❄ 16 ❄️ Jane, Volterra, And The Volturi ❄
Tuscany, Italy, Volterra
Tuesday, February 15, 2017
The sun rose over the trees of the surrounding forest as Rhys drove down the highway leading towards Tuscany, his hands clenching tighter and tighter around the steering wheel as he and Wren neared Volterra, where the Volturi coven was located. He glanced over at Wren, who was sound asleep in the passenger seat with a blanket tucked tightly around her. As he watched her serene expression, the burning sensation flared at the back of his throat once more. Rhys swore loudly and pulled over to the far side of the road. He shut off the engine and leaned his head back against the seat with a frustrated sigh.
"What is it?" Wren asked him suddenly, startling him nearly back to humanity.
Rhys looked around and saw her sitting up in her seat, watching him, her ice-blue eyes full of concern. He sighed again heavily and shook his head, looking away from her.
"It's nothing." he murmured half-heartedly.
Silence passed between the both of them before she spoke again.
"It's my blood, isn't it?" she asked him quietly.
Rhys' head snapped around in her direction and he stared at her in shock. How does she know?
"What are you talking about?" he asked her, deciding to play dumb.
Her eyes narrowed dangerously as her lips thinned into a straight line.
"Don't play dumb with me, Rhys Vulcan." Wren scolded him unexpectedly.
He didn't respond to her question. Instead, he looked out of the window to stare into the dark shadows of the forest.
"When you bit me, you took some of my blood, and now your body is rejecting it," Wren said matter-of-factly.
Rhys turned his head to stare at her again in astonishment. Again, how does she know?
"What's wrong with my blood?" she asked him in a quiet voice.
He hesitated slightly before answering her. "Your blood is unique in and of itself."
At her puzzled look, he continued on, trying to tell her the best way that he could. "There is a vast range of human blood available, some more potently sweeter to different vampires than others. Your scent is incredibly sweet yet it reduces the effect of blood lust and dilutes the scents of the humans around you," he explained.
Silence passed between them once again as she thought over what he had just said. Rhys waited silently, watching her face for any signs of a reaction. Wren looked at him just then, her ice-blue eyes grave.
"You are saying that my unique scenting blood interferes with the scents of humans?" she asked him.
He nodded his head in agreement. "Not only that," he answered, watching her intensely. "If taken by force, it can burn the back of a vampire's throat for days on end."
Her ice blonde eyebrows furrowed together as she thought through the words he had just said. Then her eyes widened suddenly and she looked at him in alarm.
"By taking my blood by force, it could be very hazardous to your health, even deadly," Wren whispered suddenly.
Now it was Rhys' turn to ponder her words. He looked back at Wren in complete shock as her words sunk in.
"You mean by taking your blood, I could die?" he asked her quietly.
She nodded her head in response, her ice-blue eyes wide with fear and concern. Then she did something that took him by surprise, she held her wrist out to him.
"Drink," Wren said quietly.
Rhys shook his head quickly in denial and shrank back into the driverside door.
"Drink or die," she growled in a low voice. He looked over at her and saw that her face was set, her eyes completely serious. "I'm offering you my blood willingly, now drink."
He sighed heavily and stared at her tiny, snowy white wrist. Rhys could see the ice blue vein throbbing as her heart pumped blood through her body. He slowly took her arm in his hand and brushed his nose over the vein. Wren shivered slightly at the cold feel of his nose as it grazed against her skin and released a small sigh as her sweet wintery-apple scent swirled through his senses, clouding his thoughts. Rhys bit down on her wrist and she gasped as her body jerked slightly.
His grip tightened on her arm as her blood pooled inside his mouth. He drank hungrily, suckling at the wound. The ice-cold sweetness of her blood trickled down his throat like a red river, quenching his thirst and the hellish burning sensation at the back of his throat almost instantly. Rhys moaned softly as he drew in another mouthful and quickly sealed the wound with his venom. He sat back with a deep sigh of contentment as Wren examined her fast healing wound.
Silence reigned in the car before she looked up at him.
"Feeling any better?" she asked him quietly.
He nodded his head in reply to her question and turned to beam at her, dazzling her with his beauty. "Much." he sighed in contentment.
"Good." Wren nodded her own head and sat back in her seat as he started the engine and drove down the highway.
They drove in complete silence as Wren watched the trees flash silently by her window. Rhys' thoughts were on the nomad coven and the occupants of Grimmauld Square. He hoped that Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the kids were safe. He glanced back at the road just as a figure dressed in a dark clock appeared in the middle of the road. He pressed down on the brakes, the tires squealing as the car came to a sudden stop.
The cloaked figure raised small, pale hands and pushed back the hood of the cloak, revealing a small, pretty face with wide, burgundy eyes, full red lips, and blonde hair pulled back into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. Rhys' fingers tightened around the steering wheel as the girl peered first at him and then at Wren.
"Jane." he hissed through his teeth, suddenly tense.
Wren looked at him suddenly, her ice-blue eyes bright with a mixture of fear and curiosity. Another cloaked figure appeared at her side. Jane turned a soft smile on the figure and Rhys realized suddenly that it was her twin brother, Alec. He growled low in his throat, his golden eyes immediately scanning the trees for the rest of the Volturi guard. Four more cloaked figures flitted out of the trees and surrounded the car.
Wren shrank back in her seat, her eyes wide with fear.
"Step out of the car." A very tall, muscular man with thick shoulders and a slightly olive complexion that looks odd with his chalky pallor demanded menacingly.
Wren looked at Rhys cautiously and he nodded for her to do as he said. He unbuckled his seat belt and opened the car door, stepping out onto the cement with Wren following quickly behind him. The Witch Twins glided forward and stopped directly in front of them.
"Valentine." Jane greeted him in a high, cold voice.
"Jane," he replied just as cold with a slight nod of his head.
Her bright, ruby red gaze traveled from him to Wren. She arched a delicate blonde eyebrow as Ivory stared back at her unflinchingly.
"You're traveling with a human," she stated in a cold voice. "My master would love to hear about this."
Jane nodded her head to two tallest of the guards and they each took hold of one of Rhys' arms, restraining him as she turned her full attention upon Wren. Rhys struggled in vain against the restraining hands, recognizing the malicious glint in her ruby eyes.
"Don't hurt her!" he hissed at her, struggling against the guards all the more.
Jane ignored him, concentrating her attention on Wren. The other girl's body buckled under the weight of her power, a bloodcurdling scream bubbling from her throat. A sadistic smile curled the corners of Jane's lips as she watched her crumple to the ground. The other guard members chuckled menacingly as they watched as Wren screamed and writhed on the ground. Suddenly, she stopped moving, the deserted highway echoing in the sudden eerie silence.
Jane blinked in surprise as the other girl began to rise, gasping and shaking, to her feet.
"What the---" One of the guards began.
"How did she do that?" asked another in honest shock.
Wren inhaled deeply as her trembling stopped and then glared at Jane with menacing, frosty white eyes. The vampire girl suddenly released a bloodcurdling scream of her own and crumpled to the ground under the weight of her own power. Alec stood over his twin sister and stared down at her, his bright ruby red eyes wide and full of fear.
"What is happening to her?" he whispered, his voice shaking.
Silence reigned around them as Jane's pain-filled screams echoed around the deserted road. Alec looked up from his sister and glared at Wren angrily, realizing that she was somehow hurting his twin.
"Stop it!" he growled at her.
Wren ignored him as she stared silently down at Jane, her now frosty white eyes as hard and as dark as steel. Alec charged at her at full speed, his sharp teeth bared and aimed at her throat. Wren reached out and stopped him with a hand at his throat. Alec fell to his knees as her fingers tightened around his throat, her nails digging into his hard, marble-like flesh. He groaned in a mixture of agony and fury.
She looked away from Jane and her screaming stopped almost immediately. When her frosty gaze fell on Rhys and the two guards that were holding him their tight grip, she spoke.
"Release him," she ordered the guards in a cold, quite a voice.
The two cloaked figures looked at each other and released him almost immediately. Rhys stumbled over to Wren's side and stared at the guards with a mixture of apprehension, triumph, fear, and uncertainty. She released Alec and he scrambled to his sister's side. Jane slowly rose to her feet and glared at Wren, who stared back at her calmly.
"Come," Jane said coldly. "My master is waiting."
She then turns away from them all and raced into the surrounding forest, the other guard members following quickly behind her. Rhys looked at Wren and she nodded her head in agreement. He pulled her onto his back and raced after the Volturi guard members. Soon they reached the city where Volterra was located and raced through the dark, quiet streets. They came upon the large square of the Palazzo dei Priori with a wide square fountain at its center. Rhys placed Wren down onto her feet, took one of her hands into his own, and followed the guards across the plaza to the clock tower to the north.
They followed the guards into the alleyway beside the tower. The alley angled slightly downward as it narrowed off. There was a loose curve to the alley, still slanting downward, and they came to a flat, windowless, brick face. They all paused before a small drain-like hole with the grate halfway pushed to the side. Jane disappeared through the hole first, quickly followed by her brother.
One of the guards prodded Rhys in the back and he clenched his teeth together, silencing his growl of warning. He purposely ignores him and urged Wren forward with a hand on the small of her back. She looked at him apprehensively before dropping into down into the hole. She landed with a quiet thud and he quickly followed after her. The fall was silent and short.
It was dim but not pitch dark at the bottom. The light from the hole above provided a faint glow, reflecting wetly from the stones underneath his feet. Rhys looked around and could see Wren standing a few feet away from Jane and Alec. He moved to her side as the other guard members dropped into the dark tunnel. The sound of the heavy grate sliding over the drain hole above them rang loudly with metallic finality as the last guard dropped down beside them.
They all followed Jane down a long, dark underground stone corridor. Beside him, Rhys could hear Wren's heartbeat thumping frantically inside her chest, accompanied by the whispery breath of the guards. Her eyes, which had brightened from the frosty white to cold, ice-blue eyes, glowed in the dark as they scanned every nook and cranny of the corridor, obviously searching for any signs of danger or other bloodthirsty guard members. Jane took a sharp left hand turn around a corner with Alec flitting quickly behind her. Rhys took Wren's hand in his own and laced their fingers together as they both followed after the twins.
They walked down another dark corridor until they all came to a stop outside a tall, wrought iron door. Jane opened the door easily and disappeared inside. Wren's icy fingers gripped Rhys hand tightly, her sharp nails digging into his flesh as they followed after her. They both stepped into a long, brightly lit stone entrance hall decorated in bright red and black. At the center of the large hall, there stood a long, black marble counter at which stood a beautiful young woman with long, black hair and big, bright grey eyes.
She looks up and smiled brightly at them as they all started across the grand hall.
"Hello, Jane, Alec, Heidi, Gianna, Felix, and Demetri." She greeted the guards with a warm voice.
Jane snarled back at her as the semi-small group walked past the counter. Out of the corner of his peripheral vision, Rhys saw the young woman shrug her shoulders in reaction to Jane's snarl and went back to her work. He also saw Wren glance at her and a curiously confused expression crossed her face. He vaguely wondered at her look as they all came to another stop, this time outside a pair of tall, dark wooden double doors. Demetri and Felix strode swiftly forward and pulled open the heavy doors.
Jane stepped forward with Wren and Rhys following closely behind her as Alec, Gianna, Demetri, Heidi, and Felix all fell in behind them.
"We have found the girl, Master," announced Jane in a voice as cold as ice as she glided to a stop before a raised dais where three men were sitting in thrones
Aro, the main leader of the Volturi, smiled fondly down at her from the largest, middle throne, his face as pale and as thin as paper surrounded by fine, shoulder-length black hair, his sharp, ultra white teeth gleaming in the dimly lit hall.
"Well done, dearest Jane." He said, beckoning her to him with a thin, pale hand.
Jane stepped forward and placed her hand in his. Seconds passed before he smiled and patted her small white hand with his free one. She pulled her hand free and stepped back as he turned to face his brothers, Caius and Marcus.
"Interesting, very interesting." He murmured to them.
Caius gave Aro a questioning look as Marcus stared at him, his expression impassive. Jane must have shown him what had happened on the highway. A growl rumbled deep within Rhys' chest and Wren looked up at him, her ice-blue eyes shining brightly with a mixture of concern and uncertainty. Rhys watched as Aro rose to his feet, floated down the short step of the dais, and crossed the stone floor, his eyes downcast. Rhys growled menacingly in warning as he neared them.
Aro paused a few feet away, a small smile spreading across his thin, pale lips.
"Come now, Rhys," he began in a sickeningly sweet voice that the younger vampire's rage burns hotter. "I just want to speak with your unique pet."
Rhys growled again, this time louder, as the elder vampire raised his cloudy and milky ruby eyes to Wren's face. He heard her gasp sharply as she took a step backward, the hot fingers of her other hand sliding around his wrist, tightening painfully. Rhys took a step in front of her and crouched down protectively, his golden eyes trained on Aro, his growls echoing loudly around the hall. Aro glanced away from Wren and over Rhys' shoulder and, suddenly, he was across the hall, on his knees with two pairs of strong hands holding him down. Rhys looked up into Wren's now frosty white eyes.
She was suddenly at his side within the blink of an eye and within seconds the hands holding him were gone, accompanied by the loud sound of crashing boulders. Rhys looked around and saw the two guards that held him grumbling loudly as they rose to their feet behind the dais, their coal-black eyes glaring daggers at Wren, who was now crouching in front of him, snarling in a warning. The Volturi leaders and their guards, the ones who were not glaring at Wren, all stared at the both of them in stunned silence. Then Aro began laughing suddenly, clapping his hands enthusiastically.
"Brava! Brava!" He exclaimed excitedly as Caius, Marcus, and the guards all stared at him as if he had just grown two heads.
His face then turned very serious suddenly as he gazed at Wren.
"It is very curious that you seem to have our strength and speed." He murmured, his milky eyes glinting curiously.
Aro held out his hand out to her. "Come." He spoke to her in a soft, crooning voice.
Wren rose to her feet and stood still, her face smooth of thoughts and emotions, her eyes blank. Aro smiled slightly, his eyes hardening.
"Stubborn, aren't we?" His voice dripped with icy sweetness.
He glided forward and stood a few feet in front of her. They assessed one another coolly. A few minutes passed in stony silence as the occupants of the hall watched the exchange, none of them breathing. Aro held out his hand once more, smiling gently. Wren hesitated slightly before placing her hand in his.
The silence grew to a breaking point as Caius, Marcus, the guards, and Rhys all continued to watch them closely. Rhys watched Wren mostly, apprehension growing inside him as she stood as still as a statue, the only sign of her being human was the rise and fall of her chest. Both Wren and Aro blinked in unison and dropped their hands simultaneously. Aro turned around and crossed the hall to the dais, ascend the steps to turn and stand before his throne, his eyes shining as they took in the occupants of the hall.
"Miss Alba is the most unique creature I had ever come across in all my years as a vampire." he began speaking in a soft voice. "Her power excels over everyone's in this room, even my own. As you all know my power is Tactile Empathy, the ability to read the thoughts of others by touch. Hers is Power Absorption, the ability to steal some or all the supernatural powers and abilities from others and make them her own."
Quiet exclamations of shock broke out around the hall as Wren and Rhys glanced at each other in confusion. Her now ice-blue eyes glowed with a surprising mixture of fear, pain, rage, and something else he couldn't quite name. Aro raised his hand and silence fell around the hall almost immediately.
"When I had touched her hand, I watched as her entire life played itself out in my mind, but something interesting happened," he paused dramatically and gazed out at his audience gleefully. "I saw my own life playing right beside hers."
The guards began murmuring to one another, some of their voices rising in shock.
"I then realized that she had somehow copied or absorbed my power, as she did our dear Jane," he said, gesturing to her.
Aro looked straight at Wren, a triumphant smile playing on his lips.
"Miss Alba," he began in a wheedling tone. "I have a proposition to make."
Rhys tensed suddenly, realizing that he was going to ask her to join his guard. Beside him, he could feel Wren stiffening also.
"Would you do me the honor of joining my guard?" He asked her softly.
The other members all stared at him in complete astonishment.
"That is out of the question!" snarled Jane, her bright, ruby red eyes flashing with anger as she glared at Ivory.
"Silence, girl!" Caius barked suddenly as Aro continued to smile.
When Wren made no motion to speak, Aro sighed dramatically and gazed at her, smiling sweetly.
"You do not have to decide immediately. But while you are pondering my request, I am sorry to say that you cannot leave the castle," he said.
Rhys growled loudly at his words. Wren shot him a warning glance and then looked back at Aro. She inclined her head slowly in consent. He smiled sweetly and clapped his hands together in excitement.
"Good. Heidi will show you to your quarters," said Aro. "You may go."
Wren turned away from the Volturi leader, grasped Rhys arm in her hand, and propelled him towards the door. They followed Heidi out of the great hall silently. They followed her across the entrance hall and through a different pair of double doors. She crossed the stone floor of the lesser hall briskly and started up the grand staircase. Wren and Rhys followed her all the way to the third floor.
Heidi walked halfway down the third-floor corridor before stopping before a pair of black double doors. She opened the doors and stood back. Rhys followed Wren into a large gray and black sitting room.
"The bedroom is through the doors across from you. The closets and the dressers are fully stocked with clothing. Food will be sent up to you shortly." Heidi said before she closed the doors.
Wren crossed the room to the bedroom and disappeared through the doors. Rhys followed her slowly and found her fast asleep in the four-poster bed. He crossed the grey carpeted floor to stand beside the bed, watching her sleep. He watched her for a few minutes before walking to the foot of the bed. He pulled off her boots and covered her with the soft black bedspread.
Rhys walked back into the sitting room, pulled a random book from one of the bookshelves that ran the length of one wall, and then sat down in an overly stuffed armchair to read for the rest of the evening and into the night.
❄
Jane Volturi
❄
Alec Volturi
❄
Heidi Volturi
❄
Gianna Volturi
❄
Felix Volturi
❄
Demetri Volturi
❄
Aro Volturi
❄
Caius Volturi
❄
Marcus Volturi
❄