Marcus POV

I knew something was occurring within these castle walls, something so secretive that my brothers would not deign tell me. I mused in silence, as I often did since my beloved Didyme had been ripped from me. How I missed my angel; she brought happiness wherever she went, but she was gone and all that was left of me in the wake of her loss was an empty shell.

I stood within the confines of my private library, deliberating on my next move. My only trusted confidant was Demetri; the rest of the guard lived to serve Aro and Caius. My brothers were fools. They chose to leave me alone because I affected a demeanor of boredom, but I had my own secrets, secrets that I kept well hidden from them both. Throughout the long centuries of despair, something deep inside me had whispered that I should not lose all hope and that something would one day happen that would forever rock the world of the Volturi.

Demetri kept me well informed of castle events and I knew my brothers were moving against my old friend, Carlisle Cullen, and his family. Even now three of his coven members were being kept against their will and tortured in the bowls of the castle. I had not been inclined to move against my foolish and totalitarian brothers for almost more centuries than I cared to count, but the time had come to make their wrongs right. I could not stand by and allow Carlisle's precious family to be destroyed by Aro & Caius' greed & lust. I would have to work quickly or all would be lost before it could begin.

Taking a scrap of parchment from the writing desk in the center of the library, I took up my quill and hastily scribbled a message to Demetri, not trusting my instructions to be verbalized. The walls had ears in this cursed place that had been my prison for long enough. I strode to my library door and summoned Demetri with great haste. Once done, I penned a more detailed missive for Carlisle, sealing it quickly with blood red wax and a haphazard press of my ring.

I knew that time would be against us from the moment we set our plan in motion, so there was not a moment to waste. I did not have to wait long before Demetri arrived. Presenting him with the sealed parchment and indicating that he should read it, I waited calmly while he did so. Once my orders were given, I handed him a second letter so that he could leave immediately and hand deliver it to Carlisle. For the first time in centuries, I felt a quickening within my essence and a deadly smile slowly crept across my lips. Disdain for my brothers and slowly blossoming hope warred within me for dominance as I thought through my next steps, giving Demetri time to make his departure from the castle.

The Cullen children were to be freed from the dungeons and I felt sure that Jasper Whitlock would be ready to make whatever stand necessary once I proved myself sympathetic to their plight. I could only hope that young Edward and his newborn Isabella would be capable of the strenuous deeds necessary. Demetri was most displeased that I was sending him away, but I simply was not able to succeed in the next phase of my plan to rid the vampire world of my brothers' tyranny without the assistance of Carlisle and his familiars.

Taking a heavy set of shears from the desk drawer, I cut off my hair, tying back the remainder with a bit of velvet ribbon. Too long had I stayed here in indecision and grief, living in a manner of which my Lady Didyme would have been ashamed. Discarding my heavy robes in favor of a pair of blue jeans and black sweater, a Christmas present from Heidi the year past that I had never had call to wear; I steeled my spirit for the task ahead and crept out of my chambers and toward the dank dungeons.

What I discovered within those walls left me shaken to the core and livid beyond any emotional capacity I would have previously believed possible. Reawakened sensation fueled my inner anger as I cast my eyes upon young Edward Cullen chained to the wall and looking devastated and newborn Isabella not faring much better. I did not see Major Whitlock, but I knew he could not be far away.

I spoke in a hushed whisper, as I quickly unlocked their dungeon door, "Quickly, move and follow me."

They were so weak from lack of feeding and having been brutalized by my brothers that I had to help Isabella with Edward moving behind us. I carried Isabella in my arms as if she was a small child, her head lolling against my collarbone. She trembled fearfully until her mate assured her that I meant her no harm. I handed Edward my keys so that he could release Major Whitlock as we came to the adjacent cell. All three of their emotional bonds were tattered and strained, the ones between Jasper and Edward and Isabella and Jasper almost completely severed. My lip turned up in a sneer; of course Aro had used Chelsea to weaken and destroy what held them together. He was far too cowardly to break them without her assistance. Now they were hardly more than strangers, acquaintances at best. I noted as Edward released The God of War from his confines that there was great anger passing from the younger vampire to the more seasoned warrior. I feared that Aro and Caius may indeed have succeeded in destroying the Olympic Coven after all.

We did not have time for any animosity, so I hissed out, "We must go now!"

With that I turned, still carrying Isabella, and directed the other two to follow me. We hastened through the corridors of the castle, moving quickly towards the car that Demetri had left running for me. I could hear some of the lower guard pursuing us, but I did not stop to address them or to study them further, simply cataloguing that they were almost upon us and moving as top speed toward the garage.

I smelled Jane a split second before Edward screamed in agony. Turning, I thrust the practically comatose Isabella into the Major's arms, knowing that, without a bond between the two males, it was unlikely that he would assist Edward.

As I doubled back and turned the corner, intending to attempt a rescue of Carlisle's oldest son, I came up short and turned my head away in disgust as Felix ripped the prone vampire's head from his shoulders. There was nothing more I could do for him now. Our kind could not come back from decapitation. Turning on my heel once more, I fled.

The Major had discovered the running Mercedes SUV and had already strapped Isabella into it. She was crying pitifully and I could understand her pain as perhaps few vampires could. He took the navigator's position in the front passenger seat as I slid behind the steering wheel. No one spoke until we cleared the stone walls of Volterra and I drove as if the Devil himself was behind us and perhaps, in truth, he was.

I drove toward Vienna, knowing both Isabella and The Major would need to feed, but not chancing such a stop in Italy. I would have to provide for them, there would not be room for argument from either of them. They needed human blood to heal quickly. I drove as fast as the car would go, the roads would have been treacherous for a human driver; however, my superior reflexes handled the journey with relative ease. The Major had crawled into the backseat and was trying to soothe Isabella over the tragic loss of her mate. I was not going to stop unless I absolutely had to until we reached my property outside of Budapest. Demeri's orders indicated that he, Carlisle, and his family were to meet me there. I had privately acquired the property as insurance under a dummy corporation name that was completely untraceable back to myself and only Demetri knew of the secret purchase. It was purchased with the knowledge that someday there would be need for me to leave my brothers.

We had just crossed into Vienna when I turned to The Major and Isabella, speaking in a tone that led no room for argument, "You both need human blood to heal properly, I know you do not wish to do that, but it is a necessity."

I continued driving after declaring what must be done, speeding through the outskirts of the city, Vienna admittedly was ,more difficult to hunt in at this time of night, but it was certainly not impossible, if one was desperate. As we were in dire need, I did not tarry long in my search, but quickly drove us to the Gürtel. It's plethora of sex shops, prostitutes, and general uproar and commotion would be ample cover for a quick feeding.

I hastily parked on a side street within easy human walk from the main artery and, after a quick look at poor Isabella, it became clear that she would be unable to feed without assistance. The Major and I shared a look. I could see his reluctance and apprehension about assisting her, though I had expected this. Chelsea's power would take some time to dissipate, I sent him on his way, stressing the importance of returning within the hour back here. He gave a curt nod and headed into a nearby brothel. I chose to walk at a clipped pace a mile further down the stretch of debauchery and found two ladies of ill repute on the street corner. I propositioned them in lightly accented German and displayed an ample amount of Euros to entice them to accompany me back to the parked Mercedes.

As we arrived, I quickly put the two women into the back of the car and thrust one at the starving Isabella, counting on her newborn bloodlust to take over once a meal was so decadently thrust in her grasp. I was not disappointed and began feeding from my own kill as the young woman in Isabella's grasp gave a breathy gasp of terror and then was silent.

I hastened the victims of our hunger away, finding an empty dumpster and discarding their bodies out of sight before lighting them on fire, I was lingering on uncertainty as to whether Isabella would need more. Quick in my decision, I dispatched a man that I found a short distance away in a secluded alley way that was accosting an innocent woman. Forcing the vile criminal back to the confines of the mercedes, I pushed him into the growling visage of Isabella. While she fed, I noted her strength returning quickly and was glad to see that she was in better form albeit she still had healing to do. Once she had finished relieving the man of his life, I placed his broken body in the dumpster alongside the two woman. I slid back inside the driver side of the Mercedes while Isabella and I awaited The Major.

"I know the pain of losing a mate, Isabella. You must not fall into the same trap as I. I allowed my grief to blind me to the tyranny of my brothers. There are many things for which I must atone, but my apathy most of all. Grieve for your lost mate, but do not allow his death to ruin you as I allowed the loss of Didyme to destroy all that was good about me."

She made no reply and only curled in on herself more, but I was able to notice the thinnest gossamer thread of a familial bond between us now. My words offered her comfort where none had been before. It was enough for now. I allowed silence once again to fall over the interior of the vehicle, not wishing to intrude on her fresh grief again. Some minutes later, Major Whitlock arrived again and we began the short drive from Vienna to my property outside of Budapest.