Chapter 1

(Benjamin's POV)

After news reached us that The Volturi were seen departing Italy and heading south, Amun pulled me into my recreation room, where I had been practicing nearly nonstop since we returned to Egypt. Amun had been pushing me so much recently I was surprised by how much my powers developed.

"I raised you to be a weapon someday against The Volturi. I know that's not something you wanted, but if they are coming here, I'm afraid you might not have a choice."

"You don't need to fear them, Amun."

"I only fear that you are not ready to face them, yet. Benjamin, that is not the only reason why you are here in this coven. You must understand that. That first night, when I turned you into a vampire, what did I do?"

"You held me all night as I struggled through the transformation," I answered.

"Answer me honestly. Do you wish to join The Volturi?"

This was not the first time he asked me this question. "No, I want to stay here."

"Then remember that moment, and hold onto it," Amun instructed me. "Chelsea might try to break our bond first before she tries to create one between you and The Volturi. Her power doesn't always work against strong family bonds. Remember that is what we are."

I nodded.

"You are my son, and I love you. Nothing that has happened or could happen with The Volturi will change that."

Amun pulled me into a hug. "Now, leave. You know what to do. And if you can, go easy on Demetri, but not at the cost of yourself."

I headed deep into the desert. Amun planned to follow later, from a distance. He expected something different from Aro this time. I found a place where the desert was close to The Nile, away from potential witnesses, and waited for The Volturi. Sitting by the river on the ground, I felt a gentle wind and was tempted to start a fire so all four elements could commune with me before the confrontation. I closed my eyes and focused on the desert around me. I let myself become in sync with the environment. After I learned how to do this, control over the elements became much easier for me, much more intuitive. I sensed every current in the river and every particle disturbing the air. I felt The Volturi arrive. I recognized most of them from our trip to the United States and from descriptions that Amun gave me. Aro stood at the front, surrounded by Caius, Marcus, Renata, Demetri, and Chelsea. Jane and Alec stood to the side. I wondered how much Aro learned about me from Edward Cullen's memories.

"Hello, Benjamin. I didn't get an opportunity to introduce myself to you before. I am Aro, a founder of The Volturi you see before you. I presume Amun has told you much about us."

"He did," I replied. "He spoke with respect and admiration about what you do for vampires."

Aro smiled. "I'll get right to the point, then. We are stronger when we have vampires like you in our coven, and when we are stronger, vampires across the world are stronger. Just ask Demetri. You share a connection through Amun. Now, you can share a connection through us. There is no one like you in the world, so it would be a most exquisite honor for you to join us. That is why we all have come."

"I like where I am. I like my family."

"We can be your new family. It's truly a wonderful place to live and work among us."

"No, thank you," I replied.

I noticed Chelsea focusing her thoughts on me as she stepped closer to me, but I didn't feel any different. I still felt deep love for Amun, and I should have said so before I left. I didn't think Chelsea's talent was working on me.

"Think of all the opportunities that would be available to you if you joined us, Benjamin."

Caius looked impatient while Aro and I spoke. I started to worry that this meeting might become violent after all because of him. I didn't want it to turn violent, but Amun might've been correct that there might not be a choice.

"No, thank you," I told Aro.

"You're making a mistake," Aro replied. He glanced towards Chelsea.

On second thought, maybe joining The Volturi would be a good idea. They seemed like good vampires doing important work. "I have a mate," I explained. "I'd like her to come with us."

"What talents does she have?" Caius asked.

"She's very smart," I said. "She's a good singer. She's also -"

"I meant vampire superpowers," Caius clarified with some annoyance in his voice.

"She doesn't have any."

"Then she is of no use to us," Caius replied coldly.

"Brother, we should be welcoming for Benjamin's sake," Aro interceded.

"She isn't a priority right now," Caius quietly explained. "There is too much we must do."

I didn't want to make things complicated by admitting that Tia probably wouldn't be interested, anyway. If so, why did I bring it up? And how could I leave Egypt without her?

"What if we don't want to go?" I asked. Chelsea looked confused by my question.

Aro looked at Chelsea. "Well," Aro told me. "I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement. There's still so much to discuss."

I couldn't leave Tia. "I'm staying here. There's nothing to discuss."

Caius exhaled in frustration. "If he isn't with us, then he is against us."

"He's a threat," Jane added.

I took a step back. "I'm not a threat."

"Where are the others in his coven?" Aro asked Demetri.

"We're not threats," I said. "We just want to be left alone."

"Amun is clearly up to something if he hid you away," Aro replied.

"He did that because we want to be left alone," I argued.

"That does not sound true, and we agreed we can only afford him one chance. Felix," Caius called.

Felix looked at Aro, who had a resigned look on his face.

"Go," Aro said.

Felix charged towards me. Amun said he was the strongest of The Volturi, physically. He also said Chelsea would be the biggest threat if things got out of hand. Even if I did not want a fight, I was willing to defend myself. I summoned a strong wind that knocked Felix down, and then blew him into Chelsea with as much force as I could manage. I heard bones crack upon impact, but I don't know whose. Maybe both broke their bones. It doesn't matter, and I don't care. My desire to join The Volturi vanished. Chelsea's trick probably worked on me until she became preoccupied.

Jane stepped forward with Alec and I felt burning. I looked at my arms, and then my abdomen and legs. I wasn't on fire. Jane must've used her powers on me. It seemed that Edward's memories did not inform Aro that I regularly ignite myself. Jane's power wasn't going to bother me.

Suddenly, I lost my sight and hearing. Alec likely figured out that Jane's move wasn't effective, and I didn't notice his black mist while I was figuring it out. My thoughts turned to water. I concentrated on the water around me. Alec didn't take that away from me. I felt the Nile behind me, and someone with water far back, probably Amun. Ahead of me, I felt water concentrated in many vampires ahead of me. The feeling of displaced air confirmed my perceptions. I knew that Chelsea could still be a problem, and that she and Felix were next to Alec and Jane. I grabbed the water of the four vampires closest to me and thrashed it around. My actions broke Alec's hold of me, and my sight and hearing returned to witness Alec, Jane, Chelsea, and Felix being thrown around by my power. On Aro's face, I saw a mix of anxiousness and excitement. Other members of The Volturi looked confused and uncertain.

"End this," Amun said. He was closer to us now, but still across the Nile. "They won't stop coming for you, or me, or Tia."

I stopped what I was doing and looked back.

"I'm sorry, my son, but I don't believe there is a choice. Look at what they tried to do already. Please, for everyone's sake, please stop them."

I turned back to The Volturi and stretched out my left hand. The excitement on Aro's face faded and there was only horror and fear as I pulled the water out of Chelsea, Felix, Alec, and Jane. I ignited my right hand and sent a rush of fire towards the four vampires, killing them. I didn't want to be a weapon, but I feared that if I didn't stop The Volturi, Amun and Tia would be in danger. Kebi would be in danger, too. We weren't very close, but I still cared for her and she did much for me. I could do this for her.

Caius let out a cry as he charged towards me. I saw Mele, Santiago, and eight other Volturi guards joining Caius. I felt another source of water heading to me and displacing some air, but I couldn't see him or distinguish his particular footsteps among the others'. It must have been Afton using his power.

Amun warned me that I must not allow Mele to touch me. A few of the other Volturi looked confused and didn't move, including Demetri. I focused on him first, even though he remained in the back. It was necessary to be cautious. I used my powers to lift the ground and sand up around Demetri and encased him up to his head in a cocoon tight enough to incapacitate him. He didn't struggle.

Mele drew closer, and I didn't feel like I had enough time to focus on the water contents of all my adversaries. My efforts to shake the ground only made three of the vampires stumble slightly, so I summoned water from the Nile to push these vampires back into the other Volturi guards. Amun was still far back, so I didn't worry about hurting anyone I did not intend to strike. I didn't need to restrain myself.

Marcus, Aro, and Renata stepped back to avoid the collisions.

Santiago and another guard dodged the water, and I struck them down with the strongest gush of air I could manage before pushing them back. I encased everyone I could in densely-packed sand to restrain them. Santiago came close to breaking through, so I forced sand into his nostrils and ears. When I saw his mouth open, I forced more sand into his throat and kept on going until sand poured out his pants and eyes and he eventually split open from the inside out. I then turned my attention to Aro, Marcus, and Renata.

Renata was on the ground, her head separated from her body. Marcus was yelling at Aro.

"I am your brother! How could you have her manipulate me like that?"

"I needed you!" Aro replied. "I was desperate. There were no other options."

"Tell me, did you have anything to do with Didyme's death?" Marcus asked.

Aro held out a hand. "Please, brother, let's save this discussion for another, more civilized time. There is something more pressing requiring our attention. I can assure you-"

Marcus took Aro's extended hand gently, but then in one quick move, pulled Aro close to him and twisted off his head.

"Don't stop," Amun told me. He was next to me. "Spare Demetri and hold off on Marcus, but you can't stop. Without Aro, this group will become unstable and unpredictable."

Demetri looked confused and slightly upset. It appeared that Chelsea's effect was wearing off for him, too. Now able to take an extra moment to focus on the elements and The Volturi, I grabbed the water of everyone except Demetri and Marcus and desiccated my opponents.

Amun put a hand on my shoulder.

I thought about The Cullens. I was the one that wanted to help The Cullens against The Volturi, not Amun. Now, I had the opportunity to end the threat to us, The Cullens, and everyone else. I closed my eyes and unleashed a large blast of fire until only two of the Volturi remained. Marcus threw Aro's and Renata's heads and bodies into the pile of burning vampires.

"I suspected you were not as devoted to the coven as Aro wished," Amun told Marcus.

"I wanted to leave after my mate died, but Aro had Chelsea control me. I could not let that violation go unanswered."

I finally understood why some of The Volturi looked confused. They must have been under Chelsea's influence, like Demetri. They didn't have a choice until I killed Chelsea. They were gaining control again, and I killed them. They were innocent, not even fighting me, and I killed them.

"Amun?" asked Demetri.

"Release him, please," Amun asked me.

I loosened the cocoon around Demetri, and he broke free easily by the time Amun got to him. I sat down on the ground, wishing the earth would comfort me.

"I'm sorry," Demetri told Amun.

"There is no need to apologize. I know your feelings were not your own. We are together again, and we can set a new course for our vampire world. You know what all this means."

"Marcus, will you help us?" Demetri asked. "You must agree that The Volturi has lasted longer than it should have, and another coven must take over."

"I have lasted longer than I should have," Marcus answered.

"You still care about vampires, don't you?" Demetri asked. "There are three other Volturi left in Italy. Help us stabilize everything, then retire. Please."

Marcus hesitated.

"I'm asking for your help," Demetri continued. "We need you."

"I will help you, and then I will retire."