Chapter 14

"What did you say?" Liberty whispered as her brother joined her silently in her room. Together, they crawled into the blanket fort that Glory, Liberty, and Levi had built the day before. "Momma is scared. Can you feel her?"

Everett remained silent, but shrugged. "Momma is scared a lot. She just hides it from us. She keeps saying that she's going to train us with Uncle Cas, but that hasn't happened yet."

"It doesn't mean anything. We're a big family. It's hard to get everything done on time," Liberty whispered. "I told you to tell Momma about that woman. Listen to them," she continued. "Now they're mad."

Crawling on all fours, Glory came across the carpet in Liberty's room and joined her siblings in the blanket fort. "Why is Daddy mad?" she asked, whispering as well.

"Because Ev didn't tell them about Delilah sooner," Liberty replied, rolling her eyes. "Sabina is finally starting to tell the truth, but Everett was a big fat dummy and told Momma that he sees her too." Liberty turned towards her brother. "If you were going to tell them, you should have told them when it first happened. They hate when we hold secrets."

The elder Winchester children lapsed into silence as they strained to hear their parents and aunt discuss what to do next.

"—doesn't mean anything. They could just be dreams," Dean was saying in hushed tones, thinking he would be able to hide his thoughts from his children. "We talk about a lot in front of them. Maybe he just picked something up." He paused, trying to convince himself as well.

"That doesn't explain how he knows her name," Grace argued. "I mean, who is Delilah? And how does our four year old son know a name like that?"

"She's a witch," Sabina answered.

"She's a witch?" Serra repeated. "Dude, a few months ago, you didn't even know for sure that this stuff existed; now you're claiming you know who she is? Where the hell do you get off?"

"Sere," Grace muttered, warning.

"No," Serra argued. "I'm sick of this shit. I told you from the beginning that I didn't want her in this house. I never trusted her." Liberty glanced at Glory, who exchanged a worried look with her sister. Their aunt sounded very angry. "And now she's having dreams that share a character with Everett; the Mini Mark of Cain? Give me back my bullets. I'm gonna shoot her."

"Stop," Grace shouted, slamming her hand down on the table. "No one is shooting anyone. Yes, Ev is seeing this person, but we don't know enough information to start killing people."

There was a long pause from the adults as they seemed to consider their options. Finally, very quietly, Sabina's voice carried through the house. "I think she's connected to me somehow, but I don't understand why. Since we got back from Holden, she's all I've been able to think about."

"So who the hell is Delilah?" Dean asked, running his hands through his hair. "Why is she finding her way into Everett's brain?"

Liberty turned towards her brother and took a deep breath. "We need to tell them everything," she whispered. "We can't keep hiding stuff from Momma and Daddy. They're going to find out sometime and I don't want to get in trouble. Momma will hear us eventually."

Everett was already shaking his head. "Momma doesn't hear everything," he answered, narrowing his eyes. "And she lies to us all the time."

"She does not!" Glory argued.

"She does," Everett finalized. "Just because she tells us what we want to hear doesn't mean she's telling us the truth. Can't you hear her when she thinks?"

Glory and Liberty nodded slowly.

"And does she tell us everything?"

The girls shook their heads just as slowly.

Everett leaned against the dresser and crossed his arms. "Delilah doesn't lie to me," he declared. "She always tells me the truth, even if it's bad."

Glory's voice was small as she replied, "You shouldn't be talking to that bad lady, Everett," she commented.

"You don't tell me what to do," Everett spat and turned away from his twin sister.

From her room, Faith let out a sad wail and from downstairs, Grace stood from her chair and said, "Faith needs to be changed. Try not to kill each other while I'm gone."

The children listened to their mother's footsteps as she climbed the steps. She hesitated at the top stair and listened for her children before she continued to Faith's room.

"She knows you're lying about something," Liberty whispered. "Call her in and tell her the truth."

Everett's eyes filled with tears as he shook his head. "I can't," he answered. "Delilah will be mad."

Liberty leaned into his face, "As mad as Auntie Lucky would be if we didn't say anything and they found out on their own?"

Pressing his lips together, Everett shook his head.

"Momma!" Liberty called, breaking the silence. "Everett wants to tell you something!"

Grace's footsteps paused in Faith's room, scooping up her youngest daughter and carrying her against her hip. "Hold on a sec, Ev!" she shouted. "I have to change Faith."

"Go in there," Libby pressed. "Just go into Faith's room and start talking. You'll feel so much better."

Everett began to cry. "What will Delilah do? She's gonna be so mad."

"Daddy will protect us. Auntie and Momma will too. Nothing is going to happen to us." Liberty physically pushed Everett out of the blanket fort. "Go."

Slowly, Everett padded down the hall towards his baby sister's room. Glory and Liberty stood at the end of the hall, watching carefully from Liberty's bedroom door. When Everett looked back towards the girls, they both gestured to him to keep moving. He took a deep breath and continued his journey.

"Momma?" Everett whispered from the doorway of Faith's room.

"Hi baby," Grace turned and smiled while changing Faith's diaper. "What's going on in there? You guys are whispering a lot."

Everett nodded slowly, moving towards his mother, wringing his hands together as he walked. "There's something…"

Grace turned, finally finished changing the baby, and set her on the carpet next to her brother. Taking a deep breath and pressing her lips together, Grace sat down next to her children and sighed. "What aren't you telling me, Ev?" she asked gently. She reached out carefully towards her son's arm and rested her palm on his skin. It was warm to the touch and almost getting warmer by the second. Grace flicked her blue gaze to meet Everett's.

"Everett, you're safe," Grace repeated the mantra that she had been saying all of her son's life. "You can tell me. What's happening?"

Faith seemed to understand that Everett was frustrated. She turned towards her brother, crawled towards him, and pushed herself into his lap. Immediately, Everett's body language shifted and he took a deep breath, calming down. The baby leaned into his chest and placed her chubby hands on his arm where Grace knew there was a genetic Mark of Cain that would show its ugly face if pushed.

"The lady that Sabina is talking about? Delilah?" Everett began, "I know her because she talks to me, too."

Grace felt the cold panic surge through her chest but without changing her facial expression, she took a deep breath and asked, "What does she talk to you about?"

"That I have powers too. That I'm special and that she would take good care of me."

Swallowing hard, Grace closed her eyes, but remained outwardly calm. "Ev," she whispered. "That woman…I don't know for sure who she is, but me and Daddy think that we fought her in Holden. She's not a nice lady."

"She's nice to me."

"Only because she wants something from you," Grace answered. She reached out to Everett's hands and took them in both of her own. "Baby, you and your sisters are very special. There are going to be a lot of people from now on that will want to take you away from us, but we would never let that happen."

Everett glanced up at his mother. "Why would they do that?"

"Because…" Grace faded away, trying to think of a way to convince Everett without telling him everything. Suddenly, Castiel appeared in the bedroom, his trench coat swinging next to Grace as she sat on the carpet.

He took a deep breath and in a quiet voice, Castiel spoke to Grace, "Tell him."

Grace didn't look up, but closed her eyes and steadied herself. "I don't know if he's ready, Cas," she replied.

"If you don't tell him, Delilah will take it upon herself to begin telling him everything, making herself out to be the hero. He will learn to trust her because she provides information that you do not," Castiel answered, pushing his thoughts into Grace's mind, away from Everett's thoughts. "You need to start including them in the conversation about their Destiny. If you know, your children need to as well."

"Cas, they're kids. Cosmic truth about their future? You really think they're ready to process stuff like this?"

Castiel turned slightly towards Everett and nodded slowly. "I do," he said aloud, his voice hushed.

Grace took a steadying breath. "Okay, kiddo. Why don't you and your sisters come downstairs?" Grace asked quietly. "We'll start share time."