Chapter 50: Wheel In The Sky

(DISCLAIMER: I am not affiliated with Stephenie Meyer, Little & Brown Publishing, or Summit Entertainment. I do not own, nor do I have any hand in the Twilight Universe, other than a handful of silly fanfictions. This is a work of fiction, any and all similarities to any person living or dead is purely coincidental. )

••Lyrics are Kansas' "Carry On My Wayward Son"

••Chapter Title is JOURNEY'S "Wheel In The Sky"

LASTWEEKONBLOODAMONGSTTHEROSES

"Flight 140 to Florence, Italy - Boarding in twenty minutes. All passengers please report to Gate D."

"That's us." Alice sighed

We swiftly made our way to Gate D. This would be the longest flight of my life, in more ways than one.

Italy - here we come.

I stumbled off the plane, a searing pain shooting down my legs and lower back. The flight had been long, and the layover in France had piqued my anxiety. I ran my fingers through my hair and looked at Alice, her brow was furrowed she was deep in thought.

"What next?" I rasped at her. She raised her ocher eyes to mine, and frowned.

I heard the song playing on the PA and wondered momentarily how a 1976 hit was playing in an Italian airport.

On a stormy sea of moving emotion

Tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean

I set a course for winds of fortune

But I hear the voices say

Carry on my wayward son

There'll be peace when you are done

Lay your weary head to rest

Don't you cry no more.

It seemed to suit the current mood all too well. "Now I find us a car." Alice griped.

"Wait for me outside, main exit." She pointed to a large door where several people were moving in and out.

"Okay."

Before I could blink, it seemed, she had vanished. I fidgeted anxiously with the magazine in my hands, I passed through security, a false smile on my face. The man smiled and said something in a sympathetic tone. I merely nodded while shrugging my shoulders.

Outside, the stars lit the sky, it was beautiful. I never saw stars like this in California, and there were always clouds covering the night sky in Washington. It was breath taking. For a moment I wondered if maybe Edward was looking at this sky and thinking about his idiot plan.

I heard the loud purr of a sports car, I turned to see a canary yellow sport car. The window rolled down and Alice's face grimaced at me from behind the wheel. "Get in."

I opened the door and sat down. "Couldn't rent anything less flashy?"

"The question is whether I could find something faster. And the answer is no. Also, I didn't rent it."

"No?" I had a suspicion my little friend was not above hot wiring some millionaire's car.

"I figured you wouldn't mind our borrowing it, since it's fast enough to get us to Edward before he does anything stupid."

"How's the outlook?" I asked, dropping my voice as the car purred and moved forward, making everything around us a blur.

"Aro told him they wouldn't 'waste his potential'. Things have been sticky since, he thought he'd go hunting... in the city..."

There was a pregnant pause, while I considered why that would be a bad thing. "Humans." she breathed, in answer to my unasked question.

"He wouldn't. He wouldn't let Carlisle down like that. Not in the end." I insisted. I knew Edward well enough to know he would never betray Carlisle's faith in him."

"That may well have been his thinking. He only considered it for an hour or so, before deciding just to make a scene."

My chest grew uncomfortably tight as I thought about the scenes he could cause. Why are you doing this? I wondered at him. "Has he settled on anything yet?"

"He decided to keep it simple. He's just going to walk out into the sun." How she was driving this maniacally and still able to keep her eye on Edward's future, I can't know. "What is today?" She asked.

"March fifteenth."

"Of course, St. Marcus' day. There will be plenty of humans around. Nobody ever accused Edward of being modest in his actions."

"Well if we get out of this mess altogether, remind me to be the first. What is St. Marcus Day?"

St. Marcus Day, it turned out happened to be an old Fable. Apparently one of the three Volturi is said to have run all the vampires out of Volterra, before dying a martyr. This tale is also how stories like garlic, and wooden stakes came into being.

"Right, and this place is what, Vampire Mecca a la Italia?" Alice's lip quirked at my mixed languages.

"Something like that. Here's the thing Bella, the sun is going to be directly overhead. I can't go out there. When we get to Volterra, you have to go. Even if I could he wouldn't listen to me. He'd just think I was trying to stop him, he'd think I was lying about you."

i

"So I have to get to him before they do?"

"Preferably get to him before before he steps out." Alice eyes were once again glazed and in the future. "He'll be under the clock tower. If you get lost or turned around, just ask someone for the Palazzo dei Priori."

I chanted it silently to myself for a moment while Alice raced in between cars headed to the walled city. "He'll do it at exactly noon."

I glanced at the clock on the dash and gasped. "Alice..."

"I know." It was eleven thirty-eight, the little turbo was roaring louder than anything I'd ever heard in my life, I began to hyperventilate, there was no way I would make it to him in time.

I closed my eyes, focussing on my breathing. The sound of the electric window sliding down forced my eyes open, we were at the entrance of the city.

Alice spoke to the guard in perfect Italian, flashing her breath taking smile and rolling a ridiculously large sum of money in his hand.

The guard smiled and ushered our little car in. "Go, Bella, hurry! Remember Palazzo dei Priori! He'll be under the clock tower!" Without another word I jumped out of the car, located the clock tower and ran toward it - praying I wasn't to late.

(`'·.¸(`'·.*.·'´)¸.·'´)

All five of you who are thinking

it - no, I'm not revealing my age.

However I will

freely admit that Kansas

will never be uncool -

And JOURNEY will ALWAYS

Kick Ass!

(Proclamations must also

be made to AC/DC (my true love)

No age speculations)

PLEASE)

AS ALWAYS:

Thank you.

Gracias

Grazie

Arigatou

Merci

köszönet

благодарность

!

(¸.·'´(¸.·'´ * `'·.¸)`'·.¸)