Edward POV
"Edward?" said Alice breathlessly into her phone when I picked up.
"What happened?" I asked, alarmed by her tone. "Is Renesmee okay? What about Bella?"
"Nothing happened to them, they're fine," she said.
"Then?" I pressed on.
"Edward, I can't see the Volturi anymore."
"What?" I said, shocked. "How?"
"I don't know," she said. "I thought my power was going away, but Stephenie has a theory. I can only see humans and vampires because I was one and I am a vampire. So she says that either they have some newborn that can block me, or that they have some other creature. So I need you and Carlisle to go to Italy and read Aro's mind to see what's up."
"Okay," I said. "We're in Ireland. We'll cancel the flight back to home and take another to Volterra."
"And don't let any one of the Volturi catch you there. They will kill you."
"I know."
After taking a flight to Italy, we ran towards the city. The sun was out, and our skin reflected it back. Luckily, there were no humans here.
We stopped about a mile outside of the city.
I closed my eyes and listened. The mental voices of hundreds of people mingled in my mind. I went deeper, searching for the one particular voice. But I couldn't hear anything.
"Carlisle, I can't hear Aro's thoughts. Not even any other members of the Volturi," I realized.
He looked thoughtful. I wonder why. We should tell Alice.
"No," I hissed. "I'm going in the city."
Edward, he coaxed. It's too dangerous. If anyone catches you, they'll destroy you without hesitation.
"You can stay here if you want," I said. "I'm going in."
Let me go, Carlisle said. Aro'll go easier on me.
"No," I said. "Let's both go."
He nodded in agreement. We tried to look as human as possible as we entered, making sure to stay in the shadows. We stayed hidden in the crowds as much as possible.
Finally, after what seemed like eternity, we reached the big, towering castle. I remembered the last time I had been here, when I had asked to die.
Come on, Carlisle mentally said.
We went in along with the crowd of humans who would soon be the Volturi's lunch. Surprisingly, but luckily, Heidi, leading us, didn't see us yet. Carlisle noticed, too.
The thirst. She's not focusing too much on the people, just the blood.
When our group was about to enter the throne room, we quietly left them and went around a corner. Carlisle and I went into an empty room.
"How do we find out what's going on?" I asked. I hated to admit it, but if I were human, my heart would have been pounding loudly with fear.
If we go back down this hallway and into this other room, it should lead to a small entrance which we can sneak through to the throne room without the Volturi seeing us, he told me, remembering from his time with the Volturi.
We made sure that the Volturi were done feeding, then silently went through the entrance Carlisle described. It was a tight fit, and only one of us could peer through at once, so I stuck my head through and listened.
"Do you think that the psychic can see us?" said a high, screeching, female voice that was unfamiliar.
"I hope not. It is unlikely that she can, though. Even being a phenomenon, she has limits, too," said a voice that I recognized as Aro's.
"Wonderful," cackled the voice again. "But remember that you owe us, since we have helped you."
"Of course, my dear Seraphina," said Aro, and even without my power, I could tell he was lying.
I pushed my head further through the small gap, so I could see what was going on. Who was Seraphina?
When I looked in, I saw Aro alone in the room with a woman. She seemed human, but her facial features were out of proportion. Her forehead was too broad, and her mouth was too small. Also, she had a star on her forehead, right between her eyebrows. I pulled myself out, and gestured for Carlisle to take a look.
He did, and instantly recognized the woman's species. One word quickly flitted through his mind.
Witches.