Ok last one for tonight, thank you all!! It makes me so happy to know people are reading these and even enjoying them :)
End of Chapter 28
"The more important question, Bella, is whether I could have stolen a faster car...and I don't think so. I think I got lucky." I said as I looked at her, her eyes bugging out a little.
"I'm sure that will be very comforting at the roadblock." She said as she watched me carefully.
I looked at her for a second, trying to figure out what she was talking about? What roadblock?
I finally figured out what she was talking about, a laugh spilling out. "Trust me, Bella. If anyone sets up a roadblock, it will be behind us." I said as I pushed down the gas petal, the gauge now past 130mph.
I wanted to keep going, to see what this car could really do..but I looked over and Bella was gripping the arm rest of this beautiful car. A look of fear and concern written all over her face.
"Do you see anything more?" She asked as she squeezed the arm rest as I passed a small BMW.
I thought about everything I had seen while sitting on the plane. "There's something going on. Some kind of festival. The streets are full of people and red flags. What's the date today?" I asked.
Bella took a second before she answered. "The nineteenth maybe?" She wondered.
"Well, that's ironic." I said as I started laughing.
I don't think this could be anymore perfect if we had planned it. My brother was going to try to kill himself on one of the biggest holidays. A holiday that was filled with secrets, lies and deception.
Chapter 29
"What's ironic?" Bella asked.
"It's Saint Marcus Day." I said, as if that would clear everything up.
"Which means....?" Bella asked.
I shook my head as I laughed. "The city holds a celebration every year. As legend goes, a Christian missionary, a Father Marcus...Marcus of the Volturi, in fact. He drove all the vampires from Volterra fifteen hundred years ago. The story claims that he was martyred in Romania, still trying to drive away the vampire scourage." I stopped to watch Bella, she was looking right at me, questions bubbling at her lips, I knew I had to continue before she could ask them.
"Of course that's nonsense since he's never left the city. But that's where some of the superstitions about things like crosses and garlic come from. Father Marcus used them so successfully. And vampires don't trouble Volterrra, so they must work..right?" I asked as she smiled, matching the one on my face.
"It's become more of a celebration of the city, and recognition for the police force...after all, Volterra is an amazingly safe city. The police get the credit." I said shaking my head again in disbelief.
"They're not going to be happy if Edward messes things up for them on St. Marcus Day, are they?" Bella asked.
I thought about how they would respond to one of us, a vampire outing themselves on the very day that is to celebrate vampires being gone.
I shook my head, a grim look crossing my face. "No. They will act very quickly."
Bella looked away suddenly, staring out the window. Her breathing came unevenly, I think she was starting to cry. I looked at her out of the corner of my eye and saw her biting her lip so hard that the blood was just below the surface.
She raised her head to look out the window at the sun which was getting closer to the mid point.
"He's still planning on noon?" She asked.
"Yes." I said, trying to decide whether to tell her more. "He's decided to wait. And they're waiting for him." The end was no more a whisper.
"Tell me what I have to do." She said urgently.
I accelerated until the car could go no faster, the needle burring itself. I was winding in between cars, not caring if they were honking or calling.
"You don't have to do anything. he just has to see you before he moves into the light. And he has to see you, before he sees me." I said as I swerved around a moving truck.
"How are we going to work that?" Bella questioned.
"I'm going to get you as close as possible, and then you're going to run in the direction I point you in." I said as I looked at her.
Bella just nodded. Good girl, she wasn't going to argue with me...and I respected her more for that.
"Try not to trip." I said getting her attention. "We don't have time for a concussion today." I said as I smiled.
Bella groaned, probably thinking about running and not falling. That would be just her luck, she gets close enough to Edward...just to fall and knock herself out.
I raced up a slight hill, the castle beginning to raise up in front of us. I heard Bella's breathing becoming quick, almost like hyperventilating. I couldn't handle her having an anxiety attack when I..we all needed her the most.
"There." I said, breaking her of her panic attack, pointing to the castle on the hill.
"Volterra." I said, more as a curse then an explanation.
I accelerated again, which did me little to no good. The traffic was getting so congested that I saw people parking their cars on the side of the road, just to walk. I wove in between cars, hoping I could just get closer before we had to stop.
"Alice," Bella said with a panicked tone.
I looked over at her, she was watching everyone and everything.
"It's the only way in." I said as I began to panic.
We made it a few feet further before we stopped, from where we stopped I could see the gate at the entrance to the city. There were guards posted, turning people away. No one was allowed to drive into the city.
"Alice." She whispered urgently.
"I know." I said as we kept creeping closer to the gate.
I watched as people walked past our idoling car, everyone was dressed in red the color of St. Marcus Day.
The entire castle was covered with red banners, ribbons, and flags. I shook my head thinking about ironic it was that everything looked covered in blood.
We stopped for a second, behind a small tan car. I closed my eyes, focusing on what the guard would say when we got to the gate. I saw that he would not be willing to let us drive in, no matter if I 'dazzled' him or tried to bribe him. This was going to complicate things.
I took a deep breath, blowing it out to the window. "Bella." I said quickly, making sure she was looking at me. "I can't see what the guard here will decide now...if this doesn't work, you're going to have to go in alone. You're going to have to run. Just keep asking for the Plazzo dei Priori, and run in the direction they tell you. Don't get lost please."
"Plazzo dei Priori, Plazzo dei Priori." She repeated over and over.
"Or 'the clock tower' if they speak English. I'll go around and try to find a secluded spot somewhere behind the city that I can go over the wall." I said, silently hoping that they wouldn't have guards on the walls.
"Plazzo dei Priori." Bella said again as she nodded.
"Edward will be under the clock tower, to the north of the square. There's a narrow alleyway on the right, and he'll be in the shadow there. You have to get his attention before he moves into the sun." I said, hoping she understood the urgency in my voice.
Bella nodded as the car in front of us moved up slightly. We were almost to the front, I hoped that the guard was a man so that I could use my 'womanly ways' on him. If not this could be more difficult. I hoped that Bella would be able to get out and find her way to the center of the town, to the tower to stop my brother in time.
End of Chapter 28
"The more important question, Bella, is whether I could have stolen a faster car...and I don't think so. I think I got lucky." I said as I looked at her, her eyes bugging out a little.
"I'm sure that will be very comforting at the roadblock." She said as she watched me carefully.
I looked at her for a second, trying to figure out what she was talking about? What roadblock?
I finally figured out what she was talking about, a laugh spilling out. "Trust me, Bella. If anyone sets up a roadblock, it will be behind us." I said as I pushed down the gas petal, the gauge now past 130mph.
I wanted to keep going, to see what this car could really do..but I looked over and Bella was gripping the arm rest of this beautiful car. A look of fear and concern written all over her face.
"Do you see anything more?" She asked as she squeezed the arm rest as I passed a small BMW.
I thought about everything I had seen while sitting on the plane. "There's something going on. Some kind of festival. The streets are full of people and red flags. What's the date today?" I asked.
Bella took a second before she answered. "The nineteenth maybe?" She wondered.
"Well, that's ironic." I said as I started laughing.
I don't think this could be anymore perfect if we had planned it. My brother was going to try to kill himself on one of the biggest holidays. A holiday that was filled with secrets, lies and deception.
Chapter 29
"What's ironic?" Bella asked.
"It's Saint Marcus Day." I said, as if that would clear everything up.
"Which means....?" Bella asked.
I shook my head as I laughed. "The city holds a celebration every year. As legend goes, a Christian missionary, a Father Marcus...Marcus of the Volturi, in fact. He drove all the vampires from Volterra fifteen hundred years ago. The story claims that he was martyred in Romania, still trying to drive away the vampire scourage." I stopped to watch Bella, she was looking right at me, questions bubbling at her lips, I knew I had to continue before she could ask them.
"Of course that's nonsense since he's never left the city. But that's where some of the superstitions about things like crosses and garlic come from. Father Marcus used them so successfully. And vampires don't trouble Volterrra, so they must work..right?" I asked as she smiled, matching the one on my face.
"It's become more of a celebration of the city, and recognition for the police force...after all, Volterra is an amazingly safe city. The police get the credit." I said shaking my head again in disbelief.
"They're not going to be happy if Edward messes things up for them on St. Marcus Day, are they?" Bella asked.
I thought about how they would respond to one of us, a vampire outing themselves on the very day that is to celebrate vampires being gone.
I shook my head, a grim look crossing my face. "No. They will act very quickly."
Bella looked away suddenly, staring out the window. Her breathing came unevenly, I think she was starting to cry. I looked at her out of the corner of my eye and saw her biting her lip so hard that the blood was just below the surface.
She raised her head to look out the window at the sun which was getting closer to the mid point.
"He's still planning on noon?" She asked.
"Yes." I said, trying to decide whether to tell her more. "He's decided to wait. And they're waiting for him." The end was no more a whisper.
"Tell me what I have to do." She said urgently.
I accelerated until the car could go no faster, the needle burring itself. I was winding in between cars, not caring if they were honking or calling.
"You don't have to do anything. he just has to see you before he moves into the light. And he has to see you, before he sees me." I said as I swerved around a moving truck.
"How are we going to work that?" Bella questioned.
"I'm going to get you as close as possible, and then you're going to run in the direction I point you in." I said as I looked at her.
Bella just nodded. Good girl, she wasn't going to argue with me...and I respected her more for that.
"Try not to trip." I said getting her attention. "We don't have time for a concussion today." I said as I smiled.
Bella groaned, probably thinking about running and not falling. That would be just her luck, she gets close enough to Edward...just to fall and knock herself out.
I raced up a slight hill, the castle beginning to raise up in front of us. I heard Bella's breathing becoming quick, almost like hyperventilating. I couldn't handle her having an anxiety attack when I..we all needed her the most.
"There." I said, breaking her of her panic attack, pointing to the castle on the hill.
"Volterra." I said, more as a curse then an explanation.
I accelerated again, which did me little to no good. The traffic was getting so congested that I saw people parking their cars on the side of the road, just to walk. I wove in between cars, hoping I could just get closer before we had to stop.
"Alice," Bella said with a panicked tone.
I looked over at her, she was watching everyone and everything.
"It's the only way in." I said as I began to panic.
We made it a few feet further before we stopped, from where we stopped I could see the gate at the entrance to the city. There were guards posted, turning people away. No one was allowed to drive into the city.
"Alice." She whispered urgently.
"I know." I said as we kept creeping closer to the gate.
I watched as people walked past our idoling car, everyone was dressed in red the color of St. Marcus Day.
The entire castle was covered with red banners, ribbons, and flags. I shook my head thinking about ironic it was that everything looked covered in blood.
We stopped for a second, behind a small tan car. I closed my eyes, focusing on what the guard would say when we got to the gate. I saw that he would not be willing to let us drive in, no matter if I 'dazzled' him or tried to bribe him. This was going to complicate things.
I took a deep breath, blowing it out to the window. "Bella." I said quickly, making sure she was looking at me. "I can't see what the guard here will decide now...if this doesn't work, you're going to have to go in alone. You're going to have to run. Just keep asking for the Plazzo dei Priori, and run in the direction they tell you. Don't get lost please."
"Plazzo dei Priori, Plazzo dei Priori." She repeated over and over.
"Or 'the clock tower' if they speak English. I'll go around and try to find a secluded spot somewhere behind the city that I can go over the wall." I said, silently hoping that they wouldn't have guards on the walls.
"Plazzo dei Priori." Bella said again as she nodded.
"Edward will be under the clock tower, to the north of the square. There's a narrow alleyway on the right, and he'll be in the shadow there. You have to get his attention before he moves into the sun." I said, hoping she understood the urgency in my voice.
Bella nodded as the car in front of us moved up slightly. We were almost to the front, I hoped that the guard was a man so that I could use my 'womanly ways' on him. If not this could be more difficult. I hoped that Bella would be able to get out and find her way to the center of the town, to the tower to stop my brother in time.
