~ Volterra, Italy - June 11, 2005 ~
Gianna, my Volterra appointed liaison, led me through the Volturi castle corridors. At every turn or doorway, it seemed that vampires stopped to stare at Gianna's beauty or my odd golden eyes. The thoughts of those I could hear were filled with wonder and curiosity at the arrival of "Carlisle Cullen's prodigal son", who was also an "animal drinker", and occasionally "I have heard he can read minds".
"I see you get as much attention as I do," Gianna said in a thick Italian accent, that was meant to be seductive, but did nothing for me. In her mind she pondered what it would be like to seduce me. She was selective in her lovers and I apparently made the cut. Before she could continue her imagining, we stopped at a large wooden door. She straightened her skirt before pulling down on a crimson and gold rope hanging next to the door. A moment later the door swung open to reveal Aro Volturi, smiling brightly.
"Buongiorno, Edward!" Aro exclaimed.
"Hello, Aro, it it good to see you again." I replied with a bow.
Aro motioned for me to come in. As I passed, I held my hands behind my back and quickly went by Aro. He let a small smirk appear and fade as he spied my subtle attempt to keep from touching him.
"Have no fear, young Edward. I will not steal you memories." He thought to me before addressing Gianna. "I will speak to Edward alone with no interruptions. Have the Guard and other guests assembled in the main chamber in thirty minutes."
"Of course, Master. As you wish." Gianna said before returning in the direction we came.
Aro shut and bolted the large door. He motioned for me to sit by a large desk covered with scrolls of paper, large ledgers, and surprisingly, a very modern laptop computer. He sat down behind the desk and tented his fingers in front of him. He considered this pose to be non-threatening, yet exude power and wisdom.
"This is my private study." He began. I paid close attention to both his words and thoughts. "The walls are quite thick and dense. Plus this room is actually a chamber within a chamber. As long as we keep our voices at a normal volume, we will have complete privacy here, Edward."
I could see from his thoughts, that a century ago, Aro had the walls specifically fortified with lead to block sound. Then about ten years ago, he incorporated sonically neutral insulation as well. We were in a sonically secure bubble. I could still hear the thoughts of the other vampires, however none of them could hear our conversation.
"First, thank you for coming all this way. I wish this trip could have been more social in nature, but time and opportunity demanded swift action to get you here. Edward I am going to be open and candid with you, perhaps even more so than I have with even my brothers. I am sure you have already guessed that the real reason you are here is to not interview Santiago Perez, but rather read the thoughts of others while he is questioned. You will be given the opportunity to ask questions of Perez, but that will be a ruse to hide you main objective."
"That did seem to be the likely reason for me to be summoned." I answered. "I am here to help as you see fit."
"Excellent! I already have all of the information Perez could give me from his thoughts. He is in the service of a coven that is led by a female named Maria. For a few centuries, we allowed her coven some latitude when it came to her territorial wars with others of our kind. She was very effective at curbing human awareness by eliminating less careful covens and nomads that moved into her territory. However, recently her ranks have grown and the humans are smarter and more observant than they have been in the past. What was once just stories or lore, have become grainy online pictures, and in one case, a not-nearly-blurry-enough video of Maria's newborns collecting humans to satiate their thirst. Every time we have dispatched the Guard to her rumored location, she has already moved on. From Perez's thoughts I have seen that Maria has been receiving communication from someone in Volterra. He does not know who is sending Maria the information, but it has to be someone who works closely with the Guard."
Despite his careful and measured thoughts, he still occasionally slipped and thought about something he would rather I not know. Like a passing thought about one of Perez's memories. Apparently, when Maria received a letter detailing the Volturi's plans, it would always be sealed with wax using the Volturi seal. Only a dozen vampires had access to the letter seal and all of them would be present today during the assembly.
"I can definitely help in that regard. If the thoughts of anyone in the assembly betray them as the culprit sending Maria intelligence, I will know." I paused for a moment. "Aro, may I make a suggestion?"
"You may," Aro answered. He was glad I was embracing this task.
"Given that my gift is not as pervasive as yours, I have often found that I can get people to divulge information they have schooled themselves to push from their thoughts, by allowing them to feel a sense of hope that they will not be caught, or in this case punished. I would like a bit of flexibility when I question Perez. I may imply things that are untrue or are not necessarily in line with current Volturi dogma, but I promise all will know of any subterfuge before I finish."
"You can perform your questioning as you see fit, within a certain amount of reason. Remember, you are not here to change the outcome of the justice that will be served today. In fact, I intend for all to know who you are and that you are here by your choice to help me. Despite any ideological differences you may have with this task, I am expecting you to uphold your agreement with me and present yourself as an ally and an extension of the Volturi regime."
"Of course I will honor our agreement. I came alone as you requested, but Carlisle and I had an opportunity to talk prior to my departure. With his blessing, I will let everyone at the assembly know that, even though Carlisle is not here in person, I represent his tacit consent and approval of how the Volturi is handing this issue."
"Excellent! As long as you live up to your assigned task, we shall part as good friends."
The sound of a bell ringing ended our conversation.
"Come," Aro commanded as he headed toward the door. "it is time to commence."
I waited in a small anti-chamber while Aro set up his stage. The three Volturi brothers were seated in their throne like chairs, with the two remaining wives seated off to the side. While the Guard and the invited guests filed in, each vampire passed the brothers and either they bowed, or in some cases, kissed their extended rings. After nearly forty guard members and twenty-six guests had taken their position. Aro rose and called the assembly to order.
"Welcome! Today is a special day. I have assembled the Guard and invited some friends from around the world to witness an event that normally would be shared with very few."
Aro paused for effect.
"As many of you are aware, a rogue coven of vampires have been arousing human suspicion and violating our sacred laws in the North American Southwest and in Central America."
From the thoughts of many of the guests assembled, they were unaware of any such coven.
"The coven is led by a vampire that, in the past, we all once considered a friend. However, she has since turned her back on our society and is openly defying our shared beliefs and our established conduct with the humans."
The word 'humans' was said in a disdainful manner. True to his emphasized speech, Aro considered all humans beneath their notice, much like a farmer would view a chicken.
"We have one of Maria's minions here in Volterra. He is vampire that has served in her coven for over one hundred years. I have asked you here today to provide witness to the questioning of this outlaw."
Aro paused again.
"We know there are some vampires that are resentful of my brothers and I. They believe that we misuse our authority and act only to further our own selfish agenda. The burden my brothers and I undertake is on behalf of all vampires. For the first time in our existence, humans now have the ability, to not only destroy their own species, but ours as well. We serve all of our common good to ensure that our vampire dominion not only endures for eons hence, but thrives!"
Aro paused to assess his audience. He was satisfied that he properly prepared his congregation for his next reveal, which would be me.
"Friends, today you will not bear witness to the Volturi acting on our own accord. I am sure that the name of Carlisle Cullen is known to many of you. I know that some of you, like my brothers and myself, consider him a friend."
From the thoughts of the Guard members and the assembled guests, Carlisle, or least his reputation, was indeed known to most. The thoughts he inspired in the assembly ranged from a majority opinion of adoration and respect to the extreme minority with Caius' contempt.
"Although he no longer calls Volterra his home, he is still here in spirit. Recently, I was speaking with my old friend and the topic of Maria's coven and the severity of their transgressions was discussed. Carlisle offered his assistance by sending to us a member of his own coven. It is my great pleasure to announce that today's questioning of Santiago Perez will be conducted by Edward Cullen, first sired prodigy of Carlisle Cullen."
A roar of thoughts and murmurs exploded. As I worked through the thoughts and whispered voices, the door to the anti-chamber opened. I walked into the grand hall and approached the dais on which Aro and his brothers sat. I bowed to each brother before standing far off to the side.
Marcus' thoughts were of fond memories of Carlisle. He missed his wit and compassion. He also missed playing chess with him. Since I entered the castle grounds, Marcus' thoughts were always tinged with melancholy. To him, the loss of his mate overpowered every impulse. Even with all of the pomp and politics of this event, he only ever thought of his departed Didyme, at least until he allowed himself to dwell on Carlisle. I found I was glad that at least he had some fond memories to stave off the sad loneliness.
Caius' thoughts were much different.
"If it were up to me, Carlisle would have been eliminated centuries ago, and by proxy, yourself and the rest of your unnatural coven would never have been. Aro loves his theatrics, so play your role, boy. I do not need much provocation to have you meet the same end that is destined for Perez."
When I did not react to his threatening thoughts, Caius smirked to himself, thinking, "He can't hear me. Aro is a fool for trusting his abilities."
"Edward, thank you for joining us, today." Aro said out loud. In his thoughts he telegraphed the general responses he wanted me to provide.
"It is my honor to be here today," I answered. "Carlisle, his mate Esme, and the rest of my family send their warmest regards."
Aro and Caius did not like me using the word 'family'. The implied deep kinship and affection the word conjured was not considered acceptable Vampire behavior. Despite their displeasure, they both decided to let it go. For those in attendance that actually knew Carlisle, my solo presence only helped reinforce Aro's allusion that Carlisle was on the Volturi's side. If there was some discord between the Volturi and Carlisle, they were all certain he would have come himself, or not at all. To send one of his created "children" alone, demonstrated a high level of trust and support, which, after all, was exactly what Aro was hoping for.
"I am glad to hear it. Edward, you have a very special gift, do you not? Please tell the assembly about it."
From my conversation in his study, I knew Aro wanted me to play down my gift. He wanted everyone, including his brothers, to believe I had limitations, as well as know that his talent was superior.
In his thoughts, Aro reminded my of my own strategy. "A person should have some sense of hope that they will succeed in being undetected by your gift. If everyone knew that you could easily read their thoughts without impunity at an impressive distance, it would work against our goal for today."
"My gift is that, in most cases, I can read the thoughts of those close by me," I announced. Given that my darling Bella's thoughts were hidden from me, the statement was not completely untrue.
A cacophony of whispers and thoughts flooded the chamber. Involuntarily, some of the vampires took a step or two backwards in an attempt to get outside of the range of my gift. Surprisingly, Caius, Marcus, as well as most of the Guard, thought my range was quite small and that they were safe from me hearing them. Unfortunately for them, I could easily hear the thoughts of everyone in attendance, as well as on the castle grounds. It was tough to filter through the many mental voices, but as long as I maintained my focus, I could handle deluge of mental chatter.
"It is not as powerful of a gift as yours, Aro," I continued, "but it does allow me to know if someone is being factual or purposely hiding something."
Aro engaged me in some more casual conversation, all in an attempt to provide proof that I was there on my own free will and that my family was aligned with the Volturi. After our repartee, Aro announced that it was time to commence the questioning.
From another anti-chamber door, Alec and Jane entered followed by Felix, who dragged Santiago Perez into the middle of the great hall.
Slowly, Alec withdrew his gift. In Perez's mind I could see the fog retreat as consciousness gradually took it's place. After a few moments, Perez looked around in shock. His last concrete memory was being found in Mexico City by the Guard. From his recollection, that had been over two weeks ago. Now he found himself in front of the Volturi, their Guard, and other staring vampires. He openly surmised that his time on this earth was quickly coming to a close.
"Santiago Perez?" I asked from behind him. He snapped around and looked at me in fear and wonderment. He had never seen a vampire with golden eyes.
"Who are you?" He asked.
"My name is Edward Cullen. Do you know where you are?"
He looked around again at the assembly before settling on the face of Aro. "Volterra? But that is impossible. I should be in Mexico."
"You are in Volterra. You are a guest of the Volturi." When I said that, a few chuckles were heard from the attendees. Perez heard them as well and their meaning was not lost on him. He was no guest. He was a prisoner.
"Why am I here?" He asked while looking for a way to escape, although he could tell there wasn't any. He forced himself to remain calm. He prided himself in being able to escape danger. He just hoped that an opportunity would present itself
"You are here to tell us about your coven and it's leader, Maria."
An image of Maria came into his mind. She was just as Jasper had remembered her. Her clothes were more modern in Perez's thoughts, but otherwise the same.
"I do not belong to a coven," he answered smoothly. He also considered himself quite good at lying. He was unaware that Aro had already seen his memories during his Alec induced coma. He was equally unaware of my gift. "I am a nomad. And, who is this Maria you speak of? I've never heard of her."
His denial gave me an opportunity to seek out information that would help my family.
"Come now, Santiago. I know all about you. I know you have been in Maria's service for over a hundred years. I even know the name of the vampire who trained you."
Perez casually looked back at me, schooling himself to only show a blank expression, however his mind drifted to his training with Jasper. I had to stop myself from smiling at the image of Jasper dressed in his civil war uniform. Add in his Crimson eyes, he looked very different from his normal visage. From Jasper's memories I knew that Santiago was a feisty newborn vampire. Once, he had bitten Jasper during a fit of rage after Jasper bested him during a sparring match. In retaliation, Jasper ripped Santiago's arm from his body. Jasper would have destroyed him, but Maria liked Perez's temperament, so he was spared.
"His name was Jasper Whitlock was it not? You did not like him much. How's the arm by the way. I've never had a limb removed, although I've heard", from Garrett when I dismembered his hand, "it is quite painful when it re-fuses itself back together.
Santiago flexed his arm. It was a move that was seen by most of the attendees. He knew his involuntary reaction proved he was lying about knowing Maria. He worked a few scenarios over in his mind, before just settling on owning up to knowing her.
"It is true, Whitlock trained me and I hated him." Perez rolled his shoulder on the side Jasper has removed his arm. To this day, it still did not feel normal to him. "And it is also true that it hurt like hell when my arm was reattached. You must forgive me about denying portions of my past. It is well known that the Voturi have a vendetta against Maria and anyone associated with her. I was just protecting myself."
I circled around Perez before coming up behind him. "Santiago, " I said close to his ear, "you having nothing to fear from us as long as you are honest and direct in your answers. If you lie to me again, you will not like the consequences."
He turned to face me. He refused to be intimidated by me, but my knowledge of his past greatly unsettled him. "You say I have nothing to fear. Do you mean that if I answer your questions I will be allowed leave here unharmed?"
"You control that outcome, not me." I countered. I knew he would never leave this chamber alive, but I had to give him and Maria's mole some hope of survival, at least for a bit longer. "Now you say the Volturi have a vendetta against Maria, is that what she told you?"
"She did, although even if she didn't, I would know it to be true. I have seen the piles of ash the Voluturi's Guard have turned my coven members into."
In his thoughts I could see trails of purple smoke rising from ash piles that were once members of Maria's vampire army. What he didn't say was that they were expendable, which is why Maria left them behind when she received word that the Voluturi were coming.
"Maria and your coven have had a habit of creating newborns for the purpose eliminating rivals and securing feeding territories."
"That was ages ago. We have had no need to do so now. Yet we are still hunted by the Volturi."
Aro motioned to Jane. A moment later Santiago was screaming in agony. As he writhed on the floor, Aro sent me his desires in thought. "He is lying and he is stalling. Let's move this along, Edward. Let's get to why you are here." Aro again motioned to Jane, who stopped her torturing of Perez.
"Now I told you, Santiago. You would not like the consequence if you lied to me. So let's try this again, shall we."
Perez gasped and he shook off the memory of the Jane's inflicted pain. "Ages ago might have be an exaggeration. Surely we are allowed to protect ourselves. Adding new members is natural when are numbers get pruned."
"I also know that Whitlock no longer trains these newborns. That task falls to you now, doesn't it?"
In his mind he flashed to a memory of Maria commanding that her three senior officers, of which he is one, to keep the newborn army groups to small numbers. She wanted three or four at most per officer. They were all to strike out into different territories to perform two tasks. The first was to find any resident vampires in the area. Once they were found, they were to be destroyed, but not before they were questioned about any nearby Volturi activity, as well as the whereabouts of several vampires who Maria has targeted for revenge. Jasper, his friend, Peter, and Peter's mate Charlotte were highest on her hit list. Santiago's personal opinion was that her territorial conquests were more inspired by finding these targeted vampires than securing populated feeding areas. This knowledge that Jasper was openly being hunted by Maria was shocking. he did not know he was a marked man. I needed to get home, for many reasons, but now I also needed to get this information to Jasper.
"Yes, I have trained newborns, but I am one of three who do so for her."
"You also destroy them when they outlived their usefulness, don't you?"
"I do. Maria mandates it as so."
"Edward! Get to it!" Aro commanded. I nodded. It was time to bring this to a close.
"It seems a bit disingenuous, Santiago, to blame the Volturi for hunting down your coven, when you perform the same service for Maria. Now what I find interesting is that you, your fellow officers, and Maria always seem to move on, just before the Guard finds you. It's convenient that you always seem to leave behind a few newborns for the guard to dispatch. Too bad they never know anything."
An image of Maria reading a letter written on parchment comes into his thoughts. It's the scene, or at least a similar one, I had seen in Aro's thoughts. The Voluturi seal is easy to spot. I know this is my moment. To this point no one has admitted to sending Maria intelligence, although several have surmised that there is probably someone in the Voluturi ranks passing information along. I reach out with my gift and prepare listen for any guilty confessions.
"Maria get's a warning sent to her before each Volturi raid, doesn't she? Who sends them, Santiago?"
The minds of the Guard and the other guests are wrestling with knowledge of a traitor. Santiago is not stupid either. He understands this is why he is here. I know he doesn't know who it is. But I need him to say it in the hopes the actually traitor will respond once they think their identity is safe.
I look to Jane and give her a pleading nod, silently asking for her help. Being as sadistic as she is, she happily complies by reducing Santiago to his knees yelping in pain. I also notice Aro is nearly out of his chair waiting not for Santiago's answer, but mine. A moment later Jane stops.
"Santiago! I will only ask one more time, who sends the warnings!" I yell while pulling him to his feet. My hand is at his throat. I squeeze enough to let him think I will use all my strength and kill him if he does not answer.
"I don't know! Yes, Maria gets a warning, but she never lets any of us see the messages. All I know is that they come directly from Volterra. They are sealed with the official crest and each appears to be written by the same hand. Maria burns the message after reading them. That's all I know, I swear on my life!"
Gasps, along with incredulous thoughts and voices are heard throughout the assembly. I search all of the minds as I drop Santiago to the floor. I am about to give up, when I see one mental image amongst the many. It's just a fragment of a letter being written and sealed before being dispatched through a human courier. The source of this revelation momentarily stuns me. Of all of the people in the room, he was one of the last I suspected. I couldn't stop my head from jerking towards to culprit. Aro, along with the majority of the assembled vampires, followed my gaze as it landed onto his brother, Marcus.
A brief moment of recognition passed through Marcus' eyes before the room erupts into chaos. This was not the outcome Aro ever envisioned. Gianna was quickly by my side and whisked me away to the same anti-chamber I was in before. The door was quickly closed and locked from the outside. I was not a prisoner per se, it was Gianna's duty to ensure my safety should violence break out. She was much more than a pretty face. From her thoughts I saw what she was capable of when required. I pitied the vampire that tried to force their way through that door. Regardless of being hidden away, my gift allowed me to see what was transpiring in the main chamber.
As soon as I had been secured away, Felix reached Santiago and effortlessly removed his head. Aro commanded Alec to subdue Marcus with his gift and remove him. Caius commanded the Guard to secure the room, which included safely removing the wives, while keeping the remaining occupants in place until further notice.
As Felix dragged Perez's remains from the room, Aro and Caius asked for order. After a few moments the room went silent waiting for either of the two brothers to speak. Aro, had planned for almost every eventuality, except for one of his brothers being the traitor. However, Aro quickly gathered his thoughts before addressing the anxious crowd.
"Friends, please be at peace," He called out. "I ask that everyone remain calm and within the protection of this chamber while Caius and I work to ensure everyone's safety." Aro and Caius were quickly escorted out of the chamber by Renata, leaving the gathered Guard and guests without any other option than to remain and ponder the events that just transpired.
Aro and Caius instructed that Marcus was to be brought to Caius study, a room secured in a similar fashion as Aro's, but closer to the main chamber and not too far away from where I was sequestered. Aro pondered for a moment if I could read their thoughts within the secured walls, after a whispered command I started to feel Alec's fog envelop me. Apparently his skills are more potent than Aro has allowed people to believe. As I barely register falling to the stone floor, I forced myself to focus on the one thing that mattered most to me, hoping it would not be the last thought I would ever have. With a vision of Bella slowly fading from my thoughts, my world disappeared into nothingness.
Author's Note:
Hey, at least Edward is not as bad off as Santiago! Thank you for the reviews! Also, thank you to the new readers if this story...welcome! I'll see you on Friday!
-Chris