New Moon

forward to meet us. He smiled, reaching for her. 'Jane.'

'Alec,' she responded, embracing the boy. They kissed each other's cheeks on both sides. Then he looked at us.

'They send you out for one and you come back with two… and a half,' he noted, looking at me. 'Nice work.'

She laughed—the sound sparkled with delight like a baby's cooing.

'Welcome back, Edward,' Alec greeted him. 'You seem in a better mood.'

'Marginally,' Edward agreed in a flat voice. I glanced at Edward's hard face, and wondered how his mood could have been darker before.

Alec chuckled, and examined me as I clung to Edward's side. 'And this is the cause of all the trouble?' he asked, skeptical.

Edward only smiled, his expression contemptuous. Then he froze.

'Dibs,' Felix called casually from behind.

Edward turned, a low snarl building deep in his chest. Felix smiled—his hand was raised, palm up; he curled his fingers twice, inviting Edward forward.

Alice touched Edward's arm. 'Patience,' she cautioned him.

They exchanged a long glance, and I wished I could hear what she was telling him. I figured that it was something to do with not attacking Felix, because Edward took a deep breath and turned back to Alec.

'Aro will be so pleased to see you again,' Alec said, as if nothing had passed.

'Let's not keep him waiting,' Jane suggested.

Edward nodded once.

Alec and Jane, holding hands, led the way down yet another wide, ornate hall—would there ever be an end?

They ignored the doors at the end of the hall—doors entirely sheathed in gold—stopping halfway down the hall and sliding aside a piece of the paneling to expose a plain wooden door. It wasn't locked. Alec held it open for Jane.

I wanted to groan when Edward pulled me through to the other side of the door. It was the same ancient stone as the square, the alley, and the sewers. And it was dark and cold again.

The stone antechamber was not large. It opened quickly into a brighter, cavernous room, perfectly round like a huge castle turret… which was probably exactly what it was.

Two stories up, long window slits threw thin rectangles of bright sunlight onto the stone floor below. There were no artificial lights. The only furniture in the room were several massive wooden chairs, like thrones, that were spaced unevenly, flush with the curving stone walls. In the very center of the circle, in a slight depression, was another drain. I wondered if they used it as an exit, like the hole in the street.

The room was not empty. A handful of people were convened in seemingly relaxed conversation. The murmur of low, smooth voices was a gentle hum in the air. As I watched, a pair of pale women in summer dresses paused in a patch of light, and, like prisms, their skin threw the light in rainbow sparkles against the sienna walls.

The exquisite faces all turned toward our party as we entered the room. Most of the immortals were dressed in inconspicuous pants and shirts—things that wouldn't stick out at all on the streets below. But the man who spoke first wore one of the long robes. It was pitch-black, and brushed against the floor. For a moment, I thought his long, jet-black hair was the hood of his cloak.

'Jane, dear one, you've returned!' he cried in evident delight. His voice was just a soft sighing.

He drifted forward, and the movement flowed with such surreal grace that I gawked, my mouth hangmg open. Even Alice, whose every motion looked like dancing, could not compare.

I was only more astonished as he floated closer and I could see his face. It was not like the unnaturally attractive faces that surrounded him (for he did not approach us alone; the entire group converged around him, some following, and some walking ahead of him with the alert manner of bodyguards). I couldn't decide if his face was beautiful or not. I suppose the features were perfect. But he was as different from the vampires beside him as they were from me. His skin was translucently white, like onionskin, and it looked just as delicate—it stood in shocking contrast to the long black hair that framed his face. I felt a strange, horrifying urge to touch his cheek, to see if it was softer than Edward's or Alice's, or if it was powdery, like chalk. His eyes were red, the same as the others around him, but the color was clouded, milky; I wondered if his vision was affected by the haze.

He glided to Jane, took her face in his papery hands, kissed her lightly on her full lips, and then floated back a step.

'Yes, Master.' Jane smiled; the expression made her look like an angelic child. 'I brought him back alive, just as you wished.'

'Ah, Jane.' He smiled, too. 'You are such a comfort to me.'

He turned his misty eyes toward us, and the smile brightened—became ecstatic.

'And Alice and Bella, too!' he rejoiced, clapping his thin hands together. 'This is a happy surprise! Wonderful!'

I stared in shock as he called our names informally, as if we were old friends dropping in for an unexpected visit.

He turned to our hulking escort. 'Felix, be a dear and tell my brothers about our company. I'm sure they wouldn't want to miss this.'

'Yes, Master.' Felix nodded and disappeared back the way we had come.

'You see, Edward?' The strange vampire turned and smiled at Edward like a fond but scolding grandfather. 'What did I tell you? Aren't you glad that I didn't give you what you wanted yesterday?'

'Yes, Aro, I am,' he agreed, tightening his arm around my waist.

'I love a happy ending.' Aro sighed. 'They are so rare. But I want the whole story. How did this happen? Alice?' He turned to gaze at Alice with curious, misty eyes. 'Your brother seemed to think you infallible, but apparently there was some mistake.'

'Oh, I'm far from infallible.' She flashed a dazzling smile. She looked perfectly at ease, except that her hands were balled into tight little fists. 'As you can see today, I cause problems as often as I cure them.'

'You're too modest,' Aro chided. 'I've seen some of your more amazing exploits, and I must admit I've never observed anything like your talent. Wonderful!'

Alice flickered a glance at Edward. Aro did not miss it.

'I'm sorry, we haven't been introduced properly at all, have we? It's just that I feel like I know you already, and I tend get ahead of myself. Your brother introduced us yesterday, in a peculiar way. You see, I share some of your brother's talent, only I am limited in a way that he is not.' Aro shook his head; his tone was envious.

'And also exponentially more powerful,' Edward added dryly. He looked at Alice as he swiftly explained. 'Aro needs physical contact to hear your thoughts, but he hears much more than I do. You know I can only hear what's passing through your head in the moment. Aro hears every thought your mind has ever had.'

Alice raised her delicate eyebrows, and Edward inclined his head.

Aro didn't miss that either.

'But to be able to hear from a distance…' Aro sighed, gesturing toward the two of them, and the exchange that had just taken place. 'That would be so convenient.'

Aro looked over our shoulders. All the other heads turned in the same direction, including Jane, Alec, and Demetri, who stood silently beside us.

I was the slowest to turn. Felix was back, and behind him floated two more black-robed men. Both looked very much like Aro, one even had the same flowing black hair. The other had a shock of snow-white hair—the same shade as his face—that brushed against his shoulders. Their faces had identical, paper-thin skin.

The trio from Carlisle's painting was complete, unchanged by the last three hundred years since it was painted.

'Marcus, Caius, look!' Aro crooned. 'Bella is alive after all, and Alice is here with her! Isn't that wonderful?'

Neither of the other two looked as if wonderful would be their first choice of words. The dark-haired man seemed utterly bored, like he'd seen too many millennia of Aro's enthusiasm. The other's hice was sour under the snowy hair.

Their lack of interest did not curb Aro's enjoyment.