"Forty-five seconds." Alice casually called.
The sun was right above us in the sky, releasing its full intensity upon us. All of the Cullens and I were in the clearing, lounging about on one of the unusually sunny days in Forks. We were in the clearing where the Cullens played baseball, soaking up what little sun the year normally provided. Of course, it was impossible for any of us to tan. Even me, as I don't tan. Instead, I burn, much to everyone's immense surprise. Wasn't I anything like what Florida girls should be? I sighed, though I was grateful to have Edward beside me—his cool skin was colder that an ice pack.
"Twenty-five…" She said, loud enough for me to hear.
Though all the Cullens seemed at perfect ease, I couldn't help but suppress that worried feeling. This morning, Alice had seen a few visitors arrive here, in the clearing, with us waiting for them. Of course, like very other time a vampire is coming after me—which, according to Alice, they are not here to do, thank god—Edward went berserk when he was told. Then he tried to ship me off to Florida, but he only suggested it half- heartedly. As soon as he mentioned Florida, I called Alice and she had told me. On reflex, I had dialed Jacob's number to tell him, but, after the third number, I remembered that I wasn't supposed to be hurting him anymore. So I had closed the phone, and Edward had grudgingly accepted my refusal to back out of the meeting and let me go. Alice had already known his decision before he made it, so I was spared the worrying over his answer. Instead, I got to worry about what the vampires wanted and why—which wasn't the greatest trade I ever made, but I did make it and now there was no time to run away.
"Fifteen…" Alice's voice had a slight edge to it. I was wondering if she was more apprehensive than she seemed.
Edward was the most apprehensive, though his face had smoothed over. He would glance around the clearing every few seconds, scanning the trees for the arrivals. Alice was lounging on the ground, and looking up at the sky, not even a nervous twitch. She had assured Edward that their 'guests' were only two in number, and that they were simply curious. Emmett and Jasper were having an arm wrestle. Normally, it would have been interesting to watch, as Rosalie was doing now, but my anxiousness wouldn't let me concentrate. Carlisle was relaxing and talking quietly with Esme, standing a little to the side.
"Zero."
Edward stiffened beside me. Alice gracefully got to her feet and Emmett and Jasper broke apart. Carlisle turned to the south side of the clearing, Esme beside him. I followed his gaze and watched the shadows under the trees, but my eyes were too weak to see them yet.
Very slowly, two shapes separated themselves from the growth and strolled into the meadow. They were standing beside each other, unlike James, Victoria, and Laurent, whom had been several feet apart when they approached. My stomach twisted uncomfortably. Edward and Alice, who I hadn't noticed move to my side, were very still and I was positive that they could hear my pounding heart. I was almost as sure that the other two could hear it as well, which could be very, very bad.
Carlisle walked forward to meet them and the other Cullens followed behind him, closing in around me inconspicuously. I was half hidden behind Edward's cold body. He was tense but he squeezed my hand reassuringly. I peered around his arm, my curiosity winning over my anxiety.
The pair of vampires drew closer. They stayed equal with each other when they walked, no, glided, toward us, neither taking the lead. As always, I was amazed by the grace they possessed. They stopped their forthcoming about twenty feet away from Carlisle and I could see them more clearly. In my opinion, the two were different in the extreme.
The first, a woman, had long blond hair. She was wearing very bright clothes, a mixture of bright pink and lime green that fit her slender figure perfectly. She wasn't barefoot as the last coven we had met in this clearing. She had on a pair of stilettos that I was almost certain would have broken my ankle by the time I had lifted my foot off the ground. The fact didn't seemed to bother her, and she detained the grace of a beautiful bird in flight. She looked to be around her late teens or early twenties. There was something different about her, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Like the other vampires, her skin sparkled in the sunlight, brilliant colors bouncing off of her pale skin. She was fairly short, though she was dwarfed in the shadow of the second.
He was very tall, I would have guessed at least seven feet. Somehow, he managed to look intimidating with muscular limbs and height, but so thin it looked unhealthy. He looked older than the woman, too, around maybe thirty, though his eyes revealed he was much more mature. His hair was the longest I have seen a vampire wear it; it was elbow-length and straight, and a very deep black. His clothes stood in shocking contrast with the woman's, as he was dressed all in black. At first, I thought he had been wearing a cloak like the Volturi wore—my heart skipped a beat--but now I saw it was a long trench coat, hiding almost all of his pale skin. What of it I could see was waxy looking and thin that stretched over his face. The glistening that the sun did to him didn't suit him; it looked strangely out of place on his dark features. My breath caught as I looked at his eyes--They were the reddest I had ever seen, newborns and all, glinting dully in the light. He was the picture of a Hollywood vampire—much more dark and gothic looking, the traditional Dracula.
"Hello." The woman said brightly, with a prominent French accent, and surprising me with a smile.
"Hello." Carlisle answered politely. "We have been expecting you."
"Really?" She said, mildly interested.
"Yes." Carlisle smiled serenely. "Might I ask your names?"
"I am Isabella"—I turned my head at the mention of my name, only to see that the woman was pointing to herself—" and this is Daas." She gestured lightly to the gargantuan vampire beside her. He gave the slightest of nods in greeting and Carlisle returned it.
"We are glad to have you here." Carlisle said, his smile still in place. "This is my family, Esme, Rosalie, Edward, Bella, Emmett, Alice and Jasper." He did not point out each of us and I vaguely remembered that I had thought the very same thing almost two years ago.
"Then you must be Carlisle." She said, smiling.
"Yes." The doctor said, returning the gesture.
"It is very nice to meet all of you." She said courteously. "There are more of you than…than I expected." She changed her sentence halfway through, I think in an effort to keep the conversation light.
"And you." Carlisle replied coolly. I examined the newcomers and the vampire doctor, trying to find a trace of hostile feelings. The closest I came was the large vampire, Daas's, expression. Well, it wasn't an expression—it wasn't anything really. His face was emotionless, though if I had to put a name on it I would have called it harshly cold.
But the woman, Isabella, smiled again. "I must ask you not to hunt in the immediate area, please." Carlisle added.
"Of course." Isabella said. "You are not to worry, we aren't thirsty." Her words sent a shiver up my spine that had nothing to do with temperature. Edward's arm tightened around my waist. I glanced at him. I was faintly surprised to see his brow knitted together and a look of frustration drifting over his perfect features.
"His eyes are red." I heard Jasper point out quietly, looking at Daas. I felt everyone's eyes shift to look at the man, who was standing stock still except for his eyes witch flitted from face to face to the landscape and back again. It wasn't a nervous movement, I decided, because he was not tense, but maybe a habit.
The woman frowned. "Daas's eyes are…" She paused, searching for the right word. "Deceiving." She decided on. Emmett snorted.
"Deceiving?" He inquired, chuckling darkly. I suspected that he was still in a bad mood from losing his arm wrestling match.
"Yes." The woman said, a frosty edge underlying her polite appearance. "Deceiving."
"Please, forgive me." Carlisle said amiably, "But how so?"
The woman frowned slightly. She looked up at Daas, with raised eyebrows. The man glanced down at her, but his blood red eyes moved swiftly away and began flitting over the trees again. The woman sighed dejectedly and returned her gaze to Carlisle—obviously, Daas wasn't going to be much of a help to Isabella in her explanation.
"They don't change color when he is thirsty or not." She said, struggling to make them understand. "They always stay the same."
Carlisle nodded, looking thoughtful. He paused before asking, "And your own eyes are yellow. Do you refrain from hunting humans?"
Isabella seemed grateful for the subject change. "I try not to. I am relatively new at this." She explained. I sighed in relief and realized I had been holding my breath.
Carlisle smiled again. "And Daas?"
Isabella hesitated. "Sometimes, though he hasn't in a long time." She smiled. "At least, not that I am aware of." She amended quietly. I thought I saw the side of Daas's mouth tug up, but it was gone before I could look too closely. I felt fear drip down my throat and slip into my stomach, though he had had only looked at me in passing, as he had done everyone else.
Carlisle nodded again. "Why don't you come to our home, where we can discuss this more comfortably?" He invited. I could feel Edward pull me closer to him.
Isabella smiled and looked like she was about to answer, but Daas whipped his head around too fast too ignore. At first, with a spasm of fear, I thought he was glaring at me, but the suppressed anger-filled eyes were fixed on Edward. Which didn't do much with the whole fear thing.
"Stay out of my head." Daas growled threateningly, and I realized that it was the first thing I heard him say. His voice wasn't velvety, like Edward's. It was a deep rough growl, very different from any I had heard from a vampire. I felt Emmett tense up beside me, ready to leap at Daas. I felt an edge of panic in my stomach. It must have shown on my face, because Alice put her arm around my shoulders, which I would have found very hard since Edward's was already was there, but her face remained smooth.
"As if I had much of a choice." Edward snarled.
Edward's answer confused me. He couldn't see what Daas was thinking? Besides me, that had never happened before. Was he immune as I was? I looked between the two, frightened and confused.
"Please, Daas." Isabella said soothingly, touching the highest spot on him she could reach, his upper arm, "Calm down. I am sure he didn't mean any harm." Daas's jaw clenched and his lips became a straight line, but he didn't say anything more. Edward relaxed a little beside me, though his arm remained wrapped around me. I looked up to see Carlisle looking questioningly at Edward and then nodded, and I knew something private had been exchanged.
"I apologize for our behavior." Isabella said, frowning. I couldn't help but notice that she included both of them, even though it had only been Daas.
"You apology is accepted." Carlisle said, being ever courteous.
At that precise moment, a breeze picked up. It ruffled my hair around my neck and I could feel Edward's grip around my waist tighten. I looked up to see both Isabella and Daas looking at me, the first curiously, and the second with an unreadable face.
"She's human." Isabella stated simply.
"She's one of us." Alice said, her high, soprano voice firm. I felt immediately grateful to her.
Isabella's eyes rested on Alice for a moment before flitting back to me. "I know." She said, slightly defiant. "But she is human."
"One of us." Alice repeated.
Isabella nodded. "Of course. It was just a little…surprising." Her eyes tore away and returned to Carlisle, but I could feel Daas's crimson eyes burn holes into my face. I willed myself not to look at him and thought desperately that Isabella had said his eyes stayed red all the time and that he didn't want to eat me. Edward brought me closer to himself.
"You didn't smell her earlier on?" Emmett asked her, surprise evident in his voice, almost insulting. I saw Edward give him a ferocious glare for bringing it up again, but Emmett didn't see it.
Isabella smiled again, all pre-frostiness gone. "I am new at this, remember?" She said, a bit teasing. Then I realized what I thought was different about her—she seemed more human, smiling and playfully teasing, and her face didn't go smooth when she became irritated, like when she had answered Emmett's rhetorical question about Daas's eyes. She had replied acidly, instead of being frigidly polite.
Emmett nodded, grudgingly satisfied. Then Carlisle asked, "Excuse me if I am being a bit…inconsiderate, if you will, but how long ago were you created?"
Isabella smiled. "No, no, do not be cautious to ask me questions. It is your territory, after all." She thought for a moment before answering. "I believe it is somewhere around forty years." She looked up at Daas, who confirmed it by nodding.
A hushed silence replaced the tense one. "Forty years?" I croaked. That wasn't long at all, not in the vampire's sense. Jasper was bitten around the time of the Civil War, and he still kept his distance from me. And he had been a vampire for nearly one hundred fifty years. I found it completely impossible that she could resist in just a mere forty years. It was unheard of. Those around me didn't seem to swallow it, either.
She seemed to recognize how unusual that was. Her yellow eyes returned to me. "Yes." She said calmly," Forty years." I snapped my mouth shut, and felt the heat rise to my face. Isabella frowned slightly, and her hands balled into fists, her eyes trained onto my face. She made no movements towards me, but Edward pushed me gently farther behind him. He made a low sound from somewhere deep in his chest, something like a low growl. Beside Isabella, Daas stiffened in response.
Right then it must have registered that everyone was watching her. She tore her eyes away from me and back to Carlisle, though her fists didn't unclench. She tried to smile, but it looked forced. "I'm sorry." She apologized, sounding sincerely regretful. She put a hand to her temple and shook her head lightly. Beside her, Daas still hadn't relaxed. "Please, Daas." She growled, her voice deeper and more threatening. The giant beside her grudgingly relaxed also, but not like he took it as an order. More of a request.
Carlisle nodded understandingly, but slowly, looking meaningfully at Edward until he relaxed a little beside me. Isabella's eyes darted around like she was reading the lines of an invisible book, until she pulled her hand away from her head and said, "We were looking for you." Daas glanced down at her, red eyes conveying a mute message. She frowned. "Fine then, I was looking for you." Daas looked away, satisfied, and his eyes began roaming again. Watching them made me dizzy, so I looked back at Isabella.
"Yes?" Carlisle prompted.
"I was interested, you see, in your way of life. I heard about you, well, Daas heard about you from the Volturi." My stomach squirmed uncomfortably. The electricity that suddenly crackled in the air went unnoticed by the pair, as all eyes turned back to Daas again. Isabella went on, oblivious to our sudden nervousness. When I looked at her, I could see she was feeling awkward. She was looking at the ground, but kept her voice clear.
"I was wondering…hoping that you could help me. I was wondering if I might stay for a while, you know, I don't want to hurt anyone…" She trailed off, and suddenly, she sounded much younger. She looked up, frowned slightly at out stunned faces, and adding hastily, "But only if you agree, of course, I wouldn't dream of staying if you didn't want me to."
Everyone in the clearing was looking at Carlisle. He looked undecided, teetering on the edge of an unexpected decision that could either lead to a disaster, which he obviously didn't want, and helping someone, which he loved to do. His wise eyes were clouded over in deep thought. Finally, after a few long minutes, he said slowly, "I must ask you to wait for my answer. I will have to talk to my family and get their opinions, and I would also like to know more about you two, of course."
Isabella sighed in relief, but reverted back to her earlier formality. "Of course."
Beside her, Daas's lips were pressed together, trying to hold back what he was about to say. There was something bothering him, that was evident, but I couldn't know what about.
"But while you wait, you are welcome to our house." Carlisle added, looking around to his family's faces. They nodded, in some cases reluctantly. I couldn't help but notice that Edward didn't nod at all.
"Thank you, I would like to accept your offer of hospitality." Isabella said graciously. "Please, do not take offense." I was surprised as she was speaking to me. "But I would rather stay as far as possible from…"
Despite Edward's warning glance, I said, in attempt to be firm, "Bella." I was pleasantly happy with how steady my voice was, instead of the tremble I had been expecting.
"Stay away from Bella"—she smiled apologetically at me—"For the time being. I don't want to hurt anyone." Edward relaxed a little more beside me, but, when I glanced up at him, his face was still smooth.
"Yes, of course." Carlisle looked at his family again. "I will accompany you to show you the way, along with Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett." Emmett, Rosalie, and Esme all stepped up beside Carlisle, nodding politely to the other pair. Isabella's warm smile widened and she ducked her head in greeting. "Jasper, Alice, Edward and Bella, would you take the Jeep back to the house, please?" I nodded, as did Jasper and Alice, except Edward, whom Carlisle was having a private word with. Whatever Carlisle said-- or rather, thought--Edward didn't like it. His jaw tightened and he looked away, but strode away with my hand in his, to the west side of the clearing and slung me onto his back. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut as Edward began to run.
Isabella's Point of View
I watched as the four mentioned slipped away into the forest, the human girl, Bella, getting onto one of the boy's back as he began to run. I fought away the insane urge to run after her, and swallowed the excess venom in my mouth. Trying to force away my thoughts away from how it would feel to taste the warm, effortlessly tasty—
No. I jerked my head, trying to empty it. I wouldn't do that to her. I took a deep breath and looked over at the four remaining vampires in front of me. I smiled again. It seemed I had been doing a lot of that lately. "Thank you." I said again. The man, Carlisle, shook his head.
"The pleasure is all ours." He said, sounding sincere if not with a trace of worry. The woman beside him, Esme I think he called her, nodded in agreement though the last, brawny, ferociously muscular one didn't look as happy as the other two. I had thought that Daas was the most muscular being I had seen in my whole life, but this Emmett would give him a run for his money. He was eyeing Daas, sizing him up. Daas stayed purposefully oblivious.
The second female was exquisitely pretty, I would give her that. Her hair was blond, like mine, but shorter. Her eyes could have easily been blue in her mortal life, but they were a darkened amber now. She was scowling heavily. I turned away from her, as I didn't want her affecting my mood.
"I am sorry for intruding so rudely." I apologized. I saw out of the corner of my eye Daas glanced down at me and away again. I don't think he was used to me saying sorry so much. I ignored him.
Carlisle shook his head. "No, no, don't be sorry." He said lightly, gesturing me forward. He took off to the west side, Esme, Emmett, and the last girl following closely behind, with the inhuman speed we possessed.
Daas was after them in half a second. He was fast, and easily caught up with them. Closing my eyes, I waited until I could hear their footsteps echoing, the noise grew louder as it started bouncing off larger trees as they ran farther and farther into the forest. This was my favorite part of being a vampire. It was worth the eternally unquenched thirst that was ever present, the three days of agony I had to endure during my Turning.
My eyes flew open. My feet moved slowly at first, at a human's pace. But my pace quickened easily, faster and faster, until I was flying. There was no stopping me now; I laughed as I ran. My hair was streaming behind me, billowing in my slipstream, my clothes pulled tight against my body. All too soon, I was beside Carlisle. I hadn't realized that I had outrun Daas. I looked back at him over my shoulder. He flashed a quick smile, revealing startlingly white teeth, and it made my heart leap. I smile something I hadn't seen on his face in a long time. It looked strange on his face, and I wondered absently why I thought that. It was like I had pictured Daas with a permanent expressionless face but the quick smile made me happy for him. It made me smile, too.
I turned back around. I could see Carlisle beside me. He stretched his arm out in front of him. My gaze followed his pointed finger and I saw, distantly, a white light in front of me. Their house? Whatever it was, he was telling me which way to go. I looked back at Daas again and yelled, "Race you there!" And took off, easily dashing forward.
I could hear Daas behind me, noisy for a vampire, crashing through the undergrowth. I was more careful and jumped from one foot to the next swiftly. Daas wasn't far behind me, but he was slowly falling back.
I made it to the clearing, though I didn't get a chance to see what was there.
I was too fast for my own good. I tried for a sliding stop, but I just skidded across the ground, feet first. In front of me, something moved so fast, even my extra sensitive eyes--able to pick up lightning-fast movements--didn't catch it. The boy, Bella's boyfriend, was on top of me, much faster than I expected.
I was sent reeling with him, each clutching onto the other's shoulders. His hands were nearly about to crush my arms. Somewhere behind me I heard two exclamations of 'No!' though both voices were meant for different people. The girl, Bella, was crying out for her nameless lover and Daas was roaring in anger. Finally, we came to a halt.
He was on top of me, though his body was at least a foot away from mine. He was taller than me, his feet tipped up on the ground. It was like he was readying himself to do a pushup, pressing me to the ground. His face was inches from mine.
"Don't" He hissed, his eyes wild with fury, "touch her."
I didn't look away, even though I found the butterscotch eyes intimidating. "I wasn't going to." I spat back at him. "Now, get off me." I shoved him upwards. He rocked back onto his feet smoothly, his expression disbelieving. I scrambled up much less gracefully. Daas and Carlisle with part of his family were just arriving now, entering the small part of the forest.
"Isabella." Daas said, shoving the boy effortlessly out of the way. "You okay?" He said gruffly, faint lines of worry appearing on his brow.
"Fine, Daas, fine." I said, rubbing my bruised arms. "He thought I was going for his girl."
The boy glowered in my direction, the look of utter distaste evident on his face. I frowned and sighed. I had never been good at first impressions. Busying myself by brushing my clothes off, I tried to compose my face and get the frustration out of it, like Daas always did. But of course, Daas had had much more practice than me.
Daas shrugged and looked away. The lead vampires of the abnormally large coven, Carlisle's, family were grouped in front of a white mansion. In front of it, was a long trail where the grass had been ripped up. If I were human, I would have blushed right then, as I realized that that is where I had slid, in an effort to stop myself. I couldn't help but staring at the house, though. It was so, well, big. Finally, after Daas had let me look at it, awestruck, he growled, "Go on, Isabella, they're waiting for you." Glancing over at them, I could see that he was right, like always.
"C'mon, then." I said wearily. "And let's hope he doesn't jump on me again." I heard Daas grunt from behind me, amused. I walked over to where they were standing, trying to squash the feeling of embarrassment by their torn up yard.
I sighed and said quickly, staring at the ground, "I'm sorry that I carved a path of destruction through your lawn." Glancing up, I hastily examined each of their faces. One of them, Emmett, looked like he was just about to burst. Finally, when no one said anything, he blurted out, "That was sweet, kid, what are you talking about?" There was a chorus of laughter, and I joined in. Daas was silent as ever beside me, though I had expected nothing more. I had given up long ago on trying to squeeze some emotion out of him.
They began to trickle inside, Bella and her boyfriend first. I had a feeling they were trying to get her out of my line of sight. Maybe I was just being paranoid, but I thought I saw him whisper to her, thought I heard something along the lines of 'Don't worry, Bella, she won't hurt you'. I scowled. Daas had heard it too, as he glared at the boy's retreating back. "Let it go, Daas." I murmured, before stepping inside the vampire's home.
My reaction to the inside of their home was much the same as the outside. I ogled—I couldn't help myself. Beside me, Daas chuckled. "What she's trying to say is that she likes the house." I heard Emmett chortle. My grin widened.
"It's beautiful." I emphasized.
"Thank you." Carlisle said. The vampire's coven was situated behind him, leaning against the far wall, seated onto the raised platform where the grand piano was placed, and Bella and her boyfriend sitting comfortably on the piano bench.
"Straight to business, then?" I suggested. Carlisle nodded. "Ask away." I said.
The man turned to his family. He studied their faces, and appeared to be thinking. All of his family's eyes were on him, waiting for the first question. Some didn't look to happy, but others simply looked bored. Either they were paying very close attention and were extraordinarily good actors or they just plain didn't care. I would like to think it was the first, personally, just because it means Daas and I were being taken seriously.
Then, turning back to Daas and I, Carlisle said quietly, "You mentioned the Volturi earlier. Please explain."
I glanced up at Daas. This was exactly what he had been afraid of. He had spent the last few decades trying to erase his history so that he would be almost impossible to track. Revealing it again to the second largest coven known in the world was not in his interests.
They saw me hesitate. First impressions were definitely not my forte. I sighed and tried to change the direction of the conversation. "Look, Daas isn't planning to stay long, he just—
"Answer the question." I turned to look at the boy whose lap Bella was currently occupying. I opened my mouth to reply furiously, but I felt Daas's crushing vice-like grip around my already-bruised arm. I winced—my arm was going to be purple. Taking a deep breath, I fought to find the right words. It was surprising when Daas replied. He rarely ever spoke. I tried to stifle a chuckle—he said he was quiet because he was afraid that he would offend everyone else in the room if he said anything. Thinking about it, he probably would. There was a quiet snort from Bella's boyfriend, pulling me out of my reverie, though I didn't pick up what he found so funny.
"It is not her fault for her hesitation." He said, his voice no more than a low growl. "I didn't want to come here, to find you." I looked up at Daas. They had no idea what he was doing for me, I was sure. "I have spent the last decade or two—"
"—That's a understatement, —" I muttered, but he ignored me.
"—Erasing my existence from the memories of those who have come into contact with me." I thought I saw Bella shudder. That mad longing welled up inside of me to see her blood spill, pool on to the floor.
No—stop it. I tried to focus back onto Daas's low voice.
"Unfortunately, one of my more…powerful connections escaped me and fled to the Volturi. They…requested" he spat the words out, disgusted, "my presence. So I went. They mentioned you in passing, and Isabeau did some digging."
Carlisle inquired quietly, "Isabeau?"
"My French name." I piped in, overdoing the French accent. Carlisle smiled and nodded.
"Of course."
Alice chimed in, very politely, "What did they say?"
Daas turned a little to look at her. "They said that they had a" He sneered the next word. Obviously, as some of the Cullen coven had noticed, he wasn't too terribly fond of the Volturi. "Appointment with a boy named Edward." Bella's head snapped up in alarm. I tried to calm her by smiling reassuringly, but I don't think it helped much. Actually, I think my smile frightened her a little. I guiltily looked away, back to Daas. "And that he was surprised Carlisle hadn't given up and gone back to his 'natural food source'." He said.
Alice nodded. Carlisle had averted his gaze to Edward, who was looking intently at Daas, a hint of frustration in his eyes. I didn't quite understand. What should he be frustrated about? Then a annoying little voice in the back of my head chimed in, Except for your overwhelming thirst to eat his girlfriend.
"Edward cannot hear your voice." Carlisle said politely, looking back to Daas. Now that tied my mind up in pretzels. Of course he could hear him!
"His thoughts." The boy spoke up, around Bella's shoulder, answering my mental question.
It took me a moment to catch up with them. I fought the urge to let my mouth drop and gape at him. "You can read minds?" I asked incredulously.
"Something like that." Edward growled, returning his gaze to Bella. He could read minds. Which meant even the secrets I had locked away in the back of my mind could be accessed, if I thought about them. I immediately expelled them away. Edward grinned into Bella's neck and murmured. "You caught up quickly." I couldn't keep from glaring at him.
And then I caught up with why he had snorted earlier—I had been thinking about Daas and his sarcastic answer to my question that I relayed in my mind. My eyes narrowed.
"But he cannot read Daas's." Carlisle said. "A first, besides Bella." He added.
"He can't read your mind?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow. The girl smiled timidly, and looked like she was about to reply, but Edward beat her there.
He sighed exasperatedly. "Must you repeat everything Carlisle says?"
My glare deepened.
"No, he cannot read Daas's mind." Carlisle answered, tuning-out Edward.
I looked up at Daas—he hadn't told me that before. At first, I felt a flash of anger and then disappointment and then wondering what else had hadn't told me. I was about to voice my opinion when I heard a low chuckle behind me. My earlier feelings temporarily disappeared and were replaced by a wave of annoyance. I turned slowly, my hand on my hip, rolling my eyes as I went.
"They keep secrets from each other." Edward muttered, smirking. At that moment, I really wished that glares could kill. Edward would have been dead within the space of a few seconds. "Harsh." He said, snickering, looking triumphantly up at me.
"Edward," I heard Bella mumble under her breath. I suddenly decided that I liked Bella, even though we had barely said anything to each other. At least she had the right idea. And then I smiled, as a thought had just occurred to me in the time he had been distracted.
You know, Edward, this is really very annoying. You reading my mind every few seconds, I mean. I mentally beamed at him. He seemed to get the message as he looked sharply up from Bella. I smirked. "Catch up quickly, remember?" I said innocently, turning back to Daas. I was pleased when I found I could feel his glare burning at my back.
"She's good." I heard Emmett chortle.
"So he can't read your mind. That's news." I said, folding my arms and waiting expectantly, eyebrows raised in Daas's direction.
He rolled his eyes. "Don't be difficult, Isabella, please."
"Define difficult." I said acidly.
"As in being stubborn." Then he sighed dejectedly. "Too late." He muttered. I didn't miss that.
"But you never told—
He held his hands by his ears in surrender, which was much higher than I had a hope of reaching. "I didn't tell you because I didn't know myself. It was only a theory, Isabella, I didn't know for sure." I was vaguely aware of the vampires around us, watching intently. He looked like he was about to add something else, but decided against it.
"Then explain."
Daas's eyes went flat and lifeless. I could almost visualize his voice becoming a flat bass monotone. His face smoothed over and I recognized the facial expression where all his emotion retreated behind an unmovable façade. I sighed. He didn't like it when I asked him to explain things to me, things that he said I had no right to know in the first place. He said I should be satisfied that he chose to share his opinion, and not to keep it to himself like he did whenever anyone besides me was around. The memory of Daas telling me this repeatedly ran through my head, and, remembering that there was a very rude mind-reader among us—out of the corner of my eye, I saw Edward grimace—I stifled the memory. Finally, I muttered, "I'm sorry, Daas. Just frustrated."
He didn't respond to my apology, but turned back to Carlisle and said very reluctantly, "I believe that I can put up mental walls against those trying to…" His gaze shifted to Edward, who was looking just as sternly back at him. "Get in." He finished, his red eyes staying trained on Edward. The other vampire was staring vehemently back, stroking Bella's hair as he did.
Carlisle looked thoughtful for a moment. Daas took his silence as an expectant one, and resumed into a grudgingly reluctant detail description. "It has limitations." He paused, searching around for a suitable example. "You are familiar with Jane? She is with Volturi." He prompted casually, though, since I had spent nearly half a century with Daas, I could see that he did so unwillingly.
"Too familiar." I heard Bella mutter. I grinned at her. She looked a little taken aback, but returned with a tentative smile.
"Her…extra weapon works on me." He looked as if this was the last thing he wanted to say. He was arming this coven with a weapon, I realized, and he really didn't want to do it. I felt a rush of gratitude for him, as I knew the only reason he divulged this information was for me. "She inflicts mental pain, but not anything physical. I can feel someone trying to see what is in my mind, and can block it. But Jane does not want to see what is in my mind, she just wants to access it to inflict pain."
"So you believe that only those who want to know what is inside your head can't get in, but those who want to access it--for reasons other than to know what you were thinking--can." Carlisle looked interested as tried to understand.
Daas frowned. I had a feeling that he didn't like the fact Carlisle had caught on so quickly. "Yes."
"And you can block them?"
"To an extent."
"What limitations are there?" I asked. I felt that if Carlisle asked, Daas wouldn't answer. I didn't want to start another squabble.
Daas seemed to know what I was thinking. He answered through gritted teeth, so it came out in a sort of hiss. "Aro." In my peripheral vision, Bella readjusted herself nervously on Edward's lap and he wrapped his arms more firmly around her waist.
There was a silence around the vast room. "Aro?" I prompted.
Daas nodded. "He can get in." He winced. "Having your mind pried open from the inside out isn't pleasant."
For once, no one said anything. We all waited in muted horror, reveling in what pain Daas must have gone through. I shuddered—I knew Daas had gone through a lot of painful experiences, some of which I witnessed, but having him explain it like that didn't help anything. I quickly pushed the memories away, in case Edward saw them.
I could see Carlisle's expression and he looked sympathetic. "I imagine it is." He replied in what was almost a whisper. Daas nodded slowly—he hated being pitied. I believe his exact words were something along the line of 'Others shouldn't waste their pity on me, as it certainly won't be returned'. But, like most everything else Daas said, that was only a half-truth. I was a witness to what lengths he would go to help those he cared for.
Daas sighed. "Yes, Aro mentioned Bella, also." It was Edward's turn to look alarmed. "After he finished destroying my mental walls and reading every single"— Daas went into a very explicit list of curses that he said so fast I could barely keep up with him—" thought, he mentioned how I was limited in ways that Bella was not. At the time, I had no idea of who Isabella Swan was, so it didn't provoke me the way he had wanted it to."
"Why did he want to provoke you?" asked the very pretty girl.
Daas didn't seem to notice her beauty as he replied simply, "He and I aren't best friends."
"How do you know Bella's full name?" Edward asked lowly, something very close to a growl.
"Isabeau is quite talented at figuring out things she isn't supposed to know." He said, a hint of a smile on his face. Of course, Daas didn't smile often, so I took it as a good sign. I tried to look innocent. Daas rolled his eyes and my grin widened.
"Then the Volturi called her Isabella?" Edward asked. Obviously, the fact held significance to him. He exchanged a nervous glance with Alice.
"Yes." Daas replied, his voice cold.
Edward exhaled through his teeth. Obviously, he had hoped to keep as much information away from them as possible.
"You didn't think they had spies?" I asked tentatively.
His silence was answer enough.
Trying to steer the conversation away from dangerous waters, I asked Daas, "Then, in order to, erm, open your mind, you have to be relatively powerful?" Daas turned to look at me, frowning, as I asked my question.
"More like how old you are." He said quietly. "The older you are, the more time you have to figure things out, to hone your skills." I sighed when I thought about while he hadn't mentioned this. Undoubtedly, Edward would be testing his strength on him, to try and get into his head. I nodded, and shut up.
Carlisle left it at that. "And you, Isabella? Can you do anything extra?" I shook my head.
"Not that I know of."
Carlisle seemed satisfied.
"That is enough for now. We can continue…" He looked over at Bella, who was pleading with her eyes to wait for her to return before anything else commenced. "In the morning." Bella smiled and I noticed that, behind her, Edward scowled.
I smiled. "Whatever you say."