Edward hovered in the filthy alleyway, ignoring the Italian children who watched him, pointing their fingers. They babbled in a mixture of English and Italian, which he would have had difficulty understanding had he been listening. Eventually the urchins decided the tall, solemn figure was no fun, and sped off down the dark streets to seek new mischief.

Shouldn't they be in bed? he thought, amused. Perhaps they were from the orphanage two streets away, near the lion statues.

Edward groaned, gazing up at the sky. It was a crescent moon; a pale, jagged tear in a sea of leering blackness. Edward closed his eyes, wishing for rain. It was not that he minded the heat—his body was impervious to extreme temperatures—but the city smelled terrible. Worse than Venice in summertime, crawling with overheated tourists.

Yes, some rain would be nice, he thought, taking a deep breath. A strong scent, sharp as it was sweet, reached his nostrils. He was not alone.

"Hi," breathed a voice beside him.

Edward jerked away, nearly colliding with a row of crates stacked up on each other. A beautiful woman stood in front of him, tilting her head with amusement.

"I'm sorry," she said politely. "Did I startle you?"

"What do you want?" he snarled.

She ignored him, leaning against the opposite wall. "Oh, I just thought I'd check on you," she said, smiling. "You looked very lonely, standing there."

"I prefer solitude."

Heidi laughed. "So do I. But you don't really get a chance for it up here, you know what I mean? Being the Volturi's fetch-and-carry…"

Edward stared at her glumly. "Why are you here?"

"I just told you, silly boy. To keep you company."

"Really? Well, you can forget it. I've met your type before."

Heidi widened her lovely eyes. "Oh, I didn't mean that," she soothed. "But we could talk, you know. Not much else to do, with the girl being changed."

Edward made a sound in his throat. "Bella?"

"Yep."

"Is she alright? Do you know?" He tried to conceal his eagerness.

"She's fine. Your father's with her now."

"Has he…"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Aro's the only one allowed in there." She looked at him then. "What about you? What are you doing out here?"

Edward looked away. "That's my own business."

"Maybe so, but the way I see it, either you've been forbidden entrance by my master, or you're just resentful you got dumped. Which is it?"

He didn't reply.

She tried again. "Or, you're just a coward, and you're afraid to cross Aro, anyway."

Edward's lips curled. "If you think for one moment that—"

She laughed. "I'm just teasing. You Cullens can be awfully touchy."

He grunted, and she laughed again. Looking at her, he realized suddenly that she meant it. She did just want to talk; to comfort him. Nothing but the best intentions came from her thoughts.

Weird, he mused to himself. "Your eyes are different," he said aloud, regarding her more closely.

She grinned. "Oh, you noticed? Yes, I only use the contacts for… well, you know. They can hurt like the devil, though. Nasty little buggers."

Edward smiled. "I'm sure you'd have success without them."

"No. I'd frighten tourists."

Edward grimaced a little. "Why do you do it?" he asked. "What is the incentive?"

Heidi pursed her full lips. "To serve my masters."

"What if you had a choice?"

Her eyes gleamed softly, as she realized what he meant. He heard her mind going in a whirl, filled with thoughts and dreams and memories, as she deliberated telling him the truth…

"You can trust me," he said.

She glanced sharply at him, then laughed hesitantly. "I'd forgotten you were like Aro," she said. She drew a breath. "So you heard?"

"Bits and pieces."

She was silent, twisting her coppery hair between her fingers.

"You said you wanted to talk," he prodded. "I would rather hear you say it, anyway." Say anything. I don't care. Just don't let me think of her.

Heidi was smiling again. He thought briefly how much lovelier she looked, seeing her like this; away from the Volturi, out of her normal environment. There was a sparkling vitality about her. It flared from her absent fingers to her eyes, resting there in a quivering gleam of excitement.

"You really want to hear?" she asked lightly. He nodded, and she sighed. "It's not a happy story, I'm afraid."

"None of them are," he whispered softly.

Heidi reached over, patting Edward's arm with a slender hand. He recoiled, but she didn't appear to be offended. "I know, but a lot have happy endings, right?"

"If damnation is happiness." He cursed himself silently; cursed himself for not doing everything in his power to stop Bella. Stop her before she went too far…

Heidi shrugged. "So we're damned then. Deal with it. That's why I like your father and my masters. They've resigned themselves to their fate, instead of whining about it."

He frowned. If only things were that easy.

Heidi glanced at him, then up at the sliver of the moon. Her face was pale and aquiline in the shadows. "I wasn't born here," she said suddenly, startling him. She looked at him again. "What? Do I look Italian to you?"

"I never said you did."

"Good." She sighed. "No, I came from Germany. Funny, but I can hardly remember the language now. There were five of us; me, Hilda, Mary, Anne, and…" Her voice softened. "And Noela. She was my favorite—sweet thing. Clung to me like a little kitten."

Edward watched her, biting back a smile. She was fighting him; withholding the memories until they came from her lips. Heidi wasn't stupid. She would tell the story in her own way.

"That weird sister of yours might have liked her," she continued. "Not Hilda, though. Hilda was a monster." Heidi's lips pursed. "Wouldn't let us do anything we wanted. Insisted we stay with her, her own "pet" creations. It went that way for about a hundred years. Then Aro showed up."

"The Volturi, you mean?"

"Mm-hm. They accused our lovely mother of attracting too much attention. Also killing too many humans, and something else I've forgotten." Heidi grinned. "Oo, she was in trouble that day." "So they killed her?" Edward's voice was hard. Murderers.

"Yep. Razed us to the ground. All except me and Victoria, that is."

The image in Heidi's mind was unmistakable. "Victoria?" he gasped.

"Yes. She was always a cunning immortal. Outsmarted us half the time. She got wind of what was going to happen, and took off before we could stop her. Not that it mattered." Heidi's eyes were red slits. "They would have killed her, too."

"Victoria?" he repeated.

She looked at him curiously. "You know her?"

"She's dead."

Heidi drew a quick breath. "How do you know?"

"I killed her."

"Why?" she whispered.

"She was the redhead recruiting the newborns. In Seattle, remember? Or do your masters not keep you informed?"

Heidi smiled, but her hands trembled. "I'm not a part of their discussions. The rest of us simply knew there was trouble down there. I knew nothing of the culprit."

"She was evil, Heidi. She went mad after losing her mate."

Heidi's nostrils flared. "I would've gone mad," she hissed. "You don't know what it's like to lose your… you don't know anything."

For a moment, the barriers in her mind fell, and Edward saw everything in a blinding rush. She turned away, flicking her hair angrily from her face, but it was too late. He had seen her memory of Aro, greedy for her talents, and the leering face of Chelsea standing behind him…

That's when it hit him. Heidi had never wanted to join. It was forced upon her. And now she was immune to the pain of her coven's suffering. She had learned to look on it with acceptance. After all, what could be better than being the "bait" for the Volturi? Accepted into the vampires' most powerful family…?

"I'm sorry," he said, causing her to turn around.

She shook her head, already past it. "It's nothing. Strange, but I usually don't get emotional like that." She laughed a little. "Silly me."

"So they kept you alive for your gifts?"

Heidi smiled. "Why else? I felt proud to be part of them."

Because you were made to. "Why are you telling me all this?" he said aloud.

"I told you. I wanted to keep you company. Besides…" she smiled at him, almost shyly. "It's kind of nice talking to you, Edward. You don't spill secrets."

"Thanks."
She stood up, tugging a little on her dress. "Well, I should probably get back. No need for Aro to panic." She started across the street, then came back and put a hand on his shoulder. Her eyes looked into his. "Just so you know, I've been looking out for Bella. She'll be fine. Don't worry, 'k?"

Edward's throat tightened, although his face remained calm. "Thanks, Heidi."

She flashed another smile at him, then walked away, her black heels clicking on the stone.