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The Necklace	By : belladonnacullen Category: Twilight Series > Het > Alice/Jasper Views: 4635 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or make any money from this story.

Chapter List
- 9
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Time seemed to slow down after Sakhmet’s compound came into view. I don’t think any of us were certain how best to approach the situation, except Aodhfionn, who marched straight for the tall white walls, undeterred by possible death and dismemberment.

“She’d drink my blood. I don’t think she’d care about my limbs, Mary Alice.”

I shook my head in frustration. For nearly an entire day I’d had faeries speaking directly to my mind. Yet, there hadn’t been time for explanations, and I hadn’t been able to talk to Jasper about it at all.

Jasper was actually the one to dash ahead to catch up to the faerie. I grumbled a little under my breath as I watched my man run in Sakhmet’s direction. He’s not running to her, I tried to reason with myself. But what else would he be doing? Protecting the faerie? That seemed highly unlikely.

Chun-Tao and Dong-Mei walked on either side of me and I looked between the two of them. Chun-Tao’s face was stern and I could see her mind working behind her glowing eyes. Dung-Mei was all smiles, beaming at me even as we seemed to be walking towards certain disaster.

“So, what’s the plan?” I asked. It may have been the first time those words had ever left my lips. In the past I always knew the plan, but now I didn’t have a clue.

“You are looking at it,” Dong-Mei chuckled. “Without a dead faerie, we must bring you and Jasper.”

Chun-Tao placed her hand gently on my shoulder. “Alice, I can tell you are nervous. Your mate can handle himself in Sakhmet’s presence. I have seen it. You do not need to worry about him.”

I nodded and looked away, embarrassed that someone I just met could read me so easily, and that I’d been caught doubting my man.

“But that’s only part of it,” I mumbled. “We need a favor. If I ever had to meet your… your… boss, I certainly didn’t want it to be like this… coming looking for a hand-out.”

“Then do not do it, Alice. Give something in return. Jasper has told us enough about you to know that you have seen things about the future. There must be something you know that you could offer in exchange for our services. Something about power, men, her punishment, something that might please her. Like any ancient, Sakhmet wants power. Better yet, she wants to take away the power of others.”

“The Volturi?”

“Yes!” Dong-Mei’s eyes flashed with excitement. “Tell her about the Volturi. Something damning. You will have her eat out of your hand.”

“Eating out of your hand, Dong-Mei,” Chun-Tao chided.

“Either way, it’s a very good plan,” Dong-Mei retorted, folding her arms across her chest.

I carefully considered Chun-Tao and Dong-Mei’s suggestion as we trudged through the sand. I’d definitely seen flashes of the Volturi’s future. Even before I knew the name Volturi, I’d seen Aro, Caius and Marcus in my mind. From the beginning the images were so overwhelming and frightening, that I’d simply tried to tuck them away for future use. But, over time, things had gradually changed, and the images had gone from hazy and indistinct flashes to something much more definite. I’d watched the myriad of possible paths slowly merge, until there were frighteningly few possibilities in the future.

But should I really share this with Sakhmet? I’d never even spoken out loud about any of this with Jasper. Of course, I was pretty sure he knew, in his own way. We just never talked about it; it was something that we silently acknowledged, waiting to be spoken until it was time. Was this the time? Without my sight I couldn’t be sure.

Of course, if I were honest, I may have been subconsciously readying myself for just this. For many years I’d surreptitiously been working the different paths of the future to our family’s advantage, quietly putting vampires in place. But it was something so daunting and treasonous that I tried not to even personally acknowledge what I was doing. Just in case Aro ever touched my hand, again. That pathway always ended in my death.

I sifted through the images of the future I’d seen. The idea of telling anyone about them seemed almost like lying, given the current state of my seriously limited powers. I couldn’t be certain that any of those future possibilities still existed. Hell, I could hardly believe that anything really existed anymore. I’d been living in a magic faerie-land for days now. And the idea of telling Sakhmet any of this seemed dangerous, at best.

I was lost enough in my thoughts that it took me nearly half a second to realize that Jasper and Aodhfionn had stopped in their tracks, and the two dragon fighters and I were quickly catching up to them.

I’d just reached out to place my hand on the small of Jasper’s back when he snickered. It was an evil sound and it chilled me to the core. “Thanks, faerie.” Jasper ‘s voice was raw and full of malice. I pulled my hand away quickly like I’d been burned. Of course, I’d seen visions of Jasper the killer, his eyes red, his face coated with blood. But somehow, hearing that evil voice coming from my man in person was harder to take.

“I’m not here for you, warrior,” Aodhfionn replied coolly. In comparison to Jasper, the faerie sounded as innocent and pure as an angel.

“I know, I know. You’re here to protect Alice. But thanks anyway.”

Aod’s wings fluttered as Jasper patted him on the shoulder. I hung back while Dong-Mei and Chun-Tao walked to the edge of the ridge where Jasper and the faerie were standing.

“Oh no!” Chun-Tao moaned. “Dong-Mei, we have to get back, now!” Chun-Tao tugged at her mate’s hand and they ran down the incline impossibly fast. Seriously, I didn’t know how they moved that fast, even for vampires.

Of course, with no mental sight I hadn’t a clue what made the fighters run off. So I walked up to the ridge, keeping some distance between Jasper and myself. He was chuckling under his breath and it was unnerving.

That’s when I saw the men. Scores of human men were leaving the compound as if in a daze, wandering off into the desert. Apparently, Aodhfionn was close enough now to cancel out Sakhmet’s powers. The human men she kept to feed from were no longer drawn to her. I worried about them, though. Walking off into the desert this way, many of them would certainly perish.

“She’s just letting them go?” I asked. “They’ll never survive out here. Jasper, we have to do something.”

“What are we supposed to do, Alice? They’re getting away. That’s something. They would have all died inside there, eventually. Even if they die in the desert, it’s surely preferable, compared to… what she would do to them.”

“But we can’t just let them walk off and die,” I protested, trying to catch Jasper’s eyes. But he was staring at the humans with a look of pure satisfaction on his face. Instead, I noticed a soft white glow coming from just below my eye level. Little Aod’s eyes were all white and phosphorescent as they gleamed up at me.

“It’s nice of you to worry, Mary Alice.”

As I gazed back down the ridge I thought I saw the slightest shimmer in the air. It could have been the moonlight combined with the way heat was rising off the desert sand. But just when I’d convinced myself that it was nothing, I watched a human step through it and disappear. One by one, as the humans made it to the nearly invisible line, they simply dissolved into the ether.

“What the hell --” Jasper whispered.

I noticed Aod’s wings furiously fluttering from out of the corner of my eye. “I couldn’t let you worry, Alice. They’re on their way to Jiddah. There is plenty of water and food there. No one will perish.”

“Wow.” It was all I could manage. I looked up to see Jasper gazing in astonishment at the faerie.

“Pretty cool, faerie. Not bad,” Jasper chuckled.

“I do have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

“What was that?” Jasper asked.

“I can move people, and vampires. I got you out of the sidhe, didn’t I?”

“And you can speak directly to my mind,” I added.

“What?” Jasper asked, glancing up at me, shocked.

“It’s a faerie trait. One Mary Alice has obviously never exercised.”

Jasper stared at me wide-eyed, almost like he’d just remembered I was part faerie. It made me nervous.

“And I can fly, and don’t forget the sight, and --” Aodhfionn continued, ticking off his assets.

“The sight!” I nearly shouted, interrupting him. Just because I didn’t have it, it didn’t mean that Aod didn’t… or did it? I was confusing myself, so I stopped trying to figure it out for myself. “Do you know what’s going to happen?” I asked Aod, gripping both his arms in my hands. Wouldn’t you know it, the little faerie blushed.

“To a certain extent, Mary Alice. Vampires are easy; so dead, so dependable. They put their mind to something and their actions proceed like an arrow. Never trouble seeing a vampire, that’s for sure. You must have noticed that.”

“I always thought I just knew them better, because I was one.”

“No. They’re just predictable is all,” he smirked.

“Aod, if you know what’s about to happen here, Jasper and I could really use a head’s up. Please, help us. Help me.” I was playing to his weakness and I knew it.

“Alice, we are on the right path. One that may lead to the outcome you desire. But you won’t like the path itself. You should prepare yourself.”

“Prepare myself?” I asked, flustered, promising myself to avoid sounding so much like a fortune-teller in the future.

“Jasper will make it work in the end,” the faerie assured me, nodding his head in Jasper’s direction.

“Jasper?”

“But for now, you should concentrate on pleasant thoughts: like the dew on the grass in the sidhe, or the way moonbeams illuminate unicorns’ horns and turn them pale blue.”

I sighed in frustration, working to keep myself from ringing the faerie’s neck. “Give me something useful, Aod!” I nearly bellowed.

“Jasper Whitlock.”

*****

The hard feminine voice rang out in the dry desert air. I froze. It was a voice I’d heard before, in my visions. It was a voice I would never forget. It put me on edge worse than the sound of nails running over a chalkboard, or the sound of bones breaking. It was Sakhmet.

I was immediately at Jasper’s side, clenching his hand in mine, a low growl rumbling in my chest. I stared intently at Jasper, almost frightened to let my eyes follow that voice to its source. Jasper stood, unblinking, looking toward the entrance of the compound. What I wouldn’t have given to sense his emotions then. I ran my fingers lightly along the line of his strong jaw.

“I’m here, baby. No worries.”

Jasper managed a strained smile. “Thanks,” was all he said before kissing me lightly on the lips and squeezing my hand back.

The sound of a fierce hiss nearly blew me over. I spun around, and saw Aodhfionn suspended in the sky, glowing white, moonbeams glancing off the sharp edges of his wings. Sakhmet was directly underneath him, her red eyes flashing in the light he gave off, her fingers extended like claws.

She was everything I had feared: fierce, feral, and impossibly beautiful. Sakhmet was as tall as Jasper, and had a full hourglass figure that struck me as feline, somehow. Her thick black hair hung to her waist, and the tiny cloth wrap she wore didn’t hide the way her muscles in her shapely arms and legs rippled as she waited like a tightly coiled spring to strike at the faerie.

“Leave him alone!” I jumped, surprising myself with the strength of my voice.

Sakhmet immediately stood to her full height and turned slowly and purposefully to face Jasper and I. A slow smile spread over her face, and then she flashed her teeth and placed her hands on her wide hips. I wished I had hips…

“Did you think you would win this way? Very inventive, bringing a faerie. But I would never put anything past you, Jasper,” she purred. Yes, purred. “I’m just pleased you’ve put so much thought into what you might do to me. It’s more than I ever expected after the way you left.”

“This has nothing to do with you,” Jasper sneered through clenched teeth. I made sure to grip his hand more securely. I hoped he’d squeeze it back. He didn’t.

Sakhmet’s laughter shook the air around us; her eyelids crinkled shut and she wrapped one arm around herself. She looked sincerely amused as her body shook with her hilarity. Then her eyes went wide, catching Jasper and I in the act of staring at her.

“It hasn’t been two weeks since you left. And you come in a vengeful attempt to destroy what I’ve built for myself here. Such strong emotions, Jasper Whitlock.”

“I’ve come to save my family.”

Sakhmet rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Please, don’t tell that tale again. You are an intelligent man. You could easily think of a better excuse to visit me, with a faerie and female in tow.”

“My name is Alice. Don’t call me female,” I growled.

“With your figure it was hard to tell.”

In a split second Jasper was face to face with Sakhmet, his hand around her throat. “Don’t you ever speak to my mate like that again! She is not some random female; she is mine. Do you hear me?”

“Jasper!” Chun-Tao and Dong-Mei ran from the compound like bolts of lightning. Dong-Mei instantaneously pried herself between Jasper and Sakhmet. Chun-Tao pulled Jasper backwards, and held him tightly around the waist. Sakhmet grinned and slowly rubbed her neck.

“Strong hands,” she murmured.

I was growling loud enough to be mistaken for a passing jet engine.

“Sakhmet, Jasper does need our help. Dong-Mei and I,” Chun-Tao attempted to explain. “Which is why he brought the faerie.”

“I am listening.”

“It is confusing. But Jasper needs us to kill a dragon for the faeries, to bring a gift to the Volturi, in order that they will leave the Cullen family alone until the end of the year.”

“Hmm, I never took you for a Sisyphus impersonator, Jasper Whitlock, but perhaps I can see the resemblance after all. Give it up, let your stone roll to the ground. The Volturi have you marked and will never leave you alone. Come live in exile, with me. It is the only reprieve you are likely to have. And perhaps… not a too unpleasant one, at that?”

I ignored the last part of her speech, forcing myself to stay strong for Jasper, for my family. “That’s not true. There is another chance, for my family and for you.” Again, I’d opened my mouth without thinking. It took a second for my facial features to catch up with the conviction and courage my words were spoken with.

Sakhmet seemed to notice. She regarded me with half-closed eyes and a barely concealed sneer on her lips. “Jasper’s female,” she purred again. “I expected more.”

Jasper growled and snapped and it took the two dragon fighters to hold him back. I certainly wouldn’t help them. At the moment I wanted nothing more than to see her disembodied head on the bronze sand at Jasper’s feet.

“She speaks the truth, vampire,” came a surprisingly loud voice from the sky over my head. It was as if Aodhfionn was speaking through a magic megaphone. His voice conjured images of gold and trumpets and medieval knights on horseback. All five of us vampires stared up at my little guy, our mouths slightly agape.

“Aod?” I asked, peering at the faerie, his wings held aloft, his arms spread wide.

Sakhmet hissed.

“Vampire, you are old enough to know that I speak the truth,” he continued. “It would serve you well to listen to what Mary Alice has to say.”

“Fine.” It was spoken in a voice so hushed, I nearly didn’t hear the little word she’d uttered over the sound of the shifting sand in the desert breeze.

Sakhmet looked me over, her face an impassive mask. “Come with me, Alice Cullen. Tell me your story.”

*****

“Alice isn’t going anywhere with you,” Jasper snarled.

“Fine. Then my fighters aren’t going anywhere with you, Jasper.”

“What is this, third grade?” I asked. Four sets of eyes looked at me quizzically. Right. Except for Jasper, no one here had any idea what third grade was.

“If you are truly willing to save your family, you will come with me.”

Jasper was quickly at my side, his strong arm secure around my waist.

“My guards will come as well. I can tell already that they would let nothing untoward befall your mate, Jasper,” Sakhmet said with a disapproving look in the dragon fighters’ direction.

“This is ridiculous, Sakhmet. There is nothing Alice can say to you that I shouldn’t hear.”

“I will be the judge of that, Jasper.”

“Is this the only way?” I asked.

Sakhmet narrowed her eyes, but didn’t respond.

I looked up at Aod, my protector, after all. “Can Aodhfionn come?”

“Ha!” she barked. “That faerie, not a chance. He’s lucky he’s still alive.”

“It will be fine, Mary Alice,” Aod assured me in his normal, tinny little voice.

“Faerie,” Jasper growled warningly.

“She will be fine.”

“But you don’t have the sight when it comes to Alice.”

“I have the sight when it comes to you, warrior. And do not forget that I am here to --”

“Keep Alice safe.” Jasper, Dong-Mei, Chun-Tao and I finished in unison. I almost thought I saw a flicker of a smile on Sakhmet’s lips. It must have been a trick of light.

“Jasper, I think I have to do this.”

I watched a sly smile spread over Sakhmet’s face.

“Your guards will be there?” I asked her.

“Absolutely, Alice.” My name came out of her mouth like a hiss.

“Aod?” I asked one more time.

“The moment Jasper’s future begins to change, nothing would be able to keep me out, Mary Alice.”

“Jasper… Let me go.”

He didn’t though, his arm only tightened its hold on me and I had to pry his fingers off one by one. “Alice,” he growled, touching his forehead to mine.

“A few minutes, love. Your friends will keep me safe.”

“I can’t let you.”

“Yes you can. I let you stay with her for weeks. Give me a few minutes. If I’m not back, come get me. There’s no one left here to keep you out.”

Jasper grasped both of my hands in his. “Five minutes, then I’m coming in.”

*****

I’d already seen the inside of the main building of Sakhmet’s compound, so I was prepared for the low ceilings, dim lights and bare floors strewn with gold-embroidered pillows. Incense was burning in a corner of the front room, and the air inside was thick and cloying, enough that I coughed.

I heard Sakhmet titter as she led me further inside, and I made a silent vow to myself that that cough was the last show of weakness I’d allow in her presence. Chun-Tao and Dong-Mei were walking on either side of me again. They each had a hand on my one of my shoulders. I wasn’t exactly sure whether it was to reassure me or to restrain me, but I was glad for the contact either way.

We’d entered an adjoining room; this one was much smaller than the first. It was low and square and there was no pretense that it was used for anything remotely human. There were no pillows, seats, or low tables; nothing but dull, blood stained mud walls, and no way out except through the door we entered.

Sakhmet stood facing the wall in front of her. She felt safe enough in my presence that she didn’t even turn to toward me. Instead, she was completely still, choosing to forego movement all together.

“What do you have to say for yourself, little girl?”

She sounded so much like a human scolding a child that it took me more than a second to realize that Sakhmet was actually addressing me.

What did I have to say for myself? What the hell was I doing? I tried desperately to use my sight, but there was nothing. It was as if I were looking out into the blackest night. Chun-Tao and Dong-Mei released my shoulders, and I immediately felt vulnerable. I knew this moment could change the future, but I didn’t know if it was for the better or if it would put everyone I loved in danger.

“Find your voice, girl, or your time is up and your journey will have been for nothing.”

“The Volturi won’t rule our world forever,” I started, but I was quickly interrupted by Sakhmet’s laughter.

“You aren’t much of a fortune teller, Alice Cullen.” Sakhmet did me the honor of actually turning to look at me after that. Her red eyes were gleaming, even in the dark light of the room. “I should think they wouldn’t last. I was here before the Volturi and I will be here after them. That is the message you have for me?” she chuckled, and began to pace the perimeter of the room, looking me up and down.

I made sure to stand my ground and not shrink back from her.

“You will be there in person to see them fall,” I added. I felt fire blazing in my eyes, and hoped I looked as fierce as I suddenly felt, even as I gave away some of my most guarded secrets.

“Now that, girl, that is more interesting. Why would I be present?”

“Because you’ll want to help Jasper.” It was the truth. She had no desire to make the world a better place. That was certain.

“Jasper?” Sakhmet laughed. “Sweet girl, I’ve seen your rag-tag band of siblings. They are passable fighters, but they are no match for the Volturi. You’re not telling the truth, or you’re making this up as you go along.”

“You’re right. We won’t take them down. Not alone. What did you learn abut the way we fight and win?”

Sakhmet’s smile was wide, condescending. “I saw that you can’t win. Just the smallest change in circumstance nearly killed your mate. And he was fighting newborns. Have you seen the Volturi fight?”

“Others will come. We draw them in. We have already. Even you,” you-cold hearted bitch, I silently added, “are intrigued enough to help. You did it once before.”

Sakhmet regarded me silently, and my muscles instinctively flexed, ready, waiting for her to strike. “Jasper… he will be with the coven that brings the Volturi down...” Sakhmet’s eyes clouded over and I knew she wasn’t looking at me anymore. Her face relaxed and she looked almost happy, excited.

“Jasper is mine. My mate. My man,” I growled. I was doing a lot of growling today. But I knew what she was thinking; I didn’t need my sight for that. She was thinking about how she and Jasper would rule the vampire world together someday. No matter that Jasper wouldn’t be ruling anything, I felt it was more important to stake my claim than to correct her.

My words shocked Sakhmet out of her reverie. She shook her head at me sadly. “Jasper deserves better, little girl. He deserves a goddess, a warrior like he is. Someone to whom ruling comes naturally.”

“You’re forgetting that you’re a bloodthirsty and vile murderer, Sakhmet. Jasper doesn’t want anything to do with you.”

Sakhmet seemed quite pleased with my outburst. “But, Alice, you just described your mate. He and I are really quite compatible, don’t you think?”

It took me nearly a second to figure out what she meant; she was talking about his past. “You don’t know my mate. He’s a good, compassionate man.”

Sakhmet stopped her pacing and focused her eyes on mine. I stared back and I didn’t look away. “No, girl, you pretend not to know the vampire that you call your mate. You’ve brainwashed him into thinking that if he weakens his constitution by living off the blood of animals, he is somehow better than us all. But I’ve felt his thirst; I’ve watched his struggle. Once you are out of the way, that man will come to his senses. He will come to me.”

“Jasper is mine, forever.”

“For now,” she snarled.

I launched myself across the small space before I knew what I was doing. I pinned Sakhmet’s arms to her body, and with my other hand I pulled her head to the side to expose her neck. My teeth were bared; and I was ready to tear her head off, when she swiped her foot beneath me, catching me off balance. It was the opening she needed, and with her sudden leverage, she threw me against the far wall.

With a cat-like yowl, Sakhmet jumped at me, but Dong-Mei and Chun-Tao were too quick, and they blocked her path.

I was breathing hard. I’d never fought without my sight and I wasn’t used to relying only on my strength and speed alone. I pushed my back to the wall, tensed, crouching, waiting.

“Out of my way,” Sakhmet commanded, but Dong-Mei and Chun-Tao stood their ground. “She is nothing to you,” Sakhmet continued.

“But she holds the key to your future freedom,” Chun-Tao said quietly, her eyes on the ground. Emotions flashed across Sakhmet’s face: intrigue, anger, others too numerous for me to identify. I was also distracted by Dong-Mei, who quickly turned her head toward me, smiling and winking. It seemed so out of place given the charged atmosphere that I almost wondered if I’d made it up.

“Tell her, Alice,” Chun-Tao commanded.

I took a deep breath, hoping I could speak with authority, even as I felt insecurity washing over me. You don’t know any of this, a little voice spoke inside my head. I didn’t know anything about the future right now. But I had to chance it. We needed these two dragon fighters. It seemed worth a small lie on my part. “You must let your fighters come with us to slay the dragon Cirein Croin, in order for us to eventually bring down the Volturi.”

And moving deftly, with astonishing grace and speed, Sakhmet found a way around her fighters. She suddenly stood inches from me, her blood-red eyes shining down to meet mine. “Tell me the truth, girl,” she hissed.

It took me more than a second to recover, and I struggled to find words about the future that I was sure of. “My entire family must survive the year if the Volturi is to fall in your presence.” I saw no way around that, and as a result, I managed to speak with more conviction this time around.

Sakhmet stepped back and looked over her shoulder at her guards. “Leave us be. Alice Cullen and I need to speak, privately.”

I suppressed a shudder and looked at the door expectantly. Surely Jasper and Aodhfionn would barrel through at any moment. I had no doubt that she planned to finish me off.

The guards didn’t move.

“Now!” Sakhmet shouted, but they stood still. In that moment I saw a fleeting look of doubt in Sakhmet’s eyes. I took a second to survey the world from her point of views, and felt my own strength grow as a result. In the past hour, this woman had lost everything. She had no more servants, no more humans to feed from. Her compound was empty and now her two most valued guards were disobeying her orders. Certainly she could pretend to be strong, but she was grasping at straws.

I knew that if the guards left this place without her permission, there would be a fight. I saw the way she’d easily managed to get around both of them right now. She’d been fighting for many thousands of years, and even if Dong-Mei and Chun-Tao got away, we didn’t have the time to fight Sakhmet. But her weakness… I could use it to my advantage.

“It’s okay,” I murmured. Both guards stared at me incredulously. “It’s okay,” I said louder this time. “There are some things that Sakhmet needs to hear, and we should have privacy while we speak.”

“No.” Chun-Tao didn’t budge.

“Alice,” Dong-Mei whined.

“Please,” I asked, managing to smile and bat my eyelashes a little. They both continued to gaze at me like I’d lost my mind, but I simply nodded coolly in their direction.

“Fine,” Chun-Tao grumbled. “But we’ll be just outside the door.”

*****

JPOV
I paced nervously back and forth in front of the walls of the compound, enough that I was wearing a deep track in the sand. Every few seconds I would glance at Aodhfionn to confirm that Alice was safe. He’d mercifully come down from the sky, and was perched on top of the wall of the compound, staring at the stars above.

“Jasper, would I sit here if she were in imminent danger?” Aodhfionn answered my unspoken question.

I sighed and shoved my hands in my pockets, willing Alice to walk back out to me. It was the first time we’d been apart since the wedding, and I felt incomplete without her. My ears strained to hear something, anything from inside, but the thick walls of the house muffled any noise.

I kicked at the wall in frustration, and watched as the mud crumbled and cracked as a result.

“Will this work, Aodhfionn?” I asked without looking up.

“Work… that is such a general term. Jasper, your family will be safe. But you won’t like what’s about to happen.”

“How do you know all that if you can’t see Alice?”

I looked up to see the faerie carefully consider his words. “There are certainly holes where Alice is involved. But I have a fairly good idea. Your work here isn’t done, warrior. It’s bigger than a dragon and some jewels. You are here to make certain you can have Alice and the rest of your family forever.”

“You want me and Alice to be together forever?” I challenged. That didn’t seem likely. I could be called many things, but certainly not a fool.

“Alice does.” Aodhfionn’s head turned quickly away from me with a sharp, strong movement that gave away the emotion I knew he was trying to hide just below the surface.

“Thank you.”

“It’s my job. I don’t need to be thanked.”

“You’re pretty serious about your job,” I observed. If his job was the reason he only seemed to think about Alice, then the little guy needed a raise.

Aodhfionn gave me a very level look. “I’m very serious about Mary Alice.”

Within a fraction of a second I was next to him on top of the wall, a hair’s breadth away from the little man, a soft growl shaking my chest. I was so close, I’m sure he must have been able to feel the vibrations. “Watch yourself,” snarled.

But Aodhfionn didn’t flinch. “I don’t often fail, warrior. But I failed her. It’s difficult to live with.”

I took a small step backwards, a little less than willing to acknowledge that I’d jumped to conclusions. “Perhaps you didn’t fail, faerie. Alice is happy.”

“She doesn’t look happy.”

Well, of course Alice didn’t look happy. She was facing off against a demon that lusted after me, on whose favor our family’s existence hinged upon. Looked happy. We were lucky Alice’s head hadn’t exploded.

“That has nothing to do with whether or not she’s vampire. You know that.”

“Do I?” he asked impertinently.

My mind ranged back to the last time I’d seen Alice happy. It was the night of the wedding. Alice was beaming, ecstatic, and then later, in the bedroom… but no, even then, there were dark moments I tried to ignore. When then, had Alice last been happy? Really happy. I was lost in consideration of my life with Alice, counting off the happy days since we’d met.

Those first years together were blissful. One day bled into the next, more often then not, in bed. And then we’d run out to the country, hand in hand, as I learned the different tastes she’d introduced me to. Afterwards, we’d fall into one another’s arms, full of warm life and love for one another. If it weren’t for the sun, we might have laid there until we were ready to feed again, just enjoying one another, thoroughly.

And then there was the day she’d said simply, “It’s time, Jasper.”

I knew exactly what she meant. She’d been telling me about the Cullens, her dream family, from the day we met. I never completely believed they were real, that we were really going to walk up and present ourselves to them. It was sheer lunacy as far as I was concerned. One look at my skin and I’d either have to fight or run for the hills. But Alice said it wasn’t so, and so I believed, or at least suspended my disbelief.

And, truth be told, I think that was the first day I saw the uncharacteristic darkness take over her cheery and intelligent eyes.

“Baby, what is it?” I’d asked, gently holding her hand in mine. I was completely attuned to her, and I knew something was tearing at her bliss.

And as quick as that, the blackness left her and she smiled stiffly. “Nothing, darling,” she murmured, kissing me carefully on the lips.

Alice was a horrible liar. But I trusted her completely. I decided to wait her out. I knew she’d tell me in time.

*****

“Jasper?”

Aodhfionn’s voice shattered my reverie, bringing me back to the present. I was immediately alert and ready to storm the compound.

“She’s fine,” he said with a roll of his eyes, placing a reassuring hand on my chest. I was sure he’d picked the gesture up from Alice.

I sighed, and relaxed slightly, taking a careful seat next to the faerie, just far enough away so that he couldn’t touch me like that again. His touch filled me with ravenous desire, and my body quivered and venom flowed into my mouth in response. I half wanted to eat him, and I half wanted… something else. I shook my head and looked away from the guy, willing my mind back to Alice.

“It all depends on you now, Jasper,” the faerie said, ignoring my obvious reaction to his touch.

His words took me by surprise. “What the hell are you talking about, Aod?”

“Warrior, don’t you think there is a reason you are back? You started something when you were last here, but it is not finished. You’re here to win the goddess’s allegiance. Only you can make sure she’s there in the end.”

“The end? We’re here to get Chun-Tao and Dong-Mei.”

“I believe that’s what Alice is here for. You have another purpose. You need to make sure that the goddess will come when you call.”

“What exactly are you saying? And what does this have to do with the Volturi?”

“This is something bigger than your clan-mates, bigger than this year. Jasper, this is something that will allow you and Alice to live together for eternity.”

“What are you proposing I do, exactly?” I didn’t like the feel of where this was headed, at all.

“Alice must go with the fighters, and we must stay here.”

“Like hell! What are you trying to pull?” I had the little man by the throat, but then that sickening feeling came over me, and I dropped him back to the wall.

“Jasper, you know what I am here to do. My concern is for Alice. If this happens any other way, your family will not survive intact for long.”

“Are you asking me to stay behind and bed that woman? I’ll never do it faerie. I’ll get Alice and we’ll leave now.” I turned to walk into the compound, but Aodhfionn appeared in front of my face.

“No,” he said bitterly, “I am not asking you to couple with the goddess.”

There was something in his voice that made me stop.

“You only have to show her your gentle heart, your manners. We’ll talk together under the stars. I’ll do the rest.”

“You?”

“I am here for Alice. Please, believe me. It’s going to hurt her to be away from you. I know that. It doesn’t make me happy, warrior.”

I took the faerie by the shoulders and stared into his eyes, trying to make out whether or not he was serious, trying to detect the slightest flicker of deceit. He stared back at me and didn’t budge. He looked strong, and resigned.

“You’re serious,” I murmured. “You think I have to stay here while Alice leaves to fight a dragon.”

Aodhfionn smiled. “No, the fighters will be with her in the sidhe to kill the dragon.”

“In the sidhe? Oh shit, Aod. She’s supposed to go back to the sidhe alone? I hate that place.”

“It’s her place, Jasper. She belongs there as much as I do. And she won’t be alone. Donnchadh and Riodh will meet her on the other side.”

Somehow, the presence of those two numbskulls didn’t quiet any of my worries.

“Jasper, Alice knew that you and she had to do this, before the sight left her. Didn’t she?”

“Yes,” I admitted, “But she didn’t see any of --”

“Shh,” Aod cut me off. “I see for her right now, as much as I can. She took you to me. I cannot lie, Jasper. I’m a faerie. Trust me like you would Alice. You must stay here, and she must go. It will only be another moment now. You’ll have to help me convince her.”

“Be straight with me faerie. You know I can’t lose her. I would die.”

“Warrior, on my life, I want what is best for Mary Alice.”

“Why? Because you’re trying to make up for last time? Make me believe you, faerie.”

Aodhfionn looked away and his voice waivered for the first time since I heard him speak in the sidhe. “It is my duty to protect her. But, warrior, Mary Alice is brave and strong, and sweet and funny, and she loves fiercely. I have never seen another vampire as good as she is. Or faerie. She is special. Part faerie, part of heaven, and part vampire, partly damned. She bears it beautifully, doesn’t she?”

“She’s mine.” My voice was barely a whisper.

“I know. But it doesn’t mean that I don’t feel the way I do. And it certainly doesn’t mean I would ever do anything to hurt her. I will protect her with my life.”

“And so will I.”

“Then you’ll help me to let her go without you?”

That’s when I heard four pairs of footsteps coming in our direction.

“Jasper!” Alice called out, and in a flash she was standing next to Aodhfionn and I just inside the wall. Alice’s eyes gleamed and she smiled brightly, throwing her arms around my neck. My heart fluttered, she seemed exultant.

“I have a feeling it’s going to be okay, Jazz. I think this is all going to work,” Alice whispered cheerfully in my ear.

But even as my body tingled with Alice’s touch, my eyes fell on Aodhfionn and my heart lurched. He looked pale, and heartbroken, and determined.

Alice brought her lips to mine, and for a moment, everything else vanished. I was relieved to have her in my arms, and I could tell that she was excited and eager. She seemed sure of herself again, and sure of us. Her arms tightened around me and then she gave a playful pinch to my backside.

I chuckled with my lips still held against hers and a small part of my brain wondered what had inspired this giddy mood. But that thought disappeared as Alice pressed her little body flush with mine. My body instinctively responded, and a low purr rattled in my chest, vibrating against Alice, sending electric waves of pleasure to the ends of my body.

*****
“Ahem.”

I froze as the cold voice scratched against my eardrums. I took a step back from Alice, disentangling myself from her. I noticed that she looked hurt, and then I remembered my conversation with the faerie. I grabbed her hand, and hoped to the lord that I didn’t destroy her with what I was about to do.

“First you bring a faerie to destroy my life, and then you try to make me jealous. Jasper, you do not play fair.”

“I don’t remember you ever bothering to play fair, Sakhmet.”

Sakhmet’s eyes flashed, and she trailed her fingertips along the edge of her bodice. “We had fun, didn’t we Jasper. We’ll have to do it again… sometime soon.”

“Never,” I growled, pulling Alice closer.

“I’ve decided to let Chun-Tao and Dong-Mei go fight this dragon of yours, Jasper. Your female was quite convincing.” Alice squeezed her arm around my waist and kissed my cheek.

“I did it,” she whispered. “Yay!”

“But I will not sit here defenseless waiting for an attack from the Volturi.”

“Of course, Sakhmet,” Alice agreed. “Jasper and I will stay behind with you.”

“Jasper will stay with me.”

Alice dropped her arm from around my waist and the only sound in the night was the blowing sand. I didn’t need my powers to feel the wild shift in Alice’s emotions.

“This. Isn’t. What. We. Agreed.” Alice shouted, launching herself in Sakhmet’s direction. Chun-Tao and Dong-Mei quickly held her back, and I jumped between Alice and Sakhmet.

“I said that Jasper will stay,” Sakhmet calmly repeated.

I pressed my lips together, eyes narrowed, staring Sakhmet down. Her lips turned up at the corners in a smug smile.

“Jasper?” Alice’s voice was suddenly fragile. I looked back and she was staring between the two of us. “Oh, hell no! Tell her no, Jasper.”

I quickly closed the space between Alice and I, leaning my forehead against hers, trailing my fingertips back and forth along her arms. Not long ago this would have completely calmed her down. Things were different now, and Alice seemed even tenser with my touch. Chun-Tao and Dong-Mei released her and she nearly fell into my arms.

“Baby,” I began.

“Mary Alice,” Aod interrupted.

“Got this, faerie,” I grumbled.

“Be quiet, Aodhfionn, this doesn’t concern you,” Alice snapped. I pressed my lips gently against hers. “Alice,” I began again in a whisper.

“Mary Alice. Someone has to lead the fighters into the sidhe. They can’t pass without a faerie guide.”

“You take them, Aodhfionn,” Alice managed, kissing me back with growing desperation.

“I have to stay here,” the faerie replied.

I felt Alice’s body begin to shake, as she broke away from our kiss to stare at Aodhfionn, perched again on top of the wall. “What?”

“I have to protect you, Mary Alice. Protection comes in many forms. I will stay here.”

“Jasper?” Alice’s eyes searched mine and her body went still when she saw the answer written on my face. “No,” she whispered, clutching my wrists in her little hands. “Don’t leave me.”

“I would never leave you, Alice. Ever. But the faerie says that this is how it has to happen, and I trust him.”

“Since when do you trust him?”

When did I begin to trust Aodhfionn? “When I realized how he felt about you, Alice. He wants to do what’s best. And don’t forget, I trust you, and you brought us here.”

“But I never wanted this… for you to stay here, with her,” Alice sneered and lunged in Sakhmet’s direction, but I pulled her back.

“I don’t want to stay, either Alice. Do you know how hard it is for me to let you go back to the sidhe, to face a dragon, of all things?”

Sakhmet laughed behind me.

“I don’t need your help,” I snarled at Sakhmet, never taking my eyes off of Alice. “Alice, I love you. You can trust me. You know that, Alice.”

“It’s not you I don’t trust.”

“Aod said that we have to do this for our family, for our future, Alice. What would you rather have: a month together or an eternity?”

“How can you agree to this?” she asked, anger and desperation mixing to make her voice as sharp as daggers. Her words pierced right through me, and I struggled to stay resolute.

“Do you want me to go, Jasper?” Alice asked.

“Alice --”

“Do you want me to go?”

“Please…”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Alice!”

Alice pulled herself away from me. “Come on, ladies, we apparently have a mud hole to jump into.”

“Alice!” Aodhfionn called. “You cannot jump into quicksand. There are things I must explain.”

“Alice! Don’t leave me like this.” I chased after her and caught her in my arms.

“Or what, Jasper? What will you do if I leave like this?”

“Please… I’m staying for us.”

“Very convenient… for everyone.”

“You don’t mean this. Please, you know how I feel about you. Just because I can’t make you feel it, it doesn’t mean the emotion isn’t there. Please, trust me.” Alice sighed, but refused to meet my eyes.

“The faerie says everything is on track to turn in our favor. Faerie?” I called.

“It’s true, Alice.” I jumped. Aodhfionn was right next to us, but I hadn’t heard him approach.

“Please let me show you how to get back to the sidhe, Mary Alice.”

Alice still wouldn’t look at me. “Fine, Aodhfionn. Please, show me how to get back to the sidhe with Chun-Tao and Dong-Mei. I can’t wait to go.”
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The Necklace