Chapter 36

End Game

We celebrate the New Year in fine style; watching the fireworks explode over the water in Corpus Christi. I hope that the year 2112 will be better than the last, which brought so much change and heartache. We're at the end of a break from our assigned work; putting an end to all vampire wars worldwide. The southern states have gotten away with so much for so long, and they are the last hold out. I watch the colors exploding in the sky, and listen to the booms, and I'm thankful that the display is only a symbol of war and not the real thing.

I think about my family, knowing we'll reunite after this job is behind us. Summer and Stefan are almost legendary now that the story of their love affair has had time to ripen and grow over the years. Of course to me they're just Mom and Dad, but to others they're symbolic of what's possible when humans and vampires co-exist. She's the first one to live through giving birth to a hybrid, and not just one, but two – me and my brother.

I'm still glad he bit her. Tristan has always been just a little impulsive, but that's one impulse I am so thankful for every time I see her. I love my parents so much, the thought that they were both prepared to die at our birth just stuns me. It took a lot of years before she was able to fully accept that she was a vampire. She's the only one to survive solely by feeding on another. He supported her for ten years. Ten years of allowing her to feed from his own body so she wouldn't have to kill something herself. The horrid scars he bears is a testament to his love.

It was our own maturity that made her finally see that she needed to stop deluding herself. My mother will never be a ruthless killer. Except for when she carried us, she's never had human blood. The animals she feeds on now are a part of her job. She's the one the animal shelters call on to euthanize the dogs, cats, and horses that are scheduled to die. It's the only way she can justify her diet – that they would be killed anyway – and she can comfort them as they die.

My brother of course used his talent on her to help her see reason. Once he became fully mature, his gift seemed to magnify in him. Dad seems to think his gift came directly from Mom, since it was her empathy that helped him get over much of the pain from his own past. My very name proves that Mom is the most loving and compassionate person I know. She wanted to name me after Dad's human fiance, to honor the woman who's been gone for centuries. She's always said she owed Tessa her life, but it's really Dad's memory of the death of my namesake that saved her. But I guess I'm glad she didn't name me after her own mother – Jane.

Tristan would have trouble with that one. I smile as I imagine how confusing that could be. My brother's in love! I should have known it was inevitable that we'd eventually meet the witch twins since so many call us the white witch twins. Alec and Jane are so much older than we are, and of course they're fully vampire. But Tristan saw a demonstration of Jane's ability and was so moved. He's positive her ability comes from an internal suffering she's never been able to let go of, and he's determined that he can save her from her pain. Trouble is, little Jane doesn't want to be saved. No matter how much time Tristan spends with Jane at Volterra, she refuses to let him get close enough to use his gift. I don't think he's told her yet that he loves her, but of course he can't keep such things from me.

Now that there are more hybrids like us, we're not limited to the few choices among our own kind. From what I've seen, there's not been a single marriage or relationship between two hybrids. We are so clearly drawn to the other supernaturals and humans, I believe it's how we're supposed to be. Nahuel came to see me on my eighth birthday, and honestly, we were all but repulsed by one another. I've dated a couple werewolves, and my best friend Nessie and Jacob seem bent on populating the world with their kids. I love to tease her that she's having them by the litter since they have eight already.

I've also dated humans, though it's difficult with all the secrecy. All the dating didn't prepare me for my true attraction to vampires. It's like for years I was afraid to reach for those I truly wanted. I knew from all the stories Dad told, that vampire memory never dims. Vampires fall in love and stay in love. It doesn't help that the very ones I was attracted to, were also much older and had already fallen in love. They'd seen me grow up and knew my parents. It shouldn't have come as such a big surprise that I would have to fall for the one man who'd touched my life the most; second only to my father.

I knew I loved him long before he ever looked at me that way. I ignored it for years; dated all other types before Tristan begged me to stop running and face it. When I finally confronted him with my admission, he was horrified. "I held you when you were a baby. I changed your diapers. I taught you how to tie your shoes. Your father would kill me!"

Vladmir avoided me at all costs after that. Which is hard to do, since we're such a close knit family and everyone noticed his distance. It was after another family gathering where he was conspicuously absent that Mom took me aside. I confessed that I was attracted to the man I'd known as a child as Uncle Vladmir; the man Tristan was supposedly named for, and Dad's best friend. She held me as I cried and said she would 'see what she could do.'

I'm still not sure what it was she did, but one day he knocked on my door bearing flowers and a shy smile. We dated for a year and he never advanced beyond kissing me, though we devoured one another in such instances. His excuses were always the same: He didn't want to dishonor me, he didn't know if he could commit to me, and he didn't know if he could get past loving me like a daughter or a sister, and love me as a companion.

Of course I've got my mother's stubbornness and I forced the issue. After one amazing date and make-out session I left him to 'get a drink of water,' and came back naked. His look was priceless, like he wanted to run away, but couldn't make his feet work. He stared openly, and the mask of restraint fell away and I saw raw lust... and adoration, and even love. He was my first lover, and he was beyond gentle – almost reverent when we came together for the first time. The first of many, many times.

I guess I knew it wouldn't last even from the beginning. But while it did, it was fierce, torrid, and passionate. I love him and he loves me, and I know we always will. But never again in the way that left us clinging to each other with such an all consuming need. Like a volcano, it exploded and burned fiercely before going dormant. It was almost by mutual agreement that we stepped back into our old familiar roles and let go of the physical bond between us. Mom and Dad don't know what happened, but our family is as strong as ever. I will always treasure the memory of the man I chose to teach me about being a woman.

Fortunately it was all over before she came back. Sulpicia must have heard of our affair, and it was the final push she needed to let go of Aro and make her bid for Vladmir. I knew he'd been wanting her for such a long time, and he'd given up hope. He could have pursued her and won her back a century before. But he needed her to come to him; just as it was her choice to leave in the first place. I know he loves her; he always has, and he always will. I want to say he loves me more, but he really doesn't. He does like me more, but if he had to choose based on love alone, he is hers.

Tristan helped me to understand that I haven't been rejected, and I'm not second best. It's just that love doesn't play by any rules. I love Vladmir enough to be happy for him. Family gatherings are still a little awkward when she's with him, but I don't bear any ill will toward her – in fact maybe I should thank her. His ties to her forced me to find my true love.

The fireworks come to an end and my lover wraps his arms around my waist and kisses my neck. It seems I'm drawn to the most complicated relationships. His lips are cold against my skin, as are his hands slipping under the hem of my shirt to slide along my stomach. I wish he wasn't thinking about her, but I know he is – the curse of vampire memory. I know it's not a reflection of how important I am to him, or even the love he feels for me. Just like Dad once said of Mom; 'I am his and he is mine.' Our union shocked those who know us, almost as much as her leaving did.

She could have taken him with her; he would have gone without asking questions. He would have fit right into her new life. But she didn't. She left him and broke every tie. It's not as if he can even blame her and hate her for her choices. She has more than enough reason for what she's done. But it makes it very difficult for me to live in her shadow and in her memory.

He was one of Tristan's patients for a while. My brother's gift impresses me even though so many would think mine is the greater of the two. I can heal physical wounds, diseases and injury. But Tristan can heal the psyche. It's often the internal pain, sorrow, and struggle that is the most difficult to bear, and he can heal that. My lover is a testament to his success. Still I can detect little bits of sadness in him that I hope will erode with time.

I turn to face him, I smile brightly and wish him Happy New Year. He kisses me passionately and I tangle my fingers into his golden curls. I've loved him since the day I was born, and even his ex-wife knows we're destined to be together. She knew it even before I was born, and of all those present at that event, she was the one who kept her distance.

His scarred arms wrap around me and he smiles at me as we stand eye to eye. I'm much taller than his wife – his ex-wife that is. It's going to take some time for both of us to adjust to the changes. Another one of those broken ties, the divorce is all nice and legal, and the dissolution was necessary to satisfy the church. She's cut herself so cleanly out of his life, it's unfair how much she's still in it.

"I do love you Tessa." The way he draws out his words is like music to me. "I want to start a family with you. I want to do everything you want, but now it's just not the right time." It's a reoccurring theme between us. I want our life together to move forward, and he's stuck still holding onto the past and coming up with excuses. Now it's this job keeping us from making plans; a job she assigned us.

"I don't want to fight with you. Not tonight. I love you Jasper." I hold him and kiss him and do my utmost to pry another piece of her from his memory, or at least overlay it with new memories we create together. We make love, still careful with our birth control. I know that at least for the time we're intimate he's not thinking of her. I can feel his emotions washing over me and it's then I know how much he loves me. He can't keep his shields up when we're intimate, and I'm stunned at the increasing depth of feeling he has for me.

Afterward I lie in his embrace, tracing over the bite marks on his arms, so like the scars my dad wears. Jasper has other scars on his body, and he can name the one who created each and every impression. It's one of the things I love about him; the empathy that never lets him forget where he came from. He's told me how long and hard it was for him to stick to an animal diet, but he's happy he made the change. He's happy he doesn't have to kill just to survive.

Soon enough everyone is going to be forced to make the change. Alice is leading the Volturi, and she's not putting up with any dissension. I'm glad my own family won't have to worry about this change. Even Vladmir finally came around to our ways; though he still grumbles about fur in his teeth.

Mom, Dad and Vladmir tell stories of the Volturi and I've always believed they were trying to scare us. But Jasper has backed up each of their claims whenever I can get him to talk about it.

It stunned everyone when Alice flew to Italy out of the blue. And it rocked the vampire world when she took over the ancient organization; setting Aro in second place, and pushing Caius out of leadership entirely. Vladmir shared with me the role my family played in weakening the organization. Once Marcus was able to get past the death of his wife, he and Chelsea left, and no one knows where they've gone. Demetri alone could find them, but he refuses to look. Not that long ago such disobedience wouldn't be tolerated, but Demetri warned them that if Jane turned her power on him, or if they tried to compel him some other way, he would leave, and they'd lose the best tracker on the planet.

With Chelsea and Marcus gone, the ties that held the organization together started to fray. Most stayed, but a few left, and the order and hierarchy began to fracture. There was dissension and power struggles within the ranks, and Caius and Aro struggled to hold it together alone. It happened slowly, taking a little over fifty years, but the makers of the law were in trouble from without and within. With the rules not being enforced, some opportunistic vampires stepped out of bounds. They let the secrets out, let themselves be seen, and publicly excelled in ways that weren't human. The slaughter in Tijuana was the last straw.

Two newborn armies clashed in the city, and dozens of innocent humans were killed in broad daylight, including the son of a U.S. Senator on spring break. It was a feeding frenzy of immense proportions, and the media covered the attack in a way that had never been seen before. The secret was out, at least until a few of the newer Volturi were able to kill the story in the press and create enough doubt and plausible denial. It was a wake-up call.

Jasper told me it was then that Alice started having nightmare visions. Those she could tell him about terrified him, but there were others much worse that left her mute and shaking in his arms. It was what Aro had spent centuries gathering the Volturi for; the end of days, when vampires and humans would go to war. After weeks of these nightmares she kissed him goodbye and left.

Carlisle, whom Jasper still thinks of as his father, traveled to Italy to learn what was happening. Even then Alice was clearly in charge. She barely had time to meet with Carlisle, since every decision she made left her with visions of the outcome. She was fighting to restore order within the Volturi, but more than that, she was trying to stop the approaching apocalypse, which she believed would mean the extermination of all supernatural people. Under Alice's rule, the guard was strengthened, and the Volturi soon became known as swift as well as sure. Any vampire stepping out of line can now be assured of meeting their end within hours or days rather than weeks or years.

Carlisle didn't share with Jasper the other change that had come over Alice – he'd find that out on his own. Sulpicia had left him, and Aro had taken Alice as his mate. I've talked to Tristan about this, and he is convinced that some things are just part of the natural order among our kind. Like hybrids being drawn outside our race, and werewolves hating vampires. Chelsea's power was abused when it was used to split up mated pairs. Sulpicia was never supposed to be Aro's mate. That split caused so much trouble, from the fall of the Romanian Empire, to almost leading to the death of Vladmir, to the way Vladmir has always been tied to my mom and dad, and the way I was so drawn to him. Tristan believes that it kept Aro from finding his true mate, which it turns out is Alice. It's a very twisted circle, but I like to believe he's right.

I speak with Tristan quite often by phone. For years we were together, making the most of our combined ability, but now we both need some distance. He's the one who understands me when no one else can. But over the phone he misses my cues, and he tells me things I need to hear but don't want to hear.

"I've seen Alice and Aro together Tessa, and they're very well matched. It's like all the years she had as Edward's sister was a dress rehearsal for life with Aro. He shares her visions at a touch, and sometimes she just clings to him in silence. Aro loves her so fiercely, and there is nothing he wouldn't do for her. It's stunning just to watch them together, both so graceful and almost synchronized in their movements. I hardly ever see her let go of his hand." I don't like hearing him talk about her, but I can't stop listening. It feels somehow unfair that she's been able to move on so easily. "She's not as bright and cheerful as I remember, but considering all of her responsibilities that's not a surprise. I think some of her bright, bubbly nature actually came from Jasper and his ability"

In the predawn of the first day of the year, I lie beside him, and I know he's waiting for me to fall asleep. But my thoughts are too jumbled, and I finally turn to face him. He's beautiful, even with his brows drawn together in concern. I wish I could tell him what his Alice told me in private, years ago when they were still together. It was after the affair with Vladmir ended, that she confided in me.

She saw us together in a vision, before I was born. She saw us with children and she knew that I would be the one to make him happy when she could not. She also knew that she had another who needed her; one she'd been avoiding since she was created. "I don't want this future; it terrifies me." She confessed. "But I might not have a choice. I know you love him even now, and I appreciate that you haven't acted on it. But if... if I have to leave, don't wait. He will need you and I won't be able to help him through it." Her face was a mask of pain, and all I could feel was guilt that she knew my feelings.

The day after she left I went to him. At first I only offered to hold him as he grieved, but little by little it became more. I look at him and I just know he is my destiny. I have my say. "After we're finished here, and after the newborn armies are taken care of, I want to talk about our family." He looks resistant, and I smile and kiss him. "I want you to have a chance to hold your own baby in your arms. I know you're going to be an amazing father." Some day he will believe me, but right now I see doubt. "We'll do our part to make peace in this country, then we need to make peace in our family." I know he's uncomfortable with the word family. He hasn't asked me to marry him, and considering how many times the two of them went through the ceremony I try to pretend it doesn't matter.

But it matters more than I can tell him.

If Tristan weren't so busy trying to woo Jane, I'd ask him to help me with my own pain where Jasper is concerned. I want to stop fighting and settle down with him. I want to have babies – his babies – which hybrids are completely capable of doing. I want to give my mother and father grandchildren. I'm over a hundred years old and many hybrids born after me are already grandparents themselves.

With the hybrid – they still haven't come up with a better name for us – the lines have been blurred between human and supernatural. As far as I can see we are almost as indestructible as vampires, and more so than shifters. We are long lived; none have died in the past hundred years, though one was killed by the Volturi guard. We are unique in that we can have children with human, vampires, and shifters, though like I mentioned before we are not drawn at all to our own kind. It's like we're a blank key, but we are born with an affinity toward one, like Tristan and I prefer vampires and Nessie fell for her shifter.

I feel Jasper trying to calm me. He knows we have a lot of conflict ahead of us and he knows I need to sleep. We have our own army we've brought with us to stop the vampire wars in Texas. I know his own memories are difficult ones, but this isn't the Texas he remembers. Still he's in command of our forces and he knows some of those we'll be facing. We've been in this situation before, and we both know our roles. I'll be there to heal any injured, both bystanders and our own forces. And my Jasper will lead us against the rebellious ones. Technically we are working for the Volturi, but we don't have the same tactics they are known for.

Considering the number of newborns we've encountered, we actually have a second group who will deal with any we feel can be saved. These new ones are brought under the law and taught a new way, and as per Alice's orders, it's a 'vegetarian' way. Still many new ones will die, as well as their creators, and I know that weighs heavily on him. I wish there was some way I could take that burden from him, but that's not my gift.

I'm here to make sure there's never another Tijuana Massacre. My talent has grown quite a bit over the years, and now the toughest part is making sure I'm never revealed to the media. There was a time about sixty years ago when my ability almost became well known. I should have known better than to respond, even though it was a hurricane, the likes of which had not been seen since Katrina. All I did was join the search and rescue efforts, and I made sure I kept my gloves on unless I was alone with someone. But the hospital was partially destroyed before they could evacuate everyone. The pediatric ward was almost my downfall. I handled each child without gloves, hoping they wouldn't have the language skills to tell anyone who had healed or cured them. When all the kids came out without a scratch as well as healed of their diseases, someone started an investigation.

Fortunately I'd used a fake name and all they had was a description of me. I dyed my hair for several years until we moved again. It's a gift and a curse to be such a strong healer. It's a very strong power, and I haven't found anything physical that I can't fix. But I've determined I can only use it if I'm not noticed or observed. The worst thing for me is to see pain, suffering, and death, and not be free to stop it.

Our team includes Edward and his wife Bella, me and Jasper, and Emmett. Rosalie used to be part of the team, but she had a close call during a previous battle and we almost lost her. Esme is taking her place for this battle. We've also got several of the Denali clan, as well as about a dozen shape shifters who delight in tearing into vampires. Jasper has wisely kept the shifters on the perimeter of any conflict just to insure that no one gets away

They realize they're fighting for their own existence as well. If we go to war with humans, they won't stop at exterminating vampires. After Tijuana the Volturi came to own what's now being called the Murdock films. They're nasty little pieces of video that prove there are ways humans can destroy us; completely. A handful of newborns were captured by the Mexican military. Not that vampires are easy to catch, but owing to the still human responses the newborns had to law enforcement, they did manage to capture four. The Murdock films show that there are metals capable of holding them, and there are tortures that are effective against them. I watched in horror the things that were done to one newborn who we only know as Nina.

In the Murdock film she was beaten, which was ineffective and made her laugh at them. When she was stripped and raped we are fortunate the video doesn't show the full extent of what was done to her; only the horror and revulsion on her pretty face. When they brought in lasers and electrical torture devices, the film showed how high electrical voltage caused the young woman excruciating pain, and the lasers burned her in a way she couldn't heal. The hours of brutal torture are captured in video, until finally they cut her head from her brutalized body. The cut took several long minutes while she screamed... then her screams were cut off and still her eyes rolled wildly in her head before she was finally dead.

The Murdock films document the torture and death of all four captured newborns, but I couldn't watch more than one. Anyone who sees them knows we must prevent the war. It's not so much that there are ways they can destroy us. It's the way the newborns were treated like they didn't matter. The things that were done to them... anyone with any shred of decency couldn't have done to an animal, and yet they thought nothing of subjecting the newborns to that brutality.

Several times on the video I heard laughter in the background. Humans won't think of us as having any value if it comes to war. They won't care that Carlisle has saved thousands of lives and has never taken even one. They won't care that Jasper has one of the most beautiful souls of any creature on earth. They won't understand Bella's protective nature, and Edward's ability will terrify them. They won't know that my mother has never taken a human life, and they won't care that my father has written sixteen hundred years of history. And they won't care that my heart beats and my blood is warm. We'll be hunted and killed, and likely even experimented on.

And so tomorrow we go to war with our own kind.

I cuddle against him, wanting to banish the horrible thoughts that always flood through me when I think about what could happen to the man I love. We've fought against so many of the covens around the world, those in Corpus Christi likely know we're coming, if they don't already know we're here. Tomorrow – I mean today – it ends. The end of the vampire wars, forever. For Jasper it's the completion of a circle. For me, I hope it's the beginning of our life together. His strong, cool arms wrap around me tight, and I feel him kiss the top of my head.

"I love you so much." I whisper against the hollow of his throat.

"Me too." Every time he says that response it hurts. Like he's afraid to declare it. It's the words of an unfaithful man to a mistress when he fears his wife could overhear. I wipe away the tears before he sees them, but he can feel my sadness and he tries to use his gift to lift my spirits. I know what he's doing, and it stops my crying but I don't feel any more at ease.

I remember that Mom was in love with Dad before he could admit it even to himself. Vladmir told me the story ages ago, about how he forced them both to see the truth. Jasper does tell me he loves me, but it's usually to avoid an argument; like he's in essence saying, 'just put up with it a little while longer, I love you.' I'm not sure he knows how much I feel from him when we make love.

I almost initiate another bout of lovemaking, just so I can feel that reassuring flood of love from him. But the way he feels is pointless if he won't act on those feelings. He pulls me closer to him and I let myself be comforted by his concern. I fall asleep and dream as I always do, of tiny blond haired children with sky blue eyes.