How to do it, how to do it, how to do it…
The little girl came to me when we'd finally taken a break. The starlight was scattered now, less noticeable under the half moon; her skin was so smooth and her gait so silent she looked like a fairy, a light glow coming off of her cheeks. It made me think of Edward's hypothesis, and to be honest, she did look more vampire than wolf. She was clean and well clothed. Esme and Rosalie had taken her under their wing, and although she was resistant to anything resembling genuine affection, her innate leeriness of vampires never appeared. I thought of Jasper, and realized how crucial he would have been in Alice's mission.
Alice. I thought her name and the girl said it at the same time.
"Alice gave me a letter for you." She lingered in the doorway. I turned my back towards her and rumbled through a stack of silverware, polishing; not to be rude, but I knew that the simple gesture would draw her in. "She told me what it says."
"Oh?" I pretended to be busy. "How did Alice look to you?"
"At first she looked like all of them look," the girl said in her solid, clear voice. The weakness from the first night was gone after a few nights rest and some decent food. "But then, I saw her eyes. And she said she knew what we needed to do—that she'd seen us in the woods, knew just where to find us, and that there was somewhere we could go."
"She meant here?"
"She did," the girl said. She was leaning on the doorframe, casually, but every few seconds she would look behind her. Always vigilant. "But she also said if we came here, we'd meet The Hunter."
I stopped what I was doing and looked at her. "You'd heard of Jacob before?"
"Not Jacob. The Hunter." She stared back at me, unwavering. "My mother sought him before she died." One quick glance over her shoulder, and she continued. "The people spoke of a wolf who didn't die when they shot him, or when they bit him. They said he grew new arms and legs when they ripped them off, and ate vampires like candy." She gazed at me, hypnotized by the legends. "They said he could change as he liked, with no help from the moon."
"You know only some of that is true," I said, frowning. My farce lay abandoned on the shelf, and I faced the girl. "And of the things that are true, all of his people are that way. They're a different kind of wolves."
"Not so different," said the little girl. "Not like the vampires are different." She continued to gaze at me.
"What do you mean?" I squared my shoulders, but she shrugged.
"The Hunter was alpha of a pack far away from here, too." Her abrupt change of subject was obvious, but I let it go; there was no way to drag things out of this one that she didn't want to discuss. She wasn't like the La Push children, although I'd seen her temporarily at ease, laughing and running. Her age gave way to nature that had been cultivated by her hard life, and here she was, sounding more like a woman than a girl. "The vampires call him by that name, and our people call him by that name. Jacob is just the name Alice told me. Jacob Black."
"Yes, that's his real name." I nodded, preparing to return to the subject of the letter when she startled me.
"No," she said, firm. "That's only his human name." She gazed at me, unflinching. "The wolf name is real." Without another word, her hand appeared, letter balanced on her flat, outstretched palm. I put my hand over hers.
"He chose his name, and it's Jacob Black." I said quietly. "You can choose yours too." She withdrew her hand quickly, but let me grasp the letter.
"I have only one name," she said, backing away. "But no humans can pronounce it." And then she was off, racing in to the trees.
Dear Bella, the letter began. There are so many things I want to tell you, and so many things I can't. Destroy this letter as soon as you finish reading it—no one can know what it says, besides the alpha girl. They'll fight you enough as it is.
You have to go to Italy. You have to get as many of the pack there as you can, and bring the small ones I sent—they're going with you in to the Tower. First. Not the wolves, no one else. Don't tell them what you're going to do, because they'll try and stop you. Edward and Jacob can follow you in once you go, and the rest are already waiting.
Go a half hour before moon rise on the first day of the full moon. The small ones will protect you, but you must run when it's time. Get out. Don't wait for Jacob, or Edward.
One last thing—she doesn't do it to hurt you, Bella. She does it to save their lives.
I puzzled over that, my finger stroking Alice's hurried signature, the word love growing blurry from the friction. Hot tears fell from my face on to the paper, and to distract myself more than anything I looked for a match and a place to burn it. Quickly…quickly…it was done.
How long did we have until the full moon? I groped for a calendar in the dark pantry, still furiously wiping my face, hoping Jacob hadn't smelled the smoke. How could I keep this from him? After everything we shared, all the wretchedness we'd come through, how could I lie?
My hands were shaking. I gripped the back of a chair to steady myself and closed my eyes, giving up on the calendar for a minute. This must be the only way, I thought to myself. This must be the only way we can be free.
When I noticed my hand was once again firmly wrapped around my middle, I made up my mind. The group was listlessly regathering in the wide, barren room when I walked in and spoke loudly, my voice ringing through their nervous whispers like a bell.
"Alice is in Italy," I said. "We have to go there. Now."