The group of nomads was bigger than they thought, but apart from numbers, they had nothing. They were disorganized and messy, like new age humans. The masters decided on punishments related to the different existing clans, but this wasn't a clan yet, so Demetri was in a position to decide.
- These three - he indicated with his chin the vampires who were on his right side, the only ones who did not need physical punishment from Felix - you will continue to exist with the permission of the Volturi, remember that.
Two were men, young but reasonable, and they protected the woman between them who still had human blood in her veins. Demetri didn't know if they were family or lovers, but it was safer to let them go knowing he knew their weak spot.
The others started to run as soon as Demetri made his position clear, but they wouldn't get far.
- Two to the southwest - he said to Felix - I'll take care of the others.
The bigger vampire went first, and when Demetri tried to push forward he ended up bumping into Renata, who was following him closely as she did with Aro. He had already forgotten that she was there since she was quiet throughout the nomads' interrogation.
- You stay here.
- Not by myself! - She stamped her foot, but seemed to regret it later, as they were in a humid forest, and her boots were dirty with mud.
He had to admit that Renata was good at self-preservation.
- Then try to follow me.
Demetri headed towards the remaining three. He had calculated that these were weaker than the ones Felix was chasing, so he wouldn't have any problems. He reached the first one in three seconds, and the second took another five seconds, as he tried to find the arm that Felix had thrown away. Demetri barely looked at the third, only hearing the noise of something like marble being split in two after the work was finished.
Renata wasn't as fast as them, but she kept up with Demetri at a safe distance. She wasn't good in combat, her job was to protect, so Demetri didn't know what she was doing there, especially with a grumpy face.
- Stupid, careless and ill-mannered nomads - Renata grumbled as she helped Felix and Demetri collect the remains of the bodies. They mixed the vampires' bodies with some humans they had consumed for the bonfire.
Despite being irritated, Renata was correct about her observations. Those nomads were really careless, especially for making a mess so close to Volterra. The vampire responsible for them was one of the ones Felix was chasing, and he showed them no respect until limbs started being torn off.
The battle in the United States still showed the consequences for the royalty.
Felix smiled as he watched Renata mumble, it was funny to see her thin and small figure carrying bodies with her feet full of mud.
- You owe me five bucks - Felix said.
- Me? - Demetri asked - Why?
- I remember we bet once when Renata would go on a combat mission, you said that would never happen.
- I swear I don't remember that - Demetri tried to defend himself when looking at Renata. Money wasn't something they worried about, so that debt must have appeared in a moment of leisure.
- Whatever - Felix continued - you owe me five bucks.
- I'm surrounded by idiots - Renata sighed, taking a lighter out of her pocket. Everyone in the Guard was supposed to keep one, but Felix lost his on the run.
They watched the fire until the bodies turned to ash, careful not to attract the attention of humans. When they finished, the rain helped dissipate the smoke.
- It's going to be dawn soon - Demetri observed, putting his hood over his head to protect his face from the rain.
- There's no time to go back to Volterra - Felix said. They pursued the nomads to somewhere in France, it was too risky to try to go back.
- But there's time to eat - Renata said.
The two stared at her. They weren't supposed to eat, it was Caius's orders, but Caius wasn't looking now, and they were starving. It was one thing to be thirsty inside the castle, but outside?
Renata led the way, walking normally until the other two decided whether to follow her or not.
- What do you think? - Felix asked. He always waited for orders from someone above him.
- I think something happened in the castle, that's why she's here - Demetri replied. He started thinking about the worst possible things, until the face of the human he had left behind came to mind.
Demetri shook his head. Elia was fine, it was a thought he always needed to keep. She would be fine until she got old and died, then he could return to existing in peace. He didn't need to worry about her and when the years passed she would be just a distant memory of what could have been if he made different decisions.
The nearest town was a still-preserved medieval village that brought back memories for Demetri. He was older than that, but he cherished the memories of when the Volturi roamed the continent freely, judging and cleaning. At that time, if someone from the Guard became fond of a human, they just had to turn he or she and that was it. If the masters accepted this new vampire, they could live together, if not, they would find a way to meet. Demetri knew that despite this being the policy imposed by the masters, this was very rare, and he only knew one vampire who had done it, but in the end he ended up abandoning the Volturi.
- You're quiet - Felix said - too quiet.
One human was enough for someone like him and Renata to share, but not for Felix, and his appetite was different. Two humans were chosen, not for specific characteristics. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. A human couple.
Demetri placed the woman's body next to the man who must have been her husband. They dug a deep grave, they were experts at that. The earth and worms would do the rest of the work.
- No, I'm not - Demetri hoped the lie was enough for him too. Their eyes now had a bright red color.
Demetri looked at the man's wallet one last time before Felix started to close the hole, then went back inside the old, remote house that the couple seemed to have rented, where Renata was already cleaning her boots. They would need to spend the day there until nightfall again. It would be another day away from home.
- Who would have thought that I would see Demetri anxious one day - Renata said. She was in the couple's bedroom while Demetri was in the living room, but it wasn't difficult to communicate in an empty house.
- I think you want to tell me something - Demetri went to meet her in the bathroom, she had already cleaned one of her boots while Demetri didn't care much. He and Felix didn't enter houses with dirty shoes, so they didn't have to worry about clean anything later. - What did Alec do?
- He sent me to this place, can't you see? - Renata sighed - It's not fair.
- Look - Demetri tried to think of how he would say this out loud since he was not an expert - if you and Alec like each other, you should...
Renata looked at him as if Demetri were proposing to kill all the puppies on earth. Not that Renata cared much about puppies, she liked them in pictures.
- Alec and I don't "like each other" - Renata made quotation marks with her hands - it would be disgusting. We are just friends, you should also try to have some.
- But I have friends! - Demetri felt attacked by her statement.
- I'm talking about friends outside the Guard - Renata continued - I have my family, we have several contacts, Alec has me, which is something, but you...
Renata looked at Demetri, she was holding a bar of soap.
- Whatever, Heidi likes you, for some reason... I never knew if you were ever a couple.
- We're not a couple. Neither have we ever been one.
- That's sad - Renata finished cleaning the other shoe, then rubbed her hands to remove the remaining dirt - maybe that's why you're obsessed with that human.
For Demetri, it was as if the world had gone silent for a moment. Renata stopped what she was doing, letting the tap water run free. She had spoken without thinking.
- How did you know?
He didn't even try to deny it. He was exposed.
- I watched you lookout for her.
- But I... - Demetri started walking around the room - I didn't see her in your mind...
He stopped, then searched Renata's mind for Elia's scent again, but there wasn't much, not something that was easy to notice.
- I didn't see her directly, nor did I look for her, if that's what you're trying to find. I only deduced that you were attached to a human woman and looked for her from a safe distance, you wouldn't be the first of our species to do that.
Renata put down the soap, then dried her hands on a towel to mask her apprehension.
- So, what are you going to do?
- What do you mean?
- You like the human, aren't you going to bring her to the clan?
Demetri gritted his teeth. For some reason, the possibility of disturbing Elia's existence made him angry, as if that were some kind of sin.
- Oh... - Renata's peculiar reaction made Demetri nervous, but only because it had happened while they were talking about Elia.
- What? What happened?
- I'm sorry, Demetri, I thought you were just playing with a human, not that it was something that serious... - her expression went from determined to pitying.
Demetri breathed deeply. His intuition was right then, something had happened.
- Who else knows?
- She's not your singer, no one would touch her if she were, you know that, that's why I...
They heard Felix enter the house. It was officially daytime. They would be stuck there for the next several hours.
Renata's voice broke a little, she tried to distance herself from Demetri, but there was nowhere to run. They were trapped in the cramped bathroom and for the first time Renata saw Demetri in the same way as the dead nomads.
- I told Alec.
The vampire stared at the ground. Shield or not, she wouldn't be able to avoid Demetri's wrath if he wanted to take it out on her.
- She better be alive when we get back, otherwise you will follow her destiny - was the only thing Demetri said before closing the door, locking Renata inside.
Elia was sitting on the steps of the house. She had forgotten her keys and needed to wait for her brother to return, so she checked the mailbox and picked up some letters that her brother asked her to collect a few days ago. Most were bills that needed to be paid, so she kept them in her bag so they wouldn't get wet from the rain that was starting to pour, but the last letter was addressed to her.
- Claudio Salvatore - she murmured the sender's name, then sighed - you really don't give up.
As the city's weather continued to be rainy, Elia had borrowed a raincoat from Andrea to go to work early, she put on the hood and settled down on the steps a little longer since the tiles facing forward could protect her face a little more. .
Elia thought about throwing the letter into the puddle of water that was forming in the small garden that Andrea's wife kept, but decided against it. Andrea loved that garden, it was a reminder of her wife, she shouldn't stain it with her sadness too. So she put Claudio's letter in her bag too.
Her cell phone rang, but Elia refused the call, soon sending a message to her father saying that she would call later today, as she was stuck outside the house. Despite this, Elia felt like the luckiest person in the world when she realized that she had put her mp3 in her bag before going to work, so she put on her headphones and let the music distract her and resist the temptation to open it Claudio's letter.
After a while, Elia gave up huddling and stretched her legs, letting her sneakers get soaked with the rain. She bobbed her head to the rhythm of the music, until she saw the pale, brown-haired boy staring at her over the stone wall.
Elia stared at Alec for a while and waited for him to speak first, as she thought he had followed her there since he didn't show up at the cafe earlier, but Alec remained silent, and she got tired of waiting.
- Don't you want to sit down? -she pointed to the empty space on the step next to her.
The boy appeared beside her in the blink of an eye, just like he had done at the cafe.
- Why are you in the rain? - he asked.
- I forgot the keys, but don't worry, I already sent a message to my brother when I was on the bus, he should be arriving soon.
Elia thought the boy seemed worried about this, as he automatically looked around, as if looking for someone.
- Did your sister like the food?
- What? - Alec looked confused, but then his expression changed quickly - She asked me to thank you, you needn't have bothered.
Alec looked at the headphones Elia was holding and the small rectangular device. When the girl reached out to put the headphones in his ears, Alec shied away, as if he'd rather go back out into the rain.
-I'm not going to touch you - Elia said, noticing that he was also wearing gloves today - I'm just going to put it in your ear.
Alec stood still while Elia did as she promised, her careful hands avoided Alec's skin and she managed to fit the headphones into his ear, then put the other one in hers. When Elia turned on the music, Alec almost jumped.
- Is it too loud?
- I don't know, it's just... - Alec covered his ears with his hands, then smiled. Elia still couldn't look at his smile for too long, it was like looking at a wolf's teeth - It's different.
Alec remained silent for some time, enjoying the music, sometimes trying to reproduce the beats with his mouth. When the song ended, he seemed interested in more, but Elia didn't turn it back on.
- When you said we would see each other again I thought it would take at least another week, not that you would show up the next day at my door.
- We're running out of time - Alec looked at the cloudy sky.
and I think some things might happen after today, so I wanted to enjoy one last moment with you.
- One last moment? - Elia pulled the headphones back. The rain was getting lighter. - That's not what you promised me.
- I know... - Alec sighed, he seemed ready to say more, but Elia interrupted him.
- You know, when you showed up at the cafe, I thought it was a hallucination, that I was so messed up mentally that finally that side of me was oozing out, but then you were real.
He listened in silence, and this time Elia managed to see the pendant around his neck, a beautiful and decorated golden 'V'.
- But at the same time you don't seem very ordinary - Elia said - especially when you say that kind of stuff and I should kick you out of my garden for that.
- But you won't do that.
- I won't do that - Elia agreed - because I have a feeling you won't leave.
Alec smiled, agreeing with that statement, leaving the girl a little shocked for having agreed so quickly with her words.
- And now that we're officially friends I apologize for not bringing a cat today, it's hard to catch them in the rain - Alec held a strand of Elia's hair between his fingers.
Elia handed the headphone to Alec again for having the feeling that it would be safer that way, who took it without thinking twice.
When the sunlight began to grow weaker, Demetri was the first to leave the house, using the forests and trails to hide from humans, even the ocean, which was a great way to travel long distances discreetly. When he returned to Italy, the route to Volterra was well known and quiet, there were still not many humans from outside visiting the city and the rainy weather at that time of year helped him hide the glow of his skin.
For the first time, Demetri allowed himself to use his gift to find out where Elia lived. It wasn't difficult, she didn't have many contacts in the city, but the man he had seen calling her once had a strong connection with her. It didn't take long for Demetri to realize that they were siblings, and where their house was located.
It was too risky to get too close, so Demetri did his best to see from the neighboring roof some movement in the windows of Elia's house. There was nothing special there, it was another stone house with a red roof like so many others in the city, but when Demetri saw Elia, it was as if that place had transformed into a giant lighthouse.
She looked normal, physically well. Her hair was wet and she was reading something as she walked. There was a child following her. Her nephew... Demetri started to collect information about him too. Her brother seemed to be busy in the kitchen.
Elia continued reading to the child, they sat down at the table and...
- He spoke to her! - Demetri said out loud when he saw Alec's face in Elia's mind. His ability made him detect his presence, and fresh at that!
He rushed back to the Clock Tower before his feelings became too difficult to control. That was why Demetri didn't want anyone to know about his interest in a human, because someone would check, and ulterior motives would emerge. Demetri stopped walking in circles around the tower and started going down the stairs. His clothes were no longer wet, they had dried during the race back to Italy. He met Felix and Renata in the elevator, and the smaller vampire hid behind Felix's broad body.
No one spoke a word in the elevator, but Demetri took a five-dollar bill out of his pocket and handed it to Felix. He had taken that money from the wallet of the man they had killed. His debt was paid. From Felix's worried expression he imagined that Renata must have already told him everything. They must have been wondering what Demetri would do now, how he would attack Alec, and who they should protect.
- Be careful with Jane - Felix said - if she is present while you confront him she will...
- I'm not going to kill him - Demetri said - yet.
- You can't kill him! - Renata intervened - Alec must have just been curious and...
She stopped talking when Demetri stared at her, clinging to Felix's clothes.
- He spoke to her.
- What? - Renata replied, even Felix seemed surprised this time.
- Alec went to her, I saw it in her mind!
- Did you go check on the human? - Felix asked - Is that why you left us in France?
The elevator stopped and soon they returned to the gloomy and familiar Volturi hallway. Gianna's table was empty as she didn't stay with them overnight, but there was someone else there, a pale young man with brown hair which had angered Demetri greatly.
- I was waiting for you to come back - Alec said. He took off his headphones when he saw the tallest one approaching.
- We need to talk, just the two of us.
- I agree - Alec looked at Renata and Felix who were still lurking - but I would like a witness, Renata could be mine.
This was not an unusual request, usually talented members of the Volturi Guard asked for witnesses when their interests conflicted, but Demetri was surprised that Alec was the one who made the proposal first, since with his gift he could get rid of Demetri quickly.
- Then Felix will be mine - he looked at the device that Alec was holding, Elia's scent was permeated in it.
Demetri intended to maintain the upper hand, so he let Alec lead the way to the great hall where the masters made decisions and carried out executions. Alec walked to the middle, near the three thrones, standing just above the pit of acid where they disposed of the bodies of Heidi's harvest. The smooth marble, the large dome on the ceiling and the curved details, everything was so usual for Demetri that he was no longer impressed.
If Demetri was fast and perhaps stronger, he could open the pit and throw Alec in there. It would be easier if he had help, Felix would be perfect, but he would never commit treason. And where would they run to after that? Aro would never let them live.
- Are you thinking how you could kill me? - Alec tilted his head to the side - That's funny, I'm thinking the same about you.
Renata stood next to Alec, one of her hands on his back, the same way she did with Aro. She would be his shield now.
Demetri wanted to resolve this quickly.
- Why did do this? There are so many humans in Volterra, so many humans in so many places, why her?
- It was an accident.
- Do not lie! - Demetri got a little closer to Alec, enough to make Renata tremble while the one she was protecting remained still - Renata told you about her and you went to check.
- Yes, Renata told me about her, but I met Elia before that.
Demetri couldn't hide the shock on his face. Alec had spoken her name in that place, something Demetri had never dared to do.
- I met her on a patrol if that's what you're wondering - Alec said - you must not have noticed because I didn't see her face and the catacombs have the peculiar smell of sewage and mold, I didn't intentionally go after her! Not in the first time.
- Intentionally or not - Demetri said, he was still debating internally whether the fact that Alec hadn't eaten in a while would give him any advantage - you shouldn't have gone back there, you know what that means now.
- It doesn't mean anything because she doesn't know what we are... - Alec smiled - What I am, since she doesn't even know you exist.
Demetri could restrain himself from threats, but not from mockery. If Felix hadn't held him back he would have reached Alec despite Renata's abilities, whose mental state weakened her gifts.
- Don't do that! - Felix tried to calm him down - You know what will happen if you touch him!
Despite not reaching him, seeing fear in Alec's eyes for a second was enough to satisfy Demetri for now. When he stopped moving, Felix finally released him.
- If we behave, no one else needs to know - Alec said - they don't need to know.
He stared at Demetri with his black eyes, and he almost saw sadness in them. Alec was referring to the masters, and Demetri understood. Aro was still avoiding reading other people's thoughts, until he came out of seclusion, no one would know about Elia.
- That will give us some time until she comes to the castle - Alec concluded, he seemed to have everything planned out.
That's when Demetri realized that they had very different thoughts about the future.
- She won't come here, I won't let her - he said, to the surprise of the younger looking vampire.
Alec and Renata looked at each other, and even without being able to read their thoughts, Demetri knew they thought he was wrong. Elia's fate had already been sealed the moment Alec introduced himself to her, and Demetri needed to do the same if he wanted to protect her.
- We'll see - Alec said before leaving the hall.