`Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.
Edward arrived at the mental institution and was reunited with Bella. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper searched Forks for survivors and told the wolves Bella was dead. The Cullen's camp was attacked, but Carlisle made a truce with the other coven's leader and they were informed of the Volturi's mandate. Next the Cullens met with the Denali coven. Meanwhile, Laurent betrayed their whereabouts to the Volturi.
Chapter 9 (EdPOV)
"What do you think, Bella?" Alice asks, holding up two overly fancy sweaters for my love's scrutiny. Bella, sitting next to me on the Denali's couch, looks incredibly bored.
"They both look great," Bella tells her for the eleventh time.
"Turquoise," Rosalie chimes, not looking up from her slightly outdated fashion magazine. Normally, she would have already finished flipping through the latest issue and be in the process of helping Alice place an order. No there will be no more new issues; the writers and models are all dead.
Alice nods in agreement, tossing the purple sweater into the reject pile.
Halfway through moving to pick up a new selection of blouses to pick from, Alice stops abruptly. A glance into her mind sends shivers through my undead body.
A squad of several formidable vampires, cloaked in varying shades of gray, stick out against the expanse of snow in front of the Denali coven's home.
We have to get out of here. Despite Alice's warnings, that much is clear to me. I won't let Bella be taken by those fiends! My arms tighten around Bella in preparation to sprint out of the house, but the more rational part of my mind reminds me of the subzero temperatures outside; taking Bella out in that weather for any period of time would be similar to throwing her to Volturi without a backwards glance. Grateful for Alice's clothing obsession, I grab a nearby set of winter wear. Of course, living in Alaska, our cousins have to look like they're cold when they go out in public. I move as quickly as possible to wrap my love in a coat, hat, gloves, and boots. Thankfully, as quickly as possible for my kind is being done before Bella can even register what is happening.
Not a second later, we are out the door. I sprint in the opposite direction of wear Alice had seen the Volturi coming from. I listen faintly to Alice's explanation to my family, knowing that she unfailingly will try to stop me. Their footsteps are soon audible behind us. Bella's pulse beats wildly, but I cannot stop to comfort her sufficiently; her safety is more important.
The Volturi are already within my scope of hearing. Anger simmers within me, anger at Alice's late vision, the Volturi, and this whole situation itself. This, however, is no time for anyone to stew; this is the time to run. I search their minds calculatingly while I sprint. Jane is the first one I hear. Her mental voice is chilling and difficult to overlook, no matter how much one might wish to ignore it. I hold Bella more tightly as if she were in danger from Jane's deadly stares at this distance. Alec is the only other voice I can identify. He is more subdued than his sister, though his thoughts are no less heinous. His presence unnerves me more than his sister's—he could incapacitate us all in seconds. The others are dangerously unknown to me. My only consolation is that they are all still at least a mile away.
Pop!
A heavy weight plows into my side, and Bella and I tumble to the ground. Ferocious alarm comes to life inside me, and, after ensuring that she is not rattled too much by the fall, I shove Bella away. It feels like tearing my heart out from between my lungs.
An agile vampire lunges for me again, but I fight back with the ferocity of two of him. My mind is, for a few seconds, as coldly calculating as my enemy's. Battle plans and strategies fly through my mind while we quarrel. He gets in a few swift blows, but my clothing suffers most of the damage. The Volturi certainly does not entrust tasks like this to newborn pawns. Finally, I take my opponent by the shoulders, kick him to the ground, and whip his newly dismembered head across the tundra.
With a sigh of relief, I scoop Bella up again and resume my run across Alaska. A few second of quick observation, however, reveals that our true relief has yet to come. Cloaked figures are still running after us like spectral dogs. Thankfully, enemies are not the only ones pursuing us. I catch sight of Alice first, and a wave of relief falls around me like a heavy blanket. Shortly afterward Emmett, Jasper, the Denali, and company come into view.
Stop, someone calls, surprisingly from our side. Alice is running frantically to catch up with us, Just stop, now!
But how can I heed her warning? The Volturi are so close, so thirsty, and Bella is the only human around. Surely it could not be the best choice to simply stop and submit to them. I refuse to let that be the answer.
Alice, also, is apparently refusing to let me be subordinate. I have never seen anyone run as fast as she does across the snow to cut us off. Her tiny, pixie-like body is more significant than a brick wall in our path. Fire burns in her golden eyes, and she looks purely animalistic.
"Edward!" she snarls, "YOU LISTEN TO ME RIGHT NOW, OR THEY WILL TEAR US APART, BURN THE PIECES, AND TAKE BELLA AWAY TO DO WHATEVER THEY PLEASE WITH HER!"
Her words would not tear a gap in my plans if not for the images that come with them. Alice is not exaggerating at all. Images of my family…at the hands of the Volturi… It's too painful to watch. A new respect for my adopted sister is born within me then. To have no choice but to see outcomes like this must be wretched torture.
"That's right," she seethes, "You don't move another inch while you hope that Emmett and Rosalie can get that one's head back on, or you might have already condemned us." She stops for a second and takes a deep breath, pressing her fingers into her temples as if she has a headache.
"You might as well put Bella down," she sighs, "We're going to staying here for a while now."
The rest of our family, including the Denali coven, hurries to join us. I try not to look them in the eyes.
Listening promptly to her advice, I set Bella back on her shaky feet. She stands tensely, shivering slightly in the cold. Remorse joins the battalion of my emotions. Bella should not be outside in this weather for long.
"If you'd just stayed put like I told you to in the first place, she might be sitting on a warm couch in Denali," she snaps.
Remorse joins the battalion of emotions within me. It seems I'm always running away from my problems, but I don't think I could have done much worse this time.
"Th-they're coming, aren't they?" Bella stutters, "The Volturi?"
"Yes," I respond grimly, "They're coming."
And come they do. What begins as gray dots on the horizon quickly approaches to become a small—yet no less elite—squad of vampires. Jane is at the vanguard, her brother only a step behind. The others follow, though they could be going faster, out of respect.
"Well, well, well," Jane says apathetically as they stop a short distance from us, "It looks like your friend was telling the truth. You do have a human among you. Pity he's not here to be rewarded, but he did break the law…"
I hate Laurent. If I didn't know from Jane's thoughts that he is gone, I would certainly go after him myself.
Apparently mindreading isn't the only thing that conveys the message that something has happened to Laurent.
"What did you do to Laurent?" Irina shrieks, her lips curled into a snarl and her eyes burning.
"He broke the law," Alec tells her, his tone matching his sister's, "He drank from a human in these desperate times, knowing the law."
"He confessed to committing the crime and told us about your little human," Jane adds sweetly, "And we ended him."
Alec places a hand on her shoulder. "Jane…" he cautions her.
"Alec," she responds cordially, dismissing his warning.
Irina lunges wildly for them, screaming defiantly at the idea of her mate's demise. She has been worried about him for the past few days; if Laurent hadn't betrayed us, I might feel sorry for her.
Irina lunges for Jane, but is cut off by another member of the guard. After an animalistic scrimmage, she is viciously beheaded. Another guttural screech is heard from behind us. I hold Bella closer to me as Tanya and Kate, enraged by their sister's murder, attack the guards.
Chaos ensues as the guards retaliate, attacking us all.
"NO!" Alice shouts, tackling Irina midstride. They wrestle on the ground for a short second before Irina's rage proves superior to my sister's, and she throws Alice away. Alice lands on her back in the snow, sliding a few feet before jumping back up.
Jasper apprehends Irina before Alice can recover. He grabs her around she shoulders and holds her back as she snarls. Tanya and Kate flit over to her, whispering soothing words to her. She collapses in their arms, a sobbing wreck.
Jane, apparently unmoved by Irina's display of grief, moves onto her reason for being here. "We have come to collect the human."
I open my mouth to respond, but Alice, having now flitted to my side, grips my arm warningly.
"We understand that," Carlisle replies, taking his rightful spot as leader of our group, "However, she is part of our family now, and we have no intention of letting her go."
"Hmm, I see…" Jane says thoughtfully, "But we do need to take her. If you won't let us…"
…BPOV…
White tendrils slithered toward us like snakes. My heart pounded wildly. I identify the younger boy in the group to be the source of the mist, his white hands extended hauntingly. Edward stiffens next to me and casts a pleading glance at Alice. She shakes her head at him and extends her hand to Jasper. Edward shifts to stand in front of me as if to protect me from the mist.
Then the mist meets us. Despite its fog-like appearance, it is as crippling as toxic gas. The Cullens and Denali coven freeze completely.
I close my eyes and wait for the mist to affect me too, but it never comes. After several seconds, I open my eyes again and peek out from behind Edward. The Volturi are striding slowly toward us, but my family doesn't do anything. I grab Edward's arm and shake him gently in an attempt to rouse him. When he doesn't move, I shake his arm more roughly, glancing back and forth from his frozen, grim face to the Volturi guards.
I have to do something…I'm just not sure what yet. For some reason, the mist is not affecting me as it is my family.
"Uh, wait!" I call frantically, "You really shouldn't take me! Really!"
Apparently my puny argument moves them in some way. They stop creeping toward me, at least. Speculation crosses their faces as they halt.
I decide to take advantage of their stop. "Uh, I understand the, um, importance of this mission. I am willing to go with you without being incredibly difficult. I might not be able to, uh, physically overcome you, but I can be pretty stubborn when it comes to eating or not, drinking or not, staying alive in general or not…Those important things. I would be exponentially more agreeable if you let me bring my family with me. Uhhh, plus, uh, now with humans much more, uh, scarce, they could probably give all of the vampires a few pointers on drinking animals. Th-there are some trade secrets, I'm sure, and you're certainly going to need them all. And, uh, if you're gathering all of these humans together, you're going to need a doctor."
"Absolutely n…" Jane begins.
"Of course," Alec interrupts, "I'm sure Aro would love to see his old friend again. The Cullens may come."
"But, Alec," Jane proclaims indignantly, pointing savagely in Edward's direction, "That one killed Alonzo. He must be punished."
I recoil as if I have been slapped. They can't hurt Edward! I won't go on without him again! I don't think saying I refuse to go on without him is going to placate Jane.
"He did attack us first. Edward's first instinct would have been to protect his mate, and that's what he did. It was a very surprising attack, and I think he reacted like anyone would. Plus, he can help Carlisle! He's been to medical school, uh, twice. Um, your friend's head is around here…somewhere. I think Rosalie and Emmett were going to find it. He didn't burn it or anything, so he can be put back together, right? So, really, everything is okay."
"Mate?" one guard inquires, "What mate?" I don't envy him for the glare Jane shoots him.
"Yeah, that'd be me," I tell him pleadingly, "And that's another reason I'd be very upset if you did anything to him."
"Let us deliberate," Alec proclaims, seeing Jane's still defiant expression.
They turn toward each other and begin to discuss the matter too quietly for me to hear. I stare into Edward's eyes and shake his arm frantically. His eyes are moving, but they don't seem to see me. How can he not see me?
"Come on," I whisper pleadingly, "Wake up! You have to wake up!" If I thought my heart was pounding before, I now fear cardiac arrest and Carlisle isn't awake to help me.
"We have decided," Jane declare after a few of the most painful seconds of my life, "To allow Aro to pass verdict in Volterra. You will come over to us, Alec will awaken them, and we will journey to Volterra."
I breathe out a huge sigh of relief and throw my arms around the frozen Edward. I don't know much about this Aro character, but Jane seems disappointed, so this is probably a good burn my eyes, but I blink them away quickly before they can freeze on my face. With the majority of the danger averted, the frigid air penetrates my previously preoccupied mind and envelopes me like a heavy blanket of needles. My shivering resumes—if it ever stopped, which I doubt.
Not wanting to evoke any more anger from the Volturi guards, I reluctantly pull away from my love. The snow crunches beneath my feet as I turn to face my new captors. I wrestle my facial muscles into remaining stoic as I walk toward them. I cross my arms across my chest in a futile attempt to get warm. It is almost a physical pain not to look backward as I go.
I shiver more violently as I come to stand behind Jane. My throat clogs as I see the Cullens, as still as the statues they resemble, looking vulnerable against the wide expanse of snow that stretches out beyond them. I close my eyes for several seconds, holding back tears again.
"Bella!" Edward's beautiful voice makes me jump hopefully. My eyes fly open, and I am filled with pleasure to see the rest of the Cullens and him animate again. I smile and wave halfheartedly.
Edward steps forward, his hand outstretched as if reaching for me despite the large gap between us. In the same second, the six other Cullens all have a cautioning hand on him. The tortured expression on his face breaks my heart.
"We have made a decision," Jane announces, "You will all accompany us to Volterra where Aro will decide what to do with you."
Author's note: I'm sorry for the delay in this chapter. I did really leave you hanging last time, and I shouldn't have. This chapter was rather difficult to write for me; I had to totally rewrite it. The next few should come relatively quickly now that that's over. Thanks for hanging in there! We reached fifty reviews last chapter, and that's a really great landmark. Let's see if maybe, just maybe, we could pretty please reach sixty this time? Have a happy new year, and, even if you don't review, thanks for reading!
Review prompt: How do you think the Volturi's plan is going to work out?