A/N: Here's a special author's note for two of my readers. First, thanks to i.love.oreos for unknowingly giving me an idea for this chapter (Bella dealing with the cop). Secondly, thanks to edwardsonetruelove for her highly amusing review. She threatened to chase me down with a stick and a laptop if I didn't update soon. Well, hun, here's the next update. Hold back the sticks until later. ;) But her review did make me laugh, like, really hard, so here's the "You-made-Addie-laugh-at-your-review" award. Kudos for you. :)
And… here's the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy. :)
I burst in the door a few moments later and ran straight into the living room. Sure enough, everyone except Edward was there, and they all looked expectantly at me.
"Where's Edward?" Emmett asked.
"He's driving the car home," I answered. "I ran."
"You told me, and then you left a member of the family who can't see this woman alone?" Victoria hissed. My eyes grew wide as I realized exactly what I had done.
"I'll be back in a minute!" I called over my shoulder as I ran out the door.
"What's wrong with her?" Rosalie asked.
I ran to the road and towards the store, hoping that Luella hadn't gotten to Edward already. As I ran I just kept repeating, "Let him be safe, let him be safe," over and over again in my head.
It was an immense relief to me when I saw Edward on the side of the road, pulled over by a police officer. The officer was getting out of his car with Edward's license and the Volvo's registration in his hands. I ran up to the car and leaned through the window to give my husband a kiss.
"Ma'am?" the police officer asked politely. "What are you doing?"
"Kissing my boyfriend," I answered without looking at the officer.
I saw Edward's eyes darken and he broke his gaze away from mine for a second to glare at the officer. I took that as an opportunity to look at the officer too. He was short and round, an obvious result of eating too many doughnuts. And I knew it was doughnuts because I could smell the doughnut boxes in his car.
"Please step away from the car, Miss," the officer instructed me. "I need to give your boyfriend his ticket."
"Oh, but Sir," I said with a pout, releasing the full force of my eyes' power on him, "Are you sure you want to give him a ticket? He wasn't going that fast, was he?"
"He.. uh, well, he was going, a little… a little faster than we prefer," the officer stuttered.
"But it's just this once," I wheedled, "He hasn't ever gotten a ticket before. It's my fault, really. He was coming to pick me up because there was a bear chasing me."
"How did you get away?" the officer asked, entranced.
"I ran fast," I whispered in his ear. I pulled back a little and pouted again. "Is it really necessary to give him a ticket? He won't ever speed again."
"I suppose I could… could let him off with a warning," the officer admitted.
"Thank you," I told him sincerely. I gave him a little kiss on the cheek. "Can we go now, then? I don't want to be here when that bear comes."
"Of course," the officer answered, still dazed by me. "Have a good day."
"You too," I told him. I took Edward's license and registration out of the officer's hands and went around to the passenger side of the car to hop in.
"Go," I instructed Edward. He didn't need told twice. He waited until we were out of the dazed Cop's sight before hitting the gas.
"What was that all about?" he demanded.
"My tantrum?" I asked.
"No, your dancing," Edward said sarcastically. "Yes, your tantrum. What is up with you lately?"
"I'll explain when we get home," I promised. "The family is waiting for us there."
"It's that big?" he asked.
"It's that big," I confirmed.
"And what was up with that?" Edward asked.
"What?" I asked innocently.
"That poor cop," Edward said with a chuckle and a shake of his head. "I actually feel sorry for him. Do you know how hard it is to make me feel sorry for someone who has such dirty thoughts about you?"
"Practically impossible," I answered.
"And you accuse me of dazzling people," Edward said with another chuckle. "Poor Officer Whitlesy."
We pulled into the driveway then, and we were out of the car before the car had even come to a complete stop.
"Don't throw it into park until it's completely stopped!" Rosalie yelled from the house, but we ignored her.
"Alright, we need to talk," I said once I burst in the door. "Can we go in the basement so that no one can hear us?"
"Do we need to?" Carlisle asked.
"Yes," Victoria told him. "We need to."
We all filed into the soundproof basement, locking the hidden door behind us. Once we were seated comfortably, I began.
"Alright, you all remember that I saw that message on the wall that no one else could see, right?" I asked.
"Yes," Edward answered warily.
"And you know how I said I realized I was just seeing things, and that it wasn't real? Yeah, I lied. I know it was there. I talked with Victoria, and she knows who's doing all of this. Luella-"
"Isn't that who we just met?" Edward interrupted me.
"Yes," I answered. "Luella can hide things. Her power doesn't work on me because I'm immune to most vampire gifts. She's been hiding from you, and she's been leaving me messages."
I took the next few minutes, talking vampire speed, to explain everything, from what Luella had told me to what Victoria had filled in. I told them about the encounter in the store. I told them about how I was afraid for Mark and Angela because Luella and whatever group she was working with knew about them. I told them everything, down to the description of what both messages looked like. They all looked grim when I finished.
"Why did you prevent us from believing her before?" Carlisle asked Victoria.
"I knew that as soon as everyone knew, that we would all die," Victoria answered. "We aren't just dealing with one vampire. We're dealing with a group of very dangerous hunters."
"What do you mean?" Alice asked.
"You all know that I'm not the most… diplomatic." Victoria said reluctantly. "When I was married to James, I went with him to this…" she thought for a second, trying to come up with an appropriate word, "this club, of sorts," she finally said. "It wasn't a coven. They didn't have to protect each other, and there were no bonds. There was an elected president and vice-president. The vampires who thought of hunting as their passion, their life's purpose, their hobby, their everything, could apply to join this club. James applied, and he passed the admittance test. Only the best hunters and trackers are admitted. At the meetings, they discuss different hunting techniques and any difficulties they have encountered. This club is second in power to the Volturi. They have the most powerful hunters, the most interesting talents, the most deadly vampires they can get. The only reason why people leave this club is if they get inducted into the royal guard."
"How does this affect us?" Emmett asked.
"I, well, I could go to the meetings because I was James' mate. And my less than diplomatic tongue got me in trouble-"
"Surprise, Surprise," Edward muttered.
"And now I think they want revenge," Victoria finished, ignoring Edward's comment.
"So how does this information help us?" Carlisle asked, taking over.
"We know we're up against practically impossible odds," Alice said glumly, staring at the floor. "We know that because Luella has the power she does that I can't see anything they're planning unless they want me to. We know that Edward will be the first to die. And we know that we'll be close behind him." She looked up then and glanced around, making eye contact with everyone and finally stopping on me. "We know that Bella is our only hope if we want to live."
"We know that it will be challenging," Emmett said, trying to point out the more positive things to offset Alice's morose mood.
"We know that we have to come up with some way to see everyone," Jasper added.
"We know that this is no easy matter," Edward added, "but if we stay together and work as a family then we can survive."
"We know that Bella wasn't just seeing things," Esme added. "We know that the warnings are real."
"We know that we have to be extra careful tomorrow at school," Rosalie said. "If we aren't careful, then either one of us will die, or one of the children there will."
"So we need to come up with a plan," Carlisle said. "Does anybody have any ideas on how we can prevent anyone from dying?"
"Bella is the only person who will be able to see Luella," Victoria said, "and I am sure that Luella will hide anyone else who comes to help."
"So we need to be extra observant, looking for clues like empty spots in crowds where no one can go, because there might be an invisible vampire there," Jasper suggested. "We need to look for things like footprints in the snow that have no one making them."
"Edward needs to keep tabs on everyone's minds so that he knows if anyone bumps into someone but doesn't see anybody," Alice suggested. "Then he can keep track of all of us, too. If something happens to any of us, then he will know and he can get everyone to come help."
"What if Edward is the one that they target?" Rosalie asked. "Luella said that if Bella told us that Edward would be first."
"Edward and I have identical schedules," I said. "I can keep an eye on him. If he signals to me that something is happening with one of you, then I can call us all to somewhere safe."
"What about Carlisle and Esme?" Emmett asked.
"We will stay here tomorrow and spend some time cleaning the rooms down here," Carlisle suggested. "They can't get in here, and there's little that they can do from the outside that will affect us in here. We don't have to breathe, so it's not like they can cut off our air supply. The rooms down here are fireproof, and this was originally used as a bomb shelter. Even vampires have trouble getting past bomb shelters."
"What if I call anyone wishing ill to our family to me?" I asked quietly. Everyone turned to stare at me. "I mean, I can see them all. If I call them to me, then I can tell exactly where they all are, and I can tell you guys, if I have to."
"Absolutely not," Edward said in a deadly tone. "I will not have you calling the enemy to you."
"But then we know where they are," I pointed out.
"What if they kill you?" Edward asked. "We lose the only person who can see them. You are not calling them to you."
"We can't protect you if we can't see them," Emmett added. "I think it's a bad idea."
"It's a good idea," Alice protested. "If we have them all in one central area, then Bella could tell us where to find Luella and we could kill her, therefore lifting their invisibility, and then we can turn on the rest."
"Then why don't we just call Luella now so that we can kill her before tomorrow?" Carlisle asked.
"Good idea!" Emmett exclaimed. "Do it, Bella. We can kill her now!"
"What if she brings her friends?" I asked.
"Better that we should have this fight here than at school where innocent humans might be hurt or see us," Edward pointed out.
"Call her here," Carlisle instructed me. I sighed and closed my eyes, reaching for my power.
"I need to go upstairs for this to work properly," I said before actually calling her. Edward let me off his lap, and we all trudged up the stairs. I was the first to reach the top and open the door.
"Hello, Bella," Luella said when I opened the door. She stood five feet from the door with two friends behind her.
"Hello, Luella," I said cautiously, stopping in the doorway so my family couldn't get past me.
"I see you didn't keep our little secret," Luella said casually.
"Did you expect me to?" I inquired.
"I had hoped," Luella said with a sigh. She and her friends took a step forward, and her friends spread out, blocking any escape.
"Would you like to tell your family that I'm here and I have friends?" Luella questioned. "I'm sure they would love to know how many vampires they can't see."
"Bella?" Alice questioned.
"I'm sure they would love to know that you and your two silly friends are here," I said, "but it's not like it matters."
"Doesn't it?" Luella questioned, taking another step forward.
"Doesn't it?" Edward unknowingly asked at the same time.
"It doesn't," I told them both.
"What?!" Edward exclaimed. I ignored him.
"Why doesn't it?" she asked, genuinely curious.
"Because I'm going to kill you before they even get a chance to move!" I snarled and lunged for Luella.
"Bella!" Alice exclaimed. She tried to hold me back, but I was already on top of Luella and we were rolling around on the floor.
"There's two more!" I called to my family as we wrestled.
"They can't hear you," Luella growled. She flipped me onto my back.
"They heard me before," I spat back at her, flipping her over my head and then doing a somersault, landing with my knee pressed to her stomach.
"No they didn't," Luella said smugly. I punched her in the face.
"They'll be fine," I growled. I started to twist her arm, trying to rip her to shreds.
"I wouldn't kill me if I were you," Luella said.
"Give me one good reason why not," I demanded.
"Whatever I've made invisible stays invisible until I command it to show itself. You're invisible right now. You will stay invisible even once I'm dead."
"I will not," I said, seeing through her trick. "Your lies don't affect me."
She was shredded a few minutes later, and I held a match over her remains, ready to drop it, when I heard,
"Do it outside." Esme came over to me and took the match before I could drop it. "I don't want her to permanently mar my home any more that she already has."
We took the shreds of all three vampires outside and threw them in a pile, not wanting to waste any more matches than we had to on them. They let me drop the match.
"You know this isn't over, don't you?" Victoria asked softly as we watched the pile burn.
"They won't be mad just at you now," Emmett commented. "They'll hate all of us."
"They already do," Alice said softly. "But at least they can't hide from us now. We have a better chance of surviving."
"Will anything happen tomorrow?" Carlisle asked.
Alice closed her eyes and remained still for a few moments.
"No," she finally answered. "Luella wasn't scheduled to check in with the club for another week."
"We'll be ready by then," Jasper declared.
"I don't know that," I said quietly. "Luella said they know everything about us."
"They even know about Mark and Angela," Edward added. "Luella asked me if I was Mark. I'm guessing that was just to make a point to Bella that they do know everything."
"So Bella's friends and family could get pulled into this?" Rosalie checked.
"They could," Victoria admitted. "It could get ugly."
"It already is," I sighed. "It's just a question of how much uglier it can get."