Chapter 5

Tears of an immortal

Leah dreamed that night of Sam. It was THE day. The day that had altered her life. The day Sam left her for her cousin, Emily. They were in Leah's back yard. It was 2 am and Leah could feel the rage, confusion, hurt all rising in her.

"I'm so sorry, Leah," Sam whispered. "I didn't plan this, it just happened I wasn't expecting it. I'm sorry, but I have to do this."

Leah rocked slowly back and forth. She couldn't speak because, if she spoke, she would surely cry and she loathed crying. It was as if three years suddenly didn't matter to Sam. Leah reflected on all of the time they had spent together. The motorcycle rides, the hiking trips, the tribe campfires they had attended together. She remembered the nights they spent when Sam would sneak up to her bedroom window and join her until the sun rose.

She looked up at Sam's face. She saw pain, but there was no deliberation, no regret. The pain, she realized, was only a deep sorrow felt on her behalf, Sam was not suffering for the same reasons she was. In his gaze, Leah watched an amount of peace settle. She wanted to ask why. Desperately. Why was leaving her bringing him peace?But, as she opened her mouth, her pain drowned in fires of rage which claimed every part of her body; muscles, bones, organs, every cell was aflame with anger.

It was then she noticed someone standing behind Sam. It was a man. He would have been extraordinarily beautiful if not for the blood dripping down his chin. He was crouching, hungry, angry eyes locked on Sam.

Leah knew she should warn Sam, she really should. Instead, she looked back at the creature and realized she knew him. It was Demetri of the Volturi. His gaze met hers and he looked towards Sam curiously. He smiled a half smile. Leah knew what he wanted and she nodded at him.

He leapt forward with a lethal growl. Leah watched him lock his jaw into Sam's throat. She stood and she watched Sam die slowly as each gallon of blood left his body. When he was done, Demetri cast him aside and approached her with a smirk.

"See, some humans deserve what we do to them." He touched her face lightly, his red eyes glowing in the dark of the night, and Leah screamed.

She woke up safe in her bed. Well, as safe as you could be in Florence, Italy surrounded by a bunch of vampires. She sat upright breathing heavily. Usually, that dream ended with her watching Sam's back as he walked away. She would just stand and watch as layers of painful emotions pounded through her. Then, she would collapse to the ground and hope for death. That was how the story actually went.

She hadn't had that dream for months. Mostly, because she and Seth had a tendency to sleep as wolves. That way they could share each other's dreams and keep each other's fears at bay. Seth would make sure Sam didn't come anywhere near Leah in her sleep and, also, helped her to not dream about Harry's death. Leah kept the vampires at bay for Seth. Ever since the stand-off with the Volturi, Seth often had nightmares of their return.

Leah had once intruded on a dream of Seth's where he was single handedly trying to fight the entire Volturi Guard. Littered across the blood-stained ground were the dead bodies of her, Jake, Quil, Embry and all of the Cullens. That had been quite something. Seeing her own dead body covered from head to toe with blood.

Leah went and stood beside Seth and assured him she and everyone else was not dead. As she spoke, they all reappeared behind her and their bodies disappeared from the ground. They proceeded to annihilate the Volturi.

Leah still smirked when she remembered that, but her cocky expression disappeared when the image of her dead body intruded on her thoughts again.

She got out of bed and into the shower. The hotel shower was larger than her own at home and had a glass door. There were two shower heads which sprayed water down like a heavy rain.

She closed her eyes and let the night's dream wash away from her. She put on her usual jeans and light sweater. Today's was white and red. She made a mental note to go shopping for some new clothes. She would buy something to impress Sue for when she arrived late, that night, with Charlie.

Leah went downstairs to the hotel's restaurant. Breakfast was complimentary, to the excitement of the wolves. They ate significantly more than average humans, but Leah could feel her appetite decreasing the longer she restrained from phasing.

"You smell nice, Bellezza, not wolfy at all," Felix appeared out of thin air and sent her a wink. Leah knew Demetri stood slightly behind him, but she found she couldn't even look in the other vampire's direction.

"You still smell like a vampire. Perfectly disgusting." That wasn't true, necessarily. When Leah was a wolf, their smell repulsed her, but when she was human, she found it was a clean smell that reminded her mostly of pine trees or mint, depending on the vampire.

She risked a glance at Demetri and found his gaze focused intensely on her. Her appetite disappeared altogether.

"I'm going out," She announced. "Tell Carlisle and Jake and them."

"Shopping?" Asked Tanya appearing beside her with Kate in tow. "Could I join you?"

Leah repressed a groan. Stupid vampires and their uncanny ability to know exactly what you were thinking even if their names weren't Edward Cullen.

"Oooooh shopping, fantastic! I haven't been shopping in Florence for a hundred years." Kate jumped lightly up and down. Leah had never seen the two blond sisters look so excited.

"How was your waitress by the way, Felix?" Tanya inquired grinning, a sparkle in her eye.

Felix smirked, "Delicious."

Leah growled and shot Demetri an outraged glance.

Felix laughed, "Oh, don't worry, Lupa, I don't mean delicious like that."

"Felix enjoys the company of beautiful human women for more reasons than blood," Tanya smirked.

"Yah, don't worry they have just as much fun as I do. In fact, we should hang out some time, Bellezza, you look like you need a fun night."

"Oh, the single life," Kate sighed.

"Let's go quick so we can have the day!" Kate exclaimed. "Come on, Leah, Tanya let's catch a cab I love taking cabs."

Leah was still digesting the information she had just received about the personal lives of vampires and had only seconds to wrack her brain for some way to get out of this new arrangement, but found nothing.

"Take care of our wolf, Tanya!" Felix called after them.

"She's the Cullen's wolf, idiot! And don't worry we will."

"I'm not anyone's wolf," Leah snapped, hating vampires more and more as the seconds passed.

"Still, we'll meet you guys for lunch and check in. I'm sure Carlisle and her pack are going to want to check up on you guys also." Felix continued as if she hadn't spoken.

Leah turned her back on the two Volturi vampires and marched away. Momentarily, Tanya and Kate were by her side.

To be honest, it was a good thing Kate and Tanya had joined her. Leah knew next to nothing about shopping, no Italian and hadn't haggled before in her life. Kate and Tanya took her to a series of small boutiques where they managed to get her half off on nearly everything she wanted.

Of course, Kate and Tanya looked amazing in everything they put on, even though they insisted Leah looked better than them.

"I wish I were as tall as you, Leah!" Tanya sighed. "I'm barely 5'5, Kate's a little taller."

"Only 5'6!" Kate shot back.

"I'm only a couple inches taller than you guys then," said Leah thinking of her height of 5'9. She had been 5'5 up until she had begun phasing and hit a growth spurt.

Tanya and Kate sighed and stared at Leah with envy. Leah found herself legitimately annoyed. They were already inhumanly beautiful. They should have been happy with what they had, not finding the one thing that could be improved. Although, it was interesting to see that, even vampires, were not entirely satisfied with themselves.

They decided to visit one more store before lunch and were about to enter, but Tanya stopped and let out a hiss.

"Stand close to me, Leah," she muttered.

Leah moved quickly beside her, all the while, searching their surroundings for whatever had caused the drastic mood change in Tanya. She scanned the busy crowds of tourists, mostly women and girls, and felt her animal instincts rising. She sniffed the air and a foreign, but familiar scent met her nose.

Her eyes found the threat. He was shorter than she expected and one of the palest vampires she had ever laid eyes, which was only exaggerated by his pale blond hair. His bright red eyes darted between her, Kate and Tanya. His demeanor reminded Leah of Ellie, only, because he seemed to lack the typical vampire confidence.

He approached them, purposefully, at a slow, human pace.

"Hi, my name's Lucas. I'm looking for the Volturi vampires you have been traveling with. I have something urgent to report."

"How do you know who we're with?" Tanya demanded.

"I've seen it in the dreams of the humans here. I see it in hers." He tilted his head towards Leah.

"You see human dreams?" Asked Kate interestedly.

Lucas nodded a little too fast, his head going slightly blurry in the process. A heavy woman with a large pocketbook shot him a curious glance before continuing on her way.

"So you can see what any of these humans have dreamed about?" Kate asked gesturing to the crowds around them.

"Yes, and I can decipher them better than the humans themselves can. It's not of much use except for this, really. Human dreams tend to be so juvenile."

"Well, they aren't meant for any leeches to intrude on," Leah snapped glaring fiercely at Lucas.

"Leech?" Asked Lucas eyes widening in surprise. "I didn't mean any offense." He gazed at her curiously. Leah couldn't help, but suspect he was shifting through her most recent dream at that very moment. She growled warningly.

"Is there a problem?" Said a familiar voice and Demetri materialized beside her.

Leah jumped slightly, not expecting his appearance.

"Demetri! Of course not, it's good to see you again," Said Lucas his voice strained and, Leah had a feeling, Lucas's words weren't entirely honest. But, also, he was gazing at Demetri with something close to awe.

"The Volturi hopes you have found everything you want in this life." Demetri continued with the civilities.

"Yes, yes it has been great." Lucas looked extremely on edge. "However, only a few hours ago I went to visit dear Genine and I discovered an...an atrocity." He paused and looked like he expected Demetri to say something, but Demetri stayed silent, eyes watching Lucas's expression carefully. "Genine has broken the severest of all laws. I saw firsthand."

"I'll take care of it," Demetri replied instantly, eyes darkening.

"Wait, where's Felix?" Tanya interrupted

"Hunting." Said Demetri simply. "Now that your guests are going to begin arriving, we were taking our leave, but I came to meet you first, and saw the situation."

"We will help you uphold the law," Said Tanya. "You know how dangerous they can be, you would be a fool to attempt such a mission on your own."

Demetri nodded, "Tanya, come with me then. Kate, would you bring Leah back to her pack?"

"What no!?" Kate and Leah's series of retaliations got blended together so they were nearly incomprehensible.

Demetri's frown deepened, but Tanya chuckled. "Come on, Demetri, between myself, you and Kate, Leah really won't be in any danger at all. And, if the situation calls for it, she could always phase."

Demetri's intense gaze locked on Leah, "You have to listen to what I say, ok? If I tell you to run, then run."

Leah nodded compliantly even though she had absolutely no plan on listening to a word Demetri told her. Lucas looked curiously between them and Leah remembered her dream from that night. She wondered what Lucas had "deciphered" from it.

"Oh, don't be so bossy, Demetri," Kate smirked, "but, seriously, Leah, this isn't a joke."

The group set out at a brisk pace, well brisk for Leah, but she suspected it was rather slow for the rest of them. They travelled to the outskirts of the city where Tanya told Leah to get on her back so they could run out to Genine's house. Leah obliged and the group took off.

They were only running for a few seconds when they arrived at a small house, a split just like Leah's back on the reservation in Forks. The streets were nearly vacant and the neighborhood lacked Florence's usual beauty.

A woman's face appeared in the window of the house. Her eyes locked on Demetri and she let out a cry of fear. As she screamed, Demetri, Tanya and Kate knocked the front door out of its frame.

The woman leapt through the window holding something. Tanya ripped the bundle out of her arms and Leah caught only a glimpse of a small, struggling child. Meanwhile, Kate shocked the woman so she collapsed to the ground, incapacitated.

Demetri locked an arm around her head and ripped it off. But, out of the window, ran at least five small, beautiful children.

Tanya gasped. Demetri set the body of Genine on fire and the three vampires ran to collect the children.

"Get out of here, Leah!" Tanya shouted before ripping the arm off a two year old.

Disturbed, nauseous, Leah didn't argue, turned on her heel and ran. She went a good couple of miles before slowing. She took a deep breathe as she bent forward gripping her knees. She closed her eyes, but images of tiny bodies being ripped to pieces flashed in her mind and her eyes shot open again.

A smell hit her nose the instant she opened her eyes. The smell was so incredible she stood straight again, searching for its source. Slowly, very slowly, she followed the beautiful scent.

It was every good scent Leah had ever encountered. It was the pine trees in Forks as Leah ran through the forests. It was the ocean water evaporating off her skin. It was the wood burning at tribe bonfires. It was Harry, her father, holding her while he read her a book before she fell asleep.

She turned down an alley with brick buildings on both sides. At the end, she saw a small child crouched with its arms around its legs and its face buried in its arms. She stopped a good ten feet away.

The small creature looked up. It's face was...indescribable. It was the purest example of beauty and innocence Leah had ever laid eyes on. She could not tell whether it was male or female, but that didn't matter. It's wispy light brown hair danced around its picturesque face. Its eyes were wide with fear. Leah was incapable of movement, she couldn't blink or breathe. She felt strange emotions twisting within her. She had to help this child, if it were even a child, she had to help it, protect it. She took a few steps forward and crouched down in front of it, desperate to reassure it with her closeness.

The beautiful little creation held her gaze.

"They are going to hurt me," It whispered.

Leah was shaking her head. "No," she said softly, "no, you are going to be ok."

Then, something incredible happened. The beautiful creature began to cry. The tears were like crystals. They slid down her perfect face and dripped off her chin leaving a sparkling, wet line behind.

Leah's heart broke. It throbbed painfully in her chest. She couldn't bare the creature's pain. She couldn't watch something so indescribably innocent and perfect suffer. She wanted, no needed, to make it happy again. Make it not afraid, or else, she herself would surely die from sorrow.

She opened her arms. "Come on, I'll get you out of here."

The creature smiled with new hope in its teary eyes. Leah felt a bud of hope form in her own chest. She almost smiled, almost. But the creature stopped and peered over her shoulder with new, more prominent fear. Leah quickly rose to her feet and turned halfway around growling ferociously.

Demetri stood poised in a fighter's stance at the end of the alley. He growled. "Get out of the way, Leah."

Leah stared at him. Hadn't she thought of him as beautiful once? Yes, she was quite certain she use to find him attractive. Weren't all vampires attractive? Leah wasn't sure anymore. Demetri's beauty was nothing compared to the small cherub at her side. In fact, he looked absolutely monstrous with his hostile black eyes and ripped clothing revealing scars down his lower neck and onto his chest. He was a predator, a killer, and his projected victim was the immaculate child behind her. He could not get to her. He could not harm her.

The monster began to move forward. Leah tracked him carefully, calculating how close was too close, because once he crossed that line, she would phase and attack.

The vampire seemed to read her thoughts and stopped in his advance.

"Think about what you are doing, Leah. What you are protecting. It isn't what it wants you to believe it is. It's playing tricks on your mind."

Leah disregarded his words as lies. Such an angelic creature as the one she protected could not possibly concoct a falsity, but monsters like Demetri certainly could.

Demetri edged forward again. "Don't do it, Leah," He whispered as he moved, "you know you shouldn't. You could jeopardize your mother's wedding. Your pack's safety."

The mention of her her pack and mother made Leah falter. For only an instant, she lost focus, but a vampire needed less than an instant. Demetri launched himself forward and slammed Leah into the ground. Her head hit the pavement hard and she tried to phase, but the impact left her disoriented to the point where she couldn't, especially, not with Demetri on top of her pressing her so hard into the pavement she was sure her entire spine was going to break. His hands were on her shoulders and his knees pressed into the insides of her thighs so that her legs were contorted painfully outward. She could not even attempt to move anything below her waist without experiencing dizzying pain.

She heard two vampires land on the hard ground behind her and she realized they must have jumped from the tops of the buildings. She heard her angelic creature scream.

Leah's scream mixed with the immortal child's and she twisted under Demetri's grip. Tears streamed down the sides of her face. She clawed, bit and kicked, but to no avail. She begged and sobbed, but that heeded no results as well.

She managed to bend her neck back in an uncomfortable position to watch Tanya and Kate tear the beautiful child to pieces. The next second, its pieces were ablaze. Leah screamed bloody murder until her throat cracked and she tasted blood in her mouth. Demetri released her slowly.

Leah jerked her body onto its side breathing heavily. There were spots in her vision and a dull pain throbbed with her heartbeat. She stared into the flames watching it consume, watching it destroy.

She buried her face into her arm and began to sob. She became aware of the blood on the back of her shoulders and in her mouth. She lifted herself onto her hands and knees and spit it out. Her entire body shook with the effort and she couldn't quite regain control of her muscles. She slumped forward and focused on moderating her convulsive sobs. It didn't work, even though Leah wasn't sure what she was crying about anymore.

She heard the vampires murmuring in the background, but couldn't muster the effort to try and decipher their words.

She felt a soft cloak wrap around her body. A strong arm gripped around her stomach and pulled her up so her arms could slip into the sleeves. Her legs still hurt too bad to stand on and she fell into his chest. He caught her effortlessly and swung her up into his arms as if the whole thing were a practiced routine.

Leah buried her face in his neck and cried softly while he began to run. The speed and movement proved comforting and her sobs abated into silent tears. In this way, he brought her all the way back to her hotel room. All the while, Leah kept her eyes buried in his cold skin. She didn't want to see the Cullens or her pack or any strangers. She wasn't ready to answer their questions.

Leah wasn't sure how, but Demetri found a way into her hotel room without a key or so much as a word to her. He laid her on the bed in his gray, Volturi guard robe which was surprisingly soft and warm.

"I'll go and get Carlisle so he can make sure you're alright," Demetri said softly leaning close to her so she could hear him.

"No, wait!" Her voice was scratchy and it hurt to speak, but she forged on. "What happened? You can't just leave. I need you to tell me...I'm so confused." She was sitting up with wide eyes staring him down. She knew she must look weak and probably pretty pathetic, but that would have been an accurate appearance considering she felt both weak and pathetic.

Demetri seemed to debate with himself for a moment, but his eyes softened and he sat gingerly on the bed beside her.

"There were six immortal children. The most I've ever seen under the care of one creator. Tanya, Kate and I tried to get them all, but one slipped by us." He paused. "I'm sorry, Leah I shouldn't have allowed you to come. Immortal children are irresistible, enticing. They evoke parental protective instincts and affection without speaking, especially in females. It is extremely difficult to resist your instinct to protect them. It's their special gift, their form of self-protection. I can destroy them because I have dealt with many in the past and I'm use to their effect to the point that I have hardly any desire to protect them at all anymore. Tanya and Kate have also had experiences with immortal children in the past." He shook his head slowly at her. "It was my fault I should have remembered what kind of affect they can have on people who have never encountered them before. It was a careless mistake and I apologize."

"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have defended it, I should have realized-" Leah started frustration rising in her chest.

"No, Leah," He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him, "It is not your fault, here me? Not your fault. That is how everyone and anyone would have reacted. It has nothing to do with being strong or weak, stupid or smart. That's their gift, you had as little power to defend yourself from them as you do to prevent Edward from reading your mind."

Leah had the strange urge to climb into his lap and cry there. She wished he were close enough so she could lay her head on his shoulder and press her face into the skin of his neck again.

"You should rest now. And try not to think about it anymore." Demetri spoke as he climbed to his feet.

"Wait, could you just call Carlisle maybe?" Leah wondered if he interpreted in this her hidden plea for him to stay with her.

He nodded and pulled out his cell phone. He stayed in her room until Carlisle's arrival and, then, only for a few moments to give an explanation. Leah noticed he stayed out of physical reach and, for some reason, when he left, she felt the loss in the pit of her stomach.

Thank you so much everyone for the reviews and MERRY CHRISTMAS! :) btw sorry this chapter was wayyy longer than I intended, but I loved it so much I didn't want to break it up. Oh...and it's all stephanie Meyer's