Dangerous Weather//Book One

Chapter 13:

The cold air was both soothing and torturous on my throat. As we arrived at the Cullens, Emmett, who had joined me in the bed of the truck during the drive, hopped out, and I followed after him through a side door into what looked to be a garage.

Jasper and Esme were there as well, throwing baggage into different vehicles. I cleared my throat.

Zeus's balls doesn't that hurt.

"So what's the plan here?"

They both had stopped what they were doing to look at me. Jasper was the one who answered first with a shrug.

"I've had to fight our kind before. They're not easy to kill."

"But not impossible," Emmett was quick to point out.

"We tear them apart. Burn the pieces."

The rest of the family had arrived at the garage and Jasper and Esme resumed packing.

"I never relished the thought of killing another creature even a sadistic one like James," Carlisle lamented in a way that made me think that he forgot that for many, the world was to kill or be killed. To simply survive.

"What if he kills one of us first?" Rosalie questioned as she sat on the counter.

"I find that to be a great question." I rasped.

"I'm gonna run Bella south. You need to lead the tracker away from here," Dick told Carlisle.

"That's a horrible idea." My throat is starting to feel like I've swallowed shards of glass, even if I'm not talking.

Dick glared at me, almost daring me to say another word.

"It's a stupid idea." I deadpanned.

Carlisle got in between us before Dick could try and lunge at me. "No, Edward, she's right. James knows you would never leave Bella. He'll follow you."

"I'll take Bella. Jasper and I will drive her south."

But Dick didn't seem too keen on the idea as he pulled her away slightly.

"I'll keep her safe, Edward," Alice promised.

Carlisle turned toward me and his eyes narrowed. "What happened to your throat?"

Rosalie approached from my other side, also eyeing my throat. I felt boxed in.

He brought his hand up as if to check for an injury and I quickly ducked of the way.

"Nothing that won't be dealt with." I quickly pushed passed them. "Can we just get going, please? The further away from here we are, the better."

I followed Alice to a car once everyone began moving again, sitting behind the passenger seat and quickly putting earbuds in so as to ignore everyone around me for as long as possible.

*******

Eight and half hours into the drive, neither Bella nor I could go any longer without a pitstop. The vamps pulled into the first gas station they could find, and we both made a mad dash for the bathrooms.

Taking advantage of the family bathroom, I decided that it would be good time to Chiron.

Creating a rainbow with the sink water, I grabbed a drachma from my pocket.

"O Fleecy, do me a solid, show me Chiron at Camp Half-Blood."

The rainbow shimmered before Chiron appeared, hunched over his desk.

"Earth to Chiron."

He only smiled without looking up and greeted me.

"Hello, Lily. Enjoying Forks?"

"Absolutely not." I coughed, my throat still swollen and bruised from last night.

He finally glanced up at me, and his smile dropped. "What's going on?"

"Vampires. What else?"

He heaved a sigh before fully standing a walking over to the message.

"Am I able to kill them?"

"Yes. But they don't dissipate the same as most monsters. These vampires do not regenerate like other immortals or creatures with healing capabilities. They are practically frozen in time when they are turned and when severely injured, scarred. Like cracks in marble, if you were to cut one with celestial bronze many times and it was unable to ingest blood to heal, it would eventually turn to dust."

"Wait, do different metals affect them differently?"

"Yes. Any metal can be used to injure them. Celestial bronze and imperial gold leave them unable to reattach themselves if, let's say, you cut off an arm or head. The stygian metal turns them to dust because it causes them to reunite with their mortal soul in the Underworld. Incapacitating and then burning the remains would be your best tactic for disposing of vampires."

Taking a deep breath, relieved to have more information about my enemy, I quickly thanked Chiron before swiping through the message and exiting the bathroom.

Back on the road we go, right?