The next two weeks were a mad flurry of travel and preparations. Many of us in the Guard were dispersed, sent to activate the Reserve Guards and retrieve those witnesses whom Caius and I had been mapping over the past several months. Many of them had never heard of Carlisle and his disciples but came anyway, eager for the diverting spectacle of a trial. Some, like Makenna, seemed reluctant but were wise enough to ingratiate themselves to the Three by answering the call.

Heidi's grief was forgotten as she threw herself into the most difficult task of all. While Chelsea was our emissary to the City of Volterra and the Italian government, Heidi was always out and about in the human world at large. When she was not out procuring our blood she was busy keeping abreast of the latest technological advances, social media trends, border policies of various governments etc. It was her job to always be ready to arrange for whatever travel needs might arise in our line of duty, and this would be her greatest challenge to date. And her cargo had never been so precious: Aro had announced, to our astonishment, that everyone would be travelling to America this time. Corin and the Wives were going to leave the castle for the first time in centuries. It was a terrible risk, but the Three had reason to believe that all our force might be required, and that meant we could not afford to leave a cohort behind to defend the Wives. News of the operation was spreading as we gathered the witnesses, and there were enemies who would leap at the chance to attack in our absence.

This trip would require both the jets that Heidi regularly employed. She had made inquiries about the possibility of purchasing a third for the operation, but time did not permit. Her greatest challenge was arranging the destination and our flight plan. When small cohorts of experienced Guards used the jets it was all well and good to stay on the grid and land at a staffed airport, or even fly commercial as we had done in June, but it was impossible this time. Many of our civilian witnesses and even some of the Reserve Guards were nowhere near civilized or controlled enough to be in such a public place. In order to avoid the enormous security obstacles of flying through the expanse of U.S. airspace, we would be flying east over the Pacific, landing directly on the Olympic Peninsula itself.

Heidi spent nearly the entire two weeks in frantic travel, visiting all the countries whose airspace we would be trespassing, employing her gift and vast financial resources to make arrangements. By the time we reached the airspace along the Pacific Coast, we would be all but invisible to the FAA, NORAD, the U.S. Coast Guard and all other watchful eyes. We would land on the airstrip of an abandoned test-pilot facility a handful of miles from our final destination. Heidi, of course, would pilot the aircraft carrying most of the Coven. Our other pilot was Felix. It had been quite a while since he had been in a cockpit, and never in an aircraft this large, and those of us who would be on the second jet were appropriately nervous. Heidi had him working around the clock on simulations, but I had a feeling that I was about to discover whether vampires could, in fact, experience nausea.

Tensions were running high in Volterra in general. Renata was terrified for the safety of Aro and the Wives, and Corin, who hadn't ever been in so much as an automobile, was an absolute wreck at the prospect of flying. It threw off her gift and as a result everyone became even more short-tempered. Sulpicia, who hardly ever left her rooms except to feed, was restlessly roaming the residential halls and pestering everyone as they came and went, trying to make herself useful with the packing and preparations and generally getting in everyone's way. Athenodora was already accustomed to mixing with the Guard and assuming some of Caius' duties whenever he was out, but she was so exasperated with managing the accommodations for the coming visitors that most of us found excuses to be elsewhere even when we had nothing to do.

I was all too happy to be sent out to retrieve two nomads who had last been seen in Poland. As soon as I returned home I was sent out again with orders to return in three days if I hadn't found the Nigerian Coven. We purposely steered clear of Egypt in our quest for witnesses; having Amun along would be more trouble than it was worth, and he couldn't be trusted.

I hunted twice while I was out. We had been instructed to sate ourselves while out in the field this week, so that the humans Heidi would be bringing back could be given to the witnesses and Reserve Guards, as a special treat to thank them for their loyalty. It was a glorious feeling to be racing down through North Africa again, reveling in the familiar scents of the desert that had once been my home. I had never come this way alone before. We usually did not risk Guards that way, but Caius was going to blow a gasket if we didn't get this mission off the ground by the 29th. While no one spoke of it, we all knew that Alice Cullen would have seen our plans by now. It was anyone's guess what preparations the Cullens had made in their defense- hence the size of our own gathering. In my opinion, they were more likely to make a run for it. I secretly hoped they had. It was undeniably selfish, but I could only imagine the glow of approval in my Master's face as I singlehandedly led the largest assembly of the Guard in history to our quarry, the success of our mission made or broken by the acumen of my gift. It would be my greatest victory. I knew I should not hope for such a challenge, though, since it would greatly complicate our control over our motley retinue.

As if in punishment for my aspiration, the Nigerian Coven was long gone. There was no physical trail, and their mental trail simply led south. They were too far for me to feel the more direct pull of their minds; I had no way of knowing if they were even on the African continent anymore. I followed the trail for the better part of a day and reluctantly turned for home. This week might have been better spent in the western hemisphere; the American and Canadian nomads generally wanted no part of these things, and rarely were included anyway, but they were the ones who stood to benefit the most from our intervention this time. Messages had been sent to a few of the more stationary vampires scattered abroad that we simply did not have the manpower to locate in time, in East Asia and Southern Africa and Australia. It was unlikely that any of them would be able to meet us in America even if they wanted to, but time would tell.

I returned to find the castle in a complete state of chaos. The human employees had been evacuated, or more likely eaten, judging by the new bloodstain on the rug by the desk in the lobby. The door to the garage had been left unlocked. The guest hall was overflowing, the walls were ringing with chatter, the air was thick with scents, and I could hear Felix shouting two floors below, though it didn't sound like an urgent matter. Chelsea passed me in the hall and didn't even respond to my greeting, sweeping by with a look on her pinched face that could almost be compared to human exhaustion. I didn't think I had ever seen her look so thirsty before.

I went straight to the audience chamber to find Aro looking quite frazzled himself, trying to reconcile some disagreement between two of the Reserve Guards. I moved instantly to his side, angry to find Renata neglecting her duty. It was all well and good to travel to America in force to administer justice, but there was a very real danger in having so many vampires cooped up together. Aro had been alone here in the audience chamber with these two nobodies, and not a single member of the true Guard in sight! And just because these two vampires had once, decades or centuries ago, sworn an oath to respond to the very occasional call to duty, didn't mean they could be fully trusted. I didn't even recognize the one who was rudely waving his arms as he pled some excuse why he just absolutely could not be in the same airplane as so-and-so. His moth-eaten cloak, still bearing the creases of its disuse, was hardly a comfort. He was actually raising his voice to Aro!

I was in his face in an instant, teeth bared. "If you can't behave in a civilized manner within these walls…!"

"Demetri," Aro sighed, laying a hand on my cloaked arm, "Would you please fetch Corin immediately? I have a most urgent question for her."

I growled and leaned an inch closer toward the mystery Guard, who wisely decided to back away from Aro. My cloak billowed as I turned, flicking in his face with a satisfying snap behind my back as I stormed out and down into the Wives' indoor courtyard.

"Corin," I called out harshly. She appeared in the doorway to Sulpicia's rooms, looking nearly as worn and thirsty as Chelsea had earlier. Her hair was mussed and it looked like she hadn't changed clothes in a week. She absently dipped her hand in the courtyard fountain as she passed by, running her wet fingers through her hair and smoothing it down before returning it to its usual knot at the nape of her neck. At least she appeared to have calmed down about the airplane issue; I felt the tension in my shoulders relax at her presence and I closed my eyes, taking two and a half seconds to savor this moment of relative peace in my home. But this was no time for luxury. "Master Aro calls for you in the audience chamber," I informed her. "Instantly." She darted away, wringing her hands in worry.

"What is the matter, Demetri?" Sulpicia asked, appearing in her doorway.

I stood up straighter. "Master Aro needed Corin for a matter of some urgency… if I may ask, who is guarding you, my Lady?"

"No one, I suppose… but we will be quite all right. I'm sure you have your own duties to attend to."

I bowed slightly, hoping my irritation was not visible. "There could be no greater duty or honor than to ensure your safety."

"Demetri, you really are silly!" she laughed. "I am sure our visitors do not even know the way down to the lower levels, and Athena and I have already promised to stay here now that they have begun arriving."

"It would ease my Master's mind to know you were cared for."

Her smile collapsed. "Oh… you are right, of course. Aro has so many cares pressing upon him these days… I should not have been so thoughtless. Please stay, if you can."

"Of course." I bowed again, and she retired.

I sighed and began my vigil by the fountain, pacing and listening uselessly to the clamor above me. No doubt the "urgent matter" was the emotional volatility of our visitors, which meant it could be any number of hours before Corin relieved me, or someone realized that I hadn't returned. I hated being so inactive, especially when my Master needed me like this. But I should not be disdainful of my charge; guarding that which was closest to Aro's heart was indeed a great honor, however dull the task.

I circled the fountain as slowly as possible, but I had still managed to make a 217th circumnavigation by the time Corin returned, looking more frazzled than before.

"Sorry," she breathed, scurrying up to me. "Everything all right down here?"

"It was touch and go for a moment," I grumbled, already moving back toward the stairs. "The battle was fierce. But I vanquished my eight-legged enemy in the end."

"What?!"

I chuckled. "Spider, Corin. I killed a spider."

She finally smiled, the stress falling away from both of us. "It's been quite a week, hasn't it?"

"It certainly has. Why isn't anyone else down here on guard?"

"Everyone's busy wrangling the-"

"That is no excuse," I interrupted sharply. "Security within our walls should be tighter now than ever, especially down here."

Corin leaned closer, dropping her voice. "At least the Wives are staying down here now. You have no idea how excited they are about the journey." A rare grin suddenly quirked at the corner of her mouth, but then she remembered herself. She straightened back up. "It will be well when the danger is past," she said solemnly.

"It will pass more safely if you do your job," I snapped back, and took to the stairs to go find someone to join her in guarding the most precious treasures in Volterra. But I felt the same way; despite the risk, we were all about to embark on a very great adventure.

.

.

.

The gathering had been scheduled for midnight. Vampire after vampire filed into the Dining Room, some skittish and flitting at the edges of the room with darting eyes, some bold and pressing eagerly to the front of the crowd and the three thrones which sat empty. Others were closely grouped with their own coven members, mates, or acquaintances. We in the Guard- the real Guard- were dispersed throughout the crowd, ready at a moment's notice to address any unpleasantness that might arise.

I had not seen such a gathering in all my centuries. This room had always been used for such purposes, due to its size, but never had it felt so close and crowded. My gift was trembling with a gluttonous excitement, feeling so many familiar minds in one place, eagerly searching out the mental flavor of new arrivals I had never met before.

"Demetri!" a familiar voice called from behind me.

I turned and smiled to see an old friend: Ahmed, one of the few vampires I had met while still with Amun. He had once been associated with the original Egyptian Coven, but loosely enough to absent himself from the Wars and subsequent executions that preceded my existence. Amun had still considered him a friend, trusting him enough to introduce us when he jealousy guarded the secret of my existence from most of his other acquaintances, most of whom had ceased to speak to him anyway. It was almost certainly Ahmed who had alerted the Volturi to my existence and talent in the first place, though this was the first time I had seen him since Egypt. I bore him no grudge, if this was the case, for my estrangement from my creator; if anything, I should be deeply grateful for the role he had played in my advancement. Still, my smile was guarded as I raised my hand in greeting. He flashed to my side, as energetic and gregarious as ever.

"Well, look at you, my young friend," he began, reaching up to finger the fine silk and velvet of the cloak on my shoulder. "A Volturi Guard in the end! I always knew you were destined for great things."

"It's good to see you again, Ahmed. Where have you been all these centuries?"

"Oh, here and there, nothing of consequence…"

A hush descended on the assembled crowd. All conversations dwindled quickly to a respectful quiet as Corin entered the Dining Room, immediately followed by Chelsea, Felix, and then Marcus. A quiet murmur of surprise arose when Caius entered not alone, but accompanied by Athenodora, stately and proud and matching his strides, for she was nearly as tall as her mate. Few living nomads had ever been favored with the sight of either of the Wives, but Sulpicia in particular was, for most in our world, more legend than queen. So when she entered on Aro's arm, resplendent in her silk and adolescent beauty, the crowd again quieted with awe. I glanced anxiously around, fearing the danger, but all eyes were fixed on the Coven as they took their places.

It was a sight I had seen many times: Aro, Caius and Marcus seated on their thrones in state, the Wives standing behind their mates but off-center, so that Marcus' lack was not obvious. But it was a new sight for many of the red eyes here today, to see the full Coven gathered. I think we all felt it; this was a day of significance. We had gathered friends to serve as witnesses to our justice before, but this had the feel of a prelude to war. Many of those gathered did not realize the danger… not yet. We would see how many would remain faithful, once all was told.

I caught Chelsea's eye as I glanced around the room. She had moved to the rear of the crowd with Corin, standing unceremoniously on a chair so that she could see what was going on. Her eyes were wide and focused, though her gaze seemed to rove through the crowd. I was glad she and Corin were here to keep everyone calm. Corin herself had no hope of seeing anything, not having a chair of her own, but she seemed content to keep her eyes closed in her own focus. If I didn't know better, I would think she was asleep on her feet.

"My friends," Aro began. "I am greatly moved by your faithful attendance here today. It is rare for so many of our kind to gather! I am pleased to welcome home thirteen of our Reserve Guards. And so many other friends have come as well!" he added happily, turning slightly left and then right to ensure the goodwill of the rest of his Coven. Sulpicia gave him the smile of an adoring angel, while Athenodora's more regal smile was addressed to the crowd at large. Caius looked impatient but offered a gracious nod as well. Marcus could not be bothered, slumped in his throne as usual, but his eyes were glinting in curiosity as he examined the complex web of relationships in front of him. There were indeed many old friends, acquaintances, and even casual enemies who had been reunited this week. Half our trouble had been deciding who not to invite, so as not to complicate our mission with the reignition of petty feuds and grudges. There were some that had not been invited but had shown up nonetheless; I had no doubt the squabble in the Audience Chamber this morning had been the awkward result of such a blunder.

Aro went on. "I wish it were a happier occasion that brings us together! For we are often a solitary people, and it makes me even more grateful for your courage, that so many of you have set aside your own comforts for the good of our society as a whole. But our business is grim today indeed. A grievous crime has been committed, and it breaks my heart to tell you that it has been committed by one we have long considered a dear friend. There are some crimes, especially when they are compounded by such a personal betrayal, that are too terrible to pardon."

He rose from his throne suddenly, and those vampires nearest the dais backed away as if they had been stung. But Aro was gentle as always, his hands clasped together in entreaty under his sad face. "For as many of you know, there are times when we delight in showing mercy. There are some who, embittered in their own misfortunes, accuse us of being too swift to condemn, even cruel in our administration of justice. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are some among you in this very room"- he glanced at Heidi and then over my shoulder at someone else- "who would be dead today, were we so eager to administer justice without trial… without careful examination. I have found particular joy in the times where my own gift has enabled me to see the innocent heart of a condemned vampire, and so offer pardon and friendship."

His clasped hands dipped once and then fell apart, spread in humility. "But I have a confession to offer, my friends. There are times when we have been too lenient. Some of you will remember the dark days of the Wars, when we fought to liberate our people- and no small contingent of the human population- from the lawless tyranny of our oldest enemies. You remember the terrifying plague of the Immortal Children, those heartbreakingly beautiful beings who turned out to be the greatest menace our world has yet produced. A few of you have had some involvement in our tireless campaign to heal the anarchy in Central America. I need not name the hundreds of smaller crimes, committed by individual vampires or covens, which have required our intervention. But there are lulls of relative peace in the rhythm of the centuries, times when our more unpleasant responsibilities can be briefly set aside in part. Never let it be said that our rule is merely judicial; we are proud to fill many other roles for immortal society.

"So many of you have visited us here in Volterra over the centuries, benefitting from our humble home as a center for culture, for learning… for respite and reconnection with civilization in a world that seems, at times, uncivilized. Carlisle Cullen was one of these visitors, centuries ago. I found what appeared to be a kindred spirit in his young mind- an eccentric, to be sure, but so full of questions and ideas! So eager, in his misguided way, to help our kind achieve a new potential. I speak of his peculiar appetite for the blood of animals."

Aro waited as murmurs of surprise and revulsion rippled through the crowd. Some of our witnesses personally knew Carlisle, or had at least heard rumor of his strange habits. Now that his name had been given as the defendant, they were eager to see how Aro would build the case. Several looked around eagerly, as if Carlisle would be produced for judgment at any moment.

"There are any number of… peculiarities believed and practiced among our kind," Aro continued delicately. "It is not our domain to persecute vampires without criminal cause. Carlisle departed from us in friendship, though I daresay he had outgrown his welcome when his questions shifted into tiresome speeches… into demands. You see, Carlisle Cullen would have all our kind practice his way of life." He held up his hand in protest against the angry protest that was beginning to boil through the crowded room. "But he was a benign fellow, his speech smooth and clever in a diverting way… harmless, as many eccentrics are. Or so things seemed." He sighed. "The trouble is that Carlisle Cullen is an idealist. He was not merely content to spare human lives, you see; his true motivation was never anything so altruistic. It was always his goal to disdain as much of his immortal nature as possible. He had to become human, in the centuries that have followed. His first efforts were alarming but modest: to live among the humans. To work among them. Marriage to his mate by a human priest, and an adolescent creation, to have the requisite family to greet him at the door of his home among the humans. School for the boy… with the human children, year after year for the rest of eternity," he added with a pitying smile that was greeted by scoffing laughter. Only a few of us in the Guard shared in the true joke, knowing the full extent of Edward's misery, when he had been repeatedly offered so much more.

But Aro's smile dropped quickly. "But still Carlisle was not content. Several of you have crossed paths with this strange fellow since he left us, and have endured his proselytism." There were a few nods. "You see, idealists- particularly the immortal sort- crave disciples above all else, if they cannot change their world entirely. When he failed to gather support for his cause here in the Old World, he doubled his efforts in the New. His mate and creation were just the beginning. He made another creation, and another still. Recent evidence has been unearthed that not even a coven of five was enough- he began to grow his following in a new way, persuading two other vampires' creations to join his coven."

"His crusade," Caius put in angrily, though he kept his seat. "And that was still not enough. Carlisle's coven has now joined in alliance with another coven of five, also in North America. They are also now sworn to his perverse methods. The yellow-eyed way has become a pestilence spreading across North America!"

"Peace, brother," Aro said coolly, holding one hand back toward Caius and the other toward the crowd, who were growing agitated. I pushed my way closer to the front, anxious for Aro's safety. He was the greatest orator of our world, but a mob stirred to zealous anger was a mob nonetheless. There was enormous danger in the combined energies within this crowded room. Renata stood ready off to the side of the thrones, but her own flank was unprotected and there was no telling what new gifts might be present in the witnesses I was yet unfamiliar with. I cast a worried glance back toward Corin, but she had suddenly disappeared. At least Chelsea still held vigil, though she herself was an inviting target, perched on her chair. I was relieved to see that Zaki stood ready to defend her, should any unpleasantness arise. Chelsea and Corin were pitifully in need of protection, despite their training; they had been recruited for their gifts, not their physical prowess. The same went for Jane, but her death would be no great loss.

"We are not making any accusations of that sort," Aro continued, "at least not without further evidence. It is true that there are now twelve yellow-eyed vampires joined in alliance in North America- soon to be thirteen, if I am not mistaken. Another transformation is planned for this year, if it has not already taken place. Only this time, Carlisle's creations are beginning to create disciples of their own. It is also true that of the existing twelve, five are gifted, and it now appears this new addition is also potentially gifted… quite a coincidence. It is also disturbing to learn that one of Carlisle's newest followers is the single most lethal veteran of the infamous Southern Wars. I believe some of you have heard the rumors of the Immortal Terror-"

Aro's next words were drowned out by a sharp cry from the leftmost side of the crowd. It was Santiago, his red eyes suddenly burning with fierce energy that ached to kill. His rage was understandable; before serving in the Guard he had been an unlucky recruit of Lorenzo, leader of the Arizona Coven and sworn enemy of the Mexican Coven, which the Immortal Terror had supposedly been a part of; Santiago had fought him more than once. But more than that: he had lost a friend to the Terror's brutal violence, and sworn an oath to personally kill him the next time they met in battle. It was not long afterward that we had paid Central America a visit and he had joined our ranks. But he would never have had his revenge anyway; his enemy had simply vanished one day, according to popular legend, just around the time the U.S. had entered World War II. So it was Carlisle's service he had deserted to? I remembered the quiet, scarred vampire who had been guarding the newborn prisoner when we had visited Washington. He must be the one.

"...and it saddens me to report," Aro continued, raising his arms to silence the excitement that Santiago's outburst had begun. "that another of Carlisle's allies was once one of our own distinguished Guards. Now, again, we are making no formal accusations of organized rebellion. It would not do to give in to paranoid speculation,"- this was punctuated by a snort of disgust from Caius- "After all, the assembly of friends is no crime. But it would be equally as foolish to ignore the gradual consolidation of power around a man who was once a self-proclaimed pacifist. I say once, because Carlisle Cullen has now done the unthinkable. He has created an immortal child."

That did it. The tension in the room ignited into a tempest of disorganized shouts, conversations and a general buzz of excitement. Many of our witnesses had answered the summons simply out of boredom, eager for the spectacle of a single execution; this was more than they had hoped for. Aro waited patiently again for quiet. "We have an eye witness, and I have confirmed her claim with my gift," he announced, gesturing toward Irina, who looked more miserable than ever. She had wanted to leave after giving her report to the Three, but that was not her right until the matter was closed. "We will, of course, need to gather further information upon our-"

"What more information do you need?!" shouted a stranger off to my right. "We have come to see justice done, and we will see it done!" There were shouts of agreement.

"Sadly, yes," Aro agreed. "Justice will be done, and as swiftly as possible. What I mean is that it is yet unclear who the child's actual creator is. You see, I have recently learned that the Cullen family- for Carlisle uses human terminology whenever possible- has something of a track record when it comes to following the Law as circumspectly as possible. Make no mistake: several hundreds of humans have died at the hands of Carlisle's disciples in the past century- which of course is no crime at all- but several times they have left humans alive with some pieces of knowledge about their nature. There is alive today in Seattle a human who has full knowledge of the Cullens' immortality, and yet lives. He in fact is in contract with Carlisle's coven and allies, regularly paid to provide them with documentation and various services to support their fraudulent human lives- but surely Carlisle would protest that this human is not aware of their vampire nature. There is a police officer who far too close to the Cullens' daily activities-"

"Chief of Police," Caius amended sharply.

"Yes, Chief of Police. And Carlisle's eldest creation, Edward, has for some months conducted a romantic dalliance with a human who is fully aware of his nature- but we withheld judgment earlier this year because her transformation was impending at some future date. This," he added with a look of contrition, "was the act of unfortunate lenience which I referred to earlier. I confess that I was eager, and relieved, to find a way to spare young Edward for the sake of his creator, my friend. But now it appears that indulgence may have been an unfortunate error, for the creation of this immortal child seems to have some link to Edward and his human mate, who by this time may be his newborn creation. The timing is certainly interesting, is it not? It is entirely possible that Edward, who has displayed poor judgment on a number of occasions, has created this child for his mate to enjoy, in imitation of his sire's obsession with creating a humanoid family and lifestyle.

"So it is yet unclear if Carlisle is indeed the creator of the immortal child. If not, it is entirely possible that he did not give permission or even have knowledge of the act. One thing is already crystal clear, however, based upon the performance give by young Edward here earlier this year: Carlisle is not in control of his ever-growing coven. In fact, we have evidence that there have often been differences in opinion between the coven members and their leader. He certainly has never taken punitive action when they kill humans- which is supposedly in violation of his greatest moral standard- and I saw a great many memories in Edward's mind of disagreements, sometimes violent, between the various members of the coven, or between creator and creation.

"Consider, for example, Alice Cullen, who was also our visitor during the incident here in Volterra earlier this year. Demetri and Felix, you saw how she arrived, human in tow, just in the nick of time to prevent Edward's foolish illegal act of exposing himself to a crowd in sunlight. It was Alice, not Edward, who provided me with the genuine promise of the human's transformation. In Edward's memory there were a great many times when Alice intercepted a 'family member', convincing them not to commit an act which would have been in breach of the Law. I give you these examples to impart to you all the complexity of this problem, and our delicate responsibility in exacting justice when the time comes."

"There are other crimes involved," Caius prompted impatiently.

"I would not say crimes… indiscretions might be a more accurate term," Aro protested. "At least until the full extent of the truth is established, for young Edward's mind was unclear on some points. But the Cullens have had an eventful year, to say the least. I am still just gathering the details of a run-in with a female nomad who bore them enmity. Apparently the Cullens had killed her mate-"

"Some pacifist," someone muttered near the back of the room.

"-and she formed an army of newborns to achieve her vengeance. Needless to say, the entire matter got out of hand and the human media coverage was enough to attract our attention. The most disturbing part of all this is that the Cullens knew of the newborn army, and did not trouble themselves to report the illegal activity. Jane, dearest, you were there…"

My teeth ground as Jane perked up, her eyes wide with surprise at this unexpected attention. "Yes Master, I was there," she answered in her most grown-up voice. The nerve of her! As if she was the only one there!

"Tell us, Jane, what you found when you arrived upon the scene of the battle."

Jane turned to face us all, holding herself tall and proud. "We found the Cullens and their human unharmed. There were a few injuries, but only minor. All of the newborns and their creator had been destroyed, save one. Edward was particularly belligerent about everything, as if he hadn't-"

"Now, Jane, we are not here to enumerate personal indiscretions," Aro said with a hint of an indulgent smile. Jane dipped her head slightly at his reprimand. If she were human she would certainly be blushing to her toes, just as Edward's human was so skilled at doing. "You mentioned that one newborn had been spared?"

"Yes," Jane said eagerly. "Carlisle said he wanted to keep it, that his coven would take responsibility for it. He sought to interfere with the newborn's execution, but it was carried out nonetheless."

"Interesting," Aro said, speaking over new murmurs of disapproval. I shook my head in disbelieving anger, seeing the incident through new eyes. Carlisle had been trying to add to the ranks of his disciples again- and this time with a rabid newborn, fresh off the field of battle! I remembered the scarred vampire who had been guarding her... himself a veteran of an illegal war, as it turned out. What had Carlisle been planning do to with her?

"And did you notice anything else peculiar about the scene?" Aro continued. Jane gave him a blank look and he frowned. "Demetri?" All eyes turned to me. For a second I panicked, coming up blank as well.

"There was a smell," I remembered suddenly. "An odd, bitter smell that was at odds with the scent of the death fires."

"Ah, yes," Aro said in approval, and relief flooded me. Take that, you little witch, I thought, sending Jane the barest hint of a smirk. "My dear ones would not know that particular scent," Aro went on, "and indeed I only recognized it because of the memories given to me by young Edward earlier this year."

"Werewolf," Caius spat, unable to contain himself any longer, and a chorus of excited cries ignited the familiar vengeful light in his eyes. He lurched to his feet and Aro graciously stepped aside, gesturing for him to speak to the crowd that was, once again, clamoring for an explanation, for justice, for anything that would get them the show- and the favor- they had come for. "I will be brief," he promised. "We have recently learned that the Cullens first encountered a werewolf pack in 1936, in the same region they now inhabit. We need not make mention of the fact that this werewolf pack, like the newborn army earlier this year, was not reported by the Cullen coven, nor the fact that returning to a location they frequented seventy years ago is a dangerous act. The human lifespan is now often greater than seventy years, and thus there is a substantial risk that they have already been recognized by any number of humans who interacted with them in the past."

"You begin to see what I mean," Aro said wearily to the crowd, "about the Cullens navigating the Law in their own creative way. Go on, Caius."

"The Cullens are well known for their perversity," Caius said disdainfully, "but in this matter they acted so strangely that it is beyond our understanding. Instead of destroying the werewolves, they formed a treaty."

"A what?" Ahmed gasped at my side, echoed by several others. I was equally dumbfounded. I had fought werewolves alongside Caius before, and I could not fathom how an alliance, or a discussion of any kind, was possible. Was there any sort of trouble the Cullens had not gotten themselves into?!

"Jane," Caius snapped, and she froze again. "You mentioned the fact that the Cullens were surprisingly unhurt when you arrived at the scene of the battle. It is our belief, substantiated by the evidence of the odor that Aro has gleaned from your memories, that the Cullens have called on their local werewolf friends and unleashed them against their enemies. It appears their so-called treaty is in fact another alliance. I submit the possibility that the existence of these unsavory allies may very well be the reason for their timely return to the Pacific Northwest. I have no more to say." With that he retreated to his throne, soothed by the calming touch of Athenodora.

"In sum," Aro said grandly, to the relief of several in the crowd, "we have several pieces of concrete evidence that Carlisle Cullen has been guilty of, or at least accessory to, a disturbing number of acts which put the vampire world at risk. His influence has grown wide, and he has employed a number of techniques to add to the count of his disciples. At worst, the patterns of this evidence might suggest a sinister plan, or at least a very great threat to the stability of our society. At best, he has utterly lost control of his coven and allowed himself to become the center of an unusually complicated- and possibly damning despite his passivity- series of events. It remains to be seen which of the Cullens and their allies, if not all, will be found guilty on which counts. Our greatest priority, however, is the termination of the immortal child and its creator."

He stepped to the very edge of the dais, lowering his voice to the level of intimate confidence. "My friends, I submit to you that this is a most complex problem. I am eternally grateful for your assistance and attendance. I know it is asking a great deal of you to embark on this journey to America with me, but I hope you will enjoy the adventure of our travel.

"In a few brief hours we will be landing in an abandoned airport which is quite close to our final destination. We will now divide the entire company into two groups, each of which will correspond to one of the aircraft we will be using for our journey. You will then receive more details regarding the journey and its particulars, as well as more specific information about what to expect when we arrive in Washington. Caius will be addressing the second group and Heidi will address the first, if she has returned yet…" He paused, looking over all our heads to the doors. "Ah, splendid timing, my dear!"

We all turned around to see Heidi offering her most spectacular smile and dressed in her finest. There were several sighs and murmurs of approval in various languages, turning quickly to disappointment when she promptly turned and exited. "Your attention again, if you please," Aro called out. "One more thing, before we begin our final preparations. If our esteemed Guards will make their up way here to the dais now… no, not our Reserve Guards, please- I have a special announcement for you and our other visitors." He waited as we moved towards him, the Reserve Guards and witnesses backing away from the dais with uncertainty. I knew what had been planned, but it was still marvelous to behold my Master's generosity. And his cunning: fine words might win allegiance, but a full stomach won affection.

"We wish to express our gratitude to all of you who have made the effort to join us today," he announced happily. "And so it is our pleasure to provide every single one of you with the honor of a meal today, here in the famed Dining Hall of Volterra!" He raised his arms like a conductor cueing an orchestra, and the doors opened, bringing in a thick, heady rush of human scent.

The humans never made it into the Dining Room. Our visitors instantly turned from captive audience into slavering savages and rushed to claim their prizes. Those of us on the dais looked on, sharing our Master's small smile of utter disdain.

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.

If any of our witnesses had been on the fence about their participation, they had been convinced by their surprise treat- and by Aro's grand promise that an identical honor would be bestowed upon our return to Volterra. Still, when it came time to board the planes, quite a few of our visitors balked.

"I really don't see the need to travel this way," Ahmed said anxiously. He stood frozen on the runway, unable to walk the final five feet to the steps. "What's wrong with a good old-fashioned steamliner?"

"It's completely safe," I assured him, dragging him the rest of the way by his elbow. "I've travelled in these jets dozens of times." Many of my comrades were in the same position, assisting those who were afraid to board. Like Corin, some of them had never been in so much as an automobile. While our immortality naturally bestowed a sense of courage, it was unnerving to place oneself in a such close quarters with strangers, particularly where over two hundred thousand liters of fuel was concerned. Others seemed more upset over the thought of being suspended in mid-air over the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. Many nomads had never ventured any great distance from their birthplace, and even most of those who wandered longer distances had never left the relative safety of the Afro-Eurasian land mass. Some few had ventured to the Americas via the North Pole or the Bering Strait, and were quite vocal in their preference to travel that way.

When all was said and done, we lost a total of five witnesses and two Reserve Guards. Two of the witnesses had been dismissed for fighting, and the others simply could not bring themselves to board the aircraft. We almost lost another witness on the second airplane a few minutes after boarding, due to claustrophobia, but he was successfully transferred to the other airplane where Corin could assist him. I fervently wished she could have been with us on the second, but her place was with the Wives, who had joined Aro and Marcus on the first. I half suspected that Caius was here in the second to keep an eye on Felix, who had been making the most inappropriate jokes about doing barrel rolls over the Pacific.

"Behave yourself," I warned him as I sealed the door behind myself. He flashed me a threatening grin, promised nothing, but I thought he looked a little anxious himself. I was only slightly reassured when Caius did indeed join him up in the cockpit. We're all going to die, I thought miserably as I took my seat. A thousand years, and this was how it was going to end: exploding at 35,000 feet because our amateur pilot had forgotten to shut off some switch or other, or because some feral vampire would have a panic attack and accidentally put a foot through the fuel line at just the right spot. At least I had the consolation that Jane and Afton would die with me, and that Aro would be safe in the other airplane.

But for the sake of our passengers, I put on an unconcerned smile. Jane was pouting out the window, still sulking over her disgrace earlier, and Chelsea was trying to calm down Charles and Makenna, who had just found out that Felix had never once flown a jet before. Ahmed overheard this sensitive information, and soon the entire cabin was alight with protests and complaints and whimpered requests to be let off and transferred to the other airplane. But we were already sailing down the runway, and I was hard-pressed not to join the gasps that erupted when we took to the air. I clenched the armrests of my seat as we tipped up away from the ground too sharply, convinced that Felix was going to clip the tail right off and we were going to explode before even leaving Italy. But we climbed without further incident, and soon everyone was breathing again as we reached cruising altitude.

"I told you it would be all right," I said smoothly, reaching over and peeling Ahmed's frozen fingers out of the deformed metal of his own armrest. Judging by the panic written on the faces of nearly all our first-time flyers, the aircraft was being similarly mangled in several places already. To say nothing of the filth that had been tracked in by the more uncouth nomads, the bloodstains on the upholstery from the hands and clothing of those who had been too excited to feed cleanly, and the smells… I sincerely hoped we would be purchasing a new fleet once this was over. We were certainly a motley crew, all told; at least Caius had supplied most of the Reserve Guards with fresh cloaks so as not to completely disgrace the prestige of the Guard on this mission. I only hoped the Reserves would remember to walk in formation when the time came. Surely they could handle that much.

But prestige and disorganization aside, it was thrilling to be a part of such an impressive force, and to still be so near the top of the ranks, the elite among the elite. To add to our usual talents, we had several Reserve Guards who had been chosen for their strength and speed, as well as one that was a forward physical shield. Charles had his lie-detecting gift; that he had been summoned by Aro was proof enough to our more skeptical witnesses that the prosecution of the Cullens was fully valid. One of our witnesses, a female from Germany, had a gift of a superior sense of smell. Another witness was rumored to be able to temporarily blind his enemies with a single touch. The vampire in question was a young male none of us had met before. He was in the other airplane, no doubt receiving special instructions from Aro.

We had more information to process during the flight, though it would only help to pass a fraction of the time. Once Caius had assured himself that Felix knew what he was doing in the cockpit, he reentered the cabin and spoke with everyone regarding some potential scenarios and what roles we might each be expected to play if hostilities arose. Everyone was passing around sketched pictures of each of the Cullens and their golden-eyed "cousins", in case Alice had given Carlisle enough warning and he had summoned them to come defend the immortal child. I highly doubted that was the case, however. Irina had her own personal motive for betraying her so-called cousins, but her sisters should be equally horrified, if they had yet learned what Carlisle had done. And Eleazar… if anything, Carlisle would have avoided contact with his cousins for fear that Eleazar would perform his obvious duty and destroy the child before further damage could be done. On the other hand, the Cullens' choices had become increasingly erratic and unpredictable.

What would we find, when we reached America? It was anyone's guess. As of this morning, there hadn't seemed to be any telltale signs of the child's existence in the human media; either the Cullens had kept it contained this long, or had already terminated it themselves. It would be something of a terrible letdown for everyone if we arrived to find the situation already resolved. The witnesses would be particularly disappointed. Many of them had never seen an immortal child, and, while they would never admit it aloud, were rather excited about seeing one in action. But they would not be fully disappointed; even if the child had been terminated, Aro would need to determine who was responsible for its creation, and we would need to sort out some of the other "indiscretions" that had been committed. The executions that would follow, however many would be taking place, would at least satisfy some part of the mob's lust for violence. If it was as cut and dried as all that, it was likely that Aro and Caius would allow us to carry out the executions without Alec's assistance. That would also make for a nice spectacle. Distasteful, to offer unnecessary torture, but there was our audience to consider… and our reputation, which was now in their hands.

Furthermore, if the Cullens were guilty of as many crimes as was suspected, they deserved whatever pain was coming to them, and their example would be even more important as a lesson to the rest of the vampire world. Because Aro was right: he had been too lenient, if not with Carlisle himself then with Edward. I still thought that many of Carlisle's crimes were really more a matter of passivity and negligence, but the simple fact was that Edward existed under his authority. Carlisle was ultimately responsible for the behavior of his coven, if not his allies. If Edward had himself created the child, as I suspected, and Carlisle had any knowledge of the act, he deserved death as well. As did any who had been privy to the child's creation and did nothing to stop it or report it. As it stood, it was entirely possible that Irina was the only golden-eyed vampire who would still be alive this time next week.

But what if Carlisle had created the child? It was hard to reconcile the gentle, peaceable nomad I had once known with the man we were prosecuting on this mission. But Carlisle's pro-human ideals had certainly changed form, if not reversed altogether. Creating vampires was antithetical to any philosophy that extolled the sanctity of human life, was it not? This was a man who had once recoiled in shock when Aro kindly suggested that he create for himself a mate, perhaps a friend… someone to share in his funny little humanoid life. Never! I recalled him declaring. I could never condemn any soul to this existence, innocent or otherwise. I remembered thinking at the time how unfashionably rude it was of Carlisle to insult Aro to his face like that… but I myself had met Carlisle's first two creations decades ago, and earlier this year had seen the full "family", assembled on the field of battle around their shivering human. Carlisle had changed his tune, and now it was only a question of how drastically he had changed it. Had he truly turned into the sort of monster that would unleash an immortal child on the human populace? I could scarcely believe that. I had seen in his eyes earlier this year that same worried gentleness as before. But there had also been something new, if only awakened by the battle he had just fought in: a fierce protectiveness, a deadly and total devotion to the "family" he had made for himself. That he had fought in any sort of battle at all was evidence of how much he had already changed.

And what about the werewolves? That component of the case was truly puzzling. I knew the scent of werewolf as well as Caius did, and that was not what I had smelled back in Washington State earlier this summer. Could I have been mistaken- perhaps the stench of Carlisle's executions had overpowered the scent, or caused some change in it? Perhaps this American breed simply smelled different than their Eurasian cousins. And if Aro had learned of their existence from Edward's memories back in March, why had nothing been done about it before now? Even if the threat of their existence was not judged to be an urgent threat, it would have been a small matter for our cohort to deal with them while we were in America, once we had dealt with the mess Victoria and the Cullens had caused. But instead they were still alive, and possibly trained to do the Cullens' bidding. What if Caius was right? What if moving back to the Olympic Peninsula was part of some great plan... and being closer to their Alaskan allies and their pet wolves was a part of that plan?

I reflected on the speech Aro had given in the Dining Room. It was easy to see through the eloquence and duty with which he addressed the half-civilized mob; Aro hated to think ill of his old friend. It was not my place to critique my Master, but he had said it himself: he was generous to a fault sometimes. Caius himself had, on countless occasions, had to argue and persuade and thunder against Aro's reluctance upon the event of necessary prosecutions. Even once guilty verdicts had been delivered, Aro occasionally snatched a defendant away from death at the final second, desperate to find a way, within the Law, to offer pardon or reprieve. Sometimes his mercy prevailed, aided by the insight of his gift, but more often Caius had his way. And, truly, it was good that Caius was there to provide that balance. Aro was the finest leader our kind had ever been blessed with, there was no doubt on that count, but he did need Caius' ruthlessness to balance him. Marcus had been his first companion, long ago before any of us Guards had been conceived; but Marcus was also tenderhearted, sometimes pitching himself against Caius' harsh verdicts as well. In those times, Aro was forced to cast the deciding vote.

He had, I thought, performed this task with fairness, but again, he tended toward pardon perhaps a little too often. He had even found it within his generous heart to forgive the wretched remnants of the Romanian coven, for example. His generosity toward Amun was more understandable, since Amun had wisely offered his allegiance at the right moment. Though it did sometimes perplex me why we let liabilities like that exist. There was the same issue with the Southern Covens who were permitted to continue the Wars, so long as they did so discreetly. It was, surely, a matter of politics and intrigue, too full of secrets and complicated historical reasons that us younger Guards could not fully understand. But I wondered now how many times sentiment had played into those decisions, when perhaps it should not have.

Aro seemed to have been trying, throughout his speech today, to convince himself that Carlisle surely could not have done the things he stood accused of. That surely his friend, once a confidante and kindred spirit, could not be the center of what appeared to be the beginnings of an organized rebellion against the Volturi… against him. His sentimental heart was reaching for a way to excuse Carlisle for that betrayal, and at least some of the indiscretions that had been listed.

But the fact remained: the crime of negligence, when it was of this magnitude, was nonetheless punishable by death. It had to be, or we would soon have more trouble on our hands. Justice, at its most basic level, served two purposes: to stop criminals and contain any damage they had wreaked, and to inspire the rest of the vampire world to obey the Law to its fullest extent. Half-measures were unacceptable, and now we were seeing the result of Aro's lenience. Even if the child's horrors had not yet made national news, we would no doubt spend several days cleaning up the local damage. I loved my Master, but I sincerely hoped he would take this sad lesson to heart.

"Well Demetri," Chelsea said, interrupting my train of thought. "What do you think we will find in America?" Her sharp gaze pierced through my tension, and I felt myself begin to relax. She wasn't nearly as good as Corin, but it was a relief to have her here. I hadn't realized I was so tense.

"I was wondering that myself," I began, ignoring Afton's rude stare. He had been especially difficult lately, because Chelsea and I had been spending more time together. It wasn't my doing, though; this was just how these things went with duty shifts and such. Every time I had returned from one of my searching missions with Caius, it seemed she had always been on duty up at the front, or in the Audience Chamber or whatnot. What with the stress of recent events, it was understandable that she might need to attend our Master more frequently. "It's quite possible the immortal child has already been disposed of," I said. "We may find that hostilities over the child's fate have divided the Cullens." I drew closer, lowering my voice. "And Alice Cullen will surely have seen what is coming. They may have run or called upon their allies in Alaska."

"They have called upon more than that," Ahmed said ominously. I turned back around to face him with a frown; this was the second time that he had overheard something not meant for his ears. Apparently his hearing was keener than average.

"What do you mean?" Afton asked him.

Ahmed leaned forward. "I mean that news of this expedition is common knowledge already- in both hemispheres. How do you think I learned of it?"

"Of course the news of our gathering has spread," I said impatiently. "But what do you mean by 'called'?"

"I mean that Carlisle Cullen himself was in Europe less than a fortnight ago. Or at least in the British Isles. Rumor has it he was visiting friends there. Interesting time for a casual visit, don't you think?"

Chelsea frowned, folding her hands together on her lap. "I was not aware Carlisle still had connections in that region."

"Perhaps he was seeking refuge with friends," Afton offered. "If he saw judgment coming. Maybe his coven is on the run already."

Ahmed shook his head. "It was only him and his mate. And his visit was very brief."

"Where are you hearing all these things, exactly?" I challenged.

"Ah, my friend, you have never lived out in the world. We nomads like to gossip, you know, and this sort of news travels fast. But I was also skeptical, so I did a little hacking. Carlisle and Esme Cullen both had airline reservations in and out of Dublin, less than a fortnight ago, as I said. So I think he was inviting his red-eyed friends to come to his defense."

"Against us?" I said incredulously.

"Have you reported these things?" Jane asked sharply, inviting herself into the conversation. "Have you given Aro your hand?"

He shrugged. "I am confident our leaders have the information they need. Surely they will not wish to be bothered with the idle speculation of-"

"Forget your speculations!" I said angrily. "You have concrete evidence of Carlisle rushing to contact his acquaintances once he saw us coming- of course they need to be bothered with information like that! Get Caius," I snapped, looking up at Jane. She glowered at me but went up to the cockpit. We had a captive audience by now, vampires turned toward us in their seats and perches along the walls, watching and listening as the scandal grew more exciting.

"Aren't you curious, Demetri, where Carlisle was flying to when he left Dublin?" Ahmed asked me, a sly grin pulling at his lips.

"Back to America, I imagine," I said irritably. "To coordinate this army you seem to think he is building."

"Did I say army? I don't recall saying that."

I sighed, readjusting my cloak against the seat. It was going to have creases in it. "Where, Ahmed? Spit it out."

"Cairo."

I didn't have time to respond; Caius had already stormed into the cabin and was demanding that Ahmed tell him everything he knew. I tuned them out and stared out the window, uncomfortable at the possibility that Amun might be involved in this… and on the wrong side, at that. I saw no reason why Amun should even be associated with Carlisle in the first place, nor why he would risk his neck to support anyone who was in trouble like this. He was on thin ice was it was. But what if he was there when we arrived? What if I was going to see my creator again, in a matter of mere hours? I felt a long-dead stirring of affection for the man I had once called Father. I hoped, for his sake, that he was staying as far from this mess as possible.

Not that I feel any loyalty towards Amun, I thought next, to assure Aro the next time he took my thoughts. He is an old fool, and he is an even greater fool if he has allied himself with your enemies. With Carlisle, I amended quickly. It remained to be seen if Carlisle would prove to be an enemy, instead of just a criminally negligent aberration. I hoped, for Aro's sake, that he could be found innocent of the stronger charges. At least I tried to hope for that… I should hope for that. The truth was that all of us had heard enough of the Cullens' antics to last us an eternity, and we wished to hear no more. I wanted Carlisle and his disciples to burn, not so much for their pettier crimes but for their disdain for my Master. For their disrespect, for their arrogance… for their betrayal. For how they had hurt him. After all he had done! After all he had forgiven!

What had I been thinking earlier?! How could I have looked at my Master with loving pity, grateful he shared the reins of justice with Caius, that he might temper Aro's kindness? I glanced at Caius now, practically snarling and spitting in his rage as Ahmed reported all he knew of Carlisle's travels. And I was no better- sitting here, eager and aching to destroy our enemies, practically gnashing my teeth as I thought of the joy of tearing Carlisle's hypocritical head from his shoulders. This was the darkest underside of our nature, that our thin gloss of civility was so easily broken through by our ferocity… our cruelty. It was Aro who tempered Caius, not the other way around! It was Aro, his calm civility equal to his genius, that held our volatile society steady at its helm.

Ruthless, heartless tyrants had once prevailed in Romania, in Egypt… and it was Aro who had healed the vampire and the human worlds from those tyrannies. Justice, ending in mercy, had proved the wisest course again and again- how could I have forgotten that? I burned in my shame, silently pleading for Aro's forgiveness yet again. Why had my heart been so restless lately? It took so little for a millennium of generosity to be forgotten. I had been nothing when Aro found me, and he had raised me up to become one of the most privileged, most feared vampires in all the world. And yet here I sat, lounging in the luxury of his favor and casually picking apart his qualifications even as I strained at the leash of civilized justice, slavering for-

"Demetri?" Chelsea said, her hand touching my shoulder and bringing me out of my dark thoughts. She looked worried.

"What?!" I growled, pulling away from her touch. Afton was glaring at me again, and I couldn't fully blame him. It wasn't Chelsea's fault that I needed her frequent attention. She backed away, but kept staring at me until I began to relax again. It felt like the plane was going in circles. I laid my head back against the headrest of my seat, kneading my forehead and blinking like a human who had run out of coffee. Vampires just weren't meant to exist at this altitude. Across the aisle, Charles was looking out of sorts himself.

"What's your problem?" I asked irritably.

Charles' eyes drifted forward to where Ahmed was still talking with Caius. He opened his mouth slightly, then shut it again. "Nothing," he decided, before twining his arm with Makenna's and tilting his head back against the seat, as I had just done.

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We landed in Singapore, but only long enough to refuel. We were ordered to stay immobile in our seats, as there were human workers very near the airplanes. Caius felt it was too risky to take Ahmed over to the other airplane to give Aro his hand and ascertain the full truth of the gossip he had brought, so the information would have to keep until we landed in America.

"You could tell Aro everything over the radio," I suggested.

"What for?" Caius snapped, looking most uncomfortable crammed into his seat for the sake of the humans dotting the runway. He did his flying standing up. "It won't help anything for him to find out a few hours earlier. I hate talking on those things."

We had some excitement just as we were taking off again. One of the human workers took a spill on the pavement outside, foolishly pulling up his shirtsleeve to reveal a new bloody gash. Wonderful. I jumped out of my seat, sprinting to intercept Charles as he dove toward the window. He was tall but spindly; I checked my force as I hit him, afraid I would overpower him too easily and crash him right into the windows myself. But he was even easier to manage than I expected, struggling only briefly and with hardly any force.

"They are lying."

His whisper, just barely audible against my ear, took only an instant. "My apologies," he said loudly, breaking away from my hold and returning to his seat. Two of the vampires nearest him nodded in commiseration, and one laughed, leaning past his seatmate to catch a glimpse of the blood as Felix nudged the airplane away from the fuel hoses. Charles himself was quite composed, his eyes still a healthy red as though he hadn't just lost complete control of himself. He held my gaze meaningfully for a final moment, and then he turned in his seat to listen to some nomad friend or other that wanted to tell him of an exciting "accident" of his own a few years back.

They are lying. What was that supposed to mean? Nobody had even been talking in the moments before his little display. Then I remembered his discomfort earlier when Ahmed and Caius had been talking about Carlisle's recent travels. Was it possible that Ahmed had cooked the whole thing up, trying to advance himself in Aro's favor? If so, it was a grave mistake; false testimony of any sort was met with serious consequences. I considered bringing Charles' concern to Caius, but there seemed to have been a reason for his discretion. Perhaps there was someone on the plane with us who it needed to be kept from? I took my seat again, turning slightly to look at each and every vampire dotted throughout the cabin. There were so many I did not know or trust, and we had already said too much in front of them as it was.

It did not matter. In a few hours Ahmed would give Aro his testimony and his thoughts, and all would be laid bare.

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After another stop to refuel and endless hours of the airplanes droning in unison over the dark waters of the Pacific, we reached the Olympic Peninsula. It was a relief to finally disembark; the earth had never felt so solid since my first flight nearly a century ago. But I had to admit, Felix had done well. Our first-time flyers scrambled out of the airplane as if it was on fire, several announcing that Aro couldn't offer them enough blood to do that again. They'd take the long way home.

Caius immediately took Ahmed to Aro, nearly everyone in our plane following behind. The two crowds mingled, eager to share this latest gossip and the horror stories from their respective flights in hushed whispers while Aro took Ahmed's hand.

His expression changed gradually from sadness to horror. His eyes opened even as he still grasped Ahmed's fingers. He finally released him and slowly turned first to face Caius, and then the assembled crowd.

"It is true," he said gravely. "Carlisle has indeed been scrambling to visit his allies abroad in preparation for his defense."

"If it was ever indeed a defense in the first place," Caius hissed, staring into the woods toward our quarry. I turned and stared as well, stretching out in anger with my gift. I could just barely discern a crowd of familiar minds, too tangled and distant to be sorted out yet.

Aro held up his hands in warning. "Now, Caius-"

"Look at the facts, brother!" Caius all but shrieked. "The Cullens do not merely see themselves as above the Law- they seek to throw it down! With the creation of this child, they have summoned us, dared us to confront them!" A chorus of hisses and snarls answered him, our righteous anger stirring anew with this outrageous news.

"They are gathered," I confirmed, raising my voice and pointing toward the south. "I need to get closer to identify them, but there are many. Far too many to be just the Cullens and their domestic allies."

"Let us move closer," Aro said calmly, but his eyes were wide with anticipation… or with dread. "We will pause once more and make our final arrangements then. Lead on, Demetri."

I surged forward into the trees, burning with pride at his words. We picked, climbed, and slashed our way through the snow-laced forest, soon crossing two scent trails that I did not recognize. How many had Carlisle summoned to challenge us?!

I still could not sift through the mass of vampires now less than three miles in front of us, but I could seek for those I expected to find. I spoke them aloud as I confirmed their presence, my fury mounting with each report. "Edward is there… Carlisle. His mate Esme. Emmett and Rosalie."

"And... young Alice?" Aro asked. I strained to find her, finally shaking my head. "Ah!" he sighed, his voice coming out somewhat higher. "It is as I expected then. Once again she has separated herself from the sins of her coven."

"A wise decision," Caius offered.

I resumed my search, absently picking my way through the brambles as I focused. "Tanya and Katrina… Eleazar." I nearly screamed his name through my clenched teeth. My fellow Guards were beyond enraged at this, spewing their disbelief and insults for the traitor. There was a commotion as Irina grew more upset upon hearing the names of her sisters. She finally had to be subdued and dragged along by Felix as we moved forward. I sought next for the mind I suspected was the fruit of Carlisle's recent flight to Ireland. "Siobhan," I called out, earning a hissed oath from Caius in Greek.

Finally, I held my breath and reached for the one mind I hoped I would not find. I found it. I reluctantly turned and did my duty. "Amun has come."

This excited the civilian witnesses more than any other name. Aro finally had to turn and wave his arms for quiet. "And," he said, turning to me again. "Have they come? Could they have dared?"

There was no need to ask who he meant. I stretched out my gift once more, almost laughing as I found them. Unbelievable. "They have. The Romanians are both here."

The witnesses grew even more excited, if that were possible. The spectacle was getting better and better as it neared, all the ancient heroes and villains taking their places on the stage to wage battle once again. I picked up the pace and we were soon crossing more scent trails, as well as the bitter stench of the Cullens' foul new pets.

"The wolves," Caius announced in triumph, his agitation settling into a deadly calm. The others quieted as well in their readiness and fear; they finally understood that they might be in danger. I finally turned and stopped near the edge of the woods, impatiently waiting for everyone else. Several hundred yards ahead I could see a break in the dense wall of evergreens; the Cullens had chosen an open battleground, then. I shivered with rage at their blasphemy, trembling until I was frozen solid. My comrades caught up first, the Wives now bringing up the rear and the Three beside them.

"My friends," Aro called softly, so that those farthest away leaned closer to hear. "History will be made here today. Our hand has been forced, and I fear our enemies have gathered all they could to meet us. Those of you who are our dear friends, but not in our service, I bid you to take care; I have not brought you here to die. I simply ask that you bear witness to the justice that must, sadly, be exacted."

The witnesses gave various quiet answers (and some not so quiet), but from the dangerous light in their eyes I thought many of them would indeed choose to fight with us, if it came to that. They were welcome, so long as they stayed out of our way and obeyed orders. Caius gave the final commands for the approach: we would form a diamond as we exited the woods. The Reserves would form the perimeter and the darkest cloaks would be in the center directly around the Three and ahead of the Wives, who would be under the direct care of Zaki and Santiago.

I stepped back toward the center, my individual rage gelling with everyone else's into a deadly silence as the war machine was formed. My first task was fulfilled; I was a soldier again, one part of a whole. We were no longer a mix-matched crowd of Guards and Guards, but a single mass of energy. A weapon, passive and coiled, waiting only for the command of those who wielded it.

"Hoods," Caius said at last, and the solemnity of the moment fell upon us all. Fury gave way to duty and obedience. We all drew our hoods low over our faces and advanced, bringing judgment and death to all those who dared ask for it.