Midnight Solstice

Chapter 21

Photo: Cauis, Aro, and Marcus
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   The next few days were full of laziness for me. I felt so useless! But it was kind of nice to know that Fred, George, and Caleb have been watching over the Morgynstein case for me while I was out.
   Unfortunately my resting meant that I couldn't run and hide when Aro wanted to talk to me. He asked me several questions regarding what happened the night of the wolf attack before asking me the big question I've been waiting for. What was the message that Michael gave me? There was no sense in lying to him, otherwise Michael would tell him about it on a later date.
I didn't lie to Aro about the fun house message, but I didn't tell him everything either. I simply stated "A couple of the newborns found a lead on his old warehouse and found this message at the scene as well as a needle and a flyer for an old carnival. Lorne had a vision and believes that Michael moved his experimentation lab to the old carnival grounds" and left it at that.
He then asked why he didn't see this in my thoughts, in which I answered in a flat out lie that (thankfully) convinced him. I said "I guess my mind is becoming covered by Michael's mental block because we figured out something that was very close and secretive to him" and then after a couple more comments about how frustrating this case is, he left; leaving me alone with awful and confusing thoughts.
I waited a couple of minutes to make sure Aro was really gone before I took out the file about him and Didyme. I don't know how this man; the man that I have trusted my whole second life, could have killed his own sister just to keep Marcus in the Volturi. He's always been so kind to me. And I've seen the worst of him more than once but I can tell you, he wouldn't have killed his sister. I mean, he saved Jane and I from burning at the stake! Does that sound like the kind of man that would kill for power? I began reading the first few words on the page.
There is so much that the guard members don't know about Aro. He's stalked humans at young ages for years until they are old enough to be turned and join the Volturi.
That's strange, I don't know why he would do that. This document implies that it's because of power, but I can't think of a logical reason as to why. And then a horrible thought struck me.
"Is that what happened with the other newborns? Is that what happened to Jane and I? Did Aro only save us because he wanted our power?" No, that's nonsense. He saved us because we were dying and he wanted to help us. I continued reading.
He also craves power, it's like a drug to him. He killed his own sister to make sure Marcus didn't leave the Volturi. He hid this from his guard, Caius, Marcus, and their other wives and blamed her death on an "awful accident" that occurred and declared that he would find the person who murdered her and bring them to justice. Obviously, because the murderer was him, the true murderer was never brought to justice and he gave up once he hit a "dead end."
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. This was ridiculous. This had nothing to do with the Morgynstein case and it was twisting my mind in so many directions that I couldn't see straight. Okay, that part may be from the werewolf bite, which has now settled down and turned into a slightly upraised scar, but the effects from it still linger. But that's besides the point. Why would Alucard include this in the flash drive?
"Probably to sway our loyalty to Aro so that we can go in the direction that he wants us to as opposed to following what Aro tells us..." I thought bitterly.
Did I think that Alucard was a bad guy? No. But I do think he has ulterior motives other than to play the role of loving grandfather to Katerina. He's been very good to her in these past few months, and has played a part in helping Katerina control all of the elements. But his part is small in that, I mean after all, he is the King of the Fae.
He assigned Pauley and Lorne as her "advisors" before he came and spoke to me, but it was odd because he didn't know that Katerina specialized in all of the elements until we spoke. Unless he did know and was playing me for a fool, which was probably what happened.
   Anyway, Pauley and Lorne have been helping her learn to control each element and "to learn what it truly means to be a high priestess" as Alucard put it. They also have been teaching her the history of the Fae and the customs of each element group (because apparently they all have to be complicated and have different customs and rituals and such) which Katerina considers to be the most boring part because she doesn't get to do anything.
   In the past few months, word spread of Katerina's abilities to the Fae folk (in other words Fae people) and the result of that wasn't as wonderful as you would think. We have had Fae from all over the world come to see if they rumors about Katerina were true. Most of the Fae though come from the Italian fae district where Alucard is residing. 
   Cauis is getting quite put up with it. Most of the time he asks Katerina to do a quick demonstration and then tells the faeries to leave. But he wasn't so fond of Katerina becoming the Fae high priestess to begin with.
I think that it is pretty interesting that all of the Fae are serious about "their goddess sending Aurelia's power into another girl" but there is one thing that they sort of frown down upon. The fact that she's isn't a full fae. Not that her being...well...her (her equaling whatever Michael injected into her to make her what she is now) is a bad thing. I think she's perfect just the way she is, but this confuses the faeries. She isn't like them, but she isn't like us either and that throws them off and makes them wonder if they can trust her or not. But that's only a small factor; the majority of the time they are accepting of her, but that is because of their goddess working in mysterious ways, not because they accept her  the way she is.
   I looked down at Aro's file one more time before slipping it back into its spot between the bed and the box spring beneath it, and just in time too. I heard a quick knock on my door which caused me to spring back into my previous position.
  "Come in!" I hollered so whoever was on the opposite side of the door could hear. In walked Katerina and Marcus. I could understand why Katerina was here, she is my girlfriend after all. (I still get butterflies in my stomach just thinking of the fact that I get to call her mine.) But I don't understand why Marcus would come to see me. I could possibly come up with a reason if it were just him, but not him and Katerina.
   "How's my favorite patient doing?" Katerina teased as she walked over to the table and carried two chairs over to my bedside. She motioned for Marcus to sit down.
   "Thank you." He responded and they sat.
    "No problem!" She turned to me. "I didn't hear an answer out of you."
  "I'm fine."
  "That's what you said yesterday."
  "I was fine yesterday too. I'm just about as good as new."
  "Do you promise?"
  "Of course I do, pet." She giggled at my nickname for her.
   "Okay then. Now we can get on to business. We have something that we want to tell you and we need your feedback on it."
  "Alright. I'm all ears." She smiled at Marcus.
  "Why don't you start? This was your idea after all." He groaned.
   "You are the one who has to present this idea to Aro and Cauis. You might as well get the practice." 
   "Yeah but I can practice when we tell the other newborns." He sighed in defeat.
   "You know how I have been taking Katerina for her extra sessions about the law, correct?" He asked me. I nodded.
  "Yes, what about it?"
  "You see, we have been looking at the laws and there technically is no law that shows that Michael has done anything wrong with his experimenting, other than possibly our law about drawing attention to vampires. And using that law to bring Michael to justice is a stretch. So because of that, Katerina and I have been working together to try to create a new law."
   "You are trying to bring forth that idea again?" I groaned. Last time Marcus tried this, Cauis and Aro vetoed it because they felt that we had enough laws already and they have served well over the years, which was true. But they also believed that it would be too much trouble to create a new law and spread it to all of the vampires. I'll admit, that part would take a while, but Marcus believed it would be beneficial to our kind.
  "Yes, because if Michael argues that the only ones who know about his experiments are supernatural people, that puts any evidence that we have about him drawing attention to our kind out of use."
  "No, Lorne was human when he first discovered Michael's experiments."
  "True Alec, but that would be about all we had for evidence."
  "Also, Lorne could have been considered my mother's consort and that puts him under the supernatural people category." Katerina added.
   "What?"
   "My mother was going to be the next fae high priestess before she met my father. Uncle Lorne was one of her friends and he figured out what she was. In order for them to stay friends, he became her consort." She explained.
   "What's a consort?" I asked as my mind spun trying to comprehend this.
    "Traditionally a consort is a special companion of a reigning official of the Fae government. When in that position, the human offers up his or her blood to their fae and the fae then uses it for rituals or for their own use because since the fae are technically half vampire, they need to drink blood as well, but not as often as a full vampire." Marcus said.
   "But what about untraditionally?"
    "The consort can also be another species other than human that is basically whatever the faerie needs. Whether that be a lover, friend, another guard, anything like that really."
   "Okay. Now I see your point. We don't have a lot to go off of with our other laws, but the same thing as last time will probably happen again. Cauis will argue that our laws haven't changed in over a millennium and we shouldn't change them now and Aro will agree."
   "That may not be the case. We didn't really understand what was going on then, but with Katerina, we get an inside view of what really happens with Michael's experiments. What she knows and what she went through may be enough to push them over to our side."
   "And you're okay with using your experience to try to sway their thinking?" I asked Katerina.
   "It's the right thing to do." She responded.
   "So, is the law you want to add the same as last time?
   "With the help of Katerina, I made a couple of alterations to it to ensure that we can get Michael in a position where he can't argue his way out of it."
  "So let's here it then."
  "The law states that no vampire shall experiment on another species whether it be mortal or immortal. If experimentation on any species occurs, the penalty is death, regardless of the severity of the experiment or how long ago the experiments occurred." Marcus stated.
   "A death penalty?" Katerina questioned. "I thought that we weren't going to use that punishment!"
   "The death penalty is what will win Caius over. If we used another punishment, he would modify it anyway and the death penalty would seem like a blessing."
  "I know, but it doesn't seem fair to me that people have to die because of a crime. I don't think people should have the kind of power to determine who lives and who dies. That's not fair."
   "Katerina we talked about this, if we don't make that the penalty, Caius won't be on board with this whole idea. He will be more impressed with you when you offer the death penalty and that will prove to him that you are on our side and not your father's. He thinks that you could be an undercover spy for him."
  "That seems like a pretty concrete law." I said, trying to change the subject. I knew that Katerina didn't want to talk about any sort of death penalty right now, or ever. She was a very kindhearted person and believed everyone deserves a second chance. That thinking won't fly here, but I admire her motives. "I think it should go through. When are you presenting this to Aro and Cauis?"
  "Hopefully in the next couple of days. Katerina is going to practice presenting the new law to the other newborns and hopefully we can get them on board so if Caius and Aro are on the fence, they can help convince them to pass the law."
  "That seems plausible. But why do you want to get this law passed so badly? I can understand why Katerina would. But I can't see why you would want this law so badly. I mean, this is a problem and I too believe that a new law should be put into order, but you seem to have some sort of passion for it." Marcus was quiet for a moment.
   "I believe that my Didyme would want to put a stop to this before things got any worse. And I agree with that so I will fight to get a law in place to stop this." I flinched guiltily at his wive's name but luckily he didn't notice it. But Katerina did. She didn't say anything aloud but sent a thought into my head.
"Whatever you are thinking about right now you are going to tell me later because you just moved as if you got smacked in the face."
  "Thanks for the simile, pet. I will tell you, but later."
   "Much later..." I added to my personal thoughts before I turned my attention back to Marcus.
  "So you see, this law will hopefully put a stop to Michael's antics and any others who are willing to follow in his path." He said, finishing his short speech that Katerina nor I had heard.
  "I think this will go over with the others quite nicely. You have me convinced."
  "I'm glad." Marcus said. If it even was Marcus. He hasn't been glad in years. "Katerina, will you go check on Jayden for me? He is with George and Andi right now and I told Aro I would swing by to check in for him."
   "Sure thing." She said cheerfully as she stood up. Katerina kissed my forehead quickly before leaving. When she was gone, Marcus raised an eyebrow at me.
   "She's my girlfriend." I said in the same ditzy tone I used whenever I had to explain that she was now mine. I couldn't help it though, it makes me feel giddy to be able to call her mine. Marcus chuckled quietly.
   "Congratulations then. But I will be honest with you about one thing, you sound like a lovesick fool."
   "I may be a lovesick fool, but I am a very happy lovesick fool." I joked. It was kind of true though. The love sick part, not the part about me being a fool. I don't think I'm a fool, I'm just happy I've met my mate and finally after eight agonizing months of the "friend zone" (as Fred and George call it) I finally get to have her all to myself.
  "That's good then. But there is one thing I need to talk to you about before I leave."
  "Alright."
  "Whatever you are doing with the other newborns, Jane, Felix, and Demetri needs to remain a secret and never mentioned within these castle walls." I swear my jaw hit the ground.
  "I don't know what you are talking about." I said, trying to cover this up. We weren't being that conspicuous were we? First Jane, now Marcus! Great!
  "Yes you do. I won't say anything to Aro about it, because I assume that you have been keeping this from us for a good reason, and I trust your judgement. But Aro will catch on to you soon." I was speechless. Luckily for me, he spoke again.
   "Cauis already suspects Katerina to be a spy, you don't want him to think that you all are betraying the Volturi because he won't keep quiet about it and will force Aro to investigate all of you. I will warn you if they catch on to you, but be careful. If you are going to try to stop Michael yourself, without Aro's help, you are going to need a whole lot of backup."
   "Alucard and his army will be behind us when we are ready to face Michael." I told him. If Aro did read his thoughts before I came clean to him about the whole flash drive situation, he needed to know that we had support, even if he wasn't going to help us.
"Good. I will support you as well with whatever guard members wish to help. I won't say anything until the time comes, but remember this...if I found out about you this easily, other people can as well."
"We will be careful, thank you for the warning." I told him. I know it may not seem like it, but I was super thankful that everyone who has figured out about out undercover operation has been on our side. But he was right. If he knows about us, who knows who else could know.
"I will let you rest. Thank you for your time." Marcus got up and took the two chairs back to the table. He set them in their proper places at either end and walked over to the door. He gave me a small smile when he left, as if he knew something I didn't. He probably did. That seems like a reoccurring theme here.
I laid back on my bed and closed my eyes for a moment, soaking in what Marcus just told me. I'm now thinking that we have to move Rebel H.Q. It's too risky to keep it in the castle now. I was consumed in my thoughts for a couple of minutes before I heard a small knock on my door and the turning of the door knob.
"Hey, did Marcus go?" Katerina asked as she came over to my side of the bed.
"Yes, he left a few minutes ago. But he knows something is up with us and the other newborns. He said that he's going to warn us if Cauis and Aro pick up on anything." I confessed to her.
"Dang..." She sat down on the edge of the bed. "First Jane and now Marcus! We might as well write "I just came from Rebel H.Q." on our foreheads!" She exclaimed. I laughed.
"You would have to write small to fit all that on one line." I teased. Katerina rolled her eyes at me.
"Well that's shorter than what I was originally thinking."
"And what was that?"
"Join Rebel H.Q. We have cookies and blood bags in a tiny mini fridge in the corner next to the main computer."
"You're right, the other one is shorter. But I like the cookies and blood bags part."
"Yeah, me too. Fred and George want to make tee shirts and mugs about Rebel H.Q. and sell them in the lobby when we come clean about everything to everyone."
"That's a good way for them to get their asses kicked."
"That's what your sister told them but they promised her free merchandise if she used her gift on anyone who tried, so I guess it's a win win situation. You know, I'm glad she knows now, it makes everything so much easier."
"Yeah. I can't believe I told her everything over a week ago. It feels like forever ago now."
"Yeah, it kind of does." And then I had a really scary thought.
"Holy shit! I only told her about a week ago!"
"Yeah...and?"
"No Katerina, you don't get it!" I stood up from the bed and began to pace. "I told her about a week ago! When Marcus said that he knew that we were up to something, he said something about the other newborns, Jane, Felix, and Demetri!"
"Oh my gosh! That either means that he overheard you and Jane talking about it, or..."
"Don't even say it." I told her. My words came out harsher than I expected and I could see the flash of hurt in her eyes.
"I'm sorry." She apologized quickly. "But even you have to admit that it's possible that Marcus was with her when she saw us all walking out." Whoops...I didn't think that she was going to say that. I thought she was going to say that Jane was working with the masters which would mean that Aro would know and that would be a lot of stress I don't want to deal with right now.
I walked over to where she was sitting and stood in front of her. I held her face in my hands; making her look up at me. She was in her fae form now, so her enchanting blue eyes stared into mine and caused me to feel lightheaded.
"I'm sorry pet...its been a long couple of days and I've just been very tense lately."
"It's okay Alec, I get it. You don't need to apologize to me." She stood up and hugged me. She snuggled into my chest.
"Yes I do, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that." I told her, wrapping my arms around her petite figure, pulling her as close to me as possible.
"You're very sweet Alec. But you don't have to worry about it, I've seen worse." She went up on her toes and planted a quick kiss on my lips. That small gesture fueled a fire inside of me, a fire that craved more.
I leaned down and kissed her softly, our lips moving in sync with each other. That one kiss soon deepened and my hands roamed around; one went to the small of her back and the other cupped her cheek but both pulled her closer to me. Her arms were draped around my neck and her hands were in my hair. I let her breath for a moment before kissing her again. After a couple more moments of pure bliss, she smiled against my lips, causing me to smile as well.
"You don't know how long I've been waiting to do that." I whispered to her. She giggled.
"I love you." She whispered to me. Her voice was filled with innocence and compassion and made me want to hear her say it again and again.
"And I love you my angel."
"Angel?" She questioned. "I'm not an angel, Alec." My smiled widened.
"You're my  angel."
"Uh huh..." She said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.
"Yes you are Katerina. You are sweet and kind and far too beautiful to be anything but."
"Aw..." She kissed my again, putting me back into my personal heaven once more.
    In that moment, everything was perfect. I forgot all about the Morgynstein case and everything else. The only thing that mattered was her. And right now, I could live in my perfect little world, it was my own personal version of heaven.
    But my perfect little world wouldn't stay perfect for long...because who knows what's going to happen when we face Michael again. People are going to die. I almost died because of an attack from him. I just hope that we can stop him before anyone else gets hurt. But I've said this once, and I'll say it again; that would be too easy.