5. No-Man's Land
"Are you crazy?" I yelled out the open window.
Edward rolled his eyes at me. "Need you ask?"
"This is no time for sarcasm, Edward!" Frantically, I undid my seat belt and clambered out of the car. "You can't go over there!"
"Just stay in the car, Bella. I'll be back in a minute." He was walking away, thankfully at a human pace.
"No! Edward! Get back here!" I caught up to him and took his arm.
He pried my fingers off. "You need to go back to the volvo. I don't want you involved."
"They'll tear you up! They won't ask questions! Please," I felt tears spring into my eyes. After this afternoon, it was too much. "Please, Edward. Be reasonable!"
"I'm almost positive Carlisle drove down the boundary line. The wolves might know something."
Trying not to choke up, I hung onto him. "Please don't go any further, they'll kill you."
"Have a little faith in me, Bella. I wouldn't let the dogs--"
"You're outnumbered!"
Edward shrugged. "They're children."
"They tore up Laurent! You remember that, right?"
"It's too late now, anyway. We're almost in their territory."
We'd almost crossed the line, literally.
We were about two feet from Quileute land, the territory marked as the beginning of the Indian reservation. Carlisle had promised Jacob's great-grandfather that his family would stay off Quileute land. That was the deal-- and Edward was two feet from breaking the treaty. Carlisle had been gone for a maximum of seven hours, and we were already going against the rules he'd set for his family's protection.
"If you won't go back, then let me talk to them," I said. Sam Uley might be more willing to talk to me, the harmless vampire girl, than Edward, a possible threat to his people.
"Absolutely not. Werewolves are volatile and unpredictable. If they got too angry at me--" Edward looked at me, reading my expression. Sighing, he took my hand. "You're so absurd."
"Do you not realize how defensive they are? They wouldn't hesitate to attack you if I wasn't there."
"Let's just hope your friend Jacob Black doesn't come along," he said derisively. "Otherwise we won't have a prayer."
"You better hope he comes. Jacob wouldn't let them hurt us." At least, I didn't think he would. But I didn't know for sure whether or not Jacob would forgive me for what he thought had been a betrayal of the worst kind. Would he resent my decision to accept the Cullens again enough to allow his pack to attack Edward? Would he let them hurt me? What if they thought I had shown Edward the way onto their land? Would Jacob care if Sam and the rest of them shredded us to pieces?
"They're coming through the trees." Edward stopped walking, drawing me close to him. I could see patches of black and gray through the greenery, and here and there a flash of white teeth.
I shivered. "I don't like this. Let's go, Edward."
"No one will hurt you, Bella, don't worry."
"And what about you?"
"We can't go back now," he murmured, holding me to him.
Under the arch of a tree in front of us appeared a huge black wolf, its yellow eyes trained on Edward. As I stared, three more wolves crept up next to the black one, who was Sam Uley. I felt a sinking sensation--Jacob wasn't there. All four wolves crouched low, exposing their pointed teeth, their fur bristling. They were clearly not pleased that one of the vampires was near their land. If Edward thought he could talk to them, he was insane.
"I know," said Edward, his voice making me jump. I realized he was answering a mental question one of the wolves, most likely Sam, had posed. "But for a good reason." There was a pause as he listened. "Carlisle's gone. He left without a word to any of us. I wanted to know if he traveled down the boundary line earlier." Edward tensed. "No, that is not what I'm saying. Carlisle left, that's all."
The four wolves growled in unison. Putting me behind him, Edward stiffened his posture. "You call stepping this close to the line breaking the treaty?" The black wolf nodded. "Then I'm sorry I encroached upon your land, but I need to know where he is." Advancing, the black wolf snarled. "A simple yes or no would get me off your land faster."
The wolf gave a choppy bark.
"This is no-man's land, Uley," said Edward, narrowing his eyes. "You know it is."
The wolves came forward three more steps. Edward fell into a half-crouch, shielding me with his one body against four massive creatures.
I couldn't take it any more; I had to stop them. "Stop it!" I said, struggling to stand in front of Edward.
Snorting, the black wolf drew back slightly, a confused huff escaping his muzzle.
"Don't you dare, Sam Uley," I challenged, wrapping one arm around Edward. "You wouldn't, not while I'm here. You heard Edward: this is no-man's land. You'll break the treaty if you hurt him."
In denial, the wolf shook his head. "I tell her everything," said Edward through his teeth. "I wouldn't lie to her about this." There was a small silence. Hissing, Edward leaned forward. "Well, Jacob Black has his information wrong."
"Edward, let's leave," I urged, pushing against him with my weak arms. It did about as much good as shoving a slab of marble. "They're not going to tell us about Carlisle! Let's get out of here, before--"
The four wolves let out howls of anger, eery sounds that made my skin crawl. Edward whipped his head around, his hands clasped on my shoulders. I turned, too, to see what had the wolves enraged.
In the hazy light of dusk, five pale figures were gathered behind us, imitating the grouping of the wolves across from them. It seemed like they had come out of nowhere, like ghosts. But they weren't ghosts; I recognized every bloodless face. The rest of the Cullens had apparently raced to the border, in order to give us backup or to help us make a quick getaway. Alice must have seen us on Quileute land.
It occurred to me that the werewolves wouldn't know that the arrival of the other Cullens was a complete surprise to us. What if they thought we had been setting them up?
I swallowed with an effort.
Jasper rushed to our side, his eyes taking in the four large wolves poised on the edge of their territory. "Edward, why are you doing this?"
"Carlisle must have traveled down the boundary line when he left, Jasper. That's why Alice never saw him leave."
Jasper blinked. "I don't smell him."
"No, he was in his car. And this wolf scent is so strong, it covers everything." Sam growled.
"Hmmm. That's a good point." Absorbed in thought, Jasper studied the trees and ground speculatively. "He could have driven some of the way through here, but he would have to leave off soon." He walked forward a little, his eyes on the dirt, ignoring the wolves. "But where would he be going, if he traveled down here?" His feet moved almost imperceptively, to me, at least.
"Jasper!" snapped Alice and Edward at once, but not soon enough.
My heart practically stopped at what happened next.
With a howl the silver wolf next to Sam, Paul, sprang at the blond vampire. There were snarls from all around, and I was flung backwards, only to be caught by cold hands again. Esme cradled me against her, never taking her horror-stricken eyes from--
A skirmish. I couldn't tear my eyes away, but I didn't want to look, either.
Emmett was snarling loudly at the silver wolf, his face twisted into a frightening expression, one so alien from his usual smile that he was barely recognizable. Beside him, Rosalie's perfect teeth were bared, unearthly growls coming from her throat. It was shocking, to see someone so beautiful act so dangerous. There was no question that if the wolves lunged forward, Rose and Emmett would meet them head-on, and probably win.
Alice was a black and white blur, flitting around the trees to come to a stop next to Jasper, her tiny frame stiff as cardboard. She was tensed, ready to jump into the fight any second. I could only assume she was waiting for the right opening.
Paul and Jasper were the most morbidly fascinating of the group. Every move the silver wolf made was shadowed by Jasper, who was a streak of blue, reacting so fast my eyes couldn't process it. I realized after a minute that Jasper was only dodging Paul's strikes, not actually taking swipes of his own. My heart clenched in fear for the vampire as Paul attacked; the palms of my hands were slippery with sweat.
Edward was standing still, looking from one wolf to the other. His lips were pulled back in half a snarl, but he seemed hesitant about something. Six feet away, the huge shape of Sam Uley was hunched low to the ground, yellow eyes watching Edward. "Tell them to stop fighting," said Edward, staring at Sam. There was no visible response.
Suddenly, there was a grating sound from where Paul and Jasper were fighting. With a whoosh of air Jasper went flying and smashed against a tree, cracking the large trunk. Alice screamed in fury and rounded on the silver wolf, taking one intimidating step. "Uley!" ordered Edward harshly, "call off your watchdogs!"
"Jasper," whimpered Esme. I couldn't breathe enough to say anything.
"I'm fine," said Jasper.
"Idiots," spat out Emmett, advancing toward the other two wolves.
"No, Emmett," said Edward, "we don't need a fight."
Emmett threw an incredulous look at his brother.
"I hope you've gotten that out of your system," Edward addressed Sam coolly. "Now maybe we can have a civil conversation." After a pause he said, "It was a total accident," he turned, "wasn't it, Jasper?"
"Of course," said Jasper immediately. "I didn't realize."
The sliver wolf growled.
"Shut up," snapped Rosalie.
"Rose." Edward held up a hand. "So, you think Carlisle came through here around 12:00? That correlates with our story."
"Let's go, Edward." Alice helped Jasper off the ground, hugging her small body to his.
"It's fine, really," whispered Jasper, putting an arm around her.
"No, Jasper, it's not fine." Rosalie threw her hair roughly behind her. "Those dogs," she glared at the wolves, "tossed you into a tree for stepping one inch over the line."
"We'll go," said Edward. "But you need to control your pack, better, Uley. If the silver one had seriously injured Jasper, you would've had a full-scale--" The black wolf made a chuffing sound. "Well, thank you for the advice," Edward returned savagely, "but I don't claim to have complete control over my family."
It was odd, the way Edward used the phrase my family. Like he was the head of the Cullens, rather than Carlisle.
With another bark the black wolf backed off several feet into the trees, giving us room to leave.
"Come on, Emmett, Rose," said Edward, while the wolves waited. He turned his back on Sam and walked past his brother. Emmett followed him reluctantly, taking Rosalie's hand and pulling her with him. Paul was still right on the edge of the line, growling. Sam yipped at him sharply, and the silver wolf fell back sulkily.
Edward took me in his arms and kissed the top of my head; Esme hugged both of us. Then Alice and Jasper were beside us, Jasper's calming effect spreading over me like a blanket. "You're so stupid sometimes," I whispered hoarsely, my face smashed into Edward's chest.
"We had to know," he murmured back, kissing me again. Then he let go and took my hand, motioning for the rest of his family to follow. "I need to take Bella home," he said to Jasper, "so make sure Rose goes back to the house."
"You have to what?" I asked, glaring at him.
"You need to go home, Bella. Charlie's probably worried about you."
"He said I could stay for dinner."
"It's past time for dinner. We can't keep you out all night."
"Then let's go back to your house." He opened his mouth to protest, but I cut him off. "I think Charlie probably wants some alone time right now," I said, climbing into the volvo.
"You know you could be put under house arrest if you don't go back soon," called Emmett, regaining his humor, as the other Cullens raced off at lightning speed.
"Thanks, Emmett," I muttered.
After starting up the car, Edward laid one hand on mine, keeping us connected. I sighed and stared out the windows, watching the bright green flash by us. Where was Carlisle? Was he looking out on a forest like this one, or was he somewhere out west, near a desert? Maybe he wasn't even in the country anymore. Maybe he just didn't care where he was. What were we, his family, going to do, now that our head was gone?
It didn't make sense-- why had he left?
My mind traveled back to the my last birthday, and the days after, when all the Cullens had left. Was there something I could extract from that experience that applied to this one? I knew Carlisle and Edward were similar, but how far could I take that observation? Edward had left to protect me, to make sure I was spared almost certain death. He'd made it look like he didn't love me, and was never coming back. He had done it for a reason, and he had known that in order to save me, he would have to hurt me terribly. Of course, he had been totally wrong; the worst thing anyone could do to me is take away Edward. But because he thought he was doing the right thing for me, Edward had left with the promise never to return.
"Maybe Carlisle left for the same reason you did," I speculated out loud, not really even talking to Edward, but he went stiff in his seat and looked over at me. "Oh," I added hastily, "I meant when you thought you should leave to help me. Not--the--well, maybe Carlisle is protecting us."
"From what, though?" asked Edward, relaxing again.
"I don't know. Any other psychotic vampire families you know of?" Sarcasm was the best way to put the question, although I really was sincere.
"None that would bother us. That's why I can't figure it out." Frowning, Edward pressed the gas pedal harder, zooming about forty miles over the speed limit. "If Carlisle was trying to shield us, like you think, why would he leave? Why wouldn't he make us leave? If someone was planning against us, they would come here."
"What if they were only after Carlisle?"
It was an unsettling thought. And an unlikely one-- Carlisle wasn't one to make enemies. I could tell Edward didn't want to answer me, so I left him alone.
He answered, at last. "Carlisle tries to keep the peace, wherever he goes. I know some our kind are naturally malicious, but--"
"But no one could justify going after Carlisle."
"There's no way that I can see, at least." The needle pointed farther and farther from sixty-five. "I just don't understand." Edward's voice was forlorn. "I can't understand why he wouldn't tell anyone. If Tanya needed us, or something..." he left off, brooding.
"I'm sorry, Edward." I sighed; I was really tired.
"Don't worry, Bella." He was immediately worried about me. "We'll be all right. We still have everyone else."
"I know, but for how long?"
"We won't fall apart." There was a hard edge to his voice. "I won't let us. I refuse to have our family break apart because of this."
"Do you think they would rather me go home? I don't want to intrude." Especially not on Esme. I could only imagine what losing the love of over a century felt like.
"Esme loves you. She wants you with her, just like the rest of us." Smiling down at me, I could see the pain threatening to break through Edward's eyes.
I squeezed his hand. "I love you. I'm here for you, if that makes things any better."
"You'll never know how much better it makes things," he said, kissing me.