[Damn it all to hell…was gonna have this posted sooner and obviously didn't get the chance to do so. Now I do -smiles- Again, you guys are best! In this chapter…one helluva mind screw! And you'll probably hate me for it -grins- and as always, Enjoy!]
* * * Within Delphine's Fortress * * *
The inside of her home was just, if not more, confusing.
It was as if they just stepped off the planet and entered a whole different world…
The walls were painted a pale gray/blue with strange underwater themed paintings and oddly shaped mirrors everywhere they looked. The air smelt of vanilla incense and something strange. A scent that caught Dean's attention immediately. The kind of aroma that hangs low beneath every other smell around you. That certain slightly dusty scent of an older person's house…almost reminding him of a nursing home. The thought made his skin crawl. Not the old smell part, but the nursing home part…which also reminded him of hospitals. And we all know how much he does Not like hospitals.
The petite blonde known as Madame Delphine, motioned for the weary travelers to have a seat in her living room and strangely, as though expecting it, had an antique tea pot and four cups ready and waiting on a small coffee table that appeared to be made out of ancient, fossilized driftwood.
The smell of strong, rich coffee overpowered the other smells of her home, causing the trio to feel a bit of tension ease from their tired bones. A welcome scent; one that's familiar and makes you feel safe when everything else is knew and unpredictable. Coffee, what a wonderful invention.
They all sat down. Bobby, Steve and Dean on the large and overly comfortable sea/green couch while Delphine sat with picturesque posture in a sky blue recliner across from them. Dean was starting to suspect she had a thing for the ocean.
Dean was also slightly unnerved by her presence. She was so still, so unchanging, that if she stayed that way for more then a minute he'd have to fight off the urge to get up and poke her just to see if she were real. Delphine was almost as calm as a marble statue. The lines of her face too perfect, her large cerulean blue eyes almost gleaming like well polished glass… She was frightening.
And Dean was never known to be creeped out so easily…especially when it came to a beautiful young woman.
But to Dean, no matter how pretty that package was… Something very wrong was going on inside those very big blue eyes. Something…unnatural.
"Dean…"
Dean blinked and realized she was talking to him. He swallowed and muttered, "Huh?"
The faintest of smiles graced her cupid-doll lips. "May I call you Dean?" she asked in a soft spoken lull.
"Oh…" He said and shifted his legs, suddenly feeling anything but comfortable. "Yea, sure."
"You have grown close to Aiden, no?" The way she said close seemed more intimate somehow, causing Dean's comfort level to drop even more.
He appeared aloof, his face set into stubborn lines as he crossed his arms loosely across his chest. A sure sign that he didn't like where the conversation was going and growled, "Close enough."
Bobby glared at Dean and said only one word… "Dean…" His voice saying clearly, he better watch himself.
"What?" Dean countered in a slight growl of a voice, clearly unable to hide his disapproval. "I don't see how my 'closeness' is going to help Cat."
Delphine cut him off. "Oh but it does, mon ami," she said with a small smile and caught Dean's angry gaze. "Your relationship to Aiden…or Cat, as you call her, helps greatly."
"Relax man, she's just asking you questions." Steve added and felt the raw heat of Dean's gaze when their eyes met.
Dean didn't feel like sharing to the masses about the status between Cat, and himself. It was hard enough to watch his little brother have the woman of his affections, when deep down inside he felt that Cat also belonged to him. Love is real screwy that way. He'd wondered if she felt the same way, but he wasn't certain. Dean had let it go. Partially because of his little brother…and partially because he didn't want to go down that road. The situation was already bad enough as it was. No need to make it worse.
Dean relaxed a little but kept his tone bland. "Cat and I are only friends." He said as if that would be enough of an answer.
"This I know is true, but you have love for her also." Delphine replied and saw something slide through Dean's eyes. "I make no accusations, mon ami. I am simply confirming that your feelings grow as deep as your brother for this girl."
Putting it that way… Dean felt some of the tension leak away and admitted, "Right." his voice low and strained. As though it became physically difficult to admit his feelings out loud. "I…care about her."
"When she first fell ill, your brother Sam and yourself, helped her bathe." Delphine paused as a thoughtful expression filled her delicate features, making her appear much older. "There was a reaction in the symbol, a glow of some kind?" She made it a question.
Dean's eyes widened a fraction, "yea…" he replied quietly, "It did."
"As though being so…intimately close…caused it to react?" Delphine asked in that gentle tone, her eyes warm as she studied him.
Dean gave a nod and replied, "We weren't sure why it did that. But she did seem a little…"
Delphine finished his thought, "healthier."
He nodded and quietly muttered, "…right."
Everyone had grown quiet, letting the silence fill the air that smelt of Vanilla and older things. Letting the words that were once spoken to drift and fade away, pulled into a sea of thoughts. Thoughts that burdened each mind with terrible questions that were left unspoken…and yet, there was a weight. Invisible but thick. Hanging just above their heads like a cartoon question mark floating in mid air.
Someone finally broke the silence. "There is much I will tell you, that perhaps…" Delphine trailed off as though trying to find the right words. "…will seem horrifying at first, but in the end… Quite beneficial."
Dean relaxed enough to lean forward, resting his arms on his thighs, hands clasped loosely together. His face had grown into an expression of eager interest as he kept his gaze on the serene face of Delphine. "Tell away." He said.
And with a warm smile…she did.
The visions Sam had been having before they arrived in San Pedro were an oddity. Delphine explained, without prior knowledge mind you, that the Nightmare like visions Sam had about Aiden was in fact, a higher power guiding the brothers to Aiden. That unknown to Sam, these visions were an interruption, putting up some kind of metaphysical shield against Azazel; the Yellow Eyed Demon. Aiden had inadvertently called out to Sam and had blocked Yellow Eyes' connection to him. Which also had made Yellow Eyes very…unhappy.
Delphine went on to explain that Aiden's connection to the twin water spirits kept her somewhat immune to Yellow Eyes' thrall over all the 'psychic children'. That Aiden was perhaps the only one out of the 'children' that could keep Yellow Eyes away from her completely… Until however, she came into contact with one… Which was Sam. Even then, Yellow Eyes was unable to get close. Not as close as he'd like anyway. With the powerful Siren and its darker twin the Mermaid playing spiritual tug-of-war over her soul, Yellow Eyes had no choice but to take a very big step back and watch the show from a distance.
Delphine also explained to Dean that he was a very important piece in this grand puzzle. That without him, Aiden would fall into darkness…and inevitably die.
Dean asked how he could stop that from happening and Delphine put it very simply for him. He was to love her the way he's always wanted to… To fill that ache, that emptiness and create unity. To become a triangle of light so blinding and complete that all would become powerless before it.
Being his typical thick-headed, 'I-need-it-to-be-spelled-out' self, he made a snotty remark about her sounding like Yoda, and questioned how that was possible when Sam had clearly claimed Cat for himself.
Delphine gave him an unreadable expression and said in a normal voice, "make love to her."
Dean's eyes widened, jaw slightly slack and muttered, "say again?"
Bobby spoke before something really stupid flew out of Dean's mouth. "Before you go and say somethin' you'll regret, just listen."
Dean glared at Bobby, opened his mouth, not liking the fact that everyone was being instructed on his possible future personal life, thought about it and shut it his jaws.
"Now, we all know you've got it bad for the girl so don't try sittin' there actin' like ya don't. What I also know for a fact, is that she's got it bad for you too. I don't know if I agree with you movin' in on her while Sam thinks she's his…" Bobby paused with his thumb and index finger placed on either side of the bridge of his nose. He sighed as tension coursed through his blood. "But, even if I don't like where this is going, Delphine's never wrong." Bobby closed his eyes, took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then brought his eyes to Dean. "So you've gotta decide whether or not her life is worth saving."
This was a lot to take in. Dean didn't know what to say… What can you say to something like that?
Oh hey, the girl your little brother is in love with, who you've also got the hots for, needs you to have sex with her to save her life. Oh, and your little brother will probably hate you for it. And if you don't do it and she dies, he'll hate you even more for not trying to save her in the first place.
Talk about one seriously screwed up situation.
But what if Cat was presented with Dean's proposition and she refused? Would that be considered Moral Suicide? Or flat out Stupidity? Cat was stubborn enough to do something like that.
Shit. This was soo not going to be easy. Either way Dean looked at it, he realized it was a double edged sword. One way or another…he was going to get royally hurt.
Oh goody…
* * * Cat's House* * *
-Her Perspective-
Warmth all around me, his scent thick and musky, surrounding me, filling me up as I take in a deep breath. A yawn breaks though me, pulling in more of that heavy, male scented air. It clings to my throat, warm and inviting, making me feel safe, wrapped in his arms.
Safe…I like that.
My eyes struggle open as the weight of sleep tries to hold on just a few moments longer. The room is dark, which means we've only had two or three hours of sleep. We… Sam…heh. That's right, I'm lying here with Sam and all of that beautiful warmth pressed against me. Flesh to flesh, heat all around me, his left arm draped over the dip of my waist. This…is heaven.
But no, my body has decided it's time to pay homage to the porcelain god.
Evil Bladder.
I get up slowly, so I don't jolt him out of his peaceful slumber. I manage to slip away unnoticed and take a moment to stretch out.
Sleep induced tension leaks away in a slow moving wave as I let out a deep sigh. Damn, that felt good.
Once steady on my feet I turn just enough to catch a glimpse of Sam lying there on the bed.
My heart flutters.
I drink in the peaceful expression on his face. The mess of brown waves falling along his forehead, the delicately placed lashes of his eyes… So peaceful, so beautiful…
My god…I am in love with him…
Seeing him in such a vulnerable state…his innocence, laid out before me, so untouched by the world around him…is just breath taking.
How did I get so lucky?
Shaking the thoughts away, I turn and make my way to the bathroom. As quietly as possible, I close the door and flip on the light which floods the small room in a soft white glow. Eyes squinted, it takes a few seconds for my eyes to adjust as I go through the ritual of emptying my bladder.
Once finished I flush and go to the sink to wash my hands. Just going through the motions, not really paying attention to the mirror or the weird shadow forming behind me…
Wait…what the…
-Outside Perspective-
Back completely rigid, the fine hairs along the spine ruffle and stand on end.
Cat remained unmoving… Her eyes wide and focused on the shadow forming into a solid figure behind her. She wanted to pull her eyes away, to close her eyes and force herself to wake from the living nightmare. But she was frozen. Unable to regain control and scream out to Sam. Unable to call for help… Unable to look away when a pair of glowing…yellow…eyes began to look back at her from shadowed face.
A face that began to fill with flesh and bone…a face with a big, toothy grin.
"You…" She heard herself say in a shaky, whisper of a voice as the man, with his demon yellow eyes and Cheshire cat grin, walked the few steps forward… Only to stand to her left, looking at her through the mirror.
"Yes sir'ee…that'd be me." He purred in a sing-song tone and pushed his hands into the pockets of his jacket. "Who were you expecting? The Easter bunny? Sorry there, babe, but no white rabbit's gonna save you from this dream."
She gathered herself as best as she could and hoped that her voice wouldn't break. "You're him, you're…"
He cut her off with a half bow, "that's right. Ole Yellow Eyes."
Cat found more of her strength and narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm dreaming." She made it a statement and watched him give a nod and a wink. She ignored the wink and kept her control. "What do you want."
"What does any man want?" He paused for a moment, "a family, ah yes…" He trailed off as though going down some twisted memory lane. His yellow eyes gleaming in the light as he looked off for a moment, as if reminiscing and then canted his head to the side, snapping those freakishly yellow eyes on her. "Oh wait, that's right…" He canted his head to the right, that creepy grin stretching the lines of his 'borrowed' face. "You never had a family did you… Real shame. Such a beautiful young woman, so much…potential."
The way the word potential slid away from his lips made her feel dirty down to the bone. But kudos to her, she managed to keep a blank face. "You say that as though you know me." She snarled softly through gritted teeth, hoping that she'd wake up from this nightmare.
"Ah…well…ya see," He mused as his right hand came up for emphasis, "I do, my sweet Kitty Cat, I do."
She felt the bile rise in the back of her throat. "Don't you call me that." She growled low between clenched teeth.
"Oooh such anger, such… Hate." Yellow Eyes purred and gave her a curious look. "Ya see, that's exactly what the others lack…"
Cat cut him off before he could utter another word. "Half a brain…"
He shook his head, wild eyes locked on her face, that grin gleaming with unseen madness. "No, ya see Kitty Cat, you've got the one thing I need." He finally turned his body toward her, no longer looking in the mirror, but literally looking down at her.
"You won't win." Cat snarled but she didn't turn to face him, she only gave him the left side of her profile. "You're just sore that I'm the only one you can't touch."
"That's where you're wrong, pussy cat." He sneered and trailed his fingertips down her spine, causing every muscle to clench with pain. Thank god she decided to go to sleep in a huge shirt. "You've got the one thing, that's gonna make me a very proud, papa."
She wouldn't show it, she would fight the silent horror from showing in her eyes.
But he already knew… "That's right, Kitty Cat." he purred, "That sweet boy sleeping in the other room."
"No…" Her voice was weak with fear as her hands gripped the edge of the sink until her knuckles shown bone white through the tight skin.
"Oh yes. For you see, he's my pride and joy… Where as, you for instance…" His singsong voice made her head hurt, "You're the little… Mistake I made all those years ago. The one oops that actually became…soo much more."
I won't look up, I won't… Cat told herself over and over when he took her by the shoulders and spun her around to face him. Instead of meeting those terrible yellow eyes, she looked at his chest.
His voice became a taunting purr as his hands ever so gently caressed the flesh of her arms. "You, my sweetest mistake, are gonna be the very thing that brings Sammy boy closer to his goal." Cat tried to ignore him, tried to think of something that would get him the hell away from her. But she was terrified. But being terrified…only led to one very useful, very dangerous emotion…
Rage.
She closed her eyes and focused on the burning wave of heat sweeping over the frozen terror, filling her veins with liquid fire. She fed that rage until the very marrow of her bones shook with the pressure.
"Listen real close now Kitty Cat," He leaned in close and very carefully, brought his right hand to her face and brushed a few wayward strands of hair behind her ear before whispering, "you're gonna be my tool…kitty cat, or that idiot brother of his is gonna die a slow and painful death while you watch."
And like Mount Saint Helens… Her rage was born.
He studied her face and mused, "What'a'ya say, gonna play nice? Or do I have to make the arrangements?"
Cat tilted her head up, and gave a very evil and unfriendly smile as her eyes snapped open.
"Well now…" Yellow Eyes spat and had a look that wasn't all that confident. In fact… He backed away a step or two and seemed almost…afraid. "…that's different." He said quietly, a voice unlike his usual demonic manner as he peered into a pair of swirling sea-green eyes that appeared more like pools of shimmering ocean water.
Cat opened her mouth as if to speak when a terrible, high-pitched sound tore away from her throat. It wasn't a voice, it was several all at once…screaming together in some twisted harmony. It held that ear bleeding melody of echolocation that caused ole Yellow Eyes to cover his ears and tremble.
She watched, as though a shadow in her own mind, as the screams began to increase, gaining velocity, strength… Causing his figure to ripple in and out of itself, as though his very form was being forced to cave in on itself like quicksand.
"Cat! Cat wake up!" Sam called out to her as she thrashed wildly against the carpet. "Aiden!"
Her eyes suddenly snapped open and her body went still…
"Sam…" Cat's voice was nothing more then a hush of sound… Her throat tight and dry…as if she'd been screaming her lungs out.
The look of relief on his face said more then words that he had feared the worst. "Cat, can you hear me?" Sam asked softly while helping her to sit up.
"I…" She had to stop, swallow and try again. "Wait, why are we on the floor?"
Sam worried his bottom lip between his teeth. "You were screaming and thrashing on the bed. And before I could get a hold of you, you fell onto the floor and started convulsing." He paused as Cat leaned her back against his chest and pulled his arms around her. "I thought you were having a seizure."
"No," she whispered and held his hands in hers, right over her stomach. "I was having a very bad dream."
"Should I ask?" Sam uttered softly while holding her protectively in his arms.
Cat shrugged, or tried to…it was more of a sluggish jerk of her shoulders. "I thought I was awake…had to pee…went to the bathroom, and went to wash my hands when…" She stopped herself. Should she tell Sam that Yellow Eyes made an appearance? That he had told her she was a mistake, that she was going to be his pawn or Dean would be dead? But Yellow Eyes didn't finish his threat…he didn't seal the deal… The thing was, Cat couldn't remember. She remembered getting angry, then heard these terrible sonic like screams and heard Sam calling her.
"Baby?"
"Huh?" Cat muttered at the sound of Sam's rumble and suddenly remembered she had been talking. "What was I saying?"
Sam furrowed his brow and placed a kiss on the top of her head. "The bad dream." He said against her head softly.
"Oh…that. Well…" She trailed off. She couldn't help it. She didn't want to say it, not when she was starting to feel safe again.
"What else do you remember?" Sam asked and knew she was hiding something from him, something important.
Damn it…he knows. "Yellow…" Cat murmured quietly, hoping that he didn't hear her.
Sam immediately tensed and said, "Say again?"
Cat sighed. The jig was up. "Eyes…" her voice shook but she kept going, "horrible, glowing, Yellow Eyes."
Sam spun Cat around so fast she actually felt her stomach clench. "You saw him?" His voice was deep with panic and he peered into her wide eyes. "What happened? What did he say to you?"
"Spaz much?" Cat chimed with her hoarse voice and watched as Sam tried to calm himself down. "Look, he appeared and tried to spook me and it didn't work, okay?"
"Details, Cat. I need details." Sam explained, his voice a little more controlled but still laced with panic.
She narrowed her eyes at him and quipped, "when it comes to comforting people after traumatic dreams, you really suck at it."
Sam's brow lifted and a look of pain filled his face. "I'm sorry Cat, I just…" His voice was softer, less frantic then it had been. "I need to know what happened."
"He told me I had potential…" Cat said softly and let out a sigh, "That I had been his one mistake. That I was going to be a tool to get you to your goal or he would kill Dean. But I didn't look at him, Sam. I got angry and…something weird happened."
Sam held a considering look and his voice dropped an octave, "what?"
"I don't know…it's like something came out of me. Weird screams, but they weren't human…and Yellow Eyes, he actually looked like he was afraid." Cat paused and looked down, exhaustion slithering through her veins. "That's weird right? Yellow Eyes shouldn't have reacted like that unless he was faced with something that could actually hurt him." Cat stopped and shook her head. "It doesn't make any sense."
His mind reeled through ideas as he tried to absorb what she just told him. Yellow Eyes came to her in a dream… He told her she was his one mistake… What the hell did that mean? She was born on Christmas Eve of '83. Did that mean she was the youngest of the 'children'? Was it possible that Yellow Eyes was interrupted by something…stronger? Maybe Cat was being watched over by something powerful and dangerous enough to make Yellow Eyes back off. Maybe the Siren was more then what they thought… Not demonic but… No, it couldn't be. Sam had sadly come to the conclusion that Angelic Entities may have never existed. That it was all a nice white lie to make children think they had someone watching over them when the thing under there bed was waiting to snatch them in their sleep. That was what really bothered Sam. That all the monsters you grow up believing don't exist, do. So the things you're led to believe exist…are just a lie.
Or…are they?
-End Chapter Twenty Four-