A/N: We find out what they are hunting and who a brother sees. Thank you for traveling down the letter path and I hope you will hang around until we get to the last one, Z. I do like reviews. NC

Warning: There are sexual references in this chapter.


Q

Part II

Mandy was in a fog for the rest of the day and did her job on autopilot. She was scared and wasn't sure what to do. The two FBI agents made it even more difficult. She was sure the younger one knew she was lying about not knowing anything regarding the two deaths.

When she had met the woman, Renee, in the bar, she didn't think anything about it. They had started talking and she ended up spilling her guts to a stranger. Mandy had to admit after four mixed drinks she was a little loose lipped and couldn't help it.

After Renee told her she was a white witch and could help her, Mandy jumped at the chance for the help and had gone with her down the street to her home. Renee said she could give her a spell that would make Harold love only her and want to be with only her. Mandy knew Harold was married, but he had told her it was in name only. He said he was planning on leaving his wife soon and they could be together. That had been six months ago, but he kept putting off leaving his wife. This made her mad and decided to take matters into her own hands.

Mandy had taken the spell and the ingredients to perform it from Renee and followed her instructions. When she learned of Kim's death, she didn't think that much about it, but when Harold was murdered a few days later, she was devastated. This was not what was supposed to happen with the spell. She had taken the remaining ingredients outside and burned them, but she still felt like something was coming after her too.

Mandy was torn between going to the FBI and telling them her involvement and keeping quiet and hoped it all blew over. She didn't know if they could charge her for the murders or if they would even believe her if she told them about the witch.

The workday was over, and she forwarded the phones, before getting up to leave. She was usually the last to leave for the day and was alone on the elevator ride down to the lower level where the parking was. Mandy clicked her key fob and the lights on her car blinked twice and beeped when it unlocked. She opened the driver's door and got in to head home.

spn

The house was small, but since it was only her, it suited her needs. The neighborhood was quiet and in the older part of town, which was fine with her. Mandy pulled the car under the carport and got out to head inside. She unlocked the door and stepped into a small foyer, kicking off her heels with a sigh. Wearing them all day was painful on her feet, but they did make her long legs look sexy.

After dropping her briefcase on the table, she headed for her bedroom to change out of her work clothes and into something a little more comfortable. Mandy pulled some sweats and tee shirt from her dresser and shed her skirt and blouse. She hung the skirt up thinking she could get one more wear out of it before needing to have it cleaned. She pulled the pins from her hair and let it fall around her shoulders, running her finger through it to comb it.

Mandy walked barefooted back toward the kitchen when knocking froze her in her tracks. She wasn't expecting any company tonight and wondered who it could be. She took a step toward the door and thought otherwise, stopping short.

"Who's there?" she called loud enough to be heard on the other side of the front door.

"Mandy, honey, open up," a familiar voice called to her.

Mandy sucked in a quick breath when she recognized the voice as Harold, but he was dead. It couldn't be him.

"Open up sweetheart. We can be together now. You know that's what you want, right?" Harold called again. He rattled the doorknob trying to get in.

"No! No! You're dead, it can't be you," she cried out in shock. Mandy backed away from the door and screamed in fright when hard pounding echoed in the foyer.

"Let me in!" Harold yelled in anger and rage. He beat on the door again; harder this time and it began to shake, and a section splintered when his fist punched a hole through it.

Not knowing what else to do, Mandy ran for the kitchen, grabbing her purse and keys and headed out the sliding glass door as she heard the front door give way. She didn't stop until she was in her car and screeched from under the carport out onto the road, almost wrecking. Garbage cans rolled across the road and she took out a mailbox and she threw the car in drive and floored it. There was only one place she knew to go and headed for the Days Inn.

spn

Dean had just got back from a beer run and was stepping from the bathroom when someone knocked frantically at their motel door. He looked to Sam who shrugged, he had no idea who it could be. After pulling his gun, Dean went to the door and looked back at Sam to be sure he was ready. Sam gave him a nod and Dean opened the door. He stepped back quickly when Mandy rushed inside and slammed the door shut to lock it with the dead bolt and chain.

"I need your help," she gushed out, stepping into the room wringing her hands.

"You're the receptionist from the financial place," Sam said. "Mandy? Right?"

Dean put his gun away and looked at the woman as she stood there barefooted shaking and looking at them. He could see the utter fear on her face and wondered what was going on. Dean steered her to a chair to sit down before she fell.

"Harold is trying to kill me," she tried to explain.

"Harold as in the guy who got his heart punched out Harold?" Dean asked suspiciously.

"Yes, it wasn't supposed to hurt anyone. I only wanted him to leave his wife and…"

"Wait, what wasn't supposed to hurt? Mandy what did you do?" Sam questioned.

"Renee said the spell would make him love only me."

"Spell? Who is this Renee?" Dean asked.

"I met her in a bar not far from my work and we started talking. She said she was a white witch and could help me. I admit I was a little drunk and thought she was leading me on, but I went to her house and she gave me these ingredients and a spell to do. She said all I had to do was kiss him and it would all be perfect."

"Do you still have the spell?" Sam asked.

"Yes, I kept it," Mandy told him opening her bag and rummaging around until she pulled out a folded piece of paper to hand to him.

Sam went to his laptop and pulled up a search engine and began typing.

"How did you think this would turn out good?" Dean asked her. "You're dealing with a witch for Christ sakes."

"I was desperate, I loved Harold and wanted to be with him," she moaned.

"Guys," Sam interrupted as he picked the paper back up. "This isn't a love spell, it's the opposite. It turns the person you kiss against you and they only want to kill you."

"You say you kissed Harold?" Dean asked.

"Yes."

"But the Moore woman died first," Sam said.

"Was Harold involved with her?" Dean asked.

"I'm not sure. I heard a rumor but didn't believe it. Harold said he wasn't."

"So, you kissed Black and Black kissed Moore, she dies first and then Black dies, and now you're being stalked for death."

"It's like it's being passed along and then returned to the original person who cast the spell."

Before any of them could continue, Harold slammed into the sliding glass doors of the room, shattering them and sending shards of glass everywhere. Mandy screamed and Dean fired shot after shot into his body. Harold stumbled a couple of steps back but didn't go down.

Sam didn't think, he grabbed Mandy and kissed her, transferring the curse to him and freeing Mandy.

"What did you do Sammy?" Dean cried out when he saw what Sam did.

"It's alright, let's get out of here!" he yelled grabbing Mandy's hand and pulled her to the locked door. He got it open and they ran out to the Impala and got in.

Dean dropped into the driver's seat and cranked her, burning rubber as he raced from the parking lot. He looked at his brother with worry and unease knowing whatever Harold was, he would be coming after him now and not Mandy.

"Do you remember where this woman lives?" Dean asked Mandy as he glanced at her in the rearview mirror.

"I think so, why?"

"We've got to stop her and hopefully break this spell before it comes for Sammy."

"How can you do that?"

"Witch killing bullets," Sam told her.

"Witch killing…" Mandy started as her mind tried to comprehend what was being said to her. "You're not FBI, are you?"

"No, we're hunters."

"Hunters…" she trailed off not sure what to make of that.

"Mandy, directions, where does this witch live?" Dean asked as he headed for the business district again.

"The bar is a block over from where I work. She lives another street over," Mandy told him.

"We need to find her spell book and see what kind of spell she actually gave you," Sam said.

"And we need to put a couple of bullets between her eyes," Dean added in a growl as he gripped the steering wheel tightly.

"I'm sorry," Mandy sobbed. "I didn't know this would happen, honest."

"We believe you. I think the witch lied to you and knew this was going to happen."

Mandy cried softly in the back as she watched out the windshield telling Dean where to turn. It took them twenty minutes to get to the other side of town and to the street the witch lived on. Dean cruised slowly down the street looking to the house Mandy pointed out and went to the end to turn around. He parked a house below it to avoid detection.

"Look, take this," Sam said holding out a small handgun to her. "Lock the doors and stay in the car."

"I don't know how to use that," she gasped.

"All you do is aim and pull the trigger," Dean told her. "Just be sure you don't shoot one of us, we're the good guys."

"You'll be safe in here. We'll take care of the witch," Sam assured him.

Mandy reluctantly took the gun, watching as the brothers got out of the car and went to the back. Dean pulled out the guns with the witch killing bullets and checked them before handing Sam one. They moved toward the house and looked around to be sure no one saw them as they made their way around to the back. There were no lights on in the house, but Dean knocked at the back door and waited for a few moments before picking the lock.

spn

Dean and Sam moved quietly through the house, using flashlights to see. They found the door for the basement and carefully headed down the steps, guns ready. Sam found a light to turn on and saw a desk, large cabinet and filing cabinet sitting on one side of the room and the other side had sheets of plastic hanging from the ceiling separating it from the rest of the basement.

Sam moved to the desk and started looking through it. Dean went to the cabinet and broke the lock on it and opened it to find her stockpile for spells, potions, and charms.

"Here," Dean called to Sam, picking up a book with odd writing on the front.

"That must be her spell book," Sam told him. He took it and started thumbing through the spells until he found one marked with sticky notes. "This is it. We're dealing with a Qareen."

"What is that?"

"It's like a djinn. It's an Arabic curse. It looks like the witch made changes to the spell where it would come back on the one that cast spell," Sam read from the book. He thumbed back a couple of pages to read more about what a Qareen was and how to stop it.

"So, Black was cursed, and he must have kissed Moore. That guy's an asshole, cheating on two women at the same time."

"The witch is controlling the Qareen by possessing its heart. It's like a wish and the Qareen has to obey her. Looks like the Qareen won't rest until it rips out the heart of the one cursed. It can read the mind of the victim and finds out their darkest romantic and sexual desires. That is why Black was after Mandy. Guess she really loved the guy."

"But how do we stop it?" Dean asked.

"The heart has to be destroyed. We have to find where the witch has hidden the heart."

"Okay, you look down here and I'll check upstairs. Just be careful," Dean told him before heading back to the stairs.

spn

Sam finished going through the desk but didn't find the heart. He looked in the cabinet and filing cabinet without any luck there. He walked to the wall of plastic and pushed it open at the split to see what was on the other side. It looked like the witch was remodeling this part of the basement. There were tools sitting around the room and plywood stacked on one side. One sheet of plywood was sitting on two sawhorses in the middle of the room. He saw the framing was up in the divided the area and moved to look in a storage unit across the room.

"Did you find something?" Sam asked when he heard the plastic rustle and turned, freezing in his tracks as he sucked in a sharp breath.

"Hello Sammy," Ruby said in a sultry voice, as she stepped into the room. She was dressed in hip hugging, skintight, jeans with a low-cut tank top that revealed the top of a black lacey bra, the outfit showed off her every curve, making her even more enticing. She looked as appealing and desirable as in his most private memories.

Sam couldn't stop his eyes from roaming over her body. Suddenly in the deepest, forgotten part of his mind a door cracked open, and unwanted emotions and feelings flooded forward making his body tingle and shiver. His mouth went dry and he swallowed hard, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. He knew this couldn't be the real Ruby. Dean had killed her at the convent in Ilchester.

"You're not her?" Sam finally croaked out.

"Oh, but I can be? Why Sam I've looked deep down into the dark recesses of your mind where you hide things that you don't want anyone to ever see and know you haven't forgotten me. Once you got over the demon thing, we were extremely hot together, don't you think? I never heard you complaining after the sex. You seemed to enjoy it and the rougher the better…" she offered moving a few steps closer to him. "I did allow you to have control back then, even when you couldn't wait and cut me so you could suck my blood while pounding that much harder into me," Ruby laughed haughty when she saw Sam's face turn deep red with her words.

Sam backed away and tried to keep the plywood table between them as his mind spun trying to figure a way out of this while it fought the desire to have her again.

"You lied to me, tricked me, got me addicted to the blood; you're nothing to me!" he spat angerly, watching her every move. He froze when she hooked her hands into the hem of her tank top and pulled it over her head, dropping it to the floor.

Sam eyes widened when he gazed at her luscious breast, barely contained in the lacey bra. He couldn't stop his gaze from roaming down her body, to her small waist to her curvy hips encased in the jeans and stopped at her crotch.

"The answer is yes, I do have on the matching black, lacey panties. If I remember correctly, this was your favorite set," she chuckled as she continued. "I don't know how many times I had to replace them because you would rip them off of me in your urgency to have me."

"You're a manipulating bitch and I want nothing you have!" Sam growled trying to push away those thoughts of them together as his body reacted differently. He could feel his desire stirring and his body growing hot.

"Is that really true? Seems like I remember you craved what I had to give you. It gave you power and strength and let you become who you truly were meant to be. It let you finally crawl out from under your brother's shadow and surpass him. You know you can do that again if you like," she cooed, pulling a knife and cutting her arm making it bleed. "You know you want it Sammy, you know what it can give you…"

"No, never, never again!" Sam snarled at her, moving around the table looking for anything to use as a weapon against her.

"Be honest with me, did I ever belittle you, make you feel inferior, useless, or second best? You were never good enough in your father's eyes and you know it. Didn't he always put Dean ahead of you? You were never his obedient little soldier like your brother was and who followed him blindly, no matter what. Didn't you feel he never really treated you like he did Dean? Remember how it felt after you drank my blood. You felt invincible, powerful, better than Dean ever could be. Just a taste," she tempted him. Ruby took her finger and ran it through the blood and put it to her mouth, licking it off and painting her lips redder than they were.

Sam was panicking and wasn't sure what to do. He tried to move to the opening, but Ruby stepped in front of him, blocking his escape, and he quickly halted and stumbled back the other way. He could smell the blood in the air, and something stirred and awoke inside of him. A gnawing desire and need started to build and he couldn't take his eyes off the trail of blood running down her arm. It was almost as if he could hear her heart beating, thrumming against his senses, as the slow spill of blood continued to hold him mesmerized. He couldn't think straight, couldn't tear his eyes away as he licked his lips wanting to taste it once again. He wanted her so badly that he couldn't think straight or fight the urge to throw her to the floor and tear her remaining clothes off and plunge into her while drinking her blood.

spn

Dean turned his flashlight back on and wandered through a couple of rooms until he found what looked like an office. He turned on a lamp sitting on a desk and sat in the chair so he could look through the drawers. He wasn't finding anything that looked like it might hold a heart and sat there a moment contemplating where else it might be. He headed back to the kitchen and looked around the space.

After opening a couple of cabinets and not seeing anything, he turned and surveyed the room again. His eyes fell on the fridge and walked over to it. It was an older model with the freezer on top and opened the door. He moved a few frozen items around and spotted something it the back corner.

Dean pulled out a plastic bag with a wooden box in it and sat in on the counter. He opened the bag to remove the box and picked up a fork to pry the small lock from the box. He was tense and excited at the same time, hoping this was what they were looking for. He opened the lid of the box and looked inside to see a black heart sitting on a velvet lining.

An unfamiliar voice suddenly spoke behind him just as he heard Sam yelled from the basement. Without warning Dean was thrown backwards into the wall, dropping his gun beside him. He stared into the angry eyes of the witch as she pushed her hand out making him grimace in pain.

"What are you doing in my house?"

"Trying to break the spell you gave Mandy. It wasn't a love spell, you tricked her into using a curse and people died."

"Boo hoo, people died that deserved to die," she said sarcastically. "He was cheating on his wife with two other women. One was only in it for advancement at work and the other thought he would leave his wife for her. None of them deserve happiness and are getting what is due them."

"What right do you have to decide that? You should butt out of other people's affairs."

"Once I get rid of you, the Qareen will get rid of your brother and I can continue on and not have to worry about you hunters."

Dean groaned in pain and started to gasp for breath as the witch squeezed her hand into a fist, cutting off his air supply. He couldn't move his body and tried hard to get a breath as he glanced at the gun at his feet.

"Stop that!" Mandy cried out from the doorway as she pointed the gun she was given at the witch. She didn't think about it and fired the gun the witch's way, nicking her on her arm.

The witch turned on her, rage burning in her eyes as she threw her hand knocking Mandy backwards, making her lose her grip on the gun.

Dean felt his body drop to the floor and sucked in a short breath as he felt around for his gun. His fingers touched the cold metal and he got a grip on it. He raised it as the witch turned back to him and he pulled the trigger three times, each bullet finding it's mark in her body. She jerked backwards and twisted until her body dropped to the floor dead.

"Are you alright?" Mandy asked him as she picked herself up and watched Dean stumble to his feet and lunge for the box on the counter.

Dean threw the wooden box down and the black heart rolled from it. He drew down on it and emptied the remainder of his gun into it blasting the heart to pieces.

spn

The Qareen saw the desire burning in Sam's eyes as she advanced on him. She kicked out planting a foot to his stomach making him stumble and bend over doubt, before he fell to his knees in front of her. Ruby grabbed Sam around the neck, squeezing just enough to make him gasp for air. She smiled maliciously as she took her blood-filled hand and wiped it across his lips and into his mouth, trying to get him to taste it again. She wanted to bring the urge and need back in him.

Sam tried to jerk his head away but couldn't move it but an inch. He balled his hand into a fist and punched as hard as he could into her stomach making her loosen her grip. He scurried backwards, gagging and spitting trying to get the coppery taste out of his mouth. He knew if it took hold there would be no coming back, and he would accept her offer even if it meant his death. She swung a fist burying it into a piece of plywood behind him. He dodged another blow thrown at him and lurched away from her outstretched hand.

"Give in Sam, there's no way out of this. I will give you the high you desperately crave, as much as you want even, it won't hurt me if you suck me dry, before ending it for you," Ruby offered cupping her hand to catch her blood and holding it out to him. "I might even let you screw me too," she offered running a hand up her bare stomach to her breast and squeezing it in a provocative manner.

"I will never do that again. You're not going to fool me again. Dean! Destroy the heart!" Sam yelled as loud as he could while trying to keep his distance from her. "Hurry!" He voice was urgent and pleading, hoping it didn't take Dean long to do it.

She was fast and lunged at him, back handing him once and before he could recover, grabbed his arm to fling him over the table and watched him roll across the floor, only stopping when he hit the wall with a dull thud. He was stunned but managed to scramble to his feet and continued evading her approach. Sam could tell his body was weakening as he faltered and tried to stay on his feet and move around the room.

Ruby bore down on him as he grabbed a hammer to defend himself. He tried to swing it at her, but she caught his arm and bend it backward until he dropped it. He groaned in pain and tried to get away from her, but it was useless. His life was in his brother's hands now. If he didn't destroy the heart, he was dead.

"Goodbye Sam, we did have such a good time together," Ruby sighed. "Such a waste…" she continued as she made ready to punch him in the chest.

Sam watched her with surprise and wonderment, when suddenly she let him go and screamed as her body started to dissolve into a whirlwind of sand starting at her feet. Her screams was cut off when her face melted away into sand and suddenly with a bright flash, the whirlwind imploded and disappeared.

"Sammy, you okay?" Dean called to him a moment later as he batted away the plastic trying to find him. He had his gun drawn and swung it around the area checking for any danger.

"I'm fine," Sam mumbled wiping at his mouth and pushing the plastic out of the way to head upstairs. He could feel the sticky wetness of the blood that was drying on it and still had the coppery taste in his mouth. He didn't want Dean to see the blood on his face or question him about who came for him.

spn

Dean paused for a moment looking at the gaping holes around the room in the unfinished wall and on the piece of ply wood laid out on sawhorses, a woman's skimpy tank top tossed nearby, and the hammer laying in the floor. He moved to the side and saw what looked like blood puddled on the floor and wondered just who Sam had seen. He followed him back upstairs to find him talking to Mandy.

"It's over, you're safe now," Sam told Mandy. He kept his face turned away from them and stood in the shadows so he couldn't be seen that well. There was only a light on over the stove in the kitchen making it easier to hide his bloodied face.

"I don't know how to thank you for what you did," she said.

"Why don't you find someone not married to date next time, and no turning to witches for help," Dean suggested in a sarcastic voice.

"Believe me, I've learned my lesson. I won't be doing that again," she assured him.

"Guess we need to get our things from the motel and get out of town," Sam told Dean before heading for the car and glad that darkness had fallen.

"Yeah, good idea. I've had enough of witches for a while," Dean agreed, looking at his brother's back as he hurried away. There was something off with him, but he would wait until they were alone before confronting him.

The three headed back to the Impala and to the motel. Mandy thanked them once again and headed back home to see how much damage was done to her place and to try and put her life back together.

spn

As soon as he unlocked the door to their room, Sam went straight into the bathroom and closed the door behind him before Dean could say anything. He grabbed his toothbrush and scrubbed his teeth twice and rinsed with mouthwash wanting to get the taste of the blood out of it. He wet a washcloth and scrubbed his face and neck until it was red wanting to hide any trace of the blood. He was lucky only a small amount had dripped onto his jacket and that could be easily explained away.

He wouldn't look at himself in the mirror because he was disgusted with himself for almost breaking and drinking the blood. He couldn't believe he still had feelings for the demon bitch who screwed him at every turn. He thought he was past this, but tonight showed how wrong he was, and he didn't want Dean to know how close he came to giving in and being killed. Once he was done, he gathered his bathroom things and packed them before stepping back into the main room.

"Who came for you?" Dean asked as he stuffed the last of his clothes into his pack looking at Sam with a critical eye. He could see the redness on his face where it had been scrubbed almost raw.

Sam looked up startled for a moment with his question and didn't answer him as he cast his eyes to the floor. He walked over to his duffle and dropped his bathroom bag into it and shut down his laptop to pack.

"No one important," he muttered not wanting to tell Dean the truth. He didn't want to see that look of disappointment and betrayal in his eyes again. He couldn't go through that, not for a second time. It was bad enough he had to live with it and worked on tearing those memories from his mind and shoving them so deep into his subconscious he would never find them again.

"If you need to talk…" Dean trailed off already knowing it was a mute topic. He could tell Sam had shut down and wasn't going to say anything.

"I'm good," Sam insisted, grabbing his things and heading out the door without another word.

Dean huffed out a snort knowing he was anything but good and followed him to the Impala to leave this town and whatever memories it had created behind.

The End