Alice was barely coming to as Jasper announced the newborns needed to leave as soon as possible. With the nomads fleeing south, they had more than enough time to make it to the border and disappear into the Canadian wilderness before anything could stop them. Earlier than any of them wished, but it was for the better. After all, there was no telling when the next chance would present itself, and every day their coven was more than six, the higher chance it was that the Volturi would discover them.
Edward looked away as Julie and Xinyi bid their goodbyes, giving Jasper and Alice as much privacy as he could, turning to fret over Lettie. She was dimmer than usual but otherwise unaffected, the frown pulling on her lips from saying goodbye rather than any ailments. He let Garrett haul Aaron up from the floor. Edward made a pointed effort to ignore him.
"I shall miss your company dearly," Lettie said as Xinyi approached, wrapping her in a hug. Even though she didn't pass through completely, Xinyi's arms rested slightly inside Lettie's form. When they parted, Edward instinctively pulled Lettie close to him, his hand hovering to where her waist normally rested. "Take care of yourself on the journey."
Xinyi's eyes glistened with unshed tears, nodding as her lip wobbled. Her mind was plagued with the memory of pouncing on the innocent human, equal parts finally satisfied and disgusted with herself. Edward gave her a sympathetic look she refused to meet. Julie gave Lettie a quick hug goodbye as well before joining Garrett and a stoic Aaron.
"Thank you for doing this," Jasper said, clasping hands with Garrett. The ladder simply shook his head with a crooked grin.
"They don't do battles the way they used to. This was the most fun I've had in years." He swept his eyes across the clearing once more, giving each of them a nod, before looking to the gaggle of newborns. "Come on, newbies. It'll take a couple days to get to Alaska."
And then they were gone.
By the time they made it back to the house, the rest of their coven was already waiting, looking a little worse for wear. They exchanged embraces quickly before rushing into the house, claiming their rightful places around the table. Despite only knowing them for a short time, the sudden room around the table felt strange, empty chairs a reminder of what they had almost lost.
"I'm glad to see everyone is alright," Carlisle said after a moment of silence, taking his own moment to mourn the empty spaces. "I assume the newborns were able to escape safely?"
"Garrett's taking them to Clallam Bay, and they'll cross the water there to Canada. Should have less human interactions that way," Jasper reported back. Carlisle gave him a nod, shoulders relaxing at the news that everyone was okay.
Well, as okay as they could be, anyway.
Carlisle relayed what happened while he and Esme were separated. Laurent led them on a chase that crossed paths with the wolves. Though they didn't recognize the one that attacked them, it gave Laurent enough time to escape. It took only a few snarling bites before the wolf seemed to come to its senses, whimpering before sculking off.
Rosalie and Emmett found them just after. Victoria led them in the opposite direction, every so often trying to double back to the clearing. She didn't attack at any point, but she was crafty. Rosalie reluctantly admitted that she would have easily disappeared into the forest if only one of them was chasing her, though she refused to admit that she still managed to do so. It was only Emmett's boast of ripping out her hair that revealed the truth. Victoria, as Jasper suspected, had some ability to outmaneuver her opponents.
Jasper's report of what took place in the clearing was as matter of fact as Edward had ever heard him, voice monotone and firm, relaying the facts as they happened chronologically. Attacking James, almost beating him before Bella Swan's appearance, Angela Weber's bloody corpse, Alice's onslaught of visions, all the way until James managed to escape and the departing of their newborns.
"Alice, are you alright, dear?" Esme asked, a concerned hand reaching out to her. Alice allowed two gentle strokes to her hair before she shook her head.
"James…" She sighed. "We were right. He knew me when I was Mary Alice. Or, well, he of me." She pointedly ignored the eyes of everyone at the table, focused instead on her fidgeting fingers, her eyes glazing over like she was entering a vision but somehow staying perfectly in the present.
Jasper reached over, grasping one of her hands tightly. Her lips twitched with a smile before dropping again.
"Apparently, my blood was the sweetest thing he'd ever smelled. He wanted to drink my blood, but another vampire turned me first. He didn't say who, but I know it has to be Jaska." Her voice lowered. "He called me Mary Alice. It's the first time someone's said my human name in 100 years. I only wish it wasn't from someone who was trying to kill me."
She gave Jasper's hand another squeeze before letting it go. She sat straighter and looked Carlisle in the eye. No one dared speak.
"Anyway, seems like he learned about my powers, and now he wants to recruit me to his weird cult."
"And that won't happen," Edward said firmly. Alice's thanks rang loudly in his head.
"It wouldn't have gotten that close if you had come to help," Jasper snarled under his breath. In a room full of vampires, however, he might as well have shouted it at the top of his lungs. Edward leveled him a glare.
"What?" Esme asked, perplexed.
"Eddie froze?" Emmett asked, barely finishing his sentence beforeguffawingloudly. "Talk about performance anxiety."
"I didn't-"
"You didn't help when Alice needed you."
"Jasper-" Alice began to reprimand.
"He almost let you get taken-" Jasper growled.
"Why am I not surprised-" Rosalie scoffed.
"We need to stay calm-" Esme added.
"I was too far-" Edward tried to interject.
"The fault lies with me-" Lettie began.
"Oh, man. That's too funny-" Emmett continued to chuckle.
"That's enough!" Only at Carlisle's harsh tone did the room quiet, the overlapping voices disappearing into silence. "Edward, please recount your version of events for us."
It was hard, he admitted to himself, to repeat the story out loud without wincing. He knew he had messed up. If he had been paying closer attention to either fight, be it James or Samuel, he would have been able to help more. Instead, he let himself be pulled to either side, distracted by both to be more of a hindrance than anything, and even froze to the point of letting Bella Swan get the best of him at the beginning of their fight. He couldn't look at anyone but his father figure, willing the truth to outweigh the embarrassment that was creeping up his neck.
If he had chosen James, then Lettie would have been in more danger. If he had chosen Samuel, then Alice might have been taken. His head was throbbing with the possibilities, and, more than ever, did he sympathize with his future reading sister.
"We can account for many things, but we can't account for things outside the norm." Carlisle sighed, leaning back in his chair. He tilted his body in a way that Edward knew meant Esme was offering him some comfort, a hand on his leg, seeking her warmth. "I have never heard of a newborn having that much control before."
"I should have seen it coming," Jasper said with a shake of his head. "Xinyi's attack was already suspicious enough. There shouldn't have been any survivors, not with a newborn and those sick nomads. But five? That should have been the clearest sign that they wanted trouble."
"But why newborns?" Rosalie questioned. Jasper crossed his arms.
"They're powerful, yeah, but they're also reckless. Newborn armies only work when they have something to work towards, a common enemy. But Bella Swan…" Edward hated the fascinated way Jasper trailed off, but he knew the feeling all too well. "She's an enigma. She has more control than I've ever seen, even more than a matured vampire. Carrying that body, even if it wasn't actively bleeding, should never have been possible. And then once the others started feeding? It would have increased her bloodlust tenfold."
"Great. So she's a pain in the ass as a human and a vampire."
"Rosalie," Esme chastised quietly, but Edward heard no claims to deny what she heard in her thoughts.
"I think we're all still too wound up from the battle. Go, rest, recuperate. In a few hours, we'll reconvene and come up with a plan then."
Lettie finally allowed herself to relax once they were in the safety of his room, her shoulders drooping the lowest he had ever seen. Edward wasted no time leading her to the couch, quickly arranging her, despite her protests, to lay across the leather sofa. He, instead of sitting by her side, arranged himself on the floor. He rested his chin against the leather, eye to eye with his ghost. She met his gaze steadily.
They sat like that for a long time, simply gazing at each other, as the sky slowly darkened.
"Are you alright?" Lettie finally said, her soft voice doing little to break the atmosphere. Edward's responding scoff was much louder.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"
"I cannot be injured-"
"No," he relented, but didn't look away. "But you can be hurt."
To this, she turned her head, eyes instead trailing over the streaks of paint on the ceiling.
"I'm sorry. I disappointed you today."
"You could do no such thing," she said, closing her eyes. She took a deep breath, then turned her whole body to face him. Edward unconsciously followed her lead, tilting his head to look at her evenly. "I was merely reminded of my own limitations today. I believe I have enjoyed the freedom you have given me far too much to recall I am still a tethered being."
"I wish there was something I could do." He reached a hand out, brushing a lock of hair to tuck it behind her ear. When he was done, he ran the lightest touch down her jaw. Her hand reached up to cup his hand against her face.
"You do far more for a spirit such as I than I will ever be able to repay."
"You could repay me by not trying to sacrifice yourself every time we run into Samuel." Lettie sighed.
"You know as well as I that we do not have any other means to stop them. I cannot bear the thought that you or your family may become injured while I sit idly by."
"You're part of our family, Lettie." He ran his thumb back and forth, careful not to pass through her more than necessary. "We'd all care if you get hurt."
"And yet, today, I was too frightened to face Samuel on my own that I nearly endangered Alice."
"No, that was completely my fault," Edward rushed to correct. Reluctantly, he pulled his hand from under hers, but instead of pulling away, he brought her fingers to his lips, pressing a long kiss to them. "I stalled in my indecision. And then I let your necklace get taken, even when I swore to you I'd protect it with my life. I'm sorry for that, by the way. I should have been more careful."
Lettie's laugh was pure disbelief.
"Oh, you foolish man." She squeezed his hand. "You have done so much for me. You have burdened yourself with my weakness. If only I had been able to be under Sir Charles tutelage for longer, I may have found a way to rid myself of the necklace without losing my wits in the process…"
Edward felt like a bucket of cold water was dumped on him. Charles! In all of the commotion it had completely slipped his mind to tell Lettie what he found. The thought of saying it now, though, breaking the soothing bubble they were in, was almost sacrilegious.
Her sparkling eyes met his, her soft smile wrinkling her eyes.
"I know I should not wish for something so impossible but…"
"I think I found him." In an instant, Lettie was sitting upright, hand slipping from his, eyes wide.
"You-"
"Well, I don't know with certainty. But I think it's the closest I've gotten." He tried a smile, but it felt too insincere, too riddled with insecurity. Instead, he tried for confidence. "I should have told you that I was looking, but I didn't want to get your hopes up. I have a good feeling about this. And he's close, just down in Portland."
"Teddy, I…" A quiet creak, the shifting of weight, had Edward perking up, angling his body to block Lettie's as he surveyed the intruder at his door. As if knowing he'd been caught, Jasper pushed the door open, scowl fierce.
"Are you kidding?"
"I don't remember saying you could come in," Edward said coolly, not moving from his protective stance. Lettie scrambled to stand, surprised.
"Don't be an idiot. We're already risking things by not moving, and you want to split up?"
"Jasper…" Lettie tried, but Jasper simply leved his gaze on her, effectively shutting her up. Edward let his lips pull to a snarl.
"Don't, Lettie." Lettie lowered her head. Edward's glare hardened as she deflated. "Trust me, I want you to be able to roam freely, but we need to deal with Samuel first."
The phone rang downstairs. Neither of them acknowledged it.
"He could know something if we-" Edward tried to reason, but Jasper simply scoffed in his face.
"If you find him. And that's a big If." Jasper crossed his arms. "Listen, I'm here to say I'm sorry for blaming you for what happened today. But I need you here. We need Lettie here. She's the only one who can stop Samuel."
"And she's also the only one who could get Charles Gorham to talk to us. He knows her. What if I go alone and he refuses to talk? Or he refuses to tell us anything about his research?"
"Well, the simple answer is you won't go at all." Edward bristled.
"You don't get to tell me-"
"Right now, we're stretched thin, barely making it out alive. We're down four fighters, and all of us are worried about them making it to Alaska safely." Edward bit his tongue, refraining from remarking that only Jasper and Alice seemed to be the only one facing that crippling anxiety, two newborns floating in their minds constantly since they arrived back home. "We can't afford to send you guys on a wild goose chase, especially now."
"What?" Rosalie's sharp, distant voice cut through the tension. The brothers eyed each other with curiosity, each feeling her distress. "That idiot."
Without a word, Edward scooped Lettie up, the trio running downstairs into the main room. The rest of the family was already gathered, each with a worried look on their faces. Lettie wiggled out of Edward's arms, quickly stepping over to comfort Alice.
"No, no. You need to get out of there. We'll handle it." With a flourish, Rosalie slammed the phone down, the slight ringing from the force echoing around the room. Edward's jaw dropped before she opened her mouth, the conversation replaying in her mind.
"What happened?" Carlisle questioned.
"Aaron, that idiot." Rosalie turned, knocking a vase from the table. Instead of catching it, Esme let it shatter across the floor, recognizing Rosalie needed an outlet, at least for the moment. "He killed a family of humans just before they could jump in the water. Garrett said he was doing it for James."
"James?" Alice asked aloud, her voice wavering. Lettie gripped her tighter. "Why would he…?"
"Garrett didn't get a chance to ask. Killed him before he could escape."
"And the others?" Jasper asked, worried.
"Safe." Rosalie's hands bunched into tight fists. "But the family. There's a survivor. A kid."
"Oh, no," Esme gasped. Carlisle wrapped a comforting arm around her.
"We're going," Emmett declared before anyone could say anything.
"No," Jasper growled before he could take a step. "We can't afford to-"
"There is a child who is cold and alone and just watched their family be slaughtered in front of them." With every emphasis, Rosalie took a step towards Jasper, her mind willing him to shrink. Jasper, instead, stood firm, his face devoid of emotion.
"We already risked ourselves for newborns we didn't turn, and now you want to take in a human-"
"I didn't see you complaining when Xinyi batted her eyes at you-"
"Enough." Carlisle stepped between them, the only one daring and responsible enough to stop their fight before it could escalate any more. He gave a stern look to both before turning to Rosalie. "Is the child safe?"
Rosalie hesitated, then reluctantly provided, "Garrett said another group of humans found the bodies soon after. He had the newborns hide in the woods while he followed them to the police station. The child is there now."
Carlisle sighed, then a sad expression came over him.
"I can see if I have any contacts who would be willing to meet him." Rosalie opened her mouth to argue, but Carlisle gave her another pointed look. "That's the most we can do for now. It's too dangerous to have you leave now. The nomads have had time to rest, just as we have."
"I'd say it's feeding time." Alice's voice pulled the room back into perspective, each vampire straightening in surprise as if they hadn't noticed they were slowly hunching as the argument continued. "I think I can still smell human blood every once in a while."
"What?" Jasper's completely perplexed look was the final straw, the tense bubble around them popping. Alice shuffled Lettie towards Edward, depositing her in his waiting arms to wrap her own around one of Jasper's arms, tugging him towards the back door. "Wait, Alice-"
"You'll feel so much better once you've fed." Jasper tried to turn his head back towards the room, but Alice continued to tug. If he truly wanted to stay, Edward knew that she wouldn't have been able to pull him at all. "I've already seen everyone staying, so you can continue your fight after we get back."
"Don't stray too far," Esme called after them.
Jasper spared another glance around the room, but his trust in Alice and her abilities far outweighed his desire to continue arguing. They disappeared into the darkness a moment later.
Carlisle sighed, suddenly looking tired.
"Oh, my dear," Esme's voice was sickly sweet, reaching out to gently massage his shoulder. Edward narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Why don't you lie down for a moment?"
"You're too good to me." He leaned down, giving her a short but sweet kiss on her forehead. "Rosalie is right. We can't just let a child sit in a police station without answers. I think I'll make some calls, and then I have some work to catch up on."
"Can I keep you company?" A tired smile crossed Carlisle's face at his wife's request.
"I can never say no to you, dear." Esme looped an arm around his waist, tucking herself close to him as they started to walk away.
Edward. He nearly jumped at the pointed call of his name. His head whipped towards Esme, but she didn't look at him as they ascended the stairs. Help that poor child.
He only needed to spare a glance at Rosalie, a rare moment of shared connection, before the two were headed to the garage.
"Are we going?" Emmett's excited whisper was far too loud for the stealthy mission they were supposed to be on. "Hell yeah!"
They knew the garage would be far too loud to open, so instead, Rosalie grabbed Carlisle's keys from their spot by the door, unlocking it and turning the handle to neutral. Together, she and Emmett pushed the car quietly down the road, Edward and Lettie staying ahead to spot and clear any loud debris. Once they hit the main road, they all hopped in, the car speeding away before anyone could stop them.
"Just drop us off near town," Edward requested tightly, eyes glued to the treeline. Alice's lie bought them time, but there was still a part of him that worried Jasper would appear at any moment, destroying the car in one hit and ending their journey before it began. "We'll get a car."
"Sneaking out and carjacking?" Emmett laughed loudly, rocking the car. "I love Daredevil Eddie."
Edward rolled his eyes, finally looking across the backseat to his companion. She looked just as tense, eyes flickering into the darkness, trying to piece together where they were going.
"Are we not accompanying Rosalie and Emmett?" she asked, sparing him a glance before looking out into the darkness again.
"No." He reached out, clasping her hand in his. Surprised, she turned to look at him. Edward gave her a pinched smile. "We have a long overdue appointment with your old friend."