Skin deep

Skin Deep

Chapter 22


Fusedtwilight: Thanks to animegirlkiki for betaing thanks to everyone who reviwed.



Marcus P.O.V

"What?"

"I said I have decided you should be the one too go too America old friend," Aro said with a smile.

I looked to Caius who seemed bored with the discussion already.

"When was this idea made?" I asked.

"Well we figure you have been stuck in Volterra for so many eons, now with you finally snapping out of your stupor it would be good for you to get out and get more involved with our work," Aro said.

"Why not Caius?"

"I hate America. Nothing but a bunch of godless heathens with no sense of order or tradition. Plus I am not going to share the same land as the Cullens." he growled when he said the Cullens name.

"There now, we were planning to expand any way why wait?"

"I do not think now is a good time Aro, what if Sara's power starts acting up again?"

"We have Chelsea. I have already discussed her behavior and given her a warning of what will happen if she ever does such a thing again." Aro's eyes darkened. He had been most upset with her for not telling him about what Sara's power had done.

"I do not know if this is a good idea Aro, Sara is at a delicate stage right now."

"Sara has Santiago now, she does not need you any more Marcus."

His words stung my heart, like a dagger.

"Come now Marcus you said it yourself she has nothing more to need, now she has a mate now, she has a loyal guard in Alec and Corin, she finally has the peace she needs. I know you are attached to her, I am as well. But she does not need either of us; you have spent thousands of years mourning Didyme. But now you need not mourn any more, she lives through Sara, now you can finally move on with your own life. Times are changing my friend and we must change with them."

I sighed. "Maybe you are right Aro. It has been so long, I have let time slip by me. Maybe this will do me some good."

"That's the spirit!" he patted my shoulder.

"Where will we locate our sister base?" I asked.

"We considered many cities the state had to offer," Caiuse said, "We considered D.C, Los Angeles, New York, among a few. But in the end we decided the city of Los Vegas."

"Why there?"

"We have a strong hold in Vegas. Volterra industries has business there. There are many connections to be made, lots of industry, it also has a high crime rate and lots of tourism so feeding won't be a problem," Caius said.

"Does Sara know?" I asked.

"Not yet, we decided to wait until the ceremony next week."

"Ceremony?"

"Why yes, now that Sara has a mate we must add a fourth member too our group Marcus. Next week we will welcome Santiago as our newest member and he and Sara will be recognized as husband and wife."

"Isn't it a bit premature?"

"Sara's power has created the bond of lovers between them right? I see no reason too wait."

"I see, well in that case we should prepare. I will go inform her of my leaving."

"I would wait, she is having some alone time with Santiago," Aro said with a smile.

"Yes I am sure they have much to talk about," Caius said rolling his eyes.

Sara P.O.V

Santiago and I sat alone in my room. Heidi had left taking Corin and Alec with her.

I did not know what to do or say. We just sat not speaking.

"So who is he?" Santiago asked.

"Huh?"

"The other man. The one in your heart, who is he?" his face was blank as he said this; if my heart could still beat it would be pounding right now. "I know there is another man, I sensed him."

I nibbled my lips nervously. I was afraid to tell him. What if he went to Forks and tried to kill Embry?

"Sara please, I need to know who the other man in your life is."

"There is no other man," I lied.

"I felt him; I felt his love for you."

"I left him, he and I were close but I left and joined the Volturi. I left him behind in Forks, we are no longer together."

He reached out his hand and caressed my cheek. "I know he still loves you and I know you still love him."

I looked down ashamed. I felt like I was some kind of slut. Was it wrong to love two men? Did I truly love Santiago? Before I had definitely been attracted to him. But that had been because he reminded me of Embry, that wasn't love that was lust right? But it had been more than his physical side I liked. I liked how quiet and reserved he was, I liked how he gave me space and wasn't always trying to impress me like the others were. We had spent some time together, these last weeks. I asked him about what Spain was like in the old days. I had been timid to ask at first about that subject, what with him being a slave and all. But he didn't seem to mind.

He told me about the town where he grew up, the buildings, and the people. He asked me more about my past. It was a little difficult to talk about my mother and what happened with Vincent. But Santiago was easy to talk to. I guess he knew what it was like to have a hard life.

I never told him about Embry, it had been too painful. I told him about the Cullens and the Alaskan vampires. All of whom I miss very much.

Maybe we had the beginnings of romance, maybe with enough time and energy it could have become something more. But my power sped things up, in what should have taken months or years even it caused in a matter of moments. Love is something that should never be rushed.

Did I love Santiago? I don't want to say yes but this feeling in my heart can be nothing else. "I am sorry Santiago, I do still love him, and I think I always will. But I severed all ties with him and our lives cannot allow us to be together, not anymore."

He smiled, pleased by what I said. He leaned forward and kissed me between the corner of my lip and cheek. My skin tingled where he kissed me and the whole world seemed to focus right down to him and me.

"I cannot fault you for having a heart. Love him as much as you want in your heart, as long as you leave plenty of room for me."

"There is room for you Santiago, but there is also room for another man, isn't that wrong?"

"No. You loved and still love, I won't ask about him, he does not matter. All that matters is I have you and you have me here and now. That is all that matters, it's not like he is going to appear here."

A part of me was happy he was so understanding, the same part was happy he still wanted to be with me, but another part was sad that I would never see Embry again.

"You're what?"

"I am moving to America," Marcus said.

"But why?"

It was a few hours after me and Santiago talked. Marcus had come and asked to talk to me privately. We walked in the garden outside the castle but it was surrounded by a thirty story wall so no human would spy us.

"We talked about separating the coven remember? It was going to happen sooner or later," he said.

"But why you? Caius-"

"Caius hates America and I think it best to keep him as far away from the Cullen's as possible."

"But why you?" I asked.

I did not want him to go, Marcus had become like a father to me, I knew if there was anyone I the Volturi I could trust it was Marcus without a doubt.

"For so long I was dead inside Sara, I have been like a zombie, uncaring and apathetic to the world. Empires have risen and fallen, technology has helped humans progress in ways I never dreamed possible. I have a lot of catching up to do and I think I need to get away from your uncle and his scheming."

"Can I come with you?"

"You would be more then welcome but I doubt Aro will allow it. You're too valuable to him."

"Oh this is just great. You're the only one I really trust here besides Santiago, Corin, Alec and Heidi."

His face darkened when I mentioned Heidi. "I would not trust her if I were you."

"Why?"

"There is a reason why Heidi is our bait and hook for food, it is not just her beauty that lures in our prey, and it is her voice. Heidi is what we call a siren."

"Heidi is a mermaid?"

He laughed. "No sweet girl. See vampires like you and me with powers are put into groups to help define our powers. Like Renata is what we call a shield because her power helps shield her from harm, I believe Bella of the Cullens is defined as a shield because her power protects her from powers that affect the mind, understand?"

I nodded.

"Now this classification isn't too accurate since no two powers are the same even if they are in the same group. Take Aro and Edward, Edward is...I think it's called telepathic?" he put extra emphasis on the so it sounded like telee-pathic. "He can hear the thoughts of others from a distance. Aro can do something similar, but he needs to be touching someone for it to work and unlike Edward he can read every thought or memory, even the ones you have forgotten. Now in our culture sirens like the creatures of myth are vampires who have the power to affect others with they're voices. For Corin he manipulates emotions with his words, but for Heidi she manipulates thoughts."

"What?"

"Has she ever said something and you felt a strong urge to do what she said? Maybe you had reservations about doing something and she said something you didn't think was a good idea but it seemed even better when she says it?"

"Yeah. It's kind of reminds me of what Embry said about having to obey an alpha wolf's command. Only I don't have to do what she says, I thought she just had a strong personality." Like Alice. Lord knows when she wants something done you can't say no.

"It is a bit more subtitle then that, it is possible to resist her command. Everyone has certain immunity to her call. Strong willed people can resist her power more easily then people who are weak of will. But even strong willed beings can be affected enough to be manipulated by her in subtitle ways. It was for this reason why Aro had her chosen to be you're lady in waiting. He has been having her tell him every move you make and has had her use her power on you to try and get you to adapt to your new way of life more quickly. Has she tried to tempt you to try and drink human blood?"

"Yes, many times," I whispered. I was in shock, I felt so used and betrayed. I had trusted Heidi, I thought she was my friend. I had confided her in secrets that were supposed to be kept between friends.

"Does it seem like a good idea?"

"More and more every time." my eyes burned.

He hugged me close. "I am sorry child; I wish you didn't have to find out like this. But I can tell you she does truly care about you."

"Care about me? She lied to me, she said she was my friend when the entire time she was working for Aro and trying to spy on me."

"Heidi has different ideas then you. She has been with us for centuries; we took her in and made her from a well respected whore to a valued and useful member of one of the most powerful covens to exist. She believes it is natural for vampires to feed on humans and she thinks you're life would go more smoothly if you gave in and drank human blood."

"But it is evil."

"No, it is nature. It is why we exist Sara, humans are meant to be our natural source of food. Is a human evil for killing a cow? Is a snake evil for eating a mouse? Is a shape-shifting wolf evil for hunting a vampire?"

He had me there. Plus I had to remember he was one of those human eaters I was not so fond of but here I was upset he was going to leave.

"This is why I need you Marcus, I need someone I can trust, someone who will look out for me and not try to manipulate me or control me or turn me into something I am not."

"Sara, you have three people you can trust, believe me those three boy's are well in the circle of trust. They are more loyal to you then Aro."

"Really?"

"Well enough where they will make sure Aro doesn't try and work his mischief on you, enough where they will do everything in their power to keep you safe and happy. Trust them more then Heidi."

"I don't trust her, not anymore."

"Do not judge her harshly, she was merely a solider doing what she was ordered to do, she has developed true feelings for you. Just don't let her affect your judgment is all."

"This is horrible, if she knows everything I have told her and told Aro then Aro knows about Embry."

"Sweet girl Aro always knew about Embry."

"I know, I mean...oh I haven't told you."

"Tell me what?" he asked sharply.

I told him what happened when I bound myself with Santiago. The look on his face was of fierce triumph. Like what I told him made his day, glad he was so happy about my crazy love life. Never thought I would long for the days when boys ignored me.

"Sara I must leave at once!"

"What why?"

"Sweet girl I think I have found the answer to our problems. I must leave for Vegas at once, I have much to do. I wish I could be there for the ceremony."

"What ceremony?" I asked.

"Oh, you don't know? Now that you have found your mate in Santiago he will be raised from the guard to a fully fledged member. He will have a throne and help rule our world by making and enforcing laws, he may now vote when we have a decision to make. Oh and he will be recognized as you're mate, it's kind of like a wedding."

"WHAT!"

"Shhhh, it won't be official, the general populace and coven will acknowledge that you two are mates. You'll have to go through the actual wedding ceremony and all."

"Marcus please don't leave, at least wait."

"No. Child I must leave, your power and Aro's scheming may have given us an opportunity. Do not speak of this to no one, not Heidi, not Santiago or the boys, and for the love of your ancestors soul do not touch Aro." he kissed my head and stroked my hair. "Trust me, I will return and I will bring salvation."

He quickly turned and left. I sat down on the bench in the garden, not knowing what the future held for me.

Marcus left the next day, Aro tried to convince him to stay for the ceremony but Marcus promised to be back for the party. I was glad for that.

I hadn't talked to Heidi much; I did not tell her the truth that I knew what she was doing to me. Now that I knew what she really was I would not let her words poison me.

Marcus took half the guard with him and they left for America. I sent an e-mail to the Cullens about that, just a little heads up. I had only heard from Marcus once, once he got situated in Los Vegas he gave me a quick call. We were careful as we talked, in case the phones were tapped.

The days passed and the castle was busy. Once again the announcement was sent that a new throne was to be added. This time a new member was to be added to the once triumvirate.

I spent much time with Santiago that final week. I tried to get him to try animal blood. Alec and Corin too. The second the blood of the goats touched their mouths they were spitting it out. Boy's, you try and get them to eat healthy and they make such a fuss.

A part of me was happy that this was happening. I was so happy Santiago and me were going to be together forever. But yet I still felt shame. For I still missed Embry and the only thing keeping me from wanting to call the whole thing off was my love for him.

One thing I quickly noticed about Santiago that I did not like was how possessive he was. He came so close to fighting Felix just because he winked at me in a friendly way. Plus he was starting to lose his old charm and insisted he be with me at all times of the day and night.

It was like that now he had me he was so afraid he would lose me. I could understand why, my power had given him what he wanted, a lover who could give him the love he needed. I was also his link to the throne, power and love what men crave the most. But if we were going to settle down I was going to have to talk with him.

I had talked with Alec too; he apologized for what happened with poor Eleanor. I forgave him, what else was I supposed to do. He was a cold practical creature and he could murder without a thought or heavy heart. But even a monster like him needed love and maybe after a few years (if not centuries) I could help awaken something in him.

Corin was going crazy with his art, his room was now full with new art he had made, Aro had already begun selling his work to some of his contacts. It was not the recognition he wanted but Corin said I helped him realize a true artist does not work for glory, money or recognition; he does it to share beauty with the world, to give thought and idea physical.

As the day drew close where Santiago would be crowned as the newest member of the Volturi I grew anxious, wondering what Marcus plan was. It wasn't until the middle of the ceremony I would find out what he had planned. Heidi said I brought such gossip to the Volturi. Well after the ceremony let's just say there was gossip in Volterra for years to come.

Fusedtwilight: What is Marcus up to? Find out next chapter, please review.