Chapter Ten

Darius

This was it, crunch time and I still didn't know which way the Major would jump. I needed him so badly I could have dropped to my knees and begged, but I knew such gestures would get me nowhere. All I could do was to finish my story and hope it touched him enough to offer his assistance.

His expression was unreadable, it was like looking into a mirror. I could see myself in him and that gave me some comfort. I knew under the same circumstances, I might hesitate, but I would eventually choose the way of justice.

He sat very still, his eyes boring into me, waiting, so I took a deep breath and continued.

"As I already told you, one of that bastard's descendants survived. His line still exists, hidden out in the world, among the humans."

"How can you be sure of that? With vampires hunting them, I would think sooner or later the line would have died out."

"I believe it's true, so it would seem does Caius. He's still hunting and from what I've been able to ascertain he's doing better than me. I know he has trackers out looking, but he is aware that I know and I'm looking for them, so he's very cautious.

He also knows I have ways of intercepting his communications and is, therefore, avoiding electronic messages in any form. I truly believe this child, this spawn of his has a way to destroy him and I want to possess it. Sara gave me the means and Alexander the opportunity. I will not fail them. I want his Achilles heel at my command."

The Major frowned.

"But you have no idea who or where this 'child' is and have no way of finding out?"

"No, that's true. But I am hoping you might."

He stared at me frowning in incomprehension.

"Me? How?"

I chose my next words very carefully.

"I happen to know that Caius is acting with extreme caution. He does not want Aro discovering what he is doing now he feels he is getting close to his goal at last. Therefore, he is searching for someone to work under the radar on his behalf. His last tracker met with an unfortunate accident and he's getting desperate. He has no idea how close I am to beating him to the discovery, but he can feel me breathing down his neck and it's making him nervous."

The Major's frown became deeper and he shook his head, "Wait a minute. I'm not a tracker."

It felt as if I were walking on eggshells, I had to pitch this just right.

"No, but you are good at finding people. Your reputation goes before you and Maria often bragged how good you were at tracking. Before you bailed on her that is. Now, Caius needs someone, he knows about your reputation, and he knows you are at something of a loose end. You do the math."

He shook his head more forcefully.

"Sorry, I don't do that kind of work any longer. I hung up my spurs when I left Mexico. Besides, how does he know I'm at a loose end? Are you telling me that the Volturi are watching me?"

I held up a hand to stop him.

"No, they aren't, at least not any longer. They were a little nervous when you moved north of the border. I think they suspected you were Maria's puppet and that you might go off the rails without her guidance. Then you met Alice and joined the Cullens. At that point, they lost interest."

"Right. So, I'm no longer a person of interest. I guess they think Carlisle finished taming me?"

I dodged that question with a non-committal, "something like that." Then continued my pitch.

"However, I did ensure that Caius learned of your abilities when I discovered he was looking for someone. I admit that much and I'm not apologizing for my actions. However, I hope I am about to tell you something that might just persuade you to consider my request. Just a few more minutes, Major, please."

He had half risen to leave but slowly sat once more as I added the last plea although his eyes now flashed dangerously.

"Go on then, and this had better be good. I dislike being manipulated and that's how it's beginning to feel."

"As I said I won't apologize, I decided that the end justified the means. What I will ask you is this. Would it make any difference if I told you that it was the Volturi who placed you squarely in Maria's sights?"

He leaned forward, hands on his thighs, as I continued.

"They needed some kind of control in Mexico. The southern covens were at war and stirring up too much trouble. The humans were becoming aware that something was going on. So, the Volturi decided to find a way to control the wars, and Caius' pet gift detector, Eleazar, pointed you out. Hence Maria was waiting when you just happened to ride by. You are as much a victim of the Volturi, of Caius, as I am. As Sara was. Wouldn't you like revenge for what happened to you?"

Jasper

At last, things were beginning to make sense. So, this is why Darius had picked me; he hoped I would be as hungry for Caius as he was and I guess he was right to a point. If Caius had been the one who turned me into Maria's killing machine, then yes, I wanted revenge. I had suffered for decades because of him, and the pain was still raw if I allowed it free rein.

I sighed, "So it's a race between the two of you and you want my help to beat Caius to this 'child'?"

Darius, now he had finished his pitch, sat back and shrugged. He looked weary as if he had put all he had into telling his story.

"Put simply, Major, yes."

"And what makes you think that Caius will approach me? After all, I'm not known for my tracking skills, whatever you may say. Nor have I made any movement towards picking up my old way of life."

"He will. He knows of your skills and determination and he knows you are at a loose end. Besides which, he's desperate and so, to be frank, am I."

He nodded.

"The clock is ticking. I get that, but I'm not sure I want to become involved. Sometimes it's better to let sleeping dogs lie. Do I really want to cross the Volturi?"

He raised his hands in a gesture of resignation.

"I can only ask for your help, Major. You must decide now you have all the facts at your fingertips. I don't want you to fight the Volturi. Just use your skills and Caius' information to find the child before he does and hand it over to me. All I ask is that you think about it, but please remember time is short. We may already be too late."

I nodded, "I understand that, but I'm not going to jump in without thinking it through first. Give me a few hours. There is just one question I'd like answered."

"Sure."

"What do you intend doing with this kid if I find it and hand it over?"

He stared at me for a long time before nodding slowly.

"That's a reasonable question, Major. Like you, I may be a vampire, but I don't slaughter innocent children. All I want is the gift that will bring an end to Caius Volturi. There is one other thing you might find interesting. The tracker that met with an accident. I think you and he crossed paths. His name was James."

I frowned, "James? Did he run with a redhead called Victoria and a guy called Laurent?"

"That's the one. He was never very committed to his task. James tended to get sidetracked too easily. I'd heard rumors that he quarrelled with the wrong people. Care to tell me about it?"

I shook my head, "Let's keep that for another time, shall we?"

Smiling in surrender Darius held open the door for me.

"I hope to hear from you soon, Major. Time is one luxury I don't possess."

Darius appeared to relax a little as I hadn't said a straight out no. I guess we both knew I was tempted. It would at least give my life purpose. But it could also end it abruptly. Was I scared at the idea of dying? Nope, in many ways, it would be a blessing. I didn't enjoy being a vampire and preying on humans, innocent or not. I hadn't asked for what had happened to me and I had tried to do my best with it once free of Maria.

I had been wandering aimlessly when I met this strange nomad and heard his tragic story. He deserved revenge, after all, he'd waited long enough for it and now here it was almost at his fingertips. Could I deny him? If he was telling the truth and I didn't doubt his sincerity, then I would be repaying Caius for my own transformation.

It was strange that it had been Eleazar, who had pointed me out to Caius. I thought he had cut all ties with the Volturi a long time before I came on the scene. If not, then did Carlisle know he still moonlighted for them? After all, he and Carlisle were great friends. And if so, had Carlisle known of Eleazar's part in my becoming a vampire when he and I met?

It seemed that my meeting with Darius had brought up a lot of information I had not been privy to and with it even more questions. Not all of which I expected to be answered.

I knew exactly what Charlotte would say 'Walk away, Major. This isn't your fight. You're done with violence.' Peter would probably want me certified for even contemplating going up against one of the Volturi, but at the same time, I think he would understand the allure. I was a soldier and I needed a fight, but this time one of my choosing.

I felt Darius' eyes on my back as I walked slowly to my car. I'd promised him an answer by nightfall and he'd given me another cell number to reach him.

"I find it safer to fly under the radar, Major. So, throw away cell phones, rerouted emails, and no paper trail. I have no intention of making it easy for Caius to track me down. I want to meet him but at my time of choosing in my theatre of war."

I'd understood that too, we all liked to be in control of the situation and soldiers, most of all, at least those who made the decisions.

As I turned back onto the highway, I saw a small cloud of dust at my back and knew Darius was on the move too.

After a few miles, I pulled off the road onto an abandoned picnic site. My only companions were a couple of huge vultures that were fighting over some roadkill they'd salvaged. I watched them, noting how the biggest and strongest soon pushed the others aside to claim the prize and it occurred to me that the Volturi were rather like that triumphant vulture. They had won the crown, lording it over our kind, and allowed one of their number to bully everyone else with no attempt to rein him in. I doubted Aro was as ignorant of Caius' misdeeds as Darius seemed to think. No leader could afford to be that stupid and hope to keep his crown. No, I thought that Caius had something, some hold over his 'brother' that allowed him to act in the way he had. Either that or Aro had his own agenda which included allowing Caius to think his actions were unknown.

This was a mighty tangled web, but intriguing and I always felt for the underdog. Despite Darius' survival and hard work, I saw him as the underdog. Without my help, I doubted he would achieve his goal, and could I live with that guilt? That was the question I had to ask myself and answer…. Truthfully.

Of course, there was always the possibility that Darius was mistaken. That Caius either did not know of my whereabouts or would believe me uninterested in working for the Volturi. I'd made it pretty plain I was done with fighting and with training newborns. Why should his gaze fix in my direction? Or did Darius have that all planned out as he seemed to imply? Could he really pull Caius' strings so easily?

The sun hadn't even begun setting when I called to tell Darius that I was in. The very thought of having something tangible to do, something a little nobler did appeal and I had no other plans. I'd decided not to say anything to Peter and hope that his radar didn't start pinging. I wasn't about to drag him into danger, not now he was free of Maria and had established a good life for himself with Charlotte. If necessary I would lie, it wouldn't be the first time and I felt my reason was valid.

I could hear the relief in Darius' voice when I told him my decision and we agreed to meet the next day. As I suspected he was ready to give Caius the final nudge in the right direction. A few rumors of my aimless travels should stir up memories of my particular skill set and its possibilities for use in his present situation. Darius would also allow Caius to believe that he was closing in on the target for added impetus.

Peter called the next day as I drove to the rendezvous and I was careful to appear as casual as I could. He grilled me about Darius, but I told him it had turned out to be a false alarm.

"The guy wanted some information about Maria but I told him to go to hell. I wasn't getting involved with that bitch again."

"Right, that matches with what I was able to find out. I spoke to Garrett yesterday and he told me Darius is a mine of information about our kind although he never gives any away. It sounds like he just hordes it. Glad you told him to fuck off. You do not want to mess with that crazy bitch again. So, what are your plans now? Are you coming to visit?"

"Not yet. I thought I might travel a little, but don't worry about me. I'm fine."

He didn't sound entirely convinced of that, but obviously, he hadn't felt any danger looming, and after a few more entreaties to visit Boulder, he hung up.

I had to smile, even now we were free he was still watching my back and ready to drop everything to stand at my shoulder if needed. Friends like that were hard to come by and I valued him highly. It would have been good to have him with me, but unfair. If this went south, and there was always a possibility that it might, I did not want his death on my conscience.

Darius and I had spent some time working out the best way to nudge Caius in my direction and how I should behave to draw him in. Darius knew him much better than I did so I deferred to his knowledge and it soon became obvious that if he was as desperate as Darius said he was then all I had to do was to be available and appear approachable.

We also worked out a simple and unobtrusive way to keep in contact. It turned out that he was something of an electronics expert and merely furnished me with a new cell phone which came equipped with an undetectable bug and tracking device. Not that he expected Caius to be suspicious, but we both knew only too well that it was unwise to underestimate your enemy.

Under the circumstances, we would not meet again until I had the kid or Caius had found it using another way. Knowing how desperate he was I doubted he had only one iron in the fire. He might not even take the bait, I would just have to wait and see.