Disclaimer: I do not own twilight or any of its characters.
(A/N: Ok, it's been ages! I kind of had a brief stint in hospital and had to wait for aaaaaages for my wrist/fingers/right side of my body to heal before I could type again! Haha just think of a less sever Jacob at the end of Eclipse, minus a ravenous new-born vampire, topless men carrying me on their shoulders and accelerated healing and instead add a jerk on his phone ploughing into the side of my car! But all is well, and I thank my lucky stars Aaaaanyway – sorry it's taken me so long to update. I was really worried that I would forget the ideas I was coming up with so I've taken my time to edit and re-read to make sure this is up to scratch. Hope you enjoy. Missed you! Ellie x)
Our Hurried Footsteps
Jasper and I raced back to our South American friends in only a few seconds. I started speaking before they had even turned to face us.
"There are very little options… but there are enough to see us across." I began. "Speed is going to be our ally… and timing." I couldn't help but look anxiously at Nahuel – all my hopes and all my doubts rested on his shoulders.
He looked nervously to the ground and as he did, the guilt began to soak through my core. "We'll be fine." I chanted to myself.
"I don't see why we can't just go further inland? Find one of the many vast sections that are not manned?" Huilen sighed in a nonchalant manner.
My head was screaming, but my face remained calm and poised. "Because we don't have time to run inland."
"Never mind then running back to the coast as soon as we cross." Jasper added.
"We'll be fine." I repeated once again to myself.
'Is it more of them? Have they come back?' A slight, southern voice whispered in my mind. I followed the vision now present in my thoughts only to be surprised when I found myself looking back at our small group hidden in the shadows.
My head shot up, to the east, mirroring the line of sight I had just witnessed. It was the two sets of scarlet red eyes that I saw first of all, almost as if they were glowing. They belonged to two perfectly still immortals, one a tall dark haired male and the other a younger looking, smaller female with thick mahogany hair that flowed beyond her waist. They were standing a few streets away from us and far from the local houses and street lights.
"Is it more of them? Have they come back?" The female asked to the other, making the future become present.
My four companions, who – for the last few seconds – had been looking at me with baffled faces, suddenly snapped their heads in the direction of the voice.
"No, you idiot! They don't look anything like them." He replied in a very nonchalant and modern manner similar to our most recent classmates. "Two of them don't even look like us." He added, staring at me and Jasper. I didn't understand why they were not intimidated by our presence. Why were they not worried about making themselves known? Self-preservation is one of our strongest instincts and yet here these two stood confidently, outnumbered by five others who, for all they know, could just be looking for a fight. Lucky for them, we wanted nothing more than to get out of here as quick as we could.
"Newborns…" Jasper hissed under his breath, anxiety and aggression rolling off him in waves.
So that was why they were acting so foolishly. Completely naïve, and believing themselves to be invisible… And apparently not alone after all, I thought to myself as I watched our immediate futures unravel in my mind.
"And… Is one of them human?" The tall male said, beginning to edge forwards in anticipation.
The deep inhalation from behind us did not take me by surprise, though it made Huilen spin on her heels, pressing Nahuel between herself and Kachiri.
"Not human…" The new voice said. "…But not one of us."
I turned my face to look at our new visitor. He was just as tall as the other, though his hair was long and fair. His rich, freshly filled eyes were intent on Nahuel, so intense that it appeared as though he was completely unaware of the snarling vampire bearing her teeth only millimetres from his face.
"Interesting… What are you doing here? This is our turf." Said the first male, now only a few metres from us. We were cornered, and just like caged animals the four immortals beside me we all riled up.
"We're just trying to get home." I replied calmly, but seriously.
"And where's home?" The second male taunted, now circling us to join his apparently coven members.
"Far from here. The pacific north-west." I continued.
The two males paused their motions and both looked as though they were remembering a conversation. The female, who had remained quiet during this encounter, took in a stuttered breath.
"That's where they were heading." She moaned, tugging on the first male's sleeve.
"Who?" Jasper snapped, before her companion could reply.
"Some chauvinistic big-wigs who think that they can tell us what to do." The second male said, shrugging his shoulders.
"The Volturi?" I almost gasped, for I had not seen them, nor did I think that they would, venture across this way.
The girl nodded frantically. "That is what Tony called them. They came silently and unannounced. I'd never seen Tony like that… so panicked and flustered. He went with them without hesitating, but they told us to stay here and warned us to keep our heads down. They said that we were no use to them…"
"Which proves my point!" One of the males bellowed. "They think they know everything, but if they knew what we were really capable of they'd have been begging us to help them slaughter their 'rule breakers'. Who lets them make the rules anyway? I'm not falling for it. No hand-holding freak can tell me I'm not worth it and then expect me to follow his rules."
"Perhaps if you had seen the things that I have seen, you might take their warning more seriously." Jasper breathed, stepping forwards intimidatingly.
The dark haired male looked him up and down, and though I could not see his face, I could imagine him focussing on the hundreds of bite marks visible on Jasper. Not only the sign of an experienced fighter, but more importantly, an undefeated one.
"If your creator manages to return then get him to explain who they are and what exactly they can do… and what made him drop everything, including his freshest newborns, to follow their every command so willingly."
"I'm not scared of them."
"You will be." Jasper smirked.
"Now if you don't mind." I said, pushing past the fair-haired male on my left.
"What's the hurry?" He taunted, putting himself in my path once again. "Are you scared?"
Jasper growled and squeezed himself into the tiny gap between the two of us.
"I really do not have time for this. My family is in danger from these 'Volturi'. They want them dead. The 'rule-breakers' you mentioned, the ones that are about to be 'slaughtered' as you so kindly put it, are my family and my friends. The only thing they are guilty of is being too honest, and too loving – not conforming to what they want us to be. So if you don't mind, let me go and help them.
It was silent. Nobody moved for a few moments.
"Well, you should have said." The male in front of me said, mockingly bowing out of the way. "Any enemy of those idiots is a friend of mine."
"We'll help you cross." The young girl said from behind us. "Sorry, I was watching you for a while before you saw us. I know you're having problems crossing – because of the slow one, with the heart-beat, but the unappetising smell." She added frankly. "There are not many people on duty at this time of night. We always cross at this time. No security cameras facing west. I'll distract them and you can jump the fence in your own time…" She looked over to Nahuel. "You can jump, right?"
He nodded in reply, completely speechless.
"You want to go now I presume…" She asked me softly.
"About twelve hours ago actually…" I replied.
"Ok, don't hesitate. As soon as they leave the tower, go." And with that the three child-like immortals fluttered away beginning what seemed to be a well-rehearsed piece.
The female ran into the lit square in front of the watchtower, crying and screaming, slowly chased by the dark haired male. The two guards strapped with guns got up from their chairs and peered over the railings.
The girl screamed some more and graciously fell to the ground, bringing up dust in the spotlight that was upon them. The dark haired male stomped forward slowly and beat the girl around the face. Her scream pierced the air and the two guards came running down the steps holding their gun up to the boy.
"Now Alice!" Jasper called from a few metres beside me. Nahuel had already left, as though he was leading our troop. His leap got him three quarters of the way up the high fence, while ours sent us a fair few metres beyond it. However, by the time we had all landed he was almost by our side once again. He was determined not to hold us back and I smiled graciously, thanking him for a million things.
I had no intention of looking behind me. I had no care for the ingenuous group we had barely met. But the fresh blast of warm blood hit the back of my throat as if it was right in front of me. I stupidly turned around, and watched as the three newborns tried to fight over only two corpses. The humans had obviously got too close to the uncontrollable, undisciplined immortals. Blood had spilled onto the dry sand and was gushing out of the torn men before they had even had the chance to think about firing their weapons.
We were all thirsty. We were all desperate. It was so hard to concentrate on what mattered when you could feed your every desire by just taking a few steps forward to join in the feast. I knew it was going to be a battle to pull us away from this… myself included. But Jasper was already ahead of me – the good part of me, anyway.
"We don't have time. Think about your family and friends. Weigh that up in your priorities." He lectured to Nahuel, Kachiri and Huilen who were all just as transfixed as I was on the gory scene to the south.
We would have to find the time to hunt on our way back – somehow… for our own safety. I could trust Jasper not to get ratty with me, but I could not trust the darker side of these three, soon to be ravenous, human drinking vampires. Our kind is not easily compatible when thirsty. "You will have your chance shortly." I added to Jasper's words. "We'll find the time."
After a very slow, and thoughtful, pause we were moving again. I held onto Jasper's hand as we ran. It was strange the way I was able to stop and think about him in amidst of all the chaos – to truly appreciate him and to be ever so proud of him. Only a few years ago I would have been tearing him away from a scene like that… only 18 months ago was I tearing him away from a much simpler scene... but there we were, it was I who had been pulled by temptation and it was now Jasper who was supporting me. The man – the soldier – in him had beaten the monster hands down. He returned my admiring gaze with a wry smile.
"Almost there." He whispered.
"How long do we have?" Kachiri called, following only a few metres behind me.
"It's hard to say accurately." I mumbled. "I can usually tell by the position of the sun, but the clouds are so dense in the vision. Late morning, I think."
"So, a matter of hours." Jasper breathed heavily while pulling open the driver's door to a Chevrolet. The poor engine wouldn't last long travelling at 120mph. "Damn it! This is the last thing we need!" Jasper's voice echoed in a future that would not become true.
"Not that one my love." I said, pulling him away before he had chance to get in. "There's an unattended valet park a few blocks away." I spoke over my shoulder as I led the way. "Four hours till we get to Sacramento – we can all hunt at Stanislaus National Forest."
"Is it really necessary?" Nahuel asked timidly as we hopped into a sleek, black car that would get us there easily. "I don't want to slow you all down any more than I already have."
It wasn't really Nahuel that I was concerned about… but sitting in a car with two very uncivilised, as natural as can be, already very thirsty vampires had me worried.
"We'll be fine." I smiled, as the engine purred to life. "We need it."
"We need to be at our strongest to protect ourselves, Nahuel." Huilen answered.
I saw Jasper's hands tense as they wrapped around the steering wheel tightly. "It won't come to that." I intervened quickly hoping to ease Jasper's mind.
We got to the I-5 in under an hour and then to Sacramento in just over three. Jasper pulled off and managed to find a secluded part of the forest with only a few directions from me. The air was fresh and crisp, just sitting in the morning mist. It would make hunting for our different forms of prey much easier. Nature was on our side today.
"Find yourselves a few hikers - they'll blame it on the bears. Just rip up the tent and leave the corpses. Maybe rummage through their food and bins and tear up some of the dirt so it looks undeniable." I spoke hurriedly as we abandoned the car and ran our separate ways.
I knew that Jasper would only be thinking of two things while we hunted. 'Increase my strength, and rehearse for what is to come.' He did exactly the same thing before our battle with the newborns last year. He found a large deer within the minute. He did not hunt in a stealthy way, as he usually did. I truly believed he did not even see his prey as a deer, but as his enemy. He circled, growled, swiped, clawed, ripped its head from its shoulders and finally fed. The others in the herd had quickly vanished and were far away by the time he had finished. Instead of looking for another – probably closer – meal, he followed them, as I followed him. He closed in with every step he took, pinning down the doe at the back and threw it quickly to me, knowing that I was on his tail. The sharp velocity of the throw meant that its neck was already broken before I caught it in my ready hands. Jasper had already pounced on another, bent its neck back and bit.
"We're not going to fight, you know." I said calmly when I heard the final slurps coming from our empty corpses.
"Things change." He replied, still looking at his lifeless feed.
"Oh yes, there are many things that are still left undecided. But there will be no fight." I was being cocky now.
"And has Irina been killed yet?" He said sharply, now facing me with a fierce expression.
Not a lot of things take me by surprise.
"No. She hasn't."
"You know why she will be killed, don't you?" He pressed, now rising. "To force a reaction." He continued without letting me answer.
"Carlisle and Emmett won't let Kate and Tanya do anything." I tried to defend.
"We hope." He breathed.
"Yes, we hope." I smiled.
"I'm just being prepared." He huffed. "I'm surprised we found the time."
"We have to give them time." I sighed, not really wanting to. "If we get there too soon, then they'll have time to argue another case to prosecute."
"And if we get there too late, we won't have anything to defend."
"Timing is key." I nodded. "It's a good thing you've got an efficient planner on your team!" I grinned as I wrapped an arm around his broad shoulders and stretched to place a kiss on his lips.
He smiled broadly for the first time in a long time. "Where is Nahuel? It must be time to get going."
They would be clearing up in a few minutes. The vision showed them following my instructions to the letter and then Huilen laughing at Nahuel as she motioned for him to wipe away a smudge of blood left on his cheek.
The fresh taste in my mouth went suddenly bitter as I automatically compared it to the deeply fulfilling meal our friends had just finished.
"If we meet them now, we can help them tidy up." I said as I hopped off in an easterly direction.
"Thank you for that, Alice. We needed that." Kachiri smiled when we caught up with them. "To calm our nerves if nothing else." She added.
"Let's get back to the car quickly." Jasper instructed with a tough tone.
I grimaced as he said the words. Some hikers starting their morning extremely early had come across the car, and would still be there – practically drooling over it - when we returned. I would have usually picked up a couple of the abandoned back-packs and posed as an early riser… however, I couldn't help but giggle at the image of their faces as they saw the obvious, fresh red eyes and inhuman mannerisms of Kachiri and Huilen.
"This way." I moaned. "Need a new car."
They didn't argue.
There was a large but quiet parking lot on the west side of the forest. The local campers were not awake so we had our choice of vehicles. I quickly identified the one that would get us to Forks without stopping. I tried not to turn my nose up at the buttercup coloured Toyota Prias.
The car journey was quiet – not just because of the almost silent engine. It was obvious that Nahuel and Huilen wanted some quiet time to rehearse what they would be saying. Every time I looked in the rear-view mirror I saw Nahuel's lips moving, obviously rehearsing his words, not wanting to slip up. Every now and again, I looked in the mirror in front of me and watched his lips. A few times I read the word 'sisters', but then he just frowned and started again. He obviously wanted to keep them out of it. I didn't have the heart to tell him that Aro has a curious skill of getting information out of you without you wanting to give it away.
The silence was broken after a few hours when I sharply inhaled. My head swarmed and my body tensed. Only a few seconds now separated my visions and the present. The hundreds of images I had seen since the night that we left home finally solidified as they became reality and then vanished as they swiftly changed into the past. The shadows were looming, and had proceeded towards my family. Their red eyes and pale faces looked out from their deep, dark hoods in exactly the same way that I had seen on that first night. Some faces I didn't know – small, timid females tightly sandwiched between two tall and wide bodies. Some faces I did know – the ones at the front, their leaders and the child-like, angelic faced demons. They all stopped in a perfectly constructed semi-circle and waited for their witnesses to appear behind them. An army indeed – nothing compared to the hordes of newborns that had charged towards us last summer. You wouldn't even believe that they were the same bread as the immortals standing across the clearing.
Bella hissed, and others joined her… as did I. For the first time since this began, I was not worried, I was eager.
"It's started." I breathed, my voice hardly making a sound.
"How far are we, Jasper?" Kachiri asked quickly, leaning in between the front to seats.
"20 minutes." He bellowed as he swerved his way around the car in front.
"Time is not an issue." I said confidently. "It's all becoming clearer now. I think I can pretty much say what's going to happen… until we get there that is." It was all very dark after that. "All we can do is watch."
My voice was very indifferent as I retold everything that was happening at the clearing. My eyes were not focussed on the road ahead. I wasn't even in the car. I was hovering above and around my family and our enemy.
I once again felt the alien feeling of nausea as I watched Carlisle step forward and speak first. Oh, how I longed to be there now…
I watched as Aro mimicked his actions, although his actions would bring a different reaction, full of tension and readiness. "Peace." Is all he would have to say.
"The law is not broken." Carlisle tried to plead.
"Do not treat us as fools!" Aro would bellow.
Caius then brought Irina forward, in order to explain herself when he finally saw the evidence in front of him. Unlike his 'brother', Aro came to a much calmer conclusion after holding our cousins hand. "There was no breach." He declared indifferently, though my voice was much more relieved when I re-told it.
"Doesn't mean it's over, my love." Jasper whispered.
"I thought Alice was the clairvoyant." Huilen scoffed, while Kachiri and Nahuel listened intently, perched forward on their seats.
Jasper was, of course, correct. "Be that as it may, I will have every facet of the truth." Aro added.
"In other words, I will find whatever I can to justify this farce." Kachiri grimaced.
"He's calling Edward forward." I gulped, not feeling as though I was in a moving vehicle at all. This was it, what our plan depended on. Although I had studied my family closely over the last month, although I could see the majority of their choices, I was unable to see what they were thinking. I had no idea whether Edward had caught on to my back up plan that I had left for Bella. If he had, then Aro would see it as the actions of a guilty party and I doubted that he would hesitate.
I thought my frozen heart was going to break when I heard Esme's whimper.
"You see?" Edward asked, finally.
"Yes, I see indeed. I doubt whether any two among gods or mortals have ever seen quite so clearly." Aro replied with a creepy, off-putting tone to his voice.
But then, everything changed. As I watched Aro's eyes move away from Edward, the vision began to shake and blur – like I was searching for a decent reception on a TV screen. "No, no, no, no, no…" I screamed, grabbing on to the dash board. But it was too late, he was about to speak the words… "May I meet her?" And he was gone, they all were.
"I can't see anything…" I admitted. "He's asked to speak to Renemsee."
"Aro?" Jasper almost roared. His forehead creased and he gripped the steering wheel tightly. "We could have been there by now if we hadn't stopped to hunt."
"It wouldn't have done any good Jasper. Like I said, we need the element of surp-"
"We need to be there to protect our family! Especially the ones that cannot protect themselves…" He sighed heavily.
"Nothing is going to happen to Ness." I soothed, stretching out to rub his hand.
"I just can't bear the thought of Nessie being anywhere near that monster."
I tried looking past her, but all I could see were tiny flashes of Aro's face looking admiringly and thoughtfully at something or someone I could not see.
It was more than five minutes before I could see anything at all. Still flickers of conversations… something about the wolves and Children of the Moon… I didn't relay this useless information… Until the conversation suddenly changed.
"I want to talk to the informant." Caius was about to announce.
"Irina…" I breathed.
"Who is Irina?" Huilen asked.
My eyes flicked to Jasper sadly. "She is our cousin, of sorts." He answered. Our family has friends in Canada, close friends. Alice has seen her…"
"This was my mistake, and I take full responsibility for it." I said quietly, repeating her words.
"Full responsibility for what?" Huilen questioned.
"The Cullen's are innocent." Irina continued. "I'm so sorry."
Jasper's eyes bowed momentarily. We both knew what was coming. I didn't repeat her final words. I flinched as I watched them destroy my cousin. I had seen immortals being shattered and ended before – I had even done my fair share… but this was different. It was so clinical, so easy, so… wrong.
I felt Jasper hold my hand in his gently as a whimper escaped my lips. "If she is the only sacrifice our family has to make today, we will come away from this thanking our lucky stars." He said realistically.
I swallowed the large lump in my throat and told him what the result of this would be. "Carlisle will stop Tanya." I watched as the furious Kate fought of Rosalie and Emmett before Garret got an impressive grip on her, keeping her still. "Kate's stopped now too…" My vision zoomed in on Bella, focussing closely on the electric pair. "… I think Bella helped somehow…"
As we were closing in on Forks, Aro was closing in on our witnesses. Amun, Siobhan and finally Garrett… The strong-minded revolutionary spoke for a long time. He spoke brilliantly and passionately… I imagine it would be hard to deny him anything. I retold his words to Jasper and our new friends, and even though they were not as fervent as Garrett's, I could still feel our confidence and determination grow.
"These ancient ones did not come here for justice as they told you… Witness them struggle to find a justification for their true purpose… The Volturi come to erase what they see as competition… They see power… I say family, not coven… some of us wondered whether having truth on their side would be enough… Who rules you nomads? Will the Volturi decide how you will live? I came to witness… I stay to fight…. I promise you this though – if we fall, so do you."
"This is it…" My head swirled and span around a group of three immortals in dark cloaks converging amidst their impatient followers. "They are making their decisions."
"What decisions?" Kachiri asked with a slight fault in her voice.
"Whether our family lives or dies." I answered bluntly.
"Our families." She added quietly, but obviously.
The car screeched to a stop on the moist dirt at the secluded entrance to the National Park. We were out and running in no time. It felt like it had been years since I had smelled this smell, since I had seen this exact and unique green around me. We were only a few miles from our home and that thought warmed every inch of my insides. We had done it. We had made it against all the odds. I could almost feel the embraces of my parents, siblings and precious niece as I skipped along. It felt ridiculous really, to feel so happy when my family would be feeling so scared, so lost… abandoned. Not for long, I promised them. Not for long.
I heard Kachiri sigh beside me as she ripped off the clothes I had given her in South America and on discarded them on the quickly passing ground, reminding me of Bella's first hunt. "I'm not used to running in such restricting clothing." She grimaced, revealing the animal skin she had kept on underneath.
The path we were following was the path I had seen everyone take only a few hours before. I skipped over the scents of my family. The buttery-clover scent of Carlisle, Esme's calming lavender aroma, Emmett's mulled citrus tang, Rosalie's white-lily-moonlight perfume, Edward's deep honey embrace intertwined with Bella's freesia and Renesmee's chocolate infusion.
Of course, these were not the only scents along the path we were running. I recognised some of them, still hanging in the air around me, but there were many that I did not. This did not surprise me though – Carlisle had a huge network of nomadic comrades all apparently willing to help him.
The next aroma hit me like a thick stone wall… dogs. Wet, smelly dogs. Huilen and Kachiri's faces squirmed and twisted with distaste beside me. Of course those foolish puppies would stand beside us, risking their lives for Nessie, just as we were. It was then that I realised that we could not safely continue on this path, so I turned back on myself immediately.
"Alice." Jasper called, already stationary. "Their tracks continue this way – it's the quickest way to the clearing."
"I can't see a way in that way Jasper." I cried over my shoulder. "The wolves make everything blurry." Not only this, but I just couldn't trust them. I couldn't help but imagine running all this way, for such a long time only for our companions to be condemned by an unyielding wolf pack believing them to be a surprise attack from behind… After all, we weren't exactly expected guests.
"Wolves?" Nahuel asked softly from my side.
I almost laughed aloud. "Nothing you need to be concerned about… just some unusual friends." I was surprised that I had used that word to describe them.
"Kachiri! Jasper!" Huilen's voice called suddenly and sharply from far behind us.
I wondered if she had seen something. I knew we were not within seeing distance of the clearing. I was not even in Edward's mental range yet. She couldn't have seen anything. And then I panicked… Had I not done a good enough job? Did the Volturi have someone circling the immediate area, just waiting for us? Had someone found us?
We were all back by her side in no time at all, staring into two sets of red eyes belonging to crouching red-eyed immortals.
We were silent though, the seven of us. But we didn't have time to wait. They didn't seem to be a threat. No dark cloaks like those I had seen in Italy and in those terrifying visions I have witnessed over the last few weeks. No aggression or cunning. They were surprised – just as much as we were. My eyes were drawn to the female on the right. Her face was transfixed on Nahuel, turning and softening slightly the more she studied him. Then suddenly her sight switched to Jasper and I as she stared deeply into our now bright gold eyes.
"You need to hurry." She whispered directly to Jasper. "They don't have long left."
"Makenna!" The male beside her reprimanded.
"You've come from the clearing?" Jasper pressed, stepping forwards. "What is happening? Is our family safe?"
"They are clearly innocent… but by no means safe." She looked back at Nahuel. "Which is why you must hurry."
"As do we." Her mate warned again. "You didn't see us." He hissed at us before dragging his Makenna with him.
We did not hesitate in the slightest. We sped north as quickly as our legs could carry us. Nahuel's heart was pounding, echoing in my ears, only a few steps behind us.
"Where will we appear, Alice?" Kachiri asked.
I thought back to visions I had seen over the past month. "Our family is on the west of the clearing, the Volturi are on the east… we'll come out at the south, but only a few steps from Bella."
"Will we be safe?" Jasper asked carefully.
"The worst has already happened, Jasper." I replied quickly. The decisions being made by the Volturi leaders were getting clearer and clearer every second. I could see exactly what they were going to say... Caius had made up his mind eighteen months ago so it came as no surprise. "It must be destroyed." He would say, referring to my beautiful, intelligent, innocent niece. "Along with all those who protect it." Marcus, the epitome of indifference, would vote against a punishment. "Let us leave in peace." And Aro… well Aro would not be able to make his final decision for a few more minutes.
I had more important things to do than watch something that would not become reality, and I believed – and hoped – that I was now close enough to do it.
Edward! I screamed in my head, imagining it travelling through the space in front of me. I was about to repeat it over and over, just hoping my now foreign internal voice would catch his attention, but I saw his reaction in his immediate future. His eyes bulged and his lips fell apart.
I felt a grin stretch across my face as I filled my thoughts with saddened words begging for forgiveness. I'm so sorry we left, left you with no hope, but it wasn't meant for you Edward… An image of Aro flooded my thoughts. He would know why, but I couldn't help but explain. You had to believe that there was no way out… He had to believe that they had the upper hand – but we had it all along Edward… we had strength and truth and honour… of course this was always clear – to all who knew our story… but we had something else on our side, just waiting in the wings.
I let the key events of the last month swarm every area of my mind, sharing them with my wonderful brother. The turmoil I faced only a few miles from our home, the secret and amazingly intricate back-up plan we left for Bella, the journey to Utah and then to South America, the first time we discussed the idea of a hybrid with Kachiri and finally, finding him!
"Yes!" I heard Edward call, in only a few seconds time.
I continued as we searched for weeks, with nothing to show for it. I showed him how I watched them all, and how I missed my talented niece, I showed him the first moment I saw Nahuel and the first time I heard his story. I repeated this a few times, hoping Edward had missed nothing.
We're still a minute away, so you'll have to stall for a moment. But we're coming my brother – we could never leave you, we never would. It's over. We've done it.