Dean tried to get his breathing under control. "What do you want?"
"What don't I want?"
It was odd to see Ellis look menacing. But he was genuinely a bit fearful of her now as she touched his bicep.
"Would you like to finish what you started, Dean? She wants you. She's always wanted you."
Dean lifted his upper lip into something between a grimace and a snarl. "Yeah. Tell me about how she just had sex with my Dad and remind me that you're in control of her. That totally makes me want to go there..."
Her grip tightened on him enough to hurt. "Which bone should I break first, Dean?"
She released him and he dropped down from the wall onto his knees. He tried to get up and caught Ellis's well aimed kick across the face. It sent him sprawling. She was on him in a second, hand closed on his windpipe.
He reached up to pry her hand loose and she let go of his throat, grabbed his wrist and twisted it backwards into a wrist lock. He grimaced and sweat broke out on his forehead. She slowly bent it back, farther, farther, past his range of motion and he cried out, his body arching beneath her with a spasm.
"Ellis!" He pleaded. "Honey, if you're in there...don't let her hurt me. Fight!"
Ellis's grip actually flagged for a second and then strengthened again. Her eyes went hard.
"She's in here all right. Yelling away. She likes you Dean, loves you even. Hates to feel me do this." She twisted his arm farther and he yelled again. He gathered every bit of will he had and rolled her sideways.
She lost her grip and he skittered out of her hold, pushing her hard. She flew back and hit her head against the wall with an audible thump. Dean scrabbled up and grabbed his gun.
"Not one more step."
Ellis was on one knee, half-crouching. She looked up, her long blonde hair askew, a predatory smile that sent a chill down his spine in place. "You gonna shoot poor Ellis, Dean? After all she's done for you? I have news for you. You can shoot this meatsuit and it's not going to do much to me. Just to her. Poor girl has had a rough week. All you Winchesters on her doorstep taking advantage of her kindness. Leaving her with nothing. She cried all night over you. Your father used her."
"Shut up!" Dean snapped, his finger still on the trigger.
"I'm going to carve you up. I'm going to make you scream for mercy. I'm going to hurt you until you don't know who you are anymore."
Sam limped his way through the neighboring yards. He stopped every few feet, hand to his stomach. Once the pain hit so hard it dropped him. His legs folded and he went down with a strangled cry. His lower back hurt, his stomach, his groin, even the center of his chest.
He panted another minute and then dragged himself up and limped another few feet. Getting over the chain link fence was impossible. Sam moved to the the sidewalk, glanced around to see if anyone was watching him and started walking again. He disappeared down someone's drive and hiked across their yard again. He saw the bushes that demarcated Ellis's property and quietly pushed his way through them.
Pain dropped him again and he barely contained a scream. He was shaking. His legs felt like rubber. The small hike had exhausted his energy reserves and he wanted nothing more than to curl up on her grassy lawn and cry.
It was only his stubborn streak that kept him going. The part of him that fought to maintain a 4.0 average through his turbulent childhood. The part that made him stand his ground against his father and leave for Stanford. The part that was here for Dean now.
He staggered back up, feeling something damp run down his leg that he was entirely unsure was sweat or blood or possibly even urine. He ignored the tickle.
Sam glanced in the window and saw nothing at first. But then movement caught his eye. In the living room, he saw Dean's broad shoulders. His back was to him. He had his gun drawn and a wary stance.
Ellis was facing him down. She looked toward his direction and Sam ducked. Something was wrong. Ellis wasn't Ellis if Dean had a weapon drawn on her.
He fingered the bottle of holy water. "Thanks, Taco."
Ellis advanced on Dean again. He hesitated. He could NOT put a bullet through Ellis.
"Fight her, Ellis." He said, retreating a step.
The demon did not waver. She raised her hand and Dean's arm snapped sideways so hard the gun flew out of his grip. She reached out too quickly for him to do more than attempt a half-assed block and grabbed the back of his neck, pulling him down onto his knees, tilting his head up to her. His whole body had gone rigid. His jaw set, his mouth taut. He was going to fight her until his last breath. The thought excited her.
"Maybe I'll possess you instead, Dean. Make you do some terrible things to Ellis here."
Dean's eyes went wide with unabashed fear.
And suddenly Ellis screamed as a cloud of steam rolled off her back. She let go of Dean and dropped sideways.
Sam was standing behind her. Looking the worse for wear and barely on his feet, clutching a container of holy water.
He was chanting before her yelling stopped. "Dominus spiritus, dominus sanctus..." she sprang to her feet to dive at him and Sam splashed more in her face, continuing the chant. "...spiritus immundum."
She staggered back and Dean grabbed her from behind in a crushing grip. "Keep it up, Sammy."
The black smoke started to curl up out of Ellis's mouth. Her body writhed and bucked under the assault of the exorcism and the Holy water that Sam splashed on her again.
Her hair was in Dean's nose... smelling of sulfur and her shampoo.
The smoke rose higher, ripping out of Ellis as Sam's chant continued. He paused a moment, broke off with a cry as a pain twisted through his gut and he buckled.
The smoke began to change direction, skating toward Dean.
"Sammy! Keep going."
Sam panted the next few words. "...omnis incursio infernalis adversarii. Omnis legio! Omnis congregatio et secta diabolica! Ergo, Draco maledicte et omnis legio diabolica, adiuramus te!"
The smoke started to rise up again. Dean felt Ellis's body twist in his grip and suddenly lurch as the demon broke free and disappeared.
Ellis's weight crumpled on top of him and he went down with her.
Sam collapsed onto the floor with a cry. The three of them lay there like marionettes with severed strings.
Dean was the first to pull himself up. Ellis was crying and holding her head where she'd hit the wall. He could see the blood soaking the back of her blonde hair from where he was. Her arm was also bleeding where he'd grazed her with the bullet earlier.
He scrambled over to her. "Ellis. Sweetheart."
He put his hands on her and she cried and flinched away, panicked at the touch.
He gripped her firmly and pulled her into his chest, held her there for a second until she relented and melted into him.
"S'okay sweetheart." His voice was low and soothing. He brushed her hair back from her eyes and gently looked at her, cupping her delicate face in his hands. "You okay?"
She shook her head, still crying.
"Okay." He felt around her scalp until he found the cut and parted her hair. "Hold still, let me see." He said his voice honey-toned and calming.
Some part of his mind was aware of Sam curled up moaning to the side of them.
Dean focused on the task at hand.
"Hey," he said. "Doesn't look too bad, sweetheart. It's just bleeding a lot because head wounds are melodramatic like that."
He cast around for something and grabbed an old shirt lying on the floor near the couch. He ripped it in half and tied part of it around her arm, then pressed the rest to her head.
She winced.
"Okay. Honey, hold this here." He pressed her hand to it. "Keep pressure, it will stop in a few minutes."
She kept sobbing and he took her arms and locked gazes with her.
Ellis's eyes seemed even bluer when they were bloodshot from tears.
"Ellis. I need you to calm down, okay? I know demons aren't your bag but I gotta check Sammy. This ain't over yet so get yourself together."
She tried to stifle the next sob. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "'At's my girl."
"Sammy," he crawled over to Sam. "Hey Sam."
Sam's hair was a damp sweaty wreck, completely in his eyes. His breath came in hissing gasps.
"You okay, man?"
"F...fine." he ground out between clenched teeth and another cry. "I'm not sure she's acting alone."
"Yeah man. I don't know."
"Lay some salt lines," Sam ground out. "Draw s..some traps. I'd help but..." he started panting.
Dean clapped him on his shoulder. "Just hang in there, Sammy. And thanks for saving my ass."
"D...don't mention it. Agh!" Sam twisted up again.
"Ellis where's the salt. Do you have any big containers?"
She nodded. "In the kitchen. The cupboard with the spices."
"Okay." Dean pulled himself to his feet and jogged through his house to retrieve the salt. There was an old canister of Morton and salt shaker full of sea salt. He started with the cardboard Morton's container, praying he'd have enough.
He cursed himself that Baby was so far away.
He wasn't sure what Ellis would have around to paint devil's traps with.
Dean started to lay the salt down on the window sills. Of course Ellis would have to have a fucking house with a million windows and doors.
He did it efficiently, methodically, like he was trained to. He wandered back into the living room to find Ellis had abandoned her t-shirt rag to be near Sam.
He was on his hands and knees panting. She was rubbing his back, talking to him softly.
Lay down down a line, check, move to the window, check, hit the doorway, check. Just like he was trained to do. Ignoring Sam's cries of pain was a little harder.
"Ellis what do you have to draw devil's traps with?"
She looked up, one hand pressed against Sam's torso. "I don't know."
Sam whimpered and arched his back from his position on all fours. "Ummm." She pressed a kiss against the side of his head. "Ride it out, baby." Then she raised her voice. "I don't know, Dean."
"Paint? Chalk?" Dean asked hopefully.
She shrugged. "Permanent Marker?"
"Sold. Where is it?"
"Maybe in the junk drawer in the kitchen."
Dean raised an eyebrow. "Maybe?"
"I don't know, Dean! You know I'm not organized. I wasn't preparing for a demon attack!"
"Okay, fine." He grumbled.
Sam started to retch and she turned her attention back to him. "Okay. Sweetheart. I know."
"What the hell is wrong with him now?" Dean was starting to feel feel a bit overwhelmed.
"Nothing. Take care of the traps. I've got Sam."
"Don't tell me nothing! He's trying to up chuck on your throw rug."
"It's a pain response, Dean. I've got him. Hurry up." Ellis said sharply.
Dean nodded and ran to the kitchen to sort through Ellis's junk drawer. He found paper clips and pencils, spare change, old gum, random keys, receipts, fucking ancient expired credit cards. And finally, when he pulled the drawer open and threw the contents on the counter top, a silver marker rolled off the formica and fell onto Dean's boot.
He grabbed it and scribbled a trap on the floor near the door.
"Dean!" The cry peeled through the air so loudly, it set Dean back on his heels. He dashed into the living room.
"Sam! What's wrong?"
Sam was lying on his side, impotently kicking at the ground. The cords on his neck stood out.
Ellis was guiding his head away from the watery saliva he'd thrown up on the floor. "Shhhhh." She whispered, her hand checking his pulse. "I'm so sorry, baby."
Dean saw she had his brother and kept up his careful warding, armed with salt and markers.
"Ellis, I'm so sorry, you're gonna have to refinish the floors."
"It's fine." She said, attention still on Sam.
There was a sound outside and they both looked up in time to see a swirling loop of black smoke heading toward them. It hit the windows with a thud loud enough to rattle the rolled glass and circled around the house looking for an entrance.
"Oh God, Dean." Ellis wasn't even trying to hide her terror.
"Don't worry," Dean said. "I got it. I warded it as much as I could. Even if they got in upstairs," which he knew there was every possibility of, as he hadn't had much time to salt the sills, "there's a salt line on the steps."
There was far too many times where their lives depended on a kitchen staple.
Thank you for all the awesome reviews last chapter! You guys rock. For anyone who is following both stories-I finished Horse Sense, so pop on over and read it if you missed it. :)