Hello again! Wow, I am completely blown away by the great feedback I have received for the first chapter. Massive heaps of gratitude to victoria cullen30 and Hermione Voldemort Riddle (my first ever reviewer! *squee*) in particular. Despite being kinda short, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the first one. You get a bit more of an idea of what Anna's power might be, but unfortunately, you're just gonna have to wait until chapter 3 for it all to become clear. I know I'm mean, aren't I? But there shouldn't be long to wait for it, so don't be too disheartened!
So, for now, enjoy!
LookAliveSunshine03
Disclaimer: Anything that sounds familiar is not mine. Anna, Beth and Darius and co. are mine, though, so keep yer mits offa them, heheh.
Rated M for Beth's potty mouth, and rather bad behaviour, courtesy of Darius.
Chapter 2:
Entering the lion's den
Two days later
Standing on the edge of a steep hill, Anna smiled.
The city of Volterra rose up to greet them, like an elaborate sand castle, and a deliciously cool breeze ruffled her hair. She inhaled deeply.
It smelt of…sweet, foreign flowers, the distant, salty sting of the ocean and –
Ah!
Humans.
The scent of their blood came over her in a wave of rapturous dizziness. She was not that thirsty, but the low burning fire in her throat was an uncontrollable knee-jerk reaction.
She swallowed back venom, grimacing at its sweet, metallic taste.
"I can't believe we're here!" Beth exclaimed, too caught-up in the view to notice her discomfort. Her fear over what they were about to do had evidently disappeared along with the wisy clouds, as the glorious Italian countryside had descended upon them outside their plane window, just hours before.
She hoisted her rucksack further up her arms. "I've never been to Italy before, have you?"
"I don't know," Anna replied, looking out through her sunglasses. They were Sixties-style, so they covered up most of her face; like the scarf that was already tied around her mouth, they were necessary against the bright sunshine. "I cannot remember."
Behind her own bandana, Beth grinned. "I can't remember either. Come on, let's go. My feet are getting itchy."
They had arrived in Italy almost two hours previously, and had been greeted by a maliciously hot sun. It made Anna incredibly nervous, as they began their swift descent into Volterra, where the humans were pigeons – and they were the lionesses, creeping into their flock.
She was certain some of the more observant humans would catch a tell-tale sparkle of their skin, as she passed them by. Of course none had, but even now, out of human company, she felt exposed; naked in the stifling heat. The tan, leather jacket and jeans she wore didn't help with that, either.
Beth, on the other hand, seemed to take it all in her stride. She sauntered through the crowds of bustling tourists like a knife through butter, while Anna struggled to keep her cool in such close proximity to the humans. Sometimes it paid off to be a vegetarian vampire.
Beth also seemed utterly impervious to the staring eyes around them. Anna couldn't blame the humans, really. Beth wore thick, corded jeans and a blood-red turtle neck…but it was the x-ray, skeleton bandana, covering her mouth and nose which made the humans gawp most of all. She looked like a highway woman with a taste for the macabre.
But of course, the humans were just the first obstacle! Their true goal was something far more intimidating. The memory of the cold, detached way her coven were dispatched before their very eyes, while the Volturi watched calmly on, still haunted Anna's ever-awake conscious.
The streets of Volterra pulsed with human life, and the girls had to gently fight their way through, leaving many shouting Italians in their wake, but otherwise unharmed.
"Attento!"
"Guarda dove stai andando, idiota!"
The narrow streets, shaded by the wall-to-wall buildings, all led out into a small courtyard that was mercifully empty of humans. Anna and Beth skirted round an enormous stone fountain, with a column of angels blithely spouting water from their pretty, eroded mouths.
Catching her reflection in the water's rippling surface, Anna could see why the humans' faces were bent into question marks around her. Who were these strangers, with the motorcycle-bandit bandanas? She tried to keep her head high, like Beth, ignoring the cringing sensation in the pit of her stomach, until they'd made their way out of the crowds completely.
Here they found the Volturi's headquarters, and Anna saw the faded, dog-eared photographs Antoine had of it did not do it justice. It was an intimidating spectacle that loomed up to meet them, like a silent giant, regarding them with almost haughty suspicion. Its prominent, circular roof was all that set it apart from the other ancient buildings that surrounded the bustling street; they all looked tiny and inadequate compared to it.
Beth looked at Anna, with her lips caught apprehensively between her teeth.
"Well…here goes nothing."
With the sun a glaring spotlight on the backs of their heads, the girls approached the doors. Her legs were like rubber, but Anna suddenly felt incredibly underdressed, as well as terrified.
Beth reached out to touch the entrance, only to yank her hand away, as if it had tried to bite her.
"I can't do it," she gulped, tearing her scarf away from her mouth. "I'm too scared. You do it!"
Sighing, Anna reached out and gave the door a good, hard knock that seemed to echo through the whole building. Her fingers and toes were actually tingling with anticipation, as they waited, though she remained typically patient…
Beth, not so much.
"Come on!" she growled, shifting her weight impetuously.
When the door finally opened, it made her jump a little. A young man was revealed, and though Anna knew he was a vampire like them, she gasped all the same. He was achingly beautiful and olive-skinned, with dark curls. His eyes were bright scarlet.
Suspicious.
"Yes?"
Anna swallowed. That old, human shyness was creeping up again. Thankfully, Beth was there to save the day.
"Ciao," she said, flashing him her disarmingly bright smile as she did. "Is this the Volturi residence?"
The man's expression didn't change. "It is. Who are you?"
"I'm Beth." She took off her sunglasses, and Anna saw his scrutinising eyes widen at what hid behind them. "And this is my friend, Anna."
"What do you want here?"
Anna swallowed steeling her nerves, before speaking perfectly in Italian. "We need your Masters' help."
He finally looked at her, surprised to hear such fluency. "Is that so?" he replied, in the same tongue.
"Yes, sir," Anna said, the words rolling eloquently off her tongue. "We come in the name of our coven. You must –"
He stepped aside, permitting them to come in. Anna assumed it was only because the humans would start to notice if they lurked for too long outside, and when they had, he shut the door with a firm hand.
Old hinges, Beth thought randomly, pocketing her glasses and scarf in her jeans.
"Follow me," the vampire said, and began to walk.
Exchanging another apprehensive look, the girls matched his speed with ease. Anna waited for her eyes to adjust, taking everything in. She saw Beth seemed painfully skittish and nervous, all of a sudden, twitching at every little noise. All that bravado had vanished, but Anna felt her friend's pain; the sudden darkness pressed against her at all angles, and it made her very uncomfortable.
She just knew how to hide it better.
"You say you come here in the name of your coven?" Their guide's voice was hollow against stone walls. "Why?"
"They were unlawfully killed," Anna replied, quietly. "Betrayed, by a man called Darius Tuono."
"Hmph." He grunted, yet somehow he still sounded like a fallen angel. "I do not know that name."
"He came here not so long ago, saying that Antoine Jean had created an immortal child," Beth prompted, acidly. "I hear that name is quite well-known here."
"It was," a female voice suddenly replied from the shadows. Beth hissed in surprise, and their guide's lip quirked.
"Ah, Jane. I wondered where you had been hiding."
Anna's stomach clenched with nerves, as "Jane" stepped out into the dim light of the hall. She was small and blonde, with the angelic face of a twelve-year-old…except her eyes. They were cool and impassive, glinting like rubies in the dark.
An old woman's eyes… that have seen and enjoyed far too many unspeakable things, Anna thought, with a slight shiver.
All the while, her palms were prickling. Both of these vampires had a power, yet in the presence of Jane, the prickling had increased incredibly. Looking at her, Anna thought it highly unlikely that such an intimidating little creature could something cute, like grow daisies with her mind.
She would destroy them, instead.
"Who are these people, Demetri?" Jane asked. Her question was directed at him, yet she was staring hard at them. Beth squirmed, but Anna gazed right back.
"We are the last of the French coven," she said, softly.
Beth nodded earnestly, and a sigh of relief escaped her, when Jane looked at Demetri.
He noticed this and his lip quirked again. "They knew Antoine Jean."
Our discomfort amuses him, Anna thought, with weary disgust.
"So I hear." Those fathomless eyes flashed over them again, narrowing keenly. "Well, we mustn't keep our Masters waiting, must we?"
And with that, Jane turned on her heel, and the two Volturi vampires walked away.
Beth gulped. "Creepy kid." Anna only nodded.
Neither of the Volturi's members said a single word to them, as they came up behind them. Beth's eyes boggled, as the corridor led out into what looked like the lobby of a first-class hotel; a very twenty-first century one, at that.
Anna kept her surprise hidden…but when her trainers began to squeak loudly against the smooth, marble floor, her cold façade slipped a little. She flinched when Jane glared irritably at her.
Suddenly, pain nicked her temple like a bullet, and she gasped out of shock, clutching her head. It was gone as soon as it had come.
Beth was alarmed. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"I…don't know."
Jane smirked.
The reception was a large, spacious room with a floor like a vast chess board, empty, except for a young woman stationed at a desk, next to a single lift. Besides Anna's noisy shoes, the amplified clatter of her manicured nails against a computer keyboard was the only sound to be heard. The Volturi vampires moved in utterly infuriating silence, making Anna grit her teeth.
If I had known this would be an issue –
They approached the reception-desk, and the woman's smell wafted towards her.
She stiffened. Impossible!
It was mingled with an expensive-smelling perfume, but there was no mistaking it.
Oh no.
Venom flooded her mouth, and she fought back a growl in her throat.
Stop it!
Beth saw her reaction, frowned, sniffed, and her mouth fell open.
"They have a – human as a receptionist?" she exclaimed, wordlessly.
The human glanced up from her computer, and smiled politely at them. She was pretty – well, for a human – with large, hazel eyes and dark hair, tied back in a high ponytail.
"Good afternoon!" she said brightly, in fluid Italian.
Jane did not return her greeting, and neither did Anna, as she tried to get a grip on herself. Beth gave her a cheery (if rather unnerved) wave.
"Good afternoon, Gianna," Demetri smiled, dazzlingly. The girl practically swooned in her seat.
Incredible! Anna's conscious squeaked, bewildered. She must know. How could she not?
Jane called for the lift, and the doors promptly opened with a soft whoosh. She must have seen the stunned look on their faces, because she smiled.
And it wasn't a nice smile, either.
Anna swallowed the last of the venom in her mouth. "Does she -?"
"Know?" she asked, her eyebrows arched superiorly. "Yes."
"But I thought humans weren't supposed to know about us," Beth blurted out.
"Well observed."
"Gianna wishes to become one of us," Demetri replied, and Anna detected a hint of patronisation in his tone. "But that is up to us to decide."
She gritted her teeth, angrily…until a small moan of protest escaped her, when the smell of Gianna's blood was shut out with the lift's doors. Beth looked at her sharply.
My thirst isn't as quenched as I'd thought… she thought, swallowing guiltily.
The journey was short, but awkward. The only thing keeping the silence from crushing them was the tinkling, classical music coming from some hidden speaker. When the lift eventually opened, Anna nearly ran out, breathing a little raggedly.
Claustrophobia, Beth thought, sympathetically. I'd forgotten.
There was only one short corridor to go through this time, and with their eyes drinking in the darkness, they saw it was surprisingly decadent, with mahogany-panelled walls.
"We've literally gone up in the world!" She whispered, to diffuse the tension that rolled off Anna in waves.
Anna smiled a little, just as Jane pushed open the doors.
The smiles were soon to disappear, when she saw what lay beyond them.