Escape

Adriane flew down the dark hallway, partially dragged by Marcus. "Slow down!" she gasped, unable to keep up with him. A painful stitch was forming in her side and her breathing was short and irregular. Marcus showed no sign of slowing down; her pleading only quickened his pace. "Goddamnit Marcus, stop!"

Adriane was forced to a sudden halt. Her arm was jerked so hard she spun around, slamming against Marcus's stone cold chest. She couldn't see anything in the darkness, but she could feel his face was close to hers. For the first time since she had met him she was truly afraid of him; fear rolled down her back in thick, ugly waves.

"Time is not a luxury we have…" he said, his voice deathly calm, "they will be coming for you soon and while I am not the most…remarkable among our group, they will be sure to notice my absence. Of this I assure you. Tell me, how long do you think it will take them to put two and two together?"

When she didn't answer he released his hold of her arm. Adriane rubbed the spot where his hand had been, knowing that she would have another bruise to add to her growing collection. "I apologize for my temper." he remarked statically, "Barring this I am trying to save your life. Some form of cooperation on your part would be welcome".

"I'm sorry, I just…."

"Yes", he said.

He stood looking at her for a few moments. She assumed he was assessing her state of mind; it would do neither one of them any good if she were to lose it. Adriane knew that for whatever reasons of his own, Marcus was risking his own life to save hers. The Volturri would not be kind to those who betrayed them. She heard a sigh in the darkness.

"If you are willing, I would carry you". Adriane was so surprised she didn't answer him, just stared out into the pitch-black hallway. "It would be much…faster", he pressed.

"Umm…okay?" Immediately she felt his hands on her wrists, the next second she was flipped over and resting on his back, his figure bent slightly so that she couldn't fall. He brought her arms around his head to hold onto his neck. Adriane couldn't exactly say she was comfortable. For one she was resting on the back of a vampire, and while said vampire was human-like in shape, he might as well of been a granite rock. Then there was, of course, the fact that she was very close to his teeth. He had shown a remarkable amount of self control thus far, but Adriane didn't want to test how far she could push him.

The only way she could tell Marcus had started to move was the cool air blowing past her face. His upper body remained completely still, his breathing regular. But they were definitely moving. In mere seconds they were at the elevator and heading, you guessed it, downward.

Adriane hadn't been to this level before. It was nothing short of a dungeon, with stone walls and dim, half melted candlesticks in iron holders; a plus she hadn't expected. At least she could see now.

"What is this place?" she whispered, ducking her head down close to his ear.

"This is where our more…permanent residents live. We must be very quiet, and very fast. They will be able to smell you." Adriane didn't think stealth would be a problem for him; her primitive hearing picked up no noise when he moved. But hey, maybe in vampire standards he was considered a klutz.

Marcus brought her to a spiral staircase at the end of the hall. Looking up, Adriane felt like it went on forever. He turned his head sideways to look at her, slowly bringing his finger up to his lips. She needed no more warning than that. He put his stony hands on her arms and took off like a bat out of hell.

Adriane had to bite back her initial urge to scream. Now that she could actually see what was happening around her, everything was a blur. She didn't think it was humanly possible for something to move that fast. Then again, Marcus wasn't human.

Just when she thought that she would either puke or pass out, Marcus stopped. Remarkably, his breathing was still even, as if he hadn't exerted himself at all. They were standing at the very top of the stone turret. On either side of them was a wall, running the entire length of the city. Long ago it had been used for protection; now it was nothing more than a popular tourist attraction.

"Is there anything exceedingly breakable in this?" he asked. Adriane saw that he was indicating her suitcase and shook her head. Marcus stepped to the edge of the turret and let go of the suitcase. A couple of seconds passed before she heard a dull thud, nearly a hundred feet below them.

"Hold on very tightly", he warned. He leaned his body forward, preparing himself to jump.

"What?" she whispered hoarsely. "Marcus, please, you can't be serious!"

His only reply was stepping off of the ledge. Adriane locked her body around Marcus's as tight as possible, not caring whether she choked him or not. If anything she probably was trying to choke him. The ground was coming up fast and Adriane prepared herself for the impact.

Marcus landed lightly on the ground, not even jarring her. Adriane continued to hold onto him long after was necessary, unable to quite get over the shock of jumping off a hundred foot wall. Sensing her distress Marcus gently unbent first her legs, then her arms. He turned to face her, a slight frown creasing his marble features.

"You are well" he said, forcing her chin up with his finger. She continued to stare at him with unfocused eyes.

"Adriane", he said quietly. It was the first time she had ever heard him use her name, and it brought her out of her reprieve.

"Don't…" she snarled "ever…do that again! I could murder you, I should murder you!" She stopped, a sudden realization hitting her. "How do you kill a vampire anyway?"

"You must tear them apart and set fire to the pieces".

"…Oh, well…just be lucky I don't have any matches". Adriane went to pick up her poor suitcase, which was starting to look the worse for wear, but Marcus beat her to it and hefted it under one arm.

Adriane shifted her gaze skyward and let out a long sigh, fighting for composure. She didn't function very well without sleep and her nerves were already on end. "Where are we going to now?" she asked him, keeping her head up. The sky was still an inky black, dotted with an occasional star.

"We must make our way as far from here as possible…as to where that is exactly…I'm not sure".

This statement brought her right back down to earth, slamming her in the dirt and rubbing her face in the mud. "You aren't exactly…sure? You mean to tell me you just got me out of eternal damnation, only to tell me you don't have any kind of plans past this point!"

There was a long pause following her outburst. "There was not much time to execute a plan. This was a sort of…last minute decision".

"Oh splendid, now we're both going to die!"

"You are forgetting one of our most prominent advantages. You said it yourself last night…I am much older than the ones who will be hunting us." Adriane's eyes widened at the mention of being hunted but Marcus held his hand up, waiting to finish. "I am much older than them. I possess invaluable experiences from a life that was much crueler than the world you live in now. They will not harm you. We also have the added advantage of surprise. It will take Aro a long time to get over such a deception."

Adriane had never heard him talk so much in one stretch of time. Though for all his promises of protection she couldn't make herself feel at ease. Too much had happened in the past couple of days; too much waited for her in the near future. She had always wanted to go on some kind of adventure, always wanted to experience something that was bigger than her. But for all her daydreams she had never imagined that she would be involved in something like this.

Marcus was watching her carefully. He probably regrets saving me already, she though. Get it together Adriane, you can worry later.

"Well, we better get going. I don't want to be around when Aro hears his new plaything has gone missing".

"Yes, it would be best…if we were not here when that time comes". Adriane followed Marcus down the path, heading away from Volterra. It was sure to be a very long night.

~Sorry it's taken so long to update. I've been pretty busy the past week or so. Drop me a few lines and let me know how I'm doing!