Chapter Ten

A/N: Sorry it's taken so long to update, my muse and real life hate me for some reason! But I promise, we're nearly at the end of this particular chapter of Kyra's saga, if you can just hang with me a little longer. Also, I'm sorry this chapter is so short, but like I said, my muse hates me right now! Please review!

It took me another day to recover enough to be fit to travel, and it was humiliating. I knew they were gonna tell Uncle Bobby if they hadn't already, so I took the opportunity to call him whenever Sam stepped out to pick up lunch. To make things simpler, I put him on speaker so that both Dean and I could hear him and vice versa…after all, there were a lot of things I'd missed after having my brain nearly fried. He picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey Uncle Bobby," I greeted him, suddenly exhausted. He seemed to sense that and immediately changed his tone.

"Kyra? What's wrong, sweetie?" I gave Dean a look, and he nodded.

"Hey Bobby, it's Dean," he said, then immediately told Uncle Bobby what was going on, including my powers being overwhelmed by our mystery creature, the fact that it saved me, and that it took the appearance of my oldest friend. He'd tried to skate over what it had saved me from, but Bobby was too sharp to be evaded, and I could hear rage in the silence that followed after Dean had told him about the men that ambushed me.

"Let's just stay on point here," I finally chimed in, nervous at the silent fury radiating from Uncle Bobby. "We need to find out what that guy could've been. I was gonna head back to your place, but I don't know if this was just a random run-in or if it'll follow me, and I don't wanna bring something that strong down on you, even if it did decide to help me out."

"Well, from the way Dean described it, that's a new one on me too," he admitted, his voice calmer, and I felt my heart sink…so much for answers. "But you bring your ass home, Kyra…I don't care if the damn thing's glued to your hip, I'd feel a lot better if you were close enough for me to help you. I'll hit the books in the meantime and see if I can dig up anything."

"All right, Uncle Bobby," I answered with a smile. "Sam's out getting lunch, but after he gets back and we eat, I'll be on my way, ok?"

"Okay…I think it goes without saying to watch your ass," he snarked, making me chuckle.

"You know me, Uncle Bobby—I'm careful," I told him. Dean snatched the phone out of my hand and turned the speaker off, then walked outside where I couldn't hear whatever he wanted to say. I caught the first few words, though.

"Hey, it's me again. Look, I know—" The door closing cut off the rest of Dean's words, but I could guess the general direction he was going in the few words I did hear. He was either apologizing to Uncle Bobby for letting me leave the bar alone, or expounding on exactly what kind of effect the creature had on me…or maybe something else they hadn't told me? Try as I could, I had no memory of that night after walking out the door of the bar, and that scared me shitless. I know my memory tends to be on the side of Swiss cheese, but a complete blackout? That's never happened to me before, even when my abilities first started to pop up.

A shudder ran through me as I wondered what the boys might be hiding from me. Okay, I had no proof that they were, and maybe I was just being paranoid, but the more I thought about it, the stronger that conviction became. If it had something to do with my abilities…what could it be? Did something new and even freakier happen with them? Or was it simply about the effect they had on me, how badly I'd been screwed up afterwards? Were they gonna try to force me to stop hunting? Did they think it might be too dangerous for me? After all, if that happened on a hunt, it could get me and anyone else around killed…but I'd been around ghosts, demons, shifters, and a variety of supernatural creatures without being fried like that, even if being in a demon's presence did make me nauseous. Screw that, I'm not just gonna sit on the sidelines!

Before I could wonder too much more, Dean came back in, followed closely by Sam, who was carrying three take-out bags from a nearby diner. The sight and smell of the food pushed my worries to the back of my mind, but I was far from forgetting them—I could eat first, then try to get some answers before I hit the road to Uncle Bobby's house.