Revolving Worlds – Book Three

2060

Chapter Seven

Yet Another Death

Renesmee's Point of View

Wrapping his fingers around my neck, Caius lifted me off the ground, so that my eyes were level with his. He was the same height as me, 5'9" but was on higher ground and also standing on a rock. My feet were dangling inches above the ground; his grip was so tight that it was cutting off my oxygen, that unlike him, I needed.

I tried to scream, but only a gurgling sound came out before I ran out of air. He seemed to find that funny. With my hands busy, uselessly trying to pry Caius' fingers from my neck, my feet swung wildly, also having little effect, as the result of each kick to his shins barely registered on Caius' face. I may as well have been tickling him with a feather.

Stars were starting to crowd my vision, due to the lack of oxygen to my brain.

"Now the justice, that should have been dispatched fifty years ago, will finally be carried out." With a jerk of his arm, Caius yanked me to him. One hand released my neck, enough so that I could take a single gasping breathe before he readjusted and tightened his other one. Things were getting fuzzy, but I could feel his free hand pull at my hair, forcefully tilting my head to the side, exposing my neck. Caius opened his mouth. This was it. I was going to die.

"Take your hands off of my daughter!"

Finally.

It didn't seem like my father's scream deterred Caius at all. He squeezed tighter. Things were going black but I could still feel his razor sharp teeth on my neck. Just as they pierced down, into my skin, we were both knocked to the ground.

Having been denied oxygen for too long, I wasn't able to do much more than fumble around, hacking and gasping for air, as I tried to catch my breath and crawl away from Caius. I wasn't sure what happened, but was just conscious enough to try to move away to get as much space between us as possible. However in my current state that only amounted to a few meters before I collapsed. Thankfully it wasn't necessary. It took me some time, but as I began to recover I realized what had happened - Jasper had tackled Caius... well both us.

The two of them were now wrestling, flipping around in a blur, moving too fast for even my eyes to catch everything.

"Where's Jake?" my mother screamed to me.

I was still coughing too much, from the damage Caius had inflicted on my throat, unable to talk, so I just pointed over to the far hill where I'd last seen him. Half my family – Carlisle, Rose, Emmett, and Bella, ran in that direction. Esme, stayed to help and protect me, while Jasper continued to fight with Caius, and Edward and Alice took on the other three Vampires that were here with him.

A few minutes later it was all over. I'd been too out of it to see exactly what had happened, but did see some tree branches torn down and thrown into a pile, where a fire was started. Body parts were thrown on and purple smoke soon filled the air.

When it was all done my father came over and started examining my neck. It was probably bruised from the force Caius had used, not to mention the bite mark that was still healing. "How are you feeling? Caius' venom... are you..." His face and voice were full of concern.

None of us knew what venom would do to me, but I already had venom in me and though it stung I seemed to be fine. I tried telling him that, but my voice was hoarse. Luckily, with us, I didn't need to talk out loud. My father could hear my thoughts. And with my accelerated healing any damages to my vocal cords should correct themselves quickly.

A few minutes later Bella and Rose carried the disassembled pieces of the Vampires Jake had been fighting and added them to the bonfire.

Wait, that was only six bodies being dumped on the fire. One was missing.

"Caius got away," my father answered my erratic thoughts. "Don't worry. Jasper, Alice, Emmett, and Rosalie went after him. He won't get far," he assured me.

I had not even seen them leave.

But you don't know that for sure. What if he has more allies with him and manages to get past them... or worse? I didn't want them to get hurt. He could be anywhere. What if he goes after others? My mind was racing, picturing the faces of all those he could kill - my family, the Wolves, and especially all of the defenseless humans who were in the area for the wedding.

"Don't worry. The Wolves are at the church guarding our human guests, in case Caius makes another appearance."

Okay. I relaxed. Can you tell Jake that... Suddenly I realized that I didn't see him anywhere and he hadn't come back with Bella and Rose. Neither had Carlisle. What happened?

"Carlisle is with him. We need to leave quickly. Jacob was also bitten and several of his bones were broken."

Oh no!

After piling into the car and racing to the main house Carlisle immediately injected Jake with the anti-venom he'd developed years earlier and then got to work setting his broken bones.

One good thing about Jake being bit was that the venom had prevented Jake's accelerated healing from kicking in and his bones hadn't mended themselves in the wrong positions. As soon as the anti-venom worked its way through Jake system I could hear his breathing even out and his heartbeat slow down to a more normal rhythm.

Once Jake's arm, leg and ribs had been reset and wrapped tightly (they would heal quick enough that putting on casts would be pointless) something still seemed wrong.

Felling around Jake's abdomen, Carlisle ascertained that his spleen must have been punctured by one of his broken ribs.

"Aren't you going to operate?" I asked when I saw that Carlisle wasn't setting up for surgery.

"I'd like to wait and see, for now. He's in no immediate danger and I have a feeling that Jakes own healing abilities should fix any internal damage on its own. Unless something changes my cutting him open would only slow down his recovery." I gave him a skeptical look. "I'll keep an eye on him but he should be good as new in a day or two," Carlisle assured me.

Thank goodness.

With nothing to do but let Jake sleep I had a few questions for Edward. Specifically regarding what Caius told me about how Benjamin and Tia were now part of the Volturi. He heard my thoughts and came to me so I wouldn't have to go search for him.

Why didn't you tell me about Benjamin and Tia before? I mentally ask my father once he entered the room. It had been over an hour since Caius' attack, but my throat still felt off and I didn't want to risk slowing down its healing.

"Honestly I didn't know. Alice had only seen Benjamin trying to persuade Tia to leave Volterra."

What else did you hear? I needed to know everything. My grandson was dead and I needed answers.

"We didn't want to tell you until we were certain." He sighed apologetically. "Alice has been seeing little glimpses... Benjamin didn't want to stay in Volterra. Yet, at the same time, refused to leave his mate, Tia. The decision to stay wasn't... finalized until a couple months ago. We were going to tell everyone after the wedding. You're not the only one who was kept in the dark," my father explained to me.

So why did Benjamin change his mind?

"It was made impossible for him not to. Two weeks age Sulplica and Tia killed Caius' wife, Athenodora." What!? "I only heard what Caius knew, and only because it's all he can think about. It seems that Sulplica and Tia originally wanted her to be the third Volturi leader instead of Marcus. But when she refused, telling Caius their plans, it left Sulplica and Tia no choice but to try and kill them both. Apparently there was... a sort of civil war in Volterra. Caius and Athenodora, and some others, tried to take back control of the Volturi from Sulplica, Tia, and their supporters.

So the Vampires here with Caius tonight...

"Those who escaped the Volterra battle, loyal to him and his wife."

My father's mode momentarily seemed to lighten. "Marcus seems to have backed the wrong side. He probably hoped to have died in the fight. But he was on Sulplica and Tia's side." Then his smile disappeared. "Now he's going to have to go on living, without his mate for who knows how much longer."

His expression sunk even lower. "Benjamin's hand was forced. He'd no other option. He had to stand with Tia, against Caius, and thereby her decision to lead the new Volturi. With Benjamin, and his gift, on their side they easily won, even with being outnumbered three to one. Caius and the others you saw today barely escaped." My father then took an unnecessary breath. "I'm assuming that is why he showed up here, now. He wants revenge and seems to have started with our family."

But we didn't kill his wife. This is insane. Why is he coming after us? We're not responsible for his wife's death.

"He feels that everything in his world started going wrong once he met us. If Aro hadn't become so obsessed with obtaining Alice, your mother, and me, for our gifts, then none of this would have happened, and his wife would still be alive. It was just chance that you and Jacob were the ones who arrived at the crash site first. He'd have taken anybody out who showed up. William's death was just the lure he used to get any one of us there."

But I still didn't understand. How could he have been sure any of us would have gone? He made it look like an accident. He could not have been certain we would have gone to the crash site. This was crazy.

"Yes, but so is Caius," my father replied. "Losing his mate seems to have pushed him over the edge. And made him mad, in more ways than one.

But David... Marcus, they both shut down, went catatonic with the loss of their mates. Why didn't the same thing happen to Caius?

"Everyone reacts to grief differently," my father replied. "His seems to be almost the same as Victoria's when she lost her mate. She was hell-bent on revenge, trying to kill your mother, after I killed her mate, James."

He didn't need to explain further, I'd heard the story of what happened, years ago.

So that was it. Sulplica, Tia, and Marcus were now the new rulers of the Volturi, and all of us, with Benjamin as their main Weapon of Mass Destruction. He wasn't evil and sadistic like Jane had been. Hopefully the centuries of enforcing Vampire law wouldn't warp him into something he wasn't. He always seemed to want to do what was right. It was one of the reasons we'd become friends.

Can they help us? Against Caius, I mean? Benjamin's my friend, he'd come if I needed him.

Wouldn't he?

Maybe not.

He hadn't come to my wedding.

Or Felicity and Jennifer's.

My father was kind enough to not mention my observation. Instead saying, "I doubt he's in any position to do anything right now. But I'm sure we can handle Caius on our own. From what I saw in Caius' mind, Volterra is probably going to be in a state of chaos for a while. There are plenty who didn't back Caius, him not being very loved, but also didn't side with Sulplica either. There's probably still a lot of fighting going on there."

Oh.

I wanted to go to bed and forget this day ever happened. But I couldn't. There was still so much to do. William's funeral needed to be arranged. Penny was in the hospital, fighting for her life, though Carlisle seems to think it was futile. Felicity's wedding was ruined and would need to be rescheduled. All of the out of town human wedding guests would need to be housed somewhere, at least for tonight. Argh... I hadn't even talked to Felicity since we heard about William. I'm the worst mother of the bride ever.

Oh no! I glanced over at my Mother-of-the-Bride dress that I'd thrown on a nearby chair. It was covered in mud, and had been ripped and torn, in the fight with Caius. And Jake's tux had gotten ripped to shreds when he phased. Alice was going to be pissed. At least my family had the good sense to change out of their wedding clothes into regular ones, sometime between the canceled wedding and coming to rescue us.

"Don't worry about all of that. Everything is being taken care of. You were injured and need time to heal. Just rest now," my father told me.

No, I tried to object. I wasn't a child. I have responsibilities. My family needs me.

"Right now your responsibility is to get yourself better. You can't do anything in the state you're in," he said pointing to my throat.

Fine. I don't know how he expected me to sleep. Caius tried to kill me and my husband. He was successful killing my only son's eldest child, and soon his daughter-in-law. Their children would soon be orphans. And all this on the day of my only daughter's wedding.

"Do you want me to wake you when Alice and the others get back after having taken care of Caius?"

You're awfully confident. I wasn't. What if he comes here?

"I'll hear him," my father said, pointing to his head, "before he gets within four miles of this place. But he won't. He'll be dead soon."

Where was all this confidence coming from? Did Alice see his death in a vision?

"She didn't need to." I could see now the anger that, up until this point, he'd done so well in hiding from me. "He killed one of our family. We are not going to let him get away with that. He will pay for what he has done."

And if they don't get him tonight? If he attacks again...

"You are safe. Your mother and I won't leave your side until he's been taken care of."

I knew that. I wasn't worried about myself. But the wedding guests, the human ones...

"Caius is alone now. And there are three Packs – La Push, Makah, and Grecian, all perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, as they escort the wedding guests home. All of the tribes' members are safe. Four Wolves are also in the woods, guarding the hospital."

What about David? He didn't know anything that had happened after running off in the morgue. If he came across Caius now...

"Relax. David's safe. It took some time but Angelina got him to go home. They're with Sepideh and Matthew, and William's daughters, Eryn and Krissy... planning the funeral."

That's good. I finally started to relax.

"Any word on Penny?" I asked out loud. Ow. I shouldn't have done that. My throat started to burn, and not from hunger.

He shook his head, to answer my question she must have still been holding on. Then he added, before disappearing, "I'll get you some blood. It'll help."

A few seconds later my father was back. He handed me a glass of blood. Even without tasting it I knew it was human. Carlisle always tried to keep some on hand for emergencies, just not normally to drink.

Thanks.

"There isn't anything else to do tonight. Try and get some sleep," he said again, as he kissed my forehead like he did when I was a baby, before turning to leave for the night. Then he paused by the door. "Are you sure you are okay on that chair? There are plenty of beds." I shook my head, my father knew I would not want to leave Jacob's side. I knew he would ask just the same when I first planted myself in the chair by Jake's bedside. He was knocked out from a massive dose of morphine in Carlisle's office, turned, all too often into a makeshift infirmary, to keep an eye on his vitals.

Carlisle came to check on Jake a few times over the night. He was impossibly quiet, as to try and not wake me, but for that to work I would have had to go to sleep in the first place. I couldn't.

My father never came in. That meant Alice, Rose, Jasper, and Emmett never returned with news of Caius' demise.

The next morning brought the sunrise and the sound of Jake's snoring. A couple hours prior Carlisle assured me that Jake's spleen was healing just like he'd hoped. Good.

I was tired but wanted to know what I'd missed during the night. Not wanting to wake Jake I quietly slipped out to find everyone else. It wasn't too hard. Carlisle and Esme were sitting in the living room with my parents. No one was talking. Just sitting like statues. Not a good sign.

"Edward, why didn't you come to give me an update on Caius?" I asked, joining them. My voice was strong and clear, my throat seemed completely healed. This should have made me happy but I was still worried. Learning that the party hunting Caius had succeeded would have helped that.

"I'm afraid I haven't heard anything. If I had, you know I would have, darling," my father assured me. "I'm sorry I don't have better news for you.

Oh. That was disappointing.

"Well I do." Carlisle said, trying to brighten my mood. "Jacob is doing much better. All traces of Venom have left his system, his spleen has mended itself, and his vitals are almost completely back to normal. He will be a little weak for a while, but his bones are mending nicely and should be good as new by tomorrow."

"Maybe even quicker than that," Jake said, coming up behind me, before collapsing onto the sofa. He'd hobbled in, using one of the crutches left in the bedroom for him.

"Jacob, you should still be in bed."

"I'm fine." he shrugged off Bella's concern.

"Liar, you can barely stand."

"Do I look like I'm standing?" He had her there. "Besides I can lie down just as easily on this couch as I could on that hospital bed. And the couch is more comfortable."

That seemed to put an end to the discussion, because neither of then brought up the matter further. And everyone started discussing yesterday's events. That was, until Carlisle's phone rang. As he answered it, Jacob's also began ringing.

There were two different callers, but the message was the same, as I was able to hear both sides of the two conversations, with my enhanced hearing, as could everybody else in the room.

Carlisle was speaking with someone from the hospital. As a professional courtesy they had honored his request to be kept up-to-date as to Penny's condition.

Jacob was talking to our son. David was relaying the same news as the hospital - Penny had passed away earlier this morning. Penny's parents had called David letting him know about his "brother's" wife, and the hospital was only calling now to give the family some time to grieve, and not jump on the news.

Carlisle thanked the hospital for the information and hung up but Jake continued talking to our son. David wanted to have Eryn and Krissy come live with him but so did the Littlesea's. There's little chance of the twins phasing into Wolves so it wouldn't be that bad if they did live with their other grandparents. There was the small issue of Penny's parents knowing nothing about Wolves, or Vampires, or anything supernatural, while but Eryn and Krissy did.

Great. A possible legal battle over custody was just one more thing to worry about.

At least they all lived in La Push. And the twins would be eighteen in less than a year. By the end of the phone call David was still unsure. He loved his grandchildren but conceded that as long as the twins wanted to they would be okay, possibly even happy, living with their other grandparents.

"They're going to get together and talk about it some more," Jake told us as he ended the phone call. He knew we all heard, but wanted to say what he thought on the subject. "Despite the progress he and Angelina have made, David is still getting over Janet's death. Having Eryn and Krissy live with the Littlesea's would probably be for the best."

"That sounds like a good solution," I agreed, not sure what else to say. "How about some breakfast?" I wasn't hungry, but was sure Jake would be. He readily agreed. Food always cheered him up. He was still weak and he wouldn't be able to cut anything with only one working arm, so looking over the food in the kitchen here I settled on toast and scrambled eggs.

Jake ate the entire plate, and was hungry for more. I was in the middle of cooking up a second helping when the front door burst open.