Chapter 35

Grace

Using my abilities is a lot harder out here in real life than it was in the barn with Cas, Dean, and Serra. The air felt physically heavy as I tried to keep my shield in place, and the longer I focused, the harder it became. I knew that I would have to change my attack plan soon, or risk exhausting myself before the fight had really started.

Dean was safe for now, behind the Impala, but as I watched, more people from the town filled the streets, all carrying different weapons, obviously ready to go to war for the women that controlled them. "Holy shit," I whispered, shaking my head slowly in disbelief.

Three women from the town had approached the Impala and were about to fire into the cabin, through the windows towards Dean, but I took a deep breath and with all my might, pushed my grace towards them and they flew out of the way, landing about six feet away from Dean and the Impala. I turned back towards the witches and shook my head.

"What is it you want?" I yelled, still holding my barrier as best I could. "Who are you working for?"

Another series of shots rang through the air and I could feel the energy from the bullets as I watched in slow motion. Instead of trying to stop them, I flicked my hand and attempted to steer their trajectory towards the two witches that seemed to be leading the pack.

Sasha and Rhiannon ducked out of the way, light exploding from their hands as they blocked my attack. There were four more bullets fired behind me and I turned, flicking those shots out of the way as well. "Stop!" I yelled. "This is just going to get old! Why do these people have to die? What do you even want with us?"

"It's not what I want with you, Nephilim. It's what She wants with you," Rhiannon replied, stepping forward and attempting to cast a spell once more. I felt a cold wind filter through my wall, making it shimmer as she pressed her magic harder towards me.

"Who is she?" I shouted, struggling to hold my barrier. I felt as if something was physically pressing from the top of my bubble, forcing me lower to the ground. Whatever spell they were using, I knew I wouldn't be able to hold my shield for much longer.

There was an explosion of gunshots from behind me and I whipped around, my shield momentarily forgotten as I watched Dean make a beeline for the building across the street. I knew he was heading for a more protective shelter and trying to draw the fire away from me and his car, but I panicked, not being able to keep up with the shots that rang through the air. Another two bullets grazed his body as he ran, making him stumble. I caught the third, flicking it away from his head at the last possible second.

With his distraction, I was able to regain the full force of my protective bubble and I did my best to move towards my husband. He was kneeling at the corner of a brick building, watching me intently to see what I would do next. The crowd of people from the town shifted again and they filled in the gap that was between us. I could no longer see Dean, so my attention strayed from my husband to the coven once more.

The witches were chanting again and I decided that enough was enough. Taking a deep breath and lowering my hands, I pressed my teeth together, finally feeling some of the Browning rage that boiled near the surface as I carried the shield with me. I walked purposefully, headed straight for two of the unnamed witches from the coven and they were suddenly terrified with my change in tactic. I approached rapidly and they looked panicked, trying to come up with a spell that could take me down, but I was on them too quickly.

As they raised their hands to cast a spell, I flicked my hand without regret and their necks twisted sickly, forcing them both to collapse on the ground in an awkward but beautiful pile of flowing fabric; their porcelain faces forever contorted in pain.

"Helena! Beatrice!" Sasha shouted, covering her mouth as tears pooled in her eyes. I turned towards Sasha as Rhiannon pushed the full intensity of her powers towards me, muttering under her breath, and I physically had to take a step back. As our powers met in the middle of the street, a warm glow began to illuminate the pavement.

I shook from effort and began to sweat as I noticed that a few of the townspeople had moved towards Rhiannon, attempting to get closer to their leader to protect her. I didn't want to hurt them, but they were in the way, so I fanned my fingers, dusting the air, and they were tossed towards the empty parking lot behind the church and collapsed into a pile; knocked out.

Dean took that opportunity to run back towards me and I allowed the barrier to weaken long enough to let him to get close to as we continued down the street. The crowd began firing without hesitation at both of us, trying their best to simply overwhelm me with their rapid fire as we continued to move. The more bullets that flew at me, the harder it was to concentrate on protection, so I tried again to turn the bullets rather than simply stopping them. The shimmer of my barrier told me that I was losing control of it and as Dean raised his gun, I gave up and allowed my wall down completely so that Dean could take his shots. As he did, I felt the burn as one of the townspeople's bullets pierced my skin, embedding itself deep into my left shoulder.

It took my breath away, but I absorbed the impact while staying on my feet. "Shit," I grunted, glancing down at the blood that was now seeping through my shirt. "Dean," I gasped, turning towards him and reaching for his arm as I reestablished our protective barrier. His Mark of Cain was ready and waiting as I pressed my palm down on the red scar and almost immediately, my body pushed the bullet out of my shoulder and I took a deep, ragged breath. "It's okay," I said; seeing the concern wash over his face. "I'm okay."

My husband nodded once and turned back towards the fight, gesturing at the propane tanks that were lined up behind the restaurant to our left with his guns. "Last resort," he whispered.

Nodding, I turned my attention back towards the witches that were spread out around me. Rhiannon was next on my list.

…

"Why is she crying?" Serra asked with her eyebrows knitted together in fear, glancing at Sam as she took Faith from his arms. "She is the baby that never cries!"

Sammy shook his head and backed away as he handed her over. He turned towards the living room of the Big House and gestured, "I don't know. She's close to hysterical."

Glancing back at their oldest niece, Serra shook her head, a fresh wave of worry washing over her. "Where are Glory and Lib?" she asked, already heading towards the steps in the Big House. "Liberty?" she asked, raising her voice enough to be heard. "Glory!"

Everett followed in Serra's wake as she climbed the steps, trying to get closer to his sister as she cried hysterically. He kept trying to reach for her, to offer her as much comfort as he could, but as Serra gained speed, he couldn't keep up and tripped twice coming up the steps. She pounded into Liberty's room and glanced around, still looking for the elder sisters. "Liberty! Glory!"

Pausing to listen, Serra heard crying from the upstairs bathroom and pushed the door open to find both Liberty and Glory huddled on the cold tile, holding each other and rocking back and forth on the floor. Levi sat in front of both of them as they held each other, wrapping his arms around his cousins protectively.

"Girls, girls, girls," Serra started, sitting on the floor with them. "Hey, hey. Come on. Everyone is so upset. What's happening?"

"Momma and Daddy," Libby managed.

Terror seeped into Serendipity Winchester's blood while she stared at the looks on her nieces' faces. "What about Momma and Daddy?" she whispered, holding Faith close, trying to hear the older girls through the younger's sobs. "What's wrong? What did you see?"

Liberty stared up at her and wiped her face, snot and tears smearing across her cheeks. Sam appeared in the doorway as she hesitated, trying to take a breath through her sobs. "It's her," she whispered.

"Her, who?" Serra pressed. "Who are you talking about, kiddo?"

Levi turned to his mother and blinked slowly, his light hazel eyes looking too much like her own. "Libby saw Auntie Grace and Uncle Dean and that woman was there with them."

"What woman?" Sam asked.

"The woman from her bad dreams."

…

The gunfire was relentless as we made our way closer towards the remaining members of the coven. They were spreading out, making it more difficult to fight them as a group, but Dean continued to unload his guns, round after round; the shell casings hitting the ground in rapid succession. Everything was happening in slow motion for me and I tried my best to shield myself and my husband from the incoming shots.

I felt it coming before it happened and I tried to strengthen the backside of my walls quickly, but I was too late. I watched with my mouth open, trying to get control of the bullet that was racing for Dean's back, but I curved it too late; there just wasn't enough time and I was spread to thinly. The bullet found its target with a wet thud, causing Dean to grunt and hit his knees.

"Shit," I muttered again, immediately bending with Dean to catch him before he hit the ground and to make sure he was alright. "Babe? Are you okay?" I ducked as another dozen bullets flew towards us, but rebounded off my barrier. "Dean?"

He let himself fall completely to the ground with my help, breathing heavily. "This might be bad," he strained, rolling to the side. There was blood flowing openly from the gaping wound on his back, just below his neck. "I'm already losing feeling in my legs."

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," I whispered, holding my hand down on his Mark, struggling to hold the wall while I also tried to pull the bullet out of his back and heal his wound. "Hold on, baby," I continued, holding back tears and trying my best to stay calm, but the panic was suffocating. There was simply too much happening. I couldn't do it all at once and I could feel the emotion as it crept up my spine. "Cas…Lucia…someone," I breathed, "Help me. I can't do this alone anymore."

There was a sudden flash of light as Castiel appeared out of nowhere. Without hesitating, he lifted Dean to his feet, and then over his shoulder with ease as he held out his hand and pushed three witches to the ground, moving closer to the brick wall, and keeping it at our backs. I followed Castiel's example, holding out my hands and pushing the townspeople's bullets away from us with a flick of my own hands.

The witches were getting increasingly desperate, pulling mailboxes and cars towards us as their chants grew in intensity. Cas got as close to the brick wall of the building as he could and tried to prop Dean up against it, but he kept slumping over, already completely passed out.

"There's a bullet in his spine," I muttered, turning towards Cas as a car exploded near me. The fire pressed against the shield that protected us, but I could still feel the heat through the barrier.

Nodding once, Cas leaned Dean forward to inspect his wound. He closed his eyes and concentrated as I continued to fight; throwing anything that wasn't nailed down towards the women in the coven. I caught a blue glow out of the corner of my eye and saw that Dean was blinking awake, pain written all over his face. "Oh, hey, Cas," he greeted weakly. "Nice of you to stop by."

"Don't move," Cas demanded, worry creasing his brow. "I need to repair the damage done to your spinal cord."

"Awesome," Dean replied, unfazed. He seemed loopy, almost as if he was drunk and his head swayed from side to side as he squinted, trying to see the fight as it unfolded in front of him. "Don't worry," Dean continued, "Gracie's got it covered. Look at her go."

I chanced a glance back at my husband and I caught a sight of the crimson stains all over the wall, the ground and his shoulders. His blood was everywhere and it took everything I was to stay focused on the women trying to kill us. "Grace," Cas muttered, nodding towards the witches and redirecting my attention. "They're planning to throw another car."

The townspeople were spread all over the streets, but the crowd was parting as the witches were raising their hands to begin chanting once more. I locked eyes with the bald witch, the anger in her face more than apparent. She was muttering a new spell under her breath and I tried to hear what she was saying, but I couldn't understand the language or distinguish any of the words. I shot a look at the angel working behind me trying to save my husband's life, as black pillars of smoke rose from the ground, circling the sky and then shooting off into the low clouds, heading west.

Moments passed in silence as I waited for something to happen, watching intensely with my mouth open. The townspeople had stopped moving, almost as if they were waiting for a command. Their weapons were at their sides and they had turned to watch Rhiannon and Sasha as they took each other's hands and began chanting once more.

Behind me, I could hear Dean swear as Cas' healing blue light faded. I couldn't force myself to look away from the witches, but asked, "We good?" The boys didn't answer right away and fear still nipped at my confidence. "Dean? Cas?"

"Yeah," Dean answered, coughing. "Yeah, I think so. I can feel my legs again and man, they fucking hurt."

Caving to my desire to see my husband safe, I turned for the slightest moment to watch Castiel help Dean to his feet. He weaved a few times and Cas steadied him, making sure he wouldn't collapse. "The nerve clusters at the base of his neck may have been damaged. We don't have time to do more repair, but when we get home, I will make sure that there will be no lasting damage," Castiel said, turning towards me.

I nodded my thanks and watched as Cas stood up straighter, listening to something I couldn't hear.

I furrowed my eyebrows, confused at his sudden change in body language. "What, Cas?" I asked, taking an involuntary step closer towards him.

Castiel's eyes were wide with fear. "Liberty just prayed for me," he whispered, his intense blue stare flicking up to mine.

White-hot terror spread through my body as the world around me went silent. I could feel the tightness in my throat as a sob threatened to escape my chest, and I tried to take a deep breath, pointing west, towards our home. "Go, Cas. Go!" I screamed desperately.

He disappeared on the spot as the sound came back to my ears and another car launched towards us, exploding on impact and forcing Dean and me up against the wall. I struggled to hold my barrier and I could feel the newest burst of adrenaline, knowing that Liberty was scared enough to reach out for Castiel. What could be happening at our home to force her to pray for him?

Dean could only stare at me, his breathing ragged as he struggled to stay standing. "Focus, Grace," he whispered, obviously still in pain. "We can't do anything about it here. One thing at a time."

Nodding at my husband, I took a deep, ragged breath, though my thoughts were consumed with the safety of our children. I forced myself to focus, turning back towards the coven of witches and townspeople that were doing everything in their power to murder us. My energy was renewed.

We had work to do.