The Descent
by Laura Spudzmom
Chapter 22
A/N: Portions of chapters which are NOT in Bella’s POV will be written in third person rather than first. I apologize if this messes with anyone’s head, but it’s how I’m choosing to write it.
~o0o~
A knock sounded on Marcus’s study door and he looked up from the pages of his book, his brow furrowed in curiosity as he spoke, “Enter.”
Those dark brows inched up at the sight of Caius as he closed the door and walked to the sideboard, pouring two drinks into crystal snifters before taking the seat adjacent to him.
Leaning forward, he handed one to the curious King who accepted it wordlessly as his blond brother sat back with a humorless smirk. “I can see you’re wondering why I’m here.”
“I confess myself intrigued, yes,” he said before taking a sip of the pungent, exquisitely aged liquor. It was his favorite, and not something he indulged in often. As a matter of fact, it had been many years, and it had been Caius he’d shared a glass with then, too.
The conversation they’d had over it had been long and profound and made him wonder what this conversation would be like. As was his way, Caius wasted no time getting to it.
“How do you do it, brother?”
He quirked a brow. “Do it?”
Caius waved a hand. “Cope…how do you cope?” he elaborated before knocking back half of the glass in one go.
“Ah…I see…” Marcus drawled with a nod. “You’re referring to my broken bond, I presume?”
Caius jerked a nod as a muscle jerked in his cheek. “Yes.”
With a weary sigh, Marcus tipped his glass to his lips and drained it before walking to the sideboard for a refill. When he returned to his seat, he brought the decanter with him and set it on the table between them. “I don’t,” he finally said while meeting the blond’s gaze, “not really.”
Caius sneered, his notorious impatience featuring prominently as he drained his glass and refilled it before snapping, “It’s been decades, and yet, here you are so it’s obvious you cope somehow. Now are you willing to speak of it, or am I wasting my time here?”
“It is simple, really. I am bound by another and powerless to escape it.” He met his brother’s startled gaze. “My will is not my own. If it were, I would have walked into a pyre long ago.”
“How can this be?” Caius asked, disbelief and dismay shining in his eyes as he leaned forward, anticipating the answer.
Marcus smirked bitterly. “Aro.”
Caius’s jaw clenched as he growled. “Explain.”
Marcus nodded with a heavy sigh. “Shortly after Didyme died, Aro visited my rooms, presumably out of concern for me. I made the monumental mistake of telling him my plans.”
Caius raised a brow. “Which were…?”
“I fully intended to convince Carlisle Cullen to take my place. Once my successor was in place, I intended to join my mate in the final death.
“A day after that talk, I felt the chains of my current bond settle upon me. You see, Aro has a gifted one which he keeps in an undisclosed location—and believe me, the vampire is well hidden. I have searched many times over many years, to no avail.
“He or she possesses the ability to bind the wills of our kind to a specific person and Aro, in his infinite wisdom,” he sneered, “had me bound directly to him. Thus I am a prisoner, with no will of my own.” He locked his gaze with the horrified one of his brother. “So, you see? I do not cope. I merely…exist.”
“And the rest of us?” Caius breathed, appalled at the thought that they all might already be subjugated in such a way without their knowing.
Marcus shook his head. “Beside myself, only the twins and Aro’s shield, Renata are saddled with such invisible chains.”
Caius looked away, his mind racing with this disturbing information as he murmured, “But the prospect is there…”
Marcus drained his glass and nodded. “Indeed, brother,” he conceded. “The prospect is there.”
“Thank you,” a subdued Caius murmured, “for sharing this with me.”
He met Marcus’s ever-tortured gaze, feeling the echo of his pain as the darker vampire inclined his head. “You are welcome.”
~o0o~
Demetri cursed under his breath as he peered around the hastily vacated hotel room. By the lingering scents, he could tell he’d missed his slippery target by mere minutes…again.
His jaw tightened and he turned to stride toward the elevators, hating having to maintain a human pace for all the many CCTV cameras he knew were present. Besides, running to try and catch her was futile. He knew, by the time he made it to the parking garage—like the last three times she’d evaded him—she would have boosted a car and fled.
It was now clear—he was going to have to rethink his approach to this particular target, as his current tactics weren’t working. It seemed, no matter how he tried to keep from making a solid decision, it was simply impossible, for the minute he’d determined her location and headed for it, it triggered a vision, allowing her just enough of a lead to escape.
It was maddening.
It was just as he was slipping into the shadows in the alley behind the building that his phone vibrated in his pocket. Plucking the device out, he quickly swiped the screen and answered, both brows rising in surprise at the identity of the caller.
“Demetri…”
“Master Marcus,” he greeted, masking his shock, for this vampire King never interacted with anyone beside his brothers, “what can I do for you?”
“You are to report back to Volterra, immediately. All will be explained when you arrive.”
He stifled the urge to cringe. He was close…so close to obtaining the psychic for Lady Isabella… “Master, can this not wait a bit? I’m in the middle…”
“No, it cannot wait. Report back immediately. That is an order, not a request. Am I clear?”
Centuries of military conditioning kicked in at the commanding tone and his body snapped to attention. He wouldn’t dare disobey a direct order. He respected his leaders too much to even consider it. “Yes, my Lord.”
“Good. Report straight to me when you arrive.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
The call dropped and he pocketed his phone with a sigh as he turned and headed to the airport. It looked like his mission for Lady Isabella would be postponed, but he would wait and get the details in Volterra before contacting her with the news.
Three hours later, he parked his BMW in the underground garage of the castle and headed straight to Marcus’s office. When he arrived, he gave a sharp knock and entered when bid.
Presenting himself in front of Marcus’s ornate desk, he bowed in respect and greeted his King. “Master, you wanted to see me?”
Marcus gestured to a chair and closed his laptop as he focused on the tracker. “Take a seat, Demetri.”
“Thank you, my Lord.”
The ancient King relaxed into his seat. “You were on a mission for Lady Isabella, correct?”
“Yes, my Lord.”
Marcus raised a brow. “And how was that going?”
A muscle jumped in the tracker’s jaw, his frustration clear to the ancient ruler as he answered. “Not as well as I’d hoped, my Lord. The mark is gifted and thus able to evade my own gift, though not by much. I am certain, given a day or two more, I will succeed.”
Marcus hummed in the back of his throat, while tapping a rhythm on the arm of his chair. “That is why we have called you back here. As of now, you are to cease your pursuit of the Cullen psychic.”
The tracker frowned deeply. “But Master…I mean no disrespect, my Lord, but Lady Isabella….I gave her my word.”
“Do not worry with that, Demetri. The situation is no longer your concern. You will cease your pursuit, understood?”
Demetri’s jaw clenched. He genuinely liked Isabella. She’d become a friend to him, and the gods knew, in this life, and among their kind, genuine friends were a rarity. Consequently, he hated that he was being ordered to let the little psychic go. He knew how important this mission had been to Isabella and her future happiness.
Still, Marcus was his King, and the Volturi his life and had been so for centuries; his loyalty to them imprinted on him since his first waking moment to this life. So as much as it grieved him to do so, he would follow his King’s command without question. “Yes, my Lord.”
Marcus pulled his laptop back to the center of the desk and opened it before waving a hand. “You are dismissed.”
Demetri stood and bowed with his fisted right hand over his heart. “Thank you, my Lord.”
Closing Marcus’s door gently behind him, the tracker paused and blew out a tension easing breath before plucking the phone from his pocket.
This was one call he didn’t look forward to but it had to be made. He only hoped she’d understand and forgive him—if not today, then perhaps someday.
With those thoughts at the forefront of his mind, he scrolled through, pressed send and strode off toward his rooms as the phone began to ring.
Back in his quiet office, Marcus wasted no time tapping out an inter-office message to his blond counterpart.
The tracker has been called off and is back in the castle. Your way forward is clear. Godspeed, brother. ~ M.
Seconds later, a response arrived with a soft chime, his red eyes skimming it with stoic finality.
Message received, with sincere regards and affection. ~ C.
~o0o~
The hotel room door closed with a heavy click and Alice leaned against it, one hand splayed over her chest as she closed her eyes and breathed.
That last escape had been close—too close—and she needed a moment to pull herself together. As she did so, she willed her gift to the fore of her mind and searched her future, allowing herself a small giggle as she saw that damned tracker back in Volterra where he belonged.
With a grin, her eyes snapped open and she shoved her bag into the closet before making her way to the bar in corner of the lavish suite to pour a drink.
Fucking Isabella Swan she thought with a sneer as she brought the crystal tumbler to her lips. Tipping it back she drained the glass and refilled it before easing herself into a plush chair.
The bitch thinks she can take everything from me and get away with it?! Yeah, I don’t think so…
Sure, Jasper had left the family of his own accord, but he’d done so before, many times. He’d always returned though, and she’d fully expected him to this time. And he would have, if not for Bella… she thought with a growl.
Rolling the rim of the fine crystal tumbler over her bottom lip, her eyes narrowed as she thought about all that had happened and how best to see her way through it.
Now that the tracker’d been called off—for whatever reason—she had breathing room. Room to make plans, the most important being taking out her competition.
Bella was a threat and stood in her way of getting Jasper back, but not for long if she had anything to say about it. “And I do,” she murmured before taking another sip of amber liquid. “You’ve messed with the wrong vampire, sweetheart,” she sneered as she pictured Bella’s face.
Just then, her phone rang and she snatched it from her pocket to see who it was before answering. “Carlisle?”
“Alice, sweetheart, how are you?”
She smiled and set her glass on the side table. “I’m fine. I mean, it’s been hectic dodging that damn tracker, but it seems he’s back in Volterra, so that’s a relief. A curious development, to be sure, but a relief nonetheless.”
“Yes, it is good news.”
She tilted her head. “Was there something specific you called for?”
“As it so happens, yes. I received a call from Caius Volturi, of all people.”
Her brows shot up. “Oh? What did he want?”
“To speak to you, actually. When I informed him you were indisposed, he requested I give you his number and have you call him.”
“Huh,” she said, her mind racing as she searched her future. Nothing out of the ordinary manifested so she continued speaking. “Any idea what he wants?”
“He was rather succinct and vague, saying only that it would be mutually beneficial for the two of you to speak.”
“Mutually beneficial…” she muttered. “Interesting… Do you have his number?”
“Yes, I’ve texted it to you.”
“Okay, did he specify a time?”
“Your earliest convenience.”
“Okay, then. I guess I’ll hang up and call him.”
“All right, sweetheart. Be sure to check in afterwards. I’m very curious what he wants, but I also want to be sure you’re safe.”
“All right, Carlisle, I’ll do that. Love you and send the others my love.”
“I will.”
With that, she ended the call, scrolled through and opened the text. “Let’s see what blondie has to say…” she muttered while making the call.
After two rings, a smooth voice drawled, “Alice Cullen, thank you for being so prompt in returning my call.”
“No thanks needed, my King, and I must admit, my curiosity was my primary motivation. What can I do for you?”
“You will have noticed by now, the distinct absence of a certain persistent—and if I may say, quite threatening—shadow?”
She drew herself up and tapped a finger to her lip. “I have,” she hedged. “I presume I have you to thank for that development?”
“Indeed you do, my dear.”
“Well then, thank you, my Lord, but I must admit, I’m curious why.”
A dark chuckle filtered through. “Because I believe we can help each other and that can’t happen if you’re otherwise indisposed. You see, I want my mate and I believe you’d like your companion back, yes?”
Her eyes lit with triumph as a smirk curved her lips. “Yes, very much so,” she said, her mind racing ahead with how this may change things. She had no intention of letting Isabella off the hook, but this would give her time to plan, not to mention a powerful ally. She’d just have to be very careful how she went about things—perhaps a hired mercenary? That way, Caius would never suspect…
Yes, she could work with this…. The bitch would die…eventually, and she’d have Jasper back where he belonged. Perfect.
“Good,” he said. She heard papers shuffling, then he continued, “Meet me at our New York office in two days. I’ll text the address at the conclusion of this call. We’ll work out the details then.”
“I’ll be there, my Lord.”
The call dropped and she tapped the phone against her lip, her eyes sparkling with an unholy light as she tipped her head back and laughed.
A/N: Portions of chapters which are NOT in Bella’s POV will be written in third person rather than first. I apologize if this messes with anyone’s head, but it’s how I’m choosing to write it.
~o0o~
A knock sounded on Marcus’s study door and he looked up from the pages of his book, his brow furrowed in curiosity as he spoke, “Enter.”
Those dark brows inched up at the sight of Caius as he closed the door and walked to the sideboard, pouring two drinks into crystal snifters before taking the seat adjacent to him.
Leaning forward, he handed one to the curious King who accepted it wordlessly as his blond brother sat back with a humorless smirk. “I can see you’re wondering why I’m here.”
“I confess myself intrigued, yes,” he said before taking a sip of the pungent, exquisitely aged liquor. It was his favorite, and not something he indulged in often. As a matter of fact, it had been many years, and it had been Caius he’d shared a glass with then, too.
The conversation they’d had over it had been long and profound and made him wonder what this conversation would be like. As was his way, Caius wasted no time getting to it.
“How do you do it, brother?”
He quirked a brow. “Do it?”
Caius waved a hand. “Cope…how do you cope?” he elaborated before knocking back half of the glass in one go.
“Ah…I see…” Marcus drawled with a nod. “You’re referring to my broken bond, I presume?”
Caius jerked a nod as a muscle jerked in his cheek. “Yes.”
With a weary sigh, Marcus tipped his glass to his lips and drained it before walking to the sideboard for a refill. When he returned to his seat, he brought the decanter with him and set it on the table between them. “I don’t,” he finally said while meeting the blond’s gaze, “not really.”
Caius sneered, his notorious impatience featuring prominently as he drained his glass and refilled it before snapping, “It’s been decades, and yet, here you are so it’s obvious you cope somehow. Now are you willing to speak of it, or am I wasting my time here?”
“It is simple, really. I am bound by another and powerless to escape it.” He met his brother’s startled gaze. “My will is not my own. If it were, I would have walked into a pyre long ago.”
“How can this be?” Caius asked, disbelief and dismay shining in his eyes as he leaned forward, anticipating the answer.
Marcus smirked bitterly. “Aro.”
Caius’s jaw clenched as he growled. “Explain.”
Marcus nodded with a heavy sigh. “Shortly after Didyme died, Aro visited my rooms, presumably out of concern for me. I made the monumental mistake of telling him my plans.”
Caius raised a brow. “Which were…?”
“I fully intended to convince Carlisle Cullen to take my place. Once my successor was in place, I intended to join my mate in the final death.
“A day after that talk, I felt the chains of my current bond settle upon me. You see, Aro has a gifted one which he keeps in an undisclosed location—and believe me, the vampire is well hidden. I have searched many times over many years, to no avail.
“He or she possesses the ability to bind the wills of our kind to a specific person and Aro, in his infinite wisdom,” he sneered, “had me bound directly to him. Thus I am a prisoner, with no will of my own.” He locked his gaze with the horrified one of his brother. “So, you see? I do not cope. I merely…exist.”
“And the rest of us?” Caius breathed, appalled at the thought that they all might already be subjugated in such a way without their knowing.
Marcus shook his head. “Beside myself, only the twins and Aro’s shield, Renata are saddled with such invisible chains.”
Caius looked away, his mind racing with this disturbing information as he murmured, “But the prospect is there…”
Marcus drained his glass and nodded. “Indeed, brother,” he conceded. “The prospect is there.”
“Thank you,” a subdued Caius murmured, “for sharing this with me.”
He met Marcus’s ever-tortured gaze, feeling the echo of his pain as the darker vampire inclined his head. “You are welcome.”
~o0o~
Demetri cursed under his breath as he peered around the hastily vacated hotel room. By the lingering scents, he could tell he’d missed his slippery target by mere minutes…again.
His jaw tightened and he turned to stride toward the elevators, hating having to maintain a human pace for all the many CCTV cameras he knew were present. Besides, running to try and catch her was futile. He knew, by the time he made it to the parking garage—like the last three times she’d evaded him—she would have boosted a car and fled.
It was now clear—he was going to have to rethink his approach to this particular target, as his current tactics weren’t working. It seemed, no matter how he tried to keep from making a solid decision, it was simply impossible, for the minute he’d determined her location and headed for it, it triggered a vision, allowing her just enough of a lead to escape.
It was maddening.
It was just as he was slipping into the shadows in the alley behind the building that his phone vibrated in his pocket. Plucking the device out, he quickly swiped the screen and answered, both brows rising in surprise at the identity of the caller.
“Demetri…”
“Master Marcus,” he greeted, masking his shock, for this vampire King never interacted with anyone beside his brothers, “what can I do for you?”
“You are to report back to Volterra, immediately. All will be explained when you arrive.”
He stifled the urge to cringe. He was close…so close to obtaining the psychic for Lady Isabella… “Master, can this not wait a bit? I’m in the middle…”
“No, it cannot wait. Report back immediately. That is an order, not a request. Am I clear?”
Centuries of military conditioning kicked in at the commanding tone and his body snapped to attention. He wouldn’t dare disobey a direct order. He respected his leaders too much to even consider it. “Yes, my Lord.”
“Good. Report straight to me when you arrive.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
The call dropped and he pocketed his phone with a sigh as he turned and headed to the airport. It looked like his mission for Lady Isabella would be postponed, but he would wait and get the details in Volterra before contacting her with the news.
Three hours later, he parked his BMW in the underground garage of the castle and headed straight to Marcus’s office. When he arrived, he gave a sharp knock and entered when bid.
Presenting himself in front of Marcus’s ornate desk, he bowed in respect and greeted his King. “Master, you wanted to see me?”
Marcus gestured to a chair and closed his laptop as he focused on the tracker. “Take a seat, Demetri.”
“Thank you, my Lord.”
The ancient King relaxed into his seat. “You were on a mission for Lady Isabella, correct?”
“Yes, my Lord.”
Marcus raised a brow. “And how was that going?”
A muscle jumped in the tracker’s jaw, his frustration clear to the ancient ruler as he answered. “Not as well as I’d hoped, my Lord. The mark is gifted and thus able to evade my own gift, though not by much. I am certain, given a day or two more, I will succeed.”
Marcus hummed in the back of his throat, while tapping a rhythm on the arm of his chair. “That is why we have called you back here. As of now, you are to cease your pursuit of the Cullen psychic.”
The tracker frowned deeply. “But Master…I mean no disrespect, my Lord, but Lady Isabella….I gave her my word.”
“Do not worry with that, Demetri. The situation is no longer your concern. You will cease your pursuit, understood?”
Demetri’s jaw clenched. He genuinely liked Isabella. She’d become a friend to him, and the gods knew, in this life, and among their kind, genuine friends were a rarity. Consequently, he hated that he was being ordered to let the little psychic go. He knew how important this mission had been to Isabella and her future happiness.
Still, Marcus was his King, and the Volturi his life and had been so for centuries; his loyalty to them imprinted on him since his first waking moment to this life. So as much as it grieved him to do so, he would follow his King’s command without question. “Yes, my Lord.”
Marcus pulled his laptop back to the center of the desk and opened it before waving a hand. “You are dismissed.”
Demetri stood and bowed with his fisted right hand over his heart. “Thank you, my Lord.”
Closing Marcus’s door gently behind him, the tracker paused and blew out a tension easing breath before plucking the phone from his pocket.
This was one call he didn’t look forward to but it had to be made. He only hoped she’d understand and forgive him—if not today, then perhaps someday.
With those thoughts at the forefront of his mind, he scrolled through, pressed send and strode off toward his rooms as the phone began to ring.
Back in his quiet office, Marcus wasted no time tapping out an inter-office message to his blond counterpart.
The tracker has been called off and is back in the castle. Your way forward is clear. Godspeed, brother. ~ M.
Seconds later, a response arrived with a soft chime, his red eyes skimming it with stoic finality.
Message received, with sincere regards and affection. ~ C.
~o0o~
The hotel room door closed with a heavy click and Alice leaned against it, one hand splayed over her chest as she closed her eyes and breathed.
That last escape had been close—too close—and she needed a moment to pull herself together. As she did so, she willed her gift to the fore of her mind and searched her future, allowing herself a small giggle as she saw that damned tracker back in Volterra where he belonged.
With a grin, her eyes snapped open and she shoved her bag into the closet before making her way to the bar in corner of the lavish suite to pour a drink.
Fucking Isabella Swan she thought with a sneer as she brought the crystal tumbler to her lips. Tipping it back she drained the glass and refilled it before easing herself into a plush chair.
The bitch thinks she can take everything from me and get away with it?! Yeah, I don’t think so…
Sure, Jasper had left the family of his own accord, but he’d done so before, many times. He’d always returned though, and she’d fully expected him to this time. And he would have, if not for Bella… she thought with a growl.
Rolling the rim of the fine crystal tumbler over her bottom lip, her eyes narrowed as she thought about all that had happened and how best to see her way through it.
Now that the tracker’d been called off—for whatever reason—she had breathing room. Room to make plans, the most important being taking out her competition.
Bella was a threat and stood in her way of getting Jasper back, but not for long if she had anything to say about it. “And I do,” she murmured before taking another sip of amber liquid. “You’ve messed with the wrong vampire, sweetheart,” she sneered as she pictured Bella’s face.
Just then, her phone rang and she snatched it from her pocket to see who it was before answering. “Carlisle?”
“Alice, sweetheart, how are you?”
She smiled and set her glass on the side table. “I’m fine. I mean, it’s been hectic dodging that damn tracker, but it seems he’s back in Volterra, so that’s a relief. A curious development, to be sure, but a relief nonetheless.”
“Yes, it is good news.”
She tilted her head. “Was there something specific you called for?”
“As it so happens, yes. I received a call from Caius Volturi, of all people.”
Her brows shot up. “Oh? What did he want?”
“To speak to you, actually. When I informed him you were indisposed, he requested I give you his number and have you call him.”
“Huh,” she said, her mind racing as she searched her future. Nothing out of the ordinary manifested so she continued speaking. “Any idea what he wants?”
“He was rather succinct and vague, saying only that it would be mutually beneficial for the two of you to speak.”
“Mutually beneficial…” she muttered. “Interesting… Do you have his number?”
“Yes, I’ve texted it to you.”
“Okay, did he specify a time?”
“Your earliest convenience.”
“Okay, then. I guess I’ll hang up and call him.”
“All right, sweetheart. Be sure to check in afterwards. I’m very curious what he wants, but I also want to be sure you’re safe.”
“All right, Carlisle, I’ll do that. Love you and send the others my love.”
“I will.”
With that, she ended the call, scrolled through and opened the text. “Let’s see what blondie has to say…” she muttered while making the call.
After two rings, a smooth voice drawled, “Alice Cullen, thank you for being so prompt in returning my call.”
“No thanks needed, my King, and I must admit, my curiosity was my primary motivation. What can I do for you?”
“You will have noticed by now, the distinct absence of a certain persistent—and if I may say, quite threatening—shadow?”
She drew herself up and tapped a finger to her lip. “I have,” she hedged. “I presume I have you to thank for that development?”
“Indeed you do, my dear.”
“Well then, thank you, my Lord, but I must admit, I’m curious why.”
A dark chuckle filtered through. “Because I believe we can help each other and that can’t happen if you’re otherwise indisposed. You see, I want my mate and I believe you’d like your companion back, yes?”
Her eyes lit with triumph as a smirk curved her lips. “Yes, very much so,” she said, her mind racing ahead with how this may change things. She had no intention of letting Isabella off the hook, but this would give her time to plan, not to mention a powerful ally. She’d just have to be very careful how she went about things—perhaps a hired mercenary? That way, Caius would never suspect…
Yes, she could work with this…. The bitch would die…eventually, and she’d have Jasper back where he belonged. Perfect.
“Good,” he said. She heard papers shuffling, then he continued, “Meet me at our New York office in two days. I’ll text the address at the conclusion of this call. We’ll work out the details then.”
“I’ll be there, my Lord.”
The call dropped and she tapped the phone against her lip, her eyes sparkling with an unholy light as she tipped her head back and laughed.
DISCLAIMER: Twilight and its inclusive material is copyright to Stephenie Meyer. Original creation, including but not limited to plot and characters, is copyright to the respective authors of each story. No copyright infringement is intended.