Chapter 11

Sitting in front of a computer at the ER nurse's station, Lou started searching for the information she was looking for. She was pretty sure she knew most of the answers, but confirmation was always a good thing before you started accusing someone. And confirmation is exactly what she got. Grabbing the information she'd printed, she got in her car and took off. She was going to put a stop to this if it was the last thing she'd do.

It only took her ten minutes to pull up in front of the apartment. It was a not in the best of neighborhoods, and she broke into it with relative ease, the lock being no match for even a rusty hunter. The apartment was small, and sparsely furnished, only having the bare necessities. It was cold and unwelcoming.

The first place she looked was in the kitchen. Checking the refrigerator, she came up empty. Next, to the bathroom. Empty there as well. Onto the bedroom. She rummaged through dresser drawers, under the bed, and in the nightstand, coming up empty in all of them. She turned to the closet, the only other place for her to look.

Opening the closet door, she struck gold. It was devoid of clothes, containing only a small table covered with candles. Charms and trinkets were intermingled with them. There were symbols painted here and there, some she'd recognized. And on the wall above, there were pictures. Pictures of Dean. Anger set in when she realized that most of the pictures were hers.

"That bitch! She took those from my house. I'm gonna kill her!" She slammed the door shut, and stormed out of the apartment, making no effort to hide the fact she'd been there. She was gonna find Iris, and one way or another, stop her.

She dialed Sam one more time, knowing she'd get voicemail again. She left him another message, telling him she was on to something. She also told him not to leave Dean alone, that he was in danger, and keep Iris away from him at all costs.

Once she got out of town, she drove at a steady pace, trying to piece it all together in her head. It was starting to make sense, in a sick, twisted way. She initially thought Iris was poisoning Dean, but after seeing that closet, she was pretty sure there was more to it than that. She'd heard the rumors about Iris, but didn't really believe them. She seemed too quiet and mousy to be into anything supernatural.

She never noticed the car ride up right behind her, it's front end practically kissing her bumper. The car cut around her on the left, pulled up slightly in front of her, and jerked hard right. Lou's reaction was instantaneous. She swerved to avoid hitting the car, smashing straight into a tree she never saw right in front of her. The airbag deployed instantly, hitting her square in the face. She took one last look at the little purple car, before darkness overtook her.

The smelling salt brought her to consciousness. She had a headache the size of Texas, and was pretty sure she had a concussion. There was dried blood caked on her face, and in her eyes. She would have wiped it away if her hands weren't bound above her head, as she hung from a rafter in the old barn, her feet inches off the ground. It didn't take her long to figure out where she was.

"Wake up Doc. We need to talk, I think." Iris was making sure the rope draped over the beam was securely fastened to the wall.

"Why are you doing this?"

Iris responded without a second thought. "Why an I doing what? Killing people on my family's land? Shouldn't that be obvious?"

Realization hit her instantly at Iris' confession. The charms and symbols on the wall in her apartment. They were Dominican. Symbols of Dominican witchcraft."You're using witchcraft to kill innocent people. Why?"

""The two they found, they were innocent. For them, I'm sorry. But the other two, they were here to plan the demolition of my family home. I grew up in that house, but you knew that, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I know your parents owned this farm. They sold it to developers, and got pretty damn rich from it. Why kill them, it wasn't their fault?"

"My parents didn't sell this land, they were cheated out of it. It had been in my family for generations, all the way back to my great-grandparents. And for a few bucks, they just let it go, like it was nothing. I wanted to raise my family here, like my parents, and their parents before . And now, that'll never happen."

"So, you killed people for revenge? Is that it?"

"No. I killed them to stop them. My great-grandmother was a powerful woman. She was a Dominican witch. Before she died at 121, she taught me a thing or two about her craft. Not much really, but just enough for be to bring that ciguapa here. I knew if people kept dying here, they'd never build on this land. Eventually, I could get it back for my family. So far, I've been right, haven't I."

"Yeah, because that makes perfect sense. And what does any of this have to do with Dean? Why are you doing this to him?"

"I knew before they brought him in that he'd been at the house. I couldn't believe that he'd lived. Then I saw him, and I knew I had to have him. Anyone that could survive after being under her control had to be pretty special. I couldn't let him leave the hospital, not before I made him love me. But he just wouldn't. And now I know why. He can't love me because he loves you. You're the one keeping us apart. If I get rid of you, I know he'll love me. You owe me one anyway, remember. Dying is the least you could do for me."

"You're insane. First of all, that's not a fair trade, and second, you think Dean loves me? He can't even stand to be in the same room with me. That's some crazy kind of love."

"I heard them arguing about it. Dean and Sam were arguing about you. I heard everything they said. What makes you so special anyway?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. So, how did you do it? How did you keep Dean sick? The least you could do is tell me before you kill me."

"I'm not gonna kill you, not just yet. But I will eventually. I still need you for a little while."

Clearing the little table beside her with one swift swipe of her arm, she produced a small, burlap sack. From the sack, she pulled out a small, clay bowl. It had various symbols carved into it, much like the ones painted on the wall in her closet.

"Do you know what this is?"

"Shot glass for an elephant?"

"You're very funny Doc, no it's a wish bowl. When I fill it with someone's blood, and wish for something, it happens. If it weren't for me, he would have been better a long time ago. I wish for a fever, he gets one. I wish for him to lose that little bit of feeling he got back, he loses it. I wish for him to forget whatever feelings he has for you, he forgets them. It's that simple. Only that last one, that's gonna require your blood too."

"And you think I'm gonna donate?"

"Not willingly. But that's what I have this for." She sported a rather large dagger, adorned with matching symbols. "Unfortunately for you, for that wish to work, you have to die. The feelings die with you. Simple as pie, really."

"You ever try to make a pie? What a pain in the ass. Why can't you just make him love you with your little wish bowl there? Wouldn't that have been a lot easier?"

"Don't you think I tried. It didn't work, I already told you that. The love he feels for you couldn't be overpowered. The only way to overcome it is to destroy it. He couldn't love me with you in the way."

"Guess that's a my bad. Do you really think that if you kill me, Dean will love you? Do you really think that's going to work?"

"When I nurse him back to health, he'll come to love me. It's inevitable, you'll see. Oh wait… no you wont."

"Guess you don't know Dean very well. And what are you planning to do about Sam? He is already suspicious of you. How long do you think it will be before he figures this all out? I did, didn't I?"

"Don't worry about Sam. It's quite obvious he does pretty much whatever Dean tells him anyway. And I couldn't hurt him, Dean cares for him way too much. I really don't have anymore time to chat, I've got to get to the hospital and get one more donation from Dean. Then I can finish this." She left, leaving Lou hanging there alone, in the dark.

Dean had been asleep for hours, after one more bout with his stomach. Sam figured it must be the increase in antibiotics making him sick. He didn't want to think it was their argument that made him throw up like that. It would be a first.

He needed to get some air, deciding it was safe to go take a short walk. Once outside and in the cool night air, he flipped opened his phone and turned it on It indicated he had messages waiting. He dialed in and started to listen.

The first message was vague, and didn't make much sense. The second was even more confusing. How was Dean in danger from Iris? He knew she was a little weird, but dangerous? He just couldn't see that?

Sam headed back in, stopping at the ER nurse's station. "Excuse me, is Dr. Carpenter here? I need to speak to her."

One of the nurses looked over to him, "She was here a few hours ago, checking some things online, then she just took off. Looked like she was in a hurry too."

"You have no idea where she went?"

"No, but if you want to search the browser history, maybe you can figure it out. Maybe what she was looking for will tell you where she went."

She pulled out a chair in front of the computer Lou'd been at, motioning for Sam to sit down. Sam started clicking away, checking one screen after another. They all led back to Iris or the farmhouse. He saw that Iris' family had owned the land that the farmhouse stood on, and that it had been sold for a pretty penny. Another website was about certain poisons, and their effect on the human body. And yet another was Iris' address. That all didn't help Sam much, but it was a start. Everything led back to Iris.

"Thanks for your help," Sam said to the nurse as he left the station to head back upstairs.

As he got off the elevator, he noticed someone coming out of Dean's room. And damn it if it wasn't Iris. He ducked around a corner, hoping she hadn't see him. Sam decided to follow her, maybe he could figure out what she was up to. He stopped long enough at Dean's door to see he was still asleep, and continued his surveillance.

She entered one of the elevators, Sam was assuming to leave, since she was in street clothes. He took the stairwell, hoping to make it down to the bottom before she did. He was in luck, because as he stepped through the door, the elevator opened, and out she came.

He continued following her, out to the parking lot. Watching which way she was headed, he sprinted to the Impala, intent on not losing her.

Short cutting through the lot, he found the little purple car easily, it stood out like giant in a room of midgets. Keeping a safe distance, he followed her every turn, twist, and curve, until she finally made it to the rural roads. Once they were out in the middle of nowhere, Sam knew where she was going. This was the route to the farmhouse.

Pulling up to the barn doors, Iris got out of the car and went inside. Sam killed the engine at the end of the driveway, not wanting to give himself away. Tucking a .45 into his pants, and a knife in his back pocket, he approached the barn on foot, as quietly as humanly possible.

Iris had left the door slightly open, and Sam slipped in silently. The barn was so dark inside, he couldn't have seen shit on white carpet. He had to rely on memory, and stealthily made his way to one of the animal stalls. He crouched down, trying to get his bearings and waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness.

He heard Iris then. She struck a match, and lit a lantern, it's light illuminating enough for Sam to see the messy situation he'd stepped into. He saw Lou hanging from the rafter, her face covered in dried blood. Her hands high above her head, she was strung up like a piece of meat, waiting for Rocky to come in and start punching.

She was between Sam and Iris, who stood at the little table, sporting a small clay bowl and a rather sharp looking dagger. She pulled something out of her pocket, and poured it into the little bowl. Picking up the bowl and knife, she approached Lou. Lou made a couple feeble attempts to kick Iris, but with nothing to brace herself against, all she succeeded in doing was hurting her wrists and shoulders.

Sam could see her raise the dagger, as she chanted something that sounded Spanish. He couldn't really make it out, it was almost a whisper. Gun in hand, he burst from the stall faster then Iris could blink.

"Drop it Iris. Don't make me shoot you."

"You won't shoot me Sam. You only kill monsters, not people, and you'd never hurt a girl."

"I've been thinking about picking it up though, so, now may be a good time to start."

Iris backed away from Lou, still clutching dagger and bowl in hand. She watched his every move. Keeping his gun trained on Iris, he made his way to the rope tied to the wall that suspended Lou off the ground.

"Hey Sam, nice of you to drop by. You come to hang out with me?" Lou had never been so happy to see someone in her whole life.

"Yeah, right after I take out the trash," he answered.

"As much as I've enjoyed the company, you think you can get me down from here. My arms are going numb. I'm not as young as I used to be."

Pulling out his knife, he started hacking through the rope, his eyes never leaving Iris. Once he'd finally cut through, Lou went sprawling to the floor. Sam tossed her the knife, and she cut her hands free of the remaining bonds, and dragged herself to her feet.

"Sam, Iris here has been a very bad girl. It seems she's a witch."

"Dr. Carpenter, that's not a very nice thing to say. You've really hurt my feelings."

"Shut up, I said witch, not bitch. The truth hurts, doesn't it. It appears that she's the one that conjured up that creature, you know, the one that almost killed Dean. And now she thinks she can make him love her by casting a spell on him. I think you need to hand that bowl over, bitch. Your game ends here."

Scanning the room, Lou's eyes settled on a broken wood slat from one of the stall doors. It was about the size of a boat oar, and Lou grabbed it from the floor, and in a few short steps, was in striking range of Iris. She brought the makeshift weapon around in one quick swing with all the strength she has left in her abused arms, connecting with Iris' shoulder. She dropped like a rock, dagger sent flying as she held firm to the bowl. She'd placed her daggerless hand over the top so it's precious contents would remain inside. Lou straddled her, raising her weapon again, and brought it down hard on Iris' head. She was out like a light.

"Sam may not hurt girls, but I sure as hell will," Lou said as she dropped the slat, taking the cup from Iris' lax grip and kicking her once in the ribs.

Gathering a handful of dried hay from the ground, she started stuffing it in the bowl, using is as a sponge to absorb the blood inside. Dean's blood. Once she'd fully stuffed it and there was no free standing fluid, she took it to the table, picking up the sack it had come from. Sam just stood there, wondering what the hell she was doing. As if she could read his mind, she explained.

"She was using this bowl Sam to cast a spell on Dean. Her spell was keeping him from getting better. She wanted to keep him in the hospital for as long as it took for him to love her. Guess he would have been there forever, because Dean Winchester will never love anyone."

Sam wanted to reply to that, but just bit his tongue. Now was not the time to start this conversation.

Lou stuffed the bowl back into it's sack, placed it on the ground, and started stomping on it, smashing it into little pieces. "We need to burn this thing Sam. You got any salt on you?"

"Don't I always."

Sam pulled a small container of salt from his pocket, and tossed it to her. She reached over to the lanterns on the wall, shaking each one, hoping they weren't all empty. The last one she grabbed was half full, and she yanked it off the wall, twisted it open, and doused the sack with every last drop inside. Retrieving the matches off the table, she struck one, and set the bag a blaze.

Neither her or Sam had seen Iris inching her way over to where the dagger had landed. By the time Sam noticed her, it was too late. All he had time to do was scream Lou's name, as the dagger went slicing through the air, aimed straight at the center of Lou's back. She turned her head just in time to see the dagger hit it's mark, and bury itself to the hilt in her flesh.

Dean felt the warmth start to creep in. First in his feet, then slowly working it's way up to his calves, through his thighs, and into his back. Then the pain hit him like a Curt Schilling fastball to the face. He was sleeping peacefully, then suddenly, he was in agony.

It took every ounce of concentration he had to find and hit the call button, squeezing it hard enough he was sure he'd crushed it. A nurse entered, quickly noting his colorless, pain contorted face and his rapid breathing. She also noticed the way he white knuckled the call button in one hand, and the bed rail in the other. She didn't need to ask what was wrong, she already knew.

"Try to breath deep and relax, I'll be right back."

Hanging tight is exactly what he did. He couldn't have let go of that hand rail even if he wanted to. The nurse returned quickly, pumping the IV line with one medication, then another. In a matter of minutes, the agony subsided to a dull ache, and his body finally started to relax, his breathing returning to normal.

He could feel everything, from the pain in his leg to the tingling in his feet. What he could do without again was the feeling of someone sticking a knife into his back.

"Standing order, muscle relaxant and pain meds. Dr. Carpenter thought this may happen. Do you need anything else?"

"Where's my brother? Have you seen him?"

"He left a couple hours ago. I'm sorry, I don't know where he went, but he'll be back. He's never gone for very long."

"Thank-you." Dean just closed his eyes and relaxed, thankful that for once, they'd sent in a hot one to take care of him.