It was only minutes of waiting until I heard their rapid progress through the woods. I quickly expanded my shield to cover all three of us as Edward concentrated on sifting through their thoughts, mumbling to me to assure me that they were peaceful, only thinking of their curiosity about Renesmee and me. They slowed their approach as they finally came through, walking just faster than human speed before stopping 20 yards away.
My wary eyes flashed between their faces, studying for any aggressive moves while testing my shield to make sure nothing pressured against it. Davide was tall with defined French features set in an expression of avid interest, his vivid red eyes fixed on Renesmee. His height was nothing to Asita, however. He looked almost seven feet tall, with black skin that almost gleamed purple. His strong, lean body reminded me vaguely of the Amazon women in its fluidity and primitiveness, though his clothing was modern. His bright red eyes were set deep in his face, looking down at the three of us with calculation, curiosity and what I thought might be a touch of contempt.
"Welcome Davide, Asita" Edward said, nodding at each. I noticed his subtle hint to me as he reached out to these nomads. Though at first glance it appeared that Asita's physical presence made him the leader of this team, his acknowledgement of Davide first showed me that it was actually his smaller mate who led the duo.
"Nice to see you again Edward" Davide purred in a smooth French accent. "Please will you introduce me to your mate and child?" He smiled at us, intelligence and awareness bring in his eyes.
"This is my wife, Bella, and our daughter Renesmee" Edward explained, his eyes only briefly leaving Davide's face as he concentrated on the thoughts of both.
"A pleasure Bella, Renesmee" Davide said smoothly. "It is truly incredible to see the effect of your gift, Bella. As I am sure Edward told you, I have the ability to find those with power, and avoid others if I wish. Rarely do I have difficulty finding those gifts I seek out. You seem to block that though, and are currently blocking your mate and daughter as well. Truly fascinating."
His speech was fluid, filled with curiosity about our familial situation. His words did help me relax, though, along with the fact that Edward seemed at ease. To me this signaled that their thoughts were not hostile or offensive.
"Nice to meet you Davide, and you Asita." I said formally.
"What brings you to this area of the world?" Edward inquired politely, already aware of the answer, but attempting to keep the friendly attitude intact. It seemed like he was trying to draw them out.
This time, I was surprised by Asita's deep bass voice though he only said one quick word.
"Travel."
The silence between us lengthened as I saw Edward wondering what to ask next while still staying polite. I was just frustrated. My words burst from me.
"Please excuse me if it's rude, but why are you interested in us? Clearly you are both very talented, Edward has told me of your gifts. Why are you here?" I was sick of formality and too new at both being a mother and a vampire to control my emotions toward my child. I just wanted the truth.
Davide started laughing lightly and Asita's face twisted into a smile.
"So in control and yet still such a newborn!" Davide laughed. "Don't worry child, we do not want to harm you or come to spy on you. Though your child is interesting, she does not tempt our thirst, only our curiousity." I glanced at Edward and he nodded quickly to show they were telling the truth.
"Are you really so surprised that we came to see you?" Davide continued. "As we told Edward, we do not approve of the Volturi's methods. Though we understand the rules they uphold, they have tried to 'collect' us for over a century, when Asita joined me in this life. They pursued us, destroying my creator in pursuit of my talent, even before they knew of Asita's existence. When another nomad found out Asita's power, we fled. They want our power with them, but since we refused to join, they deemed our connection 'unnatural'. The fact that two men loved each other, bonded together was seen as an abbhorance to be untolerated, similar to their perspective on a half-human, half-vampire child, no? Asita?" He looked to his mate to continue the story. I was reeling from their description of Renesemee. An 'abhorrance'? Who could ever say such a thing about someone so innocent? Asita's voice interrupted my rising anger.
"As we traveled, we met with more nomads who told us of the destruction of covens who had disobeyed the Volturi's law" his deep voice thundered, sneering contempt at the word 'law'. "They do not want peace. They want power. I do not believe in being inferior to those who think themselves above me." He stopped, a sour expression on his face.
"This is why we were drawn to you, precisely" Davide finished.
"What you mean this?" Renesemee's voice cropped up, curiosity written all over her face.
"This, young one, is the family your parents have created. You three are incredible examples of a new way of life. Your…interesting… eating habits seem to have allowed more than just co-habitation. You love passionately but it is a passion not just for your mate. We heard of the many who came to your aid when challenged unjustly by the Volturi. You represent a new power, a rising power, perhaps. One that stands against a highly corrupted force."
"You are mistaken in that. We do not seek confrontation. We do not intend to stand against the Volturi if we can avoid it" Edward insisted.
"You will have no choice" Davide said simply. "You and your loved ones lived to tell the story of a time when the Volturi were not as powerful as they thought. Now that you showed another way of life, a way of life perhaps better than the one the Volturi champion, others will challenge. It will not be long before an uprising occurs in the vampire world. What form it will take is largely up to you."
"Why is it up to us?" I asked, anger spurring my speech though I dreaded the answer.
"Because no matter the form, you must be destroyed if the Volturi wish to maintain power" Davide explained. "You represent the beginning of their end. They will use you to show that they still have the ability to rule and suppress those that go against them."
"This time, however" Asita interrupted, a growl in his words "they will not be able to say that they are doing it for the better good of the vampire world. They must admit that their sole goal is power."
Silence crept back as we digested these words. As I thought about the implications of Davide and Asita's interpretation of the actions, I came to see that it must be true. If they wanted to stay in power, they would need to take out the original threat. Us.
As my mind continued to process, a new thought came into my head. If they knew that we would have support again, they would need something new, more power to try to defeat us. I balked in horror as the words tumbled from my lips.
"They are forming an army?" I gasped and heard Edward suck in breath beside me.
"I believe so. I have sensed movement of power all over Europe, causing us to seek your family out to understand what your intentions were" Davide explained, his eyes trying to read us.
"You see" Asita broke in. "You must fight or perish. We come to fight with you in the hope of an end to their domination."
I turned to Edward, fear written across my face and saw the same fear echoed in his. I remembered the words said less than two years ago by Edward. I'm sure they'll recover from the blow someday. And then . . .I imagine they'll try to pick us off separately. Was this the beginning of the end for our peace?
"Mom?" Renesmee said quietly, interrupting my rapid processing of all the terrible things that could happen, the friends that could die if we did not act quickly enough. "Is this because of me?"
In a second Edward and I sped to hug her to us. "Of course not, love. We will make sure that nothing happens to you. It is not because of you that they are doing this, it is because we have found a way to be happy that they do not understand" Edward insisted.
"They might seek her though" Asita said, warning in his voice. "Even if you did not ask for this, she has talent." He started walking toward us and we instantly tensed into a protective formation with Renesmee behind us. He paused "If I may?"
Edward nodded slightly at me and so I very reluctantly stepped aside, allowing my shield to continue to cover her.
"Bella, it's ok" Edward said quietly.
"Mom, please?" Renesmee said quietly, trustingly stepping forward even as I wished to pull her back. I slowly pulled my shield back until I could no longer feel it protecting her. Renesmee nervously put a hand up as Asita drew closer, towering over her slight figure. They touched hands and he sucked in breath as she showed him an image.
"She's showing him our family" Edward said to me, reading her thoughts as they passed to him.
"Such talent!" He said as she broke contact. "You have much potential, child. You will be able to not only put images into people's minds through touch, but also just by your mind. You will show them not only memory, but also anything you wish them to see."
"Incredible" Davide breathed from several yards back.
"We must return to our family" I said, partly to Edward and partly to the nomads. "They need to hear this."
He nodded his agreement to me and turned to the nomads, those who wished to be allies.
"We invite you to our family to discuss these events. As you know, we do not hunt humans, and so ask you to refrain near our house. We will travel by car and meet you there in a few days." Asita withdrew to stand near Davide and both nodded.
"We are honored" Davide said. "We hope to soon work with you toward our common goal."
With that, they turned and ran into the forest behind. I stared into Edward's amber eyes, reading all the emotion I myself felt: fear, confusion, doubt, determination. All mixed into our love for each other, our family and, of course, our daughter. I pulled her into a tight hug.
"I'm sorry Nessie," I said quietly, trying to convey more than I could express in words. How could I have brought her into such a life of fear and doubt?
"We will make it right" Edward said firmly before we ran back to the car and moved toward home.