Disclaimer: Characters contained within do not belong to me.

Author's Notes: Thank you so much to Lisa for looking this over, and to everyone who's read and reviewed so far. I've said it before and I'll say it again…your kind words keep me going.

What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?

by Kristen Elizabeth

Entering the cavern was Jasper's worst nightmare come to life.

The scent of the humans was overwhelming; his throat burned like it was on fire and even cutting off the flow of oxygen into his lungs didn't help much. If not for Alice distracting him, he had no idea what he would have done to the half dozen frightened people huddled together at the far end of the cave.

But it wouldn't have made the angel in his arms smile.

He wrapped his arms around Alice and lifted her off the ground, holdin her as close as he could, like she was his shield against his baser instincts. Jasper was surprised feel a sudden wave of bitter envy directed straight at him, powerful enough to cut through the fear coming off the humans. Immediately his eyes swung to Edward, but it wasn't coming from the kid; he actually seemed far more relieved than resentful. That, Jasper supposed, was a weight off his shoulders.

"Deep down, I knew you'd come," Alice whispered in his ear, inadvertently distracting him from seeking out the source of the feeling. "I'm so sorry, Jazz, for everything. Please forgive me."

He reluctantly set Alice down on her tiny feet. There were so many things he wanted to tell her, but they would have to wait. All he could do right then was press a kiss against her forehead and hope that she understood his silence.

"Jasper, welcome." From the second Silas stepped forward, Jasper knew where the jealousy was coming from. It made him hold onto Alice even harder, especially when the man's eyes raked over her body. Still looking at Alice, Silas continued, "Lenora, this isn't exactly what we planned, is it?"

Furiously scowling, Lenora tossed her hair. "You know what the say about the best laid plans."

Silas raised an eyebrow. "We'll discuss that later. But where is Carlisle? It's not a party without all of our guests."

"I'm right here, Silas." Upon entering the cavern, Carlisle stopped beside Alice and Jasper. "It's been a long time."

"Centuries," Silas agreed. "It's wonderful to see you, old friend."

There was no joy in Carlisle's smile. "I wish I could say the same." He looked at Edward. "Why have you taken my children by force?"

"Now I know where Edward gets his inquisitiveness," Silas laughed. "Not a thought for the humans, Carlisle? You were always so fond of them." He walked to Edward and clapped a hand on his shoulder which Edward violently shook off. "Unless, I suppose, you're in the mood for a companion. Then all your great morals go out the window, no?"

Carlisle ignored him. "If you're looking for a fight, Silas, we already have you outnumbered and we're not all even here."

"Do you really think I intend to challenge your family to a fight and risk the life of this beauty?" Silas gestured to Alice. "Never."

Jasper put his arm around Alice, pulling her closer to his body. "What do you want?" he growled.

"What do I want?" Silas repeated, his grin fading. "I want what should be mine, Jasper." When Jasper looked down at Alice, Silas sighed impatiently. "Is that all your limited mind can comprehend?" He looked at Alice apologetically. "Not that you wouldn't be worth starting a war over, my dear, but I'm after a much bigger prize."

Getting nowhere fast, Carlisle turned to his son. "What's in his head, Edward?"

"He's still holding a lot of it back," Edward replied. "I almost have to give him credit for being able to do that."

"Maybe he has help," Alice said, looking straight at Marjorie.

The girl vehemently shook her head. "I'm not doing anything, I swear!"

Edward paused for a long moment, as if making absolutely certain of what he was hearing before said it out loud. "Cecily. He can't hide that name, especially when he looks at Alice." He glanced at his sister. "You remind him of her."

"Cecily?" If possible, Carlisle face grew even paler. "No. Silas...you can't still be..."

"Why can't I?" Silas's voice echoed off the cave walls, bringing even the sobs of two of the youngest human women to a sudden, startled stop. "She was everything to me! He knew that and still...still he just let her..." He dragged a hand down his face to compose himself. "Did you really think that even after almost three hundred years I would just forget what happened?"

Carlisle shook his head. "Forgiveness isn't something we should abandon when we cease to be human."

"Well. You always were a saint in a demon's body, weren't you?" Silas snarked. "But I'm not burdened with an over-abundance of virtue, old friend. I prefer my vengeance to be well-planned, well-timed and well-executed. And that, Edward and sweet Alice, is where you come in."

As he continued to talk, he walked towards Alice and Jasper. "It's not your face that brings back memories, Alice. In fact, you don't look a thing like my Cecily. She was beautifully robust with curls so long a man could strangle himself with them. No...it's what you see in here, in your mind that takes me back to her." Silas tried to touch Alice's temple, but the look that came over Jasper's face stopped his hand. "Cecily had visions, too. It's how we found her on the streets of Paris, selling herself for a few pieces of copper. It's why we didn't kill her right away. She knew we were coming for her."

Alice hesitated. "Who was she?"

Without blinking, Silas said, "She was going to be my wife."

"And Aro's greatest acquisition," Carlisle added angrily. "It wasn't right; she had her whole life ahead of her!"

"What kind of a mortal life would she have led?" Silas stepped back from Alice. "Plagues and filth and twenty drunk men a night between her thighs, only to die giving birth to a bastard in some back alley? No. To deny her immortality and condemn her to that hell...that would have been the true cruelty."

Carlisle's reply was painfully quiet. "She would have never truly belonged to you. He wouldn't have allowed it."

"That, old friend, is exactly why we're all here." With his slick smile back in place, Silas continued, "The time of the dusty, yet still sanctimonious sovereign is over! We live in a new age in a new world, so far removed from the old. We are the future." He paused for effect. "They are the past."

Seeing clearly now into Silas's mind, Edward drew in a sharp breath. "My god...you are insane."

Silas went on, undaunted. "My family and yours, Carlisle." He gestured to the humans. "Along with the one we'll build right here. Together, we will bring down what has long needed to be ousted. We will usher in a new era; we will lead our kind into the next millennium." There was a frightening gleam in his red eyes. "And death to anyone who tries to stop us."

Alice looked up at Jasper. "I don't understand," she whispered. The stony set of his jaw made her reach up to touch his face. "Jazz? What's going on?"

"The crazy bastard..." Jasper shook his head numbly. "He wants to overthrow the Volturi."

"All of this." Carlisle's voice cut through the silence that fell over the cave in the wake of Silas's speech. "All of this...because of Cecily?"

Silas threw his head back and laughed. "Oh, trust Carlisle Cullen to drag human emotion into every little thing. Of course I want my revenge. The woman I loved was murdered! But it's so much more than that." Silas turned to Lenora. "Tell them of the mercy of the Volturi, my dear. And please, spare no detail."

With her eyes on Jasper, Lenora stepped forward. "We had no warning. They arrived just before the sun rose. Five of them. There were twenty of us. By the time the sun came up, only my sister and I were still standing."

"Where was Maria?" Jasper automatically asked. Alice looked down at the ground, a sudden pain having stabbed her unbeating heart.

"I don't know," Lenora said frostily. "Conveniently away."

Carlisle cleared his throat. "But you survived."

"Yes," Lenora said.

"How?" Jasper demanded.

Lenora tossed her hair. "They surrounded us. I couldn't even move. Couldn't see, couldn't speak...there was a fog around everything. And then...it was gone. I could hear my sister yelling at me to run." She bit her lip for a long second. "So I did."

"And your sister?" Carlisle gently asked.

Lenora glared at him. "What do you think? The Volturi don't take prisoners. They don't offer second chances. They condemn you to die without ever letting you defend yourself. We might kill, but they murder."

"You know this to be true, Carlisle," Silas said. "You've seen it happen. You know the resources Aro keeps by his side, his little twin demons and his self-righteous code of conduct. He has declared himself judge, jury and executioner over our entire kind and it's high time someone stood up and did something about him."

"And you truly believe you're that person?" Carlisle shook his head. "If Cecily had lived to become one of us, she would be at his side right now. You'd be calling for her downfall, too."

"But she didn't live, did she?" he snapped. "Not a drop of blood spilt," Silas went on, speaking to Alice as though she was his confidant. "Just her beautiful neck snapped in two. Like she wasn't even worth drinking."

Alice looked straight at him. "Who killed her?"

Silas stared back at her for a few seconds before abruptly changing the subject. "Your son seems to think I'm insane, Carlisle, but you're not protesting my plan. Should I take this to mean you're not entirely opposed to the idea?"

"This is your fight, Silas, and I doubt anything I say will sway you from the course you've chosen." Carlisle stepped closer to him. "But my family won't be part of it, especially as it involves turning innocent people into dispensable warriors."

"Is that so? And you speak for every member of your little family?"

Carlisle lifted his chin. "They speak for themselves, but I know them well enough to know where they will stand on this."

Silas smirked. "We shall see." With that, he turned to face the huddle of humans. After looking them over for a moment, he approached them and knelt down in front of a young woman. Shivering, she drew away from him as much as she could. "It's all right, dear." Silas reached for her hand. "What's your name?"

"Linda," the woman said between chattering teeth.

Stroking her hand, Silas smiled. "Come with me, Linda."

Tears streaked down her cheeks. "Please don't hurt me."

"Everything will be all right." Silas pulled her to her feet, still holding onto her hand. "Johnny?" At his biding, the boy reached into the pocket of his dark denim jeans and withdrew a small object. He handed it to his maker with a gap-toothed grin.

Even the dull light of the cave reflected off the metal of the blade Silas exposed a second later. The vision that came upon Alice all of a sudden left her unable to say anything more than a sharp, "No!"

Silas dragged the tip of the pocketknife across Linda's palm. It was a shallow cut, eliciting only a startled gasp from the woman, and it took a second for a thin line of blood to ooze up from the wound.

The rich iron scent hit Jasper like a battering ram. Everything, including Alice, fell away as he growled and lunged.

To Be Continued

To see Cecily, go to http : / img . photobucket . com / albums / v510 / belismakr / cecily2v2 . jpg