Disclaimer: Sandbox not mine, I'm just here to play for a while.

Please let me know what you think of this chapter. Any thoughts and comments welcome.

Chapter 26

It was well after breakfast when Isabeau found herself in the kitchen sitting next to Rowena with the grimoire, lit candles and some spell ingredients spread out over the table in front of them. Given her previous experience, Rowena was still hesitant to touch the book and she asked Isabeau to help her look for the spell. Though Isabeau wasn't all that eager to touch it either, there they were. The book smelled funny to Isabeau and the pages felt old and grainy and more than once she scrunched up her nose at the turn of a page, yet leaned over to have a closer look. Only with the nod of her head, Rowena would indicate for her to turn the page again as they searched for the appropriate spell. They've been at it for nearly an hour but they weren't even a quarter way through.

"This is going to take forever!" Isabeau sighed for the umpteenth time. "There must be thousands of spells in here. How on earth are we going to get through it all? It's nearly midday and the full moon is already tomorrow. Can't you just say a spell to find what we are looking for?"

Rowena shook her head, frustratingly drumming her red painted fingernails on the table. "Unfortunately, my dear, things are not that simple."

"Well, I'm bored. Can't you tell me what to look for? At least I can help look while I'm turning pages."

"Can you read this ancient language?" Rowena lifted an eyebrow while looking at Isabeau.

"Well, no, but if you point out some words, then I can look for something similar." She retorted.

Just then Nelle walked in, making a bee-line for the kettle. "Hey, how are things coming?" she excitedly asked.

"It's not." Isabeau huffed as she stood up from the table to place her coffee mug down next to the kettle. Standing with her back against the kitchen counter, she felt like she'd known the place forever. Every corner was familiar to her. Every cupboard held its mysteries at first glance, yet she already knew what was behind each door.

"Will you please get the milk?" Nelle asked as she took more mugs out of the cupboard overhead. Isabeau didn't even think about it as she reached inside the fridge door to take out the last carton of milk and handed it to Nelle. "Thanks." Nelle said as she finished the coffee and placed all the mugs on a tray, save for Rowena and Isabeau's.

Without a word, she quickly took the tray to the living room where the majority of house guests were spending some time in front of the television. There was much to prepare for but they needed the spell first and since Rowena and Isabeau hadn't found it yet, there wasn't anything else for the guys to do. When all were served, Nelle came back to the kitchen with her own mug, offering the girls some cookies she kept stashed away.

"Thanks, Nelle." Isabeau smiled as she took two cookies, sitting down next to Rowena again. "I just don't understand how we are going to work through this book in time for the full moon tomorrow night."

Nelle glanced over at the grimoire and frowned as she thought it over for a minute. "Why don't you use that other technique to search for the spell, Rowena?"

Rowena's head snapped up, looking at Nelle with big eyes. She remembered very well what the girl was referring to and knowing how it almost ended her life the previous time, she was purposefully ignoring that idea.

"What technique?" Isabeau asked curiously.

"Tell her Rowena." Nelle said excitedly, as she sipped her warm drink.

"Erm… I don't think it's such a good idea, darlin', Dean Winchester will surely kill me this time." Rowena retorted, shaking her head.

"But it helped save Sam and Isabeau last time, so isn't that a good thing?" Nelle pushed a little.

Looking up, Isabeau watched the doorway to the living room. None of the boys seemed to have heard what the girls were planning. "What if we just do it, without them knowing?" Isabeau asked innocently.

"The boys always find out, my dear. I swear they have eyes and ears everywhere!" Rowena shook her head again and got up from the table. Pressing her hands together, fingertips touching her chin, she paced up and down deep in thought.

"Perhaps…" she trailed off, thinking while looking back towards the living room, "maybe if we are quick about it. There is more power this time." She mumbled half to herself, quickly sitting down next to Isabeau again.

"So how do we do this and will it hurt?" Isabeau asked excited.

"Well, you take my hand and then I hover my other hand over the pages while thinking about the spell we want and the book takes care of the rest." Rowena answered.

"How do you mean 'takes care of the rest'?" Isabeau frowned.

"Well it's actually very simple, the book is magic and therefore it can do things on its own, you just have to nudge it a little."

"Okay, if you say so." Isabeau shrugged and placed her hand in Rowena's just as Bobby entered the kitchen.

"What in the blazes are you doing?" He roared, stepping closer to the table.

"Finding the spell, what does it look like?" Rowena asked, annoyed. Knowing they've been caught but determined to get things done.

"Not in my kitchen, you ain't, not again!" Bobby hollered as he slammed his fist into the table, making all three women flinch.

"What's going on?" Sam and Dean came running from the living room to see what the commotion was about.

"They want to do that thing again with the grimoire. Remember last time? She did that with Nelle!" Bobby growled.

"You want to do what?" Sam asked as he came to stand next to the table, glancing over the ingredients, candles and grimoire.

"I don't understand why you're all upset," Isabeau said, looking from one to the other. "Nelle said this is how she helped us get the spell to free us from the dream world, Sam." She looked up pleadingly.

"That may be true," Dean said. "But that also nearly destroyed the kitchen."

"Gotta find another space." Bobby shook his head.

"Where do you suggest we do it then?" Rowena stood up from the table, throwing her hands in the air. "There aren't many places to do this kind of thing."

"What about the basement?" Nelle asked. "Will that be a better place?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "That should work since it's warded and all that."

Bobby lifted his cap to scratch his head as he thought it over. "Well, I suppose you have a point. But there's nothing down there. We'll have to take the table and everything down."

"Fine." Rowena said, getting up. She picked up the candles and blew them out before heading for the basement door, looking over her shoulder. "Isabeau, would you be a dear and bring the grimoire?"

Isabeau frowned at Rowena and skeptically looked down at the book but Sam reached past her and picked it up. "I've got this," he smiled at her; knowing full well she was still hesitant to touch it. The coin was still securely in its place on top of the cover. Isabeau picked up the few herbs and spice ingredients while Sam also took a chair to follow Rowena down to the basement. Bobby and Dean carried the table downstairs, followed by Nelle who carried one more chair.

"Are you sure about this?" Sam asked hesitantly as his hands rested on Isabeau's shoulders. She looked up and smiled at him.

"I have to help somehow, Sam, it will be okay," she said confidently. Looking at Rowena, she held out her hand. "Let's do this."

Everyone cleared the room, leaving the women to work their magic, but they didn't go far. Sam stood just outside the door watching while Bobby and Dean paced the hallway between the door and the stairs. Nelle shook her head, remembering what happened the previous time and decided not to linger for the show.

Rowena smiled at Isabeau as she took her hand and took a deep breath before hovering her right hand over the open book. Like with Nelle, both Isabeau and Rowena's eyes immediately shone purple as the energy flowed from Isabeau to Rowena and the pages of the book started flipping over.

"This can't be normal." Sam whispered as he watched in awe how the lit candles and spice ingredients levitated above the table top before an unseen wind started moving them in an anti-clockwise motion through the air.

"Exactly like last time," Dean whispered as he tensed up next to Sam. The flipped pages created a terrible noise as they flipped faster and faster, and the wind shook the room as it continued blowing, creating a whirlwind around them. Sam tried to enter the room but an unseen force knocked him back against his brother.

"It's no use!" Bobby shouted from behind but his voice was drowned out by the noise. All he could do was to pull the boys back and together they forced the door closed. They leaned their backs against it, trying their best to keep it from opening. Cas came rushing down the stairs to see what the commotion was about and he leaned over them, adding his strength to keep the door in place.

Then, as quickly as it started, the wind quieted down, pages came to rest and the room stopped shaking. One by one the candles and bottles dropped to the ground, amazingly without breaking and the purple glow disappeared from their eyes.

"WOW!" Isabeau breathed out as she let go of Rowena's hand, then jumped up from the chair, as if it was on fire. The boys opened the door and Sam rushed inside to check on Isabeau. She shook slightly in his arms and he tightened his grip on her but she quickly wiggled out of his embrace.

"Did you see that, Sam? That was AMAZING! What a SURGE of power, I've never felt anything like that before. It was like the blood in my veins was ALIVE. It was INCREDIBLE!" She babbled, unable to contain her excitement. Sam looked concerned. Bobby and Dean looked downright terrified.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Sam asked, checking her over just like Dean had done for him so many times before.

"I'm fine, I'm awesome. That was so cool! The way the pages flipped on their own and did you see the candles, the way the flames intensified in the midst of the wind, my goodness!" She waved her arms in the air, ignoring Sam for a moment. But then, calming down a bit, she looked towards Rowena who was still seated at the table.

"Rowena, are you okay?" She stepped closer, worriedly laying her hand on the witch's shoulder.

"Just fine, darlin'. Just give me a moment to gather my strength." Rowena smiled weakly.

"I-I don't understand?" Isabeau said, confused.

"I'm alright; I just need to lie down for a wee bit." She slowly stood up from the table but nearly collapsed immediately as her legs gave way beneath her. Bobby stepped closer and helped her up.

"Whoa there, easy now." He led her out of the room. Isabeau frowned, looking after them and then back to the table. She stepped closer and looked down at the book. The letters didn't make any sense to her because it was written in Scotts Gaelic - Aryana and apparently Rowena's native language.

Running her fingers through her hair, she frowned, looking at the words again, willing herself to understand it. If she was the witch that they said she was, she should be able to read the book, right? But the longer she stared at the pages, the less she understood any of it. Turning away at last, she looked over at Dean and Sam that stood looking at her. Cas had started picking up the fallen candles and spices while Sam and Dean briefly shared a look.

"What?" she asked, frowning at them.

"Nothing." They said in unison.

"Bullshit!" She called out. "I know you just did something or whatever. You've got this weird thing you do and I know you want to say something, so let's have it." She folded her arms over her chest.

"They are concerned." Cas spoke up from the side. Isabeau turned towards him.

"Concerned about what?"

"Your power. It completely drained Rowena and she is a very powerful witch. She should not have been so exhausted. The previous time when she did this with Nelle, the kitchen was a mess but everyone, including Rowena was fine."

"So what are you saying?"

Dean cleared his throat. "I need a drink." He turned around and walked out of the room, leaving a distraught Isabeau behind. She quickly wiped her cheeks as tears started to fall.

"It's okay, Iz." Sam took her in his arms and held her to his chest. She started sobbing into his shirt. "You didn't do anything wrong. Dean is just being an ass." Cas followed Dean without a word. The cold walls silently echoed back at them. The room was dark, save for the light coming from the light bulb overhead.

"But I did that to Rowena, I'm the reason she's tired. Maybe I shouldn't do this. The powers aren't even active yet and I'm already hurting people and making Dean mad and I…"

"Shhh." He soothed her. She buried her face into his flannel and he just held her. He didn't know what the future held or how everything would change in twenty-four hours, but he knew he wanted to be by her side every step of the way.

He gently walked her towards the table and sat down on the chair, letting her sit on his lap. He was well aware of the tiny black box but he was unable to adjust his pants as Isabeau's legs were resting right over that particular pocket. Sam sighed inwardly. They were alone, but it wasn't the right time. He wanted so badly to give her the ring but he knew that he had to wait.

ooOoo

Bobby came down the stairs where he took Rowena to rest a bit in the study. Dean and Cas stood quietly in the kitchen. Dean nursed a beer while Cas was looking out the window, deep in thought.

"What the hell just happened?" Bobby asked worriedly.

"That was quite concerning." Cas spoke up. He, too, wore a worried frown between his brows.

Dean took a sip of his beer, staring at the floor. "Are we sure we want to go ahead tomorrow night and unleash her powers?"

"Well, there ain't much we can do about it now." Bobby reached inside the fridge for his own beer. It grew quiet between the men before Cas cleared his throat.

"Perhaps I can look for answers. Someone must know something in the archives upstairs."

"I don't think you'll find anything, Cas. I mean. She's a hybrid. Maybe the only one of her kind, ever. Doubt heaven will have info on that." Dean shook his head.

"Gotta try, Dean." The angel sighed and then he blinked out.

"I don't think she did that on purpose." Bobby sighed.

"Yeah right," Dean snorted. "I still think this is a bad idea."

"Well, we said we'd help her." Looking over his shoulder towards the basement, Bobby stepped closer to Dean. "If things turn bad, we always have witch bullets, you know."

Dean stared at Bobby with big eyes, unsure if he heard him correctly. "I can't do that to Sam, Bobby. He loves that girl."

"Yeah, but if she's a problem, she's a problem. Wouldn't be the first time too, ya know."

"The werewolf was different." Dean growled. "Besides, Sam barely knew her and it was shortly after Jessica's death. I won't do this to him again, Bobby."

"It's your choice, boy." The older hunter replied and turned towards the living room but stopped. "I like her too and I believe with all my heart she won't turn bad or evil but there's always a chance."

Dean nodded and finished his beer, looking out through the kitchen window. He knew what Bobby was saying and yet he couldn't bring himself to even consider the possibility that he would have to put her down.

ooOoo

Much later, Rowena was sitting in the living room with the grimoire spread out on the table in front of her. "Oh yes, of course," she mumbled under her breath as she studied the ancient spell. "Yes, yes," she said again, writing everything down on a notepad.

"What are you doing?" Andrea asked, sitting down next to the older woman.

"I'm studying the spell, my dear."

"Oh?" Andrea asked, leaning over to have a better look, not that she could understand a word of the hieroglyphics on the page. "Is it complicated?"

"Not if you know what you're doing." Rowena smiled at her. "See here," she pointed over the page where there were some pictures drawn. It looked like four triangles. Two pointed up, two pointed down and two had diagonal lines drawn through them. "These are the symbols for the four natural elements: Fire, Water, Earth and Air. It also indicates the four cardinal points on a compass." Rowena said, excitement in her voice as she drew them over in her notebook.

"It seems to be an integral part of the spell we have to perform. While there are some specific ingredients needed, it seems we are all involved too. This is so exciting since it's not just a full moon but a blue moon as well."

"What does that mean?" Andrea asked worried.

"Well, my dear girl, I will let you know as soon as I am done working through this." Rowena replied excitedly but more to herself. Andrea watched her work, suddenly worried for her friend and the great task that she wants to take on. More worrisome, if all of them were a part of the spell, what did that actually mean? She watched the witch work a little longer before quietly getting up from the couch.

ooOoo

Coming up the stairs, Andrea nearly walked into Isabeau. "Dré? Jy okay?" ("What's wrong, Dré?") Isabeau asked, concerned at the distraught look on Andrea's face.

"Ek…uhm…ja." ("I'm…uhm…yes.") She answered, half in a daze. Concerned about her friend, Isabeau turned around and pulled Andrea into her room. Sam looked up from where he was reading a book on the bed, immediately alert.

"What's wrong?" He asked concerned. Andrea followed Isabeau to the bed, sitting down. She frowned a little and then looked up.

"The spell involves all of us." She almost whispered.

"What do you mean 'all of us'?" Sam asked, leaning forward.

Looking back at the door, Andrea narrowed her eyes, looking a bit worried. She wasn't too sure if she could tell them. Not knowing if she was allowed to say anything. She almost felt like she was harboring a secret. But finally looking up to Sam, she sighed.

"I briefly chatted with Rowena. Apparently the spell has got to do with the four natural elements, a compass and us. She said we are all involved in the spell."

"How do you know it's the four elements?" Sam asked.

"She showed me the pictures. It was all triangles, but some were upside down. She said she will tell me what it means when she's done with it but I'm worried. What did she mean we're all involved?"

Sam stood up quickly and grabbed a book from the bookshelf he had in his room. It was one that contained ancient symbols and their meanings. Flipping through the pages, he found the chapter about the four natural elements.

Nodding and humming to himself, he quickly scanned through it. "Well don't keep it all to yourself, share with the class," Isabeau prompted.

"Huh? Sorry," he said, blushing slightly. "According to this, the four elements are Fire, Water, Earth and Air. Each element corresponds to the points on a compass."

The girls leaned a bit closer to look at the page as well. The same pictures were drawn in the book.

"It's actually very interesting," Sam said. "If you look at their symbolic meanings and accorded powers; all four are life-giving and capable of destruction. For instance: Water in the West also represents your mind and symbolizes dreaming, healing, purification, regeneration, stability, strength, fertility, etc. It is associated with autumn and the inverted triangle is its symbol."

"Wow, that's a mouthful." Isabeau said amazed, realizing there was still much she had to learn. "Read the rest, I want to hear them all." She added excitedly.

"Well, okay." Sam smiled as he got comfortable on the bed with Andrea and Isabeau sitting on either side of him. "So Air is in the East and is associated with the breath of life and spring. It represents your spirit and symbolizes communication, intelligence, knowledge, learning, thinking, imagination, etc and has this upright triangle with a horizontal line going through it."

"You guys still with me?" He asked, looking between the two girls.

"Yes, yes, please continue." Andrea nodded fascinated.

"Right, so Fire is in the South and associated with summer. It's considered to be the first element that was born when the universe was created; representing light in a spiritual plane and sun or flame in the physical plane. It symbolizes incredible energy, activity, creativity, passion, freedom, power, love, etc, representing your heart. Fire's symbol is a triangle pointing upwards." Sam held the book up so that they could look at the symbols before he turned the page.

"And last but not the least, Earth. The Earth element is situated in the North and represents your body while also being related to winter. It symbolizes prosperity, fertility, stability, orderliness, security, etc and the symbol for it is an inverted triangle with a horizontal line running through it."

Amazed both girls looked from the book to Sam. "So whatever this spell is, it's not a small thing? It's gonna be huge?" Andrea summarized.

"Yip. Unbinding of powers is normally a huge deal and that's why we need to thoroughly prepare for this. And as for our involvement," he looked at Andrea. "Don't worry too much about it. I'm sure Rowena just meant we will all help with the preparations." Sam smiled at Andrea for a moment and turned to face Isabeau. "You okay?" He asked, taking her hand in his.

"I'm fine, I think. I mean, this is all very interesting and amazing really. I've never looked into these things. I mean, I always associated them with the devil's work, seeing how I was brought up and my circumstances. Never realized that there is so much more to it than meets the eye." She looked up at Sam. "Guess I have a lot to learn, huh?"

"Yes, but don't strain yourself. Knowledge won't come all in one day. As you exercise your powers, getting stronger, you will also read more and explore and exercise your mind. Gaining a bit of knowledge every day. I'll show you, don't worry."

"Oh, I know you will." She smiled and lightheartedly punched him on the arm which he mockingly held in pain. Leaning over, she kissed him on the cheek before jumping up from the bed, pulling Andrea with her. "Come on! Let's go see how far Rowena got with the spell. We should probably think about ingredients and supplies." Isabeau rambled on excitedly, as she left Sam behind on the bed, the thought of what was to come firmly in his mind.