Hidden

Screeching to a halt in front of their home in the woods, Alice and Edward jumped out of the Porsche and through the front door. The frame cracked under the force with which they entered the house, where they were greeted by a three-foot girl with a soft copper complexion. Her countenance was somber as she tugged at the hem of her dress and stared up at her two siblings.

Edward stopped and knelt down to her level, holding out his arms, “Oh mi pequeño, ¿dónde está nuestra familia?”

She pointed behind her, towards the back door, “Allí.” Edward then picked her up and nodded to Alice.

“I’ll meet you out there,” he murmured to her.

As the girl found comfort in Edward’s arms, Alice slipped by and continued down the hall. The remaining pair then stood in the foyer in the cool air of the morning.

“Why aren’t you outside with everyone else?” asked Edward, fixing a strand of the girl’s hair.

“I was told to wait for you,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Lucia, that’s very good of you for following orders, thank you.” Edward adjusted her so she was sitting on his forearms, and they started down the hall. “Did they tell you anything?”

“No, I was saying goodbye to Rose when Colin came home, and then I heard shouting and he told me to stay inside.”

“And wait for us?”

“Yes. He said you would come, and you did.”

“Of course we did, ma florecita. Now let’s make sure everything is alright.”

Edward took Lucia out the back door, where the family was gathered. There was quite the commotion as Colin and Eva huddled close to the forest’s edge and everyone else watched in anticipation. Muffled sobbing was swallowed up by damp snow. Alice stood a few feet away from the others and Edward took a spot by her side, keeping Lucia facing away from the crowd.

Edward began to speak, but Alice nudged him and pointed to his head. Instead, he listened for her thoughts.

“It’s not Ruben,” came from her mind. “The future always changes. Something must have happened to keep him from going outside. Kazimir apparently called out for him before they left for school and he found the poor thing staggering around back here, bleeding out. Better the animal than Ruben, but he’s completely inconsolable.”

“Who did it?” Edward whispered to Alice. Lucia continued to rest in his arms without making a fuss.

“I don’t know. It couldn’t have been Rose, Lucia, or us, and it obviously wasn’t Ruben. Colin just came home, so I doubt it was him. Eva doesn’t hunt without Colin, and… Well, that just leaves Jesse and Francis.”

“Where is Jess, anyway?”

“Dunno that, either. In our room, maybe. He hasn’t been out hunting since he got back, or at least he hasn’t told me anything about going out.”

“He was supposed to be watching Lucy.”

The girl perked up at her name. “C’est moi, oui?”

Edward smiled and turned her so she could look at him and Alice. “Yeah, we’re talking about you,” he said in a quiet voice.

“Do you know where Jesse is?” Alice murmured to her, reaching over to run her knuckles across Lucia’s cheek. Her body was chilled like the air.

“Sitting on the floor of your room with his eyes closed,” she shrugged, resting her head on Edward’s shoulder.

Alice crossed her arms and looked to her brother. She told him telepathically: “He’s been meditating nearly every waking moment. Won’t tell me what’s wrong, just insists he needs to clear his mind.”

Edward opened his mouth, but was cut off before he could speak:

“He told me I could say goodbye to Rose, I promise I didn’t sneak away. He said it was okay,” Lucia assured them, looking down.

Edward patted her on the back, “No one is upset at you. You did exactly what you were told.”

“Then why is everyone outside?”

“Good question…” Edward trailed off. Alice had turned to face the rest of the group and noticed Colin retreat from Eva. He started towards them, and she held out her arms to take Lucia. Edward handed her off as Colin settled in front of them, and Edward peeked around him to see what had really happened.

Laying in the frozen mud was Kazimir, a pool of blood oozing from his neck. Ruben clung to the animal’s head with fierce affection and could be seen shaking. His cries were softer now, but filled with the same sorrow. Rosalie tried to put a hand on his shoulder, but she was roughly pushed away. Edward then focused again on his creator.

Colin was dressed in his seafoam scrubs, blood-splattered and exhausted. He smiled at the trio and Lucia reached out to him, asking to be held. He turned her down, letting her stay in Alice’s arms, and the young girl buried her face into her neck.

“How is he, Ruben?” Edward asked him.

Sighing, Colin ran his hands through his blond hair. “He’ll be fine. He’s upset and that’s to be expected, so please be kind to him if you would.”

“How… How did it happen? Was it a hunter?”

“No, this isn’t the season. There are wounds on his neck that caused him to bleed out… It could only be one of us.” Colin surveyed the two vampires. “And I trust neither of you were involved.”

They nodded and Alice chimed in, “I had a vision, about all of this.”

“Did you see anything that could point to the culprit?” he asked.

“Well it wasn’t exactly what happened, so I’m not sure if it’ll help that much. The way I saw it, Ruben was alone in the forest just north of here. I don’t know what he was doing, maybe hunting, but it was raining and he was searching for something. Then out of nowhere he’s on the ground and there’s someone over him, snapping his neck. No human has the strength to do that to one of us.”

Colin rubbed his chin, listening intently. “Are you sure that wasn’t something further into the future?”

Alice stiffened. “I thought something must have changed and whomever it was attacked Kaz instead.”

“I’d like to believe that, but the circumstances aren’t right. It’s not raining, and-” a drop of water plopped onto his forehead. The grim scene flashed by his icy blue eyes and he wiped the rain off, only to have it be replaced by two more drops. He cursed, then turned around to the rest of his family.

“Let’s get inside! I’m calling a meeting!” he told them, and the mournful group began to retreat into their home. Francis, bring the strongest, wrenched Ruben off of the corpse and threw him over his shoulder to bring him inside. The rest of the family watched as Ruben kicked and screamed, but the red-haired behemoth was able to get him in after all.

In the living room, the seven vampires sat in a semicircle while they waited for the meeting to start. Edward sat with Ruben, who was now silent, but barraged his brother with his agony mentally. It was impossible to Edward to drown all of it out, so he concentrated on the heavy thundering of rain on the rooftop. He almost didn’t notice when Colin returned and took his seat across from them all on the couch.

Adjusting the red silk robe he had changed into, Colin put up his hand to get the attention of the group. When the murmuring ceased, he started: “This has been a very stressful morning, and I appreciate the cooperation that I have received from all of you. While we are deeply affected by the loss of Kazimir, we must analyze this event to ensure the safety of our family. I'd first like to ask if anyone had been out hunting this morning before the body was found."

Colin sat with his hands in his lap and the seven pairs of eyes staring back at him refused to move.

"Good. I should then have no reason to think that any of you committed this act. Now, has anyone noticed any other unusual occurrences with the animals in the area? Corpses completely drained of blood? Anything that would point to a vampire on our land?"

Everyone shook their heads. Rosalie offered her insight:

"If there's another vampire in the area, wouldn't they be hunting humans?"

"While our customs are only followed by a few covens in the world, there are others that only drink from animals. It is possible that someone is just passing through and doesn't want to be noticed," Colin reminded her.

"What about the Denalis?" Eva said. "Could they be here, if only passing by?"

"If the Denalis were here, I would hope that they would contact me... Because I haven't heard from Tanya, I doubt it's them. " Colin sighed.

"That must mean they did it on purpose," muttered Francis. He rubbed his wiry orange beard, looking down at the hardwood floor. "Whoever killed him knew who he was."

"How could anyone know that he meant something to me?" Ruben said in a ragged voice. "I thought I was the only one who could speak to animals."

"The only one we know of," said Colin.

"What are the odds?"

"They're... Not good. It's nearly impossible someone with the same gift as you would happen upon our territory to begin with." Colin leaned back into the cushion, "I've never even met two vampires with the same gift. They're rare enough as it is."

"That's it, then? We have nothing to work with?"

"No," said Edward. Six pairs of eyes bored into his skull now that Lucia had fallen asleep in Alice's lap, and he continued: "If this person knew who Kazimir was, they must have been watching us."

"Edward is right," said Colin. "Whoever these people are, they're trying to antagonize us; get us to break. Which makes this very serious. We have to take every precaution to make sure our identity is kept hidden. For all we know, the Volturi are 'checking in' on us again..."

"Who?" asked Alice. Edward raised his eyebrows as he glanced at her. Alice, Jesse, and Lucia had joined the family in the nineteen-fifties, making them the newest members. The last time the Volturi had made an appearance was in the forties, which accounted for Alice's ignorance. Nonetheless, he couldn't believe that no one had told her.

"The Volturi are the leaders of the vampire world. From time to time, they take a census of their vampires and visit the covens to make sure they are staying inconspicuous," Colin told her.

"And... If they aren't?"

Colin shifted in his seat. "To preserve the secrecy of vampires, they would eradicate the coven and anyone else involved."

"But why would they want to kill us?" The cheerfulness had gone out of Alice's voice.

"Nothing is certain," he assured the group, feeling the constricting tenseness with which the family listened. "Until we know who is watching us and why, the most important thing is to stay calm and follow my instructions." Colin stood up, tightening the cord around his waist to keep his robe on. "First and foremost, hunting must be done in groups of four. We will only hunt once a week to reduce the amount of time we spend outside. Someone must stay with Lucia at all times and she is not allowed outside, lest she be spotted. If anyone notices anything out of the ordinary, contact me before pursuing any plan of action. And above all else: do not reveal yourself. This meeting is adjourned."

With that, Edward stood up from his seat and stretched. The room was alive with talking again as everyone began discussing the new rules. Beside him, Alice cradled Lucia to her stomach, and Edward was about to suggest he and Ruben find something to do when he felt a hand on his back.

"May I have a word?"

He turned to see Colin, regal despite his exhaustion, and nodded. The two of them went around the corner to the staircase and Colin pointed up them.

"It seems a member of our family is missing," he said with weariness.

"You mean Jesse?" Edward blinked.

"Yes. I cannot attest to his good mood, but I would be grateful if you would pass on the information I gave out to the rest of the family."

Edward nodded again, fervently. "Of course."

"Thank you. I need to get to bed, I've got another shift at six. There's nothing like a cold coffin to give you a sleep as sound as death, is there?" the man laughed. Edward gave him a polite smile and Colin regained his composure, "Anyway, you know where I'll be if anything goes wrong. Best of luck." He whizzed up the stairs; Edward heard the door to his room close a second later.

Unsure of how Jesse was doing, Edward took his time climbing the stairs and walking down the hallway. Alice and Jesse took the room opposite his own, next to Lucia's. It was the same size and layout as his, which made Edward glad he needn't share his room with another person. It was cozy enough as it was. His hand hovered over the doorknob when he reached the room and he listened for a moment, trying to catch some of Jesse's thoughts.

But he heard nothing. His mind was silent.

Clearing his throat in an impudent manner, Edward twisted the handle and stepped inside. The room had three soft lavender walls and one large window taking up the rest of the space. In the center was a grand four-poster bed that Alice had insisted upon when they moved in, and two burgundy armchairs sat in the room's corners. Those were Jesse's choice. A weak scent of smoke filled his nose and Edward closed the door behind him as his eyes settled on the man sitting cross-legged on the floor at the foot of the bed.

Jesse was recognizable by his shoulder-length dirty blond hair, which was pulled back into a ponytail. Eyes shut, his face was tilted up at a slight angle and his hands rested on his knees. In front of him was a bowl of dried white sage, burning slowly, surrounded by an arrangement of crystals. At Edward's entrance, his amber eyes flicked open.

"Hello," he said.

Edward passed by him to sit in one of the armchairs. "Hey Jesse, it's great to see you again. I'm sorry to... Bother you, but Colin wanted me to pass a few things on if that's alright."

"Sure." He closed his eyes again.

"I don't know if you heard, but one of Ruben's animals was found dead with vampire incisions," he looked to Jesse to see if he would react, but he made no movement. "So... We think someone may be watching us. Colin wants us to only hunt once a week, stay in groups of four, report anything to him; that sort of thing. Oh, and you gotta keep Lucia inside."

"There's a Volturi threat?"

Edward blinked. "I - I didn't know you were told about the Volturi. I thought Colin wanted-"

"Colin wanted to keep our hopes up. He didn't want us to worry that someday, she would have to be killed." Jesse stood, picking up his bowl of sage. He grasped the plant by the stem and waved it around in front of his face, letting the smoke trail off. Then, he smudged the velvety leaves on the inside of the bowl and sat on the edge of his bed, laying the bowl in his lap. He was a very strange person, Edward thought, but he felt his anxieties ease whenever he was with him. Everything flowed freely from him and his mind was crystal clear. It was wondrous what his empathic powers could do, but they took a toll on Jesse himself. He wouldn't be able to survive the constant barrage of emotions if it wasn't for his perpetual meditation.

"I understand his intentions, but you knew and Alice had no idea. How did you...?" Edward trailed off, eyeing the older vampire.

"When I was first turned, my creator did a thorough job of introducing me to the world. Maria, she wanted me to be her right-hand man and bring her to fame in the wars that controlled the south during my young adulthood." Jesse said, his voice thick with his Texan accent that hadn't faded since the day he was turned. "She was ruthless and seduced me. Because I was in love with her, I did anything she said. Even when that meant killing immortal children to keep the Volturi at bay."

"If you knew she was so dangerous, then why did you keep Lucia? You couldn't have known that you were going to meet Alice, and then us. You could have been stuck alone in the world with a target on your head."

"Keeping her was no more of a choice to me than being born was. When I was told to dispose of her, I assumed she was some girl in her mid-twenties that was turned by one of our younger recruits and didn't want to follow orders. That's what they all were. But when I saw her and realized she was only a child, it became different."

"You didn't want to feel her pain; to see her suffer. You couldn't hurt a child," Edward assumed.

Jesse hung his head, his chest rising and falling with a sigh. "It was not the pain. I'd been killing people and vampires alike for over a hundred years - I'd become comfortable with the pain I gave and took. Age was not an issue either. I was a monster, Edward. Born and raised."

"You're no monster, you spared her."

"She was one of hundreds. An anomaly."

Edward gritted his teeth. It was impossible for Jesse to make this any harder. "Then what made her unique?"

"She was fearless. Even in death, she was utterly fearless."