The Other Side of the Lie (EDITING, ON HOLD)

Twelve-Bella

Bella was delighted at how quickly she had learned to use her magic. Once she stopped suppressing it, she found it came more easily and quickly the more she used it. It was so easy to perform magic on herself. Levitating was simple, until she had to also get her brother in the air–and keep him there. More than once she dropped him, but after a bit she finally got the hang of it. Of course, she didn't have to hold him in the air dozens if not hundreds of feet in the air.

She looked up the sheer face of the cliff to where the bits of metal that hadn't been rusted over yet glinted in the early morning light. It was so high... Bella felt her stomach twist in uneasiness. If she dropped Hunter, she had no idea what she would do. Of course, Swift was there to catch him in the event that did happen, but there were no guarantees he would be able to catch him.

"Ready?"

Bella glanced at Hawk. "What if I said no?"

"Well, we've got to do this either way," he answered.

With a sigh Bella nodded. "Give me a second first," she said. She quickly finger-combed her hair, wincing at every knot, and pulled a hair band from her jeans pocket. The wind would be strong up there, and she didn't want the wind to toss her hair around. It was already tangled enough. Tying it back would at least keep it out of her face.

"Do you have a second one?" Mist asked her. Bella looked up in surprise.

"What, a hair band?"

"Yes. It's a good idea to keep it out of your face, especially with how windy it's bound to be up there," the werewolf said.

"That is just what I was thinking. And sure, I think I might have another." Bella dug around in her pocket again and came up with not one but two more. Bella was grateful she had worn jeans and a blouse to Esme's party. If she had been wearing a dress, she wouldn't have had pockets. Also, in the forest it would have been very inconvenient. However, her clothes were dirty, and she needed a shower. Or better yet, a nice, long bath. Yes, that did sound wonderful.

After this ordeal, Hawk had said he would help get her and Hunter to the witch territories where she would be safe. Once there she could have a bath every day if she wanted. Well, maybe. She wasn't sure if they had running water, though they likely did. Magic was a very useful tool that could deal with problems of many kinds. She was coming to learn that fact.

Once Mist had put her hair into a white braid, everyone was ready to go. To Bella's great surprise and relief, the group reached the sewage grate without a problem. In all honesty, she had expected Swift to lose his grip on the cliff and fall before anyone could catch him, or that Bella would drop her brother, or that Hunter would drop Mist. She had also worried she would fall as well. Bella really, really didn't want to die.

They got in without a hitch. Swift was able to pry open the bars until the space was wide enough for Hunter–the oldest and biggest of them–to squeeze through. It hadn't rained for a few days, so the stone was relatively dry, if cold.

"Where do we go from here?" Mist asked once everyone was safely inside the tunnel. It was bigger than Bella had expected but it was also narrow.

"How fast can you transform?" Hawk asked.

Mist thought for a moment. "It takes a second for the physical transformation to start, and if I have to do it without notice I get a little disoriented so add a few more seconds in that situation. Why do you want to know?"

"Well when Vulture and his band cornered us I blinked and you'd changed and ripped out someone's throat. I just wanted to know how quickly you would be able to react if we are taken by surprise," he explained.