threat of decapitation, Emila rented a car. Arra was against this on principle, and considered it an honorless choice; however she was swaddled in the backseat and with her dignity went the weight of her opinion. Although they ignored her arguments, she remembered with no small thrill, a series of seemingly impassible chasms where they would be forced to abandon the car. Emilia may have insisted that she left to seek out Arra's assistance with Volturi permission, but Arra was still skeptical. And Arra intended to avoid all other interferences. She had always selected one of the more obscure routes, and although Larten had always groused about a terrible briar patch on his chosen path, he had never considered accompanying her. Uncharted by humans, and known only by a few of her kind, the pathway through the gorges and spires would prove arduous to a champion climber, and impossible for a pursuer.
Maneuvering on the narrow passes and steep cliffsides was difficult alone, and Arra had three tagalongs. Two tagalongs, Arra reminded herself. They would leave the baby at a village shortly after nightfall. There were many along the highway that would lead them to nowhere. As for Emilia, there was always the possibility that she would lose her footing on the treacherous rocks. A loose assembly of granite, they had sent a handful of good vampires, men whose hands she would shake gladly, falling from high. A broken femur two festivals previous had been the mildest injury. Arra couldn't help wish the cold eyed bitch a similar injury.
Emilia was talking in a high pitched voice to Demetri, complaining earnestly about her treatment. Arra had made her abandon a pair of expensive heeled shoes before entering her service. But nothing would persuade Emilia to forgo her designer blouse and skirt combination. Demetri would have quite the view while they were climbing. Emilia also was hungry. Aro had not provided her with nourishment before her release, and she had at least been smart enough not to feed while alone. But before she had been completely covered, Arra had witnessed some fevered glances at Alaina. Just another threat to the baby's short life.
Eventually, circadian rhythms and the gentle whir of the engine dulled Emilia's complaints and were lulling her to sleep. They had worked on Alaina, who for lack of a car seat, was being cradled in Demetri's arms. He had seemingly taken a liking to her which would be problematic in the future, but for now it was beneficially. If Emilia decided to intentionally run them over a bridge, Demetri would land on his feet. And so would she. Comforted by the thought and by the darkness provided by the heavy blanket, Arra allowed her eyes to close.
When she roused herself, the car was bathed in a halo of light. It was the only source around, as even the stars were covered by a heavy blanket of clouds. Near silence reigned, though in the far distance Arra could hear the cracking of bones. "I sent Emilia hunting; her stares were making me uncomfortable. We've reached the end of the road. I suppose we'll have to travel on foot from here."
"Why do we still have the baby?" Arra asked curtly. Never pleasant in the evening, she was furious that they had let her oversleep and disobeyed her desires.
"Well, I had thought that you would wish to be the one who deposited her with the humans, but didn't want to wake you. You seemed a little edgy." Arra growled. "Actually, I'm surprise she didn't interrupt your day, she was crying up a storm around six or seven."
"I would love to deposit her, but we don't seem to be anywhere near a town Demetri!" Arra yelled. "Would you like me to leave her as bear bait? I'd love to do that too, and you and Emilia with her!"
Demetri had the grace to look embarrassed. "Are there any towns en route to the mountain? If not, we can drive about 70 miles out of the way. Emilia drives fast though."
That was an understatement. They had made it to the end of the road when Arra had predicted it would take several days. She stared into the wilderness and considered, pressing her hands against her brow to stave off a frown. "There was nothing of 12 years ago but I can always hope for a recent development." She began stripping down; gowns had no place on the road to Vampire Mountain. And after a glare, Demetri turned away muttering about destroying the car. "Make it convincing." She called after him, as she changed into her leathers.
The lights shifted and within minutes there was a crash, a tremble, and a small explosion. Joining Demetri on the cliff, she peered into the blackness. He appeared to have thrown the car, simulated a suicide. "Felix always got to destroy things." He explained, but Arra was already focusing on another conversation and her inattention had given Alaina the opportunity to escape. Arra absently waved him in pursuit.
"You caved rather quickly to their interrogation techniques." Mika was accusing her cordially.
"You would you have! They were threatening to invade my mind. I was prepared to die, but not for the involuntary search of my thoughts."
"What's so personal about your thoughts? Are you worried that they'd see some indecent things concerning Larten?"
"Among other things. Chiefly, I was concerned about revealing the location of the mountain." Mika was being worryingly lighthearted. He had ignored her when she mentioned that she's taken an apprentice and had a human baby in her charge. Now, she just waited for him to arrive at his main complaint.
"Perhaps you're concerned that they would see your thoughts about this Demetri with whom you travel."
"And perhaps I'm concerned about my thoughts containing you." She countered. "I don't understand why you have such a problem. We're barely friends, I consider him and the others a burden."
"He was quick to defend you to his lord."
"How he thinks of me is insignificant, as are my feelings about him personally. However, what is important is that he is coming to the mountain. As is a half vampire female who desired to join these strange vampaneze and a human baby. The young woman is of questionable character, but the baby is above reproach." A shrill wail from Alaina caused her to clench her jaw in frustration.
"I'm sure you feel that way." Mika baited her, feeling her irritation through their link. "Tell me, is Demetri play acting as the father?"
Growling, Arra had to admit that yes he was. At the moment he was attempting to insert applesauce into Alaina's unwilling mouth. He appeared about three seconds from applying pressure to her jaw and force feeding her. "Not well. And your line of questioning is inappropriate. If you need to know so badly, I was recently in contact with Larten. Depending on the outcome of the festival of shadows, we may take a second tour together."
"Congratulations. I hope Larten likes children." Infuriated, Arra broke off the contact.