"We can't even talk?"
Rosalie didn't look up from the socket wrenches she was cleaning off. "We can talk, Em…mett."
The endearment slipped from her lips quicker than she could think, but she had saved it. Hopefully without him noticing. She could see him out of the corner of her eye, striding across the garage and hopping onto one of the shelves she had just cleared in her scouring frenzy.
"You left Esme and Alice alone?" she asked, slightly sardonically.
"They're unconscious. What are they going to know?"
"You know, they say coma patients may be able to hear everything."
"Doesn't mean they're going to get up and walk for the five minutes I'm out here talking to you."
"Alright, five minutes. Go." She held up her wrist, pretending to fiddle around with the knobs on her watch – as if a Patek Phillipe had a built-in timer.
Emmett scowled. "God, you really have turned into a bitch. Is this why you and Edward don't get along?"
She scowled right back. "Fuck off, Emmett."
"No," he said strongly. "No, I'm not gonna 'fuck off,' because you and I are here together, more or less alone, until the others come back. And guess what, babe? We're together for a hell of a lot longer than that. I'm not planning on leaving the family, and I know your stubborn ass won't go either. So just suck it up and deal with it. Deal with me."
She stared at him, her face blank for a moment, surprised that he had said such things to her. Even in the months before their divorce, he hadn't been so frank; he had been whiny, annoying, chauvinistic, but never so outright with his feelings. That wasn't Emmett, the man who always hid his anger. He had changed. Had she done that to him? She was almost regretful that he had; she was surprised to find herself missing him, that old, easygoing Emmett. She was even more surprised to find her stubborn resolve melting slowly away.
"Okay," she murmured, looking back down at her socket wrenches so he wouldn't see her softening face.
Even Emmett was surprised. "O-okay?" he stammered, taken aback that his tirade had been accepted so quickly.
You are right. You were right. The words were poised on the tip of her tongue, so ready to jump off that she was grateful Edward wasn't there to already hear them. If she said those…wouldn't she be admitting her defeat? And that was something she so rarely did. And she would most certainly not do it here, not when he was so clearly at fault for their…problems.
And so she nodded, keeping her eyes down on her wrenches and again whispered, "Okay."
Even though they were far from it.
It was dusk when the Cullens finally left the airplane hangar, having stayed aboard the jet longer than necessary to avoid the striking Italian sunset – and also to give Carlisle time to phone in a casual favor from Aro.
"Do we really want to go through with this?" Bella asked nervously, entangling her fingers with Edward's as they stepped out of the Rolls Royce Jasper had successfully "commandeered" from the small airport's director. "I mean, we don't even know for sure if it is them."
"If it isn't, then perhaps they'll be able to help," Carlisle replied in a tense voice. "But my intuition is telling me that they're at the bottom of it, even if they didn't mean for things to go this way. Aro…Aro wouldn't do that to our family, not conscientiously."
Edward raised an eyebrow. "A while back, we thought Aro wouldn't do a lot of things."
The group paused just inside a dark alleyway, staying in the shadows and away from the streetlamps' glow. Even in the coming night, the immortals sent to meet them would want to avoid being seen. Carlisle attempted to look calm, but his arms were folded a little too tight to come off as such. Bella and Edward maintained the look better, despite their tightly clasped hands.
Jasper pulled a worn old pocket watch from inside his coat, pressing the button to flip it open. "What time did he say they were coming?"
"Eight," Carlisle replied. "What time is it?"
"Seven fifty-nine." He shut the watch with a snap and slid it back inside his pocket.
"Just a moment, then," said Carlisle, and they all tried to ignore the worry in his voice.
Bella glanced out of the alley into the dimly lit street. "It's not going to be Aro meeting us, is it?"
"I'm afraid not," a high voice called out to them. The foursome turned to the end of the alley, their bodies tense.
"Jane." Carlisle bowed slightly, a genial attempt. The girl came forward from the group of four she stood with, her face angelic and her arms outstretched. She clasped Carlisle's hands like an old friend, standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. The sight was almost horrifying to Bella, and she shuddered to see her adopted father embracing the tiny killer. Carlisle accepted her gesture but couldn't hide the white, taut lines of his lips pressed tightly together.
"Eight o'clock on the dot," Jasper murmured, giving a sideways glance to his brother.
"How very punctual," Edward mused, his tone sarcastic and his face serious.
"Aro sends nothing but the best for his guests," Jane said gleefully.
"Is that why he also sends armed guards?" Edward shot back. Bella tugged sharply on his hand as Jane's eyes flickered, somewhere between anger and amusement and settling on indifference.
"We only wanted you to be safe in the city," Jane piped up. "One never knows what might be wandering about Volterra. Come. We've been anticipating your arrival ever since you called this afternoon."
She beckoned them closer to the mouth of the alley, and they stepped forward as a group, very conscious that the cloaked, still-hidden guard was enclosing around them as they followed Jane down a labyrinth of streets. She led them deeper into the depths of the city, finally reaching a dark wooden door set in an ancient stone archway. Jane pressed her finger to an inconspicuous knothole, and a small panel of wood slid away to reveal a silver locking mechanism. She hesitated for merely a moment before one of the guards stepped forward, pulling a large three-pronged key from somewhere with the depths of his…her?…robe and handing it to the girl.
"Even more security since the last time?" Carlisle asked politely.
Jane smiled over her shoulder as she slid the key into the lock; even her grin was mocking and cold. "Aro decided to embrace technology about two years ago. He's even invested in a few research facilities."
Edward winced as his head filled with the thoughts of the men standing with him, each suddenly roaring with irate certainty that this girl and her kind were the cause of their wives' mysterious illness.
"How…interesting," Bella offered, trying to save the situation if at all possible.
Jane pushed the door open to reveal a dark stone corridor, gesturing to it like a happy hostess. A general feeling of doom pervaded the group – given to them by Jasper or of their own doing, they weren't quite sure – but they still walked in, following the girl through the door and down the winding corridors that would lead them to the heart of Volterra.
Edward and Bella held tight to each other, and Bella's heart ached for the empty hands of Jasper and Carlisle. But that was why they were here, wasn't it? To fix the problem that caused those empty hands. Now that they were nearly 100% sure it was the Volturi at the root of this problem, Aro and the others had to help them. They had to.
As Bella was pitying their father and brother, Edward was busy focusing on the thoughts of everyone around them. Listen carefully, Carlisle had ordered silently. Jane's emotions give her away. Both you and Jasper must focus.
His brother was indeed focused, his eyes set straight ahead and his mind reflecting nothing but the emotions around him, only occasionally broken by fleeting images of a black-haired woman's mischievous smile.
Edward himself was listening in carefully to the thoughts of the guard and Jane…and unfortunately getting next to nothing. Jane was going over her orders – take them to the atrium and then go get Aro – and the guards were a mixture of distraction, later plans, and outright hatred for their small leader; apparently Jane had given the man nearest Bella a small shock mere moments before meeting them in the alley. Nothing in their minds gave them away, gave him any clue of whether or not their suspicious would finally be proved true.
The atrium that had been in Jane's thoughts loomed before them suddenly, elegant and clean and redecorated since the last time Edward had been there on a poorly-inspired suicide mission. The front desk that had met him then was still there, with a new female behind it, a pretty redheaded woman with flashing red eyes. The receptionist shivered a little under Jane's stare, her pained thoughts very much the same as the guard's, but she forced a little smile and called out.
"Are these the guests everyone's been talking about?"
"I see our reputation precedes us," Carlisle said, looking over his shoulder at Edward, his mind speaking for him. Is it good talk or not?
Edward listened carefully for a moment…
…strange eyes, just like Athenodora said. But I wouldn't mind getting to know the oldest one. Craig? Carl? I can't remember if…
Apparently there was nothing to worry about there.
Edward shook his head almost imperceptibly as Jane dismissed their guard and turned to Carlisle.
"Wait here," she commanded. "I'll let them know you've arrived."
Self-important fool, he could hear Jasper thinking.
How very Aro, Carlisle echoed silently.
Bella's head was, like always, silent, but her face was grim. He sat next to her on one of the plush davenports that were pushed against the walls of the atrium and glanced over at his father. Carlisle was staring straight ahead, looking only slightly nervous, the rest of him poised and ready for business. Jasper held the same sort of pose, but his stare was more intense, his mind bordering on violent. Bella's hand slowly slipped into his, squeezing tight until a voice he knew as well as his own filled his ears.
Now that we know they're behind it, do you think they'll actually be able to help cure Esme and Alice?
Edward leaned close so his words would reach Bella's ears and none else. "If Jane has her way, then no. But Aro won't shut out Carlisle, not if he doesn't want a repeat of last time. We'll just have to wait and see."
She audibly sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder. But what if the wait's too long? What if something happens while we're away?
It was his turn to sigh. "We're all worried about that. But –"
I know. Worrying won't get us anywhere.
He hugged her tight against his side. "We'll wait and see. Nothing more we can do."
Wait they did. Jane had been gone for more than forty minutes when Jasper hopped up from his seat, beginning to pace anxiously.
"Jasper, please," Carlisle murmured, his unspoken thoughts giving away his own anxieties, anxieties he had no desire to be stressed by Jasper's pacing. The man froze, yet his stance was still full of unspoken anger and tension. It wasn't often that Jasper lost his temper; when it happened, it was something to be feared.
"How could they?" he muttered, his jaw tight and locked, making his words emerge like angry hisses. "Surely they must know why we're here. And they just leave us sitting here?"
"I didn't hear anything to prove that they know," Edward interjected, "and we won't be sure of that until we go in to see Aro and the others."
"Aro will hear our argument and do what he can to help," Carlisle assured him. "Once he understands that their experiements are at fault, he'll want to cure them, just to avoid another…confrontation."
Jasper shook his head, crossing his arms tightly across his body. "No. I've seen the Volturi interfere too many times. They only help if it furthers their station. And they'll be ready for a fight like last time, I'm sure of it. Jane didn't have a tinge of fear, and even she would be wary if they expected another battle."
"Jasper," Bella hissed, tilting her chin slightly to the redheaded receptionist attempting to listen in on their discussion."
"No," he retorted. "I don't care who hears. They need to know what they did." He turned to glare at the receptionist, who froze in the middle of fluffing her hair and started fluttering her eyelashes instead.
"Jasper," Carlisle said under his breath, coming to stand next to his angered son, "you've dealt with the Volturi many times before. You know them almost as well as I do. Almost. And if you lose your temper with them, they will not hesitate to remind you who is in charge."
"But Carlisle, they are the ones who –"
"The ones who have the final say over what will happen to Esme and Alice. Do you want to jeopardize the cure for your wife?"
Jasper remained silent, stubborn but acquiescent.
"We need you in there to help keep the situation calm," he went on. "Can you handle yourself enough to take care of that?"
He nodded curtly but kept his jaw clenched and did not sit down as Carlisle did. His anger flowed through his veins a few minutes more before turning to desperation caused by visions of a sleeping, pixyish girl missing her trademark smile. For her, they were here. For her and for Esme, they would find the cure.
Jane emerged from the same doors she had disappeared through a few minutes later, looking curious but calm. Each member of the family rose to their feet, waiting to hear what news she would give them.
But Jane just smiled, a trifle evilly, and kept her words simple. "You can come in now."
They followed her as a group, Carlisle leading, Bella and Edward behind, and Jasper bringing up the rear as he tried to ignore the lusty feelings coming from the receptionist and focus on what was ahead. Alice. He was doing this for Alice. And for her, he would keep calm, keep focused, keep his temper under control so they might obtain the cure. Because without Alice, what meaning did his life have? He'd rather be dead than be alone. He'd give his very soul – if he was positive he had one left – to make sure she was safe. And so he kept a straight face and a stoic demeanor as they came into the richly-decorated room that lay beyond the doors and walked up to the three golden thrones at the far end. Each throne was monogrammed with a gilt initial and each bore an ancient leader – Aro, flanked by the rest of his triumvirate, Caius and Marcus.
Aro's face broke into a beaming smile as they stood in front of him, and he rose to his feet, outstretching his hands like a father welcoming the Prodigal son. "Carlisle, what a pleasant surprise. Welcome back to Volterra."
"Thank you," Carlisle said; Jasper could feel him holding back the anger and pain to put forth a calm front. It was almost imperceptible, and he wished for his father's skill – and for his temper to stay in check.
"Terribly sorry you didn't come earlier," Caius spoke up with a wry smile. "We've only just finished our meal."
Jasper felt the shudder come from Bella before him even without having to look.
"Oh, but you know our habits," Carlisle said just as wryly, almost joking about their unwillingness to commit murder.
"Then perhaps it's a good thing," Caius replied. "Wouldn't want to tempt you out of paradise."
His sarcasm dripped almost visibly, and Jasper wondered how much of his gift he would have to impart before the man would come to their aid.
"I see you've brought your happy brood…or most of them," Aro noted. "Where is your wife and the others?"
"Aro, Marcus, Caius," Carlisle said, his words taking on a serious tone as he bowed to each one in turn, "the reason we came here to see you is…is…"
Jasper sent his father a shot of strength and waited for him to go on.
"My wife, as well as our daughter Alice, have both fallen ill," he explained.
"Ill?" A light-haired woman standing apart from the thrones repeated, her hand at her throat at the supposedly absurd idea. Another woman with her struck the same pose. "Surely you don't mean –"
"He does," Edward cut her off gruffly.
The pain rolling off his father was near unbearable but incredibly familiar as Carlisle went on. "They're unresponsive but alive. We believe they drank from tainted animals…animals that escaped from a nearby laboratory. AMC Laboratories, to be exact."
There was nothing accusatory about his tone, just calm, stark stating of fact. Aro, Marcus and Caius all stared for a moment, shock and realization on their faces as well as in the air. Marcus looked to his brother, leaning a hand on Aro's shoulder. The ancient slowly nodded.
"So I presume you have deduced who is running that endeavor?" Aro asked, the corner of his mouth almost curving to a smile. Almost as if he was laughing. Like the fact that Alice was near-dead was a joke. It was more than Jasper could take.
"We know you're the ones behind it!" he cried, feeling his anger overtake him. He stepped forward, unafraid as he advanced on the trio. "Whatever you're doing has caused me to nearly lose my wife! Our mother! And you stand here and laugh? I –"
He stopped then, the pain too much to continue coherent speech. He was blind with it, seeing nothing but white, and hoped somehow that if this was death, he'd be with Alice soon.
But then the pain stopped, and Jane stepped aside, a gleeful grin on her face. Carlisle let go of Edward and held a hand out to his other son. Jasper took it and rose shakily to his feet, staring angrily at the small girl before returning his gaze to the vampires before him.
Aro stepped down from the raised dais the thrones were upon to come closer to his old friend. "Yes, you've found us out. The research facilities are indeed ours."
"Please." Carlisle turned to pleading, his amber eyes wide. "Tell us what you're doing there. Tell me what's happened to my wife and daughter."
The room settled as Aro spoke, but his words were not at all reassuring. "I'm afraid I cannot say. We haven't been testing on vampires, you see, just animals and a few mortal patients. We've had rousing success, though, and –"
"Wait, what?" It was Edward's turn to explode as he held a hand up to the side of his head, wincing from…pain? Disgust? Both ebbed out of him like water towards Jasper.
"Oh, I had quite forgotten you could hear me, Edward." Aro smiled and tapped a long finger to his temple.
"What is it?" Bella asked, looking between the man and her husband.
"The experiments," Edward said coldly. "Speeding up the changing process. Seeing what bounds they can push to change humans, animals, to our kind."
Aro tutted. "It didn't seem to work so well with the bears. They only increased their animalistic habits before dying three days later. That's why we didn't mind so much when they escaped."
"It was those escaped animals that Alice and Esme found!" Jasper cried, even as Jane stepped forward threateningly.
Carlisle reached out to place a hand on Aro's shoulder, keeping it there for a moment before lowering it back to his side. His voice was still pleading, sad, as he spoke. "Aro, you and the others are our only hope. You are the reason they are sick. You have to be the reason they get well."
Aro turned his back on them, looking up to where his brothers still stood on the dais. The two women standing to the side whispered softly as the men conferred silently, using only their eyes to speak. After a too-long moment, Aro turned back around, his face blank.
"You must give us time to talk this over," he said simply, as if it were an understandable request and not one that might lead to Alice and Esme's end. "We will meet again tomorrow with an answer to your request."
Jasper opened his mouth to scream, clenched his fists to fight – and was stopped with one collaborative glance from Carlisle, Edward, and Bella, all anticipating his temper to rise. He took a deep breath, thought of Alice, and calmed himself, nodding as Carlisle spoke.
"So be it," the man replied. The desperation in his voice hardly had to be mentioned.
"Sulpicia," Aro called out, looking towards the waifish blonde women next to the dais. The taller of the two stepped forward, placing her hand in his. Jasper realized she was his wife and shuddered; as if anyone could possibly stand to marry that man.
"Please escort our guests to their quarters for the day?" he asked genially. "I'm sure you'll find it most comfortable. We'll send for you when we've reached a decision."
The woman looked towards them, nodding demurely. "If you would follow me." She gestured to a door on the side of the room and began to walk as they followed. The door led to a stone hallway lit by fiery torches that made their shadows dance on the wall behind them. Soon, another shadow appeared, showing that someone was headed their way. He heard the guest's greeting before he saw who it was, but the voice was enough to make him remember. Remember the torture of the change and nights of violence, days of fear and the pain of battle…
"Sulpicia," the guest had greeted simply.
Sulpicia responded in a like manner, nodding to the woman. "Maria."
