Disclaimer:

Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight.

And it's a good thing too because there seems to be some interest in the book series and, if I were her, I might just consider writing some additional novels to cash in.

Or at very least explain to my pal, Morgan, and all his friends why I named one of the characters, Renesmee. And, if that wasn't bad enough, gave her a nickname that was even worse, Nessie!

I hope all you writers go out and thank your betas tonight for talking you out of your most quasi-doofus ideas.

Which reminds me….

Thank you, Jennifer, for not letting me use the word bumbags in this chapter.

(Can you tell that I had two weeks to come up with this disclaimer?)

Chapter Twenty Six:

Devil Is In The Details

Notre Dame Cathedral towered over the houses on the Isle de la Cité in the middle of the Seine River. Its white stone walls spread outward like a ghost with broad shoulders. Jasper carried Emmett into the sanctuary and placed him on the same alter that supported Alice on the night they met.

Jasper could not believe what he was considering. It simply was not like him but, since meeting Alice and becoming friends with Bella, Jacob and the Cullens, he found that he had compassion where previously there had been none. He discovered something else as well.

He had a soft spot for Emmett McCarty.

Jasper took his coat off and opened Emmett's shirt to examine his injuries. His chest was smooth but distorted with the broken bones underneath. He was not breathing well and he had begun swallowing a lot. Jasper saw his chance. He sliced open his wrist by dragging it along one of the two blades at his back, just like he had done with Alice, but this time he hesitated.

He wished Alice would disobey orders and show up to talk him out if this. Emmett was likely to take the news poorly given his religious ties and his predisposition to vampires in general but Jasper found arguments around those observations.

Bella was a nun, he thought to himself, and who wouldn't have an aversion to us?

Clearly, he already knew he was going through with it.

Jasper was not a religious man but, there in a dark and forgotten church, as he fed his own blood to his dying friend lying on the alter, he recited a prayer.

God, please take Emmett if that's your will but, if you leave him here, I promise to care for him. He will be frightened and angry, of that I am sure. So please give me the strength to help him adjust. And please give me the strength to not use strength. Amen.

Jasper was surprised to hear Emmett mutter 'Amen' between gulps. Emmett hardly was aware of what he was hearing but was nevertheless responding to the familiar word as he dipped in and out of consciousness.

Jasper did not bother with older blood from his cellar as his was quite powerful already. He did not need to use a needle to push blood into Emmett's veins because he remained alive for almost ten minutes after Jasper fed him.

As far as Jasper had been able to piece together, both as a vampire and a doctor, if vampire blood was introduced to the system of a healthy human, they would be transformed into a vampire within one day. If that person were close to death and therefore susceptible to the poison, the process could take several hours less.

Edward had been lucky. He was clinically dead when Jasper arrived at the theatre and it was the heart compressions and the intravenous introduction of multiple vampire blood donors that allowed him to complete the transformation Bella had started.

Jasper had also seen plenty of healthy humans tricked into ingesting vampire blood and fall into a deep sleep only to wake up to a perpetual night. He was one of them and he sincerely believed it was the worst way to be turned.

He did not have the gift of unconsciousness Emmett had been blessed with. Jasper remembered screaming his lungs out to an unsympathetic plantation house in Kentucky. He was awake for every brutal moment until his heart stopped. The memory of it still nauseated him.

The memory of killing Victoria was no better and that one carried physical scars from the unsympathetic Kentucky sun.

Jasper thought about the implications of being Emmett's sole maker. Jasper had not seen the golden sparks that marked the unique relationship coming from his own eyes since Irina. That was another memory that nauseated Jasper.

Time would tell if this one would do the same.

Jasper moved Emmett to the crypt downstairs. It had body sized holes in the walls as well as several raised cement slabs. Jasper carefully laid his still friend down in one of the catacombs and risked dashing out to fetch Alice from the theatre. He had never known any vampire to wake up before twenty hours but was a nervous wreck the whole time he was away.

He knocked on the lobby doors and was quickly greeted and embraced by his Alice. She was all smiles in her light blue princess dress because Jasper was an hour earlier than she had expected.

"We have to go to Notre Dame right now," Jasper told her but, never a man to cause unnecessary panic, added, "You don't need your weapons, just come with me."

Alice nodded. She understood it was one of those situations where she would simply have to trust and follow. All would be explained when they got to where they needed to be.

Alice thought that Jasper was running pretty fast, even for a vampire. He was keeping to the long shadows but would have only looked like a streak to any human out for a late evening stroll. He leaped effortlessly across streets and Alice could not help but be impressed when he did the same over the river.

It was amazing. He truly and completely, with room to spare on both banks, jumped over the Seine. When he landed, he kept running like it was nothing.

Jasper was getting stronger.

When Alice entered the dark chamber of the cathedral a few moments behind him, she heard his voice at the other end of the building.

"We're down here," came his distant words and Alice froze.

Someone else is here?

She walked slowly over to the door located left of the alter that led into the sacristy. She continued through it, walking across the wooden trapdoor of the cellar and into a tiny room that housed only the door to the crypt stairs. That door was open and Jasper was sitting half way down the stone steps.

"Jasper, what's going on?" Alice sounded alarmed.

"Emmet McCarty is dead," Jasper said thickly. The act of running seemed to heighten his emotion and when he looked down at the body in the crypt and saw how small his friend looked, he was compelled to weep.

Alice caught on quickly. "Did you turn him?"

Jasper nodded.

"On purpose?" Alice asked.

"No. He killed a vampire on the bridge and she made him regret it. I got there as it was ending."

"She?"

Jasper knew the woman. He had met her several times, in fact, and had even once been warned by Alice, who was quite jealous of her beauty, to stay a way from the blonde beauty.

"It was Tanya," he admitted.

"Emmett killed Tanya?" Alice yelled. Her voice scattered throughout the church and the last echo to return to the stairwell was her one word question, "How?"

Jasper did not want to provide her with the details but did so.

"He used the blunderbuss I gave him for Christmas."

"Oh, God." Alice had seen Jasper shoot the gun once before and what came out was a foot of flame and a mile of jagged metal bits. She imagined her beautiful friend dying that way and suddenly wanted to spit on the man who did that to her.

"Why did you turn him, Jasper?" She was still shouting. "It could have been me he shot! With YOUR gun!"

Jasper stood up and walked down into the crypt, Alice followed closely, stomping. He had long ago moved the skeletons and cleaned the nooks carved into the walls, Emmett was lying in the opening Jasper usually slept in, with his arms folded over his chest.

"If he had killed you, I would have choked the life out of him myself," Jasper spoke quietly. He walked over and looked into the smooth face of the man he would claim eternal responsibility for. "I don't really know why I did it," he said honestly, "but he will need a lot of help when he wakes up."

Jasper turned toward Alice. "I have a feeling that he is going to be a handful."

Jacob had a great deal on his mind as he drove his carriage back to Paris.

Le Havre was vanishing on the horizon behind him and he was already lonely. Not only was he dealing with the knowledge that he would not see his love for at least half a year, but he was using that sorrow to dig a hole he could hide in when he would one day be without her forever.

Edward saw deep into Jacob's mind as they rode home and he pictured it as a great mountain range that Jacob dug mine shafts into. Only instead of pulling things out, he hid things away.

Edward began to follow Jacob down into one of those shafts when attempts to engage him in conversation failed. His hand rested securely on Bella's leg and her hand was placed over his. Edward wanted to have contact with someone if he was going to venture into the unknown territory of Jacob's mind. His own sense of loss and worry for his family was traded for the journey with Jacob. Edward found that Jacob went into the darkness without a compass. Sometimes, he ventured into the wrong tunnels before he found the one he wanted. Many regrets were visited unnecessarily.

When Edward began to feel cold as he plunged deeper into Jacob's engulfing labyrinth of loathing, he was gripped with panic. The tunnels suddenly filled with water and pushed him deeper into the dark square cave.

Bella had seen something wrong on Edward's face and offered her words as a beacon. He transformed into a kind of ghost when he head her speak and moved though the flesh of the mountain until he was in a green pool of sky that shimmered with her voice.

"Edward? This way Edward." Bella was guiding him. "I'm right here."

Edward opened his eyes. He was rattled. "Jacob?" he asked in a shaky voice.

"Yes?" Jacob's voice was more muffled now that the new windows were installed. The venting system that Rosalie had devised now brought his reply in through the holes under the benches.

"Are you alright?" Edward asked, unable to hide his concern.

Jacob laughed humorlessly. "It hasn't even been an hour," he responded, "I won't fall apart for another week. I promise." Jacob sounded convincing, and his surface thoughts confirmed his stability, but Edward dreamt about those mines for a month.

When the trio arrived at the theatre and found it empty, Jacob nodded his head expectantly as they stood on the polished lobby floor.

"Alice can't stay put," he laughed.

"It's late," Bella said. "Maybe Jasper has already come by."

"That must be it," Jacob agreed, remembering his conversation at the hospital earlier that afternoon. "We probably just missed him too."

"What do you want to do tonight?" Edward asked them, eager for a distraction.

Bella shrugged her shoulders. "I'm a little hungry."

"Me too," Edward realized.

Jacob slapped his head. "I was with Jasper before we left and I didn't grab the skins."

"It's alright," Bella reassured him. "You have a lot on your mind."

Edward nodded his head. "I wouldn't mind taking a walk over the river."

"I'll go with you," Bella chirped.

"Me too." Jacob added. What he really wanted to do was pour over his theatre plans one more time to see if he had any corrections to send Rosalie but he also liked the idea of stretching his legs and getting something to eat himself.

"Let's meet back here in five minutes," Bella suggested. She wanted to change her shoes and have a private conversation with Edward.

Jacob took the opportunity to run upstairs to his quarters, happy to get a tiny look at those plans after all. Bella swept through the auditorium doors and down the aisle. When they reached their bedroom, she went for the shoes first but returned to Edward and spoke with her mind. Her eyes were on his as she stroked his hair.

What's going on with Jacob?

Edward honestly did not know how to interpret what he saw. It was visual, visceral even, and he had to remind himself that Jacob had been conscious for almost four hundred years now. Who knew what defenses his mind developed to cope without sensory rest? And who was Edward to assume that he and Jacob even saw the same thing?

Edward smiled and gave her a gentle, but prolonged, kiss on her cool lips. When he took a step back, he was smiling genuinely. "I think I actually went into Jacob's mind," he began quietly, "and I don't think he knew I was there. Now if this is going to start happening to me, then you and I need to try again to make a better mental connection."

"What do you mean?"

"I can hear you, of course," he elaborated, "but, more than ever, you will need to be able to hear me."

"We tried that in San Sebastian," she reminded him.

"We were distracted in San Sebastian," Edward countered.

Bella nodded, she remembered well. "How do you want to approach it?"

Edward smiled. "I think we need to try the obvious."

"What does that mean?'

"I think you need to hypnotize me."

"I thought that didn't work on you?" Bella was confused.

"It doesn't, not involuntarily. But, if we both tried, I see no reason why it wouldn't work."

"Alright," Bella was thinking ahead, "but to what end? How does my hypnotizing you help?"

Except for keeping you in line, she thought.

Edward laughed. He liked it when Bella made jokes but his smile faltered. He did not have an answer to that question and he would need one. "Let's go up to meet Jacob and we'll think about it on the way."

Bella walked up the spiral staircase and Edward was pawing at her calves the whole way. She liked it when he was playful. It was why she made jokes.

They walked up to the lobby and waited for Jacob. Bella figured that he was absorbed in something or other and cleared her throat loud enough for the mice in the attic to hear.

Mice that Jacob was listening to at that very moment.

There were only three of them and they lived behind the walls his work tables ran along. They crossed from one side to the other through small holes and traveled over his floor. Each of them had eaten from his hand since Christmas. They left his fig tree alone and he kept them apprised of the new breads that came into the bakery next door. Jacob was listening to them and thinking about what he wanted to eat. It was an hour or so past midnight so he knew that the bakery was out. The earliest they ever got to enjoy fresh pastries was at about four in the morning and that was a full hour after the dough eyed men arrived each morning. He liked sitting on the pre-dawn streets with Bella and Edward before the vampire couple retired for the day but that was not an option this night.

Jacob was certain to find something along the river still open and serving food but his stomach screamed for flakey croissants and big crispy loaves with cheese melted over their tops. Jacob liked his cheese sharp enough to slice the bread for him.

He heard Bella announce her desire for him to hurry and he smiled. At least, he thought, she didn't start singing soprano notes. Jacob left his building plans on the table as he stood up. He had sent two copies with the Cullens. Rosalie and Carlisle each had all nine huge pages of his vision on big 30 by 30 sheets of heavy paper. Rosalie kept hers twice folded in her new leather satchel but Carlisle did not want his creased. In the end, Edward had given him the tube that held his camel skin periodic table for transport. Edward enjoyed displaying the table and had it draped over one of Bella's reading chairs. Jacob and he had quizzed each other over its contents a dozen times since he received the gift.

"I hope you two don't mind if we stop somewhere along the way for me to eat as well," Jacob said as he bounded down the stairs.

"Fine by me," Bella agreed and Edward just laughed off the request. He would not have it any other way.

When they walked out into the still night, what little moon there was had been taken hostage by a company of dark clouds. They turned toward the light breeze and followed it to the river, passing no one and hearing only the rumbling of Jacob's stomach.

The scene on the Seine was something Edward had often seen. Late night bistros with plenty of choices invited the famished farm boy. Bella and Edward each enjoyed a glass of champagne and Edward toasted his family's safe voyage. Jacob held up a glass of milk. As usual, his request for such a libation was met first with disbelief and then snickers. Jacob did not mind. He knew it was funny but he found it just plain delicious.

Jacob was soon served sliced pork on toasted bread sprinkled with parmesan cheese and several herbs. Sliced and boiled potatoes surrounded the entree. He took one look at the huge plate of food and immediately ordered another.

Edward was amazed at the amount of food the man could consume and, as always, he was offered a bite. Both Edward and Bella accepted because life is about tasting. They each drank a second glass of bubbly when the other plate arrived and, this time, Jacob toasted a successful mission in building a grand New York theatre.

They could see Notre Dame from their table and when Jacob had polished his second meal they set out across the river to provide the two vampires with their evening meal.

The Pont Neuf was a white skeleton arm that reached across the river to grant them passage on its boney surface. Bella ran her hand along the irregular surface of the stone railing as they crossed and came to a stop when she reached a single drop of blood. It was not fresh, but it was not old either. When she bent down to investigate, Jacob was right next to her. They quickly discovered with their noses that it was vampire's blood on the railing. And then they found much more of it spattered on the walkway.

Edward stood a few feet back, in the middle of the bridge, with his head cocked to the side. "I hear someone," he spoke slowly, like he wasn't sure if he was even being accurate. "Someone's thoughts….and she's cursing….I think it's German….no wait…" He scratched his head and looked all around them. "It could be Slovene but it's nearby."

Jacob and Bella both looked around. They were the only three beings on the bridge.

"Do you think it has anything to do with the vampire blood we found?" Bella asked, informing Edward of their discovery.

"Really?" Edward joined them at the railing. "That is interesting." He looked down at the water and saw only plumb purple and black swirls on the surface. Edward listened at the torrent of Germanic curse words that flooded his brain from a nearby but unknown source. He considered the river but could not bring himself to call out to whatever might be under there. He felt that it was just better to leave. "Whoever she is," he said as he started walking towards the cathedral, "she's very mad at someone."

When they approached the front door of the giant building, Alice and Jasper were just stepping outside. Jasper was chewing on a big cigar, a habit he picked up from fellow doctors recently. A habit Alice was determined to rid him of. They were not arguing but it was obvious that the conversation was tense. Jasper saw the trio of friends as he lit his hand rolled bundle from the island of Hispaniola.

"I'm very glad you three are here," Jasper sounded relaxed, looked happy even, but Edward heard the canyon of doubt that his inner voice echoed in. "Emmett got himself killed a few hours ago, BUT…" Jasper anticipated and received three horrified gasps, "I…saved him."

Alice looked at Jasper, clearly wanting to support his difficult decision on the surface. She fully understood, however, that Edward was privy to mental additions to conversations. He clearly heard her thoughts.

Bella is going to have to hypnotize Emmett.

Edward knew that not only did Alice dislike the decision, but that he and she were thinking along very similar lines that evening.

"Do you think he's going to be trouble?" Edward asked them both. Alice smiled, knowing what primed the question.

"Yes, actually," Jasper said with a king's certainty. "We both suspect that he would be a great deal of trouble."

"What happened?" Jacob asked. "We saw vampire blood on the bridge. Is it yours?"

Jasper and Alice looked at each other. "I think you'd better come inside," Jasper sighed as he opened the door and held it until all of them strode past.

Emmett McCarty opened his eyes. He had been hearing voices for the past twenty minutes but had not figured out that he was alive or that those voices even existed outside his own mind.

He looked up at the catacomb he lay in. The stone was dusty and dark and he turned his head when he heard his name.

"Emmett! You're awake." Jasper rushed to his side. "Do you remember what happened to you?"

Emmett shook his head, paused, and then shook his head again.

"You were almost dead when I found you, do you remember that?"

Emmett remembered only pain.

Bella was upstairs with Alice. The two women were discussing the wedding in Alice's freshly swept out sewing room. Edward was playing the pipe organ, toying with Handel's Opus 6: concerti grossi. It was by far his favorite because it incorporated two earlier organ concertos, The Cuckoo and The Nightingale. Both featured birdsong imitated in the upper registers of the organ and Edward filled the cathedral with tiny chirps until he heard Jasper. He stopped playing immediately and went downstairs.

It had been decided the evening before that everyone should be present when Emmett woke up, which true to form was almost exactly a full day after he drank Jasper's blood. They all gathered at nine o'clock the next night and waited patiently until after midnight before Emmett stirred.

Edward liked the way in which they chose to handle the initial awakening. He could still remember the taste of wicked fear and the frantic stab of hopelessness quite clearly. It was vital to Edward that Emmett felt safe in his waking moments.

The plan was simple. Jasper was to act as their spokesperson since he was Emmett's maker and oldest friend. Edward was to remain silent and listen to what Emmett was thinking in order to foresee and forestall any potential escape. As Edward walked into the crypt and met Emmett's eyes, he was thinking how glad he was that it was night time.

Alice and Bella were there for two reasons. First, they were to guard the stairs. Emmett was not to leave that room until all were convinced that he was alright. The second reason was to allow Bella the chance to hypnotize him before he became difficult.

Jacob was crouched in the corner. The muscle. He watched intently as Emmett swung his legs out and sat up. His head did not scrape the gray stone as he scooted himself forward to step down.

"Just sit for a moment, Emmett," Jasper instructed. "Don't try to stand just yet. I need to explain what happened to you."

"I know what happened to me," Emmett said. "It was a miracle."

Jasper laughed. He could not stop himself. Emmett was so innocent and he obviously did not fully understand what had transpired. If he truly had, he would not be calling it a miracle.

Emmett bristled at Jasper's laughter and, suddenly, Edward heard something that disturbed him greatly. It was the new vampire's thoughts. There was something different about them and Edward almost gasped when he realized what it was.

Emmett had two distinct voices in his head.

Edward listened in utter disbelief as Emmett listened in utter belief to a booming voice as it told him that his survival was indeed a miracle and that he had Jasper to thank for it. Emmett then thought in his own voice, asking a question.

Why is Edward here?

The booming voice answered promptly.

Why don't you ask him my son?

Emmett looked up at Bella, he had neither seen nor even heard of her despite her popularity in the theatre community or her connection to the Cullen household. When he looked at her face, however, he trusted her completely and fell in love with the dark curls of hair that nestled her beautiful angelic face. Her honey brown eyes glowed like twin suns through wood smoke.

Emmett opened his mouth slowly and asked her if she was an angel.

"No, Emmett. I am not," Bella said as she knelt down in front of him. "But I used to be a nun and I share your deep commitment to God." Bella dropped her head. "I failed for a long time, Emmett, and had forgotten my humanity in order to feed my existence but God sent Edward to me and I believe that he sent you here to us."

Upon hearing Bella's words, Edward could no longer hold his poker face. It was as if…

I hear him Edward, Bella thought, but it's not like I expected. He sounds odd.

Edward immediately surmised that Bella was hearing only Emmett's 'God' voice and not the small voice that shared Emmett's human voice.

Bella took Emmett's hands. "Your life will be different from now on, Emmett, and we need you to listen closely to your good friend Jasper as he explains what happened to you."

Edward contemplated what had just taken place, he knew it was only a matter of time before Bella could hear into minds, but he wondered deeply about what it was that made this time so different. Was it the uniqueness of a new vampire with as yet undetected powers? Was it dementia? Was it God? Edward walked over to Bella and his movement drew Emmett's attention away from her and gave him his first good look at Alice.

Do not be frightened my son.

Bella and Edward both heard the advice but, oddly, it seemed that Emmett did not because he looked remarkably alarmed.

Something spooked him, Bella thought and Edward held up his hands. "We are all here to help you not hurt you, Emmett," he explained.

"What is she doing here?" Emmett said, his voice was nervous and volume escalated. "I know she's one of them. I've seen them together before!"

Jasper cleared his throat loudly. "Emmett, there are still some things we need to explain to you." Bella stood up and she and Edward stepped back to give Emmett some room.

You've been changed my son, the voice in Emmett's head theorized, that blonde vampire woman did this to you.

Emmett's eyes widened and he shot to his feet like a cork out of its bottle. "It is true?" he asked franticly. "Am I one of them?"

"One of us," Alice corrected the new vampire.

Emmett looked at them all,his vampire eyes were adjusting well, and he suddenly spotted Jacob crouched in the shadow that draped the corner of the crypt in tar. Emmett cried out in surprise but Jacob soothed him.

"It's just me, Emmett," Jacob said brightly staying down. It may have looked menacing, but not as much as the sight of him with his head scraping the low ceiling. "I'm just resting. We've been up all night worried about you."

What's happening?

Remain calm my son, let Jasper explain.

Is this alright? Am I going to hell now?

You can't go to hell, Emmett. You are in the palm of my hand.

Everything looks different, smells different. And I can hear water dripping somewhere upstairs.

Use these new powers to serve me and you will be on the right path.

Edward listened to every word as Emmett attempted to reason out his predicament. He heard the 'God' voice tell him over and over, not to be afraid.

Well, at least this God is reasonable, Edward thought. Remembering her new power, Edward looked over at Bella to see if she could hear him now.

Bella?Bella, can you hear me?

She acknowledged nothing.

Damn.

Edward wondered what it must be like for her, hearing only one half of the conversation going on in Emmett's brain. Something about this second voice made it easy for Bella to hear. Edward wondered about that as well as he heard Jasper talking to Emmett about the details of his last night as a human.

As the details were revealed, Emmett felt betrayed that they all had been hiding the truth from him from the beginning. He was also more than little stubborn when they pointed out that, since he was a self proclaimed vampire hunter, their best interests lied with lying to him.

Emmett looked at them all with disgust before looking down at himself with disgust.

I can't do this.

You are strong, Emmett, even stronger now. Cannot you feel the power in your hands?

It's wrong.

Would I have allowed this to happen to you if it was wrong, Emmett?

No, but I'm some damned creature now.

You are a creature, yes, but you are God's creature. You will do my will.

I will.

Emmett soon reminded Bella of Alice on her first day as a vampire when she and Bella sat under a pile of clothes in the dress shop. He asked dozens of questions, trying to fathom his new existence.

"How strong am I?" Emmett asked.

"About five times stronger than you were," Jasper answered simply. "Maybe more. You will become stronger."

"How strong are you?" Emmett asked his maker.

"I'm twenty times stronger than a human," Jasper told him truthfully.

"Do I have to drink blood now?" Emmett already knew the answer but was compelled to ask the question.

"Yes."

It is communion my son. It is how I'll give you strength.

Bella outwardly flinched as she did not like the sound of that. "Emmett," she began, "we do not kill any humans unless they have earned their death. We must feed but we do so with justice or we find other ways."

"What other ways?" Emmett asked.

"I take blood from the hospital every day," Jasper confessed.

They are angels of death my son and so are you.

Edward was now the one who did not like what he heard. "Emmett," he said as he walked over to him, placing a hand on the confused vampire's shoulder, "we need you to let us tell you how to survive and teach you how to coexist with humans. Although you can serve a higher power as a vampire, you must obey the group."

Emmett laughed wildly. "I need to obey only God."

Edward was even more concerned but received Bella's thoughts before he could react to the declaration.

Don't worry, Edward. I hypnotized him when I knelt down. He will do as I say.

To prove her point she immediately told Emmett to stop laughing and he promptly did just that. She then told him to put his hands over his ears and sing Frère Jacques, which he also did without hesitation.

Jacob raised his eyebrow as Emmett's low but surprisingly sweet voice echoed off the stone walls of the crypt. Edward watched blue sound waves shuffle between everyone's legs and was not at all surprised to hear both of Emmett's mental voices singing along to the French nursery rhyme. Singing focuses the mind and it was the only time Edward heard both inner and outer voices together in unison. He even found himself enjoying the chorusing effect of Bella's voice as she sang along with the partner in her mind.

He heard a similar effect when Emmet began singing, but this time there were two inner voices singing along to the childlike song. The booming God voice even put some bravado into his performance.

"Frère Jacques, frère Jacques,
Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?..."

Bella spoke quickly and quietly motioning Alice and Jasper to the corner of the crypt where Jacob finally stood up.

Bella spoke first to Edward. "Is that how we all sound to you?"

"No," Edward responded. "You were only hearing one voice weren't you? A deep voice?"

"Yes," Bella confirmed, "but there were gaps. Is he….?"

"I don't know for sure, but I think that he thinks that he's talking to God."

"…Sonnez les matines! Sonnez les matines!
Din, dan, don. Din, dan, don…."

"Really?" Jacob said. "That's interesting. And you say you can hear it Bella?"

"I couldn't not hear it," Bella replied.

"Good for you," Jacob said, no longer surprised when Bella developed a new and amazing power.

"Thanks. But now what do I do?" she asked.

"Give him rules," Jasper instructed.

"Good idea," Jacob agreed. "Code of conduct stuff, you know what we need, Bella."

Edward nodded his head. "Yes. Keep staying ahead of the 'God' voice. You are brilliant, but don't address him specifically. We'll hear more if he doesn't know we're listening."

"…Frère Jacques, frère Jacques,
Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?..."

"I think Emmett is unstable," Edward quickly explained to the others. "But with Bella's hypnosis, I think I can help."

"How?" Jasper asked.

Edward tried not to look at Jacob as he elaborated. "I think I can go into people's minds."

"That sounds dangerous," Jasper said.

"It should be alright," Edward responded. "I don't think he'll even know."

"Oh, he'll know all right," Jacob offered quietly, looking directly at Edward. "And, if he doesn't want you in there, he will flood the mines."

"…Sonnez les matines! Sonnez les matines!
Din, dan, don. Din, dan, don…."

Sonnez les matines indeed, Edward thought as his eyes widened.

Bella looked at Jacob apologetically, but he held up his hand. "I know it was an accident and I'd be willing to help you practice if that's what it takes but…"

"I understand," Edward cut him off, feeling ashamed of his intrusion. "I'll go only where you want to go."

Jasper and Alice looked at each other with confused expressions. "We'll explain later," Bella told them, effectively ending that conversation. "Now is that all I should do with him? Implant rules?"

All three men answered together. "Yes."

Alice added, "Try to make him feel better too."

"Alright," Bella acknowledged and walked back over to Emmett.

"…Frère Jacques, frère Jacques,
Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?..."

Bella let him finish the song and even added a counter melody on the last line. She then smiled at him and he took his hands from his ears.

"Emmett, I want you to listen to me very carefully." Bella spoke to him slowly, but not in a patronizing way. She was being instructive. "You can never hurt anyone in this room. We are all your friends. Do you understand that?"

"Yes." Bella heard the God voice agree with Emmett's spoken response.

Good, she thought, we might just get through this.

"You cannot go out into the sunlight. It will kill you."

"Alright." Alright..

Bella looked over at Edward.

What else?

Jasper stepped forward. "You cannot tell anyone about us," he said, anticipating her question.

Bella repeated the command to make sure it sank in. "Alright." Alright.

"Emmett?" Bella, like Alice, saw the value in a healthy outlook. "This is a good thing that has happened to you. You are happy about it! You are lucky to live forever! You feel better than you ever have! You are strong and powerful and glad to be a vampire!"

Bella knew she might have over done things a bit as Emmett emitted a triumphant "YEAH!" and paraded around the room punching the air.

"Calm down, Emmett," Bella instructed, he did. "Do you have any more questions for us?"

'Yes," Emmett said. "What's that smell?"

Six days later, the fog in New York Harbor was being shooed away by the dawn sun.

Carlisle, Esme and Rosalie stood at the rail of the La Bretagne, well away from the crewmen who were swabbing the deck with salt water and rope mops. Their rhythmical strokes were accompanied by the hollow sound of buckets being dropped into the water and the 'thwunk' of used contents being thrown overboard.

"The fog is lifting," Rosalie spoke. "Maybe we'll see the city on our way to Ellis Island."

"I hope so," Esme smiled. She was excited for their impending arrival and had been the one who insisted that they all rise early to see the New World together.

Rosalie had told her mother the night before that no one called it the New World anymore, but still gleefully dressed in the dark as the ship's horn and the harbor bells announced their presence.

They sailed between Brooklyn and the enormous Staten Island, both shorelines filled with jostling trees. The tip of Manhattan could just be seen swimming out of the orange sherbet morning haze in front of them as they moved down to the bow of the stout schooner.

It was surprisingly ordinary at first since the trees were filled with European starlings. They were gregarious birds, especially in the winter months, and were singing in New York courtesy of a group of Shakespeare enthusiasts who released a great number of them in Central Park in recent years.

Those loyal lovers of the immortal bard wanted America to have every bird that he had ever mentioned in his plays, so they released the little brown starlings on two separate occasions in 1890 and 1891. The scrappy mimics quickly showed up in Brooklyn, and on all the other islands in the area. They multiplied so rapidly that no further attempts to populate the region were necessary.

Carlisle did not know the reason for their introduction to the area but, as an admirer of Shakespeare, he heard the brave chirping and immediately thought of Henry IV. He even recalled the line in which the fiery Hotspur sidesteps the King's orders for him never to speak of Mortimer again.

"I'll have a starling shall be taught to speak. Nothing but 'Mortimer,' and give it him, to keep his anger still in motion." Carlisle whispered the words as Rosalie and Esme spoke over the seagulls that had decided to compete with the little brown and white birds.

"It's nice to see you happy for once," Esme said, while stroking her daughter's golden hair.

'I'm just glad the trip is over," Rosalie replied. "I am looking forward to having something to do."

"I know you are, honey." Esme put her arm around her daughter, their shawls twirling together in the moist morning breeze. Rosalie's expression faltered slightly.

"I thought it would get easier but it's not," Rosalie admitted, resting her head on her mother's shoulder and hugging her with an arm around the waist. "I miss him more every day."

"Can I tell you a secret?" Esme asked, but continued anyway. "The water holds a promise for the wives of sailors. It always has. It promises to cradle them in our absence and carry them to safety as long as love is in their hearts." Esme looked down at the harbor; it could have been glass before the ship's wake disrupted its surface. "Now I know Jacob is not a sailor but I think that the ritual will work for you."

"What ritual?" Rosalie asked.

"You need to let the wind fill your mouth and then make your wish as you let it out," Esme explained, almost lapsing into the Irish accent her grandmother used when she taught the phrase to her already freckled summer charge years before.

Rosalie turned to face upriver and allowed a pillow of air to fill her lunges as well as her mouth. She pushed the breeze back into the daylight and made her wish.

"Let us be together again under the stars," she whispered in an exhale that also brought a tear with it. The tear crept out onto her cheek and leapt overboard into the smooth folding water on the other side of the ship's railing.

Esme held her daughter and they watched as the shorelines began to reveal grand houses and port businesses along the east side of Staten Island. The sun had bested the fog and was now offering delicate reflections of the buildings on the water. New York City was still decades away from the skyscraper craze but already boasted several architectural goliaths - most notable among them was the Trinity Church with its steep pointed roof and fashionable position downtown. They were able to see it and may other wonders over the walls of Fort Clinton.

"Oh, it's so big isn't it?" Esme said, smiling into the tender wind.

The ship blew its horn again as it maneuvered between Governor's Island and the south tip of Manhattan and the family had their best view yet of the giant city. Many electric lights were still filling windows despite the onset of day and the splash of sunlight on glass was also nearly blinding.

"It's so bright isn't it?" Esme was amazed at how new everything looked.

While the ship was being tied to the large dock at Ellis Island, Rosalie left her parents and walked to the stern, looking eastward toward Paris. The tear that was now mixed with the blue green water held a secret promise and she hoped that it would find its way to Jacob before she could.

Carlisle regarded his wife and daughter as they took in their first morning in America and smiled to himself.

He had a good feeling about New York.

Notes:

It's good to be back and I wish to thank everyone for your patience during the summer as I have been forced to delay postings more than once. I expect weekly updates to continue until the completion of the story on September 25th.

I wish to extend a personal thank you to Sebastien Robichaud for making what should been a very quiet two weeks for Bella Voce a very active time.

This chapter has inspired another song and I have added it to my author's page. It's called 'Watching New York Go By'.

Many thanks to SydneyTwiMum for her help in creating a media link so that everyone can hear it.

The song was written and performed by myself and Betti Gefecht and was mixed and engineered by Betti in Germany. Betti worked very hard on this project and I was thrilled to add my voice to one of her original compositions. I have also included links to her story, True Colors, along with her blog on my author's page. She is a wicked talent and a wonderful friend.