Redshift by Ashlynn Chantrea (free ebook reader for ipad .txt) 📕

“Pim doesn’t cause trouble.”

“Pim stands by and lets it happen. He does nothing to stop the others, in fact he takes up for them when they get yelled at. Sometimes, I think he gets a kick out of watching me take on the role of disciplinarian father.”

She opened her mouth like she was going to say something but she didn’t. She looked pensive for a moment before conceding my point, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. But I am not the mom of the group.”

Whether she knew it and didn’t want to admit it or she just hadn’t realized, she was sort of mothering to them. She scolded me for demeaning them, she got on to them too when they caused trouble, she helped us bond. But the idea was repugnant to her so I let it go. Although, I kind of liked the thought.

“All right,” I acquiesced, “It’s just me. I’m the leader of this…whatever we are.”

“Let’s call it a coven. The girls would like that.”

“Well,” I said, becoming serious again, “I feel responsible for our coven now. I don’t want this to come to a fight with the Volturi. I need to get started, learn as much as I can about them before they decide to come after us.”

Laney nodded.

I contemplated how best to get down from the very tall tree and laughed inwardly at myself for a flash of acrophobia when I first looked down. Maybe remembering things so clearly from being human wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. As I decided jumping was faster and just as safe as climbing down, Laney reached out and placed her palm on my cheek.

“Wait,” She said as she climbed over the branch separating us. “Before we go back.”

She folded her arms behind my neck, pulled herself close, pressing her whole body against me, and touched her lips to mine. I was frozen as she moved towards me, locked in place as my mind was bombarded with billions of conflicting messages, all assaulting my mind at once. But as soon as she kissed me, my mind cleared. I raked my fingers through her choppy hair, clasping the back of her head with both hands.

I needed her. I needed this. There was nothing else in the world anymore. Time, space, reason, everything ceased to exist except her and me. Her soft lips brushing against mine, keeping time with the movement of my mouth was the only sensation I registered. There were no sounds, no smells, nothing but her. She was the center of my world now. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else came close.

We stayed like that, lost in the moment.

Until the tree shook enough that I felt my balance falter. I compensated for the shift, never coming close to falling. But it did get us to stop kissing.

Then I noticed the sun was rising behind the clouds. I hadn’t noticed it set. We both looked down, bewildered by the sudden disruption.

“All right you two.” Bianca said, amused with herself and her mockingly scolding tone. “Break it up.”

Pim was standing next to her at the base of the tree. He was the one that had shaken the trunk. I was glad he didn’t snap it at the base. He easily could have.

“Yeah, don’t make me get the hose.” He added, grinning up at us.

Then Hector appeared at their side.

“Hey!” He teased, “Mom and dad made up.”

“I wouldn’t call her that.” I said with a faux-warning tone, “She’ll kick your ass.”

“You guys have no manners.” Laney complained, “You could have just cleared your throat, maybe called our names rather than trying to knock us out of the tree.”

“We did.” Bianca replied.

“For almost five minutes we shouted at you. I’m sure there are probably humans around here that heard us. They probably think there’s a couple lost in the woods right now.” Pim said.

“We could hear them calling for you back at the house.” Hector said, “Alice and Edward kept laughing. They wouldn’t tell me what was so funny. I had to come see for myself.”

“How long have we been out here?” I asked.

“All night.” Bianca said.

“Something like twelve hours.” Pim clarified.

I glanced at Laney. She looked shocked too.

“Come on, guys.” Hector said impatiently, “Carlisle wants to tell us stuff about the Volturi.”

Laney shifted away from me, removing her arms from my shoulders and standing next to me on the branch. I took her hand and we jumped down. I could see exactly where we were going to land and was prepared to match the angle of my feet to the uneven terrain. Laney made it seem easy, not even looking down as we fell.

We ran back to Carlisle’s house. My mind didn’t want to shift back to how it was before. This would be a difficult balancing act. But there was danger coming and I needed to focus. It helped snap my brain back to the analytical machine when I thought of Laney in danger.

Time to get to work.

At the house Carlisle had old books laid out on his kitchen table. He was looking through several at once, flipping pages at random. He had a method to the chaos, I could tell. I wondered what he was researching.

When he looked up at us, he welcomed us back with an amused smile. I guess Edward and Alice were willing to share what they found amusing with their leader. He quickly shifted to a business-like demeanor.

“The history of the Volturi goes back well over a millennia.” Carlisle started.

Jasper interrupted, “Maybe we should let them start, Carlisle. It might be better if we knew what to expect.”

“Jasper,” Esme whispered disapprovingly.

“No, that’s all right.” I said quickly, agreeing with his thinking. We had no idea what they were up to. We might not have time to research and strategize before they showed up. “We can tell you what we know.” I looked at Pim, “You were there the longest and they didn’t hold back when talking around you. You should be the one to tell them about what they have planned.”

Pim froze, looking nervous and surprised.

“It’s all right, Pim.” Edward said soothingly, “Just think back to when they first started changing people. Did they talk about what they planned to do? What they would do when they had enough soldiers?”

Everyone was silent. Pim was still stuck, locked in place. But Edward was hearing what he wanted to know, based on the look on his face. He would occasionally glance at members of his family. It didn’t take long before Edward started relaying the information to his family.

It was stuff I had heard before or figured out for myself. They were building an army to destroy them, they were willing to go through as many recruits as necessary, weeding out the weak, in order to have troops strong enough to defeat them. They had to be careful not to destroy the valuable members of Carlisle’s family.

“They might try to take Jasper and I captive as well.” He seemed relieved as he said it. I didn’t see how that would be comforting. He had to know what they were like. In some cases I believe death is better. I guess he didn’t agree.

“How does he know about Jasper?” Alice gasped.

“Aro saw him the last time. He saw how protective he was of you.” Edward replied.

“But I don’t think he knows that Jasper has a special ability.” I said.

“Why else would he want him alive?” Emmet asked.

“Leverage. What good would Bella and Alice be if they refuse to use their powers for the Volturi? This gives them something to encourage them to be cooperative.” I answered.

They all looked nauseated. But no one looked like they doubted that I was right in my assumption. The Volturi would do anything to get what they wanted.

“Logistically, it’s a smart move.” I continued.

Laney elbowed me in the side, “Stop.” She whispered, taking in their expressions with pain and empathy.

“I’m sorry, but it’s true.” I said, “It’s a normal practice for groups like them. I’m actually shocked they didn’t try it with us.”

And then my mind started to race. What if they had thought of it?

“We’re all together.” Pim said, not noticing that I was frozen with anxiety, “There’s no one left that we care about to hold hostage.”

Profanity flowed from my mouth like a waterfall. I was starting to panic. Why hadn’t I thought of it sooner? I should have known they wouldn’t give up that quickly. Not unless they had another idea ready. A way to get us back.

The whole room became loud with questions and movement as I paced back and forth, dragging my hands through my hair, pulling it back away from my face.

I vaguely noted the conversation happening around me.

“What’s going on?” Bella asked, concerned.

“I have no idea.” Laney said, sounding scared, “I’ve never seen him like this.”

“I can’t hear him right now.” Edward said, “He’s blocking me.”

Laney stepped into the path of my pacing. She gently took my face in her hands and stared into my eyes. I could focus a little better now.

“What’s wrong?” She asked in a trembling voice.

“That’s why they haven’t decided to come for us. That’s why they turned back so quickly. They knew we’d go back.” I whispered.

“What are you talking about?”

“Leverage.” I breathed. “They know us. They know how we feel about human life. They know they can take our human families, our friends, anyone we cared about and we’ll go back for them. It’s probably already started. They’ve had a whole day. They might already have all our families held captive.”

The whole room became still.

Laney looked terrified.

“Mom.” She mouthed the word.

My mind snapped into action.

“Rain, can you teleport to places you’ve never been to before?” I asked, my words coming out in a rush.

“If I can see it on a map. If I can get an idea of where it is in relation to where I am, I think I can get there. Or at least close enough.” She answered.

“We need a place to hide them. A place none of us have been before so they can’t track us using our scent.”

Carlisle was already on the phone before I had finished speaking. I gathered from his end of the conversation that he was arranging for a place where we could take them.

“Now we need a list. The people we think they would target.”

We all contributed names of loved ones, except Hector and Pim. According to them, they didn’t have anyone left from their human lives. Rain and Jasper went over a map on the internet, giving her an idea of the distances she’d need to go, including the safe house. The first step was to test to see if she could find these places.

The instant I suggested a test, she vanished. Two seconds later she was back where she had been standing before. I wanted to yell at her for being so impulsive but I held back. She was back and not hurt. But I worried that if they were still in the process of taking our families that she might run into them. If she appeared in the middle of them, would she have the presence of mind to jump back before they destroyed her? I wasn’t willing to risk it.

“I made it there,” She announced, “I was about a mile or so off the mark, but I think I can get closer now that I’ve been there.”

“This