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This is definitely not worth the... what was it... 7-8 MONTHS (?!?!?!) that some of you have been waiting, but hell, it's an update!
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Chapter 23 Excerpt

I looked back into Edward's eyes (more like eye) and followed his line of sight, and I froze.

Out from the darkness sauntered a glowing woman with savage fire-like hair, moving in an almost feline way.

Recognition slapped me in the face, and I was immeadiately in a crouched position as well.

Victoria.

Feral snarls ripped from my chest, a monster inside thrashing red-hot at the mere thought of Victoria coming back into my life, into my home. Edward's stance was gnarled, his legs in a low crouch, his teeth bared, lips pulled over his teeth, disturbing clamor bursting through them. I didn't know what to think, except for a small part of my mind was wondering why Victoria was standing calmly before us.

Carlisle strolled forward, and placed a gentle hand on Edward's shoulder, causing him to shudder violently, then slump from his rigid pose. Confused, I allowed myself to stand straight, although the monster inside was still raging, my hands still clenched into fists. After some silent deliberation, I released my glower on Victoria and took my chances, turning my head to look at Carlisle. If Victoria wanted a foray, I would be protected by my family. Looking around at said family, I finally took in their slackened postures and relaxed state.

Carlisle's face was as placid as ever, and even a trace of a smile lingered on his lips. He stared at Edward with a calculated fierceness, as if he were trying to communicate something to him through his eyes only. I held my breath. After what seemed like an eternity, Carlisle chuckled slightly, shaking his head and closing his eyes. On opening them again, he said, "I'd forgotten you've lost your powers. This entire time I've been trying to communicate non-verbally with Edward." His laugh was a slight breeze, cooling all of us and causing me to relax. "Everything is quite alright, in this situation at least. Victoria will not do any of us any harm. She only wishes to discuss the Volturi matter with us, seeing that Laurent is a good friend of hers." I glanced at Victoria, who wore a curious expression on her face. I smiled apologetically at her after we made brief and awkward eye contact, and returned to listen towards Carlisle once again.

Clearing his throat, he spread his arms, gesturing to everyone in the room. "Well, we are all in a bit of a predicament, aren't we?"

Managing a few nervous laughs, my family looked around anxiously. It was always Carlisle's style to subtly state the obvious, then discuss the finer details and a solution.

"Although there is much to think about, I feel like we are all overreacting quite a bit."

The breath came out of me so fast, it made a whooshing sound. Everyone turned to look at me, and I snapped a hand over my gaping mouth. Now was not the time for hysterics. It was just that... the Volturi. Were coming. SOON. And he thought we were overreacting?!

I felt Edward's arms snake around my waist, pulling me closer to his body. My hands rested on top of Edward's, my ring shining softly and subtly in the moonlight casted through the window. I tried to keep my breathing slow and even. I was panicking internally, waiting for Carlisle to continue.

"Alice. What exactly did you see in your last vision?" Carlisle's faint smile was painted on his face, and he scanned the room until he met Alice's eyes. Breathing in, she began to speak.

I spoke first, blurting out, "I'm sorry, but... Victoria, why're you here?" Didn't you want to kill me? Why haven't you even tried yet?

She smiled like she could read my mind, her face and voice gentle and disturbingly comforting. "That grudge has been long forgotten, Bella. It's been fifty years. I've grown tired trying to revenge a love that wasn't even real." She looked down at her hands, which were folded gently together. I thought I heard a sad sigh coming from somewhere in the room, and I could've bet a limb that it was Esme. "I've been living with a... a vegetarian coven, you know." Stepping into the light, she glanced up, revealing her dark eyes. With a start, I realized that they were no longer the piercing red that I had seen on Laurent, but that there was a thin rim of a burning, buttery golden color, almost completely enveloped in black. No wonder... the last time I'd seen her, she'd been thirsty anyway. Her eyes were etched in my mind as ominously black. I was shocked beyond belief, my mouth gaping like a fish once again. I heard Emmett chuckle in the far corner, and shot him a dirty look. I was almost positive they had reacted in the same way.

Edward loosened his grip on me and let his hands slip through my hands, and when I turned to look at him, his face was twisted like something stung. Alarmed, I immediately panicked, searching his body for any source of pain, my fingers fluttering everywhere, trying to help. He laughed and pointed at my skin. "You kind of burned me there."

I stared at him for a long time, not knowing what to think. Burned him? I turned to Carlisle, who wore an amused expression on his face.

Alice smirked where she was, looking at me. Oh yeah, Alice was supposed to talk. I scanned her face. Something was wrong with her eyes. "As I was saying..." Smiling at me faintly, she looked down at her feet, shuffling them. "I think I've made a mistake."

I looked at her, puzzled, the world seeming to make an abrupt halt.

She continued, her head ducked. "You see, you all rely on my visions too much for it to be healthy... And, well, they change... And sometimes, they don't mean anything, and--"

"The point?" Edward's voice was a harsh interruption in her speech and in our silence.

Alice took a deep breath, clamping her eyes shut. "What I mean is..." Her eyes flashed open, looking at nothing. "I don't think it's the Volturi."

Everyone made noises of discomfort, of anger, and of confusion.

"For Pete's sake, Alice!" Rosalie screamed, grabbing the roots of her hair with her perfectly manicured fingernails. It was the first time I'd ever seen her lose her cool. The room was chaotic with everyone bustling and yelling at each other. Only Jasper and I remained still.

Jasper sat alone in the corner, a sullen look on his face. Our eyes caught, and I mouthed, "Are you okay?" He shrugging, bringing his hands out in a show of apology. I was sympathetic towards him. Looking around at the mess we were in, I was sure that he'd wanted to use his power to help put out the fire.

"Alice," I whispered.

The whole room went still, strangely enough, and I felt exposed. I ducked my head a little, embarrassed. "I was just wondering... the powers. What's happened? Why're they still not working? This just doesn't make sense..." The last sentence was barely a whisper. Everyone was still staring with alarming intensity.

Alice frowned, a small child in a room of angry adults. "The vision... it changed at the last second and I didn't know what to think of it. It literally changed in the last millisecond that I had left of my ability. But it was the Volturi before that. They were coming. It was absolute, it seemed. So, I freaked out. And the little glimpse I had of something else was sort of the same." She closed her eyes again. "I'm trying to remember what everything looked like in that last bit. What I do remember was that it was the exact scene, minus the Volturi." Her eyes opened slowly. "You all know that I have been following the Volturi's every movement, ever since we've banded together as a coven. I know every single one of their brigade, every single vampire they've recruited. And the faces that I saw in that last glimpse, I've never seen before." She paused, wringing her hands. "I'm scared."

The quiet of the room was stifling. No one knew what to say... Her speech left us as equally bewildered as before.

And suddenly, Edward was speaking in terse whispers. "Christian. Explain to me the vision that you saw."

I looked over to Christian, whose face was half-hidden in Dylan's chest. "I can't say. I wasn't looking into that before my ability was shot. I'm afraid I am not as well tuned to the Volturi as Alice. I didn't see this coming at all."

Edward paced, stalking around the room, counting on his fingers, silent words moving through his lips, his hands making gestures into the air, calculating. I could hear Christian's quiet dry sobs and see Dylan stroking her back, trying to calm her. Alice, seeming to understand her speaking time was over, slunking back into the corner with Jasper, where she sat cross-legged beside him and rested her hand on his upon the floor. Rosalie's hair was disheveled, making me think wildly of the time when Edward had ruined my hair hours before we had to announce to the family that we were engaged. Emmett was just grinning, grinning like the normal happy-go-lucky teddy bear that he was, looking at Rosalie. That made me wonder what he was thinking of. I shook the thought off and looked to Carlisle and Esme, still the same, serene masks on their faces, watching Edward, concern burning in their eyes. Laurent was quiet where he was, and it didn't seem like much of anything. Victoria was silent as well, and standing next to Laurent, they were outsiders, looking in on a situation. I could feel their discomfort from where I was.

What was happening? Who were these mystery people who were trying to harm us? Looking around at the faces I loved, it wasn't hard to feel angry about this. Before I could do or say anything, Christian walked briskly across the room to Alice, taking her hand and pulling her up.

"Alice. I need you to concentrate like you've never concentrated before. I need you to tell me everything about that vision of yours." With an intense pause, she sighed.

"I think there is more to Dylan and I that you all need to know."

I know, this probably didn't live up to the expectations, but hopefully it will've been at least a nice filler to keep you coming. I won't make any promises as to how soon or often I'll update, but I do know that I will. I've suddenly been cured of my writer's block, and new ideas are brewing in my head.

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