Chapter 29 – A Tangled Web

There was perhaps a moment, just the briefest flicker of time, when I did not move. Just a moment when I could, almost, touch upon the self-control my new life would require of me.

But the Volturi had never intended for me to succeed. Bad enough to offer the forbidden fruit of the garden so enticingly near, worse still when they casually, cruelly, sliced the skin to release the scent of the manna within.

There was no restraint possible then. I tore free of my lord's grasp and like an animal I flew to the great hall and fell upon my prey, a hapless and unhappy human, and I feasted. And all the guilt and sorrow that would follow, all the prayers I would offer up…none of it could ever change the fact that it was good. Nothing could change the fact that that blood feast, gulped down in greedy, ecstatic mouthfuls on the cold stone floor of the Volturi palace, was utterly sublime.

It was an ugly and brutal slaughter. They had cut him high on his breast and I had fastened my mouth there first, tearing into the flesh in a desperate desire for more blood. Only later had instinct guided me to the thinner skin of his neck, and the pulsing beat of life there that poured the blood into my sucking mouth, finally sating my terrible thirst.

When I was done, when I came out of what had felt like frenzy, the sight before me sickened me. The human lay askew on the floor, the white of bone showing through the torn flesh of his chest, the head nearly severed from the body by the damage I had wrought on the neck, pale eyes staring upward. I felt as though I should be trembling at such horror, but my hand was steady as I reached out and gently closed his eyes.

Almighty God, I commend this spirit into your arms.

"Bella."

It was Lord Edward, down on his knees beside me, catching my chin in his hand to force me to look at him. "Bella…my love."

"Forgive me," I whispered, stricken. "I didn't want to my lord, but oh! Of course I DID want to, but I knew I shouldn't…I've failed you already." And I closed my eyes in despair, because I did not want to see myself in his disappointed gaze.

But instead of judgement there were soft kisses, and his voice was tender when he spoke.

"You haven't failed anything Bella. What just happened…that is in no way a fair test. A bleeding human in front of a newborn? Even Carlisle himself would have struggled!"

"I struggled now!" Lady Alice breathed, so low that I could hardly hear her. She glanced around, her usually golden eyes dark, and I thought that perhaps she didn't want these red-eyed vampires to know how close she was to the edge. "If his heart hadn't stopped when it did…" She shook her head.

A sudden flash of comprehension crossed Lord Edward's face. "This is why you didn't bring Jasper here," he said, a statement rather than a question.

Lady Alice gave a barely perceptible nod. "I didn't see that they would do…this, exactly, but I saw…other possibilities. If Jasper was here, his control…you do understand Edward? Please say you do. I couldn't bring Jasper to Volterra."

Lord Edward squeezed her hand. "No, you couldn't…I'm sorry I spoke so harshly Alice, I see now that you did all that you could to keep as many of us safe as possible."

"I am sure you feel far more comfortable now that your thirst is sated," broke in Lord Aro from behind me.

Lord Edward rose to his feet, taking me with him. "You didn't have to do that, Aro."

Lord Aro blinked innocently. "Do what? Provide Bella with the most basic of provisions? Edward, you surprise me…as a guest here in my home Bella deserves all the comforts it is in my power to offer her, and you would prefer I denied her?"

Lord Edward gritted his teeth. "We had it under control. You know we live differently."

"Of course, and you are quite free to live as you choose," Lord Aro nodded magnanimously. "But I have none of your usual fare to offer Lady Bella, and so I simply had to make do with what we had available. Now that her newborn thirst has been satisfied for the time being, we can get to know Bella as the lovely vampire she has become."

Lord Edward shook his head wearily. "Aro, please…this isn't a game. Just let us say farewell and leave."

Lord Aro affected a look of astonished innocence. "A game? Of course this is no game! I merely wish to establish precisely what kind of vampire our Bella is before she is unleashed on the world. Philippe felt there might be something out of the ordinary, and I really do feel it is our duty to investigate such possibilities."

What kind of vampire I was? I looked from Lord Edward to Lady Alice, but both of them simply looked back at me with mute apology.

"Come, dear one, let me hold your hands." Lord Aro's smile was sweet and his tone cordial, but the dark glints in his red eyes left no room for refusal.

It occurred to me then, as I stepped forward and offered a reluctant hand, that I didn't really want to be special. Being a vampire would be special enough, fast and strong and powerful and beautiful…I did not want a gift such as Lord Edward or Lady Alice had, a gift that would make Lord Aro look at me with such avarice as he looked at them.

I did not know what he might be reading from my mind as Lord Aro's smile vanished for a moment and then reappeared, broadening as he released my hand. "Extraordinary! Philippe, your instincts have been proven correct once again. It appears that it is not only Edward's mind that Lady Bella is closed to, for I received nothing from her! In all my very long life I have never had anyone, human or vampire, whose memories were hidden to me…her mind seems impenetrable!"

"A shield talent," Philippe said, nodding thoughtfully. "A very strong one. It could be a very useful defensive talent, especially if…"

"Will someone not dispose of that?" Caius demanded, flicking a long finger in the direction of the body on the floor. "Surely we are more civilised than to leave the remains of meals in the great room!"

Dispose of it how? Was there some kind of burial ground for the victims of these vampires?

When no one else moved, Philippe gave a sigh and dislodged a thick iron grating that covered a hole in the floor. I winced as he used a careless foot to shove the body towards the hole and then tumble it out of sight down the hole. There was a long gap between the body disappearing and the faint thud of it landing somewhere far below.

Philippe dropped the grating back in to place with a discordant clang and dusted off his hands. "Do you want me to fetch the others?" he asked. "I'm sure our little wildcat is just dying to take another strike at Lady Bella! We ought to try her against Alec too. And Chelsea would love..."

"No." Lord Edward pulled me behind him and glared at Aro. "Not Chelsea. I'll agree to testing out the limits of Bella's gift…although you've give me little enough choice there…but no Chelsea. I will not have her loyalties manipulated…"

"Hush!" Lord Aro's voice was laced with fury and it made me shudder and cower a little closer against my lord's back. "You will not speak of Chelsea!"

There was a long beat of silence, and when Lord Aro spoke again his voice was calm, although his red eyes still glittered with suppressed rage. "Philippe, I believe we will need the others to explore the possibilities of our new friend. If you will be so kind as to fetch them? And Caius, I'm sure Marcus will rouse himself to attend, if you go and inform him of developments."

As Philippe and Caius swept from the room, Lord Aro glared at Lord Edward with a face as cold and hard as marble. "You will not speak of Chelsea," he repeated flatly.

Lord Edward didn't quail in the face of Lord Aro's menace. "So Chelsea is your little secret then?" he said quietly. "She uses her gift to bind their loyalty to you and holds together your little kingdom here…and none of them know that it's all merely an illusion?"

"There is no illusion in what my Chelsea does," Lord Aro said. "Make no mistake Edward, the Volturi guard are loyal to the bone and it is to me they have given their allegiance."

"Are you threatening me?" Lord Edward's voice was dangerously low.

"Giving information only, my dear Edward," Lord Aro murmured. "Merely information…"

"Because the guard might be loyal to you," Lord Edward went on, without a flicker of fear. "But I think there are several here who would not like to discover that their loyalties are being manipulated. I make no claim to know what they would do if they discovered your schemes, but it is possible you might not find it to your liking. "

"Edward might not know, but I do." Lady Alice stepped forward, and her face was almost kind as she looked up at Lord Aro. "You really don't want to test it. I don't deny that Chelsea's gift is remarkable, but if it came to a rebellion, to some really strong resistance to it…well, I'm not sure that the bonds are quite so unbreakable as it might seem."

Red eyes and gold stared at each other, caught up in a silent battle of wills. And then it was Lord Aro's face that softened, Lord Aro's mouth that curved upwards in an almost admiring smile.

"Apparently there is more to my dear friend Carlisle's progeny than I first thought! It seems this animal diet does not leave all of you as passive and peace loving as he."

"Carlisle will not remain passive if his family is threatened," Lord Edward said. "He is peaceable only to a point Aro, and should anything befall us he would be quick to seek redress, I think."

"You are quite safe here in Volterra," Lord Aro assured us. "Indeed, you are welcome to stay as long as you like! Carlisle stayed for some time you know, and you may find the same things of interest here as he did. Our library and resources are vast, and a scholar such as yourself could easily spend a great deal of time here."

He smiled at us, apparently guilelessly, but I could tell by Lord Edward's rueful chuckle that he was not fooled.

"Oh yes Aro, Carlisle has told me a many stories of what took place in his time here!" Lord Edward took my hand and raised it to his lips with a tender smile. "I think Bella and I would rather leave now, with Alice, and begin her vampire life somewhere a little less…complicated."

"You'll deny me the pleasure of discovering the extent to which young Bella is blessed with a gift?"

Lady Alice smiled back at him, her eyes glinting. "I think we must really say our farewells, Aro. I'm sure you'll pass along our regrets to your friends, and we'll send your best wishes to Carlisle, but it really wouldn't be wise for us to linger any longer."

I froze, terrified that Lord Aro would would not allow us to leave. And although his face was briefly suffused with rage, he assumed his usual mask of tranquillity and inclined his head towards us in assent.

"Of course. I understand your anxiety to return to your…family. Give my regards to Carlisle, and please do remember that you are always welcome here in Volterra."

"Thank you! It's been delightful!" Lady Alice grabbed my hand and somehow managed to bundle Lord Edward and I ahead of her as she gabbled some farewells and then physically propelled us behind a tapestry and into a dim, narrow stone corridor. I was still attempting to understand what was happening when she seized Lord Edward's hand and said urgently, "Run."

Lady Alice kept a tight grip on my wrist, her relentless tugging on my arm guiding me through a terrifying blackness. I did not know how she could move so quickly, running blindly through the underground tunnel, and at first my fear was so great I could think of nothing else. It was only as I calmed that the thought came to me that she was running at vampire speed…and I was keeping up.

I'm one of them now.

The cold, stale air rushed past me like a strong wind, and my feet barely touched the packed earth of the floor as the three of us flew along the twisting passageway as though chased by all of Hell's demons. And as the thought of Lord Aro and his cohort drifted across my mind, could I really be sure that we weren't?

The passage ended in a kind of cellar, the wood beamed ceiling so low that only Lady Alice could move without stooping. Even so she barely paused as she dragged Lord Edward and I in her wake, pushing up a trapdoor and springing lightly up through the space it revealed. "Come on! Hurry!"

It was no effort at all to jump up after her, and despite our headlong flight from the throne room of Volterra I felt no muscle tiredness or weakness, and no shortness of breath. Neither did Lady Alice or Lord Edward look at all fatigued as they huddled together. They did not speak, but after a moment I realised that they were communicating nonetheless, Lord Edward reading Lady's Alice's thoughts from her head and she playing with her visions to see his responses.

"What is it?" I demanded, taking my place beside my lord. I was one of them now, I did not need to be sheltered and shielded in the way he had done for me as a human. I knew we had been in danger in the Volturi palace, although I was not yet sure of what that danger had entailed. "Are we safe?"

"We needed to get away," Lady Alice said, evading the question. "I had a vision that Caius was bringing Chelsea to meet with us, which might have been disastrous…he is furious that we've left. Aro is trying to pacify him, but Caius is tempted to act in isolation…no, that's not happening. He's not going to follow us." Her brow furrowed.

"I thought you said that they would rebel? That Chelsea's gift of binding loyalty was not unbreakable?"

"Oh, it's not unbreakable and some of them would resist if they knew," Lady Alice muttered. "But if she'd reached us she may have bound our loyalty to Aro and we wouldn't have cared enough to tell them that it's all a carefully constructed façade."

I looked at her in horror. "She could really do that? Make us feel loyalty to them?"

Lady Alice shrugged, her eyes still looking beyond me and flickering in a way that made me uneasy. "It's difficult to predict. Perhaps not. But it seemed prudent to avoid the issue altogether, and we had to leave because..."

"Jasper," Lord Edward said urgently. "How long?"

"We need to run. Now." Lady Alice vanished into the sacristy and returned in a blink with a heavy cloak that she threw over her shoulders, wrapping it around her and pulling the hood low over her face to obscure herself. "He's decided not to wait for dark. I must get to him before the Volturi do, or it will be too late for all of us!"

"I'm faster," Lord Edward said. "If you tell me where to reach him…"

"Stay with Bella," Lady Alice said, already backing away. "Go to the forest, it isn't safe to stay here in the church…you must stay away from the town. I'll find you. If you catch even a hint of the Volturi, or if Jasper and I don't come to you by dawn, then go to Castle Cullen and tell Carlisle what has happened. I don't know what you should do then, I can't see and there isn't any time…" She bit her lip, hovering in the doorway for a moment as though undecided, before she shook her head. "I must reach Jasper. Edward, Bella….take care and I love you!"