Diamond Legacies: Part 8

Part 8

Micah

I knew to give Ivana what she wanted I couldn’t stay at our house. I headed over to the Volturi Estate after Ivana went to her room to sleep. I worried that I had irrevocably ruined what we had but her words of reassurance worked for now. I knew we’d have to talk through it all properly. I had so much I wanted to explain to her but I would give her what she needed. I’d give space to work through everything that had happened but I had to get out of there. I couldn’t tip toe around our house scared of breaking her boundary. I found myself heading to Edward and Bella’s house they had when they were here. They had come back to the states a few days after the events that had happened in France and the UK and were heading back to Washington to support Renesmee who’s grandson was one of the ones that died.

I knocked on the door and when it opened Bella was there.

“Hey Mikey,” she said softly. Her usual happy voice gone, it was now sad and soft.

“Hey Bells,” I smiled at my sister and reached to hug her. She hugged me back for a moment before we pulled away.

I know you’re not supposed to have favourite siblings but Edward and Bella had always been mine. They were the first to treat me like their brother and I shared a lot of things in common with both. Edward had done medicine and Bella loved books. Two of my favourite things. I was the closest to Edward and Bella outside of Ivana than anyone else other than my parents.

“Hey Edward,” I said as I entered the room. He waved as he continued talking on the phone. His daughter Lexi was with him, she was holding his hand and watching his face with concern.

“He’s sorting the jet out for us. We’re leaving in a few hours to La Push,” Bella mentioned and I turned to look at her sympathetically.

“How’s Renesmee?” I asked her.

“Inconsolable,” she said, her voice breaking. “Jay. He was raised by us. Seventy years ago, when I had my two youngest daughters on Isle Isabella, Renesmee stayed with us to watch her grandchildren grow up. Ella and Jay were two of my great-grandchildren I was closest to. Renesmee lives for her children. She doesn’t know how to deal with this. None of us do,” she said softly. Looking over to Lexi who looked up at the mention of her sister. Lexi had been close to Izellah and Jay, in fact Jay's sister Ella was one of Lexi's best friends.

Edward had hung up his call and was over by Bella in a flash, pulling her against him in comfort. Lexi remained by the couch, watching her parents with sadness.

“I know you’re trying to escape grief rather than chase it but you’re welcome to come with us to Washington if you wish. For some space?” Edward asked raising his eyebrows at the last word.

“Thanks. I think I'd like that actually,” I nodded at the idea. I could go home, to the house I grew up in. I could be surrounded by the forests of Washington as Ivana worked through what she needed to work through and I would certainly be giving her space.

“Esther’s back.” Edward said suddenly. His eyes going to Bella. His hand extended behind him and Lexi appeared at his side, taking her fathers hand in hers as they headed for the door without another word. I followed him, Lexi and Bella out and across the estate to the main mansion.

We entered the court room and scanned the area to see who had been messaged to be here. I was partly looking for Ivana but she was no where to be seen. Had they told her her mother was home? They must have.

It wasn’t a full Cullen meeting. Just those close by that had a house on the estate. Only part of the guard was here, I guessed it was good news or everyone would have been called. I sat on the stage with Edward and Bella as we waited for the leaders and Esther to come and tell us everything that had happened.

“They’re coming,” Edward whispered to us as the doors swung open and Benjamin, Zio, Matthew, Allesandra and Esther walked in. Lexi stood and walked over to her husband, taking his hand in hers. He instinctively stepped towards her and I saw his presence relax in tranquillity. There was no Chantelle or Lidiya in sight, I guessed this was just a quick ‘we did it hooray’ meeting and we were free to go.

That was all of course what was planned but nothing ever goes as planned.

As Esther began to explain how Chloe manged to finally track down the coven, that she and Allesandra burned them to the ground and the threat was eliminated, the doors of the court room swung open and everyone turned in shock.

A woman, early thirties, came in with a child in her arms, clearly a girl from the remains of the dress she wore but her skin was burnt and charred. There was no heartbeat from either of them. The vampire had frantic vegetarian eyes as she scanned the room. The hybrid on the front desk came rushing in behind her, clearly, she hadn’t asked to enter.

“Please help her,” the vampire sobbed. The vampire was blonde, tall and very pretty. Her soul was one of the most intricate I had ever seen. This woman was old, older than any vampire I had ever met in my life. I would say she was even older than Esther, or the very least around the same time as her. She was an elaborate maze of emotion and time. She was beautiful.

“Edward,” Zio called instantly and he was gone from my side. I only imagined to go and get Lidiya and Anelie. I watched as Esther rushed over to the woman and held her arms out for the child.

“I can help her,” she said and the woman looked at Esther for a moment.

“Are you Esther? The original Moon Pool Child?” she asked in awe.

“I am,” Esther said and the vampire gave up the child to Esther without a second thought.

“I don’t understand. How are you here?” Esther asked the vampire as she lowered the child on the stage to examine. “This child has been burnt alive,” she stated and turned to the vampire.

“I’m sorry. I followed you here. My child was in the house you just burnt to the ground. She was being channelled by the witches. She-“ the woman was a mess of grief.

“I scouted the house before we attacked it. There were no one innocent in that house and certainly no children,” Esther argued and she looked at her granddaughter Allesandra who looked horrified at the body of the child she had murdered. I could only imagine what sort of déjà vu was happening in this room right now. I looked at Matthew who looked like he could be sick.

“I managed to save her before she turned to ash. I knew I had to bring her here. That Life and Death would save her if you gave me a chance to explain,” the vampire said.

“Hold on a second, we need to know everything that’s going on here,” Zio said holding his arm out to the vampire as she made a move to the child.

“Please save her. Please,” the woman was sobbing, if she could cry I’m sure she would be. Venom was pooling in her eyes and her soul was pure distress. In that moment Lidiya and Anelie walked into the room, their eyes zeroing on the child on the stage. Lidiya’s face dropped in horror. Her eyes going to Allesandra who was now sitting in her fathers’ throne for support. Alle had her hand over her mouth and tears running down her cheeks.

“Allesandra, there were no children in that house!” Esther almost yelled at her granddaughter’s thoughts. Esther stood from overlooking the child and span on the vampire in the room. “Explain now!” She yelled at her in distress. I could see guilt and fear creeping on Esther like a cloud. She was adamant she didn’t do this but all the evidence pointed otherwise. “I hear anyone coming within a ten-mile radius to this estate, you just walked in the door. How did I not know you were following us here? How did I not know there was a child in that house?” she bombarded her with questions.

“Esther,” Zio said holding his hand out to her to calm her. “Let her explain,” he said looking back to see Anelie and Lidiya already working on the child to bring her back.

“I have to start from the beginning, explain what I can do and then I'll explain why she was there,” the woman started. “My name is Naarah, I was born thousands of years ago. My parents lost a lot of children, only one out of five had survived by the time I was born and so when I was born they had a very powerful witch, a child of Lilim, bless me. This witch did more than just bless me, she cloaked me, she cloaked me from all tracking and spells. My parents went missing when I was a young girl and I stayed with my older brother, when our village was attacked by vampires, most were slaughtered, including my brother. I was turned, all my children died that night but not my brothers. His youngest daughter lived and I grabbed her and I escaped. Being a new vampire, it was hard but the girl was my flesh and blood and I swore never to harm her. As a vampire the spell that was placed on me magnified, as a vampire I was untraceable and unnoticeable. I can extend that protection to others around me without a second thought. I've heard many stories in the past hundred years of your kind Esther but I never had the privilege of meeting any. It was only a few years ago after meeting a mortal man that I started to dream of having children again. Your kind made that possible. We had a child, through the moon pool and she was born a hybrid. She is a Luna Bambini and a witch. I didn’t realise until a few months ago that my human lover was also a descendant of Lilim and we created something more powerful than I have ever seen. My daughter, Ophelia is a witch and a vampire. Her vampire side fuels her witch side and she has more power than any mortal that practices magic. Her own father kidnapped her and used her as a power bank to trace your family down. They were draining her power to hurt Moon Pool Children and those related to Cullen’s. They used her as leverage for me to use my ability to cloak their presence so your tracker couldn’t find them. As soon as I heard you were on your way I started to drop the cloak every now and then so that your tracker could get a location. I had to do it sporadically so that they wouldn’t know or detect it was me purposefully dropping the cloak or they would hurt my child. Yesterday when you came for revenge I dropped the cloak completely but not from my daughter. I needed to protect her, even from you. So, I kept her cloaked, I kept her hidden and that’s why you couldn’t see her with your abilities. Because its impossible to see through my cloak. I never expected you to burn the coven, I would have got her out earlier if I knew that's what you were going to do. As the house started to burn I knew I had one of two choices. Risk dying myself and saving but a part of my child or let her turn to ash and live my life knowing I had lost yet another daughter.” Naarah explained. The entire room was silent in astonishment.

“And you risked your life for your child,” Esther added.

“Of course, I did,” the woman said in clarification.

“Your brother. What was his name?” Esther asked. Her tone of voice had changed, there was something about it that seemed fragile, like any moment she would shatter like glass. Her voice was careful and methodical.

“Kefir,” Naarah answered. Esther took in a sharp breath.

“And your parents? The ones that went missing.” She asked.

“Abelena and Joseph,” Naarah added. In that moment Esther fell to her knees. The whole room seemed to spin and everyone erupted into whispers.

“I don’t understand,” Naarah said, my father and brother rushed to Esther’s side, she was almost comatose on the floor. She wasn’t moving. She was just staring at the ground. She almost fell into Carlisle’s chest but she steadied herself in shock. Edward held her hand and was watching her with concern.

“Is she okay?” Naarah asked as Zio came over to escort Naarah away. Before Zio could answer the room filled with the sound of an extra beating heart. The child on the stage gasped as she took a breath.

“Ophelia!” Naarah said rushing to the side of her daughter.

“Mummy,” the girl gasped and reached for her mother. Lidiya and Anelie took a step away and looked over to their mother in shock. I watched as Esther stood and walked out the room, not giving Naarah and Ophelia a second glance. Carlisle and Edward followed her cautiously.

“What the hell just happened?” I turned to my sister. Bella looked up at me.

“I think Esther just found out she has a sister,” she mumbled to me and I looked back at the vampire and the child embracing.

The room buzzed. The guard was filled out. Lidiya and Anelie ran after their mother. Zio sat with Naarah and the child offering them some food after their long journey and near-death experience. Matthew led his daughter out of the room with Lexi and Benjamin following him and I stood with Bella not really sure what to do.

As Zio led Naarah and Ophelia to the guest quarters he signalled for me and Bella to follow him. We did, although I wasn’t sure what for. It was moments before Edward caught up with us and we waited to be told what to do. We waited until Zio returned.

“I need you to examine her. There is a possibility she is lying but the way Esther reacted I don’t think the witches of Lilim could put that much information in her head without Esther being able to detect it. I need you to watch her as she tells her story to Edward. Edward will read her mind as she does to ensure she’s not changing anything,” Zio explained after he had led the two girls into one of the specifically designated guest rooms. I nodded in response. He turned to Bella. “I need you to make sure she doesn’t leave that room.” He said directly to her. She nodded, firmly planting herself on the wall by the door.

“I’m going to find Esther to make sure she’s okay.” He said and gripped mine and Edwards arms for a moment. “Thank you,” he said to both of us and disappeared. His hand brushing Bella's for a moment before he left. I looked at my big brother for guidance.

“This woman is four thousand years old,” I said in fear almost. I had never come across someone that old I didn’t know, someone with that much life experience is hard to trust without knowing for sure who they were.

“We’ve got this,” he said with an encouraging smile. “We make a good team,” he assured me gripping my hand for a moment before dropping it and reaching for the door. I nodded and followed my brother into the room. The child was sitting at the table, she was eating ice-cream from the tub. The guest quarters were stocked with a fridge and freezer as well as a microwave and a sink for those that needed to eat. The child was demolishing everything in front of her. Her mother sat nervously on the couch, a frown on her face in confusion.

“Hello Naarah, my name is Edward Cullen, this is my brother Micah. We have a few questions if that’s okay?” Edward asked walking over to the couch.

“Please.” She said motioning for the couch. Edward sat next to her and I brought up a chair to sit by Edward.

“I’m sorry this is confusing for you. You are welcome to stay until your daughter is rested and well fed and then you will be free to go as you please. Until then we are exceptionally curious about your heritage.” Edward began to explain.

“Is Esther okay?” she asked immediately. I saw genuine concern in her soul as I began to separate what I could. As Edward spoke to Naarah I concentrated on seeing the familiar and unfamiliar patterns in her essence. I was like untangling a ball of string. It was like trying to untangle Esther’s soul and I still hadn’t done it in twenty-five years of knowing her.

I knew one thing though, she was genuine and she was good. It wasn’t hard to see a good person, or at least those that tried to be good. She had centuries of complexity but there was one thing that drove her very life force. Love and loyalty. If anyone was related to Esther it would be this woman.

As Edward began to explain that Esther’s reaction was due to the fact Naarah was possibly her sister, Naarah’s whole essence changed into that of realisation. As Edward continued I could see as Naarah began to accept it.

It wasn’t long after this that the door opened. We all turned to see Esther standing there. She looked the most vulnerable I had ever seen her. Behind her were her usual support system, her husband, Eddie, Chloe and even Zac. They didn’t make a move to follow her as she walked in. She stopped half way through the room because Naarah stood.

“You’re my sister,” Naarah said in awe. Esther barely moved. She wasn’t even breathing. The child looked between her mother and aunt with a frown on her face. Naarah ran forward and pulled Esther into a hug. I saw her relax as she returned the embrace. In that moment their souls cleared. Both were equally complex and nothing alike, but in their simplest form it was easy to see. I knew there was no denying it. They were undoubtedly siblings. The very core of their essence was the same, it was captivating as I watched their souls reappear, to mould back into the beings that they were but now different again. This time with space for a sister.

“Mummy, you said you didn’t have any family,” the child appeared by her mothers’ feet. Naarah and Esther pulled away and Naarah looked down at her daughter. She lifted her into her arms and turned to Esther who had a single tear on her cheek.

“I didn’t think I did baby girl. I thought I only had you, but I found Esther. Esther is my sister, I never knew she even existed,” she exclaimed. The child’s face danced with wonder as she looked between her mother and her new aunt. The girl smiled at Esther and Esther couldn’t resist smiling back.

“Are we going to live here now?” She asked. From their heavy British accents, I gathered they either lived in England or visited often so this was definitely far from home.

“You can stay with me for a while if you wish. So, we can get to know each other?” Esther said, turning to look at Naarah hopeful.

“We’d love that,” Naarah said with a smile and Esther smiled back.

“Great! I'll show you around then,” she said and Ophelia jumped from her mothers’ arms to the floor. She immediately put her little hand into Esther’s and smiled. Esther chuckled slightly and headed for the door.

Thank you both. Esther’s voice filled my head and I turned to look at my brother for a moment, he smiled slightly and we followed them out.

I wasn’t even sure what to do after that. My immediate thought was to see Ivana but I had promised her I'd give her some space.

But this was huge… her mother had a sister. Ivana had an aunt and a cousin she had no idea existed. This was the sort of thing she needed to know about.

I was torn.

“Bella and I are still leaving for La Push in an hour. You’re welcome to come with us brother,” Edward said, clearly seeing my dilemma. “Ivana will be summoned here to meet her aunt whether you’re the one to tell her or not. She needs to be with her family right now. You have a right to be with yours,” he said his hand coming to my shoulder to comfort me. I nodded in response. I smiled wistfully when I thought of the place I grew up.

“Let’s go home.”

End of Part 8