Chapter Nineteen —— 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐋𝐮𝐬𝐭

Bloodlust – the disease that makes us the monsters we are known to be; it is what wipes away the last of our humanity.
——Daniele Lanzarotta, Bloodlust (Imprinted Souls, #2)

They came with pageantry, with a kind of beauty.

They came in a rigid, formal formation. They moved together, but it was not a march; they flowed in perfect synchronicity from the trees—a dark, unbroken shape that seemed to hover a few inches above the white snow, so smooth was the advance.

The outer perimeter was gray; the color darkened with each line of bodies until the heart of the formation was the deepest black. Every face was cowled, shadowed. The faint brushing sound of their feet was so regular it was like music, a complicated beat that never faltered.

The gray-cloaked figures spread to the flanks while the darker forms surged precisely forward in the center, each movement closely controlled.

Their progress was slow but deliberate, with no hurry, no tension, no anxiety. It was the pace of the invincible.

I couldn't help counting. There were thirty-two of them.

We outnumbered them by having fourteen extra people.

"The redcoats are coming, the redcoats are coming," Garrett muttered mysteriously to himself and then chuckled once.

He slid one step closer to Kate.

"They did come," Vladimir whispered to Stefan.

"The wives," Stefan hissed back. "The entire guard. All of them together. It's well we didn't try Volterra." He said.

And then, as if their numbers were not enough, while the Volturi is slowly and majestically advanced, more vampires began entering the clearing behind them.

The faces in this seemingly endless influx of vampires were the antithesis to the Volturi's expressionless discipline—they wore a kaleidoscope of emotions.

At first, there was shock and even some anxiety as they saw the unexpected force awaiting them. But that concern passed quickly; they were secure in their overwhelming numbers, confident in their position behind the unstoppable Volturi force. Their features returned to the expression they'd worn before we'd surprised them.

It was easy enough to understand their mindset—the faces were that explicit. This was an angry mob, whipped to a frenzy and slavering for justice.

It was clear that this motley, disorganized horde—more than forty vampires altogether —was the Volturi's kind of witness. When we were dead, they would spread the word that the criminals had been eradicated, that the Volturi had acted with nothing but impartiality. Most looked like they hoped for more than just an opportunity to witness— they wanted to help tear and burn.

Irina's horrified gaze was locked on Tanya's position in the front line. Edward snarled a shallow but fervent sound.

"Alistair was right," he murmured to Carlisle.

I watched Carlisle glance at Edward questioningly.

"Alistair was right?" Tanya whispered.

"They—Caius and Aro—come to destroy and acquire," Edward breathed almost silently back; only our side could hear. "They have many layers of strategy already in place. If Irina's accusation had somehow proven to be false, they were committed to finding another reason to take offense. But they can see Bella and Renesmee now, so they are perfectly confident about their course. We could still attempt to defend against their other contrived charges, but first they have to stop, to hear the truth about Renesmee." Then, even lower. "Which they have no intention of doing." He said.

Seth gave a strange little huff.

And then, unexpectedly, two seconds later, the procession did halt. The flawless discipline remained unbroken; the Volturi froze into absolute stillness as one. They stood about a hundred yards away from us.

Behind me, to the sides, I heard the beating of large hearts, closer than before. I risked glances to the left and the right from the corners of my eyes to see what had stopped the Volturi advance.

The wolves and ski walkers had joined us.

On either side of our uneven line, the wolves branched out in long, bordering arms. With so many vampires encamped in the neighborhood, a werewolf population explosion was inevitable. There were now twenty-four wolves in the pack.

I was furious. Beyond furious, I was murderously enraged.

"Althea, relax," Edward whispered to me.

"I can't," I said.

All I wanted at that moment was the chance to rip their limbs from their bodies and pile them for burning.

My lips curved back automatically, and a low, fierce snarl tore up my throat from the pit of my stomach.

Beside me, Zafrina and Senna echoed my growl.

Edward squeezed the hand he still held, cautioning me.

The shadowed Volturi faces were still expressionless for the most part. Only two sets of eyes betrayed any emotion at all.

In the very center, touching hands, Aro and Caius had paused to evaluate, and the entire guard had remained with them, waiting for the order to kill. The two did not look at each other, but it was apparent that they were communicating.

Marcus, though touching Aro's other hand, did not seem part of the conversation. His expression was not as mindless as the guards', but it was near as blank. Like the one other time I'd seen him, he appeared to be utterly bored.

The bodies of the Volturi's witnesses leaned toward us, their eyes fixed furiously on Renesmee and Bella, but they stayed near the fringe of the forest, leaving a wide berth between themselves and the Volturi soldiers.

Only Irina hovered close behind the Volturi, just a few paces away from the ancient females—both fair-haired with powdery skin and filmed eyes—and their two massive bodyguards.

There was a woman in one of the darker gray cloaks just behind Aro. Renata.

Alec and Jane, quickly the smallest guard members, stood just to Marcus's side, flanked by Demetri on the other.

My muscles flexed.

Aro's and Caius's clouded red eyes flickered across our line. I read the disappointment in Aro's face as his gaze roved over our faces, again and again, looking for one that was missing. Chagrin tightened his lips.

At that moment, I was nothing but grateful that Alice had run. As the pause lengthened, I heard Edward's breath speed. "Edward?" Carlisle asked, low and anxious.

"They're not sure how to proceed. They're weighing options, choosing key targets— me, of course, you, Eleazar, Tanya. Marcus is reading the strength of our ties to each other, looking for weak points. The Romanians' presence irritates them. They're worried about the faces they don't recognize—Zafrina and Senna in particular—and the wolves, naturally. They've never been outnumbered before. That's what stopped them." He answered.

"Outnumbered?" Tanya whispered incredulously.

"They don't count their witnesses," Edward breathed.

"They are nonentities, meaningless to the guard. Aro just enjoys an audience." Tanya said.

"Should I speak?" Carlisle asked.

Edward hesitated, then nodded. "This is the only chance you'll get." He said.

Carlisle squared his shoulders and paced several steps ahead of our defensive line.

He spread his arms, holding his palms up as if in greeting.

"Aro, my old friend. It's been centuries." Carlisle said.

The white clearing was dead silent for a long moment. I could feel the tension rolling off Edward as he listened to Aro's assessment of Carlisle's words. The strain mounted as the seconds ticked by.

And then Aro stepped forward out of the center of the Volturi formation. The shield, Renata, moved with him as if the tips of her fingers were sewn to his robe. For the first time, the Volturi ranks reacted. A muttered grumble rolled through the line, eyebrows lowered into scowls, lips curled back from teeth. A few of the guards leaned forward into a crouch.

Aro held one hand up toward them. "Peace." He said.

He walked just a few paces more, then cocked his head to one side. His milky eyes glinted with curiosity.

"Fair words, Carlisle," He said as he breathed in his thin, wispy voice. "They seem out of place, considering the army you've assembled to kill me and to kill my dear ones." He added.

Carlisle shook his head and stretched his right hand forward as if there were not still almost a hundred yards between them. "You have but to touch my hand to know that was never my intent." He said.

Aro's shrewd eyes narrowed. "But how can your intent possibly matter, dear Carlisle, in the face of what you have done?" He asked as he frowned, and a shadow of sadness crossed his features—whether it was genuine or not, I could not tell.

"I have not committed the crime you are here to punish me for," Carlisle said.

"Then step aside and let us punish those responsibly. Truly, Carlisle, nothing would please me more than to preserve your life today." Ari said.

"No one has broken the law, Aro. Let me explain." Carlisle said.

Again, Carlisle offered his hand. Before Aro could answer, Caius drifted swiftly forward to Aro's side.

"So many pointless rules, so many unnecessary laws you create for yourself, Carlisle," the white-haired ancient hissed. "How is it possible that you defend the breaking of one that truly matters?" Aro asked.

"The law is not broken. If you would listen—"

"We see the child and the human, Carlisle," Caius snarled. "Do not treat us as fools." He said.

"Yes, Bella is human, but the child is not an immortal. She is not a vampire. I can easily prove this with just a few moments—"

Caius cut him off.

"If she is not one of the forbidden if Bella is not a vampire, then why have you massed a battalion to protect them?" Caius asked.

"Witnesses, Caius, just as you have brought." Carlisle gestured to the angry horde at the edge of the woods; some of them growled in response. "Any one of these friends can tell you the truth about the child. Or you could just look at her, Caius. See the flush of human blood in her cheeks." He added.

"Artifice!" Caius snapped. "Where is the informer? Let her come forward!" He craned his neck around until he spotted Irina lingering behind the wives. "You! Come!"

Irina stared at him uncomprehendingly, her face like that of someone who has not entirely awakened from a hideous nightmare. Impatiently, Caius snapped his fingers. One of the wives' huge bodyguards moved to Irina's side and prodded her roughly in the back. Irina blinked twice and then strolled toward Caius in a daze. She stopped several yards short, her eyes still on her sisters.

Caius closed the distance between them and slapped her across the face.

It couldn't have hurt, but something was degrading about the action. It was like watching someone kick a dog. Tanya and Kate hissed in synchronization.

Irina's body went rigid, and her eyes finally focused on Caius. He pointed one clawed finger at Renesmee, where she clung to my back, her fingers still tangled in Seth's fur. Caius turned entirely red in my furious view. A growl rumbled through Seth's chest.

"Does what he say are lies?" Caius demanded.

Irina peered at us, examining Renesmee for the first time since entering the clearing. Her head tilted to the side, and confusion crossed her features.

"Well?" Caius snarled.

"I... I have not seen the child before, I only reported about Bella still being human and the wolves," she said, her tone perplexed.

Caius's hand twitched as if he wanted to slap her again.

Caius's furious gasp crackled through his suddenly bared teeth, and Irina remained quiet. Aro flitted to Caius's side and put a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"Be composed, brother. We have time to sort this out. No need to be hasty." With a sullen expression, Caius turned his back on Irina.

"Now, sweetling," Aro said in a warm, sugary murmur. "Show me what you're trying to say." He held his hand out to the bewildered vampire.

Uncertainly, Irina took his hand. He held hers for only five seconds. "You see, Caius?" He said. "It's a simple matter to get what we need." He continued.

Caius didn't answer him. From the corner of his eye, Aro glanced once at his audience, his mob, and then turned back to Carlisle.

"Curious," Aro told Carlisle.

"That's exactly what I'm trying to explain," Carlisle said, and from the change in his voice, I could guess at his relief.

This was the pause we had pinned all our nebulous hopes on.

I felt no relief. I waited, almost numb with rage, for the layers of strategy Edward had promised.

Carlisle held out his hand again.

Aro hesitated for a moment. "I would rather have the explanation from someone more central to the story, my friend. Am I wrong to assume that this breach was not of your making?" He asked.

"There was no breach," Carlisle answered.

"Be that as it may, I will have every facet of the truth." Aro's feathery voice hardened. "And the best way to get that is to have the evidence directly from your talented son." He inclined his head in Edward's direction. "As the child clings to Bella, I'm assuming Edward is involved,"  Aro said.

Of course, he wanted Edward. Once he could see into Edward's mind, he would know all our thoughts. Except for Bella's mind.

Edward turned to quickly kiss my forehead and then Renesmee's, not meeting my eyes.

Then he strode across the snowy field, clapping Carlisle on the shoulder as he passed. I heard a low whimper from behind me—Esme's terror breaking through.

The red haze I saw around the Volturi army flamed brighter than before. I could not bear to watch Edward cross the empty white space alone, but I knew I couldn't do anything.

I saw Jane smile as Edward crossed the midpoint in the distance between us when he was closer to them than he was to us.

That smug little smile did it. My fury peaked, higher even than the raging bloodlust I'd felt the moment the wolves had committed to this doomed fight. My breath rushed out in a huff with the exertion.

"Bella, you did it," Lape said.

Bella had finally achieved getting her shield to wrap around us. Her guard exploded a good fifty yards out from me effortlessly, taking only a fraction of her concentration. It even reached Edward, but Bella did not cover him as Aro needed to hear our side of the story.

A startled laugh burst through Bella's lips.

"Good job, Bella. You didn't even need to be a vampire to use your gift." I said.

Edward stopped a few steps away from Aro; I focused totally on Edward, ready to attack if anyone harms him.

Edward's chin came up arrogantly, and he held his hand out to Aro as if he were conferring a great honor. Aro seemed only delighted with his attitude, but his delight was not universal. Renata fluttered nervously in Aro's shadow.

Caius's scowl was so deep it looked like his papery, translucent skin would crease permanently. Jane showed her teeth, and beside her, Alec's eyes narrowed in concentration.

I guessed that he was ready, like me, to act at a second's notice.

Aro closed the distance without pause—and really, what did he have to fear? The hulking shadows of the lighter gray cloaks—the brawny fighters like Felix—were but a few yards away. Jane and her burning gift could throw Edward on the ground, writhing in agony.

Alec could blind and deafen him before he could take a step in Aro's direction. No one knew that Bella had the power to stop them, not even Edward.

With an untroubled smile, Aro took Edward's hand. His eyes snapped shut at once, and then his shoulders hunched under the onslaught of information.

Every secret thought, every strategy, every insight—everything Edward had heard in the minds around him during the last month—was now Aro's. And further back—every vision of Alice's, every picture in Renesmee's head, every memory... All of that was Aro's now, too.

I hissed with frustration.

"Easy, Althea," Bella whispered to me.

I clenched my teeth together.

Aro continued to concentrate on Edward's memories. Edward's head bowed, too, the muscles in his neck locking tight as he read back again everything that Aro took from him and Aro's response to it all.

This two-way but unequal conversation continued long enough that even the guard grew uneasy. Low murmurs ran through the line until Caius barked a sharp order for silence. Jane was edging forward like she couldn't help herself, and Renata's face was rigid with distress.

Aro straightened, his eyes flashing open, their expression awed and wary. He did not release Edward's hand.

Edward's muscles loosened ever so slightly. "You see?" Edward asked his velvet voice calm.

"Yes, I see, indeed," Aro agreed, and amazingly, he sounded almost amused. "I doubt whether any two among gods or mortals have ever seen quite so clearly." He said.

The disciplined faces of the guard showed the same disbelief I felt.

"You have given me much to ponder, young friend," Aro continued. "Much more than I expected." He added.

Still, he did not release Edward's hand, and Edward's tense stance was that of one who listens.

Edward didn't answer.

"May I meet her?" Aro asked—almost pleaded—with sudden eager interest. "I never dreamed of the existence of such a thing in all my centuries. What an addition to our histories!" He said.

"What is this about, Aro?" Caius snapped before Edward could answer. Just the question had Bella pulling Renesmee around into her arms, cradling her protectively against her chest.

"Something you've never dreamed of, my practical friend. Take a moment to ponder, for the justice we intended to deliver no longer applies." Aro said.

Caius hissed in surprise at his words.

"Peace, brother," Aro cautioned soothingly.

This should have been good news—these were the words we'd been hoping for, the reprieve we'd never really thought possible. Aro had listened to the truth. Aro had admitted that the law had not been broken.

But my eyes were riveted on Edward, and I saw the muscles in his back tighten. I replayed in my head Aro's instruction for Caius to ponder and heard the double meaning.

"Will you introduce me to your daughter?" Aro asked Edward again. Caius was not the only one who hissed at this new revelation.

Edward nodded reluctantly. And yet, Renesmee had won over so many others. Aro always seemed the leader of the ancients. If he were on her side, could the others act against us?

Aro still gripped Edward's hand, and he now answered a question that the rest of us had not heard.

"I think a compromise on this one point is certainly acceptable under the circumstance. We will meet in the middle."

Aro released his hand. Edward turned back toward us, and Aro joined him, throwing one arm casually over Edward's shoulder like they were the best of friends—all the while maintaining contact with Edward's skin. They began to cross the field back to our side.

The entire guard fell into step behind them. Aro raised a hand negligently without looking at them.

"Hold, my dear ones. Truly, they mean us no harm if we are peaceable." Aro said.

The guard reacted to this more openly than before, with snarls and hisses of protest, but held their position. Renata, clinging closer to Aro than ever, whimpered in anxiety.

"Master," she whispered.

"Don't fret, my love," he responded. "All is well." He said.

"Perhaps you should bring a few members of your guard with us," Edward suggested. "It will make them more comfortable." He added.

Aro nodded as if this was a wise observation he should have thought of himself. He snapped his fingers twice.

"Felix, Demetri," Aro said.

The two vampires were at his side instantaneously.

The five of them stopped in the middle of the snowy field.

"Bella," Edward called. "Bring Renesmee... and a few friends." He added.

It took Bella only a second to decide.

"Althea? Seth? Lape?" Bella asked quietly.

Lape because he would be dying to go. Seth, because he wouldn't be able to bear being left behind.

Both nodded. I grinned.

Lape helped Bella cross the field with them flanking me.

I heard another rumble from the guard; as they saw her choices, they did not trust the werewolf. Aro lifted his hand, waving away their protest again.

"Interesting company you keep," Demetri murmured to Edward.

Edward didn't respond, but a low growl slipped through Seth's teeth.

We stopped a few yards from Aro.

Edward ducked under Aro's arm and quickly joined us, taking my hand.

For a moment, we faced each other in silence. Then Felix greeted Bella in a low aside.

"Hello again, Bella." He grinned cockily while still tracking Seth's every twitch with his peripheral vision.

I stared wryly at the mountainous vampire.

"Hey, Felix," Bella said.

Felix chuckled. "You look good for still being human." He said.

"Thanks so much," Bella said.

"You're welcome. It's too bad . . ." He let his comment trail off into silence, but I didn't need Edward's gift to imagine the end of what he wanted to say to Bella. It's too bad we're going to kill you in a second.

"Yes, too bad, isn't it?" Bella murmured.

Felix winked.

Aro paid no attention to their exchange.

He leaned his head to one side, fascinated. "I hear her strange heart," he murmured with an almost musical lilt to his words. "I smell her strange scent." Then his hazy eyes shifted to me. "In truth, young Bella, I'm sad that you did not join us in immortality." He said.

Bella nodded once in acknowledgment of his words.

"You liked my gift?" he asked, eyeing the pendant Bella wore.

"It's beautiful and very, very generous of you. Thank you. I probably should have sent a note." Bella said.

Aro laughed delightedly. "It's just a little something I had lying around. I thought it might compliment you, and so it does." He said.

I heard a slight hiss from the center of the Volturi line.

I glanced over Aro's shoulder. Hmm. It seemed Jane wasn't happy about the fact that Aro had given me a present.

Aro cleared his throat to reclaim my attention. "May I greet your daughter, lovely Bella?" he asked sweetly.

Bella walked two slow steps forward.

Her shield rippled out behind her like a cape, protecting the rest of the family while Renesmee was left exposed.

It felt wrong, horrible.

Aro met us, his face beaming.

"But she's exquisite," he murmured. "So like you and Edward." And then louder, "Hello, Renesmee." He said.

Renesmee looked at Bella quickly. Bella nodded.

"Hello, Aro," she answered formally in her high, ringing voice. Aro's eyes were bemused.

"What is it?" Caius hissed from behind. He seemed infuriated by the need to ask.

"Half mortal, half immortal," Aro announced to him and the rest of the guard without turning his enthralled gaze from Renesmee. "Conceived so and carried by this human," Aro said.

"Impossible," Caius scoffed.