Chapter Twenty Eight

"Are you out of your mind?" Dean shouted. Sam was sitting on the bed back in the motel room, and Bobby was sitting in his chair, shuffling through papers. Lilly was staring defiantly up at Dean.

"No. I don't see why I need your permission; I could have this perfectly under control-"

"You could get killed, that's why!" Dean almost screamed. Lilly rose up on her toes, her eyes glittering dangerously.

"What's your plan, then? Hmm? You know we have to kill Conquest, and fast. I can do it, here and now."

Dean shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "Damn it, Lilly, will you listen to me? Please?"

Lilly crossed her arms over her chest, her head thrown back in rebellion. Dean recognized that it was as much compliance as he was going to get.

"This could be a trap. For all we know, he could know we're here and planning this. From what Bobby's told me, he could be listening right now. The point is, we don't know. You don't know how powerful he is."

Lilly narrowed her eyes and glared. "Are you saying I can't do it?"

Carefully, Dean placed his hands on either of her shoulders. "No. I'm saying that there might be something we're not expecting."

Looking into his eyes, Lilly saw fear. Not for himself, but for her. She realized how different he was from when she'd met him; then he would never have even considered such a thing, and would have blatantly told her that no, she couldn't do it.

"I don't want to lose you," Dean whispered, low enough so Bobby and Sam couldn't hear. His words only confirmed what she'd been thinking. She looked into his eyes to try to convince him.

"Dean, if I don't do this, he'll come after all of us. He'll kill all of you in a heartbeat. If he can't do it himself, he'll get someone else who will. Please, just let me try." Lilly tried to reach into his mind and see what he was thinking, but all she was concern for her, and frustration at himself.

Finally, Dean backed up a step and hung his head. "Alright." He conceded. "God help me, but alright."

Lilly gave him a grim smile. "Let's get this over with," she said quietly. Dean, his head still down, nodded.

Bobby and Sam exchanged a glance. "Alright, ladies, wrap it up," Bobby snapped irritable. He tossed amulets to Sam and Dean, keeping one for himself. He then held up what Lilly recognized to be tarot cards with the symbol she was all too familiar with on it. Bobby pointed at the symbol.

"Did some more research," he said gruffly. "This is called a grushdeva, created by some guy in Europe who took the basic design of the ancient Egyptians. It should keep dreamwalkers away, but…" Bobby glanced at Lilly. "Obviously there are exceptions."

Dean held up the amulet. "What's this for?" Bobby shrugged.

"Helps ward off evil spirits, or possession from most anything. Figured it couldn't hurt."

Dean and Sam nodded.

"Alright, kids, we're headin' out."

Lilly decided that they should go back into town, so she could someone- if not Walt, from the thrift store- who had seen Conquest so she could make a connection and destroy him quickly and, hopefully, easily. Dean had fidgeted the whole way there, trying to calm the nerves that refused to settle.

When they pulled into a parking space on the side of the road, Lilly took a deep breath before stepping out. The gathering darkness was becoming oppressive, and she struggled to keep a measured amount of calm.

Dean felt the same way, and he patted the inside of his jacket to make sure he still had what he wanted. They were both still there.

"Hey, Lil," he said softly, when Sam and Bobby had moved off to survey the surrounding area. She turned towards him. "I have something for you,"

Lilly cocked her head to one side, curious as to what he had, and why now. He recognized the unspoken question and answered it.

"If we make it out of this-" Dean swallowed painfully "- then I'll explain what these are. For now, I just want you to have them. And please, for the love of God, use them." He glanced at his feet before reaching into his jacket and coming out with his mother's gun and knife. Lilly took them carefully in outstretched hands, marveling at them. She ran the edge of her finger over the blade of the knife, and shivered slightly when it drew blood, even at the light contact. After tucking the gun into the waistband of her jeans and putting the knife in the holster around her bicep, underneath her jacket, she looked up at Dean.

"Thanks," she said softly. She knew they meant a lot to him, but she didn't press for why. Instead, she stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. Unable to hold back his worry, Dean pulled her closer and kissed her lips, hard. A few second later, he pulled back and looked down at her, brushing a wisp of hair from her face.

"Go get 'em," he said weakly. Lilly gave him a cocky grin and turned back, walking down the sidewalk a ways, pacing back and forth every now and then. Dean watched as her body moved effortlessly but her eyes wandered, searching.

She came to a smooth stop and stared straight ahead. In the distance, there was a man walking towards her. In minutes, he was but a hundred feet from her. Dean felt his muscles tense.

He saw Sam and Bobby positioned behind Lilly, Bobby with his shotgun at the ready, Sam with both guns and knives. Lilly stared down the man walking towards her. Dean thought he looked just like any ordinary man, and he didn't see any rings. He glanced at Lilly; she shook her head.

"Hello, darlin'," the man said, giving Lilly a toothy grin. She restrained the urge to spat back. "Aren't you just a sight for sore eyes."

"Go to hell," Lilly growled.

"Ah, ah, ah. Not yet, darlin', I've got so much more to do!" The man took a step closer. Lilly's hand began to move towards her knife. He chuckled, looked down, and spread his arms before his body. "Honey, I've got more of these than you can count. You can't touch me," he grinned.

Lilly's arm fell away from the knife, and Dean saw her eyes focus with a deadly resolve. Calm washed over her expression, and she reached out for the man, to lay a hand on his shoulder.

He danced out of her reach at the last second. "Tsk, tsk, you still have to touch your victims? I thought you'd be a bit more of a challenge than that," the man hooked his thumbs in his suspenders.

A wicked smile crept up the corners of Lilly's mouth. Her eyes once again focused with lethal intent, and the man fell to his knees. His body began to shake, and the voice coming from his mouth sounded choked.

"That the best you can do, darlin'?" The man's mouth opened with in a yawn that wasn't a yawn, and his head frantically twisted from side to side. Lilly smiled. Her hand tightened into a fist, and she pulled the knife free with her other hand. She was beginning to shake with the effort. "Gonna have to… Try harder than that." The dreamwalker's voice was clearly strangled. Lilly crouched down slightly and poised the knife.

For a split second, Dean saw the man for who he was, and he was terrified. He was trying to back away, but both Conquest's grip on his mind and Lilly's chokehold on his body kept him from moving an inch. Dean didn't know how Lilly was doing it, but he was clearly locked in place, without her laying a hand on him.

"I can do that," Lilly said menacingly as she lowered the knife. Dean saw her resolve darken as she plunged her powers home, but held the knife.

"Not fast enough, darlin'," Conquest laughed before escaping the man's mind. Dean realized she'd just barely lost him, by the devastation in her eyes and the horrified feeling of emptiness that her face betrayed.

The man crashed to the ground, but was quickly brought back up. His eyes didn't look the same as they had a moment ago, but Dean recognized a difference.

"Mistress, what do you want from me?" The man begged. Dean realized with a start that this must have been what Lilly meant when she said she could destroy a person's mind.

He shuddered to think about it.

Lilly placed a hand on the man's shoulder and looked in his eyes. "Forget this ever happened. You don't know any of us; you don't know the man who was possessing you. Go back home." Her voice was heavy. Before the man turned away, Dean saw her close her eyes in concentration. Once again, she shook with effort, and she stumbled forward just as the man shook his head, as if to clear it. He looked at all of them, concerned.

"Who the hell are you? Get out of here, before I call the police!" The man said threateningly as he stepped forward. Dean scooped up Lilly and headed to the car.

Lilly wobbled dizzily on her feet, looking drained. When her bright green eyes focused on Dean, he noticed the gleam of accomplishment, not yet tainted by lost opportunity; by failure.

"I can reverse it," Lilly said in awe. Dean shushed her.

"That's great," he murmured. His mind was swimming with all the ways that this was a very, very bad idea, and regardless of the fact that he was pretty sure Lilly had just gotten stronger still, she didn't look so good.

As if to testify to that, she slumped in his arms, her head tilting to one side.

Dean felt panic rising in his chest; he didn't even want to contemplate the last time he'd seen her like that. He tried to calm down, telling himself she wasn't bleeding, and her breathing was normal.

Glancing back to look at Sam, Dean realized he must look truly panicked, and made an effort to hide it. Gently he laid her in the backseat of the truck, taking his own stop at the wheel. Sam was helping Bobby wheel himself in. Finally, when Sam's door slammed shut, Dean pulled away, leaving the parking lot behind them.

Sam's mind wandering as they drove back to the motel. Absently, he found himself brushing the hair back from Lilly's eyes, as she sat curled up in the seat next to him.

He refused to let himself believe anything Dean said. Sure, he knew Lilly was head over heels crazy for Dean, but… Dean couldn't take things seriously.

Dean would use her, break her heart, and if it didn't kill or get her killed, Sam would be there for her when it happened.

As much as he hated to believe something so awful about his own brother, Sam truly believed that Dean's ability to really care about another person, especially in the way Lilly wanted him to care, had stayed in hell when Castiel had pulled his body out. Dean's soul, his heart, his will to live simply for the joy of it, had burned up in the pit.

All he was doing with Lilly now was trying to fill an empty hole.

Dean pulled into the parking lot and threw the truck in park more forcefully than he intended. Bobby gave him a sharp look.

Ignoring it, Dean moved to the back and opened the door; Sam was beginning to lift Lilly out.

"I got her," Dean said, sounding harsher than he'd meant. In the light of motel porch, he saw a glint of anger in Sam's eyes, quickly repressed. Dean didn't miss the unspoken threat- his brother knew about him and Lilly, and wasn't happy.

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