"How is one to live a moral and compassionate existence when one is fully aware of the blood, the horror inherent in life, when one finds darkness not only in one's culture but within oneself?"

~Barry Lopez~

Chapter Eight: Take it or Leave it

With the wind in her fur, Leah finds a new positivity but she knows it won't last. The reputation she has built in China has left her with many leeches out for her blood and she doesn't have the temple as a protective barrier anymore.

This place, all of it, is a weight around her neck and Leah knows that she needs to leave. She also knows that leaving won't be easy though her time sleeping rough taught her a few tricks. She runs until she hits an urban city and then breaks into the first empty house she sees. It's nothing fancy but she finds some fake designer gear and an empty suitcase, filling it with whatever clothes and accessories she can find. Then, with the spare bit of cash she finds, she jumps a cab to the nearest airport.

Stowing her case, she takes a seat and flicks through an abandoned magazine, keeping a watchful eye on the people who filter through. Two hours pass. She clocks a tall, dark haired girl with sunglasses on her her head and hope flares in her belly until the girl turns around and her features are so clearly East Asian that Leah would have to be a moron to even try lifting her passport.

Another hour passes. People come and go beside her. The security guards send more glances her way, muttering between themselves about the strange girl who has taken up residence in their airport. Just when she is about to give up and try again tomorrow, a shadow flickers across the seat beside her.

"Nice weather." He says.

Leah rolls her eyes, though she never takes them off her magazine. The security guards seem to settle as she finally seems to have some purpose for sitting there doing fuck all for three hours.

"Lovely." She mutters sarcastically.

Demetri stretches his long legs out in front of him, though he still manages to make the action look graceful instead of lazy. She finally turns and fixes him with her favourite glare. Clearly he is an attractive man but Leah is genetically coded to hate his face so she feels that familiar stab of disgust whenever she sees him. Her face automatically twists into a sneer.

He appears to not give a shit. "Ticket to Rome?" He asks pleasantly.

Leah shrugs though the adrenaline thrumming through her veins is anything but nonchalant. "Ticket to anywhere really," she says, eyes scanning the crowd.

"I have a spare," he says, leaning close to really put a disgusting chill up her spine.

"Bite me," she snaps.

He fixes his collar and chuckles. "I would rather not. You are hardly my type."

She decides to ignore him but her curiosity eventually gets the best of her. "How did you know I was here?"

Demetri smiles again. Everything about him is polished and studied and perfectly controlled but Leah can see the rabid monster that lies beneath the overly-preened demeanour. She can literally fucking smell it.

"I am the world's most accomplished tracker." He says with absolutely no pride or self-congratulation. Leah finds that pretty fucking weird. Embry once found a half eaten taco from two miles away and wouldn't shut up about it for a least three weeks.

Demetri sighs after a long pause. "Perhaps it would ease your concern to know that The Volturi is very devoted to ensuring that this recruitment is a complete success."

"Stow the company line. I'm not working for leeches." She snaps the magazine closed.

"Aro is willing to negotiate terms, Miss Clearwater. That is something that he is not particularly known for."

Leah raises an eyebrow. "What do you mean by terms?"

Demetri picks up the magazine she has discarded and flicks through with an expression approaching disdain before he drops it back into the seat. "He is aware that your sense of...morality might provide a barrier to a successful coalition. He's willing to discuss and consider a successful resolution to that matter."

Leah snorts a laugh and the slightest impatience flickers across Demetri's expression. He sighs.

"Leah, I know you consider us monsters or savages, but we are not the only vampires in the world. Our kind outnumbers yours by the hundreds and more of us can be made within days. The Volturi are not the demons you think. Without a controlling hand, the vampires would be free to feed and kill at will."

She rolls her eyes but he continues.

"That means exposure, not just for us, but for your kind too. Do you think humans would be so quick to accept a person with superior strength who turns into a beast? If they come for us, they will come for you too and you know that's true."

Leah wants to argue the facts but she knows his argument is stronger. Without the Volturi, there would be chaos. She can accept that but she doesn't have to fucking like it.

"I can take care of myself." She snarls.

"Alone?" He says, with one perfectly raised eyebrow.

Leah can't help but feel the sting of that one.

Demetri seems to pick up on the fact that his arrow has hit its target. He swings for home-base. "Do not forget that it was your pack who set the precedence for befriending vampires but they did so with selfish purposes. It doesn't have to be that way for you. You can help bring The Volturi into a new age. You don't agree with the system? That is fine but what can you do to fix it from here?"

He falls silent, allowing his words to sink in and Leah desperately tries to form an argument. No fucking way is she going to accept any sort of deal with a leech.

After a long pause, Demetri reaches into his inside pocket and pulls out an envelope. He hands it to Leah who regards it like a poisoned snake.

"So little trust," he mutters. "There is five thousand euros and a ticket to Rome in that envelope, plus a passport of your own. You can see the sites, enjoy good food and when you are ready, call the number on the cards and you will be granted an escort to Volterra. Whatever you decide, you can keep it. Consider it a gift."

He doesn't wait long for a reply. With one quick nod, he leaves Leah sitting stunned as she opens the envelope and regards the content.

When all else fails, she wonders what would her pack do, what would her family do, what would he monks do and still only comes to one result. They would tell her to turn tail and run. Get the fuck away from those leeches. To put duty first but isn't that the point? How many others have been offered an invitation into enemy territory? And could she really help save lives?

Leah looks down at her hands and makes her decision. Her family and pack are gone. Her pride and dignity are gone. Her duty and purpose have been left on a mountain in Shanghai.

What does she have left but a ticket to Rome?

As she boards the plane, Leah can't help but think that for the first time in a long time, it feels good to run.

...