Hello, hello all you readers! How have you been doing? I can't complain lol. I hope the wait for this chapter wasn't too long and excruciating but have no fear, here it is! I've got all the chapters planned out and there are probably about four left. Everything is coming to an end but not yet.
Question: I have been getting a lot of requests to do sequels to my stories. Should I and if so, which ones should I do? Let me know!!!
Comment and Vote. Thanks bunches! Enjoy the chapter :)
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Embry’s POV
Everybody was at the Cullen house in less than ten minutes. I slipped the photo of Lamia and me in the pocket of my shorts. The burnt documents that I could recover lay on the coffee table.
“What’s all this Embry?” Sam asked. He wasn’t very happy about me calling an emergency meeting without first consulting him first. That would come back to haunt me later I’m sure but I needed to stay focus.
“Alice had a vision about Lamia being taken by Jane. Am I right?” I asked, directing the question to Alice but also scanning the room to take in everyone’s reactions.
“You are right,” she replied but the slight hesitation at the end didn’t go unnoticed by me. Neither did the look that both Bella and Edward gave her. Before I could ask what it was about, Leah spoke.
“So what if she was taken? Rather they kill her than have it on my conscious,” she stated, crossing her over her chest. Murmurs of agreement and disapproval went around the room. My fists slammed on the coffee table which creaked under the force. Silence replaced the murmurs. I took a deep breath before moving my hands away from the table that sported two new dents in it.
“You won’t speak of her like that,” I said. Surprise flitted across everyone’s faces except for Bella who smiled at me. She remembered our talk too. “When I went to the house to see if what Alice had seen was true, the living room was a mess and Lamia was gone. I know that most of you still have harsh feelings towards her but I’ve grown past them and ask you to help me get her back,” I said.
The people in the room looked at each other, seeing what the others thought of my sudden revelation. Bella stepped forward and placed her hand on my forearm gently. “You know I’ll help,” she replied. I smiled thankfully at her. I got a chorus of agreements. I turned my eyes on Sam and Leah who had remained quiet.
“I understand she is your imprint Embry but how can I allow her back here if she has told the Volturi our secrets and endangered the lives of everyone in La Push?” Sam asked his alpha tone evident in his voice.
I spread my hand over the singed documents. “These papers have information about all of us from what I could tell. I only managed to save a few but I found them in Lamia’s fireplace. Some of the embers were still hot which leads me to believe that she started a fire and was burning the documents when Jane got her,” I replied.
A wave of curiosity ran through the group as they came closer to examine the documents on the table. “Why would she have done that? That would certainly get her killed,” Esme exclaimed as she held onto Carlisle’s hand.
“I know that no one likes being lied to. Some see it as a betrayal but I think Lamia saw it as keeping us safe. When we first started dating, she said that she couldn’t tell me everything and now I know why. If she would have told us that she was from the Volturi, how would we have reacted?” I asked looking back and forth between everyone. No one answered me but a spark of understanding could be seen in some of their eyes. “She tried to explain to me but I wouldn’t listen. She came here as a slave but she didn’t give them anything. If I’m correct, then she didn’t even return the files they gave her. She burned it all,” I finished.
“I feel horrible if that’s the case. I could only think bad things about her,” Kim said as she leaned into Jared. She had refused to stay at school so Jared brought her along.
“We all did but we don’t need to dwell on that now. We need to come up with a plan. How long do we have before the Volturi make their decision?” Jacob asked. We all turned to Alice, hoping that she had foreseen something. The grim expression that been on her face after the vision in the lunchroom returned.
“That’s part of the vision that I didn’t get to explain before you ran out of the room Embry. As for whether they will kill her or not, the decision has not been made since her trial has not been done but it doesn’t look good. We only have a day to travel to Volterra and come up with a plan to let her come back with us,” Alice replied. I spike of fear ran through my veins. A day?!? Would that even be possible?
“Quite a challenge but not impossible. The Volturi are very proud people. They are powerful and greatly influential. They will not give her to us easily but I may have a way of convincing them. We’ll need to leave immediately,” Carlisle said, nodding his head to Edward who disappeared with Alice and Jasper only to return a few minutes later with a bag each.
“I’ll call the airport to have our private jet ready and waiting,” Esme said before walking into kitchen.
“I’m going with you,” I exclaimed coming to stand in front of the group of four. Carlisle and Edward shared a look.
“Embry, you know very well that you cannot come with us,” Edward replied. I glared at him and my fists clenched at my sides. They’re going to force me to sit here while they go and try to save Lamia? I don’t think so.
“And why can’t I? I can’t just sit here while you go off to Italy. It’ll be torture just to sit here and wait for any word of whether or not you failed. I can’t. I won’t do it,” I said shaking slightly. Sam’s hand landed firmly on my shoulder. He didn’t need to speak. I knew he was telling me that I need to calm down.
“I know that you want to help and that it’ll be hard but you have to let us handle this. A shape shifter, who the Volturi see as one of their greatest enemies, can’t go into the lair. They’d kill you without a second thought and even so, wouldn’t let us speak with them. Standing here arguing with you about this would be pointless if we get there even a second too late,” Carlisle explained calmly.
As he spoke, I could feel myself giving in to the idea that I was going to have to remain in Forks and wait with the rest of them. I wasn’t happy about it but he was right. Trying to argue my way into going is only wasting valuable time.
“Fine but please…just save her,” I replied quietly. Carlisle gave me a reassuring smile and a short nod. Edward and Jasper hugged their siblings and gave a nod to all the pack members before following Carlisle out. Alice stopped by me and laid a cold hand on my hand.
“Don’t worry Embry. I’m going to do everything in my power to get her back here. I miss have her around,” she said, giving my hand a squeeze before taking off after the guys.
The others started talking to each other about the things that happened today. I slipped out the front door and sat on the front steps. By the look of the sun, it was already after school. I pulled out the picture from my pocket and looked at it once more. I closed my eyes and let my head fall back with a sigh.
One day. To wait would feel like a decade. Already anxiety was creeping into my system. Sooner or later I won’t be able to sit still. I’ll be constantly by the phone, ready to answer if Carlisle calls. I wouldn’t go to school. Why bother if I couldn’t concentrate?
I took one last glance before stuffing the picture back in my pocket. Don’t worry Lamia. They’re on their way. I just hope it’s in time.
Lamia’s POV
“In you go scum,” the guard said as he flung me through the doorway of my dungeon cell and closed the door behind me. I groaned as I propped myself and tried to stand to only fall back down. I had only been here for a several hours and I was already breaking down.
I don’t remember how I got here. One moment I was trying to get away from Alec then the next minute, I blacked out. When I woke up, I was being carried by a guard through the hallways of the Volturi lair. They didn’t give me a change of clothes. They didn’t give me anything to eat. The first thing they did was take me to one of the torture chambers.
I pulled myself to the nearest wall and leaned my back against it. My body cringed from the bruises on my back making contact with the cement. They wasted no time in torturing me even though my punishment hasn’t been given out yet. I don’t really know when my “trial” is set for but it would be soon. I could overhear the guards talking about it every once in awhile.
The cell I was in wasn’t just a room with bars as two of the walls. No that was too low class for the Volturi. The cell I was in had four thick cement walls with a steel door. The only source of light came from the small barred window but I didn’t need to see. I knew what the room looked like.
From being a servant for so many years, I have come down to the dungeons many a time after the leaders dealt out a captive’s punishment to clean them. However, it seemed like this room hadn’t been cleaned in a long time. The floors and walls were slick with some type of liquid texture which I’d rather not know what exactly it is. With hardly any ventilation, the room was stuffy and caused the metallic, rotting smell that exudes from the cement to increase to the point where your eyes would water.
I sniffled and wiped my eyes from the water that was beginning to spring up. My body protested even that small action. I’m sure I was black and blue all over. In the torture chambers, they could about do anything to you except make you bleed. It was too risky because if they drained a captive dry before the leaders said so, then they would be the ones on the other side of the punishment. It would have probably been better if they just killed me instead of putting me through this but orders were orders. I’d keep getting hit and slapped until the leaders were ready to reveal their judgment. It’ll be over soon, I thought as I brought my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them.
I lay my head on the top of my knees and closed my eyes. Just like every time I closed my eyes, an image of Embry popped into my mind. The one I saw now was the first time I saw Embry after arriving for my first school dance. The night didn’t end well but it began great. He was so handsome that it took my breath away even in this dank cell. Not much could make me smile in this situation but the image of him swinging me around the dance floor made the corners of my mouth pull up slightly.
The sound of heels on the tiled floor outside the door pulled me from my reverie. The warm feelings from the image immediately evaporated from my body, leaving behind a cold that sent a shiver up my spine. I turned my head toward the door. The light underneath the door revealed two sets of feet. One was the guard that through me in here and the other one I was pretty sure I knew who it was.
As the door opened, I saw my assumption was correct. Jane walked in and stood in the light streaming in from the doorway. I laid my head back against the wall with a sigh. She was either here to take her turn to torture me or it was time for my trial.
“Jane tell me, is it time for our usual fighting or are you finally just going to admit that I’m better?” I ask. After burning all the files, I have no restraint on what I say. I’m already screwed, so why not go out having fun?
She narrowed her eyes at me but doesn’t use her power against me at the moment. “It’s time for you to go before the leaders. I’m sure it’ll be a interesting deliberation,” she said yanking me up off the floor by my arm and dragging me stumbling behind her.
My bare feet slapped against the tile floor as we walked. The dungeon was a level below where the servants stayed. The servants we passed didn’t look up. As we passed the servant quarters, I managed to catch a glimpse of a few here and there. None of them were the same from when I was here last. They’d probably all been replaced by now.
The big doors of the throne room came in sight a few minutes later. There were a few vampires milling around in the hallway but when they saw us, all eyes went to me. I held my head as high as I could while being pulled behind Jane.
When we got closer to the doors, I could make out the buzz of talking from behind them. There was a lady at the desk right outside the doors. She was in charge of the “tour groups” that were brought down here unknowingly becoming a meal for the vampires. She was a human that would soon be replaced as well. She dumbly smiled at me as we walked by as if I was going in for just a little chat. I was going into one of the biggest trials in Volturi history if only for the fact that no one else had ever done what I did. Failed and betrayed the leaders of the Volturi.
Jane pulled me to a halt right in front of the closed doors. I stood beside her and waited for us to be announced. “Just so you know Lamia, I’m really looking forward to watching you die today,” Jane said, a smirk forming on her face.
Before I could properly reply, the doors swung open revealing the grand throne room. Sitting up on the thrones, Aro, Caius, and Marcus stopped their previous conversations with each other and some of the ladies of the Volturi. There were other higher up members of the Volturi around the room but all the talking stopped once the doors opened. With one look, the whole room started to leave the room, the three leaders and a few members the only ones remaining. Alec stood in his position to the side while the two main guards Demitri and Felix on the other side of the thrones.
Jane pushed me forward and followed me into the room as the doors closed behind us. She moved to stand next to her brother which left me standing in the middle of the room by myself. Aro clapped his hands together and stood up.
“Lamia, so glad you could return so fast. Shall we begin?”