Disclaimers and warnings see chapter 1

Chapter 14 Answers

Sam and Dean walked back to the house. Sam sat Dean down in the kitchen where he washed his feet. While Sam cleaned his feet he told Dean what they had come up with. Dean listened with a slight frown on his face searching his own memory for things he knew about the witch from his own research and what Sam had come up with. Sam grabbed Dean some clean clothes as his now had mud on them from the yard and helped him change. Bobby had fixed Dean a sandwich while he was changing and he ate half without paying much attention to it, as he fought his way through his sleep addled brain. Sam helped him back to bed as he fought to keep, his eyes just open. Sam was about to pull away from tucking him in when Dean had a sudden thought and pulled Sam down.
"Sam she was a hexer I think, not a witch." And fell back to sleep.

Sam and Bobby went back to work looking at the problem from Dean's suggestion of a hexer.
"Hey Bobby listen to this." Sam called out soon after reading from an archaic old book. "Hexer's are those old men or women who make people ill by making senseless remarks like "I wish you grow stout" which will happen after a while. But a hexer is most destructive when displeased. They magically intrude bugs, shell, bones, seed stones or bits of glass under their victim's skin. They are said to live in isolated huts at the outskirts of the community."
"That helps with the isolated bit and place that with that the gypsy wanderings makes for a mobile hex. Hard to locate."
"Yeah it does. And there's this." Sam read from the book: "All shaman and witch doctors know of ways to invoke spirits to do their bidding. The hexer takes this craft to a new level, calling the wrath of spirits down upon his enemies. With a dance and a chant, he weakens and debilitates his foes. If a particular enemy becomes troublesome, he can bind a hostile spirit into an idol, delivering a permanent curse. Hexer's attract spirits to do their bidding through the use of music, chants, dances, or other types of performance. Some hexer's use different methods of binding the spell to the victim , if close contact cannot be made a wand or potion may be used depending on the skill of the hexer.

A hex chant produces a supernatural effect on one or more creatures or people in an area, within a specified range around the hexer. The hexer can freely designate which targets are affected and which are not. He may include himself. A hexer can continue a hex chant as long as he is concentrating. A hexer can begin a new chant while the effects of an old one persist. Most people see hexer's as mysterious and perhaps a little disturbed; especially since hexer performances are bizarre. Since nobody can see or interact with the "spirits" a hexer calls forth, some believe a hexer's art is all smoke and mirrors, designed merely to intimidate and distract the enemy. Nonetheless, the hexer's powers affect believers and nonbelievers alike. So they are powerful and feared but mainly men?"
"In real old times they were witchdoctors and Voodoo priests and the like but as time went on and the art died off, witches took bits and pieces to make their spells stronger." Stated Bobby reading from the book he had.
"Makes sense but it also says: 'Hexing is prohibited among modern witches who tend to live by Wiccan rede that states 'we are free to do whatever we wish as long as it harms nobody including ourselves. The guidance of the rede is underpinned by the threefold law the belief that whatever we do for good or evil comes back to us three times over."
"Well that makes sense in this day and age but remember we are talking over a hundred years ago, Sam. This woman was involved in riots and prejudice at the time, she could have easily looked for revenge and may have even known a gypsy or a Voodoo priest who could have helped her with the voodoo stuff."
"So she's a spirit and she's hexing people, how is she doing it? Being a spirit the potion making might be a touch hard."
"I think you need to dig up some information about the woman herself. What have you got on her?"
"Not a lot... but hang on Dean researched the gypsy's, I think. He had a feeling about the wide area that the victims were in. Just let me get the computer and have a look, I'm sure I saw a file."
Sam grabbed the laptop and powered it up Bobby sat and looked at the books that Sam had left open.

After a few minutes Sam read out from a file.
"It says the group of gypsies or traveler groups that roamed North America at the time were often employed to tell fortunes and cleanse lands before harvest. They were supposedly related to "Black Dutch" Gypsies from Germany, they were few in number and claim to have largely assimilated to Romnichel culture. In the past known as horse traders and basket makers, moving into wood carving and often using Magical Properties of Trees and Specific Woods to sell items. Pieces of wood with "special powers were often given as charms to ward of spirits or bad luck , worn around the neck as a protection talisman."
"Ah, but the wand that's given me an idea. I heard about this coven of witches from that area, turn of the century used to use Hazelwood wands made from trees that had been struck by lightning, hard to get you see. Well the story went if the witch got wood from the tree while it was still warm from the strike and shaped it to wand shape and used a special flint within 24 hours the wand would have special binding powers. It binds the wand to its owner even after the owner dies. Stops other witches trying to take them as well."
"So you think Florica might have had a wand like that?" Sam questioned.

Bobby sighed."Makes sense to be doing the hexes like that, no need to chant and draw attention to herself. Who knows, in her day she probably used it to perform 'good spells'. And this book" and he leaned over to an open book "says: 'Hazel Wood has feminine energy. Hazel is a sacred tree of Celtic Astrology. Associated with the elements of Fire, Air, and Water. The Celtic Sea God, considered the wood to be sacred. The energy of hazel wands promoted love and creativity allowing a person to move beyond self-serving modes of existence. Hazel is the bringer of change. This was the most common wood used to create wands in the ancient Celtic traditions. Also used in magic spells for wisdom, creativity, intelligence, navigation, inspiration, and wrath.'
"But it says Celtic and she wasn't carrying a wand when we saw her spirit, I don't think, and when we burned the bones the wand should heave been in there."
"That Celtic stuff is everywhere Sam you know that and she wouldn't have shown you the wand. She wouldn't have given that up, it would have been a prized possession even in death. But you said you shot her with rock salt right?"
"Yeah, Dean did".
"Well I think..." Bobby reached for a book off a different pile. "That you can break the binding power using salt which means if she had the wand on her it should be lying on the floor of that building. Since you burned her bones she cant touch it, but the spell remains until the wand is destroyed. Did she try to stop you burning her bones?"

Sam frowned. "No. I was surprised how quietly that went down, she had been fairly active as a spirit, it didn't make sense. But why is she putting such negative spells on people?"
"Well she was killed in a riot against the gypsy's right? She was helping people with good spells then they up and killed her, how fair is that? Maybe one hundred years of waiting for revenge has helped too".
"Makes sense. She probably knew a lot of secrets from a few towns, you know. They were coming to her for help. She would have expected that they would help her during the riots. But they probably said they didn't know her you know out of embarrassment."
"She was probably trying to get her wand back while you were burning her bones in the hope of throwing a spell at you, it might have been more important to her. It explains Dean's reason for sleepwalking, it's his brains way of handling the spell. A bit like stress from a 'medical condition' like you explained your first day here. Just change 'medical condition' with 'harmful spell' and we are on a winner. How much chance is there of someone else picking up the wand?"
"The building is scheduled for demolition at the end of the year so none."
"You better hope not because this book says to break the spell when the owner of the wand has departed, the wand must be broken or cut into seven parts."
"Seven parts?"

Bobby smiled. "Seven parts, magic number. And just to be sure each part buried at least a mile apart and one foot deep with an iron plate. Salt wouldn't hurt either. Now that we know what we are dealing with, this book," Bobby handed Sam a small red covered book and opened it to page ", has a recipe for a charm bag to make up to protect Dean from the spell a bit. It's kind of the opposite of a hex bag. It won't get rid of the spell but it will make him a bit more helpful on your trip back to get the wand. The ingredients will be in the desk draws."
He pointed to a desk before walking to the door.
"I need to grab a few things from downstairs for you. Make up the bag and get packed and I should be ready for you by the time you are ready to hit the road."
"The spirit oil!" Sam exclaimed.
"What?"
"I was wondering why she was up and active after one hundred years. There was spirit oil and kerosene driven into the ground around the grave site."

Bobby frowned. "Well I have heard about kerosene being used in certain summoning rituals. Good work, calm them with spirit oil, piss em off with kerosene. What idiot did that?"
"We thought that someone from the cemetery did it or they had someone come in and do it to make the relocation of the grave sites go smoothly."
"Amateurs. Should lock em up."
"That's what we thought."
"I will be back up in a few minutes. You need help with sleeping beauty?"
"I should be okay ,thanks Bobby."
Sam quickly made up a charm bag for his brother. When he had finished he hung the bag around Dean's neck and went up and packed their things. It looked like they were moving on.

TBC