Breaking Dawn

  That doesnt answer the crucial question! Why?

  I felt I knew the answer to Carlisles question, and yet at the same time I didnt. Renesmee was the reason why, I was sure. Somehow Id known from the very beginning that they would come for her. My subconscious had warned me before Id known I was carrying her. It felt oddly expected now. As if Id somehow always known that the Volturi would come to take my happiness from me.

  But that still didnt answer the question.

  Go back, Alice, Jasper pleaded. Look for the trigger. Search.

  Alice shook her head slowly, her shoulders sagging. It came out of nowhere, Jazz. I wasnt looking for them, or even for us. I was just looking for Irina. She wasnt where I expected her to be. . . . Alice trailed off, her eyes drifting again. She stared at nothing for a long second.

  And then her head jerked up, her eyes hard as flint. I heard Edward catch his breath.

  She decided to go to them, Alice said. Irina decided to go to the Volturi. And then they will decide. Its as if theyre waiting for her. Like their decision was already made, and just waiting on her. . . .

  It was silent again as we digested this. What would Irina tell the Volturi that would result in Alices appalling vision?

  Can we stop her? Jasper asked.

  Theres no way. Shes almost there.

  What is she doing? Carlisle was asking, but I wasnt paying attention to the discussion now. All my focus was on the picture that was painstakingly coming together in my head.

  I pictured Irina poised on the cliff, watching. What had she seen? A vampire and a werewolf who were best friends. Id been focused on that image, one that would obviously explain her reaction. But that was not all that shed seen.

  Shed also seen a child. An exquisitely beautiful child, showing off in the falling snow, clearly more than human

  Irina the orphaned sisters Carlisle had said that losing their mother to the Volturis justice had made Tanya, Kate, and Irina purists when it came to the law.

  Just half a minute ago, Jasper had said the words himself: Not even when they were hunting the immortal children. The immortal childrenthe unmentionable bane, the appalling taboo

  With Irinas past, how could she apply any other reading to what shed seen that day in the narrow field? She had not been close enough to hear Renesmees heart, to feel the heat radiating from her body. Renesmees rosy cheeks could have been a trick on our part for all she knew.

  After all, the Cullens were in league with werewolves. From Irinas point of view, maybe this meant nothing was beyond us.

  Irina, wringing her hands in the snowy wildernessnot mourning Laurent, after all, but knowing it was her duty to turn the Cullens in, knowing what would happen to them if she did. Apparently her conscience had won out over the centuries of friendship.

  And the Volturis response to this kind of infraction was so automatic, it was already decided.

  I turned and draped myself over Renesmees sleeping body, covering her with my hair, burying my face in her curls.

  Think of what she saw that afternoon, I said in a low voice, interrupting whatever Emmett was beginning to say. To someone whod lost a mother because of the immortal children, what would Renesmee look like?

  Everything was silent again as the others caught up to where I was already.

  An immortal child, Carlisle whispered.

  I felt Edward kneel beside me, wrap his arms over us both.

  But shes wrong, I went on. Renesmee isnt like those other children. They were frozen, but she grows so much every day. They were out of control, but she never hurts Charlie or Sue or even shows them things that would upset them. She can control herself. Shes already smarter than most adults. There would be no reason. . . .

  I babbled on, waiting for someone to exhale with relief, waiting for the icy tension in the room to relax as they realized I was right. The room just seemed to get colder. Eventually my small voice trailed off into silence.

  No one spoke for a long time.

  Then Edward whispered into my hair. Its not the kind of crime they hold a trial for, love, he said quietly. Aros seen Irinas proof in her thoughts. They come to destroy, not to be reasoned with.

  But theyre wrong, I said stubbornly.

  They wont wait for us to show them that.

  His voice was still quiet, gentle, velvet and yet the pain and desolation in the sound was unavoidable. His voice was like Alices eyes beforelike the inside of a tomb.

  What can we do? I demanded.

  Renesmee was so warm and perfect in my arms, dreaming peacefully. Id worried so much about Renesmees speeding ageworried that she would only have little over a decade of life. That terror seemed ironic now.

  Little over a month

  Was this the limit, then? Id had more happiness than most people ever experienced. Was there some natural law that demanded equal shares of happiness and misery in the world? Was my joy overthrowing the balance? Was four months all I could have?

  It was Emmett who answered my rhetorical question.

  We fight, he said calmly.

  We cant win, Jasper growled. I could imagine how his face would look, how his body would curve protectively over Alices.

  Well, we cant run. Not with Demetri around. Emmett made a disgusted noise, and I knew instinctively that he was not upset by the idea of the Volturis tracker but by the idea of running away. And I dont know that we cant win, he said. There are a few options to consider. We dont have to fight alone.

  My head snapped up at that. We dont have to sentence the Quileutes to death, either, Emmett!

  Chill, Bella. His expression was no different from when he was contemplating fighting anacondas. Even the threat of annihilation couldnt change Emmetts perspective, his ability to thrill to a challenge. I didnt mean the pack. Be realistic, thoughdo you think Jacob or Sam is going to ignore an invasion? Even if it wasnt about Nessie? Not to mention that, thanks to Irina, Aro knows about our alliance with the pack now, too. But I was thinking of our other friends.

  Carlisle echoed me in a whisper. Other friends we dont have to sentence to death.

  Hey, well let them decide, Emmett said in a placating tone. Im not saying they have to fight with us. I could see the plan refining itself in his head as he spoke. If theyd just stand beside us, just long enough to make the Volturi hesitate. Bellas right, after all. If we could force them to stop and listen. Though that might take away any reason for a fight. . . .

  There was a hint of a smile on Emmetts face now. I was surprised no one had hit him yet. I wanted to.

  Yes, Esme said eagerly. That makes sense, Emmett. All we need is for the Volturi to pause for one moment. Just long enough to listen.

  Wed need quite a show of witnesses, Rosalie said harshly, her voice brittle as glass.

  Esme nodded in agreement, as if she hadnt heard the sarcasm in Rosalies tone. We can ask that much of our friends. Just to witness.

  Wed do it for them, Emmett said.

  Well have to ask them just right, Alice murmured. I looked to see her eyes were a dark void again. Theyll have to be shown very carefully.

  Shown? Jasper asked.

  Alice and Edward both looked down at Renesmee. Then Alices eyes glazed over.

  Tanyas family, she said. Siobhans coven. Amuns. Some of the nomadsGarrett and Mary for certain. Maybe Alistair.

  What about Peter and Charlotte? Jasper asked half fearfully, as if he hoped the answer was no, and his old brother could be spared from the coming carnage.

  Maybe.

  The Amazons? Carlisle asked. Kachiri, Zafrina, and Senna?

  Alice seemed too deep into her vision to answer at first; finally she shuddered, and her eyes flickered back to the present. She met Carlisles gaze for the tiniest part of a second, and then looked down.

  I cant see.

  What was that? Edward asked, his whisper a demand. That part in the jungle. Are we going to look for them?

  I cant see, Alice repeated, not meeting his eyes. A flash of confusion crossed Edwards
face. Well have to split up and hurrybefore the snow sticks to the ground. We have to round up whomever we can and get them here to show them. She zoned again. Ask Eleazar. There is more to this than just an immortal child.

  The silence was ominous for another long moment while Alice was in her trance. She blinked slowly when it was over, her eyes peculiarly opaque despite the fact that she was clearly in the present.

  There is so much. We have to hurry, she whispered.

  Alice? Edward asked. That was too fastI didnt understand. What was?

  I cant see! she exploded back at him. Jacobs almost here!

  Rosalie took a step toward the front door. Ill deal with

  No, let him come, Alice said quickly, her voice straining higher with each word. She grabbed Jaspers hand and began pulling him toward the back door. Ill see better away from Nessie, too. I need to go. I need to really concentrate. I need to see everything I can. I have to go. Come on, Jasper, theres no time to waste!

  We all could hear Jacob on the stairs. Alice yanked, impatient, on Jaspers hand. He followed quickly, confusion in his eyes just like Edwards. They darted out the door into the silver night.

  Hurry! she called back to us. You have to find them all!

  Find what? Jacob asked, shutting the front door behind himself. Whered Alice go?

  No one answered; we all just stared.

  Jacob shook the wet from his hair and pulled his arms through the sleeves of his t-shirt, his eyes on Renesmee. Hey, Bells! I thought you guys wouldve gone home by now. . . .

  He looked up to me finally, blinked, and then stared. I watched his expression as the rooms atmosphere finally touched him. He glanced down, eyes wide, at the wet spot on the floor, the scattered roses, the fragments of crystal. His fingers quivered.

  What? he asked flatly. What happened?

  I couldnt think where to begin. No one else found the words, either.

  Jacob crossed the room in three long strides and dropped to his knees beside Renesmee and me. I could feel the heat shaking off his body as tremors rolled down his arms to his shaking hands.

  Is she okay? he demanded, touching her forehead, tilting his head as he listened to her heart. Dont mess with me, Bella, please!

  Nothings wrong with Renesmee, I choked out, the words breaking in strange places.

  Then who?

  All of us, Jacob, I whispered. And it was there in my voice, toothe sound of the inside of a grave. Its over. Weve all been sentenced to die.

  29. DEFECTION

  We sat there all night long, statues of horror and grief, and Alice never came back.

  We were all at our limitsfrenzied into absolute stillness. Carlisle had barely been able to move his lips to explain it all to Jacob. The retelling seemed to make it worse; even Emmett stood silent and still from then on.

  It wasnt until the sun rose and I knew that Renesmee would soon be stirring under my hands that I wondered for the first time what could possibly be taking Alice so long. Id hoped to know more before I was faced with my daughters curiosity. To have some answers. Some tiny, tiny portion of hope so that I could smile and keep the truth from terrifying her, too.

  My face felt permanently set into the fixed mask it had worn all night. I wasnt sure I had the ability to smile anymore.

  Jacob was snoring in the corner, a mountain of fur on the floor, twitching anxiously in his sleep. Sam knew everythingthe 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 Edwards skin. My eyes had not moved from his since Alices departure. Wed stared at each other all night, staring at what neither of us could live through losing: the other. I saw my reflection glimmer in his agonized eyes as the sun touched my own skin.

  His eyebrows moved an infinitesimal bit, then his lips.

  Alice, he said.

  The sound of his voice was like ice cracking as it melted. All of us fractured a little, softened a little. Moved again.

  Shes been gone a long time, Rosalie murmured, surprised.

  Where could she be? Emmett wondered, taking a step toward the door.

  Esme put a hand on her arm. We dont want to disturb . . .

  Shes never taken so long before, Edward said. New worry splintered the mask his face had become. His features were alive again, his eyes suddenly wide with fresh fear, extra panic. Carlisle, you dont thinksomething preemptive? Would Alice have had time to see if they sent someone for her?

  Aros translucent-skinned face filled my head. Aro, who had seen into all the corners of Alices mind, who knew everything she was capable of

  Emmett cussed loud enough that Jacob lurched to his feet with a growl. In the yard, his growl was echoed by his pack. My family was already a blur of action.

  Stay with Renesmee! I all but shrieked at Jacob as I sprinted through the door.

  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 Rosalie in just a few strides more. I raced through the thick forest until I was right behind Edward 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 dont see how, Edward answered. But Aro knows her better than anyone else. Better than I do.

  Is this a trap? Emmett called from behind us.

  Maybe, Edward said. Theres no scent but Alice and Jasper. Where were they going?

  Alice and Jaspers 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 recrossed the river, all six jumping within a second of each other. Edward ran in the lead, his concentration total.

  Did you catch that scent? Esme called ahead a few moments after wed leaped the river for the second time. She was the farthest back, on the far left edge of our hunting party. She gestured to the southeast.

  Keep to the main trailwere almost to the Quileute border, Edward ordered tersely. 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. Edward 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 Edwards head snapped up. He came to a sudden stop. The rest of us froze, too.

  Sam? Edward 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 wolvesPaul and Jared. It took Sam a while to reach us; his human pace made me impatient. I didnt 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 Edwards face go absolutely white as he read what Sam was thinking. Sam ignored him, 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 the utmost importance that I say nothing to Jacob 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.

  Sams 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 from The 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. Id brought a few t
hings from Charlies 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 cottages little living room yesterday morning.

  Alice has decided to leave us, Carlisle whispered.

  What? Rosalie cried.

  Carlisle turned the page around so that we all could read.

  Dont look for us. There isnt time to waste. Remember: Tanya, Siobhan, Amun, Alistair, all the nomads you can find. Well seek out Peter and Charlotte on our way. Were so sorry that we have to leave you this way, with no goodbyes or explanations. Its the only way for us. We love you.

  We stood frozen again, the silence total but for the sound of the wolves heartbeats, their breathing. Their thoughts must have been loud, too. Edward was first to move again, speaking in response to what he heard in Sams head.