Chapter 102: The Wanderer Garrett

"Actually, I could just land..."

As she banked the helicopter into a wide turn, Heidi tried to persuade Caius. She was confident in her flying skills, and setting the aircraft down for a moment would hardly take any effort. More importantly, it would spare Aro's prized helicopter from unnecessary damage.

"Enough."

Caius cut her off without the slightest courtesy.

The helicopter belonged to Aro, not him.

Whether it was scratched, dented, or completely ruined made no difference to Caius. If anything, he rather enjoyed the thought of Aro silently suffering over his precious collection while being forced to pretend he didn't mind.

"If Sophie starts crying and insists on coming with us," Caius said coldly, "are you planning to free up a hand to comfort a child, Heidi?"

Throwing her straight into the river from a distance solved the problem neatly.

There was no way Sophie could chase after a helicopter.

Of everyone involved in this mission, Sophie understood the British region better than anyone except Caius and Marcus. She had personally organized the intelligence gathered there, making her the ideal temporary assistant to finish the operation.

After several days of open threats, subtle intimidation, and now the revelation that Jane had been seriously injured, Caius was convinced Sophie would no longer entertain any thoughts of escaping on her own.

…

On the riverbank...

"Caius deserves to suffer a lot more!"

The rivers in England tasted nothing like the ones in Italy.

Sophie spat repeatedly, trying to rid her mouth of the slimy river weeds.

Dragging herself onto shore with soaking wet clothes clinging heavily to her body, she watched as the unfortunate chair that had accompanied her out of the helicopter drifted farther and farther downstream.

For some inexplicable reason, staring at the current carrying the chair away filled her with an overwhelming sense of déjà vu.

It felt as though she had once watched something incredibly important disappear into flowing water.

But no matter how hard she tried...

She couldn't remember what it had been.

"You bastard! Absolute bastard! Just wait until I get back to the Volturi..."

Halfway through her furious rant, Sophie suddenly fell silent.

Even if she returned to Volterra, there was only one person she could possibly complain to.

Jane.

And Jane was injured.

Taking advantage of his position, Caius had gone ahead to visit her while forcing Sophie to stay behind and dutifully finish the mission before she could reunite with Jane and return the borrowed necklace.

Pulling off her soaked jacket, Sophie snapped it through the air several times as though venting her frustration.

She actually liked this British outfit quite a bit.

The fabric was comfortable, the tailoring fashionable, and she couldn't bear to throw it away. After folding it neatly, she draped it over one arm before continuing on.

The countryside was enveloped in deep night.

Fortunately, the stars had begun shining brightly overhead, while the surrounding trees remained relatively short. Thanks to a vampire's exceptional night vision, Sophie could see almost as clearly as she could during the day.

She headed toward the nearby valley.

Several centuries ago, that place had been home to a rare settlement where humans and werewolves had lived together in fragile peace.

The mountainous terrain had made transportation difficult, and after vampires eradicated the werewolves, the human village gradually declined as well until eventually disappearing altogether.

Only in modern times had people begun developing the area again, carefully preserving the ancient village ruins while establishing a new settlement nearby.

Sophie moved effortlessly over bushes and tangled undergrowth.

At last, the outline of the village emerged in the distance.

Just as she was about to quicken her pace, singing unexpectedly drifted through the night from the supposedly deserted settlement.

"May heroes who despise oppression rise generation after generation, never allowing the greedy and the flattering to trample upon justice and human dignity..."

Sophie stopped instantly.

Didn't Aro already evacuate everyone?

Although she had fed aboard the yacht, Sophie had not forgotten the greatest taboo of a newborn vampire.

She refused to risk approaching humans unnecessarily.

"...Though all of Europe rises against us, we shall fight to the very end..."

It was an old, well-known song.

Yet apart from the music itself, there were no sounds of human activity within the village.

The melody echoed alone from some electronic device, occasionally interrupted by bursts of static that suggested the equipment was in terrible condition.

Standing motionless as the breeze swept past her, Sophie carefully inhaled the scents drifting from the village.

She confirmed it almost immediately.

The one playing the music wasn't a lone human.

It was...

Another vampire.

Sophie' attempt at sneaking closer was painfully clumsy.

The other vampire had already noticed her long before she entered the village.

Fortunately, he seemed too lazy to care.

The music continued uninterrupted.

"The people around here suddenly disappeared for no apparent reason," a rough male voice called out, breaking the silence. "If you're looking for prey, I'd recommend hunting somewhere else."

Seeing that she had already been discovered, Sophie abandoned any further attempt at hiding.

"I've already fed," she replied honestly. "I'm not here to hunt."

The man lounging atop a rooftop slowly sat up and looked in her direction.

Under the night sky, his eyes appeared almost completely black.

"Allow me to introduce myself. Garrett. I was turned during the American Revolutionary War. These days I wander Europe looking for adventure."

Sophie leaped lightly onto the rooftop and offered him her hand.

Following his example, she introduced herself with a smile.

"Sophie Luca. I was turned this year."

She paused briefly.

"I'm still a newborn."

"One of the Volturi?"

Garrett immediately recognized the crest hanging around her neck.

His expression darkened.

Rather rudely, he shook off her hand as though he'd accidentally touched something filthy.

A disdainful snort escaped his nose, and he looked ready to wipe his palm clean with a disinfectant wipe.

Sophie blinked in confusion.

The man before her wore ragged clothing, while his chestnut-colored hair was carelessly tied back with what looked suspiciously like a piece of straw.

Even after climbing out of a river covered in algae and bits of grass...

She was still far cleaner and more presentable than he was.

Garrett lay back down on the rooftop, gazing lazily at the stars hidden behind the clouds.

Covering his eyes with one arm, he sighed dramatically.

"The 'royal family' certainly moves fast. Clearing out this entire area overnight... that was your master's handiwork, wasn't it? Poor wandering souls like me are left starving."

Sophie immediately answered with a snort of her own.

"'Royal family.' 'Master.' You keep throwing those words around." She crossed her arms. "What are you, some medieval feudal lord who forgot the Middle Ages ended centuries ago?"

"I have to admit..." Garrett chuckled. "You're the most... distinctive Volturi guard I've ever met."

Their exchange of sarcasm seemed to delight him.

"So why hasn't Aro expelled you from the Guard yet?"

Sophie shrugged.

"Maybe he will someday."

She smiled helplessly.

"Aro doesn't seem to like me very much. He never actually invited me to join the Guard."

Holding up the necklace hanging around her neck, she explained further.

"A friend lent this to me. She said if I ever ran into a vampire who couldn't recognize when to mind their own business, I should simply show them this necklace. Then she'd come to deal with the problem herself."

"She's not wrong."

Garrett laughed softly.

"The reputation of the Volturi's 'champions of justice' certainly reaches every corner of our world."

His gaze lingered meaningfully on the pendant.

"For someone to lend you a necklace they've worn so close to their skin..." His voice became noticeably more suggestive. "That must be a very special... friend."

He deliberately emphasized the final two words.

Oddly enough...

The tone reminded Sophie very much of Heidi.

She tilted her head but offered no explanation.

Today was her first meeting with Garrett.

She had no intention of revealing too much about her relationship with Jane, especially when Garrett clearly harbored a subtle dislike for the Volturi.

What worried Sophie most was something else entirely.

If Garrett ever spoke ill of Jane...

Could she continue being friends with him?

She couldn't accept someone insulting the people she cared about.

Jane had been the very first person to look after her after she became a vampire.

Yes, she was controlling.

Yes, she was proud.

Yes, every word she spoke could sting like poison.

But...

Jane had always treated her well.

She cared in her own awkward, stubborn way.

She patiently indulged Sophie' endless curiosity and quietly watched over her without ever admitting how much she cared.

Among every girl Sophie had met since becoming a vampire, Jane was the one who had looked after her the most.

In fact...

Perhaps a little too much.

On the night Sophie had secretly run away, Jane had almost certainly come looking for her with genuine excitement, intending to tell her that the custom-made clothes and jewelry had finally arrived at the Volterra palace.

It was just a shame...

Sophie had never gotten the chance to try them on.

None of that, however...

Had anything whatsoever to do with Garrett.