Chapter Nine: Eye of the Storm

"There's a time to pray and a time to fight. Anything's a weapon if you're holding it right."

Aiden Winchester had seen a lot in his day. At twenty-four years old he had not only been through a lot, but had seen some things that no one should see. With the apocalypse being nigh and all, he was more than a little on edge. During a normal time, he'd say that he and his brother's were very protective of their sister. Now that she was back and safe, that protective instinct was flaring rather hot. So, John didn't even have to tell Aiden to watch Hailey's back, he would've done it anyway.

Leaning against a tree he watched Hailey settle a few feet away from Singer's Salvage Yard. While Aiden didn't like being out in plain sight, Bobby's wards were too strong to allow Hailey to commune with any spirit. That led to them being out in the open. Hailey reading Colt's journal, looking for anything that could help them. It was a testament to Hailey's nerves that she didn't even flinch when Katherine Colt suddenly appeared.

"You found it," Katie gasped.

"You sound surprised," Hailey smirked. "We have connections."

"Apparently," Katie nodded. "The entries you need should be towards the end."

"Yeah?" Hailey asked, beginning to flip the pages. "Thanks."

"It's really disconcerting see you conversing with the air, Hay," Aiden noted.

"Guess he's not gifted with the sight," Katie noted.

"Nope," Hailey snickered. "Just lucky ole me."

"He seems on edge," Katie said.

"Yeah, well, we're kinda dealing with a lot right now," Hailey shrugged. "Whatever y'all faced back then just resurrected our parents."

"That must be a shock," Katie replied.

"As long as they're actually here, we'll deal," Hailey stated. "They are really them, right?"

"Yes," Katie answered. "When it happened back then, the people that came back were really there. A soul has to be a real soul to have any use."

As Hailey flipped through the journal she mumbled, "I'm relieved to hear you say they're really here and concerned that we're discussing souls."

"You of all people should know how powerful a human soul is," Katie stated, intently. "It's why crossroad demons bargain with them after all. If they weren't worth something then demons wouldn't want them. A soul is power. The more power someone gets, the more formidable they are."

Hailey nodded that she understood what Katie was saying. Right after Katie's explanation of how souls worked, Hailey found the passage she was looking for.

"Shit," Hailey growled. "Shit, shit, shit."

"Hay?" Aiden called.

The youngest Winchester looked white as a sheet as she bolted to her feet and ran full tilt towards Bobby's house.

"Hailey!" Aiden cried, running after his sister.

Bursting into the house, Hailey startled damn near everyone in the living room. Catching the wild look in his daughter's eye, John quickly took control of the situation.

"Family meeting," John called loudly, for those who were not in the living room. "Basement."

As the Winchester's made their way to the basement, it seemed like Fíona was going to try to join them. Bobby quickly shook his head, "Don't rattle that cage, sweetheart."

Fíona looked irritated at not being included in things yet again. Sensing though that this was one argument she wouldn't win, she sat back down on the couch.

"You comin', Singer?" John barked from the basement.

"Yeah, yeah, hold your horses, Winchester," Bobby groused.

As Bobby walked towards the hallway he turned around leveling a stern look at the three Bennett's. "No snooping around. I'll know."

"We'll be good," Bellamy promised. "Mostly because we want to know what the hell is going on here."

"You and me both, boy," Bobby grumbled as he made his was to the basement. "You and me both."

Bobby's basement was probably the least presentable room in the house. Aside from the panic room that he had put in the last time he had a free weekend, there wasn't much down there.

"What did you find out?" John asked.

"When it happened the last time there were seven-"

"Demons?" Sam interrupted.

"No, Sam," Hailey growled. "Archangels. They're the ones who have the ability to resurrect people."

"And why would they do that?" Mary questioned.

"Souls will turn the tide of the war," Hailey replied. "Or at least they did the last time Lucifer was top-side."

"Archangels?" Dean repeated.

"Yep," Hailey shrugged. "The strongest angels in the world."

"Do you have any books about archangels?" Mary asked of Bobby.

"I'm not sure," Bobby sighed. "Hell, we've only known about angels and heaven for a two years now."

"We have people who can track books down, though." Sam suggested.

"Absolutely not," John retorted. "They may have brought us Colt's journal but that doesn't prove they're trustworthy."

"I don't trust Fíona," Hailey stated. "Bellamy and Rowan are different, though."

"Bennett's will always look after themselves first and foremost," John stated.

"Dad, with all due respect things have changed."

"Some things never change," John disagreed.

"That's a sweeping generalization," Hailey retorted. "We're in a war. We can't ignore people who have more connections than us. Even if the family they came from have done selfish things."

"I don't trust them," John barked.

"It isn't about trust!" Hailey replied. "We could use them. Do you know anything about archangels, Dad?"

"Hailey Jade," John began stepping closer to his daughter, obviously not happy with the third degree.

"It's a valid question," Hailey interrupted. "You never mentioned angels or heaven. Is that because you didn't know they existed or you didn't think they did?"

"That's enough," John stated.

"I disagree," Hailey shrugged. "If they can help us find books what harm can they possibly do?"

"With that family anything is possible," John yelled. "And I will not stand here listening to your insolence, young lady."

In a rare show of defiance, Hailey bared her teeth at her father. Completely unafraid of the man's growing ire. John had yet to address his children's attempt at abandoning him at the Whitman's house and it seemed that the hour of reckoning was upon them.

"I don't know who you think you're talking to, little girl," John hissed. "Or the kind of moves you and your brother's are playing at. I taught you how to operate a certain way. You do not leave people behind."

"Do as I say, not as I do, right?" Sam sneered. "How many times did you leave us to fend for ourselves?"

"Or how many times did you hunt by yourself, Dad?" Aiden questioned. "And now that we tried to leave you once, that's out of line?"

"I don't have to justify my decision to you!" John snapped, harshly. "I'm your father."

"Dad, you were dead for years," Hailey said. "We got use to a new status quo."

Mary knew how much her husband could have a hair trigger temper. She was quite aware that when John thought he was right about something, nothing or no one was going to change his mind. And though Mary had missed what were probably loads of arguments between her children and their father, she had her suspicions on how they went. John wasn't likely to listen to something he didn't agree with. And, for their part Mary's children probably didn't like not being listened too. That led to arguments going nowhere fast.

"That's enough!" Mary stated firmly.

Father and daughter stopped in their bickering enough to turn surprised eyes to Mary. Sam, Aiden, and Dean also took a noticeable step back from the fray.

"Here's what we're going to do," Mary began, effortlessly taking charge of the situation. "We're going to give those kids the benefit of the doubt." When John looked like he was going to argue she continued. "If it turns out we can't trust them then we'll deal with that situation as we come to it."

"Mary," John argued.

"I know what the Bennett's are capable of more than anyone," Mary interrupted. "But they seem to have made an effort to separate themselves from their father. You can't help what family you're born into."

"Let's start looking for angel lore," Bobby suggested. "We don't know their time frame and I don't know about y'all but I don't like being in the dark."

John scowled in the older man's direction. Bobby returned the angry look, not one to be cowed by the Winchester temper. Hell, not for the first time, he was questioning ever opening up his home to the Winchesters. If he had known how much of a pain in the ass John Winchester was, maybe he would've told Pastor Jim thanks but, no thanks. Alas, he just had to open his big stinking mouth almost twenty years ago. In that time frame there had been many arguments. Whether that was between the Winchester siblings or Bobby and John, these walls were no strangers to fights.

This current fight seemed to be tabled for the moment. And with the family meeting over people dispersed. It seemed that the Winchesters had the left catching up the Bennett's to him. Hailey and her brother's had gone to look for any books that may be in his library. Mary was on the phone with what sounded like Ellen, getting her best friend up to speed.

John had stayed down in the basement. Seeming to be on a mission to clean his gun collection as noisily as he possibly could. The last time Bobby and John were in the same room, the former had threatened to shoot the latter full of buckshot. Hearing Dean tell it Bobby even cocked the shotgun and everything. Bobby would be damned if he could remember just what the two were fighting about. Hearing the Winchester Patriarch slam around the house, he wasn't sure that history wouldn't repeat itself.

Hailey was frowning at Bobby's library. It was a room that she had to put in order on more than one occasion, however, the room barely ever stayed in some semblance of order. In all her times of reorganization, she couldn't remember every seeing anything about angels. Hunters were a logically people. If no one had first hand experience with something then it didn't exist.

"No luck?" Bellamy asked.

"Winchester's don't have luck," Hailey frowned.

"That's cynical," Bellamy grinned.

"Well, twenty years of life experience says that it's just par for the course," Hailey shrugged. "You ever heard of Angels?"

"Not before this year," Bellamy replied. "We'll find something, though. Journals, communing with spirits, something will work."

Hailey doesn't bother with a response. Hope isn't going to help anything, not here. Not with so much riding on making the right decisions. Bellamy seems to guess where her head is, and lets the topic slide. As she tries to find any book that can help, Bellamy settles on the couch. It's been years since she last saw Bellamy, but sitting there in silence isn't awkward. Things just continue to be how they always were with one another. Even though his last name is different, related to someone she doesn't trust and doesn't like, those feelings don't extend to him.

"We heard your father," Bellamy said some time later. "How he doesn't trust us?"

"He's not the most trusting person, I wouldn't take it personally," Hailey replied.

"I know of my family's reputation," Bellamy shrugged. "It's why my sisters and I have tried to get out of the old man's shadow. Apparently even across the pond that shadow is hard to get out of."

"I trust you, Bellamy," Hailey said, stopping her search to lock eyes with her former classmate. "You and Rowan both."

"And Fíona?" Bellamy questioned.

"I don't trust her," Hailey stated. "She screwed Dean and I over multiple times. I'll be civil but there's absolutely no love lost between she and I."

"She had just broken away from Dad when you ran into her," Bellamy explained. "Fíona took after Dad in a lot of ways, she's tried to get better. From the sounds of it your parents know of my parents but they only know the surface."

Hailey hadn't even heard of the Bennett family until yesterday. But the continual curt dismissal of their help, meant that whatever family they came from was no real friend of theirs. Or at the very least, their father couldn't be trusted. It put them in a uniquely hard situation.

"Raymond Bennett is as smart as he is ruthless," Bellamy stated. "It doesn't matter what a trinket does, if it can turn a profit it doesn't matter how you get it, you just get it. Anyone who got in his way was collateral damage. He won't just take out your knees, he'll go after anyone and everything you hold dear. There is no honor amongst that thief."

"No wonder my parents are arguing about this," Hailey mused. "You're not your father, though."

"Neither is my sister," Bellamy said, harshly. "You don't know her."

"I know what her actions of have caused," Hailey retorted.

"When you first ran into her, she had just left home," Bellamy repeated. "She might've been the oldest but dad wanted a boy. No matter what Fíona did she was never the kid he wanted."

"What do you mean?" Hailey wondered.

"I think it was a bit of the heir and the spare," Bellamy confided. "Dear old Dad wanted a boy. Instead Fíona came out first. Though I don't know if he changed his mind cause Rowan was the his baby girl. Fíona was the one who never could do anything right and she tried. She really did."

Hailey didn't say anything. Despite her difficult upbringing and unconventional life, she never doubted a day of her life that her father loved her. If what Bellamy was truthful then it certainly explained some of Fiona's habits.

New Orleans, Louisiana was one of the capitals of supernatural activity. No one knew exactly why but there were a lot of haunted areas and rumors of a witch stronghold. It wasn't even a secret, amongst the normal populations who wouldn't dream of such things as witches and ghosts being real, they knew of New Orleans reputation.

As Reid Garwin slid between the crowds on Bourbon Street he felt as though he was being watched. The tall and slim blond blended in among the normal populations but the power that flowed through his body was anything but. He walked with a purpose. While New Orleans could throw a great party he was there on official business. As a representative of the Covenant, he had come to demand an explanation into what the nine covens of New Orleans had been up to in recent months.

The French Quarter Coven was one of the biggest active covens, not only in New Orleans but in all of the United States. They practiced a different form of magic than other witch groups, relying on their ancestors. That is why Lafayette Cemetery was a place of worship and strength for their community. It was also highly protected; only a witch could enter its grounds.

Located only twenty minutes away from the heart of the French Quarter, it was relatively easy to get too. Granted he had a lot of time to kill. He was blending in with the surroundings or so he thought until a something stopped him in his tracks.

"Long way from home, Son of Ipswich," A fierce feminine voice growled.

"Is this any way to treat a guest?" Reid retorted, using his own abilities to return the favor on his unknown assailant. "Now do I know you from somewhere?"

"We make it a priority to know who walks our streets," The woman shrugged. "There's enough enemies out there. Strangers stand out."

"In the heart of the French Quarter?" Reid scoffed. "With tourists everywhere."

"You aren't a tourist, honey," The woman laughed.

Reid found himself in a situation he wasn't use to. As a Son of Ipswich he had a fair amount of power. It wasn't often that he was unmatched in a fight. The woman who held him fast, without physically touching him had power in a whole different way. The ancestors of the French Quarter were consecrated in their home, their magic fueling the coven for generations.

He spun on his heel, noticing immediately the superior smirk on the woman's face. She knew that they were outmatched and that it was in her favor. Though petite in stature, he knew that she shouldn't be underestimated. Her hazel eyes were sharp and calculating.

"Do you have a name?" Reid questioned. "We seem to be at a disadvantage."

"I'd say," The woman smirked. "Cassandra Deveraux. What are you doing here, Reid Garwin?"

"I'm here in official capacity, I'm afraid," Reid frowned. "The Nine covens have been quite busy. Enough that it's shaking things up in other area of the country."

"Other parts of the country?" Cassandra frowned. "How so? We're the only groups that practice ancestral magic."

"One of your anchors might be ancestral magic but it's something every witch is in tune with," Reid responded.

"We're doing what we need to survive in this city," Cassandra growled. "Not every witch is content with hiding."

"What are you talking about?" Reid asked.

"Don't play dumb, Son of Ipswich," Cassandra scolded. "Witches aren't the only things that calls New Orleans home. Now if you'll excuse me."

When it looked like Cassandra was going to walk away, Reid let his magic rise to the surface, attempting to stop her. Cassandra, however, was clearly expecting that reaction moving quicker than Reid could track, casting a spell that blurred his vision. By the time that Reid reversed the spell, Cassandra was gone.

"Clever girl," Reid mumbled to himself.

It was clear that even the strength of the Covenant that Reid belonged to was outmatched in this city. Digging into his pockets, he pulled out his cell phone dialing the first number that came to mind.

"Hey, Reid, how'd it go?" Caleb Danvers asked.

As the eldest Son, Caleb was viewed as the leader of the group. When they were younger it had been a point of contention between the two. Something that both Pogue Parry and Tyler Simms didn't understand. Some time ago, Reid probably would've attempted to fix this situation by himself, regardless of whether or not he was outmatched. Now, however, he realized that the Covenant would always be stronger together.

"There was an unexpected hiccup," Reid sighed. "The coven's power is strong. I could use some assistance."

"Shit," Caleb hissed. "We'll be there. We just won't be there before they work their ritual."

"Exactly," Reid said. "We can't stop this. They know I'm here."

"Keep your head down, Reid," Caleb replied. "Be careful. The coven doesn't like to harm fellow witches but if you get in the way they might make an exception."

"I'm going to try to see the ritual," Reid announced. "I may not be able to stop it, but I can see what they're doing, at the very least."

"Just be careful," Caleb repeated.

"I will," Reid promised.

The Nine Covens of New Orleans often banded together, however, they operated separately. They each had their own unique specialties. Each of the nine could use each magic groups specialty in a pinch and operated largely together. The regent was the leader of all nine covens and had the unique position of being the ancestor's conduit. As such she had the access to any ancestor, in any coven.

Within Layette cemetery was a building called the Lycée, which was where the French Quarter witches taught the younger members how to control their abilities. It was two floors, the first floor was used as a meeting place, while the second floor was a green house, which had a vast number of herbs and magic ingredients. Just outside that building was where tonight's ritual seemed to be taking place.

Reid cast a quick spell in order to remain unseen. He hoped that it was enough, knowing well enough that this cemetery was the whole witch community's source of power. That meant that he could cast each and every spell he knew to keep himself hidden and it still might not be enough.

The full moon was high in the sky when the doors of the Lycée opened. The elders of all nine covens, dressed in grey filed out first, making the gathered crowd grow quiet. The next person who came out was a tall, curvy woman dressed in black. She was in her early fifties at the most with dark brown hair styled in a braided chignon. Her hazel eyes were sharp, sweeping over the gathered crowd. When her gaze settled right where Reid was hiding, he felt his heartbeat quicken in preparation, only to settle as she continued looking around.

Drusilla Deveraux was a formidable woman and seeing Cassandra standing near her mother, Reid now knew where the latter got her iron spine. Drusilla walked to a stone table as two other elders holding torches lit two fire pits.

"Witches of New Orleans!" Drusilla exclaimed. "Tonight we come together as a people to take back our home!"

The people gathered cheered.

"For far too long our coven has sat back while the monsters of this city have bullied and bled this city dry," Drusilla growled. "Vampires and werewolves think that they have us down and out but they're wrong!"

"Yeah!" The crowd rallied.

Reid's head swam at the information he was hearing. Of course he knew of the existence of both vampires and werewolves, but to hear them being discussed so casually boggled his mind. If only the Son of Ipswich knew that unlike in other areas of the country, in New Orleans three supernatural groups had come to call this place home. It was a bitter turf war that had shed blood on all three sides. Only now it was clear that it was the witches of New Orleans were out for blood.

Drusilla nodded at a group of people waiting in the doorway of the Lycée and the marched out. On stretchers were what looked like four bodies, covered in white sheets. Each stretcher was laid out next to one in other in front of table Drusilla was standing by.

Reid's eyes were round as saucers. Already this ritual was a lot darker than he was expecting. It was then Reid Garwin remembered that all nine covens had no qualms using sacrificial magic and with the looks of what laid on those four stretchers the ritual tonight was only the continuation of what the covens had already started.

"Witches of the French Quarter!" Drusilla called. "Do you believe in the Harvest?"

Drusilla waited for noises of agreement to die down before she continued. "After the harvest comes the reaping. Their sacrifices are made and accepted. We call upon our elders to resurrect their chosen ones."

Two women clad in gray each stepped forward. They quickly said an incantation and tapped each of the white sheets before stepping back. A great gust of wind suddenly blew through the cemetery causing the hair on the back of Reid's neck to stand on end as the strength of the gust blew past him, blowing the sheets off. Almost at once each young woman on the stretcher sat up with a gasp, before clasping one another's hands. Each young girl seemed to be glowing as the gathered crowd fell to their knees seemingly overwhelmed with what they had witnessed.

Stepping around the stone table Drusilla stood in the middle of the four girls. Reid could feel the sheer power in the air. The ancestor's hold had clearly strengthened, a fact that the gathered covens were relishing.

"To oppose us is to oppose the natural order," Drusilla began. "By choice or by force, we shall rise again."

With Drusilla's words the wind picked back up, blowing out the all the fires in the cemetery, leaving just the moonlight to bathe down on the coven. As people began to leave, Drusilla and Cassandra hugged each of the newly resurrected girls. Reid began to leave only to find himself once again pinned in place.

"Where are you off to so fast, Reid Garwin?" Drusilla called. "You could have been an honored guest at tonight's festivities instead of lurking about."

Reid became nervous when he was not the one to break the spell that kept in hidden. Instead it fell away with a sweep of Drusilla's hand as she strode forward. It was then he realized that the regent of the nine covens had known he was there the entire time. Thinking fast he said a quick incantation that would tell his brothers that he was in trouble. In the moment it took to say the incantation, Drusilla had said one as well. For the second time that night, Reid was outmatched and as he crumbled to the ground unconscious, he only hoped that his brother's had gotten his message.