A/N: What is this? Another update so soon? Yes, yes it is. As I said in the notes for Chapter 18, the last chapters of this story are complete. I'm in the editing phase, which isn't going too badly, and I wanted to get this one out as soon as I could because it will be a couple days for the final chapter due to work hours.
I kept all my focus on the meeting about to take place, trying to ignore all the minds around me except for Eleazar's and the two guards'. Bella, knowing my role, led me to stand near the windows by the front door but out of sight. She acted as my eyes so that I had no need to pay attention to my surroundings, even though I was very aware of my family around me, standing further back in the living room.
Demetri and Felix, unfamiliar minds that I couldn't tell apart at this point, were both thinking similar things. They focused on the amusement and contempt they felt for their former colleague's choice of diet and the annoyance of having to travel in person to talk with him since Aro did not want to risk word of this new talent getting out due to intercepted communications. That gave me a small clue into the capabilities of the Volturi, although I didn't know what I might need it for. Bella hardly ever talked about them, so up until this point I'd been thinking of them as archaic in habit, perhaps with a phone in their large castle but otherwise almost unaware of the technological advancements of the past centuries. From the memories in Demetri and Felix's minds, nothing could be further from the truth.
Flashes of memories from the journey came to me from their minds, the familiarity with air travel accomplished with dark glasses and intimidation, using the sleek cell phones they held in their pockets, the laptop Demetri had left in the hotel room near the airport in Anchorage where they had based this visit out of. I tried not to show my surprise, in part because I didn't want to explain anything and give away our presence with the sound of my voice, but also because I felt like Bella would think I was silly for not realizing how comfortable the Volturi would need to be in the human world, almost as much as my family and I have been for decades. They were required to travel often to quell unrest and rumors. She'd already explained that to me. For some reason, it never clicked until this moment.
The two guards moved with almost silent feet through the snow. I only heard the crunch of their boots a few moments before Eleazar's thoughts registered their approach to the house. I followed his mind as he opened the door and stepped out. He greeted Demetri first, and I was able to identify his thoughts after that as he replied. No longer would I doubt who was thinking what during this visit, thank God.
Felix's reply to Eleazar was gruff not only because that was his nature but because Carmen stepped out to join her mate at that point. He didn't like Carmen, seeing her as the reason that Eleazar left the fold in the first place. Yet he was polite to her for Aro's sake if nothing else, since he knew that he would be reprimanded for any unwarranted incivility to one of the Volturi's allies when they got home. Eleazar still counted as that, along with his mate.
"What brings you here this time, Demetri?" Eleazar asked, more comfortable with the smaller, calmer of the two. His thoughts revealed that he'd always found Demetri to be a good companion, if a little too harsh for his preferences as a friend.
"A vampire we heard of in Africa, my friend." Demetri, on the other hand, had no problem at least alluding to friendship. "It is said that he is able to affect the very elements with his mind. Master Aro is curious about this, of course."
Eleazar hummed. "Well, it seems a bit unlikely, to be truthful. He might manipulate magnetic fields instead. I encountered a vampire like that once, centuries ago, although his talent was very weak. He could light a candle by snapping his finger, which vibrated the magnetic fields enough to generate a spark. But all the elements? Seems a little far-fetched, my friend." Eleazar knew how to play the game as well, of course.
Demetri nodded while Felix crossed his arms, his plan to be intimidating so that Eleazar would tell them the truth. "Master Aro wondered as much. He remembered the same vampire. But this new one is said to be much stronger."
Eleazar spread his hands. "Without him in front of me, I can't ascertain the truth of that. You know that, Demetri. That is not how my gift works."
"Of course. Unfortunately, we have not managed to track this vampire down. When we do, would you be willing to come to Volterra and identify his ability?"
"You think he will come with you? If he is as powerful as rumor claims, would he find a need to align himself with any one group, even the Volturi?" Eleazar's thoughts revealed something that I'd never heard of before. He knew why the Volturi gained new members so easily, when they—or rather, Aro—wanted to. It was Chelsea, a vampire whose ability was to create connections between others, ties of loyalty and even comradery that only the bond of a mate or a strong shield could combat. My eyes slid to Bella, waiting quietly next to me.
Demetri, unaware of Eleazar's thoughts and even the artificial ties laid upon him, laughed, while Felix's scowl grew. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, eh? First we have to find the bastard."
Eleazar inclined his head. At that point, Bella stepped out onto the porch, bringing me with her. Demetri and Felix's eyes flew to us, and they tensed as if unsure what was happening. Thankfully, Bella knew how to diffuse the situation.
"I thought I heard familiar voices. Hello, Demetri, Felix." She inclined her head towards them. Her voice was calm and curious, perfect for greeting former colleagues she wasn't expecting to see.
"Isabella. Eleazar did not mention you were here," Felix said. Of the two, he was the tensest, as if he was ready to attack at any moment.
"From what it sounded like when I began paying attention to your conversation, he was probably more interested in helping you than in telling you that a former associate of yours was visiting," Bella replied as we moved down into the yard with them. The rest of the family followed behind as if drawn out by the voices, two or three at a time. The appearance of the others also seemed to set them further on edge, but to my surprise Bella dropped my hand and walked forward, her eyes warm. This wasn't exactly how the vision had gone, but it seemed to work. Even though they eyed the others warily, Felix's thoughts as he stepped toward Bella were filled with surprise instead of aggression, although Demetri was still wary.
"It's very good to see you both." She extended her hand, and Felix grasped it in a warrior's clasp, hand to wrist, which she returned. There was no warning when Bella tensed and threw him over her shoulder so that he landed on his back behind her.
Felix, instead of growing angry, let out a laugh and jumped to his feet. He grabbed Bella and, even though I snarled, pulled her into a short but strong hug. "It is good to see that you remember your training, Isabella!"
The rest of us stared wide-eyed at the pair. I could feel myself still growling, which Bella must have realized at the same time as Felix because she stepped back towards me and grabbed my hand. Felix's eyes narrowed on us, as did Demetri's, but within moments the larger of the two figured out the truth.
"Ah, little Isabella has mated, has she?"
Bella raised her chin. "Disappointed, Felix?"
The two men looked at each other and then back at her, eyebrows raised. "Finally displaying that fighting spirit we knew was in there, are you?" Demetri finally spoke.
A wry smile twisted her lips. "I learned from the best, didn't I?" She glanced up at me and then back to them. "This is my mate, Edward Cullen."
Felix turned curious eyes on me. "Cullen, eh? I thought I recognized Carlisle behind you," he murmured.
Carlisle stepped forward, his arm around Esme. His thoughts were wary but cordial. His past interactions with these two hadn't been hostile, so he felt comfortable enough in their presence. I couldn't tell if that was wise or not yet.
"Demetri, Felix!" Carlisle's smile was warm as ever, to Demetri's eyes, and did not give away the slight nervousness in his thoughts. "It has been a long time. Pardon me for not coming out upon your arrival. I was, ah, otherwise detained." I watched his thoughts as he allowed his eyes to caress Esme's face once before turning back to the guards.
"Carlisle, it has been too long, my friend. And this is your mate?" Demetri's voice was smooth, but his thoughts gave him away upon seeing my beautiful mother. He assessed her, noting the almost submissive stance she took slightly behind Carlisle's left shoulder, and concluded that she was no threat at all. I wouldn't have agreed, especially if one of her children was in danger, but it was better that he underestimated her.
Carlisle nodded, unaware of those thoughts, of course. "Yes, this is my wife, Esme." She offered them a small smile, giving the appearance of shyness, and both Volturi proceeded to dismiss her. That made me seethe, but it was the reaction we were trying for.
"We've heard you've gathered quite the coven, Carlisle," Felix said, his eyes flashing back to Bella. "And perhaps are still adding to it?"
Carlisle smiled. "I do have a rather large family, I suppose. We find comfort in companionship during this lonely life. None of us have the temperaments suited to the nomad way. Aro and I have discussed it often, through letters and then telephone conversations. He agrees with me that the best solace is in the presence of others of our kind." With just those few words, Carlisle reminded both men that he was a favorite of Aro and informed them that Aro was indeed aware of the size of our family—for the most part. I knew that Carlisle hadn't quite gotten around to notifying him of Bella's presence. That would have to be rectified now before Demetri and Felix had a chance to report back. But we knew that going into this. It was a conscious decision not to call him before the visit.
"And yes, Bella has joined us since finding a mate in my son, Edward."
"Son?" Demetri's quiet voice cut in.
Carlisle's smile grew a little sheepish. "Yes, well, I do think of them as my children. Edward, there with Bella," he gestured to me. "And Rosalie and Emmett." They came forward a few steps when he motioned to them, nodding politely toward the guards.
"As well as Alice and Jasper, the only two other than Bella I didn't change myself." The last two members of our family nodded from where they stood on the porch.
Felix's eyebrows rose again. "You, changed humans into vampires? What of your vaunted morals, Carlisle?" He remembered conversations with Carlisle, debates on the morality of deliberately changing humans. This was soon after Jane and Alex were changed, when the topic was still fresh within the halls of Volterra.
"Dying humans." Carlisle actually had a bit of bite in his voice. He thought about how he still worried, sometimes, if he'd made the right choice.
Demetri moved closer and shrugged. "I suppose that makes it better in your eyes." He watched Carlisle carefully. The part of his mind that registered mental signatures for tracking was busy reevaluating the old and making new as his eyes swept around the yard once more. He noted an anomaly but refrained from mentioning it immediately.
"I have hope," was all Carlisle said in return.
I knew what Demetri was going to say next before the words came out of his mouth. He could not ignore what he had perceived.
"Isabella, may I speak with you privately for a few moments?"
Bella smiled at him and nodded. "But Edward comes as well." She didn't specify why, but the steel in her words, something I hadn't had much opportunity to hear before, said she wouldn't take no for an answer.
"Of course."
I flicked a glance back at Alice as we made our decision. The vision that flashed through her mind showed a calm conversation, no words audible, so I followed Bella and Demetri into the trees beyond the cabin without protest. The others watched us leave, confusion evident in their thoughts.
When Demetri deemed we were far enough away, he turned and gave Bella a serious look. "Tell me, Isabella, did you know that you are able to shield young Edward?"
The confusion on her face was genuine. Demetri knew that as soon as he looked at her. He'd had centuries of determining liars and cheats. Bella's golden eyes, so different from the red he remembered, held only innocent bewilderment.
"What are you talking about, Demetri? Nothing feels different, as Renata said it would if I shielded someone else." It sounded as if the words were torn from her throat. I thought I understood. After all, she had tried for almost a year to live up to the Volturi's expectations with no idea what would happen to her if she couldn't. The stress of that must have been awful.
He shrugged. "She may have been wrong. Her gift could be different from yours in more than the way it manifests. I only know that I cannot read a mental signature from Edward Cullen."
Her eyes dropped to the ground. "You'll have to tell Aro. It might as well be before he touches you for the debriefing."
She didn't see his nod. "Yes, that is best. Do not despair, though, Isabella. You haven't been keeping this a secret from him. I can tell. If you truly do not know how you're shielding yourself or Edward, your gift is still as useless to us as it always was."
I hissed at the inadvertent slight to my mate. I knew from his thoughts that he hadn't meant it harshly, but the sad expression on Bella's face when she raised her head again caused me to react almost without thought myself.
"That is a good thing, young Edward." He looked at me sternly. "Isabella has no desire to be among the Volturi, although she did well in her training. We were proud of her. But her golden eyes tell the story. She would never have been happy there, and her power is not enough to make her essential when she cannot use it to protect others—except in the case of her mate, it seems. That is my supposition, although we may ask Eleazar if you would prefer."
Bella spoke up. "He hasn't noticed anything unusual, or at least he hasn't said anything to me. You must be right, Demetri. It must be the bond. Maybe my shield recognizes Edward as the other half of me." A smile lit her eyes, one both Demetri and I were glad to see.
With a nod, Demetri gestured back toward the cabin. "Shall we?"
Bella and I followed him back, hands entwined once more. The few minutes it took to return flew by, and then before our family had a chance to say much more, Demetri and Felix took their leave after obtaining Eleazar's promise to come to Volterra if their mysterious new talent ever surfaced. They left in a swish of dark gray cloaks, hoods raised up high in the normal dramatic fashion I now knew they reveled in, although neither knew how identical their thoughts were in that regard. Having a peek into the minds of two Volturi guards had been enlightening, to say the least.
Once we were sure they were out of earshot, the rest of my family swarmed us, although the cousins held back. We exchanged ecstatic hugs all around, and emotional words reaffirmed our commitment to each other as a family. Rosalie even hugged Bella hard, much to my amazement. Although I shouldn't have been so shocked, given the way they returned to Emmett and me after hunting earlier.
Finally, we stepped back, allowing the Denalis to come forward. Eleazar reached out a hand and shook Carlisle's. "I'm sorry I didn't have more faith in you, my friend."
"Do you think we're out of the woods for good?" Carmen asked, her eyes still a touch fearful.
Carlisle smiled at her. "We will be as soon as I can get to the satellite phone in the house. I'd better go tell Aro about our newest addition. The signal won't be good enough for Felix and Demetri to let him know for at least a few more minutes." With that, he hurried inside.
I reveled in the relief the rest of my family, even the Denali sisters hanging back a few feet away form the rest of the group. It felt like a victory of sorts, surviving this meeting when a few days prior we'd been sure it would bring destruction. Not that I didn't believe in Alice's last vision, of course, but I couldn't help the worry. I decided to apologize to her in private later.
Already forgiven, brother, she thought as the vision of my apology blossomed in her mind. Sometimes the way our gifts complemented each other was more than convenient.
"Now, Bella, let's go inside. We haven't had any lessons today," Jasper said, pulling my beautiful mate to away from me and spinning her around. We both sighed in exasperation.
"Come on, Jasper. Let's celebrate for a while, okay?"
At some point, Bella had crept into the part of Jasper's psyche that wouldn't allow him to deny her anything she wanted, especially if his wife was on the other side of him giving him a stern look.
"Later, Jaz. Bella's right," she scolded him.
"Of course I am," Bella laughed. "Although maybe you could continue to teach me chess. Then we're playing, but also you get some of the satisfaction of teaching!"
The suggestion appealed to him and to the rest of us, to be honest. Watching the two of them play chess was hilarious, since they seemed able to push each other's buttons with some of the most witty verbal sparring while also making complicated moves on the board. Jasper still won every match, but I predicted that wouldn't last much longer.
With a fake sigh, he allowed himself to be led inside. Everyone else followed, myself included. Before I could step through the door, though, I felt a hand on my arm. I'd been so distracted by the happy thoughts that I hadn't noticed one set of miserable ones.
"Edward, can we talk?" Her voice was low but not quite a whisper. She wasn't trying to hide this conversation from the others, and unlike the last few weeks, her thoughts were completely free of sexual fantasies and plans to draw me away from Bella. She really did want to talk, and only talk, although she was hiding the reason why behind a constant stream of KPop song lyrics.
I nodded, and she pulled me back out into the yard. Everyone could still hear us, and we both knew it, but it gave the illusion of privacy. That seemed important to her.
Tanya looked down at her feet and dropped the KPop so I would know she was being honest with me. "I wanted to say I'm sorry for the past few weeks. I don't know what came over me except, I guess, jealousy. You brought Bella here and fell in love with her so quickly when you always took my advances as being silly. I couldn't understand what you saw in her that you couldn't see in me all the years we've known each other. But Jasper talked with me earlier while you and Bella were still out and explained how you've been feeling when I…well, when I've been being a bitch. I didn't mean to do that at all. I suppose I got so caught up in proving to you that I would be better for you that I didn't take you into account at all, which sounds stupid when I say it out loud."
I frowned. "You owe more than just me an apology. Bella's been good about ignoring the little jibes you've thrown her way, if you ask me, but I know it's hurt her feelings, too."
She wrinkled her nose but sighed. "Yes, you're right. I should have brought her out here, too."
I almost expected Bella to say she forgave her from inside the house, but it seemed my adorable mate could hold a slight grudge after all. The others were engaged in low voiced conversations, trying to give us cover noise, but I was sure she had heard even though I couldn't hear her thoughts. Alice, sitting next to her, kept an eye on her while she picked at an almost-invisible loose thread on the couch, but she hadn't had a vision of Bella's reaction to an apology yet. Perhaps she wanted to hear Tanya's apology in person. I couldn't blame her.
"Well, why don't we go back in?" I gestured for her to lead the way.
She gave me a small smile and acquiesced, taking swift strides back up to the porch and the front door. As she breezed in, I heard every breath in the living room stop, conversations dwindling to nothing. Bella stood up at the same moment that I stepped through the door, closing it softly behind me.
Tanya stopped in front of Bella and stood there for a moment, hands clasped in front of her at her waist. I moved over to stand next to my mate, draping my arm around her shoulders. She reached up a hand to squeeze mine but kept her eyes on Tanya.
"Bella," she began and then stopped for a few moments. I could hear her thoughts as she tried to decide what was best to say. Her golden eyes stayed on Bella the whole time. "I am so sorry for the way I've acted since you arrived. There is no excuse for it, although I'm sure you know I was jealous of what you and Edward have discovered together. I think I was more jealous that you'd fallen in love than who you fell in love with, if you can understand that. And, well, I hope that you can forgive me, and we can start over again as cousins."
Bella stared at her for several seconds before finally nodding, although she didn't smile as I expected. "I accept your apology. I think I can understand how lonely the last millennia have been for you, even surrounded by family. I hope that you will find a special bond like ours sometime soon," she conceded gracefully.
Tanya's eyes lifted to mine, and I heard the question in her mind. "Yes, I forgive you as well. After all, we all make mistakes."
We realized the same thing at the same time. "You're never going to let me live this down, are you?" Her voice was different than it had been since our arrival, lighter and with a teasing quality that wasn't at all sensual.
Bella and I answered at the same time. "Never."
I know there have been people upset with how Tanya's been acting. I hope the end of this can resolve some of that for you. I tried to make it believable. I don't think she's a horrible person at heart. She's just a little selfish until she gets hit over the head with reality.