Death's Shadow 7

“Cullens it’s so good to see you! Welcome to Voltaire.”Aro’s voice thundered through the throne room as Bella led the Cullen coven into the room. She held back an eye roll at the king’s theatrics. The man was over the top and had let the power he thought he had go to his head. Bella knew that Tanya was right in her belief that Aro shouldn’t be in charge and had been making plans on how to deal with him. She had already had to step in numerous times to stop him from killing off innocent covens to force their gifted members into the guard. Aro thought he was smarter than everyone and that caused him to think he could manipulate people to do his bidding. Bella had to do something soon because she had overheard him speaking to Eleazar and Carmen about trying to get Tanya to let them in the coven again. With Edward accusing her family of declaring war on the Cullens it was going to make Aro act out and Bella wasn’t going to put up with it. Carlisle speaking brought her out her musing.

“It’s good to see you as well your majesty. Although I have to say that I don’t understand the reason for us being brought here by Death’s Shadow.”Carlisle decided he was going to play dumb. He may have had a falling out with the kings but knew that Aro held a grudge against the Denali. He figured Aro would be more than willing to find them not guilty just so he could convict the other coven.

“You don’t think falsely claiming another coven declared war on you is worthy of Death’s Shadow’s attention?”Caius was very interested in Carlisle’s excuse to why his coven was innocent.

“My son didn’t make a false claim. The Denali may have not said the words but they did threaten Edward before we left.”Carlisle told him.

“Then why do some members of your coven say that the Denali never made that threat?”Bella asked.

“They were already in the car when the threat was made and didn’t hear it.”Carlisle had thought that excuse while he was on the plane.

“Edward what were the exact words the Denali used when they made this threat?”Marcus wasn’t expecting Edward would be truthful but wanted to hear what he had to say. It would just make it easier to convict him when Bella made him admit he lied.

“As I was leaving their home Tanya the coven leader told me that she was watching us and it was only a matter of time before we got what was coming to us.”Edward lied.

“I can see how you would take that as a declaration of war.”Aro said. He was planning on turning this around so that the Denali were guilty and was happy that Carlisle and Edward were sticking to their lies. It’s would just make easier for him to get his hands on the sisters.

Carlisle held back a smirk. Just like he predicted Aro was a siding with them.“Exactly and because of that we have committed no crimes.”

“As I would take that as a declaration of war I can see no crime has been committed. The Denali however will need to be tried.”Aro was pleased his plan was working.

“No they will not.”Bella told him.

“Remember your place Lady Shadow. You do not make the rules here.”Aro wasn’t going to let Bella under mind his authority in front the large audience he had gathered in the throne room.

“Excuse me?”Bella now realized that Aro would need to be put in his place a lot sooner than she had planned.

“I am the king I am the authority here. If I say the Denali need to be tried they will be tried.”Aro told her.

“Brother think about who you are speaking to.”Caius knew Aro was full of himself but didn’t think he would actually go against Death’s Shadow.

“No it is Lady Shadow who should think about who she is speaking to.”Aro wasn’t afraid of Bella. He was in charge of her not the other way around.

“Aro apologize!”Marcus hissed.

“I will not apologize to anyone. If anything Lady Shadow should apologize to me for her disrespect.”Aro glared at Bella.”And if she doesn’t the punishment will be severe.”

“Holy shit.”Emmett mumbled.

“Shut up Emmett.”Rosalie didn’t want her brother to get involved with whatever was going to happen because Rosalie and the rest of room could tell that Death’s Shadow was pissed. It was well known that horrible things happened when the deadly vampire was upset. Usually many people lost their lives and Rosalie didn’t want Emmett or any of her family to be one of those people. Well everyone but Edward and Carlisle. She wouldn’t mind if they died.

“I will give you one opportunity to plead your case before I decide whether or not to kill you.”Bella wasn’t going to kill Aro. Not yet. He was still mated and Sulpicia would be effected if her mate was killed. That was why Bella was going to give her friend the chance to have Chelsea break the bond before Aro died. Bella was sure the queen would be more than happy to break the bond. Bella had observed Sulpicia’s unhappiness in her relationship with Aro and had lectured the man many times to treat his mate better. It never helped though and although Sulpicia claimed that she was content in her relationship Bella knew that the queen longed to be away from Aro and just didn’t want to give up her life and friends in the castle.

“You dare threaten to kill me!! Guards restrain her.”Aro ordered. When the guards made no move to do so he sputtered in rage.”Why are you just standing there? I told you to restrain her.”

“Our loyalty is to Lady Shadow not you.”Jane told him. She stood up a little straighter seeing the proud look her father was giving her. Jane knew that Caius was just as loyal to Lady Shadow as she and her brother were. Caius had many times told the twins that he would lay down his life for the dangerous vampire not because she made him a king but because she gave him the daughter and son he and his mate always wanted.

“Then you all are traitors and will be sentenced to death.”Aro wasn’t going to let anyone who went against him live.

Caius jumped from his throne and grabbed Aro by the throat and lifted him in the air.”You don’t threaten my daughter.”

“Unhand me!!”Aro tried to pry Caius’ hands off him but he was unsuccessful.

Marcus stood and put his hand on Caius’ shoulder.”Let Lady Shadow deal with him. She will make him suffer worse than anything you could do.”

“You are right.”Caius thew Aro to ground and kicked him in the stomach.”You are a pitiful excuse for a man and not worthy of being a king.”

“I will have your head as well.”Aro groaned when Caius kicked him again.

“Jane if you would.”Bella was going to make sure Aro was truly humiliated in front of the crowd before she officially dealt with him.

“Of course Lady Shadow.”Jane focused her gift on Aro taking great pleasure in hearing him scream and seeing him thrash on the floor in pain.

“What should we do about the Cullens?”Marcus ignored Aro’s screams. The man not only deserved what he got Marcus wasn’t going to interfere and have Bella turn her wrath on him.

“Jane you can stop. Alec take over.” Bella told the twins. Once Aro stopped screaming she turned her attention to group of vampires in question. All them looked shocked and scared. All accept for Edward who seemed completely unbothered. The idiot probably thought he was going to be let go.”Cullens I have done a thorough investigation into Edward’s claim. During this investigation I uncovered that you Carlisle have been spreading untrue rumors about the Denali sisters. You claimed that they were responsible for the succubus legends and used to drain their victims after bedding them until you came along and taught them to drink from animals.”

“I have done no such thing.”Carlisle wasn’t sure what was going to happen now that Aro was out of the picture but he was sure he could convince Death’s Shadow that he was telling the truth.

”I will you the same chance I gave Aro. I will let you plead your case before I decide to kill you.”Bella always offered this chance. It someone was willing to be truthful then they were usually worthy of redemption. Redemption being something that Bella knew the gods preferred over her just killing all lawbreakers.

“I am telling the truth. The Denali used to have sex with humans and drain them after they were done. It wasn’t until I came long and taught them the more humane way of feeding did they change their lifestyle.”Carlisle told her.

”I thought you would be smart enough to tell the truth but I see you are not.”Bella shook her head sadly.”I have been monitoring the Denali sisters since their sire was killed. Not only are they respectable women they had never bedded humans and drained them afterwards. They were always very careful with their kills to not get on our radar. Hiding their kills is the reason they turned to animal blood centuries before you were even born. They wanted to settle in one place. Killing humans would have prevented that.”

“Why would you lie for all these years Carlisle?”Esme had her suspicions but wanted to give her mate the benefit of the doubt. Now with the proof from Lady Shadow she knew Carlisle had been lying to her from the day she woke up after turning.

“I just..it’s..I didn’t mean..”Carlisle looked around the room for someone or something to get him out this situation but all he found were scowling faces and looks of disgust. He lowered his head at the realization his whole life was ruined. All the respect and the good reputation he had built was gone all because he stupidly wanted to introduce Victoria to his former closest friends.

“He isn’t lying. Death’s Shadow is lying.”Edward knew that Carlisle wouldn’t lie to them. For some reason Death’s Shadow had some kind of grudge against Carlisle.

“You poor boy. So blinded by your unnatural love for your sire you can’t see the truth right in front of you.”Bella had always pitied Edward. Carlisle had twisted his mind into thinking that he was better and far superior than other vampires just because he could read minds.

“I see the truth and it’s not coming from you.”Edward said.

“Regardless what you believe you are still going to be held responsible for your false claim.”Bella told him.

“My claim wasn’t false.”Edward wasn’t going to admit to anything. Now that Aro was no longer involved he didn’t have to worry about the king seeing what really happened with his gift.

“Not only is your claim false but it was actually you who threatened the Denali.”Bella wasn’t surprised that Edward was sticking to the lie. He was just like his sire.

“I did no such thing.”Edward knew that Death’s Shadow didn’t have any proof.

“I guess it your word against mine then.”Bella turned to the crowd.”What say all of you? Whose word do you believe more mine or Edward’s?”

Edward scowled when the throne room filled with chants of Death’s Shadows name.”That means nothing.”

“In this case it means everything. Edward of the Cullen coven you have been found guilty of making the false claim that the Denali Coven declared war against the Cullen coven. You are hereby sentenced to death.”Bella smirked behind her mask when the crowd cheered.

“You can’t do that!!”Edward screamed.

Hearing that caused Carlisle to break out his stupor.“My kings you can’t kill my son!”

“Lady Shadow has made her decision. The boy will die.”Caius didn’t even try to mask the glee in his voice. He so loved witnessing an execution. He waved over one of the guards.”Find Queen Athenodora and tell her to come to throne room quickly because Edward is going to be killed.”

The guard bowed.”I’ll hurry.”

“What of the rest of us Lady Shadow?”Someone had to ask and since Carlisle was in no shape Rosalie figured she would do it. She was somewhat worried about what was going to happen to her family but wasn’t upset Edward was being killed. He had done enough over the years that she tried to do it herself numerous times. She had just always been stopped before she could.

“During my investigation I have found that you Rosalie, your mate Victoria along with Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Esme had no knowledge of not only Carlisle’s lying but of Edward’s false claim. You will all be free to go without any punishment once the court is dismissed.”Bella told her.

“Thank you Lady Shadow.”Rosalie shared a smile with Victoria. She had known that she and her mate hadn’t done anything wrong but had been worried that Edward would have done something to incriminate them.

“What of me?”Carlisle almost didn’t want to know.

“First I would like to ask Esme if she would like the opportunity to have her mate bond severed with Carlisle.”Bella offered because Carlisle’s punishment depended on the answer.

“Esme please.”Carlisle didn’t want to lose his mate along with everything else.

Esme took a minute to really think about the offer. On one hand she was furious with Carlisle for all his lies, on the other he was a kind man who treated her good and was a great support to her. She wouldn’t be able to forgive him lying right away but was willing to work on their relationship.”I would like to keep my mate bond.”

“So be it.”Bella was somewhat saddened by that because that meant she couldn’t kill Carlisle.”Carlisle of the Cullen coven you are hereby sentenced to 100 yrs in the dungeon where you will receive regular beatings.”

“What?! You can’t do that!!”Carlisle exclaimed.

Bella ignored his outburst.”Esme as you can’t be away form your mate you will be allowed to live in the castle and make regular visits to him.”

“Thank you Lady Shadow.”Esme wasn’t happy about Carlisle being locked up or beaten but she would accept it. It was better than him being killed. The fact that Death’s Shadow was being merciful enough to allow her access to her mate was unexpected but appreciated.

“Guards restrain him.”Bella ordered.

“Let me go!! I have done nothing wrong.”Carlisle fought against the guards but they easily overpowered him

“Did I miss it?”Athenodora asked as she rushed into the room. As soon as the guard told her what was going to happen she dropped what she was doing and raced to throne room. She hadn’t even taken the time to grab her crown which she usually wore when dealing with court issues.

“No my dear you are just in time.”Caius told her.

Athenodora furrowed her eyebrows when she noticed Aro laying on the floor not moving.”I feel like I have missed a lot.”

“I will tell you about it later.”Caius said.

“Dora, Caius would you both like the honor of taking care of Edward?”Bella may have been known as a ruthless killer but she really didn’t like taking a life. Even if they deserved it. Each time she took a head and burned a body it added more weight on her soul. The only person who knew of this was Tanya as the rest of world had to think of Death’s Shadow as a dangerous killing machine who had no remorse for her victims.

“We would love to.”Athenodora happily made her way to Edward.

“You think you can kill me?!”Edward wasn’t going down without a fight.

“I know we can kill you.”Caius didn’t need his mate to kill Edward. He just enjoyed killing people with her by his side. It was their way to bond.

“What do you think? Should we takes his limbs or just light him on fire?”Athenodora asked.

Caius thought about it for a minute.“Limbs then fire with the head still attached to the torso.”

“Excellent.”Athenodora wasted no time grabbing Edward by the throat and slamming him to the ground. She would like to beat on him a little bit but the room was overcrowded and there wasn’t enough space.

“I’m going to take his legs.”Caius put his foot on Edward’s knee and grabbed his ankle. He twisted it hard and broke his lower leg off from his body.

“No!! Stop this!!”Carlisle tried to go to his son but nothing he did helped. All he could do is watch as the king and queen dismantled him and listen to his screams of pain.

“Does anyone have a lighter?”Athenodora asked once all that was left of Edward was his head attached to his torso.

“Here you go.”Bella handed Athenodora a very old antique lighter that Tanya had given her centuries ago.

Athenodora looked the lighter over.”This a beautiful piece.”

“Thank you. It was a gift.”Tanya told her.

“Please don’t do this. I’ll do anything just don’t kill me.”Edward begged. He hated that he had to lower himself to begging but he didn’t want to die.

“I so love seeing a proud man lose his dignity.”Caius grabbed Edward’s limbs and put them in pile then lit them on fire.

“Please no!! Take me not him.”Carlisle pleaded. He couldn’t understand how everything turned out like it had.

Athenodora ignored the coven leader and threw the rest of Edward into the fire. She smiled when she heard the gasps and sounds of shock coming from the room. Once the pile was completely burned she stomped out the fire.”That was very satisfying.”

“Edward!!”Carlisle wailed loudly in-between sobs.

“Take him and Aro to the dungeon.”Bella ordered the guards.”The rest of you are free to go. Esme speak to Giana about your stay in the castle. She will arrange everything for you.”

Esme bowed.“Thank you Lady Shadow.”

“Caius, Marcus, Athenodora please collect Sulpicia and Didyme so we can debrief.”Bella knew they needed to speak about how things were going to be going forward without Aro.

“Of course Lady Shadow.”Athenodora rushed off to do just that. She wanted to find out what exactly happened in the throne room as soon as possible.

“The rest of you are dismissed.”Bella didn’t wait for a reply. She shielded herself from others and made her way out of the room. She wanted to call Tanya and tell what happened. She knew her mate was going to be pleased to hear about Aro. Bella wasn’t looking forward to the many I told you so’s that she was going to be forced to hear in the future. Tanya may be a coven leader but she wasn’t above being petty. Especially when she was proven right over Bella. Bella also knew that Tanya and her sisters would be very happy to hear about what was done to Edward and Carlisle. They had never liked Edward. Neither did Bella because the boy was constantly trying to seduce Tanya. He wouldn’t take no for answer and Bella was happy that none of them would have to deal with him ever again. That and the fact that Bella had cleared up the lies that Carlisle spread made for a pretty good outcome to the situation. Now Bella just needed to talk to the royals and then she could head home. She was looking forward to spending a few days with Tanya before she took them all to New York fashion week. After that was over she was taking Tanya on a vacation. They deserved it after all this drama.