"That's her I'm pretty sure," Serena commented as her and Maysun sat on the edge of a fountain in the middle of a famous courtyard, Serena hadn't bothered to remember, in Volterra. They watched as a stunning female vampire wrapped in a dark velvet dress surveyed the crowd but unlike the intel from Sulpicia, she wasn't approaching tourist like they expected. It was the very reason why Serena and Maysun were dressed in the most touristy clothing possible with massive cameras around their necks to further emphasise this fact. Serena wore a cheesy 'I love Volterra' t-shirt with dark blue pants and some random American sports team cap while Maysun was wearing a straw hat, a cheesy 'I love Italy' t-shirt and black shorts. The female vampire spotted something of interest as she merged into the crowd and carefully made her way towards her target without stepping into the sunlight.
"What is she doing? I thought tourist was who they usually went for?" Maysun asked in confusion as she lifted the brim of her straw hat in order to better see the female vampire. The female vampire stopped in front of a young couple. Serena and Maysun watched the scene with interest as the young couple seemed to be locals of Volterra. Which according to Sulpicia, was a very big no-no. The female vampire exchanged words with the pair and it was only then, due to their enhanced eyesight, that they saw what others considered a loving embrace, was not so loving. The human male seemed to have a death grip on the female human and the sisters wouldn't have been surprised if there were going to be marks left on the female's skin as a result. The young female turned away from the vampire and the hybrids caught a glimpse of a black eye from behind the shades she was wearing.
"No prize for figuring out what he practices his punching on," Maysun muttered in disgust as she continued to watch the interaction. The male seemed to smile at whatever the vampire said and released the female human in his hold. The female vampire held her arm out and the male happily wrapped his arm around hers. What shocked Serena and Maysun though was how relieved the female human looked.
She re-adjusted her shirt now that she wasn't in the male's death grip and they caught a glimpse of bruises littering her arm. It didn't take a genius to work out that they were seeing evidence of a very abusive relationship. The two female hybrids watched as the female human hesitated for a moment before she sprinted in the opposite direction, like a zebra trying to escape a lion…it was almost as if the human knew what was going to happen next.
'Surely,' Serena thought to herself, 'That couldn't be right?'. They continued to watch with interest as the female vampire, their intel said to be Heidi, led the male human into what they guessed was the entry of the Volturi.
"Since when were the Volturi vigilante?" Maysun asked in disbelief over what she and her sister had just witnessed.
Serena tsked in annoyance, "It must only be very recent or Sulpicia would have said so. This makes getting into the coven much harder now".
"What do we do now?" Maysun asked in concerned, "Father expects this to happen today. The plan only works if we can both get in!". She watched as only Heidi re-emerged from the shadows and continued to survey the crowd. The two sisters continued to watch the vampire for several more minutes, trying desperately to figure out a new plan as it was obvious that tourist were no longer on the menu.
"It appears criminals are now the meal of the Volturi," Maysun sighed, "Too bad we look as far away from criminals as possible".
"Follow my lead," Serena smirked as an idea popped into her head, "I have a plan".
Heidi had acted as the Volturi's 'fisher' for many years and had been alive for many more. While she had always enjoyed her role and prided herself on her talent for luring humans to their demise without leaving a trace, the Queen's new orders of what prey could be brought into the coven definitely made things a bit more interesting. She had been orchestrating elaborate ploys for potential pray for decades and had always been successful in covering her tracks. When the Queen approached her and asked her to limit their prey to criminals and law-breakers, unless Heidi had no other option of course, it certainly made Heidi's job much harder. However, Heidi felt it was much more suited to her talents. Her usual prey were older adults or young teenagers who didn't know the saying that if it was too good to be true, then it was. Criminals however were savvier. After all, it takes a conman to con a conman. They were harder to lure in. However, that made it all the more exciting for Heidi. She was a predator if nothing else and some of the criminal records she had read made her non-existent blood boil. It reminded her of her human days when she was treated like garbage. Luring this type of bait in to the coven filled Heidi with pride as in a way, she was cleaning up the human world. She was currently waiting in front of the coven for the last two prey of today's meal.
"Ah Heidi!" she heard her name called.
Heidi turned and smiled slightly when she saw the elderly local priest approaching her, "Father Accardi, here to practice your English again?".
"Si! Si! I mean yes," Father Accardi corrected himself in English as he stood in front of the stunning vampire, "New names for you. Bad men, very bad men. Reported in confessional". During her time with the Volturi, Heidi had never met the priest. It wasn't until the Queen became involved with the local church through her cooking quests that Heidi had met Father Accardi.
Heidi wasn't exactly sure about the arrangement between the priest and the leaders of the Volturi but once a month, he would pay the coven a visit with a list of names. Those names belonged to local criminals, the worst of the worst that lived within the Volterra walls…and who wouldn't been noticed should they go missing…or people the police would turn a blind eye too should they vanish…if nothing else, make Volterra a better place. She guessed the old man found the names through confessionals or from the church patrons who attended. It was how in fact she was hunting the last two prey for today's meal. Their victims had come to Father Accardi for help trying to escape these men but feared the consequences if they did so. The two's names had been included in the month's previous list and after some baiting, Heidi had managed to lure both men to the courtyard today.
Heidi flashed the old priest a pretty smile as she took the folded-up piece of paper from him, "Thank you Father".
"Angels from God," the old man smiled, "I go. Afternoon service. May the Lord be with you". Heidi continued to smile politely while the priest shuffled away. The priest was a funny old man. He called Heidi and the other vampires angels when it was probably the furthest thing from the truth, more like demons if she was being honest. However, it seemed that the priest knew there was something strange about these angels as well because he never stayed in their presence for long. He would drop the names off once a month and leave just as quickly. Heidi slipped the piece of paper into one of the many pockets of her cloak as she kept her eyes peeled for the last two prey.
She had arranged it so Emilio Roberto, a local thug who enjoyed using his fist on all his problems, would arrive first and then the second prey a bit after. After a bit of research, Heidi hypothesised that Mr Roberto's girlfriend had recently gone to the church, seeking help to escape her boyfriend…particularly as the girlfriend's parents had recently been violently murdered in a manner that eerily fit Mr Roberto's known ammo. Heidi started laying down the trap and after a few weeks, managed to convince Mr Roberto that he wanted to take a trip to the courtyard today. The other prey was a fellow gang member whose ex-girlfriend had disappeared under mysterious circumstances which made the current girlfriend terrified she would be next.
Heidi surveyed the courtyard in almost a bored fashion, watching as tourist trailed in and out taking photos of the historical architecture that made up the city. It was then she spotted her first prey of the day. It was almost too easy convincing Mr Roberto he wanted to come play with Heidi while the batted girlfriend looked on in relief. Heidi escorted the man into the coven and handed him off to Demetri.
"Don't be gentle dear," Heidi purred softly so only Demetri could hear. Demetri subtlety winked at her as he roughly man-handled the human deeper into the coven.
'Only one left,' Heidi smugly thought to herself as she re-emerged into the courtyard waiting for the final prey to wonder in.
"Oh my gosh babe," an annoyingly high pitch voice whispered, "I can't believe we've paid for this vacation with your husband's life insurance money".
"Shush!" a voice quickly hushed the other, "Don't say that so loud! You know how much trouble I had to go through to cover his murder! Just because we're in Italy, doesn't mean people won't understand English!". Heidi looked in the direction of the voices with a bored expression on her face. Little human chit chat didn't phase her but hey, Heidi was a sucker for some good trashy TV…or human goss in this situation. The two females walked arm in arm looking at the local architecture. Heidi listened to the continue gossip about how the husband was killed half-heartily. As soon as the women started talking about the murder in more detail, Heidi got the feeling that it all felt a bit…staged…and Heidi would know. As someone who lives off conning prey, she could smell a fake and she wasn't willing to risk it without conducting any research first.
It was then however that Heidi spotted her last prey for today's feeding.
'And here we go,' Heidi smirked as she strolled towards the prey.
Serena and Maysun watched in dismay as Heidi didn't even look at the two sisters. They further frowned when they saw Heidi talk to another male and then they both entered the coven. Unlike last time though, Heidi didn't emerge.
"What do we do now?" Maysun asked panicked as it started to dawn on her that the first part of their plan had failed. The plan their father had come up with was that Serena and Maysun would pose as tourist and be lured into the coven for a feeding day. When they would then duck away through one of the many corridors and passages identified by Sulpicia that the prey is normally led through. One of the passageways led directly to the guest wing which, if the Volturi stick to tradition, the guests would be there. Being half vampire, their father had taught the sisters how to lower their heart rate so low that it would be easily missed by the guards due to the heartbeats of the humans around them. The sisters would go, surprise any of the Cullens who were there in the wing and kidnap the child before exiting another secret corridor that would lead them to outside the walls of Volterra. Their father believed that the Cullens would be distracted by the hybrid's heartbeat and the heartbeat of the humans who worked in the coven, they wouldn't even see the attack coming. The whole plan relied on getting into the bloody coven in the first place…which seemed to just go up in flames.
The two sisters sat back down on the edge of the fountain as they tried to work out a new game plan. The two sisters sat there for what felt like hours as they panicked over how they were going to get the child.
"Serena…if we fail…we're better of being dead," Maysun whispered in fear, "Father…being dead would be a blessing compared to what he would do to us".
Serena frowned at her sister's comment, "It won't come to that. We'll think of something". As if the Gods above heard their prayers, a delicious scent appeared in the air. The sisters whipped around to the source and saw a gorgeous blonde-haired vampire holding hands with the very hybrid they were looking for. The two had just exited the Volturi coven and were walking through the courtyard.
"It's not the plan but it'll do. It looks like there's only one vampire to deal with. Get ready Maysun," Serena warned as the sisters quickly started following the two.
I had just dropped Bella off to the guest wing and confirmed what time dinner would be tonight. As I approached the throne room, I could already hear the screams of our prey.
'How rude', I thought in annoyance, 'They started without me'. I quickly entered the throne room just as a male human ran towards me, trying to flee the massacre.
"Help! Help!" he shouted in fear. I smiled as he came closer before thrusting my hand out and wrapping it around his throat. His neck effortlessly caved in under the pressure I was applying as I latched my teeth onto his neck. My teeth easily cut into his neck like a knife cutting butter and I drained the body within seconds. I discarded the corpse and I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. Having only recently fed, I only needed one body to sustain my hunger. I surveyed the room and watched as the coven members were finishing up their meals. I heard a pair of heels clack against the stone before coming to a stop beside me.
"Death row inmates who committed vial crimes with a few local wife beaters in as well thanks to our dear old priest," Heidi grinned as she surveyed the aftermath.
I hummed, "Well done Heidi. You continue to impress me. There seems to be more than last time".
Heidi grinned, looking very proud of herself, "You would be surprised how willing prisons are willing to get rid of their death row inmates or lonely prisoners with no relations. Overcrowding is a real problem these days. There is some red tape but rest assured my Queen, nothing will trace back to us". I nodded in approval, absolutely trusting Heidi's word. She had been doing this for several years and I had no doubt that when she said it wouldn't be traced back to us, it wouldn't. With social media rapidly advancing, I was becoming more and more concerned that targeting tourists would cause a problem sooner rather then later. It only took one post or one photo for everything to come undone. Criminals or prisoners certainly made the situation easier. With how horrific some of the crimes were, people were very willing to turn a blind eye to their disappearance or chalk it up to a rival gang.
"Clean up and then everyone is dismissed," Marcus ordered from his throne, his clothing spotless but his eyes were bright red confirming that he had indeed fed. I watched as the guards quickly removed the bodies and washed away the blood on the stone before exiting, leaving only myself and my mates.
"Could you have spilt anymore blood vasílissa mou?" Caius teased. I stared at him in confusion until I looked down and realised what he was talking about. The front of my dress was saturated in blood, evidence of my yet to master feeding. I had yet to master my mates pristine and neat feeding habits that left no trace of their meal.
Aro looked at my blood-stained dress in distain, "We need to work on your feeding etiquette. You'll need to get cleaned up". I touched the front of my ruined dress. I felt that the blood was still warm and an idea occurred to me.
"Well," I purred as I approached my mates, "Anyone want to help me clean up?". My eyes zeroed in on Caius as he shifted in his throne, Aro and Marcus all too aware not to show weakness when I was in a mischievous mood. I would zone in on the first mate who broke and tease them mercilessly as a result. Honestly, I would have thought Caius would know by now…he was a sucker for punishment that's for sure. I smirked as I strolled towards my mate and climbed onto Caius' lap, my leg either side of his.
"Will you help me clean up Caius?" I teased as I reached behind and unzipped the back of my dress. I shivered as Caius' hands slowly trailed up from my waist to the back of my neck as he slowly peeled the upper part of my dress down, revealing my blood-soaked chest. With the fabric of the dress being so light, the blood had swept through onto my skin.
"We definitely need to work on your eating," Caius whispered as he watched a trail of blood slowly run down my chest.
I wrapped both my arms around his neck, "Are you sure you want that ma force?". I moaned in pleasure as I felt Caius' tongue travel up and down my chest, lapping at the spilt blood. I felt my mates' desire and lust pulse through our shared bond which made everything more exotic.
"You seem very happy with this arrangement," I choked back another moan as Caius continued his work. Despite getting caught up in the passion, I was very well aware of the two sets of eyes burning on myself and Caius. I reached through the bonds once more and felt no jealousy, only desire and lust.
"W-While I have your full attention," Caius was certainly making it hard to form sentences at the moment but I pushed on, "We are having dinner tonight with my sister and the Cullens". Caius' grip on my waist tightened, signalling his displeasure, but he didn't say anything as he continued to lap at my chest like an oversize cat drinking milk.
Aro purred, "How very cunning of you my little swan. Distracting us and then giving us news you know we would not be particularly excited about. It fills my heart with warmth". I threw Aro and Marcus a smirk as Caius continued to feast on the wet blood on my chest. My attention quickly returned to Caius after he pinched my side, displeased I had looked elsewhere.
"What time?" Marcus asked, his voice very husky.
I hummed as I tried to string another sentence together, "5:30pm. Nessie, despite her growth rate and being a hybrid, she needs her sleep. Please be on your best behaviour". I groaned as Caius nipped my skin at that comment.
BAM!
I gasped in shock as the throne room door slammed open. I pressed my chest closer to Caius to hide my exposed breast and looked over my shoulder in annoyance to see who dare bothered my mates and I.
"Bella," I gritted my teeth in irritation upon seeing my shocked twin, "Have you heard of knocking?". I could sense Caius' fury through our bond and I did my best to smooth him with my own emotions of love and desire, last thing we needed was a bloody massacre in the throne room…with my sister being the victim.
"Nessie's been taken!"
Hello everyone!
Not long too go until the end of this story. I estimate everything will be wrapped up by chapter 20. I have the rest of the plot outlined but do let me know if there's anything you want to see!
As always, thank you for your support and stay safe xxx
