Chapter Twenty Five
Bella
Hearing Maggie singing I opened my eyes. It didn't feel as if I'd been asleep at all. I was still exhausted.
I smiled to see my daughter cradling her little brother and knew that I was the luckiest woman in the world. Then I noticed Rose's expression. When she saw me she flashed a smile but I had seen the concern etched there. Was there something wrong with Bug?
As I struggled to sit up, she hurried to my side.
"What's wrong, Rose?"
She shook her head, "Nothing. I was just daydreaming. Did we wake you? We went into Maggie's room for a while but she wanted to see you. I think she was worried and wanted to reassure herself that you were OK."
It was a good try but I knew she was lying. Was that because Maggie was here?
I turned my attention to my little girl who sat in a chair with Bug on her lap.
"What do you think of your brother, Maggie?"
She smiled, "He's magical. He's so tiny."
"Did you have a nice time with your Daddy? What did you do?"
Maggie looked at me warily and I knew that I was right, something was wrong, but before I could make any inquiries Jasper appeared.
He smiled and turned to Rosalie.
"Rose, can you take the kids downstairs for a minute? I need to speak to Bella."
I froze, whatever was wrong it must be bad for him not to want Maggie to hear. I felt myself go cold with dread.
As soon as we were alone Jasper sat beside me and took my hands in his, "Bella, there's something I have to tell you but first of all the children are both fine."
I heaved a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness for that. What is it then? Rose looked worried sick."
He explained what had happened and that I now had three Volturi bodyguards in residence.
"I don't understand. Why do you have to go? Surely this is a Volturi problem. Let them sort it out. They're the law."
"Bella, we don't know what has happened to Edward and Angie. They protected Maggie and they deserve our help. Besides, I'd like to sort this out myself. No one threatens my family, Bella."
"I understand why the Volturi don't want to get involved but I think it's wrong expecting you to clear up their mess for them."
"Hey. You know me too well to think I would sit here and let someone else hunt down the people threatening my family."
I stared into his face and saw only a steely determination then nodded my head reluctantly,
"Please take care, Jasper. I can't lose you."
He smiled, "You won't, and I'm not going to be alone. Emmett is going along with me. Rose will stay to act as a buffer between you and the Volturi although only Jane is inside the house."
I remembered the hard-faced teenage girl I had met in Volterra and shuddered, she would have been my last choice of companion but beggars couldn't be choosers. I just hoped she would stay downstairs. It meant Rose dealing with her but right now I didn't think I could face anyone else.
"Hurry back and bring Edward with you. Maggie would be heartbroken if anything happened to him."
"I know and I will."
He kissed me once more and then he was gone leaving me feeling helpless and frustrated. Why had this happened now? Just when our lives were perfect.
Alarmed at having the children out of my sight even though I knew they were safe I called Rose back in.
"Promise me you won't let Maggie and Bug out of your sight, Rose."
She smiled, "I won't, Bella. No one is going to hurt you or your babies and you'll be pleased to know that Esme and Carlisle will be here in a few hours."
"Good. Maybe they can help Jasper. He told me that the Volturi sent help but only mentioned Jane by name. Who else is here?"
"Felix and Alec. They are taking this threat very seriously."
I nodded remembering Felix and his fight with Edward. Well, if Jasper was away from home then Felix would be a good substitute. After all, he was a warrior too.
The shock of discovering Maggie had been in danger and Edward was missing made me feel light-headed and nauseous so I lay down again and found I was shivering. Please let this be over soon.
Maggie came over and climbed onto the bed beside me, "Don't worry Mommy. Papa will find Daddy and Angie and bring them home."
I managed a wan smile, "I know sweetie. Now, why don't you tell me about your day out with Daddy and Angie? What did you do?"
This was as much to take my mind off the present as because I was really interested but it soon became apparent that Maggie had a wonderful day with Edward. He may not be the best of husbands but he had taken his responsibilities as a father seriously.
Jasper
Emmett was waiting with the truck engine running when I got downstairs and I ignored Jane who had made herself at home in the lounge with the TV remote and joined him.
"I thought we'd drive the roads, that's the way Angie went back to town and we might see something."
I nodded, "You drive and I'll run. That way we won't miss anything. I'll join you in town. Maggie said the last time she saw Edward was in the skating rink parking lot."
Emmett nodded and took off down the track while I turned to the meadow only to find Felix standing there.
"You want some company, Major? Jane and Alec can cover the house. No one is going to get close. Besides, the rest of the Cullens will be here soon and I'll be superfluous."
I nodded, grateful for his company, he was right. If Alec and Jane couldn't prevent the Romanians from snatching my wife and kids then Felix certainly couldn't.
We set off running and he smiled, "Never thought I'd be shoulder to shoulder with the infamous Major. It's an honor."
I glanced over expecting sarcasm but he was genuinely enjoying himself and I laughed,
"Wait until we have Edward and Angie safe and Stefan and Vladimir on a bonfire then you can decide how much of an honor it was."
"Fair enough."
Suddenly he threw out an arm, "Hold on."
He stopped and we checked the ground where signs of a fire still showed, a dark circle on the ground and some ashes that the wind had yet to scatter.
"Well, this is where Angie torched the Romanian. Let's see if he was alone."
We circled the area but found no sign of any other vampire scent so we took off again and soon were standing in the shadows of a building that overlooked the parking lot.
"That's Edward's car." I pointed to a dark sedan that was parked halfway between us and the skating rink.
Felix looked around, there were still a lot of people about, "You check it out. I'm a little conspicuous, I'll watch your back."
I walked over to the car and checked the doors which were still locked. Inside I could see a heap of children's books and Maggie's bear on the back seat. I turned to check in all directions until I caught a faint scent of burning. Groaning I thought please tell me that isn't Edward's funeral pyre.
Beckoning Felix to skirt the parking lot and join me I headed into the warren of alleys that led out onto waste ground dotted with stands of trees and general detritus.
"Smell that?"
Felix nodded soberly, "Someone got smoked. This way."
We headed towards some of the trees and split up to check the area.
"Major".
I joined Felix who held up a jacket with a burned sleeve, "Recognize this?"
I nodded, "It's Edward's. Anything else?"
He kicked a few ashes with his boot, "Not enough to indicate a body. Either he got away injured or was taken."
"There's no sign of Angie anywhere though. She must have come this way following the same trail we did, Felix."
"You'd have thought so."
He looked up, "It sounds like your 'brother' just pulled up."
We retraced our steps and joined Emmett in the parking lot which was emptying now as the evening wore on.
"Did you find anything?"
Emmett nodded, "Yeah, Angie came back this way but she didn't stop here. She must have seen something because I caught her scent on the other side of the skating rink headed out of town in the opposite direction. How about you?"
I filled him in on our discoveries and we decided to follow Angie. She may have been quick enough to see what happened to Edward and if he had been captured by the Romanians it was up to us to rescue him before they tried using him as a bargaining chip.
The further we went, the stronger the scent of burned vampire flesh became. Edward wasn't dead but he had been injured and burns were the one thing that vampire venom couldn't heal.
"If he's injured and not healing they'll have to stay out of sight of humans. Maybe they have a place close by where they can take him. After all, they were planning on taking your kid, Major, so they'd need somewhere to keep her hidden from other eyes unless they had a getaway ready and I don't think they have the resources we do. No private jet or large network of help."
Felix was right, they would want to get away from this area but they would need time to organize transport for a reluctant child and Maggie wouldn't have made things easy for them.
"Why would they take her anywhere? Once they had Maggie and Jazz was aware of it his hands would be tied. All they have to do is to threaten her life."
Emmett was right too. Felix and I had been thinking too big. The way the Volturi would operate. The Romanians did not need to spirit Maggie away. Threats would be enough to stop me from looking for her unless I knew I could get her back safely.
"He's right, Felix. Now, how far would you want to take a struggling and screaming child on foot? We know they were trying to snatch Maggie and get away on foot from what she told us."
"Fair enough, they are amateurs after all. So you think they'll be holding Edward in the same place? Are they stupid enough to think you'd hand over your daughter in return for his life?"
"No, but they might think I would offer to help them in return for Edward's safety."
Felix smiled, "Deluded assholes aren't they?"
I ignored him, I was busy thinking. "Whatever. We have to save him if we can. He's still Maggie's father and she loves him. Do the Volturi have any idea how many the Romanians sent?"
Felix shrugged, "They aren't a huge organization. We think they have about twenty serious followers in the States. Depending on how long they've been setting this up I don't think they would have had time to send anyone from overseas. We did hear a rumor that Stefan was outside Romania but that's all it was a rumor."
I thought about this, "I think we have to act on the premise that there are at least a dozen involved, maybe more, and that Stefan is behind it. Maybe even orchestrating the whole thing."
Felix thought about this, "Yeah, I guess it's better to overestimate the number of the opposition."
"What can you tell us about Stefan?"
Felix thought about this for a moment before speaking.
"He was always the thinker. Vladimir just acted. He saw what he wanted, and he took. Stefan would work things through. If anyone is behind this, it's him. They both want the overthrow of the Volturi but after their mates were killed they lost heart. They underestimated gifted vampires, it was their Achilles heel. Both are out-and-out warriors. Don't expect a lot of finesse, Major."
I nodded, "Suits me. That's why you were so happy to leave Jane and Alec to guard the house I take it?"
"You know about the twins from Carlisle I assume? I'd bet against anyone taking them. The Romanians are scared of them. They call them the witch twins."
"Well let's hope we don't need to rely on their gifts. Where do we start looking?"
We decided to spread out and see who could find Edward's trail again. That would lead us to the Romanians and hopefully Stefan himself. I wanted the satisfaction of lighting that particular pyre.
It was Emmett who called to say he'd found something. Felix and I reached Emmett at the same time and he pointed to a trail left in the crushed snow.
"It's venom. I guess you were right. Edward's injured and maybe he's trying to leave us a trail. The trouble is that Angie has found it too. Her tracks are newer and they all lead toward the highway. I'm hoping they didn't have transport waiting or we could lose them permanently."
We hurried after Edward's trail until we were close to the highway then I motioned for the others to stop and crept forward to see what was there.
Up ahead was a seedy-looking motel and bar close to the highway but shielded from it by a tall boarded fence and billboards. In the parking lot were two beat-up trucks, a couple of motorbikes, and an RV.
While I watched, a figure moved into the sodium lighting of the lot and entered the RV. He was short and slight with dark hair. Was this Stefan Romania? I turned to call Felix closer but as I did so the RV started up and drove out of the parking lot joining the traffic headed north.
I cursed and told Emmett to stay here until I called while Felix followed the RV. I would check out the motel room I'd seen Stefan emerge from.
"We'll catch up with you as soon as we can. Keep us updated."
Felix nodded and set off while I made my way slowly toward the motel. Just because I'd seen Stefan leave the room did not necessarily mean it was empty and it paid not to make assumptions.
