Volterra Part III:
'Ve don't care vhat you did Carlisle'
Evelyn wasn't being watched anymore. The brother and sister who had been having fun torturing her with their strange powers had left when they had been summoned. She was alone in the room now and something was wrong. It had been too quiet for too long. She snuck down a narrow passage of stairs and that's when she saw him. The monster, that had made her come: the real vampire. Scary and wild and evil all wrapped up into one dark and twisted killer.
She was above him and a giant black wolf squared off against him. Evelyn could hear whimpering as she moved closer. She could drop down from the second level right onto Aro's back if she wanted. But she didn't.
The black wolf growled and that's when Evelyn saw it. Aro had his hand wrapped tightly around Esme's neck, elevating her slightly off the ground, just so her toes struggled to make contact with the cement. The other hand had a younger girl by the hair. Evelyn had never seen her before but recognized her face from the pictures on the wall of the room she had stayed in. Renesmee.
"Now, Carlisle decide, who dies first?" Aro grinned wickedly. Carlisle was frozen to his spot, afraid any movement would get them killed.
"Tick-tock Carlisle, your wife or your granddaughter?"
"Grandpa!" Renesmee whimpered.
"Grandpa," Aro mocked her.
Emmett shook with rage and motioned to lunge. Carlisle shot his hand out to stop him. He looked at his wife, poised and calm. Even trapped in Aro's grasp he knew all she wanted to do was reach out and hug Renesmee. Carlisle wanted to save them both, but he didn't know how, so he continued the negotiation that had brought his family to Volterra in the first place.
"Where is Evelyn?" Carlisle asked calmly. He needed to distract Aro until he could come up with another plan.
"Jane and Alec have probably gone back to babysit her. They quite enjoy it. Her human screams seem to give Jane some strange sense of satisfaction. I can't ever imagine why."
Rosalie snarled.
Carlisle put his hands up. "Aro, where is she?"
"Enough questions Carlisle, we can take him," Emmett was tensed and ready to rip Aro apart.
Carlisle sighed. "We can't get to them both, Emmett. He'll kill one of them before we could kill him."
Aro smiled. "Very good Carlisle, we call that taking hostages. It gives me the upper hand you see and…"
"Sam don't!" Carlisle yelled, but it was too late.
Aro didn't expect the attack and was forced to release Esme and Renesmee who fled over to Carlisle. Aro wrapped his arm around Sam's torso and crushed him, squeezing the breath from his lung, the life from his body. Sam's eyes rolled back and he was dead.
No. It wasn't possible.
Jacob felt his death. He mentally felt Sam's connection die and all at once his head was filled with all the voices from Sam's pack. He had become their leader now. He was the alpha, not just of his pack but of all the Quileute's. Jake took charge immediately.
Focus he told them. Sam would not want you getting killed because of him. Stay with your groups.
The pack spoke all at once but Jake silenced them with a bark. There was nothing he could do now to help Sam but they could try to avenge them.
No mercy Jake snarled.
The packs descended upon the remaining guard with a vengeance. They were out for blood now. One of their own had been killed and they had become ruthless.
Kate and Garret had been fairly lucky. They had managed to escape from the main group of Volturi guard, taking Chelsea down with them. At least now the Volturi wouldn't be tied to each other: it would make the fight less one-sided by separating their loyalties. Garret was dying to get back in the thick of the action, but Kate wanted to lie low until they knew what was going on. She was anxious, her voltage running on high and she accidently zapped Garret into an electrical stupor as he reached out to comfort her. He crumpled against the brick wall like a rag doll.
"Oh, Gare-bear, I'm so sorry," Kate murmured. She ran her hand under Garret's chin. His eyes seemed to still be shaking inside his head.
"That one was really strong," he choked, stretching his limbs as the last of the shockwaves left him.
"Sorry, I was just being prepared."
"You know, I've told you a million times, you are an amazing woman, but I really wish you would stop doing that."
Kate smiled.
"It's not funny," Garret teased. "I won't even be able to walk."
"I'll carry you," Kate whispered.
"And now how would that make me look. Emmett and Jasper would never let me live it down."
"I'll take care of Emmett and Jasper," Kate smirked, wiggling her fingers.
"Hey, keep those away from me," Garret joked.
"Don't worry, powers off," she said reaching for Garrett's hand. He looked at her warily. He could never really tell if she was lying. Her eyes dazzled mischievously.
"Katie, I think you lying," Garret chuckled.
Kate crossed her arms defiantly. "Fine then, you're on your own."
She was about to stalk away when the wolf lunged and tried to take a chuck out of her shoulder. She felt the teeth lock into her skin, sinking right down to the bone. She screamed and in a second Garrett was up with his hand wrapped around the wolf's throat. It was a smaller wolf; it writhed fearfully, obviously new to the pack.
"That's my wife you just tried to kill, wolf," Garrett said angrily. Kate put her hand on his shoulder to calm him.
"We're the good guys you idiot," Garret continued. "Now go make yourself useful somewhere else."
Garret dropped the wolf and pulled Kate behind him protectively. He snarled as the wolf back away down the tunnel looking confused. It disappeared around the corner and Kate smiled.
"My hero."
Kate was in the middle of kissing Garrett's lips, when they heard the yelping. They snapped their heads to the direction of the noise just in time to see the wolf shoot back down the corridor, flying through the air, smashing into the wall. It made a deafening crack as some of its bones shattered. In a second Garret and Kate were around the corner and face to face with a pasty, blond vampire.
"Ah, I was just looking for your sister," Caius smirked. "She seems to have given me the slip.
The pup limped away behind them, whimpering.
"Stupid things," Caius murmured at the wolf. "Anyway, I had the pleasure of talking to your sister earlier. She still seems to be quite upset over that whole Irina thing. But I thought things had gone quite well, you know, one down, two to go." Caius laughed at his own joke.
A snarl ripped between Garret's lips. "You touch her, you die!"
"My, my, my you have a temper Garret. I was merely stating that Kate and Tanya were the only ones left: first their mother, then their sister. If history reveals anything it is that they should watch their step. The Volturi do not take kindly to their family. They have caused us much grief and embarrassment."
"Well, we have no quarrel with you this time, Caius," Kate stated firmly. "We are merely here as a favour to the Cullen's."
"Well you see it is for that reason exactly that I have to kill you. The Cullen's are no longer in our good graces and by defending them you too have made your choice."
Kate was furious. She could not believe that this ancient vampire would seek to destroy her and Tanya. They had done nothing wrong. She wouldn't stand for this. Her entire body was writhing. She could feel the electricity pulsing like an invisible cloak all around her body.
She snarled at Caius and broke into a crouch. Garret reached for her shoulder but she warned him with a hiss. He recoiled before touching her skin.
"You have no idea what you're dealing with Kathryn," Caius taunted in a thick Russian accent. He was making fun of Kate.
Kate's vision flooded red. "On the contrary Caius, it is you who is oblivious."
The ancient Volturi growled a roar that echoed through the tunnels and would have made his subjects bow and tremble in fear, but Kate showed no fear. Caius was furious. Such blatant treachery could only be solved one way. He had to kill her.
Caius lunged at Kate, taking hold of her head. Garret watched in horror from the sideline. He couldn't get involved, no matter how much he wanted to protect Kate. She was ready to explode and if he got in her way she would take him down too. As soon as Caius touched her skin he arched in this kind of frozen position as field after field of white hot electricity was pumped into his body. He didn't crumple to the ground because the electrical current Kate's power was releasing into him was forcing his limbs to remain straight. Eventually when his eyes rolled back in his head and Kate had had enough fun torturing him she took Caius's hands in her own and yanked down hard. His arms ripped from his shoulders with a tearing that made her jaw clench. She pushed him to the ground and dropped a boot clad foot down on his neck. With each jab, the electricity forced his head and neck apart until she hit solid ground. Kate let out a sigh.
Garret watched her in awe. He swallowed the venom that had collected in his mouth and pulled Kate in for a kiss. He didn't even care that she shocked him a little as he caught her off guard. As he broke away he looked confused, even a little hurt.
"Kathryn?" he asked. "You never told me that was your full name."
Kate sighed frustrated, "Please don't call me that. It's taken decades to rid myself of that name."
Garret pondered that.
"It's what my mother used to call me. After the Volturi killed her for making an immortal child I refused to answer to that name. I'm just Kate now."
Garret smiled and pulled her close again. "It's okay; you'll always be my Katie."
Evelyn didn't know the giant dog, but he had saved her family. And now he was dead. Evelyn felt anger, but then something else. The body of the wolf started to bleed and Evelyn felt the familiar burning rip through her and up her neck. She leaned forward, following the smell, eye strained on the wolf and she fell. Her arms caught the first thing she landed on, Aro's shoulder and her teeth instinctively bit down like she had done with Jasper, releasing a mouthful of venom. Aro screamed, smacking the girl with so much force she sailed across the room and smashed her head against the wall. Evelyn was unconscious.
Aro gripped the bite wound in his neck. "What have you done?" he screamed at Evelyn's unmoving body. He felt the flames of a slow burning fire start to lick across his skin and down his back.
Then they heard it. The thud…thud…thud…of Aro's heart beginning to awaken after centuries.
Aro made to grab Evelyn. He would kill the girl for this. But Emmett and Rosalie intercepted him. Carlisle and Esme surrounded him from the other side.
Aro knew he would be able to kill some of them, but he didn't like the odds of four to one.
"Carlisle, my good friend, it appears once again that you've managed to spoil my plans. Now if you'll excuse me I have to seek out a member of my guard to put this cursed child's venom to rest. I can already feel mortal exhaustion taking over."
"I don't think that is going to work for us," Carlisle began.
"Carlisle, remember you are still in my home, and my guard will be quite pleased to be able to dispose of your lovely family unless of course I tell them otherwise."
Carlisle stopped; he couldn't risk the lives of his family. Aro's word was still law within the Volturi walls. The sound of footsteps filled the hall.
"Oh no," muttered Aro. He looked absolutely disgusted. "Who invited them?"
Stefan and Vladimir, the two Romanian vampires who the Volturi had taken out of power all those centuries ago leaned casually against the chamber wall.
"Stefan, Vladimir, we were just-" Carlisle looked awe-struck.
"Ve don't care vhat you did Carlisle," Stefan smirked. That was quickly becoming his favourite line.
"Vhen your lovely Alice called to tell us that you vere fighting the Volturi ve vere only too happy to come, but it seems you alvready beat us to it. Amazing, is that Aro's heart ve hear? Alice said you had found a child with an amazing gift, but dis is too much."
Carlisle grimaced, remembering Evelyn, unconscious on the floor. He also mentally reminded himself to thank Alice. Once again her ability to see the future had probably saved their lives. She had the foresight to involve the wolves, call the Denali's, and track down the Romanian's.
"She looks like she could use some help from a doctor, Carlisle," Stefan said. "Go to your family. Ve vill take care of dis scum."
Carlisle nodded, but couldn't help himself, "What are you going to do with him?"
Vladimir laughed. "Vait till he is fully human, then set him loose in his own halls and hunt him down. Vhat else do you do vith a human?"
Stefan nodded, "Ve usually frown on playing vith our food, but I think ve could make an exception dis vunce."
Carlisle nodded. It would be a fitting end to Aro. And he couldn't think of anyone better to finish him off than the Romanians. He was secretly glad he didn't have to finish off Aro himself. He prized himself on his compassion but he wasn't sure he would be able to keep his composure long enough to get rid of Aro with dignity. He wanted him to suffer for threatening his family. "Please do not hunt him until my family and I have left these halls."
"Of course, Carlisle," Stefan said, grabbing Aro by the scruff of the neck.
Aro through him off easily, still retaining his vampire strength. "Unhand me; my guard will not stand for this."
"Your guard is dead and anyvun who survived has fled your dungeons. You are on your own Aro. There is no vun to save you now." Stefan and Vladimir laughed. Aro looked genuinely frightened. Carlisle could hear the skip of his newly beating heart as Stefan and Vladimir knocked him to the floor and began pulling him out of the room.
"As alvays it has been a pleasure, Carlisle. Sorry for the loss of your pet," Stefan motioned to Sam's body.
"Thank you," Carlisle mumbled. "Goodbye, Aro," he said without meeting the vampire's eyes.
And with that the Romanians disappeared, taking a screaming Aro with them.
"Carlisle!" Rose called. She looked like she would have been crying if tears were permitted by her immortal body. "Something's wrong, she won't wake up."
"Can you smell that?" Emmett asked. "She's bleeding but I don't see any blood."
Carlisle leaned close to Evelyn and inhaled deeply, looking for the source of the blood. He smelled it in her head. It was pooling around her brain.
"She has a bleed in the epidural space below her skull. That's why she's still unconscious. I have to relieve the pressure or she'll hemorrhage." Carlisle looked nervous.
"You have to cut her head open?" Esme asked. "This isn't really the place for surgery."
"There's no time, she'll die, Esme," he said breathlessly. He looked frantically at Rose and Emmett.
They both nodded. "Do it."
Carlisle had no tools. No scalpel, no drill. But he had his teeth and they were sharper than both those things. He found the spot where the bleed was by smelling Evelyn's head. It was the same spot that had connected with the wall when Aro had hit her across the room. He bit down hard enough to puncture a hole through her skull, but not hard enough to pierce the protective coverings of her brain. Immediately he felt a warm gush of blood. He knew that would happen and he had been prepared for that. He sucked out the clot that was forming in Evelyn's head, relieving the pressure. He spit out the blood. He couldn't bear to swallow it. Then he felt another warm gush of blood.
"Dammit," Carlisle muttered, holding his palm over the wound. Blood oozed around his fingers.
"What happened?" Rosalie cried. She was shaking.
"Another vessel burst, she's going to need a transfusion until I can get the bleeding to stop."
"No," Rose muttered.
"Rosalie, she'll bleed out!" Carlisle whispered frantically.
"But the human blood will make her age dramatically. You don't know how much blood she'll need. Carlisle, if she doesn't stop aging you could turn her into a fifty year old. We still don't know if she's immortal. She could be dead before she's even had a chance to live."
Carlisle shook his head. "I have a theory, but either way we have to hurry. Emmett I need you and Rosalie to find me a thin tube, like a hose, and two syringes. Also some tape. Go hurry."
Emmett jumped to his feet, pulling Rose with him. "What are you going to do?" she whimpered.
Carlisle pursed his lips, "I need Jacob or one of the Quileute's," he muttered.
"They're human Carlisle," Rosalie shuddered.
"No, they're wolves," he corrected her. "Human-animal hybrids."
Rosalie's eyes widened and then she nodded. "We have no choice," she resigned, disappearing with Emmett.
Carlisle turned to Renesmee who had been huddled by Esme's side looking horror-stricken. "Nessie, I need Jacob," he said taking her hand in his. She was frightened but seemed to gain courage at the sound of Jacob's name.
Renesmee nodded then got to her feet. She slowly walked to the narrow hall at the far side of the room. It would conduct her voice the fastest. She pulled her hands to the side of her mouth and screamed his name, "J-A-C-O-B!"
"Where are you?" Demetri screamed. "I know you're here!"
He couldn't see anything. But he could hear something moving around him. Whatever it was never stopped long enough for him to pinpoint their position.
"Do you trust me, Tanya?" Philip whispered in here ear as they dashed circles around Demetri. They had been doing this kind of death dance, waiting for the precise moment to strike.
She bit her lip. She knew she should say no. It was way too early to say you trusted a strange vampire you met hiding in the Volturi's tunnels. Something about that phrase should definitely make her say no, but she didn't she just nodded her head.
"Thank you," Philip smiled. He kissed her forehead gently. Slowly he released her hand and suddenly Tanya could no longer see him. She gasped and stopped her run and that's when Demetri turned eyes trained on her. She froze realizing Demetri could see her as he lunged for her throat, her face a mask of terror, but before Demetri could reach her, Philip had appeared, perched on his back and quickly separated his head from his body. It fell to the ground with a booming crash.
"That's for the last two decades," Philip murmured, but couldn't even enjoy the feeling of elation that came from disposing of one of his pursuers because the look on Tanya's face when he had disappeared and left her in Demetri's sights had made him feel horrible. She looked so small and vulnerable. He walked over to her slowly. Perhaps he should have warned her of what he planned to do, but then Demetri might have caught on because Tanya would not have been surprised.
"Tanya?" he asked.
Her face relaxed and she snuggled into his arms. "Don't you ever do that again! You scared me half to death."
"I scared you? I thought it was Demetri who scared you?"
She shook her head. "I couldn't see you and for a second I thought maybe I had just imagined you." She gave a weak laugh and Philip hugged her tight.
Jake heard Renesmee immediately. It was like his mind was zoned into her voice and her voice alone. She needed him. There was tension in her tone. Jake sprinted from the tunnel he had been searching. He could tell Carlisle had come this way. After a minute he ran into Edward and Bella.
"Did you hear that?" Edward asked.
Jake nodded, moving through an archway with Edward hot on his trail. Bella followed but she was slower than both Jake and her husband so Edward pulled her onto his back.
As they got closer Jake got more nervous and his thoughts became morbid. He looked at Edward knowing he would be able to hear Renesmee's thoughts before they arrived. Jake needed to know if she was alright. He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't bear walking up to find her dead; knowing that he was too late.
"Edward, please!" Jake thought out loud.
Edward nodded, scanning the voices in his mind.
"She's fine, she's okay," he breathed, relieved himself that he could hear her. "But Carlisle needs your help. Evelyn got hurt. She needs blood."
Jake nodded. "Anything, as long as Renesmee is okay."
The guard had been destroyed, for the most part. Those that surrendered were left to their own devices. Carlisle once said that it was the freedom to choose that made the Cullen's most human. And allowing the guard to choose to surrender meant that the Cullen's had honoured the compassion Carlisle hoped he had instilled in his family. Aro was still alive, Carlisle presumed. The Romanian's had promised to wait until they had vacated the Volturi's tombs before disposing of him. By now Aro's transformation should be starting to become quite entertaining. Stefan and Vladimir would enjoy themselves. Carlisle caught himself before he let his imagination run wild.
Evelyn was still unconscious, but Carlisle had arranged a makeshift tube that fed Jacob's blood into her arm. Jacob was strong. His blood would regenerate quickly and Evelyn seemed to be on the mend. Carlisle had stopped the bleeding in her head. Now she was resting.
The packs had disappeared, along with Sam's body. Carlisle had called in a favour, arranging for a private jet to take the pack back to Seattle. It would be rather difficult to explain Sam's decaying corpse to airport security, and Sam deserved more dignity than being shoved in a casket in the cargo hold. Before he phased Jake had mentally sent Leah and Seth to be with Emily (since he was now the Alpha again and they were forced to listen to him), until he could get back to Forks. That was going to be the hardest part of this whole process and Jake knew it. Sam had been a good friend, a leader. He had risked his life many times to fulfill the oath he took as leader of the pack. Many of the people Jake loved and cared about owed their life to Sam. But as hard as saying goodbye to Sam would be, Jake knew it would be even harder on those he left behind, especially Emily.
The Cullen's were now gathered in the main hall that would lead them back up to the streets of Volterra.
"But what I don't understand," Edward began," is how the Volturi knew to come looking for Evelyn in the first place. Jane and Alec knew she was in Forks. How is that possible, unless they had been watching us?"
Philip shuffled nervously beside Tanya. He had helped defeat part of the Volturi's guard but until now had just been a quiet spectator. He was quite content to simply steal glances at Tanya as the rest of the vampires conversed. They were a rather strange bunch he had to admit: family-like, and all with golden eyes. He could sense that they cared deeply for each other, in ways he thought were lost to immortals like himself. They also had a pet wolf, or rather an entire pack of pet wolves. That he found amusing. But what were most intriguing were the hybrids. The girl who lingered beside the wolf boy looked at him with longing and admiration. There was a deep love growing between them. And the tiny child who possessed the cure to vampirism was indeed miraculous, though Philip would never trade his immortal life to have a bite out of humanity again.
"I'm afraid I owe you an explanation," Philip finally said. He had remained silent for long enough and it was time to come clean. He just hoped these golden-eyed vampires would be open-minded. He would hate to spend another half-century in hiding. "It was I who had watched your family and reported to the Volturi what I had seen. I was in hiding from the guard. For decades I had been on the run. I thought with news of the child's ability Aro might look past his desire to have me killed and I could move on with my life. It was a foolish mistake, one that I regret wholly." He couldn't bear to think of what would have happened if he hadn't been here to save Tanya.
"My deepest apologies," Philip murmured humbly. "It was a matter of self-preservation. I've been on my own for so long that I forgot what it was like to care for other people. But I think that has changed now." He smiled at Tanya for a split second. "Please forgive me."
Several things happened at once.
Alice nodded, completely understanding as everything she had seen fit together with a clarity so vivid it caused her to gasp. It was like fitting in the last piece of a very difficult puzzle. Edward, Esme, and Bella caught the look that travelled between Tanya and Philip and immediately jumped into a chorus of congratulations. Tanya had been alone for a long time and was completely deserving of someone who would love her the way she needed to be loved. Kate looked skeptically at Philip. She wasn't completely sold on him. He was an outsider, a nomad. His blood red eyes said it all, but then again Garret had once been untamed like Philip and look how far he had come. Kate relaxed and tilted her head, admiring the smile that played on her sister's lips. She was truly happy, and for that Kate was happy too. Carlisle and Jasper were enthralled with Philip's ability to cloak himself, which is how he managed to exist unnoticed for several weeks, just beyond the Cullen's front door.
But Rose was not quick to forgive and she stalked away. And to everyone's surprise so did Emmett, throwing his hands up in frustration. It was so over dramatic that some of the Cullen's couldn't contain their laughter. Alice shrugged, dancing through the center of the vampire circle. "It would have happened eventually. Aro never lets people like Evelyn slip away from him."
Carlisle flashed across the group and pulled Alice into a bone crushing hug. "You are unbelievable," he said. He had just remembered that he was supposed to thank Alice once again for saving their lives. If it hadn't been for her quick thinking the Volturi would have had the upper hand. "How did you do it?"
Alice looked guiltily at Edward. "I left a note for Renesmee that said we had gone to Italy to visit some old friends and that if she wanted to come she should bring the wolves." She waited for Edward to growl or lunge at her but he didn't. He just held Bella around the waist and kissed Renesmee's head. Alice continued, "I also saw that Garret, Kate, and Tanya were in Europe and called them from the airport in Seattle. Then I had another idea before getting on the plane. I left a message with a friend in Romania, hoping it would get to Stefan and Vladimir in time. And apparently it did."
Carlisle nodded. "They are dealing with Aro."
"And by dealing with, do you mean…" Edward began. Carlisle placed his hand on his son's shoulder.
"Aro will never be able to bother our family again. He is now just a part of vampire history," Carlisle said with a grin.
"And so is Caius," Kate sad with her own wicked grin. She and Garret had been in charge of gathering all the vampire remains and burning the pieces. They had started with Caius. "We also found Felix and Demetri in pieces. Chelsea is dead. The wives were killed by the pack I assume. There were some others but I didn't recognize their smells."
"Seth and Leah took down Marcus," Jake said, watching Evelyn breathe easily. Renesmee was wrapped around Jacob's torso. She refused to let him go.
Edward laughed suddenly. "Marcus wanted to die, I wouldn't call that a take down."
Jake grimaced. "Please Edward, for my peace of mind can you just congratulate Seth on a job well done. I'm going to have enough trouble with the rest of the pack teasing him."
Jasper laughed. "Well he did kind of help out with Jane; I'm mean, he did chase her into the corner and all."
Garret chuckled. "Uh, by the way Jasper, what exactly happened with Jane? We found her in so many pieces that we had to just douse the entire room in gasoline and burn it."
Jasper shrugged. "Apparently I snapped." He turned to look at Alice, watching for her to tremble or cringe at the memory but she didn't.
Alice just sighed contentedly. Jasper looked at her. "What are you thinking? Your emotions…they seem so light?"
Alice beamed. "I don't have to watch them anymore. I don't have to hunt for futures where the Volturi seek to destroy my family. I don't have to worry about Aro turning up and threatening to kill you if I don't join him."
Alice was talking a mile a minute. "It feels so…so unbelievably freeing." She jumped up enthusiastically and wrapped her arms around Jasper's neck. Her face slammed into his as she covered his lips with fluttering kisses. Jasper was just as shocked as everyone else.
"Alice?" Jasper echoed.
"Sorry," she mumbled. "Later," she said tapping his chin. "Now let's get out of here and go home. I ripped my blouse and now I have the sudden urge to go shopping."