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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
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I felt lost. With my sight, I’d been like a homing pigeon, always moving instinctively and purposefully in the exact direction that would take me home. But now, I was directionless, helpless. Not only was I not sure what the right thing to do was, but even if I knew, I felt powerless to make it happen. I was like a pebble being swept along the bed of a raging river, quickly being borne away, bumped and broken, with no way to make it all stop.

Jasper wasn’t helping.

He said he wanted to leave immediately. He wanted to go to her immediately! After those words were spoken, all of the faerie queens smiled triumphantly and Aine dismissed us with a wave of her hand. For the first time since we’d been here, I was consumed by anger and weakened with desperation. I wanted to crush that blond-haired faerie for bringing Sakhmet up to the court, and Onagh for agreeing to the plan so wholeheartedly. If it weren’t for them, maybe Aine would have just given us the jewels and let us go.

Aine turned back towards me and narrowed her eyes. “It would never have been that easy, Mary Alice.” I blinked, surprised. Somehow Aine had spoken directly to my brain. Now they were playing with my head?

“It’s time for you and your consort to leave, Mary Alice. Say hello to his admirer for me.”

My astonishment quickly evaporated, replaced by outrage. I was mad enough to spit, and I could have, since my anger had my teeth dripping with venom. On second thought, I could do more than spit. But before I could take a step in the direction of the Saelie Queens, Jasper’s strong hand clenched my wrist and tugged me backwards. I tried to shake him off, but he was far too strong.

“Mary Alice,” Aodhfionn hissed. “Snap out of it!”

I gave up and let Jasper pull me. And again, I was a tiny pebble tumbling along the riverbed, dragged by the torrential current, pulled along in the dark. Sinking my teeth into one of the Saelie Queens wouldn’t help. I should have known that much, whether or not I could see the future. But I kept my eyes on Aine. With a withering look I told her just what I thought of her. She was supposed to help us. She owed my family this. And this is how I was repaid?

The Faerie Queen didn’t shrink away from my stony glare. Her eyes were wide, glowing green and soft. And that’s when I heard her in my head again. “What is best is not always what is easiest, Mary Alice.”

Then Aine nodded to me before turning back to the rest of the court.

Once we were well beyond the clearing, Jasper eased his grip on my wrist. “Sorry, Alice. I felt like I had to get you out of there. Baby, it’s all right. I know you were angry for me, but there’s not going to be any trouble. This guy’s coming with us.” Jasper turned and flashed his beautiful smile at Aodhfionn, as he slapped him on the shoulder. On impact, the little faerie flew forward, but skillfully avoided a fall by grabbing onto the trunk of a nearby willow.

Aodhfionn grinned proudly at me. “He’s finally realized my worth, Mary Alice. It’s about time.”

“No. No, no, no!” I stomped my foot. Was I the only one that saw how wrong this all was? “It was all my fault that you ended up in the desert the first time, and I swore I’d never make you do anything like that again. And then I forced you to come here, and they say you have to go back? No. No!” My rage was building, and I stomped my foot again to emphasize my point. I may have been behaving like a child, but I was being treated like one. I was being told what to do, and everyone said I had no choice in the matter. I had no idea what whims I was going to have to navigate through from minute to minute.

“Alice, calm down, honey.” Jasper rubbed my arm and kissed the top of my head. The solid feel of his body against mine made me feel somewhat better, but honestly, not much. In the past it would have been enough to melt me like a flame to candle wax. But now, now I pulled away and glared at my mate.

“And why are you so eager to go back?”

Jasper looked as though I’d slapped him, and really, I might as well have. “What? Alice! What the… What are you…?” he stammered.

“You’re not even going to answer me?”

“Alice. Just stop. I told you I would do anything to help our family. You’re the one that brought me here! You heard as well as I did what they say has to happen. The faeries want a dead dragon. Aro wants some old diamonds, and we want Aro to stay away. We all win here, baby.”

“It doesn’t feel like winning to me. But maybe you think going back there, to that woman, feels like winning,” I nearly spat.

Aodhfionn stepped between Jasper and I. “You asked the faeries for help, Mary Alice. I tried to explain what that might entail.”

I lunged at the little man, but he darted backwards, colliding with Jasper, who pulled him out of the way. “And you! You little thing! You didn’t say anything about this! You made it seem like it would all just magically work out for us in the end!”

“It will work, Mary Alice,” he said quietly, peeking out from behind Jasper.

“My name is Alice!” I growled.

“As you wish, Alice.”

“Alice, calm down. Don’t you get it? With Aod there, Sakhmet’s going to be powerless.” Despite my suffocating anger, I noticed the faerie smile and flutter when he heard Jasper’s new nickname for him.

“I don’t care,” I huffed, crossing my arms in front of my chest. “She’s still vile and evil and beautiful, and she’s still going to want you, whether or not she can make you want her back. And you want to go!”

Jasper rolled his eyes and squared his jaw as I glared at him. I knew I was being unreasonable. I brought him here, I made him come, and now I was angry at him for going along with me. I was irrational and jealous and I felt so, so weak. So weak that I sat myself down in the middle of the path, and so embarrassed that I threw my arm across my eyes to blot out the world around me. This awful world where Jasper wasn’t an empath, where I didn’t see the future, and where we were arguing for the first time, ever.

“Alice, you listen to me. We all listen to you, we trust you, and no matter how hard it is, our family often lives by your words. It’s time that you listen to yourself. Remember how strong and sure you were about coming here? You’re still that person. Remember what we have to do, have faith in your vision of the future, and have faith in me, Alice. Don’t forget your faith in me. It was strong enough to save me. Without it I wouldn’t be here, with you.”

Jasper fell silent, and stood next to me, waiting for some sign that I’d listened. My temper was waning, but I couldn’t bring myself to speak. Jasper sighed and started walking away. “I’m sorry, Jasper,” I squeaked, wishing for all the world that I could cry. I was making a mess of this. But Jasper walked quickly back to me and took me in his arms.

“Faeries can cry, Mary Alice.” There it was again, but this time it was Aodhfionn speaking directly to my brain.

“What?” I asked him, as my eyes started to burn and my vision blurred. But I didn’t wait for an answer; instead I pressed my face into Jasper’s hard shoulder. He pulled his arms around me.

“Don’t apologize, Alice,” Jasper murmured, his lips pressed against my forehead. My eyes were wet, and as the liquid spilled onto my cheeks, I smelled the sharp tangy scent of venom. It burned my eyes and my face, and my lungs were breathing a quick rhythm I had no control over, like I was swallowing air at the same time I was choking. I could feel the wonder in the way Jasper clutched me protectively, the way he held his breath and knelt so still. I knew I was something he was curiously revering.

It only lasted a minute and a half, but nearly a century of stress found its way through my previously useless tear ducts. I wiped my face on my shirt and watched the way the venom turned the white cotton a faint blue. My body felt looser, rubbery, and deliciously relaxed as I let Jasper support my full weight.

“Venom?” Jasper asked, eying the fabric of my shirt, as his arms pulled me tighter.

“I guess,” I laughed nervously. Jasper and I both turned toward Aodhfionn.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “I don’t know any baobhan sidhe, personally.”

The tip of Jasper’s nose brushed against mine, his honey-sweet breath bathed my burning cheeks like a balm. “Alice?”

“The longer you are in the sidhe, the more your faerie nature will emerge,” I heard Aodhfionn explain behind me.

As I hid my face in Jasper’s chest, lost and embarrassed, that’s when I was struck by the sudden similarity between Bella and myself. More than just the crying. Bella didn’t know the future, she didn’t have the constant benefit of Jasper’s empathic powers, and she’d surrounded herself with strangers: vampires and shifters. But even so, she was so strong and sure of herself. She knew what she wanted and she did what she had to, to get it. Even when she was thrown into our world, she was still herself, still Bella. But here I was feeling so small, so weak, and so powerless. I was crying, for god’s sake!

Then I remembered the last visions I’d had of my sister-in-law, my only friend. Her body was bruised, her happiness replaced with anger and rejection after the fight she’d have with Edward. Now I understood that better too: the pain and confusion of arguing with your mate. I wished I could be there for Bella. A real friend would be, unless there was something more important happening. Something like Bella’s life being at stake, or our family’s very existence being in danger.

I pulled away from Jasper and dried my face on my sleeve. I made sure my eyes connected with his, knowing that they would say more than my words ever could. “Sorry, I don’t know what happened there. You’re right, Jasper. I’ve known all along what had to happen. It’s silly and weak to lose sight of it now.” I paused to catch my breath and square my shoulders. “Let’s go find Sakhmet.” The vampire’s name came out sounding like a curse, but I was pleased that I’d even managed to speak it out loud. “It’s time I gave that old vampire a piece of my mind.”

“Baby, do you think you could do that after she helps us? And do you think I could watch?” Jasper asked, grinning and clearly relieved to have me back.

I smirked. “You wouldn’t be asking me to beat up the goddess of war, now would you?”

“Of course not, sweetheart. But, if you did, I’d bet on you to win. Just saying.” Jasper turned his attention on Aodhfionn. “So faerie, do you have I.D., or will you just sneak into the cargo hold?” he snickered.

Aodhfionn cast Jasper a cutting look. “I don’t fly in airplanes, warrior. And neither will you.” That was a relief. I imagined his wings would cause quite a stir. How would he get them through the metal detectors? He’d have to go through sideways, or something.

“Well, we don’t have the time to walk to the Middle East, so you’re getting on an airplane, one way or the other,” Jasper replied, taking a few purposeful steps in Aodhfionn’s direction, leveling his eyes with the faerie’s. Aodhfionn stood his ground.

“Airplanes! Hmpf! Follow me, Mar-, I mean Alice. And you too, warrior.”

Aodhfionn turned on his heels and walked off quickly through the trees, in the direction of the rising sun. His little body cast a long shadow over half of my body. It was just beginning to dawn on me that something was very much off, when Jasper clasped my hand.

“Alice!” he hissed.

“What, Jazz?”

“Look,” he whispered, holding my hand up to the sun. My hand was chalky white, with pale blue veins. I’d always been a bit conspicuous about my very long, thin fingers. And my nails had been ragged when I was changed; I’d never liked that little detail at all. I hoped someday a substance would be invented to file them down. But other than that… Oh!

My hands were white in the sunlight. I wasn’t sparkling and neither was Jasper, yet we were walking in the sunshine.

“Aodhfionn!” I called, but the faerie ignored me, walking briskly toward raging whitewater rapids. Jasper raced ahead and headed the faerie off just before he stepped into the churning water.

“What’s with the sun, Aodhfionn?”

The faerie jumped backwards a bit, frightened by Jasper’s sudden appearance in his path, but then planted his little legs on the ground defiantly. “You’re in my way, warrior.”

“The sun, faerie. It’s not real.”

“What in the world do you mean? It hangs in the sky; it emits light. It’s as real as you or I.”

Jasper narrowed his eyes. “What exactly are you saying?”

“What I’m saying has no bearing on the problem at hand. Mary Alice’s family is in danger. I believe you count them as your family as well. It is up to us to help them. Perhaps you would like to get going.”

“And by ‘get going’, you mean you want us to walk into those rapids?”

“Sink, specifically. We’ll sink into the rapids.”

“And then?”

“You might call this the southern exit from the sidhe.”

“So help me Aodhfionn, would it kill you to just be straight with me? I want a clear answer, and I want it now. If you’re planning anything underhanded --”

“I’ve spent the better part of a day with you, warrior,” Aodhfionn interrupted. “I’ve done nothing but try to help, and despite your hollow threats, I am still standing. In light of this situation, perhaps you could tone your bluster down. It seems entirely unwarranted, and right now it’s wasting your precious time.” The faerie had inched closer and closer to Jasper as he spoke, until he was within a few inches of him. He was arching his head back in an effort to look Jasper in the eye, but it was difficult since he barely came up to my mate’s chest.

I watched Jasper shaking as he tried to control himself, and I saw his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. As he swallowed. I couldn’t feel his emotions, I couldn’t see the future, but I knew. Now it was Jasper’s turn to get angry.

“Jasper!” I was at his side in less than a second. “Jasper, it’s not worth it.” I turned to the faerie. “And you! You should know better than to anger a vampire, shouldn’t you? How will that help me, exactly?”

“I’m sorry Mar-, I mean Alice.” The faerie gritted his teeth, but hung his head.

“Now apologize to my mate, Aodhfionn.”

The little faerie scrunched up his face like he’d eaten a lemon, but he turned to my man and bowed. “Sorry, warrior. Causing trouble is not what I’m here for.”

“Glad you finally figured that out,” Jasper sneered. I heard the slight slurring of his words. It was the venom, still pooling in his mouth.

“Come on, Jazz. It looks like we’ve got to take a swim, or a sink, as the case may be.” I wrapped my arm around his waist and tugged in the direction of the river. I saw the shame in his eyes as he tried to avoid looking at me, and I pulled him tighter.

“You have nothing, nothing to be embarrassed about. Did you see me five minutes ago? Or back at court when I was contemplating a faerie queen lunch? When we get out of here we’ll get something to eat. It will make us both feel better. And, until then, we’ll just watch out for each other, okay?”

Jasper nodded his head absently, still not looking me in the eye. I could sense that he felt guilty about his anger, but I thought there was something else to it. I wished I could feel his emotions so that I’d know how to help him better than I was. He was being too hard on himself. Besides, I was still shaken up. About all I felt capable of was looking strong and sure, but underneath I felt about as powerful as a bowl of jelly. I wondered if it would really be up to me to keep the peace, and to keep Aodhfionn in one piece. I hoped not.

“So we just walk into the river, Aodhfionn?” I asked, all business, like I’d made everything magically fine with my words of wisdom. Right.

The faerie nodded his head stiffly, not speaking, not looking at Jasper or I, his hands folded across his chest. “Come on Aod. Jasper and I aren’t that bad,” I coaxed, using his new nickname on purpose. Aodhfionn smiled a little and snuck a glance at me. He told me with his eyes that it wasn’t me that he objected to. I heard Jasper growl under his breath. Leave it to Jasper to also see the way the faerie looked at me.

“And Jasper. He’s here to help. I need you both to get over this, and to get over it now.”

“Fine,” they both huffed in unison. I giggled in spite of the awkwardness of the situation. Despite their vast differences, these two guys were both so bullheaded. Men! My giggling seemed to rub both Jasper and Aodhfionn the wrong way. Of course it did! I tried to smother an outright laugh, but even with my hand over my mouth, both of them easily heard that I was having far too much fun all of the sudden. I watched two pairs of eyes narrow in disapproval as the two men shifted on their feet. I doubled over laughing, knowing that if I tried to explain how they were so alike, they would both get angry and deny it.

“Ahem,” Jasper and Aodhfionn cleared their throats, and I struggled to regain my composure.

I managed to squelch my laughter, but couldn’t contain a grin. “Jasper has a point, Aod. We should know where you’re taking us.”

“We’re leaving the sidhe. The only way out is through water. It shouldn’t prove a problem to either of you, since you’ve no need of air.”

“See, now was that so hard?” I asked. Jasper and Aodhfionn both went back to shaking their heads. “You are both so --” but I stopped myself. Things were going as well as could be expected at the moment. No need to rock the boat.

“Now that everything is settled, kind of, we may as well get going.” I took Jasper’s hand in mine. “Aod, I think you should lead the way.”

******

The current was strong, but Jasper and I were stronger. I worried about the faerie, but he didn’t seem to have any trouble keeping his footing. As promised, after a few steps, the ground disappeared from beneath our feet and we sunk like stones into the cold water. I clutched Jasper’s hand, and struggled to see what was in front of me as we plummeted through the murky water, but soon gave up and simply closed my eyes, instead concentrating on the sound of water rushing past us, the feel of my skin cooling to the temperature of the water, and the safety I felt knowing Jasper was with me.

Then, suddenly, things changed. I was no longer falling downward. Instead, the water clung to me, and my body became suspended in it. It was thick and viscous and it seemed to be trying to drag me away from Jasper. I opened my eyes, and saw nothing but a wall of grayness. I felt Jasper’s hand tugging me upwards and I kicked my legs, hoping it would help move me closer to him. But instead, I felt myself being draw backwards, and I strained to keep hold of him. So, I went with that pebble analogy again; I went limp and just let Jasper tug me along.

After a few minutes, I felt my head slowly breaking through the surface. But instead of emerging into the light, the air was thick and dark, millions of needles pelted my face and bounced off of my hard skin, and the wind howled in my ears.

“Jasper!” I tried to call, but my mouth was suddenly full. That’s when I realized that I wasn’t being hit with needles, but with sand. I started panicking again as I felt my body sinking, suction pulled me under the mucky water, or whatever it was.

“Alice, Jasper, give me your hands!” It was Aodhfionn. I could only see a dark outline of his body, but his voice cut through the wind, loud and clear. I struggled to pull my hand towards him, but it was as if there was an equal force sucking it down.

“No, no, go easy, Alice,” Aod practically begged. “Just one swift movement and you’ll be able to raise your arm upwards.” I stopped struggling and smoothly lifted my hand in the direction of his voice. His thin little hand grabbed mine, and boy, was that faerie strong! Within five seconds I was out, standing on solid ground and covered with thick, oozing muck.

I was glad that I didn’t need to breathe, because I couldn’t have. The violent wind was full of sand so that all I could see were dark outlines of objects, obscured by a reddish brown veil. It stuck to the muck that clung to my body, doubly coating me, filling my ears and my nostrils. And whenever I opened my eyes, they were pelted with tiny particles. I felt the ground shifting beneath me, and I took a step backwards to regain my balance.

“Mary Alice, no!” The faerie was quickly behind me, pushing me forwards, into Jasper’s arms, which reflexively wrapped themselves around my body. I let myself fall into Jasper and curled up, pulled my head down, folded my arms into my chest, and allowed myself to feel sweet relief.

“Come!” Aodhfionn’s tinny voice directed us. I felt Jasper’s neck muscles move as he turned his head in the faerie’s direction. He made no move to follow the faerie’s orders, though.

“Please. I know the way,” the faerie begged.

“What was that?” I heard Jasper yell above the wind.

“Umm al Samim. Quicksand.”

“You took us through quicksand?” Jasper’s body trembled with anger.

“I didn’t know. We always have to go through water to get out of the sidhe. I suppose it was the only way out in the desert. Please, let’s go try to find shelter. Or at least move, warrior. Standing will do us no good.”

“He’s right, Jasper. Let’s get out of here,” I tried speaking directly into Jasper’s ear so he could better hear me. “He might need shelter. I mean, he’s alive, I think.”

“Are you sure you know where you’re going, faerie? Can we trust you?” Jasper called out above the wind.

“I’m here to protect Mary Alice. You must know that by now.”

“Fine, faerie. Lead the way.”

We ran with the wind at our backs, headed straight for sand, sand and more sand. Massive shadowy dunes loomed on either side of us, shifting and rolling in the wind. But after five very long minutes, the wind began to die down. I was able to make out a glowing red sun at the horizon, lighting the copper-colored sand on fire. Through the dying storm, I could see the hint of an orange and turquoise sky fading to deep, starry blue on the eastern horizon.

But the most arresting sight wasn’t the scenery; it was Aodhfionn. He’d gone completely still, like stone, like a vampire. “They’re coming for us,” he hissed under his breath. I turned to see two dark figures on the horizon moving in our direction. They were fast, faster than anything I’d seen before, and they moved in an effortlessly graceful manner. Aodhfionn held his wings aloft and they caught the evening light, their edges silver and sharp as he sprung from the ground into the air.

Some say they fell from heaven.

Maggie’s words echoed in my mind. I understood why some might have said that as Aodhfionn hovered graceful and mighty in the sky, ready to strike in order to keep me safe.

“Don’t worry your pretty little wings, faerie,” Jasper chuckled. At the sound of Jasper’s voice I thought I saw the two figures pause before racing toward us even faster than before. My mind snapped into fight mode and venom dripped from my teeth, I was poised to spring at whatever was barreling towards us. Whatever they were, I felt certain Jasper or I could take them.

“Alice, no!” Jasper commanded, grabbing my arm.

“Jasper, let go, I need to help.”

“They won’t hurt us Alice. It’s --”

“Jaaasperrr!” The voice rang out in the dry desert wind. Vampire. Female. They both ran straight for my man, and as they came closer I could see their chalky, cocoa colored skin, their almond-shaped orange eyes and black, shining hair. I recognized them now. I knew them well, from my visions anyway. One of the vampires stopped short twenty yards from the three of us, but the other ran straight for Jasper, launching her body into the air like a missile. But at the last moment Jasper stepped and spun out of the way, and the vampire landed gracefully on the ground instead of on top of him.

“Very good, Jasper. You haven’t forgotten your training!” The female grinned broadly and pulled Jasper in for a tight, but slightly awkward hug.

“And you,” the vampire smiled at me, her sparkling white teeth glinting in the rays of the setting sun, “you must be Jasper’s mate, Alice. You are the one that helped him, even from your home. I’m so happy to meet you!”

I wasn’t exactly comfortable watching another woman hug my man like that, but she did save his life, and her mate was standing only a few yards away. In my head I knew she didn’t pose a threat, but in my heart I knew they’d become close over the past month. It hurt a little to see the connection they’d forged. Still, I couldn’t be petty when it came to Jasper’s life, and I made sure to arrange a bright smile on my face. “Hi, Dong-Mei. It’s really nice to meet you. I am so grateful for what you did for Jasper, when I wasn’t here.”

Dong-Mei smiled, and shook her head. “It is the same that he would do for one of us. He’s a strong man with a good heart, and he learns quickly.”

Jasper bounded over to me and wrapped his arm around me. “Wait ‘til she shows you what she can do, Alice. Dong-Mei is amazing.” I felt Jasper’s breath wafting through my hair. I knew he was smiling as he looked down at me, and I knew any other time I’d be overwhelmed by his love. But I wasn’t. Instead I was just the slightest bit jealous. And embarrassed, of course. I liked to look my best when I met new people, and the clothing I’d been wearing for days was covered with mud and sand. And my hair was a mess.

“Dong-Mei! What’s gotten into you? Did you forget about the faerie?” the other vampire called, interrupting our pleasantries.

I don’t know about Dong-Mei, but I had nearly forgotten Aodhfionn. I looked back into the air, where Aodhfionn hovered, wings spread against the darkening sky. With the sun setting behind him, there was a brilliant golden glow around his celestial-looking silhouette.

Dong-Mei took a step backwards, her eyebrows knit together, her mouth puckered on one side. “Right, the faerie. Jasper, you’re going to have to explain yourself. Why are you back so soon, and why did you bring this thing with you?”

Aodhfionn’s wings fluttered and he hissed. I felt a bit indignant myself; he wasn’t an inanimate object.

“Well, I’m kind of embarrassed to admit that I need your help again.”

Dong-Mei looked relieved. “You know we would always be happy to help. But what about the faerie?”

“He’s part of the package. Believe me, I’m not happy with the arrangement, but I can’t seem to shake him.”

“For one with such a pure heart, you keep strange company, Jasper,” Dong-Mei giggled.

Jasper chuckled, “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

The other vampire walked cautiously nearer. “I don’t mean to be rude, Jasper. It’s good to see you.”

“You too, Chun-Tao. And this is my Alice.”

“Hi!” I said, and gave a little wave in her direction.

She quickly nodded her head at me before going back to the business at hand. “We’re here to kill the faerie, you know.”

“Please don’t!” I blurted out.

Dong-Mei smiled in my direction. “Of course not, Alice. Not if he is with Jasper. That would be rude.”

“But perhaps you could ask him to come down?” Chun-Tao asked.

“Yes, it would be much easier to kill me from the ground,” Aodhfionn replied smugly.

“You have our word, faerie. For now,” Chun-Tao assured him.

I looked over at Aodhfionn and raised my eyebrows, silently begging him to cooperate. He narrowed his eyes, but lowered himself to the ground, keeping what he must have considered to be a safe distance between himself and the two other vampires. Judging by how fast they’d run, though, I couldn’t imagine that any distance was really safe.

Dong-Mei turned back to us, noticeably relieved that the faerie was no longer suspended in the air. “Jasper, what are you and your mate covered in?”

“Quicksand,” he sheepishly replied.

“Did the faerie push you in?” Dong-Mei giggled. And that’s when I noticed that Aodhfionn was sparkling clean. There wasn’t a hint of mud on his glistening skin or silk clothing.

“It seems we went willingly,” Jasper mumbled.

“Dong-Mei, she is going to expect us back. She’s going to know the faerie lives,” Chun-Tao stated, attempting to bring everyone back on track.

“I don’t think she is going to mind, when she sees who accompanies the faerie.”

“Do you really think Jasper will outweigh its presence?” Chun-Tao asked.

The two vampires exchanged a meaningful glance. “Yes, that was a needless question,” Chun-Tao admitted. “She will be quite… pleased with our find. But Jasper, I know you would not return here willingly. And you are back in just days. With a faerie! I know this is bad. Please talk to us as we return to the compound. The more we know, the better we can help.”

*****

As we took off for the compound, Jasper and I took turns explaining the situation to Dong-Mei and Chun-Tao. The two remained politely calm and quiet, only interrupting when they needed some clarification.

“I knew I should have dismembered Jane when I had the chance!” Dong-Mei interrupted at one point.

“But then you wouldn’t be here with us today,” Chun-Tao reminded her with a squeeze of the hand. “And what would I do then?” The two vampires paused to look at one another. There was a spark between them, a flare in both sets of dusky red-orange eyes, and then a smile spread over both of their faces.

“I could have taken them,” Dong-Mei huffed, still smiling.

Chun-Tao cast a skeptical glance in her direction.

“I could have!”

“You may be right, but I am glad you didn’t take the chance.”

“So now that Jane is still alive, what do we have to do?” Dong-Mei asked, running to catch up to Jasper, Aodhfionn and I.

“We need to kill a dragon in exchange for a favor from the fae that will keep the Volturi away from our family.”

Dong-Mei’s eyes lit up. “Which one?”

“Which who?” I asked back.

“Which dragon? Which dragon!” Dong-Mei looked like a human child on Christmas morning.

“Ceirin Croin,” Aodhfionn answered.

“Of course. That makes tactical sense for the fae. He’s large, a water dragon. It would be good practice. It’s been many years since we’ve hunted a dragon. Oh, let’s do it, Chun-Tao! This will be so much fun!”

“If she lets us leave.”

“Of course she will! Look who’s asking!” Dong-Mei excitedly assured her mate.

“But who will stay behind? Who will watch her?”

“What?” I asked, confused. “Isn’t she considered the goddess of war? Can’t she just watch out for herself for a couple of days?”

Chun-Tao gave me a patient look that you might give a small child that just asked a very simple question. “Just because she is powerful does not mean she is not paranoid, Alice. You have dealt with the Volturi. Sometimes a bit of paranoia is warranted, don’t you think?”

Of course, Sakhmet must have disliked the Volturi as much as Jasper and I did. Maybe more. They’d forced her from her ancestral lands where she’d lived for thousands of years and they confined her to this remote desert location. Her hatred gave her even more of a reason to help us. A reason besides her feelings for Jasper. Those feelings that had started out as lust, but had ended as something else, something deeper that I didn’t want to think about.

My mind began replaying some of my most hated visions of Sakhmet: the way she’d drooled over Jasper, tempting him with humans and her own inhuman curves. The way she’d used her own powers on him, powers very similar to Jasper’s. She could make people feel too, but only one emotion: desire. She’d tried to force Jasper into her arms over and over again, and for weeks, my man held himself back.

I grabbed Jasper’s hand and squeezed. He smiled back at me reassuringly. I watched the renewed vigor in the way he ran and I could tell how happy he was to be reunited with his friends. I hadn’t realized just how close they’d become over the past month. It made sense, they had a lot in common, and Jasper was always eager to learn new combat techniques.

But I couldn’t ignore the way Jasper seemed almost eager to see Sakhmet. Rationally, I tried to tell myself that he was just intent on bringing Aodhfionn to her in order to take away her powers. But there was a part of me that knew how much Sakhmet had made Jasper want her. A part that knew he’d seen her unclothed. A part that wanted to rip her head off. A part that still hated myself for sending Jasper into that situation in the first place, and for bringing him back again.

I saw the low walled compound come into view as we crested a tall dune. Its hulking white shape stood in sharp relief to brown landscape and the black night sky. I shivered, repulsed, and Aodhfionn materialized by my side.

“Are you okay, Mar-, I mean Alice?”

“No, not at all, Aod. I don’t want to do this. Isn’t there any other way?”

“I’m here to keep you safe. You have nothing to worry about.”

I grinned at the little guy. He was so earnest, but he didn’t stand a chance against two dragon fighters and a vampire that had been nicknamed the goddess of war. “Thanks, Aod. I appreciate it.”

Aodhfionn smiled up at me gratefully. “Then we can go now?”

And even though all of my doubts and fears persisted, the easy manner that the little faerie felt he’d solved my problem made it easier to continue on.
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The Necklace