Yay chapter two!

Iron and Salt was a small, run down book shop in a Victorian style building and at 1am the only light came from a lamp in the apartment above. Dorian Sheppard, owner of both the shop and the apartment, was sleeping soundly, propped up against his pillows. A book lay open on his lap, and he had fallen asleep reading it, his finger still holding his place. A sharp knock on the door caused him to jerk awake and he looked around, slightly confused as to what had woken him up. There was another knock on the door and he frowned, throwing the covers off his bed and heading down the stairs to the door next to his shop. He pulled open the door to find a slightly dishevelled Janaya and Nora leaning on each other. Or rather, Janaya was dishevelled and Nora was leaning. Dorian looked closer and realised that she was barely holding on to consciousness.

"Jesus Christ!" he exclaimed, his British accent stronger than ever in his worry, and he opened the door wider, ushering them inside. "What the hell kind of bomb hit your party?"

Despite everything, Janaya felt a smirk spread across her face as she looked at Dorian, dressed only in boxers, standing in front of her and Nora. She resisted the urge to cover Nora's eyes, knowing her friend was too drunk to be subtle about her feelings towards Dorian. Not that it mattered as Nora could barely keep her eyes open long enough to notice Dorian was even there.

"I've got to talk to you," Janaya said, suddenly serious. She attempted to help Nora inside but Nora had completely lost consciousness by this point and Janaya struggled to hold her up. "But we should probably deal with this mess first."

Dorian nodded and slung Nora's arm around his neck, slipping an arm under her legs and lifting her up. Janaya walked up the stairs, the pair of them in tow, and let Dorian lead them to his bedroom, where he laid Nora on his bed before picking up a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Janaya folded her arms and leant against the door frame as he slipped on his clothing. "Some guys showed up at the party and started some trouble." Janaya but back a harsh laugh at herself and shook her head. Trouble was more than an understatement. "They..." she paused briefly, remembering Val, face down in the sink, her dress stained with her own blood. "They killed Val."

Dorian froze and turned to Janaya. He hadn't known Val nearly as long as he'd known Janaya and Nora but he'd thought she was fairly cool. And being murdered at a party was an awful way to go. "What? Why?"

Janaya stared back at him, silent for a moment as she forced tears to stay behind her eyes. "Because they wanted to."

Dorian watched her for a moment longer before he finished getting dressed in silence. Janaya watched as he pulled the blankets over Nora, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear before turning back to Janaya quickly. She allowed herself a small smile and he raised an eyebrow at her but she shook her head. Sooner or later those two would figure it out for themselves that they were perfect for each other.

"Alrighty then," Dorian said, giving Janaya a strange look. "Did you notice anything unusual about them?"

"I dunno, Dorian." She tilted her head to the side. "Do black eyes and super strength count as unusual?"

The look he gave her was a mix surprise and fear. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped as Janaya glanced at Nora and motioned for them to leave the room, leading the way into the kitchen. Nora may have been unconscious, but Janaya didn't want to have this conversation around her... not until she was sure it was necessary. She'd been through enough for the evening. The kitchen was only separated from the living room by a breakfast bar, the whole apartment was slightly run down but had a homely feel to it. She sat down on one of the stools next to the breakfast bar and he stepped into the kitchen, pouring himself a glass of water.

"This is going to sound crazy," she said slowly, looking at Dorian closely to gauge his reaction. "But they were demons."

Dorian choked on his water and she continued to observe him seriously as he spluttered and spilt water down his t-shirt.

When he had caught his breath finally he put the glass of water down and shook his head. "No, they weren't, Janaya, you were probably just freaking out because they'd just killed your friend. Had you been reading before you'd gone out?"

Janaya opened her mouth to deny it but that was pointless because she had been reading before she'd gone out. That didn't change anything though. "So me and Nora had the same hallucination?" she asked. "Nora saw their eyes too and it can't have been the alcohol because I'd had barely a sip, and it can't have been the stress because she was too drunk to be stressed..." she trailed. "I know they were demons Dorian... and they were surprised to find out I knew what they were... I just don't get how they were demons, you know?"

"They talked to you?" Dorian asked in surprise.

Janaya shrugged. "I wouldn't say they talked to me exactly... but like I said, they were surprised... they didn't expect for anyone to know, I guess, and I caught them off guard..." She laughed slightly to herself, despite the inappropriate time. "Though I doubt I caught them off guard nearly as much as Nora did."

"What did Nora do?"

Janaya raised an eyebrow at him. In that one sentence he'd manage to convey anger, panic, surprise and relief all at the same time. "She defended herself," she said firmly. She didn't know why she didn't just tell Dorian what Nora had done, but there was really only room for one person to get over protective of Nora and Janaya had gotten there first. "What does it matter what Nora did anyway?"

Dorian gave her a surprised look that she took to mean she should know this already. "Demons, Jay, demons kill people. Without blinking. What if she'd gotten hurt?"

Tilting her head to the side, Janaya blinked at Dorian, silent for a long moment. "I thought you said they weren't demons," she said slowly, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I..." Dorian started but he gave up under Janaya's cool gaze. He could lie to her, but it would be pointless now, she would see right through him. "Alright, so there may be a few things that I... neglected to tell you."

"Oh, you think?" Janaya's eyes were widened slightly as she debated whether to be angry or surprised. She was surprised to find that Dorian knew this stuff was real... and appeared to have known for quite some time. And she was angry that he hadn't informed either her or Nora of this fun little fact. "Like, demons exist and they could show up any day to try and kick your ass?"

Dorian sighed. "Like, Demons exist and I used to hunt them," he said quietly.

Any argument that Janaya might have been preparing fell dead on her lips as she stared at Dorian. That she hadn't been expecting. Although she supposed it made sense. He knew about demons and she assumed that most people that knew about evil would do what they could do stop it... except for the evil people of course. "Used to?" she asked tentatively.

Another sigh from Dorian told Janaya she wasn't getting any in depth answers. "We're not getting into my life story tonight, Jay, we've got more important things to worry about."

Janaya folded her arms across her chest. "Like what?"

Dorian closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his hands clenching into fists for a brief moment. He loved Janaya like a sister but Jesus Christ she was so stubborn sometimes that he just wanted to wrap his hands around her neck and shake her till she saw sense. "Like the fact that you being alive means that you probably pissed off a couple of demons... and demons aren't the type to forgive and forget. If demons and hunters have anything in common, it's their inability to let things go." He looked at her seriously, worry evident on his face. "Those demons will come after you... and when they catch up to you... it won't be pretty."

Janaya had always wished that things like this existed. That the world was a little more interesting. That there was more to it than school and life and death. But hearing that it was all true was not as awesome as she had thought it would be. Maybe it was the part where demons were going to hunt her down and kill her painfully that she wasn't enjoying so much, but Janaya felt as if her entire world had shattered and there was no way for her to put it back together. Demons were coming after her for fucks sake. And not just her, Nora too... and what about everyone at Cassandra's house? What had happened to them when she and Nora had left? It was all way too much.

"Can I have some ice?" she asked quietly, staring into space, her fingers brushing lightly over her bruised throat as she tried not to imagine all of the horrible ways she and Nora could die. Damn her vivid imagination. Dorian wrapped an ice pack in a tea towel and pressed it gently against her neck, the cold soothing the pain slightly and also jolting her back into reality. She smiled slightly at him, pressing her hand against the ice pack so that Dorian could let go. He stepped away from her, but only a little, watching her in concern. He didn't think he could remember a time when she'd been stunned into so much silence.

"Listen," he said finally. "I know this is a lot to take in all at the same time... and if I'd known something like this would happen I would have broken it to you more gently... prepared you... I guess I just hoped that you guys were impervious to this kind of thing..." he had never wanted to involve the girls in this kind of life... in any kind of life that didn't involve being able to walk down the street without having to look over their shoulders all the time. Unfortunately, life never seemed to go as planned, which he guessed he should have learnt by now. "The only thing I can do to prepare you now is to tell you that you already know the important theory work."

Janaya had only been half listening but this got her attention and she frowned at him. "What?"

"The Supernatural series," Dorian explained, heading into the living room half of the apartment and pulling a book off the bookshelf that stood against one of the walls. "I know it sounds insane, and believe me, I was surprised, but everything in here, the salt, the iron, even the exorcisms are one hundred percent correct. I don't know how this guy did it... but he knows everything." He replaced the book on the shelf and looked at Janaya imploringly. "You know this stuff... and I know you can fight, I've seen you at your classes and it makes me want to hug your mum till she pops..." Janaya raised an eyebrow at him, a small smile tugging at the edge of her lips. "And I know Nora can't... well... not to the extent you can... just... promise me that when you go home you'll keep an eye on her? Keep salt in the doorways and windows... devil's traps if you can muster them -"

Janaya snorted derisively and Dorian looked at her, surprised. "Go home?" she asked. "Are you completely insane? What makes you think that learning that demons are after my ass would make me want to go home? They could go there and hurt Mom... or go to Nora's place and hurt her parents... or come here and hurt you..." she shook her head firmly. "I know we got lucky this time... they hadn't expected us to know... they hadn't expected a fight... but next time they'll be ready and no matter how well I can fight, or how well I know their weaknesses... I know it won't be enough." She fixed Dorian with a firm stare that she felt left no room for argument. "We have to run. Nora and I... we have to get out of town and run like fuck."

"No," Dorian said, ignoring Janaya's frustrated growl and roll of her eyes. "Come on, think about this. If you think you won't last fighting in your own home, do you seriously think you two will make it on your own while being hunted down? Constantly under threat? That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard."

Janaya glared at him. "Then what the fuck else can we do, Dorian?" she asked, fighting to keep her voice down for fear of waking Nora. "We can't stay, we can't run... we might as well go back to the party and say 'hey, demon dudes, we know you're going to kill us and there's fuck all we can do to stop you so why don't we just get this over with?'"

Dorian ran a hand through his hair, trying desperately to think, before growling loudly and punching the bookcase in front of him, making Janaya jump in her seat before freezing, thinking she'd heard a noise of complaint from Dorian's bedroom. Dorian froze as well but, when no other noises were heard, they both resumed the conversation. Though admittedly at a lower volume than before. "This is all just a big, bloody bag of wank," Dorian said seriously, walking back over to the breakfast bar and sitting in the stool next to Janaya, resting his elbow on the bar and his head on his fist. "You can't stay," he agreed quietly. "But you can't run either... not by yourselves..." he sighed, wishing with every fibre of his being that this was a nightmare and he would soon wake up to realise Nora and Janaya weren't in any danger and he would never have to be caught up in this crap ever again. "So you'll run... and I'll go with you."

Janaya's face softened and she shook her head. "You can't just pack up your life here for us," she pointed out.

"You two are all I've got," he countered, no trace of sarcasm in his voice. "If anything happened to you... it's worth giving up my life here if it means you'll be safe. I've got the experience, I can teach you and Nora more of what you need to know... you have a better chance with me."

Smiling faintly, Janaya reached out and touched Dorian's cheek lightly. "I'm sorry," she said seriously, attempting to stifle a yawn, and failing, and wincing as the yawn aggravated her throat.

Dorian stood and gave Janaya his best 'mum' face. "Bed for you, I think," he said firmly. She opened her mouth, perhaps to protest, but all that came out was another yawn that hurt her throat again. "Definitely bed. I'll sleep out here."

"But - "

"Goodnight, love."

Despite the late hour it had been when they got to bed, they all rose before ten... even Nora who thankfully wasn't concussed at all. It had taken the better part of their morning to explain to Nora what Janaya and Dorian had discussed while she'd slept. Nora pressed her forehead to the cool linoleum on the breakfast bar as she tried to take it all in. Running away? From demons? So what she thought had been a really vivid nightmare had actually happened.

"Why does my head hurt?" she cried out loud. She flexed her right fist and whimpered, pain shooting up her arm. "And why does my hand hurt?" She sat up and stared at her plate of bangers and mash (why he couldn't just call it sausages and potatoes was beyond her) that Dorian had cooked for her and felt her stomach churn, pulling over the bag of sliced bread and buttering two pieces, ladening them with potato and sausages.

Janaya shook her head at Nora. "Well, your head hurts 'cause you got completely trashed last night," she explained as Nora began to construct her sandwich. "And your hand hurts because you pummelled a demon's face in... Well done."

"You did what?" Dorian asked, looking up quickly from the frying pan.

"I told you she defended herself," Janaya said simply, picking up her coffee and drinking from it deeply, ignoring the searing heat. She flicked through the newspaper, finding an interesting article about a strange string of accident related deaths.

Dorian stared at her for a long moment before turning his attention to Nora, who was still piling together a sandwich that would probably end up being bigger than her own head. ""I think your headache has less to do with you getting completely and utterly banjo'd last night and more to do with you slipping over and cracking your head open on some kitchen tiles." Nora shot him a faux glare and he grinned. "Though as mad as I am that you even got into a fist fight with a demon in the first place, I can't help but be a little proud." Nora grinned, her heart fluttering at Dorian's praise, but his face quickly turned serious again. "Having said that, don't do it again, under any other circumstance those demons would have killed you both."

"We know this, Dorian," Janaya sighed, taking another deep drink from her coffee. "Which is why we're running, remember?"

"Hey, weird string of deaths in southern California," Nora noted, reading the newspaper over Janaya's shoulder. "First stop on our road trip?"

"You read my mind," Janaya said, grinning at her.

Dorian spun around to face them so quickly he nearly knocked the frying pan off the stove. "You two are completely impossible! We are running for your lives," he reminded them. "We are all up and leaving our lives, your families, so we can try and stay one step ahead of a couple of demons who probably really want to kill you. This is not a road trip! Why won't you take this seriously?"

Nora stared at Dorian in shock for a long moment, looking a little hurt. "We are taking this seriously," she defended quietly.

"I'm sorry," Dorian sighed. "I just wish you'd act a little more - "

"Scared?" Janaya cut in, her coffee cup halfway to her lips. "We are scared, Dorian. I don't know about Nora, but I am more scared than I have ever been in my entire life. So what, I'm supposed to just let these assholes get the better of me? We're running, yes, but running to where? We have to stay on the move anyway, we just want - " she stopped speaking and jumped as her cellphone rang loudly. Sighing, she pulled it out of her pocket and flipped it open. "Hello?" she said, by way of answer. Nora looked at her questioningly and she merely rolled her eyes in response. "Yes, I'm dead, that is how I answered the phone, mother..." Janaya slid off the stool and took her conversation to somewhere less in the way.

"We just want a little more purpose to this running away thing," Nora said, finishing Janaya's thought. "Running's going to be hard enough as it is without being able to do something."

"It's dangerous," Dorian said firmly. "It's not always like the books, people die doing this job all the time."

Nora shrugged. "And running away from demons isn't dangerous?"

Janaya sprinted out of Dorian's bedroom and dived at the television, hitting the on button and looking for the right button to change the channel. "Channel six!" she growled back at Dorian who immediately grabbed the remote and switched channels. The picture on the screen was of what once was Cassandra's beautiful house, now gutted by fire. It showed people being carried out in body bags, unrecognisable charcoal versions of their former selves.

"No one is sure, yet, what happened here," the news presenter standing in front of the house was saying. "The fire department will be entering soon to discover the cause of the blaze, meanwhile ME's are still removing bodies from inside... bodies that will have to be identified by dental records..."

The television went silent as Dorian pointed the remote at it again and muted it. But none of them could drag their eyes from the scene before them. Janaya, with her back to the other two, had her hand pressed firmly against her mouth and she was blinking quickly to prevent tears from falling. She may not have liked the people in that house but nobody deserved what they got... but she wouldn't cry. Janaya LaMorte did not cry, especially not in front of people. Nora had pushed her giant sandwich away from her and had silent tears streaming down her face and Dorian just stared at the screen in shock. He should have known something like that would happen... he switched the television off and blinked several times.

"We need to get going," he said firmly. "If they did that, they'll be looking for you soon."

When she had managed to compose herself to her satisfaction, Janaya stood and turned around. "Yeah... leaving... I gave Mom some bullshit story about an early road trip to check out the college campus... that'll give use a couple of weeks at least until we need to come up with a new story." She tossed her cellphone to Nora. "Call your parents, tell them the same thing."

Nora stared down at the cellphone then up at Janaya. "I can't go home and say goodbye?"

Janaya shook her head. "Do you want that - " she gestured at the television and though the screen was black they could all still see what had been there before " - to happen to them?" she knew it was harsh and she instantly regretted having said it but it was the truth. "If either of us go home... the demons can track us there and we'll have a repeat of last night... we can't let that happen."

Nora knew Janaya was right and it scared her more than the idea of demons coming after her. After a moment of hesitation, Nora dialled home so she could talk to her parents. Dorian watched for a moment, his jaw tight, before heading into his bedroom to begin packing his things... the important things at least. Curious, Janaya followed him and leant against the door frame as he moved quickly through his room. After tossing a few clothes into the bag, he glanced at Janaya and looked at her for a moment as if debating something in his head, before shrugging and kneeling down to pull something out from under his bed. It was a wooden chest, somewhere between medium and large sized, and Janaya moved further into the room and knelt down next to him, her lips pressed tightly shut to keep herself from asking annoying questions.

Dorian glanced at Janaya, seeing her all but bursting with curiosity, and allowed a small smile to cross his lips. "It's my dad's old stuff," he explained, answering her silent question and opening the lid of the chest. Inside it was all the things Janaya had imagined would have been inside the trunk of the Impala. Shotguns, machetes, knives, holy water... the works. Dorian moved quickly, moving the things in the chest to his bag as fast as he could, remembering they were still on a tight schedule. His hands hesitated over a small knife and a dusty old book so Janaya, unable to stop herself, reached into the chest and pulled out both. She flicked through the book, but it was all in Latin so she didn't understand a word of it until she looked just inside the front cover.

Dorian,
Don't let them win.
With love and pride, William.

"That was my grandfather's," Dorian said, slowly taking the book out of Janaya's hands and placing it gently in the bag. "He gave it to me for my fifteenth birthday."

Janaya nodded her understanding and glanced back into the chest. "The knife too?"

Dorian lifted the knife out of the chest and nodded. "He had it specially made for me. Iron blade, for demons."

"You're whole family were hunters?" Looking at Dorian, Janaya would not have picked him to be raised with a family of demon hunting badasses. Not to say that Dorian wasn't capable... he almost certainly was... he just didn't look the type.

"As far back as they go."

"Where are they?" Almost as soon as she had asked the question, she had wished she hadn't as Dorian, who had been standing up and throwing his bag over his shoulder, froze and closed his eyes.

"Dead," he said quietly, lost in thought.

Standing slowly, Janaya placed a hand on Dorian's shoulder. "I'm sorry," she said after a long moment of silence, unable to find anything else to say.

Dorian said nothing for a long time, simply stood in the middle of his room, eyes closed. Eventually, he took a deep breath, raised his chin and looked at Janaya seriously. "We need to get going."

Janaya lowered her hand and sighed, following Dorian out of his bedroom and back into the main living room. Nora had just ended her phone call and tossed the cellphone back to Janaya. "They're sorted for the next couple of weeks," she assured them. "But after that we're going to need another excuse."

Janaya nodded, thinking for a moment. "Alright, so, since I'm the only one with a car, I guess that answers the mode of transportation question. Dorian, you can put that stuff in the trunk."

"What about things like, clothes? And food? And you know... stuff?" Nora asked.

Janaya shrugged. "Not for nothing does my mother abandon me every other day," she pointed out. "I charge it, she pays... we'll just buy new stuff later."

Before Nora could argue, and Janaya counter, Dorian stepped in. "You girls go get in the car, I need to make a phone call."

Janaya wanted to tell him that they could wait, but decided they didn't have time to argue about it, and maybe Dorian needed a moment alone. "Alright," she said, pulling on Nora's sleeve and leading her to the car.

Sighing, Dorian picked up the phone and, hesitating only a moment, dialled a number he knew by heart. "Michael?" he asked when the other person picked up. "Yeah, hey, it's Dorian... I've got a situation and I could really use your help."

And there it is. Revieeeeew :D