Cecilia ran through the castle faster than she ever had before, wondering if a vampire's body really was able to get through so many physical efforts. She knew for sure that her body didn't take it well to remove the existence of two persons, one of which contained more than a thousand years, from three minds. The ache in her head was worse than the one she'd had after breaking the Michael pentagram, the feeling of two knives piercing her brain and meeting halfway almost too overwhelming.
Still, Cecilia pushed on, knowing she had a couple of minds left to crack. She wouldn't bother with the lower guard, after all, the Ancient Ones would declare any who would dare to come forward and tell them they had a vampire on the guard who had been able to take memories and plant lies crazy, and probably sentence them for execution under the pretence of lying. The first one would have to die, but after that, the other guard members, as well as counts and countesses would accept that the Masters had decided to get rid of her and her soulmate and then deny their existence altogether. It wouldn't be unusual for such a thing to happen. They would accept it like sheep and by the time someone actually dared to ask a question, she and Demetri would be in Angelokastro, a place hidden by Nikolai. It would be physically impossible to trace them.
But the same didn't go up for more respected members of the guard, like Alec and Jane, to whom she was rushing right now. Though she didn't think it was likely that the Ancient Ones would leave the throne room today, which meant that she was free to roam the castle since all the other vampires had nothing to suspect of her, she didn't want to take the risk. Cecilia wanted to get out of Volterra as fast as physically possible.
"It worked," Cecilia said as soon as she entered the dungeons. She sounded just as breathless as she felt and quickly, she threw her arms around her soulmate for a hug. Demetri pushed a chaste kiss on her temple, before letting go. Feeling warm from the inside, Cecilia turned back around.
Jane and Alec were sitting in the empty cell next to each other, wearing murderous expressions on their faces. Now more than ever they looked like the Immortal Children that many textbooks had described, children that could murder entire villages in a simple tantrum. Not wasting another second, Cecilia reached out to Jane's mind first, taking all the memories of her and Demetri, before doing the exact same thing to Alec, leaving the evil twins looking dazzled and senile.
After that, she turned to Felix, swallowing loudly. "I'm so sorry, Felix, but I have-"
"Don't worry about it," Felix immediately cut her off. He gave Demetri a playful shove, making it clear to Cecilia that the two had talked about the course of actions already. "I can't wait to finally forget about this baffoon."
Cecilia smiled slightly, grateful for Felix's attempt to lighten the mood. "I'm sorry I had to come between you."
"It's inevitable," he said, shrugging. "I'll find my soulmate one day and understand. For now, quit wasting time, do your magic trick and disappear from Volterra."
"Aye Captain," Cecilia said, giving a mock salute at the same time she entered Felix's mind. She let out a muffled groan, pushing the fabric of her sleeve against her mouth as she cringed away from the pain. Upon feeling Demetri's strong arm around her waist, hoisting her up and holding her together, Cecilia felt a little stronger.
All of that disappeared however as she took Felix's memories of Demetri. She took away ages' worth of late-night conversations, deep discussions about Aristotle's meaning of true happiness, bantering and saving each other. She took away a part of Felix himself, the friend who had entered their scene of complete chaos and helped to hold down Jane willingly, putting his own neck at risk and suddenly, Cecilia felt incredibly guilty. Who was she to take away everyone's memories, parts of their character, so that she could live a happy life?"
"It's enough, cara mia," Demetri said, his voice sounding far away and vague. "You can stop."
Like breaking the surface after spending just a minute too long underwater, everything suddenly became clear to Cecilia. Once more her sight sharpened, Demetri's voice clear as a melody. She nodded and turned to glance at him, desperately avoiding having to look at the mess she made in the dungeons.
"We have to go, love," Demetri said quietly, but firmly.
She allowed him to grab her hand and pull her along, following willingly. It was like the world around her was clear, but her mind itself was in a completely different place. Her head hurt like an H-bomb had just gone off in it, her body was exhausted from pushing herself to the limit. Never before had she taken so many memories in such a short period of time and it was taking its toll.
After a couple of minutes, Demetri pushed her into the kitchen gently. He sat her down on one of the chairs, out of sight, knowing that it wasn't very likely that one of the guard members would enter this particular room. Besides, it was close to the gardens, which offered an easy escape. "Stay here, alright?" he said, raising her chin with two fingers as he looked deep into her golden eyes. "I'm going to get the suitcases."
Cecilia nodded, understanding his words. She placed her elbow on top of the table and leaned her head on her hand as she watched her soulmate dart out of the room. She knew they were close, so very close, but all she could think about was wanting to crash. Cecilia wanted to sleep and cry at the same time, and the knowledge that neither was possible made her want to bang her head against the kitchen table until the pain in the centre of her brain disappeared.
In less than a minute, Demetri was back, carrying both her and his suitcase. "Let's go."
"No," Cecilia said, looking up. She could feel some of her strength flow back at her newfound determination. "There's one more person."
Demetri put down the suitcases, looking at her in obvious confusion. They had talked it over, made the selection of the absolute necessary victims and they had just ticked all of them off. "Who is it?"
"Heidi," Cecilia said softly, holding Demetri's eyes. She could see his face soften at the recognition. There had been a reason why they hadn't discussed her, or rather, why she had avoided it. The thought of taking Heidi's memories of her time together with Demetri filled Cecilia with an irrational fear of turning into a jealous and bitter person, but she knew now that it was necessary. "Her ties to you are too strong."
"Alright," Demetri said, nodding. He didn't bother to protest, knowing there was no time for that now. "I'll bring her here. Get ready."
Cecilia pushed herself straight from the chair, taking a deep breath that did nothing to ease the discomfort she was in but cleared some of her nerves nevertheless. She waited patiently until Demetri returned, Heidi walking close next to him. Even after thirteen years, the look of spite in her eyes whenever she looked at Cecilia hadn't changed, neither had the longing when her gaze shifted to Demetri.
"My my, you aren't looking too well, Cecilia," Heidi commented, the act of playing nice long forgotten. "Do you want me to call for someone?"
"No need," Cecilia replied, but her voice was trembling. She was pushing her limits and from the look of unease on Demetri's face, she could sense he knew that as well. "I'm feeling just peachy."
Before Heidi had the chance to reply, Cecilia reached out to her mind. It was like walking in a garden that looked nice at first glance, seeing all the different coloured roses, but as soon as you put your foot down, you could feel the thorns piercing and cutting your skin. It took Cecilia everything not to stumble in those thorns and force her way through the protection.
She wasn't sure what was better once she was through, the thorns or the actual memories. Mentally and emotionally, she had tried to prepare herself for this, seeing Heidi and Demetri close in a way that only she wanted to be with him. She told herself that it was long ago, that she hadn't even existed yet and that it was unreasonable to feel bitter about it, but it did little to ease the sting.
When she pulled back, it took Cecilia everything not to collapse to the ground right there and then. She couldn't care less about the thought of getting caught, of having to start all over again. She would give the memories back gladly, everything for a little mind space of her own and the time to actually process all the things she had taken.
When she opened her eyes, Demetri was standing in front of her, brushing a strand of hair out of her face and looked more worried than a mama goose losing one of her babies. "It's done, Cecilia," he whispered softly, placing a very gentle kiss against her lips. It brought back some of her energy. "It's done."
Cecilia reached out, grabbed Demetri's hand tightly in hers and looked up. "Let's go," she muttered. "Let's get away from here. Once and for all."