Chapter Twenty Three

Marcus

I had warned Aro that The Major was a two edged sword and he had waved away my words dismissively but he finally had to admit I had been right. We may hold the most dangerous weapon in our world but it could also cut us and it had done so more than once. The trouble with having the best or worst of anything was that there was always someone who thought they were better or worse and had to try proving it.

Our problem was that the ones wanting to prove this were members of our own guard and each time they failed it meant one less to serve us. Every time The Major was called to be given his next assignment we held our breath to see if he would appear to get them in person because every time he appeared in Volterra another guard met his death. You would think they would learn by others mistakes but it seemed not.

This time Caius and I tried to insist The Major either got his orders by telegram, post, or messenger.

"Aro, we can't afford to lose any more of the guard and I hear mutterings that Alex thinks he can beat The Major. The boy has no common sense or idea of self preservation at all. The only way to win is in a fair fight or it doesn't count and his gift needs time to build up. While its doing so The Major would have his limbs removed and burned and his eyes plucked out. What good would Alex be to us then?"

Aro wasn't happy, he seemed to enjoy strolling round the citadel with the attack dog pacing at his side but after losing Santiago he was forced to agree to our demand, especially when backed by Felix who was heartily tired of training new members of the guard. But he said with a smile,

"I'll leave it to you dear brothers to give The Major the good news."

Trust Aro to delegate something he thought highly dangerous! Caius and I exchanged wary glances and Aro barked a laugh,

"I thought that might have you stop and think. Brothers, The Major doesn't visit often and if he weeds out fools and simpletons we should be thankful to him. Now come lets give him his next job and you can watch him leave with relief."

We found The Major in the room he always had when he came, at the top of the guest tower at the very end. It was small and dark but he never seemed to mind, perhaps he felt comfortable here, away from the rooms he had occupied on his first visit. Somehow when he was in residence there was an air of menace about the tower, in fact unease ran through the whole building until he left again.

I had a hunch that he used the emotions of others, manipulated them in order to throw his targets off guard. I'd tried listening to his thoughts twice. The first time when he first arrived when all I really got was his hatred of our species and the reason for it along with his pride and determination. The second time had been more troubling, for me. Taking his hand I had found myself in a cold dark place full of dread and rage and the thoughts I read, the memories were so horrific that I was glad to break free. There was nothing inside The Major of the human he had once been. Courage had turned to complete confidence, fear to indifference, humanity? Well that was missing altogether. There wasn't a single spark of compassion or love left in him, he truly was the ultimate weapon.

He knew my brothers were wary of him and treated them with contempt only acknowledging me.

"You have my orders Aro?"

"I do, Maria has stepped out of line. I want her removed permanently."

He nodded,

"Consider it done. What about Pedro? I could deal with both at the same time."

"No he is still useful to us, he keeps the southern covens in check."

"I could do that for you, just torture and kill the leaders, the followers will soon run with their tails between their legs like the curs they are."

His total indifference to life and death made even me feel a cold dread and I almost shivered.

He left with a cold smile and we knew that Maria would soon be destroyed and any of her followers that The Major considered to be a threat to Pedro. Not that he cared about Pedro but he was nothing if not thorough.

"You know there's going to come a time when he turns on us Aro."

I smiled at Marcus,

"Brother please, so long as he has tasks he will remain faithful but if we should find him wavering in his loyalty then we will take action to prevent it."

"Really? Such as?"

"Oh don't worry, I have it all under control."

Actually that was a lie but what I did have was a plan to save myself. If it became necessary I would merely hand him the names of my brothers, Marcus and Caius, along with Athenadora. The Major would be only too pleased to take them out, especially Caius and he knew I would always look after his needs. He was a killer who needed a purpose and I gave him that.

I wondered why he was so interested in the Cullens, they had never been on his radar. Was he correct? Would I hand him Carlisle's name one day? I couldn't see such an eventuality, I valued our friendship too much for that but then The Major knew nothing about love and friendship. Thinking about it that wasn't entirely true, he had mended fences with his friend Peter, they were like brothers which was interesting. Peter never came to Volterra with him, he stayed with the other members of the team until they found out their next task when they would travel to meet him. Peter was his only weakness, his Achilles heel although I couldn't answer the question, Would he be prepared to kill his only friend if ordered to do so and would the same apply to Peter? It was an intriguing question but for now merely academic.

A more pressing concern was the girl Alice and I knew Marcus wanted to speak to me about her so we went back to my study while Caius went for a walk, what he was really doing was to make sure that The Major had really left the building.

"Well Marcus what is it now?"

"I'm uneasy leaving the girl Alice with the Cullens. I know Carlisle is your friend Aro but he isn't exactly the best man to be looking after a potential gift.

"You heard Eleazar, Alice's gift is suspect, she isn't reliable."

"I heard but Eleazar and Carlisle are friends and Carlisle has already kept one valuable gift from you. Who is to say he wont do it again?"

"It was Edward's decision not Carlisle's Marcus and should the need ever arise I am confident that Carlisle would persuade Edward to aid us."

"Well, if you are sure I suppose there's nothing more to be said but don't say I didn't warn you Aro."

I shook my head, I'd never been wrong before in summing people up and I wasn't now. Marcus always looked on Carlisle with suspicion because he held certain rather unusual beliefs and because he was my friend. As for Caius, well he hated the Cullens for much the same reason but at the moment he was in a more foul temper than usual because he'd seen The Major. Sometimes I thought they were like two small children, sulking when they couldn't get their own way.