The Fall
Chapter Three
Aro had left Volterra. That didn't cause disruption in his mind, but the fact that Sulpicia accompanied her mate was enough to give rise to suspicion in Caius' thoughts. Athenadora was somewhat petulant over being left behind but a good hunt would distract her. He, on the other hand, could not find distraction in anything.
It was happening again. Aro and his secrets. Marcus and his indifference. Power was still slipping from their grasp and matters of silence were undoing the foundation of hundreds of years of power. And he was left in the dark only to grit his teeth. There were many things in this world that he hated, loathed and devised plans of annihilation. Romanians, werewolves, immortal children...but would he ever find a peace from this feeling of helplessness?
"And what is snatching your brilliant mind away from the matter at hand, my darling?" Athenadora twined her muddied arms around his neck.
"Aro and Sulpicia have left Volterra."
She sighed slightly. "Long overdue, if you ask me. They are not like us. They are willing to sit still and get dusty."
"And what are we willing to do?"
She twirled in front of him, a swirl of fine Italian silk and leather stained with blood, mud and torn by desperate fails from their dinner. "Conquer."
Had it been a few hundred years ago, he would have agreed with his flame-haired mate. When he held his tongue, she rushed forward and pressed her bloodied lips across his cheekbones.
"Oh, my sweet Caius. Do not lose the sharpness of your edge. Together, together we will continue to conquer this world. You and I, together."
"And what of Aro and Marcus?"
"Leave Marcus to his apathy and Aro to his secrets. Their focus shimmers and falters. Unlike ours, which is straight and narrow."
Caius absently picked twigs out of his mate's riotous curls. "Straight and narrow. Those are two words that will never apply to you, my twisted-minded love."
She pouted prettily. "I fear I would grow boring to you if I were straight minded."
"Indeed, I shall never find you boring."
She grinned wickedly and twirled once more. "I believe there were more campers up this trail. Shall we?"
His thirst was satisfied for the moment but he couldn't deny her the hunt so he started down the muddy trail towards the dying light of a campfire in the distance. He needed to keep her distracted during this tumultuous time. If Aro had gone back to Forks for the reason Caius thought, secrets were about to be shoved into the harsh light of day. Secrets that could very well tear Volterra apart and shake the foundations of their world.
Secrets that didn't belong to just Aro.
He never saw himself as a romantic figure, given to bouts of gentleness and concern. If Felix had been here, the jokes would have been never ending. But Felix wasn't with him and Demetri had been standing in the darkened hospital room for the last two hours watching Lucianna sleep. He found comfort in hearing her heartbeat, watching her breathe. She was alive and that was all that really mattered to him at the moment. It never ceased to amaze him how centuries of loyalty would drop away just by being near her.
True, he had stayed because Carlisle had remained at the hospital and he would have much rather faced one Cullen then the whole coven. But Carlisle had busied himself with other patients and hadn't returned to this room, which was just as well. Moments spent with Lucianna were rarities for him and he gathered them whenever they were available. He had studied her hands and was relieved to see no rings on either hand. The only jewelry she had on was the simple gold cross necklace that she had worn since the convent in Rome.
Almost three hours had passed before he heard the almost too quiet steps of Carlisle coming back to check on his patient. Demetri wasn't sure if he should announce his presence or wait for Carlisle to acknowledge him. As the door opened, he decided since he was on Cullen turf, he would let Carlisle take the lead.
The head of the Cullen family quietly made his way over to the bed, did a quick scan of the monitors, took her pulse and made a check on the clipboard hanging on the end of the bed before stepping over the window to look at the eminent dawn that was starting to color the sky.
"I take your presence here to mean that the Volturi are returning to Forks," Carlisle said in a faint whisper.
"Just Aro and Sulpicia will be arriving today," Demetri mimicked the volume that Carlisle had used.
"And you."
"I came to make sure that she would live."
Carlisle grew very still. "How many of you knew about her?" His normally even tone dropped a few degrees in warmth. "How many of you stood in front of my family, claiming ignorance in the matter of hybrids, and threatening to destroy us all because of it?"
Mindless weapon. Demetri shook his head, trying to jar that phrase uttered by the Revolutionary but it was true. A phrase dropped from his mouth so quickly and so genuinely he couldn't have stopped it. "I am sorry."
Carlisle seemed to relax slightly but remained silent.
"Aro, Sulpicia and myself," Demetri answered. "We were the only three who knew."
"Why keep her a secret? I would have thought Aro would have relished in a discovery like this."
Demetri drifted over to the bed and gazed down at her relaxed face. "Because she looks so much like Didyme. To bring her to Volterra would have only caused Marcus more pain. At least that is my opinion. That is a question you may have to ask Aro directly."
Carlisle nodded his head briefly. "So Aro is coming to smooth things over with us then."
"He will try. If I may speak freely with you, Aro has always spoken about you with fondness. I do not believe he will want to see a friendship lost."
"Because he fears the size of my family or because he respects us?"
Demetri started to speak but quickly shut his mouth. He wasn't sure just how much freedom he had to speak. Perhaps he had already said too much. But Carlisle wanted an answer.
"You've been open with me so far, Demetri. I'd appreciate it if you would continue to be so."
"I don't believe it's my place to answer that question."
"It's your place because you're standing here now." The words should have had a sting to them but oddly, they didn't. Carlisle had softened a demand as only he could with his unique brand of gentleness.
"I believe," Demetri started, "that Aro fears what this will do to us, to the Volturi. There are too many secrets in our coven and Lucianna is gifted. When she touches an object, she can see the events that have passed before it. To allow her near such a well guarded coven, she would soon learn enough destructive secrets to use against us."
"Why not kill her?"
"He tried but..."
Carlisle waited patiently until Demetri continued.
"I saved her that night, under Sulpicia's orders. I think she was trying to make amends to Didyme. We put her on a boat for the Americas and I would find her from time to time to make sure she wasn't drawing attention to herself."
A very slight smile emerged on Carlisle's face. "You've come to actually care for her, haven't you?"
Demetri straightened up and tore his gaze from Lucianna and turned it to the window. "Caring for another is frowned upon for the Volturi Guard. Our loyalties are to be for," he swallowed forcibly, "our masters only."
Carlisle didn't say anything else for a while as they stood by the window and watched the first rays of sunlight start to peek over the horizon. Eventually, Carlisle turned towards the door. "We'll be moving her later on today to our home so she can finish her recovery there. As long as you do your hunting out of the Forks area, preferably out of the state, you are welcome to stay with us."
"You would welcome me into your home?"
"Yes. I can't say the others will treat you as cordially, but you are welcome. I better go there and tell them what to expect today."
Before Demetri could show any gratitude for the kindness, Carlisle was gone. He gave Lucianna one last look before following Carlisle. At least he would be able to be around her more than his usual drop in visits. It scared him how much that meant to him.
Lucianna sat propped up in a huge, white bed that sat in the midst of gossamer. Because of the immanent arrival of Aro and Sulpicia, she had been given Edward and Bella's cottage for her recovery. So here she sat, trying desperately not to touch the white linens. There were times when she really wished she wasn't gifted at all. Despite the images that assaulted her mind every time she happened to touch something, the little home was absolutely cozy. Everywhere she turned to look offered a picture of absolute beauty.
The door to the bedroom opened with a lack of caution and a child about the age of ten with bronze curls peered into the room. "Hello."
Lucianna forced a smile. "Hi."
"Are you comfortable?"
"Yes, thank you." Lucianna realized this must be Renesmee, Edward and Bella's hybrid daughter.
"Would you like some company?"
"That would be nice."
She practically bounded onto the bed next to Lucianna and settled in, tucked up tightly against Lucianna's side. "Am I hurting you?"
"No."
"Do you like music?"
Lucianna nodded. "Very much."
"Here," she handed her a sleek iPod. "I listen to all kinds of music so you'll probably find something you'll enjoy on there."
"Don't you want to listen to your music?"
Renesmee leaned closer and spoke in a confidential tone. "I'm reading a very interesting book right now and haven't been listening to much music."
"Ah," was the only response that Lucianna could find at the moment. She wondered if she was as precocious as this child. She remembered being inquisitive but was very fearful. This child didn't have an ounce of fear in her. She was obviously a well love child...a fortunate child.
"So where are you from?"
"Italy, originally. Rome, specifically. But I've been living in America for almost as long it's been a country."
"I met some vampires from Italy last year." She wrinkled her nose slightly. "They were nice but they really didn't mean it when they were nice."
"I know what you mean. I probably met the same one you did."
"Do you want to see?"
Lucianna looked down at the child to see her hand raised, fingers splayed. "What do you mean?"
"I can show you the meeting I had with the Italian vampires."
"Oh, alright then." She tilted her head forward until her cheek was against Renesmee's palm. Images shot across her mind's eye and if she hadn't been used to dealing with it her entire existence, it would have left her breathless.
The scene that was given to her was one of a large meadow, blanketed with snow. There was a massive amount of vampires gathered, more than Lucianna ever could have guessed existed. The memory was from Renesmee's point of view and she was just showing Lucianna the faces of Aro and two others that were drifting behind him. One had similar black hair but seemed detached from whatever was going on while the other white haired individual was riveted by the proceedings. And then there was Aro's face, alight with the same delight that he used to show her until that last night in the churchyard.
Then the scene shifted slightly. The images blurred and moved like a kaleidoscope changing to the next image. When the image cleared it was a large living room with a complete wall of glass facing a forest. A large group of vampires, all golden eyed except for one, were seated or standing around the room. The one crimson eyed vampire she recognized immediately as Demetri while a few others stood out to her like Carlisle, Esme, Bella and Edward. It was a tense feeling in the room, all the faces were set in hard lines and angry eyes.
"Do you think he'll try to kill her again?" Carlisle was asking.
A small framed woman with short, spiky hair answered. "He hasn't made that decision so I don't think that's his reason for returning."
"What do you see, Alice?" Bella asked.
The woman referred to as Alice shrugged elegantly. "Nothing alarming. He and his mate are coming here but there is nothing in the vision that even feels like an altercation."
A large man with an equally large grin spoke up from his position on the couch. "Coming back with his tail between his legs then. Think we'll get an apology for last time?"
There were a couple scoffs that were emitted around the room before a serious silence fell.
"So," a blond male vampire asked quietly, "do we prepare to defend ourselves?"
All eyes rested on Carlisle who was focused on Demetri. Both were equally unmoving.
"I don't believe there's any reason to prepare for a fight if that is not their intent," Carlisle answered in a measured tone, still keeping his eyes on Demetri. Finally the tracker spoke.
"If it is only Aro and Sulpicia, then he is coming with peace as his purpose. Felix may be with them but that doesn't mean he's here to fight either. Walking into a coven this size without protection would be something I've never seen before. I would advise to hear what he has to say. If he had come back to destroy, he would have brought all of Volterra with him. He wouldn't have been able to mobilize them all in such a short amount of time."
"And what do we do with Anna?" Esme asked. "We can't let her stay in the house with Aro here as well. Not until we know what he wants, especially with her."
Bella glanced over at Edward, who nodded his head briefly. "She can stay in our cottage," Bella offered. "It's out of the way and at the rate she's healing, she'll be back in Forks in two days."
"We'll keep Renesmee there too," Edward spoke up. "Jacob and Rosalie can stay there as guards if that's necessary."
The scene grew fuzzy after that and soon Lucianna was staring back into Renesmee's face.
"I thought you might like to see that last conversation."
"Thank you," Lucianna responded. "Is Aro here now?"
"I don't know." She absently picked at the braided bracelet around her wrist. "They wouldn't tell me anything else."
Lucianna gazed out the door that led to the garden and small pond. She wasn't sure if that was the direction of the Cullen home or not. The forest was thick and night had fallen, even with her semi-enhanced vision, she couldn't make out any lights in the distance.
"Well," Lucianna leaned back against her pillows and felt Renesmee rest her head on Lucianna's shoulder, "I guess we'll both just have to wait this one out."
"Can I wait it out with you?"
Lucianna laughed slightly. "Of course you can."
Renesmee's voice was starting to sound heavy with sleep. "It's nice not being the only one anymore. It gets lonely sometimes when you're special."
"Yes, it does. It gets very lonely."
"You don't have to worry about being lonely," Renesmee yawned widely. "You've got us now."
Lucianna closed her eyes and listened to the child's breathing even out into the steady rhythm of sleep. She mulled over Renesmee's words, trying to look at them from all angles, in an attempt to pull understanding and comfort from them. Could it really be true that she had been on her own for so long that she could no longer grasp the concept of not being alone?
