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I had to force myself to not move, to stop myself from tapping my foot, to not just say screw it and start running, and it has been the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life. My angel was in the city right now, waiting to die. And I was standing here like an idiot, doing nothing. Nonetheless, I tried not to draw attention - make no incidents, I'd promised myself.

I could see the people around me all giving me nervous glances, so I guess my efforts to blend in and not make a fuss were not going great.

Luckily though, the horrible anxiety didn't last very long. The roaring engine of a yellow Porsche came to a screeching stop in front of me. Literally, everyone around me was staring, but I didn't care at all as Archie rolled his window down.

"Come on, man," He yelled, waving to me to hurry up, which was entirely necessary, as I had my hand on the handle, throwing the door open and hopping in.

The interior was a luxurious black leather, and the windows were tinted dark, which was lucky for both of us. The sun was streaking through the trees, barely illuminating the interior. It felt safe honestly, like I was being cloaked in night.

"Could you have picked a more conspicuous car to steal?" I lightly teased, my voice strained.

Archie was already hitting the gas again, weaving through cars like a racer and getting us out of the airport - sliding through such tight spaces that I was almost nervous, even being the predator I am.

"The important question," he countered, "is whether I could have stolen a faster car, and I don't think so. I got lucky."

"Good point…" I nodded along with the reasoning. "Though I'm sure they'll appreciate that at the roadblock."

He let out a stressed laugh. "Trust me, Beau. If anyone sets up a roadblock, it'll be way, way behind us." He pushed the gas to its limit, emphasizing the point.

I snorted, shaking my head, and watching the beautiful city of Florence, and then the Tuscan landscape roamed by at a hundred and twenty mph. I would've appreciated it more if it didn't make this feel like there was a hundred miles between me and Edythe. This was my first trip anywhere beyond Forks or Phoenix, and very likely my last, too. I know for a fact as well that I would have been absolutely terrified by Archie's insane driving if I were still a human. Now though, I had to restrain myself from backseat driving and telling him to speed up.

"Have you seen anything new?" I asked quietly, deciding to be pragmatic, instead of problematic.

"Something's going on," He muttered, switching to a faster gear. "Some sort of festival. The streets are full of people and red flags… what's today's date?"

I shrugged. "Nineteenth I think. Why?"

"Well, isn't that Ironic? It's Saint Marcus Day."

"Which means?" I asked, really not caring.

He chuckled darkly, ignoring the tone, probably deciding that talking would be better than letting us wallow in the heavy silence. "The city holds this celebration every year. The legend goes, a Christian missionary, one Father Marcus - Marcus of the Volturi in fact - drove all the vampires from Volterra fifteen hundred years ago." He glanced at me with mirth, almost lazily. "Story says that he was martyred in Romania, still trying to decimate the vampire scourge. Which of course is complete nonsense - he's never left the city." His tone turned almost scholarly. It reminded me of Carine in a way.

"But that's where the superstitions about things like crosses and garlic come from. Father Marcus used them so successfully. And vampires don't trouble Volterra, so they must work." His smile became sardonic. "It's become more of a party for the police force - after all, Volterra is an amazingly safe city. So, they get all the credit."

I sat in silence for a moment, processing this fun bit of information. "So she's planning on screwing with them… on their own holiday?"

He nodded his head, his expression set in stone, mirroring me. "They're going to act very, very quickly."

I took two calming breaths and closed my eyes.

"And she told me not to do anything stupid?" I asked with the smallest hiss, using all of my willpower to make sure that was all I did. It wouldn't be good if I punched a hole through the dash or something.

And I knew that sounded like I was angry… which I was… but more so than that, by miles, was the fact that I was terrified. Completely and irrevocably scared. More so than I ever have been in my life. And each second more that the sun rose, was making it all so much worse.

"Yep." He muttered, chuckling darkly.

I took one more calming breath, before nodding. I couldn't let it distract me. This was the situation; all I could do was deal with it.

"She's still planning on noon?" I checked.

"Yes. She decided to wait. And they're waiting for her."

"Tell me what I have to do."

He kept his eyes on the winding road - the needle touching the far right of the speedometer.

"You don't have to do anything. She just has to see you before she moves into the light. And she has to see you before she sees me."

I nodded quickly, before reaching down for my bag, which was still sitting between my legs. I pulled out my scarf, my glasses, my hat, all of it.

"Right, and how are we gonna do that?"

A small red car seemed to be racing backward as Archie zoomed past it. He didn't say anything for half a second.

"Well, that's the thing," He said with a grunt, looking at me from the corner of his eye. "I'm gonna get us as close as I can, and you're gonna run in the direction I point you… but Beau…" He said softly, grabbing my attention away from the gloves I was frantically putting on.

"What?" I asked simply, trying really hard not to rip them.

He took a breath. "You're gonna have to run through the main courtyard."

I raised an eyebrow, putting the scarf around my neck. "So? What's the problem?"

"Your gonna have to run through the sun is the problem." He said with frustration, angrily swerving around a bend. "And I tried man - I tried to find a different way to get you to her, but they were all too slow. We were always too late."

"And why is that an issue Archie?" I asked him, rolling my eyes. I was clearly already on top of it. I put the ball cap on, and the glasses.

"Because the Volturi are gonna know that you're breaking the law… you only made it in two of the futures I saw."

"How many did you see?" I asked curiously. Again, this seemed like a nonissue; as long as I got to Edythe, and I could keep her alive, then whatever happened to me was inconsequential.

"A couple hundred." He rumbled, self-hate seeping into his voice. "I'm sorry, I know those odds suck, but that's all I got."

I snorted. "You know I'll take them. Don't worry about it."

He looked physically pained as he sped down the road. It normally would've scared me, knowing that I didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of succeeding, but by this point, it was clear nothing was gonna stop me. What did it honestly matter if I didn't survive this?

The sun kept rising as Archie raced against it, and everything was slowly getting brighter. While my own death didn't scare me, that celestial timer did. What if she changed her mind? What if she didn't feel like she needed to wait for noon?

"There," Archie said abruptly, nodding towards the castle city sitting atop the closest hill. "Volterra." He said in a flat, icy voice.

We began the stupidly steep climb, and the road grew congested. As we got further to the city, the cars became too close for Archie to weave in between. We were forced to an agonizingly slow crawl behind a little tan Peugeot.

"Archie," I growled as quietly as I could, trying to stay calm. The little clock on the dash seemed to be going faster.

"It's the only one in the way," He tried to soothe, but his voice was as on edge as mine was, so it didn't do much to help. Each of the cars seemed to dredge forward, one car length at a time. It felt like the sun was directly above us already!

The cars crept one by one toward the city. As we got closer, I could see cars parked by the side of the road with people getting out to walk the rest of the way. At first, I thought it was impatience - something I wholeheartedly agreed with. I actually had my hand on the door, ready to shove out then, but Archie quickly grabbed my shoulder and pointed to the parking lot outside the city walls. No one was being allowed to drive through.

"Archie," I whispered angrily. Why did the universe despise me?

"I know," He said. His face was chiseled from ice.

"If you know then, get your hand off of me so I can run," I growled, trying with incredible difficulty not to snap outright at him.

He spoke in a low fierce voice. "You have a better chance if we can get further. This is the start, Beau. This is where my vision splits between the two that you can survive in. You can get out now… but your odds go down… by a lot. If we can get past this checkpoint," he says, giving me a pleading look. "Then you have a much better chance of getting out. With Edythe."

I felt my fingers wrap around the handle, and I was milliseconds from just bolting now… but reluctantly, I slid back into my seat, glaring holes into the guards. The only reason was because I trusted Archie. If he said I'd get there in time, and I could keep her safe this way, then I would do it.

Even if I hated every torturous second. "Fine," I ground out.

He still seemed tense as he sighed, "It might still come to that though man. I can't see what the guard is gonna say - if this doesn't work out," He swallowed hard. "Then you'll have to run the rest of the way, alone. Just keep asking for Palazzo dei Priori - clock tower, if they speak English, and run in the direction they tell you. Don't get lost."

"I won't," I said in a hard voice. I wouldn't screw this up. I couldn't.

"If that happens, I'll circle around, and find a secluded spot behind the city, and I'll climb the wall."

"Got it." I nodded once.

"Edythe's gonna be under the clock tower, to the north of the square. There's a small alleyway right next to it, and she'll be in the shadows there. She's not gonna recognize you with all that on." He said, gesturing to my protection from the sun. "So, you're gonna have to reach her before she can step out."

I nodded furiously.

Archie was near the front of the line, and his fingers were thrumming against the wheel. A man in a navy blue uniform was directing the flow of traffic, and turning cars away from the full lot. They U-turned and headed back to find a place beside the main road. Then it was Archies go.

The uniformed man motioned lazily, not paying attention. Archie accelerated, barely missing him, and headed for the gate. He shouted something at us, but held his ground, waving frantically to keep the next car from following our bad example.

The woman at the gate wore a matching uniform. As we got closer, the throngs of tourists passed, crowding the sidewalks, watching with curiosity as the flashy Porsche drove by. I couldn't care less.

The guard stepped into the middle of the street, and Archie carefully angled the car, before coming to a careful stop. Again, I had to restrain myself from knocking this door off its hinges and sprinting towards my angel.

"Keep calm love, stay safe," I could hear her whisper in my ear. It was barely enough to keep me from doing it because each passing second felt like this hell was getting hotter.

I could see a few rays of the sun slowly sliding along the hood and coming for me. I quickly pulled my scarf up above my nose and tied it behind my head, and then I flicked the hood of my jacket up, and above my cap. Archie had lined it up so he stayed in the shade. Swiftly, he reached into the dash and pulled an enormous wad of cash out of it.

The guard came to the window with an irritated look and tapped the window angrily.

Archie only rolled it down halfway, and I watched as she did a double take when she saw his face behind the dark glass.

"I'm sorry, only tour buses are allowed in the city today, sir," she said in English, with a heavy accent. She was apologetic, now, as if she wished he had better news.

"Private tour love," Archie whispered alluringly. He reached his hand out the window, which was as gloved up as mine was - though his was a sporty leather glove compared to my winter one. He put the cash in the woman's hand and folded her fingers around it.

She was dazed as she took her hand back and stared blankly at the roll of money. The outside was a thousand-dollar bill.

"Is this a joke?" she mumbled.

He gave her a blinding smile, tilting his head. "Only if you think it's funny."

She looked at him with wide eyes. I glanced nervously at the clock on the dash again. If my angel was sticking to her plan, then I only had five more minutes.

"You won't be late Beau… you've never let me down before." My angel whispered, kissing my jaw. My whole frame was tense though, even with the sweet words from her. I let out the smallest growl.

"I'm kind of in a hurry if you don't mind," Archie said fast, still smiling.

She blinked twice and then shoved the money inside her vest. She took a step away from the window and waved us on. None of the passing people seemed to notice the exchange. Archie drove into the city, and we both sighed in relief. Archie more so than me somehow.

The street was narrow and cobbled with the same colored stones as the faded brown buildings that darkened the streets with their shade. It had the feel of an alleyway. Red flags decorated the walls, spaced only a few yards apart, flapping in the wind that whistles through the narrow lane. It was like they were lined up for the beginning of a race. One that I was about to run.

It was crowded, and the foot traffic slowed our progress. I had a constant rumbling in my chest as we went.

"Just a little further man… hold on," Archie whispered. I was gripping the door handle, trying my best not to crush the darn thing, but so ready to throw myself into the street as soon as he spoke the word.

He drove in quick spurts, and stops, making the people around us shake their fists, cursing us out in a language that I hadn't learned yet.

"Okay. Listen." Archie said with speed only our species could decipher. "If any of that falls off of you. You die. Don't let it." I quickly tied the scarf into a tighter knot, nodding as I pushed Charlie's sunglasses onto my face, making sure the arms fit snugly into the ball cap.

"If you stop at all, Edythe dies. If you don't hold onto Edythe when you get to her. She dies. Do you understand?" He said, turning onto a path that was definitely not made for cars; shocked people had to squeeze into doorways to avoid us scraping by.

"Got it. Don't let this fall off. Don't stop running. Don't let her go." I repeated, my body tense and ready. The buildings were taller as we drove onto a larger street. The buildings were taller here; they leaned together overhead so that no sunlight touched the pavement - the trashing red flags on either side nearly met. The crowd was also thicker here than anywhere else.

He stopped the car. And I had the door open before it even came to a standstill.

He pointed to where the street widened into a patch of bright openness. "There - we're at the southern end of the square. Run straight across, to the right of the clock tower. I'll find a way around -"

His breath caught at the same time I tensed; we obviously could smell the same thing. There were dozens of other vampires all around the courtyard. And I was about to blatantly break the law in front of them. "They're everywhere!" He hissed.

He quickly shook his head, and yelled, shoving my shoulder. "Forget about them. You've got less than a minute! Go, Beau, Go!"

I was already on my feet and running. I didn't pause to watch him slip back into the shadows, I didn't pause to close the door. I gracefully dodged out of the way of a heavy woman and sprinted as fast as humanly possible. And it killed me to go this slow, even running as fast as an Olympic athlete was nothing compared to how badly I wanted to move.

I was three steps away from the wall of sunlight. I quickly made sure my sun protection was all in place, not stopping for a second, before diving head first into it. The wind pressed into me, as though it were urging me to turn back to the shadows. I dodged the chain of people slowly meandering through the courtyard, ducking and jumping around them so gracefully that I heard a few of them gasping, and pointing. Hopefully, it was for that, and not my skin glowing. I don't think it was. I let my eyes flicker up and down, holding my arm up in a moment when I had enough room, and no light was reflecting off of it besides the sun. I think I was okay.

I zoomed past all of them, in what I was sure looked like miraculous movements of unearthly grace. A blonde man quickly jumped out of my way, his red scarf blowing in the wind, and making it look as though the sky itself was bleeding. A child, sitting on a woman's shoulders to see over the crowd, watched me with wonder, grinning with a set of plastic vampire fangs.

I eyed the clock tower - and I felt a deep-seated hatred for it; mocking me with its cruel distance, making me chase after it, but feeling as though every step was another fruitless loss. The loss of my angel.

Both hands were pointed to the sky, towards the sun, and though I moved as quickly as I could, I knew I was too late. I wasn't even halfway across the courtyard. I couldn't make it if I kept going slow.

I couldn't be late.

I growled, and my next step was gonna be one that would turn me into a blur - but my angel was suddenly there, standing above the crowd, on top of a brick wall, holding in a fountain, and a clear way forward. She was so far away, but I could hear her as though she was next to me. "Don't kill yourself again Beau… not for me." She said with a sad smile.

I leapt past her, slamming into the knee deep water, and making it splash everywhere. "Thank you," I whispered to her. I could feel the phantom of her kiss on my cheek as I made my way across the courtyard.

The water was frigid, and going everywhere as I almost glided to the other end. I didn't slow down for a second. I put both my hands on the low wall, and flung myself forward, leaping over it, and using it as a springboard, giving myself a believable burst of speed as I pushed into the crowd once more.

They moved out of my way much faster now, avoiding the icy water that splattered from my dripping clothes as I ran. I glanced up at the clock again.

A deep booming chime echoed through the square. It throbbed beneath my feet. Children cried, covering their ears. I let out a cry of desperation. My time was almost up.

The clock tolled again. I ran past a child in his father's arms - her hair was almost white in the dazzling sun. A circle of tall men, about my height, all wearing red, called out warnings as I slipped past them. The clock tolled again.

I tried to desperately see her through the crowd, but there were just too many humans! I let out another pained cry.

A little family of four stood closest to the alley's mouth. Two boys wore some crimson suits, with black ties that matched their hair. The mother wasn't tall. It seemed like I could see something bright in the shadows, just over her shoulder - but it was just color! Formless until I could move past her! The clock tolled again, and the smallest boy clamped his hands over his ears.

The older boy, just waist high on his father, hugged his leg and stared into the shadows behind them. I watched as he tugged on his father, and pointed to something in the darkness. The clock tolled again. And I was so close.

I could hear him speak something in his language. His mother stared at me in surprise as I bore down on them, sprinting faster. I was sure I looked horrible in my get up; like a mugger or some such, running after them for their goods. I hoped that would make them move.

The older boy laughed, and said something to his father, gesturing toward the shadows again impatiently.

I swerved around the mother - she clutched the baby out of my way, getting only a second to move - and sprinted towards the gloomy breach behind them as the clock tolled once more overhead.

And there she was.

Beauty incarnate.

My Angel.

I realized that my hallucination had never done her justice. Her radiance was so much more than the pitiful attempts at my recreation.

And I could see her.

But she couldn't see me.

Edythe stood, motionless as a statue, like a Greek goddess, just a few feet from the mouth of the alley. Her eyes were closed - and it killed me to not see her golden gaze - but the purple rings under her eyes, identical to mine were the same. Her arms were relaxed at her sides, her palms turned upward. Her expression was so peaceful like she was dreaming of the most glorious things.

She had on the same white tank top when she'd taken me to her meadow, leaving her delicate shoulders, and collarbone bare, and a small gray jacket was pooled onto the floor next to her. The light reflecting off the stone ground dimly bounced from her painfully gorgeous skin.

I'd never seen anything more beautiful… and the world itself seemed to agree with me, as it started to slow down, allowing me a gift; I got to appreciate her once again, as I desperately pushed forward, trying to keep this beauty from leaving this world. I watched as the humans moved to a crawl, the birds slowly flapping their wings above, and the deep breath she took as she began leaning forward.

The clock tower tolled one last time as Edythe took a step.

"No!" I screamed.

She couldn't hear me.

I reached out for her with a hand, my speed reaching the peak of what would believably be human… probably even more than that.

Her foot touched the ground, her finger just barely beginning to touch the light.

And then I had her, my body slamming into hers so hard that it sent us flying back into the shadows, with her beneath me. One of my hands was on the pavement, next to her head, while the other held onto the small of her back, keeping her from fully hitting the ground, and pressed into me.

Besides that, I couldn't move. Her eyes were open and staring up into mine through the glasses.

I couldn't breathe even if I wanted to… if I even needed to. To feel her in my arms again, to know that she was safe. It was euphoric. Nothing else in the world mattered more than right here, and right now. I had my angel in my arms.

I stayed there for what felt like an eternity, but the silence was broken with her hypnotically beautiful voice. One that I hadn't heard in almost a year.

"Are you going to kill me now?"

Author's Note:

Just two quick things, gang.

For one, I am so freaking happy to finally get to write Edythe! And I am really hoping that you all enjoyed the chapter! Chapter 19 is already heavily in the works, and is very much on schedule.

And secondly, please check out my profile, I've got a lot more of My Angel in there!

(Oh, and I can't quite remember if I announced it or not here on Fanfic (I did on AO3), but I'm writing a new series called Distractions - it's essentially a 'what if' anthology series based on the premise of, 'what if Archie never saw Beau die?' Basically, it's a series that's going to help me practice writing for the second draft, while at the same time giving me a lot of fun scenarios to explore. I have a more detailed explanation over on AO3, and in my profile! Have a great day!)