Esther
Axton I walked through the town silently. I hoped he knew what he was doing as he continued to lead the way. I let him do what he needed to do and just followed patiently. We came to an alley in the centre of Chicago and he slowed when we reached a door.
Whatever happens I want to say thank you. I heard in his head. He allowed me in his head just for that moment before it closed to me and he opened the door. The second we stepped inside I knew it was a trap. I saw the creatures in the room, invisible to all but me. Waiting to latch onto me and I felt real fear for the first time in a long time. I walked around the frozen creatures as we headed for the stairs. They were watching me with their beady eyes, waiting for me to step under them. I followed Axton up the stairs, I couldn't hear anyone here except one very faint heartbeat.
"It can't be this easy," Axton whispered to me. As we reached the top floor it was one large room. Alena was on the floor in the far corner unconscious.
"Alena!" Axton gasped and ran over to the girl. I remained where I was and waited for him to lift her up and bring her over.
"I'll hold her for you," I said to him but the second I spoke everything changed. Someone was in the room with us.
"Esther Josephson, how long I have wished to meet you," it was a male voice. "I am so sorry for what is about to happen."
"Cain," I said staring at the man in the room. He nodded before he turned to Axton.
"Thank you my son, you have done well. you are rewarded," he said and with a wave of his hand Axton and Alena were gone from the room. His son? I managed to stop myself from gasping with realisation that Axton had led me to a trap knowingly.
I'm so sorry I had to. I heard his voice echo in my head.
I didn't blame the boy, he wanted his sister. He was desperate.
"Esther," said a woman I assumed to be Liana. She drew my name out and emphasised on the 's' to make her sound like a snake.
"Hello Liana, or should I say Lilim," I said to the woman who appeared next to Cain. The two of them together was an unlikely sight. Cain was an older man, late 50s, Liana was a girl in her early twenties. I guessed these were the ages they chose to remain.
"You know my name," Liana said happily. She walked towards me and I took a step back. "Your abilities don't work here Esther so don't even try."
I didn't let panic over come me, I couldn't die. I still had sheer strength left.
"What do you want with me?" I asked.
"I know you can't die, after all, my descendants created you. I know much about you my luna creazione," she said as she circled me, looking me up and down. She called my species 'Moon Creation', that was a new one. "Its so nice to see you in person. Cain has heard so much about you. Me not so much."
"I've tried to be quiet over the last few centuries," I told her.
"Yes, I see. Why didn't you just rip that nasty kings head off? It would have been far more fun watching vampires squirm under your rule my dear," Liana said referring to Aro.
"I am not that kind of person."
"Hmmm, I disagree," she said stopping right in front of me. I watched her face change simultaneously in front of me. It shook me to my core as I stood staring into the eyes of Aro.
"You will be an excellent addition to my collection," Liana said in a perfect imitation of Aro.
"Are you trying to scare me Liana?" I said refusing to let her get to me.
"I'm just having a little fun," she said with a giggle that was worse than grinding teeth together. Her form reverted to the girl I saw before, who I wasn't even sure was her now I had seen her change into a dead vampire.
"Enough Lilim do what you are here to do," Cain said in ancient Latin. I wonder if he knew I understood.
"Oh okay..." Liana drew out like she was a scolded child. She smiled at me before her hands were on my head and I was screaming.
The next thing I remembered I was out in the streets of Chicago. Feeling weak and suddenly very human. I remember somehow making my way back towards the Volturi estate when I saw Aleksander running towards me. As he reached me I fell into his arms my entire world going dark.
I could hear everyone around me panicking, asking what was wrong with me, trying to work things out. I could feel Carlisle's hands on my forehead as they all spoke around me. I couldn't seem to move but I could hear everything.
"Anelie why isn't she waking up?" Aleksander asked our daughter. I tried my best to reach for him, to tell him I was okay but I couldn't move.
"I don't know papa. She's alive and perfectly fine on my end. There's nothing wrong with her."
"We need Eddie, he's the only one that can get in her mind. Maybe he could wake her up," Aleksander said and I was trying to scream, trying to protest but nothing was working. Couldn't Edward read my mind? Couldn't my daughters? Why weren't they listening to me?
"Edward won't be happy about that, but very well. It seems to be our only option other than Alena and she's not waking up."
Alena? They had Alena? What about Axton? Had they killed him out of revenge for betraying us? They didn't wait for me to explain anything!
"Where is she?" I heard my best friends voice and the gasps of those in the room.
"I didn't call him, who did?" Carlisle asked the room.
"I didn't either."
"I didn't."
"Nope."
Various people were in as much shock as me.
"Eddie!" I heard Edward call and footsteps come closer.
"Why is she like that?"
"Eddie why are you here?" Carlisle said in shock.
"I knew what she was planning, I was on a flight yesterday, my time. I appreciate you sending the guards to help protect my grandchildren, it made me feel a lot less guilty coming here. I knew she'd follow up on a stupid plan. I tried to tell her not to but she didn't listen. I was just flying over New York when I felt her disappear. She's just gone from my mind. It's an odd thing to have something you're so used to just not there anymore. I thought she had died but Chloe assured me she could still see Esther." I heard Eddie explain.
"I told you she was alive," I heard my other friends voice. I wanted to scream and cry and tell them to go back to England where they were nowhere near the danger of Liana but I couldn't move.
"Esther," Eddie said softly. I could feel him by me now. He was sitting next to me, his hands on my face.
"Come on Es, follow me out. You can do this," he was coaxing only it wasn't his voice, it was in my mind now. It was like a long corridor. I could see him at the end and I was trying to get to him but he was moving further away.
"You can beat this. It's just a spell, just a insignificant spell. You're the strongest being in the world. You can do this," he told me. I started to run and as I caught up to Eddie I threw my arms around him. He held me as he led me out of the door.
My eyes snapped open to see Eddie's face centimetres from my own.
"You idiot," I mumbled. He just grinned at me and pulled me into a sitting position so he could hug me. I pushed him away. "Go home now," I ordered him and looked to Chloe at our side.
"Gee thank you Eddie, you saved my life. You're amazing," he teased me sarcastically.
"Thanks Eddie, now go home," I told him.
"No. we're staying here." Chloe said and reached for me. I held her hand as I stood from the bed, still slightly weak from whatever spell Liana had on me. I was embraced by my husband and daughters before being led down stairs to brief everyone what happened.
After I caught everyone up on what had happened, my encounter with Liana and them on what happened with Axton and Alena we all separated into smaller groups, some going off to eat, some going to bed, others stayed to talk and strategise.
"Why did she give you back though that's what I don't understand," Eddie said. We were both sitting on the couch, I had my head on his shoulder, Chloe was below us sitting on the floor and my legs were draped over her. I had missed these two so much and whilst I was happy they were with me, I wished they were safe in England. Aleksander was at my side, playing with the wedding band on my left finger.
"She probably thought she had neutralised her." Edward said from the couch next to us. He had his daughter Lexi tucked into his side whilst her husband was in a 'Volturi' meeting with his father and grandfather.
"Well she thought wrong," I said to everyone in the room just as my daughters came in laughing with each other. Something that was rarely than I liked.
"so Lidy, when were you going to tell me you were pregnant?" Eddie asked his, for all intents and purposes adoptive daughter. Eddie has been a father to my two daughters over the last century whilst their real one wasn't around.
"Now?" she asked with a small smile.
"How far along are you? Do you know what it is?" Chloe asked.
"About three months and no not yet." Lidiya smiled at Chloe on the floor.
"Bets bets!" Emmett called out in his regular fashion.
"Girl," I said with a smile. I knew Allesandra, Lidiya's first daughter always wanted a sister.
"I agree, girl," Allesandra called from the other side of the room.
"Boy," Eddie said smugly.
"Papa?" Lidiya asked her father. I looked to my husband who was watching her carefully.
"Boy," he said smiling at his daughter. The entire room took a guess at the gender, Alice stayed out of it as usual just in case she had a vision revealing it to her.
Emmett tallied the votes and noted them down.
"Why is it always so exciting? No matter how many babies are born into this family they're always anticipated and equally spoilt when they're born," Eddie said.
"Because its life. Something that shouldn't be able to come from vampires or creatures like us and yet it does. Thanks to your creation at least," Edward said to his son with a nod to me.
"Yup if it wasn't for me, our family wouldn't even be this big," Eddie said smugly.
"Excuse me," Edward said and laughed. "I am sure you have an older sister where most of the generations have come from."
"Yeah and at least not all your descendants are puppies," Eddie teased his father. I rolled my eyes and Edward laughed.
"Very true. Very true."
"Where is the human that's our descendant then?" Eddie asked
"Clara? She's at home, its complicated," Edward explained. I knew Clara had gone home distraught with Axton's betrayal. I didn't blame her.
"Esther!" I heard one of the guard members call from upstairs. I was out of Eddie and Aleks arms in a second and up the stairs. The call had come from a bedroom unused in the Volturi mansion. As I entered the room I realised this was where we were keeping Alena. She was awake.
"She said your name," the guard said. I thanked them before going over to the young girl in the bed.
"Hello Alena," I greeted her, helping her sit up.
"You're Esther?" she asked. I nodded. "You're awake," she said in awe.
"Liana's spell wasn't powerful enough to keep me down," I smiled at the girl. "You either it seems."
"No," she smiled softly but she was still incredibly weak.
"What did she do to you?" I asked her.
"I don't know. I don't... I don't..." she said before her eyes rolled back and she fell back on the bed.
"Anelie!" I called. She and Lidiya were with me in moments and the second Anelie touched Alena she gasped. "What?" I asked.
"It was like a spark. I don't know. Like she was repelling me. I cant even feel her," she explained.
"The only thing we can do is wait then," Lidiya said sadly.
"She spoke to me. She was fine just seconds ago."
"Its the spell. We don't know what Liana's done. We probably shouldn't be touching her until we know," Zio said coming into the room.
"I agree," I said directing my daughters out the room. I looked back at the child on the bed, her breathing was slow, way too slow for a human, she was pale and looked on the brink of death.
"I need to go hunting. I lost a lot of energy with whatever Liana put on me. I'll be back later okay?" I told my family. Aleks followed me, as usual and I was glad it was just us.
"So how did you survive without me for a few hours?" I teased him after draining my fourth elk.
"It was hard. I had to speak English," he admitted jokingly, in of course, Bulgarian.
"The world is ending," I gasped as I grinned at him he smiled back and strode up to me to kiss me.
"It may have only been a few hours but I honestly thought I'd never see you again." he said resting his forehead against mine.
"We always find our way back to each other. Always," I reminded him.
"Always," he grinned in English.
On our way back I felt something was wrong but I couldn't quite place it. By the time we got to the house there was a violent storm a head.
"Is that her?" Aleks asked me.
"Possibly," I said to him watching the unusual nature of the storm above us.
By the time we got into the house I just couldn't believe my eyes.
Clara Cullen-Taylor
I wasn't angry, I wasn't upset, I didn't know what emotions I was feeling.
My mom had her arm around me the whole way back to our house. The Cullen's had said it was probably safe enough for now for us to go home. A few guard members followed us and Zac was staying the night just in case but my mom insisted she took me home. I was too shocked to fight her.
Zac held a sleepy Sophie in his arms as we walked home from the Volturi Estate. We mostly walked in silence and my mom occasionally whispering something to Zac.
When we got home my mom dropped her arm from me and I walked up the stairs without another word.
"Clara are you hungry?" my mom called.
"No," I mumbled.
"Do you want someone to be with you?" she asked.
"No," I mumbled again as I reached my room I sat on the bed.
Why had he done it? I wasn't even feeling betrayal. I was feeling confusion. I understood he wanted to save his sister but why didn't he tell Esther? Why didn't he explain first? Now his very nearly dead sister was with my family in that house and he was back where he was before except without allies. If he ever came back I was sure my family would kill him on sight.
"Clara we have to go back!" I heard my mom call.
"Why?" I shouted.
"Axton turned up," she said and I was on my feet in seconds. I ran out the door, my mom and Zac following. Poor Sophie was fast asleep still in Zac's arms. I watched in awe as he carried her without jostling or waking her. We went by car to get there faster and there was a huge storm right above the house when we got there. I entered the room just as Esther came into the house.
"What's going on?" Esther asked as we entered the main living area. I scanned the room for Axton but he wasn't in the room. It was Lidiya that was acting unusual. She was swaying on her feet. Her hands were pulsing black and it was coming out of her head too, her hair was darkening from the root to the tip, she had black hair and her iris's turned black before she passed out.
"Lidiya!" Edward rushed to her but Esther was there first.
"Don't, she'll kill you, she's out of control. Where is Annie?" she called.
"Mama?!" Anelie asked, she sounded weak. I turned to see her at the door with Anthony holding her. He looked like he was carrying a million elephants, he was about to collapse.
"Tony put her down!" Esther screamed just for him to fall to the floor, Annie fell too, crying as she saw her husband unconscious and eventually losing consciousness herself.
"Tony!" Edward rushed to his grandson and Esther ran over to Anelie, her hair was white, brighter than I had ever seen her blonde hair before.
"Everyone get back now!" Esther called.
Aleksander came in then, saying something in Bulgarian before he caught the sight of his two daughters on the floor unconscious.
"No Aleks!" Esther called out when he ran to Lidiya. "We don't know if you're immune, don't touch her!" Esther was crying.
"What the hell is going on?" Zio said coming into the room, he saw the commotion and immediately shut up. "Esther?" he asked her.
"I don't know," Esther sobbed. "I think there's a spell on them, it's not a demon, they know how to control their abilities. It's something else. someone is causing this," She said bringing Anelie over to her sister by her father. She lay them next to each other so their arms were touching. Black and White, Death and Life, so fiercely glowing next to each other. It was almost blinding to look at them.
"Chanti don't let Matthew come-," Zio began to call out but it was too late. He took the sight of Tony on the floor with Edward giving him CPR and then his eyes fell on Esther and the twins on the floor.
"Lidy?" he asked questioningly. "What…. What's going on?" he asked. It must be hard, married to Death itself to ever expect anything to happen to her.
"I don't know, I think its Liana. I think she put a spell on them. She's punishing me or she wants me back. She knows that I will sacrifice myself for them. I don't have enough witch magic to reverse it myself. I can't do this." She was sobbing, Aleksander moved over to her but she shook her head.
"I'm like a conductor, I'm absorbing their powers so they can't hurt anyone in the room," she said to him sadly.
"I don't care," he said in English before he pulled his wife into his arms. Everyone in the room held their breath for a moment but nothing happened to Aleksander, he didn't drop dead like everyone expected, he just held his wife.
"He's immune. We never knew for sure because Lidiya didn't want to test it but when Allesandra came back from the dead she came back with an immunity to how she died, we assumed that would be the same for Aleksander, since he died by the hands of Lidiya, he is now immune to her abilities." Jasper explained to me. I saw him swallow painfully at my proximity and I took a step away from him to help. He smiled gratefully but I knew it didn't do much.
I heard a gasp behind me and Tony sat up in his grandfathers arms. Edward looked relieved as he held his grandson in a hug. Tony hugged him back but his eyes were fixed on his wife across the room.
"Your mother would have killed me if you hadn't of woken up," Edward said, his voice breaking with emotion. Tony smiled at his grandfather.
"Thanks grandpa, and don't worry, I'd have haunted her to make sure she forgave you," he grinned at him. Edward smiled back before helping his six foot five grandson to his feet.
"Let's never tell her of this," he warned him.
"Deal," Tony managed to smile before heading straight over to his wife on the floor.
"Tony you can't," Zio reached for him. Chantelle was holding Matthew, keeping him away from doing the same thing. "There's nothing you can do. We need to face Liana."
"No," Esther said, her beautiful face tear stained as she stared at her daughters on the ground. "I do. I will hand myself over. It's what she wants, that spell was a test. I didn't realise it but Alena woke up because I did. The spell connected us. Liana made Alena do this. She knew if I found a way out of her spell she'd have to try another way to take me out of the picture. I'll go back to her, get her to reverse it."
"Like hell you will," Zio fought back. "I'm not losing you Esther."
"You won't. She can't kill me…" she said and trailed off. Edward looked at her sceptically. "At least I don't think she can," she said before standing up.
"I'm not letting you go," Aleksander said to her. Esther smiled softly at her husband.
"You know me well enough not to stop me though," she said and kissed him quickly.
"Like hell am I letting you out of this room," A man said entering it. I immediately recognised him from pictures Edward and Bella had shown me of their children. It was Eddie Cullen. He strode through the room and encircled Esther into a hug. Everyone held their breaths as he came in contact with her but she relaxed immediately into his arms and held him tightly. The moment was silent and sweet until Esther pulled away, it was clear Eddie was using all his strength to hold onto her. I wondered how he wasn't dropping dead like Esther had warned.
"They're my daughters Eddie." She told him. "You'd do the same for yours," she added but Eddie was still trying to hold onto her, she was just twice as strong.
"You have witch magic, you can reverse it! Use all your powers!" Eddie argued.
"I can't, I'm not strong enough." She said sadly. "Its my girls Eddie, and my grandchild that hasn't even taken a breath, you know there is no question. I have to do this. I'm not strong enough to help them myself so I will do everything to find someone that is."
"I am," Axton said interrupting the conversation. "Let me help, let me try." I stared at him but he didn't look at me once. I hadn't noticed him come into the room. I wanted to slap him and kiss him at the same time.
"You're not strong enough. It will kill you," Esther said emotionless. "You're too young."
"I don't care. I'll die trying!" he said strongly. My heart picked up at the thought of him dying and I ran to him.
"No Axton please," I begged. I still loved him, after everything. That would never change.
"Clara I have to try. After everything I've done, I can at least do this," he told me, he ran his hand down my cheek and tucked my hair in. "I felt Alena's magic. We're linked, as soon as the spell was cast on the twins I thought she was awake."
"Please," I begged him as he walked over to the twins. "Think of your sister," I sobbed. He paused and turned to me.
"My sister…" he said thoughtfully. "My sister!" he exclaimed before running out the room. I followed him and he took the stairs two at a time to the room where she was being kept. She was asleep but he strode into her room and to her bedside.
"Alena," he said softly into her ear. "Alena wake up," he said. Her eyes shot open to see her brother above her. "Take my energy. Come on sister. Get up," he said and I noticed their hands linked and began to glow.
"Come with me," he said and pulled her out of the bed. We ran back to the throne room and Axton led Alena over to Lidiya and Anelie. They remained connected the entire time. I had a feeling that if that connection broke Alena would fall to the ground.
"Oh my god. I didn't mean to. I couldn't stop myself," Alena began.
"It wasn't you, it was Liana. We can fix it," Axton told his sister. Her face dropped but she nodded and looked at her twin with what I could only describe as a determined expression. They turned to face the twins on the floor and began chanting as they reached out. I couldn't understand it and I was in awe as I saw flickers of light leave their hands. This was the first time I had ever see magic manifest itself physically and I think everyone in the room was holding their breaths as Axton and Alena worked on the twins.
The second the twins woke up Axton and Alena fell to the floor. I ran to them as everyone embraced Lidiya and Anelie. Axton gasped as I embraced him.
"Are you okay?" I asked him. He nodded and turned to see his sister unconscious.
"Alena," he said and moved from my arms to pull Alena into his lap. I reached across to put my fingers on her neck but I found no pulse.
She was dead.
