The Shadow and The Seer (Jasper x Alice fanfic)

17. Emmett the Genius

   Hi everyone!
Christmas break is almost here! ;) I'm soo excited. I'll do my best to pick the pace up!
Thanks for reading!
-rednight73

Chapter song: Stubborn Love by The Lumineers
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   Jasper waited in the trees, holding Emmett back from the crime scene with a practiced hand signal he'd made sure all members of the Cullen clan would be able to use in emergencies. Immortality meant nothing when pitted against another immortal with the same strength and claws.

It was a lesson that he'd had engraved into his brain from the moment that his heart had ceased to beat onward as his life as a pawn had begun. His brothers and sisters in death hadn't stood a chance against him.

Rage built in him as he took in the scene. The Mallory house was framed by the forest, a common feature all rural houses in Forks shared. The basic as hell fire pit had no empty drinks next to it, no lawn chairs, no sign that there were other people hanging out there.

   For a loner like Bella, a warm empty campfire in the middle of a crowded party would've been irresistible.

   "Do you smell that?" Emmett murmured, his sunny demeanor completely wiped and replaced by something far darker. While many assumed Edward was the most stuck in his time out of the Cullens, Jasper knew it was actually his more open brother who was more protective of women. His relationship with Rose, despite its appearance of being shallow and juvenile, was built on deep respect and loss.

   Blinding shock went through him as he identified the scent which was entirely too faint to be a human's, but so familiar.  "No."

"Creepy Eddie has finally gone too far." Emmett was already following the trail while Jasper couldn't move. It'd been Edward who'd saved him and shown him the most bearable way to live, yet he had done this?

   It made no sense, but nonetheless he followed his brother because Bella deserved justice.

Underneath Edward's scent was a much fainter one. Is he just a decoy or did he pair up with another vampire? Jasper's trained military mind went to work, methodically dissecting every little detail to its smallest element.

   They came to a screeching halt as a river hit their path. His fist slammed into a tree without much thought even as Emmett turned swiftly around in an angry stomp. The large man's tux looked out of place in the forest, and Jasper realized rather hollowly that he himself looked no different. Nonetheless, he followed his brother and he noticed something strange right off the bat.

"Em, where we heading?" It was certainly not in the direction of their home or the hospital.

He grunted. "The girls' house. Why pulverize a human at a crowded party rather than an isolated as hell backyard?"

"They were doing surveillance." Jasper realized out loud. How had he missed them? He couldn't help but mentally beat himself up over it.

"Must've been spooked since Eddie knows you're a scary motherfucker."

   He didn't bother to argue back as he thought back to Edward's obsession with Bella. He'd been consumed with so many emotions about the girl. But violence hadn't even been hinted at.

   Edward was delusional about a lot of things, but how serious it was to take a human life wasn't one of them.

   They arrived at the empty, desolate house that now hurt Jasper's heart to look at. They were both in so much pain and he'd failed to protect them from that. A warning look from Emmett got him back to task and from his self-loathing as they crouched in Forks' forest soil in a strategic circle.