Swiss-Italian Alps
"Oh for the love of all that is damned!" Alec nearly swore. They could not catch a break. Jane dropped the paperback as Alec saved it from hitting the snow like a falling baby. A second howl rumbled over the snowy barren wasteland. The thick musk of wolf polluted the air. They had hunted the Children of the Moon to the brink of extinction after one merciless attacked Caius for no reason that occurred many years before they were even born. The chances of finding one now were inconceivable.
HOUNDS. It now made sense. Werewolves.
He waited, not daring to breath. Listening for another lone howl. The tone and pitch matched the first, which gave hope there was only a lone stray. They could feel the brittle ice around them start to crunch and crackle as heavy paws ran along it. Its claws grinding into the snow. Silently Jane stood up while crouch just low enough so just the top of her head was poking from their temporary shelter. Peering around, she saw a large figure barreling towards them.
"Alec. Mist barrier. NOW" she ordered as her brother nodded. His hands tingled as an icy feeling spread through his fingertips. The Mist slowly swirling and molding to his will. He made a small dome above them, just large enough that is anything tried to attack them, they would be paralyzed.
Unfortunately, they could not see what was happening around them now with the Mist fogging out what was occurring around them. Sounds were more muffled. Scents neutralized. But touch. They could still feel the vibrations of something running towards them. The hulking beast heavy against the soft snow. But they soon felt several other smaller, lighter ones.
"I'm going up to get a better look," Jane announced bravely. They were the Volturi. They don't cower in the snow. They fight.
Alec parted the snow, but left it floating around them to barricade them if needed. Hopping out of the small snow fort, she cupper her hands around her eyes trying to get a better visual of the situation.
Bang! BANG BANG! Bang!
"Gun shots," she commented, sinking lower in the blizzard. The shots had sparked a flash of light to the left of her leaving a silhouette of a Snarling Hellhound. And of a standing figure? Someone had to have shot the gun. She sniffed the air waiting to catch the delicious scent of a human. Instead she smelled the slight sweet undertones of a different creature all together. She could smell the beast's rotten blood. It cried in agony signifying the accuracy of the weapon. And why of all weapon of choice a gun? She had never known it to work before.
"It's a low caliber firearm. Perhaps a pistol?" Alec whispered. He stopped himself before he could explain more. He heard an odd sort of rustling around him. Scanning the limited visibility of the area around them, he found a curious sight. Boot prints. Werewolves don't wear shoes…
But they were in the opposite direction than where they had just seen the momentary silhouette. They were not too large. About the same size as his indicating a character of smaller stature. He breathed in the scent of the owner. "Dhampir," he confirmed. The wolf shrieked again. Angered by agony and driven by fear and instinct. This was one mean motherfucker. Jane ran forward blindly into the snow.
"Wait!" Alec called after her. Must his sister always be so reckless? She was going to be the death of him. She only huffed. The dhampir out here had to be on their side somehow if he or she was trying to slay a Child of the Moon. If not they both could easily handle one little Halfling. She was ready to help finish it off. She winced as the snow and ice crunched around her feet. Every other step, large cracks would fracture the glacier below her. She prayed that she would not fall into a crevasse and he ice would not swallow her up as she sprinted along the thin ice.
She eventually could make out a figure. It stood motionless with a sword raised, ready to deliver another blow. Blood flowed freely from the bullet wounds of its front legs as it struggled to stay standing, hissing as if poisoned. But once it caught her vampire scent and saw her running, its instincts took over and it snarled charging towards her. The dhampir chased after it, still hunting its prey stubbornly. Holding her ground, she smiled wickedly and unafraid. It yelped and whimpered as she watched it burn. Its paws slipped on the ice and it crumpled to the ground. The dhampir ran full force, sword swinging, still determined to slay the beast. The blade shined as it sail. The tortured keening ended as its head fell to the ground in a wet bloody heap. In a matter of convulsions and bloody gargles, she watched it as it returned to its human form. A dark haired man with now bottomless pits for eyes and empty shell for a body.
They could hear the stranger's now heavy breathing and racing pulse as the dhampir remained in frozen in a stance with a now bloodied weapon. They assumed it was a male, with his thick snow pants, leather boots that had spikes built into the soles to help him maneuver the slick ice, a parka that had different insignias such as flags she didn't recognize, three swans and a sea shell, other tags signifying he was a soldier of sorts which also had a large fur rimmed hood that looked rather warm. He wore a belt and backpack containing other necessary equipment such as rope and an ice axe, which her clipped to his belt with carabiners. His face was covered by a thick piece of fabric from the nose down and then a pair of polarized goggles leaving his full identity ambiguous while still working the weather the stranger against the harsh mountain conditions. Every article of clothing was solid white to help camouflage himself in his environment as he hunted the beast.
He rose from his partially crouch, making eye contact with Jane, who now stood several inches shorted. Next he rose his sword aiming it towards her. He took two steps forward as he pointed it at her throat in a threatening manner.
"Кто ты? Что ты здесь делаешь?" he ordered. He pressed the tip into her exposed throat when she remained speechless from not understanding what he had said, "Ответь мне."
Jane quickly yelled, "I don't understand you! Speak English Goddammit!" She held her hands up in surrender. The odd, now bloodstained metal, seemed to hiss against her skin. She had never had this happen before. Jane's first reaction was to use her gift and then kill him as he lay screaming and helpless on the ground. But that would risk him slashing her throat with this newly dangerous sword. Out of her peripheral vision she tried to find Alec.
Alec watched as the strangers threatened his sister with his sword. Was the stranger completely daft? You can't kill a vampire with a sword. The stranger pressed the sword slowly as just the tip poked her. He heard a hissing sound and could see it leaving a slight charred mark. What was going on? He raised his Mist ready to come to her rescue when he felt cold metal press into his back.
"Не оборачивайся. Шаг медленно из отверстия с руками над головой," a voice hissed in his ear. The accent was unfamiliar but sounded slightly Russian and he had heard one or two of the words before. He tried to turn around to look behind him, but as soon as he did the second stranger jabbed what seemed to be the original gun they heard into his back left ribs. The slight glimpse he did catch, he was able to see that both were dressed uniformly. The second pushed him, signifying he wanted Alec to walk forward towards where Jane was standing. If the sword was leaving a mark of Jane, he did not want to find out what the gun did.
A third stranger appeared trough the blizzard, but this one was slightly smaller. It knelt down in front of the dead werewolf with a hunting knife opened is maw and started slicing away is jaw and teeth, collecting each one carefully by placing it in a leaver pouch. Then the thrird stranger sliced at its abdomen and collected a large portion of it blood in a steel vessel. Taking the harvested materials, it placed them all in the bag the third stranger was wearing.
Feeling through his front pants pocket, Alec felt for his phone. At least he could hopefully connect the line to one of the members of the Volturi. It seemed cowardice, but they had no idea what they were facing once again.
"Я слышу мобильный телефон. Что вы пытаетесь достичь, сука?" a voice hissed as something stabbed him in the hand. He didn't even process the third stranger moving from the dead body to his side as Alec's right hand felt like it was engulfed in fire as he looked down to see a third stranger holding a knife that was now imbedded in his hand. It was a frightening sight to see a piece of metal go through his hand and enter his skin effortlessly. The third stranger yanked his hand away, with the knife still stabbing it, as it reached into his front pocket unafraid of accidently managing 'precious cargo' and pulled out his phone. Both winced as the phone was then stomped into a million pieces with the third stranger's spiked boots and thrown across the barren wasteland. Demetri was going to kill them if their new friends didn't.
Three then proceeded to search every single pocket that was remotely visible as well as an over aggressive and invasive pat-down which Alec tried his best not to make eye contact during, which was easy with their heavily polarized goggles. As Two dug the butt on the gun into his shoulder blades, Three ran back to the snow bunker and retrieved both Jane and his backpacks. Alec hissed when the knife was ripped from his hand. That knife was then used to rip open their bags and have all the contents dumped on the ground. Three checked every pocket of every jacket, zipper, every page of every book, took the batteries out of his GPS and watch as well as smashing both to bits and examined. Jane was just happy that no comment was made about her undergarments as those were riffled through. Three even carefully went through the wallets, but oddly enough didn't take any money or credit cards. Their fake IDs and passports held the strangers' interest more as each were examined and even checked for authenticity, which the twins were amazed Three was able to find them all forged.
"Fucking. Snow. Ninjas."
Jane was angry at the invasion of privacy. If they were going to kill them, why go through their stuff. But what again threw them off guard was then the third stranger packing the bags back up and even folding the clothes so the bags were neater than when they had been searched.
"Все чисто. Нет ошибки или устройства слежения," Three announced, "но я нашел это."
Two eased up on the cold metal protruding into Alec's back and One nodded and pulled the sword back so it was still in Jane's face, but not making contact.
"Что это?" One seemed to ask. Three unfolded the map Damien had given Alec. Examining it again, it was then handed to One.
"Weh. Find. Dis?" One tried to say in heavily accented English as he held the map up to the twins.
"You speak English?" Jane gasped.
"He's asking where we found the map," Alec quickly explained, "GEN-ER-AL-GRIGS-BY-OF-NEW-YORK."
One took one hand of his sword and reached up to move his goggles to his forehead. The slight portion of his face that was now visible showed that the stranger was indeed male and quiet young. No older than twenty had he been a human. His darker lashes and brows told them he was brunette. But is eyes were the color of volcanic rock, this murky dark grey and contained a slight fold on the lids indicating Siberian descant.
"N'yu York? Amedica?" he asked confused his eyes squinting in mistrust.
"Amedica?" Three asked tilting its head.
One then pointed to one of the zones on the map. "Mishukov," he said pointed at the region before pointing at himself. He repeated saying the last name pointing at Two and Three.
"Jane Volturi," Jane pointed at herself before pointing at her twin, "Alec Volturi."
All three growled and raised their weapons again, the temporary peace now long gone.
"VOLTURI?" One screamed tackling Jane in the snow, "How know of us?"
"We didn't. We swear. We have known about dhampirs for a year now. We helped you guys in New York. We come in peace," Jane spat out quickly.
"Peace?" Three started laughing almost doubling over, the sound warped twistedly by the heavy piece of fabric covering its mouth. Obviously they had a reputation for violence which Jane felt slightly proud of.
Alec went wide eyed when he heard Two cock the gun with his thumb. "Jane, what did the next thing on the list say?" he asked urgently while trying to keep a calm atmosphere. They were going to die here in a barren wasteland. All because once again they were at the wrong place at the wrong time and had the last name of Volturi.
"Uh. I forget. I wasn't paying that much attention to it," Jane grimaced mentally slapping herself.
"Jane Marie Volturi," Alec seethed trying to remain calm. Jane was truly the death of him sometimes.
"Wait. Wait Wait! Something about a debt? Sewicks?" Jane shouted holding her hands up to her face in case she said something wrong and One decided to kill her.
"Sewicks?" One asked. "Know Sewicks?" He placed the arm that was holding the sword at his side.
Jane had never heard the name in her life but decided to go with the way this conversation was going, "I don't know. Do you?"
"Owe debt to Sewicks," One stated flatly squinting his eyes again glaring at her questions.
"Well maybe your debt is that you don't kill us? Please?"
Not taking his eyes off her, he signaled to Three with a come-hither motion, to which Three took his place threatening Jane with a weapon to keep her in line. One held up his left pointer finger as if to say hold on one moment while I do my next deadly task. He then proceeded to search his pockets and pull out what seemed to be an iPhone. Jane watched still confused as to what was going on as One scrolled through what seemed to be his Email.
"Sewicks?" he asked showing her a picture. It was of Moira and Donovan with what seemed to be a young dark haired boy around five and a dark hair girl around sixteen posing in front of a Christmas tree. One pointed back and forth between Moira and Donovan.
"Moira and Donovan O'Malley?" Jane asked slowly.
"Moira Sewick, yes. Fawkes Sewick, yes. Donovan O'Malley, no." One confirmed. He then scrolled through his Email some more humming to himself. Reading through something, he looked up at his two companions.
"Она teling правду. Он должен идти по имени Donovan O'Malley в настоящее время. Опустите оружие, но все еще быть на страже. Мойра оставил нам инструкции не убивать их и помогать им в их путешествии. Так что не калеча. Да, я смотрю на вас, девушка," One commanded the other while lingering a long glance at Three as if the latter was in trouble. One seethed his sword as the other two put away their weapons as well.
"Come. I take you to journey," One announced jovially, smiling with his eyes and helping Jane out of the snow and wrapping his arm around her like she was an old friend.