Chapter 12 - Fear

I heard a high pitched noise that escalated into my eardrums, spinning through my brain.  I clasped my hands over my ears but it continued and then I realised, cliched as it may sound, that it was a scream and it was coming from my own throat.

Edward clutched me to him, his cold skin feeling soothing against my raging brow.  Caius had said what he had come to say and then stood very silently as the family of vampires I loved so much stared at him, some hissing with anger, some quietly resolved to their fate.

“We’ll fight you” Edward spat, “Some of you will die too”

Caius shook his head carefully and deliberatley, “Legend has told, for many years, of ways to kill the Immortals like us,  you’ve heard them all, a stake through the heart, drowning, etc etc... but of course all prove futile to the real thing, as many of us can attest” He walked toward the group, dropping his voice to a hushed whisper, “Until now, Aro has been looking for many years for the grave of a Vampire hunter who successfully killed his first wife without even breaking a sweat, and a couple of weeks ago he found it” He turned to Alice, “I’m surprised you don’t know about this, my dear, with that clever little ability of yours!”

Alice looked uncomfortable, “I couldn’t make it out...” She turned into Jaspers protective embrace, and he hissed at the Volturo, “Get out of here before we kill you ourselves”

Caius threw his head back and laughed, “You can’t!” He exclaimed, “I’d kill you first” and from his pocket he took a small silver box, and opened it, taking from it a small wooden stake, “this is Khosrau’s cross, a stake made from the wood taken from the cross of Jesus Christ...”

The room fell silent.  I could hear my own heartbeat in my head, my fear overwhelming me.

“This wooden stake is the only thing that can kill a vampire completely, one blow to a vampire and they cease to be, finally at rest which I know many of you have often wished you could be...” he looked directly at Rosalie.  She stepped forward “There are 8 of us here, Caius, we could take that little stake off you now and kill you with it, whats stopping us?”

“Try it” Caius said, his eyes glinting.

“Rosalie!” Emmet commanded, “Don’t!” He moved forward and took her by the arm, she resisted but then gave in, her beautiful face falling as she moved back to his side.

“I do not doubt that you could disarm me, but all this stake needs is one scratch, and who would it be dead on the floor?” Caius smirked, “Alice? Emmet? Newborn Bronte - the wolf lover? Which of you is the least precious? Send them forward to take me on”

No-one moved, Carlisle moved his arm protectively across his family as he moved forward.

“Leave Caius” He ordered.

Caius did as he was told.  Like a flash he was gone, running across the trees as he had come, and the silence from the forest felt foreboding.

I slumped in Edwards arms, “This is insane” I whimpered, “I can’t take this, its a nightmare, I can’t be here, its too much”

“Bella” He assured into my ear, “I am here, we will be fine”

I closed my eyes tight, and wished and wished that what he said would be true.