Thursday, December 21, 2017

Seismic Shift Chapter 27

A sensitive soul, a heart of wild.
You grew up thinking you were a cursed child.
Embrace your blessings, it's not a curse.
Because you've been kissed by the universe.
~ Michelle Schaper


"It's you the Volturi are after," my father explained. "They would settle for your mother, but it's been you all along."
"I don't understand." I took a step closer to them, my head swirling.
"You are a culmination of generations of extraordinary beings, Isabella. Your mother's roots run deep and are widely branching, ancient in their blessings."
"You speak in riddles. Charlie, is it?" Carlisle spoke up. "I'm Carlisle, and this is my wife, Esme and son, Edward."
Charlie continued to stare at me intensely. "Leave it to you to throw in your lot with vampires."
"It's not as if I had anyone to tell me about myself. Whatever ancestry you ramble about, I only know of your connection to the Quileutes." I saw the surprise flicker across his face.
"There isn't enough room for all of us inside," my mother finally spoke up.
"We have a home nearby," Kachiri replied. "You are more than welcome."
"It is not a trap," Edward assured them, and I knew he'd read their reticence in their minds.
"Mind tricks?" Charlie huffed, crossing his arms.
"Telepathy," Edward responded.
Renée looked around, taking in our group, it seemed. "I think it's time to tell her everything, Charlie."
"Perhaps, but her friends make me nervous," he muttered in her direction.
"We have every reason to want to keep the Volturi away as well," Zafrina spoke. "I have a talent, and if Aro knew of me, I'd be 'convinced' to join his guard. That would be why we live in the middle of literal nowhere."
"That's why we settled here, too. How did you find us?" Renée questioned.
"We have known of your existence for years," Senna replied. "Just not who you were or your connection to the Cullens."
"We have no connection to you," Charlie insisted. "You'll get us in trouble."
"Charles," my mother admonished. He had the decency to blush.
"Please, let's go back to our house and discuss things." Kachiri was very polite, and it must have worked. The tense set of Charlie's shoulders relaxed and he looked at the ground.
"Fine," he mumbled.
The lot of us trudged back through the dense forest, the three of us humans struggling through the undergrowth. It was sweaty and slow going, but I wouldn't dream of suggesting my parents ask for a ride on a vampire's back, so I sucked it up.
Once we were all settled in the kitchen of the Amazon coven, the three sisters offered to leave us. We agreed, and they headed back out into the muggy heat.
"Will you tell me everything?" I asked, accepting the hand that Edward held palm up on the table. I noticed that Charlie narrowed his eyes. I raised my brow at him in return, silently daring him to comment.
"Yes, Isabella," Renée started.
"I go by Bella," I interrupted.
She smiled gently. "Okay, Bella." She cleared her throat. "Way back to the beginning of my family tree, there are powerful beings. Talent married talent to strengthen our line. No one has ever married a typical human." She looked at Charlie as she said this. "I thought I had. I married for love, not to produce a strong child." Then she looked at me. "Each generation has grown stronger and stronger, all of the combined powers running in our blood like a trickle effect. I'm a shapeshifter, and also terrakinetic. I can control elements of the earth, and I can shift into any animal I choose. I possess enhanced intelligence and a subsequent mental shield."
"I was able to read his thoughts, but your mind was silent," Edward confirmed.
"However, there are those more powerful than I that can break through my shield. I am not entirely immune to, say, Aro's vampire with the bond manipulation. Chelsea convinces the target that they have an emotional connection to the desired person, which is Aro, of course."
"You know a great deal about the Volturi," Carlisle pointed out.
"Research," she said offhandedly.
"I used to live with them, and your information is strikingly accurate."
"What?" Charlie shouted, standing abruptly. "I knew it!"
"Calm yourself. I said used to. I left because I could not abide their disregard for human life. Our relationship has been strained ever since, and they are less than happy that my family is relatively large as far as covens are concerned. Aro lives in a state of constant fear that they will be overthrown; thus his overreaching strides towards power. The more talent he acquires, the less likely they could ever be bested. We are committed to protecting humanity, much the way your family is," Carlisle said pointedly to Charlie. He reluctantly sat back down.
"Your turn," I directed to my father.
He heaved a sigh. "You discovered I'm Quileute?" he asked, and I nodded. "My father was named Quil, and my mother was named Helen. He was a werewolf; not the type to only change on a full moon, but the type of shapeshifter that can only become one animal. He was in love with my mother, but married to another—married to her sister. Quil imprinted on Helen, but he was betrothed to Molly. He tried to stay away from her, but they were so intertwined he had no choice. I've read about the feelings, experienced them for myself." He looked longingly at my mother, and I felt like an intruder to their romance.
"I know the feeling," I murmured, glancing at Edward. His mouth pulled up on one side, and I swear I went lightheaded gazing at him.
Charlie coughed, and I reverted my attention back to him. "So, while I would not normally condone cheating, I know how he felt. But at the same time, Helen found out she was pregnant and Molly was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She spent a considerable amount of time at the hospital and had surgery to remove the tumor. Quil tried his best to be in both places, but my mother and I ended up suffering though his absence. Mom couldn't handle being separated, but she knew it was selfish to want him to leave his ill wife. So she went to the council, which consisted of Quil II, Ephraim Black, and Levi Uley. Ephraim was the alpha and the chief, and he was disgusted with Helen's tale of infidelity. Their thoughts behind imprinting were skeptical at best, and the family unit was much more important to the benefit of the tribe. None of them cared about feelings, and my own grandfather cast my mother out. After all, she was a single woman trying to convince the council that she and her baby wouldn't wreck the tribe dynamics. They expected nothing less than absolute obedience, and when Quil and Molly returned from the hospital, he found out that my mother and I had moved away from Forks."
"Oh my God," I breathed, feeling a rush of sympathy for my grandfather. "He's been so harsh toward me. Where are his feelings of loyalty now? Why doesn't he want to get to know me?"
"I don't know the man any more than you do, Bella. But you do bear a striking resemblance to my mother. Perhaps he knew all along who you were, and you remind him of what he was denied."
"The more information I learn, the more questions I have." I shook my head. "Okay, so what happened when I was little? Why did you disappear, and how did I get left behind?"
Renée massaged her temples. "We were living in Forks, the three of us. We'd moved there after we were married, because my mother was disappointed that I didn't marry anyone with special abilities. She didn't approve of Charlie. He didn't know for certain that he could shift, and it was an experiment, of sorts." She looked at Esme and Carlisle. "We'd heard of your return, and Charlie knew that vampires were the catalyst to phasing into a wolf for the first time. And it worked, by the way."
"You may have noticed that we look not much older than you do," Charlie interjected.
"He started phasing regularly, after that first time. And Quileutes don't age unless they stop shifting. Me, I have enough special powers that I could probably be considered immortal." My mom smiled at me. "The same is for you, Bella."
I looked at Edward in surprise. I'd often worried that one day I would die and leave Edward alone. With all the information I was absorbing, this broke through as the most important for my future.
"Our network of friends and family that keep their ears to the ground informed us that one of my cousins had been captured by the Volturi guard. He'd done a terrible job of keeping his powers in check, and he was discovered. Between those hideous witch twins of theirs, he caved and confessed."
"Jane can make anyone believe they are experiencing excruciating pain, and her brother, Alec, can remove all of one's senses." It was Carlisle that explained, and the look on his face made me uncomfortable. I had the distinct impression that he'd suffered these effects himself.
"Yes," Charlie agreed. "So when we heard this, we knew they would start tracking us down and trying to collect us for their own use. We packed and prepared to move, and we thought we had a good plan in place that wouldn't give away our location. However, they were faster than we anticipated and they almost caught us. Your mother created the earthquake as a distraction, and we all jumped out of the car to run with you on foot."
My mother sighed. "As you must know by now, vampires are incredibly fast. We were terrified they'd catch us, so we changed into wolves and encouraged you to do the same. We hadn't had much practice with you changing into animals; you were only four. The friends that were waiting to meet us suggested we split up. They stayed with you, in wolf form, and we ran."
That was where the story finally became too much for her, and she broke down. She sobbed, and I found myself reaching for her to comfort her.
Charlie continued the story. "We were to run until we'd lost them, and then double back. But we couldn't shake them. Their tracker is relentless. Demetri spent years following us. Each time we thought we had him beat, he'd show up again. Our only advantage was that he couldn't be spotted in the sunlight, so we stuck to major cities in sunny climates. We spent countless sleepless nights, worried he'd find us, worried about you. Our friends kept you hidden, taught you how to survive, and kept us informed through the most complicated back channels we could create to keep from being found."
"We've been here in the Amazon undetected for about seven years now. We were told you were taken in by the Quileutes, and though it seemed ironic for you to be there where it all began, we knew that the Clearwater family would protect you with their lives." Renée looked around us. "I didn't know that anybody else lived out here, or that they knew of us."
"We'll be found now, for sure. There's a valid reason that I'm paranoid." Charlie frowned. "We have to move again, Renée."
"You're more than welcome to come back to Forks and stay with us. We make an extreme effort to lay low and not attract the attention of the Volturi."
"That's a generous offer, Carlisle, but I don't know how I feel about it. We don't need to invite trouble."
"We have some time to decide," Esme answered.
"Depending on which way you look at it, we either have all the time in the world, or no time at all." Apparently Charlie was a pessimist.

 

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