After eating breakfast we went to the reception desk. It was the same receptionist we had spoken to the previous night. We asked her about the lights we had seen on the hill. She told us it was a town called Volterra. Somewhere in the back of my head I recognised the name, I wasn't sure why. As we made our way towards the town I had a twinge in the pit of my stomach.

At first I thought it was my chest. The dead weight of my broken heart threatening to break through my ribs at any second a feeling that never went away; only faded from time to time, simply to return with twice as much force as before, but that wasn't the feeling I had now, walking up the hill towards the place that had captured my interest last night. No. this feeling was different. It was unlike anything I had felt before. It was almost like a warning, but at the same time an urge to get there quicker.

The town was beautiful. Huge stone walls, several stories high, rose up from the paved streets. They were the tallest buildings I had seen since we left America. There were lots of people milling around. It was obviously a large tourist attraction, buildings that looked like they used to be houses had little signs outside telling people, in many languages, what sorts of souvenirs could be found inside.

It was barely ten o'clock and already it was scorching. The sky was a clear blue, it reminded me of Phoenix. It was very sunny and so I was very shocked when I saw a couple of people moving around the streets wearing huge black cloaks with hoods, they must have been boiling. They reminded me of some strange kind of uniform since there were actually quite a few people wearing them.

We had hardly seen any of the town when Jake told me he felt bad. I knew from experience that he never really got ill, one of the upsides to being a werewolf I suppose. The last time he had a feeling similar to that of a human being ill was when there were 'cold ones' about, and that was years ago, three to be exact.

"Jake don't be silly that's impossible."

"Really, Bella? We know things like that exist in this world, is it really that difficult to accept there are leeches here?"

It was the first time in years Jake had brought up that subject, I felt something go pang in my chest and in a reflex reaction my arms wrapped themselves around it, trying to hold myself together.

"Are you ok?"

I couldn't talk, my throat had closed up, so I just nodded at him. It had been a while since Jake had seen me like this and it obviously made him uncomfortable.

Since I could barely talk or move anywhere and Jake evidently didn't want to hang around here for very long we went back to the hotel and got ourselves some lunch. After I had eaten I was feeling a lot better, and it seemed Jake was too, until I brought up the idea of going back up the hill. Jake wanted to look around the town were the hotel was, but I wanted to go back to Volterra, it felt as though something was pulling me back there. Jake and I had a slight fall out. He was sure there was something bad up there and he refused to go back. I on the other hand was curious, and after my experiences I wasn't going to let Jake's superstition put me off. I told him what I thought. He wasn't impressed. Although I didn't want to argue with him, he was being rather stubborn.

I left Jake by the hotel, telling him I would meet him at 7 o'clock in the lobby for dinner. That gave me six hours to explore in Volterra.

Plenty of time.

**

If possible it was even hotter than it had been before. The sun was directly above me as I made my way through the streets. Even with the huge buildings surrounding me there was no shade, so I spent quite a lot of time going into shops that I normally would have avoided although I didn't buy anything.

I was sure I was getting lost, the tall buildings acted like a maze, since they all looked very similar and I didn't know how long it would take me to find my way out.

There were little lanes and alleyways that had some cover from the sun's glare. As I emerged from one of these lanes I was blinded by the bright light. As my eyes adjusted I realised the lane had opened up to a large square. I realised this must be the main plaza, the buildings were even taller here and on the wall opposite, near the top, I saw a gigantic clock face. The plaza was beautiful, as well as being surrounded with stunning buildings there was an amazing fountain in the middle that took up a considerable amount of space. I got my camera from my bag and started taking pictures. Even if Jake didn't want to be up here I was sure he would still appreciate the beauty of the place.

I took a picture of the clock, then one of the fountain and I was just zooming in on one of the shops next to the main building when someone wearing a cloak walked through the camera's focus. I hadn't even realised I had taken the picture until it appeared on the display screen. As I looked at it I saw the hooded face had been turned slightly in my direction as I had taken the picture. They looked strange. I was sure it was only because Jake had raised his suspicions but there seemed to be something different about them.

I zoomed in more on their face and realised how pale his skin was. I could see now that it was definitely a he. He didn't look particularly old, in fact I would have thought he was younger than myself, yet he had an air of authority about him, although I couldn't explain what exactly it was.

As I zoomed further into the picture I saw his eyes. They were red. There were only three people, I used the term loosely, that I had ever seen with eyes that colour and I really didn't like think of them. Before I had chance to control my thoughts, I felt the hole in my chest burst open. I couldn't take it; it brought back so many difficult memories.

Unsure of where the figure I had just taken a picture of had gone I ran into the large building, with the clock on the front. I wasn't sure if I was trying to hide from him, or if I was trying to find him. It looked like an official building; there was a receptionist and everything. She looked up as I entered, she had a fake smile plastered on her face, it reminded me of some of the girls I went to school with. She said something to me, I guessed it was Italian. Her smile dropped when I failed to reply. I saw her glance down at my body then return to whatever she had been doing before I had entered the building. I realised I was hugging my chest, and as I remembered my reason for coming into the building, the wave of panic came over me again.

I found myself moving forwards, it didn't feel as though I was in control of my legs, the were very wobbly. I leant on the receptionist's desk and she gave me a look that clearly said 'get lost' I put a big smile on my face and decided to try to be polite.

"Hi, do you speak English?"

She paused for a moment before she spoke.

"Not very well I am afraid but I can try. Are you lost?"

"No, not really. Actually I was looking for someone." I didn't know what I was saying until the words had come out of my mouth.

"You think I would know where the someone was?" She didn't really make much sense but I continued anyway.

"Umm, yes he was wearing a black cloak and he has red eyes." It was worth a shot right? Her eyes widened. I thought she was going to call me mad and tell me no one could have red eyes, but she composed her self and started rummaging through the papers on her desk, obviously looking for something.

"Wait please, one minute."

She picked up the phone and dialled a short number; I guessed it was a call within the building, then she said something in Italian, I think. After a very brief conversation with a lot of nodding she put the phone down and turned back to me. Her fake smile was back; it looked rather creepy this time and made me rather uncomfortable.

"I do not know of this person. I have not seen he, but my master may. He want to talk to you?" It was more of a statement than a question but I nodded anyway, mainly to be polite. I guessed she meant boss rather than master, after all her English wasn't very good at all, but it was considerably better than my Italian.

Before I could ask her where her 'master' was I heard a door open behind me and the receptionist looked towards it, with a slightly friendlier smile. I turned to see who had just com in and was surprised to find someone standing right next to me. He had red eyes and I knew there was no escape for me now.

"Alec will show you to the master."

I now realised that 'master' was really what she referred to him as, although I was slightly confused, here was a human being a secretary for goodness knows how many ..Vampires. I forced myself to think the word; I was after all in the presence of one.

Alec spoke much better English than the receptionist.

"Follow me Aro is looking forward to meeting you." Aro? I recognised the name, although I was not sure why. A distant memory of a forgotten conversation struggled to make it's way through my mind, but was pushed aside when Alec turned and walked towards the door. I followed the him through the building. I almost had to run to keep up and I could tell he was annoyed with having to walk at a human pace. I wanted to ask him to slow down but I had learnt from experience that it was best not to argue with a vampire, unless you have a large pack of werewolves on your side.

I was glad that Jake had stayed at the hotel. I had a very good idea what was awaiting me, and I didn't want to give Jake the same fate as myself, although I do wish I could have ended on a more positive note with him. Too late for regrets now though I thought as we came to a halt just outside a rather plain looking wooden door. I suppose it wouldn't have looked quite so plain if it hadn't been for the other more fancy doors we had passed along the hallway.

Alec held the door open, obviously waiting for me to go in first. I will admit I was rather frightened, but only someone with Jasper's ability would have known that. I smiled slightly at how easy it was for me to think of the Cullen's now, the pain in my chest had been forgotten yet I knew it was still there, it had been replaced with fear.

I took a deep breath and held my head high as I walked through the doorway to meet my fate.

AN: Wow everyone who had reviewed so far has been so kind. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think.

Thankyou :)