The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (34 page)

After Maggie’s transformation, her ability became even
more pronounced. A person did not have to speak aloud for Maggie to know if he was behaving in a way contrary to what he believed. If a person misrepresented himself in either appearance or action, she knew.

Because Siobhan and Liam were routinely honest with each other and themselves, having Maggie join their coven was not the strain it might have been. It was easier for Maggie to be with them than it would have been otherwise; after her transformation, any kind of deception made her physically uncomfortable.

S
IOBHAN

Eventually, she became an accepted part of village life and grew famous in the surrounding areas as the big blacksmith girl.

Siobhan was the only daughter of a blacksmith and his wife. This made her unusual in a village where most families were very large. She had a strikingly attractive face. Large violet-blue eyes, surrounded by incredibly long lashes, were her dominant feature. She also was known for her perfect fair skin. Aside from these things, however, she was unlike the other village beauties. By the time she was fourteen, she was taller than any other woman in the village. By the time she was sixteen, she was taller than all of the men, except for her father. She was also stronger than many of them; as an only child, she’d always helped her father at the forge. He died in an accident when she was seventeen, and by then she was strong and knowledgeable enough to take over his craft. This was unheard of, and disapproved of by many. However, it was what she wanted, and the village needed a blacksmith. Eventually, she became an accepted part of village life and grew famous in the surrounding areas as the big blacksmith girl.

Despite her beautiful face and generous hourglass figure, Siobhan did not have suitors. Her height, strength, and profitable occupation were intimidating to the village men. This did not bother Siobhan, who saw no need for a husband. She was able to
comfortably support herself and her mother, and she did not want anything else.

The physical size and strength that awed the locals, however, brought her to the attention of a Turkish vampire named Sancar. Sancar was creating a vampire harem, and he desired unusual women for his collection. Sancar traveled through all of Europe with human servants, seeking the exceptional. He heard of the beautiful Irish woman who was stronger than a man, and sought her out. She was like no one he’d ever seen before, and he decided to add her to his assortment of females.

She was intrigued by the amazing things they were rumored to be capable of, and by the warriors in the bunch.

Sancar gave Siobhan no warning or explanation. He abducted her in the night, raped her, bit her, and then carried her back to his home while she was still in the painful throes of the conversion process. Sancar had a difficult time dealing with the newborn Siobhan. She was incredibly strong, even for a newborn vampire. She also had no love for Sancar. For a while he was able to keep her distracted with plenty of blood, but before her first year as a vampire was over, she killed Sancar. She was then forced to destroy the three members of his harem coven who were devoted to him. The four others were not upset by Sancar’s demise, and they all went their own ways. Siobhan spent a few years traveling and learning the way vampires lived before she returned to Ireland. She was more widely nomadic for her first century, hunting across most of Europe and Asia. During that time, she met a few members of the Volturi guard. She was intrigued by the amazing things they were rumored to be capable of, and by the warriors in the
bunch. She wondered if she was strong enough to be acceptable. But she never went to the Volturi to be considered. She didn’t want to belong to anyone but herself.

On one of her return trips to Ireland, she found the newborn Liam. She was attracted to his fierceness and focus, both of which were apparent despite his newborn wildness. She could see that he was totally uneducated, and so she took him under her wing. After they joined forces, they stayed mostly in Ireland. Liam was most comfortable there, though he did travel occasionally with Siobhan.

Siobhan and Liam had just finished hunting one night when they came across Maggie. Siobhan was startled when the delirious child accused them of not being human. Intrigued, Siobhan asked her how she knew, and Maggie explained the curse that had led to her abandonment.

Siobhan was sure she had discovered one of those special humans who would have an extra ability as a vampire. She was excited to proceed.

Siobhan was sure she had discovered one of those special humans who would have an extra ability as a vampire. She was excited to proceed, but Liam was upset. He didn’t understand why she would want to add someone to their coven. Weren’t they happy as they were? Siobhan overruled him, and invited Maggie to join them, promising that she would never be hungry again. Maggie could sense that Siobhan was telling the truth, and that Siobhan did not mean her harm, so she agreed.

Siobhan asked Liam to trust her, and he reluctantly agreed to see how things would work out. Siobhan made it clear
that Liam was her first priority, and he became reconciled to Maggie’s presence more quickly than Siobhan had expected.

Siobhan also enjoyed Maggie’s company more than she expected. She felt very maternal toward the girl, and fell naturally into the kind of close relationship she’d had with her own mother. She also enjoyed the advantage Maggie’s talent gave her in any kind of interaction. Maggie learned to control her vocalizations, so she was able to simply nod or shake her head slightly to communicate whether or not someone was being honest. As long as she knew Siobhan was hearing the truth, she was comfortable.

While Siobhan was happy with her choice to include Maggie in her coven, she felt no desire to seek out other talented humans. Her curiosity about that world was satisfied.

J
ames, a tracker who loved the hunt, sought out the company of a few other vampires in order to use their help in his ongoing tracking games. His coven was nomadic. The members, all of whom are now deceased, drank human blood, as do most vampires, and they spent the majority of their lives outdoors. Because they never made the attempt to blend in with humans, they did not see the need to pay close attention to personal appearance; they looked feral to other vampires and to humans.

James was born near the end of the American Revolution. His father was a French trapper and his mother was an English girl who had come to the Americas as an indentured servant and subsequently run away from her master. They lived a nomadic lifestyle, spending most of their time on the trail and occasionally returning to Montreal or Pittsburgh to trade.

James was raised to track and trap, and he learned quickly. The Iroquois killed his parents before his eleventh birthday, but already his skills were developed enough that he was able to survive on his own. He gained a measure of fame during his late teens and early twenties as the best tracker on the frontier, as well as sometimes being called the ugliest. He didn’t care about his face; all he cared about was winning. He was boastful about his prowess, and always up for a challenge. He won all contests of skill, until one night in Montreal, when he met a
mysterious Frenchman—also claiming to be a tracker—who found James’s confidence amusing. The Frenchman offered to best him in any test, his only condition being that the competition had to be at night. James was unimpressed by the dandified appearance of his competitor, and he agreed without hesitation, even when the Frenchman—seemingly in jest—upped the stakes to life or death. James’s test was to release a marked deer into the wild, allow it an hour to run or hide, and then track it. Of course, the Frenchman found the deer in a matter of minutes. He returned the carcass to James, who had just begun his search, and reminded James that his life was forfeit. James—who had witnessed the speed with which the Frenchman moved and also saw no evidence of traditional hunting methods on the deer’s body—cried foul. He said the Frenchman obviously had an undisclosed advantage, perhaps witchcraft or demonic help. If James were given the same advantage, he was sure he could beat the Frenchman.

The French vampire was entertained by James’s brash confidence. He agreed to give James the exact advantage he himself had, thinking it a good joke to end the bet by taking James’s life in a different way. He bit James and left, laughing, offering a rematch in a decade or so.

He was quite pleased with his heightened abilities, and surprised that he was no longer considered ugly.