Midnight Moon (2)

Chapter 18 - Unveiled

Alice is dancing again. Esme noted as she watched her daughter flit through the tree branches. She smiled warmly to herself.

But then suddenly, Alice faltered and fell off the tree. She managed to put herself upright, but this was normal, Alice was a vampire. What was not normal, was a vampire ever falling. Esme rushed outside, quickly accompanied by Jasper and Carlisle.

"Alice?" asked Jasper, he crouched down next to her and leaned his forehead against hers, trying to get a better idea of what she was feeling. Alice's eyes were wide in shock and she was stuttering incomprehensibly.

"The Volturi." she finally managed to get out with a gasp. "They've sent out..." she lapsed into silence again, struggling to find the right words as her vision was overtaken by another prophecy.

"We need Edward." said Carlisle. Esme sighed, Edward was far away in Volterra. It would be at least a day before he could come back, most likely more. "Jasper, get Alice inside, and give her some paper. Maybe she can draw what she's seeing and we can decipher it."

Carlisle turned to Esme and kissed her gently on the forehead.

"My love, I must go now to check on Tristan. Seth may come by later. Do not let him go to the cave, he was traumatised the last time." Carlisle embraced Esme tightly. She closed her eyes, savouring his touch. When she opened them again, Carlisle was already gone, only a rustle of branches to note his absence.

Inside, Esme found Jasper and Alice sitting on the couch. Jasper had his eyes locked on Alice while she was scribbling her visions down on sheets of white paper. Nearby, Rosalie stood angrily, her arms folded into a cross.

"This god damn place is a madhouse." she swore angrily. Just then, Esme noticed the package of blood sitting on the counter top. That was strange. Carlisle never forgets anything. Why wasn't he bringing Tristan his blood?

"Rosalie," Esme called, "Seth will be by later, I've left some things in the fridge to give to him, could you let him in?"

"Why do I have to deal with the stinky baby mutt?" grumbled Rosalie. "Fine. So long as the giant baby mutt with a bad crew cut doesn't come too."

Esme placed the package into a saddle bag and made her way to the caves. She liked to go at a slower pace, to observe and pay attention to her surroundings. That was one of the things she hated the most from the change, Nature was scared of her now. Of course nobody knew this. Nobody except for Edward, but he never told a soul and they never talked about it.

Esme approached the cave. When she arrived, Jared and Paul were already standing there, their shackles raised before relaxing when they saw who it was. Esme smiled cordially at them before entering the cave. The inside was incredibly smelly and Esme soon realised why. It was sulfur. There was a natural source within this cave.

A chill crawled down her spine and she resisted the urge to run. She made her way deeper in. The smell got even worse. When she arrived at the centre, Carlisle was already waiting for her. But her attention wasn't on him. It was behind, where Tristan was.

He had turned smooth and beautiful, his skin was lighter, his hair shinier. Vampire life suited him. But surrounding him, was a wall of fire, directly lit from sources that bubbled beneath him. And his jaw was detached again, inhumanely. Loud noise, almost birdlike screeches were being emitted. Esme had never seen anything so ghastly.

"I'm sorry, I should have told you." said Carlisle gently.

Esme didn't pay attention. She could hear what Tristan was saying.

Bring me Neveah, Bring me Neveah...