It has been a very very long time since I've written, and I apologize. Work and life in general has been crazy! I hope this will at least wet the whistle so to speak.
Chapter 9
My mind sorted out the intricacies of all possibilities, my imagination drifting to battle sequences…weak points…the losses we would face…the time we had left. Alice! I had to talk to Alice…now.
Only a brief moment later I was knocking on Alice and Jasper's door. Jasper appeared at the doorway, but my eyes sought past him for my target. He stepped aside allowing me to enter.
"What's wrong, Bella?" He asked. Immediately I felt his calmness trying to melt away my anxiety. I shrugged it off, thinking only of finding my answers.
"The Volturi. They are after Renesmee, and they are building an army." Alice's face scrunched up at my comment. She shook her head.
"It can't be the Volturi. Out of all the things I watch for, they are top on my list. I would have known if they were planning something." She seemed confident in her statement, but I could see the hint of self-doubt in her delicate features. I knew if the Volturi surprised us, Alice would blame herself for letting them slip past her.
"Alice, they know of your ability. Aro knows more about it than anyone, aside from you. If they wanted to keep their plans from you, don't you think they would be capable of finding a way?"
"I see your point, but why take Renesmee when they already have Nahuel? If they were working so hard to keep their plans a secret, why would they come to our home to take a member of our family? It seems like a big risk to me." Alice said.
Jasper chimed in. "Maybe it was a test to see how close an unknown vampire could get to us; a scouting mission."Jasper's military insight proved to come in handy once again. After all, he saw the signs of a war brewing before anyone else. His reasoning did seemed sound. I had to admit that I would feel much better knowing that Renesmee was not the Volturi's target this time around. I could hear Edward and Carlisle coming up the stairs. Edward was relaying our conversation to Carlisle.
"…All the more reason to put in a phone call to Aro. Maybe we can garnish some useful information from my old friend." Carlise said.
Soon we were all gathered in the main room discussing how the conversation with Aro should go. I looked out the windows to see Renesmee and Jacob walking in the forest. I took comfort in the thought that for now, Renesmee didn't have to worry about our uncertain future. I knew I couldn't keep her in the dark about what was to come for long.
"We need to stay away from anything that could be taken as an accusation." Edward stated.
"Well there goes all of my ideas then." Emmett threw his hands up and walked off.
"Wouldn't asking them about our visitor insinuate that we thought they were the ones behind him being here?" Rosalie pointed out.
"We should tell Aro that we think there is a vampire or group of vampires in search of human's with special gifts. Informing the Volturi of a vampire who is conspiring to build an army isn't an accusation. The Volturi have made it their role for centuries to clear up situations like this when they arise. We would be the informant." Jasper reasoned. Being the informant didn't seem to work out to well for Irina though. Edward was right; I usually managed to pick up on the subtle clues that even my family of perceptive vampires couldn't. I only hoped their faith in me was warranted. Regardless of the outcome of Carlisle's conversation with Aro the fact remained that something was definitely not right.
"Good thinking Jasper. Aro's response could be quite telling. If he assumes we think they are building the army, then I would say it must be due to a guilty conscience. That is if he has such a thing." Edward replied.
The scene seemed oddly like a high school drama. A girl surrounded by her friends as she dials some boy's number; her friends all leaning in to listen to the juvenile conversation while stifling giggles. If only this situation could be that simple or trivial. If only the worst possible outcome was rejection.
A different receptionist answered the phone. It made me wonder what had happened to Gianna. A minute and fifty-four seconds later, Aro himself answered the phone.
"Carlisle, it is good to hear from you dear friend. I was afraid that I might not have the opportunity to speak to you again after our little …misunderstanding." He stated in his usual cheer. I imagined his red eyes alight in false warmth. Misunderstanding, he says. I guess that's how he refers to their misguided excuse to dispose of the Cullens. I began to daydream about how much force it might take to shatter his withered skin.
"Well I must say I didn't call for cordial conversation, Aro. There is a matter that I thought best to bring to your attention. There has been a vampire spotted in the woods outside our home." Carlise paused.
"Is he causing trouble? I would think that a whole coven with allies such as your pets would be able to take care of one troublesome vampire."
"We were unable to question him before he left the area. He has been spotted in other places as well; in Egypt, Alaska, and South America. We believe that he, or a larger group of vampires, is seeking out humans with special abilities to make an exceptionally gifted army."
There was dead silence on the line before Aro responded. "What evidence do you have that he is building an army?" There seemed to be some genuine interest in the information, but Aro could just be testing Carlisle to see how much he knows.
"In Egypt, the vampire was tracking a gifted human. She was turned by Amun only days before the newborn picked up on the strange vampire in the area. The newborn's talent acts as an alarm, signaling when an intruder enters their territory and also picking up on their intentions towards her. She knew that the vampire was there for her, but he left once he discovered that she was part of a coven."
"Go on…" Aro bade.
"Just two days ago, the same vampire visited a campus in Alaska. Our cousin Tanya is a professor there. She said that the vampire approached her class, but turned away once he knew what she was. In South America, Zafrina spoke of the same mysterious vampire. She thought nothing of him until Nahuel and his aunt disappeared." Carlisle kept the same tone throughout his words. I hoped that Aro would not see the subtle lie.
"I fail to see how these three stories add up to some rouge vampire conspiring to build an army. Nomads are often sighted all over the globe; it is in their very nature after all. I question why you brought this to my attention without more concrete evidence, Carlisle?"
"We find it strange that among our small network of friends that so many have seen this same rouge vampire. And we are of course troubled over Nahuel and Huilen's disappearance."
"Nahuel was the half-human half-vampire boy from South America, yes?"
"Yes. Zafrina believes they would never have left without word."
There was a brief pause. "Carlisle, your coven is quite remarkable. The bond that you share is one of the strongest I have seen in centuries. Zafrina might have assumed her bond with the half-human and his aunt was greater than it was. I know that it has been many years since your time as a nomad, but after a few millennia, we all need a change in venue. Perhaps they decided to travel for a time."
"Aro, I would not have brought this to your attention unless I was truly concerned. I know that you must have a broad network of intelligence." Carlisle looked to Edward. He in turn mouthed the words 'say it'. "If there is someone out there building an army of vampires with special abilities, who or what would be their target?" Carlisle asked, though his question was more of a statement.
"In the wars of the southern states in America, battles were fought over territories of densely populated humans. Areas such as these exist all over the planet. I cannot think of just one. "he paused, "Are you suggesting that there is an army being built to rival the Volturi?" Aro chuckled at his last comment. "I'm afraid you are talking to the wrong person on that matter. Caius however would be thrilled to discuss that possibility, since I have grown tired of that conversation long ago. Shall I fetch him for you, Carlisle?"
"No, Aro, that won't be necessary. If you do chose to look into this further I would appreciate any information that you find concerning our missing friend's whereabouts."
"Of course, dear friend. Goodbye." Aro was a hard person to read. He seemed ever composed. In conversation, it is said that body language in the form of subtle mannerisms can often tell the truth and feelings behind someone's words. So for this conversation, the visual element was missing. Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie all thought that Aro was lying through his teeth. Edward's vote was out, though he suspects that Aro does know of Nahuel and Huilen's whereabouts. Locked up and sealed away in the Volturi's ivory tower like lab rats no doubt. Carlisle debated whether the conversation was worthwhile at all. I understood his concern. We might have just put our foot in our mouth and swallowed.
"He ended the conversation a little abruptly, don't you think?" I asked. I had everyone's attention. "Well, he's usually the type who quotes all the lines you say to someone you haven't seen in a while. You know 'good hearing from you', 'stop by sometime', 'say hi to the kids'. Instead he just, hung up. I don't know Aro very well, but it seemed slightly out of character for him."
"He may have just been busy. " Esme offered.
" I'm not sure, though it seems we have no more answers. I think I'll call Zafrina and see if there is any news on Nahuel and Huilen." Carlisle said.
And so the day went on. Carlisle and Esme seemed to be on the phone for hours. Esme was preparing things for our move while Carlisle was calling everyone he knew to ask about our mysterious visitor. The more I mulled over the last few weeks circumstances, the more confused I became. The pieces that seemed to fit perfectly into my puzzle suddenly didn't fit together. I decided that Renesmee and I needed a break from it all. I went to go see Charlie.
As soon as I pulled away from our home, my mood changed. Amid all the chaos I hadn't realized how little time I had left before our move. It almost felt like traveling back in time as I pulled into my father's driveway. It made me miss the slight squeal of the breaks before you shifted into park, and the rust particles I would mindlessly wipe on my jeans after closing the door. Instead, Renesmee and I emerged from my shiny black Volvo, a perfect mate to Edward's.
I noticed that Sue's car wasn't here. I hadn't really considered checking to see if Charlie might have company. Renesmee ran up to the door and jabbed the doorbell several times. I strolled up to the door at a leisurely human pace. Charlie's eyes lit up as soon as he opened the door to see Renesmee. He swooped her up in a motion that was less than gracefull. I even heard the subtle noise of joints popping and cracking. I estimated Renesmee's weight to be roughly 97lbs, so it was no wonder that Charlie had to struggle a little. He sat her down as I walked to the threshold, illuminated by an outdated yellow-globed porch light. I heard the abbreviated breath as Charlie's eyes settled upon me. What was wrong? The lighting perhaps?
"Your eyes." Charlie answered my unspoken question. " I guess the transformation is complete." He scoffed. Crap. How could I have walked out the door without thinking about my contacts.
"I…"
"No, no, trust me, I don't want to know. I don't need to know. Just took me by surprise, you know?"
"Yeah, I'm sorry Dad." He just sighed and stared at Renesmee for a while.
"Will her eyes change too?" He asked weakly. He seemed unsure whether or not he wanted to hear the answer.
"No, hers will stay the same shade they are right now. No changes." Not ever, I thought to myself. I could see immediately that my answer satisfied him. It didn't sit as well with me though. I chose my life. I chose to stay in this unchanging state to be with the one I loved. Renesmee didn't have that choice.
"Well are you just going to stand out here all night? Come on in."
It was much easier now to keep up the human charade. Blinking and breathing at an appropriate rate. Charlie first wanted to catch up on everything that Renesmee had done since their last visit. Renesmee has always been able to paint a picture with her words, and without words for that matter. She told Charlie about her outings with Jacob in the forest, beating her Daddy at chess, and her trips into town clothes shopping with Aunt Alice. Charlie seemed interested in every minute detail, even the shopping. I knew that the conversation was about to take a more serious tone when Charlie turned on the TV for Renesmee to watch and got up to go into the kitchen. I followed him and took a seat beside him at the table.
"Ok, Bells. What is the real reason for the move? I want to know the truth, no matter how out there it is."
"Dad, I am being completely honest with you. I want to go to college in Alaska. You would think a father would love to hear that his daughter wants to go to college."
"Well of course I'm happy. I just wanted to know whether there was something else going on. It kinda seems strange that Jake is going too. I just thought it'd bother him being away from his family and living with you and Edward. I've even asked him why he's going and he says he wants to. I just don't know."
"Dad, I promise we are not trying to pull the wool over your eyes on this one. Just trust me. I know there has been many changes over the last year that I can't really explain very well, but you need to just trust me on this one. Your welcome to come and "check up on things" if you want."
He rolled his eyes at my comment. Charlie looked back to the living room and smiled. "Looks like she's starting to nod off in there."
"Yes, it's getting late. I better get her home."
"Thanks for stopping by, Bells."
I tried to make a show out of picking up Renesmee.
"She's a heavy little thing." Charlie commented, apparently my act was believable. Charlie opened the back door for me and I had Renesmee fastened in her car seat prop in no time. Charlie closed the door and stood in front of me with a strange look on his face.
"You'll come say goodbye before you leave, right?"
"Of course, Dad." I began walking toward the driver's side. "I love you, Dad."
"Love you too, kid."
When I pulled into the garage, I noticed a strange car in the driveway. 11:30 at night was a strange time for visitors; human visitors at least.