Chapter 20: Confrontation

I monitored the locations of all the Volturi during the night. Visions of the future were fluxing and changing when Alice and I could see anything at all.

Felix walking along the corridor had us all on high alert. Carlisle or Jasper would answer the respective door if he was coming for us. The uncertainty of the visions had us all nervous. A knock at our door had Carlisle on his feet.

Felix made no move to enter the room, "I am sorry to disturb you but Master Caius requested Miss Isabella's presence in the gardens, if she is agreeable."

I quickly opened a connection to everyone and let them know I didn't think I had a choice. I promised to keep the connection open and reminded them that if anyone could defend themselves it was me.

I smiled at Felix and spoke out loud, "I would be honoured."

I waved as I stepped out of the door. Felix again took my arm as he escorted me back to the gardens. He opened the door for me, caught Caius's eye then bowed as he took my leave.

"Good Morning Caius, what a beautiful morning it is," I smiled as I walked across the the same seat we occupied yesterday.

He stood and greeted me with a hug, "This is the first morning for a long time that is true for. Join me?" He gestured to the bench and I sat beside him.

"Can we converse privately?" he asked me in a whisper.

I opened a link so the others could hear him but he couldn't hear them, "Like this?"

"Yes, you can hear me like this?" he asked in his mind.

"I can, I have opened a connection to just the thoughts you mentally speak, as I have connected you with my thoughts. We will just be seen to be sat together in the morning sun, we can speak out loud as well to cover us further if you wish. I have blocked any thought reading near us, is this acceptable?" I was honest as far as I went I just didn't tell him I was also transmitting our conversation to the rest of my party but they were blocked too.

"Just sitting in the sun I believe will be sufficient," he said out loud as he took a mental breath and spoke in his mind, "Yesterday opened my eyes to many things. I lived under a cloud for many, many years, even in vampire terms. I don't want to go back to that. I don't know how or why but you have opened my soul to hope. I feel a bond to you of trust, friendship and even kinship; it is refreshing yet daunting in its intensity. When you accessed our minds and grated access to each others thoughts, the state of Aro's mind unnerved me; the instability and disorder, the conflicting memories explain some of his behaviour. He has taken so many thoughts and memories over the centuries, I don't think he knows his own mind any more. It concerns me greatly that he makes many of the decisions for the vampire race. He covets power, he always has. You are extremely powerful, he will try to control you. I am concerned the lengths he will go to, to attain that control. I do not want his actions to reflect against the rest of us. Do not trust him, he has deteriorated considerably to the man Carlisle knew. Please be careful in your dealing with him."

"Thank you for the warning, I hope it is unneeded," I sat with him just enjoying the warmth of the morning.

Before our arrival in Volterra we had feared Caius. Since dealing with them it had become only too obvious that Aro is the unstable threat. He is dangerous as he appears so rational but the insanity lurks behind only a thin veil and will take little to trigger it's emergence.

Caius sighed and spoke out loud, "Much as I enjoy your company and the warmth of the sun I fear we both have a meeting to attend. I will see you there. You know your way back to your room?"

"Yes thank you. I enjoyed this, I appreciate you inviting me," I smiled and waved as I walked back to the room.

Marcus was stood inside the door as I ascend the steps. He opened the door for me, "Isabella, I was told I would find you here. Will you walk with me?"

"Of course, I would be honoured," wow, this I did not expect.

We walked away from my room and off into another corridor, "My study is in here if you don't mind a brief visit?"

I nodded my assent and entered in front of him.

"Isabella, I know more than anyone realises. Yesterday confirmed some information I have long believed but have never proven. Before I go and tie a loose end I have a gift which I fear you may not want to accept but I have complied it especially for you. Will you allow me?" I feared his gift but knew this was the right thing to do.

I nodded. He took my hand raising it as if to kiss the back as Caius did yesterday. Instead his teeth raked the back of my hand, just a scratch but the burn of venom confirmed my fear.

"I am truly sorry but you are the only one that can do it, I must rush now to get one last chore done before the meeting," he had more life and hope in his eyes that I saw all day yesterday.

"I wish you peace," I whispered as he rushed out of the door, the bad feeling intensified but I still didn't know what was coming.

"And you," I heard him call back.

I made my way back to the room.

As I walked in the questions hit, "What was that about?" Edward vocalised first.

"I'm not sure but I have a bad feeling. Come we are due in the main hall. We will all walk together," concern tainted my voice.

We entered the main hall and stood and waited. Some of the guard already waiting others arriving in ones and twos. They took their positions. Caius entered on the last strike of ten taking his seat at the head of the room.

Renata entered and took her place a step behind Aro's seat. She spoke softly to Caius, "He sent me here when Marcus asked him if he could have a quick word before the meeting."

Caius nodded. The tension in the room built as the seconds ticked by. Five minutes passed before Caius spoke, "Enough of this, Demetri where are they?"

Now vampires can't go whiter, there is no blood to drain from their faces when fear and worry hit. Even knowing that everyone in the room would swear the Demetri went white, "I don't know, they are gone."

I felt for their hooks at the same time Demetri was asked, the hooks had gone.

A vision hit me, I sent a mental message to all our party, "It's started, sooner than I expected."

"Bella?" Jasper asked.

"It's too late, this outcome is the best of a bad lot," I sent back.

I pulled myself together and sent out, "It's better if we are seen to be as much in the dark as the others, the answers will arrive soon enough."

"But we are in the dark," or thoughts to that effect came back as Caius started to speak.

"Renata, Demetri, Felix, Jane and Isabella with me now, the rest of you wait here until we return," Caius barked out the order.

"I will be okay, wait here and stay calm," I told my family through the link, "I will hold the link open and let you see as I do, you must not react."

Caius reached out for my hand, ordering the others, "Follow us."

The followed the scent trail left by Renata to a room I believe to be Aro's study. Aro and Marcus's scents lead away. We followed to a door just across from Marcus's study. Caius opened the door into a small room with another door on the far wall. A smell like incense burned our noses, it was not incense, it was the purple smoke of venom.

Not just one venom but two.

The smell of the smoke left us in no doubt we had found Aro and Marcus.

An envelope addressed to Caius was pinned to the second door with a warning, 'Do not Enter'.

Caius read the letter then passed it to me as he threw open the door to reveal a plain room, ash and the remnants of smoke to gave proof of the events that had transpired in there.

The note in the envelope was brief;

Caius, Dear Brother,

I am sorry. When I had confirmation of my dearest Didyme's murderer I took my revenge. This room I had built many years ago. It is a vampire proof room, there is a time delay locking the room before wheels embedded with vampire teeth to dice anything in the room. Then burners trigger, after the temperature drops the lock on the room is released.

I am at peace now as I rejoin my Didyme.

Allow all your hope to live in the Pentacle, in Isabella. I gave her a gift before I left. All the information you will both need you will find on my desk.

Sulpicia will find her true mate, Bella's powers can speed the process. I could not have inflicted the pain I lived with for so long on another.

Farewell

Marcus.

Grief weighed on Caius as he gave instructions for the room to be locked and for everyone to return to the main hall, "Jane return quickly run and tell Alec to toll the meeting bell, no talking about any of this until I get there."

Caius glanced at me and gave me a silent explanation as we walked into the study, "The bell summons every vampire in hearing range to the hall, no-one is exempt from complying immediately to it's call. We need find the information Marcus left for us in his study and learn all we can in the time we have."

Caius sat at Marcus's desk, "Please come and read over my shoulder, it seems we both need to know the contents of these letters."

The letters were long and detailed. Marcus had written details of the prophesy, he and Didyme had acted as a collectors of venom for over three thousand years, they stored the venom in themselves. He had lists of sire trees with corresponding powers going back thousands of years before he had been born, even known bites were marked on the tree. It seems Didyme had taken special interest in the Prophesy and she believed that vampires would be happy and live in peace with help of the Pentacle. For that reason she did everything she could to ensure the Pentacle would be as strong as possible to overcome the likes of her brother. Marcus had kept hidden written records of all the details, Aro had long ago dismissed the prophesy mocking Marcus for allowing Didyme her dedication to it. Marcus continued to exist after the loss of his Didyme only to respect her wish of helping the Pentacle.

Vampire speed allowed us to read and memorise the information before the bell had even been rung. At the bell's toll we were locking up the letters and the office, I even threw a shield on to be sure of secrecy. We walked together towards the great hall.

"I will miss them," he whispered to me as we walked the empty path back to the others, "We used to laugh at Didyme for her fanatical belief in you. I will support you in every way I can not only for the person you are but also in her memory. You will have the wives backing if only in memory of Didyme, they believed and supported her also."

I slipped my fingers back into his, trying to give even a small amount of comfort. Using any of my gifts would be wrong. I had put a tight shield around myself as soon as I felt the burn of Marcus's 'gift'. As I read his papers I pulled my shield even tighter.

A/N Life is get in the way at the moment. Sorry for any errors is this, it hasn't been checked for me. I am working on the epilogue at moment and have the other chapters ready for proof reading. I'll post if I can get them done or as soon as I get internet connection again!