DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, only the plot is my own.

R&R PLEASE! Will motivate me to continue sooner rather than later…

Edward answered the phone. As soon as he heard Jasper say something about a "familiar scent," he snapped the phone shut. Even without my new, heightened senses, I would have been able to tell that Edward was upset. Who could it be? Could it be the Volturi? I sat in silence for a couple of moments, waiting for him to update me. When he did not, I spoke up.

"Ahem," I cleared my throat. "What was Jasper talking about?"

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Now I am sitting here as Edward explains what is going on. It isn't the Volturi, but I'm not sure that I like the sound of what I am hearing any better. Maria is in the area. THE Maria, the vampire that Jasper used to live with, the vampire who was building up an army… slaughtering both humans and vampires without a flinch. This can't be good.

"Does she know we're here?" I ask hesitantly.

"Yes; she smelled Jasper too. I can hear her thoughts, and she is hoping that Jasper will come meet her at an old designated place of theirs… otherwise, she will track him down. " He shakes his head as he picks up his cell phone to call Jasper.

"What exactly does she want?" I ask.

"At the moment,? Just to talk. She's heard of Jasper's new family and is interested in both our lifestyle and our powers. She…"

Jasper calls Edward back.

As they talk, I am left to my own devices. My own thoughts. Maria. I have been terrified of her ever since Jasper told me his life story and showed me his hundreds of scars. In my mind, she is evil. Demonic. Insane. I dread the thought of meeting her, but I suppose it's better than being tracked by a crazy vampire.

Again.

And, on the plus side, I'm no longer human. At that thought, I brighten up a bit. I'm no longer a temptation to kill. I'm also no longer weak. So nobody can take me away from Edward without a damn good fight now; aside from having to take me down, they would have to get through my entire family first! I am safe. We are safe. Nothing can go wrong.

I hope.

Edward hangs up and throws the phone into the cup holder my hand is laying across.

"Ow!" I say automatically, even though it doesn't actually hurt.

"Sorry."

I thought that my playful response would make him smile, but it doesn't. Instead, I notice his grip on the steering wheel tighten.

"What's going on?"

"Well, we're driving about ten more minutes. Then parking the cars. Then running a few miles to a cave where Maria's coven used to stay sometimes."

"Right. But that's not what I mean. I MEAN, why are you… nervous, I guess is the only word to describe it?"

Rather than dance around the subject, he was blunt with me for once. "I'm anxious about how Maria will respond to all of our powers. Especially yours. You see, she has recently begun building a new coven. It's small; only 4 vampires including herself. It's made up of her, her new partner Lerone, and two young vampires. These two young vampires were bitten only days apart. Then she pretty much just turned them loose to kill as many people as they wanted. But the odd thing is that both of these young ones have powers. I don't know if it was coincidence or not yet, but it's just such a rare occurrence that I can't help but think it was intentional. And if Maria has figured out how to select people that will have powers as vampires, this could be a million times worse than her previous army. I'm not even sure how the Volturi will be able to handle it!"

I realize my mouth has fallen open when I try to speak. "Oh my God, what do we do?"

"Really, there is nothing to do but go meet with her. Hopefully, she will be so focused on her own plans for the future that she won't be overly concerned with us. But there's always the chance..."

"Does she know what each of our powers are?"

"Aside from Jasper? No, not at the moment. But I'm betting on that changing."

"How?"

He exhales heavily. "Just, we'll see."

I take that as my cue to stop badgering him. And in his defense, he was very open with me. Brownie points for my husband; I'll have to keep a tally of those for when we get settled in our new home. Assuming we ever get there.

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We park the cars. We all slowly climb out; none of us are looking forward to this. I go over to Alice as soon as my feet touch the ground.

"What do you see happening?"

She shakes her head quickly and looks to the ground. "I don't see any trouble, but I do see her keeping an interest in us after we leave."

She, just as Edward, was no longer shielding every little bit of bad news from me. I guess it's because I'm not fragile little Bella anymore. I guess it's because I'm actually part of the family now. So as somber of a situation as this is, I feel my lips curve up slightly in a grin.

"Bella?" Edward calls from the back of the line of cars. I run over to him. He tosses me a bottle of blood before putting a few in a backpack. "Just in case you get thirsty." He says as he shrugs the backpack onto his back.

So thoughtful.

We all gather around Jasper, waiting on his lead.

"Just, a bit of warning before we get there. Maria is… charming. If she wants you to let your guard down, it's really not hard for her to come across as sweet and innocent. She may bypass that act; she may assume that I've already told you all about her. But just in case… I thought you all needed to know."

We all nod in understanding.

"Well, I guess let's go then."

Jasper takes off running. We all follow quickly.

We're all obviously fast, but Edward was right in thinking that I'm one of the fastest. It's probably because I'm so young, but I still have fun with it. Soon, I'm right on Jasper's heels. I would pass him if I knew where I was going. Edward is soon in stride with me. He takes my hand and kisses it mid-run. It's the kind of simple, romantic gesture that once would have had me blushing.

In only a few minutes, Jasper slows down. He stops at a rock wall. Rather, it just looks like a big boulder; it's not quite a 'mountain.' He walks to some shrubbery that's against the rock and moves it aside. There is a tunnel there that leads into the rock. The path goes down into the ground very steeply, but is tall enough that we can all walk it.

Jasper smacks his hands together and rubs them in anticipation before leading the way.

"Is she here?" I whisper to Edward.

"Not just her; all four of them."

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The pathway is dark, but we don't need it with our eyesight. After walking about a minute, the ground evens out. We go around a sharp curve and are in a cavern about the size of my old house. There are stalagmites and stalactites and flowing water; it's really very pretty. Across the cavern, we see them. The four stranger vampires meet us halfway across the room.

The woman in the lead must be Maria. She is short and has long chestnut colored hair. Her face is heart shaped, and dimples light up her face as she smiles in greeting.

"Jasper!" She coos as she hugs him. "I am so glad you decided to drop by. It's really been too long. Oh, I was upset with you when you left me, but let's let bygones be bygones, shall we?"

She turns and beams at all of us. If Jasper hadn't told me about her trickery, I might have been fooled.

"There are so many of you! And do you all truly not drink human blood? That's incredible. I can't say I have the willpower to give it up, but if it makes you happy Jasper, it mustn't be too horrible." She gives him a radiant smile.

The other three vampires stand behind her; they don't look anywhere near as sociable. One of the males walks up to her and slips an arm around her waist. This much be Lerone. His hair is jet black and his eyes are as well. He must be hungry. … I'm so glad I'm not human anymore!

"Oh, where have my manners gone? This is Lerone," she says as she looks up at him. He stands a full foot taller than her. "And this is Aaron and Michelle." She gestures them forward. They approach, holding hands.

So they're a couple too?

Aaron is stunning. His straight blonde hair hangs down to his neck, and his chiseled jaw is clenched tightly. His complexion is fair; he probably had piercing blue eyes as a human. But now, they are blood red.

Likewise, Michelle is beautiful. She is petite and has curly auburn hair that hangs down her back in perfect tresses. She has a delicate oval face and round eyes graced with full lashes.

Carlisle begins to speak. "I am Carlisle and I started our little coven. This is Esme, Edward, Bella, Emmet, Rosalie, Alice, and of course you already know Jasper."

"The pleasure's all mine." Maria says. "So tell me, Carlisle, does anyone else in your coven have a power besides Jasper? It's all really very interesting to me since I don't have one myself."

I notice Edward stiffen; he hears her thoughts and doesn't like where they are going. But I'm not exactly in the best position to ask, so I keep my mouth shut.

Jasper decides steps in. "No. It's only me, Maria. I guess I'm some kind of fluke, right?"

"He's lying." Aaron says nonchalantly. I'm surprised by the deep voice coming out of this angelic creature. "There are others."

"Ah… I guess I could have mentioned that my Aaron has the innate ability to tell when someone is telling the truth or lying. So now Jasper, would you like to change your answer?" Her voice is still sweet, but there is an edge of authority in it now. Clearly, she is getting impatient.

"Well…" Jasper fumbles for words.

Carlisle takes over again. "We do have others in fact, Maria. Alice is able to see the future and Edward can read minds. It's all remarkable and proves to be very useful."

"How marvelous!" Maria exclaims as she clasps her hands together. She looks very thoughtful; contemplative even. I don't like it at all, and apparently neither do my family members.

"So do none of the rest of you have any abilities?" Jerone raises an eyebrow in our direction. How does he know?

Dammit! I thought that Carlisle's clever choice of words would keep me out of sight and out of mind. But apparently not. And there's no used trying to lie about it since Aaron would know anyway.

Carlisle takes in a deep breath. "Yes actually. Bella is our youngest coven member and we've only recently discovered her power. She can… channel other vampires' powers and use them herself. But she has to physically touch the person she's channeling."

"Really?" Maria's eyes grow large and she licks her lips. "Would you mind showing me?"

"Umm…. I guess not."

I walk over to Edward and slowly take his hand. He gives me a "be careful" look and squeezes my hand before I start. "Alright Maria, think about whatever you'd like and I'll tell you."

I channel Edward's power and delve into Maria's mind. At first, she is thinking about a memory of her in a carnival. I instinctually know that the fact that she was resisting killing all the humans there means she has a purpose. Then she walks into a building labeled "freak show." As she walks through, she notices a young girl, who I immediately recognize as Michelle, sitting in a glass room. She looks so young! She sits there, doing nothing. A small boy approaches the glass and says "She's boring… do something girl!" Michelle looks up and glares at the boy but still does nothing. But Maria is interested, so she sticks around. Not long after the encounter with the little boy, a man walks up and turns on a switch. Suddenly, fire erupts all over Michelle's room!

But rather than being burned, Michelle stays sitting on her seat as the fire grows nearer and nearer to her. Just when she is about to be engulfed by the flames, they start to move. The fire bends around her, creating a pocket. Then, to prove that it isn't a trick of the room, Michelle stands up and paces all around the room; the pocket follows her.

I now bring myself out of Maria's mind. Why did she show me that? She is looking at me questioningly.

"So what did you see?"

"Well… I saw Michelle in a carnival. But, I don't understand. What was she doing with the fire? And was that as a human?"

"I'm impressed, Bella." Maria says smoothly. "And yes, Michelle was still a human at that point. Even then, she could control fire…. But only if it already existed. Now, she can generate it herself as well as control it."

To prove Maria's point, Michelle lifts her hand and fire erupts from her fingertips. She blows on them, and the balls of fire float through the air in our direction. Then she naps her fingers, and they go out. An involuntary shiver runs through my body.

"Well, now that we all know all about the others' powers, is there anything else you'd like to chat about Maria?" Jasper asks testily. Clearly, he is anxious to leave. Maybe the feelings he is picking up from his old "friend" are less than pleasant.

"If you need to leave then please, don't hesitate. I wouldn't want to keep you from your plans. But darling, we'll be in touch!" She smiles and extends a hand to Jasper. But then her expression changes, just for a fleeting second. She glares at Jasper in a knowing way; she is reminding him of how she once ruled him and how he did everything she wanted. But in seconds, it's gone. She smiles again. She then waves in our direction, and we return the waves and exchange goodbyes. The rest of her coven stand in the background, not being in the least bit hospitable.

We hurry out of the cave. Hurry back to the cars. And only then do I get to speak with Edward.

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Sorry it's taken so long! Hopefully can continue soon. Also, I took liberties with Maria…. Just go with it ok? READ AND REVIEW!