To be human is to die at some point. Why is it so important if that point is today or tomorrow in the grand scheme of things. Would not this quick end be more merciful than a long, painful illness? That is the best case scenario if we succeed and she survives. If we fail and this woman is still alive...freedom will not be an option for any of us.
PROLOGUE
Aro stalked in his chambers underneath Volterra. The information of countless beings coursed through his mind, their memories and every thought to pass through their skulls before he had touched them. The ancient vampire figured about 99% of the information he collected was useless rubbish, but his power didn't sift through to give him only what he desired. It gave him everything of the lives of creatures that...were meaningless. Even those he respected...did he need to know the thought of every second of their existence? No mind, even a vampire mind, even a vampire mind as sharp as sophisticated as Aro's could present all of the thoughts adding up to millennia in one cohesive moment. So he stored it, those memories with his own recollections to examine at his leisure.
It was time again to ponder the question of the Cullens. They were the second largest coven besides his own in the vampire world and they had just as many friends as he did. Carlisle could placate him all he wanted, but Aro knew not to leave a threat loose. He had not remained in power this long —he had not SURVIVED this long by leaving enemies in place to stab him in the back!
More than the threat though, they denied him resources. With the future on his right hand, and knowledge of every mind in the room up to date on his left, Aro would finally be what the Volturi had always claimed to be...unstoppable. Alice and Edward, consuming beasts and living like commoners when they should be among the gods. Carlisle did not even comprehend what he was wasting.
It had been a year now since the confrontation over Edward and Bella's child. Since the Volturi had been forced to withdraw. The even numbers of forces had not been the factor to dissuade the powerful vampires. Alec alone would have been enough to cripple them if it was not for that newborn. That shield that Edward's wife projected...Aro shuddered for effect. He would have LOVED to acquire that obfuscating shield as well...however he could not trust Chelsea's power to work on that Bella Cullen. She seemed able to block everything except for her precious little daughter. An interesting subject, the child would be. Perhaps Aro would acquire her, but Reneesme was not the priority.
Bella must die, it was plain as that. However, the very reason she has to die is what made direct assault an untenable option. The Volturi would have lost that day in the clearing. Even if they had won the day, the losses that the battle would have inflicted would have spelt their end. His best tracker couldn't even hunt the woman because of that accursed shield! Aro needed another way.
So he now was alone under the earth, sifting through the assorted memories of Edward Cullen. He would NEVER admit it, not even to Marcus and Caius, but there was a very real possibility he had missed something. Some small detail that was the weakness for him to exploit. He started from the moment Bella's blood first sang to Edward. As much trouble the girl had been to the Volturi Aro did admire the restraint that Edward had not to kill her then and there. Yes, her death in that classroom would prevent so much hardship...but it would have lost him Edward. The minimum of twenty human deaths in a public classroom would be an incident that could not escape notice. All immortals would need to see an act of such savagery dealt with firmly. Such an act would cause blatant exposure.
But Edward had to keep getting involved, rescuing the human girl from the van and the other humans. He was so bothered by the appeal of her blood, even though its delicacy was his right as an immortal. Though the fates seemed to conspire to remove Bella from Edward, he refused to let that happen. Even watching her at night as she slept in case of meteorites. For a moment, Aro was desperate to have access to Bella's mind. He was wildly curious what thought processes allowed her to stay with a suitor who would later confess to stalking her without her awareness. Alas, the one mind he would never see into...but it mattered little for those mysterious thoughts would cease to be soon enough.
Aro shook his head to get himself back on course. He went through every inane detail that Edward asked this girl when she was still an insignificant human. Useless details of colour and favourites that amounted to...Aro allowed his mouth to twist into a grin. Here was a possible opening to a weakness. Bella's mother, the woman called Renee Dwyer, one of the few she still loved who was an all too vulnerable human. The father, Charlie, was too close under the watch of the Cullens and the Shapeshifters. He could be killed, but that would show Aro's hand far too soon. Renee was separate, could be isolated, and left the Volturi with all sorts of options.
Aro began to focus on mentions of the woman to gather as much information as possible. Flighty, and unpredictable apparently, she would give Demetri an enjoyable hunt. Now to go over Edward's memory of first meeting the woman. He looked through the eyes of the young vampire in memory. Heard his concern over the girl in the hospital bed, and then the shouting in his mind...
The grin that spread across Aro's was as wide as his lips could spread with pernicious delight. If he had examined these memories more closely, before he would have left the Cullens alone...at least until he had Renee Dwyer in his possession. No matter, for an immortal there was always time.