Jane's eyes narrowed, and she turned to me where I was next to the fire.
"You there," she said, her dead voice harsher than before. "Your name." I shot a baleful glare at Jane, pressing my lips tightly together. She smiled angelically. I screamed ear-piercingly; my body probably taking a position that was disorted and unnatural. I watched as the human girl turned away, probably from this very bad sight in front of her. My screams intensified. Where were the Cullens in all of this madness? Finally it was quiet.
"Your name," Jane said to me again, her voice inflectionless.
"Bree," I gasped, hoping she would just let me go.
Jane smiled at me and I shrieked again, the blinding pain coming at me once again.
"She'll tell you anything you want to know,," Edward said through his teeth. I had recently figured out everyone's names. "You don't have to do that."
Jane looked up with humor in her eyes instead of her usual dead eyes. Bitch. "Oh, I know," she said to Edward, grinning at him before turning back to me.
"Bree," Jane said, her voice cold once again. "Is his story true? Were there twenty of you?"
I lay panting, the side of my face pressed against the earth as I spoke quickly, "Nineteen or twenty, maybe more, I don't know!" I cringed, terrified that my ignorance might bring on another round of torture. "Sara and the one whose name I don't know got in a fight on the way..."
"And this Victoria- did she create you?"
"I don't know," I said, flinching again. "Riley never said her name. I didn't see that night...it was so dark, and it hurt..." I shuddered. "He didn't want us to be able to think of her. He said our thoughts weren't safe..."
Jane's eyes flickered to Edward, and then back to me.
"Tell me about Riley," Jane said. "Why did he bring you here?"
"Riley told us that we had to destroy the yellow-eyes here," I babbled quickly and willingly. Don't blame me, I want to live. "He said it would be easy. He said that the city was theirs, and they were coming to get us. He said once they were gone, all the blood would be ours. He gave us her scent." I lifted one hand and stabbed it in the human's direction."He said we would know that we had the right coven, because she would be with them. He said whoever got to her first could have her." I heard Edward's jaw flex from where he was standing next to the human. Sorry, I thought to him and he nodded stiffly. Hey, better than nothing.
"It looks like Riley was wrong about the easy part," Jane noted. I nodded, relieved that the conversation had taken a non-painful course. I sat up carefully, as to not startle anyone with an unexpected move. "I don't know what happened. We split up, but the others never came. And Riley left us, and he didn't come to help like he promised. And then it was so confusing, and everybody was in pieces." I shuddered again. "I was afraid. I wanted to run away. That one" - I looked at the covens leader - "said they wouldn't hurt me if I stopped fighting."
"Ah, but that wasn't his gift to offer, young one," Jane murmured, her voice oddly gentle now. "Broken rules demand a consequence."
I stared at her, not comprehending.
Jane looked at the covens leader. "Are you sure you got all off them? The other half that split off?"
The leaders face was very smooth as he nodded. "We split up, too."
I blanked out for the rest of the conversation until something caught my attention.
Jane turned to me, her face completely bored. "Felix?" she drawled.
"Wait," Edward interjected. I still had no idea what was happening.
Jane raised one eyebrow, but Edward was staring at the leader, Carlisle I think his name was, whilst he talked in an urgent voice. "We could explain the rules to the young one. She doesn't seem unwilling to learn. She didn't know what she was doing."
"Of course," Carlisle answered. "We would certainly be prepared to take responsibility for Bree." Jane hesitated before she responded, looking like she would but didn't want the coven any bigger than it already was. She saw them as a danger and I knew I was right because I could see Edward nod at it in the corner of my eye. She's such a bitch, I thought and Edward's face looked amused by my behavior.
"We don't make exceptions," Jane said. "We don't give second chances. It's bad for our reputation. But I suppose since you're a friend of Aro's, we can make an exception, just this once. If you are absolutely positive you can handle her." Her eyes were suddenly on the human. "Caius will be so interested to hear that you're still human Bella. Perhaps he'll decide to visit."
"The date is set," Alice, I think her name was, told Jane, speaking to Jane for the first time. "Perhaps we'll come to visit you in a few months." What did she mean by that?Jane's smile faded, and she shrugged indifferently, not looking back to answer properly. She turned to face Carlisle. "It was nice to meet you, Carlisle - I'd thought Aro was exaggerating . Well, until we meet again..."
Carlisle nodded, his expression pained for some reason.
"Come Felix," Jane said, nodding toward me, her voice dripping boredom. Well if you're so bored why are you here, I thought to myself. The corner of Edward's mouth twitched. "There is nothing left to do. I want to go home. Leave the Cullens with Bree. We will be visiting for updates on Bree's control and Bella's change, soon." And with that, the other vampires were gone.
This was the start of my third new life.