4. COVEN

Luckily for Maria, Aro was willing to answer all of her questions about what she had become. He imparted much of his knowledge and wisdom with her. He enjoyed having such an eager student. When they went back to join Aro's group it was assumed that they would be leaving to go back to Volterra. However, Demetri shared news that was not received well.

"Aro, it seems as though other newborn armies have sprouted up all over Mexico. Word spread of Benito's success so now everyone is copying his tactics." Demetri's face was grim.

Aro seemed irritated by the news. "Well are they at least working in secret?"

"I'm afraid not. The newborns that they are turning are just too reckless. They can't be controlled." Demetri's brow furrowed as he understood what was to come next.

Aro let out a heavy sigh. "Well… Kill them all."

The Volturi's work in Monterrey was finished and they made plans to move onto Culiacán. As they began to leave the town Maria tried to go with them.

"I already told you, we aren't looking for any new members of the Volturi right now, not unless you possess a special talent which I'm sure you don't." Aro rolled his eyes. "Just stay out of trouble." As he walked away Maria noticed Renata with a smug smile on her face. She knew that Renata was not his mate but her affections towards Aro were obvious.

Maria lingered behind as the Volturi emptied out of the city. Now she really was alone. The hunger pains returned and she knew that she needed to feed. The Volturi were heading west and she decided to just trail behind them. They passed through a city called Puebla and this is where she finally got to feed.

She was careful not to let anyone see her. She knew what the consequences were, especially with all the warning that Aro had given her. There was a young man fishing in a stream all by himself. The opportunity could not have been more perfect. Maria fed off of him greedily, letting the blood spill down her chin. She had never felt anything this satisfying in her entire life.

When she was through she continued to follow the Volturi's scent. She knew that they would never let her join, but she was intrigued by them and their power. She wondered how she could gain such power. She was intent on learning as much from them as she possibly could.

When she arrived in Culiacán she stayed back and watched a horrific scene unfold in the valley below her. The Volturi were already in the process of cleaning out the city. Pillars of fire were already burning brightly and she watched as body parts were thrown into them. One vampire, Aro had told her his name was Afton, was manipulating the flames to engulf the newborns. Another vampire, Corin, moved quickly and bit into his opponents. His venom would paralyze the victims and make them fall helpless to the ground. The big one, Felix, seemed to revel in dealing out the punishments. He was enjoying the process of ripping apart the bodies. It was all very disturbing to see, even for Maria.

Then there was Aro. He stood to the side and just watched everything happen with Renata still clinging to him. Even though the newborns had immaculate strength, they were no match for the Volturi. Maria was impressed with how organized they were, as if they'd done this sort of thing many times- wiping out entire covens.

As the scene finally began to settle down, two blonde women were brought before Aro, much the same way as Maria had been brought before him for judgment. He touched their palms and read their minds. Maria couldn't hear what was being said but it looked like Aro was going to spare them. The two girls took off running together and the Volturi did not pursue them.

The Volturi had finished with the city and moved out to track down the next city with reckless newborn armies. When they were gone, Maria went down into the streets where the fires still smoldered. She caught the scent of the two blonde girls who had run away and began to follow it. The trail went westward, toward the ocean.

When she finally caught up to them she called out to them, "Hey there! Wait a second!"

The two blondes turned around and eyed Maria suspiciously. The taller of the two had a white blond color to her hair and a thin figure with thin features while the shorter had a more golden luster and a roundness to her face. The taller one spoke out first.

"What do you want?"

"To speak with you." Maria had caught up and now stood only a few feet away. "My name is Maria and like you, I was spared by Aro while the Volturi destroyed what was to be my coven. Tell me, why did Aro spare you?

The tall one answered, "Because even though we were in the covens that were creating newborn armies, we did not participate. I kept warning the leader of my coven to be more careful but he wouldn't listen! It seems as though we have all suffered the same fate, losing our covens to recklessness! We are not even from the same coven, Nettie here was from an opposing coven but was spared for the same reason I was. I'm Lucy by the way."

"I'm so glad to have met you." Maria shook their hands. "You two don't look native to Mexico. May I ask where you're from?"

"I'm from Sweden," Lucy answered, "I was a nomad for quite some time until I settled here in Mexico." Then she turned to Nettie, "Where are you from? I didn't even ask."

Nettie smiled, "I'm originally from London. My given name was Lynette Lisa Lancaster." Nettie chuckled. "My parents were cruel giving their daughter such a hideous name. So now I go by Nettie."

Maria filled them in on her background information and the girls got to know each other a little bit better. Maria noticed Lucy to be outspoken and a little overbearing while Nettie held back and although she was quite capable, she played up the 'damsel in distress' attitude quite a bit. She liked making people feel sorry for her. The three girls hunted together and Maria observed their styles.

Nettie used herself as a lure. She would put herself in a situation where she needed help from someone. The girls were on the outskirts of a small village and as a man passed by, Nettie pretended to fall into the man's path so that he bumped into her. Then she exaggeratedly fell to the ground and cried out. The man tried to help her and see what was wrong but she continued to pretend to cry in pain and go on about how he should have been more careful and how he had wronged her. It was quite funny to see, knowing that there was no possible way the man could have caused her any hurt or pain. When she had had enough of making the man grovel and apologize repeatedly, she simply killed him.

Next was Lucy. She was quite a bit more fierce and aggressive. She would approach her prey and insult them or do something to try to provoke anger from them. They had come upon a woman washing her laundry in a stream. Lucy insulted the woman's taste in clothes. The poor woman tried to ignore Lucy but she kept taunting her, trying to provoke a response, getting more and more rude with each comment. Finally the woman snapped back and that was when Lucy would strike.

Maria found it peculiar that these girls liked 'playing with their food'. She was content to just take the blood she needed and to have no other interactions with humans. The two blondes seemed to click and began to call each other 'sister'. Maria was not as close to them as they were to each other but she knew she needed a coven, and this was as good a place to start as any. Maria had such desires for power and to get gain, like the Volturi. She knew that she could manipulate the two girls into following her and therefore begin her rise to power.

"Nettie and Lucy, I think we ought to join together to make our own coven. We've all suffered the same fate, now we can come together to be stronger. What do you say?"

The blondes looked at each other and then nodded in agreement. "Yes Maria! That is a wonderful idea!" said Nettie. They were so excited they wrapped Maria in a tight hug. It was uncomfortable for her and at first she was stiff at their touch. Then she softened a bit and hugged them back. This is what she would need to do to strengthen her coven.