21. Larkspurs
The discussion with Nahuel took about two hours. He only spent a few minutes on his history, telling his eager audience about his naive mother, Pire, and the vampire who had charmed her into bearing his child. He told them about Huilen, the protective sister who distrusted Joham, and who had cared for Pire after the vampire abandoned her. And he told them how, as a newborn child, he had bitten Huilen on instinct and then fed on the blood of his newly-deceased mother while he waited for his aunt to complete the change.
The rest of the time was spent answering incredulous questions. Yes, there were others—children of Joham as well, though he did not know whether Joham was the only vampire to have produced biological offspring. No, he had never tried to reproduce himself. It had taken him only seven years to reach maturity, but he had been self-aware even before his birth and he had learned to understand speech and body language within days of his birth—though it had taken longer to be able to reproduce them properly. No, he did not know if he was immortal, but he had been alive and virtually unchanged for nearly a hundred and fifty years. No, he had never been sick, but he had been injured, and had discovered that he healed far more quickly than humans did.
One question that came up again and again, no matter how thoroughly Nahuel answered it, was about his accountability for his actions. He assured them that he had been able to understand the concepts of choice and consequence from the cradle, but his audience seemed to have a hard time accepting his claim.
"I lacked only experience," he told Aro when the ancient vampire questioned him about it for the third time. "Experience gives wisdom and helps a man understand the impetus for prudent choices, but when my aunt explained her reasoning to me, I was able to understand and comply with her wishes."
"But you did require supervision?" he pressed. "You'll admit to that, at least?"
He nodded, conceding Aro's point, though he seemed confused by the man's determination to make it. Bella thought she understood, though. Accountability was important to a man who had made a career out of crime and punishment. He was considering the legal ramifications of offspring produced by vampires. Who was at fault if an immortal toddler exposed their all-important secret? Who would pay for the infraction?
When the presentation dissolved into a buzz of speculation and debate, Carlisle claimed Nahuel's attention for another hour, quizzing him on his health and physiology. He recorded blood pressure, body temperature, and heart rate during active and resting periods, and collected samples of skin and hair. Nahuel sat through it all with patient perplexity, clearly puzzled by Carlisle's enthusiasm for his biological processes. When he discovered that Nahuel was in need of a hunt, Carlisle volunteered to accompany him and drove off with him in the Mercedes, still quizzing him about metabolism and elimination of waste.
While Carlisle and Nahuel were out, the others were making preparations for their upcoming trip. Alice had made a handful of calls from the road, giving various orders, and now Edward was in the living room snapping digital photos of each guest in front of a drop cloth. Every now and then he would stop and run the camera upstairs to Esme, who uploaded the pictures onto one of the computers in the library and started digitally enhancing them. Jasper was up there with her, though what exactly he was doing, Bella wasn't sure.
Bella had been given a task as well. Alice had called, huffing with irritation, to ask her to go through the camp and take measurements of all those who would be accompanying the Cullens on their visit to Joham. Her usual method for shopping, Bella learned, was to pick out an item and search for a future that included the recipient wearing it. If it didn't fit, she adjusted the size and tried again. Nahuel's presence interfered with her visions, however, and she was frustrated to discover that she had to size her choices the old-fashioned way. She found the whole thing extremely inconvenient.
Bella couldn't help being frustrated that Alice was delaying the trip to go shopping for clothes, but she decided it would be faster to do as Alice asked than to try and convince her to come back.
She discovered the reason for the shopping before long, though. The following morning, two large diesel-fueled trucks pulled off of the highway and onto the long, winding driveway, and the crunch of gravel and clang of metal echoed through the woods. Bella spun on her heel and started toward the river and the sound of them, but Edward caught her elbow and pulled her back.
"It's just Emmett and Rose."
Curious, she followed Edward around to the front of the house with the residents of the campsite across the river making their way in behind her. They all watched as Rosalie and Emmett disembarked from the cabs of two giant semi-trucks, and headed to the back of the one Rosalie had been driving. They threw open the rolling door, and Emmett extended a long ramp from the back of the trailer to the gravel below. Rosalie disappeared inside, and when she emerged again she was wheeling a sleek, red Harley Davidson.
A window opened upstairs and Jasper leapt out, landing almost silently on the grass in front of the house. A broad grin split his face as he admired the motorcycle. "Dearest sister, please tell me that's for me."
Rosalie laughed and shook her head. "Nope."
"Come on, now. Don't play games with me."
"Alice was very specific. This isn't for you."
Jasper narrowed his eyes at her. "Tell me the truth. There's no way my girl bought that for someone else."
"Sorry, sweetie, but it's true." Rosalie shrugged her shoulders and then grinned. "Yours is the silver Ducati."
He let out a laugh and sprinted toward the trucks to help Emmett and Rosalie unload them. A few minutes later, the trucks were empty and thirty-eight motorcycles of varying models, colors, and wear, were lined up in front of the house. Jasper stood next to his, running a hand over the leather seat.
"What do you think?" Emmett asked him. "We ought to be able to make the trip well enough with these, wouldn't you say?"
He nodded. "We'll make a spectacle of ourselves, though."
"Don't worry, Alice has got that handled."
"We couldn't get quite as many bikes as we wanted on such short notice," Rosalie said, "but this should be enough if coven members double-up, and if we can talk Garrett into riding with one of the Denali girls." She shot him a wink. "You wouldn't mind, would you, Garrett?"
He grinned back. "It would be my great pleasure, if one of them will have me."
"Oh, don't worry," Kate replied airily. "I'm sure Tanya will. She's never been very picky."
Garrett's smile morphed into a scowl, and Tanya and Irina giggled.
Bella heard Esme's SUV approaching, and a few moments later it skidded to a stop next to the delivery trucks. Alice hopped out and scanned the crowd of onlookers.
"Oh, good! You're all here! That makes this easy." She rounded the car and popped open the hatch, then started calling out names.
"Charles and Makenna!"
The pair in question made their way forward, exchanging puzzled looks. When they reached Alice, she shoved three large, somewhat crumpled shopping bags into each of their hands.
"Jonathan!" she called out before they had even had a chance to look at what they'd been given.
A steady stream of people headed toward Alice as she called each name, and they left again with shopping bags in their hands. On the grass in front of the Cullen house, parcels were opened and their contents revealed: jeans, leather coats, helmets, gloves, and riding boots.
Tia held up her helmet. "Alice, sweetie, did you forget that we're not quite as fragile as your human friends?"
"It's the law. Besides, we're going to need sparkle-proofing if we're riding in the daytime. Carmen and Eleazar!"
They came forward to accept their bags.
"I'm sorry if the fit isn't right," Alice said, thrusting the bags into their hands. "I just . . . I can't see a thing!"
Carmen waved a dismissive hand. "I'm sure it's fine." She kissed Alice on the cheek before moving away to leave room for the next in line.
"Carlisle and Esme!"
The two of them appeared at the window Jasper had come through, and Carlisle climbed out and dropped to the grass. He moved to Alice and pressed a kiss to her forehead before taking the things she had brought him.
"What's your plan for deflecting attention?"
"Simple. We're not going to." She reached inside the SUV and pulled out a large, folded banner. "We're going to make as big a scene as possible."
He raised his eyebrows, but helped her unfold the banner and smiled. He held it up so everyone could see, and Bella eyed the large lettering. She could tell it was hand-painted and not professionally printed, though she doubted that human eyes would be able to pick out the difference with the lettering done so precisely.
The bulk of the banner was taken up with thick blue letters that read "MDA", and then below them, in smaller print, "Muscular Dystrophy Association: Ride for the Cure". Beneath that was a row of logos, displaying companies that had supposedly sponsored the ride.
"Alice, that's brilliant!" Esme said from her perch in the window. "What about traffic? Will we have to clear it with the city?"
"Charlie's taking care of it," she answered, closing the hatch of the now-empty SUV.
Edward cleared his throat and slung an arm over Bella's shoulders. "Al, did you forget somebody?"
"You two don't need riding clothes. You're driving the support vehicle." She took the banner from Carlisle and started tying it up on the back of the SUV.
"What? Come on, Alice, don't mess with me like that."
She rolled her eyes. "Someone's got to do it, and Bella needs the extra buffer between her and the humans."
Edward let out a huff and grumbled something Bella didn't quite catch.
"Don't be such a baby," Alice told him. "You can have one of the motorcycles when we're done with them, if it means that much to you."
Edward scowled, but didn't argue.
Alice turned to face the group of people still looking over their new clothes. "Okay, everyone, get changed and figure out who's doubling up! We've got to be out at the highway and ready to go by one o'clock!"
"Go to the bathroom before we leave!" Emmett added with mock severity. "We're not stopping on the way!"
His order earned a giggle from Rosalie and several puzzled looks from the crowd.
The thought hit Bella all at once: they were leaving soon. They were getting ready to go—where, she still hadn't even bothered to ask—and before long she would be with Alexander again. She told herself not to get her hopes up, that there were still things that could go wrong, but her body didn't listen. Almost before she had thought about it, she had darted across the lawn and thrown her arms around Alice.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you." She just kept whispering it over and over, her whole frame trembling with gratitude, as Alice hugged her back.
"I still have a little left to do," Alice told her as she eased herself out of Bella's embrace. "You're going to need more scarves, so I'm taking Jasper and running out to meet Jared. Get ready to go and help Carlisle get everything organized, okay?"
But Carlisle didn't really need any help. The excursion was something of a novelty to the territory's visitors, and they were all in high spirits as they changed into their new clothes and selected their transportation. Carlisle claimed a bulky Gold Wing and maneuvered Esme onto the front of it, taking the rear seat for himself. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, and Bella looked away quickly when she realized that his hands had crept beneath the leather jacket at Esme's waist.
Her gaze fell on Emmett and Rosalie, who had chosen a Harley Davidson that had obviously seen some hard use.
"I'm driving first," Emmett declared, flinging a leg over the bike and straddling its bulk.
"Like hell you are. This baby's mine."
"Too slow. I'm already on it."
She smiled sweetly. "Then I guess you'll have to get off."
They stared at each other for a long moment, before Emmett finally said, "Odds and evens. I'm odds."
They both made fists in front of them, and on Rosalie's count of three, flashed their fingers.
Emmett pumped his fist. "Yes! Back seat, baby."
She huffed, but slid onto the back of the bike.
Garrett, meanwhile, was working his charms on the Denali girls. He was flirting with all three of them, trying to persuade first one, then another, that he was a better riding partner than her sisters. They all seemed to be having a fine time of it, except possibly Kate, who Bella thought looked a little more defensive than the other two. Her stance was stiffer, and her teasing remarks a little sharper. Bella had to wonder if Garrett had said something to upset her.
The discussion ended with Irina and Garrett astride a bike together while Tanya and Kate took the other one. Tanya looked as though she honestly couldn't care less, but Kate seemed a little too triumphant about the whole thing.
Still, they had figured things out in a timely manner, as had the rest of the group. All around her, Bella could see individuals and pairs testing out their motorcycles, getting a feel for the balance and the engine capacities. By the time Alice and Jasper returned on the silver Ducati, all that was left to do was head up to their starting point.
Bella performed her usual scent-deflection ritual, and then climbed into the SUV with Edward while Carlisle herded the rest of the group into a line. Esme moved along the train then, passing out driver license cards, and Bella suddenly understood what she and Jasper had been doing in the room upstairs.
"You can make driver's licenses?" she asked Edward incredulously.
He shrugged. "In a pinch. They won't hold up under close inspection, but they'll do for now."
Motorcycle engines fired to life, the roar echoing through the woods, and then they were finally moving, making their way out to the highway, experimenting with the range and limitations of their new machines as they went.
Charlie and four other police officers met them at the highway. Charlie looked uncomfortable, but his anxiety eased a little when he spotted Bella in the passenger seat of the SUV. He had never been much of a fan of motorcycles, Bella knew, and he still seemed a little fuzzy on the details of her new indestructibility. He raised a hand in greeting, then turned to the rest of the group and started issuing reminders about traffic laws and safety regulations. He checked licenses and made sure everyone had helmets, then waved the other officers into their squad cars.
"Looks like we'll have a police escort through town," Edward said. "That was a nice touch, Alice."
Alice turned to look back from her perch on the back of Jasper's motorcycle. Her face was covered by her helmet, but Bella could hear the smile in her voice when she replied, "Thanks, brother mine."
The cruisers fell in line at the front and rear of the caravan, and they began to move.
The procession through town was slow. As Alice had promised, they all made a huge spectacle of themselves. They hollered and waved any time they saw a pedestrian, and the commotion drew many people out of the businesses that lined Main Street. Tanya checked the cloudy sky and then whipped off her helmet and took up an impromptu collection for the MDA, hitting people up for a dollar here, a handful of change there, and thanking them with broad smiles and the occasional flirtatious kiss. She made almost enough of a show to distract the citizens of Forks from the semi-familiar face peering out the window of the "support vehicle."
But a few people noticed Bella, and a buzz of gossip sprang up behind them.
"Isn't that Charlie's daughter?"
"I thought she was missing."
"Did they find her?"
"Is she back?"
"Charlie never said anything."
"I could have sworn I heard Karen Newton talking about her."
"It is her, isn't it?"
Bella focused on the rancid scent of the scarf around her neck and tried not to care about the attention being paid to her. It looked like the word was out that she was in Forks. She and Charlie would have to come up with some excuse as to why she wasn't seeing anyone.
But that was a relatively minor worry and could wait for another time. Right now there was only Alexander. The police cars left the caravan at the edge of town, and once they were out of sight, Carlisle fed his bike some gas and urged it up to well over the legal speed limit. The rest of the crowd was all too eager to follow suit.
Despite the speed of the motorcycles, though, they didn't make any better time than Edward and Bella had on their trip to Mexico. There was still traffic to consider, and they had to rein in their speed when Edward called out warnings about upcoming speed traps. Plus, the bikes required more frequent fuel stops. Bella squirmed in her seat and found herself wishing she could fly. She wanted to break free of the pack and race ahead of everyone, to get to her son as quickly as possible and let the rest of them catch up, if they could. She dug her fingernails into her thighs and forced herself to remember all of the reasons that she had decided to wait for them.
Edward did his best to reassure her. Every now and then he would tell her how many miles they had traveled and how far they had to go until they reached Tonopah, the small Nevada city where Nahuel had directed them. As the numbers ticked away, though, Bella only grew more anxious. Dread sat like a lead weight in her stomach, warring with the part of her that couldn't stand to be kept away from Alexander. She was dealing with the prospect of seeing Joham all over again, and the fear of it made her feel unsteady and light-headed.
It was only Edward's hand in hers that made it bearable.
They drove all day and through the twilit hours of the evening, and finally, somewhere near midnight, Carlisle and Nahuel led the procession off of the freeway. Jasper must have made a phone call Bella wasn't aware of, because when they all pulled their motorcycles into the gravel parking lot of an old clapboard casino, Charlotte was waiting for them. She was leaning against a lamppost, with a bored expression on her face and a lit cigarette held lightly between her fingers. She flicked it away once they all pulled up, then pushed off of the post and strode toward Jasper.
"Subtle," she said, eyeing the line of bikes. "You'll have to leave them here. We're on foot the rest of the way."
"Probably won't be much quieter," Jasper said, looking around him with a grimace.
"You're the one who decided to bring a goddamn army."
"Peter's still there?"
She nodded.
Bella pushed out of the SUV and hurried to join them. "How's Alexander? Is he okay?"
Charlotte's lips pursed for a moment, and then pulled into a little smirk. "He's okay. Peter's taken a liking to him."
"Did you speak to him?" Jasper asked sharply.
She arched an eyebrow. "We're good little soldiers, Major. We followed orders. Got close enough to listen, though, and you were right about one thing. Y'all are in way over your heads."
"Good to know." He turned back to the others and jerked his head in a command to follow. He didn't have to explain what was going on. Everyone had been following his conversation with Charlotte, and had already climbed off of their motorcycles and pulled off their helmets.
"Should we leave these?" Tia asked, holding hers up.
Jasper glanced at Alice, who shrugged apologetically.
"Right," he muttered. "Sorry." He turned back to Tia. "I'd hang onto them. There's no telling whether we'll be back by sunrise."
Charlotte had already turned away, and Jasper took Alice's hand and headed after her. Bella followed, and she let out a sigh of relief when Edward caught up to her and took her hand, too.
"How far is it?" she asked Charlotte.
The girl didn't turn around. "About twenty miles as the crow flies. It's all sand and hills, though, and we'll have to skirt around one of the mines. Should take us about an hour, if we're trying to be quiet."
Not at the pace we're going, Bella thought to herself. They were walking at human speed toward the dirt and brush beyond the city limits, and at least while they were in view of a city full of humans, they couldn't really do any better. They already looked suspicious enough. The temptation to break away and run to Alexander was greater than ever, and it was all Bella could do to resist. She squeezed Edward's hand to anchor her focus and forced herself to walk behind Charlotte until they were safely out of view of humans and had the cover of darkness.
Charlotte looked back, eyeing the distant lights of the city and the last stragglers of the group, and then gave a satisfied nod. She faced forward again and broke into a jog until she was sure everyone was following, and then quickened her pace into an all-out run. She was fast—not as fast as Bella, but fast enough to satisfy Bella's desperate need to run. And she had a knack for sticking to the softer ground which, while slowing them down, was quieter. Still, she doubted their approach would be much of a secret by the time they made it to wherever Joham had holed himself up.
The sparse terrain turned Bella's stomach. There was a time when desert landscape hadn't bothered her—had even appealed to her—but this all looked a little too much like Mexico. She'd suffered too much trauma in the midst of sagebrush to ever be fully comfortable there again.
They crested a hill, and what looked like a trailer park came into view in the distance. Charlotte turn northward and made a wide arc around it, but a pale figure burst out of the shadows of the park and angled toward them. It took a moment for Bella to recognize the tall, lithe frame as Peter's. He hardly glanced at the group, but he gave Jasper a nod and grabbed Charlotte's hand when he reached them. A minute later he was slowing down, and Bella wanted to scream in frustration.
Peter beckoned Carlisle and Esme forward for a quick, whispered conference, and Nahuel joined them.
"We're nearly within hearing distance," he told them. "If you're leaving anyone behind, do it here."
Carlisle looked back at the group, but there didn't seem to be anyone who preferred to stay. He shrugged and turned back to Peter.
"Just over that next hill is a road, with a little turn-off that leads back to a half a dozen mobile homes arranged in a circle. He's keeping a human girl in one of them, and in two more he's got half-breeds. Alexander gets free rein, though I'm not sure how much longer that will continue."
"Why?" Bella demanded, irritated by the exclusion from the conference.
Peter looked over at her and grinned. "Because he's a little hell-raiser, and Daddy ain't known for his patience." He stepped back to make room for her, and she and Edward joined the ring.
"Other vampires?" Carlisle asked.
"Two. Weak ties. They won't give us much trouble."
"I'd like to talk to them. Keep them from leaving, if you have the opportunity."
"They'll hear us coming," Peter warned. "You'll probably want to send some people around to the back to head them off if they run."
Carlisle nodded and scanned the crowd, but Edward drew Bella's attention to himself when he pulled her close and started running his hands up and down her sides. He dragged them up, cupped her face, and then slid his fingers through her hair and blew softly, letting his breath filter through the cascading strands.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Making a statement. I want him to know."
"Know what?"
"That I'm with you." He ran his hands back down her arms until his fingers linked with hers. "That if he has a quarrel with you, he has a quarrel with me."
Bella shivered as he brought her fingers up to run through his hair. His scent was heavy here, and she leaned into him and breathed deeply as she painted her hands with it. It felt so good to know that she wouldn't be facing Joham alone.
"Tanya," Carlisle said, still scanning the faces of their entourage, "do you think you and your coven—"
He stopped abruptly when Joham's angry voice drifted to them on the wind, yelling Alexander's name.
A shrill little voice screamed "No!" in response.
Bella's head snapped up. She had never heard her son speak, but the sound of his voice resonated right down to the core of her being. It was him.
No amount of self-restraint could hold her back now. She darted away, only vaguely aware of the hisses behind her, of the hand that had made a grab for her and just missed. Joham was yelling again and Alexander was protesting, and Bella had to get to them before that degenerate monster laid a hand on her little boy.
At the top of the hill she caught sight of them, still at least three miles away. Joham was standing with his back to her, his fists clenched, squaring off with—could that really be her Alexander? He looked so much older; if she'd had to guess she would have thought he was nearly a year old. But even from here she recognized his glossy black curls and the warm brown eyes, screwed up now in childish anger. He stood in front of the door of one of the mobile homes, and every time Joham moved to either side, Alexander angled himself to face him.
"Get out of my way!" Joham hissed.
"No!" Alexander yelled again.
"I'm warning you, boy," Joham growled. "I won't go easy on you this time."
"I hate you!"
Joham hissed again and stooped, rising with a large rock in his hand. He drew back and launched it at Alexander, and before Bella knew it she was yelling, an ear-splitting, echoing roar that was far more animal than human.
Joham whipped around, and his eyes widened at the sight of her.
She pushed herself harder than she realized she could, running as fast as the soft ground would allow her to, kicking up clouds of dust behind her. She growled in frustration at the sandy ground and tried to pick out rocks and hard-crusted earth in her path that she could use to propel herself forward, while still keeping Joham in her sights.
"Alexander, come," he demanded, turning back to the boy.
"No!"
"Right now! Come!"
"No!"
The distance between Bella and Joham was closing rapidly, and she could see the fear in his face as he turned back to look at her. He gave up on Alexander and ran, slipping between the mobile homes and out into the vast expanse of desert behind them.
He wasn't fast.
Edward was fast. Emmett and Jasper were strong, and that made them fast. But chasing Joham now, Bella could see that he wasn't a man gifted with physical abilities. He could subdue a human with only the slightest effort, but Bella wasn't human anymore. She wasn't just a vampire, either. She was a newborn, and her strength far surpassed Joham's.
Within seconds she had closed on him, and with the help of a protruding stone, she kicked off of the ground and launched herself at Joham. She slammed into his back and the two of them crashed to the ground in a gritty puff of dirt.
Bella attacked. She bit and slashed and tore at whatever was in reach. Joham struggled beneath her, but she was stronger and had the advantage of leverage. She had torn a handful of flesh from his shoulder and a mouthful from his neck before he managed to wriggle onto his back.
It didn't give him an advantage, though. Looking into the intimately familiar face only refreshed Bella's rage. He swiped at her with one hand—the hand that had held her down while he poured cold, clotting blood into her mouth—and she sank her teeth into his wrist and wrenched it off. He tried to shove her aside with his arm—the arm that had left bands of bruises around her back each time he forced her in his bed, and she bent and twisted it until it, too, broke away from his body. The teeth that had left the scar on her neck sank into her fingers as she tore off his jaw. Her fingers stung and stiffened, but Bella didn't even pause. Joham was on the bottom now, at her mercy, and she ripped off limbs and gouged out chunks in a frantic haze of fury. She tore at him until he was incapable of fighting back, and then she tore at him some more. She could have gone on for hours, and she might have if a firm hand hadn't gripped her shoulder and pulled her back.
"That's enough, kid," she heard Jasper say, and she spun around, ready to attack. But next to him was Edward, grinning widely, his golden eyes shining with pride, and Bella felt the rage ease out of her. He opened his arms and she collapsed into them.
The crowd of vampires was gathering around them, chuckling appreciatively at the writhing mess that Bella had left on the ground. Peter and Charlotte marched forward, a broad-shouldered vampire with a buzz-cut held between them, and Emmett wasn't far behind them, his fist wrapped around the long blonde hair of a shirtless vampire who wouldn't have looked out of place on a California beach. Neither of them struggled, but they both looked anxious and cagey.
Carlisle met the gaze of the man with the buzz-cut. "You may help him, if you like," he said, nodding toward Joham.
Bella hissed, but Carlisle put out a calming hand. "We need to speak with him, Isabella."
"We need to burn him," she snapped.
Carlisle looked pointedly back toward the ring of mobile homes, now at least a hundred yards away, where a tiny figure perched on top of one of the roofs, staring at them with wide eyes.
Bella gasped. "Oh! Alexander!" She looked back at Joham, a sudden panic overtaking her. She had torn him apart with her son watching. What must he think of her? And how did he feel about his father? How damaging was it for him to see what she had just done?
The boy met her gaze and straightened up, clenching his little fists at his side. He stamped his foot on the roof of the mobile home, and the metal dented beneath him. "I'm very angry wif you, Mother!" he called across the space between them.
"He's—he'll be okay," she called back, gesturing to where the vampire with the buzz-cut was fitting Joham back together. "He's not dead. He'll be all right."
"I know that," the boy said scornfully. "I'm not stupid."
"Oh . . ." Bella clutched at Edward's arm, at a loss for anything to say.
"You left me!" the boy yelled, stamping his foot again. "I made you a god, and you left me because you din't love me!"
"No! Alexander, that's not true! I do love you—more than anything."
"Leave him alone!" Joham growled behind her. Buzz-cut had managed to get his head affixed properly, and was now working on his limbs. "You ungrateful little bitch! I should have killed you before you completed the change!"
"No!" Alexander screamed from his rooftop, his rage raising the pitch of his voice. "She's my mother, and you can't kill her unless I say!"
Bella felt a cold chill creep into her at his words. "I missed you so much," she said. She took a step toward him, and Joham hissed again.
"Stay away from him. The boy belongs to me! This is my coven!"
Edward put out a hand to stop Bella, steering her back toward Joham. "Let's do this formally, then," he said, his voice low and calm. "I challenge you for the leadership of your coven."
His words seemed to be a signal for something. Emmett released the blond-haired surfer and moved to stand behind Edward. The rest of the Cullens did too, as did several others. Tanya's family joined them, with Garrett in their midst and Peter and Charlotte behind them. Benjamin and Tia fell in with them too, which brought a reluctant Amun into the mix with Kebi. Aro joined, clearly reluctant to be outdone, and a handful of others hovered at the rear of the group. Meanwhile, the remainder of the crowd eased back, giving them all room.
The vampire with the buzz-cut finished assembling Joham and then stepped back—way back.
"I didn't sign on for this," he muttered.
The blond gave Joham an apologetic shrug and retreated as well, which left Joham squaring off alone against nearly thirty vampires.
"Do you think you can intimidate me into surrendering my family?" he hissed.
"If this is how you treat your family," Edward growled back, "they're better off with you dead."
Joham looked over his shoulder at his two companions, who had joined the crowd of onlookers. "Are you going to just stand there and let them destroy all we've worked for?"
Buzz-cut didn't respond, but the blond threw up his hands. "This is cool and all, but I'm not into it enough to become a martyr for the c—"
Joham took advantage of the temporary distraction he provided and lunged to the side. But Edward was a mind-reader and Jasper was . . . well, Jasper, so he didn't get very far. The two of them had him pinned to the ground within seconds, and then Rosalie crouched down in front of him and drew a lighter out of her pocket. She held it up, inches from his face, and lit the flame.
"Concede," she said quietly.
Joham let out a breath and bit back his fury with some effort. "I concede."
Buzz-cut stepped forward, his head lowered. "Do you require services from us?"
"No," Carlisle answered, "but I would like you to stay nearby for a little while. I'll want to speak with you after I've attended to more pressing concerns."
Buzz-cut nodded.
"Let Joham up, but Jasper, keep an eye on him, please." Carlisle turned to Nahuel and nodded toward the ring of houses. "Let's go take a look at your sisters."
"No!" Alexander was still watching them from the roof of his trailer. "You're not allowed! Leave my sisters alone!"
Alexander. Bella could feel his presence like an itch beneath her skin where she couldn't reach it, couldn't scratch. She wanted to hold him more than anything, and with Joham no longer a threat she turned her full attention on him. She hurried after Carlisle and Nahuel, anxious to be near him.
"Stay away!" he ordered, pointing at them. "I din't say you could come here!"
Carlisle slowed to a stop about halfway to the trailers. Bella didn't intend to stop at all, but he caught her elbow as she passed him and held her back.
"My name is Carlisle Cullen," he told the boy. "I'm a friend of your mother's. Is it all right if I come closer so we can talk?"
The boy scowled. "I know who you are," he said, pointing. "You're Nahuel."
"That's right," Nahuel answered. "And I know you've been doing your best to protect our sisters. I've come to help you."
Alexander sat down on the edge of the roof. "Father is angry wif you."
"I'm angry with him," Nahuel replied. "For the same reasons you are. What he's doing to our sisters is reprehensible."
"Carlisle is a doctor," Bella added. "Do you know what a doctor is?"
He cocked his head curiously. "Of course I know, but only humans are doctors. Vampires don't get sick."
"I look after humans," Carlisle told him. "And in this case, half-humans. From what Nahuel tells me, your sisters would benefit from medical attention."
Alexander poked his thumb into his mouth and sucked on it while he eyed Carlisle. After a few seconds he pulled it out again.
"Mother, is he nice?"
She smiled at him and nodded. "I think he might be the nicest man I've ever met."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
He turned around and wriggled his way off of the roof until he was only holding himself up by the elbows, and Bella couldn't help but think that there was something odd about the way he moved, or the way that the clothes hung on him. Something other than the fact that a child his size should never have been able to move as confidently or speak as articulately as he did. It wasn't until he pushed off of the roof and dropped gracefully into the dirt below that she realized that his clothes were made for a child wearing a diaper. Alexander clearly wasn't wearing one, and his pants sagged at the back where they had been cut to allow room for extra bulk.
Alexander turned back to Carlisle. "On'y you and Nahuel and my mother," he said imperiously.
Carlisle smiled. "Thank you."
The three of them advanced again, and when they drew near, Alexander raised his arms to Bella. She scooped him up and held him close, relishing the feel of his soft, warm skin as he snuggled down into her sweater.
"I'm still very angry wif you," he said, tangling his fingers in her hair.
"I know, sweetheart. I promise I'll never, ever leave you again."
"Go wif them, mother," he said, watching as Nahuel directed Carlisle into one of the houses. "We hafta stay on the porch and make sure nobody else goes in and hurts Jennifer."
"Is that how you protect your sisters?" she asked him.
He nodded. "It makes Father very angry. He says they're not being mean, but they are. They make Jennifer and Maysun cry."
The idea of little Alexander standing between Joham and the girls made her shudder. "You don't have to do that anymore," she told him. "We're going to take care of everything."
They reached the steps that led up to the first trailer, and Bella glanced inside the open door. There was a long table taking up most of the main room, and on it was a girl who looked about Nahuel's age, with the same dark hair and bronzed skin. She was dressed in a thin hospital gown and was strapped to the table with what looked like several lengths of steel cable twisted together. Carlisle was in the process of peeling them back while Nahuel crouched next to the girl's head, murmuring in her ear. She was crying, and as soon as Carlisle removed the last of the cables, she leapt up and threw her arms around Nahuel. She hugged him and sobbed into his shoulder with Carlisle looking on, frowning darkly at the spots of blood that stained the back of her gown.
Bella held her breath. Jennifer's blood wasn't nearly as tempting as a full human's blood, but she didn't want to take any chances.
"I'm sorry I took so long," Nahuel was telling Jennifer as he held her close. "My search was difficult, but I found someone better than the Volturi. He is Doctor. He will help you."
Carlisle began his examination then, peeling the bloody shirt gently from the wounds on the girl's back, asking her tactful questions about the possibility of pregnancy.
"I felt it in my stomach," Bella told him as he was examining Jennifer for symptoms. "Like a hard knot. That and the nausea were the first things I noticed."
Carlisle had Jennifer lean back against Nahuel while he gently prodded her stomach. "I don't feel anything. Honestly, I'm not sure you're physiologically capable of bearing a child."
"Maysun . . ." she whispered.
Carlisle frowned and nodded. "We'll keep an eye out for symptoms, and we'll get these bedsores cleaned up so they can heal properly. Are you injured anywhere else? Any pains?"
She shook her head.
"All right. Let's go take a look at Maysun."
Bella moved out of the way to allow them to pass, then followed after them to the second trailer. This time it was Jennifer who offered comfort while Carlisle removed similar bonds, but Maysun didn't respond. She just stared dully at the ceiling, even after she had been freed.
"Maysun, will you look at me?" Carlisle asked her.
Her eyes focused on his face for just a moment before sliding away again.
"My name is Carlisle Cullen. I'm a doctor, and the head of a large coven. Nahuel brought me here to help you."
"You can't help me," she mumbled. "It's too late."
"Why is it too late?"
"They already did it." Her hand drifted down to press against the hospital gown where it lay over the soft swell of her stomach. "It's going to kill me."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Carlisle said gently. "Look there, in the doorway. That's Alexander's mother."
Maysun's eyes rolled toward Bella, blankly at first, but then with increasing interest.
"She was human when she conceived. If she survived, I think you have a fair chance of it."
Maysun pushed herself up on her elbow. "You survived it?"
She nodded.
"I'm going to do everything in my power to see to it that you do as well," Carlisle said. "That is, if you'll allow it. Will you come back to Washington with us and let me look after you until you've carried the child to term?"
She looked back at him again, her brow furrowing. "What if . . . what if I want to get rid of it?"
Carlisle hesitated, his hand hovering over her abdomen. "We'll consider it. I'd like to do a full medical exam with proper instruments before any decisions are made, but we'll talk about the possibility."
She sank back onto the table. "You'll get me out of here?"
"Of course. You may consider yourself under the protection of my coven."
She let out a long breath, then rolled onto her stomach and started to cry.
Carlisle patted her shoulder. "Look after her?" he said to Nahuel and Jennifer, and when they nodded he headed back out the door.
The rest of the vampires had found their way back to the ring of trailers, Joham and his cronies among them. When Carlisle headed for the third occupied trailer, Joham darted forward to stop him.
"That one is mine," he said, his voice low and menacing.
Carlisle arched an eyebrow as Jasper and Edward strode up behind him.
"You ceded control of your coven," Jasper reminded him.
"That girl isn't part of a coven. She's human. She belongs to me."
"I'm taking her from you," Carlisle said. "If you have a problem with that, feel free to try and stop me."
Joham let out a frustrated roar.
"Step aside."
Joham hesitated, but a low growl from Jasper finally convinced him to back away and let Carlisle pass him. Carlisle climbed the steps to the trailer, and as soon as he had let himself inside, an shrill scream pierced the air.
Alexander tugged at Bella's sleeve, but he seemed unfazed by the scream. "Mother, who are those people?"
Bella glanced around at the large crowd that had come along to watch the spectacle and get a look at her son. They were all staring curiously at him now, and whispering among themselves.
"They're . . . friends and acquaintances. Some of them came along to help us find you."
"I never saw so many vampires in one place before," he said frankly.
The screaming inside the trailer started to quiet down, and Bella could hear Carlisle's voice beneath it, murmuring reassuring words.
"Bella?"
Bella glanced at Rosalie, who was inching her way closer with Emmett in tow.
"Can I meet him?"
"Of course. Alexander, these are my friends Rosalie and Emmett."
Alexander's eyes widened when he looked at Rosalie.
"Mother," he whispered without looking away, "is she nice?"
"Yes, she's very nice."
Alexander wriggled out of her arms and leapt to the ground, darting to the side of one of the trailers where a handful of wild larkspurs were growing. He plucked a stem of them and returned to Rosalie, reaching up to her. She picked him up and he tucked the flowers behind her ear.
"It's very nice to meet such a lovely girl," Alexander told her.
Bella shivered. The words and the cadence were familiar, something he had obviously picked up from Joham, and she fretted over the likeness.
Rosalie, however, was charmed by him. She laughed brightly and thanked him, her fingers moving to stroke his glossy black curls.
"What's up, little man?" Emmett asked, holding up a fist.
Alexander flinched back and threw up his hand. Emmett suddenly stiffened, then collapsed to the ground.
"Emmett!" Rosalie gasped. She fell to her knees and released Alexander, who darted back to his mother.
"He's okay," Eleazar called from the back of the crowd. He jogged forward, and Edward moved away from the trailer where he had been standing guard with Jasper. Each of them grabbed an arm and dragged Emmett a few paces away from Alexander before dropping him to the ground again.
Emmett's eyes blinked open almost immediately, and he shook his head as if to free himself from the lingering effects of what had just happened. "Whoa."
"Are you all right?" Rosalie asked, kneeling beside him again.
"Yeah . . . whoa." He grinned. "Alexander, that's cool as hell!"
"Don't cuss in front of him!" Rosalie admonished, but she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "What happened?"
"Alexander is a shield," Eleazar provided. "Not mental, like Bella, but physical. He can disable an attacker."
Bella looked at her son in surprise. "Is that how you were protecting your sisters?" she asked him.
"I tried to, mother, but sometimes it's too hard."
"Oh, sweetheart." Bella cradled him close to her chest, rocking him back and forth. "I'm so proud of you for trying. You're such a brave boy."
Emmett took a step toward them, but Alexander threw up a hand again, baby fingers splayed. "Stop!"
He stopped, running a hand sheepishly through his hair. "Hey, little man, you got it. I'm sorry if I scared you earlier."
"You were going to punch me," Alexander accused.
"What? Nah, you got it all wrong. I just wanted a knuckle crunch."
His brow furrowed. "What's a knuckow crunch?"
"It's like this." He held his fist out to Edward, who bumped it with his own.
Alexander looked unimpressed. "Why did you do that?"
"Uh . . . it's a friendship thing, like a handshake. It's how you show someone you respect them."
"Mother, is he lying?"
Bella chuckled. "No, sweetie, that's true. He didn't mean any harm."
Alexander held out his fist, and Emmett moved forward to tap it lightly with his own. "'Atta boy."
Carlisle exited the trailer then, and Esme made her way to his side.
"I need the car," he told her. "We won't be able to take Maysun or Amelia back on the motorcycles."
"I'll get it. Charlotte, do you know the roads? Could you come with me to show me the way back?"
Charlotte agreed and the two of them took off running back toward Tonopah.
Carlisle moved to Bella's side and rested a hand on her shoulder. "I don't think it's wise to have you ride back in the car with the human girl. Will you be all right on one of the motorcycles?"
"Um . . ." She hugged her son to her chest. "Alexander?"
"He should ride in the car."
Bella cringed, repelled by the idea of separating from him, but she was sure she couldn't handle being trapped in an enclosed space with a human all the way home. She nuzzled the top of Alexander's head and nodded.
Carlisle squeezed her shoulder, and then beckoned Joham and his cronies forward. They obliged, and his voice took on a steely note.
"Which of you is responsible for the girls?"
Buzz-cut fell back a step and jerked a thumb at Joham. "That's all on him."
Carlisle's eyes darkened as they fixed on Joham. "You're telling me that you fathered your daughter's child?"
"Of course not," Joham spat in disgust. "Such a union would produce genetically inferior offspring."
"Well, then?" He fixed his gaze on the other two again, and the blond-haired surfer held up his hands.
"We agreed to help out with the conception, but everything else was up to him."
"I see. For the sake of having accurate information, then, which of you fathered those children?"
The blond scratched the back of his head. "Well, uh . . . the human girl's kid is Joham's. But Maysun's . . . we're not really sure."
For a long minute, Carlisle said nothing. The onlookers didn't either. The whole crowd was watching him shift uncomfortably under Carlisle's scrutiny. It was Edward's sharp breath that finally broke the silence.
"Carlisle, no." He stalked forward and wrapped his arms around Bella and Alexander, pulling them back away from Carlisle. "You can't."
"I have to."
"What?" Bella asked.
Carlisle drew in a slow breath. "Emmett, do you have any of those invitations left?"
Emmett's brows furrowed, but he pulled one of the invitations from his pocket.
"You're all free to leave here in peace," Carlisle told Joham and his friends, passing the invitation to the blond. "However, we've arranged a caucus of sorts, which is open to whomever would like to attend."
"What?" Bella demanded, even as Joham snatched the card from the blond boy's hand.
Carlisle squeezed his eyes shut. "Bella, I'm sorry—"
"You're inviting them to come back with us!" Her voice had turned shrill in her disbelief, and she shook herself free of Edward's embrace.
"What can I do? There are broad implications that need to be discussed."
"I don't care! He tortured me!"
"I know. And I'm so very sorry to put you through this, but try to understand. This problem, the issue of conceiving and raising children, is going to be among the most important topics we have to address at the gathering. To exclude the man who knows the most about it would be . . ."
"Shit, Carlisle," Emmett whispered.
Bella straightened, mustering up all of her courage. "Then I'm not going back with you."
"No! Bella, you have to!" Edward grabbed her shoulder and spun her toward him, wrapping her and Alexander up in his arms again. "Please, please, don't leave me."
Bella rested her head against his chest, wondering if she would be forever caught between Edward and Alexander. "Come with me," she whispered.
Edward hesitated and looked back at Carlisle.
"Edward, I need you right now," Carlisle said quietly. "And I need Bella, too. Joham believes in what he's doing. Do you really want him to have the last word on the subject?"
Bella shuddered.
"He has experience in this area, but so do you, Bella. We need you there to talk about what's wrong with the things he's been doing."
"I don't want him near Alexander."
"That shouldn't be a problem," Rosalie said, glaring at Joham. "He's ceded control of his coven, which means he no longer has any right to Alexander. And if he forgets that," she flashed a vicious smile, "I'd be happy to jog his memory."
"We've still got your back," Jasper added. "The kid's too. Plus, we already know who's got the upper hand in a fight between you and Joham, don't we?" He winked at her.
"Please don't leave," Edward murmured. He leaned his forehead against hers and held her close. "I know it will be uncomfortable having him there, but it's not forever. Please."
Bella shook her head in defeat. "I'll stay. But if he comes anywhere near me or Alexander, I'll kill him."
Edward grinned. "Not if I kill him first."