Here we go! 2 chapters in one night! I'm on a role!
What do you mean he can disable powers?" I questioned in bewilderment.
Marcus spoke up, "Well, just that. Whatever powers you may have, Christoph here can totally drain you of them. That means you, Miss Super Strong Powerful Indestructible Vampire, are reduced to an average garden variety vampire! Just ask Edward, all he's heard in his head these past few days is his own pathetic little thoughts. And why do you think your little gypsy friend didn't see this coming?" he asked rhetorically.
I stepped back in shock. Christoph's mouth turned up in a slight smile at my reaction.
"So how do you know this power works on me? No others do." Oh please please please let his power not work on me, I prayed.
Christoph decided to put his two cents in, his voice remarkably bass, "Don't you see? You're immunibility to powers is part of your power. And since I take away your powers, I can take that away, too." He was so smug.
The gravity of the situation sunk in. My eyes darted to Edward for reassurance. I wanted him to tell me that they were lying, they were just trying to scare me. Edward didn't even notice my gaze. His shoulders were slumped in defeat, his pitch black eyes sad as they stared at the floor.
"Wait, so all of your powers work on me?!" Oh no! They could kill me! There's no way I could take on the VOLTURRI without any of my powers!
"She's finally catching on," Jane murmured from behind me. I turned around to look at her, and she grinned. "I just want to try a little experiment. I would say it doesn't hurt a bit, but then I'd be lying."
She took a slow step towards me, closed her eyes, and…The next thing I knew an indescribable pain flowed through me, ten times worse than when I was changed. I fell to the ground, screaming. The last thing I heard was Edward's enraged roar before everything went black.
I came to in a small, high ceilinged room. I was lying on a stone bench that took up nearly half of the floor space. There was a sliver of light peeking through a small circular window high on one wall, so I knew it must have been the next day. Memories flowed through me, and I jolted upright. I had failed. They had Edward and me, and there was no way I could save him. Marcus was right. I was nothing without my powers. I even felt weaker. Just for kicks, I tried to karate chop the two foot tall stone bench in half. I knew that were I to still have my powers, it would have sliced like butter, but all I managed to do was put a couple inch high dent in it and spray the entire room in stone dust.
Next I tried searching for a way out. Strangely, there were no doors. No real windows either. Then…how had they gotten me in here? I soon found my answer. Barely visible in the dark recesses of the towering ceiling, a two-by-two square of stone had been cut away. The walls of my cell were somehow totally smooth, leaving no way to climb out. Unless…if I could dent the walls like I could the bench, maybe that would give me some handholds to climb out with. I swung my hand fast and hard at the wall, about a foot above my head. It worked! A dent just big enough for me to get a good grip on appeared. In the next few minutes I worked my way up to the small hole at the top of the wall. I pulled myself through, proud at my abilities even without my powers.
Far below me was a dark hallway, completely silent. As I prepared to jump, something hit me in the face. I grabbed it in confusion. A voice floated up from below.
"Hey Cullen, is that you? Wait a second; let me turn on some lights." It was Christoph. A few silent moments passed before the room was blindingly illuminated. Huge fluorescent bulbs had been installed in the ceiling, brighter than the sun. Now I could see that what I was holding was a rope ladder. Christoph squinted up below me.
"Woah! How'd you get up there?" he questioned.
"Uh…I climbed." How do you answer a question like that?
That impressed him. "Wow, no one's ever been able to get out of that cell. They put you in the highest security one. Seems Aro's a little worried that not all your skill is from your power."
Well, this was odd. Christoph was so impassive last night; this was a totally different side of him! I was surprised. Why was he here, anyway? I couldn't fathom why, but I knew, now that I was out, I had to move quickly. Somewhere out there was Edward.
"Well, this small talk is fun and all, but I think I'm gonna hit the road." I said before jumping to the floor and sprinting down the hall.
"Wait! You can't go!" Christoph shouted desperately behind me.
Ha, yeah right. Like I was going to listen to him. I ran to the end of the brightly lit hallway and turned the corner, now running in pitch black. The only sound was the slap of my sneakers against the rock floor. I started to become afraid. I had no idea where I was going, and no clue how to find Edward. I ran deeper and deeper in, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu. Sure enough, just like last time, I wasn't alone in the tunnel.
I was so occupied with thoughts of what I should do next and how to find Edward that I didn't notice Aro, Jane, Felix, Marcus, Alec and Demitri until I ran into them. Because I was going so fast, the force of the impact threw me backwards ten feet. I landed with a thud on my butt. Someone flicked on those huge lights again, and I saw a very terrifying sight.
The six powerful vampires were standing shoulder to shoulder across the stone hall, arms crossed, faces unreadable. An impenetratable wall, blocking my chance at escape, my chance to save Edward. I scrambled to my feet and started stumbling backwards in fear.
"I should have known you'd escape," Aro said. All together they took a single step forward.
"You'll have to be punished somehow," added Marcus.
Step.
"But how?" Felix pretended to ask me.
Step.
"Oh, that's an easy one," answered Alec.
Step.
"We'll just kill Edward," Jane sung happily.
Step.
"It'll be so easy, ripping him apart. He won't put up any fight. You saw how weak he was. He refuses to eat off of our menu. We've got a great fire pit, and he'll burn slowly to ash…" Demitri dreamily concluded.
Step.
I was quivering with panic, too terrified to move. Would they really do that? Is that what I'd done? My stupid attempts at escape had ended up killing the only thing worth escaping for?
"In fact," Aro informed me, "Marcus and Caius are finishing up right now. We've missed the beginning, but we can go see the end. Come on!" By now they were almost on top of me. Aro stretched out his bony hand towards me, waiting for me to take hold. When I didn't move, he sighed impatiently and grabbed my hand himself. He smiled happily, then closed his eyes in deep thought for a moment. He was reading my mind.
"You have had an interesting life, Isabella. I never thought the day would come when I would be able to see it firsthand. Oh, I'm so glad we found Christoph!" With that, Aro turned on his heel and dragged me down the hall, the other five following behind so I had no choice but to cooperate. We walked to the end of the tunnel to a small and unremarkable door. Aro grasped the door knob with his free hand and pulled, revealing another large stone room, similar to the one I was in yesterday. But this one wasn't empty.
An immense fire was in the center of the room, its bright flames licking the ceiling. The room was almost unbearably hot, and there was a haze of smoke everywhere. Marcus and Caius were smiling happily as they stood nearby.
Filling the air was the unmistakable stench of burning vampire flesh. I gasped in horror, not able to look away. Aro smiled and patted my arm.
"Don't worry, love, I'm sure you'll be able to find a nice mate in our guard. Maybe even Christoph!"
The world closed in on me and I was consumed in darkness.
W.O.W.
That plot twist surprised even me.
I think we're all thinking the same thought right now:
She killed Edward?? This supposed Twilight lover? What the heck is her problem?!
I actually had a couple of things to say in this author's note, but I can't get over the fact that I actually just killed EDWARD!!
Anyways, review, even if it's only to tell me how much you hate me.
(please review? Even hate reviews will make me happy (twisted I know))