AN: Hello my dear readers!
A quick note for this and all future chapters: I'm just writing for fun whatever comes to me at the time. I'm not a historian and I admit I'm not taking more time to research details of ancient history or Twilight timeline events any more than what google can tell me in five minutes.
Also, English is no t my mother tongue and auto correct switches between American and British English depending on which PC I'm writing. I'm trying to keep things consistent and error free but I'm not one of those authors who will go back and correct things once a chapter has been kicked off the download manager.
So there may be some mistakes here and there both in language and in content. I mean, it is just a fanfiction ;-)
Many thanks to the lovely guests commenting on my past chapters. Here's your treat!
Chapter 3 - The prophecy
Demetri tried very hard not to think about the large grin Aro would sport when he next read his mind and witnessed Demetri doing something so utterly ridiculous as trying out coffins. He would never live that down, ever. Which was of course exactly why Bartholomew had suggested this kind of story. The mere thought of actually having to spend an entire day in that purple monstrosity had him gagging in disgust. When Claire had closed the lid above him, he'd felt like he was trapped in a giant vagina. Unfortunately he had to admit that it would still be preferable to having no space to even turn his head.
He let out a breath of relief when they were finally out of that cursed building. Claire obviously thought all of this should be perfectly normal for him, which meant he too had to act like it was. Curse Bartholomew and his stupid lies!
Demetri stole a glance at his temporary companion. Once thing he had to admit though, Claire really was thorough in her job. He'd almost brought her act of a grieving sister himself. Her tone of voice, body language, the very real (if onion-induced) tears she cried - if he hadn't known better, he would've believed everything about it to be genuine. It was impressive. It also made her sudden change of behavior once they were alone all the more jarring. Despite how morbid and deceptive the role she was to play was, Claire seemed to actually enjoy it. She was in high spirits when they finished the purchase and was humming along to the music played in the radio as she drove. For a vampire slave she was remarkably... happy.
It annoyed him. But also, the sight of her smile lit a tiny flame of happiness in his chest.
Neither of those emotions made any sense whatsoever.
"What does your name mean?" he asked her suddenly as they were driving through the city.
"Huh?" she made, only giving him half her attention as she stopped at a red light.
"You know the meaning of my name. What does yours mean? Claire Renfield, that is not your given name, is it?" he clarified.
"Renfield is what my Master calls me, it's more of a job description than a name", she replied freely. "I do use it as an alias though and an alias needs a first name too so I just picked out a random one that I thought of in the moment. I like it though. It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"
"It's not your real name though. What are you actually called?" he wanted to know.
Claire didn't answer. She merely concentrated on the street.
"Tell me", he demanded again.
"It has become my real name. It is my real name as far as all vampires are concerned. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude. You told me your real name, which I appreciate. But my name and my uniform go together. You're a client and I'm a professional so I will remain Renfield for you." More quietly she added: "Not even my Master knows my real name."
He found that very hard to believe.
"You've been working for him for how many years? And he doesn't even know your name?"
She shrugged. "He's never asked. He told me I was to be named Renfield when I worked with him. I mean, we do have a front contract that lists my actual name so it's not like he couldn't find out if he wanted to but I honestly doubt he ever bothered to read it. It was drawn up by his lawyer with a blank I had to fill in and he's never shown any interest in what I do in my free time or what I did before or anything personal like that."
Something within Demetri immediately saw a challenge, latched onto it and swore to overcome it. He would learn her real name. No, he would make her tell him her real name. Something precious and personal that she held dear, something that Bartholomew had not yet taken from her.
He wanted to know what she did in her free time. He wanted to know what she did before. He wanted to know who she was if she wasn't Renfield.
But he couldn't ask her, not now, not with the boundaries she'd outlined so clearly for him.
So instead he changed tactics and he did something he rarely ever did: He started telling her about himself, trying to encourage her to do the same.
"I haven't changed my name in nearly three hundred years. Even when I do I always use variations. I believe a name is important, it reminds us of our roots."
"Another reason not to use my given one", she muttered.
"You are not proud of your origin?" he guessed.
"I..." She shook her head but it was a dismissal of his question rather than an answer to it. "I don't want to talk about it."
"I was born in Greece, 1061. Back then it was part of the Roman Empire. All empires come and go of course but the Roman one was truly great and I am proud to have been a part of it." He smirked as he saw Claire's incredulous and suitably impressed stare.
"You've grown up in the Ancient Roman Empire!?"
"I sure did", he confirmed, grinning.
That seemed to excite her. "Where you a legionary?"
"Of course. It was basically a requirement for every young man of a certain status to serve in the military."
"That's wicked. Did you fight any Germani?"
He chuckled, happy to have found a subject in which he didn't have to watch out for any lies to have to tell her.
"Technically today you'd say we belonged to the Byzantine Empire - that was around 1000 AD - but people still called themselves Roman. We fought the Normans more than the Germani."
"1000AD... " Claire echoed incredulously. "Wait you said Normans - you mean those folks we now call vikings?"
"Normans back then just meant anyone coming from the North. But yes, I had a couple of battles with the plunderers threatening our shores."
Claire's gaze was fixed on the road but she didn't seem to see it at all.
"You're a Roman legionary and fought against vikings. That's... That's pretty darn cool."
"Every century writes its own history. Just look at the most recent one. Two world wars. The moon landing. Colored movies. Every era leaves its marks that it will be remembered for", Demetri mused. "Even in your own, limited mortal lifespan you will witness history being written."
"Yeah I will", Claire mused. She sounded subdued though. "I'm going to witness it. I may even get a first row seat for some of it. But... that's not the case for you, is it?"
Demetri tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
"I mean..." She flushed red and her heart was beating faster. "Oh, forget it."
"No, tell me", he demanded.
She shook her head. "It's nothing."
The Volturi gave a small growl. He didn't like how she was pulling away.
"It's not nothing if it's bothering you", he insisted.
She gave him a sideways glance and sighed. "No, I just thought...well... You have to always stay in the shadows, only come out at night. All the history today, it's happening without you. I mean, it's stupid. I'm probably never going to take part in any truly important historic events either. The most I could boast is seeing it on live TV, just like you. But, you know, there's always a chance, if I'm at the right place at the right time... But not for you. You're not part of human history any longer."
Demetri raised an eyebrow and leaned back. "That's not true." He said it with utter conviction for it was just a fact. It bothered him that Claire would think so negatively of immortality. She almost sounded as if she pitied him, which was utterly ridiculously. His existence was so much richer than hers.
"Do you honestly believe no vampire ever interfered in politics? Never used the wealth of centuries to support a particular cause or chose a really annoying king as their next meal? You think a scientist or inventor or author who gets turned simply stops following their passions and curiosity? Of course not. We may have to use an alias or give credit for our actions to a mortal but we do still influence this world. You think we would just stand by and watch when human countries amass weapons of mass destruction that could destroy the planet we have to share with them? If it weren't for us, humanity would've destroyed itself ten times over in just the last five decades."
Claire hit the brakes and the car came to an abrupt halt at the side of the road. She looked at him aghast, her eyes wide.
"Are you serious?"
He blinked at her, confused at her strong reaction. "Of course. A single human life - or even a hundred thousand lives - may be of no consequence to us. But we can hardly allow your entire kind to die out. You are our primary food source."
"Do you mean to tell me that vampires had a hand in preventing World War III?!"
"Let's just say my colleagues and I had to work quite a bit of overtime in October of '62."
Demetri smiled wryly when he thought back on how busy they'd all been during that time. It was the second time in that century that the three kings had left Volterra to become active themselves. The first had been during Italy's involvement in the Second World War, which had already been thought to be a unique case. But during that particular crisis, Aro spend months going in and out of the Kreml while Caius lead a second team in Washington. Quite a few times they'd been so close to just taking out both governments, or even to reveal themselves and threaten them into compliance. However, in the end the mood alterations of Heidi and Corin, a number of top secret information leaked through Aro into the right hands and a few targeted kidnappings of close family members of important decision makers had been enough to influence negotiations in everyone's favor.
With his gift Demetri could find any person or object so long as he had encountered them before - or encountered someone who had encountered them before. He could pinpoint their exact location and coordinates and if he kept that mental cord strummed, would know immediately if they so much as moved a single inch. But even with his vampiric mind, keeping track of over 150 nuclear bombs in both Turkey and Cuba at the same time, all the time, for almost an entire year, had required an extraordinary amount of concentration and nerves.
"You've got to tell me about that", Claire insisted, eyes gleaming. "Do vampires actually have a secret world government? Are you a part of it? Oh my god, are you an Illuminati?!"
Demetri found himself smiling at her excitement and flattered by the rapt attention she paid him. So he told her. The existence of the Volturi would not necessarily conflict with Bartholomew's tales and it was all common knowledge among his kind. Plus they had several hours of driving ahead of them.
Claire was a great listener. She oh'd and ah'd at all the right points. Her curiosity and awe seemed never ending. Demetri told her tales of various vampire interferences in human history, spoke of his own exploits over the centuries and even a few personal anecdotes of his with his coven members. As good as it felt to impress her, he never revealed more than the Volturi's enemies already knew about them. He spoke none of their supernatural abilities and he bend the truth where it collided with the lies she believed about his kind.
It wasn't until hours later when Claire grew tired and pulled onto a parking lot to get some sleep that he noticed how much time had passed. Demetri wasn't usually a talkative person and yet he'd entertained the human female for hours, getting lost in his own past and her excited encouragement. His initial goal of coaxing some personal information about herself out of the woman had been lost on the road many miles ago. Her presence was exciting and soothing at once.
Demetri was reminded of her role again when Claire prepped the van for the night. She rolled out a sleeping bag for herself in the back and showed him how she connected all the electronic equipment to her phone. She made sure he could feel safe during the day as she went over her traveling routine and her many precautions. She told him about seven times when the sun would rise and he had to be in his coffin. In the end he lost his temper with her, sick of being treated like a child. He grabbed her by the hair of her ponytail, his other hand gently closed around her throat as he pressed her against the van.
"Stop your incessant babbling, woman! I am not a child, I am over a millennium old. Do not presume I would be destroyed so easily or that I cannot judge when there's danger for me."
"I... I'm sorry", she said quietly. Demetri was disconcerted to notice she sounded hurt rather than scared. "I just... It's my responsibility to guard you during the day. You... You've had an amazing life. I just want to make sure I'm doing everything I can to make sure it doesn't end on my watch. Of course you are powerful and everything but it would still only take a single sunbeam to... I just want to be careful."
Demetri's hand wandered from her throat to her shoulder. Her words stirred something inside of him, something dark and powerful. It was so ridiculous that she worried for him so. It would be so easy to clear up this misunderstanding too. But if he told her, that would be her death one way or the other. Anger and impatience warred within him. He wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her all about himself and he wanted to know all about her. She worried for him and that was even a little bit touching but mostly it was just frustrating because he was still lying to her.
"Oh you cursed woman", he growled and before either of them realized what was happening his body surged forward. He pressed her close, chest against chest, his nose buried in her hair, his lips against her neck, his arms entrapping her intimately, possessively. He'd never wanted to bite down in a human neck so badly without feeling even the slightest desire for the blood to fill his mouth.
"D-Demetri?" Claire whispered and now she did sound scared. "Please, I only donated a few days ago. You're not... We had a deal, remember? I belong to my Master!"
Demetri let go of her as if he'd been burned, though he remained standing close with one arm against the van behind her, trapping her.
"You don't belong to anybody! Stop saying it like that!" he snarled.
Claire's heart was racing. She gazed at him with fear and he hated it. He much preferred her adoration.
"Okay", she whispered hoarsely. Demetri felt an overwhelming need to wring the neck of that annoying vampire that had filled her head with all those misconceptions. But he couldn't let her see his bloodlust. She was scared enough as it was.
Abruptly Demetri turned away from her.
"Go to sleep. I will see you again in the evening."
Claire stumbled away and into the van and Demetri's heart felt empty as he noticed how she couldn't get away from him fast enough. He cursed in Italian and wanted to punch something but held himself back.
Why was this woman rattling him so? He wanted to be open with her. He wanted her to see the real him. He wanted to know about her too and yet whenever he asked she would avoid to answer and somehow turn the question around to get him talking about something else again. Why did she insist on being so distant? He didn't want her to be distant. He wanted her to be close.
Entirely unbidden, Demetri's thoughts turned dirty as he imagined just how close he wanted this female to be. He'd noticed her shapely form before but now for the first time he felt the need to explore that too. His perfect memory remembered every curve and muscle of her body as she was pressed against him. His dead body stirred in response to his heated desire and Demetri staggered under the realization of his own want. A want for a human, not one of his kind.
He could hear her racing heart, smell her delicious blood, see her shadow as she rummaged in the vehicle behind him, getting ready to sleep. He strummed the cord of her presence in his mind almost automatically, reassuring himself that she was nearby if out of sight, even though he hardly needed his gift to know where she was. He wanted to curl up behind her, her deliciously warm body pressed against his. He wanted her lips to trail kisses down his chest, wanted her soft hands to explore his body with the same adoring excitement as she had explored his life's history. He longed to be buried within her with both his fangs and his manhood, to claim her and make her his for eternity.
"By the gods", Demetri whispered. He sunk down to the ground, sitting on the asphalt with his back leaned against the van. He buried his head in his hands as he struggled with the emotions that build within him the longer he allowed his thoughts to linger on the maddening female. In one thousand years, he had never felt this level of want, this much desire for a single person. He was no stranger to lust and he could get lonely but it was only ever a distant buzz in the back of his head. It was never... like this.
He wondered if this was it. Was this what Chelsea had felt when she first saw Afton, right before snipping him of every bond he'd ever build so he could be hers and only hers forever? Was this what Caius felt for Athenodora, what turned the fearsome and constantly irritable king into a meek yes-man whenever his wife demanded his attention? Was this what made Sulpicia forgive all of Aro's antics and little courting pranks the moment he smiled at her just so?
...was this what Marcus mourned every second of every day for the last three thousand years?
The intensity of his own feelings scared him. This fragile human female intrigued and drew him in. But maybe it was time to take a step back. Maybe he should leave and distance himself before he got lost and bound himself forever to a fragile mortal being he knew next to nothing about.
But he didn't want to leave. He really, really didn't.
Demetri closed his eyes and focused on Claire's slowing heartbeat as she drifted off to sleep. Two more days, he decided. He'd complete his journey with her as planned and he'd deliver her back to Bartholomew as promised. Two more days until he'd leave and forget about her. Two days to satisfy his curiosity and move on.
Demetri spend the remainder of the night scheming and thinking of ways to get through to the woman not named Claire. When the sun started to peak over the horizon he reluctantly retreated into that horrid coffin. There he lay, for hours, wide awake and separated from the woman by only a few inches and one solid wooden barrier. He listened to her even breaths and heartbeat and imagined the wood to be gone and her fragile body surrounded by his arms as he held her.
XxX
Ria woke up feeling stiff and sore and missing her pillow. It was just past twelve o'clock and the sun stood high in the sky. Her gaze fell on the coffin next to her and she felt weird knowing Demetri was sleeping inside. At least she dearly hoped he was, she hadn't been awake to hear him settle in. The vampire had been in a strange mood the previous evening. She'd been utterly fascinated by the stories he told her thorough the night and glad too, seeing as it kept her awake during the long drive. But Demetri seemed to be hugely sensitive when it came to the obvious weak spots of his nature. She couldn't understand why. He was over a millennium old. Surely he must be used to working around his limitations and accepting the things he could not do? Yet despite having hired her for just that reason, he seemed to despise needing her help for anything.
Ria shuddered when she remembered what she was sure was him almost biting her. Learning more about him had only served to heighten her fear of a creature so much older, more experienced and powerful than her being so close. She'd been trapped, his fangs already at her throat and she knew he'd wanted to taste her in that moment. Unlike with her Master though, this was a vampire she didn't truly know. A couple of hours stuck in a van together was hardly enough time to make her feel as safe around him as she felt with Balthazar. Even when her Master drank from her, she knew that he would stop before it was too much, even if he wasn't yet satisfied himself. She trusted him with her life.
With Demetri it was different. He was somehow wilder, more raw, untamed. He was a predator who only wore the mask of humanity when it was convenient for him. Sometimes, that mask slipped and she caught a glance behind it. She'd thought him dangerous even before he told her that he was a member of what where essentially vampire Illuminati. Volturi, that's what he'd called his coven. They guided human politics plenty from the shadows, though they rarely interfered directly. Most of their concerns involved things like camera surveillance or putting an end to prohibition to get better access to easy targets. Occasionally they put an end to vampiric territory fights that got out of hand. She assumed they must also keep an eye on any organized vampire hunters or maybe even purposefully hunt them down. But when she'd asked about it Demetri had blocked her questions, merely stating that he didn't want to talk about it. Which was fair she supposed; after all Ria was still human. With how self-conscious he was about the whole coffin and sunlight thing, it didn't surprise her that he didn't want to talk about any dealings he might've had with hunters.
Ria pulled out her phone and checked the camera recordings of the morning. Satisfied that it showed Demetri entering his coffin and no other activity while she was asleep, Ria packed up her sleeping bag and changed into her pantsuit so she'd look the part of a funerary employee. She'd parked in the outskirts of Seattle near a gas station. Now she drove drove up to the gas station proper, filled the tank and entered the station to do some morning cleanup and buy a few crackers for breakfast. She took both her phone and her gun with her, which got her some weird looks but she ignored them.
Only fifteen minutes later she was back on the road and on her way through the city. Suddenly her phone rang. She had selected that specific ringtone ("Forsaken" from "Queen of the Damned") for Demetri so she immediately stopped at the side of the road and answered it.
"Demetri? What's wrong?" she asked.
"You have to go and find a basement garage or something. Now!" Demetri ordered her harshly.
"It's the middle of the day - you can't mean to come out!" she protested. "Why are you even awake at this time?"
"Look, I don't have time to explain it. My targets have scattered and are moving in all directions and two of them are coming straight at us. They'll be upon us in less than half an hour. I have to leave this blasted thing to meet them!"
It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him how he knew that. But she was a Renfield, she had years of experience not asking questions. So she merely told him she'd find a spot.
Her heart was beating so fast. It was only after she ended the call that she wondered who Demetri's targets could be. But it was obvious when she thought about it. Vampire hunters.
Of course, it couldn't be other vampires because it was the middle of the day. Demetri was not in the habit of working with humans himself. That only left hunters. If his coven concerned itself with protecting vampire kind then obviously taking out hunters whether they found them would be part of his job.
She'd been ferrying him across the country so he could go and strike back on those that would harm him. Humans. Who were now coming at him. And she was right in the middle of it.
Ria swallowed hard. In a few minutes she would either witness Demetri murder someone or she would need to make use of her gun to defend and if necessary kill another human being to protect him. She had no idea just how weakened he would be during the day, even out of direct sunlight. She was surprised that he was even awake and could speak without sleep slurring his speech. She'd never seen her Master while the sun was still up. Ever, in five years. She'd talked to him on the phone during the day only a small handful of times and he'd always sounded tired, grumpy and complained about the disturbance.
Ria pulled into the deepest level of an underground parking lot with thankfully no people present. When she opened the back of the van, Demetri's coffin was already open and the vampire jumped out of the car. He didn't look the least bit tired. If anything, he looked hyper aware.
Ria's hands clutching her shotgun were shaking.
"Demetri, what-"
"Your staying here!" he snapped and his tone allowed for no backtalk. "I'll be back in a moment. Stay in the car and keep your head low."
"I... I can help", she offered, raising her gun.
"Absolutely not!" he all but snarled.
"But... But that's my job!" she protested. "To take care of you during the day. Your targets, they're vampire hunters, aren't they? I don't know how they found us, I swear I kept a lookout and I didn't see anyone following us-"
"It's not-" Demetri cursed in a foreign language and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, I'll take care of it. I promise I will be in no danger whatsoever. Just stay in the car and don't get out for any reason, please."
"O-Okay", Ria made, torn between being relived at not having to fight a vampire hunter and worried that this might be the last time she saw Demetri alive.
She blinked and the vampire was suddenly right in front of her, holding her face in both of his hands as he stared into her eyes intensely. After a few moments he nodded as if satisfied that she'd follow his order and let go of her.
"Wait!" she called out without thinking and grabbed the front of his suit when he was about to pull away.
"You... You'll come back, won't you? You still haven't told me about your time in France during the French Revolution!"
He gave her a quick smile. "And I promise I will do so - later. Don't go anywhere."
She blinked again and he was gone. Ria swallowed an awfully large lump in her throat and settled into the van to wait.
XxX
Jasper Hale hurried back through the throng of people, not bothering to be gentle beyond making sure not to break any bones as he made his way back to his mate.
Alice was still sitting where he'd left her, on a bench at the luggage pickup of the Seattle Airport. She had her eyes closed but he could see them shifting rapidly under her eyelids. They snapped open only when he stood directly in front of her.
"She's gone", he said unnecessarily. "I looked everywhere but there are too many people around. I lost her scent."
Alice shook her head, tears of desperation in her eyes. "Oh Jazz... I can't find her either. I see her in that same room of mirrors together with him but I don't know where it is! If we can't find her in time, Edward will..."
She trailed off and Jasper felt a fresh wave of desperation wash over her. The former federal soldier had only been with the Cullens for a few years and while he treasured their company and the new way of life they'd taught him, he wasn't quite as affected by the prospect of loosing his new brother to the desperation only a lost mate could bring. Alice hadn't been with the Cullens any longer than him, chronologically that is. However, she had practically lived with them for years through her visions before she ever met them and she'd lived decades ahead with all of them, including Bella. They were all the family she knew and wanted. Loosing one of them, any of them, would break her heart.
"We can't give up. There are a number of places we could check for her. Maybe she went back to check on her father?"
Alice shook her head. "Esme is keeping an eye on Charlie. Carlisle is still talking to Laurent back at home. Victoria keeps changing her mind but I think that's because Rose and Emmet are on her tail."
"Edward is still following James. He won't lose him", Jasper encouraged her.
"No, he already did, five minutes ago. He just texted me. Oh Jazz, he's asking if Bella is safe, I don't know what to tell him! How could we lose her?!"
Jasper sat next to her and started rubbing calming circles on her back. Alice sobbed into his shirt and clung to him.
"She must've slipped away purposefully. It was that phone call she got back at the motel, I'm sure. Maybe he's got her thinking he has something on her. Are you sure her parents are safe?"
"Yes, yes, I checked them both! Like I said, Esme is near Charlie's house and her mother is on tour with her step-dad, they're several states away. Maybe there is someone else - a best friend back from before she came to Forks? But how would James know that if not even we do?"
Jasper had a sudden thought. "What about the Volturi?"
Alice looked at him confused. "What about him? He hasn't changed his plans, he still wants to visit Forks tonight and won't stray from that as long as Carlisle remains home."
"I know, but that's not what I meant. This Demetri. He's easily the world's best damn tracker. Way better than James."
"I don't follow", Alice admitted.
"Think about it, love", Jasper urged her. "James and Victoria keep changing their minds all the time. They must know about your ability and how it works. They are going to try to be as unpredictable as possible. Demetri could be a new factor in this, one that either side could use in their favor. If James has encountered him and somehow got him to help, he could not just track Bella and any of us but he could also find Bella's mother, regardless of how far away she is. But if we can find and convince him to help us..."
"He could tell us exactly where Bella and James are", Alice finished his sentence.
"Would that work? Can we get him to help us?" Jasper asked.
Alice' eyes glazed over again and for a few moments she was quiet.
"Oh", she made, a little surprised. "Yes, I think so."
Jasper scowled. "You think so? That's not enough Alice, you have to be sure. You know the Volturi want us for their guard. They absolutely cannot know about Bella and we cannot trade just any favor for their help. We'll have to ask him to track James without any mention of why and without owing him anything afterwards."
But Alice started to look more confident. "I saw something about him... Something in his near future that I can use. I'll have to be careful what I say. Too much and he'll become aggressive, too little and he won't help us. But I can promise him more information once we've dealt with James. He'll go for that and it will be a personal favor rather than something for the Volturi."
"Can we circumvent him entirely?" Jasper asked hopefully. "Can you see what he'll tell us about where James is once he agrees to help us?"
Alice hesitated, clearly trying but in the end shook her head. "Demetri knows how I work. He'll put off the decision on whether or not to help us or send us on a fake trail till the last second."
"So there's no telling if we can trust him even if he does agree to help."
"I'd recognize it if he lied but without even having offered the deal, the future is just too uncertain."
Jasper sighed. "It's the only chance we have then. Tell Edward Bella is fine but we think James is following us. Tell him to come here. We'll go and meet the Volturi."
Alice nodded. Together they left the airport as quickly as possible at human speeds. Alice still tried to see ahead. Bella kept changing her mind between different modes of transportation and James looked to be building up some kind of stereo setup in the mirror room. She couldn't make heads or tails of it.
Alice lead them through the city, only changing her direction once in between.
"He noticed us approaching and has selected a meeting point", she explained to Jasper.
They raced across the city in their own car, eventually pulling into a public basement garage. Demetri was already waiting for them, leaning against one of the cement columns in the otherwise abandoned garage. He looked casual but Jasper could feel how tense he was on the inside. It worried him - Alice had said that the Volturi tracker had only planned to come for a mere social call, visiting Carlisle. So long as nobody mentioned Bella he would make them no problems, she'd predicted. They wouldn't even all have to meet him. Yet now Demetri looked like he expected a confrontation.
Jasper mentally cursed. Neither him nor Alice had ever met a member of the Volturi but the others all had. Plus he knew that Eleazar had told them all about the duo and their gifts when they joined their 'extended family'. Just knowing that they existed as a part of Carlisle' coven would be enough for Demetri to pinpoint the location of all seven Cullens. He would've noticed when they all suddenly split up to go after James' coven. Without knowing the cause he might've thought it had something to do with his visit. It would look highly suspicious to him. Now that he thought about it, Jasper was surprised he hadn't confronted any of them about it yet.
Jasper considered using his gift to drain the suspicion out of him but decided against it. Demetri would be aware of what he was doing and it would only make him more difficult the moment he turned his back on him.
"Hello Demetri", he greeted the other vampire neutrally. His eyes wandered over the faint outline of battle scars barely visible on the little skin he showed in his surprisingly modern black suit. His mind immediately started to calculate their chances if things got out of hand. Demetri was one of the Volturi's frontline fighters. He was well trained and much older and more experienced than either of them. His gift was not offensive though and wouldn't give him much of an advantage in a fight. Alice and Jasper might be able to take him on together but not without risk and definitely not without injury. Of course the greatest problem with taking out the tracker was that even if they succeeded, nothing short of total surrender and borderline enslavement to their service would save them from the wrath of the Volturi.
"You must be Jasper. And the lovely Miss Alice of course. It's a pleasure", the old vampire replied with fake calmness.
"The pleasure is all ours", Alice chirped with happiness just as fake. "Actually you come at a really great time."
Demetri raised an eyebrow. "Do I now?"
"We're having a bit of a problem with a group of nomads encroaching on and hunting in our territory", Jasper explained. "We've split up to catch them but lost their trail. Alice has seen that they're going to cause major trouble for us if left alone so we have to find them."
Some of the tension left the Volturi, though none of it showed on his face.
"I see. There's a reason you're telling this to me now instead of waiting until I've had a chance to catch up with your leader, I presume?"
"Our search is kinda urgent", Alice said, somehow managing to sound like a school girl trying to cover up a prank. "So I thought hey, why not speed things up by asking the, oh what did you call him, Jazz? The best damn tracker in the whole world."
Jasper shrugged, catching her attempt at flattery. "She's telling the truth." He wasn't sure if it worked but Demetri grew a little less suspicious, though he was still wary. Jasper dared to help him along a bit more. He just gave him a little nudge, projecting feelings of relief and a tiny bit of annoyance. They were just another pair of vampires wanting to use him for his talents. Nothing new or special here. No threat at all.
"And why exactly would I want to help you?" Demetri asked annoyed. "If I remember correctly the two of you have been honored with standing invitations to Volterra years ago and yet you haven't even had the courtesy to introduce yourselves."
Jasper suppressed a snort. Hardly anyone the Volturi wanted for their guard ever left Volterra after coming to 'introduce themselves' without making some kind of semi permanent agreement with them.
Alice clapped her hands and grinned widely, expertly hiding her nervosity and fear. "If you do help us out, I can look into your future for you!"
Demetri gave a small chuckle. "Thanks but no thanks."
"Aww, come ooon. It would be fun!" she insisted. "You've only recently found your mate. Don't you want to know how to prepare a perfect first date for her?"
The change was immediate.
All the tension and suspicion returned with a vengeance together with a whole bunch of other negative emotions. There was anger, hatred, frustration, fear and a need for violence so strong Jasper was not surprised when the Volturi fighter lunged at them. Jasper sensed the attack even before Alice saw it coming and leapt in front if his mate. The two vampires clashed, stone meeting stone in a violent heap of limps. Jasper used his gift at full force to switch bloodthirst with tranquility and they both slid back, snarling at each other.
Alice was still in her role of clueless ball of sunshine. She pouted and ducked her head past Jasper's back to glance at Demetri.
"There's really no need for that. We're all really happy for you! But you do have to be careful when you court her. If you just ask her to come with you to Volterra like that, she's gonna say no, you know!"
"What do you know?!" Demetri snapped. The fact that Alice was still expressing none of the fear he felt in her let Jasper know that they were still on track for a positive outcome of this conversation. It was the only thing keeping him from calling off the operation, take his mate and run as fast as he could.
"I know a lot of things. The future is always in motion and I do have a hard time seeing the outcome of decisions that have yet to be made. But I know that it's important that you win her heart before you turn her or your bond won't be properly going both ways. I know that you've decided on her already but she hasn't decided on you yet. Maybe she never will - she has other options after all. Yet I know if you take away her choice, she won't forgive you. I see a lot of futures for both of you and some of them are rather... tragic. I could advice you on your path to happiness, if you'd like", Alice offered.
Jasper and Demetri both froze, shocked by the little vampire's words.
Demetri had found his mate and that mate was human. That... That was a huge vulnerability Alice had just uncovered. Everyone of the Volturi's enemies would kill to get their hands on that kind of information. Taking out a human mate was so much easier than killing the ancient vampire himself and yet it would have nearly the same effect in crippling him. Demetri's powerful gift ensured that no rule breaker could possibly get away with their crime and nobody who angered the Volturi would live to tell the tale unless they decided to show mercy. Sure, tracking was not a unique gift but Demetri could track even people he'd never met before. He could track people without knowing their name or what they looked like. Jasper had even heard a rumor that he could survey an area as big as a small country and track any vampire that had passed through it in the last decade. Plus his gift wasn't passive like Marcus'. It requiered him to go out and travel to pick up trails. If he fell to the desperation of a lost mate he would be all but useless to his coven. Of course the Volturi knew that. They would never allow Demetri's mate to stay human. That she still was could only mean that he had indeed found her very recently.
And yet Alice had said their bond would not properly form both ways if she was turned against her will. That was a possibility the Volturi would hardly care about since its probability would be considered so low. But if it did happen, for Demetri it could possibly be even worse than his mate dying.
For a vampire, finding 'the one' wasn't always a magical moment of love at first sight. Cases like that existed too. Alice and Jasper were such an example but that was during to their gifts resonating so strongly with each other. Alice had fallen in love with him years before meeting him through her visions. Jasper had fallen in love with her from a mile away the moment he was within range of sensing the purity of her emotions for him.
But for most vampires it was not like that. When they fell they all fell hard and fast but it was still a choice and it still took time, albeit not a lot of it. They found someone they thought fit them perfectly and went all in from the start the moment it became clear the other felt the same. In a way, vampire couples were all like teenagers forever stuck in the hazy mist of first love.
But with human mates, it was different. They were rare for one because most vampires had a hard time telling apart physical attraction from bloodlust. If they did recognize a human as a possible mate though and that human failed to quickly and clearly reject them, which was extremely unlikely given the vampire's alluring nature, the vampire in question could quickly become bound. Just as Edward had been. But unlike the unchanging dead heart of a vampire, human hearts were fickle. The same vague attraction that, in a vampire, would surely grow into an eternal love quickly, in a human was just as likely to fade and weaken over time. Something as harsh as the perceived betrayal of a turning against their will could easily kill whatever little goodwill had been build in a human's life. That was one reason Carlisle had only ever turned humans on the brink of death, even his own mate. He might've fallen for her already that first time when he met her as a young sixteen year old girl. But if he'd turned her without any informed consent, without giving her the much longer time humans usually required to form bonds of love, there was every possibility that she might reject him as a vampire.
A vampire who lost their mate to death would be utterly miserable. But at least they wouldn't be miserable for long. Unless they were being forcefully kept alive like Marcus was by his coven mates, these vampires could at least seek death to end their torment. A vampire cursed with a one-sided bond however would have just enough hope to go on yet never be able to find true happiness. For just as the love of a vampire was quick and eternal, so was their rejection. Such cases were rare but the few Jasper had heard of had all ended in the former human killing the rejected vampire to rid themselves of the unwanted attention.
There was no way Demetri with his much larger experience didn't know the danger of choosing a human mate. It was no surprise then that the first thing he did once he recovered from his shock was to deny Alice' words.
"You are wrong. I haven't decided on anything yet. It may be true that I've... met someone. But I hardly know a thing about them, how could I possibly make a choice like that after so little?"
"So you haven't considered turning her?" Jasper inquired. When he focused with all his senses on Demetri he could sense an echo of want and remembered desire mixed with frustration, longing, lust and guilt that told Jasper everything he needed to know. He glanced at Alice who gave him a small nod. It was time to salt the wound.
"You haven't felt the urge to claim her? To protect and please her?" he asked rhetorically. "You know that's how it starts. If there is still any project, goal or cause you consider more important than ensuring her happiness, I'd urge you to return to it now. It would mean a lot less trouble for you."
Demetri was speechless. His emotions were all over the place. Alice stepped past Jasper and he wondered what exactly she'd seen when he felt a wave of pity and strangely also guilt in her for the fearsome enforcer.
"All I ask is that you tell us the whereabouts of a nomad we've met recently. His name is James. He's a tracker himself, though nowhere near as good as you. If you tell us where to find him, I will tell you how you can avoid a bad outcome for your love and what you need to do to win her over."
For a few long moments, nothing happened. Then Demetri's tumultuous emotions settled into mournful acceptance and tentative joy.
"Fine. You have a deal. But you will say no word about this to anyone!" the Volturi snapped.
"We won't tell anyone outside our coven and make sure that neither will they", Jasper corrected him. "We do live with a mind reader. This is the best we can offer."
Demetri regarded him with suspicion but in the end gave a sharp nod.
"Where is James?"
"On the move, heading south."
Alice nodded. "I will tell you of my visions in detail once we have James destroyed."
Anger rose in the Volturi. "And I will only help you if I have security that you will hold up your end of the deal." He pointed at Alice. "You stay with me. I will keep your coven updated on the nomad's coordinates via phone."
"Absolutely not", Jasper refused in the same moment that Alice said : "That's acceptable."
He glowered at his mate. She was feeling guilty. Why would she feel like that? What was it she didn't say?
"If you would give us a moment", he asked Demetri and put a hand on Alice shoulder.
"No Jazz there's no time -" she tried to protest.
"There has to be", he growled and pulled her with him far enough away that they could whisper quietly without being heard.
"Alice, it's too dangerous!" he implored her.
"Demetri won't hurt me, he needs my intel", she insisted. "We can't delay any longer. Bella doesn't have much time left!"
"What have you seen?"
"Jazz..."
"When he agreed to the deal you felt guilty. If all you have for him is bad news and no way out he may come back to let his anger out at us." Jasper grabbed his wife at her shoulders, gazing at her intensely.
Alice looked down at her feet. "I... It's really hard to tell. The truth is, he hadn't yet decided. I saw both back in the airport, I saw him stay with the human and I saw him turn away. Because of that I couldn't see much further. Honestly, I was bluffing for most of it back there. But when he agreed the vision suddenly became much clearer." She gave a little helpless shrug. "Sometimes people just need a small nudge to realize their feelings."
Jasper's heart sank to his stomach. "And why would that make you feel guilty after your bluff became reality rather than before?"
Her guilt intensified and she looked away again. "Because... Because the future I see for him now is really bleak. Not only does he end up getting rejected. He also ends up up getting into a terrible conflict with the rest of the Volturi over her and gets dismembered but kept alive till they find a new tracker. And..." There was another spike of guilt but she continued quietly. "I saw all of that only after he decided and he only decided because of what I said... His future was fine before that or at least uncertain but after I told him..."
Jasper let go of her shoulders and instead pulled her close, his arms closing around her.
"I'm sure I can fix it", she muttered stubbornly. "I can go through all the possibilities with him so he can pick the best one. It works out for Edward and Bella too after all! If we can keep that clumsy girl from dying long enough for her to convince him to turn her, that is. And even if it fails, Demetri's biggest problem is his own coven. Aro can hardly blame us for the damage he himself dishes out."
"Oh Alice", Jasper only made.
"I just want to keep my family together", she whined and he kissed the top of her head. He knew she meant well but Alice could see no further than a single decision. She had neither the strategic mind nor the life experience to truly predict how the Volturi would react if they lost their best tracker because Alice convinced him he'd found his mate in a human who didn't return his feelings.
Suddenly Alice gasped and pushed Jasper away.
"He's going to bite her - Jasper we have no more time! You've got to gather Emmet and Edward and go after James and you have to do it now!"
Jasper growled. "Fine. But you have to promise me not to tell Demetri anything more until I'm back with you again. I'll go and get the others. Send me the coordinates as soon as you have them."
They shared one last quick kiss and whispered words of love and then Jasper was gone.
XxX
Demetri was deeply lost in thought. He was sitting on the curb of the garage with Alice Cullen next to him. She'd given him her mate's phone number and he was continuously sending coordinates as the target moved. It was child's play for him to find the vampire they were looking for. He only had to follow the thin connection they shared with him through their recent encounter. His attention wasn't on the task though. Half his mind kept strumming Claire's cord instead, reassuring him that she was still where he left her and hadn't moved.
It had been nearly half an hour now. Would she worry that he had yet to return? She worried about him all the time, it seemed. He couldn't suppress a small smile. It annoyed him that she thought he could be destroyed by a beam of sunlight of all things. But her worry for him was a sign that she cared, wasn't it?
Demetri send yet another set of coordinates. Then he glanced at the small female vampire, making sure she wasn't looking, and switched to his text message app.
My business is taking longer than expected but is going well. Don't worry and stay were you are.
It itched in his fingers to add something cheesy like 'I miss you'. But that would be too forward, wouldn't it? He'd only realized how strongly he felt drawn to the female recently and she didn't yet see him in the same light. He clicked on 'sent' without adding anything.
"Good choice", Alice commented and he hurriedly turned off his phone's screen in reflex. "She would've thought that weird."
"Stop that!", he snarled at her, feeling highly affronted that she'd watched him. And worse, that she'd watched his mate and her reaction to anything he did.
His mate. He'd already switched to calling her that in his mind but it still felt so very weird. Could she really be that to him? He wanted her to be even while knowing how it would make everything terribly complicated and difficult. Just remembering her easy acceptance and adoration of him made him long for her presence again.
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry", Alice said quietly. "I just don't want you to get mad at me afterwards because I didn't warn you of something. You have to be really careful."
"Don't you think I know that!? I'm watching every thing I do and say around her", he returned.
"I'm not just talking about what you reveal to her", the petite vampire cautioned him. "Humans are really fragile. You could break her bones with a hug. If you don't feed enough and she gets a scraped knee around you, you could end up accidentally draining her."
He stiffened as the terrible images her words summoned filled his mind. Of course he knew that Claire was fragile but the mere notion that he himself could end up hurting her without even meaning to...
"Is that something you saw?" he asked cautiously. He couldn't just... not touch her. Demetri hadn't made it a point to seek proximity before but now, knowing what he did, everything was different. She belonged in his arms. They were two halfs of one whole that were meant to fit together.
Alice sighed. "No, I'm focusing on trying so see if my family will survive the fight in one piece. This is just common sense."
"Then spare me your comments! I know what I'm doing. I'm interested in your gift, not your relationship advice."
Alice huffed. "But you need relationship advice. You're a man born in the Dark Ages trying to court a woman from the 21st century. That is bound to go horribly wrong. That I have seen."
His head snapped around and Demetri looked at her sharply. "What's that supposed to mean!?"
She waved around her hand in a useless gesture. "I mean that women nowadays have different expectations and standards for men than they did a thousand years ago. I've seen couples struggle with that difference in my own family. Sometimes Jasper and I struggle as well. I'm a very confident woman, I know what I want and my gift makes it I often think I know better than others - because I just do. I need my mate to not just tolerate but appreciate that about me and to know when he has to follow my lead, even though he's a very capable and strong man himself. It took Jasper a while to get there. As a newborn vampire he was in an abusive relationship for a long time. Giving up control is hard for him. It took me time to learn that my gift doesn't make me all knowing, that sometimes his experience and unique opinion has more value than my foresight. The point is that even mates have to work on their relationship. But if you're trying to win someone over, you have to start out by respecting them. Don't dismiss their opinions and choices just because you don't agree."
Demetri thought about all the little things Claire did or said or thought that he disagreed with. Her acceptance of her slave status, her insistence on being his protector, calling that worthless Bartholomew 'Master', willingly donating her own blood and refusing to tell him anything about herself, including her name. It was utterly infuriating and he had every intention of changing every one of those things about her.
"There are some behaviors that are just unacceptable ", he growled.
"Actually, I've found that there are very few behaviors that are truly unacceptable. Pretty much everything that doesn't hurt the person themselves, their partner or those they care about can be excused in some way", Alice disagreed. "Most of the time I find that a characteristic that annoys me about a person is also something that makes them unique and may even be a reason I like them in the first place. For example, it sometimes annoys me that Jasper can always tell exactly how I feel. It makes it hard to surprise or to prank or tease him and nobody is as good in calling me out when I've done something wrong. But his gift is a part of him and most of the time, I treasure it dearly. There's nobody who can comfort me like he can, nobody else who can calm me when I'm upset and when he shares with me the love he feels for me, oh..." Her smile turned dreamy and Demetri made a sound of disgust that succeeded in bursting her bubble. She cleared her throat.
"Anyway. I love everything about him and I accept and embrace his gift just like he does mine. There will be sides to your mate, as there are with every person, that you will have to learn to appreciate. To see strength where others would see weakness and to see beauty when others would dismiss it. And then instead of keeping all those thoughts locked up inside, you have to go out and tell the person you like! Can you believe it took Jasper five years and Edward's intervention till he finally started to write down all those love poems he kept creating about me in his mind? I absolutely adore them but I hadn't even know he could rhyme like that because he was too embarrassed to show me."
Demetri grimaced as he fleetingly imagining himself playing sentimental love songs on a lute for Claire. He'd be the Volturi's laughing stock for the next century.
Alice snapped her fingers and turned to him with her eyes gleaming.
"See, that's exactly what I mean! You do that and it'll definitely earn you a kiss."
If all blood hadn't been drained from him centuries ago, Demetri would be going bright red. He decided not to dignify that with an answer. Ugh, living with that damn Cullen clan must be even worse than enduring Aro's constant knowing smiles. And that was without that disgusting diet they all kept.
After a while he finally felt the Cullen boys draw close to the nomads location.
"They have him", he declared. "With that my task is done. Now about your visions..."
But Alice was busy staring into a future that definitely had nothing to do with Claire. Annoyed he called her name several times until she finally snapped out of it.
"Well?" he demanded.
"They're going to be fine", she said, her small form practically shaking in relief. "It's going to be close for a moment but they'll all make it out alive." She started furiously texting on her phone.
"That's lovely, now what about Claire?" Demetri repeated annoyed. "What have you seen?"
But the Volturi got no definite answer to his question until about three hours later when her mate returned to pick her up. Alice filled the meantime with meaningless babble and advice, most of which Demetri was convinced didn't apply to him.
"Oh and she's going to be kind of upset when you return, I'm sorry for that, but you can make it up to her! She's gonna be really hungry so take her out to a nice restaurant and she'll forgive you... Ugh, finally", she added quietly when Jasper flitted through the entrance to wrap her in a hug.
"Everything went fine?" she reassured herself.
"Yes. James is dead. There were a few injuries but nothing permanent."
Demetri watched their reunion with growing annoyance. He wanted to return to Claire and leave this entire forsaken state behind. Thankfully the empath seemed to sense his growing impatience and turned to address him.
"Thank you for your help, Demetri. Our conflict had nothing to do with you. We appreciate your support. Alice, is there something else you want to add?"
Alice stepped forward and regarded him with trepidation.
"Uhm, I'm going to be honest with you, Demetri. It doesn't look good. Your mate has a whole bunch of false ideas about our kind, as you know, and she's going to refuse turning because of that. Eventually you're going to let her go back to her normal life but your coven is not going to like that." She looked at her mate uneasily and Jasper positioned himself next to her protectively before she continued. "Aro will want to send someone from the guard to turn her and you'll have to go to great lengths just to preserve her choice."
"A choice that doesn't even include me", Demetri finished for her. Even without being given details, he could very well imagine what such a future would look like. If Claire really refused the gift of immortality, refused him, there were only two things he could do. Remain at her side for her mortal lifespan or return to his coven. His kings would not allow him to stay with her, not knowing what a wreck he was likely to be at the end of it. They would force vampirism on her. The only thing he could do to prevent that was leave and pretend she meant nothing to him.
"What if I told her everything?" he tried. "Would she chose me then?"
Alice shrugged helplessly. "I'm sorry, I don't know. You don't truly consider that a possibility. Even if you honestly decided to tell her, I can't predict her decision beforehand. She's a really spontaneous person. And even if I could, humans change their mind all the time. What you truly need is more time. Get to know her and try to make her see you as a person. Right now there's is a huge imbalance in power between you. That will go away if she agrees to turn. From what I've seen, if you can get her to do that even with all the stuff she believes, the surprises will be positive for her. Except for the blood drinking thing. Try to break that to her beforehand. If she can't get past that, you can always try our diet. If you need support with that, I'll gladly put in a good word for you with Carlisle. Things will work out for you as a couple and you won't have any conflicts with your coven. But you have to win her over while she's human."
Demetri didn't like the sound of that at all. Honestly he was getting sick of Alice telling him he had to be careful and how this and that would lead to being rejected.
"I can offer her immortality, wealth and a high position in the vampire world. Why would she ever say no to that?" he asked frustrated. "Why is this so difficult? She should be honored to be picked by me!"
"I think you're going to have to ask her that yourself", Alice answered carefully. "Different people value different things. Remember what I said about power. It's really important."
"But I can't change what I am and the only way to get her anywhere near my level is by turning her!" he protested.
Alice smiled at him sadly.
"You misunderstand. She is the one who holds all the power. You need her. Not the other way around. You can't demand anything from her, Demetri. You can only ask nicely."
Demetri didn't understand. He couldn't imagine why Claire would reject him. Surely whatever concerns she had could easily be taken care of? And what was that supposed to mean that she had power over him? Claire would flinch and backtrack the moment he so much as glared at her. She wasn't one to argue with him. Actually he should really do something about that. He hated how submissive she became when she was afraid. He didn't want that habit to carry over into her eternity. Getting Claire fired from that degrading bondage she was in would be a good first step, he was sure.
Alice winced. "No, don't, don't do that."
"Don't do what?" he asked annoyed.
"Don't get her fired! That's the wrong way", Alice explained.
"She's being used and maybe even abused in her position!" he snapped.
"She's in that position out of her own free will and she will reject you if you take that from her! She's not a gem you put on a pedestal and hoard over possessively. She's a person with her own opinion and dreams!"
"I know that!"
Alice raised her index finger at him threatening. "Take her out to a nice dinner today. Get her talking about herself. Her likes and dislikes, her dreams, stuff like that. And for god's sake, be nice to her. Don't order her around, don't talk about eating people, don't insult her or her views. And if all goes well, kindly ask her out on a real date."
That damn psychic was completely useless. As if he needed advice on the basics of courting!
"If that is all you have, I believe we part ways here", he growled.
"I think that would be for the best", Jasper was quick to agree. "Thank you again for your help and good luck with your mate. Shall we announce your upcoming visit to Carlisle?"
"No offensive but I think I've had quite enough of your coven for a while. Give him my greetings."
"We will."
Demetri turned his back on them, eager to finally get back to his woman.
The two Cullens watched him go. When he was far enough away, Jasper turned to his mate and whispered:
"Is he going to make it?"
"No", Alice whispered back frustrated. "He's going to fail miserably."
