Crossing Shadows

It's Join or Die...

The plane lands and we all get off. We get our luggage and walk out into the parking lot. I tuck myself deeper into my coat and we get into my car. I put the directions into my GPS and drive to our new house.

A few minutes later, we pull into the driveway and I park the car. We all get out and take our luggage into the house. I walk in and it's absolutely gorgeous. I love it! We walk through the living area, past the kitchen and up the stairs to the bedrooms. There's a master and another big bedroom across the hall from it.

"Who gets the master?" I ask.

"You two can have it. You're the leader, Bella, and you bought the house, Victoria." Damon smiles. I nod. I lead Victoria into the master and we unpack our stuff. She smiles and sighs.

"Ready?" Victoria asks. I nod. "Lay on the bed." I lay on the bed and take a deep breath. She leans down as if to kiss me and instead bites my neck.

I twitch and flinch as the fire begins to take over. It feels like being lit on fire then being dumped in lava over and over again. I want to scream but don't because I don't want Victoria to feel hurt and upset. I writhe in pain as the fire spreads and gets worse. I slip into a cool darkness for a few seconds but then am dragged back into the flames. This happens over and over until the fire is unbearably hot.

But then, the fire starts to recede from my fingers and toes. It leaves my hands, feet, then my arms and legs. Eventually, it centers in my heart. I hear it beating like helicopter blades. My heart slows, then stops, until the burning is only in my throat.

I open my eyes and I can see everything, hear everything, smell everything. I notice Victoria standing next to me and I stand slowly and hug her tightly.

"Bells...remember, you're stronger than me now," she whispers. I apologize and back up. Teresa walks in and I smile and wave. She smiles and then zips off. Within minutes, she comes back with a mirror and beckons me to look at myself.

If I thought I was pretty before, I'm beautiful now. I'm even paler than I was before, and my eyes have changed to a beautiful blood red color. My hair has darkened to a raven color and lengthened to my waist. "Wow." I marvel at my voice for a second. It sounds like bells.

She's so beautiful. Victoria says in her head.

"Thanks Vicky." I smirk at her.

How? Oh! Mind reading. Right.

I smile at her.

You can read thoughts now? Teresa asks.

I nod.

Really? Wow. Powerful. Damon remarks.

I notice the burning in my throat. "Can we go hunt?" I ask. Vicky nods. We sprint down the stairs and out the front door. She leads me to a deserted hiking trail.

"Tell me what you smell," she commands. I inhale deeply. I smell the grass, the dirt, some animals, and then, something delicious. A human.

Do you smell that hiker? She asks. I nod. Then let your instincts guide you. I stalk off in the hiker's direction, letting my nose and instincts take over. I walk up to him and he smiles.

"Hello, pretty lady," the creep purrs. I roll my eyes, and in one quick motion, bite his neck and drain him, careful to not make a mess of myself. I lick my lips and throw the body into a pit and burn it with my cigarette lighter. I cover the ashes with leaves and dirt and sprint back over to Victoria.

Impressive control. Especially for a newborn. Victoria smiles, proud of me. We sprint back to the house where Teresa and Damon are waiting.

I don't know if that's a good idea. Bella could come home any minute. Teresa thinks.

"Hi guys. What's not such a good idea?" I ask with a questioning look.

The Volturi have invited us to Volterra to meet us, since we're a new coven. I've seen that they'll ask us to join them. What should we do? Teresa looks at me with a worried look.

"We join them." I sigh. "When do they want us?"

Tomorrow. Teresa sighs as well.

What's going on Bells? Victoria looks at me confused.

"The Volturi want us in Volterra to meet us tomorrow. Which means we have to leave now. They are going to ask us if we want to join them. And we will, to make a show of force." I look at Victoria and smile grimly.

Because we won't have a choice. Victoria realizes. I nod. It's join or die.