**I messed up in posting the last few chapters. Sorry while I figiure out how to fix the issue with a missing chapter and incorrectly numbered chapters. **
Impressions of Three Men in Black - A Poly!Volturi Kings tale
Chapter Twenty-Three
Seek and Find
Celeste has been kidnapped by a vampire. She finds herself trapped in the Romanian stronghold, but they are unaware of her importance to the Volturi. Now that she is to become one of their army, all Celeste wants to do is find out as much information as possible about their plans, and get back to Volterra to warn Aro and the others. Her new vampire skills will come in handy, but how will her mates react when she returns home. IF she ever gets away.
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Marcus waited for Celeste to return, pacing a few steps back and forth. He wasn't really worried, knowing Volterra was a relatively safe city, that is, until he heard muffled sounds. He stopped pacing and scanned the darkness. Deciding to follow in the direction Celeste had taken back to the perfume shop, Marcus turned a corner and saw the familiar candy box lying on the ground. The package holding her perfume lay not far away. Bending down, he picked them up and looked around. Not seeing his mate anywhere, he entered the shop and interrupted the shopkeeper who was assisting a customer.
"Mi scusi, did you see the woman who came back to pick up this box?" Marcus asked quietly.
The shopkeeper explained she had been there, and he had given her the package, but didn't pay her any further attention, having gone back to helping his customer. All he knew was she had left the shop with the box.
Marcus left the store and stood out front, his sensitive ears listening for any sound of her voice. It was then he smelled the familiar scent of blood in the air. Celeste's blood. There was nothing on the ground, but to Marcus, the scent hung in the air as heavily as smoke from a dry grass fire. He felt some momentary relief there were no traces of a fatal attack, such as smears of blood on the concrete. And he still felt her through the threads that bound them together as mates. His relief was short-lived, remembering she was missing. Had she been taken by force, and if so, by whom? Marcus was not looking forward to telling Aro and Caius about her disappearance. They would not be happy with him for letting their mate out of his sight to begin with.
He ran back to the castle faster than the human eye could follow. On arrival, he encountered Demetri and Felix. He asked them if either had seen Celeste, but both shook their heads.
"No, Master Marcus, We haven't seen her of late. Wasn't she out with you?"
Without giving them an answer, Marcus flashed to the throne room to find Aro and Caius deep in conversation. Both stopped talking and turned to the imposing vampire.
"Marcus, back so soon? I expected you and Celeste to be out until well past sundown," Aro said, mildly surprised to see Marcus without Celeste at his side. Perhaps she had gone straight to her room with the many purchases she had undoubtedly sweet-talked Marcus out of. His dour expression, however, did not go unnoticed by Aro. "What is it, brother?"
Although reluctant to give him the bad news without some preamble, Marcus decided he must accept whatever anger Aro might express. After all, Marcus had failed their mate. "Something has happened, Aro. Celeste has disappeared."
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The man entered the old fortress through a hidden entrance, the woman he'd found in Italy draped over his shoulder. She had remained unconscious part of the way, then began screaming in pain as the venom moved through her body. Her abductor stopped to bind her mouth, then took a less populated route through the countryside of Serbia on his way to Romania. He was eager to get back to the vampire stronghold as soon as possible, sure Vladimir and Stefan would be pleased at their latest acquisition. The woman was young, healthy, and would most likely be pliable to their orders. Entering the "reception" room their prisoners were brought for inspection, he saw both of the coven leaders bent low over a wooden table covered with a map.
"I've brought another woman, Stefan. She is young and healthy, and already in the throes of the change, as you can see."
Ignoring her cries, Vladimir grabbed Celeste's hair, lifting her head off the man's back, and peered closely at her. "Where did you find this one?"
"In Volterra. She was ripe for the picking. There wasn't even a struggle," he boasted proudly.
Stefan glared at the man, his red eyes darkening in anger. "You fool! We instructed everyone to stay away from the city of the Volturi!"
"I do not fear the Volturi," the man sneered, uncaring if his master was angry with him.
"Then you're an even greater fool than I imagined! You are not to leave the castle again," Stefan ordered.
"But I'm your best hunter," the vampire objected.
Vladimir was a bit calmer than his brother in blood. He stared at the young vampire, himself changed only two years ago, and added, "And the most disobedient. Edmund, if you cannot obey orders, you become a threat to our plans, and we have no use for you. Put her in the room with the others until her transition is complete. Her screaming is giving me a headache." He made a show of placing his fingers on his right temple before turning back to the map on the table.
By now, Stefan had had enough of this arrogant cretin. "When you're done, check to see if any of the others have completed the change. If you find any who have, take them to the feeding room. We have six more humans waiting there for that purpose. Go, you idiot, before I have your head removed!" Stefan swept the map and other objects off the table, furious. "La naiba!"
Vladimir shook his head and picked up the map, placing it back on the table. "Brother, we need him and all the others. We're short of our goal as it is, and he is our best hunter. Once the Volturi have been eliminated, Edmund shall be eliminated as well."
Stefan gave the pale, white-haired vampire a wry smile and returned to perusing the map.
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Unaware of the passage of time, Celeste awoke three days later to the sounds of screaming echoing in her ears. The room was dark, but in spite of that, she was able to see the stone walls and floors. It appeared much like the throne room back home. Medieval was the word that came to mind.
Looking around the room, she observed plain mats on the floor, with people lying on them in varying degrees of consciousness. Those screaming were going through the change, that she knew. But she was also conscious of the fact she could not reveal her knowledge about vampires to anyone here. If they found out she was aware of their existence, she would be questioned. No one here could know she was aligned with the Volturi, let alone mate to the three coven leaders.
She decided to go along with whatever these people planned to do with her, all the while observing their doings, seeking useful information such as their location and how many vampires were here. If she could escape and get back to Volterra, Aro and the others could use that information to attack the Romanians.
She stood and looked around the room. There was literally nothing else in it. Just the mats where the emerging vampires lay. She checked herself out, holding a hand in front of face. The skin was pale with not even a freckle to mar its perfection. Was this what it was like? She wished she had a mirror.
Celeste had an idea. She prepared to do what she had seen Felix and the others do so easily. Walking to the far wall, she turned and ran toward the other side of the room. Before she could stop herself, she hit the wall with a sound that made her realize she was no longer a soft-flesh human. Bits of stone rained to the floor, causing Celeste to laugh. "I'll have to learn to gauge my run better until I can control my speed."
Realizing that testing her newborn powers would alert the man who had abducted her about her knowledge of vampires, she stopped testing her speed runs. Play stupid, girl. Celeste returned to her mat and sat down to wait. She was sure someone would come soon to check on her.
What would Aro say when he found out she was a vampire too. He had anticipated bringing her from the mortal world into his world, satisfied when she had made the request of him, and not Marcus or Caius. With the impending war against the Romanions, he had been distracted, barely mentioning her change. It had given her time, though, to reconsider the decision to turn her back on her humanity forever. Since then, Celeste had decided she wanted to remain with the Volturi. It was her destiny, at least she thought it was. That was her personal reason for wanting to get back to Volterra. To help the coven was the other, more practical reason.
Oh, Aro, Celeste groaned. She missed him so much. And poor Marcus. What he must be feeling about her abduction. She hoped he did not feel responsible. He had to know it was not his fault. Some gifted vampires might be able to see the future, but Marcus had no such power. The only thing he could do was reassure the others she was still alive.
Celeste wished he and the others were here to help her. She wasn't truly afraid, as she imagined those less familiar with their condition might be, but she was still on alert mentally. Perhaps Aro would send Demetri to track her, in which case she only had to wait patiently. Watch and listen, those were her orders to herself.
When a man entered through the door, interrupting her thoughts, he took Celeste by the wrist and dragged her out of the room and down the hall. He brought her to a smaller room devoid of much furnishings. There was a table and chair, plus a bookcase sitting against one wall, a few dusty volumes lying on its shelves. There was a window on one wall, too high to look out, and an old mirror hanging beneath it.
Pretending to only just now notice his appearance, Celeste gave her best performance, acting shocked at what she saw.
"Who are you? And why are your eyes red?" she asked haltingly, as if she were afraid.
As if he didn't care about her reaction, he replied, "I'm your sire, Edmund, and we, you and I, are vampires."
Celeste laughed nervously, saying, "You're joking, right? You're just wearing red contacts."
He pushed her to stand in front of the old mirror, and grabbing her by the chin, forced her to look into the cracked glass. "Are you?" he asked.
She stared at her reflection, crimson eyes staring back at her. With the mirror, she could better see the effects of her transformation. Her hair seemed fuller, her now flawless skin had lost its tan. Even the tiny scar she had on her left cheek from accidentally poking herself with a pair of tweezers was gone. Yes, it had been barely noticable before, but now, it was no longer there at all. "Becoming a vampire is better than getting a facelift," she mused aloud.
"Why can I see my reflection? I thought vampires had no reflections." Turning to her abductor, she said, "I don't believe any of this, but I want to know where I am anyway," hoping he would reveal something useful.
"Does it matter?" Edmund asked, already bored. He had expected screaming and running, but this one had adapted faster than most. Perhaps she would be the jewel in his recent finds, enough so that Stefan and Vladimir would reward him.
"Yes, it matters! You kidnapped me!" When she received only a chuckle in response to her accusation, she felt mild fury. How she wished she could use her mates to threaten this boor, but no one here must know about her connection to them. Tell me where I am so I can tell Aro where to come for you, she thought to herself.
"Very well. You're in Timis, Romania, near the Serbian border. What else do you want to know?" he asked, not without some derision in his voice.
Celeste peered at the vampire and asked point blank, not really expecting an answer, "Why am I here?"
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"What do you mean, Celeste is missing!" Caius demanded.
"Marcus, is this some sort of bad jest?" Aro asked, talking over Caius' own question.
"Stop talking, both of you! Celeste...she's still alive. I can feel her connection with me. But..." Marcus began, feeling frustration at the situation he found himself in.
"Where is she then?" Aro asked dispassionately. "I found a book I thought she might be interested in reading."
Marcus had to convince his brothers that this was no jest, and that it was more dire than her just being late to supper. "Aro. Celeste is gone."
Cauis stepped closer to Marcus, his eyes darkening to crimson. "What do you mean, gone?"
"We had been shopping. She wanted to get those chocolates she loves so much, knowing they would be inedible to her once she went through the change."
"What has this to do with her being gone," Aro asked calmly, hiding his growing feeling of dread.
Marcus knew his brothers were going to be furious with him, but there was nothing any of them could discuss until all information was revealed. "We were heading here when Celeste realized she had left the chocolates in the perfumery. I offered to go back to get the box, but she said she'd be only a moment, and ran off."
"Why did you not insist on going for her, Marcus!" Caius demanded, now pacing the stone floor.
Aro waved his hand to silence the infuriated vampire. "Brother, you know how stubborn Celeste can be. Now Marcus, did you look for her?"
"Of course I did, Aro. I asked the shopkeeper if she had gone back there, and he said he remembered her. She had left behind a box, which he said he had given her. When I asked if he had seen which way she'd gone, he said he was too busy with his current customer to notice what she had done once she'd left the shop."
Marcus felt Caius' glare on him. This was his fault, no one else's. To lose their mate when she was still a vulnerable human was unforgivable. "I heard what might have been a scuffle, and I did perceive the scent of her blood."
Aro's frown deepened now. "Was she...?"
Marcus knew to what Aro was referring and shook his head. "No, it was fresh blood."
"By the gods, what if she's been hurt or even killed, and your "feeling" is wrong! Marcus! How could you!" Caius was beside himself with indignation.
"If she were dead, I would know it. She's still alive, Caius." Marcus' expression betrayed his utter disgust with himself. "So what should we do first?"
"We go find her!" Caius uttered angrily. "There has to be some trace of her telling us where she was taken."
Just at that moment, Felix and Demetri, on hearing the raised voices of the masters, entered the throne room through the heavy wooden doors. "Is something wrong, Master Aro?"
"Have either of you seen Celeste?" Aro asked Felix, unaware Marcus had asked the two guards that question already.
Felix shook his head. "Neither of us has seen her recently, Master."
"I already spoke with them, Aro. It's not as if she were playing hide and seek. She's not here," Marcus said, feeling guilty.
"Aro, let's find her, before it's too late," Caius suggested, ready to go anywhere she might be. He was eager, in fact. The longer they waited, the more likely the danger to Celeste would increase.
"Let me think, dammit!" Aro shouted. Turning to the two guards who stood by, still waiting in the throne room, Aro ordered Demetri to take Felix and Jane with him back to the perfumery. "You're the best tracker in the world, Demetri. Find Celeste's tenor and follow her trail. When you find her, bring her home, no matter whom you must kill. Just be sure to hide the evidence well, if her abductors are human."
Aro had grown to appreciate modern technology. Cell phones were an asset to him when the Guard were out on assignments. "Keep in contact when you're able."
All three vampires replied in unison," Yes, Master Aro." They flashed from the throne room, leaving the three coven leaders alone.
"I'm going to my chambers. No one bother me," Aro said quietly. Before either Marcus or Caius could object, Aro was gone, leaving behind a light breeze in his wake.
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Aro returned to his chambers alone to brood. How could Marcus have let this happen? In truth, it was not wholly his fault. Celeste could be stubborn when she felt in the mood.
He ran his fingertips over the polished wood of the Louis the 14th half-height cabinet that sat in the ante-room. His mind was on Celeste, remembering the sparkle in her eyes and the smile on her face whenever she looked at him. She loved him, that much he knew. If only he could have kept her to himself, but fate had decided otherwise. Still, sharing her with his brothers was not the worst thing.
The leader of the coven felt determined to change his mate as soon as she returned to them. There was no point in further delay. As long as she was human, she was in danger from many sources.
The longer Aro dwelled on her absence, the hotter his fury became. Reaching out an arm, he swept a Grecian urn that sat on the curio cabinet to the floor, watching dispassionately as it shattered into pieces.
Just then, Caius entered the room, not bothering to knock when he heard the sound of breaking crockery.
"Aro, that urn was over three thousand years old!"
"I don't care," he lied, running a hand over his mouth, disgusted he had let his uncontrolled temper destroy such a priceless piece of Greek history.
Caius bent to pick up the pieces, and tossed them in the trash bin sitting next to Aro's desk. "I was thinking, what if Celeste was taken by the Romanians. If they know her identity, holding her would be an implied threat to us should we decide to go after them. This could be their way of declaring war on us."
"Caius, how can we go after them, when we don't know where they are? Besides, they would not dare to do harm to someone so important. I would feel compelled to show them no mercy, none at all, if they have harmed her."
He was about to slam his fist down on the desk, but not before Caius caught it midair. "Brother, your temper. What will you do, destroy everything in your rooms? There is a better way."
Aro tilted his head at Caius. "Yes?"
"You know me well, Aro. I am the least patient person in this castle, but I say wait for Demetri to get back to us. Once we know where Celeste is, we will take it from there, and do what we do best." His crimson eyes gleamed hard and determined as sunlight streamed through the window.
"Very well, Caius," Aro said, with a hint of cruelty in his tone even Celeste would not recognize. "We will do what we do best. And nothing in the Romanian stonghold will remain standing."
While Aro and Caius were discussing the Romanians, Marcus had gone to Celeste's room. He walked to her desk and placed the box of chocolates on it, his hands resting lightly on top. The perfume bottle, he set on the counter in the bathroom as if nothing was amiss. He wanted her to see her purchases in her room, waiting for her return. When she returned.
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Celeste continued to pretend knowing nothing about being a real vampire. "So how come I don't have fangs?" she asked the vampire Edmund, pushing her thumb against her right canine tooth.
"Fangs are not needed," he answered impatiently. "Our teeth are as sharp as a blade. You will see for yourself, when you feed the first time."
Celeste heard Edmund's words. Feed, he had said. A shiver ran through her. With a casual flip of her hand, she said, "Oh good. They never get the holes in the necks right anyway."
He gave her a confused look. "What are you talking about?"
"The holes, in the neck?" She pointed with her fore and middle fingers, pushing them against the side of her neck. "After a vampire attack in the movies, they're never in the right place or the right distance apart." She huffed, "Oh, nevermind."
"Are you hungry yet? As a newborn, you should be feeling ravenous."
Celeste wished this was Aro here, since as her sire, he would be telling her all she needed to know about her new existence. "Hungry, as in blood?" The idea did not sit well with her, but just thinking about it was beginning to have an effect on her. She unconsciously ran her tongue over her bottom lip. "And if I am?"
"Come with me," Edmund said, taking her by the arm. He led her from the room and down a corridor until they reached another door. Opening the door, Edmund pushed Celeste into the room and closed the door behind him when he left her there.
Celeste was surprised, but when she heard the faint sound of laboured breathing, she turned to see a man in the room with her. She could smell the fear he exuded. How did he know his fate, unless Edmund had told him for kicks and giggles.
I refuse to kill this man, Celeste thought. But her body told her otherwise, and before the man could take a step back, Celeste was on him. She yanked his head to the left and bit his neck hard. Her razor-sharp teeth cut into his flesh as if it were proverbial butter. The man cried out, but was ignored by his attacker. Blood gushed into her mouth, the hot coppery fluid tasting like ambrosia. Soon, the sounds of both his moans and his heartbeat ceased, and the man went limp in her arms. Celeste still held him tightly, his dead weight inconsequential to her newborn strength. When there was no more blood coming from the wound to swallow, she let him fall to the stone floor with a soft thud.
Celeste looked down at the man who was now dead, killed by her. She felt instant remorse, but because of her experiences with the Volturi, she knew this would have been her life anyway. She squatted beside the dead man, touched his shoulder, and whispered, "I'm so sorry, I really am." The Volturi had been right. She felt like crying, but no tears came.
Wiping her mouth, she noticed, blood had dripped onto the front of her clothing. "Damn, now I need fresh clothes." She called out, "Edmund! I'm done!"
Her sire came into the room, a look of smug satisfaction on his face. "That was fast."
"I need clothes, Edmund. Now please?"
Looking over her bloodied clothing with a hungry leer, he laughed and said, " Follow me then."
Celeste was taken to a bathroom, dated, but functional. She found a new set of clothes, along with a towel, washcloth, and soap. Once he had left her alone, she proceeded to wash up in the porcelain tub, then dried off and dressed. The clothes Edmund had found for her were only a bit too large, so were workable. She saw no hairbrush, and had to run her fingers through her damp hair, trying to air dry it.
This was primitive living, and she hated it. Even though the castle she called home was old, Aro had seen to some modern conveniences being added over the years, primarily for their human guests among the city's governing agents. He also made sure she had everything she needed to live comfortably as a human among vampires.
As if knowing she was finished, Edmund opened the door and told her to hurry. He and Celeste were going to meet their masters.
Celeste followed the vampire, her eyes scanning the corridor as they went. She wanted to keep track of the way to this room her sire had mentioned. It might be important to know the way.
On reaching the room where Stefan and Vladimir had just finished looking over the map where they were completing their plans, Edmund led Celeste inside. They waited until the two Romanians noticed them.
Stefan turned and flashed over to Celeste, offering her his hand. He bent over it, placing a kiss on her wrist. "Welcome, welcome. Edmund tells us you have shown remarkable adaptability." He glanced at the young vampire. "Go, Edmund, continue your hunting, but do not go near Volterra. If we find you have disobeyed..."
Edmund had to appease Stefan and Vladimir. They could be less than forgiving at times. Still, Celeste was his creation after all, so he was curious as to how the coven leaders would receive her.
On seeing Stefan dismiss him with a wave of his hand, he reluctantly left, saying, "I'm sorry, Master. I won't, I swear." With that, he flashed out of the room and was gone before Celeste could say anything.
Vladimir walked around the new addition to their coven. "How was your first meal, my dear?"
Celeste hid a cringe. "My dear" was what Aro called her. "It was...interesting." She decided to fake ignorance once more. "Disgusting too." She noticed both men had eyes that were a pale red in colour.
Stefan laughed. "You will get used to it eventually," he said in a heavy accent. He walked around Celeste slowly, sensing something in her, something that might prove useful to them. She felt...different.
Celeste wanted information. It seemed she was going to have to demand it. "Why did that man turn me into a vampire anyway? I assumed all my life that there were no such creatures, except on TV and in films. Now look at what he's done to me!" She held out her arms wide before letting them drop at her sides. "I'm a fucking vampire. So now what? Why was I brought here?" She cautiously watched the two vampires who were shorter than her, one darker, the other pale-skinned with snow-white hair. He almost looked like an Albino.
"Sit here beside me, child." Vladimir waited for Celeste to take a seat on the bare wooden chair he'd pointed to, then took a seat on a chair opposite her while Stefan stood at his side. "We will now tell you why you are here."
A/N : Sorry for the delay with updating. I wasn't sure where to go with this. Then minor inspiration hit me and I was able to continue. I'm already working in the next chapter. Thanks for reading!