The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (30 page)

I
RINA

Irina was the third vampire added to Sasha’s coven, after Tanya and Kate. As a human, Irina was a pretty peasant girl living in a small farm community. She physically resembled Tanya and Kate quite a bit, and Sasha liked the idea of adding a new sister for her other girls. Sasha considered the girls, including Irina after she was changed, to be her daughters, and they in turn loved her as a mother. They were a close-knit coven, so it came as a great surprise to Irina when she discovered that her mother had created an immortal child despite the Volturi law prohibiting them.

Irina and her sisters were devastated when the Volturi executed their mother and the child, though they did not fault the Volturi for their decision. Sasha knew the law as well as Irina did, and none of the sisters could understand what she’d done. They did, however, understand her decision to keep them in the dark; the sisters’ total innocence of Sasha’s act was the only reason the Volturi spared them.

All of the Denali sisters enjoyed the attention of men, both human and immortal, though—flirtatious by nature—none of them ever settled with one mate. As there were always more human men than vampire men, their relationships most often involved humans. In the beginning, these relationships with humans were short-lived and usually ended in a meal for one of the sisters. Their behavior earned them a place in human legend as the succubus. The myth varies from source to source, but at its essence is a tale of a beautiful demon who first seduces her prey and then drains him of life.

After a while, Irina and her sisters began to feel remorse; they were genuinely fond of many of the men they formed brief relationships with and regretted their deaths, though those deaths seemed inevitable.

After a while, Irina and her sisters began to feel remorse; they were genuinely fond of many of the men they formed brief relationships with and regretted their deaths, though those deaths seemed inevitable. They tried to pursue such relationships without killing the man involved, but eventually they would make a mistake and he would die. The regret and guilt became too difficult to bear. For a long
while, the sisters avoided human men completely—except as meals—but found this lonely. Tanya began to wonder if she could train herself to resist human blood altogether, and thereby make it possible to have human friends without killing them.

After a few decades, all three sisters grew adept at this new diet, and at enjoying intimacy with humans without injury.

While testing her ability to go without drinking any blood, Tanya had a similar experience to Carlisle’s; animal blood suddenly began to smell better than nothing at all. Tanya experimented with living on animal blood and came to the conclusion that abstaining did make it easier to be around humans. Irina and Kate were excited by this breakthrough and joined their sister in her experiment. After a few decades, all three sisters grew adept at this new diet, and at enjoying intimacy with humans without injury.

Over a century later, a nomad couple named Eleazar and Carmen crossed paths with Irina and her sisters. Both unusual among vampires due to their compassionate natures, Eleazar and Carmen were immediately intrigued by the sisters’ choice to forgo murder. They stayed with the sisters to learn their way of life, and grew closer and closer. Soon, they asked to join Irina and her sisters permanently. The sisters were pleased to enlarge their family.

By the time the Denali clan encountered Carlisle, they were all as good at vampire “vegetarianism” as he was. They quickly bonded with the Cullens over their shared lifestyle, and considered one another extended family from that time forward.

When Laurent came looking for the Denali sisters on Carlisle’s instruction, Irina was intrigued by his interest in her family’s way of life. She began to have romantic feelings for him, and he seemed to return them. Before their relationship could progress beyond this early stage, Laurent was killed by the Quileute wolves. Irina never really forgave the Cullens for defending the wolves’ action, until she realized she was guilty of a much greater offense against them. Before she was killed, Irina had time to recognize how wrong she’d been to betray the Cullens to the Volturi without first asking them for their story.

K
ATRINA

As a human, Kate was an attendant—basically a bodyguard—to a highborn female in a warlike tribe of proto-Slavic people. She was well trained in the martial arts of her people. When Sasha and Tanya attacked a small caravan transporting Kate’s charge, everyone but Kate was slaughtered. Sasha was impressed by Kate’s courage and determination to save her mistress. Kate also resembled Tanya physically. On a whim, Sasha decided to create a sister for Tanya.

She had the ability to create a sensation like an electric shock by touching someone else—vampire or human—with the palm of her hand.

Kate’s strongly developed sense of loyalty resulted in her becoming quickly bonded to her new family. Within a decade, Kate’s ability to defend her mother and sister with more than normal physical means began to develop. She had the ability to create a sensation like an electric shock by touching someone else—vampire or human—with the palm of her hand. Although the shock was strongest in her hands, gradually she learned to control the intensity and to project it from any part of her body, though she always needed direct skin-to-skin contact.

Kate had a deep sense of respect for authority, stemming from her early training with a ruling family. This respect transferred to the Volturi when she joined the vampire world and Sasha explained its laws to her. She was horrified when it was revealed that Sasha had broken those laws so egregiously in creating an immortal child. Despite her loyalty to her mother, Kate could not ignore the fact that the Volturi were in the right. When the Volturi spared her and her sisters’ lives, Kate was grateful for their kindness. She never questioned their motives, and her respect for their authority did not waver.

Always lonely after the destruction of their mother, Kate and her sisters explored different kinds of company. All three were flirtatious and enjoyed the attention of men, whether human or vampire. The human relationships invariably ended in death for the man, and over time, the sisters began to feel remorse for killing these humans they’d felt a genuine fondness for. Kate was eager to try Tanya’s solution—avoiding human blood altogether, with animal blood as a substitute. After a few decades, all three sisters grew adept at this new diet, and at enjoying intimacy with humans without causing injury.

A few centuries later, a nomad couple named Eleazar and Carmen crossed paths with Kate and her sisters and eventually joined the family permanently.

By the time the Denali clan encountered Carlisle, they were all as good at vampire “vegetarianism” as he was. The Denali coven came to bond with the Cullens over their “vegetarianism,” and considered them extended family.

When Kate met Garrett, she found something she’d never found in another male. She is currently attempting monogamy for the first time in her long life.

T
ANYA