Author's Note: I would like to dedicate this chapter to Nkundra. Thanks for the inspiration!

London, England. 1663.

The dim light from the handful of candles on a nearby table flickered feebly over the rough vestibule and the hand-hewn cross hung upon the wall behind it. They were the only source of light in the otherwise silent church.

The church was starting to show the wear of its years now. But the changes would be noticeable only to the eyes of one who knew it intimately. Carlisle Cullen was such a person. As he sat in the pew nearest to his father's vestibule, he let his gaze wander over the familiar room. The only things his father had ever changed here were the candles. Everything else was exactly the same as it had been since he was a boy. The same hard wooden pews, the same plain wooden cross on the wall—made by his father's own hand—and the same tarnished candle plates. But what life this place had once had in his youth had been overshadowed. The darkness of the times reached even into the church itself.

A thick drop of melted wax ran down the side of the largest flickering candle. Carlisle glanced over to watch its descent, and then slowly regained his feet. His father had preached here for years; it was one of the only things he still seemed to have energy for. Time was wearing on him far more than this place of worship. It was Carlisle's job now to head the crusade, to cleanse the lands of the evils that plagued it. He was not as forceful or as vengeful in the task as his father had been, but he was never unsure of the ones he deemed guilty. Tonight he would lead another hunt. It was almost time for him to join the group.

Carlisle looked up at his father's cross once more, taking a deep breath.

"Master Cullen?"

Carlisle turned. A figure stood at the entrance on the far side of the room, unrecognizable for the moment in the darkness. A lamp burned in the street beyond, but it did not illuminate the steps of the church. He studied the figure as it slowly approached him. It took only a moment to come close enough.

"Father Henry," he said in greeting. "What brings you to this area of London?"

"A visit to your father that was long overdue," Father Henry replied, a slight smile forming on his aged, thin face. "He told me you have taken up his mantle. I am proud of you for that."

Carlisle nodded. Father Henry had known his father for years, long before he had been born. The old man was one of the only people Thomas Cullen fully trusted, though to Carlisle's knowledge the two of them had spoken only rarely in the past few years.

"Your father seems in fair health," Father Henry continued. "All things considering. He chose a particularly difficult path to follow in life."

"He has done what he can," Carlisle replied, glancing towards the entrance. He was very hard-pressed on time now. "Is there anything I can do for you, Father?"

"Ah, I apologize, Carlisle. I am delaying your departure," he said, bowing his head slightly. "I am only here on Father Thomas's request. He asks that you go to see him upon your return. It does not matter what hour of the night that may be."

Carlisle gave Father Henry a confused look. His father had to speak with him about something important enough that it could not wait until morning, but not important enough to go to him immediately? He felt his brow furrow, momentarily distracted from his desire to depart.

"If my father needs to see me, then I will speak with him now."

He moved to pass by Father Henry, but the old man's hand was abruptly gripping his shoulder, impressive strength flowing through the withered fingers. Carlisle stared in open shock.

"Your father insisted that it can wait until your hunt is over," Father Henry said firmly.

These words dripped with sudden scorn. Carlisle watched as Father Henry's expression twisted into a grimace.

"Father Thomas has been my friend for many years," he continued. "It saddens me to see how far he has fallen."

"What do you mean?" Carlisle asked angrily, finally pulling himself out of the man's grasp. His sudden anger had snapped him out of his distraction.

Father Henry's eyes darkened as he dropped his hand back to his side, but he did not reply. Carlisle gritted his teeth slightly.

"Father Henry…" he began.

"Father Thomas was a good man," Father Henry interrupted. "He accomplished many deeds in his life. He had the potential to be even greater. But he has made his choice now. I cannot help him anymore." He paused. "He would have you follow his path. I beg you not to do so, Carlisle. You still have a chance to escape this."

"Escape what?" Carlisle demanded, now highly agitated. His voice echoed off the walls of the silent church. "Father Henry, this is madness! How dare you suggest that my father…"

"Your father made his choice," Father Henry repeated.

"And what choice was that?"

"He signed the contract."

Carlisle took a step back, a look of blank shock on his face.

"Your father's initial intentions were just," Father Henry continued quietly. "But he has damned himself by signing the contract. And he is prepared to take you down with him." The old man's expression suddenly turned sorrowful. "You are your father's son. But do not make your father's mistake."

Carlisle took another step back, full of rage and disbelief at the old man's words.

"Enough of this!" he snapped. "Father Henry, you have lost your mind! I refuse to believe this. I have been delayed long enough. When I return, I will speak with my father as he requests. I do not wish to see you here again. Good night, Father."

Carlisle turned and strode towards the entrance. Father Henry did not try to follow or protest. However, at the last possible moment, his voice echoed in the silence.

"The beast you hunt tonight is weak with hunger, Carlisle," he said. "It will not have the strength to fight. Strike fast."

Despite himself, Carlisle paused for a moment at those words. How did Father Henry know anything about what he was hunting? Not even the men he was setting out to meet knew much about the hunt tonight. But his anger with the old man conquered his curiosity. He continued on without another glance back.

Several minutes passed before Father Henry moved, long after the hoofbeats of Carlisle's horse had faded into the distance. He slowly turned and walked to the low table with the flickering candles. He blew out each one carefully, taking his time. When the church was cast into complete darkness once more, he made his way towards the entrance. The street beyond was as silent as the church itself, the soft thump of the door closing echoing much more clearly than normal. Father Henry stepped down onto the street and sighed deeply, his aged eyes scanning the area.

It took a moment, but he finally spotted the small, hunched figure standing across the street. He could see small watering eyes staring at him, wide and unblinking. He ignored it, turning to take his leave.

"What have you done?"

The voice was whisper-soft, and filled with terror and grief. Father Henry kept walking, pretending not to have heard.

"What have you done?!" The figure was abruptly standing in front of him, blocking his way.

It had the appearance of an ancient woman, but her eyes blazed gold in her ugly wrinkled face. Her voice had raised several octaves in her fury, but Father Henry did not flinch.

"What have you done?" the woman said again, her voice cracking as tears began to flow from her glowing eyes. Small hands gripped the front of his coat, holding him with unnatural strength. "What have you done, Hunter?!"

Hearing her true name shook old demi-being from her concentration. She turned her full gaze upon the other, the angel's glow filling her own eyes through the mask of the wrinkled old man, burning and severe. The other did not back down.

"What had to be done, Annemarie," she replied darkly. Her voice was no longer Father Henry's soft base, but deeper and stronger. Her true voice. There was no point hiding what she was from one of her own kind. "Carlisle will be safe now."

"Safe!?" Annemarie shrieked, her voice echoing into the silent air. "You have sent him into the lion's den! He was supposed to make the decision about his father on his own. You interfered, Hunter! The rules of the balance…"

"Do not lecture me on the rules of the balance," Hunter snarled back. "You have fawned over Carlisle Cullen since the day he was born. Do you call that abiding by the rules?"

"I never took his choices from him," Annemarie hissed. "But you…you…" More tears flowed down her face, her hands shaking. "Why, Hunter? Why did you do this to him?"

Hunter did not reply for several moments, turning her eyes away from the other and looking around. The street was still silent and empty. Annemarie's hysterics had not alerted anyone.

"I failed," she said finally. "We thought we could trust him…but he betrayed us. And Father Cullen is damned for it." She took a deep breath, closing her eyes.

At that moment, soft hoofbeats echoed in the silence. Hunter looked around, her eyes smoldering. A rider stood in the distance, obscured by the darkness that lay between each streetlamp. The horse tossed its head, and a strange fiery glow seemed to flare out from its eyes and nostrils. Hunter gritted her teeth, hearing Annemarie stumble backwards.

"Do you hear me, Ghost Rider?!" she screamed. "You will never find him now! Once this night has passed, he will be beyond your reach. You may have the father, but you will never have the son! You will never have the son!!"

A loud piercing scream echoed as the horse reared up onto its hind legs, fire trailing from its hooves. Behind her, Hunter heard Annemarie flee in terror, but she stood her ground. She had nothing to lose now.

"You will never have the son!" she kept screaming as the Rider turned and started galloping towards her, blazing fire in his wake. "You will never have the son! You will never have the son!!"

Los Angeles, California. Present day. Two weeks later.

"This is perfect!"

Carlisle could not restrain a laugh. His family had barely stepped inside the hotel suite before Alice's voice had echoed in glee. She had gone straight to the catalogues of local clothing boutiques that the hotel had set out for her at her request, and he had only to turn the corner into the main sitting room to find her flipping through them. Her eyes were alight with excitement, her mind no doubt already forming a schedule for visiting every one of the stores listed in front of her. Rosalie was looking over her shoulder, silently sharing her enthusiasm. Jasper and Emmett had the defeated looks on their faces of men who were going to be expected to stand in dressing rooms for a day under pain of death.

The expanse of the city outside of the wide windows on the far side of the room was obscured in low cloud. At the moment, it did not look all that different from Forks, if not for the blare of city noise and the thick smell of smog.

"It has been a very long time since Los Angeles has suffered weather like this," he commented, mostly to himself.

"Our good luck!" Alice said with a smile. "We'll have lots of fun. I can't wait to get started. Especially with you, Bella. There's so much I have to teach you!"

Carlisle turned around as Alice spoke. Bella was walking towards him, shadowed by Edward, who had an arm around her waist. She had a slightly nervous look on her face as she studied Alice.

"Should I be afraid about that?" she asked, glancing at Edward.

Edward laughed lightly in response.

"Probably," he replied.

It had been Alice's idea to invite Bella to come along with them. And it had also been Alice who had convinced her father Charlie to allow her to come. Her excitement at having a new person to purchase clothing for had almost been palpable. So far, Bella was going along with it all gracefully. But then again, she had yet to really see the full scale of what Alice had planned.

Carlisle focused more on Bella as she and Edward passed him. She was leaning a little more than usual against him, favoring her leg a little. The cast had been removed only last week. He could see her leg still felt a little sore to her.

"How are you feeling, Bella?" he asked kindly.

"Fine," she replied, her eyes and most of her attention still focused on Alice.

"We won't have Alice dragging you off right away, Bella dear," Esme assured gently, having been the last one to enter the suite. She shut the door and came up to stand beside Carlisle.

Alice scowled slightly, her eyes still focused on the catalogues. Everyone laughed, though Rosalie's was through gritted teeth. She had been the only one not thrilled with the prospect of having Bella join them. But she kept her irritation mostly to herself. None of the family had ever seen Edward happier. Nobody wanted to tarnish his euphoria. Bella was rapidly becoming at complete ease around them, with the possible exception of Rosalie, having fully accepted them for what they were. Carlisle would always be grateful to her for filling the void in his son's heart.

"Carlisle, they are going to be looking for you to register soon," Alice said suddenly, her tone still slightly grumpy. "Down in the main conference hall. They'll have a specially labeled doctor's coat and tag for you." She looked him over once, then frowned sorrowfully. "It's gonna look so old-fashioned."

"Alice, doctors' coats aren't supposed to be fashionable," Emmett commented.

"They can be with a little effort!" Alice shoved one of the catalogues in Emmett's face. "See?"

Emmett had a lost expression on his face. His interest in fashion was even less than his interest in science. Rosalie laughed, and quickly distracted Alice from him with a few murmured comments of her own. Carlisle turned away, wrapping his arms around his wife, feeling her kiss him gently on the cheek.

"Watch out, Carlisle," Edward said, still grinning. "Alice is seriously considering asking you to change your presentation topic."

"Then I had better register before she makes up her mind," Carlisle replied lightly. He hugged Esme once more before releasing her. "I'll be right back."

He had only made it three steps out the suite door when he heard Alice speak up again.

"Ooh, Bella! This would look great on you!"

"On second thought, we'll go with Carlisle."

Carlisle laughed again and paused. He was joined a few seconds later by Bella and Edward. Alice let out a hiss as they shut the door.

"You can't keep her from me forever!"

Bella shook her head as they started down the corridor.

"Is this the only reason Alice wanted me to come?" She sounded slightly hurt. "Just to play dress-up?"

"Of course not," Edward replied. "She wants you to have a good time here in sunny L.A."

They had reached the elevators, and a wide set of windows on the far wall looked out over a landscape now blurred by rain.

"Sunny L.A.," Bella said, a humored smile on her face. "Yeah, right."

Both Edward and Carlisle laughed at this, and after a moment, Bella joined them. They stepped inside the elevator as the door slid open, and Edward kissed the top of Bella's head.

"We'll keep you out of the worst of it," he assured. "Alice's enthusiasm will cool off a bit soon."

"And how many parts of this city will she have dragged me to by then?"

"Probably about 99 percent of it."

The elevator door opened into the spacious lobby. Groups of people milled around, either waiting to approach the check-in desk or gravitating towards the wide double doors that led into the conference center of the hotel. It was clear Carlisle wasn't the only invited physician who had decided to bring his family along.

Bella and Edward followed him as he headed towards the conference center. A line of tables were set up just inside the doors, and the people sitting there were recording names and handing out folders of paperwork and nametags. Further in the expansive room, rows of displays advertised different hospitals, medical supply manufacturers, and research projects. Edward led Bella towards the nearest one while Carlisle waited in line. It took only a few minutes to reach the tables.

"Good morning, Dr. Cullen," the young woman taking his information said. "Your presentation is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 10:30. Dr. Arnissan, one of the event's hosts, has more information for you."

At that moment, an older man stepped forward. Carlisle turned and offered his hand, knowing that this had to be Dr. Arnissan himself. Arnissan smiled and shook his hand.

"Your presentation materials were sent last week. Everything should be ready for you," he began. "I am quite fascinated with your theories. I look forward to it."

"Thank you," Carlisle replied. "What is your field of expertise?"

Arnissan chuckled.

"I am actually an orthopedic surgeon over at Ravenscar Medical Center," he replied. "But I've done some extracurricular research in the past few years."

He paused to turn towards someone who had just called his name. Carlisle glanced towards Edward and Bella. They were still standing at the first display, looking politely interested at the demonstration taking place. He could not see what the topic was from this angle.

"Things here aren't due to get started until this evening," Arnissan said after a moment. "Dr. Cullen, perhaps I can interest you in a quick tour of Ravenscar? It is not far from here. And I think you will find our emergency department facilities to be impressive. We just completed a full overhaul of our systems."

At that moment, Edward and Bella returned to his side. Arnissan glanced at them.

"Oh, but I do not wish to take you away from your family," he said quickly. "I know several of our colleagues have taken this opportunity to include a vacation of sorts. I am sorry the weather is so dreadful."

"Feels like home, actually," Carlisle replied. "This is Edward, and Bella."

"Good morning," Arnissan greeted. "Are you here to support your father's presentation?"

"Yes, sir," Edward replied. "Or, I will be. I'm not too sure about Bella."

"Oh, no!" Bella retorted. "If Alice is going to drag me to every clothing store in Los Angeles, you're coming with me."

Arnissan laughed heartily.

"Ah, yes, my wife and daughter are the exact same way," he said sympathetically. "You are welcome to come to Ravenscar as well, if you wish. An excuse to avoid Miss Alice's enthusiasm, at least for a few hours."

Edward smiled at that, but Bella seemed slightly unsure.

"Hmm," she said. "Go to a hospital, or deal with Alice." She seemed genuinely unable to decide which one was more taxing. "Well, I really don't want to hurt Alice's feelings anymore."

"Excuse me," Arnissan interrupted suddenly. "But are you having pain in your leg?"

Carlisle glanced down. Bella was slightly favoring her left leg again. And Arnissan's eyes were alight with professional curiosity.

"I'm fine," Bella replied quickly.

"She…broke her leg a few weeks back. Just got the cast off," Edward explained, tightening his grip around her.

"And it is still sore sometimes?" Arnissan paused, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I wonder if there might still be a few small fissures in the bone left to heal. I do have a very powerful portable scanner at Ravenscar; just had it delivered three days ago. Can pick up a crack the size of a flea."

Bella looked horrified at the thought. But Edward looked interested, and Carlisle's professional interest had also been piqued.

"Just a quick few pictures, Miss Bella," Arnissan continued. "Nothing more, I promise."

"Best to make sure, Bella," Edward whispered. "Alice won't mind. It'll give her and Rosalie a chance to mess with Emmett and Jasper."

Bella nodded, seemingly reassured. Arnissan smiled happily.

"Excellent!" he said. "And I am sure you will enjoy the tour. Ravenscar really is a beautiful facility."