Chapter 11 – Secrets in the Night

The night gets colder and colder as I stand outside the castle waiting for Raphael to come.  My phone tells me it's just five minutes until eight, and the longer I wait, the more my curiosity grows.  I wasn't even sure if these were the right doors I was supposed to meet him outside of, but I figure he will find me anyways.  I went out the doors that Demetri and I came through before, partly because they were closest, but mostly because I wanted to see if all evidence had been erased that I had my little accident there.  Sure enough, the painter was able to fix the mural and it looks as perfect as what I'm sure the original did.  I check my phone again out of both nervousness and impatience to see the digital numbers flashing 7:59.  I gulp, wondering why we had to meet so late in the day.  To be honest, the darkness was kind of creeping me out.  Who knows what could be lurking...

"Anna!" Raphael greets from behind me.  I turn around to see him jogging up to me with a smile on his face.  He's wearing a sweat suit, and it looks like he was in the middle of going on a run.  It isn't until he stops next to me that I realize that he hasn't even broken a sweat.

"Hey," I greet back awkwardly, barely meeting his eye contact.  It may have been getting dark out, but I am still able to see that his eyes are much darker than they were at the restaurant, which causes my stomach to flip.

"You seem nervous around me," he notices, whipping off his sweatband and freeing his thick, blonde hair.  All of a sudden, something inside of me changes.  It's almost as if every ounce of nerves had melted off my body, giving me a sense of security.  I'm almost positive that Raphael did something to me to make my mood change so suddenly, but for some reason that knowledge doesn't faze me in the slightest.

"So what is the purpose of this meeting?" I finally ask after realizing he was waiting for me to say something.  He sighs.

"I'll make it short, and get straight to the point," he starts, "As you probably already know, the Volturi has been working extremely hard in order to find a way that will change you into one of them.  They even went as far as to find me and ask for help, which means that this is something they are very serious about, and that this is something that they will not give up on."

Ahh, so that's what the others were talking with him about back at the restaurant?  "So Jane, Alec and Heidi were upset that you didn't know how to turn me either?" I ask.

"No," Raphael starts.  I look at him in confusion.  "I know how you can be turned; they were furious that I wouldn't tell them."

"What?!" I gasp, shocked at this new revelation, "There's actually a way to turn me into a vampire?"

"Of course," he says dismissively, "but that is not the topic I'm here to talk to you about.  Nor will it be a topic that I ever reveal to the guard as I do not think vampirism is a way of life that you are ready for."

"What do you mean?" I ask.  He looks pointedly at me. 

"It might seem like a fun idea at first on an impulse," he starts, "having super-strength, super-speed, great reflexes, immortality..." he trails off, shaking his head.  "But having these abilities takes the value and challenge out of living, and the value out of life itself so much so, that immortality will feel more like a burden than a super power over time.  Now I want you to tell my why you came to Italy in the first place."  I stand in silence for a minute before answering.

"I wanted to die," I admit to him, remembering every detail of my arrival day.

"And why is that?" he asks.  My eyes sting with my memories of the family I will never see again, remembering how my mother looked with her own blood soaked into her clothes.  "You may have made friends here," Raphael tells me, gently wiping a tear from my face, "but that doesn't change the problems you will have in the future as a result of becoming one of them, the possible guilt.  You've seen it yourself, Anna.  They have killed thousands of people, thousands of innocent people who had friends and family of their own, friends and family who have felt the same feelings of despair that you felt coming to Italy all those weeks ago.  You must know that some of these people were lead to have the same dark thoughts as you had, but they had nothing preventing them from doing what you wanted to do."  Raphael hands me a handkerchief and patiently waits for me to compose myself before continuing.

"I just want you to remember that vampirism is not as glamorous as you've been lead to believe during your time here, and if you're changed, you will be taking peoples lives in the same way that your family's lives were taken."

Other then the sound of my sniffling here and there, we stand in complete silence while I sift through all of the information that I just received.  None of it was new knowledge of course, but they were facts that I've been pushing to the back of my mind since I've let myself feel at home here. 

"Thank you, Rafael," I tell him, offering him back the damp piece of cloth.  He shakes his head.

"Keep it; let it be a reminder," he smiles, closing the palm of my hand.  After he lets go, I feel something poking between my fingers.  I open my hand again to see a white feather, which looks like it belongs to a large sized bird.  I look back up at him questioningly, but he's already gone.  I stand outside for some time, realizing I need to go back to my room and get some sleep, but I just can't get my legs to work.  Conflicting emotions keep swirling around in my head until I finally decide that I need to spend some time away to think things over.  After pocketing the handkerchief into my sweatshirt, I quietly hop down the stairs, and being careful to mind the mural, I start my journey into town.

The nightlife in downtown Volterra is a lot more populated than I would've imagined; there's a nightclub on almost every corner, each competing with the others on how far away their music can be heard down the streets.  I smile, walking up to one with an impressive fluorescent front and stand in the short line to get inside.  My heart is racing with excitement; I've never gone out and had a night out like this before.  Finally it's my turn to face the bouncer. 

"Identificazione?" he requests, his arms folded across his wide chest.  I quickly reach into my back pocket and pull out the residence card Marcus helped me apply for a few weeks ago.  He takes it and looks it over, then finally handing it back once he's satisfied.  "Godetevi la vostra notte," he tells me, opening the door for me.  After thanking him, I step into the nightclub and take in the sight.  The room is lined with booths and tables at an incline from the middle.  Go down a few steps and you see the dance floor where there's a DJ at the far side of the room playing the newest dubstep tracks, with a huge crowd of people dancing in the middle of the floor.  Most of the women are wearing either short dresses or even shorter skirts, while many of the men are either wearing leather or tight-fitting cotton v-necks.  I glance down at my own outfit, jean shorts, a black tank, and light blue Keds.  I suppose I could've done worse.  I hop down the steps and study the crowd of dancers, trying to figure out how I can squeeze in there, when somebody taps on my shoulder.  I turn around to see a girl who looks like she's around my age.

"Hi!  I'm Julia," she greets me, accent free.

"You're from America?" I question.

"Yeah, I'm here for the summer with some of my friends from college.  We were standing right behind you in the line to get in and saw that you had a foreign residence card too," she smiles, "Wanna join us?"

"I would love to!" I exclaim, and follow her back up the stairs and around to a booth where two other people were sitting, one girl and one guy. 

"This is Max," she says pointing at the guy with blond hair, he gives me a little wave, "and this is Suzy," she says, referring to the girl with thick red, wavy hair.  Julia has dark brown hair, straight as a pin.  She has a deep tan and light blue eyes to contrast.

"Nice to meet you guys!" I smile. 

We talk for quite awhile, getting to know each other.  It's so nice to actually talk to humans again about the things that the Volturi won't talk about or aren't interested in.

"Alright, if we were going to sit around and talk all night, we would have gone to a coffee shop.  Let's dance!" Max suggests enthusiastically.  Everyone cheers and it's like we can't get to the dance floor fast enough! 

"Come on Anna, loosen up!" Suzy laughs, grabbing my arms and pulling me to dance.

"Hey!  I'm still new to all this!" I laugh.  An evil smile forms across her face. "Uh-oh, what?" I ask suspiciously.  Instead of answering, she grabs my wrist and pulls me across the room and pushes me onto a stool.  "Why are we at the bar?" I ask.

"You're dancing so cautiously, it's like you've never been to a crazy party before!"  I look down at my hands.  "Oh my God; you've haven't ever been to a crazy party before?!" she asks, astonished.

"I didn't really go out much in high school," I shrug.  She drops her jaw in shock before turning her stool forwards.

"Two shots please!" she shouts to the bartenders, trying to shout over the music.  Before I know it, a small glass of clear liquid is set down in front of me.  It looks like water, but one sniff of the substance says otherwise.

"I really don't drink," I tell her, crinkling my nose at the smell.

"Come on Anna, we're in Italy!  We have to enjoy the country's younger drinking age while we can!"  I give her a defeated look before bringing the glass up to smell it again, but she pinches my nose shut.  "Don't smell, just drink," she tells me.  I sigh, bringing the glass to my lips and quickly gulping the liquid down. 

"Kehh!" I gasp, my throat burning.  Suzy laughs.

"That's exactly how I looked when I had my first shot!" she tells me, gulping down her own and slamming the glass on the table.  "Two more please!" she yells, and before I can blink, another shot is placed in front of me.  Suzy has hers right away, while I stare down at mine in horror.  "You look like you're in physical pain!" she laughs again at my face.  I shake my head.

"Considering I've never done this before, I think one's enough," I tell her. 

***

Yeah, that didn't really end up working out.  Somehow they ended up convincing me to have another... and another.  Now my head is feeling a little up in the clouds.

Max comes up from behind me.  He takes my cocktail and downs it himself with Julia giggling behind him.  Suzy just shrugs.  Julia and Max get a drink of their own and before we know it, we're pushing each other back out onto the dance floor.  The alcohol is definitely starting to take effect as I'm dancing with everyone, living in the moment.  I'm starting to really enjoy my time here and I'm so glad I decided to spend my night out like this.  After a while, I start feeling hot and sweaty, so I head to the ladies room to rinse my face with water. 

"Ugh," I groan, looking at myself in the mirror.  My hair is a mess and I look completely out of it.  I notice somebody's feet peeking out of the stall door and I immediately recognize Suzy's shoes.  Well, she did drink a lot tonight.  I tell myself.  "Are you okay?" I ask, knocking on the door.  She doesn't answer.  She must have passed out while she was throwing up.  I sigh, way to out of it to be able to fully help her, but I manage to get the door unlocked and open anyways.  "Suzy?" I ask, opening the door slowly. 

Upon seeing her face, my blood runs cold and my heart starts beating frantically in my chest.  I may be drunk, but that doesn't dull the feelings of pure shock and horror when I see the messy bite mark on her neck, and the blood staining her dress.  "Vampire," I mumble breathlessly, my eyes still glued to the small bite mark.  Suddenly I hear a bloodcurdling scream above the music outside of the bathroom and I know that my suspicions are correct.  There are vampires here, and they are making themselves known... meaning that they don't plan on leaving any survivors.