A/N: The last one was too short, and I'm taking a day off tomorrow. So I decided to put another up. Hope you like it.

Chapter Six

I couldn't sleep.

That's no surprise, really, with me being a vampire and all. I just wasn't able to lay down, close my eyes, and think as I usually do. I wasn't able to enjoy the serenity that the nighttime had brought. I wasn't able to move, my body had become paralyzed as one word tortured me relentlessly. Edward. He was the reason for my suffering, the reason that I could not enjoy my life: human or vampire. After three years you would think that he would have disappeared from my mind. But he hadn't, my human side was as much in love with him as ever. And that thought petrified me, to think that I could not let a simple love go. He had let me go, himself. His words made me shiver in fright as I recalled the day.

"I never loved you, Bella."

Of course he had never been in love with me! How foolish was I to think otherwise? After all, Edward Cullen was a bronze-haired angel. He was every woman's dream and every man's envy. I loved every part of him; his musical laugh, his sweet crooked smile, his brilliant topaz eyes…but had he loved anything back? No, he had proven that he hadn't the night he told me he never wanted to see me again. Remembering it made me sick to my stomach. Just as I was feeling my stomach rise to the back of my throat, the door cracked open and a figure slid in: Sparrow.

"Hey," She said softly, sliding onto a spot on the mattress beside me. She bent her arms on crossed her legs, resting her chin on her folded hands, and looked up at me cautiously. "You feeling okay? We didn't hear you fall out of bed as usual." She stated calmly, attempting to amuse me with reminders of my clumsiness.

"I've just been thinking…" I replied, not wishing for the humor that Sparrow usually brought into our conversations. This morning I wanted to be left alone, miserable with myself. "It's hard to explain." I admitted finally. But being the good Sparrow that I knew and loved so well, she guessed it.

Lowering her voice dramatically so that other vampires couldn't hear, she leaned forward. "Are you nervous about the visit from the Cullens?" I nodded, ashamed. "I am too, but it's nothing to worry about. I mean, they have vamp sons and daughters our age, so it shouldn't be that horrible." The way she said it in her accent made me almost believe her. But still I shook my head, unnerved.

"It's…more than that." I drew in a breath; the human response helped calm me immensely. Then, I recounted my story of my love for the youngest Cullen and how he had left me heartbroken in the end. When I told her how he left, her eyes widened in shock.

"What a dense, undeserving, callous, damned-as-he-will-ever-be vampire!" Each word she spat out made me mentally flinch. I had never seen Sparrow get so upset over dealings with the heart. Yet here she sat before me, spitting as madly as a rattlesnake. "I'll hunt him down and cut out his dead heart! I'll kindle a fire where the real heart should have been! How could a vampire be so blind?"

"Really, Sparrow. I'll get over it." I replied, wincing at her unkind expression. "I have been over it. It's just that seeing Dr. Cullen brought back unpleasant memories, that's all." But even after I had relayed this information, she was still not convinced.

"I'm telling everyone: Chantal and Hope. I'm also telling Will, Hunter, Trey, and Chase. Like a good sister should." She replied firmly, rising to leave. I grabbed her arm, strangely alarmed.

"No, don't!" I cried, tears starting to form. "I wasn't even going to tell you! It was supposed to remain a secret!"

"Karma, do you really expect to be able to face that vile wretch when the Cullens come to visit in a few days?" Seeing her point, I shook my head no, afraid to meet her gaze. "That's what I thought. Now I'm going to get them and we shall devise a plan of action. That's what caring coven members do, Karm." And with that, she left me alone in my room, wondering what chaos I had created with a simple memory.

Fifteen minutes later, I was sitting in one of the leather lounge chairs of the library. The members of the coven, with the exception of Edmund and Aida, were all sitting in various chairs near me, listening to Sparrow as she told my story. We had told Edmund and Aida that we were having a little discussion on how we should greet the Cullens, not wanting to increase any suspicion that they already had of us. I bit my lip and focused my gaze on the aging books that stocked the shelves, slowly reading the peeling titles. The Iliad of Homer, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, The Ides of March, Dracula, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, A Study of Victor Hugo, Works of Edgar Allen Poe, and The Book of the Dead were ones that I recognized immediately after have coming into the library many times before to see Edmund reading.

"Whether Karma likes it or not, we are going to help her out and devise a plan." Sparrow concluded, rousing me from my reading. "So that she doesn't freak when the Cullens arrive."

The others nodded in agreement, obviously sharing Sparrow's feelings. It was a while before Chantal spoke up from the safety of Hunter's large and embracing arms. "But what can we do? We do not know their powers, or what might happen."

"He can read minds…" I said quietly, remembering. Even though I did not say his name, they caught on to the person that I was identifying. With my confidence growing, I continued. "Alice sees the future, Jasper can change the emotions of a crowd, Emmett is strong, Rosalie is gorgeous, Carlisle is immune to human blood, and Esme has passion."

Trey's eyebrows furrowed, thinking hard. Hope bit her lip, and Sparrow tapped her foot, impatiently waiting for an idea to come. Will was the only one looking at me, concern clearly written on his face. "So we're trying to keep them from knowing that Karma is really Isabella Swan…right?" Trey contemplated aloud. Sparrow nodded, not understanding where he was heading.

"Was Isabella." I corrected him, feeling the wave of pain that hit me with the name. "Was."

He nodded. "Right. So what if we keep our thoughts from the mind reader by either think uninteresting things or block him out completely? The strong one, the emotions one, and the gorgeous one will probably not recognize you, and I'm sure that since you said Carlisle already saw you and was convinced you weren't Bella then he could be beneficial in convincing Esme, too. The only one to worry about is the vision girl, Alice."

"I was best friends with her. If she's already had a vision of all this, then she might know our plans and see sense in not ruining them. If she doesn't, however, I will convince her not to say anything." I said, wondering if she really would keep quiet. Sparrow nodded.

"Good. So everyone knows what to do, right?" The heads of our coven moved up and down in reply. "Excellent. Then we are officially prepared for the arrival of the Cullens."

A few hours later, I was alone in my room once more. As I sat in my silence, I became almost positive that Alice would not get a vision and rat me out to him. Closing my eyes and hoping with all my might she saw this, I spoke slowly and evenly, trying to create a vision for her to see.

"Alice. Block him out." My words were cold and commanding, and I hoped that she wouldn't let him in on the vision. "Now listen to what I'm going to tell you. I need you to not say my true identity to anyone. Especially not him. I will tell him, all in good time. But right now, I am Karma Siege to everyone, including you. So, for the sake of our friendship, please carry out my request. Thank you." With that said and done, and a strange reassurance telling me that she would get the vision, and she would do as I asked her, I closed my eyes and was able to think.

A/N: Did Alice get the message? Will Edward be able to read their minds? Will Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie recognize her? Will Doctor Cullen think that Karma is Bella, although he was told otherwise? Will Esme know the truth? The answers will come all in good time, but for now, please review!

-NewLeaf