Chapter 26: You Have Got to Be Kidding Me

Salvatore Boarding House

[Angela's POV]

Everyone has convened in the great room; the guys by the liquor cabinet and the ladies by the fireplace. Freya and Finn port back into the room. Freya grins at us, "Dahlia and Mother's amulet is now encased in molten lava. Hopefully we can take a breather from some of the 'magical' drama that seems to haunt our family."

Kol groans, "Freya you just jinxed us!"

Nik looks over at Freya. "How long have you been planning for Esther and Dahlia's to be neutralized? Who came up with the plan for imprisoning their consciousness in the Chamber de Chasse?"

Freya thinks for a moment, "Around eight centuries ever since Dahlia tried to kill off my small family; due to my refusal to allow my firstborn child to be enslaved for her magic. Thank god I have other magical abilities and Bran my spouse has them also. We staged it to look like he and our child died. It meant that I had to leave them so that Dahlia would remain ignorant of their survival. I could visit them in dreams but not in person.

Mother lied to everyone about my death. I knew there had to be a way to link them together and neutralize their spell casting abilities. Finn and Sage helped me research a way to do that. The only way to keep them from using magic was the Chamber de Chasse."

Finn states, "I was tired of being lied to, confined to a casket and away from Sage, my true mate for centuries due to Esther's actions. I decided to help Freya contain both sisters as soon as I reunited with Sage. Both sisters sought our family's destruction by death or enslavement."

Freya responds, "Nik the reason I had everything ready for the breaking of your 'Sun/Moon' curse is that our family had to be reunited to defeat both Dahlia and Esther. If Katrina Petrova hadn't messed up my plans five hundred years or so ago, we could have done this sooner. It was the main reason I chose her as your sacrifice, it seemed appropriate she be the vampire needed to break your curse. Don't worry she never made it to the Other Side. She would have stirred up too much trouble there. My hope now is that with our parents gone, we can rebuild our familial bonds."

"Does that mean you are leaving us to reunite with your other family?" Elijah asks.

"No, my family is on the way to Mystic Falls to join us. It will take them a few weeks to arrive. There are some events that have to happen before our reunion. I am not sure what the events are only that once they are resolved Bran will be with me."

I laugh as Kol groans again. I walk over and poke him in the ribs. "Leave her alone, she pulled us all together."

Charlie adds, "Family is one of the reasons Bella, Angela and I left Forks to move to Mystic Falls."

Bella moans, "We all need sleep, some of us have school tomorrow." Damon walks up behind her taking her hand leading her up their rooms.

Kol pulls me away from the others towards our room. I murmur into his ear, "I think the rest of the week will be interesting." He growls under his breath, "What am I going to do with you?"

"I'm sure you will think of something when I wake up."

Richmond VA

[Emmett's POV]

Last night Rosalie comes back from her trip to the spa and tells me she ran into Bella's double. She said that her name was Isa Salvatore. She was Bella's exact twin in appearance, but she didn't have a 'cold one' scar on her arm and her scent was different.

The family moved to Rochester: Edward left soon after we moved. He said that he was going to track down Victoria. Alice is away on an extended shopping trip. Then Jasper leaves after Edward called him to check on something in Seattle for him. No one has heard from Jasper since the beginning of the month.

Rose and I decided to have a weekend away from the family. I wonder if it's possible for Bella to be in Virginia. Rose is in the shower, she won't hear this conversation. I grab my phone and rapid dial Jason Jenks. He can wake up and find some answers for me.

"What can I help you with Mr. Cullen?"

"I need you to check on someone for me: Charlie Swan. He should be the current Police Chief in Forks Washington. I also want to know about any incidents concerning our property in Forks. Lastly I want to know if any of our aliases have been used in Washington State." Since the pixie and Edward are out of the picture Jenks can earn his salary for once.

"I'll get right on it and call you back."

I didn't have time to check my email, before Jenks calls me back. "Charlie Swan resigned as Police Chief last month. He now resides in Mystic Falls, VA. Carlisle Hale bought a Ducati in Seattle on the first of the month and paid in cash. A window on the first floor of the Cullen house in Forks was broken during that period also. When the maintenance crew showed up they found a FedEx package containing 30K in hundred dollar denominations lying in the broken glass. It was addressed to Isabella Swan. They sent the package and the funds to our office. I can send the package and contents back to you by carrier today. Do you need anything more?"

"Who sent the package?"

"The Pacific Northwest Trust sent the package."

"Thanks Jenks, I am depending on your discretion. I will tell the family about this after I check some things out. Send the money package by FedEx to Charlie Swan's new address in Mystic Falls. That is all I need." I hang up.

I laugh. Things were busy in Forks at the beginning of the month. I have been monitoring the Seattle/Tacoma areas. There were an alarming number of deaths the previous three months and that trend stopped at the beginning of the month also. The vindictive Red head was building an army. Jasper tried to push Carlisle into taking action. That didn't go over so well; then Jasper left. Seems he had some business in Seattle to clean up. That doesn't explain the purchase of the Ducati though. He may have called in reinforcements.

Charlie Swan resigns and moves to Mystic Falls, Virginia. This is too good to be true. Rosalie just happens to run into a Bella look alike here in Richmond. So Isa Salvatore could be Bella Swan. I need to check this out personally. I don't want to get anyone's hopes up for a reunion.

"Hey Rose, I'm going to make a small road trip to one of the smaller towns to check something out. Will you need me for anything this afternoon?"

"Go ahead and run your errand. I need to check out a boutique that Alice called me about and a local Garage that restores antique automobiles; both are possible investment opportunities." I grab my keys and kiss Rose on the cheek on my way out the door.

Mystic Falls VA

It took me three tries to find the turn off for Mystic Falls from the highway. This place must be spelled or something. I find the local diner/pub: The Mystic Grille. A tall blond man is wiping down the bars counter. I walk over to one of the booths and sit down. The server walks over, "Can I get you anything?"

I nod. "I would like a shot of your best bourbon and a large hamburger and fries." She smiles at me, "Coming right up." "Hey Matt this customer needs a shot of our best bourbon." She heads back into the kitchen area. I take a look around. It's a small place with a tiny stage, two pool tables and a small dart board area. The rest of the place is either booths or small tables that can be put together for larger parties. Matt walks over and sets a glass down in front of me. "What brings you to our little town?"

"I heard that a friend of mine moved here recently. His name is Charlie Swan." He looks at me for a moment. "Charlie is staying with some friends of mine. Does he know you are looking for him?" I can see he is suspicious. "If you can get in touch with him tell him Emmett McCarty would like to speak with him."

He nods at me, "I'll see what I can do." He walks behind the bar and places a call. He is watching me the entire time he is on the phone." The Swans must have made a good impression or the barkeep would not be so protective.

A few minutes later a black haired man with the lightest blue eyes I have ever seen enters the bar. He walks over to my booth and sits across from me. "Hello, my name is Damon Salvatore. Is there reason for you to be looking for Charlie? He is a guest of mine." He lowers his voice, "What is a cold one doing looking for him?"

I straighten up. Sitting in front of me is an older regular vampire. I thought they were only legends. This situation is getting tricky. "I am Emmett McCarty a friend of his daughters." He snorts. I watch as he presses a button on his cell phone, "Jaz your brother is here at the diner."

"Which one?"

"He claims to be Emmett McCarty."

"I'll be there in a few. I'm bringing Charlie with me." I hear scuffling in the background. Before he disconnects I hear, "Alright you can come too!"

I grin. "You called in the reinforcements?"

"Not really, I just called in a few of Isa's other family: the friendlier ones."

I don't let my smile falter. Isabella needs family like this around her. They are actually protecting her.

"Why are you looking for Isabella?"

I glance at Damon. Bella has his last name. I might be looking at her husband. "Rose saw her yesterday at the spa. I thought it might be a coincidence, but I called our family's private investigator and he told me Charlie moved to Mystic Falls. Since I was in the neighborhood I thought I would swing by and say hello to Charlie and maybe Bella."

Damon glances up, "Looks like we are going to need a large table."

I glance over my shoulder. Charlie, Jasper, Pete and Charlotte just entered the Grille. Jasper does not look thrilled to see me. Charlie is not too happy either.

"Hey Jas, I heard Charlie was in this part of the woods. I came over to say Hello."

He walks over and slaps the back of my head. "Were you followed?"

"No, I had a hard enough time finding this place. Is it spelled or something?"

Jasper sighs. "I wouldn't be surprised. Before you ask; yes, Rose saw Bella at the spa in Richmond. We would appreciate it if you will keep this from the other members of the family. I know you will have to tell Rose, ask her to keep it quiet. We don't want unwanted attention."

He clears his throat. "We left a mess behind when we moved out of Forks. Victoria had already started to build a 'Cold One' army in the Seattle/Tacoma area. The Quileute's were able to protect their lands and Forks for a while. It triggered their dormant gene to become horse sized wolves. The situation should not have escalated to that point. We needed to take out Victoria, you already know this. I had to take her out myself. I called Damon to check out the situation in Forks for me. He met Bella and they married before leaving the state. I am asking you to keep quiet about this too."

I hear a voice behind me that I never thought I would hear again. "Emmy Bear, I was wondering if you would show up."

I jump over the back of the seat to give my baby sister a hug. She laughs. "You are always going to find trouble aren't you?" She hugs me back. "I wondered if you would show up after Rose spotted me."

I nod. I am just so happy that she is alive and well. "I'll keep your secret, even from Rose for a little while. She wouldn't believe me if I told her about the company you keep now days."

She lightly swats me and says: "Let me introduce you the family. The three lovely ladies behind me are Sage, Freya and Rebekah. The black haired man glaring at you is my husband Damon. Elijah, Kol, Nik, Henrik, and Finn are standing behind him." Each one gives me a nod of acknowledgement. "You already know Jasper's family and Angela."

Damon clears his throat. She shrugs her shoulders. "Kol, Angela, Henrik and I are fine with the school as long as we bring back something for the Founder's Day Float. That is our errand for the rest of the afternoon."

The lunch crowd for the Mystic Grille is starting to file in. Damon looks at all of us; "We need to finish this conversation at the Boarding house." He looks me in the eyes, "You can follow us there." I nod my agreement. I put down a hundred dollar bill on the bar and Matt picks it up thanking me with a nod. Charlie snags the burger and fries, just as Damon downs the bourbon.