Twilight Imagines

The new Denali part 5

Word count: 1170

"Chelsea is trying to break our bindings," Edward whispered. "But she can't find them. She can't feel us here. . . ." His eyes cut to Bella. "Are you doing that?" she smiled grimly at him. "I am all over this."
Edward lurched away from her suddenly, his hand reaching out toward Carlisle. "Carlisle? Are you all right?" Edward gasped frantically.
"Yes. Why?" "Jane," Edward answered. Bella glanced around her quickly; everyone was fine. "Incredible," Edward said. "Why aren't they waiting for the decision?" Tanya hissed. She moved out of your embrace to stand behind you slightly, wrapping her arms around your waist once more. In her eyes, you were the young one and she had to protect you, no matter what. It was in her nature to protect her mate in dangerous situations. You felt the same urge. But at the same time you felt a slight dread. Something you hadn't felt in ages. You wanted this tob e over so badly. You wanted to go somewhere safe with your mate and spend hours in her arms, taking in her scent and her love. You hated it that these ancient were dragging this on like some sort of performance. You guessed this was their only form of entertainment, if you lived for that long, anything that will break through the dread of day was worth dragging on.
"Normal procedure," Edward answered brusquely. "They usually incapacitate those on trial so they can't escape." you looked across at Jane, who was staring at our group with furious disbelief. You had heard the stories of her gift, and you wondered if anyone had ever remained standing while going through her vicious attack. You looked at Bella and saw er grin a huge, smug smile right at Jane. Jane's eyes narrowed, wich made Bella pull her lips wider, showing her teeth. Jane let out a high-pitched scream of a snarl. Everyone jumped, even the disciplined guard. Everyone but the ancients, who didn't so much as look up from their conference.
Her twin caught her arm as she crouched to spring. The Romanians started chuckling with dark anticipation. "I told you this was our time," Vladimir said to Stefan. "Just look at the witch's face," Stefan chortled. Alec patted his sister's shoulder soothingly, then tucked her under his arm. He turned his face to your group, perfectly smooth, completely angelic.
Bella clutched at Edward's hand. "Are you okay?" she choked out. "Yes," he whispered. "Is Alec trying?" Edward nodded. "His gift is slower than Jane's. It creeps. It will touch us in a few seconds." you saw it then, when you had a clue of what to look for. A strange clear haze was oozing across the snow, nearly invisible against the white. It reminded you of a mirage - a slight warping of the view, a hint of a shimmer.
A low rumbling murmured through the ground under our feet, and a gust of wind blew the snow into sudden flurries between your position and the Volturi's. Benjamin had seen the creeping threat, too, and now he tried to blow the mist away from you. The snow made it easy to see where he threw the wind, but the mist didn't react in any way. It was like air blowing harmlessly through a shadow; the shadow was immune. The triangular formation of the ancients finally broke apart when, with a racking groan, a deep, narrow fissure opened in a long zigzag across the middle of the clearing. The earth rocked under your feet for a moment. The drifts of snow plummeted into the hole, but the mist skipped right across it, as untouched by gravity as it had been by wind. Aro and Caius watched the opening earth with wide eyes. Marcus looked in the same direction without emotion. They didn't speak; they waited, too, as the mist approached you. The wind shrieked louder but didn't change the course of the mist. Jane was smiling now.
And then the mist hit a wall. The mist curled upward, seeking a breach, a weakness. It found none. The fingers of searching haze twisted upward and around, trying to find a way in, and in the process illustrating the astonishing size of the protective screen. There were gasps on both sides of Benjamin's gorge. "Well done, Bella!" Benjamin cheered in a low voice. Bella's smile returned. You looked at Alec and could see him narrowed eyes, doubt on his face for the first time as his mist swirled harmlessly around the edges of Bella's shield.
"I'm going to have to concentrate," Bella whispered to Edward. "When it comes to hand to hand, it's going to be harder to keep the shield around the right people." "I'll keep them off you." "No. You have to get to Demetri. Zafrina will keep them away from me." Zafrina nodded solemnly. "No one will touch this young one," she promised Edward. "I'd go after Jane and Alec myself, but I can do more good here."
"Jane's mine," Kate hissed. "She needs a taste of her own medicine."
"And Alec owes me many lives, but I will settle for his," Vladimir growled from the other side. "He's mine."
"I just want Caius," Tanya said evenly, holding you closer to her. "And I will help you get him. We will whipe that smug smile off his face once and for all, love." You whispered, holding her hand in yours. The others started divvying up opponents, too, but they were quickly interrupted. Aro, staring calmly at Alec's ineffective mist, finally spoke.
"Before we vote," he began.
"Let me remind you," Aro continued, "whatever the council's decision, there need be no violence here." Edward snarled out a dark laugh. Aro stared at him sadly. "It will be a regrettable waste to our kind to lose any of you. But you especially, young Edward, and your newborn mate. The Volturi would be glad to welcome many of you into our ranks. Bella, Benjamin, Zafrina, Kate. There are many choices before you. Consider them." Aro's gaze swept across your hard eyes, looking for any indication of hesitation. From his expression, he found none.
"Let us vote, then," he said with apparent reluctance. Caius spoke with eager haste. "The child is an unknown quantity. There is no reason to allow such a risk to exist. It must be destroyed, along with all who protect it." He smiled in expectation. You growled slightly, but a small squeeze from Tanya helped you stay put in your spot.
Marcus lifted his uncaring eyes, seeming to look through us as he voted.
"I see no immediate danger. The child is safe enough for now. We can always reevaluate later. Let us leave in peace." His voice was even fainter than his brothers' feathery sighs. None of the guard relaxed their ready positions at his disagreeing words. Caius's anticipatory grin did not falter. It was as if Marcus hadn't spoken at all.
"I must make the deciding vote, it seems," Aro mused.