Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer [207]
Hey, guys! It seems like its been years! Look at you, Nessie! Come to Grampa! I swear youve grown half a foot. And you look skinny, Ness. He glared at me. Arent they feeding you up there?
Its just the growth spurt, I muttered. Hey, Sue, I called over his shoulder. The smell of chicken, tomato, garlic, and cheese issued from the kitchen; it probably smelled good to everyone else. I could also smell fresh pine and packing dust.
Renesmee flashed her dimples. She never spoke in front of Charlie.
Well, come on in out of the cold, kids. Wheres my son-in-law?
Entertaining friends, Jacob said, and then snorted. Youre so lucky youre out of the loop, Charlie. Thats all Im going to say.
I punched Jacob lightly in the kidney while Charlie cringed.
Ow, Jacob complained under his breath; well, Id thought Id punched lightly.
Actually, Charlie, I have some errands to run.
Jacob shot a glance at me but said nothing.
Behind on your Christmas shopping, Bells? You only have a few days, you know.
Yeah, Christmas shopping, I said lamely. That explained the packing dust. Charlie must have put the old decorations up.
Dont worry, Nessie, he whispered in her ear. I got you covered if your mom drops the ball.
I rolled my eyes at him, but in truth, I hadnt thought about the holidays at all.
Lunchs on the table, Sue called from the kitchen. Cmon, guys.
See you later, Dad, I said, and exchanged a quick look with Jacob. Even if he couldnt help but think about this near Edward, at least there wasnt much for him to share. He had no idea what I was up to.
Of course, I thought to myself as I got into the car, it wasnt like I had much idea, either.
The roads were slick and dark, but driving didnt intimidate me anymore. My reflexes were well up to the job, and I barely paid attention to the road. The problem was keeping my speed from attracting attention when I had company. I wanted to be done with todays mission, to have the mystery sorted out so that I could get back to the vital task of learning. Learning to protect some, learning to kill others.
I was getting better and better with my shield. Kate didnt feel the need to motivate me anymore-it wasnt hard to find reasons to feel angry, now that I knew that was the key- and so I mostly worked with Zafrina. She was pleased with my extension; I was able to cover almost a ten-foot area for more than a minute, though it exhausted me. This morning shed been trying to find out if I could push the shield away from my mind altogether. I didnt see what the use of that would be, but Zafrina thought it would help strengthen me, like exercising muscles in the stomach and back rather than just the arms. Eventually, you could lift more weight when all the muscles were stronger.
I wasnt very good at it. I had only gotten one glimpse of the jungle river she was trying to show me.
But there were different ways to prepare for what was coming, and with only two weeks left, I worried that I might be neglecting the most important. Today I would rectify that oversight.
Id memorized the appropriate maps, and I had no problem finding my way to the address that didnt exist online, the one for J. Jenks. My next step would be Jason Jenks at the other address, the one Alice had not given me.
To say that it wasnt a nice neighborhood would be an understatement. The most nondescript of all the Cullens cars was still outrageous on this street. My old Chevy would have looked healthy here. During my human years, I would have locked the doors and driven away as fast as I dared. As it was, I was a little fascinated. I tried to imagine Alice in this place for any reason, and failed.
The buildings-all three stories, all narrow, all leaning slightly as if bowed by the pounding rain-were mostly old houses divided up into multiple apartments. It was hard to tell what color the peeling paint was supposed to be. Everything had faded to shades of gray. A few of the buildings had businesses on the first floor: a dirty bar with the windows painted black, a psychics supply store with neon hands and tarot cards glowing