BELLA

I let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding. I was relieved to be out of that place. All those human-blood-drinking vampires were just staring at me…and definitely not in a good way. Edward wasn't the only one who found my blood appealing. I knew that even though Edward had promised to protect me, I had a feeling if the thirty-two members of the Volturi guard – not including Jane and the others – attacked us, neither Edward nor Alice would make it out of there alive. Or me, for that matter.

I pushed those thoughts from my head. I wasn't about to let them ruin the last few moments before Edward disappears again.

I looked around at the cool, Italian, night sky. I haven't felt as good at this in a while. Being here with Edward, regardless of the fact that he would obviously leave me again, made me complete. Like every part of me was back where it was.

I knew I was going to end up hurt by allowing myself to let my guard down, to allow Edward to be close to me, knowing he was going to destroy me in the end, but it didn't matter. I'm not letting myself to ruin my happiness now.

"What are you thinking of, Bella?" Edward's sweet, velvet tones brought me out of my musings. I shook my head, glancing around. Alice had gone to get a car for us while we walked around the streets of Italy.

"Italy," I lied. "It's so beautiful here. I've never seen anything like it. All the colors, all the buildings… even when there's hardly any people on the streets, everything feels so alive."

"I know what you mean. The way everything was built, as though it were meant to please the gods."

"They have gods in Italy?"

Edward laughed. It was the most beautiful sound on the planet. "I'm not sure."

We walked in silence for a while, just marveling at Italy's beauty. At least Edward was, I was marveling at his beauty.

I stared at his perfect god-like face, that straight nose, those smoldering eyes that make me captivated even though he wasn't using their power on me, and those perfect, kissable lips. Which, at the moment, were pulled downwards in the slightest of frowns.

I breathed. This god-like creature shouldn't frown.

"Edward," I said, taking his arm. "What's wrong?"

He frowned even more, stopping suddenly in mid-stride. His eyes slowly searched the street, examining each individual carefully. Then they landed on two young children.

One obviously older one was a girl. From what I could see, she was about fourteen, had reddish-blonde hair and pale skin. I wasn't near enough to see her eyes.

The younger one was a boy of about eleven. He had the same complexion, although a bit tanner. His hair was a dirty shade of blond, almost brown.

They had more similarities. Other than their worn out clothes that Alice would certainly disapprove of, they had the same nervous air about them, as it they would be attacked at any second. The way the girl kept glancing around proved as much.

"Their minds," Edward whispered. "It's like… they're expecting another two kids to attack them… or a Russian lady called Irina… or these family of weight-lifters… They received a call saying if they didn't come here, someone named Nellie would be killed. I can't make any sense of it."

"Maybe they're thinking about a video game," I offered, though the theory sounded doubtful, even to my ears.

"They're not," Edward replied. "The girl – her name is Amy – she keeps thinking about the time the family – Holts – tried to kill them in an underground maze."

"There's also two kids about their age on their way here to try and kidnap them." I gasped and spun around, sighing in relief when I saw it was only Alice. Then I frowned. Kidnap them? And wasn't Alice supposed to get us a car?

"The newcomers' names are Natalie and Ian Kabra," Alice continued. "Their parents are Isabel and Vikram Kabra. Sound familiar, Edward?"

"Aren't they the people you keep complaining about because they're featured in every magazine you buy? The ones whose faces you're sick and tired of seeing?" Edward asked.

Alice nodded. "And apparently…" She trailed off, not wanting me to hear the next part, instead letting Edward hear it in her head.

What ever Alice let him hear made him grab my wrist in a tight grip.

"What's wrong?"

"With the Kabra kids?" Alice replied. "Well, if those two –" she pointed at the girl and the boy " – don't cooperate, the Kabras plan to murder them."

"Excuse me?" I gasped in disbelief. "But those two are just kids. The Kabras are just kids."

"You have to understand, Bella," Edward cut in, "the Kabras were raised to kill. That's what Amy is thinking right now. Based on their thoughts, they're part of some type of elaborate scavenger hunt. One where the opponents wouldn't hesitate to kill you."

"Even those two children?" I demanded, my voice rising an octave. I cannot believe that they expect me to fall for this. There was no such thing as child murderers. And I should know, my dad's a cop.

"Especially those two. The boy – Dan – has photographic memory. Amy knows things most people wouldn't know, or even care about. They've been in the lead in the hunt since the start."

"Over there," whispered Alice suddenly. "The two Kabras."

I turned around, and saw two of the most innocent children I have ever seen. They both had cinnamon-tinted skin, black hair, and amber eyes. Heck, they could pass as angels – or vampires if I didn't know any better.

"Are you sure?"

Alice grimaced. "We're going to help the two kids – the Cahills. But we need to wait for the right time."

Edward nodded. "I'll get Bella out of here."

"No," I protested. "I want to watch, and I want to help, if what you're saying is true."

"Bella," Edward sighed, exasperated. "You see the bulge in the pocket of the younger one? Natalie?"

I squinted, and sure enough, I saw some oddly shaped bulge in the girl's pocket. "Yeah?"

"That's a gun. A dart gun, mind you, but still a gun, dangerous, illegal, and could be fatal."

"Impossible." I couldn't believe him. Kids – murderers…

"It's true."

I watched helplessly as Edward held me back from confronting those four, who were standing face-to-face.

The girl – Natalie, as Edward called her – took out the object that was making the bulge in her pocket.

It was a gun like Edward said. Suddenly, my evening was almost as ruined as it would have been if we'd stayed with the Volturi a little while longer. Almost.

I made a split-second decision to take action.

"Hey, kid!" I shouted, though both Cullens had their hands firmly on my arms, preventing me from taking a single step forward.

"Bella," hissed Alice. "What in the world do you think you're doing?" I could tell by her eyes that she was scanning the future for any possible danger that will pose as a result of my action.

"Helping them," I hissed back.

"What's she going to do?" Edward asked frantically.

"I can't see. She hasn't decided."

This is what I get for hanging out with Jake. His impulsiveness had rubbed off on me. My decisions seemed to be mostly snap decisions, making it hard for Alice to see what's to come. In a way, I was grateful, since if Alice couldn't tell what's going to happen, she couldn't stop me.

So, in no way was she prepared for what I did next. I shouted, "You! The one with the gun! Natalie! Natalie Kabra!"

Four heads snapped in my direction, eyes full of surprise.

"How in the world," Natalie demanded, her voice laced with a British accent, "do you know me?"

"I don't," I replied. I wasn't thinking as I said this. The words just came out of my mouth. I think the Cullens were just to surprised by my actions to try and stop me. "But I know you're going to kill them."

Full of bewilderment, Natalie faced her brother. He gave her a short nod.

"You stay out of this," she said, pointing the gun at me.

And fired.