16. FINDING DIDYME

Not long after Marcus had passed the gate, he reached the entrance to what seemed like a black castle. He quickly walked through the doorway and as soon as he entered he saw countless beings wandering the halls. They moved slowly as if time held no value for them. Their faces were blank and expressionless. The inside of the castle was large and cavernous. There seemed to be thousands of doors lining the halls of it. Didyme could be anywhere.

Marcus glanced down at his ever-fading necklace. Time had almost run out. "Didyme?" Marcus called. "Didyme! Where are you?" There was no answer. For so many beings gathered in one place, the castle was eerily silent. Only the soft shuffle of their feet could be heard.

Marcus began to push past the throng and started poking his head into the rooms, searching for Didyme. It had been so long, would he even recognize her when he saw her? His mind was no longer 'vampire-sharp' and his memories became clouded like a human's memories would. Then for a short period he felt a pang of fear- what if she did recognize him but didn't want him anymore? What if she no longer loved him? Marcus swallowed and pushed the thought aside. Even if it were true, he still wanted to save her.

Then in the mass of people, he recognized a face walking toward him. Even in death, she was still beautiful. Her long red hair flowed gently over her shoulders. It was Sasha.

Then Marcus suddenly felt nervous. It was his coven that had killed her and her son, Vasilii. It was the Volturi that had punished her for creating an immortal child. Surely she would remember what had been done to her and her family; surely she would hold Marcus accountable for it.

Marcus quickly turned to go in the opposite direction but to his surprise he recognized another face standing exactly before him. Her silvery blond hair glistened, even here in this dark castle. Marcus had no trouble recognizing Irina immediately because he had just seen her a few short weeks ago in Forks, before Caius had her destroyed when she had changed her mind about testifying against the Cullen Family at the last moment.

"Irina?" Marcus whispered, but she did not respond to him. It was as if she didn't even hear him. She shuffled past him and he allowed his gaze to follow her. She was headed straight towards Sasha, and Sasha was moving towards her. He expected to see the mother that was reuniting with the daughter to embrace each other. He expected them to react to the presence of the other but nothing happened. The two who had shared such a strong bond in life walked right past each other as if they were strangers on a crowded street. The incident really bothered Marcus. That's not going to happen with Didyme and I, he told himself. He forced himself to believe that their love was stronger than death.

Marcus pushed forward again, calling out the name of his love, still checking each room to see if she was in them. As he stopped to look in one of the many rooms he recognized another vampire that he had known in life. It was Octavian, the Romanian who had control over all animals. He was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall with his legs stretched out. He was staring, but not really seeing anything. Then Marcus noticed these strange little creatures that looked like a cross between a rat and Jackson's Chameleon. They mostly resembled rats but each of them had three horns protruding out of their faces. They scurried along the dank floor and even across Octavian's legs. Marcus wondered if they were drawn to him because of the power he used to have, but he couldn't be sure.

It was then that Marcus realized the cost of Aro's deception. He hadn't spent the time to process this before, but Marcus had gone after the Romanians because Aro led him to believe that they killed Didyme. How many lives had he extinguished in his rage? How many vampires had he sent to the underworld to avenge the death of his beloved? It should not have been them that were dead- it should have been Aro. Marcus pushed the guilt of killing innocent (if you could call them that) vampires out of his mind and committed to never allow Aro to manipulate him again.

He started off once more, moving as quickly as he possibly could. He recognized many more faces but none of them were Didyme's. He saw several more of the Romanian's, including Nadia. During the battle in Romania she had been the one to use her power of sadness on Marcus. He had already been hurting so badly because of Didyme's recent death; the added weight of misery nearly killed him. Marcus pushed those thoughts from his mind. He had to think positively, he could feel himself getting weaker, even weaker than a normal human. Something about this place was sucking the life out of him.

"Didyme!?" Marcus called out. "Didyme, where are you?... Please…. I need you…" He had to grab a stone wall to keep himself steady. His legs were feeling weaker and he didn't know how much longer he could keep searching like this. He closed his eyes, only for a moment. He pictured Didyme's smiling face and the aura of happiness that shone around her. He remembered what it was like being able to see the bonds of those around her suddenly grow stronger because they all loved her, because she was wonderful. He remembered watching her bond to him grow powerfully strong. It had brought him such satisfaction to know that what she felt towards him, she had never felt towards anyone else. What they had was truly special. This could not be the end of it.

Marcus opened his eyes and although nothing had changed, he felt a strong pull towards an empty, narrow staircase. He moved towards it as quickly as he could manage and began to climb the steps. They moved in a circular pattern and ended up at a single door. It must have been some chamber at the top of a small turret. He pushed the door open and his eyes filled with tears when he saw her.

Didyme was sitting on the floor with her back against a wall next to a window. The strange lights of the underworld shone through casting a pale blue glow onto her skin. She was still as beautiful as the first time he had seen her. But her eyes were empty. Her mouth was slack. Her lips had not smiled in more than a millennia.

"Didyme?" Marcus whispered. He almost didn't dare believe she was real because if this was some kind of trick, the disappointment alone would finish him off. "Didyme, is it really you?"

She did not answer him. Marcus moved into the room and slowly made his way over to her. He knelt down at her side and touched her hand, just to make sure she was real. "Didyme, it's me, Marcus. I need you to remember."

Just then her lips moved ever so slightly, like she was whispering something but he couldn't hear it. "What is it? What are you saying?" He leaned in closer to her face and brought his ear right to her lips.

"He didn't come…" she seemed to whisper feebly, over and over.

"Who? Who didn't come?" Marcus asked.

She didn't respond to him. She didn't even see him. She just kept whispering "He didn't come."

Then Marcus saw the small note in her hands. He reached down and picked it up to read it.

My Sweet Didyme,

The time has come for us to begin our journey together. Find our stream and follow it until it leads you to the river. I will have a boat ready for us.

I love you always,

Marcus

Marcus' eyes widened in horror. "Didyme, I didn't write this! It was a trick. Aro tricked you to believe it was me who wrote you this note. Aro lured you away from my protection and he did this to you- TO US! Please Didyme, I didn't know you were waiting for me. I had no idea what was happening to you. I'm so sorry, I should have been there and I wasn't. I'm so sorry…" Marcus began to weep as he laid his head in her lap, desperate for solace. He should have known better. He should have paid attention to Aro's dwindling bond to his sister. He should have seen what was coming. Why didn't he? Why was he so blind? Because of his carelessness Didyme had been captured, had felt her body torn apart piece by piece, and then felt the painful fire destroy her. It was his fault that this had happened to her; at least that's what he told himself.

He continued to cry into her lap, grasping his fingers around the fabric of her dress. He was so tired now, tired of everything. The pain, the suffering, the physical exhaustion, it was more than he could take. He wanted to give up, to give in. He wanted to allow the nothingness that was coming to completely overtake him. It would make the pain stop. He would finally be able to rest.

From the corner of his eye he saw the necklace of blue light resting on Didyme's knee, still attached to his neck. The light was so dim, so weak, just like how Marcus felt. He watched it flicker for the briefest of moments. "Didyme," he whispered weakly, "I love you." Then the light died out.

Somewhere in the far reaches of her mind, Didyme heard an echo "Didyme, I love you." What was that? Who was that? It was familiar yet still so foreign. An ancient voice from the dust that she could hardly have the dream of remembering. Could it be? No, not him. He's been gone for far too long. Any chance she had of reaching him died when the human Abigail was abruptly taken from the Volturi Castle. She had been the only channel that Didyme's mind had to that world. It was so very long ago.

Didyme's conscience settled into her hollow body. It came and went, the way the tides push a piece of drift wood on the surface of the sea. She was in a dark room, but it was always dark here. Her hands were in her lap, tangled. What's this? She looked down to see a head of long black hair sprawled over her thighs. She gently pulled the hair back from the face that was resting there. Marcus! Is this real? Is it really him?

"Marcus?" Her voice was hoarse; she couldn't remember the last time she had used it. "Marcus, is that you?"

He did not answer. His face was blank the way everyone's faces were here.

She lifted his face with her hands and tried to look him in the eyes but he did not see her, he only stared past her. Then she could feel it, that high tide, that wave that was coming that would knock her consciousness away again. This was it, possibly the last moment that she would ever really be with him again. She pushed her lips to his and kissed him deeply. Her hands tangled into the hair around his face, pulling him closer. She let the heavy weight of his body rest against her. Then she pulled back just slightly and whispered against his lips "I love you too."

Then everything went white.