Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined (Twilight #5)(121)

Though, now that I’d chased the memories down, I did have a vague impression of leaving the car—the sun behind the horizon, my arm draped over Archie’s shoulder, his arm dragging me along as I stumbled through the warm, dry shadows.

I had no memory of this room.

I looked at the digital clock on the nightstand. The red numbers claimed it was three o’clock, but there was no way to tell if that meant a.m. or p.m. No light showed around the edges of the thick curtains, but the room was bright with the light from the lamps.

I rose stiffly and staggered to the window, pulling back the drapes.

It was dark outside. Three in the morning, then. The room looked out on a deserted section of the freeway and the new long-term parking garage for the airport. It made me feel better—by a very small amount—to be able to pinpoint time and place.

I looked down. I was still wearing Earnest’s shirt and too-short pants. I looked around the room and was glad when I saw my duffel bag on top of the low dresser.

A light tap on the door made me jump.

“Can I come in?” Archie asked.

I took a deep breath. “Sure.”

He walked in and looked me over. “You look like you could sleep longer.”

I shook my head.

He darted silently to the window and pulled the curtains shut.

“We’ll need to stay inside,” he told me.

“Okay.” My voice was hoarse; it cracked.

“Thirsty?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I’m okay. How about you?”

He smiled. “Nothing unmanageable. I ordered some food for you—it’s in the front room. Edythe reminded me that you have to eat a lot more frequently than we do.”

I was instantly more alert. “She called?”

“No.” He watched my face fall. “It was before we left. She gave me lots of instructions. Come eat something.”

He was out of the room before I could protest that I wasn’t hungry. I followed slowly behind him.

There was a living room attached to the bedroom. A low buzz of voices was coming from the TV. Jessamine sat at the desk in the corner, her eyes on the TV, but no interest in her expression. Archie went to stand by her. He ran his hand over her honey-colored hair.

“What’s the latest?” I asked.

“Earnest and Royal are back in Forks. The redhead gave up chasing them.”

I opened my mouth, but Archie was faster.

“They’re watching your father. The redhead won’t get past them.”

“What is he doing?”

“Working his way through town, looking for you as far as I can tell—he spent some time at the school.”

My eyes bulged. “Did he hurt anyone?”

Archie shook his head. “They seem pretty committed to the hunt they already started.”

“Edythe?”

“Frustrated, it looks like. They turned on the tracker, but she was already running. She’s kept going north. They’re chasing her.”

I stood there, not sure what to do.

Edythe was chasing Joss. Sure, she had Carine and Eleanor with her, but Edythe was the fastest.…

“Eat something, Beau. Edythe gets really difficult when she thinks her instructions aren’t being followed to the letter.”

There was a tray on the coffee table with a couple of stainless steel covers over the plates on it. I couldn’t think of anything to do besides follow Archie’s order. I sat on the floor next to the table and pulled off the first plate cover. I didn’t look at the food, I just grabbed something and started eating. I was probably hungry. We hadn’t stopped for food during our drive.

They were quiet and motionless while I ate. I stared at the TV, but I couldn’t make sense of what was happening. Was it a news show? Was it an infomercial? I wasn’t sure. I ate until the plates were empty. I didn’t taste any of it.

When there was nothing left to eat, I stared at the wall.

All I could see was Edythe in the forest, faster than a cheetah—faster than a bullet. It was obvious she would catch up with the tracker first.

Lauren’s words echoed in my head. You can’t bring her down. She’s absolutely lethal.

Suddenly Jessamine was standing over me, closer than usual.

“Beau,” she said in a soothing voice. “You have nothing to worry about. You are completely safe here.”

“I know.”

“Then why are you frightened?” She sounded confused. She might feel my emotions, but she couldn’t see the reasons behind them.

“You heard what Lauren said. Joss is lethal. What if something goes wrong, and they get separated? If anything happens, if Carine or Eleanor—or Edythe—” My voice broke. “If that crazy redhead hurts Earnest—how do I live with myself when it’s my fault? None of you should be risking your lives for—”

“Stop, Beau, stop,” she interrupted, her words pouring out so quickly they were hard to understand. “You’re worrying about all the wrong things, Beau. Trust me on this—none of us are in jeopardy. You are under enough strain as it is; don’t add to it with imaginary worries. Listen to me!” she ordered—I’d looked away. “Our family is strong. Our only fear is losing you.”

“But why should you—”

Archie was there then, his arm around Jessamine’s waist. “It’s been almost a century that Edythe’s been alone. Now she’s found you. You can’t see the changes that we see, we who have been with her for so long. Do you think any of us want to look into her eyes for the next hundred years if she loses you?”