Chapter Fifty Four
Jasper
I hated the thought of leaving Bella behind but she would be well protected by the others until she joined us in the audience chamber. I checked with Darius that we were ready and he patted the small rucksack he carried,
"I have all we need in here, enough to rip the floor from under their feet with a nice loud noise. The confusion will give us plenty of time to get among the pieces and look for identification."
"It's a good job Alice can't see all this or they'd be ready and waiting."
"Oh yes Major, speaking of which I thought we might give them a little show, just to make sure they are looking the wrong way."
I looked at Darius,
"Go on."
"Remember I told you I might have a little surprise well its come off, it occurred to me that a little ruse might be helpful and having a trap door into one of the NATO computers used during their war games I set up a little accident. The army and navy are on manoeuvres in the Mediterranean at the moment so one of their little toys is going on a little sight-seeing tour, right into the clock tower in..."
he looked at his watch,
"One hour so its time we were gone or we'll miss all the fun. Oh yes, Peter already knows so he'll be expecting the big bang."
I saw his grin, the boys were going to enjoy themselves today while not losing sight of our serious purpose. I kissed Bella once more, glad that she didn't try to cling to me or I couldn't have left, then turned and entered the passage way into the dark heart of the mountain.
Bella
My heart lurched as the guys disappeared and I was suddenly scared that I would never see Jasper again but Rose patted my arm,
"Don't worry too much Bella, Jazz knows what he's doing."
I nodded unable to speak for fear of crying, instead I sat down with Elspeth and watched as the minutes ticked by wishing it was all over and I was back in his arms again. Fifteen minutes later Cade nodded and we too entered the passage, it was cold and damp, water trickled down the stone walls to lay in puddles on the floor and I could see the wet footprints of our companions who had gone before us by the light of the small torch Cade had provided me with. He and I were at a disadvantage now, we couldn't see in the pitch black of the passage like the others could so we stayed together following Rose and Elspeth, our narrow beam of light bobbing along like a miniature search beam. I pulled my coat round me to keep out the cold but my hands were turning to blocks of ice within minutes and I wished I thought about bringing some gloves.
"Give me the torch and put your hands in your pockets."
Cade held out his hand and I passed the torch over, glad of the warmth in my pockets and feeling my fingers start to ache as the blood warmed the flesh once more. We should get to the entry point some ten minutes after the others entered and I hoped they took out the brothers there and then. I hated the thought of a pitched battle in the Volturi stronghold because I knew some of our allies might not survive if it came to that. I would do my best to shield everyone I could but I would be limited as the fighting was likely to spread out through the citadel.
Jasper
We were minutes from our target when the ground shook violently and Darius turned to me with a smile,
"I think that should keep them occupied for a while, if I know Aro he'll be scurrying for cover about now and where is the safest place inside the citadel? The audience chamber, exactly where we want him."
I nodded hoping he was right and wondering of any of the human inhabitants of Volterra had been hurt or killed by Darius ruse. Once sure of our position we spread out giving Darius room to work his magic with the explosives. There was an acute turn just before the spot we wanted and we sheltered from the explosion as Darius hit his remote control. The sound was deafening and the passage filled with acrid smoke and powdered stone as Corey stepped round the corner and sent a vortex spinning up into the chamber above, sucking with it the smoke and clouds of dust giving us good visibility once more. We followed him round to see a huge gaping hole in the roof of the passage and all jumped up into the room above.
Aro
I was in my study when Heidi came in warning me that she had heard what sounded like a missile approaching the town,
"A missile?"
Then I thought of Alice's words, that The Major was bringing the fight to Volterra, had he obtained a missile to blast his way into the citadel? It was a good plan but the building had thick stone walls and was built to withstand most things so I didn't think a missile would penetrate too far, the inner chambers should be safe enough.
"Tell the others and ask them to meet me in the audience chamber then warn as many of the guard as you can."
I knew we only had a short window to warn people but I wanted as many of the guard with us as possible if it came to a fight inside the building. She nodded and ran back out while I grabbed my most precious books and made for the door. The explosion when it came shook the ground and the noise was terrific but as I expected the citadel stood firm. Sending a guard I found standing in the corridor to check on the damage I made my way quickly into the central chamber and found Marcus already there along with a good number of the guard although Caius and his wife were both missing as was Heidi. Perhaps she hadn't made it away from the explosion in time.
Caius
I heard the oncoming weapon before I heard a warning cry and Heidi's orders from Aro but I was suspicious. This wasn't the work of the Major. It might be down to his allies but he was a fighter and he would want to be sure he had got his targets so I expected his attack to come from another quarter. Where was the most heavily fortified area of the building? The central chamber and that's where Aro was headed with the guard. It would be like shooting fish in a goldfish bowl if they had some way of penetrating that far into the citadel. Instead I found Athenadora and sent her out into the town,
"Find somewhere safe to lay low and stay there. I will find you when this is over and remember I love you."
I kissed her and watched as she struggled over the collapsed stonework and out into the main square which was a jumble of shattered stone and water which gushed from the cracked fountain running down the streets to the lower part of the town. As I turned to make my way back I heard a strange muffled sound, an underground explosion this time and knew I'd been right, The Major had found a way into the heart of the citadel, from beneath. Alec came running over covered in dust and wiping his eyes free of it,
"What do we do Caius?"
"Stay with me and keep your eyes open, they are inside the building. If you see any movement, use your gift until we can establish friend from foe."
He nodded and we made our way back into the gloomy corridors.
