Chapter 3 – Strangers.

The two strangers didn't look like anyone I had ever seen before. Their faces were shiny with being so clean, and I wouldn't have believed it possible to make fabric so fine as the stuff their tunics were made from. One was tall and fair, the other man shorter and his hair dark. Their hair wasn't tangled and matted like mine, but combed smooth until it glistened in the sun. They were wearing cloaks made of fur that looked so soft and warm I couldn't help wanting to rub it against my cheek. All this finery, better than anything I'd seen even on the village lord…I was almost dazzled at the thought of such wealth.

But what are they doing at our sacred spring, so far from the village and the road? They must have horses or carts and servants if they're so rich, so how could they possible have come through the thickness of the forest? And given the way they came, how did Alec and I not hear them approach?

Then the dark haired man pushed his hood back and all questions vanished from my mind. The eyes that were examining me so intently were as red as blood, shockingly bright against the stark whiteness of his skin. Alec must have seen at that moment too, because his hand suddenly tightened so much on mine that it hurt.

I don't know why we both didn't turn and run. It wouldn't have done any good, of course, but we couldn't have known that then.

"You still see it then, Philippe?" the dark haired man questioned.

"Oh yes. Stronger, if anything." The taller man stepped closer to his friend. and as Alec and I stared the first man took his hand and held it for a moment, looking at us thoughtfully.

"Marvellous," he murmured, and then smiled at us, white teeth showing and red eyes gleaming. "Good morning children. I am Lord Aro."

Every instinct I had screamed at me of danger then. That smile…the dread crawled through my stomach and I felt my knees tremble. I tried to back away then, but Alec seemed almost hypnotised by them and even when I tugged his hand he didn't take a single step away. I couldn't leave him alone, so I pressed my lips together and stood firm.

"Good morning Lord Aro," Alec said, which made the man smile more broadly.

Lord Aro's eyes scanned the little clearing, eyeing the sacred spring and the small collection of offerings. "Observing the days of the old gods," he said to the taller man, who must be Philippe. "Very quaint."

"Quite rare in this part of the country. They're possibly the only ones left who do," Philippe answered. "The Christians took a strong hold in this region."

Lord Aro smiled at us again, his teeth eerily white and set square and strong. "Come over here children." He beckoned us forward with a long, pale finger.

Alec, who had always been more biddable than I was, started to step forward. Oh no, you don't! I wrapped both my hands around his wrist and yanked him back to my side.

"No," I said flatly. "We don't know you."

I was still poised to run. The men frightened me, but I was sure that if I ran I would be able to lose them somewhere in the forest. They couldn't possibly know it as well as I did, and no grown man could be as fleet of foot as Alec and I were over the rough ground and through the tangled foliage.

"No?" Lord Aro looked almost astonished. "Come child, none of that! I have introduced myself to you and I wish for you to come closer so we can meet properly." He shook his head and clicked his tongue when I didn't move. "Philippe…"

I didn't even have a moment to blink, and then the tall Philippe was by my side, gripping my wrist in his ice-cold hands.

How did he do that so fast?

I screeched and struggled, twisting in an effort to escape the feel of his fingers around my arm, scratching at his skin with my fingernails and kicking out at him. But I may as well have been fighting with the ancient oak at Woden's altar for all the good it did, and Philippe deposited me by Lord Aro's side with seemingly no effort at all.

"Quite the little wildcat, aren't you?" Lord Aro said, smiling in evident amusement. "Now, behave as your brother does and give me your hand." As quick as a striking snake he caught my hand in his before I could react.

My small hand was lost in the grip of his long, strong fingers, and I froze. I had never, ever been so afraid. His hand had the solidness and immovability of stone, and the red eyes gazing down at me made me tremble with the inhumanness of him. What is this evil spirit? Even when he smiled and relaxed his hand slightly I felt no better.

"Jane," he murmured. "And Alec…"

He had my brother's hand in his too, and Alec was staring up at him with the terrified gaze of a rabbit trapped by a hound and knowing he is about to die.

"Splendid work Philippe!" Lord Aro said brightly, dropping our hands and wiping his own fastidiously on his cloak. "I believe I am quite convinced…I think it's possible we have something extraordinary here."

"I'm sure of it," Philippe said, his voice low, and I felt as though my belly was full of birds, beating their frantic, fluttering wings against me. "How do you wish to proceed, Master?"

Lord Aro's brows lowered, and he pursed his lips in clear irritation. "Such a pity they're so young! But of course they must return with us, they'll grow…"

"Are you sure that's wise, my lord? It's never worked before, bringing humans to Volterra and keeping them unchanged. The temptation can be a little much for some of our friends, and two children..." Philippe's voice trailed away.

"You may be right." Lord Aro sniffed. "Child blood…under the filth it does smell rather delectable. And I want these two! I cannot risk them in Volterra. They will be safer here, living in the dirt with their mother and saying their pretty words to their deities until we have a use for them."

"Of course. I shall watch though, my Lord Aro, as I always do, and keep them safe if it in my power to do so."

"It is in your power to do so." Lord Aro's voice was as cold and hard as ice. "They will come to no harm Philippe, I have commanded it."

While they had been talking together, I had started a slow, silent retreat with Alec matching me step for step. I halted as Lord Aro turned his gaze back to me, his dark red eyes seeming to pin me in place with their intensity. "What do you think, sweetling?" he asked softly. "You will grow strong and healthy and keep yourself safe until the time when I will come for you? You will be mine then…does that please you?"

"No," I whispered, although I could not bring myself to move. I wondered where Bran had gone, and cursed him for his cowardice in leaving us alone. Not that I could blame him, I admitted to myself, not when these monsters in human form stood in front of me with their terrible red eyes. "I won't…we won't!"

Alec shook his head and said nothing, and I saw the way his lips pinched together to hide their tremble and the tears shone in my eyes. My courage came for my brother where it wouldn't come for me, and I dared to look the monster in the face.

"I don't know you and I don't want to know you. I'll never belong to you! I don't care if you're a lord…you don't come into the sacred place of the Goddess and make threats!"

I wished the goddess would come to my aid. Rise from the sacred pool and smite them…but she was Eostre, the goddess of spring and life and rebirth. I knew she wouldn't come to be my sword of vengeance.

"Dear child, it is no threat," Lord Aro said, with another smile that showed his wicked white teeth and made his red eyes gleam. "Merely a promise that one day there will be more for you than this."

That gave me pause. More for me than this? More than being the scorned daughter of an almost destitute herb woman? In my secret heart I had sometimes thought that I didn't belong here, that I should have been seated in the grand hall of one of the lord's castles and have the power to make people afraid…was this monster really offering me something I might want?

But when I opened my mouth to ask a question they were gone, as suddenly as if they were never there. They left nothing behind but a breath of wind that made the leaves quiver, and the scent of something foreign.

Alec turned and hugged me, his face on my shoulder. "Oh, Jane!"

I hugged him back, shivering even though I knew the danger was gone. "I don't understand," I whispered. "Who was that? How…" My voice trailed away. There were so many questions, and I knew Alec had no more answers than I did.

"Do you really think they want to take us away?" Alec whispered. His face was as white as the vanished strangers.

"They seemed to change their minds," I answered. "At least…that one did. Lord Aro."

Just saying his name sent a thrill down my spine. Fear, intrigue…I didn't know what I felt once he was gone. Already my mind was trying to make sense of it, trying to make it seem as though the two of them were not so terrifying, not so unworldly, just ordinary men who were perhaps peculiar…

"I think they had magic."

Alec's voice was shaking, and I thought perhaps he spoke truth. Magic at least gave an explanation for the unexplainable, and the two men were like nothing I had ever known.

I hugged my brother again. "I think so too."

"Do we tell Mother?" Alec asked quietly.

I saw my own doubt reflected in his face. Alec and I had lived through only eight years, but even then Mother was more of a child than we were. She was sweet and loving, but anything in the world that is harsh or cruel or difficult reduced her to a kind of frightened bewilderment.

"No," I said at last.

Alec nodded. I didn't need to explain, not to my brother. From the moment we first drew breath it had always been he and I together, two halves of the same, and that was the way it should always be.