This poor neglected story! I didn't mean to leave Demetri (or you lovely readers) hanging for so long. But here we are, finally in Breaking Dawn. As usual, this section grew so long that I had to divide it into two chapters. So this one deals with Demetri's flashback of the events in Eclipse, the preparation (not gathering, yet) of witnesses, and the shocking news that Irina brings. The next chapter will cover the gathering of witnesses and the journey to America. The final chapter will cover the confrontation.

Many thanks to those who have helped me along with this story, and to you faithful readers!

Early December, 2006

Demetri POV

Caius, Andrei and I moved silently through the rocky emptiness surrounding the town of Magros, Portugal. Our mission: to locate Charles and Makenna, and to inform them that something was coming. Something that might require their attendance, and possibly their assistance.

This was the fourteenth in a series of such trips this year. Some of our targets were nomads like Charles and Makenna, while others were members of the Reserve Guard, vampires who were very occasionally called to serve but were not civilized or necessary enough to reside in Volterra. I had yet to learn what the "something" was, but one thing was certain: these were exciting times. I had not been out so frequently in centuries, felt so filled with purpose. Immortality did have a way of growing dull at times, even here in the center of our society, and it was always a relief when these bursts of excitement came along.

At first I had thought it was something to do with young Edward and his criminal involvement with the human girl. Our trips had begun shortly after he and Alice had taken her back to America. But such a trivial concern did not merit such attention. And then a month later, when Caius and I had returned home from such a trip, I heard screams coming from the lower levels. Not the first halls, which held our living quarters, recreational areas, and such- the tunnels beneath the tunnels, which stood empty except when Aro was conducting his more sensitive experiments. The last time I had heard screams like that was twenty years ago. Andrei had appeared in our ranks as a newborn three days later, wild and undisciplined but ready to begin his new life.

We in the Guard, even those of us blessed with age and gift and the darker cloaks, knew it was not our place to inquire about these experiments. But I could not help my curiosity- I had heard the screaming on three separate occasions now throughout the past few months, even though none of those times had resulted in a new Guard. And I knew for a fact that Heidi had made at least two trips recently that were not on her regular schedule. These were no ordinary transformations, which led me to wonder again what the "something" was that our little trips were about. But my curiosity ended there. My Master carried burdens that none of us understood, some of which were far more ancient than even himself; it was not for one such as I to insert myself in his greater plans. I had full confidence in his brilliance and his strategy to meet whatever might come. I was humbly content to do my part, wielding my gift to keep him connected to his allies and friends scattered around the world.

June had brought its own burst of excitement. Caius was forced to put our itinerary on hold when disturbing news reports from the United States indicated the possibility of a rogue newborn on the loose in Seattle, Washington. All of us arrived at the obvious conclusion: that Edward had finally fulfilled the law, but had soon lost control of his newborn mate. Aro was reluctant to intervene, citing his friendship with Carlisle. He wanted to watch and wait, giving Carlisle time to rein in his newest coven member. After hours of closeted debate between the Three, Caius stormed out and resumed his planned itinerary. I was unneeded for that particular trip, since he was visiting a mated pair who claimed a permanent territory in Switzerland. He took Chelsea and Andrei instead.

But my gift was soon called upon for another purpose. While Caius was still away in Switzerland, the reports out of Seattle worsened exponentially. It quickly became apparent that the situation likely had nothing to do with Edward's human; there were multiple vampires terrorizing the city now. Aro conceded that it was time to act. A small cohort was put together: myself, Jane, Felix, and Santiago. It was rare for Jane and Alec to be separated, but with Caius and two other Guards away Aro preferred to keep Alec's gift at home.

It was a miserable mission, not least because Heidi was out rounding up humans and so we couldn't use the jet. I detested flying commercial, crammed in a tin can with humans I couldn't have, and Felix was in a sour mood because Gianna was dead. Caius had been in a rage when he had left for Switzerland, and Gianna had made the mistake of speaking when his team filed out through her lobby. Felix had been looking forward to Gianna's "retirement" for two years now, and since Caius was the one who had taken her blood instead, he saved his griping for the airplane ride. Jane was out of sorts too, being separated from her twin, despite the fact that she had been put in charge of the mission. As if she deserved such a responsibility! Regardless of how dark her cloak was, everyone knew she wasn't mature enough to handle these things. I hated that girl more every century.

It took little more than a day to ascertain the situation. A ragtag army of newborns had been created, and were barely being restrained from wreaking total havoc on the city of Seattle. Their direct commander was a yearling named Riley, though he didn't seem to be in charge either. He referred to their female creator several times, though the name was never given. We kept our distance as we observed, and then followed Riley when he finally split away from the others. The mystery deepened as my gift identified the creator, miles before we came upon her: Victoria, an old covenmate of Heidi's. She had eluded execution once before, and apparently this was what she had decided to do with her freedom. But the coincidence of the Cullens' proximity was obvious. After a quick call back to Volterra on her cell phone, Jane led us to the house where Victoria and the yearling were meeting.

Interrogation was hardy necessary; Victoria knew what fate awaited her if she did not cooperate. She admitted that the Cullens were her target. We didn't know why she held a grudge against them, and we didn't particularly care. Jane gave Victoria five days to act, or suffer the consequences. We withdrew and waited, keeping in contact with Aro via the cell phone. Our instructions were clear: wait and see what success Victoria would have, and then end her and her creations. If Alice and her mate should survive the massacre, which they almost certainly would, I was to track their route of exit and then call Aro for further instructions. All others, Edward and his human included, were considered expendable.

But Victoria was not successful. We entered the field once the death-fires had been lit, but it was the Cullens who had triumphed. They had not sustained a single casualty; even Edward's human was there, miraculously unhurt. There was a strange odor mingled with the scent of the burning immortal flesh. More interestingly, Carlisle had captured one of the newborns alive. Jane interrogated the girl and we learned that Victoria and her yearling had already been destroyed. Apparently, Victoria's quarrel with the Cullens had been revenge for the death of her mate, whom the Cullens had killed to protect Edward's human. These domestic matters were not our concern, but it was disturbing to see how once again this girl, Bella, had once again caused trouble in our world. Carlisle protested the newborn's execution, but it was carried out. After reminding Edward of his duty regarding the human, we departed.

We were recalled to Volterra immediately. Caius was also just returning from Switzerland, and he was even angrier than before because he had missed the whole thing. And then after Aro and Marcus spoke to him in private, he was furious. We had all stayed out of his way for a week after that. Heidi whispered that she had heard him muttering about werewolves, though we knew better than to ask him about it. I didn't see what werewolves could possibly have to do with this situation; perhaps Caius was wishing for the golden years of his rule when his biggest problems were of the animal variety, and more easily dealt with. This political game of waiting and watching, granting undeserved favors to indulge Aro's whims and alliances, was not his style. It proved, once again, why our world was undeniably fortunate to have Aro as its true leader; those whims and alliances, and all other necessary discretions, were the reason that world was not spiraling into chaos. Caius was a strong leader, but without Aro's temperance and wisdom I shuddered to think where we would all be today. Even in his anger, Caius understood these things, and in any case his mood improved somewhat once we resumed our planned trips.

Exciting times, indeed. And so here we were in Portugal, continuing our quest to map out the current location of as many vampires as possible. Europe was nearly done; we would soon be travelling farther afield to visit those nomads in Asia and Africa that I was able to track. This was not the first time we had arranged for witnesses; it was important to remind the vampire world from time to time that the Volturi were an essential component of their society. But never before, at least not in my millennium of tenure, had we cast the net this wide. Whatever was coming, it was big.

"North," I murmured, feeling my gift pull me toward our goal; of course Charles and Makenna were together, as they always would be. Their love story, though a young one, was one of the most romantic examples of what love could be in our world. It was the sort of example that young Edward would do well to emulate before he ran out of time.

There were rumors about Makenna's origin. She had some connection to Renata, though that was also one of the loftier secrets of the Three and thus not my concern. But everyone knew the love story: Makenna had fallen in love with Charles, a human. She yearned to bring him into immortality with her, but being a young vampire, she feared taking his life upon the attempt. And so she withdrew, leaving him safe without her secret, until she was prepared. Only then did she take the ultimate risk and tell him of her true nature, inviting him to join her forever. And, as any sensible person would, he agreed. She successfully completed his transformation and for sixty years now they had lived in happiness together.

I still could not comprehend how one could come to love a human so much, but there it was. It was possible to navigate these dilemmas within the law and with intelligence. It had been done before, by Makenna and Chelsea and Aro himself. Even my own creator, Amun, had felt the harshness of his heart softened by a human girl and changed her to share eternity with him. Kebi had always been a mystery to me, and I had my doubts over whether she had actually wanted to share eternity with Amun, but the point was that these love stories between our two kinds did happen, on occasion, and the happy endings were out there for everyone to see. Why young Edward felt the need to mangle his own love story into a tragedy was incomprehensible. In my opinion, no further evidence was needed of the damaging perverseness of Carlisle's way.

But that was not the matter at hand. We turned North and soon caught the unique blend of Makenna's and Charles' scents, a fresh trail.

"How far?" Caius asked.

"No more than ten miles," I answered. "Provided we cut through the town."

"But their trail goes around that way," Andrei protested, pointing to the empty fields and forests that made up the horizon off to the northwest.

"I don't need their scent trail," I said impatiently. How many times had I explained my gift to him? Andrei was still quite young, but he was unusually dull-witted for a vampire. I didn't think that he was worthy of the cloak, but perhaps time and experience would improve him.

"Yes, let's take the fields," Caius said. "You take the lead, Andrei. Follow the scent trail."

I turned to face him, offended. "But, Master-"

"Didn't ask for your opinion," Caius said gruffly. I swallowed my protest and fell back, letting Andrei take the lead. Perhaps this was an exercise for him; even a simple tracking assignment seemed to require all of his attention.

But once we were farther away from human civilization, I felt a light touch on my shoulder. I turned toward Caius again, to find his eyes hard with warning and a command for silence. He pointed to Andrei's back and swept his finger across his throat. I nearly stumbled in shock, but nodded my readiness. Caius held up one finger, then two, then three.

We attacked together, our formation smooth and perfected by experience. I went straight for Andrei's back, locking his arms at his sides and squeezing hard while Caius swept around to the left and wrenched his head from his shoulders. I began the dismemberment while Caius brought out his torch. We both stepped back and the whole thing was over three seconds after it had begun.

I stared into the purple smoke, keeping my face impassive. Surely this had not been a punishment for Andrei's bluntness regarding the scent trail? That was too severe, even for Caius. Surely the execution had been scheduled by the Three before we had even left Volterra yesterday- which meant that their judgment was not meant for common knowledge.

"What do we tell the others?" I asked.

Caius thought for a moment. "We encountered a rogue newborn as we were tracking Charles and Makenna. There was no breach in human awareness, but he was unreasonably violent and did not accept correction. You and Andrei held him while I lit the fire. Dismemberment was begun, but he broke free and tried to run. Andrei caught him and they struggled briefly. The newborn, in his madness, drove them both into the fire. Andrei had sustained a bite wound on the left side of his throat which gave the fire access to his venom. They were both instantly consumed. Andrei is to be remembered for his valiant effort in the line of duty. It is yet unknown who created the newborn and failed to instruct him, but the matter is under investigation. You will not speak of this in Charles' presence."

I nodded. "Because of his gift."

"Obviously."

"Understood. Should I tell Heidi or will Master Aro want to?"

"Aro, of course," Caius snapped. "You will keep your mouth shut until she has been told, and then you may comfort her in whatever way seems best to you."

I nodded again, wrapping my cloak tighter about me. Heidi would be most unhappy about this; Andrei was certainly not her mate, just the latest in her long line of friendly affairs, but she had been terribly fond of Andrei. She would certainly turn to me in her distress. The gifted tended to stick together, but she and I had been particular friends ever since her induction in the early sixteenth century. Our bond was romantic at times, but only for convenience. Our friendship was genuine, and I truly regretted the loss she would soon feel. I would do my best to console her however she chose.

I could not help, however, but feel a deep sense of pride at Caius' confidence in me tonight… in Aro's. It was no pleasant task to assist in the occasional execution, whether public or private, but to be trusted with these sorts of secrets was high praise indeed. I watched the flames as they quickly shrank down to glowing, stinking embers. Goodbye, Andrei, I thought absently. In truth, he would not be missed. Still, it was always uncomfortable to watch the flames consume one of our own.

I stepped deeper in the woods and retrieved a live tree branch, using it to scatter the embers. I stood immobile, unbreathing until the worst of the stench had lifted away on the breeze. Not so Caius; he always seemed to derive a dark pleasure from the odor of the purple smoke. We waited in silence until the embers gave way to ash, which I scattered as well.

"They will have smelled the smoke," he said abruptly, turning back northward with a flick of his cloak. "Come on."

I closed my eyes briefly, extending my gift toward them. "Yes, they must have," I announced, opening my eyes. "They are moving toward us quickly, though I think they are also avoiding the town."

We met them minutes later. Makenna stiffened slightly when she saw us, and drew slightly ahead of Charles and held her arm up across him in a protective posture. It made for an entertaining picture, considering she was nearly a foot shorter than her mate. Old habits died hard, I supposed.

"We caught the scent of death moments ago," she said, her eyes darting nervously between the two of us. "What's happened?"

"How many days have you been in Portugal?" Caius demanded by way of greeting.

Makenna's eyes grew wider. "We just came up from Africa a few days ago, and we haven't met anyone else here. And I have kept my word- I have never changed another besides Charles, I swear it!"

Caius glared down at her in silence for another few seconds, appearing to mull over her defense. He leaned in, sniffing deeply toward the fearful couple, and I held back a wry smile. Caius' reputation was the greatest weapon in his arsenal. He hardly needed to speak to inspire fear. His vague insinuation would not trigger Charles' lie-detecting gift, yet it was enough to place him and Makenna on the defensive.

"Very well," he said smoothly, standing upright again. Makenna and Charles relaxed somewhat. "What are your travel plans?"

"We were going to hunt in this area for a few months," Charles answered. "Of course, we could move on, if there's any problem…"

"No, you are welcome to stay," Caius said magnanimously. "In fact, we would prefer it, in case we need to contact you in the coming months. There may soon arise a particular situation which will require the attendance of witnesses."

"What sort of situation?" Makenna asked, looking nervous again.

"At this time that information is classified. Can we count on you?"

"Of course," Charles and Makenna blurted out together.

Caius' face rearranged into something resembling a forced smile. "That is very good to hear."

There was a moment of awkward silence. "How is Renata?" Makenna asked.

"She is quite well," Caius said impatiently, then he paused. "If the situation I mentioned does arise, I will send her to meet you. She will explain things in more detail at that time."

Makenna relaxed again. "Thank you. If… there is nothing else?"

We said our goodbyes and set out for home; Heidi was due with our next meal tomorrow. I would have preferred to hunt out here in the open, but since Caius said nothing to that effect I kept my mouth shut. And really, the sooner we got back the better. While I enjoyed the thrill of travelling and employing my gift to serve my masters, I grew uneasy these days being away from home for very long. Whatever the danger was that necessitated these trips, I wanted to be at Aro's side if and when it struck.

Andrei's death was announced upon our return. Aro was careful to appear surprised by the news, but neither he nor anyone else was terribly upset over it. There were a few murmured words between those who had particularly enjoyed or not enjoyed his company, and then everyone went back to their own business. These things happened. Felix and Santiago stared at me briefly with just a hint of skepticism, and then wisely remembered some other task that required their attention. When Heidi came home the next day, we all steered clear of her until Aro took her aside after the feeding was done. Moments later she scurried past us all to her quarters, holding in her grief until she was alone.

"She'll be on to the next one by the end of the month," Felix muttered as he passed me.

"The week," I amended honestly.

He grinning, leaning closer to whisper. "What do you think? Gustav? Zaki?"

I smirked. "Me." Felix chuckled and moved on.

But as Fate would have it, everything changed before the week was out. I was out patrolling the city at midnight with Alec when we scented the very last person I had ever expected to see here in Volterra: Irina.

I was well acquainted with Irina and her sisters. My first mission with the Guard was an exciting venture out onto the open steppes of Russia, where the rural human population was being terrorized by a mysterious killer. Caius suspected that one of our kind had committed the unpardonable crime of creating an immortal child. The vampire world has its trends and fashions and fads just like the human one; in the dark years surrounding the turn of the past millennium, immortal children were the particular plague of choice. The Guard had been particularly busy during those centuries. By the time I was invited to join, most vampires had gotten the message and the trend had died out, or so we thought. Aro deemed Caius' theory a bit overzealous; it was more likely that a newborn had escaped his creator. But Caius' suspicion was proved correct. The child had been created by a female named Sasha, a relatively young nomad originally from modern-day Slovakia. The gruesome evidence precluded the need for interrogation, and she was summarily executed along with her creation.

Sasha had also created three mature female vampires: Tanya, Katrina, and Irina. They were, initially, pronounced guilty by association. They should have reported their creator's crime immediately. But Aro was gracious enough to hold trial, and via his gift was able to determine that Sasha's mature creations had had no knowledge of her crime. One would think that their reprieve would have ingratiated them to the Volturi forever, but by the way they carried on over Sasha's execution, you would have thought we were a band of evil tyrants persecuting an innocent family. They cried out for their "mother", screaming and fighting against those of us who held them. A new Guard at the time, I was not permitted the honor of ending the threat itself; it had been my role to restrain Irina as she anguished over her creator's execution. In my enthusiasm upon my first mission I might have been unnecessarily rough, though in my defense she fought like a wildcat. In the end, she and her sisters were released with a harsh warning: the Law was to be taken seriously, and it was every vampire's civic duty to report those crimes which threatened the peaceful anonymity of our world. They were fortunate to be left alive, and they knew it. I had fond memories of that first mission; it was times like those when the very thought of serving in the Guard, protecting the vampire world from its darkest possibilities, filled me with pride.

So when Alec and I scented Irina approaching us, we were quite shocked. After Sasha's execution, she and her sisters had wasted no time scurrying to the furthest reaches of the known world to distance themselves from us. Only a matter of great urgency could have brought Irina here, to face those she feared and hated. We paused where we were, curiously waiting to see if she would approach us. She did, even as her face twisted with revulsion upon recognizing Alec, and fear as her strange golden eyes darted over to me.

The eyes were not a surprise; I had visited Irina and her sisters twice in recent centuries. It was quite by accident the first time; Aro had wanted to visit Eleazar, a former Guard who had retired from service to travel with his mate. My gift was essential to the mission, and I tracked Eleazar all the way to the beautiful wilderness of central Alaska. Much to our surprise, he and his mate had formed a coven with none other than Sasha's three surviving creations. The size of the resulting coven was a little disturbing, and even more disturbing were the five pairs of sickly-pale eyes which greeted us. At first it seemed that Carlisle had been busy spreading his philosophy in the New World, but Tanya, now the leader of the coven, claimed that she was not acquainted with a Carlisle Cullen, and that she had arrived at the idea on her own. Eleazar and his mate had happily joined the sisters in their new "compassionate" lifestyle. It was truly shocking to see my former comrade degrade himself with such a choice, but admittedly Eleazar had always been a strange one.

Aro verified Tanya's claims, and the innocence of the growing size of her coven, but on the journey home he had seemed quite unsettled. We visited the coven a second time in the mid-1920s. By that time they had taken to calling themselves the Denali Coven, a name which represented their intention to settle permanently. It was odd behavior for our kind, but I supposed when all you hunted was otters and squirrels you could do that sort of thing. In any case, odd was par for the course for those with yellow eyes. Aro had seemed disappointed to find that Eleazar was perfectly content to live in the middle of nowhere, but again he verified that this unusually large coven posed no threat. That visit had led to Edward's invitation into the Guard, since by that time Carlisle had become acquainted with Tanya and her coven. The two coven leaders called each other "cousin" and met occasionally to celebrate their shared lifestyles. This informal union was somewhat disturbing, given the numbers, but Carlisle was peaceable to a fault and the sisters had a healthy fear of the Volturi. Nonetheless, it was reassuring that Eleazar was there to keep an eye on things.

"Irina," I greeted her, nodding slightly.

She ignored me pointedly, turning to Alec. He had been there in Russia too, but his slight stature did not lend itself to the physical duties that had earned me Irina's ire. Her golden eyes were dark. "I have to…" She swallowed. "I have to report a crime."

Ah, so she had learned her lesson after all. I burned with curiosity over the crime in question, but we had a protocol for these things. "Come with us," Alec said gravely, and she followed us back home. She grew more tense as we stepped inside the castle walls, but she lifted her chin and marched onward through the maze of stone halls. I graciously decided to relieve Irina of my insulting presence.

"I'll announce her," I told Alec when we neared the audience chamber. I walked on, reaching with my gift to find Aro. He was another two floors below, probably in Sulpicia's rooms. He eagerly joined me, sending Corin to find Caius and Marcus. The Three seated themselves in state to hear Irina's case and I remained on guard at Aro's side. Renata finally entered and I grudgingly moved aside. Arguably, her gift made her the ideal defense for our Master's person, but at least I looked the part.

"This is quite the pleasant surprise," Aro began when Alec presented Irina.

"And we are gratified to hear that you have finally grown a healthy respect for the Law," Caius inserted, sitting forward in his throne slightly with interest. Nothing improved his mood so much as the promise of exacting justice. "What is this crime you are witness to?"

Irina drew a final deep breath and spoke. "It is the Cullens," she said in a rush. The Cullens, I thought in exasperation. I was growing tired of that name. What had they done now?

"What of them?" Caius demanded. "Speak!"

"They… they have made an immortal child."

Caius was on his feet instantly, his eyes blazing. "Leave us!" Aro said, his eyes wide. "All of you, at once!"

Renata, Alec and I filed out in a flash, staring at one another in our shock once the door was closed behind us.

"I don't believe this!" Alec breathed. "I've got to tell Janey."

"You will do nothing of the sort," I ordered. "You will stay right here until Master Aro tells you otherwise." But Jane found us soon enough and Alec excitedly whispered the gossip in her ear. She hissed in anger, her expression as eager as Caius'. Those two resembled each other so much sometimes, it was uncanny.

Irina came out alone a few minutes later. She leaned heavily against the stone wall, looking for all the world like a human who was about to vomit. Her eyes closed. Jane demanded more information, but Irina did not move or speak again; it was like she couldn't even hear us. Jane ground her teeth, obviously wanting to give Irina a taste of her gift.

We all waited in silence for another four hours, eventually joined by Chelsea. I took to pacing and Renata began to chew on her thumbnail.

"Stop that," Jane snapped to both of us. Renata snatched her hand back down beneath her cloak and shrank deeper into the shadow of the nearest column. I kept pacing.

How could Carlisle possibly have committed such a flagrant crime? He knew the Law! He had even personally met the miniature monsters who had been brought to Volterra for study back in 1709. He had watched, horrified along with the rest of us, as they screamed and destroyed everything their grubby little hands touched, madly trying to break out through the walls to reached the thousands of humans they knew surrounded the castle on all sides. I remembered his golden eyes as they had been that day, dark, marred with pity and sorrow as much as horror. He had actually tried to reason with the little devils, kneeling on the floor like a nursemaid and attempting to hold the male in his arms long enough to speak to him. He had gotten nothing but a smashed finger and a torn face for his trouble. He could not bear to witness their execution, hurriedly excusing himself from the room just in time.

No, I could not believe that Carlisle had done this. It had to be Edward- he was the one all the drama had been centered around this year. Him and his human. Perhaps he had changed her immediately after our meeting in June, and a child for her to dote on? I found it difficult to believe that even Edward could be so ignorantly stupid- although if the past months had revealed anything, it was that Carlisle had no control over his coven whatsoever. It looked as though that failure had just cost him his life.

Finally Caius emerged, looking triumphant. "Assemble the full Guard," he announced. "We have work to do."