I'd thought this would be the last chapter, but it got rather long and so I divided it up. lol...for those who are gonna be like wtf when they start reading the first part, I couldn't very well mention Belial in the last chapter and not have him make an appearance. Thanks for reading and for the awesome reviews!! bambers;)

Chapter Fourteen

Ethan Daniels knocked on the front door of his parent's home, and then leaned back against the railing to wait for someone to answer. Within a few moments, a pretty brunette woman in her mid-thirties opened the door, and smiled when she recognized him.

"Ethan. What a nice surprise." She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a quick hug. "You're parents didn't mention you'd be home this weekend."

"Yeah, I'm just full of surprises." Ethan grinned, and lowered his head as his eyes briefly shifted from deep blue to fiery green. "So can I come inside, Maria?" He cast his most beguiling smile in her direction as she moved aside and allowed him to enter. "Where are my parents? Are they home?" he asked as he took a quick glance around, and didn't see them anywhere.

"They're both upstairs getting dressed," Maria said, gesturing toward the spiraling staircase before taking Ethan's suitcase from him. "They're having a party tonight."

"Huh, I was wondering why you would be here on a Saturday." He purposefully crowded her into the corner of the room, leaving no room for escape. "Course if dear ol' Dad had his way, I'm pretty sure you'd be around a lot more than you are," he uttered, clear accusation in his tone as he moved even closer to her. Lightly trailing his fingertips along the length of her jaw, he then brushed his hand through her wavy dark hair. "Not that I mind . . . just wanted you to know that I know what you an' Daddy do when Mommy isn't around." He chuckled.

"I-I don't know what you're talkin' about," she stammered as she butted up against the wall, and dropped his suitcase.

"Oh, sure you do." He smirked, placing his hands against the wall on either side of her. Leaning closer so their faces were nearly touching, he breathed in deeply. "I can smell him on you. Really quite intoxicating actually."

"E-Ethan . . . are – are you alright?" Maria tried to duck beneath his arms, but he pressed himself against her, pinning her to the wall. "You – you're scarin' me. Please let me go."

He glanced over his shoulder toward the staircase, and then snapped his head back to look at her. "You think my Mom knows about Daddy's little kink, leather whip fetish?" He laugh mercilessly as he wrapped a hand around her throat and lifted her off the ground. His eyes once again shifted to fiery green. "Hmmm . . . probably not or else why would he need you."

"Ethan . . . l-let me go," Maria managed to choke out, and when he failed to do so, she tried to scream, but he tightened his grip around her throat, cutting off her cries for help.

"I'm afraid Ethan's no longer here, Maria," he uttered with a shake of his head.

"Wh-who are you," she uttered in a breathy whisper, eyes widening in fear and horror.

"Some refer to me as Belial." His hand tightened even more as he dug his nails into her throat. "While others only know me as the Antichrist." With that said, he snapped Maria's neck and callously tossed her aside.

Stepping over her lifeless body, he headed up the stairs to find his parents. "Mom . . . Dad, I'm home." he called out from the upstairs landing, and hesitated to glance around at all the family portraits hanging on the walls. His steady gaze lingered on a picture of his brother Jason for a moment before he moved on to look at his parent's graduation pictures from Harvard Law School. As he studied them closer, he smiled, thinking of how far they had fallen from their lofty goals of helping those in need. Greed and lust had inundated their precious lives, and they had carelessly cast aside the one person who could have saved their miserable lives.

"Ethan," his mother called out from her bedroom doorway. Lightly brushing her fingertips through her short blond curls, she tucked her hair behind her ears, and then fixed her diamond earring. "I thought you weren't coming home for a few weeks yet."

"I missed you, Mother." He sauntered to her and kissed her on the cheek. "Where's Dad? I have some news I want to share with the both of you."

"Hey there, Champ," his father said as he strolled out of the bedroom, "How's school going?"

"Not bad." He smirked, recalling all the burnt carnage he had left behind. "There was a tiny fire in the dorms . . . so I thought it was the perfect time to come home an' see you guys."

"Really? Was anyone hurt?" His mother took hold of both of his hands and stretched them outward as she searched for any apparent injuries, and not finding any, she wrapped her arm around him in a comforting manner.

"A couple of people got a little burnt, but I've seen worse."

"Well, that's good, dear." His mother pat him on the shoulder. "I'm glad no one was seriously injured."

"Knowing you, son, you were probably right there to help those poor people out." His father beamed.

"What can I say, Dad, I'm a regular saint some times." Ethan nearly gagged at his parents pathetic attempt at playing at the perfect family. "Have you heard anything from Jason lately," he said guiding the conversation toward his brother. "I haven't seen or heard from in so long an' really need to get in touch with him. So do you have any idea where he is?"

"You know we haven't spoken to him since he stole your college tuition an' gambled it away." His mother frowned as she turned her back on him, headed back into her room and took at seat at her vanity table.

His father followed close behind her, calling back over his shoulder, "I know you wanna believe he's changed, son." He strode to the mirror and nervously readjusted his tie, obviously uncomfortable with talking about his eldest son. "But Jason's never cared about anyone but himself, an' you're just setting yourself up for a world of hurt if you try and see him again."

"I don't know about that, Dad." Ethan's eyes glimmered an intense shade of green as he scowled. "You see, it's really important that I find him."

"I'm sorry, honey, we really don't know where he is," his mother interjected, pausing for a moment as she applied her lipstick. "You know your brother, if he doesn't wanna be found, we're not gonna find him."

"Well, that's too bad." Ethan chuckled. "You really should've tried to find him while you had the chance, Bitch." He took a menacing step toward his mother. "He was the only really good thing the two of you ever did, an' you screwed it up royally."

"Ethan," his father snapped, "don't you dare talk – "

"Shut the hell up, old man," Ethan hissed, abruptly cutting his dad off. With a flick of Ethan's wrist, his father was thrown backward into the wall, and pinned there by an unseen force. Ethan slowly raised his hand and his father slid up the wall toward the ceiling. "I'll be with you in a moment," he uttered dismissively as he sauntered toward his mother.

Terrified blue eyes met and held his fiery green ones briefly before she pushed herself out of the chair and slowly backed away from him. "E-Ethan, what's wrong with you? Why . . . how are you doing this?"

Ethan backed her into the corner, leaned in and sniffed her scent, shivering with anticipation when he caught the aroma of fear radiating from her. "You know," he began, pausing to run his tongue over her chin and lips, reveling in the fear he tasted there, "Not only those who sell their souls go to Hell." He gestured heavenward. "God gave commandments for a reason . . . they weren't polite suggestions . . . an' I know this may come as a shock to you, but you've broken at least nine out of ten of them."

"Wh-what are y-you talkin' about?"

"You're goin' to Hell, Bitch," Ethan sneered, "An' I'm gonna watch you burn for all eternity cause you stupidly turned your back on the only person who could've saved your sorry ass."

"Ethan!" his father shouted, momentarily gaining his attention. "D-don't you hurt her. Pl-please, don't hurt her."

"Oh, I already hurt your sweet little plaything downstairs . . . snapped her scrawny little neck." A mirthless laugh issued past his lips as he refocused his attention on his mother. "See, Daddy's been very bad boy. Apparently that whole thou shalt not commit adultery thing just slipped by his attention as he played naughty nurse with the maid, who knew it would come back to bite him in the ass in the end."

"Why are you doing this to us?" his mother uttered as she squirmed to break free of his hold on her, to no avail.

"Because it's what I do." Ethan laughed. "Punish the wicked." He raised his sights toward the ceiling and it instantly burst into writhing greenish-blue flames. "I'm sort of like Hell's own little lawyer, judge an' jury all rolled into one damn sexy package." Fire hungrily licked at the walls edging closer to where Ethan and his mother were standing. "An' seein' as you don't have any idea where my wayward brother is, I really have no more use for you."

"E-Ethan, please . . . ." Tears slipped unabashedly down her cheeks as she begged for her life. "I – I don't wanna die."

"Oh, dyin' is just a new beginning, sweetheart," Ethan jeered as he lightly placed two fingers on her forehead. "A whole new world awaits you." He chuckled as he gently trailed his fingertips down her face, and ripped her flesh away from the bone. Her pitiful screams were drowned out by the roaring sound of flames and Ethan's booming voice. "Every heated breath you take will be excruciatingly painful. Your lungs will burst apart from the God awful heat." He smiled wickedly. "Flames will eat away at your flesh until there's nothing left but bone, an' still you'll live . . . an' everyday for the rest of eternity you'll beg for forgiveness, but it will fall on deaf ears."

Ethan leaned in and kissed her, licking his lips hungrily as he tasted her blood. "Sorry I have to cut this so short, Mom, but Lucifer is waiting for me." He wiped the back of his hand across his face. "See, we're throwing our own little party . . . maybe it's not as lavish as the one you were plannin' here tonight, but I'm sure it's gonna be something no one will ever forget."

XxXxXxXxXxX

"So how's your back, Rowan?" Dean asked, well aware of the tension that had settled between the two of them since the night the vampire had basically told him that he had given up on trying to be redeemed. "After breakfast I need to change your bandages," he added when Rowan merely grunted in response to his question. Anxiously drumming his fingers on his thigh, he tried to think of something to say that might force his friend to speak to him. "I was doin' some research and came up with two mysterious fires. One was at Harvard Law School. Guess one of the buildings went up in flames in a matter of minutes," he paused to draw in a breath, giving Rowan an opportunity to jump into the conversation, but when he failed to do so, Dean continued onward, "Something like a hundred an' fifty kids died . . . witnesses said they could hear them screaming and begging for help, but the flames were just so intense no one could get to them in time."

"An' the other fire?" Rowan muttered without glancing up at Dean.

"A house fire in New Hampshire. Three people died, apparently under similar circumstances. The funny thing is that this guy, Ethan Daniels, who lived there with his parents attends Harvard, an' went missing after the first fire."

"Ethan Daniels?" Rowan quirked a brow in sudden interest. To Dean, it almost seemed as if the name meant something to the vampire. "So, are you thinkin' he's some sort of Firestarter?"

"I dunno, could be, thought maybe we could take a look into it."

Now Rowan did glance up from his spot across the table from Dean. He met and held Dean's gaze for a moment, before once again lowering his head. "An' what, pawn Josh off on Bobby again? You have a job to do right here, Dean. An' I have to find Collin, an' try to explain things to him."

"I can hunt for this thing an' still take care of Jay," Dean argued.

"No, you can't, Dean." Rowan's voice rose in anger as he slammed his fist down on the table. "You have no idea what you're really dealin' with here, an' just rushin' into hunt this thing down is gonna get you killed."

"So then tell me what we're dealin' with here since you so obviously know what kinda damn creature it is."

"It really doesn't matter what it is cause you're not going anywhere near it."

"Umm . . . yeah, I am, an' you're comin' with me," Dean uttered, prepared to argue with the vampire until he got his way on the matter.

Rowan abruptly pushed back his seat, and shot to his feet. "I'm not gonna do this with you. Maybe this is how you get Sam to do things you want, but I'm not your brother . . . I'm not your family, an' I have no intention of going anywhere with you. Not now . . . not tomorrow . . . not ever again. Do I make myself clear?"

"What the hell's the matter with you?" Dean asked, finding it extremely difficult to keep the hurt from his tone. "Why are you being such an ass all of the sudden?"

"Cause you're not gonna let me die, Dean." Pure accusation and loathing colored Rowan's tone as he glared at Dean. "It's the only thing I've ever asked of you . . . It's the only thing I've ever wanted, an' when this is all over, you're gonna do everything in your power to see that I can never be at rest."

The older vampire looked to Dean expectantly, apparently waiting for him to deny what he had just said, but Dean remained stonily silent. And to Dean there was really no point in trying to deny it because in truth he had no intention of letting his best friend die. He had actually believed that by admitting to Rowan that he had become an important part of his life, the vampire would have reconsidered ending his own life, but he had only managed to make matters worse.

"You sonuvabitch," Rowan snarled, shaking his head in disgust. "After everything I've done for you."

"It's not like I have the damn amulet anyway, Rowan." Dean shrugged, splaying his arms out to the side. "Jax lost it, so I don't see what we're arguing about."

"We're arguin' cause just like always, you have to be the hero . . . have to save my life, an' you don't give a rat's ass that I really don't wanna be saved. I wanna die, Dean. So damn it jus' for once, don't try an' be a hero."

"Damn it, you just don't get it do you?" Dean huffed, at the end of his patience. "I'm a vamp, too. So unless someone comes along an' freakin' lobs off my head, which is so not gonna happen, I'm not goin' anywhere. You're not alone anymore, so why the hell do you think you need to die?"

"Oh, that's right, I forgot it's all about you, isn't it, Dean?" Rowan clenched his fists as he closed the gap between them. "If I didn't know any better, I'd almost think you let Jax keep the damn amulet jus' so I'd never get my hands on it."

"Yeah, I'm a selfish bastard cause I don't feel like bein' the only vamp left standing in the end." Dean sprang to his feet, balling his fists, prepared to defend himself if Rowan attacked. "I'm this way cause of you, so you're damn well sticking around for the long haul, whether you like it or not."

With lightning fast reflexes, Rowan's arm shot out, and he grabbed Dean by the neck, swung him around and jacked him up against the wall. Lifting him several feet off the ground with one arm, the older vampire caught hold of Dean's wrist with his other hand, and slammed it against the wall, pinning it there. "Don't ever think you control what I do, Dean. Just because we're friends doesn't mean I won't kill you if I have to. Understand?"

"Put me down, Rowan," Dean uttered in a low and deceptively calm voice. "I know what you're trying to do, an' it's not gonna work."

"You do, huh?" Lowering Dean so that they were at eye level with each other, Rowan leaned in so their faces were only mere inches apart. "So why don't you enlighten me as to what I'm trying to do?"

"You jus' hate the idea that someone could possibly care enough about ya that they might want to save your miserable life." Dean chuckled, hoping to ease the awkward tension that now seemed to permeate the room. "So you're thinkin' that if you can somehow get me to hate you, I'll be the first in line to kill you when the time comes, but it's not gonna happen."

"God, I really can't stand you." Rowan let go of Dean so abruptly he nearly crashed to the ground, but quickly managed to regain his balance. The shaggy-haired vamp, slumped to the floor and drew up his legs and rested his arms on his knees. "Why can't ya just hate me like everyone else does . . . it would really make things a helluva lot easier if you would."

"I dunno, guess I'm just a sucker for lost causes." Dean smirked as he took a seat beside his friend. He fell silent for a moment as he wondered what had happened to change Rowan. The older vampire had always claimed that he wanted to die, but this was the first time Dean actually believed him. A frown creased his brow, hating the idea of getting into a chick-flick conversation with Rowan, but pushed onward despite the twisting, churning feeling in the pit of his stomach. "What's wrong with you, Rowan? Why is it so damn important all of the sudden to change how things are between us?"

"I jus' don't feel right, Dean," Rowan mumbled dejectedly as he rested his forehead against the palm of his hand, fingers slipping into his shaggy, raven-colored bangs. "You – You took my heart . . . an' I know I told you to do it, but now I jus' . . . I dunno, I just feel real empty inside."

Dean swallowed hard. He had consciously tried to put the day when he had brutally killed Rowan and hungrily devoured his heart out of his mind. And for some damn reason, he really had thought his friend was okay. The vampire's heart still beat strongly inside his chest. He didn't look any different or seem weaker to Dean so he had just assumed he was fine. "I don't know – what can I do?"

"There's nothin' you can do, it's just how things are." Rowan glanced up at Dean and their eyes locked briefly before he looked away. "I knew it was a possibility when I suggested it, I was just hopin' I was wrong." He shrugged as a wry chuckle slipped past his lips. "Jus' let it go, Dean, it's not really all that important anyway. Hey, I'm still amazingly good looking, so I'm aces." He grinned, exposing perfect white teeth minus the fangs.

"There has to be something we can do," Dean said, ignoring Rowan's attempt to put an end to their conversation. Rowan had done so much to help him, had been there when no one else was, and he understood him like no one ever had before. And it was more than a little strange that the person he felt closest to was a vampire, one of his sworn enemies, but then again on a certain level it made perfect sense. They were both outsiders even amongst their own races. They'd both built walls to keep others from finding out what pain lied buried deep within their hearts. And they both had fought every single day for what they believed in, and in the end, Dean decided that if he had to chose just one person to be friends with it would be Rowan. "This is my fault an' I'm gonna fix it."

"Didn't ask you to fix anything, Dean." Rowan opened his mouth to say something more, but the sound of his cell phone ringing, cut him short. Yanking his phone out of his pocket, he saw it was Jamie calling. "I gotta take this call," he said before jabbing the button to answer the phone. "Talk to me."

"Rowan, it's Jamie," the young Brethren member said is a breathy rush.

"Did you find Collin?" Rowan held his breath as he waited for a response. His son had come to confide in Jamie and from Rowan's understanding, Collin thought of the hunter as his best friend. So if there was anyone who could find his son it would be Jamie.

Jamie hesitated for a moment, and Rowan could hear him heave a heavy sigh. "I've looked every where for him. It's like he's just disappeared right off the map. He hasn't been at any of the bars we usually hang out at . . . there's no paper trail. I had Lochlan check three time, which he was really pissed about, by the way. There's nothin'."

"Well, you keep lookin'." Rowan's voice rose in anger as he detected the sound of defeat in the younger man's tone. "I don't want you to stop even to catch a quick bite to eat until my son is back home. Got me?"

"I wasn't giving up," Jamie hastily defended, "I just wanted to let you know I haven't found him yet." The young man paused for another moment, and Rowan's heart skipped a beat as he worried that Jamie might have lied to him, and something bad had happened to Collin.

"What aren't you telling me? If something happened to Collin – "

"It's nothin' like that," Jamie blurted out, cutting Rowan off. "I found this amulet . . . actually I stole it from some guy. I think it must belong to a Guardian, but this guy Jax, well, he's no Guardian, I'd stake my life on it."

"You – You what?" Rowan smiled briefly as he glanced in Dean's direction. His grin abruptly died away as he realized that if he told Dean about it, his friend would keep it from him after his deal was completed. No matter how he felt about their friendship, he decided he couldn't give it back to Dean. "Look I'll meet you in about an' hour at my office in town. Just bring it with you, an' I'll make sure it gets taken care of."

"Alright, should I take care of this Jax guy?"

"No, jus' leave him alone. Believe me, you don't wanna mess with him cause then you'd have to answer to Michael." With that said, Rowan snapped his phone shut, got to his feet, and shifted to look at Dean. "Look, I've got some business to take care of, but when I get back we can do some more research on this Firestarter."

"What made you change your mind?" Dean asked suspiciously, lifting a brow as he studied Rowan carefully. "One phone call from this Jamie guy an' you're ready to hightail it out of town while your son is still missing?"

"I'm going to look for this Firestarter, with or without you. An' I don't really need to explain my reasons to you, Dean." Without saying another word, Rowan turned on his heel and stalked out of the room.