Julien Gregg's Twilight in Babylon: The Vampire Saga Chapter 6

 Chapter Six
Bodies in the Forest

It was becoming an urban legend. Don't go into the Babylon Woods or you
could die mysteriously. The third body found in the woods was a Kingsville
man who'd been the town drunk. They said he'd drank himself into a stupor
and then wandered into the woods and drowned in his own vomit. It made the
Babylon Herald.

The Maxwells were really worried about all of this. Eventually they'd have
to say something more to the tribe. They were talking about hunting down
the Children of Apollo and killing them off but something was keeping them
in place. That was the fact that Archie couldn't see their daytime
crypt. It kept changing and it was like one of them was in charge and never
made up their mind on a course of action.

Then suddenly a young Forsaken was hanging around. He transferred to
Babylon High School and was suddenly in classes with me. Edward told me
that his name was Lincoln and he was Archie's Forsaken drone. It was a
shock to me that Archie had taken a drone. He'd always said all he needed
was Jasper. I didn't know what had changed, but I welcomed Lincoln or Link
as he liked to be called with open arms.

Link was six foot tall with long black hair and very dark eyes. His body
was lean just like Jason and John's but he had slightly more muscle than
they did. That was odd to me. I'd thought they all looked the same at
sixteen. I was to learn soon that Link was seventeen and from the farm of
Forsaken that was just outside Kingsville. He had joined the family
officially and started school under the name Lincoln Maxwell.

The other kids in school paid very little attention to this. He was just
another Maxwell boy for them to ignore. Some commented on it but others
just accepted it and went on their way. Mitch and Angela returned to
school. I hugged Mitch and then Angela and both wanted to know who the new
Maxwell brother was. I told them the official story. Link as he liked to be
called had come down from California to live with Dr. Gabriel Maxwell
because his parents had died. That seemed all the explanation they needed.

School went on. I sat in my classes, taking notes, answering questions, and
taking quizzes. Edward and I did well in Chemistry lab that day and all he
talked about were the bodies in the woods and how they would have to do
something soon. Otherwise the Council Di Vampire would descend on Babylon.

"But it's Apollo's children doing this," I said. "Surely the Council Di
Vampire doesn't think it rules over them as well."

"Brendan probably does," he said. "Brendan said the council governs all of
the immortals."

"That's silly," I said. "How can he rule over a people that are so unlike
you all?"

"You'd have to ask him that," he said. "I have only seen him a handful of
times. I don't like the Council Di Vampire much."

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because they impose all kinds of rules," he said. "Sure some of those
rules came from the King of the Immortals, but there are new rules that the
council has set up. I mean I'd never want to impregnate some woman to have
a super drone so I don't care about that rule. There are others that
irritate me. For instance, you can't kill your own kind. But at the same
time you must settle all squabbles between you and another group of
vampires. How can that settlement not entail the killing of your own kind?"

It was apparent that he'd thought of this for a while. I was barely in the
know about the council so I hadn't had time to form opinions on what the
rules meant to me. I would likely never have to worry about some of them
because I'd never break them. But Edward was right about settling all
squabbles and killing your own kind.

We talked about that a lot and I could see where he was coming from. In the
end we agreed that it was something that we didn't understand and that the
only way to really understand it was to go to the council and ask
questions. That wasn't likely to happen any time soon.

In the mean time, bodies continued to drop in the woods. Then Archie came
up with an idea that neither Edward or I liked much. After a long argument
I at least agreed that it was an effective use of my power. There was a
body in the woods that no one had discovered other than Archie. He wanted
me to burn the body until there was no evidence left.

We went out early in the morning and I had to really concentrate to burn
the body and not the forest around it. It took me six tries but I got the
body to nothing but ash. Edward was unhappy but at least I knew I could do
it now. It still didn't make me feel any better about the red haired woman
in Archie's vision.

"Couldn't one of you have burned the body?" I asked as we drove back to
their house.

"Of course we could," said Archie. "But you needed the practice. I've been
doing some thinking about the woman in my vision. What if she wasn't a
woman but a vampire, a Child of Apollo?"

"Why would one of them want to hurt me so bad that my only recourse would
be to burn them?" I asked.

"Because they're evil," said Edward.

"Evil?" I asked. "You're not evil. What makes you think that they are?"

"Because they're killing innocent people," he said flatly. I had to agree
with him there.

So we spent a few weeks wondering how I'd come into contact with one of the
Children of Apollo. Archie told us again that there was an overturned
automobile and I was on the ground bleeding when I set the woman on fire
and started to laugh. He said it was a desperate kind of laughing. That
would make sense. If a vampire came for me and I had to burn her it would
be out of desperation.

I spent some time getting to know Stuart and Link as well. Link surprised
me by telling me that though he looked like a sixteen year old boy he was
actually sixty-seven years old. That told me that the Forsaken live long
lives too. Stuart was just an eighteen year old boy who was a senior in
high school and now a drone of Edward Maxwell.

They both got a kick out of pyro practice when I wasn't burning dead bodies
in the forest. We were usually down by the boarder of La Push in the
clearing when I was burning things for pyro practice.

Of course life continued like normal. Charlie commented on the bodies in
the forest but never asked me if I knew who had put them there. I did know
that if he asked me I'd tell him. I was not keeping secrets from him
anymore.

Then the talk of the dance was what was going on at school. The Spring
Fling was the name of the dance and of course Edward had bought me a
suit. It looked good and I would wear it to the formal dance. He had a suit
that looked almost just like mine. We were wearing different ties but I was
still worried about being on the dance floor. He just kept telling me that
it would be all right with him.

Mitch asked a girl named Jenna to the dance. She was a beautiful girl with
long dark hair, blue eyes, and stood about a half inch smaller than
Mitch. They looked really good together. Angela was asked to go with a boy
named Ben. He was one of Mike's friends but I hadn't gotten to know him all
that well. He was a good boy with light brown hair and green eyes. He was
built a bit like Mitch but not as big.

Everyone was talking about it and of course they talked about me and Edward
going to the dance together. They didn't know that Archie and Jasper would
be together at the dance and so would Roman and Emit. I didn't know if the
Forsaken were going to the dance. There were three of them now. Jason told
me that he wasn't going so I thought the other two weren't going either.

The night of the dance I was dressed in my suit. Charlie and Kale took
turns taking pictures of me. When Edward showed up the round of pictures
continued. He walked me out to the Volvo smiling from ear to ear.

We arrived at the school about the same time that his brothers did. Archie
and Jasper were in blue suits with starch white shirts and blue ties. Roman
and Emit were dressed in black suits like mine and Edward's but were both
wearing red ties. I was shocked that John and Link arrived in matching
suits. They weren't gay so I was confused why they were going to the dance
together.

They took our tickets at the entrance to the gym, a room I was deadly
in. We posed for pictures right inside the gym and then headed to a table
to sit down. Heads turned to see us and I was a little intimidated as we
sat down. Heads turned when Archie and Jasper followed us in and then a bit
later Roman and Emit. Heads really turned to see John and Link together.

We went to get punch and came back to the table. The others were all
dancing, but I wasn't about to get out on the floor to this upbeat song. I
was waiting for a slow one so all I did was step on Edward's feet. Even
Link and John were out there dancing. Others gave them space. Of course
Mitch and Jenna danced right beside Archie and Jasper. They didn't need
space between them.

When the song changed I followed Edward to the floor and he led me around
it like a pro. I didn't step on his foot more than once and he smiled at me
when I did. We danced to two songs and then headed for the table where I
drank punch.

"I told you it would be all right," Edward said as we sat there.

The whole gym was transformed. There was a carpet on the floor to keep us
from doing any harm to the actual gym floor. Red and gold streamers were
strung from the center of the room to all four corners. A disco ball hung
from the center of the room with lights all over the ceiling that pulsed
with the music.

"That you did," I said with a smile. "I'm having a good time so far."

"Good," he said. "When we leave here we'll go back to the house and see
what's happening there."

"Sounds good," I said. "I'm sure that John and Link will be happy to be not
`together'."

"Yeah, they shocked me when they told me they were coming to the dance," he
said. "Jason told me he wanted no part of it."

"Well wonders never cease," I said with a chuckle.

"Mitch and Jenna look good together," he said. "As do Ben and Angela."

"I don't really know Ben or Jenna," I admitted. "I've been introduced a few
times but they've never actually been part of my group. Which now is the
Maxwell family as it seems."

"Mitch still hangs out with you at school," he pointed out.

"He's the only one," I said. "But I'm fine with that. Mitch is probably my
best human friend."

"Who's your best vampire friend?" he asked.

"Archie," I said with a grin.

"Yeah he thinks the world of you," he said. "He's always telling me about
your future. He seems to forget that any changes you make in your life will
alter that future he sees so clearly at the moment."

"What does he see?" I asked.

"You becoming a vampire," he said. "You and Mitch working out in a gym, and
you and your dad arguing over something."

"That's odd," I said. "Charlie and I rarely argue."

"Well he sees it in the future," he said. "Who knows what you will argue
over."

"Well I just hope it isn't about you," I said as Archie and Jasper came
back to the table.

"What are you guys talking about?" Archie asked as he sat down.

"You seeing him arguing with Charlie in the future," said Edward.

"I saw him arguing with his mother and father," Archie corrected. "She was
packing his clothes and he was yelling at her about something I couldn't
make out."

"That's even more odd," I said. "What would I have to argue with Renee and
Charlie about at the same time? And why would Renee be packing my clothes?"

"I don't know," Archie said. "I also can't figure out why I saw you on the
reservation with Jacob either. One thing about those visions was that none
of us were in them. It was always just you and the other people. No
vampires were anywhere to be seen."

When he said this he eyed Edward suspiciously. Edward shook his head. I
didn't know what was going on but I didn't like it. Now I had all of this
to worry about. What would cause Renee to come and start packing my stuff?
Why would I argue with her and Charlie, and what was I doing on the
reservation with Jacob? That one wasn't exactly hard to figure out. Jacob
and I were friendly. Who was to say that that friendship wouldn't become
full blown?

"Now you've got his head spinning," Jasper said with a smile.

"I thought you couldn't sense my emotions?" I asked him.

"I can't, but I know your head is spinning on this because so is Archie's,"
he said, grinning like the cat who swallowed the canary.

"The futures that I see are sometimes a little blurry and that's when they
might not come true or have the most chance of not coming true," said
Archie. "With these they're crystal clear which worries me."

"What worries you?" I asked.

"No vampires," he said. "Of course we wouldn't be on the reservation, but
what would make your mother come and pack your stuff? Why would you argue
with Renee and Charlie when Edward wasn't with you? There are a lot of
things that seem to be hanging in the balance with you. For instance you
becoming a vampire was crystal clear for me a few days ago but now it's a
bit blurry. I don't know what to make of it. Plus there's the one where you
just disappear from my sight that troubles me too."

"Disappear from your sight?" I asked. "What would make that happen?"

"You would disappear from my sight if I stopped looking for your future,"
he said. "That would happen for any number of reasons."

"I don't like that sound of that," I said honestly. It scared the living
hell out of me.

"I don't like it either," he said. "But something else has to happen to
make any of these futures a reality. I can't quite see what it is."

"This conversation has become too heavy," said Roman, saying the first
words that he'd spoken to anyone but Emit since they'd arrived. "You said
yourself that something big has to happen for those futures to come
true. We'll just be on the lookout for something big happening in Beau's
future."

"Right," said Archie as he looked at Roman.

"I think Beau and I need to dance," Edward said as the song that played was
slow.

I got up and followed him to the floor in silence. What could make my
becoming a vampire blurry to Archie's visions of the future? My mind was
made up. That was usually what made his visions so clear. I was worried
about that one. Plus he was right about me arguing with my parents when
Edward wasn't with me. That one threw me for a loop, too.

We danced to a few more slow songs but I was growing tired of Edward trying
to keep me away from Archie all night. He had to know it even if he
couldn't read my mind. I wasn't exactly subtle when it came to my anger
showing on my face.

"You're keeping me away from Archie," I said as we hit the dance floor once
again.

"You don't need to have his headache about what he does and doesn't see in
the future," he said. "I told you that his visions are subjective. Things
always have to happen for his visions to become a reality."

"Why would my becoming a vampire suddenly become blurry to him?" I
asked. "You still plan to turn me don't you?"

"I do," he said. "That one bugs me a bit, too. The only reason I can see
that his vision of you becoming a vampire would be if you change your
mind."

"Well that won't happen," I promised. "Then his vision of it should be
clear."

"It should be but many things could change that," he said. "What if you
were bitten by the Child of Apollo? I don't know how they turn their
fledglings but if it is just a bite then that would cancel you becoming a
Maxwell vampire."

"I don't think they'll bite me," I said. "From his vision of the red haired
woman I think she wanted me to die a painful death and not turn me."

"Well she won't if you burn her to death," he said, dismissing it entirely.

"So," I said, not willing to let it go so easily. "If she doesn't bite me
then I don't have to worry about becoming a Child of Apollo. What else
would make me disappear from Archie's sight?"

"You could die, Beau," he said. "No one is saying that you will but one
thing that would surely make you disappear from Archie's sight is that you
were dead."

"That's scary," I said.

"What's really scary is that I can't live in a world without you in it," he
said, taking me completely by surprise. "I would find a way to end my life
if yours ends."

That really did end the conversation. I couldn't even think of a world
without Edward in it at all. No matter if I died or not. No Edward would
mean a dark world in my opinion. He couldn't kill himself if I died. That
was unthinkable.

When the dance ended we went back to House Maxwell. Gabriel and Elfric were
happy to see me in my suit. They took their own pictures of me and Edward
before they let us change. Charlie knew I was spending the night with the
Maxwells the night of the dance so I didn't have to call him or anything.

We had a bit of time to chat with the others as soon as we were
changed. Edward took my by the hand and led me up the stairs to his
room. We undressed each other and then devoured each other. Our love making
was gentle that night. He had a lot on his mind and I knew that I had a lot
on my mind as well. Archie had thrown me for a loop with his visions.

The next day was Saturday and we spent the first part of the day with me
eating a wonderful breakfast cooked by Edward and then we hung out in his
room. We listened to music and just lounged against each other until I had
to go and talk to Charlie.

I drove my own truck back to the house and Charlie and Kale were both in
the house when I got there. I gave them a run down of the dance and told
them that I'd actually had a great time. I didn't mention any of Archie's
visions even though they both knew that he had them. I made dinner for them
and ate with them but Archie was at the door as the sun set to take me to
the clearing for pyro practice.

That night he had me trying to burn rocks. Big rocks. The mountain was
between us and the reservation but I was sure they could hear the rocks
exploding as I burned them. I didn't actually burn them. They just
exploded. I was generating a lot of power to do it, too.

I'd found the balance that kept me from draining my energy with the power
but this was a lot of power. The explosions were loud, almost
deafening. Then Archie stood up straight and Edward was suddenly beside
me. The whole family was now surrounding me as Edward shivered beside me.

"What?" I asked.

"They're nearly here," he said.

"I'm sorry," Archie said. "I didn't see them until it was too late."

They came out of the woods silently. They moved like cats in the
night. They walked straight to us and stood about two feet in front of the
gathering. That they were vampires was evident from the scent of death that
surrounded them. One was black with dread locks that came to his waist. One
had blonde hair and piercing blue eyes that he directed at us. The third
was a red haired female with green eyes. Her long red hair blew in the wind
behind her. I wondered if this was the woman I would burn. One look at
Archie and I got a gentle nod and knew that this woman was trouble for me.

"We heard the explosions and came to investigate," said the black one. "I'm
Laraunt, and this is James and Victoria."

"We're the Maxwell family," said Gabriel. "I'm Gabriel, my partner Elfric
and our children, Edward, Beau, Archie, Jasper, Roman, and Emit. The
Forsaken are Nathan who is my drone, his sons Jason and Johnathon. Link is
Archie's drone."

"A large coven," said Laraunt. "We mean you no harm."

"They have a human boy with them," said James. His voice deep.

"He's part of our family," Gabriel said.

"He smells like you," said the female. Victoria.

"We were hunting in Kingsville and heard the explosions," said Laraunt. "We
came running."

"We've seen evidence of you being in the area in the forest," Gabriel
said. "We've had to clean up after you."

"Apologies," said Laraunt. "We'll dispose of our dead in another way."

"We mean you no harm tonight," said Gabriel. "You can see that we aren't
like you."

"Yes," he said. "I can smell that you aren't like us. Of course we'll leave
here and not hunt in your back yard, and the human boy is safe from us as
well."

This caused both James and Victoria to look at him hard. I gulped and
Edward moved me behind him. Victoria saw this and smiled, showing her fangs
which weren't at all like Edward's. I shivered.

"Go now," said Gabriel. "In peace."

"Yes," said Laraunt.

Then they were gone just like that. They'd run away so fast that I couldn't
see them. We stood there for a long moment and then I was being ushered to
the Volvo. Edward was speaking rapidly to Gabriel and Archie but I couldn't
make out what they were saying. He got me in the car and then he drove me
back to my father's house.

"She saw it as a challenge when I moved you behind me," he said when we
were in my room. "She'll come for you."

"I can't run away or anything," I said. "Archie's vision is about to come
true."

"Not tonight it's not," he said. "You're staying in this room with
me. Jason is outside watching the yard and will let me know if anything
happens out there. They won't come where the Forsaken can get them."

"At least you don't think they will," I said.

"One of us will always be here," he said. "And Jason isn't leaving your
side once the sun goes down. He'll be either in this room or outside."

"Okay," I said.

You would think that I was too riled up to sleep but you would be wrong. I
said that I had found the balance but that had been a very huge amount of
power I had been using that night to blow up the rocks. I was asleep almost
as soon as we were cuddled up together in the bed.

The next day I started getting things ready for Sunday dinner and Edward
brought my father up to speed on what had happened. Kale was off to the
flower shop. Charlie let him get it all out before he started to ask
questions or make comments.

"A Child of Apollo is coming for Beau?" he asked.

"We think so," Edward said as Jason came in the back door.

"Charlie this is my Forsaken drone, Jason," Edward said when he came though
the back door. "He has been outside all night long on guard duty."

"Come on in and make yourself at home, Jason," Charlie said. "We'll have
food here in a minute."

"Thank you, Mr. Swan," he said.

"Call me Charlie," said Charlie. "How many of them were there?"

"Three," said Edward. "Laraunt, James, and Victoria. Now Victoria is the
one we think will come for Beau. It was because I made it a point to push
him behind me when they were standing in front of us."

"Well you did the right thing," Charlie said. "You were protecting Beau and
that's always the right thing in my book."

"Well if you will indulge us, there will always be a Maxwell in the house
with you and a Forsaken walking around your yard all night long," Edward
said.

"Whatever it takes to keep Beau safe," he said. He looked at me. "You could
just go to Florida for a while."

"That's not going to happen," I said. "I'll go to see Mom when I want to
see her not because I'm running from some vampire that smells like death
rot."

"Okay," he said. "Then we stick it out here. One of you is going to have to
hunt them down."

"That's what Roman and Emit are doing today," Edward said, shocking me. "If
they find them in the daytime they can just expose them to the sun and the
problem will be over."

I knew from Archie's vision that the problem wouldn't be so over any time
soon. I had no idea when I would be in an automobile without Edward but it
was evidently coming soon. Of that I was sure.

We had brunch I guess you'd call it. I made waffles for everyone. Jason ate
six of them and Charlie chuckled at that. I ate two of them and had a glass
of milk. Edward of course ate nothing.

Then I was doing dishes while Edward was on the phone with Roman talking
about the fact that their daytime dwelling could be anywhere in
Kingsville. Or they could have left Kingsville all together.

After dishes I got back to getting things in order to make Sunday dinner. I
put the roast in the crock pot and peeled potatoes. Edward helped when he
got off the phone. I skinned a bunch of carrots and cut them down to
smaller pieces and put those with the potatoes in the crock pot with the
roast. Then I started my noodles. I got the mixing bowl and put in six cups
of flour, used a drinking glass in the middle to make a hole. Then I put
six eggs in the hole and started to stir. When I had a dough I rolled it
out flat, cut it in half and then rolled the halves again. Then I dusted
them generously with flour and rolled them up. I cut my noodles and
unrolled them leaving them in a heap on the table.

I took the roast and potatoes and carrots out of the crock pot and
transferred the broth to a pot and turned it on to boil. I took a piece of
the now slightly cooked roast and started to shred it. Edward watched me
intently as I started to add the meat and noodles to the broth. I stirred
them and then got the bread rolls out of the pantry. I put them on a baking
pan and turned the oven on at one hundred fifty degrees and put them in the
oven. I just needed to warm them up. All of this took almost all of the
daylight left but I had it all done by the time Kale showed up at six.

We sat around the table with Jason and Edward. We ate our feast and then
Jason went outside to patrol and I went up to my room with Edward. I had no
homework to do so we just lounged against each other on the bed.

"You don't seem tense," he said as he rubbed my shoulders.

"I'm not," I said. "It's been a relaxing day."

"You're not the one on patrol or hunting the Children of Apollo," he
pointed out.

"No, I'm not," I said. "But I am the one that Victoria wants."

"True," he said. "But she won't get you."

"You know she's going to," I said. "Archie's vision is going to come true."

"I wondered if you'd gathered that Victoria was the red headed female that
you burned in Archie's vision," he said carefully.

"I gathered," I said.

"She won't get you as long as I'm near you," he said. "I can't see anything
that would pull me away from you."

"She's going to find me," I said. "Archie's vision was clear."

"That's what bothers me," he said. "That one was clear but you becoming a
vampire was cloudy."

"I haven't changed my mind if that's what you're asking," I said. I hadn't
changed my mind and I wasn't planning to.

"I wasn't planning to ask you anything," he said. "Something has to happen
to decide that and that's what worries me."

"Well he didn't see me becoming a Child of Apollo," I said. "So that's off
the table."

"Yeah," he said. "There's that. But why would you disappear from his
visions like that?"

"You said it could be a number of things," I pointed out.

"Yes, but it worries me," he said.

We didn't talk more about that. Instead he kissed me like I'd never been
kissed before. He put so much love and emotion in that kiss that I was hard
in no time. The kiss deepened and I was suddenly in his lap. He smiled at
me when the kiss ended and then started to kiss my neck and collar bone.

"Are you trying to distract me?" I asked.

"No, I'm feeling a bit needy at the moment," he replied and then he started
to lift my shirt.

Was he really going for it with my father down the hall? Kale's room was
across from mine. Would he hear?  I wasn't about to deny him so to hell
with whether or not they heard what was going on in my room.

Once my shirt was off his was too. Then he undid my belt and tried to get
my shorts off of me while I was sitting in his lap. I encouraged this
activity by raising up and letting him pants me. When I was naked in his
lap he pushed me back onto the bed and began to kiss me again. How he did
this and got out of his own shorts I'll never know. But suddenly we were
both naked and he was moving down my body to take me in his mouth.

I sighed as he worked on me and let him do his job. All too soon he let me
fall from his mouth and climbed back up the bed to kiss me again. He
wouldn't let me move to get to him so I continued to lie under him. He
smiled at me and began to lift my legs. I was ready for him so I didn't
protest but when he slid back down the bed and took me in his mouth again I
was confused. Then I felt him move lower and I was in that heavenly place
between wanting to cum and not wanting it to happen too fast.

Then he moved around in the bed until he was at my entrance. He slid
smoothly into me and I made no sound. I was proud of myself for that. I
didn't know how he made it so it didn't hurt but I was thankful for that.

Our love making was silent and sensual. He kissed me as he moved in and out
of me, and I saw stars almost literally. He moved slow and steady and push
me closer and closer to my own climax. I hoped that we could climax
together. He sped up a bit and I moaned quietly. Then before I knew it I
was cumming all over his torso and he was filling me up. He continued to
kiss me as we both rode the waves of our orgasms and finally untangled as
he slipped out of me and lay beside me panting.

"I love you," I said softly, running my fingers through my offering on his
chest.

"As I love you," he said just as softly.

"I think we need a shower," I said, trying not to laugh.

"Do you think Charlie would mind severely if we showered together?" he
asked.

"I think he might," I said. "You go and I'll follow you when you're done."

He got up and walked out of my room naked as the day he was born. I hoped
that Charlie or Kale didn't wake up and need the bathroom. They must not
have because he came back just as naked and sent me on my way.

I showered and brushed my teeth. Then I put on my ratty Crippen High shirt
and a pair of light cotton shorts. I went back to the bedroom and found him
in his shorts. What shocked me was that Jason was in the room with us. He
and Edward were having a short discussion about whatever was outside of my
house.

"I scared her away," he said. "But she'll come back."

"Then get back down there and keep her away," Edward said. "Thanks, Jason."

"Any time," he said and passed me on is way out of the room.

So Victoria had tried to come for me. That wasn't a shock. I knew she
wouldn't get to me tonight. I wasn't in a vehicle. Archie's vision had been
specific. I had apparently been in the overturned vehicle and she had
pulled me out to torture me before I set her on fire.

So it was a waiting game. She couldn't get to me unless I was in a vehicle
alone and Edward would never allow me to be in a vehicle by myself with her
on the loose. It was a rat race, but I knew that the vision would come true
eventually. It had been a clear vision after all.

I'd also come to the conclusion that if my becoming a vampire was now a
cloudy vision for him then it was Edward who would change his mind because
I sure wasn't going to change mine. That hurt me in more ways than I can
describe. I loved Edward with my entire heart. No man or vampire on Earth
could take his place in my heart. To have him decide that he just didn't
want me anymore would crush me.

Instead of being attacked by a Child of Apollo we went to school the next
day. There wasn't much of my sophomore year left. We were gearing up for
final exams and then they'd hold the prom and we'd be done. Of course none
of us could go to the prom. Roman and Emit could and probably should go but
that would remain to be seen.

At school I was able to cast my feelings aside as we went over review in
all of our classes. The perpetual good student in me just couldn't shirk my
responsibilities for any dramatic thing like being stalked by a Child of
Apollo or Edward's probable decision that he didn't want me to become a
vampire.

I paid attention, took notes, and even participated in the review of each
subject. I was doing really well in all of my classes and would probably
make honor roll again. Charlie would be thrilled. Edward didn't participate
or take notes but then he'd had these classes over and over again.

Yearbooks were passed out and I was mortified to find not just my picture
but seven pictures of me between the binding. There were pictures of me and
Edward together, pictures of me with Jason, and pictures of me at the lunch
table with all of the Maxwell boys.

People wanted to sign my yearbook and thrust theirs out to me to sign as
well. Surprisingly people signed Edward's and he signed theirs. Even Archie
and Jasper got in on the signing of yearbooks. Roman and Emit did
not. Jason, John, Link, and Stuart all got in on it.

By the end of the day I was tired of school. I headed to work and stayed
late to wait for Edward to pick me up as the sun had gone down. We went to
his house and I hung out with the others for the evening. I did get some
studying done and Archie went out of his way to help me study. He even
brought me snacks.

Then my truck wouldn't start which was sketchy. Edward asked Roman to take
a look at it while he drove me home. Jason followed behind us morphed into
a huge wolf and guarded my house. Edward went upstairs with me.

"So are you studied out or do you want to do a bit more?" Edward asked as
we sat in my room that night.

"I need to study some more," I said. "Do you mind?"

"No," he said. "I'll even help. I can quiz you on facts and such."

"Sounds good," I said.

For a few hours that's exactly what he did. I answered more correctly than
wrong so he was satisfied that I'd do all right. I didn't want to do just
all right. I wanted to ace the exams. Clearly more study time was needed. I
only had a few nights left to do this studying before finals began on
Monday.

We made it through the weekend and even got to pyro training. That was a
moot point with me now. I had all of that down as far as I was concerned. I
could burn things at will, I wasn't getting tired from using my power, and
I was burning more and more impossible things. Still Archie preached
practice, practice, practice. He was on me more than anyone about anything.

The weekend nights brought more studying. Edward continued to quiz me on
facts and such and I did even better each time. Finally Sunday night around
eleven I decided I'd studied all that I could. Whatever happened with
finals happened as far as I was concerned.

One positive thing that had come out of our meeting with the Children of
Apollo was that they weren't dropping bodies in the woods anymore. Now they
were doing something else with them. There were reports on the news about
fires breaking out all over Kingsville. They didn't burn anything
really. No structures were damaged but huge scorch marks were left behind
and some kind of oily residue with a lot of ash. Apparently the Children of
Apollo had figured out how to burn their bodies.

I sailed through my first final of the day. The second was a bit trickier
but I got through that one as well. They were only giving us two a day so I
had the rest of that day to study for the upcoming finals.

Edward complained that he was feeling a bit neglected as I studied for my
finals but I promised to make it up to him when finals were over. He seemed
mollified with that. I still hadn't got it out of the back of my head that
he would decide he didn't want me to become a vampire or that he didn't
love me anymore. I was trying to be positive but it was still in the back
of my mind while I studied for my finals. After all I couldn't sacrifice
one future if the other didn't work out.

If he noticed I was distant with him he didn't say anything. I worked at
the flower shop that night and for the first time I was scared. Edward
wasn't there to pick me up, my truck was still at the Maxwell house, and
Jason wasn't outside. Then a car pulled into the lot and I was hoping it
was the Volvo but it wasn't. Instead it was a Jeep. Kale? What would he be
doing here at this hour?

No it was Emit. He strolled into the store and told me that my ride had
arrived and that he was taking me to House Maxwell. He said that my father
and uncle were already there. That sounded ominous. I got in the Jeep and
strapped myself into the harness and off we went.

"Edward's got his panties in a bunch over this," he said.

"I still don't know what this is," I said.

"Oh, Victoria knocked on your dad's door tonight and asked for you," he
said. "Jason ran her off. He's still chasing her as we speak."

"That's crazy," I said. "Did she think my dad wouldn't know her for what
she was?"

"Don't know," he said. "The point is she's getting bolder. That's what has
Edward in a tailspin. He's bugging the shit out of Archie right now."

"Why is he bugging the shit out of Archie?" I asked, though if I thought
about it for a moment I was sure I knew why.

"Because Archie didn't see this happening," he said. "He relies far too
much on that boy's visions."

Then out of nowhere came something that slammed into us so hard that the
Jeep rolled onto it's side. Emit was knocked out which I thought was
impossible for a vampire. I was hanging by the harness. Then someone
grabbed me and ripped me out of the harness. The force was so much that the
harness ripped but not before breaking three of my ribs. The assailant also
nearly pulled my shoulder out of the socket.

Pain like I'd never known ran through my body and I had to fight to keep my
eyes open. Then I was kicked in the side so hard that I heard more ribs
snap. I turned to face the very satisfied face of Victoria. Apparently
she'd given Jason the slip.

"You were hard to get alone," she said. "Your vampire friend is out cold. I
could kill you now and get it over with but I so want you to suffer. Scream
for me."

"Fuck you," I said.

"I said, scream," she yelled as she kicked me again.

Boy did I scream. They likely heard me all over town. The pain was
unreal. This time she'd kicked me in the hip, and I was sure from the
amount of pain there that she'd broken that as well.

"I'm going to kill you," I warned her. If I could just remember how to
access the fire.

"Oh?" she laughed. "A puny human like you?"

"I'm not so puny," I said just before she kicked me again and sent me
flying into a tree.

That's when I found it. I embraced it like I'd never embraced it before. I
felt it building up in me as she stalked closer and closer. I crawled
painfully to the road again to save the trees because my aim wouldn't be so
specific this time.

"What's that you said about not being so puny?" she laughed. "I could break
you into pieces for your vampire to find."

That's when I unleashed it. I pushed with all of my might and she was
engulfed in flames. She twisted and screamed as I fed more and more power
into the fire that had engulfed her. Then it was like a high pitched
keening and she was gone. I lost my battle with consciousness right then
and there.

"Wake and be judged," a voice cried out in my head. I opened my eyes and
beheld one of the most beautiful men I'd ever seen.

He had hair as dark as night. His eyes were blue as the sky on a clear
day. That he was a vampire I was sure, but the scent was so strange. I'd
never encountered a scent like that before.

"What are you?" I asked feebly.

"I am Apollo," he said.

"And just what do you think you're doing," said a female voice.

Apollo and I both turned to see an Egyptian woman standing slightly behind
him. She had plated hair that was infused with gold. A white robe covered
her from her neck to her feet. She looked at Apollo with disgust.

"Isis," he spat.

"You dare to threaten one of mine?" she asked.

"He's not one of yours," he said.

"Oh but he is," he said. "The power that he used to kill Victoria was mine
bestowed upon him at birth. He is a witch and he is mine."

"He's also ours," said another male voice.

I turned to behold twins, men of Egyptian heritage. Their hair was plated
behind them with more gold infused in it. They wore tunics that matched and
they were both brilliant white with gold piping. On their feet were golden
sandals that laced up the shin of their legs.

"Darias," spat Apollo.

"You dare to strike at one of ours?" asked one of the twins.

"I won't have your interference in this matter," said Apollo. "He killed
one of mine."

"Because she was trying to kill him," said Isis. "You forget who you are
Dark God of the Sun."

"I'll have his life," he said. "Hates can have his soul."

"He is not Greek," laughed one of the twins. "Hades can't touch him."

"But I can touch you," said another male voice. I had assumed was one of
the twins until Apollo looked up in horror at who had come to speak.

"Ra," he said.

"He is my brothers' and my mother's," he said. "That makes his soul
mine. But you won't take his life tonight. We will take yours if you do."

"Hear me now," said one of the twins. "You will not touch a hair on Beau's
head. If you do we will throw your soul into a pit of doom."

"You do not order a child of Zeus around, Ren," said Apollo.

"And what of Zeus?" Darias asked. "He's an immortal man with no power that
humans mock to this day."

I was having an out of body experience or something. These were Gods? They
had come to fight over me? I couldn't believe it. That they were here was
probably a figment of my shattered mind. That I believed in them with my
entire soul was a given but were they really there?

"I will not take his life," Apollo said. "But hear me, if he does this
again I will take him."

"Not if he is defending his own life you won't," said Isis. "I will smite
you if you do."

I lost my battle with consciousness for real that time. I sank into a
wonderfully dark place where there was no pain.