"Bella, I just"-he hesitated and then forced the words out-"I just beheaded and dismembered a sentient creature not twenty yards from you. That doesn't bother you?"
He frowned at me.
I shrugged. Shrugging was good, too. Very blasé. "Not really. I was only afraid that you and Seth were going to get hurt. I wanted to help, but there's only so much I can do . . ."
His suddenly livid expression made my voice fade out.
"Yes," he said, his tone clipped. "Your little stunt with the rock. You know that you nearly gave me a heart attack? Not the easiest thing to do, that."
His furious glower made it hard to answer.
"I wanted to help . . . Seth was hurt . . ."
"Seth was only feigning that he was hurt, Bella. It was a trick. And then you . . . !" He shook his head, unable to finish. "Seth couldn't see what you were doing, so I had to step in. Seth's a bit disgruntled that he can't claim a single-handed defeat now."
"Seth was . . . faking?"
Edward nodded sternly.
"Oh."
We both looked at Seth, who was studiously ignoring us, watching the flames. Smugness radiated from every hair in his fur.
"Well, I didn't know that," I said, on the offense now. "And it's not easy being the only helpless person around. Just you wait till I'm a vampire! I'm not going to be sitting on the sidelines next time."
A dozen emotions flitted across his face before he settled on being amused. "Next time? Did you anticipate another war soon?"
"With my luck? Who knows?"
He rolled his eyes, but I could see that he was flying-the relief was making us both lightheaded. It was over.
Or . . . was it?
"Hold on. Didn't you say something before-?" I flinched, remembering what exactly it had been before-what was I going to say to Jacob? My splintered heart throbbed out a painful, aching beat. It was hard to believe, almost impossible, but the hardest part of this day was not behind me-and then I soldiered on. "About a complication? And Alice, needing to nail down the schedule for Sam. You said it was going to be close. What was going to be close?"
Edward's eyes flickered back to Seth, and they exchanged a loaded glance.
"Well?" I asked.
"It's nothing, really," Edward said quickly. "But we do need to be on our way . . ."
He started to pull me into place on his back, but I stiffened and drew away.
"Define nothing."
Edward took my face between his palms. "We only have a minute, so don't panic, all right? I told you that you had no reason to be afraid. Trust me on that, please?"
I nodded, trying to hide the sudden terror-how much more could I handle before I collapsed? "No reason to be afraid. Got it."
He pursed his lips for a second, deciding what to say. And then he glanced abruptly at Seth, as if the wolf had called him.
"What's she doing?" Edward asked.
Seth whined; it was an anxious, uneasy sound. It made the hair on the back of my neck rise.
Everything was dead silent for one endless second.
And then Edward gasped, "No!" and one of his hands flew out as if to grab something that I couldn't see. "Don't-!"
A spasm rocked through Seth's body, and a howl, blistering with agony, ripped from his lungs.
Edward fell to his knees at the exact same moment, gripping the sides of his head with two hands, his face furrowed in pain.
I screamed once in bewildered terror, and dropped to my knees beside him. Stupidly, I tried to pull his hands from his face; my palms, clammy with sweat, slid off his marble skin.
"Edward! Edward!"
His eyes focused on me; with obvious effort, he pulled his clenched teeth apart.
"It's okay. We're going to be fine. It's-" He broke off, and winced again.
"What's happening?" I cried out while Seth howled in anguish.
"We're fine. We're going to be okay," Edward gasped. "Sam-help him-"
And I realized in that instant, when he said Sam's name, that he was not speaking of himself and Seth. No unseen force was attacking them. This time, the crisis was not here.
He was using the pack plural.
I'd burned through all my adrenaline. My body had nothing left. I sagged, and Edward caught me before I could hit the rocks. He sprang to his feet, me in his arms.
"Seth!" Edward shouted.
Seth was crouched, still tensed in agony, looking as if he meant to launch himself into the forest.
"No!" Edward ordered. "You go straight home. Now. As fast as you can!"
Seth whimpered, shaking his great head from side to side.
"Seth. Trust me."
The huge wolf stared into Edward's agonized eyes for one long second, and then he straightened up and flew into the trees, disappearing like a ghost.