CH 17

Unaware by the changes I had undergone, the conversation between Carlisle and the visitors had kept going on. They inquired whether they could join us to play, but Carlisle made an excuse to avoid that.

"Are you planning on staying in this area for long?" Carlisle asked.

"We're headed north, but we were curious to see who was in the neighborhood. We haven't run into any company in a long time." Laurent explained.

"No, this region is usually empty, except for us, and the occasional visitors like you." Carlisle replied.

I noticed Jasper shifting slightly so that he had everyone in his vision. Soon, everyone felt a gentle sense of calm and the conversation started getting more peaceful and relaxed as Carlisle told the visitors about the Cullen's and the Denali Coven's 'Hunting Range'.

He also invited the visitors to the Cullen Home for a change of clothes and shower. The trio seemed genuinely interested in that offer and everything seemed to have been resolved.

However, right at that moment, everything that could go wrong seemed to go wrong at once. A breeze blew from out backs, carrying our scent towards the Visitors. The vampire called James immediately locked onto it and got in a hunting crouch.

I wanted to groan in exasperation. Currently I had enough control on my powers to hide my own scent, but I was powerless to do anything about Bella. I watched in nervousness as the peaceful atmosphere disappeared in an instant as Edward and James got ready to face each other in combat, menacing growls ripping out of their throat.

"What is this?" Laurent asked in surprise.

"She is with us." Carlisle said in a firm voice, directing his words to James, as Laurent seemed to catch the scent less accurately than James.

"You brought a snack?" Laurent asked, his expression incredulous as he took an involuntary step forward. Edward immediately let out a snarl in his direction and Laurent backed off.

"I said she is with us." Carlisle reminded him.

"But she is a human, isn't she?" Laurent said with protest in his tone.

"Yes." Emmett chimed in as he and Jasper flanked Carlisle, their eyes fixed on James. James noticed the two very obvious threats and reluctantly got out of his crouching stance.

Noticing the tense atmosphere, Laurent tried to defuse the situation, "Clearly we have a lot to learn about each other. But we would like to take you up on the offer for that shower."

Turning his head momentarily towards Bella, he continued, "And of course we will not harm the girl. As I promised, we wont hunt in this area."

James however looked at Laurent in disbelief and aggravation, before turning his eyes to Victoria, whose eyes were flickering from person to person rapidly. I noticed she seemed to look at me quite a few times but I made it a point to ignore her.

Carlisle seemed to agree to Laurent's gesture of peace, but he instructed Edward, Alice, Emmett, and Edythe to drop Bella home. The whole time, Carlisle had been making every effort not to let anyone notice my existence in his words, since he had noticed that Neither Laurent nor James seemed to mention anything about me.

Edward carried Bella and Edythe carried me as all six of us reached Edward's Jeep at impossible level of speed. I was in awe of that, as I didn't even manage to gain this level of speed when I was transformed using the bracelet Edythe had given me.

This meant that while I could have strength and durability, I would still be lacking in the aspect of speed when compared to a Vampire. I hard to work harder in future to improve my abilities.

We all got into the Jeep and Edward placed Bella in the backseat in a hurry. Barking orders to strap her in, he started the Jeep and drove in a hurry. He drove in almost reckless speed, not caring about the jolts and uneven roads.

Bella started creating a tantrum at Edward's action of not telling her where he was taking them. After Bella raged for a while, Edythe intervened into the situation.

"Bella, Edward is being so unreasonable because James turned out to be not a normal kind of vampire. He is a tracker, a special kind of vampire who has gifts similar to Edward, Alice and me. Only his gifts make him an exceptional hunter, and he has designated you specifically as his prey."

"That is right," Edward finally started talking, "No thing is going to stop him in his goals. He will go through any and all ways he can conceive to get through to Bella."

"Charlie.." Bella suddenly said "Edward!! Charlie!!! He is in Danger!!"

Bella, Edward and Alice soon made a plan to deceive Charlie and the Visiting Vampires. Soon after dropping Bella to her home, she acted as planned and Edward helped her pack secretly.

Within minutes Bella was out again and we were all off to Cullen Home. Edward and Emmett rode Bella's Truck while Edythe and I rode the Jeep with Alice. Alice and Edythe commented that James was still following us from a distance, like the tracker he was.

We soon arrived at the house and drove in through the hidden driveway. By the time Alice, Edythe and I arrived inside, we saw Emmett and Edward growling at Laurent, who was in the house, looking at them nervously.

While Edward informed Laurent about James and his actions, Edythe dragged me upstairs to her room. Closing the door, she dragged me to the quietest part of the room. Holding me close to her, she whispered in my ear as gently as she could.

"Are you okay?" Edythe asked, "We will probably soon be involved in fight between vampires. If you want you can still back out."

"I am not letting you and your family face this alone." I said with a smile as I wrapped my arms around Edythe, "If there is anything in my powers that I can use to help you guys then I will."

Edythe smiled and gently pressed her lips onto mine. She soon pulled back and continued to tell Edward's plan. Edythe, Esme and Rosalie would be distracting James by taking Bella's truck while one of them wears Bella's clothes.

At the same time, Edward, Carlisle and Emmett would take the Jeep as the 'Hunting Party'. Alice, Jasper and I will be in charge of running away with Bella in a Mercedes Jasper had stashed away secretly for emergencies. Edward had put me in this group so that Bella would have someone 'Human' to talk to.

Everyone was soon ready for their respective group. Edythe came up to me and kissed me one last time before she joined Esme and Rosalie in the car. Edward, Carlisle, and Emmett soon followed them in the Jeep.

Alice went into a trance like state as predicted James's moves. Once she determined that everything was going according to plan, She picked up Bella while Jasper picked me up. For the umpteenth time I wished I could find a transformation that will let me be as fast as these vampires.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

We travelled all night in incredible speed, the Mercedes being pushed to its limits constantly. I idly wondered if Vampires with Hand-drawn carriages would be faster than a sports car's highest speed?

Jasper decided that since we were going to Phoenix, it would be best if we stayed near a Airport, just in case. The guy was truly a combination of Paranoia and ADHD. I wondered if the reason he always seemed so calm was that he used his powers of manipulating emotions on himself.

By the time dawn came, we had begun to see the typical scenery of Phoenix- the palm trees, the scrubby creosote, the haphazard lines of the intersecting freeways, the green swaths of golf courses and turquoise splotches of swimming pools, all submerged in thing smog and surrounded by short rocky ridges that weren't tall enough to be called mountains.

After Jasper asked the sleepy looking Bella for directions to the Airport, we found a small motel practically next to the airport where we would be hiding till we get more information from Edward.

The room we rented had two bedrooms and a hall. Bella was put in one room and I was given the other. While I suggested that Alice and Jasper should take the other room as they were the couple, Alice said that they planned to stay alert as Alice needed to monitor every change in the future events.

Since they insisted, I took the other bedroom and spent the time practicing my transformation. I had previously used Tungsten, which gave me great strength, defense, and reflexes. This time I tried practicing with Osmium.

The moment the transformation was complete, I felt an incredible sense of weight. However, I was not hindered by it. It was as if this weight was transformed directly into a powerful momentum whenever I wanted to move.

When I tried some basic punches and kicks, I could hear low booming sounds in the air. Seeing this, a smile formed on my face. This was going to be interesting.