Marcus crinkled his forehead. He looked at her adumbral, oval face. Her eyes were glazed over and she was hunched over as if she were about to tip over. Demetri was weary of entering after Marcus' altercation with his colleagues.

"She has not woken."

Marcus told Demetri.

Corin came in, her shoulders lowered, and her eyes dashed madly in the room. She stood in the doorway.

Her child tugged and tugged at her arm from inside her Master's room. The child gave up and fluttered in, dancing around in her new dress, a popular denim with a pink flower embedded on where it laid on her chest.

"Afternoon, Demetri."

Demetri smiled then collected his smile. She looked at him with wide, rubicund eyes. She turned her sharp focus on where Demetri had his.

She found Marcus bowed over his bed. He was staring at a woman, who looked like her! With thick lips, dark brown skin, curls upon curls on her head. A squeal of delight left her and she zoomed to Marcus.

She pulled on his cloaks. He had listed eyes then his focus turned to what was tugging his robes. He looked into a little oval face with large, childish eyes.

"Marcus, Marcus! Who is she?"
She pointed a chubby finger at the female statue.

"Melanthe!" Corin scolded minutely. "You refer to him as Master."
"Sorry, mama. Master?"

Marcus' stony gaze told Corin she was not welcomed.

"Melanthe you shall help me; I am afraid your mama made a mistake. And we will just have to correct it, shall we not?"

The little girl's eyes looked at him adoringly. He was finally giving her attention; he usually just stared at the wall...

Corin left then, feeling unwelcome. No-one minded. Melanthe grabbed at his cloaks.

Demetri sighed: "Corin must have used her power on her. She might be this way for some time. I do not think she has ever done this to a mortal. I hope there are no long-term side effects."

Marcus sighed and then he saw her smashed cell phone on the floor. He reassembled it and looked at it. Melanthe smiled at him.

"Master, may I? I have one just like that."
She held her hand out to him. He placed the little contraption in her doll palm.

She easily turned it on and saw a missed call from a few minutes ago.

"Master, someone called on your phone."

Marcus frowned. Demetri responded: "How long ago?"

"Twenty minutes ago.... someone named Jamal."

Demetri furrowed his forehead and clenched his nose.

"Is that not her brother? She was anxious about his reaction to her not coming yesternight."
Marcus took the phone.

"This is not mine."

Melanthe was confused. He called the number as directed by a flashing light on the left.

They all heard frantic shouting amidst happy shouts of joy. And beers clashing together, a siren of a football whistle.... drunken laughter. Then Marcus accidentally put it on loud speaker.

"Oh my God, Kayla. You ok? You just screamed then disappeared! Kayla? Kayla?"

They were moved into silence. They looked at the still woman on Marcus' bed. Even the distressed cries of her brother could not rouse her. Demetri took the cellular device.

"KAYLA!" the phone screamed before he ended the call.

The same number continued calling on and on and on. It never ended.
"He will not give up." Melanthe said.

Demetri shook his head.
"No, he will not. Master, what is our next form of action?"

Marcus knelt and took Melanthe's palms, dark brown shocking against his white skin.

"I cannot allow this. Both of these mortals know something strange has occurred, but I will not kill them for our own mistakes. So, you will make her brother believe she never called."

Melanthe looked at his black eyes.
"Why? Isn't it easier to eat her?"

Demetri flinched fearing this child...childlike creature would be throttled like Corin and Chelsea. Instead Marcus surprised him by smiling.

"It is, but we don't eat our friends. Do we?"
"No...You love her?" Melanthe tilted her head.

Marcus smiled. "I do, she has a good heart."
Melanthe smiled, excited.

"Then let us do as you want!"
Excellent, he thought.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Marcus held the girl in his arms and she phoned the number on the cell phone. Donatella was sitting on the sofas, fearing Marcus' hunger. In the cradle of his arms, Melanthe sat, as if in a hammock, comfortably.

"Kayla, hello? You keep breaking up!"

The vampires in the room could feel the listener on the other side's anxiety rise. Marcus nodded, signalling for Melanthe to begin her work.

"Kayla?" the voice said.

It was now quiet on the listener's side. He had gone away from the noise.

"Hello, Jamal." She shrilled.

"You're not Makayla! Who are you? And why do you have her phone?"

"Jamal," she said musically. "You are not distressed. You are enjoying your time with your friends at the bar," she was saying this in assumption.

"You have not heard from your sister Makayla all day, but you will not worry, fuss or call back her cell phone or this land line. You will remember nothing."

Melanthe placed the land line down.

"Melanthe, sweetheart? Is that sufficient? I do not want any reason for Makayla not to believe this was nothing but a dream."

Melanthe gave a seductive smile. Marcus needed reassurance as he had never witnessed her gifts at work, prior to that day.

"Yes, Master Marcus. He will not remember a thing. So, no more calls. And he will not tell his sister a breath of this either."

Marcus smiled happily and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Good work. Now run along.
Relay a message to your mother...I do not expect to see her, ever in my chambers and she is to remain in her room until further notice."

Melanthe curtsied and flashed away. Ms Bianchi came in behind Benjamin and Heidi. With dishevelled hair, smeared makeup and scrunched up body. Marcus greeted her with a fierce glare.

"Woman, you have failed the Volturi, but I will give you the opportunity to correct your mistake and impress us once more.

You have Makayla's money in your purse; I suggest you purchase an air travel ticket immediately for her."

Ms Bianchi blinked twice. Wasn't that girl supposed to be dead?

"But the Volturi made an arrangement with me, that for every American I bring them, the money they leave behind is all mine."

Marcus was shocked by her callousness to a member of her own species.

"There was a change of plans for this one; she lives so her money must be returned. Understood?" Marcus said standing over her.

She frowned momentarily. But she already used the money to finish off her payments for her new house in the countryside.

She could see in his stiff face now was not the moment to convince of the error of his ways...just smile and falsely agree, she told herself. She would just have to convince him and his brothers then to dispose of the girl, she had worked too hard to let it be ruined by that girl.

Marcus returned to his room to find Demetri staring at Makayla was sitting on his chaise.

"She is still in a state?" he pondered.

Demetri nodded at his Master's question. He sighed and joined Demetri on the chaise. He peered at her oddly rested neck, she was hunched over, slightly forward and if brushed she would fall over and crack her neck.

Marcus frowned He stood and placed her gently on the pillow.

"Demetri, you have no sense. Why leave her in such a position; she shall injure herself."

He put her cell phone beside her kinky hair. He sighed.

"If she not recover today I shall disembowel Corin. How can she be this careless?"

He resat on the chaise. Demetri jolted.

Was this Marcus, he surely sat with and not Caius?

A violent personality had emerged from a restless spirit. Marcus went to the reception to wait for Makayla. Watching her in her state of paralysis made him ill to the bone.

"Demetri when you sense she will arouse, take the items Corin brought in and come in with them. That will make this mishap seem even more like a dream.