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"Your boyfriends back."
Bella watched the three figures that were slowly emerging through trees with a galloping heart. She saw the Cullen's tense up as they recognised their visitors. Bella held her breath until she could see who it was. Her face lit up in a beaming smile as she recognised Alistair. He was here at last.
"Alistair, how nice to see you again." Carlisle said in a warm voice. He was staring warily at Felix and Marcus. He found it difficult to believe that they knew each other. Why had Alistair brought the Volturi? Perhaps it was simply coincidence. "I wasn't aware you knew the Volturi. Did you come here together? Marcus, Felix it is good to see you again after all these years."
Marcus and Felix nodded curtly but said nothing. Alistair was watching the interactions carefully. The Cullen clan was alert and on edge, as they should be not knowing the lay of the land. He saw Garrett off to the side with Bella and allowed himself to breathe again. She was safe. Glancing again at the assembled Cullen's he noticed Edward was not there.
"I know a great many people Carlisle." Alistair stated bluntly giving nothing away. Turning to Bella he said.
"Hi there hen. Are you ok?" He was smiling broadly at her.
She tried to step out from behind Garrett slightly but was stopped as he put an arm out to restrain her.
"Hi Al. I'm fine now. I've missed you though." She answered with a chuckle. There were gasps and growls from the assembled Cullen coven as they put two and two together to realise that Alistair was Bella's mate. Jasper eyed him speculatively, confident in his ability to destroy him. Alistair recognised the gleam in Jaspers eye and smirked. He wasn't worried.
"Fucking Al." He muttered with a long suffering shake of his head. "I can see I am going to have to have a word with that wee friend of yours when we get home." Bella laughed in relief, he was really there. She wanted to go to him but Garrett held her back and Alistair gave a small shake of his head, so she stayed put.
"Where is your son Edward, Carlisle?" Alistair snarled in a measured tone that left no doubt of his anger. "Perhaps you can explain why did he deem it necessary to injure and kidnap my marked mate?"
For the first time the Cullen's looked scared. They looked at each other for reassurance; stealing a marked mate was severely frowned on and they were being accused in front of the Volturi. Carlisle looked toward Bella and she smirked at him before mouthing the words 'death warrant.' He looked green, if that was even possible for a vampire.
"Will you behave?" Garrett whisper yelled at her with a chuckle he couldn't hide. She wanted to stick her tongue and this time, with a giggle, didn't resist, she was feeling almost light headed and giddy with relief.
Jasper and Emmett moved to the front of the Cullen line. Both were growling, both ready to attack. Carlisle stepped forward too. This was going to be his only chance to avoid a fight and he knew it. He wasn't ready for this confrontation. Carlisle always knew he would have to fight the Volturi eventually, but he had always thought it would be at a time and place of his choosing when he was sure of victory. He knew he could lose everything today. His fury at Edward came back full force. It was all his fault.
"Edward has run off." He spat. "We haven't had a chance to track him down yet. We did not know she was your mate just as we did not know he was going to kidnap her. He simply told us he was going to see her, that he missed her."
"Is that the truth hen?" Alistair asked Bella stepping forward.
Marcus and Felix stepped forward also. Their stance was relaxed and casual to the untrained eye but Garrett could tell they were ready to fight. Felix was looking at the group with the practiced eye of a seasoned warrior. He knew who would fight and who would try to run. Glancing at Esme he saw her properly for the first time and she saw him. Marcus spotted the bond form between them instantly and nodded to Felix. That was all it took for Felix to relax and know his mate would be safe. He narrowed his eyes and growled viciously, it didn't matter if that was the truth or not Carlisle was going to be punished for his crimes. He let loose another feral growl that had the Cullen's looking worried and unsure.
"No it isn't, at least not all of it. He was doing what Carlisle instructed him to do. They wanted me because I have a gift. They didn't know about you at first but when they did they threatened to kill you to get me to do what they wanted." Bella answered Alistair in a clear, strong voice. She knew that her words would condemn the Cullen's but she couldn't find it in her to care.
Alistair glanced around at the assembled vampires. He could tell from Garrett's position that Bella was safe. Garrett was in a perfect place to keep her safe from the coming battle, even run if needs be. As it stood the Cullen's weren't sure whose side Garrett was on. Carlisle appeared to be trusting him for now which could only work in their favour. He also noticed the way Felix was glancing at Esme. He was happy for his friend and was happy to allow Esme to survive as long as she stayed out of the fight.
"Bella has misunderstood the situation." Carlisle said in a last ditch attempt to avoid a fight. "We always assumed she was Edwards mate. He went to see her, and when he called to say she was coming back, we assumed it was willingly. Once I realised he had forced her. I made him stay away from her until we decided how to proceed. Once we knew about her mate we decided we would hand him over to him, well you. He must have run off after that. We were going to offer you both a home with us to help her with her diet once changed."
It was plausible, even partly truthful, but Alistair knew it was mostly lies, mainly due to the loud scoffing laugh from Bella, and the way Garrett shook his head slightly. Alistair did not like the fact that Carlisle was trying to play him for a fool. At that moment he felt a chill of terror spread through his body. Marcus and Felix felt it too. Jasper stood a little straighter and smirked at them. Alistair had never been one to let fear stop him or rule him, he ignored the feeling, pushed it aside and stepped forward again. Both Felix and Marcus followed suit. But to Alistair it was the first sortie. The Cullen's had attacked first and so before they could react he launched himself at Jasper but with an outstretched arm grabbed Alice as he ducked left at the last second and yanked her arm free, before throwing it over his shoulder and into the trees.
Alice let out a shriek of pain and fell to the ground. Jasper roared in anger and launched toward Alistair who ducked easily. The two quickly became locked in a furious battle.
Marcus and Felix both attacked the Cullen's with ferocious speed. Felix took on Rosalie and Emmett while Marcus charged Carlisle. In a lightening move he knocked Carlisle to the ground and placed himself between Carlisle and Esme.
Garrett pushed Bella backwards away from the fight, but when Rosalie whistled past them he rethought the situation. Wrapping Bella in his arms he jumped high in the air and onto the roof of the house.
"Sit here and stay put." He said with a broad grin.
"Where exactly am I going to go?" She answered in a shaky voice. This roof was high. "Don't leave me up here."
Garrett laughed and turned his back on her looking down below.
"You'll be fine if you stay still." He laughingly countered.
"Bastard." She whispered.
"That's me sweetheart." He replied before executing a perfect swan dive from the roof and grabbing Rosalie around the neck upon landing swinging her around and off Felix.
"Stay there Esme." Marcus ordered quickly as he moved to place her behind him while he faced Carlisle. "Stay out of this. He can take care of himself." She looked confused and dazed but nodded her agreement and stepped back from the fray, her eyes tracking Felix's every move.
Carlisle looked wild, his eyes pitch black and feral as he watched Esme move away from him. Disbelief crossed his countenance as he realised he had lost her. Marcus watched the realisation dawn on Carlisle's face with a knowing smirk as they cautiously circled each other.
"You really believed that she would not recognise her real mate when she met him didn't you. Is there no end to your arrogance Carlisle?" Marcus scathingly accused.
Carlisle launched himself at Esme in a sloppy attack which Marcus easily anticipated and intercepted. They clashed with a thunder like noise and grappled for a hold. Carlisle was better that Marcus had expected but still no match for him. He watched the ill-timed swipes and lunges which he easily avoided before he grabbed Carlisle's arm and swung him around. They grappled for a short time, snarling and growling while trying to get a firm hold that would mean death to the other. Marcus felt his shoulder give as Carlisle wrenched it with a strength that surprised them both. He suppressed a hiss of pain and the reflex to clench his fists. He would never let on he had been hurt. But looking into Carlisle's eyes Marcus could see they were tinged with madness. Moving faster than ever he knocked Carlisle's knees out from under him and bit down on his shoulder, he detached the blond vampire's right arm and hurled it away from the fray and into the trees. Carlisle screamed in pain and using the momentary distraction this afforded, Marcus quickly removed the remaining limbs and forced his opponent face down into the flower bed.
Felix charged at Emmett and Rosalie. He had tried a move similar to Alistair's but Rosalie was a much more capable fighter than Alice and had narrowly avoided being grabbed. Emmett threw himself toward his huge opponent and they wrestled to the floor and rolled toward the trees. Rosalie hurled herself onto Felix's back in an attempt to dislodge him from Emmett who he had managed to pin down quickly. She was just about to sink her teeth into Felix's neck when she was swung around on to the floor by Garrett.
Shock registered quickly in her eyes but was swiftly replaced by fury.
"We trusted you." She hissed. "How could you betray us, Carlisle is your friend?"
"And Alistair is my brother, there was never any contest." Garrett answered with a smirk. "Besides Carlisle was never my friend."
With that final quip he snarled and reached for her hair to swing her to the ground. She rolled and shot back to her feet in time to be kicked in the stomach and knocked back down again. She screamed in frustration as she charged him again. With a confident smirk Garrett sidestepped and kicked the furious blond in the back as she sailed past. Rosalie crashed into the porch railings. Garrett was on her in an instant grabbing both arms he put his foot between her shoulder blades and pulled. Her arms detached with a shriek and Rosalie screamed in pain. He quickly removed her legs and threw her down into the flowerbed. He then hurdled the remaining porch railings and landed on a still screaming Alice before quickly performing the same move as before and removing her remaining arm and legs. Unfortunately that didn't stop the screaming.
Felix pinned Emmett down with his initial onslaught but had been grabbed by Rosalie quickly and was fighting to stop her biting his neck. When Garrett swung her off him, Felix was dealt a swift, jarring blow to the chin from Emmett which sent him reeling backwards. The two rolled around for a brief moment grappling for supremacy, before Felix again got the upper hand and pinned Emmett again. He grabbed Emmett's arm just below the elbow and squeezed with all his strength.
Emmett cried out in pain as his arm was crushed, the lower arm simply dropping away. Venom leaked freely from the stump as he struggled to keep fighting. Lifting both legs with as much force as he could muster Emmett managed to dislodge Felix and spring to his feet. He was in terrible pain but was trying not to show it. He watched Felix warily as they circled each other. Not looking where he was putting his feet Emmett stumbled over Alice's screaming figure and glanced down involuntarily.
Felix found himself feeling a grudging respect for the large Cullen as he tried valiantly to hide the pain he was in. He saw something of himself in him. They could have been friends under different circumstances. But noticing Emmett's distraction he seized the opportunity to strike and with lightning speed dropped to the floor swinging his leg and kicking Emmett's out from under him. The younger vampire landed on his back with an almighty crash. Dazed and in pain he hesitated for a split second but it was more than long enough. Felix was on him in less than a second and savagely twisted the left leg below the knee.
With an agonized cry Emmett lost his leg and with it the fight. He heard the scream of pain from his wife as her limbs were removed. He was barely aware when Felix ripped off his head.
Alistair and Jasper circled each other carefully while sizing each other up. They would swing and grab but were unable to get a secure hold on the other. Alistair was an unknown to Jasper. From what he did know he was a loner and a coward however Jasper was willing to bet that this was the image Alistair wanted you to see. It was clear to Jasper that there was a great deal more to him than Carlisle was aware. He began to question Carlisle's judgement. After all he had made a series of errors with Edward allowing him too much freedom and say, then with Bella trying to force her loyalty like he had with Esme, it had been a stupid vain risk, and now he had even allowed Edward to escape. Alice had told him time and again that they needed Carlisle to be the public face of their rule. Jasper himself was not well enough respected. But Edward was always there to cause problems and reduce their influence over him. They had had the ideal opportunity to get him out of the way and it had slipped through their fingers and now the whole thing was falling spectacularly into the shit. Once Jasper got through this fight, he was going to make Bella pay then track Edward down and kill him, slowly. Ignoring the screams from Alice he rolled his eyes, she had always been a drama queen but had a useful gift, it paid to keep her around.
Alistair could see the speculative gleam in Jaspers eyes. He really thought he was invincible. Alistair had heard of Jaspers reputation of course, who hadn't? But it didn't bother him. He could see the scars on the younger vampire but wasn't intimidated. No, as far as Alistair was concerned Jasper was just another irritation in his way.
They danced around each other looking for an opening, Jasper swung his arm out swiftly to reach for Alistair's arm as he moved. Alistair ducked and Jasper quickly shot his other arm out to grab him as he did so. Both were quick and agile. They moved at lightning speed, ducking and weaving as they tried to gain an advantage. They both heard Emmett's and Rosalie's cries of pain as they were dismembered but neither obeyed the compulsion to look. They made no sounds unlike the others who were a cacophony or growls and snarls. Silent, swift and deadly they watched each other with hawk like attention. Alistair fainted left, then right then right again, Jasper anticipated each move, but when he expected Alistair to go left a final time he went right again, grabbing Jasper around the waist he lifted and pushed him away, Jasper stumbled slightly on landing giving Alistair the split second he needed to slide along the ground and sweep Jaspers legs out from under him. Grabbing the right leg as Jasper went down, Alistair flipped himself away from the path of the falling vampire but kept hold of his ankle. Jaspers leg detached cleanly and was thrown carelessly into the trees. In the blink of an eye Alistair had Jasper hauled up by the throat, his teeth embedded in the scarred vampire's neck. Jasper knew it was over.
Bella had watched Garrett's leap from the roof in open mouthed wonder. She had seen rugby players do a similar move when scoring a try. The sight of Garrett sailing through the air made her giggle. She began to imagine a vampire rugby match, would they use a head for a ball? Her giggling became more hysterical. Bella was clearly overwrought by the situation. The past days had taken a greater toll on her than she realised so that now, looking down from the roof on to the blurs or movement below that constituted a vampire 'death match' all she could do was laugh because otherwise she would cry.
Hearing movement behind her she shot a fearful glance over her shoulder. Two small blacked cloaked vampires were making their way slowly toward her.
"Don't be afraid Isabella; we are Jane and Alec of the Volturi." The girl, 'Jane' said as she sat down beside Bella with a warm, friendly smile. She looked young with dark red eyes and pale blond hair. She was very pretty, and appeared to have been about fifteen when turned. The other one 'Alec' had dark hair but looked similar to Jane and roughly the same age. They must be related Bella concluded. He remained standing balanced precariously on the pinnacle of the roof as confidently as though he were standing on the ground. It looked hilarious to Bella's obviously overwrought mind and reminded her of Legolas in 'The Hobbit', fighting orcs while balancing on dwarves heads as they floated down the river in barrels. She tried hard to quiet her giggles. Alec smiled at her as well but with less warmth than Jane. They both looked at her as she giggled with questioning stares.
"Sorry it's been a rough couple of days" was the only explanation Bella could offer. Alec smiled again and turned to stare down at the vampires fighting below.
"Shouldn't you be down there helping?" Bella asked quietly.
"No way!" Jane laughed. "Alistair would kill us if we jump into that. He likes to fight fair, whatever that means. Don't worry I have never known him be beaten."
"I can't make out what's going on, Esme is standing alone and the rest is just a blur with the occasional snarl and growl thrown in for good measure." Bella said in a despairing voice. She couldn't tell if Alistair was ok and it worried her a great deal.
"Well, Felix has Emmett down to one arm and is about to remove a leg. See there it goes." Jane offered helpfully while pointing where to look as Bella caught a flash of a leg sail into the trees. "Garrett is close to finishing the blond girl off, looks like he's toyed with her long enough. He gets bored easily." She added by way of explanation.
"The tiny girl, Alice?" She looked at Bella questioningly who nodded. "Well Alice is still on the floor wailing over her detached arm. I think Garrett will finish her off when he is through with the blond. Marcus and Carlisle are clawing chunks off each other, Carlisle is a better fighter than we thought, but Marcus is lethal, look there goes Carlisle's arm." They watched as said arm joined the other detached limbs in the trees.
"We will collect those in a bit." Jane said with a beaming grin. "Alistair and Jasper are dancing around each other looking for an opening. They won't be long now. Ooh great! Look! Alistair has him, yes, see there goes his leg," another leg flew through the air. "Now, see, Alistair has him by the neck. It's all over. Vampire fights don't last long as a rule, especially when these four are involved."
The other fights had stopped as well. Marcus stood over a broken Carlisle who was face down in the flower bed with no limbs still attached, Marcus appeared to be alright but was holding his shoulder gingerly. Garrett had removed Rosalie and Alice's limbs and had thrown them down near Carlisle. Felix was carrying Emmett's head toward the Cullen pile. Bella could hear Rosalie's wail of grief mingled with Alice's whimpers of pain. All heads, however were turned toward Alistair who had his teeth in Jaspers neck. He was staring up at Bella she met his gaze with pride and relief. He was ok, she started to giggle again. Alistair bit down and ripped the head from Jaspers shoulders.
Alice screamed.