Life and Death للكاتبه ستيفاني ماير حصريا مكتمله باللغه الانجليزيه

[السسسيم]

.
I was just finishing the bathroom when I finally heard Charlie's car in the drive. I stacked the cleaning supplies in alphabetical order under the sink while listening to him come in the front door. He started banging around under the stairs, stowing his tackle.
"Beau?" he called.
"Hey, Dad," I yelled back.
When I got downstairs, he was scrubbing his hands in the kitchen sink.
"Where's the fish?" I asked.
"Out in the deep freeze."
"I'll go grab a couple while they're fresh—Bonnie dropped off some of Holly Clearwater's fish fry this afternoon." I tried to sound enthusiastic.
"She did?" Charlie's eyes lit up. "That's my favorite!"
Charlie cleaned up while I got dinner ready. It wasn't long before we were both at the table, eating in silence. Charlie was obviously enjoying the food. I was wondering how on earth I was supposed to broach the subject of my new... girlfriend.
"What did you do with yourself today?" he asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Well, this afternoon I just hung out around the house...." Only the very recent part of this afternoon, actually. I tried to keep my voice upbeat, but my stomach was hollow. "And this morning I was over at the Cullens'."
Charlie dropped his fork.
"Dr. Cullen's place?" he asked in astonishment.
I pretended not to notice his reaction. "Yeah."
"What were you doing there?" He hadn't picked his fork back up.
"Well, I sort of have a date with Edythe Cullen tonight, and she wanted to introduce me to her parents."
He stared at me like I'd just announced that I'd spent the day knocking over liquor stores.
"What, Dad? Didn't you just tell me that you wanted me to socialize?"
He blinked a few times, then picked up his fork. "Yeah, I guess I did." He took another bite, chewed slowly, and swallowed. "And didn't you just tell me that none of the girls in town are your type?"
"I didn't say that, you did."
"Don't get touchy with me, kid, you know what I mean. Why didn't you say something? Was I being too nosey?"
"No, Dad, it's just... this is all kind of new, okay? I didn't want to jinx it."
"Huh." He reflected for a minute while he ate another bite. "So you went to meet her folks, eh?"
"Er, yeah. I mean, I already knew Dr. Cullen. But I got to meet her father."
"Earnest Cullen is great—quiet, but very... kind, I guess is the best word for it. There's something about him."
"Yeah, I noticed that."
"Meeting the parents, though. Isn't that kind of serious? Does that mean she's your girlfriend?"
"Yeah." This wasn't as hard as I'd thought it would be. I felt a strange sense of pride, being able to claim her this way. Kind of Neanderthal of me, but there it was. "Yeah, she's my girlfriend."
"Wow."
"You're telling me."
"Do I get a visit, too?"
I raised one eyebrow. "Will you be on your best behavior?"
He lifted both hands. "What, me? Have I ever embarrassed you before?"
"Have I ever brought a girl over before?"
He huffed, then changed the subject. "When are you picking her up?"
"Um, she's meeting me here. See—you do get a visit. She'll probably be here soon, actually."
"Where are you taking her?"
"Well, I guess the plan is that we're going to go... play baseball with her family."
Charlie stared at me for one second, and then he busted up. I rolled my eyes and waited for him to finish. Eventually, he pretended to wipe tears out of his eyes.
"I hope you're getting that out of your system now."
"Baseball, huh? You must really like this girl."
I thought about just shrugging that off, but I figured he'd see through me anyway. "Yeah," I said. "I really do."
I heard an unfamiliar engine roar up to the house, and I looked up in surprise.
"That her?"
"Maybe..."
After a few seconds, the doorbell rang, and Charlie jumped up. I ran around him and beat him to the door.
"Pushy much?" he muttered under his breath.
I hadn't realized how hard it was pouring outside. Edythe stood in the halo of the porch light, looking like a model in an ad for raincoats.
I heard Charlie's breath catch in surprise. I wondered if he'd ever seen her up close before. It was kind of unnerving.
Even when you were used to it. I just stared at her, gobsmacked.
She laughed. "Can I come in?"
"Yeah! Of course." I jumped back out of her way, knocking into Charlie in the process.
After a few seconds of bumbling around, I had her jacket hung up and had both her and Charlie sitting down in the living room. She was in the armchair, so I went to sit next to Charlie on the sofa.
"So, Edythe, how are your parents?"
"Excellent, thank you, Chief Swan."
"You can call me Charlie. I'm off the clock."
"Thanks, Charlie." She unleashed the dimples, and his face went blank.
It took him a second to recover. "So, um, you're playing baseball tonight?"
It didn't seem to occur to either of them that the buckets of water falling out of the sky right now should impact these plans. Only in Washington.
"Yes. Hopefully Beau doesn't mind hanging out with my family too much."
Charlie jumped in before I could respond. "I'd say it was the baseball he'd mind more."
They both laughed. I shot my dad a look. Where was the best behavior I'd been promised?
"Should we be on our way?" I suggested.
"We're not in any hurry," Edythe said with a grin.
I hit Charlie with my elbow. Edythe's smile got wider.
"Oh, uh, yeah," Charlie said. "You kids go ahead, I've got a... a bunch of stuff to get to...."
Edythe was on her feet in a fluid move. "It was lovely to see you, Charlie."
"Yes. You come visit anytime, Edythe."
"Thank you, you're very kind."
Charlie ran a hand through his hair self-consciously. I didn't think I'd ever seen him so flustered.
"Will you kids be out super late?"
I looked at her.
"No, we'll be reasonable."
"Don't wait up, though," I added.
I handed her coat to her and then held the door. As she passed, Charlie gave me a wide-eyed look. I shrugged my shoulders and raised my eyebrows. I didn't know how I'd gotten so lucky, either.
I followed her out onto the porch, then stopped dead.
There, behind my truck, was a monster Jeep. Its tires were as high as my waist. There were metal guards over the headlights and taillights, and four large spotlights attached to the crash bar. The hardtop was shiny red.
Charlie let out a low whistle. "Wear your seat belts."
I went to the driver's side to get the door for Edythe. She was inside in one efficient little leap, though I was glad we were on the far side of the Jeep from Charlie, because it didn't look entirely natural. I went to my side and climbed gracelessly into my seat. She had the engine running now, and I recognized the roar that had surprised me earlier. It wasn't as loud as my truck, but it sounded a lot more brawny.
Out of habit—she wasn't going to start driving until I was buckled in—I reached for my seat belt.
"What—er—what is all this? How do I...?"
"Off-roading harness," she explained.
"Um."
I tried to find all the right connectors, but it wasn't going too fast. And then her hands were there, flashing around at a barely visible speed, and gone again. I was glad the rain was too thick to see Charlie clearly on the porch, because that meant he couldn't see me clearly, either.
"Er, thanks."
"You're welcome."
I knew better than to ask if she was going to put her own harness on.
She pulled away from the house.
"This is a... um... large Jeep you have."
"It's Eleanor's. She let me borrow it so we wouldn't have to run the whole way."
"Where do you keep this thing?"
"We remodeled one of the outbuildings into a garage."
Suddenly her first answer sank in.
"Wait. Run the whole way? As in, we're still going to run part of the way?" I demanded.
She pursed her lips like she was trying not to smile. "You're not going to run."
I groaned. "I'm going to puke in front of your family."
"Keep your eyes closed, you'll be fine."
I shook my head, sighed, then reached over and took her hand. "Hi. I missed you."
She laughed—it was a trilling sound, not quite human. "I missed you, too. Isn't that strange?"
"Why strange?"
"You'd think I'd have learned more patience over the last hundred years. And here I am, finding it difficult to pass an afternoon without you."
"I'm glad it's not just me."
She leaned over to swiftly kiss my cheek, then pulled back quickly and sighed. "You smell even better in the rain."
"In a good way or a bad way?"
She frowned. "Always both."
I don't know how she even knew where we were going with the downpour—it was like a liquid gray curtain around the Jeep—but she somehow found a side road that was more or less a mountain path. For a long while conversation was impossible, because I was bouncing up and down on the seat like a jackhammer. She seemed to enjoy the ride, though, smiling hugely the whole way.
And then we came to the end of the road; the trees formed green walls on three sides of the Jeep. The rain was a mere drizzle, slowing every second, the sky brighter through the clouds.
"Sorry, Beau, we have to go on foot from here."
"You know what? I'll just wait here."
"What happened to all your courage? You were extraordinary this morning."
"I haven't forgotten the last time yet." Was it really only yesterday?
She was around to my side of the car in a blur, and she started on the harness.
"I'll get those, you go on ahead," I protested. She was finished before I got the first few words out.
I sat in the car, looking at her.
"You don't trust me?" she asked, hurt—or pretending to be hurt, I thought.
"That really isn't the issue. Trust and motion sickness have zero relationship to each other."
She looked at me for a minute, and I felt pretty stupid sitting there in the Jeep, but all I could think about was the most sickening roller-coaster ride I'd ever been on.
"Do you remember what I was saying about mind over matter?" she asked.
"Yes..."
"Maybe if you concentrated on something else."
"Like what?"
Suddenly she was in the Jeep with me, one knee on the seat next to my leg, her hands on my shoulders. Her face was only inches away. I had a light heart attack.
"Keep breathing," she told me.
"How?"
She smiled, and then her face was serious again. "When we're running—and yes, that part is nonnegotiable—I want you to concentrate on this."
Slowly, she moved in closer, turning her face to the side so that we were cheek to cheek, her lips at my ear. One of her hands slid down my chest to my waist.
"Just remember us... like this...."
Her lips pulled softly on my earlobe, then moved slowly across my jaw and down my neck.
"Breathe, Beau," she murmured.
I sucked in a loud lungful.
She kissed under the edge of my jaw, and then along my cheekbone. "Still worried?"
"Huh?"
She chuckled. Her hands were holding my face now, and she lightly kissed one eyelid and then the next.
"Edythe," I breathed.
Then her lips were on mine, and they weren't quite as gentle and cautious as they always had been before. They moved urgently, cold and unyielding, and though I knew better, I couldn't think coherently enough to make good decisions. I didn't consciously tell my hands to move, but my arms were wrapped around her waist, trying to pull her closer. My mouth moved with hers and I was gasping for air, gasping in her scent with every breath.
"Dammit, Beau!"
And then she was gone—slithering easily out of my grasp—already standing ten feet away outside the car by the time I'd blinked my way back to reality.
"Sorry," I gasped.
She stared warily at me with her eyes so wide the white showed all the way around the gold. I half-fell awkwardly from the car, then took a step toward her.
"I truly do think you'll be the death of me, Beau," she said quietly.
I froze. "What?"
She took a deep breath, and then she was right next to me. "Let's get out of here before I do something really stupid," she muttered.
She turned her back to me, staring back over her shoulder with a get on with it look.
And how was I supposed to reject her now? Feeling like a gorilla again, only even more ridiculous than before, I climbed onto her back.
"Keep your eyes shut," she warned, and then she was off.
I forced my eyes closed, trying not to think about the speed of the wind that was pushing the skin flat against my skull. Other than that tell, it was hard to believe we were really flying through the forest like we had before. The motion of her body was so smooth, I would have thought she was just strolling down the sidewalk—with a gorilla on her back. Her breath came and went evenly.
I wasn't entirely sure we had stopped when she reached back and touched my face.
"It's over, Beau."
I opened my eyes, and sure enough, we were at a standstill. In my hurry to get off her, I lost my balance. She turned just in time to watch as I—arms windmilling wildly—fell hard on my butt.
For a second she stared like she wasn't sure if she was still too mad to find me funny, but then she must have decided that she was not too mad.
She burst into long peals of laughter, throwing her head back and holding her arms across her stomach.

[السسسيم]

I got up slowly and brushed the mud and weeds off the back of my jeans the best I could while she kept laughing.
"You know, it would probably be more humane for you to just dump me now," I said glumly. "It's not going to get any easier for me over time."
She took a few deep breaths, trying to get control of herself.
I sighed and started walking in the most path-like direction I could see.
Something caught the back of my sweater, and I smiled. I looked over my shoulder. She had a fistful of sweater, the same way she'd grabbed me outside the nurse's office.
"Where are you going, Beau?"
"Wasn't there a baseball game happening?"
"It's the other way."
I pivoted. "Okay."
She took my hand and we started walking slowly toward a dark patch of forest.
"I'm sorry I laughed."
"I would have laughed at me, too."
"No, I was just a little... agitated. I needed the catharsis."
We walked silently for a few seconds.
"At least tell me it worked—the mind-over-matter experiment."
"Well... I didn't get sick."
"Good, but...?"
"I wasn't thinking about... in the car. I was thinking about after."
She didn't say anything.
"I know I already apologized, but... sorry. Again. I will learn how to do better, I know—"
"Beau, stop. Please, you make me feel even more guilty when you apologize."
I looked down at her. We'd both stopped walking. "Why should you feel guilty?"
She laughed again, but this time there was an almost hysterical edge to her laugh. "Oh, indeed! Why should I feel guilty?"
The darkness in her eyes made me anxious. There was pain there, and I didn't know how to make it better. I put my hand against her cheek. "Edythe, I don't understand what you're saying."
She closed her eyes. "I just can't seem to stop putting you in danger. I think I'm in control of myself, and then it gets so close—I don't know how to not be this anymore." Eyes still closed, she gestured to herself. "My very existence puts you at risk. Sometimes I truly hate myself. I should be stronger, I should be able to—"
I moved my hand to cover her mouth. "Stop."
Her eyes opened. She peeled my hand off her mouth and placed it over her cheek again.
"I love you," she said. "It's a poor excuse for what I'm doing, but it's still true."
It was the first time she'd ever said she loved me—in so many words. Like she'd said this morning, it was different, hearing the words out loud.
"I love you," I told her when I'd caught my breath. "I don't want you to be anything other than what you are."
She sighed. "Now, be a good boy," she said, and stretched up on her tiptoes.
I held very still while she brushed her lips softly against mine.
We stared at each other for a minute.
"Baseball?" she asked.
"Baseball," I agreed much more confidently than I felt.
She took my hand and led me a few feet through the tall ferns and around a massive hemlock tree, and we were suddenly there, on the edge of an enormous clearing on the side of a mountain. It was twice the size of any baseball stadium.
All of the others were there. Earnest, Eleanor, and Royal were sitting on an outcropping of rock, maybe a hundred yards away. Much farther out I could see Jessamine and Archie standing at least a quarter of a mile apart. It was almost like they were pantomiming playing catch; I never saw any ball. It looked like Carine was marking bases, but that couldn't be right. The points were much too far apart.
When we walked into view, the three on the rocks stood. Earnest started toward us. Royal walked away, toward where Carine was setting up. Eleanor followed Earnest after a long look at Royal's back.
I was staring at Royal's back, too. It made me nervous.
"Was that you we heard before, Edythe?" Earnest asked.
"Sounded like a hyena choking to death," Eleanor added.
I smiled tentatively at Earnest. "That was her."
"Beau was being funny," Edythe explained.
Archie had left off his game of catch and was running toward us—it was like his feet never touched the ground. In half a heartbeat he was there, hurtling to a stop right in front of us.
"It's time," he announced.
The second he spoke, a deep rumble of thunder shook the forest behind us and then crashed westward toward town.
"Eerie, isn't it?" Eleanor said to me. When I turned to look at her, surprised that she was so casual with me, she winked.
"Let's go!" Archie took Eleanor's hand and they darted toward the oversized diamond. Archie almost... bounded—like a stag, but closer to the ground. Eleanor was just as fast and nearly as graceful, but she was something altogether different. Something that charged, not bounded.
"Are you ready for some ball?" Edythe asked, her eyes bright.
It was impossible not to be enthusiastic about something that clearly made her happy. "Go team!"
She laughed, quickly ran her fingers through my hair, then raced off after the other two. Her run was more aggressive than either of the others', like a cheetah to a gazelle—but still supple and heartbreakingly beautiful. She quickly caught up to and then passed the others.
"Shall we go watch?" Earnest asked in his soft tenor voice. I realized that I was staring openmouthed after them. I quickly reassembled my expression and nodded. Earnest kept a few feet farther away than was exactly normal for two people walking together, and I figured he was still being careful not to frighten me. He matched his stride to mine without seeming impatient at the pace.
"You don't play with them?" I asked.
"No, I prefer to referee. I like keeping them honest."
"Do they cheat?"
"Oh yes—and you should hear the arguments they get into! Actually, I hope you don't, you would think they were raised by a pack of wolves."
"You sound like my dad," I laughed.
He laughed, too. "Well, I do think of them as my children in most ways. I never could get over—" He broke off, and then took a deep breath. "Did Edythe tell you I lost my daughter?"
"Er, no," I murmured, stunned, scrambling to understand what lifetime he was remembering.
"My only child—my Grace. She died when she was barely two. It broke my heart—that's why I jumped off the cliff, you know," he added calmly.
"Oh, um, Edythe just said you fell...."
"Always so polite." Earnest smiled. "Edythe was the first of my new children. My second daughter. I've always thought of her that way—though she's older than I, in one way at least—and wondered if my Grace would have grown into such an amazing person." He looked at me and smiled warmly. "I'm so happy she's found you, Beau. She's been the odd man out for far too long. It's hurt me to see her alone."
"You don't mind, then?" I asked, hesitant again. "That I'm... all wrong for her?"
"No," he said thoughtfully. "You're what she wants. It will all work out, somehow." But his forehead creased with worry.
Another peal of thunder began.
Earnest stopped then; apparently, we'd reached the edge of the field. It looked as if they had formed teams. Edythe was far out in left field, Carine stood between the first and second bases, and Archie held the ball, positioned on the spot that must be the pitcher's mound.
Eleanor was swinging an aluminum bat; it whistled almost untraceably through the air. I waited for her to approach home plate, but then I realized, as she leaned into her stance, that she was already there—farther from the pitcher's mound than I would have thought possible. Jessamine stood several feet behind her, catching for the other team. Of course, none of them had gloves.
"All right," Earnest called in a clear voice, which I guessed even Edythe would hear, as far out as she was. "Batter up."
Archie stood straight, still as a statue. His style seemed to be stealth rather than an intimidating windup. He held the ball in both hands at his waist, and then, like the strike of a cobra, his right hand flicked out and the ball smacked into Jessamine's hand with a sound like a gunshot.
"Was that a strike?" I whispered to Earnest.
"If they don't hit it, it's a strike," he told me.
Jessamine hurled the ball back to Archie's waiting hand. He permitted himself a brief grin. And then his hand spun out again.
This time the bat somehow made it around in time to smash into the invisible ball. The crack of impact was shattering, thunderous; it echoed off the mountainside—I immediately understood the need for the storm.
I was barely able to follow the ball, shooting like a meteor above the field, flying deep into the surrounding forest.
"Home run," I muttered.
"Wait," Earnest said. He was listening intently, one hand raised. Eleanor was a blur around the bases, Carine shadowing her. I realized Edythe was missing.
"Out!" Earnest cried. I stared in disbelief as Edythe sprang from the fringe of the trees, ball in her upraised hand, her wide grin visible even to me.
"Eleanor hits the hardest," Earnest explained, "but Edythe runs the fastest."
It was like watching superheroes play. It was impossible to keep up with the speed at which the ball flew, the rate at which their bodies raced around the field.
I learned the other reason they waited for a thunderstorm to play when Jessamine, trying to avoid Edythe's infallible fielding, hit a ground ball toward Carine. Carine ran into the ball, and then raced Jessamine to first base. When they collided, the sound was like the crash of two massive falling boulders. I jumped up, afraid someone would be hurt, but they were both totally fine.
"Safe," Earnest called in a calm voice.
Eleanor's team was up by one—Royal managed to tear around the bases after tagging up on one of Eleanor's long flies—when Edythe caught the third out. She sprinted to my side, beaming with excitement.
"What do you think?" she asked.
"One thing's for sure, I'll never be able to sit through dull old Major League Baseball again."
"And it sounds like you did so much of that before," she laughed.
"I am a little disappointed," I teased.
"Why?"
"Well, it would be nice if I could find just one thing you didn't do better than everyone else on the planet."
She flashed her dimples, leaving me breathless.
"I'm up," she said, heading for the plate.
She played intelligently, keeping the ball low, out of the reach of Royal's always-ready hand in the outfield, gaining two bases like lightning before Eleanor could get the ball back in play. Carine knocked one so far out of the field—with a boom that hurt my ears—that she and Edythe both made it in. Archie slapped them high fives.
The score constantly changed as the game continued, and they razzed each other like street ballplayers as they took turns with the lead. Occasionally Earnest would call them to order. The thunder rumbled on, but we stayed dry, as Archie had predicted.
Carine was up to bat, Edythe catching, when Archie suddenly gasped. My eyes were on Edythe, as usual, and I saw her head snap up to look at him. Their eyes met and something flowed between them in half a second. She was at my side before the others could ask Archie what was wrong.
"Archie?" Earnest asked, tense.
"I didn't see," Archie whispered. "I couldn't tell."
They were all gathered in now.
Carine was calm, authoritative. "What is it, Archie?"
"They were traveling much quicker than I thought. I can see I had the perspective wrong before," he murmured.
Jessamine put her arm around him, her posture protective. "What changed?" she asked.
"They heard us playing, and it changed their path," Archie said, contrite, as if he felt responsible for whatever had happened.
Seven pairs of quick eyes flashed to my face and away.
"How soon?" Carine asked.
A look of intense concentration crossed his face.
"Less than five minutes. They're running—they want to play." He scowled.
"Can you make it?" Carine asked Edythe, her eyes flicking toward me again.
"No, not carrying—" She cut short. "Besides, the last thing we need is for them to catch the scent and start hunting."
"How many?" Eleanor asked Archie.
"Three."
"Three!" she scoffed. "Let them come." The long bands of muscle flexed down her arms.
For a split second that seemed much longer than it really was, Carine deliberated. Only Eleanor seemed relaxed; the rest stared at Carine's face, obviously anxious.
"Let's just continue the game," Carine finally decided. Her voice was cool and level. "Archie said they were simply curious."
The entire conference lasted only a few seconds, but I had listened carefully and thought I'd caught most of it. I couldn't hear what Earnest asked Edythe now with just an intense look. I only saw the slight shake of her head and the look of relief on his face.
"You catch, Earnest," she said. "I'll call it now."
She stood right next to me as the others returned to the field, all of their eyes sweeping the forest. Archie and Earnest seemed to orient themselves around where I stood.
I stated the obvious. "The others are coming now."
"Yes, stay very still, keep quiet, and don't move from my side, please." I could hear the stress in her voice, though she tried to hide it.
"That won't help," Archie murmured. "I could smell him across the field."
"I know," Edythe snapped.
Carine stood at the plate, and the others joined the game halfheartedly.
"What did Earnest ask you?" I whispered.
She hesitated a second before she answered. "Whether they were thirsty."
The seconds dragged by while the game progressed apathetically. No one dared to hit harder than a bunt, and Eleanor, Royal, and Jessamine hovered in the infield. Now and again, I was aware of Royal's eyes on me. They were expressionless, but something about the way he held his mouth made me sure he was angry.
Edythe paid no attention to the game at all, eyes and mind scanning the forest.
"I'm sorry, Beau," she muttered fiercely. "It was stupid, irresponsible, to expose you like this. I'm so sorry."
I heard her breath stop, and her eyes zeroed in on right field. She took a half-step, angling herself between me and what was coming. It made me start to panic, like I had before, imagining her between me and Royal—Edythe in danger. I was pretty sure whatever was coming now was worse than Royal

[السسسيم]

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
انتهى الفصل السابع عشر من الكتاب و المسمى
ب"اللعبة"

[السسسيم]

The Hunt
THEY EMERGED ONE BY ONE FROM THE EDGE OF THE FOREST, A DOZEN meters apart. The first woman in the clearing fell back immediately, allowing another woman to take the lead, aligning herself behind the tall, dark-haired woman in a manner that made it clear who led the pack. The third was a man; from this distance, all I could see was that his hair was blazing red.
They closed ranks before they continued cautiously toward Edythe's family. It was like a wildlife show—a troop of predators exhibiting natural respect as it encounters a larger, unfamiliar group of its own kind.
As they approached, I could see how different they were from the Cullens. Their walk was catlike, a gait that seemed constantly on the edge of shifting into a crouch. They were dressed in ordinary backpacking gear: jeans and casual button-down shirts in heavy, weatherproof fabrics. The clothes were frayed with wear, though, and they were barefoot. Their hair was filled with leaves and debris from the woods.
The woman in the lead analyzed Carine as she stepped forward, flanked by Eleanor and Jessamine, to meet them, and she straightened out of her half-crouch. The other two copied her.
The woman in front was easily the most beautiful. Her skin was pale but had an olive tone to it, and her hair was glossy black. She wasn't tall, but she looked strong—though not strong like Eleanor. She smiled easily, exposing a flash of gleaming white teeth.
The man was wilder. His eyes darted restlessly between the Cullens, and his posture was oddly feline. The second woman stayed unobtrusive in the back, smaller than the leader, with bland brown hair and a forgettable face. Her eyes were the calmest, the most still. But I had a strange feeling that she was seeing more than the others.
It was their eyes that made them the most different. They weren't gold or black like I was used to, but a deep, vivid red.
The dark-haired woman, still smiling, stepped toward Carine.
"We thought we heard a game," she said. There was the hint of a French accent in her voice. "I'm Lauren, these are Victor and Joss."
"I'm Carine. This is my family, Eleanor and Jessamine, Royal, Earnest and Archie, Edythe and Beau." She pointed us out in groups, deliberately not calling attention to individuals. I felt a shock when she said my name.
"Do you have room for a few more players?" Lauren asked.
Carine matched Lauren's friendly tone. "Actually, we were just finishing up. But we'd certainly be interested another time. Are you planning to stay in the area for long?"
"We're headed north, in fact, but we were curious to see who was in the neighborhood. We haven't run into any company in a long time."
"No, this region is usually empty except for us and the occasional visitor, like yourselves."
The tense atmosphere had slowly subsided into a casual conversation; I figured Jessamine was using her strange gift to control the situation.
"What's your hunting range?" Lauren casually inquired.
Carine ignored the assumption. "The Olympic Range here, up and down the Coast Ranges on occasion. We keep a permanent residence nearby. There's another permanent settlement like ours up near Denali."
Lauren rocked back on her heels slightly.
"Permanent? How do you manage that?" There was honest curiosity in her voice.
"Why don't you come back to our home with us and we can talk comfortably?" Carine invited. "It's a rather long story."
Victor and Joss exchanged a surprised look at the mention of the word home, but Lauren controlled her expression better.

"That sounds very interesting, and welcome." She smiled. "We've been on the hunt all the way down from Ontario, and we haven't had the chance to clean up in a while." Her eyes moved appreciatively over Carine's clothes.
"Please don't take offense, but we'd appreciate it if you'd refrain from hunting in this immediate area. We have to stay inconspicuous, you understand," Carine explained.
"Of course." Lauren nodded. "We certainly won't encroach on your territory. We just ate outside of Seattle, anyway." She laughed. A shiver ran up my spine.
"We'll show you the way if you'd like to run with us—Eleanor and Archie, you can go with Edythe and Beau to get the Jeep," Carine casually added.
Three things seemed to happen at the same time when Carine finished. A light breeze ruffled my hair, Edythe stiffened, and the second woman, Joss, suddenly whipped her head around, scrutinizing me, her nostrils flaring.
Everyone went rigid as Joss lurched one step forward into a crouch. Edythe bared her teeth, coiling in front of me, a feral snarl ripping from her throat. It was nothing at all like the playful growls I'd heard her make before; it was the most menacing sound I'd ever heard. Chills ran from the crown of my head to the back of my heels.
"What's this?" Lauren asked, shocked. Neither Edythe nor Joss relaxed their aggressive stance. Joss feinted slightly to the side, but Edythe had already shifted to answer her move.
"He's with us," Carine said directly to Joss, her voice cold.
Lauren seemed to catch my scent then, though less powerfully than Joss, and understanding lit her face. "You brought a snack?" She took a step forward.
Edythe snarled even more harshly, her lip curled back high above her bared teeth. Lauren stepped back again.
"I said he's with us," Carine snapped.
"But he's human," Lauren protested. She didn't say it with any aggression, she just sounded surprised.
Eleanor leaned forward, suddenly very there at Carine's side. "Yes." Her eyes were locked on Joss.
Joss slowly straightened out of her crouch, but her eyes never left me, her nostrils still wide. Edythe stayed tensed in front of me. I wanted to pull her back—this Joss vampire wasn't messing around—but I could guess exactly how well that would go over. She'd told me to stay still, so I would... unless someone tried to hurt her.
When Lauren spoke, her tone was soothing—trying to defuse the sudden hostility. "It appears we have a lot to learn about each other."
"Indeed." Carine's voice was still cool.
"But we'd like to accept your invitation." Her eyes flicked toward me and back to Carine. "And, of course, we will not harm the human boy. We won't hunt in your range, as I said."
Joss glanced at Lauren in disbelief and exchanged a brief look with Victor, whose eyes still flickered edgily from face to face.
Carine measured Lauren's sincere expression for a second before she spoke. "We'll show you the way. Jess, Royal, Earnest?" she called. They gathered together, blocking me from view as they converged. Archie was instantly at my side, while Eleanor moved more slowly, her eyes locked on Joss as she backed toward us.
"Let's move, Beau," Edythe said, low and bleak. She gripped my elbow and pulled me forward. Archie and Eleanor stayed close behind us, hiding me from whoever might still be watching. I stumbled alongside Edythe, trying to keep up with the pace she set. I couldn't hear if the main group had left yet. Edythe's impatience was almost tangible as we moved at human speed to the edge of the forest.
"I'm faster," she snapped, answering someone's thought.
Then we were in the trees and Edythe pulled my arm around her neck while we were still half-jogging forward. I realized what she wanted and, too shocked still to feel self-conscious, climbed into place. We were running before I was set.
I couldn't make my eyes close, but the forest was pretty much black now anyway. I couldn't see or hear Eleanor and Archie running alongside us. Like Edythe, they moved through the forest as if they were ghosts.
We were at the Jeep in seconds. Edythe barely slowed, she just spun and whipped me into the backseat.
"Strap him in," she hissed at Eleanor, who climbed in next to me.
Archie was already in the front seat, and Edythe revved the engine. She swerved backward, spinning around to face the winding road.
Edythe was growling something so fast I couldn't tell what she was saying, but it kind of sounded like a string of profanities. The jolting ride was much worse this time, in the dark. Eleanor and Archie glared out the side windows.
We hit the main road. The Jeep raced faster. It was dark, but I recognized the direction we were headed. South, away from Forks.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
No one answered. No one even looked at me.
"Is anyone going to tell me what's happening?"
Edythe kept her eyes on the road as she spoke. The speedometer read one-oh-five. "We have to get you away from here—far away—now."
"What? But I have to go home."
"You can't go home, Beau." The way she said it sounded kind of permanent.
"I don't understand. Edythe? What do you mean?"
Archie spoke for the first time. "Pull over, Edythe."
She flashed him a hard look and gunned the engine.
"Edythe," Archie said. "Look at all the different ways this can go. We need to think this through." There was a warning in his voice, and I wondered what he was seeing in his head, what he was showing Edythe.
"You don't understand," Edythe nearly howled in frustration. The speedometer was at one hundred and fifteen. "She's a tracker, Archie! Did you see that? She's a tracker!"
I felt Eleanor stiffen next to me, and I wondered what the word meant to her. Obviously it meant a lot more to the three of them than it did to me. I wanted to understand, but there was no opening for me to ask.
"Pull over, Edythe." Archie's voice was harder now, steely.
The speedometer inched past one-twenty.
"Do it," he barked.
"Archie—listen! I saw her mind. Tracking is her passion, her obsession—and she wants him, Archie—him, specifically. She's already begun."
"She doesn't know where—"
"How long do you think it will take her to cross Beau's scent in town? Her plan was already set before the words were out of Lauren's mouth."
It was like a punch to the gut. I couldn't breathe for a second as what she was saying finally made concrete sense. Up till now, it had all felt like something abstract, like a word problem in Math. It didn't seem to connect to me in any real way.
I knew where my scent would lead.
"Charlie," I gasped. And then I yelled. "Charlie! We have to go back. We have to get Charlie!"
I started ripping at the buckles that held me in place, until Eleanor grabbed my wrists. Trying to yank them back was like trying to pull out of handcuffs that were bolted into concrete.
"Edythe! Turn around!" I shouted.
"He's right," Archie said.
The car slowed a tiny bit.
"Let's just look at our options for a minute," Archie coaxed.
The car slowed again, more noticeably, and then suddenly we screeched to a stop on the shoulder of the highway. I flew against the harness and then slammed back into the seat.
"There are no options," Edythe snarled.
"We're not leaving Charlie!" I yelled.
She ignored me completely.
Eleanor finally spoke. "We have to take him back."
"No."
"She's no match for us, Edy. She won't be able to touch him."
"She'll wait."
Eleanor smiled a cold, strangely eager smile. "I can wait, too."
Edythe huffed out a breath, exasperated. "You didn't see! You don't understand! Once she commits to a hunt, she's unshakable. We can't reason with her. We can't scare her off. We'd have to kill her."
This didn't bother Eleanor. "Yes."
"And the male. He's with her. If it turns into a fight, Lauren will side with them, too."
"There are enough of us."
"There's another option," Archie said quietly.
Edythe turned on him, furious, her voice a blistering snarl. "There—is—no—other—option!"
Eleanor and I both stared at her in shock, but Archie didn't seem surprised. The silence lasted for a long minute as Edythe and Archie stared each other down.
"Does anyone want to hear my idea?" I asked.
"No," Edythe snapped. Archie glared at her.
"Listen," I said. "You take me back."
"No!"
"Yes! You take me back. I tell my dad I want to go home to Phoenix. I pack my bags. We wait till this tracker is watching, and then we run. She'll follow us and leave Charlie alone. Then you can take me any damned place you want."
They stared at me with wide eyes.
"It's not a bad idea, really." Eleanor sounded so surprised, it was an insult.
"It might work—and we can't just leave his father unprotected," Archie said. "You know that, Edythe."
Everyone looked at Edythe.
"It's too dangerous—I don't want her within a hundred miles of Beau."
"She's not getting through us." Eleanor was very confident.
Archie closed his eyes for a second. "I don't see her attacking. She's the kind that goes around, not through. She'll wait for us to leave him unprotected."
"It won't take long for her to realize that's not going to happen," Edythe said.
"I have to go home, Edythe."
She pressed her fingers to her temples and squeezed her eyes shut for a second. Then she was glaring at me.
"Your plan takes too long. We've got no time for the packing charade."
"If I don't give him some kind of excuse, he'll make trouble for your family. Maybe call the FBI or something if he thinks you've... I don't know, kidnapped me."
"That doesn't matter."
"Yes. It does. There's a way to keep everyone safe, and that's what we're going to do."
The Jeep rumbled to life, and she spun us around, the tires squealing. The needle on the speedometer started to race up the dial.
"You're leaving tonight," Edythe said, and her voice sounded worn. "Whether the tracker sees or not. Tell Charlie whatever you want—as long as it's quick. Pack the first things your hands touch, then get in your truck. I don't care what Charlie says. You have fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes from the time you cross the doorstep or I carry you out."
A few minutes passed in silence, other than the roar of the engine.
"Eleanor?" I asked, looking at my hands.
"Oh, sorry." She let me loose.
"This is how it's going to happen," Edythe said. "When we get to the house, if the tracker is not there, I will walk Beau to the door. Then he has fifteen minutes." She glared at me in the rearview mirror. "Eleanor, you take the outside of the house. Archie, you get the truck. I'll be inside as long as he is. After he's out, you two can take the Jeep home and tell Carine."
"No way," Eleanor broke in. "I'm with you."
"Think it through, El. I don't know how long I'll be gone."
"Until we know how far this is going to go, I'm with you."
Edythe sighed. "If the tracker is there," she continued grimly, "we keep driving."
"We're going to make it there before him," Archie said confidently.
Edythe seemed to accept that. Whatever her problem with Archie was, she didn't doubt him now.
"What are we going to do with the Jeep?" he asked.
Edythe's voice had a hard edge. "You're driving it home."
"No, I'm not," he said calmly.
The unintelligible stream of profanities started again.
"We can't all fit in my truck," I mumbled.
Edythe didn't seem to hear me.
"I think you should let me go alone," I said even more quietly.
She heard that.
"Beau, don't be stupid," she said between clenched teeth.
"Listen, Charlie's not an imbecile," I argued. "If you're not in town tomorrow, he's going to get suspicious."
"That's irrelevant. We'll make sure he's safe, and that's all that matters."
"Then what about this tracker? She saw how you acted tonight. She's going to think you're with me, wherever you are."
Eleanor looked at me, insultingly surprised again. "Edythe, listen to him," she urged. "I think he's right."
"He is," Archie agreed.
"I can't do that." Edythe's voice was icy.
"Eleanor should stay, too," I continued. "She definitely got an eyeful of Eleanor."
"What?" Eleanor turned on me, looking betrayed.
"You'll get a better crack at her if you stay," Archie agreed.
Edythe stared at him incredulously. "You think I should let him go alone?"
"Of course not," Archie said. "Jess and I will take him."
"I can't do that," Edythe repeated, but this time she sounded defeated. The logic was working on her.
I tried to be persuasive. "Hang out here for a week"—I saw her expression in the mirror and amended—"a few days. Let Charlie see you, and lead this hunter on a wild-goose chase. Make sure she's completely off the trail. Then come and meet me. Take a roundabout route, of course, and then Jessamine and Archie can go home."
She was beginning to consider it.
"Meet you where?"
"Phoenix."
"No," she said impatiently. "She'll hear that's where you're going."
"And you'll make it look like that's a trick, obviously. She'll know that you'll know that she's listening. She'll never believe I'm actually going where I say I am going."
"He's diabolical," Eleanor laughed.
"And if that doesn't work?"
"There are several million people in Phoenix," I informed her.
"It's not that hard to find a phone book."
"It's called a hotel, Edythe."

[السسسيم]

"Edythe, we'll be with him," Archie reminded her.
"What are you going to do in Phoenix?" she asked Archie scathingly.
"Stay indoors."
"I kind of like it." Eleanor was thinking about cornering Joss, no doubt.
"Shut up, El."
"Look, if we try to take her down while Beau's still around, there's a much better chance that someone will get hurt—he'll get hurt, or you will, trying to protect him. Now, if we get her alone..." She trailed off with a slow smile. I was right.
The Jeep was crawling slowly along now as we drove into town. I could feel the hairs on my arms standing up. I thought about Charlie, alone in the house, and my knee was bouncing with impatience.
"Beau," Edythe said in a very soft voice. Archie and Eleanor looked out their windows. "If you let anything happen to yourself—anything at all—I'm holding you personally responsible. Do you understand that?"
I stared at her eyes in the mirror. "Ditto, Edythe."
She turned to Archie.
"Can Jessamine handle this?"
"Give her some credit, Edythe. She's been doing very, very well, all things considered."
"Can you handle this?"
Archie pulled his lips back in a horrific grimace and let loose a guttural snarl that had me wincing into the seat.
Edythe smiled at him. "But keep your opinions to yourself," she muttered suddenly.
Goodbyes
IT LOOKED LIKE CHARLIE WAS WAITING UP FOR ME. ALL THE HOUSE LIGHTS were on. My mind went blank as I tried to think of a way to pull this off.
Edythe stopped a car length back from my truck. All three of them were ramrod straight in their seats, listening to every sound of the forest, looking through every shadow around the house, searching for something out of place. The engine died and I sat quietly as they continued to listen.
"She's not here," Edythe hissed. "Let's go."
Eleanor reached over to undo the harness. "Don't worry, Beau," she said in a low but cheerful voice. "We'll take care of things here quickly."
I felt the strangest sense of sadness as I looked at Eleanor's gorgeous and terrifying face. I barely knew her, but somehow, not knowing when I would see her again was awful. I knew this was the easiest goodbye I would have to survive in the next hour, and the thought made my stomach churn.
"Archie, El." Edythe's voice was a command. They slipped soundlessly into the darkness and were gone.
I crawled out after Eleanor, and Edythe was already there.
"Fifteen minutes," she said through her teeth.
I nodded, then stopped.
"Hurry, Beau."
"One thing." I bent down and kissed her once hard. "I love you. Whatever happens now, that doesn't change."
"Nothing is going to happen to you, Beau."
"Keep Charlie safe for me."
"Done. Hurry."
I nodded again, and then, with one backward glance at her, I jumped onto the porch and threw the front door open with a loud bang. I lurched inside and kicked the door shut behind me.
I suddenly knew what I was going to do, and I was already horrified at myself.
Charlie's face appeared in the hallway. "Beau?"
"Leave me alone," I snapped.
My eyes were starting to feel red and wet, and I knew I was going to have to get it together if I was going to do this right—protect Charlie, protect the Cullens, and make this plan work. It would be easier if I wasn't looking at him.
I wheeled and ran up the stairs, then slammed my bedroom door closed and locked it. I threw myself on the floor and yanked a duffel bag out from under the bed. Then I shoved my hand between the mattress and box spring, searching till I found the knotted tube sock with my cash hoard.
Charlie pounded on my door. "Beau, are you okay? What's going on?"
"I'm going home!" I yelled.
I turned to the dresser, and Edythe was already there, silently yanking out armfuls of clothes that she then threw at me. I caught what I could and stuffed it into the bag.
"So I guess your date didn't go so well." Charlie's voice was confused but calmer.
"Ugh, stay out of it, Charlie," I growled.
"Did she break up with you?"
"I broke up with her."
Edythe didn't react to what I was saying. She was totally focused. She swept my stuff off the top of the dresser and into the bag with one arm.
"Why?" Charlie asked, surprised. "I thought you really liked this girl."
"I do—too much."
"Um... that's not how that works, son."
قد يعجبك

Edythe zipped the bag up—apparently my packing time was over. She hung the strap on my shoulder.
"I'll be in the truck—go!" she whispered, and she pushed me toward the door. She vanished out the window.
I unlocked the door and shoved past Charlie. My bag knocked a picture off the wall as I hurtled down the stairs.
Charlie ran after me and grabbed the strap of my bag, hauling me back a step.
"Are you doing drugs, Beau?" he demanded.
"No!"
"Slow down. I don't understand. Tell me what happened."
He had a tight grip on the strap. I could leave it, but that would put a hole in my story. I was going to have to do this the hard way.
I turned to look at him, hoping the red in my eyes looked like anger.
"I'll tell you what happened," I said in the hardest voice I could manage. "I had a great night with the prettiest girl I've ever seen—and we talked about the future. The way she sees it—it's just like you. She's going to stay here the rest of her life. She's going to get married and have kids and never leave. And for a second, that all actually made sense to me. I'm losing myself here—I'm getting sucked in. If I don't run now, I'll never get out!"
"Beau, you can't leave now," he whispered. "It's nighttime."
"I'll sleep in the truck if I get tired."
"Just wait another week," he pleaded, looking shell-shocked. "Renée will be back by then."
This completely derailed me. "What?"
Relief flashed across Charlie's face when I hesitated. "She called while you were out. Things aren't going so well in Florida, and if Phil doesn't get signed by the end of the week, they're going back to Arizona. The assistant coach of the Sidewinders said they might have a spot for another shortstop."
I shook my head, trying to get back on track. Every passing second put Charlie in more danger.
"I have a key," I muttered, turning the knob. He was too close, one hand still locked on my bag, his face dazed. I couldn't lose any more time arguing with him. I was going to have to hurt him further.
"Just let me go, Charlie," I said through my teeth. I threw the door open. "It didn't work out, okay? I really, really hate Forks!"
The cruel words did their job—Charlie's hand dropped from my bag. His mouth fell open with surprise while a deep pain surfaced in his eyes. I turned my back on him and stalked out the door. I couldn't let him see my face now.
I tried to keep my walk angry, but I wanted to sprint. The dark yard seemed full of extra shadows that I was pretty sure were just my imagination. But not totally positive. I hurled my bag into the bed of the truck and wrenched the door open. The key was waiting in the ignition.
"I'll call you tomorrow!" I yelled.
I would never be able to explain this to him, never be able to make it right again. I gunned the engine and peeled out.
Edythe reached for my hand.
"Pull over," she said as Charlie and the house disappeared behind us.
I kept my eyes on the road, trying to control my face. "I can drive."
Suddenly she was sliding over my lap, her hands on the wheel and her foot pushing mine off the gas. She moved into the space between my leg and the door, then shoved me over with her hip. The truck didn't swerve an inch and she was in the driver's seat.
"You wouldn't be able to find the house," she explained.
Lights flared behind us. I jumped, and stared out the back window.
"It's just Archie," she said. She took my hand again.
When I closed my eyes, all I could see was Charlie standing in the doorway.
"The tracker?"
"She caught the end of your performance. She's running behind us now—about a mile back."
My body felt cold. "Can we outrun her?"
"No." But she sped up as she spoke. The truck's engine whined.
My plan wasn't feeling so brilliant anymore.
I was staring back at Archie's headlights when the truck shuddered and a dark shadow sprang up outside the window.
"E—!"
Her hand clamped over my mouth before I could finish shouting the warning.
"It's Eleanor!"
She dropped her hand to my knee.
"It's okay, Beau," she promised.
We raced out of town, headed north.
"I didn't realize you were still so bored with small-town life," she said conversationally, and I knew she was trying to distract me. "It seemed like you were adjusting fairly well—especially recently. Maybe I was just flattering myself that I was making life more interesting for you."
"That was below the belt," I confessed, staring at my knees. "Those were the last words my mother said to him when she left. It would have done less damage if I'd punched him."
"He'll forgive you," she promised.
I closed my eyes.
"Beau, it's going to be all right."
I looked down at her. "It won't be all right when we're not together."
"It's only a few days. Don't forget this was your idea."
"That makes it worse. Why did this happen? I don't understand."
She stared at the road ahead, her eyebrows pulling low over her eyes. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have exposed you like that."
I grabbed her hand. "No, that's not what I'm talking about. Okay, I was there. Big deal. It didn't bother the other two. Why did Joss decide to kill me? There are people all over the place—people who are a lot easier to get to." I glanced over my shoulder at Eleanor's shadow. "Why am I worth all this trouble?"
Edythe hesitated, thinking before she answered. "I got a good look at her mind tonight," she said in a low voice. "I'm not sure if there's anything I could have done to avoid this, once she caught your scent. It is partially your fault." She looked at me from the side of her eye for a second. "If you didn't smell so ridiculously delicious, she might not have bothered. But when I defended you... well, that made it a lot worse. She's not used to being thwarted, no matter how insignificant the object. She thinks of herself as a hunter—as the hunter. Her life is consumed with tracking, and a challenge is what she loves best in life. Suddenly we've presented her with an amazing challenge—a large clan of strong fighters, all determined to protect the one vulnerable element. You don't know how euphoric she is right now. It's her favorite game, and we've just created the most exciting round ever." Her tone was full of disgust. She took a deep breath. "But if I had stood by, she would have killed you right then!" she hissed with frustration.
"I thought... I didn't smell the same to the others... as I do to you."
"You don't. But that doesn't mean that you aren't still a temptation to every one of them. If you had appealed to the tracker—or any of them—the same way you appeal to me, it would have meant a fight right there."
I shuddered.
"I don't think I have any choice but to kill her now," she muttered. "Carine won't like it."
"I don't like it," I whispered.
She looked at me, surprised. "You want me to spare her?"
I blinked. "No—I mean, yes. I don't care if she... dies. I mean, that would be a relief, right? I just don't want you... What if you get hurt?"
Her face went hard. "You don't have to worry about me. I don't fight fair."
I could hear the tires cross the bridge, though I couldn't see the river in the dark. I knew we were getting close.
"How do you kill a vampire?" I asked in a low voice.
She glanced at me—her eyes were hard to read. When she spoke her voice was harsh. "The only way to be sure is to tear her to shreds, and then burn the pieces."
"And the other two will fight with her?"
"The male will. I'm not sure about Lauren. They don't have a very strong bond—she's only with them for convenience. She was embarrassed by Joss's behavior in the meadow...."
"But Joss and Victor—they'll be trying to kill you?" My voice was raw, like I'd sandblasted the back of my throat.

[السسسيم]

"Stop. You focus on staying safe. You do whatever Archie tells you."
"How am I supposed to not worry about you? What does that even mean—that you don't fight fair?"
She half-smiled. It didn't touch her eyes. "Have you ever tried to act without thinking of that act first? Aside from involuntary muscle actions like breathing and blinking, it's terribly difficult to do. Especially in a fight. I'll see every single thing she plans, every hole in her defense. The only one who can hold his own against me is Archie—since he can see what I decide to do, but then I can hear how he'll react. It's usually a draw. Eleanor says it's cheating."
She seemed relaxed—like the idea of fighting the hunter and her partner was the easiest part of this whole mess. It made my stomach twist and plunge.
"Should Archie stay with you, then?" I asked. "If he's a better fighter than the others?"
"Eleanor can hear all this, you know. She's offended, and also not thrilled with that idea. It's been a while since she was allowed to really brawl, no holds barred. She plans to keep me and my cheating ways out of this as much as possible."
That made me feel a little bit better, which wasn't fair to Eleanor. I looked over my shoulder again, but I couldn't see her expression.
"Is she still following?" I asked.
Edythe knew I wasn't talking about Eleanor. "Yes. She won't attack the house, though. Not tonight."
She turned off onto the invisible drive. Archie's headlights followed. We drove right up to the house. The lights inside were bright, but they didn't do much to light up the surrounding trees. The yard was still black. Eleanor had my door open before the truck was stopped. She pulled me out of the seat, ducked under my arm, threw her arm around my waist, than ran me through the front door with my feet a foot off the ground, like I was a giant rag doll.
She burst into the big white room with Edythe and Archie on either side. All of them were there, already on their feet. Lauren stood in the middle of their circle. A low snarl rumbled in Eleanor's chest as she set me next to Edythe.
"She's tracking us," Edythe hissed, glaring at Lauren.
Lauren's expression was unhappy. "I was afraid of that."
Archie darted to Jessamine's side and whispered in her ear. They flew up the stairs together. Royal watched them, then moved quickly to Eleanor's side. His eyes were intense and—when they flickered unwillingly to my face—hostile.
"What will she do?" Carine asked Lauren.
"I'm sorry," she answered. "I was afraid, when your girl there defended him, that it would set Joss off."
"Can you stop her?"
Lauren shook her head. "Nothing stops Joss when she gets started."
"We'll stop her," Eleanor promised. There was no doubt what she meant.
"You can't bring her down," Lauren answered. "I've never seen anything like her in my three hundred years. She's absolutely lethal. That's why I joined her coven."
Her coven, I thought, of course. That whole show of leadership in the clearing was just that—a show.
Lauren was shaking her head. She glanced at me, obviously confused. "Are you sure this is all worth it?"
Edythe's furious growl tore through the room. Lauren cringed away from her.
Carine looked at Lauren. "I'm afraid you're going to have to make a choice."
Lauren understood. She hesitated for a minute. She looked at every face, then at the bright room.
"I'm intrigued by the life you've created here. But I won't get in the middle of this. I bear none of you any enmity, but I won't go up against Joss. I think I will head north—to that clan in Denali." She paused. "Don't underestimate Joss. She's got a brilliant mind and unparalleled senses. She looks wild, but she's every bit as comfortable in the human world as you seem to be. She won't come at you head on.... I'm sorry for what's been unleashed here. Truly sorry." She bowed her head, but I saw her flicker another puzzled look at me.
"Go in peace," Carine said.
Lauren took one more long look around the room, and then she disappeared through the door.
The silence lasted less than a second.
Carine looked at Edythe. "How close?"
Earnest was already moving. His hand touched a keypad on the wall, and with a groan, huge metal shutters began sealing up the glass wall. My mouth fell open.
"About three miles out past the river. She's circling around to meet up with the male."
"What's the plan?"
"We lead her off, then Archie and Jessamine will run him south."
"And then?"
Edythe's voice turned icy. "As soon as Beau is clear, we hunt her."
"I guess she's left us no other choice," Carine agreed, her expression grim.
Edythe looked at Royal. "Get him upstairs and trade clothes."
Royal stared back at her, incredulous.
"And why would I do that?" he asked. "What is he to me?"
"Roy...," Eleanor murmured, putting one hand on his shoulder. He shook it off.
My eyes were on Edythe, worried that this would set off her temper, but she surprised me. She looked away from Royal like he hadn't spoken, like he didn't exist.
"Earnest?" she asked calmly.
"Of course."
As he was speaking, he was already at my side and ducking to grab me in a fireman's hold. We were up the stairs before I could register what was happening.
"What are we doing?" I asked as he set me down in a dark room somewhere off the second-story hall.
"Trying to confuse the scent trail. It won't work for long, but it might give you a head start." His voice was muffled as he pulled his shirt over his head.
I yanked my sweater off and held it out to him. He switched mine for his. I struggled to get my arms through the right holes, then yanked my jeans off. We traded. His pants were a little too short, but otherwise fit fine. He pulled me back to the hall. Earnest looked smaller in my clothes; he'd rolled the bottoms of my jeans. Archie was suddenly there; a leather satchel hung over his arm. They each grabbed one of my elbows and flew down the stairs.
It looked like everything had been settled. Edythe and Eleanor were ready to leave, Eleanor carrying a big backpack over her shoulder. Carine handed something small to Earnest. She turned to Archie and handed him the same thing—a tiny silver cell phone.
"Earnest and Royal will be taking your truck, Beau," she told me as she passed. I nodded, glancing warily at Royal. He was glaring at Carine, resentful.
"Archie, Jess, take the Mercedes. You'll need the dark tint in the South."
They nodded.
"We'll take the Jeep."
Carine stopped next to Edythe. I realized that this was the hunting party, and I felt like I was going to throw up. How did it get to this point? Why had they listened to my idea? It was obviously wrong.
"Archie, will they take the bait?"
Everyone watched Archie as he closed his eyes and became incredibly still. A few seconds later his eyes opened again.
"She'll track you. The man will follow the truck. We'll be able to leave after that." He was positive.
"Let's go," Carine said, heading for the kitchen.
But Edythe came back for me. She stared up at me, her gold eyes huge and deep and full of a million words she didn't have time to say, and reached up to put her hands on my face. I leaned down, my hands already in her hair. For the shortest second, her lips were icy and hard against mine.
Then it was over. She pushed my shoulders back. Her eyes went blank, dead, just before she turned away from me.
They were gone.
We stood there, no one looking at me while I stared after them. It felt like someone had ripped all the skin off my face. My eyes burned.
The silent moment dragged. Archie's eyes were closed again. Then Earnest's phone vibrated in his hand, and Archie nodded once. The phone flashed to Earnest's ear.
"Now," Earnest said. Royal stalked out the front door without another glance in my direction, but Earnest touched my shoulder as he passed.
"Be safe." His whisper lingered behind them as they slipped out the door. I heard the truck start thunderously, and then the sound faded away.
Jessamine and Archie waited. Then Archie lifted his phone to his ear just before it buzzed.
"Edythe says the man is on Earnest's trail. I'll get the car." He vanished into the shadows the way Edythe had gone.
Jessamine and I looked at each other. She stood across the length of the entryway from me.
"You're wrong, you know," she said.
"Huh?"
"I can feel what you're feeling now—and you are worth it."
The feeling of being slowly skinned didn't let up. "If anything happens to them, it will be for nothing," I whispered.
She smiled kindly. "You're wrong," she repeated.
Archie stepped through the front door and walked straight toward me, one arm out.
"May I?" he asked.
"You're the first one to ask permission," I mumbled.
Archie slung me up into a fireman's carry like Earnest had and, with Jessamine shielding us protectively, flew out the door, leaving the lights on behind us

[السسسيم]

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
انتهى الفصل الثامن عشر من الكتاب و المسمى
ب" الصيد"

[السسسيم]

.

Impatience
WHEN I WOKE UP, I WAS CONFUSED. IT TOOK ME LONGER THAN IT SHOULD have to remember where I was.
The room was too bland to belong anywhere but a hotel. The bedside lamps were bolted to the tables, and the drapes were made from the same fabric as the bedspread.
I tried to remember how I'd gotten to this room, but nothing came at first.+
I remembered the black car, the glass in the windows darker than that on a limousine. The engine was almost silent, though we'd raced across the black freeways at more than twice the legal limit.
And I remembered Archie on the seat next to me, rather than up front with Jessamine. I remembered realizing suddenly that he was there as my bodyguard, that the front seat was apparently not close enough. It should have made the danger seem more real, but it all felt a million miles away. The danger I was in personally wasn't the danger I was worried about.
I made Archie keep up a strange stream-of-consciousness future watch all night long. There weren't any details so small they didn't interest me. He'd told me turn by turn how Edythe, Carine, and Eleanor would be moving through the forest, and though I didn't know any of the landmarks he referenced, I'd been riveted by every word. And then he would go back and describe the same sequence differently, as some decision remapped the future. This happened over and over again, and it was impossible to follow, but I didn't care. As long as the future never put Edythe and Joss in the same place, I'd been able to keep breathing.
Sometimes he would switch to Earnest for me. Earnest and Royal were in my truck, heading east. Which meant the red-haired man was still on their trail.
Archie'd had a more difficult time seeing Charlie. "Humans are harder than vampires," he told me. And I'd remembered that Edythe had said something to me about that once. It had seemed like years ago, when it had been only days. I remembered being disoriented by the way I couldn't make sense of the time.
I remembered the sun coming up over a low peak somewhere in California. The light had stung my eyes, but I'd tried not to close them. When I did, the images that flashed behind my lids like still slides were too much. I'd rather my eyes burn than see them again. Charlie's broken expression... Edythe's bared teeth... Royal's furious glare... the red eyes of the tracker staring at me... the dead look in Edythe's eyes when she'd turned away from me...
I kept my eyes open, and the sun moved across the sky.
I remembered my head feeling heavy and light at the same time as we raced through a shallow mountain pass and the sun, behind us now, reflected off the tiled rooftops of my hometown. I hadn't had enough emotion left to be surprised that we'd made a three-day journey in one. I'd stared blankly at the city laid out in front of us, realizing slowly that it was supposed to mean something to me. The scrubby creosote, the palm trees, the green golf course amoebas, the turquoise splotches of swimming pools—these were supposed to be familiar. I was supposed to feel like I was home.
The shadows of the streetlights had slanted across the freeway with lines that were sharper than I remembered. So little darkness. There was no place to hide in these shadows.
"Which way to the airport?" Jessamine had asked—the first time she'd spoken since we'd gotten in the car.
"Stay on the I-ten," I'd answered automatically. "We'll pass right by it."
It had taken me a few seconds more to process the implications of her question. My brain was foggy with exhaustion.
"Are we flying somewhere?" I'd asked Archie. I couldn't think of the plan. This didn't sound right, though.
"No, but it's better to be close, just in case."
I remembered starting the loop around Sky Harbor International... but not ending it. That must have been when my brain had finally crashed.
Though, now that I'd chased the memories down, I did have a vague impression of leaving the car—the sun behind the horizon, my arm draped over Archie's shoulder, his arm dragging me along as I stumbled through the warm, dry shadows.
I had no memory of this room.
I looked at the digital clock on the nightstand. The red numbers claimed it was three o'clock, but there was no way to tell if that meant a.m. or p.m. No light showed around the edges of the thick curtains, but the room was bright with the light from the lamps.
I rose stiffly and staggered to the window, pulling back the drapes.
It was dark outside. Three in the morning, then. The room looked out on a deserted section of the freeway and the new long-term parking garage for the airport. It made me feel better—by a very small amount—to be able to pinpoint time and place.
I looked down. I was still wearing Earnest's shirt and too-short pants. I looked around the room and was glad when I saw my duffel bag on top of the low dresser.
A light tap on the door made me jump.
"Can I come in?" Archie asked.
I took a deep breath. "Sure."
He walked in and looked me over. "You look like you could sleep longer."
I shook my head.
He darted silently to the window and pulled the curtains shut.
"We'll need to stay inside," he told me.
"Okay." My voice was hoarse; it cracked.
"Thirsty?" he asked.
I shrugged. "I'm okay. How about you?"
He smiled. "Nothing unmanageable. I ordered some food for you—it's in the front room. Edythe reminded me that you have to eat a lot more frequently than we do."
I was instantly more alert. "She called?"
"No." He watched my face fall. "It was before we left. She gave me lots of instructions. Come eat sometihing."
He was out of the room before I could protest that I wasn't hungry. I followed slowly behind him.
There was a living room attached to the bedroom. A low buzz of voices was coming from the TV. Jessamine sat at the desk in the corner, her eyes on the TV, but no interest in her expression. Archie went to stand by her. He ran his hand over her honey-colored hair.
"What's the latest?" I asked.
"Earnest and Royal are back in Forks. The redhead gave up chasing them."
I opened my mouth, but Archie was faster.
"They're watching your father. The redhead won't get past them."
"What is he doing?"
"Working his way through town, looking for you as far as I can tell—he spent some time at the school."
My eyes bulged. "Did he hurt anyone?"
Archie shook his head. "They seem pretty committed to the hunt they already started."
"Edythe?"
"Frustrated, it looks like. They turned on the tracker, but she was already running. She's kept going north. They're chasing her."
I stood there, not sure what to do.
Edythe was chasing Joss. Sure, she had Carine and Eleanor with her, but Edythe was the fastest....
"Eat something, Beau. Edythe gets really difficult when she thinks her instructions aren't being followed to the letter."
There was a tray on the coffee table with a couple of stainless steel covers over the plates on it. I couldn't think of anything to do besides follow Archie's order. I sat on the floor next to the table and pulled off the first plate cover. I didn't look at the food, I just grabbed something and started eating. I was probably hungry. We hadn't stopped for food during our drive.
They were quiet and motionless while I ate. I stared at the TV, but I couldn't make sense of what was happening. Was it a news show? Was it an infomercial? I wasn't sure. I ate until the plates were empty. I didn't taste any of it.
When there was nothing left to eat, I stared at the wall.
All I could see was Edythe in the forest, faster than a cheetah—faster than a bullet. It was obvious she would catch up with the tracker first.
Lauren's words echoed in my head. You can't bring her down. She's absolutely lethal.
Suddenly Jessamine was standing over me, closer than usual.
"Beau," she said in a soothing voice. "You have nothing to worry about. You are completely safe here."
"I know."
"Then why are you frightened?" She sounded confused. She might feel my emotions, but she couldn't see the reasons behind them.
"You heard what Lauren said. Joss is lethal. What if something goes wrong, and they get separated? If anything happens, if Carine or Eleanor—or Edythe—" My voice broke. "If that crazy redhead hurts Earnest—how do I live with myself when it's my fault? None of you should be risking your lives for—"
"Stop, Beau, stop," she interrupted, her words pouring out so quickly they were hard to understand. "You're worrying about all the wrong things, Beau. Trust me on this—none of us are in jeopardy. You are under enough strain as it is; don't add to it with imaginary worries. Listen to me!" she ordered—I'd looked away. "Our family is strong. Our only fear is losing you."
"But why should you—"
Archie was there then, his arm around Jessamine's waist. "It's been almost a century that Edythe's been alone. Now she's found you. You can't see the changes that we see, we who have been with her for so long. Do you think any of us want to look into her eyes for the next hundred years if she loses you?"
My guilt started to ease. But even though the calm that spread over me felt totally natural, like it came from inside, I knew better.
"You know I'd do this anyway," Archie added. "Even if Edythe hadn't ask me to."
"Why?"
He grinned. "It's hard to explain without sounding slightly schizo-phrenic.... Time doesn't mean the same thing to me that it does to you—or Jess, or anyone else." Jessamine grinned and tweaked his ear. "So this won't make sense to you. But for me, it's like we've already been friends for a long time, Beau. The first second you became a part of Edythe's life, for me it was like we'd already spent hundreds of hours together. We've laughed at Edythe's overreactions together, we've annoyed Royal right out of the house together, we've stayed up all night talking with Carine together...."
I stared and he shrugged. "It's how I experience the world."
"We're friends?" I asked, my voice full of wonder.
"Best friends," he told me. "Someday. It was nice of my favorite sister, don't you think, to fall in love with my best friend? I guess I owe her one."
"Huh," was all I could think to say.
Archie laughed.
Jessamine rolled her eyes. "Thanks so much, Archie. I just got him calm."
"No, I'm good," I promised. Archie could be lying to make me feel better, but either way it worked. It wasn't so bad if Archie wanted to help me, too. If he wasn't just doing it for Edythe.
"So what do we do now?" I asked.
"We wait for something to change."
It was a very long day.
We stayed in the room. Archie called down to the front desk and asked them to suspend our housekeeping service. The curtains stayed shut, the TV on, though no one watched it. At regular intervals, food was delivered for me.
It was funny how I was suddenly comfortable with Archie. It was like his vision of our friendship, spoken out loud, had made it real. He sat in the chair next to the sofa where I sprawled, and answered all the questions I'd been too nervous to ask before. Sometimes he'd answer them before I asked them. It was a little weird, but I figured that was how everyone else felt around Edythe all the time.
"Yes," he said, when I thought about asking him that. "It's exactly the same. She tries hard not to be obnoxious about it."
He told me about waking up.
"I only remembered one thing, but I'm not even sure it was a memory. I thought I remembered someone saying my name—calling me Archie. But maybe I was remembering something that hadn't happened yet—seeing that someday someone would call me Archie." He smiled at my expression. "I know, it's a circular dilemma, isn't it?"
"The hair?" He ran a hand over his scalp, unselfconscious. The stubble was just long enough to see that his hair would have been dark brown, nearly black, like his eyebrows. "It was a rather extreme look for 1920. A little too early for me to have been a skinhead, thank heavens. My best guess is disease or bad behavior."
"Bad behavior?" I asked.
He shrugged. "I might have been in prison."
"You couldn't have been much older than me," I protested.
He steepled his fingers thoughtfully. "I like to believe that if I was a criminal, I was both a mastermind and a prodigy."
Jessamine—back at the desk and mostly silent—laughed with me.
"It wasn't confusing the way it probably should have been," Archie said when I asked him what his first visions were like. "It seemed normal—I knew what I was seeing hadn't happened. I think maybe I'd seen things before I was changed. Or maybe I just adapt quickly." He smiled, already knowing the question I had waiting. "It was Jess. She was the first thing I saw." And then, "No, I didn't actually meet her in person until much later."
Something about his tone made me wonder. "How long?"
"Twenty-eight years."
"Twenty-eight...? You had to wait twenty-eight years? But couldn't you...?"
He nodded. "I could have found her earlier. I knew where she was. But she wasn't ready for me yet. If I'd come too early, she would have killed me."
I gasped and stared at her. She raised an eyebrow at me, and I looked back at Archie. He laughed.
"But Edythe said you were the only one who could hold your own against her—?"
Jessamine hissed—not like she was mad, like she was annoyed. I glanced at her again and she was rolling her eyes.
"We'll never know," Archie said. "If Jess was really trying to kill Edythe, rather than just playing...? Well, Jess has a lot of experience. Seeing the future isn't the only reason why I can keep up with Edythe—it's also because it was Jess who taught me how to fight. Lauren's coven all had their eyes on Eleanor—she's pretty spectacular, I grant you. But if it had come to a fight, Eleanor wouldn't have been their problem. If they'd taken a closer look at my darling"—he blew her a kiss—"they would have forgotten all about the strong girl."
I remembered the first time I'd seen Jessamine, in the cafeteria with her family. Beautiful, like the others, but with that edge. Even before I'd put it into words inside my own head, I'd sensed there was something about her that matched up with what Archie was telling me now.
I looked at Archie.
"You can ask her," he said. "But it's not going to happen."
"He wants to know my story?" Jessamine guessed. She laughed once—it was a dark sound. "You're not ready for that, Beau. Believe me."
And though I was still curious, I did believe her.
"You said humans were harder... but you seem to see me pretty well," I noted.
"I'm paying attention, and you're right here," Archie said. "Also, the two-second head starts are simpler than the weather. It's the long term that won't hold still. Even an hour complicates things."
Archie kept me updated on what was happening with the others—which was mostly nothing. Joss was good at running away. There were tricks, Archie told me. Scents couldn't be tracked through water, for example. Joss seemed to know the tricks. A half dozen times the trail took them back toward Forks, only to race off in the other direction again. Twice Archie called Carine to give her instructions. Once it was something about the direction in which Joss had jumped off a cliff, the other time it was where they would find her scent on the other side of a river. From the way he described it, he wasn't seeing the hunter, he was seeing Edythe and Carine. I guessed he would see his family the most clearly. I wanted to ask for the phone, but I knew there wasn't time for me to hear Edythe's voice. They were hunting.
I also knew I was supposed to be rooting for Edythe and the others to succeed, but I could only feel relieved as the distance between her and Joss got larger, despite Archie's help. If it meant I would be stuck here in this hotel room forever, I wouldn't complain. Whatever kept her safe.
There was one question that I wanted to ask more than the others, but I hesitated. I think if Jessamine hadn't been there, I might have done it sooner. I didn't feel the same ease in her presence that I did now with Archie. Which was probably only because she wasn't trying to make me feel that way.
When I was eating—dinner? Maybe, I couldn't remember which meal I was on—I was thinking about different ways to ask. And then I caught a look on Archie's face and I knew that he already knew what I was trying to ask, and unlike my dozens of other questions, he was choosing not to answer this one.
My eyes narrowed.
"Was this on Edythe's lists of instructions?" I asked sourly.
I thought I heard a very faint sigh from Jessamine's corner. It was probably annoying listening to half a conversation. But she should be used to that. I'd bet Edythe and Archie never had to speak out loud at all when they talked to each other.
"It was implied," Archie answered.
I thought about their fight in the Jeep. Was this what it was about?
"I don't suppose our future friendship is enough to shift your loyalties?"
He frowned. "Edythe is my sister."
"Even if you disagree with her on this?"
We stared at each other for a minute.
"That's what you saw," I realized. I felt my eyes get bigger. "And then she got so upset. You already saw it, didn't you?"
"It was only one future among many. I also saw you die," he reminded me.
"But you saw it. It's a possibility."
He shrugged.
"Don't you think I deserve to know, then? Even if there's only the slightest chance?"
He stared at me, deliberating.
"You do," he finally said. "You have the right to know."
I waited.
"You don't know fury like Edythe when she's thwarted," he warned me.
"It's none of her business. This is between you and me. As your friend, I'm begging you."
He paused, then made his choice. "I can tell you the mechanics of it, but I don't remember it myself, and I've never done it or seen it done, so keep in mind that I can only tell you the theory."
"How does someone become a vampire?"
"Oh, is that all?" Jessamine muttered behind me. I'd forgotten she was listening.
I waited

[السسسيم]

"As predators," Archie began, "we have a glut of weapons in our physical arsenal—much, much more than we need for hunting easy prey like humans. Strength, speed, acute senses, not to mention those of us like Edythe, Jessamine, and me who have extra senses as well. And then, like a carnivorous flower, we are physically attractive to our prey."
I was seeing it all in my head again—how Edythe had illustrated the same concept for me in the meadow.
He smiled wide—his teeth glistened. "We have one more, fairly superfluous weapon. We're also venomous. The venom doesn't kill—it's merely incapacitating. It works slowly, spreading through the bloodstream, so that, once bitten, our prey is in too much physical pain to escape us. Mostly superfluous, as I said. If we're that close, our prey doesn't escape. Of course, unless we want it to."
"Carine," I said quietly. The holes in the story Edythe had told me were filling themselves in. "So... if the venom is left to spread...?"
"It takes a few days for the transformation to be complete, depending on how much venom is in the bloodstream, how close the venom enters to the heart—Carine's creator bit her on the hand on purpose to make it worse. As long as the heart keeps beating, the poison spreads, healing, changing the body as it moves through it. Eventually the heart stops, and the conversion is finished. But all that time, every minute of it, a victim would be wishing for death—screaming for it."
I shuddered.
"It's not pleasant, no."
"Edythe said it was very hard to do... but that sounds simple enough."
"We're also like sharks in a way. Once we taste blood, or even smell it for that matter, it becomes very hard to keep from feeding. Impossible, even. So you see, to actually bite someone, to taste the blood, it would begin the frenzy. It's difficult on both sides—the bloodlust on the one hand, the awful pain on the other."
"It sounds like something you would remember," I said.
"For everyone else, the pain of transformation is the sharpest memory they have of their human life. I don't know why I'm different."
Archie stared past me, motionless. I wondered what it would be like, not to know who you were. To look in the mirror and not recognize the person looking back.
It was hard for me to believe that Archie could have been a criminal, though; there was something intrinsically good about his face. Royal was the showy one, the one the girls at school stared at, but there was something better than perfection about Archie's face. It was totally pure.
"There are positives to being different," Archie said suddenly. "I don't remember anyone I left behind. I got to skip that pain, too." He looked at me, and his eyes narrowed a little bit. "Carine, Edythe, and Earnest all lost everyone who mattered to them before they left being human behind. So there was grief, but not regret. It was different for the others. The phys-ical pain is a quick thing, comparatively, Beau. There are slower ways to suffer...."
"Royal had parents who loved him and depended on him—two little sisters he adored. He could never see them again after he was changed. And then he outlived them all. That kind of pain is very, very slow."
I wondered if he was trying to make me feel bad for Royal—to cut the guy some slack even if he hated me. Well... it was working.
He shook his head, like he knew I wasn't getting it.
"That's part of the process, Beau. I haven't experienced it. I can't tell you what it feels like. But it's a part of the process."
And then I understood what he was telling me.
He was perfectly still again. I put my arm behind my head and stared up at the ceiling.
If... if ever, someday, Edythe wanted me that way... what would that mean for Mom? What would that mean for Charlie?
There were so many things to think about. Things I didn't even know I didn't know to think about.
But some things seemed obvious. For whatever reason, Edythe didn't want me thinking about any of this. Why? It hurt my stomach when I tried to come up with an answer to that question.
Then Archie sprang to his feet.
I looked up at him, startled by the sudden movement, then alarmed again when I saw his face.
It was totally blank—empty, his mouth half open.
Then Jessamine was there, gently pushing him back into the chair.
"What do you see?" she asked in a low, soothing voice.
"Something's changed," Archie said, even more quietly.
I leaned closer.
"What is it?"
"A room. It's long—there are mirrors everywhere. The floor is wood. The tracker is in the room, and she's waiting. There's a gold stripe across the mirrors."
"Where is the room?"
"I don't know. Something is missing—another decision hasn't been made yet."
"How much time?"
"It's soon. She'll be in the mirror room today, or maybe tomorrow. It all depends. She's waiting for something." His face went blank again. "And she's in the dark now."
Jessamine's voice was calm, methodical. "What is she doing?"
"She's watching TV... no, she's running a VCR, in the dark, in another place."
"Can you see where she is?"
"No, the space is too dark."
"And the mirror room, what else is there?"
"Just the mirrors, and the gold. It's a band, around the room. And there's a black table with a big stereo, and a TV. She's touching the VCR there, but she doesn't watch the way she does in the dark room. This is the room where she waits." His eyes drifted, then focused on Jessamine's face.
"There's nothing else?"
He shook his head. They looked at each other, motionless.
"What does it mean?" I asked.
Neither of them answered for a moment, then Jessamine looked at me.
"It means the tracker's plans have changed. She's made a decision that will lead her to the mirror room, and the dark room."
"But we don't know where those rooms are?"
"No."
"But we do know that she won't be in the mountains north of Washington, being hunted. She'll elude them." Archie's voice was bleak.
He picked up the phone just as it vibrated.
"Carine," he said. And then he glanced at me. "Yes." He listened for another long moment, then said, "I just saw her." He described the vision like he had for Jessamine. "Whatever made her take that plane... it was leading her to those rooms." He paused. "Yes."
He held out the phone to me. "Beau?"
I yanked it out of his hand. "Hello?"
"Beau," Edythe breathed.
"Oh, Edythe," I said. "Where are you?"
"Outside of Vancouver. I'm sorry, Beau—we lost her. She seems suspicious of us—she stays just far enough away that I can't hear her. She's gone now—looks like she stole a small plane. We think she's heading back to Forks to start over."
I could hear Archie filling Jessamine in behind me.
"I know. Archie saw that she got away."
"You don't have to worry, though. You've left no trail for her to follow. You just have to stay with Archie and wait till we find her again. Archie will get a bead on her soon enough."
"I'll be fine. Is Earnest with Charlie?"
"Yes—the male's been in town. He went to the house, but while Charlie was at work. He hasn't gone near your father. Don't worry—Charlie's safe with Earnest and Royal watching."
Somehow, Royal's presence didn't comfort me much.
"What do you think Victor is doing?"
"Trying to pick up the trail. He's been all through the area during the night. Royal traced him up to the airport in Port Angeles, all the roads around town, the school... he's digging, Beau, but there's nothing to find."
"And you're sure Charlie's safe?"
"Yes. Earnest won't let him out of his sight. I'll be there soon. If the tracker gets anywhere near Forks, I'll have her."
I swallowed. "Be careful. Stay with Carine and Eleanor."
"I know what I'm doing."
"I miss you," I said.
"I know, believe me, I know. It's like you've taken half of my self away with you."
"Come and get it, then."
"As soon as I possibly can. I will make this right first." Her voice got hard.
"I love you."
"Could you believe that, despite everything I've put you through, I love you, too?"
"Yes, I can."
"I'll come for you soon."
"I'll wait for you."
The phone went dead, and a sudden wave of depression crashed over me. Jessamine looked up sharply, and the feeling dissipated.
Jessamine went back to watching Archie. He was on the couch, leaning over the table with the free hotel pen in his hand. I walked over to see what he was doing.
He was sketching on a piece of hotel stationery. I leaned on the back of the couch, looking over his shoulder.
He drew a room: long, rectangular, with a thinner, square section at the back. He drew lines to show how the wooden planks that made up the floor stretched lengthwise across the room. Down the walls were more lines denoting the breaks in the mirrors. I hadn't been picturing them like that—covering the whole wall that way. And then, wrapping around the walls, waist high, a long band. The band Archie said was gold.
"It's a ballet studio," I said, suddenly recognizing the familiar shapes.
They both looked up at me, surprised.
"Do you know this room?" Jessamine's voice sounded calm, but there was an undercurrent to it. Archie leaned closer to the paper, his hand flying across the page now. An emergency exit took shape against the back wall just where I knew it would be; the stereo and TV filled in the right corner foreground.
"It looks like a place where my mom used to teach dance lessons—she didn't stick with it for very long. It was shaped just the same." I touched the page where the square section jutted out, narrowing the back part of the room. "That's where the bathrooms were—the doors were through the other dance floor. But the stereo was here"—I pointed to the left corner—"it was older, and there wasn't a TV. There was a window in the waiting room—you could see the room from this perspective if you looked through it."
Archie and Jessamine were staring at me.
"Are you sure it's the same room?" Jessamine asked with the same unnatural calm.
"No, not at all. I mean, most dance studios would look the same—the mirrors, the bar." I leaned over the couch and traced my finger along the ballet bar set against the mirrors. "It's just the shape that looked familiar."
"Would you have any reason to go there now?" Archie asked.
"No. I haven't been back since my mom quit—it's probably been ten years."
"So there's no way it could be connected with you?" Archie asked intently.
I shook my head. "I don't even think the same person owns it. I'm sure it's just another dance studio, somewhere else."
"Where was the studio your mother went to?" Jessamine asked, her voice much more casual than Archie's.
"Just around the corner from our house. It's why she took the job—so I could meet her there when I walked home from school...." My voice trailed off as I watched the look they exchanged.
"Here in Phoenix, then?" she asked, still casual.
"Yes," I whispered. "Fifty-eighth and Cactus."
We all stared in silence at the drawing.
"Archie, is that phone safe?" I asked.
"The number just traces back to Washington," he told me.
"Then I can use it to call my mom."
"She's in Florida, right? She should be safe there."
"She is—but she's coming home soon, and she can't come back to that house while..." A tremor ran through my voice. I was thinking about Victor searching Charlie's house, the school in Forks where my records were.
"What's her number?" Archie asked. He had the phone in his hand.
"They don't have a permanent number except at the house. She's supposed to check her messages regularly."
"Jess?" Archie asked.
She thought about it. "I don't think it could hurt—don't say where you are, obviously."
I nodded, reaching for the phone. I dialed the familiar number, then waited through four rings until my mother's breezy voice came on, telling me to leave a message.
"Mom," I said after the beep, "it's me. Listen, I need you to do something. It's important. As soon as you get this message, call me at this number." Archie pointed to the number already written on the bottom of his picture. I read it carefully, twice. "Please don't go anywhere until you talk to me. Don't worry, I'm okay, but I have to talk to you right away, no matter how late you get this call, all right? I love you, Mom. Bye." I closed my eyes and prayed that no unforeseen change of plans would bring her home before she got my message.
Then we were back to waiting.
I thought about calling Charlie, but I wasn't sure what I could say. I watched the news, concentrating now, watching for stories about Florida, or about spring training—strikes or hurricanes or terrorist attacks—anything that might send them home early.
It seemed like immortality granted endless patience, too. Neither Jessamine nor Archie seemed to feel the need to do anything at all. For a while, Archie sketched the vague outline of the dark room from his vision, as much as he could see in the light from the TV. But when he was done, he simply sat, looking at the blank walls. Jessamine, too, seemed to have no urge to pace, or to peek through the curtains, or to punch holes in the wall, the way I did.
I fell asleep on the couch, waiting for the phone to ring

[السسسيم]

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
انتهى الفصل التاسع عشر من الكتاب و المسمى
ب"نفاذ الصبر"