~ Chapter Thirty-Two — Planning ~

Jasper POV

Edward was inconsolable. Throughout the flight north, he sat staring out of the window of the plane as if searching for Bella. I could feel his despair, and I tried to soothe him, but after only a few minutes of my influence, he asked me to stop.

"My emotions are my own to feel, Jasper," he said in a dead tone.

I knew that, but I hated to sit idle while he was suffering. It did not help that I could feel the depth of his pain, too. Coupled with my own feeling of impotence to do anything of use, I was in hell.

Alice took my hand in her own and squeezed it. I could feel that she was battling her own desperation to attempt to create an emotion I could immerse myself in. Her eyes were closed and she was curled against me as if sleeping, the outward image of serenity. I knew better. She was feigning sleep to allow her to search for Bella's future without interference from the humans. Edward watched along with her. I knew that what they were seeing was not giving them comfort, and I fully appreciated the fact I was not gifted with their abilities. I could not bear to watch Bella being tormented by the Volturi. My imagination was already presenting me with horrors. The only comfort I could take was the fact I knew she was strong and this time she had some hope to cling to. She knew we would come for her.

When we touched down in Houston, we found the rest of the family waiting for us at the arrivals gate. I was hit once again with a cocktail of fear and sadness as I approached them. I guided Alice with a hand on the small of her back as she continued to search through unknown futures.

Esme hurried forward and threw herself into Edward's arms. He accepted her embrace mechanically, but he did not break down as I expected.

"I'm so sorry, Edward." Esme's voice was choked with emotion. Edward patted her back, but did not speak. She opened her mouth to speak again, but emotion overwhelmed her and she began to sob.

Rosalie stepped forward and pulled Esme away from Edward and into her arms. I would have expected Carlisle to be the one to act, but he was staring at Edward with a wary expression. Things had been tense between them since Bella had first been lost, and it seemed Carlisle was wary of approaching him now.

Edward looked up into his father's eyes and his expression crumpled. Carlisle came forward and encased Edward in his own embrace. Edward folded into his arms and began to sob. "They took her, Dad. They took her from me again."

I had thought I was feeling Edward's pain along with him, but as he gave voice to his pain, I felt the full extent to it for the first time. It knocked the breath from me, and I would have swayed on my feet had it not been for Emmett's hand on my shoulder. Contrary to his usual behavior, he was remaining silent and offering his support through his actions. I was grateful for it, though I knew he was hurting himself.

Carlisle held Edward, supporting him both emotionally and physically as he sobbed onto Carlisle's shoulder. "We'll get her back, Son, I promise."

Edward sobbed harder than ever, and I felt myself envying him his freedom to express his pain. I would have liked to break down to mourn the loss of my sister, too, but I had to remain strong for the others.

It took a long time for Edward to choke himself to something resembling calm again, and when he did, it was not true calm; it was more that he forced down all emotion and became a machine going through the motions.

"Are you fully healed?" Carlisle asked Edward.

He barked a harsh laugh, and I understood his dark humor. He was not healed, of course he wasn't; only Bella's return could heal him fully. I took up the explanation for him. "I think so. We were able to recover all the pieces."

Carlisle turned to me and nodded soberly. "Very well. Let's move on. The next flight to Seattle is leaving in an hour.

It was the longest hour I had ever lived. We sat in relative silence in the departure lounge, only speaking to check the time. Alice sought out further visions of Bella, but there was nothing new to report. Jane was still making her suffer. I felt a wave of fury as Alice shared this. I hated the idea of gentle Bella suffering, and I wondered why Isabella wasn't there to protect her. I was sure that she would be able to block Jane's gift.

When it was finally time for us to board our plane, we hurried to the front of the queue as if that could bring us to Bella faster.

On the plane, Edward was sandwiched between Esme and Carlisle. He seemed to shrink into his seat, as if he didn't want to be noticed.

Emmett sat across the aisle from me. He and Rosalie were seated so close together they may as well have been sharing a seat. I knew they, like me, were taking comfort in the fact that our mates were still safe and sound with us. They spoke in whispers, as if afraid to disturb the air around us.

Just as we were approaching SeaTac, Alice sighed with relief and Edward's head snapped up.

"What is it?" I asked.

Though I had asked the question, Alice addressed Edward. "They will stop hurting her soon. Only a few more minutes."

He nodded and sank back in his chair. It was good news that they had stopped hurting her, but I couldn't help but wonder why. Jane had proved herself capable of using her gift for hours on end without difficulty, and Aro's cruelty knew no limits. There must be a reason for them to stop.

xXx

As we drove up the approach to the house in Forks, the seriousness of the situation seemed to settle over us all. Whispered conversations trailed off, and we all sat straighter in our seats. Even Edward roused himself from his stupor to look around. We pulled out of the trees and into the clearing in front of the house, and there was a collective indrawn breath.

All around us were vampires and werewolves. I did a quick head count and then repeated it. There were seventeen werewolves. Their number the day of the newborn battle had totaled ten, and two of them were young boys. Among the wolves there were fourteen vampires. Including our family, we had amassed an army of thirty-eight. It was more than I could have hoped for.

As we climbed from the cars Peter, Charlotte and Garrett hurried towards us.

"What are you doing here?" Charlotte scanned our dour faces. "Where is Bella?"

"Gone," Edward croaked.

"What do you mean gone?" Peter demanded.

"The Volturi." I went on to explain what had happened. As I spoke, the others amassed around us. They listened in silence as I told them how the Volturi had come across Bella and Edward in the jungle.

"You let them take her?" the wolf called Jacob said, glaring at Edward.

Edward seemed to shrink even further into himself. I would have liked to slap some sense into him again, but this was not the time or place. Instead, I countered Jacob's accusation. "He didn't let them do anything. They damn near killed him to get to her."

"He looks fine to me," one of the wolves said.

I pulled Edward's collar away and showed them the fine scar circling Edward's throat. He tried to wriggle out of my grip, but I held fast.

"They tore him apart," Carlisle said in a mild tone. "We are lucky they didn't destroy him completely.

Garrett waved an airy hand. "Never mind that. How are we going to get Bella back?"

That was the million-dollar question. With a group of this size we could storm the castle, but we would be overcome by the Volturi's gifts in an enclosed space. We needed to draw them out into the open.

"A trap." Edward spoke in a whisper, but it silenced the crowd completely.

"How are we supposed to trap them?" Tanya asked. "They never leave their castle except to deal with threats of exposure."

Her words triggered something in my mind. A memory of a conversation I had over a century ago. 'They moved through the city destroying every vampire that crossed their path. None were spared.' It was something one of the coven leaders of the Southern Wars told me. He had been there when the Volturi came to destroy the newborn armies that were wreaking havoc. The conversation told me what we needed to do, loathe as I was to admit it.

I looked to Alice, the one who would hate this option more than any other. Smiling apologetically at her, I spoke.

"We need a distraction. We need Maria."

xXx

Aro POV

Jane tortured Isabella for hours. I watched with satisfaction as she writhed on the stone floor. In the midst of her pain, she screamed for her Edward to save her. I was curious as to how the boy had found her, and I would have liked to read her mind to find out how it had happened, but to read her while Jane tormented her would have been tedious. She would have been consumed by the pain and I would have been forced to siphon away the dull thoughts of pain to find the deeper memories. Eventually, as expected, the screams faded to whimpers, and then there was silence, though she still twisted and writhed.

When the noise had died down, Caius returned to the throne room. He had been partaking in Corin's influence and was sporting a rather foolish smile as he seated himself beside me. It was unbecoming of a man of his standing to be caught behaving like this. I would have to speak to him about it when we had privacy. For a moment, I mused on the outcome of that conversation and changed my mind. It would be better to speak to Corin about limiting the level of influence she used when dealing with Caius. I could have him believe that exposure was dulling her ability.

I waited for the effects of Corin to fade, before speaking to him. "Forgive me, brother, but I have been hiding something from you." I didn't expound on the fact that it was because he had become what a human would call a junkie. "I feel it is time to share with you the entirety of the plan."

He raised his head and looked me in the eye. "Are you planning to create another insane vampire, brother? I admit it was amusing once, but I can't see the appeal of doing it again."

That was something I had not considered. It was true that Isabella was my greatest achievement, and I wondered whether I could create the same damage twice, but now was not the time to peruse such thoughts. I would reconsider when I had the psychic among us. It would perhaps be interesting to make a lunatic of her mate.

"I think not," I said. "I am speaking of my wider plan to bring Alice Cullen into our family."

He straightened in his seat. "You think we need her?" Though he sounded disinterested, I heard the desire in his tone.

He made no secret of his distaste for the Cullen coven. To his mind, they were too large a coven and too gifted to be allowed. He saw them as a danger to us. If Alice was brought to us, it would weaken Carlisle. His coven had strange but strong bonds of love among them. Perhaps I would be able to lure the whole coven to me. I could do without the behemoth, Emmett, and his shrew of a mate, but they would at least serve to complete the set.

"I think it would be advantageous to have her among us. Think of the possibilities. We would know of any threat before it made its way onto the human media. We need never fear exposure again."

He scoffed. "I do not fear it now."

That was a lie, but I did not challenge it. "I admit I do, brother. We live in precarious times. The human technology grows ever stronger and with it the threat to us."

"Very well, brother. I will serve to ease your fears. How are we to lure the psychic to us?"

"That is where Isabella shows her true worth. The boy Cullen had found her when Jane brought her to us. Unfortunately, she did not have the foresight to bring him to us as well, but that is not a tragedy. Now he will come to us and will bring his family too."

Caius smiled. "And we will use Chelsea to bind them to us?" I could see that the idea appealed to him. To have Carlisle Cullen as subservient as any other guard member was a tempting prospect.

"Indeed." I turned my attention to Jane. "Please cease your assault, dear one."

Jane looked away from Isabella and stared at me with open adoration. I knew she had been listening to my and Caius' conversation and she took my words as forgiveness.

Isabella began to stir on the ground and I walked to her side and took her hand in my own. At my touch, she roused herself and tried to pull away. I gripped her tighter and prepared myself to immerse in her memories.

At first, I thought she was too lost in the remaining pain to be thinking of anything else. It took a moment for me to recognize the blank emptiness as her ability to block me. I felt a wave of frustration. For her to be able to block me but to be open to Jane and Alec's influence was unbearable. I could not show my defeat in front of my guards.

I sighed and straightened. "Ahhh, Isabella, such a wealth of memories you have for me."

She lurched to her feet and backed away until she was pressed against the wall. Her eyes were wide with terror, and I suspected that she was aware that she had some ability to block me, but that she thought it had failed.

I turned my attention to the remaining guards in the room, and I waved an airy hand. "You may leave. Isabella is no danger to us."

They trailed out of the room; the last to leave was Jane. She seemed to want to remain, perhaps to protect me, but Alec took her hand and led her from the room. It was good that he did. I was not as forgiving of Jane's failure as I would have her believe.

Once I was alone with Isabella, Caius and Marcus, I approached the girl cowering against the wall. Impossibly, she seemed to shrink further away from me. I snapped out my arm and slapped her cheek. It would not hurt her, but it would serve to humiliate her if such a thing was possible anymore.

"Aro." The voice was so softly spoken it was almost inaudible. I turned in shock, and I saw Marcus looking at me. "You have shamed her enough."

"Are you deigning to take notice of the world again?" Caius asked. He was staring at Marcus with the same shocked expression that I was.

In response, Marcus sighed heavily and turned his attention back to the wall. It was a disappointment to see him fade back into docility, he had been a great strategist in his time, and it would have been invaluable to have him working with me again.

Isabella whimpered, drawing my attention from my mute brother to her again,

"What is the problem, Aro?" Caius asked. "What has it done?"

I hated to admit defeat to anyone, but if there was one person I knew would keep my failure from others, it was Caius.

"She has blocked me," I said in a sigh.

"I thought that she had lost that ability."

"As did I, but it seems to have reasserted itself. Her memories and thoughts are her own." I looked to Isabella. "How have you done this?"

She shook her head rapidly. "I-I don't know."

There were vampires that were able to tell falsehoods from the truth, by means of a psychic talent; I was not one of them. I was, however, able to hear the lie in Isabella's voice as she was so ill adapted for lying. I raised my hand to strike her again, and she cringed away from me.

"You will tell me what I want to know, or I will bring Jane back here, Isabella," I said in a warning tone.

She shook her head again, whether in refusal of my command or fear, I did not know. I found myself growing tired of these delays. Whatever it was that she was doing, it had to stop.

"Jane!" I called loud enough that she would hear me wherever she was in the castle. A moment later, she entered the throne room. She must have been lurking nearby.

She made obeisance and then met my eyes. "Yes, Master."

"I have a service I require of you," I began. "I would like you to show Isabella what happens to people that displease me."

With a cruel smile, Jane turned her eyes on Isabella, and a second later, the room was rent with screams. I settled back in my chair to wait for Jane's influence to do its work, but something unexpected happened. After only a minute of screaming, the din stopped and Isabella leapt to her feet.

She brushed herself off and looked me in the eye.

"That hurt."