A/N: My dear readers, there are no words to express how sorry I am for taking so long to update this. For the longest time, the words wouldn't come. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to those of you willing to stick with me. Mwah!

A trip to Spain with Edward for my awesome prereaders, Keye, Sandy, and Aleea, and my hard-working, word-detangling betas, Katmom and SassySue (chayasara).

Chapter 37

~Shadow of Truth~

The art of simplicity is a puzzle of complexity.

~Douglas Horton

The village of Sanlúcar de Guadiana slumbers peacefully. Smoke curls lazily from its many chimneys, creating a soft haze in the star-filled sky. Water laps against boats tethered to the docks. The only other sound cutting through the night is an occasional barking dog.

Being back here isn't as difficult as I anticipated. Looking toward the compound at the top of the hill and knowing James Hunter is in hell where he belongs is satisfying. I've returned to the scene of his crime; he never will.

Isabella stands beside me, our fingers linked. She leans her head on my arm. "It's a beautiful little village. So peaceful. Hard to believe such atrocities were going on up in those woods."

"Might still be going on. Hunter wasn't working at this alone."

A fish leaps out of the water, making a soft splash as it goes back under. When this is over, I'd love to spend some time here. There's something rejuvenating in the atmosphere.

Isabella glances at her watch and curls her fingers in my palm. "We're due to meet Demetri."

"Let's go."

We decided to split up when we arrived. Isabella and I came in past the village while Demetri approached from behind, staking out the road to the compound. I check my cell and have no texts. We agreed to complete stealth unless an emergency arose.

The two of us easily navigate the steeply sloped, rocky terrain, reaching the rear-facing side of the mountain with five minutes to spare. I don't see Demetri yet, but the tenor of his thoughts is clear out here in the woods; I'm still having problems reading in crowds.

I stand behind a tree with Isabella until Demetri hoots like an owl, our signal to meet. We gather at the gravesite of the unfortunate vampires who took Hunter up on his offer of "money and clothes in exchange for simple tasks."

The remains are gone, the churned-up dirt patted down. I squat, running my fingers through the rich soil, and bring up a handful, allowing it to sift slowly back to the ground. Minuscule iridescent flakes of vampire dust glint amid the dull brown. The untrained eye would think nothing of this. I wave a handful under my nose; the scent of vampire is faint.

I glance up at Isabella and Demetri. "Someone did a thorough job cleaning this up. Nobody would realize what happened here unless specifically searching for it."

Demetri grimaces. "I don't know whether to be nervous or terrified about that. Whoever is behind this knows what they're doing. Who knows what else they have up their sleeves?"

I rise and shoot Demetri a hard look. "Will you be able to hold it together? Because there's no room for fear or failure. Our only option is to win."

"Yeah, man! I'm with you." Demetri glares back at me.

Isabella grabs Demetri's arm, a firm set to her jaw, and leans in close to his face. "Good, because our daughter's life is hanging in the balance. There's no shame in stepping back, but don't falter in the midst of things."

I don't miss that Isabella said "our" daughter and take a millisecond to bask in the glow of that knowledge.

Demetri's stiff posture softens. "I promise not to let you guys down. Whatever needs to be done, I'll do it. You'll be back with Hannah soon."

Isabella stares into his face a few seconds longer before stepping away with a nod. "Okay."

"Did you see anything when you were watching the road?" I ask Demetri.

"All quiet. That doesn't mean there's nobody up there."

"I want to get a look at the papers in the attic again. There was a logo on Hunter's lab work, and I saw the same one on the hazmat suits in Jane's mind. I think we need to start there."

Demetri nods. "I remember it well."

Bluish dawn light surrounds us as we reach the top of the drive. We neither hear nor sense any beings—human or vampire. The compound is deserted, but it's obviously being maintained and used somewhat regularly.

Isabella and Demetri roam the grounds while I go through the boxes in the attic. Everything is as I left it. I grab Hunter's experiment journal, a folder filled with his testing, and the lab work on Isabella from Forks General.

Downstairs, the house seems much the same. I hesitate a moment before descending to the basement level, echoes of what happened last time filling my thoughts.

The sterile laboratory is still in use. Recently cleaned-up blood spatter patterns mark numerous surfaces. There are no bodies, but in a walk-in cooler, I find a large bin containing dust from the remains of several vampires. Racks line one side with myriad test tubes and petri dishes filled with vampire dust, anomaly-tainted blood, or a mixture of both. There are no logs of the experiments here. Whoever is in charge either uses digital files or keeps the information with them.

When the three of us meet up outside, pale yellow radiance brightens the sky. We'll have to be cautious of the sun today. We assemble at a table on the outdoor deck. From a distance, it might seem we're enjoying an early morning chat.

"Anything?" Isabella asks.

"The files were still in the attic. I took Hunter's test results, his journal, and the few papers he had on you. I want to ship all of it to Rose. Maybe she can do some research on the logo." I hesitate a moment, drumming my fingers lightly on the table. "I also checked out the laboratory."

Isabella nods, watching me evenly.

Demetri's eyes widen with curiosity. "What's down there?"

I bite back the sarcastic remark on the tip of my tongue. I'm well aware the coward tried to hold Emmett back while Hunter shot me in the face and shattered my chest. "Evidence the experiments continue. There's a box of mixed vampire remains and loads of test tubes and petri dishes. Not a stitch of paperwork, though."

Isabella bites her lip. "What's our plan, other than sending stuff to Rose?"

"We need to watch this place and see who shows up." I take her hand and press a kiss to the back of it. "I know this is hard for you, sweet one. It will be over soon, and then we can find Hannah and get our family back together."

Isabella agrees, but she still looks uncomfortable. "Edward, I'm . . . thirsty."

It's just like my mate to feel shame about her own needs. This is one problem I can easily remedy. "Let's go hunting, then. Demetri?"

He pats his belly. "I'm sloshing. You two go ahead. I'll keep lookout."

I lead Isabella out of the compound into the surrounding woods. "We'll have to settle for animal blood."

"I can deal with that. Are you okay with it?"

"Yes, when it's my choice."

We hover at the edge of a clearing, and I close my eyes, listening to the sounds around us. There isn't much wildlife nearby, probably a side-effect from all the vampires in the area. Eventually, a stag wanders several meters to our left. There's only one, and I consider that he might be checking out the area before bringing his family here.

I open my eyes and catch Isabella's attention, pointing in the direction of the deer. She nods, waiting until he comes a bit closer before taking off. A few seconds later, there's a solid whump! as Isabella takes the stag down. He gets off one squeal before she breaks his neck. The sounds of his distress and the snapping of bone echo through the air, and every other creature within range takes off.

I'm not that thirsty anyway—especially for watered-down sludge. I do, however, hunger to watch my mate feed. Part of me knows it's wrong to watch without being invited, but I can't stem the urge to stalk quietly through the trees until their figures come into view.

Isabella crouches over the stag, drinking from him. It was kind of her to crack his neck first. She knows adrenaline enhances the taste and that the bodies tend to cool off faster with an early death. Watching her ruby lips take long pulls from his jugular while her lids flutter closed as she savors each mouthful causes a primal stirring in my abdomen. I bite back a growl, not wishing to announce my presence.

Isabella finishes and lays the body on the ground with such tenderness. She strokes the dead stag's neck and whispers, "Thank you for your sacrifice." And then she looks directly at me.

I duck my head, slightly embarrassed. "You knew I was here?"

She licks a droplet of blood from her lip and places a hand over her chest. "I still feel you, Edward." I blink and she's directly in front of me, caressing my face. "I hope that awareness never fades."

I wrap my arms around Isabella's glorious curves, pressing our bodies together, and lower my head to kiss her. Our tongues mingle, and I don't mind the taste of her kill mixed with her sweet venom. She winds her arms around my neck and pins me to the trunk of a tree, releasing soft sounds that remind me of her not-so-distant human days.

I slouch against the rough bark, holding Isabella by the hips. She leans in closer, pressing her chest to mine and hooking a shapely leg around my thigh.

"I love you," she whispers along my jaw.

I groan. She has a way of bringing me to the boiling point with a word, a touch. I grip her tighter and roll my hips, letting her feel me. "Little minx, how I want you right here."

Her answer is to slip her hands beneath my shirt and scratch her nails over my abs, lifting higher to tease my sensitive nipples. I grasp her wrists and pull her hands away.

"Edward . . ."

"Be good."

"I don't want to be good." She brushes her lips over mine and pants. "I want to touch you all over."

Our lips connect in a searing kiss, and I cup the back of her head, my other hand supporting her ass as she wraps her legs around my waist. We don't remove our clothes, but Isabella rides me until her head tips back with an erotic whimper, and every muscle in her body goes taut. Just as quickly, she goes limp and slides down my body, looking up at me.

"Your turn." Isabella reaches for my belt buckle.

I lay a hand over hers. "No." For some reason, the thought of my mate on her knees out here in the woods is unappealing.

"Why not?"

"Isabella." I shake my head and help her stand. "Not here. Not like this."

"I'm not fragile anymore." Her lower lip pouts a little.

I cup her face and gaze into eyes sparking with annoyance. It's strange to see the flat brown contacts looking back at me and knowing it's what she sees in my eyes as well. "I'm painfully aware you could break me in half. It's something I can't put into words, but I have no desire to see you on your knees here."

Isabella nods, nuzzling her cheek into my left palm. "It's because of him. This was his territory."

Something pulls tight inside me. "Perhaps."

There's a disturbance in the tops of the trees, rushing toward us. I stiffen, tucking Isabella behind me out of habit.

Demetri drops to the ground beside us, sending a small cloud of dirt into the air. "They're coming!"

"Who?" I ask.

Isabella slips around to stand next to me.

"There are two pickup trucks full of guys in hazmat suits. If we hurry, we can get into position before they arrive."

I grab Demetri's arm. "Where's the stuff I took from the compound?"

"I put it back in the attic because you said it was undisturbed up there."

"Good. You stake out the top of the drive with Isabella. I'm going inside to see what information I can find out."

Isabella turns her head sharply. "Edward, I think we should stay together."

"Someone needs to get close, and I know my way around inside."

"But—"

"We're all immune. There's nothing they can do to us now."

Isabella nods grudgingly. "Okay."

The sun is higher in the sky now, piercing the hazy clouds and projecting dappled patterns through the trees. The occasional prism reflects off our skin; if anyone sees us, they'll immediately know we're vampires.

Demetri and Isabella hide in the upper branches of a tree, under the cover of its ample foliage. No human could detect their presence there. I continue into the compound and decide to hide in the attic where I'll be able to hear everything in the building and go undetected. The information I gathered earlier is piled in the corner. My fingers itch to send it off to Rose.

The drone of two straining engines climbing the access road draws closer until the sound levels off. As the trucks pull into the compound, I hear fifteen individual heartbeats.

Peeking through a vent in the wall, I make out figures in hazmat suits, with hoods hanging loose in back, hopping from a truck bed. The other vehicle is out of my line of sight.

There are too many minds for me to follow, and I end up with a jumble of disjointed sounds. They waste no time, entering from multiple points. Several sets of footsteps come through the front door. The thick metal door of the laboratory swings open, and that's where the bulk of them go.

The chatter downstairs is not in English. I tilt my head and listen closer. Japanese. Not a language I'm fluent in. When I manage to zero in on any of the minds below, all thoughts are in Japanese. Fuck me.

I gather the files on Hunter and Isabella and wait until the groups appear settled into their activities before attempting to leave. Slithering out the attic window onto the roof, I pan the area then run across the compound and leap the wall. If anyone were outside, they'd simply feel a slight breeze.

I hold a finger to my lips when I light on a branch next to Isabella and Demetri. The three of us flit from treetop to treetop, a wake of fluttering leaves and scattering wildlife behind us. We don't stop until we reach the modest villa we rented as a home base. Thankfully, the villa backs up to the woods, and there are no nearby neighbors, allowing us to enter through the rear entrance even in full sun.

Once inside, I place the files on the kitchen counter and bow my head. This just became a great deal more difficult.

"Edward, what happened?" Isabella slips her arms around my waist, pressing her chest to my back. I remember how I loved the warmth when she was human, but I appreciate her strength now.

I slide my hands over hers, holding them against me. "Those guys in hazmat suits are Japanese. They don't speak—or think—in English."

"Shit!" Demetri strides into the room and lets several more choice words fly in a creative combination of English and Italian.

"Oh," is all Isabella says.

I turn in her embrace and observe her not-so-shocked face. "You don't seem surprised."

"It makes a weird kind of sense, actually. James spoke fluent Japanese. He had business dealings in Japan."

"I don't suppose either of you speaks Japanese?" I ask rhetorically. "Okay, change of plans. We need to overnight these files to Alaska so Rose can start doing research, and we need someone who can translate Japanese."

Demetri opens his mouth, but I hold a hand up. "Preferably someone on our payroll, not the Volturi's."

"Good point," he says. "We're fucked."

"Give me some time to think." I part the curtains over the kitchen sink and peer up at the sky. The sun is high and glorious, the earlier haziness completely burned away. "We can't be seen in public today. I'll get someone to pick this up."

An hour later, a courier service arrives to collect the package. Afterward, I retreat to the deck to call Rose. The shadows have grown long back here, and the late afternoon rays bear down on the front of the house now. I lean back in a metal chair and prop my feet on the table, pulling out my cell and thumbing through my contacts.

"Hey, Edward."

"Rose. How's Alaska?"

"Cold. Boring. Lonely as fuck without Em."

"I'll bet." I smirk. "Have you spoken to him?"

"Yeah. He and Esme are in Italy. They want to be close to Carlisle and Alice in case . . . of anything."

"Good."

"Any word from Jas?"

"No. He took off to warn the Quileute and get Hannah out of there." I hesitate, and she picks up on it.

"And?"

"A lot's happened since I spoke to you. Aro brought Hunter to Italy. He thought it would be amusing to toy with Hunter and Isabella. Hunter went wild when he realized she was a vampire. They had words, and he tried to spray Isabella with his atomizer—except she was immune. Long story short, Hunter couldn't keep his disgusting mouth shut, and Isabella snapped his neck."

"Shit! Go, Isabella! Wish I could've been there." Rose laughs throatily. "What did Aro do?"

My mood grows somber. "He forced us to fly back to Washington with him. He sent others ahead to scout for Hannah." I let out a string of expletives directed at Aro.

"Edward, my God!"

"When the Volturi arrived, the entire tribe was gone. Aro had his minions burn down every house on the reservation. Everything—wiped out."

"But they escaped?"

"Jasper must have warned them in time. Aro went fucking nuts."

She laughs. "No doubt. Thank God they got out. Where did they take Hannah?"

"I have no idea, and we need to keep it that way until this is resolved. We can't chance Aro reading one of us and finding out where Hannah is."

"True. Crazy bastard. What's next?"

"There's a package on its way to you—Hunter's experiment journal and lab tests. There are also some papers on Isabella I didn't feel comfortable leaving behind. There's a blue logo on top of Hunter's lab tests. If you could do some research, see if you can find out the origins. It might lead us to the mastermind behind all this."

"I thought Hunter was behind it." The creak of leather comes over the line, and I imagine her settling back against the sectional in the Denali living room.

"Over and over we've concluded that Hunter was smarmy and unethical but not smart enough to pull this shit off himself. He was a puppet."

"So we need to find out whose arm was up his ass." I picture Rose's smirk in my mind.

"That's one way of putting it. I snuck into the attic of the compound today and spied on these guys. Thing is, I couldn't understand a word or thought from any of them because they're Japanese."

"Japanese! What the ever-loving fuck?"

"Isabella wasn't surprised. Hunter spoke fluent Japanese and had business associates in Japan. Maybe you can poke through the papers when you get them and see if there are any connections. I wish one of us spoke Japanese."

"I can help with that. Irina speaks Japanese."

"She does?"

"Had an affair with an emperor way back when."

"Hmm." I tip my head and look up at the sky for a few moments, cultivating an idea. "If I record some of their conversations, maybe Irina can translate for me."

"Perfect."

When I'm done talking to Rose, I go back inside and outline my plan. Demetri and I sift through his stash of electronics. In the end, we choose to keep it simple and use MP3 players that can record several hours of audio and switch them out a few times a day. We all agree it's impossible to move forward until we understand what the enemy is up to. I'd also like to know who's in charge. If we cut off the head, the rest of the organization might topple.

Over the next three days, I slip in and out of the compound, switching the recorders. There are many hours of silence, but the audio we do get is fairly clear. I transfer the files to my laptop and email them to Rose.

We schedule a video chat with Irina. Demetri, Isabella, and I gather around the kitchen island and open a chat session. Rose and Irina sit next to each other, crowding into the screen.

"Hey, all." Rose waves.

Irina leans forward, her straight blond hair swinging in front of her shoulder. "Hello, Edward! This must be your lovely mate, Isabella."

"Nice to meet you, Irina. Thanks for helping us out." Isabella smiles graciously.

"And who is this handsome devil?" Irina gestures to my right.

"This is Demetri. He's a former Volturi tracker. He's decided to work for the winning side."

"Hello, Demetri."

"The pleasure is all mine, lovely lady."

I jab Demetri in the ribs. "What do you have for us, Irina?"

Her expression turns serious. "Well, there's one guy that seems to give out all the orders. He keeps referring to someone above him as 'the pale king.' I haven't been able to figure out who that is exactly, but the Japanese speak of him with both contempt and fear."

"I have no idea who they're referring to. Have you heard them mention James Hunter?"

"Yes. He apparently went on a mission and missed the past few call-ins. They're beginning to get concerned about him. I'm not sure what they expect from him, though."

"Hunter's dead. Does this head guy have a name?"

"Everyone calls him Kato—at least to his face." Irina sighs, looking down at her lap. "Edward, this is bigger than you realize."

"What's bigger than trying to control the existence of the vampire population?"

"Their goal is to amass an army of vampires to bring the United States to its knees."

~*RK*~

A/N: Any theories you want to toss out? Little factoid: Edward does not speak Japanese in this fic because most fics pose Edward as the perfect man who speaks every language fluently. Extra Credit: Can you guess where Hannah was taken by the wolves? She's in a location that exists in one of my other vamp fics, and there will be a cameo appearance of a character from that story.

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Fanfiction blog: saritadreaming dot word press dot com