"What's the plan for tonight?" Marina asked as they were assigned different parts of the Building to clean for "class" that day. She convinced Demetri to let her tidy the north half with Damien and Donovan, claiming she could make sure they stay out of trouble. Demetri only smiled with pride. His baby girl was a complete angel. She would never do anything wrong. If only the other children were as well-behaved as her.
"I was with Aro and Caius all night trying to figure out the same thing. There will be another murder, meaning we need to choose our next target. It's going to be a female with pale hair so my money is on Corin or Athenodora," Damien whispered. Marina said she would let them know to change the topic of conversation, something other than plotting murder, if someone began to approach them.
"Let's go with Corin. The only person who will care if Athenodora dies is Caius, which will just crank his anger up a notch but nothing more than that. Killing Corin will make things more chaotic," Donovan offered.
"You're right. Aro uses both Corin and Chelsea to keep the Guard loyal and content with his orders. He needs Corin to keep Chelsea happy so Chelsea can keep everyone loyal. If Corin's dead, then everyone will feel it and will become angry and more aware of what has been going on. Plus then Chelsea will be harder for Aro to have on a leash. It will divide the Guard up even more," Damien mused.
This was insane, but genius. He was able to learn how Donovan AND Marina murdered Renata. Donovan would kill the vampire originally, then hide the body parts where no one would find them. Then, when the body needed to be found, Marina raced in during the fireworks show while everyone in the Building was distracted and put them in place while writing on the wall with blood. Donovan would have them both help him kill Corin. To teach them how to hunt vampires. By mixing all three of their blood together, with rubbing alcohol which Marina knew Demetri would not be able to get a scent from, they would be able to keep their identities a secret and continue to slowly take down the Volturi from the inside out.
And Corin's Chambers just happened to be in the north end of the Building. They were assigned to make the entire Building shine like a vampire in the freaking Bahamas. This meant they had harsh chemicals that masked the scent of blood as they created their concoction.
"So you never said why you got involved with Donovan and his murder plot?" Damien asked.
She looked down almost ashamed, "I joined on two conditions. First Demetri and Felix would not be targets. I hate the Volturi, but I would never kill my own father. And if Felix died, Tiago would get hurt. Secondly, I want a life outside of the Building. I was talking to Joan a couple weeks ago and she mentioned how she went to college and I decided I want to try and go to college when I am old enough. When I mentioned it to my father, he and he told me to ask Aro. Aro said I was to only serve the Volturi and would never be allowed outside the city walls unless I was on a designated Mission. I only want to have a normal, healthy life. I want to get a degree, even if it would be useless. I just want to accomplish something other than sitting at home. I could even study forensics or computer science to help update our methods. But the more I pushed the issue, the angrier Aro got. And so, by destroying the Volturi Tiago and I can finally be free. If you could study anything or be anything, what would you do?" Her eyes met his and they were filled with hope and dreams.
Damien could not agree more. He hadn't even thought of college or what his life outside of the Volturi. He just saw anything but being a Guard member. What would he even study? He loved reading so maybe he would get an English degree and then what? Become a writer or a librarian. He wouldn't mind being a librarian. Although he did not think so, others commented he was an amazing drawer. Maybe he would go to art school. Maybe even use his gift to help humanity by becoming a historian or anthropologist to encode lost cultures and stories. Maybe he could study psychology like Joan or even psychiatry and use his gift to help people overcome and understand the demons plaguing their mind. His life could be a pure maybe which was okay with him. He would have all the time in the world to figure out who and what he wanted to be.
He found himself smiling as he told Marina his aspirations to be an artist or a writer or just a Maybe. It felt good to dream since it was not something they often had the luxury of doing.
Donovan lowered his shield so Damien would be able to have a clearer picture of what they could expect and to cover any bases if things went wrong. The plan was they would kill Corin now and have everything prepped to go tonight. Aro was going to have Donovan front and centre for the Cullens as an over obvious explanation as to why Edward would not be able to read anyone's thoughts. It would also be the justification for blocking Alice's visions and if they picked up on the scent of any dhampirs. That would establish an alibi since the Guards still thought the victims were being killed at the sight they were found. Damien would distract Demetri giving him an asserted alibi and to make it easy for Marina to slip away to place the body parts and write this week's message on the wall. Demetri would not try to locate her with her shielding herself from him and she would be able to tell if anyone was coming who could be a witness. "This knife is coated in wolf toxin and can harm any vampire. It's like poison to them and to us, so be careful handling it," Donovan warned as they crept towards where Corin was. Both children examined the knife. It was cold to the touch. They both grew silent know what they had to do.
Marina stood guarding the door as Donovan instructed Damien, like he had instructed Marina the last time. When she had come to him asking how to kill a vampire. Corin seemed startled when the three of them entered her room. "We are just here to ready the room for the Cullen's arrival," Damien smiled sweetly. It stung. Corin nodded and turned away from them. Damien rolled his eyes. Aro did not chose his Guard off brain power and if anything he preferred sheep-like individuals. Corin was one of them.
Silently Donovan crept behind her and grabbed her hair, pulling her head back to expose her throat. Quickly he slashed her vocal chords and head off before she could scream to alert the others. It left a charred indent as Donovan lowered her to the ground to continue his task.
"Technically she is dead since her head is cleanly off and the wolf toxin makes is so she cannot heal," Donovan explained, "But we are not doing this purely for this kill. We are doing this to send a message to Aro and Caius. To show them their time as rulers is coming to a close."
This was why they cut the upside down stars over her eyes. To inspire a response. This was why they chopped up her arms and legs and burned the stubs. To cause panic and fear.
To cause madness.
Donovan slowly sliced off her arms before handing the knife to Damien. With shaking, small child hands he started to saw off her legs. He felt everything. He felt the glimpses of her life as a human, her existence of being a vampire, her entire life flashing before her eyes like a video cassette being fast forwarded. He hated do this to her. He hated the feeling of someone dying and since it was by his hand partially it made the experience all the more intense. He had never killed before. Yes, his mother was dead because he was born. But staring at a dead body, watching her eyes open like little black flowers towards a sunlight that vampires were damned from ever experiencing.
Like little black flowers.
Little black flowers.
Black flowers.
Flowers.
"Damien?" Donovan asked. Damien looked at him. "Finally I have been calling your name for the last ten minutes. We need to hide the body. Demetri is expecting us to be done cleaning in a couple minutes and we still need to febreeze bomb the place so they don't smell you," Donovan sighed before looking at the small green-eyed boy more closely. His eyes seemed very distant and face vacant. He remembered Joan demanding to know if there were any medications safe for dhampirs. She wanted to know what she could give Damien. The kid probably hadn't slept in over thirty-six hours and had been asked four times now to use his ability. Now he was crashing hard. They both still hadn't found Jonathon. The undead child had left footprints, so it wasn't a ghost. Donovan knew firsthand how hard it was to kill a dhampir. He'd been shot and stabbed several times himself. When dhampirs die, a certain 'reset' switch is hit. That must have been what happened to Jonathon. The spell of having no senses and being paralyzed must have broken. But that also left another unplanned variable.
Moira had given him very clear instructions. She had given them all instructions. And he was following them. She had left him an email explaining her master plan the day before she died. The order of people dying, what to write, how to stay hidden was all part of it. But there had been some hick-ups along the way that deviated from the original outline. He had not planned to fall in love with Jane, but in the original plan Alec and Jane were meant to live anyway and would be exchanged to their "friends". He had not planned on the existence of Damien and not only that but him also having witch powers. But having another person who could confirm the future was helpful to reroute the detours he was making. Luckily Marina's involvement was one of the options in Moira's plan. As long as everyone else in the world who received an email followed their instructions, everything would work.
Marina ran into the room to find both boys spaced out completely. Damien looked exhausted and about ready to fall asleep kneeling in front on the dead body and Donovan was staring at the wall, his mouth twisted like he was contemplating the meaning of life. "We got to go now," she said quickly, throwing the body parts in a rubbish bag. They would pretend it was a broken vase or statue and set it next to all the others. They even added actual rubbish to mask the scent. That way it would be placed right next to where Marina would set them and write the needed phrase. The blood was in a bottle in the bag as well. She would have three minutes tops to do this. If they wanted to get away with murder.
"Hey are you okay?" Donovan asked. Damien still seemed a little out of touch of what was going on around him. So maybe having the mentally unstable, stress ridden, insomniac, sociopath with a fear of socializing complete his first homicide was not a good idea, Donovan winced. Just after promising Alec to be a good role model for his son. To help take care of him and look out for him. I'm so going to Hell for this, Donovan cringed.
Damien nodded, "I'm fine. Just tired." He needed to stay awake. To know if anything was going wrong with Marina. To know if Demetri had caught on to anything since he would be the one "babysitting". He still had no clue how he was going to keep Demetri entertained for a full five minutes, just to give Marina more wiggle room for error. He could possibly mess with the training room again, where they would be kept. He couldn't be too obvious, just enough to cause a problem that would need everyone's immediate attention.
Finally the announcement was made that the Cullens had just arrived in Rome. The children were rushed downstairs to where they would hide. Donovan was ordered to wear a full-uniform and not to speak unless specifically instructed to. And Aro had even given him scripted responses to avoid any conflict or inconsistencies with their cover story. The Cullens could not learn of the Children of the Guard.
The four children were given several assignments to keep them entertained, contained and silent. There where verb conjugation tables to fill out for present, preterit, imperfect, subjunctive and future tenses. Maths problems where they found the derivatives of about fifty different polynomials, a time line of Medieval Europe to fill out including both human and immortal events, and reading quiz to do on "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli, which was considered a pivotal piece of literature for the Volturi. Demetri hoped for an uneventful evening as he watched his pupils like a hawk.
Felix and Afton greeted the Cullens at the gate. They escorted them to the throne room immediately hoping to make the affair as short as possible. To limit the potential contact with the children. Luckily it was only Isabella, Edward and Carlisle, like Damien had predicted. If things were to somehow get out of hand, they could be subdued without much effort. It would orphan little Renesmee, but oh well. Aro sighed in dissatisfaction knowing they would most likely live. Such a pity to waste this perfect opportunity. At least subject Zero stood silently, where Alec often stood. He was the new shiny object to show off to the Cullens. See, mine is better, Aro seemed to almost say as if fighting over a toy car and feeling victorious because he got the red one while the other was stuck with a yellow one with only three wheels.
Donovan was not allowed to shake hands unless they made the first move. He was to stand still and silent. Aro warmly greeted Carlisle, shaking his hand. Reading his thoughts. He saw Isabella helping to tidy up the kitchen while laughing with one of their shapeshifters. The one who called himself Jacob. In his opinion they should have hunted down the shapeshifters like they hunted down the Children of the Moon. If they weren't under Aro's immediate control, then they were his enemy. Sadly this presented an alibi. He always hated when his enemies had an alibi. Donovan still stood obedient at Aro's side.
Damien had an idea floating in his brain. From the time he and Tiago had gotten in a fight, he had accidently tore off part of the ceiling, exposing some electrical and piping. If he could figure out how he had managed to move things with his mind again, like he had shattered the mirror, he could create his needed distraction. Looking up, making it seem like he was stretching from laying on the ground as he did his school work, he tried to identify which pipes did which. One was a gas pipe. One was a water pipe. And then there was electrical cords that were exposed and frayed. Like they had been in the New York Subway bombing. But looking around he noticed the floor and walls were stone. If a water pipe were to burst mysteriously, there was nowhere for the water to drain and would flood the lower level. Decisions, Decisions…
Next Aro searched Edward's thoughts. He was able to see that he had been watching the news with Jasper while Bella was in the Kitchen with Jacob. But he also saw the frustration as Edward searched the entire Guard and Volturi, unable to read anyone's thoughts. Donovan only lowered his shield for a couple seconds, just enough for Aro to read what he needed to from Carlisle and Edward. Edward hated Donovan. He was he reason Alice was blind. He was the reason he had no idea what everyone was thinking. He was a reason that the Volturi could have an edge up on them if an issue was to arise between their covens again. Like it seemed to indicate. He hated knowing that Donovan, this half-vampire, was more skilled with his ability and much, much stronger than Bella due to years and years of developing it and perfecting it. If both were forced head on, he would triumph. The Volturi claimed Donovan came before them asking for entry amongst the Guard. That he was three-hundred years old. That he was from Canada. That his father was a friend of Aro's. Everything was cut and pasted how Aro wanted it. Aro was greatly pleased with Donovan's suddenly obedience and loyalty. This was the perfect shot for the half blood to turn against him, but instead he followed every order perfectly and with poise. Maybe Donovan was a worthy addition and someone Aro should keep around?
Damien scrunched his eyes closed in concentration. He wiled the pipes to break in his mind. To feel the copper bend and twist. To bulge and billow. All that popped was the blood in his ears. What had made hi break things before with magic? He was growing frustrated, but maybe that was a good thing. If he was angry and scared of the outcome of failure, maybe he could mimic the environment he was in before? Marina tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. She then tapped her wrist like she was wearing a watch to signify it was time and they needed to act now. "We have five minutes left to finish the quiz," Damien whispered when he realized Demetri had noticed Marina's movements. He fell for it as he returned to grading papers. Looking back at Marina he realized a figure standing in the doorway. Jonathon. And he was wearing Damien's favourite sweatshirt. That dick, Damien fumed glaring at him, What the Fuck is he doing? He tapped Marina and pointed at the door. She saw nothing. Jonathon grinned a mischievous smile. Just what was he planning? Damien tried to get a read on him desperately. He was planning on exposing the children to the Cullens. To get them all in trouble. Damien noticed Didyme was next to him, whispering in his brother's ear. Hoe, don't do it, Damien gave her the most frightening death glare he could. They both were conspiring together? Santiago was at her side too, smiling evilly. Oh you have got to be shitting me, Damien felt his nostril flaring. His fists clenched in anger, they were going to ruin everything. They would get him, Donovan and Marina caught. They would be painfully executed because of whatever agenda Didyme seemed to have against her brother that couldn't wait another second apparently. He had to grit his teeth to keep himself from growling at them. His entire body was knotted trying to hold in his anger and reactions as Didyme taunted him, blowing him kisses and giving him cutesy waves. Then she whispered something in Jonathon's ear. He turned around, smirking and began slowly making his way towards the stairs. NO! Damien gasped at the feeling on water raining down on him soaking him completely. The rush of power he felt as every water pipe about them shattered soon left him as he watched Jonathon run, now panicked into Damien's room to hide as the other children tried to stop themselves from screaming as the soon became soaked with freezing cold water. His vision became darker as Marina ran out the door saying she was getting towels from the lower laundry room. Her father trusted her not to get into trouble and avoid being seen. There was already too much chaos around him as Olivia began crying about her makeup and hair while Tiago was splashing around in the puddles that were now several inches deep, celebrating how he didn't have to do any more school work. Their thick, wool clothes were plastered to their skin and quickly water logged. Demetri muttered curses as every single sheet of paper and book became a soggy mess. He took off his jackets and tried to stuff it in one of the pipes to block the explosion of water. The room was filling up quick and he tried to salvage as much things as possible. Marina's bow. The swords and knifes. All the while he tried to block the pipes. Damien lay face down and now unconscious in the pooling water.
Bella didn't know what to make of the new hybrid. He was a handsome enough fellow. About eighteen or so was his estimated outside age. He said he was three hundred. This solidified her hope that her daughter too would live for an extended period of time. But there was something about his eyes that made her uneasy. This odd sort of turquoise. They seemed too steady and focused. They hardly moved. His heart beat and breathing were too even. While Nahuel, Jeni, and Renesmee, the only hybrids she had ever met, were very animated and lively, this one was different. It felt forced. Like too perfect. As a vampire she had figured out that their instincts were much more attuned than a humans. Like how dogs could sense an earthquake. Carlisle had more questions for him, like he always did for Nahuel. He asked about the aging process and his diet. Unfortunately he let slip the use of the word dhampir, which Donovan thought was innocent enough. But it was the fact that he had said one word different than what Aro told him to do. This caught Bella's attention. "Just what is a dhampir?" she asked. This was not one of the questions Aro had given him cue cards for. He would have to improvise. "Uh, it's a term used for describing an individual who is half vampire, half human," Donovan tried to keep a voice of neutrality and not give away the chances of other dhampirs. These were the Cullens that many dhampirs in New York and around the globe talked about in anger for their secret being discovered and their lives in danger of the Volturi. He had people he still needed to protect. Bella noticed the change in language and voice as she asked the hybrid a simple question. It seemed to unravel everyone just a bit, proving to herself that something wasn't right here. Already she found it odd how Jane and Alec just happen to be missing after the very public bombing in New York. Aro avoided her question. Why would his most powerful weapons be missing all the time now? To distract their guests, Aro dismissed them saying they were innocent and could leave now. The walked quickly and quietly out of the throne room with everyone following them and watching them.
Marina ran back with towels. Her father seemed to be in a huge amount of distress as he fought to stop the water. It was now mid chest on her and the entire lower floor was flooded. Right now it was just the game of making sure they all didn't get trapped underwater. She had no idea how the pipes burst alone. Maybe Donovan tinkered with them? Regardless, it was the distraction she needed. Everything was in its place and the rush of water even helped clear away the scent off her clothing. "Everyone get on top of the table," Demetri ordered when the water level broke past a metre and a half. Now was not the time for impromptu swim lessons. He did a head count as Tiago helped pull Marina up onto the table next to Olivia who was shivering in her soaking wet, cold clothes. They were missing a kid. He tried to search for his tenor. For anything. Demetri heard nothing. But Marina could sense the body lying on the bottom of the pool.
They walked down the hall, ready to leave when they spotted something. There was writing on the wall.
"Want to Play a Game, AROgance?"