Chapter 36

Esme looked down at the clock as she drove, then just below the radio where Carlisle's I-pod laid. It had been a gift from the kids at one point or another, and she remembered when the two of them were trying to figure out how to use it.

A smile crossed her face as she thought of how her typically patient husband began to get frustrated from trying to use the touch screen of the tiny electronic music device. She'd had more experience with them than he had at the time and was able to navigate around and show him the basics. It ended with the two of them laughing and Carlisle kissing her, telling her how he couldn't do it without her. The comment was half-heartedly referring to the I-pod, but the meaning was strongly deeper.

"We're out of Minnesota," Caleb pointed out, speaking his first words in hours as he leaned an elbow against the base of the window.

"We'll be home before you know it," Esme told him. She looked down at the I-pod again, acknowledging that the car ride thus far had been an endless pit of nothing; no talking, no sounds other than the occasional shuffle in someone's posture. "Do you want to listen to music?" she asked, looking at her son.

Caleb turned to her, eyeing the music player she had picked up and gently took it from her hand, plugging in the device using the cord under the stereo. He flipped through the playlists, smirking a few times to himself.

Esme smiled, realizing it was the first smile she had seen on his face in weeks.

"Dad really listened to this stuff?" he asked, sampling a few tracks.

Esme laughed and looked over at Caleb, "We've heard a lot of music in our day. Things have changed so much from decade to decade."

Alex managed a quiet laugh from the back seat, though when Esme looked in the rearview mirror to get a peek of her daughter, she was began to the same, sad expression that she had been unable to shake. Michael, too, looked stone-like in his appearance, and had his arm around Alex as she leaned up against him.

"No way," Caleb said with a chuckle, "He put Call Me Maybe on here."

Delilah and Alex both sat up slightly and Caleb showed them the screen.

Alex took it from him for a moment and handed it back, smiling again. "Why did he put that on there?"

"When Renesme was younger she used to love dancing around to that song," Esme said with a laugh, but felt the tears in her eyes as she spoke. "She told him to put it on his I-pod so he did. He knew every word to that song."

"Really?" she asked.

Esme nodded, still smiling as she tried to wipe a tear away from her face without them noticing.

Caleb decided to play the song, knowing it was upbeat and hoped that it could help the gloomy car ride. He looked back at Delilah and smiled as the song started, and she gave him a little flutter of laughter when he started to sing it in a girly voice.

"Masen knew all the words too," Esme said with a laugh, glancing over at Caleb who was singing along. She let the tears drop, but continued to laugh, letting out two emotions at once. From the back she could hear Alex's voice chiming in it was that moment that Esme realized how much her children empowered her. She had never felt the pain she felt inside, but they had the ability to make her smile, and even laugh, if only for a moment.

Esme sighed and continued to listen to the sounds of their voices as the song went on. When it eventually concluded, she made it a point to keep the music playing, searching for the most upbeat songs she could find.

The second half of the car ride proved to be just a little better than the first, and they managed to get through the next couple of hours feeling okay.

...

Benjamin had had a long argument with Amun, but decided he was his own man and would do as he pleased. The Irish coven had given a visit to the Egyptians, as well as several other groups of vampires they knew were fond of Carlisle.

The Romanians managed to hear through the grapevine and had agreed to devise a plan to knock the Volturi down a peg or two. Word spread that Demetri had died, and as Benjamin and Liam spent their nights stalking the Italian coven with Vladimir and Stefan, they all recognize the absence of Felix, though had no idea of his whereabouts. The Cullens had never said he was lost in the battle, but they were glad to see that he wasn't around.

Upon coming to the verdict to seek revenge in the name of their friend, and for Vladimir and Stefan more personal reasons, the four of them, plus Tia, Maggie and Siobhan waited in the shadows. They had caught on to Jane's hunting patterns, who had been typically leaving the premises with Caius to stalk their prey in the evenings.

The plan was to destroy their home, as Aro had done to the Romanian brothers. They wanted nothing more than justice for what the Volturi had done to their homes, and Carlisle's death was just an added reason to carry out the plan that they'd longed for for centuries. Neither of them cared much if they were killed in the process, though obviously hoped to live through the ordeal and relish in the joys of victory. Retribution was long overdue, and they were prepared to fight, kill or defend if the Volturi knew they were involved.

Benjamin held the key to their plan because he had control of the elements. They would wait for the right moment before setting the place ablaze and letting it burn. While they wished that Jane would be inside to eliminate her as a threat, they couldn't risk her getting wind of the situation and using her gift on them. It was for this reason that they waited for her absence to go along with what they'd discussed.

After the fire was set, Vladimir and Stefan would work alone, voluntarily so, and the rest of them would slip quietly back where they came from. The two of them wanted to feel the glory of knocking the clock tower to the ground and crumbled their dark mansion to rubble. They vowed not to say a word about the others' involvement, and Benjamin and Tia, as well as the Irish whole-heartedly believed them. They had something to prove, and rightfully so.

"There they go," Vladimir whispered. He looked up at the tower, noting Jane and Caius were right on schedule according to the stalking they'd done.

Benjamin looked eager, yet anxious and he led the way toward the tall building, still lurking in the shadows upon the midnight hour. The clock chimed twelve times and it was during this period that he stepped beneath it and crept into the halls that were otherwise forbidden. He felt the blaze beginning in his palms and it sunk out into his fingertips before his hands were prepared to spread the fire.

He closed his eyes and without another word unleashed the fury that he held inside of his hands. As he watched the fire spread, he knew there was no going back, and that his life could potentially be on the line, but he didn't care. He wasn't one to lay down and die, and he believed in standing up for what was right. The Volturi's actions against the Cullens were not justified, and he knew first hand that they were good people to the core.

"Go now," Vladimir insisted to Benjamin, "Your mate is waiting."

"Allow us to handle the rest," Stefan pitched in, "We won't go back on our word. We'll gladly take credit for this."

Benjamin looked at the two of them, who stood tall and proudly. He nodded, sensing this was a part of their destiny, and something they truly needed to do. Without another word or thought, he crossed back out into the night, pulling a hood up over his head before he joined back up with Tia, who was hiding far away in the countryside with the Irish.

"Let's go," he instructed, looking her in the eye.

"Did you..." Maggie began to ask, quickly realizing it was true when he simply nodded.

Liam and Siobhan gave Benjamin a stern, appreciative look, one which he returned, and they parted in separate directions.