Carlisle began his own introductions as I focused on the twin brothers. Other than clothing, they looked exactly the same. But one thing about their appearance disturbed me the most. It was their eyes. Not so much the color of their irises, which were a dark red or burgundy color. No, it was something else, something I had seen years ago. I had once looked into eyes like that, eyes that didn't register me as a person. Those eyes that look at everything they see with a detachment, or indifference, like they were looking at something less than themselves, or something soon to be dead.
Something else was nagging at me, something familiar that I couldn't place. It was when Carlisle brought up not hunting in the area to the group that it hit me. The jacket James was wearing, it was Waylon's leather jacket. I tensed up, and my anger started to flare. My protective stance over Bella was the only thing that kept me focused and tied to the spot I stood.
(Edythe POV)
The game was going wonderfully, it was a piece of heaven to watch Thomas become part of my family. The seamless way he had inserted himself made me so happy that I was surprised I wasn't in a constant swoon. The lighthearted banter between Emmett and Thomas completely disarmed Rosalie, helping her to get over Thomas not being a vampire. The only family member who was still cautious of Thomas was, surprisingly, Carlisle. There was no dislike or anything, just a wariness about Thomas's aggressive nature at times, his anger that always seemed ready to take over.
Yet, even with that on his mind, Carlisle looked more into helping Thomas work on his anger than trying to keep him away from the family. Away from me. Tearing me from my thoughts was the sight of Edward stumbling and then looking directly at Alice. I quickly looked at her and focused when I saw her eyes glazed over.
I was pulled into a vision of four figures surrounding Edward, Bella, Thomas, and I. Thomas was shifted into his tiger form as Edward struggled with a blond vampire in a black leather jacket. Another blond vampire identical to the one Edward was fighting was working with a black vampire to attack Thomas. One was trying to distract, the other trying to attack, while I defended Bella. In a split second, Thomas screamed in pain, and blood erupted from his shoulder where a leg was just seconds ago. In my rage at seeing him hurt so badly, I rushed forward, only to be attacked from behind. A girl with red hair had her arm wrapped around my neck, and with a pull, my body fell to the ground. The redhead then threw my head at Thomas as another distraction, he was killed seconds later. The three joined in on the fight with Edward, who was quickly pulled apart but left alive to watch as Bella was being feasted on by the group of four.
Then, in a blink, the four vampires were being led to our home by Emmett, Carlisle, Rosalie, Esme, and myself. Carlisle was explaining how we kept a permanent residence, and the group was hanging on to every word. The young-looking redhead was complaining to Rosalie about the lack of comforts of the nomadic life. The rest of the family was escorting Bella and Thomas home, with plans to guard them until the group of four left.
Vision after vision rolled through Alice's mind, witnessed by me and Edward. I felt I would go mad several times as I watched Thomas die or get permanently maimed in so many of them. Edward was no better being forced to witness Bella die in such a horrific way, time and time again.
Then Alice concentrated on keeping the group together instead of splitting up, and the visions became more peaceful. Even the few that did end in bloodshed ended with us as the victor, though none showed a path where we all survive. These strangers were strong, and their diet did give them a slight advantage in one-on-one battles. Carlisle or Esme died in nearly every confrontation in the clearing.
Seconds seemed hours as the visions stopped, and suddenly Alice shouted out, "Everyone, circle up. Incoming"
Instantly, everyone gathered around home base and started asking questions. Carlisle was the first to ask if they had time to get Bella and Thomas out of the area. Alice shook her head, "Something draws them to that group, I don't see what. They stay with us for now."
Carlisle just nodded, trusting Alice without pause. "We will try and draw them to the house and end this peacefully. If any of my suggestions lead to avoidable bloodshed as I speak to them, snap your fingers twice, and I will change my approach. Will that work, Alice?"
Alice looked away for a second and nodded her head, "That's the best approach I see."
Damnit, I thought to myself. If Bella smells so good to those of us who have sworn off human blood, she will be nearly irresistible to these vampires. That is probably what leads them to us if we run. Luckily, she does not appeal to any of them like she does to Edward, or it would be a fight no matter what.
I barely took in their appearance as they came into the clearing, already knowing everything about their appearance from the visions. Instead, I looked at my family. Edward was nervous, impatient, and angry all at the same time. Shifting his posture constantly. This drew the eye of the redhead and made her nervous. I looked in her mind and felt her near worship of the twin brothers. If not for that, she would never have approached such a large gathering of covens. Well, that was interesting, they didn't realize we were one coven. Another tidbit that I picked up was her contempt for the soft-spoken Laurent, she saw him as weak, too weak to protect her.
Ahh, she was one who was only drawn to others in search of protection. That explained her attachment to the twins. In Alice's visions, I had seen just how strong they were together. I focused on Emmett next, he was standing slightly forward of the group, presenting himself as a challenge to the newcomers. His presence exuded strength and power, his mocking smile a challenge.
Carlisle was the calming influence, Rosalie stood near me, and Thomas, who in turn stood before Esme. Edward was on the other side of Carlisle, and I could see he was reading everything he could from the strangers. His impatience and nervousness kept the new group off balance. Wondering why he was acting this way.
Wait, I am missing something… Weird. I frowned and looked at my family again, and then realized what was so off. I glanced at Jasper for just a split second before I was overcome with a sense of boredom…of complacency and disinterest. Nothing interesting in that direction at all, so I turned away.
Then it hit me. Jasper was a very imposing figure with all his battle scars, his very presence was a cautionary tale of the battles he had survived. No one wanted to take their eyes off someone who was so obviously a veteran of many vicious battles that could leave the marks he carried. I also realized that I hadn't looked at Alice or even Bella. Realization dawned on me, Jasper was using his emotional control to make himself and the others so uninteresting that they didn't warrant a second glance. Virtually making them invisible. How long had he been working on this as part of his abilities? If things turned confrontational, he would appear virtually out of nowhere to their senses.
I silently urged Carlisle to hurry and lead this group away, before something could focus their attention on seeing past Jasper's ability.
Carlisle's voice was steady as he spoke, "We were just finishing up with the game. Now that the storm is passing, it would draw too much attention to continue. I would like to offer you a chance to clean up at our house if you would like, though. Some fresh clothes after cleaning up would surely be welcome."
Laurent looked at his group and saw that even Veronica was looking happy at the chance to clean up, so he decided to accept. "We would be delighted to accept your most generous offer. And I, for one, would love to hear how you are able to keep something like a permanent residence. I have never heard of something like that before."
Carlisle smiled, "Yes, we are told we are unusual. But there is another group like us up near Denali, Alaska." Carlisle gestured in the direction of the house and started to lead the group that way.
Murphy's law states that anything that Can go wrong, eventually Will go wrong. But I would like to make an amendment to that law. My amendment would be to add, At the Worst possible Time!!!
Murphy, or whoever represented the will of that particular law, just sneezed.