5. EGYPT
When Marcus and Corin made their way back into the city Manaus after another long day of trekking through the Amazon rainforest, they decided that they needed to feed before embarking on the next trip. However, Marcus had not hunted for centuries. Heidi had always been the one to bring his meals to him.
"Do you want me to paralyze someone and bring them back for you, my lord?" Corin offered.
Marcus shook his head. "No, no. I am no longer a part of the Volturi so I may as well start hunting for myself."
They decided to go into the slums and find some homeless people. They were better victims because no one would miss them and come looking for them. Even though it had been a long time for Marcus, he killed with ease. It was just in his nature.
When they had finished feeding they got back on their private jet and headed for Egypt. It was a long flight and night had cycled back to them once again. On the flight Marcus pulled out the tray table from the side of his leather seat so that it sat across his lap. Then he emptied the contents of his pocket on it: a red jeweled cross, a diamond ring, and the blue stone. The overhead light was on giving all the objects an added glow.
Marcus handled the blue stone as he examined it. It was a shame that he couldn't have brought the child Ishmael with him to track down the other two stones. But the Amazons had been generous enough and he didn't want to push his luck with them.
He set down the stone and then examined the red jeweled cross. He had every inch of it memorized from staring at it so long over all the years. He could still remember the way it looked wrapped around Didyme's neck. He set that back down and then picked up the diamond ring.
He could barely remember his mother wearing it when she was alive. Those memories were all but lost to him now, just cloudy images. He remembered more perfectly going back for her funeral after he'd already been turned into a vampire. That was when he took the ring from her finger. Then of course he would meet Didyme later and give it to her as an engagement ring. They had so much promise ahead of them before Aro destroyed it all. This was now Marcus' chance to make everything right again. He needed this.
Marcus put everything back into his pocket and set the tray table aside. He was about to reach up to turn off the overhead light but then caught a glimpse of his reflection in the window. He leaned in closer but it was difficult to see himself clearly. He got up and went into the small bathroom. He had actually never been in it before since vampires don't need bathrooms.
He flipped on the light and leaned into the mirror, studying his reflection closely. The milkyness of his red eyes seemed to have retreated to just the border of his irises. It seemed as though they were beginning to turn to a clear red again. He raised his hand and ran it across the skin of his cheek. It still had a papery texture to it but not nearly as brittle as it had once been. He understood the reason for these changes. It was because he was being active again, hunting for his own food and all the traveling and running they'd been doing lately certainly had an impact. He remembered how the Romanians, Stefan and Vladimir, had returned to normal after becoming mobile again. It was an added bonus to leaving the Volturi.
Several hours later and after a couple of stops to refuel, they finally landed in Aswan, Egypt. They switched planes and left their nice private jet for a smaller aircraft that could land anywhere in the desert. They flew over the Nile River in search of Amun and the rest of his coven. Again, Marcus put out a search for strong bonds. It would have been much easier and faster if Demetri had been with them to help track them down. There were a few perks that Marcus would miss about the Volturi.
After a while Marcus could feel the strength of bonds between a coven and mates very close. Corin landed the plane and they got out to search more thoroughly. They stood next to some large boulders.
"I don't understand; I can feel it right here." Marcus said, looking around but not seeing another person in sight.
Corin looked puzzled as well. Then he had an idea. He walked over to the boulders and started to roll one on its side out of the way. Behind the large rock was revealed an entrance down into a dark staircase.
"Guess this is it?" Corin said with a smirk.
Marcus followed Corin down into the dark underground tomb. It finally leveled off into a long hallway that was lit with torches on either side. Marcus could smell the Egyptian coven and knew that he was in the right place. It wasn't long before they could smell them as well. Amun stepped into the hallway blocking them off.
"Marcus! What are you doing here?" He had a mixture of fear and anger on his face. "Is this about the Cullen's?"
"No Amun, I assure you, we come in peace." Marcus insisted. "May we visit with you for a moment?"
Amun was hesitant and suspicious. "Very well. Follow me." He led them into another room of the tomb and Kebi soon joined them. She stood by Amun's side yet never spoke a word. She knew her place and Amun liked that about her.
Marcus knew that he would have to play his cards right with Amun. The only reason he respected Marcus at all was because he was a leader of the Volturi. Marcus knew that it would be unwise to admit that he no longer had that kind of power.
"So Marcus, what can I do for you today?" Amun asked.
"Well, Corin and I have been sent here on errand from Aro." Marcus lied.
Amun rubbed his chin. "Is that so?"
"Yes. It seems that there is an object in your tomb that Aro would like for us to bring back to him. The ancient pharaoh whose body rests here collected it centuries ago. Could you be so kind as to allow us to take it back with us?" Marcus asked.
"Why yes, of course. What's mine is yours." Amun said the words but he didn't really mean them, especially concerning Benjamin. That was his most prized possession of all. "But may I ask, why has Aro sent you? Don't you have a team of guards for this sort of thing?"
Marcus smiled. "Yes but I insisted that I participate in this journey. I have always wanted to see your home."
Amun forced a fake smile. "Well I'm honored. However, I can't seem to get passed how different you've become, Marcus. I don't believe I've ever known you to be much of a conversationalist."
Marcus now realized that he should have let Corin do the talking for him. "Well, people change."
Amun smiled. "Yes, people do. Vampires don't."
Marcus shifted uncomfortably. "May we go retrieve the object now? Aro will be waiting."
Amun nodded, noticing the change in conversation. "Yes, can you tell me exactly what it is that you're looking for?"
Marcus shot a sideways glance at Corin. "A type of stone. I'll know it when I see it."
Amun nodded again. "Alright, follow me."
The four of them went back into the long hallway and followed it to the end. They turned a corner and Benjamin and Tia came into view. Benjamin was sitting on the ground with a back against the wall playing with a ball of fire in his hands. He used his other hand to circulate droplets of water around the flame, like planets rotating around the sun. Tia greeted them first.
"Hello." She said in her Egyptian accent. She twirled a strand of her hair that was wrapped in gold thread between her fingers.
"Hello." Amun said back to her. Then he turned to Marcus. "Benjamin is practicing controlling more than one element at the same time." He said it proudly, like a father would.
The group walked passed Benjamin and he just looked up and smiled at them. Eventually Amun led them into a treasure room. It was where all the ancient items that were precious to the pharaoh were kept.
The room had different chambers and compartments to it. Amun and Kebi stood by as Corin and Marcus began searching through the trove. Marcus was surprised that the Egyptian coven had been able to keep all of this still hidden from the world. Then again, they were vampires and probably killed any archaeologist that came close to stumbling upon this place.
Finally, Corin walked into a smaller room with a golden statue of the Egyptian god Anubis. Even though it was the largest item in the room, it was not the thing that caught his eye. Lower to the ground was a small statue of an Egyptian holding a large green stone above his head. The stone was the same shape and size of the blue one found in the Amazon with about the same clarity to it.
"Marcus," Corin said, "I think I've found it."
Within an instant Marcus was by his side. He picked up the small golden statue and admired the beautiful green stone. "This is it."
"So you've found what you're looking for then?" Amun asked, cocking his head to the side trying to get a better look at the item.
"Yes Amun. Thank you very much." Marcus said. "Aro will not soon forget your kindness."
Amun forced that same fake smile again. "Nor will I."
Marcus and Corin quickly said their goodbye's and went down the long hall heading back for the staircase. As they began to ascend, they could hear a cell phone ringing.
Amun waved good bye to them and went to answer the phone that Carlisle had given him. The Cullen's had insisted that everyone take a cell phone with them so that if they ever needed to be contacted again for such an emergency as what had just happened with Renesmee, they could be reached more easily than having to be tracked down across the world.
Amun flipped the small black phone open. "Hello?"
"Hello Amun, how are you?" It was Carlisle.
"Fine, and you?" Amun really wasn't one for pleasantries but he played along.
"Just fine." Carlisle responded.
"So what's the emergency this time?" Amun asked flatly.
Carlisle chuckled. "Well it's not really an emergency. Alice had a vision and we just wanted to share the news with everyone else. I hope you don't mind."
"No not at all! What is it? Is it something to do with Benjamin?" Amun was beginning to feel concerned while Kebi stood quietly at his side.
"Oh no, nothing like that. There have just been some recent developments in Volterra."
Amun shot a glance back up the staircase where Marcus and Corin had just left. "What happened?"
"Well it seems that Marcus has left the Volturi. Now the only leaders are Aro and Caius and their wives."
Amun dropped the phone before he heard another word. "BENJAMIN! STOP THEM!"
The Egyptian coven raced up the staircase just in time to see Marcus' small plane taking off. Benjamin sucked in a deep breath and flexed his arms as he pulled them inward towards himself. He then forced out a hard breath while pushing his hands out at the same time towards the airplane. Suddenly a heavy gust of wind filled with the sand from the desert crashed into the plane making the engines stutter on both wings. Alarms in the aircraft started to sound and Corin frantically tried to pull the plane up and out of the sand storm. His efforts were useless.
Corin's jaw flexed as he shouted "Hang on Marcus! We're going to crash!"
