Connections

I gazed around Marcus's luxurious quarters, amazed to see several new pictures of myself hung alongside the depictions of Didyme. Marcus came sweeping into the room from the hallway, catching me off guard. I was pleased to note he was no longer wearing a cloak, but was dressed in modern attire, making him appear more approachable.

He froze in place as soon as he spotted me, holding up both hands in front of him in a gesture of surrender and imploring, "Don't go! Please stay!"

I felt guilty and awkward, not knowing what to do or say. "Um, you should know Aro was the one who killed Didyme," I offered, nodding my head toward the artwork and hoping I was pronouncing her name correctly.

"What?!" he gasped, then shook his head quickly in denial. "No, that's not possible."

I grimaced. "Sorry. I know she was his biological sister, and he did love her, but he considered her gift to be useless. You two wanted to leave the Volturi, to go off on your own, to enjoy life and peace without the pressure of Aro's lust for power."

He nodded, watching me intently.

"Aro would've been fine with letting Didyme go, but he valued your gift too highly to contemplate losing it. He did mourn the loss of his sister, but felt it was necessary, collateral damage, in his bid to keep you by his side. He underestimated the toll it would take on you to lose her. Upon seeing the profound effect of your grief at the death of your mate, he was frightened into imprisoning his own, terrified of what her loss might do to him," I continued. "He then used Chelsea's gift to bind you to him to prevent you from being able to act on your suicidal urges and forced you to live a shell of an existence for 2000 years, all so he could utilize your gift for his purposes."

He stared at me in horror for a few moments as he absorbed the truth of my painful words.

"That bastard! That evil, conniving bilge rat!" he finally roared, his black eyes flashing with rage and hatred. He began pacing back and forth, gesticulating wildly. "I'm glad he's dead! I only wish I'd had the pleasure of ending his miserable existence myself!"

He stopped abruptly upon hearing a tentative knock on his door. His eyes flashed to me in alarm, and he instantly shifted into a protective stance between me and the door.

"Mas- uh, M-marcus? Are you okay?" a voice I recognized as Demetri's hesitantly inquired.

"I wish to be left alone," Marcus intoned, his voice thundering authoritatively. Demetri quickly scurried away without reply, beating a hasty retreat. He'd never heard Marcus speak aloud before, much less in such a regal and dangerous tone.

As soon as the coast was clear of any further eavesdroppers, I whispered, "You should talk to Chelsea about releasing you. I'm sure she has no clue about the nuances of your gift and can be convinced you are superfluous in light of her own abilities to detect bonds. You could even suggest she is more powerful than you, since she can manipulate bonds, while you simply read them."

His eyes flashed and gleamed, and I wondered what he was thinking. I knew Aro had deliberately kept Chelsea in the dark about the gifts of others in the Volturi, fearing the very thing that had happened - her realization of her own power and the determination to wield it for her own and her mate's benefit instead of Aro's.

"Where do you go when you disappear?" Marcus asked softly.

"I've been staying with the Cullens in Forks, Washington," I admitted, drifting closer to him.

"In America? Cullen - as in Carlisle Cullen?" He questioned, smiling tenderly and encouragingly at me, opening his arms to invite me closer.

I smiled and nodded. Reaching out, I sighed as my hand passed through his. He frowned and tried to grasp onto me, becoming alarmed when he realized it was impossible.

"I'm sorry, this is just my spirit, my soul," I confessed, staring deeply into his worried eyes. "My body is elsewhere, far from here."

"That's why you have no scent," he murmured, as if to himself. "We need to reunite you with your body as soon as possible."

I tried to smile, but I was concerned about what it would mean for him, for both of us, when he discovered my body was in another dimension. We couldn't be mates. There was no possible future for us together, never touching, never kissing, never embracing. Surely the powers that governed the many universes and soul mates wouldn't be so cruel as to tie him to a ghost after the loss of his true soul mate and subsequent 2000 years of suffering alone.

I cried out in shock and pain as I suddenly felt something in my brain stretching taut, then recoiling back to slap me silly, like a rubber band had been stretched to the breaking point and snapped.

Instinctively, I instantly teleported back to my body, seeking the source of the pain. Opening my eyes, I sank to my knees, flabbergasted and terrified by what I saw. The bed was empty, the machines silent. My body was gone!