I don't own any characters. They belong to Stephenie Meyer.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Edward's voice rang in my head.
I handed Abilene to Esme and came outside to see what was going on. My husband was right, as always, Demetri was standing on our driveway. The man had an olive complexion with a chalky pallor and black hair that reached his shoulders. He was slender and stood at least at 6'3 ft. He looked hard and lean as the blade of a sword. I didn't see or smell any other newcomer, so I deemed the situation safe. At least for now.
"I come with piece," Demetri spoke.
Edward growled.
"And we are supposed to trust you? Why?" I asked.
"I'm here alone, aren't I?" He asked.
"What do you want?"
"To help." Demetri sighed.
"And you honestly think we are that stupid?" Edward came closer, putting his hand on the newcomer's throat.
"Maggie!" I called. The little vampire ran to me just a second after. "Is he telling the truth?"
"Tell us why you're here," Maggie said calmly.
"I'm here to help you," Demetri repeated.
I looked at the girl next to me, she nodded slightly, telling me to go on with the interrogation.
"Does Aro know you're here?" I asked.
"No, I left him."
Another nod.
"Why?"
"Can we please have this conversation without a hand on my throat? I swear I'm not here to harm anyone."
I looked at Maggie again, who once again nodded, then at Edward. I still didn't trust Demetri, there was something that he wasn't telling us. My mind kept jumping from the thought that Demetri is somehow fooling Maggie, to Demetri actually being on our side and helping us defeat Volturi.
"Edward." I sighed.
"I'm watching you." My husband got his hand back to his side and growled at Demetri.
"So…Can I come in?" the newcomer smiled.
"Not until I hear the whole story," I spoke.
"I was born in Greece and transformed by the Egyptian coven's leader Amun, you've heard of him, I assume. We were very close at the time and worked together to develop my tracking power."
"How is your backstory relevant to your choice of leaving Aro?" Edward asked.
"You'll understand," Demetri said and continued. "When the Volturi heard of my powerful gift, I was offered a place in the guard. I always thought that it was my choice to leave Egypt and come work for the Volturi. Now, I know it was just Chelsea's power over emotional bonds that made me oblige. The Volturi already had a tracker, but once they found out that my power proved stronger, they had him replaced. Ever since then, I had been the Volturi's sole tracker; whenever anyone tried to elude the Volturi's grasp, usually out of fear of fatal punishment, I was in charge of tracking them down. I served Aro for almost a millennium, never knowing it was not even my choice…"
"What changed?"
"Amun called me. I came down to visit him, he introduced me to his friend, she had a gift too. See, she was able to feel any illusion or charm that was put on a person, she sensed a strong one on me. When I found out about it, I became interested if all these years that I spent in Italy were my own choice. I asked her to break that tie, and she did. For the first time in over 800 years, I felt free, like I was chained to that castle in Volterra, and the cuffs were finally broken."
"So, you're here for revenge?"
"I'm not here for revenge, I had my fair share of fighting for this lifetime, I'm here as a favor to my friend Amun. I owe him my freedom, so when I asked if I could do anything in return, he only had one request."
"Benjamin." I sighed.
"I'm here to make sure his only son lives through this. I will stand by him, even if that means helping all of you get away with the crime."
"We didn't do anything wrong. All the people here are witnesses, they are not our army." I spoke.
I heard a laugh from the house. No one wants to fight except for the Romanians, of course.
"Surely, you know that creating an immortal child is a big no-no, Isabella." Demetri looked confused.
"Felix was lying. Abilene is no immortal child." I sighed.
Abilene's introduction routine continued. I saw the look on Demetri's face when my daughter touched him. The newcomer was absolutely astonished by the new information.
"Never in my life, have I heard about a creature like you, deary." He spoke to Abilene.
"She is special." Eleazar came into the room.
"Dear friend." Demetri smiled.
"Glad you're on our side." The two men shook hands.
The Denali sisters entered the room. "Demetri," Kate spoke.
"Kate, Irina." He bowed his head. "And, of course, Tanya."
"Haven't seen you in 700 years." The former sister spoke.
"I hoped you missed me."
"In your dreams." Tanya sighed.
"Oh, come on now, lovely. What about that night in Moscow? You, me, and the Batu Khan's army running around burning down everything they see." He came closer to her.
"I never think about it."
I saw Tanya tilt her head and play with her hair. Was she flirting with that man?
"I can refresh your memory." Demetri was closing the distance between them.
"That might not be such a bad idea, I would really like to remember some very particular things about that night." She bit her lip. Oh my, okay, that conversation was becoming too adult for Abilene, and too private for everyone else.
I took Edward's hand, Abilene into my arms, and walked out of the living room. To my relief, Kate, Irina, and Eleazar followed. After the door closed, I looked over everyone's faces and saw that Edward and Eleazar were holding themselves from laughing.
"You two, outside, don't ruin their moment," I whispered smiling. At least, something good might come out of this situation.
We were running out of time. Rosalie and Alice haven't returned yet, which made me anxious. We only had a few weeks till Volturi would come. Demetri turned out to be a great asset, not only for Tanya but for all of us. He knew things about Volturi that even Eleazar didn't. Demetri told us about their army and witnesses, what they have planned for us. Frankly, the information that he gave us made me hopeless and hopeful at the same time. I wished Alice was here, maybe with both of them, we could predict how this encounter will turn out to be.
I was terrified for my little Abilene. Isabella's words still rang in my head, would I actually be able to stand aside and let them kill my little angel? Would I be able to leave her and not fight back? Absolutely not. Abilene was my daughter, my blood ran through her veins, and there was no way in hell I'd let anyone hurt her.
Most of these days all of us were training to fight. Jasper, Peter, and I were the primary teachers. Garrett and Mary helped when they could. All five of us had a background of war. My 13 years wouldn't compare with Jasper's or Garrett's. The former spent most of his life looking for war zones, participating in any human or vampire-fighting possible. He had a good understanding of what provokes people to act in one way or the other.
Stefan and Vladimir were the only ones who wished to abstain from our lessons. Their arrogance was one of the reasons they never left the attic, except for feeding.
Edward and I spent nights on our meadow, while Abilene was sleeping in Esme's or Carmen's arms. On that meadow, the time stopped. There were no other vampires, no fights, no mortal danger. There, it was just us. I was laying on the grass, watching clouds unveil the stary night here and there with my husband's arm in mine. We talked like nothing was happening, he would mention a funny thing Abilene did today or some crazy thought in Emmett's head. I liked our nights, they were normal…My definition of normal.
But all of that changed in three weeks.
They came with pageantry, with a kind of beauty. They came in a rigid, formal formation. They moved together, but it was not a march; they flowed in perfect synchronicity from the trees—a dark, unbroken shape that seemed to hover a few inches above the ground, so smooth.
The outer perimeter was gray; the color darkened with each line of people until the heart of the formation was the deepest black. Every face was cowled, shadowed by the hood of their robes.
The faint brushing sound of their feet was so regular it was like music, a complicated beat that never faltered. At some sign, I did not see—or perhaps there was no sign, only a thousand years of practice—the configuration folded outward. The motion was too stiff, too square to resemble the opening of a flower, though the color suggested that; it was the opening of a fan, graceful but very angular. The gray-cloaked figures spread to the flanks while the darker forms surged precisely forward in the center, each movement closely controlled. If I still had a beating heart, it would burst now.
Their progress was slow but deliberate, with no hurry, no tension, no anxiety. It was the pace of the invincible, people who are sure they came to win. This was almost like an old nightmare, just like I imagined it while I was in the South.
I saw the faces in my dream—the smiles of vindictive joy. Thus far, the Volturi were too disciplined to show any emotion at all, not what I expected. They also showed no surprise or dismay at the collection of vampires that waited for them here—a collection that looked suddenly disorganized and unprepared in comparison.
They showed no surprise at Demetri, who was standing right next to Tanya and her coven.
I couldn't help counting. There were thirty-two of them. Even if you did not count the two drifting, waifish black-cloaked figures in the very back, who I took to be the wives, their protected position suggesting that they would not be involved in the attack, we were still outnumbered. There were just twenty-four of us who would fight, I still hoped Rose and Alice would join us in a few minutes, and then two more to watch as we were destroyed. Alistair and Rendall decided not to stand against the Volturi, and I couldn't blame them for that.
"The redcoats are coming, the redcoats are coming," Garrett muttered mysteriously to himself and then chuckled once. He pulled Kate closer to him.
"They did come," Vladimir whispered to Stefan.
"The wives," Stefan hissed back. "The entire guard. All of them together. It's well we didn't try Volterra."
And then, as if their numbers were not enough, while the Volturi were slowly and majestically advanced, more vampires began entering the clearing behind them. The faces in this seemingly endless influx of vampires were the antithesis to the Volturi's expressionless discipline—they wore a kaleidoscope of emotions. At first, there was shock and even some anxiety as they saw the unexpected force awaiting them. But that concern passed quickly; they were secure in their overwhelming numbers, secure in their position behind the unstoppable Volturi force. Their features returned to the expression they'd worn before we'd surprised them, these were the faces of my nightmare.
It was easy enough to understand their mindset—the faces were that explicit. This was an angry mob, whipped to a frenzy and slavering for justice. I did not fully realize the vampire world's feelings toward the immortal children before I read these faces. It was clear that this motley, disorganized horde, which was more than forty vampires altogether, was the Volturi's own kind of witness. When we were dead…If we were dead, they would spread the word that the criminals had been eradicated, that the Volturi had acted with nothing but impartiality. Most looked like they hoped for more than just an opportunity to witness—they wanted to help tear and burn, these looks terrified me.
We didn't have a prayer. Even if we could somehow neutralize the Volturi's advantages, they could still bury us in bodies. I didn't have to be Jasper to feel like the same comprehension sunk in around me. Despair weighted the air, pushing me down with more pressure than before.
"Eleazar was right," he murmured to Carlisle.
I watched Carlisle glance at Edward questioningly.
"Eleazar was right?" Tanya whispered.
"They—Caius and Aro, come to destroy and acquire," Edward breathed almost silently back; only our side could hear. "They have many layers of strategy already in place. If Felix's accusation had somehow proven to be false, they were committed to finding another reason to take offense. But they can see Abilene now, so they are perfectly sanguine about their course. We could still attempt to defend against their other contrived charges, but first, they have to stop, to hear the truth about Abilene." Then, even lower. "Which they have no intention of doing."
A strange little growl escaped Esme's mouth. And then, unexpectedly, two seconds later, the procession did halt. The low music of perfectly synchronized movements turned to silence. The flawless discipline remained unbroken; the Volturi froze into absolute stillness as one.
They stood about a hundred yards away from us. Abruptly, I was furious. Beyond furious, I was murderously enraged. My hopeless despair vanished entirely. A faint reddish glow highlighted the dark figures in front of me, and all I wanted at that moment was the chance to sink my teeth into them, to rip their limbs from their bodies and pile them for burning. I was so maddened I could have danced around the pyre where they roasted alive; I would have laughed while their ashes smoldered. My lips curved back automatically, and a low, fierce growl tore up my throat from the pit of my stomach. I realized the corners of my mouth were turned up in a smile. Just come closer, try to lay one finger on the people I love, and I will tear you into pieces.
Beside me, Zafrina and Senna echoed my hushed growl. Edward squeezed my hand he still held, cautioning me.
The shadowed Volturi faces were still expressionless for the most part. Only two sets of eyes betrayed any emotion at all. In the very center, touching hands, Aro and Caius had paused to evaluate, and the entire guard had paused with them, waiting for the order to kill. The two did not look at each other, but it was obvious that they were communicating. Marcus, though touching Aro's other hand, did not seem part of the conversation. His expression was not as mindless as the guards', but it was near blank. He appeared to be utterly bored.
The bodies of the Volturi's witnesses leaned toward us, their eyes fixed furiously on Abilene and me, but they stayed near the fringe of the forest, leaving a wide berth between themselves and the Volturi soldiers.
There was a woman in one of the darker gray cloaks just behind Aro. I couldn't be sure, but it looked like she might actually be touching his back. Was this the other shield, the one that Eleazar told me about so many years ago, Renata? I wondered as Eleazar had if she would be able to repel me.
But I would not waste my life trying to get to Caius or Aro. I had more vital targets. I was the only hope against Jane and Alec, at least I hoped my powers were able to go against theirs. I searched the line for them now and had no difficulty picking out the two small deep gray cloaks near the center of the arrangement. Alec and Jane, easily the shortest members of the guard, stood just to Marcus's side, flanked by another guard member on the other. Their lovely faces were smooth, giving nothing away; they wore the darkest cloaks beside the pure black of the ancients. Their powers were the cornerstone of the Volturi offensive. The jewels in Aro's collection.
My muscles flexed, and venom welled in my mouth. As the pause lengthened, I heard Edward's breath speed.
"Edward?" Carlisle asked, low and anxious.
"They're not sure how to proceed. They're weighing options, choosing key targets—me, of course, you, Eleazar, Tanya. Marcus is reading the strength of our ties to each other, looking for weak points. The Romanians' presence irritates them. They're worried about the faces they don't recognize—Zafrina and Senna in particular. They've never been outnumbered before. That's what stopped them."
"Outnumbered?" Tanya whispered incredulously.
"They don't count their witnesses," Edward breathed. "They are nonentities, meaningless to the guard. Aro just enjoys an audience."
"Should I speak?" Carlisle asked.
Edward hesitated, then nodded. "This is the only chance you'll get."
Carlisle squared his shoulders and paced several steps ahead of our defensive line. I hated to see him alone, unprotected.
He spread his arms, holding his palms up as if in greeting. "Aro, my old friend. It's been centuries."
The white clearing was dead silent for a long moment. I could feel the tension rolling off Edward as he listened to Aro's assessment of Carlisle's words. The strain mounted as the seconds ticked by. The urge to pull my shield forward to protect the man who became a father to me was nearly unbearable.
And then Aro stepped forward out of the center of the Volturi formation. The shield, Renata, moved with him as if the tips of her fingers were sewn to his robe. For the first time, the Volturi ranks reacted. A muttered grumble rolled through the line, eyebrows lowered into scowls, lips curled back from teeth. A few of the guards leaned forward into a crouch.
Aro held one hand up toward them. "Peace."
He walked just a few paces more, then cocked his head to one side. His milky eyes glinted with curiosity.
"Fair words, Carlisle," he breathed in his thin, wispy voice. "They seem out of place, considering the army you've assembled to kill me and to kill my dear ones."
Carlisle shook his head and stretched his right hand forward as if there were not still almost a hundred yards between them. "You have but to touch my hand to know that was never my intent."
Aro's shrewd eyes narrowed. "But how can your intent possibly matter, dear Carlisle, in the face of what you have done?" He frowned, and a shadow of sadness crossed his features—whether it was genuine or not, I could not tell.
"I have not committed the crime you are here to punish me for."
"Then step aside and let us punish those responsible. Truly, Carlisle, nothing would please me more than to preserve your life today."
"No one has broken the law, Aro. Let me explain." Again, Carlisle offered his hand. I had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, Carlisle is helping our family, on the other, he is putting himself in mortal danger.
Before Aro could answer, Caius drifted swiftly forward to Aro's side.
"So many pointless rules, so many unnecessary laws you create for yourself, Carlisle," the white-haired ancient hissed. "How is it possible that you defend the breaking of one that truly matters?"
"The law is not broken. If you would listen—"
"We see the child, Carlisle," Caius snarled. "Do not treat us as fools."
"She is not an immortal. She is not a vampire. I can easily prove this with just a few moments—"
Caius cut him off. "If she is not one of the forbidden, then why have you massed a battalion to protect her?"
"Witnesses, Caius, just as you have brought." Carlisle gestured to the angry horde at the edge of the woods; some of them growled in response. "Any one of these friends can tell you the truth about the child. Or you could just look at her, Caius. See the flush of human blood in her cheeks."
"Artifice!" Caius snapped.
"No, complete truth. That's exactly what I'm trying to explain," Carlisle said, and from the change in his voice, I could guess at his relief. This was the pause we had pinned all our nebulous hopes on. I felt no relief. I waited, almost numb with rage, for the layers of strategy Edward had promised.
Carlisle held out his hand again.
Aro hesitated for a moment. "I would rather have the explanation from someone more central to the story, my friend. This breach was not of your making, where are the ones who are now the guardians of the child?"
"There was no breach."
"Be that as it may, I will have every facet of the truth." Aro's feathery voice hardened. "And the best way to get that is to have the evidence directly from your talented son." He inclined his head in Edward's direction. "As the child clings to his mate, I'm assuming Edward is involved."
Of course, he wanted Edward. Once he could see into Edward's mind, he would know all our thoughts. Except for mine. Edward turned to quickly kiss my forehead and Abilene's, not meeting my eyes. Then he strode across the snowy field, clapping Carlisle on the shoulder as he passed. I heard a low whimper from behind me—Esme's terror breaking through.
The red haze I saw around the Volturi army flamed brighter than before. I could not bear to watch Edward cross the empty white space alone—but I also could not endure having Abilene one step closer to our adversaries. The opposing needs tore at me; I was frozen so tightly it felt like my bones might shatter from the pressure of it.
I saw Jane smile as Edward crossed the midpoint in the distance between us when he was closer to them than he was to us. That smug little smile did it. My fury peaked, higher even than the raging bloodlust I'd felt the moment I awoke in the dessert 90 years ago. I could taste madness on my tongue, I felt it flow through me like a tidal wave of pure power. My muscles tightened, and I acted automatically. I threw my shield with all the force in my mind, flung it across the impossible expanse of the field, ten times my best distance—like a javelin. My breath rushed out in a huff with the exertion.
The shield blew out from me in a bubble of sheer energy, a mushroom cloud of liquid steel. It pulsed like a living thing—I could feel it, from the apex to the edges.
Edward stopped a few steps away from Aro, and I realized with some chagrin that though I certainly could, I should not prevent this exchange from happening. This was the point of all our preparations: getting Aro to hear our side of the story. It was almost physically painful to do it, but reluctantly I pulled my shield back and left Edward exposed again. The laughing mood had vanished. I focused totally on my husband, ready to shield him instantly if something went wrong.
Edward's chin came up arrogantly, and he held his hand out to Aro as if he were conferring a great honor. Aro seemed only delighted with his attitude, but his delight was not universal. Renata shook nervously in Aro's shadow. Caius's scowl was so deep it looked like his papery, translucent skin would crease permanently. Jane showed her teeth, and beside her, Alec's eyes narrowed in concentration. I guessed that he was ready, like me, to act at a second's notice.
Aro closed the distance without pause, and really, what did he have to fear? The hulking shadows of the lighter gray cloaks were just a few meters away. Jane and her burning gift could throw Edward on the ground, writhing in agony. Alec could blind and deafen him before he could take a step in Aro's direction. No one knew that I had the power to stop them, at least not yet.
With an untroubled smile, Aro took Edward's hand. His eyes snapped shut at once, and then his shoulders hunched under the onslaught of information. Every secret thought, every strategy, every insight—everything Edward had heard in the minds around him during the last month—was now Aro's. And further back—every vision of Alice's, every quiet moment with our family, every picture of Abilene, every kiss, every touch between Edward and me… All of that was Aro's now, too.
I hissed with frustration, and the shield roiled with my irritation, shifting its shape and contracting around our side.
"Easy, sweety," Esme whispered to me.
I clenched my teeth together. Aro continued to concentrate on Edward's memories. Edward's head bowed, too, the muscles in his neck locking tight as he read back again everything that Aro took from him, and Aro's response to it all.
This two-way but unequal conversation continued long enough that even the guard grew uneasy. Low murmurs ran through the line until Caius barked a sharp order for silence. Jane was edging forward like she couldn't help herself, and Renata's face was rigid with distress. For a moment, I examined this powerful shield that seemed so panicky and weak; though she was useful to Aro, I could tell she was no warrior. It was not her job to fight but to protect. There was no bloodlust in her. I knew that if this were between her and me, I would obliterate her, no problem.
I refocused as Aro straightened, his eyes flashing open, their expression awed and wary. He did not release Edward's hand.
Edward's muscles loosened ever so slightly.
"You see?" Edward asked his velvet voice calm.
"Yes, I see, indeed," Aro agreed, and amazingly, he sounded almost amused. "I doubt whether any two among gods or mortals have ever seen quite so clearly."
The disciplined faces of the guard showed the same disbelief I felt. "You have given me much to ponder, young friend," Aro continued. "Much more than I expected." Still, he did not release Edward's hand, and Edward's tense stance was that of one who listens.
Edward didn't answer.
"May I meet her?" Aro asked, almost pleaded, with sudden eager interest. "I never dreamed of the existence of such a thing in all my centuries. What an addition to our histories!"
"What is this about, Aro?" Caius snapped before Edward could answer. Just the question had me pulling Abilene around into my arms, cradling her protectively against my chest.
"Something you've never dreamed of, my practical friend. Take a moment to ponder, for the justice we intended to deliver no longer applies."
Caius hissed in surprise at his words.
"Peace, brother," Aro cautioned soothingly.
This should have been good news—these were the words we'd been hoping for, the reprieve we'd never really thought possible. Aro had listened to the truth. Aro had admitted that the law had not been broken. But my eyes were riveted on Edward, and I saw the muscles in his back tighten. I replayed in my head Aro's instruction for Caius to ponder, and heard the double meaning.
"Will you introduce me to your…uh daughter?" Aro asked Edward again.
Caius was not the only one who hissed at this new revelation. Edward nodded reluctantly. And yet, Abilene had won over so many others. Aro always seemed to be the leader of the ancients. If he were on her side, could the others act against us? Aro still gripped Edward's hand, and he now answered a question that the rest of us had not heard.
"I think a compromise on this one point is certainly acceptable, under the circumstance. We will meet in the middle." Aro released his hand. Edward turned back toward us, and Aro joined him, throwing one arm casually over Edward's shoulder like they were the best of friends—all the while maintaining contact with Edward's skin. They began to cross the field back to our side.
The entire guard fell into step behind them. Aro raised a hand negligently without looking at them.
"Hold, my dear ones. Truly, they mean us no harm if we are peaceable." The guard reacted to this more openly than before, with snarls and hisses of protest, but held their position. Renata, clinging closer to Aro than ever, whimpered in anxiety.
"Master," she whispered.
"Don't fret, my love," he responded. "All is well."
"Perhaps you should bring a few members of your guard with us," Edward suggested. "It will make them more comfortable."
Aro nodded as if this was a wise observation, he should have thought of himself. He snapped his fingers twice. "Santiago, Corin."
The five of them stopped in the middle of the snowy field.
"Bella," Edward called. "Bring Abilene… and a few friends." I took a deep breath. My body was tight with opposition. The idea of taking Abilene into the center of the conflict… But I trusted Edward. He would know if Aro was planning any treachery at this point.
Aro had three protectors on his side of the summit, so I would bring two with me. It took me only a second to decide.
"Jasper? Emmett?" I asked quietly. Emmett, because he would be dying to go. Jasper, because he wouldn't be able to let me go without him.
Both nodded. Emmett grinned. I crossed the field with them flanking me.
We stopped a few yards from Aro. Edward ducked under Aro's arm and quickly joined us, taking my hand. For a moment we faced each other in silence. Aro paid no attention to our exchange. He leaned his head to one side, fascinated.
"I hear her strange heart," he murmured with an almost musical lilt to his words. "I smell her strange scent." Then his hazy eyes shifted to me. "In truth, Bella, I wish we could be introduced to a different situation."
I nodded once in acknowledgment of his words.
Aro cleared his throat to reclaim my attention. "May I greet your daughter, lovely Bella?" he asked sweetly.
This was what we'd hoped for, I reminded myself. Fighting the urge to take Abilene and run for it, I walked two slow steps forward. My shield rippled out behind me like a cape, protecting the rest of my family while my daughter was left exposed. It felt wrong, horrible. Aro met us, his face beaming.
"But she's exquisite," he murmured. "So, like you." And then louder, "Hello, Abilene."
Abilene looked at me quickly. I nodded. "Hello, Aro," she answered formally in her high, ringing voice.
Aro's eyes were bemused.
"What is it?" Caius hissed from behind. He seemed infuriated by the need to ask.
"Half mortal, half immortal," Aro announced to him and the rest of the guard without turning his enthralled gaze from my little girl. "Conceived so, and carried by this vampire's descendant while she was still human."
"Impossible," Caius scoffed.
"Do you think they've fooled me, then, brother?" Aro's expression was greatly amused, but Caius flinched. "Is the heartbeat you hear a trickery as well?"
Caius scowled, looking as chagrined as if Aro's gentle questions had been blows.
"Calmly and carefully, brother," Aro cautioned, still smiling at Abilene. "I know well how you love your justice, but there is no justice in acting against this unique little one for her parentage. And so much to learn, so much to learn! I know you don't have my enthusiasm for collecting histories, but be tolerant with me, brother, as I add a chapter that stuns me with its improbability. We came expecting only justice and the sadness of false friends, but look what we have gained instead! New, bright knowledge of ourselves, our possibilities."
He held out his hand to Abilene in invitation. But this was not what she wanted. She leaned away from me, stretching upward, to touch her fingertips to Aro's face. Aro did not react with shock as almost everyone else had reacted to this performance from Abilene; he was as used to the flow of memory from other minds as Edward was.
His smile widened, and he sighed in satisfaction. "Brilliant," he whispered. Abilene relaxed back into my arms; her little face very serious.
"So much to discuss," Aro said, his tone suddenly that of an inundated businessman. "So much to decide. If you will excuse me, my dear Cullens, I must confer with my brothers."
Aro did not rejoin his anxious guard waiting on the north side of the clearing; instead, he waved them forward. Edward started backing up immediately, pulling my arm and Emmett's. We hurried backward, keeping our eyes on the advancing threat. Jasper retreated slowest; his gaze concentrated on Aro. Abilene grabbed the end of his jacket as we retreated. We reached our family at the same time that the dark cloaks surrounded Aro again. Now there was only fifty meters between them and us—a distance any of us could leap in just a fraction of a second.
Caius began arguing with Aro at once. "How can you abide this infamy? Why do we stand here impotently in the face of such an outrageous crime, covered by such a ridiculous deception?" He held his arms rigidly at his sides, his hands curled into claws. I wondered why he did not just touch Aro to share his opinion. Were we seeing a division in their ranks already? Could we be that lucky?
"Because it's all true," Aro told him calmly. "Every word of it. See how many witnesses stand ready to give evidence that they have seen this miraculous child grow and mature in just the short time they've known her. That they have felt the warmth of the blood that pulses in her veins." Aro's gesture swept from Benjamin on one side across to Siobhan on the other.
Caius reacted oddly to Aro's soothing words, starting ever so slightly at the mention of witnesses. The anger drained from his features, replaced by a cold calculation. He glanced at the Volturi witnesses with an expression that looked vaguely… nervous. I glanced at the angry mob, too, and saw immediately that the description no longer applied. The frenzy for action had turned to confusion. Whispered conversations seethed through the crowd as they tried to make sense of what had happened. Caius was frowning, deep in thought. His speculative expression stoked the flames of my smoldering anger at the same time that it worried me. What if the guard acted again on some invisible signal, as they had in their march? Anxiously, I inspected my shield; it felt just as impenetrable as before. I flexed it now into a low, wide dome that arced over our company.
I could feel the sharp plumes of light where my family and friends stood—each one an individual flavor that I thought I would be able to recognize with more practice. I already knew Edward's, his was the very brightest of them all. The extra space around the shining spots bothered me; there was no physical barrier to the shield, and if any of the talented Volturi got under it, it would protect no one but me. I felt my forehead crease as I pulled the elastic armor very carefully closer. Carlisle was the farthest forward; I sucked the shield back inch by inch, trying to wrap it as exactly to his body as I could.
My shield seemed to want to cooperate. It hugged his shape; when Carlisle shifted to the side to stand nearer to Tanya, the elastic stretched with him, drawn to his spark.
Only a second had passed; Caius was still deliberating.
"The fugitives," he murmured at last.
With sudden panic, I realized that Caius was now going after Jasper, Peter, Charlotte and me. I was about to reach out to my brother when I realize that, but I put that thought away.
"Ah, brother…," Aro answered Caius's statement with a pained look.
"Will you defend that nonsense, too, Aro?" Caius demanded. "Maria's war creations have been our enemies for centuries now. We have hunted them down. Yet Carlisle creates a relationship with them—no doubt in an attempt to overthrow us."
Edward cleared his throat loudly and Caius glared at him. Aro placed one thin, delicate hand over his own face as if he was embarrassed for the other ancient.
"Caius, Jasper, Peter, Charlotte and Bella escaped the South many years ago," Edward pointed out. He gestured to my brother and me and then Peter and Charlotte. "They never went back or even kept in touch with Maria."
"They are still guilty," Caius spit back at him.
Jasper's jaw clenched and unclenched, then he answered evenly, "None of us asked for it, we escaped because we didn't want to be a part of it."
"Dear Caius, I would have warned you not to press this point if you had told me your thoughts," Aro murmured. "Maria is dealt with; I saw nothing in Edward's mind that suggested any of these people wanted it."
Caius glared at Aro with irritation and something more—an accusation of betrayal, maybe. They exchanged a long, significant glance. I thought I understood the instruction behind Aro's careful wording. False charges weren't helping convince the watching witnesses on either side; Aro was cautioning Caius to move on to the next strategy. I wondered if the reason behind the apparent strain between the two ancients—Caius's unwillingness to share his thoughts with a touch—was that Caius didn't care about the show as much as Aro did. If the coming slaughter was so much more essential to Caius than an untarnished reputation.
Aro drifted forward, Renata, Santiago, and Corin automatically moving with him. "Just to be thorough," he said, "I'd like to speak with a few of your witnesses. The procedure, you know." He waved a hand dismissively.
Two things happened at once. Caius's eyes focused on Aro, and the tiny cruel smile came back. And Edward hissed, his hands balling up in fists so tight it looked like the bones in his knuckles would split through his diamond-hard skin. I was desperate to ask him what was going on, but Aro was close enough to hear even the quietest breath. I saw Carlisle glance anxiously at Edward's face, and then his own face hardened.
While Caius had blundered through useless accusations and injudicious attempts to trigger the fight, Aro must have been coming up with a more effective strategy. Aro ghosted across the snow to the far western end of our line, stopping about ten meters from Liam and Siobhan.
"Ah, Eleazar, my dear friend!" Aro said warmly. "It has been so long since your clan visited me."
Eleazar smiled, Carmen stood like a statue at his side. "Time means little; I never notice its passing," Eleazar said through unmoving lips.
"So true," Aro agreed. "But maybe you had another reason to stay away?"
Eleazar said nothing.
"Carlisle called on you to witness?"
"Yes."
"And what did you witness for him?"
Eleazar spoke with a more sincere emotion than before. "I've observed the child in question. It was evident almost immediately that she was not an immortal child."
"Perhaps we should define our terminology," Aro interrupted, "now that there seem to be new classifications. By immortal child, you mean of course a human child who had been bitten and thus transformed into a vampire."
"Yes, that's what I meant."
"What else did you observe about the child?"
"The same things that you surely saw in Edward's mind. That the child is Isabella's and Felix's biologically. That she grows. That she learns."
"Yes, yes," Aro said, a hint of impatience in his otherwise amiable tone. "But specifically in your few months here, what did you see?"
Eleazar's brow furrowed. "That she grows… quickly."
Aro smiled. "And do you believe that she should be allowed to live?"
A hiss escaped my lips, and I was not alone. Half the vampires in our line echoed my protest. The sound was a low sizzle of fury hanging in the air. Across the meadow, a few of the Volturi witnesses made the same noise. Edward stepped back and wrapped a restraining hand around my wrist.
"I see no danger in the child. She learns even more swiftly than she grows."
Aro nodded and came closer to where I was standing. His eyes stopped behind me, the Denalis,
"Demetri," Aro whispered, his eyes upset. "I see you chose a side."
"I chose truth, mas…Aro. I am here to witness the child's growth, just like the others."
"Is that so…Any other reason for such change of heart?" Aro glanced back to Chelsea, who looked surprised and scared at the same time.
"Change of the scenery is nice as well I suppose." Demetri chuckled.
"I see."
Aro nodded, his eyes now showed anger. After a moment, he glanced at Chelsea again and turned away. Aro was gliding back along the length of our line to the east, his guards hovering tensely. He stopped when he was in front of Siobhan's massive form.
"Hello, dear Siobhan. You are as lovely as ever."
Siobhan inclined her head, waiting.
"And you?" he asked. "Would you answer my questions the same way Eleazar has?"
"I would," Siobhan said. "But I would perhaps add a little more. Abilene understands the limitations. She's no danger to humans—she blends in better than we do. She poses no threat of exposure."
"Can you think of none?" Aro asked soberly.
Edward growled, a low ripping sound deep in his throat. Caius's cloudy crimson eyes brightened. Renata reached out protectively toward her master.
Siobhan answered slowly, "I don't think I follow you."
Aro drifted lightly back, casually, but toward the rest of his guard. Renata, Corin, and Santiago were closer than his shadow.
"There is no broken law," Aro said in a placating voice, but every one of us could hear that qualification was coming. I fought back the rage that tried to claw its way up my throat and snarl out my defiance. I hurled the fury into my shield, thickening it, making sure everyone was protected. "No broken law," Aro repeated. "However, does it follow then that there is no danger? No." He shook his head gently. "That is a separate issue."
The only response was the tightening of already stretched nerves, and Maggie, at the fringes of our band of fighters, shook her head with slow anger. Aro paced thoughtfully, looking as if he floated rather than touched the ground with his feet. I noticed every pass took him closer to the protection of his guard. "She is unique… utterly, impossibly unique. Such a waste it would be, to destroy something so lovely. Especially when we could learn so much . . ." He sighed, as if unwilling to go on. "But there is danger, a danger that cannot simply be ignored."
No one answered his assertion. It was dead silent as he continued in a monologue that sounded as if he spoke it for himself only.
"How ironic it is that as the humans advance, as their faith in science grows and controls their world, the closer we are to discovery. Yet, as we become ever more uninhibited by their disbelief in the supernatural, they become strong enough in their technologies that, if they wished, they could actually pose a threat to us, even destroy some of us.
"For thousands and thousands of years, our secrecy has been more a matter of convenience, of ease, than of actual safety. This last raw, angry century has given birth to weapons of such power that they endanger even immortals. Now our status as a mere myth in truth protects us from these weak creatures we hunt. "This amazing child," he lifted his hand palm down as if to rest it on Abilene, though he was forty meters from her now, almost within the Volturi formation again, "if we could but know her potential—know with absolute certainty that she could always remain shrouded within the obscurity that protects us. But we know nothing of what she will become! Her own parents are plagued by fears of her future. We cannot know what she will grow to be." He paused, looking first at our witnesses, and then, meaningfully, at his own. His voice gave a good imitation of sounding torn by his words.
Still looking at his own witnesses, he spoke again. "Only the known is safe. Only the known is tolerable. The unknown is… a vulnerability."
Caius's smile widened viciously.
"You're reaching, Aro," Carlisle said in a bleak voice.
"Peace, friend." Aro smiled, his face as kind, his voice as gentle, as ever. "Let us not be hasty. Let us look at this from every side."
"May I offer a side to be considered?" Garrett petitioned in a level tone, taking another step forward.
"Garrett, as I recall," Aro said, nodding in permission.
Garrett's chin lifted. His eyes focused on the huddled mass at the end of the meadow, and he spoke directly to the Volturi witnesses. "I came here at Cullen's request, as the others, to witness," he said. "That is certainly no longer necessary, concerning the child. We all see what she is. I stayed to witness something else. You." He jabbed his finger toward the wary vampires. "Two of you I know—Makenna, Charles—and I can see that many of you others are also wanderers, roamers like I once was. Answering none. Think carefully about what I tell you now. These ancient ones did not come here for justice as they told you. We suspected as much, and now it has been proved. They came, misled, but with a valid excuse for their action. Witness now as they seek flimsy excuses to continue their true mission. Witness them struggle to find a justification for their true purpose—to destroy this family here, my family." He gestured toward Carlisle and Tanya.
I noticed all the eyes were now on Garrett.
"The Volturi come to erase what they perceive as the competition. Perhaps, like me, you look at my family's golden eyes and marvel. We are difficult to understand, it's true. But the ancient ones look and see something besides our strange choice. They see power. I have experienced the bonds within this family—I say family and not coven. We, the strange golden-eyed ones deny our very natures. But in return, we have found something worth even more, perhaps, than mere gratification of desire? I've made a little study of it, and it seems to me that intrinsic to my intense family binding—that which makes us possible at all—is the peaceful character of this life of sacrifice. There is no aggression here like we all saw in the large southern clans that grew and diminished so quickly in their wild feuds. There is no thought for domination. And Aro knows this better than I do."
I watched Aro's face as Garrett's words condemned him, waiting tensely for some response. But Aro's face was only politely amused as if waiting for a tantrum-throwing child to realize that no one was paying attention to his histrionics.
"Carlisle's family assured us all when he told us what was coming, that he did not call us here to fight. These witnesses," Garrett pointed to Mary and Randall, "agreed to give evidence, to slow the Volturi advance with their presence so that Carlisle would get the chance to present his case. "But some of us wondered," his eyes flashed to Eleazar's face, "if Carlisle having truth on his side would be enough to stop the so-called justice. Are the Volturi here to protect the safety of our secrecy, or to protect their power? Did they come to destroy an illegal creation or a way of life? Could they be satisfied when the danger turned out to be no more than a misunderstanding? Or would they push the issue without the excuse of justice? We have the answer to all these questions. We heard it in Aro's lying words, we have one with a gift of knowing such things for certain, and we see it now in Caius's eager smile. Their guard is just a mindless weapon, a tool in their masters' quest for domination."
Garrett looked over the enemy's army again.
"So now there are more questions, questions that you must answer. Who rules you, nomads? Do you answer to someone's will besides your own? Are you free to choose your path, or will the Volturi decide how you will live? I came to witness. I stay to fight. The Volturi care nothing for the death of the child. They seek the death of our free will." He turned, then, to face the ancients. "So come, I say! Let's hear no more lying rationalizations. Be honest in your intents as we will be honest in ours. We will defend our freedom. You will or will not attack it. Choose now, and let these witnesses see the true issue debated here."
Once more he looked to the Volturi witnesses, his eyes probing each face. The power of his words was evident in their expressions. "You might consider joining us. If you think the Volturi will let you live to tell this tale, you are mistaken. We may all be destroyed," he looked at Kate and shrugged, "but then again, maybe not. Perhaps we are on more equal footing than they know. Perhaps the Volturi have finally met their match. I promise you this, though—if we fall, so do you."
He ended his heated speech by stepping back to Kate's side and then sliding forward in a half-crouch, prepared for the onslaught.
Aro smiled. "A very pretty speech, my revolutionary friend."
Garrett remained poised for attack. "Revolutionary?" he growled. "Who am I revolting against, might I ask? Are you my king? Do you wish me to call you master, too, like your sycophantic guard?"
"Peace, Garrett," Aro said tolerantly. "I meant only to refer to your time of birth. Still a patriot, I see."
Garrett glared back furiously.
"Let us ask our witnesses," Aro suggested. "Let us hear their thoughts before we make our decision. Tell us, friends," and he turned his back casually on us, moving a few yards toward his mass of nervous observers hovering even closer now to the edge of the forest, "what do you think of all this? I can assure you the child is not what we feared. Do we take the risk and let the child live? Do we put our world in jeopardy to preserve their family intact? Or does earnest Garrett have the right to it? Will you join them in a fight against our sudden quest for dominion?"
The witnesses met his gaze with careful faces. One, a small black-haired woman, looked briefly at the dark blond male at her side.
"Are those our only choices?" she asked suddenly, gaze flashing back to Aro. "Agree with you, or fight against you?"
"Of course not, most charming Makenna," Aro said, appearing horrified that anyone could come to that conclusion. "You may go in peace, of course, even if you disagree with the council's decision."
Makenna looked at her mate's face again, and he nodded minutely. "We did not come here for a fight." She paused, exhaled, then said, "We came here to witness. And our witness is that this condemned family is innocent. Everything that Garrett claimed is the truth."
"Ah," Aro said sadly. "I'm sorry you see us in that way. But such is the nature of our work."
"It is not what I see, but what I feel," Makenna's maize-haired mate spoke in a high, nervous voice. He glanced at Garrett. "Garrett said they have ways of knowing lies. I, too, know when I am hearing the truth, and when I am not." With frightened eyes he moved closer to his mate, waiting for Aro's reaction.
"Do not fear us, friend Charles. No doubt the patriot truly believes what he says," Aro chuckled lightly, and Charles's eyes narrowed.
"That is our witness," Makenna said. "We're leaving now." She and Charles backed away slowly, not turning before they were lost from view in the trees. One other stranger began to retreat the same way, then three more darted after him.
I evaluated the thirty-seven vampires that stayed. A few of them appeared just too confused to make the decision. But the majority of them seemed only too aware of the direction this confrontation had taken. I guessed that they were giving up a head start in favor of knowing exactly who would be chasing after them.
I was sure Aro saw the same thing I did. He turned away, walking back to his guard with a measured pace. He stopped in front of them and addressed them in a clear voice.
"We are outnumbered, dearest ones," he said. "We can expect no outside help. Should we leave this question undecided to save ourselves?"
"No, master," they whispered in unison.
"Is the protection of our world worth perhaps the loss of some of our number?"
"Yes," they breathed. "We are not afraid."
Aro smiled and turned to his black-clad companions.
"Brothers," Aro said somberly, "there is much to consider here."
"Let us, counsel," Caius said eagerly.
"Let us, counsel," Marcus repeated in an uninterested tone.
Aro turned his back to us again, facing the other ancients. They joined hands to form a black-shrouded triangle. As soon as Aro's attention was engaged in the silent counsel, two more of their witnesses disappeared silently into the forest. I hoped, for their sakes, that they were fast.
"Let's see what fate has for me now."
Edward took my hand. He knew that he was included. When I said my fate, there was no question that I meant the two of us. We were just halves of the whole. Esme's breath was ragged behind me. She moved past us, touching our faces as she passed, to stand beside Carlisle and hold his hand.
Suddenly, we were surrounded by murmured goodbyes and I love you's.
"If we live through this," Demetri whispered to Tanya, "I'll follow you anywhere, my Moscow muse."
"Now he tells me," She muttered.
Tia caressed Benjamin's face. He smiled back cheerfully, catching her hand and holding it against his cheek. I didn't see all the expressions of love and pain. I was distracted by a sudden fluttering pressure against the outside of my shield. I couldn't tell where it came from, but it felt like it was directed at the edges of our group, Siobhan and Liam particularly. The pressure did no damage, and then it was gone.
There was no change in the silent, still forms of the counseling ancients. But perhaps there was some signal I'd missed. "Get ready," I whispered to the others. "It's starting."
Chelsea is trying to break our bindings," Edward whispered. "But she can't find them. She can't feel us here…" His eyes cut to me. "Are you doing that?"
I smiled grimly at him. "I am all over this."
Edward lurched away from me suddenly, his hand reaching out toward Carlisle. At the same time, I felt a much sharper jab against the shield where it wrapped protectively around Carlisle's light. It wasn't painful, but it wasn't pleasant, either.
"Carlisle? Are you all right?" Edward gasped frantically.
"Yes. Why?"
"Jane," Edward answered. The moment that he said her name, a dozen pointed attacks hit in a second, stabbing all over the elastic shield, aimed at twelve different bright spots. I flexed, making sure the shield was undamaged. It didn't seem like Jane had been able to pierce it. I glanced around quickly; everyone was fine.
"Incredible," Edward said.
"Why aren't they waiting for the decision?" Tanya hissed.
"Normal procedure," Edward answered brusquely. "They usually incapacitate those on trial so they can't escape."
I looked across at Jane, who was staring at our group with furious disbelief. I was pretty sure that she'd never seen anyone remain standing through her fiery assault. It probably wasn't very mature. But I figured it would take Aro about half a second to guess—if he hadn't already—that my shield was more powerful than Edward had known; I already had a big target on my forehead and there was really no point in trying to keep the extent of what I could do a secret. So, I grinned a huge, smug smile right at Jane. Her eyes narrowed, and I felt another stab of pressure, this time directed at me. I pulled my lips wider, showing my teeth.
Jane let out a high-pitched scream of a snarl. Everyone jumped, even the disciplined guard. Everyone but the ancients, who didn't so much as look up from their conference. Her twin caught her arm as she crouched to spring. The Romanians started chuckling with dark anticipation.
"I told you this was our time," Vladimir said to Stefan.
"Just look at the witch's face," Stefan chortled.
Alec patted his sister's shoulder soothingly, then tucked her under his arm. He turned his face to us, perfectly smooth, completely angelic. I waited for some pressure, some sign of his attack, but I felt nothing. He continued to stare in our direction, his pretty face composed. Was he attacking? Was he getting through my shield? Was I the only one who could still see him? I clutched at Edward's hand.
"Are you okay?" I choked out.
"Yes," he whispered.
"Is Alec trying?"
Edward nodded. "His gift is slower than Jane's. It creeps. It will touch us in a few seconds."
I saw it then when I had a clue of what to look for. A strange clear haze was oozing across the snow, nearly invisible against the white. It reminded me of a mirage—a slight warping of the view, a hint of a shimmer. I pushed my shield out from Carlisle and the rest of the front line, afraid to have the slinking mist too close when it hit. What if it stole right through my intangible protection? Should we run?
A low rumbling murmured through the ground under our feet, and a gust of wind blew. Benjamin had seen the creeping threat, too, and now he tried to blow the mist away from us. The mist didn't react in any way. It was like air blowing harmlessly through a shadow; the shadow was immune. The triangular formation of the ancients finally broke apart when, with a racking groan, a deep, narrow fissure opened in a long zigzag across the middle of the clearing. The earth rocked under my feet for a moment. The mist skipped right across it, as untouched by gravity as it had been by the wind.
Aro and Caius watched the opening earth with wide eyes. Marcus looked in the same direction without emotion. They didn't speak; they waited, too, as the mist approached us. The wind shrieked louder but didn't change the course of the mist. Jane was smiling now. And then the mist hit a wall. I could taste it as soon as it touched my shield—it had a dense, sweet, cloying flavor. The mist curled upward, seeking a breach, a weakness. It found none. The fingers of searching haze twisted upward and around, trying to find a way in, and in the process illustrating the astonishing size of the protective screen. There were gasps on both sides of Benjamin's gorge.
"Well done, Bella!" Benjamin cheered in a low voice.
My smile returned. I could see Alec's narrowed eyes, doubt on his face for the first time as his mist swirled harmlessly around the edges of my shield. And then I knew that I could do this. Obviously, I would be the number-one priority, the first one to die, but as long as I held, we were on more than equal footing with the Volturi. We still had Benjamin and Zafrina; they had no supernatural help at all. As long as I held.
"I'm going to have to concentrate," I whispered to Edward. "When it comes to hand on hand, it's going to be harder to keep the shield around the right people."
"I'll keep them off you."
"No. You have to get to Chelsea. Zafrina will keep them away from me."
Zafrina nodded solemnly. "No one will touch her," she promised Edward.
"I'd go after Jane and Alec myself, but I can do better here."
"Jane's mine," Kate hissed. "She needs a taste of her own medicine."
"And Alec owes me many lives, but I will settle for his," Vladimir growled from the other side. "He's mine."
"I just want Caius," Tanya said evenly.
The others started divvying up opponents, too, but they were quickly interrupted. Aro, staring calmly at Alec's ineffective mist, finally spoke.
"Before we vote," he began.
I shook my head angrily. I was tired of this charade. The bloodlust was igniting in me again, and I was sorry that I would help the others more by standing still. I wanted to fight.
"Let me remind you," Aro continued, "whatever the council's decision, there need be no violence here."
Edward snarled out a dark laugh. Aro stared at him sadly. "It will be a regrettable waste to our kind to lose any of you. But you especially, young Edward, and your mate. The Volturi would be glad to welcome many of you into our ranks. Bella, Benjamin, Zafrina, Kate. There are many choices before you. Consider them."
Chelsea's attempt to sway us fluttered impotently against my shield. Aro's gaze swept across our hard eyes, looking for any indication of hesitation. From his expression, he found none. I knew he was desperate to keep Edward and me, to imprison. But this fight was too big. He would not win if I lived. I was fiercely glad to be so powerful that I left him no way not to kill me.
"Let us vote, then," he said with apparent reluctance.
Caius spoke with eager haste. "The child is an unknown quantity. There is no reason to allow such a risk to existing. It must be destroyed, along with all who protect it." He smiled in expectation.
I fought back a shriek of defiance to answer his cruel smirk. Marcus lifted his uncaring eyes, seeming to look through us as he voted. "I see no immediate danger. The child is safe enough for now. We can always reevaluate later. Let us leave in peace." His voice was even fainter than his brothers' feathery sighs.
None of the guards relaxed their ready positions at his disagreeing words. Caius's anticipatory grin did not falter. It was as if Marcus hadn't spoken at all. "I must make the deciding vote, it seems," Aro mused.
Suddenly, Edward stiffened at my side. "Yes!" he hissed. I risked a glance at him. His face glowed with an expression of triumph that I didn't understand—it was the expression an angel of destruction might wear while the world burned. Beautiful and terrifying.
There was a low reaction from the guard, an uneasy murmur.
"Aro?" Edward called, nearly shouted, undisguised victory in his voice.
Aro hesitated for a second, assessing this new mood warily before he answered.
"Yes, Edward? You have something further…?"
"Perhaps," Edward said pleasantly, controlling his unexplained excitement.
"First, if I could clarify one point?"
"Certainly," Aro said, raising his eyebrows, nothing now but polite interest in his tone. My teeth ground together; Aro was never more dangerous than when he was gracious.
"The danger you foresee from my daughter, stems entirely from our inability to guess how she will develop? That is the crux of the matter?"
"Yes, friend Edward," Aro agreed. "If we could but be positive… be sure that, as she grows, she will be able to stay concealed from the human world—not endanger the safety of our obscurity..." He trailed off, shrugging.
"So, if we could only know for sure," Edward suggested, "exactly what she will become… then there would be no need for a council at all?"
"If there was some way to be absolutely sure," Aro agreed, his feathery voice slightly shriller. He couldn't see where Edward was leading him. Neither could I. "Then, yes, there would be no question to debate."
"And we would part in peace, good friends once again?" Edward asked with a hint of irony.
Even more shrill. "Of course, my young friend. Nothing would please me more."
Edward chuckled exultantly. "Then I do have something more to offer."
Aro's eyes narrowed. "She is absolutely unique. Her future can only be guessed at."
"Not absolutely unique," Edward disagreed. "Rare, certainly, but not one of a kind."
I fought the shock, the sudden hope springing to life, as it threatened to distract me. The sickly-looking mist still swirled around the edges of my shield. And, as I struggled to focus, I felt again the sharp, stabbing pressure against my protective hold.
"Aro, would you ask Jane to stop attacking my wife?" Edward asked courteously. "We are still discussing evidence."
Aro raised one hand. "Peace, dear ones. Let us hear him out."
The pressure disappeared. Jane bared her teeth at me; I couldn't help grinning back at her.
"Why don't you join us, Rose and Alice?" Edward called loudly.
"Rose? Alice," Esme whispered in shock.
"Alice!" "Rosalie!" other voices murmured around me.
"Alice," Aro breathed.
Relief and violent joy surged through me. It took all my will to keep the shield where it was. Alec's mist still tested, seeking a weakness—Jane would see if I left any holes. And then I heard them running through the forest, flying, closing the distance as quickly as they could with no slowing effort at silence.
Both sides were motionless in expectation. The Volturi witnesses scowled in fresh confusion.
Then Alice danced into the clearing from the southwest, and I felt like the bliss of seeing her face again might knock me off my feet. Rose was only inches behind her, her sharp eyes fierce. Close after them ran three strangers; the first was a tall, muscular female with wild dark hair—obviously Kachiri, Zafrina's and Sena's sister. She had the same elongated limbs and features as the other Amazons, even more, pronounced in her case.
The next was a small olive-toned female vampire with a long braid of black hair bobbing against her back. Her deep burgundy eyes flitted nervously around the confrontation before her.
And the last was a young man… not quite as fast nor quite as fluid in his run. His skin was an impossibly rich, dark brown. His wary eyes flashed across the gathering, and they were the color of warm teak. His hair was black and braided, too, like the woman's, though not as long. He was beautiful. As he neared us, a new sound sent shock waves through the watching crowd—the sound of another heartbeat accelerated with exertion.
Alice leaped lightly over the edges of the dissipating mist that lapped at my shield and came to a sinuous stop at Edward's side. I reached out to touch her arm, and so did Edward, Esme, Carlisle. There wasn't time for any other welcome. Rose and the others followed her through the shield.
All the guard watched, speculation in their eyes, as the latecomers crossed the invisible border without difficulty. The Volturi were watching us like hawks. As soon as Aro gave the order, the blitz would ensue, me the only object. I wondered how many Zafrina would be able to blind, and how much that would slow them. Long enough for Kate and Vladimir to take Jane and Alec out of the equation? That was all I could ask for.
Edward, despite his absorption in the coup he was directing, stiffened furiously in response to their thoughts. He controlled himself and spoke to Aro again.
"Alice and Rosalie have been searching for their own witnesses these last weeks," he said to the ancient. "And they didn't come back empty-handed. Alice, why don't you introduce the witnesses you've brought?"
Caius snarled. "The time for witnesses is past! Cast your vote, Aro!"
Aro raised one finger to silence his brother, his eyes glued to Alice's face. Alice stepped forward lightly and introduced the strangers. "This is Huilen and her nephew, Nahuel."
Hearing her voice… it was like she'd never left. Caius's eyes tightened as Alice named the relationship between the newcomers. The Volturi witnesses hissed amongst themselves. The vampire world was changing, and everyone could feel it.
"Speak, Huilen," Aro commanded. "Give us the witness you were brought to bear."
The slight woman looked to Rosalie nervously. Rose nodded in encouragement, and Kachiri put her long hand on the little vampire's shoulder "I am Huilen," the woman announced in clear but strangely accented English. As she continued, it was apparent she had prepared herself to tell this story, that she had practiced. It flowed like a well-known nursery rhyme. "A century and a half ago, I lived with my people, the Mapuche. My sister was Pire. Our parents named her after the snow on the mountains because of her fair skin. And she was very beautiful—too beautiful. She came to me one day in secret and told me of the angel that found her in the woods, that visited her by night. I warned her." Huilen shook her head mournfully. "As if the bruises on her skin were not warning enough. I knew it was the Libishomen of our legends, but she would not listen. She was bewitched. She told me when she was sure her dark angel's child was growing inside her. I didn't try to discourage her from her plan to run away—I knew even our father and mother would agree that the child must be destroyed, Pire with it. I went with her into the deepest parts of the forest. She searched for her demon angel but found nothing. I cared for her, hunted for her when her strength failed. She ate the animals raw, drinking their blood. I needed no more confirmation of what she carried in her womb. I hoped to save her life before I killed the monster. But she loved the child inside her. She called him Nahuel, after the jungle cat, when he grew strong and broke her bones—and loved him still."
Her story brought back memories of Isabella and her first few days in the house with us. I understood exactly what Huilen was talking about.
"I could not save her. The child ripped his way free of her, and she died quickly, begging all the while that I would care for her Nahuel." Huilen continued. "Her dying wish—and I agreed. He bit me, though, when I tried to lift him from her body. I crawled away into the jungle to die. I didn't get far—the pain was too much. But he found me; the newborn child struggled through the underbrush to my side and waited for me. When the pain ended, he was curled against my side, sleeping. I cared for him until he was able to hunt for himself. We hunted the villages around our forest, staying to ourselves. We have never come so far from our home, but Nahuel wished to see the child here."
Huilen bowed her head when she was finished and moved back so she was partially hidden behind Kachiri. Aro's lips were pursed. He stared at the dark-skinned youth.
"Nahuel, you are one hundred and fifty years old?" he questioned.
"Give or take a decade," he answered in a clear, beautifully warm voice. His accent was barely noticeable. I was so relieved to hear that. My baby girl will be with us for a long time. "We don't keep track."
"And you reached maturity at what age?"
"About seven years after my birth, more or less, I was full grown."
"You have not changed since then?"
Nahuel shrugged. "Not that I've noticed."
"And your diet?" Aro pressed, seeming interested despite himself.
"Mostly blood, but some human food, too. I can survive on either."
"You were able to create an immortal?" As Aro gestured to Huilen, his voice was abruptly intense. I refocused on my shield; perhaps he was seeking a new excuse.
"Yes, but none of the rest can."
A shocked murmur ran through all three groups.
Aro's eyebrows shot up. "The rest?"
"My sisters." Nahuel shrugged again.
Aro stared wildly for a moment before composing his face.
"Perhaps you would tell us the rest of your story, for there seems to be more."
Nahuel frowned.
"My father came looking for me a few years after my mother's death." His handsome face distorted slightly. "He was pleased to find me." Nahuel's tone suggested the feeling was not mutual. "He had two daughters, but no sons. He expected me to join him, as my sisters had.
"He was surprised I was not alone. My sisters are not venomous, but whether that's due to gender or a random chance… who knows? I already had my family with Huilen, and I was not interested," he twisted the word, "in making a change. I see him from time to time. I have a new sister; she reached maturity about ten years back."
"Your father's name?" Caius asked through gritted teeth.
"Joham," Nahuel answered. "He considers himself a scientist. He thinks he's creating a new super-race." He did not attempt to disguise the disgust in his tone.
Caius growled. "We take care of the aberration here, and then follow it south," he urged Aro.
Aro stared into my eyes for a long, tense moment. I had no idea what he was searching for, or what he found, but after he had measured me for that moment, something in his face changed, a faint shift in the set of his mouth and eyes, and I knew that Aro had made his decision.
"Brother," he said softly to Caius. "There appears to be no danger. This is an unusual development, but I see no threat. These half-vampire children are much like us, it appears."
"Is that your vote?" Caius demanded.
"It is."
Caius scowled. "And this Joham? This immortal so fond of experimentation?"
"Perhaps we should speak with him," Aro agreed.
"Stop Joham if you will," Nahuel said flatly. "But leave my sisters be. They are innocent."
Aro nodded, his expression solemn. And then he turned back to his guard with a warm smile.
"Dear ones," he called. "We do not fight today."
The guard nodded in unison and straightened out of their ready positions. The mist dissipated swiftly, but I held my shield in place. Maybe this was another trick. I analyzed their expressions as Aro turned back to us. His face was as benign as ever, but unlike before, I sensed a strange blankness behind the façade. As if his scheming was over. Caius was clearly incensed, but his rage was turned inward now; he was resigned. Marcus looked… bored; there really was no other word for it. The guard was impassive and disciplined again; there were no individuals among them, just the whole. They were in formation, ready to depart. The Volturi witnesses were still wary; one after another, they departed, scattering into the woods. As their numbers dwindled, the remaining sped up. Soon they were all gone.
Aro held his hands out to us, almost apologetic. Behind him, the larger part of the guard, along with Caius, Marcus, and the silent, mysterious wives, were already drifting quickly away, their formation precise once again. Only the three that seemed to be his personal guardians lingered with him.
"I'm so glad this could be resolved without violence," he said sweetly. "My friend, Carlisle—how pleased I am to call you friend again! I hope there are no hard feelings. I know you understand the strict burden that our duty places on our shoulders."
"Leave in peace, Aro," Carlisle said stiffly. "Please remember that we still have our anonymity to protect here, and keep your guard from hunting in this region."
"Of course, Carlisle," Aro assured him. "I am sorry to earn your disapproval, my dear friend. Perhaps, in time, you will forgive me."
"Perhaps, in time, if you prove a friend to us again."
Aro bowed his head, the picture of remorse, and drifted backward for a moment before he turned around. We watched in silence as the last four Volturi disappeared into the trees.
It was very quiet. I did not drop my shield. "Is it really over?" I whispered to Edward.
His smile was huge. "Yes. They've given up. Like all bullies, they're cowards underneath the swagger." He chuckled.
Alice laughed with him. "Seriously, people. They're not coming back. Everybody can relax now."
There was another beat of silence.
"Of all the rotten luck," Stefan muttered.
And then it hit.
Cheers erupted. Deafening howls filled the clearing. Maggie pounded Siobhan on the back. Rosalie and Emmett kissed —longer and more ardently than ever before. I doubted they have ever spent so much time apart before. Benjamin and Tia were locked in each other's arms, as were Carmen and Eleazar. Jasper held Alice in a tight embrace. Carlisle was warmly thanking the South American newcomers who had saved us all. Kachiri stood very close to Zafrina and Senna, their fingertips interlocked. Garrett picked Kate up off the ground and swung her around in a circle. Irina and Laurent were kissing.
Stefan spit on the snow. Vladimir ground his teeth together with a sour expression.
"Abilene." I looked down at my daughter. We had forever. And Abilene was going to be fine and healthy and strong. Like the half-human Nahuel, in a hundred and fifty years she would still be young. And we would all be together.
Happiness expanded like an explosion inside me—so extreme, so violent that I wasn't sure I'd survive it. I couldn't speak anymore. I lifted my head and kissed Edward with a passion that might possibly set the forest on fire.
Please review. That is the last chapter, but I intend to post an epilogue in a few days too. Let me know what you think of this story, bad or good, I like getting feedback:)