"Just scored the first touchdown," Emmett confirmed. He shot a look in my direction, wagging his
eyebrows like a villain in vaudeville. "'Bout time somebody scored around here."
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I fought back a hiss. In front of Charlie? That was over the line.
But Charlie was beyond noticing innuendos. He took yet another deep breath, sucking the air in like he
was trying to pull it down to his toes. I envied him. He lurched to his feet, stepped around Jacob, and
half-fell into an open chair. "Well," he sighed, "I guess we should see if they can hold on to the lead."
26. SHINY
"I don't know how much we should tell Renee about this," Charlie said, hesitating with one foot out the
door. He stretched, and then his stomach growled.
I nodded. "I know, i don't want to freak her out. Better to protect her. This stuff isn't for the
fainthearted."
His lips twisted up to the side ruefully. "I would have tried to protect you, too, if I'd known how. But I
guess you've never fit into the fainthearted category, have you?"
I smiled back, pulling a blazing breath in through my teeth.
Charlie patted his stomach absently. "I'll think of something. We've got time to discuss this, right?"
"Right," I promised him.
It had been a long day in some ways, and so short in others. Charlie was late for dinner—Sue
Clearwater was cooking for him and Billy. That was going to be an awkward evening, but at least he'd
be eating real food; I was glad someone was trying to keep him from starving due to his lack of cooking
ability.
All day the tension had made the minutes pass slowly; Charlie had never relaxed the stiff set of his
shoulders. But he'd been in no hurry to leave, either. He'd watched two whole games—thankfully so
absorbed in his thoughts that he was totally oblivious to Emmett's suggestive jokes that got more pointed
and less football-related with each aside—and the after-game commentaries, and then the news, not
moving until Seth had reminded him of the time.
"You gonna stand Billy and my mom up, Charlie? C'mon. Bella and Nessie'll be here tomorrow. Let's
get some grub, eh?"
It had been clear in Charlie's eyes that he hadn't trusted Seth's assessment, but he'd let Seth lead the way
out. The doubt was still there as he paused now. The clouds were thinning, the rain gone. The sun might
even make an appearance just in time to set.
"Jake says you guys were going to take off on me," he muttered to me now.
"I didn't want to do that if there was any way at all around it. That's why we're still here."
"He said you could stay for a while, but only if I'm tough enough, and if I can keep my mouth shut."
"Yes… but I can't promise that we'll never leave, Dad. It's pretty complicated___"
"Need to know," he reminded me.
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"Right."
"You'll visit, though, if you have to go?"
"I promise, Dad. Now that you know/usf enough, I think this can work. I'll keep as close as you want."
He chewed on his lip for half a second, then leaned slowly toward me with his arms cautiously extended.
I shifted Renesmee—napping now—to my left arm, locked my teeth, held my breath, and wrapped my
right arm very lightly around his warm, soft waist.
"Keep real close, Bells," he mumbled. "Real close."
"Love you, Dad," I whispered through my teeth.
He shivered and pulled away. I dropped my arm.
"Love you, too, kid. Whatever else has changed, that hasn't." He touched one finger to Renesmee's pink
cheek. "She sure looks a lot like you."
I kept my expression casual, though I felt anything but. "More like Edward, I think." I hesitated, and then
added, "She has your curls."
Charlie started, then snorted. "Huh. Guess she does. Huh. Grandpa." He shook his head doubtfully. "Do
I ever get to hold her?"
I blinked in shock and then composed myself. After considering for a half second and judging
Renesmee's appearance—she looked completely out—I decided that I might as well push my luck to the
limit, since things were going so well today___
"Here," I said, holding her out to him. He automatically made an awkward cradle with his arms, and I
tucked Renesmee into it. His skin wasn't quite as hot as hers, but it made my throat tickle to feel the
warmth flowing under the thin membrane. Where my white skin brushed him it left goose bumps. I wasn't
sure if this was a reaction to my new temperature or totally psychological.
Charlie grunted quietly as he felt her weight. "She's… sturdy."
I frowned. She felt feather-light to me. Maybe my measure was off.
"Sturdy is good," Charlie said, seeing my expression. Then he muttered to himself, "She'll need to be
tough, surrounded by all this craziness." He bounced his arms gently, swaying a little from side to side.
"Prettiest baby I ever saw, including you, kid. Sorry, but it's true."
"I know it is."
"Pretty baby," he said again, but it was closer to a coo this time.
I could see it in his face—I could watch it growing there. Charlie was just as helpless against her magic
as the rest of us. Two seconds in his arms, and already she owned him.
"Can I come back tomorrow?"
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"Sure, Dad. Of course. We'll be here."
"You'd better be," he said sternly, but his face was soft, still gazing at Renesmee. "See you tomorrow,
Nessie."
"Not you, too!"
"Huh?"
"Her name is Renesmee. Like Renee and Esme, put together. No variations." I struggled to calm myself
without the deep breath this time. "Do you want to hear her middle name?"
"Sure."
"Carlie. With a C. Like Carlisle and Charlie put together."
Charlie's eye-creasing grin lit up his face, taking me off guard. "Thanks, Bells."
"Thank you, Dad. So much has changed so quickly. My head hasn't stopped spinning. If I didn't have
you now, I don't know how I'd keep my grip on—on reality." I'd been about to say my grip on who I
was. That was probably more than he needed.
Charlie's stomach growled.
"Go eat, Dad. We will be here." I remembered how it felt, that first uncomfortable immersion in fantasy
—the sensation that everything would disappear in the light of the rising sun.
Charlie nodded and then reluctantly returned Renesmee to me. He glanced past me into the house; his
eyes were a little wild for a minute as he stared around the big bright room. Everyone was still there,
besides Jacob, who I could hear raiding the refrigerator in the kitchen; Alice was lounging on the bottom
step of the staircase with Jasper's head in her lap; Carlisle had his head bent over a fat book in his lap;
Esme was humming to herself, sketching on a notepad, while Rosalie and Emmett laid out the foundation
for a monumental house of cards under the stairs; Edward had drifted to his piano and was playing very
softly to himself. There was no evidence that the day was coming to a close, that it might be time to eat or
shift activities in preparation for evening. Something intangible had changed in the atmosphere. The
Cullens weren't trying as hard as they usually did—the human charade had slipped ever so slightly,
enough for Charlie to feel the difference.
He shuddered, shook his head, and sighed. "See you tomorrow, Bella." He frowned and then added, "I
mean, it's not like you don't look… good. I'll get used to it."
"Thanks, Dad."
Charlie nodded and walked thoughtfully toward his car. I watched him drive away; it wasn't until I heard
his tires hit the freeway that I realized I'd done it. I'd actually made it through the whole day without
hurting Charlie. All by myself. I must have a superpower!
It seemed too good to be true. Could I really have both my new family and some of my old as well?
And I'd thought that yesterday had been perfect.
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"Wow," I whispered. I blinked and felt the third set of contact lenses disintegrate.
The sound of the piano cut off, and Edward's arms were around my waist, his chin resting on my
shoulder.
"You took the word right out of my mouth."
"Edward, i did it!"
"You did. You were unbelievable. All that worrying over being a newborn, and then you skip it
altogether.'7He laughed quietly.
"I'm not even sure she's really a vampire, let alone a newborn," Emmett called from under the stairs.
"She's too tame."
All the embarrassing comments he'd made in front of my father sounded in my ears again, and it was
probably a good thing I was holding Renesmee. Unable to help my reaction entirely, I snarled under my
breath.
"Oooo, scary," Emmett laughed.
I hissed, and Renesmee stirred in my arms. She blinked a few times, then looked around, her expression
confused. She sniffed, then reached for my face.
"Charlie will be back tomorrow," I assured her.
"Excellent," Emmett said. Rosalie laughed with him this time.
"Not brilliant, Emmett," Edward said scornfully, holding out his hands to take Renesmee from me. He
winked when I hesitated, and so, a little confused, I gave her to him.
"What do you mean?" Emmett demanded.
"It's a little dense, don't you think, to antagonize the strongest vampire in the house?"
Emmett threw his head back and snorted. "Please!"
"Bella," Edward murmured to me while Emmett listened closely, "do you remember a few months ago, I
asked you to do me a favor once you were immortal?"
That rang a dim bell. I sifted through the blurry human conversations. After a moment, I remembered
and I gasped, "Oh!"
Alice trilled a long, pealing laugh. Jacob poked his head around the corner, his mouth stuffed with food.
"What?" Emmett growled.
"Really?" I asked Edward.
"Trust me," he said.
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I took a deep breath. "Emmett, how do you feel about a little bet?"
He was on his feet at once. "Awesome. Bring it."
I bit my lip for a second. He was just so huge.
"Unless you're too afraid… ?" Emmett suggested.
I squared my shoulders. "You. Me. Arm-wrestling. Dining room table. Now."
Emmett's grin stretched across his face.
"Er, Bella," Alice said quickly, "I think Esme is fairly fond of that table. It's an antique."
"Thanks," Esme mouthed at her.
"No problem," Emmett said with a gleaming smile. "Right this way, Bella."
I followed him out the back, toward the garage; I could hear all the others trailing behind. There was a
largish granite boulder standing up out of a tumble of rocks near the river, obviously Emmett's goal.
Though the big rock was a little rounded and irregular, it would do the job.
Emmett placed his elbow on the rock and waved me forward.
I was nervous again as I watched the thick muscles in Emmett's arm roll, but I kept my face smooth.
Edward had promised I would be stronger than anyone for a while. He seemed very confident about this,
and I felt strong. That strong? I wondered, looking at Emmett's biceps. I wasn't even two days old,
though, and that ought to count for something. Unless nothing was normal about me. Maybe I wasn't as
strong as a normal newborn. Maybe that's why control was so easy for me.
I tried to look unconcerned as I set my elbow against the stone.
"Okay, Emmett. I win, and you cannot say one more word about my sex life to anyone, not even Rose.
No allusions, no innuendos—no nothing."
His eyes narrowed. "Deal. I win, and it's going to get a lot worse."
He heard my breath stop and grinned evilly. There was no hint of bluff in his eyes.
"You gonna back down so easy, little sister?" Emmett taunted. "Not much wild about you, is there? I bet
that cottage doesn't have a scratch." He laughed. "Did Edward tell you how many houses Rose and I
smashed?"
I gritted my teeth and grabbed his big hand. "One, two—"
"Three," he grunted, and shoved against my hand.
Nothing happened.
Oh, I could feel the force he was exerting. My new mind seemed pretty good at all kinds of calculations,
and so I could tell that if he wasn't meeting any resistance, his hand would have pounded right through the
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rock without difficulty. The pressure increased, and I wondered randomly if a cement truck doing forty
miles an hour down a sharp decline would have similar power. Fifty miles an hour? Sixty? Probably
more.
It wasn't enough to move me. His hand shoved against mine with crushing force, but it wasn't unpleasant.
It felt kind of good in a weird way. I'd been so very careful since the last time I woke up, trying so hard
not to break things. It was a strange relief to use my muscles. To let the strength flow rather than
struggling to restrain it.
Emmett grunted; his forehead creased and his whole body strained in one rigid line toward the obstacle
of my unmoving hand. I let him sweat—figuratively—for a moment while I enjoyed the sensation of the
crazy force running through my arm.
A few seconds, though, and I was a little bored with it. I flexed; Emmett lost an inch.
I laughed. Emmett snarled harshly through his teeth.
"Just keep your mouth shut," I reminded him, and then I smashed his hand into the boulder. A deafening
crack echoed off the trees. The rock shuddered, and a piece—about an eighth of the mass—broke off at
an invisible fault line and crashed to the ground. It fell on Emmett's foot, and I snickered. I could hear
Jacob's and Edward's muffled laughter.
Emmett kicked the rock fragment across the river. It sliced a young maple in half before thudding into
the base of a big fir, which swayed and then fell into another tree.
"Rematch. Tomorrow."
"It's not going to wear off that fast," I told him. "Maybe you ought to give it a month."
Emmett growled, flashing his teeth. "Tomorrow."
"Hey, whatever makes you happy, big brother."
As he turned to stalk away, Emmett punched the granite, shattering off an avalanche of shards and
powder. It was kind of neat, in a childish way.
Fascinated by the undeniable proof that I was stronger than the strongest vampire I'd ever known, I
placed my hand, fingers spread wide, against the rock. Then I dug my fingers slowly into the stone,
crushing rather than digging; the consistency reminded me of hard cheese. I ended up with a handful of
gravel.
"Cool," I mumbled.
With a grin stretching my face, I whirled in a sudden circle and karate-chopped the rock with the side of
my hand. The stone shrieked and groaned and—with a big poof of dust—split in two.
I started giggling.
I didn't pay much attention to the chuckles behind me while I punched and kicked the rest of the boulder
into fragments. I was having too much fun, snickering away the whole time. It wasn't until I heard a new
little giggle, a high-pitched peal of bells, that I turned away from my silly game.
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"Did she just laugh?"
Everyone was staring at Renesmee with the same dumbstruck expression that must have been on my
face.
"Yes," Edward said.
"Who wasnt laughing?" Jake muttered, rolling his eyes.
"Tell me you didn't let go a bit on your first run, dog," Edward teased, no antagonism in his voice at all.
"That's different," Jacob said, and I watched in surprise as he mock-punched Edward's shoulder.
"Bella's supposed to be a grown-up. Married and a mom and all that. Shouldn't there be more dignity?"
Renesmee frowned, and touched Edward's face.
"What does she want?" I asked.
"Less dignity," Edward said with a grin. "She was having almost as much fun watching you enjoy yourself
as I was."
"Am I funny?" I asked Renesmee, darting back and reaching for her at the same time that she reached
for me. I took her out of Edward's arms and offered her the shard of rock in my hand. "You want to
try?"
She smiled her glittering smile and took the stone in both hands. She squeezed, a little dent forming
between her eyebrows as she concentrated.
There was a tiny grinding sound, and a bit of dust. She frowned, and held the chunk up to me.
Til get it," I said, pinching the stone into sand.
She clapped and laughed; the delicious sound of it made us all join in.
The sun suddenly burst through the clouds, shooting long beams of ruby and gold across the ten of us,
and I was immediately lost in the beauty of my skin in the light of the sunset. Dazed by it.
Renesmee stroked the smooth diamond-bright facets, then laid her arm next to mine. Her skin had just a
faint luminosity, subtle and mysterious. Nothing that would keep her inside on a sunny day like my
glowing sparkle. She touched my face, thinking of the difference and feeling disgruntled.
"You're the prettiest," I assured her.
Tm not sure I can agree to that," Edward said, and when I turned to answer him, the sunlight on his face
stunned me into silence.
Jacob had his hand in front of his face, pretending to shield his eyes from the glare. "Freaky Bella," he
commented.
"What an amazing creature she is," Edward murmured, almost in agreement, as if Jacob's comment was
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meant as a compliment. He was both dazzling and dazzled.
It was a strange feeling—not surprising, I supposed, since everything felt strange now—this being a
natural at something. As a human, I'd never been best at anything. I was okay at dealing with Renee, but
probably lots of people could have done better; Phil seemed to be holding his own. I was a good
student, but never the top of the class. Obviously, I could be counted out of anything athletic. Not artistic
or musical, no particular talents to brag of. Nobody ever gave away a trophy for reading books. After
eighteen years of mediocrity, I was pretty used to being average. I realized now that I'd long ago given up
any aspirations of shining at anything. I just did the best with what I had, never quite fitting into my world.
So this was really different. I was amazing now—to them and to myself. It was like I had been born to
be a vampire. The idea made me want to laugh, but it also made me want to sing. I had found my true
place in the world, the place I fit, the place I shined.
27. TRAVEL PLANS
i took mythology a lot more seriously since I'd become a vampire.
Often, when I looked back over my first three months as an immortal, I imagined how the thread of my
life might look in the Fates' loom—who knew but that it actually existed? I was sure my thread must have
changed color; I thought it had probably started out as a nice beige, something supportive and
non-confrontational, something that would look good in the background. Now it felt like it must be bright
crimson, or maybe glistening gold.
The tapestry of family and friends that wove together around me was a beautiful, glowing thing, full of
their bright, complementary colors.
I was surprised by some of the threads I got to include in my life. The werewolves, with their deep,
woodsy colors, were not something I'd expected; Jacob, of course, and Seth, too. But my old friends
Quil and Embry became part of the fabric as they joined Jacob's pack, and even Sam and Emily were
cordial. The tensions between our families eased, mostly due to Renesmee. She was easy to love.
Sue and Leah Clearwater were interlaced into our life, too—two more I had not anticipated.
Sue seemed to have taken it on herself to smooth Charlie's transition into the world of make-believe.
She came with him to the Cullens' most days, though she never seemed truly comfortable here the way
her son and most of Jake's pack did. She did not speak often; she just hovered protectively near Charlie.
She was always the first person he looked to when Renesmee did something disturbingly advanced
—which was often. In answer, Sue would eye Seth meaningfully as if to say, Yeah, tell me about it.
Leah was even less comfortable than Sue and was the only part of our recently extended family who
was openly hostile to the merger. However, she and Jacob had a new camaraderie that kept her close to
us all. I asked him about it once—hesitantly; I didn't want to pry, but the relationship was so different
from the way it used to be that it made me curious. He shrugged and told me it was a pack thing. She
was his second-in-command now, his "beta," as
I'd called it once long ago.
"I figured as long as I was going to do this Alpha thing for real," Jacob explained, "I'd better nail down
the formalities."
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The new responsibility made Leah feel the need to check in with him often, and since he was always with
Renesmee…
Leah was not happy to be near us, but she was the exception. Happiness was the main component in my
life now, the dominant pattern in the tapestry. So much so that my relationship with Jasper was now much
closer than I'd ever dreamed it would be.
At first I was really annoyed, though.
"Yeesh!" I complained to Edward one night after we'd put Renesmee in her wrought-iron crib. "If I
haven't killed Charlie or Sue yet, it's probably not going to happen. I wish Jasper would stop hovering all
the time!"
"No one doubts you, Bella, not in the slightest," he assured me. "You know how Jasper is—he can't
resist a good emotional climate. You're so happy all the time, love, he gravitates toward you without
thinking."
And then Edward hugged me tightly, because nothing pleased him more than my overwhelming ecstasy
in this new life.
And I was euphoric the vast majority of the time. The days were not long enough for me to get my fill of
adoring my daughter; the nights did not have enough hours to satisfy my need for Edward.
There was a flipside to the joy, though. If you turned the fabric of our lives over, I imagined the design
on the backside would be woven in the bleak grays of doubt and fear.
Renesmee spoke her first word when she was exactly one week old. The word was Momma, which
would have made my day, except that I was so frightened by her progress I could barely force my frozen
face to smile back at her. It didn't help that she continued from her first word to her first sentence in the
same breath. "Momma, where is Grandpa?" she'd asked in a clear, high soprano, only bothering to speak
aloud because I was across the room from her. She'd already asked Rosalie, using her normal （or
seriously abnormal, from another point of view） means of communication. Rosalie hadn't known the
answer, so Renesmee had turned to me.
When she walked for the first time, fewer than three weeks later, it was similar. She'd simply stared at
Alice for a long moment, watching intently as her aunt arranged bouquets in the vases scattered around
the room, dancing back and forth across the floor with her arms full of flowers. Renesmee got to her feet,
not in the least bit shaky, and crossed the floor almost as gracefully.
Jacob had burst into applause, because that was clearly the response Renesmee wanted. The way he
was tied to her made his own reactions secondary; his first reflex was always to give Renesmee whatever
she needed. But our eyes met, and I saw all the panic in mine echoed in his. I made my hands clap
together, too, trying to hide my fear from her. Edward applauded quietly at my side, and we didn't need
to speak our thoughts to know they were the same.
Edward and Carlisle threw themselves into research, looking for any answers, anything to expect. There
was
very little to be found, and none of it verifiable.
Alice and Rosalie usually began our day with a fashion show. Renesmee never wore the same clothes
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twice, partly because she outgrew her clothes almost immediately and partly because Alice and Rosalie
were trying to create a baby album that appeared to span years rather than weeks. They took thousands
of pictures, documenting every phase of her accelerated childhood.
At three months, Renesmee could have been a big one-year-old, or a small two-year-old. She wasn't
shaped exactly like a toddler; she was leaner and more graceful, her proportions were more even, like an
adult's. Her bronze ringlets hung to her waist; I couldn't bear to cut them, even if Alice would have
allowed it. Renesmee could speak with flawless grammar and articulation, but she rarely bothered,
preferring to simply show people what she wanted. She could not only walk but run and dance. She
could even read.
I'd been reading Tennyson to her one night, because the flow and rhythm of his poetry seemed restful. （I
had to search constantly for new material; Renesmee didn't like repetition in her bedtime stories as other
children supposedly did, and she had no patience for picture books.） She reached up to touch my cheek,
the image in her mind one of us, only with her holding the book. I gave it to her, smiling.
" There is sweet music here,'" she read without hesitation, "'that softer falls than petals from blown roses
on the grass, or night-dews on still waters between walls of shadowy granite, in a gleaming pass—'"
My hand was robotic as I took the book back.
"If you read, how will you fall asleep?" I asked in a voice that had barely escaped shaking.
By Carlisle's calculations, the growth of her body was gradually slowing; her mind continued to race on
ahead. Even if the rate of decrease held steady, she'd still be an adult in no more than four years.
Four years. And an old woman by fifteen.
Just fifteen years of life.
But she was so healthy. Vital, bright, glowing, and happy. Her conspicuous well-being made it easy for
me to be happy with her in the moment and leave the future for tomorrow.
Carlisle and Edward discussed our options for the future from every angle in low voices that I tried not
to hear. They never had these discussions when Jacob was around, because there was one sure way to
halt aging, and that wasn't something Jacob was likely to be excited about. I wasn't. Too dangerous! my
instincts screamed at me. Jacob and Renesmee seemed alike in so many ways, both half-and-half beings,
two things at the same time. And all the werewolf lore insisted that vampire venom was a death sentence
rather than a course to immortality___
Carlisle and Edward had exhausted the research they could do from a distance, and now we were
preparing to follow old legends at their source. We were going back to Brazil, starting there. The Ticunas
had legends about children like Renesmee… If other children like her had ever existed, perhaps some
tale of the life span of half-mortal children still lingered___
The only real question left was exactly when we would go.
I was the holdup. A small part of it was that I wanted to stay near Forks until after the holidays, for
Charlie's
sake. But more than that, there was a different journey that I knew had to come first—that was the clear
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priority. Also, it had to be a solo trip.
This was the only argument that Edward and I had gotten in since I'd become a vampire. The main point
of contention was the "solo" part. But the facts were what they were, and my plan was the only one that
made rational sense. I had to go see the Volturi, and I had to do it absolutely alone.
Even freed from old nightmares, from any dreams at all, it was impossible to forget the Volturi. Nor did
they leave us without reminders.
Until the day that Aro's present showed up, i didn't know that Alice had sent a wedding announcement
to the Volturi leaders; we'd been far away on Esme's island when she'd seen a vision of Volturi soldiers
—Jane and Alec, the devastatingly powerful twins, among them. Caius was planning to send a hunting
party to see if I was still human, against their edict （because I knew about the secret vampire world, I
either must join it or be silenced… permanently）。 So Alice had mailed the announcement, seeing that this
would delay them as they deciphered the meaning behind it. But they would come eventually. That was
certain.
The present itself was not overtly threatening. Extravagant, yes, almost frightening in that very
extravagance. The threat was in the parting line of Aro's congratulatory note, written in black ink on a
square of heavy, plain white paper in Aro's own hand:
I so look forward to seeing the new Mrs. Cullen in person.
The gift was presented in an ornately carved, ancient wooden box inlaid with gold and mother-of-pearl,
ornamented with a rainbow of gemstones. Alice said the box itself was a priceless treasure, that it would
have outshone just about any piece of jewelry besides the one inside it.
"I always wondered where the crown jewels disappeared to after John of England pawned them in the
thirteenth century," Carlisle said. "I suppose it doesn't surprise me that the Volturi have their share."
The necklace was simple—gold woven into a thick rope of a chain, almost scaled, like a smooth snake
that would curl close around the throat. One jewel hung suspended from the rope; a white diamond the
size of a golf ball.
The unsubtle reminder in Aro's note interested me more than the jewel. The Volturi needed to see that I
was immortal, that the Cullens had been obedient to the Volturi's orders, and they needed to see this
soon. They could not be allowed near Forks. There was only one way to keep our life here safe.
"You're not going alone," Edward had insisted through his teeth, his hands clenching into fists.
"They won't hurt me," I'd said as soothingly as I could manage, forcing my voice to sound sure. "They
have no reason to. I'm a vampire. Case closed."
"No. Absolutely no."
"Edward, it's the only way to protect her."
And he hadn't been able to argue with that. My logic was watertight.
Even in the short time I'd known Aro, I'd been able to see that he was a collector—and his most prized
treasures were his living pieces. He coveted beauty, talent, and rarity in his immortal followers more than
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any jewel locked in his vaults. It was unfortunate enough that he'd begun to covet Alice's and Edward's
abilities. I would give him no more reason to be jealous of Carlisle's family. Renesmee was beautiful and
gifted and unique—she was one of a kind. He could not be allowed to see her, not even through
someone's thoughts.
And I was the only one whose thoughts he could not hear. Of course I would go alone.
Alice did not see any trouble with my trip, but she was worried by the indistinct quality of her visions.
She said they were sometimes similarly hazy when there were outside decisions that might conflict but
that had not been solidly resolved. This uncertainty made Edward, already hesitant, extremely opposed
to what I had to do. He wanted to come with me as far as my connection in London, but I wouldn't leave
Renesmee without both her parents. Carlisle was coming instead. It made both Edward and me a little
more relaxed, knowing that Carlisle would be only a few hours away from me.
