A/N: So this is a pretty long chapter! I thought I'd treat you guys to a longer one since I'll be busy over the next few days and won't be updating until next week. I hope you guys enjoy and please drop a review to let me know what you think ! xx
four
Effy was perched over her motel room's coffee table, rustling through notes and journal entries she'd taken from many a family journal. She was in between hunts, searching for headlines that could be remotely… out of the ordinary. Or, ordinary, in her case.
She'd dropped Garrett at the airport a couple of days before; he was flying back home to handle the family estate and work a couple of cases. Effy was due back soon; she'd yet to book a flight, though.
She sighed and stood up from the couch, stretching as she made her way over to the bed and flopped down on it, staring up at the ceiling as her back slowly straightened. It was aching, she'd been on her feet for days. Maybe a couple of days off wouldn't be such a bad thing…
Dnn dnn dnn, dnn dnn, dnn dnn, dnn dnn dnnn dnn dnn
Effy leant up to grab her phone from beside her bed and smiled as she saw Dean's name flashing on her phone, picking it up and flipping it open rather dramatically. "Allo allo allo."
"Hey Eff, need your help with some research."
She scoffed and raised an eyebrow. "Dean Winchester, researching?"
Dean chuckled slightly at her remark. "Well why do you think I'm calling you, kiddo?"
Effy moved from her bed to her books spread out over the small coffee table in her motel room, rolling her eyes as she sat down. "Stop with the kiddo horseshit and I might actually help you."
"Alright, alright. I'm emailing you a photo of this symbol, you got Internet?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Okay, just sent it."
Effy watched her emails and refreshed a few times before she saw the new message. "Got it."
She tilted her head and furrowed her brows in confusion. That symbol was familiar.. Zoroastrian, if she wasn't wrong. But the symbol represented eluded her. "I've seen that before…" She reached for an older leather-bound book, pages crinkled and dark from its age.
"Zoroastrian…" She nodded as she confirmed her initial thought. Her eyes skimmed through the passages. "This is some dark, ancient magic shit right here, Dean. Like we're talking before 2000 B.C. kind of shit." Effy's eyes widened as she turned the page. "Here! Daeva…"
"Daeva? What's a daeva?"
She frowned as she read the words. "Apparently a very, very old kind of shadow creature. Demon is my best bet." She tensed and felt her stomach growing heavy. "Invisible to us, they lurk in the shadows. They don't possess people, they just… are." She sighed as she kept reading. "They're savage… animalistic. So it makes sense that they have to be summoned."
"Another day, another job." Dean chuckled, though Effy could hear the worry in his voice.
Effy put down the book and stacked the papers together and pursed her lips. They were in over their heads. Again. Whatever was summoning those things is some old world, mad powerful kind of thing. They could get themselves killed…
"Where are you?" She asked as she threw papers together, packing them as quickly as she could.
"Chicago, why?"
She sighed and put the papers in their bag, placing the book at the front. "Dean, whoever's summoning this thing knows their shit. Knowledge of such ancient magic like that?" At least they were close. She could be there before sunrise. "I'm in Madison, I'll be there in three hours."
"Effy, really it's okay."
She threw the book bag next to her weapons duffle and frantically threw her dirty clothes in her backpack. "Shut up, text me where you're staying."
He hesitated, not responding for a while. Eventually, he sighed. "Yeah, okay."
Chicago was colder than Effy had expected; she also wasn't very used to driving in American cities. Having to focus on one-way streets and staying on the right side of the road had been harder than she'd intended. She rolled her eyes at Garrett's timing.
By the time she'd made it to the address Dean had messaged her it was almost sunrise. She took her bags out of her boot and slung them across her torso and shoulders, grimacing slightly at the prospect of having to climb stairs to get to the room. Sighing, she took the first step. This is my exercise for the day she thought sarcastically.
As she reached the door she hesitated before knocking. Sam would be in there. She hadn't spoken to Sam for two and a half years. And now she's turned up on his doorstep. Her stomach flipped as she tried to think of what she would say to him. Hell, he probably hated her. Too much time had passed to mend the friendship they'd broken two years ago.
Effy breathed in deeply and briskly knocked on the door, the weight of her bags weighing her down. She could hear footsteps before the door flew open, Dean's signature smirk greeting her.
"Effy." His smirk grew in to a grin as she dropped her bags and practically leaped in to his arms, hugging him tight. He squeezed back and lifted her up, the familiar smell of leather and beer overcoming her.
"I missed you." She whispered in to his chest as he put her down, resting his head on hers.
"Likewise, kiddo." He smiled as they let go of each other. He leant over and grabbed the straps of her bags before standing to the side, motioning inside. "Come in."
Effy got out of his way as he picked her bags up, walking inside and looking around the small and rather old apartment. It looked like it'd been abandoned for years. She walked in to the kitchen, nodding to the kettle on the stove. "Don't suppose you've got any tea?"
Dean smirked as he dropped her bags by the couch, leaning back to meet her eyes from the next room. "You mean hot leaf water? Nah, we don't got any of that. But I think I can reach that tree outside the window, grab you a couple fresh ones."
Effy clasped her hand over her heart and gasped. "How barbaric." She'd also noticed the apartment seemed relatively empty, that Dean was alone. "Where's Sam?" She asked, trying to play down how anxious she was about seeing the youngest Winchester again.
Dean picked up his beer and leant against what Effy assumed had been a dining table. "Out stalking this chick we ran in to last night." He took a sip and sighed. "He met her at a bus stop in Indiana, doesn't seem to accept that it's a coincidence."
Effy raised her eyebrows as she went to the fridge to take a beer. "Well coincidences don't really happen to people like us, Dean."
He nodded. "Maybe not."
Effy leant against the doorframe as she popped the cap of her beer. "I found some of this stuff in-"
"Sneaking in a beer, Eff?" Dean stared at her, eyeing the beer in her hand. His tone was scolding, almost like that of a father telling off his child. Suddenly she felt like she was fifteen again, sneaking in to her parent's liquor cart with Sam and getting shitfaced. Garrett and Dean had caught them and cleaned them up, getting them water and kebabs before putting them to bed.
"…What?" Effy asked, raising her eyebrows.
Dean crossed his arms. "Didn't know you were 21."
"I'm of legal age." She rolled her eyes, taking a sip.
"Not in this country."
"I'm 21 in a couple of months, bite me." She winked at him and took another sip, smiling at him as he huffed.
She took a step forward, moving to sit on the couch. "Anyway, I found some of this stuff in my grandpa's journal. He was real big on ancient magic, so I called Garrett and asked if he could scan the pages and email them to me." She reached in to her book bag and pulled out the old book she'd used for her research. "These Daeva's are hard-core, Dean. I haven't found a vulnerability yet." She tilted her head as she thought. "Unless…"
Dean gestured for her to finish her sentence. Effy always did this, having conversations with herself. "What?"
She raised her eyebrow. "They're… 'shadow' demons, right? Maybe if there's no shadow…"
Dean pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows in consideration, putting his beer down. "It's a start."
They heard the apartment door open and heavy footsteps on the wooden floorboards. Dean nodded to Effy and muttered a quick "Hang on."
Sam's here. Oh God. Sam's here. What am I supposed to say? Hey Sam, good to see you! Last time you saw me we were about to rip each other's throats out. No. Hey Sam, good to see you! It's been awhile. Nope, too casual.
"Dude, I've gotta talk to you." Dean and Sam synchronised as they greeted each other. Effy's stomach flipped as she heard Sam's voice. Oh God.
"Uh… but first." She heard Dean mumble slightly.
Effy chugged the rest of her beer as she heard them coming closer, taking her reading glasses off and pulling her hair to one side.
And there he was. Sam Winchester. Shit, she'd almost forgotten how tall he was. He made even Dean look small when stood next to him, he basically filled the doorframe. He was more tanned than when she last saw him, his hair still had that flick to it when he kept it that length. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her, his eyebrows furrowing as he looked at her, probably taking him a second to realise that she really was there. She stood as soon as their eyes met, sticking her hands in to her jacket pockets.
"…Effy?" He asked quietly.
She offered him a small, twitchy smile. "Hi, Sam." She didn't really know what to do. What he thought of her.
Suddenly, he marched over to her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. He took her by surprise – it took her a moment to reciprocate the hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist, smiling into his chest as they embraced. Christ, she'd forgotten how small she felt around him. She barely made it to his shoulder.
A hug longer than most, they both drew back after a good few moments, smiles on their faces and some tears starting to well in their eyes. "God, it's been like, two and a half years?"
Effy nodded and swallowed back the lump in her throat. "Yeah. Long time."
"It's good to see you."
Dean walked into the room behind his brother, a smirk on his face as he watched their reunion. "Eff here did the research, drove here basically as soon as I called her."
Effy cleared her throat and looked from Dean to Sam, her smile fading as she got back to business. "Deal is, Sam, these Daeva's are conjured with some real ancient, dark magic. Whoever's summoning them has got to be a huge player, one I'm not sure a couple of hunters can go up against."
"Good thing we have you." Dean smirked as he took her book from the coffee table she'd left it upon, flicking through the pages.
Sam nodded at her, eyes flickering from her to Dean. "I know who it is." Dean watched him as if asking for confirmation, and Sam gave a hesitant nod. "Meg, the girl I met in Indiana. I saw her talk through this bowl at an altar… with that symbol."
Dean chuckled at the mention of the name. "So hot little Meg is summoning the Daeva?"
Sam nodded, his face grim. "Looks like she was using the black altar to control the things."
Dean sat down and took a sip of his beer, raising his eyebrows at Sam. "So Sammy's got a thing for bad girl." Sam shot him a look and Effy raised her eyebrows questioningly, only for Dean to shake his head as if to say 'it's nothing'. "So what's the deal with that bowl again?" The older Winchester brother asked.
"She was talking in to it, the way witches used to scribe with crystal balls or animal entrails, she was communicating with someone."
"With who, the Daeva?" Dean asked.
"No, Daeva's are practically rabid animals." Effy's nose crinkled as she looked to Sam. "It was like she was getting orders from someone." Sam nodded at her.
"Holy crap." Dean ran a hand through his hair.
He opened Sam's laptop and pulled some papers out, nodding to them. "What I was gonna tell you earlier. I pulled a favour with my uh… friend, Amy, from the police department." Effy smirked at him as he mentioned his 'friend.' He'd always been a bit of a player. Even with Sera, but he'd never been like that with Effy.
He beckoned the two of them over. "The complete records of the two victims. We missed something the first time."
"What?" Sam asked, eyes watching Dean gather his things.
Dean pulled up the files he was looking for and nodded to them. "The uh.. first victim, the old man? He spent his whole life in Chicago but he wasn't born here, look where he was born."
Sam's mouth dropped open. "Lawrence, Kansas." Effy almost hadn't recalled that had been where the Winchester's were from. Hell, she barely thought they were from anywhere. They'd never had a home, always been on the road.
"The second victim, Meredith? Turns out she was adopted, guess where she was from." Dean showed them the second file.
"Holy crap." Sam covered his mouth with his hand.
"Yeah. I mean it is where the demon killed mom. It's where everything started." Dean rubbed his chin as he looked up to his brother. "You think Meg's tied up with the demon?"
Sam sighed. "It's a definite possibility."
"Or she is a demon." Effy looked between the brothers, shrugging at their questioning looks.
"But I don't understand, what's the significance of Lawrence? None of these Daeva things fit in." Sam frowned as he sat down opposite Dean, Effy standing at the end of the table.
Dean shrugged. "Beats me. But I say we trash that black altar, grab Meg and have a friendly little interrogation."
Sam shook his head. "No, we can't. We shouldn't tip her off. We gotta stake out that warehouse, we gotta see who, or what is gonna meet her."
"We'll take both cars, just in case." Effy crossed her arms and nodded.
"I'll tell you what, I don't think we should do this alone." Dean looked from Effy to Sam, his eyes lingering on his brother. Effy knew exactly what he meant, and seeing Sam avert his gaze made the tension palpable.
She straightened up and walked over to her bag, taking out her phone. "I'll call my parents, last I heard they were in Louisiana."
Dean nodded and stood, his eyes flicking from his brother to his own phone. "And I'll call dad."
Effy walked back into the apartment and slid her phone in to the back pocket of her black jeans, straightening her oversized anorak jacket as she looked around. She saw only Sam, gathering weapons and throwing them in a bag. Effy sighed and went to grab her duffle, slinging it over her shoulder as she watched Sam.
"My parents are leaving as soon as they can but it'll still take them fifteen hours to get here. I don't think we have that kind of time."
He nodded, staying silent as he threw a pistol into the bag, ammo just after. She walked up behind him, eyeing him up and down. Judging by his reaction, he was still pretty tense about the phone call. "No luck?" She asked.
"No." He muttered, throwing more ammo into the bag and a couple large tins of rock salt.
"Where's Dean?"
"Loading up the car." Sam deadpanned. Effy rolled her eyes, he always did this. Brooding. "We should probably head down there."
Effy rubbed her nose and ran her hand along the strap of her duffle. "Yeah. Yeah." She shifted her weight on to her right leg and crossed her arms, looking up at him. "You alright Sam?"
Sam sighed and zipped up the bag. "Yeah… just feels kind of strange." He said as he threw his own duffle over his shoulder.
A wry smile crossed Effy's face as she looked around, shrugging. "What?"
Sam inhaled deeply before he turned around, looking Effy up and down briefly. "Seeing you again." He avoided her eyes and huffed slightly. "Seeing you still on the job... after this demon."
Effy smirked slightly as she remembered. "Yeah." She chuckled and shifted the duffle slightly, the weight hurting her shoulder. "Things weren't so civil last time."
Sam leant forward and offered to take the duffle for her, though she took a step back and shook her head, smiling softly.
He sighed and avoided her eyes. "Effy I'm-"
"Don't, Sam." She forced a smile. "Not right now. We don't have the time." She nodded outside and walked towards the door, looking back over her shoulder at him.
"Yeah. Of course."
The street was empty by the time they'd arrived, only streetlights and a couple neon signs provided what little light there was. Effy had parked closest to the warehouse and the boys around the corner. She'd taken as many weapons as she could carry; three knives, one up her sleeve, in her belt and in her boot, two pistols both holstered to her waist and she carried a shotgun, attaching the strap and slinging it over her torso.
"Shit, Eff, you're basically a walking armoury." Dean had looked her up and down as he'd approached her, whispering as they made their way in to the building.
Effy walked in behind Sam who led the way, smirking over her shoulder at Dean. "You know how it is. Better safe than sorry."
Slowly, they crept up the warehouse. They tread carefully, Sam holding a finger to his lips as they neared where Effy assumed the altar would be. As they neared, they saw Meg facing the altar, their back turned. All that stood between them was a higher platform, one that Effy couldn't reach. Sam signalled to Dean and he nodded, climbing first and taking Sam's shotgun before ducking behind crates, keeping an eye on the blonde who stood whispering at the altar.
Sam awkwardly nodded at the platform, almost asking Effy's approval to touch her. She nodded back, and he took her waist and held her up. She gripped the platform and pulled herself up, moving over to the crates next to Dean and whispering thanks to Sam. He pulled himself up last, Dean moving over to further tower of crates with Sam taking the middle. They swapped guns again as Sam filed in, Effy swinging her shotgun around and all three taking aim at this 'Meg' woman.
"Guys." Her voice sounded out as she still faced the altar. "Hiding's a little bit childish, don't ya think?"
Dean cursed under his breath. "Well that didn't work out like planned." He whispered.
She turned around and smiled at them. "Why don't you come out?"
Dean moved first, Sam after. Effy kept to his side, her eyes scanning the shadows.
"Sam. I have to say this puts a real crimp in our relationship." Meg's tone was icy as she tilted her head and widened her brown eyes.
Sam narrowed his eyes and frowned at her. "Yeah tell me about it."
Her eyes flicked to Effy, tilting her head as she looked her up and down. "Who's this?" She started tutting him as he didn't answer. "A rebound? Moving on so soon?"
Dean scoffed, his eyes never leaving the blonde. "Probably needed a change from evil psychotic bitch." His eyes looked to the altar behind her. "Where's your little daeva friend?"
"Around." She smiled. "And that shotgun's not gonna do much good."
Effy could see her, now. Really see her. Her true face. She was a demon.
Dean smirked at her, his tone still sharp. "Well don't worry, sweetheart. Shotgun's not for the demon."
Though it wouldn't do much other than kill the poor girl the demon had possessed. Effy felt uneasy, only her surviving grandmother knew of her abilities. She'd warned Effy, warned her they would manifest. But she didn't know if she could explain them to hunters. If she couldn't understand them, why would they?
Sam raised his eyebrow at her. "So who is it, Meg? Who's coming? Who are you waiting for?"
She took her time to look them all in the eyes, a smug smile spreading on her face.
"You."
Effy's eyes widened as she saw shadows move out of the corner of her eye. She looked to the wall behind them to see a shadowy claw raising itself to Sam.
"Sam!" She screamed, pushing him out of the way as the claw swiped at her, a glaring pain spreading on her cheeks. She heard Dean grunt as he got hit too, Sam yellling as it got her again, the second strike took her in the stomach, almost getting exactly where she'd fallen on her knife months ago.
The third knocked her across the head, knocking her to the floor as the warehouse faded to black.
Sam coughed as he woke, his head pounding as he opened his eyes and the light flooded back in. He grunted as he realised his hands were tied behind his back, pulling on his shoulders.
"Hey Sam." Dean's voice sounded from his right. "Don't take this the wrong way but your girlfriend?" He coughed a little as he looked up at Meg, glaring at her. "She's a bitch."
Sam looked over to see Dean tied to a pole to his right, looking slightly worse for wear than before. He felt blood trickling down his cheek as he twisted his head further, seeing Effy tied across from him. Her head was still bowed, blood trickling from her head and her once grey tank now half red with blood. "Effy?" He whispered, nodding to her as Dean looked over.
Sam looked to Meg, her eyes watching him with a curious fascination that almost masked her intent. "This? The whole thing was a trap. Running in to you at the bar… following you here, hearing what you had to say. It was all set up, wasn't it?"
She smirked at him, confirming his suspicions.
He scoffed as he looked up at her. "And the fact that the victims were from Lawrence?"
She shrugged and looked at him with her coy smile. "It doesn't mean anything. It was just to draw you in, that's all."
Dean tried to tap Effy's foot with his, but he couldn't reach. Sam felt his chest tighten as he saw the small girl sitting there, beaten. And they'd been the reason for it.
"You killed those two people for nothing."
Her mouth quirked as she looked at him. "Baby, I've killed a lot more for a lot less."
Dean glared at her. "You trapped us. Good for you." Sam took the opportunity to slip the knife hidden from his sleeve. "It's Miller time. Why don't you kill us already?"
"You two? No, I still need you." She smiled at him. "Her, though?" She walked over to Effy and crouched before her, grabbing her chin and lifting it. "Well, I don't need her."
"No, you do." Sam perked his head up, thinking on his feet. "That, there? That's Elizabeth Bennett." Meg tilted her head as her eyes flicked back to the girl she crouched before. "Yeah. Paul Bennett's youngest." Her eyes flicked back to Sam as he spoke. "See, your boss might want him just as much as he wants our dad. Hell, he'll want the whole family. Her parents are driving up as we speak."
Dean narrowed his eyes as he stared at the woman. Seeing her touching Effy made his stomach churn. "So this whole thing, it's a trap for dad?"
He scoffed when she didn't answer. "Oh, sweetheart. You're dumber than you look. Cause even if Dad was in town, which he's not, he wouldn't walk in to something like this, he's too good."
Meg let go of Effy and stood, walking over to Dean. "He is pretty good. I'll give you that. But you see, he has one weakness."
Dean raised his eyebrows. "What's that?"
"You."
She crouched before him, her twisted smile small. "He lets his guard down around his boys. Lets his emotions cloud his judgement." She smiled as she taunted him. "I happen to know he is in town, and he'll come. And try to save you. And then the daeva's will kill everybody. Nice. And Slow. And messy."
"Well I got news for you, it's gonna take a lot more than just some… shadow to kill him." Sam knew by now Dean would have his own knife out, trying to cut at the ropes. One of them would have to stall for the other, that damn altar needed to be destroyed.
Meg smiled at him. "Oh the daeva's are in the room, here. They're invisible. Their shadows are just the only parts you can see."
Sam tilted his head as he looked at the woman, trying to take her attention from Dean to give him time to cut his ropes while he worked at his own. "Why are you doing this, Meg? What kind of deal you got worked out here, huh? And with who?"
"I'm doing this for the same reasons you do what you do." She smiled as she focused her attention on Sam. "Loyalty. Love. Like the love you have for mommy, and Jess."
He flinched at the name. His loss was still raw. His heart felt heavy as he glared at her. "Go to hell."
She crouched down to him and smirked, moving her legs to either side of his and straddling him. "Baby, I'm already there."
Meg brought her mouth to Sam's ear, biting down gently before whispering in his ear. "Come on, Sam. There's no need to be nasty. I think we both know how you really feel about me. You know, I saw you watching me changing in my apartment. It turned you on didn't it?"
Dean rolled his eyes and scoffed, his forehead creasing, as he looked over to Effy, still not awake. It only motivated him to work faster on his binds. "Get a room, you two."
"I didn't mind. I liked that you were watching me. Come on, Sammy. You and I can still have a little dirty fun."
"You wanna have fun?" Sam spat. "Go ahead then, I'm a little tied up right now."
Dean looked to Effy's stomach. She could have internal bleeding. "Effy? Eff?!" He called her name, working harder at his binds. The force he put behind the knife made him miss, tapping the pole and the sound of metal rang throughout the warehouse.
Meg's head snapped over to Dean's direction. Alright, Sammy. It's up to you now.
"Were you just trying to distract me so your brother could cut himself free?" She walked over to Dean and took the knife from him, throwing it away towards the altar. She moved back over to Sam, smirking at Dean and folding her arms.
"No, no." Dean shook his head, mocking his fear.
Sam's eyes flicked to Effy, cursing under his breath. He felt the rope snap as he cut free. "It was because I have a knife of my own." He shouted and head-butted the blonde, forcing her back and freeing himself completely of his binds. He ran towards Effy before Dean yelled at him.
"Sam! Get the altar!"
He looked to the altar, seeing the shadows starting to converge on him. He lurched towards it and flipped it, watching the blood and wax from the candles drip and the wood crack.
Meg grabbed her head and her eyes widened as she realised what Sam had done. "No… no!" She screamed, but it was too late.
The shadows took her, dragging her from the warehouse and pulling her through the window.
Sam freed Dean first, cutting his ties as quickly as he could before freeing Effy, cupping her face and checking her wounds.
Her eyes slowly flickered open as he ran a thumb along her cheekbone, a faint and tired smile crossing her lips as she looked up at him. "Did I miss the fun?" She whispered as Dean came to her side, checking her stomach. It was a superficial cut, not deep enough to do serious damage. It was the head wound they had reason to worry about.
"Nah, kid. You were the life of the party." Dean smiled as Sam took his hand from her face, smiling slightly as the life came back into it. He rose and jogged towards the window, looking down to see what remained of Meg.
Dean pulled Effy's arm around his waist and supported her weight, helping her walk over to the window to stand beside Sam.
Effy's eyes widened as she saw Meg lying on top of her car, the roof dented and smashed glass almost covering even the sidewalk. "Oh, fuck." She hissed as she looked down. "My fucking luck."
It wouldn't stop the demon, but it would sure as hell slow them down. They'd need to get out of the city as soon a they could.
Dean raised his eyebrows as he looked down at the body. "So I guess the daeva's didn't like being bossed around."
"I guess not." Sam mumbled.
"Hey, Sam?" Dean looked to his brother, face straight.
"Next time you wanna get laid, find a girl that's not so fucking crazy, yeah?" He flashed a quick smirk before helping Effy out of the warehouse and to the Impala.
"Why didn't you just leave that stuff in the car?" Sam asked, the duffle that Dean had insisted he bring inside slung over his shoulder.
Dean fumbled for the keys to the apartment in his jacket, his arm still holding up Effy. "I've said it before and I'll say it again. Better safe than sorry."
Effy rolled her eyes and tried her best to smirk at Dean. "I believe that was me who said it before."
Dean opened the door and stepped inside first, shoving the keys back in his pocket as he looked to his side to make sure Effy was still moving well. As he looked back up, he saw a dark figure standing by the window.
"Hey!" He yelled. Effy drew her pistol in half a second, still relying on Dean for support. Sam and Dean hesitated, watching carefully as the man slowly turned and light hit his face.
"Dad?" Dean asked, mouth agape, as he looked the man up and down.
John smiled a teary smile at his sons. "Hey boys." He nodded to Effy as she lowered her gun; smile still tugging at his cheeks. "Effy. It's good to see you."
She nodded and smiled at him, dropping her arm from Dean and allowing him to move forward and embrace his father. She held the wall for support before she felt Sam's arm on her waist. She nodded, wrapping her arm around him and walking closer to Dean and John.
Sam put the bag down at his feet and stood tall in front of his father.
"How are you, kid?" Her Uncle John smiled at Effy. Sam passed her to his father; she almost stumbled into his arms. They hugged each other tightly. "Surviving." She smirked. Her stomach throbbed as she hugged him, her hand shooting to the wound. Dean's hand grazed her elbow and John's hands were still holding her, their eyes concerned.
"Just a flesh wound." She tried to smile and stood back, leaning against Dean. John's eyebrows were furrowed before he looked up at his youngest son. He nodded at his son, a proud smile on his face. "Hi, Sam." His eyes were misty. Effy knew they'd had a much bigger falling out than she had with Sam.
"Hey dad." Sam smiled back at his father, nodding at him.
Dean looked at his father. "Dad it was a trap, I didn't know I'm sorry." He sounded slightly choked up.
John smiled, nodding at his son. "It's alright. I thought it might've been."
"Were you there?" Dean asked.
John nodded again. "Yeah I got there just in time to see the girl take the swan dive. She was the bad guy, right?"
"Yes sir." The brothers responded, synchronised. Effy felt like she was amongst soldiers rather than her family friends.
John's hands were firmly in his pockets, he nodded and looked to the ground before meeting the young hunter's eyes. "Good. Well, that doesn't surprise me. It's tried to stop me before."
"The demon has?" Effy asked.
"It knows I'm close. It knows I'm gonna kill it. Not just exorcise it or send it back to hell. Actually kill it."
Dean eyed him cautiously. "How?"
From the look on his face, he had no fucking idea. "I'm working on that."
"Let us come with you." Sam took a step forward to his father. "We'll help."
John only shook his head. "No, Sam. Not yet. Try to understand, this demon is one scary son of a bitch. I don't want you caught in the crossfire. I don't want you hurt."
Sam wouldn't back down. "Dad, you don't have to worry about us."
"Of course I do. I'm your father." His smile was sad as he looked between his sons. Effy felt as though she were intruding on a family moment, though it wasn't exactly like she could move off and give them privacy.
"Listen Sammy." John sighed. "Last time we were together we had one hell of a fight."
"Yes, sir." Sam barely blinked, still standing tall.
John proudly bowed his head to his son. "It's good to see you again. It's been a long time."
"Too long." Sam's eyes were misty too. The men hesitate for a second, but drew each other into a tight hug. Effy smiled and looked up at Dean. It was a moment he'd been waiting for for the last two years, and from the smile on his face you could definitely tell.
Suddenly, John was flung back, landing at the kitchen cupboards. Sam was next, thrown across the room with a new scratch across his face.
"No!" Dean shouted as Effy was torn from him, both of them flung in opposite directions. They all struggled to move as the daeva's held them back, their silhouettes visible only in the shadows.
John was screaming as the daeva's pinned him to the cupboards, cutting him slowly and almost crucifying him. They seemed to be simply holding Sam and Dean back, before Sam spotted one on the wall behind him. It's head snapped towards Effy, it's shadow flying towards her and leaning over her body, new claw marks appearing on her arm as it struck her. Her screams were raspy and almost soundless as she writhed on the ground.
Sam spotted a flare in the duffle. Shadow demons…
He fought hard to move forward, throwing himself at the duffle bag and grabbing the flare, looking around the room.
"Shut your eyes! These things are shadow demons, so lets light 'em up!"
He lit the flare, the light instantaneously banishing the demons from the room. John slumped against the counter and Dean looked to Sam, nodding at Effy as the fumes made them all cough.
"Dad!" Dean yelled, pulling himself up from the floor.
"Over here!" John called out, still slumped against the kitchen counters.
Sam gathered the duffle and threw it over his shoulder before picking Effy up, almost stumbling as he coughed and coughed. He saw Dean helping his father up and the four of them made their way to the door, rushing out into the hallway and down the stairs.
They burst out of the building, Dean and John first and Sam holding Effy not far behind.
As they made it to the Impala, Sam put Effy down back on her feet as gently as he could.
"Alright, come on, we don't have much time, as soon as the flare's out they'll be back." He opened the door to the impala, throwing the duffle in.
"Wait, wait wait!" Dean yelled. "Sam, wait."
They all looked at him expectantly, Effy leaning against the Impala and clutching her stomach.
Dean hesitantly looked to his father, a conflicted look on his face. "Dad, you can't come with us."
Sam scoffed. "What? What are you talking about?"
John looked between his sons. "You boys, you beat the hell out of-"
"We'll be alright." Dean nodded.
Sam's mouth was agape, shocked at his brother. "Dean, we should stick together! We'll go after this demon together."
Dean put a hand on his brother's shoulder, trying to calm him. "Sam, listen to me! We almost got dad killed in there. Don't you understand? They're gonna try again, they're gonna use us to get to him. Meg was right, Dad's vulnerable when he's with us. He's stronger without us around."
Sam looked to his father, hoping for some sort of argument. "Dad. No. After everything, after all this time we've spent looking for you. Please, I gotta be apart of this fight."
John looked at his son sadly. "This fight is just starting, and we are all going to have a part to play. For now you gotta trust me son. Okay, you gotta let me go."
"I'll take Eff with me, I'll get her someplace safe." John looked to Dean, his oldest son nodding and popping the boot of the Impala, pulling the girl's bags they'd retrieved from the crushed Altima.
Sam shook his head. "No, we can take care of her." He might have failed to protect her, but he was damn sure he'd make up for his mistake.
Effy objected. "No, Sam. It's okay." She smiled at him as Dean passed John her bags, his father wrapping his free arm around her waist before they walked to his car. "I'll call." Her eyes flicked to Dean and he nodded.
They moved as quickly as they could, John throwing her bags in the back of his truck and helping her into the passenger side before jogging to the driver's door, looking back at his son's.
"Be careful, boys."