Chapter 1.

Carlisle stood above me, held out his hand encouragingly, "Come, child. Let our family regroup for a moment, then we'll have some questions for you. If you answer honestly, you have nothing to fear."

I stood cautiously, doing my best not to look threatening.

Watching them gather, I surveyed the damage done to my coven. Never before that moment had I claimed them as my own coven. But as I picked out familiar faces among the fallen, I realized I had been one of them, an outcast in a doomed coven. Where I would have preferred Diego and Fred, the other outsiders, I had thrown my lot in with Riley's lackeys.

An out roar broke out among the yellow-eyed vampires. "Where is she?" This one was blonde, as Carlisle was but leaner and taller. Though he was doing his best to look calm and in control, a storm raged just below the surface. Carlisle, the one from before, placed his hands on the shoulders of the blonde. "Jasper, there was nothing you could do." His voice was soothing but Jasper shrugged his hands and words away, "How could this have happened, she's unstoppable, invincible, she always knew…" He trailed off, lost in thought. When he met Carlisle's eyes again recognition lay on his face like the weight of the world. "She knew."

"Jasper, one of them had caught Bella's scent and-" Jasper's fists tightened, "And she sacrificed herself for a greater cause. She warned me, before…" His back straightened. Pity found a place in Carlisle's eyes, "Jasper…" Jasper's head snapped over to me, "Why is she alive?"

Carlisle's body blocked Jasper, restraining him. "She doesn't want to fight. She's surrendered." As Jasper studied me, I watched him. His skin was pockmarked with scars, only a few were new. He had been in more fights than I could have imagined, and he'd never lost. His face clouded in thought and suddenly I felt an unexpected surge of frustration, though I had no idea what I was frustrated with.

"Carlisle, I..." He hesitated, "It's not possible, we can't have any of these newborns associated with us when the Volturi come. Do you realize the danger that would put us in?"

Though his words confused me, the message was clear. He wanted me gone, dead or disappeared. Which seemed reasonable enough since it sounded as if he had lost the one he love to my coven.

A woman protested on my belhalf, "Jasper, she's only a child. We can't just murder her in cold blood!"

The way she said it she sounded as if we were human. That as vampires we had not killed every day to survive, and still abided by the social norms of humanity. Don't mureder, even though it's in our nature. Which as I thought about it, was probably in the nature of humans. Or was it? How many people slain by vampires had been blamed on humans?

"It's our family on the line here, Esme. We can't afford to have them think we broke this rule."

This just affirmed my suspicions of a vampire hierarchy with an elite group of elite vampires on top.

The woman, esme, walked bbetween me and the one who wanted me dead. She then unexpectedly turned her back to me.

"No. I won't stand for it."

I felt Carlisle staring anxiously at me. The look was familiar, one I would have sent anyone who might have tried to harm Diego. I tried to sink into myself and look docile.

"Jasper, we need to take the chance," in a soothing voice he continued, "Do not unjustly place your anger on this poor girl. She did not kill Alice."

The muscles all over Jasper's body tensed. I tried to focus my attention on the mad with the kind eyes. Anger pulsed through me in waves and I realized it was coming from Jasper. Riley had not mentioned this one. His powers seemed close to Fred's but different. Suddenly Jasper sighed and the anger subsided.

Calmly he replied, "I don't like this At least let me take charge of her. You two don't know how to deal with someone who's been running wild so long."

I was at loathe to be handed over to him but Carlisle nodded. His hand reached out and clasped Esme's and the two of them headed past Jasper back toward the open field.

"You there," Jasper said to me, a glower shadowing his face again. "Come with us. Don't make one rash move or I will take you down."

When he glared at me, a pulse of anger surged through my body again, and a small part of me wanted to snarl and show my teethbut my dominant mind beat down that idea, not wanting to give him an excuse to distrust me.

Jasper's pulses paused as if he had thought of something. "Close your eyes," he commanded.

I hesitated, ever wary of his intent to have me dead. Closing my eyes left me vulnerable as vulnerable as I could be.

"Do it!"

My teeth gritted together before I shut my eyes. This made me feel twice as helpless as I had before. Losing one of your major sense could do that. It also showed a lot of trust I wasn't sure I wanted to give.

"Follow the dound of my voice and don't open your eyes. You look, you lose, got it?"

I nodded, wondering what he didn't want me to see. At least he was bothering to protect something. You don't bother to hide things from a dead man, well a living dead man.

"This way."

I walked slowly after him a smile playing on my lips. Before I could stop it, my mouth blurted it out. "Marco."

After a moment's hesitation he replied, "Polo."

This continued as he led me, and I was careful to give him no excuses. He was considerate in the way he led, not walking me into any trees, at lest. When we were in the open, the sound changed and I noticed other differences as well; The feel of the wind was different and the smell of my coven burning was stronger. I almost gagged but managed to turn it into a "Marco." The warmth of the sun of my face comforted me, and the inside of my eyes lids were brighter as I sparkled.

I could hear the crackle of the flames, so close that I could feel the smoke brush my skin. Though he could have killed me at any time the nearness still made me nervous.

"Sit here. Eyes closed."

The ground was warm under me, heated by the sun and fire. Only a week ago I had though never to feel sunlight on my face. I relaxed my body, in attempt to look harmless. Suddenly I felt separated from the warmth of the ground the air. I opened my eyes to look down and find the ground at a dizzying distance from me. Then I saw the figures, running around standing in clumps. There were shapes emerging from the forest, wolf-like beings. A young girl lay sleeping on the ground. Then the figures became clearer. Carlisle was standing with Esme and a burly fellow. They were deep in conversation when a blonde woman joined them. I looked back at the girl sleeping and a hind of recognition sparked in my mind. Me, that was me sleeping. I looked and saw the figure who had his back turned to me flick his head back toward my dead looking body. Quick as a flash he kneeled next to my corpse. When he grabbed its arm and shook it I felt a slight tingling in my phantom arm. I took a glance at the trees, I saw two figures emerging from the forest, and then farther on in a field farther away, a shadow, a blackness. Suddenly I surfaced back in my own body.

Jasper's hands were on my shoulders, "Stop that."

My head shook back and forth, "I saw…"

He cut me off, "You didn't see anything. You were asleep."

That didn't make sense, "Vampires don't sleep." He shot me a look, "You were sleeping." An urge to believe him, to trust what he'd said, came over me instantaneously. "Stop!" His eyes darted back to me, "What?" My fingers massaged my temples. "The mind thing where you take over my emotions. I know what I saw! There were giant wolves as large as bears, Rauol, and Jen and Sara were burning in the flames, and... And there was a black group coming."

Upon hearing this, Jaspers body stance changed. "Black?" I nodded. "Carlisle!" Carlisle was next to us in an instant. "The Volturi, they're coming." Carlisle glanced at me and nodded. Suddenly all of the wolves I had seen before burst into the clearing. One of my coven had been feigning death and took this moment to run. I didn't know his name, only that he was one of Rauol's. He lunged for a wolf but another wolf took him down rolling. I grimaced I heard a sickening crack and a yelp and suddenly the other wolves had joined in, annihilation the "newborn" as I had heard us being called by the yellow-eyes. Their ferocity frightened me and I hugged my legs to my chest. "What are they?" "Werewolves." Was Jasper's curt response.

Suddenly the wolves transformed into humans, except their hearts beat more strongly than the average human. The wind shifted and their scent wafted towards me.

Again I fought the urge to gag when the stench hit me. My hand rushed to cover my nose and mouth. These creatures were a meal I did not want to taste. "Why do they stink?" One of the half-humans called out, "Carlisle!" and the kind eyed vampire ran to the half-humans.

I heard screams of pain from the werewolf huddle. Names were called out in orders, "Leah, Paul, Sam." One was repeated though "Jacob."

Jasper's head titled, hearing something and he suddenly pinched my nose tight and covered my eyes. He couldn't cover my ears though and I heard the approach of whatever he was trying to hide. I wriggled under his touch. "Don't you dare move." My wriggling came to a halt.

My muslces went slack and I tuned everything out, except there was one thing I couldn't tune out, my instincts kicking in. A heartbeat, a human heartbeat pounding. My thirst picked up burned in my throat.

Jasper removed his hands from my eyes and nose, sensing that I had already picked up on the human. If I wanted to, I could overpower him in an instant. I was not sure I could take on his whole coven though.

The scent of the human filled my nose and I gasped and held my breath. "Don't let it overtake you, or we will take you out." Jasper's voice was calm and level and he had every intentionof keeping that threat. I watched a red-haired vampire pull the human in tight and glare at me. Then suddenly the black figures burst into the clearing. Everybody tensed at their appearance. I recognized them as the black cloaked figures that had entered her house. The leader of the group , a young blonde about my age surveyed the scene.

These were the vampires that wanted the yellow-eyes dead. Would another battle break out amongst them? Who would win? Though I had only just met the yellow-eyes, I wholly wished them to come out on top.

The vampire with the human said to the leader, "Welcome, Jane."

His voice was full of familiarity but there was a coldness to it, an underlying hatred. Riley's tone had been weak and eager to please. This must be the Volturi, the infamous elite vampires.

Jane's blood red eyes swept the field again. Her eyes passed the human without a glance but when they came on me, they stopped. Jasper had left my side the moment the dark cloaks came. I buried my head in my hands, trying my best to look mild and meek. "I don't understand." Jane's voice sounded sweet but when I stared in her eyes, I knew were intentions were not.

"She surrendered."

"Surrendered?" Jane snapped.

I peeked out from under my arms to see the dark cloaks exchanging glances. Was it really so implausible that I should surrender? That my head was actually screwed on right?

"Carlisle gave her the option."

"The option was not his to give." One of the others replied.

"There are no options for those who break the rules." Jane's voice was calm, but her face looked slightly confused and more than slightly frustrated.

"Please," the words were out of my mouth before I could stop them, "I didn't know, he never told us.. I'll, I'll learn the rules, do whatever it takes."

"We'll teach her." I glanced over at Esme, who was taking a great risk speaking on my behalf.

"The Volturi do not give second chances."

I was at a loss for words, "But…"

"She has a talent." The red-heads voice was unexpected. "She can detach herself from her body. When she does she sees everything that is happening. No one is able to see her."

Jane's eyes flared, "And what good is that?"

It was Carlisle's voice next, "We lost one of our own, we are missing one from our company. Let her take that place. If you want her later on after she's developed, you can have her."

Jane twisted on him, "Like you gave us the other? Like you gave us them?" She asked, gesturing to the red-head and the human. Suddenly her rage subsided, "Very well then. If we decide we want her, we will collect. Before we hand her over to you there are a few questions we need to aske her."

Esme's voice pleaded with her, "You don't have to do that, she'll tell you everything you want to know!" Her voice was full of fear and that fear influenced me.

Jane's blood red eyes turned on me, "I know."

Pain ravaged my body and I writhed under her eyes. I refused to look away through, staring into her eyes as my body fought an enemy it could only feel.

"Who created you?" "I-I don't know."

The red head answered the question for me, "A vampire named Victoria. She had a grudge against Bella."

Jane looked at Bella but my pain never subsided, "This human seems to bring out thw strangest reaction amoung our kind."

Jane turned on me, "How many were you?" The pain stopped.

"There were twenty-two when we started but then there were a couple fights and…" My voice trailed off, unable to tell them of Diego and Fred.

"And this Victoria, did she turn you?" Janes's voice was sharp and fierce.

"I don't know, Riley didn't want us to know, he said it was to keep us safe. He lied about everything. I-I don't know."

"Tell me about Riley." I was relieved to move on from the question I couldn't answer.

"He, he was the leader, the thinker. He was harsh but fair and he was good at deceit. "My mind searched for answers, "He was involved, with , with Victoria."

Her eyes narrowed, "How do you know?"

"We were watching him, Diego and I. We need to tell him something and then you showed up…"

Jane cut me off, "I've heard enough."

She glared at Bella, "She is still human."

Edward replied, "The date is set."

Jane nodded before walking off into the forest.