Protection

Dmitri removed his black cloak, that twisted grin on his face again. I snarled at him.

 

“It doesn’t have to be like this, Scarlett. This is your last chance to hand over the human,” the Russian said, dropping the cloak to the floor.

 

“Never,” I spat.

 

“Very well.”

 

Dmitri lunged forward and knocked me to the side. Just as I stood, he started after Seto. The only thing I could think of was the tragic painting in Darren’s art room. I grabbed Dmitri and pulled him backwards. We both landed on the floor with a loud thud.

 

“Seto, run! Find Darren,” I yelled while Dmitri struggled against my grip.

 

I had my legs wrapped around his and my arms holding his back. Seto didn’t move.

 

“Go, now,” I screamed. Seto still didn’t move.

 

It was as if he was frozen in place. Dmitri pulled on of his arms free and elbowed me in the rib, causing my hold on him to loosen. He freed himself from my grasp and started towards Seto again. I grabbed Dmitri by his wrist and flung him across the room.

 

“Seto, you’re making it very difficult to protect you. Leave, now,” I ordered.

 

“I’m not going anywhere,” he answered.

 

“D****t, Seto! You just can’t take direction for any reason, can you? And where the hell is Darren?!”

 

Dmitri started chuckling darkly.

 

“Your brother had an unfortunate accident and fell out of a seventh story window,” he said.

 

My eyes widened and I snarled.

 

“You b*****d,” I screamed

 

I knew Darren would be alright, even that fall wouldn’t cause him much harm, but the thought of Dmitri stooping to that level disgusted me. The Russian man lunged forward again and I tackled him to the ground. I needed to buy more time for Darren to make it back up to where I was. I needed my brother’s help.

 

“Yes, rely on your brother, just like you always do. You can’t do anything without him, can you,” Dmitri asked in a taunting voice.

 

I punched his jaw, knocking his head against the floor. He just turned his face towards me again and laughed.

 

“Is that all you can do,” he asked.

 

“Shut up,” I yelled and picked him up by the collar of his shirt.

 

I threw him into the hallway, leaving an indent in the wall.

 

“Don’t follow me,” I ordered Seto before going into the hall.

 

I found Darren holding Dmitri with his arms behind his back. There was a deep scowl on my brother’s face. Dmitri merely chuckled.

 

“What’s so funny,” Darren demanded.

 

“No matter how badly you want to, you can’t stop me. If you don’t kill me, I’ll kill the human. If you do kill me, the rest of the Volturi will come and kill you, as well as the humans. You lose either way!”

 

I scowled and punched him again; anything to shut him up. I knew he was right, though. If he didn’t return with his report to the Volturi, they would send someone else or, even worse, come themselves. Dmitri started struggling against Darren’s hold, but my brother shoved him to the floor.

 

“Is there nay way I can get you to leave Seto alone,” I asked.

 

“Only in your dreams,” Dmitri answered with a smirk.

 

He then shoved Darren off of himself and lunged at me. I was knocked backwards with a crack. I stumbled and landed on my back with Dmitri on top of me.

 

“I’ll kill your precious human, then your brother and then you,” he whispered, his lips just barely grazing my ear.

 

I snarled and kicked Dmitri off of me, pushing him back ten feet. Darren tackled him to the ground and repeatedly punched the Russian vampire. There was no wrath like those of my brother and me. Under normal circumstances, Dmitri would have been dead by now. If only he wasn’t with the Volturi. Darren raised his fist again, but I stopped his hand.

 

“It’s not worth it,” I muttered.

 

“Do you finally understand, Miss Moreene? You’ve realized there is no way you can win as long as he’s human,” Dmitri taunted.

 

“Then I’ll become like them,” Seto said from behind me and I whipped my head around.

 

“What,” I demanded.