we made our flight with seconds to spare, and then the true torture began. theplane sat idle on the tarmac while the flight attendants strolled—so casually—up and down the aisle,patting the bags in the overhead compartments to make sure everything fit. the pilots leaned out of thecockpit, chatting with them as they passed. alice's hand was hard on my shoulder, holding me in my seatwhile i bounced anxiously up and down.
"it's faster than running," she reminded me in a low voice.
i just nodded in time with my bouncing.
at last the plane rolled lazily from the gate, building speed with a gradual steadiness that tortured mefurther. i expected some kind of relief when we achieved liftoff, but my frenzied impatience didn't lessen.
alice lifted the phone on the back of the seat in front of her before we'd stopped climbing, turning herback on the stewardess who eyed her with disapproval. something about my expression stopped thestewardess from coming over to protest.
i tried to tune out what alice was murmuring to jasper; i didn't want to hear the words again, but someslipped through.
"i can't be sure, i keep seeing him do different things, he keeps changing his mind… a killing spreethrough the city, attacking the guard, lifting a car over his head in the main square… mostly things thatwould expose them—he knows that's the fastest way to force a reaction…""no, you can't." alice's voice dropped till it was nearly inaudible, though i was sitting inches from her.
contrarily, i listened harder. "tell emmett no… well, go after emmett and rosalie and bring themback… think about it, jasper. if he sees any of us, what do you think he will do?"she nodded. "exactly. i think bella is the only chance—if there is a chance… i'll do everything that canbe done, but prepare carlisle; the odds aren't good."she laughed then, and there was a catch in her voice. "i've thought of that… yes, i promise." her voicebecame pleading. "don't follow me. i promise, jasper. one way or another, i'll get out… and i loveyou."she hung up, and leaned back in her seat with her eyes closed. "i hate lying to him.""tell me everything, alice," i begged. "i don't understand. why did you tell jasper to stop emmett, whycan't they come help us?""two reasons," she whispered, her eyes still closed. "the first i told him. we could try to stop edwardourselves—if emmett could get his hands on him, we might be able to stop him long enough to convincehim you're alive. but we can't sneak up on edward. and if he sees us coming for him, he'll just act thatmuch faster. he'll throw a buiclc through a wall or something, and the volturi will take him down.
"that's the second reason of course, the reason i couldn't say to jasper. because if they're there and thevolturi kill edward, they'll fight them. bella." she opened her eyes and stared at me, beseeching. "if therewere any chance we could win… if there were a way that the four of us could save my brother byfighting for him, maybe it would be different. but we can't, and, bella, i can't lose jasper like that."i realized why her eyes begged for my understanding. she was protecting jasper, at our expense, andmaybe at edward's, too. i understood, and i did not think badly of her. i nodded.
"couldn't edward hear you, though.'" i asked. "wouldn't he know, as soon as he heard your thoughts, that i was alive, that there was no point to this?"not that there was any justification, either way. i still couldn't believe that he was capable of reacting likethis. it made no sense! i remembered with painful clarity his words that day on the sofa, while wewatched romeo and juliet kill themselves, one after the other. i wasn't going to live without you, he'dsaid, as if it should be such an obvious conclusion. but the words he had spoken in the forest as he'd leftme had canceled all that out—forcefully.
"if he were listening," she explained. "but believe it or not, it's possible to lie with your thoughts. if youhad died, i would still try to stop him. and i would be thinking 'she's alive, she's alive' as hard as i could.
he knows that."i ground my teeth in mute frustration.
"if there were any way to do this without you, bella, i wouldn't be endangering you like this. it's verywrong of me.""don't be stupid. i'm the last thing you should be worrying about." i shook my head impatiently. "tell mewhat you meant, about hating to lie to jasper."she smiled a grim smile. "i promised him i would get out before they killed me, too. it's not something ican guarantee—not by a long shot." she raised her eyebrows, as if willing me to take the danger moreseriously.
"who are these volturi?" i demanded in a whisper. "what makes them so much more dangerous thanemmett, jasper, rosalie, and you?" it was hard to imagine something scarier than that.
she took a deep breath, and then abruptly leveled a dark glance over my shoulder. i turned in time to seethe man in the aisle seat looking away as if he wasn't listening to us. he appeared to be a businessman, ina dark suit with a power tie and a laptop on his knees. while i stared at him with irritation, he opened thecomputer and very conspicuously put headphones on.
i leaned closer to alice. her lips were at my ears as she breathed the story.
"i was surprised that you recognized the name," she said. "that you understood so immediately what itmeant—when i said he was going to italy. i thought i would have to explain. how much did edward tellyou?""he just said they were an old, powerful family—like royalty. that you didn't antagonize them unless youwanted to… die," i whispered. the last word was hard to choke out.
"you have to understand," she said, her voice slower, more measured now. "we cullens are unique inmore ways than you know. it's… abnormal for so many of us to live together in peace. it's the same fortanya's family in the north, and carlisle speculates that abstaining makes it easier for us to be civilized, toform bonds based on love rather than survival or convenience. even james's little coven of three wasunusually large—and you saw how easily laurent left them. our kind travel alone, or in pairs, as ageneral rule. carlisle's family is the biggest in existence, as far as i know, with the one exception. thevolturi.
"there were three of them originally, aro, caius, and marcus.""i've seen them," i mumbled. "in the picture in carlisle's study."alice nodded. "two females joined them over time, and the five of them make up the family. i'm not sure, but i suspect that their age is what gives them the ability to live peacefully together. they are well overthree thousand years old. or maybe it's their gifts that give them extra tolerance. like edward and i, aroand marcus are… talented."she continued before i could ask. "or maybe it's just their love of power that binds them together.
royalty is an apt description.""but if there are only five—""five that make up the family," she corrected. "that doesn't include their guard."i took a deep breath. "that sounds… serious.""oh, it is," she assured me. "there were nine members of the guard that were permanent, the last time weheard. others are more… transitory. it changes. and many of them are gifted as well—with formidablegifts, gifts that make what i can do look like a parlor trick. the volturi chose them for their abilities,physical or otherwise."i opened my mouth, and then closed it. i didn't think i wanted to know how bad the odds were.
she nodded again, as if she understood exactly what i was thinking. "they don't get into too manyconfrontations. no one is stupid enough to mess with them. they stay in their city, leaving only as dutycalls.""duty?" i wondered.
"didn't edward tell you what they do?""no," i said, feeling the blank expression on my face.
alice looked over my head again, toward the businessman, and put her wintry lips back to my ear.
"there's a reason he called them royalty… the ruling class. over the millennia, they have assumed theposition of enforcing our rules—which actually translates to punishing transgressors. they fulfill that dutydecisively."my eyes popped wide with shock. "there are rules?" i asked in a voice that was too loud.
"shh!""shouldn't somebody have mentioned this to me earlier?" i whispered angrily. "i mean, i wanted to bea… to be one of you! shouldn't somebody have explained the rules to me?"alice chuckled once at my reaction. "it's not that complicated, bella. there's only one corerestriction—and if you think about it, you can probably figure it out for yourself."i thought about it. "nope, i have no idea."she shook her head, disappointed. "maybe it's too obvious. we just have to keep our existence asecret.""oh," i mumbled. it was obvious.
"it makes sense, and most of us don't need policing," she continued. "but, after a few centuries,sometimes one of us gets bored. or crazy. i dor't know. and then the volturi step in before it can compromise them, or the rest of us.""so edward…""is planning to flout that in their own city—the city they've secretly held for three thousand years, sincethe time of the etruscans. they are so protective of their city that they don't allow hunting within its walls.
volterra is probably the safest city in the world—from vampire attack at the very least.""but you said they didn't leave. how do they eat?""they don't leave. they bring in their food from the outside, from quite far away sometimes. it gives theirguard something to do when they're not out annihilating mavericks. or protecting volterra fromexposure…""from situations like this one, like edward," i finished her sentence. it was amazingly easy to say hisname now. i wasn't sure what the difference was. maybe because i wasn't really planning on living muchlonger without seeing him. or at all, if we were too late. it was comforting to know that i would have aneasy out.
"i doubt they've ever had a situation quite like this," she muttered, disgusted. "you don't get a lot ofsuicidal vampires."the sound that escaped out of my mouth was very quiet, but alice seemed to understand that it was acry of pain. she wrapped her thin, strong arm around my shoulders.
"we'll do what we can, bella. it's not over yet.""not yet." i let her comfort me, though i knew she thought our chances were poor. "and the volturi willget us if we mess up."alice stiffened. "you say that like it's a good thing."i shrugged.
"knock it off, bella, or we're turning around in new york and going back to forks.""what?""you know what. if we're too late for edward, i'm going to do my damnedest to get you back tocharlie, and i don't want any trouble from you. do you understand that?""sure, alice."she pulled back slightly so that she could glare at me. "no trouble.""scout's honor," i muttered.
she rolled her eyes.
"let me concentrate, now. i'm trying to see what he's planning."she left her arm around me, but let her head fall back against the seat and closed her eyes. she pressedher free hand to the side of her face, rubbing her fingertips against her temple.
i watched her in fascination for a long time. eventually, she became utterly motionless, hei face like a stone sculpture. the minutes passed, and if i didn't know better, i would have thought she'd fallen asleep.
i didn't dare interrupt her to ask what was going on.
i wished there was something safe for me to think about. i couldn't allow myself to consider the horrorswe were headed toward, or, more horrific yet, the chance that we might fail—not if i wanted to keepfrom screaming aloud.
i couldn't anticipate anything, either. maybe, if i were very, very, very lucky, i would somehow be ableto save edward. but i wasn't so stupid as to think that saving him would mean that i could stay with him.
i was no different, no more special than i'd been before. there would be no new reason for him to wantme now. seeing him and losing him again…i fought back against the pain. this was the price i had to pay to save his life. i would pay it.
they showed a movie, and my neighbor got headphones. sometimes i watched the figures movingacross the little screen, but i couldn't even tell if the movie was supposed to be a romance or a horrorfilm.
after an eternity, the plane began to descend toward new york city. alice remained in her trance. idithered, reaching out to touch her, only to pull my hand back again. this happened a dozen times beforethe plane touched town with a jarring impact.
"alice," i finally said. "alice, we have to go."i touched her arm.
her eyes came open very slowly. she shook her head from side to side for a moment.
"anything new?" i asked in a low voice, conscious of the man listening on the other side of me.
"not exactly," she breathed in a voice i could barely catch. "he's getting closer. he's deciding how he'sgoing to ask."we had to run for our connection, but that was good—better than having to wait. as soon as the planewas in the air, alice closed her eyes and slid back into the same stupor as before. i waited as patiently asi could. when it was dark again, i opened the window to stare out into the flat black that was no betterthan the window shade.
i was grateful that i'd had so many months' practice with controlling my thoughts. instead of dwelling onthe terrifying possibilities that, no matter what alice said, i did not intend to survive, i concentrated onlesser problems. like, what i was going to say to charlie if i got back:' that was a thorny enoughproblem to occupy several hours. and jacob? he'd promised to wait for me, but did that promise stillapply? would i end up home alone in forks, with no one at all? maybe i didn't want to survive, nomatter what happened.
it felt like seconds later when alice shook my shoulder—i hadn't realized i'd fallen asleep.
"bella," she hissed, her voice a little too loud in the darkened cabin full of sleeping humans.
i wasn't disoriented—i hadn't been out long enough for that.
"what's wrong?"alice's eyes gleamed in the dim light of a reading lamp in the row behind us.
"it's not wrong." she smiled fiercely. "it's right. they're deliberating, but they've decided to tell him no.""the volturi?" i muttered, groggy.
"of course, bella, keep up. i can see what they're going to say.""tellme."an attendant tiptoed down the aisle to us. "can i get you ladies a pillow?" his hushed whisper was arebuke to our comparatively loud conversation.
"no, thank you." alice beamed at up at him, her smile shockingly lovely. the attendant's expression wasdazed as he turned and stumbled his way back.
"tell me," i breathed almost silently.
she whispered into my ear. "they're interested in him—they think his talent could be uselul. they're goingto offer him a place with them.""what will he say?""i can't see that yet, but i'll bet it's colorful." she grinned again. "this is the first good news—the firstbreak. they're intrigued; they truly don't want to destroy him—'wasteful,' that's the word aro willuse—and that may be enough to force him to get creative. the longer he spends on his plans, the betterfor us."it wasn't enough to make me hopeful, to make me feel the relief she obviously felt. there were still somany ways that we could be too late. and if i didn't get through the walls into the volturi city, i wouldn'tbe able to stop alice from dragging me back home.
"alice?""what?""i'm confused. how are you seeing this so clearly? and then other times, you see things far away—thingsthat don't happen?"her eyes tightened. i wondered if she guessed what i was thinking of.
"it's clear because it's immediate and close, and i'm really concentrating. the faraway things that come ontheir own—those are just glimpses, faint maybes. plus, i see my kind more easily than yours. edward iseven easier because i'm so attuned to him.""you see me sometimes," i reminded her.
she shook her head. "not as clearly."i sighed. "i really wish you could have been right about me. in the beginning, when you first saw thingsabout me, before we even met…""what do you mean?""you saw me become one of you." i barely mouthed the words.
she sighed. "it was a possibility at the time." "at the time," i repeated.
"actually, bella…" she hesitated, and then seemed to make a choice. "honestly, i think it's all gottenbeyond ridiculous. i'm debating whether to just change you myself."i stared at her, frozen with shock. instantly, my mind resisted her words. i couldn't afford that kind ofhope if she changed her mind.
"did i scare you?" she wondered. "i thought that's what you wanted.""i do!" i gasped. "oh, alice, do it now! i could help you so much—and i wouldn't slow you down. biteme!""shh," she cautioned. the attendant was looking in our direction again. "try to be reasonable," shewhispered. "we don't have enough time. we have to get into volterra tomorrow. you'd be writhing inpain for days." she made a face. "and i don't think the other passengers would react well."i bit my lip. "if you don't do it now, you'll change your mind.""no." she frowned, her expression unhappy. "i don't think i will. he'll be furious, but what will he be ableto do about it?"my heart beat faster. "nothing at all."she laughed quietly, and then sighed. "you have too much faith in me, bella. i'm not sure that i can. i'llprobably just end up killing you.""i'll take my chances.""you are so bizarre, even for a human.""thanks.""oh well, this is purely hypothetical at this point, anyway. first we have to live through tomorrow.""good point." but at least i had something to hope for if we did. if alice made good on herpromise—and if she didn't kill me—then edward could run after his distractions all he wanted, and icould follow. i wouldn't let him be distracted. maybe, when i was beautiful and strong, he wouldn't wantdistractions.
"go back to sleep," she encouraged me. "i'll wake you up when there's something new.""right," i grumbled, certain that sleep was a lost cause now. alice pulled her legs up on the seat,wrapping her arms around them and leaning her forehead against her knees. she rocked back and forthas she concentrated.
i rested my head against the seat, watching her, and the next thing i knew, she was snapping the shadeclosed against the faint brightening in the eastern sky.
"what's happening?" i mumbled.
"they've told him no," she said quietly. i noticed at once that her enthusiasm was gone.
my voice choked in my throat with panic. "what's he going to do?" "it was chaotic at first. i was only getting flickers, he was changing plans so quickly.""what kinds of plans?" i pressed.
"there was a bad hour," she whispered. "he'd decided to go hunting."she looked at me, seeing the comprehension in my face.
"in the city," she explained. "it got very close. he changed his mind at the last minute.""he wouldn't want to disappoint carlisle," i mumbled. not at the end.
"probably," she agreed.
"will there be enough time?" as i spoke, there was a shift in the cabin pressure. i could feel the planeangling downward.
"i'm hoping so—if he sticks to his latest decision, maybe.""what is that?""he's going to keep it simple. he's just going to walk out into the sun."just walk out into the sun. that was all.
it would be enough. the image of edward in the meadow—glowing, shimmering like his skin was madeof a million diamond facets—was burned into my memory. no human who saw that would ever forget.
the volturi couldn't possibly allow it. not if they wanted to keep their city inconspicuous.
i looked at the slight gray glow that shone through the opened windows. "we'll be too late," i whispered,my throat closing in panic.
she shook her head. "right now, he's leaning toward the melodramatic. he wants the biggest audiencepossible, so he'll choose the main plaza, under the clock tower. the walls are high there. he'll wait till thesun is exactly overhead.""so we have till noon?""if we're lucky. if he sticks with this decision."the pilot came on over the intercom, announcing, first in french and then in english, our imminentlanding. the seat belt lights dinged and flashed.
"how far is it from florence to volterra?""that depends on how fast you drive… bella?""yes?"she eyed me speculatively. "how strongly are you opposed to grand theft auto?"a bright yellow porsche screamed to a stop a few feet in front of where i paced, the word turboscrawled in silver cursive across its back. everyone beside me on the crowded airport sidewalk stared.
"hurry, bella!" alice shouted impatiently through the open passenger window.
i ran to the door and threw myself in, feeling as though i might as well be wearing a black stocking overmy head.
"sheesh, alice," i complained. "could you pick a more conspicuous car to steal?"the interior was black leather, and the windows were tinted dark. it felt safer inside, like nighttime.
alice was already weaving, too fast, through the thick airport traffic—sliding through tiny spaces betweenthe cars as i cringed and fumbled for my seat belt.
"the important question," she corrected, "is whether i could have stolen a faster car, and i don't think so.
i got lucky.""i'm sure that will be very comforting at the roadblock."she trilled a laugh. "trust me, bella. if anyone sets up a roadblock, it will be behind us." she hit the gasthen, as if to prove her point.
i probably should have watched out the window as first the city of florence and then the tuscanlandscape flashed past with blurring speed. this was my first trip anywhere, and maybe my last, too. butalice's driving frightened me, despite the fact that i knew i could trust her behind the wheel. and i wastoo tortured with anxiety to really see the hills or the walled towns that looked like castles in the distance.
"do you see anything more?""there's something going on," alice muttered. "some kind of festival. the streets are full of people andred flags. what's the date today?"i wasn't entirely sure. "the nineteenth, maybe?""well, that's ironic. it's saint marcus day.""which means?"she chuckled darkly. "the city holds a celebration every year. as the legend goes, a christianmissionary, a father marcus—marcus of the voltun, in fact—drove all the vampires from volterrafifteen hundred years ago. the story claims he was martyred in romania, still trying to drive away thevampire scourge. of course that's nonsense—he's never left the city. but that's where some of thesuperstitions about things like crosses and garlic come from. father marcus used them so successfully.
and vampires don't trouble volterra, so they must work." her smile was sardonic. "it's become more ofa celebration of the city, and recognition for the police force—after all, volterra is an amazingly safe city.
the police get the credit."i was realizing what she meant when she'd said ironic. "they're not going to be very happy if edwardmesses things up for them on st. marcus day, are they?"she shook her head, her expression grim. "no. they'll act very quickly."i looked away, fighting against my teeth as they tried to break through the skin of my lower lip. bleedingwas not the best idea right now.
the sun was terrifyingly high in the pale blue sky.
"he's still planning on noon?" i checked.
"yes. he's decided to wait. and they're waiting for him.""tell me what i have to do."she kept her eyes on the winding road—the needle on the speedometer was touching the far right on thedial.
"you don't have to do anything. he just has to see you before he moves into the light. and he has to seeyou before he sees me.""how are we going to work that?"a small red car seemed to be racing backward as alice zoomed around it.
"i'm going to get you as close as possible, and then you're going to run in the direction i point you."i nodded.
"try not to trip," she added. "we don't have time for a concussion today."i groaned. that would be just like me—ruin everything, destroy the world, in a moment of klutziness.
the sun continued to climb in the sky while alice raced against it. it was too brigh:, and that had mepanicking. maybe he wouldn't feel the need to wait for noon after all.
"there," alice said abruptly, pointing to the castle city atop the closest hill.
i stared at it, feeling the very first hint of a new kind of fear. every minute since yesterday morning—itseemed like a week ago—when alice had spoken his name at the foot of the stairs, there had been onlyone fear. and yet, now, as i stared at the ancient sienna walls and towers crowning the peak of the steephill, i felt another, more selfish kind of dread thrill through me.
i supposed the city was very beautiful. it absolutely terrified me.
"volterra," alice announced in a flat, icy voice.
19 厌恶
我们在飞机还有几秒就起飞时赶到了，然后真正的折磨才刚开始。飞机悠闲地停在停机坪上，乘务员从容地在机舱走廊内来回走动，拍打着顶上的行李舱，确认包裹已堆放妥当。飞行员头探出驾驶舱，和正好经过的乘务员聊上几句。爱丽丝的手搭在我的肩上，当我上下颠簸的时候，把我按在椅子上。
“总比跑步要快。”她低声提醒我。
我点头的时候正好被弹了起来。
最后，飞机缓缓地滑过大门，速度逐渐增快，我所受的折磨也越来越大。我还以为起飞后会好受点，但是我极度烦躁和不耐烦的心情丝毫不减。
飞机还没完全起飞，爱丽丝拿起前座后背里面的手机，转身背对着微微不满的乘务员。我脸上的表情使得乘务员没有走过来阻止。
爱丽丝和贾斯帕打电话的时候，我试图不去听。我不想听到他们的对话，但是一些话还是不时地钻进我的耳朵。
“我不确信，我看见他不停做着不同的事情，不断改变主意.....在城市中毫无节制地瞎闹，袭击保安，在广场上把一辆车举过头顶.....做一些使他们不得不出来制止的事情——他知道这是最好的逼迫他们的方法.....”
“不行，你不能这样做。”爱丽丝把声音压得很低，使我离她非常近几乎听不到，于是，我更加用心听，“告诉艾美特.....跟着艾美特和罗莎莉，把他们带回来....好好考虑一下，贾斯帕。如果他看见我们当中的任何一个，你想他会怎么做？”
她点点头说：“正是如此。我认为贝拉是我们唯一的希望——如果还有机会的话.....我会尽一切努力的。让卡莱尔作好准备，情况不是很乐观。”
她随后笑了，从她的声音听来，好像有点儿眉目。“我想过这一点.....好的，我保证。”她声音带着请求的语气，“不用跟着我，我保证，贾斯帕。不管怎么样，我会逃出来的.....我爱你。”
她挂断电话，闭上眼睛，倚靠在座位上：“我讨厌对他说谎。”
“告诉我一切，爱丽丝, ”我祈求到。“我不明白，你为什么让jasper阻止emmett，为什么他们不能帮助我们？”
“两个原因”她仍闭着眼睛，低声说，
第一个我跟他说了。我们能亲自阻止爱德华——如果艾美特拖住他的话。我们会有足够的时间说服他你还活着，但是我们不能跟踪爱德华。如果他知道我们来找他，他会加快行动的。他会把一辆别克朝墙上砸去，那么沃尔图里就会抓住他。
“第二个原因，我不能告诉贾斯帕，因为他们在场，如果沃尔图里杀死爱德华的话，他们会打起来的，贝拉。”她睁开眼睛看着我，恳求道，“如果我们侥幸能赢......如果我们四个人能救回我哥哥，事情就完全不同了。但是，我们不能，贝拉，我不能让贾斯帕这么白白牺牲。”
我意识到为什么她用乞求的眼神看着我了。她为了保护贾斯帕，宁可牺牲我们自己，也许牺牲了爱德华。我理解，一点都不怪她。于是我点了点头。
“难道爱德华不能感受到你的心声吗？”我问她，“他不可以通过你的思想了解到我还活着，然后意识到没有必要那么做吗？”
谁也没有任何解释。我还是不能相信他会这么做。完全没有道理！我很清楚地记着那天我们坐在沙发上一起看罗密欧与朱丽叶一前一后的自杀。他说，你死了我也不要独自活着！好像这就是最后的结果，但是她在森林里离开我时说的话硬是把所有的一切给否定掉了。
“如果他在听的话，”她接着解释，“不管你信不信，我们可以用思想说谎的。如果你真的死了，我还是会努力阻止他的。我会很努力地一直想着‘她还活着，她还活着’，他知道这一点。”
我无奈地咬咬牙。
“如果有其他方法可以选择，贝拉，我不会把你卷入危险之中的，都是我不好。”
“别傻了。你根本不用担心我。”我不耐烦地摇摇头，“告诉我你刚才说讨厌对贾斯帕说谎是什么意思？”
她苦笑一下：“我答应他我会在他们杀我之前逃出来，这不是我所能控制的——完全不是。”她扬了扬眉毛，好像提醒我危险性的客观存在。
“谁是沃尔图里？”我小声问，“他们为什么比艾美特、贾斯帕、罗莎莉还有你可怕？”很难想象比这更可怕地事物了。
她深吸一口气，然后突然向我身后看了看。我转过头看见一个男人站在走廊上装做没看见我们似的朝别处看，他看起来像个生意人，黑色的西装，膝盖上放着一部笔记本电脑。当我恼怒地看着他的时候，他打开电脑，装模作样地带上耳机。
我靠近爱丽丝，她轻声对我耳语，告诉了我全部的事情。
“我很奇怪你知道这个名字，”她说，“当我说他要去意大利的时候，你一听就明白了，我还以为我得解释一番呢。爱德华到底告诉你多少事情？”
“他只是说过他们是一个古老的家族——像皇族一样。如果......不想死的话，就不用和他们为敌。”我小声说，“死”这个字很难说出口。
“你必须明白，”她说着，把声音降得更低，更小心翼翼，“我们卡伦家族比你想象的更加神秘。我们这么多人和平共处是......不太寻常的。北方的坦尼娅家族一样。卡莱尔认为是自我克制让我们变的文明，使我们能把关系建立在相爱而不是为了生存和寻求便利的基础上。即便是詹姆斯的三女巫聚在一起都嫌人多——你可以明白为什么劳伦这么轻易地就离开了她们。我们一般单独行动，或者俩人结伴。据我所知，卡莱尔家族是目前最大的，当然是出了另外一个，这另一个就是沃尔图里家族。”
“他们一开始就三个人，阿罗、凯厄思和马库斯。”
“我见过他们，”我低声说，“在卡莱尔书房里的画上。”
爱丽丝点点头：“后来有两个女人加入他们，他们五个人后来组成了家庭。我不是很清楚，但是我想他们能够和谐相处是因为年龄相仿吧。他们都有三千多岁了。或者是他们的才能使他们彼此相互忍耐，就像爱德华和我一样，阿罗和马库斯......也是法力不凡的。”
她不等我回答就继续说道，“也许是他们对权利共同的热爱把他们连在一起，皇族也许是个恰当的描述。”
“如果只有五个人......”
“那个家庭一共五个人，”她纠正道，“不包括守卫。”
我深吸一口气：“听起来.....很严重。”
“是的，”她对我说，“上次我们听说现在那个家族有九个固定守卫，其他的都是.....暂时的，一切都在变。这些守卫中很多人法力也很强，他们的才能让我觉得自己的能力像是雕虫小技。沃尔图里家族根据个人的能力、体能，或者其他方面的特长来选拔守卫。”
我张开嘴，又闭上了，我不太想知道困难有多大。
她又点了点头，好像明白我在想什么：“他们和别人没有太多的冲突，没有人会蠢到去惹他们。他们待在自己的城市里，有差遣才出去一下。”
“差遣？”我不明白。
“爱德华没有告诉你他们都干些什么吗？”
“没有。”我一脸的迷茫。
爱丽丝朝我后面的生意人看了一眼，把冰冷的嘴凑到我的耳边。
“他叫他们为皇族是因为.....他们是统治者。一千多年了，他们夺到了执行法律的权利——事实上是惩戒违规者的权利，他们执法很果断。”
我的眼睛一下子瞪得很大：“还有规则？”我的声音有点儿大了。
“嘘！”
“怎么没有人早点告诉我？”我小声地抱怨着，“我是说，我想成为.....加入你们！怎么没人跟我提过规矩？”
爱丽丝被我的反应逗笑了：“没那么复杂，贝拉，只有一条核心准则——如果你好好想想，也许就会猜到的。”
我想了想：“不知道。”
她失望地摇摇头：“可能是太明显了，我们必须对自己的身份保密。”
“哦。”我嘀咕着，过去是很明显。
“很好理解，我们大都不需要管制，”她接着说，“但是几个世纪过去了，有些人觉得无聊了，或者说疯了，我不清楚。沃尔图里家族就插手了，防止把大家都牵扯进去。”
“所以，爱德华他......”
“计划在他们的老巢捣乱——那座他们隐居了三百年的古城，从伊特鲁利亚时期开始就隐居在那儿。他们对城市保护有加，不允许在城内捕杀。沃特拉城也许是世界上最安全的城市了——至少不会有吸血鬼的袭击。”
“但是你说他们不离开那儿，他们吃什么呢？”
“他们不离开城，但是从外面把猎物带进来，有时候从很远的地方。这使得守卫在不镇压独立行动，或者不需要保护沃特拉的时候有事可做.....”
“像这次爱德华的行为就需要他们。”我接着她的话讲。现在说出他的名字简单多了，我不知道为什么，也许是见不到他我也没打算多活，如果我们太迟了的话，我根本不想活了，知道自己会死得比较容易反而轻松了许多。
“我怀疑他们没有见过这样的事情，”她喃喃地说，“毕竟一心寻死的吸血鬼不多见。”
我发出很轻的声音，但是爱丽丝好像听出我的痛苦，用瘦长而有力的手臂挽着我。
“我们会尽最大的努力，贝拉，事情还没结束呢。”
“还没有。”我听着她的安慰，虽然我知道她认为我们胜算很小，“如果我们乱了方寸，沃尔图里就会抓住我们。”
爱丽丝面部表情僵硬：“听你口气好像这是件好事似的。”
我耸耸肩。
“别想了，贝拉，否则我们只好绕纽约一圈，又回到福克斯了。”
“什么？”
“你知道吗？如果我们迟了，我会尽最大的努力把你送回到查理的身边，我不想你发生任何事情，你明白吗？”
“明白，爱丽丝。”
她稍稍向后，以便能看着我：“不要惹麻烦！”
“我保证。”我答应道。
她眼珠转了转。
“让我们仔细想想，看他到底有什么计划。”
她手还是搭在我的肩上，但是闭上眼睛靠在椅子上，另一只手放在脸上，用手指搓着太阳穴。
我惊奇地盯着她看了好久，最后，她一动不动，脸像雕塑一般。
时间一分分地过去，要不是我事先知道她在想事情，还会以为她睡着了，我不敢打断她的思路。
我希望有什么安全点的事情好想想，不敢去想等待着我们的恐惧，更不敢想万一我们失败了怎么办。我怕自己叫出来。
我不能预料任何事情。也许，很幸运的话，我可以救回爱德华，但是我没有天真到以为救了他我们就可以永远在一起了。我和以前一样，他没有理由再喜欢我了。再见到他然后又失去他.....
我忍受住痛苦，如果它是救回爱德华的代价，我愿意这么做。
他们在看电影，我旁边的人戴上耳机。有时候我看着小屏幕上的人影在晃动，但是我根本搞不清楚那电影是恐怖片还是爱情片。
好久以后，飞机才开始降落纽约，爱丽丝坐着没动。我开始发抖，伸手想碰她，但又收回来。这样来来回回好多次，知道飞机砰地着地。
“爱丽丝，”我终于叫出来了，“爱丽丝，我们得下了。”
她慢慢睁开眼，晃着脑袋四处看看。
“有什么新发现吗？”我小声问，对另外一边的那个男人保持警惕。
“没有什么，”她声音小得我几乎听不见，“他走近了，正在想怎么开口发问。”
我们必须赶去换机，这样很好——比干等着好。飞机一起飞，爱丽丝就和之前一样，以同样的姿势闭上眼睛，我耐心地等待着。天黑了，我打开窗户看着外面和遮光板一样黑的天空。
真庆幸我训练了还几个月如何控制我的思想，虽然不管爱丽丝怎么安慰，我并不打算活着离开，但我控制住自己不去想这些恐怖的可能性，相反我开始想一些小的问题。比如，回到家后，我要怎么对查理说？这个问题够我想上几个小时了。还有雅各布怎么办？他答应过等我，但是这个承诺还有效吗？我会一个人住在福克斯，孤独终老吗？也许我根本不想活下去了，不管发生什么。
感觉像是在几秒种后，爱丽丝摇摇我的肩——我这才意识到自己刚才不知不觉睡着了。
“贝拉。”她轻声叫我，但是其他人都在沉睡中，她的声音先得有点大了。
“怎么了？”
爱丽丝的眼睛在后面的灯光下微微发亮。
“没有什么，”我问道，有点晕呼呼的。
“当然，贝拉，别睡。我看看他们说些什么。”
“告诉我。”一位乘务员轻轻走过来：“两位女士需要枕头吗？”他轻声细语，仿佛是对我们大声交谈的指责。
“不用，谢谢。”爱丽丝给他一个微笑，她的微笑非常迷人。那位乘务员愣住了，转身的时候晕头转向的，差点绊倒。
“告诉我。”我几乎无声地说。
她对着我的耳朵说：“他们对他有兴趣——认为他的才能非常有用，他们想给他职位。”
“他会怎么做呢？”
“我不知道，但肯定很有趣。”她又笑了笑，“这是第一个好消息，他们开始行动了；他们不想毁了他，‘太浪费’——阿罗会这么认为，这就会使他想尽办法。他计划拖得越久，对我们越有利。”
但这还不能使我充满希望，我并未能像她一样能松口气。我们迟到的可能性还是很大。如果我没有进入沃特拉城，爱丽丝就会把我拖回家。
“爱丽丝?”
“什么事？”
“我不明白，你怎么能看得这么清楚?有几次，你预料到很远的事情——还没发生的事情？”
她眉头紧锁起来，我猜想她是不是知道我在想什么了。
“因为很近，就快要发生，所以很清楚，我只是集中注意力罢了。该发生的事情中就会发生的——这些只不过是些苗头，而且我比你更明白我的同类。爱德华和我关系更紧密，也就更容易了。”
“你有时候也明白我。”我提醒她。
她摇摇头：“没那么清楚。”
我叹了口气：“我真希望你能预料我的未来，最开始的时候，你还没遇见我就预料到……”
“你什么意思？”
“你预见到我会成为你们中的一员。”我挤出这句话。
她叹了口气：“当时确实有这个可能。”
“当时。”我重复她的话。
“事实上，贝拉……”她犹豫了一下，做出了选择，“说实话，这听上去有点荒唐，我正考虑是不是干脆把你的命运改变。”
我盯着她，惊呆了。立刻，我顶住了她这话的诱惑，万一她改变了主意我会很失望的。
“吓着你了吧？”她问，“我想这就是你想要的。”
“是的！”我喘着气，“爱丽丝，现在就做吧！这样我就可以帮助你——不会拖你后腿，咬我吧！”
“嘘，”她提醒我，“理智点，”她小声说“我们没有时间了。我们明天必须赶到沃特拉。你需要在痛苦中熬几天。”她做了个鬼脸。“我认为其他乘客会惊慌失措的。”
我咬了咬嘴唇：“如果你现在不做，以后会改变主意的。”
“不会的，”她皱了皱眉，有点儿不高兴，“我不会改变主意，但是他会生气的，不过他又能有什么办法？”
我心跳加速：“他完全没有办法。”
她静静地笑着，又叹了一口气：“你太相信我了。贝拉，我不确定自己能够做到，可能最后只会杀了你。”
“我愿意冒这个险。”
“你太怪了，哪怕在人类当中你也是很怪的。”
“谢谢夸奖。”
“这只是假设，不管怎样，先过了明天再说。”
“好的。”至少我觉得要是活过明天，我就有希望。如果爱丽丝信守诺言，如果她没杀了我，那爱德华就可以随心所欲地到处走，我就可以一直跟着他。我不会让他花心的，或许，要是我变得美丽、强大了，他就不会花心了。
“睡吧，”她对我说，“有新的消息我会叫醒你的。”
“好的。”我应了声，知道自己再也睡不着了。爱丽丝收回椅子上的腿，双手抱膝，额头趴在膝盖上，开始专心地听了。
我靠在椅子上休息，看着她，接下来就记得她看着东方微白的天空，关上窗户。
“发生什么事了？”我问。
“他们跟他说不行了。”她平静地说，我注意到她的热情全无。
我的声音因为恐惧而哽咽：“那他打算怎么做？”
“开始很乱。我只能听到一部分，他计划变动很快。”
“什么样的计划？”我追问。
“最糟糕的时候，”她说，“他决定去捕猎了。”
她看着我，知道我没完全理解。
“他不想让卡莱尔失望。”我嘀咕着，即便到最后关头。
“也许吧。”她表示赞同。
“还有时间吗？”我说着，舱内气压有所变化，飞机准备降落。
“我想是的——只要他不改变目前的计划。”
“什么计划？”
“很简单，他想走到阳光底下去。”
走到阳光底下，就这样。
这就足够了。爱德华站在草地中间——闪闪发光，好像他的皮肤是由上千颗宝石组成的——对此我记忆尤为深刻，任何人看过这样的情形都不会忘怀的。沃尔图里如果不想引人注目，就绝不会允许这事发生。
我看着窗外的微弱的晨光，“我们赶不到了。”我小声说着，喉咙哽咽。
她摇摇头：“现在他正看着热闹的人群，他想等到人最多的时候。他选择了钟楼下的中心广场，那边的墙很高，他会等到太阳当头照的时候。”
“所以我们还有时间。”
“是的，如果我们够幸运，而且他没有改变计划的话。”
飞行员走到机舱连接处，先用法语，然后用英语，宣布我们即将降落。指示灯闪烁提醒系好安全带。
“从佛罗伦萨到福克斯要多久？”
“根据你行驶的速度而定.....贝拉？”
“什么？”
她打量了我一番问：“你是否强烈反对我偷车子？”
一辆崭新的黄色保时捷在我身边急停下来，车声后面镶嵌着银色的“最强涡轮turbo”字样。拥堵的机场中，在我身边的行人都盯着我们。
“快点，贝拉!”爱丽丝急切地从车窗里喊我。
我跑到车门，钻了进去，恨不得套双黑袜子在头上。
“爱丽丝，”我抱怨道，“你怎么不挑选个更显眼的车子啊？”
车内是黑色的皮革，车窗也是黑的，在车子里面黑糊糊的，挺安全。
爱丽丝已经穿梭在车辆当中——穿过车辆之间的空隙，我赶紧摸寻到安全带系上。
“重要的是，”她纠正我说，“能不能偷到一辆更快的，已经不可能了，所以我运气很好了。”
“恩，相信碰到路障的时候会很舒服的。”
她笑了笑：“放心，谁要是设路障的话，我保证超过它。”她踩足油门，好像为了证实她的话。
我本来似乎应该欣赏窗外的佛罗伦萨和托斯卡纳的风景。毕竟，这是我第一次远行，也可能是最后一次。但是爱丽丝开得太快，尽管我相信她的车技，但还是有些害怕。我太焦急了，而没有心思好好欣赏窗外山脉和古城堡的墙。
“你看见其他东西了吗？”
“好像有什么活动，”爱丽丝说，“一个节目，街上都是人和红色的旗子。今天是几号？”
我不是很确信：“十九号，也许？”
“真讽刺，今天是圣马库斯节。”
“什么意思？”
她冷笑道：“这个城市每年都要庆祝这一节日。传说一个基督徒传教士、沃尔图里的马库斯神父一千五百年前把所有的吸血鬼逐出沃特拉城，传说他在罗马尼亚驱逐吸血鬼过程中牺牲了。当然是一派胡言，他从未离开过这座城市，但是一些迷信就是这么来的，像关于十字架和大蒜的迷信。马库斯神父很会利用这些。吸血鬼没有再骚扰沃特拉城，所以它们见效了。”她的笑声变成嘲讽，“节日逐渐变成了城市的庆典，表达对警察的敬仰——不管怎么说，沃特拉是座很安全的城市，警察功不可没。”
我明白她为什么说很讽刺了：“爱德华在这天闹事，他们肯定不会开心的，不是吗？”
她摇摇头，表情很严肃：“他们很快会行动的。”
我向别处看去，努力不让牙齿咬到下嘴唇，流血在这个时侯可不是好事。
太阳在浅蓝色的天空上已经升得很高了。
“他还是计划中午行动吗？”我确认道。
“是的，他决定等到那个时候，他们也等着他行动。”
“告诉我应该做些什么。”
她盯着前方弯曲的道路——时速表上的指针已经偏到最右边了。
“你为什么都不用做，他只要在走出来之前看到你就可以了，他看到我之前必须先看到你。”
“我们有什么办法实现这一计划呢？”
一辆红色的小车子似乎跟在我们的车子后头。
“我会尽量把你送到最近的地方，然后你沿着我指的方向跑去。”
我点了点头。
“不要摔倒，”她补充道，“我们今天没有时间瞎激动。”
