“What is the werewolves’ part in this?” Tanya asked then, eyeing Jacob.
“那狼人们加入进来是干什么的？”坦尼娅又看着雅各布问道。
Jacob spoke before Edward could answer. “If the Volturi won’t stop to listen about Nessie, I mean Renesmee,” he corrected himself, remembering that Tanya would not understand his stupid nickname, “we will stop them.”
雅各布在爱德华回答前就发言道。“如果沃尔图里不肯停下来听内希解释，我指的是蕾妮斯梅，”他纠正自己，想起坦尼娅不知道他给蕾妮斯梅取得这个蠢到家的小名。“我们会站出来阻止他们。”
“You don’t know what we can do.”
“你不知道我们的能耐。”
“She is special, that little one,” Tanya mused. “Hard to resist.”
“真是个神奇的小家伙，”坦尼娅沉思道。“难以抗拒。”
“Very brave, child, but that would be impossible for more experienced fighters than you are.”
“非常勇敢，孩子，但你们都还没有多少战斗经验啊。”
Jacob’s eyes flickered to Renesmee — still in Carmen’s arms with Kate hovering over them — and it was easy to read the longing in them.
雅各布的目光转向蕾妮斯梅——还在卡门的臂弯里，凯特靠在旁边——他们玩得不亦乐乎。
“A very talented family,” Eleazar murmured as he paced. His tempo was increasing; he flashed from the door to Carmen and back again every second. “A mind reader for a father, a shield for a mother, and then whatever magic this extraordinary child has bewitched us with. I wonder if there is a name for what she does, or if it is the norm for a vampire hybrid. As if such a thing could ever be considered normal! A vampire hybrid, indeed!”
“多么有天赋的家庭啊，”以利亚撒边踱步边自言自语道，他的步调越来越快，还是不停地在大门和卡门间走来走去。“一个读心的父亲，一个守护盾的母亲，还有和我们一起的这个非同寻常的孩子。她的能力应该有个学名，或者是吸血鬼混血儿的普遍特殊体质。总之这绝对不是个普遍的现象！是个一个吸血鬼混血儿啊！”
Tanya shrugged. “It is your own life, certainly, to spend as you choose.”
坦尼娅耸肩道。“这是你自己的命，毫无疑问，想怎么用就怎么用。”
“Excuse me,” Edward said in a stunned voice. He reached out and caught Eleazar’s shoulder as he was about to turn again for the door. “What did you just call my wife?”
“打扰一下，”爱德华惊讶地打断。在以利亚撒又转身走向大门的时候爱德华过去抓住了他的肩膀。“你刚说我妻子的是什么？”
I stared at Eleazar, my brows furrowing in confusion. Shield? What did he mean about my blocking him? I was standing right here beside him, not defensive in any way.
我不解的瞪着以利亚撒，额头都皱了起来。守护盾？说我在防御他又是什么回事？我就站在这，什么也没做啊。
Eleazar looked at Edward curiously, his manic pacing forgotten for the moment. “A shield, I think. She’s blocking me now, so I can’t be sure.”
以利亚撒奇怪地盯着爱德华，他那疯狂的踱步终于停了下来。“守护盾，我认为。她现在正防御着我呢，所以还不怎么肯定。”
“A shield?” Edward repeated, bewildered.
“守护盾？”爱德华迷惑地重复了一遍。
“No,” Edward murmured. “But I’ve never been able to do that. Even when she was human.”
“不能，”爱德华小声回答。“而且我从来都没听到过，即使在她还是人类的时候也不行。”
“Come now, Edward! If I can’t get a read on her, I doubt you can, either. Can you hear her thoughts right now?” Eleazar asked.
“就是，爱德华！如果我现在读不到她，我敢说你也不行。你现在能听到她的思想吗？”以利亚撒问。
“Never?” Eleazar blinked. “Interesting. That would indicate a rather powerful latent talent, if it was manifesting so clearly even before the transformation. I can’t feel a way through her shield to get a sense of it at all. Yet she must be raw still — she’s only a few months old.” The look he gave Edward now was almost exasperated. “And apparently completely unaware of what she’s doing. Totally unconscious. Ironic. Aro sent me all over the world searching for such anomalies, and you simply stumble across it by accident and don’t even realize what you have.” Eleazar shook his head in disbelief.
“从没？”以利亚撒眨了眨眼。“有趣。如果说在她变化前就显露得这么明显的话，肯定暗示着一个了不起的天赋。我完全无法穿透她的盾来搞清楚，尽管她还毫无经验——她才只有几个月大而已。”他对爱德华投去恼火的一眼。“而且显然她对自己的能力一无所知，甚至都没察觉到。多么讽刺啊，阿罗让我满世界的为他寻找这样异能的人，而你只是偶然就得到了却毫无自觉？”以利亚撒不可置信地摇着头。
It took me few seconds, despite how quickly my new brain worked, to organize my answer.
我花了几秒钟思考，脑袋飞速的运转，考虑我该怎么回答。
Eleazar leaned his head to one side as he examined me. “I suppose we were overly formal about it in the guard. In truth, categorizing talents is a subjective, haphazard business; every talent is unique, never exactly the same thing twice. But you, Bella, are fairly easy to classify. Talents that are purely defensive, that protect some aspect of the bearer, are always called shields. Have you ever tested your abilities? Blocked anyone besides me and your mate?”
以利亚撒把头偏了偏审视着我。“我们基本上能肯定你在防御上的才能了。说实话，对才能的分类是件主观随意的工作。并且每个才能都是独一无二的，从不会有一模一样的两个。但你，贝拉，你很好分类，你的才能就是纯粹的防御，那些能够为持有人提供保护的能力，通常就被称为守护盾。你有测试过自己的能力吗？对除了我和你丈夫之外的人防御？”
I frowned. “What are you talking about? How can I be a shield? What does that even mean?” All I could picture in my head was a ridiculous medieval suit of armor.
我不禁皱起眉头，“你们在说什么啊？我怎么可能是个盾？到底什么意思？”脑海中只能想到一副滑稽可笑的中世纪铠甲。
“Purely a mental defense.” Eleazar nodded to himself. “Limited, but strong.”
“那就是精神上的防御，”以利亚撒自顾自地点了点头。“范围有限，但是非常强大。”
“Aro couldn’t hear her,” Edward interjected. “Though she was human when they met.”
“阿罗也听不到她，”爱德华也提出。“虽然他们见面时她还只是人类而已。”
“It only works with certain things,” I told him. “My head is sort of… private. But it doesn’t stop Jasper from being able to mess with my mood or Alice from seeing my future.”
“它应该是以某种机制工作的，”我告诉他。“我的脑袋就好像是…私人的。但它并没有阻止贾斯帕来影响我的心情或爱丽丝探视我的未来。”
“Jane tried to hurt me, but she couldn’t,” I said. “Edward thinks Demetri can’t find me, and that Alec can’t bother me, either. Is that good?”
“简想要伤害我，但她没成功，”我说。“爱德华觉得德米特里找不到我，亚历克应该也不会对我造成困扰。这是好事吗？”
Eleazar, still gaping, nodded. “Quite.”
以利亚撒仍然愣着，点头道。“相当好。”
Eleazar’s eyes widened.
以利亚撒的眼睛张大。
“Renata is Aro’s personal bodyguard,” Eleazar told me. “A very practical kind of shield, and a very strong one.”
“雷娜塔是阿罗的私人贴身护卫，”以利亚撒回答我。“是一种很实用的盾，非常强大。”
Eleazar had recovered slightly. “Yes, no talent ever manifests in precisely the same way, because no one ever thinks in exactly the same way.”
以利亚撒稍微回了点神。“是的，没有才能是一模一样的，因为本来每个人的思维模式就不一样。”
“I wonder…,” Eleazar mused. “You see, Renata is a powerful shield against a physical attack. If someone approaches her — or Aro, as she is always close beside him in a hostile situation — they find themselves… diverted.
“我在想…”以利亚撒边想边说道。“你看，雷娜塔的是一种强大的针对物理攻击的盾。如果有人要攻击她或是阿罗，因为她一直紧紧地守在阿罗身边，他们会发现自己…转向了。
“Who’s Renata? What does she do?” I asked. Renesmee was interested, too, leaning away from Carmen so that she could see around Kate.
“雷娜塔是谁？她能做什么？”我问。蕾妮斯梅也很好奇，在卡门的怀里偏着身子，绕过凯特看过来。
I vaguely remembered a small crowd of vampires hovering close to Aro in his macabre tower, some male, some female. I couldn’t remember the women’s faces in the uncomfortable, terrifying memory. One must have been Renata.
我隐约的想起在阿罗那令人毛骨悚然的塔里紧紧围着他的那一群吸血鬼，有男有女。我无法从那些不舒服的可怕的记忆中看清她们的脸，但其中一个肯定是雷娜塔。
“A shield!” Edward said, deep satisfaction saturating his tone. “I never thought of it that way. The only one I’ve ever met before was Renata, and what she did was so different.”
“守护盾！”爱德华满心欢喜的说。“我从没想过是这个。我见过唯一类似的只有雷娜塔，但她的好像很不一样。”
There’s a force around her that repels, though it’s almost unnoticeable. You simply find yourself going a different direction than you planned, with a confused memory as to why you wanted to go that other way in the first place. She can project her shield several meters out from herself. She also protects Caius and Marcus, too, when they have a need, but Aro is her priority.
因为在她的周围有一层能够逐退别人的力量，几乎察觉不到，你只会发现自己没头没脑地搞错了方向，并且完全想不起来为什么会朝那边去。她还能将盾的范围向外推出几米远，需要的时候可以将卡尤斯和马库斯也纳入保护范围内，不过首要保护的还是阿罗。”
“What she does isn’t actually physical, though. Like the vast majority of our gifts, it takes place inside the mind. If she tried to keep you back, I wonder who would win?” He shook his head. “I’ve never heard of Aro’s or Jane’s gifts being thwarted.”
“但她可以防御的其实不只是物理。就像我们所有人的天赋一样，它是由心操纵的。如果她绝对不想让你靠近的话，我怀疑谁能赢得了她？”他摇了摇头。“我还从来没有见过阿罗或简的能力被阻止了的。”
“Momma, you’re special,” Renesmee told me without any surprise, like she was commenting on the color of my clothes.
“妈妈，你是特别的，”蕾妮斯梅的语气一点也不显得惊讶，就好像在评论我衣服的颜色一样。
I felt disoriented. Didn’t I already know my gift? I had my super-self-control that had allowed me to skip right over the horrifying newborn year. Vampires only had one extra ability at most, right?
我有些糊涂了。我还不够了解自己的能力吗？我有着超级自控力，让我能够平安地度过新生儿恐怖的第一年。吸血鬼难道不是只有一种特殊能力吗？
Or had Edward been correct in the beginning? Before Carlisle had suggested that my self-control could be something beyond the natural, Edward had thought my restraint was just a product of good preparation — focus and attitude, he’d declared.
或者爱德华最初的观点是正确的？在卡莱尔觉得我拥有一些能够产生自控力的别的能力之前，爱德华就已经想过我的克制只是因为有足够的心理准备——决心和已经形成的态度，这些都是他曾经说过的。
“Push it out from yourself,” Kate explained. “Shield someone besides yourself.”
“将它从你自己身上推出来，”凯特解释道。“保护你身边的其他人。”
“Kate’s got an offensive skill,” Edward said. “Sort of like Jane.”
“凯特的才能是攻击型的，”爱德华说道。“有点类似于简。”
I stared at her, mystified.
我迷惑不解地盯着她。
“Oh, you might not be able to,” Kate said quickly. “Heavens knows I’ve been working on it for centuries and the best I can do is run a current over my skin.”
“噢，那现在应该还不能吧，”凯特迅速回应道。“老天，我可是花了几个世纪才最多能让电流附在我的皮肤上。”
I remembered Edward cringing on the ancient stones of the Volturi castle turret. Though this was a human memory, it was sharper, more painful than most of the others — like it had been branded into the tissues of my brain.
我想起爱德华在沃尔图里城堡的角楼里那蜷缩着抽搐着的痛苦神情。虽然那只是人类时期的记忆，它却异常清晰尖锐，比其他任何记忆都让我痛苦——就好像深深烙印进了我的心里。
“I don’t know. I’ve never tried. I didn’t know I should do that.”
“我不知道，从来没试过。我根本就不知道自己有这种能力。”
“Can you project?” Kate asked interestedly.
“你能扩展它吗？”凯特感兴趣地问道。
“Project?” I asked.
“扩展？”我疑惑地问。
I flinched away from Kate automatically, and she laughed.
我不禁对凯特畏缩了一下，引得她大笑起来。
“I’m not sadistic about it,” she assured me. “It’s just something that comes in handy during a fight.”
“我不是虐待狂，”她向我保证道。“这东西只是在战斗时用起来很方便。”
Kate’s words were sinking in, beginning to make connections in my mind. Shield someone besides yourself, she’d said. As if there were some way for me to include another person in my strange, quirky silent head.
凯特的声音逐渐淡出我的脑袋，我开始自顾自地思考起来。她说过，我可以保护身边的其他人，也就是说，有一种方法可以让我将其他人也拉进我古怪沉默的脑袋中保护起来。
Which one had been right? Was there more I could do? A name and a category for what I was?
到底哪一个是对的？我真的还能做的更多？并且拥有一个专门的学名？
What if I could stop that from happening ever again? What if I could protect him? Protect Renesmee? What if there was even the faintest glimmer of a possibility that I could shield them, too?
假使我有能力阻止这种悲剧的再次发生？假使我能保护他、保护蕾妮斯梅？即使只有一点点希望的火光，假使我就能将他们也放在我的守护盾之下？
“Oops! Sorry!”
“噢！抱歉！”
Kate winced at my grip. “Maybe — if you stop trying to crush my radius.”
凯特在我的紧握下挣扎退缩。“也许——如果你能停止把我的胳膊掐得越来越细的话。”
“Or Renesmee,” Edward interjected.
“还有蕾妮斯梅，”爱德华插话道。
Kate nodded. “It used to be just in my palms. Kind of like Aro.”
凯特点头。“它原来只在我的手心里。有点类似阿罗。”
“You have to teach me what to do!” I insisted, unthinkingly grabbing Kate’s arm. “You have to show me how!”
“你得教我怎么做到！”我激动地要求道，不假思索地紧紧抓住凯特的手臂。“你得告诉我该怎么做！”
“I was. Hmm. I’ve never met anyone who couldn’t feel it, immortal or otherwise.”
“是啊，嗯。我还从来没见过有人感觉不到的，包括不死的或是其他东西。”
“But after a lot of practice, I can radiate the current all over my body. It’s a good defense. Anyone who tries to touch me drops like a human that’s been Tasered. It only downs him for a second, but that’s long enough.”
“但经过大量练习，我现在能让电流覆盖我整个身体。这是种很好的防御，碰到我的人会像人类被激光射中一样弹开，虽然只能让他们倒地一秒，不过已经足够了。”
“You said you project it? On your skin?”
“你说你将它扩展了？在你的皮肤上？”
“That wasn’t really necessary, Kate. She didn’t mean any harm,” Edward muttered under his breath. Neither of us paid attention to him.
“这没必要，凯特。她没想伤害你。”爱德华紧张地压住呼吸，低声抱怨道。我们谁也没去管他。
“No, I didn’t feel anything. Were you doing your electric current thing?”
“没，什么都没有。你现在正在弄你的那个什么电流的？”
“You’re shielding, all right,” Kate said. “That move should have about shocked your arm off. You didn’t feel anything just now?”
“好吧，你确实是在防御，”凯特说。“这动作本应该使你的胳膊弹开的。你现在什么都没感觉到？”
It felt like I had never wanted anything so badly before this: to be able to protect what I loved.
我从没有像现在这样如此强烈地渴望一样东西，想要能够保护我所爱的。
Because I was so preoccupied, I didn’t notice the silent exchange going on between Edward and Eleazar until it became a spoken conversation.
我思量得如此入神以致于都没有注意到爱德华和以利亚撒间那沉默的交流，直到它终于演变成一场听得到的谈话。
I was only half-listening to Kate, my thoughts racing around the idea that I might be able to protect my little family if I could just learn fast enough. I wished fervently that I might be good at this projecting thing, too, like I was somehow mysteriously good at all the other aspects of being a vampire. My human life had not prepared me for things that came naturally, and I couldn’t make myself trust this aptitude to last.
我心不在焉地听着凯特的话，思绪又跑到我的计划上。只要我学得够快，我就能保护我的小家庭了。我现在渴求着希望自己也能很擅长“扩展”东西，就像我奇怪地擅长作为吸血鬼的其他某些事情一样。我的人类生命没能让这份才能充分展现出来，而现在不应该将它放在那里不管了。
“Can you think of even one exception, though?” Edward asked.
“既然如此，你能想出个即使一个的例外吗？”爱德华问。
I looked over to make sense of his comment and realized that everyone else was already staring at the two men. They were leaning toward each other intently, Edward’s expression tight with suspicion, Eleazar’s unhappy and reluctant.
我开始努力想要弄明白他的话，发现其他所有人都在目不转睛地盯着这两人。他们专注地将脑袋相互倾斜着，爱德华的脸因怀疑而紧绷起来，以利亚撒看起来有些不乐意。
“I don’t want to think of them that way,” Eleazar said through his teeth. I was surprised at the sudden change in the atmosphere.
“我不想这样看待他们。”以利亚撒从牙齿里挤出这句话。我被这气氛的急转吓了一跳。
Edward cut him off. “The thought was yours, not mine.”
爱德华打断了他。“这是你自己的想法，不是我的。”
“Your intentions were always the best, Eleazar.”
“你的做法一直都是最正确的，以利亚撒。”
“If you’re right –,” Eleazar began again.
“如果你是对的——”以利亚撒又开始说道。
“If I’m right… I can’t even grasp what that would mean. It would change everything about the world we’ve created. It would change the meaning of my life. What I have been a part of.”
“好吧，如果我是对的…我甚至搞不懂这意味着什么。这会改变我们创造的这个社会的一切，会改变我生活的意义。毕竟我曾经也是其中一份子。”
Tanya put her hand on Eleazar’s shoulder in a comforting gesture. “What did we miss, my friend? I want to know so that I can argue with these thoughts. You’ve never done anything worth castigating yourself this way.”
坦尼娅把手搭到以利亚撒肩膀上安慰他。“我们错过了什么，朋友？我想知道我能否反驳你的这些想法，你从没做过什么事情值得这样惩罚自己的。”
Tanya watched him for half a second and then focused on Edward. “Explain.”
坦尼娅看了他半秒便转过头注视爱德华。“解释一下。”
“Would that even matter? What have I done? How many lives…”
“这有什么用吗？我都做了些什么？多少生命…”
“Oh, haven’t I?” Eleazar muttered. Then he shrugged out from under her hand and began his pacing again, faster even than before.
“噢，我没做过？”以利亚撒不耐烦地低声说。然后从坦尼娅的手下挣脱出来，又开始不停地踱来踱去，甚至比之前还要快。
Edward nodded, his tense eyes following Eleazar as he spoke. “He was trying to understand why so many of the Volturi would come to punish us. It’s not the way they do things. Certainly, we are the biggest mature coven they’ve dealt with, but in the past other covens have joined to protect themselves, and they never presented much of a challenge despite their numbers. We are more closely bonded, and that’s a factor, but not a huge one.
爱德华点头，目光紧张地追随着以利亚撒，说道，“他想知道为什么沃尔图里会出动这么多人来惩罚我们。这不是他们的行事风格。当然，我们是他们所面对过的最大的家族，不过以前也有几个家族联合起来自卫的情况，不管对方人数多少他们都没有出动过这么多人手。我们家族成员之间的联系要紧密得多，这大概是其中一个因素，但并不是很重要。”
“What was this pattern?” Carmen asked, watching Eleazar as Edward was.
“什么典例？”卡门问道，目光就同爱德华的一样追随着以利亚撒。
“Aro does not often personally attend a punishing expedition,” Edward said. “But in the past, when Aro wanted something in particular, it was never long before evidence turned up proving that this coven or that coven had committed some unpardonable crime. The ancients would decide to go along to watch the guard administer justice. And then, once the coven was all but destroyed, Aro would grant a pardon to one member whose thoughts, he would claim, were particularly repentant. Always, it would turn out that this vampire had the gift Aro had admired. Always, this person was given a place with the guard. The gifted vampire was won over quickly, always so grateful for the honor. There were no exceptions.”
“阿罗并不经常参加那些需要长途跋涉的惩罚行动，”爱德华说。“但在以前，当阿罗特别想要某样东西的时候，他们会在得到那家族犯下不可饶恕罪行的确切证据就采取行动，于是长老们便会要求跟警卫们一起去见证判决。然后，就在那家族被毁灭之前，阿罗会宽恕其中某个人，宣称他读到那人已经完全忏悔了。通常来说，那个被宽恕的吸血鬼是都有着阿罗非常欣赏的天赋，然后那人会被授予警卫的职位。那些有天赋的吸血鬼会很快地被他征服，并且都会对这份荣誉满怀感激，没有一个例外。”
“He was remembering other times that covens have been punished, for one thing or the other, and a pattern occurred to him. It was a pattern that the rest of the guard would never have noticed, since Eleazar was the one passing the pertinent intelligence privately to Aro. A pattern that only repeated every other century or so.”
“他便开始回忆其他那些被惩罚家族的情况，一个又一个，然后有一些典例卡住了他。那典例其他警卫从来没注意到过，还是在以利亚撒当阿罗的私人智囊的时候。而且这种典例大概一个世纪会重演一次。”
“It must be a heady thing to be chosen,” Kate suggested.
“这绝对件不明智的事。”凯特评论道。
“Ha!” Eleazar snarled, still in motion.
“哈！”以利亚撒发出一声尖利的咆哮，仍然非常激动。
Eleazar came to an abrupt halt. “We all understood why Chelsea was important. In a fight, if we could separate allegiances between allied covens, we could defeat them that much more easily. If we could distance the innocent members of a coven emotionally from the guilty, justice could be done without unnecessary brutality — the guilty could be punished without interference, and the innocent could be spared. Otherwise, it was impossible to keep the coven from fighting as a whole. So Chelsea would break the ties that bound them together. It seemed a great kindness to me, evidence of Aro’s mercy. I did suspect that Chelsea kept our own band more tightly knit, but that, too, was a good thing. It made us more effective. It helped us coexist more easily.”
以利亚撒突然冒出来打断，说道。“我们都明白为什么切尔西如此重要。在一场战斗中，如果能离间对方成员间的感情，这仗打起来就容易多了。如果我们能疏远其中某无罪成员与这个罪恶团体的关系，那惩罚就无需这么严厉了——只用惩处罪恶，给与悔悟者宽恕。否则，想要战胜一个紧密的家庭不是件容易的事。所以切尔西会破坏那种家族成员间的联系。好吧，这太好了，我竟然就是阿罗这种仁慈的活生生的例子，我现在非常怀疑切尔西也加强过我和阿罗间的联系，虽然在那时是件好事。它令我们容易被信服，让我们共同生活起来更轻松一些。”
“There is one among the guard,” Edward said, explaining Eleazar’s angry reaction. “Her name is Chelsea. She has influence over the emotional ties between people. She can both loosen and secure these ties. She could make someone feel bonded to the Volturi, to want to belong, to want to please them…”
“其中一个警卫，”爱德华说，向我们解释以利亚撒如此生气的反应。“叫切尔西。她能对人与人之间情感上的关系施加影响，能使其松散也能使其牢固。当然她就能使某人感觉非常想要归顺于沃尔图里，想要取悦他们…”
This clarified old memories for me. It had not made sense to me before how the guard obeyed their masters so gladly, with almost lover-like devotion.
这就解释了我一些久远的记忆。那时我还没怎么注意到，那些警卫是多么乐意地遵从着他们长官的命令啊，简直就像对待爱人一样专注。
“How strong is her gift?” Tanya asked with an edge to her voice. Her gaze quickly touched on each member of her family.
“她那种才能的力量有多大？”坦尼娅压着嗓子问道，担心地挨个注视她的家人们。
Eleazar shrugged. “I was able to leave with Carmen.” And then he shook his head. “But anything weaker than the bond between partners is in danger. In a normal coven, at least. Those are weaker bonds than those in our family, though. Abstaining from human blood makes us more civilized — lets us form true bonds of love. I doubt she could turn our allegiances, Tanya.”
以利亚撒无奈地耸了耸肩。“能让我和卡门一起离开。”然后他又摇了摇头。“但那些比伴侣间联系要弱的其他联系就危险了。至少，在一些较普通的家族里，他们的联系是没有我们的牢固的。对人血的节制使我们更理智——真正联系我们的是真爱。我不相信她能离散我们，坦尼娅。”
Tanya nodded, seeming reassured, while Eleazar continued with his analysis.
坦尼娅点头，貌似被说服了，以利亚撒还在继续着他的分析。
“I could only think that the reason Aro had decided to come himself, to bring so many with him, is because his goal is not punishment but acquisition,” Eleazar said. “He needs to be there to control the situation. But he needs the entire guard for protection from such a large, gifted coven. On the other hand, that leaves the other ancients unprotected in Volterra. Too risky — someone might try to take advantage. So they all come together. How else could he be sure to preserve the gifts that he wants? He must want them very badly,” Eleazar mused.
“我能想到的让阿罗带这么多人亲自前来的原因只有，他确实是想要某样东西，”以利亚撒说。“他得亲手掌控住场面。但面对这样出色的家族，他需要整个警卫队来保护自己的安全。另一方面来说，这样会使沃尔特拉其他那些元老们失去保护，身陷险境。这非常冒险，需要先发制人。所以他们就干脆全员出动了。这次他想弄到手的才能是什么？他肯定是想疯了。”
Edward’s voice was low as a breath. “From what I saw of his thoughts last spring, Aro’s never wanted anything more than he wants Alice.”
爱德华的声音就和呼吸一样滞缓着说道，“根据我上次看到的他的思想，阿罗想要爱丽丝胜过一切。”
I felt my mouth fall open, remembering the nightmarish pictures I had imagined long ago: Edward and Alice in black cloaks with bloodred eyes, their faces cold and remote as they stood close as shadows, Aro’s hands on theirs… Had Alice seen this more recently? Had she seen Chelsea trying to strip away her love for us, to bind her to Aro and Caius and Marcus?
我惊恐得嘴巴都合不拢了，记起我很久前曾想象过的一幅噩梦般的画面：爱德华和爱丽丝披着黑披风，睁着血红的眼睛，他们站得很近，眼神却冷酷疏远，阿罗抓着他们的手…这就是爱丽丝最近看到的？她看到了切尔西会切断我们间的爱，然后生生地绑到阿罗和卡尤斯和马库斯那去？
“Is that why Alice left?” I asked, my voice breaking on her name.
“这就是爱丽丝离开的原因？”我问道，感觉自己的声音在提到爱丽丝名字的时候突然消失了。
I heard Tanya and Kate murmuring in disturbed voices and remembered that they hadn’t known about Alice.
我听见坦尼娅和凯特困惑着窃窃私语的声音，想起他们还不知道爱丽丝的事。
Edward put his hand against my cheek. “I think it must be. To keep Aro from gaining the thing he wants most of all. To keep her power out of his hands.”
爱德华用手轻抚我的脸颊。“一定是这样。为了阻止阿罗得到他最想要的，为了让逃出他的魔爪。”
“He wants you, too,” I whispered.
“他也想要你。”我小声恐惧地说。
Edward shrugged, his face suddenly a little too composed. “Not nearly as much. I can’t really give him anything more than he already has. And of course that’s dependent on his finding a way to force me to do his will. He knows me, and he knows how unlikely that is.” He raised one eyebrow sardonically.
爱德华耸了耸肩，表情看起来镇静过了头。“并不是那么想要。我其实给不了多少他想要的东西，毕竟他已经有了。当然，除非他用某种手段强迫我遵从他的意愿。他知道这不可能，他了解我的脾性。”他有些讽刺地挑起一根眉毛。
“It’s nothing we need to discuss now,” Edward said quickly.
“这不是我们现在要讨论的事情。”爱德华迅速回答道。
Edward was uncomfortable with this topic. I didn’t like it, either. If Aro wanted me to do something — anything — all he had to do was threaten Edward and I would comply. And vice versa.
爱德华对这个话题感到很不舒服，我也不太喜欢。如果阿罗想利用我，做任何事情，唯一的途径就只有用爱德华来恐吓我迫使我遵从，不管要做的事情有多么邪恶。
Eleazar frowned at Edward’s nonchalance. “He also knows your weaknesses,” Eleazar pointed out, and then he looked at me.
以利亚撒冲爱德华事不关己的表情皱着眉头。“他也了解你的弱点，”以利亚撒看着我，尖锐地指出。
Eleazar ignored the hint and continued. “He probably wants your mate, too, regardless. He must have been intrigued by a talent that could defy him in its human incarnation.”
以利亚撒无视他的暗示继续说道。“无论如何，他很可能也想得到你的妻子。他对那种能在人类时期就挫败他的能力肯定兴趣浓厚。”
Edward changed the subject. “I think the Volturi were waiting for this — for some pretext. They couldn’t know what form their excuse would come in, but the plan was already in place for when it did come. That’s why Alice saw their decision before Irina triggered it. The decision was already made, just waiting for the pretense of a justification.”
爱德华及时转移话题，说，“我想沃尔图里一直等的就是这个——某种借口。其实计划早就拟定了，只是找不到理由过来。他们一直等着这一天。这就是为什么在伊琳娜与他们见面之前，爱丽丝就看到了他们的决定。这计划早就丑恶的摆在那里，就等着那个漂亮的糖衣来包装。”
“If the Volturi are abusing the trust all immortals have placed in them…” Carmen murmured.
“如果说沃尔图里正在辜负我们这些吸血鬼们对他们的信任…”卡门低语道。
Was death the lesser concern? Was it really capture we should fear?
难道，其实不必要太在意死亡，这才是我们应该最最害怕的事情吗？
“Though some of us are apparently insane enough to try,” Kate muttered.
“显然我们这种尝试是够疯的。”凯特小声抱怨道。
“Does it matter?” Eleazar asked. “Who would believe it? And even if others could be convinced that the Volturi are exploiting their power, how would it make any difference? No one can stand against them.”
“他们会在意？”以利亚撒问。“谁会相信？而且就算人们相信了沃尔图里正在险恶地扩充势力的事实，情势会有什么变化吗？没有人能站出来与他们抗衡。”
Edward shook his head. “You’re only here to witness, Kate. Whatever Aro’s goal, I don’t think he’s ready to tarnish the Volturi’s reputation for it. If we can take away his argument against us, he’ll be forced to leave us in peace.”
爱德华坚决地摇头。“你们只是到这来作证的，凯特。不管阿罗的目的是什么，我不认为他会愿意以抹黑沃尔图里亮闪闪的招牌为代价。如果我们能化解他与我们敌对的理由，他也只能和平的离开。”
“Of course,” Tanya murmured.
“这是当然。”坦尼娅小声说道。
No one looked convinced. For a few long minutes, nobody said anything.
没有人看起来是信服的。好几分钟里大家都沉默着。
“Oh crap, Charlie,” I muttered. “Maybe the Denalis could hang out upstairs until –“
“噢，该死。是查理。”我不禁咒骂了一声。“也许德纳利一家应该到楼上去呆一下…”
Then I heard the sound of tires turning off the highway pavement onto the Cullens’ dirt drive.
然后我听见轮胎从公路拐进卡伦家软泥车道上的声音。
“No,” Edward said in a distant voice. His eyes were far away, staring blankly at the door. “It’s not your father.” His gaze focused on me. “Alice sent Peter and Charlotte, after all. Time to get ready for the next round.”
“不用，”爱德华用一种遥远的声音说道，他眺望着，空洞地看着大门。“不是你爸。”他转过眼神盯着我。“是爱丽丝把彼得和夏洛特弄来了。准备下一轮吧贝拉。”
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