Chapter 4: The Volturi

I soon started to hear rumors. In my past, I had had a few run-ins with nomadic vampires, like myself, but perhaps more so. It seemed my choice to abstain from human blood was an oddity among my new race. Those who I met were curious, but sometimes hostile. I learned to defend myself well enough from others, though I was primarily an academic. Upon meeting a pair of vampires, a 500 year old male named Renaldo, and his 430 year old mate, Giuliana, I first heard of the Volturi.

The pair told me that these Volturi were the closest thing we had to a justice system. There was one primary rule, "Do Not Reveal the Secret". These Volturi made sure none of us vampires forgot that rule. Those who did, they dealt with.

The Volturi consisted of three brothers and their wives. The pair had told me that the Volturi had come into power around 1200 years ago and had ruled from their fortress city of Volterra. The three brothers, Aro, Caius, and Marcus, were revered there. The citizens of Volterra even had a day called St. Marcus Day, when they celebrated St. Marcus, who was really Marcus Volturi, driving all the vampires from Volterra.

"To feed off a human in Volterra is to die a swift death," Renaldo had told me, his voice full of trepidation. "Aro, the unofficial leader, is gifted." I had heard of vampires who had special gifts. Gifts beyond the normal speed, strength, etc. I had never met one of these gifted vampires before, but it did not surprise me that the leader of the Volturi would be gifted.

"Aro can see every thought your mind has ever had, just by touching your hand," Giuliana had whispered. She lightly brushed my hand. If the hairs on the back of my neck could have stood up, they would have. "Marcus is also gifted. He can see relationships."

"And Caius," Renaldo had added, "even though he isn't gifted, is an extremely clever and adept manipulator."

"Our point is," Giuliana interrupted, "You don't want to get on their bad side. If I were you, I would keep my head down and stay clear of Volterra. Chances are, with those kinds of eating habits, they've already heard of you."

But I had not taken their advice. Within 7 years of arriving in Italy, I would found myself at the city of Volterra. The pair had said the Volturi was the largest coven of mature vampires. The three brothers, in addition to their wives, had a guard of about thirty, most of which were gifted like Aro and Marcus, though no gift ever manifested in the same way. To be a member of the Volturi guard was an honor, and one well sought after.

But I was not at Volterra because I wanted to join the guard. The Volturi sounded quite civilized, a trait I found almost non-existent in most of the other vampires. Most had a hard time living in groups larger than four. But the Volturi had a guard of thirty, after already being a large coven at five. I was intrigued by how they managed to achieve this level of civility. That was why I had ignored the couple's advice and had journeyed to Volterra. That was why I stood outside the walled city as the moon rose in the night sky, staring up at the impregnable walls.

Ahead, the gate was open still and people were moving through it. This was odd; most cities closed their gates when the sun went down. But I figured that with the Volturi watching over operations, the citizens had not had had any reason to fear. Nobody dared try anything, if they knew who was really behind the city's security.

I approached the gate with the rest of the traffic. Dark-cloaked guards at the gate were stopping people at random and demanding to know their business in Volterra. When I got up to the gate, I was stopped.

"Che cosa รจ il vostro commercio qui?" the guard asked his voice smooth from beneath the enveloping hood; too smooth for a human's. What is your purpose here? I had learned enough Italian by now to answer back.

"Sono qui studiare la medicina," I replied. I am here to study medicine.

The guard leaned closer to his partner, conversing in rapid Italian, too low for me let alone a human, to understand. They conversed for only a minute, before the guard turned back to me.

"You may pass," he hissed in low English, thickly accented, "But know that we will be watching closely. Do not hunt within these walls, unless you have a death wish." He then waved me through without waiting for my reply. The exchange had been so quick that none of the humans had noticed anything out of the ordinary.

And so I passed into the city of Volterra. I was tense, taking my first steps inside. I could still feel the guards' gazes on my back as I took first one step, then another, then another. I walked at the slow pace of a typical human gait, blending into the crowd as much as possible. But that was harder to do, when humans automatically gave you a two feet berth on all sides. I walked with traffic, down narrow, winding streets, until I came upon a large square.

In the center of the square was a large, round fountain that gushed water out over statues to land in a large basin. At the far end of the square, a clock tower rose up to loom over the people in the square. The Palazzo dei Priori. People still milled around, though the crowd was rapidly thinning as people retired to their homes for the night. It was through the thinning crowd that I saw my shadow.

Two shadows to be exact, much like the cloaked figures of the guards who had questioned me at the gate. But these were not the same men. The guards at the gate had been tall, imposing. These were shorter vampires, who were more able to blend into the crowd, though I was not really sure how they could do that, wearing the obvious dark cloaks. Their hoods were up, so I could not see their identities. But I did not need to know who they were; just that they were who I was looking for. I had come to Volterra to find the Volturi, and the Volturi had found me.

I paused at the edge of the fountain, staring up at the water for a moment, before turning around to face my shadows. They stood closer than any human dared to go.

"Buona sera," I greeted, Good evening.

"E buona sera e voi," the shorter of the two shadows replied in a silky, feminine intonation. And good evening to you too. "I miei padrone desideri da parlare con voi." My master desires to speak with you.

I gestured for her and her partner to lead the way. Instead, she started walking, and her partner fell into step behind me. Any instinct I had for fights told me to get away. This was not a good situation. I was outnumbered, in a strange city. And these two were no doubt part of the Volturi guard. They would be more experienced fighters than I was.

But I followed the female down streets without a single protest. I wanted to send the message of peace, not trouble. Running from the guard, after they specifically told me to come, would not enforce that message. We came to a stop at a drain. I was reminded of my last night as a human. The memory was dark and indistinct, as were many of my human experiences now, but I could still remember it. The drain and the pale hands that had removed the cover. Those same hands that my own had come to resemble.

I shook off the memory and followed the female figure down the hole. This sewer did not smell nearly as bad as the ones in London, or even France did. It was a bit damp, but dry for the most part, which led me to believe that this was not used to wash away waste and water. This was used for travel, by the Volturi.

We ran at normal speed through the stone tunnel. It was probably cold down there, for a human, but I did not notice. We arrived at another exit in minutes. It was another drain, on the other side of which was a big, wooden door with a latch to match it. The door led to stone hallway at the end of which was a stairway that wrapped around in circles over and over again. We climbed the stairs, taking them two at a time, sometimes more. A human would have gotten tired, climbing all those stairs, but not us. Our kind never got tired. At the top, we exited into a large chamber that held paintings of the Italian countryside that I had traversed the last seven years.

The two shadows finally pulled back their voluminous hoods. The shorter of the two was indeed a woman, with long dark hair and olive skin with a pale, chalky pallor. She had obviously been Italian before being changed. Her companion was a man, who was the same pale shade as me. He had straw blond hair, cropped incredibly short. Both of their eyes were a deep crimson color. The obviously did not need to feed.

They led me down a wide, opulent hall, towards a set of large, golden doors. But they did not go through the doors, but rather stopped halfway down the hallway. The man pushed on a section of wall, and then slid it aside to reveal quite a plain, nondescript door.

Beyond the door was a small antechamber, and then a large, round main chamber. It was round, so I assumed it to be a castle turret. Long window slits opened up to darkness. In the daytime, light would probably shine through them to light the chamber. But at night, torches were placed in brackets around the walls, casting flickering shadows on the stone.

The room was quite sparse, holding only a number of wooden thrones that were spaced unevenly, against the stone walls. At the center of the room was a depression with a drain, much like the one I had been led through. I assumed that this was a secondary exit, if for some reason the main door was inaccessible.

Vampires milled around the room in plain dresses and tunics. All were in the style, but nothing about the vampires' clothing really stood out. And except for three, my escorts were the only ones wearing the dark cloaks that were seemingly favored on the streets of Volterra.

The three wearing dark cloaks huddled in a group at the far side of the turret chamber. Two of them had dark hair that was just a shade lighter than their cloaks. The third had white hair, the color of fresh snow. It was odd to me, seeing a vampire with white hair. All of those I had met on my travels were young or middle aged. A few were even in their teens. I had never before met an old vampire.

When we entered, all blood red eyes fell on me. I suddenly felt very self-conscious of my clothing, worn as it was by travel. These vampires dressed well, if not boisterously. The three dark cloaks at the opposite end were the last to turn. They almost seemed reluctant, like they were being pulled away from a conversation, though the room had been quiet when we walked in.

"Ah Carlisle!" One of the dark-haired one in the cloaks spoke first. He held out his arms as if welcoming me home. 'You've joined us at last."

"Thank you for your invitation," I replied carefully.

"I do hope my guards were not too abrupt. But I'd been hoping to meet your for some time now. Word of your peculiar choice has reached our ears here in Volterra." He paused, looking me over from head to toe. His gaze rested on my topaz eyes, fresh from my last feeding outside the walls. "And now it has reached our eyes.

"But where are my manners. I have not introduced us!" The speaker gestured to the snowy-haired vampire who stood to his right. "This is my brother, Caius." He gestured to the other dark-haired vampire on his left, "And this is my other brother Marcus. The famous St. Marcus!" The speaker chuckled. "And I am Aro. Welcome to Volterra!"

Aro seemed to drift forward, leaving his brothers where they stood passive. Even with a vampire's litheness, Aro was amazingly graceful. Coming closer, I could get a better look at him. Aro's red eyes were darker then his guard's, but they seemed to be covered over with some sort of film, like the sugar deposits that developed over some older people's eyes. Vaguely, I wondered if they affected his eyesight. His skin was different then other vampires' too. Instead of pale and hard, like mine was, his skin seemed papery and translucent, like I would rip it if I shook his hand. Still, he offered it and I took it. Aro held my hand for a moment too long and I remembered what Giuliana and Renaldo had told me of him. Aro could hear every thought your mind has ever had, just by touching your hand. When he finally let go, I felt almost violated.

"Thank you for your warm welcome," I replied, doing my best to keep the emotion out of my voice. I was a diplomat right now. I had to act like one. "My name is Carlisle Cullen."

"Yes, so I've heard," Aro replied, alluding to his gift. "Though you travel under different names, am I correct?"

"Sometimes," I conceded. "But I'm sure you understand the need for that."

"Of course!" Aro replied. "Now, I noticed that you feed off of animals, and that you are forever battling your thirst. You feel repulsed by what you are?"

"Yes," I answered. "But I think feeding off animals is a good alternative."

"But your thirst is not quenched!" Aro's reply was a statement of a fact, not a question. It seemed he was only having this conversation for the benefit of the other vampires in the room. "Human blood is our natural food source. Surely denying what you really are is folly!"

I sighed. If I had known the Volturi would try to convince me to change my lifestyle choice, then I would not have come. "I try to work with what God has given me. I do not feed off of humans, I try to help them. I treat their injuries and sicknesses. I learn from my mistakes, so next time I would not fail. I have travelled from university to university, learning all I can so that I may do God's will throughout my immortal life."

"You do not believe God has punished you, as so many other Christians do."

"No," I replied. "God's will is a mystery, but everything happens for a reason."

I had not expected to talk on theology with these Volturi. I had expected the questions on my peculiar feeding habits, but not on faith.

"You have questions for us," Aro said.

"Yes." I jumped at the opportunity to change the subject. "I have found in my travels that it is hard for vampires to remain together for any long period of time, unless they are mates. Yet you seem to have created this large, well-organized coven right here in Volterra. I simply wonder how you are able to do this."

Aro laughed light-heartedly. "Carlisle I can see you and I will become good friends. The reason we are able to have such a large coven, feed off of humans, and still remain in one spot is quite simply, the manner in which we hunt our prey. Most vampires cannot remain in large groups because they are together out of convenience. We are together for a common purpose, to safeguard the secret of our kind. Every vampire here believes in our law and helps us uphold it.

"We are able to remain here in Volterra because we do not hunt our prey here, and do not allow hunting inside or near the city. We go quite far out of our way sometimes, to ensure that our secret remains intact. Some of the guard goes and lures tourists back into our lair, and we feed that way. All foreign. Thousands of tourists go missing every year. Nobody will notice, as long as we are careful about the place and timing."

"That seems like so much work just to maintain your way of life. Perhaps if you tried feeding off of animals, you may have an easier time. You might even be able to interact with the humans living in Volterra more."

There was a general hiss of disproval from the vampires in the room. Apparently, not everyone in the group wanted to try my lifestyle.

"No," Aro replied with a sigh. "I do not think that would be prudent. We have a good system here. It works splendidly. I would hate to see it fall.

"But perhaps you would consider remaining here, with us for a time. You can observe what we do a little more, and perhaps it will cure you of your aversion to our natural prey."

"I would be honored to stay, but I do not think anyone could convince me to prey on humans."

"We shall see," Aro replied.