I was born in the arms of imaginary friends
Free to roam, made a home out of everywhere I've been
Then you come on crashing in
Like the realest thing
Trying my best to understand
All that your love can bring.
Half of My Heart, John Mayer 2009
Disclaimer: I don't own them; I just play with them. No copying. Yadda, yadda, yadda.
Many thanks to DeJean Smith, Swimom7, and SparklyBabs for beta-ing this as well as holding my hand through the writing stage. They are some pretty awesome women.
Edward wanted to spend the night watching Bella sleep in his arms, her naked body pressed against his in blissful happiness. He wanted to; but he couldn't. He was thirsty, unreasonably so for having drained three deer the night before they arrived in Cambridge, and he needed to hunt. As he slipped his arm out from under her head, she sighed.
"Edward," she murmured, a faint smile playing on her lips.
His dead heart swelled in his chest at the mention of his name. He slipped his jeans back on and bent over her, caressing her hair with his fingers.
"Sleep well, my love," Edward whispered.
He turned away before the draw of her brought him back to her side. For her well-being as much as his own, he would need to visit the forest. He could be back by her side before she awoke, and she would never know the difference.
At least not tonight, his subconscious taunted him.
Bella was so close to figuring everything out. Edward thought she had it when she deciphered the words vampiro leggende the night before in the library. He had watched her dark eyes squint in concentration, and he could almost hear the puzzle pieces clicking into place. For a moment, he had forgotten about the fear of her discovery; he simply wanted a glimpse into her amazing mind to see the way it catalogued the scraps of evidence.
He closed the door silently and walked through the hallways of the hotel, ignoring the thoughts and dreams that drifted out to him. Once he had made it out of the city and was certain he was alone, he let his speed burst forth and ran with abandon through the forest.
Edward was exhilarated, full of energy and life. Bella had done that to him, and he knew without a doubt that after their night together, he would never be whole without her. It was so simple really, the connection that they felt to each other. Still, it was difficult for him to accept that she needed him. She deserved the sun and everything that was good; whatever did she want with a creature who haunted the night?
He fell upon the first deer that he found, biting into her savagely and drinking her blood greedily. It was hot and slaked the burn in his throat only minimally, but it was something. After Bella had fallen asleep and the afterglow of their time together had settled, he'd become painfully aware of the burn in his throat. It was scorching, almost as painful as it had been in his first year. The fact that he hadn't noticed it at all while he was with Bella didn't escape him. It emboldened him slightly, knowing that he could be with her intimately without the thirst overtaking him.
Whether or not it was foremost in his mind during the act, it was still there. Always, her blood and the effect it had on him would be there. Unless …
Edward shook his head and buried his kill quickly. He then took off through the night in search of more. After two deer and a small fox, Edward felt overly full. He took care of the carcasses and leaned against a tree, trying to think through what the day ahead would hold for him.
Bella wanted to go back to the artifact annex the next day. Once there, she'd pour over the letters again, follow the clues to the occult section, and she'd make the connection. It was all there, she was just too grounded in her concept of reality to let herself believe what she was seeing. He needed Alice.
Almost as soon as he thought about her, he could hear her in his mind. She was already on her way, of course, having seen that he would need her. Her gift could be as useful as it was annoying, at times.
"Well," she murmured as she approached him, "don't you look relaxed, Edward?"
He rolled his eyes at her and dismissed her implication.
"Having a good evening, Alice?" he asked.
Not as good as yours, she sang in his head and chuckled. "Yes, it's been pleasant. I saw that you'd need me. I assume it's about Bella figuring it all out tomorrow."
"So she will?"
"Of course she will, you ninny."
"Tsk, tsk," Edward said with a smile, "with the names, little sister."
"She's possibly the smartest human I've ever encountered and everything's laid out in front of her. In fact …" Alice paused and her eyes blanked for just a second before she looked back at him with a smile. "Yes, she's going to find a document tomorrow that will put everything in place for her."
Edward saw a flash of the paper in her mind, but it was too brief for him to recognize it.
"What document? Where? One of the letters?"
"No … this is something different." She paused again, searching, and then shook her head. "I've never seen it before, but it looks to be written in English and …"
Alice gasped and looked at Edward.
You wrote on it, she thought. She showed him the document she saw in his mind and Edward frowned and nodded.
"I came across that article about a hundred years ago. It was written by an … industrious human who had uncovered many of our secrets. At first, I thought it might be a trick of Aro's to lure us out of hiding, making us think that people were close to uncovering our secret, but it turned out to actually be the work of a curious human. I made notations, sent it to Carlisle … we never found out who the writer was. I haven't thought about the text of that paper in decades."
But you agree that it sort of spells it out for her, Alice thought gently.
"Yes, it doesn't leave much to the imagination," Edward mumbled. "Where the devil will she find the blasted thing?"
Alice showed him the book she would take it out of, a Hungarian occult text neither of them recognized. How did it get out of Carlisle's possession?
"I haven't a clue, Alice. But that is an intriguing question. For all we know, Carlisle left it there himself."
Alice's face brightened.
"Maybe he's trying to contact us!" she said brightly.
Edward shook his head distractedly.
"We know they don't remember us, Alice. If Carlisle left the leaflet in the book, there had to be some other reason for it. Perhaps he was on orders from Aro … but what?"
Edward sighed in frustration and looked around the forest, running through possibilities in his mind. The Volturi leader wanted him and Alice, of that he was certain. He already knew that the wily vampire would stop at nothing to attain the prize of a mind-reader and a psychic. But what would he gain from hiding material as sensitive as that in a book that any human could pick up? It didn't make sense.
While he ran through the possibilities, his mind kept returning to the certainty of Bella learning his true nature the next day. It filled him with equal parts fear and hope. Alice flitted around in front of him and had her hands on her hips in a reproving stance.
You're second guessing her, she accused.
"Alice, it's only reasonable for me to prepare myself for the eventuality that she'll leave. She's going to read documents that prove she been …"
Sucking off a vampire? Alice finished in his mind.
Edward growled in warning at her, but she only laughed at him, knowing that he was no threat to her.
"Don't be so crass," Edward chided her stiffly.
Alice only laughed harder and then shook her head.
"Edward, I'm happy for you, but you need to give yourself a break here. Yes, you're a vampire. But truly, it won't change how she feels about you. Every possible future I see for her includes you … and vice versa."
Edward sighed deeply and couldn't help the smile that crossed his face at her words.
"Nothing like the guarantee of a psychic," he mused.
Alice reached up to ruffle his hair playfully, but he caught her wrist in his hand and held his finger to his lips. He'd heard a voice in his head, an immortal voice, and it was getting closer to them.
What is it? Alice clamored in his head. Oh, God, is it them?
Edward shook his head once and mouthed the words one female to her. He didn't recognize the voice immediately, but he heard Aro's name and knew that whoever was searching for them came from him.
Edward! Alice cried in his head. Why didn't I see this?
Somehow, Aro had managed to get around Alice's gift. The thought was terrifying. The two siblings, who had spent the better part of three centuries together, sniffed the air in unison and took off in opposite directions. Edward flew through the forest, taking in his surroundings and listening carefully to Alice's voice as she catalogued what she was seeing.
They were closing in on her. Edward still couldn't identify the voice of the vampire, and assumed that whoever it was must have joined Aro's coven after their last brush with them, some twenty years ago. Alice was turning toward the visitor, and Edward turned as well. When he entered the clearing where the visitor had been sniffing the air, his sister already had the small vampire pinned to the ground, her teeth at her neck.
"Hello, Renata," Edward said smoothly, having picked her name from her brain. "If my sister lets you up, will you try to run away?"
She hissed at Edward, baring her teeth. Alice rolled with her and slammed her body into the ground, shaking the forest floor around them.
"Answer my brother nicely. I have no patience for those that smell of the Volturi."
Alice's voice was a guttural snarl, so different from her normal, sweet speaking voice. Still, the female lay silent on the ground.
"You should listen to her," Edward said, darting over and crouching by her side. "The Volturi stole her mate; she'd love to thin their numbers."
"Yes, the empath," the woman said, looking haughtily at Alice. "He's quite popular among the females."
Edward grabbed Alice as her keening wail began and threw her off of the intruder just before she could sink her teeth into the woman's neck. He grabbed Renata as she tried to get up and pinned her against a nearby tree, his teeth inches from her neck.
"I should take your arm for that," he hissed in her ear.
I'm sorry, Edward, Alice thought from her perch in a nearby tree.
Edward didn't dignify the apology with a response. Alice had nothing to be sorry for, but Renata soon might.
"Why are you here?" he snarled.
"Why do you think?" Renata spat back. "They said you were smart."
"My answer remains the same, Renata. I will not join your ranks. I think you know my sister's answer as well."
Alice's growl curled through the darkness, and Edward punctuated it by slamming Renata even harder against the tree.
"Even to save your little pet?" she asked, turning her blood red eyes up to look into Edward's. "Master said I could have the tasty human if you refused …"
Her voice was cut off when Edward flung her to the ground and landed on top of her. He grabbed her head in his hands and twisted, wrapping his arm around her neck. He held her like that, the cords in her neck straining. Her eyes darted around the clearing frantically.
"You don't want to do that," she hissed with the last of her air. "If I don't come back, the whole guard will come down on you."
He loosened his hold on her neck, just enough for her to breathe more freely.
"Why are you here?" Edward growled.
"You already know. Aro wants you and your sister. He's willing to offer a trade: the human's life for your service. It's really a rather good offer if you ask me."
"I didn't." Edward flipped her over and held her shoulders pinned to the ground with his hands. "You won't have Bella."
"Aww. It has a name."
Without a thought, he drew his hand back and slapped her hard across the face, cracking the stony veneer of her skin. She cried out in pain and looked up at him with more fear in her eyes than she had before, even when he held her head in his hands. He'd now made it abundantly clear that he would hurt her.
"You're lying." Edward's voice was a soft sing-song as he shook his head slowly back and forth. "Aro didn't even send you himself. He couldn't, because Alice would have seen that. She's watching him, and he knows it. How did you come to be here?"
The woman's chin rose up defiantly, and she closed her eyes, thinking that it would block Edward's gift. He chuckled softly and saw the note in her mind, the one Aro had written and left by chance near his bedside table.
"So you've been sharing your master's bed then, Renata," he mused with a smirk. "Naughty."
Renata's eyes flew open wide and with a burst of energy, she threw Edward off of her. He was up and out of the way before she could grab hold of him, and Alice jumped into the fray, grabbing Renata's arms. She held the hissing and spitting vampire just out of Edward's reach, and he circled her, watching her fit.
"You know nothing about my master. You know nothing about me."
"I know everything," Edward whispered, coming around in front of her, "because you showed me."
He tapped her forehead, harder than was necessary.
"It's all right there," he added. He looked up at Alice who was still holding Renata's arms. "He must have left a note about us, knowing she'd pick it up and be eager to take care of his issues."
"But if he made a decision to send someone here, even without saying it out loud, I would have seen it," Alice insisted.
"That's where his genius lies," Edward said, standing upright. "He never asked you to come, even in the note, did he, Renata?"
"It was clear enough," she hissed. "He wrote about wanting you and the things he'd already taken from you. Your family … her mate."
Alice hissed lowly at the mention of Jasper, but made no comment.
"I only had to put the pieces together to figure out what he wanted. And that's why I came."
"He used you, dear-heart," Edward said in a soft, sweet voice. "He never promised to come after you if you didn't come back, did he?"
"He would! He can't live without me! I'm his …"
"He has dozens of protectors. I'll wager that Jane is worth three of you. You're … expendable. That's why the note was left for you."
Now? Alice asked calmly in his head.
Edward's eyes flashed up to his sister's, and he nodded. She pulled the vampire's arms back and placed her tiny, high-heel clad foot in the small of Renata's back, forcing her to the ground. Renata lay prone before Edward, her arms straining behind her.
"Now, about my … human," Edward said, crouching down beside Renata. "We've established your expendability. And you've clearly done your homework, understanding how important she is to me. We wouldn't want anything to happen to that pretty little head of yours, now would we?"
Renata's eyes flashed open wide as Edward ran his finger around her throat.
"I know your scent now," he growled, his voice rising. "And I know your mind … you're not safe anywhere in this city. You will go, or I will find you and end you myself. Is that clear?"
"I'm – a shield. You can't find me …"
"Yes," he hissed. "I can. And if I smell you near Bella, I won't rest until you're little more than purple ash."
Her bottom lip quivered as she weighed Edward's sneer. There was not an ounce of indecision in his face. It was clear to her that he would know her decision and were he unhappy with it, he would dismember her on the spot.
"Now you begin to see," he said, standing up. "Do I have your word that you will return to Volterra tonight?"
Her red eyes dropped in defeat. Yes, she thought. You have my word.
"You can drop her, Alice," he said quickly.
With a final tug on her arms, Alice let Renata's body flop to the ground and came around in front of her to stand beside her brother.
"She won't be back," Alice said with finality.
"Oh, I know," Edward said with a smirk.
Renata got slowly to her feet and stared the two siblings in the eye, her haughtiness returning.
"I might not be back, but you can be sure my master will get what he wants. Aro always gets what he wants."
Alice's eyes clouded over for a moment and then she looked calmly back at Renata.
"You should hurry," she said softly, with a smirk. "While you were gone, someone else has been sharing his bed."
Renata's face broke into a comical mask of surprise.
"Oh, and Renata?" Alice called as the woman turned. "If I smell you on my mate when he returns to my side, even my brother won't be able to keep me from tearing your head off."
The small Volturi vampire squinted her eyes at Alice, but when Alice crouched defensively and snarled at her, she drew back. She threw her arms up and it seemed to Edward and Alice as though a black cloak had fallen around her. They felt the whoosh of air that signaled her disappearance from the clearing.
"I can still hear her," Edward said.
"Interesting gift," Alice said. "So it's not a mental shield? It's some sort of physical block?"
"She can likely deflect people away from her if she has enough warning, but she's obviously not that powerful. If she were a truly impenetrable shield, she could have evaded us when we approached her in the forest."
"Still … this is bloody rotten luck, Edward," Alice said with a frown. "They aren't going to be happy with her when she returns, but the information she's going to pass on about Bella is going to be useful to them."
Edward growled and clenched his hands, his nostrils flaring. He was staring out into the forest as though looking for threats. Alice touched his arm gently.
"They aren't coming now," she said.
He relaxed minutely and looked back at her with pleading in his eyes.
I understand, she thought. You know how much I understand. We'll keep her safe.
"She shouldn't even be on their radar," he said through tight lips. "This is all my fault."
"No," Alice snarled and grabbed him by both shoulders. "You will not do this. You and Bella are together; you've made that abundantly clear tonight. Don't you dare blame yourself and pull away from her now. Look!"
Alice closed her eyes and focused on the future if Edward were to abandon Bella. She would throw herself into research, and she would find out the truth. Then … she would go looking for him.
"She'd be in more danger that way, Edward," Alice said seriously. "There's only one way you can keep her safe."
Alice's face calmed as the future settled into place.
"That's better," she said. "Don't fuck this up, brother. Your mate is counting on you."
Edward frowned in determination as he thought about the next day. He hadn't been lying to Bella; he did have business to attend to in the city of Cambridge. He was to meet with a rare book dealer regarding a set of journals he was interested in. They had belonged to Carlisle, but the man he was meeting with didn't know their true value.
He needed to ensure that Bella remained in the library the entire day. He'd need to set up some sort of diversion for her, something that would trip her up in her research just enough that she wouldn't be able to leave early.
"Mike Newton," he said sourly. "Go to Oxford and get him on a train to Cambridge so that he is in the clean room when Bella arrives."
"You know he'll hit on her," Alice said, frowning.
"Yes, and it will piss her off greatly," he said, chuckling. "She dislikes roadblocks in her research. But she's just too good. If left to her own devices, she could be out of there before lunch. I'll be busy with the book dealer until at least four."
"That'll be best," Alice said, looking quickly into the future. "I can cover the library without a problem, but keeping her surrounded by humans, at least until she's fully aware of the situation, is the best idea."
Scenarios began to spin out in Alice's mind as she spiraled through the possibilities. Edward watched with her, seeing his future and Bella's play out in Alice's mind.
"What was that?" he asked, grabbing her hand.
"A … possibility," she said slowly. "A likely one."
The vision stretched out in front of Edward and he watched with growing fascination as it played in his mind. Bella – snowy white with blood red eyes, crouching protectively over a deer she brought down. Bella – smooth, hard skin and razor sharp teeth, lips bared in a warning growl at an intruder. Bella – laughing, head thrown back and brown hair billowing in the wind as Edward swung her round in circles, her diamond skin throwing glittering rainbows in the air. Bella and Edward entwined beneath a stormy sky …
"Sorry," Alice said with an impish grin. "I didn't really want to see that any more than you wanted me to see it."
Edward was speechless.
"It – she – would want that?"
"Clearly it's a possibility," Alice replied slowly. "You understand for me to even see that, she has to have thought about it herself. Not with all the details, of course, but the possibility of becoming … like you."
Edward nodded mutely.
Oh, Edward, don't dismiss it, she pleaded with him in his mind.
"I'm not," he murmured. "I'm just stunned. It's rare, Alice. Give me a moment."
She chuckled.
You're not wrong for wanting it, brother.
"It feels wrong," he replied. "None of us really wanted this life. It seems wrong to want it for her."
"You would never take her humanity without her consent," Alice said with certainty. "But if it's her wish as well as yours, you shouldn't dismiss it."
Edward shrugged and turned away from her.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he said finally. "It seems rather certain that we will."
"Go back to her," Alice said, touching his shoulder. "You're missing her already."
Edward heard the hurt in her voice; he saw the memory of Jasper walking away from her so raw in her mind that he could feel her pain with her. He sighed heavily and turned around, pulling her into his arms.
"I'm so sorry, Alice," he whispered, his voice raw.
I'll never believe that he's really gone, not for good, she thought. It's just not possible.
"We'll get them back," Edward promised, as he had so many times before.
Alice nodded, but he heard her repeating Renata's words in her mind like a keening bell. The run to Oxford and back will do me good tonight, she thought with a laugh. Save me from chasing her down and tearing her to shreds.
"I believe I'd like to see that, little sister," Edward said seriously.
"You just might," she whispered. "Someday…"
Edward closed the door silently behind him as he entered the room and sighed in satisfaction when he saw Bella lying in the bed, still sleeping. He made no sound as he slipped out of his shoes and clothes and joined her under the covers.
The feel of her body was like a torch next to his skin, setting him ablaze with a single touch. She shivered in her sleep, but instead of moving away from him, she nestled closer. When she sighed and situated herself in his arms, Edward knew with certainty that Bella would always be his home.
A/N: And the drama ignites! I know most of you were expecting a chapter with Bella in the library; but this chapter was important in bringing things together more fully. We always knew that the Volturi wouldn't be far away. As you can see, the vampire's gifts have been … tweaked. Renata's shield ability is different here than it was in canon. There will be other changes. And expect a few original characters to be thrown into the fray as well. ;) This is a fairly heavy chapter, but it opens up the story quite a bit. After Bella knows the score, Edward and Alice will have a lot of explaining to do, to her and to you readers. You'll get a much clearer picture of their past and what they are fighting against (or for, depending on your outlook). I hope you are continuing to enjoy the mystery. What are your thoughts before Edward and Alice reveal everything about their past? Guesses? Conjectures? Pray, do tell! ;) ~Jen
