Adelaide Kasperian-Kazaar
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Strong hands pulled her back from Crei, but it was not immediate that she looked at who it was. She found it nearly impossible to tear her gaze from the deep, yawing, hole that had been the Albino's throat. A ragged, hideous gash that continued to seep out blood held her in its thrawl, the hot, crimson flow bubbling to a froth as air from Kimiiki's windpipe escaped into its viscous streams.
"Del...Del" Kazaar spoke her name, more insistant each time, so that she finally looked up at him. Her eyes were huge, awash in the swell of tears and Kazaar took the knife from her grip, tucking it down into his boot.
If he was shocked to see her here, he didn't show it. Nor would it have even registered on her if he did. Adelaide blinked as if she didn't quite know where she was. ".....Aurelias...?" she croaked.
She looked around her, as if trying to peice together what they were both doing crouching over the naked Crei. Kazaar was here...that hadn't been the plan. Oh, he'd been with her many times since he'd left that rainy evening on Brentaal - only coming, however, in her dreams or in her waking moments of escape. He'd come often and always smiling. He wasn't smiling now.
Del looked down at her hands, they were covered in blood. Her pants, her shirt were sullied too. This made her angry. Angry that Aurelias should see her this way, doing this.
"What are you doing here?" she riled on him suddenly. Her turn of temper confounded him for a second and so when she pushed him away and stood up abruptly, he wasn't ready for it. "I asked what you are doing here!" Her voice rising and a little shrill.
"Quiet Delly, there are others.."
She didn't care. She had to get away from the look she saw in his eyes now, the pity, and the understanding. She couldn't stand to be stripped to such blatant exposure of herself - to see the compassion reflected in his face. Not him, of all people. She defended against it by blows. "Get away from me, Kazaar" and shook herself from him. She made for the door, but as she got to it, two of Kimiiki's men entered through it.
Kazaar dropped one instantly with a loaded right-cross to the jaw and the other he twisted by the head until there was a 'snap' so that he, too, fell. Grabbing Adelaide by the arm, he hurried her into the hallway, looking back as the echo of thudding footsteps coming up the stairs reached them. He ushered her into another room, what looked like a guest bedroom, and crossed quickly over to a set of rickety french-doors that led outside to a small juliet balcony. He pushed Adelaide through. "Get down t'the street 'n wait f'me there" he instructed. Del looked the balcony over, checking the distance to the ground...was he crazy? "Use t'pipe" he said, and disappeared back inside.
Adelaide clambered over the balcony ledge hanging onto the rail and on her tiptoes navigated along the narrow ledge lip to the stormdrain pipe. Stretching her arms to reach, she managed to thread her hands around it and what seemed an impossible thing to do, was able to launch herself onto it and not fall off. Inching down as best she could, her feet scrambling against the brick surface for purchase, Adelaide progressed downward.
She thought she must be almost at the bottom, when strong hands grabbed her waist and pulled her the final few feet down. Flanking her on either side were two men she had never seen before. Afraid that they were more of Crei's crew, she struggled and attempted to scream out for Aurelias, but firm hands clamped over her mouth and onto her arms, muscling her into an awaiting hover-car. Inside the sleek, leather interior, Adelaide looked a wretched mess and the female occupant sighed heavily in disapproval as the vehicle speed them away from the scene.
Some moments later, when Aurelias rounded the building by way of the back alley, there was no sign of Adelaide - or anyone else for that matter. He looked up despite his certainty that his ex-wife was not still on the balcony or dangling somewhere in between. Nothing.
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