Grey Skies and Blue Eyes

Chapter Seventeen

While it was obvious that they weren't human, their beauty seemed a little wilder than the Cullen's. There were two males and one female. The first male, the obvious leader, was dark skinned, but still pallor in appearance. The man to the left of him was blonde and had blood red eyes, but his eyes held a wild, calculating quality to them that made Evie want to shudder in fear. Besides his inhuman beauty, however, Evie could honestly say he was fairly average in the looks department. The only female of the group was similar to the blonde male in the unnerving feeling she gave Evie, but she was definitely beautiful. She had flaming red hair that spiraled down past her lower back in wild and unkempt curls. There were quite a few leaves and a couple twigs sticking out from her hair as well, making her look more like a predator than the other two in their group. "Hello, I am Laurent, and this is James and Victoria. We heard you playing and thought you could use a few extra players. Mind if we join?"

Carlisle seemed to take a moment before replying, as if deciding on the right wording. "Welcome. I am Carlisle and this is my family, Emmett, Rosalie, Edward, Bella, Esme, Evelyn, Jasper, and Alice." The way he introduced everyone, without pointing anyone out, made it so that the three nomad's attention didn't stray to any one person for too long. "We were actually just finishing, but perhaps another time?" Victoria's gaze seemed to drift lazily away from Carlisle, seemingly bored, and over each person. Her eyes landed on Bella first, Evie noted, and her lips twitched slightly, as if in amusement, then continued on to the rest of the group. A flash of fear had Evie glancing down just before she felt the red eyed vampires piercing gaze on herself. The uncomfortable feeling lasted for only a few seconds, but it was enough for Carlisle to realize this and carefully adjust his stance slightly to stand directly in front of Evie.

"Yes, perhaps," Laurent replied, sounding slightly curious. "I must offer my apologies, as we did not realize that this was your territory. What is your range, if I may ask?" Evie could see Carlisle tense slightly.

"We hunt mainly in the Pacific North West, but we maintain a permanent residence nearby."

"Permanent?" Laurent asked, his voice filled with curiosity and shock.

"Yes, permanent. I must ask that you refrain from hunting in this area. Due to our permanent residence here, we must keep a low profile." Laurent nodded, though his other two companions looked slightly less understanding.

"Of course, we just ate outside of Seattle anyway." At Laurent's words, James threw him an incredulous look. Laurent didn't seem to notice, or care, as he spoke once more. "If I may ask, how do you manage to maintain a permanent residence? It seems so," he paused, tilting his head slightly, "humane."

The way Carlisle tensed up, not in a threatening manner, but in as if he was uncomfortable had Evie tensing up as well. She felt a wave a calm spread over the group, immediately knowing it was Jasper. Evie, though she hadn't really known Carlisle for long, felt as if she completely understood his reaction. Naturally, Carlisle wanted to help everyone. At the same time, however, he didn't want to put his family, let alone the two very human girls with them, in danger. "If you'd like, you are more than welcome to come back to our home with us and discuss our lifestyle." Laurent seemed to be the only one of the three nomads to be pleased at Carlisle's invitation. James and Victoria merely shared a glance, one that Evie didn't particularly understand as she wasn't an empath nor could she read minds.

"That would be most appreciated. It has been quite a while since any of us have been able to freshen up." Carlisle plastered on a, mostly, fake smile, and turned to the side slightly to address Edward.

"Why don't you, Alice, Bella, Emmett, and Evelyn go fetch the jeep and meet us back at the house. The rest of us will escort our guests." Carlisle's tone held no room for questioning, and Edward, Evie assumed, was reading his mind to see if that was what he really wanted. With a curt nod from Edward, the three vampires to remain in Bella and Evie's presence silently formed a wall behind the two girls. They hadn't made it two steps before a gust of wind blew throughout the clearing, finally giving the three nomads the scent of the two girls. Everything seemed to happen in a split second as all of the Cullen's leapt in front of the two girls, Edward and Carlisle taking the front, blocking Evie and Bella from sight. The wild, hungry look in the three nomad's eyes seemed to take on an evil glint. Evie reached for Bella's hand, terrified for herself and her sister.