Parley
The wolves had arrived. Alice knew they couldn't make a new treaty without them, but she hated the pack for how they blinded her.
She watched Billy Black wheel himself up the ramp Harry and Emmett had built. Jacob looked different from when she'd last seen him; he was one of the wolves now. The Quileute pack leaders Sam Uley and Jared Cameron moved in like they were attending a funeral.
Alice followed them. She wished she'd known to bring her supplies so she could fix Jacob's choppy haircut.
Harry handed the three wolves shirts once they'd chosen seats by the wall.
Alice had tried to watch this day a hundred times in a hundred futures, all the possibilities and impossibilities, but it was hard when she just couldn't see . The werewolves moved around her visions like blurry shapes and unformed mist, a fog of uncertainty that was giving her a throbbing headache.
"If you stop looking so hard, you'd be able to see what's right in front of you," Harry said. His voice was teasing.
Opening her eyes, Alice smiled. "Thank you." She took the cup of steaming tea.
Aro, Caius and Marcus Volturi came in next. Renata was the only guard with them. Charlie had insisted on four from each group, constrained by the size of his own living room; Carlisle had left Edward at home with Bella. If she listened carefully, Alice could hear Felix and Demetri talking lowly as they circled the property.
Those two were considerate house-guests, making their decisions well in advance. It was good to still have someone she could anticipate.
The room looked very full: wolves on one side, the Volturi on the other, with Charlie and Carlisle sat in the middle. Harry continued distributing drinks. Jasper was leaning against the mantle right next to Alice. She could feel his unease like tar across her skin.
Alice wished she could send him feelings of comfort or faith, but she didn't have Carlisle's optimism. They had broken the law.
They were in deep trouble.
Outside, a wolf howled. From the forests to the south, another joined in. The hairs on the back of Alice's neck bristled.
Charlie cleared his throat. They could hear his heart thudding desperately, but he wasn't letting it show. "Thank you all for coming," he said, the words measured. "Harry has promised that the protections on our house and your cork charms will keep everyone safe and scentless. Let's all try to treat each other with respect."
Caius took that as the first insult. "You will not tell me what to do, human," he spat.
"Peace." Aro spread his hands. Alice tried to divine what he would say, but all she could see was mist. "We have discussed the terms of the Swan family's humanity already. Today, we will negotiate an accord regarding the wolf shifters."
Even the introductions were rocky. Sam Uley and Caius were brimming for a fight, but Alice couldn't foresee if it'd happen.
"We have lived on this land for many generations," Billy said. "Q'waeti granted Taha Aki the gift of the change, and it remains strong in our blood."
"That means even if you kill us, we'll be back to bite you in the ass," Sam said.
Aro laughed. "Charming," he said. "Delightful. Fascinating."
"We have ended bloodlines before," Caius goaded, leaning forward. "Every last man, woman and child. Children have the sweetest blood, you know. It's their innocence ."
"I believe we would do well to stop threatening each other," Carlisle said. "The point remains that the Quileute wolves aren't like the Children of the Moon. They can be a threat to our kind, but their actions were in their own defence. They keep their minds when in wolf form and their bites are not cursed."
"My preference is to destroy threats before they have a chance to destroy me," Caius said. He was grinning.
Alice looked into a future for the right counterarguments but found only snippets and fog. She gritted her teeth, turning into Jasper's presence beside her.
"We won't treaty with human-drinkers," Billy said. "These are our lands, gifted to our people by Q'waeti himself. When we defend those living here with teeth and claws, that's our right."
"If nomads are merely passing through, how could they know if they're in violation of your local rules? There are no signposts, no warnings. It is an inhumane choice of action," said Aro.
"That's rich, you talking about humanity," Jacob said. Jared grinned, then Sam stepped on his foot.
"We can spread the word in Volterra," Marcus said. Alice blinked at him. Renata, Caius, even Carlisle had turned to stare. She wondered when the last time was that Marcus had contributed an opinion. "We will warn our kind to keep away. I believe we should heed Magic's will in this case."
Aro nodded slowly, reached out to brush his fingers against Marcus', then smiled widely and nodded again. "Not a treaty or a pact, no, but a reservation." Aro's laugh perfectly balanced Caius' scowl. "Would that be acceptable to you and yours, Billy Black?"
The man pressed his lips together, taking a whistling breath.
"It'll help," Harry said, his eyes on his mug. "Fewer children will turn once there aren't as many of us here. It's best for you."
Charlie put his hand on Harry's shoulder. They all turned back to watch Billy.
Sitting with his spine straight and his hair gleaming, the man carried his truth like Charlie wore his badge. "We'll keep living here, as T'ist'ilal wills it. You can warn your kind to stay away. Yes, Aro Volturi. As a direct descendent from Ebrahim, I speak with the authority of my ancestors and the voice of my people. We accept those terms."
Alice let a bit of relief flash through her. She looked into the future an hour from now, but found it missing. Scowling, she set down her cold tea.
Aro had spread his arms, messiah-like. "Excellent," he was saying, "Wonderful. Caius, surely you agree this is a fair choice for all involved."
Caius reached out and touched Aro's hand. They watched the king's face shift in contemplation.
"I see," Aro said, turning back. "Yes, we have the Swans, the wolves…but what about Carlisle, old friend ?"
Carlisle froze with his palms up.
There was something constricting Alice's throat, and Jasper's warmth couldn't quash it. With fear clawing from her ribcage, Alice turned to watch the three kings decide over the fate of her adoptive father.
"Caius, you know I never meant harm. It's not in my nature."
Aro's smile was sad. "My friend, there is nothing natural about you. It is what has always fascinated me so." From what Carlisle had said of his stay in Volterra, it was Aro he'd been closest to. That fondness had been fostered a long time ago.
Caius said his part quickly. "Regardless of your motivations, you have broken the law. You fraternized with a new species; you made a treaty with them on behalf of yourself and your coven. I charge you with treason, Carlisle Cullen."
Alice watched her father's eyes lower to the floor. "Please," he said.
The only sentence for treason was death.
Aro spoke again, slower than before. "Your actions did lead to further humans being exposed to our kind. The first law is secrecy." The king brushed his fingers against Caius' again, then grimaced. "We know you broke our law with intent, Carlisle, I have seen your mind. You identified a risk, yet you chose not to bring this to us."
They could hear Charlie's heart like a pounding drum. "I haven't known the doctor for very long, but I can tell you he is a good man."
Aro laughed into the room's silence. "Nobody is doubting that, Charlie Swan. The question is if he has been a good vampire."
"And the answer is no." Caius was grinning. There was a metal lighter in his hands, reflections flashing against the ceiling. Alice wished she hadn't put so many lamps in the room.
Then Jasper stepped forward. "We are all complicit. May I show you, Aro?" He reached out.
They waited for Aro to release him again. Alice counted her breaths, wishing she'd kept the radio clock in the corner. She wondered if Aro was witnessing her tell Jasper about countless visions. Or was he watching their most intimate moments? Would Aro try to entice them into his guard, like Jasper had always feared?
"I see," Aro finally said, letting go. "We will confer."
Aro and Caius walked out with kingly grace, heads high and capes billowing. Marcus Volturi walked like he wasn't sure if he was dreaming.
"What did you show him?" Alice whispered.
"The truth," Jasper said. "If they punish Carlisle, then they must punish us all."
"Oh," Charlie said. "Oh, that's bold."
Alice smiled at him, wishing she had his faith. Yes, the Volturi didn't want to kill all of their coven—but as Harry liked to remind them, there were worse things than death. Every time Alice looked for their verdict, she saw searing fog.
"Billy, are you sure you want to stay for this?" If they'd leave, maybe, maybe she could see again, maybe her head would stop throbbing.
"We need to see what they're capable of," Billy said. "You can tell a lot about a man—a vampire—by how they treat their friends."
Jasper began projecting peace over the room. It was heavy enough to make Alice stop breathing, content to just wait; there was nothing they could do now anyway.
Renata came in first, then the kings. Strangely, Marcus was the one who spoke their verdict. "Carlisle, you are convicted of treason. You will be dismembered and scattered, your family may not reassemble you until a full month has passed."
Alice began to breathe again. She had never thought they'd be so lenient.
"Furthermore," Marcus said, sounding bored, "as you believe to speak for our kind, your coven will be disbanded as punishment. No more than four Cullens may be in one place at a time."
Carlisle's golden eyes met her own. Alice didn't need Jasper's gift to see his heart was breaking.
Jasper always had said that the Volturi felt threatened by the size of their coven. She wished they hadn't just proven him right.
The king continued, "To enforce this—"
"Marcus," Harry said.
They stared. Alice wondered if anyone had ever interrupted Marcus before and lived. Considering how little Marcus spoke, she didn't think so.
"Harry?"
"Are the Swan, Denali or Whitlock covens part of that too?"
"No, no, yes," Marcus said over Caius' noise of protest.
"And if the Cullens all come to Volterra, could they have family visits?" Harry asked.
"Wonderful!" Aro exclaimed. He probably missed the sound of his own voice speaking his own thoughts. "Yes, yes, that can be arranged. It will be good to catch up on the news from all over the world."
The Cullens would be in Volterra, even if not quite part of the guard. Aro always did get his way, in the end.
Harry nodded his understanding. Marcus cleared his throat. "To enforce this ruling, I will be remaining in Forks until Charlie Swan is turned and all vampires leave the territory. We are designating the area as a shape-shifter reservation."
Phrased like that, it sounded almost like a nature reserve protecting an endangered species. In a way, it was.
"Thank you, my friends," Carlisle said. He stood slowly. "Might I convey the news to my family before…"
Before Caius throws my decapitated head into the Pacific ocean?
"Ten minutes," Caius said, grinning again. Carlisle was gone before the humans could blink.
Alice knew it'd only be a month without him, but her heart already ached. Their family would never be the same again.