It was dark. We had stopped for gasoline again but I had learned already that trying to sneak out of the car while he was busy, wasn't a solid plan. Before I could even get a foot out the door, his hand was locked around my already bruised wrist. By the end of all of this, I'd be shocked if his hand wasn't permanently indented there.
Vladimir had even thought to take me inside this stop to allow me to use the bathroom while he grabbed me an apple and a small package of cheese as well as a bottle of water. I hadn't asked for food or even complained about having to go to the bathroom at all.
Once we got back in the car I looked at him, taking a bite of my apple while he started the car.
"What is it?" He asked, pulling out of the gas station and not looking at me.
"Thank you." I said, gesturing to food and water I now held.
"I can't have you dying without the pleasure of doing it myself." He said factually.
He continued to drive, every few moments the beams from the street lights shining into the car. Classical music continued to play, it had been on so long it faded into the background to me.
I looked over to him from time to time. He seemed to have no plan at all until suddenly a loud ringing erupted and a glowing blue light came from the middle consul. It wasn't my cell phone; mine was in the pocket of his jacket. This was one he had with him.
With only two blaring rings, Vladimir grabbed the phone and held it to his face a curt "Hello." Was his only greeting. It was surreal watching him talk to whomever was on the other end. He went from what looked like a business transaction to an excitement I don't know if I had ever matched.
"Where?" He demanded and a deep voice on the other end answered. "Marvelous." He said with a sickening grin before hanging up.
I tried to limit my questions...and interaction with him in general. We had been together for nearly two days and we had only had a few conversations. The rest was me watching him for signs of danger or him watching me like I was a lab experiment.
"Should I bother asking you? Or will you tell me you don't know?" I asked seriously. That seemed to be the answer to anything I asked.
"Oh no, at this moment I know precisely what I am doing." He chuckled "I simply could not make any decisions due to the fact that I was being watched"
I looked over my shoulder to emphasize that we were the only people in the car.
"Not like that. I'm sure you aware of the fact that some of our kind have extra abilities; your Aro and his brothers are rather fond of referring to them as 'gifts'" he rolled his eyes. Seeing my nod of confirmation he continued "Simply put, between the Volturi coven and the ever clever Cullen group, I can be easily located and that just wouldn't be fun." He threw a wink in for good measure.
"So...if you were being watched." I thought for a moment. He hadn't any idea what we were doing since he got me. He hadn't even really committed to grabbing me until it seemed the moment presented itself. The only time he could tell me what came next was after his phone call.
"You had someone else making your decisions." I said, looking at him bewildered. He was smart. But who was helping him? Stefan was more than likely being watched just as much as him.
"Very good. Clever girl." He praised, sounding genuinely impressed "If I didn't have to kill you brutally, I would want you for my coven as well. No wonder Aro is trying to keep you."
"Right, because you think he wants to 'collect' me." I said to which he smirked.
"Tell me, Annabelle, do I seem weak to you?" He asked sincerely.
"No." I answered.
"And Stefan, from what you gathered, does he seem easily defeated?"
"Not that I could tell."
"So tell me why you think it is that we were taken from our position of largest and most powerful coven in the world? Think about it. We were established, permanently placed, large, had some of the strongest vampires under our control let alone political figures in our clutches. So how could three rag tag make believe brothers come into Eastern Europe and slaughter our masses?"
I looked at him. By the end of the question he had been speaking through his teeth. It was strange for me to think of someone even considering catagorizing Aro, Caius, and Marcus as anything close to "rag tag." Yet this man spoke about them as if they were street thugs; teenagers who didn't know their place. I had to imagine it was difficult for him if what he said was true. He had been around longer than them and built a kingdom and then they dethroned him and Stefan and now control their every move.
"I'll tell you, dear Annabelle. It is because Aro is a master at collecting vampires with abilities. Sometimes before they are even turned to vampires." He nearly hissed "He looks for humans with certain senses or talents or quirks that might make for a talented vampire. He then lures them into the idea that they want nothing more than to be one of them and then changes them, using them as his puppets. What chance did we stand? As strong as we were, Aro had vampires with powers. He sicked those two monstrous twins after us. And they alone took out about a quarter of us. My mate included."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. But at the same time it all made sense. He was simply outgunned and Aro was the master sniper. His charm was no accident and it was no wonder they thought that's why I had been with the Volturi that day. Maybe they had been right.
"So you are one of two things to him. You are either a valuable addition to his guard which he will pridefully start a war over on principal alone. Or truly his life long love which would only be fitting given he is responsible for the death of mine."
I kept my mouth shut after that.
The drive was only a few more hours before we pulled into another wooded area. There was snow here, thick snow and ice hanging from the trees. I looked at Vladimir who all but threw the car into park.
Quickly, he got out and before I could really try to figure out if I was supposed to follow, he appeared on my side of the car, opening the door for me.
I looked at him for a moment, his hand was extended to me and he seemed impatient. But something told me everything was about to change. And as three new faces appeared along the tree line I knew I was right.
My head snapped to look at them. Two men and one woman stood there, all wearing expressions of admiration, their eyes fixed on Vladimir. The woman was tall, taller than me, and had dark brown hair that went down to her chest. She looked strong even in her human life she must have been. The one man was thin. He had messy blonde hair and a five o clock shadow. He looked like he had been sitting in a dark room for hours before coming outside. Finally, the other man was more medium in build. He had dark brown, almost black hair that was neatly trimmed. He was leaning on the tree he was closest to, his arms crossed.
From all the conversations I had heard, I had been under the impression that ever since their coven had been demolished by the Volturi, Vladimir and Stefan traveled alone. But clearly there were others involved. Others who were not accounted for.
Vladimir had apparently grown sick of waiting for me, as he grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the car. I got out of the car and he led me to the three vampires, all with red eyes.
"No scent of them yet." The larger male said factually, his voice deep.
"Good." Vladimir confirmed and then looked to the smaller male who seemed to be zoned out.
"The likelihood of them finding us before we are ready is slim. That being said I can only give you another one to two days." He reported, his eyes refocusing on the group.
"And Stefan?" He asked.
"Arrived earlier today. He thinks that once the Volturi realized he was alone and contacted the Cullens, they regrouped." The larger man answered.
"So what? You're sure they're going to come all this way for her?" The woman asked, looking at me as if trying to evaluate my worth. I didn't blame her. It more than likely seemed silly that something this big was happening seemingly over a human.
"If it gives them the chance to do away with us, then yes." Vladimir answered.
Quickly, Vladimir handed the two bags he had to the woman before handing off the keys to the larger male.
"Park it somewhere far off." He ordered and the other followed.
As soon as the car took off, Vladimir grabbed me again, much like he had the day he had taken me from the Cullens and without so much as a warning he took off into the woods.
