Chiaroscuro

"A what?"

Carlisle's face, usually serene and calm with introversion, went whiter than usual; if that was possible. He looked at Alice sternly, as if chastising her for playing a very cruel prank. The other Cullens' faces turned slightly panicked as well, and there was a heavy moment of silence as the room turned uncomfortably cold. In spite of my best efforts to be strong I pulled closer to Edward. The family was always calm and composed, even in the face of complete destruction, but the look Carlisle had cemented onto his attractive mouth was… frightening. There was no other word to describe what it felt like, to see some one like Carlisle twitch with irrationality.

"Do not worry," Edward whispered into my ear; his musical tones calmed me, nearly making me ignore the shock on his father's face. "It's most likely a misinterpretation."

Jasper's gaze darted to us, but Edward said nothing more. I knew he was just saying those things to calm me; it was unlikely that Alice misinterpreted the events she saw. Although, there had been times when things were misread. Like the time I was cliff-diving… I shook my head and looked back at Carlisle, who was still fighting to keep calm.

"I'm sorry, Alice, but they have not existed in centuries… the last was Vlad, and he's been dead since the 1600's. There hasn't been a threat for quite sometime, and the line must have been burned."

"I know that." Alice had her legs curled up under small frame, and she stared, unblinkingly, at her father. "But, I cannot deny what I saw. And what if the line was never burned, just buried until it needed to be resurfaced?" She glanced out the window briefly and sighed, obviously contemplating the situation in the quiet that followed. "I'm sorry, but it was a krusnik, there's no doubt in my mind."

Carlisle sighed and rubbed his nose, as if trying to think harder about her words.

"Cruise-nick?" The word sounded strangely familiar on my tongue, though I swore I had never spoken or even heard of it before. It was painfully foreign, and it almost hurt to say it, as if there was some sort of curse that followed the sound anywhere it went. I bit my lip and tried to smile as Edward pulled away slightly to look down on me, feeling my confusion. I forced a smile up at him, glad that he couldn't read my thoughts.

There was a moment of tension before he turned back to his family. His eyes were starting to get dark, and I knew it would not be long before he would have to hunt again. It hurt when he left, as if I still feared he would never return. The thought was silly and irrational, but still… I turned my attention back to Carlisle. "What is that? A krusnik?"

"It's…" He seemed uncomfortable and he shifted slightly, glancing to Esme and Edward and back again. There was something he was debating internally, and he was having trouble 

keeping it from his son, judging by the thoughtful expression on Edward's face. There was another, brief pause.

"You're the only one here who lived when Vlad did." Edward spoke up, his eyes stern on his father. "The rest of us only hear whispers in the dark. And if one is coming our way, I think you should explain."

"I'd never laid eyes on this man, Edward." Carlisle sighed and sat next to Esme, still uncomfortable with the situation. "You must understand that these things are myths to me too."

In spite of the seriousness, I found it rather amusing that myths had myths. I kept my mouth shut and let Carlisle continue.

"A krusnik is a vampire who drinks the blood of vampires." Esme finally spoke, her voice quivering slightly. "I always considered it a silly tale to frighten newborns into good behavior. I never thought…" Her fingers moved slightly as if she were knitting something invisible she looked up and her eyes bore into me almost painfully. "They're dangerous."

"They don't kill." Carlisle said calmly, turning to look me in the eyes. "It's… complicated. You aren't made a krusnik, like you're made a vampire. You have to be born one, and even if you are born one the curse may not ever take effect."

Edward leaned back into the sofa, sensing this would undoubtedly be a long story. He put his arm around my shoulders, careful not to crush any part of me.

"Are they stronger than vampires?"

Carlisle shook his head, relieving the tension in the room. "No. But they hold strengths in different ways. They control the elements; sun, rain, snow, even lightning and fire are all subject to a krusnik's will. They're easier to kill than a vampire, but harder to catch… they smell human. They look normal, even plain sometimes. They can move in the sun without attracting attention, they're essentially indiscernible from ordinary humans… they can even birth."

Esme and Rosalie looked away suddenly, as if an invisible hand had slapped them plainly across the face. My heart reached out to them, I was beginning to wonder about that as well. Although I was content with Edward as we were, I always wondered about children. Would we do what Carlisle and Esme did? Raise newborns as our own, in the way of "vegetarian". There seemed to be something… empty… about the barrenness of a vampire's wife. I rubbed my arm carefully, trying not to think about that now, there was something more pressing to deal with.

Still…

"What is so terrible about them then?" I asked carefully, shaking off my thoughtful haze. "If they don't kill? I mean… is it something to be really concerned about?" The heaviness that followed made me realize that there are stupid questions, and I looked away quickly, hiding my blush. The silence followed for several moments more.

"They eat us!" Emmett's voice suddenly boomed like strange thunder, and he looked at me as if I'd said the most absurd thing possible. "It's the same aversion humans have to us… what are we supposed to think when a krusnik is drinking our blood for its sustenance." He crossed his arms over his chest, pouting slightly. "It's just… strange."

"Humans have an aversion to other vampires because they kill." Edward's voice rang clear, calming the lightning that webbed through the room. He looked down and me and sighed slightly. "It's the same thing with werewolves, Bella. There's simply no rhyme or reason to explain why we hate each other… we just do."

"I heard tales that some krusniks used to keep a hoard of vampires around them, using them as their own food source and… entertainment." Jasper blushed brightly and looked away, as if trying to hide his secrets from Edward. He just rolled his eyes in response to his blatantly broadcasted thoughts.

"It's an urban legend, Jasper. I doubt a krusnik would keep a harem of vampires." Edward's calm explanation made me blush brightly, finally understanding Jasper. "It's too obvious, and the Volturi would have a field day with them."

A strange hiss of breath snapped my attention back to the eldest Cullen. "That's the problem with krusniks… they're above the reign of the Volturi…" Carlisle sighed, trying to keep his thoughts calm. It didn't take Edward's insight to see that he was thirsty and frustrated, and generally confused and frightened by this turn of events. Why was this so difficult for everyone? If krusniks didn't kill, and they were no threat to humans… wait. Were they threat to humans? Carlisle hadn't exactly reached that point yet, and now I was getting curious.

"Carlisle… are krusniks dangerous to humans?"

"I don't know." He rubbed his nose again. "It depends. Krusniks have so much power at their will, that they often find themselves in seats of importance. Vlad the Impaler, for one." He paused for a moment and thought carefully. "I think Julius Caesar was one, if I'm not mistaken. The problem is that krusniks often upset and aggravate the world around them and their subjects often take retribution." He read my shocked expression easily, and forced a weary smile. "Remember, krusniks are easier to kill… just harder to catch."

"Ah." I wasn't really getting this at all, but I was trying. Carlisle wasn't joking when he said it was "complicated". It made the wolves' soap opera look like a comic strip. I sighed slightly and glanced at Rosalie, who was pulling away from her family slowly. She looked exceptionally uncomfortable, and it bothered me slightly. Was she still hurt by me? By Edward's lack of interest in her? I never understood her thorny exterior, but someday I hoped I could.

Alice, who had been unusually silent through the whole conversation, finally spoke as the words lulled into silence. "You know… it could be after Bella. It wouldn't be uncommon."

Edward tried to hide his chuckle from me, but I felt his cold chest pulsating beneath me. I glared up at him, but he just shrugged. "You have an undeniable penchant for attracting danger, Miss Swan." He removed his arm and touched my nose playfully, looking into my eyes. "Don't forget that."

"I don't appreciate being called a beacon for all things… weird."

"You don't have control over that."

We stared at each other for a long moment before I looked away, feeling strangely indignant. He was being ridiculous. Blaming me for everything that went wrong in this strange, little town wasn't going to change anything. He was here first; chaos simply appeared after that. It was all his fault, or so I liked to tell myself on occasion.

"Was there anything else you saw, Alice?" Esme watched her carefully.

"No. I have no sense of time or place." She traced a strange pattern on the sofa carefully, as if there was something she was keeping from the whole family, specifically Edward. Something was rotten in Denmark. "I just know that there's one awakening soon. And they may or may not come here."

"You're hiding something." Edward's voice was suddenly steely, and his eyes turned dark and accusing quickly. "You're translating Hamlet into Gaelic." Pause. "Oh, please. You're already on the third act. What are you not telling me, Alice?"

"Alice." Carlisle's voice came out in a low, but strangely calm, growl. "What is it?"

"I saw Bella there… and… I'm not entirely sure what will happen to her."

All eyes turned on me, and I felt strangely naked under their curious gaze.

"See." Edward whispered in my ear. "You are a magnet for disaster."