ECLIPSE by Stephenie Meyer CHAPTERS 22 to 27

22. FIRE AND ICE

THE WIND SHOOK THE TENT AGAIN, AND I SHOOK WITH IT.

The temperature was dropping. I could feel it through the down bag, through my jacket. I was fully dressed, my hiking boots still laced into place. It didn�t make any difference. How could it be so cold? How could it keep getting colder? It had to bottom out sometime, didn�t it?

�W-w-w-w-w-what t-t-t-t-time is it?� I forced the words through my rattling teeth.

�Two,� Edward answered.

Edward sat as far from me as possible in the cramped space, afraid to even breathe on me when I was already so cold. It was too dark to see his face, but his voice was wild with worry, indecision, and frustration.

�Maybe . . .�

�No, I�m f-f-f-f-f-fine, r-r-r-really. I don�t w-w-w-want to g-go outside.�

He�d tried to talk me into making a run for it a dozen times already, but I was terrified of leaving my shelter. If it was this cold in here, protected from the raging wind, I could imagine how bad it would be if we were running through it.

And it would waste all our efforts this afternoon. Would we have enough time to reset ourselves when the storm was over? What if it didn�t end? It made no sense to move now. I could shiver my way through one night.

I was worried that the trail I had laid would be lost, but he promised that it would still be plain to the coming monsters.

�What can I do?� he almost begged.

I just shook my head.

Out in the snow, Jacob whined unhappily.

�G-g-g-get out of h-h-h-ere,� I ordered, again.

�He�s just worried about you,� Edward translated. �He�s fine. His body is equipped to deal with this.�

�H-h-h-h-h-h.� I wanted to say that he should still leave, but I couldn�t get it past my teeth. I nearly bit my tongue off trying. At least Jacob did seem to be well equipped for the snow, better even than the others in his pack with his thicker, longer, shaggy russet fur. I wondered why that was.

Jacob whimpered, a high-pitched, grating sound of complaint.

�What do you want me to do?� Edward growled, too anxious to bother with politeness anymore. �Carry her through that? I don�t see you making yourself useful. Why don�t you go fetch a space heater or something?�

�I�m ok-k-k-k-k-k-kay,� I protested. Judging from Edward�s groan and the muted growl outside the tent, I hadn�t convinced anyone. The wind rocked the tent roughly, and I shuddered in harmony with it.

A sudden howl ripped through the roar of the wind, and I covered my ears against the noise. Edward scowled.

�That was hardly necessary,� he muttered. �And that�s the worst idea I�ve ever heard,� he called more loudly.

�Better than anything you�ve come up with,� Jacob answered, his human voice startling me. �Go fetch a space heater,� he grumbled. �I�m not a St. Bernard.�

I heard the sound of the zipper around the tent door pulling swiftly down.

Jacob slid through the smallest opening he could manage, while the arctic...

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