Chapter 15 – Feeding Time.

As soon as I thought of blood the venom ran. "How?" I asked Aro urgently. "You said we can't take people from the town. Where do we get them? I'm thirsty."

"We have people to go out and fetch them," Aro said. "Surprising really, how easy humans are to lure to their own death. The slave trade too, provides much of what we need. I prefer to have them brought here and let everyone feast, than have too much coming and going and bodies piling up in the streets."

I saw that the room had been filling with vampires as Alec and I had been talking to Aro. All of them gazed curiously at us. Aro clapped his hands to gain attention and the whole room fell silent.

"My friends, I would like you to introduce you to two very special new vampires. Philippe has been keeping an eye on them for some time and now they have come to join us. This is Jane and Alec."

For a moment there was silence, as a room full of people all preternaturally beautiful stared at us with their gleaming red eyes. Then a low murmur broke out, tiny hushed whispers that I could barely hear…but I heard enough.

Child…wrong…immortal children…

"Stop!" Aro's voice echoed around the chamber, loud in his rage. "I will not have this whispering and gossiping! You know that eradicating the abomination of the immortal children is what we at the Volturi have been striving to achieve. Do you really think I would jeopardise that? Do you?"

The stone chamber fell silent as the echoes of Aro's words faded away. He faced them down until one woman, braver than the rest, shook her head. "No my lord," she said meekly. "Of course not."

"Exactly!" Aro's voice turned conciliatory. "I know that none of you mean to doubt the decisions that Caius and Marcus and I must make. And true, our new friends are young. But they are not children. They are going to be very valued members of the Volturi and I will have them treated with courtesy." His eyes flicked to Alec and I for a second, and a smile curved across his face. "I suggest you heed this warning, for you own sakes."

I had barely listened to his words, because by then I could smell it. A crowd of people, more people than I had ever been near since I was changed, was moving towards us. I couldn't see them, but I could smell the scent of all that blood, all the subtle variations between different people, and my throat burned.

"Steady on, wildcat," Philippe said, appearing at my elbow. He gave me a grin and clamped a hand on Alec's shoulder. "I know it smells good, but you need to use your table manners here. So to speak." He chuckled at his own joke.

There were two vampires ushering in the humans. A man with a short blond beard and a small, plump woman, whose eyes were so dark red that there was only ruby glints in their depths.

"Matilda and Willamar," Philippe murmured. "They do most of the hunting and gathering at present."

I didn't care who they were, or how they had brought this ragtag crowd of humans into this underground lair. All I cared about was sinking my teeth into the warm flesh and then tasting the glorious rush of blood. I whimpered, and squirmed as Philippe took hold of my upper arm.

"Settle…you'll get yours." Philippe winked at me. "But Aro and Marcus and Caius go first if they want it. You'll do well to learn and remember the hierarchy here."

The humans were afraid. I didn't know by what trickery they had been brought to the Volturi castle, but as they stared wide eyed around the beautiful stone room, lined with red eyed vampires standing as still as statues, the fear began to take over. A young woman began to weep. Caius stepped forward and brushed a hand over her cheek, wiping away her tears and she froze into terrified silence. Caius' hand moved up into her hair, stroking it almost tenderly, before he brutally wrapped a fist in it and yanked her head back, exposing her neck. I saw his malignant smile just before his teeth tore through the thin skin and the blood began to flow.

The screaming started then.

It was too much for me. Desperate I twisted and then wrenched my arm from Philippe's grasp, just as one of the humans tried to run. Separated from the group he caught my eye, and without even thinking I struck. He didn't even have time to scream before I had thrown him to the floor and was kneeling over him, my mouth clamped onto his neck where the blood would flow fastest.

I was ravenous. The blood was so good, filling me up with warmth and energy and strength, but it still felt like it wasn't enough. Every time I drank it I felt once again like the little girl with the empty belly I had been, never having enough.

But the blood supply of a single human is not inexhaustible, and the man under my hands lasted no longer than most before his heart ceased to beat. It was only then that I looked around. Alec was nearby, sucking rhythmically at his human, and there were several other vampires on the floor doing the same. Others were standing, humans dangling helplessly from their hands as they fed in a more leisurely way. There was talking and laughter, and all the while a pile of discarded bodies grew near the centre of the room.

The boy was crouching behind the pile of bodies when I saw him. His face was stark white and his eyes were rolling in terror, but he was alive. He was full of blood. Now that I knew he was there, now that I was looking for it, I heard the racing heart of a person deeply afraid.

I moved swiftly and silently. I wanted to reach him before anyone else realised there was still one left. But even as I leaped lightly over the pile of corpses and went to seize him, someone snatched him right out from underneath me. I howled in frustrated rage.

"You'll have to be quicker than that." It was the guard, Felix, grinning at me maliciously as he held the boy with one enormous hand around his neck.

"Give him to me! I want him!"

"You might not want to tease that one," Philippe said to Felix with a wicked grin. "In fact, for my own ends I'd ask you not to."

"I'm not teasing," said Felix with a sneer. "I'm just letting her know that she really needs to stand aside for her elders and betters." He ran his teeth along the boy's skin, and the cut immediately welled up with blood. Lazily, not taking his eyes off me, he licked it up and smacked his lips.

The fact that he didn't even want it enraged me. How dare he take it from me, just to taunt me! "Give it to me, NOW!"

"Jane, don't!" Alec shouted. "Not here!"

It was too late. The power once again flowed out of me, and once again the room was filled with screams. Felix dropped the human and staggered away from me, his face twisted with agony, and without another thought I snatched up the human and bit him. The blood was good and I swallowed it down gratefully, not thinking of anything but the satiation of my thirst.

The screaming was replaced by silence, and as the blood slowed I looked up, suddenly tense. Around me stood ranks of vampires, all of them staring at me with fierce suspicion.

The silence was broken as Aro's laugh pealed out through the room. "Well Philippe did warn you, Felix!" He looked across at Chelsea and smiled with delight. "I didn't feel a thing. Apparently she doesn't wish to cause pain to those she is loyal to."

I rose to my feet and threw the body of the boy onto the pile, looking defiantly at the vampires around me. Aro came over and held out his hand, and I reluctantly let him hold mine.

"Sweetling, you astonish me," he said. "It's an extraordinary talent! We must gain control though…you hurt nearly everyone here. And while it may be just as well that they all know what you can do, we simply cannot have you bringing vampires screaming to their knees every time something displeases you."

"It was his own fault," I muttered, glaring at Felix. "If he hadn't tried to take what was mine…"

Aro patted my hand indulgently. "I know my dear, it's all so very vexing. But even so, we must try and control ourselves."

Alec came over to me, scowling at both Aro and I. "Why did you do it to me?" he demanded. "And not him?" He jabbed a finger resentfully towards Aro.

"Why would I want to hurt Aro?" I asked in surprise.

"Why would you want to hurt ME?" Alec shouted furiously.

"I didn't!" I shouted back. "I don't know why it didn't hurt Aro and it hurt you. I didn't mean it!"

"Well maybe I don't mean this either!" Alec's red eyes glared at me, and then the same blank nothingness crept over me and I screamed, wordlessly, silently…

"Children!"

The world came back, all my senses flaring at the rush of returning input. I was crouched on the ground, my fingers half buried in the stone floor, Alec standing in front of me with his hands on his hips and wearing a look of horrified guilt. All around me the vampires were laughing.

"Shut up!" I bounced to my feet, but before I lost control over the boiling anger Chelsea and Corin moved towards me, standing close enough to block my view of the rest of them.

"Oh Jane, there's no need for this," Corin said gently, brushing a strand of hair back out of my face. "You might be the fierce little wildcat that Philippe calls you, but you don't need to be so angry. We're all friends here, and you'll be happy here too."

"You don't want to hurt your brother," Chelsea added practically. "It will do no one any good at all if the two of you are duelling it out in the dining room! How about you keep that special gift just for the people who deserve it, hmm?"

"Of course," I murmured. "I didn't mean it." I looked past her, anxious to see Aro and make sure I had not upset him by fighting with Alec. He had done so much for us, not only rescuing us from the pyre and giving us the gift of dark immortality, but also bringing us here to be part of his world. "My lord Aro?"

"Don't fret little one." Aro laid a soft hand against my cheek. "You are new, and it is a heady experience to be awoken to the glory of immortality. We understand that you may be a little rash or impulsive at first."

"Thank you my lord." I looked across at Alec. "I'm sorry," I said sincerely. "I don't want to hurt you…I'm going to try and control it, I promise."

Alec sighed and forgave me, as I knew he would. "I'm sorry too. I know you didn't mean it and it wasn't fair for me to do that to you."

Aro beamed fondly at us. "Splendid. And of course you will learn to control it! Although it seems as though you managed quite nicely Alec."

"They both need to control it, as soon as possible." Caius strode across the room to join us, his red eyes glittering. "Either that or the girl is going to have to be kept separately. We can't have this kind of scene during meal times every time we eat!"

"I'm sure it won't be a problem," Aro said soothingly. "Really Caius, I thought you of all people would appreciate Jane's gift!"

For the first time, Caius looked at me and smiled. "Oh, I appreciate it Aro! I can see all kinds of situations in which Jane is going to be a big help to the Volturi! However the random nature of it right now is not something that can be tolerated for much longer."

"I completely agree. We're going to begin work on that immediately," Aro said briskly, looking around the room. "We'll need one or two to help us with the process."

Suddenly everyone in the room began to look very busy. The two vampires who were tossing bodies through a dark hole in the floor moved quicker, and several vampires who were near the doors simply melted away into another room.

Caius snorted. "Brave soldiers of the Volturi…"

"You can hardly blame them," Aro said mildly.

"Perhaps you should use slaves?" Caius suggested. "They could be the lesson and the reward. It might give her some extra incentive to succeed."

"Do you have slaves? Human slaves?" Alec asked in surprise.

"They have their uses," Aro said carelessly. "Someone has to see to the cleaning and the laundry after all! And if Matilda and Willamar are less successful than expected in bringing in humans, it's always nice to have some on hand." Aro looked over the few vampires remaining in the room and sighed a little regretfully. "I suppose you're right Caius. No one will appreciate being the subject of testing, and no one has done anything recently to make them require a chance to prove their loyalty. One of two of the humans from below, if you please."

"My pleasure." Caius disappeared in a blur of speed.

"If you have people here," Alec said slowly. "Do they know what you are?"

"Presumably," Aro answered languidly. "They are purchased from slavers and I don't believe anyone gives them explanations, but they see and hear things. It matters not. They do as they're bid or they bear the consequences. There have been rare occasions when one of them was particularly pleasing or appealing and they have been raised up and given the gift of immortality." Aro laughed lightly. "Don't trouble yourselves. That is all part of ruling and running Volterra, and that doesn't concern you. You need only know that you will taken be taken care of here and you have nothing to worry about but learning to take control of your new talents."