Chapter 106: The Black Room

Which sense would be taken first?

Sight or touch?

The answer came almost immediately.

It was her vision.

The world before Sophie gradually dimmed until everything blurred into shadow, and she instantly understood Alec's intention. He wanted to rob her of her sight first, leaving her disoriented and unable to judge her surroundings. 

Once she stopped moving, he would strip away her sense of touch as well, reducing her body to nothing more than an unresponsive shell. The closer she drew to Alec, the stronger the black mist's numbing effect became.

Sophie knew perfectly well that she wouldn't last much longer, but she had never expected to emerge from this unharmed in the first place. Calmly, she reached up and removed the necklace from around her neck, holding it tightly yet carefully in her palm as though afraid she might damage it. 

Behind her, the black mist continued to surge forward, swallowing her back first before spreading downward. Her ankles went numb, then her calves, then her knees, each part of her legs losing all sensation one after another until they could no longer support her weight.

Her body began collapsing beneath her.

Just before she hit the floor, Sophie chose to solve the problem exactly the way Caius would have.

With brute force.

Still able to move her arms, she seized the seat blocking the path between herself and Jane and ripped the backrest clean off in one violent motion. The next thing she heard was the heavy thud of her own body crashing to the floor directly in front of the twins. 

The sudden impact startled the girl resting in Alec's embrace. Jane slowly lifted her hood, seemingly trying to reach toward Sophie. With her vision fading almost completely, Sophie could only rely on instinct as she stretched out her hand and offered the necklace she had been protecting all this time, refusing to let go until she felt someone gently accept it.

Only then...

Did complete darkness descend.

The numbness spread through every remaining corner of her body, and Sophie slipped into a state of perfect, deathlike stillness.

"Exactly the ending I expected." Demetri folded his arms across his chest, narrating the entire scene on behalf of Heidi, who was busy piloting the helicopter. Flashing one of his usual carefree smiles, he added, "My beautiful lady, my dearest Venus, would you mind carrying our little troublemaker off the helicopter once we land?"

"I absolutely refuse, Demetri." Heidi saw straight through his shameless attempt to dump the work on her and rejected him with a charming smile. "She's managed to offend Alec completely this time. Unless Sophie somehow finds a way to heal Jane's injury, she can forget about escaping punishment in the Black Room before her newborn period is over."

By the time the helicopter arrived at the mountain behind the Volterra palace, Alec was the first to disembark, carrying Jane carefully in his arms. The Volturi crest once again rested safely against Jane's chest, exactly where it belonged. Sophie had never harbored any ill intentions. In her own clumsy way, she had simply wanted to show her concern and do the only thing she believed might make Jane feel even a little better. Unfortunately, none of that stopped Alec from venting every ounce of his frustration on her.

With a long-suffering sigh, Demetri accepted his fate. Hoisting Sophie' motionless body under one arm as casually as if he were carrying a briefcase, he muttered, "Finally... we're home."

Waking up felt strangely unfamiliar.

It seemed as though Sophie hadn't lost consciousness in a very long time.

The first sense to return was her hearing. Harsh snarls and savage roars rose and fell around her from every direction. Lying flat on her back, she opened her eyes and waited patiently, yet even after several long moments, only about thirty percent of her vision had returned. Then she realized the problem wasn't her eyesight at all.

The room itself was simply...

Dark.

"You're awake?" Demetri had only set her down a short while earlier.

Sophie slowly pushed herself upright and looked around. She appeared to be sitting near the center of an enormous chamber. All around her stood cages of varying sizes, their outlines barely visible beneath the dim lighting. The constant growling and furious howling echoed from within those cages, creating an atmosphere so oppressive that it felt almost suffocating.

"Those people..."

Pairs of red eyes stared unblinkingly through the darkness.

Each gaze was wild and utterly devoid of reason.

Somehow...

They looked even more frightening than ordinary vampires.

"They're newborns," Demetri explained patiently. "A few of the lucky recruits selected through Aro's human recruitment program. Right now, they don't possess the slightest shred of self-control. If they can't master themselves, they stay here until their newborn period finally ends."

A Volturi guard stood watch beside every single cage, making escape completely impossible.

While Demetri spoke, Sophie quietly surveyed the room as thoroughly as she could.

To her astonishment...

She couldn't even locate the exit.

The room's structure itself seemed deliberately designed to confuse anyone trapped inside.

She didn't understand why she had been brought here.

Yes...

She was a newborn.

But surely they weren't planning to lock her inside one of those cages too?

The thought struck her harder than anything else.

For the first time since becoming a vampire, genuine fear overwhelmed her completely.

She absolutely refused to be caged like an animal.

"Demetri!"

Sophie lunged toward him instinctively.

Unfortunately, her sudden movement looked more like an attack than a plea for help. Demetri's legendary speed immediately came into play as he vanished from where he had been standing. Sophie managed to grab only the edge of his cloak.

The fabric tore apart instantly.

Demetri stared at the shredded corner of his cloak before letting out a relieved sigh.

"From now on, keep your distance." He glanced at her dramatically. "And no touching. I'm not that kind of easy man."

Another inch...

And it would've been my kneecap instead.

"Fine." Sophie awkwardly let the ruined cloth fall to the floor before speaking more quietly. "What I actually wanted to say was... Caius is waiting for my mission report about the werewolves. If you lock me in a cage and delay official business..." Even she gradually lost confidence in her own excuse. "...Master Caius... might get angry."

Her voice became softer and softer until it almost disappeared.

Considering Caius had thrown both her and an entire chair out of a helicopter...

He would probably be delighted to see her locked inside a cage.

Demetri slowly raised one finger and wagged it from side to side.

"You disobeyed the command of the Captain of the Guard." His tone was unusually firm. "Punishment is mandatory."

Everyone aboard the helicopter had witnessed exactly what happened.

This time...

Sophie couldn't talk her way out of it.

"Do you have anything you need me to report to Master Caius?" Demetri asked instead. "I can deliver the message for you."

That was, in fact, the only reason he had remained behind.

Otherwise, he would have left the Black Room long ago.

Between the suffocating atmosphere and the constant howling of the newborn vampires, this place was uncomfortable even for someone like him.

Realizing that her excuse had failed completely, Sophie finally gave up struggling. The jacket she had thrown earlier as a distraction had somehow been returned to her, and she quietly reached into one of its pockets before pulling out the small bundle of Moonheart Grass she had collected during the mission. Holding it out toward Demetri, she said, "Please give this to Master Caius."

"What in the world is this?" Demetri accepted the bundle with obvious disgust. Holding the strange black plant beneath his nose, he gave it an experimental sniff before immediately wrinkling his face. "It's black, ugly, and smells weird. Sophie... are you seriously expecting me to hand this to Master Caius? Be honest. You're not secretly trying to get me killed, are you?"

"In that case," Sophie replied without missing a beat, reaching toward the plant again, "give it back to me and let me go deliver it personally."

Though he continued joking, Demetri carefully tucked the Moonheart Grass away instead of returning it. Without another word, he flashed out of the room, disappearing almost instantly.

Sophie knew she had forgotten whatever memories connected her to this carefree, perpetually smiling man. Even so, she also knew one thing for certain.

Someone whom Jane trusted enough to accompany her on an important mission to Morocco was far more dependable than his playful personality suggested.

If Caius recognized the significance of the Moonheart Grass...

He would eventually send someone to release her. For now, all she could do was wait patiently.