Chapter Twenty Five

Bella

I had lost all track of time, I was so tired and so hungry, sick of being the center of attention like some caged animal. Whatever plans Aro had for me he could go to hell, I'd die before I served him and his brothers. I rarely moved from the bed now, laying down but afraid to close my eyes. If I fell asleep the most terrible things happened, I was not only ruining the chamber but killing those sent to guard me unless they were lucky enough to get to safety before the storm hit. I had no idea how to control it or what it, in fact, was although the Volturi kept insisting on calling it my shield. Weren't shields supposed to protect the person holding it? Surely if it attacked then it was a weapon, not a shield?

My head hurt thinking about it and my hand crept up to my neck, feeling the absence of the locket. If only I had rung Jasper when this started, maybe he would have been able to explain what was happening. Now even if I had the locket I couldn't use the number he had left me. Then I sighed, stupid to even think the number was still in use. Alice changed their phones as often as their fashions, he must have had two or three at least since I last saw him.

Thinking of him helped to calm me a little so I closed my eyes confident my shield or whatever it was would protect me from anything the Volturi could throw at me, and tried to visualize the Cullens, starting with Edward. The strange thing was that I found him difficult to picture, instead of his full face I just got glimpses, the bronze hair, the golden eyes, a quick flash of a crooked smile and even that did nothing for me anymore. I had thought myself deeply in love with him at one time but now, he meant nothing more than Mike Newton or Tyler. Alice was easier to remember, her bubbly smile, the twinkle in her eye and Emmett too with his mischievous grin. Rosalie, of course, stood out clearer, the scowl on her otherwise beautiful face marring it, she really had hated me at one time.

Carlisle and Esme came through even more clearly, standing together and smiling, how much they had loved each other and their family. I wondered if I would ever find a love so deep, so consuming as theirs. That left only Jasper and as his face came into my mind I gasped at the clarity of it. It was as if he were standing there in front of me, in person. His eyes were a slightly deeper gold, his lips parted in a ghost of a smile, the most I ever saw, his dusty blond hair as always slightly disheveled as if he had just run his fingers through it. What I would give to see him now, to hear his soft reassuring voice as I had in the Phoenix hotel which seemed like a lifetime ago.

Would I ever see any of them again? It seemed highly unlikely, they steered clear of Volterra and Aro, and I didn't blame them. Yet if they did hear of me in Italy would they care? I had broken free of them, why should they put themselves in danger for my sake? I heard a noise and my eyes flew open to see Jane smiling at me through the bars, hatred in her eyes.

"Feeling weary Isabella? Why don't you give in to Aro? You will in the end you know, Aro always wins."

"Really? Then it might do him good to understand what failure feels like."

She laughed,

"Such brave words from a pathetic human."

I could see the frustration in her eyes too and understood she had tried using her gift on me once more and had failed. I smiled,

"Maybe you could explain what it feels like to him Jane."

She cursed, turned away and walked quickly from the chamber, was she scared I might attack her? I was tempted, but I had no idea how to conjure up the wind any more than I knew how to send it away, my "gift" controlled me not the other way round.

I had managed to call up enough energy, for want of a better word, to work on the bars of my prison and they were beginning to buckle a little. Not where they could easily be seen but in the small curtained area that had been provided for me to wash or use the bathroom. Well, the lidded bucket that passed for a toilet in here. The only good thing was that it was emptied twice a day by one of the guards who accessed it through a much smaller door, just large enough for it to fit through.

As I lay back down and closed my eyes I felt an ache in my belly and groaned, great! All I needed was to start bleeding in here. That would really put the cat among the pigeons but then I smiled, it might keep my guards at a greater distance. If so they wouldn't be able to see what I was doing and I might just manage to escape if I could bend the bars enough. For the first time, I was pleased to be menstruating.

Aro

I cursed as Heidi told me why she had insisted on seeing me urgently,

"That is something I did not consider, but then I never expected Isabella to be here as a human for very long. Now, what do we do?"

"We need to isolate her, if not then the scent of blood is going to draw every vampire in town to her."

"How long do we have?"

"Not long, a few hours maybe, she wasn't sure."

"Very well, clear the audience chamber and put only the guards who have just fed at the doors to keep everyone out. Then arrange a rota of guards so after four hours they change and only those who are fresh from feeding go on duty. It means using up the humans we have working here unless you can hunt quickly."

"That will mean Pisa, Aro."

I nodded unhappily,

"I know, but we have no choice, just be circumspect."

"What about the girl? She needs supplies."

"Leave her with some bottled water, she can starve for a few days, this might play into our hands after all Heidi. Anything else she needs you get her now before we seal the chamber."

Heidi was extremely efficient and within an hour we had Bella sealed alone in the audience chamber, signs pinned to the doors restricting entry only to those who carried a warrant signed by me, of which there would be none. The guards were given their rota and she was on her way to Pisa with Demetri to bring food back for us. In the meantime, I called my brothers to a meeting in my study so I could explain what was happening and why.

"Is she really worth all this trouble Aro? Why don't we just dispose of her now."

"Caius, you have seen how powerful she is. I will not destroy that, I want it and I will have it. We just need a little patience."

Caius rolled his eyes but decided to save his breath and sat back in his chair,

"Do you have anything to say, Marcus? Would you prefer I kill the girl and be done with it?"

"Personally Aro, I don't really care. Do as you want, you always do, just be careful that power is not unleashed against us."

Even with all the doors shut the scent of blood filtered out into the corridors close to the chamber and the exclusion zone was extended although once the guards had their fill of human blood they were better able to ignore the scent of more. We settled down to wait after all Bella was secure inside her prison and she had fresh water. Her bucket wouldn't be emptied, but that was a price she would pay for being a human woman. I wasn't expecting any trouble from her, in fact if she were as weak as I expected after several days without food and limited water I thought she might be far more amenable to my proposal, or more susceptible to my gifts. Either way I would be the winner and that was all that mattered in the long run.