Blood Moon
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.
The Volturi Kings
Without Jacob's steadfast and comforting presence, Bella didn't think she would have made it through the dank subterranean tunnel. As they walked, she felt Jacob's lips press into her hair, then her forehead. Whatever happened next, she was grateful that he was there with her. She wished she could ask him if he had any sort of plan in mind. She couldn't imagine him coming to Volterra without some kind of escape route mapped out. Then again, maybe they had been working on the assumption that they would hopefully slip in and out of Volterra without being captured by the Volturi.
But, trapped as they were in hostile territory, with more prowling members of the Volturi guard joining them at every minute, it was impossible to speak. The others could hear everything – her every breath, her every heartbeat.
The path beneath their feet continued to slant downward, taking them deeper into the ground, and it made Bella feel claustrophobic. Only Jacob's hand, warm and soothing against her face, kept her from screaming out loud.
It was hard for Bella to tell where the light was coming from, but it slowly turned dark gray instead of black. They had reached a low, arched tunnel. Long trails of ebony moisture seeped down the gray stones, like they were bleeding ink.
Bella couldn't stop shaking, and at first, she thought it was from the cold, but deep down knew it was really fear. Her clothes were still wet, and the temperature underneath the city was wintry. She pressed herself closer to Jacob, absorbing as much of his supernatural heat as she could. His hand rubbed up and down her arm in a soothing motion.
They hurried through the tunnel, or it felt like hurrying to Bella. Her slow progress irritated someone- she guessed Demetri – and she heard him heave an impatient sigh now and then.
At the end of the tunnel was a grate- the iron bars were rusting, but as thick as Bella's arm. A small door made of thinner, interlaced bars was standing open. Jacob had to almost bend in half to duck through, as did Emmet. It led on to a larger, brighter room. The grille slammed shut behind them with a clang, followed by the snap of a lock. Bella was too afraid to look behind to see. She already felt like she was sealed inside a tomb.
On the other side of the long room was a low, heavy wooden door. It was very thick – she could tell as it stood wide open.
They all stepped through the door, and she glanced around in surprise. Beside her, Jacob tensed, his jaw clenched tight. His nose was wrinkling in disgust, his eyes narrowing. Bella gazed up at him fretfully, knowing that his reaction could mean only one thing, more vampires were close by.
They were in a brightly lit, unremarkable hallway. The walls were off-white, the floor carpeted in industrial gray. Common rectangular fluorescent lights were spaced evenly along the ceiling. It was much warmer there, for which Bella was grateful. This hall seemed benign after the ghoulish stone sewers.
Jacob was still tense. He glowered darkly down the long hallway, toward the slight, black shrouded figure at the end, standing by an elevator. He pulled Bella along by his side, with Rosalie and Emmet keeping pace with them. The heavy door creaked shut behind them, and there was the thud of a bolt sliding home.
Jane was waiting by the elevator, one hand holding the doors open. Her expression remained apathetic.
Once inside the elevator, the vampires that belonged to the Volturi guard relaxed further now they were on home turf. They threw back their cloaks, letting the hoods fall back on their shoulders. Bella got a good glimpse of Demetri's olive complexion – it looked odd with his chalky pallor. His hair waved to his shoulders, his irises were deep crimson around the edges, darkening until they were black. He kept shooting malevolent glances in Jacob and Emmet's direction, clearly still angry at Felix's demise.
Bella gulped, turning her gaze away from him, she studied the other guards. To her surprise she noted their modern clothes hidden under their shrouds. She didn't know what she had been expecting. Of course they wore such non-descript clothing to blend in. She cringed under Jacob's arm when Demetri suddenly turned his baleful gaze on her. She saw the hatred there and knew if they were alone, he probably would have had no hesitation in drinking her dry in vengeance for his friend's death. She could just add him to the list, along with Victoria, of vengeful cold ones who wanted her dead.
The elevator ride was short. They stepped out into what looked like a posh office reception area. The walls were paneled in wood, the floors carpeted in thick, deep green. There were no windows, but large, brightly lit paintings of the Tuscan countryside hung everywhere as replacements. Pale leather couches were arranged in cozy groupings, and the glossy tables held crystal vases full of vibrantly colored bouquets. The flowers' smell reminded Bella of a funeral home.
In the middle of the room was a high, polished mahogany counter. Both Bella and Jacob gawked in astonishment at the woman behind it.
She was tall, with dark skin and green eyes. She would have been very pretty in any other company – but not here. Because she was very bit as human as Bella was. Bella couldn't comprehend what this human woman was doing here, totally at ease, surrounded by vampires.
She smiled politely in welcome. "Good afternoon, Jane." She said. There was no surprise on her face as she glanced at Jane's company. Not Jacob, towering over everyone else around him, or even Bella, disheveled and breathing heavily.
Jane nodded. "Gianna." She continued toward the set of double doors in the back of the room, and they all followed.
As Demetri passed the desk, he winked at Gianna, and she giggled. Bella felt sickened.
On the other side of the wooden doors was a different kind of reception. The pale boy in the pearl-gray suit could have been Jane's twin. His hair was darker, and his lips were not as full, but he was just as lovely. He came forward to meet them. He smiled, reaching for Jane. "Sister." He murmured.
"Alec." Jane responded, embracing him. They kissed each other's cheeks on both sides. Then he looked over at them all.
"They send you out for one and you brought more." He noted with a sardonic smile. "Nice work."
"Caius might not think so." Jane answered coolly as she levelled a glance in Jacob's direction.
"Mmmm…I see." Alec's nose wrinkled as he regarded Jacob thoughtfully. His gaze eventually drifted toward Emmet and Rosalie, his eyes widening as he drank in the latter's ravishing beauty. Lastly his eyes settled on Bella, his face clearly showing a lack of interest. "And this is the cause of all the trouble?" He asked, skeptical.
"Apparently." Jane replied contemptuously.
"Well, Aro will be pleased that you've finally returned." Alex continued. "As for Caius…." His curious gaze drifted to Bella again as he left the rest unsaid.
Jane sneered. "Let's not keep them waiting any longer."
"Of course, sister." Alec, taking Jane's hand, led the way down yet another wide, ornate hall – Bella wondered would there ever be an end. She was barely holding on as it was.
Jane and Alec ignored the doors at the end of the hall – doors entirely sheathed in gold – stopping halfway down the hall and sliding aside a piece of the paneling to expose a plain wooden door. Alec held it open for Jane.
Bella didn't want to go through to the other side of the door. She could see that Jacob didn't want to, either. She wondered how he was managing to hold his shape together, surrounded as he was on all sides by his mortal enemy. It must be the Alpha inside of him.
With Rosalie and Emmet walking in front of them, Jacob and Bella stepped through the door. It was the same ancient stone as the square, the alley, and the sewers. And it was dark and cold again. Bella cuddled closer to Jacob again to keep warm.
The stone antechamber was not large. It opened quickly into a brighter, cavernous room, perfectly round like a huge castle turret. Two stories up, long window slits threw thin rectangles of bright sunlight on the floor below. There were no artificial lights. The only furniture in the room were several massive wooden chairs, like thrones, that were spaced unevenly, flush with the curving stone walls. In the very center of the circle, in a slight depression, was another drain. Bella wondered if they used it as an exit.
The room was not empty. A handful of people were convened in a seemingly relaxed conversation. The murmur of low, smooth voices was a gentle hum in the air. As Bella watched, a pair of pale women in summer dresses paused in a patch of light, and, like prisms, their skin threw the light in rainbow sparkles against the sienna walls.
The exquisite faces all turned toward their party as they entered the room. Most of the immortals were dressed in inconspicuous pants and shirts- things that wouldn't stick out at all on the streets below. But the man who spoke first wore one of the long robes. It was pitch-black, and brushed against the floor. For a moment, Bella thought his long, jet-black hair was the hood of his cloak.
"Jane, dear one, you've returned!" He cried in evident delight. His voice was just a soft sighing.
He drifted forward, moving with such surreal grace that it left Bella feeling more awkward and clumsy than ever. His every motion looked like a scripted dance.
As he drew closer, she got her first really good look at his face. It was not like the unnaturally attractive faces that surrounded him (for he did not approach alone; the entire group converged around him, some following, and some walking ahead of him with the alert manner of bodyguards). Bella couldn't decide if his face was beautiful or not. She supposed the features were perfect. But he was as different from the vampires beside him as they were from her. His skin was translucently white, like onionskin, and it looked just as delicate – it stood in shocking contrast to the long black hair that framed his face.
Bella felt a strange, horrifying urge to recoil away, to run screaming from the room in horror. It took all of her willpower to remain fixed in place. She felt a slight tremor ripple through Jacob's body beside her, and knew he was struggling just as much, but for totally different reasons.
She watched as he glided over to Jane, his red eyes, the same as the others around him, but the red color more muted, like they were clouded over with a milky haze. He took Jane's face in his papery hands and kissed her lightly on the lips in greeting, making Bella wince in disgust. Then he floated back a step.
"Yes, Master." Jane said as if to some unspoken question, her beatific smile made her look like an angelic child. "I brought her here to you alive, just as you wished. Unfortunately, she came with some unexpected companions."
"Ah, Jane." He smiled, too. "You are such a comfort to me."
He turned his misty eyes toward them, and his smile brightened – became ecstatic.
"Ah, so lovely to meet you at last, Bella!" He rejoiced, clapping his thin hands together. "This is such a happy surprise! Wonderful! I know that Carlisle and Edward will be especially pleased that you made it here unscathed. We were all worried for your safety for a time, but here you are, alive and looking very well, I might add."
Bella stared in shock as he continued to talk in his flowery language. He greeted them all by name, even Jacob, as if they were all personal friends of his. She glanced to the side at Rosalie and Emmet. They were keeping a careful lid on their emotions, their expressions hidden behind indifferent masks. Jacob stood like a living statue beside her, his posture tense, his dark eyes riveted on the ancient vampire waxing lyrical in front of him.
The Volturi leader turned to Demetri. "Be a dear and tell my brothers about our company. I know Caius has been impatient for them to arrive." His crimson eyes turned toward Jacob, a gloating expression crossing his face. "He is most interested in conversing with you, Jacob Black."
Jacob bit back a low growl, clearly disturbed that the ancient vampire seemed to know his name, also probably what he was. What else did he know? How much had Carlisle told him? It sounded like Edward had made it to the castle before them? Was Alice and Jasper with him?
There were so many questions with no answers in sight.
"Yes, Master." Demetri nodded and disappeared back the way they had come.
"Ah, I must introduce myself." The strange vampire turned and smiled at them all like a fond but doting grandfather. "My name is Aro."
Bella felt Jacob's arm tighten around her as Aro continued to engage in casual conversation. He spoke a word or two to each of them, his eyes lingering curiously, clearly trying to draw them out of themselves by using his innate charm. But no one fell for it. Even Rosalie and Emmet only gifted him with short, one-word answers to his questions.
After a while he gave up, sighing, and waving his arms flamboyantly, he beckoned Bella forward. "I see I will have to do this the old-fashioned way. You first, my dear." He blessed her with another ingratiating smile.
A low, rumbling growl ripped from Jacob's chest as he pulled Bella behind him protectively. "There is no way in hell you are going to lay one hand on her." He threatened.
Aro froze, his crimson eyes glowing a deeper red under the milky haze covering them. His bodyguards swarmed around him, crouching down in preparation for a battle.
Emmet immediately copied their stance, his eyes turning hard and cold as he got ready to back Jacob up. Rosalie just sighed; her expression grim as she joined him.
"So fascinating!" Aro motioned for the guards to stand down. "Outnumbered as you are, you are still willing to sacrifice yourself for the girl." He looked Jacob up and down, marveling at his rippling muscles, his strong, powerful build. "It is such a shame you are what you are." He murmured regretfully. "You would have made a magnificent vampire and a perfect addition to my guard." His gaze flicked to Emmet. "And so would you. There is an opening now that Felix is….um…well…. how should I phrase this….no longer with us?" He laughed quietly under his breath.
Emmet exchanged an uneasy glance with Rosalie. She straightened again. Her expression once again impassive. "I'm sorry, Aro. Emmet is unavailable." She put a hand on his shoulder in a sign of ownership. "He belongs to me."
Aro raised his eyebrows and let out another quiet laugh. "And who could blame him?"
Emmet inclined his head, glancing down at Rosalie, his eyes filled with amusement.
Aro was just about to say more when he suddenly paused, looking over his shoulder. All the other heads turned in the same direction, including Jane and Alec, who stood silently beside them.
Bella was the slowest to turn. Demetri was back, and behind him floated two more black robed men. Both looked very much like Aro, one even had the same flowing black hair. The other had a shock of snow-white hair – the same shade as his face – that brushed against his shoulders. Unlike Aro and the other black- robed figure his skin wasn't paper thin. It was more like Rosalie and Emmet's – younger, fresher – this had to Caius.
The trio was complete. The Volturi kings all gathered together.
"Marcus, Caius, look!" Aro crooned. "Bella is alive. Edward will be pleased. And she has brought some friends with her! Isn't that wonderful?"
Neither of the other two looked like wonderful would be their first choice of words. The dark-haired man seemed utterly bored, like he had seen too many millennia of Aro's enthusiasms. The other's face was hostile under his snowy white hair.
Their lack of enthusiasm did little to quash Aro's enjoyment. "And now here come Carlisle and Edward to join us. The party is complete."
Bella's heart sank as she saw Edward emerge into the light with Carlisle following in his wake. As soon as he spotted her, his butterscotch eyes lit up, his arms automatically reaching out to her, only for them to fall right back to his sides when he spotted Jacob standing protectively in front of her, glaring at him with daggers in his eyes.
A/N-thanks for reading!