Siblings
Of common blood and of same source, we rise.
The setting of one gives birth to another,
Jealousy and love interlock in strange pairs of jaded eyes.
Never to be the other or to understand opposite plight,
Through constant strife and opposition
Sun will cast shadows in the death of night.
The strength of light to blacken the heart of any foe,
Empty and void without the love of the other
Separation they can never know.
Chapter 46: Juxtaposition
Burning tears wrecked my face. A rough hand gripped tightly around my wrist clamping down the metal shackles. I shot a glare at my captor, but instantly retracted my heat when I caught a glimpse of the pain and fear swirling behind his glowing red eyes. I looked past him as the sun twinkled on the horizon, burning the last of the light from the sky as the darkness crept into the heavens. My mind reached out grasping for my father, but he could not be found. The tears stained my vision as the Volturi guards led us down the spiraling staircase toward the great hall.
Emmett snarled viciously at the two guards flanking him, but they held fast pushing us into the graveyard beneath the sunny and tourist driven Volturi architecture. Inlaid statues of cherubs with tiny feathered wings gazed down upon us as we left the light of the setting sun behind. My keen eyesight adjusted instantly as the darkness swallowed us. The shuffle of vampire feet would have scarcely been noticed by mortal ears, but the sound echoed and boomed down the corridors for me. It was a weary beating march, filled with malcontent and impending doom.
A pair of great doors swung before us with a thunderous ache. The sky lit chamber was filled with last ounces of warmth the sun could provide. Tiny stars glistened above us making their first appearance as our audience. A sliver of silvery moon smiled in the furthest corner of the sky, happy for the approach of night. My body stiffened as terror seized the trio of family members shuffling before me. The walls of the chamber crawled with fledgling vampires. It was like a nest of filthy cockroaches scrambling on evil paths in the darkness. My head filled with their glutenous desire for blood. They could think of nothing else but the painful thirst, it was driving them mad. They clawed at the walls hissing and growling at one another. A blond beauty with long swirling hair and porcelain skin crouched dangerously close to us, poised to strike. She swung her head savagely in our direction. Her teeth we bared and her lips curled into a hideous grin and every pulse of blood within me ran cold as I stared into blazing green eyes. Her mind's eye flashed before me as I witnessed her horrible and painful transformation. She smiled devilishly at me, seemingly pleased at my apparent horror.
A chilling laugh vibrated through the room-- so cold that frost could have cracked and weaved its way over the glass pains. I shivered. "Ah yes," Marcus said to me rolling with slithering laughter. "I have succeeded. The mingling of the bloodlines has created a new and stronger race, worthy of my love and affections. I only forced Aro to seek out your precious Marius because of the strength of his blood. I wanted them to be stronger, I needed older blood. This proved more difficult than I had anticipated, but no matter. There were plenty of others to offer their services. And the new breed is plenty strong enough!" He raised his arms in ceremonial gesture, "And now my children, we feast!" he roared barbarically.
The set of doors adjacent to us flung open and a herd of screaming and terrified mortals flooded into the chamber. Volturi guards nipped wickedly at their heels like a pack of half-starved wolves (and not the protective kind). The human screams and pleas for mercy fell like pelting rain that joined the onslaught of blood rushing to the ground in teeming rivers as the fledgling vampires descended upon their prey. Volturi members and new blooded half-lings alike ripped and tore flesh savagely from the throats of the sea of swarming innocents. The fledglings took on amazing speed and accuracy. They drained the humans swiftly and mercilessly, moving to the next. Their need for blood seemed insatiable. Their eyes scanned the room savagely searching for more victims to feed the two beasts bellowing inside of them. They seemed to possess the strength of day-walking fledglings and the precision of the ancient vampire blood. They were cruel and blood-thirsty, but they were rational and calculating-- a deadly and terrifying combination.
The human population dwindled as the few survivors either tried to fight their attackers or begged for their lives on praying knees. These freshly made vampires had seen no other way, they only knew blood lust and savage killing. Marcus had starved them, pushed them to their limits. He had driven them to blood deprived insanity. Their urgency reflected their desperation and need for the life giving substance. I could feel their thirst, angry and twisted with maliciousness at having to subdue itself, having to wait. It was a thirst driven by two forces, both seeking enough blood to answer to an unquenchable need.
Emmett and Rose roared and pulled hastily at their confinements thrashing violently. The guards fought to contain them. I could feel the anger and fear tangibly boiling within my mother's blood. Her face was stone and only her amber eyes revealed the heart-wrenching sorrow of her soul. She was even more beautiful in this moment and her rage began to join forces with mine. Our eyes met. I could feel her protective shield encompassing our family and I could feel the burning sensation tingling deep within my blood. Power of unknown velocity surged within our bonds, within our common blood.
A gust of wind whipped from behind me, "Aw aw aw... That's enough of that," Marcus said seductively in my ear with obvious amusement. "I wouldn't want to punish your family for any of your rash mistakes, my dear. Calm yourself." It came more as a demand than a warning. I sneered angrily back at him, refusing to speak.
"No matter, Nessie dear. They are only mortals, only food," he mocked cruelly waving his hand in a dismissing gesture. He strolled casually with his hands folded neatly behind his back as he approached my mom, "Aw, the famous Bella, how lovely to see you again darling. Tell me, how is married life? How is dear Edward?"
My mother's eyes blazed with golden fury and her jaw clenched in rage. Her shield snarled and flared like a hurricane just off shore threatening to destroy all coastal cities within a hundred miles. "You disgust me," she spat at him. "It is a disgrace to share my blood with you."
"Such a shame that you think so ill of me because I find you absolutely delicious," in as flash of white heat he ripped into her throat holding her in his hard grip. Before I could think, before I could move, my mind shattered the chains from my wrists as I moved so swiftly I felt dizzy. I seized Marcus by throat and tore him off my mom. With earth shattering strength I hurled Marcus across the room slamming him against the back wall. The mayhem around us silenced as all of the Volturi guards and fledglings froze in immediate terror.
His body crumpled and twisted unnaturally as it slid to the floor. A platter of blood dripped down the wall where his head had hit. A hot growl rose from his throat. The blood began its magic as we all stared in horror. Bones mended and flesh fused as Marcus stood before us. His dark eyes flared with red sparks. "How dare you challenge me!"
Crash! Shattered glass twinkled from the window above raining down upon us in shimmering shards. A black force of ungodly strength tore through the air and seized Aro's freshly healed form sending him back into the wall.
"JAKE!" I screamed with all of the fury and rage of the heaven's above as I joined the assault. Dark fur and creamy marble twisted like angry vines coiling around one another. A rapid exchange of growls and snarls sailed through the air. I could feel the cold heat of the staring half-breed vampires, all still licking the last of the innocent blood from their chomps. I threw myself into the fight, pulling Marcus' thrashing limbs away from Jake. Marcus made a break to escape us, leaping to the higher ledges. Jake followed, trailing him by mere inches.
"Get them you fools!" Marcus managed to scream, dodging Jake's attacks. I wanted to push after them, to help Jake, but at Marcus' command the half-lings began to anxiously stir, churning like the tempest sea. Their eyes gleamed and pulsed in the soft moonlight. Emmett, Rose and my mom circled closer to me, poised and ready to defend themselves. Growling and defensive snarls passed through the frothing crowd.
I lost Marcus and the giant wolf in the shadows of the towers. The vivacious blond that I had noticed before flung herself wildly in Emmett's direction. He grabbed her hastily by the throat, but a look of surprise shook his usual confident expression. The green eyed beauty only smiled gnashing her teeth as she kept coming, right through Emmett's iron grip. Rose grabbed the bitch by the hair, ripping her from Emmett and hurling her back into the crowd. We fought with fierce determination as wave after wave crashed against us. The fledglings were strong, but not organized enough to fight together. Our strategy outweighed their bronze-- in pairs we held them off, but barely. I could feel my family tiring. Frantically, I wracked my brain for a solution. We had to get to Marcus, it was the only way.
Distracted, I missed my mark on the next oncoming assailant. His body lurched at just the right angle to swing by me and slash with unimagined force into my mother's flesh. She screamed in pain and snarled viciously trying to shake her attacker. The vampiric blood within me gave a fierce battle cry as the half-ling before me flew easily into the air and exploded in a burning ball of fire that streaked across the ceiling like a comet.
"Awesome, Ness!" I heard Emmett exclaim over the roaring fight. I rushed to my mom's side and pulled her to her feet. Her flesh was already re-sealing itself.
"I'm okay," she whispered with a reassuring nod. "We've got to get out of here." I stared down into her beautiful amber eyes, seeing so much of my own reflection. My eyes began to fill with tears as the despair crept sulkily into my heart. "Shhh... baby, don't cry. We can do this." Even in the darkest of hours and the most hopeless of situations, she still seemed so strong, so sure.
"What are we going to do? He's so strong and there are so many of them," I whimpered, battling the tears.
But before she could answer, a sharp yelp stole my attention. Marcus and a black wolf reappeared from the shadows. Jake's massive body stumbled back in pain from Marcus' last blow. His sad eyes searched the room and met mine for half a second before he fell to the floor, panting and whimpering in pain. A steady river of blood flowed from his throat. The tears began to sting my eyes as I saw the agony in his face. Marcus moved in with like a lion, full of dangerous intent, circling Jake. My whole body reacted to the fear of losing him. I panicked and with one giant leap, I willed myself through the fledglings and threw myself in front of my lover.
"NO! You will not hurt him!" I bellowed desperately.
"Nessie, no!" I heard Jake's thoughts.
A wicked laugh shot through the night like a bolt of lightening. "All too sad," Marcus sneered, "You are even more pitiful than Aro. All ruled by the hopeless confinements of love. So foolish! Perhaps you will die in his place!"
Marcus rushed me, an icy burn rushed savagely through my blood as Marcus' teeth ripped into the flesh of exposed neck. I pushed him away and fought to escape, but it was too late. His hands weaved through the long strands of my mangled hair and he pulled me back into his chest. His teeth bore down with a delicious surge of pain. He had to re-open the wound several times to continue the flow of my blood. I heard myself gasp as I fought the swoon. I fell heavily into his deathly embrace. My mind felt cumbersome and dull locked into the evil spin of Marcus' blood. He was guiding me into a mesmerizing trance, sucking the fight right out of me. An all too familiar dance resumed as the nothingness sparked an interest in the sinking ship that was my sea-bound life force. My body started to thrash in distress, but his grip was too tight, too menacing. Jake and the rest of my family seemed a millennium away. The shadowy blackness was closing in as my blood was being stolen from me. I couldn't surrender to the flutter of dark feathery wings. My heart and mind fought with all of the might it could muster. I sought to rise above and to conquer, no matter the cost. I called the spirits of the blood within me, begging Anryon and Amel to answer. I called to the light of sun and his sister, the moon. I focused on my own strength and the lives my children, of my family and of Jake.
A flash of brilliant red-- not blood red, but red like the burn of the rising sun swept me up in its arms. I gasped again, shaking the last of the pain from my senses. The ground felt cold and hard beneath me, but it was safe-- I was safe.