I hadn't planned on writing a fourth part to this series, but here it is. I jut love writing Dean/Dalia, so here it is. The plot for this chapter was based off a creepypasta called "The Ritual".


Dark Places

Chapter One: The Ritual

Rain misted down on the windshield of the Impala as Dean drove through the Main country. They were on their way to White Mountain School. From what Sam had told them in the initial report was that it was a preparatory school where six kids had ended up dead, ripped apart brutally. Something beyond human means. So, they were on their way to investigate. They'd been on the road for two days now and he was ready to get out of the damn car. Sam and Elena were asleep in the backseat, Elena all but curled up in Sam's lap. Dalia was sitting beside him, going through the information Sam had printed off for the tenth time.

Dean reached over and took the papers from her, putting them in the backseat on the floor. "What was that for?" she asked, looking up at him.

He reached over and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her into the middle and against him. "You're obsessing," he whispered.

Dalia sighed and rested her head on his chest. "I don't see it as obsessing, I see it as being fully prepared." She laced her fingers with his.

Dean hummed. "I'm sure. I bet you could recite that research, word for word." He kissed her head as he pulled into a gas station not far from the boarding school. He reached into the back and slapped Sam's knee. "Wake up love birds." He pulled up in front of the building and killed the engine. They all climbed out of the car and stretched. Dean walked around to the trunk and opened it, pulling out two bags. He tossed one to Sam. "Go change, we'll grab some fuel and switch out."

Sam nodded and took Elena's hand, leading her inside to the bathroom. Dalia reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck. He draped his arms around her waist, holding her against him. It'd only been a month since he'd had to kill his father. Everyone had been walking on eggshells around him, not wanting to do anything that would break him or set him off. He was honestly fine. He'd dealt with it. He was ready to start hunting again. He kissed Dalia's head and followed her inside. She grabbed a basket and started walking through the aisles. "I want some chocolate," she muttered, more to herself than to him as she went straight for the candy aisle.

Dean watched her, raising a brow. He did the math in his head. "Oh hell," he groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Seriously?"

She looked over at him. "In about two days." She grabbed a handful of chocolate bars and threw them in the basket. "And don't eat all of my chocolate this time."

He sighed and went to the coolers and grabbed a case of beer. He grabbed a couple bottles of chocolate milk, ice tea, and fruit punch. He'd been with Dalia long enough now that he knew what she'd crave. He carefully balanced them in his arms and grabbed a couple bags of her favorite chips and a box of doughnuts. He met her at the counter, carefully setting things down so they could be bagged. She grinned up at him, leaning up to kiss him. "How'd I get so lucky?"

"Just did, baby." He pulled his wallet out and swiped his card. He handed her the duffel and carried the bags out to the car. By the time he got back in, Sam and Elena were walking through the aisles, dressed in their FBI clothes. He headed back to the bathroom. Dalia was waiting outside of the bathroom for him. He followed her in and started pulling his clothes off. "How far away are we?"

Dalia pulled her dress pants up and fastened them. "Ten minutes." She rolled her head on her neck and pulled her suit jacket on. "They'll be in the middle of lunch when we get there."

Dean nodded and finished getting dressed. "Makes our job a little easier." He looped his tie over his head and arranged it under the collar. Dalia smiled, walking over and tightened, straightening it out. He cupped her face and bent down, kissing her. "Then tonight, you know exactly what I want to do."

She winked. "Better get it in before you have to wait a week." She smirked and grabbed their clothes, stuffing them in the duffel and walked out. Dean smirked and followed her, slapping her ass as they walked to the car. Sam and Elena were in the backseat, sharing a gas station salad. "Okay, I get that you guys like your rabbit food," Dalia said, turning and looking at them as Dean drove. "But I'm pretty sure you're better off with the microwave burritos than that."

"It's really not that bad," Elena said, taking another bite. "Besides, I'm pretty sure those gas station burritos are going to kill you."

Dalia rolled her eyes and got comfortable in her seat. "Okay, let's do the rundown," Dean said.

Sam grabbed the papers off the floor and sighed. "So, six kids end up dead on campus, ripped to shreds. The local authorities are saying that it's a wild animal."

"Be we know better." Dalia looked over at Dean. "One of the friends said that they performed some kind of ritual."

"We got a name on the friend?" Dean asked.

"Suzie Becket," Sam answered. "She's a senior."

Dean nodded and pulled up to the school. It was exactly what he'd pictured in the parking lot. Expensive sport cars he would be his last dollar the kids didn't pay for. He parked Baby between a Lamborghini and an Audi and climbed out. "You know who drives these?" he asked, nodding to the neon green monstrosity. "Douchebags." Dalia patted his cheek, walking past him towards the school. He sighed, following with Sam and Elena.

Kids in uniforms were walking over the campus, some sitting down eating, studying, there was a group of boys throwing a football around. He watched a group of girls pass, obviously checking him and Sam out. He watched the way their skirts moved around their legs and smirked. "Eyes front, solider," Dalia growled.

He smirked, leaning down so he could whisper. "Maybe we should see if we can get one of these uniforms…for research purposes."

She rolled her eyes and walked into the administrative building. "Don't hold your breath." She walked up to the desk where an old woman was sitting. "Hi there, I'm agent Benatar, these are my associates, Agent Michaels, Agent Hagar, and Agent Ford. We're here about the dead students."

The woman looked down her nose at Dalia but sniffed and nodded her head. "The headmaster will be with you shortly. Have a seat."

Dalia rolled her eyes and walked over to a bench. Dean sat down beside her. "Elena and I are going to go look around," Sam said. "We'll check out the crime scene."

Dean nodded, looking around. "Be careful." He sighed and sat back as they walked off. "So, you've been over the information, what do you think we're dealing with?" he asked.

Dalia shrugged. "I don't know, but I'd like to talk to our witness." She looked up as a man in an expensive Italian suit walked towards them.

"Agents." He held his hand out for them to shake. "I'm Headmaster James Roberts. Please, if you'll follow me to my office." He led them down the hall to an office with plush carpet and oak furniture. "I wasn't aware the FBI would be coming."

"We like the element of surprise," Dean said with a smile, sitting down. "What can you tell us about the killings?"

James sighed and folded his hands on his desk. "Just what the authorities told me. It was a wild animal. We have quite a few around here, Agent…"

"Michaels." Dean leaned forward a bit. "And we're concerned that it might be something other than a wild animal. We'd like to speak to one of your students."

"Who?"

"Suzie Beckett," Dalia answered. "She was apparently friends with the six students who were killed."

James sighed and nodded his head. "I'll have her called down and allow you my office." He walked out.

"That was easier than I thought." Dean sat back in the chair and looked around at the office.

"He thinks we're really FBI agents." Dalia got up and walked over to the window, looking out of it. She could see Sam and Elena talking to a group of students. She sighed and crossed her arms. She was so tired. She just wanted to crash. She rolled her neck as the door opened. A cute girl with blonde curls and big doe brown eyes walked in. "Suzie Beckett?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am."

Dalia ground her teeth at the ma'am comment, but let it go. "Have a seat Suzie." She walked around the desk again and rested back against it, crossing her arms. "I'm Agent Benatar and this is my partner Agent Michaels. So, you know the kids who were killed three days ago?" she asked.

"Yes, we were friends…"

"You told the police that they performed a ritual," Dean said. "What kind?"

Suzie bit her lip, playing with the hem of her skirt. "One of the seniors left an old piece of paper in the dormitories. It was a ritual to summon a demon to come and kill you."

"And you summoned it?" Dean demanded. The stupidity of people never ceased to astound him.

Suzie shook her head. "I didn't. Kathy and the others didn't think it was real. They figured it was just a joke." Tears were starting to gather in her eyes. "We didn't know."

Dean pinched the bridge of his nose. "Where's the paper with the ritual on it?" he asked.

"I don't know. The police couldn't find it." She wiped her eyes. "It wasn't at the crime scene."

Dalia sighed. "Do you remember anything about the ritual?"

Suzie reached into her bag and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "I photo copies it, but it won't work unless it's the original." She handed it to Dalia. "The police thought I was crazy so they didn't take it.

Dalia gave her a card and told her to call if she remembered or heard anything about the original piece of paper before she let her go. She leaned back against the desk and rubbed her eyes. "Let's go get Sam and Elena."

xXx

They walked into their motel room, dropping their duffels and bags of food on the beds. Sam pulled his computer out and logged into the wifi while Dalia unfolded the paper Suzie had given her. She started to read it over. "Son of a bitch," she muttered, rubbing her temples.

"What?" Dean opened a beer and sat beside her.

She shook her head. "These instructions. It sounds like the real deal to me."

"What does it say?" Elena asked.

"It has to be performed somewhere great fear was felt, at night, without any lights on. You need twenty-seven black candles." Dalia ran a hand through her hair. "There are instructions for how they should be placed. Everyone participating must stand in the middle and chant a challenge to the demon twenty-seven times. If it works the candles will go out and you start running for your life."

Dean shook his head. "Why? Seriously, you hear a place is haunted, you don't go in. You find a ritual to summon a demon to kill you, you burn it."

"I think I know who they summoned, and it wasn't a demon," Sam said from behind his computer. "It's called a fovos, it's an ancient Greek creature that feeds off fear."

"Any way to kill it?"

"I don't know yet. I'll keep looking."

Dean sighed and nodded. "We need to find out what happened to the original. For all we know more kids have it."

"Won't that be fun?" Dalia got up and started changing out of her FBI clothes. She wanted an easy first case to ease back into things after John. Not this. She braided her hair and looked over at Dean. His deep sky blue light was dull, almost like it was fading out. It had been since John had come back. At first she'd thought it was because of all of the fighting and hadn't paid much attention. They'd had bigger things to worry about. But it just kept fading.

She was starting to think it was because of her. That somehow they were growing apart as soulmates and when Dean's light went out, their colors would change. Maybe he resented her. If she and Elena hadn't come around the boys wouldn't have fallen in love, Crowley wouldn't have been trying to kill them, he wouldn't have brought back John…

Dean wouldn't have had to choose between his father and herself.

She pushed the thoughts from her head. They had other things they needed to focus on right now. She grabbed the bag of food and went to the small kitchenette and started lying it out, trying to decide what she wanted to eat. It was going to be a long night of research. If they couldn't find the original, they at least needed to find a way to kill the fovos in case someone else decided to summon it.

She felt Dean walk up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her shoulder. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," she lied. She didn't want to worry him about the colors. He'd either freak out and try to fix it, and she didn't think there was a way to fix it anymore. Or, he'd brush it off, and that would break her heart. She turned in his arms and looked up at him. "I'm just tired, it was a long drive."

"Lay down, we can handle research for a few hours." He brushed her bangs from her eyes and smiled a little.

"No, it's okay. I just need to get some food and caffeine in me." She turned around again, looking through her options. She settled on a bag of chips and one of the Cokes she'd grabbed. She followed him back to the table and opened her own computer. She started looking at the police records on the dead students. "Well, they'd picked a good place for it."

"What do you mean?"

"The students were killed in the farm house behind the school. Apparently, just a few years after the school went up, the man who lived there kidnapped five different girls and he raped brutally murdered them. I'd say that's a place of great fear."

"Are there any other places around here like that?" Elena asked. The farm house would be roped off because of the murders, but if someone really wanted to perform the ritual again, they'd find a place to do it.

Dalia typed into the search bar on her computer and skimmed the results. She clicked on the third one. "In 1983 one Mr. Fred Burton killed seventeen students of this school in the basement of his house a mile down the road. After the police found him and arrested him, the house was abandoned." She sighed. "If I was going to perform the ritual, that's where I'd go."

xXx

Suzie was shaking. There was a pillowcase over her head and she was sitting between what felt like two very big bodies in the back of some kind of vehicle. She'd been on her way back to her dorm after leaving the library when she'd been grabbed. She tried asking who she was with and where they were taking her, but no one had said anything. They hadn't been on the road that long when the vehicle stopped and the engine was shut off, but it was long enough for her to be near to tears.

She was grabbed from the back seat and led across a law up a few wooden steps, and into some kind of building. The pillowcase was pulled from her head and she blinked rapidly, trying to adjust her eyes. They were in some kind of living room, covered in layers of dust accumulated over years and years. There were a scattering of black candles, all lit on the floor of the room. Jake, Ben, Mary, Julie, and Kent were standing in the middle, smirking at her. She glared at them. "What the hell is your problem?" she demanded.

"We wanted you to play with us," Kent said. He was her boyfriend of three years now. But she was seriously considering breaking up with him now. She opened her mouth to tell him off when she realized what they were going to do. They wanted to summon the monster that had killed Kathy and the others. She shook her head, taking a step back. She ran into Bret. "You're not scared, are you?"

"Kent, this isn't funny." She bit her lip and slipped her hand into her pocket. She wrapped her hand around her phone and the card Agent Benatar had given her earlier. "I don't want to do this."

Kent rolled his eyes. "Fine, just watch. Nothing wrong with that right?" he asked.

Suzie chewed on her lip and watched as Bret walked over and stood in the middle of the candles. She quickly dialed Benatar's number while they started chanting the spell. "Yeah?"

"Agent Benatar?" she whispered. "It's Suzie."

"What's wrong?"

"My boyfriend…he's…they're performing the ritual." She looked over towards the circle. She had no idea how many times they'd repeated the chant. Come out and play fovos, come out and kill us.

"Where are you?"

"I don't know…it's some old house."

"I'm on my way Suzie, just—" the agent was cut off when a large gust of wind washed through the house and the candles went out.

Kent looked around, pulling out a flashlight. "See, nothing happened." He laughed, obviously taking joy in Suzie's panic. She looked around the room. She'd seen the photos of Kathy, she'd seen what the monster could do. It'd worked, he was just getting ready to play the game. They heard floorboards creak behind them. The monster walked out of the shadows, standing behind Bret. It was huge, at least seven feet tall. Its skin was a blood red with black lines running all over it. Like the monster from Insidious or Darth Mal. It had long, razor sharp claws on its hands. The lower half of the body looked like a coat, its hooves echoing off the wood as it stepped closer. It smiled, its yellow eyes glinting in the darkness as long, white, jagged teeth were bared. Suzie screamed when it reached out, grabbing Bret around the throat and pulled his head clean off his body.

xXx

Dalia swore as Dean drove them to the house. She loaded her gun and pulled her hair back, getting ready to walk into a blood bath. "Sam, how's it coming on a way to kill the fovos?" she asked.

"As far as I can tell, you have to burn the ritual, it's the only way to send him away. I don't think we can kill it."

"Awesome." She braced herself as Dean slammed on the breaks in front of the house. They could see lights swinging about frantically as screams echoed in the night. They all tore out of the car and rushed inside. Suzie was standing in the living room, staring at the dead body of a young man, his head across the room on the other size. "Suzie?"

She spun around, tears streaming down her face. She threw her arms around Dalia and sobbed. "They did it, they called him."

"Where are they?" Dalia asked.

"Up stairs."

"Where's the paper?" Elena asked.

"Kent has it."

"Son of a bitch." Dean and Dalia tore up the stairs, Sam and Elena not far behind them. Dalia could hear Suzie following him. She hadn't taken part in the ritual, the fovos didn't want her. Or it couldn't get her. Maybe that meant they'd be safe too. When they cleared the landing at the top, six kids started running at them.

"He's coming," one of the girls shouted. "We have to get out of here." They ushered the kids in front of them, back down the stairs.

Sam rushed to the door, trying to open it. "We're locked in."

"What? We need to get out of here, he's going to kill us!" The man who shouted rushed at the door, trying to kick it down.

Dean grabbed him by the shirt and slammed him into the wall. "What the hell did you think was going to happen?" he snapped. "Where's the paper?"

Kent shook his head. "The demon took it."

Dean shook his head, a dangerous look on his face as he narrowed his kidney-liquefying glare on the kid. "If we were dealing with a demon, this would be a lot easier." He dropped the kid and stepped back.

"What are you talking about?" Suzie asked. "Who are you people?"

"Well, we're not FBI agents," Dalia said. She rubbed her eyes and looked at Dean. "What do we do? That thing has the paper, we can't exactly burn it."

"I don't know." He started pacing, trying to think. "Son of a bitch."

"What do you mean it isn't a demon?" Suzie asked again. "What is it?"

"It's called a fovos, it's a Greek monster that feeds off fear. The only way to kill it is to burn the ritual." Dalia looked around. She was getting nervous. The fovos hadn't followed them down the stairs. She couldn't even hear it walking around. So where the hell was it? She got her answer when she was lifted off the ground and thrown across the room. Her back hit the wall with a loud crash. She could hear people screaming and swearing as she rolled onto her hands and knees and pushed up.

Dean took a couple shots at the fovos. It laughed and backhanded him throwing him across the room. "Kill it!" one of the girls screamed. The creature reached out, its claws piercing her belly. It laughed as it pulled her insides out and let them fall on the floor.

The kids all screamed and took off running. Half going up stairs, half going to the back of the house. "Son of a bitch." Dean pushed up and shook his head. "Go with them," he told Sam. "Dalia and I will handle these ones." They took off, following the kids that had run to the back of the house. Suzie and Kent were huddle in the corner. Kent was trying to calm her down.

"What are we going to do?" Suzie asked. "It's going to kill us."

Dalia shook her head. "I don't know. We can't do anything until we get the paper from him."

"How the hell are we going to do that?" Kent demanded. The poor bastard was hysterical.

Dalia ignored him and looked at Dean. "You saw it, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, on its hip. That's where it's going to be." He ran a hand over his face. "The only problem is how do we get close enough to get to it?"

Dali shook her head. "I don't know." They heard screams come from upstairs, followed by gun shots before more people were running down the stairs. They rushed into the kitchen, Elena following them, supporting Sam who was holding a bleeding arm.

"Sammy." Dean rushed over and cupped his brother's face. "What happened?" he demanded.

"The fovos got his arm," Elena said. "It's deep."

Dean swore and looked at Sam. "Talk to me brother."

"I'm okay," Sam assured him.

"We lost Mary and Ben," Jake said, looking at Suzie.

Dalia screamed when she felt razors tearing through the skin on her back. She was thrown forward, landing on the table. It crumbled under her weight. Dean called out, pulling his gun. She heard him fire as she tried to get up. Her back was screaming and she could feel the blood gushing down her skin, soaking her clothes.

She got up and saw Elena get thrown into the old fridge, knocking it over with her weight. Dean was pushing himself up from across the room and Sam was on his knees, holding his bleeding arm. She saw the fovos grab Jake and rip his arms off. It laughed as Jake screamed before it bit his head off.

Dalia swallowed the bile rising in her throat and eyes the satchel, hanging at its hip. That's what they needed. That's where the ritual was. She pushed up on shaky legs and watched as the monster turned on Kent and Suzie. While it was preoccupied she reached out and grabbed the satchel. It howled, rattling the foundations of the house. It grabbed her around the throat and lifted her off the ground. She dropped the satchel gasping for air. Her vision started to dance, blackness creeping in around the edges. She could feel its hot breath on her face, smell the blood and the bile, thick in the air.

Suddenly, the fovos screamed, dropping her into a pile on the floor. She looked up, trying to get her eyes to work. Suzie had the satchel in the middle of the floor, flames eating it up from the lighter she had in her hand. The fovos burst into flames above her. Dalia pushed to her feet, stumbling as she tried to get away from it. Dean grabbed her, helping her up. They all rushed out the house, the doors finally opened as the fovos died.

Dean helped her to the car and she leaned against it, hissing as fresh pain shot through her back. "Let me see," he whispered, turning her around gently. She heard his swallow when he looked at her back. Her shirt was barely hanging on and blood was thick, covering from her shoulders down to her knees. Three, deep, slices had split her skin. Dean didn't know how she was walking. He kissed her head. "We'll get you stitched up."

He turned and looked at the only two survivors of the ritual. "Next time you decided to summon something, don't," he snapped.

Suzie sniffled, looking back at the house. "What do we tell the police?" she asked.

Elena put a hand on her shoulder. "You tell them it was just some crazy guy. He ran off before you could do anything about it. Understand?" Suzie nodded her head. They climbed into Kent's car and drove off. Elena went to Sam and eased him into the front seat behind her. Dean helped Dalia into the back, lying her down on her belly. "How you holding up, Dalia?" she asked.

"Peachy. Wanna stop for ice cream?" Dalia swallowed thickly, gripping the leather seat under her. She was fighting back tears as the pain seared through her. She felt like she was going to pass out. "Son of a bitch," she swore. "Dean, baby I need something."

He reached under the seat as he drove and grabbed the bottle of scotch. He handed it to Elena who carefully maneuvered herself onto the floor in the back by Dalia's head. She unscrewed the cap and helped her take a few deep drinks. Dean was trying to avoid bumps as he drove. "What do you want to do baby?" he asked. "Hospital or you want the hunter special?"

"No doctors," she gasped, going for another drink. The alcohol was helping. "See if you can get Castiel."

Without warning the angel appeared in the front seat between Sam and Dean. "What's wrong? I heard Dalia, she sounded distressed." He looked at Sam's arm, then back at Dalia's back. "What happened?" he demanded.

"It's a long story." Dean glanced in the back while Cas reached out and touched Sam's arm, healing the wounds. He hated seeing Dalia in pain like this. It tore him up inside. "It was a fovos."

Castiel frowned and looked at him before he turned and reached past Elena to gently touch Dalia's back. She cried out when his fingers came into contact with the wound and Dean had to swallow back the insult he was going to lay on Cas. It wasn't his fault. "A fovos?"

"That's what I said." He looked back. Dalia was sitting up in the seat, her back healed. She took the bottle from Elena, quickly downing it as Elena climbed up on the seat beside her.

"That's not right. They should all be dead. They've been dead for hundreds of years."

"I don't know what to tell you, man," Dean said as he pulled up to the motel. They all climbed out and he took Dalia's shoulders before they went in. "You good?" he asked.

She nodded. "As good as I'm going to get." She leaned against him as they walked inside.

He watched her strip out of her ruined clothes, clearly making Castiel uncomfortable. Everyone else was used to it. Cas cleared his throat and turned away from her, focusing on Dean. "I'll look into this, I don't like the fact that you fought one."

Dean nodded his head. "Appreciate it." He looked over at Dalia when Cas disappeared. She was taking her clean clothes to the bathroom to shower. He sighed and sat on the bed, looking over at Sam. "You sure you're okay?" he asked. It'd scared him when he'd seen Sam's arm.

"I'm okay, Dean." Sam wrapped his arm around Elena as she leaned into him, running her fingers through his hair. It had been a hard night for everyone. He looked towards the bathroom. He thought about going in there, joining Dalia, holding onto her. But he didn't. Things had been weird between them lately. Not bad, not really, just different. He wasn't sure what it was. He felt like she was regretting meeting him, joining up with him. He knew they were supposed to be soulmates, but it didn't feel like they were lately. He didn't know whose fault it was.

Instead of going after her, he changed out of his clothes into a pair of sleep pants and climbed under the sheets, waiting for her. Sam and Elena waited until she came out and went in to shower off the blood all over them. Dean wrapped his arm around Dalia as she climbed into the bed with him, lying her head on his chest. "You need a shower," she whispered.

"I'll grab one in the morning." He kissed her head, pulling her close. Right now he just wanted to hold her, to know that she was okay, she was whole. He needed to know she was there. Ever since he'd killed his father he'd needed to know the people he loved were there. He needed the reassurance.