Lucrecia glanced up at the ceiling and then down at the floor again, taking in the Devil's Traps that had been painted there, before glancing up at the brothers again and grinning maliciously.

"Hmm, a Devil's Trap, huh?" she snickered. "And since that bitch Starina branded one on me now it's impossible to get out of this useless meat sack. Well played, boys, otherwise I'd be ripping your throats out right now."

"What do you know about the Wraith?" Sam demanded, ready to throw more Holy water at her.

Lucrecia looked away from him, nose in the air. "I'm not at liberty to discuss my business dealings," she said haughtily. "Least of all with scum like you."

"Cut the crap," Dean snapped. "You already told me that he's your client. We know you're a Crossroads Demon, so spill. What do you know about him?"

"Did I say that?" Lucrecia asked innocently, batting her eyelashes at him. "I would've thought that you were in too much pain from your guts twisting themselves into a knot to be listening to a word I said. That is, when you weren't so busy eyeballing my tits."

Sam splashed more Holy water on her, making her scream out in pain. Safely hidden behind Donovan's wings Starina covered her face with her hands. She had to keep reminding herself that this was a demon, not the kind, helpful woman she'd become friends with, and it was agonising to hear her screaming like this. After a few more splashes of Holy water Lucrecia was a panting, writhing mess in the chair.

"Let's try this again; what do you know about the Wraith?" Dean asked angrily.

"Go. To. HELL!" Lucrecia spat.

"Been there, done that," Dean bit back nonchalantly. "They didn't like us so they sent us back. Now tell us about the Wraith."

The demon refused to speak and got another faceful of Holy water for her trouble. She screamed again as steam rose up into the air and she struggled violently against her restraints. Starina covered her ears in an effort to block out the screaming.

"Alright! Yes he's my client!" Lucrecia gasped, water dripping off her face. "When he was human he summoned me. He said he wanted revenge on the Priestess who took his powers away."

"So you knew he was a Mage?" Sam asked.

"Of course I knew!" Lucrecia scoffed, shaking her soaked fringe out of her eyes. "How could I not know? The fool tried to summon Balor for Hell's sake! There wasn't a single demon in the Underworld who didn't know of Dubhshláine."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "Dubhshláine? That's his real name?"

"Yes," Lucrecia nodded, looking at the floor weakly. "One of my other clients told him the spell to summon me. He asked for the power to wreak vengeance upon the Priestess who left him powerless and banished him, so I made him an offer and he took it."

"So it was you who gave him the power to suck the life outta everything," Sam stated.

Lucrecia nodded again. "Dubhshláine couldn't kill the Priestess by the usual means, and simply killing her wasn't enough for him, he wanted to make her and the rest of the tribe suffer. So that's the power I gave him in exchange for his soul."

"But he didn't kill the Priestess," Dean pointed out. "She killed him and then he cursed her descendants. What do you know about that?"

"Look, all I did was make the deal and that's it," Lucrecia looked up, glaring. "I don't know what he did with the power I gave him and I don't particularly care, either."

Starina took a breath and stepped out from behind Donovan's wings. "Is that so?" she asked curtly and everyone glanced at her. "If that's true then what're you doing here?"

"Well, well, well, decided to come out of hiding, did you?" Lucrecia sneered. "Surely you'd rather be upstairs knitting booties for those disgusting little half-breed freaks of yours?"

"You shut your mouth, you filth!" Donovan snarled, wings flaring in anger.

Dean stepped up and gripped Donovan's arm, stopping the angry dragon from advancing. "Whoa whoa whoa, relax. Don't listen to her, okay?"

"She's just tryin' to piss you off," Sam added. "She's not worth it."

Starina sent them a grateful look before turning back to the demon tied to the chair. "Tell me something Lucrecia, how long have you been possessing Michelle?"

"Hmm, let me think," Lucrecia muttered, pretending to ponder the question. "I'd say... about a year," she answered, grinning nastily. "Such a nice girl, volunteered at the soup kitchen, visited her mother every Sunday; it almost hurt me to snap her pretty little neck before I took control of her meat suit."

Dean shook his head in disgust. "You sick bitch!"

"You must've arrived here at the same time as I did," the colour drained from Starina's face as she spoke.

"About time you caught on," Lucrecia smirked. "I mean really Starina, you're supposed to be an Empath, aren't you? How did you not sense me lurking around while I watched you stuffing my client into that tree?"

"When did the Wraith get here, Starina?" Sam asked.

"I-I sensed him two days after I moved into this house," Starina answered, looking lost. "He was weak from making the journey but he still put up a fight before I trapped him, all my focus was on him and I never sensed there was a demon nearby. I had no idea."

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that," Lucrecia snickered. "But just think, if you had been able to sense me then you could've easily gotten rid of me and poor Michelle would still be alive."

"Alright, that's enough," Dean snapped, noticing that Starina had started trembling.

But Lucrecia didn't let up. "How about when you came to me for help filling out those papers you needed for a permit to give riding lessons?" she went on. "How come you didn't sense me then? Or when you asked me for advice on what pregnancy test to use after you screwed your precious dragon over there?"

By now Starina was hyperventilating as she staggered back to get away from the still-cackling demon until she bumped into Sam and Donovan. Dean surged forward and punched Lucrecia in the face to knock her out.

"Hey hey hey, Starina, calm down," Sam tried to soothe as Starina's breathing grew more erratic and she clung desperately to Donovan.

"What's going on? What's wrong with her?" Donovan asked worriedly.

"I think she's having a panic attack," Sam said as he noticed sweat dripping down Starina's face. "Get her upstairs and lie her down."

Donovan immediately scooped her up and rushed her upstairs with the brothers in tow, leaving Lucrecia unconscious and tied to the chair in the Devil's Trap. In the living room Donovan lay Starina down gently on the couch, but she was still breathing way too fast and looked as though she was going to faint.

"What do we do? Should we call Irene?" asked Dean, already taking his phone out of his pocket.

"Wait a second," said Sam as he went over and knelt on the floor next to the couch. "Starina? Starina, look at me."

Still breathing fast Starina turned towards him, her eyes wide and her pupils contracted. "All my fault," she gasped, tears running down her cheeks now. "It's all my fault. It's my fault Michelle's dead...Oh Ériu, her poor mother!"

"Starina, I need you to listen, okay?" Sam told her calmly. "You've gotta slow your breathing down. Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose and let it out slowly through your mouth. Can you do that?"

It took a few seconds but Starina did as she was told and closed her eyes as she tried to focus on slowing her breathing as Sam instructed.

"That's good, Starina," Sam praised her. "Keep doing that."

"But...what about Michelle's mother?"Starina asked, fresh tears falling. "Who's going to tell her? She has a right... she needs to know..."

"Don't worry about that now," Sam said as Donovan stroked her forehead to try and comfort her. "Slow breaths, remember? Tell me about the twins. Do you know what you're having?"

Starina shook her head. "N-no, D-Donovan and I want to be surprised."

"Got any names picked out?" Dean asked, catching on to what Sam was doing.

"W-we both like E-Erin and Mariah for girls," Starina replied, already sounding a little calmer. "And for boys we were thinking Lucas and T-Tyrone."

"Those are great names," Sam said honestly.

"Mariah? Like Mariah Carey, the singer?" Dean raised an eyebrow.

"No, Mariah's my mother's name," Starina chuckled weakly.

"And Tyrone was my father," Donovan added, looking relieved that Starina was starting to settle down. "Starina insisted that one of the twins should be named after one of my clan."

"How could I not?" Starina asked as she glanced up at him. "They're your babies, too."

"Are you feeling better now?" Sam asked.

Starina nodded. By now her breathing was back to normal and the shaking had stopped. "Thank you," she sniffed as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall apart like that."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Dean assured her. "Lucrecia was being a bitch, okay? Demons do that. They get under your skin and put crazy ideas in your head."

"But she was right," Starina said as she hid her face with her hands in shame. "If I hadn't been so stupid Michelle would still be alive."

"Starina, that's not true," said Donovan empathically. "You mustn't blame yourself for something you had no control over."

"He's right," Sam agreed. "You said it yourself, your attention was directed elsewhere so you couldn't have known what was going on while your back was turned."

"But even when my back wasn't turned," Starina said as she uncovered her face again. "All those times when I spoke to her face to face, why didn't I sense that she was possessed?"

"Demons are good at tricking people," Dean pointed out darkly. "We've been fooled God knows how many times and we're hunters."

"Lucrecia would've had access to Michelle's memories," Sam explained. "That means she would've known everything about her. Her habits, where she went to work, her mannerisms, everything."

"You don't understand," said Starina as she sat up. "Demons give off a certain type of aura that I can usually detect a mile away. Somehow Lucrecia's found a way to hide her aura so I can't sense it."

Sam and Dean glanced at each other before looking back at her. "Do you have any idea how she might've done that?" asked Dean.

Starina thought hard for a moment. "Yes I think I know how she did it. It's a charm that's usually worn for protection but when it's used in combination with the right spell it can also act as a camouflage of sorts."

"Okay, what kind of charm is it?" Sam asked.

In answer, Starina lifted the hem of her t-shirt to reveal the left side of her distended belly. Leaning in for a closer look the brothers could see a symbol that had been painted on her skin with what looked like terracotta coloured paint. It looked like a strange, loopy sort of cross.

"This is called a Shield Knot," Starina explained. "Going by the name you don't have to guess its purpose. It's how I've been protecting the babies from exposure to any type of energy that'd be harmful to them."

"So you think Lucrecia's using that to block your powers?" asked Dean as Starina pulled her shirt back down.

"I'm almost certain of it," she said bitterly. "It makes sense now. I was exhausted after trapping the Wraith and I was too weak to have sensed much of anything, let alone a demon. Once she possessed Michelle she would've gotten a Shield Knot tattooed on her body before I recovered."

"Alright, so if she's using a Shield Knot with a spell then how do we break it?" asked Sam.

"There're many different designs but like all Celtic knots it's always drawn with one, continuous line," Starina said. "They're designed that way to give the appearance of having no beginning and no end, this keeps the power of the spell flowing. In order to break the spell the line must be cut or broken to stop that flow."

"Well if she's got a Shield Knot tattoo then all we have to do is cut it with the Demon Blade," said Dean, who'd been hoping for an excuse to put the Blade to use.

Starina frowned slightly at him. "Demon Blade? What's that?"

"It's a knife that kills demons," Sam explained. "If it cuts anyone who's possessed the wound won't heal, so if we use it to cut the Knot on Lucrecia it should break whatever spell she's been using."

"May I see it?" Starina asked curiously.

The brothers hesitated and glanced at each other, but quickly came to a silent agreement that Starina could be trusted. "Sure, I'll go get it," said Dean.

As Dean went up the stairs to get the Blade he remembered the Celtic stater that was still in his pocket and his promise to return it. Knowing he might not get another chance the first thing he did was sneak quickly and quietly into Starina's room and put it back in the small wooden chest in the huge trunk at the foot of her bed. When he came back downstairs with the Blade he held it out for Starina to see. Fascinated, Starina carefully took it in her hands as though it was made of spun glass and might break.

"So this is a blade that kills demons," she muttered, turning it over and running her fingers over it. To the brothers' surprise it began to glow bright red. "Interesting."

"Uh Starina, why is it glowing?" Sam asked, leaning away as his brow furrowed with concern.

"It's alright, its power is merely reacting to my energy," Starina assured him. "It happens with a lot of magical or cursed objects. This is a powerful weapon, only truly used well when the right hands wield it," she said as she offered it to Dean. "You're meant to have it, so keep it with you always."

Dean hesitated, thinking the Blade would be blazing hot but when Starina nodded encouragingly he took it and to his amazement it didn't burn him like he was expecting, it just felt warm, like it had been left sitting in the sun. As soon as it was back in his hands the red glow faded.

"So you think this'll work, then?" he asked.

Starina nodded. "I believe it will, yes," she said confidently. "If it can slice the flesh of someone who's possessed by a demon then it'll be enough to break the Shield Knot. But I have to warn you, depending on the spell that's been woven into the Knot breaking it could cause a violent reaction. I suggest you protect yourselves beforehand."

"Protect ourselves? From what?" Sam asked, getting up off the floor.

"Any number of things could happen," Starina said seriously as she stood. "Breaking a Shield Knot could backfire in ways that you couldn't even begin to fathom. It might be best if I do it because I already have a Shield Knot of my own in place."

"Alright, that's not happening," said Donovan decisively, taking her hands in his own. "You've already risked yourself once, I won't let you do it again."

"He's right Starina, it's better if we break the Knot," Dean agreed. "We've dealt with this kinda stuff before."

Starina looked like she wanted to argue but seemed to think better of it and huffed irritably, gently pulling away from Donovan. "Fine, but you're still going to need some sort of protection. Wait here a minute."

As she left the room and went up the stairs Dean turned to Sam and clapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Good job with the panic attack, bro," he praised. "How'd you know to do that?"

Sam shrugged modestly. "One of my classmates at college had a panic attack during an exam. The lecturer calmed her down with that breathing exercise and by asking her who her favourite actor was. I figured asking Starina about the twins would distract her."

"And it worked," said Donovan, sending Sam a grateful look. "Starina's always calmest when she talks about the babies."

"Aw crap," Dean facepalmed as he suddenly remembered something.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked.

"William Cooke," Dean replied, mentally kicking himself. "We haven't told Starina what we found out."

"What did you find?" asked Donovan, frowning with concern. "Is it bad?"

"Oh trust me, it's bad," said Dean. "Turns out William Cooke's a nut-job from London on the run from the cops."

Donovan's frown deepened. "He's a criminal? What did he do?"

"He did genetic experiments on someone and killed them," Sam explained grimly. "We think he's after Starina because she's a Mage and her powers are hereditary."

"He's after my mate? He'll not lay a hand on her," Donovan growled low in his throat and clenched his fists. "I'll tear him apart before he even sets foot on this property!"

"Whoa! Donovan, take it easy!" Dean held his hands up in a calming gesture. "We're not gonna let that freak anywhere near her, okay? Sam and I are gonna stick around after we kill the Wraith and catch the bastard."

The dragon looked surprised. "You are?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "We're not going anywhere until we can get the Impala fixed and it's not like there's gonna be anything else to do while we wait."

"And we figured we owe her for letting us stay here," Dean added. "We can't pay her so it's the least we can do."

Donovan opened his mouth to say something else but the sound of Starina's footsteps on the stairs silenced him.

"Don't tell her," Sam whispered warningly. "She doesn't need to know right now."

Knowing exactly what he meant Donovan nodded to show he understood and the three of them tried not to look as though they'd been talking behind Starina's back as she walked into the room carrying a little tub of what looked like brown paint and a small paintbrush. She sat down on the couch again and took the lid off the tub.

"Alright, who's first?" she asked as she picked up the paintbrush.

"First for what?" Dean frowned warily.

"You need to be protected from the possible ill effects of breaking the Knot," Starina explained. "So I have to put a Shield Knot on you. This is henna ink so it's not permanent. I've been using it for the Knot on my stomach. Now, who wants to be inked first?"

Sam and Dean glanced at each other before Sam huffed and rolled his eyes. "I guess I'll go first," he grumbled. "Wimp," he added, sending Dean his Bitch Face #345.

"Come here and take your shirt off then," Starina instructed, gesturing to the coffee table.

Dean smirked a little as Sam did as he was asked and removed his t-shirt before sitting on the coffee table so that Starina could reach where she needed to place the Knot.

"Okay, now this might be a bit cold," Starina warned as she dunked the tip of the brush in the ink. "But it'll only take a few minutes to dry."

Sam nodded and Starina began to paint the area just below his Anti-Possession tattoo, muttering something under her breath as the brush swept smoothly and easily over Sam's skin. When the design was finished it glowed bright blue for a few seconds before fading, leaving a crisp, clear Shield Knot.

"That's gonna go crusty as it dries," said Starina as she drew back. "Leave it for as long as you can before you scrape it off so that the colour has time to absorb."

"You said this'll come off, right?" asked Sam, looking down at his new "ink".

"It'll fade in a few days," Starina nodded. "Nobody'll ever know it was there. Okay Dean, your turn."

Sam moved so that Dean could take his place and Starina repeated the procedure.

"So just remind me again exactly how this works?" asked Dean when she was finished.

"As I chanted the spell it was woven into the design as I painted it," Starina explained, putting the lid back on the tub of ink. "As long as the Shield Knot remains unbroken the spell's power will always flow. Because your Knots are henna and will fade in time the spell will simply fade along with it."

"Alright, I guess we're all set," Dean said as he stood up and put his shirt back on. "Ready, Sam?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Sam replied. "Let's do this."

"Be careful," Starina warned. "There's no telling exactly what'll happen when you cut the Knot."

The brothers both nodded and they went back down into the basement where Lucrecia was still unconscious. That didn't last long however as Dean scooped up a handful of the Holy water and threw it at her. Instantly her eyes flew open and she let out a scream as the water scalded her.

"Wake up Sunshine, party's not over yet," Dean spoke loudly above the screaming. "In fact, we're just getting started."

Lucrecia hurled him a look that could've melted an iceberg. "Damn you!" she screeched, struggling against the ropes. "Throw that stuff at me one more time I swear I'll-"

Another splash of water cut her off and she screamed again, this time more in fury than pain.

"What were you saying?" Dean asked ironically. "I didn't quite catch that."

"BASTARD!" Lucrecia shrieked.

"Alright Lucrecia, the game's up," Sam said, producing the Demon Blade. "Where's the tattoo?"

The possessed woman narrowed her eyes at him. "What're you talking about?" she hissed.

"The tattoo," said Dean. "You know the one that looks like a bunch of loopy lines and hides your aura?"

Lucrecia looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "I-I don't have a tattoo like that," she snapped. "I don't even know what the hell you're going on about. It's not my fault that Starina's too thick to sense a demon. I had nothing to do with that!"

"Does that sound like denial to you, Sammy?" Dean asked rhetorically.

Sam pretended to think about it for a second. "Yeah, I'm thinking it does."

"I don't have a tattoo like that!" Lucrecia yelled, struggling against the ropes again.

"Oh yeah, that's definitely denial," Dean nodded as Sam handed him the Blade. "Now here's how this works, Lucrecia. Either we do this the easy way and you tell us where the tattoo is or we do it the hard way and we find it for you. What do you say?"

Lucrecia spit at them. "Screw you!"

"Okay, the hard way it is then."

Lucrecia renewed her struggles as the brothers entered the Devil's Trap, unaware of Sam passing the Demon Blade to Dean.

"Now, if I had a tattoo that I didn't want anyone to see, where would I put it?" Dean wondered out loud.

"No! Get away from me!" Lucrecia screeched as they approached her. "You touch me and I'll rip your filthy hands off!"

"Then tell us where the tattoo is," Dean demanded, keeping her attention on himself while Sam walked around behind her.

"I told you, I don't have a freaking tattoo!" Lucrecia snarled, sounding desperate now.

"Now, Sammy!"

Before Lucrecia realised what was happening Sam had her in a choke hold and Dean was tearing her blouse open and ripping it away, leaving Lucrecia in a lacy black camisole. Sure enough, there was a tattoo on the front of her right shoulder. The design was more intricate than Starina's but going by how the lines all connected there was no doubt in Dean's mind that it was indeed a Shield Knot.

"No tattoo, huh?" Dean said sardonically as Lucrecia struggled against Sam's hold.

"No! Don't you dare!" Lucrecia hissed when saw the Demon Blade in Dean's hand. "If you break the Knot you'll ruin everything!"

"Yeah? All the more reason to do it, you evil bitch," Sam growled at her.

With one swipe Dean slashed the tattoo completely in half, slicing all the lines. Lucrecia screamed with pain as the familiar fiery glow shone out of the wound. Then the brothers were both thrown back hard as the power of the spell was released through the cut in an explosion of blinding light. After a few seconds the light faded, leaving Lucrecia slumped in the chair.

"Sam are you okay?" Dean called out, rubbing his shoulder from where he'd hit the floor as he scrambled to his feet.

Sam grunted in response from where he'd been thrown against the opposite wall. "Yeah, I'm good," he muttered.

Just then Starina and Donovan hurried into the basement drawn by all the noise, both of them looking astonished at the scene that lay in front of them.

"Oh my Ériu, are you guys alright?" Starina asked worriedly.

Donovan went over to Sam and hoisted him up effortlessly. "Do you think you broke anything?" he asked in concern.

"Dean, you're bleeding," Starina pointed to a cut on his temple. "Are you dizzy? How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Ugh, two," Dean grunted, touching the cut and hissing at the sting. "Did it work? Can you sense Lucrecia?"

"Yes, but never mind that," Starina said sternly. "You're both hurt and I have to tend your injuries."

Suddenly she yelped and grabbed her head as though she were in pain, falling to her knees and groaning.

"Starina, what's wrong?" Dean asked urgently, kneeling in front of her as Donovan rushed over half-carrying Sam.

"I...I can feel it," Starina gasped, her face scrunched up in agony. "All of Lucrecia's emotions... the memories attached to them... they're coming at me all at once!"

"Lucrecia must've hidden it all in the Shield Knot," Sam said worriedly. "When we broke the Knot it didn't just break the spell, it released all of her emotions."

At that moment Lucrecia's head shot up, her face etched with fury. "You!" she shrieked. "You bastards! What have you done?!"

Allowing Dean to support her Starina got to her feet, still holding her head in one hand as she looked at Lucrecia with a mix of shock and disgust.

"No, what have you done?" she shot back. "Do you have any idea...all the damage you've caused? How could you?"

"What're you talking about Starina?" Sam asked as Donovan set him on his feet.

Starina stepped away so that she was standing at the edge of the Devil's Trap. "Lucrecia, you were never a real Crossroads Demon, were you?"

Lucrecia narrowed her eyes at her. "Just what do you think you're saying?" she hissed. "Of course I'm a Crossroads Demon!"

"I know exactly what you are Lucrecia," Starina shot back. "You're an imposter, a slave and that's all you've ever been, isn't it? A minion, an underling, a servant, always taking orders but never being the one to give them."

"Starina, what're you doing?" Donovan asked nervously.

"Shut up," Lucrecia hissed. "You don't know anything about me!"

"You can't lie to me anymore, Lucrecia," Starina went on. "Even now your emotions are betraying you. You've always been jealous of other demons because they all moved up through the ranks and reaped the rewards while you were stuck at rock bottom. Nothing you did was ever good enough to please your master."

Lucrecia began to tremble with rage. "I said shut up!" she growled.

"Okay, I think you'd better stop now," Dean said edgily as he gently gripped Starina's shoulder. He could feel the tension in the air getting to a dangerous level and he wanted to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand.

But Starina shrugged him off. "Face it Lucrecia," she sneered. "You couldn't have things your way so you threw a tantrum and tried to become something you were never meant to be. You're still a filthy, lying, worthless demon letting a mere Wraith use you as his bitch!"

It immediately became clear that Starina had touched a nerve as Lucrecia's face started turning red with rage and she clenched her fists so hard her knuckles went white.

"Him? Use me?" she spat. "Now that's where you're wrong! Nobody uses me! It's me who's using him!"

The silence that followed this outburst was deafening, only permeated by Lucrecia's harsh, furious breathing.

"Wait a second, that doesn't make sense," Dean spoke up after a few tense seconds. "If you're the one using the Wraith then why did he send you to kill me and my brother?"

Lucrecia chuckled evilly "Dubhshláine was such a pathetic sap. When he summoned me he got down on his knees and begged me to bring his precious woman back to life. On his knees, can you believe it?"

"Then why didn't you do it and give him the ten years?" asked Sam, frowning.

"Where's the fun in that?" Lucrecia asked simply. "Besides, I wasn't really a Crossroads Demon so I couldn't have done it anyway. So I played with him a bit and told him that if he wanted his lover brought back he had to bring me a thousand souls in exchange."

"So that's why he killed all those people," Donovan growled. "You fed him a bunch of lies!"

"Yep," Lucrecia nodded, sounding pleased with herself. "It didn't take much to convince him. I just told him that his tribe betrayed him and let his lover die on purpose under the Priestess's orders. You should've seen him, he flew right off the handle he was so mad!"

Starina shook her head in disbelief and disgust. "You monster, how could you?"

"And then what?" asked Dean, trying to keep his anger in check. "You gave him that crazy power and turned him loose?"

"Oh no, no I did one better," Lucrecia said smugly. "You see, I've always had a special talent for sucking the life out of living things, so I put a piece of my soul into his soul where his powers used to be. I've gotta tell you, corrupting him like that was so satisfying."

"But when the Priestess killed him why didn't you just take his soul back to Hell?" Sam asked.

"Because she wasn't done," Starina said grimly. "In order to summon her Dubhshláine had to use a piece of himself to complete the spell. She used whatever he gave to anchor him to this world and made him think she was helping him carry out his curse. With a piece of Lucrecia's soul bound to his he became that evil spirit, the Wraith."

"That's right," Lucrecia snickered. "When he came back he still insisted on bringing me more souls so that I could resurrect his lover, so he targeted the Priestess's descendants. Of course, Mages are clever bastards and they sealed him over and over again. In fact he got sealed so many times I lost count."

"So that's how he kept escaping," said Sam disgustedly. "You broke the seals."

"Damn right I did," Lucrecia said proudly. "Of course I didn't free him right away. I had to let him rot for a few decades to let his anger simmer before it came to a boil. He was more pissed off every time I let him out!"

"So it wasn't the energy from the powerlines that set him free this time around," Starina paled a little at that statement. "You broke the seals I placed!"

"Exactly!" Lucrecia cackled. "And when Dubhshláine realised you had a hunter with a Holy presence inside him helping you he sent me to kill him and his brother so they couldn't interfere."

"Well the joke's on you Lucrecia because you failed," Dean said with a hint of smugness. "The boss is gonna be real pissed when he finds out."

"And you gave us what we needed," Sam added.

"What?" Lucrecia scowled.

In answer Starina stepped into the Devil's Trap and walked up to her, waving her hand over her. As she did a long, thin black leather necklace appeared around Lucrecia's neck. Lucrecia blanched as Starina snatched it away, snapping the leather. She exited the circle and held up the leather to reveal a small, dirty cloth bag that had been tied to it. At first Sam and Dean thought it was a Hex Bag.

"Is that what I think it is?" asked Dean.

Starina unwound the leather from the top of the bag and let it fall open in her hand. Sure enough, the bag revealed a few small bones, a lump of black soil (no doubt from a grave) and a lock of dark brown hair.

"It's the spell Dubhshláine used to summon her," said Sam, recognising it immediately. "She kept it?"

"Yes, she used it to bind Dubhshláine to her," Starina said, a small smile tugging at her lips. "That way he would always be her prisoner. Now that we have it and she's revealed that she's the source of his power, we can destroy him forever."

Lucrecia chuckled mirthlessly. "Do you really think it's that simple?" she sneered. "You kill me, burn that hair and stab him through the heart and everything's fine and dandy for the rest of your lives? You're more stupid than you look, all of you!"

"The hell are you talking about?" Dean snapped.

"Even without my influence Dubhshláine is still a Wraith," Lucrecia said coldly. "And Wraiths are made up of pure anger and hatred, and the angrier they get the more powerful they become. How angry do you think he is now after all this time? After all the frustration of being sealed over and over again and failing time after time to bring me a thousand souls? I imagine he's not exactly celebrating that fact."

"I'm aware of that," Starina said quietly. "I've always known that the Wraith won't give up without a fight. And if it's a fight he wants then I'll give him one."

"Wait, what?" said Donovan as he gently grasped her shoulder. "What're you talking about, Starina?"

"The Wraith will still be powerful even after we kill Lucrecia and destroy the hair," Starina glanced at him. "He's not just going to roll over and let us kill him. Even with Dean near enough to weaken him there's still going to be a struggle. But once the Wraith's weak enough I can overpower him. Now, let's burn the hair and-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold on there," Dean cut in. "Are you saying you wanna do all this right now?"

"The sooner the better," Starina said forcefully. "This reign of terror has gone on long enough and now I'm going to end it."

"But Starina you can't, it's too risky for you," Sam told her imploringly. "Think about the babies, you'd be putting them in danger and-"

"The twins are safe," Starina snapped at him. "From the moment I found out I was pregnant I've done everything in my power to protect them. I'm not about to let that thing lay a finger on them."

"Starina, please listen to us," Donovan pleaded. "It's not just the babies we're worried about, we're worried about you, too. If something goes wrong-"

Starina yanked herself away from him. "I can look after myself just fine," she snarled.

"Look, we're just thinkin' you should wait until they're born," Dean tried to explain.

"Don't any of you understand?" Starina looked around at them incredulously. "He's been terrorising my family for a thousand years. People, innocent people, are dead because of him. He nearly killed my mother!"

She yelled the last part and by now her chest was heaving with exertion and tears were falling freely down her flushed cheeks. Sam, Donovan and Dean were stunned into silence by this outburst and for a few moments all that could be heard was Starina's harsh breathing. With a sob she shoved Donovan away and fled up the stairs out of the basement as fast as her pregnant body would allow. Then they all flinched when they heard the glass sliding door bang shut.

"Nice one, boys," Lucrecia smirked. "You've really gone and done it now."

Dean turned and punched her again.

End Chapter 8

Sorry for the mess up with this chapter people, I accidentally uploaded the wrong file! Hope you enjoyed the REAL chapter and please stay tuned for the next chapter soon!