Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer [202]
Again, Kate, I grunted through my clenched teeth.
Kate pressed her palm to Edwards shoulder.
He sighed in relief. Nothing that time.
She raised an eyebrow. That wasnt low, either.
Good, I huffed.
Get ready, she told me, and reached out to Edward again.
This time he shuddered, and a low breath hissed between his teeth.
Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! I chanted, biting my lip. Why couldnt I get this right?
Youre doing an amazing job, Bella, Edward said, pulling me tight against him. Youve really only been working at this for a few days and youre already projecting sporadically. Kate, tell her how well shes doing.
Kate pursed her lips. I dont know. Shes obviously got tremendous ability, and were only beginning to touch it. She can do better, Im sure. Shes just lacking incentive.
I stared at her in disbelief, my lips automatically curling back from my teeth. How could she think I lacked motivation with her shocking Edward right here in front of me?
I heard murmurs from the audience that had grown steadily as I practiced-only Eleazar, Carmen, and Tanya at first, but then Garrett had wandered over, then Benjamin and Tia, Siobhan and Maggie, and now even Alistair was peering down from a window on the third story. The spectators agreed with Edward; they thought I was already doing well.
Kate , Edward said in a warning voice as some new course of action occurred to her, but she was already in motion. She darted along the curve of the river to where Zafrina, Senna, and Renesmee were walking slowly, Renesmees hand in Zafrinas as they traded pictures back and forth. Jacob shadowed them from a few feet behind.
Nessie, Kate said-the newcomers had quickly picked up the irritating nickname, would you like to come help your mother?
No, I half-snarled.
Edward hugged me reassuringly. I shook him off just as Renesmee flitted across the yard to me, with Kate, Zafrina, and Senna right behind her.
Absolutely not, Kate, I hissed.
Renesmee reached for me, and I opened my arms automatically. She curled into me, pressing her head into the hollow beneath my shoulder.
But Momma, I want to help, she said in a determined voice. Her hand rested against my neck, reinforcing her desire with images of the two of us together, a team.
No, I said, quickly backing away. Kate had taken a deliberate step in my direction, her hand stretched toward us.
Stay away from us, Kate, I warned her.
No. She began stalking forward. She smiled like a hunter cornering her prey.
I shifted Renesmee so that she was clinging to my back, still backing away at a pace that matched Kates. Now my hands were free, and if Kate wanted to keep her hands attached to her wrists, shed better keep her distance.
Kate probably didnt understand, never having known for herself the passion of a mother for her child. She must not have realized just how far past too far shed already gone. I was so furious that my vision took on a strange reddish tint, and my tongue tasted like burning metal. The strength I usually worked to keep restrained flowed through my muscles, and I knew I could crush her into diamond-hard rubble if she pushed me to it.
The rage brought every aspect of my being into sharper focus. I could even feel the elasticity of my shield more exactly now-feel that it was not a band so much as a layer, a thin film that covered me from head to toe. With the anger rippling through my body, I had a better sense of it, a tighter hold on it. I stretched it around myself, out from myself, swaddling Renesmee completely inside it, just in case Kate got past my guard.
Kate took another calculated step forward, and a vicious snarl ripped up my throat and through my clenched teeth.
Be careful, Kate, Edward cautioned.
Kate took another step, and then made a mistake even someone as inexpert as I could recognize. Just a short leap away from me, she looked away, turning her attention from me to Edward.
Renesmee was secure on my back; I coiled to spring.
Can you hear anything from Nessie?