smooth was the advance.
The outer perimeter was gray; the color darkened with each line of bodies until the heart of the formation was deepest black. Every face was cowled, shadowed. The faint brushing sound of their feet was so regular it was like music, a complicated beat that never faltered.
At some sign I did not see — or perhaps there was no sign, only millennia of practice — the configuration folded outward. The motion was too stiff, too square to resemble the opening of a flower, though the color suggested that; it was the opening of a fan, graceful but very angular.
The gray-cloaked figures spread to the flanks while the darker forms surged precisely forward in the center, each movement closely controlled.
Their progress was slow but deliberate, with no hurry, no tension, no anxiety.
Their progress was slow but deliberate, with no hurry, no tension, no anxiety. It was the pace of the invincible.
28. MUSE, ?ASSASSIN?
Garrett‘s perspective
Chapter 37 ?We have the answer to all these questions. We heard it in Aro‘s lying words — we have one with a gift of knowing such things for certain — and we see it now in Caius‘s eager smile. Their guard is just a mindless weapon, a tool in their masters‘ quest for domination.
?So now there are more questions, questions that you must answer. Who rules you, nomads? Do you answer to someone‘s will besides your own? Are you free to choose your path, or will the Volturi decide how you will live?
?I came to witness. I stay to fight. The Volturi care nothing for the death of the child.
They seek the death of our free will.?
He turned, then, to face the ancients. ?So come, I say! Let‘s hear no more lying rationalizations. Be honest in your intents as we will be honest in ours. We will defend our freedom. You will or will not attack it. Choose now, and let these witnesses see the true issue debated here.?
29. OK GO, ?INVINCIBLE?
Chapter 38 I could taste it as soon as it touched my shield — it had a dense, sweet, cloying flavor. It made me remember dimly the numbness of Novocain on my tongue.
The mist curled upward, seeking a breach, a weakness. It found none. The fingers of searching haze twisted upward and around, trying to find a way in, and in the process illustrating the astonishing size of the protective screen.
There were gasps on both sides of Benjamin‘s gorge.
?Well done, Bella!? Benjamin cheered in a low voice.
My smile returned.
I could see Alec‘s narrowed eyes, doubt on his face for the first time as his mist swirled harmlessly around the edges of my shield.
And then I knew that I could do this. Obviously, I would be the number-one priority, the first one to die, but as long as I held, we were on more than equal footing with the Volturi. We still had Benjamin and Zafrina; they had no supernatural help at all. As long as I held.
30. TRAVIS, ?SAFE?
Chapter 38 ?Forever,? I promised her.
We had forever. And Nessie was going to be fine and healthy and strong. Like the half-human Nahuel, in a hundred and fifty years she would still be young. And we would all be together.
Happiness expanded like an explosion inside me — so extreme, so violent that I wasn‘t sure I‘d survive it.
31. ELBOW, ?ONE DAY LIKE THIS?
Chapter 39 ?Bella!? Edward whispered in shock.
I knew it was working then, so I concentrated even harder, dredging up the specific memories I‘d saved for this moment, letting them flood my mind, and hopefully his as well.
Some of the memories were not clear — dim human memories, seen through weak eyes and heard through weak ears: the first time I‘d seen his face… the way it felt when he‘d held me in the meadow… the sound of his voice through the darkness of my faltering consciousness when he‘d saved me from James… his face as he waited under a canopy of flowers to marry me… every precious moment from the island… his cold hands touching our baby through my skin…
And the sharp memories, perfectly recalled: his face when I‘d opened my eyes to my new life, to the endless dawn of immortality… that first kiss… that first night…
And the sharp memories, perfectly recalled: his face when I‘d opened my eyes to my new life, to the endless dawn of immortality… that first kiss… that first night…
?I
?Zafrina‘s idea. We practiced with it a few times.?
He was dazed. He blinked twice and shook his head.
?Now you know,? I said lightly, and shrugged. ?No one‘s ever loved anyone as much as I love you.?
1. MUSE, ?YES PLEASE?
Page 55 It was impossible to mistake the noise. The
