Chapter Twenty Five

Carlisle

I couldn't believe it, Emmett had gone off in the truck taking Jasper and the others with him. I should have seen it coming, the way he had questioned everything I said as if he didn't understand just how momentous and important this research was, not only to me but to all of us. How it could revolutionize our lives, how Rosalie need never fear exposure again.

I ran outside to check the car but he'd sabotaged that, well I understood his thinking, if I wanted Jasper and the woman back then I needed some form of transport but I didn't really care about the woman or her child, what I really wanted was Jasper and I could carry him easily enough. I just hoped it wouldn't come to a fight with Emmett. I didn't want that, I wanted him to understand I was doing this for all of us but if it came to it then I was prepared. He might be stronger but he wasn't as experienced and he wouldn't expect me to put up much opposition but I was fighting for my life's work and I wouldn't be stopped now, not by him or anyone else.

Instead of wasting any more time I took off after him figuring he would head into town, assuming there was safety to be had among the humans. Well, he was right to an extent but he forgot I had Demetri and Alec for back up if necessary and even with Bella's shield we could hunt them down if they were close enough. He could never hope to outrun us with two humans in tow in this weather, they would slow him down too much. Poor Emmett, he'd never been one to plan ahead and running off like this in blind panic wasn't a bright move, Aro would certainly be furious with him and I didn't blame him, I was myself.

As I ran I called Aro back to tell him what had happened, I didn't want him thinking I had anything to do with Emmett's reckless actions, he might suspect I was trying to spirit Jasper away and I needed his help and backing to continue my research. As expected he was less than impressed with my news but promised to send Demetri and Alec straight to town to watch for Emmett's arrival. I didn't think he would attempt to keep moving, it would be far too dangerous with the Volturi gathering to hunt him down and Bella and her daughter would require comfort stops which would slow him down still further. No, I suspected he would try to find somewhere to hide his pathetic little group of fugitives. Didn't he realize that he couldn't hide indefinitely? Either the child would give away their hiding place, children couldn't keep quiet and still for long although he probably wouldn't know that, he'd never had any dealings with small humans, or Jasper would wake up and find he was in more pain and anguish than before and either lose control and slaughter them all or try to find me for help as he surely must if he understood that I was the only person who could save him.

Aro

So, Carlisle had finally lost control of his coven, of course, I knew this day would come although it had lasted far longer than I had ever imagined down largely to his mate I suspected. I had always liked Esme even though I knew that she feared me. At first, my feelings towards her had been because she made my old friend happy and more settled, he needed some stability in his life and she provided it. Later I realized just how much she kept him grounded, Carlisle was a dreamer, a fanciful man who thought it was his calling to save the humans from death and disease and she was there when he discovered, as he did time and time again, that sometimes you cannot conquer the grim reaper. How sad it was to see him putting aside Esme in order to pursue another dream. If he could really do the things he insisted he could then I, of course, would back him to the hilt but I wondered if he had thought about Esme and what his decisions might mean. She loved him dearly and had always stood at his shoulder but how would she feel when she discovered she was less important to Carlisle than the completion of his life's work? The bribe of the child was his way of getting around this awkward truth but would she see it for what it really was? Or would her craving to be a mother once more blind her to reality?

I did wonder if perhaps this was all a ruse to get his hands on his specimen and squirrel it away somewhere so he could continue his experiments for as long as he liked and do whatever took his fancy but I decided it just wasn't Carlisle's style. Not that I thought he wouldn't like to do just that but I doubted even in his single-minded pursuit of a goal he would forget the consequences of such a move. I would certainly take measures to bring him back, I didn't care about his precious coven or the youngsters he called his family and if I had to, I would have them all executed one at a time until he handed over his specimen….. up to and including Esme if he pushed me that far.

The plane landed an hour later and I was soon on the road to this small town in the middle of nowhere accompanied by Felix and two of my hand-picked guards while Jane drove off to join Alec, Afton, and Demetri who were still scouring the area for the truck and the fugitives. Felix had questioned the wisdom of traveling out to the woman's house since they had fled but I liked to see where my quarry felt at home, it gave me an insight into the way they thought and where they might go to hide. Of course I had to remember that Emmett Cullen was the one leading this gallant little party and he might choose somewhere that she would not but something told me that the woman and child were the driving force behind this flight, something in the monster had resonated with her and I dearly wanted to know what that might be. In fact, if I were being honest about it, I wanted the woman almost as much as the monster himself and things that I wanted I usually got.

The house was small and ordinary, far enough away from other residences that no one would see or hear anything that went on here. I stood in the snow and looked around, living in Volterra we didn't see much snow and I had almost forgotten how clean and bright it made everything appear. Listening, I could hear the sound of nocturnal animals about their business foraging to survive, the sound of the snow filtering slowly through the branches of the trees in the nearby copse of trees and a dog barking in the far distance but apart from the sound of a dying fire, the house itself was silent.

"Check it."

Felix gestured for the two guards who tried the front door first then went around the back where they found the door unlocked and entered.

"There's no one here Aro, we'd hear them."

"Possibly Felix, but what puzzles me is why Emmett Cullen would try to escape with the monster and the two humans in a truck. He must have known Carlisle or Demetri would catch up with him soon enough."

"He panicked and did the only thing he could think of, maybe he even thought the woman would be able to hide the truck's whereabouts from us."

I looked around once more,

"Possibly, yes, maybe, but I don't know of a single gift that could make a truck invisible to searches."

"Does it have to be invisible to us? Maybe her gift is like Renata's, she just causes you to shy away from the thing she is protecting, maybe Demetri wasn't able to find them because he was turned aside each time he got close. Maybe we are getting turned aside now."

"Yes, and that's what bothers me, Felix. Are we being turned aside now? Is this run for freedom real or merely a smokescreen for something else?"

Felix frowned looking around just as I had,

"You think they're still here? Hiding somewhere?"

I shrugged,

"That would depend on several things, Emmett Cullen's intelligence, the monster's present state and the courage of the woman. Would you hide here?"

He thought about this for a second before shaking his head,

"No, Emmett Cullen doesn't have the brains to come up with something like that, The Major is too sick to put up a fight if cornered and the woman isn't going to put her daughter in any more danger than necessary. It depends on how much she knows but humans in general always flee from danger."

What he said made sense but still, I hesitated….

"Go check the garage, see if there are any more vehicles and see if you can find out why Carlisle didn't take the car that's sitting out here."

I knew little about the internal workings of vehicles but Felix had a working knowledge and soon explained some important leads were missing.

"So the car has been sabotaged?"

"Yes, presumably to slow Carlisle down, he could pursue them on foot but he can't transport the woman and child if he has to carry The Major."

"Yes, that's true but just check the garage before we leave."

As he walked slowly towards the garage I realized how cold it must be for the humans around here, far too cold for any of them to hide out in an unheated garage in the middle of the night and especially when one was a small vulnerable child who would soon become uncomfortable and who couldn't be persuaded to keep still and cries or snuffles could be heard clearly in the quiet of these surroundings. Changing my mind I called out to him,

"Never mind Felix, collect the others, we'll meet up with Demetri close to the town and decide where to look for our quarry next if he hasn't already discovered their whereabouts."

As I had expected the guards found nothing useful in the house except signs that the place had been vacated in a hurry. Drawers and closet doors had been left open and a heap of Christmas presents was still piled under the tree, poor little girl, Santa wouldn't be visiting her this year.

"There are covers missing off the beds and boots and coats are missing from their pegs in the porch."

"Did you see any tracks?"

"Only those going out into the yard and they are disappearing fast, the only distinct set leads out towards the road, someone running very fast."

"Carlisle in hot pursuit of his creation, he was so angry at Emmett. I wonder if this is the beginning of the end for the Cullen coven? Well, we shall see in good time. Come, let us go there is nothing of use to us here."

We drove off the property and down the road towards the small town but I couldn't help glancing back almost as if I expected to see something, a light appear or shadows move, a sign that the place was not as deserted as it appeared but it stayed a dark shape slowly fading from view as the snow continued to fall. There was something though, something that made me uncomfortable leaving the place unwatched although I couldn't have explained exactly what it was if I had been asked.

"Stop the car, Felix."

He stopped the car in the center of the road, the only pathway open as the snow had built up on each side, no snow plows had come along here in a very long time.

I gestured to the two guards sitting silently in the back,

"I want the two of you to go back to the house, find a good spot to watch the road and the building and wait. If you see anything at all, if you hear the slightest sound that is out of place you call me. If you see the woman and child you grab them but only if they are alone. Do not approach if there is a strange man with them. You do know what Carlisle looks like?"

They nodded,

"Good, if you see him arrest him but do not leave. You call and Felix will come back, I do not want that place out of your sight until I return or call for you, do you understand?"

They nodded gravely then climbed out and made their way back towards the silent house.

"You think there's someone there don't you?"

I shrugged,

"Let's just say I have an uneasy feeling about the place, I think it may not remain empty for too long. Now, let's find Demetri, I want to speak to Esme Cullen, perhaps she will be more forthcoming about this woman and the creature."

Felix pulled away once more and I sat back thinking about the situation, I didn't like being here, I was never comfortable away from Volterra even with Renata ghost-like at my shoulder. It was strange but I never saw her any longer and neither did Felix or the other guards, it was as if she were a ghost and that got me thinking about the woman and her strange talent that had thwarted Demetri for so long. How useful she would be to us if we could only find and capture her.