I've got a big plan for the rest of the book, and I'm really pleased with how it's turning out so far and I hope you enjoy the rest!
We sat there all night long, statues of horror and grief, and Alice never came back.
We were all at our limits—frenzied into absolute stillness. Carlisle had barely been able to move his lips to explain it all to Julie. The retelling seemed to make it worse; even Emmett stood silent and still from then on.
It wasn't until the sun slowly crept into the sky that I wondered for the first time what could possibly be taking Alice so long. I'd hoped to know actually know something before much longer. To have some answers. Some tiny, tiny portion of hope so that I could move again and no longer feel like ice.
My face felt permanently set into the fixed mask I had worn all night. I wasn't sure I had the ability to smile anymore.
Julie was breathing evenly in the corner, a mountain of fur on the floor, twitching anxiously in her sleep. Sam knew everything—the wolves were readying themselves for what was coming. Not that this preparation would do anything but get them killed with the rest of my family.
The sunlight broke through the back windows, sparkling on Edyth's skin. My eyes had not moved from hers since Alice's departure. We'd stared at each other all night, staring at what neither of us could handle losing: the other. I saw my reflection glow in her agonized eyes as the sun touched over my own skin.
Her eyebrows moved an infinitesimal bit, then her lips.
"Alice," she said.
The sound of her voice was like ice cracking as it melted. All of us fractured a little, softened a little. Moved again.
"She's been gone a long time," Royal murmured, surprised.
"Where could she be?" Emmett wondered, taking a step toward the door.
Esme wrapped her arms around herself. "We don't want to disturb…"
"She's never taken so long before," Edyth said. New worry splintered the mask her face had become. Her features were alive again, her eyes suddenly wild with fresh fear, extra panic. "Carlisle, you don't think—something preemptive? Would Alice have had time to see if they sent someone for her?"
Aro's translucent-skinned face filled my head. Aro, who had seen into all the corners of Alice's mind, who knew everything she was capable of—
Emmett cussed loud enough that Julie lurched to her feet with a growl. In the yard, her growl was echoed by her pack. My family was already a blur of action.
"Stay here!" I hissed at Julie as I sprinted through the door.
I had kept myself well fed since what had happened with Ivan and I was still stronger than the rest of them, and I used that strength to push myself forward. I overtook Esme in a few bounds, and Royal in just a few strides more. I raced through the thick forest until I was right behind Edyth and Carlisle.
"Would they have been able to surprise her?" Carlisle asked, his voice as even as if he were standing motionless rather than running at full speed.
"I don't see how," Edyth answered. "But Aro knows her better than anyone else. Better than I do."
"Is this a trap?" Emmett called from behind us.
"Maybe," Edyth said. "There's no scent but Alice and Jasper. Where were they going?"
Alice and Jasper's trail was curling into a wide arc; it stretched first east of the house but headed north on the other side of the river, and then back west again after a few miles. We re-crossed the river, all six jumping within a second of each other. Edyth ran in the lead, her concentration total.
"Did you catch that scent?" Esme called ahead a few moments after we'd leaped the river the second time. She was farthest back, on the far-left edge of our hunting party. She gestured to the southeast.
"Keep to the main trail—we're almost to the Quileute border," Edyth called back. "Stay together. See if they turned north or south."
I was not as familiar with the treaty line as the rest of them, but I could smell the hint of wolf in the breeze blowing from the east. Edyth and Carlisle slowed a little out of habit, and I could see their heads sweep from side to side, waiting for the trail to turn.
Then the wolf smell was suddenly stronger, and Edyth's head snapped up. She came to a sudden stop. The rest of us froze, too.
"Sam?" Edyth asked in a flat voice. "What is this?"
Sam came through the trees a few hundred yards away, walking quickly toward us in his human form, flanked by two big wolves—Paul and Jared. It took Sam a while to reach us; his human pace made me impatient. I didn't want time to think about what was happening. I wanted to be in motion, to be doing something. I wanted to have my arms around Alice, to know beyond a doubt that she was safe.
I watched Edyth's face go absolutely white as she read what Sam was thinking. Sam ignored her, looking straight at Carlisle as he stopped walking and began to speak.
"Right after midnight, Alice and Jasper came to this place and asked permission to cross our land to the ocean. I granted them that and escorted them to the coast myself. They went immediately into the water and did not return. As we journeyed, Alice told me it was of utmost importance that I say nothing to Julie about seeing her until I spoke to you. I was to wait here for you to come looking for her and then give you this note. She told me to obey her as if all our lives depended on it."
Sam's face was grim as he held out a folded sheet of paper, printed all over with small black text. It was a page out of a book; my sharp eyes read the printed words as Carlisle unfolded it to see the other side. The side facing me was the copyright page fromThe Merchant of Venice. A hint of my own scent blew off of it as Carlisle shook the paper flat. I realized it was a page torn from one of my books. I'd brought a few things from Charlie's house to the cottage; a few sets of normal clothes, all the letters from my mother, and my favorite books. My tattered collection of Shakespeare paperbacks had been on the bookshelf in the cottage's little living room yesterday morning...
"Alice has decided to leave us," Carlisle whispered.
"What?" Royal's voice was blank shock.
Carlisle turned the page around so that we all could read.
Don't look for us. There isn't time to waste. Remember: Taras, Siobhan, Amun, Alistair, all the nomads you can find. We'll seek out Peter and Charlotte on our way. We're so sorry that we have to leave you this way, with no goodbyes or explanations. It's the only way for us. We love you.
We stood frozen again, the silence total but for the sound of mine and the wolves' heartbeats, our breathing. Their thoughts must have been loud, too. Edyth was first to move again, speaking in response to what she heard in Sam's head.
"Yes, things are that dangerous."
"Enough that you would abandon your family?" Sam asked out loud, censure in his tone. It was clear that he had not read the note before giving it to Carlisle. He was upset now, looking as if he regretted listening to Alice.
Edyth's expression was stiff—to Sam it probably looked angry or arrogant, but I could see the shape of pain in the hard planes of her face.
"We don't know what she saw," Edyth said. "Alice is neither unfeeling nor a coward. She just has more information than we do."
"We would not—," Sam began.
"You are bound differently than we are," Edyth snapped. "We each still have our free will."
Sam's chin jerked up, and his eyes looked suddenly flat black.
"Edyth. Don't." My scolding voice sounded raw and rough.
"But you should heed the warning," Edyth went on. "This is not something you want to involve yourselves in. You can still avoid what Alice saw."
"Don't get your family slaughtered for pride," Carlisle interjected quietly.
Sam looked at Carlisle with a softer expression. "As Edyth pointed out, we don't have the same kind of freedom that you have. It is our duty to stay together, to protect the tribe, and to protect each other." His eyes flickered to Alice's note, and his lips pressed into a thin line.
"You don't know her," Edyth said.
"Do you?" Sam asked bluntly.
Carlisle put a hand on Edyth's shoulder. "We have much to do, Edyth. Whatever Alice's decision, we would be foolish not to follow her advice now. Let's go home and get to work."
Edyth nodded, her face still rigid with pain. Behind me, I could hear Esme's quiet, tearless sobs.
I didn't know how to cry yet in this body; I couldn't do anything but stare. There was no feeling yet. Everything seemed unreal, like I was dreaming again after all these months. Having a nightmare.
"Thank you, Sam," Carlisle said.
"I'm sorry," Sam answered. "We shouldn't have let her through."
"You did the right thing," Carlisle told him. "Alice is free to do what she will. I wouldn't deny her that liberty."
I'd always thought of the Cullens as a whole, an indivisible unit. Suddenly, I remembered that it had not always been so. Carlisle had created Edyth, Esme, Royal and Emmett; Edyth had a hand in making me what I was. We were physically linked by blood and venom. I never thought of Alice and Jasper as separate—as adopted into the family. But in truth, Alice had adopted the Cullens. She had shown up with her unconnected past, bringing Jasper with his, and fit herself into the family that was already there. Both she and Jasper had known another life outside the Cullen family. Had she really chosen to lead another new life after she'd seen that life with the Cullens was over?
We were doomed, then, weren't we? There was no hope at all. Not one ray, one flicker that might have convinced Alice she had a chance at our side.
The bright morning air seemed thicker suddenly, blacker, as if physically darkened by my despair.
"I'm not going down without a fight," Emmett snarled low under his breath. "Alice told us what to do. Let's get it done."
The others nodded with determined expressions, and I realized that they were banking on whatever chance Alice had given us. That they were not going to give in to hopelessness and wait to die.
Yes, we all would fight. What else was there? And apparently we would involve others, because Alice had said so before she'd left us. How could we not follow Alice's last warning? The wolves, too, would fight with us for their people, for their brothers.
We would fight, they would fight, and we all would die.
I didn't feel the same resolve the others seemed to feel. Alice knew the odds. She was giving us the only chance she could see, but the chance was too slim for her to bet on it.
I already felt defeated as I turned my back on Sam's critical face and followed Carlisle toward home.
We ran automatically now, not the same panicked hurry as before. As we neared the river, Esme's head lifted.
"There was that other trail. It was fresh."
She nodded forward, toward where she had called Edyth's attention on the way here. While we were racing to save Alice...
"It has to be from earlier in the day. It was just Alice, without Jasper," Edyth said lifelessly.
Esme's face puckered, and she nodded.
I drifted to the right, falling a little behind. I was sure Edyth was right, but at the same time... After all, how had Alice's note ended up on a page from my book?
"Bella?" Edyth asked in an emotionless voice as I hesitated.
"I want to follow the trail," I told her, smelling the light scent of Alice that led away from her earlier flight path. I was new to this, but it smelled exactly the same to me, just minus the scent of Jasper.
Edyth's golden eyes were empty. "It probably just leads back to the house."
"Then I'll meet you there."
At first I thought she would let me go alone, but then, as I moved a few steps away, her blank eyes flickered to life.
"I'll come with you," she said quietly. "We'll meet you at home, Carlisle."
Carlisle nodded, and the others left. I waited until they were out of sight, and then I looked at Edyth questioningly.
"I couldn't let you walk away from me," she explained in a low voice. "It hurt just to imagine it."
I understood without more explanation than that. I thought of being divided from her now and realized I would have felt the same pain, no matter how short the separation.
There was so little time left to be together.
I held my hand out to her, and she took it.
"Let's hurry," she said. "We should be with the others and explain what happened to Julie."
I nodded, and we were running again.
It was probably a silly thing, to waste the time away from everyone just for curiosity's sake. But the note bothered me. Alice could have carved the note into a boulder or tree trunk if she lacked writing utensils. She could have stolen a pad of paper from any of the houses by the highway. Why my book? When did she get it?
Sure enough, the trail led back to the cottage by a circuitous route that stayed far clear of the Cullens' house and the wolves in the nearby woods. Edyth's brows tightened in confusion as it became obvious where the trail led.
She tried to reason it out. "She left Jasper to wait for her and came here?"
We were almost to the cottage now, and I felt uneasy. I was glad to have Edyth's hand in mine, but I also felt as if I should be here alone. Tearing out the page and carrying it back to Jasper was such an odd thing for Alice to do. It felt like there was a message in her action—one I didn't understand at all. But it was my book, so the messagemust be for me. If it were something she wanted Edyth to know, wouldn't she have pulled a page from one of her books...?
"Give me just a minute," I said, pulling my hand free as we got to the door.
Her forehead creased. "Bella?"
"Please? Thirty seconds."
I didn't wait for her to answer. I darted through the door, pulling it shut behind me. I went straight to the bookshelf. Alice's scent was fresh—less than a day old. A fire that I had not set burned low but hot in the fireplace. I yankedThe Merchant of Veniceoff the shelf and flipped it open to the title page.
There, next to the feathered edge left by the torn page, under the wordsThe Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, was a note.
Destroy this.
Below that was a name and an address in Seattle.
When Edyth came through the door after only thirteen seconds rather than thirty, I was watching the book burn.
"What's going on, Bella?"
"She was here. She ripped a page out of my book to write her note on."
"Why?"
"I don't know why."
"Why are you burning it?"
"I—I—" I frowned, letting all my frustration and pain show on my face. I did not know what Alice was trying to tell me, only that she'd gone to great lengths to keep it from anyone but me. The one person whose mind Edyth could not read. So she must want to keep her in the dark, and it was probably for a good reason. "It seemed appropriate."
"We don't know what she's doing," she said quietly.
I stared into the flames. I was the only person in the world who could lie to Edyth. Was that what Alice wanted from me? Her last request?
"When we were on the plane to Italy," I whispered—this was not a lie, except perhaps in context—"on our way to rescue you... she lied to Jasper so that he wouldn't come after us. She knew that if he faced the Volturi, he would die. She was willing to die herself rather than put him in danger. Willing for me to die, too. Willing for you to die."
Edyth didn't answer.
"She has her priorities," I said. It made my still heart ache to realize that my explanation did not feel like a lie in any way.
"I don't believe it," Edyth said. She didn't say it like she was arguing with me—she said it like she was arguing with herself. "Maybe it was just Jasper in danger. Her plan would work for the rest of us, but he'd be lost if he stayed. Maybe…"
"She could have told us that. Sent him away."
"But would Jasper have gone? Maybe she's lying to him again."
"Maybe," I pretended to agree.
"We should go home. There's no time." Edyth took my hand, and we ran.
Alice's note did not make me hopeful. If there were any way to avoid the coming slaughter, Alice would have stayed. I couldn't see another possibility. So it was something else she was giving me. Not a way to escape. But what else would she think that I wanted? Maybe a way to salvage something? Was there anything I could still save?
Carlisle and the others had not been idle in our absence. We'd been separated from them for all of five minutes, and they were already prepared to leave. In the corner, Julie was human again, her hands in her lap, watching us with wide eyes.
Royal had traded his silk dress shirt and slacks for a sturdy-looking pair of jeans, running shoes, and a button-down shirt made of the thick weave that backpackers used for long trips. Esme was dressed similarly. There was a map of the world on the coffee table, but they were done looking at it, just waiting for us.
The atmosphere was more positive now than before; it felt good to them to be in action. Their hopes were pinned on Alice's instructions.
I looked at the map and wondered where we were headed first.
"We're to stay here?" Edyth asked, looking at Carlisle. She didn't sound happy.
"Alice said that we need to gather witnesses. I can only assume to attest to our character in this situation so we have a prayer of pleading our case. We're going to have to be very careful of how we present it," Carlisle said. "We'll send whomever we can find back here to you— Edyth, you'll be the best at fielding that particular minefield."
Edyth gave one sharp nod, still not happy. "There's a lot of ground to cover."
"We're splitting up," Emmett answered. "Roy and I are hunting for nomads."
"You'll have your hands full here," Carlisle said. "Taras's family will be here in the morning, and they have no idea why. First, you have to persuade them not to react the way Ivan did. Second, you've got to find out what Alice meant about Elena. Then, after all that, will they stay to witness for us? It will start again as the others come—if we can persuade anyone to come in the first place." Carlisle sighed. "Your job may well be the hardest. We'll be back to help as soon as we can."
Carlisle put his hand on Edyth's shoulder for a second and then on mine. Esme hugged us both, and Emmett punched us both on the arm. Royal forced a hard smile for Edyth and me and then gave Julie a parting grimace.
"Good luck," Edyth told them.
"And to you," Carlisle said. "We'll all need it."
I watched them leave, wishing I could feel whatever hope bolstered them, and wishing I could be alone with the computer for just a few seconds. I had to figure out who this J. Jenks person was and why Alice had gone to such lengths to give his name and address to only me.
Julie shifted uneasily, before finally speaking. "Sounds like we're a little outnumbered right now. I hope Carlisle's friends come." she murmured.
"Julie…" Edyth hesitated.
"What? Well, come on, spit it out," Julie said, her voice raw with tension. She was right at her breaking point, just like the rest of us.
"The vampires who are coming are not the same as we are," Edyth said. "Taras's family is the only one besides ours with a reverence for human life, and even they don't think much of werewolves. I think it might be safer—"
"I can take care of myself," Julie interrupted.
"I know you can." Edyth continued, "But we have to plead our case. We have to show them that Bella has been changed first,then we can discuss the treaty with them."
"Some friends. They'd turn on you just because of who you hang out with now?"
"The Volturi have made their views on werewolves quite clear in the past. There may not be laws prohibiting friendships between vampires and werewolves, but there's never been a need for them. I can't imagine it would be encouraged by the Volturi by any means."
"Edyth…" It was still odd to hear Julie use Edyth's name without bitterness.
"I know, Jules. I know you want to help, to protect us. We'll play it by ear—see how they react to Bella and our story. We'll have to bring you and your people into the situation at some point, but it has to be at the right moment. You, Seth, and Liam are free to use the cottage. As long as you keep a safe distance from the main house…"
"I can do that. Company in the morning, huh?"
"Yes. The closest of our friends. In this particular case, it's probably better if we get things out in the open as soon as possible. You can stay here. Taras knows about you. He's even met Seth."
"Right."
"You should tell Sam what's going on. There might be strangers in the woods soon."
"Good point. Though I owe him some silence after last night."
"Listening to Alice is usually the right thing."
Julie's teeth ground together, and I could see that she shared Sam's feelings about what Alice and Jasper had done.
While they were talking, I wandered toward the back windows, trying to look distracted and anxious. Not a difficult thing to do. I leaned my head against the wall that curved away from the living room toward the dining room, right next to one of the computer desks. I ran my fingers against the keys while staring into the forest, trying to make it look like an absentminded thing. I was fairly certain vampires never did anything absentmindedly, but maybe half-vampires did. I didn't think anyone was paying particular attention to me, but I didn't turn to make sure. The monitor glowed to life. I stroked my fingers across the keys again. Then I drummed them very quietly on the wooden desktop, just to make it seem random. Another stroke across the keys.
I scanned the screen in my peripheral vision.
No J. Jenks, but there was a Jason Jenks. An art historian and dealer. I brushed the keyboard, trying to keep a rhythm, like the preoccupied stroking of a cat you'd all but forgotten on your lap. Jason Jenks had a fancy website for his gallery, but the address on the homepage was wrong. In Seattle, but in a different zip code. I noted the phone number and then stroked the keyboard in rhythm. This time I searched the address, but nothing at all came up, as if the address didn't exist. I wanted to look at a map, but I decided I was pushing my luck. One more brush, to delete the history…
I continued staring out the window and brushed the wood a few times. I heard light footsteps crossing the floor to me, and I turned with what I hoped was the same expression as before.
Julie reached out a hand and put it on my shoulder. "You doing okay, babe?"
"I don't know," I whispered.
"I'm sorry about Alice."
"Me too," I sighed. "But she's Alice. She's doing the right thing, like always."
The right thing for Alice, anyway. I hated thinking of her that way, but how else could the situation be understood?
I suddenly felt a coolness run down my cheek. I lifted my fingers to my eyes. Tears were running down my face. They weren't hot, but cold. Cold as I felt inside.
So this is what it felt like to cry now.
"Don't cry, Bella." Julie wrapped her arms around my shoulders. "It's going to be okay. You're going to be fine. We're all going to be fine."
As she spoke, I could see the faces of everyone I loved flashing in front of my eyes in rapid succession. Everything I held dear; my whole world. I watched in despair as the faces were consumed by a flurry of blood-red cloaks.
But just like in the dimly remembered dreams of my human life, I felt a fire burning inside me; a need to protect. It wouldn't be easy, but I would find a way. I would protect my family, and—for once—I would save them. I was more positive than ever that this is what Alice would give me. She would know. She would have left me a way.