Snow On The Beach - Jasper Hale

Chapter Twelve

The small bartender, Taylor, didn't sit when she approached a cramped booth. They were on the upper level of the club. They were also the only people on the mezzanine. Now that the distracting scent of spilled alcohol and humans was farther away, Roslyn was positive that she had found the demon. She just had to find out if Taylor's body was her own or a vessel for whatever demon was infesting her. 

Hunting demons was different for Roslyn than it was for other hunters. She couldn't rely on exorcisms without blood of her own to draw with, so she had adapted. Her diet of demon blood made her faster than the rest of her kind, stronger and more powerful. Roslyn also had a certain charm about her: she could make people and things more inclined to her will with just a look. She just had to convince a demon to trust her and let her close enough to sink her teeth into it and she could drain them before they figured out how to get her off. But if something went wrong, the odds of her getting out were slim and she could rarely take on more than three without proper plans and traps.

Fortunately, she had Jasper to help keep the demon calm if worst came to worst. 

"Alright, Taylor. Let's do this quickly, I know you'd like to get back to work." Roslyn said, following closely behind the girl to the booth. She took a seat, giving Jasper a look to stay on his feet. Roslyn placed the newspaper on the table between them. "Do you remember any of these people?"

Taylor barely looked at the pictures before answering. "Do you know how many people I serve a night? I wouldn't remember them unless they were either assholes or good tippers." 

Roslyn pulled a vial of blood from her pocked, unstopping it and dipping her finger in. She kept her movements small beneath the table, but she felt Jasper stiffen beside her as the scent of blood filled his senses. 

"Indulge me," Roslyn said, keeping her voice even as she drew a detection sigil on the bottom side of the table, a matching one tattooed next to her protection rune on her hip. She drew an exorcism sigil she'd discovered next to it, preparing for the worst. 

Taylor rolled her eyes but leaned over the table, directly over the detection sigil. Roslyn felt the heat of it as she activated the magic, her eyes never leaving Taylor's face. The sigil on her hip grew warm and Roslyn had to suppress a grin. The demon had decided that her own body was safe enough for her time on earth. 

The demon had decided wrong.

She finally looked back up, her eyes going between Roslyn and Jasper as she said, "Sorry, couldn't tell you."

Roslyn allowed a ghost of a smile to cross her face. "That's alright, Taylor." Roslyn got to her feet, nodding solemnly at Jasper. "Just one more question then we'll be on our way. Did you really believe you'd be safe in your own body, demon?"

Taylor moved to run, but Jasper was immediately behind her, shoving her back into Roslyn's waiting arms. She didn't waste any time in locking her eyes on Taylor's, compelling her to stay still. Roslyn's second set of incisors slid into place and she bit down on the demon's throat. Taylor didn't fight back and it wasn't long until Roslyn was dropping her to the floor.

Jasper was watching her with an unreadable expression. Roslyn didn't bother to begin to decipher it. She was too busy accepting the rush of magic and energy into her system. When she finally met Jasper's gaze, he had a golden eyebrow arched.

"Better?"

"Much." Roslyn grinned, baring her blood-stained teeth and Jasper just laughed. 

The ringing of his phone interrupted their laughter and Alice's racing voice met their ears as soon as the call connected.

"I tried taking them to meet Edward at the airport, but Bella disappeared and now I can't find Koda either. I think they went to the ballet studio, but I can't be sure. I'm going to wait for Edward to land and then I'll meet you there. Hurry."

Roslyn and Jasper were out of the club and in a car before Alice hung up. Roslyn got the stolen vehicle hot-wired and the two were racing down the streets of Phoenix, weaving in and out of traffic. Until they got stuck.

"Shit, shit. Shit!" Roslyn slammed her hand on the horn as she realized she was boxed in with nowhere to go. She turned to Jasper, her gaze frantic as she thought about all of the stupid, suicidal things Koda could be getting himself into.

"We'll run." Jasper decided, his hand on the door handle.

"Jasper it's broad daylight. You can't."

"Like hell I can't." He growled, the sound low and guttural. "It's Bella and Koda. We aren't doing nothing."

The two were silent, frozen as they stared at each other. Finally, Roslyn nodded once.

"We run."

They were late.

The sound of Edward's frantic muttering and Bella's ear-splitting screams met their ears before they could even see the studio. Roslyn burst through the door just as James got his hands on Koda's already beaten body. She froze, as did everyone else in the room, as James' fangs drew nearer to Koda's exposed neck. Roslyn's eyes narrowed in an attempt to compel him to stop, to step away, to do something. 

Roslyn's mind reached out to Jasper and she felt him stiffen at the sudden intrusion. She'd never spoken to him mentally, had never told any of the Cullens it was something she could do, but Roslyn was desperate.

Jasper, do something. Calm him down. Talk him out of it. Something.

She felt the calming wave crash over her, but just as he'd resisted her compulsion, James appeared unaffected by Jasper's emotional manipulation.

"James, I swear to whatever god exists-"

"You'll what?" He asked, grinning wickedly at Roslyn knowing he hadn't totally failed his hunt. "Kill me? Not before I kill him."

Roslyn's eyes landed on Emmett as he snuck in from the back of the studio. James had been expecting Alice and Jasper, and clearly Edward and Carlisle were there for Bella, but Emmett? Why would he go anywhere without Rosalie and James knew that she was still back in Forks.

Emmett was grinning as he launched himself at the hunter. James heard the movement and lost focus on the vampires in front of him. Alice, Jasper, and Roslyn moved, but James moved first. He knew he wouldn't win, not against the entire coven.

Only silence followed the faint snap of Koda's neck and the fall of his body. It wasn't until the Cullens were ripping James limb from limb that her scream tore its way from her chest. Her hands were on Koda's cheeks, her eyes staring into his empty brown ones. Eyes that once lit up a room were dull and lifeless. Roslyn heard the exact moment his heart made its last beat and that was when her sobs started. 

Roslyn dimly felt a hand on her shoulder, the calluses enough for her to know who it was. The peace that forced its way into the cracks of her composure only solidified the notion. She fought back against Jasper's attempts to help, forcing herself to feel the pain. 

Koda was gone.

Roslyn had brought him with her to Phoenix to save him from getting caught up in her supernatural mess, but all it did was get him killed. Her best friend was gone. The love of her life was gone. She'd known for a while that there wasn't anyone like him. He was special before, but Koda had accepted Roslyn for who she truly was. 

And now he was gone.

Roslyn wasn't sure how she got back to Forks, but when she pulled herself out of her despair, she was curled up in her bed back in her apartment. She wasn't alone either; she could smell Jasper through the thin walls, but she had never felt more alone.

Roslyn Winchester had spent decades alone. A hunter could never have any real relationships. Being a vampire only made it more impossible. But Roslyn had found Koda. Had found him and lost him and Roslyn had gotten so used to not being alone that, this time, it was crippling.

Roslyn Winchester didn't know how to keep going in a world without Koda Townes.