The Black Flame Candle

Part seventeen

Bella drove, wiping tears away. Suddenly Edward is outside the car, near Bella's window. "He'll forgive you," He told her as Bella looked at him, shocked. "Slide over...."Bella slid over to the passenger side as Edward opened the door, slid in, and took the wheel. Jasper slid into the truck as well, from Audrey's side of the truck. She snuggled into Jasper as Bella slumped. "His face... I said the same words my mother used when she left him," Bella said. "It was the only way he'd let you two go," Edward told her as he floors it.

"Your father's safe now, Bella. The tracker is following us-," Jasper told us. "Elizabeth and Ruth put a protection spell on his house" Suddenly, a dark figure leaped onto the bed of the truck. Bella screamed. "It's alright. It's just Emmett," Edward told them. "Alice is in the car behind us." Audrey sighed in relief as Jasper took her hand, rubbing his thumb over her hand. As we drove through town, Audrey saw Bella's friends in the coffee shop, happy and ignorant. Audrey sighed as they arrived at the Cullen house.

Edward, Jasper, Emmett, and Alice rush Bella and Audrey from the truck to the house but froze when the door opens and Laurent exits. They immediately take defensive positions as Jasper pulled Audrey behind him. Carlisle appears. "He came to warn us. About James," he told us as they back down slightly. Laurent addresses Carlisle. "I've grown tired of his games. But he's got unparalleled senses. Lethal," Laurent explained. "I've never seen anything like him in three hundred years ... And the woman, Victoria, will back him. Don't underestimate her.

"Carlisle nods thanks. Laurent looks at Edward, apologetic. "I'm truly sorry for what's been unleashed here," He told him as he moved off, disappearing into the woods. We walked into the garage as Edward held my arm. The lights flip on to reveal a pristine garage; the Volvo, the red BMW, a black Mercedes sedan, and an SUV. Everyone but Rosalie sprung into action, opening cupboards for supplies: cell phones, extra batteries, maps, portable GPS units, changes of clothes, cans of gasoline, etc. As they load up the vehicles, Bella holds onto Audrey.

"I've had to fight our kind before," Jasper said. "We're hard to kill." "But not impossible. We'll tear him up," Edward added. "We'll rip him apart with our hands, then burn the pieces-," Emmett smiled. "I don't relish killing another creature," Carlisle said. "Even a sadistic one like James." "If he doesn't get to one of us first," Rosalie added. "This is insane. You can't put yourselves in danger like this - for me," Audrey told them. "For Bella. For me." "Too late," Rosalie looked at Audrey.

Edward shot Rosalie a look as he grabbed two sets of keys off a hook, throwing one set, lightning fast, to Carlisle. "I'll run Bella and Audrey south, while you lead the tracker away-," Edward started to say. "No, Edward, the tracker knows you and Jasper won't leave Bella and Audrey. He'll follow you," Carlisle told us. "I'll go with Bella and Audrey. Sora and I will drive her south," Alice told him. "I'll keep them safe, Edward, Jasper." Edward agonized. Frustrated. Alice steps forward. "Can you keep your thoughts to yourself?" Edward asked.

Edward finally surrenders his keys to Alice. Then he opens one of Bella's and Aubrey's suitcases, pulling out clothes, and tossing them to Rosalie and Esme. "Esme, Rosalie, put these on so the tracker will pick up their scent," Edward said. "Why should I? What are they to me?" Rosalie dropped the clothes. "Just a danger you've inflicted on us-." "Rosalie. Bella is with Edward, Audrey with Jasper," Carlisle reminded her. "They're a part of this family now. And we protect our family." "I'll take Audrey's clothes," she said as she grabbed Audrey's clothes.

She glowers but picks up the clothes. Carlisle hits the door opener and the massive metal doors roll open. He squeezes Edward's shoulder before he and Esme climb into the SUV. Everyone finishes loading up and climbing into the cars. Edward pulled Bella inside as Audrey looked up at Jasper. "Please don't get hurt," Audrey asked him, tears welling up. "I can't live with it if you die." "We won't, there are seven of us, two of them. When it's done, I'll come to get you," Jasper told her. "You're my life now." "Why does James want to claim me?" Audrey ask.

"He already has a mate, doesn't he?" "It could be due to your scent. It is intoxicating," Jasper told her. "I will not let him get to you." Audrey looked at him as the car she was in drove off. Audrey looked at Jasper as he faded into the distance. "I love you," Audrey whispered, knowing he heard her.

The sun arose as the black Mercedes sedan drove. Sora drives, Alice in the passenger seat. Bella and Audrey are in the back, her eyes red from crying. Bella talked on her cell phone. "Mom, it's me again. You must have let your phone die," Bella said. "Anyway, I'm not in Forks anymore but I'm okay. I'll explain when you call." Bella hung up, then faced back out the window, watching the green, misty Olympic Peninsula speed past.

-𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗣𝗢𝗩-

Rosalie, Emmett, and Edward, the fastest, are running. Edward stops, trying to read his enemy's thoughts. Rosalie tears a tiny swatch of her shirt and leaves it on a flowering maple tree, then they're gone. Esme and Carlisle crouch atop a hill, looking down at the river. In the distance, below, they saw Victoria jogging into view. She then looks in their direction. Once Carlisle and Esme are assured she has their scent, they continue over the hill's crest. James blasts past the flowering maple and stops, backtracking to the tree, finding the tiny swatch of fabric.

He starts again, but stops and smells the fabric. Something's not right. He runs back in the opposite direction. Jasper runs after James when he sees him leave

-𝗛𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗹-

Audrey woke up on a bed. Bella and Audrey were sleeping as we got up. We walked to the living room. The blinds are pulled. Alice and Sora stare blankly at a T.V. set. Several plates of food crowd a table. Alice looks up as we entered, Bella looking at her cell phone. "I wish he'd call," Bella sighed. "You should eat," Alice asked as she ignored the food. Audrey begin to eat as Bella sat down. "They could get hurt. It's not worth it," Bella sighs. "Yes. It is," Sora spoke up. They were taken aback. It's the first time he's engaged with them.

"Jasper and Edward have changed since they found you two," he continued. "And none of us want to look into their eyes for the next hundred years if they lose you." He looks forward again. "It's worth it." Suddenly, Alice reels. Sora goes to her as Bella and Sora follow. "What do you see?" He asked. "The tracker," Alice replied. "He just changed course....." Sora quickly sets a pad of paper and pencil in front of her. "Where will it take him, Alice?" Sora asked. "Mirrors. It's a room of mirrors,"

she replied as she begins to draw at hyper speed, closing her eyes, trying to see it. "How do the visions work?" Bella asked. "Edward said they weren't always certain." "She sees the course people are on," Sora explained. "....while they're on it. If they change their minds, the visions change." Bella looked over Alice's shoulder to see the drawing. Then Sora clutched his head as he hissed in pain. "What? What did you see?" Audrey asked. "He has chosen his stage," Sora hissed in pain. "So the course James is on now will lead him to," she asked.

".....a ballet studio?" Audrey finished.