PROLOGUE
"Hello? This is Charlie Swan; I got your number from Renee. I think Bella could really use your help right now."
MADALENA'S HEAD BOPPED to the music passing through her earphones as she sipped her hot coffee from the foam cup. Her attention wasn't on the powerful words blasting through her ears but on a beautiful woman in a red dress gathering tourists together with a large smile. By the way she enchanted everyone, Madalena knew exactly what she was. A knowing frown made its way onto her lips as she watched the woman take the group into the beautiful Volturi castle. As soon as Bella's father, Charlie Swan had called, Madalena had had a vision of the Italian castle from Bella's near future and immediately made her way to the home of the vampire kings.
The beautiful dark brunette clicked her tongue, "what interesting company you've found yourself in, Bella." She removed her earphones and stuffed them into her coat pocket before taking the last few sips of her drink, throwing the cup away in the trashcan beside her. She licked her lips and walked into the alleyway between two shops. If there were any nearby citizens, all they would hear was the sound of fluttering wings as she vanished, descending into an unknown location.
Heels clicked against the floor as Madalena leaned against the wall in the corner of a random corridor she had appeared in, watching as the woman in red led the tourists down the hall. She followed them in silence, remaining in the shadows, completely invisible from any eyes or mind. While people, including those that are supernatural, could see her clear as day if she wanted them to; they could not sense her. She wasn't there; no footprints left behind. It was something the Children of the Forest pride themselves for.
Madalena stopped and watched as the woman led the people into a room, following closely behind them before shutting the door behind her. Standing outside the room, she pressed her lips together, ignoring the screams as the feasting began. If Bella was spending time around vampires, she was in more danger than Madalena thought. Humans knowing the existence of vampires was against their law and if that was the case, Bella would be found by the owners of this very castle, and she knew had to get to her first.
No human was perfect; no creature was perfect; but everyone and everything needed to survive, and that was the only reason Madalena turned her back against the slaughter. With one last look at the door, she vanished.