Chapter 136

Chloe

The Gods were with us or so it seemed, there was a tail wind and our flight landed early, the car was waiting ready and the roads were almost devoid of other traffic. As we drove Charlie grilled me about what I knew of the plan and I told him the little I was privy to.

"I left Greece before the final plans were drawn up. All I know is that they have a mole in the citadel so whatever Darius and the others dream up for defense is likely to reach the Romanians ears. I did hear that one group would be infiltrating the citadel from old tunnels underground although where the tunnels come out I'm not sure but one I think might have an exit close to the wives tower. Savannah will ensure we are at a disadvantage by nullifying Jane our most powerful weapon. You were the only one we were scared of and that's why you were targeted in the first place."

He nodded,

"And you are sure I won't be affected by this Savannah?"

"Ninety-nine percent sure yes. Your shield is a physical, not mental power and she only affects mind tricks."

"So as soon as I reach the citadel I can deploy it and once we let the others know we are here they can use their gifts?"

"Yes, but how far out can you reach?"

"You know something Chloe, I have no idea, I never really experimented with it, but I guess we're about to find out. Look, there's smoke rising from the town, the fights already started."

"They must have brought their timetable forward. Can't you go any faster?"

Charlie

I put my foot to the floor and the engine snarled, the car leaped forward and I prayed the smoke wasn't a sign we were too late. Reaching the town walls we could see hand to hand fighting. Two guards I recognized were being attacked by at least twice their number of the enemy so I brought the car to a skidding halt and we jumped out. I used my shield to cover our two men giving them some respite and tightened it quickly to crush their assailants. I could see and hear that the town was deserted and decided the council had come up with a story to clear the humans out of harm's way which meant they had some warning of the attack beforehand. Which was why Darius had asked The Major to return to Volterra to help them.

Releasing the Volturi guard they explained what was happening and we left them to make sure no one else tried to get in and ran on to the citadel to find more fighting, this time I recognized a lot of those involved and realized I couldn't use my shield offensively without harming our own people. All I could do was to get to the citadel and attempt to cover the entire building hoping that Jane would feel the change and try using her gift.

Once inside having dodged the various skirmishes I sent my shield out and then we followed the sounds of more combat to find Felix and others fighting a mixed group that had to comprise of the sisters and the Romanians. Chloe grabbed my arm.

"See the guy fighting with Athena and Chelsea. That's Savannah's mate. If we can kill him then she won't be able to concentrate on her gift."

Before I could answer her I heard one of the women call her name and Chloe sped into battle. I wanted to stay with her but it seemed Felix group were gaining the upper hand so with a gesture from Jane letting me know that she at least had understood the significance of my presence I ran on towards the audience chamber, the sounds of bitter fighting loud in my ears. I hadn't seen The major or Bella yet and I was afraid I might be too late to help them. Then I came across the first dismembered body then, not someone I recognized but I kicked the body parts to slow his reassembly and ran on.

As I skidded to a halt, the chamber doors laying at odd angles having been forced open, I caught my first glimpse of Bella. She was with Rosalie and Alice fighting off a group of black-cloaked women who seemed determined to kill them. Looking around I saw The major and Darius knee deep in body parts and still fighting, both wounded but not disabled. A scream from the girls made me whirl around and I saw Alice in one of the women's grasp, her teeth biting into Alice's neck while Graeson fought to reach her side through what seemed like a room full of the enemy. He couldn't use his gift without permanently damaging both friend and foe and I could see the frustration and fear on his face. Checking that there was no one focused on me I made my shield bulge inwards to force its way between Alice and her attacker who seemed to be pushed away by some invisible entity. Rose grabbed the girl and Bella ripped her head from her shoulders with effort and threw it high above the heads to crash down somewhere the other side of the chamber.

I spotted Stefan, one of the leaders with a tall blonde who could only be Savannah, She understood something was wrong, perhaps she could feel her gift was no longer working and she tried to warn Stefan but he was more interested in reaching Darius and The Major so as she tried to work her way free of the crush I made my way over to intercept her. Her eyes narrowed as she saw me,

"You're the one who is stopping me. I thought you were gone."

"Well, I got homesick and decided to come home, just in time or so it would seem."

She launched herself at me, teeth snapping and nails clawing and we went down tripping over body parts that were scattered all around us. The girl was tougher than she looked and half my mind was concentrating on keeping my shield up so I received several nasty bites before I got the upper hand. Deciding Bella's tactics had much to commend I grabbed her by the throat and ripped her head off which wasn't as easy as I had expected.

As I turned scanning the room for Bella, I heard her scream and saw The majors head whip round. Bella was on the ground with two females standing over her, one holding a lit match. I was about to act when I saw that Bella wasn't screaming for herself but for her mate as Stefan who had been using the balcony to swing over the heads of the other fighters dropped onto The Major's shoulders as he finished off another assailant, knocking him to the ground only to be joined by three more of the Romanian guard eager for this special kill. There would be a lot of kudos for the man who killed The Major.

"Charlie please, save him."

I was torn, but I knew if I let Stefan and the others kill her mate Bella would never forgive me. Deciding I couldn't let that happen, I pulled my shield close around him dragging him free of the tangle of limbs to safety. There was a sudden silence as a girl's scream filled the chamber which along with the scent of burning vampire flesh made me sick to my stomach.

Bella was dead and it was down to me. I should have saved her, my own daughter, not The Major. Yet I'd had no choice, she would have hated me for all eternity if I had saved her and let him die. Anyway, if he had died she would have soon followed him as her mate. So would he do the same and make my decision useless after all?