AN: Special thanks to my beta-reader Pixie Forever, who helped me come up with the title for this chapter.

For those of you who have read the Official Illustrated Guide, you will most likely recognize some parts of Vermundr's story in this chapter. If you have not read the Illustrated Guide yet, you really should. It's quite interesting.

"The most important thing to do is to decide how to approach this," Abraham mused out loud. "It's clear we need to figure out how to stop this ritual, but as to how, I'm at a complete loss. For one thing, Josiah might move the Carnival of Darkness to a completely new location, now that he knows the current location has been discovered."

"I don't think he will," Bella disagreed. "I heard him saying that he wants to get the job done as quickly as possible. He seemed adamant about performing the ritual on this next full moon, and moving to a new location would most likely mean they'd have to wait a month longer. Besides, he probably doesn't even realize we know what he's planning to do."

"Even if he does," Cassie added. "He'll figure, and correctly so, that we wouldn't know how to free all those creatures from their cages in time."

"Perhaps," Carlisle began, clearly deep in thought. "I will admit I'm not particularly pleased with the notion, but considering that it undoubtedly will concern them as well, perhaps the Volturi should be informed."

"Out of the question!" Vermundr bellowed. "Bring the Italians in on this, and we'd be in even worse shape than we are now!"

"Vermundr," Abraham spoke cautiously, sharing a pointed glance with him. When Vermundr turned away, a low growl rumbling in his throat, Abraham turned to the others. "Regardless of whether or not it might concern them, Carlisle, it really wouldn't benefit us in the long run. Let's not forget that, in this time, they haven't met you yet. From what you've told us, your past self - or present self, depending on your point of view- is still off in France right now, and it will be a while before you make your way to Italy. Imagine what would happen if they came here and figured out you're all from the future. Can you guarantee they won't use the knowledge of future events to their own advantage? Not only that, but you've seen how they want to add certain members of your family to their number. For all you know, they might plot to target Alice for 'recruitment' when she's still human, or maybe even go out and abduct Bella while she's still living with her mother. And you wouldn't be able to do anything to stop them, because they would be kidnapped during a point in time when you weren't even aware they existed.

"Besides, even if we can somehow keep them from figuring out what century your came from, what do you think will happen if they see Nessie? I can't see any of you wanting to go through that ordeal again."

Carlisle frowned in concern as he considered Abraham's logic, but before he could respond, Edward beat him to it.

"That's not the only reason you don't want them here, is it?" he stated. "In case you've forgotten, Abraham. I can tell when someone's trying to block me. And right now, you and Vermundr are putting a conscious effort to keep yourselves from thinking about something." Abraham instantly flinched at Edward's words, but before he could say anything in his defense, Vermundr cut in.

"Some things are best left unknown," he muttered. When everyone glanced over at him, they saw he now had a distant look on his face. It was if he was suddenly far away, staring at something that only he could see.

"It was sometime after I escaped from the Carnival of Darkness," he began. "Once I was free, I continued my ongoing search for the Red Eye who attacked my human village. One day, I came across a coven that consisted solely of female vampires. There were six of them in all. Their leader, Hilda, Mary, Heidi, Anne, Victoria, and a newborn named Noela." Upon hearing Victoria's name, Edward instinctively bared his teeth and Bella let out a low hiss, both of them knowing that he was referring to their old enemy. However, they kept silent, knowing that if Vermundr was interrupted, he would not be able to continue.

"I did not plan to stay for long," Vermundr went on. "My intent was only to question Hilda and her coven if they'd ever come across the Red Eye I was searching for, and then move on as soon as it was cordial to do so. But before I left, they arrived. The Volturi." Vermundr nearly spat the name out, his upper lip curling in repulsion. "I watched in silence as the leader, the one they called Aro, accused Hilda of drawing too much human attention by introducing too many newborns into her coven. Even then, I found the charge against Hilda to be quite suspicious. After all, I could tell that only Noela was still in her first year, and Hilda showed no indication that she was planning to create another vampire anytime soon. Thus, I believed Hilda when she told the Italians that her coven never introduced more than one newborn at a time, to ensure they could control them.

"Regardless of how the bare facts suggested otherwise, Aro stated that she was indeed guilty, and his guards killed her on the spot. The rest of the coven scattered shortly after that, with the exception of Heidi, who actually joined them without batting an eye. The Volturi guard gave chase to the ones who ran, so I've got a pretty good guess of what happened to them. One of the guards, the one I later learned was called Felix, started to approach me, but Aro called him off, announcing that I was just a nomad who had been passing through, and had no connection at all to Hilda's coven. He started speaking directly to me, giving me this speech about how good it was that I could bear witness to what happens to those who broke the law, but I'll admit I wasn't paying much attention to what he was saying. I was too busy trying to wrap my mind around what had just happened. I was still not convinced that Hilda had been guilty like Aro claimed.

"And then, right before he turned to walk away, I found myself making eye contact with him. Thus, I saw it. I saw what I sometimes wish I never saw. Aro's biggest secret. The act that he'd worked so hard to keep others from discovering."

"What did he do?" Bella found herself whispering, completely absorbed with what he was telling them.

"Didyme," Vermundr replied. "Aro once had a sister. Her name was Didyme. He changed her himself. I don't know exactly why, but looking back, I have my suspicions, especially due to his habit of placing a good number of talented vampires into his guard. And Didyme did end up having a talent of her own, all right. She gave off an aura of pure happiness, something that many would be drawn to. She certainly earned herself a lot of suitors, but there was only one whose feelings she reciprocated: Marcus. They became mates, and were wholly devoted to one another. But there came a time when Marcus and Didyme no longer wished to remain with the Volturi. They began to discuss leaving to live their own lives. Aro, of course, found out, and he told the pair that they were free to do as they wished. But then…" Vermundr trailed off, his expression growing even darker than before.

"It was a couple of weeks afterward. Aro asked Didyme to accompany him on a short trip somewhere, just him and her. When they were alone, miles and miles away from any prying eyes and ears, he turned on her. Aro, he… he murdered his own sister! Like I said before, I can only guess at his motives. I only see someone's past actions, not the reasoning behind them. But I had seen him gather together vampires with talents he utilized frequently. And, well, on the one hand, he had Didyme and her aura of happiness. On the other, Marcus, who could read the strength of the bonds between two or more individuals. Based on the facts, it's not hard to guess the reasons why he did what he did. You've even said yourself that Aro relies on Marcus' gift regularly. So much so, he most likely was not willing to let that talent slip away from his control."

"That can't be true," Carlisle insisted, shaking his head in disbelief. "I heard about Didyme. She died when she and Aro were caught in an ambush. Aro said that…." Carlisle's words trailed off when he caught sight of the look of pity Vermundr was now giving him.

"And you believed him," he stated. It wasn't a question.

"I don't get it," Jacob stated. "If you knew Aro killed his sister, why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Honestly, Black, you think I didn't want to?" Vermundr replied with an impatient wave of his hand. "Who would believe me if I did? The only vampires who wouldn't automatically dismiss me as a liar and a conspirator would be the Romanians, and seeing as how their animosity towards the Volturi is common knowledge, they're far from the most influential allies. But even if I could convince others of the truth, I still couldn't tell anyone."

"Why?" Renesmee asked.

"Because somehow, a few decades after the Volturi destroyed Hilda's coven," Abraham began. "Aro found out what Vermundr's gift was. He remembered their brief encounter and realized Vermundr knew the truth about Didyme's death. This knowledge left him extremely worried, knowing that Vermundr could very easily spread the word about his betrayal if he wanted to. Obviously, Aro wasn't willing to take the risk of Vermundr staying silent by choice, so he decided the only option was to ensure Vermundr's silence, permanently. So he placed a death sentence on Vermundr's head. And mine as well."

"On what charge?" Edward demanded.

"Inciting to mutiny." Vermundr gave a dry laugh. "And of course, there was the fact that Abraham and I were well on our way to becoming partners at that time, so that dug the hole even deeper. I suspect they felt it was easy to convince others that we were encroaching in on their territory with our monster hunter escapades. "

"Then how did you escape?" Alice questioned.

"We were fortunate enough to have been warned about the Volturi's approach by an old ally of mine; a younger vampire whose name was Tobias," Vermundr explained. "Good chap, that one. Only decent vampire I've met throughout my considerably long life, present company excluded. He didn't have any additional gifts beyond those typical of our kind, but then again, he didn't need them. He managed to become an undisputed master at the art of disguise through nothing but practice and sheer determination. Tobias could appear as anybody, from a crippled old beggar to a respected archdeacon. I even saw him disguised as a wealthy debutante on one occasion. I dare say I never would have recognized him then if he hadn't approached me and purposely given himself away.

"On that fateful morning, for a reason that's completely beyond my comprehension, he decided to stroll into Volterra and infiltrate the Volturi's castle in one of his disguises. Still not sure why he would, mind you. Perhaps he just wanted to see if he could. It was just the sort of mad thing he would have done. Tobias always was a bit of an idiot. Anyway, he managed to overhear Aro discussing me and Abraham. He heard enough to realize they were planning to come for us both. Tobias came to warn us straightaway."

"Together, Vermundr and I devised a plan that would help us escape the Volturi," Abraham continued. "However, for it to work, we had to journey straight away to the northern lands, the region were Vermundr had once lived as a human. There was an old legend that Vermundr distantly remembered from those days, of deadly giants known as Muspel. Vermundr's people believed the Muspel would play a role in the end of the world, by enveloping it in fire.

"We set off to seek the Muspel very shortly after Tobias warned us. But almost immediately after we'd arrived at Vermunder's former homeland, Vermundr heard the sounds of the Volturi approaching, and he realized that they'd nearly caught up with us much too soon. Tobias, who had voiced his desire to accompany us, volunteered to try and lead them off on a wild goose chase, in order to give us time to find the Muspel."

Flashback

Tobias had barely disappeared from view as Abraham and Vermundr continued on in their ongoing trek through the Norwegian mountain range. For what seemed like a very long time, the only signs of life the pair were able to locate were the tracks of a musk ox herd and what appeared to be the carcass of a long-dead bird.

"This isn't good," Vermundr announced after some time had passed, glancing around and seeing nothing but rocks and trees. "If we cannot find the Muspel…. Tobias can't keep the Volturi occupied forever. Perhaps… the legends were wrong."

"We can't give up, yet" Abraham encouraged. "If we can't find the Muspel, we'll just have to think of some way to stop their pursuit."

"I'm open to suggestions," Vermundr announced, turning to look back at his human friend. "Any id…"

Vermundr's words were cut off when a sudden jet of fire shot up from beyond a ridge just ahead. After sharing a cautiously hopeful glance, the pair moved forward carefully, doing their best not to make any unnecessary noise. Upon reaching the edge of the ridge, they peered down to see a pair of gigantic humanoid creatures. Their builds were akin to very muscular men with no noticeable hair atop their heads. It was their skin, however, that was the most striking; blacker than the darkest night, but the muscle lines appeared to be formed by thin, flowing rivulets of fire.

"So, these are the Muspel," Vermundr breathed. "The legends didn't do them justice."

"Well, I guess there's only one thing we can do now," Abraham commented.

"Yes, I suppose so," Vermundr agreed, suddenly looking apprehensive. "You know, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a touch frightened about this."

"That makes two of us," Abraham agreed, swallowing nervously. "Well… Good luck, old friend."

"And you."

Before he could change his mind or lose his courage, Vermundr turned and hurried off, making his way back to find Tobias in order to lead the Volturi back to where the Muspel were by following Tobias' scent trail. Before he could locate the younger vampire, however, Vermundr heard his scream rip through the air. The sound of the scream forced him to freeze momentarily, but he quickly pushed his shock aside. In a few more seconds, Vermundr stealthily climbed to the top of a tree, giving him a clear view of what was happening along the edge of a mountain lake.

Tobias, who was clearly surrounded by the Volturi, had been forced to his knees by two members of the guard. As Vermundr watched in shocked horror, three figures broke away from the robed vampires who had boxed Tobias in. One of the three lowered his hood, revealing himself as Aro.

"Tell me, nomad," Aro declared. "Did you enjoy leading us astray like this? What did you hope to gain from it?" Instead of replying, Tobias turned his head away in scorn.

Without warning, his body suddenly jerked around, and another terrible scream of pain erupted from his throat. As casually as possible, Aro looked over at a particularly small vampire who was standing among the Volturi guard.

"Peace, Jane," he instructed. At his command, Tobias instantly stopped writhing about in pain and his body slumped forward. After giving him a moment to rest, Aro moved closer to him. "I shall ask again. What did you hope to gain by helping the ones plotting against us?"

"You would be the one to ask me that," Tobias managed to gasp out. "What would you know about true loyalty? From what I've heard, you have to coerce your followers to remain loyal to you."

A sad smile appeared on Aro's face as he turned to face the others.

"It's regretfully clear that this one has made his choice," he announced. Without another word, Aro gave the guards restraining Tobias a slight nod. In seconds, they had fallen upon him, tearing him apart. Before he could stop himself, Vermundr let out a cry of vehemence at the sight of Tobias' fate. Instantly, the entire Volturi guard turned and caught sight of him in the tree. Acting quickly, Vermundr leapt down from the tree and took off running back to rejoin Abraham where the Muspel had been found. As he ran, he heard the sounds of the Volturi's pursuit close behind him.

When he neared the spot where he'd left Abraham, Vermundr started to realize something was wrong. In front of him, he could hear the distinctive sound of a crackling fire. The reason for the sounds became clear when he'd reached a mountain ledge and found an out-of-control fire raging all over the mountainside below.

"Vermundr?"

Upon hearing Abraham's voice, Vermundr's head snapped around and he found Abraham hunched down a short distance away, between two outcropping rocks, looking as if he was seconds away from passing out. Seconds after he'd been spotted, Abraham started coughing roughly.

"Abraham!" Vermundr cried, crouching down next to him in a flash. "What happened?"

"It was the Muspel," Abraham explained, in between coughs. "After you'd left, the direction of the wind shifted, so I was now upwind. They must have smelled me. They… set the entire mountain on fire."

Abraham couldn't say anything more; his coughing became too strong as the smoke filled his lungs. Vermundr grimaced in deep concern and carefully lifted Abraham up in his arms, intending to carry him to a place far from the smoke. The moment he'd stood to full height again, however, he found his path blocked by Aro and a handful of the Volturi guard.

"Well, now," Aro said, casting a disparaging glare down at Vermundr. "It appears you've ran out of room to run. Such a shame things ended up like this. I'd thought you would have remembered what happened that last time, when you witnessed firsthand what happens to those who break the law. And after that, you still try to plot against us?

"Fortunately, I am willing to grant you a second chance. I shall even allow the life of your human ally to be spared, if you agree to surrender yourself now. However, if you still refuse to give up your misguided rebellion, you shall answer for your crimes. It is your choice. What shall it be?"

Vermundr fought back a growl as he looked from Aro to the fire that continued to rage at the base of the ledge where they were standing. After a few moments of silence, his shoulders slumped in defeat. Sadly, he started to take a few steps towards Aro, whose face betrayed his satisfaction on Vermundr's surrender. But then, when he was only an inch away from Aro, Vermundr's expression shifted to intense anger and defiance, and he spat in Aro's face in contempt. Before any of the Volturi could retaliate against Vermundr's blatant disrespect, he turned and, with Abraham still held firmly in his arms, threw himself off the mountain ledge, right into the Muspel-created fire that continued to burn below.

End Flashback

"You jumped into the fire?!" Carlisle cried in shock. "Then how did you survive?"

"Do you remember when we told you how Vermundr and I had a few artifacts we collected from our ventures as Monster Hunters?" Abraham asked. "One of those artifacts is a long robe that was fashioned from the hides of salamanders, a small magical creature that is known for living in open flames. This robe can actually provide the wearer complete protection from fire. It so happens that before we'd left for the northern lands, Vermundr had the foresight to bring the salamander robe with us, just in case. And it was a good thing, too. When Vermundr jumped into the fire on that night, he used his vampire speed to wrap both of us in the robe before we even reached the flames. With the robe covering us, we were left completely unscathed from the fire, and thanks to the robe's lining, which had come from the wool of a vegetable lamb, the heat was also rendered bearable."

"The Volturi, of course, had no idea our salamander robe even existed," Vermundr continued. "So they had no reason to doubt that we'd both perished in that fire. And since they'd seriously believed they'd seen us both die, they no longer put any effort into tracking us down to execute us. Of course, though we successfully put an end to their pursuit of us, Abraham and I had to be very careful about who we interacted with from that day on. Aro was set on seeing us both die because he feared we would spread the truth about what really happened to Didyme. Imagine what he'd have in store for a vampire and a human who got away with outsmarting him and his disciples. I'll bet he'd view it as an unforgivable insult, especially when the plan was thought up by a human. Come to think of it, I can't see any of them liking that at all."

"It all makes sense, now," Alice stated, putting the pieces together. "Why you studied our pasts through Carlisle the moment we met, the real reason why Abraham started using his initials in place of his full name, Abraham Van Helsing, and why there was fear in your eyes when I identified Abraham as such out in Epping Forest. It was all because you didn't want any hint that the two of you survived that fire to reach the Volturi."

"Given our professions, it's probably a good chance that Vermundr and I will most likely die before I'm old," Abraham stated calmly, paying no attention to the expressions that had appeared on Carlisle, Jacob and Edward's faces upon hearing his full name. "I've never seen any reason to actually fear death. There are worse fates, after all. Nevertheless, I'd much rather not have my death happen at the hands of the Volturi, especially since I'm quite sure they'll make sure it's a long, drawn out death."

"And quite frankly," Vermundr added. "I'm not about to let them get anywhere near Abraham. Or Cassie. As far as I'm concerned, the Volturi can do what they want with me. I've had a considerably long life; even I've lost track of how old I really am. But Abraham and Cassie are my family now, and they've both given me something worthwhile to live for. I'm not about to put them in unnecessary danger if I can do something to prevent it."

"Oh." Edward breathed out after a very brief pause. He was now looking at Vermundr as if seeing him plain for the first time. "I understand what this is about. This is related to your human village. You feel that you lost your human family because you weren't strong enough to protect them."

"Stop," Vermundr hissed, his head jerking suddenly as if trying to ward off a fly. However, Edward showed no indication of hearing him and continued on.

"Now that you are physically strong enough, you're going to make sure you won't fail to protect your loved ones again."

"Edward? Stop it," Vermundr requested again. This time, he fixed the mind reader with a shockingly tired glance. In that one moment, he looked weary beyond any relatable measure and as ancient as he actually was. "I… I know that there was nothing I could do to protect my kinsmen against the Red Eyes who came to the village. I was just a mortal human then. But the fact remains that everyone in my human village was lost because I wasn't a match for the attacking vampires. My human kinsmen. My sister. But I'm not human anymore. What's the point of being immortal now if I still cannot protect my family?"

Instantly, Bella let out a soft gasp. She had been so concerned about warning everyone about Josiah's plot and wondering how they were going to stop the ritual, all thoughts about telling Vermundr about who else was being held by the Carnival of Darkness had been pushed to the back of her mind. But when she heard Vermundr mentioning his human family, she instantly remembered everything.

"Vermundr," Bella began, speaking carefully as she took a few cautious steps toward the older vampire. "There's something you should know. When I was being held by the Carnival of Darkness, before they took me to away be branded, I was placed into a cage with two other vampires. One of them was a female, and… around her neck, she was wearing a Tiwaz rune. It's exactly the same as yours. Same size, same shape, same everything."

Vermundr did not reply. Instead, he simply stared at Bella with wide, unbelieving eyes, his mouth slightly agape. For the longest time, he stood unmoving. Finally, right when Bella was starting to think about asking him if he understood, Vermundr finally moved by slowly shaking his head.

"Impossible," he whispered. "It can't be."

"I asked her name," Bella persisted. "It is Brynhildr. She's alive!"

"No, it's not possible!" Vermundr exclaimed, his body starting to shake with suppressed emotion. "I... I know what I saw that night the vampires attacked my human village! It's one of the few human memories I held on to! I saw that Red Eye attack Brynhildr and start drinking her blood! I saw her body falling to the ground when I tried to bring the Red Eye down with my sword and Brynhildr's discarded battle ax! There was no way she could have survived!"

"Not unless you distracted that vampire long enough for the venom to spread," Jacob surmised. Vermundr instantly snapped his head in Jacob's direction. It was clear from the expression on his face that he'd never considered that possibility before.

For about a full minute, Vermundr was rooted to the spot, a perfect statue. Then, he suddenly moved, making a dash for the door at top speed, only to be stopped and blocked by Edward.

"No, Vermundr, not like that," he insisted, not letting Vermundr get past him.

"Don't tell me what to do, Edward!" Vermundr barked, seething with rage. "My sister is out there right now!"

"And you should follow your own advice!" Edward fired back. "Did you forget what you told me in the forest just this morning? 'Stay focused', remember? The only way you can help Brynhildr is to keep a clear head."

"Edward's right, Vermundr," Carlisle said, crossing the room to his side and placing a firm but consoling hand on his shoulder. "You won't help Brynhildr by racing in blindly. There's a very good chance that doing so will only get you recaptured by the carnival. If that happens, you won't be able to help her at all. I know it's hard, Vermundr. Believe me, I do. But from what we've learned, Brynhildr won't be in any real danger until the next full moon, when Josiah's sacrificial ritual will take place. Remember, we were already planning to figure out how to put a stop to that."

"But…." Vermundr didn't finish his thought. Instead, he merely fixed Carlisle with a desperate, almost pleading glance.

"We know, Vermundr." Abraham stepped in. "Please don't think that we don't care, but just try to remember; you've survived thousands of years without her, thinking she was dead. Surely you can last just a week longer, knowing you'll get her back soon."

"How?" Vermundr inquired. "How are we going to get Bryn back? For that matter, how are we supposed to stop the ritual?"

After a brief pause, Renesmee suddenly stepped forward, holding up a hand expectedly. In compliance, Vermundr sank down into a crouch so his face was level with hers. With a small smile, Renesmee placed her hand against his cheek. For a while, the two were motionless as Vermundr took in what Renesmee was telling him. Then, they both pulled back simultaneously.

"Brilliant," Vermundr whispered, staring at the child in amazement. "That's… absolutely brilliant!"

"What did she say?" Jacob asked eagerly. The smile never left Vermundr's face as he started filling the others in on Renesmee's idea.

"Do you think that will work?" Alice wondered once Vermundr had finished.

"It better," Abraham replied. "It's the only plan we've got."