Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer [198]
I was amazed at the easy acceptance the visiting vampires had for Jacob; the problems Edward had anticipated had never materialized. Jacob seemed more or less invisible to them, not quite a person, but also not food, either. They treated him the way people who are not animal-lovers treat the pets of their friends.
Leah, Seth, Quil, and Embry were assigned to run with Sam for now, and Jacob would have happily joined them, except that he couldnt stand to be away from Renesmee, and Renesmee was busy fascinating the strange collection of Carlisles friends.
Wed replayed the scene of Renesmees introduction to the Denali coven a half dozen times. First for Peter and Charlotte, whom Alice and Jasper had sent our way without giving them any explanation at all; like most people who knew Alice, they trusted her instructions despite the lack of information. Alice had told them nothing about which direction she and Jasper were heading. Shed made no promise to ever see them again in the future.
Neither Peter nor Charlotte had ever seen an immortal child. Though they knew the rule, their negative reaction was not as powerful as the Denali vampires had been at first. Curiosity had driven them to allow Renesmees explanation. And that was it. Now they were as committed to witnessing as Tanyas family.
Carlisle had sent friends from Ireland and Egypt.
The Irish clan arrived first, and they were surprisingly easy to convince. Siobhan-a woman of immense presence whose huge body was both beautiful and mesmerizing as it moved in smooth undulations-was the leader, but she and her hard-faced mate, Liam, were long used to trusting the judgment of their newest coven member. Little Maggie, with her bouncy red curls, was not physically imposing like the other two, but she had a gift for knowing when she was being lied to, and her verdicts were never contested. Maggie declared that Edward spoke the truth, and so Siobhan and Liam accepted our story absolutely before even touching Renesmee.
Amun and the other Egyptian vampires were another story. Even after two younger members of his coven, Benjamin and Tia, had been convinced by Renesmees explanation, Amun refused to touch her and ordered his coven to leave. Benjamin-an oddly cheerful vampire who looked barely older than a boy and seemed both utterly confident and utterly careless at the same time-persuaded Amun to stay with a few subtle threats about disbanding their alliance. Amun stayed, but continued to refuse to touch Renesmee, and would not allow his mate, Kebi, to touch her, either. It seemed an unlikely grouping-though the Egyptians all looked so alike, with their midnight hair and olive-toned pallor, that they easily could have passed for a biological family. Amun was the senior member and the outspoken leader. Kebi never strayed farther away from Amun than his shadow, and I never heard her speak a single word. Tia, Benjamins mate, was a quiet woman as well, though when she did speak there was great insight and gravity to everything she said. Still, it was Benjamin whom they all seemed to revolve around, as if he had some invisible magnetism the others depended upon for their balance. I saw Eleazar staring at the boy with wide eyes and assumed Benjamin had a talent that drew the others to him.
Its not that, Edward told me when we were alone that night. His gift is so singular that Amun is terrified of losing him. Much like we had planned to keep Renesmee from Aros knowledge-he sighed-Amun has been keeping Benjamin from Aros attention. Amun created Benjamin, knowing he would be special.
What can he do?
Something Eleazars never seen before. Something Ive never heard of. Something that even your shield would do nothing against. He grinned his crooked smile at me. He can actually influence the elements-earth, wind, water, and fire. True physical manipulation, no illusion of the mind. Benjamins still experimenting with it, and Amun tries to mold him into a weapon. But you see how independent Benjamin is. He wont be used.
You like him, I surmised from the tone of his voice.
He has a very