Chapter 2

Perhaps it was a good thing that vampires didn't sleep, as Bella would have been plagued by an endless string of nightmares if she had. That didn't stop her from thinking of Edward though – his tousled dark brown hair, beautiful golden eyes, and the feeling of his cool lips against hers. And that in itself was a daylight nightmare.

Most of the Guard kept a distance from her – like they did with Jane, probably still perplexed by her odd gift and less likely out of fear. Only Felix and Demetri spoke to her. They were probably commanded to by Aro, as they saw to her physical combat and projection training respectively. Occasionally, Jane (albeit reluctantly) turned up to help facilitate her shield projection training. Bella knew, as did everyone else, that Aro intended for Bella to become another in his array of perfect weapons, as was Alec, Jane, Chelsea and Demetri. She was past caring about this. Perhaps it was because of Alice's message, or the weeks that blurred into days and slowly began to dull her pain, that she no longer desired death, but revenge. Alice had requested that she live, and revenge gave her a reason to live.

If Aro's training allowed her to better exact her revenge, she would gladly go through it.

She started towards Demetri, his darkened outfit a stark contrast to the marble pillar he was standing next to. He watched her with curious red eyes. He always did – as if he still couldn't decipher why his 'all-powerful' gift had no effect on her. Two weeks ago, she would've felt uncomfortable, but she had grown used to such behavior ever since then.

Upon her arrival, he courteously sought after her hand, bringing it up to his lips before pressing a ghost of a kiss to her knuckles. She instantly recoiled from his genteel display like a terrorized cobra, a scowl rippling across her features. The sensuous touch of his lips lingered upon her knuckles, and she vehemently scrubbed at it with her other hand as though it were a stain to be cleansed.

Ugh, not again! Seriously, this wasn't the goddamn 17th century where personal space was merely the stuff of fantasies. Could he not?

When his inquisitive eyes glowed with amusement, Bella realized she'd unconsciously uttered the last three words of her internal monologue aloud.

"I suppose I should be offended," He remarked. "But instead, I find myself thoroughly amused." When Bella's scowl deepened, his lips curled into a half smile. It was almost too beautiful to behold. Perhaps vampire's were fallen angels of age old. "Where I come from," He explained graciously, "Exchanging a mouth-to-mouth kiss was a customary form of greeting."

Involuntarily, her gaze fell on his beautiful lips. She turned away quickly, hoping that he'd not caught her in the act.

Judging from the irritatingly smug look on his face, he probably had. She felt the urge to wipe it off.

"I wouldn't be surprised if a flu bug killed you. Swapping spit with every person you meet tends to spread diseases," She muttered brusquely.

He seemed scandalized by her accusation. He was of the Volturi, ancient and powerful; to even conjure up the thought of him perishing because of a common cold (brought upon by a once-celebrated custom of his) was mortifying in itself.

"I most certainly did not die from a cold," He almost snapped, jumping in to defend his dead custom. "And contrary to your belief, we did not kiss everyone. They were reserved for upperclassmen, family members and friends."

"Where you come from, is gawking customary as well? Because you keep staring at me."

He raised a refined brow at her mean-spirited observation, but otherwise seemed to handle this better than the 'disease' implication."Forgive me," He said, slipping back into his polite demeanor. "It is just… unusual that I cannot pick up a thing from your mind. It never ceases to enthral me."

Her chest tightened in pain. Edward had said the same thing to her when they had first met.

She tried to ignore the agony that clawed at her insides. "Well, I suppose you have to get used to that." It took a moment for a realization to hit her. "Wait, if you can't well – I don't know, read me – and I'm the only one who encountered Victoria here, how are you going to track her down?"

He inclined his head, and Bella realized that his jackal ears were in fact, quite cute. She balked at that realization, thanking the heavens that her mind was well shielded.

"You do not have to worry about my job. I do it very well. You should worry about yours."

It sounded like a veiled threat. It perturbed Bella a little because she had been performing well the past two weeks. Usually, it was a rabbit or a dog that she would shield from Jane's torture. And to Jane's ire, she had succeeded almost every time. She was quite sure that her 80% success rate was mostly owed to her desire to piss Jane off even further.

Today, there was no furry animal in Demetri's hands. She wondered what he had planned for her.

"Today," Demetri said. "We will be heading to the catacombs."

~.~

The catacombs were almost as grandeur as the Volturi's dwelling place. Bella supposed that a perk of an ancient city like Volterra would be its fine architecture. Intricately carved cinnamon brown pillars stretched from floor to ceiling, it's gold engravings chronicling a story of their ancestors. A marble plaque hanging from the ceiling's fine arch was engraved with an Italian word that Bella did not understand. The sienna stone floor beneath her feet opened to a spacious walkway. That was when she noticed the sombre iron grills ahead, flanking both sides of the walkway. As the natural light dimmed as she raced on behind Demetri, her vampiric eyes automatically adjusted to the darker conditions of the chamber.

She realized that the grills were at least 3 inches thick.

This was no catacombs, this was a dungeon. As if to prove her point, grey cloaked guards flitted around her, watchful eyes tearing into her.

"You brought me to a dungeon," Bella pointed out. "Why?"

Demetri did not bother to reply. He had stopped running. An extremely pungent smell hit her instantly, sending her stomach reeling. It reminded her of wet, dirty dog fur.

Jane was beside him. She had probably been here for a while, judging by her impatient scowl. Bella realized that she was not the only one affected by the putrid smell, seeing how Jane had scrunched up her nose in disgust.

On the other hand, Demetri's expression remained neutral, betraying no discomfort whatsoever.

When Jane's large child-like eyes met Bella's, her doll lips curled into a sneer. That was probably the closest thing to a smile that Bella had seen on her face. She wondered what had lifted Jane's mood.

Demetri turned to face the iron grills on her right. A low growl resounded from behind the grills, echoing in the dungeons like a disgruntled war cry. Sandy coloured fur and oversized paws swam into Bella's view. A large Mexican Wolf, the height of a fully grown human, angled itself menacingly towards her. A thick iron collar and multiple foot-chains held it in place.

Bella's eyes nearly popped out of her head.

It was Seth.

And he had somehow survived the battle.

~.~

"SETH!" She had shrieked. "Oh my God, Seth! It's me! Bella!"

The wolf's lips curled back into a snarl, displaying a menacing array of razor-sharp canines. His eyes betrayed no form of recognition.

Eyes which were blood red.

But Seth's eyes were honey-brown.

She was one hundred percent sure he was Seth – she could recognise his wolf form from miles away, but yet at the same time, his eyes… They were not right.

It unnerved her deeply.

But perhaps she was overthinking this. Did it matter that his eyes bled red? He was still Seth, alive and well, and standing right before her. She gripped the iron bars tightly, a tidal wave of emotions threatening to sweep her off her feet.

"Oh Gods, Seth, how did you… how did you escape? I thought they killed everyone." Her voice broke, the unspoken words lodged in her throat. I thought I was alone in this cruel world.

Cool hands gently grasped hers and pulled them away from the iron bars. It was Demetri's. He stared at her, his hard gaze devoid of any emotion. Bella met his gaze.

"Tell me," She fired at him. "Tell me, Demetri, how long was he here? Where did you find him? Was it on the battlefield as well?"

Jane's doll lips curled into smirk. "In the aftermath of the battle, Demetri and I were dispatched to track down and eradicate any remaining newborn survivors that had yet to rejoin with Victoria's army. Your mutt friend attacked us on the battlefield before making a sorry attempt to escape. I think you know who we are, so you must know that there is no point in resisting us. We contained the mutt faster than he could even blink."

Bella tried to not to give in to Jane's provocations, but it was difficult, seeing how skilled at it she was. Almost as skilled as she was at inflicting pain.

"You should have heard him whimper when I incapacitated him," Jane taunted. "It was quite pathetic. But you know what, lucky you, you'll get to hear it again today."

Bella stepped forward menacingly and Jane stepped backwards. "What does she mean?" Bella demanded, a bad feeling blossoming in her chest. "Demetri, tell me now! What does Jane mean?"

Demetri's God-like face was too composed, it was extremely unnerving. "It is simple, Bella. Project your shield over 80 yards and protect Seth. If not, he experiences excruciating pain."

"YOU'RE CRAZY!"

Bella attempted to attack Demetri, but he side-stepped it casually, as if avoiding a dirty puddle of water, and not a punch. Whimpers erupted from the iron grills, and Bella turned, only to see Seth convulsing with excruciating pain. Bella immediately switched her target to Jane, who retreated quickly. Demetri grasped both her hands with his own and flitted forward, before slamming them above her head. The force shattered bits of the pillar. Even with Felix's training, she was too weak to take on an experienced fighter like Demetri.

"80 yards. Protect him," Demetri simply said. "Jane is not particularly fond of holding back. He might perish if subjected to prolonged exposure."

Bella realised that the fear of the Volturi – a fear that she had thought she had shed, was back. Because someone she loved had suddenly existed.

She wasn't above begging. Not if it was for the last of her living kin.

"Please, Demetri," She implored. "If this is about getting back at me for mocking your kissing customs-"

"Rest assured," He cut in, sounding shocked that she'd even thought to bring that up. "I am not that petty."

"I can't do 80 yards." She insisted again, louder this time, her speech a jumbled amalgamation of desperation and unintelligible words . "How about 50 yards? We've been only practicing 30 yards."

Seth's whimpering worsened, reverberating off the iron chamber. Jane seemed like she was having a hell of a great time. Bella wanted to cry, even though it wasn't anatomically possible. "Please, I really can't, please," She cried. "Demetri – "

For a split second, an emotion resembling sympathy flickered beneath Demetri's composed mask, before disappearing completely. He looked her in the eye.

"You can do it, Bella. You can. Now, focus."

There was no bargaining with the Volturi. There was no bargaining with heartless beings. She should have learnt that by now. Jane was right – there was no resisting them.

Bella knitted her brows, trying to block out the whimpering as she mentally estimated the iron grill that Seth was located beside. Thanks to the straight-cut walkway, she could see that there were approximately 750 iron grills that her shield would have to cover. She concentrated on pushing the misty concave outline outwards further, and further, and further…

100

200

300

400

500 iron grills…

It was beginning to drain her. She hadn't gotten past 50 yards the last time with Demetri's rabbit. What made her think she could do so now?

Because Seth.

Edward's convulsing form came back to her – when he'd stepped in front of her to take Jane's punishment for her. She had been helpless then, as helpless as she'd been when she'd watch her loved ones die.

"How miserable it must be," Victoria had cackled. "To be a weak little human. To be helpless. To have to stand by and watch everything you love die."

But Victoria was wrong. Bella wasn't helpless anymore.

She gritted her teeth and pushed, neglecting the sharp, insistent pain in her skull. It probably didn't hurt as much as Jane could hurt Seth, so she pushed harder.

600

700

730

735 iron grills…

Her vision was swimming. She didn't know how much longer she could stand for. At least Demetri was still holding onto her, or she would've crumpled.

740

745

750

760

And her vision turned black. Demetri caught her before she hit the floor, and she struggled to regain her footing.

"That is enough," Demetri commanded. The whimpering had stopped, and Jane had appeared beside him. Besides Victoria, Bella had never hated someone as much as she hated Jane. She hated her so much that it physically hurt her to stand in place and not kill Jane instantly. She hated Demetri too, because clearly, this had been his idea all along.

To think that she had considered him one of the better members of the Volturi. She had perceived him as a polite and enigmatic individual, charming even, but she had been wrong. Did the word 'better' even exist when it came to describing the Volturi? Probably not. They were all the same. Cold, calculating, ruthless bloodsuckers, with a knack for manipulation, torture and killing. Like the rest, Demetri was a devil who wore the face of an angel, and she would do well to remember that.

But while Jane's soul was clearly beyond redemption, Bella had harboured a small hope that Demetris soul was. Perhaps she was wrong.

"Why?" She wanted to know. "Why did you do this?"

He stared back at her unflinchingly. "You needed motivation. As your progress stagnates, Victoria grows her army by the day."

"Why are you so cruel?"

He countered her question with another. "Why is the world so cruel? Why do the strong survive, and the weak get rooted out? The Cullens died because they were weak. Would you like to follow in their footsteps?"

It felt like a slap to her face. "They lost because they were outnumbered by Victoria's army," Bella bit out. "They weren't weak. They were kind, and they were strong."

"And yet, they did not survive," Demetri replied. "They perished because of their kindness. After executing James, the Cullens spared his mate, Victoria and his companion, Laurent. Was this not what led to their undoing? The Volturi tie up all loose ends. I would have hunted them to the ends of the earth. I would have prevented this war."

His words stung because there was some truth to them.

"Vampirism is built on the foundation of this so-called cruelty that you loathe. We thrive on human blood – blood that you stubbornly refuse to touch."

She flinched at the accusation. How had he known? She had made sure to empty the vials of blood that they had brought her, and instead had fed on the furry animals that Demetri had used for her training.

"You are wondering how I knew." His blood-red eyes locked with hers. "The crimson in your eyes dim with each passing day. Could it be that you have adopted the same acute sense of morality that led to the Cullens deaths?"

"I don't see a link between the two," Bella whispered. Could he stop using them as a punching bag?

"Human blood makes us strong," Jane interjected. "There is no substitute for that. By refraining from human blood, the Cullens suppressed their gifts and fighting abilities. Those fools killed themselves."

Demetri nodded. "Human blood is our food source - a means of survival. Tell me this, is a lion cruel for hunting a deer?"

"Well... no," Bella replied hesitantly. She still refused to accept this, but her memory of Dimitri's superior strength when he had slammed her hands into the stone wall hammered at her resolve. "But it still feels wrong – "

"Is the food chain wrong? There is no right or wrong, Bella. There is only the strong and the weak, survival and death."

Bella had no reply to that. She'd thought that by living with the Cullens, she had understood the ways of the vampire world. But as Edward's beautiful golden eyes swam into her mind's eye, offering a stark contrast to Demetri's piercing crimson ones, she realized that they were in fact worlds apart.

"Shed your weakness, Bella. Helplessness is not befitting of you."

~.~

The aroma of fresh human blood wafted through the air, ensnaring her senses. She was extremely thirsty. It had been awhile since she had last fed. Ever since her training with Seth, Demetri no longer brought furry mammals into compound. Bella could not leave the compound either as members of the Guard were not authorized to leave the compound unless permitted to - for good reason - by the Vampire Generals. Leaving to hunt was definitely not a good reason. The Volturi's personal Fisher, Heidi, saw to their meals, bringing in groups of tourists every now and then for them to dine on. Bella had refused this. She had sustained herself on pigeons for the past two days, but it was impossible to sneak out to hunt for larger animals with the Guards watching her every move from the side lines.

Probably courtesy of Demetri's influence.

It was obvious that he intended to starve her into cooperation.

And it was working.

She was too hungry to think. Her legs, reacting to the smell of blood, jumped to life, bringing her closer to the source of the blood.

She found it quickly.

The human corpse – a young foreign man, lay at the centre of the pentagon shaped stone platform. Felix stood beside him, having a conversation with another female vampire that she could not recognise. The female vampire's beauty was exceptional and beguiling. She had enchanting eyes, and waist length brown hair that framed her perfectly heart-shaped face. She was truly a sight to behold in her figure hugging red dress, complete with a set of black leather gloves.

Both ceased conversation and turned to Bella.

Felix smiled knowingly, as if expecting her. He waved to his female companion beside him. "Bella, this is Heidi."

Heidi inclined her head towards Bella politely. "Nice to meet you, Bella."

Bella nodded back. She couldn't muster a response. Her thoughts were consumed with that of quenching her pressing thirst.

Felix seemed to realize that. He gestured to the lifeless corpse beneath him. "Care to join me?" He asked with a wink. "You arrived at the right time as Heidi here has just brought me my snack."

She had teleported beside the corpse in the blink of an eye. But Felix's incisor markings at the corpse's neck stopped her cold.

Two weeks ago, the human had been her. And the markings had been Victoria's.

Felix seemed to sense her hesitation. "Go on," He egged with a small smile. "I am not saliva conscious."

"You know it's not that," She replied quietly. She turned to Felix accusingly. "This is Demetri's plan, isn't it? This is all part of his plan, and I am just a pawn who has been cornered into doing his bidding. He is a monster who gets his way all the time, isn't he?"

Felix let out a short bark of laughter. "Do not take it personally, Bella. Demetri is ruthless out of necessity. He does not enjoy it."

Heidi smiled. Her smile more beautiful than an entire galaxy of stars. "Felix is right. In all honesty, I find Demetri quite an admirable character. He keeps all our enemies in line with his fearsome reputation."

Felix pouted. "Why do the ladies always fancy him instead of me?"

Heidi laughed and rolled her eyes. Her laughter sounded like the tinkling of a dozen bells.

"I thought Jane's reputation was the most fearsome," Bella stated. "Most vampires fear the burning pain she inflicts." The memory of Jane torturing Seth still gave her shudders.

Felix raised a brow. "What is the point of Jane, or even Alec, if our enemy cannot be found? Demetri is our assassin. An assassin who never fails. He hunts down all our enemies, no matter where they run; no matter where they hide. He is the reason why the others fear us. He promises a certain death to anyone who dares to cross us."

His eyes met Bella's. "So, Bella, tell me this. Do you dare to cross him?"

Bella lowered her eyes. Demetri had Seth, for God's sake. She knew with a sinking feeling that he was simply using Seth to keep her in line. Her trainings with Seth were not merely trainings. They were also warnings. Warnings that explicitly detailed Seth's fate if she refused to comply.

Edward had mentioned once that this was a common tactic used by the Volturi to exercise control over their members.

"No," She decided. "I do not."

But I will when I am stronger.

She decided that like the Cullens, she would be kind. But unlike them, she would do so from a resolute position of power.

And with that, she lowered her lips onto the corpses neck, letting the tangy, thick stream of blood slide down her throat.

Felix smiled.

~.