Esme's knee hit Sulpicia's face before Rosalie hit the floor.
The resounding, thunderous crack threw the whole room into motion again. The noise was echoed but everyone's fighting seemed to be distracted as the two deadly, powerful female predators got down.
What I had seen from Esme's little demonstration a while back was nothing compared to the raw, feral power she exhibited, the blind rage in those features I'd come to associate with joy and hospitality.
Esme had exploded across the room as soon as she'd seen her adoptive daughter fall. She straight up flying kneed Sulpicia right in the middle of her smug, horrible face and the noise it made was deafening in the cavernous room.
They both let loose battle roars as Sulpicia staggered and Esme launched forward again, a mere streak, a blur in motion. Sulpicia was on her in moments and the whole room really just had to stop as they tore around, crashing and smashing into each other all around us.
For a split second, you could catch a glimpse of furious eyes, a pause as they reared back and swung, but their speed far outmatched the speed of which I'd seen with Alice and Rosalie's fights. They were ridiculously strong as they streaked into each other, the evidence of their blows clear as they rang out in bangs and claps that jarred my new hearing even if I couldn't really see what was going on.
"You bitch! I'll fucking kill you!" Esme screamed and there was a pause as they both jumped back and the heartbroken woman's eyes were shining so much that I could tell, even so far away as this room really was huge, her face contorted into the epitome of rage. Esme's fangs were fully dropped; her posture was taut and furious. The two warriors had ended up behind everyone, and Sulpicia was backed against the farthest wall from us. The door we had entered with the bitch was opposite to it.
There were spider webs, maps of cracks along both their bodies but Sulpicia fared worse than Esme, much to my pleasure. There was a long gaping gash of sickly gray flesh across the bridge of her crooked nose, cracking across her cheeks and tinier but no less pronounced breaks in the marble skin around her eyes. I assumed it was from Esme's first attack.
They both seethed as the room watched in silence, too captivated by their epic duel. Even the diamond armored guards watched in awed silence.
"You know who's pretty little neck I'm going to break next, my Effy? Hmm?" Sulpicia sneered as Esme paced in front of her, upper lip curled back and twitching with utter hatred that the bitch took no notice or interest in.
"I think I'll snap your little Lullaby's throat right in two…"
The roaring CRACK that echoed throughout the room as if a lightning bolt had landed right next to me was loud enough, but the shattering, explosion of the solid brick and concrete wall only defined it even more. I winced as Sulpicia was utterly devastated, blasting through the wall as Esme's foot drove right into her chest. My ears hurt, too sensitive to withstand the noise.
Esme roared, deep in her chest, propelling the hate and agony out through her mouth, challenging Sulpicia.
Moments later, a blur of blackish-white streaked through the huge hole Sulpicia's body had left and then it was on like Donkey Kong.
Before I could see Sulpicia slam into Esme, Jane was wrapped around my neck, snarling viciously in my ear, arms crushing my windpipe. I snarled back harder, clawing at her forearms as the room vaulted into movement again, the noises of vampires brawling evident with shotgun bangs, thunder claps.
Before I could turn and decapitate the frigging creepy girl riding my shoulders, Alec appeared in front of me, still bearing the fractures in his porcelain skin from my earlier ass whooping.
If the boy wanted another, well he could sure as hell have it. At this point, I was back in vampire mode, well fed or not. My mate had been attacked; Esme was on the verge of a breakdown, Rosalie…
Rosalie was dead.
And even through the boiling hot fury welling in my chest and stomach, I couldn't detach Spider Monkey Jane from my neck. I stumbled backwards, throat bubbling with vampiric noises of anger and frustration as my neck cricked awkwardly and Alec began to wail on me from the front, punching my exposed and vulnerable abdomen.
She was trying to kill me. Jane was literally trying to break my neck and I set my shoulders, braced against her flexing arms. For all the looks and size of the girl, she was stronger than she appeared.
And Alec?
I felt like I was being socked with a sledge hammer every time his knuckles cracked into me.
That is, until I heard Alice's furious cry from somewhere behind me. Jane was wrenched painfully from my body and I reacted without conscious thought, instinctively throwing my head low and bull rushing Alec, shouldering him hard in the chest. He yelped and we fell back a good five feet, crashing into the ground with me on top of him.
Payback is a bitch, right, Alec?
I began to ground and pound the little bitch again, wildly smashing his face with my fists. I probably would have torn all the granite skin from his face if I hadn't heard Alice's pained wail rise into the air.
My ears pricked and I leapt up, spinning, Alec groaning beneath me.
Yeah, he wasn't getting up any time soon. And when he did, he could busy himself picking up the pieces of his face.
Get some, boy.
I spotted Alice and Jane a little bit away from me, more towards the all out battle going on between the Cullens and the armored guards.
Even though I only glanced, I could see the blurs and streaks, heard their endless noises as Edward and Jasper battled together, taking on one guard and the man they'd first fought. I could see Emmett thrashing the two guards still standing in his wake.
Emmett's wrath over his dead sister was ferocious. Though the two guards fought valiantly, their friend lying unmoving with no head a few feet away, they were nothing in the enraged older brother's wake.
Carlisle fought two guards as well, but he was not as strong as his adoptive son, who still had the curious powerful ability in those rippling muscles. Emmett really did look more like a grizzly bear than a teddy bear right then.
Carlisle was precise, though, and hard to out maneuver. He fought on, tirelessly as Sulpicia and Esme still wove around the room, the most powerful, angry fight off all.
Until I set my eyes between Jane's shoulder blades, her back turned to me as she glared down on my writhing, screaming mate.
As my eyes landed on Alice's, ebony agony rip roaring through her body, swirling in her pupils, I felt the slight twinge of pain that had come when Jane had attempted to use her power on me.
Without thinking about it, I pushed, using all the anger that had been building in my body since Rosalie had crumpled and lay broken, still on the floor.
Jane's answering shriek of pain was satisfying but what was even better was knocking her the fuck out as I lunged forward, throwing her around to face me by the shoulder and grabbing onto her black cloak, lifting her easily as she squirmed and cried in pain.
And then I dropped her, shooting my foot out and driving it right into her stomach, toes first.
Can anyone say GOAL?
She went flying as I punted her, snarling. The freaky chick soared between the thrones and crash landed somewhere in the room beyond.
And though Rosalie and I had never been on the best of terms, I think she would have been proud.
"Bella," Alice whimpered, trembling as she tried to stand, pushing up on shaking, weak arms.
I growled softly in the back of my throat, crouching next to her, worriedly. I was not capable of human speech, but I could understand her.
"We have to get out of here," Alice breathed as I wrapped my arms around her, scooping her to my chest, eyes running around the room in case another threat posed itself.
I was no longer in kick someone's ass mode. I was in keep Alice safe mode.
"The Volturi Guard is coming. We have to go before they join in. We're done for if they arrive," Alice said, standing in my arms, looking into my eyes.
It was weird, the short pause I had as I looked at her then. Cliché as it might have been, the world froze for a moment as I took her in, really looked at her for the first time.
With my new, crystal clear HD vision, I saw Alice. Her short, messy black locks, which by the way, I could see nearly every strand of glossy black hair, the storm in her eyes, the smooth yet sharp contour of her jaw, the panicked set of it, the delicate curve in her heart shaped lips…
It was weird, but it was amazing, too. If it had been any other situation, I'd have been floored.
Mm, if I was going to end up with a vampire due to one fateful day of detention and a life changing piece of gum, go through a living hell to be with her, get crushed by her and then become like her, well, at least she was pretty bomb in terms of hotness.
Not to mention her kick ass taste in music and general sweetness.
I could dig it, is what I'm saying. If I was stuck with Alice for life, forever, then that was fine by me.
I nodded my head but wasn't quite sure what to do. How were we going to get everyone together and then escape the Volturi? And what the hell is the Guard?
I found out pretty quickly.
The door that we had entered through into this hellish courtroom busted open and the sound of clattering feet met my ears. Alice cursed and spun and we both acted on instinct.
The room broke apart as the Cullen family tore away from their respective battles, forming a line together as twenty diamond armored guards sprinted inside, going ninety miles an hour. We joined the Cullens, snarling threateningly, warning off what I assumed to be the Guard.
The Guard formed a wall between the thrones and the men occupying them.
My eyes landed on Aro and I was bewildered. He looked like he was about to cry…
The men and women before us were all decked out in classic medieval like breast plates that seemed to be honed from solid diamond, crystal clear, sparkling in the lighting. They also had similar leggings, like shin guards and a collar of diamond around their throats that gleamed, lethally beautiful. They all looked like warriors ready to go, except for the five or six that had met the Cullen wrath. They just looked battered, bruised and annoyed.
While the Cullens roared defiantly, crouched together, they only looked on with grim, determined expressions.
Our stare off was broken when a loud crashing sounded behind us. The Cullens were not eager to turn their backs on the Guard, but when Esme and Sulpicia went soaring over our heads, it really didn't matter.
I barely caught wind of a furious growling, a myriad of colorful curses as the two blurred past us and came to a smashing halt at the foot of the thrones, sending up pieces of marble and concrete.
When the dust cleared, they were revealed, with Esme pinning Sulpicia by her throat, snarling, pure hatred in her eyes.
Next to them lay Rosalie's lifeless body and my heart lurched at the sight of it.
I still couldn't believe it…Rosalie was dead…Gone…
I suddenly wanted nothing more than for Esme to rip Sulpicia's throat out.
There was a pause as Esme's chest heaved and she glared down at the sick bitch.
And then Sulpicia laughed.
Fucking A, I hate it when the bad guy laughs! God!
"D-do you really think you're going to kill me, Effy? Honestly, truly? Look around! Even if your family wasn't on the brink of destruction, do you really think your heart could stand to end my life?" Sulpicia sneered and though I hated it so much, she was right.
Even with all our powers, we were no match for the Volturi Guard. We were outnumbered, horribly so. The Guard looked formidable and if I'm being honest, really intimidating. They did not move, merely awaited the command to attack, to defend their royalty.
And even though it probably wasn't appropriate, I took a moment to reflect back and say, quite frankly, fuck you, Stride. Fuck you and your gum for getting me into this shit.
Just fuck you.
Esme snarled and squeezed Sulpicia's windpipe making the evil laugh die in her throat as she winced.
"My Effy…" Sulpicia whispered softly, gazing up at the enraged, heartbroken woman on top of her. "It never had to be this way…You could have stayed with me…We could have had it all…"
"Shut UP! Shut up, you narcissistic bitch!" Esme screamed, clawing Sulpicia's marble skin. "You killed her! You killed my daughter! I will never forgive that! You are NOTHING to me! You were never ANYTHING at ALL to me and I swear, I'll kill you, I swear I will…" Esme sobbed and at her words, I watched Sulpicia's regretting, softened eyes harden, her face darkening.
"She wasn't your daughter, Effy. She was an orphaned brat who will never be your child."
That did it. Esme exploded, wrenching at Sulpicia's neck but the ebony haired woman twisted her hips as half the Guard lunged to help, wrapping her legs around Esme's hips and ripping her off.
Esme went down in a pile of glittering warriors, roaring defiantly, fighting most likely to her end. My stomach dropped and I heard the Cullens let out a despairing wail. We all lurched forward and the Guard finally broke their apathetic expressions, lips twitching back, hinting at their fangs as they tensed, crouching in preparation.
"No!" Carlisle snarled, moving in front of us as the commotion at the thrones continued, Esme's cries clawing their way at my heart.
I wanted nothing more than to fight, to kill, to defend…
Most of all, I just wanted to go home. I didn't want to be a vampire anymore. I didn't want to think about vampires, werewolves, the hell I'd been brought into.
I just wanted to go home.
We didn't understand why Carlisle prevented us from moving on the offensive. He stood in front of us, his face pained and torn.
"No…" he whispered. "I have already lost one of my children. I will not lose the rest. You all need to leave. Run. Just go!"
"Hell no!" Emmett snarled, body shaking with anger. "We are NOT leaving you guys!"
"It wasn't a question!" Carlisle roared back and Emmett blanched as Carlisle, for the first time, pulled Alpha male.
"Carlisle, there's no way in hell we can do that!" Jasper protested and we growled in agreement.
Even if the Cullens weren't my true family, I loved them like they were. I couldn't stand the thought of leaving Esme in Sulpicia's clutches. Already I could see her struggling valiantly beneath ten of the Guard, even as their blows rained down, trying to submit her.
Oh, Esme…She refused to give in, fighting like mad beside the body of her daughter on the shattering, broken steps.
We'd already lost Rose…I couldn't take it if Esme went down, too.
"You can and you will. Just get the hell out of here! NOW!"
I had never seen Carlisle so wild and feral. With every furious, desperate cry from his mate he flinched and jerked hard.
"No…" We shook our heads and he roared, causing us to blanch.
"Please, I know it hurts…But you have to go…We'll be fine…I promise…We'll come back to you…Just get out of here…Go to the mountains…Find that clan…I swear we'll be okay…I love you all, now GO!" Carlisle ordered and I could see Alice's eyes were shining.
My heart was breaking but he was right. He couldn't leave Esme, not his mate. There was no possible way for him to leave her.
But we would all die if we tried to keep fighting…We had lost here…We'd lost, badly.
There is no bravery in blind rage, no honor in fighting pointlessly…But it still felt cowardly to turn tail and run for the hills…Leaving family, friends, parents behind…
"NOW!" Carlisle repeated and hesitantly, reluctantly we began to back away as he turned, chest rumbling violently.
It was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do, to turn away as Carlisle let out a death defying roar and ripped forward, screaming a challenge.
We never would have made it out of there if Edward hadn't been shoving us onward, face horrified, swallowing hard.
Over my shoulder I watched as the Guard lunged forward and Carlisle crashed into them, taking them four down with him like bowling pins.
I wish I could say he fought and won, even made a dent in their ranks. I wish I could say he beat at least one. I wish I could say he beat them all and went after us, Esme in his arms.
But this isn't a fairytale, and that's not what happened. He crumpled, overwhelmed and Esme cried out in pain as she was smashed into the floor, finally defeated, Sulpicia glaring down on her.
And even when her dark, bloody eyes rose to meet mine across the room, glaring, piercing into me as I had to wrap my arms around a screaming Alice to prevent her from going to her mother and father, it did not stop me from meeting that look.
I tried to tell her what I was thinking and she didn't need mind reading powers to understand what I was saying.
Terminator had nothing on me in that moment.
I'll be back for you, bitch. And I'll fucking obliterate you.
"MOMMY! DADDY! NO! Let go of me! Let me go! MOMMY!" Alice cried as we blasted through the doors, no one able to look back but my pixie, who just couldn't seem to tear her eyes away, kind of like in a horror film where someone's dying an awful, gruesome death, or a train wreck, where the whole thing goes up in flames as it slides of its rails and decimates the earth.
I lied.
The hardest thing I ever had to do was hang onto a sobbing Alice as we ran through the palace, her fighting me the whole way.
The only resistance we met as we ran silently through the golden halls, Edward leading us, was two diamond clad guards who froze in front of what I assumed to be the exit, as it was a pair of huge ass doors, rising all the way to the ceiling.
They took one look at us, seething and stepped aside.
We did not stop to decapitate them though I'm sure we all wanted to. We just exploded through the doors, thankfully into nighttime and were washed in the bright moonlight.
"Do you think we should have tried to stop them…?" one of the two said faintly as we raced over cobblestone, and I didn't even look back to see the hellish building I'd just left.
"I prefer my head attached to my shoulders…" the other one replied as we disappeared into the city.
We raced through the night, stonily silent. Even Alice made no noise, sprinting beside me, face eerily blank, jaw locked. It was disturbingly quiet and if I may be so cliché, it felt like the whole world had gone hushed at the monstrosity that had been committed on this frosty night.
I could barely see the terrain, could not really take in Volterra, but somehow, I managed to keep from running into anything, instinctively staying on my feet, dodging around buildings as Edward led us on.
After about a minute of running we screeched to a halt at a pair of large, black iron gates that were attached to the creamy stone lining Volterra. They were closed and heavily locked.
Emmett solved this by slamming his foot into the black bars, smashing it open with a screech of bending, tearing metal.
No one said anything. We just stared, unsure, out at the road before us, the trees lining it. Beyond these gates was nothing but what looked to be an endless road and endless vegetation, that all ended with a line of bulky mountains in the distance.
Edward moved first, walking like a human and we followed soundlessly, hesitantly stepping out of the city.
We'd gone no more than ten feet when the trees exploded with movement and holy fucking shit…
Five hulking, horrifying, salivating, seven foot tall beasts emerged.
It was like a horror movie come to life.
They were…
They were werewolves.
They were real life werewolves.
Apparently, no one had been shitting me.
And Jesus Christ, if their huge, furry bodies and wide, snapping, barking jaws weren't bad enough, they reeked. I had never smelt something so awful, so nasty. I gagged and bared my fangs as the Cullens, startled, hissed and crouched down.
The wolves moved almost as one, lurching violently toward us, howling and roaring, foaming at the mouth.
I'd be lying if I said they didn't scare the piss out of me. They were huge. Alice was positively dwarfed by even the smallest one.
My slow heartbeat doubled and even though it went only as fast as a human's, it felt like it was hammering against my chest.
"You wanna go motherfuckers?" Emmett roared and I knew subconsciously he was looking for a fight. He was probably thrilled at the thought of getting to kill something, especially now.
I automatically shifted in front of Alice and it was kind of a slap to the face at how familiar the movement was. When I had been human, she had done that exact same thing whenever she felt threatened, or if she felt I was threatened.
Whether it be jealousy or because a certain redhead vampire was in the vicinity, she did it.
It was just a protective instinct as I braced, ready to fight anything, even Godzilla to defend her.
Before anyone could do or say anything else, not that the wolfies could really talk, at least, I don't think they could, the trees rustled again.
What the fuck was it now? Don't tell me. It's a swarm of angry wood elves backed by their fairies and nymphs and special pixie dust.
Out of the darkness, silently, figures emerged, slowly surrounding everyone, including the barking werewolves.
They were…Vampires.
I hadn't been expecting the obvious, which kind of pissed me off. I'd been totally prepared this time for total nonsensical bovine fecal matter but that's just not how it went down for once.
Of course.
These vampires outnumbered even the guard. I counted them swiftly, eyeing them with my vampire senses. A some forty, golden eyed vampires soundlessly floated from the trees. I tensed and growled when I noticed them stepping behind us, beautiful and deadly.
At first, I thought they were part of the Volturi, but their golden eyes hinted that they were not hostile. At first, I thought they were surrounding us in preparation for an attack and I actually did twist towards the ones behind us, nervously trying to keep Alice safe.
However, I was convinced we were not under mass attack ambush or something when, and I'm not being racist or anything, the first black vampire I'd ever seen stepped in front of us, back completely open and vulnerable to us.
His skin was a rich, dark chocolate and his dreadlocks hung down to his lower back. It was a peculiar color, his skin. It was pale and dark at the same time.
The wolves were now utterly panicked. They had been hell bent on tearing into us, but they were much less inclined to attack now that they were sorely outmatched.
"We do not wish to fight," the vampire said in a slightly strained, accented voice. It sounded like French Jamaican, which was weird, but the lilt was pleasant.
The werewolves snarled at him, backs to backs, warily, anxiously squirming as the golden eyed predators watched on, silently.
"We do not want to shed blood here. We bear you no ill will, but if you attempt to harm any of the Cullens or Isabella Swan, we will attack. I think it best if you return to your pack," he murmured, posture loose.
Huh. Dude knew my name.
Why am I not surprised?
It wasn't much of a guessing thing, as I was pretty sure this was Memento Mori.
The wolves turned slowly, evaluating their chances. They wisely decided they were screwed if they tried anything and warily, they began to back away, snarling the whole time. The circle of vampires broke, widening to allow them to move on.
And as they disappeared down the road, yelping and snapping their jaws, I caught sight of a pair of deep brown eyes that twanged my memory ever so slightly. The owner of that pair of eyes glanced back at me several times as he ran on all fours.
They looked…So familiar…
When they were gone, the man who had spoken turned to us and we tensed up.
"I understand you all are probably very upset and confused at the moment…We wish you no harm, and in fact offer our humblest of services…We can protect you from the wolves, as they have inhabited these parts in great numbers…We ask that you come with us…" he said softly and we all glanced at each other.
It wasn't much of a choice, was it? We could either go back into Volterra (snort) or get devoured by angry werewolves.
Slowly, Edward nodded, glancing at us for quick confirmation.
"My name is Laurent, but we really don't have time for proper introductions. Follow me, if you will…"
'Laurent' motioned to us and we reluctantly followed after him as he leaped into the forest.
Carlisle had said to find the Memento Mori…
Laurent led us, backed by his coven through the forest. We ran and ran for a good five minutes, covering a vast amount of land with our speed. Even if I had endless reserves of energy now, especially pumped up on blood…Ugh, human blood…I felt exhausted.
I was tired of running, tired of fighting, tired of moving, tired of thinking…
I wanted my Mommy. That was that. I wanted Renee badly, and would have given anything to curl up in her arms and stay that way forever, safe and untouchable.
I felt a sharp pang when I remembered that Alice would probably never even see her mother again.
We reached a clearing and a solid wall of rock, the bottom of a mountain. There was a black hole inside it, a cave, an opening. I couldn't see into its gloom, even with vampire sight and a shining moon.
However, my whole body jarred and Alice lurched when a red haired, all too familiar pale woman stepped out of its depths, smiling serenely at Laurent.
My heartbeat stopped fully. My stomach flip flopped and my mind was utterly locked.
"You were gone so long that I was wondering if the wolves had gotten you, my friend," Victoria murmured in that sickeningly familiar, silky honey voice as she swiftly walked forward and she and Laurent embraced tightly.
What.
The.
FUCK.