Demetri
Having Alexa this close to me is intoxicating. It reminds me a bit of Corin's artificial contentment. I've only ever experienced her ability once. Aro knows how easy it is to become addicted and he couldn't have it interfering with my capacity to go on missions. An incurable hankering for happiness was the last thing I needed while tracking someone through the rainforest or the desert. But whatever effect Alexa has on me is a thousand times better, and far more addictive. I suppose it must have something to do with her supernatural magnetism. But everything about her makes me want to protect her.
"Demetri where are we going?" She asks, from her place on my back, her mouth right next to my ear.
"Somewhere safe." I tell her.
"Why weren't we safe before?" She replies. I hesitate. It's a valid question. She's been groomed to believe that her life is normal. Everything she knows, she's learned from books that were all carefully selected by Aro. I imagine even Allesandra and Giulia were under strict orders about what they could and could not say to her. I assume, for their safety, the topics of conversation didn't stray too far from the weather and whatever Alexa was reading at the time.
Until recently, when she was finally told she had a purpose. And what young person wouldn't jump at the chance to have a place in the world? A reason for being. Of course, she has no inclination that this so called purpose is as far from her best interests as you can get. She just sees it as a chance for us to be together, instead of merely passing notes and messages. And that has seemingly lit up her entire world. For some reason, my presence in her life is what brings her the most joy. It's a fact that I both cherish and detest. A girl like her should have many joys, and none of them should revolve around someone like me.
With all these thoughts swirling around in my head, I still can't think of a diplomatic answer to Alexa's question. I don't want to lie to her, but I certainly don't want to bombard her with things she's not ready for. Luckily Bella answers for me.
"You're incredibly special Alexa. But people aren't always nice. Sometimes they want to use you to help themselves, but it ends up hurting you. We want to make sure you don't get hurt." Bella explains. She's definitely a mother.
"But who, who wants to hurt me?" Alexa pleads. I can feel my heart breaking.
"A man who cares more about power than he does about people." I tell her.
"Like Machiavelli?" She asks. I think we're all a bit taken aback. It's not a sentence you expect to come out of a child's mouth. But I know she's fiercely intelligent. Her letters have revealed that much. And of course Aro had included The Prince in her regiment of reading, it's just like him.
"Exactly like Machiavelli." I answer, smiling at how smart she is. Her observation and analysis of Machiavelli's most notable work prove she hasn't just blindly believed whatever Aro's literature choices have told her to. She's capable of thinking for herself. She'll need that.
We settle into a comfortable silence as we continue our journey north. I decide now is a good time to check in on Aro and the rest of the guard. I concentrate, searching for his mind. He's in his quarters, leading me to believe he's still ignorant to what we're doing. I circle through the rest of the guard just in case. Marcus, Caius, and Felix are also safe at home. Alec is—oh no. Alec must be out on some sort of mission. I zoom in, tracking him. He's in France. Headed our way. At this trajectory we're going to run into each other.
"Stop." I command, skidding to a stop myself. "Alec's nearby, just crossing the border into Italy from France. He's headed straight for us."
"And where there's Alec—" Bella starts, trailing off.
"What?" Alexa asks, the only one in the group who doesn't know the logical conclusion to Bella's thoughts.
"There's Jane." I answer, zeroing in on her mind, confirming that she is in fact with him, and they're headed our way.
"We have my shield." Bella tries to reassure us.
"They can still fight." I remind her. Not wanting to voice my fears aloud. I somehow doubt Alexa can hold her own in a fight against the torture twins.
"So which way do we go?" Bella asks.
"We'll have to go east for a while. One they've cleared the area we can start making our way towards France again." I advise.
"Let's go." Edwards says, already taking off in an eastward direction. He's not a man of many words, but when he does talk, it counts.
"Is someone going to tell me who Jane is?" Alexa asks after we've settled into our new course.
"Scary." Is the only answer I offer, hoping it will suffice. I know Alexa's naivety puts her in danger. But I still can't bring myself to shatter her whole innocent outlook on life just yet. She's already learned someone wants to hurt her today, she doesn't need to learn that there are people who thrive on bringing pain to everyone else.
"Where are they?" Bella asks, the worry in her voice apparent.
"Just north of where we changed course. They should be passing through there any minute now." I answer, keeping my mind zeroed in on Jane's, knowing she'll be the one leading. Just a few more seconds and they'd be past our stopping point, continuing their route to Volterra none the wiser. But nothing is ever that easy.
"They've stopped." I say as I sense Jane come to a halt.
"Where?" Edward asks cautiously.
"Exactly where we did." I reply.
"What do we do?" Bella questions.
"Keep running." Edward says, leaving no room for argument. He's right, of course, because now they've changed their own trajectory.
"They're following us." I tell them. If my heart still beat, it would be racing. For once in my life, I was the one being tracked.
"Why?" Alexa asks. "How do they know where we are?"
"They smell you." Edwards answers.
"They smell me?" Alexa sounds surprised. She still has a lot to learn about our world.
"Your blood, it doesn't quite smell human." I realise. The intrigue must have been too much for them to pass up. Of course they would follow.
"We need to get to a city. Somewhere with lots of humans. Their blood should be enough to mask the scent of Alexa's. They'll lose us there. Unless she smells particularly good to one of them." Edward says.
"What happens then?" Alexa questions.
"We'll have to fight." Edward answers. He's spent only a small fraction of the years I have as a vampire, but I have no doubt he's the expert in this arena. Rumours spread quickly in the Volturi, and the story of the stoic vampire who had fallen in love with the girl whose blood he craved most fuelled the gossip wheel for weeks.
"We're not too far from Parma." I suggest.
"No, we go north to Milan. We need to be sure." Edward responds. He's right, it'll be easier to lose them in Milan.
The journey north is mostly silent. I can feel Alexa's heart beating quickly against my back, but it's hard to tell if that's just her natural hybrid state or if she's scared. I guess I don't need her heartbeat to tell me whether or not she's afraid. She must be terrified. I know I am. Fear is a new concept to me. I suppose a part of me has always been intimidated by Aro, but this kind of fear is unfamiliar. This is the kind that grips you and won't let go. This is fearing for the well being of someone else. And there's no shaking this feeling.
It takes nearly an hour but we finally make it to Milan. I've carried Alexa for as long as I could, but as the streets become more populated, we're starting to attract some strange looks. I decide it's probably best for her to walk on her own for a while. As soon as she slips off my back, I grab her hand, not wanting to chance losing her in the crowd. She smiles up at me. That smile is going to be the death of me.
Luckily the storm clouds have followed us north, meaning we won't need to stick to dark alleyways here, making it much easier to get lost in the crowd. Unfortunately the clouds have driven most people indoors. We'll have to find a crowded restaurant or shop. As we make our way through the centre of the city, Edward spots a shopping mall. And it seems lots of others have the same idea. Perfect.
The first stop is a clothing store, where we buy Alexa a large trench coat and douse her in sample perfume, hoping it might help mask her scent a bit. Next, we find the busiest restaurant we can, ensuring it has multiple entrances and exits. Escape routes may become important.
The waitress insists we need a reservation at first, but I manage to charm my way in. My charisma used to be something I took pride in, but for some reason, I feel uncomfortable using it to my advantage in front of Alexa. I look at her as we make our way to the table, and I wonder if that's a hint of jealousy I detect in her expression.
As we sit I take a minute to tune into Jane and Alec's location, they're just coming to the outskirts of the city now. "If this doesn't work, we might have to split up. I'll need to you to take Alexa." I say, hoping it wouldn't come to that.
"And what exactly do you plan on doing?" Edward interrogates.
"Distract them. Try to convince them Aro wants them home immediately. Whatever I need to do to throw them off the scent." I tell him.
"That might be a good plan if you weren't covered in the scent. You've been carrying her all day. They'll smell her on you." He argues. He's right. He's thinking of all the things I should be. I'm being careless and it's getting us in trouble. Worse, it's putting Alexa in danger. "Like I said, we lose them or we fight them. There's no other option." Edward finishes, effectively putting a pin in that conversation.
The waitress comes to take our order, the three vampires all opting for something we can push around our plates a bit to make it look like we've eaten. Alexa orders a vegetable ravioli, which surprises me. I guess I had expected she would go for a steak or at the very least some chicken.
"So, Alexa, I hear you like to read." Bella says, trying to lighten the tense mood.
"Doesn't everyone?" Alexa asks, still vastly unaware how different her life is to the average human.
"Everyone worth talking to." Bella smiles, not calling attention to Alexa's naivety. "What's your favourite book?"
"Peter Pan." Alexa beams. I almost choke on the water I've been sipping for show. I had given that book to her for her second birthday. I spent weeks attempting to convince Aro that I wasn't trying to fill her head with nonsense. Even though, of course, I was. Every child needs a bit of nonsense now and then. I suppose I thought it was fitting. The boy who flew away so he wouldn't have to grow up. She was the girl who couldn't fly away, who would be forced to grow up to quickly. I had been a great admirer of J.M. Barrie when he was alive. Even visiting London on several occasions to see his plays. I was never actually sure that she had received my gift. Aro had said he'd make sure she got it, but I wasn't certain that I had quite convinced him of the merits of a child's fantasy novel. Apparently I was more persuasive than I gave myself credit for.
"Why that one?" Bella asks, trying to keep the conversation alive.
"I guess it's just special to me." Alexa smiles again, looking straight at me this time. I smile back. It probably wasn't the answer Bella was looking for. It's not much to go on when trying to create a dialogue. But it means everything to me. After what might have been seconds or years of us smiling at each other, the waitress brings our meals. The three of us go about cutting our food into smaller pieces and carefully arranging them on our plates, while Alexa digs in immediately. I realise I have no idea how long it's been since she's eaten.
"Aren't you guys hungry?" She asks, finally looking up once she's finished nearly half her meal.
"There's a lot we have to teach you." Edward speaks first, his fatherly persona emerging again. I notice he was careful to not say there was a lot she has to learn. He didn't want to make her feel inadequate. While I have always had a certain level of respect for the Cullens, the last few days I've actually found myself in awe of them. Most vampires don't exactly have nurturing instincts. But Bella and Edward seem to have this parenting thing down to a t.
I turn my attention back to tracking Alec and Jane. They're close, but the large population seems to be throwing them off the scent. They appear to be circling the centre of the city, wandering aimlessly through its streets. I sense them pass the shopping mall and continue on their way. I breathe a sigh of relief, not realising I haven't been breathing for the past several minutes.
"I think we've lost them." I say, once they're fully passed the shopping mall. They didn't even pause at it.
"Thank god." Bella sighs.
"We're not out of the woods yet." Edward warns. Others might find his stern demeanor off putting, but I know it might just be the thing that's saved our lives today. Saved Alexa's life.
The next several minutes are characterised by a tense silence, while we wait and see if Jane and Alec will circle back around or give up and continue on to Volterra. All eyes are on me, trying to detect their movements through my facial expression. Finally I sense them heading out of the city in the direction of home. Their home. Not mine anymore.
"They're leaving." I say, causing everyone to smile, even Edward.
"Does this mean I can get dessert?" Alexa asks, making us all laugh.
"I think we've all earned dessert." Edwards jokes, knowing Alexa is the only one who would enjoy anything from this menu.