CHAPTER SEVEN – HOT AND COLD
I do not own Twilight, no copyright infringement intended.
Violence and lots of sordid tales come to light.
~X~
Demetri pushed open the doors of the throne room, and Riley and I were close behind him. There was already a crowd gathered waiting for us. As soon as I laid eyes on Chelsea, my first instinct was to shield myself and the two male vampires I entered with to prevent her manipulating us once more.
I'd thought she was my friend, but I could not see how that was possible given what she'd done to me. The look on Chelsea's face as she stared back was one of hatred. Afton's body lay on the floor before her as if she had been presenting the damage to the Masters, who also turned their attention toward us.
Demetri was livid. I did not have to be empathic to feel the seething rage coming from him. Riley remained by silent by me, his expression unreadable.
Caius scowled in our direction, and Marcus regarded us with something approaching interest. Raveena, the twins, and Renata were in attendance behind the three thrones, and Felix was stood in the corner of the room.
Aro got to his feet. "It seems you have some explaining to do, my children." He looked down at the decapitated vampire on the floor.
"Unwarranted acts of violence amongst the Guard are a serious matter and should be dealt with accordingly," Caius hissed. It seemed he had already found us guilty.
Aro held up his hand. "It's only fair that I should give everyone involved their chance to put across their side of the story."
His gaze rested on me as he walked in our direction. When he passed through the skin of my shield, I automatically put my hand in his.
Closing his eyes, Aro listened in on my thoughts, and I felt shame as I realized exactly what he would see in recent history. Finally, he let go, and then made his way across the room to Chelsea, who also silently gave her side of events.
Once he was done, Aro slowly walked up the steps towards the thrones, touching Marcus briefly before sitting down and looking thoughtful.
"You put me in a very difficult position indeed. The situation is most unsavory, and it is hard to see a satisfactory outcome. Chelsea, of course, has suffered enough, and Afton will be reanimated immediately. As for the rest of you…" Aro trailed off, but the silence spoke volumes.
"That's not fair." I was surprised that my thoughts had become spoken words. When everyone's attention snapped to me, I spoke again, but in a quiet voice. "I can't see how Chelsea should get away so lightly after destroying people's friendships and relationships for fun. She made us do…that against our will."
Aro's brow furrowed, but it was Chelsea that broke the resulting silence.
"Against your will?" Chelsea rolled her eyes. "Please. You've been telling me how much you've wanted to bed them both for years. I was just giving you a helping hand."
My mouth opened, but in my disbelief, words wouldn't form; instead, I made a noise that sounded rather like choking while she continued.
"And I think you'll find that neither of them was too adverse to the idea of sleeping with you, either. I really don't see what the problem is."
Riley quickly looked at me, and then away. I felt the emptiness in my chest expand as I realized he was probably thinking about what Demetri and I had been doing. My chain of thought brought me back to my supposed friend, who had artificially encouraged us along.
"The problem is that you treat us like toys. You're like a puppeteer, enjoying making us dance for your amusement. I refuse to be played with any longer, Chelsea." Demetri's voice was low and calm, but there was menace behind it.
"Don't you dare threaten me." Chelsea's voice was vicious. "Or you will face the consequences. I am untouchable."
"Enough. It won't do to have disagreements amongst the Guard like this."
Aro finally intervened and silenced the room. Marcus looked on dispassionately, while Caius was perched on the edge of his chair, looking more furious than ever.
I did not miss the softening of their faces as they looked at Chelsea.
"Chelsea, dearest. Your talent is so very valuable to us, and the Volturi could not exist without you. Therefore, Afton will be reanimated and no further punishment given—just, please, try to be a little more careful with how you play."
His smile dropped as he turned his attention back to Demetri, Riley, and me.
"As for the rest…" Aro sighed. "Demetri, at the present, you are the world's greatest tracker, but you are by no means the only one of your kind. Yours is a very common talent—do not think that you are irreplaceable. I leave your punishment to Caius."
Caius gave a rare smile at this comment.
"Bella…you are very young and naïve, and for this, I will give you the benefit of the doubt. Remember where you are and how privileged you are to serve here, otherwise next time, I will not be so lenient."
My jaw dropped open, unsure at how being the victim of manipulation could result in our being disciplined.
"As for Demetri's companion, it seems to me that you are the root cause of this problem. You have no talent and have outlived your usefulness. It is no longer appropriate for you to remain here, and you will be executed—"
"No!" My voice echoed off the marble walls. I attached myself to Riley's side. "I won't let you harm him. Can't you see? She's manipulating you all and turning you against us."
"Bella, I have already warned you that there is a limit to my tolerance of your impudent behavior. I suggest you step aside and allow us to deal with the matter."
"No." My eyes flicked around the room nervously. Chelsea was undoubtedly breaking all the emotional bonds that our fellow Volturi felt for us, and it was just the three of us inside my bubble against nine others. The odds were not in our favor.
Aro sighed again. "No doubt your shield will be blocking the twins. Felix, apprehend Riley."
The giant vampire began to make his way across the room toward us, but Demetri moved into a defensive position before our mutual friend and lover.
"Felix, you've been my friend for many centuries. Don't let her do this again."
"Those who disobey the Masters must be punished for their actions." Felix's deep voice boomed in reply, and he didn't look dissuaded in the slightest. Behind him, Chelsea beamed as she enjoyed the show.
How far would she take this? Would she let Felix and Demetri, after being close friends and comrades for centuries, tear each other apart? After earlier events, I knew that she was capable of anything.
"Chelsea, why are you doing this?"
"Why am I doing this?" She sneered. "Because I can. Don't you see? This whole place revolves around me."
I looked at Aro for a reaction, but he just smiled and looked at Chelsea.
"Without me, the Volturi would tear itself apart. Most of you can't even stand the sight of one another, let alone co-exist in harmony. I keep you all united; I get to choose who is together and who isn't. I'm the real power around here, and don't you forget it."
Looking at those outside the protection of my shield, it baffled me that not one of them felt the same disgust. They adoringly hung on every word Chelsea said, as if it were gospel.
I would never allow her inside my circle ever again, now that I'd seen what she was capable of. Other than Riley, she had been my closest friend and confidante, seeing deeper, darker sides of me than I had been able to show my best friend, since I was betraying him under her influence.
Everything that I had thought about her had been false. She'd artificially tied me to her, and though part of me had known, I hadn't seen how truly blind I'd been to the real person behind the friendly smiles and gestures until now.
"You're nothing, Chelsea. You've got nothing. Everything you have is a lie."
"And what do you have, Bella? What gives you the right to judge me? If I have nothing, you have less than nothing. Once Riley dies, you will need me to help you find a new best friend, or whatever."
"With your idea of friends, Chelsea. I'd prefer not to bother."
Chelsea scoffed, then Felix lurched forward—Demetri moved to meet him, before slamming backwards against a marble pillar and cracking it. Riley immediately went to his aid, but before he could get near, he screamed and froze as he stepped beyond my protection.
Jane. I flung out my shield to cover Riley once more, and he exhaled in relief as he collapsed on the floor.
Alec made a move in my direction and I wondered whether I would fare better against him in hand-to-hand combat than I had his twin. I braced myself for the attack, but then a loud voice rang out.
It wasn't the one that I was expecting.
"Stop."
Raveena stepped forward, and I felt a prickling in my chest, spreading outwards, down my limbs, and bringing a wash of calmness as it flowed over my brain. My entire body felt numbed, and it took all the strength I had to remain standing.
The fear, the anticipation, the anger, and every other feeling melted away. If you'd asked me what I thought of Demetri, or Riley, or Chelsea in that moment, the only answer I could have given was that I didn't care. Looking at everyone else's face, I could see the same lethargy in their eyes.
Raveena looked around the room, her face as straight and emotionless as usual.
"This situation is getting out of hand, and no one is looking at things objectively."
The rest of us just stared back blankly.
"Chelsea, why are you turning everyone against Demetri, Bella, and Riley?"
Chelsea only seemed half-awake, and her voice was thick as she forced out her reply. "They removed Afton's head."
"And why did they do that?"
"Because they were angry at what I made Demetri and Bella do." Without emotions motivating her to lie, the numbness was like a truth serum, and Chelsea seemed unable to resist answering whatever question Raveena asked.
Raveena was the only one whose body hadn't fallen to sleep, and if I cared, I might have found it intimidating to be in such a vulnerable position. She took another step toward Chelsea.
"And why did you do that?"
"Because I can, and I enjoy the power."
Raveena then turned to Felix and Demetri—who had their hands at each other's throats, but increasingly looking like the grip was more one of support than of combat.
"Demetri, what is the nature of your complaint against Chelsea?"
"She has destroyed every relationship I have ever had. Before, when I've went to confront her, she's always managed to distract me with lust. Not this time. I refuse to lose Riley."
Languidly turning my head in Demetri's direction, I took in his words, knowing that they would sting later.
Felix cleared his throat. "She manipulates me into servicing her needs on a regular basis. And also made me overwhelmingly attracted to Gianna before she was due to be turned, hence her unplanned death."
"She makes me so attached to Aro that there is no room for any other focus in my life. She's the reason I've been on my own for centuries," Renata chimed in.
"I am so blindly loyal to the Volturi that I dare not defy Aro's orders." Caius spoke without his usual venom, as he slumped in his chair. "And my wife…I feel so painfully protective that I will not see her leave her room. It pains me to see her so imprisoned, but it is as if I do not have any free will."
Aro was next, saying that he had seen how Chelsea worked, but that she had him so tightly bound to her that he could never question her actions. As we all spoke calmly, the prickle continued in our chest, numbing our feelings and reactions, allowing us to freely say what was on our mind without fear or embarrassment.
Chelsea looked around at everyone in turn; if she was affecting the bonds between each of us, then it wasn't apparent beyond the effects of Raveena's talent.
Finally, Raveena turned to Jane and asked for her story. Jane said nothing—Alec had already elaborated enough. It seemed, by Chelsea's reaction, that the numbness hadn't dulled Jane's capacity to cause pain, though she didn't seem to enjoy it as much as usual.
My manipulative, blonde former friend writhed on the floor in agony.
Aro looked thoughtful. "For all that has come to light today, what Chelsea says is true. Without her abilities, we would fall apart."
"So how do we proceed?" Caius asked. "Things cannot continue on as they are."
Marcus shifted in his chair. With Raveena in constant attendance, I now understood why he barely had the energy to speak. "Behind Chelsea's bonds, there are still other ties that might hold us together—friendship, affection, and familiarity. We are unaccustomed to creating our own bonds without the quick fix her talent gives us, but given time, maybe it will be enough?"
A moment of silence fell across the room as we considered all that had been said. It seemed that there was no one that had not felt Chelsea's powers, and some to worse ends than others.
"I can only see one course of action," Caius almost whispered. "Chelsea is a liability, and with her interference, it seems just as likely that she will tear us apart as keep us together."
"Yes. You are right, Caius," Aro agreed. He folded his hands beneath his chin in an effort to keep his head from lolling to the side. "Chelsea, you must face the consequences of your actions. It is inadvisable to destroy you until we know how we will fare without your talent, therefore, you will suffer the same fate as your mate and remain headless until such a time as we feel appropriate to remedy that matter."
Raveena had Chelsea so numbed that she barely seemed to react to the news.
"Felix…"
The Volturi enforcer let go of Demetri's neck and slowly made his way across the room to where Chelsea stood, staring back with confused but open and aware eyes. It seemed almost painful for strong Felix to lift his arms high enough, but once his palms reached her temples, I allowed my eyelids to fall. Only the sound of crystal being torn apart told me that the task was complete, and I could look once more.
As Felix and Demetri gathered up Afton and Chelsea and took their bodies from the room to be stored, the pins and needles in my chest began to fade, and I was more able to move my limbs.
"Thank you, Raveena, for calming the situation." Aro inclined his head in her direction. "Now, my brothers and I have much to discuss, so you are all dismissed. I do not doubt that you have much you wish to talk about amongst yourselves, and may want to find somewhere to rest after such a concentrated dose of Raveena's anesthetic. Good day."
We all left, slightly groggy and disorientated. I forced heavy feet down the corridor to my room, pausing as I saw the door to Chelsea and Afton's room open. Even from the hallway it was obvious that the room was still a scene of devastation.
I didn't know why, but I felt the urge to remove the evidence of what taken place.
At first, as I entered, I was overtaken by a number of flashbacks that both aroused and disgusted me; mental pictures of a Bella I did not recognize doing things that I would never have thought her capable of assaulted me.
The bed was beyond repair, so I removed it from the room. Then I began removing the debris from the floor—tattered pieces of cloth that I could recognize as my underwear, Demetri's slacks, Riley's tee…
What a mess the situation had turned into. Somehow, Chelsea's fate did not make me feel any better. If anything, it made me feel worse. My unique ability to turn anything into a tragedy had come into play again. Maybe some people were just fated to be trouble for everyone around them?
Once I'd finished, not wanting to be alone, I headed to the common room. Raveena occupied her usual space, and I tried not to look over at the couch where Chelsea usually lounged, or the table where I used to sit with Riley and Demetri.
"Hey." I greeted Raveena, and took a seat nearby.
"Hello, Bella."
I felt the familiar tingling sensation begin.
"Raveena, you don't need to," I said, shaking my head. Right then, I felt like I wanted to make sense of what I was feeling—I needed my pain, hurt, and embarrassment in order to do that.
Raveena smiled; I tried to remember the last time I'd seen her do that, if ever.
"The Volturi relies on artificial sources all too often. By learning to cope on your own, you will grow stronger. We will all grow stronger because of this."
I nodded. "But what comes next? What if Chelsea was right and we're all at one another's throats?"
Raveena's mouth twitched. "It's true that Chelsea could create and remove bonds, but isn't that something we are all capable of simply by interacting with others? Is it so unbelievable that after centuries together, we might find a common purpose and create friends and allies on that basis?"
Friends. The holes in my chest ached as I thought of Riley and Chelsea, and every other friend that I had lost—Alice, Jacob, Edward…
Raveena looked on with almost concern.
"I'm okay," I croaked.
"I think we all will be. It won't be easy, but I think that Chelsea underestimated us all. She got so used to forcing bonds that she forgot they could be made without her."
"You mean, she believed her own hype?"
"Yes."
After that, we fell into comfortable silence. I didn't know how long we sat like that before I heard footsteps in the corridor.
A few seconds later, Riley appeared. I tried to compose myself as I wondered how to react. He also seemed awkward.
Without speaking, Raveena got to her feet and left the room.
My once best friend tentatively stepped through the doorway and made his way over the table, opting to sit on the edge of it rather than pull up a chair as he normally would. The silence continued, albeit far less comfortable.
"Riley, I'm…"
"I know." Riley kicked at something imaginary on the floor. "I waited for you in your room. In the end, I thought you might be with Demetri."
My still heart plunged. "No, I cleaned up Chelsea's room, and then I came here to sit with Raveena." I took a deep breath. "Why were you waiting for me?"
Riley swallowed. "I think we need to talk."
"Yeah."
Ridiculously, that stopped the conversation dead for a while.
"What Demetri said about Chelsea, I think it's true." I looked into my friends eyes, hoping that he'd believe me.
"After what she did to us in the room, I think so, too. I guess I owe you both an apology."
"Not half as much as we should be apologizing to you. I would never have…acted that way with Demetri on my own, I promise."
"I know that now." It killed me to see Riley in so much pain; it was in his eyes and his voice, even the way he hunched himself as he spoke. "There was no stopping. No choice in the matter…but, for a while there after I found out, it was like Victoria all over again. I thought I could trust you with everything and that you'd always have my back—then it was like I didn't know you at all. How do I forget that?"
"I don't know." I fiddled with the cuff of my shirt. "How do I ever forget what I did to you? I'll never forgive myself. Ever."
"But it wasn't your fault. You were only doing what she made you do."
"It didn't feel like that at the time."
I chewed my lip, and then winced as I broke skin.
Riley gave a little laugh. "Why do you always do that? Venom stings like a bitch."
"Yeah, tell me about it. Just habit, I guess. It's just something I do."
"I know, Bella. You'd think you'd learn after the first time not to do it."
I tucked my hair behind my ear, and as we smiled at each other for the first time since Demetri had found him in my room, somehow, I knew we'd be all right.
Our conversation was interrupted when Jane stormed in.
"Everyone is wanted in the throne room. Immediately." She didn't stop to exchange pleasantries.
Riley and I fell into line behind her, before we joined almost all of the other guards gathered before Aro, Caius, and Marcus. I wondered who was on sentry, and why we were all here at the same time?
Corin and Santiago were the last to arrive, and then Aro began.
"Thank you, my friends, for joining me so quickly. I hope you would all do me the honor of letting me read you."
Expressing his gratitude to everyone in turn, he moved amongst us all, taking our hands, listening, and then letting us go.
Finally, he climbed the steps and returned to his chair.
"I see. You may all go."
Puzzled, we bowed and exited. This time, Riley and I headed to my room, taking our time-honored positions on the bed.
"What was all that about?"
Riley replied, "I have no idea. He probably wanted to make sure we weren't about to mutiny now that Chelsea is out of the picture."
We continued to speculate, and for a while it felt like nothing had changed. Afterwards, we headed back to the common room, chatting like friends should, only to find Demetri sitting there on his own.
Suddenly, the light atmosphere was broken, as I tried to ascertain his mood.
Demetri looked between the two of us, and I dreaded the predictable jealous reaction, which never came. His mood was obviously dark, and it took a while before he was able to speak.
"So, I see your alibi is airtight." His voice was bitter and accusing.
"What do you mean?" Riley sat down on the opposite side of the table as I milled around awkwardly.
"If you don't know, then that goes in your favor, too."
"Demetri, we have no idea what you're talking about." I joined in apprehensively, wary of Demetri's obvious agitation. "We've been talking in my room since we last saw you in the throne room, and earlier I cleaned up the mess we left, and then I saw Raveena. What did we miss?"
"Chelsea and Afton's bodies have gone missing. The incinerator has been fired up, so one would assume that she's gone for good."
"Wait, someone burned Chelsea and Afton? They're dead?"
"They were already dead, Bella. But, yes, it would seem that it's much more permanent now."
Riley and I look at each other in shock.
"Who was it?" Riley asked.
"I would say only the person or persons involved know that, along with Aro, of course."
"That explains why we were all called before him. It wasn't you, Dem, was it?"
"Of course not," Demetri replied quickly. "Without Chelsea, then I doubt there is any hope that…" He trailed off and decided not to finish the sentence.
I quickly changed the subject. "Well, Raveena was here with me for a while."
"I was waiting in Bella's room, until I found her in here."
My brow furrowed as I wondered who it was. "I guess it has to be said that almost everyone had a motive." I take a moment to analyze how I feel about the fact that Chelsea is truly gone. I am going to miss her—or at least, the "her" I thought she was. The bonds she'd created hadn't miraculously disappeared like her body had.
"Maybe one day, we'll find out what happened." Demetri looked from me to Riley. "Should I assume by the fact that you're the best of chums again that Riley believes me now?"
"Yes," Riley said, but looked down at his hands, his brow furrowed. I would have paid a million Euros for his thoughts at that moment in time. Looking at Demetri, it seemed I wasn't the only one.
Where did this leave us now? What would happen next?
I guessed that the only way to answer that question, was to see how things played out.
I chewed my lip again and winced. Riley snorted quietly, and then went back to his thoughts.
What wouldn't I give to have a psychic around right about now?
~X~
That's the final full chapter—just an Epilogue to go, and then that's Paresthesia finito!