Chapter X: The Snow that Melts the Soonest

"I love you because no two snowflakes are alike, and it is possible, if you stand tippy-toe, to walk between the raindrops."
—Nikki Giovanni

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Renesmee sprinted across the sand and into the forest. She ducked behind a tree, but it was no use: she could feel her pursuer hot on her heels. She glanced around frantically, but there was nowhere for her to hide.

She took up a run again, cursing her human side that hindered her getaway. Ice and snow crunched beneath her boots, and specs of white clouded her vision.

Just ahead, she spotted the path to the cliffs and made a beeline for them.

Behind her, she heard a laugh. Her attacker thought poorly of her choice.

And as soon as the path ended she agreed. Now there was no where left to run. She circled, looking for shelter, but no matter which way she turned, some side of her was still exposed.

Adrenaline pumped through her. And excitement. And a sliver of fear.

Nessie was trapped. But she would not be caught. Or, at least, she would not go down without a fight.

An idea sparked in her, and she looked over her shoulder at the cliff edge. On a rush of bravery, or maybe insanity, she made to jump—

—And felt the weight of full grown man knock her to the ground.

She squirmed beneath him, trying to break free, but he may as well have been made of stone for all the good she did. She managed to turn over, so she was lying on her back instead of her stomach.

Renesmee smiled at her assailant. "You fight dirty."

He frowned back at her. "Were you really about to jump?"

"Of course not."

He didn't seem to believe her, but a sudden thought made him grin. He leaned his face down so he was a mere inch above hers. "I do believe I won." His breath was scorching on her frozen cheeks. "Do you concede defeat?"

She shook her head, snowflakes gathering in her hair. She could feel every inch of his sweltering body over hers.

"Nessie?" His eyes crinkled in the corners, just a little smug.

She tried again to pull free, but her legs were trapped beneath his. The thought made her head dizzy. "No," she said.

His smile now was positively boastful. He leaned impossibly closer. "No I didn't win, or no you don't concede?"

Renesmee put her hand on his shoulder and pushed with all her might. Surprisingly, he turned right over and she forced him onto his back. (He may have let her. Just a little.) She threw her leg over him, straddling his waist and leaned down close, as he had been just moments before.

"No to both," she whispered. Her breath spelled her words in the air.

He reached out for her, and she caught his hand in hers and pinned it above his head. She did the same with the second. (Okay, she was not that strong. He was definitely letting her.)

"Jacob." She sighed his name into the air and let it hang there like a snowflake. Her nose was practically touching his as she whispered, "I win."

A snowball hit Renesmee in the head, slid down her neck and landed on Jacob. They broke apart instantly, like something had shocked them.

"Oh," Seth said, standing at the top of the path, smiling devilishly. "I interrupted something."

Jacob, now twelve feet away from her and rolling his shoulders like they cramped, smiled uncomfortably. "No – we uh –"

Nessie dusted the snow off her coat. "He's embarrassed because a six year-old girl just annihilated him."

He smiled in earnest now, hands in his pockets, looking down at his feet. Silent Jacob. She's been seeing a lot of him lately.

Ever since the night of the bonfire, something had changed between them. Ever since she kissed him. Like she was dying of thirst at sea and Jacob's lips were salt water—she knew they would only worsen her desire and yet the temptation was too enticing to resist.

Jacob had changed, too, however he tried to deny it. He looked at her differently. She could feel his eyes trailing her wherever she walked. And then there were occasions like that. One moment she's messing with old friendly Jacob, and the next she's straddling his hips, pinning his hands behind his head, her mouth an inch from his . . .

But never kissing. Not since then. Though they've come close. So very, very close.

It's always wonderful and Jacob always seems a very willing participant, but as soon as it's over or they're interrupted, he jerks away from her, like he's just waking up and gaining control of his senses. He puts ten feet between them, an icy barrier, a silent Jacob.

He tries to keep his distance, but maybe he's thirsty too because lately they can hardly go a day without some form of contact.

Renesmee looked up at Seth, who grinned as he looked between her and Jake. Like he was in on the most intimate of secrets.

"Should I, uh, leave you to it?" he offered.

Nessie immediately reached down to grab a handful of snow, but before she had time to even stand straight, Seth had sent a snowball into her face.

"Werewolf speed and precision," she scoffed, melted ice dripping from her temple. "It's almost like cheating."

His eyes narrowed mischievously. "Cheating, am I?" He started to bend very slowly, hands reaching down, eyes locked with hers. A second snowball flew past her and collided with Seth. He spluttered. "Look who's cheating now – an alpha bodyguard!"

Nessie laughed and the sound carried on the wind, amplified by the hundred year old trees.

"Over here!" a voice called. She had alerted the others to their whereabouts. This was snowfall warfare—or, at least, it had been until minutes ago.

Suddenly, Jacob was behind her again. He urged her towards the forest. She glanced over her shoulder at him. "I'll cover you," he promised.

It was all the assurance she needed to delve back into the trees. She didn't slow as she passed a group of the others: Embry, Quil, Claire, Seth's girlfriend Lisa, a few teenagers from the reservation. They were locked in what appeared to be a snowball battle to the death.

She continued in the direction of a little clearing she remembered. One she knew Jacob also remembered. He wasn't following her yet, so she slowed a little, ears peeled for pursuit. She felt a tiny bit reprehensible, turning an innocent snow day into another chance to experiment with the new emotions she had, but she felt invigorated, too.

And then Renesmee sensed it. That neck-tingling sensation of being followed, being watched, being hunted. Pure exhilaration.

She laughed and made the last sprint into the clearing. It was utterly beautiful, this small break of trees, so deep in the forest it was undisturbed. A blanket of untouched white, so pure she hardly wanted to step on it.

"Wow," she breathed. "Jake, come look." Jacob didn't respond. "Oh, I see." She paced around the outside of the clearing, eyes darting around her. "Sore loser, are we?" Still no response. "Jacob?"

Something was off.

She froze.

Cleared her throat.

Called again.

"Jacob?"

Nothing.

No sound but for the wind and the animals and the almost imperceptible presence of someone else.

Trying to think clearly, Renesmee started back in the direction of the group. But she was distracted now. Disorientated. And she wasn't all that certain she was going the right way.

Because, she was right, someone was following her.

But it wasn't Jacob.

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"I'll cover you," Jacob promised, and he watched her sprint back into the forest after the others. She was covered in snow. A little wedge of guilt settled in his chest, because there was snow on her coat for a reason.

Seth was grinning madly. "You covered her, all right."

Jacob glared at him. "You're not funny."

"You're 'keeping some distance' really well."

Keeping some distance. Exactly what Jacob had sworn to do after the bonfire. He originally thought he would snap back to reality after the kiss. That he could put it out of his mind and concentrate on being what Nessie needed. That, with it out of his system, it would be easier.

He'd been wrong.

Unbearably, vehemently wrong.

Because now, God help him, he knew what she tasted like. And little Nessie Cullen tasted like heaven. Heaven and sugar and something uniquely her own.

Jacob looked back at his friend. "I'm trying."

Seth was endlessly understanding. "Not very hard." When Jacob opened his mouth to protest, Seth cut over him. "I found you rolling around in the snow. On top of her."

Jacob pinched the bridge of his nose, a habit he subconsciously picked up from the vampires he consorted with. "But a month ago that would have been fine. A month ago, it would have been weird if I didn't." He shook his head, tried to perk up. "I'm going to go find her."

Seth exercised some brotherly caution. "Is that such a good idea?"

"If for nothing else, she still thinks she won . . ."

A buzzing sound interrupted him. Jacob followed the noise and found Nessie's phone in the snow. It must have fallen out of her pocket when he . . . tackled her.

Daddy, the screen read. It cut off, but before Jacob could pocket it, the phone was ringing again.

Edward must be in flying spirits today.

He answered.

"Renesmee? Renesmee, are you there?"

"It's me," Jacob said.

"Jacob." There was relief in his voice.

"Is everything alright?" he asked.

Edward was entirely uncertain when he replied, "Alice had a vision."

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Find the trail. Find the trail. Find the trail, Renesmee chanted in her head as she manoeuvred through the forest. Or find Jacob. Or Seth. Or even Lisa. Just focus on finding. You're okay. Find the trail.

For someone who grew up in a house full of vampires and spent her weekend with werewolves, Nessie had yet to come into contact with any form of confrontation. She therefore, ironically, was the least equipped half-vampire in the entire world.

But what was this vampire doing? Why was it following Nessie like that, like it was observing? Why wait? She would never be more alone than right now; in fact, every moment that passed made her less alone. The longer she was missing, the more people would come looking for her.

And suddenly the vampire was there. Just ahead of her, as though waiting for her approach. Silhouetted by the forest's canopy, Renesmee couldn't distinguish it from its surroundings.

Except the eyes. The blood red irises stared at her relentlessly.

Nessie was used to black or golden vampire eyes. She hadn't seen red since . . .

"Renesmee?" the vampire asked. Female. Accented. Southern American. Brazilian, possibly.

Neither made an attempt to move.

"Oh, my. I can hardly recognise you."

Familiar. A murky memory formed in Nessie's mind, one of blurred colours and pictures.

She took a breath. "Who . . . ?"

"My dear girl. You do not remember?" The vampire took a step towards her, into a tinkle of sunshine.

A million memories flooded Renesmee's mind at once. There was more snow, more blood red eyes. Unfamiliar, foreign faces. A tent. And pictures, hundreds of images that weren't her own, loaned to her in a quiet corner. Nessie, still so small, sitting on her lap with a hand on her cheek, exchanging dreams.

"Zafrina?" She hadn't said that name in quite a while.

The vampire looked delighted. "I knew you could not forget me." Her eyes scrunched together. "Renesmee, are you alright?"

Nessie released her body's entire contents of oxygen. With a hand on her heart she conceded, "Yes. I just . . . you frightened me."

Zafrina flashed to her side and embraced her. "Oh, my sky, I am sorry." She held the younger girl at arm's length. "You have grown so old. And every bit as beautiful as I had envisioned."

Renesmee smiled, swathed in a sense of nostalgia she had never experienced before.

Suddenly, through the distance, she could hear a set of familiar footsteps. Jacob slowed when they came into view, approached them at a walk. He smiled in the cautious way of someone advancing on a wild animal—slow, waiting for them to be spooked and run. Nessie wasn't sure who this was in aid of.

"Jacob," Nessie said. "Look who came to visit." She turned to the vampire. "Do you remember Jake?"

"The wolf. Of course." She nodded her head in greeting. "It is good to see you again, friend." Something dawned on Zafrina and she was suddenly alert. "I must speak with Carlisle."

Jacob nodded and extended his hand. "Come on, Nessie. We'll show her up to the house."

Zafrina fell into step beside them, slightly farther apart, a slightly more erratic pace. "He is in?"

He glanced at the vampire from the corner of his eye. "He's waiting for you."

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Bella was practically wearing holes in the floorboards with her pacing. Every few seconds, she'd pause to glance out the window and then return to worrying the wood.

Renesmee had been gone all day, and normally Bella didn't mind – there were no safer hands than Jacob's after all. But something was wrong, severely wrong, to force Zafrina to travel to Washington for help. And Bella would feel much more at ease to have her daughter at her side.

Why wasn't she home yet?

"Bella." Edward's breath grazed her neck as he whispered. "She'll be here any second."

She turned to her husband. "Can you hear her?"

He wrapped an arm around her waist and she leaned into him. "No, not yet." He kissed the top of her head. "But I'm sure it's nothing."

"So, what, Zafrina's popping in for a visit? For some tea?"

Edward smiled into her hair. "I don't think we would be very good hosts."

She considered that. "No. I suppose not." What could she offer a wild vampire? The Olympic Peninsula's finest grizzly?

Beside her, Edward stiffened.

"What? Are they near?" And then she heard it: three pairs, six feet. Approaching the house. "What's she thinking?"

Edward's brows knot together. "I'm not sure. Someone's ill? A young woman."

"Is it—"

"I don't know."

The entire family gathered in the foyer as Renesmee led Jacob and Zafrina into the house. The Amazonian vampire was just as Bella remembered her: eccentric, jerky, dressed in wild animal skins. In one word: feral.

Carlisle dashed to greet her, keeping an acceptable distance. Bella hardly heard a word of pleasantries exchanged, but watched her daughter stand not a foot from the red-eyed vampire. She remembered that Christmas, seven years ago, when Nessie had been just a baby and the two of them inseparable.

Nessie caught her staring and widened her eyes in question; Bella smiled at her.

"Carlisle, I do not come for pleasure." Zafrina was straight to the point. "I am in need of your help."

Carlisle flashed his eyes to Edward. "Then you must only say the word. We are all still deeply grateful for your support against the Volturi."

Zafrina nodded. "I had hoped so." A pause. "I come on behalf of Serena."

Carlisle didn't miss a beat. "Joham's eldest daughter. Go on."

Zafrina squared her shoulders. "She had been ailing many months before she came to me. And now . . . now she is very ill indeed."

Bella's head was reeling. Joham? Nahuel's father. Serena must be one of his hybrid daughters. And a hybrid sick? She didn't like where this was going. Motherly instinct, she told herself.

Edward stiffened to stone beside her. She turned to him, and he was staring with eyes of granite between Zafrina and Renesmee.

Zafrina went on, "I was a worthy healer in my time, there was no ail I could not remedy. But I have known no sickness to affect vampires, even a half-breed."

Bella could tell the exact moment Renesmee understood. She watched her suck in a breath and hold it, lean into Jacob's side like it was a life-preserver.

No one dared speak a word.

"Serena turned two-hundred last year. This is when she started to weaken."

To her surprise, Zafrina turned to meet Bella straight in the eye as she finished. "After many, many medicines and extensive researching . . . I have failed to find a cure." There was honest sympathy in her eyes as she delivered the death sentence. "I fear it is her human side, finally catching up on her."

If Bella could have, she would have crumpled to the ground.

Her baby was not immortal.

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To be continued