with shock as I read his expression. "What -?" 

He put his finger to my lips. "Give me two seconds," he whispered. "Don't move." 

I stood frozen on the doorstep and he . . . disappeared. He moved so quickly that Charlie 
wouldn't even have seen him pass. 

Before I could compose myself enough to count to two, he was back. He put his arm around 
my waist and pulled me swiftly toward the kitchen. His eyes darted around the room, and he 
held me against his body as if he were shielding me from something. I threw a glance toward 
Charlie on the couch, but he was studiously ignoring us. 

"Someone's been here," he murmured in my ear after he pulled me to the back of the kitchen. 
His voice was strained; it was difficult to hear him over the thumping of the washing 
machine. 

"I swear that no werewolves -" I started to say. 

"Not one of them," he interrupted me quickly, shaking his head. "One of us." 

His tone made it clear that he didn't mean a member of his family. 

I felt the blood empty from my face. 

"Victoria?" I choked. 

"It's not a scent I recognize." 

"One of the Volturi," I guessed. 

"Probably." 

"When?" 

"That's why I think it must have been them - it wasn't long ago, early this morning while 
Charlie was sleeping. And whoever it was didn't touch him, so there must have been another 
purpose." 

"Looking for me." 

 

He didn't answer. His body was frozen, a statue. 

"What are you two hissing about in here?" Charlie asked suspiciously, rounding the corner 
with an empty popcorn bowl in his hands. 

I felt green. A vampire had been in the house looking for me while Charlie slept. Panic 
overwhelmed me, closed my throat. I couldn't answer, I just stared at him in horror. 

Charlie's expression changed. Abruptly, he was grinning. "If you two are having a fight . . . 
well, don't let me interrupt." 

Still grinning, he put his bowl in the sink and sauntered out of the room. 

"Let's go," Edward said in a low hard voice. 

"But Charlie!" The fear was squeezing my chest, making it hard to breathe. 

He deliberated for a short second, and then his phone was in his hand. 

"Emmett," he muttered into the receiver. He began talking so fast that I couldn't understand 
the words. It was over in half a minute. He started pulling me toward the door. 

"Emmett and Jasper are on their way," he whispered when he felt my resistance. "They'll 
sweep the woods. Charlie is fine." 

I let him drag me along then, too panicked to think clearly. Charlie met my frightened eyes 
with a smug grin, which suddenly turned to confusion. Edward had me out the door before 
Charlie could say anything. 

"Where are we going?" I couldn't stop whispering, even after we were in the car. 

"We're going to talk to Alice," he told me, his volume normal but his voice bleak. 

"You think maybe she saw something?" 

He stared at the road through narrowed eyes. "Maybe." 

They were waiting for us, on alert after Edward's call. It was like walking into a museum, 
everyone still as statues in various poses of stress. 

"What happened?" Edward demanded as soon as we were through the door. I was shocked 
to see that he was glowering at Alice, his hands fisted in anger. 

Alice stood with her arms folded tight across her chest. Only her lips moved. "I have no idea. 
I didn't see anything." 

"How is thatpossible ?" he hissed. 

 

"Edward," I said, a quiet reproof. I didn't like him talking to Alice this way. 

Carlisle interrupted in a calming voice. "It's not an exact science, Edward." 

"He was in herroom, Alice. He could have still been there - waiting for her." 

"I would have seen that." 

Edward threw his hands up in exasperation. "Really? You're sure?" 

Alice's voice was cold when she answered. "You've already got me watching the Volturis' 
decisions, watching for Victoria's return, watching Bella's every step. You want to add 
another? Do I just have to watch Charlie, or Bella's room, or the house, or the whole street, 
too? Edward, if I try to do too much, things are going to start slipping through the cracks." 

"It looks like they already are," Edward snapped. 

"She was never in any danger. There was nothing to see." 

"If you're watching Italy, why didn't you see them send -" 

"I don't think it's them," Alice insisted. "I would have seen that." 

"Who else would leave Charlie alive?" 

I shuddered. 

"I don't know," Alice said. 

"Helpful." 

"Stop it, Edward," I whispered. 

He turned on me, his face still livid, his teeth clenched together. He glared at me for half a 
second, and then, suddenly, he exhaled. His eyes widened and his jaw relaxed. 

"You're right, Bella. I'm sorry." He looked at Alice. "Forgive me, Alice. I shouldn't be taking 
this out on you. That was inexcusable." 

"I understand," Alice assured him. "I'm not happy about it, either." 

Edward took a deep breath. "Okay, let's look at this logically. What are the possibilities?" 

Everyone seemed to thaw out at once. Alice relaxed and leaned against the back of the 
couch. Carlisle walked slowly toward her, his eyes far away. Esme sat on the sofa in front of 
Alice, curling her legs up on the seat. Only Rosalie remained unmoving, her back to us, 
staring out the glass wall. 

 

Edward pulled me to the sofa and I sat next to Esme, who shifted to put her arm around me. 
He held one of my hands tightly in both of his. 

"Victoria?" Carlisle asked. 

Edward shook his head. "No. I didn't know the scent. He might have been from the Volturi, 
someone I've never met. . . ." 

Alice shook her head. "Aro hasn't asked anyone to look for her yet. Iwill see that. I'm waiting 
for it." 

Edward's head snapped up. "You're watching for an official command." 

"You think someone's acting on their own? Why?" 

"Caius's idea," Edward suggested, his face tightening again. 

"Or Jane's . . . ," Alice said. "They both have the resources to send an unfamiliar face. . . ." 

Edward scowled. "And the motivation." 

"It doesn't make sense, though," Esme said. "If whoever it was meant to wait for Bella, Alice 
would have seen that. He - or she - had no intention of hurting Bella. Or Charlie, for that 
matter." 

I cringed at my father's name. 

"It's going to be fine, Bella," Esme murmured, smoothing my hair. 

"But what was the point then?" Carlisle mused. 

"Checking to see if I'm still human?" I guessed. 

"Possible," Carlisle said. 

Rosalie breathed out a sigh, loud enough for me to hear. She'd unfrozen, and her face was 
turned expectantly toward the kitchen. Edward, on the other hand, looked discouraged. 

Emmett burst through the kitchen door, Jasper right behind him. 

"Long gone, hours ago," Emmett announced, disappointed. "The trail went East, then South, 
and disappeared on a side road. Had a car waiting." 

"That's bad luck," Edward muttered. "If he'd gone west . . . well, it would be nice for those 
dogs to make themselves useful." 

I winced, and Esme rubbed my shoulder. 

 

Jasper looked at Carlisle. "Neither of us recognized him. But here." He held out something 
green and crumpled. Carlisle took it from him and held it to his face. I saw, as it exchanged 
hands, that it was a broken fern frond. "Maybe you know the scent." 

"No," Carlisle said. "Not familiar. No one I've ever met." 

"Perhaps we're looking at this the wrong way. Maybe it's a coincidence . . . ," Esme began, 
but stopped when she saw everyone else's incredulous expressions. "I don't mean a 
coincidence that a stranger happened to pick Bella's house to visit at random. I meant that 
maybe someone was just curious. Our scent is all around her. Was he wondering what draws 
us there?" 

"Why wouldn't he just come here then? If he was curious?" Emmett demanded. 

"You would," Esme said with a sudden, fond smile. "The rest of us aren't always so direct. 
Our family is very large - he or she might be frightened. But Charlie wasn't harmed. This 
doesn't have to be an enemy." 

Just curious. Like James and Victoria had been curious, in the beginning? The thought of 
Victoria made me tremble, though the one thing they seemed certain of was that it had not 
been her. Not this time. She would stick to her obsessed pattern. This was just someone else, 
a stranger. 

I was slowly realizing that vampires were much bigger participants in this world than I'd 
once thought. How many times did the average human cross paths with them, completely 
unaware? How many deaths, obliviously reported as crimes and accidents, were really due to 
their thirst? How crowded would this new world be when I finally joined it? 

The shrouded future sent a shiver down my spine. 

The Cullens pondered Esme's words with varying expressions. I could see that Edward did 
not accept her theory, and that Carlisle very much wanted to. 

Alice pursed her lips. "I don't think so. The timing of it was too perfect. . . . This visitor was 
so careful to make no contact. Almost like he or she knew that I would see. . . ." 

"He could have other reasons for not making contact," Esme reminded her. 

"Does it really matter who it was?" I asked. "Just the chance that someonewas looking for me 
. . . isn't that reason enough? We shouldn't wait for graduation." 

"No, Bella," Edward said quickly. "It's not that bad. If you're really in danger, we'll know." 

"Think of Charlie," Carlisle reminded me. "Think of how it would hurt him if you 
disappeared." 

"Iam thinking of Charlie! He's the one I'm worried about! What if my little guest had 

 

happened to be thirsty last night? As long as I'm around Charlie, he's a target, too. If 
anything happened to him, it would be all my fault!" 

"Hardly, Bella," Esme said, patting my hair again. "And nothing will happen to Charlie. 
We're just going to have to be more caref