Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the characters.

Chapter 11

I trained in combat with Felix, I tracked with Demetri, I worked on my talent with Jane and Alec, and I became refined under Aro's direction. Such was my life for the first five years with the Volturi. I was so remarkably even tempered that I had been allowed to attend school at night, earning my first degree in interior design. I enjoyed school much more now than I ever had during my high school days. I planned to go and get another degree in architecture the next time around.

Aro grew increasingly fond of me. I never called him "Master," and he didn't seem to expect it. I went from being called "young one" to "dear one" as he called many of the guard. My etiquette became impeccable under his tutelage. As much as I liked Aro, however, I still sensed the undercurrent of malice that I had recognized even as a human, and always kept my guard up when around him. Caius was as sour as he had ever been, and I avoided him at all costs. Marcus was indifferent, but generally on my side about everything, like an indulgent uncle. He was the reason I was allowed to attend school.

In the five years I had been with the Volturi, I had not been promoted into the guard. I had yet to practice my skills in a real combat situation. There had been a few times that my friends had been called away to take care of some little disturbance or another. Although it happened infrequently, I grew to dread it because I knew I wouldn't be allowed to go and I would be without the ones who had grown so dear to me over the years. Alec, Jane, Felix, and Demetri were the joys in my dark life. I had not forgotten the Cullens, or Edward, as much as I'd repressed them. My new friends made my life worth living.

The four of them had taken to hunting so often with me that their eyes were no longer a glowing red, but instead had a muddy brown color. Mine had since turned amber, and I tried not to look at them more often than absolutely necessary because of the memories they evoked. Even Jane, who was so averse to hunting wildlife at first, had taken a liking to bears, after much convincing by Felix. They made such a funny, unconventional couple, but they were good together. Alec and Felix often passed on humans in favor of wildlife.

Alec. He and I had become so close over the years. I never allowed it to be more than platonic. It was obvious to me that he cared for me and he was attracted to me, but in my stubbornness, a small part of me was holding on to Edward. Until I could let go of that, I didn't know if I could ever fully want someone else. I would have been lying to myself if I didn't admit that part of me wanted him. His touch made me tingle where ever it fell; when he looked at me with that hunger in his eyes I would always tremble. Felix couldn't let it go, teasing me about it any time we were alone.

It came a few months into my fifth year with the Volturi, my chance to go on a mission. Aro called me and Felix, who had been my "keeper" of sorts through the years, to him.

"Isabella," he began, a broad smile on his face. "I am hearing excellent reports from your trainers. They seem to believe that you are ready for an assignment."

I gasped, and looked to Felix. He smiled and nodded. "It won't involve you tracking anyone, Isabella." He chuckled. It was no secret that I thoroughly sucked at tracking. Demetri had tried to teach me in every way possible, but inevitably I would end up miles away from whatever I was looking for.

Aro chuckled, as well. "No, I'm afraid you won't be tracking anyone. Isabella, you, Felix, Alec, Jane, Demetri, and the rest of the guard, except for my personal guards, will be traveling to New York State. There are some there who are threatening to expose us with their wild behavior, killing many humans and leaving the bodies in conspicuous places. Eleazer will scout them out first, to find out what talents they may possess, so that you will know how to prepare yourself. Be warned, Isabella: missions in the guard are not usually for the faint of heart. We in the Volturi do not take kindly to those who break the law, and they will be punished to the fullest extent. It is the only way to preserve our secrecy."

I was intrigued. "The fullest extent?"

"Yes, Isabella. Meaning, the offenders must be torn apart and burned. Are you prepared for this?"

Torn apart and burned? Crap, if they weren't hardcore around here. Well, I'd been waiting around five years to be useful, so you'd better bet your fangs I was ready. "Yes."

"Good. Your flight leaves in an hour. I understand dear Jane is already packing your bag. Here is one more thing for you." He reached behind his chair, and lifted a large box wrapped in gray paper and a big white ribbon. He indicated for me to take it.

"What's this?" I asked, untying the package. I lifted the lid and saw the soft, jet black cashmere material. I lifted the garment and gasped. It was a cape with a hood, exactly as every member of the Volturi guard wore when out.

"You have impressed your trainers well enough that I don't need to see more. You have developed the manners of royalty and you are now worthy to be a member of my guard. You will need this; it is a uniform of sorts." Aro was still smiling broadly. I knew exactly what it was. I was so excited to get this little article that I could have done a triple back flip. My feet acted before my brain, and I ran forward and hugged Aro tightly. It seemed to surprise the ancient, but he chuckled and patted me good-naturedly on the back. "You will earn this honor many times over, Isabella."

"Yes I will. You can bet on it." I thanked him, gave Felix an elated smile, and raced up to my room with my cape.

"Jane! Look!" I waved the cape like a flag for her to see. "I'm one of you now!"

"Quit acting like you've never seen a damned cape before. Now get over here and let's go over your things." Jane's demeanor hadn't changed in the five years; she was still a foul-mouthed wench. However, I loved her as a sister—I just accepted that she was in a constant state of PMS. I told her that once and I thought she'd pop her eyes out trying to burn me. I walked to the bed and lay my cape down reverently.

"What's all this?" Instead of tons of clothes, like I had expected, there was my toothbrush, some baby wipes, and a hairbrush and makeup. No toiletries and only one set of underwear? What the heck?

"We aren't making an extended stay, Isabella. We won't be there long enough even for a change of clothes. Obviously, you'll need your toothbrush, hairbrush, and makeup; don't be obtuse, but the baby wipes are for cleaning up your hands and face after battle. It will come to that, you know. And this" she said, holding up a small silver can with a button on top before tossing it in the carry on bag, "is a flame thrower. Comes in very handy when killing moron vampires."

"You packed me a change of underwear, but not a change of clothes?"

Jane rolled her eyes. I'd gotten used to that look. "I told you Isabella. We won't be staying long enough for you to change clothes. The underwear is in case you and Alec decide to join the mile-high club." She didn't even crack a smile.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I crossed my arms, stubbornly.

"Bull. You and Alec are going to spontaneously combust one of these days if you don't get laid. Everyone in the house gets hot off the sexual tension between you two."

"Jane, I'm in love with E—"

"Edward, I know. Screw Edward Cullen. I haven't seen Cullen around here in years, but Alec is just a few steps away." With that, she snapped my bag shut and called for Justin. He'd been changed about three years back, and while he'd probably never be a member of the guard, was learning important skills while he served us. It was a good trade for any new vampire.

All the while, Jane stared at me, daring me to contradict her. I wasn't about to. It was no secret that I could rip the little vampire apart, but I was no match for her mouth. She could wipe the floor with me with her smart attitude. Sooooo not worth the argument. I settled for stating a fact, and resisted the urge to strangle her. "We need to leave. Our flight is in forty-five minutes." She nodded in agreement and we flew down the stairs after Justin.

A row of black vehicles awaited us. My four dear friends and I hopped in the lead car, a Mercedes. Demetri was behind the wheel and Alec in the passenger seat; Jane squeezed between me and Felix. I began to feel a bit nervous with all these seasoned killers. I wondered how we'd begin the whole process.

"So, what do we do when we get there? Do we just go in and start ripping people up? Who leads the guard, anyway?"

It was Demetri who spoke. "Well, the guard doesn't have a leader, per se," he said thoughtfully. "If the ancients and their personal guards go with us, they are in charge."

Felix settled back against the window so that he could look at me as he spoke. "When we get to our location, the first thing that will happen is Eleazer will go 'scouting', so to speak. He'll sneak around and be able to tell us what kind of talents these vampires have that might pose a threat to us. Now that we have you, that is not as dangerous a thing. You'll just have to be focused, Isabella."

"After Eleazer tells us what to expect, we go as a unit to the coven, or individual, or what have you," Demetri continued. "Someone will speak to them—a lot of times it's Felix—and give them a chance to refute the charges against them. Then, we take them out and clean up our mess."

They were all so nonchalant about massacring a number of people. I squared my shoulders. If they could do this, I certainly could. This was what I signed up for, after all.

We arrived at the airport. As the twenty-one of us walked together to our terminal, the humans turned to stare. All of us pale, all of us inhumanly beautiful, and with our matching dark cloaks, I guess we were quite a sight. We gracefully boarded the plane, first class, and took our seats. I slid in next to the window, glancing up in time to notice Alec sitting down next to me. I gave him a quick smile. "I'm pretty nervous about all this, Alec."

He returned my smile, and reached over to take my hand. "You'll be fine. You don't even have to fight this time, if you don't want to. Just keep us shielded. I'll make sure no one gets to you."

We spent the flight in pleasant conversation, Alec telling me about past missions, always holding my hand. It was hard to look at the beautiful man at my side and wrap my mind around the fact that he was a ruthless killer. As a human, the thought would have repulsed me. As a vampire, he was simply taking care of necessary business. It was very alluring. This is alluring? When did I turn into such a badass?

I was fine until the plane came to a stop on the runway at JFK. As the rest of the guard was filing out, my tension must have become obvious to Alec.

"Really, Isabella," he patted the back of my hand reassuringly. "Try not to get too worked up. I won't let anyone get close to you. I promise."

"Alec, I'm not worried about me. What if I mess up? What if my shield isn't strong enough?"

He looked at me, understanding, and pulled me into a warm hug. He spoke into my ear softly, "You'll be perfect. This is what you've been working toward for the past five years. I have complete faith in you." Then I felt his lips on me, right below my ear. I shivered and sucked in my breath. He pulled away and looked at me intently for a minute, and I forgot to breathe. He looked like he might want to say something else, but the flight attendant was coming our way, no doubt wondering why we were still sitting on the now empty plane. Alec grabbed our carry on bags and we exited and went to our group.

Felix headed us into a somewhat empty area and spoke low enough that only we could hear him. "The place we're heading isn't that far out of the city. We'll take cabs out of the city, then run the rest of the way. Eleazer, you'll head over first, and we'll wait on your word, as usual."

There was about an hour of daylight left as we all exited cabs at the edge of town. Once out of sight, we ran for ten minutes before Demetri, who was out front, slowed to a stop. We lowered our bags to the ground, each removing our torches. "We'll wait here on you, Eleazer. We're close enough to the problem for you to track them."

Eleazer disappeared, and Jane took the opportunity to explain things a bit more. "We'll run almost all the way there after Eleazer has given us his report. We will walk out toward the offenders in a V. Felix will be the point, Alec and I will be on either side of him. You will be next beside Alec, Demetri after me, and everyone else knows where they go. Just for the record, without ever having been on a mission, you've been promoted over seasoned guard members." I looked around, worriedly. Jane snickered. "Don't worry, they wouldn't dare mess with you, for many reasons. You're formidable, and they all know it. Plus, Alec would rip them apart if they so much as growled at you."

I looked down, remembering his lips on my skin. My body tingled in long neglected areas. Focus, Bella. I concentrated instead on something else Jane had said. "I'm formidable?"

"Oh, good grief, Isabella, don't act like you don't know you're like, the Superman of the vampire world. You could kick any one of our butts with your eyes closed. Everyone knows you're talented."

"Superman's ass," Felix said, wiggling his eyebrows. "Wanna be my Lois Lane?" And little Jane punched him hard on the arm. "Easy, babe!"

Demetri, who had been watching the exchange with amusement, suddenly straightened. "Eleazer is almost back."

Sure enough, within forty-five seconds, Eleazer came running through the trees. He came to a stop and immediately began his report. "There are seven of them, and three friends, so ten altogether. The seven responsible ones form three separate covens; the other three just ran across the group in passing. The original seven have no talent that I'm aware of, but one of the three others does. He can send a force of energy with his mind toward you so that it will expel you away, and powerfully enough to break you into pieces when you crash. It could be very dangerous, but I don't see any reason why he would choose to use it, considering that he and his two friends are exempt from this justice."

I suddenly had a very bad feeling about the talented vampire. "All the same," I spoke, "I think I'll keep my shield up."

"Of course, Isabella. We'll all feel better if you do," Felix said.

"All right, guard. It's time to run." Demetri took off in the direction Eleazer had just come from, and we followed on his heels. Five minutes later, he again slowed to a stop. "Formation. Hoods up."

As we silently got into line, Alec instructed me, "Don't swing your arms like you normally would when you walk. Put your hands together in front of your body, so that the cloak sleeves from a straight, unbroken line across your middle. Just like that," he approved, as I complied. "All these little details make for a much more intimidating approach." He put his hand on the small of my back and gave me an intense look before saying, "You are going to be fine." Then, he took his position in the V.

Our walk was slow, calculated. I had to admit, if I saw us walking toward me, I would be scared witless. We emerged on their campsite and they were waiting, on alert, and looking at us with surprised faces. I could easily tell the covens apart from their proximity to each other. Of the guilty, there were four males and three females; the random ones, including the talented one, were all male. It was easy to tell which ones the randoms were, because they edged away from the offenders. One of the females mouthed "Volturi" silently. Felix, at the point, came to a stop, and Alec and Jane took one more step to be evenly in line with him. I followed suit, stepping to be even with Alec, relieved that the vampire behind me did the same. We formed a line twenty-one strong.

Felix lowered his hood, and spoke, formally. "The seven of you are accused of offences against the entire vampire culture. You have compromised our existences and made yourself a liability in your carelessness. What have you to say in your defense?"

At this point, three of the criminals took a defensive crouch. I blew out a breath of air, and ballooned my shield around the line of the guard. One of the offenders spoke.

"We have done nothing wrong," he said, a defensive tone coloring his voice. "We have fed in this area for several weeks, now we are ready to move on. There is no cause for you to be here."

"What makes you think you can come and intimidate us in this way? We are not guilty of these charges." It was one of the indignant females who spoke this time, and she lowered to a crouch with a growl.

Felix was unfazed. "Ahhh, but you have broken the law. And, as you well know, breaking the law has but one consequence, and it is the last one you will ever suffer. The seven of you are guilty of the charges against you; the local newspapers prove that. You other three are free to go; you have not been included in this sentence."

Two of the three began to move farther away, but stopped on the outskirts of the trees. The third, while not as close to the offenders, didn't move. It was then that I felt a pressure against my shield; it didn't affect me, but I could feel it. Well, it did affect me; it made me so mad that my vision briefly clouded with red, and a growl buzzed through my body with rage. My nervousness vanished. I took three steps out of line and toward the talented vampire. "Isabella," Felix said, warily. I lifted my hand to quiet him.

The venom burned behind my eyes and in my throat, fueling my anger. However, I was calm enough to keep in control to speak. "How dare you attempt to use your talent against us?" The man looked thoroughly shocked that I was aware that it was he. "Yes, I know it is you, and I know that you are trying to expel us from your presence. It will not work, and now, you have sealed your fate with the others." I lowered my hood and advanced toward him; he lowered to a crouch. In my peripheral vision, I noted that the rest of the guard was slowly moving to form a circle around all but the two innocents. They stopped, completing the circle.

I was the only one moving at this point. As I got closer to the man, he attempted to circle me, looking for an opportunity to attack. I laughed sarcastically. "I don't play chess games," I said, and, never dropping my shield, launched myself at the tall vampire. He ducked and I landed across his back, twisting my arms around his neck. He anticipated my next move, and threw me hard, right into Demetri. He threw his mind force at me over and over again as I flew through the air, but my shield was impenetrable. I sprang back up with incomprehensible speed and attacked again. He ducked and weaved as I grabbed for him, but in the end it was no use. In a matter of seconds, I had my hands around his neck again and I kicked him to his knees from behind, holding his legs down with my feet. I held his head long enough to look his two friends directly in the eyes, then jerked and twisted his neck, pulling his head off with my bare hands and a metallic screech. Holding their gaze, I pulled the torch out of my cloak and shot the fire over his body, tossing his head into the burning pile. I turned to the original seven, and advanced a step. "Let's get this over with."

At my words, the guard tightened the circle and closed in on the group. Still maddened, I went for the nearest female and made short work of her. Her head went flying and hit Jane hard in the back of the head. She turned, having just mentally burned a male before Felix dismembered him, and laughed. "Isabella, I do believe you're enjoying this."

I looked around. The only living beings besides us were the two random vampires. I caught their gaze again and said menacingly, "Remember this." They stared, stuttered, and backed into the woods before breaking into a run.

"Damn, Isabella," Felix said, admiringly. "You don't play around, do you? Next time, you can take the point. You sure lead us well enough today. That was incredible!"

Suddenly, I was embarrassed. "I didn't mean to just take charge like that. I just got so angry when the talented one tried to hurt all of you."

Demetri stopped me. "Isabella, you did what you were meant to do. Your instincts lead you to take charge. It seems our true leader has emerged." I began to protest, but he interrupted me. "Isabella, every time we go on a mission, we decide who will be the speaker, initiator, and so on and so forth. Many times it's Felix, but it's not his natural talent, nor is it any of ours. You, my friend, have proven that you can lead us well."

I felt a presence behind me, and recognized Alec's sweet fragrance. He closed the distance, almost pressing against me, and put his hands on my waist and leaned in. His lips grazed my ear as he whispered, "You were amazing just now." I couldn't help myself. I turned toward him and wrapped my arms around his waist, tucking my head under his chin, and let him hold me. Someone cleared her throat. Jane.

"You two can love on each other later. Get your asses over here and let's clean this mess up. I want to go home." I was a bit mortified, so I jerked away from Alec and began stacking body parts.

We quickly collected every piece of the unfortunate vampires and lit the pile on fire. An hour and a pack of baby wipes later, we were back at the airport, waiting to board our 9:30 p.m. flight. We boarded, always first class, and Alec took the seat at my side again.

The flight was nearly over when my hair began to get on my nerves. I needed to play human at least once anyway, so I walked to the bathroom to put my hair in a ponytail. I turned the latch, indicating the little bathroom was occupied, and turned to my reflection. As much as I'd done today, I still looked amazing. I pulled my fingers through my silky brunette strands, twirling the ends and creating pretty tendrils. I was just about to pull it back when I heard the latch on the door being tampered with. To my surprise, the locked door opened and shut again quickly. I caught the scent before I could turn around, and heat flamed up through my body. I turned quickly in the tiny space, and there he was, his eyes burning wildly into mine—Alec.