The world was once again turning faster than I was prepared for it too—I felt the earth shifting beneath me, my feet moving slowly, so slowly, compared to time. I was constantly distracted, having slept-walk through every station, each airport, each language, each tense distraction blurring together in an elongated moment, wicked and dull at the same time. The young alpha noticed, but didn't come closer; Leah stalked me, watched me for false smiles, for faltering moments, and then drew Jacob's concerned attention elsewhere. She didn't know what to do. She knew I didn't either. I had six hours before moon rise in Volterra.
We spoke less and less, hushed whispers below my hearing range scurrying back and forth across train and airplane aisles; once, when he got lost, Quil threw his head back and howled openly among the restless crowd moving around him. We laughed too hard at jokes that were modestly funny, at best. We avoided each others' eyes, Jacob's staying vigilant, roaming across our heads and counting, counting, always counting. His lips moved soundlessly, and I imagined him singing; one little two little three little Indians…I was the only human present in the cloud of supernatural bodies around me, pressing close, then disappearing, always moving a little faster than I could, always slowing down when they saw the children and I lagging behind, pushing, pushing, pushing towards the future.
Italy swept away in front of my eyes; the kind of views I'd dreamed of as a child barely registered in my vision and I chewed on the insides of my mouth, drawing blood. Volterra finally loomed ahead of us, spare and tall against the blue sky. If I hadn't grown used to the suction I felt in my chest, I would have thought I was hallucinating.
"Dammit!" Embry swerved and dodged a frightened old woman that had appeared out of nowhere on the narrow street ascending towards the city. The van we'd rented was cumbersome and difficult to maneuver on the thin streets. It seemed like an endless horizon of turrets and vivid stonework wound directly out of the ground to form the city, naturally formed and centuries old. It was fitting as a place for vampire settlement, if awkwardly bright.
"Do they ever go outside? Don't the people that live here know about them?" Leah cocked her head and took in the sunlight, her eyes sparkling as the rays met them. Edward shook his head.
"There have always been rumors, legends, and superstitions, which are—in this case—absolutely true." He scanned the towers that began to engulf us as we crested the hill. "I believe that humans are intrigued by our kind. They may continue to live here under the veil of protection modern science has provided them, or they may not care that the price is occasional disappearances." He looked back briefly at the rest of us and spared me a small smile. "I have never understood their motives."
I didn't have anything to say about why the people here managed to live with so many vampires in their midst for so long. It was puzzling for me to think of it; the Cullens seemed like a different kind of animal entirely from Laurent, or Victoria. It made sense that Carlisle had had to begin his family in The New World.
"Where are we going?" Quil never completely recovered from getting lost in the train station. Purple bruises shaded the skin below his eyes, and he ran a hand nervously through his clipped hair.
"Edward knows where they are," Jacob replied. "We're going to go as close as we can, regroup, settle the kids, and see if we can find Alice." Jake's handsome face looked slightly more haggard than it had lately, but he was noticeably less fatigued than the other wolves; I guessed that his years running equipped him for the kind of grueling traveling we were currently enduring. Seth had a lazy arm draped across his sister's shoulder, his eyes closed. Jared stared nervously but had the kind of slow movements that told me he hadn't slept enough; Collin and Brady, included for the first time, blinked languidly and sat with their mouths hanging open. None but Jake looked anywhere near able to fight, if you excluded Edward.
His wan smile towards me was the only change in his expression from constant and total concentration. He was listening for his sister. Embry swore again and Quil apologized, fumbling with the piece of paper he held, just as Edward's head snapped to the right. "Stop the van," he said, urgent. His hands were splayed against the window. He was trapped by the sunlight; the sun was beginning to edge away over the tops of the buildings, but he couldn't walk outside yet without being noticed. Embry slammed on the brakes and several horns honked and squealed behind us. "There—" Edward was pointing, but we all looked left as the opposite door opened and slammed.
The youngest alpha ran across the square towards where Edward directed us. She pushed headlong through the other people, bouncing backwards because she weighed so little, then barreling through. More horns honking. More doors slamming as the pack chased after her.
"Where's she going?" Leah hadn't moved. She watched Edward.
"They're over there—she smelled them." He looked back at Leah. "She's just begun to gain some of the powers she'll have as an adult. Her childhood is fading."
"Smelled who?" Leah's thin nostrils shivered and took in the air. The other small boys looked at Edward, waiting for his answer.
"The children of the moon," Edward said. His voice was flat. "The square is full of them."
"What?" Leah leaned across him, staring out at the crowd.
It's shape had changed; before, it had looked like any other busy pedestrian packed street in Europe, the crowd moving fluidly by, couples and families and striding businessmen filling every foot of space. I saw Quil and Jared halt behind Jacob's broad back, facing towards the crowd, as the young girl walked towards them. She looked as though she were alone for a moment, until I noticed that shape, the growing V that formed behind her. The entire square was facing Jacob, with her at the apex.
Edward's strangely flat voice continued, a quiet buzzing that entered my ear, my subconscious. "They were calling Jacob's wolf name, so many of them, with their minds." A crease formed between his eyebrows. "It was deafening."
"Holy shit," Leah muttered. She fumbled with the latch on the door before she realized that he wasn't moving. "Aren't you coming?" Her eyes searched his face.
"No," Edward said, the small crease still there. "Not enough of them have met vampires like me. It would be an unfortunate way to begin introductions between your people and theirs." He stared out at them, and I followed his eyes. Jacob loomed above the crowd, so we could see their location easily, but he was surrounded. I couldn't see if his mouth was moving.
"I'll wait," Leah said, and began to resettle, but Edward put his hand over hers and pulled the handle. Fresh air poured in to the van with the vicious wind.
"No," he said quietly, and she left. We both followed her back as she disappeared in to the crowd. The four young boys began to whisper to each other. All the rest of the pack had left the van. It was just Edward and I.
He never looked at me, instead staring out after Leah. "Alice sent you a letter," he murmured. I gasped, but he continued and ignored me. "The young girl cannot read, and Alice did not let her look at it, knowing I would be potentially be able to see it." The fragile tenor of his voice told me he was past grief and terror. "As a consequence, I can only guess at its contents. But Bella," his eyes closed, "I am watching you. Leah is suspicious of your motives for being here as well, and Jacob has always been able to read you like a book." His eyes still shut, his voice dropped to a whisper. "We all know something is not right. Do not attempt anything that will compromise your safety."
Of course Edward would be able to read the young girl's mind—why hadn't I thought of that sooner? Instead, I steadied my voice and looked back out over the crowd around my beautiful lover, his black hair loose and whipping in the wind. More dark heads bobbed around him, but they could have been anyone; the pack had disappeared inside of the swarm that was waiting for Jake. As I watched, I recognized the tiny alpha as she walked towards the car, separating slowly from the crowd. Her eyes met mine.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Edward," I said. My voice was flat. Deceptive. "I'm just here to take care of the kids." The little alpha opened the door and sat down in the front seat with a heavy exhale.
"Jake wants to introduce you, Edward," she spoke in her clear voice.
"No, he doesn't," Edward said. His eyes were now open and locked on mine, but I stared past him. Leah was walking towards us. She waved an arm, beckoning.
"But she does, Edward," I said evenly, and pointed. When he turned his head, Leah waved her arm more furiously, and he sighed before turning back to me.
"Remember what I said," he whispered. "I won't let you out of my sight."
"You shouldn't worry," I lied. "Go." He did, swiftly, and was swallowed by the crowd immediately. Strange noises reached my ears as the girl turned and looked back at me. All of the children stared with open eyes into my face.
"It's time," she said.