Chapter Fourteen; Renesmee
Wow, what a rush! That was even better than I expected! I was terrified when all those vampires had appeared. I thought we were doomed for sure. But then the wolves had shown up. Jane and her army didn't stand a chance. It was spectacular; the way Sam had flown through the air, coming from nowhere, to slam into Jane so hard he threw her to the ground! She was not expecting that! The look on her face was almost comical. After half a heart beat, the rest of us had attacked. The vampires Jane had brought to fight for her were obviously young. They didn't last long against my family. Momma took Alec down without much trouble either. She was clearly right about those lovely twins, they've never had to learn how to fight, because they've always had others there to defend them. And obviously they've never been faced with anyone who rendered their 'gifts' useless. Jane's burning and Alec's sensory deprivation couldn't touch us through Momma's shield, and when we had come out from underneath it, we had attacked too quickly for them to use them. Every one of my family had been locked in a deadly fight with another vampire, but when I looked around, no one seemed to be having much trouble. I had just finished tearing apart the little vampire, Lisa, that Jane had presented to us, when someone called my name,
"Renesmee," It was a soft whispery voice, "Renesmee, come to me, my dear."
I had turned to see Aro, hovering in an opening in the trees, signaling to me with his hand. I hesitated.
"Renesmee, I wont hurt you. I don't want to harm you. Please, I need to call an end to this. Your family are destroying mine, I need to save as many of them as I can. Please, come, talk to me." His eyes bore straight into mine, "I won't hurt you." He repeated.
Honestly, I was curious. I didn't see how I could help. But it might be fun watching him ask for my help anyway. Vindictive, maybe, but he deserved it. I followed him slowly into the trees and stopped just a few feet in.
"What's the matter, Aro? Are you scared? Where's all your protectors?" I goaded him a little.
"Renesmee, please help. I have no one left here. Your family are killing mine. I just watched your mother tear my sweet Alec's head from his shoulders. Jane is gone, too, I think. Your father and your uncles are almost done with Demetri and Felix. There's nothing I can do, I have no one left." His head drooped in defeat.
"And what? You want sympathy from me? You came here to destroy me. I won't feel worry for you, Aro, and I won't help you." He lifted his head to look at me, "What happened to Caius and Marcus? Have they been destroyed, too? Or did they run from us?" A tiny sneer spread on my face.
"They fled." He said quietly, "They took Renata, and they fled, leaving me here alone."
"So, what do you want me to do, Aro? Do you want me to speak on your behalf and ask my family to spare you?" I asked sarcastically.
"No, my dear. I do not as the your family spare me." His eyes lit up, "Because, when I finish here, I will leave, and they will never know it was me." A small smile started on his face and I shivered a little. I didn't like that smile.
"Never know what was you?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"You see, sweet Renesmee, I did want your help. You said you wouldn't, but, actually, you did. I did not need you to stop this fight, I know this one I have already lost. All I needed was for you to be away from your family. And look!" He waved his hands around him, "Here we are. Just you and me, all alone. Your family are preoccupied in the clearing. They won't help you scream. And, actually, I don't think Jane is dead yet, did you hear that snap? I think that may have been your mate's neck." His little smile turned evil.
I growled. I looked around me, I hadn't noticed that slowly we had walked farther into the trees, he had led me here to my death, "So, you lured me here, Aro. You tricked me, because your followers are being destroyed by my loved ones and you want to even the score? An eye for an eye, is that it?" I spoke slowly to keep my voice calm.
Aro shrugged, "More or less, my dear. You see, it would appear that the Cullens are going to survive this war without any casualties. Or so they would think. But they are mistaken. They will have one fatality, the one I was here for in the first place. And now, I will see to it." He growled the last words.
I glanced over my shoulder. I could still here the fight in the clearing, but I couldn't see anything. I turned back to Aro who had a glowing smile on his face,
"They won't hear you scream." He repeated.
"No, but they might hear you." My head snapped up at the sound of a new voice.
Aro whirled around to face the newcomer, and two figures appeared from the shadows behind him. His eyes widened,
"Stefan, Vladimir." He whispered.
The Romanians! What were they doing here?
"So, you're planning on destroying this young one are you, Aro?" Stefan asked, walking towards him.
Aro didn't respond. He just stared at the Romanians, his mouth open slightly. They walked around Aro and came to a stop at either side of me, just a few steps ahead.
"Well, Aro?" Vladimir asked him and Aro spun and focused his eyes on Vladimir, "My brother asked you a question, Ancient. Answer him. Did you plan on destroying the child?"
"Yes." Aro whispered.
Stefan and Vladimir laughed together. Aro's wide eyes stretched even further.
"Don't you just hate it when your plans get thwarted? Irritating, isn't it?" Vladimir asked Aro, still laughing.
I looked from one to the other of them, then at Aro. I was still dumbstruck. Suddenly, the laughter stopped and they were both abruptly serious.
"Listen to me, Ancient. I am going to make you a promise," Stefan began, his glare thunderous, "You will not touch one hair on this young one's head. I promise you, that if you make on move towards her, we will destroy you." The last word was a snarl.
"Stefan, my old friend, come now." Aro began, his hands raised in front of him, "It does not need to go that far. I wasn't really going to harm the sweet child," He laughed lightly, "I just wanted to scare her really, I was going to spare her. I was." His tone was almost pleading.
Both of the Romanians snorted, "Yes, Aro, I'm sure that is exactly what you were going to do." Stefan muttered sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
"Okay, Aro, here are your choices," Vladimir began, his voice so dark it was frightening, "Either you will beg for us to spare you, or you can fight, and lose. It is your decision."
Aro stared at Stefan and Vladimir, as did I. My quick brain was still a beat behind, still trying to figure out where they had come from. The obvious fear in Aro's voice brought me back to the present in an instant,
"No, please, there is no need for that. I do not want any hostility here. Come now, friends, let us part in peace." His voice was quivering, his hands still stretched out in front of him.
"Never." Stefan and Vladimir growled together.
"We have been waiting many, many years to take you down, Aro. And here we find you," Stefan took a step towards Aro, "You have no protector, no one to fight for or with you. Today we have our chance. You will not leave here, Aro. This is where you spend your final moments."
Vladimir smiled menacingly at Aro, then turned back to me,
"Go, child. Go back to your family." He said softly.
It took me a second to understand what he was saying, then I shook my head,
"No," I told him, my voice sure, "He came here to destroy me. I'm staying." I turned to Aro, feeling all my fear slip away and pure rage take its place. I spoke to him in a snarl, "I will watch you die, Aro. And I will help them kill you. For me, for Jacob, for my whole family. For all of them, today, you die."
With that, I slipped into a crouch and a growl escaped my lips. The Romanians grinned at each other, then were in crouches of their own. Aro took a step back, terror flashing across his face.
"Sweet Renesmee, please, you don't want to do this, do you? Not really. Think of your family, your mate, fighting in the clearing. They need you." His voice was desperate.
I felt no sympathy for him, no doubt or fear about what I was about to do. Aro had caused my family too much pain, and for that, he would pay. He would pay with his life.
"Quite, Aro. You heard the girl. Today, you die." Stefan spat at him.
I took one more appraising look at Aro, who was slowly backing away, then I nodded once at the Romanians. I slunk deeper into my crouch and stalked forward, towards the trembling Ancient,
My lips pulled back from my teeth as I spoke,
"Goodbye, Aro."
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I darted into the clearing, leaving Daddy and Jacob staring spastically at the pile of limbs that used to be Aro. Just as I flitted through the trees, I heard Daddy call back to me,
"Wait a second, Renesmee, what do you mean you had help?"
I laughed at him without answering and ran over to Sam, who was calmly dismembering Jane. I helped him, tossing the pieces of her onto the huge pile that everyone else had already made. All around me, my family and the wolves were finishing off the members of the Volturi guard and their army, who thought they were a match for us. The only ones left of those ancient ones who came here were Caius and Marcus. And they had fled, taking Aro's personal guard, Renata, with them. They had left Aro alone, and as a result, Daddy was, just this second, burning his corpse. It probably wasn't exactly proper to be so ecstatic while tearing apart a sentient creature, but, actually, I was having fun. It appeared I wasn't the only one either. I turned at the sound of a giggle to see Momma and Uncle Emmett finishing off Felix. Momma spun like a ballerina and launched one of his hands into the fast growing pile. I looked passed them and found Grandma and Aunt Rose picking up pieces of their conquests. They were talking and laughing, as if they were shopping. Behind me, Uncle Jasper and Quil were searching around the clearing for pieces the others might have missed. No one seemed hurt, no one even seemed slightly stressed. My heart leapt as I took in each of them, each of my family and all of the wolves, standing perfect, not a scratch on them. I counted, just making sure they were all there. Thirteen vampires, including Daddy, who was just walking through the trees, his face still wearing the mask of shock, and. . . sixteen wolves? No, that wasn't right, I counted again. Jacob was with Daddy, then there were another fifteen. Where was the seventeenth? Who was missing? I turned to Sam,
"Sam. . . " He looked up at me, Jane's leg in his mouth, "There are only sixteen wolves. There should be seventeen. Who's missing?" I was still looking around as I spoke.
Sam's eyes wheeled around and Jane's leg dropped from his mouth. He searched around the clearing, counting, and his eyes widened as he came up one short. His head whipped around and he looked my father and Jacob.
"Who is it?" Daddy asked, his voice a whisper.
Jake wined uneasily beside him, his eyes on Sam.
"No. . . no, wait. Who though that? Jared? No, don't do that, just hold on a second, please!" Daddy finished in a yell.
Everyone froze and looked around at him.
"Edward, what's going on?" Momma asked, flashing to his side.
"Ness counted the wolves and there's someone missing." He replied, his voice a whisper again.
I turned to look at Jake and Sam, who were staring at each other, having a silent conversation. Jake looked at Daddy, who answered Jacob's thought,
"You can? Where is he? Is he hurt?" He asked quickly. His eyes unfocused as he watched the same thing as Jacob and Sam.
"Edward, what's happening? Who is it?" Tanya asked.
"Seth." Daddy replied without looking at her.
"What?" I cried, "No, I seen Seth! He was over. . ." I turned to point to the far end of the clearing, where I pointed at thin air. I faltered, I was so sure I had saw him there. . .
"We can see him now," Daddy said, slipping into the pack plural, "He's in the trees. . .somewhere." He looked around, "What is he doing? Who is that?"
"Daddy, what can you see?" I yelled to him.
"We. . . We don't know. He's circling. . . Someone. I think." He spoke quietly.
"Jacob, no, stay where you are, just for one second. . . Let me concentrate." Everyone was silent, then Daddy's head whipped around and he stared behind him.
"Seth!" He called, "Seth, no! Don't lunge, don't move, just stay. . ." he gasped and reached out to something invisible, "Seth!" He cried. His face twisted in pain.
"Daddy!" I yelled, running to him.
"Renesmee. . ." He gasped, "We need to move. We have to help him." He whirled around to face Jake, "Go, Jacob! We'll follow."
Jacob took off immediately, Sam right on his heels. Daddy flew after them and the rest of us followed. We ran in a straight line, right to where Sam, Daddy and Jacob had seen Seth. We stopped at another little clearing in the trees and I heard everyone gasp. Seth was lying in a heap on the ground, twitching in pain. There was blood seeping from his forehead and his left hind leg, and he was whimpering slightly.
"No! Stop!" A voice cried behind me. I didn't look to see who it was.
The figure standing over Seth gazed up and paused. It was Caius. Marcus and Renata were frozen behind him.
"Don't hurt him, Caius. This isn't about him. Leave. Him. Alone." Daddy told him through his teeth, his voice menacing.
Caius' eyes swept the group and they bulged as they settled on me. I smirked at him.
"You. . . Aro. . ." He stuttered, pointing at me.
"Oh, didn't you hear? Aro's plan failed. Miserably. I killed him." I shrugged, Caius and Marcus hissed and Renata whimpered.
"No. . ." Caius breathed, "You lie, child! You could not defeat him alone!"
"Oh, I wasn't' alone. I had some help from the Romanians, Stefan and Vladimir. Remember them, do you, Caius?" I was still smirking at him. His face was twisted with rage. "Yes, they were here, but they've gone now. They left after we tore Aro into tiny pieces." Caius and Marcus snarled, and Uncle Emmett snickered behind me.
Caius straightened fully and took a step toward us.
"Do you really want to do that, Caius?" Momma asked him, "There are thirty-one of us here. We will be done with you in seconds. Your shield wont deter us all." He smirk matched mine.
He took a step back again, and ever so slightly, he lowered his body back towards Seth.
"Ah, no, no. you don't want to be doing that either. Leave the boy alone, Caius. Step away from him." Momma warned him.
All at once, my family, all thirty-one of us, took a step towards Caius. His eyes flashed to each of us, then to Marcus and Renata, then to the trees behind him. He was clearly planning his escape.
"No, don't go, Caius." Tanya purred at him. His eyes were still jumping back and forth between us and his escape route.
We took another collective step towards him.
"You'll miss all the fun." Kate and Carmen said together smoothly.
One more step towards him.
"You've been waiting a long time for this, haven't you? And now you want to leave?" Uncle Emmett asked him.
Another step forward.
"Please stay, Caius." Daddy said, his voice velvet.
Caius' eyes were terrified. He glanced back at Marcus and Renata who were slowly backing away.
"Marcus, won't you stay, too?" Aunt Rose asked him with a sweet smile.
Another step.
"This is it, friends." Grandpa said, his voice taking on Aro's condescending tone, "You wanted us, and here we are."
We fanned out. It was as though we had the move practiced. Grandpa, Daddy, Uncle Emmett and Uncle Jasper took another half step forward so that were in a semi circle, blocking their escape. Jacob, Tanya, Kate, Carmen, Aunt Alice, Collin, Jared and myself slid around to complete the circle. We surrounded them.
"Caius. . ." Marcus breathed, his voice full of terror.
Another joint step forward and the circle tightened.
"There is no escape for you. Look around. You won't get through us." Tanya sneered at them.
In the middle of the circle, Seth stirred and slowly got to his feet. I heard the rest of the wolves breathe deep in relief. Seth took a few shaky steps and joined the circle, in between Tanya and Jared.
"You're scared, aren't you?" I asked Caius, my smirk back, "Funny, Aro wore the same expression."
Caius took a step towards Marcus and Renata, just as they took a step towards him. One last step from us and the circle closed completely. There were no gaps.
"This ends now, Caius. You will never come for my family again. You won't have the chance." Grandpa told him, his voice a threatening whisper, "This ends now!" He repeated.
With one last look around the circle, each of my family slipped into a crouch. A vicious snarl ripped from thirty-one pairs of lips, and, without another thought, we lunged.
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