Hello!

Things start to get a bit dark here, dearies, and Beth gets more grief from another member of the Volturi. Poor girl, lol.

The chapter title is from yet another lyric from one of my favourite Florence + the Machine songs, 'Heavy In Your Arms'.

Hope you enjoy it!

LookAliveSunshine03


Chapter 8:

The killer in the crowd

Seconds later, the Volturi were assembled within the hall Anna and Beth had been previously taken to when they'd arrived. In all this sudden uproar of drama that now felt like an awfully long time ago.

Among the people she recognised, Anna could see a young boy there, who looked to be about the same age as Jane, listening attentively but nothing saying much. Her power was wide awake now, nagging at her like a paper-cut which refused to heal.

Aro had returned to his customary throne. His posture no longer languid and relaxed, but rigid and on high alert, like his brothers. Businesslike. Even Marcus looked vaguely a part of the intense discussion. For Anna, it was quite impressive to watch from her position there, leaning against the marble pillars with Beth.

She remembered how Sulpicia had gone back to the wives' tower, being willingly escorted by a young woman with a pear-shaped figure, and a warm smile. When she came to Aro's study, Anna's hands had immediately begun doing their usual parlour trick. Moreover, as soon as Sulpicia saw her, her cold demeanour had vanished almost at once, and even Anna had felt a little happier – though she had no reason to feel that way right now.

Another gifted vampire! She'd told Beth this, and she'd mock-grumbled about needing to write a list to keep track of them all.

"Actually," Anna had smiled, inspired. "That may prove to be a useful idea,"

Because her friend, though understandably shaken by the (not particularly unexpected) turn of events, had in fact, inadvertently found a way of distracting herself from her fear.

So, Beth was now very busy. Scribbling a secret list of the Volturi and their powers, with an amused grin twitching at her lips. Being such a neat and organised person, she found the idea of writing lists to be a great joy, though Anna could never quite understand why herself.

Leaning over, she read what her friend had written so far:

What is so special about the Volturi?

· Aro – reads the memories of those he touches

· Caius – about as approachable as a bad-tempered puma (is that a gift?)

· Marcus - ?

· Demetri – awesome tracker!

· Jane - ?

· Unknown female vampire (likes to smile) – makes you feel happy

· Unknown male vampire (could be Jane's brother?) - ?

Anna frowned. As powerful as some of them were, she knew their gifts were futile against Darius' – something they were failing to realise, judging by the growing look of desperation on Aro's face.

All gifts… except my own… Her insides clenched with the sudden weight of the situation. And Aro must know it, too, the fiend!

She was in half a mind to not do anything, just to spite him – but there was no way she could do that. Not with Beth, frightened as she was, beside her.

So, though she felt far from happy with this pre-agreed arrangement, with her head held high, Anna approached the Volturi.

"I have a solution." She sounded bolder than she felt.

All heads turned to stare at her (Jane positively glowered), but Aro's reaction was instantaneous. His face broke into a huge, thrilled grin, and something in Anna quivered to see it.

Oh, Lord.

"Do you, now?" Her breath hitched slightly, as he gently came over, and placed his hand on the smooth, hard skin of her forearm. Her power raged, seething about being ignored.

Tough, she thought, and he grinned.

In her mind, Aro was amazed once again, by the true extent of her bravery. It shone through, like a lighthouse amidst the gloomy, frothing waves of her troubled conscious.

Her 'solution' as she'd so called it, was to go to Darius, unnoticed, by borrowing some of her friend's glamour. She would take just enough of it so Beth would not have to go with her outside the Volturi's protection. Then, once she touched him, he would be like putty in her hands.

Aro considered this. If anyone else were to do it, it would most certainly be suicide – but she was the dark horse, quiet and brilliant. And she would succeed.

Except he'd promised to protect both girls, hadn't he? And she (and hergift) was much too precious to risk, going out alone like that.

"A valiant solution," Aro mused aloud. "But"- he took his hand away with a regretful smile – "I doubt Elizabeth here would be agreeable to it."

Hearing her name, Beth looked up from her list, and rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me, she was going to go out and get Darius herself, wasn't she?"

"Indeed."

Beth glared at Anna. "No way, José."

Anna sighed, her gaze calm, but exceedingly stubborn.

"As powerful as you all are, Darius is far more."

"Until he cannot see." The voice, clear and definitely a man's, had come from the Volturi's group. She did not recognise it, so assumed the unfamiliar boy had said it.

"Yes," she said, frowning. He was slight and tall, with dirty blonde hair, shaped curtly into an old-fashioned cut. Like Jane, his eyes were vast pools of impossible depth and age that looked out-of-place in his young face.

"Alec?" Aro asked. "Could you help us find Darius?"

Alec nodded, and at last, a deadly smile crossed his face. It filled Anna with sudden, irrational disquiet.

I preferred it when he was blank.

Beth was scribbling madly, obviously adding this new revelation to her ever-growing list.

Aro filled in the gaps. She had been right about one thing: Jane and Alec were indeed brother and sister, and both were as dangerous as the other.

Jane could conjure the illusion of excruciating agony inside a person's mind (well, that answers that little mystery, Anna thought, sardonically, as she cast her mind back to the strange, sharp pain she'd felt in her temple, following Jane glaring at her from before). That was bad enough, but Alec had the ability to take it. To the point where he could make a person not feel anything at all.

They (Anna, Beth and Alec) then ventured to at her balcony. Alec reasoned, with unsettling cool logic, that it had the best view of the town, so he could see everything – most importantly the brown-hooded figure, skulking in the shade of a tall building as far away from the humans as possible.

Anna swallowed, feeling a miserably complicated duality of fear and anger build up inside her, seeing him there. "Can he smell us up here?"

"No. I am blocking him."

Beth snickered, a little nervously. "That'll confuse him. But…we don't want him to feel numb. The last thing we want is for him to make a scene."

Alec gave her a look that positively sizzled with spite. "I am not an imbecile, yellow eyes."

With an annoyed growl, she bared her teeth in a feral smile, ready to spar. "Well, my fine fellow, you obviously are, because it is quite obvious my eyes are now black."

Oh, for heavens' sake. Not again, Anna thought, crossly."What do you plan to do, Alec?" she asked, before he could bite back.

He glanced at her, coolly. "You should get going. I shall blind him next, and we mustn't allow him to react without you there to…soothe him."

She nodded, ignoring the strange, crooked smile he gave her. He knew; Aro had probably told him all about the relationship she had with Darius. If you could call it that.

Beth came and pulled her into a tight hug, startling her. "Be careful, alright?"

"You know I will." Looking at her, Anna was hit hard by how ill she appeared. The stark onyx of her eyes brought painful attention to the bruise-like circles that hung underneath them. "I shall be back soon." Then you can hunt in peace.

"You better." Beth smiled, weakly.

Anna met many of the Volturi along the way. They held her gaze, nodding solemnly to her, as she passed. Even Jane, though she looked away as soon as possible.

Anna could only nod back, feeling further ill at ease. A heavy weight was settling itself in her chest, and though she was absolutely certain she wasn't, her feet seemed to drag with every terrible step she took.

They respect me for doing this; the thought was like missing her footing on a stairway, a weird, sudden jolt to her system. What will they be like if I succeed?

Aro had advised her to take the back exit out of his home, and when she reached it, she skidded to a stop.

What is this?

He was actually there, waiting for her, standing Dark and formidable as a shadow in the gloom. When he saw her, however, his face broke into that killer-watt smile that seemed to chase it all away. She gasped at its beauty, before chastising herself for it.

Stop it.

She swallowed, wondering if he was just waiting for her out of politeness. How absurd. "Aro, you do not –"

"Yes, I do," he cut her off gently. Her stomach clenched, as he placed his hand on her upper arm. Actually, it was quite pleasant.

But he seemed to be having some kind of internal struggle. "My dear, if I could bring Tuono here, I would, but I -" His red eyes were blazing with actually wanted to do it, rather than her? Why?

To protect your gift, a small part of her smirked, knowingly.

"Aro," she stopped him, incredibly aware of his hand still on her arm. It felt…good. Strange, but good. "It was you who wanted to see my" – she grimaced, hating the imminent word – "gift in action. Let me go, please."

A spasm passed across his face, but he did as he was asked. "Badare, Anna."

She frowned a little at that. "I will."

Be careful.

She let herself out. The bright sunlight of Volterra had dissipated since she'd last been out in it, but it was still a problem. She slid on her sunglasses, and yanked off her silken gloves. The feeling was about as exquisite as jumping into a cool bath on a boiling hot day – something she tried to ignore, as she shut out everything else around her.

Now, Darius, where are you…?

It didn't take long to find him.


Darius moaned, as the blood of his latest victim flooded into his mouth in a warm tide of ecstasy. She flopped, swooning in his vice-like grip of solid ice and muscle, with her eyelids fluttering like butterfly wings. He made sure she made no sound.

The time was exactly two o'clock, giving him plenty of time to kill…literally. Dressed in an unassuming brown hooded top to keep off the sun, Darius had woven his way through the crowds, scanning round for his next meal. He had fogged the minds of the cattle milling around him, so they would not remember his face. He didn't enjoy it. If anything, he preferred using his gift for his own selfish entertainment than necessity, but he had been thirsty, and in this situation he needed to keep up his strength.

His victim's eyes, a vivid, but very familiar shade of periwinkle blue, were what had drawn him to her. They rolled in their sockets now, though she felt no pain. Only a pleasant, cold numbness, as the soft arms of death welcomed her inside.

She was young, maybe eighteen, but she was no prostitute, so that was a rare treat. She was a student, most probably enjoying a gap year. Her blood was untainted, alive with youth…well, not for long. He'd caught her here in this alleyway, while she'd checked her phone, all long, tanned legs and dark hair. As pretty as she was, he was quite disappointed that he did not have time to have his way with her.

His suspicions about Anna and Beth ha been confirmed when he'd arrived. Their scents led up into none other than the Volturi's headquarters! Oh-ho that had been a nasty revelation indeed.

Darius did not fear the Volturi as such…but their methods of ruling really got under his skin. Why should vampires hide from the humans? They were the ultimate superior race, in all aspects! If he were in charge, he would ensure they lived in total terror of vampires – and if they tried to stop them, well, who was the better predator? The humans only had guns and bombs, and they were pathetically useless against his kind.

In his temper, Darius threw his latest victim off him callously, cracking her head against the cobbled stones. He didn't care. She wasn't his problem anymore; her blood coursed deliciously through his dead veins now, and that was all that mattered to him.

Now, if he could only get inside the Volturi's headquarters without being detected…

Rhodes, he thought, baring his teeth in a hungry grin. I'm coming for you.


She held her breath, so as not to let the humans distract her, letting her sensitive palms guide her to him.

I will have to hunt soon…ah!

There he was. Disappearing further into the safety of an alleyway to her right, where the sun could not reach him. She hissed in distaste, when she saw the crumpled figure of the poor, human girl lying in his wake.

Against her better judgement, Anna crouched down onto her haunches. Alec's power stopped Darius from smelling her, so she was safe to do so, but her old, human instincts still told her to shy away from the corpse.

In the dim light of the alleyway, she could see the girl was tall, with pale skin, and dark hair down to the small of her back that was almost black in the shade…

Oh my…

She felt something like bile rise in her stomach.

Oh, that sick, twisted devil! She looks almost just like me!

And for the first time in her vampire life, she felt real, terrifying hate detonate in her dead veins with such force; it made her rock back on her heels.

Staggering to her feet, she inched towards Darius's huddled form.

Something was very, very wrong with Darius' nose. For some strange (suspicious) reason, he could no longer smell anything.

It had happened after he'd considered heading back into the cattle market again – just like that.

Though he wouldn't openly admit, even to himself, losing his sense of smell was starting to scare him. It was as if it had just switched off, like a common light bulb. How was that possible? He pondered, stupidly over it.

They know I am here, he thought, suddenly. The Volturi.

Then he was blind.


Anna's hand was covering his mouth in an instant, stopping his scream, as he writhed in panic at the sudden blackout.

"Shut up," she snarled. Her power leeched off of him, ravenously, encouraged by her rage. She could feel his power, seeping into her palms, like ice and fire. Pain and pleasure.

With a grimace, she moved her hand to clasp his massive shoulder. She didn't want to touch his mouth again.

"Now, come with me. And keep quiet."

He rose obediently, and she allowed herself a smile of triumph.

Together, they walked side by side.

Darius said not a word.