weapons

"As predators, we have a glut of weapons in our physical arsenal… much, much more than really necessary. The strength, the speed, the acute senses, not to mention those of us like Edward, Jasper and I who have extra senses as well. And then, like a carnivorous flower, we are physically attractive to our prey…We’re also venomous."(TW20)

Strength, speed and appearance have been discussed elsewhere in the lexicon, but there are other traits that the vampires have to entice their victim. The most obvious of these is smell; even Edward’s breath lures Bella to him. "Sweet, delicious, the scent made my mouth water." (TW13) It literally pulls his victim towards him, so that they are entirely vulnerable to attack. As Edward states in TW13, it’s hardly necessary as he’s so strong and fast that a chosen victim couldn’t escape anyway. In that sense, he’s "the world’s best predator," (TW13) and he knows it.

The additional "weapons" that Alice, Edward and Jasper have are clearly outlined during "Twilight". Edward has the ability to hear thoughts, regardless of whether they are human or vampire, with just "one exception" (TW8) – Bella Swan.  Alice’s gift is to be able to see future events, although these are subject to change as the people involved make their decisions (TW14). Jasper can alter the mood around him, which is something that Bella notices the first time she meets him: "A feeling of ease spread through me," (TW15) even though she was understandably nervous about meeting the Cullen family.

The most stereotypical weapon that a vampire has is their teeth. Meyer’s vampires are somewhat different to the vampires of legend in this regard as her "vampires do not have fangs" (PC1). Instead, their teeth are razor-sharp, and combined with their strength, it makes it very simple for them to rip their way through flesh to drink blood. The "human neck is like butter," she explains. "This isn’t the neat-and-tidy, two-small-holes-in-the-neck kind of vampire attack that you see in other vampire mythologies." (PC1) This leads us onto the fact that the vampires are venomous. Edward does pull away from Bella when he kisses her: "he’s just worried about her safety. Yes, the venom does pose a danger to her. It’s not like acid … it has to be in the bloodstream to cause any problems, it won’t hurt her skin. However, say she had a sore in her mouth, or that she’d bitten her tongue". Even if that wasn’t the case, Edward’s teeth are sharp as razors. She could cut her lips or tongue on them easily." (PC5) Venom is the thing that causes someone to turn into a vampire, and this is dealt with fully in a later section of the lexicon.