Be Careful What You Wish For

Chapter Twenty-Eight

1 The next part of the experiment required a little more preparation. Irina stayed right where she was, in the corridor of curiosities, whilst Aro used his phone to call someone she presumed was security. She wanted to ask him what was going to happen next, but he'd probably just tell her to wait and see, anyway. Little later, two vampires in grey uniforms arrived: a tall and muscular woman who wore her dark hair in a thick braid, and a slightly shorter, wiry man whose red beard was neatly trimmed and whose long hair was pinned up in a sideways bun; this reminded Irina of an exhibit about pagan Germanic tribes she'd once visited about a decade ago. Both new arrivals looked all business and didn't seem like they had much tolerance for nonsense.

The woman, sharp-featured and long-limbed, had that unfortunate olive-tinged pallor to her skin vampires always got if they used to be people of colour during their human lives. The shock they went through upon awakening to their vampire existence must be even worse than it had been for Irina and the likes of her. At least Irina had always been white. People of colour woke up after days of unimaginable suffering to find not only their bodies changed and their faces nearly unrecognisable, but they found themselves white-washed, too. How could anyone ever choose to have every ounce of individuality and cultural identity stripped from them to become an undead doll who only survived on the lives of others? How was that any better than a mortal and flawed, but human and natural existence? The answer was simple: it wasn't. She didn't want to whine, but given a choice, she'd always return to a human existence, preferably to her own time and the people she had once loved.

Somehow, all this brought Bella Swan to mind – Bella, her naiveté, her idiocy, and her mind-blowing arrogance.

Irina hoped that Charlie Swan and Leah Clearwater were okay, but mostly, she wished it for Demetri, who had been nothing but her friend. Sure, she could try to blame him for dragging her into this mess, but she had wanted revenge for Laurent, and not only hadn't Demetri forced her to do anything, he hadn't had the slightest clue about how dire the situation truly was. Her choices were hers alone, and the consequences hers to bear. Pointing fingers was always a waste of energy, anyway. At least now Irina had a chance to be useful, to do something that benefited others instead of causing further harm. That had got to count for something. Maybe there was at least an ounce of redemption left for her, even if the many lives she had taken could never be brought back. The suffering she had caused could never be erased, the potential she had eradicated was lost forever. None of it could be undone.

She hoped so badly that Aro was right about her ability to silence a dhampir's psychic powers. Even if it only worked with Fiora, it would count as a huge success. The girl deserved a life, not this kind of hopeless, eternal suffering. Irina wouldn't wish that fate upon her worst enemy, let alone a girl who couldn't help what she was. Yes, Fiora was a monster, but not by choice. Maybe she could be redeemed, too.

The guards positioned themselves in front of Aro, who nodded at both of them, smiling. Both of them smiled back. Irina wasn't really surprised. It was pretty hard to fight the impulse. She was pretty sure that if he unleashed the full force of his charm, no-one would be able to resist.

Okay, maybe Jasper, but he'd been a psychopath even as a human, so he didn't really count. Here was to hoping Leah had killed him by now.

"Dear ones, I have a very important task for you. You may be surprised when I tell you what I need from you, but trust me: I have a very good reason," Aro said gravely, looking from the woman to the man and back again. Both remained silent and kept watching him, enraptured. "I'm going to open one of these doors" – He motioned about with a slow wave of his right arm – "and you are going to make sure that when Irina here goes inside, she will not be harmed. After she has exited the cell again, you will take the prisoner and carry him to the end of the corridor."