running my fingers over my neck, arms and legs as quiet voices and video games went off outside the door. Around four-thirty-ish I heard a piano softly singing from downstairs; I saw it once when I was exploring, a huge black Steinway sitting at the back of the den, and had played it when everyone was gone. I wasn’t good but Renee had forced me to take lessons until I did what all my friends did—whined and begged until she caved and stopped taking me. I couldn’t even remember how to play a simple nocturne. Whoever was playing then had impeccable skill, and I shouldn’t have been surprised seeing as how I was surrounded by “perfect” beings, and having a million-billion years to exist gave plenty of time to practice perfection.

It was soothing for a while, I think I fell asleep between one song and the next, but then the music became angry and I was shot right back to awareness.

Now the clock said it was five twenty-eight in the morning and footsteps went back and forth in front of my door; if I didn’t know any better I’d say someone was pacing. They disappeared down the stairs with the next minute. It was probably Carlisle collecting his things for the day. I remembered when Charlie was up at the crack of dawn, had a cup of coffee with the morning paper, and cleaned his gun before going into the station—but not without kissing my head and ruffling my hair goodbye. Those days seemed so far away. Poor Charlie had quit the force when things started to get bad; the vamps made it almost impossible for the police to do their jobs.

The second the clock shifted to five thirty a soft knock sounded on the door. “Bella, are you awake?” Alice whispered.

“Yeah, I’m awake, Alice,” I groaned. Awake and grumpy—this was going to be a fun day. I hated how I could identify them by voice, and that I remembered and used their names. Time around these vamps was definitely bad for me. “Come in.”

Light from the hallway barely lit the room and her small silhouette leaned against the frame. “I’m turning on the light; close your eyes.” I didn’t and almost regretted it when the harsh light flickered on overhead, causing me to flinch. My eyes adjusted in time to see Alice smiled, moving into the room cautiously. I noticed out of all the Cullen siblings, from what little time I spent with them, that she seemed uncomfortable around me; she was careful with what she said, even if she talked a lot, and every motion she made was deliberate and she made sure I could see it before it happened. Perhaps Alice was just being mindful of my “condition,” as she so nicely called it.

I hated vampires—I wasn’t scared of them.

“How was your night?” she asked kindly. “Did you sleep well?”

I sat up in bed running my fingers through my hair to flatten it, knowing it would be a mess from my tossing and turning. “Can’t complain, I guess. Still alive, right?”

“I’m sorry you feel that way, we’re really not that bad. Maybe if we had met before all this we could be really good friends, you know?”

“No thanks; even without vamps in Forks, I think we’re too different to be friends.” Shut up and get to the point. “Was there something you wanted?”

“Oh, right. I just wanted to let you know that Carlisle is waiting for you in his study. He said he had something important to give you before he left, and the offer to ride with him still stands.”

My heart fluttered at the thought of getting my gun back. Finally! “I’ll go see what he wants then.”

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, that uneasy smile still on her face. What was she thinking? Did I really want to know? I’d rather stay out of a vamps mind; there was no telling what kind of nightmarish scenes lurked there. “One more thing, Bella; what happened with your friend Seth, it wasn’t your fault. The vampire had a sure grip on him, you couldn’t get past him.”

That fluttery feeling I’d had? Yeah—gone. My heart sank into my stomach and I could feel my face turning white. “What are you talking about? How do you know about that?”

“I know a lot of things I’d rather not, but when you don’t ask for this you can’t choose what you get.”

My hands fisted the blanket. “Carlisle killed you, didn’t he?”

“What? No! Oh no, no, no you’ve got it all wrong! Me and Jasper—no, we weren’t—that’s to say . . . no, of course not. But we’re talking about Seth, not me. If you keep your hopes up and an ear to the ground, I think he might still be alive out there somewhere. You survived worse, after all. Anyway, go see Carlisle, he’s expecting you.” With that she ran out the door, closing it behind her.

Didn’t kill her, huh? Why else would she get defensive if that was the case? She didn’t even want to enter into this life and he forced her to. I guess I could feel a little sorry for Alice, having to adjust to an odd life without asking for it. I’d kill myself before I ever became a vampire.

But giving me false hope about Seth was unforgivable. He was dead, he wasn’t coming back, and I had to accept that fact. Letting a little vampire lie to me about my friend—what on earth was I thinking? I could have at least punched her for it . . . if I knew I wouldn’t break my hand in the process.

I sighed and crawled out of bed, stretching my arms over my head. I had to admit, I liked this bed a lot more than I liked my own; it was way more comfortable than what I had in Forks and Jacksonville combined.

Last night, while I was cramming the pillow over my head to block out the deafening piano, I decided I would accept Carlisle’s offer to leave me at a bus station. Sneaking on shouldn’t be a problem, right? So many people rode buses I could easily slip into the crowd. When I got to the Black’s house I’d have no problem with money. I just wanted to get to California and get the gear waiting for me; it was about time I got back to Forks and put a few more kills under my belt. Maybe make a necklace out of shrunken vampire heads.

Five minutes later I was feeling refreshed after washing my face and brushing my teeth in the immaculate bathroom, my hair was tamed into a loose ponytail, and I was dressed and raring to go. All that remained was to get my gun back.

I stood in Carlisle’s study while he taunted me about my gun. He already returned my shoulder holster, which I quickly slid into, feeling nearly complete. Where my gun was, however, I was still guessing. I turned this house inside out several times yet never found it. He had to have carried it on him when he left the house.

Carlisle was sitting behind his desk with his usual pleasant smile on his face while I stood across from him, too uncomfortable to sit. The house’s color scheme stretched into this room making it feel large and comfortable yet the walls were swallowed by the sheer amount of books he collected over the years. I suppose when time means nothing you can do whatever you want, including reading books for all time.

What a waste of a life.

“So are we just wasting time before we have to leave or are you going to give my gun back?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest, tugging on the familiar old leather.

“I must say I’m surprised you even agreed to ride with me,” he answered.

“Lesser of two evils, what more can I say?”

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk, and gave me that look that said he was about drag me through another minefield. Yeah, I already had his mannerisms memorized; it would help if he tried to attack me. Old vamp or not, I wouldn’t be intimidated by him. “It’s not only physical protection why you carry that gun, is it?”

“What are you talking about now?” I huffed.

“At any time you could have run out of here, there are plenty of other guns out there just like the one you carry. Why do you cling to this one? It doesn’t have anything to do with the initials on it, does it?”

I tightened my arms around myself. This thing was too observant. “So you studied it, dusted for fingerprints? Is that why you’re keeping it?”

“I kept it because I knew you wouldn’t leave without it; it was the only way to make sure you healed. Also, I didn’t want any accidents for either party. If you shot yourself in my care, well, it would be very disappointing and disturbing.”

He thought I was weak enough I’d turn to suicide? I never once thought of it. Maybe if I was held captive by a different vamp I’d consider it, but I was too afraid to do it myself. What if I messed up and had to live with the injury? Besides, I killed vampires, not humans.

“My grandfather bought that gun with every intention of hunting vampires,” I answered reluctantly. “They got him before he could fire a shot.”

“They weren’t in rule then. Why would he hunt vampires?”

“Isn’t it obvious? They’ve always been around! Before the takeover they left bodies lying around, they attacked humans with no reason and had no repercussions. Thinking about it, I hate to admit it, but it is a little better now that the vamps have someone to keep them under control. We’re still cattle but as far as I know it’s illegal in their laws to kill someone not under their protection or without the human attacking first.”

“A shame. Don’t misunderstand, it’s wonderful when vampires are not attacking humans, but the ruthlessness is uncalled for.” Carlisle shook his head and stood, going to the cupboard behind his desk. I looked in there before; it was nothing but more books. He pulled a burnt leather book from the shelf, peeled open the crackling pages and pulled out my gun from the hollow space. I balked.

“It was there the whole time?” I shrieked.

He grinned. “I left my study unlocked on purpose so you wouldn’t suspect it was here. Didn’t you ever think to check? I expected more from you.”

“I did, I searched high and low and even considered checking the books but, come on, there’s entirely too many here.”

“I know,” he chuckled. He held out my gun, butt first, and I snatched it from his hands. I ran my fingers lovingly over the grooves and slick black matte paint; it used to be a shiny silver, but that reflects light. I popped the magazine to find it full, the same one I loaded before, and slid it into its spot under my right arm. It was like the lost piece of my soul had been returned and I nearly smiled with how good I felt.

“A Smith & Wesson 9VE, polymer frame, correct?” he asked.

“Yeah. It used to be in terrible shape but Dad refurbished the whole thing. It’s like a brand new gun.”

“It’s very nice but I don’t think it will kill a vampire. You need something with a bigger kick.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Think I don’t know that? I’m on my way to get something that’ll blow ‘em all up. Do you have any suggestions?” Honestly, I didn’t know what was waiting for me in California, I just know that our dealer set aside grade A weapons for me at Charlie’s insistence. I hoped it was a flamethrower. Poof! Crispy vampire!

“My hands are tied here, weapons are not my specialty. I couldn’t even tell how to kill a vampire.”

What a liar; vampires know their own weaknesses, I thought. Before I could call him on it, Esme’s voice floated up the stairs. “Carlisle, you’ll be late.”

“Coming, dear,” he said with a grin. “Well, shall we go, Bella?”

The ride was tense and uncomfortable—or maybe it was just me. Carlisle seemed completely at ease in his dark Mercedes. Perhaps it was only me that was uncomfortable with the tinted windows and classical tunes, not to mention the fact I was sitting in a car with a vampire behind the wheel. Was this his last ditch effort? He could wrap this sucker around a tree and kill me, walking away from the scene without a scratch. Was I really convinced he was trying to kill me after the week and a half I spent in his house, perfectly safe? Maybe a little. But vampires are obnoxious like that.

They get into your head with their compulsion ability, take you off guard, and then when you think they’re your friend—bam! They kill you. At least I had my gun back, safety off and protective latch unsecured. On the bad side I smelled like a vampire. I couldn’t walk around in public with my gun in sight so I was offered a coat; unfortunately all the coats in my closet were too tight and showed the bulge under my arm. Alice stole one of Edward’s coats much to his—and mine—disgust. But we were similar in build—meaning I wasn’t bulky like Emmett or as tall as Jasper, and everything Alice had was too tiny, and the blond I only saw in passing was too skinny—and the coat hid my gun well while I could easily get to it. I couldn’t complain.

What would Billy Black say when I showed up smelling like a vamp? Sure, not many people could smell it, or sometimes it was incredibly pleasing to their weak minds, but when your life depended on being able to spot a monster you quickly picked up on small things like that. Being from the rez, he was especially aware of everything about vampires, and he’d probably put me on lockdown to make sure I hadn’t gone undead or turned into a bloodwhore. I shuddered just thinking about it. Why would anyone willingly do such a thing? Knowing there were people out there giving themselves up made me sick. It had to stop.

I laid my head back and sighed. This thirty minute joy ride seemed like an eternity. I didn’t even know if he was going the right way; I only had a single address to go on. Maybe I would be better off walking around in a pitch black box. Yeah, definitely have a better sense of direction there.

“It’s not much further,” Carlisle said. “You’ll see the hospital in a matter of seconds and the bus station is just beyond it.”

As he said that we finally broke out of the wooded area and into the large city of Portland. It was a little brighter out of the trees but it seemed incredibly overpopulated; everywhere I looked there was a house or store, people flooded the sidewalks. Were we in New York by mistake?

“I don’t even have bus fare,” I said. “How easy do you think it will be to slip onto the bus?”

“No need to worry, I have it covered. Esme and I made you a little thank you gift last night.”

“Gift? Thanks for what?”

He chuckled as he expertly maneuvered around cars parked on the road, squeezing into areas I thought his car was too big to fit. It kind of reminded me of Mike, except he would be going twice the speed limit and against the flow of traffic, laughing all the way. “Thanks for not killing us, of course. You are a fearsome vampire hunter, after all, and we are but lowly targets. At any time you could have destroyed us.”

I crossed my arms over my chest in a defiant pout. “That’s not funny. I couldn’t hurt you if I tried, not to mention I’d have to fight through your fledglings in order to get to you. There’s no way they’d stand off to the side while their master was in danger.”

“Those are very strong accusations for a young girl. How much do you know about vampires, Bella?”

“I know that you’re killers, you all fight a bloodlust, you take bloodwhores and create Renfields’, you make fledglings, and you’re constantly trying to move up the social ladder to gain a higher power while I’m assuming territory goes with it. I know you don’t fear sunlight, holy water has no effect against you, bullets only incapacitate when shot in the heart or head, and even thinking garlic can do something means that’ll be the first human dead. Did I about cover it, besides the whole being a thousand times stronger and faster than us thing?”

With each word out of my mouth I watched his eyebrows rise higher and higher on his forehead until they nearly touched his hairline. Apparently he wasn’t aware that living on the frontlines will teach a human a lot about their enemy; maybe he thought I was stupider than I looked, which was what I usually counted on from a vamp. Having them underestimate me was what made me stronger than them. It wasn’t all about physical strength.

A large tan building stretched against the sky in the middle of the town. It looked like every other hospital on earth with its high walls and hundreds of windows, nice courtyard though; there was one in Seattle that could be its twin, but this one was called Legacy Emanuel Hospital. It had to be Carlisle’s job.

“Is that where you work?” I asked, trying to shift the conversation to make him more comfortable. A childish question seemed the best way to do it.

He smiled, relaxing. “Yes, that is where I’m currently working. So far it’s been two years since we came to Portland and we’ve had a better experience here then anywhere else. I’ll be a little sad to leave this area, but I’m always upset I have to leave my patients in the hospital.”

“What age are you masquerading?”

“I was thirty-seven when I moved here, Esme was thirty-three; all our children are adopted.”

I scoffed. “You don’t look a day over twenty-four.” I slapped my hand over my mouth, wishing with every fiber of my being I could take that back. Did I just compliment a vampire? Without thinking? “S-so how old are you really?”

“That’s for me to know, and you to never guess. I assure you I’m old enough that I could . . . I could fly if I so choose!” He laughed at his stupid joke by himself; there was no way I was slipping up again, and the thought of flying vampires wasn’t exactly funny. Try more like scary.

Carlisle brought the Mercedes to a stop next to a curb and turned to me with a smile. “I suppose this is where we say goodbye.”

I looked out the window to find he hadn’t dropped me off at a bus station but a bus stop. I turned to him with an expression that got the point across very clearly. He said bus station, I say what the hell?

“This isn’t a bus station, it’s a stop,” I said irritably. “I could be standing there for hours.”

“Do you have that little faith in me after this past week? You are a strange one, indeed. Here, I have something for you, Bella.” He reached into the pocket on his door and produced a small blue velvet pouch tied with a golden ribbon. He held it out for me and I snatched it from his hand, all the while glaring at him.

I carefully pulled it open away from my face—just in case, anything could have been inside—but when nothing happened, I peered into the pouch to find . . . money. Carlisle continued to give me his patient smile when I asked, “What is this?”

“A gift from Esme and myself, I told you that. She was worried about you and wanted to send something small with you, just to make sure you get where you’re going.”

“I won’t accept this.” I tied the pouch up and set it on the console between the seats.

“I insist, Bella, please take it with you. You don’t even have to thank me for it, but you need the bus fare anyway, and our number is in there incase you ever need anything. We’re happy to help you whenever you may need us.”

He really thinks I need his help? Us humans can take care of ourselves! That was my first reaction, but then I remembered exactly what he was and how it could possibly be used. He was an old vampire who had a big coven and lived undisturbed by the rest of his race. Was he that respected, or was he a laughing stock because of his diet? The other vamps could see him as a disgrace to their world and that’s why they never bothered with him.

I shook my head and grabbed the pouch, stuffing it into the pocket of the coat. The money could come in handy; I’d tear up the number when I was on the bus. Dad would be so disappointed to know I accepted anything from a vampire, especially money.

“You’re welcome, Bella,” Carlisle said sincerely. “Esme and I were happy to have you this past week. I hope we’ll see you again on much better terms.”

I popped the door open, letting the cool fresh air into the stuffy interior, and stopped myself from jumping out. “What stop do I need?” I asked.

“You want to wait until the third stop, it’ll drop you off in front of an auto shop, follow the road south, that’s towards the shop’s garage, and Hancock is the first street.”

Towards the garage, got it. I mustered up all the sarcasm I’d withheld in the past week and threw it in his face. “Well, it’s been oodles of fun staying with your family but I’m afraid we’re just too different to carry on, so I guess the next time I’ll be seeing you is if you’re unfortunate enough to be staring down the barrel of my pistol.”

“Or one of the nice big guns you’ll receive in California,” he supplied dryly.

“Yeah, or that. See you around, Dr. Carlisle Cullen.”

“Good luck to you, Isabella Swan.”

I wasn’t going to ask how he knew my whole name, but instead went for something that I was a little more curious about. After pulling myself out of the car, I bent to see his face and asked, “Five hundred twenty-nine?”

He laughed. “Too far, Bella. You might get it one day.”

I slammed the door and waited for the Mercedes to pull away before sitting in the glass shelter. The bus appeared barely fifteen seconds later.