Behold the Hurricane - The Horrible Crowes

The field was cleaned spotless. A human eye would see no more than the remnants of a brushfire. To a vampire, the sweet perfume of venom clung to every leaf and blade of grass. A sheen of powdered marble covered the forest floor. A haze of purple smoke tinted the air. But these would fade with time. Joanna and I turned to leave. We had fallen into an uneasy silence, the battle still turning in my stomach. Guilt still turning in my stomach.

I longed for my mate, but dreaded the state I would find him in. The pain of the day would eventually eclipse him - my guilt, Emmett's grief, his own self-loathing. Had it happened yet? Perhaps, if I was with him when it did, I could offer some comfort.

New scents came sudden from both sides. From ahead: Jasper, Peter, and Alice, running fast towards us. From behind: orchids. Rachael.

I whipped around, Joanna beside me.

Rachael strutted, bathed in rich blue and gold, across the ruins, a peasant smile on her face and eyes dancing with curiosity. Her perfume washed through the air. Her velvet heels clicked through the glittering ashes. The smoky air and inky dawn shrouded her.

Jasper appeared at my side and rested a hand on my lower back. Whatever emotions he felt from me - I could not judge them myself - had disturbed him. I stepped closer, forming myself to him. His calm flowed into me. It steadied my quaking nerves.

His own emotions remained stable. Thank God for small favors.

Peter was at our flank, standing with a defensive posture, but Alice held back, shyly hugging the treeline. Her eyes were softly closed, revealing violet eyelids, and a smile drifted across her face.

Charlotte must have stayed back with Emmett, though I doubt anything could be of comfort to him now. Perhaps he and Joanna could commiserate.

"Rachael?" I asked. The unspoken question: 'What are you doing here?'

If not for the circumstances, I may just be happy to see her. If not happy, then certainly grateful as she had, for the upteenth time, saved my life.

She regarded us with a smile.

"Oh, Sarah!" Rachael cooed, her wine-colored eyes landing on Jasper. Excitement found her features. "I believe you've been usurped."

Usurped?

"Oh, it's amazing!" she cooed, "barely any purple at all."

I gripped Jasper's arm tightly, holding it - holding him - close to me. His confusion flowed fast through him, fueled by my sudden rush of anger. He took a protective half step in front of me. I imagined the questions in his mind. Is this a threat?

He raised his eyebrows. "Pardon?"

I leaned closer to him, near begging for his calm to wash me again. I was done with this, done with guilt, done with sadness.

My desires were granted. I sent Jasper my gratitude with a squeeze of my hand in his.

"Your aura, Darling," Rachael said, "didn't Sarah tell you?"

Jasper said nothing. I said nothing. I had told him of her, and her power, though not in specifics. It must have been the shock of her arrival that clouded his memory, or the pain of the day, losing a sister.

"Yours," Rachael sighed, "is exceptional. Nearly pure white."

My mate, more like a human than any other. I couldn't make much sense of it, though I could never find rhyme nor reason as to why I had previously held that place.

"Pure white?" Peter said, "like virginal? Man, I knew it!"

This was the same man who had, time after time, warned us not to break his house. I saw Jasper roll his eyes, but I was grateful for the levity. Despite My Love's best attempts, sadness was threatening to overtake me, drown me, crush me under their weight. The faces of my brother and sister, and would-be sister-in-law, were burning in my vision.

"Is your aura like innocence or somethin'? Cause I have some news for you," Peter said throwing his thumb in Jasper's direction.

An illusion to his past. A past that wasn't so distant anymore, thanks to me.

Jasper kissed my temple, replacing my feelings with love.

"No," Rachael said, "it's a measure of humanity. And you -"

She looked Peter up and down. He raised an eyebrow at her.

" - are unimpressive."

Peter scoffed. "You ain't too great yourself."

A musical giggle came from the treeline, and, for a moment, everyone's attention was on Alice. Her hand was over her mouth, trying to stifle the laugh and her eyes - bright and sparkling - were focused on Rachael.

As I tried to decipher Alice's outburst, Jasper's emotions flowed through our joined hands: intrigue and understanding. And a bit of happiness, though it was tempered.

I looked between Alice and Rachael, and they stared at each other.

"Sarah, you have very interesting friends," Rachael said, her eyes never leaving Alice, who was humming with happiness. "The lightest aura I have ever seen, and . . . my perfect middle."

Alice, a perfect middle. I pondered that. Would her aura be violet? Perhaps a shade of magenta? Though she remembered none of her human life, she interacted with them, free and uninhibited.

"Speaking of which," Rachael added, "I am truly very sorry for your loss. All of you. I hoped that I could arrive in time to assist, but . . ."

She trailed off. It was an empty offer and we all knew it; our unimpressed expressions must have finally made an impact. Our losses were too fresh, our injuries too recent. I realized I was leaning heavily on Jasper, the crack in my hip deep and debilitating. His hand slid from my back to my waist, slipping under my shirt and running his fingers gently over the damage. He frowned.

"Sarah, Doe, are you alright?" Rachael asked.

"I'm fine," I insisted, balancing my weight, despite the screaming pain in my hip. I began to worry that it was more than a mere crack; that it would form a brutal scar.

Alice chirped, "she'll be fine."

Her smile was reassuring, but I couldn't be sure. These injuries felt permanent.

"Let's get the hell outta this wasteland," Peter said, glancing around at the glittering ash. "Go back home."

I let my weight fall back against Jasper, leaning into him as he leaned into me. We turned together, following Peter back to his home and his mate. I reached for my sister's hand.

"Bye Matt. Bye Heather," I whispered, too low for even Jasper to hear.

Alice and Rachael fell into step together, talking and whispering. Somewhere along the walk, their hands twined together.

Just as we saw the house, Rachael took a step closer to me and she said, "I've always been able to see shades of humanity, but I have never understood what makes someone human."

I said nothing.

"I've figured it out, Doe," she hummed, "I have never met two people more edd up with self loathing and guilt than you and Jasper. That's it. Suffering."

I laughed aloud. Laughed at the utter ridiculousness of it.

"That's it?" I quoted, "Hundreds of years and that's the best you've come up with. 'To live is to suffer'?"

With a soft chuckle, she said, "Nietzsche was right all along."

"And it's such a shame
I heard the wind say this morning
Be still my heart
I age by years at the mention of your name"

A/N: Well, it took me a year, but I've finally posted the last chapter. Hopefully someone is still reading. Thank you so much for sticking with me! Please post a review and check out some of my other stories. I have one Jasper/OC story in progress and another in the works.

- Elizabeth