This story contains some mild language, suspense, romance, and some frightening images and situations—13 and older, please.
In the Grip of Twilight
By:
Olivia Tannis Moore
Chapter Eighty Four: The Changeling
Aro clamped his hand across my mouth smothering my scream.
"You made this much too easy for me, my dear," he whispered into my ear. I squirmed and he tightened his grip, pulling my arms together behind me until I felt the burn of my arms wrenching in their sockets.
The pain was merely a flicker—but it was enough to trigger something inside me, something that grew in ferocity. And suddenly, the vampiric half was bursting free and coursing through my veins with ice-cold fury.
I shivered, feeling the changes within me as my bones became limber. My muscles coiled, banding together like elastic steel…This was starkly different from what I'd experienced before; this change was so complete… and in the back of my mind grew a fear that the human side of me would disappear forever, that the powerful venom that raged within me might never go back to its dark corner. But then, as my power grew, I cared less and less, concentrating instead on Aro.
I howled my rage at being held, wanting to spring from Aro's hold, but I wasn't yet strong enough to break from his grasp. I was at the mercy of Aro and this change, as I felt my eyes dilating. My vision became so crisp, so strong, that it seemed I could see every speck of dust as it sparkled and lingered in the air. And I could see everything at once: Caius' snarl as he watched me change, with poor Audrina's body dangling from his shoulder; and even below as Aro's deep black cloak whirled about me…
My mouth instinctively parted as my canine teeth grew and they ached to pierce Aro's throat.
"Aro…" Cauis tried to warn.
If Aro heard him, he paid no attention as he continued to coo into my ear. "My patience has finally paid off. You'll give me everything I want, won't you, dear?" He pressed his dry lips against my hair. "You'll give me an army of invincible vampires and the Lycans will be destroyed—never to interfere in my affairs again." He snorted then, and pulled me deeper into his embrace. His cloak flapped around my face, pressing against my nose and mouth.
I shook my head free and demanded, "Alice…Demetri…what did you do to them?" I hardly recognized my voice it was so low, so menacing.
"Aro, subdue her now. She's changing," Caius called out as he lowered Audrina's unconscious body to the floor.
Silent until now, the inmates picked up their chants again from behind the steel doors.
"Change!"
"Change!"
"Change!"
I could feel Edward's venom exploding through my veins to come to my defense. It was as if I felt his rage that Aro should dare to hurt me…
It was strange, but I was certain that I felt Edward, that he was with me there in the dungeons…yet, in my mind I saw him as he had raced through the trees in Forks. So unbelievably fast, just a blur.
And then, just as fast, the vampire took over and I turned and sank my teeth into Aro's arm. The taste of centuries upon centuries of death filled my mouth, and still I plunged my teeth deeper into his ashy skin, searching for the vampire within him, ready to do battle.
He growled his rage as he shoved at me. But the rage inside me refused to let go of Aro's arm. Caius slipped his arms around my neck and pulled. "The trance…use the trance," he told Aro.
"Pry her jaws from my arm!" Aro commanded as he fought to keep hold of my arms, and the insidious laughter of the inmates echoed from the dungeon cells.
Caius released my neck and clamped his palms to the sides of my head. Then he bent down to my eyelevel and spoke. His words were strange and it took a moment to realize that he was speaking in Latin. I wanted to shake his hands from my head, but I was unwilling to release my hold of Aro's arm. I closed my eyes, trying to get away from the web of words that Caius spun inside my head. But there was nowhere to turn.
My vampire's fury began to retreat. No… I whispered, trying to hang on to Aro's arm. Edward's face lingered before my eyes as Caius' words still droned on. Don't go, I pleaded. Don't…don't leave me at his mercy.
But already the trees of Forks were fading from view. Edward was growing small as the distance between us grew. And it was then that I realized that it was me that was being propelled backwards, that my teeth no longer held Aro's arm.
"Edward!" I cried out, my voice laced with pain at being yet again separated from him… and then I flinched, because in my weakness, I had said it aloud.
My mind…my thoughts… everything seemed too heavy to sort out, as if someone had pushed my head down into quicksand. I growled deep in my throat, trying to rally the vampire back to my side, but the sound lacked any strength. I tried again to force a growl from my throat, and was humiliated when only a whimper rose into the air.
Aro held his arm up and watched as wisps of smoke lifted from the wound. "You ungrateful brat. I laid the world at your feet—and you repay me with this."
My eyelids were growing heavy; I fought to keep my eyes open and focused on Aro.
From what seemed like miles away, I heard Caius ask, "What do you want to do with them?"
"The child is surely innocent of any wrong-doing, brother. I'll not ask for her life. As for the brat... secure her with the others until I can retrieve the chalice from the temple. I'll not take any chances—when we return, I'll bleed her of all that precious blood, my war venom."
There was silence as Caius lifted me into his arms. And as Aro drifted down the dungeon's corridor, he spoke once again, "Oh, and Caius?"
Caius paused. "Yes?"
"No mistakes this time. If she escapes again, I'll cut the one responsible into a thousand little pieces and use them to bait the wolves."
Caius didn't respond except for the tiniest quiver. Then he was turning and sprinting in the opposite direction of Aro's voice…Audrina over his left shoulder, me over his right.
…down and down and down…
…until the quicksand engulfed me completely, and I heard and felt nothing more.
***
(I've already written the next chapter and it will be posted on Tuesday afternoon—so meet me here then. That should be enough time for everyone to catch up with this chapter. Thanks for reading! OTM)