The Beacon -Paul Lahote 2-

Chapter 10

"I don't really know what to do," Esme mutters. "We've looked everywhere for answers."

"We need to keep looking," Jasper argues with her.

"Where," Edward asks. "Where else do we have to look?"

Alice pulls at the bottom of her shirt. "We can not give up on her."

"Nobody is saying that," Rosalie stopped her. "But we're not finding any answers here." They weren't finding any answers at all. "I really think it might be something else." She wasn't the only one thinking that.

Carlisle thinks about her words for a moment. "Here, you're right. We won't find answers here."

That confused them. "What are you saying?"

"Ireland. That is where the Banshee myth originates from." He pulls a book off the shelf. "We've been looking for answers in the wrong place this entire time. If this issue is Banshee-related, we need to go back to where it started."

"We can't pull Mavis out of school," Alice argued. "We've uprooted her enough times. I promised we would let her finish high school here."

Carlisle thinks for a moment. He agrees with Alice. "Esme and I will go. We'll leave tomorrow." Esme nods, "don't tell her. We don't need to worry her any more than she already has." They all agreed. "Mavis is a part of this family. We will not rest until we have answers."

"We don't rest anyway," Emmett mutters. Rosalie elbowed him. "Sorry."

Jasper glances out the window, "what if we don't find any?"

"Jasper-"

He pushes Alice's hand off his arm. "She's my daughter. I've watched her change from the happy version of herself into something else because of this." Mavis had changed a great deal since her abilities appeared nearly a year ago. "We are already losing her. What if we can't find any answers?" None of them have an answer. "I can't lose her."

"We won't," Rosalie promises. "Mavis is stronger than any of us."

"This will work," Alice places a hand on his shoulder. "We will find answers." They all wanted the old version of Mavis to return. The happy version. This version was in pain, and they all knew it. All they wanted to do was help.

"We will," Carlisle promises. "I will not rest until we have answers."

That seemed to ease Jasper's worries, but not entirely. He had grown tired of watching Mavis suffer to her own mind. He needed to help her. He had to. His daughter was suffering, and it was his job as a father to help.

"We need to figure it out," Esme says. "She's strong, this is true, but the mind is fragile. I am worried how much more she can bend before she breaks."

"What do you mean," Emmett questions.

"I think what she means," Carlisle spoke for her. "Is that the mind is a fragile structure. It can fracture under pressure. Mavis is already dealing with her Banshee instincts. Her mind is different from ours. It's more susceptible to damage." They all stared at him, "it will fracture. And when it does, I don't know if we can fix it."

There was a heavy silence. "Okay, I'll say it." Emmett raises his hand, "I love Mavis, but this isn't the right place for her. We should send her to a hospital-"

"A mental hospital? No," Alice would never do that. She knew how those places work. "She isn't safe there. We can help her."

"Can we," Edward whispers. "She's already losing her mind."

"Mavis isn't crazy," Jasper argued.

Rosalie wasn't so sure, "she hears things. She sees things. That isn't normal for a Banshee. Maybe we need to start asking ourselves if she's having these issues because she's a Banshee, or if it's something else."