Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer [97]
Thats insane.
Yes.
Charlies not stupid. Even if she doesnt kill him, hes going to notice a difference.
Shes sort of banking on that.
I continued to stare, waiting for him to explain.
She wouldnt be aging, of course, so that would set a time limit, even if Charlie accepted whatever excuse she comes up with for the changes. He smiled faintly. Do you remember when you tried to tell her about your transformation? How you made her guess?
My free hand flexed into a fist. She told you about that?
Yes. She was explaining her idea. You see, shes not allowed to tell Charlie the truth-it would be very dangerous for him. But hes a smart, practical man. She thinks hell come up with his own explanation. She assumes hell get it wrong. Edward snorted. After all, we hardly adhere to vampire canon. Hell make some wrong assumption about us, like she did in the beginning, and well go along with it. She thinks shell be able to see him from time to time.
Insane, I repeated.
Yes, he agreed again.
It was weak of him to let her get her way on this, just to keep her happy now. It wouldnt turn out well.
Which made me think that he probably wasnt expecting her to live to try out her crazy plan. Placating her, so that she could be happy for a little while longer.
Like four more days.
Ill deal with whatever comes, he whispered, and he turned his face down and away so that I couldnt even read his reflection. I wont cause her pain now.
Four days? I asked.
He didnt look up. Approximately.
Then what?
What do you mean, exactly?
I thought about what Bella had said. About the thing being wrapped up nice and tight in something strong, something like vampire skin. So how did that work? How did it get out?
From what little research weve been able to do, it would appear the creatures use their own teeth to escape the womb, he whispered.
I had to pause to swallow back the bile.
Research? I asked weakly.
Thats why you havent seen Jasper and Emmett around. Thats what Carlisle is doing now. Trying to decipher ancient stories and myths, as much as we can with what we have to work with here, looking for anything that might help us predict the creatures behavior.
Stories? If there were myths, then
Then is this thing not the first of its kind? Edward asked, anticipating my question. Maybe. Its all very sketchy. The myths could easily be the products of fear and imagination. Though -he hesitated-your myths are true, are they not? Perhaps these are, too. They do seem to be localized, linked
How did you find ?
There was a woman we encountered in South America. Shed been raised in the traditions of her people. Shed heard warnings about such creatures, old stories that had been passed down.
What were the warnings? I whispered.
That the creature must be killed immediately. Before it could gain too much strength.
Just like Sam thought. Was he right?
Of course, their legends say the same of us. That we must be destroyed. That we are soulless murderers.
Two for two.
Edward laughed one hard chuckle.
What did their stories say about the mothers?
Agony ripped across his face, and, as I flinched away from his pain, I knew he wasnt going to give me an answer. I doubted he could talk.
It was Rosalie-whod been so still and quiet since Bellad fallen asleep that Id nearly forgotten her-who answered.
She made a scornful noise in the back of her throat. Of course there were no survivors, she said. No survivors, blunt and uncaring. Giving birth in the middle of a disease-infested swamp with a medicine man smearing sloth spit across your face to drive out the evil spirits was never the safest method. Even the normal births went badly half the time. None of them had what this baby has-caregivers with an idea of what the baby needs, who try to meet those needs. A doctor with a totally unique knowledge of vampire nature. A plan in place to deliver the baby as safely as possible. Venom that will repair anything that goes wrong. The baby will be fine. And those other mothers would probably have survived if theyd had that-if they