Evolution
Chapter 1
A Starting Point
Author Notes: Evolution is the sequel to my previous story, Full Circle. Evolution is defined as any process of formation or growth. If we live, we grow: Mentally, physically, spiritually, chronologically. For some the process is painful; for others it is exhilarating. As always — happy reading!
Disclaimer: All characters associated with Twilight belong to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended at any time.
Chapter Notes:
"May the frightened cease to be afraidAnd those bound be freed;May the powerless find power,And may the people think of benefiting one another." Santideva
CPOV
"You must do everything in your power. What others cannot do, that is what you must do for my Edward."
Elizabeth Masen's emerald eyes sparkled with tears. Her voice, though weak from the disease, held a great deal of strength. Her son, Edward, lay motionless in the single bed next to hers.
A nurse hurried past me to attend another physician with a dying patient. I glanced down at Elizabeth. Her hair, which I was sure once shined a bright bronze, was now dull and slick with sweat. Her frail body jerked upward with insistent coughing. Once she'd subsided, I leaned down and wiped the droplets of blood from the side of her pale face.
"Please." She could only manage a whisper now. Her lungs struggled to keep sucking air. "He's a good boy."
"I'm sure he is," I said. I smiled reassuringly though we both knew the end was near. I patted her limp hand as it rested on the bed sheet. "You need not worry about him. Save your strength."
She turned her head to look at Edward. A tear slipped from her eye and landed on the pillow.
"So much…he hasn't done. His father…was never around. Always…just me and…Edward. My dear, sweet boy." She turned her eyes to me again. "Please, you must do…everything."
"I will. I have hope they will find a vaccine soon."
She shook her head. "Not soon…enough. Promise me. Give me peace." I stared down at my own dying patient. Grief engulfed my chest. "You must do…everything…in your power. What others can…cannot do, that is…what you must do for my…for my Edward. Promise me, doctor."
I didn't know if it was the delirium that came with the disease or if maybe she knew my secret. I glanced over at Edward. He was young. Only about seven years younger than when I had been changed. My journey had been testing. But with me helping him…. It was a crazy thought. Could I, in good conscience, give him another chance at life? One he hadn't asked for? Yet the thought of having a companion — a son — was inspiring. And he wouldn't be alone as I had been.
"I promise," I said, without further thought. "I will do as you have asked."
Her smile was sad. Then she closed her eyes to rest. "He's a good boy," she mumbled. "He has such a kind heart. And smart, like his father. Thank you."
My reminiscing was interrupted as Esme's arms wrapped around my waist from behind. My reflection stared back at me as I stared out the bay window watching the steadily falling snow. It was a new year, though I had been daydreaming of years gone by. Thinking if some of my decisions in life were right or wrong. Wondering if I even wanted an honest answer.
"I wish I were going with you," Esme muttered against my back where her check rested. "We haven't ever been apart."
I turned around in her grasp to pull her closer to me.
"You have no idea how much I wish you were coming with me. But we can't trust Rosalie alone with the Quileute. Someone has to stay and maintain order." I ran my fingers through her soft golden hair. She was more than what I'd ever deserved.
Her topaz eyes met mine as she said, "We have to believe that everything will be okay and that we will be back together soon. All of us."
"I'm going to do my best to see it fulfilled."
Our lives had been in a downward spiral since Halloween night when the Volturi kidnapped Bella. Tanya and Kate were still angry with me for killing Irina even though it was to protect Edward. Out of vengeance, they went to the Volturi and told them Bella was still human and we had allied ourselves with werewolves. Edward figured out where they were holding Bella, and he went on a suicide mission to rescue her — taking only Jacob Black with him. According to Jacob, Edward exchanged his life for Bella's and revealed the secret that the Quileute were not true werewolves but shape-shifters, which caused the Volturi to turn on Tanya and Kate for their deceit and eliminate them. Jacob ran off with Bella and Edward with the Volturi.
Christmas, Edward sent word through another vampire warning us that the Volturi was going to attempt to snag Olivia, Alice's eight year old great-great niece, because she had the gift of foreseeing just like Alice. It let us know that Edward was alive but that something had changed within him. I made the decision to split our family up: Alice, Jasper, and Emmett were going to watch over Olivia, Esme and Rosalie were going to stay in Forks to help the Quileute who were still in danger of the Volturi, and I was going to see what could be done on getting my son back home.
Esme and I said goodbye, I grabbed my suitcase by the door, and left her for the first time since 1921.
Since the death of Tanya and Kate, Eleazar and Carmen moved to Alberta, Canada near the Caribou Mountains. They no longer felt free and safe in Denali. They were the only surviving members from the Denali Coven. Eleazar had not denied in assisting me, but he'd refused to meet anywhere near Forks. Thus the reason for my trip.
Their new home was small and nestled deep within the woods, surrounded by snow covered fir trees. A dim light shined through the blinds in the front window. I gave a firm knock on the front door and was instantly greeted by a lovely vampire with long, thick dark hair.
"Carlisle." Carmen greeted me with a hug. "Please come in."
Eleazar stood behind her with a warm smile on his face. We greeted with a handshake.
Carmen showed me to my room. A set of French doors led to the backside of the property where the mountains were in view just above the tree tops. A king size carved Anglo poster tester bed and a pair of wing-back chairs occupied the room. I set my suitcase down and followed her back into the sitting room.
"Are you hungry?" Eleazar asked. Carmen took a seat next to him on the tan suede sofa.
I smiled as I settled across from them. "No. Maybe in the morning we can hunt?"
"Of course. How is Esme handling things?"
"Our friends turned on us and then were killed. Our son is with the Volturi. Our family has been separated to protect others. How do you think she feels?" I could not keep the bitterness from my voice. Eleazar had once been a guard for the Volturi though he had not been with them for a couple of centuries.
Carmen frowned. "It has been hard on us too, Carlisle. We've lost everyone including our home."
"It wasn't as if we didn't try to warn him," Eleazar said. Edward had went to them for assistance in regards to the location of the cabin that was owned by the Denali Coven, in which the Volturi had held Bella hostage.
"But you didn't help him either." Rancor sharpened my voice.
"You would have us be killed, also?" Carmen asked quietly.
"Of course not." I let out an wearisome sigh. These were not my enemies. My anger subsided. "You know I wish no ill harm on either of you. But you could have stalled him. You could have called me. You could have refused to give him what he wanted."
Eleazar gave me a sympathetic smile. "Carlisle, if I hadn't freely given Edward what he was looking for, he would have simply reached into my mind and took it. As soon as he left, I should have called you, but I'm afraid it still would have been too late. Besides, if you or anyone else would have shown up, it could have ended very badly."
"It did end very badly."
"Edward is alive, Bella is alive, and your shape-shifter friend is alive. The same cannot be said for Tanya and Kate. But they should have thought twice before trying to use the Volturi in order to get their vengeance." Eleazar leaned forward. His arms rested on his knees. "I've never turned anyone, so I can't imagine how you are feeling right now. You know I will do what I can to help you, but I will not endanger Carmen's life. I hope you understand, dear friend."
"I will not ask of you more than you can give."
Carmen poured each of us a glass of wine as we sat and reminisced about our days before vampirism. Both Carmen and Eleazar spoke of their homeland Spain, and how had it not been for their change they never would have met. Stories that have been shared over and over again through the centuries. It was clear that each of us were trying to postpone the topic on which I was there to discuss. I didn't mind the delay. A bit of normalcy was nice.
As morning began to approach, we departed through the backdoor into the snow covered forest. We quickly came across a herd of caribou — each of us picking out one big enough to satiate our hunger. It would have been nice to have been able to hunt a grizzly but they were in hibernation during the winter. After the hunt, we returned to the house to clean up and get down to the business at hand.
"Alright, Carlisle," Eleazar began. His eyes were glowing a bright amber. "What is it you plan on doing?"
"I need allies," I said matter-of-factly. "Strong allies who will stand beside me against the Volturi."
"You plan on fighting them?" His dark eyebrows slanted to a frown. "No offense, Carlisle, but if Edward freely left with them as you say Mr. Black has said, you have no grounds to start a war."
"You know as well as I do that they forced Edward to join them. They used Bella as bait. They have been gunning my family for some time now."
"And you have proof to back your allegations?"
I averted his questioning stare.
"Carlisle," Carmen said in a softer tone. "It was Tanya and Kate who reported you to the Volturi."
I shook my head in aggravation. "I don't have solid proof, but I have a gut feeling that they want to take my family apart piece by piece." Both continued to stare at me with concern. "Look, neither of you were there when Victoria attacked with her newborns."
"And we have apologized for that," Eleazar said.
I waived his comment aside. "What I'm trying to say is the Volturi was quick to arrive after the fight. Not before or during, but after the battle was finished."
Eleazar grabbed his chin between his index and thumb. His lips thinned into a frown. "They wanted your family to be defeated instead."
"Or at least be minimized."
"But why?" Carmen asked. Her eyes rounded in shock.
"Because the Olympic Coven is large and powerful," Eleazar said. "You have a mind reader, a diviner, and an emotion manipulator. And let's not forget the cunning mind of Rosalie and the brute strength of Emmett. A very dangerous coven indeed."
Carmen gave a shaky laugh. "Surely the Volturi aren't afraid of seven vampires. Eleazar, there are other covens who also have members with various talents."
"Yes, but none have leaders who can lead as well as our dear friend, Carlisle. But still, we have no proof. I know you don't want to hear this, but they do have a reason to take Isabella." I opened my mouth to argue but he rushed on saying, "Edward had promised she would be changed when they returned from Volterra — two years ago. You know the rules regarding humans."
"I know they have humans working for them who know our secret. Yet it takes years before Aro, Caius, and Marcus decide whether or not the person is worthy to join the court or be fed to the court." Several faces crossed my memory. I had wanted to forget those times with them. From the look on Eleazar's face, he seemed to be having the same flashbacks. "There was never a threat of exposure. Why the rush for Bella to end her humanity? Was it a power play to make sure we understood who was in charge of our species? If they were so concerned about Bella being human, then why let her walk away with a shape-shifter and take Edward instead? Edward would never had agreed to join them if Bella's life was still in danger."
"There haven't been any further attacks?" Carmen asked.
"No. Jacob took her to an undisclosed location. I've spoken to him recently and there hasn't been one hint of a vampire being close by." Though we all knew that could change very quickly. The Volturi could not be trusted.
"I have to say it baffles me why they allowed her to go," Eleazar said.
"Why not go and speak with Aro?" Carmen asked. "He seems the most reasonable out of the three."
"If I was guaranteed that I could walk away with my head still attached, I would agree to have a private meeting with him. Although Aro is the most reasonable, he is also the deadliest. He's calculating. I don't want to encourage them any further about Bella. Out of sight, out of mind." I shook my head in frustration. "I need allies. If I had support from other covens, even nomads, it might have enough to confront them."
"They would see it as rebellion. That's against the law and punishable by death." Eleazar would know; he used to be an enforcer.
My temper flared. "We can't just sit around and watch each other get picked off. The Denali Coven was first, they are working on the Olympic Coven, then who? The Irish Coven? The Amazon Coven? Where and when will it stop? Until the Volturi…" The realization slammed into me as if I had been hit by a Mack truck while still in my human form.
"What?" Carmen looked from me to Eleazar. By the reaction on his face, he had come to the same conclusion.
"Power. They want all the power. It was all a ploy to get Edward to join them. They never intended to kill Bella. It was trick. Now Edward has given them information on Alice's great-great niece who also happens to have inherited her gift of foreseeing," I said.
A shiver ran down my spine. Throughout history, there have been people who were oppressed by vicious, power hungry tyrants. I had lived through some of them: Robespierre, Stalin, Hitler, and Hussein just to name a few. Suddenly, it wasn't just about getting Edward back with his family. It was about containing a powerful regime — one that planned on becoming more powerful daily.
"That can't happen." Fear, stark and vivid, glittered in Carmen's eyes.
"They've already demolished the Denali Coven." Eleazar put his arm around Carmen to calm her nerves. "Now they are making sure the Olympic Coven is not a threat. The other covens are too small. They won't worry about them."
"Yet," I said. "We have to stand together against them. Not let them bully us."
"What? Us two and what is left of your family? Carlisle, that's suicide."
"I'm sure there are others who will join us. The Egyptians."
Eleazar slowly nodded his head. "Yes. That is if they have grown a backbone since the last time they faced the Volturi." His eyes narrowed in my direction. "What about the Romanians? They too would like to see the Volturi overthrown."
"I don't know if I trust them. I'll have to think about it and ask around before I include them."
"You two are serious?" Carmen asked still looking shocked.
"Darling, Carlisle is right. The longer we allow them to grow, the more powerful they will become until they will be unstoppable."
"Who says they are not unstoppable now?" Her voice raised in panic.
Eleazar kissed her lightly on the lips. I glanced down at my wedding ring missing Esme terribly.
"We will never know if we don't try," he whispered to her. He held her face between his hands. "I don't want to just exist. What is the point of living if you can't fight for what you believe? But if you tell me to back down, not to fight, I will do as you say."
"I cannot request such a thing from you, Eleazar. Where you go, I go. The only thing that frightens me is losing you."
"And I you." They embraced. When they pulled apart, Carmen grabbed our glasses and went to refill them. Eleazar smiled and leaned back against the couch cushions. "Alright, we have the Egyptians on our list, who else?"
