Chapter 133
Charlie
I sat looking over the ocean without even really being aware of its vast emptiness. Leaving Volterra hadn't been difficult, staying would have been much more so. I was thinking about Bella and what I had done to her. At the time it had seemed the most sensible thing to do, she was going through the horrors of the change and then the difficult path all newborns had to tread. To bother her with my news seemed petty.
Sure I'd found my mate and we decided to get married but it would have been hard on Bella knowing what was going on and not being able to attend and Chloe was so eager to become my wife. Athena and the guys said what I was only thinking, a wedding isn't such a big deal, besides which Bella might be hurt that I got married again although it had been Renee who wanted the divorce not me. I chose to listen to them and not Esme or Rose who both thought I should have either delayed the wedding or at least given Bella the opportunity to attend if Jasper thought she was controlled enough. In the end, it was Chloe's fear that Bella might ruin her big day by losing control that decided me and I swore the others to secrecy but if I had known just how badly Bella would react...
From the look on her face and her words I doubted I could ever make things right between us but I hoped that perhaps when she understood that at least some of her friends had stood up for her she might forgive them. All I knew was that I had to get away and Chloe understanding why was extremely supportive. She had offered to ring Bella, try to explain, but we decided eventually that might only make matters worse so we just left.
The council would soon elect a new leader, I was more interested in making a new life although this life would always have a ragged hole where my daughter should have been. When Chloe suggested we leave without telling anyone where we were going so we could spend some quality time alone I was only too happy to agree. The only person I wanted to hear from wasn't going to pick up the phone anytime soon so we flew from Italy to the Philippines and from there chartered a boat to visit some of the islands choosing the unpopulated ones wherever possible. Then flew to Singapore, another country I always wanted to visit. Most of the time I enjoyed myself, after all I was alone with my mate, but from time to time I couldn't help thinking of the mess I had made with Bella.
Chloe had tried really hard to distract me and for a while it worked. Discussing my gift we had decided it might be fun to discover just how good it really was so we went swimming and waiting until we came across a shoal of fish I tried pushing them away as they surrounded us like a silver cloud. It was strange watching as they became a ring with us at the center and I kept pushing until we could no longer see them. It had been fun but I wanted to try something a little bigger and less likely to turn tail and run so we hunted Barracuda finding some huge ones out at sea, aggressive and hungry they came straight for us and I allowed them to get close, much to Chloe's delight before pushing them away which just made them more aggressive and determined.
Again and again they attacked but I stopped them at a greater distance each time until they got tired and frustrated and went in search of something they could actually catch. From there we continued our experiment on land in the jungles and this time I tried to hide from Chloe and keep her from finding me by sending my shield further and further. At first I wasn't that good but with practice it got to the point where I could keep her at bay even when I couldn't see or hear where she was. I'd been frustrated with my gift after the initial novelty wore off, but now I could see just how powerful it really was. I just wished I could tell Bella about it right now.
Chloe
I was relieved Charlie had opted to go for a walk alone, he was in one of his pensive moods, thinking about Bella and I felt dreadful. This wasn't how it was supposed to work. When I was chosen to befriend Athenadora some years back so we had ears in Volterra I never expected I would actually visit but when we heard about the deaths and the new council headed by a powerfully gifted vampire it was decided I should visit and try to ensnare him, try to lure him from Volterra giving us a better chance of overpowering the new Volturi and wresting control. After all, what right did he and the Cullens have to decide they were the only ones fit to rule our kind? There was no open vote, nothing, we were just presented with the news that Aro and his brothers had been ousted and a new council now controlled our world.
I never planned on finding my mate in Volterra, the very man I was supposed to be working on. Once I knew about his daughter I saw a way to keep him and save his daughter from danger. If she were kept in the dark about the wedding she would, if I knew anything about the "gentler sex", be incensed and leave her father and Volterra.
Persuading Charlie we should leave after that was easy, he couldn't wait to get away and so long as Bella continued to be angry at her father she wasn't likely to visit Italy. Not taking our cell phones with us hadn't been a difficult sell either, we didn't care what happened in Volterra and we had no one we wanted to keep in contact with, besides Bella, so we left them with the rest of our things in our suite. However I did stow a small phone on me, after all I needed to know how our plan was progressing and every time Charlie went off alone I would check for updates. As it was only switched on for a few seconds each time I wasn't afraid we would be traced, if anyone bothered to try, and the battery would last until I could recharge or replace it.
This time however the news was mixed, the three parties were almost in position which was good, but the council had elected Darius as its leader which could make things more difficult for us. Then came the blow, Darius had a very sensitive nose for trouble and he had requested The Major join them in Volterra along with the Captain which meant Bella was headed right into the storm that was brewing and possibly to her death.
I put the phone away and sat, a sick feeling washing over me. If Bella died Charlie would be broken hearted, he would never forgive himself for not making things right between them and it was all my fault. I was torn between my duty to my sisters and that to my mate, either way I would betray someone I loved. My sisters in our coven had spent centuries waiting for an opportunity to have our voices heard while hiding in silence from the cruelty of the Volturi and now it had finally come, could I really betray them?
Charlie
When I got back Chloe looked visibly upset and I rushed to comfort her wondering what could possibly have happened? She refused to say anything at first so we sat in silence holding hands and I knew a struggle was going on inside her but had no idea what it was all about. Finally, she stood up and walked until she was facing the cabin we had made home for the past few weeks.
"Charlie, I have an admission to make and I'm afraid you will be angry with me, I might even lose you, but I have to tell you the truth whatever the consequences."
I walked to her, but she wouldn't let me comfort her or even touch her,
"No, because I couldn't bear the feeling as you drew back, please just listen to me."
"OK, but I can't think of anything that would stop me loving you."
She laughed harshly,
"You will. My name is my own but the things I told you about my past are not. I have been a vampire for centuries and I belong to a coven called the Sisters of Death, have you heard of us?"
"No can't say I have, but it doesn't make any difference."
She turned round and there was such sadness in her eyes,
"Oh, it does because we are the deadly enemy of the Volturi, a ruling council that denied women the chance to speak. We have waited patiently for a chance to become rulers of our world and now that time has come."
"But the new council has women on it, Esme, Athenadora, Rose, they all have a say in the running of our world."
"My sisters and I ideally wanted total control and when we heard there was a chance that the Volturi might lose their grip we made a pact with the Romanians. Stefan and Vladimir agreed that we could control our world provided they were the figureheads."
"So what was your part in all this?"
"To lure you away from Volterra. We knew we couldn't beat your shield so it was my job to get you away, but I fell in love with you, I recognized you as my mate, how ironic is that Charlie Swan?"