Another Chapter! Guys, you've gotta tell me if you like the fact that at the moment I'm only copying and pasting. I'm looking forward to the battle and training sessions (I always do) so I guess I just wanna get to that part. Please guys, help is always welcome.
"Come on Kitty! One week left!" Sophie sang, jumping on her sister "Aren't you excited! We're going to graduate!" a mermaid grumble came from the sheets, muffled by the pillows
"It's exciting! Soon we wont have to worry about school" Sophie continued
"Unless we go to university" Cat mumbled
"I don't think we need to worry about that for a while. Especially seeing as we have the whole 'Bella's intruder' thing to worry about currently" Sophie said
"It still doesn't mean we don't have more school to eventually worry about" Cat complained
"Well we have a week and then nothing for ages!" Sophie cheered
"Will you get off me" Cat asked pushing her sister away and sitting up. "Really still a whole week?"
"It's only a week" Sophie said sitting back up again
"Including today?" Cat wondered, Sophie suddenly remembered she still had to get ready for school. She jumped up and was out of the room
"I'll take that as a yes" Cat mumbled. The twins walked into the kitchen, Sophie began making them breakfast while Cat picked up a newspaper her father had left on the bench
"Uh oh" she muttered
"What?" Sophie wondered. Cat turned the paper around so that her sister could read the title.
SEATTLE TERRORISED BY SLAYINGS
"Read it" Sophie said after taking in a deep breath. Cat laid the paper on the bench while Sophie returned to cooking.
It's been less than a decade since the city of Seattle was the hunting ground for the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history. Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer, was convicted of the murders of 48 women.
And now a beleaguered Seattle must face the possibility that it could be harbouring an even more horrifying monster at this very moment.
The police are not calling the recent rash of homicides and disappearances the work of a serial killer. Not yet, at least. They are reluctant to believe so much carnage could be the work of one individual. This killer — if, in fact, it is one person — would then be responsible for 39 linked homicides and disappearances within the last three months alone. In comparison, Ridgway's 48-count murder spree was scattered over a 21-year period. If these deaths can be linked to one man, then this is the most violent rampage of serial murder in American history.
The police are leaning instead toward the theory that gang activity is involved. This theory is supported by the sheer number of victims, and by the fact that there seems to be no pattern in the choice of victims.
From Jack the Ripper to Ted Bundy, the targets of serial killings are usually connected by similarities in age, gender, race, or a combination of the three. The victims of this crime wave range in age from 15-year-old honour student Amanda Reed, to 67-year-old retired postman Omar Jenks. The linked deaths include a nearly even 18 women and 21 men. The victims are racially diverse: Caucasians, African Americans, Hispanics and Asians.
The selection appears random. The motive seems to be killing for no other reason than to kill.
So why even consider the idea of a serial killer?
There are enough similarities in the modus operandi to rule out unrelated crimes. Every victim discovered has been burned to the extent that dental records were necessary for identification. The use of some kind of accelerant, like gasoline or alcohol, seems to be indicated in the conflagrations; however, no traces of any accelerant have yet been found. All of the bodies have been carelessly dumped with no attempt at concealment.
More gruesome yet, most of the remains show evidence of brutal violence — bones crushed and snapped by some kind of tremendous pressure — which medical examiners believe occurred before the time of death, though these conclusions are difficult to be sure of, considering the state of the evidence.
Another similarity that points to the possibility of a serial: every crime is perfectly clean of evidence, aside from the remains themselves. Not a fingerprint, not a tire tread mark nor a foreign hair is left behind. There have been no sightings of any suspect in the disappearances.
Then there are the disappearances themselves — hardly low profile by any means. None of the victims are what could be viewed as easy targets. None are runaways or the homeless, who vanish so easily and are seldom reported missing. Victims have vanished from their homes, from a fourth-story apartment, from a health club, from a wedding reception. Perhaps the most astounding: 30-year-old amateur boxer Robert Walsh entered a movie theatre with a date; a few minutes into the movie, the woman realised that he was not in his seat. His body was found only three hours later when fire fighters were called to the scene of a burning trash Dumpster, twenty miles away.
Another pattern is present in the slayings: all of the victims disappeared at night.
And the most alarming pattern? Acceleration. Six of the homicides were committed in the first month, 11 in the second. Twenty-two have occurred in the last 10 days alone. And the police are no closer to finding the responsible party than they were after the first charred body was discovered.
The evidence is conflicting, the pieces horrifying. A vicious new gang or a wildly active serial killer? Or something else the police haven't yet conceived of?
Only one conclusion is indisputable: something hideous is stalking Seattle.
Cat finished the paragraph and looked at Sophie
"No" Sophie muttered
"Do you really think…" Cat began
"Vampires" Sophie nodded " 'Something hideous is stalking Seattle' " she quoted.
"Think the Cullens know?" Cat wondered
"Probably. They probably know the signs when a vampire's at work" Sophie murmured
"Think we should go talk to them, see what they know?" Cat suggested
"We have school" Sophie disagreed
"So?" Cat shrugged
"We have finals coming up"
"So? They wont teach us anything new so close to finals" Cat thought
"How do you know?" Sophie crossed her arms
"It would be stupid to do so" Cat admitted. Sophie thought for a while, forgetting about the pancakes she'd begun to make behind her
"Soph, you're burning the pancake" Cat noticed. Sophie jumped out of her thinking state and immediately to saving the pancake.
"Come on, we could at least ask the Cullens about this" Cat convinced
"We could do that over the phone too" Sophie reminded her
"But it's not as easy. Phone conversations are annoying when we can take a five minute run down there" Cat continued
"We shouldn't run everywhere" Sophie muttered, Cat rolled her eyes
"Now you're just making up excuses"
"No I'm not" Sophie argued
"Yeah you are" Cat nodded, eating the pancake her twin had just placed in front of her, but not before drowning it in maple syrup. "Well. I'm going to go ask whether you're coming or not" Cat decided
"Well if you're gonna go anyway then I might as well come. Someone has to keep you out of trouble" Sophie rolled her eyes. Cat sent her a glare. Sophie made them a few more pancakes each before they ate them in silence. The twins drove Sophie's convertible down to the Cullens house. They pulled up outside before climbing out and to the front door, Cat just let herself in and Sophie rolled her eyes at her but followed. Everyone was looking at the door way when they entered
"Morning" Sophie greeted
"Aren't you two meant to be in school?" Edward wondered
"I'm sorry, aren't you posing as a seventeen year old? If so then you should be too" Cat answered back
"I've already learnt it all" Edward argued
"And I don't really care about one day" Cat confessed
"What brings you two here?" Carlisle asked politely. Cat held up the article which she had brought with her. Edward and Carlisle both let out a deep breath. Sophie noticed the same article on the coffee table
"Huh. Guess you have seen it then" she sighed
"Why did you come here because of that?" Emmett asked
"We know everything remember, and we can tell when something's completely off. Like a rouge vampire racing around the streets of Seattle" Cat said
"That is what it is… right?" Sophie checked. She was watching Carlisle, after a second he nodded, answering her question.
"Great" the twins sighed.
"Let's go now," Emmett said with sudden enthusiasm. "I'm dead bored." A hiss echoed down the stairway from upstairs.
"She's such a pessimist," Emmett muttered to himself. Edward agreed with Emmett.
"We'll have to go sometime." Rosalie appeared at the top of the stairs and descended slowly. Her face was smooth, expressionless.
"Wait. You guys are planning to go an deal with this yourself?" Cat wondered
"We don't have much choice" Edward said
"Yeah you do, you're choosing the unselfish one" Sophie shrugged. Carlisle was shaking his head.
"I'm concerned. We've never involved ourselves in this kind of thing before. It's not our business. We aren't the Volturi."
"I don't want the Volturi to have to come here," Edward said. "It gives us so much less reaction time."
"And all those innocent humans in Seattle," Esme murmured. "It's not right to let them die this way."
"I know," Carlisle sighed. The twins looked at one another confused
"Who's the Volturi?" they chorused. Everyone looked at them
"They're kind of like the royal family or the government of Vampires" Bella answered when know one else did
"Vampires have there own government?" Cat wondered, Bella nodded.
"Why would the come here?" Sophie wondered
"They have one very important rule; that vampires don't draw attention to themselves and keep their existence a secret" Bella answered
"So because the situation in seattle is causing such a disturbance you think they're gonna come to stop it?" Sophie realised, everyone nodded
"So why don't you want them here?" Cat asked Edward. No one answered, they all looked a little, on-edge, about that subject. The twins shared an anxious look before looking back at everyone else. It was Carlisle that decided to speak
"The Volturi live in Italy…" he began
"Oh" the twins almost immediately understood
"I'm guessing you met them while over there then" Sophie said to Bella, she nodded
"Humans are not allowed to know about us. Any human that finds out, either has to die, or join us" Carlisle explained
"So you don't want them here because Bella's still human" Sophie asked, everyone nodded
"I see your dilemma now" Cat mumbled
"So you're gonna take out the rogue in seattle instead" Sophie sighed
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Cat wondered. No one spoke, or answered her.
"Oh," Edward said sharply, turning his head slightly to look at Jasper. "I didn't think of that. I see. You're right, that has to be it. Well, that changes everything."
"Huh?" Cat questioned. She wasn't the only one with a confused expression, though everyone else, but Bella, also looked slightly annoyed.
"I think you'd better explain to the others," Edward said to Jasper. "What could be the purpose of this?" Edward started to pace, staring at the floor, lost in thought. Alice got up and was beside Bella in an instant
"What is he rambling about?" she asked Jasper. "What are you thinking?" Jasper didn't seem to enjoy the spotlight. He hesitated, reading every face in the circle — for everyone had moved in to hear what he would say — and then his eyes paused on Bella's face.
"You're confused," he said to her, his deep voice very quiet. There was no question in his assumption. Jasper knew what she was feeling, what everyone was feeling.
"We're all confused," Emmett grumbled.
"Yeah. Can you explain please" Cat agreed
"You can afford the time to be patient," Jasper told them. "Bella should understand this, too. She's one of us now. And I think the twins also deserve to know"
"Know what?" Cat asked annoyed
"How much do you know about me, Bella?" Jasper asked, ignoring Cat's question. Emmett sighed theatrically, and plopped down on the couch to wait with exaggerated impatience.
"Not much," she admitted. Jasper stared at Edward, who looked up to meet his gaze.
"No," Edward answered his thought. "I'm sure you can understand why I haven't told her that story. But I suppose she needs to hear it now." Jasper nodded thoughtfully, and then started to roll up the arm of his ivory sweater. Bella and the twins watched, curious and confused, trying to figure out what he was doing. He held his wrist under the edge of the lampshade beside him, close to the light of the naked bulb, and traced his finger across a raised crescent mark on the pale skin. It took Bella a minute to understand why the shape looked strangely familiar.
"Oh," she breathed as realisation hit. "Jasper, you have a scar exactly like mine." Bella held out her hand, the silvery crescent more prominent against her cream skin than against his alabaster.
"Ow" Cat muttered. Jasper smiled faintly.
"I have a lot of scars like yours, Bella." Jasper's face was unreadable as he pushed the sleeve of his thin sweater higher up his arm. At first their eyes could not make sense of the texture that was layered thickly across the skin. Curved half-moons crisscrossed in a feathery pattern that was only visible, white on white as it was, because the bright glow of the lamp beside him threw the slightly raised design into relief, with shallow shadows outlining the shapes. The twins could see the scars a little more clearly then Bella could. And then Bella grasped that the pattern was made of individual crescents like the one on his wrist . . . the one on her hand. She looked back at her own small, solitary scar — and remembered how she'd received it. Bella stared at the shape of James's teeth, embossed forever on her skin. And then she gasped, staring up at him.
"Jasper, what happened to you?"
"The same thing that happened to your hand" Jasper answered
"But, weren't you bitten by a vampire?" Sophie asked Bella who nodded
"You got bitten by one too?" Cat asked Jasper, he nodded
"Repeated a thousand times" he laughed a little ruefully and brushed at his arm "Our venom is is the only thing that leaves a scar" he explained
"Why?" Bella breathed in horror, feeling rude but unable to stop staring at his subtly ravaged skin.
"I didn't have quite the same … upbringing as my adopted siblings here. My beginning was something else entirely" his voice turned hard as he finished. Bella gapped at him appalled. The twins shared a look before continuing on listening.
"Before I tell you my story," Jasper said, "you must understand that there are places in our world, Bella, where the life span of the never-ageing is measured in weeks, and not centuries." The others had heard this before. Carlisle and Emmett turned their attention to the TV again. Alice moved silently to sit at Esme's feet. But Edward was just as absorbed as Bella and he twins were.
"To really understand why, you have to look at the world from a different perspective. You have to imagine the way it looks to the powerful, the greedy . . . the perpetually thirsty.
"You see, there are places in this world that are more desirable to us than others. Places where we can be less restrained, and still avoid detection.
"Picture, for instance, a map of the western hemisphere. Picture on it every human life as a small red dot. The thicker the red, the more easily we — well, those who exist this way — can feed without attracting notice." Bella shuddered at the word feed.
"Not that the covens in the South care much for what the humans notice or do not. It's the Volturi that keep them in check. They are the only ones the southern covens fear. If not for the Volturi, the rest of us would be quickly exposed." Jasper pronounced the name with respect, almost with gratitude. Unlike the other Cullens who didn't like them.
"The North is, by comparison, very civilised. Mostly we are nomads here who enjoy the day as well as the night, who allow humans to interact with us unsuspectingly — anonymity is important to us all.
"It's a different world in the South. The immortals there come out only at night. They spend the day plotting their next move, or anticipating their enemy's. Because it has been war in the South, constant war for centuries, with never one moment of truce. The covens there barely note the existence of humans, except as soldiers notice a herd of cows by the wayside — food for the taking. They only hide from the notice of the herd because of the Volturi."
"But what are they fighting for?" Bella asked. Jasper smiled.
"Remember the map with the red dots?" He waited, so she nodded.
"They fight for control of the thickest red.
"You see, it occurred to someone once that, if he were the only vampire in, let's say Mexico City, well then, he could feed every night, twice, three times, and no one would ever notice. He plotted ways to get rid of the competition.
"Others had the same idea. Some came up with more effective tactics than others.
"But the most effective tactic was invented by a fairly young vampire named Benito. The first anyone ever heard of him, he came down from somewhere north of Dallas and massacred the two small covens that shared the area near Houston. Two nights later, he took on the much stronger clan of allies that claimed Monterrey in northern Mexico. Again, he won."
"How did he win?" Bella asked with wary curiosity. The twins only listened, not interrupting Jasper as Bella asked all the questions they thought of.
"Benito had created an army of newborn vampires. He was the first one to think of it, and, in the beginning, he was unstoppable. Very young vampires are volatile, wild, and almost impossible to control. One newborn can be reasoned with, taught to restrain himself, but ten, fifteen together are a nightmare. They'll turn on each other as easily as on the enemy you point them at. Benito had to keep making more as they fought amongst themselves, and as the covens he decimated took more than half his force down before they lost.
"You see, though newborns are dangerous, they are still possible to defeat if you know what you're doing. They're incredibly powerful physically, for the first year or so, and if they're allowed to bring strength to bear they can crush an older vampire with ease. But they are slaves to their instincts, and thus predictable. Usually, they have no skill in fighting, only muscle and ferocity. And in this case, overwhelming numbers."
"The vampires in southern Mexico realised what was coming for them, and they did the only thing they could think of to counteract Benito. They made armies of their own. . . .
"All hell broke loose — and I mean that more literally than you can possibly imagine. We immortals have our histories, too, and this particular war will never be forgotten. Of course, it was not a good time to be human in Mexico, either." Bella shuddered
"When the body count reached epidemic proportions — in fact, your histories blame a disease for the population slump — the Volturi finally stepped in. The entire guard came together and sought out every newborn in the bottom half of North America. Benito was entrenched in Puebla, building his army as quickly as he could in order to take on the prize — Mexico City. The Volturi started with him, and then moved on to the rest.
"Anyone who was found with the newborns was executed immediately, and, since everyone was trying to protect themselves from Benito, Mexico was emptied of vampires for a time.
"The Volturi were cleaning house for almost a year. This was another chapter of our history that will always be remembered, though there were very few witnesses left to speak of what it was like. I spoke to someone once who had, from a distance, watched what happened when they visited Culiacán." Jasper shuddered. Bella realised that she had never before seen him either afraid or horrified. This was a first.
"It was enough that the fever for conquest did not spread from the South. The rest of the world stayed sane. We owe the Volturi for our present way of life.
"But when the Volturi went back to Italy, the survivors were quick to stake their claims in the South.
"It didn't take long before covens began to dispute again. There was a lot of bad blood, if you'll forgive the expression. Vendettas abounded. The idea of newborns was already there, and some were not able to resist. However, the Volturi had not been forgotten, and the southern covens were more careful this time. The newborns were selected from the human pool with more care, and given more training. They were used circumspectly, and the humans remained, for the most part, oblivious. Their creators gave the Volturi no reason to return.
"The wars resumed, but on a smaller scale. Every now and then, someone would go too far, speculation would begin in the human newspapers, and the Volturi would return and clean out the city. But they let the others, the careful ones, continue. . . ." Jasper was staring off into space.
"That's how you were changed." Bella's realisation was a whisper.
"Yes," he agreed. "When I was human, I lived in Houston, Texas. I was almost seventeen years old when I joined the Confederate Army in 1861. I lied to the recruiters and told them I was twenty. I was tall enough to get away with it.
"My military career was short-lived, but very promising. People always . . . liked me, listened to what I had to say. My father said it was charisma. Of course, now I know it was probably something more. But, whatever the reason, I was promoted quickly through the ranks, over older, more experienced men. The Confederate Army was new and scrambling to organise itself, so that provided opportunities, as well. By the first battle of Galveston — well, it was more of a skirmish, really — I was the youngest major in Texas, not even acknowledging my real age.
"I was placed in charge of evacuating the women and children from the city when the Union's mortar boats reached the harbour. It took a day to prepare them, and then I left with the first column of civilians to convey them to Houston.
"I remember that one night very clearly.
"We reached the city after dark. I stayed only long enough to make sure the entire party was safely situated. As soon as that was done, I got myself a fresh horse, and I headed back to Galveston. There wasn't time to rest.
"Just a mile outside the city, I found three women on foot. I assumed they were stragglers and dismounted at once to offer them my aid. But, when I could see their faces in the dim light of the moon, I was stunned into silence. They were, without question, the three most beautiful women I had ever seen.
"They had such pale skin, I remember marvelling at it. Even the little black-haired girl, whose features were clearly Mexican, was porcelain in the moonlight. They seemed young, all of them, still young enough to be called girls. I knew they were not lost members of our party. I would have remembered seeing these three.
"'He's speechless,' the tallest girl said in a lovely, delicate voice — it was like wind chimes. She had fair hair, and her skin was snow white.
"The other was blonder still, her skin just as chalky. Her face was like an angel's. She leaned toward me with half-closed eyes and inhaled deeply.
"'Mmm,' she sighed. 'Lovely.'
"The small one, the tiny brunette, put her hand on the girl's arm and spoke quickly. Her voice was too soft and musical to be sharp, but that seemed to be the way she intended it.
"'Concentrate, Nettie,' she said.
"I'd always had a good sense of how people related to each other, and it was immediately clear that the brunette was somehow in charge of the others. If they'd been military, I would have said that she outranked them.
"'He looks right — young, strong, an officer. . . . ' The brunette paused, and I tried unsuccessfully to speak. 'And there's something more . . . do you sense it?' she asked the other two. 'He's . . . compelling.'
"'Oh, yes,' Nettie quickly agreed, leaning toward me again.
"'Patience,' the brunette cautioned her. 'I want to keep this one.'
"Nettie frowned; she seemed annoyed.
"'You'd better do it, Maria,' the taller blonde spoke again. 'If he's important to you. I kill them twice as often as I keep them.'
"'Yes, I'll do it,' Maria agreed. 'I really do like this one. Take Nettie away, will you? I don't want to have to protect my back while I'm trying to focus.'
"My hair was standing up on the back of my neck, though I didn't understand the meaning of anything the beautiful creatures were saying. My instincts told me that there was danger, that the angel had meant it when she spoke of killing, but my judgment overruled my instincts. I had not been taught to fear women, but to protect them.
"'Let's hunt,' Nettie agreed enthusiastically, reaching for the tall girl's hand. They wheeled — they were so graceful! — and sprinted toward the city. They seemed to almost take flight, they were so fast — their white dresses blew out behind them like wings. I blinked in amazement, and they were gone.
"I turned to stare at Maria, who was watching me curiously.
"I'd never been superstitious in my life. Until that second, I'd never believed in ghosts or any other such nonsense. Suddenly, I was unsure.
"'What is your name, soldier?' Maria asked me.
"'Major Jasper Whitlock, ma'am,' I stammered, unable to be impolite to a female, even if she was a ghost.
"'I truly hope you survive, Jasper,' she said in her gentle voice. 'I have a good feeling about you.'
"She took a step closer, and inclined her head as if she were going to kiss me. I stood frozen in place, though my instincts were screaming at me to run." Jasper paused, his face thoughtful.
"A few days later," he finally said, and I wasn't sure if he had edited his story for my sake or because he was responding to the tension that even I could feel exuding from Edward, "I was introduced to my new life.
"Their names were Maria, Nettie, and Lucy. They hadn't been together long — Maria had rounded up the other two — all three were survivors of recently lost battles. Theirs was a partnership of convenience.
Maria wanted revenge, and she wanted her territories back. The others were eager to increase their . . . herd lands, I suppose you could say. They were putting together an army, and going about it more carefully than was usual. It was Maria's idea. She wanted a superior army, so she sought out specific humans who had potential. Then she gave us much more attention, more training than anyone else had bothered with. She taught us to fight, and she taught us to be invisible to the humans. When we did well, we were rewarded. . . ." He paused, editing again.
"She was in a hurry, though. Maria knew that the massive strength of the newborn began to wane around the year mark, and she wanted to act while we were strong.
"There were six of us when I joined Maria's band. She added four more within a fortnight. We were all male — Maria wanted soldiers — and that made it slightly more difficult to keep from fighting amongst ourselves. I fought my first battles against my new comrades in arms. I was quicker than the others, better at combat. Maria was pleased with me, though put out that she had to keep replacing the ones I destroyed. I was rewarded often, and that made me stronger.
"Maria was a good judge of character. She decided to put me in charge of the others — as if I were being promoted. It suited my nature exactly. The casualties went down dramatically, and our numbers swelled to hover around twenty.
"This was considerable for the cautious times we lived in. My ability, as yet undefined, to control the emotional atmosphere around me was vitally effective. We soon began to work together in a way that newborn vampires had never cooperated before. Even Maria, Nettie, and Lucy were able to work together more easily.
"Maria grew quite fond of me — she began to depend upon me. And, in some ways, I worshipped the ground she walked on. I had no idea that any other life was possible. Maria told us this was the way things were, and we believed.
"She asked me to tell her when my brothers and I were ready to fight, and I was eager to prove myself. I pulled together an army of twenty-three in the end — twenty-three unbelievably strong new vampires, organised and skilled as no others before. Maria was ecstatic.
"We crept down toward Monterrey, her former home, and she unleashed us on her enemies. They had only nine newborns at the time, and a pair of older vampires controlling them. We took them down more easily than Maria could believe, losing only four in the process. It was an unheard-of margin of victory.
"And we were well trained. We did it without attracting notice. The city changed hands without any human being aware.
"Success made Maria greedy. It wasn't long before she began to eye other cities. That first year, she extended her control to cover most of Texas and northern Mexico. Then the others came from the South to dislodge her." He brushed two fingers along the faint pattern of scars on his arm.
"The fighting was intense. Many began to worry that the Volturi would return. Of the original twenty-three, I was the only one to survive the first eighteen months. We both won and lost. Nettie and Lucy turned on Maria eventually — but that one we won.
"Maria and I were able to hold on to Monterrey. It quieted a little, though the wars continued. The idea of conquest was dying out; it was mostly vengeance and feuding now. So many had lost their partners, and that is something our kind does not forgive. . . .
"Maria and I always kept a dozen or so newborns ready. They meant little to us — they were pawns, they were disposable. When they outgrew their usefulness, we did dispose of them. My life continued in the same violent pattern and the years passed. I was sick of it all for a very long time before anything changed . . .
"Decades later, I developed a friendship with a newborn who'd remained useful and survived his first three years, against the odds. His name was Peter. I liked Peter; he was . . . civilised — I suppose that's the right word. He didn't enjoy the fight, though he was good at it.
"He was assigned to deal with the newborns — babysit them, you could say. It was a full-time job.
"And then it was time to purge again. The newborns were outgrowing their strength; they were due to be replaced. Peter was supposed to help me dispose of them. We took them aside individually, you see, one by one . . . It was always a very long night. This time, he tried to convince me that a few had potential, but Maria had instructed that we get rid of them all. I told him no.
"We were about halfway through, and I could feel that it was taking a great toll on Peter. I was trying to decide whether or not I should send him away and finish up myself as I called out the next victim. To my surprise, he was suddenly angry, furious. I braced for whatever his mood might foreshadow — he was a good fighter, but he was never a match for me.
"The newborn I'd summoned was a female, just past her year mark. Her name was Charlotte. His feelings changed when she came into view; they gave him away. He yelled for her to run, and he bolted after her. I could have pursued them, but I didn't. I felt . . . averse to destroying him.
"Maria was irritated with me for that . . .
"Five years later, Peter snuck back for me. He picked a good day to arrive.
"Maria was mystified by my ever-deteriorating frame of mind. She'd never felt a moment's depression, and I wondered why I was different. I began to notice a change in her emotions when she was near me — sometimes there was fear . . . and malice — the same feelings that had given me advance warning when Nettie and Lucy struck. I was preparing myself to destroy my only ally, the core of my existence, when Peter returned.
"Peter told me about his new life with Charlotte, told me about options I'd never dreamed I had. In five years, they'd never had a fight, though they'd met many others in the north. Others who could co-exist without the constant mayhem.
"In one conversation, he had me convinced. I was ready to go, and somewhat relieved I wouldn't have to kill Maria. I'd been her companion for as many years as Carlisle and Edward have been together, yet the bond between us was nowhere near as strong. When you live for the fight, for the blood, the relationships you form are tenuous and easily broken. I walked away without a backward glance.
"I traveled with Peter and Charlotte for a few years, getting the feel of this new, more peaceful world. But the depression didn't fade. I didn't understand what was wrong with me, until Peter noticed that it was always worse after I'd hunted.
"I contemplated that. In so many years of slaughter and carnage, I'd lost nearly all of my humanity. I was undeniably a nightmare, a monster of the grisliest kind. Yet each time I found another human victim, I would feel a faint prick of remembrance for that other life. Watching their eyes widen in wonder at my beauty, I could see Maria and the others in my head, what they had looked like to me the last night that I was Jasper Whitlock. It was stronger for me — this borrowed memory — than it was for anyone else, because I could feel everything my prey was feeling. And I lived their emotions as I killed them.
"You've experienced the way I can manipulate the emotions around myself, Bella, but I wonder if you realise how the feelings in a room affect me. I live every day in a climate of emotion. For the first century of my life, I lived in a world of bloodthirsty vengeance. Hate was my constant companion. It eased some when I left Maria, but I still had to feel the horror and fear of my prey.
"It began to be too much.
"The depression got worse, and I wandered away from Peter and Charlotte. Civilised as they were, they didn't feel the same aversion I was beginning to feel. They only wanted peace from the fight. I was so wearied by killing — killing anyone, even mere humans.
"Yet I had to keep killing. What choice did I have? I tried to kill less often, but I would get too thirsty and I would give in. After a century of instant gratification, I found self-discipline . . . challenging. I still haven't perfected that." Jasper was lost in the story, as was Bella and the twins were. It surprised them when his desolate expression smoothed into a peaceful smile.
"I was in Philadelphia. There was a storm, and I was out during the day — something I was not completely comfortable with yet. I knew standing in the rain would attract attention, so I ducked into a little half-empty diner. My eyes were dark enough that no one would notice them, though this meant I was thirsty, and that worried me a little.
"She was there — expecting me, naturally." He chuckled once. "She hopped down from the high stool at the counter as soon as I walked in and came directly toward me.
"It shocked me. I was not sure if she meant to attack. That's the only interpretation of her behaviour my past had to offer. But she was smiling. And the emotions that were emanating from her were like nothing I'd ever felt before.
"'You've kept me waiting a long time,' she said." Alice had come to stand behind Bella again
"And you ducked your head, like a good Southern gentleman, and said, 'I'm sorry, ma'am.'" Alice laughed at the memory. Jasper smiled down at her.
"You held out your hand, and I took it without stopping to make sense of what I was doing. For the first time in almost a century, I felt hope." Jasper took Alice's hand as he spoke. Alice grinned.
"I was just relieved. I thought you were never going to show up." They smiled at each other for a long moment, and then Jasper looked back to Bella, the soft expression lingering.
"Alice told me what she'd seen of Carlisle and his family. I could hardly believe that such an existence was possible. But Alice made me optimistic. So we went to find them."
"Scared the hell out of them, too," Edward said, rolling his eyes at Jasper before turning to Bella to explain. "Emmett and I were away hunting. Jasper shows up, covered in battle scars, towing this little freak" — he nudged Alice playfully — "who greets them all by name, knows everything about them, and wants to know which room she can move into."
"That sounds like Alice" Cat grinned. Alice and Jasper laughed in harmony, soprano and bass.
"When I got home, all my things were in the garage," Edward continued. Alice shrugged. "Your room had the best view." They all laughed together now.
"That's a nice story," Bella said.
"I liked the ending" Cat smirked "Well Edward was kicked out", Sophie rolled he eyes "It was funny" Cat shrugged at her. Three pairs of eyes questioned Bella's sanity at her statement.
"I mean the last part," she defended herself. "The happy ending with Alice."
"Alice has made all the difference," Jasper agreed. "This is a climate I enjoy." But the momentary pause in the stress couldn't last.
"An army," Alice whispered. "Why didn't you tell me?" The others were intent again, their eyes locked on Jasper's face.
"I thought I must be interpreting the signs incorrectly. Because where is the motive? 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 till the Volturi step in. Actually, I'm surprised they've let this go on so long."
"Well, technically there is someone to fight" Cat disagreed
"Who?" Sophie wondered
"Them" Cat nodded to the vampire family "If there is anyone around here to fight. It's this lot"
"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." Jasper's face was hard. Knowing his story now, I could guess how this evaluation must disturb him. "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 that they are not. Maybe we can lure them out"
"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?" Jasper's eyes narrowed; Carlisle's widened, shocked.
"Are you sure you can't read our minds?" Cat asked, everyone looked at them
"Cat just had the same thought" Sophie explained.
"You are the closest, right?" Cat wondered
"Tanya's family is also near," Esme said slowly, unwilling to accept Edward's words.
"The newborns aren't ravaging Anchorage, Esme. I think we have to consider the idea that we are the targets."
"They're not coming after us," Alice insisted, and then paused. "Or . . . they don't know that they are. Not yet."
"Who have you guys pissed off to cause an army to be made to come after you?" Cat wondered. There was silence for a second
"What is that?" Edward asked, curious and tense. "What are you remembering?"
"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 asked in disbelief.
"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."
"Who would know that?" Alice whispered. Edward's eyes were hard as ice. "Aro knows you as well as you know yourself."
"But I would see if they'd decided to come. . . ." "Unless they didn't want to get their hands dirty."
"A favour," Rosalie suggested, speaking for the first time. "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."
"Sounds too… planned" Cat muttered
"Why?" Carlisle asked, still shocked. "There's no reason for the Volturi —"
"It was there," Edward disagreed 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 than 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. . . ." Bella stared at his face in horror, her mind started racing as she imagined Edward and Alice in black, flowing robes, drifting along at Aro's side with their eyes cold and blood-red. . . . Carlisle interrupted her waking nightmare.
"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," Edward said in a grim voice. "No harm done." Jasper leaned forward, shaking his head.
"No, Carlisle is right. The Volturi do not break 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." They all stared at each other, frozen with stress. The twins looked at one another
"Guess this Volturi is really something to worry about" Cat thought
"If they're the royal family and really care about the rules. Then yes, it sounds like it" Sophie nodded
"Then let's go," Emmett almost roared. "What are we waiting for?". Cat grinned
"You're way to excited about this" she admitted, he grinned. Carlisle and Edward exchanged a long glance. Edward nodded once.
"We'll need you to teach us, Jasper," Carlisle finally said. "How to destroy them." Carlisle's jaw was hard, but they could see the pain in his eyes as he said the words. No one hated violence more than Carlisle. There was something bothering Bella, and she couldn't put her finger on it. She felt numb, horrified, deathly afraid. And yet, under that, she could feel that she was missing something important. Something that would make some sense out of the chaos. That would explain it.
"We're going to need help," Jasper said. "Do you think Tanya's family would be willing . . . ? Another five mature vampires would make an enormous difference. And then Kate and Eleazar would be especially advantageous on our side. It would be almost easy, with their aid."
"We'll ask," Carlisle answered. Jasper held out a cell phone.
"We need to hurry."
"We'll help" Cat bursted out standing up
"Are you nuts?" Bella asked
"Hey, I will be perfectly fine, I'm fast and I burn." Cat admitted
"And I'm a fast learner. If Jasper's going to teach you all, why not teach us too. You might need our help" Sophie agreed standing next to her
"Jacob wont agree to it" Edward immediately said
"He can't exactly stop me" Cat confessed crossing her arms
"Are you even going to tell them?" Emmett questioned, the girls shared a look before shrugging. Bella never seen Carlisle's innate calm so shaken. He took the phone, and paced toward the windows. He dialled a number, held the phone to his ear, and laid the other hand against the glass. He stared out into the foggy morning with a pained and ambivalent expression. Edward took Bella's hand and pulled her to the white loveseat. She sat beside him, staring at his face while he stared at Carlisle. Carlisle's voice was low and quick, difficult to hear. Bella heard him greet Tanya, and then he raced through the situation too fast for her to understand much, though she could tell that the Alaskan vampires were not ignorant of what was going on in Seattle. The twins listened and watched. They knew the argument of there involvement was far from over, they had to convince the Cullens, then they had the even harder job of convincing the wolves when they found out. Then something changed in Carlisle's voice.
"Oh," he said, his voice sharper in surprise. "We didn't realise . . . that Irina felt that way." Edward groaned at Bella's side and closed his eyes.
"Damn it. Damn Laurent to the deepest pit of hell where he belongs."
"Laurent?" Bella whispered, the blood emptying from my face, but Edward didn't respond, focused on Carlisle's thoughts.
"Laurent?" the twins asked before looking at each other, as though expecting the other to understand. Victoria. Laurent had been her first manoeuvre — she'd sent him to observe, to see how hard it might be to get to Bella. He hadn't survived the wolves to report back. Though he'd kept up his old ties with Victoria after James's death, he'd also formed new ties and new relationships. He'd gone to live with Tanya's family in Alaska — Tanya the strawberry blonde — the closest friends the Cullens had in the vampire world, practically extended family. Laurent had been with them for almost a year previous to his death. Carlisle was still talking, his voice not quite pleading. Persuasive, but with an edge. Then the edge abruptly won out over the persuasion.
"There's no question of that," Carlisle said in a stern voice. "We have a truce. They haven't broken it, and neither will we. I'm sorry to hear that. . . . Of course. We'll just have to do our best alone." Carlisle shut the phone without waiting for an answer. He continued to stare out into the fog.
"What's the problem?" Emmett murmured to Edward.
"Irina was more involved with our friend Laurent than we knew. She's holding a grudge against the wolves for destroying him to save Bella."
"Was he the one the wolves destroyed, near that field… was friends with this James and Victoria?" Sophie asked, everyone looked at them "What? Bella blabbed to Emily" she shrugged
"Plus were only missed that little dispute by a few minutes" Cat admitted
"So…" Emmett urged for an explanation
"She wants —" Edward paused, looking down at Bella.
"Go on," she said as evenly as she could. His eyes tightened.
"She wants revenge. To take down the pack. They would trade their help for our permission."
"No!" Bella and the twins gasped.
"Don't worry," he told them in a flat voice. "Carlisle would never agree to it." He hesitated, then sighed. "Nor would I. Laurent had it coming" — this was almost a growl — "and I still owe the wolves for that."
"This isn't good," Jasper said. "It's too even a fight. We'd have the upper hand in skill, but not numbers. We'd win, but at what price?" His tense eyes flashed to Alice's face and away. Bella wanted to scream out loud as she grasped what Jasper meant. We would win, but we would lose. Some wouldn't survive. The twins frowned as Bella looked around the room at their faces — Jasper, Alice, Emmett, Rose, Esme, Carlisle . . . Edward — the faces of her family.
"What do we do? If no one does anything, so many more people are gonna get hurt" Sophie worried
"But if we do do something, the Cullens' numbers will drop" Cat muttered
"Even if we help?" Sophie wondered
"Don't know" Cat sighed.