Chapter 7
"Anything?" Aro asked sulkily as Demetri entered the throne room.
Demetri sighed, "No, master. There has been no sign of them yet."
Aro groaned, Marcus placed his head in his hands and Caius dug his fingers into the wood of this throne. Business was very slow indeed for the Volturi. The most exciting thing that happened usually was Saint Marcus Day and even that was a few months away. A small bit of Marcus wanted to give up the search but the bond between him and Styx was still very strong. He wouldn't give up as long as that bond stood strong.
Since the wives had left, three new women had been added to the guard. One, a young woman with auburn hair and a short stature, another with golden blonde hair and a medium stature and the last one, a young lady with black hair and a sour expression. She never did anything but stand there and look bored.
To Aro's confusion, all the women had been drawn to only him. Chelsea giggled from behind Aro's throne and winked at the other two masters. That would teach Aro not to set them up with new wives. It actually made Marcus laugh when Aro had to literally pry their hands off him and he had to lock himself in his chambers.
Caius quickly dismissed the three girls from the guard and knocked on Aro's door, "Brother?"
"Go away," called Aro, "I know what you did... and it was not funny."
"Oh, come now, Aro," Marcus mumbled through the door, "You have to admit it was slightly amusing. We have not had entertainment in weeks, you must understand."
Aro opened his door and leaned against the door frame, pondering, "True... very true... it has been a few weeks since we have been at the Cullens. Perhaps they have returned?"
Caius smiled, "Perhaps. Shall we go see?"
"I think we shall," Marcus said, his spirits lifting a bit. Well, at least he wouldn't be completely bored anymore.
~M/S~
Tiffany was glued to my side as we walked through Times Square, passing several suggestive looking women and many, many dangerous looking men. She held onto my arm tighter and I smiled. This woman looked twice my age yet she was holding onto me like a security blanket. I smirked at her, "Why are you holding my arm?"
She let go and said, "Oh sorry... its just... you guys seem so confident. You guys make me feel safe." Of course, she meant the haughtiness of Vladimir, Stefan and Sulpicia. Athenadora and I acted as though we were normal people. "You guys walk around like you're... indestructable or something."
I smirked and leaned over, "Can you keep a secret?" She nodded and I smiled, "What if I told you that we, all of us, are vampires?" Her eyes went wide for a moment before she started laughing, drawing everyone else's attentions. I quickly elbowed her softly in the ribs, cutting her laughter short.
"Why are you laughing? I'm serious," I said quietly.
She stared at me a bit longer and shook her head, "I knew there were crazy people out there but... geez..."
I grabbed her shoulders and slammed her against a brick wall, willing the venom in my eyes to dissolve my contacts as I stared at her in impatience, "Listen to me. I am an immortal, human drinking, sparkly skinned vampire and so are the rest of my friends. I am being completely serious." She struggled against my grip but it didn't loosen. She was trapped.
I let her go and straightened her shirt, "You see? Super strength. Vampire. Me."
She stared at me again, this time her eyes wide with fear, "Are you going to kill me?"
I chuckled, "No... certainly not. Why would I hurt one of my friends? It's rude. No, I am extending a... proposition to you."
"A proposition?" she asked shakily, "What kind of proposition?"
"Well," I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly, "you see my friend Aro, he... uh... h-he has laws that keep us vampires in check. One of them is that if a vampire tells a human of our existance, we either have to kill them," her hand flew to her throat, "or change them. So it's your choice. I can either kill you or you can have an eternal best friend. Your choice."
Her eyes grew wide and she looked at the ground for a second as she thought. Her gaze returned to me a split moment later, "How much time do I have?"
I shrugged, "Plenty. Enough to get your affairs in order, and that's being generous. Technically, I should change you right now but that would be mean and I want you to be happy. You can't tell your family or friends about this. In fact, you can never see your family or friends again. We'll have to fake your death or something similar..."
As I thought out loud, Tiffany's face got more and more panicked. Finally, I cleared my throat, "So... go home. Pack your things. You're coming with us."
She nodded and I stopped the others to tell them I would be accompanying her to her apartment. Vladimir volunteered to follow me and we were there before she had her keys in the door. She gasped at our presence, "Whoa, that was quick."
"Super speed. One hell of a perk," I said with a grin, "being a vampire has many, many perks. You'll see soon enough. Oh, this is Vladimir, by the way. Call him Joel though. Sulpicia, the prissy blonde, doesn't know who he is yet." Vladimir smiled at Tiffany and she packed a little faster, tugging her clothes into a suitcase and snapping it shut.
"Nice to meet you," she mumbled as she shuffled past him and he arched an eyebrow at me in confusion.
I followed Tiffany, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," she insisted with a small huff, "this is just a lot to take in." I understood. Vampirism is hard to understand but once you do, its easy. We walked down to where our limo was and Tiffany stuffed her suitcases into the trunk, "I guess I can be changed now."
I arched an eyebrow at her, "Really?" Vladimir crossed his arms beside me as he watched Tiffany struggle with her bags until finally, he walked over and gave a particularly big suitcase a shove and it slid in without a hitch. Tiffany thanked him and approached me, "Yeah. You can change me anytime."
I stared at her for a moment before looking to the limo, "Well, uh... I guess you should get in the limo then. I'll change you in there." Tiffany nodded and stepped into the limo, sitting between me and Vladimir. Sulpicia and the others were walking around down town and we'd pick them up later. Once everything was situated, Vladimir held her arms down gently and I rubbed my hands together nervously, "Okay now listen. I've never changed a human before so you'll just have to trust me, alright?"
Tiffany nodded and I leaned down, my teeth gently resting against the skin of her neck. Just before I bit down, the limo screeched to a stop and I pulled away from Tiffany in shock, "What the hell...?"
The door flew open and I gawked as Stefan, Sulpicia and Athenadora filed into the limo beside us. Tiffany shrunk back to my side. Sulpicia held out a hand to me and it took a second for me to see the white envelope against her stark white hand. I picked it up and opened it.
Dear Styx,
How have you been? I hope you are well. Aro has sent out letters to all the covens about finding you and the wives. I hope you're all right. Anyway, a new vampire has been added to our coven and we would like you to join us at our house. He claims to know you. You may arrive anytime you wish. You are always welcome here.
Sincerely yours,
Carlisle
"A new vampire, huh? And he knows me," I repeated from the letter and then folded it up again, "Well, looks like we're headed to Forks."
Who could this mysterious mystery vampire be?
~Penny
