𝕄𝕪 𝔸𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕝// 𝔹𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕒 𝕊𝕨𝕒𝕟 𝕩 ℂ𝕒𝕦𝕚𝕤 𝕍𝕠𝕝𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕚

My Angel: Chapter 13

The Volturi's every thought is focused solely on our retrieval and delivery to the castle, Edward mused internally as he and his mother joined the somber procession of vampires awaiting them at the small airport. He allowed the greater portion of his mind to drift as he pondered the implications of such dedicated focus. Almost all individuals had thoughts which centered around their current occupation or task. It was also not entirely unheard of for someone to be so meticulously focused on a task that no other concerns or distractions broke through. But for more than one individual in a group, especially a group of vampires, to be so completely consumed by a ridiculously simple task was...suspicious.

The two guard members greeted Edward and Esme with the expected amount of chilly civility. Edward felt no loss for failing to please these seemingly mindless drones. He was however disappointed that the welcome from his own family, from Carlisle and Jasper, could only be described as stoic - at best. In fact, no words were spoken, apart from a brief round of 'hellos'. Once all the luggage had been accounted for, the group was expeditiously ushered into a heavily tinted limo driven by another, very large, member of the Volturi. This vampire, like his fellows, thought without distraction on the banal task of driving from the airport back to the castle.

Edward, by this point, was positive this undiluted focus was enacted by design.

Determined to resist whatever mind games the Volturi wishes to play with him, he concentrated his attention on Carlisle and Esme, knowing that their happiness at seeing one another again would be reflected in their thoughts, even if they decided not to put it on display before their escort. His brows furrowed when, instead of finding a harbor of happiness and contented thoughts, he encountered similar patterns of focus on banalities in his parents - as well as in Jasper!

What purpose would it serve for his family to block their thoughts? He was more than accustomed to intercepting random thoughts and stray ideas and was quite adept at keeping their secrets and private matters to himself. They had seldom even had occasion to censor their thoughts from him. The evidence was overwhelming however, that they were indeed also hiding something from image and pattern in their brains at the moment was fixed, focused in a way that they never achieved unless they were, in fact, attempting to keep something from him.

His unease grew exponentially the closer they drew the castle, not helped in the least by the fact that Jasper, who no doubt recognized Edward's emotional plight, made no effort to alter or soothe this tension.

Something was very, very wrong here.

When the limousine came to a halt, under a carefully placed canopy, the solemn group disembarked and were shown silently into the public entrance of the Volturi grounds.

Edward's quick eyes cataloged the faded green carpet and the deceiving blandness of the calm cream walls. None who entered this office and looked upon the face of the beautiful young woman smiling serenely behind the tastefully carved, solid wood desk would ever entertain the notion that this generic room would, in fact, lead them directly to hell. He followed the rest of the group uneasily and waited for the elevator to reach their level.

Bland, generic music - the next facet of the "normal" facade played wistfully as the metal box full of demons made their descent into the pit of all evil. Edward's ire was now fully piqued. How cliche could the kings be? They live in a castle where they "rule" over the vampire world, even going so far as to have their meals delivered. And now posess the gall to raise false allegations against his family so the Volturi have an excuse to exert their power. Perfect, just perfect.

The elevator came to a smooth stop and its metal doors slid open. Immediate and ( ), like a forceful kick to the groin, a scent plowed into sensitive olfactory receptors. It was the loveliest, most potent scent he had ever encountered. It simultaneously set his throat aflame and made his body ache with desire. Following closely on the heels of these sensations was the frigid panic that flooded his being when he realized what encountering that enthralling scent in this place meant. These monsters had somehow gotten to his Bella.