"You've got to help me find her." Jack's voice echoing through the receiver was almost unrecognizable, years of practiced authority instantly worn away.

"Aw, man," a different voice sighed desperately. "I don't know where to start."

"She has my last fifty bucks in her pocket and her cell shows she's heading west. I know she keeps the San Jose bus terminal bookmarked on her laptop. She wouldn't go back to Stanford so soon. She has to be coming to you. Please, man. I'm begging you."

"California's a big state, Jack. What makes you think she's heading to my place?"

"Because, you're the only person there she trusts anymore, Clu."

Jack heard his friend clear his throat and pictured him running a hand through his hair, a nervous habit he'd witnessed Clu perform many times before.

"Jack," Clu's tone hushed, "any other time, I'd help you in a heartbeat, but it's my weekend with my son and there's no sign she's in any danger here."

"Clu…"

"Don't lay a guilt trip on me, man. You know I'd do anything for Fi."

"Good, then you'll help me. I'll be there as soon as I can. I'm in Cheyenne now, so, give me eighteen hours, tops."

Jack ended the call without another word, slightly embarrassed that he'd failed, once again, to keep his family together. He had woken up that morning to find the twin bed beside his empty, his cash missing, and Fi's bag gone from its usual spot on the floor.

She'd gotten it in her head that if Jack had shared the truth about their father's cause of death sooner, somehow Jesse could have been saved. Of course, that wasn't true. There would be no saving him, just as their mother couldn't save their father, just as Jack couldn't save Gabe.

Jack choked up at the thought. He pressed harder on the Mustang's gas pedal, keeping his eyes peeled for speed traps as a series of worst-case-scenarios played out in his head. He was determined not to lose anyone else, especially not Fiona.

Fi pulled her bag close to her chest as the passing trees came to a still. Her nerves kicked in before the hydraulics could lower the bus to the ground. She felt underprepared, under-armed, and most of all, completely alone. She couldn't trust her own brother. All this time, he'd been selling the narrative that everyone they loved would be taken from them, but it was Jack. If he hadn't showed up at Stanford and dragged her away, she could have been there to protect Jesse. She may not have been trained as a hunter then, but she would've done something.

Or maybe she would have run. That was always plan B, right? Fi thought to herself.

Part of her knew she would end up back here in Santa Cruz. When she found a note scribbled in Molly's notebook mentioning the city, she almost laughed. Of course. Her mother could be anywhere in the world, and the first lead she found in months was that she may have run away to the very same place Fi would have picked. Though it was unlikely Molly would keep the same company.

Fi swung her bag over her shoulder. Things were different from when she'd been here last, most notably, her intention. She knew her friend's life had changed drastically in the past few years. He was someone's father now. Maybe he'd forgotten about how abruptly Fi left, or how many of his phone calls she'd ignored.

Fi waved down a cab and read the address to the driver as if she didn't still have it memorized. She felt uneasy from a mixture of anxiety, a miniscule remainder of a schoolgirl's crush and something else she couldn't quite place – guilt, perhaps – as the roads became increasingly familiar. She would be the catalyst; the burning apartment that dragged him away from his apple-pie life.

She took a deep breath as the cab approached the apartment complex and handed over the cash she had nervously crumpled in her fist during the drive. Numb to the weight of her bag, she accomplished a steady stride toward Clu's building. The exterior hadn't changed much, except for the lack of can-filled trash bags that so often sat outside his door during his college days. She frowned upon finding that even the passcode was the same. She made a mental note to remind him to update it.

Fi's fist hovered an inch from Clu's door. She was really doing this. Her stomach fluttered and she nearly turned to walk away when the door opened.

Before Fi could react, she was being hugged tightly and lifted off the ground.

"Fi!" Clu exclaimed as he set her down and looked her over, his hands cupping her shoulders.

Fi felt her cheeks redden under his gaze. She imagined this interaction going much differently, peppered with awkward silences and apologies, but Clu was acting like their friendship was never severed.

"What an awesome surprise! Come in," he beamed, holding the door open for her. Fi hesitated when she saw him reach for his hair. She could still read him like a book.

"Jack knows I'm here, doesn't he?" Fi asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice.

Clu immediately broke eye contact and scrambled for a response. "Uh, he may have given me a heads up." He squinted as the words passed his lips, adding, "Sorry."

"How long until he gets here?"

"A few more hours, maybe?"

Fi frowned and adjusted her bag on her shoulder. Clu took it from her and set it down.

"You really look great, Fi, considering," Clu said, attempting to change the subject as they took seats on opposite ends of his couch.

She raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, for being stuck with that goon of a brother for two months straight. Don't forget, he was my roommate once, too," he jested.

"I take it he told you about Jesse?"

Clu's posture changed, becomingly visibly uncomfortable, before letting his joyful expression fall away. "Yeah, Fi. He told me. Sorry, again. I- I don't really know what to say," he explained, his voice fading to a whisper.

Fi always disliked the tone Clu took on when he was being serious. He sounded as if he was on the verge of tears, which was an unusual contrast from his happy disposition.

Finding she couldn't look at him like this, she stood and took a framed photo off the coffee table. She analyzed its contents, noting how much resemblance the fair-haired toddler shared with his father at that age. "He's cute," she said with a soft smile, desperate to lighten the mood. Clu joined her side.

"He's already learning to talk. He says da-da and everything. It's unreal. I don't think I'll ever get used to this. I mean, who would've thought, me with a kid?"

Consciously stifling what she wanted to say, she offered instead, "Where is the little guy now?"

"Oh, I'm picking him up in a couple days," Clu responded excitedly. "I get him every other weekend. His mom got hitched and moved to Burbank, so we meet in the middle. It's kind of a hike, but if you'll still be in town, I'd welcome the company, if you want to see him, that is."

"I've seen him, in pictures," she said, holding up the photo for emphasis. "Jack has a few."

"Yeah, but you've never met him in person."

Fi could feel anxiety creeping in. "I don't know, Clu. I'm no good with kids," she lied. "My cousins practically drove me insane when I was in Seattle."

"Those were teenagers. Caleb's the cutest kid on earth," he pressed. "You'll love him."

"Clu," Fi sighed. "It's just not the best time."

The threat of tears was building behind the bridge of her nose. Clu noticed and removed the photo from her hands. He gently lifted her chin. "You can still talk to me, you know. Just because we haven't seen each other in a while doesn't mean we should act like strangers. Especially when we're far from it…"

It was true but Fi tried to act offended by his suggestion. "That's not why I came here," she muttered, pushing past him to collect her bag.

"Then why did you?" he asked nondefensively.

"I used to want this – exactly what you've got; this nice, simple, safe life. But it was ripped away from me, and I won't be the person who does that to you. I was going to ask for your help. I think I got a lead on Mom, and- it doesn't matter. I'm going." Fi walked fast as she spoke. She knew Clu had the power to make her turn around, and a fragment of herself wanted him to, but she made it to the door, adding, "It was good seeing you, Clu. I'm glad you're okay."

She waited to hear the door shut behind her but the sound never came.

"Wait, Fiona," Clu started, reaching for her. He managed to catch a piece of fabric on her jacket and Fi turned to face him. His eyes were as soft and comforting as she'd ever seen them. "I'll do it. You came all this way to ask for my help? I'm in. As long as we're back by Saturday."

Fi felt sick. Her own words echoed in her head, I have to get back first thing Monday. "No, I'll just wait for Jack," she told him.

"No offense, but you're a super bad liar."

Fi shrugged. "I'll be fine."

"You must have bailed on Jack for a reason. I may not be the smartest guy, but I figured that much out."

"He kept an important secret from me. Who knows what else he's been hiding. If I'm going to find my mom, I'll need to do it myself. I don't suppose you've noticed any obvious supernatural activity in town lately?"

"Actually…" Clu said with a grin.

Jack checked the clock on his cell phone for the umpteenth time. He could barely take the span of the drive any longer. Clu hadn't called, which meant Fi never showed up at his place as Jack predicted her to do.

He planned to continue on toward Santa Cruz, meet up with Clu, and they would find her together. He was almost there. Things would be all right.

The Mustang roared loudly as though it knew, Santa Cruz needed to become a heck of a lot closer than two hours away.

Fi laced her fingers around a warm mug, her hands cancelling out much of its faded Banana Slugs logo. She took a cautious sip and pulled away with a laugh. "Uh, I don't remember asking you to spike my coffee."

"Oh," Clu blushed. "That's how you used to take it, with that hazelnut liquor… Sorry, I'll make you a new one."

"It's fine," she replied with a smirk.

"All right," Clu began, pushing in his desk chair. "This is the article I was thinking of." He paused when he noticed Fi's face so close to his. He held his gaze for a beat too long before refocusing on the computer. "Um, yeah, here it is. Right at the bottom." He got up from his seat and motioned for Fi to sit.

"Missing UCSC student found last week in Carter warehouse succumbs to injuries sustained in apparent abduction," she read aloud. "She didn't have any recollection of where she was… May have been drugged or suffered a head injury… Signs of blunt trauma? Ugh, awful." Fi scanned ahead. "The last thing she remembered was signing in for the fall LSAT exam at Stanford University. You've got to be kidding me."

Fi stood and stretched her arms on the desk.

"What is it?" Clu asked.

"I was there. Shit. I probably walked right past her. She was in trouble, and I put myself on standby to ignore it."

"Not to make you feel worse or anything, but there's something else," Clu said timidly. He clicked on a photo gallery along the bottom of the page containing stills from a security camera. In one showing the woman exiting the building, her eyes appeared entirely black. She smiled directly into the camera. "See that?"

Fi took another sip of her drink, allowing the warm liquid to reheat her body which had gone cold at the image. "She was possessed."

"Oh, man. A ghost?"

"Worse," Fi said. "I think we're looking at the thing that killed Jesse. And possibly my Dad."

Clu's eyes widened. "What could do something like that?"

"We need to go to the warehouse where this girl came to and look for traces of what possessed her. Ghosts leave ectoplasm, demons leave sulfur. Mom's been hunting one thing as of late. If she's here in town, that's where she'd be, too. Can you take me to it?"

"Sure, it's a couple blocks from where I teach- Hold on. Did you say demons?"

"Great," Fi said over him, dumping the rest of her coffee down the sink. "Grab your keys."

Clu's leg bounced and Fi could tell he was only making conversation to hide his nerves.

"I found it helps to plan what to say in advance, even if I'm not sure I'll ever get to say it," he spouted. "To your mom, I mean. If she's there."

"I'm not getting my hopes up. Jack and I have been looking for her for months. Every time we think we're close, we're let down."

Clu nodded, clearly thinking of something to add.

"What did you plan to say to me?" Fi asked genuinely.

"Exactly what I did say; that I'm happy to see you; that I'm here for you…"

A moment passed without a word between them. Fi fixed her eyes on the passing scenery.

"Fi, I never blamed you for what happened," Clu broke in, "just so you know."

"It was wrong, what I did to you," Fi confessed into the window as she traced the engraving of her ring with her thumb. "I'm still sorry about it. You were one of my closest friends and I should've been more considerate of your feelings. It's just, when I met Jesse, things got serious so fast and… I don't know."

"You fell in love, Fi. You found someone else. No need to apologize. Besides, it's not like we were official or anything, right?"

"Right," she agreed.

There was another long pause as Clu rolled the car to a stop.

"Well, if it makes any difference," Fi started to say, but was cut off.

"There it is," Clu said, pointing to an old cement building across the road. It appeared abandoned, though there was a strange glow coming through a window on the middle floor.

Fi removed a knife from her bag and tucked it into her boot.

"Whoa!" Clu shouted, instinctively raising his palms. "You're gonna stab it?"

"No, this won't do any good against a demon," she explained, reaching back into her bag.

"Um, what do you keep in there that's more powerful than a demon?"

"Faith," Fi answered, removing from her bag a leather cord tied around a heavy Celtic cross pendant.

"Cool. What do I get to carry?" Clu asked.

"You're staying put. We had a deal," she answered in a tone harsher than intended. She hurriedly exited the car and made her way toward the building.

Fi maneuvered through its entryway with caution. The warehouse provided limited visibility, making it difficult for her to climb the stairs without stumbling over the broken chairs and other garbage that riddled the halls. The only light came from the glow of the fourth floor, which threw strange shapes upon the walls that reminded Fi of Nosferatu. She stopped suddenly when she reached the landing.

"What the hell?" Fi said aloud, observing what appeared to be a vigil of some kind. The source of the glow came from six candles, arranged in a circular formation in the center of the room. Fi crouched down to get a closer look, pressing a finger into the pool of wax on the floor. She lifted one of the candles and hovered it close to other objects scattered about the room.

Not finding anything else of note, she returned the candle to its original place on the floor and suddenly discerned a red ring painted in the middle of the circle, drawn so faintly it nearly blended into the wood grain.

She was startled by a loud crash behind her.

"Sorry!" Clu called, regaining his balance. Before Fi had a chance to reprimand him for following her, the circle caught his eye. "Whoa. Who did all this?"

"It's a devil's trap. Someone posted one to my website once. I recognize some of these symbols."

"Okay, so… if that's supposed to be a trap, where's the devil?" Clu asked tensely.

Fi pushed herself up by her knees. "Mom?" she let out, almost silently at first. She called out again, a little louder this time, "Mom? Are you here?"

Both she and Clu froze, listening intently for any sign they were not alone.

"Mrs. P?" Clu shakily chimed in. He interlocked his fingers and flattened his palms above his head. "Fi, this doesn't feel right."

Fi focused on the circle. She wished she'd thought to take her mother's notebook. Perhaps there was something in there she missed. She walked between the candles, stopping when she realized Clu's eyes were pinned to a spot on the floorboards beneath her feet.

"What is it?" she asked, taking a step back.

"There's something under the floor."

Fi twisted the leather cord she carried around her wrist. There was a cut in the floorboards about a foot wide. A corner of the piece jutted out ever so slightly. She quickly unsheathed her knife and judiciously wedged the floorboard up. She shot Clu a worried glance before blindly reaching into the hole in the floor. Clu made a noise like he was witnessing her touch a hot stove.

"Clu, a little help?" she requested, when a sudden robotic melody overtook the open room.

"Ah!" Clu screamed, then quickly realized it was his own cell phone making the noise. He fumbled for it in his jacket pocket, swearing to himself, "Gah, damn it! Stop ringing!"

Fi withdrew her hand and made her way toward him.

"It's Jack," he said, finally silencing the ring tone. "What should I say?"

"You better leave that to me," Fi answered, removing the phone from his hand.

"Clu, man, where the hell are you?" Jack demanded as soon as Fi accepted the call. "I've been hitting this damn buzzer for the last ten minutes. Let me up."

"Jack, it's me," Fi said.

"Oh, thank God." Jack let out a sigh of relief. "I've been driving like a maniac. I was worried sick."

"I know. I should've let you know I was all right. I was just so angry."

"Yeah," Jack said sadly. "I know. Can I meet up with you guys? Where are you?"

"It's, uh, some old warehouse, about forty minutes from Clu's place."

Clu called out loud enough for Jack could hear, "The sign out front says Carter."

"Carter," Jack repeated. "Got it. What's there? Keg party?"

Fi didn't answer right away.

"Fiona," Jack groaned. "You're working a case." He lowered his voice, "And you let Clu tag along? What were you thinking?"

"It doesn't matter. There's nothing here. Just an empty devil's trap and-"

"Devil's trap?" Jack said, stunned.

"Jack," Fi started to say.

"Get out of there. Fiona, go!" he warned.

"We are, as soon as I see what someone put under this floorboard-"

"Leave it!" he loudly commanded. Knowing his sister wouldn't listen, he ended the call and pressed the Mustang's accelerator to the floor. His worst fear was coming true. Fiona was hunting a demon, and he was miles away.

Fi shoved the cell phone into Clu's palm and darted back to the hole in the floor. She fussed with it for a moment, pulling on something with both hands before toppling backward with a thump, hugging a wooden box sized in the same dimensions as the missing piece of flooring. She quickly worked away at the box with her knife, but no matter how hard she pried, it wouldn't open. It appeared to be nailed on.

"Please tell me you have something back at your place that will open this," she said to Clu.

He nodded excitedly in response.

Fi stepped over the candles, too eager to heed Jack's warning. "My mom must have left this for us!" she announced as she ran for the stairs.

"Wait!" she heard Clu shout from somewhere behind her. Before she could look back at him, she was lifted off the ground and flung fifteen feet in the opposite direction. The brunt of the impact was on her back.

Fi seethed in pain, pressing one hand to her spine while keeping a firm hold on the wooden box with the other. The room became blurry, and she could barely make out a dark figure standing beside the candles, coming closer. Fi tried to call out for Clu but couldn't find her voice, the wind knocked out of her. She panted and held her side, desperate for a moment to recover though she knew she wouldn't get one. She squeezed her eyelids together, straining to decipher the shape standing before her, when something tangled her hair in its fist and slammed her head into the floorboards. Everything went black.

Fi regained consciousness with Clu shivering at her side. She fought to gain her bearings. When she tried to stand, she found her arms were bound behind one of the discarded chairs from the stairwell. Her skull and backbone burned hot with pain and the room wouldn't stop spinning. She ached so badly it nauseated her.

"Clu, are you with me?" she mumbled. She could feel his leg shaking against hers.

"Aw, man. Fi, I think it broke my arm," he moaned. "Everything hurts so bad."

"Hang in there. Jack's on his way. Did you get a look at who did this to us?"

"N- No," his voice trembled.

Fi scanned the room for an object that could free them.

"That can't be good," she heard Clu whimper. Fi followed his eye-line to the circle of candles, now flickering violently and out of sync.

"Listen to me, Clu. It's going to be all right. Stay with me."

An eerie stillness filled the room. The candles stopped flickering.

"Aw, no," Clu whined. "That's it. We're dead."

Fi opened her mouth to object, when Clu slowly stood up from his seat, grinning.

"Well, maybe not both of us," he continued in a much crueler tone. He pulled his arms from behind his back as if they were never restrained and waved his fingers like he'd pulled off some sort of magic trick.

Fi stared up at him in sheer confusion, but when they locked eyes, she found his face had contorted into someone she no longer recognized. His glare darkened and his smile curled up on either side, exaggerating the fine wrinkles in his skin.

Clu forcefully grabbed Fi's face with his thumb and middle finger. He nodded toward the wooden box Fi was holding when she was attacked. "Should we take a look at what's inside?"

Fi gritted her teeth. "Clu, why are you doing this? Whatever kind of trouble you're in-"

"Oh, what trouble I'm in," he sang, prying open the box. He reached inside and held up its contents, a knife handle with the blade snapped off, and observed it. "Do you know what this is, Fiona Phillips?"

"No," she hissed.

Clu continued to hum as he opened a palm. To Fi's dismay, the empty chair beside her dragged itself across the floor. Clu spun it around and took a seat across from her.

"You're a demon," Fi spat.

Clu brought his face closer to hers, and with a blink, flashed his eyes from blue to black and back again. He leaned in and kissed her, letting out a sadistic laugh when she attempted to move away.

"What's the matter, Fi?" he taunted. "Isn't this what brings you back to California so soon?"

"Let him go. He's not a part of this."

"I owe you, Fiona," Clu responded, ignoring her demand and holding the sharp remnants of the broken blade to her face. "This, this is one of the only things that can kill me. You understand why I couldn't just leave it lying around."

"Good, you've got it now. You can leave Clu alone and go."

"I'm not here just for this. I'm here for something far more important…. You."

Fi looked directly into his eyes. "Clu, if you can hear me, I'm going to get this evil son of a bitch out of you, I promise."

"Aw, how sweet," he teased. "What a time to finally care about your old buddy Clu. Now, should I kill you before or after big brother Jack arrives? Imagine how devastated he'll be when he finds your body. Don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't have to grieve for too long."

Fi fought against her restraints in anger, not caring about the rope cutting into her wrists. "You're not going to get near him, you demonic prick. I'll rip you apart."

"Not without bruising this fine packaging," he teased with a sinister smirk.

The demon came toward her again. He slid a hand into her boot, retracting his arm with her knife in hand, and ran its blade against her cheek. Fi felt a stinging beneath her eye. To her horror, Clu caught the trickle of blood with his fingers and took a taste, leaving a bit on his lips and teeth. Her stomach churned at the unnatural contortions the creature performed with his features.

Fi clenched her jaw.

"How kind of you to keep up this act for him," the demon said. "It is an act, isn't it? We both know this visit would have ended like all the ones before it. Use him and bolt. That's the routine, right?"

"You're wrong," Fi forced out, fighting back tears.

"And poor Clu, left alone with his rotation of bimbos, dreading the weekends wasted caring for a child he never wanted…"

"That's not true. Caleb means the world to Clu."

"This Caleb?" the demon asked, sliding open Clu's phone to reveal its background. He abruptly raised the phone and sent it flying into the wall inches from Fi's head, cracking the screen and splintering the child's image. "Can't wait to meet the little guy."

A lump grew in Fi's throat.

"Let's be honest," he continued, once again twisting Fi's hair in his fist. He jerked her head back, pressing his mouth to her ear. "We both know Clu would trade that little shit in a second for the life he imagined with you."

Fi ignored the piercing pain overtaking her body and focused on keeping a stony appearance for Clu's sake. The real Clu, that is, assuming he was still present somewhere within his body.

"Oh, that's right… Jack doesn't know, does he?" The demon took a firm grasp around Fi's neck. "Maybe he can take care of this vessel for me. All I'd have to do is tell him how nice it felt to have your legs wrapped around my back, and Jacky would turn Clu here into a broken bag of bones."

Clu's grin slipped with the click of a gun's hammer.

"Might want to reconsider your plan, buddy," Jack said dryly from behind his handgun.

"Jack, run!" Fi yelled.

"Jack Phillips," the demon said bitterly, letting go of Fi and straightening his posture.

"Back away from her or I'll shoot. I don't care whose body you're in. I will shoot you dead if you lay another finger on my sister."

"Some friend you are."

Without hesitation, Jack fired a round into Clu's shoulder.

"No!" Fi cried out weakly.

The demon hissed, hardly fazed by the shot. With a growl, he raised his palm and sent Jack soaring into the opposite wall. Jack arched his back and pushed against the brick but couldn't move. The demon held him steady. "Stay," he snarled.

Fi screamed and used her remaining strength to tip over the chair she sat in. With her arms loose, she charged at Clu and tackled him. Not letting up, she ripped the handle from his hand and drove it down hard into his skull, knocking him unconscious.

Jack fell to the floor. He stood over Clu's body, keeping a tight grip on his pistol, and debated his next move.

"Don't," Fi heaved.

"This could be the piece of shit that killed Dad," Jack answered without taking his eyes off Clu. "And even if it's not, it's still one less thing we'd have to hunt."

Fi wouldn't let Jack consider this for another moment. She motioned to the devil's trap. "Drag him there."

Jack exhaled and complied. Once he ensured the lines of the devil's trap were intact, he made his way back to Fi. Extending an arm to help her up, he noticed the rope burns around her wrists and mentally scolded himself for not arriving sooner. He moved fast to catch her when she wavered and slumped over into him, her face bruised and swollen. He glared at Clu, motionless on the ground inside the circle.

Fi used Jack as a crutch as she explained, "There's an incantation I memorized from Mom's book." She paused to take a pained breath. "We can repel the demon without harming the host."

Jack looked at her quizzically.

"Just let me try it," she said, as her mind wandered. "Jack, how'd you know that Clu was possessed? You never even saw his eyes."

"I just knew that couldn't have been him," he answered.

A hurt expression appeared on Fi's face. She quietly began reciting the incantation. "Is mise an O'Sianhan." A shallow breeze passed through the room, its intensity building with each syllable. "Táim á ordú duit."

With an inhuman twist of his torso, Clu's body shot up from its slumped position on the floor. Jack was quick to put himself in front of Fi. The demon roared and darted his eyes, now entirely black, in her direction. The wind picked up tenfold upon his sudden reanimation. "You whore witch!" he seethed. "An exorcism? You really think that will work on something like me?"

"Guess we'll just have to find out," Jack said. "Keep going, Fi."

Clu growled in pain as Fi continued to chant, "A bheith imithe as an bhfoirm daonna seo."

"There will be more like me," the demon warned, as tumultuous winds filled the air with debris.

Fi pushed herself to quicken her pace, getting louder as she repeated the incantation, her long hair whipping her wounds. Stirred dust stung her eyes. Fragments of discarded objects skidded across the floor toward her. Fi tried and failed to dodge the rubble as Jack attempted to shield her as best he could.

"I'll be sure to tell your Daddy you said hello, Fiona," the demon snickered.

Fi glared at him through the twirling strands of her hair, using all her energy to shout, ""Is mise an O'Sianhan! Táim… á ordú duit… a bheith imithe… as an bhfoirm daonna… seo!"

With her final utterance, Clu's body went stiff and the violent wind stopped. His neck rolled backward as he produced a chilling scream. Thick, black smoke propelled from his mouth and into the ceiling. He abruptly went silent and fell to the floor, Fi collapsing with him.

Jack tended to Fi first. She appeared shaken, holding herself up with her hands, her eyes pinned on Clu.

"Jack, is he okay?" she asked, her voice hoarse.

Jack hesitantly took a knee inside the circle. His friend was unresponsive.

"What if he's…" Fi began.

"Clu? Clu, answer me," Jack pleaded in a hushed tone. "Damn it, man. Not you too."

Jack stood, removing his car keys from his pocket. He kept the panic out of his voice for Fi's sake, directing her as he handed over his gun, "Fiona, keep this on him just in case. I'm going to pull the car around and we'll get him to a hospital."

Fi nodded and waited until Jack's shadow disappeared down the stairwell, then pulled herself closer to Clu. She laid down next to him, keeping a loose grip on the gun as she used her free hand to wipe his hair away from his face.

"Please be okay," she prayed. She cupped Clu's cheek and was reminded of the first time they had been this close.

He had come to visit her in Seattle. He looked so out of place. Everything there was gray except for him. "Golden" is how her aunt described him, and she started to see it, too. He had the same passion for life she once had and lost, and she convinced herself she could steal some of that passion back by keeping him close. She never ran out of excuses to go visit him in Santa Cruz, and eventually she stopped having to make them. It became routine. And he welcomed her every time with open arms. Like today.

"Fi?"

Clu's faint whisper brought Fi back to the present.

"I'm here," she assured him, still cradling his cheek.

"Why… what happened?" he asked weakly.

"Long story. I'll fill you in after we fix you up."

"Your face," he said between tapered breaths. "Jesse?"

"No," Fi answered too quickly, sending a shooting pain down her back. She groaned, and Clu unsuccessfully tried to reach for her. "No, Jesse died, Clu. Remember? We talked about it?"

"We haven't… spoken in years. Why are you here?"

Tears formed as she registered his response. "It w- wasn't you," she faltered. "It was the demon?" Fi whimpered, shuddering as she wept in frustration and physical agony.

"Fiona," Clu whispered, his eyes closing.

"Fiona?" Jack called from the stairs, hearing his sister crying. He ran to her. "Fiona, what's wrong?"

"I shouldn't have come here," she said sadly.

"Hey, it's okay," Jack told her, pulling her close.

"You warned me. You knew this would happen," she sniveled.

"Shh, sis. It's okay," he repeated, holding her head to his chest. "Can you walk?"

Fi nodded in response. Jack helped her get on her feet, then kneeled to stir Clu. "C'mon, wake up, you lanky bastard. I can't drag your ass all the way to the car," he joked dryly.

Jack gave a few harmless slaps to his face and Clu's eyes fluttered open. He moaned dazedly as Jack tried to grab hold under his arms.

"Careful. His arm may be broken," Fi cautioned.

"Let's go, buddy," Jack said to him. "I need you to walk."

Thankfully, Clu cooperated enough to shuffle himself forward, using Jack for support. Fi did the same.

Fi stopped to collect Clu's phone and the handle the demon had held.

The three limped out of the warehouse and into the Mustang. By the time Jack turned the engine key, Clu was out again.

Jack admitted Clu to the hospital and returned to Fi, waiting outside in the car. She was icing her face with one hand and holding the handle up to the light with the other.

"What's that thing?" he asked.

"I don't know," she answered. "This is what the demon was after. He said it can kill him."

Jack arched an eyebrow. He'd been told by other hunters that there was no real way to kill a demon. To the best of his knowledge, the most one could do was send it back to Hell. He'd occasionally overheard drunken ramblings about magical weapons that could do the job, but because no one had ever actually seen them, Jack believed it to be nothing more than urban legend.

"Jack… If the demon was telling the truth," she continued, "we could win. We could kill the demon that got Jesse and Dad, before it hurts anyone else; before it hurts us."

"Looks like it's missing a part," he observed. "Not much you can do with a handle with its blade broken off."

Fi shrugged. "It's worth a shot. Think about it. We could give up hunting, go back to our normal lives." She held up the ice pack for emphasis. "Then again, maybe if Mom had been honest and raised us this way, I'd be used to this by now."

Though Fi meant no harm, her comment irritated Jack. "You can't blame her for that," he said.

"Of course I can. It doesn't bother you that she lied to us all that time? About her, about Dad?"

"Fi, I'm not going to argue with you right now. You almost died back there."

"That's a yes," she cracked. "Mom should have been honest with us from day one. She knew what's out there. Instead of telling me not to be afraid of the thing in my closet, she should have handed me a .45!"

"Calm down, Fiona. You're going to pull something," Jack advised. "You should be grateful you got to discover the truth at your own pace. It wasn't dumped on you all at once. You have no idea what that's like."

Fi swallowed hard. "Okay, never mind. Drop it."

The siblings sat in silence for what seemed like hours. Jack eventually switched on the radio to put an end to it.

"In the darkness is the light," the radio played the familiar song.

Jack and Fi looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh.

"Leave it to Mom to break up a fight without even being here," Jack commented.

Fi started to mouth the lyrics while Jack sang along poorly on purpose.

The song faded out and was replaced by the disc jockey's voice. "That was Molly Phillips, formerly one third of the Phillips Kane Band, with In the Darkness," he said. "And if you're in the Colorado area, you can catch a rare performance from Ms. Phillips, tomorrow night at the Tall Tale in Pagosa Springs."

Fi nearly jumped out of her seat. Jack simply lowered his head and pressed on the gas.