Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer, not me.
Author/Note 1: This story is the sequel to Our Dawn 5. For the ones who don't know anything about Our Dawn Series, you can always read Our Dawn 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, and Our Dawn Series Specials but if you don't want to bother I have a resume on my profile page. As it would be expected this is a next-generation story and as such, it's focused on Jake and Leah's children.
A/Note 2: A huge thank you to everyone who reviewed Our Dawn Series so far.
A/Note 3: I'm not a native English speaker so I'm sorry for my grammar and spelling. Thank you for reading.
Alpha
Book I – The Third
Isaac Black
92. Dead End... Maybe Not
Marcus was a very peculiar vampire. Bella had described him as a quiet, grim, dark, and gloomy vampire who dressed like the 18th-century European royalty. Ever since his wife and mate Didyme had died he had lost interest in living. He lived only because Aro knew how to bind him to the clan. Many said that since then Aro had placed everyone in iron shackles but now things were about to change.
The vampire who had just arrived was not the dark man Bella had described. He did dress dreadfully but there was a strange light in his eyes that made him everything but grim or gloomy. It seemed that he had regained the will to live.
The Cullens had welcomed the former Volturi with warmth and sympathy but before he was able to set foot in their house, he had been obliged to promise that he would not feed on the blood of locals or hurt any shapeshifter. Marcus agreed. Unlike Aro and Caius, he had no interest in the extermination of other species.
"They are in the fort now. They left Volterra yesterday." He said after sitting down on the immaculate couch on the Cullen's household.
"How would you consider the situation?" Asked Carlisle.
"Foul."
'Fuck these old-ass European leeches and their stupid expensive words…' I heard Uncle Paul say.
'You should have paid attention in school, moron.' Mom teased him.
Uncle Paul cursed.
We were outside the Cullens house after escorting Marcus with Jasper and Alice from Seattle. Dad had phased back to human to accompany the Cullens and Marcus' personally. Marcus didn't seem to care about his presence at all which meant that Carlisle was right about him. Marcus was not against other species, and he could get along with them just fine.
"Aro's lost without Sulpicia and Caius is… even more psychotic now that Athenodora is not there."
'What the fuck of name is Athenodora?'
'Shut up, Paul.' Mom hissed.
"Are they planning a rescue?" Alice asked.
Initially, the Cullens told us that Aro and Caius would do anything to get their wives back. And since they were a big and powerful coven, it was only natural that Aro would want a war and the complete obliviation of their enemy. Carlisle was a hundred percent sure that Aro was going to order his best guards to find and rescue Sulpicia and Athenodora.
But Aro didn't do that. Instead, he remained in his underground residence.
"No. After receiving their wives' fingers in a box, they're too afraid the Romanians kill Sulpicia and Athenodora if they try anything, besides they don't know where they are. No one seems to be able to find them. The Werewolves Campaigns stopped though. They can't afford to fight two battles at the same time."
"Do you think Aro can keep his place as leader of the Volturi in his current state of mind? I mean the loss of a mate is in most cases, incapacitating." Carlisle questioned.
"There's no one else to occupy his place."
"But will he continue to be the leader?"
"Yes. He will be unstable but he will remain the head of the Volturi. Caius was never the best of leaders, he won't take Aro's place… besides Jane and Alec will make sure no one goes against Aro."
"So his leadership won't be threatened from within the clan?"
"No."
"What about the Romanians? How vulnerable are Aro and the others to an attack?" Carlisle insisted.
"Well, they left the clan behind as a decoy in Volterra and went to hide in the Armadillo Fort."
"Aro is scared. For the first time in hundreds of years, he's scared." Carlisle commented.
"I thought the Armadillo Fort was just a legend," Alice said.
"It's not. It exists." Marcus confirmed. "But it was never used before."
'Armadillo Fort?' Mom asked.
"It's a secret place," Edward answered picking up her question. "Secretly chosen by the head of the Volturi Guard."
"At the time that vampire was Jane. She chose the place and took the necessary arrangements to prepare it."
"So only Jane knows its location?" Alice seemed worried about that prospect.
'Jane's vicious.' My mother told me. 'God knows what she took to that Fort. Knowing her, she might have taken a nuclear bomb to use against the enemies.'
We had heard all about the infamous Jane of the Volturi Coven. An angel-like golden-haired girl who was the most sadistic vampire everyone had come across with. Not even her twin brother was as cruel and vicious as little Jane. We had met her once but only for a short time. She had captured Levi and Sarah during the Whiskey Cove reunion between the pack and the Volturi about a month ago.
The Cullens had been telling us the stories of each member of the Volturi. Jane and her brother had been turned by Aro at a very young age. Some of the Volturi were against Aro turning the twins because they were too young and there was a chance that they wouldn't be able to control their bloodlust after the change.
Jane and Alec's real names were Eadlin and Eadric and they were born in the area of the modern city of Chester, in England in the ninth century. They had been born into a family of poor peasants. Their father had died when they were small children leaving their mother with five kids to feed. The twins proved to be different from other children at a young age. Rumors spread that they had evil inside them so when their older sister died with fever, they were accused of her death.
Their mother tried to prove her children were normal but she failed and when the plague reached Chester, she was killed for protecting and hiding the twins. Eventually, they were found and the town's assembly voted in favor of burning the children alive when Aro intervened.
Jane and Alec were about thirteen years old and after they were turned they returned to their village and they killed everyone. They had been loyal to Aro ever since.
"Aro would not want to be kept in the dark, would he?" Dad said his first words ever since they had arrived.
"Aro doesn't… I mean didn't know its location for sure." Marcus replied. "That was the idea: having a place, a secure one, that no Elder knew about."
"Why?" Dad asked.
"Because if one of the Elders were ever kidnapped and threatened to reveal the clan's location, the rest of the Volturi would be able to take refuge in a place the enemy would never know about."
It made sense. Aro seemed like a resourceful man.
"There's something I don't understand," Dad said again. "We were told that Aro and Caius are not completely faithful to their wives so why are they taking this so badly?"
"They are faithful to their wives." Marcus opposed.
"They have mistresses, don't they? They see vampire women who are not their wives."
"Yes, they do. But it's not what you think." Marcus said calmly. I had no idea if he was trying to excuse his former friends or if he believed that being with someone else after you're married wasn't cheating. "Those vampire women mean nothing to them. They give them physical pleasure when they are in need. That's all."
'They don't only speak differently and have strange names; they also have a completely different concept of moral values.'
'Because you are such a husband mode, Paul.'
'For your information, I never cheated on Rach, Clearwater.'
'You were a man whore before you imprinted. Plus you still watch tons of porn?'
'Watching porn is not cheating.'
'Psychologists disagree.'
"That's considered adultery, Marcus," Bella said and mom and Paul put an end to their argument. "Humans don't appreciate it much. At least the people who follow monogamy."
I had the impression that Marcus didn't understand that very well but he agreed with Bella.
"That's not an issue anymore though." He informed.
"What do you mean?" Alice asked nervously.
"They are probably all dead now. That's the procedure. If there's an emergency all loose ends must be taken care of."
"Terminated is the word Aro uses for that," Carlisle explained. "He told me about the emergency protocol when I was there. I never agreed with it."
"Mistresses and lovers can be used against you," Edward said. "That's why they get rid of them. The core of the clan must survive and the core of the Volturi is the Elders and the Volturi Guard, they don't need anyone else."
"Okay… so Aro, Caius, and the Volturi Guard are in a secret location fearing an attack from the Romanian." Dad resumed. "What more do we know?"
"Things are about to change considerably," Edward said. "Aren't they, Marcus?"
"I had to do something."
"We don't read minds, Edward. Can you explain?" Dad pointed out. "Please?"
"Marcus and Scarlett are sabotaging the Volturi," Edward explained succinctly.
"All those who stayed behind in Volterra, I told them what Aro did. I told them the lies and how he controlled us. Scarlett did the rest… She convinced them to spread the word. Soon all of the vampire community will be against them."
"And they'll support the Romanian Coven instead," Edward stated. He was nervous by the tone of his voice meaning he considered the Romanians dangerous. "I don't think that was such a good idea."
"The Romanians know what happened to my Didyme. They know the truth."
"That doesn't mean they're any better than Aro," Carlisle stated. "Vlad and Stefan want revenge for what happened to their clan. They're doing this for the wrong reasons."
"And they shall have revenge. Just like I shall have mine." Marcus stated, his voice rough.
"If you wanted Aro dead, why didn't you kill him? You killed Corin easily enough." Alice recalled.
"I need to know that it was him and I want to know how he did it."
"That's why you're here," Edward said. "You think we know something about this."
"You read minds." He said referring to Edward. "And you lived with us, he trusted you." He meant Carlisle. "Did Aro ever say anything about how my wife died?"
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, my friend," Carlisle said. "He never mentioned what happened to Didyme. He always talked about her kindness and beauty but he never mentioned the way she died."
"He never thought about the subject. I can only read something in someone's mind if that person thinks about it." Edward put in. "You could have asked Scarlett to read his mind."
"No. It was too dangerous. If he knew that Scarlett and I were in this together, he would have punished her."
"The girl is the most powerful vampire on the planet. How could he punish her?" Dad asked.
"By killing the ones she loves. She still has an aunt and a cousin alive and she's friends with you, especially the blonde one and her husband." Marcus was referring to Rosalie and Emmett. "Aro would send someone to kill them. I have no doubts about that."
"Is she safe now? I mean she's still with Aro, isn't she?" Carlisle asked.
"Yes. She's going to stay with them for now. But soon she'll leave them to meet me."
"What about you Marcus? What's your plan now?"
Carlisle's question wasn't answered.
xxxxxxxxxx
Marcus didn't have a plan per se but he wasn't going to try anything against Aro unless he knew for sure that he had been the one to kill Didyme. Aro and Marcus shared a story. They had lived together for many centuries so it wasn't a complete shock to know that the former Volturi member wanted to be one hundred percent sure that it was his brother-in-law who had killed his beloved wife.
He was now a guest living with the Cullens. This was something that no one was very comfortable with. Alice hadn't predicted a Volturi party to retrieve Marcus but his presence was a liability.
"We need to get rid of him fast," Dad said when he returned home. He and mom were now living with us in the Vacant House thanks to a termite infestation at our place.
"Well, you should've told the Cullens that we don't want him here." Uncle Paul said entering the house behind me.
"We can't simply kill him." Mom said.
"Why not? His friends are miles away and he left them. He's alone, vulnerable, and no one will come after him."
"We'll put Carlisle in a very bad position if we kill Marcus," Dad explained. "And truth to be told… Marcus isn't our real enemy."
"What's the plan then?"
"Alice wants to wait a couple of days. She wants to know Aro's reaction to Marcus' departure before making any plans."
"Great… One day we'll wake up and have a fucking army of leeches on our lands." Uncle Paul growled. "We shouldn't wait. We should act."
"What's your suggestion, Paul?" Mom asked.
"You're the alphas. That's your department." He shrugged. "Now can you please go and tell my sons that I'm waiting for them."
Aunt Rachel wanted to have dinner with her children. Mom went upstairs and called EJ and Danny. Both knew that Uncle Paul was downstairs already; they just chose to stay quiet. I guess these last family dinners hadn't been that good even though none of the brothers mentioned a word about it.
Within a few minutes, both my cousins were following their father in silence back to their family house, where Aunt Rachel and Deb would be waiting for them.
"With Marcus here, more kids will phase," Mom announced. "David and Jerry will turn soon."
Dad nodded. Both David and Jerry had already shown symptoms. Their transformation was imminent.
"He said he'll go away if he knows the truth about how his wife died, right?" I asked.
Both my parents nodded.
"Carlisle and Edward were a dead end. And Eleazar will be too." Dad stated. Eleazar was a member of the Denali Coven and they would arrive soon to talk to Marcus and help our training. Just like Carlisle, Eleazar had also lived with the Volturi for a while. "The only way to know the truth is to face Aro and ask him directly."
"He'll lie." Mom said. "He's a manipulative son of a bitch and a liar. Everyone knows that."
"That's not the only way," I said. An idea had struck me. "Besides Aro, there's one more person who knows what happened."
"Yeah… that vampire from the Romanian Coven, but she already told Marcus what she knows."
"No, not her, mom. Didyme."
My parents looked at me with narrowing eyes.
"Didyme is dead." Mom pointed out. "For real."
"So is Odessa Clearview and we've been talking to her. If we can communicate with Odessa, why can't we communicate with Didyme?"
"Fuck." That was all that my mother said before turning to my father. "Tell only Edward and meet me at your father's place in twenty minutes."
Dad left for the woods again.
"We finally have a plan." Mom smiled at me. "You did great, Isaac."
xxxxxxxxxx
The Council and the pack had agreed we should go along with my idea. But to talk with the dead was not as easy as we thought.
Vampires were told to be soulless creatures and without a soul, we had no way to contact Didyme.
"Why would a vampire lose his or her soul?" Bella had asked her husband when we discussed the plan with the pair. For now, they were the only ones who knew our intentions.
"Because we're monsters." He stated. "We're not human."
"But we were human once. What happens to the soul from when we were human?"
"I don't know, Bella," Edward admitted.
No one knew for sure if vampires had souls or not. There was no scientific proof that souls even existed but there was someone who could help to shed some light on our confused minds. The problem was that she could refuse to help us.
"While the three of us go inside to talk to Odessa, you stay here," Dad said to the vampires who both nodded. "She doesn't trust vamps so just stay put."
Bella and Edward nodded a second time.
"What if she doesn't talk to us?" Mom asked.
"She will. We won't leave until she does."
We waited for almost three hours. Dad was taking a nap when finally Odessa borrowed Dana's body to talk to us.
She wasn't very happy about it. She only came forward when mom told Dana that she would take Sarah back with us if her great-grandmother didn't speak to us.
"What do you want?" The old woman's black eyes were focused on my mother.
"We want your help, Odessa." She said. "I know it sounds odd, but difficult times call for drastic measures."
"My help? Are you joking with me? Why would I help you? You've been nothing but a pain in my ass!"
"Because you sure need some extra points for what you did to my daughter!"
"I didn't do anything to your precious daughter. She wanted what…"
"She's seventeen years old!" Mom cut Odessa off. "Sarah's a child. She had no idea what she was getting herself into. You lured her, trapped her, and convinced her to do what you wanted. And for what?"
"I did what I had to do. The Makah tribe needs protection as much as the Quileute."
"We have a couple of questions for you Odessa." My dad said realizing that my mother was starting to lose control. "That's all we want. Honest answers."
The old lady sat down on a small sofa and rolled her eyes, still upset.
"Fine. Ask whatever you want."
Mom and dad looked expectantly at me. I guess they wanted me to take the lead so I did.
"Do vampires keep their souls when they die?" I asked.
Odessa opened her mouth but she didn't make a sound. She was in silence for a while.
"You kept your soul when you died and now you can use Dana's body to speak to us. We want to know if it's possible to speak to a vampire who died a long time ago."
She laughed when I finished. Really laughed. As if I had said a joke.
"What's so funny?" My mother growled.
"You're insane." She said. "You want to speak to a vampire? Seriously?"
"Yes, we do," Dad admitted. "It's important."
"Do vampires keep their souls? Yes or no?" I insisted.
"If the vampire is dead, yes. They keep their souls."
That was good news.
"Everyone keeps their souls. Vampires, humans, shapeshifters, Children of the Moon, animals… no exception but there's no way you can speak to a vampire." She continued. "Souls or spirits don't usually speak to humans."
"Yet you've been talking to us for a while now and you refuse to let your great-grandchild have a life without you constantly hijacking her body!" Mom growled again.
"Well, I was lucky. Dana's a vessel and we are family. That's why I can take over her body."
"If she's a vessel, someone else can take her body," I said. "I'm sure you can't be the only one able to do it."
"It's not that simple, Clearwater. There are rules... even in the spirit world. I can use Dana's body because we share blood and the same ancestors. I can take her body because she's still young and allows me to do it. But a soul who's not related to her can't do it."
"We know… for that, we need a conductor." I said.
Odessa gritted her teeth and shot daggers at me.
"There's no conductor boy!"
"I'm sure there is a conductor somewhere. You wouldn't be helping a sealer if you didn't know there was a conductor somewhere in the world."
"I'm not helping anyone. Sophia's here because she wants to learn how to live her life with the gift she has. She wants to be at peace with herself."
She was lying. Everyone could see that. Odessa didn't do favors if she didn't gain something.
"We're not stupid, Odessa." Mom said. "Now, how can we find this conductor?"
"I don't know."
"I'm sure you have an idea." I smiled at her. She looked angry now.
"I don't." She denied it again.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
The old woman was stubborn.
"Really?"
"Don't push it, boy."
"I'm not pushing anything. Just tell us how to find the conductor and I won't tell my sister what you did." Odessa opened her eyes and I saw her flinch. "It involves a certain imprinted couple."
"Fine! But you'll regret this, Isaac Black. You mark my words."
She grinned then and I felt the hair in the back of my neck standing up, so maybe she was right. Maybe one day I would regret this but right now we had no choice.
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Karisan.