"When you said you were dealing with some unfriendly things, I didn't think you meant an actual demon," Garrett said, laughing as he clapped Carlisle on the back. Esme fetched him a new shirt as his was torn from the scuffle he faced as he entered the area, Samuel and the wolves combining to create the most hostile welcome party. "Ran 'em up and down the coast until I convinced those wolves I was the lesser threat."

"This is the guy you want to protect us?" Aaron asked, disbelief in his voice. Edward couldn't help the crooked smile that crossed his face.

Garrett, despite having lived hundreds of years and countless different lives, wasn't exactly the picture of steely warrior, not in the way Jasper exuded, with his scruffy beard and unkept hair. While Jasper had a cool impassiveness to him, Garrett was more akin to Emmett in his playfulness, making a game out of serious situations instead of taking them for what they were. Even now, without a shirt and after a close call with death, he was practically bouncing on his feet, ready to go another round.

"You have something to say, pipsqueak?" Garrett asked, leveling Aaron with a glare. The newborn quickly backed down, ducking behind Julie to avoid Garrett's wrath.

"Thank you for coming all the way here," Julie said, stepping away from Aaron. Alice clamped onto Julie's arm as she got closer, hugging it close to her, practically hanging off it.

"Yes, thank you. I'm sure the journey wasn't easy," Xinyi said with a smile. Garrett looked between the two of them before laughing.

"Oh, these two I like."

"Here you are, Garrett," Esme said as she returned, handing him one of Carlisle's crisp shirts. Garrett thanked her with a smile, immediately wrinkling it by rolling up the sleeves. With a laugh, she tugged on Lettie's arm as she passed, drawing Lettie to remove her hands from her eyes. "You can look now, Lettie."

"Lettie?" Garrett looked between the two newborns, both of whom were already looking at him. "Which one of you is that?"

"I'm Xinyi, and she's Julie." Xinyi mimicked Alice and wrapped a hand around Lettie's arm, pulling her forward. "This is Lettie."

Garrett looked at the seemingly empty spot beside the newborn, questioning her sanity.

"Oh, uh." Garrett awkwardly reached out, nearly hitting Lettie with his outstretched hand. His mind was swimming with possibilities, but seemed to settle on an imaginary friend for Xinyi to cope with trauma. The seasoned vampires around him giggled to themselves, while the newborns looked between him and Lettie with confusion. "It's nice to, uh, meet you, Lettie."

"Oh, right!" Emmett smacked his forehead as if obviously forgotten something. "Hit him with the thing!"

"What-?" But his question was cut off with his own scream as Edward pressed the necklace against his exposed arm. "What the devil-?!"

"Hello," Lettie said shyly, reached towards his hand, but gasped as Garrett nearly plowed into Edward to get behind him. "Oh, apologies! I promise I mean no harm."

"Finally! A normal reaction to-" Julie knocked her fist into Aaron's head, effectively shutting him up. "Ow! What the hell?!"

"Shut up, Aaron," she said simply.

"I'm sorry, are you all not seeing what I'm seeing?" Garrett asked, incredulous.

"Yep! Well, except Eddie boy, who doesn't see her face all burned," Emmett said with a laugh, clapping Garrett on the shoulder. "But don't worry, she might look scary, but she wouldn't harm a fly."

"Huh?" Garrett looked at Lettie for a long moment, before letting his eyes drift across the room, eyeing each of the Cullen Clan. "You guys are the weirdest coven I've ever seen."

"Yes, well," Carlisle cleared his throat awkwardly, "we certainly aren't the standard."

"I imagine the Volturi aren't too excited for your numbers."

"As far as we're aware, they haven't learned our numbers quite yet."

Garrett laughed.

"Risky, but I understand. They probably wouldn't be too pleased with how many gifted you have in your coven either." He met Lettie's eyes briefly. "Not to mention this little secret weapon."

"She's not a weapon," Edward growled out before he could stop himself. Xinyi tightened her hold on Lettie's arm, silently agreeing. Garrett eyed the action.

"Chinese?" Xinyi hesitated before nodding, as if she couldn't believe he was talking to her. "I don't remember your people taking too kindly to spirits or ghosts. What was it? 'Respect the ghosts and gods, but keep away from them'?"

"Lettie has been nothing but kind since we woke up," Xinyi instantly defended, even as the words rang familiar in her mind. Her hands loosened for a moment before tightening again. "You would know she's not like that demon Samuel if you didn't judge her just for the way she looks."

"Okay, spitfire," Garrett said with a slight laugh, raising his hands in surrender. Edward shared a brief look with Jasper, surprised at the affection that raced through his head. "Just making sure."

"Why don't we meet in the dining room?" Esme jumped in, gesturing to the next room. The tension in the room dissipated instantly. "We have plenty to catch up on."

"Good thinking!" Garrett wrapped an arm around her, walking side by side to the next room. "From what I've seen, it seems Carlisle left plenty out of his call."

The table was as cramped as ever with their newest addition, but no one dared voice their discomfort, instead keeping their sole attention on Carlisle and Garrett as they caught him up to speed. Edward could barely keep the disbelieving smile off his face as the full timeline of events was laid out before them.

Meeting a ghost, being harassed by a poltergeist, running into James and his nomads, Bella Swan's incessant desire to learn about their family, her accident, the school bus massacre. It seemed absurd now that so few events completely turned their lives upside down. Garrett listened with rapt attention, as did the newborns, each new detail sending their minds spinning.

"No doubt the Volturi have caught wind of the attack, especially with the way the scene was found." News of the bloody massacre reached all over the country, especially since the victims of the crime were somewhat known high school athletes. Not to mention that several of the kids went missing, giving the police probable cause to believe it was linked to the serial murders and Bella Swan's disappearance. "Even if we could leave, that Samuel wasn't a problem, they are well aware our family is the most recent coven to reside in this area. Leaving now, it would only make us suspects."

"And I doubt Aro would continue his favoritism for something so massive," Garrett finished, leaning back in his chair. Carlisle nodded solemnly. "So, we get the newborns out of here, and you make a stand against the nomads."

"That's the plan," Jasper agreed. "We're still trying to find anything we could use to get rid of Samuel for good, and Carlisle believed you may have found something during your travels."

"I suppose I have traveled more than most vampires," Garrett said with a small laugh. "But this? I've only heard, excuse my expression, ghost stories about things like Samuel." He tilted his head towards Emmett, whispering, "Stuck-up name for a creepy ghost."

"Thank you!" Emmett said with a bang of the table, gesturing wildly. "It's like naming a tiger Greg or something!"

"Besides a few rumors of haunted houses, I've never seen anything like it."

"Jasper remarked that you had been in many a battle," Lettie said, fidgeting with her fingers. Garrett looked at her after a moment of hesitation. "Conditions of such anger and sorrow would surely gather spirits."

"If they did, I never saw any." Garrett shook his head. "Superstitions weren't uncommon, and I met my fair few men who had practices for keeping bad mojo away. Maybe something like that prevented ghosts from showing up."

"Practices…?" Lettie looked to Edward for an explanation.

"Some humans have rituals to keep what they think are bad ghosts away. Sage, salt, iron. Lots of different cultures have things that are supposed to keep demons and ghosts from haunting them." Lettie looked at him nervously. "I don't know how much of that is true, though. You've touched salt, sage, and iron already, and none of those things hurt you."

"I supposed that is correct." She trailed off, then, as if having an epiphany, she whipped her head to Garrett. He jumped. "Are there special actions in these rituals?"

"Well, uh, yeah, I suppose? It depends on what you're doing." Edward tried to peer into her mind, but there were too many overlapping voices to hear her soft tones. He grabbed her hand nervously. Lettie gave him an excited look.

"Teddy, we must perform these rituals!"

"What?" nearly the whole table chorused. Lettie looked around excitedly.

"Samuel and I are both spirits. It is not unreasonable to believe that we are not too fundamentally different in matter. Should any of these rituals work to weaken my spirit, then they may also work on Samuel."

"No, no." Edward clasped her hand tighter. "If any of those things work, then you might get hurt, or worse. We can't risk that."

"Teddy, I am already a spirit. There is very little that may cause lasting damage."

"But what if you disappear forever?" Lettie clasped her hands over his, a determined look on her face.

"Then you will have the means to do the same to Samuel." He opened his mouth again, but Lettie shushed him quietly. "We have no plan, and Samuel is gaining strength faster than we are capable of surpassing."

Tell her about Charles!, Alice's voice rang loudly in his head. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. What are you waiting for?

"I do not mean to trouble you beyond the favor you are already granting us, but please," Lettie turned her attention to Garrett, eyes pleading, "do you remember these rituals?"

He looked between Lettie and Edward before slowly nodding.

"Sure, some. Can't guarantee they'd work at all."

"We only need hope. Jasper." Her plea went unspoken. Jasper looked at her for a long moment before sighing.

"I'll get Garrett to explain them to me before he leaves," he relented. Edward stood without thinking.

"What? But she could die."

"Teddy, I wish to help-"

"No, that's crazy. We'll find another way."

"How?" Rosalie questioned. Edward whipped his head to her with a glare. "I don't like the idea of it either, but we don't have any other options."

Edward, Alice cautioned, we have another option.

"We'll figure out another option," Edward ground out. Even though she crossed her arms with a huff, Rosalie let the matter drop. The silence was stifling.

"I think a hunt is in order," Carlisle finally said, standing. Nearly everyone followed in his lead. "Garrett certainly needs some replenishing after his journey, and the newborns haven't seen much of the area."

"Can I go?" Alice asked quickly, nearly jumping on him to get his attention. Carlisle looked at her, surprised.

"Alice…" Besides school, Alice had to hunt closest to the house, constantly surrounded by three or more members of the family. "I don't think-"

"Please, I'm desperate." No one was immune to Alice's puppy dog eyes, least of all Carlisle, but Jasper's imposing presence was enough for him to hesitate. "I haven't been on a hunt, a proper hunt, in ages. Jasper said it would be fine since they're still full, right?"

"I never said-"

"I will seriously go crazy if I have to stay here for another day." Though her voice was lighthearted, her thoughts betrayed the seriousness of her words. Alice, who had to essentially play damsel in distress for months, locked away in her tower so no one could hurt her, but still had to watch James kill Bella Swan, who had to learn second hand that a bus full of students were killed despite her powers being strong enough to see it happen before it did. Alice, who was still being kept hidden away, even when the threat was somewhat mitigated.

"Okay," Carlisle agreed softly, ignoring Jasper's huff of indignation. "But you have to stay close to us."

"You're the best!" she said with a cheer, throwing her arms around him in a hug. She stuck her tongue out at Jasper before running over to Julie, Xinyi, and Rosalie, excitedly sharing the news.

"Something so simple can make someone so happy," Lettie said with a soft sigh, a small smile pulling at her lips. Edward sighed, tugging her hand to get her to look at him.

"You know why I can't let you become a guinea pig." When she furrowed her brow in confusion, he let a small smile slip onto his face. He pressed his thumb against her forehead, soothing her expression. "A test subject. To do that when we don't know what the outcome could be."

"I have been less than useful in Carlisle's search for information on creatures like Samuel," she said, as if that would explain everything. Edward shook his head.

"You're trying to find information on something humans aren't even sure exists. In fact, most of what you're finding is probably debunking information you thought was useful, isn't it?"

"How did-"

"It was the same for us. When I was first turned, I went through a phase of asking a million questions and expected Carlisle to have all the answers. When he didn't, I devoured anything, book or media alike, to try and find answers. Instead of truth, I just found fairy tales about vampires who burned in the sun and hypnotized innocent women into falling in love with them." He squeezed her hand, then linked their fingers together. "Humans are stupid."

Lettie let out an abrupt laugh, using her free hand to slap over her mouth in shock.

"Teddy!" Her smile was blinding. "We were human once as well."

"And now we're not, and we know better." As if testing fate, he brought her hand to his face, lips hovering just over her knuckles. "I don't want to see you hurt."

"I cannot be hurt in the same way you are able," she said breathlessly. He dared to press a kiss to her knuckles. "Teddy…"

"No, not in the same way, but you can still disappear, or worse." He pressed another kiss to her knuckles.

"We have no other plan-"

"I've been hiding something. Something that could help," he hurried out, pressing another kiss to her knuckles before lowering her hand.

"Teddy?"

"Yo, Eddy! Lettie!" Emmett ducked his head into the now empty room, bar a vampire and a ghost. Edward could hear the group congregated by the back door, Jasper running through safety rules with the newborns. "Come on, we're all going hunting. Hurry up, or else we're leaving you behind!"

He disappeared in a whirlwind of energy. Edward sighed in exasperation.

"When we come back, I'll explain everything," he promised, giving her hand a squeeze. Lettie held her breath for a moment, the image of his kiss playing in her mind, before she smiled.

"Of course." She dropped his hand, taking a step away, and cleared her throat. "Now, we must hurry, lest the family leave us behind.