Chapter 28 The Volturi

The monster inside of me was rejoicing at his victory, and I didn't do anything to stop him.

I had already drunk Bella's blood, and I thought that I would never feel a better taste. I hoped that I had discovered some secret formula, something absolutely perfect, and though Bella's smell was still amazing, her taste wouldn't wonder me again.

I was wrong. Bella was wounded at that time, she was sick and almost unconscious, and her blood was weak, although it tasted like nectar. But now, when Bella was healthy and strong, her blood got different taste - more saturated, just like a good aged wine. Bella became my victim, the real victim for the first time, and the monster was squeezing her fragile body without leaving a change to let her go.

"Edward," Bella whispered.

She placed her hands on my chest, trying to push me away. Of course, it didn't work, and I barely noticed her silly attempt to resist me. All what I noticed was the warmth of her body that was almost burning my skin.

"Edward," she whispered again, but the monster didn't want to listen. "Edward… Please, don't do this…"

These words made me freeze, reminding me about something.

You're not good for me, Bella.

Don't do this.

The moment from the past revived in my head again, and I saw Bella, so desperate and broken. I saw how her heart was breaking in front of me again. I saw my fragile Bella who was too unlucky to be human. And I let her suffer again…

I stopped breathing and finally woke up from my dream, the dream where I was a monster and my victim was going to die in my arms.

I forced myself to stop and finally released Bella from my steel embrace. She moved her head slowly. I listened to her heartbeat: it was still there, but it was weak, and Bella looked abnormally pale. The feeling of remorse touched my frozen heart: I drank too much of Bella's blood. It was my fault…

"Bella, Bella, can you hear me?" I asked. I was getting closer to panic.

Bella's eyes half-opened and closed again; she moved her head slowly, nodding, but her mind had already been floating in a viscous fog. I breathed a sigh of relief, noticing that. The situation was bad, but, at least, Bella was alive. I examined her pale bloodless face carefully. Her lips were almost blue. I could kill her. I almost killed her.

I picked Bella up and went downstairs, still listening to her heartbeat. It was still weak and slow, but it was rhythmic, and that was good. I tried to calm down, listening to that beautiful melody. I was going to miss that…

Still holding Bella in my arms, I looked around. The house was almost empty, and I regretted that for the first time in my life. I brought Bella to the house that appeared to be her last home in her human life, and there was nothing there that could comfort her pain. I had spent years, trying to impress Bella and make her life more comfortable – and now all that time seemed have been wasted.

After some hesitation, I laid Bella on the big table in the dining room. She was still unconscious; her chest was moving slowly, her heartbeat was almost invisible. I squeezed her hand, thinking that, probably, it was even better that she couldn't feel anything now, because later…

Bella opened her eyes. Her back arched.

"My neck is burning!" she cried as loud as she could. Her face turned read almost immediately; pain was dancing in her deep chocolate brown eyes.

I squeezed Bella's hand again.

"I know, my love," I murmured, "but I swear: it'll pass…"

if we survive this day, I added in my own thoughts. I had never been an optimist, and I still wasn't sure that my conversation with the Volturi would end on a high note. The only thing I knew was that the Volturi would never get Bella. They would never be able to hurt her.

Because I did it myself.

"The fire! It burns me!" she cried again, breaking my heart into billion pieces.

Bella wasn't squeezing my hand now – she was trying to pass me her pain, and she would, probably, break my bones, if I was still human.

She opened her eyes and turned her head to me, her lips were shaking.

"It's getting stronger… " she complained, starting to cry.

I didn't know what to say. I knew that it was only the beginning. I knew that it was going to be worse... How could I comfort her, knowing that she was going to visit hell?

"I know," I whispered back, my voice full of pain. "But you need to be strong," I added. "It'll end, I swear. Just stay strong. "

I rubbed her tears away. They were hot and almost burned my cold skin. Bella didn't notice my cold touch at all. She was in agony.

At that moment I caught a glimpse of a sudden thought.

Closer.

Still holding Bella's hand, I turned my head to the sound of the thought automatically and listened to it.

Closer. Closer. Closer.

The Volturi. Their tracker had found us. They were getting closer. I looked back at Bella and touched her cheek softly. The moment had come.

"The Volturi are coming," I said to her in a mild comforting tone. "I have to leave you for a while. I'll return when everything is over."

If I survive this day, I thought, but preferred to keep my thought quiet.

I kissed Bella's forehead and made a deep breath, enjoying her smell for the last time. Bella barely noticed that, I wasn't even sure that she heard what I had just said. She was wringing with pain, dancing in agony. The darkness closed her eyes again.

"I'll return as fast as I can," I added before leaving.

The Volturi's thoughts began sounding clearer.

The end had begun.


I was standing near the house, waiting for them to appear. I still could hear Bella, crying and screaming inside of the house, but I made myself focus on the Volturi's thoughts.

It was three of them, and I could recognize them due to Carlisle's memories.

Demetri. The tracker whose thoughts I heard first. It was him who was leading the rest of the group there. Demetri was really good, his talent was useful and powerful, and he always participated in foreign travels. One phone call from Daniel was enough for him to start tracing us.

Felix. He was strong, really strong, much stronger than me or even Emmet. It was almost impossible to stand against him, and I wasn't sure that my abnormal speed could help me if I had to fight with him. I sighed. I didn't like it at all.

But to my horror, Felix wasn't the main problem - it was Jane, the leader of their little group. Her talent was very specific. Carlisle told me that the pain she created was only mental, not real, but it was impossible to avoid it. I had a small chance to trick Demetri or Felix, but I didn't have any chance to trick Jane.

They came out of the fog and went directly to my side.

It's here, Demetri reached the destination. His feelings didn't fool him. He smiled, glancing at the mansion.

Great, Felix grinned, noticing me. He was almost happy. In Felix's opinion, the previous part of their journey was really boring.

Interesting, Jane turned her head to the side of the house. Bella screamed. Jane frowned, listening to that.

Demetri and Felix heard Bella too. I suppressed the desire to snarl at them. She was mine.

"Demetri. Felix. Jane," I nodded shortly when they stopped and began examining me.

The Volturi didn't hide their surprise. We had never met before, but I knew everything about them thanks to Carlisle. If I survived that day, I must thank my father for that.

"You seem to be well-informed about us," Demetri noticed. Something like respect blinked in his tone.

I smiled. They didn't know anything about me. Or Alice. The Volturi didn't know about our talents, and it could give me some advantage. In theory.

"It's hard not to know about the arrival of such important guests," I pointed at their grey cloaks.

Felix grinned, considering my words as a compliment. It reminded me of Emmet. He and Felix could have become friends if they were on one side.

"We've got the information about the perpetration a crime," Jane was irritated. Unlike others, she hated talking in circles. "We know that you revealed the secret of our existence to a mortal, endangering all our lives. The Volturi don't forgive that."

Of course, they had already guessed that the information was real. They knew that I was protecting a human. The Volturi heard Bella's screams, and they would notice her smell if she was there. It wasn't that difficult to put two and two together.

Jane was calm; she was triumphant. She was almost happy, because if the end of the case was successful, Aro would praise her. It was clear – Jane couldn't stop thinking about her leader. His face was flashing before her eyes all the time. Unlike her, Demetri was bored - he barely listened to Jane's monologue. I sighed. I wished his thoughts would give me some clue.

Luckily, Felix helped me even he had no idea about it. After hearing Jane's words he immediately thought about the young woman sitting inside of their ancient castle. He imagined her blushing while greeting him, and recalled her loud heartbeat that sounded funny and weird.

I hid a smile. It was exactly what I needed.

"Well, I have never thought that it can be so serious," I shrugged, trying to look a bit naive, "especially, when you're doing the same thing. Aren't you revealing our secret to humans who work on you?"

My answer surprised them. Felix and Demetri exchanged glances and then turned to Jane, waiting for her reaction. Jane felt like the ground shifted beneath her feet. She hated to lose.

"We have humans who are working on us, but it never lasts for too long," she answered angrily. "We always solve this problem, sooner or later. Our secret remains secret."

"I have already solved the problem too, then," I answered.

"Edward!" Bella cried from the house, and we all turned to her side immediately.

Felix grinned.

"We've noticed that," he answered.

Jane sighed. It's unfair! she thought.

"But it doesn't take it off the table," Jane added aloud. "Your human have been known our secret for too long. She could make it public."

"But she didn't," I answered immediately. "It's clear."

"Why should we trust you?" Demetri asked. He turned his head to my side, examining me again.

I smiled.

"I can't make you trust me, but you have to trust yourself. If the secret was exposed, you would know it first, right? Your reputation is perfect."

The Volturi didn't know what to say. They fell into their own trap.

"Still, delaying looks very suspicious," Jane said again. She didn't want to give up.

I shrugged.

"Nobody set up time frame for that. Moreover, we needed some time for making a clean break. It's not that much."

The Volturi were silent. Felix and Demetri didn't have any opinion about it and waited for Jane's answer again. On the other hand, Jane was disappointed. She considered that part of the trip a waste of their time.

It gave me an opportunity to change the subject quickly.

"Actually, I'm surprised that you found our situation to be so interesting," I said in a calm tone. "Your informant is human too, and he knows much more than he's supposed to know. And New York…"

My words awoke them.

Does he know anything? Demetri thought in his mind.

Amazing, I read in Felix's mind. He's full of surprises…

I smiled. They hadn't known anything yet. They still hadn't found the vampire who created that mess.

"What's about New York?" asked Felix.

"What human?" asked Jane, trying to read everything on my face. It would be nice to use pain… she thought, staring at me. Jane hid a smile, thinking about it.

"I think that I know who has done that," I answered as fast as I could. I had no desire to please Jane. "Her name is Victoria. We had a conflict in the past, so she craved revenge. Victoria couldn't attack me directly, so she created the plan where she could use you as her puppets."

I knew that that comparison would make them angry.

"Do you want to say that she started killing humans in New York to make us go here?" asked Felix. He was offended. And angry.

We had to travel so far from home because of some crank? he thought.

It's ridiculous, Demetri said in his mind.

It's inappropriate, Jane imagined a hidden figure wringing with pain.

I nodded.

"I think that's her, but you can ask her about it, if you want."

"Don't even doubt t that," Demetri said happily.

I can feel, he sniffed, just like he really smelled Victoria's scent. It was fascinating to see how his talent worked.

"Was the informant involved in that plan?" Jane asked. She glanced at Demetri and looked pleased to see that he tracked Victoria down.

I nodded again.

"Yes. He owns a café on the edge of the city. Victoria made him spy for her. He was supposed to watch all the tourists and make a phone call after finding us. Victoria intimidated the man, even killed a human in front of him."

That fact amazed the Volturi too.

Another rule is broken, Felix thought. He was right. We weren't allowed to hunt in public. Victoria would have very serious problems…

Demetri sniffed the air again. He was searching for Daniel now, but I couldn't say that I felt any sorry for him. If the Volturi killed him, it wouldn't be my problem.

Jane took a second to make a decision. The chance of torturing Victoria made her feel better.

And Aro would be pleased too… she added in her thoughts.

I hid a smile.

"We thank you for your information," Jane said aloud finally. The decision was made. "We'll check it as fast as we can."

"I have no doubts about that," I said politely.

Demetri was the first one to turn away. He was choosing the right way to go.

"You'd better solve your problems in time. The Volturi don't accept delays," Jane glanced at the house for the last time. Small potatoes, she said in her head.

"Yeah. Don't drag your feet," Felix said.

"I'll remember that," I nodded, saying goodbye to them.

Having lost interest in me, they barely noticed my nod. The Volturi left the glade almost immediately, just like they had never been there.

After making sure that they had done, I closed my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.

It was over. We survived the darkest day in our lives. It was unreal, almost impossible, and it was hard to accept that. It was over…

"Edward!" Bella's voice woke me up, making me open my eyes. "Help me!"

Her voice was full of despair.

I sighed and returned to the house quickly, preparing myself for the final battle.

The last thing we had to go through was pain.