Blood's flavour is so metallic, the smell it makes me go phrenatic,
Textures that I find in you, is a thick and viscous glue,
There's an iron smell of blood in the air,
But I can't find it anywhere...
Less than twenty minutes later, Alec and Demetri get into an arguement, halting the entire race home.
"Demetri, she won't make it all the way home without feeding," Alec snarls. "The females won't either. They'll break away and we'll have to stop and round them all up again. It'll waste time and give them a chance to catch up with us."
I rock back on my heels when Demetri throws me a glare like it's my fault. Well, excuuuuuse me, it's not like I'm a fucking newborn vampire or anything, naaah. The burn in my throat's become so fucking unbearable that I had to stop running. My firm new hands clutched at my neck in desperation and Felix (who I had started racing, hopping over his head and kicking snow at him until he returned the favour) had crashed into my back, sending us both sprawling and drawing the entire congregation to a pause to investigate the vicious growls and bitchy hisses.
"And feeding won't waste time?" Demetri spits. "Look, just block off the pain in her throat and when we get home, we'll feed everyone."
The female slaves, all ansty and twitching, all look like they disagree very much with Demetri's plan, but are too afraid of him to argue (which doesn't really make sense to me. Demetri's a grumpy puppy). They want blood, right now this fucking second, and so do I. I know that even if Alec's mist blocked the pain away, the agonising craving would still be there. Just the memory of the hot, slick liquid sliding down my throat makes me growl with want. Demetri inclines his head to observe me. I feel my fists clench.
"Why can't we feed when we pass the Romanian border?" I ask, trying to keep the vicious snarl from seeping into my tone. But it's difficult. It's also almost impossible to stop myself reaching for Demetri's throat and tearing his head from his shoulders, because it feels like he himself is the sole thing standing between my impossible thirst and fresh blood. I decide that taking a diplomatic approach might yeild better results, seeing as I doubt very much that Demetri would be up to negotiation once he had to re-attach his head. "They need to be fed, right the fuck now, and that little kid doesn't look too healthy either."
I realise too late that it might be a bad idea to draw the already antagonised Tracker's attention to the illegal child. His head snaps around to view the child in Esme's arms. I notice Esme tense, her grip on the girl tightening when Demetri's whole body turns towards them.
"I didn't realise that feeding the forbidden was a priority now," he growls. Felix seems in tune to his thoughts, his black eyes focused directly on the little girl. She feels their dangerous gazes, quivering in Esme's arms. Felix moves.
I'm surprised by what happens next. Felix drops to the ground, his back contorting unnaturally as Jane steps between him and the girl.
"We're going home, now," she says, scarily composed. "When we get there, we'll leave it up to Aro as to the girl's future. Now let's go."
Felix sags, and Alec shifts. Jane catches the movement out of the corner of her eye, and they share a purposeful gaze. Alec tips his head to the size, and Jane lifts her chin very slightly in response. I know they're communicating in the creepy as fuck twin way that they do, but I can't work out what about. Is Alec – like the Cullens, who are sharing confused glances, their eyes drifting to Edward in question – questioning Jane's motives towards saving the girl?
Felix throws Jane a furious glare but she doesn't respond.
"When we cross over into Italy, we'll all feed," she decides, and for once, I agree with her.
Renata slips to my side when Alec moves ahead to converse with his twin.
"How are you feeling?" She asks sympathetically.
"Confused, overwhelmed," I rasp, touching my throat once more. "And fucking thirsty. Do you think the Cullens would object too much if I ate their half-blood?"
A few angry growls and a low bark from Jacob give me my answer.
"She doesn't smell that nice anyway," I mutter, glowering fiercely at the bronze-haired girl, who pales and scurries on ahead under Mommy's arm. Renata smiles slightly at the sound of disgust that I spit from my throat.
vVv
After an hour or so, the pain in my throat becomes so unbearable that running becomes virtually impossible. I sink to my knees in the snow, one hand clinging to my throat and one curled into a claw incase anyone should try to shift me.
Renata hovers anxiously while the others run ahead, oblivious. I don't breathe, because every inhaled breath scorches my throat. I feel a gentle hand on the back of my head, and it feel automatic to whip my head up and snap at her fingers, growling furiously.
"Alec?" Renata calls, sounding distressed. I drop my head again – growling made the sting peak.
I hear not one, but two sets of footsteps coming in my direction. Alec crouches, his body curved over mine, while Jasper Cullen slips between Renata and I. I can't work out why he's here, and I don't give the slightest shit either.
Suddenly three people crowded around me becomes three people too many, and a growl rumbles in my chest. I hate feeling confined. Claustrophobia creeps up on me, and I snap my teeth again when Alec's hand drifts near my face.
"Shh, shh, easy," Alec's voice is smooth, soothing, flowing effortlessly from his lips. I try to concentrate on his voice, his scent, but my mind almost instantly snaps back to my terrible thirst until I'm writhing in Alec's arms, my body twisting.
My hands snake up from my throat to grab at my damp hair, shaking. I grab fistfuls, realising that I'm hysteric only making me more hysterical.
"No, go on ahead," Jasper calls calmly, and I realise that I don't hear any footsteps. I tense again, and so does Alec. I can feel him prepare himself. That's when I realise that he isn't curved around me to comfort me – he's trying to restrain me.
In the same second that I draw this up, Alec murmurs something to me and tries to lift me to my feet, supporting my weight completely.
He doesn't expect when I flip my body around, snarling furiously, teeth bared. My nails catch his cheek, causing a tiny crack to appear and heal within an instant. He snarls reflexively and I respond in the only way my brain tells me I can.
I open my strong jaw wide and bite down heavily on his shoulder.
The first thing that registers with my mind is just how easy it is for my teeth to shred through his clothes. His skin is a tougher, but my sharp teeth break through his marble flesh without much effort. Venom pools in my mouth, urging me to make this bite hurt as much as possible.
Alec's howled yelp of pain rings in my ears, and then I'm feeling very disoriented.
My head whirls dizzily, and I reel backwards, releasing my hold on his shoulder. Alec's hands catch me to stop me from sinking back into the snow, and my body sags slightly against him. My eyes close tightly. A whine of confusion breaks through my teeth and I feel Alec's arms come to support me again.
"What am I doing?" I mumble into his chest, feeling a little weak. Why is Alec holding me? When did he come back to Renata and I? I thought he was talking to Jane.
"Nothing," Alec says, as an eerie but comforting calm flushes through me, making me feel drowsy. "Nothing at all."
He scoops me up into his arms, Renata and Jasper hovering closely. When he begins to walk forward again, they flank him tightly.
I bury my nose in the fabric or his torn shirt and inhale deeply. His scent is musky but with a strange, sweet tangy smell, very appealling, and distinctly male. He gives a low, humming sigh, and it feels nice against my cheek. I find the old habit of fiddling with his shirt buttons and accidentally pull two off, both to his amusement and disdain.
In the cradle of his arms (absently I wonder if I feel any heavier to him) the confused dizzy spell wears off, and the recollection of sinking my teeth into him returns. But before I can react to the memory, the calm increases tenfold, and even though my body feels weak and drowsy with it my mind is sharp as ever.
However, it takes a while for me to realise that Renata used her shield against me. And even then, I can't find myself annoyed.
vVv
It takes hours and hours for us to make our way out of the forest, even when Alec places me on me feet and lets me run again. And once we do make our way out, dawn is breaking and the sun starts streaming through light clouds. I see the snow taking on a new wetness, and growl in annoyance. Fucking sunshine. Ruining my nice-ass snow. What a bitch.
Felix gives an agitated sigh. "Looks like we'll have to settle down for a while. Say Demetri, are they after us? It just wouldn't do after all these days of excitement to have to sit back and be bored for hours and hours."
Demetri concentrates. "Nah," he grins at his companion. "They're sitting back licking their wounds. For now, at least."
"Damn it," Felix sighs, his eyes scoping out a new town below us.
"See any place for us to stay?" Renata asks, stretching her arms as if she's tired. I'm not tired in the least. I want to run more, but I'm currently sandwiched between Alec and Jasper and I highly doubt that any sudden burst of energy would be received well.
"What about there?" Carlisle says suddenly, pointing out a tower block of apartments.
And my thoughts go haywire.
OMFG! Apartments equal humans and humans equal blood and fuck oh my God I am SO freaking thirsty and OMG apartments why aren't we running already ugh fuck these people are fucking slow what's their problem I'm going I'm going NOW!
I lurch forward eagerly only to have Felix jump in front of me to block my sprint for freedom. I manage to contain my growl this time, but Felix gets an eyeful of evils and Jane snickers. The bitch. But I'll bet her power would be fun to borrow sometime...
"It's empty," Demetri confirms. "On the outskirts of town, far enough from any human wanderers..."
I realise in disappointment that the tower block is run-down, with smashed windows and grafitti'd brickwork. It's a safe bet that no one's lived there in a while
"I don't like it. Let's go somewhere populated," I declare.
Only the slaves seem to share my opinion.
"It'll do," Demetri decides, snubbing me completely. My hiss goes unnoticed.
vVv
You'd think I'd be bored out my ass, squatting with almost fifty vampires and a werewolf in an abandoned apartment block. But truth be told, I was fully entertained.
"Phoenix, will you bloody stop chasing dust particles!" Demetri demands, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Fuck off," I spit, diving after a swirling mass of coloured-y specks. Every so often I fall under a stray sunbeam that's managed to break through the boarded up windows and stop moving altogether, both enchanted and disgusted by my glittering white skin.
Felix decides that he's bored too, so he sets to annoy Demetri by pointing out extra big specks for me to grab at. Sometimes I get them, but sometimes they whistle just out of reach.
No one else seems vaguely interested by my activities. The Cullens recide on another floor. Carlisle says it's for some 'family time', but I think they're just sick of us. Hulking Jacob can barely squeeze through the doors. Once or twice he's needed a shove through. Once or twice I've given him a shove through whether he'd needed it or not.
The slaves murmur to eachother in Romanian in a seperate room from us, but they're fully aware that they're under watch, so they don't dare to try and sneak away to hunt. Esme and Rosalie are taking turns coddling the littlest slave on their floor.
Alec and Jane recline lazily against the wall, finally allowing themselves to be relieved that we're free. Renata watches Felix and I with amusement. Whenever I spot a speck twirling way up high, I use him as a springboard. A nice, bouncy, unwilling springboard.
Eventually my lovely snowy clouds prevail, engulfing the beaming sun. I thrust my hand out the window into the daylight, relieved when I don't glitter. I am not a glitter person.
"We can hunt now. The sun's gone," I point out.
Demetri seems fixed on making me pay for irritating him "It might come back."
I sulk, flopping down beside Alec. He doesn't appreciate when I start scooping up handfuls of his hair to fiddle with.
"Go play with the dust," he orders, flipping my hands away. I scowl.
"Dust is boring."
"You didn't think so five minutes ago."
"The sun was out five minutes ago! Now I want to leave."
"No leaving. We're staying here till nightfall, and if we keep a steady pace we'll be home by the next sunrise."
The next sunrise seems eons away to someone who can't hold their attention steady for half a second.
"I'm going to see the Cullens. They're nicer than you," I declare, jumping up and diving out the door befoe he can stop me.
Shockingly, I'm distracted before I even get down the hall. A smashed-open window provides a sufficient view of the town. It's only a little town. Not much with the hustle and bustle, really. But maybe that's a good thing. Because I know for a fucking flat out fact, that if we were in the centre of a dense city, that I'd be out this window and on the prowl in no seconds flat.
I sigh, folding my arms across the windowsill. I lean my head down, closing my eyes.
Well shit, I won't be able to sleep any more! I fucking like sleeping. Sleeping leads to dreaming. And my dreams are – were – so ridiculous that they kept me entertained even in my waking hours when I thought of them.
On that desperately downhearted note, I inhale a deep breath, wanting to smell the outdoors. I smell vegetation – trees and plants galore. In the distance I can smell car fumes and human food. I can taste flavours on the air when I inhale through my mouth, and give a sharp burst of amazed laughter.
Deciding to take advantage of my other senses, I listen carefully.
This is my first newborn mistake.
The first sounds that reach my ears are...humans. Going about their carefree everyday lives, unaware of how just the sound of them alone antagonises me beyond belief.
I writhe a little, not breathing. I go to run back to the Volturi so I won't make an idiot of myself and go hunting.
Then another sound reaches me. A car, very close by. I can instantly tell, by sound and smell, that inside the car is an adult male, an adult female, and two more pre-adolescent females in the back seats.
A low growl pushes through my curled lips.
The sun isn't out.
The car is far enough away from civilisation that no human in the town can see or hear it.
The sound of four wet, rythmic pulses make my muscles tense, and venom glistens on my teeth. My eyes sharpen dangerously.
Time to feed.
It was foolish of them, I console myself as, in one lithe spring, I fling myself gracefully out the window. To expect me to wait. They themselves know just how fierce the gnawing thirst is...
As soon as my feet graze the ground, I spin on my heel and take off after the car, following the sound and distinct scents of both the machine, and the humans within.
It takes me less than five seconds to run level with the family cruiser, less than half a second to overtake it. I brace myself in front of it, snarling in delightfully violent anticipation.
The car glides towards me so slowly that I grow impatient. When there are a hundred yards between my body and the front bumper, I sprint forward.
It's such a simple action to clamp the bumper between impossibly strong fingers and lift the vehicle above my head, dropping it on it's side so it faces back the way it came. The terrified screams from within – which send excited tingles crawling like fireants through my body – quench almost instantly when the side of the car crushes against the gravel of the road. The scent of spilling blood makes me want to cry with relief.
I hop effortlessly onto the car, tearing the back door away with a screeching groan from the protesting metal. It's like opening a Christmas present, ripping off the packaging and staring inside to the delicious centre, which, in this case, is two unconscious, bleeding girls.
I drop down into the car, which is smoking heavily and in danger of flaming. The older girl flops weakly, restrained only from gravity by her seatbelt.
My mind absently notes that she's pretty; perfect English Rose skin, soft lips and honey waves. She's at most, thirteen years old. Her limbs are slender, her waist clinching ever so slightly with beginning curves. Her chest puckers the smallest measure with the buds of developing breasts. What a shame it is, to end this blossoming life before it begins. However, the small stream of blood pumping from the split skin of her temple prevents me from dwelling further on this murder – for it is nothing less – and I brush her soft hair aside so my teeth can puncture her throat.
Her blood spills into my mouth and a whimpered moan escapes my lips. I suckle eagerly on the fatal wound that I cut with my own teeth, feeling the blood slip from her body until it's empty.
When I pull my head back from the dead child, it's with a gasp. The craving, the burn, still lingers. She was not enough.
I crouch lower and observe the younger sister. It's easy to dismiss that she's not as pretty as her older sibling. Only eleven at most, this girl has slightly heavier limbs and glasses perching, broken, on her snub freckled nose. She shares her sister's lovely hair, light and wonderfully soft, but hers is longer and therefore, more unruly. Her heart throbs weakly in her unendowed chest.
As I lean in, a purr of anticipation sending pleasent vibrations through my chest, a low chuckle reaches my ears.
"Aren't you going to share?" He smirks, balancing his weight on the edge of the broken door. In a graceful move, he drops and perches where he stood, his legs swinging down into my little feeding cavern.
I smirk, my teeth and tongue coated with blood. "Absolutely not. Get your own."
A hot gleam flashes in his black eyes, and he reaches down to whisk me up. I sit opposite him, and with an exaggerated sigh, cross my legs. The bottoms of my torn jeans are spattered in blood.
"I thought Demetri ordered you not to hunt," he says, those penetrating eyes sparkling with unmasked amusement.
I scoff. "I'm thirsty. He knows it. He can take his order and shove it up his absurdly tight ass."
Alec laughs. "Well, I won't tell on you," he says. In an instant, his hand sweeps downwards, snapping the younger child's seatbelt and whipping her up to perch, unconscious, on his knee. "So long as you can find it in that gracious heart of yours to share."
I scowl, but don't argue. "Will you help me get rid of all this shit?" I ask, gesturing to the car and the humans still inside.
"Certainly," he nods. He takes the girls slightly plump wrist. "Shall we?"
Needing no further incentive, I bite down into her flesh. Alec tilts her head back lazily, observes her for a moment, then sinks his teeth into her exposed neck.
He echoes my growl of satisfaction and drains quickly. The girl is small, and her blood wastes soon enough. He tips her corpse carelessly back into the car.
"Mother dearest is already dead," he observes. The blonde woman's head is leaning, bloody and broken, against the smashed window at the bottom. Her eyes stare blankly at nothing, wide and empty, and her mouth is parted, a small trickle of blood tainting her lips.
"We should drink her next," Alec advises. "Or her blood will be too cold to be satisfactory."
"I'll drink just about anything, but whatever, you're the expert," I say as Alec tears the front door away and reaches past the twitching husband to grab his deceased wife.
"That I am," he beams, flasing his wolfy grin at me.
He takes first bite this time, and with a sigh of contentment, I lean my body over so I can get my fair share.
The man wakes up when we're still drinking. Maybe it's the shock, or it could be the huge patch of blood staining his white shirt crimson, but he starts to scream in fear and agony. With a hiss of annoyance, Alec lifts his face from the woman's shoulder to snap the man's neck, ending his girlish shrieking in an instant.
He pushes the woman at me so he can swing himself inside the car and begin drinking Daddy. Alec unbinds the man from his seatbelts and stands him up so that he can bite into the throat. When I finish with the mother, I push her down on top of her daughters and join Alec in his feeding. I feed from the opposite side of the throat, and as I'm lost in the hot relief sliding down my throat, warming it, I feel Alec's hand slide around to hold the back of my head.
When the man runs try, Alec moves so he can drop, no longer trapped between our bodies. I peer up at Alec, who's chest moves with unneeded, heavy breaths. When I inhale sharply through my mouth, I can taste the blood in the air. Alec's hand is still holding my head, his fingers entangled in my mane of hair (what I wouldn't kill for a hairbrush right the fuck now).
Suddenly, blood is only one of my cravings.
I place a hand on Alec's torn, now bloody, shirt, curiously feeling the hot, sticky substance under my fingers.
"I'm still thirsty," I rasp. The burn is only muted a small measure. "Why?"
"You're a newborn," Alec says, his voice low. He touches his forehead to mine. "Newborns are insatible."
I give a harsh sigh that sounds too much like a moan. "That's not fair."
Alec laughs. "I believe I've told you time and again; life isn't fair."
He distracts me from my thirst by placing his lips over mine. They move sensually, sending shockwaves of want sizzling through me. His hand leaves my head, and his arms wrap around my waist. One of my hands grabs a fistful of his ruined shirt, and the other touches his lovely throat.
He pushes his welcome tongue into my mouth, and I can taste the blood on it. It takes every fibre of willpower in me to hold back the reactive moan. Need claws at me, and Alec's firm body pressed against mine makes me tremble. My hands move and my nails scrape against his back.
His mouth moves and I feel his lips and teeth tease the hard, white flesh of my neck. Whimpering, I press my face into his shoulder, inhaling his mouth-watering scent.
My nails dig into his waist when I feel another type of hardness press between my hips. I can't stop the moan this time.
The sun breaks once more through the clouds, shining rapturiously on us and reflecting off our strange skin.
I sigh, feeling Alec shift away slightly. Damn the sun. Fuck it to hell! Now Alec's gonna be all sensible an' shit.
He chuckles, seeing my disgruntlement. Taking one hand, he strokes my cheek. "In time."
vVv
Alec helps me set up the car to look like an accident. It's a clever rouse, Alec even snaps some cords in the enjine to make up for the lack of tyre tracks on the ice. When we get back to the apartment block, nobody even seems to realise that we've been gone.
The run home should have been tedious and dull, but the sheer thrill of running at the incredible speed keeps me amused.
"Home sweet fucking home!" Felix cries when we near Volterra, many many hours later. A fearful tumult of murmurs breaks through the crowd of slaves, and I can imagine what they're thinking – The Volturi and the Romanians are very alike. Are they just switching from one fortress to another? Will being under the Volturi's rule be any better than being under Vladmir and Stefan (coughLITERALLYcough)? Will it be worse?
My musings cut off when I set my new eyes on the city, bathed in snow and moonlight. A sharp gasp gusts through my parted lips, and Jane actually smiles, which very nearly prompts another gasp.
The city is beyond it's own beauty. My eyes flicker over the spectacular scene, drinking in every detail.
Emmett's triumphant whoop breaks through my mesmerised trance. Suddenly the entire group errupts in heartfelt cheers, jumping all over eachother and hugging fiercely. Jacob lets rip a deafening howl of glee that makes everyone cringe. Then we run.
We sprint through Volterra, shrieking and clamouring, confident in the fact that we're far too fast to be seen. Picking up on everybody else's hyper energy, I start bouncing off walls, and no one thinks to stop me.
We can't get down that damned manhole fast enough. This time, I don't need to be shoved. I throw myself downwards second, after Demetri. And he ain't best pleased when I land with my feet on his shoulders, standing with a grin on my face. He whips me down fastlike. I wait, bouncing on the balls of my feet, until Alec touches my elbow, and then I'm off running.
I have absolutely zero fucking clue of the way (being a vampire has probably worsened my catastrophic sense of direction) and these tunnels are complicated. Luckily, someone or other always grips me around the waist and flips me in the right direction before I can go sprinting down some unending tunnel and get myself lost. Something tells me that a frantic newborn racing around the underground tunnels of Volerra wouldn't end well.
Suddenly wonderfully artificial light bursts into my line of view. Demetri throws open some random door, and then we're tumbling into the reception area, all of us, almost fifty vampires and a giant wolf.
The reception desk is empty. I pout.
"Where's my old buddy Gianna? I want a snack," I say, unable to stop the almost lustful tone from entwining with my words.
However, Felix and Demetri have started running like mad people towards the throne room, and soon after they disappear from sight I hear hysterical screaming.
Alec grabs my hand and drags me forward, and when we break through the heaving crowd into the dark, circular room, I'm overwhelmed by sensations.
Sights; people embracing, sobbing, laughing, cowering, peering around, grabbing ahold of eachother in a desperate search for comfort. Aro bouncing out of his throne with a look of utter shock on his face. Caius and Marcus sharing a dumbstruck glance. Heidi leaping into Demetri's arms (either an awh moment or a retch moment. So far I'm not quite sure...) Chelsea sweeping Jane into her embrace.
Sounds; the sounds of crying, shrieking, whimpering, laughter. The strange sound of rubber squelching as Corin bounces in her running shoes. Murmured words from one to another, the sounds of stone smashing as Felix and Santiago share a triumphant fistpump.
Feelings; being jostled in the crowd, feeling my teeth gnash together in irritation. The burn in my throat acting like a second reflex which my mind snaps back to every few minutes. Skin brushing off mine, soft and natural. The feeling of Alec's hand slipping out of mine as Chelsea drags him into a crushing hug, her face contorted in tearless sobbing.
I stand, trying to regain myself, feeling a little lost. Then in a movement so sudden that it makes me hiss, Santiago gives a yell and throws his arms around me, lifting me right off the ground.
"Phoenix!" He yelps, swinging me to and fro. I clench my teeth together to fight the urge to bite down on his exposed throat. "Oh my God! Thank God you're okay! I was s...so...OHMYGOD!"
Santiago's disturbingly femenine screech draws everything to an amusing standstill. Santiago throws himself away from me unceremoniously, looking like someone just smashed his face with a frying pan (which I absolutely did not do once...or twice... and I absolutely, absolutely did not call the imprinted dents the Shroud of Santiago. Absolutely not). I smile sheepishly, showing my sharp white teeth. Santiago chokes, on nothing.
"Holy shit," Corin blurts out, her arms stiffening around Renata's neck.
Aro turns, and his expression becomes completely...well...flabbergasted. My mind shrieks at me. ABORT! HEY YOU WITH THE GROWLING! TIME TO EL SHIFTO RIGHT OUTTA HERE. THE CREEP MASTER SURE DON'T LOOK HAPPY...
I skitter backwards, crashing into Jacob, who gives me a violent nudge forwards with his huge nose. I skid to a stop just as Aro moved to stand in front of me, an open-mouthed Caius by his side.
My sheepish smile returns. "So...yeah...I, like, survived..." I say. Upon no response whatsoever, I realise that the entire room has fallen to a deathly silence.
Whoa oh. This can't end well.
"And I like, ripped Vladmir's head off, but I didn't get to take it with me because Alec dragged me away..." I warble, feeling anxious. Why do silences make me so anxious?
Alec slips to my side, his whole form tense. Jane looks smug.
Finally, Aro makes a sound. A strange choking sound that springs the whole room back to life. Shocked oh-my-gosh-this-is-just-SCAN-DEL-OUS! Mutters flush through the room, making me wince as Aro recovers and sets his businesslike stare on me.
"How...how did this happen?"
Alec digs his nails into my arm before I can respond with a sarcastic comment of some sort, I hiss reflexively and jerk away from him.
"Vladmir bit her," Alec explains. "Draining her. He meant to kill her."
"Incompitent fool," Caius says, oddly uneffected by my whole immortality dealy.
"I see," Aro murmurs, and I can see the gears whizzing in his head. "And what say you, young Phoenix? You caused us all a great deal of panic when Santiago revealed to us that you had taken it upon yourself to gallivant off to Romania."
Santiago grins guiltily when I shoot him an angry glare. I turn back to Aro when he clears his throat, regaining my attention.
"Well you guys were never gonna do it," I mutter. "And everyone's safe, aren't they? I mean, I think I did a pretty awesomeshit job. Apart from the whole dying fiasco."
Aro looks bemused. "You certainly did." He holds out his hand. "If I may."
I grimace, hesitating. I like keeping my thoughts to myself. Thought are meant to be personal things, y'know? But I'm guessing that Aro's gonna insist. So, reluctantly, I place my hand in his.
A hundred and one different emotions flash across his face, a kaleidescope of reactions to my memories. He gives a sharp gasp after a while and drops my hand.
"Incredible!" He cries, practically dancing on the spot. "Truly incredible! Child, I must insist on a demonstration."
He looks at me with eager eyes, and I can guess what he's referring to. Caius looks completely puzzled. Even Marcus rises from his seat and drifts forward curiously.
Well, if Aro wants a demonstration, then a demonstration is what Aro shall have!
With a wicked grin, I pierce Aro's mine with mine. In the corner of my mind, I hear Alec whispering, "oh fuck," his voice full of dread.
I see with my own eyes as Aro's body sags a little bit as I take control of his motor functions. I use this to extend his arm, searching for Caius's hand. Caius still looks perplexed as he places his hand in Aro's.
There's another rush.
Every single thought that Caius ever posessed flashes through my mind at the speed of light, and if I wasn't a vampire I'd never be able to process them before they disappear again. Three thousand years of history drain into my mind.
Three things occur to me.
1) Caius is one demented fucker. Seriously! What a damned psycho. I really don't understand why we don't get along better.
2) I can understand why the Romanians hate the Volturi. Damn, these guys took those fuckers out! But the Volturi are seriously corrupt. Like damn! But what government isn't? Can anyone tell that I'm an active conspiracy theorist?
3) Athenodora is sexy. Wait. This isn't my opinion, even though the chick I've never met sure ain't hard on the eyes. But Caius sure thinks so! I feel a violent shudder pass through my body as images of Caius doing the nasty traumatise me for life. Curse this fucking photographic memory!
Holy shit like! Upon this truly disturbing notion, the connection between Aro and I breaks.
He staggers forward, gasping and clutching his head, just as I yelp; "DAMN! Caius! Man! Some of those things are fucking illegal in this country! Bleugh, thank you very much for that therapy-inducing experience."
Some of those who are aware of my little mind control dohickey bust up laughing, almost crying with the effort not to howl hysterically. Even Alec, who whips me behind him out of head-ripping distance, starts shaking with silent laughter. Caius looks vicious, even though I'm pretty sure he has no clue what I'm on about.
Aro straightens up, eyes wide, on hand still holding the side of his head.
"Astounding," he gasps, breathing hard. "Truly...just remarkable."
"Uh, Aro man, do you need to like, sit down?" I ask, coz I'm such a nice fricking person and all that.
"Not a terrible suggestion," Aro breathes, sinking into his throne. Caius looks incredibly frustrated.
"Heidi, my dear," Marcus says, his voice silencing the confounding babble once more. Heidi looks up from Demetri's face. (I've made up my mind. It's a retch moment.) "I have some requests for you."
"Of course, Master," Heidi replies, ever obedient.
"Firstly, I need you to settle our young ladies into some guest rooms for us," Marcus nods at the slaves, realising instantly who they are.
"Of course," Heidi repeats, untangling herself from the Tracker's tight embrace.
"Secondly, go out and fetch us a bountiful feast. I know that we're all very thirsty."
"I sure am," I mutter from under Alec's arm. I go ignored once more. He gives me a small squeeze.
Marcus drifts into the crowd until he comes to stand in front of Rosalie Cullen. The tiny immortal child sits at her feet, her tiny thumb stuck between her lips. A universal "awh" passes through the room when she lifts her arms for Marcus to pick her up, which he instantly does.
"I need you to take responsibility for this child," Marcus passes the little girl to dumbstruck Heidi, who's arms form an automatic cradle for the girl. "Until we've decided what's to be done about her."
Heidi's eyes glaze over with unsheddable tears as the tiny vampire buries her face in Heidi's hair. Demetri's former hostility for the forbidden child seem to vanish as he places a hand on the small of Heidi's back, standing close enough to her that the little girl can reach out and touch his arm.
vVv
I sure feel a lot better after a long shower (which lasts only five minutes. I stand astounded) and a change of clothes. When I step out of the bathroom, towelling my hair dry, Corin and Alec are arguing in the centre of the bedroom.
"Corin! Fuck off will you," he says, sounding completely exsasperated.
"No I will not," she pokes her tongue out at him. That's when I notice Renata and Chelsea hovering in the doorway. Renata throws me a look, both warning and apologising on behalf of her spirited best friend.
"You said I could be here, and I'm here!" Corin declares, her hands on her hips. I notice that she and Alec are exactly the same heigth, which makes me grin. That has to irritate him.
"I said that to shut you up!" Alec growls.
"Dare I even ask?" I question aloud, drawing Corin and Alec's attention to me. Corin whirls away from Alec to stand in front of me.
"Alec promised me that the first time you saw your new self, I could be here! So here I am, like it or not."
Chelsea steps inside smoothly, despite Alec's obvious annoyance. "We are here for the same reason," she smiles, and Renata dodges around her to stand beside me.
"What do you mean?" I ask curiously, and Corin bounds away to drag something inside the room. It's a mirror.
"Look and see," Alec says, as Corinleans it to stand against the wall.
"There," she smiles, gesturing eagerly for me. "Look! Now! I demand you look!"
With a curious what-the-actual-fuckery glance at their encouraging expressions, I glide forward and plant myself in front of the mirror before I'm thrown into it. I glance up at my reflection and fall completely still.
Everyone waits in silence, gauging my reaction. Alec drifts to stand beside me after a moment, looking nervous upon my lack of reaction.
"What do you think?" He asks quietly.
What a fucking question.
The girl that stares back at me looks completely dumbfounded. Her plump, pale lips are parted slightly under her straight nose. Her eyes glow the most remarkable red, as if there's a light behind them, illuminating them to the max. The eyes have a wickedly catlike quality to them that scream dangerous like a beacon. Her heart shaped face is encaged in hair so black that it contrasts ridiculously with her whiter than white skin. The blackness tumbles in heavy, uneven waves to low on her ribs, but her bangs still fall choppily over her forehead. She's still aggrivatingly little, but appears wonderfully slender beneath the creamy skin. Her waist curves smoothly beneath the black velvet of her bathrobe, which falls to her lithe, perfectly toned thighs. Her breasts swell generously underneath the robe, and when her mouth parts further in shock, pearly, even teeth gleam sharply. They bite down on her bottom lip as her head tilts sideways.
Alec stands beside her, tall and Godlike. His expression reads hers as she pulls her eyes away from her own reflection to glance at his. A wide, smug smile stretches his face.
Corin, to the right of me, smirks. "Hot or what?" She says.
I ignore her, reaching out with one hand to touch my fingertips to the mirror. In a shocking movement, the whole reflective surface cracks and shatters into tiny fragments, and when I yank my arm back in shock, tiny reflective splinters rest on the pads of my white fingers.
Next chapter is M RATED! Yeah, ya'll heard me, be ready xD