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Sorry this is later than usual guys but i hope its worth the wait. Enjoy.
Chapter 14
Bella POV
"What is it Alice?" Jasper asked her as she came out of her vision. She looked over to Jasper.
"Maria." She said and Jasper, Peter and Charlotte all stiffened at the sound of the name. I knew that it was something related to their pasts. It must have been really bad because the Major was back again.
"Isabella, go and get the brothers and get them to the throne room." Jasper ordered. Yeah I knew that I had more authority than Jasper, but since this was the major, I wasn't about to call him on protocol. I nodded and went to the tower where I knew that the brothers were having a meeting amongst themselves. I walked into the study, not bothering to knock and saw the brothers sitting there. They had stopped whatever conversation they had going when they saw me approach them.
"Brothers, we are requested in the throne room immediately." I said and they rose a brow in question.
"Oh, sister. Who has requested us?" Caius said.
"The Major." I said and they widened their eyes before following me to the throne room. Aro had Felix, Demetri, and Heidi sent to look after the wives. We entered the throne room to find that Jasper, Alice, Peter, and Charlotte were already present.
"What is the reason for this meeting Major?" Aro asked.
"Alice received one of her visions and it involves Maria and her newborns, as well as Irina from the Denali. Irina is after vengeance for her supposed mate and joined forces with Maria to do so. Maria of course is after Peter, Charlotte and I." Major said and I honestly didn't know what to say.
"Excuse me for my ignorance here since I am young to this life, but who is Maria?" I asked.
"Remember cara how I explained that Jasper was the Major in the southern wars?" Marcus said and I nodded. "Maria is their creator. She has been forming newborn armies for centuries and we have destroyed them many times, but she always tends to elude us. She is Jasper's sire, or the one who changed him." Marcus explained.
"Okay, so what do we do?" I asked.
'We fight my warrior.' I hear Nemesis say to me and I jumped in surprise.
'Scare the hell outta me will ya Nem?' I told her sarcastically while she chuckled in my head at my reaction.
'Sorry my warrior, but you will be the key to Maria's final defeat. You, the Major, Peter, and Charlotte must fight together or the south will be in ruin and destruction due to Maria's army. Use the guard and your allies to assist, but you four absolutely must fight.' Nemesis said and I was for once speechless.
"What did she say?" Major asked me, apparently knowing that I was having one of my silent conversations with Nemesis.
"Nemesis said that you, Peter, Charlotte and I must fight together. We are to use allies and the guard to assist but we four must fight together. Apparently I am the key to Maria's final defeat. If we don't fight, the south will be in ruin." I said and they looked shocked at what I had just relayed to them. The Major straightened his stance and smirked.
"Well then darlin' we best not keep Maria waiting long." The Major said and I smiled a little.
"Cara you cannot seriously think I would let you leave to fight without us would you?" Marcus said and I smiled a little.
"I never said that love, but I would have to fight regardless of your choice or that of our brothers." I said and honestly it was true. I didn't want to leave him to fight, but if he wanted to stay here, I would have no choice but to leave to fight. He sighed and wrapped me in his arms.
"I guess that we should prepare the guard and call on our allies once again then. I won't let you face this without me and I think that our brothers would agree." Marcus said and I smiled.
"You are correct brother. We cannot be idle while our sister and queen goes into battle now can we?" Caius said and I smiled. I turned to the guard members in the room.
"Jane, Alec, go and retrieve the rest of the Cullens and bring them here. Send word for Felix and the others to accompany the wives here as well and then Alec, go and retrieve Ange." I said and the nodded before vanishing out the doors to their tasks. I turned to the brothers. "What about Cia and Dora? This will be much more of a fight than with the Romanians. They shouldn't be present so Maria cannot target them." I asked.
"Well we cannot leave them here at the castle. Most of the guard will be with us and we need the fighters." Aro said and I could see that he was conflicted.
'Jacob. Talk to Jacob and the pack.' Nemesis said and I widened my eyes.
'Are you crazy? Aro and Caius will never agree to that and besides we are kind of their enemy.' I told her.
'The Cullens have a treaty with them and if you were to explain they could help in eliminating a newborn army, they would agree.' She said and I was still too shocked to believe what she had just said to me. 'Have Angela, Cia and Dora stay at the Cullen home in Forks with the Denali clan and have the wolves guard nearby. The Denali won't want to witness the death of Irina so they need to be there rather than in battle.'
While I was having my inner rant with Nemesis, the Cullens, Cia, Dora, and Angela had arrived and everyone looked to me strangely.
"Well, what does Nemesis say to this whole thing?" Aro inquired.
"You and Caius aren't going to like it at all but Cia and Dora have to be out of the fight." I said and paused for a minute so I could word this correctly without causing a riot with the brothers. "Cia and Dora, along with Angela, need to go to the Cullen house in Forks. The Denali's should come there and assist guarding them… along with the shifters from La Push." I said and the brothers erupted into protests.
"Insane. I won't stand for it." Caius raged.
"There is no way those dogs are to be near Cia." Aro growled. Back and forth it went until I couldn't take any more.
"SHUT UP!" I screamed and I saw those in the room flinch. You could hear a pin drop now and I was grateful. Nemesis seemed to surface and take over.
"Aro and Caius will just have to deal with this. Carlisle, call the Denali and have them meet us at your place in Forks. I will talk with the wolves along with Carlisle since he has the treaty with them. Cia, Dora and Angela will ALL be staying there during the battle. We need at least one of the guard there as well but no more than that. Aro you will call the rest of our allies and we will head south as soon as Angela and the wives are situated and safe." Nemesis stated in order and I looked to see the Major smirk.
"Isabella, we can't do that." Aro said and I smirked.
"First of all, why not and second, you can and you will. Third, this isn't Isabella talking." Nemesis said and I laughed internally as their eyes widened.
"Nemesis is correct. You cannot possibly protect the wives against the newborn army, Maria and Irina. They will be targeted first so that you would be useless to fight them. In order to succeed in this, they must be protected and away from the fight." Major added. Aro and Caius looked so torn and I knew that this was a hard plan to sell for them but it was the only plausible plan we had.
"Alright, Carlisle call the Denali and inform them of the situation and have them meet us at your home in Forks. I will start to contact the allies again and make preparations for our departure. Cia, Dora, go and pack the necessities and be ready to depart. Felix and Demetri, you two will collect the guard and bring them to the throne room so that they can be briefed on the situation at hand." Aro said and Caius growled.
"Aro you cannot be seriously considering this?" Caius said and I groaned.
"Caius, what choice do we have here? Would you go into battle with Dora by your side to be used as your weakness?" Nemesis said and he would have paled if he were human.
"Nemesis is right brother. We cannot have them present for this battle. Too much is at stake here." Aro said and I smiled as the discussion was won and Nemesis returned control to me. She left in a jolt and I felt myself starting to sway a little. Not nearly as draining as the last time, but draining none the less. Marcus caught me on one side and the Major caught my other side, both holding me steady until I regained myself.
"It may take several days to get word to the seeing as some might still be traveling from the departure from the castle. If you recall, some have only left today." I mentioned and a thought hit me. "How would Irina be in the south with Maria already? She just left with her family today." I mused and they widened their eyes a little. Alice answered this for us.
"It hasn't taken place yet, but the decision was made by Irina for revenge. Maria has always wanted these three back so they have only recently come to an arrangement. Carlisle will have to be discreet when he contacts them, especially if Irina is there." Alice said and although I really didn't understand how accurate her visions were sometimes, we moved on to planning and also getting the guard packed and ready for travel.
Going back to Forks was somewhat surreal. I didn't have much time here after the destruction of Victoria's newborns but I didn't miss anything new since nothing ever changes in this Podunk down. We arrived at the Cullen house and with so many of us, it was good that the house was huge. It was slightly cramped but we would survive it. Just before nightfall, Carlisle and I decided it was time to see Sam and Jake. We walked to the treaty lines where we met the two large wolves. They disappeared into the trees and returned in their human form to speak to us.
"Cullen, what is it that has caused you to arrange our meeting?" Sam said and I mentally rolled my eyes. Sam was always one to get down to business quickly.
"Actually Sam, Bella ranks a little higher than I do at the moment. She requested that I arrange this meeting." Carlisle said and I stepped towards the line beside him.
"Sam, Jake." I greeted. "There seems to be some trouble down south and the Volturi will have to go and take care of it. We are to destroy a newborn army, much larger than the one encountered here, which could mean the destruction of the southern states as we know it. I asked for this meeting because there are several that we cannot take with us for their safety and we need all the fighters we can get. Yes, they are human drinkers, but will be provided with supplies of donated blood for the duration of their stay here." I said and Sam interrupted.
"So what does this have to do with us besides you bringing human drinkers to the people of Forks?" Sam sneered angrily.
"Because we request protection for our members that are left behind. You have to understand that the armies in the south have to be eliminated once and for all and we CANNOT afford to fail, therefore, we have to have certain members here, far away from the fight. You understand that vampire mating is very similar to imprinting in your kind?" I asked and they nodded rather reluctantly. "If we take them with us into battle, that is something that the newborns will use against us and we will fail. We would like for them to remain here and stay as protected as possible. These women are those I have grown to consider my sisters and I need to be sure they are safe. You wouldn't even have to go towards the house, but just make sure that no other vampires get past to the house. Each will be wearing a black cloak so that they can be identified. Some might hunt for animals like the Cullens, but the others won't be outside unless it is necessary."
"Again, why does this concern us? So a few of your kind get killed, what does the battle down south have to do with us and the people of Forks?" Sam said angrily and I groaned internally at his stupidity.
"Let me clear this up and use very small words so it will sink into your thick foolish skull. If we do not fight the armies in the south, or if we fail to defeat them, the southern states as we know them will cease to exist. The armies there consist of newborns and they will feed on the humans in the south at will. Where do you suppose they will go when there are no humans left in the south?" I asked and I saw the look of realization on their faces. "If there are no food sources in the south, there is nowhere to head but north. Then they will be on your doorsteps in numbers that you couldn't possibly fend off or destroy." I finished and they sighed in defeat.
"What do you suggest?" Sam asked in resignation.
"All that you and the pack are required to do is what you do now. Keep other vampires out of the area. All that is required is that you expand your patrol perimeters to include the Cullen house and the area around Forks. We have three of the Volturi women there plus one guard and the Denali coven which consists of Eleazar, Carmen, Tanya, Kate and Garret." I said. "Again the four of the Volturi will be provided what they need and will not be venturing out. The others follow the same diet as Carlisle and his family."
"And why don't you follow that lifestyle then?" Jake asked.
"I don't kill innocents Jake. I hunt for those who are criminals in the human society such as rapists and murderers. I wasn't as selective at the start, but I provide a service in my own way. I know that you don't approve of our lifestyle we have chosen but that is our burden and no one else's." I said confidently.
"No I really don't like it, but I'll just have to deal I guess." Jake said. "I just want to know that you are happy with your life Bells, so as long as you aren't killing innocents left and right, I can deal." He finished and I smiled. Jake was taking this much better than I thought possible.
"Alright, we will increase our patrols and expand them to include the Cullen house." Sam said and then paused for a minute. "Wait, where is Edward?" He asked.
"He is no longer in existence." I said and their eyes widened. "He refused to acknowledge his mate because he had a twisted fantasy that I was his mate. He defected and ran off to join the Romanians in some fool attempt to get me away from my mate." I said. "He ended his existence in disgrace." I finished and they widened their eyes impossibly farther. I wasn't about to give them the full details of the whole thing, since it would take some time to try and explain the dynamics of it. All they needed to know was that he isn't around anymore due to his own choices.
After a few more minutes of instruction on patrols and recognizing each scent of those who were staying here, Carlisle and I went back to the house and once the ladies were situated with the Denali and our guard member, we began to make our way south towards Texas where Jasper said the army would be. Thankfully by the time that Carlisle had contacted Eleazar, Irina had already begun to head South. It didn't take long for us to travel considering our numbers and we landed at the airstrip just outside of Houston. We divided into groups and decided that it was wise to feed before we made our move. In my group were Peter, Charlotte, Aro, Caius and Marcus. The guard members didn't accompany us because I was more than capable of protecting us with my shield and if the group were any larger it would attract attention. The brothers hadn't done much hunting because they had their meals delivered so this should be fun.
We came to an area where I knew there would be less innocent prey. We spotted a gang on the corner of the street selling drugs and ogling the young women that walked the streets. It disgusted me how some of the humans were so vile you didn't have to be a mind reader to know what sick types of things were going on in their heads. Marcus, Caius and Aro moved to go towards them but I pulled them back. They looked at me like I was nuts but I just smiled.
"I think this is one of those things that requires a woman's touch… and perhaps a little acting." I said and I heard Peter and Charlotte snicker a little while the brothers looked confused. I rolled my eyes at them. "Watch and you might learn something boys." I said with a smirk and walked from the shadows towards the group. Sure enough I saw the group settle their eyes on me and I saw the lust there. I stopped as if I was terrified and looked down shyly, crossing across the street to distance myself as if I was fearful of them. The group moved away from their corner and towards me. I froze in mock fear and turned around swiftly towards the direction I had come from.
"Come on pretty lil' miss. We just wanna talk to ya." One of the guys said and I acted scared and picked up the pace slightly. I could hear them catching up to me and I turned a little to see them break into a run. I did the same and ran at a human pace to where the others were waiting. The rest of my hunting party stayed out of sight as I led them into the ally. One of the men grabbed my shoulder and turned me around, pressing my back into the wall. I pretended to be fearful and cringed away from the one that held my shoulders.
"Such a little tease we got here boys. Should we show 'er what teasin' gets 'er in this neighborhood?" one asked and the rest laughed. I smiled as the rest of the hunting party came in behind the group, cutting off any escape and I took the lead.
"Fine, I won't play with my food anymore." I said and before the man in front of me could comment, I attached myself to his neck. Each of the others took one and within minutes, we were finished. We disposed of the bodies and I smiled at the awed look on the brothers faces. "What?" I asked looking at my family. Marcus was the first to break out of his stupor and wrapped me in his arms.
"Cara, that was amazing. I never knew you could act like that." Marcus said and I smiled. That was nothing, if they only knew.
"Sister, I must say that seeing you hunt like that was actually fun." Aro said happily and I rolled my eyes a little at him.
"I agree. I haven't had this much fun hunting in a very long time. It was quite interesting to see you act so timid and fearful." Caius said and I smiled.
"Well if we are done commenting on my acting skills, can we just go and meet up with the rest of the crew." I said and they nodded while Peter and Charlotte snickered. We took off heading back to where we were to meet up with the others. Thankfully Peter had a ranch down the road that we were using as our base of operations at the moment.
When we got back to the ranch, the sun was just starting to make an appearance and the other groups had returned. The others relaxed while the brothers, Peter, Charlotte Jasper and I started to plan out our details of attack. Alice had another vision of the fight and so we would be attacking at sundown. Sure I was stressing about the fight, but I knew that with the manpower we had and the Major, Pete and Char, we would be alright. Besides that, we did have Nemesis on our side.
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