"Jane, stop," Ciaus's voice weaved though my skull. I gasped, body going limp. Ciaus dismissed the girl. I struggled up, arms quaking. I felt as though I'd been electrocuted until I bit my tongue off. All I registered were the Ciaus's words, "I will give you a moment alone, my love." And then he left, leaving with us the sound of sobs.

"Echo?" A voice was think with tears, I blinked against the pain struggling to focus. My breath came and went in tight hisses. Nick was unconscious.

My breath whooshed out of my in pure dread, "Morrie?"

The fear in my voice must have been apparent, I heard her stifle a sob. I stretched a shaking hand out and found Nick's shoulder, I worked my way up to his neck and searched for a pulse.

"He's okay, don't cry," I tried to walk in the direction of her sobs, but my legs quaked with the residual pain from the vampire, Jane.

She only sobbed harder, "Echo…"

I made it to the bars, I stretched a hand though and felt Morrie curl her matching hand around it. I stood carefully and rested my head against the bars. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. God, Morrie…. What have I done? Oh hell…." I gripped her hand tighter, suddenly, voice hushed and urgent. "You need to get out of here, Morrie. he will kill you. He has before. I know it makes no sense, and I hope that I will be able to explain whats happened to us one day, but right now I need for you to run. Don't look back, just haul ass and get out of here. Don't come back, do you here me. I'll get Nick out on my own. I'll be fine," I lied, "just promise me you will run, okay? Can you do that for me?"

She didn't answer, instead she fell onto her knees, dragging me down with her - her cries raking her entire body. She clenched my hand, refusing to let go.

"Echo…" she whispered, voice wet with tears, "what did he do to you? To Nicholas?"

"That's not important," I insisted. "Just please get out of here," I begged, "Morrie, please. You have to listen to me, get as far away as fast you can. Go to La Push, tell Leah and Billy what happened. They will protect you. Okay? Can you do that for me? Please…. Morrie, you have to do this for me." I felt like crying now, but I bit it back, "Please."

Nick stirred, "Morana?" he mumbled, quickly shaking off the pain in his bones and racing over. "Dammit, Morrana!"

She sobbed a bit harder now, I could feel her shoulder shaking with the force of it all. "Nicholas, oh God. No."

I guided myself over to the side, letting Nick be with Morrie for a moment. They kissed though the bars, embracing as much as they could. They gave their exchange of I-love-you's and I tried not to listen into to something so private.

Just then I heard the door open, I heard Morrie gasp as Ciaus pulled her away from Nick, and then the sickening smack of a skull on marble. I winced and Nick shot up, screaming at Ciaus.

"You are free to go," his voice sounded oddly controlled and calm for someone who had set his sites on killing me for centuries. "You will not be pursued, so long as you do not return to Italy. Is that understood?"

I stood there on shaking legs, unsure of anything. Nick said nothing.

A hand grabbed me though the bars, digging into my arm- Ciaus. But don't think, little wolf, that I have pardoned you." He tossed me back and walked out of the room.

"Echo," a voice whispered. And suddenly my breath didn't feel quite right in my lungs.

"Theo?" Nick gasped.

I blinked, wondering if I was hallucinating or whatever you could call it - again.

I closed my eyes again struggling to keep from falling back. I grit my teeth and jammed my nails into my palm like the pain might keep me focused and in the moment.

The sound of rust grinding against concrete filled my ears and vibrated though my skull, followed by a string of curses and two words, "Your eyes…"

I brushed my hand over my eyes and once again found them slick with blood. My lips felt numb.

Footsteps neared me. "Echo."

I didn't speak.

"Echo," he said, he was next to me. Then a hand was on my arm, skin burning into mine. I kept it set into my mind that this was only in my head, anything else would hurt.

"Echo," Nick spoke, voice tired and pained. "it's real. We're getting out of here."

I took my hands and searched for the hand on my arm, solid. Real. I let my hand drop. "Your not dead?"

Theo laughed quietly, "I thought I was." He paused, "Can you both walk?"

"I'm fine," nick answered.

I could walk fine but… "Theo… I can't see anything."

He swore, I doubt my eyes were a very reassuring thing. We couldn't afford to slow down.

"Come on," he helped me stand. "We don't have much time."

I stumbled along, Theo guiding me. Nick followed at a limping pace.

"Morrie's here, too. We need to find her," I spoke fast and quietly as we navigated the halls.

"She'll meet us outside, don't worry about it," Theo replied, brushing me off to quickly for my taste, but we needed to get out of here as fast as we could. I had a feeling Ciaus would go back on his agreement.

My legs felt like rubber, but I stumbled on blindly, one hand gripping Theo like a lifeline and the other stretched out in-front of me just in-case.

Soon we broke the surface and were outside, I could feel the icy wind on my bare arms.

"Where's Moranna?" Nick stopped.

Theo's grip tightened, "Nick, come on. We don't have time for this." I could hear the rattle of car keys and a door open.

"Not without my sister," I demanded.

"Echo-"

"Where is my Morana?!" Nick was yelling now.

Theo let go of me and lunged at Nick, who I assume was running back inside.

I took my chance and struggled forward until my bloody hand felt the cool exterior of the placed we'd just left.

I winced as I heard a head slammed into the car. At that moment I didn't care who it had been. I just needed to get Morrie out of there. My breath felt light in my lungs. I understood now - why Morrie was with Caius, why she was sobbing through the bars, and why Theo had come alone. She wouldn't be coming out of there. He had traded her for us. Caius would kill her, my heart fell to the ground, ripping right though me. Whatever his obsession was with her, it was a dangerous one. One that always ended in her death. Panic filled my throat and pure liquid nitrogen was pumped into my veins. The world dipped and darkened for a moment and I collapsed, sliding against the wall, but it was only for an instant.

I heard the car door slam after nick's unconscious body was tossed in. I tried to hurry but my lack of sight made it near impossible. Theo ran over to me.

"Echo… come on. We'll come back for her," he tried.

I quaked in anger and pain. "You traded her for us? You bloody bastard! Morrie was never up for negotiation. She isn't a bargaining chip! She is my twin sister and you've damned her to death!" I lashed out as he threw me over his shoulder, trying to cause him any sort of pain.

With one hand he opened the car door and forced me in, I fought him all the way. But this was all hard to do when you have endured torture and can't see a damn thing.

"So your kidnapping me?" I asked, outraged.

"Yes."

"He's going to kill her. He always kills her. It's this sort of sick obsession he has." I hissed at him as the car rumbled on down a cobblestone road. I gripped my hands in my lap, twisting my finger until I felt pain.

"He's not going to kill her," Theo insisted, taking a turn.

"Yes he is. He does it every time!" I struggled to get him to understand. "Morrie and I, we're reincarnated. We've had a past life or lives, I don't know. But he kills her. He always kills her."

He changed the subject, "Your eyes-?"

"It happens whenever I remember. A side-effect from a curse Cauis's sister put on me after I nearly killed him." I was having trouble hearing, weariness crushing down on me and forcing the air from my lungs.

We drove on in silence, me silently seething and planning every possible way to escape, him talking to Thorn on the phone.

He hung up, "Thorn has a jet waiting for us. It's only the pilot and co-pilot so we won't have to explain anything to anyone. No one will see us."

"You don't get it, do you? You killed her. You just killed my sister." I dug my nails into my palms, feeling everything and nothing all at once. "I hate you," I growled. It was pathetic, but it was the only punch I could throw.

And he took it, "I know."

With that, the anger and fear coursing though my body like blood, my eyelids became too heavy to hold open any longer.