The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 28. The Future

Carlisle and Edward had non been able to catch up with Irina forwards her trail disappeargond into the snuff it. Theyd swum to the other posit to claver if her trail had picked up in a straight line, merely t present was no trace of her for miles in either cathexis on the eastern shore.It was entirely my fault. She had come, as Alice had ingestn, to make peace with the Cullens, only to be angered by my camaraderie with Jacob. I wished Id noticed her earlier, before Jacob had phased. I wished wed g cardinal hunting somewhere else.There wasnt much to be d wiz. Carlisle had c eached Tanya with the queer news. Tanya and Kate hadnt noticen Irina since theyd decided to come to my wedding, and they were distraught that Irina had come so close and thus far not returned home it wasnt easy for them to lose their sister, however temporary the insularity might be. I wondered if this brought back hard memories of losing their mother so some(prenominal) centuries ago.Alice was able to catch a few glimpses of Irinas immediate future, no foreshorteng also concrete. She wasnt going back to Denali, as far as Alice could tell. The picture was hazy. exclusively Alice could see was that Irina was visibly upset she wandered in the snowfall-swathed wilderness to the north? To the east? with a devastated expression. She do no purposes for a new course beyond her directionless grieving.Days passed and, though of course I forgot no matter, Irina and her pain move to the back of my mind. There were much important things to think of now. I would cash in ones chips for Italy in precisely a few days. When I got back, wed all be forth to S bring outh the States.Every detail had been gone all over a hundred times already. We would start with the Ticunas, tracing their legends as well as we could at the source. Now that it was accepted that Jacob would come with us, he figured prominently in the political programs it was un worryly that the people who believed in lamias would speak to any of us close their stories. If we dead-ended with the Ticunas, there were many closely related tribes in the athletic study to research. Carlisle had some oldfriends in the Amazon if we could find them, they might fork out information for us, too. Or at least a suggestion as to where else we might go for answers. It was unlikely that the three Amazon lamias had anything to do with the legends of vampire hybrids themselves, as they were all female. There was no port to know how retentive our search would take.I hadnt told Charlie more or less the tenaciouser trip yet, and I grizzle about what to say to him while Edward and Carlisles sermon went on. How to break the news to him just right?I stared at Renesmee while I debated internally. She was curled up on the sofa now, her breathing slow with heavy sleep, her tangled curls splayed wildly around her tone.Usually, Edward and I took her back to our cott period to put her to bed, only if tonight w e lingered with the family, he and Carlisle deep in their planning session.Meanwhile, Emmett and Jasper were more excited about planning the hunting possibilities. The Amazon offered a change from our normal quarry. Jaguars and panthers, for example. Emmett had a whim to wrestle with an anaconda. Esme and Rosalie were planning what they would summer camp. Jacob was off with Sams pack, setting things up for his take in absence.Alice moved lento for her around the big mode, unnecessarily tidying the already stainless space, straightening Esmes short hung garlands. She was re-centering Esmes vases on the console at the moment. I could see from the substance her face fluctuated aware, because blank, then aware again that she was searching the future. I assumed she was trying to see finished the blind locatings that Jacob and Renesmee made in her visions as to what was waiting for us in South America until Jasper verbalise, Let it go, Alice shes not our concern, and a clou d of serenity stole wordlessly and invisibly through the room.Alice must rich person been worrying about Irina again.She stuck her mother tongue out at Jasper and then lifted one crystal vase that was alter with white and red roses and turned toward the kitchen. There was just the barest hint of sag to one of the white flowers, further Alice seemed intent on utter saint as a distraction to her lack of vision tonight.Staring at Renesmee again, I didnt see it when the vase slipped from Alices fingers. I only heard the whoosh of the way whistling past the crystal, and my realize flickered up in time to see the vase shatter into ten thousand diamond shards against the edge of the kitchens marble floor.We were perfectly still as the fragmented crystal bounced and skittered in every(prenominal) direction with an unmusical tinkling, all eyes on Alices back.My first illogical belief was that Alice was playing some joke on us. Because there was no way that Alice could moderate d ropped the vase by accident I could have darted across the room to catch the vase in plenty of time myself, if I hadnt assumed she would have got it. And how would it fall through her fingers in the first place? Her perfectly for certain fingersI had never seen a vampire drop anything by accident. Ever.And then Alice was facing us, twisting in a move so prompt it didnt exist.Her eyes were halfway here and halfway locked on the future, wide, staring, filling her thin face till they seemed to overflow it. Looking into her eyes was like spirit out of a grave from the inside I was buried in the terror anddespair and agony of her gaze.I heard Edward gasp it was a broken, half- choked sound.What?Jasper growled, leaping to her side in a blurred rush of movement, curtailment the broken crystal under his feet. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her calculatingly. She seemed to rattle mutely in his hands. What Alice?Emmett moved into my peripheral vision, his teeth bared while his eyes darted toward the window, anticipating an attack.There was only curb from Esme, Carlisle, and Rose, who were frozen just as I was.Jasper shook Alice again. What is it?Theyre coming for us, Alice and Edward whisper together, perfectly synchronized. All of them.Silence.For once, I was the fastest to under go because something in their words triggered my own vision. It was only the distant stock of a dream faint, transparent, indistinct as if I were peering through heavyset gauze. In my boss, I precept a line of shocking advancing on me, the ghost of my half-forgotten human nightmare. I could not see the glint of their ruby eyes in the shrouded image, or the shine of their sharp wet teeth, but I knew where the gleam should be.Stronger than the memory of the push-down list came the memory of the feel the wrenching need to protect the precious thing john me.I cherished to snatch Renesmee up into my arms, to hide her behind my skin and hair, to make her invisible. only if I couldnt yet turn to look at her. I felt not like stone but ice. For the first time since Id been reborn a vampire, I felt cold.I barely heard the confirmation of my fears. I didnt need it. I already knew.The Volturi, Alice moaned.All of them, Edward groaned at the same time. wherefore? Alice whispered to herself. How?When? Edward whispered.Why? Esme echoed.When?Jasper restate in a theatrical role like splintering ice.Alices eyes didnt blink, but it was as if a veil covered them they became perfectly blank. Only her sassing held on to her expression of horror.Not long, she and Edward said together. Then she spoke alone. Theres snow on the forest, snow on the town. Little more than a calendar month.Why? Carlisle was the one to ask this time.Esme answered. They must have a drive. Maybe to see This isnt about Bella, Alice said hollowly. Theyre all coming Aro, Caius, Marcus, every member of the guard, still the wives.The wives never leave the tower, Jasper contradicted her in a f lat voice. Never. Not during the Confederate rebellion. Not when the Romanians tried to overthrow them. Not even so when they were hunting the immortal children. Never.Theyre coming now, Edward whispered. tho why? Carlisle said again. Weve done energy And if we had, what could we mayhap do that would bring f/?/sdown on us?There are so many of us, Edward answered dully. They must want to make sure that He didnt finish.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 root that they would come for her. My unconscious 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 chieftain slowly, her shoulders saggin g. It came out of nowhere, Jazz. I wasnt facial expression 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 pointedness 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 frie nds. Id been focused on that image, one that would plainly explain her reaction. But that was not all that shed seen.Shed also seen a child. An very well beautiful child, showing off in the falling snow, clearly more than humanIrina 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. precisely half a minute ago, Jasper had said the words himself Not even when they were hunting the immortal children. The immortal children the unmentionable bane, the appalling tabooWith Irinas past, how could she kick in any other reading to what shed seen that day in the narrow field? Shehad not been close enough to hear Renesmees heart, to feel the heat radiate from her dead 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 han ds in the snowy wilderness not lamentation Laurent, after all, but knowing it was her duty to turn the Cullens in, knowing what would take place to them if she did. Apparently her conscience had won out over the centuries of friendship.And the Volturis response to this phase 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 frozen tension in the room to relax as they realized I was right. The room just seemed to get colder. scourtually 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 wakeless 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 before like 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 age worried th at she would only have little over a go of life. That terror seemed ironic now.Little over a monthWas 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 stimulate noise, and I knew instinctively that he was not upset by the mood 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, EmmettChill, Bella. His expression was no variant from when he was cont emplating fighting anacondas. Even the threat of annihilation couldnt change Emmetts perspective, his competency to thrill to a challenge. I didnt mean the pack. Be realistic, though do 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 quieten 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 wait 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, Emme tt. 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 derision 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 gloomful 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 nomads Garrett 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 associate 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 tothe 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. be we going to look for them?I cant see, Alice repeated, not meeting his eyes. A rack of confusion crossed Edwards face. Well have to split up and hurry before 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 fast I didnt understand. What was ?I cant see she exploded back at him. Jacobs almost hereRosalie took a step toward the front entre. 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 best 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 wasteWe 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 see 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 air travel finally touched him. He glanced down, eyes wide, at the wet spot on th e 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, pleaseNothings 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, too the sound of the inside of a grave. Its over. Weve all been sentenced to die.