Chapter Fifty Five
Felix
When I arrived back in Volterra Aro was waiting for me, eager for news of what went wrong.
"You say Bella was able to protect her friends?"
"Yes. Her gift is so powerful there is no way to persuade her to come here and work for the Volturi. She remains with The Major and his friends and before you ask, she protects them all."
"So, she remains a danger to us?"
"No, I don't think so. She just wants to be left alone and we know The Major isn't interested in power."
"So what you are saying is if we leave her alone she will in turn leave us be?"
"Yes."
"What about our enemies? The Romanians for instance?"
"If we aren't able to persuade her then they certainly wont."
I knew Aro wasn't totally convinced but I'd spoken the truth,
"If you send more of the guard after her and The Major she will come looking for you Aro and her gift is unbeatable. You would be better served leaving her and her friends alone."
Aro
Felix words were pretty much an echo of Edwards and Esmes when they arrived back. They all knew the power of Bella's gift and all advised to leave well alone. I suppose having Edward was some consolation but I would always be watching and if there were ever a chance to take Bella I wouldn't hesitate to act. In the mean time I had some bad news for Maria and decided to break it to her straight away. It was obvious from her tone of voice that she already knew most of it.
"I lost my new commander and another of my soldiers Aro and received nothing in return."
"You have been allowed to live and after the mess you caused in Mexico that should be payment enough or would you prefer I send Felix down to check out your newborn army?"
"No. I understand that what happened with the buses was unacceptable. It will not happen again".
"If it does there will be no more chances Maria."
"It will not, I have given you my word."
"Well lets hope you can keep your word Maria because there have been far too many slip ups with your army over the past few years and the humans are getting suspicious. Oh yes, and The Major is out of bounds permanently."
I put the phone down on her still undecided about sending Felix down to instil a little discipline.
I was more interested in my old friend Carlisle, he was no longer in Forks and had seemingly vanished but then I remembered Eleazer and the fact that his two remaining coven members were staying there. It might be as well to remind them that the Volturi would be watching for any unacceptable behaviour. I didn't think any of them had what it took to try anything with Edward Cullen but a sharp warning never went amiss so I rang Denali and Carmen answered the phone,
"Carmen my dear, I hope you are well."
There was a hesitation before she answered and I knew I made her nervous but then most people were nervous when they found out it was me on the line.
"Yes thank you Aro, how can I help you?"
"I was wondering if I could speak to your husband, my dear friend Eleazer."
"Of course just a second."
I heard the phone being passed over and Eleazers voice,
"Aro its a pleasure."
"Thank you my friend. I understand you have guests."
"Yes, Rosalie and Emmett Cullen are staying with us."
"And Carlisle?"
"Yes, he is here also."
"I hope Esme and Edwards actions have not distressed him too much, it was something of a shock when they appeared in Volterra. Still, I think personally that the diet of animal blood you all insist on has something to do with all this."
"Yes I remember your thoughts on our diet. Carlisle is very upset and hurt but he understands there is nothing to be done. Edward and Esme are back in Volterra I take it?"
"Yes, it's always nice to have fresh visitors, perhaps you and Carmen will grace us with your presence some time?"
"Perhaps. Would you like to speak to Carlisle?"
"I don't think so if he is distressed, but perhaps you could pass on a message from me to the Cullens."
"Of course."
"I do hope there will be no attempt at reprisals from any of them. That Edward and his mate will be allowed to live quietly here in Italy."
"I understand and I will pass the message along."
"Thank you my friend, I knew you would understand."
Eleazer
Oh I understood only too well, Aro had rung partly to gloat and partly to send a warning, Edward and Esme were under the protection of the Volturi and were to be left alone. He may have lost Bella but he had gained a gift he had wanted for a long time and he had fractured the Cullen family, something else he had long desired to do but he needn't have concerned himself Carlisle would do nothing, he knew he had lost Esme and his son permanently and if Aro thought Rosalie and Emmett were a threat he didn't know them very well. Neither would do anything to bring the wrath of the Volturi down on them. Emmett liked a quiet life and Rosalie was scared of her own shadow where the Volturi were concerned. I took Aro's message to them only to find they had heard from Jasper that Bella and he were both safe and they wanted to check Carlisle had made it safely back to us.
Carlisle
I listened in silence to Aro's warning and knew that I would have to be very careful, if he thought I was interested in getting revenge on Edward and Esme he wouldn't hesitate to act, friendship or no friendship. The crazy thing was that I had no intention of facing either of them ever again. Perhaps Esme had been correct and I neglected her, putting my human patients first but I was driven. Since I became a vampire so many centuries before I had been determined to use my powers for the benefit of the human race, not to kill them. I saw every death as a defeat, every sickness as a challenge that whirred in my brain until I had defeated death or lost yet another round to him. Perhaps now there would be no need to split my time between home and work, I would go back to my old ways, work and hunting and research with no one to consider except myself. Rosalie wanted to work with me and I was glad but I would need to remind her of the mistakes I had made. I didn't want her following in my sad footsteps with regard to Emmett. So one door slams but another opens very softly, if she wanted to come with me I would be glad, if not she and Emmett seemed quite happy here and I knew Carmen and the girls would love Rose to stay. Especially now she had made the position very clear about Emmett. I hadn't seen a single pass made at him since I got back and had to wonder exactly what she had said to Tanya and her sisters!
