13. NEW LIFE
Abby looked around the turret. She saw three wooden thrones pushed flush against the wall. All of the seats were filled. The one in the middle had long black hair and an odd smile. The one to the right had long white hair and a scowl. The one of the left also had long dark hair but his face was… expressionless. Abby noticed immediately that these three vampires looked different from the others that she had met so far. Their skin had a papery texture to it and their eyes were a milky red.
The one in the middle spoke first. "Eleazar!" He said excitedly. "Welcome back! Now tell me what you've brought me!"
"Thank you Aro. As you know, we went to the Americas. We came across this set of twins in Salem, Massachusetts. You'll be pleased to know that in their human form they had more potential and promise than I have ever witnessed in any other mortal." Eleazar gestured towards the twins.
Aro's smile waivered. "They are but children." He seemed disappointed.
"Yes my lord, but under the circumstances I had no choice to change them. Originally my plan was to bring them here and allow them to grow up before being changed but certain obstacles arose and my hand was forced." Eleazar began to look nervous again.
Aro's face was thoughtful. "Come here, Eleazar."
Eleazar did as he was commanded. Aro reached out for his hand and Eleazar gave it to him. Aro's milky eyes closed as a rush of information flooded his being.
"What's happening?" Abby whispered to Corin.
"He's reading his thoughts." Corin whispered back.
When the exchange was complete Aro's eyes opened once more and danced with excitement. "Well, well. You've brought me great treasures indeed!" He looked at the twins with new eyes. Now that he knew what they were capable of, nothing else seemed to matter. "Come Jane and Alec; let me have a closer look at you."
The twins walked up towards the thrones side by side. Aro pulled the shared cloak off of them. "My, you two are a handsome pair." Aro smiled. "You will like it here, I promise. You can have anything your heart desires so long as you stay here with me. Come, we have much to do!" Aro got up from his throne and began to guide the children out of the room.
"What about Aunt Abby?" Alec asked. For the first time, the focus was taken off of the twins and placed on her.
Caius eyed her suspiciously. "Yes Eleazar, what about this human that you've brought with you? Does she have certain potentials as well?"
"No, my lord." Eleazar answered. "But she is their guardian and is greatly invested in the well-being of her niece and nephew."
Aro chuckled near the door. "I shall be their guardian now."
Caius smiled wickedly. "Eleazar, you know the rules. No mortal can know our secret."
Abby's heart began racing and everyone in the room could hear it. She fully understood that they were discussing killing her because she was a human who knew about the existence of vampires.
"May I speak?" Abby asked. They were surprised that the weak mortal wanted to join the conversation.
Aro looked impatient. He wanted to go play with his new toys. "Make it quick, please."
Abby nodded. "I understand that it is breaking one of your laws for me, a mortal, to know about your existence. Perhaps we could remedy this problem. Perhaps you could change me into a vampire so that I might remain here with the twins."
Corin looked down at her with shock on his face. He had no idea that she had even been considering this.
Aro forced a fake smile. "That's a lovely idea dear, but we- the Volturi- are not just any kind of vampires. We only allow those with very special powers to join our ranks."
Corin interrupted. "What about Felix? Or Santiago? Or even Caius?" It was not like Corin to be defiant so the leaders were a bit surprised at his outburst. Caius, of course, scowled even harder.
Aro sighed. "Yes, yes, but you know that they have other purposes to serve. Even without gifts they are very useful."
"And how do you know that Abby won't be useful?" Corin continued.
Abby looked up at him. She had never seen him look so determined. She was grateful for it.
Aro let out a laugh. "Yes, perhaps we should start holding Volturi auditions!" The others joined him in laughter.
"That's not what I'm saying." Corin continued. "Perhaps you could give Abby a trial period. Let her stay here with us. Give her a role to play. Perhaps we could put a desk out front and she could serve as some sort of greeter or receptionist. Heidi is always bringing people in through the front entrance and they often get frightened after just walking in. Perhaps if there were a human there to greet them it may ease their senses and make them less suspicious until they are brought all the way up here into the turret."
Aro bounced his head from side to side while looking up, contemplating the offer. "Sure. A trial period. Sounds splendid!" With the issue resolved he turned around and quickly guided Jane and Alec out of the room.
Abby started to go after them but Corin stopped her and gave her a look that made her understand that she shouldn't try to follow them.
Caius looked utterly disappointed. The excitement was over. For now.
People started moving back out of the turret and Corin guided Abby down a long hallway. The place was almost maze-like so she was glad to have Corin as a guide. Eleazar and Carmen were walking alongside them but they disappeared into one of the rooms along the way. Corin smiled.
"Where are we going?" Abby asked.
"I'm taking you to your new room." He answered.
They came upon a door and Corin opened it for her. The place looked like it had been empty for a long time. It was completely bare.
"I'll make you some furniture to go in here." Corin offered.
"You make furniture?" Abby asked.
"I like to work with my hands." He smiled at her. "I'm actually a little bit of an inventor in my spare time."
"Really? And what have you invented?" Abby asked with a smile.
Corin laughed. "Come with me."
He took her by the hand and guided her back down the hallways and down the flights of stairs. Windows disappeared and Abby realized that they must be underground in a basement level. It was pitch black so she clung even more tightly to Corin who could easily find his in the darkness. Finally they stopped moving.
"Are you ready?" Corin asked.
Abby laughed. "Ready for what?"
In an instant the room was suddenly illuminated. Abby's eyes took a moment to adjust. There was a glass ball hanging from the ceiling and that was the source of light.
Abby gasped. "What is it?"
Corin smiled proudly. "Electricity."
Abby continued to stare in wonder. "How did you get it in there?"
"It would be very difficult to explain. Centuries ago I came across a Romanian vampire that had the ability to manipulate electricity. It was his gift. It's a shame he didn't survive the war, I'm sure I could have learned a lot from him. It took me a very long time before I could figure out how to harness the energy from lightning. Anyways, not as great as that Romanian's gift but still pretty neat." Corin looked at the light bulb with satisfaction.
"There was a war?" Abby asked.
Corin's face went a little dark. "Yes, many of our kind died on both sides. Aro, Caius, and Marcus led us in a war to overthrow the Romanian coven. They were the rulers of the vampire world at the time. Now the Volturi reign supreme."
"Wow," Abby mused, "So I'm hanging out with royalty here?"
Corin laughed. "I guess you could call us that."
"Well this is very impressive, Corin. This… electricity that you've been able to capture, it's amazing." Abby smiled at him sweetly.
"Thank you." Corin adored looking at her beautiful face. He was happy to have these stolen moments with her. "Wait right here." With that, Corin vanished.
It was only seconds later that he returned with a handful of supplies. There were large planks of wood and wood working tools. Corin effortlessly laid the load onto the ground and his hands began moving so quickly that all Abby saw was a blur. Within moments he had constructed a beautiful, high, polished mahogany counter. Abby was in awe of the beauty of it.
"I'll put this at the front entrance." Corin explained. "It will be your reception area where you greet the guests."
Her smile faded. "The guests? You mean the people who are brought here to feed on?"
Corin was now disappointed as he saw that the gift he had just made her was now making her sad. "I'm sorry Abby. It was the only way I could think of to have them spare your life. If you are to live among us then you must be able to contribute to our most basic need- the blood of humans. Besides, if you intend on becoming one of us then that is a factor you'll need to get used to."
Abby nodded sadly. She knew it was true. If only there was a way to be a vampire without having to kill other people.
Corin was desperate to make her happy again. "Come on, follow me." He took her by the hand and used his other one to carry the large mahogany counter, lifting its weight was no struggle at all for him. They went back upstairs and he dropped the counter off at the front entrance. He continued to pull on her and guide her further into the center of the castle. They finally came upon two large wooden doors.
"Ready?" Corin asked with a grin.
Abby looked at him with wide eyes and smiled with a 'you tell me' expression.
Corin pushed open the double doors and the richest sunlight filtered in. Abby looked out to see a beautiful garden in a courtyard. She stepped through the doors and realized that this courtyard was in the heart of the castle, hidden and protected by the large walls on either side. She understood the architecture of the castle now, it was a large square with a hallowed out center. One corner had a very large round turret, the one she had been in when she met Aro and the others. The other three corners had smaller turrets. The courtyard had beautiful angel statues throughout it. The marble was insanely beautiful and smooth.
"Did you make these?" Abby gasped. She turned around to look at Corin and suddenly the beauty of the statues was completely forgotten.
The sunlight fell directly onto Corin's hard body. His ethereal presence glittered and sparkled as it broke and reflected the rays of light from the sun, much like a crystal or a diamond would.
"This is what I meant about us not being able to be in the light when humans are around." Corin explained.
Abby still stared in awe. "You're beautiful."
Corin laughed. "Again, all part of the package. To answer your other question, yes I made the statues."
Abby shook her head in wonder. "You are so talented. No wonder why Aro wants you in his guard."
Corin smiled again. The two of them walked through the courtyard. There was a beautiful rosebush that Abby admired along with many other kinds of flowers. It was an enchanting place. Its ambiance was so different from that of the rest of the castle.
"Come on," Corin smiled, "let's go make you some bedroom furniture."
They walked back in and as they were passing the mahogany counter Abby asked "So who are all the members of the Volturi Coven and what are their powers?"
Corin stopped at the counter and pulled out a piece of parchment paper from one of the drawers. In his quick movements Abby hadn't even noticed that he had stocked the draws with supplies.
"It'll be easier for you if I write it all down." Corin pulled out a quill and some ink and quickly wrote all the information that Abby asked for on the paper. Then he handed it to her to study.
The Volturi Leaders
Aro- The Ability to Read every thought that a person has had by the single touch of the hand.
Sulpicia- Aro's mate. No talents.
Caius- No talents.
Athenodora- Caius' mate. No talents.
Marcus- The Ability to read the ties between people. (He had a mate but she died long ago.)
The Volturi Guard
Corin- (You already know but…) Paralytic Venom
Eleazar- The ability to see the Talents of others.
Carmen- Eleazar's mate. No talents.
Demetri- Excellent Tracker
Felix- No talents (other than his brawn).
Heidi- The ability to create the illusion of a person's desires.
Afton- The ability to manipulate fire.
Chelsea- Afton's mate. She can weaken or strengthen the bonds between people.
Renata- She creates a physical shield, she mainly protects Aro.
Santiago- No talents but is useful when it comes to war strategy.
Jane- The ability to create intense pain in another person.
Alec- The ability to completely desensitize other people.
Abby looked over the paper and was very glad to have it all written down. She didn't think she'd have been able to remember it all if he just told her. She got to the line about Marcus and was about to ask more about him and his mate but suddenly Corin made a quick movement with his head and looked up towards the stairs.
"What is it?" Abby asked.
"Something's going on." His ears perked up as he listened to a conversation that Abby couldn't possibly hear. "Come on, we have to hurry." He scooped Abby up into his arms and began running up the staircases. He didn't have the patience to walk alongside her this time. Suddenly they were in the turret when he gently lowered her to the ground. The room was packed with everyone that was on the list that Corin had just given her. The three leaders were sitting in their thrones with Eleazar and Carmen standing before them.
"Please, my lord," Eleazar appealed to Aro. "Understand that we mean no disrespect. I am very grateful for all that you have done for me. But Carmen and I are ready to move on. We ask you for your blessing."
Aro's smile was completely lost. Eleazar had just proven his value by bringing the twins. How could Aro possibly let him go now? "And where will you go, Eleazar? What better life can you lead beyond these walls?"
Even though Chelsea remained in the shadows, she used all her might to try to sever the bond between Eleazar and Carmen. After all, it was Carmen who had brought about this change in Eleazar. To Chelsea's chagrin, her efforts were futile.
Eleazar cleared his throat. "We have discussed going to the Russian girls, the ones that now live on the mountain Denali. We have heard of their more… peaceful lifestyle. Carmen and I would like to explore that."
"The Russians?" Aro asked skeptically. "You mean the coven whose mother we had to kill for creating an immortal child?"
Eleazar shifted uncomfortably. "Yes but the girls are innocent. You yourself read their minds to make sure."
Aro rubbed the papery skin on his face thoughtfully. Caius was well aware of what Aro was thinking. Aro was considering the option of solving this problem the way he had solved the problem with Marcus all those years ago. Caius reached his hand over to Aro until Aro took it.
These are the thoughts that Caius shared. You cannot kill Carmen to keep Eleazar with us. While it worked on Marcus, others may become suspicious if a pattern develops. I know how important it is to you to collect and keep the talented ones of our kind, but you must let Eleazar go.
Aro released Caius' hand with a disappointed expression. He knew that Caius was right. To avoid an uprising or even worse- have Marcus realize the truth of how he was kept to stay in the Volturi, he would have to let Eleazar and Carmen go free.
"Alright Eleazar," Aro conceded, "You may have our blessing to go but on one condition."
Eleazar was relieved. "Anything, my lord."
"You will allow one of the other guard to accompany you and study the lifestyle of the Denali's. They will also observe how you and Carmen are able to adapt. Then they will report back to me." Aro truly was curious about alternative lifestyles.
Eleazar and Carmen hugged each other happily and thanked Aro for his decision.
Aro surveyed the room looking for whom to send on the journey with Eleazar. His eyes fell on Corin. "Corin, you're the scientist around here. You shall accompany Eleazar and Carmen to Denali."
Corin's heart sank. That would mean that he would have to leave Abby behind, alone, with the Volturi.
