2. BURRIED TRUTH

Marcus lifted Aro by the shoulders and swung around to hurl him at his own wooden throne. The ancient artifact shattered and splintered at the impact of Aro's marble hard body. He quickly recovered.

"Renata!" he shouted. "Anytime now!"

She had been watching from the sidelines along with the rest of the Volturi guard, surprised by the fight between two of their leaders and unsure of who to support. She ran to Aro's side and grabbed a hold of his black cloak and threw her shield over him to protect him.

Marcus growled and roared. "Fight me, Aro! Man to man! Do not use these pawns in this game."

Aro smiled smugly. "You underestimate them. And that is why you have never been as great a leader as I have been. I know how people mock me for collecting 'toys' to play with, but this is the exact strategy that has kept me in the throne for over a millennium. Face it Marcus, you are no match for me."

It was true. Aro had been the one to create the deep relationships and bonds with each individual guard. He had been the one to care for them and train them and treat them like the jewels that they were. Chelsea used her powers to magnify the feelings of loyalty towards Aro and she weakened the bonds that any of the guards had with Marcus. He watched helplessly as his servants chose their other master over him.

The rest of the guard went to stand beside Aro while Maggie and Marcus stood together, yet still alone. Caius, Athenodora, and Sulpicia still stood by a wall, not showing a preference to either Marcus or Aro. Athenodora grasped onto Caius' arm, her face revealed the fear she was feeling. Sulpicia stood beside them just smiling awkwardly, as if her coven weren't about to be torn apart. Corin had slipped back in and also joined the group beside Aro. It was then that Marcus saw a little glimmer of hope. Corin's bond to Marcus was stronger than his bond to Aro.

Marcus broke the silence. "It does not matter how many people you have to protect you, Aro. At the end of the day, you are still a sick, twisted, pathological, lying murderer. God damn it, Aro! You killed your own sister and you let me think it was my fault all this time!" Marcus' voice went tight as he tried to hold himself together. "You knew what she was to me and you took her away! And for what? So that I could keep serving you? Who's to say that you won't do this to the rest of them?" Marcus motioned towards the rest of the guard. "Who's to say that you haven't already done it?"

Aro glanced over his shoulder nervously. Chelsea had to work even harder now to keep everyone loyal to Aro.

"Marcus, you were about to abandon us when we needed you the most!" Aro argued back. "Have you ever thought about what might have been if Didyme hadn't died?"

"Every. Day. Of my. Life." Marcus said slowly through gritted teeth.

Aro shook his head. "Stop thinking about yourself, Marcus. If you had left with Didyme then we would never have won the war against the Romanians. Lucian would have killed me and the rest of us. They would still be the wicked rulers today if we hadn't been successful. Please Marcus; try to understand that it was for the greater good."

Just then, several things happened in an instant. Corin had made his way to Renata so that he was standing right next to her. She was oblivious to those who stood beside her and only focused on protecting Aro from Marcus and Maggie. Corin quickly bit her neck which instantly paralyzed her, making her drop her physical shield around Aro. Marcus leapt at the opportunity and tackled Aro down again while the others just watched. Chelsea had been surprised and caught off guard and, momentarily, lost her concentration on keeping everyone loyal to Aro. The guards stumbled out of the way as Marcus' rage overtook him and he began to break apart Aro's body.

"AAAGGGGHHHH!" Aro cried out in pain. "RENATA!"

Marcus ripped another limb from Aro's body only to make him scream even more. "I told you I was going to kill you, Aro, and I meant it!" Marcus snapped Aro's femur which made his leg twist in an odd way.

Aro screamed in pain again. "Marcus, stop! Please, wait!"

"Did she beg for life too, Aro?" Marcus spit the words as he stomped on Aro's pelvis, smashing the bone beneath the crushing weight.

Caius stepped forward as if he were about to intervene but Athenodora held him back. Sulpicia was hugging herself and rocking back and forth. She had the same look of terror as she did when she saw the vampires burning in the Romanian war all those centuries ago.

Marcus held onto the sides of Aro's skull and was ready to rip his head from his body when Aro cried out "Marcus, WAIT! There's still a chance that you can get her back!"

The world stopped turning and Marcus froze. He looked at Aro with bewildered eyes, still holding his head in his hands. "What?"

"Let me live and I'll tell you everything I know!" Aro pleaded.

Everyone else in the room looked just as surprised and confused as Marcus.

Marcus hesitated. "How do I know you're not lying?"

Aro smiled. He actually smiled even though he was in the process of being dismembered. "You won't know. You'll have to trust me."

Marcus warred within himself. How could he trust the most deceitful person who had ever existed? His heart ached at the prospect of getting Didyme back. It was the most impossible thing he had ever heard yet he could not close the door on this opportunity of hope. His love for Didyme outweighed his hatred for Aro. He released Aro's head and his body fell to the ground. Aro chuckled as he tried to crawl towards his limbs to have them reattached.

Marcus was impatient. "Tell me Aro. Tell me now," he said in a stern voice.

Demetri and Afton came to Aro's aid and helped to put him together while he spoke to Marcus.

"Do you remember when we were at the Romanian castle during the final war?" Aro asked Marcus with a haunting smile on his lips.

Marcus nodded. "Yes."

"Do you remember when Caius wanted to move into that castle but I had it destroyed instead?" Aro was almost playing a game here. He knew that Marcus had perfect memories of everything that happened.

"Yes Aro! What about it?" Marcus was getting impatient.

Aro held up his reattached arm to motion for Marcus to wait a moment. When they had finished putting him back together he excused all of the guards along with Maggie from the turret. Now only the leaders stood in the room.

Then Aro continued. "The reason I wanted the castle destroyed is because in it were hidden secret documents by Lucian and his mate Eveline. Lucian was one of the oldest vampires that ever existed before you killed him. It was a pity that you ended his life before I had the chance to read his thoughts. I could have learned so much…" Aro trailed off.

"Aro! What about these documents?" Marcus pulled him back to reality.

Aro looked up with almost surprise. "Hmmm? Ah, yes. The documents. When I danced with Eveline at the ball I read her mind and saw them. Ancient transcripts that Lucian had collected. He only showed them to Eveline and kept them secret from Octavian, Stefan, and Vladimir. In them, they carried instructions on how to bring a vampire back from the dead. You must understand that if this information ever got out then people would be resurrecting every dead vampire and all hell would break lose. No one would fear us or obey the one rule. The information was too dangerous to have. So I destroyed it inside the castle."

Marcus felt a tight ball in the pit of his stomach, making him feel sick. "I thought you said that you would tell me how to get Didyme back. How can you do this if you destroyed the documents?"

Aro smiled and tapped his temple. "It's all in here." He laughed. Caius was scowling in the corner. It bothered him that Aro had kept this secret from him too.

"Do you know much about Greek Mythology, Marcus?" Aro asked.

"Of course Aro, we were there! Now stop these foolish games. Tell me what I need to know," Marcus said.

Aro chuckled. "In the Greek myths there is talk of an Underworld. It is the afterlife. It is not the same as heaven and hell where humans go. When a vampire dies they go to the underworld, however its gates are not protected by Cerberus, the three-headed dog, and it is not ruled by Hades, god of the underworld. Instead there are two twin sisters, the oracles, who keep the gates. The first one stands at the entrance from our world to begin the descent. It is a long journey with many trials to get to the underworld. The second oracle guards the end of the pathway into the actual underworld where the dead are kept. You need to understand that as you journey from our world to theirs, the layers of your immortality will be stripped away. The journey alone could kill you if you are not quick enough. You must be an immortal to even begin this journey; no human could ever survive it."

"Well if I die then I would be with Didyme, right?" Marcus was looking for the bright side.

Aro frowned. "The longer that you are in the underworld the more you lose your ties to our world. Your memories of her would fade and you cannot build relationships there. The people there are ghosts; they pass each other without really seeing one another. She has been dead for over a thousand years. She may have forgotten you completely. You need to be prepared for that reality."

Marcus shook his head. "No, she would never forget. Okay, I just won't die then. I'll make the journey quickly."

Aro nodded slowly, "There is something else that you will have a problem with."

"What? What's the problem?" Marcus asked, full of anxiety.

"To pass the gates of the oracles you must give them an object owned by the deceased that you seek." Aro's face was grim.

Marcus reached into his pocket and pulled out the red jeweled cross. Marcus almost smiled as he held it up. "I have this."

Aro nodded, "You need one object for each oracle."

Marcus' shoulders sank down as he let out a breath. So close. He was so close to getting back Didyme and now Aro was telling him this? He thought of the violin that she had played but it did not belong to her, it belonged to Aro. Marcus had nothing else left that belonged to her. He rubbed the cross in his hand and felt utter despair because it was not enough.