It seldom rained in Volterra during the summer half of the year. However, after entering October, the rainfall increased. When the Volturi set out for Venice to participate in the trial operation, it was precisely when the first rain of October was falling.
Those glistening raindrops were stretched into slender threads by the air and gravity during their descent. The shadows of people on the surrounding buildings were reflected on them, and then they quickly plummeted to the ground. First, the slender threads swiftly transformed into a circular shape, and then the edges shattered upon hitting the ground, splashing into even smaller droplets that scattered in all directions.
Rows of vampires clad in thick black cloaks stood in perfect unison in front of the gates of the Palazzo dei Priori. The sight was truly intimidating. The pitch black of their attire and the stiffness characteristic of vampires made them look like a veritable impregnable fortress, cold and menacing from the inside out. Any enemy would be crushed beneath their feet. They were truly invincible.
Jane and Alec stood at the forefront, directly facing Aro, Caius, and Marcus. Their faces were more beautiful than those of angels, yet their expressions were colder than those of devils in hell. The V-shaped pointed bottom of the Volturi family crest on their chests glistened like the blade of a sharp sword.
Demetri and Felix stood side by side slightly behind Jane and the others, adjacent to Chelsea and Colin.
Aro's speeches had always been highly infectious. The melodious arias echoed at the entrance of the Palazzo dei Priori. Sometimes, it was hard to tell whether his ability was mind-reading or brainwashing. But he was undoubtedly an outstanding demagogue, the prime candidate for the head of a cult - if the Volturi could be considered a cult.
Katherine was chatting idly with Gianna in the front desk area. She preferred being with Gianna to being with Sulpicia.
She was so soft and warm, and her fragrance was captivating, although the scent of her cosmetics somewhat diminished its allure. But the proposal made by Aro last time still left Katherine a bit shaken, and as a result, she was also reluctant to face Sulpicia.
After three thousand years of marriage, Sulpicia's stance could be easily guessed even without much thought. Perhaps she thought the same as Aro.
This afternoon, the "maintenance work" in the Palazzo dei Priori would be completed, and the crowds would re-enter the place. Heidi was originally supposed to participate in this trial operation as well, but at the last moment, she was ordered by Caius to stay and continue her work at the Volterra Tourism Bureau.
Katherine wasn't quite sure why, but she had a feeling it had something to do with her. Heidi's ability was to allure, and staying by Katherine's side was somewhat like supervision.
Gianna was typing rapidly on the computer, arranging the reception work for this afternoon. Katherine was curled up on the white fabric sofa, looking up at the traces of raindrops sliding down the skylight. As her gaze followed the beautiful murals sliding down, she noticed that apart from that computer, there were no other communication devices here.
Oh, that computer was a super-thin laptop, portable.
She extended her finger to fiddle with the button on her sleeve, listening to a faint sound of footsteps coming from the corridor. As she turned her head, Sulpicia, dressed in a long-sleeved goose-yellow dress, glided to Katherine's side like a bird and took her arm: "They're about to leave. Let's go and say goodbye to them."
With that, she quickly pulled Katherine through the corridor and arrived at the main gate. Heidi had put on the red dress and black gloves that she only wore when she was a tour guide, looking as if she was about to report for work at the Tourism Bureau.
Sulpicia released Katherine and took the hand of Aro, who had turned around, and hugged him in an extremely natural and intimate manner. Katherine tactfully stepped back a bit. This couple was so absorbed in showing their affection that they seemed oblivious to everyone else.
Although Katherine's favorable impression of the two of them had been somewhat diminished due to the previous incident, it had to be said that the way they only had eyes for each other still made Katherine quite envious. It reminded her of her parents, who used to look at each other like that frequently before she was six years old.
However, Katherine decided that she wouldn't be with Sulpicia next time. The way she just let go of her so casually made Katherine a bit embarrassed. Standing there, she felt as conspicuous as the sun.
She forced a smile and took the initiative to walk to Caius's side. Two single people standing together was better than one lonely person shining brightly. Katherine asked in a low voice: "How long will you be gone?"
Caius's tone gave no indication of his mood. He casually reached out to twirl Katherine's long hair: "How long do you want me to be gone?"
This was a tricky question. One had to be careful when answering.
Katherine thought for a moment: "I don't know the background of the other side. You... please be careful yourselves."
Caius sneered. His smooth voice rose an octave, and his speaking speed quickened, as if he was issuing a stern and unyielding command to someone: "Do they really think they can pose a threat to us?"
The casual arrogance in this statement wasn't unfounded. Caius had once single-handedly almost wiped out all the werewolves in Europe. The so-called sons of the moon, once regarded as the nemesis of vampires, were now almost impossible to find.
However, he always suspected that there might be some stragglers in the hands of those vampire hunters, because the timing of their attacks on vampires was always remarkably similar to the habits of the sons of the moon.
Well, that was just as well. A cold smile crept onto Caius's face. It saved him the trouble of having to look for them himself.
Katherine was unaware of Caius's past encounters with the werewolves. She simply thought that he was overly confident about the Volturi. She couldn't help but mutter to herself that if he was so confident, why did he need to take so many people with him.
She looked around, and her gaze caught sight of the red-haired vampire who had been quite surprised to see her when she first arrived at the Volturi. At this moment, she was still carefully observing Katherine, her eyes filled with fear.
She didn't look well. The bluish-purple color under her eyes was becoming more and more prominent, and her originally scarlet eyes had been replaced by a pitch black due to extreme thirst. She looked haggard, as if she hadn't had any blood for a long time. Even a little bit of fresh blood could restore her former vitality and vigor.
Katherine stared intently at her, and clear images flashed before her eyes. They were the moments of this red-haired vampire's death:
This was a battlefield, a battlefield under the cover of night. The moonlight, which wasn't particularly bright, floated on the river surface. The two sides facing off were the Volturi and a group of people Katherine had never seen before.
The negotiation seemed to have gone badly. The war between vampires and hunters was as crazy and direct as they themselves were. A majestic howl of a wolf tore through the night sky. It was a snow wolf, its size far exceeding that of any known wolf species. Its fur was as dazzling as white snow, its eyes blue and cold, as if they contained ice.
It rushed over like lightning, treading on the wind, its speed no less than that of a vampire. In an instant, it tore off the head of the red-haired vampire. The venom smeared on its snow-white fur, a horrifying sight.
The images disappeared. Katherine stared at her with wide eyes and subconsciously grabbed Caius's cold, lifeless clothing: "She's dead."
Caius turned her face towards him, his brows furrowed, his eyes sharp: "What did you see?"
"Her." Katherine pointed at the red-haired vampire. "She was bitten to death by a wolf."
"Wolf?" Caius uttered the word with a sinister tone, the ending note rising eerily. "Are you sure?"
Katherine nodded and then added: "That didn't seem like an ordinary wolf. I mean, at least it wasn't like the ones I hunt."
"You should have given up that way of feeding long ago." Caius said with displeasure. "But," Katherine protested, "There's no rule in vampire law that says we must drink human blood, right?"
Caius tilted his head. His long silver hair slid along the curve of his hood with his movement. His lowered voice was as sharp and terrifying as a knife pressed against the neck: "I could add that rule right now. What do you think, Cassie?"
Katherine froze. She realized that whenever Caius called her by her nickname, something inhumane was bound to happen. How could she have forgotten that the person standing beside her was the one who formulated vampire laws? Discussing laws with him was simply asking for trouble.
She bit her lip and racked her brains to change the topic: "Speaking of which, what kind of wolf was that exactly? Why could it kill a vampire so easily?"
"That's the son of the moon, a true werewolf." Caius replied nonchalantly. "It's more of a threat during the full moon. At other times, it's just a bigger dog."
Even Caius admitted that it was a significant threat. So it seemed that the giant wolf on a full moon night was almost invincible. Katherine recalled her experience in the Florence Library. It seemed that the book she had read there didn't mention such a huge wolf.
Seeing that Katherine seemed to be constantly thinking about things related to werewolves, Caius said with contempt: "If you're really interested, the books in the Volturi's collection are enough for you to browse through."
"Aren't you worried?" Katherine asked. "I mean, what if there are other wolves?" Caius's tone was unexpectedly certain, as if he held the life and death register of the wolf clan in his hand: "Impossible. The fact that there's even one is already a stroke of luck for them."
"Did you have a war with the wolf clan?" And the outcome was clearly evident from his expression.
"Not us." He tilted his head slightly, his smooth and elegant chin lifted arrogantly, "It was me."
Katherine stared at him with wide eyes and murmured: "You? You alone against the entire wolf clan?"
And he almost wiped them out?
This... She finally understood the significance of Demetri's words: "The entire Volturi's training is overseen by Caius."
Caius looked down at her cat-like eyes, which were soft red with a glimmer of light. His own figure filled her entire pupils, as if she only had eyes for him at the moment, with no one or nothing else.
"Yes." Caius softened his voice. Strangely, he didn't want Katherine to look away. The feeling of being stared at intently made him feel as if he was being approached and scorched by flames, yet it also brought a strange sense of excitement.
The rays of light falling on Katherine fluctuated like the arcs of flames, advancing towards Caius, almost setting him on fire.
Hearing the affirmative answer, Katherine's pupils dilated for a moment. She turned her head a bit stiffly, almost talking to herself: "You're... incredible."
Even more incredible was that he hadn't strangled her even after she had repeatedly challenged his authority. Was it because... she hadn't yet touched Caius's bottom line?
Katherine didn't want to test where Caius's bottom line was by putting herself in danger. What would be the point of knowing? Was she going to write a book about it to be remembered forever and warn future generations? She was afraid she wouldn't have the time for that by then.
Thinking about this, Katherine suddenly became curious about what the werewolves had done to make Caius determined to wipe them all out.
But this topic obviously couldn't be asked directly. Katherine watched as Aro took Sulpicia's hand and kissed it, and the two of them reluctantly parted. She suddenly remembered that Aro could read minds through touch. She turned to look at Caius: "So, what's your ability?"
The ability that enabled him to almost wipe out the entire wolf clan by himself, what was it?
Caius leaned closer to her, his bright red, cold lips near her ear: "Reflection. Any stupid attack launched against me will rebound and make the attacker or their companions suffer the consequences."
This ability was indeed worthy of his achievements.
"Alright, Caius, we have to go." Aro waved to him cheerfully, his smile so teasing that it was almost nauseating.
Caus looked at Katherine for a moment, then turned and stood beside Aro, his face expressionless like a frozen wasteland.
Soon, this army burst through the rain curtain and disappeared from the entrance of the Palazzo dei Priori, so quickly that it seemed as if they had never been there.
"Let's go." Sulpicia took Katherine's hand. Heidi bowed to them, preparing to open an umbrella and head to the Tourism Bureau.
At this moment, Katherine suddenly stopped and looked at Heidi: "If you're going to the Tourism Bureau, can I go with you?"
Heidi was taken aback and didn't know how to answer. Katherine quickly added: "I won't run around. You can keep an eye on me."
The raindrops dripped on the thick umbrella cloth, and transparent streams of water flowed down the umbrella ribs, forming a curtain of water. The atmosphere was eerily quiet.
Sulpicia asked gently: "Cassie wants to go out for a walk?"
"Yes."
"I haven't been out for a long time either. Heidi, would it be convenient to take us both?"
Heidi breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, her charming smile reappearing: "Of course."
"Cassie, you won't mind if I come along too, right?" Sulpicia blinked and asked playfully. Katherine shook her head: "Of course not. I was just planning to have a look around."
"Then let's go."