Burning Star: A Twilight FanFic

Ch 12- First Step

"Once I introduce you to Alunara there's no turning back," I warned him. Our late night conversation had not left either of our thoughts. This would be my last chance to warn him. His last chance to let go.

"There's nothing but you," he whispered. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around his waist. I felt his heart beating against my face. His long arms wrapped around me. We sat there for a long time. Though I knew it was the beginning of an eternity of love, I knew that it was also the first day he'd live as a true immortal. For the first time, he'd see how finite the world around him was. He'd never see things the same way again.

As we were driving, I found myself absentmindedly singing along to the radio. I was wrapping up my duet with Hayley Williams- The Only Exception- I saw him smile out of the corner of my eye. I smiled too. I knew then that we'd be ok. We'd face forever together, we'd find happiness together. It would always be us.

"Seems like an appropriate song," he said.

I laughed. "I like it," I agreed.

Everyone was ready at the Cullen house. I did notice that Berit and Mitch were missing, the boys too. Raven and her mate Embry were there though.

"Mom and Dad went to visit their meeting place. The twins are in the woods, and Koda's with Casey," Raven explained before I could ask.

"I see. And what are you doing here?"

"Passing something along. I need you to tell Alunara something," she said. I raised my eyebrows. "The past cannot be erased. What was forgotten can always be remembered. Long lost ravens can always fly back."

Everyone stared at her like she was crazy. As usual, she was totally unfazed by that. 

"I'll pass that along," I promised. It was certainly cryptic, but the prophecies of diviners often were.

"Cool. That's all I needed. Good luck!" Embry managed to get in a goodbye before she dragged him out the door. I silently wished him good luck. Raven was a lot to handle for the rest of your life.

"Well," I said clapping my hands. "Let's get going." 

I turned around to the closed front door and pressed my hand to it. There was a quick flash of light- a side effect of the gate cast- and then I felt the portal on the other side. I opened the door to reveal the black void of the gate. 

"Who's first?"

It was Emmett who swaggered up first. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Others among the group did not. Carlisle followed next, Esme right behind him. Alice skipped up and passed through casually. Jasper trailed her warily. Rosalie shot me a quick glance, but walked through without any other sign of hesitation. Renesmee and Jacob went before Edward and Bella. Before  Edward left, I put a block on his gift, and he frowned in response. Leah stepped through behind them.

"Go ahead," I told Seth. "I have to close it behind me, so I need to be last."

And then we were all there, standing in the exit room. My companions stared curiously at the empty doorways and iPads beside them.

"What's with the tablets?" Emmett asked.

"Oh, they show the different codes you use to get to a gate. There are a few hundred thousand in the world, so it's not really feasible to memorize them all," I explained. I moved to the front of the group and led them out into the lounge area.

Elsie and Mars were waiting. The violet eyed hellion was laying upside down on a couch with her mate sitting normally besides her. 

"You're doing that wrong," I stated drily.

"Can it, Blondie," she snapped. There was no time between the end of her words and her shift of position. She was suddenly standing in front of us, looking expectantly at the others. 

Everyone behind me tensed up. Elsie, like all hellions, had an aura that unsettled everyone she met. Those belonging to the supernatural world felt it more intensely. Her smooth, hard skin was extremely pale, just like a vampire's, but with their enhanced eyesight, they could see the difference. Vampire skin was a flat white. No color behind it. A hellion's skin had a gray and purple cast to it, a sign of the inky black blood flowing through their veins. Her eyes were a bright purple, shockingly intense. And she was stunningly beautiful. 

In a surprising display of control, I felt Jasper release waves of calm over them. Impressive. I expected him to be one of the most defensive.

Mars came to stand beside Elsie. "It's good to see you, Brielle," she said softly.

"Oh yeah," the Hellion interrupted, "What's it been, three days? Wow, so long!"

"Do you have an off button?" I asked. She stuck her tongue out.

Always the voice of calm and reason, Mars turned to the guests. "Welcome to the Archives, everyone. I'm Mars, and this is Elizaveta, a hellion and the niece of the Grand High Witch. We'll be helping to guide you today. The Grand High Witch is waiting in the offices."

Mar's appearance was almost as shocking as her mate's. Her extremely dark skin was a stark contrast to her long rows of pure white braids. Golden piercings on her lips, her nose, eyebrow, and ears perfectly match the bright color of her eyes. The piercings were actually somewhat ceremonial. Unlike everyone else here, Mars was technically human. She was just a product of a long line of people who'd become genetically stronger, a strength beyond what most vampires could match. 

Suddenly, a tiny person's body slammed into Elsie. Since they were also a Hellion, Elsie actually stumbled. The sound resulting from the massive amount of force the collision released was quite loud.

"What the heck, you little brat?" Elsie yelled.

A maniacal laugh filled the air. "Olly gave me permission so you can't say anything," Angel retorted. Elsie huffed.

"So, is there a reason tried to knock your sister into the next century?" Mars prompted.

"Uh huh. Al asked me to bring Carlisle Cullen to the office," she explained. Angel looked very similar to her sister. The only difference aside from age was the curls the little one had. Of all of the partial hellions, people seemed most unnerved by Angel. The air of extreme danger was most unnatural coming from an eleven year old girl.

I turned to Carlisle. "This is Angelina, the Grand High Witch's other niece. She'll escort you to the interview room, and then help you find everyone else afterward. You should probably go now. Don't worry about anything, she's just trying to get a more complete version of your story."

Just as Angel was about to lead Carlisle away, a deep roar rang out from deep with in the Archives. And then suddenly standing directly in front of a stunned Leah was Mikhail, her new found mate.