I turned back to Aro and raised my hand slowly in front of me. It was trembling.

He glided closer, and I believe he meant his expression to be reassuring. But his papery features were too strange, too alien and frightening, to reassure. The look on his face was more confident than his words had been.

"He really believes he can do it," Emmett chuckled. "He'll be so disappointed."

Aro reached out, as if to shake my hand, and pressed his insubstantial-looking skin against mine. It was hard, but felt brittle – shale rather than granite – and even colder than I expected.

His filmy eyes smiled down at mine, and it was impossible to look away. They were mesmerizing in an odd, unpleasant way.

Aro's face altered as I watched. The confidence wavered and became first doubt, then incredulity before he calmed it into a friendly mask.

"Yes!" Emmett cheered, laughing.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Carlisle said, looking just as excited about this as his son was. "I can't believe it...I never thought I would hear of this happening!"

"It is rather impressive," Jasper admitted as he handed Emmett the money. "I wonder why our powers work on her and theirs don't?"

"Hmmm," Carlisle said thoughtfully, still very excited. "Their power's are really similar – perhaps her thoughts are just silent. I mean, her inner thoughts might not be loud enough to be heard."

"So very interesting," he said as he released my hand and drifted back.

My eyes flickered to Edward, and, though his face was composed, I thought he seemed a little smug.

"Yes, Eddy would be highly amused that she stumped him too," Emmett said.

"Don't forget proud," Edward smiled smugly.

"You would have liked to have heard her thoughts," Alice said.

"Yes... but I really don't want him to know them," Edward said.

Aro continued to drift with a thoughtful expression. He was quiet for a moment, his eyes flickering between the three of us. Then, abruptly, he shook his head.

"A first," he said to himself "I wonder if she is immune to our other talents… Jane, dear?"

"NO!" Edward growled and everyone else looked worried too.

"It will be okay," Esme said. "She'll be okay."

"She can do this too," Emmett stated, but this time there was no joking in his voice.

Jasper looked worried, like he wasn't sure if this would work – her gift were very different than Edward's and Aro's, after all, but there would be no betting about something this potentially dangerous and painful.

"No!" Edward snarled the word. Alice grabbed his arm with a restraining hand. He shook her off.

"That better mean that she can resist this too!" Edward snapped at her.

"I don't know," Alice sighed. "It could also mean that it's pointless to resist this...that it will happen no matter what you do."

Little Jane smiled up happily at Aro. "Yes, Master?"

Edward was truly snarling now, the sound ripping and tearing from him, glaring at Aro with baleful eyes. The room had gone still, everyone watching him with amazed disbelief, as if he were committing some embarrassing social faux pas.

"Be careful, Edward," Carlisle warned, looking worried.

I saw Felix grin hopefully and move a step forward. Aro glanced at him once, and he froze in place, his grin turning to a sulky expression.

Then he spoke to Jane. "I was wondering, my dear one, if Bella is immune to you."

Edward hissed as his body tensed once again.

I could barely hear Aro over Edward's furious growls. He let go of me, moving to hide me from their view. Caius ghosted in our direction, with his entourage, to watch.

Jane turned toward us with a beatific smile.

"Don't!" Alice cried as Edward launched himself at the little girl.

Edward's eyes flickered to Alice and she frowned, shaking her head as she thought 'it could still be either way.'

Before I could react, before anyone could jump between them, before Aro's bodyguards could tense, Edward was on the ground.

No one had touched him, but he was on the stone floor writhing in obvious agony, while I stared in horror.

"Edward!" Esme moaned at the image.

Jane was smiling only at him now, and it all clicked together. What Alice had said about formidable gifts, why everyone treated Jane with such deference, and why Edward had thrown himself in her path before she could do that to me.

"Stop!" I shrieked, my voice echoing in the silence, jumping forward to put myself between them. But Alice threw her arms around me in an unbreakable grasp and ignored my struggles.

No sound escaped Edward's lips as he cringed against the stones. It felt like my head would explode from the pain of watching this.

"Jane," Aro recalled her in a tranquil voice. She looked up quickly, still smiling with pleasure, her eyes questioning. As soon as Jane looked away, Edward was still.

Aro inclined his head toward me.

Jane turned her smile in my direction.