Heartbeat [Alec Volturi]

Gift

"Don't talk?"

"That is what I said."

I jogged a bit to catch up with Jane's graceful stride. "As in, don't say anything stupid, or don't be a smartass?"

"Both. You speak out of turn during meetings with the Masters, even though you're not supposed to, correct?"

"Yeah," I mumbled sheepishly.

Jane ignored my sensitivity, more concerned about the issue at hand. "While you have gotten away with insubordination, this will be different. Alec is in charge, and if you challenge him in front of the Guard, you lessen his credibility." She emphasized, "and that is very bad."

"Alec is in charge?"

"Yes." She stared past me at the castle wall. She might have been thinking or listening, but Jane was purposefully quiet. Unlike her brother, her body language in silence was stiff, empty, and she observed the world with the passiveness of a ghost. There was something about the situation that held more than she would say.

Alec usually brought her back with a touch if this happened. It was like some twin telepathy. But in the current company, I kept my hands to myself and tried the next best thing. A question. "Of what?"

Her steps echoed lightly as we stepped into the corridor. "A task force." Her voice became light and airy in the new environment. "The Kings no longer see Razin and his supposed plans to be an active threat."

I halted in the middle of the hallway, and she slipped, sending me an irritated look. "But the train!" I protested, "we were attacked–"

"By the Romanian," she acknowledged, glancing at my guards ahead of us. "A long-time grudge-holder who would sooner run than fight. As far as the Masters are concerned, this Razin character sent a newborn to threaten the Volturi's might with nothing but words." I would argue that Zafir had done a lot more damage than the statement suggested.

"And they're just ignoring Alice's visions?"

"The future is unpredictable, and nothing is set in stone." Jane reminded me harshly, and I felt guilty for mentioning the Alice Cullen. Every answer Jane gave only raised more questions, and the last one put me on the edge of a cliff with her. I didn't push, but she did. "Alec is tasked with determining if Razin is an active and worthy threat and, if not, to assess the damage from the excess newborns created in Razin's desperate attempt to be relevant."

I would have laughed at the comment in different circumstances.

Jane provided the rationale thoroughly, competently, and like the perfect soldier she was. But it felt like propaganda, and I didn't believe a word of it.

"What does he need me to do?"

She tilted her head, finally pleased with my words. Jane would tell me exactly what to do, no matter how blunt or infuriatingly demeaning. Alec would put me above his own perception, and I was beginning to understand the danger in his approach. For now, I needed Jane so I would not be a liability to her brother. "Do everything you can to make sure he does not appear weak. Do not undermine him."

"Everything," I agreed.

Nothing more was said as we moved deeper into the castle, closer to listening ears.

Percy and Talib pushed open a pair of double doors, introducing me to yet another unfamiliar room. We hadn't asked to enter, but all eyes turned to us once it was clear my heartbeat had become the strongest sound in the room.

It looked like it came straight out of a high-rise office building. An oval table was situated in the center of the room, currently serving a meeting of darkly-dressed, grim vampires, with Talib and Percy making the number an even ten as they took their places. And sitting at the end of the table was Alec, returned alive and well.