I'm extremely sorry for making you wait this much, but college is hell! Political Sciences is waaay harder than it seems...anyway, I hope this was worth the wait.

No warnings for this chapter, just some political issues that hopefully won't bother anyone.

So, enjoy and thanks for everyone who's been following even while I've been away. Please review, I love to know what you think. Cheers!


CHAPTER XI: The List

"Well everyone, we don't have too many rooms but try to make yourself comfortable".

The Russian's place was a bit cramped but looked cosy. For being vampires, they didn't have such exquisite tastes; the living room was small with one couch and an armchair; the TV occupied the biggest place in the room, resting over wooden furniture.

"We just have three rooms; let's make the best of them. Yuri, your bedroom has two beds, why don't you leave it for our guests?" Viktor proposed. Yuri looked at him offended.

"I'm not leaving my room for that Romanian bastard", spat Yuri, pointing at me with his chin. I shrugged and looked around the living room, trying to find a nice spot to sleep. Viktor rolled his eyes.

"You can share Sasha's room", started the oldest Russian but Yuri interrupted him.

"Why don't you leave your room?"

"That's not the point, there's just one bed…"

"Well, then Sasha and I will share my room, you can stay in yours and if the Germans don't mind, they could sleep out here, in the living room". Yuri started bossing everyone around; Johann and Klaus only nodded. Suddenly, the Russian turned towards me and Stefan. "And as for the Romanian fags, they can have Sasha's room".

"That room only has one bed…"

"That's the point", Yuri finished off. I frowned at him and he frowned back; we stared at each other and everybody else froze, waiting for the worst. I felt a slight touch on my arm; Stefan nodded and thanked the Russians for their hospitality as he pushed me towards the hallway that led to the bedrooms. Once we entered the designated room, my friend closed the door. I immediately headed to the window and leaned against the windowsill, frowning. I was upset because of Yuri's stupidity but mostly, I was concerned; it wouldn't be the first time I was going to rest beside Stefan but I wasn't in the best disposition for it after fulfilling a sexual act on the wall behind him and climaxing thanks to his noises.

I planned to stay away from Stefan as long as I could. He started taking off his coat and shoes to be more comfortable as I discreetly watched him. After finishing, he sat on the bed and looked back at me.

"Well, aren't you going to rest?"

"I'm fine here; you rest on the bed if you want to"

My friend looked at me apologetically and layed down on the bed. It wasn't too small but I was starting to feel bad again just by seeing Stefan's strong body lying in front of me covered only by a very becoming shirt and well-fitting pants.

"Hey, we have to work with what we have while we're here. We should be grateful for having a place to stay at", said my mate trying to light my mood but I couldn't keep my eyes off of the way his muscles looked as he rested his head on his flexed arms. He raised a brow at me and smiled, curious. I looked away as I leant further into the windowsill.

"Anyway, I think you should rest; otherwise, tomorrow you'll have no extra energy for the hunt", advised Stefan as he closed his eyes, ready to rest. Hesitant, I left my place by the windowsill and approached the bed; when I layed down, stiff, I could see Vladimir's smirk widen, as I accommodated as best as I could so I wouldn't be too close to my mate and prepared myself mentally for not dreaming of him…


We went out hunting the next morning. The cool air brushed against my cheeks, pushing away the warm feelings of the night and clearing my mind. I hunted less than usual; I wasn't that hungry anyway. Besides, there was something in the back of my mind that told me today was going to be a decisive day. The Russians had promised to take us with one of their friends, who had a list of some vampires known for being fierce opponents of the Volturi's regime. We marched east, to the city of Norilsk. We left beautiful streets and luxurious buildings back to entre a zone where grey condominiums and flats popped over our heads and small houses appeared beside the road from time to time.

I glanced at the buildings as we passed them in a flash. I saw Yuri half smile and Viktor whisper something. He then turned to me with a peaceful smile and added:

"It's almost like the old days".

We kept running until we arrived to a narrow street. Old buildings lined up at both sides of it. Viktor breathed in deeply, inhaling the smell of wet walls and decay.

"Welcome to the old town of Norilsk, an important city during the communist regime. Now is just a slum; going out on your own at night might be dangerous. Not many things changed for the inhabitants of Norilsk even after the regime collapsed. Yet, it's like a crack in time; the streets, the buildings, the cars, even the people…everything remained the same here. If this was your first impression of Russia, you could think Stalin is still ruling the nation. I'm pretty sure if you ask the population, they might answer we're still communists".

Viktor finished with an amused smile. I smiled back and followed him and the rest of his coven to the end of the street, where stood one of the buildings. Viktor pushed the interphone and a male voice responded, interchanging words in Russian with Viktor. After a while, the door opened with a beeping sound and we all entered the place. The building looked like it had been taken out of a History book; the tiled floor, the dirty staircase, the small windows…everything looked sombre. We climbed the stairs and stopped in front of a pale green door. Viktor knocked on it and, after a few minutes, a short man opened. He had his hair close shaven and was very thin; his eyes popped unnaturally out of his eye sockets and his skin looked unhealthy. He was holding a shotgun in one of his hands and he gestured with it for us to go inside, closing the door behind us and locking it up with plenty of padlocks. He went to the sofa to "clean it up", throwing all the papers and magazines on it to the floor. He then headed to an armchair and shooed a furry cat away from it, sitting afterwards and gesturing to the couch for us to sit. Most of us pressed ourselves against each other in the cramped furniture as Klaus and Yuri stood. Viktor was the closest to our host.

"Thanks for receiving us, my friend", he said in a calming tone. The man beside him nodded absentmindedly as the furry cat jumped over his lap; he started petting it distractedly, shifting his gaze from Viktor's face to the door. Viktor cleared his throat. "You must know why we're here". The guy nodded and kept petting the cat, the shotgun never leaving his hand.

"I have what you need. But first, I need to be sure of being protected". The Russian's voice trembled. Now that he was settled in the living room, he seemed much younger than I had thought at first sight. He looked like someone who had gone through a lot and for that reason, had aged faster.

"Of course we are going to protect you. That was the deal, right?" Viktor reassured him.

"Yes, but I'm tired of making deals with your people. All vampires are nothing but liars!" the man seemed to be experiencing a crisis. "I don't even know why I still trust you and your kind!"

"Take it easy my friend, and be reasonable. We are almost invincible, of course we can offer you protection!" affirmed Viktor. The young Russian looked at him with fear.

"It's not humans I'm worried about..."

"Then what is it? You can trust us", guaranteed Viktor. The guy considered it for a while, his distrust fighting against his fear. At the end, the second took over.

"I need protection…from them".

We all looked at each other. You didn't need to be an erudite to know who he was talking about: the Volturi, Russia's yoke of the last years. The boy shivered and gripped his shotgun tighter.

"I don't even know why I'm asking this. I know no matter what I do, they'll find me and they'll kill me. But I also know that only some of their kind can overpower them, and if they do so, my death will not be in vain. A list is of no use for the dead. Hopefully, it will help you defeat them".

The boy quickly got up and headed to one of the rooms of the flat. We all remained in the living room, pressed against each other's bodies. Klaus was looking down, arms crossed over his chest. Yuri paced nervously around the room, biting his nails from time to time.

The Russian got back with some sheets in his hands. The furry cat followed him everywhere. He sat back down on the armchair and handed the sheets with trembling hands to Viktor. As soon as he grabbed tem, the boy let go of them as if they were hot iron.

"You can have it; I don't want to see it anymore. Only Bella knows how much I've suffered for keeping it", he said patting the cat's head as it purred.

Viktor took a quick glance of the list and put it in the inner pocket of his coat.

"Your help has been of great use, my friend. We'll give you the protection you need and we'll hunt those Italian bastards down, I can assure you".

The boy nodded and became absent again. Yuri strolled over to Viktor and asked to see the list. The older Russian made a dismissive gesture with the hand and turned back to the human by his side.

"Is there any more information you can give us, my friend?"

"There's nothing new; the Italians keep asking for tribute and hunting down individuals of your kind. They kidnap humans from time to time".

"To feed?" Stefan spoke for the first time. The boy glanced nervously towards him.

"I don't know; usually they don't kidnap when they feed. Perhaps they're looking for information. They're looking for me". The boy froze against his armchair, petting his cat nervously.

"Do they know we're here?" continued Stefan.

"I didn't know you were here, so perhaps they don't either. One hears rumours but they don't tend to take them seriously".

My mate was about to make another question when Yuri took a step forward, getting closer to the armchair.

"What rumours? Have you heard anything about someone called Vasiliy?"

"I…don't know", answered the boy, hesitant.

"Come on, Vasiliy Korovin. Have you heard anything?"

"Vasiliy it's a very common name, and Korovin…I've never heard that surname".

"You've never heard that surname? Are you sure?"

As the argument proceeded, Yuri got closer to the Russian boy, who also got more scared every minute that passed. Viktor glanced back at his coven mate, upset.

"Yuri, the boy already said he knows nothing…"

"He could be lying, couldn't he? And that list could also be a trap. You say you can't trust us, but can we trust you?"

"I'm telling the truth, I have no reason to lie"

The boy was frankly terrified but Yuri kept pushing him with questions and placing his arms at both sides of the armchair.

"Yuri, stop it…" pleaded Sasha.

"I'm asking you something very, very simple. What have you heard of Vasiliy Korovin?"

"I've…never heard of him. I…swear. Please".

"Vasiliy Korovin, Vasiliy Korovin, Vasiliy Korovin!"

Yuri started shouting and shaking the armchair. The poor boy could only curl into himself as his cat hissed and scratched Yuri's chest. Yuri grabbed the animal by the skin and threw it away, making it hit a wall. I decided the show had been enough, so I launched myself against Yuri, knocking him down. I caught him off-guard, so he fell to the floor with me on top. Being more experienced than him, I could easily submit the enraged vampire as the human ran to cradle his cat. The boy cried over the furry animal, which fortunately seemed to be pretty unharmed.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?! He already said he knows nothing! Don't you see the poor guy is scared to dead?" I scolded him.

"And since when you care about humans, hypocrite?!" shouted Yuri back. "Get off me!"

I let him go and his head hit the ground again. I stood up and headed back to the couch; everyone was already up and ready to intervene if things got worse. Sasha was beside the young human, patting him on the back and assuring him the cat would be okay. He glanced back at Yuri with a disapproving look as well as Viktor.

"Well, we must go, but I'll leave a paper with my number and Yuri's, in case you need anything", said Viktor as the sobbing boy escorted us all to the door. Before we left, Sasha hugged him once again and told him soothing words. The boy smiled for the first time in the whole visit. We left the building with information that seemed to cost much more than just protection.


Outside, the sun shone timidly through the smoke clouds. The ground was covered by a thin layer of ice and the snow piled on the pavement. We walked quietly, looking around as if Norilsk was the most pleasant city in the world to be; everything seemed to had bloomed while we were inside of the building with our informant, even the sun looked warmer. After walking a few blocks, Viktor stopped; the swings of a nearby playground swayed with the wind. We all gathered around him as he took the list out.

"Isn't it dangerous to be taking that thing out here?" said Klaus, cautious, his German accent overemphasized but Viktor payed no attention to his concern. He took the list out as we all got closer.

"Let's find out who the Volturi see in their nightmares…"

Viktor started flipping through the pages, a smile crossing his lips as he found his name. He proceeded to look for his coven member's names, his grin widening. The commotion increased as everyone tried to look for their names. Suddenly, I took a step back.

"Hey, everyone! We're here having fun with the list and looking for our names but we are forgetting the most important thing"

Everyone looked bewildered at me; I cleared my throat in a dramatic gesture before proceeding.

"We all know the Volturi hate us, and are aware of our fierce opposition to them. But we are losing sight of the best part of this deal; we have the greatest weapon of all: information".

They all looked at me as if I had lost my mind, except for Stefan who already understood what I meant.

"Don't you see? That list contains the names of many vampires who may have or not abilities, yet they are warriors and they have something in common with us…"

"The hatred they feel for the Italian scum…" finished Stefan with one of his cynical smiles.

"Exactly! If we manage to contact all of them, we could easily put an army together! We could have the best of the best! You could free your country from the Volturi domain", I said, looking at the Russians. "And you, you would no longer have to run away", I stated, looking right into the German's eyes. "Together we could have the best army ever and finally dethrone those impostors!"

"JA!" shouted Johann, enthusiastic as Klaus raised a fist to the air.

"Da!" assured Viktor with a joyful smile, shared by Sasha. Yuri just seemed proud to have that information and be part of the foundation of the new army, but as usual, he had to find the weak spot of the plan.

"That sounds all very nice, and I may not be the best at maths, but I see many names in that list. How many can they be, a few hundreds, perhaps? It's going to be really hard to contact them all since we're just 7. On the other hand, you really believe a few hundreds of vampires will take the Volturi down? You've tried it before with bigger armies and well…it's not like you're at the top of the world now"

"Back then, we didn't have the best, and if the Volturi made that list and haven't killed the ones on them, they must have a reason to keep us alive. They must know about our strength", I explained.

"Besides, we could use neophytes as pawns", proposed Viktor, who seemed clearly interested in gathering an army.

"You know better than I do that neophytes are unreliable", replied Yuri.

"And…are we going to sacrifice so many vampires?" asked Johann timidly.

"Johann is right, and so is Yuri. Is going to be hard to find all of the vampires on the list, and if some of them don't want to fight, we'll have even less allies. Also, we need someone to stay by Alexey", added Sasha. We all struggled to make a connection between the name and someone we knew but nobody could.

"Who's this Alexey, Sasha? A friend of yours?" asked Viktor, visibly confused.

"No, Alexey, the boy from the buildings, the one who handed us the list", answered Sasha innocently.

"Oh, there's no need to worry about him. He won't betray us", said Viktor reassuringly.

"I'm not worried about him betraying us; we promised protection in order to get the list". We looked at each other but everyone remained quiet. Sasha had a confused expression on his face. "Because we are going to protect him, right?"

Sasha's pleading tone made mostly everyone look away. Viktor was the first to speak since he was his coven mate.

"You'll see, Sasha, sometimes you have to do certain things to get others. You have to learn to manipulate people from time to time, to use their abilities…it's collateral damage, but it's for the best!"

"Is that what I am, collateral damage? You turned me into this 'for the best'?" Sasha's look was no longer of confusion but of anger and distress. He didn't wait for Viktor's response and started to walk away.

"Sasha…" Yuri sounded actually worried as he started following the blond boy.

The rest of us just watched the scene, Johann with concern, Viktor with confusion and the majority with indifference. Stefan rested his chin on my shoulder as he watched the scene in front of us; I could feel trouble inside of him but preferred not to say anything. It had been a tough day but we now had a weapon the Volturi couldn't even imagine and the possibility of overpowering them seemed closer than ever. Viktor placed the list back into his coat pocket and started following his coven mates. The Germans did the same, Johann's concern still visible. I, on the other hand, placed an arm around Vladimir's shoulders and followed our new allies as he put his hand over the one I had previously set over him. And if I still had blood running through my veins, it would've certainly colored my face.