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DISCLAIMER: Several of the characters within this story and the universe they interact in are the intellectual property of Stephenie Meyer.

ASCENT OF THE CRESCENT MOON

Written by

Horatio Zedekiah Jaxx

CHAPTER 14: THE MESSENGER

Charlie spent the remainder of the week, from the day that his upcoming resignation was reported, quietly going through the motions of his job. Despite his own inclination to say nothing about his situation, nearly everyone that he knew approached him at different times to give their support and/or condolences. Several job offers were tossed at him as well. Charlie politely gave his thanks for these and promised to consider them over the next two weeks. In this he was telling the truth, despite the fact that he had no desire to do anything outside of law enforcement. The prospect of working for the Forks Police Department, in a lesser position, was still available to him. However, this was an offer that he could not bear to consider.

Renee was quite accustomed to saying nothing about Charlie's impending dismissal from his job, or his future plans. She was well aware that he was uncomfortable with the topic and had no set plans in place. She avoided the whole subject as if nothing had happened and contented herself with the care of her son. Bella and Nessie were quick to follow her example. In Charlie's presence they said nothing of his job or spoke nothing of his future plans. In all other ways they were very much attentive to their father and grandfather, respectively.

The rest of the Cullens were nearly invisible with regards to Charlie and his predicament. They saw no need to interact or intercede in any way regarding this. They suspected, and rightly so, that Charlie would not be receptive to their attentions to his problems. Subsequently, they maintained a discrete distance from the house and primarily from Charlie as they waited on Alice's faint intuitive sensations to materialize in reality.

Alice's vague visions regarding Patagonia were coming more frequent and detailed as the week progressed, and the Volturi was becoming more distinct at its epicenter. By Friday, next, Alice had a premonition that a Volturi messenger would be calling on them within a week's time. By the following Sunday morning she knew the name of the messenger, Gerard; the time of his arrival, 11:29 PM; the route of his approach and the content of his message. Despite this awareness the Cullens chose to wait on the messenger before acting. This was routine practice for the Cullens. Alice's repetitive lecture about her ability had made them all aware that visualizing the future inherently gave those who knew it the capability of altering it.

"The probability of events happening exactly as I perceive them increases as the event draws near," Alice frequently explained, verbatim. "Visions of the future only become set at the moment they transition into the now."

It was for this reason that the Cullen family of vampires gave Charlie and Renee no advanced warning of their likely plans. They saw no need to apprise them of something that, conceivably, could fail to come to pass. Nessie would have been included in this sequester had she not guessed that something was amiss.

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"What is it, Mom? What's happening?" Nessie suspiciously inquired of Bella.

"It's nothing," Bella mollified with an offhanded gesture. "We just have some business to attend to."

"From my experience, vampire business is usually a life and death event," Nessie responded back with an insinuating tone.

"Not this time," Bella refuted, "at least not at present. The Volturi want to talk and we need to hear them out."

"The Volturi...?" Nessie questioned with surprise.

"Yes," Bella confirmed. "They've sent someone here to invite us to Volterra. He'll be here tonight."

"Are you sure you can trust them?" Nessie asked in a mildly concerned speech.

"They want to talk, Baby, that's all," Bella insisted. "It has something to do with Patagonia and there may be some trouble there."

"What kind of trouble?" Nessie quickly questioned back.

"We won't know that until after our talk," Bella calmly answered back.

Nessie did not know what more to ask about this. She gave her mother a mournful look as she pondered the possible risks.

"Don't worry, Baby," Bella reassured with a smile. "I won't let anyone get hurt."

Bella understood better than anyone how greatly Nessie valued the vampires that she loved.

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The Cullens elected to intercept their visitor just inside the perimeter of their declared domain. There was no perceived danger that motivated this. Alice foresaw an uneventful entry all the way in to the outskirts of the Swan residence. Alice, however, saw nothing of his exit. This, plus the shape-shifter's inherent invisibility within her mind's eye, gave the Cullens reason to be careful here.

Gerard raced across the border into Clallam County shortly after 9:40 PM. The overcast sky and the undeveloped wilderness kept the terrain bathed in the black of night. This was of no inconvenience to Gerard's vampire eyes. He zigzagged about the myriad of trees in the wooded areas and raced across the open spaces with no difficulty whatsoever.

This was not Gerard's first time here. He had spent several months within this vicinity four years earlier, at Aro's behest. He was very familiar with the area and knew exactly where he was at all times. He streaked along with the confidence of a vampire that knew precisely the path he needed to take to get where he wanted to be. His keen sense of sight, hearing and smell told him that he had a clear track all the way in to the doorstep of the Olympic Coven of Vampires.

"Whoa!" Gerard loudly exclaimed as he suddenly came to a stop.

The rush of air that he had just recently disturbed flew by him, tossing his hair and clothing about as it passed. Standing no more than five yards in front of him was the entire Olympic Coven. Gerard surmised that they had been standing there waiting on his arrival. He was sure he would have noted their movement nearly a full minute earlier had they just arrived. He had all but forgotten how intuitively stealthy these Olympic Vampires could be.

Gerard took a moment to size up his situation. He knew that the Olympic Coven was very touchy about stray vampires within their territory, but he had never heard of them exacting any harsh penalties on the vampires they caught trespassing here. His greatest fear at this moment was that he might be the first.

Emmett, Rosalie, Carlisle, Esme, Bella, Edward, Alice and Jasper stood in a line a yard apart, from left to right. They made no movement towards the messenger, nor had they any plan to. They knew why he was there and had no objections to his presence. They quietly waited on this vampire messenger to regain his composure as well as his speech.

Gerard began to speak after coming to the realization that he was in no immediate danger. "I'm..."

"We know who you are," Carlisle abruptly cut him off.

Gerard was startled by the interruption and did not know how to interpret it. After a few seconds of thought, on his part, and a few seconds of silence on theirs, he decided to continue.

"I've come..."

"We know why you're here," Carlisle abruptly interrupted again. "You may tell Jane and Alec that we will make an appearance."

Gerard was once again startled by the interruption and took several seconds to ponder how he should act next. Carlisle had given him the answer that he came to hear, but he had no way of being sure that this answer was in response to the question he came to ask. He considered asking them to spell out exactly what they were agreeing to, but he was more than a little afraid by how they might respond to such a challenge. After a few seconds more of pondering, Gerard turned and streaked off in dismay.

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"You're going away, all of you?" Charlie queried with a surprised intonation.

"Yes, Dad," Bella reported back succinctly. "It's only for a short while."

It was a quarter past midnight, later that night, and the Olympic Coven had just returned from the Quileute Reservation. They now stood in the living-room of the Swan residence. Standing before them was Nessie, Charlie and Renee. Li'l Phil was the only member of the house that was not present for this impromptu meeting. He was upstairs in his room, asleep. The living-room was barely lit by a lamp and a hallway overhead light. The mood of the room's occupants was a mixture of soberness and concern.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you've never left the peninsula completely unattended before," Charlie challenged again with a hint of suspicion in his tone.

"We've notified Sam and Jacob of our leaving," Carlisle calmly confided. "They will be on their guard."

"But you shouldn't worry," Alice quickly interjected. "You're in no danger here. This has nothing to do with Forks, or the peninsula, or anyone here."

"I'm not worried about anything happening here," Nessie complained at Alice.

"Did you know about this?" Charlie questioned Nessie with a hint of suspicion.

"Yes, Granddad, they told me this morning," Nessie gruffly answered back. "And I don't like it either."

Nessie turned her attention to Carlisle and directed her next statement at him.

"Let them sort out their own problems."

"We're just going to talk," Carlisle gently answered back.

Nessie response to this was to suddenly situate her hands on her hips.

"Does this have something to do with those vampires in South America," Renee asked suspiciously.

"Rumors are rippling through the entire vampire community about these vampires," Jasper reported directly. "This is something we can't ignore."

"Why not...?" Charlie curtly questioned back.

"What's happening in South America affects us all," Edward explained solemnly.

"They can handle it, Dad," Nessie pleaded back. "All you have to do is give them time. Can't you see that if you start running to their rescue it's never going to end?"

Edward could not quickly think of a response that, by his estimation, might ease his daughter's anxiety. As he pondered her question and met her stare, Rosalie filled the silence.

"Don't worry, Baby, we'll be back," Rosalie softly reassured.

"Yeah," Emmett boisterously reinforced. "We're they guys who stomped on the Volturi when they were at the top of their game, remember?"

"I remember, Uncle Emmett," Nessie shortly admonished. "But I think it's a lesson that you haven't fully grasped yet."

Emmett was set aback a little by Nessie's sharp response.

"I agree," Charlie casually put in. "If you keep going out looking for trouble sooner or later you're going to find more than you asked for."

"None-the-less this is something we have to do," Carlisle softly corrected. "This problem could possibly unravel our world. It could also separate us from the people within it that we most hold dear."

Carlisle locked his eyes onto Nessie's as he expressed the latter part of his statement.

"Don't worry little one, we'll be back," Esme expressed gently and with a smile.

Nessie took a moment to return Esme's stare before responding to her with a stern warning.

"You'd better, Grandmother, or I will be very angry with you."

Nessie maintained a scowl upon her face even as Esme broadened her smile.

The Olympic Coven took their leave several minutes later and slipped away into the night.