Chapter 9
New Edict

(Bella)

Ever since I heard about a week ago that Alice and Esme had told Charlie the truth about us, I kept wondering why. My dad was resting, somewhat comfortably I hoped, as the fire slowly burned him to make him one of us. Carlisle had assured me that this would work; our venom would kill all of the cancer cells in his body and he would be healed. While it was true that Carlisle had never changed anyone with cancer, his venom did destroy all of the Spanish Influenza viruses in Edward, so he hoped it would work the same with cancer.

A part of me wanted to confront Esme about their little indiscretion with my dad, but I knew she would feel guilty about not telling me earlier. And besides I knew who the culprit was; my spiky haired midget sister. That was one of Jacob's favorite ways of razzing Alice. I still remember when he told her that anyone under five feet tall was technically a midget; that really steamed her, but the two of them had become close friends in the past few years. Just friends who tended to tease the crap out of each other.

Edward had gone hunting with Jacob and Renesmee, so the timing seemed perfect to confront my darling little sister. Jacob had rubbed off on me on this one; Alice hated it when I said that and I always emphasized the 'little' part. She'd normally stick her tongue out and blow a raspberry at me.

Alice was arraigning flowers like most nights. It was a shame that she had to stay hidden during the day, since she was so brilliant at landscaping and florals. I knocked on the door to her room. She must had seen me coming, because I even was able to knock, she sang, "Come in Bella," her soprano voice ringing.

"There's something I wanna know," I demanded of her, my displeasure made known through tone rather than volume. Alice was wearing a brand new pink sundress with a simple white pearl necklace. "When did you first see," but I started to stumble on the last part of my question.

Alice looked at me sympathetically. I could assume that she knew what I wanted to know, and why. "You want to know when I first saw Charlie becoming one of us, don't you." She asked completing my thought.

That was part of it, yes, but the bigger question was why she told Charlie the truth in the first place. I had promised him that we would at one point; I just assumed it would be when he was on his deathbed. I nodded in agreement. Maybe if she told me the answer to this one, I could figure out my other question.

"When I first met him," Alice answered completely casually.

I was stunned. She knew that early, even before I was a vampire. I couldn't believe it; hell I didn't want to believe it. But then again, she saw me as a vampire the first time she first met me. "That quick?" I finally stuttered out still almost in shock.

"I told you how my visions work, right?" She asked in reply. She might have, but it had to be when I was still human because I couldn't recall it at the time. I shrugged. "Ugh," she groaned, "the world's only forgetful vampire," she laughed at me. "I see the most likely possibility; when stuff is a long way off, it's kind of fuzzy." I looked at her confused. "Picture watching TV on a huge set that is using 'rabbit ears'."

I had no idea what she was talking about. I just kept looking at her cross eyed.

"Oh for goodness sake," she crowed, "how about trying to watch a video on a dial up modem?"

This one made some sense. I knew better than to try and download anything at Charlie's, since when I moved in, dial up was all he had. I nodded in reply.

"Great, so when I first saw Charlie, I saw him with red eyes, but it was really cloudy. I thought the eyes were because he was new, so I assumed he'd be like us."

"So when did it look like a T-3 line?" I asked sticking to the internet comparison.

Alice laughed. "When he came to see you after your transformation. There were two possibilities that day, but-"

"You saw me killing my father?" I shrieked out. My scream almost was high enough to break glass.

Alice covered her ears jokingly. "I didn't say that; in fact killing Charlie wasn't even a remote possibility that day… not really."

I growled at her. "What's that supposed to mean?" I snapped. I should have known Alice better; she always liked using riddles and anecdotes when telling stories.

"You weren't going to 'kill' Charlie," she said displaying air quotes on the word 'kill'. "You might have bitten him, but the boys would have been able to stop you from killing him. That was the day I was sure that Charlie would be one of us."

"Great, so there might have been two newborns. I'm sure Carlisle woulda loved that."

Alice laughed, her usual bell-like laugh. "Bella, your dad's gonna be fine."

"So why'd you tell him the truth when you did?"

Alice looked guilty; I wasn't sure if it was because I wanted her motives, or because she honestly didn't know. "Well, to be honest, Charlie was the only human I ever felt bad about lying to about us. He wasn't a threat to our secret, since exposing us would put all of the family in jeopardy."

"He doesn't care about what happens to him," I somewhat joked. I knew Charlie would make any sacrifice for me without caring the price to himself.

Alice shook her head, "I wasn't just talking about him, Bella. If Charlie told anyone about us, it would condemn us all since we told him. The Volturi is very secretive about our kind."

"Then why didn't Aro just kill us in Volterra?"

"That's not his style. Besides he really wanted Edward's and my gifts, and you intrigued him even more; never before had he seen a human's gift manifest itself so powerfully."

"Thanks Alice," I smiled as I hugged my annoying, but favorite sister-in-law. "Can I ask you one more thing?"

"Anytime."

I smiled again. "Can you see how my dad will do with the whole crazy newborn thing?"

"Sure I can. He'll be fine, maybe even better than you were."

"So does that mean-" but Alice interrupted me.

"His record will be as clean as mine and Carlisle's."

I grinned. "Emmett," I half shouted hoping that he would hear me. I should have known better than to have to speak above a whisper.

"What's up little sis?" He answered my call, entering Alice's room along with Jasper.

"How 'bout a little bet?"

"What now?" He asked back.

I should have guessed he'd still be steaming from our little arm wrestling bet. It had taken almost six months before my strength finally waned and he was able to beat me in feats of strength. Jasper entered the room shortly behind Emmett's arrival. "Be careful," Jasper warned his brother.

I could assume why Jasper was warning Emmett. He could probably read the confidence in me and knew that Emmett couldn't resist a bet, regardless of how bad the deck was stacked against him.

"Why?" Emmett asked to Jasper.

Before Jasper could even reply, I thought of what Charlie had been drooling over for the past few years; his dream car. So I fired the opening salvo. "I'll bet you that Charlie doesn't kill any humans in his first year."

"Careful," Jasper warned again at a whisper.

Emmett growled softly at his brother. This was one thing that Emmett had no chance at; being cautious about anything. When challenged his only action was to meet it head on. "Fine, what are the stakes?"

"How 'bout a car versus car bet? I win, you buy me the car of my choice; you win, same thing."

"You're on!" Emmett shouted as he shook my hand. I was no longer as strong as he was, and this shake hurt a little. As our hands separated, he looked right at Alice who was wearing a huge grin. "Oh crap!" He exclaimed as he realized he was screwed. "You didn't?"

"I never said I gambled fairly," I countered to him.

"Come on Alice; I mean you could have given me a warning or something."

"I tried to," Jasper defended his mate in his familiar southern drawl, "but once again your foolish pride got in the way."

Emmett growled again, this one a more human sounding one that came from his mouth. "So what kind of car am I buying you?"

"Truck actually," I answered him which seemed to intrigue him. "My dad's been salivating over the new Ford Raptor. That's what you're gonna buy HIM."

"Damn," Emmett crowed, "your dad's got good taste! I can't wait to see what one of those can do off road. They're supposed to shame Jeeps."

Alice gasped, and we all knew what that meant when her eyes went blank. She was clearly having a vision, but we couldn't interrupt her until it was finished. After a minute or so, it was over and her eyes returned to their normal color and she returned to arraigning her flowers like she had done before I had started talking to her. I knew I wouldn't get any answers from her so my best chance was Edward, who would be returning soon from his hunting trip.

I went to the family room to wait for them. Renesmee had grown what looked like another year, now making her look about 14. The relationship between Jacob and her had begun to turn romantic, but still nowhere near being intimate. A week ago, Renesmee had her first period; this surprised everyone in the house, but it also confirmed something. The two of them would be able to have children… one day. I didn't want to be a grandmother yet. I lowered my shield to let Edward read my thoughts so he would know what was worrying me.

(Edward)

I could hear Bella's thoughts perfectly clearly and knew she wanted some alone time. I suggested that Jacob take Nessie to La Push, since all of the Quileutes loved to see her. She just had that about her; she could make anyone love her in a matter of minutes. Of course, any excuse for Jacob to have time alone with Nessie was good enough for him, but there was a better one. Claire was staying with Quil for the weekend, and even though Nessie looked much older than Claire was, the two girls still really liked being together. About a mile from the house, I made the suggestion to Jacob who instantly agreed.

I ran through the thought in Bella's mind and understood what she was worried about. I had seen Alice's vision which couldn't be more than a few days away from happening. It was as clear as any I had seen from Alice in more than a decade. Bella needed to know. "Aro's about to make a new rule regarding newborns. He's using the events in Seattle a few years back as a reason to ban the creation of newborns without express consent of the Volturi."

Bella froze, this was not uncommon for our kind when we were startled or scared. It took a minute for her to reanimate. "What about Charlie?" She asked, her voice extremely grave. "I mean, he was bitten before Aro will announce it, right? So he'll be okay?"

I shrugged. I really didn't know. "It's hard to date when someone's actually bitten, so Aro might assume that Charlie was created by us to flaunt their authority."

I thought back to the night before Charlie was bitten. I clearly caught the scent of one of our kind on him at the ballgame, and knew who it was. For Heidi to be in Washington while we were here was unprecedented as she was not supposed to 'fish' anywhere near the territory that another coven claimed. Then the pieces started to fit. "It was all a plot," I whispered.

"What?" Bella asked, almost more worried now.

I started to tell Bella the story of some of us. "One of the ways we feed is by seducing our meals. The incubus and succubus are two examples. Nahuel's father could be considered one of the former, while Heidi and at one point, Tanya were examples of the latter. Tanya was actually looking for a mate. Many human males courted her almost half a millennia ago, but when the relationships turned physical Tanya couldn't control herself. She wasn't a vegetarian at the time, so when they kissed her, their scent overwhelmed her and she drained them.
Heidi was different; she truly could be considered a succubus. She began on a similar to path as Tanya, seeking a mate but eventually a man tried to rape her about the same time Tanya cut herself off from contact with humans. He got a big surprise when Heidi turned the tables on him. She made their encounter as painful as possible for him, shattering many of his bones and even his testicles before she finally bit him. But she didn't completely drain him, instead letting the venom spread to burn him. Heidi must have seen the irony in this, being the daughter of a Lutheran bishop. She let him experience some of the fires of hell, just in case the real thing didn't exist. Heidi let him suffer for a short while before finally, mercifully killing him."

Bella was frozen again. I could tell that Heidi's nature terrified her. "Is she…" she started but couldn't go any further.

Bella's shield was still down, and I could read what she wanted to ask. "Tanya isn't, that's why she was so afraid of herself when Charlie's blood started singing to her. But Heidi is even worse than she once was." I assumed that Bella wondered how that was possible. "She hunted as I did for a while, focusing on sexual predators; rapists, child molesters, and the like. Had she stayed that way, then her actions might possibly be forgivable but now she cruises what you would call 'pick-up joints' or 'meat markets' for unsuspecting men, normally of average looks. Some of them might be willing to pay the price for a night with her, but she never asks them. And she is as rough with the innocent as she was with those who really deserved it."

"Not exactly my finest moments," a female visitor's voice rang out just after I heard the door close, "but it is my past."

Bella and I both turned to see Tanya followed by Eleazar and Carmen. "Hey guys!" Bella shouted in the joy of seeing our Alaskan friends.

"Hi Bella," Tanya replied, her face ravaged with guilt as she turned to Edward, "but why are you telling her my past?"

"Because I think one of our kind tried to seduce Charlie and when he turned her down, she bit him the next day." I had to be deliberately vague since to lob this kind of an accusation at a member of the Volturi without conclusive evidence would be a huge mistake, even though I knew that it was clearly her scent on Charlie at the game and his thoughts were of her. It was Heidi who cut Charlie and infected him with venom.

"How is Charlie doing with all of this?" Carmen asked, her concern sounding genuine.

"Actually he has been doing quite well," I answered smiling.

"Come on; he's gotta be in agony," Bella protested, countering my assumptions.

I shook my head. "He's in pain, yes; but agony, not so much. Do you remember how you focused solely on the whole newborn thing?" Bella nodded her head. "Well Charlie actually asked Carlisle about the transformation, so he was more prepared for that. I'm not sure how that will affect him when he's new, but-"

"Alice said that he'll be better than I was," Bella interrupted me to add.

I smiled, "I should have guessed you'd ask her about it."

"Charlie's even gonna get a new truck out of it," Bella gloated at the fact she had suckered Emmett thanks to Alice's help.

"But getting back to him in the present, Charlie hasn't been alone since he was bitten. Esme's with him now comforting and calming him, but Ness and Jake have been with him a lot too. Alice has sang gently to him. That is why I think it's going so well, and Alice is even speculating that his change will be shorter than most; because he has been so calm."

Eleazar took a sniff and I could tell what he was sensing; Charlie's gift was starting to materialize itself. It was possible that it might be incredibly powerful once he could learn to use and control it, since only one other vampire he ever met had a similar smell to their gift.