So sorry for the longer update! These last weeks...no JANUARY in general has been an extremely busy month. Been to two over night basketball tournaments in a row, and I had midterms!
Pheww, thank god its all over. I finally got this chapter finished. I probably won't take half as long to upload chapter 4. But anyways, here comes chapter 3!
DISCLAMER: I don't own any of these characters except for Alvira, Lilith and Emilia. Everything else Volturi related and twilight related belongs to Stephanie Meyer.
Enjoy 3
We had been drifting in the darkness for a while now. All that could be heard was the soft sighs of the water. The ferry was rather small – it wasn't those huge ones with all the windows and compartments. This one was like a canoe, with a roof. At the front, the man cloaked in dark grey was steadily rowing us through the dark tunnel. As we went deeper, the temperature dropped a few degrees and the air just seemed twice as eerie as it was before.
There was no hope evident for me, Lilith or Emilia; no one would be able to find us in this lonely tunnel. It was like a secret passage. It was so obscured by rocks that no one would ever be able to spot it. 'Unless you were a vampire' my inner conscience mere thought of the word vampire sent cold shivers down my spine.
After a few more moments of the blackness and a fair bunch of turns in the tunnel, I finally saw a faint light that grew as we approached it. There, were not one, but several torches lined against the tunnel's decaying walls – lighting up the pathway. With the atmosphere now well lit, I took in my surroundings on the ferry. Lilith was right beside me, her expression sullen and gloomy. Both of our hands were chained with silver hand cuffs that clasped around my wrists almost painfully. The feeling was very foreign to me, for I had not committed any offenses as of yet. Neither did Lilith, unless she was hiding something from me…
Across from us sat Heidi and Demetri, still clad in their police uniforms. Occasionally they would look over at us and I would look towards the floor to avoid their penetrating gazes.
Beside Demetri was Emilia, with random strands of hair sticking out of her ponytail and her outfit ruffled and disheveled. But her appearance didn't hinder the resilient look in her eyes. Although all that was left of my courage was blown to dust by the Volturi servants, hers still held like a sturdy brick wall.
While I was trying to occupy myself with these observations, the fear running through my body demanded for my attention. There was no doubt that once we arrived, there would most likely be more of their race – licking their lips in anticipation for our blood.
Solid ground slowly started to come into view; a pleasant change from the waters that we treaded for what seemed to be hours on end. The ferryboat slowly came to a stop in front of it, and one by one we were lead onto the stable land. Heidi and Demetri hauled me and Lilith to shore, and the cloaked one forcefully towed Emilia off the ferry. He secured her hands behind her back with his large ones, and proceeded to trail behind us.
My knees almost gave way several times thanks to the fear pumping through my veins. Heidi would give my arm a rough jerk when this happened and I would stumble even more to regain my balance. Lilith, on the other hand, walked steadily with Demetri very close behind her. In spite of that, I saw dread written across her face.
After more stumbles and bruises, we made it to another set of large doors that roughly resembled the ones I saw on the tour. With one hand, Heidi opened one of them and we arrived in a corridor with ancient walls. More torches, similar to the ones in the tunnel, gave light to the passageway. I realized with dismay that we were back in the castle in Volterra. The tunnel was actually a secret passage, most likely for escaping or taking shortcuts.
After a few more turns in the seemingly endless and gloomy hallway, we came to a halt in front of more bulky doors. These ones held more elegance than the ones in the tunnel, and I realized this was where Lilith and I decided to abandon the tour. Heidi then proceeded to open the doors, and I was met with what seemed to be a large throne room.
Demetri ushered Lilith and I in, and we stood in the center of the large room. Demetri took off our hand cuffs and Heidi's icy grip on my wrist returned and with it, I felt horror.
In front of us were three thrones, possibly the only pieces of furniture in this magnificent but empty room. There, sat three men that were cloaked in black. All three had eyes that were as red as the blood they most likely drank just hours ago.
On the left sat a rather bored looking man. He had dark shoulder length hair that had a slight wave to it, and on his face was what seemed to be woe, weariness and a great deal of apathy. His eyes slowly rested on each of us, and then he went back to what seemed to be a deep grieving.
To the far right, was another man that had the complete polar opposite set of expressions. He had a deep scowl on his face, and appeared very angered by something. He peered at us with disgust, and I could tell he was clearly not amused with us.
And finally, in the middle of the two thrones, sat what seemed to be their leader. He had dark hair that rested on his shoulders, and he too shared the same pale skin as the rest of his companions. As soon as we arrived he stood from his throne with delight.
"Heidi, Demetri! You have returned!" he joyously exclaimed, clapping his hands together with glee. "And what do we have here…?" He looked over at us, and his eyes rested on Emilia curiously.
"Master Aro, we bring to you the two runaways that were not in the headcount you did of the bodies." Heidi explained while nudging me and Lilith forward. I stumbled slightly in front of him. I was scared stiff of this pale man in front of me that she called "Aro".
"Ah yes. The distinct silver eyes and red hair… I am rather astounded that even you, Heidi, have overlooked the absence of such distinguishing physical traits." Aro mused, a questioning smile on his face. Somehow, I had a feeling Heidi was staring hateful daggers at the backs of our heads.
"And here you bring another one of our kind! What a delightful surprise!" Aro addressed Emilia, a happy grin on his face. Emilia's hands were still strapped to her back by the cloaked ferry man, and she looked up at Aro with loathing.
"At ease Darius, I'm sure she does not mean any harm" Aro instructed softly, his eyes never leaving Emilia's. Darius reluctantly released his grip on Emilia's arms, but still kept a close distance to her. Aro tilted his head to the side quizzically at Emilia.
"I believe we have not met before. What purpose did Heidi and Demetri have, bringing you here?" Aro asked, staring intently at Emilia.
"Master, this woman was revealing information of our kind to those two humans." Demetri spoke, frowning at Emilia.
Aro's eyes widened with surprise. "And why my dear, would you do such a thing?" Aro probed, a small edge was now evident in Aro's cheerful voice.
"I am not obligated to tell you anything." Emilia hissed. Aro let out a soft chuckle and his hand reached towards Emilia. She took a small step back. It wasn't because she was afraid, but her action resembled that of slowly backing out of something dangerous.
Darius held her in place, and Aro's hand reached towards Emilia's pale cheek.
"Hold up!" The angry blond on the throne barked, annoyance evident in his voice. "Just what may I ask, intrigues you so, Aro? These humans clearly only differ from the others in physical appearance. I fail to see what you see. They look no different than the same useless appalling mortals we fed on just the other day" He fumed. I jumped at the volume and anger of his voice.
"Patience, my brother Caius, I was just about to address that." Aro replied back, and as if forgetting about Emilia; he withdrew his hand and now showered his full attention on Lilith and me.
"Heidi's gift is quite powerful against human beings. Even woman who do not wish to abide by her requests cannot resist her charm. But these two… I sense a gift of resistance against other gifts perhaps?" Aro explained, his eyes scrutinizing us two.
He reached over to me and gently grabbed my hand. He stared at it clasped between his for a few seconds and his gaze returned to my face quizzically.
"Strange...I read nothing. Your mind has denied me of access…interesting." Aro said gleefully. He then did the same to Lilith, but this time he held onto her hand longer. His eyes widened in amusement.
"But your mind, however is open….so it seems that our young friend Alvira was the one who realized they were under Heidi's spell. Brilliant!" He exclaimed, letting go of Lilith's hand.
I eyes widened when he said my name. What was happening while he was holding our hands? I shuddered at the thought of what they would do with us next. If I had a possible 'gift' and Lilith didn't…What would happen to her?
Aro then fixed his gaze on Emilia. "So my dearest Emilia, it seems that you are guilty of breaking the Volturi Law by informing these two of our existence." Aro said calmly.
"I only did it because I knew your two guards would reach us quite soon. So I simply saved you the trouble of explaining to them." Emilia replied, still glaring holes through Aro's head.
He smiled regretfully. "As convenient as that is for us, you are nevertheless in the wrong for breaking our laws. Such a shame…. you seem to show such promise judging from that look in your eyes. Perhaps we shall fetch Alec to provide you with a painless passing? "
"No thank you. I have no desire to skirmish with one of the witch twins." Emilia responded in a cold voice.
I then found myself being held by two hands in a protective manner. I frightfully turned my head and to my relief, I saw that it was Emilia holding me in her cold embrace.
I averted my eyes back to where Aro stood, and I found not one, but three Emilia's. I looked around in confused. I was positive it was most likely the fear that caused me to hallucinate three more images, but as I saw the Emilia behind Demetri knock him across the room, I knew these were no fakes.
I was too caught up in shock and bewilderment to speak. I saw Aro's eyes widen in surprise, and Demetri hastily got up. He snarled at one of the duplicates, and sprang towards her. I saw a third Emilia come up behind Aro to do the same as her clone did to Demetri. But Aro turned around swiftly and lunged for her. Emilia sprang back and landed gracefully on her feet. I noticed that her hands were clad with black leather gloves.
Everything happened in a blur, I was so focused on the action in front of me that I didn't notice I was being hauled out of the room by an Emilia. Lilith was following suite, with another Emilia behind her. I then did a mental slap to myself because I just realized one fact I should have comprehended a while ago. Emilia was a vampire, and one with a gift.
Emilia didn't give me much time to ponder on my thoughts as she threw me over her shoulder and started dashing out of the throne room. She bounded out of the room at such a high speed that even Olympic gold medalists could not even dream to compete with it. I was getting nauseous at the sudden haste, and everything around us was so blurry that I closed my eyes.
After counting to ten, I opened my eyes and to my relief I found that we were out of the dreaded castle. The downside was that we had arrived at a deserted place with no signs of people. Emilia had released her hold on me and I was on the ground, taking deep breaths. On my left Lilith was throwing up into a trash can, with another Emilia brushing the hair out of her face. I turned my body around to face Emilia number one. My mind was full of questions that needed to be answered right now.
"Can you please explain to me what's going on? You're a vampire, and with a gift to boot!" I exclaimed, using hand gestures for emphasis.
Emilia looked genuinely surprised, a rare sight for she always knew everything. "I supposed you would have figured it out by now. But then again, we don't think on the same… frequency let's say." Emilia replied, a slight smile on her face.
"And yes, I am indeed gifted with the ability to create duplicates of myself. They think like me, look like me, and obey me." Emilia explained, and I gawked at her in wonder. Lilith had shakily taken a seat next to me, her skin sickly pale. I cast a worried glance at her, wondering if she was okay. The Emilia behind her was rubbing her back soothingly, all the while silently listening to our conversation.
"But…what about the Emilia's that are fighting those people? How will you know how they are doing?" I asked fixedly.
"I can hear what they are thinking, seeing, and hearing. Since I am the central link, they obey my every command. At the moment, my clones are being overwhelmed. They won't be able to hold for long, and soon they will send Demetri after us." Emilia explained, deep in thought.
"How much control do you have over them? Do they get destroyed like normal vampires or… do they just go poof?" I asked lamely.
Emilia chuckled. "They will only disappear if I want them to. Otherwise, yes, they do get defeated in the same manner as the rest of our species. The only way to destroy a vampire is to tear their limbs so they are immobile, and then set their remains on fire." Said Emilia.
I stared at her with a look of awe on my face. With that information processing in my brain, I felt even more safe and reassured with her gift and strength. I didn't think the Volturi stood a chance against her and her many duplicates.
"We must go now; my clones won't be able to fight for much longer. They have called Jane and Alec into the throne room. " Emilia said, and I thought I saw a flash of pain in her eyes.
"Who are Alec and Jane?" I asked, curious.
The look on Emilia's face darkened. "Two of the Volturi's most treasured assets. They have very powerful gifts, probably one of the most powerful in the world. They're twins; Alec has the ability to cut off senses. However, Jane has the ability to make you feel the most crucifying pain you will ever experience." I noticed she seemed to especially loathe this Jane.
The ability to feel pain and nothing… I had to admit I was a tiny bit intrigued. But that didn't hide the fact that I felt fear and distress because of those two's gifts. I dreaded the thought of being on the receiving end of Jane's horrifying gift.
Beside me, Lilith was as still as a rock. Thought she looked like she was dead to the world, I could tell she was trying to interpret the information. When Lilith was happy, she was very happy. But when she was sad, she was miserable and downright blue. But now, her face was impassive, and I could tell that thanks to all the negative emotions that had tackled her, she was suffering under that front.
I moved closer to her. "Lilith are you okay?" I asked slowly.
"It's…too much. Too much for me to handle… how am I…no…we…how are we supposed to live on like this? Even Emilia said that they had a tracker that could track us anywhere in the world…" Lilith sobbed; strong emotion was suddenly breaking through her mask.
It then occurred to me that Lilith wasn't overreacting. She just realized all this sooner than I did. But I knew that it would have crossed my mind sooner or later. If Demetri was going to hunt us like no tomorrow, then how could we even have the determination to walk five steps? We would have to keep running and running and running…
I could feel the resolve slipping out of me, and replacing it was anxiety and dismay. Both were emotions that I had gotten used to these past few days. They seemed to have made a home in the dark I longed to be happy and ignorant of the other species that co-existed with us.
"We must go now. I'm withdrawing my clones, for Caius is preparing a fire. They have no yet sent Demetri but we have a head start." Emilia informed. She looked as if she was reading out of thin air.
Within a few moments two more Emilia's appeared. One supported Lilith while the other made no effort to move from its spot. I followed the real Emilia's lead, and took a glance back at the other clone that decided to stay rooted to its position.
"I have stationed one here to stall Demetri should he be dispatched. We're going to head to Washington by private means of transportation" Emilia spoke, the professional tone returning to her voice.
I nodded and proceeded to trail behind Emilia, following her rapid footsteps. I was exhausted and in intense fatigue. It didn't take long for my legs to crumble beneath me, and I fell to my knees.
Emilia and Lilith turned around. Lilith had a concerned look on her face and she hurried over to me.
"Alvira you ok?" Lilith asked frantically. She offered me a hand that I gladly took with my shaky one, but I ended up sinking back to the floor.
"I'm fine…really." I said, trying to sound reassuring but my legs hinted otherwise.
"Here, let me carry you" Emilia offered.
"No I'm fine, I wouldn't want to hinder your speed" I protested.
Emilia gave an amused smile, and laughed softly. "Don't be ridiculous, I'm a vampire. Vampires don't get tired." Emilia retorted, and I gave a sheepish smile at my lack of knowledge for their kind.
She hoisted me on top of her back and we continued to make our way out of Volterra. I looked around warily, taking in my surroundings. The streets were empty because of the night sky. We made it halfway across the city and I finally decided to ask a question that made me extremely anxious.
"Emilia, do you know if Demetri is coming for us yet or not?" I asked warily. She tilted her head to look at me. "The mind link has been lost so I don't have a clue. Chances are, he's probably following us as we speak." Emilia said ruefully. I warily cast nervous glances around us, fearing that Demetri would appear out of nowhere and take us back to the confines of their lair.
We finally arrived at the edge of the city, and I looked across the horizon. Home was so far away… and even if I did go home right now, I would put my parents at risk of the same thing. Mom…Dad… I wonder how they were doing right now. Once they found out that we didn't arrive in Washington at the designated time, they would be very concerned and anxious.
Despite it being this late at night, there was still one lone water taxi that didn't seem to be packing its things anytime soon. We made our way towards it, and we were greeted by a man with a huge frame. He wore a dark grey cloak that was buttoned up halfway, and he was most likely over 6'0.
His mere presence intimidated me; he looked like he could rip us all to shreds in mere seconds. I could hardly see his face, for it was covered by his grey hood and he was looking down at the waters with an oar in hand. Emilia seemed to tense and her grip on me tightened just a smidge. I held onto her even tighter. I had a really bad feeling about this guy.
"Looking for a ride?" He inquired casually; his voice was deep and rough with a hint of playfulness in it. All the while it had a smooth quality to it.
Emilia surprised me when she backed up cautiously., and Lilith backed up behind her, following her action hesitantly.
"Emilia what are you –"I was cut off when the man finally looked up, revealing blood red eyes and pale skin. My eyes widened in shock and disbelief. These guys were everywhere!
Another Emilia appeared and lifted Lilith up on her back. We sprinted to the opposite direction but then we came to an abrupt halt. I felt my insides well up in dread.
Standing there casually blocking our way was Demetri with his arrogance prominent on his face. I looked behind me, and the huge man from earlier blocked our only other way out. I then noticed a boy was standing next to Demetri, and what he gripped in his hands made my stomach turn with nauseous terror. In his hand was the head of the other Emilia that was stationed to buy us time from Demetri. Lilith's piercing scream filled the air, and mine followed shortly.
Yes I did say Alec would be in this chapter but he will have more story time in the next one!
The next update will come soon, but while ur waiting, why dont u drop a review so I know what you think? *wink wink*
-Snowbell 3