Read The Twilight Saga

'Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 1' Sells 3.2 Million Discs in Two Days

2012-02-15T23:04:00.000-08:00

Summit says that the penultimate film was also downloaded 50,000 and counted 80,000 VOD transactions.

Summit Entertainment is going out with a bang. The company, which last month announced it is being acquired by Lionsgate for $412.5 million in cash and stock, scored the top-selling home entertainment release of the week – and, so far, the year – with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1.

Released last Saturday instead of the previous Tuesday, the latest installment in the hugely successful vampire-movie franchise was in stores for only two days during the week-long tracking period. Even so, Summit said it sold 3.2 million discs, 50,000 downloads and 80,000 VOD transactions on those two days.
Not surprisingly, Breaking Dawn easily bowed at No. 1 on the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert overall disc sales chart.

Breaking Dawn was followed in the No. 2 spot by fellow newcomer Lady and the Tramp, from Walt Disney Studios, making its Blu-ray Disc debut. The No. 3 spot went to a third new release, A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas, the third installment in Warner/New Line’s edgy, stoner-buddy comedy franchise, which grossed $35 million in theaters.

On Nielsen’s dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart, Lady and the Tramp narrowly edged out Breaking Dawn as the week’s top seller. Very Harold and Kumar Christmas bowed at No. 3.

Just 25 percent of Breaking Dawn’s overall sales came from the Blu-ray Disc edition, compared to 38 percent for Harold and Kumar.

On Home Media Magazine’s weekly video rental chart, Breaking Dawn debuted at No. 3, behind holdovers Drive, from Sony (repeating at No. 1) and Disney’s Real Steel (repeating at No. 2).

Twilight: The Musical

2012-01-19T17:39:00.000-08:00

News from MTV.com

MTV News' Amy Wilkinson tells 'Twilight' Tuesday that catchy songs, inside jokes make the off-Broadway parody work.

For the most dedicated "Twilight" fans, the yearlong wait between the theatrical releases of "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" and "Breaking Dawn - Part 2" is painful, to say the least. Luckily, due to the popularity of the franchise and vampires in general, there are a variety of ways to bridge the gap, a few of which we touched on previously via fan suggestions. These include re-reading the books and re-watching the already-released movies, as well as getting your vampire fix via TV shows like "The Vampire Diaries" and "True Blood."

The latest addition to the fangtastic fray is the off-Broadway musical parody "Twilight: The Musical." MTV News' own Amy Wilkinson was lucky enough to attend the first preview in New York Monday. Thanks to her detailed summary, we now know more about the action in the plot, but for those who want to know more about the show's potential and audience reactions, this week's "Twilight" Tuesday is dedicated to digging a little deeper into the production by way of Wilkinson's experience. This will help you know what to expect if you make the trek to New York to see the show when it officially opens.

Here are five reasons you'll enjoy "Twilight: The Musical."

It's a Parody
Although we take our "Twilight" very seriously, it's sometimes just as entertaining to make light of the saga's more melodramatic, overwrought elements. And when a parody is executed well, it can be a delightful companion piece to the source material. It also helps to manage your expectations accordingly.

"To be completely honest, I wouldn't say that they were incredibly high," Wilkinson said of her expectations going in. "Mostly because this is an off-Broadway production, and from what we were told when we first arrived, they'd only been practicing for about 24 hours. So I didn't have the highest expectations going in, but I think for the time they had it turned out really well."

The "Twilight"/ "Harry Potter" Blend
Yes, Harry, Ron and Hermione make an appearance in "Twilight: The Musical," and despite the seemingly obvious appeal to two obsessive and proud fanbases, Wilkinson reported that it's more entertaining than off-putting.

"The way it was used worked well. There might be something that is a bit cloying about it, marrying these two franchises whose fans never seem to get along very well, so it might be a bit baiting in that regard, but I think the way they did it made sense," she said. "They traded in the three villains in the original 'Twilight' for three 'Harry Potter' characters and there were some good jokes that came out of it."

Vampires and Wizards That Sing!
This is a musical after all, so we are happy to hear that the songs, while campy at times, don't suck. Wilkinson said that one in particular is likely to get stuck in your head, a catchy little ditty called "Die Bella Die." Apparently and appropriately, it's Hermione's villainous theme song.

The Inside Jokes
In addition to dialogue lifted straight from Melissa Rosenberg's screenplays, the production pokes fun at a few memorable and slightly maligned moments, one of which Wilkinson said stood out for its laugh-out-loud factor.

"The one moment that the entire audience busted a gut over was in reference to a scene from the first 'Twilight' movie, when they're going on the biology class field trip and Alice Cullen is asking Bella if she's going to ride on their bus. In the movie Robert Pattinson's Edward is kind of like, 'Oh no, she's not,' but in the production I saw, Colin Hanlon, the guy playing Edward, turned around and yelled as loud as he could, 'SHE'S NOT COMING!' I don't know what it was about that, but the entire audience nearly died. The actor himself was cracking up, everyone was cracking up because it rings true to how bizarre that moment is in the film."

A Few Stars Are Born
In the spirit of how far "Glee" star Darren Criss has come from his "A Very Potter Musical" days, there are several actors in this musical worth keeping an eye on due to their breakout star potential, like Jenna Leigh Green, Lauren Lopez and Jeffry Denman, who all play multiple roles in the production.

"[Green] is pretty much the MVP of the production," Wilkinson said. "She does four or five characters (including Hermione, Rosalie and Esme), and there are times when her characters almost have lines back-to-back and she's running behind the stage to take off a wig or throwing off her cloak to return to the stage and deliver a line. She's definitely one of the hardest-working people on the stage. She was great to watch."

Countdown to Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2

2012-01-09T00:46:00.000-08:00

Cant's wait for Breaking Dawn Part 2. In the mean time, here's a count down widget until the screening in November 2012.

Countdown Creator Progreat free widgetsWidgetboxMore info

Watch New Moon Online

2012-01-02T09:52:00.000-08:00

On her 18th birthday, Bella Swan wakes up from a dream in which she sees herself as an old woman. She expresses her distaste with growing older than her boyfriend Edward Cullen, a vampire who stopped aging physically at 17. Despite her lack of enthusiasm, Edward's adoptive family throws Bella a birthday party. While unwrapping a gift, Bella gets a paper cut, causing Edward's brother, Jasper, to become overwhelmed by her blood's scent and attempt to kill her. Realizing the danger that he and his family pose to Bella, Edward ends their relationship, and the Cullens leave Forks, Washington.

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Watch Twilight Online

2012-01-02T09:48:00.000-08:00

Twilight (stylized as twilight) is a 2008 American romantic vampire film based on Stephenie Meyer's popular novel of the same name. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the film stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. It is the first film in The Twilight Saga film series. This film focuses on the development of the relationship between Bella Swan (a teenage girl) and Edward Cullen (a vampire), and the subsequent efforts of Cullen and his family to keep Swan safe from a coven of evil vampires.

Is Kristen Stewart as Stylish as Kate Middleton? Yes, According to Vogue U.K.

2011-12-28T05:42:00.000-08:00

A Kristen Stewart update from E! Online (Eonline.com)...

Hate Twilight all you want, but no doubt, Kristen Stewart has style.

And while fans of K.Stew have always admired her down-to-earth vibe (come on, who else can rock Vans on the red carpet), certain myopic critics have scoffed at her unique fashion sense.

Well, attention all you K.Stew haters, ‘cause none other than Vogue U.K. has acknowledged Kristen's impeccable style.

And not only do they think the gal's got style for days, but they're calling her one of the best.

RELATED: Kristen Stewart's Fangtastic Vampire Transition: "It's a Great Challenge for an Actor"

As they should! Kristen wowed at the premiere for Breaking Dawn: Part 1, and we love how the gal's style has evolved during her time in the spotlight.

While we still admire how K.Stew isn't afraid to dress down, we love the glam look she's been rocking (and we're sure Rob would agree). That thigh-high J.Mendel dress for the Breaking Dawn: Part 1 premiere? Absolutely stunning. And the one-shoulder Elie Saab she rocked at the premiere of Eclipse? The perfect mix of edgy and chic.

READ: Is Having It All Starting to Get to Kristen Stewart?

But don't think the title will go to K.Stew without her fair share of controversy. After all, she's sharing the spotlight with some serious fashionistas—Kate Middleton, Victoria Beckham and Anne Hathaway all top the list with Kris.

Regardless, we think Kristen totally deserves a place among these fashion icons—she's practically reinvented the whole grunge look—and there's no question the style is unique to her.

So, do you agree with Kristen's place on the list? Or are you totally over Kristen's sneaker-wearing ways?

Watch Breaking Dawn Part 1 Online

2011-12-23T06:15:00.000-08:00

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, commonly referred to as Breaking Dawn, is a 2011/2012 two-part romantic fantasy film directed by Bill Condon and based on the novel Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. The two parts form the fourth and final installment in the The Twilight Saga series. All three main cast members, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, reprise their roles.

Christina Perri - A Thousand Years (Official Music Video)

2011-12-16T21:30:00.000-08:00

Awww this song just melt my heart. It's the theme song of the movie Breaking Dawn Part 1 sung by the beautiful Christina Perri which you may remember from her Jar of Hearts song.

Again, awww...

Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson Make Bank On Forbes List

2011-12-07T07:38:00.001-08:00

'Twilight' stars, plus Daniel Radcliffe, Anne Hathaway and others, make 'Hollywood's Best Actors for the Buck' list.

It wasn't too long ago that Forbes declared Eddie Murphy and Drew Barrymore box-office poison, but there's better news this week for actors like Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Daniel Radcliffe, just to name a few. The young Hollywood heavyweights top the money magazine's Hollywood's Best Actors for the Buck list of stars, which weighs the actors' salaries against their movies' box-office return on investment.

With three weeks at the top of the box office for "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1," it's no surprise that the "Twilight" stars have landed on the list. Stewart, whose films earn $55.83 for every $1 she's paid according to Forbes, sits at the top of the list.

Pattinson sits at #3 because, the magazine argues, "he has branched out more, so only one of his 'Twilight' films is eligible for this list." "Eclipse" was the only "Twilight" film the magazine counted for Pattinson, alongside films like "Water for Elephants" and "Remember Me." His films earn $39.43 for every $1 he's paid.

Anne Hathaway sits in between the two "Twilight" stars at #2. For every $1 she's paid, her films, including "Alice in Wonderland," earn back $45.67. "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe ranks at #4 on the list. For every $1 he's paid, his films earn back $34.24.

Rounding out the top five is "Transformers" star Shia LaBeouf. His films earn back $29.40 for every $1 he makes. Rounding out the top 10 are "Iron Man" and "Sherlock Holmes" star Robert Downey Jr. ($18.74 for every $1), Matt Damon ($15.83 for every $1), Cate Blanchett ($15.17 for every $10), Meryl Streep ($13.54 for every $10) and "Pirates of the Caribbean" star Johnny Depp ($12.48 for every $1).

Source: www.mtv.com

Box office report: 'Twilight: Breaking Dawn' is No. 1 for third week in a row with $16.9 mil

2011-12-07T07:31:00.001-08:00

For the first time, a Twilight movie has ruled the box office for three weeks in a row. During what was one of the slowest weekends of the year, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1 held on to first, dropping 60 percent for $16.9 million, according to studio estimates.

That’s a smaller decline than what The Twilight Saga: New Moon experienced during the same weekend two years ago — it fell 64 percent. Nevertheless, Breaking Dawn — Part 1 is still trailing the past two Twilight movies. The fourth entry in the romantic supernatural series has so far grossed a stellar $247.3 million in 17 days. By comparison, New Moon had earned $255.4 million by this point, while The Twilight Saga: Eclipse had collected $255.8 million. This will ultimately be a moot point when Breaking Dawn — Part 2 comes out next November and likely destroys all of the franchise’s records.

Disney’s The Muppets was the runner-up, plunging a sharp 62 percent — more than any other wide release — for a weekend tally of $11.2 million. It’s too early to sound the alarm, especially since the movie has already grossed $56.1 million on its $45 million budget. And The Muppets will likely bounce back with a better hold next week. But it is surprising that a PG-rated family film with such endearing reviews and an “A” rating from CinemaScore graders would drop so much.

One possible explanation is that after all the activities and shopping of Thanksgiving weekend, many families opted to take it easy this week. It’s worth noting that such Thanksgiving releases as 2007′s Enchanted and last year’s Tangled fell 52 percent and 56 percent, respectively, during their sophomore frames. But Hugo, Arthur Christmas, Happy Feet Two, and Puss in Boots all had smaller drops than The Muppets, so there might be something else at play here.

Get more EW: Subscribe to the magazine for only 39¢ an issue!

Perhaps the film’s solid $29.2 million opening weekend was driven more by nostalgic adults than by family audiences. (Disney reported that 65 percent of the picture’s audience was over the age of 18.) If that’s the case, then those muppety adults all rushed out to see The Muppets last week, thereby leaving the film somewhat front-loaded. Disney would be wise to release Miss Piggy out into the world to intimidate encourage more families to see the movie.

The rest of the top five was occupied by other family films. Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, a 3-D love letter to silent cinema, slipped 33 percent for $7.6 million. The movie’s small decline can be partly attributed to the fact that it added more than 500 theaters this weekend. Hugo has so far taken in $25.2 million on a budget that’s reportedly at least $150 million. In fourth place, Sony’s Arthur Christmas declined only 39 percent for $7.4 million. The well-reviewed holiday comedy should continue to hold up well as we approach Christmas Day. And Happy Feet Two rounded out the top five by diving 55 percent for $6 million.

In limited release, the George Clooney dramedy The Descendants once again posted impressive numbers, grossing $5.2 million from 574 theaters. Fox Searchlight will expand the Oscar hopeful to 850 theaters on Friday. The silent film The Artist also continued to make some noise with $206,000 from six locations. And, finally, the NC-17 drama Shame, about a New York sex addict (Michael Fassbender), debuted to a superb $361,000 at 10 theaters. The film may have trouble adding theaters beyond metropolitan areas because of its taboo rating.

1. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1 — $16.9 mil
2. The Muppets — $11.2 mil
3. Hugo — $7.6 mil
4. Arthur Christmas — $7.4 mil
5. Happy Feet Two — $6.0 mil

‘Twilight’ saga matriarch hails from Bloomfield Hills

2011-12-07T07:24:00.001-08:00

‘Twilight’ saga matriarch hails from Bloomfield Hills
By Sam Logan Khaleghi
For the Daily Tribune

The role of “Twilight” character Edward Cullen’s mother Esme is in the hands of Primetime Emmy nominee Elizabeth Reaser, a Bloomfield Hills native who landed the part many Hollywood actresses desired.

Reaser said she always makes time for her Oakland County fans, despite her busy schedule jetting from Oslo, Norway, to New York City promoting “Breaking Dawn - Part 1,” the latest installment in the “Twilight” saga, and her upcoming release “Young Adult” with Charlize Theron.

“It’s my hometown, I’m always up for that,” she said.

Reaser said she would love the next “Twilight” film to premiere in Michigan.

“I think the only person who has the power to make that happen would be Taylor (Lautner),” said Reaser. “I think if he said, ‘I wanna make a Detroit premiere,’ he could make that happen. I think that’s an amazing idea.”

Reaser said she will be an ambassador for Michigan and run the idea by Lautner.

As if sharing screen time with Robert Pattinson and Lautner, a fellow Michigander, wasn’t enough, Reaser had the opportunity to work with contrasting directors in each installment of the franchise. Catherine Hardwicke (“Twilight”) stamped Reaser into the series while Chris Weitz (“New Moon”), David Slade (“Eclipse”) and Bill Condon (“Breaking Dawn”) all utilized the actress in their own individual recipes of the streak.

“I loved having a different director every time. I think that all these books are very different and they needed different directors,” Reaser said. “Each person brought their own vision to the story and as an actor that’s very cool and different because you have to re-conceive your character to some extent; not entirely because we established who these people are, but each director had their own way of seeing Esme and I was collaborating with them, so I got to play around with that over the years.”

Reaser said she’s had to take in the film’s global appeal through the shouts and cheers of fans dubbed “Twi-Hards” at the red-carpet premieres. But Reaser said she is all about getting acquainted with the matinee movie commonality of a casual auditorium and enjoys buying her own ticket.

“I will go and sneak in with a real audience because I think it’s the most fun experience just to be a part of that — a real audience,” said Reaser. “This movie is all about the fans. I can’t get over meeting fans like that all over the world. There’s an emotional connection with these characters. It’s an amazing experience to be on the other end of it.”
The “Twilight” saga has sparked the popularity of homemade and official retail merchandise worldwide.

“It’s surreal. I don’t own any of it, but my mom buys that stuff, and I think it’s more fun for her … I think it’s very surreal, when I go into a bookstore and see ‘Twilight’ games and books about the (making of the) movie. It shocks me.”

Searching for the right description of her latest director, Reaser paused before speaking warmly about Condon. “Just the sweetest man. It’s amazing that we got someone of his caliber to come do this because I think this was a tricky book with all these elements. You have a franchise building up to these major moments. He’s smart and he understands the story; he’s an Oscar-winning screenwriter too.”

Reaser is a graduate of the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Bloomfield Hills. Her character Esme transforms from cozy and confidential to functioning in full response force as she protects the vampire coven in the latest installment.

“You never really know how it’s going to cut together. I haven’t seen anything from ‘Breaking Dawn – Part 2.’ I definitely love the cliffhanger at the end of this one,” she said.

“Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 1” is currently topping box offices around the world while there will be a limited release of “Young Adult” on Dec. 9 followed by a nationwide release on Dec. 16.

Source: www.dailytribune.com

Bree Tanner - Part 5

2011-11-27T15:55:00.001-08:00

And thenI heard the snarling and screaming and

screechingexplode from ahead and I knew the fight was

happeningand I was too late to beat Diego there. I only ran

faster.Maybe I could still save him.

I smelledthe smoke—the sweet, thick scent of vampires

burning—carriedback to me on the wind. The sound of

mayhemwas louder. Maybe it was almost done. Would I find

our covenvictorious and Diego waiting?

I dashedthrough a heavy fringe of smoke and found myself

out ofthe forest in a huge grassy field. I leaped over a rock, only

torealize in the instant I flew past it that it was a headless torso.

My eyesraked the field. There were pieces of vampires

everywhere,and a huge bonfire smoking purple into the sunny

sky. Outfrom under the billowing haze, I could see dazzling,

glitteringbodies darting and grappling as the sounds of

vampiresbeing torn apart went on and on.

I lookedfor one thing: Diego’s curly black hair. No one I

could seehad hair so dark. There was one huge vampire with

brownhair that was almost black, but he was too big, and as I

focused Iwatched him tear Kevin’s head off and pitch it into the

firebefore leaping on someone else’s back. Was that Jen?

There wasanother with straight black hair that was too small to

be Diego.That one was moving so fast I couldn’t tell if it was a

boy or agirl.

I scannedquickly again, feeling horribly exposed. I took in

thefaces. There weren’t nearly enough vampires here, even

countingthose that were down. I didn’t see any of Kristie’s

group.There must have been a lot of vampires burned already.

Most ofthe vampires still standing were strangers. A blond

vampireglanced at me, meeting my gaze, and his eyes flashed

gold inthe sunlight.

We werelosing. Bad.

I startedbacking toward the trees, not moving fast enough

because Iwas still looking for Diego. He wasn’t here. There

was nosign he had ever been here. No trace of his scent,

though Icould distinguish the smells of most of Raoul’s team

and manystrangers. I had made myself look at the pieces, too.

None ofthem belonged to Diego. I would have recognized even

a finger.

I turnedand really ran for the trees, suddenly positive that

Diego’spresence here was just another of Riley’s lies.

And ifDiego wasn’t here, then he was already dead. This

fell intoplace for me so easily that I thought I must have known

the truthfor a while. Since the moment that Diego had not

followedRiley through the basement door. He’d already been

gone.

I was afew feet into the trees when a force like a wrecking

ball hitme from behind and threw me to the ground. An arm

slippedunder my chin.

“Please!”I sobbed. And I meant please kill me fast.

The armhesitated. I didn’t fight back, though my instincts

wereurging me to bite and claw and rip the enemy apart. The

sanerpart of me knew that wasn’t going to work. Riley had lied

aboutthese weak, older vampires, too, and we’d never had a

chance.But even if I’d had a way to beat this one, I wouldn’t

have beenable to move. Diego was gone, and that glaring fact

killedthe fight in me.

SuddenlyI was airborne. I crashed into a tree and crumpled

to theground. I should have tried to run, but Diego was dead. I

couldn’tget around that.

The blondvampire from the clearing was staring intently at

me, hisbody ready to spring. He looked very capable, much

moreexperienced than Riley. But he wasn’t lunging at me. He

wasn’tcrazed like Raoul or Kristie. He was totally in control.

“Please,”I said again, wanting him to get this over with. “I

don’twant to fight.”

Though hestill held himself ready, his face changed. He

looked atme in a way I didn’t totally get. There was a lot of

knowledgein that face, and something else. Empathy? Pity, at

least.

“Neitherdo I, child,” he said in a calm, kind voice. “We are

onlydefending ourselves.”

There wassuch honesty in his odd yellow eyes that it made

me wonderhow I had ever believed any of Riley’s stories. I

felt…guilty. Maybe this coven had never planned to attack us in

Seattle.How could I trust any part of what I’d been told?

“Wedidn’t know,” I explained, somehow ashamed. “Riley

lied. I’msorry.”

Helistened for a moment, and I realized that the battlefield

wasquiet. It was over.

If I’dbeen in any doubt over who the winner was, that doubt

was gonewhen, a second later, a female vampire with wavy

brownhair and yellow eyes hurried to his side.

“Carlisle?”she asked in a confused voice, staring at me.

“Shedoesn’t want to fight,” he told her.

The womantouched his arm. He was still tensed to spring.

“She’s sofrightened, Carlisle. Couldn’t we…”

Theblond, Carlisle, glanced back at her, and then he

straightenedup a little, though I could see he was still wary.

“We haveno wish to harm you,” the woman said to me. She

had asoft, soothing voice. “We didn’t want to fight any of you.”

“I’msorry,” I whispered again.

Icouldn’t make sense of the mess in my head. Diego was

dead, andthat was the main thing, the devastating thing. Other

thanthat, the fight was over, my coven had lost and my enemies

had won.But my dead coven was full of people who would have

loved towatch me burn, and my enemies were speaking to me

kindlywhen they had no reason to. Moreover, I felt safer with

these twostrangers than I’d ever felt with Raoul and Kristie. I

wasrelieved that Raoul and Kristie were dead. It was so

confusing.

“Child,”Carlisle said, “will you surrender to us? If you do not

try toharm us, we promise we will not harm you.”

And Ibelieved him.

“Yes,” Iwhispered. “Yes, I surrender. I don’t want to hurt

anybody.”

He heldout his hand encouragingly. “Come, child. Let our

familyregroup for a moment, then we’ll have some questions for

you. Ifyou answer honestly, you have nothing to fear.”

I got upslowly, making no movements that could be

consideredthreatening.

“Carlisle?”a male voice called.

And thenanother yellow-eyed vampire joined us. Any sort of

safetyI’d felt with these strangers vanished as soon as I saw

him.

He wasblond, like the first, but taller and leaner. His skin

wasabsolutely covered in scars, spaced most thickly together

on hisneck and jaw. A few small marks on his arm were fresh,

but therest were not from the brawl today. He had been in more

fightsthan I could have imagined, and he’d never lost. His tawny

eyesblazed and his stance exuded the barely contained

violenceof an angry lion.

As soonas he saw me he coiled to spring.

“Jasper!”Carlisle warned.

Jasperpulled up short and stared at Carlisle with wide

eyes.“What’s going on?”

“Shedoesn’t want to fight. She’s surrendered.”

Thescarred vampire’s brow clouded, and suddenly I felt an

unexpectedsurge of frustration, though I had no idea what I was

frustratedwith.

“Carlisle,I…” He hesitated, then continued, “I’m sorry, but

that’snot possible. We can’t have any of these newborns

associatedwith us when the Volturi come. Do you realize the

dangerthat would put us in?”

I didn’tunderstand exactly what he was saying, but I got

enough.He wanted to kill me.

“Jasper,she’s only a child,” the woman protested. “We can’t

justmurder her in cold blood!”

It wasstrange to hear her speak like we both were people,

likemurder was a bad thing. An avoidable thing.

“It’s ourfamily on the line here, Esme. We can’t afford to

have themthink we broke this rule.”

Thewoman, Esme, walked between me and the one who

wanted tokill me. Incomprehensibly, she turned her back to me.

“No. Iwon’t stand for it.”

Carlisleshot me an anxious glance. I could see that he

cared alot for this woman. I would have looked the same way at

anyonebehind Diego’s back. I tried to appear as docile as I

felt.

“Jasper,I think we have to take the chance,” he said slowly.

“We arenot the Volturi. We follow their rules, but we do not take

liveslightly. We will explain.”

“Theymight think we created our own newborns in defense.”

“But wedidn’t. And even had we, there was no indiscretion

here,only in Seattle. There is no law against creating vampires

if youcontrol them.”

“This istoo dangerous.”

Carlisletouched Jasper’s shoulder tentatively. “Jasper. We

cannotkill this child.”

Jasperglowered at the man with the kind eyes, and I was

suddenlyangry. Surely he wouldn’t hurt this gentle vampire or

the womanhe loved. Then Jasper sighed, and I knew it was

okay. Myanger evaporated.

“I don’tlike this,” he said, but he was calmer. “At least let me

takecharge of her. You two don’t know how to deal with

someonewho’s been running wild so long.”

“Ofcourse, Jasper,” the woman said. “But be kind.”

Jasperrolled his eyes. “We need to be with the others. Alice

said wedon’t have long.”

Carlislenodded. He held his hand out to Esme, and they

headedpast Jasper back toward the open field.

“Youthere,” Jasper said to me, his face a glower again.

“Come withus. Don’t make one rash move or I will take you

down.”

I feltangry again as he glared at me, and a small part of me

wanted tosnarl and show my teeth, but I had a feeling he was

lookingfor just that kind of excuse.

Jasperpaused as if he’d just thought of something. “Close

youreyes,” he commanded.

Ihesitated. Had he decided to kill me after all?

“Do it!”

I grittedmy teeth and shut my eyes. I felt twice as helpless

as I hadbefore.

“Followthe sound of my voice and don’t open your eyes.

You look,you lose, got it?”

I nodded,wondering what he didn’t want me to see. I felt

somerelief that he was bothering to protect a secret. There was

no reasonto do so if he was just going to kill me.

“Thisway.”

I walkedslowly after him, careful to give him no excuses. He

wasconsiderate in the way he led, not walking me into any

trees, atleast. I could hear the way the sound changed when we

were inthe open; the feel of the wind was different, too, and the

smell ofmy coven burning was stronger. I could feel the warmth

of thesun on my face, and the insides of my eyelids were

brighteras I sparkled.

He led mecloser and closer to the muffled crackle of the

flames,so close that I could feel the smoke brush my skin. I

knew hecould have killed me at any time, but the nearness of

the firestill made me nervous.

“Sithere. Eyes closed.”

Theground was warm from the sun and the fire. I kept very

still andtried to concentrate on looking harmless, but I could feel

his glareon me, and it made me agitated. Though I was not

mad atthese vampires, who I truly believed had only been

defendingthemselves, I felt the oddest stirrings of fury. It was

almostoutside myself, as if it were some leftover echo from the

battle thathad just taken place.

The angerdidn’t make me stupid, though, because I was

toosad—miserable to my core. Diego was aways in my mind,

and Icouldn’t help thinking about how he must have died.

I wassure there was no way he would have voluntarily told

Riley oursecrets—secrets that had given me a reason to trust

Rileyjust enough until it was too late. In my head, I saw Riley’s

faceagain—that cold, smooth expression that had formed as

he’dthreatened to punish any of us who wouldn’t behave. I

heard againhis macabre and oddly detailed description—when

I takeyou to her and hold you as she tears off your legs and

thenslowly, slowly burns off your fingers, ears, lips, tongue,

and everyother superfluous appendage one by one.

Irealized now that I’d been hearing the description of

Diego’sdeath.

Thatnight, I’d been sure that something had changed in

Riley.Killing Diego was what had changed Riley, had hardened

him. Ibelieved only one thing that Riley had ever told me: he

had valuedDiego more than any of the rest of us. Had even

been fondof him. And yet he’d watched our creator hurt him. No

doubthe’d helped her. Killed Diego with her.

Iwondered how much pain it would have taken to make me

betrayDiego. I imagined it would have taken quite a lot. And I

was sureit had taken at least that much to make Diego betray

me.

I feltsick. I wanted the image of Diego screaming in agony

out of myhead, but it wouldn’t leave.

And thenthere was screaming there in the field.

Myeyelids fluttered, but Jasper snarled furiously and I

clenchedthem together at once. I’d seen nothing but heavy

lavendersmoke.

I heardshouting and a strange, savage howling. It was loud,

and therewas a lot of it. I couldn’t imagine how a face would

have tocontort to create such a noise, and the not knowing

made thesound more frightening. These yellow-eyed vampires

were sodifferent from the rest of us. Or different from me, I

guess,since I was the only one left. Riley and our creator were

long goneby now.

I heardnames called, Jacob, Leah, Sam. There were lots of

distinctvoices, though the howls continued. Of course Riley had

lied tous about the number of vampires here, too.

The soundof the howling tapered off until it was just one

voice,one agonized, inhuman yowling that made me grit my

teeth. Icould see Diego’s face so clearly in my mind, and the

sound waslike him screaming.

I heardCarlisle talking over the other voices and the

howling.He was begging to look at something. “Please let me

take alook. Please let me help.” I didn’t hear anyone arguing

with him,but for some reason his tone made it sound like he

waslosing the dispute.

And thenthe yowling reached a strident new pitch, and

suddenlyCarlisle was saying “thank you” in a fervent voice, and

under theyowl there was the sound of a lot of movement by a lot

ofbodies. Many heavy footsteps coming closer.

Ilistened harder and heard something unexpected and

impossible.Along with some heavy breathing—and I’ve never

heard anyonein my coven breathe like that—there were dozens

of deepthumping noises. Almost like… heartbeats. But

definitelynot human hearts. I knew that particular sound well. I

sniffedhard, but the wind was blowing from the other direction,

and Icould only smell the smoke.

Without awarning sound, something touched me, clapped

downfirmly on either side of my head.

My eyesstarted open in panic as I lurched up, straining to

jerk freeof this hold, and instantly met Jasper’s warning gaze

about twoinches from my face.

“Stopit,” he snapped, yanking me back down on my butt. I

couldonly just hear him, and I realized that his hands were

sealedtight against my head, covering my ears entirely.

“Closeyour eyes,” he instructed again, probably at a normal

volume,but it was hushed for me.

Istruggled to calm myself and shut my eyes again. There

werethings they didn’t want me to hear, either. I could live with

that—ifit meant I could live.

For asecond I saw Fred’s face behind my eyelids. He had

said hewould wait for one day. I wondered if he would keep his

word. Iwished I could tell him the truth about the yellow-eyes,

and howmuch more there seemed to be that we didn’t know.

Thiswhole world that we really knew nothing about.

It wouldbe interesting to explore that world. Particularly with

someonewho could make me invisible and safe.

But Diegowas gone. He wouldn’t be coming to find Fred

with me.That made imagining the future faintly repugnant.

I couldstill hear some of what was going on, but just the

howlingand a few voices. Whatever those weird thumping

soundshad been, they were too muted now for me to examine

them.

I didmake out the words when, a few minutes later, Carlisle

said,“You have to…”—his voice was too low for a second, and

then—“…from here now. If we could help we would, but we

cannotleave.”

There wasa growl, but it was oddly unmenacing. The

yowlingbecame a low whine that disappeared slowly, as if it

wasmoving away from me.

It wasquiet for a few minutes. I heard some low voices,

Carlisleand Esme among them, but also some I didn’t know. I

wished Icould smell something—the blindness combined with

the mutedsound left me straining for some source of sensory

information.But all I could smell was the horribly sweet smoke.

There wasone voice, higher and clearer than the others,

that Icould hear most easily.

“Anotherfive minutes,” I heard whoever it was say. I was

sure itwas a girl who was speaking. “And Bella will open her

eyes inthirty-seven seconds. I wouldn’t doubt that she can hear

us now.”

I triedto make sense of this. Was someone else being

forced tokeep her eyes shut, like me? Or did she think my

name wasBella? I hadn’t told anyone my name. I struggled

again tosmell something.

Moremumbling. I thought that one voice sounded off—I

couldn’thear any ring to it at all. But I couldn’t be sure with

Jasper’shands so securely over my ears.

“Threeminutes,” the high, clear voice said.

Jasper’shands left my head.

“You’d betteropen your eyes now,” he told me from a few

stepsaway. The way he said this frightened me. I looked

aroundmyself quickly, searching for the danger hinted at in his

tone.Onewhole field of my vision was obscured by the dark

smoke.Close by, Jasper was frowning. His teeth were gritted

togetherand he was looking at me with an expression that was

almost…frightened. Not like he was scared of me, but like he

wasscared because of me. I remembered what he’d said

before,about my putting them in danger with something called

aVolturi. I wondered what a Volturi was. I couldn’t imagine what

thisscarred-up, dangerous vampire would be afraid of.

BehindJasper, four vampires were spaced out in a loose

line withtheir backs to me. One was Esme. With her were a tall

blondewoman, a tiny black-haired girl, and a dark-haired male

vampireso big that he was scary just to look at—the one I’d

seen killKevin. For an instant I imagined that vampire getting a

hold onRaoul. It was a strangely pleasant picture.

Therewere three more vampires behind the big one. I

couldn’tsee exactly what they were doing with him in the way.

Carlislewas kneeling on the ground, and next to him was a

malevampire with dark red hair. Lying flat on the ground was

anotherfigure, but I couldn’t see much of that one, only jeans

and smallbrown boots. It was either a female or a young male. I

wonderedif they were putting the vampire back together.

So eightyellow-eyes total, plus all that howling before,

whateverstrange kind of vampire that had been; there had

been atleast eight more voices involved. Sixteen, maybe more.

More thantwice as many as Riley had told us to expect.

I foundmyself fiercely hoping that those black-cloaked

vampireswould catch up to Riley, and that they would make him

suffer.

Thevampire on the ground started to get slowly to her feet

—movingawkwardly, almost like she was some clumsy human.

Thebreeze shifted, blowing the smoke across me and

Jasper.For a moment, everything was invisible except for him.

Though Iwas not as blind as before, I suddenly felt much more

anxious,for some reason. It was like I could feel the anxiety

bleedingout of the vampire next to me.

The lightwind gusted back in the next second, and I could

see andsmell everything.

Jasperhissed at me furiously and shoved me out of my

crouchand back onto the ground.

It washer—the human I’d been hunting just a few minutes

ago. Thescent my whole body had been focused toward. The

sweet,wet scent of the most delicious blood I’d ever tracked.

My mouthand throat felt like they were on fire.

I triedwildly to hold on to my reason—to focus on the fact

thatJasper was just waiting for me to jump up again so that he

couldkill me—but only part of me could do it. I felt like I was

about topull into two halves trying to keep myself here.

The humannamed Bella stared at me with stunned brown

eyes.Looking at her made it worse. I could see the blood

flushingthrough her thin skin. I tried to look anywhere else, but

my eyeskept circling back to her.

Theredhead spoke to her in a low voice. “She surrendered.

That’sone I’ve never seen before. Only Carlisle would think of

offering.Jasper doesn’t approve.”

Carlislemust have explained to that one when my ears were

covered.

Thevampire had both his arms around the human girl, and

she hadboth hands pressed to his chest. Her throat was just

inchesfrom his mouth, but she didn’t look frightened of him at

all. Andhe didn’t look like he was hunting. I had tried to wrap my

headaround the idea of a coven with a pet human, but this was

not closeto what I had imagined. If she’d been a vampire, I

wouldhave guessed that they were together.

“IsJasper all right?” the human whispered.

“He’sfine. The venom stings,” the vampire said.

“He wasbitten?” she asked, sounding shocked by the idea.

Who wasthis girl? Why did the vampires allow her to be

withthem? Why hadn’t they killed her yet? Why did she seem

socomfortable with them, like they didn’t scare her? She

seemedlike she was a part of this world, and yet she didn’t

understandits realities. Of course Jasper was bitten. He’d just

fought—anddestroyed—my entire coven. Did this girl even

know whatwe were?

Ugh, theburn in my throat was impossible! I tried not to think

aboutwashing it away with her blood, but the wind was blowing

her smellright in my face! It was too late to keep my head—I

hadscented the prey I was hunting, and nothing could change

that now.

“He wastrying to be everywhere at once,” the redhead told

thehuman. “Trying to make sure Alice had nothing to do,

actually.”He shook his head as he looked at the tiny blackhaired

girl.“Alice doesn’t need anyone’s help.”

Thevampire named Alice shot a glare at Jasper.

“Overprotectivefool,” she said in her clear soprano voice.

Jaspermet her stare with a half smile, seeming to forget for a

secondthat I existed.

I couldbarely fight the instinct that wanted me to make use

of hislapse and spring at the human girl. It would take less than

aninstant and then her warm blood—blood I could hear

pumpingthrough her heart—would quench the burn. She was

so close—

Thevampire with the dark red hair met my eyes with a

fiercewarning glare, and I knew I would die if I tried for the girl,

but theagony in my throat made me feel like I would die if I

didn’t.It hurt so much that I screamed out loud in frustration.

Jaspersnarled at me, and I tried to keep myself from

moving,but it felt like the scent of her blood was a giant hand

yankingme off the ground. I had never tried to stop myself from

feedingonce I had committed to a hunt. I dug my hands into the

groundlooking for something to hold on to but finding nothing.

Jasperleaned into a crouch, and even knowing I was two

secondsfrom death, I couldn’t focus my thirsty thoughts.

And thenCarlisle was right there, his hand on Jasper’s arm.

He lookedat me with kind, calm eyes. “Have you changed your

mind,young one?” he asked me. “We don’t want to destroy you,

but wewill if you can’t control yourself.”

“How canyou stand it?” I asked him, almost begging.

Wasn’t heburning, too? “I want her.” I stared at her, desperately

wishingthe distance between us was gone. My fingers raked

uselesslythrough the rocky dirt.

“You muststand it,” Carlisle said solemnly. “You must

exercisecontrol. It is possible, and it is the only thing that will

save younow.”

If beingable to tolerate the human the way these strange

vampiresdid was my only hope for survival, then I was already

doomed. Icouldn’t stand the fire. And I was of two minds about

survivalanyway. I didn’t want to die, I didn’t want pain, but what

was thepoint? Everyone else was dead. Diego had been dead

for days.

His namewas right on my lips. I almost whispered it aloud.

Instead,I gripped my skull with both hands and tried to think

aboutsomething that wouldn’t hurt. Not the girl, and not Diego. It

didn’twork very well.

“Shouldn’twe move away from her?” the human whispered

roughly,breaking my concentration. My eyes snapped back to

her. Herskin was so thin and soft. I could see the pulse in her

neck.

“We haveto stay here,” said the vampire she was clinging

to. “Theyare coming to the north end of the clearing now.”

They? Iglanced to the north, but there was nothing but

smoke.Did he mean Riley and my creator? I felt a new thrill of

panic,followed by a little spasm of hope. There was no way she

and Rileycould stand against these vampires who had killed so

many ofus, was there? Even if the howly ones were gone,

Jasper alonelooked capable of dealing with the two of them.

Or did hemean this mysterious Volturi?

The windteased the girl’s scent across my face again, and

mythoughts scattered. I glared at her thirstily.

The girlmet my stare, but her expression was so different

from whatit should have been. Though I could feel that my lips

werecurled back from my teeth, though I trembled with the effort

to stopmyself from springing at her, she did not look afraid of

me.Instead she seemed fascinated. It almost looked like she

wanted tospeak to me—like she had a question she wanted

me toanswer.

ThenCarlisle and Jasper began to back away from the fire

—andme—closing ranks with the others and the human. They

all werestaring past me into the smoke, so whatever they were

afraid ofwas closer to me than it was to them. I huddled tighter

to thesmoke in spite of the nearby flames. Should I make a run

for it?Were they distracted enough that I could escape? Where

would Igo? To Fred? Off on my own? To find Riley and make

him payfor what he’d done to Diego?

As Ihesitated, mesmerized by that last idea, the moment

passed. Iheard movement to the north and knew I was

sandwichedbetween the yellow-eyes and whatever was

coming.

“Hmm,” adead voice said from behind the smoke.

In thatone syllable I knew exactly who it was, and if I hadn’t

beenfrozen solid with mindless terror I would have bolted.

It wasthe dark-cloaks.

What didthis mean? Would a new battle begin now? I knew

that thedark-cloaked vampires had wanted my creator to

succeedin destroying these yellow-eyes. My creator had clearly

failed.Did that mean they would kill her? Or would they kill

Carlisleand Esme and the rest here instead? If it had been my

choice, Iknew who I would want destroyed, and it wasn’t my

captors.

Thedark-cloaks ghosted through the vapor to face the

yellow-eyes.None of them looked in my direction. I held

absolutelystill.

Therewere only four of them, like last time. But it didn’t

make adifference that there were seven of the yellow-eyes. I

couldtell that they were as wary of these dark-cloaks as Riley

and mycreator had been. There was something more to them

than Icould see, but I could definitely feel it. These were the

punishers,and they didn’t lose.

“Welcome,Jane,” said the yellow-eyed one who held the

human.

They kneweach other. But the redhead’s voice was not

friendly—norwas it weak and eager to please like Riley’s had

been, orfuriously terrified like my creator’s. His voice was

simplycold and polite and unsurprised. Were the dark-cloaks

thisVolturi, then?

The smallvampire who led the dark-cloaks—Jane,

apparently—slowlyscanned across the seven yellow-eyes and

thehuman, and then finally turned her head toward me. I

glimpsedher face for the first time. She was younger than me,

but mucholder, too, I guessed. Her eyes were the velvet color of

dark redroses. Knowing it was too late to escape notice, I put

my headdown, covering it with my hands. Maybe if it were clear

that Ididn’t want to fight, Jane would treat me as Carlisle had. I

didn’tfeel much hope of that, though.

“I don’tunderstand.” Jane’s dead voice betrayed a hint of

annoyance.

“She hassurrendered,” the redhead explained.

“Surrendered?”Jane snapped.

I peekedup to see the dark-cloaks exchanging glances.

Theredhead had said that he’d never seen anyone surrender

before.Maybe the dark-cloaks hadn’t, either.

“Carlislegave her the option,” the redhead said. He

seemed tobe the spokesperson for the yellow-eyes, though I

thoughtCarlisle might be the leader.

“Thereare no options for those who break the rules,” Jane

said, hervoice dead again.

My bonesfelt like ice, but I didn’t feel panicked anymore. It

allseemed so inevitable now.

Carlisleanswered Jane in a soft voice. “That’s in your

hands. Aslong as she was willing to halt her attack on us, I saw

no needto destroy her. She was never taught.”

Thoughhis words were neutral, I almost thought he was

pleadingfor me. But, as he had said, my fate was not up to him.

“That isirrelevant,” Jane confirmed.

“As youwish.”

Jane wasstaring at Carlisle with an expression that was

halfconfusion and half frustration. She shook her head, and her

face wasunreadable again.

“Arohoped that we would get far enough west to see you,

Carlisle,”she said. “He sends his regards.”

“I wouldappreciate it if you would convey mine to him,” he

answered.

Janesmiled. “Of course.” Then she looked at me again,

with thecorners of her mouth still slightly holding the smile. “It

appearsthat you’ve done our work for us today… for the most

part.Just out of professional curiosity, how many were there?

They leftquite a wake of destruction in Seattle.”

She spokeof jobs and professionals. I was right, then, that it

was herprofession to punish. And if there were punishers, then

theremust be rules. Carlisle had said before, We follow their

rules,and also, There is no law against creating vampires if

youcontrol them. Riley and my creator had been afraid but not

exactlysurprised by the arrival of the dark-cloaks, these Volturi.

They knewabout the laws, and they knew they were breaking

them. Whyhadn’t they told us? And there were more Volturi than

justthese four. Someone named Aro and probably many more.

Theremust have been a lot for everyone to fear them so much.

Carlisleanswered Jane’s question. “Eighteen, including this

one.”Therewas a barely audible murmur among the four darkcloaks.

“Eighteen?”Jane repeated, a note of surprise in her voice.

Ourcreator had never told Jane how many of us she’d created.

Was Janereally surprised, or just faking it?

“Allbrand-new,” Carlisle said. “They were unskilled.”

Unskilledand uninformed, thanks to Riley. I was beginning

to get asense of how these older vampires viewed us.

Newborn,Jasper had called me. Like a baby.

“All?”Jane snapped. “Then who was their creator?”

As ifthey hadn’t already been introduced. This Jane was a

biggerliar than Riley, and she was so much better at it than he

was.

“Her namewas Victoria,” the redhead answered.

How didhe know that when even I didn’t? I remembered

thatRiley had said there was a mind reader in this group. Was

that howthey knew everything? Or was that another of Riley’s

lies?“Was?”Jane asked.

The redheadjerked his head toward the east like he was

pointing.I looked up and saw a cloud of thick lilac smoke

billowingfrom the side of the mountain.

Was. Ifelt a similar kind of pleasure to what I’d felt

imaginingthe big vampire shredding Raoul. Only much, much

greater.

“ThisVictoria,” Jane asked slowly. “She was in addition to

theeighteen here?”

“Yes,”the redhead confirmed. “She had only one other with

her. Hewas not as young as this one here, but no older than a

year.”

Riley. Myfierce pleasure intensified. If—okay, when—I died

today, atleast I didn’t leave that loose thread. Diego had been

avenged.I almost smiled.

“Twenty,”Jane breathed. Either this was more than she had

expected,or she was a killer actress. “Who dealt with the

creator?”

“I did,”the redhead said coldly.

Whoeverthis vampire was, whether he kept a pet human or

no, hewas a friend of mine. Even if he were the one to kill me in

the end,I would still owe him.

Janeturned to stare at me with narrowed eyes.

“Youthere,” she snarled. “Your name.”

I wasdead anyway, according to her. So why give this lying

vampireanything she wanted? I just glared at her.

Janesmiled at me, the bright, happy smile of an innocent

child,and suddenly I was on fire. It was like I’d gone back in

time tothe worst night of my life. Fire was in every vein of my

body,covering every inch of my skin, gnawing through the

marrow ofevery bone. It felt like I was buried in the middle of my

coven’sfuneral bonfire, with the flames on every side. There

wasn’t asingle cell in my body that wasn’t blazing with the worst

agonyimaginable. I could barely hear myself scream over the

pain inmy ears.

“Yourname,” Jane said again, and as she spoke the fire

disappeared.Gone like that, as if I’d only been imagining it.

“Bree,” Isaid as fast as I could, still gasping though the pain

wasn’tthere anymore.

Janesmiled again and the fire was everywhere. How much

painwould it take before I would die of it? The screams didn’t

even feellike they were coming from me anymore. Why

wouldn’tsomeone rip my head off? Carlisle was kind enough

for that,wasn’t he? Or whoever their mind reader was. Couldn’t

he or sheunderstand and make this stop?

“She’lltell you anything you want to know,” the redhead

growled.“You don’t have to do that.”

The painvanished again, like Jane had turned off a light

switch. Ifound myself facedown on the ground, panting as if I

neededair.

“Oh, Iknow,” I heard Jane say cheerfully. “Bree?”

Ishuddered when she called my name, but the pain didn’t

startagain.

“Is hisstory true?” she asked me. “Were there twenty of

you?”

The wordsflew out of my mouth. “Nineteen or twenty, maybe

more, Idon’t know! Sara and the one whose name I don’t know

got in afight on the way….”

I waitedfor the pain to punish me for not having a better

answer,but instead Jane spoke again.

“And thisVictoria—did she create you?”

“I don’tknow,” I admitted fearfully. “Riley never said her

name. Ididn’t see that night… it was so dark, and it hurt!” I

flinched.“He didn’t want us to be able to think of her. He said

that ourthoughts weren’t safe.”

Jane shota glance at the redhead, then looked at me

again.

“Tell meabout Riley,” Jane said. “Why did he bring you

here?”

I recitedRiley’s lies as quickly as I could. “Riley told us that

we had todestroy the strange yellow-eyes here. He said it

would beeasy. He said that the city was theirs, and they were

coming toget us. He said once they were gone, all the blood

would beours. He gave us her scent.” I pointed in the human’s

direction.“He said we would know that we had the right coven,

becauseshe would be with them. He said whoever got to her

firstcould have her.”

“It lookslike Riley was wrong about the easy part,” Jane

said, ahint of teasing in her tone.

It seemedlike Jane was pleased with my story. In a flash of

insight,I understood that she was relieved Riley hadn’t told me

or theothers about her little visit to our creator. Victoria. This

was thestory she wanted the yellow-eyes to know—the story

thatdidn’t implicate Jane or the dark-cloaked Volturi. Well, I

couldplay along. Hopefully the mind reader was already in the

know.

Icouldn’t physically take revenge on this monster, but I could

tell theyellow-eyes everything with my thoughts. I hoped.

I nodded,agreeing with Jane’s little joke, and sat up

because Iwanted the mind reader’s attention, whoever that

was. Icontinued with the version of the story that any other

member ofmy coven would have been able to give. I pretended

I wasKevin. Dumb as a bag of rocks and totally ignorant.

“I don’tknow what happened.” That part was true. The mess

on thebattlefield was still a mystery. I’d never seen any of

Kristie’sgroup. Did the secret howler vampires get them? I

wouldkeep that secret for the yellow-eyes. “We split up, but the

othersnever came. And Riley left us, and he didn’t come to help

like hepromised. And then it was so confusing, and everybody

was inpieces.” I flinched at the memory of the torso I’d hurdled.

“I wasafraid. I wanted to run away.” I nodded at Carlisle. “That

one saidthey wouldn’t hurt me if I stopped fighting.”

Thiswasn’t betraying Carlisle in any way. He’d already told

Jane asmuch.

“Ah, butthat wasn’t his gift to offer, young one,” Jane said.

Shesounded like she was enjoying herself. “Broken rules

demand aconsequence.”

Stillpretending I was Kevin, I just stared at her as if I were

toostupid to understand.

Janelooked at Carlisle. “Are you sure you got all of them?

The otherhalf that split off?”

Carlislenodded. “We split up, too.”

So it wasthe howlers that got Kristie. I hoped that, whatever

else theywere, the howlers were really, really terrifying. Kristie

deservedthat.

“I can’tdeny that I’m impressed,” Jane said, sounding

sincere,and I thought that this was probably the truth. Jane had

beenhopeful that Victoria’s army would do some damage here,

and we’dclearly failed.

“Yes,”the three vampires behind Jane all agreed quietly.

“I’venever seen a coven escape this magnitude of offensive

intact,”Jane continued. “Do you know what was behind it? It

seemslike extreme behavior, considering the way you live here.

And whywas the girl the key?” Her eyes flicked to the human for

just amoment.

“Victoriaheld a grudge against Bella,” the redhead told her.

So thestrategy finally made sense. Riley just wanted the girl

dead anddidn’t care how many of us died to get it done.

Janelaughed happily. “This one”—and she smiled at the

human theway she’d smiled at me—“seems to bring out

bizarrelystrong reactions in our kind.”

Nothinghappened to the girl. Maybe Jane didn’t want to hurt

her. Ormaybe her horrible talent only worked on vampires.

“Wouldyou please not do that?” the redhead asked in a

controlledbut furious voice.

Janelaughed again. “Just checking. No harm done,

apparently.”

I triedto keep my expression Kevin-ish and not betray my

interest.So Jane couldn’t hurt this girl the way she’d hurt me,

and thiswas not a normal thing for Jane. Though Jane was

laughingabout it, I could tell it was driving her crazy. Was this

why thehuman girl was tolerated by the yellow-eyes? But if she

wasspecial in some way, why didn’t they just change her into a

vampire?

“Well, itappears that there’s not much left for us to do,” Jane

said, hervoice a dead monotone again. “Odd. We’re not used

to beingrendered unnecessary. It’s too bad we missed the

fight. Itsounds like it would have been entertaining to watch.”

“Yes,”the redhead retorted. “And you were so close. It’s a

shame youdidn’t arrive just a half hour earlier. Perhaps then you

couldhave fulfilled your purpose here.”

I foughta smile. So the redhead was the mind reader, and

he’dheard everything I’d wanted him to hear. Jane wasn’t

gettingaway with anything.

Janestared back at the mind reader with a blank

expression.“Yes. Quite a pity how things turned out, isn’t it?”

The mindreader nodded, and I wondered what he was

hearingin Jane’s head.

Janeturned her blank face to me now. There was nothing in

her eyes,but I could feel that my time had run out. She’d gotten

what sheneeded from me. She didn’t know that I’d also given

the mindreader everything I could. And protected his coven’s

secrets,too. I owed him that. He’d punished Riley and Victoria

for me.

I glancedat him from the corner of my eye and thought,

Thanks.

“Felix?”Jane said lazily.

“Wait,”the mind reader said loudly.

He turnedto Carlisle and spoke quickly. “We could explain

the rulesto the young one. She doesn’t seem unwilling to learn.

Shedidn’t know what she was doing.”

“Ofcourse,” Carlisle said eagerly, looking at Jane. “We

wouldcertainly be prepared to take responsibility for Bree.”

Jane’sface looked like she wasn’t sure if they were joking,

but ifthey were joking, they were funnier than she’d given them

creditfor.

Me, I wastouched to the core. These vampires were

strangers,but they’d gone out on this dangerous limb for me. I

alreadyknew it wasn’t going to work, but still.

“We don’tmake exceptions,” Jane told them, amused. “And

we don’tgive second chances. It’s bad for our reputation.”

It waslike she was discussing someone else. I didn’t care

that shewas talking about killing me. I knew the yellow-eyes

couldn’tstop her. She was the vampire police. But even though

the vampirecops were dirty—really dirty—at least the yelloweyes

knew itnow.

“Whichreminds me…,” Jane went on, her eyes locking on

the humangirl again and her smile widening. “Caius will be so

interestedto hear that you’re still human, Bella. Perhaps he’ll

decide tovisit.”

Stillhuman. So they were going to change the girl. I

wonderedwhat they were waiting for.

“The dateis set,” said the little vampire with the short black

hair andthe clear voice. “Perhaps we’ll come to visit you in a

fewmonths.”

Jane’ssmile disappeared like someone had wiped it off.

Sheshrugged without looking at the black-haired vampire, and I

got thefeeling that as much as she might have hated the human

girl, shehated this small vampire ten times as much.

Janeturned back to Carlisle with the same vacant

expressionas before. “It was nice to meet you, Carlisle—I’d

thoughtAro was exaggerating. Well, until we meet again…”

Thiswould be it, then. I still didn’t feel afraid. My only regret

was thatI couldn’t tell Fred more about all of this. He was going

almosttotally blind into this world full of dangerous politics and

dirtycops and secret covens. But Fred was smart and careful

andtalented. What could they do to him if they couldn’t even

see him?Maybe the yellow-eyes would meet Fred someday.

Be niceto him, please, I thought at the mind reader.

“Takecare of that, Felix,” Jane said indifferently, nodding at

me. “Iwant to go home.”

“Don’twatch,” the redheaded mind reader whispered.

I closedmy eyes.