CHAPTER 10 – Summons

Edward

As always, I let Bella sleep in until whatever hour her body elected. Even Alice's eagerness to take Bella shopping again couldn't be allowed to interrupt her sleep. I periodically heard her pacing in the hallway, no doubt checking for the hundredth time to see if our door was open yet.

I smiled to myself, drinking in the poetry of Bella's sleeping form, the gentle rise and fall of her swollen stomach. I could empathize somewhat with Alice's urgency. She'd been insisting Bella needed proper maternity clothes, and I had noticed her shirts growing consistently tauter. But it was hardly an emergency worth waking the mother of my unborn child. However badly her body needed new clothes, it needed rest far more. Alice could wear a track into the carpet for all I cared.

Then, after nearly half an hour of predictable movement, the pacing stopped. It took me a moment to register the change in ambience. Something about its abruptness struck me as odd. I hadn't heard her footsteps descend the stairs. It sounded as though she'd halted mid-stride.

With Alice, that could mean only one thing.

By the time recognition dawned, she'd cracked the door open a few inches to peer cautiously inside. "Is she still asleep?" she whispered far below what Bella could hear. Nodding mutely, I caught the alarm in her eyes.

"I need to talk to you. Now."

I shivered inwardly at her tone. The last time I'd heard it that imperative… I tried to push the memory away as I joined her in the hall. "I take it you saw something?"

She inhaled a shaky breath. "Edward, Jane and Alec are coming here."

"Here…? As in this house?"

"Yes," she hissed. "And we don't have much time. They'll be here in less than two hours."

Alarms were blaring in my head. Nothing good could come of this. Whenever the Volturi initiated contact, it wasn't to extend an invitation for afternoon tea and pleasant conversation. Their motives were never as altruistic as they claimed. But what could draw them here now? They couldn't possibly know about…

Alice and I both looked warily over our shoulders at the bedroom door, opened just enough to reveal Bella's figure. The same anxious thought crossed both our minds in that instant.

"Looks like it's time for another family meeting," I said stiffly.

Fifteen minutes later, the infamous Cullen clan was once again assembled downstairs, posed in various tense stances around the room. Not one of us preferred to sit. Try as he may, Jasper was making little progress mitigating the stress. Carlisle leaned forward, arms braced against the back of the couch as he collected his thoughts.

"We gain nothing by panicking. Bella needs us to be clear-headed now more than ever," he advised. "Given Bella's very limited exposure, it's unlikely Alec and Jane know of her pregnancy. They may simply want to ascertain whether or not we've fulfilled our vow to change her."

Rosalie snorted. "As if that's going to end any better."

"Yeah, really. They'll be pissed enough to see she's still human, much less when they see what Eddie put inside her," Emmett remarked, earning a glare from me. "It's a no-win situation."

"Unless," Esme began thoughtfully, "we hide Bella. Tell them she's off visiting her mother and step-father in Florida and won't be back for a couple weeks."

"Then they'll make it a point to return next month. If they're determined to settle this, they won't forget," I growled.

Carlisle sighed. "Alice, I don't suppose you can see any parts of their conversation? Anything to give us an idea of what to expect?"

Leaning against the mantle, Alice closed her eyes again, face contorting as she replayed her earlier vision. Everyone waited in silence, each desperately hoping for her to identify something. Our last shred of hope hung between fuzzy remnants of things not yet passed. "Mmm, I see Jane searching the house. She finishes. Her expression is… smug. Unperturbed. She looks at Alec and says, "…changes nothing. Aro will see them regardless.'" The eerie quality her voice adopted when speaking those words was unnerving.

Nobody spoke for a minute, each set of eyes exchanging a dozen unspoken questions. When Carlisle finally resumed, the incorrigible optimism was gone from his voice. "It seems some of us will be making a trip to Italy," he pocketed his hands while directing a remorseful look at me. "For now, the best we can manage is to remove Bella during their visit. Send her to Charlie's for the day. At least that will spare her the stress of seeing them."

I balked. "They could track her there in the blink of an eye."

"I realize that. But we have to assume they'd leave her unharmed if they intend to bring her back with them," Carlisle reasoned. "We have no other options. There isn't time for anything else."

As if on cue, Bella's sleep-tousled head appeared at the bottom of the stairs, registering bewilderment and anxiety the moment our collective gaze met hers. "Um, am I interrupting anything?"

"Bella, go back upstairs and change. I'm taking you to Charlie's. I'll explain on the way," I ordered with stony authority.

Bella had taken the news far better than I'd estimated she would. Despite alarm being plainly visible on her features, she seemed to making a conscious effort to minimize her visceral stress reaction. Whether it was for my sake, her own, or the baby's, I couldn't care less as long as I could rely on her unflinching cooperation every step of the way. From this point on, none of us could afford the slightest misstep.

Her only concern had been what to tell Charlie, which she expressed halfway through our commute. "We were just over there for lunch yesterday. It's weird that I'm coming back today, especially without you."

My mind raced for a plausible explanation. When in doubt, use the pregnancy as an excuse. "Tell him we're repainting and you can't be around the fumes."

"And we forgot to mention this yesterday?"

"Say it was Alice's idea. Super spontaneous this morning." To be honest, whatever she chose to say was of little consequence to me. She could tell him a meteor had destroyed our house if she preferred. All that mattered was safely hiding her before they came. I scarcely gave it another thought after dropping her off at the curb, flying back home with single-minded, ferocious intent: to confront the vermin drawing inexorably closer to my home by the minute.

Back home, few words were uttered during the solemn watch we held over the clock. Its black hands clicked on with terrible precision, refusing to hasten our vigil by even the smallest second. I lost count of all the apprehensive stares I'd given and received. Not even during the newborn attacks last spring were we plagued by such dry fear. It was because something even more vulnerable than Bella was endangered now, something infinitely more helpless, utterly defenseless before the capricious mercy of the world. Something profoundly irreplaceable – our own flesh and blood. If I was prepared to fight before, my determination now surged to sheer indestructibility.

We all heard their approaching steps at once. With a final glance around the room, Carlisle led us toward the front door, appearing as mourners in a funeral procession. Anyone who saw our faces then would have surely perceived it as such. Seven pairs of firmly planted feet stood ready to face what lurked beyond the door.

Then, with an influx of unnaturally chilled air, it was open. Jane's disconcerting stare swept over us defiantly, her brother lingering a step behind. "We didn't even knock," she declared flatly, withdrawing her hood as she took the liberty to step inside. "You must have known we were coming." Her red eyes lingered maliciously on Alice.

"We did," Carlisle affirmed while shutting the door. "Alice foresaw your arrival. What we don't know is what brings you here."

"Don't feign ignorance with us. You honestly expect us to believe you can't surmise our intentions?" Another chill stirred the air as she stalked around me, hands clasped behind her back. "I assumed you were all smarter than that."

"We're smart enough to know you didn't come just to insult us," I challenged.

She halted her stride to fix me with an unblinking stare. My eyes narrowed at the impudent smirk she offered. "Sadly, that is true. Ironic that you should be the one to point that out."

"If you don't mind, Jane, we really would appreciate a straightforward explanation. We may be immortal, but we do still value our time," Carlisle appealed.

"Very well," she snapped us all a petulant look and resumed her pacing. "Aro sent us to deliver a formal request. All of you have been summoned to Volterra for a private audience. There is to be no delay; you will depart within twenty-four hours." Pausing, she turned in my direction again. "And you will bring the human as well."

From the torrent of shocked thoughts that suddenly invaded my mind, I concluded this had come as a shock to everyone else as well. We'd expected Jane to order myself and Bella to Italy, but the entire family? It didn't make any sense. Bella's humanity – or lack thereof – was technically my sole responsibility, since I alone had pledged to change her. What need did Aro have to speak with the others? I was uncomfortable with the notion that our deductions had somehow missed the mark of the Volturi's grand scheme.

Quickly assessing everyone's startled expressions, Carlisle adjusted his posture slightly. "If you don't mind me saying, that is a rather unusual request. Are you at liberty to share Aro's reasons for summoning our entire family?"

Jane snorted, presumably at his use of the word 'family.' "What little incentive you would have to fulfill your travels if I were to tell you. Intrigue is such a delightful motivator. It certainly sustains our livelihood," she said with sinister undertones; I grimaced at the implication.

"Now, as there appear to be no further objections, there is one final matter. We must see the human before leaving. Aro specifically ordered it." Her visage was infuriatingly arrogant as she looked once more at my glowering face.

"I'm afraid Bella is out of town at the moment," Carlisle said smoothly, raising a hand. "She's visiting her mother in Florida and won't return until Thursday. Surely you can grant us an extension on the flight deadline." Palms spread apart now, his appeal was disarmingly earnest.

Jane's nose tilted upward, judging Carlisle's sincerity with an exacting eye. Though I held my breath, I knew there was no other being with a more impressive ability to convincingly deceive than him. Our job was to lend credibility to his façade by not interfering. That meant remaining immobile and expressionless for whatever length of time proved necessary.

Thankfully, that time proved not to be so long as it could have been. Jane's speech had turned almost apathetic now. "We will inform Aro of the circumstances. So long as you promise to leave immediately upon her return, he should be amenable. However, he'll expect us to have at least walked through the house, wouldn't you say?"

"Of course," Carlisle extended his arm to indicate his willingness. "If you feel it will complete your visit."

"I do," Jane replied imperiously, resting her hand on the banister before proceeding upstairs with Alec in tow.

Nobody dared converse while they remained in the house, but the nonverbal cues being transmitted were sparking enough to light a fire. I didn't even attempt to filter their thoughts, jumbled and emotional as they were. The few wavelengths I did permit were from Carlisle. I know their motives can never be pure, but maybe it's not what we originally thought. If Bella isn't being singled out, there's a chance she'll be in less danger. We might even be able to keep the baby a secret. I vowed to suspend judgment on these musings until we could all speak again.

At last, Jane and Alec completed their tour and drifted back down the stairs. Eager as I was for them to leave, I nearly missed Jane's new expression. Arrogance had always been her default, but it seemed even more heightened than before, if that were even possible. Alice's clairvoyance rang in my ears, describing Jane as smug after sweeping the house. Yet what I was seeing now went beyond her usual superiority. Those cold, almost reptilian eyes belied something else – as if she were keeping a secret.

"Satisfied with your tour?" Carlisle inquired with a charming smile.

Jane reciprocated with a smile full of guile. "Indeed. And fear not, brother," she addressed Alec for the first time, "That we did not see the human changes nothing. Aro will see them regardless. This coven understands the importance of keeping promises to the Volturi," she raised her hood and approached the door. "We will all be seeing each other again very soon."

They left us frozen in mute shock, staring at the beveled insets in the door, wondering who should be the first to speak. Yet before anyone could take the initiative, an overpowering instinct drove me upstairs and into our bedroom. I had a sinking feeling…

I scanned the furnishings with lightning speed, searching for anything conspicuous, anything remotely out of place. There had to be something. Jane's final expression lingered viciously in my mind, plaguing me with its damned mystery. I knew the answer lay hidden in here. My frenzied search continued. There was the magazine rack, untouched and innocuous. The CD collection held nothing sacred. Neither did our bookshelves…

Books. Bella had been reading one when she fell asleep the night before. I seemed to recall her stuffing it under her pillow. Trepidation slowed my movements as I neared her side of the bed. Instinct told me what I'd find, but I had to verify it with my own eyes. Lifting up the edge of pillowcase, I slipped my other hand underneath, fingertips immediately encountering the cold, smooth feel of a paperback.

The title confirmed my worst fears: The Pregnancy Bible.

Next update: Monday. Enjoy the weekend!