Seven: Science Magic

The phone rang three times before a voice could be heard on the other end.

"I was half expecting your call," the blonde vampire smirked. "Checking in on us, are you?"

"Have you located her yet?" the Italian on the other end purred.

"Sort of, and it's complicated."

"Do explain. Caius is here as well, and we are most interested in the development of this matter, aren't we?"

"Indeed we are, Aro."

The blonde vampire cleared his throat. "Well, Victoria found Marcus, but it would not have been a clean kill, as we were all in public and he...with someone."

"Someone? A mortal?" the Italian pressed.

"That's the thing- Victoria couldn't gain their scent, nor was it clear whether it was male or female." The blonde vampire smiled. "Laurent had better luck. He knows where your little snack is holed up, and there's an issue with that, too, but we can take care of it in time, I'm sure."

"What kind of issue are we talking about?"

The voice on the other end grew tense, a bit of a growl in his throat. "Other beings, including a leashed dog."

"Leashed? Leashed how?"

"No one knows he's a dog except Marcus, and he's barely let on about his knowledge. I think the dog knows Marcus is...well, an immortal, but... Well, we'll have to be careful. Marcus will be able to sniff out a trap, so we'll need a plan."

"Do hurry," the Italian insisted calmly. "We'd hate for her to spoil."

"We will check in again in two days. If you manage to get them before then, please alert us."

"Will do, m'lords," the blonde vampire responded before terminating the call. "Will do."

A knock sufficed well, as the door opened and Marcus entered the industrial building.

The tall yellowed windows let in a musty golden light that allowed for numerous items to glint and gleam. Vials of mysterious liquids rested in trays or over lit burners, bubbling or steaming or remaining still. Miscellaneous machinery Marcus cared not to know the purpose of filled much of the space not occupied by tables of test tubes and assorted means of containing powders and fluids. Against the far wall was a row of cabinets, a few opened to expose clean utensils and beakers. A metal staircase led to a door that presumably led to the living quarters of the man Marcus sought. Yet it was in the far corner that the man stood hunched over, meticulously measuring a fine white powder only to dump it in a syrupy clear liquid in a beaker. As he turned he stirred his concoction, turning the gel purple and thick.

"You must be Marcus," he said, his mismatched eyes glinting behind the protective goggles, one red and one gold. "If you weren't, the door wouldn't have opened, and quite frankly you would be a pile of ash and I don't like ash. It's not of much use to me."

Marcus found himself blinking, a bit disoriented. The man had short, wild auburn hair slightly tamed by the band of the goggles. He was about 5'7" with long legs and a rather normal build. The white lab coat and olive green slacks fit well as if specially made for him. Nonetheless, if Marcus' informant was honest, this man was a genius and most certainly would help him.

Therefore, he replied, "Indeed I am."

The man set his beaker down and was beside him in a matter of seconds. "Doctor Daren Ignatius. I am glad to be of service to you. I understand we need to protect a human as well as be able to contain vampires if necessary."

"That is correct," Marcus replied.

"You happen to be in luck. I have been conducting experiments in order to do the very things you may require." Ignatius waved him over to a table in the corner by a metal door under the stairs. "As you can see here, I'm working on-"

"Sedatives?" Marcus asked, rather confused.

Ignatius chuckled. "Yes, sedatives that work on immortals, as well as restraints not even we can break."

"So you test them on me," a female voice said.

Marcus whirled around as a young woman landed almost silently before him from the landing above him. She had fiery-bright red hair that was a mix of wavy and curly, golden eyes, icy pale skin, and a thin but very graceful frame. She wore tight, brown leather pants with knee-high lace-up boots and a gold and red peasant blouse-like shirt. Her lips were bright red - red delicious apple red, no doubt the product of lipstick - and her cheeks dotted with what looked like golden flakes - false freckles, it seemed.

She narrowed her eyes as Ignatius introduced her. "Marcus, this is Vala. People used to call her Paine, but neither of us like that name and therefore we use her rightful name, Vala. She's one of us, but...different."

Marcus narrowed his eyes, too. "How so?"

Vala smirked, and soon a ball of flame materialized in her outstretched hand. Marcus jumped back a bit, hissing at the flames. Her laughter echoed throughout the room.

"Vala, he is our friend now, not our enemy. We need not fear his ties to the Volturi, because we are making plans to...change the Volturi," Ignatius said calmly.

Vala grunted, but extinguished the fireball.

"As you can see, fire cannot harm her," Ignatius commented, "meaning she is much stronger than the normal vampire."

"And harder to destroy," Marcus added, stroking his chin. "If fire cannot destroy you, what can?"

"That is information I dare not share, for fear of Aro's abuse of it." Vala flitted over to the door under the landing, leaning against it with crossed arms. "So why are you here?"

Marcus cleared his throat. "Namely weaponry that can keep Caius and Aro away from me and a human they mistreated."

Ignatius nodded, looking up from papers on his desk. "And you will be meeting her soon."

Vala stood upright, her arms falling to her sides. "What...what about you? Aren't you coming?"

Marcus narrowed his eyes. "Afraid of humans?"

Ignatius sighed. "It's not that. We have an agreement that she not leave here without an approved of escort, which usually is me. She...is more than a test subject. She's my vampirical daughter. I changed her. So she protects me from those who would use my gifts for bad purposes. And... I don't want her coming into contact with Aro and being unable to tell me about it, so she and I remain close so such a travesty never occurs."

Marcus nods slowly. "I see."

"But I shall not be accompanying you just yet. Besides, Marcus shall be staying with us. The humans he is relying on at this time don't trust him."

"And you do?"

Ignatius nodded. "Yes, Vala, I do."

Vala sighed. "Very well. When am I supposed to meet this human?"

Marcus sighed. "Now that is a bit of a puzzle. I am unsure of how to approach her with the idea that I am now joining forces with even more immortals-"

"She knows?!" Vala exclaimed.

He nodded. "Yes, she knows, and for good reason."

Ignatius cleared his throat. "Now, we need to work together." He turned to Marcus. "You had mentioned there were two in the group of protectors that were not human, but that no one seemed to know of it."

Marcus nodded. "Yes, one a mortal enemy-"

Vala hissed.

"-and the other a race I have not encountered for thousands of years, except for one of the Cullens shows signs of formerly being of that race."

Ignatius set his papers down. "You do not mean..."

Marcus nodded slowly. "Indeed I do."

Ignatius cleared his throat. "Well then. This just became a whole lot more complicated."

"And they like each other," Marcus added. "I can tell, even though they have never confessed such a thing to one another. His trust in me only lasts as long as he is sure she trusts me."

"And does she?"

"With every beat of her heart."