I own nothing but the noodles in my noggin called a brain!

- - -

"You're a Shadowhunter?!" Alice demanded.

I nodded. Behind me, Simon lurked in the shadows of the room, pacing like a trapped wildcat.

"You're a Shadowhunter? Like, a real Shadowhunter? Marks, swords, demons and everything?" Alice asked, still looking completely thrown off.

"The whole package," I assured her.

At this, Alice slumped back in her chair and ran her hand wearily over her face. "Why didn't you ever tell me?" she finally mumbled.

"I only found out a few months ago," I said, fidgeting with the dry shirt and jeans that I had changed into. "I guess my mom was a Shadowhunter, but she gave it up to marry my dad." I gave a dry little laugh. "Look how well that turned out."

"They got you, didn't they?" Simon asked, smiling a little at me. "I'd say it worked out pretty well, then."

Nodding in gratitude towards him, I folded my arms behind my head and looked casually at Alice. "So what have I missed in the Cullen clan?" I asked.

Alice's face fell, almost imperceptibly. "Rosalie and Emmett just got back from traveling, and Jasper and I have stayed with Carlisle and Esme."

"What about Edward?" I asked, feigning interest in the throw pillow.

"He's been... tracking." I looked up at that, curiosity aroused. "He's been trying to hunt down Victoria, but he's had no luck." Alice looked away, before added quietly, "We haven't heard from him for a few weeks now."

I nodded absently, picking at the embroidery on the pillow. Behind me, Simon swiveled towards the door and announced loudly, "Jacob, Alice is still here. I don't think-"

But whatever Simon thought was cut off by Jacob barging through the door. His eyes were dark with anger as he glared at Alice. "Leave," he snapped, and she let out a little growl.

"Bella, you've been hanging out with this mongrel?" she said with a sneer.

Jacob returned the look and snapped back, "Bella, you know this filthy leech?"

Simon looked affronted. "Hey, I'm not filthy!"

"Shut up Simon," Jacob said gruffly. "You know I didn't mean you."

Simon shrugged and put his hands in his pockets, before casually saying to Alice, "I know it sounds unfair, but you really should leave. Jacob can be very protective of his friends, and I doubt that Bella wants to break up a fight between you two."

Alice didn't move. "Alice," I said, turning to her with my biggest, saddest eyes. "I know that you need to hunt. So why don't you just go nab a really big deer smoothie and come back after that?" When she stayed, unconvinced, I got up and gently guided her towards the back door. "I'll be fine," I assured her. "I'm used to big lunks of teenage guys running around my house. I can handle them."

Alice started to protest, but I opened the door and pushed her outside. "Go!" I urged. "I'll be perfectly fine."

With a reluctant growl, she turned and trotted off into the forest. Nodding with satisfaction, I turned to go back inside and found myself face to face with Jacob.

"We need to talk," he said. I nodded, slightly alarmed. Behind me, Simon made a gesture that excused himself and left the room.

"What's up?" I asked, walking back towards the couch. Catching my arm, Jacob led me into the kitchen and leaned against the counter.

"Are you going to allow her to stay?" he asked, his voice as low as his mood.

I shrugged half-heartedly. "She's an old friend, Jacob. I can't exactly kick her out after I've only seen her for ten minutes."

"But is she staying?" Something in his face told me that Jacob didn't mean just Alice.

"I can't tell if she's going to stay or not," I answered quietly. "And I don't know if her coming back means that the rest of her family is returning as well. I want to stay friends with her, Jacob. Just like I want to stay friends with you." At that, I reached out and gently placed my hand on his shoulder.

Jacob moved closer, his eyes burning into mine. "I don't want to lose you, Bella," he told me.

Pulling Jacob into a hug, I whispered, "I know, Jake. I don't want to lose you either." His arms tightened around me, crushing me to his chest as he buried his face in my hair. We stood there for a moment, me wrapped up in the warmth of his arms and Jacob wrapped in my pale ones.

The phone rang.

"What a way to kill the moment," I said with a weak laugh.

Jacob wordlessly reached for the phone and picked it up, saying, "Swan residence."

He was quiet for a moment, but his arms tightened around me as his face darkened. "No, Charlie isn't available. He's planning a funeral right now," he said, hanging up the phone. Seeing my expression, he said hastily, "They hung up first!"

Shaking my head, I asked him, "Who was it, Jacob?"

"Carlisle Cullen," he said with a sneer.

Surprised, I looked at him. "Why didn't you let me say hello?" I asked, a little wounded.

"They didn't ask for you," Jacob said with a shrug. "They asked for Charlie."

As I opened my mouth to further question Jacob, there was a crash and a bang as Alice ran into the kitchen through the back door. "Bella!" she yelled, looking horrified. "What did you tell Edward?"

"Edward?" I asked, nonplussed.

"We just got off the phone with Carlisle," Jacob said, similarly confused.

"That wasn't Carlisle," Alice moaned. "That was Edward. What did you tell him?"

I looked to Jacob, and he muttered, "I told him Charlie was planning a funeral." Seeing Alice's face, he added defiantly, "I didn't say it was Bella's!"

"But you didn't say it wasn't!" Alice said, groaning and pinching the bridge of her nose. I was struck by this similarity to Edward with a brief fluttering of tingling surprise. "This is bad. This is very bad," Alice said, rubbing her temples.

"What's bad, Alice?" I asked, focusing my attentions entirely on her.

"Edward's going to the Volturi," Alice explained.

"The who?" Jacob asked, head swiveling back and forth as he tried to follow our conversation.

I thought for a second, back on what Jace had taught me, before answering. "They're the vampire royalty. Kind of like Sam for the pack." I looked to Alice for affirmation, and she nodded. "But Alice, why is Edward going to the Volturi?"

"He wants them to kill him," she said, sounding choked. "He doesn't want to live without you."

This took a second to sink in for me. When it did, I straightened my shoulders and walked towards the front door. Flinging it open, I yelled, "Simon!"

He appeared by my side in an instant, eyes bright as he caught my mood. "What's happening?" he asked, slipping past me into the entryway.

"I don't have time to explain," I said, starting up the stairs. "Simon, I need you to contact Jace somehow and tell him I need to call him. Get Magnus Bane too, and tell him to get ready to get us a Portal to Volterra. It's life or death!" I yelled over my shoulder, and slipped into my bedroom.

I heard Simon running around downstairs as I dug through my drawers looking for my gear. Tearing off my clothes, I changed quickly into tight black shorts and a sleeveless top. Turning on my heel, I dug through my closet for my stele and swords. To my surprise, I found a small bag filled with weapons. At first I was baffled, but when I saw the familiar hilt of a Seraph blade, I realized that Jace must have hidden them for me. Touched, I grabbed two Seraph blades, an electrum whip and my stele. I passed over the bulkier weapons, knowing that I would have to travel lightly. I ended up grabbing a hunk of metal that turned into a staff. Tucking them all into my belt, held my stele in my hand and ran down the stairs.

"Jacob, I have a pair of black boots in the downstairs closet. Could you grab them for me?" I asked, slowing so I could scrawl a rune for speed on my arm. Exiting the kitchen, Simon spoke briefly into his cell phone and handed it to me. "Hello?" I asked, tucking the phone between my shoulder and my ear.

"Bella, what's going on?" Jace's voice buzzed into my ear.

I filled him in as quickly as I could. "You remember how I told you how I told you about how Alice can see the future?" I asked. "Well, Alice saw me cliff-diving, but she didn't see me swim back to shore, so she assumed that I had killed myself."

"Why were you cliff-diving in the first place?" Jace interrupted me.

"It was there and I was bored," I said impatiently. "Anyways, Edward got wind of this and assumed, like Alice, that I had committed suicide. So he called, but pretended to be Carlisle. Jacob answered, and when Edward asked for Charlie, Jacob told him that Charlie was planning a funeral."

"Is he?" Jace asked.

"Yes, but it's a family friend's funeral," I said, nodding in thanks as Jacob handed me my boots.

"So what's this got to do with someone's life at stake?" Jace asked, now sounding slightly confused.

"I was getting to that," I said, tugging my boots on with one hand. "So Edward has decided that he can't live without me, and has gone to the Volturi to ask for them to kill him."

"Idiot," I heard Jace mutter, and I laughed a little. "So what's your plan?"

"After Charlie comes home and I explain things to him, I need you to ask Magnus to set up a Portal taking Alice and I to Volterra. Could you meet us there?" I asked.

"No problem," Jace said, and I heard voices buzzing in the background. "What time do you want the Portal set up?"

"What time will Charlie be home?" I asked to no one in particular.

Alice frowned and shrugged. Jacob glanced at the clock and said, "I'd say in about in an hour or so."

"Charlie will be back within the hour, and it'll take me about twenty minutes to explain things to him," I told Jace.

"So a Portal in an hour and a half?" Jace asked, before repeating the time to someone in the background.

"Yeah," I said, zipping up my last boot. "Will Magnus do it?" I asked.

"He'll do it," Jace replied, and I could hear the smirk in his voice. "He'll complain, but he'll do it."

I grinned broadly, before saying, "See you in Volterra."

- - -

I was considering adding more, but I think this seems like a pretty good spot to end the chapter. :)

To answer some questions in the reviews:

LaBella Gomez: I'm not really a fan of Edward, but I'm still deciding on what I'll do with him in the story. Jace very much so is with Clary (I'm setting his timeframe to be after The City of Glass) so no, there won't be any JacexBella in the story. I'm not even sure if I'll add a romantic interest, but if the opportunity appears, then I'll put it in.

rubyred753: Simon is a fun character, so I had to put him in there. :) Glad you love him being in the story.

Runs With Horses: I guess this chapter answers a bit of the Jace and Bella question.

To all the others who reviewed: Thank you all so much! I love hearing feedback from you guys. Feel free to ask questions and give critiques, they're very helpful.