Saving Bree Tanner.
"Take care of that, Felix," Jane said indifferently. "I want to go home."
"Don't watch," the mind-reader suggested. To me or to the human girl Bella, I wasn't sure.
I closed my eyes and spent my last moment of life with Diego. I imagined us running away together with Fred—to freedom.
I smelled a lot of heavy, dense smoke, and the sound of concrete or metal protesting as it was ripped apart and burned. I forced my eyes to squeeze shut tighter.
I gasped when I realized that something was wrapped around me. An inescapable snare was caught around my body.
And then I was flying.
I was too shocked to open my eyes, though I sensed something warm holding me. I felt the sensation of the wind whipping against my porcelain face, my long hair.
Then the moving stopped abruptly.
"Open your eyes," a soothing, calm voice chided me. "I won't hurt you."
I stopped breathing, a reflex reaction.
"Open your eyes," the familiar voice repeated.
I hesitantly willed my eyelids to slowly lift, uncovering my bright red eyes.
When my eyes were opened, I just stared at the female vampire who was holding onto me as if I were a vital part of her life. A daughter. A friend.
"I'm Esme," the woman murmured. I just stared.
She looked at me lovingly, but a hint of worry twinkled in her amber eyes.
I smelled a scent of a different vampire — the blonde female. A loud hiss escaped my mouth, the need to protect my back was suddenly overwhelming. I turned around in one instantaneous movement, looking at the blonde, trying to control the menace in my eyes. She looked harmless, but then again, what did I know? I'm just a helpless newborn.
The blonde held up her hands, palms forward. Not surrendering, but almost like she was trying to tell me she wasn't dangerous.
I snorted. Typical.
The blonde spoke softly. "Hello. I understand that your name is Bree?" She let one hand drop, and lifted the other one, for me to shake it.
I stared at it until it dropped.
"Yeah," I answered mechanically. "I'm Bree." I tried not to frown without success.
"Hello, Bree," the blonde said, smiling beautifully.
Assuming she had a power like that Jane, I clenched my teeth together, waiting for the pain to start.
Esme noticed. "She won't hurt you," she promised me.
I exhaled sharply, my eyes not leaving the blonde's face.
"I'm Rosalie," she said, noticing my scrutiny.
"Hey," I mumbled, a knee-jerk reaction. Then I added, "Where are the others?"
"Fighting." Rosalie's mouth twitched downward.
"Fighting?" I asked, genuinely confused.
"They're going to kill the Volturi."
"What?" I shrieked, my voice easily shooting through two octaves.
Rosalie put her hand on my shoulder. "It's almost over," she murmured.
"What's happening?" I asked, craning my neck sideways so I could listen.
Rosalie's face lit up, her grin stretching across her face like a child.
"What?" I asked.
"We won. The Volturi are gone."
I grinned hugely, owing the redheaded mind-reader my life for what he did for me.
"Really? They're gone? Even that fire-touch girl, Jane?" I asked.
"Yes," Esme answered happily, but there was a bit of sadness in her eyes.
"Are they coming to meet us here?" I asked hesitantly. That blonde, Jasper didn't like me much, I thought.
"We're going back to the house," Esme answered, her eyes a zillion miles away.
They had a house? Hmm, that's odd. All the vampires I've known hadn't live in houses. These yellow-eyes are quite strange but immensely caring. Most of them, at least. I grinned up at Esme, who was focused on me now.
"Let's go," Rosalie said.
"Follow me," Esme murmured, and I flew behind her, Rosalie behind me. It was weird—I didn't feel the need to protect myself while she was running behind me, out of my sight. I smelled the air and it had strange scents—wood, metal, pine. There was a faint human heartbeat in the distance, making my throat burn dully. I wasn't that thirsty and I wasn't focused on killing anyone right now, lucky for them. I held my breath just of a precaution, though.
All of a sudden, Esme came to a stop. My eyes focused quickly.
"We're here," she announced quietly.