6 the short second life of bree tanner布里·坦纳第二次短暂生命-第6部分

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　that　doesn’t　prove　that　superstitious　people　are　right；　I　don’t　know　what　does。”　　“Fine；　I’ll　do　it。”　　He　held　the　branch　away　from　himself　dramatically；　arm　extended；　like　it　was　a　sword　and　he　was　about　to　impale　himself。　　“C’mon；”　I　said　uneasily。　“This　is　silly。”　　“That’s　my　point。　Here　goes　nothing。”　
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　He　crushed　the　wood　into　his　chest；　right　where　his　heart　used　to　beat；　with　enough　force　to　punch　through　a　granite　slab。　I　was　totally　frozen　with　panic　until　he　laughed。　　“You　should　see　your　face；　Bree。”　　He　sifted　the　splinters　of　broken　wood　through　his　fingers；　the　shattered　root　fell　to　the　floor　in　mangled　pieces。　Diego　brushed　at　his　shirt；　though　it　was　too　trashed　from　all　the　swimming　and　digging　for　the　attempt　to　do　any　good。　We’d　both　have　to　steal　more　clothes　the　next　time　we　got　a　chance。　　“Maybe　it’s　different　when　a　human　does　it。”　　“Because　you　felt　so　magical　when　you　were　human？”　　“I　don’t　know；　Diego；”　I　said；　exasperated。　“I　didn’t　make　up　all　those　stories。”　　He　nodded；　suddenly　more　serious。　“What　if　the　stories　are　exactly　that？　Made　up。”　　I　sighed。　“What　difference　does　it　make？”　　“Not　sure。　But　if　we’re　going　to　be　smart　about　why　we’re　herewhy　Riley　brought　us　to　her；　why　she’s　making　more　of　usthen　we　have　to　understand　as　much　as　we　possibly　can。”　He　frowned；　every　trace　of　laughter　totally　gone　from　his　face　now。　　I　just　stared　back　at　him。　I　didn’t　have　any　answers。　　His　face　softened　just　a　little。　“This　helps　a　lot；　you　know。　Talking　about　it。　Helps　me　focus。”　　“Me；　too；”　I　said。　“I　don’t　know　why　I　never　thought　about　any　of　this　before。　It　seems　so　obvious。　But　working　on　it　together…　I　don’t　know。　I　can　stay　on　track　better。”　　“Exactly。”　Diego　smiled　at　me。　“I’m　really　glad　you　came　out　
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tonight。”　　“Don’t　get　all　gooey　on　me　now。”　　“What？　You　don’t　want　to　be”　　he　widened　his　eyes　and　his　voice　went　up　an　octave　“BFFs？”　He　laughed　at　the　goofy　expression。　　I　rolled　my　eyes；　not　totally　sure　if　he　was　making　fun　of　the　expression　or　of　me。　　“C’mon；　Bree。　Be　my　bestest　bud　forever。　Please？”　Still　teasing；　but　his　wide　smile　was　natural　and…　hopeful。　He　held　out　his　hand。　　This　time　I　went　for　a　real　high　five；　not　realizing　until　he　caught　my　hand　and　held　it　that　he’d　intended　anything　else。　　It　was　shockingly　weird　to　touch　another　person　after　a　whole　lifebecause　the　last　three　months　were　my　whole　lifeof　avoiding　any　kind　of　contact。　Like　touching　a　sparking　downed　power　line；　only　to　find　out　that　it　felt　nice。　　The　smile　on　my　face　felt　a　little　lopsided。　“Count　me　in。”　　“Excellent。　Our　own　private　club。”　　“Very　exclusive；”　I　agreed。　　He　still　had　my　hand。　Not　shaking　it；　but　not　exactly　holding　it；　either。　“We　need　a　secret　handshake。”　　“You　can　be　in　charge　of　that　one。”　　“So　the　supersecret　best　friends　club　is　called　to　order；　all　present；　secret　handshake　to　be　devised　at　a　later　date；”　he　said。　“First　order　of　business：　Riley。　Clueless？　Misinformed？　Or　lying？”　　His　eyes　were　on　mine　as　he　spoke；　wide　and　sincere。　There　was　no　change　as　he　said　Riley’s　name。　In　that　instant；　I　
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was　sure　there　was　nothing　to　the　stories　about　Diego　and　Riley。　Diego　had　just　been　around　more　than　the　others；　nothing　more。　I　could　trust　him。　　“Add　this　to　the　list；”　I　said。　“Agenda。　As　in；　what　is　his？”　　“Bull’seye。　That’s　exactly　what　we’ve　got　to　find　out。　But　first；　another　experiment。”　　“That　word　makes　me　nervous。”　　“Trust　is　an　essential　part　of　the　whole　secret　club　gig。”　　He　stood　up　into　the　extra　ceiling　space　he’d　just　carved　out　and　started　digging　again。　In　a　second；　his　feet　were　dangling　while　he　held　himself　up　with　one　hand　and　excavated　with　the　other。　　“You　better　be　digging　for　garlic；”　I　warned　him；　and　backed　up　toward　the　tunnel　that　led　to　the　sea。　　“The　stories　aren’t　real；　Bree；”　he　called　to　me。　He　pulled　himself　higher　into　the　hole　he　was　making；　and　the　dirt　continued　to　rain　down。　He　was　going　to　fill　in　his　hideyhole　at　this　rate。　Or　flood　it　with　light；　which　would　make　it　even　more　useless。　　I　slid　most　of　the　way　into　the　escape　channel；　just　my　fingertips　and　eyes　above　the　edge。　The　water　only　came　up　to　my　hips。　It　would　take　me　just　the　smallest　fraction　of　a　second　to　disappear　into　the　darkness　below。　I　could　spend　a　day　not　breathing。　　I’d　never　been　a　fan　of　fire。　This　might　have　been　because　of　some　buried　childhood　memory；　or　maybe　it　was　more　recent。　Being　a　vampire　was　enough　fire　to　last　me。　　Diego　had　to　be　close　to　the　surface。　Once　again；　I　
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struggled　with　the　idea　of　losing　my　new　and　only　friend。　　“Please　stop；　Diego；”　I　whispered；　knowing　he　would　probably　laugh；　knowing　he　wouldn’t　listen。　　“Trust；　Bree。”　　I　waited；　unmoving。　　“Almost…；”　he　muttered。　“Okay。”　　I　tensed　for　the　light；　or　the　spark；　or　the　explosion；　but　Diego　dropped　back　down　while　it　was　still　dark。　In　his　hand　he　had　a　longer　root；　a　thick　snaky　thing　that　was　almost　as　tall　as　me。　He　gave　me　an　Itoldyouso　kind　of　look。　　“I’m　not　a　pletely　reckless　person；”　he　said。　He　gestured　to　the　root　with　his　free　hand。　“Seeprecautions。”　　With　that；　he　stabbed　the　root　upward　into　his　new　hole。　There　was　a　final　avalanche　of　pebbles　and　sand　as　Diego　dropped　back　onto　his　knees；　getting　out　of　the　way。　And　then　a　beam　of　brilliant　light　a　ray　about　the　thickness　of　one　of　Diego’s　armspierced　the　darkness　of　the　cave。　The　light　made　a　pillar　from　the　ceiling　to　the　floor；　shimmering　as　the　drifting　dirt　sifted　through　it。　I　was　icystill；　gripping　the　ledge；　ready　to　drop。　　Diego　didn’t　jerk　away　or　cry　out　in　pain。　There　was　no　smell　of　smoke。　The　cave　was　a　hundred　times　lighter　than　it　had　been；　but　it　didn’t　seem　to　affect　him。　So　maybe　his　story　about　shade　trees　was　true。　I　watched　him　carefully　as　he　knelt　beside　the　pillar　of　sunlight；　motionless；　staring。　He　seemed　fine；　but　there　was　a　slight　change　to　his　skin。　A　kind　of　movement；　maybe　from　the　settling　dust；　that　reflected　the　gleam。　It　looked　almost　like　he　was　glowing　a　little。　
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　Maybe　it　wasn’t　the　dust；　maybe　it　was　the　burning。　Maybe　it　didn’t　hurt；　and　he’d　realize　it　too　late…。　　Seconds　passed　as　we　stared　at　the　daylight；　motionless。　　Then；　in　a　move　that　seemed　both　absolutely　expected　and　also　pletely　unthinkable；　he　held　out　his　hand；　palm　up；　and　stretched　his　arm　toward　the　beam。　　I　moved　faster　than　I　could　think；　which　was　pretty　dang　fast。　Faster　than　I’d　ever　moved　before。　　I　tackled　Diego　into　the　back　wall　of　the　dirtfilled　little　cave　before　he　could　reach　that　one　last　inch　to　put　his　skin　in　the　light。　　The　room　was　filled　with　a　sudden　blaze；　and　I　felt　the　warmth　on　my　leg　in　the　same　instant　that　I　realized　there　wasn’t　enough　room　for　me　to　pin　Diego　to　the　wall　without　some　part　of　myself　touching　the　sunlight。　　“Bree！”　he　gasped。　　I　twisted　away　from　him　automatically；　rolling　myself　tight　against　the　wall。　It　took　less　than　a　second；　and　the　whole　time　I　was　waiting　for　the　pain　to　get　me。　For　the　flames　to　hit　and　then　spread　like　the　night　I’d　met　her；　only　faster。　The　dazzling　flash　of　light　was　gone。　It　was　just　the　pillar　of　sun　again。　　I　looked　at　Diego’s　facehis　eyes　were　wide；　his　mouth　hanging　open。　He　was　totally　still；　a　sure　sign　of　alarm。　I　wanted　to　look　down　at　my　leg；　but　I　was　afraid　to　see　what　was　left。　This　wasn’t　like　Jen　ripping　my　arm　off；　though　that　had　hurt　more。　I　wasn’t　going　to　be　able　to　fix　this。　　Still　no　pain　yet。　　“Bree；　did　you　see　that？”　
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　I　shook　my　head　once　quickly。　“How　bad　is　it？”　　“Bad？”　　“My　leg；”　I　said　through　my　teeth。　“Just　tell　me　what’s　left。”　　“Your　leg　looks　fine　to　me。”　　I　glanced　down　quickly；　and　sure　enough；　there　was　my　foot　and　my　calf；　just　like　before。　I　wiggled　my　toes。　Fine。　　“Does　it　hurt？”　he　asked。　　I　pulled　myself　off　the　ground；　onto　my　knees。　“Not　yet。”　　“Did　you　see　what　happened？　The　light？”　　I　shook　my　head。　　“Watch　this；”　he　said；　kneeling　in　front　of　the　beam　of　sunshine　again。　“And　don’t　shove　me　out　of　the　way　this　time。　You　already　proved　I’m　right。”　He　put　his　hand　out。　It　was　almost　as　hard　to　watch　this　time；　even　if　my　leg　felt　normal。　　The　second　his　fingers　entered　the　beam；　the　cave　was　filled　with　a　million　brilliant　rainbow　reflections。　It　was　bright　as　noon　in　a　glass　room　light　everywhere。　I　flinched　and　then　shuddered。　There　was　sunlight　all　over　me。　　“Unreal；”　Diego　whispered。　He　put　the　rest　of　his　hand　into　the　beam；　and　the　cave　somehow　got　even　brighter。　He　rolled　his　hand　over　to　look　at　the　back；　then　turned　it　palm　up　again。　The　reflections　danced　like　he　was　spinning　a　prism。　　There　was　no　smell　of　burning；　and　he　clearly　wasn’t　in　pain。　I　looked　closely　at　his　hand；　and　it　seemed　like　there　were　a　zillion　tiny　mirrors　in　the　surface；　too　small　to　distinguish　separately；　all　shining　back　the　light　with　double　the　intensity　of　a　regular　mirror。　　“e　here；　Bree　you　have　to　try　this。”　
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　I　couldn’t　think　of　a　reason　to　refuse；　and　I　was　curious；　but　I　was　also　still　reluctant　as　I　slid　to　his　side。　　“No　burn？”　　“None。　Light　doesn’t　burn　us；　it　just…　reflects　off　of　us。　I　guess　that’s　kind　of　an　understatement。”　　Slow　as　a　human；　I　reluctantly　stretched　my　fingers　into　the　light。　Immediately；　reflections　blazed　away　from　my　skin；　making　the　room　so　bright　that　the　day　outside　would　look　dark　in　parison。　They　weren’t　exactly　reflections；　though；　because　the　light　was　bent　and　colored；　more　like　crystal。　I　stuck　my　whole　hand　in；　and　the　room　got　brighter。　　“Do　you　think　Riley　knows？”　I　whispered。　　“Maybe。　Maybe　not。”　　“Why　wouldn’t　he　tell　us　if　he　did？　What　would　be　the　point？　So　we’re　walking　disco　balls。”　I　shrugged。　　Diego　laughed。　“I　can　see　where　the　stories　e　from。　Imagine　if　you　saw　this　when　you　were　human。　Wouldn’t　you　think　that　the　guy　over　there　just　burst　into　flames？”　　“If　he　didn’t　hang　around　to　chat。　Maybe。”　　“This　is　incredible；”　Diego　said。　With　one　finger　he　traced　a　line　across　my　glowing　palm。　　Then　he　jumped　to　his　feet　right　under　the　sunbeam；　and　the　room　went　crazy　with　light。　　“C’mon；　let’s　get　out　of　here。”　He　reached