possibilities

Colorado? Really?"

I was staring down at the ticket in my hand as we headed through Seattle airport security. "From the hints Archie kept dropping, I was sure we were at least going out of the country."

Edythe glanced back at me, and she looked apologetic. "We had a last-minute change of plans." She hesitated, then added in a low voice, "Originally, Earnest was going to let us use his tropical island in South America. But...well, Archie told you about the recent development with Sulpicia. So Archie and I both thought it better if we stuck closer to home."

I stopped where I was and stared at her. I opened my mouth, but just then a burly TSA ordered me to keep it moving.

As we pushed our bags into the X-ray, I whispered incredulously, "Earnest owns an island?"

Edythe raised an eyebrow at me, as if she couldn't believe that was the part I was reacting to.

"Yes, Carine bought it for him as a gift," she said dismissively. She added with a wistful sigh, "It would have been nice. The climate is so warm, you would never be cold. And it's absolutely beautiful there. But, Eleanor agreed to let us use one of her and Royal's out-of-the-way cabins instead. She has them all over the country, mostly near national parks. Once in a while she gets a whim to go out hiking in the back country, and Royal humors her. Royal and Eleanor have a lot of experience with honeymoons." She made a slight face.

"Which national park is this one at?" I wanted to know. Edythe opened her mouth to reply, but then we were being shunted through the metal detector, and I had to gather up my carry-on bag and reclaim my wallet before someone else walked off with it, so I decided to leave the question for later.

I didn't realize how tired I was until, as the plane was beginning its ascent, I drifted off to sleep. It felt like we'd barely taken off before Edythe was gently shaking my shoulder, and pulling me down the aisle and through the hallways of the Denver airport toward the baggage claim to pick up our luggage. I vaguely noticed Edythe had changed out of her going-away dress into normal clothes, and I wondered when she'd had time to do that. It was already dark outside, so she hadn't bothered with gloves, scarf or any other accessories she used when it was light out.

I didn't really wake up until we were out at the car rentals, and I found myself face-to-face with an unbelievable monstrosity.

"Um," I said. "Where are we going again?"

I eyed the huge off-roader incredulously. The tires alone were up to my waist. The thing looked like it could drive over a mountain and come out with all its suspensions perfectly intact.

"Eleanor recommended this model," Edythe explained. "It's faster than it looks—we had it brought in from Fort Carson."

I could easily believe it. I doubted you could find this kind of beast from any ordinary airport car rental. "Does the military just loan out their vehicles for anyone?" I said as I walked around to the passenger seat.

Edythe smiled. "Eleanor's always been interested in the military, so she knows a few people. We've made quite a few sizable donations to their operations in the past."

I nodded. Bribery. It was starting to come together.

"Are we going to a battlefield for our honeymoon?" I asked, as I struggled to pull myself up into the high passenger seat.

Edythe grinned as she flitted around to sit on the driver's side, then reached across the seat to help haul me up. "I've learned that where you're concerned, Beau, we can never take too many precautions."

"Great," I muttered, as a couple guys passing to get into their rented SUV openly gaped at us, jaws slack. I wondered what had happened to trying to blend in.

"So," I said, as Edythe maneuvered our way through the serpentine exit roads out of the airport and toward the end of town. "What's this dangerous place we're headed to again? I forgot to pack my bulletproof vest." In fact, I didn't know what was in my luggage, as Archie had done the packing for me.

"Black Canyon of the Gunnison," she replied, smiling, eyes on the road as we zipped down the freeway and out of town. "Where we're staying isn't actually in the park, but in a forested area near the Gunnison River to the northwest. It's right by the conservation area—though of course we don't hunt there. But there's plenty of interesting sites to see. I think you'll appreciate the scenery."

"Why's it called Black Canyon?" I wanted to know. The name sounded just a bit ominous to me.

Edythe's smile was a grin now. "It's one of the deepest, most narrow canyons in the world. So sunlight only penetrates its depths for thirty-three minutes of any given day. Looking up from the bottom, it makes the canyon walls appear black."

"Ah," I said, nodding. "Convenient."

Edythe laughed. "If you're a vampire." She shook her head. "Actually, a vampire did live in the canyon, a long time ago. He had moved on by the time they established the place as a national park, but the nearby Utes have a long memory—and people today think they avoided the place purely out of superstition." She laughed again.

"Will we be going down into the canyon?" I asked. I could only hope there was a wide, even path without anything to trip over.

"Of course," she said. "There's a lot to see. And wait until you see the flowers there. Black Canyon gilia only grow in Colorado. Much of the time they grow up on the steep cliff faces." She smiled to herself. "Funny little flowers—instead of growing where the soil is easy and stable, they grow up where it's most difficult, where they have to work just to cling to life."

I shrugged. "But they get a great view," I pointed out. "They obviously feel like it's worth it." I smiled a little. I'd never really been big into nature stuff and backwoods hiking, but Edythe's enthusiasm had me just a bit excited too. "You'll have to show them to me."

Edythe beamed, then chuckled a little. "We'll have to stay out of sight, though. Technically you aren't supposed to be down in the deepest parts of the canyon without a backcountry permit. This was kind of last-minute, so we didn't have time to forge you one."

I mentally winced at that. So, no easy trails then. But I guess I should have expected that. "That's okay. With my coordination, nobody would have believed I could have gotten one honestly anyway."

Edythe laughed, then reached out and took my hand.

"What sort of hunting will you have?" I wanted to know.

She made a face. "Not a whole lot. Elk, mainly. Coyotes will probably be the biggest delicacy around here." She raised my hand to press it to her face, then sighed deeply. "But it doesn't matter. I really think I could live on penguins as long as I was with you."

I was distracted for a moment, watching her face. The pleasure and contentment in her expression was so profound it made my breath catch in my throat.

After a minute, I turned my gaze back toward the road and, just looking for something to say, I asked vaguely, "How long will it take us to get there, do you think?"

My eyes automatically drifted back to Edythe. When it came down to it, I didn't really care. I was content to just sit here watching Edythe the rest of the night and then some.

That reminded me, and I glanced at my watch. It had taken about two and a half hours flying from Seattle, and it was almost midnight now. However, thanks to my nap, I was wide awake. I wondered if our entire honeymoon night was going to be spent on the road—maybe Edythe had planned it that way. But at the moment, I didn't really mind.

Edythe was considering the question. "Well, the canyon is supposed to be a five-hour drive from the airport." Her lips curled into a bit of a wicked grin. "So I'd say...if we take it a bit slow to enjoy the scenery...what do you say we try to make it in by two?"

I grimaced. The speed limit was seventy-five a lot of the way there. I really didn't want to think about how fast we would be going to make it there in less than half the normal time. "Um, I'm not in that big of a hurry."

Edythe shook her head, still smiling. "Beau, if you want to be one of us, you're going to have to get over this ridiculous aversion to driving a little fast."

I didn't answer, just rolled my eyes toward the window. However, our hands remained linked.

We drove in silence for a little while until Edythe said conversationally, "So, your mother's getting further along now."

I paused, then nodded. "Yeah. And she's convinced it's going to be a girl."

Edythe smiled. "She could be right. Archie wants it to be a surprise, so he's been refusing to check, and your mother seems to have good instincts."

I shook my head. "She has a fifty-fifty chance, anyway."

I glanced back to find Edythe gazing back at me.

"Is it true?" she asked suddenly.

I paused, looking back at her uncertainly. "Is what true?"

Edythe's gaze bore back into mine, her mouth smiling, but her eyes oddly intense. "That you always wanted a sister."

I blinked, and I didn't know why it surprised me she had overheard that particular conversation.

I shrugged, and turned my eyes back to stare out the dark side window. It was too dark out to see exactly how fast we were going, for which I was grateful. "Yeah. I mean, when I was younger, I kind of wanted a sister. I'm not sure how my mom knew that, I never said anything, and it's not like I had a secret diary I was writing in."

Edythe smiled. "Maybe you said something about it in your sleep."

I frowned. Now that she mentioned it, that was a distinct possibility.

I felt her cool thumb stroke my hand, where our fingers were still linked between us. I sensed her earnest eyes on my face.

"Won't you want to meet your sister?" she asked.

I finally saw where she was going with this, and I sighed. "Edythe, we could keep finding excuses to put this off forever. Like I said, I think we should stick to the plan. Not too long after our honeymoon. Then we'll have our real honeymoon later, when I'm past the blood-crazy stage. I think we should do this sooner rather than later."

Edythe was still watching me, her eyes intense, troubled. "Beau, this is something you won't be able to take back. I don't see any problem with pushing it off a little, until we can be sure you've done everything you want to do. Better to wait and change later, than to rush and leave behind any regrets."

I stared out at the dark road, not meeting her gaze. Truthfully, a part of me was afraid that if I did see my sister, it would make this that much harder. If I saw her once, I might want to see her again, and there was no way that was happening after my change. I couldn't have both my human world and my vampire world, so I had made my choice. Drawing this out was only going to make it that much more painful.

Edythe took advantage of my silence to continue, her voice low, "As I said before, if it's just that you're anxious to have a real honeymoon...perhaps we could. You were worried, weren't you? About it not being the same when you're changed? Maybe we could try after all. If you wanted to stay human a bit longer..."

She let the offer hang. I didn't answer—I didn't want her to know how outrageously tempting a deal I found it. Edythe was willing to try, if I stayed human longer—but what bothered me most was that that second part of the deal was almost as tempting as the first. I'd made my decision, and knew exactly what I wanted, but as the time for my change raced up on us, I was afraid of it. Afraid of leaving everything I knew behind, afraid of hurting my parents, afraid of the kind of monster I would become.

Edythe could just continue to convince me to put it off, keep coming up with excuses. I couldn't let her do that.

We'd have a fun time together these two weeks. And I would use the time to meditate and mentally prepare—and then Edythe would change me. I would have to say goodbye to a lot of things, but then Edythe and I would finally be truly together. She wouldn't have to feel like she had to risk my life to make deals about keeping me human, and I'd have our real honeymoon to look forward to.

"Let's just stick to the plan," I said evenly, keeping my gaze fixed on the dark scenery ahead of us. "I think that's the best thing to do right now." I added as an afterthought, "Plus, there's Sulpicia to think about. She said after graduation. Now that Archie can't see her...well, she could show up on our doorstep any moment."

"I told you before I don't want you to change because you feel threatened," Edythe said quietly.

"I know," I said. "I'm not. But if I'm going to change anyway, I feel like there's not any point in going out of our way to antagonize the vampire government when we don't have to."

"Sulpicia has more important things to worry about at the moment than you," Edythe said, though I thought a hint of uncertainty crept into her tone.

I shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. But that's just a side note. I'm ready—let's put a date on this. Let's say the day after we get back from our honeymoon."

I could feel Edythe's eyes on my face again. Perhaps looking for any possible points of weakness. However, she wasn't going to find any. I did have a lot of things I would be giving up and leaving behind, and I knew how she hated that, but I was absolutely decided. I would have no regrets.

Edythe sighed deeply, looking away, and I knew the conversation was over for now. However, I had a feeling she wasn't finished by a long shot. I wondered if she would bring her offer up again when we got to the cabin. I wondered if I would be able to hold out.

I concentrated on steeling my resolve. If I was going to be able to resist human blood as a new vampire—and from what everyone had said, the temptation was supposed to be extreme—I had to at least be able to resist Edythe, for both of our own goods. I didn't know how the blood could be much worse than this, but maybe it would be good practice.

Edythe changed the subject. "You know," she said, smiling, her light good humor back, "I have a lot of extra time to think."

I nodded. That I knew. Every night when I was asleep, she was awake. I was so used to it, sometimes I forgot how amazing it was—that she would willingly lay for hours on end in the silence of my room while I was dead to the world, and never seem to want to be anywhere else.

Edythe's eyes were twinkling as she continued, "Well, the last few nights, I've found my thoughts taking me in theoretical, rather pointless directions."

"What have you been thinking about?" I asked, curious, glad for the distraction.

Edythe laughed. "Like I said...pointless speculation. Turning points. How things might have been different if situations had been thus and so. Not that I haven't been intensely aware of that these past couple of years—you can't be a mind-reader living with Archie and not be aware of how decisions and happenstance shape the future every moment. But I was thinking about other things...other possibilities."

Her golden eyes turned to me, only just visible in the glowing light from the dashboard. I flashed back to that first night, when she had saved me from those insane drug dealers, and I had first learned for certain what she really was. The memory filled me with a sudden warmth.

"Like...what?" I said softly, gazing on her perfect porcelain features. She was just as beautiful now as she had been then—maybe more, now that I knew so much more about the deep beauty beyond the angelic smile.

Her eyes didn't move from mine. She was smiling slightly. "Like how things might have turned out differently if, when we met, I was human too."

I blinked. That was definitely something I'd never considered before.

Edythe continued, "I can't help but think I would have fallen for you just the same. Even without your irresistible blood and indecipherable mind to initially attract my attention. I would have fallen into watching you...wondering what you were thinking...wondering what you thought of me... No matter how much I might have resisted, I don't think I would have been able to help myself."

I considered that. I wasn't so convinced.

Edythe sighed and continued, "Of course, if I were an average, boring, perfectly safe human girl like all the others, you probably never would have even given me a thought."

I stared at her, slightly incredulous. "Somehow, I can't imagine you ever being boring and average, no matter what you were."

Edythe shook her head, still smiling. "I think you'd be surprised, Beau. Just how much the change changes you. If you placed me next to my human self right now, you would probably have trouble connecting us. I wouldn't be graceful or athletic—I don't remember much about my human life, but I don't think the physical was my strong suit—I would have a normal mind, and thinking through several problems at once in the course of a millisecond would be far beyond me. My voice would be an average, rough human voice. There would have been nothing striking about me, nothing to set me apart from anyone else. Nothing alluring or mysterious enough to attract your attention."

She laughed a little ruefully. "If we were going to the same school and there was some other cute vampire girl going there...who knows? Maybe I would have ended up like poor McKayla."

I stared at her. I could feel a deep slash forming between my eyebrows. I didn't like what she seemed to be implying. Did she honestly see me that way?

I had to work to keep my voice even as I replied. "You make it sound like I would have fallen for any vampire girl I ran into."

"I don't mean that," she said, still smiling to herself, evidently intrigued by her own speculations. "I only mean to comment on the strange way in which circumstances can come together to create a certain outcome. How the slightest alteration can completely change how things might have been." She shrugged. "Anyway, things have already turned out the way they have, so it hardly matters now."

I could sense Edythe was about to move on to the next topic, maybe some other speculations she had mulled over while I was asleep the past few days. I should have let it go, but I couldn't.

"You're making it sound like I'm only here because you're a vampire," I said again, keeping my voice low, trying to keep the accusation out of my tone, though I wasn't sure I succeeded. "Do you really think that, all this time, I've only been interested in—"

Edythe pressed her cool fingers to my lips to cut me off. "Shh," she said soothingly, and she pulled her fingers away from my mouth to stroke a strand of stray hair back from my forehead. "That's not what I meant. I'm not saying you're here with me now for reasons like those. If your roots were so shallow, you would have run from me a long time ago. You accepted me, Beau, even being the monster I am, accepted the danger to yourself. You've risked your own life again and again by being near me, and yet you've never complained. Your kindness and strength are deeper than that of anyone I've ever known."

Her hand slipped down and stroked my face, and she stared up at me with that look I never could quite believe, eyes wide with wonder and awe, like she was staring at something almost painfully beautiful, instead of just me.

She closed her eyes briefly and breathed deeply, then leaned back and turned her attention back to the road. However, her eyes soon wandered back to me again, and this time they were glittering with amusement. "But, well, if Jeremy's version of things is to be believed—you were a bit obsessed with me from the beginning, weren't you?"

I frowned, and didn't answer.

She continued, "The only thing you knew about me at that time was that I was strange, and there was a distinct possibility that I despised you for absolutely no apparent reason. What had your attention was my alienness...those attractive features our kind have naturally, to aid us as predators."

I wanted desperately to deny it, but I couldn't. I stared straight ahead.

Edythe reached over and took my hand again, pressing my palm to her cool face and sighing deeply with contentment. "Honestly," she said, "it doesn't matter now how it began, Beau. Eventually you saw the monster behind the face, and you didn't flinch away... That's what matters. That's the proof we won't be pulled apart so easily."

I still didn't reply right away. No matter what she said about how it didn't matter, this line of thought bothered me. Was she right? Would I have gotten so obsessed with any vampire girl? I didn't think so. It was only Edythe who could have moved me—or was I just telling myself that?

"It was you," I muttered at last. "It would have always been you, no matter what. Human or vampire."

Edythe took in my expression. She reached up, stroking my face again, then took my hand and pressed her lips to my knuckles. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "I didn't mean to upset you. I shouldn't have troubled you with my meaningless ponderings."

I took my hand back and folded my arms across my chest. "Well, maybe it goes both ways. If I would have gone for any vampire girl, maybe you would have gone for any guy, if his blood smelled good and you couldn't hear his thoughts. You could have ended up with a forty-year-old guy with a beard and a potbelly."

Edythe laughed. "I doubt it, but I see your point. As I said—all merely meaningless ponderings."

I glanced down, then back at her. In a low voice, I asked, "Do you...really think that? That things could have turned out like that? I would have chosen someone else, just because they were a vampire?"

Edythe looked back at me. Her smile was still in place, but her eyes were more serious, contemplating the question honestly. At last she said softly, "I really couldn't say. It's so impossible to tell what might have been if this or that. But in the end, it really doesn't matter to me in the slightest. Things did happen the way they did, and the life we've chosen is the one we will have. What matters is now."

I stared down at the dashboard. "My motivations don't matter to you?" I said slowly.

An edge of frustration had crept into Edythe's eyes now. She sighed suddenly in exasperation and turned back to the road. "Are you going to keep twisting everything that I say?"

"Sorry." I glanced back at her. Finally, I sighed a little, and smiled ruefully. "I guess I get what you're saying. You're probably right. I guess, just hearing it put like that...I didn't like it."

Edythe smiled again. "It really doesn't matter," she said again. "I mean, look at Romeo and Juliet. They're considered the most romantic couple of all time, but I always thought that first encounter a bit shallow. He thought she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, and that was it. The reason people remember them isn't because they fell desperately in love in five seconds—people have been doing that for centuries—it's that, after that initial spark, when all the problems started coming out, they had the determination to face them, to do everything they had to in order to be together. Even though their families hated each other, even though Romeo slayed her cousin and they were going to have to be apart for awhile...no matter how it started, what mattered was they chose to have the strength to endure."

I considered that. And I realized, I did feel a little bit better.

"So," Edythe said, "if we can finally get past my blunder—I see I am going to have to be more careful in future which of my meaningless thought exercises I share—perhaps we can talk about something else."

I sighed. "No, tell me whatever you're thinking. I'd rather know. Don't worry about offending me, I'll get over it."

She smiled a little. "You might want to think about that a little more carefully. For instance, I have a feeling you don't want to know what I'm thinking about right now."

I frowned, turning back to her. "Well, you'd be wrong. I want to know."

Edythe's smile was rueful again. "Even if I'm wanting to turn the conversation back to our earlier conversation?"

I hesitated. "Oh." I turned away, watching the dark landscape flit by outside.

Edythe sighed. "I'm not going to try to argue any further on that. You're right, it's probably best we do it this way. I shouldn't have suggested it. It would be—very dangerous. I guess I just..." She trailed off, gazing out the front windshield with pained eyes.

"You want me to stay human a while longer," I said calmly. "You're desperate."

She glanced at me quickly, then away.

I took her hand again, holding it between mine. I wondered if there was anyone so selfless as Edythe was. Everything would be so much easier on her once I was changed. But she would go to such lengths to keep me human, just to keep me from having any regrets.

"The offer is still open," she said softly. "But I promise I won't ask again." She added with a bit of a smile, "And I promise I won't try to seduce you when we get there."

I nodded. "Thanks." We both knew what would probably happen if she did. Edythe knew it was only fair she at least leave me my free will.

"In light of that," Edythe said, and her voice was abruptly businesslike. "I suppose we ought to clearly establish our boundaries now."

I frowned slightly. "Boundaries?" I wondered for a second if she was going to make us go back to the old rules. Or make new ones. Like, we had to keep three feet of space between us at all times, and I couldn't make any sudden movements.

Edythe's grin was fox-like. "When we get there, we'll still have a few hours left until morning. I don't want to have to have this conversation after we get there. I'd say there's a few things we could do before we hit 'too dangerous.' Wouldn't you?"

I stared back at her for a second. I wasn't sure exactly what it was—maybe something about her sly expression, or the sudden immediacy of what we had been discussing—but I suddenly felt the heat flare up into my face. I was sure my skin went from normal to flaming, solid red in about two seconds flat.

Stupid. We were on our honeymoon for crying out loud, and we had already been talking around this topic for the past twenty minutes at least. But as always, the blood in my veins had a will of its own.

Edythe looked startled for a second, and then she grinned, even wider than before.

I scowled out the windshield to hide my embarrassment—as always, my reaction was way more embarrassing than the topic itself—folding my arms again.

Edythe laughed softly, reaching over to touch my face with the back of her hand. The chill of her skin against mine felt even colder than usual, almost stinging me where it touched.

"Ah," she sighed deeply. "I'll miss this."

"You mean laughing at me because I'm an idiot?" I muttered, a bit sullenly.

She laughed softly again. "No, I mean the way your skin changes color. The red spots, like flowers blooming."

I glanced at her once briefly, then away. As I suspected, there was not the least hint of embarrassment in her face. "I really am an idiot," I muttered.

Edythe turned her hand over, to cradle my jaw. She sighed again, evidently enjoying the burning heat against her cold, marble skin. When she looked at me again, she didn't laugh this time, and her eyes were more gentle than amused. "You're modest, Beau. That's nothing to be ashamed of."

I snorted to myself. "Modest. Wow, what a man I am."

She laughed. "Maybe that's not quite the right word. But some forms of masculinity are overrated. To be honest, that was one of the things I always admired about you. You never seemed to feel like you needed to prove how tough you were. In that regard, I'd say you're much less of an idiot than, say, Royal." She rolled her eyes. "No one has more of a case of over-inflated male ego than my brother."

I hesitated. I let my arms relax, a little mollified. Well, if Edythe thought it was a good thing...

Edythe gazed out the front windshield thoughtfully. "I probably seem a bit shameless," she admitted. "I would probably be more like you, except..." She turned back to me and tapped her temple. "Let's just say, when you're a mind reader attending a human high school for any length of time, eventually you have to come to a point where you realize that sex is one of the primary, dominant motivations of human nature. Or even vampire nature. I think just being around Royal and Eleanor when they first found each other showed me far more than anyone should ever be forced to see." She made a face.

I gazed at Edythe, and I felt the last bits of heat in my face fade as a new thought occurred to me. Edythe had mentioned something to this effect before, about Royal and Eleanor. But it suddenly hit me in full force the burden Edythe's power really was.

There were a lot of normal human people like me who thought mind-reading would be a really cool power to have—and Edythe's gift did grant her all kinds of advantages, both in battle, and just in dealing with people on a day-to-day basis. She always had all the information of what was really going on in a given situation, and she had helped keep her family safe for decades.

And yet—what must it be like? To live day in, day out, with a babble of voices constantly running through her mind, unable to shut out any number of obscene, disturbing thoughts people around might have. And perhaps even worse, living with family who knew that their every thought was being eavesdropped upon, and unable to give them privacy even if they needed it.

Without really thinking about it, I reached over and took her hand again, gripping it tightly in mine.

Edythe glanced at me, surprised. "You're not blushing anymore," she observed. "What are you thinking about now?"

I looked over at her, earnestly. I wished suddenly, stupid as it was, that I could protect her somehow. Give her mind some peace and quiet. A rest, after decades of relentless chatter. At least she couldn't hear my mind. She always said that she wished she could, but I couldn't help but think there had to be some relief in it, too.

"Where we're going," I said suddenly, "it's out in the middle of nowhere? No one for miles around?"

Edythe hesitated, apparently not sure where this question was leading. She nodded slowly. "Yes. I did wonder if we ought to choose a place nearer a town with a hospital, just in case, but El keeps her cabins fully stocked, both with food provisions and basic medical supplies. So I thought we ought to be fine."

I squeezed her hand tightly and smiled. "Great. That's good. We should get as far from everything as we can."

Edythe glanced back at me, startled by my sudden intensity.

"Let's go where it will be quiet," I said. "Just the two of us. Where it will be quiet even for you—just like our meadow."

Edythe paused for a moment, and then a slow smile spread across her lips, the full, brilliant smile that showed her dimples, and always made my heart skip several beats in my chest.

"Just the two of us," she agreed.

We were quiet for a minute then, just gazing back at one other. I realized dimly I should probably tell her she ought to be looking at the road, but I was so used to Edythe's apparently careless driving that it barely registered. I found myself thinking back again to those first few days after Port Angeles. The way, when we were alone, or in a dark classroom, a charge would seem to thrum in the air, and I would seem to fall under a spell.

Edythe's phone suddenly buzzed in her pocket, interrupting the silence. She stared at me for a second longer, surprise flitting across her face. Then she carefully pulled her hand away from mine to draw the phone from her jacket. She looked at the ID for a second, and an odd look crossed her face. Frowning slightly, she put the phone to her ear.

"...Hello?" she said cautiously.

She froze, going rigid where she sat. Her eyes stared straight ahead at the road without seeing.

I was immediately as tense as she was. Who could it be? One of her family? Was there some emergency? I strained to hear if someone else was speaking, but if they were, they spoke too low for me to hear them.

All was quiet for a long minute, then two. Edythe remained frozen in place, the phone gripped to her ear, one hand on the steering wheel, eyes staring straight ahead.

At last she said in a low, defeated voice. "Yes." A moment's pause. Then she added through gritted teeth, "Thank you."

The phone beeped as the call ended. Edythe stared down at the phone in her hand. Her eyes were slightly wide, face slack.

I wanted to ask what was going on, but at the look on her face, I was afraid to break the silence. The seconds lengthened into minutes.

"Edythe?" I said at last, in a very low, gentle voice.

Edythe blinked and abruptly unfroze. She shut the phone with a snap and slipped it back into her jacket pocket, her face suddenly a mask of cool unconcern. But her eyes were still stricken.

I swallowed, then said hesitantly, "Who...Who was that?"

Edythe was silent for a minute more, not looking at me. Then she took a deep, steadying breath. "It was Archie."

I waited for her to continue, but she didn't. At last I said, "What did he say?" Had Archie seen something? Were the Volturi coming for us after all? Or was it something else? Another mad vampire like Victor, out for revenge?

At last, Edythe finally turned her eyes to me. Her features were still composed, but I saw it in her eyes—a kind of wildness, a paralyzing terror she could not suppress. A moment later, her gaze returned to the road.

"What did he say, Edythe?" I said again, my voice soft, but insistent.

She took another deep breath, closing her eyes briefly. When at last she spoke, her voice was flat. "He just said to be careful tonight. Very careful."

I was confused. "Careful?"

Her mouth was tight. "I think...when we get there, I'm going to go hunting one more time. Before we do anything. Just to be sure." Her hands were gripping the steering wheel so tightly I was surprised it was still maintaining its shape.

I blinked. "Oh." Understanding suddenly dawned on me, and I was so relieved that I blurted out without bothering with tact, "Oh—Archie saw you hurting me? Tonight?"

Edythe flinched. She didn't answer.

I looked out at the road too. Edythe was obviously upset, but I felt suddenly relaxed. If that was all it was—if Edythe was the biggest danger we had to worry about—I could deal with that.

"Yeah, we can be careful," I said bracingly. "Super careful. Maybe we can just play cards after all." I turned to grin at her, but she didn't look at me.

"So," I said after a moment. "Was this like a sure vision, or just a possibility?"

"I don't know!" she snapped, and her harsh tone made me flinch away, startled.

We drove in silence for several minutes.

At last some of the tension in her posture slowly faded, and she whispered, "I'm sorry."

I looked over to see her shoulders were bent, her head bowed over the steering wheel. She looked like she was about to cry.

I reached over and put a hand over one of hers again, where it was still gripping the steering wheel.

"Look, it's okay," I said. "Everything's fine. We can totally be careful. I mean, we'll have a good time no matter what so long as we're together, right? We don't have to push it, if you're worried something might go wrong. We can play board games, and go hiking... You can show me those flowers." I did my best to smile reassuringly.

Edythe turned to look at me again, and her face was twisted in a look of such agony that for a second my breathing stopped.

Then she turned back to the road, breathing deeply through her nose. However, I wasn't sure if she was trying to steady herself, or if it was a way to intentionally torture herself with my scent. It was another long minute before she spoke.

"Yeah," she said at last in a strained, hollow voice. "Everything's okay."

She didn't say anything more, and I turned my eyes back to the dark window.