Its going to be okay, she sort of crooned. It didnt matter that the words meant nothing. She said it the way people sang those senseless nursery rhymes to kids. Rock-a-bye, baby.
Right, I muttered.
She curled against my arm, resting her head on my shoulder. I didnt think you would come. Seth said you would, and so did Edward, but I didnt believe them.
Why not? I asked gruffly.
Youre not happy here. But you came anyway.
You wanted me here.
I know. But you didnt have to come, because its not fair for me to want you here. I would have understood.
It was quiet for a minute. Edwardd put his face back together. He looked at the TV as Rosalie went on flipping through the channels. She was into the six hundreds. I wondered how long it would take to get back to the beginning.
Thank you for coming, Bella whispered.
Can I ask you something? I asked.
Of course.
Edward didnt look like he was paying attention to us at all, but he knew what I was about to ask, so he didnt fool me.
Why do you want me here? Seth could keep you warm, and hes probably easier to be around, happy little punk. But when I walk in the door, you smile like Im your favorite person in the world.
Youre one of them.
That sucks, you know.
Yeah. She sighed. Sorry.
Why, though? You didnt answer that.
Edward was looking away again, like he was staring out the windows. His face was blank in the reflection.
It feels complete when youre here, Jacob. Like all my family is together. I mean, I guess thats what its likeIve never had a big family before now. Its nice. She smiled for half a second. But its just not whole unless youre here.
Ill never be part of your family, Bella.
I could have been. I would have been good there. But that was just a distant future that died long before it had a chance to live.
Youve always been a part of my family, she disagreed.
My teeth made a grinding sound. Thats a crap answer.
Whats a good one?
How about, Jacob, I get a kick out of your pain.
I felt her flinch.
Youd like that better? she whispered.
Its easier, at least. I could wrap my head around it. I could deal with it.
I looked back down at her face then, so close to mine. Her eyes were shut and she was frowning. We got off track, Jake. Out of balance. Youre supposed to be part of my lifeI can feel that, and so can you. She paused for a second without opening her eyeslike she was waiting for me to deny it. When I didnt say anything, she went on. But not like this. We did something wrong. No. I did. I did something wrong, and we got off track. . . .
Her voice trailed off, and the frown on her face relaxed until it was just a little pucker at the corner of her lips. I waited for her to pour some more lemon juice into my paper cuts, but then a soft snore came from the back of her throat.
Shes exhausted, Edward murmured. Its been a long day. A hard day. I think she would have gone to sleep earlier, but she was waiting for you.
I didnt look at him.
Seth said it broke another of her ribs.
Yes. Its making it hard for her to breathe.
Great.
Let me know when she gets hot again.
Yeah.
She still had goose bumps on the arm that wasnt touching mine. Id barely raised my head to look for a blanket when Edward snagged one draped over the arm of the sofa and flung it out so that it settled over her.
Occasionally, the mind-reading thing saved time. For example, maybe I wouldnt have to make a big production out of the accusation about what was going on with Charlie. That mess. Edward would just hear exactly how furious
Yes, he agreed. Its not a good idea.
Then why? Why was Bella telling her father she was on the mend when it would only make him more miserable?
She cant bear his anxiety.
So its better
No. Its not better. But Im not going to force her to do anything that makes her unhappy now. Whatever happens, this makes her feel better. Ill deal with the rest afterward.
That didnt sound right. Bella wouldnt just shuffle Charlies pain off to some later date, for someone else to face. Even dying. That wasnt her. If I knew Bella, she had to have some other plan.
Shes very sure shes going to live, Edward said.
But not human, I protested.
No, not human. But she hopes to see Charlie again, anyway.
Oh, this just got better and better.
See. Charlie. I finally looked at him, my eyes bugging. Afterwards. See Charlie when shes all sparkly white with the bright red eyes. Im not a bloodsucker, so maybe Im missing something, but Charlie seems like kind of a strange choice for her first meal.
Edward sighed. She knows she wont be able to be near him for at least a year. She thinks she can stall. Tell Charlie she has to go to a special hospital on the other side of the world. Keep in contact through phone calls. . . .
Thats insane.
Yes.
Charlies not stupid. Even if she doesnt kill him, hes going to notice a difference.
Shes sort of banking on that.
I continued to stare, waiting for him to explain.
She wouldnt be aging, of course, so that would set a time limit, even if Charlie accepted whatever excuse she comes up with for the changes. He smiled faintly. Do you remember when you tried to tell her about your transformation? How you made her guess?
My free hand flexed into a fist. She told you about that?
Yes. She was explaining her idea. You see, shes not allowed to tell Charlie the truthit would be very dangerous for him. But hes a smart, practical man. She thinks hell come up with his own explanation. She assumes hell get it wrong. Edward snorted. After all, we hardly adhere to vampire canon. Hell make some wrong assumption about us, like she did in the beginning, and well go along with it. She thinks shell be able to see him from time to time.
Insane, I repeated.
Yes, he agreed again.
It was weak of him to let her get her way on this, just to keep her happy now. It wouldnt turn out well.
Which made me think that he probably wasnt expecting her to live to try out her crazy plan. Placating her, so that she could be happy for a little while longer.
Like four more days.
Ill deal with whatever comes, he whispered, and he turned his face down and away so that I couldnt even read his reflection. I wont cause her pain now.
Four days? I asked.
He didnt look up. Approximately.
Then what?
What do you mean, exactly?
I thought about what Bella had said. About the thing being wrapped up nice and tight in something strong, something like vampire skin. So how did that work? How did it get out?
From what little research weve been able to do, it would appear the creatures use their own teeth to escape the womb, he whispered.
I had to pause to swallow back the bile.
Research? I asked weakly.
Thats why you havent seen Jasper and Emmett around. Thats what Carlisle is doing now. Trying to decipher ancient stories and myths, as much as we can with what we have to work with here, looking for anything that might help us predict the creatures behavior.
Stories? If there were myths, then
Then is this thing not the first of its kind? Edward asked, anticipating my question. Maybe. Its all very sketchy. The myths could easily be the products of fear and imagination. Though . . .he hesitatedyour myths are true, are they not? Perhaps these are, too. They do seem to be localized, linked. . . .
How did you find ?
There was a woman we encountered in South America. Shed been raised in the traditions of her people. Shed heard warnings about such creatures, old stories that had been passed down.
What were the warnings? I whispered.
That the creature must be killed immediately
. Before it could gain too much strength.
Just like Sam thought. Was he right?
Of course, their legends say the same of us. That we must be destroyed. That we are soulless murderers.
Two for two.
Edward laughed one hard chuckle.
What did their stories say about the mothers?
Agony ripped across his face, and, as I flinched away from his pain, I knew he wasnt going to give me an answer. I doubted he could talk.
It was Rosaliewhod been so still and quiet since Bellad fallen asleep that Id nearly forgotten herwho answered.
She made a scornful noise in the back of her throat. Of course there were no survivors, she said. No survivors, blunt and uncaring. Giving birth in the middle of a disease-infested swamp with a medicine man smearing sloth spit across your face to drive out the evil spirits was never the safest method. Even the normal births went badly half the time. None of them had what this baby hascaregivers with an idea of what the baby needs, who try to meet those needs. A doctor with a totally unique knowledge of vampire nature. A plan in place to deliver the baby as safely as possible. Venom that will repair anything that goes wrong. The baby will be fine. And those other mothers would probably have survived if theyd had thatif they even existed in the first place. Something I am not convinced of. She sniffed disdainfully.
The baby, the baby. Like that was all that mattered. Bellas life was a minor detail to hereasy to blow off.
Edwards face went white as snow. His hands curved into claws. Totally egotistical and indifferent, Rosalie twisted in her chair so that her back was to him. He leaned forward, shifting into a crouch.
Allow me, I suggested.
He paused, raising one eyebrow.
Silently, I lifted my doggy bowl off the floor. Then, with a quick, powerful flip of my wrist, I threw it into the back of Blondies head so hard thatwith an earsplitting bangit smashed flat before it ricocheted across the room and snapped the round top piece off the thick newel post at the foot of the stairs.
Bella twitched but didnt wake up.
Dumb blonde, I muttered.
Rosalie turned her head slowly, and her eyes were blazing.
You. Got. Food. In. My. Hair.
That did it.
I busted up. I pulled away from Bella so that I wouldnt shake her, and laughed so hard that tears ran down my face. From behind the couch, I heard Alices tinkling laugh join in.
I wondered why Rosalie didnt spring. I sort of expected it. But then I realized that my laughing had woken Bella up, though shed slept right through the real noise.
Whats so funny? she mumbled.
I got food in her hair, I told her, chortling again.
Im not going to forget this, dog, Rosalie hissed.
Snot so hard to erase a blondes memory, I countered. Just blow in her ear.
Get some new jokes, she snapped.
Cmon, Jake. Leave Rose alo Bella broke off mid-sentence and sucked in a sharp breath. In the same second, Edward was leaning over the top of me, ripping the blanket out of the way. She seemed to convulse, her back arching off the sofa.
Hes just, she panted, stretching.
Her lips were white, and she had her teeth locked together like she was trying to hold back a scream.
Edward put both hands on either side of her face.
Carlisle? he called in a tense, low voice.
Right here, the doctor said. I hadnt heard him come in.
Okay, Bella said, still breathing hard and shallow. Think its over. Poor kid doesnt have enough room, thats all. Hes getting so big.
It was really hard to take, that adoring tone she used to describe the thing that was tearing her up. Especially after Rosalies callousness. Made me wish I could throw something at Bella, too.
She didnt pick up on my mood. You know, he reminds me of you, Jake, she saidaffectionate tonestill gasping.
Do not compare me to that thing, I spit out through my teeth.
I just meant your growth spurt, she said, looking like Id hurt her feelings. Good. You shot right up. I could watch you getting taller by the minute. Hes like that, too. Growing so fast.
I bit my tongue to keep from saying what I wanted to sayhard enough that I tasted blood in my mouth. Of course, it would heal before I could swallow. Thats what Bella needed. To be strong like me, to be able to heal.
She took an easier breath and then relaxed back into the sofa, her body going limp.
Hmm, Carlisle murmured. I looked up, and his eyes were on me.
What? I demanded.
Edwards head leaned to one side as he reflected on whatever was in Carlisles head.
You know that I was wondering about the fetuss genetic makeup, Jacob. About his chromosomes.
What of it?
Well, taking your similarities into consideration
Similarities? I growled, not appreciating the plural.
The accelerated growth, and the fact that Alice cannot see either of you.
I felt my face go blank. Id forgotten about that other one.
Well, I wonder if that means that we have an answer. If the similarities are gene-deep.
Twenty-four pairs, Edward muttered under his breath.
You dont know that.
No. But its interesting to speculate, Carlisle said in a soothing voice.
Yeah. Just fascinating.
Bellas light snore started up again, accenting my sarcasm nicely.
They got into it then, quickly taking the genetics conversation to a point where the only words I could understand were the thes and the ands. And my own name, of course. Alice joined in, commenting now and then in her chirpy bird voice.
Even though they were talking about me, I didnt try to figure out the conclusions they were drawing. I had other things on my mind, a few facts I was trying to reconcile.
Fact one, Bellad said that the creature was protected by something as strong as vampire skin, something that was too impenetrable for ultrasounds, too tough for needles. Fact two, Rosalied said they had a plan to deliver the creature safely. Fact three, Edwardd said thatin mythsother monsters like this one would chew their way out of their own mothers.
I shuddered.
And that made a sick kind of sense, because, fact four, not many things could cut through something as strong as vampire skin. The half-creatures teethaccording to mythwere strong enough. My teeth were strong enough.
And vampire teeth were strong enough.
It was hard to miss the obvious, but I sure wished I could. Because I had a pretty good idea exactly how Rosalie planned to get that thing safely out.
16. TOO-MUCH-INFORMATION ALERT
I took off early, long before sunrise was due. Id gotten just a little bit of uneasy sleep leaning against the side of the sofa. Edward woke me when Bellas face was flushed, and he took my spot to cool her back down. I stretched and decided I was rested enough to get some work done.
Thank you, Edward said quietly, seeing my plans. If the route is clear, theyll go today.
Ill let you know.
It felt good to get back to my animal self. I was stiff from sitting still for so long. I extended my stride, working out the kinks.
Morning, Jacob, Leah greeted me.
Good, youre up. How longs Seth been out?
Not out yet, Seth thought sleepily. Almost there. What do you need?
You think you got another hour in you?
Sure thing. No problem. Seth got to his feet right away, shaking out his fur.
Lets make the deep run, I told Leah. Seth, take the perimeter.
Gotcha. Seth broke into an easy jog.
Off on another vampire errand, Leah grumbled.
You got a problem with that?
Of course not. I just love to coddle those darling leeches.
Good. Lets see how fast we can run.
Okay, Im definitely up for that!
Leah was on the far western rim of the perimeter. Rather than cut close to the Cullens house, she stuck to the cir
cle as she raced around to meet me. I sprinted off straight east, knowing that even with the head start, shed be passing me soon if I took it easy for even a second.
Nose to the ground, Leah. This isnt a race, its a reconnaissance mission.
I can do both and still kick your butt.
I gave her that one. I know.
She laughed.
We took a winding path through the eastern mountains. It was a familiar route. Wed run these mountains when the vampires had left a year ago, making it part of our patrol route to better protect the people here. Then wed pulled back the lines when the Cullens returned. This was their treaty land.