The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 28. The Future

Carlisle and Edward had non been able to catch up with Irina in the lead her trail disappeared into the strait. Theyd swum to the otherwise bank to externalize if her trail had picked up in a straight line, exactly there was no trace of her for miles in either direction on the eastern shore.It was wholly my fault. She had vex, as Alice had seen, to found peace with the Cullens, yet to be angered by my camaraderie with Jacob. I wished Id noniced her earlier, in the beginning Jacob had phased. I wished wed g integrity hunting somewhere else. there wasnt often to be done. Carlisle had called Tanya with the disap halting news. Tanya and Kate hadnt seen Irina since theyd clear-cut to scratch to my wedding, and they were distraught that Irina had do so c mislay and yet non returned home it wasnt easy for them to lose their sister, however temporary the separation might be. I wondered if this brought mainstay dense memories of losing their flummox so many centuries ago.Al ice was able to catch a hardly a(prenominal) glimpses of Irinas immediate future, nothing to a fault concrete. She wasnt sledding back to Denali, as furthest as Alice could tell. The plastic film was hazy. All Alice could see was that Irina was visibly upset she wandered in the snow-swathed wilderness to the north? To the east? with a devastated expression. She made no decisions for a new fall beyond her directionless grieving.Days passed and, though of course I forgot nothing, Irina and her imposition moved to the back of my mind. at that place were more classic things to think of now. I would leave for Italy in salutary a someer days. When I got back, wed all be take to S stunnedh America.E actually(prenominal) percentage point had been gone over a hundred quantifys already. We would start with the Ticunas, shadow their legends as well as we could at the source. Now that it was accepted that Jacob would receive with us, he figured prominently in the plans it was un uniformly that the people who believed in vampires would speak to any of us about their stories. If we dead-ended with the Ticunas, there were many most(prenominal) related tribes in the area to research. Carlisle had some oldfriends in the amazon if we could find them, they might thrust information for us, too. Or at to the lowest degree a suggestion as to where else we might go for answers. It was unlikely that the one-third Amazon vampires had anything to do with the legends of vampire hybrids themselves, as they were all female. There was no way to know how long our search would take.I hadnt told Charlie about the lifelong trip yet, and I stewed about what to say to him opus Edward and Carlisles news 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 verbose with heavy sleep, her tangled curls splayed wildly around her search.Usually, Edward and I took her back to ou r bungalow to put her to bed, but tonight we lingered with the family, he and Carlisle tardily in their be after session.Meanwhile, Emmett and Jasper were more excited about planning the hunting possibilities. The Amazon sourered 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 pack. Jacob was off with Sams pack, setting things up for his receive absence.Alice moved slowly for her around the extended room, unnecessarily tidying the already immaculate space, straightening Esmes utterly hung garlands. She was re-centering Esmes vases on the console at the issue. I could see from the way her face fluctuated informed, then blank, then aware again that she was searching the future. I assumed she was trying to see done the blind spots that Jacob and Renesmee made in her visions as to what was restraining for us in South America until Jasper give tongue to, Let i t go, Alice shes not our concern, and a infect of serenity stole silently and invisibly through the room.Alice must subscribe been worrying about Irina again.She stuck her tongue out at Jasper and then move one quartz vase that was filled with white and red roses and turned toward the kitchen. There was just the barest hint of wilt to one of the white flowers, but Alice seemed goal on utter perfection as a distraction to her miss of vision tonight.Staring at Renesmee again, I didnt see it when the vase slipped from Alices fingers. I only tryd the whoosh of the air whistling past the crystal, and my look flickered up in time to see the vase shatter into ten thousand infield shards against the edge of the kitchens marble floor.We were perfectly still as the fragmented crystal bounced and skittered in every direction with an unmusical tinkling, all eyeball on Alices back.My original illogical panorama was that Alice was playing some joke on us. Because there was no way that Alice could gift dropped 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 get it. And how would it fall through her fingers in the first place? Her perfectly sure fingersI had never seen a vampire drop anything by accident. Ever.And then Alice was facing us, twisting in a move so fast it didnt exist.Her eyes were central here and halfway locked on the future, wide, staring, filling her thin face till they seemed to overflow it. spirit into her eyes was like looking out of a grave from the inner I was buried in the terror anddespair and agony of her gaze.I see to itd Edward gasp it was a broken, half-choked sound.What?Jasper growled, leaping to her side in a blurred rush of movement, crushing the broken crystal under his feet. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her sharply. She seemed to rattle silently in his hands. What Alice?Emmett moved into my peripheral vision, his dentition bared while his eyes darted toward the window, anticipating an attack.There was only silence from Esme, Carlisle, and Rose, who were crisp just as I was.Jasper shook Alice again. What is it?Theyre climax for us, Alice and Edward whispered together, perfectly synchronized. All of them.Silence.For once, I was the quickest to understand because something in their words triggered my own vision. It was only the distant memory of a dream faint, transparent, indistinct as if I were peering through thick gauze. In my query, I power saw a line of black advancing on me, the ghost of my half-forgotten man nightmare. I could not see the glint of their ruby eyes in the shrouded image, or the shine of their sharp laden teeth, but I knew where the flicker should be.Stronger than the memory of the sight came the memory of the feel the wrenching indispensableness to protect the precious thing lowlife me.I exigencyed to spot Renesmee up into my harness, to hide her behind my skin and hair, to claim he r invisible. But I couldnt compensate turn to look at her. I matt-up 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 alike(p) time.why? Alice whispered to herself. How?When? Edward whispered.why? Esme echoed.When?Jasper repeated in a voice like splintering ice.Alices eyes didnt blink, but it was as if a veil cover them they became perfectly blank. Only her mouth held on to her expression of horror. non long, she and Edward say together. Then she spoke alone. Theres snow on the forest, snow on the town. subatomic more than a month.Why? Carlisle was the one to ask this time.Esme answered. They must have a reason. Maybe to see This isnt about Bella, Alice verbalize hollowly. Theyre all coming Aro, Caius, Marcus, every member of the guard, even the wives.The wives never leave the tower, Jasper contradicted her in a flat voice. Never. not during the southern rebellion. Not when the Romanians tried to overthrow them. Not even when they were hunting the immortal children. Never.Theyre coming now, Edward whispered.But why? Carlisle utter again. Weve done nothing And if we had, what could we possibly 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. any(prenominal)how 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. account for the trigger. Search.Alice shook her head slowly, he r 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 portentous 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 self-collected on the cliff, watching. What had she seen? A vampire and a werewolf who wer e best friends. Id been center 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 humanIrina the orphaned sisters Carlisle had said that losing their suffer 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 children the impermissible bane, the appalling tabooWith Irinas past, how could she apply 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 radiating from her body. Renesmees rosy cheeks could have been a spoof on our part for all she knew.After all, the Cullens were in league with werewolves. From Irinas point of view, maybe this compressedt nothing was beyond us.Irina, wring ing her hands in the white-hot wilderness not mourning Laurent, after all, but knowing it was her affair 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 soul 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 more than every day. They were out of control, but she never hu rts 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 permit loose as they realized I was right. The room just seemed to get colder. at long last 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 pass 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 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 speedi ng age worried that she would only have bittie over a decade of life. That terror seemed ironic now. scant(p) over a monthWas this the limit, then? Id had more happiness than most people ever experienced. Was there some natural law that demanded decent shares of happiness and misery in the world? Was my joy overthrowing the balance? Was quadruple months all I could have?It was Emmett who answered my rhetorical question.We guard, 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 political campaign outside. 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 article of faith the Quileutes to death, either, EmmettChill, Bel la. 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, though do you think Jacob or Sam is going to ignore an invasion? Even if it wasnt about Nessie? Not to mention that, convey 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 wan ted to.Yes, Esme said eagerly. That makes sense, Emmett. All we need is for the Volturi to gap for one moment. Just long enough to listen*Wed need kinda 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 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 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 answ er 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. 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 part 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 disrespect 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 door. Ill deal with No, let him come, Alice said quickly, her voice straining higher with each word. She grabbed Jaspers hand and began draw 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 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 allFind 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 glan ced 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 alright? he demanded, touching her forehead, tilting his head as he listened to her heart. Dont mess with me, Bella, gratifyNothings wrong with Renesmee, I choked out, the words breaking in peculiar 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.