Jane had made her way to her room where Donovan was hiding. She mentally applauded his ability to stay put and actually follow directions. "Aro say you can stay, but we are meeting together as a Coven to meet with Eleazar in a couple hours. We have some people Aro has been dying for him to evaluate and my master wants everyone there," Jane sighed exhausted. She was still shaken from being with Caius and Aro and all that transpired. Donovan quickly noticed the stiffness in her shoulders and ice in her voice. Slowly winding his hand in her, he pulled her onto the small loveseat in her room and hugged her. Something had happened when she talked with Aro. "You okay, Princess?" he laughed lightly hoping to break the tension. "Just really happy you were guarding me with your shield," Jane kissed his cheek teasingly to show she was okay. She'd live. Aro might not. But she would. "Just really good intuition I guess," he shrugged.
"How about we get out of this stuff roomy and you give me a tour of the infamous Castle of the Volturi," Donovan said the last part in a cheesy Dracula voice. That did it, Jane was smiling even though she was trying so hard to be mad at Aro still. "Fine, besides I have some people I want you to meet," Jane announced jovially. Hand and hand, the walked down the many corridors. She showed him the Great Hall where Olivia and the wives were discussing fashion during the French revolution while playing on the grand piano, the lobby where Joan was typing away on her computer, the library where Jane introduced Donovan to Marina and Tiago (she was tutoring him in math), the TV room where Felix was happily playing XBOX (Donovan really wanted to join but the tour wasn't over) and he later gave Jane an awkward side hug saying "Hooray you're not dead yet, want to be player three?", they passed Heidi who gave Jane more of a real hug saying, "I never doubted you for a second. You should probably say 'Hello' to Demetri," and finally they ended up at his office.
"Knock, knock," Jane announced before opening the door and stepping inside with Donovan. Demetri ran towards her, scooping her up and spinning her around. "I thought you had died," he gasped smiling. His hug made her feel strong, while Aro's felt like it was restraining her. "Unfortunately no. Demetri, I have so much to tell you. Let's just say it was one Hell of a mission," Jane hugged him one more time before letting go and stepping back. Finally she felt at home. "And who is this?" Demetri hissed, trying to sound polite but failing. "This is my- ," Jane paused, "This is Donovan. Our new addition." They shook hands, Demetri purposely gripped tightly. Not enough to break bones. But pretty close. Jane was like a little sister to him, if not a younger cousin. He had just gotten her back and he didn't want to lose her to just anybody. Jane was a special girl to him and he was surprised how protective he felt seeing her holding hands with this blonde stranger, a half-vampire no less. Demetri smiled coldly, "Welcome to the Volturi." They both looked at each other with a look that said, I'll kill you later.
After saying goodbye to Demetri, they wound their way downstairs. The training room was still in disarray, leaving Jane confused as to what had happened while they were gone. Next they came to the door of a bedroom. Donovan heard the fast heartbeat of another dhampir. He then realized of all the people he had met here, he hadn't met Alec's son. Jane knocked on the door.
Damien was confused. He had heard people walk down the stairs and head to the training room. Recently he had been getting really good at figuring out who was coming down the stairs before they got to the first landing, except for when Alec had returned home. He couldn't sense who these people were at all. "Well, here's the training room," it was Jane's voice, "Sorry it's such a mess." So it was Jane. Had it not been for her voice, he would not have known. But who was she talking to? Damien had no idea. The idea worried him. Setting down one of the new comic books, he listened closely trying to figure out who the stranger was. Feeling oddly blind, he took a deep breath. The stranger smelled like a half-vampire. Listening with sharpened hearing, he pinpointed the stranger's heart beat and confirmed what it was. Jane knocked on the door, "Hey, it's me. I have a friend for you to meet."
They both stepped into the door. Donovan found a small, raven haired boy sitting criss-cross on the bed with gory comic books around him. But his eyes. His eyes were green. "Hi, I'm Damien" the boy said nervously. They were green. Donovan didn't catch what the kid said. Jane nudged him. His eyes should not be green. Not that type of green. This can't be happening. "This brain dead idiot is Donovan," Jane rolled her eyes. Figures Donovan would get weird now. What was his problem anyway? Why was he staring at Damien like that?
The stranger now known as Donovan kept staring at Damien like he had just witnessed a car crash. Scared and not sure what to do with a dash of trying to process what was happening. That was all he got from Donovan. Nothing else. Besides what was literally standing in front of him, Donovan was a blank slate. It wasn't until then he realized how much he was able to perceive and read off people. His facial expression must be close to Donovan's. He too was confused.
The two of them left. "What was that about?" Jane asked. Donovan had gone completely pale and silent. He hadn't reacted this way when meeting the other members of her family. "Nothing," Donovan said hollowly like his mind was somewhere else completely. Those were witch eyes.
Once the distracting holiday of Christmas had ran its course, the entire Volturi gathered in the Throne Room. All three of the Masters sat on their marble thrones, still protected by Renata's shield secretly after the incident with Jane. They did not want to risk their personal safety and Aro's growing paranoia now required constant security. Three new faces had entered the Guard. New to some, old to others. Eleazar and Joham stood on one side of the room, conversing occasionally with Demetri or Felix. Donovan stood behind Jane, hand on her hip protectively, trying to ignore the dirty looks from the Guard. Both to keep her from the tempting idea of clawing Aro's face out and to keep himself from attempting the same. Except it was unknown if Renata's shield would affect him. Chelsea, the wives, and Olivia sat on golden couches discussing their normal trivial topics. Heidi and Marina talked about an upcoming homework project on the Byzantine Empire. Tiago stood to the side of his adopted father, listening to every word. The anger had subsided and their lives had returned back to normal for the most part. Damien and Alec stood in the shaded corner near Jane and Donovan, both trying to be invisible. Every now and then Damien and Donovan would make eye contact. Donovan would talk to the kid once the two of them could be alone without people listening in.
"My dear Guard, I have invited Eleazar and Joham to assist us in our quest to learn more about the newly discovered Half-vampires," Aro began. Dhampirs, Donovan corrected in his mind mentally strangling him. "I hope they will be useful tools in learning about our fellow children as well," Aro continued with flourish, "Knowing their potential gifts will help better ourselves as a Coven for the coming millennia." The only thing that would make this better is if he was rubbing his hands like a B-rated movie villain, Damien thought. Aro clasped his hands together at the end of his address. Close enough, Damien smirked. He was happy Eleazar was here though. Hopefully he could tell him what was wrong with him.
"First I would like to know what potential Olivia and Tiago pose," Aro smiled as if shopping at a mall and saying that we wanted to look at shoes first. Eleazar did his best to read the two children. "Tiago is gifted with extreme strength. He will grow physically stronger each day. Someday, if he lives to be this age, he may even surpass Felix in brute force," Eleazar said simply. Felix felt oddly proud of his son. He was gifted after all. It wasn't a flashy, dramatic power like Jane's, but it would solidify his spot on the Guard. Tiago felt extremely happy to. His entire life he had been looked down on because he was supposedly not gifted. Now he was just as special as the rest of his Coven siblings.
"And Olivia?" Aro asked urgently. "Hmmm. Hers is in a way mental. She has a certain way of making people feel weaker than they are. It is in a way the opposite of Felix's, where he possess enormous strength. It will need some work to actually be effective in the way you might wish it, Aro," Eleazar knew Aro was disappointed but still pleasantly surprised. It was better than nothing. It made sense to Marina now how no matter what she did, she always felt weak compared to her. It was good to know it wasn't just her, but it also worried her as to what Olivia might do to her with this new knowledge.
"I think we already guessed Marina's," Demetri smiled proud. "Yes, she is a tracker like you as well as oddly a shield. But her tracking works differently than yours. She can sense her location in relation to things around her, like radar. She also can shield herself from you but turning off her tenor. Unfortunately she will only be able to shield herself from just you, although I am not sure why. It is a nice surprise that she has two abilities, even though both are limited," Eleazar confirmed.
That left only Damien. The thought made him nervous. He would finally know what he was. "And what about subject two?" Caius asked coldly. Eleazar hesitated. His brow furrowed as he looked at Damien closely. His pausing caused the rest of the Guard to also look at Damien, making the boy's stomach twist with social anxiety. He hated the way everyone had their sharp eyes on him, examining him like a dissected frog. Eleazar opened his mouth, then closed it not quite ready to speak. "For the love of God, just spit it out," Caius ordered angrily.
"I'm not sure how to describe it. I've never encountered someone with this before," Eleazar looked apologetic. This perked Aro's ears up. The promise of having an ability that was so rare even Eleazar was dumbfounded excited him. "Alec, could I talk to you in private?" was all Eleazar said as he rushed out of the room. Alec followed growing more worried with each step. He followed Eleazar into one of the bathrooms where he watched the older vampire turn on the shower and faucet. "I'm turning them on so no one can over hear us," he explained in a rushed manner, "Aro cannot have Damien in his possession."
Alec was even more confused. The whole reason Aro forced him to have Damien was so he could have another gift at his disposal. "Why exactly, sir?" Alec was now scared, "Could you at least explain to me what his gift is?" Was something wrong with his son?
Eleazar took two control breaths, as if he was still finding a way to explain what was making him so panicked. Finally he gave Alec an answer.
"In many ways than one, his power is...twisted, where as your talent affects others, his power would only affect himself, instead of taking senses away, other senses are open to him in the form of abilities," Eleazar whispered, "He can see, touch, taste, smell and hear things no one else can. Things like the dead, the future, the past, ideas, thoughts, feelings, everything. If someone is speaking, he hears what they are saying regardless of what they are physically saying for example. If someone is in danger, he physically feels what the person is feeling as if it is happening to him. All without fully realizing it. He is one of the most talented vampires I have ever met and he will only grow stronger and more powerful with age."
This was good news wasn't it. His son had a strong gift that guaranteed a spot on the Guard. Aro would be happy, so everyone would be happy. "So why can't he be in his possession?" Alec was missing something here. Eleazar knew the main reason he was worried about controlling Damien was his friendship with the Cullens. It was clear after last winter there would be another confrontation. A fight eventually. If they had Damien and the new shield, the Cullens were in trouble. He was between a rock and a hard place. But Eleazar was also concerned with Damien's mental health. He could tell his gift was tiring him out on a good day. Constantly being in the grey area of reality was not a good idea when one is still trying to figure out how the world works. Using his ability in the way Aro would desire it would drive him insane if not kill him. He needed to convince Aro of this before he explained Damien's gift.
Alec was waiting for an answer. "Because Aro is a greedy nut case who will push his ability to the breaking point without second thought," Eleazar warned, "When we get back to the Main Hall, take Damien in private and explain what we discussed to him." He realized he forgot to mention one last thing. Eleazar had first noticed Damien's obvious gift, but on further inspection he realized there was potentially a second gift lurking in its shadow. When Aro had instructed Eleazar to keep an eye on the twins while they were human, Eleazar saw their future vampire abilities as well as this weird unnamed ball of power tucked inside them. It wasn't clear what it was, just this potential for something Eleazar couldn't describe. When they became vampires it disappeared. Now Damien had this odd unnamable ability. In a hushed tone, he quickly told Alec this. They left the bathroom after turning off all the faucets.
All eyes were on them as they reentered the room. The anticipation was killing everyone. Thoughts of power and excitement flourished. Alec silently gestured for Damien to leave the room with him. They carefully made their way down stairs where no one could hear them. Damien felt sick to his stomach. "Is something wrong with me?" he whispered. Alec shook his head, thinking. Did this have to do with the way Donovan had been looking at him funny?
Once safely hidden in a stone corridor deep below the Building, Alec tried to explain all he could to his son. "So I'm not completely crazy?" Damien smiled. A huge feeling of relief washed over him. He wasn't entirely insane. Damien tried to fill Alec in on all that had happened with his ability in his absence. "I felt the bombing when it happened. Like I was standing right next to you guys. They I was able to see you guys burn down that warehouse," he bubbled happily. He was ecstatic in a morbid way that all these terrible things actually happened, not just some messed up fantasy he created out of his imagination. It was a huge confidence boost to know he was more in control than he realized. He quickly ran upstairs to where Joan was working. "Joan! I'm not as fucked up as I thought I was," Damien was almost in tears of joy.
"Language, young man" she scolded not looking up from her laptop. Then she registered what he said. Looking up, she saw the most adorable face she had seen. He was genuinely smiling ear to ear and his eyes were lit up with the good news while rocking between his left and right leg too energetic to stand still. "Well, good for you. Did Eleazar figure out what you gift is?" She beamed. Wow, her life was weird. Most people congratulated their kids on getting first place in the spelling bee. But then again Damien wasn't hers. Damien tried to think of the fancy official word for it that Alec had just explained to him, "I think it is called 'Extra Sensory Perception'. My senses basically adapt to their surroundings in a supernatural way."
"I'm proud of you for not being crazy," she laughed, "I'm making a fresh pot of tea to celebrate." This was why he loved Joan. She wasn't fazed easily. He had basically in a nut shell told her, 'Hi I have super powers'. That's nice, dear. Cup of tea? He may be paranormal, but to Joan he was normal.
Once Eleazar had close the door, the entire room erupted. They wanted to know everything. "SILENCE," Caius roared. The room feel silent. "Please come here, friend," Aro held his hand out like Eleazar was offering billions of dollars. He wanted to read every thought. Eleazar walked slowly. He tried to gather his thoughts in a way that he could plea for Aro to be patient with the boy's ability, not greedy. Aro desperately snatched his hand. His eyes went wide. "Stupendo," Aro was too filled with giddiness. This confirmed everything. He was never going to let Damien out of his hands. Not a prize like that.
The news spread like wild fire. People stopped teasing and doubting him. But it also scared them. Was he reading their thoughts? Could he see their futures? How much did he know? Knowledge can be a very powerful thing. But desire for power was what created the Volturi.
The guards quickly dispersed. Donovan said he would meet Jane back in her room. He just needed to do something really quick was all he explained vaguely. He raced to Damien's room. He tucked a note under his pillow saying "Back of courtyard Midnight. –D". Hopefully he would get the message. He need to speak with him alone. Those green, green eyes.