The party from Wisconsin had reached the castle in minutes, and while they paused for Edward to scan the thoughts of anyone who might be close enough to become aware of their presence, Alice searched the future for obstacles and outcomes.

With Bella shielding all of them from being sensed by anyone guarding the castle's perimeter, they had arrived undetected at the base of the fortifications and quickly scaled the wall to reach the upper levels—all apart from Bella, who remained at ground level. After the days and weeks of training and practice back at Fox Point, Bella found that utilizing her shield had, indeed, become second nature, just as Eleazar and Jasper had predicted. Even her inner shield, which she initially was only able to expand at the point of high emotion, could now be pushed out at will, as she had demonstrated to Edward earlier.

However, having ensured their safe—and clandestine—entry to the castle, Bella now made her way alone to the main entrance, as agreed. She knew her family were now extremely vulnerable, but she also knew that they had strength and gifts to spare. She just had to put her trust in the plan and their undoubted skills.

Approaching the heavy oak doors set into the medieval edifice, Bella reminded herself there was little within those walls that could harm her. Indeed, she couldn't help but take a moment to reflect on how her life had taken an extraordinary turn since the days when she cowered from Jake's possessive anger or, more appositely, that very particular day when everything had changed forever—at the very moment when terror had overtaken her, only to discover that it was to lead her to an existence she couldn't even have dreamed of. One so perfect, so full, and so very precious that any residual doubts she may have harbored now dissipated as she accepted that the task ahead of her was literally a matter of do or die. With renewed determination, she reached up to grab the large bellpull and yanked it down, hearing the resulting clang echoing loudly inside.

Almost immediately, a hatch in the door swung open, and a small, somewhat wizened face appeared, looking decidedly bad-tempered despite the incongruously jaunty scarlet cap pulled low over a heavily wrinkled brow. Bella almost laughed, unaccountably reminded of the scene in The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy and her friends arrived at the Emerald City, only to be denied entry by a remarkably similar troll-like individual.

"State your business, wench. I haven't got all day," the ugly little … person rasped—it was impossible to determine by face alone whether it was male or female. Again, she was amused by the thought that it also put paid to her theory that being turned into a vampire instantly made one beautiful. It was clearly an unusual occurrence that so many gorgeous vampires had all assembled under one roof in Wisconsin. However, unbeknownst to Bella, this was no vampire; it was a Redcap, a murderous species of goblin that used to roam the border of England and Scotland, attacking unsuspecting travelers in the Middle Ages. Fortunately for Anglo-Saxons and Celts alike, they were decimated by the Romans and fled to the darker reaches of medieval Europe, several of whom were employed as servants within the castle, carrying out the more unpleasant tasks such as cleaning up the bodies after feeding time—their reward being the opportunity to consume the human flesh they craved.

"Speak up, speak up. What are you about, arseling?"

"Goodness me, no need to be so rude," she retorted, wondering what the hell an arseling was—although she could hazard a guess it was nothing complimentary.

"I have no time for this," he hissed and began to shut the hatch.

Bella's hand shot out, sending the little door swinging back to hit the goblin in the face and causing him to disappear. She realized, with some surprise, that he had fallen off a step or box upon which he needed to stand to see through the opening. Leaning forward, she tentatively stuck her head through to see the gnome-like man—his gender having become unpleasantly obvious due to the bagginess of his shorts—pick himself up and furiously brush himself off, all the while mumbling angrily to himself.

"Hey, I'm sorry, but I need to come in."

He looked up sharply and scowled at her. "I told you to state your business," he snarled, scampering back onto his box and forcing Bella to back off.

"I need to see Aro. I have important business with him."

"Ha, who are you to have important business with Lord Aro, aaarseling?" he demanded with a sneer, drawing out the insult.

Bella sighed. Time was wasting, and she needed to get inside pronto. "Tell Aro I have to talk to him about Carlisle Cullen. Tell him it's urgent."

She saw immediately that the name had engendered a reaction and waited impatiently for him to open the door. Clearly, he wasn't keen to let her in, probably still smarting from the humiliation of being sent flying onto his bony ass by a girl, but she was pretty sure he was conflicted in view of what had brought her here.

Finally, he appeared to make up his mind, deciding not to risk the wrath of Aro should he find out about the visitor and want to know why he didn't let her in—especially as he would likely covet such a beauty. Without another word, he slammed shut the hatch door, and Bella heard locks and bolts being released. A few seconds later, one half of the enormous door swung slowly open and the tiny man beckoned her in with an impatient wave of a gnarly hand.

Inside, she was silently directed toward an area to one side that looked for all the world like the reception of a high-end hotel from an Agatha Christie novel. Behind an ornate antique desk sat a stunningly beautiful young woman, whose beating heart gave her away as one of the Volturi's human acolytes. When Bella approached and stated her name and purpose, she was welcomed with a bright smile and an invitation to sit in a high-backed, winged chair next to an unlit fireplace.

"I will let my Lord Aro know you are here, signorina," the woman told her in a husky Italian accent. She lifted the receiver from an ancient rotary phone and spoke in hushed tones to whoever had answered.

As Bella settled into the deceptively hard and uncomfortable chair, she wondered if she would be kept waiting for a deliberately elongated period. Even as the thought formed, however, she was alerted by the sharp click of heels on flagstones to the approach of a vampire, which meant that Aro was keen to see whoever had come calling with Carlisle's name on their lips.

She stood just as a diminutive blonde with sharp features and scarlet eyes rounded the corner. From the look of her, she couldn't have been more than fourteen or fifteen years old when she had been changed, which was shocking to Bella, especially in view of the fact that Carlisle had told her the only other inviolate law among their kind, apart from secrecy, was the absolute prohibition of creating immortal children. This vampire had, in Bella's opinion, still been a child when she had been bitten. If, as she suspected, this was Jane, one of the deadly twins Carlisle had told them about, it had been Aro who had effected that change. What a damned hypocrite, she thought.

She knew Jane's reputation as a bringer of pain but was, of course, unperturbed by that and, in an effort to appear disingenuous, offered her hand to the girl. "Hi, my name's Bella Masen, and I've—"

"Come," the girl barked, ignoring her hand and immediately turning to retrace her steps..

Rolling her eyes at the other's rudeness, Bella had no choice but to follow in her wake. It was, after all, why she was here. Still, it didn't hurt to try and be friendly. "This is some place, huh? Not much like this where I'm from."

Jane continued to ignore her, walking at a brisk pace until they reached an elevator. Bella waited until they had stepped inside, and then tried again. "So, anyway, I was hoping to visit Naples while I'm in Italy, and then Rome. I'd like to see Venice, but I'm not sure if I'll have time—"

"We're here," the girl announced as the elevator halted, and the doors opened on to another long passageway, at the end of which stood the oak doors to the royal chamber. Jane picked up the pace until they reached the doors and, with barely a pause, turned the iron handle, swept open the door and entered.

Initially, Bella could only stand and stare at the bizarre scene before her. Three vampires sitting on thrones on a raised dais. It was like something from a B‑movie on the horror channel.

From the middle of the three ridiculous thrones, a black-clad vampire arose gracefully, grinning like a gargoyle and clapping his hands in glee. "My dear, please, won't you come in and tell us how we may help you."

His words were welcoming, but his gaze was salacious, covetous.

Bella plastered what she hoped was a sincere smile on her face and stepped forward with a self-confident strut to greet the vampire she knew to be Aro. On either side of him, his companions couldn't be a more contrasting pair. To his right, Marcus leaned an elbow on the arm of his chair and propped his head up as if it was the heaviest load imaginable, looking like he hadn't moved in years. To Aro's left, a youthful-looking Caius sat forward, baby-faced but with eyes full of malice and murder.

Apart from the three vampires, Bella was sharply aware of an assortment of others all around the chamber, including Jane, who had joined a sullen boy—presumably her twin—and an absolute giant of a man leaning casually against the wall behind her by the doors. Nevertheless, she kept her focus on Aro, whom she knew to be arrogant and supercilious but possessed of a fragile ego that was quick to take umbrage at perceived slights. She knew also that he was capricious and utterly without morals or conscience.

Bella found her thoughts wandering to her own father in the moments before she spoke, having come here in search of her adopted patriarch. Charlie had taught her never to bow down to others; that everyone, from kings to politicians, teachers to farmers, had to earn respect, not be given it as if it were their due. She found herself smiling internally as she recalled his words.

"Don't give credence to people who think their shit don't stink, Bells. If a woman gave birth to 'em, then they're the exact same as you, no worse and definitely no better."

But he had also told her that there were those occasions when a little ass-licking was called for, and she judged this to be one such occasion so, with a deferential bob of her head, Bella smiled widely at the creepy vampire, whose eyes positively glittered in anticipation.

"Lord Aro, my name is Bella Masen. I've travelled a long way in search of my friend, Carlisle Cullen. I was told I might find him here and wondered if I might see him."

A high-pitched cackle from Aro startled her somewhat, but she managed to maintain a neutral mien. "Oh, my dear child, you are most welcome to our humble home. Now, why would you come all the way to our little town looking for Carlisle, who has been visiting of his own free will?"

Bella regarded him speculatively, knowing that he had almost certainly become privy to Carlisle's memories, so she was going to have to stick as close to the truth as she dared, only diverging from it at the point where Carlisle had left for Italy. "Well, he hasn't been in touch for some time, and we were getting worried about him, so as my husband and I—"

"Ah, yes, your mate, Edward, the telepath. Is he not with you?"

So, he knew about Edward, which meant he knew about her. "He's in Florence, as there was a problem with our passports—our hotel room was broken into, so he's stayed on to sort out new passports with the American Embassy while I came on ahead. He'll be joining me in a day or two."

Caius sat back, a skeptical look on his face. "I think she's lying, brother. Take her hand and let's get to the truth."

Aro clicked his tongue but never took his eyes off Bella. "Mayhap, you're correct, brother, although I fancy the child speaks the truth. But I judge it prudent to do as you suggest. Come to me, dear Bel-la."

Inwardly rolling her eyes at his curious pronunciation of her name, Bella recognized that she was now on the cusp of potential disaster. Edward's gift was powerful, and he insisted he had never come across a mind that was closed to him in nearly two hundred years, but Aro's gift was different, she knew. Perhaps by touching her, he would be able to bypass her shield and discover her lies. But there was no going back now, and with a glance at Caius's smirking face, she stepped forward until she was within touching distance of the repellent mind-reader.

As was his wont, Aro leaned forward and snatched up Bella's hand before she could even begin to offer it. Such was his enthusiasm, he might have pulled her off her feet, but she was still a very strong newborn and was able to keep her balance.

She watched as Aro threw his head back in anticipation of the bone-deep pleasure he assumed he was about to experience as he feasted on memories that were not his own. Almost immediately, however, he straightened, and then dropped his confused gaze to where he clasped Bella's hand within both of his. He pressed harder, but it was clear to her that he was getting nothing.

His eyes flickered up to her own, a mixture of irritation and shock giving him the appearance of an ageing matron who has just had her bottom pinched. The image made Bella want to laugh but, to her credit, she remained straight-faced, and even managed a little confusion of her own. "My Lord Aro, what's wrong?"

Aro hissed, dropping her hand and grabbing the other, only to be once again stymied as Bella's impenetrable inner shield protected her thoughts.

He stepped back, unable to hide his bewilderment, but then let out a stilted giggle. "Well, it seems Carlisle was right. You are a shield, and a powerful one at that. Is this why you came alone, knowing you could block me? What are you hiding from me?"

Taking a step of her own away from him, Bella held her hands up in supplication. "I just wanted to see Carlisle and hopefully travel home with him once Edward arrives. I don't know why he's still here, but I hope you'll let him leave with us."

Aro remained where he was, eyeing Bella speculatively. He had relied on his gift for so long he had lost all ability to read the kind of body language and speech patterns that denoted a person's truthfulness or lack thereof, and Caius wasn't much better, as he, too, relied upon Aro to discover who was lying and who was telling the truth.

Marcus really didn't care one way or the other. At least, he hadn't in a very long time. No one noticed as he straightened slightly in his chair, his eyes lifting imperceptibly and filling with curiosity at this new turn of events.

One thing Aro did know, however, was that this girl had two things he wanted very badly. The first was her gift, which he surmised was far more powerful than Chelsea's—when he was touching his servant, he had no problem accessing her mind. The second thing he wanted was the girl herself. He would have her in his bed one way or another and to hell with her mating bond; he would use it to bend her to his will.

He turned to his brothers, tapping his lower lip with his forefinger. "Do you know, I'm inclined to believe her."

Caius sneered, clearly irritated by the whole situation.

Swiveling on his heel, Aro turned to Felix, who straightened as he anticipated his master's instructions. "Felix, my boy, why don't you see if you can find Carlisle and ask him to join us. Oh, and send Dimitri to fetch the other one."

The big man smirked at Aro's blatantly disingenuous command and left the chamber.

Meanwhile, Aro started to look around him, feigning a casual scrutiny of those lurking in and out of the shadows. His gaze eventually settled on Jane, and his eyes lit up. "Ah, now, perhaps our dear, sweet Jane might have more luck than I."

He turned to look again at Bella, a sly smile spreading across his face. It caused a shiver of anxiety to slither down her spine, but she told herself she had nothing to worry about. If she could block Kate, she was pretty sure she could do the same with Jane.

"Jane has such a unique talent. Don't you, my child?"

Bella looked on as the tiny blonde stepped forward, her pretty face spoiled by the malicious smirk she didn't even bother to hide. Watching from the sidelines, she had become increasingly anxious as she observed Aro's growing fascination with the interloper. Preserved forever in the body of a petulant and spiteful adolescent, Jane had been a cosseted and cruel child who had grown into a malevolent teenager, at which point Aro had cut off any hope that she might have grown out of it. Now, her petty jealousy drove her innate wickedness as she attempted to stare down a woman she perceived as her nemesis.

"Pain," she hissed, her crimson eyes narrowing as she focused on her enemy.

Bracing herself, Bella prepared to feel something, even if it was tempered by her double shield, such was the intensity of the petite vampire's molten glare.

Nothing, not even a twitch.

Opposite her, Jane screamed out the word again and stamped her foot as Bella remained untouched.

Giggling maniacally, Aro clapped his hands in delight.

It was then that the doors swung open again, and Felix sauntered in, accompanied by his prisoner.

Bella turned her back on the shrieking girl, who was now throwing the most epic tantrum she had ever witnessed and gasped as she finally laid eyes on Carlisle Cullen.

It was not an edifying sight.

In barely two weeks, the suave, svelte surgeon had been transformed into a gaunt, disheveled man, his clothes torn and filthy, his blond hair matted and lank, and his eyes black as pitch. Worryingly, Bella could also see what looked like dark wrinkles across his face, like veins in white marble.

Having held herself together for so long, desperately reining in her emotions and reactions, Bella finally lost control, throwing herself at the man for whom she'd risked so much. "Carlisle, oh God!" she sobbed, flinging her arms around his waist and holding him close.

Automatically, his arms encircled her shoulders, and he took a moment to feel the comfort her presence offered. Nonetheless, he told himself that he wished she hadn't come. And if Bella was in Italy, could the rest of his family be far away? "Bella, my precious girl, you shouldn't have come," he whispered.

Pulling back, she gripped his arms and gave him a little shake. "Did you think I could stay away when you needed me? Never gonna happen."

He smiled wearily and nodded in acceptance. "And Edward?"

"He's on his way from Florence, he'll be here soon, and then the three of us can go home together. Esme is waiting for you." With her back to everyone in the room, she gave him a small wink, and then turned back to Aro. Before she could speak, however, the doors once more opened and everyone looked at the new arrivals.

Dimitri stood to one side and gestured theatrically for the tall redhead behind him to enter, causing Bella to gasp for a second time as Victoria shuffled into the chamber, her head bowed and looking a good deal worse for wear even than Carlisle.

It was Caius who spoke first. "Well, well, let's see what your little visit with my pet has done. Bring her to me," he commanded.

Dimitri sighed but took her arm and dragged his unwilling captive toward the dais where Caius waited with a delighted grin plastered across his face. As guard and prisoner came to a halt in front of him, he bent and reached out to tip her head back so that he could examine the damage wrought upon her once beautiful face.

From their vantage point just to the front and left of the dais, both Carlisle and Bella had a partial view of what looked like some silvery scarring, the evidence of venom-repaired wounds. Their dual sharp intake of breath drew her attention and she turned to look at them, the full horror of what had been done to her becoming entirely visible. Her dark, empty eye socket was surrounded by multiple vampire-inflicted injuries that, while probably less visible to human eyes, were hideously obvious to their far superior vision.

Carlisle reached out a hand, his face full of compassion. "Oh, Victoria, you poor child, what have they done to you?"

Victoria snarled and hissed, and had Dimitri not kept a firm grip on her, she would have attacked Carlisle. "This is your fault," she cried.

As Carlisle's hand dropped, Bella stepped in front of him, acting as a barrier and baring her teeth angrily. "You brought this on yourself, you stupid—"

"Bella, no, leave her. She's been punished enough … more than enough," Carlisle entreated her, placing a fatherly hand on her shoulder.

"But she's the reason we're here and in this shitty situation," she insisted, although she didn't take her eyes off the redhead, neither trusting her nor the vampire who held her back.

A cruel chuckle from Caius finally drew their attention away from Victoria. "My beautiful pet has done well, but I must make sure to observe her next feeding, as I would sorely have loved to have seen her pluck this one's eye out. Did she get a few pecks of your brain, eh? Ooh, such a treat. Perhaps our latest visitor would make for a tasty hors d'oeuvre."

He rubbed his hands together and actually performed a little dance, his madness seeming to have been given full rein.

Marcus turned his face away in revulsion, the most he had moved since Bella had arrived. Even Aro wrinkled his nose in disgust but said nothing, and for a brief spell, the only noise in the vast chamber was Caius's delighted chuckling.

It was at this point that Victoria chose to speak. "If this little bitch is here, then her mate won't be far away."

Bella hissed. "He's in Florence, if you must know." The last thing she wanted was for Aro to question her story.

Victoria sneered. "You're a liar. You two are joined at the hip, and he's probably somewhere in the castle right now, along with the rest of your mutant coven."

Before Bella could even react, Aro and Caius were screaming their rage, and Felix had Carlisle in a vice-like hold. From every nook and corner, vampires emerged like vermin, and Bella knew she would need more than her shield now to save them. It crossed her mind that now would be a good time for the cavalry to arrive.

She looked around, spotting Aro backing off and a stumpy, moon-faced vampire moving forward with her hand out toward him. That must be Chelsea, she thought, sending her shield out and knocking her clear across the chamber. Pulling it back, she gathered a startled Aro inside and hauled him toward her.

"Felix!" His screeching entreaty came too late as chaos broke out. Vampires threw themselves at Bella but were simply hurled back as if bouncing off a massive rubber ball.

Aro lunged at Bella, imagining that now he was inside her shield he would be able to read her mind if he could just touch her, thus discovering what Carlisle's friends were planning and taking her captive in one fell swoop. Perhaps she wasn't as clever as she thought she was. He reached for her, only for Bella to grab his arm, one hand on his elbow and the other just below his shoulder. With a sharp ripping motion and utilizing all her still considerable newborn strength, she tore Aro's arm from his body, and he looked on in stunned horror as she dropped it to the floor. Then, in the same fluid movement, she leapt onto his back and took hold of him in a tight headlock. Aro tried desperately to throw her off, but with her thighs around his chest, ankles locked in front, and her superior strength, he was in danger of losing his head if he struggled anymore.

This was definitely not how he had envisaged having Bella's legs wrapped around him.

Bella grinned in triumph, although she was well aware she was just one vampire against many, and although her shield was strong and highly flexible, she had not yet tested its longevity. She had no idea how long she could keep it expanded, and she wished this wasn't the occasion to test it.

She looked over to Carlisle, who was being held tightly by Felix … too tightly, if the grimace on her adoptive father's face was anything to go by. It looked like Felix was squeezing the life out of him, and in his much-weakened condition, he was unable to fight back.

"Let him go, you overgrown turd," she demanded, surprised at how calm she sounded.

"Yeah, and who's going to make me, slut?"

"Oh, for fuck's sake," she groaned, rolling her eyes. "Okay, shit-for-brains, how about I throw you Aro's head, and you see if you can catch it and keep hold of Carlisle all at the same time."

For a moment, Felix looked confused, but then Aro let out a gurgling squeal. "Let him go, you damned fool," he squawked, his larynx partially compressed by Bella's arm.

Felix obeyed his master immediately, releasing his prisoner, who fell to the floor on his hands and knees. Despite her relief, Bella ached to help him but didn't dare let go of Aro.

"Tell them all to back off, Aro, or you'll be meeting your friend Lucifer in T‑minus ten seconds.

He tried to nod, but then recognized the folly of such a movement and merely held up his remaining hand, flapping it ineffectually. "Do as she says; get back, all of you," he rasped.

At last, the motley crew of red-eyed vampires retreated, seeming to melt back into the walls.

"Aro, this has to end."

The unfamiliar voice made everyone look toward the dais where the extraordinary sight of Marcus on his feet took everyone by surprise.

Bella had no idea what it meant, and by the look of all those around her, neither did anyone else.

~o0o~

Meanwhile, out in the labyrinthine passageways of the ancient fortress, Jasper led his family stealthily toward the central chamber. With Edward and Alice on constant alert for danger, they had met with remarkably little opposition, easily dispatching the meager resistance they had so far encountered. Alice believed that most of the castle's occupants were either guarding the perimeter walls and surrounding area or were actually in the main chamber, which was a little worrying. However, when Jasper pressed her, she snapped at him to leave her be, the stress of checking for constant potential threats and working to block Edward from discovering the secret she kept finally taking its toll. Jasper merely nodded and kissed her softly on her forehead. He waved away her whispered apology, knowing the pressure she was under and regretting that he had added to it.

Still, they had been lucky so far, and he had no doubt that the closer they got to the seat of power, the more likely it was that they would meet with serious opposition.

A sharp tug on his sleeve made him look at his wife, and with the hand signals they had all learned before leaving for Italy, she let him know there was danger ahead. As he absorbed that information, distant footsteps could be heard approaching from the direction Alice had indicated, and Jasper marshaled them all with more silent signals, readying them for a fight. Emmett looked down at Rose when she squeezed his hand before they both turned to face the oncoming enemy shoulder to shoulder.

Just as Edward's mind filled with the thoughts of those who approached from ahead, light footsteps could be heard to their rear. Eyeing one another with dismay, they realized they were going to have to fight on two fronts. Hard on the heels of that thought was the knowledge that they probably wouldn't all survive. Beside him, Edward felt Esme turn to face the threat from behind, her face a grim mask. With the best will in the world, she was always going to be the weakest link—she wasn't and never had been a fighter—but Edward turned with her to fight side by side with the woman who had become more of a mother to him than his own. He knew that what she lacked in strength and technique, she more than made up for in determination and an unbreakable resolve to get to her mate. If she fell, he would protect her or die trying.

There were now so many minds creating an absolute cacophony in Edward's head that he could no longer separate friend from foe or even discern numbers, so he forced himself to shut out everything, concentrating on the physical to the exclusion of all else.

He hoped with all his heart that he would see Bella again in this life or, if another existed, the next, although he doubted there would be a good place for him. Holding the image of her lovely face in his mind, he prepared for the onslaught. If he was going to die, he was going to make damned sure he took a few of these fuckers with him.

So, the six of them braced themselves as the clatter of footsteps presaged the arrival of vampires from front and rear. Nothing remained but to fight for their very lives and hope that at least some of them would survive.


A/N: Well, there you go, phase 1 complete, but is phase 2 going to stall before they can even reach Bella? Will she have to save the day alone? Will she be able to kill Aro, Caius, Felix and the Twat Twins? Who will survive and who will die? I've been so excited to post this chapter, but also somewhat concerned that it lives up to expectations. Still, I hope you're enjoying the ride and will be back to find out if there are answers to any of the questions posed above. Until next week ... :x