Chapter Two

Jane

My brother was hiding something and doing it so well it seemed that no one but me even suspected. It had taken me more than a year to become suspicious and another to attempt to find out what was going on without success. If it was so important that he was keeping it from everyone including Aro and myself then it must be very important. My brother and I had never kept secrets from one another before and it hurt that he didn't trust me now. I would never betray him, even if what he was involved with was so bad that he was forced to hide it from Aro who he regarded as a father.

Both Alec and I often left Volterra on Volturi business and not always together so there was opportunity aplenty to become involved in something clandestine but why would Alec involve himself in something like that? At first, I thought it might be a female although he rarely looked at women, it wasn't that he wasn't interested just that he lacked confidence with girls and to be honest we didn't see that many of a suitable age. Most other vampires who lived in Volterra were spoken for and those who weren't had reservations about my brother and me because of our gifts and our closeness to Aro. Other vampires saw us as the enforcers of the Volturi which of course we were but that didn't mean we didn't have the same feelings as other people.

Eventually, I decided that the only way to discover what my brother was up to would be to confront him openly but this didn't go as well as I had hoped. Initially he tried denying it, told me I was imagining things, hallucinating even, but when I pressed him he turned sullen and angry.

"Jane, just leave it alone. It doesn't concern you."

"What could possibly be so secret you have to keep it from me, and from Aro?"

"Who said I was keeping anything from Aro?"

I rolled my eyes at his naivety.

"OK then, tell me that you aren't keeping secrets from him."

He scowled and looked away as if embarrassed or frightened and it suddenly occurred to me that maybe he had gone over to the opposition although we had both been loyal supporters of the Volturi since Aro saved us from being burned alive as witches in our village.

"Oh, my God. You aren't working with the Romanians or Fraternidad are you?"

I was relieved to see the shock on my brothers face at that question.

"Of course not. How could you think such a thing? That's preposterous."

"Then what is going on? Are you in some kind of trouble? If you are I can help, I want to help."

He rolled his eyes.

"I am not in any trouble Jane. Just drop it please."

I shook my head stubbornly, my brother was doing something that would land him in trouble or he wouldn't need to keep it from everyone.

"Alec, talk to me. I'm worried about you. What if Aro finds out what you're doing?"

"Aro? Why do you keep mentioning him? Has he been asking questions? What did he say?"

I narrowed my eyes as I detected fear in his voice.

"Nothing yet, but if I can see that something is wrong then he will too eventually and we don't want trouble with Aro, he's been good to us. He trusts us, Alec. What are you doing? Do you want him to throw us out of the Volturi? It's our home."

"No, of course not and he wouldn't. I've been very careful around Aro. I don't even know how you found out."

I smiled at my twin.

"Because we're family, you're my brother and I know you as well as I know myself. So, are you going to tell me what you're up to or will I have to start following you around to find out for myself?"

"Don't you mean continue to follow me? I've seen you, Jane. It's really none of your business. I'm just repaying an old debt to a friend and before you ask no, it's not someone Aro would disapprove of."

"So why all the secrecy?"

His lips tightened, what the hell was he involved in?

He studied the set expression on my face and sighed.

"Very well. Come with me. I'm not talking about it here, the walls have too many ears."

We took a walk out onto the mountainside by the light of the crescent moon and I waited for Alec to speak. We'd been walking almost twenty minutes before he stopped and gazed back at the town lit up on the top of the mountain.

"You have to promise me that you won't tell a soul and I mean no one, Jane."

I nodded concern growing in me at the serious expression on his face.

"I promise. Who would I tell anyhow? Go on."

"Do you remember when Carlisle Cullen brought his son Edward to meet us?"

I frowned, this wasn't at all what I expected.

"Carlisle? Yes, I remember. I didn't think much of Edward but I know you liked him."

Alec nodded with a grimace of something on his lips.

"Edward and I like the same things, he was teaching me the piano and I took him into the archives to look at some of the early sheet music stored there."

"OK, but what does this have to do with anything?"

His shoulders sagged in defeat.

"You won't understand so what's the point?"

I took his arm and pulled him around to face me once more.

"Alec, you're my brother and I love you. We look out for each other, we always have. Please, tell me what's wrong."

I thought he was going to pull free of my grasp but instead, he sighed deeply and looked up at the stars.

"Have you ever been afraid, Jane? Since we became vampires I mean. Truly afraid?"

I shook my head uncomprehendingly.

"Afraid? No, why should I? There are no more powerful vampires than us and we have Aro to protect us so who could possibly hurt us brother?"

"Anyone who tried to get between us, Jane. I don't think I could bear to go on without you and Edward warned me about someone who wanted to get between us, someone who wanted you dead because you took her place at Aro's side."

I frowned,

"Demeta? Is that who you mean? She was never a threat to me or me to her. Aro told me she wanted out. She'd been by his side for centuries and she wanted a life of her own. I gave her that chance."

He shook his head, biting his lip in agitation.

"No, Jane. Demeta didn't want to leave but she wasn't as powerful or useful as you. Once you and I appeared the power slipped from her grasp. Aro kept her on for a while but she was never as important and when he let her go she was bitter. That time Edward and Carlisle visited Demeta was here too, remember? We thought she had come for a visit but she had really come to lure you outside so she could kill you and then flee."

"That's ridiculous, Aro would have hunted her to the ends of the earth and beyond."

"But you'd still be dead and I would have lost you. No one knew of her plan because it was all in her mind and like us she had learned to keep her thoughts hidden when necessary. She could fool Aro as well as we can if not better. Her gift would have given her the edge for the few seconds she needed to rip your head off and burn it. Edward warned me, he helped me lure her outside instead and kill her. Aro thought she'd left but she was dead. I killed her and disposed of the body. I owed him your life."

I stared at him frowning, Deneta had been planning to kill me? I had arranged to go out with her one evening but she never showed. I remember being puzzled at the time. I had liked her, she'd been my friend or so I thought. I shuddered at the realization of how close I had come to my death. And how my brother had saved me.

'It seems I owe you my life, you and Edward. But why didn't you just go to Aro and tell him?"

"Because I couldn't be sure he would have believed us and Edward only read her thoughts a few minutes before she was due to meet you. There was no time, it was pure luck that we passed her on the archive staircase."

"And you kept it a secret? Why?"

"Why? Because I'd just killed a gifted member of the Volturi. What do you think Aro would have said? Especially as we had no proof. You've seen justice Volturi style, I would have been locked away for centuries or worse. Oh, I know Aro values my gift but he values loyalty and obedience more. He would have made an example of me even if it meant upsetting you, his little pet. I couldn't take the chance."

"So Edward held this over you? He forced you to do something for him in return for his continued silence?"

Alec shook his head.

"No, Edward merely asked me to return the favor and I agreed. There was no coercion."

"Then I don't understand the problem."

"The problem dear sister is that I used my gift, am still using my gift, to keep a prisoner without Aro's knowledge."

I shrugged,

"So, just tell him you were doing Edward a favor. Who is this mysterious prisoner anyhow and where are you keeping him or her?"

He hesitated and I froze as dread crept across me.

"Oh God, who is it, Alec? Not a friend of Aro's? Not someone he values?"

He frowned.

"Not exactly, but he is a friend of a friend and someone Aro has always avoided trouble with. I'm scared he'll feel his honor has been damaged. His friend is very dear to him and we both know he doesn't court trouble needlessly."

"Who is it, Alec?"

"If I tell you, you must promise me you won't explode."

Tension rose in my body, how bad could it be? True Aro would be furious if Alec had betrayed the trust of a friend. A very dear friend… That had to be… I swallowed hard and grabbed his arm even more tightly.

"Who did you take Alec? Whose imprisonment could possibly upset Carlisle Cullen? Not one of the Denali's? No, you wouldn't be so stupid."

"No, of course not, Eleazar is far too important to Aro to touch, him or his coven. No, this is someone more... dangerous."

"Dangerous? To whom? To you?"

"To all of us."

His voice was barely audible now and I could see he was truly frightened which made me afraid too.

He stared at me with despair in his eyes.

"I don't know what to do. I can't keep him under indefinitely, Aro is sure to find out eventually and I can't let him go either but I'm afraid to kill him."

"Tell me Alec, who do you have?"

His next words sent an icy shiver down my spine.

"The Major."

I stared at him in dread, as if he had just told me he had murdered our parents.

"You captured the Major and you've been keeping him hidden as a prisoner? How long for Alec?"

He shrugged.

"About three years, in the old monastery ruins, the crypt runs for miles and is like a labyrinth. No one goes exploring since they found those three bodies years ago. There's nothing in there worth hunting for. I found a hidden chamber, I think it was used to imprison the possessed back in the dark ages."

"You mean people like us, don't you? How could you? I mean, how did you manage it? No, I'm not sure I want to know."

I was thinking furiously, what were we going to do? I could see his dilemma clearly enough now. Aro would hit the roof. The Major was one of the Cullen coven and if Carlisle found out a member of the Volturi had been holding him a prisoner for years without telling him or even having committed some kind of crime to fit the punishment Aro would lose face and more. His reputation for fair play was very important to the Volturi leader. The trouble was that releasing The Major would be tantamount to loading a shotgun, aiming at your own head and putting the Major's fingers on the trigger. He was dangerous enough as it was but when riled... Well, who knew what he might be capable of. Aro had once told me that the best thing to do with a potentially dangerous animal was to leave it well alone.

"You see Jane, it is never wise to poke a sleeping lion, you just never know what he might do upon waking. The best way of dealing with a powerful predator is to watch it from a safe distance while giving it a wide berth. It may one day be of use to you so there is no point in alienating it."

Alec was right, he might be banished to duties away from the center of power for a very long time or worst case scenario he might well end up in one of the citadel dungeons for a few centuries to teach him a lesson. Aro wouldn't care that Edward had asked for the favor, he might even use it as a way to get Edward to Volterra to serve the Volturi and no one here could stand the arrogant prick.

Alec sank down on a boulder and put his head in his hands.

"It was just a laugh at first. I felt good at being able to ambush the great Major and imprison him. I even taunted him but as the months became a year and then two I understood the mess I had gotten myself involved in and now…"

He looked up at me and I saw fear and hopelessness in my brother's eyes once more.

"I don't know how to get out of it. I tried contacting Edward but he's not answering his messages and I have no idea where he is. Not that he'd be much help anyway. I'm so frightened Jane. I messed up big time."

Aro

I felt uneasy and that was a new feeling for me, our world had been at peace for a long time under the rule of the Volturi and the few problems that presented themselves were easily solved. Which meant that whatever was wrong was something within the Volturi, possibly even here in Volterra itself. I trusted my brothers of course but few others. Only my most intimate friends who had been with me for many centuries such as Felix, Demetri, and the twins. So, where was the unease coming from?

I discussed the matter with Sulpicia and she suggested I put Felix onto it, he was the most loyal and trustworthy of anyone here and had fought at my side for more centuries than I cared to remember. If there was trouble brewing then Felix was the man to sniff it out. I would ask him to be discreet, if there was trouble within the citadel then I wanted to know about it before the person fermenting the trouble was aware that I knew. Then swift justice would put an end to any treachery.

No one wanted trouble, we had all fought too hard for too long to allow someone within the Volturi to destroy it but I couldn't imagine who it could be. My trusted Felix stood impassively as I explained the situation.

"So you want me to watch everyone here in the citadel and on my own? I'm good Aro but not that good."

I smiled at his words.

"There are certain people I think we can eliminate from your rather long list. My brothers, our wives, and the council members."

"Are you sure about that? I mean I don't suppose for a second that Heidi or Demetri are looking for power but there are those who are more ambitious."

I stared at him through narrowed eyes.

"Do you suspect someone, Felix?"

"No, I just don't think we should assume anyone's loyalty."

"Very well, do whatever you need to do and in the meantime, I will see if I can narrow the field further. It's been a long time since I was forced to open a window into men's souls but it seems that necessity dictates I try."

I rarely touched anyone here, except my wife of course. Everyone knew of my gift and I didn't want them thinking me paranoid or nosey, it made people uncomfortable and even resentful but I was left with little choice. As Felix had pointed out the citadel was a big place with a lot of occupants but I would start with the lower echelon of the guard. Those least likely to object to my touch but for that very reason those least likely to be plotting anything.

As I suspected I found nothing although I had managed to brush past most of the guard in the past week. Now I awaited Felix report eagerly, perhaps he would have more luck. He may not be liked, may even be feared but he was also underestimated by many. A keen observant mind lay behind that stone facade and Felix could go where I could not, among the men and women of the guard, without suspicion.