Chapter Four – Tempus Fugit

"When all else is lost, the future still remains."

Cristian Nestele Bovee

Sunday 14th January, 2007 – 20.45

Alice sat in her corner of the room with her ankles crossed and her hands folded in her lap. That she gave the impression of calm composure regardless of the somewhat charged emotional atmosphere in the room was hardly a surprise: all vampires were in complete control of their bodies, after all. Indeed, her poise might have been more believable had Jasper been employing his own unique talents to calm everyone down instead of glowering at their guest from what she archly imagined to be his perch in the mouth of a dark little cave.

She regarded her leonine love with the deep affection with which a soul mate engendered in his or her partner at all times, but this was tempered with a growing exasperation. He was hardly a newborn, but here he was doing a creditable impersonation of a human adolescent with all of his scowling and demonstrable dislike of their visitor. It was understandable, to some extent, and even admirable, she admitted. He was protective of her and she was a more committed member of this family than he had yet managed to be. The result of that situation was altogether predictable with a vampire: naked aggression and hostility when the hunting grounds or nest were invaded. It was frustrating, but at the same time it was endearing. Still, she would speak to him later about it with the intention of pouring oil on troubled waters. He was an intelligent man and perhaps she should not have expected to be obliged to do so, but regarding the other people surrounding her perhaps it wasn't as surprising as it might otherwise appear to be.

All those present this evening were mature vampires with decades if not centuries of learning and experience under their respective belts. That being the case, however, it was hardly realistic to expect a uniform mode of behaviour from everyone. Even those who shared common experiences for decades differed significantly in temperament and opinion. Carlisle, for instance, was every inch the natural leader. His intelligence was as evident as it was profound, yet his greatest strength was his empathy…his emotional intelligence.

Edward had been deeply affected by Carlisle as was only natural seeing as he had lived the majority of his life as an immortal under the older man's tutelage. This did not result in anything like a similar disposition, however. Her brother's book learning left him reliant on their father for practical guidance and woefully unprepared for life's little surprises. To those outside the family he might well appear to be calm and in control, but under the cool surface was a pool of self-doubt which often verged on loathing. They had all been worried about him when Bella had erupted into their lives as he was little more than an adolescent by their own standards.

Then there was this Hrossbjornsson. Just as much as any of those present he was in perfect control of his body, yet despite this fact he managed to give off the impression of a nervous restlessness which had him on the edge of flight. He too was possessed of a certain level of intelligence judging by his not-inconsiderable skill for creating friction and sowing dissent. The short vampire must be quite sensitive to basic emotions and inter-personal relations to have fomented this quantity of low-level strife in such a short period of time. It was little more than an irritant in such a close-knit coven as this, but it might be quite effective in other circumstances.

As he rummaged around the shelves next to Edward's piano, fingering the occasional curio from the wide range of the Cullens' shared possessions which were displayed there, Alice felt the slight sensation of falling which announced an active episode of her precognition. Her head tilted slightly to the side, she frowned as she sought to make sense of what was a surprisingly incoherent set of images even allowing for the imprecise nature of her visions. From past experience she knew full well that they might not necessarily be related, so she sought to view them all as isolated as opposed to a single line of events.

Faceless under the cowl of his robe, the Volturi henchmen slowly reached out a pale hand to place an envelope into the hand of Gianna, the human face the Volturi chose to let face the mortal world an their behalf. Though clumsy in comparison to her masters, she was still grace incarnate as she opened the letter with an antique, ivory-handled poignard. She smiled and nodded.

That was the beginning…that was the choice or intent which might well lead to what she had seen already. But how could that come to pass? It made no sense given that Aro, Caius and Marcus were not involved, or at least they had not yet made any decision to act. Alice made a point of keeping a close eye on not only those three, but also any and all who bent their knees to them as when they did decide to move they would have precious little…

Emmet, his face contorted with rage and grief even as it sparkled under the light of the midday sun, literally tore one of those figures in two before rapidly killing another. Slowly he disappeared under the weight of a dozen or more figures, all of whom sought to bear him to the ground. Just to the side of the writhing scrum of figures lay…

Gianna was obviously receiving and implementing her orders, but someone must have previously taken a decision. Was there something blocking her vision? Quite possibly so, but what might that be? It could hardly be by design or otherwise the same method would have been used to hide the whole decision from her. It hardly made any sense to hide Aro but let her catch a whiff of it just a few links down the chain of command.

Bella's short, lithe figure nestled in the branches of the tree. In the failing light of the day, Nessie's frightened face was...

No chill took her yet for she had borne witness to countless possible deaths of both herself and her family before today. Even given the grisly nature of these ends, she was to some extent inured to the horrors she often foretold. As she waited for any further visions to unfold, her eyes alighted on their guest. He was an incongruous sight as he slouched at the far end of the room, letting the conversation carry on without any input from himself as he let his fingertips trail over the first edition Jane Eyre which Esme had set aside not long before his arrival. The texture of the spine of the book seemed to fascinate him as he…

Carlisle and Esme were on their knees in front of Aro. He held out his hands to them in mute helplessness as they were dragged towards what were to be their funeral pyres...

A slight narrowing of her eyes was the equivalent of shocked blinking in a human and when Alice came to herself after this latest vision, she was still looking at the short vampire. Now he was examining a curio of Carlisle's which was also happened to be a favourite of her own. A piece of Jacobean oak, he had obtained it early on in his existence and seemed to be drawn to it when he was troubled. The long-dead artisan had carved the piece into an irregular ring, skilfully working around the knots in the hard wood. Twisting in upon itself, it drew the eye around in a seemingly endless circle and in rapid succession Hrossbjornsson frowned, shrugged and then smiles slightly before replacing it exactly as he had found it.

Emmet, his face feral but at the same time exultant as it sparkled under the light of the sun, used the headless body in his hands to flail at the fleeing vampires. He succeeded in bringing another one down and immediately leapt upon its back. Jasper flashed to his side and surveyed the routed enemy with a grim nod of his head before…

Although Alice's visions shifted both dramatically and regularly due to the influence of the personal decisions which crafted the future, the results were altogether more concrete…and objective. After all, if you were flattened by a speeding vehicle what difference did it make if you had been killed by a drunk driver, someone not paying attention whilst chatting on a cell phone, or even a responsible driver who had instinctively swerved in order to avoid a deer which had wandered into the middle of the road? Dead was dead and dead was permanent.

The unique perspective afforded to the petite woman by her unheard-of gift permitted her the luxury of a certain level of emotional detachment. She was able to dispassionately analyse the results of actions without necessarily needing to attribute motives to them or judge the individuals concerned. Altruism, thoughtlessness and calculated greed were all, at the end of the day, irrelevant. The result mattered and precious little else. It was by no means a burden as it was this attitude which had allowed her to truly accept Jacob into the family fold with so little effort.

Today, however, in the last few brief moments, she had been roundly and energetically cursing the 'Dog' with every epithet her polyglot mind could bring forth.

"Jasper!"

Edward frowned and closed his eyes in order to better concentrate on his mind leeching as Scar Face fairly flew to his mate's side. Judging by the tiny grimaces and frowns which flashed across his face, his task was no easy one.

"What is it, Alice? It's another defeat for the Volturi, so…"

"It's more than that, Edward," she replied firmly as she placed her right hand over that of Jasper as he grasped her shoulder. Her tone was commanding despite the fact it was also a light, pleasant trill. Tilting her head to one side, she pursed her lips as she narrowed her oddly amber eyes…eyes which were fixed on me.

I only realised this after turning away from the veritable treasure trove of knick-knacks this odd coven had accumulated over the centuries. They had of course collected these pieces after having acquired vampire senses and I too found the ranges of odours, textures and materials compelling. I had allowed myself to be distracted only because my senses were capable of keeping track of those behind me, but I suddenly had the feeling my inattention might prove to be my undoing.

They were all as still as statues. Whereas Edward and Alice were regarding me, the rest of the family was intently regarding them. In quick succession I raised my eyebrows fractionally in surprise, lowered them in mild displeasure and then deliberately erased all expression from my face. It was high time I took my leave now that they were taking this seriously and besides, that bird-like woman was making me feel distinctly nervous.

"Carlisle, Esme – I must be…"

Pretty Boy hissed and snapped erect, his head orienting as if to look out through the stairs to my left. After that things began to heat up very quickly.

"No!" thundered Edward as he turned to look first at Alice and then at me.

"Tell me!" demanded Jasper as he stepped around in front of Alice and clenched his fists as he glowered at me.

"Jasper!" scolded the petite woman, the censure easily recognizable in that lightest of voices. To my very great surprise the murderous brute flinched and looked guilty for almost a full second. Who were these freaks? I should never have come here given that they were so strange. The Volturi were entirely understandable in both their motivations and their actions, but these…beings? I shifted my weight nervously and planned an escape route which was wasted effort, really, as it was speed and not anything else which would settle this matter – who cared which window I bolted through?

"Relax, Edward! What we saw was firmly in the future and definitely not now…not now!" she told her brother, but the shocked delivery of her words gave the lie to her impressively calm demeanor. She smoothed the front of her purple blouse before looking up to meet the collective gaze of her family.

"There is now a future in which Nessie is kidnapped and Emmet, Edward and Bella are…destroyed," she stated flatly.

"But if you can see this possible future, it means that Jacob is nowhere near when it happens. That in turn means that it is a highly unlikely turn of events," interjected Rosealie quickly. She looked almost as bad as Edward in terms of emotional control and again as I found myself at a loss to explain the wide array of emotional responses before me. Perhaps the coven was not as close-knit as I had at first imagined it to be?

"Not if Jacob predeceased everybody else," noted a somewhat more collected Scar Face.

I refocused my attention away from the window opening onto the landing of the stairs and back onto my hosts. My interest had been piqued once more by the way in which they conversed as, ordinarily, such a nest of my kind would have a clear pecking order with elders opining to mute subordinates. Here it was an entirely different kettle of fish, however. Although there were strong personalities in this room, disparate views were both listened to and considered, it seemed. Yesterday such a notion would have shocked me, but then I had not then witnessed this odd collection of misfits at such a close range. What would they do? It was like trying to predict the path of an avalanche – an impossible yet oddly arresting task.

"That…is a possibility, but by no means a certainty," Edward said almost huskily.

"Let's just send Jake to La Push for a night and let Alice get a clear look at things. He'll have to get used to it sooner or later as he can't blind our crystal ball forever," suggested the Big Oaf with surprising practicality.

"Yes!" agreed his mate fervently.

"Not as far as that!" snapped Edward. "We need both him and his pack members as close as possible in case of emergency."

I abruptly turned away to admire a handsome chessboard crafted from midnight-black obsidian and amber-flecked green marble. The contrast of textures and colours were almost hypnotic, and not for the first time that evening I found myself wishing I could spend more time exploring this veritable treasure trove of antiquities: the Cullens had excellent taste, after all. It was several seconds before the silence behind me caused me to turn around once more. This time, instead of an animated debate of spring-tight vampires, I saw they were as still as the statues we all resembled. With the exception of Alice, all eyes were fixed on Edward whose eyes were screwed shut in a wholly unnecessary show of concentration. They opened almost immediately and then, as had his sister, he fixed his odd amber eyes on me. As did they all.

"Carlisle, I really ought not to take up any more of your time as I can see…"

"He is the key," trilled Alice.

"He mustn't leave!" hissed Edward, in response to which Jasper stepped to my right to block the front door whilst Emmet went in the opposite direction towards the wall of glass and Rosealie leaned forward as if to launch herself at me if I so much as blinked.

I had but an instant to decide upon a strategy: fight or flight? I had never tested the full extent of my power simply because I had always assiduously avoided pressing it farther than I had past experience of it working. The day it failed me would be the day I ceased to exist, so I had every motivation to avoid confrontation. I knew I had no choice, however, and gathered myself. Damn these Cullens! I hoped the Volturi would…

Carlisle stepped between us with his back towards me and his arms held wide.

"No member of this family would ever perpetrate an unprovoked attack upon a guest. Mr. Hrossbjornsson is free to leave at any time he wishes to do so. You will all sit down…now," he said quietly but firmly. I expected more bickering or outright disobedience, but to my surprise they obeyed albeit slowly. Esme remained where she had been standing, but then again she hadn't been one of those to get their hackles up.

"As I was saying, Carlisle…"

"Please…please, my friend?"

It was a genuine question and that was the problem. Had the exhortation borne the polished ease of a practiced politician then it would have been the simplest of things to shrug off. Unfortunately, however, it was an honest and emotionally raw appeal from a…man…worried for his family.

"Very well, Carlisle, but I warn you that I will be leaving here after we have finished though it means my death as I fight free. I shall not accept the weight of any chains around my neck!"