Chapter Twenty-Five
"You're sure this is the house?"
It was mid-April. Esme and Rosalie stood outside of Sam and Emily Uley's La Push home, the snow on the ground around them dirty and brown as it struggled to melt away completely in the warm Spring weather.
"This is it," Rosalie said, nodding once.
Esme walked carefully up to the door, bundling her shawl around her shoulders, though she felt no cold from the blustering winds. She raised her fist, pounding gently three times on the Uley's door.
Not a minute later the door opened to reveal the shocked expression on Emily Uley's half-mutilated face.
"... Esme Cullen?" she said cautiously, having rarely seen and never once met the gorgeous pale-skinned woman now standing on her doorstep.
"Yes, that's me. I'm Dr. Cullen's wife," Esme introduced, offering a kind smile along with her greeting. "And you must be Sam's wife, Emily?"
"Yes," Emily replied, nodding as she continued to stare at the beautiful Cullen women in awe. "Is everything all right? Do you need to speak with Sam?"
"We were hoping to," Esme confirmed.
"Come in," Emily invited, quickly stepping aside. "Sam is out back. I'll go get him. Please, uh... make yourselves at home."
Esme and Rosalie stepped cautiously into the small home, the smell of the wolves instantly filling their nostrils. Rosalie gagged slightly, and Esme frowned.
"Oh, Rose," she scolded.
"It smells like a pound in here," Rosalie choked, quickly covering her mouth.
At that moment the large, handsome figure of Sam Uley came marching into the small foyer. His face bore a worried expression the moment he spotted the Cullens.
"Esme, Rosalie... er, hello," he greeted uncomfortably, having never actually carried out a conversation with either of the two women now standing in his home.
"Hello, Sam. I'm sorry to barge into your home like this, but we would really like to speak with you," Esme said, stepping carefully towards Sam, who struggled not to back away from the unfamiliar vampire in his home.
"Of course. Uh, why don't we take a seat?"
Sam lead the two women into the small living area just off of the foyer. Emily followed nervously, staying close to Sam's side.
"Is there anything I can get for you?" she offered, eyeing Esme and Rosalie fearfully, as if afraid that they might ask for a nice glass of blood from the kitchen.
"No, thank you. We just came to speak business with the pack," Esme said, turning her attention now to Sam. "As you know, my family is currently out searching for Renesmee and Jacob. But they are also on a mission to gather support for an impending world-wide war against the Italian vampire monarchy, the Volturi."
"Has a battle begun already?" Sam asked instantly, sitting up in his seat.
"No, not yet. But it is not far in the future," Esme warned. "Over the past few months, Carlisle and I have been trying to gather up any vampire allies that we have. Through his travels, and our coven meetings, we have managed to gather more than half of the world's covens to agree to fight alongside us during battle. So I had hoped to expand our army even wider."
"You mean the pack?" Sam asked.
"Yes," Esme said nodding. "We're not asking you to risk any of your brother's lives in battle for us-"
"We're your allies. We will gladly fight with you, and for you," Sam declared, without a second thought.
Esme smiled kindly at Sam, though she caught Emily's frightened expression out of the corner of her eye.
"I appreciate your dedication to our pact. But you may want to confer with some of the others before agreeing so fervently," she remarked.
"The boys will be glad to join your cause. They all love Jacob, and Jacob is part of Renesmee now," Sam insisted.
"Why not consult your loved ones before handing over your life so freely to bunch of bloodsuckers?" Rosalie snapped suddenly, her eyes landed solely on Emily.
Sam turned to his wife curiously, and Emily frantically raised her face to her face, brushing away the few tears that had fallen from her good eye. Sam took her hand gently in his own, nodding silently as he turned back to Esme.
"I'll discuss it with the others tonight. Could we meet again tomorrow?" he asked. Esme smiled, nodding.
"Of course," she said. "We'll be back to discuss any further plans, no matter what your answer is."
"Thank you," Sam said, nodding.
Esme and Rosalie took their cue to leave, both standing and striding gracefully from the small home. Emily's sobs could be heard following them out into the windy air.
"I can't believe he was so ready to just abandon his wife for a cause he knows hardly anything about," Rosalie muttered, beginning to storm off down the path, Esme following slowly.
"He's a fighter. You should understand that better than anyone," Esme remarked.
"I do understand. Which is why I can't stand to see other men behaving just as recklessly as Emmett," Rosalie growled, stopping before their car, a surge of pain pounding through her heart. Esme's hand was instantly on her back.
"He loves you, Rosalie. That's why he's out there. He's not like Edward and Jasper - he shows this love through his actions. Through fighting for you," she said.
"I'm sick of fighting," Rosalie growled bitterly, as she stepped into the passenger's seat, slamming the door behind her.
Niklas led the Cullens fearlessly into the Swiss Alps. As they neared, the temperature dropped lower and lower, and snow began falling around them, picking up at an alarming rate. Though the troupe of vampires were in no way affected by the cold, the snow made it difficult for them to see ahead as they trudged aimlessly into the mountains.
"Look," Niklas said suddenly, stopping the entire group as he pointed down at the ground beneath them. Everyone stared down at the small dents in the snow beneath them curiously.
"Someone else has walked here recently," Jonas explained, after several minutes of the Cullens' confused silence.
"How can you tell?" Jasper asked.
"The small dents are the remnants of snow-covered footprints," Jonas continued. "See? Whatever was walking here must have had a large stride..."
"Let us not get too excited. It may simply have been the hunters who left their tracks," Niklas said.
"Then that means we must be near the spot where they saw the wolf," Bella remarked.
The journey continued through the blustering snow, as the group tried to follow the tiny dents that represented footsteps from days before, maybe longer.
After a while, the sun began to rise, and the path of tiny dents had become almost impossible even for the vampires to follow.
"Perhaps we should consider dispersing," Carlisle suggested, as the group came to a stop atop a small hill. "We're going to have to be on high alert now that the sun's come up anyhow. Traveling in such a large group may not be safe."
"Do you mind if we join in?"
The entire group leapt in surprise at the sound of Aro's voice from behind them. Through the swirling snow, they could clearly make out the three dark, hooded figures of the Volturi brothers, all approaching slowly.
"How long have you been following us?" Niklas demanded, his entire stance changing to one of defense the moment he laid eyes on the Volturi.
"Physically? For about two minutes. Mentally? Well, let's just say Edward and I are always following each other," Aro remarked, with a sickening grin in Edward's direction.
"Then you know that our lead has let us down," Carlisle said.
"Quite the contrary. We believe that your lead has taken us directly to where we should be searching," Aro stated.
"You actually think that we're going to continue now that we know you're following us?" Emmett sneered.
"My dear boy, Edward has known all along that we have been following you. Every step of the way," Aro said, again eyeing Edward with a sickening smirk.
"What?" Emmett snapped, whirling on his brother.
"Of course I knew they were following us. Aro can see into my thoughts as easily as I can see into any of yours," Edward countered immediately.
"So what? You were ready to hand Nessie over to these guys the minute we found her?" Emmett demanded.
"Emmett..." Jasper said wearily, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder.
"No. That's when I intend to fight. Once I have my daughter safely by my side, I will be prepared to fight for her life," Edward nearly growled, and Bella carefully extended her hand to his shoulder as well.
"Noble intentions," Aro piped up. "Unfortunately, you all know very well that your family stands no chance fighting against ours, no matter how much you may adore each other."
"This is no longer the Cullens' battle, Aro."
The three heads of the Volturi brothers all shot around simultaneously, as Niklas suddenly stepped forward. His usually calm, collected demeanor was completely gone, replaced instead by one of fury and rage.
"Ah, Niklas. You finally decide to voice your concerns," Aro remarked patronizingly.
"This is not just about what you did to my family," Niklas continued, glaring ever more furiously at the Volturi. "You have wronged more covens than I can count over the past century. My family and I were once great supporters of you, and the old traditions. But you have managed to turn even your greatest supporters against you through your despicable actions. We fight for the Cullens now, and I think you will be surprised to learn just how many other covens are fighting for them as well."
Aro was staring at Niklas curiously, an almost concerned expression crossing his face as he undoubtedly received a sense of something he had not expected. But Caius merely stormed over to Niklas, grabbing him fiercely by the throat.
"You shall never speak to my family that way again, you mongrel," he spat, lifting Niklas off the ground with one hand.
"Let go of my brother!" Jonas hollered, ramming furiously into Caius as Niklas flailed desperately, trying to escape Caius's gasp as it began to crush around his neck.
"Caius, stop!" Carlisle shouted desperately.
"Release him, my brother."
Caius dropped Niklas out of shock, as he turned to face Aro with a stunned expression.
"He posed a threat to the monarchy," Caius growled, continuing to stare at his brother in confusion.
"He spoke the truth. We do not punish those who tell the truth, Caius," Aro said calmly. "We are going to leave you now, Cullens. Continue your journey, but know that we are always watching."
And just as silently as they had arrived, the Volturi brothers were gone, disappearing into a cold, black mist. Jonas and Leon helped Niklas to his feet, as he corrected his nearly mutilated throat.
"I loathe those men with all of my heart," Niklas spat, glaring at the spot where the Volturi had stood. "I will kill them one day. I will."
"I think it would be best if we retire our search for a bit. Perhaps find a cave in which we can regroup," Carlisle suggested.
The Cullens followed silently as Carlisle began heading off towards some caves in the side of the hills, the Germans right behind them.
"Edward?"
Edward, who had been walking silently alongside Bella, turned suddenly to see Emmett behind him, eyeing him apologetically.
"Yes?" Edward asked, though he could already hear Emmett's entire speech in his mind.
"I'm sorry," Emmett offered, fully aware that Edward could hear every word before it left his mouth. Edward nodded, eyeing his brother solemnly.
"Apology accepted. I'm sorry too," he said.
"You know I just worry about Rose," Emmett sighed.
"I know," Edward assured him.
"But I love Nessie, I do. She's an amazing kid, and I couldn't stand it if anything happened to her," Emmett said.
Edward hesitated for a moment, slightly thrown off guard by Emmett's sudden decision to improvise. Emmett patted his back sympathetically.
"We're gonna find her. Forget Alice's visions - I know we are," he said.
"Thank you, Emmett," Edward replied.
Emmett nodded once, before jogging off up the hill to catch up with Carlisle. Edward and Bella watched him go, and Bella squeezed Edward's hand.
"He understands. As thick as he may seem sometimes... Emmett understands," she said.
"Yes. Emmett is quite remarkable that way," Edward agreed.
And he said no more, for every time he thought of Emmett, all he could was the single image that had been plaguing Alice's mind for the past three weeks: Rosalie sobbing before a pyre of their brother's body parts.