3 eclipse月食-第39章

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right；　that　has　to　be　it。　Well；　that　changes　everything。”　
I　wasn’t　the　only　one　who　stared　at　him　in　confusion；　but　I　might　have　been　the　only　one　who　didn’t　look　
slightly　annoyed。　
“I　think　you’d　better　explain　to　the　others；”　Edward　said　to　Jasper。　“What　could　be　the　purpose　of　this？”　
Edward　started　to　pace；　staring　at　the　floor；　lost　in　thought。　
I　hadn’t　seen　her　get　up；　but　Alice　was　there　beside　me。　“What　is　he　rambling　about？”　she　asked　Jasper。　
“What　are　you　thinking？”　
Jasper　didn’t　seem　to　enjoy　the　spotlight。　He　hesitated；　reading　every　face　in　the　circle　—　for　everyone　
had　moved　in　to　hear　what　he　would　say　—　and　then　his　eyes　paused　on　my　face。　
“You’re　confused；”　he　said　to　me；　his　deep　voice　very　quiet。　
There　was　no　question　in　his　assumption。　Jasper　knew　what　I　was　feeling；　what　everyone　was　feeling。　
“We’re　all　confused；”　Emmett　grumbled。　
“You　can　afford　the　time　to　be　patient；”　Jasper　told　him。　“Bella　should　understand　this；　too。　She’s　one　of　
us　now。”　
His　words　took　me　by　surprise。　As　little　as　I’d　had　to　do　with　Jasper；　especially　since　my　last　birthday　
when　he’d　tried　to　kill　me；　I　hadn’t　realize　that　he　thought　of　me　that　way。　
“How　much　do　you　know　about　me；　Bella？”　Jasper　asked。　
Emmett　sighed　theatrically；　and　plopped　down　on　the　couch　to　wait　with　exaggerated　impatience。　
“Not　much；”　I　admitted。　
Jasper　stared　at　Edward；　who　looked　up　to　meet　his　gaze。　
“No；”　Edward　answered　his　thought。　“I’m　sure　you　can　understand　why　I　haven’t　told　her　that　story。　But　I　
suppose　she　needs　to　hear　it　now。”　
Jasper　nodded　thoughtfully；　and　then　started　to　roll　up　the　arm　of　his　ivory　sweater。　
I　watched；　curious　and　confused；　trying　to　figure　out　what　he　was　doing。　He　held　his　wrist　under　the　edge　

of　the　lampshade　beside　him；　close　to　the　light　of　the　naked　bulb；　and　traced　his　finger　across　a　raised　crescent　
mark　on　the　pale　skin。　
It　took　me　a　minute　to　understand　why　the　shape　looked　strangely　familiar。　
“Oh；”　I　breathed　as　realization　hit。　“Jasper；　you　have　a　scar　exactly　like　mine。”　
I　held　out　my　hand；　the　silvery　crescent　more　prominent　against　my　cream　skin　than　against　his　alabaster。　
Jasper　smiled　faintly。　“I　have　a　lot　of　scars　like　yours；　Bella。”　
Jasper’s　face　was　unreadable　as　he　pushed　the　sleeve　of　his　thin　sweater　higher　up　his　arm。　At　first　my　
eyes　could　not　make　sense　of　the　texture　that　was　layered　thickly　across　the　skin。　Curved　halfmoons　
crisscrossed　in　a　feathery　pattern　that　was　only　visible；　white　on　white　as　it　was；　because　the　bright　glow　of　the　
lamp　beside　him　threw　the　slightly　raised　design　into　relief；　with　shallow　shadows　outlining　the　shapes。　And　
then　I　grasped　that　the　pattern　was　made　of　individual　crescents　like　the　one　on　his　wrist　。　。　。　the　one　on　my　
hand。　
I　looked　back　at　my　own　small；　solitary　scar　—　and　remembered　how　I’d　received　it。　I　stared　at　the　
shape　of　James’s　teeth；　embossed　forever　on　my　skin。　
And　then　I　gasped；　staring　up　at　him。　“Jasper；　what　happened　to　you？”　

　13。　NEWBORN　


“THE　SAME　THING　THAT　HAPPENED　TO　YOUR　HAND；”　Jasper　answered　in　a　quiet　voice。　“Repeated　a　thousand　
times。”　He　laughed　a　little　ruefully　and　brushed　at　his　arm。　“Our　venom　is　the　only　thing　that　leaves　a　scar。”　
“Why？”　I　breathed　in　horror；　feeling　rude　but　unable　to　stop　staring　at　his　subtly　ravaged　skin。　
“I　didn’t　have　quite　the　same　。　。　。　upbringing　as　my　adopted　siblings　here。　My　beginning　was　something　
else　entirely。”　His　voice　turned　hard　as　he　finished。　
I　gaped　at　him；　appalled。　
“Before　I　tell　you　my　story；”　Jasper　said；　“you　must　understand　that　there　are　places　in　our　world；　Bella；　
where　the　life　span　of　the　neveraging　is　measured　in　weeks；　and　not　centuries。”　
The　others　had　heard　this　before。　Carlisle　and　Emmett　turned　their　attention　to　the　TV　again。　Alice　moved　
silently　to　sit　at　Esme’s　feet。　But　Edward　was　just　as　absorbed　as　I　was；　I　could　feel　his　eyes　on　my　face；　
reading　every　flicker　of　emotion。　
“To　really　understand　why；　you　have　to　look　at　the　world　from　a　different　perspective。　You　have　to　
imagine　the　way　it　looks　to　the　powerful；　the　greedy　。　。　。　the　perpetually　thirsty。　
“You　see；　there　are　places　in　this　world　that　are　more　desirable　to　us　than　others。　Places　where　we　can　be　
less　restrained；　and　still　avoid　detection。　
“Picture；　for　instance；　a　map　of　the　western　hemisphere。　Picture　on　it　every　human　life　as　a　small　red　dot。　
The　thicker　the　red；　the　more　easily　we　—　well；　those　who　exist　this　way　—　can　feed　without　attracting　
notice。”　
I　shuddered　at　the　image　in　my　head；　at　the　word　feed。　But　Jasper　wasn’t　worried　about　frightening　me；　
not　overprotective　like　Edward　always　was。　He　went　on　without　a　pause。　
“Not　that　the　covens　in　the　South　care　much　for　what　the　humans　notice　or　do　not。　It’s　the　Volturi　that　
keep　them　in　check。　They　are　the　only　ones　the　southern　covens　fear。　If　not　for　the　Volturi；　the　rest　of　us　
would　be　quickly　exposed。”　
I　frowned　at　the　way　he　pronounced　the　name　—　with　respect；　almost　gratitude。　The　idea　of　the　Volturi　as　
the　good　guys　in　any　sense　was　hard　to　accept。　
“The　North　is；　by　parison；　very　civilized。　Mostly　we　are　nomads　here　who　enjoy　the　day　as　well　as　
the　night；　who　allow　humans　to　interact　with　us　unsuspectingly　—　anonymity　is　important　to　us　all。　
“It’s　a　different　world　in　the　South。　The　immortals　there　e　out　only　at　night。　They　spend　the　day　
plotting　their　next　move；　or　anticipating　their　enemy’s。　Because　it　has　been　war　in　the　South；　constant　war　for　
centuries；　with　never　one　moment　of　truce。　The　covens　there　barely　note　the　existence　of　humans；　except　as　
soldiers　notice　a　herd　of　cows　by　the　wayside　—　food　for　the　taking。　They　only　hide　from　the　notice　of　the　
herd　because　of　the　Volturi。”　
“But　what　are　they　fighting　for？”　I　asked。　
Jasper　smiled。　“Remember　the　map　with　the　red　dots？”　
He　waited；　so　I　nodded。　
“They　fight　for　control　of　the　thickest　red。　
“You　see；　it　occurred　to　someone　once　that；　if　he　were　the　only　vampire　in；　let’s　say　Mexico　City；　well　
then；　he　could　feed　every　night；　twice；　three　times；　and　no　one　would　ever　notice。　He　plotted　ways　to　get　rid　
of　the　petition。　
“Others　had　the　same　idea。　Some　came　up　with　more　effective　tactics　than　others。　
“But　the　most　effective　tactic　was　invented　by　a　fairly　young　vampire　named　Benito。　The　first　anyone　ever　
heard　of　him；　he　came　down　from　somewhere　north　of　Dallas　and　massacred　the　two　small　covens　that　shared　
the　area　near　Houston。　Two　nights　later；　he　took　on　the　much　stronger　clan　of　allies　that　claimed　Monterrey　in　
northern　Mexico。　Again；　he　won。”　
“How　did　he　win？”　I　asked　with　wary　curiosity。　
“Benito　had　created　an　army　of　newborn　vampires。　He　was　the　first　one　to　think　of　it；　and；　in　the　
beginning；　he　was　unstoppable。　Very　young　vampires　are　volatile；　wild；　and　almost　impossible　to　control。　One　

newborn　can　be　reasoned　with；　taught　to　restrain　himself；　but　ten；　fifteen　together　are　a　nightmare。　They’ll　turn　
on　each　other　as　easily　as　on　the　enemy　you　point　them　at。　Benito　had　to　keep　making　more　as　they　fought　
amongst　themselves；　and　as　the　covens　he　decimated　took　more　than　half　his　force　down　before　they　lost。　
“You　see；　though　newborns　are　dangerous；　they　are　still　possible　to　defeat　if　you　know　what　you’re　doing。　
They’re　incredibly　powerful　physically；　for　the　first　year　or　so；　and　if　they’re　allowed　to　bring　strength　to　bear　
they　can　crush　an　older　vampire　with　ease。　But　they　are　slaves　to　their　instincts；　and　thus　predictable。　Usually；　
they　have　no　skill　in　fighting；　only　muscle　and　ferocity。　And　in　this　case；　overwhelming　numbers。”　
“The　vampires　in　southern　Mexico　realized　what　was　ing　for　them；　and　they　did　the　only　thing　they　
could　think　of　to　counteract　Benito。　They　made　armies　of　their　own。　。　。　。　
“All　hell　broke　loose　—　and　I　mean　that　more　literally　than　you　can　possibly　imagine。　We　immortals　have　
our　histories；　too；　and　this　particular　war　will　never　be　forgotten。　Of　course；　it　was　not　a　good　time　to　be　
human　in　Mexico；　either。”　
I　shuddered。　
“When　the　body　count　reached　epidemic　proportions　—　in　fact；　your　histories　blame　a　disease　for　the　
population　slump　—　the　Volturi　finally　stepped　in。　The　entire　guard　came　together　and　sought　out　every　
newborn　in　the　bottom　half　of　North　America。　Benito　was　entrenched　in　Puebla；　building　his　army　as　quickly　
as　he　could　in　order　to　take　on　the　prize　—　Mexico　City。　The　Volturi　started　with　him；　and　then　moved　on　to　
the　rest。　
“Anyone　who　was　found　with　the　newborns　was　executed　immediately；　and；　since　everyone　was　trying　to　
protect　themselves　from　Benito；　Mexico　was　emptied　of　vampires　for　a　time。　
“The　Volturi　were　cleaning　house　for　almost　a　year。　This　was　another　chapter　of　our　history　that　will　
always　be　remembered；　though　there　were　very　few　witnesses　left　to　speak　of　what　it　was　like。　I　spoke　to　
someone　once　who　had；　from　a　distance；　watched　what　happened　when　they　visited　Culiacán。”　
Jasper　shuddered。　I　realized　that　I　had　never　before　seen　him　either　afraid　or　horrified。　This　was　a　first。　
“It　was　enough　that　the　fever　for　conquest　did　not　spread　from　the　South。　The　rest　of　the　world　stayed　
sane。　We　owe　the　Volturi　for　our　present　way　of　life。　
“But　when　the　Volturi　went　back　to　Italy；　the　survivors　were　quick　to　stake　their　claims　in　the　South。　
“It　didn’t　take　long　before　covens　began　to　dispute　again。　There　was　a　lot　of　bad　blood；　if　you’ll　forgive　
the　expression。　Vendettas　abounded。　The　idea　of　newborns　was　already　there；　and　some　were　not　able　to　
resist。　However；　the　Volturi　had　not　been　forgotten；　and　the　southern　covens　were　more　careful　this　time。　The　
newborns　were　selected　from　the　human　pool　with　more　care；　and　given　more　training。　They　were　used　
circumspectly；　and　the　humans　remained；　for　the　most　part；　oblivious。　Their　creators　gave　the　Volturi　no　
reason　to　return。　
“The　wars　resumed；　but　on　a　smaller　scale。　Every　now　and　then；　someone　would　go　too　far；　speculation　
would　begin　in　the　human　newspapers；　and　the　Volturi　would　return　and　clean　out　the　city。　But　they　let　the　
others；　the