Chapter 04: The Hellhound

In a matter of seconds, the hellhound had pounced on Edward, violently pinning him down to the ground. Blood spurted out in all directions as the ravenous beast sank its teeth into the side of Edward's neck. I never thought it'd be possible for Edward's skin tone to get any paler than it already was, but I'd been dead wrong. This was a whole new level of pale.

The hellhound was draining Edward's body of blood and it was doing it fast.


"Get Carlisle!" Emmett screamed, his eyes darting wildly back and forth between Jasper and I. But he must have noticed that we were just as bewildered and fresh out of ideas as he was, because he simply went in for the kill, or so he thought.

He hadn't even touched the hellhound, when its tail suddenly lifted him up in the air and smashed him into a tree trunk several feet away.

I didn't need to see yet another display of the hellhound's mighty combat capabilities to figure out that we were the ones at a disadvantage here, but Jasper apparently disagreed with me.

Wasting no time, he let out a loud battle cry and threw himself at the beast, clearly aiming for its neck. But, just as I'd suspected, the creature had other plans for him.

With just one swing of its tail, the hellhound stopped Jasper's momentum and hurled him across the air. Jasper crash-landed with his back against a rock, and I'm pretty positive I heard his bones breaking.

Meanwhile, Emmett had partially recovered from the attack, so he shot up from where he'd landed and raced towards his brother's attacker with the force of a stampede. Still, it was no use. The hellhound seemed to have eyes in the back of its head, because it didn't even have to turn around to see Emmett coming.

Before we knew it, Emmett was soaring towards the trees again. Only this time, he wasn't so lucky. Now, he'd wound up impaled on a sharp branch that jutted out from a tree nearby and, by the looks of it, he'd lost consciousness instantly.

As for Edward, he appeared limp on the ground beneath the hellhound's claws, his skin grey and shriveled from the loss of blood. Watching Edward powerlessly lying there, all I could think of was Nessie. She'd never forgive me if her dad were to die like this.

At this point, I knew phasing was inevitable. I wasn't just going to stand there and let the hellhound take out the Cullens one by one. I'd seen more than enough to realize that the vampires were no match for this demon, so I couldn't look back. I had to save Nessie's family or, at the very least, die trying.

I braced myself for what might turn out to be the last battle of my existence and pictured Nessie's face as I surrendered to the fury of the wolf within.

Time seemed to slow down during the instant it took me to phase. I thought of what my choice entailed. I knew I'd just chosen to sacrifice my own life and the life of my pack just for a chance to save the Cullens. All I could hope for now was to have enough time to slaughter the fiend.

My skin now fully covered in fur, I got down on all fours and howled to get the hellhound's attention. My heartbeat felt like a thousand battle drums thumping loudly against my ribcage, and my blood boiled thick with adrenaline.

Then, just as I was ready to strike, the fiend spun around in a flash, and its fiery red eyes bore into mine. Now I understood what Emily meant, since I started experiencing exactly what she'd described. My entire body succumbed to the power of the hellhound's gaze, and I couldn't move, no matter how hard I tried. Like Blondie, I was frozen solid, too. For a moment, I assumed that my sacrifice had been in vain and that I'd betrayed the pack for nothing. At least until something interrupted my thinking, that is.

Jake! A voice suddenly called out. It was Sam's voice, but I wasn't hearing it with my ears. I was hearing his thoughts, which could only mean one thing. He had phased as well.

Sam, what the hell are you doing? I replied in my head.

The pack is safe, he explained. The hermit found a way to protect us all, but you have to come back in the house now before it's too late.

Even though I was relieved to find out we were safe, I was still paralyzed from head to toe. And even if I'd been able to move, I refused to leave the Cullens behind to be torn apart by Satan's spawn. There had to be a way to defeat this monster, and I was determined to find out how.

By then, Sam must have heard my intentions, because he stopped insisting and simply said, Find its weakness, Jake. Call upon the ancestors for help.

When he mentioned the ancestors, something dawned on me. I suddenly remembered that Old Quil had once said during a bonfire that true warriors must learn to stop the inner dialogue inside their heads in order to receive guidance from the ancestors. Finally it all made sense to me. That's what Sam had been trying to tell me all along when he said to stop thinking.

By then, the hellhound had started pacing around in circles around me. And, judging by the look in its eyes, I could tell it was listening in on my conversation with Sam. The damn beast could read my thoughts, I was sure of it.

But now I knew what I had to do. If I couldn't fight with my body, I was going to have to use the only weapon I had left—my mind.

Instead of trying to resist my inability to move, I took a deep breath and cleared my head of all thoughts. Accomplishing such a task had seemed impossible when Sam had first mentioned it, but, under the circumstances, I knew it was my only chance to win this battle, so I stood there and focused all my energy on silencing my mind.

Still pacing around me, the fiend shook its head slightly but never looking away. I could see Edward's blood dripping from its fangs. Strangely, I realized that, by blocking my thoughts, I had also blocked my ability to experience fear. No matter how much the demon tried to intimidate me by making me think I was trapped, I couldn't bring myself to fear it, because I wasn't thinking at all.

Is that what it all comes down to? I asked myself. Is fear just a thought that provokes an emotional reaction?

The hellhound took a couple of steps toward me and sniffed around, apparently searching for a scent that wasn't there.

As I held its gaze, it gave me the impression that my strategy might be working, because it appeared confused.

I then remembered what the hermit had told Emily. "It was feeding off your fear," he'd said.

That's the scent the hellhound was looking for. The scent of my fear. I found it hard to believe at first. But then, as I felt my heartbeat slowing down, I realized the stiffness in my muscles had slowly started to give way. I'd been wrong all along. It wasn't the hellhound's eyes that had paralyzed me. It was my own fear. The hellhound was merely using my fear against me, reflecting it back as though its eyes were mirrors or, rather, shields that deflected attacks by sending them right back to where they'd come from.

Still staring intently into my eyes, the fiend stopped pacing around, and a growl escaped through its bloodied fangs.

Something told me it was more a growl of frustration than an attempt to intimidate me, so I boldly took a step forward to test out my theory. And sure enough, just as I'd suspected, I had regained full control of my body and now I could move freely. But even such a victory couldn't compare to how empowered I suddenly felt. The rush spread throughout my body like a drug shooting right into my vein. I was on a power high like I'd never been before in my life. Without a doubt, the tables had turned, and now I was the one feeding on the hellhound's fear.

Just then, the beast drew back, shifting its weight onto its hind legs.

I wasn't sure whether it was getting ready to fight or preparing to flee, but I stood my ground all the same. Bring it on, you coward, I thought, deliberately taunting it. But just in case it couldn't hear what I was thinking, I went ahead and howled fiercely just to show it I was ready to rip out its throat.

I wanted to tear that fiend apart so bad I could taste it. In wolf form, I was very different from my human self. As a wolf, I was a savage murderer. Pure beast. Pure adrenaline. A killing machine. I swore if that monster had done anything to hurt my Nessie, I'd fight to the death to avenge her. I was ready for everything, even if it meant dying just so Nessie could live.

But the hellhound didn't seem that eager to fight anymore, especially when the rest of the pack showed up without warning.

To my surprise, the boys who had remained at the beach to watch the fireworks were suddenly emerging from the shadows, each of them now a full-fledged werewolf. Paul, Embry, Jared and Quil had come to our aid. Sue and Charlie must have rounded them up when they went to pick up Charlie's car from the beach.

I kept my eyes fixed on the hellhound as the other wolves surrounded it. Watch its tail, I warned them, knowing they could all hear my thoughts when they phased into wolf form.

We all gathered in a circle around the hellhound and were ready to take it down, when, out of nowhere, the fiend transformed into a woman. All dressed in black and with the talisman hanging from her neck, the hybrid of my nightmares materialized before us, glaring at me with the same fiery red eyes I'd seen in the hellhound just a minute ago.

None of us moved, and the others seemed to be waiting for me to greenlight the attack. But I was so dumbfounded by her sudden transformation, that I had to stand back for a moment just to catch my breath. What the hell were we dealing with? Could it be that she was a shapeshifter, too, just like us?

Still, I was about to charge at her, but then she spoke my name and made me come to a screeching halt.

She said, "If you kill me, you'll never find out where Renesmee is."

I didn't know what to feel at that point. The confusion hit me in the head like a ton of bricks, and I was at a loss for words. But if the hybrid wanted to talk, I was going to listen. Whatever it took, if it meant she'd tell me how to find Nessie.

I ignored the puzzled look on my fellow wolves' faces and phased back into my human form. Then, I tried to speak to her in as calm a voice as I could muster up. "What do you want with Nessie?"

"She summoned me," was her answer.

"Really?" I asked, not believing a single word she'd just said. "And why would she do that?"

"Nessie's not the happy child you think she is, Jacob."

Her reply filled me with so much rage, I swear I would've strangled her right then and there, but I knew I had to control myself, as this was starting to sound like a hostage negotiation. "Tell me where she's at."

Her eyes glowing with satisfaction, she smirked and shook her head like she was mocking me. "You really don't think it's going to be this simple, do you?"

It took an enormous amount of self-discipline to keep myself from phasing again, but I knew I had to play by her rules or else I'd never get the answers I was looking for. I should've known it from the moment Nessie disappeared. She wasn't out hunting for human victims. She'd been captured by a monster that wreaked havoc everywhere it reared its ugly head. But what did the hybrid want with Nessie?

"Just tell me what you want in exchange for her," was all I could think of saying. Pretty lame, I know, but I was desperate. I glanced over at my fellow wolves and didn't need to hear their thoughts to know how frustrated they were with me.

In the mean time, the hybrid continued to torment me with this sadistic little game of hers. "She asked me to take her with me out of her own free will, Jacob. She begged me for the birthday present her parents denied her."

"What present?" I snapped through gritted teeth, already dreading her answer.

The fiend must have anticipated my reaction to what she was about to tell me, because she held up her talisman and declared, "Nessie wants to be a full vampire like the rest of her clan."

I barely had a chance to phase again and charge at her, when a bright white light exploded out from the stone at the center of her talisman, blinding us all at once. By the time I regained my bearings and was able to see clearly again, I realized the explosion had sent us all flying backwards with the same force the hellhound's tail had hit Emmett and Jasper.

As each of us got back up from the ground, I noticed the hybrid had vanished along with the light. I looked around, still stunned from the explosion, but couldn't find her anywhere. She was gone, and so was my only hope to find Nessie.

I took the lead phasing back to my human form, and the other wolves followed suit. With everything that had just happened, I was in no mood for hearing the complaints about to rain down on me for the way I'd handled things, so I turned around and headed back to Leah's house. I'd had enough confrontations for one night and was drained of energy. The last thing I wanted at this point was another argument.

But leave it to Paul to try and provoke me . . . as usual. Chasing me down, he cut in front of me and got all up in my face. "Hey, man, what the hell is your problem?" he demanded, shoving my shoulder.

"Get out of my way," I retorted, then pushed him aside just in time to dodge a jab that could've easily dislocated my jaw.

Paul had the quickest temper of the entire pack and was always picking fights, especially with me. Sadly, I was doomed to have him as a brother-in-law someday, since he had imprinted on my sister Rachel. I guess this wasn't reason enough to stop him from challenging my authority every chance he got, so I'd about had it with him.

Under different circumstances, I would've gladly broken his nose again like I'd done one day he showed up to my house uninvited. But tonight I wasn't going to let him faze me. Fortunately for me, our past fights had taught me well. I'd learned to anticipate his every move, predict his every thought, and figure out his plan of attack before he even came up with one.

"Why don't you make yourself useful and go check on Rachel, you loser?" I told him as I reached Leah's porch. Then I delivered my blow. "Hey, hasn't she told you about the weak spot she has for male European tourists? You know the ones: blonde, golden tan, blue eyes, fat wallets. I bet she's taking pictures with them right now."

Paul stopped dead in his tracks and growled loudly, fists up in the air. My remark had scored bull's eye, all right, just below the belt where I'd aimed it.

Before making a beeline for the beach, he spit on the ground and hollered, "This isn't over yet, ass-wipe!"

I could've told him where to stick his stupid insults, but I didn't want to disrespect Bella, who'd just stormed out of the house, frightened out of her wits. Not too far behind her came Blondie, Carlisle and Esme. Sam, Seth, Leah and the others had remained inside, probably looking after Alice and Emily. Whatever the hermit had done in there had saved our lives, although I wasn't too sure about Edward.

"Jake, what was that blast?" Bella asked, her eyes gaping with panic. "Where's Edward?"

Walking right past me, she spotted him on the ground and cringed at the sight of his condition. She turned away like she couldn't bear to look at him, but soon after that, she seemed to gather up enough strength to come face to face with what was left of her hubby. "Edward, talk to me," she screamed as she shook him frantically. "Edward, please!"

Meanwhile, Blondie helped remove the branch out of Emmett's chest, and Esme went to check on Jasper, who was conscious but couldn't move from the waist down.

As for Carlisle, he remained pretty calm given the circumstances. After all, that's exactly what he'd been trained to do in these types of situations. He surveyed the scene from the porch, and I could practically hear the wheels turning in his head just by the pensive look on his face.

I figured he must have been assessing the damages so he could then decide which of his sons needed his attention the most. And sure enough, just as I'd suspected, he came over to kneel beside Edward and began examining the wounds on his neck.

I sat next to Bella to show her my support, but decided to keep my mouth shut, as all her attention seemed to be focused on deciphering Carlisle's expression.

A silent foreboding hung over us like a cloud. It was the silence of knowing—just knowing—that something tragic was happening. Edward didn't look well at all. His eyes were closed, and he wasn't moving. All the blood in his body was gone. Sucked dry. Drained to the bone. The wilted shell that lay before us was but a shadow of the Edward we knew.

"It was the hellhound, wasn't it?" Carlisle asked me as he hovered low over the teeth marks on Edward's neck.

My blank stare lost in the darkness beyond, I nodded without saying a word. Not only had I lost Nessie, but I'd also failed to save Edward. I was embarrassed to even look at Bella, so I did what any worthless coward like me would do. I hid my face away from her and tried hard to suppress the urge I felt to crawl up into a hole and eat some worms.

"He's gonna be okay," Bella murmured in an unconvincing tone. "He can't die unless he's ripped to pieces and . . . burned." Her voice trailed off into a whisper when she noticed the look of despair on the good doctor's face. "Isn't that right, Carlisle?"

"We need to give him a blood transfusion as soon as we possibly can. He's got no blood left in his body." Carlisle's reply sounded like bad news to me. "Jake, help me carry him inside, would you?" he continued.

Without asking questions, I did as Carlisle told me, although I got the distinct impression that he was holding something back. I stole a glimpse at his clenched jaw and noticed his whole body tensing up as we lifted Edward off the ground.

Bella followed after us and exchanged glances with me. She appeared unsatisfied with Carlisle's explanation, too. "What happens when a vampire is drained of blood?" she asked.

Carlisle opened his mouth to speak, when all of a sudden Emmett and Jasper showed up with Esme and Blondie to check on Edward. By then, the two brothers were up and running as if nothing had happened.

Vampires were naturally endowed with an ultra-fast healing ability, much the same as us werewolves. They could put themselves back together even after getting their body parts chopped off. Literally. That's why it wasn't enough to tear a vampire apart if you wanted to kill it for good. You had to burn its pieces and bury the ashes in seven separate "graves," as the ancient Quileute wolves used to call them.

These, of course, weren't graves in the traditional sense of the word, but rather unmarked holes we dug up in the mountains to keep the ashes of any one single vampire from fusing back together. It was just a preventive measure, but an important ritual all the same. Our kind had practiced it for generations anytime the pack finished off a leech. The undead were extremely hard to kill, so we had to make sure the ones we took out actually stayed dead.

Ever since I'd discovered I could shapeshift into a werewolf, I'd felt a little too confident about the knowledge passed down to us by our wolf ancestors. I'd come to believe we knew pretty much everything there was to know about the cold ones.

Never did I realize how naïve I'd been until tonight.

What the hellhound had done to Edward came out of left field for me. And, by the look of things, it also had the same effect on Carlisle, who appeared just as thrown off as me, if not more.

I led the Cullens back into Leah's house, hoping that either Old Quil or the hermit might be able to shed some light on this mystery. And, boy, did I get more than I'd bargained for!

The Clearwaters' living room had changed so much during the brief time we'd spent outside, that I had to rub my eyes just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. All the lights were out, and the furniture had been moved around to make room for a wide circle drawn with red powder on the floor. The only source of light emanated from a few candles lit around the circle.

At first sight, the place looked like a witch's lair, complete with a pentagram drawn within the boundaries of the circle. Alice sat Indian-style at the center of the pentagram, while Leah, Seth, Sam, Emily and the hermit had positioned themselves uniformly along its circumference. Holding hands and facing in towards the center, each of them stood on one of the five tips at the end of the pentagram spokes.

They all remained perfectly still, even after we barged in with Edward slung halfway between Carlisle and me.

The whole thing looked just plain creepy if you asked me. But then again, what did I know? Somehow, I'd managed to snooze through all my Edgar Allan Poe readings back in high school, so I couldn't exactly consider myself an expert in the occult.

"It's a circle of protection," Bella explained, reacting to the stunned expression on my face.

Then I noticed Sam was wearing the blindfold instead of Alice. At least now I understood what he'd meant earlier when he told me it was safe for the pack to phase again.

"But what about Alice?" I objected.

Leah must have been anticipating my question, because she quickly replied, "She insisted on giving Sam the blindfold, so we had to find a different way to protect her mind."

"As long as she remains inside the circle, she'll be safe from any psychic attack, no matter how strong it may be," the hermit added.

Either way, this meant Alice had been willing to sacrifice her own sanity just to give us a fighting chance, and I had let her down, too. If I'd felt rotten before, I felt even worse now.

Still, I nodded my head at her in gratitude and said, "Thanks, Alice. You saved the pack."

"Anytime, Jake," she chirped through her signature pixie smile.

Yet, even her optimism couldn't help me see the light at the end of this tunnel. "Wish I could say the same thing about me, though," I confessed bitterly.

"Oh, c'mon, Jake," Bella muttered. "Give yourself some credit for once. You were very brave to go out there." She paused, probably noticing how annoyed I looked, but I could tell by the way her lips were moving that she still had a lot more left to say.

I stopped her before she could go any further, though. "Save it, Bells, I don't wanna hear it."

Knowing Bella, I was pretty sure she had the best intentions at heart and was only trying to show me some sympathy. Yet, somehow, her tone of voice actually came off as patronizing, almost motherly. It got me so frustrated, that my knuckles went white from balling my fists up so hard. I didn't want anybody feeling sorry for me, especially Bella. She meant well, I knew it, but I still felt like crap, and that was something she couldn't fix. Not in a million years. Not unless she could tell me where to find Nessie.

I helped Carlisle lay Edward's body down on the first sofa we could find and then I slumped out to the porch, sulking over my shame.

The instant I set foot outside the house I sensed an odd chill in the air. Goosebumps crept all over my skin, and a shiver ran up and down my spine. An eerie sensation loomed over me, making me feel like I was being watched.

I scoured my surroundings inch by inch and started all over again a second time, then, again once more.

Nothing.

The only movement I detected was that of the tree leaves rustling in the breeze and the branches creaking like an abandoned pirate ship. Here and there, a cricket would chirp or a dog would bark in the distance. The music came through in waves from the beach, its volume undulating from loud to faint and then back up to loud again, as if the sound itself were swaying along with the tide.

Nothing registered as out of the ordinary with my super-sensitive hearing. As for my sixth sense? Well, that was a different story. The survival instinct of the wolf within me was sensing a presence nearby. I couldn't shake the vibe that someone—or something—was watching me, or even worse, stalking me.

Still on my guard, I sat on the front steps, elbows on my knees, and chin on the palms of my hands. Even though I'd left the door closed, I could still hear through the walls of the house as clearly as if I were inside.

"Where is he going?" Bella whispered, and I heard footsteps approaching the front door.

The footsteps suddenly stopped as Esme spoke next. "Give him a moment, honey. He's been through a lot tonight."

Ever the prima donna, Blondie complained, "We all have." How predictable! She couldn't handle anyone else being the center of attention.

Stop talking like I can't hear you, I thought to myself, wishing I could say it to her face. Instead, I brushed it off and turned my attention back to listening for any strange noises. Blondie had such a hollow skull anyway, that talking to a chimp would've been more productive. At least chimps had a brain.

For a short time, I didn't hear anyone else talk. The silence made my skin crawl, reminding me of how useless I felt sitting there, soaking up the stench of my defeat.

Then, I heard another set of footsteps different from the ones I'd heard before. They were much slower than Bella's, like the shuffle of an old person dragging their feet.

"I'll talk to him," Old Quil declared as he opened the front door and stepped outside.

"Thanks for your concern, Old Quil," I said disgruntled, "but please save the lecture. I know I should've killed the leech while I had the chance."

Having closed the door behind him, Old Quil held on to the wooden railing and slowly sat down on the stoop next to me. "And who says I'm here to lecture you?" he asked, placing his hand gently on my shoulder.

All of a sudden, I felt like a little kid who needed comforting after the hissy fit he'd just thrown. "I know I'm a coward, but I don't need anyone's pity," I grumbled.

"The only one here feeling sorry for himself is you, Jacob." I swear it would've hurt less if he'd taken off his leather moccasin and slapped me across the back of the head with it.

"What am I supposed to do?"

The lines on his face became more prominent when he smiled. "What are your options?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Seriously, Old Quil, I'm asking for your advice, and all you do is answer my questions with even more questions!"

"One of us better start coming up with some answers, then." He paused and waited. "Right?"

"Okay," I gave in and did a quick mental review of everything that happened. Before long, the answer came to me, just like that.

His eyes lit up as he noticed the sudden change in my expression. "Well?"

"It's the talisman!" I exclaimed. "That's the source of her power. That's what allows her to shapeshift and disappear and mess with people's minds."

"Ah, the talisman, of course," said Old Quil as though he'd known the answer all along.

I should've been mad at him for not telling me, but I was actually thankful that he'd forced me to look inside myself to find the answer. "I know what I have to do," I told him as I bolted up from the stoop. "I have to take it from her."