PROLOGUE.

The labyrinthine alleyways of Volterra made my head spin, shadows whispering of ancient secrets it would take me several eons to even begin to unravel. My heart pounded in terror as I walked, flanked on every side by obsidian wraiths. The only beacon in this world of mystery and horror was Edward. His sculpted, marble arm was wrapped firmly around my waist, simultaneously trying to drag me away from the lingering shades and steering me along their path.

I could think of scarcely anything other than what had just occurred, the chapters in the story leading us to this point thus far. Everything was a dizzying blur, from Edward's phone call to my house and his subsequent misunderstanding that I was dead to the kaleidoscope of airports, planes, terminals, and a streaking yellow Porsche. My clothes were still wet from where I had hurled myself into the opulent fountain in the plaza, dragging myself through the cheery, bubbling water to read Edward on time before he stepped off a precipice I could not retrieve him from.

The dampness made a shiver run down my spine as we now wound through a system of gloomy sewers; Edward misinterpreted my sympathetic response, assuming I was cold because of his wintry skin combined with the surprisingly frigid air of the underworld. I clutched myself closer still as he tried to put distance between us, obstinately refusing to let him move even a microscopic millimeter from my side. I could hear Alice clucking her tongue at my mulishness from somewhere in front of me.

Abruptly we were at a dead end, capped with an iron grate that had thick, rusted bars the side of an arm. A smaller door, hatched with intricate, thinner bars, was open just beyond it. As we scurried through, I was surprised that the dank sewer had transformed into a moderately larger room, and although still made of stone, it was considerably brighter. The grate clanged behind us, shutting us in with the decisive click of a lock. At the far end of the bright, stone room was a hefty-looking wooden door, open again as the first had been, to the room beyond it.

We crossed the threshold into what appeared to be an exceptionally mundane office space, complete with inoffensive cream walls, muted gray carpeting, and the kind of fluorescent lights that were not uncommon in public schools and prisons. The ambient temperature was considerably warmer, enough that I wasn't shivering like a jackhammer any more.

I had kept stealing glances up at Edward's face, and while I hadn't been able to make out much in the murky bowels of the city, I could see his face clearly now. He wore a face of extreme distaste, and I couldn't tell if it was for our cloaked companions or the venue in which they herded us through that made him scowl so darkly.

The hallway was straight but short, with an elevator at the end. Jane stood there, her tiny hand holding the doors open, somehow looking simultaneous annoyed and disinterested. Once we had alighted, Felix and Demetri tossed the hoods from their heads and relaxed, as though there had been something for them to be tense about during our excursion.

I curled myself into Edward - partly in fear, because the two strange masculine vampires in front of me, but mostly because I was trying to drink in every second of Edward's presence like a stranded man on a desert island.

When we disembarked from the elevator, our surroundings had transformed once again, this time into a large room of paneled wood, not entirely unlike Carlisle's office, only with thick, emerald carpet instead of the traditional wood floor, and a myriad of paintings depicting the Tuscan countryside rather than Carlisle's books and personal collection of pictures.

A high counter of glossy mahogany sat in the middle of the room, hosting a woman with deep olive skin and green eyes. In all respects she was very pretty, when not in contrast with the glorious immortals I was surrounded by. I could scarcely believe a human like me was down here, in a den of vampires. The glow of respect I felt was rapidly snuffed out by bleak apprehension. She was absolutely at ease, surrounded by immortals with glowing ruby eyes. She had to know. And she was okay with it.

Her smile toward Jane and their ilk was polite but warm with familiarity. "Good afternoon, Jane," she said, seemingly uninterested in the extreme with both Edward's bare chest and my disheveled, grimy countenance.

Jane merely nodded, apathy clear on every plane of her cherubic face, and the dichotomy was so striking I couldn't help but notice it. Jane continued, heading toward a set of double doors at the back of the room. We followed without being told to do so, knowing we really had no other choice. On the other side, a boy with a pale face and dark hair awaited us. He was easily Jane's twin, although his lips weren't nearly as full.

They took each other in their arms, embracing, before kissing both of each other's cheeks. I was so engrossed in how horrifically lovely Jane and this new boy were that I missed most the exchanges. I was startled when I heard Edward snarl, low and deep within his chest. The one called Felix smiled in response to this, raising his hand and curling his fingers in obvious invitation.

Alice placed a hand on Edward's arm, telling him, "Patience," but nothing more, and they shared a long look. I wished I could hear what they were saying to each other, but it wasn't difficult to hazard a guess after Edward took a deep breath and deliberately turned away from Felix.

The boy spoke to Edward now, completely disregarding what had almost certainly been a fight to the death without Alice's intervention. "Aro will be so pleased to see you again."

Then Jane, "Let's not keep him waiting." Edward nodded is assent, then we followed after Jane and her twin. They walked holding hands, seemingly leading us down another baroque hallway toward a set of doors inlaid with gold. They stopped, however, halfway down and removed an innocuous piece of paneling from the wall to reveal a rather drab, wooden door. We passed through yet another dreary stone hallway, much the same as the alleys and sewers we had already traipsed through, before we emerged into a massive, rotunda-like room. The windows set two stories up cast down beams of natural sunlight, glinting off the denizens gathered within.

All of their faces turned toward our little cabal in perfect synchronization, sending a thrill of terror up my spine. Every single set of eyes in this room were red, glistening, rapacious red rubies. The fact that their clothing was inconspicuous - dressed, blazers, and slacks - was a sideline when one of them approached.

He wore a deep, inky black cloak, far deeper in hue than all the others I had seen before. It brushed the floor as he strode toward us, billowing dramatically. His hair was very nearly as black and, at first blush, appeared to be the hood of his robe. His voice cried out in obvious jubilation, yet soft as a whisper.

"Jane, dear one, you've returned!"

A/N: Holy shit this chapter was absolute hell to write. It had to be as SM described it in the context, but I didn't want to copy-pasta either, so being creative and letting my own voice shine through was extremely difficult. But now that the prologue is out of the way, I can get to the REAL stuff!

I am looking for character experts for the Volturi - I need profiles on Jane, Alec, Aro, Chelsea, Felix, Demetri, literally any of them. So if you are an expert or you know a guy, please hook me up. If I could pay you, I would, but unfortunately my pitiful thanks will have to do.