A/N: Thanks for the encouraging response, everyone! :D
To my guest reviewer Loreley, nope it's not that one. The author's name is Angela Wallace. If you google her and Elemental Magic, it should pop up some info ^_^ And you're right, LOL, water can definitely be dangerous! Which, knowing the guys, they'll probably be finding out soon... o.O
The lake sat a good twenty minutes from the stoner guy's house, giving Sam some time to do his research thing. Usually, the kid was a whiz at pulling out some arcane piece of lore after a bit of Googling. So naturally this occasion would be the exception.
"What do you mean, there's nothing?" Dean groused as he turned down a side road, following a brown sign for Kansa Lake. "Nothing as in… nothing?"
"As in, nothing at all. There's no lore about mass fish killing, and the stories about monsters drowning people are mostly related to mermaids." Sam stuffed his phone back into his pocket in disgust, as Dean scoffed.
"Mermaids don't live in fresh water. There's no way one ended up here, and even less chance that it just got out and hopped across town to a second lake."
"Obviously. So… like I said, there's nothing. At least nothing that I can find without doing some more heavy duty research."
Yeah, that sounded like a blast. Dean decided to be inconveniently busy with something else for a while once they got back to the Bunker. He shrugged as he neared the next turn, currently blocked by a deputy's car. A wooden sawhorse stood to block what the cruiser didn't, plastered with a sign warning that the lake was closed to visitors. A deputy climbed out of the car as Dean approached, holding up a hand.
The hunter slowed the Impala to a stop and rolled the window down.
"Agents Curry and Arthur," he stated, voice full of authority, before the deputy could say anything. "We're following up on the situation here."
The deputy blinked, eyes roaming the car—as far from standard issue as it could be. "FBI? What-"
"Already talked to the sheriff," Dean added as he fished out his fake badge to flash in the deputy's face before stuffing it back away. "So if you'll just let us through…"
"Deputy McGhee," the man identified himself. He didn't move aside. "No offense, but… how is this a federal matter?"
"We're looking into the possibility of a serial unsub," Sam answered, the lie easy and casual. "Saw something similar in Nebraska."
"Including the fish?" McGhee asked with an incredulous scowl. "How're they doing that?"
"No idea," Dean shot back. "That's why we're still investigating."
"Deputy, what about the missing people?" Sam asked. He had to duck his head a bit to see the deputy, who still didn't seem satisfied with the whole situation. "Have they turned up yet? Or any more gone missing?"
McGhee sighed and ran a hand through his hair, twisting to glance at the stretch of woods hiding the lake from view. "No way to tell if there's any more," he pointed out. "There weren't any cars in the parking lot unaccounted for. But this is a big lake and there's other access points. Lots of campers in the woods, plenty of fishing holes if you don't mind the hike. We did a quick perimeter check, but it's hard to know if anyone should be where they aren't."
That made sense. It also made the job harder, not knowing for sure how many vics were missing, whether they were still alive or not.
"Alright," Dean said. "We'll need you to stay here at the roadblock so no one else gets close enough to go missing. My partner and I will do another sweep and see what we can find."
McGhee raised an eyebrow. His gaze dropped to the FBI outfits the two were wearing, which, granted, were not the kind of clothes Dean would have preferred to hunt in. The deputy didn't comment, though. He merely shrugged and grabbed the wooden sawhorse, pulling it out of the way to grant them access down the winding, gravel road towards the lake.
Dean gave him a vague wave as he drove through. In the rearview, he watched the deputy shift the sawhorse back into position, hopefully assuring that there wouldn't be any more civvies crashing the party. Satisfied, the hunter turned his full attention back to the task at hand.
The closer they got to the lake itself, the stronger the stench of dead fish became. The scent of the pines couldn't come close to covering that up, and Dean wrinkled his nose in disgust. "You'd think we wouldn't even notice the smell anymore," he muttered under his breath. Death was one thing… fish was another.
Beside him, Sam smirked, but didn't comment. Instead, he pointed out, "We still don't know what we're up against, or how to kill this thing."
The older hunter snorted. "So we'll do what we always do, and make it up as we go."
"Because that's worked so well in the past."
Dean shrugged and pulled into the parking lot, gravel crunching under the Impala's wheels. He got out and slammed the door, breaking the silence that hovered over the lake. The hunter couldn't help but shiver a bit at the ominous feel the stillness gave the place. Ordinarily, he would never let them go into a situation so unprepared, but there was nowhere else to look for clues about what they were up against.
"How do you want to handle this?" Sam asked, watching the lake and the hundreds of dead, bobbing fish with a pinched expression. "Split up? Looks like a lot of ground to cover."
Dean thought it over for a second, then shook his head. "Too risky if she's still here," he decided. He looked up and down the shore; from where they stood, the area was mostly wide open, but farther along he could see where the water turned inland, hiding the bank behind a thick forest of trees. The opposite shore didn't look too far away, but if he remembered correctly, this was a long, skinny lake, full of isolated coves that anyone could be hiding in.
"You know," Sam pointed out. "If there's any chance the missing people are still alive somewhere, we can't kill this monster yet. She might be the only way to find them."
"Hate to break it to ya, Sammy," Dean said, popping the trunk and grabbing a machete and a shotgun. "If it is a goddess or a water spirit, odds are we really can't kill her yet. We'll just keep her under wraps at the bunker until she tells us what she is so we know which ritual to gank her with. Grab those manacles with the sigils."
The younger hunter gave the chains a doubtful look, but pulled them out of the trunk with a metallic clanking. "Think these will hold a pagan goddess?"
Dean shrugged. "Guess we're about to find out." But hell, anything that could hold an angel, the world's most dramatic witch, or the King of Hell certainly ought to at least slow a goddess down. He dug out the EMF meter and switched it on. If only it would light up, if only it was just a ghost after all… a nasty, lake-hopping ghost… But that would have meant luck was on their side, which just never happened. The meter remained frustratingly quiet, and the hunter stuck it back in his pocket with a sigh.
"Worth a shot," he muttered.
Sam's mouth twisted in disappointment, but he nodded. The odds of "goddess"—otherwise known as "worst case scenario"—were steadily climbing. Naturally.
The two hunters made their way down to the lake shore, Dean gripping the machete tightly as his eyes continued to rove the surroundings in search of a threat. Probably the monster had abandoned this lake to move on to the second, and there was no need to worry. Probably.
Still, the Winchesters moved as silently as possible, stepping over the already decaying carcasses that carpeted the rocky shore. The stink was becoming over-powering, but the thought of victims still alive out here somewhere forced the two to keep going. Soon, they had lost sight of the parking lot as the shore turned in to a secluded, wooded cove. Neither of them spoke, looking for anything that would offer some kind of explanation for everything. The cove turned into another outcropping, which in turn led to another cove.
No wonder the sheriff hadn't been able to get a solid idea if anyone else was missing, Dean thought with frustration. There were several signs of old campsites, some close to the water's edge and some a few yards into the woods, but no way of telling how recently they had been occupied. This was starting to feel like a waste of time.
"I don't see anything," Sam whispered, his tone echoing Dean's own aggravation. "Think they're still alive?"
"Honestly? Kinda doubt it." Dean pushed a branch aside with the flat of his machete, jumping over a mound of fish. "Man, this is gross. This is worse than the sewer. Do you-"
The hunter cut off as Sam grabbed his arm and jerked him backwards with a sharp intake of breath. Though it took Dean by surprise, he immediately followed his brother's lead, letting himself be dragged down behind a fallen tree whose wide trunk offered some cover from the opening ahead. He looked at Sam, who put a warning finger to his lips.
Dean nodded, hardly daring to breathe, as the two hunters pushed themselves up just enough to peer over the rim of the tree trunk. Through the foliage that screened them, Dean could just make out a form slipping out of the woods towards the water's edge.
Beside him, Sam clutched the manacles, face set in a focused frown; it was a beautiful, dark-haired, young woman, exactly as the witnesses had described. Dean wanted to rush her right then and there, but he forced himself to wait. After all, this could just be a camper, coming to investigate the truly god-awful smell. Even as he considered this unlikely coincidence, though, Dean's grip tightened on his machete.
For a moment, the woman just stood, looking at the lake. She was angled away enough that the hunters couldn't see her face clearly, but her posture seemed rigid and tense. No one moved. Dean felt adrenaline starting to kick his heartbeat up, but still he didn't attack. Not yet.
When she suddenly turned, Sam and Dean ducked back behind the tree, barely breathing. They waited for a beat of silence before daring to peer out again. The young woman was looking up and down the lake furtively as though to be sure that she was alone. Dean exhaled softly in relief as she turned back toward the water, evidently satisfied that no one else was around. Then, she stretched a hand towards the lake… and a stream of water rose from the surface.
The hunters went rigid. Dean's eyes widened, frozen as he watched the water defy all gravity to hover in the air a few feet away from the woman. It flowed back and forth in small swirls as she moved her hands, manipulated by her power. Shit, definitely a goddess, definitely the one they were after! The brothers traded a swift glance, both wearing the same mask of grim determination. This could be their only chance; time to see if those manacles worked on something this strong.
Dean gave a sharp nod, then both hunters exploded out of hiding, rushing the goddess. She spun towards them as the water fell back into the lake. Eyes widening and mouth opening in shock, she barely had time to raise her hands before Dean had tackled her to the ground.
"Sam!" he shouted, struggling to pin her arms while she scrambled madly to get free. "Get the chains on her!"
The goddess gasped, huge eyes finding Sam. "No!" she cried, struggling even harder. The water was becoming choppy, splashing up in furious waves even as she thrashed to get free. "Help! Somebody help me!"
Dean's eyes narrowed, not remotely taken in by the show of fear. Taking a chance, he let go with one hand to cover her mouth, while his other hand tightened its grip. Sam dove down next to them, trying to fasten one of the manacles around the goddess's wrist. She managed to wrest it loose, though, hand shooting out towards the lake. Dean wasn't ready for the stream of water that slammed into him like it'd been shot from a fire hose. The force of it knocked him over, giving the goddess time to wriggle out from under him and jump to her feet.
"Help!" she shouted again, backing away from the hunters with her hands extended. "Stay away from me!"
"We know what you are," Sam snarled. "If you think we're going to let you walk free…"
Her face paled, then hardened as the younger Winchester leaped towards her. Dean was still clambering to his feet when he saw a massive wave of water fly up in the air and loop around his brother. It hit him with a massive force, sending Sam tumbling into the roiling lake. The waves pushed him back, away from the shore in the complete opposite direction that waves were supposed to move. Though the hunter struggled to swim against the current, he was being swept further and further away.
"No!" Dean shouted, charging the goddess with cold, focused fury. Sam was one victim she would not be drowning. There was a fierce determination in her glare, though, and she slashed her hands in Dean's direction. Jets of water hit him again and again, much more painful than he would have ever expected mere water to be. It prevented him from reaching her—in fact, it was propelling him backwards, but at least Sam was staggering back up in chest-deep water.
With a frustrated growl, Dean managed to raise the sawed-off he'd been carrying, but a blast propelled it right out of his hand. Shit. Instinctively, the hunter hefted the machete next, even though he wasn't nearly close enough to use it. Dean's eyes widened in dismay as a thin stream whistled through the air towards him, coiling around his wrist and jerking his hand so that he couldn't keep hold of the weapon. It dropped to the ground, leaving him defenseless.
"Stay… away… from… me!" the goddess shouted, each word punctuated by another blast of water that drove Dean farther back and farther away from his fallen weapons. He coughed and spluttered, raising his arms in the useless hope of protecting his face from the attacks. The hunter's feet slipped out from under him as he stepped on a slimy pile of dead fish.
Dean barely had time to panic before he'd hit the ground, landing in the shallows of the lake. One final blast directly to the chest knocked him flat into the water. All she had to do now was hold him there, and Dean was done for. Heart racing, the hunter fought to push himself back up before she could, only vaguely registering that the attacks had stopped. By the time he was sitting upright, Dean's gaze had already locked on Sam—now behind the goddess with a fallen tree limb in hand.
One blow to the back of the head and the goddess dropped to the ground. Sam stood over her, eyes wide. Both the Winchesters were breathing heavily, and neither moved as they stared at the downed woman, waiting to see if she would get back up again or if she was truly out.
After a minute had dragged on and she hadn't twitched, Dean finally struggled to his feet and splashed out of the lake. Every footstep squeaked in his waterlogged dress shoes as he slogged over to Sam.
"You alright?" the younger Winchester asked.
Dean nodded then winced, rubbing his jaw where one of the blows had landed. "You?"
"Yeah." Sam was still eyeing the goddess with suspicion. "So… that was easy."
Soaking wet, sore all over, and reeking of fish, Dean glared at his brother. Right. Easy. Though, he was surprised that Sam's attack had been enough to knock the goddess out. Not that he was going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Nodding to the manacles that Sam had managed to hold on to through his sojourn into the lake, Dean said,
"Better get those on her before she wakes up."
"And pray that they work," Sam added. He dropped the club and knelt down by the woman so he could snap the cuffs around her wrists. The lake had settled down once again, returning the area to its previous state of ominous quiet. Dean hoped the roadblock was far enough away that the deputy hadn't heard the goddess's cries carrying over the water. This would be difficult to explain if he came to investigate, and found them standing over what appeared to be a defenseless young woman, putting sigiled chains on her.
"You got her?" Dean asked as his brother scooped the goddess up, hefting her bridal style in his arms.
"Got her. Let's hurry though. I'd rather not be this close when she wakes up."
Dean nodded, seconding that emotion. He grabbed the machete and shotgun, then led the way back towards the parking lot. It was slow going compared to the walk there, with wet shoes slipping on the slimy bank, both Winchesters ten pounds heavier in drenched suits. The only sound to be heard was the squelching of their feet and the soft drips the disgruntled hunters trailed in their wake. Dean shivered in the chilly air, wanting only to get back to the Bunker as fast as they could.
To their relief, there was no one else in the parking lot when they finally made it back. Dean squeaked his way to the Impala and popped the trunk again, thoroughly irritated that they had no towels and therefore had no choice but to make a watery mess in his car. Sometimes, this job asked too much of them.
"That should hold her," he grumbled, gesturing to the various sigils that lined the trunk. The hunter shifted their cooler and other odds and ends out of the way to make enough room for Sam to set the goddess inside. As soon as she was in, he slammed the lid closed and locked the trunk securely.
"Let's get outta here, I need a shower," Dean groused. "You're the mythology nerd, any chance you know who she is, from any of that?"
Sam shrugged as he wrestled his suit jacket off and wrung it out, splashing lake water onto the gravel stones of the parking lot. He looked as miserable and disgusted as Dean felt. "No clue," he said. "I'm surprised there's not more lore about her to make it obvious, as strong as she is."
Well, damn. That would be the first thing they'd have to get out of her, then. Dean nodded, also peeling off his sopping wet jacket and throwing it into the back seat in a wet heap. The hunter grimaced as he eased himself behind the wheel.
"Sorry, baby," he murmured, almost rubbing the dash but deciding he didn't want to leave the fishy smell all over everything he touched. "I'll get you cleaned out, too."
"Priorities, Dean."
Dean didn't bother responding. Starting up the engine as soon as Sam had closed the door, he pointed the Impala back up towards the road. They were going to get some funny looks from the deputy, but that was the least of Dean's concerns.
They still had no idea if the other victims were still alive, or where they were. They still had no idea who they were dealing with… or how to kill her.
This case was far from over.