Twilight Fan Fiction ❯ The Fragrance of the Perfect Lie ❯ Livio ( Chapter 11 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

“Carlisle?” Bella gasped.

Every little moment that had happened since Bella’s wedding came crashing down, blurring in together like one would see through a kaleidoscope. The worlds of reality and dreams merged together in a vortex of chaos. In a moment of panic, Bella felt her vision completely blacken.

“Bella.”Bella flinched as a rag drenched with water was placed upon her forehead. She hesitantly opened her eyes to meet Carlisle’s golden gaze. She quietly observed the chiseled frown on his face, and shuddered at the sweet scent of his breath.

“Why-How,” Bella corrected herself. “Are you here?”

“It’s a complicated matter,” Carlisle replied slowly. “I can’t give you a proper explanation until the Sustantivo prevalence is dealt with.”“Who’s with you?”

As if by magic, Edward appeared slowly from the shadows with a pained frown. He had his hands in his pockets, and his tousled bronze locks were slightly greasy. Even so, he was definitely a sight for sore eyes.

“Edward!”Bella unthinkingly ran to Edward and wrapped her arms around his torso.

“I knew you had to be real!” Bella sobbed into his chest. “You don’t know how much I’ve missed you!”

Edward gently pried himself from Bella’s arms.

“I’m so sorry,” Edward whispered. His coal black eyes looked hungrily into her chocolate brown ones.

“Don’t be sorry,” Bella pleaded. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“But it was,” He replied dully. “It is entirely my fault that you are here, under threat once more because of my vampire nature.”

“Edward, you aren’t making any sense,” Bella scolded. “It isn’t anyone’s fault.”

“Is Charlie’s condition stable?” Edward asked.

“Yes. He’s lost a lot of blood, but he’ll be perfectly fine once an ambulance comes by.”

“Good. Please stay with him until so,” Edward slipped his freezing hand into Bella’s and managed a smile. “Do you feel like riding on my back again? I promise to give you all the answers you want.”

“I’d love to,” She replied with a wide smile.

Once Edward was sure that Bella was secure on his back, he gave Carlisle one last nod before sprinting into the thick forest. Bella began to relax once she closed her eyes and felt the wind whip through her hair. After a minute or so, Edward tapped her on the shoulder.

“We’re here.”

Bella jumped off of Edward’s back and observed her surroundings. They were in a small, bleak clearing that only had a few withered flowers and a boulder or two.

“Would you like to ask me a few questions first, or would you prefer I give you a full explanation?”“Are you real?”“Yes.”

“Is the human version of you real?”

“Yes.”

Well, that clears everything right up, A small voice replied sarcastically.

“Could you start from the beginning?”“Sit over there on the moss and make yourself comfortable.” Edward pointed towards a large boulder covered with thick, green moss. “This will take some time to explain.”

She stepped over to the foot of the boulder and with a sigh, rested her head against the soft moss.

“A few weeks before our wedding, Emmett and I went hunting at the Goat Rocks Wilderness and we encountered a lone vampire…”

The forest was enveloped in a tense silence, thick with the numerous scents of woodland animals. The wave of a mountain lion’s scent hit Edward’s nostrils, causing his deadly sharp teeth to be wet with venom. He silently followed the lion’s scent, extra careful to keep his own sickly sweet scent from being detected. Mountain Lions were unnaturally scarce that season, and Edward wanted to take each opportunity he had to feed before his wedding.

A low snarl escaped from his lips as he finally discovered his target, which was only a few meters away. It was lazily licking its huge paws, blissfully unaware of any nearby danger. Edward’s muscles tensed as another wave of venom ran through his teeth. Once the lion rested its head upon its paws and closed its eyes, Edward prepared for the final leap.

But right as he was about to pounce, a flurry of pale punches and guttural roars came flying by. A string of curses left Edward’s mouth as he saw the lion leap into the bushes.

“I almost had him, Emmett!” Edward growled angrily.

“Help me pin him down, Edward!” Emmett was fighting head-on against a vicious, male vampire.

Edward swiftly pounced upon the vampire, securely pinning his wrists to the ground.

“Don’t make me go back there!” The vampire hissed, struggling against Edward’s grip.

“What are you talking about?” Edward asked. “Who are you?”“Felix will have my head if I return there!”“Felix?” Edward looked questioningly at Emmett. “Do you think-”

“Are there any other Felixs you know of?”“Probably not.”“What should we do now?”Edward focused his gaze back to the vampire, whom had strangely begun to relax. He quickly inspected the vampire and decided that he was no longer a danger to anyone. This lone vampire wasn’t a newborn, and Edward was confident that he would be able to take him down again if he became violent.

“We should take him to Carlisle,” Edward replied. “Follow him closely, just in case he attacks either of us again.”

Fortunately, Carlisle was only a few miles away. He was conversing with Alice, and quickly turned around at the sound of nearby bushes rustling to reveal Edward, Emmett, and a lifeless-looking vampire.

“What happened?” Carlisle asked with a quizzical brow.

“We found a lone vampire while hunting,” Edward replied. “He mentioned Felix. Do you think he may have connections with the Volturi?”
“What’s your name?” Carlisle asked the vampire.

“Livio.” The vampire answered with a heavy Italian accent.

“Do you know who the Volturi are?”

“No…” A flash of fear appeared in Livio’s eyes.

Carlisle gave a small nod, allowing Edward to read Livio’s mind for more information.

Edward’s mind instantly flinched as a torrent of thoughts filled with confusion and chaos shrieked throughout the clearing. However, he was able to collect a few facts before recoiling back.

“He’s been tortured by the Volturi for the past few months, and had just escaped a few days ago,” Edward reported. “And…he has the power to travel through alternate universes.”“I’ve never heard of such a power in existence before.” Carlisle said, clearly in awe.

There was an awkward pause, which Carlisle was oblivious to. It was Emmett whom decided to break the ice.

“What do we do with him now?”

“We should send him back to Italy,” Edward suggested with a firm tone.

“No,” Carlisle spoke up. “The Volturi will come back to torture him.”“That is precisely why we should send him away!” Edward snarled. “The wedding is only two weeks away!”“Why not send him to Alaska with Tanya’s coven?” Alice piped up. “We can warn them of the Volturi first.”

“But this is the first town the Volturi will search if they do want him back!” Edward argued.

“I suppose you’re right,” Carlisle sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Well, if the Volturi do want Livio back, then they will arrive here regardless of whether he is here or not. We may as well keep him here.”

Edward gave a frustrated roar, punching into a nearby boulder, which shattered into millions of shards. “The Volturi sent him here on purpose! They’re using him as a warning to us!”

“Just to be safe, we’ll send in a few more wedding invitations to members of our ‘family’ in case the Volturi do decide to appear at your wedding,” Carlisle reassured Edward.

“If you are building a small army against the so-called Volturi,” Livio spoke up. “Then I will offer myself to you as a solider. I’ve had experience in the military before I was transformed into a vampire.”

“Thank you, Livio,” Carlisle said with a grateful smile. “However, it is not necessary that you do this. It isn’t your responsibility to carry the burdens of our coven.”

“No, it would be my pleasure to do this,” Livio insisted with a hard glint in his eye. “I want to have my revenge against what they’ve done to me.”

“So it was decided that Livio would be a part of our small ‘army’,” Edward explained with a loud sigh. “We even convinced Tanya’s coven to surround the church while we got married.”

“So…” Bella was trying to digest his entire story. “Something went wrong?”“Horribly wrong.”