Three Wise Kings
Marcus was bored. Aro had said this would be an amusing trip to Japan. It had not been amusing.
Their guard had stayed in Kyoto to do cleanup, but Marcus was impatient. When he'd insisted they take the next flight back to Italy, Aro booked them first class tickets with a suspiciously long stopover in Seattle. Together, the three Volturi kings had looked at the Space Needle. It was disappointingly earth-bound. Caius said it was overpriced, even though Aro was paying.
Marcus didn't understand why they had left the airport until one of the Denali coven approached them in the Seattle Center parking lot. It was one of the females, not Eleazar. That was acceptable. Marcus hadn't liked Eleazar much.
Irina Denali reported that the Cullens were fraternizing with humans. Marcus wasn't surprised, because Carlisle had always been living on the brink of exposure.
Caius wanted bloodshed. Aro wanted to meet the newest Cullen. Marcus was bored and wanted to go home. They voted on it, deciding to send Edward Cullen, the newborn 'Harry', and their humans an invitation to Volterra.
Then, in the airport, they smelled something worse than a dog in a bathhouse changing room. It was disgusting. Caius wanted bloodshed, Aro wanted to meet the creature. Marcus wanted to go home.
They followed the pair of stinking humans to their gate and got on the same flight to Port Angeles. Aro always got his way, in the end.
.oOo.
Bella's knees were weak when they got off the plane. She was very glad that economy disembarked last. Charlie had texted her to abandon their luggage, so she and Jacob moved straight toward the exit.
The entire Cullen and Swan family was waiting for them. Bella ran to hug her dad tight. He smelled of the right kind of detergent. She hugged Harry next, then Edward. They shared a small kiss.
"You had company on the plane," Edward murmured in her ear. "We decided a formal welcome would be best."
"Car-lisle!" a voice cried. The man sounded foreign.
Bella turned. His skin looked paper thin, but his dark red eyes told a different story. Beside her, Jacob started trembling again.
"Aro," Carlisle said with all his usual warmth. "We would be delighted to drive to Forks together, if that's to your liking?"
"Of course, my friend." Aro's teeth looked sharp. "But where are my manners, we must have introductions first, who are your delightful companions?" He spoke it all in one breath. Then his hand was reaching for Bella's. "Ladies first?"
She didn't want to touch his skin. He looked like he'd either crumble to dust, or he'd crush her fingers to pulp without that smile ever wavering. Edward nudged her forward, so she let Aro grasp her hand in his cold ones.
His face didn't change, though his grip tightened. "Fascinating," he said. Looking past her, he grinned. "How she must appeal to you, Edward!"
Bella wished she knew what was going on. Charlie put his arm around her shoulders, that helped.
On her dad's other side, Harry was standing with his back straight, looking right at Aro. "It's an honour to meet you, Aro Volturi. I'm Harry Swan, this is my mate Charlie and our daughter Bella. Sorry about Jacob, Esme had to take him outside."
Bella bristled. She liked Harry, but all this talk about mates—her dad didn't belong to Harry, and she certainly didn't either. Charlie squeezed her gently to his side; they'd be talking about this later.
Aro let go, turning away like she didn't exist. While Bella dug her fists into her pockets, Aro shook Harry's hand and grimaced outright. He looked at Charlie and barely bothered to touch him. "Gifts do often run in families," Aro said. He nodded his head toward his companions. "These are my brothers Caius and Marcus. Well met."
Caius looked like an angry angel, with golden curls and a frown that defined the expression if looks could kill. Marcus was staring past the Cullens as if he were somewhere else entirely. He reminded her of Harry, except drained of all the warmth and happiness.
"We came with three cars, one of them can seat seven." Carlisle began to walk to the exit, drawing Aro and Caius closer to him with his sheer presence. Bella had never seen him so firm. She breathed a sigh, relieved to have others taking control. She still wished someone would tell her what was going on.
"Greetings, Bella Swan."
Bella flinched away from Marcus Volturi. "Well met?" she echoed.
"Yes." The vampire looked like he'd been dead inside for a very long time.
Bella took Edward's familiar marble arm.
When they divided themselves between the cars, Marcus ended up joining them in Alice's BMW. He sat in the passenger seat, stifling their conversation. Bella tried not to feel so angry at being kept in the dark while Charlie and Harry just sat there, hand in hand, perfectly silent.
"We'll make you something to eat," Alice chirped before Bella's stomach growled. "Oh my God, Bella, another sleepover!"
It was barely evening, but Bella was exhausted. "Sure," she murmured, leaning her head against Harry's solid shoulder. "That sounds nice."
"Does drinking animal blood make you require sleep?" Marcus asked, barely managing to shape his monotone into a question.
"It's a metaphor," Harry answered.
Bella smiled into his sleeve. Even as a vampire, Harry was still uniquely himself.
"I see," Marcus replied, then he stared back out at the trees.
.oOo.
The next time she blinked her eyes open, they were turning onto the Cullens' gravel drive.
Bella stretched as well as she could. Harry shuffled over to give her room; he wasn't wearing his seatbelt.
"When I asked for a sleepover, I didn't mean in the car." Alice laughed.
It was a relief to breathe Forks' damp evening air. Bella stood outside, letting the familiarity of this place cradle her. She walked over and pressed her palm against a pine, wondering if this feeling of homecoming was what Harry always on about.
"The magic likes you," Harry said, guiding her inside. "You're almost there, with the trees. Soon, you'll be talking with each other."
Bella smiled. It hadn't been so long ago that she'd been the one fetching Harry back into the house for dinner.
Carlisle pulled up in Esme's minivan next, Aro and Caius' bright red eyes showcasing the reason for their delay. Bella tried not to contemplate that two unlucky travellers would never be making it home.
"Esme is driving Jacob straight to the border," Carlisle announced. "She'll be back with the others soon."
Once they were inside the house, Harry started making pancakes. With a start, Bella realized it was still Sunday; she felt like Arizona had been forever ago. While the rest of them went to talk in the conference room, she hopped on a stool at the kitchen counter.
"Carlisle explained to me that the Volturi are our kind's kings," Harry said after serving her a pancake, heart-shaped but lopsided like the first ones always were. "I'm sorry about before. I've been told it's a vampire thing? Mates and children. I dunno. I think of you as family, Bella."
She stabbed her pancake, but when she looked up to meet his tired red eyes, she smiled a little. "So, kings?"
"Judge, jury, and executioner," Harry said, scowling. He sat down across from her and sighed. "Aro's gift lets him see your memories at a touch, and apparently everyone just trusts him to separate out the innocent. It's a bad system, and it gets worse when your mind is hidden or shielded like ours are. Jasper said Aro wouldn't like that much."
Bella thought back to their meeting in the airport. Not liking it seemed like an understatment.
Harry's fingers brushed the back of her hand. "Caius doesn't have a gift beyond being a strategist, but I don't know how much we can trust that."
"And Marcus?" Bella asked.
"He can tell how people are connected. Edward described it as a web of bonds that make up the relationships we hold," Harry said. "I suppose," he added, smiling, "Marcus sees things that aren't there, though that doesn't mean they're not real things. You could say that he's just as sane as I am."
.oOo.
Charlie was a cop. He'd been a cop for a long time. Even at school he used to break up fights, or tell on the kids that stuck gum under their desks. He'd asked for Renée's full name and phone number to give her a handwritten ticket, but when she'd tossed back her head and laughed he'd realized it wasn't his place. Instead of telling her which rules to live her life by, he'd asked her out. Renée had been beautiful, untamable, wild. She'd made him feel alive.
He'd joined the department because it was a good job that he could get right out of highschool, and he'd not regretted it once.
Being a cop meant a lot of hours sitting in his car just waiting, or sitting in court waiting, or sitting in interrogations waiting. Charlie had grown good at it.
At least he'd thought so, before he'd sat and waited through an eight-way talk that was going nowhere. It was worse than jury duty.
Charlie cleared his throat. Three sets of red and five sets of gold eyes faced him. "In conclusion," he said, "Caius Volturi, you accuse Doctor Cullen of not informing you about the wolves. Carlisle, you didn't tell him because you were afraid he would murder first and ask questions later. Caius, you currently would still like to murder first and ask questions later."
He paused until both nodded.
"Okay, now let's table that and move on. Aro Volturi, you've said that me and my daughter being human is against your laws. If you need it, we'll get…changed." Charlie tried not to grimace. Esme's look showed he'd failed. He took a deep breath and pushed on. "I'm asking that you give Bella time to graduate. It'd be suspicious to leave right now."
They watched Caius touch Aro's hand, showing the vampire his thoughts. Aro then reached for Marcus.
"We see the merits of your plea," the mind-reader finally said. Charlie tried to calm down, knowing they could all hear his stuttering heart. "We have voted that you must be turned within a year, and your daughter as soon as she finishes her schooling. We will decide on the situation regarding the wolves tomorrow."
Charlie sighed until his lungs were empty. Blinking, he spoke once he was sure the words would come out right. "Thank you."
"Your mate," Marcus Volturi said, the first he'd spoken that night, "Bring him to me."
Charlie found Harry in the kitchen with Bella, watching the dishes clean themselves in the sink. Edward and Alice came to take Bella to bed. Charlie led Harry back to Marcus in the conference room.
"Carlisle has said you come from another world, one where many men turn into beasts while keeping their minds." He had leaned forward. There was a light in the vampire's eyes.
"Not just the men," Harry said, pulling Charlie to sit with him.
"Caius saw a man once who changed into a hound."
Harry sat up like he'd been tased. "A shaggy black dog?"
Marcus shrugged. "Yes, but he died before Caius could turn him. It was some years ago."
They watched Harry collapse. "You're sure?" he whispered. Charlie wished he could think of a reason the vampires would be lying.
"I wanted to talk to you about magic," Marcus droned on. "Edward mentioned trees?"
"It's everywhere in Forks, but it's stronger in the forest," Harry's voice was low and his shoulders sagged. "I'll show you. Tomorrow. Please."
Charlie held Harry in his arms that night, listening to the rain pelting against the roof. He felt too wrung out to sleep. "The moon's shining on your friend now," Charlie said.
What he really wanted was to promise that everything would be okay.
.oOo.
Marcus touched the oak's trunk warily. It was damp and alive. "I do not feel any magic," he said after a second.
"Wait," Harry Swan said. "She doesn't know you yet. Give her time."
The lack of birds nearby made the human's heartbeat sound loud. Marcus could hear insects in the leaf litter underfoot. Charlie Swan's pulse was slow, proof that he found physical contact with his mated vampire calming. Yesterday, Aro had reminded Marcus he needed to drink, but thirst was boring. This magic was the first interesting thing since Didyme's death. With his flat hand on the bark, Marcus waited.
The sun moved the shadows around them. The human sat down.
Harry Swan did not open his eyes once.
"Oh." Marcus almost laughed. It was a light tingling, as if someone was tickling him. "Oh," he said again, and smiled.
"She's beautiful, isn't she?"
The sensation was astonishing. It felt…familiar. "Tell me where you come from, Harry Swan."
"My world was messed up in places, and beautiful in others." He did not sound wistful. The relationships tethering Harry to that world were well and truly severed. "Magic sounded nearly like it does here, you know? Almost alive, you could taste it. And in other places, you could taste the holes in it." They listened to a foolish thrush that had perched nearby. When its song ended, Harry's last words were a whisper. "I came here through the Veil of Death."
Marcus brushed his fingertips over green leaves. "The Veil of Death." He had forgotten his human life, but those words were familiar. "Mrmoreshtata zavesa, the Romanians called it. The Murmuring Curtain." Marcus Volturi was very, very old, but there had been vampires before him that were older. "Vladimir says the first vampire came through a portal of shadows and mist."
"Does it go both ways, this magical veil?" the human asked. There was an emotion in his voice, but Marcus was not good at emotions.
"It has no counterpart on our side that I know of." Aro and Caius thought that the story was a myth, but a small part of Marcus had clung to the strange echo of familiarity. "The Veil of Death. Tell me, Harry, can your magic bring the dead back to life?"
"It's your magic too, if you want." Harry Swan's eyelids were still closed, his back leaning against a great oak.
Marcus had waited a long time, now he could feel hope bursting from the tips of his fingers. The branch under his hands cracked. "Our magic, can she bring the dead back to us? Didyme—"
Harry Swan's eyes opened. They were a bright, fatal green. "I was told that it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."
Marcus sat down. He reached out and turned over a fallen leaf. He watched the centipede scuttle away, and just before it could hide again, he squashed it. "They are wise words for a human." Men's lives were fleeting, but his had been long. So, so long. "Yet, Harry Swan, I am an immortal. How simple it would be, a life that can be ended on a whim. Humans change as often as the tides."
"Hmmm." Harry Swan's eyes had closed again. There was sunlight dappled across his face. He looked like he was glowing.
The human shifted. "Maybe if magic can't return her to you, it could bring you back your life instead," he said.
Marcus looked. Harry Swan's mate had warm brown eyes. Marcus couldn't remember the last time he'd looked at a human without seeing its terror. He couldn't read Charlie Swan's face, but Marcus could see a bond forming between him and the human, something like understanding.
"When you are turned, you will come to Volterra." Aro would be pleased to have two shields in his guard, and Marcus would have interesting company.
Beside him, Harry Swan stirred. "You'll help us protect the wolves in return," he said. "They have a magic-given right to live. They aren't a threat to the Volturi or our kind.
Marcus could not remember the last time somebody had haggled. There was energy tingling under his fingertips, filling his body with an emotion he could no longer name. It bubbled like a cauldron on flames. Marcus laughed, startling himself with the sound.
"We have an accord," he said, and laughed again.
.oOo.
Within the next three weeks, I'm posting updates for:
Beware the Jabberwock
Semantics of Divinity
Another—Oh, Whatever (two updates)
A Public-Private Partnership
and of course the next chapter of The Boyfriend