AN ~ The final quote (in italics) is by Winston Churchill

Chapter Thirty Three: For Without Victory...

Esme:

Everyone's attention was back on Jasper.

"I thought I must be interpreting the signs incorrectly, because where is the motive?" Jasper explained. "Why would someone create an army in Seattle? There is no history there, no vendetta. It makes no sense from a conquest standpoint either; no one claims it. Nomads pass through, but there's no one to fight for it. No one to defend it from.

"But I've seen this before, and there's no other explanation. There is an army of newborn vampires in Seattle. Fewer than twenty, I'd guess. The difficult part is that they are totally untrained. Whoever made them just set them loose. It will only get worse, and it won't be much longer until the Volturi step in. Actually, I'm surprised they've let this go on so long."

I froze.

"What can we do?" Carlisle asked.

"If we want to avoid the Volturi's involvement, we will have to destroy the newborns, and we will have to do it very soon. I can teach you how…it won't be easy in the city. The young ones aren't concerned about secrecy, but we will have to be. It will limit us in ways they are not. Maybe we can lure them out…"

Our family is very large...My own words were coming back to haunt me. No. This cannot be happening.

"Maybe we won't have to," Edward's voice was bleak. "Does it occur to anyone else that the only possible threat in the area that would call for the creation of an army is…us?" His eyes scanned our faces. Jasper's eyes narrowed; Carlisle's widened in horror.

"Tanya's family is also near," I made myself say. I knew that wasn't going to hold up.

"The newborns aren't ravaging Anchorage, Esme," Edward pointed out. "I think we have to consider the idea that we are the targets."

I shook my head over and over as if I could somehow stop this, change it, reverse it, erase it. What if this turns out to be a serious threat to us, huh? What if some God-forsaken army is out to get us? Carlisle's eyes met mine for a moment, recalling my fiery speech. I shivered at the eeriness of it all.

"They aren't coming after us," Alice insisted. Suddenly, she hesitated and her expression dropped. "Or…they don't know that they are. Not yet."

"What is that? What are you remembering?" Edward inquired.

"Flickers," Alice said. "I can't see a clear picture when I try to see what's going on, nothing concrete. But I've been getting these strange flashes. Not enough to make sense of. It's as if someone's changing their mind, moving from one course of action to another so quickly that I can't get a good view."

"Indecision?" Jasper wondered.

"I don't know."

"Not indecision," Edward growled. "Knowledge. Someone who knows you can't see anything until the decision is made. Someone who is hiding from us, playing with the holes in your vision."

I gasped. This visitor was so careful to make no contact. Almost like he or she knew that I would see…Alice's words chilled me to the bone.

"Who would know that?" Alice whispered.

"Aro knows you as well as you know yourself," Edward replied.

"But I would see if they'd decided to come…"

"Unless they didn't want to get their hands dirty."

I finally drew breath. It rattled into my chest.

"A favour," Rosalie suggested. I hadn't noticed she was still in the room: it was the first time she had spoken. "Someone in the south…someone who already had trouble with the rules. Someone who should have been destroyed is offered a second chance, if they take care of this one small problem…That would explain the Volturi's sluggish response."

"Why?" Carlisle asked, trying not to believe it. He and Aro shared a strange sort of friendship, and he was comforted by the idea of trustworthy leaders, even if he didn't agree with their methods. "There's no reason for the Volturi to-"

"It was there," Edward interrupted quietly. "I'm surprised it's come to this so soon, because the other thoughts were stronger. In Aro's head he saw me at his one side and Alice at his other. The present and the future, virtual omniscience: the power of the idea intoxicated him. I would have thought it would take him much longer to give up on that plan – he wanted it too much. But there was also the thought of you, Carlisle, of our family growing stronger and larger. The jealousy and the fear: you having…not more that he had, but still, things that he wanted. He tried not to think about it, but he couldn't hide it completely. The idea of rooting out the competition was there: besides their own, ours is the largest coven they've ever found…"

Carlisle shook his head, but his hand still clung fearfully tightly to mine.

"They're too committed to their mission. They would never break the rules themselves. It goes against everything they've worked for."

"They'll clean up afterward: a double betrayal, no harm done."

"No, Carlisle is right," Jasper interrupted. "The Volturi do not break the rules. Besides, it's much too sloppy. This…person, this threat – they have no idea what they're doing. A first-timer, I'd swear to it. I cannot believe the Volturi are involved…but they will be."

There was an ominous silence.

"Then let's go! What are we waiting for?"

I would have laughed at Emmett's headstrong nature, but I could not. I was frightened. Worse, Carlisle's supportive arms slipped away from around my waist. The room was silent but for Bella's uneven heartbeats, until finally Carlisle spoke.

"We'll need you to teach us, Jasper," he said finally. "How to destroy them."

.o.o.o.

Carlisle:

It's the only way. Even if we could contact the creator of the newborns, they wouldn't be reasoned with. I couldn't call the Volturi in until Bella was changed and the werewolves dealt with: it would mean the complete destruction of all we had worked to achieve. If they arrived on their own, we might get away without a visit, but if we called them to highlight the seriousness of the issue - which they almost definitely already knew - we would effectively be surrendering Bella to them. It was too late to change her now, even without considering the precarious position the wolves put us in. This was our only option.

I shut my eyes for a moment and prayed for understanding. Jasper was gazing sympathetically at me when I opened them.

"We're going to need help," he said. "Do you think Tanya's family would be willing? Another five mature vampires would make an enormous difference. And then Kate and Eleazer would be especially advantageous on our side. It would be almost easy, with their aid."

Easy. I shuddered.

"We'll ask," I decided.

Jasper held out a cell phone.

"We need to hurry," he murmured, truly sorry for what he was making me do. I took the cell from him and dialled the number as I made my way over to the glass wall.

I cannot believe I'm doing this, but dear God, don't make me do it alone.

I pressed my palm to the glass. Somewhere past it, somewhere out there, people were dying. An army was being raised. We had to stop it. This was the only conceivable path of action. Yes, it meant killing - and, frighteningly likely, dying - but it was for the best. It just had to be.

"Hello?" Tanya's voice called. I struggled for words. "Carlisle? Hello?"

"Tanya," I choked at last. "Tanya, it's me. I need your help. Badly."

Just like that, the whole sorry story came pouring out. At the end of it, I had to wait a torturously long time for Tanya's response while she discussed our plight with her sisters. When an answer came, it wasn't a good one.

"Carlisle, I'm so sorry, but we can't help you. Irina refuses to, after what happened to Laurent. She loved him, and she wishes...very strongly...to exact her revenge on the pack."

"Oh." I tried not to seem too surprised. Don't panic. "We didn't realise...that Irina felt that way." She had asked to avenge Laurent as one of her coven. I had apologised and refused, and nothing more had been said. Oh, how simple it had seemed.

"I'm afraid we can't do anything for you...unless you were willing to reconsider?"

"Tanya, please," I tried again. "You know I can't do that. The treaty has been in place for a century. To break it now would mean an all-out war, and I just can't afford that right now!"

"Of course we would be glad to help you with any problems the wolves give you. Friends scratch each other's backs, Carlisle."

"Don't make this about us," I growled. "I have nothing against any of you, and I'm sorry Irina feels betrayed, but it's nothing personal, I swear."

"It's personal to me. Irina's my sister and I love her very much. I will stick by her. Unless you grant her wish-"

"There's no question of that," I interrupted. "We have a truce. They haven't broken it and neither will we."

"Then I will have nothing more to do with this. It's them or us. It seems you've chosen."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"I really am sorry, Carlisle. I sincerely hope none of you suffer for our decision, but you won't be getting any help from us this time. You understand, right?"

My eyes dropped, and my hand slid down the glass with a screech. I contemplated guilting her into it. I even considered blackmail - not that we had anything to hold them on. I was on the verge of throwing away all dignity and begging for her assistance, but if I tried that, I would utterly lose my composure. I am the leader and it's my duty to act as if I'm in control. I took a deep breath.

"Of course," I managed. "We'll just have to do our best alone."

I flipped the phone shut before Tanya could reply. How could things have come this far, this fast? My hand trembling, I tucked the cell into my pocket and trudged back to Esme's side. She entwined her fingers in mine, smiling sadly, knowing I had done what I could and that this was very hard for me.

"This isn't good," Jasper shook his head. "It's too even a fight. We'd have the upper hand in skill but not in number. We'd win…but at what price?"

His eyes flashed to Alice's and away again, and a cold weight settled on my heart.

.o.o.o.

The room gradually emptied, and Esme slipped away from my side. She stared out at the thick fog with a mournful expression.

"I trust you're not going to keep out of this." I contemplated approaching her, and decided not to.

"No, I won't," Esme replied.

"I thought not." A smile tugged half-heartedly at my lips. "I won't try and stop you."

A long silence passed. Rare in this house.

"So...this is it," Esme finally said. "We have to fight. Victory at all costs."

She and I sighed simultaneously.

"Victory at all costs," she repeated, raising her arm and pressing her hand against the glass where mine had been. "Victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be..."

"For without victory," I finished, "there is no survival."