Beguile // Demetri Volturi

Chapter 12.5: Demetri's Plight

The streets of Crete were busy; tourists flittered about, trying to see everything and anything before they returned back to their boring lives. Men and women were walking the streets, laughing and talking amongst themselves, completely lost in their own little worlds. Children were playing tag and their parents grabbed them by the back of their shirts and dresses before they could run into the streets and be flattened by buses and speeding motorists.

A few shop keepers stood outside the entrances to their shops, and decided to lure potential buyers by waving their wares through the air. They spoke Greek primarily, but when a foreigner stopped, they spoke louder and slower, all the while throwing in what little English words they knew.

My target, a young woman with artificial strawberry blonde hair, stopped in front of a shop and I quickly turned into the nearest alleyway. She peered through the window, bending over slightly. The short hem of her skirt moved upwards and a few men who had been walking past her stopped and stared.

She muttered something in German and stood back up. The men scurried away before they could be caught, and the woman turned and tightened her grip on the thin strap of her purse. With every step she took, her heels clicked loudly against the pavement, and the black sequins of her dress caught the yellow lights of the street-lamps, causing a shimmer effect.

A few seconds later, I slipped out of the dark alley and proceeded to follow her. She turned right, then left, then another left. Finally, she reached her destination, a popular night club called 'Temple'.

The bouncer nodded when he saw her and he motioned for her to cut the queue. The line protested and the burly bouncer gave them a sharp look, immediately silencing them. I crossed the street and disappeared down another alley. The buildings I hid between were tall, five stories high and they were made of old mortar bricks; the one on the right was a law firm and the one on the left was an abandoned apartment complex.

I quickly scanned the building on the right, the law firm, and once I reached the top, I made my way to the roof's ledge. I stared down at the world and kept my eyes locked on the club. My prey was inside, drinking and dancing the night away, and Elowen's phantom screams circled around and around in my head.

'I love you!'

I fell to my knees and venom pooled in my eyes.

'I love you, Demetri!'

Elowen's face came to mind and I lurched forward in pain. Her red eyes were highlighted with venom, venom that would never fall, and her face was twisted in pain and frustration.

I had gone nine-hundred and fifty-five years without falling in love. And it was an accomplishment that I was rather proud of; there weren't many vampires, especially ancient ones that were unmated, the only exception being those whose mates had been killed; Marcus lost Didyme to a rogue vampire, and the Volturi killed the Romanians, including Vladimir and Stefan's mates. They had been killed before my time, but their pain and wrath towards my clan was infamous. They were justified, and rightfully so.

Love was terrifying; it terrified me as a human, but it especially terrified me as a vampire. Once we vampires fell in love, we never fell out of it. For us, love was a double-edged sword. It could bring unfathomable happiness and pleasure, but it could also bring immeasurable pain.

Elowen loved me. She would always love me. Her confession had taken me by surprise, but once her words registered, a happiness that I had never felt before, consumed me. But that happiness was short lived when I heard the soft cries of Marcus on the summer breeze. He cried for Didyme every night and he wished for death every single day.

I had feelings for Elowen, strong ones, and it took her confession for me to finally put a label on those emotions — love. 

I loved Elowen and that terrified me. So, I ran, leaving her alone on the beach. Every step I took away from her caused my body to scream, and I had to stop myself on multiple occasions from turning around and running back to her. I wanted to fall to my knees, wrap my arms around her legs and confess my undying love to her.