Chapter 38 – The Countdown

It's December 31st.  I look down in disappointment, knowing my shield isn't powerful enough.  I'm able to protect Felix now, which is an improvement, I'll give myself that.  If I can protect him, I can protect anyone out there who needs it.  Emphasis on one.  I was really hoping I'd at the very least be able to cover a couple more people at once.

"I suppose this is a goodbye," I tell Eleazar sadly.

"You've done great, Anna, and it has been a pleasure to help train you," Eleazar says with a smile.  He puts his hands on my shoulders and shakes them gently.  "You've gotten this far as a human, which is unprecedented.  The second you turn into a vampire there's no telling how much more powerful you'll become."  That'll be great of course, but tonight is when the strength of my ability is really supposed to matter.  "If you're ever in Alaska, be sure to stop by for a visit," he smiles.

"Thank you for everything Eleazar," I smile, shaking his hand goodbye.  His suitcase is already packed up, waiting for him by the doors of the training room.  When he grabs it, he gives me one last wave before disappearing into the hall.  After he's gone, I let out a long sigh.

"Let's go," Felix pats my back knowingly, guiding me to the throne room.  My heart races knowing once we enter, we won't be leaving until this fight is over.

Contrary to the usual, Caius is waiting for us outside the doors.  He gestures for Felix to go in while pulling me off to the side. 

"Anna," he begins steadily, "I want you to listen carefully to what I'm about to say."  I nod as my chest tightens.  "You've done well, better than any one of us could have expected."  His gaze softens for a moment as he brushes a strand of hair from my face.  "But tonight, you must understand that your shield should not be used to defend anyone but yourself.  I want you to use it to make sure nobody can get close enough to touch you."

"I'll be protecting you, too," I remind him, "Athenodora will likely be targeting you specifically.  I still can't shape it perfectly, but it'll be close enough to allow you to fight..." I trail off.

His lips quirk up in the faintest of smiles.  "Thank you, but we've been around a long time, and I promise we can handle ourselves pretty well out there.  Focus on protecting yourself first."  I nod sadly. 

"Hey..." he teases, letting the tip of his thumb trace my bottom lip, "When this is all over, I have a big surprise planned for you."  At that I look up, which gives him the chance to immediately capture my lips with his.

For a moment, the world fades away and I melt under his touch.  His hand slides upward from my face until his fingers thread themselves through my hair, pulling me closer, as if he were keeping us both anchored to this moment.  Letting the tension drip off me, I lose myself in him.  My hands instinctively find his chest, feeling the strength that's ready to be employed.  His lips explore mine with an intensity that leaves me breathless before he pulls away and lets his forehead rest lightly against mine.  I can feel his breath for a moment before he straightens out again, his eyes searching my face as if he were memorizing every last detail.

"Remember," he whispers roughly, "no matter what happens, stay safe.  For me."

"I will," I say, heart pounding.  His hand slips from my hair, tracing a gentle line along my jaw.

"After tonight, there's so much I want to show you.  So much I want to share," he murmurs.  The intensity in his gaze holds me captive with a relieving sense of hope that after today, we finally won't have to hold back anymore.  We won't have to feel like we're keeping secrets.  He steps back and nods toward the door.  I take a deep breath and follow him into the room, where everyone is already in action. 

Aro's face lights up as he sees us enter, although his usual giddiness is diluted by the gravity of the situation.  He stands and everyone immediately stops what they're doing to look up at him.  The air is thick with tension as Caius guides me to my spot on the sidelines before joining Aro and Marcus up front.  "Tonight," Aro starts, "we stand as one.  Athenodora and her followers threaten not only our rule, but the stability we have maintained for centuries.  They would see our kind plunged into chaos, a world without order."  The guard stands tall as Aro continues, "We will show her that the Volturi will remain united, and standing as an unbreakable force."

Time ticks.

2:00

3:00

4:00

5:00

6:00

My last dinner from Eleazar's meal plan gets delivered to me.  The absolute last thing I feel right now is hungry, but I chew and swallow everything mindlessly anyway, knowing I'm going to need the energy tonight.

7:00

8:00

9:00

10:00

11:00... Waiting for the New Year's ball to drop has never felt so grim.

11:50...

"Positions."

As the echo of Aro's voice bounces off the walls, the energy of the throne room immediately sharpens like the edge of a knife.  Each guard member straightens as they get into formation, waiting for their command.  Jane, Alec, Felix, and Demetri stand near the front, exactly like they did when I first came to the castle with the feeding tour.  While the situation is completely different, it's kind of strange being on this side of things, and being one of the ones waiting for the group to enter.

I'm standing against the wall behind the guard trying my best to keep my composure, but jeez... even if I'm not killed by a vampire today, the heart attack I'm about the have will surely do me in anyway.  I'm not even worried about myself.  I never have been.  I'm worried about everyone else in this room, knowing I can't help as much as I want once the fight begins.

I clasp my shaking hands together in front of me and glance at Caius up front.  He stands beside Aro and Marcus, keeping his sight ahead of him.  His eyes flicker briefly toward me with a look that feels like he's silently repeating all the warnings and expectations he gave me earlier.  Everyone in the guard looks ready to strike. 

The air sits thick and heavy as we wait, with the suspense of each second dragging on like an eternity.

And then, like the first crack of a storm, movement can be heard outside the doors.  Who will be out there alongside Athenodora?

The doors to the throne room slam open, the impact reverberating through the walls, making me jump.  Athenodora steps inside first with a presence as chilling as the winter air Caius and I left in Minnesota.  Her expression is cold, calculating, and behind her, her followers file in one by one.  My eyes widen at the first familiar face, Alois, the lead tracker from the European division, the same guard member who claimed he was my bodyguard.  He leaves his comrades behind to step forward next to Athenodora.  His arm snakes around her waist and he shoots a sinister grin in Caius's direction. 

Ohhh... I realize, as he pulls her closer.  I wonder how long they've been together.  I glance at Caius to see his reaction, but it's completely unchanged.  The remaining vampires on Athenodora's side still sport their Volturi robes, but for the most part they're unfamiliar faces.  Each one, though, has narrowed eyes and looks confident about the battle that awaits.

I gasp, turning my gaze to the familiar face of the last vampire who walks in, standing right in the middle of the half-moon Athenodora's side has made in front of the doors.  "No!" I whisper, my hands flying to cover my mouth in shock.  Daniel. 

Why is he here?  Fighting for Athenodora against us??  My mind reels like film in a movie theater, replaying all our interactions and wondering if there was a clue hidden somewhere that could have helped me predict this, but I can't think of anything.  He keeps his stormy eyes locked on Caius, Aro, and Marcus up front, the same expression that Derek used direct at me when he was alive.  After the situation with Emily he had told me that he didn't care that the Volturi killed Derek.  Maybe that wasn't the case after all...

Athenodora's gaze sweeps over the room, a smirk tugging at her lips as she takes in the rows of our assembled guard, whose faces are all unflinchingly trained on her.  "Well," she says, her voice laced with mockery, "It's so good to see you all...  How touching."  Her face lands on Aro, and the smirk deepens.  "Did you really think you could hold onto your precious little empire forever?"

Aro's expression remains composed.  "The Volturi has stood for thousands of years, Athenodora, and it will stand long after you're gone.  You, and all who have gone against our backs, will find that betrayal does not pay well."

Athenodora's laugh echoes coldly through the room.  "We'll see about that."  She lifts her hand, a signal to her followers, and in an instant, the room erupts into chaos.

I immediately extend my shield around myself, and it steadies just as one of her minions bangs into it, looking surprised as he bounces back.  I shudder at the thought of what he planned on doing with me if he succeeded in grabbing me.  Surely he knows I can't be hurt, so kidnapping and taking me who knows where was probably the most likely plan.  I shake my head, getting myself back into focus and sending my shield toward Caius as the Volturi guards on our side surge forward, meeting Athenodora's forces head on at a speed I can barely process. 

I take a sharp breath and scan the scene.  Felix is locked into a struggle with one of Athenodora's larger followers, but Felix's strength is unmatched as he forces his opponent back furiously.  Demetri moves with deadly precision as he sneaks up behind Felix's target and yanks his head off from behind.

Screams in the far corner pull my attention away from them and toward Jane and Alec, who are working together to keep a couple other fighters down, waiting for someone to step in for their executions.

Athenodora, meanwhile, is watching from the edge of the room with Alois there to guard her.  I can see the anger simmering beneath her calm exterior as more of her followers meet their deaths.  I watch as she turns to whisper something to Daniel, who's standing directly behind her, seemingly waiting for his orders.  Apparently orders are what he got, since he finally steps forward... and looks directly at me.

I feel something in me that can only be described as brain freeze.  The surprise of it causes my shield to retreat back from Caius to absorb itself into the force field surrounding me.  Then Daniel walks up, directly moving in on Rodrick, who has no choice but to back up in my direction.

I scream as Daniel manages to completely rip one of Rodrick's arms off, causing Rodrick to stumble against the edge of my shield in front of me.  That morning was something I wasn't a part of; it was something I only saw the aftermath of.  Is this how they felt?  I ask myself, my mind remembering back when I woke up to see my mom dead.  Is that how they looked?  I wonder, seeing Rodrick's expression contort as he realizes he's about to die at the hands of Daniel, but it's not Daniel standing in front of me anymore, it's Derek.

I need to let him in.  I think frantically, but for some reason my shield resists.

"OPEN!" I scream, with tears streaming down my face.  Daniel steps closer.  I can't let my friends die.

"Anna--!" Caius yells something from across the room, but a freezing sensation takes over my brain.  What did he say? I wonder briefly before a scream from Rodrick snaps me back into focus. 

I need to let him in.  I think frantically, but for some reason my shield resists.

"OPEN!" I scream, with tears streaming down my face.  Daniel steps closer.  I can't let my friends die.

"—" Caius yells something from across the room, but a freezing sensation takes over my brain.  What did he say?  I wonder briefly before a weak "Anna..." coming from Rodrick in front of me snaps me back into focus. 

I need to let him in.  I think frantically, but for some reason my shield resists.

"OPEN!" I scream, with tears streaming down my face.  Daniel steps closer.  I can't let my friends die.

The opening of my shield expands, scooping Rodrick in before closing in front of Daniel.  I collapse onto the ground, sighing a breath of relief, before my breath is cut short.  The speed of my shield rushing back to me gives me whiplash, but it's too late.  I look down just in time to see a knife being pulled out of my stomach.  "Rodrick..." I choke out in disbelief.  Daniel looks down at me in shock, before immediately picking me up and rushing me out of the throne room. 

The pain radiates from my stomach in waves throughout my whole body, but my lungs feel so collapsed from the agony of it that I can't even scream.  My breathing is rigid and shaky.  My stomach feels as if the knife never left.  Daniel finds my room and sets me down in my bed before rushing back out, leaving me to suffer here.  "Caius..." I gag, but the pain is becoming too overwhelming.  My head feels light, but heavy at the same time as I flicker in and out of consciousness...

"Anna," a familiar voice pleads next to me.  Caius...  "Anna, open your shield," I think I hear him say.  I cry out in pain.  "Anna, please..."

All of a sudden, all my pain is gone.  Did I die?  I wonder, but Caius's voice echoes around me, as if it were underwater, slowly drifting away from me.

"Anna, Alec is here, open your shield."  My breathing is still shaky, but I concentrate using all the mind tricks Eleazar taught me until I finally feel my shield extend up around me.

Did it work? I wonder, but when I open my eyes, there's nothing in front of me but the darkness of Alec's gift.  I can't hear anyone by my bedside anymore either. 

*  *  *

I don't know how much time has passed, but I'm not dead... I don't think... so I must have successfully opened my shield.  The obvious assumption is that Caius bit me, and I'll be stuck like this for a while, but I still wish I had some sort of confirmation as to what's going on.  And what about the rest of the fight?  Is everyone at a disadvantage because Caius and Alec are here with me?

*  *  *

January 2nd ...

*  *  *

January 3rd ...

*  *  *

After what feels like an eternity, my sensory deprivation chamber shifts, and I slowly become aware of my surroundings again.  I feel the sensation of the fabric against my skin, and the solidity of the bed beneath me.  My hearing sharpens in a way that feels almost terrifying, with every noise coming into focus with an intensity I've never experienced before.  There's a rustle on the bed, but it's not me, it's a scent that draws me in.  Caius.  My eyes flutter open to uncover crystal clear vision.  Every detail in the room leaps out at me from the fine weaving of the canopy's fabric above me, to the tiniest cracks in the walls surrounding me. 

I sit up, and Caius is there, his eyes fixed on me with relief.  His face is exactly the same, yet somehow now even more defined by every line and shadow gracing it.

"Anna," he whispers, his voice rough with emotion as his had reaches out to touch my face.  I expect the usual coolness of his touch, but we both smile a little to realize our body temperatures aren't so different anymore.  His fingers brush lightly over my cheek.  "Welcome back."

Author's Note

It feels absolutely wild to finally get to the moment I've been building up to since starting this story! My original plan was to end this story a couple chapters after Anna's transformation, but... I've grown too attached to her story and as I've been writing this, more and more ideas keep coming to me. Currently the word count of "Unbreakable" is at around half the word count of "Breaking Dawn", so I'm going to pull a "Breaking Dawn" and divide it into two parts!

Part two will still be a part of this novel, so no need to add a new story to your libraries! I plan on adding a chapter showcasing the character bios of the characters from part one first to break it up, then after that, see you in part two! 👀🔴