Part Two
Edward pushed Carlisle back as the older man tried to restrain him. There was no contest; the newborn was simply stronger, much stronger. Maybe another tact would work.
“Edward, please. I want to make sure you’re all right and are able to handle yourself; will you allow me to come with you?”
The boy nodded once; it didn’t matter what the doctor did. He was of no importance.
They moved faster than a human eye could have followed through the streets for long seconds until Edward stopped before a large and well kept home in one of Chicago’s better neighborhoods. Carlisle realized the trip hadn’t been random, this had been their destination. They stood in front of the dark house, no light shone though any of the windows, it appeared to be closed up, empty. Slower, they walked around the building, Edward looking, staring, trying to find something and becoming frustrated as whatever it was he wanted eluded him. “Where are they?”
Of course, he meant his parents. “I’m sorry.” It was normal for him to not remember the recent past, especially when he’d been as sick as he was when he’d been brought to the hospital.
“Sorry for what?”
“I couldn’t save them, I tried but I couldn’t…”
The blood red eyes turned towards him, no other part of the newborn moved. “No. You could have; you chose not to save them.”
“No, I didn’t…”
“You saved me—such as it is. You could have done the same for them. You let them die.” He laughed suddenly, a harsh noise. “And you didn’t let me die; not quite. Why, Carlisle? Were you lonely? Did you need a friend? Perhaps you wanted someone to talk to? What was it you wished to talk about, was there something in particular? Shall we discuss this, have a chat?”
He had to diffuse this somehow before the young man went out of control. “Your mother asked me, Edward, she asked me to save you. Somehow I think she may have known I could and so I…”
“And so you did this. Very noble of you, doctor.” The harsh laugh sounded again. “Much better to be like this than in a mass grave.” He started up the steps to the back door. “But remind me, what was that oath you took? ‘First, do no harm’? I seem to recall that being part of your job description.” He pulled the door opened with no effort and went inside, going directly to a safe in what had obviously been his father’s study. Pulling an oil portrait aside, he opened the largish wall safe hidden behind it. There were a number of various sized velvet jewelry boxes and several bundled piles of paper currency. Removing these he placed put them on the cleared desk. Seeing a large attaché case leaning against the wall, he dumped the papers out and placed the things from the safe inside. Next he calmly made his way up to the master bedroom and rifled through his mother’s dressing table, adding to the stock of velvet boxes in the case he carried. He finished by crossing over to his father’s dresser and dumping several gold pocket watches, heavy with chains and fobs and a number of sets of gold cufflinks in as well. Depending on the quality of Elizabeth Masen’s jewels, the value of the case’s contents could well be very large.
“What do you plan to do with that?”
“In the morning you’re going to place these in a safe deposit box for safe keeping.” Even with the events of the past few days, Edward retained enough lucidity to protect his family’s assets. “Next, you’re going to call the family attorney and inform him the entire Masen family has been declared dead. I assume you’ll be able to produce the required certificates? Good. You see to it that everything, all my parent’s holdings are transferred to a trust in such a way that I’ll be able to access them if need be.”
“How would I do…?”
“That’s not my concern. You created this mess, you failed to save my parents and you’ve transformed me into this…thing. You resolve the situation. It would seem that you’re not new to this way of life? Then you must have ways to make arrangements.” Edward turned abruptly to leave.
“Where are you going?”
He smiled, “I’m thirsty again, would you care to join me? ‘Care to see your creation in action?”
“I’d prefer to show you another way to live, if you’d be willing to listen to someone who’s been part of this life for a long time.”
Edward shook his head with a sarcastic smile on his face. “The zoo? Lions and tigers and bears? Oh, my. I think not, thank you, however a nice glass of curator might be nice.” And he was gone with Carlisle close behind, the briefcase full of the family fortune held closely in Edward’s hand.
The next few hours were horrifying to Carlisle; seven more people met their end at the newborn’s hands and teeth with Carlisle unable to stop or slow him in any way. Finally, near dawn he managed to convince Edward that they needed to get out of sight as the first sun’s rays caused the rainbows to refract from their crystalline skin. It was relatively simple to get Edward to close himself in the rented rooms the doctor had taken, so absorbed in his own beauty and new body.
His thirst temporarily quenched, Edward agreed to remain in one place for a while, seeming to understand that it was in both of their best interest to do so. He sat on an overstuffed chair, admiring his glittering hand in a shaft of sunlight from the skylight, lost in his own thoughts for several hours before Carlisle approached him.
“Are you all right? Can I get you anything?”
Edward turned his attention to Carlisle, seeming to study the older man. “You can get me answers.” His attitude was detached, almost clinical which Carlisle found disconcerting; every other newborn he’d ever seen was out of control. This combination of fevered thirst and murder balanced between seeming introspection was unparalleled. “Why me?” A sound of impatience escaped him before Carlisle could begin his answer. “No, I know my mother supposedly asked you to save me. I’d hardly think that an unusual request in a ward full of dying people. What made you choose me? I assume you’d have any number of volunteers if you’d asked.”
“I’ve told you; I was looking for a companion and you seemed right, somehow.”
“You’d never even heard me speak; wasn’t I unconscious when I was brought to the hospital?”
“On and off, yes, but while you were delirious, you spoke quite a lot and I spent time with your mother. She told me a great deal about you.”
A dark look came over Edward’s face. “You let her die; if you could save me, you could have saved her as well.”
“You asked me to be honest; and much as you’d rather it be different, the simple truth is that I didn’t feel a connection to her; I admired her devotion and deep love for you, but there was no connection—I felt you from the moment you were brought in. I knew you were the one with potential.”
Edward raised an eyebrow and spoke with his mind. “And if I fail to fulfill that potential? Is there death for the undead?”
“There are ways, yes. I hope it won’t become necessary; I don’t think it will be.”
“What makes you so sure? You’re already taken aback that I’m hard to control and you suspect that I’m smarter than you are—and you’re right, I am.”
“The fact that you’re intelligent is why it shouldn’t be necessary. To be honest, your behavior is common with newborn vampires and you should outgrow it in time.”
Edward took in what he’d been told and nodded. It made sense, otherwise the existence of vampires would be wider known; it would be impossible to hide. “What makes our eyes different, diet?”
“Yes, human blood makes yours red, animal blood make mine amber.”
“Why?”
“I’m not sure, obviously some component of the blood.”
“Obviously, have you never found out what, though?” Edward rolled his eyes when Carlisle shook his head. “Did you know I’d be able to read thoughts? Can every one like us do so?”
“No—you’re unique as far as I know.”
Edward regarded him for another long few seconds. “Explain that.”
“I can’t, other than to think that you might have been born with some innate ability which has been allowed to blossom.”
Edward gave a bitter laugh. “I suppose I’m in your debt, then.” Another sunray caught his hand as he moved his arm and he was distracted by the flash of light for a few long moments. “So tell me what you see us doing together for the rest of eternity.”
“I’m a doctor, I enjoy practicing my craft. You’re free to do whatever you like, follow your interests. Elizabeth told me that you love music, you’re free to study that if you’d like. You may go to any university you wish, travel anywhere on the planet, meet anyone you’d find interesting, marry if you want. Join the army if that’s your vocation, though frankly, I think you’d tire of that soon enough.”
The smile was almost a leer. “Indeed? I’d think it would be the perfect place for me; lots to eat.” Carlisle shifted, uncomfortable. “Something wrong, doctor?”
“…No, I simply think that you’re still young, Edward. You won’t always be…”
“I won’t always be seventeen? Is that what you were going to say?” He laughed again, an unpleasant and bitter sound. “I beg to differ, in fact it seems that I will always be seventeen, or am I mistaken about that?”
Carlisle didn’t bother to answer. Edward was the one, he was certain of that, but it wasn’t going to be easy.
TBC
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