The pack arrived. Over the years it had grown to more than fifty wolves, all following Sam. Jacob hugged me fiercely before leaping off the deck; he was a wolf before he reached the ground.
Edward translated the inner dialogue between members of the pack, so I would know what was going on. Sam had seen a zombie cluster moving into a clearing half a mile away. There were dozens of them. Leah was tracking another cluster several hundred yards behind the first.
"Sam thinks they'll come in different waves; I agree. Whoever did this went row by row at the cemetery."
"Why?"
"Strategy. As soon as we clear out one cluster, another arrives; the element of surprise isn't necessary. They hope the pack will wear down from fatigue."
"We can't fight them on our own." I hated admitting that, but it was true.
"That's the plan, Bella. With the pack out of the way we'll be left vulnerable." Edward said through gritted teeth.
"Can you see who's doing it?" I asked. Edward shook his head no.
A gust of air raised my hair; Alice and Jasper stood on the deck. I was thankful for the added numbers and I knew Alice would have information we couldn't see.
"The Volturi are behind it. Aro is tired of waiting for Renesmee to join them." She explained.
Rage filled me. What did she mean he was tired of waiting? He wanted my daughter?! That would never happen. We hadn't heard a word from the Volturi in more than a century. Aro knew challenging the Cullen Clan was futile; we had too many family members around the globe.
"He won't get to Renesmee." Edward said with conviction.
Jacob heard and howled loudly into the night. I looked down at him and reassured him that Renesmee was safe; I would burn every member of the Volturi myself. "I give you my word, Jacob." He growled and pawed the ground.
"Aro's using the zombies as a diversion, but I can't tell if the Volturi are close by. Something's blocking my vision." Alice scrunched her eyes close trying to push past whatever was blocking her. Jasper placed his hands gently on her shoulders for reassurance.
"They're getting close." Edward interrupted. "You're right, Jacob." He said.
"What? What did Jacob say?" I asked.
"While we're busy fighting the clusters, Aro plans to steal Renesmee. Once he has her, he'll demand she join the Volturi. He'll likely use us as bargaining chips."
"She'll feel responsible to protect us; she'll sacrifice herself doing so." Edward predicted.
"NOOO!" I shrieked. "I'm going to Renesmee." I turned and ran into the house. I didn't stop until I stood in front of the steel door of the safe room. I pressed the button on the intercom. "Let me in." I instructed.
I stood back as the heavy metal door swung open. I squeezed through the door and gathered my daughter into my arms. I reached around her and punched the button and the door closed sealing us inside.
"What's going on Mom?" She asked.
"The Volturi are planning an attack."
I felt her shiver and hugged her closer. She was the best parts of Edward and me. To her the world was a place of beauty; she didn't notice the ugly underbelly of society. I should have taught her better but I hadn't wanted her to know sadness or anger. The only thing I had made sure she understood was how bad the Volturi were.
I explained to her what they were after, and reassured her that I would never let anything bad happen to her. As I predicted her thoughts went immediately to everyone else. She was overcome with fear and I had to sit her down on a chair.
"It sounds much worse than it is, sweetie. Look, I'll show you." I walked across the small room and turned on the bank of monitors. The deck and surrounding forest came into view on the screens. "There's your dad, and Jacob is with the pack just there." I pointed to the edge of the forest.
We watched for several minutes and nothing happened. Carlisle and the rest of the family were now on the deck; Rosalie paced back and forth. I knew her protective instincts for Renesmee were almost as strong as mine. I actually felt sorry for any zombie that tried to get past her.
"What's that?" Renesmee asked.
I followed her line of vision and my eyes grew wide. Movement began in the tree line and then they came; dozens of them. I wasn't sure what I'd expected, but seeing them was a shock.
Dressed in varied styles from as far back as the 19th century they moved slowly, but with purpose. Some looked normal and except for the gray skin and black circles under their eyes they could have been living people. Others varied from hideous to downright grotesque with decaying body parts (some missing various limbs).
"Oh Momma this is horrible. Those poor people." Renesmee wailed.
"They aren't people, Renesmee. Their souls have long since moved on; those are just empty shells."
I watched as the fight began. Sam was the first to attack. He grabbed a large male zombie by the middle and shook him violently. The zombie made no move to defend himself, and no other zombie came to his defense. When the wretched body broke in half, Sam stepped back his head lowered. The two halves of the zombie continued to move, inching along the ground toward the house.
On another screen a fire suddenly erupted. Alice and Jasper had started a bonfire and were hurling zombie parts into the flames, while engaging in the fight themselves. Within moments it was total chaos. Edward moved faster than a human's eye could keep up but I tracked his every move. He fell to his knee and I gasped but he was up, ripping the head off the corpse of an old woman in a flowing nightgown.
Esme flipped a teenage corpse into the air and Seth caught it, flipping it into the fire. Carlisle and Emmett focused on several large zombies who'd obviously been obese in life. Amazingly they hadn't deteriorated at all, even though one of them wore a suit that had gone out of still in the early 21st century.
"See, they aren't getting to the house." I reassured Renesmee.
"They aren't, but what about them?" Renesmee asked looking at a monitor that covered the back of the house.
Walking side by side were Aro, Caius, Jane, and her brother. Behind them were five other members of the Volturi, keeping pace. The fight was concentrated in the front, but Alice should have seen this coming. Whatever was blocking her visions had left us vulnerable.
There was no time to warn them; no time to call for help. They breached the house through the back door, and kept coming. I put Renesmee in the far back corner and told her not to move. I felt the rush of adrenaline as my body instinctively prepared to fight.
When the two foot thick metal door began to buckle I crouched low to the floor, ready to defend my child…
