Chapter 78: The Resistance of the Weak

Every page of the notebook was torn cleanly in half. In Jane's hands, it was as though she had not ripped apart a bound volume containing hundreds of pages, but merely split a flimsy paper napkin whose surface had been blemished.

On the title page, the names "Sophie" and "Irene" were severed neatly down the middle. It was a perfect reflection of reality itself. Their friendship had already shattered beyond repair, separated not only by betrayal, but by the insurmountable divide between the living and the dead. Just like the notebook, there was no putting it back together.

Sophie stared at Jane in utter disbelief. Her lips parted slightly as she struggled again and again to force out a complete sentence, yet not a single word would come. Across from her, the culprit had already withdrawn the mocking smile from her face. Wearing nothing more than calm indifference, Jane said simply, "Next time, get another one."

With those words, Jane casually flicked her wrist, tossing the worthless scraps over her shoulder. Two soft splashes echoed through the clearing as both halves disappeared into the flowing river. Once again, the current carried away one of Sophie's treasured possessions, along with another fragment of the human life she had desperately tried to preserve.

Jane turned slightly, quietly admiring the result of her own handiwork. The Volturi never granted criminals a second chance. Throughout the centuries, she had executed vampire after vampire without mercy for violating their laws. There was no reason, in her mind, to make an exception for Sophie.

Paper was even more fragile than electronic devices. Once soaked by the rushing water, there was no hope of salvaging it. No matter how deeply Sophie cherished it, the notebook was gone forever. Somehow, that felt painfully similar to many other things in this world.

The lesson had been delivered. Now Jane still had other orders from Aro to carry out. "Felix, take responsibility for..." She had barely begun turning to instruct Felix to escort Sophie away when everything changed without warning.

This time, Sophie did not run after the notebook floating downstream. She opened her mouth, unable to speak, yet capable of doing something else entirely. There were some things that lingered within the body even after the mind had changed. Just as Sophie had grown accustomed to Jane's closeness, Jane herself had long since lowered her guard. Again and again she had tolerated Sophie stepping into her territory, until that pale, slender hand now hung casually at her side, completely exposed within Sophie's reach.

The instincts of a vampire finally overwhelmed her. The agony of the newborn thirst began exacting its revenge. Her throat burned unbearably, her fangs ached, and her red eyes darkened until they became pitch black. Every violent impulse raging inside her demanded an outlet. At the very instant her reason collapsed, a single thought surfaced. 

Jane hasn't brought me blood for days... then perhaps she can compensate me herself.

Sophie shot forward, seized the delicate white wrist hanging before her, opened her mouth wide, and bit down with all her strength.

Did vampires even have blood flowing through their veins?

She didn't know.

What Sophie did know was that the sharpest weapon she possessed was her fangs.

The instant her teeth pierced Jane's skin, Sophie mercilessly flooded the wound with venom, branding her with a scar that could never fade.

Bodies forged within the fires of hell were unimaginably resilient. Very few things in existence could leave permanent marks upon a vampire. Aside from weapons tainted with the blood of the Children of the Moon, only vampire venom itself possessed that power. Although the wound would heal completely, the scar left behind by the venom would remain forever.

For a thousand years, no one had managed to leave so much as the faintest mark upon Jane.

Her overwhelming gift and the might of the Volturi had allowed her to walk through the vampire world untouchable. Her flawless body had become another symbol of the Volturi's invincibility. The cruelty inflicted upon her during her human life had vanished forever the moment she completed her transformation.

Yet now, the very girl whom she herself had allowed to draw close had carved an indelible mark upon her. And strangely enough, the meaning behind that scar was not born entirely from pain. It was as though the perfect mask she had worn for centuries had finally cracked.

The unfamiliar pain jolted through Jane's body, and instinctively she tried to yank her hand back. Clumsily, almost awkwardly, she attempted to wrench her wrist free from the jaws tearing into her flesh. But Sophie bit down with terrifying force, refusing to let go, and for one shocking moment even Jane could not free herself.

Pride, cultivated through centuries of standing above everyone else, forced Jane to swallow the cry of pain that nearly escaped her lips.

Her brother, however, could not remain calm. Alec exploded. The usually composed and reserved young man watched his sister suffer an injury before his very eyes, and every trace of reason instantly evaporated. A thousand years had passed since the villagers who bound them and condemned them to burn had all been slaughtered by Aro. Alec had long believed that no one in this world could ever hurt Jane again.

Dense black mist erupted from his palms, darker and thicker than it had ever been before. Acting purely on instinct, he unleashed his gift. The overwhelming paralysis swallowed the audacious newborn whole.

The effect was immediate. Sophie's eyes lost all focus as her body slipped into a deathlike paralysis. Even after consciousness abandoned her, her teeth remained locked stubbornly around Jane's wrist. She refused to release her. Not even in unconsciousness.

Everything had happened far too quickly, and the two had been standing far too close together. By the time everyone else finally reacted, they rushed forward to separate them. Felix forcibly dislocated Sophie's jaw before he finally managed to pry Jane's injured wrist free from her bite.

Alec immediately cradled Jane's wrist with extraordinary care. Guiding the black mist over the wound, he used his gift to dull the pain, even though both of them knew the injury itself would heal within moments.

The unconscious girl lay motionless on the grass at the twins' feet. Just as she had looked on the day they first captured her, she appeared peaceful, quiet, almost obedient, as though she had never been capable of such desperate resistance.