rebellion

Edythe

I had never been a very patient person. Maybe that was the reason I had always been faster than the others—I couldn't help but want to race ahead, to get things done as soon as possible.

Several times over the interminably long journey back to Washington, Archie had to call to me to slow down. It wasn't like the meeting could start before he got there anyway.

I knew he was right, and I did slow down—but as my mind automatically calculated the lost minutes of my reduced speed, I felt like the impatience might burn me from the inside out.

Beau. Beau was waiting for me—or maybe he wasn't. Maybe he'd already resigned himself to whatever fate Sulpicia's plans led him to, hoping that I would remain safely out of the way. That would be just like him.

As we crossed into Washington, the trees grew more familiar, until we were in our own forest. I tasted so many scents I knew well on the air, and again I sped up slightly, though this time Archie managed to keep pace. Even though it was mid-August, it must have rained recently, because our running feet sent droplets of damp scattering in all directions, and a fine mist hung over the ground. The sky was still heavy and ponderous overhead.

When we broke through the trees, Archie immediately slowed, but I kept running, right up to the door of the house, and I blew inside.

Archie had, of course, told them precisely when we would arrive, and everyone was waiting in the living room. Royal, Eleanor, Jessamine, Carine, and Earnest.

They all immediately took in the wild look in my eyes, and no one spoke, each simply trying to guess what it meant.

"Dining room," I said abruptly, without greeting, and strode on through.

I heard no movement behind me for a moment, then everyone slowly got up and followed. I heard the front door open when Archie arrived a moment later.

I didn't sit, only moved to stand at one end of the room, my arms folded, hardly able to suppress my agitation. I watched as Carine and Earnest took their usual seats at the head of the ovular dining table, while Royal and Eleanor took up chairs a little ways down it. Jessamine, as usual, was more comfortable to stand, but of course Archie also found a chair. His face was somber, though he kept his body posture relaxed.

"Edythe," Carine said, turning solemn eyes to me. "What's going on? What has happened to Beau? Archie didn't say."

I stood where I was, unmoving as a statue, but my eyes flickered from one face to the next. I didn't like to admit how Sulpicia had duped me, how when Beau had seemed to reject me I had believed him, rather than seen through to the truth—the chance to think on the run over made me beyond certain that Archie's theory was absolutely correct. I still didn't understand how I could have been played for such a fool—but this was no time for my pride, not when Beau was in danger.

"Beau is in Sulpicia's hands now," I said, cutting it down to the essentials. "Sulpicia called me—she told me the time she would allow Beau to remain human was up, and she would not give us another chance if we didn't comply immediately. I didn't tell Beau about Sulpicia, but I did ask him if that was what he really wanted, and—"

I took a deep breath, as shame burned through my throat and lungs. I finished softly, "...I changed him."

I waited for a moment, not sure what to expect. Shock, maybe. Anger, disgust. After going on about how determined I was to keep him human, not wanting him to be forced to make the sacrifices he would have to make to join this life, I had caved into Sulpicia's blackmail. I felt weak, pathetic.

But the onslaught never came. Eleanor merely rolled her eyes and thought, It's about time. Jessamine was calculating the risk it had been for me to try to deal with a newborn on my own without the rest of them there, but knew almost better than anyone that the Volturi's word was law, and primarily she radiated relief—she had still been harboring the fear I would somehow accidentally kill him beforehand, perhaps on the honeymoon. Earnest's smile was wide, full of radiant joy for me. Carine was slightly troubled, knowing how hard I had resisted this outcome, but she, too, was predominantly relieved.

Royal scowled and gave me a look of pure disdain, but even his thoughts weren't what I expected. You decided to do this, he thought at me harshly, his mouth set in a hard line. Accept it. Don't stand there looking sorry.

For a second, I didn't react. Of course no one was really upset I had changed him, I don't know why I had thought they would be. Even in Royal's case, his stance against Beau's change had always come at least partly out of selfishness, seeing Beau throw away those things he longed to have for himself. Not a true understanding of what Beau had to lose by choosing me, the people he would leave behind, his very soul condemned forever. I was the only one who had been truly set against the change—who saw the terrible sacrifices he would be forced to make.

I took a deep, steadying breath, and continued, "What I didn't realize at the time is that Sulpicia had more in mind than just making Beau change because she doesn't want humans that aren't hers to know the secret. After Beau changed, he seemed... different. Distant. I assumed it was the shock of the change, or even possibly he resented me for what I had done. Harbored some regrets—he, of course, didn't care for the taste of the animal blood."

I paused. "It wasn't long after that, he...that is to say..." I swallowed. Then, gritting my teeth, I forced myself to go on. "He convinced me his feelings weren't the same. That he didn't want to live as we did. I tried to argue for him to stay, or at least accept my help in some way, but he wouldn't. In the end, he... left."

They all stared back at me. The room was absolutely silent.

To everyone's surprise but mine, it was Jessamine who broke it. "Left?" she whispered. "You mean you—let him go?"

I didn't reply. I just closed my eyes. When I opened them again, I saw the look of shock in her eyes had turned to anger. It had been a little while since Jessamine had last hunted, and her eyes were nearly black as she glared ferociously at me. The white scars on her jaw and neck stood out starkly in the kitchen light.

"You let a newborn wander off on his own?" she said in a low, dangerous voice. "Even if his feelings had changed, newborns can't be left to themselves under any circumstances. Especially not when they are hours old. They are mad with thirst, volatile—they have to have someone to keep them under control. Don't you realize...? If he goes wild, then it is you, as his creator, that Sulpicia would track down and punish. Perhaps all of us."

Her hard eyes didn't turn from me, but I felt her thoughts flicker to Archie. Her fury was like shards of ice, cold and sharp, and her lips curled back from her teeth. "Do you realize what you've done?" she whispered.

I gazed back at Jessamine steadily. I knew she was right, but this time I didn't let the sick shame of my mistake overtake me—there was too much at stake.

"I know," I said. "He was very convincing, and I succumbed to a moment of weakness—but I don't think we have to worry about his running amok on his own." My eyes flickered once to Archie, then back to the others. "Like I said—we think that Sulpicia herself was behind all this, and now he's in Sulpicia's clutches."

Once again the room fell into silence, as they all considered this.

"What makes you think that, Edythe?" Carine asked at last softly. Her hands were folded in front of her, and she studied me with earnest attentiveness.

I shook my head. "The timing of all this—it's too much to be a coincidence. It's hard to believe that Sulpicia would be wasting time forcing my hand if there wasn't something she wanted out of it, what with what's been going on in Europe. Then with Beau leaving, when no one, not even Archie saw it coming—as convincing as he was at the time, I realize now I should have seen that wasn't like him. Even if his feelings had changed, and he wasn't quite so keen on Carine's way of life anymore, I have trouble believing he would leave that fast—I see that now."

Royal snorted. "Unless he thought breaking with you early was better than breaking with you later." His lip curled. "Maybe he knew if he was going to get away, he had to do it fast."

I shifted my gaze to glare at him.

"Sounds to me like this is all speculation," Royal continued loudly. "Maybe you'd like to think Sulpicia's pulling the strings, but the fact is, you never knew what he was really thinking. None of us did."

I felt like something was boiling in my throat, but I forced myself to swallow it. Getting into one of my usual fights with Royal wasn't going to get Beau any closer to being saved. So, when I spoke, through sheer force of will I kept my voice at a measured calm.

"There's more. Beau's future has disappeared, just as Sulpicia's future disappeared just before the wedding. So if they were together, that would explain it. We think perhaps Sulpicia has somehow taken Julie Black captive, and that is how she has gotten Beau to do what she wants."

I waited to see if Royal would make another objection to this blatant guesswork, but he didn't, though his lip remained curled.

I continued, "Archie and I think that Sulpicia was interested in Beau's potential talent—that she wanted it for some reason."

I noticed Earnest's eyebrows had come together above his eyes. "But if she needed Beau's skill, why wouldn't she have simply come to you and asked? Sulpicia considers Carine a friend—why would she have Beau lie to you and leave in such a way? Surely coming to you and explaining the situation would have been easier."

"Exactly," Royal said, triumphant. "Or she could have come right up to you and taken him by force, without all these pointless contortions."

I didn't respond right away. In fact, I could guess exactly why Sulpicia would not have come and explained things to me directly. Sulpicia had touched me back when we were in Volterra. She knew me and my deepest thoughts in a way that no one, not even Carine and the rest of my family, did. If Sulpicia wanted Beau for this conflict in Europe, she knew I would hardly give my blessing—that, in fact, I would fight it with everything I was, fight ever letting him expose himself to that kind of danger. If there was a war on one side of the world, I would drag him to the other end if I had to in order to keep him away from it.

Yet, it was true that Sulpicia could have surrounded us and taken him against our will if she had wished to. I could only imagine that she had her reasons for maneuvering her chess pieces with such care. Perhaps she had anticipated the chase I would give her, and decided this the best way to avoid it.

"Of course, there is always the chance that Archie and I are wrong, and Beau just simply abandoned me," I said evenly. "If that's it—fine. But you might all want to consider how often Archie and I, when we are in agreement on something, have been wrong."

No one answered—they couldn't. For years it was Archie and I and our gifts that they had relied on to keep our family safe. The power to see the future and read minds, it was a powerful combination—it allowed us to see almost everything, with few blind spots. Now we had both seen clues enough that all seemed to point in one direction.

"Okay," Eleanor said after a minute, speaking for the first time. "Let's say you and Archie are right, and Sulpicia has gotten her hands on Beau. What exactly are you wanting us to do about it? Track her down and give her a fight? Steal him back?" She grinned, then shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, I love the idea. But this is the Volturi we're talking about. You honestly think we'd stand a chance?"

"We'd be slaughtered," Jessamine murmured. "As are any who attempt to oppose Sulpicia."

"But Beau is family," Earnest argued softly. "If he has indeed been taken against his will, how can we desert him? We were all willing to fight for him no matter how bleak things appeared when we faced Victor—is this any different?"

I shot my father a grateful look.

Royal, who had been looking sullen as the others seemed to come around to my way of thinking, curled his lip again. "There's a difference between setting our sights to defend against a rogue army of newborns led by a madman, and meaningless suicide throwing ourselves up against the likes of the Volturi." He paused, then added, "If the theory is true."

Jessamine said nothing, but her eyes were on me, and I could feel her silent agreement.

"Look," I said, forcing my voice to remain steady as my eyes swept the table. "The Volturi has split up and fled from Volterra, we know that much from what Archie saw before his sight was cut off. They aren't at their strongest right now. We might be able to use that to our advantage—we're a big coven, full of experienced fighters. I think we would have a better chance than you all might think."

Jessamine shook her head. "If Archie could see—maybe. Maybe we could consider mounting a rescue." Her eyes met mine. "But Royal is right. Blind, we would be doing no more than destroying ourselves."

Once again, my gaze swept over them, looking at each face in turn. My eyes flickered to Archie, waiting for him to back me up. However, he was leaning back in his chair, as though separating himself from the discussion. He didn't look at me, and I saw in his thoughts he wasn't so much focused on the current conversation as on the immediate future. I saw what he saw, and I froze.

My eyes slowly turned to Carine.

I had been so focused on the others, I hadn't noticed her thoughts, quiet, subdued as they were. She was sitting up straight, her hands folded in her lap, her deep eyes sad.

"Edythe," she said gently.

"No," I answered, shaking my head, even as my fingers trembled.

Carine looked around at the entire table, meeting everyone's gaze in turn, until her eyes came back to rest on me.

"Edythe," she said kindly, "I don't think this is about whether we can defeat Sulpicia or not and take Beau back. You must see, Edythe—Sulpicia is already fighting one rebellion. Are you going to try to lead another?"

"If she didn't want us as her enemies, she should have thought of that before she took Beau," I spat. "If she threatens one of us, she threatens all of us." I added harshly, "Or don't you consider Beau a part of this family?"

"You know I do," Carine said softly, with feeling. "I would, even if he had indeed left you because he did not want to live this way of life. But, Edythe, it sounds to me like, even if your theory is correct, Sulpicia has not taken Beau for the purpose of causing him any harm. She only wants his aid. Sulpicia does what she does for the sake of upholding peace. For us to fight her, possibly harm her... I believe the impact on our worlds, both human and vampire, would be catastrophic. We cannot justify it."

I shook my head. She didn't understand—none of them did. Only I had seen into Sulpicia's thoughts. How dangerous she was. Just how far she was willing to go to achieve her ends.

"We have to get him away from her," I insisted. "That's what's important. How can you just—how can you abandon him like this?"

I could feel in my mind how deeply my words cut her. I saw in Carine's eyes—my mother's eyes—the pain. But she didn't waver.

"We are not abandoning Beau, Edythe," she said gently. "As I said, if what you say is true, then harming him in any way will be the last thing Sulpicia wants. If she really needs him, enough that she would go to all this trouble... then perhaps it is best we leave him with her, and wait for her to let him come back to us in good time. If it was a question of his life, then you know we would gladly give ourselves up to protect him, to try to save him if we could. But this situation is clearly not so simple as that—I think if Sulpicia needs Beau to stop the uprising in Europe before the destruction can destroy the peace of the world that she has been maintaining, then it is better that we leave him to help her."

Something was clawing at my throat again, a fire so much worse than thirst. I felt sick—my mind was spinning, burning, and I couldn't seem to think clearly.

"But—he's in danger," I choked, and I stared at Carine, my eyes wide with desperation. "He's in danger. What Sulpicia wants to use him for is dangerous—I know it is. That's why she had to keep me out of it—that's why she took him from me like this."

My words came out in a rush, and my voice was higher than usual. I knew I sounded half crazed, but I couldn't help it—they had to help me save Beau. That was what mattered. Once I had Beau back, and safe, then we could worry about the world.

"Archie," I said, spinning on him. "You know what I mean. You can't see, but I'm sure you can feel it. Sulpicia is going to put him right on the front lines. She'll use him, use him until she has what she wants and puts down the rebellion. What are the chances a new, inexperienced newborn is going to make it out of a firestorm in Europe? Sulpicia knows the odds, but she won't care."

Archie still didn't meet my eyes. Instead, at last he sighed deeply, running a hand over the short stubble on his head.

"I hear what you're saying, Edy," he said at last. "We all do. But I think Carine's right—we can't interfere. Or at least, it would be wrong for us to try to. We could try to fight Sulpicia and beat her to get Beau back, and we might succeed, but what then? Without the Volturi to keep our kind in line, there would be a power struggle for who's going to take their place, and whoever it is might not be so dedicated to secrecy. If we took out Sulpicia, we might save Beau, but the whole world could erupt in flames. I think it's better if we sit back and wait this time, Edy. Just trust Beau to find a way to help Sulpicia keep the world in order, then make his way back to you. That's all we can do."

I stood where I was, perfectly still. My eyes traveled the table slowly, going from one face to the next. I saw Earnest look between Archie and Carine, and his shoulders slumped.

"How would we find them anyway?" Earnest asked, resigned, as he turned sorrowful eyes back to me.

I barely glanced at him as my gaze finally rested on Carine. She, unlike Earnest, saw no problem in finding Beau and Sulpicia—she already knew who we might ask. I felt her try to suppress the thought—the first time she had ever tried to hide a thought from me in all the time I had known her. But I saw what I needed anyway.

I took a slow step back from the table. "Fine," I said, in a voice so low they barely heard it. "I... understand."

I did understand. They wouldn't help me. But they didn't need to—I didn't need them.

Archie, who had been sitting in his chair slightly slumped, suddenly jerked up straight. His eyes were wide as a new future suddenly folded out in his mind, expanding, racing ahead like a raging fire over a plain of dead grass. He finally turned to stare at me, with a look as though he had never seen me before.

Jessamine saw his expression, and her eyebrows came down in confusion. She took an automatic half-step toward me.

I didn't bother to think. I turned, and ran.

In an instant I had blown through the front room and through the open door, and soon I was tearing through the forest like a bullet, so fast that to human eyes I would have been no more than a streak of color, a breath of wind. I had always been the fastest, and I knew not a one of them would have a hope to catch me—not Carine, not Jessamine, nor even Archie, who even now must be watching the new possibilities of my future racing ahead, growing more distinct as my plans began to solidify. Overhead, the sky was turning a roiling black, and the temperature dropped as another storm approached.

I still loved Carine, and all of my family. On some level, I understood their decision. Maybe it was better this way—at least if they stayed here, they wouldn't be in danger. I wouldn't have to be responsible for any of their deaths.

My hand reached inside my jacket, and closed briefly over my phone. Once I was well away, I needed to make a phone call—I had to find out for certain that the wolves had still had no contact with Julie. And they deserved an update on what was going on, what might be happening to their sister.

Of course, they couldn't help, even if that was bound to be Sarah's first response. The people I was seeking out would likely not work so well with wolves—they were far from vegetarians, and unlikely to be ready to put aside ancient enmities. However, even more I couldn't afford to have the wolves close by if I failed. If Beau—didn't make it.

Because before I followed him into oblivion, the one responsible would pay. And I would break any rule or treaty I had to to do it.

For the first time, a face other than Beau's flickered behind my eyes. A wild, deranged face, with hair like a blazing fire.

I had never told Beau just how much Victor had frightened me. Not because of his meager fighting abilities, or his out-of-control newborn army—no, what had always terrified me most about Victor was that, when I imagined his feral features, sometimes I thought I saw my own staring back at me. Because I knew that if things had been reversed, if Joss had killed Beau and she and Victor had escaped, then it would have been myself set on a mad path of vengeance. I would have done anything I had to in order to destroy her, to make her feel every bit of pain she had inflicted on Beau a thousandfold.

Now as I raced through the darkening forest, though Victor was long dead, I saw his features in my mind. I knew if I was too late, if Sulpicia's actions led to Beau's death, I would destroy her, or else die in the attempt.

I saw myself again in Archie's last, flickering vision before I had left—myself, standing in deep shadows, at the head of an army of my own, my eyes a blazing red. Over decades, centuries if I had to, I would gather the gifts I needed, destroying any I created who had any thoughts of betraying me—after all, not a one of them would be able to lie to me. I would know which were dedicated to the cause, and which were not, would know their minds well enough to know what I might say to win their loyalty or prevent myself from losing it.

However, that was far in the future, and contingent on whether or not Beau could be saved now. The image of the vision faded for the moment.

Likely I was racing toward nothing but pain and tragedy. And if I was too late, there would be nothing but the path of vengeance left to me, to again become the monster I had once been long ago, and worse.

But I couldn't afford to worry about that now; for the present, I would do absolutely everything I could to bring Beau back safely. No matter what I had to do.