This Time Of Year
Written by: wizardtho
Story dedicated to: Bella MacLeod
Chapter 16:
I spent from dawn until noon honing my instincts and learning what to listen for, how to feel the changes in the air, how to taste new elements in the air immediately around me, and even what to search for in the scents that I smelled.
By noon, I was consistently able to recognize Jasper’s presence in time to make a move to defend myself, so he offered, “Tomorrow mornin’, we start seein’ what ya naturally have for defensive moves, so I know where I’m startin’ from. Ya did great today, Bella. Ya made a lotta progress.”
Demetri hugged me to his side with a grin, so I nodded to Jasper, “Thanks. See you at sunrise.”
I had just enough time to get showered and changed before I was supposed to meet Marcus in the castle’s main library. We had found that the calmer I was when we started our sessions, the easier it was to put a feeling to a color. I also was able to distinguish between the different colors that may be mixed faster.
Since I loved reading, and the scent of the library always calmed me -even though it was open to any vampire in the world who wanted to read the vast wealth of knowledge within it- Marcus deemed the library as our starting point for our sessions. We always ended up moving throughout the castle, as he liked to switch things up at different times.
Today was no exception. The only difference was me. I was now more aware… of myself, my surroundings, and oddly enough, my gift.
When Marcus stood and held his arm out to me, his signal that we were moving locations, I easily wrapped my arm in his. Felix silently followed. Marcus smiled softly down at me while we walked, “You have had a busy morning so far. Would you like me see if I can free you from my brother’s throne room duty tomorrow afternoon?”
I chuckled softly, “I am becoming accustomed to having many people in my mind at all times, as you well know from our sessions, Sir, and Aro’s penchant for wanting me to be present during his time in the throne room is helping me further tune my gift. I feel helpful telling him of the darkness I see, and he has been diligent about calling for Demetri right away if he senses I need a break. Thank you for the offer, though.”
Just then, a woman with wild curls and a slightly fraying dress came rushing toward us, heading in the direction of the library. Her aura was a smoky gray clinging tightly to her skin, but it had black closing down and seemingly choking out the gray. I quickly flexed my fingers around Marcus’ arm as my shield automatically came out to protect me, which was our predetermined signal for such occasions. Then I noticed it didn’t stop at protecting me. My shield kept expanding until it covered Marcus as well.
When I was sure we were alone in the hall, other than Felix, I whispered in a tone that wouldn’t be overheard, “My shield… it just covered you, Sir.”
We kept walking, and though I could hear Felix’s slightly hitched breath, Marcus smiled down at me while patting my hand, “That is unexpected yet helpful news, My Dear.”
I don’t recognize some of the halls we venture down, and when we finally stop, I see that Felix has not come outside into the small private garden with us. My confusion must show on my face, because Marcus sits on a beautiful stone bench with me before saying, “This is my Didyme’s private garden. I come here to feel close to her.”
My breath hitches as my eyes widen, but he pats my hand again, “I know you have wondered about my mate, Isabella, and you have been very patient in allowing me to broach the subject first.”
I shook my head, whispering, “Sir, please don’t feel you need to tell me anything at all. I’m known for being too curious, and truly, it’s not-”
Marcus actually chuckled a bit, but it was filled with sadness. The smokey blue in his aura actually got a bit deeper, but he offered, “I brought you here for more than one reason, Isabella. Both to explain the circumstances around my mate’s final death and to tell you what was finally found about the man with the black murky aura. They are linked.”
I squared my shoulders, then silently nodded. Marcus looked around the small but lush garden as he started, “There was a war almost 1500 hundred years ago. A coven decided they wanted to overthrow the Volturi and take the throne for themselves. They believed vampires should rule the world. They intended to reveal the existence of vampires, then force humans into servitude.”
I scowled but stayed silent as Marcus continued, “My Didyme… she was gifted. She was a true oracle. Her visions were not based on decisions, like Major Whilock’s mate. If my Didyme saw it, it would happen, and nothing in the world would stop it. It just so happened that my Didyme saw parts of the war. Somehow, they found out, and she was abducted. When we finally found their hideout, the fight was brutal. They killed her in front of me. We decimated the whole coven, save 2 that were able to get away.”
My eyes filled with venom at what Marcus had endured. I wanted to say something comforting, but I knew words could never soften the pain of losing his mate so brutally. I gently squeezed his hand for a second wordlessly. He finally cleared his throat before saying, “When you found the man that day, Isabella, you gave us something very vital. We had not been able to track down the 2 missing Romanian coven members in all this time, because Demetri was not part of our coven during the war.”
At my questioning look, he said plainly, “We tracked the vampire back to his den. He is part of the rebuilt Romanian coven, Isabella.”
I gasped, my eyes seeking his, but he shook his head before I could even ask my next question, “No, that was not why his aura was black to you. The reason for his color was that he was repeatedly raping and feeding from the women in the towns surrounding their lair.”
A shiver ran down my spine as I remembered the feeling that went with his aura, and I whispered, “That’s why I felt like something had been ripped from me. Can you stop him?”
He nodded, giving me a small smile, “I can not tell you when yet, Isabella, but we will stop him. We need information first, and we need your help to get that. We need you to tell us as soon as you recognize his aura again. The very second you see it coming into your gift’s range, I need you to discreetly contact Aro, Caius, or myself. In the meantime, we will be preparing.”
I noted softly, “You plan to take them all out… to finish avenging your mate’s death. I can understand that.”
He nodded, but said surely, “We may need you, Isabella. To help identify certain targets. I fear we are putting too much onto your shoulders, being so new to your vampire life, but it may become unavoidable.”
I shook my head, “If you need me, Sir, I will be there. I’ll focus on my training, with both you and Jasper. I’m already acutely more aware of my surroundings, after only 1 session with him.”
Marcus nodded, his smile turning to a slight smirk, “I have noticed that. It seems to have sharpened your gift a bit, too.”
I hummed, then explained, “I guess sharpening my focus on my surroundings has sharpened my focus in that area, too. It’s a bit easier today to match a color to a feeling.”
Marcus talked to me in depth about that as we continued to walk through an abandoned part of the castle, which we had wandered through more than once before. He seemed very interested in the color variances and how I distinguished things.
It was clear to me after another 2 hours that my thirst was growing, so I said as I swallowed for the 4th time in the last minute and 2 seconds, “Sir, I think it would be a good idea for me to feed soon. I haven’t fed since first thing this morning, and my thirst level is rising a bit.”
Marcus gave me a proud grin before patting my hand on his arm, “It would have normally taken you another 20 minutes to take notice of your thirst level. This is amazing progress, Isabella. Come, we shall find your sire, then he can take over making sure you are well-fed.”
I spent from dawn until noon honing my instincts and learning what to listen for, how to feel the changes in the air, how to taste new elements in the air immediately around me, and even what to search for in the scents that I smelled.
By noon, I was consistently able to recognize Jasper’s presence in time to make a move to defend myself, so he offered, “Tomorrow mornin’, we start seein’ what ya naturally have for defensive moves, so I know where I’m startin’ from. Ya did great today, Bella. Ya made a lotta progress.”
Demetri hugged me to his side with a grin, so I nodded to Jasper, “Thanks. See you at sunrise.”
I had just enough time to get showered and changed before I was supposed to meet Marcus in the castle’s main library. We had found that the calmer I was when we started our sessions, the easier it was to put a feeling to a color. I also was able to distinguish between the different colors that may be mixed faster.
Since I loved reading, and the scent of the library always calmed me -even though it was open to any vampire in the world who wanted to read the vast wealth of knowledge within it- Marcus deemed the library as our starting point for our sessions. We always ended up moving throughout the castle, as he liked to switch things up at different times.
Today was no exception. The only difference was me. I was now more aware… of myself, my surroundings, and oddly enough, my gift.
When Marcus stood and held his arm out to me, his signal that we were moving locations, I easily wrapped my arm in his. Felix silently followed. Marcus smiled softly down at me while we walked, “You have had a busy morning so far. Would you like me see if I can free you from my brother’s throne room duty tomorrow afternoon?”
I chuckled softly, “I am becoming accustomed to having many people in my mind at all times, as you well know from our sessions, Sir, and Aro’s penchant for wanting me to be present during his time in the throne room is helping me further tune my gift. I feel helpful telling him of the darkness I see, and he has been diligent about calling for Demetri right away if he senses I need a break. Thank you for the offer, though.”
Just then, a woman with wild curls and a slightly fraying dress came rushing toward us, heading in the direction of the library. Her aura was a smoky gray clinging tightly to her skin, but it had black closing down and seemingly choking out the gray. I quickly flexed my fingers around Marcus’ arm as my shield automatically came out to protect me, which was our predetermined signal for such occasions. Then I noticed it didn’t stop at protecting me. My shield kept expanding until it covered Marcus as well.
When I was sure we were alone in the hall, other than Felix, I whispered in a tone that wouldn’t be overheard, “My shield… it just covered you, Sir.”
We kept walking, and though I could hear Felix’s slightly hitched breath, Marcus smiled down at me while patting my hand, “That is unexpected yet helpful news, My Dear.”
I don’t recognize some of the halls we venture down, and when we finally stop, I see that Felix has not come outside into the small private garden with us. My confusion must show on my face, because Marcus sits on a beautiful stone bench with me before saying, “This is my Didyme’s private garden. I come here to feel close to her.”
My breath hitches as my eyes widen, but he pats my hand again, “I know you have wondered about my mate, Isabella, and you have been very patient in allowing me to broach the subject first.”
I shook my head, whispering, “Sir, please don’t feel you need to tell me anything at all. I’m known for being too curious, and truly, it’s not-”
Marcus actually chuckled a bit, but it was filled with sadness. The smokey blue in his aura actually got a bit deeper, but he offered, “I brought you here for more than one reason, Isabella. Both to explain the circumstances around my mate’s final death and to tell you what was finally found about the man with the black murky aura. They are linked.”
I squared my shoulders, then silently nodded. Marcus looked around the small but lush garden as he started, “There was a war almost 1500 hundred years ago. A coven decided they wanted to overthrow the Volturi and take the throne for themselves. They believed vampires should rule the world. They intended to reveal the existence of vampires, then force humans into servitude.”
I scowled but stayed silent as Marcus continued, “My Didyme… she was gifted. She was a true oracle. Her visions were not based on decisions, like Major Whilock’s mate. If my Didyme saw it, it would happen, and nothing in the world would stop it. It just so happened that my Didyme saw parts of the war. Somehow, they found out, and she was abducted. When we finally found their hideout, the fight was brutal. They killed her in front of me. We decimated the whole coven, save 2 that were able to get away.”
My eyes filled with venom at what Marcus had endured. I wanted to say something comforting, but I knew words could never soften the pain of losing his mate so brutally. I gently squeezed his hand for a second wordlessly. He finally cleared his throat before saying, “When you found the man that day, Isabella, you gave us something very vital. We had not been able to track down the 2 missing Romanian coven members in all this time, because Demetri was not part of our coven during the war.”
At my questioning look, he said plainly, “We tracked the vampire back to his den. He is part of the rebuilt Romanian coven, Isabella.”
I gasped, my eyes seeking his, but he shook his head before I could even ask my next question, “No, that was not why his aura was black to you. The reason for his color was that he was repeatedly raping and feeding from the women in the towns surrounding their lair.”
A shiver ran down my spine as I remembered the feeling that went with his aura, and I whispered, “That’s why I felt like something had been ripped from me. Can you stop him?”
He nodded, giving me a small smile, “I can not tell you when yet, Isabella, but we will stop him. We need information first, and we need your help to get that. We need you to tell us as soon as you recognize his aura again. The very second you see it coming into your gift’s range, I need you to discreetly contact Aro, Caius, or myself. In the meantime, we will be preparing.”
I noted softly, “You plan to take them all out… to finish avenging your mate’s death. I can understand that.”
He nodded, but said surely, “We may need you, Isabella. To help identify certain targets. I fear we are putting too much onto your shoulders, being so new to your vampire life, but it may become unavoidable.”
I shook my head, “If you need me, Sir, I will be there. I’ll focus on my training, with both you and Jasper. I’m already acutely more aware of my surroundings, after only 1 session with him.”
Marcus nodded, his smile turning to a slight smirk, “I have noticed that. It seems to have sharpened your gift a bit, too.”
I hummed, then explained, “I guess sharpening my focus on my surroundings has sharpened my focus in that area, too. It’s a bit easier today to match a color to a feeling.”
Marcus talked to me in depth about that as we continued to walk through an abandoned part of the castle, which we had wandered through more than once before. He seemed very interested in the color variances and how I distinguished things.
It was clear to me after another 2 hours that my thirst was growing, so I said as I swallowed for the 4th time in the last minute and 2 seconds, “Sir, I think it would be a good idea for me to feed soon. I haven’t fed since first thing this morning, and my thirst level is rising a bit.”
Marcus gave me a proud grin before patting my hand on his arm, “It would have normally taken you another 20 minutes to take notice of your thirst level. This is amazing progress, Isabella. Come, we shall find your sire, then he can take over making sure you are well-fed.”