Chapter 17: Flames

Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight… duh!

APOV

"Absolutely not!" Bella yelled through her tears.

She had begun sobbing and protesting as soon as the words left Demetri's mouth. Demetri and Heidi planned to die to hide their secret. To hide their beloved daughter.

"You're not…I won't let you…I'd rather die myself!" Bella stammered.

Edward and Bella were sitting on the sofa in the great room of the Bollai's home. Edward pulled Bella into his arms and held her head to his chest, gently rocking her in an attempt to comfort her. Demetri watched Bella shaking in Edward's arms with an anguished expression on his face. He turned away and began looking out the window.

"Isabella, you must understand. It is the only way to keep you safe. Your mother and I are willing to do whatever it will take to keep your existence and whereabouts a secret," Demetri spoke quietly.

We had all anticipated this reaction from Bella once they told her they planned to die. Edward had already discussed this possibility with her and made promises to her that he would help them escape with their lives.

He was a fool to have done that. How could he promise her something like that? Edward had me working through every possible scenario trying to find a way for her parents to come through this and I hadn't been able to find anything.

I had seen what I assumed to be Bella as a vampire at the Volturi's side. I had seen the pain of her death marked on Edward's face in the future. I had seen the death of us all in one form or another. No scenario or decision I tried had produced an outcome with every single one of us making it out of this mess unscathed.

Edward continued pressuring me to come up with a solution. It was mentally exhausting for me. For every possible decision there was, what seemed to be, an infinite number of subsequent decisions that needed to be made before I could see the outcome. And of course, with Bella being involved and blocking me, the outcome was never a certainty. It was always full of holes and doubts.

The only certainty I could find in the endless barrage of visions was that one or more of us were going to die. Edward refused to decide on which path to follow because it always led to someone's death. I would gladly sacrifice myself for my family, for the Bollais, for Jasper but I had already seen the outcome of my sacrifice and it made no difference. It just delayed the inevitability that the Volturi, or worse, James would win.

I continued to run through scenarios and finally hit upon one that had the potential to save as many of us as possible. A decision that ultimately contained a happy ending for those that survived. While I too was pained at the thought of any one of us meeting our end, I knew there was no other way. Surely, he would understand that. I glanced to Edward hoping for the reassurance that this was the decision we needed to make.

I glanced over at Edward who still held Bella to him. He was already shaking his head slightly, his eyes pleading with me to continue searching, letting me know that this was not an acceptable outcome. I gave him a slight nod to let him know I would keep trying. I continued my search while listening to the others around me.

Heidi rose from her seat across from Bella and Edward. She went and knelt in front them, placing her hand on her daughter's head.

"It is the only way," Heidi said quietly while stroking Bella's hair.

Bella lifted her head from Edward's chest. Her eyes were red and swollen and her cheeks tear stained.

"Edward promised that he is going to save us all." She says looking from her mother's eyes to Edward's face for affirmation.

Edward gave her an unsure smile. Heidi sighed with frustration and rose to her feet looking down at Bella.

"What can Edward do against the Volturi? I have serious doubts that he can keep you safe much less your father and I as well," Heidi said angrily.

Bella stood quickly to stand face-to-face with her mother. The sadness on her face replaced with a look of anger.

"Edward loves me. He will do everything in his power to protect me. He's willing to …" Bella stopped mid-sentence.

"Die? Is that what you were going to say, Bella? He's willing to die to protect you. How very noble of him. I wish I had thought of the same," Heidi said with disgust and turned and walked away.

Having realized that she was about to commend Edward for his willingness to do for her the very thing she was arguing with her parents for planning to do, Bella returned to her seat beside Edward. Her eyes were downcast in shame.

I desperately continued my search for a way out of this while sparing all involved. Nothing was working. I kept coming back to the vision I had a moment ago. I knew this decision would ensure Bella's safety as well as Edward's, Jasper's and mine. But I couldn't be certain of the Bollai's future. It was possible that I couldn't see their future because they were already so committed to die. What worried me most though is that I couldn't see my own parents' future. I should have been able to see either their deaths or their survivals but there was nothing.

It could mean that Bella is with them blocking my ability, I thought to Edward as I noticed his gaze had once again fallen on me.

Since we've seen that' she isn't with you, I thought to him cautiously knowing how much pain that knowledge must be causing him.

Are we willing to take that gamble? I questioned him.

Edward glanced down at Bella with a pained expression on his face. He then looked back to me and nodded reluctantly.

We will need to keep some of the details from her and discuss with the others later, I warned him. He gave me a half-smile assuring me he understood and then his head turned quickly towards Carlisle.

"We need to separate and run," I said out loud for the all to hear.

All eyes suddenly looked towards me. All but Carlisle and Edward, who appeared to be having a silent conversation with one another.

"Have you had a clear vision, Alice? Esme questioned.

"No. They are still broken, full of holes for the most part," I responded.

"I do know that I can envision our futures and we are safe just not together," I continued to explain.

I looked towards Edward once again and he began to speak.

"Alice and I have been trying to work through her visions. It's been like a jigsaw puzzle. But it does seem that this is our only option at this point," Edward said.

"Who will I be with?" Bella asked Edward.

Edward looked at Bella with a forced smile that did not reach his eyes. Before Edward could respond, Carlisle began to speak.

" If we split up and not one grouping knows where the other is, then we can conceal Bella's location." he said.

Carlisle looked to Bella. She has a concerned look on her face.

"We will all be safe my child, we just won't all be together." he said hoping to reassure her. "In time we will regroup but for now, we separate."

Bella smiled at him and turned to Edward expectantly. He forced a smile once again to add credence to Carlisle's words.

"Who is to go with whom?" Jasper asked.

I began to explain how, in the beginning, I envisioned Bella, Edward, Jasper, and I together. Our parents are somewhere else. Then I told them that later I saw different groups together. I agreed with Carlisle's deduction that this could be an indication that we regroup later. I did caution them that I was basing Bella's presence on the holes I had in my visions, but I was certain she was safe and unharmed.

"The only problem I see is that it won't work if we are tracked", Carlisle said turning to Demetri.

"You mean as in a vampire tracker, Carlisle?" Heidi questioned. Carlisle nodded in response.

"The Volturi do not employ any trackers that I know of. And even if they did, they would have to know Isabella, would have had to meet her to be successful," Heidi says. "We have always kept her away from other vampires, so I don't see how there is a possibility of a tracker knowing of her existence and…" Heidi froze.

She followed Carlisle's gaze to her husband who was staring at the floor.

"What are keeping from me, Demetri?" She asked him. Demetri looked up at his wife with apologetic eyes.

"James," Heidi whispered.

Heidi brought her hands to her mouth, closed her eyes, and began shaking her head. She walked to the other side of the room and stood facing the wall for some time apparently trying to compose herself before speaking. Demetri moved towards her.

"I am sorry my love. I wanted to shield you from this knowledge until it became necessary to tell you, until I was certain of my suspicions," Demetri began while moving to his wife's side.

"I have discovered that it is James that has tipped off the Volturi and it would appear he has been tracking her since the day we took her as our own." Demetri continued to explain.

He arrived at Heidi's back and reached out placing a hand on her shoulder. Heidi turned quickly to face her husband while her hand came into sharp contact with his left cheek. As her palm contacted Demetri's cheek, a sound like two larges stones breaking against one another echoed through the house. Demetri stumbled a few small steps backwards but maintained his balance. He was wearing a look of absolute shock on his face.

"How dare you keep this from me? You've known that he has been tracking her all these years and said nothing?" Heidi yelled at her husband.

"No, you must believe me, I only recently found that he has been tracking her. I had my suspicions that he may have been the one that told the Volturi, but I was not certain until last night," Demetri began pleading with his wife to understand.

"James?" Bella spoke quietly interrupting her parent's argument.

Demetri and Heidi turned to look at her.

"The one that killed my human family and left me to die?" Bella continued to question them.

Heidi and Demetri nodded their confirmations.

Bella started trembling with fear. Fear of facing the demon that stole her human family from her sixteen years ago. A look of absolutely panic began stretching across her face. All eyes in the room focused on her reaction, planning for the worst.

As Edward wrapped his arms around her shoulders, Heidi began to move very quickly towards Bella. She suddenly halted her mother's approach with a raised hand and shook Edward's arm off her shoulders. They both stared at her confused. Bella rose and went to stand in front of Demetri. She continued to tremble with fear but the panic in her face had been replaced with a look of determination. She wiped at the dried and wet tears that had collected on her cheeks and stood up tall. She looked into her father's eyes.

"So how do we kill him," she spoke calmly and coldly.

Demetri reached out and lightly brushed Bella's cheek with his hand. He smiled down at his brave daughter.

"No! You can't!" Edward suddenly stood up and began his protests obviously having read Demetri's mind before Demetri answered Bella's question.

"It's the only way, Edward. James wants her. Plain and simple. And he will come for her eventually. If he strikes when we aren't expecting it, he could very well win, and lives could be lost. But if we see it coming and plan carefully, it will be our opportunity to kill him," Demetri explained to Edward.

"Bait," Bella said in an almost-whisper. Demetri nodded his confirmation.

"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND!?" Heidi screamed out.

Heidi and Edward were protesting Demetri's plan to use Bella to draw James out of hiding when another vision came to me. It was a vision of Edward and James. Edwards crouched on a dirty, worn wood floor. James' head in Edward's grasps. The sound of cracking stone. James' headless body lying next to Edward.

"Everyone quiet please. I've seen it. This will work," I cried out.

Edward and Heidi ceased their arguments and turned towards me. Edward immediately began reading my thoughts.

"You have to be positive, Alice. I can't, I won't risk her life on guesses. I refuse to put her in danger if you are unsure," Edward pleaded with me. "It's the most concrete vision I've had in days, Edward." I said and begin explaining my vision to the others, "I just saw Edward killing James."

"Tell me what I need to do," Bella said.

Heidi looked with astonishment towards her daughter. Bella looked back to her with absolutely determination in her eyes.

"I will play no part in this madness," Heidi stated plainly and walked out of the room.

Edward grabbed Bella's face and held it in between his hands.

"You don't have to do this, Bella. We can find another way to draw him out." Edward pleaded with her.

"If there's another way, I'm all ears, Edward. But if this is what needs to be done to save us all then this is what I am going to do." Bella informed him.

Edward looked to me with a worried expression. I shook my head. Edward's hands dropped from Bella's face and he went to resume his position on the sofa. Defeated.

"Alright so how do we do it? When and where?" Bella asked her father. Demetri smiled warmly at his daughter.

"You have amazed me since the day I found you, Isabella Bollai," Demetri said to her while pulling her to him to hug. "Be patient my brave girl. There is still one thing we must do before we take any kind of action."

Demetri turned to address the others in the room with Bella still held in his arms.

"I have been in contact with Laurent," Demetri announced.

"Laurent? From James coven?" Jasper asked shocked.

"Yes, Jasper. The very same. It seems he may be our ally. He has left James' coven recently and came to Italy hoping to secure a position with the guard. That is how we began talking. He is the one who told me James had been tracking her all these years. He also confirmed that James had informed the Volturi of Isabella's existence." Demetri explained.

"Can he be trusted?" Carlisle asked.

"I honestly don't know yet," Demetri replied, "Heidi and I spent so brief a time with James' coven so I'm not sure. Jasper, I was hoping you could share what you know of Laurent."

"I was with James' coven for fifteen years. But I honestly never truly knew Laurent. I can tell you that he followed James without ever questioning anything. He was very quiet and only seemed to speak when necessary. Unlike James who never shut up. He went along with every rash, spontaneous decision or task that James would come up with and accepted it. It was like he was indifferent to everything. He never spoke of his past. He was very strange. I honestly don't know if we can trust him," Jasper explained.

"Surely you must have felt emotions or something," Alice inquired.

"Only once, when I first met him. I explained my power to them, and I felt Laurent get extremely nervous, anxious. But after that it was as if he shut down his emotions whenever I was around," Jasper informed us.

"Like me, a shield?" Bella asked Jasper.

"Not quite. Just extreme control over his emotions. None of the coven had any special abilities outside of James' tracking, of that I'm sure," Jasper said.

We sat in quiet contemplation of what this could mean for a few moments.

"I've invited him here tonight," Demetri said breaking the silence.

Edward immediate rose to his feet.

"You invited him here? With Bella?" Edward said in disbelief. "You just said you have no idea if he can be trusted and then you want him under the same roof with Bella?" Edward continued.

"My dear, boy, how else was I going to get you close enough to read his mind and confirm his intentions?" Demetri smiled.

Edward slowly relaxed realizing that Demetri was correct. The plan for the evening was to be simple. Edward would find out what he could by reading Laurent's mind while Jasper attempted to flush out his emotions if possible. I of course would be on the lookout for any visions concerning Laurent. Once Laurent arrived, Carlisle planned to scout the area to ensure he wasn't followed or that he hadn't brought any unwelcomed guests with him.

Once the plans for the evening were cemented, Heidi returned and asked how she could help. Bella ran to her mother and practically jumped into her arms. They held each other for a moment declaring their love for each other.

I glanced over to Edward and noticed that he seemed once again to be carrying on a silent conversation with Carlisle.

"Bella and Edward, perhaps the two of you should discuss where you intend to go once it is safe to leave Italy. Since the rest of us must remain in the dark with regards to your plans and where Bella is going, I think it would be wise for you to take Bella into town to chat," Carlisle suggested.

Edward and Bella agreed and left the house headed for the small town located several miles down the road from the Bollai's residence.

Once their car began pulling down the gravel drive towards the street, Carlisle spoke.

"Alright, Alice. I have spent the last several decades watching the exchanges you and Edward have regarding your visions. And if there is one thing that I have become keen on recognizing during those exchanges is when you aren't telling Esme and I the whole truth. Now why don't you let us know what you really saw in your vision," Carlisle concluded.

"Flames," I began.