ELSA'S POV

I heard the music before I was out of the car. Anna hadn't touched her piano since the night Alice left. Now, as I shut the car door, I heard the song morph through a bridge and change into my lullaby. Anna was welcoming me home.

I moved slowly as I pulled Eleazar - fast asleep; we'd been gone all day - from the car. We'd left Honeymaren at Agnarr's - she'd said he was going to catch a ride home with Sue. I wondered if she was trying to fill her head with enough trivia to crowd out the image of the way my face had looked when I'd walked through Agnarr's door.

As I walked slowly to the Cullen house now, I recognized that the hope and uplift that seemed almost a visible aura around the big white house had been mine this morning, too. It felt alien to me now.

I wanted to cry again, hearing Anna play for me. But I pulled it together. I didn't want her to be suspicious. I would leave no clues in her mind for Aro if I could help it.

Anna turned her head and smiled when I came in the door, but kept playing.

"Welcome home," she said, as if this was just any normal day. As if there weren't twelve other vampires in the room involved in various pursuits, and a dozen more scattered around somewhere. "Did you have a good time with David today?"

"Yes. Sorry I was gone so long. I stepped out to do a little Christmas shopping for Eleazar. I know it won't be much of an event, but..." I shrugged.

Anna's lips turned down. She quit playing and spun around on the bench so that her whole body was facing me. She put one hand on my waist and pulled me closer. "I hadn't thought much about it. If you want to make an event of it - "

"No," I interrupted her. I flinched internally at the idea of trying to fake more enthusiasm than the bare minimum. "I just didn't want to let it pass without giving her something."

"Do I get to see?"

"If you want. It's only a little thing."

Eleazar was completely unconscious, snoring delicately against my neck. I envied her. It would have been nice to escape reality, even for just a few hours.

Carefully, I fished the little velvet jewelry bag from my clutch without opening the purse enough for Anna to see the cash I was still carrying.

"It caught my eye from the window of an antique store while I was driving by."

I shook the little golden locket into her palm. It was round with a slender vine border carved around the outside edge of the circle. Anna popped the tiny catch and looked inside. There was space for a small picture and, on the opposite side, an inscription in French.

"Do you know what this says?" she asked in a different tone, more subdued than before.

"The shopkeeper told me it said something along the lines of 'more than my own life.' Is that right?"

"Yes, he had it right."

She looked up at me, her topaz eyes probing. I met her gaze for a moment, then pretended to be distracted by the television.

"I hope she likes it," I muttered.

"Of course she will," she said lightly, casually, and I was sure in that second that she knew I was keeping something from her. I was also sure that she had no idea of the specifics.

"Let's take her home," she suggested, standing and putting her arm around my shoulders.

I hesitated.

"What?" she demanded.

"I wanted to practice with Cassandra a little_" I'd lost the whole day to my vital errand; it made me feel behind.

Cassandra - on the sofa with Rapunzel and holding the remote, of course - looked up and grinned in anticipation. "Excellent. The forest needs thinning."

Anna frowned at Cassandra and then at me.

"There's plenty of time for that tomorrow," she said.

"Don't be ridiculous," I complained. "There's no such thing as plenty of time anymore. That concept does not exist. I have a lot to learn and - "

She cut me off. "Tomorrow."

And her expression was such that not even Cassandra argued.

i was surprised at how hard it was to go back to a routine that was, after all, brand new. But stripping away even that little bit of hope I'd been fostering made everything seem impossible.

I tried to focus on the positives. There was a good chance that my daughter was going to survive what was

coming, and Honeymaren, too. If they had a future, then that was a kind of victory, wasn't it? Our little band must be going to hold their own if Honeymaren and Eleazar were going to have the opportunity to run in the first place. Yes, Alice's strategy only made sense if we were going to put up a really good fight. So, a kind of victory there, too, considering that the Volturi had never been seriously challenged in millennia.

It was not going to be the end of the world. Just the end of the Cullens. The end of Anna, the end of me.

I preferred it that way - the last part anyway. I would not live without Anna again it was to painful I couldn't and wouldn't do it again I'd let them kill me without fighting back; if she was leaving this world, then I would be right behind her.

I wondered idly now and then if there would be anything for us on the other side. I knew Anna didn't really believe so, but Frederic did. I couldn't imagine it myself. On the other hand, I couldn't imagine Anna not existing somehow, somewhere. If we could be together in any place, then that was a happy ending.

And so the pattern of my days continued, just that much harder than before.

We went to see Agnarr on Christmas Day, Anna, Eleazar, Honeymaren, and I. All of Honeymaren's pack were there, plus Kristoff's, Emily, and Sue. It was a big help to have them there in Agnarr's little rooms, their huge, warm bodies wedged into corners around his sparsely decorated tree - you could see exactly where he'd gotten bored and quit - and overflowing his furniture. You could always count on werewolves to be buzzed about a coming fight, no matter how suicidal. The electricity of their excitement provided a nice current that disguised my utter lack of spirit. Anna was, as always, a better actor than I was.

Eleazar wore the locket I'd given his at dawn, and in his jacket pocket was the MP3 player Anna had given her - a tiny thing that held five thousand songs, already filled with Anna's favorites. On her wrist was an intricately braided Quileute version of a promise ring. Anna had gritted her teeth over that one, but it didn't bother me.It was just a gift. Honeymaren had given the promise ring to say they would always be close friends not trying to promise himself to her.

Soon, so soon, I would be giving her to Honeymaren for safekeeping. How could I be bothered by any symbol of the commitment I was so relying on?

Anna had saved the day by ordering a gift for Agnarr, too. It had shown up yesterday - priority overnight shipping - and Agnarr spent all morning reading the thick instruction manual to his new fishing sonar system.

From the way the werewolves ate, Sue's lunch spread must have been good. I wondered how the gathering would have looked to an outsider. Did we play our parts well enough? Would a stranger have thought us a happy circle of friends, enjoying the holiday with casual cheer?

I think Anna and Agnarr both were as relieved as I was when it was time to go. It felt odd to spend energy on the human fagade when there were so many more important things to be doing. I had a hard time concentrating. At the same time, this was perhaps the last time I would see Agnarr. Maybe it was a good thing that I was too numb to really register that.

I hadn't seen my mother since the wedding, but I found I could only be glad for the gradual distancing that had begun two years ago. She was too fragile for my world. I didn't want her to have any part of this. Agnarr was stronger.

Maybe even strong enough for a goodbye now, but I wasn't.

It was very quiet in the car; outside, the rain was just a mist, hovering on the edge between liquid and ice. Eleazar sat on my lap, playing with her locket, opening and closing it. I watched her and imagined the things I would say to Kristoff right now if I didn't have to keep my words out of Anna's head.

If its ever safe again, take her to Agnarr. Tell him the whole story someday Even about vanpires. Tell him how much I loved him, how I couldn't bear to leave him even when my human life was over. Tell him he was the best father. Tell him to pass my love on to Iduna, all my hopes that she will be happy and well...

Tell them I'm so sorry I know none of this wouldn't be happening if I didn't fall for a vampire our worlds were completely different and our love was dangerous because I was human. but tell him I don't regret loving Anna.

I would have to give Honeymaren the documents before it was too late. I would give him a note for Agnarr, too. And a letter for Eleazar. Something for her to read when I couldn't tell her I loved her anymore.

There was nothing unusual about the outside of the Cullen house as we pulled into the meadow, but I could hear some kind of subtle uproar inside. Many low voices murmured and growled. It sounded intense, and it sounded like an argument. I could pick out Frederic's voice and Amun's more often than the others.

Anna parked in front of the house rather than going around to the garage. We exchanged one wary glance before we got out of the car.

Honeymaren stance changed; her face turned serious and careful. I guessed that she was in Alpha mode now. Obviously, something had happened, and she was going to get the information he and Sam would need.

"Alistair is gone," Anna murmured as we darted up the steps.

Inside the front room, the main confrontation was physically apparent. Lining the walls was a ring of spectators, every vampire who had joined us, except for Alistair and the three involved in the quarrel. Arianna, Kebi, and Tia were the closest to the three vampires in the center; in the middle of the room, Amun was hissing at Carlisle and Benjamin.

Anna's jaw tightened and she moved quickly to Arianna's side, towing me by the hand. I clutched Eleazar tightly to my chest.

"Amun, if you want to go, no one is forcing you to stay," Frederic said calmly.

"You're stealing half my coven, Frederic!" Amun shrieked, stabbing one finger at Benjamin. "Is that why you called me here? To steal from me?"

Frederic sighed, and Benjamin rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Frederic picked a fight with the Volturi, endangered his whole family, just to lure me here to my death," Benjamin said sarcastically. "Be reasonable, Amun. I'm committed to do the right thing here - I'm not joining any other coven. You can do whatever you want, of course, as Frederic has pointed out."

"This won't end well," Amun growled. "Alistair was the only sane one here. We should all be running."

"Think of who you're calling sane," Tia murmured in a quiet aside.

"We're all going to be slaughtered!"

"It's not going to come to a fight," Frederic said in a firm voice.

"You say!"

"If it does, you can always switch sides, Amun. I'm sure the Volturi will appreciate your help."

Amun sneered at him. "Perhaps that is the answer."

Frederic's answer was soft and sincere. "I wouldn't hold that against you, Amun. We have been friends for a long time, but I would never ask you to die for me."

Amun's voice was more controlled, too. "But you're taking my Benjamin down with you."

Frederic put his hand on Amun's shoulder; Amun shook it off.

"I'll stay, Frederic, but it might be to your detriment. I will join them if that's the road to survival. You're all fools to think that you can defy the Volturi." He scowled, then sighed, glanced at Eleazar and me, and added in an exasperated tone, "I will witness that the child has grown. That's nothing but the truth. Anyone would see that."

"That's all we've ever asked."

Amun grimaced, "But not all that you are getting, it seems." He turned on Benjamin. "I gave you life. You're wasting it."

Benjamin's face looked colder than I'd ever seen it; the expression contrasted oddly with his boyish features. "It's a pity you couldn't replace my will with your own in the process; perhaps then you would have been satisfied with me."

Amun's eyes narrowed. He gestured abruptly to Kebi, and they stalked past us out the front door.

"He's not leaving," Anna said quietly to me, "but he'll be keeping his distance even more from now on. He wasn't bluffing when he spoke of joining the Volturi."

"Why did Alistair go?" I whispered.

"No one can be positive; he didn't leave a note. From his mutters, it's been clear that he thinks a fight is inevitable. Despite his demeanor, he actually does care too much for Frederic to stand with the Volturi. I suppose he decided the danger was too much." Anna shrugged.

Though our conversation was clearly just between the two of us, of course everyone could hear it. Elena answered Anna's comment like it had been meant for all.

"From the sound of his mumblings, it was a bit more than that. We haven't spoken much of the Volturi agenda, but Alistair worried that no matter how decisively we can prove your innocence, the Volturi will not listen. He thinks they will find an excuse to achieve their goals here."

The vampires glanced uneasily at one another. The idea that the Volturi would manipulate their own sacrosanct law for gain was not a popular idea. Only the Romanians were composed, their small half-smiles ironic. They seemed amused at how the others wanted to think well of their ancient enemies.

Many low discussions began at the same time, but it was the Romanians I listened to. Maybe because the fair-haired Vladimir kept shooting glances in my direction.

"I do so hope Alistair was right about this," Stefan murmured to Vladimir. "No matter the outcome, word will spread. It's time our world saw the Volturi for what they've become. They'll never fall if everyone believes this nonsense about them protecting our way of life."

"At least when we ruled, we were honest about what we were," Vladimir replied.

Stefan nodded. "We never put on white hats and called ourselves saints."

im thinking the time has come to fight," Vladimir said. "How can you imagine well ever find a better force to stand with? Another chance this good?"

"Nothing is impossible. Maybe someday - "

"We've been waiting for fifteen hundred years, Stefan. And they've only gotten stronger with the years." Vladimir paused and looked at me again. He showed no surprise when he saw that I was watching him, too. "If the Volturi win this conflict, they will leave with more power than they came with. With every conquest they add to their strengths. Think of what that newborn alone could give them" - he jerked his chin toward me - "and she is barely discovering her gifts. And the earth-mover." Vladimir nodded toward Benjamin, who stiffened. Almost everyone was eavesdropping on the Romanians now, like me. "With their witch twins they have no need of the illusionist or the fire touch." His eyes moved to Zafrina, then Kate.

Stefan looked at Anna. "Nor is the mind reader is exactly necessary. But I see your point. Indeed, they will gain much if they win."

"More than we can afford to have them gain, wouldn't you agree?"

Stefan sighed. "I think i must agree. And that means..."

"That we must stand against them while there is still hope."

"If we can just cripple them, even, expose them ..."

"Then, someday, others will finish the job."

"And our long vendetta will be repaid. At last."

They locked eyes for a moment and then murmured in unison. "It seems the only way."

"So we fight," Stefan said.

Though I could see that they were torn, self-preservation warring with revenge, the smile they exchanged was full of anticipation.

"We fight," Vladimir agreed.

I suppose it was a good thing; like Alistair, I was sure the battle was impossible to avoid. In that case, two more vampires fighting on our side could only help. But the Romanians' decision still made me shudder.

"We will fight, too," Tia said, her usually grave voice more solemn than ever. "We believe the Volturi will overstep their authority. We have no wish to belong to them." Her eyes lingered on her mate.

Benjamin grinned and threw an impish glance toward the Romanians. "Apparently, I'm a hot commodity. It appears I have to win the right to be free."

"This won't be the first time I've fought to keep myself from a king's rule," Garrett said in a teasing tone. He walked over and clapped Benjamin on the back. "Here's to freedom from oppression."

"We stand with Frederic," Tareas said. "And we fight with him."

The Romanians' pronouncement seemed to have made the others feel the need to declare themselves as well.

"We have not decided Peter said. He looked down at his tiny companion; Charlotte's lips were set in dissatisfaction. It looked like she'd made her decision. I wondered what it was.

"The same goes for me," Randall said.

"And me," Mary added.

"The packs will fight with the Cullens," Honeymaren said suddenly. "We're not afraid of vampires," she added with a smirk.

"Children," Peter muttered.

"Infants," Randall corrected.

Honeymaren grinned tauntingly.

"Well, I'm in, too," Maggie said, shrugging out from under Siobhan's restraining hand. "I know truth is on Frederic's side. I can't ignore that."

Siobhan stared at the junior member of her coven with worried eyes. "Frederic," she said as if they were alone, ignoring the suddenly formal feel of the gathering, the unexpected outburst of declarations, "I don't want this to come to a fight."

"Nor do I, Siobhan. You know that's the last thing I want." He half-smiled. "Perhaps you should concentrate on keeping it peaceful."

"You know that won't help," she said.

I remembered Rapunzel and Frederic's discussion of the Irish leader; Frederic believed that Siobhan had some subtle but powerful gift to make things go her way - and yet Siobhan didn't believe it herself.

"It couldn't hurt," Frederic said.

Siobhan rolled her eyes. "Shall I visualize the outcome I desire?" she asked sarcastically.

Frederic was openly grinning now. "If you don't mind."

"Then there is no need for my coven to declare itself, is there?" she retorted. "Since there is no possibility of a fight." She put her hand back on Maggie's shoulder, pulling the girl closer to her. Siobhan's mate, Liam, stood silent and expressionless.

Almost everyone else in the room looked mystified by Frederic and Siobhan's clearly joking exchange, but they didn't explain themselves.

That was the end of the dramatic speeches for the night. The group slowly dispersed, some off to hunt, some to while away the time with Frederic's books or televisions or computers.

Anna, Eleazar, and I went to hunt. Honeymaren tagged along.

"Stupid leeches," she muttered to herself when we got outside. "Think they're so superior." she snorted.

"They'll be shocked when the infants save their superior lives, won't they?" Anna said.

Honeymaren smiled and punched her shoulder. "Hell yeah, they will."

This wasn't our last hunting trip. We all would hunt again nearer to the time we expected the Volturi. As the deadline was not exact, we were planning to stay a few nights out in the big baseball clearing Alice had seen, just in

case. All we knew was that they would come the day that the snow stuck to the ground. We didn't want the Volturi too close to town, and Demetri would lead them to wherever we were. I wondered who he would track in, and guessed that it would be Anna since he couldn't track me.

I thought about Demetri while I hunted, paying little attention to my prey or the drifting snowflakes that had finally appeared but were melting before they touched the rocky soil. Would Demetri realize that he couldn't track me? What would he make of that? What would Aro? Or was Anna wrong? There were those little exceptions to what I could withstand, those ways around my shield. Everything that was outside my mind was vulnerable - open to the things Jasper, Alice, and Benjamin could do. Maybe Demetri's talent worked a little differently, too.

And then I had a thought that brought me up short. The half-drained elk dropped from my hands to the stony ground. Snowflakes vaporized a few inches from the warm body with tiny sizzling sounds. I stared blankly at my bloody hands.

Anna saw my reaction and hurried to my side, leaving her own kill undrained.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a low voice, her eyes sweeping the forest around us, looking for whatever had triggered my behavior.

"Eleazar," I choked.

"He's just through those trees," she reassured me. "I can hear both his thoughts and Honeymaren's. She's fine."

"That's not what I meant," I said. "I was thinking about my shield - you really think it's worth something, that it will help somehow. I know the others are hoping that I'll be able to shield Zafrina and Benjamin, even if I can only keep it up for a few seconds at a time. What if that's a mistake? What if your trust in me is the reason that we fail?"

My voice was edging toward hysteria, though I had enough control to keep it low. I didn't want to upset Eleazar.

"Elsa, what brought this on? Of course, it s wonderful that you can protect yourself, but you're not responsible for saving anyone. Don't distress yourself needlessly."

"But what if I can't protect anything?" I whispered in gasps. "This thing I do, it's faulty, it's erratic! There's no rhyme or reason to it. Maybe it will do nothing against Alec at all."

"Shh," she hushed me. "Don't panic. And don't worry about Alec. What he does is no different than what Jane or Zafrina does. It's just an illusion - he can't get inside your head any more than I can."

"But Eleazar does!" I hissed frantically through my teeth. "It seemed so natural, I never questioned it before. It's always been just part of who she is. But she puts her thoughts right into my head just like she does with everyone else. My shield has holes, Anna!"

I stared at her desperately, waiting for her to acknowledge my terrible revelation. Her lips were pursed, as if she was trying to decide how to phrase something. Her expression was perfectly relaxed.

"You thought of this a long time ago, didn't you?" I demanded, feeling like an idiot for my months of overlooking the obvious.

She nodded, a faint smile pulling up one corner of her mouth. "The first time she touched you."

I sighed at my own stupidity, but her calm had mellowed me some. "And this doesn't bother you? You don't see it as a problem?"

"I have two theories, one more likely than the other."

"Give me the least likely first."

"Well, she's your daughter," she pointed out. "Genetically half you. I used to tease you about how your mind was on a different frequency than the rest of ours. Perhaps she runs on the same."

This didn't work for me. "But you hear her mind just fine. Everyone hears her mind. And what if Alec runs on a different frequency? What if - ?"

She put a finger to my lips. "I've considered that. Which is why I think this next theory is much more likely."

I gritted my teeth and waited.

"Do you remember what Frederic said to me about her, right after she showed you that first memory?"

Of course I remembered. "He said, It's an interesting twist. Like she's doing the exact opposite of what you can.'"

"Yes. And so I wondered. Maybe she took your talent and flipped it, too."

I considered that.

"You keep everyone out," she began.

"And no one keeps her out?" I finished hesitantly.

"That's my theory," she said. "And if she can get into your head, I doubt there's a shield on the planet who could keep her at bay. That will help. From what we've seen, no one can doubt the truth of her thoughts once they've allowed her to show them. And I think no one can keep her from showing them, if she gets close enough. If Aro allows her to explain_"

I shuddered to think of Eleazar so close to Aro's greedy, milky eyes.

"Well," she said, rubbing my tight shoulders. "At least there's nothing that can stop him from seeing the truth."

"But is the truth enough to stop him?" I murmured.

For that, Anna had no answer.