What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?
I DONT OWN IT
by Kristen Elizabeth

One of the things Jasper had grown to respect about Carlisle was the fact that the man didn't feel the need to fill every empty silence with mindless chatter. So when, half an hour into their journey, Carlisle began to speak, Jasper did nothing to stop him. Whatever he had to say would no doubt be important.
"I've never told you how old I am, have I?"
Jasper kept his eyes on the ground lest he lose the memory of the path back to the spot where he'd last seen Alice. "You have ancient eyes."
Carlisle smiled faintly. "And you have a bit of the poet in your soul. Yes, I said soul," he added when Jasper snorted. "I have always believed that we keep our souls, despite what we are. If we didn't have souls, we couldn't make the choice we've made, to resist our thirsts and preserve human life."
If the older man was waiting for him to argue against this, he'd be waiting forever. Jasper had started believing in souls again the day he'd met his pixie.
"It took me many years...many decades, really...to make peace with what I'd become," Carlisle continued. "During that time, I sought out others of our kind for guidance. What I found discouraged me." Jasper glanced at him; whatever memory he was lost in...it was a troubling one. "You know of the Volturi, Jasper."
It wasn't a question, but Jasper answered, "Yes. My maker, Maria, took great pains to avoid their attention."
Carlisle nodded. "I stayed with them once, quite a long time ago." This surprised Jasper. What he knew of the Volturi didn't suit the compassionate nature of the man beside him. "I parted ways with them, under amiable terms, when I realized that they would change me long before I would change them. Still, I don't regret the time I spent with them. It taught me so much more about myself than I ever would have learned on my own." He paused. "I discovered the face of a true monster. Everything I've done since then was to ensure that I would never resemble it."
Alice's words haunted Jasper, cutting straight to his unbeating heart. Only a monster would let her be killed and do nothing to stop it... He kicked a dead branch out of his path with more force than necessary.
If Carlisle noticed, he said nothing. "I remember that time so clearly. The faces of the Volturi will always be frozen in my mind," Carlisle mused. "But one in particular stands out now. A man named Silas."
"You do know him, then?" Jasper's teeth ground together. "The one who took Alice?"
"I believe he may be the same man I knew, yes. Silas was with the Volturi at the same time I stayed with them. He was actually very close to Aro, which I admit I found odd." Without being bidden, Carlisle explained, "Silas had no particular talent, no supernatural power that set him apart from the crowd. Aro seeks out those who are extraordinary; he rarely bothers with those who aren't."
"Were they...?" Jasper hinted. He wasn't a stranger to such notions; he'd seen relationships form amongst the men he'd commanded, fueled by war and fear and desperation for human contact in the middle of hell.
Carlisle shook his head. "No. As a matter of fact, they had a falling out, just before I left for the New World."
"Over what?"
"A woman. Her name was..."
Jasper suddenly stopped. The barest hint of a very familiar scent hung in the air. Inhaling deeply, Jasper searched for the source, turning wild circles in the snow. "Here," he declared. "She was here."
Carlisle glanced around the woods with eyes that saw as clearly in the dark as they did in the light. "Where?"
The scent was stronger near the trees. As Jasper moved towards them, he could just make out a scrap of fabric caught on a twisted limb. "Alice!" He grabbed it and pressed it to his lips. The sweet smell of his lover made his head spin. "She left this for me," he murmured. "She wants to be found."
When Jasper took off running, all Carlisle could do was follow.

Not far from the spot where they'd abandoned the beat-up truck, the ground gave way to rock leading up to a dramatic cliff over which a half-frozen river tumbled down to an icy pool. It was to this snowy grotto in the middle of the woods that Silas and Lenora had led them. As Alice stood at the edge, staring at the jagged stones and freezing water below, Edward approached her from behind and took her hand.
"What do they want, Edward?" she whispered.
He shook his head. "I don't know. But it must be something they don't think we'd want to do without...persuasion."
"So, it must be wrong then." Her fingers were cold even to his touch. Together, they watched as Lenora started down the rocky cliff with a terrified-looking Marjorie. "That..." She searched for the right word. "...witch. She knows Jasper. Really knows him, Edward."
"I overheard." His jaw clenched and he gripped her hand tighter. "Don't pay attention to her."
Alice lowered her chin. "That's easier said than done." She shook her head. "I said terrible things to him back there." Her chin trembled. "I called him a monster."
"Aren't we all, in our own way?"
Edward turned his darkest glare onto the man who'd taken them so far from their home. "Speak for yourself."
Silas laughed as he offered Alice his hand. "Come. It's a rather tricky path down."
"I'd rather risk falling," Alice told him haughtily.
"Oh, Alice." He clucked his tongue in disappointment. "I would have thought that living with Carlisle, even for such a short time, would have taught you some manners."
"You know Carlisle?" Edward asked sharply. "How?"
Silas waved away his question. "There will be plenty of time for all of that. Right now, I really must insist that you come with me." His tone turned colder than the snow beneath their feet. "If I have to throw you both down, I will. It's not as if you wouldn't survive."
The path turned out to be more treacherous than tricky. If not for Edward's helping hand and her own supernatural sense of balance, Alice felt certain she would have plummeted straight to the bottom and broken every bone in her body on the way down. She felt a great rush of relief when her feet finally touched solid ground.
The roar of the icy waterfall drowned out almost all other sounds, but Alice could hear Silas calling for them from a few yards away. "Come," he beckoned. "Meet my other guests."
Together, Alice and Edward walked around the snowy banks of the pond. Behind the waterfall there was a rocky opening to a cave buried deep in the cliff. Again, Edward took her hand as they climbed up the slippery rocks and ventured into the dripping mouth of the cavern.
Someone struck a match; the sound bounced off the walls and the sudden flare of light startled Alice. It was Lenora lighting an old oil lamp. Not that it was necessary. Even in the sheer darkness, Alice had been able to see Silas's so-called guests.
A half-dozen young men and women, none of whom Alice recognized from school, were huddled together in a far corner of the cave. Their clothes were dirty and torn and they were all shivering uncontrollably, but whether it was from the cold or from fear, Alice couldn't tell. They were human; their scent was unmistakable. Standing over them, though, like a tiny sentry, was a boy who was decidedly inhuman. Nine, perhaps ten years old, but with the piercing red eyes that meant his life had been taken from him before he'd even begun to live it.
Silas clapped his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Edward, Alice...I'd like you to meet Johnny." He looked down at him with pride. "My son."
Edward was appalled. "You changed a child? What kind of a sick bastard are you?"
"Don't be so quick to condemn me, Edward. Judging by your face, you were barely more than a child yourself when Carlisle made you." Silas went on, "Johnny has a special talent that I simply was not willing to wait for." He nodded at the boy. "You can tell them."
When Johnny grinned, he revealed a missing tooth. Did he know that he'd have that empty spot in the front of his mouth forever? "I know where our kind are. I see them in my head. I can even see their names and how old they are."
"Johnny is my eyes and ears. Of course, he might become somewhat obsolete now that I have this lovely creature." Silas walked to Alice and took her hands. She tried not to flinch, but his fingers were like ice. "Open her mind, Marjorie. I want to see what she sees."
Alice froze. "What did you say?" She slowly turned to look at the girl standing beside Lenora. "Marjorie?"
"Forgive me for keeping you in the dark for so long, Alice," Silas apologized. "It was entirely necessary for things to go smoothly."
"I don't understand," Alice whispered. As she watched Marjorie without blinking, Lenora undid the ropes around her wrists. When her hands were free, Marjorie tucked them under her armpits and looked down at the ground, avoiding Alice's eyes. "What is he talking..." She stopped with a gasp as a vision appeared to her out of the misty darkness. Jasper's face, determined, set in his course as he ran through the woods. "How did you..." Marjorie snuck a sheepish look at her. "You...did this to me?" Alice's shock was slowly turning to anger. "You took away my visions?"
Silas shook his head. "More like she turned them off for a little while. Like she's turned down the volume on Edward's power. Marjorie is exceptionally gifted at controlling the gifts of others; I'm incredibly fortunate not to have killed her when I found her hiding in the woods. Imagine! If she has this much skill as a human, what will she be capable of when she's one of us?"
Edward put a protective arm around Alice's shaking shoulders. "You are the real monster," he told Silas between his teeth. "And you're not going to hurt my sister anymore!"
"The last thing on earth I want to do is to hurt Alice," Silas assured him. "She's far too valuable." He offered Edward a smile. "As are you, I might add."
"I'm sorry, Alice. I really am." Marjorie sniffed loudly. "I didn't have a choice. And I didn't know...how could I know...that you'd be so nice?"
"She should apologize for being your friend when no one else was?" Edward shot back. "This is how you repay her kindness?"
"I can speak for myself, Edward." Alice stepped away from her brother and approached Marjorie. "We always have choices," she said. "Tell me why you chose this."
Marjorie lowered her wet eyelashes. "You can't see it?" A second passed. "I'm dying."
Silas broke the silence that followed. "That remains to be seen. In the meantime, though, there's much to be done." He turned to the half-frozen humans. "How are all of you? I trust my son's been keeping a good eye on you? Giving you plenty of food and water?" He glanced down at a pile of charred logs. "I see he let the fire go out."
Johnny looked like he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Sorry."
"It's all right, son." Silas ruffled the boy's dirty-blonde hair. "They're all still alive. That's the important thing."
"Important for what?" Edward asked. "Start giving us answers." His voice banged off the walls. "Now!"
Silas sighed. "Oh, we simply don't have time for lengthy explanations. Marjorie." The girl tore her guilty stare away from Alice and focused on him. "Be a dear and let Edward hear again."
It was Alice's turn to grasp Edward's arm, to steady him as he stumbled backwards a second later. "The voices?" she whispered.
He nodded, his face screwed up in pain. "The humans...they're terrified. They know...they've been told what they're here for."
Alice didn't want to ask. She didn't even want to think it. What are they here for?
Edward opened his eyes. "To start a war."