Red Dawn - Book 6

Chapter 17

We were gathered in the living room when the other arrived. Like natural it was my uncle Emmett who was the first to make his presence known the second I heard the front door open.

"Where is my favorite niece!" His voice boomed.

I heard Rosalie exchanging words with Alice and Jasper mumbling something about the anxiety levels in the house as they walked into the living room.

"Uncle Emmett," I smiled as I rose from my seat on the small sofa and walked forward to embrace him. "It is so nice to see you."

"My presence is always a welcome sight." He grinned before he began looking around the room. "Now where is the little one. Uncle Em needs some third generation lovin."

"Sophia, sweetheart." I called as I glanced over my shoulder to where she sat on her fathers lap.

She slid down and crossed the room to stand at my side.

"Sophia." Emmett said as he knelt down to be at eye level with Sophia. "I'm your great uncle Emmett."

Sophia blinked and then turned to look at me. I gave her a nod and she smiled at him.

"Oh she is the most adorable thing ever!" Rosalie said as she joined Emmett.

"Ahh, you see this lovely woman?" He asked Sophia.

Sophia looked at Rose and nodded.

"This beautiful woman is the love of my life, like your mother is to your father."

"Do you have children like my parents too?"

"Yes," Rosalie spoke. "A daughter..." I heard the tone drop in Rosalie's voice. She quickly cleared her voice and continued. "Speaking of my lovely Penelope, she is here."

"Penelope drove herself?" I asked.

Last time I saw her the only one who could drive was...Matthew.

My heart grew heavy at his memory.

"She didn't drive. Her boyfriend did." Rosalie replied through gritted teeth.

"Penelope has a boyfriend?" I asked, not bothering to mask the shock in my voice.

"Yes, she has since before the wedding."

"She had been keeping it a secret for a while." Emmett began. "Which isn't the easiest thing to do when you are living in a house full of vampires." Emmett lowered his voice. "Especially with your father around."

I could help but laugh.

This was true. With my father's mind-reading gift secrets didn't exist, unless it was between my mother and I. With our gifts, if we wanted to, we could keep him out of our minds.

"So, who is the guy?" I asked.

My aunt and uncle looked over there shoulders just as Penelope walked in. Beside her was none other Paul Lahote.

"PAUL!" I half shouted causing Sophia to jump.

I took a breath to calm myself and then looked at my cousin.

"That's my name." He replied with his usual snarky voice. Only he was different... Happier. He was smiling.

"Okay, this is really weird. You and Paul, together...."

Paul put his arm around Penelope and gave a slightly crooked smile as he looked at her.

"Yes. I first saw her at the bridal party and I imprinted on her."

"When he told me I was weirded out at first because I thought that his imprint on me basically meant that we had to be together. That I didn't have a choice but then he explained that wasn't how imprinting worked."

"When I told her she did have a choice but it was I that did not she seemed to ease a bit. I explained that as the imprinter I would be anything she needed whether it be a protector, lover or simply a friend."

"That's when I decided that I we were going to be just friends."

"But look how that turned out." Paul laughed before placing a kiss on Penelope's forehead.

I saw Rosalie tense up and release a breath before she stalked off, muttering something under her breath. Emmett looked unsettled and excused himself to follow after him.

"Sophia, sweetie, can you go sit with your father. I will be right back." I kissed her and then followed after Rose and Em.

Emmett and Rosalie stepped outside where they became engrossed in a very heated argument. Standing at the window I watched and listened.

"I don't understand the problem Rose." Em began.

"Our daughter is dating a friggan dog."

My uncle shrugged his shoulders. "She is happy. Why can't you see that and let it go."

"HE'S A WEREWOLF EMMETT! Seriously. I already lost one child to hanging out with the wrong kind, I don't want to lose Penelope the same way."

"Child? Our child had a name, and still does. Matthew, say the name Rosalie, Matthew."

Rosalie's face turned pink as she just stood there. Staring at him.

"Why won't you say his name Rose?" He asked. Emmett shook her. "WHY? Say his name!" He shouted.

Rose threw up her arms and screamed. "Because everything he did I see as unforgivable. He got a girl pregnant out of wedlock, I have morals you know."

"Really? So that's what this is about. You are ashamed of your son and you are afraid that Penelope is going to head down the same direction all because she is with Paul?"

"I have morals, Emmett."

"Well, if you keep up with that then that is all you will have because you will push us all away." Emmett said before he started towards the front door.

I quickly ducked into the hall bathroom just as the door opened. After washing my hands I exited and made my way back to the living room and took a seat beside my husband and daughter.

"Where did you go?" Nicholi asked me.

"Bathroom." I replied as I pulled Sophia from his lap to mine and pressed my lips to her cheek.

My parents were deep in a conversation with my grandparents, Alice and Jasper about our predicament and what it could all mean.

Since the Volturi were gone for good there was no way it could be them. That just brought up a whole new line of questions.

Did we have any other possible enemies?

What were they capable of?

Where could we have gotten on their revenge radar?

Why?

After listening to them talk between themselves for another twenty minutes they cued Nic and myself in.

"When did this first start?" My grandfather asked.

"Yesterday. We've seen it twice."

"What did it look like exactly?"

I looked at Nic before I responded.

"Whispy-like, silverish. It had no real form and sort of floated."

"Whispy? Like a ghost?" Jasper asked.

I nodded my head.

"A vampire that teleports maybe?" Alice inputted.

"Not likely," my father said. "Renesmee said it held no true form. If it was teleportation they would have been visible."

"Astral Projection?" My mother said.

"No, you have to be at least a hybrid to do that or have the gift to teleport."

"No, I mean." My mother moved to the edge of her seat. "Remember Aurora?"

"Flint's sister?" Jasper replied.

"Yes. Well during a conversation we had she mentioned about her gift in teleporting and how when she wants to be in two places at once she will astral project herself."

"So it is Aurora? Why would she be hanging around?"

"It's not Aurora. She doesn't astral project herself because of the doors it opens. Spirits, entities. They like to latch on and ride her astral self back to the real world and results in hauntings and trapped spirits which can turn in rage."

I listened to my mothers words carefully and what I was able to decipher was that the wisp was a ghost and that it had ridden an astral projection to get back to the real world. But the only way for that to happen they would have to be human or part human.

"One of us astral projected themselves." I blurted out.

"But that is impossible. Wouldn't we know?" Nic asked.

If someone astral projected themselves, certainly they would remember, right?

"Unless they were too young to understand what was happening." My father added.

Both Nic and I looked down at Sophia.

It was her.

"How..." I spoked in a low tone. "How is it even possible and when did it happen?"

Carlisle rose to his feet and moved to grab a book from his bookshelf. "While I was in my earliest years with my family and their gifts I did a lot of research about supernatural powers. One of those I delved into was that of astral projection."

"What did it say?" I pressed.

"Fear. Sometimes the body gets riddled with so much stress, anxiety and fear that the spirit detaches itself from the body as an act of self preservation."

I turned to Nic. "The sinking."

"And if Aurora is right then whatever spirit that was stuck in limbo in that area latched itself onto Sophia and rode her back." My mother said.

I couldn't believe that this was happening.

A ghost latched onto my daughter and was haunting her.

"Sophia said the ghost didn't intend on hurting her as long as she didn't make it mad. I don't trust it. I need to know what it's intentions are. I need to know who this ghost is and how to get rid of it."

My father came and knelt in front of Sophia. "Do you know who the ghost is, darling?" he asked her.

Sophia nodded her head. "She talks to me all the time."

Sophia paused and turned to her left as if someone called her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say anything." She said in a small voice. "I promise I will be good."

"Sophia, love." I rose to my feet and took her across the room. "I don't want you talking to this ghost anymore."

Sophia frowned. "But I have to be good or I will get punished."

I placed my hands on her shoulders. "Tell me who it is, please Sophia. We want to help you and protect you."

"But...She said-" Sophia froze and looked over her shoulder, a pout on her face. "I'm sorry. Yes ma'am." She hung her head as she moved away away from me to go and stand in the corner.

"Sophia," I called to her as she stared at the wall.

Sophia didn't move or acknowledge me.

"Sophia!" I called again.

I turned to look at my father with tears in my eyes. "What am I supposed to do? How am I going to protect her if I don't know who I am protecting her from?"

Paul cleared his throat obnoxiously. "Do you remember exactly where you were at when the boat began to sink?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure." Nic said.

"And we have the ping coordinates from the emergency beacon." Carlisle added.

"Okay, well if the ghost or whatever is a ghost that inhabited the area then it must have also died there, too. Research deaths in that area." He added.

Carlisle, my father and Nic exchanged looks before they rose to their feet and moved to the office to begin.

Authors note: yes, i finally updated!

Now here comes your part.

Who do you think the "astral riding ghost" is?

How do you think they died?

What do you think attracted them to Sophia and caused them to latch on?

Lastly, how do you think Renesmee is going to handle this all?

The most intriguing response/idea (or idea's) will become part of the next chapter ;)