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"Wait." Edward followed him into the hallway, closing the door behind them. "May
I have a word with you?"
"Certainly." Carlisle's tone was clipped.
"Where were you earlier?"
"I was out. Hunting. With my family."
Edward cringed at his words, at how he was so easily dismissed from the coven. "I
needed you."
"They needed me. You cleared out the entire house when you bit her."
Edward looked away. He should have known better than to think her spilled blood
would go unnoticed in a house full of vampires, no matter how quiet they had
been. "I had to do it before someone tried to kill her," he explained accusingly.
"Edward," Carlisle sighed, "nobody is going to kill Bella."
"But I heard you." Edward frowned. "I heard Rosalie "
"I would never entertain the idea of taking an innocent life. Maybe if you weren't
so distracted by her, you could have eavesdropped on the entire conversation. Or
better yet, you could have quit acting like a self-centered demon and joined us."
His words stung but only because they were true. "Carlisle, I know you don't agree
with my decision, but please tell me what I did wrong."
"You didn't do anything wrong, Edward." He tried to walk away, but Edward
stopped him.
"Yes, I did! But I don't know what. I bit her and everything was working and then . .
. and then it stopped."
"Things worked exactly like they were supposed to. Venom heals that's what it
does. It perfects what is broken, what is human. Your venom healed Bella's
injuries."
"That doesn't make sense," Edward said. "When you found me, my injuries were a
lot worse than a few broken bones, but I changed."
"Yes," agreed Carlisle, "they were." He hesitated before continuing. "I also gave
you multiple bites."
Edward's last human memories were fuzzy. He didn't remember much aside from
the all-consuming pain. "Multiple bites?"
"It takes a lot of venom to make the change, Edward. More than one little bite will
introduce into the bloodstream. It takes incredible control. You can't drink, or
you're going to suck it out. And even if you don't, there's no way to guarantee that
the venom will take. Everyone is different. Those with more to heal will require
more venom. The healthier the person, the harder their body will fight it.
Likewise, the body will build an immunity against it over time. Why do you think
there are so few of us in the world? It is incredibly difficult to make a vampire to
create perfection."
Carlisle's words troubled Edward. How many more times would he try before he
succeeded? How far had he set himself back with all of his failed attempts? How
much venom would he have to pump into her body before it was enough to change
her? And most importantly, would he kill her first?
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find hospitals that are hiring so Esme and
Rosalie can start eliminating some of the new houses we're looking at."
Edward rubbed his hands over his face. He felt like a jackass. Everyone's lives
were being inconvenienced because of him, but he couldn't bring himself to regret
his decision.
"Spare a moment?"
Edward bristled at the sound of Jasper's voice and repositioned himself in front of
the bedroom door. "Make it quick."
"I've done some investigating around the campus. There isn't any talk of Bella or
anyone else missing. I checked admissions and found two Bellas, but both of them
were present and accounted for. Are you sure she's a student there?"
"Positive . . . I believe so, anyway. I watched her exit the building." Edward paused
as he remembered something Bella had said. "She asked about a backpack the
other day. Think you can track it down?"
Jasper shrugged. "I'll look."
Edward's guilt began to get the best of him again. He trusted Jasper least of all. He
was the weakest out of everyone when it came to resisting human blood and had
slipped up the most times. Edward wanted him nowhere near the girl. He didn't
even want him in the house.
Jasper knew Edward felt this way, and he didn't need to be told. He had his own
gift the ability to sense and manipulate the emotions of others. He could feel
Edward's misgivings toward him, yet he had his back anyway.
"Thank you for helping me."
"I'm not doing it for you."
"I know, but it doesn't erase the gratitude I feel."
Jasper nodded and headed for the stairs.
"Jasper," Edward said, suddenly thinking of something. "Can you get a read on her?
Do you know what she's feeling?"
"Nope."
o.O.o
"So I'm not going to be . . . like you?"
"Not yet."
"When?"
"Soon."
Edward sat on the foot of the bed, playing absentmindedly with the cuff of Bella's
pant leg. The thin material felt soft between his fingertips, but what he was really
indulging in was the heat radiating from her skin. It warmed his knuckles and
gradually spread to the back of his hand. The feeling was unusual yet oddly
comforting.
"Why didn't it work?"
"Not enough venom, I guess."
"How do you know how much you need?"
Edward shrugged. "Practice makes perfect," he said dryly.
Bella shuddered at the thought of him biting enough times to constitute practice.
It was painful when he broke her skin, and the burning sensation it created inside
her body was almost unbearable. "You've never done this before?"
He shook his head.
"Maybe you should get someone who knows what they're doing."
"No," Edward growled, causing Bella to start. "No one else is getting anywhere
near you."
"Because they want me dead?"
Edward didn't want to tell her that wasn't the case. She seemed slightly more
tolerable of him since he told her his family wanted to kill her less combative
and more accepting. He didn't want to give her a false sense of security, or any
sense of security for that matter. "Yes," he fibbed easily. "But even if they didn't, I
doubt they would succeed in changing you. The key is to not drink; it removes the
venom. Your blood is too appetizing. There isn't a doubt in my mind they would
drink you dry."
"You're better at controlling yourself than they are?"
"Hmph," Edward huffed, not about to admit the extent to which he struggled. "No,
but I'm the only one with an incentive to keep you alive."
"Did that other " Bella stumbled over her word choice of man. He wasn't a man,
and she wasn't ready to use the term vampire quite yet. It still seemed crazy, and
she felt saying it out loud would somehow make it more real than it already was.
"The one who was in here, did he want to kill me?"
"Carlisle?" Edward struggled with how much to tell her. "No, you can trust him. No
one else."
"What about Esme?" Esme had treated Bella kindly so far, making sure she had
amenities and was comfortable. Surely she didn't want her dead as well.
"I won't take chances with you." Edward clenched his fist, inadvertently ripping a
piece of fabric from Bella's pant leg. It tore so easily. It wouldn't take much more
effort to tear the leg from her body. Once again, he was reminded of how fragile
she was. "I won't lose you now," he whispered almost inaudibly.
Bella wondered how long his miserable existence had been in order to want her so [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]