Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Supernatural characters as they are the property of the CW. I do, however, own any characters introduced within the story as they are sole property of my mind.
Summary: Hot tempered. Stubborn. Strong headed. Smartass. Dean Winchester has met his match in the form of a female out on a hunt. Supernatural hunters themselves, 21 year old Artemis Flora Summers and her best friend find themselves tangled within the Winchester web as they join the boys on their hunt for their father. Hiding a dark secret that only her best friend knows, Artemis begins to find it hard to keep it a secret as sheclashes head on with the eldest of the Winchester boys. What happens when she realizes that she may be falling head over heels for him? Is the past about to repeat itself once again with her?
Author's Note: Hey guys. So this story is quickly coming to its end as there will be one more chapter after this and then the epilogue. But my writing won't stop there. In one of the earlier chapters that had an author's note, it was mentioned that there will be two more stories that will be sequels to this one. Also, I've posted a picture of what Athena looks like in my profile page. She will become a huge character within the squeal to Slightest Touch. Thanks so much for your reviews! Enjoy!
The Curse of the Past: Part I
"Are you sure there's nothing?" There's something alright.
"Are you sure you've check every available source you can get your hands on?" Probably not.
"Alright. Thanks, Bobby. Ok. Well Bobby is coming up with absolutely nothing regarding this curse. He's never even heard of it. He's checked everything he can and he's still going to check, but I think we might be on our own here with trying to solve this curse before the week is up."
"And why would we want to do that?"
"Dean!" I watched Dean give a glare to Kiki through the rearview mirror as she rested back against her seat with a dirty look before sighing and putting away my iPod to give my attention to Sam, who at the moment was surfing through his laptop to see what he could find out about this curse that we already didn't know. He turned his head, however, when he felt me looking at him.
"Athena going to meet us at your house?" he asked, causing me to shake my head.
"We're not going to my house, Sam," I replied, causing Dean to look over with an irritated look.
"What do you mean we're not going to your house? Where the hell are you taking us?" he asked.
"My house," I replied, causing him to give me a confused, angry look as he tried to comprehend what I was saying.
"You just said that we….."
"I know what I said, Dean. I'm not entirely as stupid as you may think me to be. We're going to my house because it might have some clues as to what the hell my step-mother used or did to put the curse on me. Having a little bit of a hard time deciphering my words?" I asked, a hint of sarcasm on the last sentence. He gave me a dirty look before focusing his attention back onto the road. It had been like this since we left Bobby's and although it was hurting me and slowly tearing me apart inside, I was determined to keep my mind focused on the task at hand. I had promised Sam I would try.
"I'm having a little bit of a hard time comprehending what your saying, Artemis. I'm just as confused as Dean," Sam said, causing me to sigh and rub my temples.
"She means that we're going to her childhood home. The one she lived in before her parent's death. God. Are guys always reading somewhere other than between the lines?" she asked as she gave me a look. I merely shrugged before giving Sam my attention again.
"My parents left me everything upon turning 18 years of age. Which included our house. Athena and David have kind of been taking care of the maintenance for me while I've been out on the road fighting. I know you're trying to help so I figured it might be a good place to start since Bobby doesn't have any leads and can't find anything so far in the books," I said, causing him to nod.
"It might be a good start," he said with a nod. I nodded as well before leaning back against the seat. Glancing up at Dean, I let out a sigh as I watched him mindlessly tap the steering wheel to a Metallica. He sensed me looking at him and let his emotionless eyes lock with mine, causing a shiver to run down my spine as I turned my gaze to the scenery that was passing by us outside the window. This really sucked. About an hour or so later, I felt the Impala roll to a stop and I let my eyes shift open as Dean cut the engine and Sam and Kiki's conversation die down. Sitting up, I swallowed slightly as the memories of my childhood home trickled into my mind.
"Artemis?" I snapped my head in Sam's direction as he looked at me with slight concern.
"Are you alright?" he asked, causing me to nod before I got out of the car and looked back at the house. Nothing had really changed since I left almost 14 years ago. The house still gleamed as white as it had been when I was 8 as well as the grass being cut and taking care of thanks to David and Athena attending to it. Letting my fingers linger over the rope of the swing on the tree in the front yard, I let out a sigh as I realized that this perfect little scenery wasn't going to last long once we set foot inside.
"Artemis? Are you alright?" I nodded slightly and turned to see the other three as they stood on the small walkway leading up to the front porch watching me very carefully.
"Let's go in. The neighbors don't look too friendly like they did 14 years ago," I said as I walked up to the porch and began to rummage through my pockets for my keys. Pulling them out, I stared at them for a good couple of seconds before placing the key into the lock and turning.
"Artemis…."
"Don't, Sam," I said before I pushed the door open and stepped inside. It was slightly dark in the house as I had all the curtains and blinds drawn, causing me to flip a switch on the wall that lit up the foyer area that we were standing in as Dean shut the door and took a look around.
"Ever hear of dusting, princess?" he asked as he swept a finger over the side table and looked at me.
"I haven't been here in about 14 years, Dean," I said as I flipped some more switches and lighting up the living room and dining room areas to the front and back of us. He was right in a sense. It was so dusty in here that I didn't know how any of us could manage to stand there looking around without hacking or coughing our lungs out.
"The outside looks better than the inside," Kiki said as she slowly gazed around the living room.
"Athena and David come by at least once or twice a week to make sure everything is ok and that the outside looks nice. Keeps people away from the house. Plus there's salt on every windowsill and in front of every door as well as a devil's trap on the ceiling of every room in this house just in case. I'm not as stupid as I look," I said, causing Dean to snort with laughter and give me a mocking look as I gave him a glare. He merely rolled his eyes and continued looking around the room.
"So where do we start?" Sam asked as he brought the topic back around.
"Maybe the bedroom. Or possibly the bathroom where she killed herself. Both were places she spent a great deal of time in when she wasn't doing something with my dad or her daughters and Bryce," I replied as I nodded toward the stairs. He gestured toward the stairs and I took that as my cue to continue leading them on. Slowly making my way up the stairs, I let out a sigh as I flipped another switch and the hallway lit up to reveal six different doors along the wall. Making my way toward the door at the farthest end of the hallway, I stopped when I heard Dean chuckle.
"Not a girlie girl my ass, Summers," he said, causing me to turn around as he stared at the first door on the right hand side. My room. The door was sporting a faded pink and white type of decoration with my name written across the door all princess like.
"My mom decorated the door and my room for me, Dean," I said as I gave him a cold hard glare. He stared at me for a second before slightly coughing and rubbing the back of his neck as he began to feel uncomfortable. Good. Let him be. Let him take his medicine with what he was dishing to me.
"Hey Art? Why is this door charred to hell?" I turned to Sam and let my eyes shift to what he was looking at diagonally from my room. Letting out a small sigh and running a hand through my hair, I walked toward it and gently pushed it open. Kiki gasped as both Dean and Sam swore.
"After my mom died, my dad couldn't bring himself to redo the room. It was like a reminder of the hell we went through. I wanted to at least fix the door so nobody would know what was wrong with the room, especially after my dad remarried the bitch I called my step-mother. So he redid one of the guest rooms so that Bryce could have a room to sleep in," I replied.
"And you couldn't redo it?" Kiki asked, causing me to give her a dirty look.
"I haven't been home in nearly 14 years. Good enough answer?" I asked with sarcasm before I turned around and opened up another door. My parent's bedroom. Flipping on the light, I made my way over toward the bathroom and flipped on that light before I stepped back and gestured for Sam to take a look. I didn't need to know why he was swearing as he looked around the bathroom.
"You didn't touch this room either? What the hell happened in here?" he asked as he gave me a look.
"My step-mother committed suicide in here. Took a gun to her head. It was several days to about two to three weeks before we were able to come back into this bathroom. And before my dad even had a chance to clean any of this up, he died. The curse took his life about a month after my step-mother took her life. So I kind of just let this room go too," I replied, causing the three of them to look at one another before looking at me.
"Are you usually this calm about situations like this?" Dean asked, causing me to roll my eyes.
"I've been relatively calm around you, haven't I?" I asked with sarcasm, which caused him to look at me for a quick second before narrowing his eyes in agitation. He opened his mouth to retort but Sam beat him to it.
"Alright, you two. That's enough. We've got work to do and little time to do it in. We're going to have to tear this house upside down and check every crack and corner for any possible clues to what the hell the step-mother was doing when she decided to curse Artemis. I'm going to start here in the bathroom and work my way into the bedroom. Dean can help while you two girls start on the downstairs. Kiki, there are a bunch of books I took from Bobby's that you should probably bring inside and look through," he said, causing Dean to grunt in response and me and Kiki to nod before we headed downstairs and split up, her heading outside to the Impala and me to the kitchen. I switched on the light and looked around.
"Still looks the same," I muttered as I looked around the room. Even after my mother had passed away and my father had remarried that awful bitch, my father wouldn't allow my step-mother to change anything within our house because it reminded him of my mother. Actually, I think he only did it for me and my brother. Mainly me since my brother was only 6 months old when my mother died, but he had told me once that my mother's spirit still lived on in this house and that changing anything would cause her to go away. I still believed it to this day, but nobody knew it but myself and it was something I kept locked deep inside the once icy walls of my heart.
"So where to begin without tearing it completely apart?" I muttered as I took one last glance around the kitchen before starting at the farthest cabinet from me. Hopping up onto the counter, I opened the cabinet and began to carefully take the glassware out. Most of it I knew would in some kind of fragile state and I didn't want to break any of it since a lot of the pieces were antique dishes that had been passed down from both sides of my family dating back to at least my great-great-great-great grandparents on my father's side.
"Don't need my mother's spirit angry with me," I thought as I continued to rummage through each crack and corner of the kitchen, occasionally stopping to listen to Kiki out in the living room and the occasional thumping of Sam and Dean upstairs. I didn't like the idea of tearing the house apart, but I knew Sam was right in that we had to search for anything and everything that could get me out of the deal. As I made to open the last cabinet, a small thump sounded behind me and I whirled around. There was nothing there and I shook my head slightly as I began to turn around to finish up. However, the sound came again and I whirled around once again to stare at the basement door across the kitchen as the small thump came again from that direction.
"Always the basement," I muttered as I drew my hand gun from the back of my jeans and cocked it as I carefully unlocked the basement door and cautiously opened it. Peering down the darkened steps, I tried the switch and cursed when the light would come on.
"Of course. Of all the scariest places in the house, the basement light doesn't want to work. Great," I said with sarcasm as I dug out my cell phone and flipped it open to give me some light as I slowly began to make my way down the steps. I had always hated the basement and this was no different as I reached the bottom of the stairs and looked around. As it was when I was growing up, it was slightly cluttered with everything and anything my parents could have gotten their hands on. Most of the stuff was old antique stuff meant for Bryce and myself as we got older and out on our own while some of the stuff was just boxes of pictures and stuff as Bryce and I grew up.
"Always a keeper of memories, mom," I said with a small chuckle as I blew the dust away from a picture frame that had me, my baby brother, and my parents in it that was taken at least a week or two before my mother had died. As I ran a finger over the glass, I felt the room beginning to drop it's temperature slightly, causing me to set the picture down and pick up my gun. As I made to move toward the stairs, the basement door slammed shut and I let out a blood curdling scream as I felt myself slam hard into the wall and darkness take over.
Dean's POV
"I can't believe the amount of dried up blood I'm having to wipe out of my way, including the amount of shit in these cabinets." I looked up from tearing apart the closet as Sam came out of the bathroom with an irritated look on his face.
"She's hasn't clean this place in about 14 years. How the hell has she managed to keep this place around if it's so dusty and most of the rooms looking like hell?" he asked, causing me to roll my eyes.
"It's Artemis, Sam. None of us will ever be able to figure her out. And even if we do, it would probably more than likely be a bunch of lies or hidden truths," I replied, causing him to frown.
"Dean, that's enough. We've got less than a week before Artemis drops dead right in front of us and all you can do is be a dick. So she screwed up by not telling you and doing whatever the hell you think she did to you. So what? Get over it for now. This is important and she's going to die if we don't help her. So get your head out of your ass and stop being a dick," he snapped, causing my eyes to narrow. Who the hell did my little brother think he was talking to me this way about something as aggravating as what was going on between me and Artemis? How the hell could he take her side? Opening my mouth to retort, I didn't even get the first syllable out when a blood curdling scream faintly ripped through the house, causing Sam and I to look at one another before hurrying out of the room.
"Kiki!" Sam yelled as we flew down the stairs, only to crash into her as she came from the living room with fear in her eyes.
"Where's Artemis?" I asked as I realized she wasn't with Kiki.
"The last I knew she was in the kitchen. Did you…."
"Yeah. Artemis!" I yelled as I drew out my gun and quickly made my way toward the kitchen. Scanning the room, I could see that it was messy from her searching for whatever it was she was looking for in this case, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary as I slowly made my way around the room.
"Where the hell is she? She didn't come to you at all, Kiki?" Sam asked, causing Kiki to shake her head.
"No. Not at all," she replied.
"Anything out of the ordinary?" he asked as he looked at me. I shook my head as I stood up from my crouched position by the back door as I examined the salt and was about to say something when I noticed the kitchen window open just slightly. Crossing the room, I realized that it wasn't open completely, but anyone who was looking at it from a distance wouldn't have noticed it.
"Fuck."
"What's wrong?" Kiki asked as I turned and surveyed the room again.
"Salt line on the window has been undone just slightly. Something could have gotten in either now or before we even got here. You sure she didn't come by you?" I asked, causing her to shake her head.
"I heard the scream just like you guys," she replied.
"Hey guys. The salt line by this door has been broken." I shifted my eyes over to my brother as stood up from the kitchen floor by a door that could have possibly been a basement.
"You think she might of gone down there?" she asked, causing him to shrug.
"I don't know. She could have, but we don't know if that scream came from her or something that could have possibly gotten in here," he replied as I walked over toward him and tried turning the handle, only to discover that it was locked. Flipping the door's lock, I tried again and frowned when it didn't budge.
"Do doors normally keep locked after unlocking them from the outside?" I asked, causing both Sam and Kiki to frown as I tried the door again.
"Artemis?" Sam called, only to receive no answer. I swore before I kicked at the door. Unlike a regular door, I had to put a little bit of muscle behind before the wood work cracked and Sam helped me yank the door back. Realizing the switch didn't work, I grabbed a flashlight before hurrying down the steps.
"Artemis?" Kiki asked as she and Sam quickly followed. Flashing my light around the basement, I saw that the basement was packed full of boxes and other things that caused me to swear. With it being so cluttered, she should have been within eye view, but she was nowhere to be found. And that worried me.
"Dean, she's down here somewhere. Or at least was. There's fresh blood," Sam said, causing me to look over at my brother as he brought his hand up from the floor to show his fingers covered in red. I swore and immediately started to move things around.
"Search every inch of this god damn room. She's in here somewhere," I said.
"Dean? Are you feeling ok?" Kiki asked, causing me to stop and look at her.
"What?" I asked.
"Just a little bit ago you didn't give a damn whether she died or not because you were so pissed off at her. Now you're in a panic because something's happened to her? Who the hell are you?" Sam asked, causing me to scoff.
"You should know by now that just because I'm pissed doesn't mean I actually want her to die. What happened between us was a mistake, but that's no reason that she needs to die. Now our job is to help people and kill evil bastards so they don't hurt people ever again. And that includes Artemis. So get your ass moving," I said as I tossed aside a box. I knew what they were saying, but just because I was severely pissed off at her didn't mean that she had to die.
"I'm getting EMF readings all over the place. Something was definitely down here," Sam said as he held the EMF reader up for us to see. It was lit up like crazy, causing me to swear as I continued to move the boxes. I was beginning to wonder how the hell she could of disappeared into thin air when I heard Kiki gasp.
"Sam! Dean!" she yelled, causing both of us to drop the boxes in our hands and hurry over to the other side of the room where she was. She was frantically moving boxes and let out a cry that caused both Sam and I to swear up a storm as we saw bits of her body begin to appear. Kicking the boxes away, I knelt down and gently moved her body out from beneath the remaining boxes before looking at the other two in slight fright. Her body was bruised and bloodied as if she had just lost a fight for her life, which she was barely breathing.
"Kiki, get on the phone right now and call up Athena. Tell her we need her immediately. Sam, get out to the Impala now and get what we need to fix her up," I said as I picked her up as gently as I could and headed for the stairs. As Kiki and Sam went outside, I headed into the living room and pulled the plastic covering off the couch before gently laying her down.
"What the hell did this?" Sam asked as he came back inside and handed me the bag we kept all of our medical stuff in.
"Who the hell knows. But whatever it was, it got her good. Start on her face while I check for any cuts and bruises that we can't see," I replied as I gently took off her jacket and slightly lifted her shirt. I swore when I saw the huge black and blue marks that were forming on her sides and stomach. Looking to her legs, I saw that her jeans were tore up pretty bad and I knew that there would have to probably be stitches.
"Athena's on her way and she's pissed."
"Pissed about what?" Sam asked as he looked over at me before looking at his girlfriend as she came into the room.
"Uh….I think it would be better to let her explain when she gets here. I really didn't catch all the words since she was yelling so loud that I think my ears are still ringing. How's she doing?" she asked as she motioned to her friend.
"Alright. For now anyway. She needs stitches on her left leg, but….."
"Dean?" My eyes shifted from Kiki to Sam as he looked up at me with slight concern.
"What?" I asked, not liking the look he was giving me as he moved his hands down to her stomach before lifting her shirt up. I looked at where he was looking and let my eyes widen in shock and confusion before looking up at Sam as he pressed a cloth to a newly made cut on her stomach.
"They're appearing on her face too," he said as he motioned to Kiki to take his place as he stood up and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Calling Bobby to see if he's heard of this. This is way unusual," he replied as he dialed Bobby's number and waited for him to pick up. I had to agree. This was way unusual. I had never heard of something like this happening and it was bugging me that it was something we couldn't figure out on our own to wake her up. It was killing me actually. There was no telling if she was ever going to wake up again.
Artemis' POV
In her mind
"Time to wake up." I let out a groan as I felt my head pounding as if I had just been run over by a truck. Shifting my eyes open against their will, I found myself laying on the cold cement floor with a blurry figure kneeling next to me. Blinking my eyes in order for them to readjust themselves, I quickly sat up and backed into the wall away from the figure, wincing as my head connected slightly with the wall.
"Come with me, Artemis."
"Mom?" I asked with slight hesitation in my voice. The figure simply smiled and stood up before making her way toward the stairs. I watched as she ascended the stairs and then turned to me with a gentle look and beckoning for me to follow her before walking through the door. I stared at the door in fright before shakily getting to my feet and starting for the stairs.
"This has to be some kind of trick. Sam! Dean! Kiki!" I yelled as I moved my hand along the waist of my jeans to grab my gun, only to find that it wasn't there. Frantically looking around, I swallowed in slight fear when I realized that I couldn't find nor had Sam, Dean, or Kiki answered my call. However, the sound of children laughing pulled me from my mind frame and caused me to look at the basement door.
"What the hell is going on?" I muttered as I cautiously moved toward the basement door to open it. However, I found my hand going right through the knob to the other side of the door. Looking at the door in slight confusing and shock, I swallowed my growing fear and walked toward the door. Walking through it, I let out a cry before covering my mouth in shock as tears began to form. Not only because I was looking at my father sitting at the island in the kitchen reading a cookbook but because I was dead. I was a spirit. A thing I hunted.
"You're not dead, sweetheart." I whirled around and backed away slightly as I watched my mother walk slowly toward me.
"But you are," I said, causing her to chuckle.
"Only in here," she said as she touched the side of head, causing me to move away from her.
"What did you do?" I asked.
"I did nothing but lock you inside your mind," she replied, causing me to give her a crazy look.
"Lock me inside my mind? You attacked me," I snapped, causing her to shake her head.
"If I wanted to hurt you, I would have already done so and you would not be standing here. You always did have your father's sense of stubbornness," she said.
"What do you want? If I'm locked inside my mind, why? Why am I staring at my father as he's reading a god damn bloody cookbook?" I asked.
"Language, Artemis. I raised you better than that. I am trying to help you," she replied.
"Why? I'm suppose to be killing you right now. Or at least burning your body to get rid of you. That's what I'm suppose to do," I said.
"I am trying to help you uncover the truth. The truth you've been searching for. One of the reasons you became who you are," she said, causing me to give her a confused look.
"What are you…"
"Daddy!" I stopped mid-sentence and turned my head from my mother to see a little girl of about 7 or 8 running into the kitchen. She was wearing a light blue sundress with white kittens stitched into it and her hair pulled back into pigtails with blue fluffy balls attached to the top of the pigtails. She was carrying a pink rabbit that was so familiar looking.
"Mr. Hoppy," I muttered as my hand slightly covered my mouth in shock. I was staring at my 8 year old self as this very memory of my father and myself flew into my mind. It was days after the funeral of my baby brother and I had rarely separated myself from my father, much to the displeasure of my step-mother.
"Daddy, Jenna yelled at me," she said, giving my father a tearful look as he hoisted her up onto his lap.
"What did you do?" he asked.
"She slapped Jasmine and kicked Jamie." I could feel my blood beginning to boil as I turned my head to find my step-mother walking in, two young girls, my step-sisters at the time, following her with tear-stained faces. God how I hated the three of them.
"They were dressing up Mr. Nibbles and he wasn't liking it. He was trying to get away, but they wouldn't let him. They were holding him down and everything. I had to help him," my younger self said as she clutched Mr. Hoppy to her chest.
"Did not!"
"He tried to bite us!"
"That's not true!" my younger self yelled.
"Danny, I told you that we should have gotten rid of that dog a long time ago. This is one too many times that he has tried to bite Jasmine and Jamie. He's even tried to bite me. The dog needs to go," Jenna said as she gave my father a pointed look.
"He doesn't like you because you treat him bad. Daddy, you know Mr. Nibbles never tries to bite anyone on purpose. Not even the mailman," my younger self said as she gave her father a scared look. A look I could remember giving to him in fear of losing my dog. Although he didn't last much longer because he died from the curse just like my father did.
"Jenna, that dog has been in our family since a couple of weeks before Annabelle died when Bryce and Artemis were young. I told you that the dog belongs to my daughter and I'm not getting rid of it just because you want it gone. I have seen how your daughters have treated Mr. Nibbles and I don't believe he tried to bite them on purpose. I will not have this argument with you again so do not bring it up. Simply stay away from the dog and it'll stay away from you, Jasmine, and Jamie. Simple enough," my father said, causing Jenna to give him a glare.
"Simple enough will be that I will be calling the police to have the pound come and take the dog away to be put down if it tries to bite me or my daughters again," she said.
"Jenna, I am not having this argument with you. I know you're still hurting about Bryce. Artemis and I are as well and are taking it much harder than you since we lost a wife and a mother as well as a son and a little brother in the last three years. But we are trying our best to get through each day peacefully. But it won't be peaceful unless you quit your antics, especially about my daughter's dog. You have that dog taken away and killed, I will divorce you and sue you for everything you own so help me god," he said, causing me to laugh at the facial expression on my step-mother's face despite the situation I was currently in.
"I can not believe you would sacrifice your wife and daughters' lives over some stupid dog. You can sleep on the couch tonight. Come with me, Jasmine and Jamie," she said, giving my younger self and my father a dirty look before leading her daughters out of the kitchen.
"I can definitely tell where I get my attitude and temper from. Especially since the dog died a couple of days later. God I fucking bloody hated her and her daughters," I growled as I turned my attention to my mother.
"Come," she said as she made her way out of the kitchen and toward the stairs. Glancing back at my father and younger self once more, I followed my mother out of the kitchen and upstairs where Jenna and her daughters had disappeared to. Frowning in confusion when I didn't see them, my mother simply walked toward a second set of stairs at the end of the hallway that led to the attic. Curious, I followed her up the steps and stepped through the closed door.
"I don't know how you can stand doing that," I said with a frown as I looked at my mother. But she wasn't even paying attention to me, causing me to look in the direction she was looking in and raising an eyebrow at the sight of my step-mother and her daughters. What the hell were they doing?
"Jasmine, go lift up the floorboard by the window and bring me the small box that is sitting in there," my step-mother said as one of the girls got up and headed toward the window. I watched as she carefully lifted up the floorboard and produced a small wooden box, in which she brought to her mother. Curious as to what it was, I walked closer to them. However, I stopped upon seeing what they were sitting on. Stepping back slightly, I saw them sitting around some kind of symbol that had been drawn out on the floor and was surrounded by several candles with a small bowl full of something in the middle of the entire thing.
"I want you to listen to me and listen to me very carefully girls. Nobody is to know what is about to happen. Do you understand me?" she asked, carefully working the locks on the box as the two girls nodded. I watched as she carefully removed something from the box and held it up for the two girls to see. I gasped as my hand flew to my neck where the same necklace hanging in around my neck was hanging in my step-mother's hand. My father had given it to me just a few days before he had died and I had never taken it off except to have the chain resized and the necklace clean. It was a silver necklace spelling out my first name with little white diamonds outlining the edges. It was the only piece of jewelry I wore besides the earrings I wore to match my outfits.
"They can't see or hear us, can they?" I asked as I looked to my mother.
"No, sweetheart, they can't," she said, causing me to nod and step closer as Jenna started speaking in a language that I think was Latin from a thick looking book. I was never good with picking up the language, which I left to Sam and Kiki majority of the time. I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard a sizzle, causing me to turn around just as she slammed the book shut and dropped the necklace into the bowl, causing it to smoke a purplish color.
"That's how she did it? That's how she cursed me?" I asked as I looked to my mother. She merely gave me a look and nodded toward Jenna, causing me to turn and look at my step-mother as she spoke to her girls.
"Listen to me carefully. If she breaks this necklace, you will know. Once you get that feeling, you both must come together and perform the ritual at least three times a day to keep it strong and binding. If she destroys the alter built and the book, the curse will be broken and their may be slight consequences to face. She deserves what is coming to her, so do not let her break this curse that I've stowed upon her," she said, causing me to scowl. That stupid bitch. How could she?
"Artemis." I whirled around to look at my mother and found that we were no longer in the attic but the basement where I had originally been before waking up. Looking at my mother in slight confusion, she simply gave me a smile and walked toward me.
"Once I release you from this mind lock, you'll be able to wake up. But be warned that it may not be as easy as you think it might be," she said.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Because I did not attack you while you were here in the basement," she replied, causing me to give her a look before realization struck. Jenna's spirit.
"You go on and wake up now. Take care of yourself," she said as she placed a hand along side my head. Before I could say anything, I found myself waking up in a cold sweat and looking frantically around the basement area that I had been in. Shakily standing up, I placed a hand at the back of my head as it throbbed painfully and pulled it away. That's when I noticed the blood.
"What the…" But I didn't even get a chance to finish my sentence when I felt something slam me back against the wall and slash at my face. A laugh sounded and I let out a scream as I felt something slice against my stomach, blood slowly seeping through my clothes.
"Did you really think that mommy dearest could keep you safe and away from me?" My eyes flew open and I quickly rolled to my side, despite the pain I was feeling, as Jenna lunged at me again. Getting to my feet as quickly as I could, I dodged the knife she was carrying and made for the stairs. However, she quickly materialized in front of me and slammed me back against the floor quiet hard.
"You're not going anywhere but where you belong for ruining so many lives. Including my family's life. You belong in hell," she said as she raised the knife. I narrowed my eyes and caught her wrist as she brought it down to stick me with the knife.
"The only one that belongs in hell is you and that's exactly where I'm sending you by salting and burning your body," I snapped as I threw her off, causing her to fly across the room. I took in a deep breath of air before letting it out and sinking into darkness once again.
Dean's POV
"You guys should have called me as soon as you got here and not when Artemis is laying on the god damn couch half dead. My fucking god! What is wrong with you people?"
"Hey! She gave us the indication that you were meeting us here. Don't put the blame on us. How the hell were we suppose to know something like this was going to happen?" I asked as I narrowed my eyes at brunette that had come storming in not a few minutes prior. She was sitting on the edge of the couch quickly mending some of the fresh new wounds that had begun to form on Artemis' body while glaring at each of us in turn.
"Did it not occur to you to check every door and window before you proceeded to split up and check every surface of the house? And you call yourself supernatural hunters? Good god," she said as she shook her head.
"So what do we do? She's not waking up and Bobby doesn't have an answer to this. There's no possible way to tell what kind of spirit is loose in this house," Sam said, causing me to nod in agreement. We didn't know what kind of spirit was in the house, but we knew for a fact that it was evil since Artemis was all torn to hell. I was about to voice my opinion on what we should do when I heard a groan. Shifting my attention to the couch, I saw Artemis moving slightly and whimpering just a little bit.
"Artemis? Artemis, sweetie, open your eyes," Athena said as she stopped tending to the wounds and focused on Artemis as her eyes flickered just slightly. I peered over the arm of the couch and held my breath slightly as blue-green eyes flickered beneath the lids until they finally fluttered completely open. Letting her eyes shift, I cocked my head slightly at the emotion that was unsettling in her eyes. I swore I saw just about every emotion there was mixed right into those icy pools.
"Art, are you alright?" Kiki asked as Sam knelt down next to the couch and checked her eyes to make sure that they were focused properly. Satisfied, he slowly pushed her into a sitting position and opened up a bottle of water for her. She hissed slightly as an arm went around her stomach, but she shook off Athena's mothering instincts and took the water from Sam.
"What happened to you? You scared the fucking hell out of us when we found you so busted up in the basement," he said.
"I got attacked. I heard a noise down in the basement and went to check it out. I had barely turned around to go back upstairs when the door slammed shut and I was thrown backwards into the wall across the way. I hit it pretty good because I blacked out almost instantly," she said.
"Is that all?" I asked, causing her to tilt her head toward me before looking back at Sam.
"I was locked inside my mind for a while," she replied, causing me to raise an eyebrow in confusion as I met the looks of the others.
"What do you mean by that?" Athena asked, causing Artemis to sigh as she gently ran a hand through her hair.
"My mother locked me inside my mind to show me the truth," she said, causing Athena to grow a really weird expression on her face as she slowly took in what Artemis said. Sam, Kiki, and I merely looked at each lost in what was happening. Wasn't her mother dead?
"My mother's spirit is still in the house," she said as she turned and looked at us, somehow sensing the confused looks we were giving each other.
"And she did this to you?" Kiki asked, causing the blue-green pools to narrow as she stood up rather quickly, an action I'm sure she was regretting as she let out a cry. Sam reached out to steady her, but she waved him off as she turned to Kiki.
"You think the spirit of my mother would hurt one hair on my head? Unlike you, who's so naïve sometimes to this god damn bloody fucking job, I know the difference between spirits who are going to do harm and those who are not going to do harm. And my mother would never harm a fly unless it called for it. My mother's spirit has been locked away in this house since the day she died 17 years ago. She locked me inside my mind so that Jenna couldn't get to me. That's why I am so beaten and bloodied up. Because of Jenna," she snapped.
"Who's Jenna?" I asked.
"Her step-mother. Jenna committed suicide just shortly after Bryce died and right before Danny died from the curse. Artemis, what did Annabelle say?" Athena asked as she focused her attention on her friend. Artemis merely headed toward the stairs and slowly made her way up them.
"Artemis?" Sam asked, causing my brother and I to look at each other before quickly following her up. It was really starting to creep me out with the way that she was acting, but I kept my mouth shut and merely followed her up a second flight of stairs.
"Art?" Sam asked again, causing her to turn and look at us.
"When my mother locked me away in my mind, I saw some things that I kept locked away in my mind because of the pain that they caused me just thinking about Bryce and my dad. But my mother wasn't trying to make me suffer from all those memories. She was trying to help me with the truth," she said as she fumbled with the clasp around her neck before finally succeeding in getting it off and holding it out to me. I merely gave her a questionable look.
"I don't care what you think of me at this point, Dean. You can hate me and never speak to me again for what I did to you. I know it was wrong keeping it from you, but I need you right now to help me. This is the cursed object. Jenna used it to consummate the curse and the curse can be broken by breaking this bloody thing, but my step-sisters probably already have an altar set up in case they know it was broken. I need you to hang on to it until we can dig up and burn Jenna's bones," she said, causing me to look at Sam for help, but he merely shrugged in response. Sighing in slight irritation, I took the necklace and pocketed it.
"So where do we go to look for her? Obviously we're going to have to dig the body up and salt and burn it to get rid of her," Sam said, causing her to nod.
"The three of us will go do that. Kiki and Athena can stay here and tear this attic apart in hopes to finding that book that Jenna used to perform the curse. I doubt it will be here and that she left it to her daughters' for use if something happened, but it's still worth the shot," she said.
"And the bitch?" I asked.
"Jenna will more than likely come after us to stop us, so we need to be well prepared. She's crazy and will do anything to keep us from doing it," she replied.
"Alright. Then let's get to it before she tries anything more to kill you off," I said as I headed for the door.
"Why? So you can do it yourself?" she asked, causing me to stop and look at her. Her eyes were glazed with iciness, causing mine to narrow.
"Why are you so concerned with me now? A while ago you were saying you didn't care what happened to me," she said.
"So you think that just because I'm severely pissed off at you and hope you burn in hell that I intend to let some psychotic bitch of a spirit kill you gruesomely? You're completely fucked up," I said, causing her to let out a bitter laugh.
"That's real rich coming from someone who's as much at fault at this as I am," she said.
"It was a huge mistake with you, but I'm not about to give up all my principles of saving people just because you fucked up," I snapped, causing her eyes to narrow into slits. She stared at me for a split second before my hand flew to the side of my face and I yelped just slightly at the throbbing pain beginning to form. Looking to her as Sam held her back, I realized that she had just punched me.
"Screw it. I don't need your "principles" to help me. Sam and I will take care of it. Wouldn't want to waste your time and let it be another mistake," she said as she elbowed Sam in the stomach, causing him to let her go, before stalking across the room and descending down the stairs. Looking to my brother, I saw him shaking his head.
"You two are unbelievable," he said before he made to follow her and disappeared down the steps. I stared after my brother for a minute before throwing a box across the room, causing whatever was inside to shatter. What the hell was happening to me?
Artemis' POV
"How far into the cemetery is her grave?"
"It's pretty far in. It's kind of like in an isolated area toward the back of the cemetery. Her entire family bought a huge section of the cemetery for their own family back in like the early 1900s. Or something like that. We're going to have to dig fast because I don't know how much time we have until she decides to show up," I replied as Sam began to drive through the cemetery.
"You want to dig or am I going to dig?" he asked.
"You can dig, but I'm lighting that bitch on fire. Put me through enough hell as it is," I replied, causing him to sigh and cut the engine of the Impala when we couldn't go any further but by walking.
"And it's killing both you and Dean," he said as we got out and opened up the trunk to grab a shovel along with gasoline and salt.
"Sam…"
"Artemis, I know you better than Dean or Kiki and probably better than Athena does. It's killing you with this curse and how much it's screwed your life up, especially with Dean. It's going to end up killing you before the end of the week is up," he said.
"Dean doesn't give a damn, Sam. I've learned that in the last week or so. That bond or whatever the hell you want to call it is broken. Nothing is ever going to fix it. So I don't know why he's showing concern and I really don't care. He's the one that can go to hell for all I care. He's the one that threw this thing away and called it a mistake," I snapped, causing him to sigh.
"And this is why you two are meant for each other. Artemis, you both screwed up. Ok? You screwed up by not telling him and he screwed up by becoming a dick and throwing something good, something he'll probably never find again in his life, away because of it. I'm not sticking up for my brother or his actions, but he's confused. His mind is saying one thing and his heart is saying another. Yes he doesn't like the chick flick moments, but when it comes to you, no matter the situation the two of you are in, he's always going to show concern. No matter how pissed off and how much the two of you hate each other. The two of you are throwing away neither of you realize is the best thing that has happened in your lives," he said, causing me to sigh and shake my head in irritation. I had heard enough.
"I don't want to hear anymore, Sam. Let's just dig the grave and burn Jenna's bones," I said as we came upon her gravesite. Sam made to say something, but stopped and merely nodded when I gave him a piercing glare. He knew that I was over the subject and that if he continued to press, my temper would explode.
"Keep the light shining on me as I get further down. If Jenna shows, try to keep her busy until I can get to her bones," he said as he took the shovel from me and began to dig. I made to say something when I flew backwards and landed painfully on my back, Jenna's spirit clutching at my neck. She dematerialized with a scream as a shot rang out from Sam's gun. Lifting my head to give him a look, he rolled his eyes and resumed digging.
"No problem," I muttered as I pulled out my gun and cocked it out of safety.
"Your mother had no right to meddle in what did not concern her." I whirled around and came face to face with a scowling Jenna, causing me to shoot at her as she lunged.
"Can you hurry it along a little bit faster, Sam?!" I yelled as I nearly missed being sliced open by the same knife she had in her hand earlier.
"I'm digging as fast as I can. Oh shit!" I whirled around to see what the hell Sam was complaining about, but it turned out to be a mistake when I flew backwards and hit a tombstone. I groaned as I began to see black spots swirling before my eyes, but the groan died on my lips as I moved out of the way of the flying knife. I made to move behind the grave, but I felt nothing but air and I tumbled downwards with a short scream.
"What the…." But the words died on my lips as I stared into the face of a human skeleton inside of a coffin.
"Since you pretty much did everything you could to ruin my marriage to your father by clinging to him and possessing him with all of your poison, I figured since you are going to die anyways, you might as well join him." I turned my body to see her staring down at me with an evil smile, causing me to start moving. However, I let out a yell at the coffin door shut, causing me to land harshly on my back against what was the remains of my father.
"Now I'm just going to go take care of your little friend. Have a nice life," she said with an awful laugh before I heard the sound of dirt hitting the top of the coffin. I realized in horror that she was having someone bury me alive.
"Sam! Sam, help!" I yelled as I kicked and banged against the coffin door. I couldn't believe she had thrown me into a bloody fucking coffin and was proceeding to bury me. Or at least probably have someone bury me for her since she was a spirit. But that didn't make any sense whatsoever to me. As if I cared at this fucking moment.
"Sam! Get me the bloody fuck out of here!" I yelled as panic started to set in pretty quickly. This was not how I wanted to die. Not in the most wildest dreams did I want to die like this. With the curse on my shoulders and seeing how fast my loved ones dropped dead in front of me, it was by far the best way to go without slowly running out of air and suffocating to death like I was now. I would take the curse over this any day. Shots rang out and a yell followed, but I couldn't quite hear whether it was Sam or Jenna that had yelled since the coffin and the dirt were blocking it from getting to my ears.
"Sam!" I yelled as I banged on the coffin once again.
"You should of never let Dean stay behind! I'm going to kick your ass once I get you out here!" My eyes widened as I heard Athena's voice above me and I frantically banged at the coffin door until I heard the metal sound of a shovel hitting it head on.
"Get me out of here!" I yelled before I let out a yell of joy as I heard the clasps of the coffin coming undone and the lid being lifted. I quickly maneuvered myself up and quickly crawled up onto solid ground with the help of Sam before holding onto him tight as tears that I didn't know had been building up started to fall.
"Are you alright?" he asked as he pulled me back slightly to look me over.
"Yeah. I thought it was you who yelled, but the dirt and the coffin door made it hard for me to really hear. Did you burn her bones?" I asked, causing him to nod and motion his head in the direction of Jenna's grave. I looked over and saw the bright orange flames coming from the ground, causing me to sigh and let my head fall back on his chest.
"If it wasn't for us, princess, Sam would have seriously been hurt and you would have been stuck in that coffin for eternity." My head snapped up to look at Dean as he glared down at me, causing me to open my mouth and retort. However, Sam placed his hand over my mouth and gave me the look to keep quiet.
"I'm fine. Jenna thought it would be fun to try and kill me and she would have if Dean and the two girls hadn't shown up. Athena and Kiki knocked out the graveyard keeper, which is really weird in the sense of how Jenna was able to get him to help her out, while Dean helped me by keeping Jenna occupied while I finished the grave. Dean made sure to throw that damn necklace into the fire as well," he said.
"So it's over?" I asked.
"Jenna's spirit is," Athena replied, causing me to sigh as I rested my head back against Sam's chest. My step-mother was finally out of my hair. Yet, the curse was still there and it was still hanging over my head with less than a week to go. Less than about 5 days. Bloody hell.
"Sam says to get your ass moving. Athena's been able to locate your step-sisters."
"He can wait."
"Oh that's right. Little Miss Bitch is calling all the shots even though she's only got about three to four days before she just drops dead as a reaper takes her soul away." I turned around to give a glare to Dean as he stood in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest and a glare of his own.
"How dare…."
How dare you? Is that what you're going to say? Well I've beaten you to it, princess. You need to drop the snarky attitude and "I can fix this by myself" vibe you've got gotten on because all anyone is trying to do, especially Sam, is help you out of this god damn fucking nightmare you've gotten yourself into. I doubt that it's too much to ask," he snapped.
"Coming from you? Yeah. Yeah it is," I snapped, causing him to give me an intense glare before leaving the room. I was currently in the one room I hadn't stepped foot in since the day that my mother died. Bryce's nursery. Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair and looked around once more before heading for the hallway.
"Don't let him go." I stopped walking as I reached the door and slowly turned around to see my mother standing there with a soft smile on her face.
"You both are hurting, but it will hurt both of you in the end if you let him go. Don't let him go, sweetheart," she said, causing me to shake my head.
"It's his choice and I'm just enforcing it. It was never going to work out. It was all just a mistake," I said, causing her to walk toward me and I could of sworn I felt her touch as she placed her hand along my face.
"Listen to your heart, Artemis. It will tell you what to do. Don't let him go," she said, causing tears to start building in my eyes.
"I miss you," I whispered as I looked at her, causing her to smile.
"I'm always right here. Always," she said before she faded away and I was left standing alone in the room once again. Biting back a cry, I slowly made my way out of the room and shut the door behind me before descending downstairs and out of the house. Looking back at the house, I let out a sigh before walking down to the Impala.
"You alright?" Sam asked as I wiped at my eyes.
"Yeah," I replied with a nod before looking over to Dean as he kind of leaned against the driver's side door to look at all of us. He caught my look for a split second before he tore away and got into the car.
"Let's go," he snapped, causing Sam to sigh and give me a look before he got into the car as well. Sighing, I got into the Impala and Dean sped away from the curb. I knew my mother was right. My mother was usually always right in just about every situation. Her advice had never failed me when I was younger and still to this day I always took what she had said to me when I was growing up and used it to just about everything I did.
"My mother is right. I can't let him go," I thought as my eyes drifted from Dean to the scenery outside the window. There was only one thing good that had come into my life and it was threatening to slip out of it if I didn't take hold of it now. Dean was about to slip out of my life if I didn't do something soon.