PART 3

Dean woke up with a terrible headache. He rubbed his head, looking around. What the…? He thought to himself. This wasn't the motel room. This wasn't even a room. He shuffled to his feet, confused. He was in an ally somewhere. He pressed his hand to his temples, trying to remember where he was, why he was in an ally at… he looked at his watch. A little after five in the morning. Nothing. He couldn't remember a thing. He called out for Sam, but Sam was nowhere to be seen. Tossing a coin, he chose a side and walked out of the ally. Still nothing. He had no idea where he was. Or why. He kept walking. The buildings seemed familiar though. Especially that big one over there. And then he saw the Impala. Well, one thing for sure, he came here on his own. Looking at the house, he fought to remember. Oh, yeah, the party, it came to him. But he still had no clue as to why he found himself in an ally, or worse, where was Sam?

Dean walked over to the Impala. Great. The one thing I didn't mind losing… He thought as he noticed Claudia leaning against it. She seemed really tired, but relieved at seeing him.

"I figured I hang around this car, sooner or later you'd show up." She said. "Where's Sam?" Dean frowned.

"What do you mean, he's not with you?" he asked.

"Sort of implies from the question, doesn't it?" Claudia asked, "Why didn't you tell me you were leaving the party? I would have come with you." She said reproachfully.

"Whoa, wait a minute, I didn't leave the party. At least, I don't remember leaving it…" Dean said quickly. Claudia raised a brow.

"Drink much?" she crossed her arms across her chest.

"No. Not that much. And where the hell is Sam?"

"Look, last I saw of him was about nine thirty." She said, then wrinkled her brow. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen Lucy, either. I've been waiting here since eleven, and I haven't seen her come out." She said, suddenly looking as nervous as Dean felt. He quickly took out his cell phone, calling Sam, but only got the voicemail. He hung up.

"He's not answering his cell." Dean said, fighting a rush of panic.

"Come on, I have Lucy's address in my room. Maybe Sam left with her." Claudia said, getting in the car.

Claudia had to remind Dean of the speeding limit at least three times as he rushed to the motel, and then to Lucy's house. They got there at six. Claudia speculated they might still be asleep, but Dean didn't really care. He didn't know where Sam was. Nothing else mattered. Claudia didn't argue, which was a little strange, since she seemed to be taking pleasure in arguing with him. She knocked on the door. A woman in a robe answered the door, looking rather surprised at the early visit.

"Mrs. Granger, hello. I don't know if you remember me…" Claudia started.

"I remember." Mrs. Granger stopped her, "You were here the other day, asking all these questions." Claudia glanced at Dean.

"Mrs. Granger, is Lucy home?" she asked. Mrs. Granger looked suspiciously at them.

"What do you want with Lucy at this hour?" she demanded. Claudia smiled.

"We just want to ask her a few questions. It's really important." She said. Mrs. Granger didn't seemed convinced.

"She's still in bed." She said.

"Could you wake her, please?" Claudia asked, "I know it's early, trust me, I wouldn't be asking if it weren't impartant. We really need your daughter's help, Mrs. Granger." Claudia said pleadingly. Mrs. Granger hesitated a moment longer, and then invited them in.

"I'm sorry, I really can't help you." Lucy said, "I only stayed at the party for an hour or so. I couldn't take it. Not so soon after Maggie…"

"And you didn't see Sam? You didn't notice him leaving or something?" Dean asked anxiously. Lucy shook her head.

"No. From what I saw, he was with her most of the time." She said, motioning her head at Claudia. Dean stared at Claudia for a long moment.

"Lucy, Sam didn't come home last night, do you have any idea where he might go?" Claudia asked, but Lucy shook her head again.

"No, not really. I'm sorry, I wish I could help you, but I really don't know." She said. Dean gave Claudia another look, and then thanked Lucy.

Claudia followed Dean back to the Impala, getting inside. Dean put the keys in the ignition, but then changed his mind. He looked at Claudia.

"I want to know what the hell's going on." He said.

"Me, too." Claudia said, glancing back at Lucy's house. "She's lying again. You think she has something to do with it?" she turned to look at Dean.

"What, with Sam or the other thing?" he asked.

"Both."

"I don't know." Dean said. He bit his lower lip. "I don't get it, he spent most the evening with you, and you don't know where he is?" he asked, looking intently at Claudia.

"Thing is, I hardly spent any time with Sam." Claudia said.

"Right."

"What, you don't believe me?" Claudia asked, frowning.

"I don't know, you and Sam are practically inseparable these last couple of weeks." Claudia blinked.

"I like Sam." She said. Dean kept staring at her. "Are you saying I had anything to do with it? That I know where he is and I'm not telling you?" she demanded. Dean still said nothing. "Are you kidding me!" she shrieked.

"Hi, you did use me as bait…" Dean said, raising his hands. Claudia stared at him, appalled, for a long moment. "I'm just saying, Sam hasn't quite been himself these last couple of weeks. He's… distracted." Dean added. Claudia swallowed, giving him an icy glare.

"You're a real piece of work, you know that?" she said coldly and got out of the car. Dean sighed, rolling his eyes, and followed her out of the car.

"Hi, where are you going?" he called out after her as she started to leave.

"I'm going to find Sam and do my job." She said, not slowing down or even turning to look at him. "Wouldn't want to distract you or anything." Oh, great. Now I'm stuck with all that chick stuff? Sammy had better be all right, 'cause I'm totally gonna kill him for that! Dean thought.

"Oh, just get in the car." He cried after her, but Claudia walked away. "Hi, I'm not going to beg you, you know." Dean cried out, "Get back in or I'm leaving you here!" he warned her, but she ignored him. "Whatever." He muttered. This wasn't his job anyway, being all sensitive and such. If Sam wanted to ride around with a chick, he should be the one to handle all the drama, Dean thought as he got back inside his Impala and drove off.

Dean parked his car not far from where the party took place the previous night. He got out, taking a better look at his surroundings than he did earlier that morning. Leaning against the Impala, Dean tried Sam's mobile again, but still received no answer. He was getting even more nervous. Walking over to the house, he knocked on the door. A young, red headed woman opened the door. She's cute, Dean thought, but quickly reminded himself what he was really there for.

"Can I help you?" the woman asked. Dean smiled at her.

"Hi, my name's Trevor, I was at the party here last night." He started.

"Yeah, I know, I remember." The woman said. Dean was tongue-tied for a moment. At that, she smiled. "You don't remember me, do you?" she asked. Dean scratched his head.

"Should I?" he asked. The woman's smile grew wider and she flushed a little.

"Look, I'm sorry about the punch. We do this every time, you know, practical jokes and stuff." She explained. "How's your head?" she added. Dean wasn't exactly sure what to say. Well, at least now he knew what had happened last night. The woman mistook his hesitation for anger. "Look, I'm really sorry, but hi, at least I talked them out of throwing you in the dumpster." She said. Dean raised his brows. My brother's missing, I woke up in an ally this morning, but hi, at least you talked them out of throwing me in a dumpster? Who are you people? Dean thought.

"Thanks." He said clumsily. "Listen, did you pull a practical joke on anyone else?" he asked. Maybe they did the same thing to Sam. Maybe he was in a dumpster around here. That would be funny, though, he thought, I wonder if they could ever fit him in a dumpster. His legs must have been sticking out… The woman nodded lightly.

"A few people." She said, and Dean started to feel hopeful.

"Was one of them really tall, dark hair, dark eyes, looking like he's never had a good time in his life?" he asked. The woman shook her head, shrugging.

"I don't know." She said, "We've got a couple of crushers, though. You know, people who passed out, stayed the night. You want to come in, check it out?" she offered. Dean thanked her, getting inside.

It was painfully obvious someone threw a party here last night. The place was thoroughly trashed. A few unfortunate people were trying to clean up the mess, picking up empty glasses and beer cans, moving furniture back to place and such. Dean was about to ask that woman where he could find the people that stayed over when someone hit him over the head with something heavy and all went dark.

This was the second time today that Dean had woken up with a headache. And this time was worse. He was tied to a chair, his legs bound. A few thought, feelings and curses went through his mind, but one of them won by a mile. Relief. He may have been knocked out by someone and tied to a chair somewhere for who-knows-what purpose, someone might come in any second and try to kill him, but at least Sammy was right there, tied up to a chair across from him. Even Claudia was there, passed out on the floor with her hands tied behind her back.

"Hi, Sammy?" Dean looked at his brother. "You know, saving your ass is really starting to be a pain." Sam smiled.

"Took you long enough." He said. Dean took a better look around, trying to free himself.

"What the hell?" he asked. They handcuffed each of his hands to the hand rests. He couldn't even move. Sam shook his head.

"I don't know." He said, "But you're lucky. They gave her the same stuff they gave me last night. I'm still a little dizzy." Sam said, motioning at Claudia.

"What happened?" Dean asked, still fighting the cuff on his hands.

"I'm not sure," Sam said in a small voice, "but I'm starting to think what happened at that last party wasn't a séance. I followed Lucy up here last night. Dean, they have some pretty dark stuff up here. Strange symbols, pentagrams everywhere, and I think I saw a dark alter."

"So, what, you think they're involved with dark magic or something? That they're trying to conjure something up?" Dean asked, wishing he had a paperclip with him.

"I don't know." Answered Sam. "But I think we're going to find out soon."

Well, not exactly soon. The three of them had been tied up in that room for hours, and no one as much as popped his head in to say hi or try and kill them or anything. At least not until late that night, when Dorian unlocked the door and walked in, looking with satisfaction at all three of them. Dean and Sam were still just as they left them; tied to the chairs with no way out, whereas Claudia sat on floor, her head resting against the wall. She looked like she had a serious hung-over. No wonder, considering what they'd slipped in her drink.

"You've been here for quite a while." Dorian noted, "Anyone else gonna be looking for you?" he asked. Claudia glanced at him.

"Probably." She said, "I'm pretty popular." Dorian smirked, crouching next to her.

"I'll bet you are." He said, his eyes lingering on her body. She was all tied up… no, he forced the thought out of his head. They had other plans for her. Better plans. He glanced at the other two. "I hope you're all comfortable. You're going to be here a while." He said, and then got up and started to leave. Dean called out for him, taunting him, trying to get a little more information, but Dorian knew better than that. He left the room, locking it behind him. Dean cursed. Claudia waited a couple of minutes more, to make sure he wasn't coming back, before she got to her feet. Their handcuff stock must have run dry, because they tied her up with ropes. That was a stupid mistake, but hi, it worked for her. She was all for them making stupid mistakes. She walked over to the door, listening for a couple of seconds.

"I think he's gone." She said, looking back at Sam and Dean.

"Good. Now you mind freeing us?" Dean looked at her as she neared Sam.

"Sure. What do I do? I don't have the keys." Claudia said. Are you kidding me? Dean thought.

"I'm finding it hard to believe you've never had to get out of a pair of cuffs before." He joked, but, apparently, that didn't go on too well.

"Fine!" she snapped at him, obviously upset, "I thought you wanted my help, but if you'd rather take shots at me, go ahead." She snapped, crossing her hands across her chest. "I'm not the one cuffed to a chair." She added with a slight smile. She was rather enjoying it.

"Okay, okay, just get me a paperclip or something so I can get us out of these cuffs and we'll get the hell out of here!" Dean said quickly. He was definitely going to talk to Sam about all that chick stuff. It wasn't working, and it annoyed the crap out of him. Claudia reached in her pocket, taking out a safety pin.

"Would that work?" she asked. Dean raised his brows. Well, maybe there was hope to her yet. He thought, but didn't say anything. He started working on his cuffs, but as each of his hands had been tied separately, it was quite impossible. Oh, crap! He thought as he heard the sound of nearing footsteps.

"Hi, you want to help me with that?" he snapped at Claudia.

"Not really." She said, getting back to where she had been sitting before and putting the ropes back around her legs. "Besides, I wouldn't know where to start. I've never done that before." She added.

"That's just freakin' great." Dean muttered, trying to work faster, but it was pointless. A couple of seconds later Dorian walked back in, now wearing a geeky looking black robe with a large gold talisman around his neck. Dean rolled his eyes. Oh, what a geek! Who wears that stuff?

"It seems you're not a popular as you thought." Dorian said, "You've been here all day, and there's no one looking for you. So it seems we got lucky." He smirked.

"And why's that?" Sam demanded. Dorian turned to him.

"We thought that, with everything that's happened, we would have to wait a long time before we can throw another… party." He said, crouching next to Claudia again, eying her, and then glanced back at Sam. "But as luck has it, here you are, all tied up and ready to be sacrificed." He smirked again, "And no one would be looking for you." Dean glanced at Sam.

"Wait, you're going to sacrifice us? The three of us?" Claudia asked. Dean looked at her, half-expecting her to panic and start crying. He rolled his eyes at the thought. What was Sam thinking, taking a chick along? He wondered for the nth tine. Dorian smiled, nearing Claudia even more.

"Exactly." He said, stroking her cheek with his finger, "Last time it wasn't pleased with our offering. Things got… out of hand." He said, pausing for a moment, and then went on. "But this time, this time it will be pleased." He said confidently, getting back to his feet.

"You're an idiot." Claudia said, looking up at him. Dean couldn't help but grinning. Okay, he thought, that took guts. Dorian seemed irritated.

"Excuse me?" he demanded. Claudia didn't flinch. She looked straight at him, no sign of fear in her voice as she spoke.

"That chick, Lucy, she lied." Claudia said, "You're not doing a séance, you're trying to raise a demon, aren't you? That's why you need human sacrifice, and probably why you're wearing that ridiculous robe." She said, watching the expression change on Dorian's face. "You're an idiot." She repeated. "One person is enough to raise a demon. Three are just a waste. If you made a sacrifice and things still got messed up, it's because you were doing it all wrong." She said, getting stunned looks from all three of the guys, but she ignored them. She knew what she was doing.

"What would you know about raising a demon?" Dorian demanded. Claudia smiled.

"Well I'm no expert." She said, "I mean, I've only done it five or six times…" she added, her eyes locking those of Dorian. Three completely stunned men looked at her again.

"You're lying!" Dorian snapped. Claudia shrugged.

"Whatever. Go ahead, sacrifice us. You're gonna die too." She said casually. Dorian hesitated.

"You're trying to mess with me." He said, "You'll do anything to get out." Claudia seemed amused at that.

"Probably." She said, "Then again, I am suicidal, so you'll never know. I mean, you don't exactly see me crying and screaming for help, do you?" she noted. Dorian hesitated for a moment, glancing at Sam and Dean, and then left the room, locking it behind him.

"What the hell was that all about?" Dean demanded.

"Just play along." Claudia said.

"Well is any of what you've just said true?" Dean went on.

"Look, you want to get out of here? Just play along!"

"Sure, just let them sacrifice us?" Dean glanced at Sam.

"Of course not!" Claudia cried, "Look, I may be suicidal, but there's no way a geek in a dress is going to kill me!"

A few minutes later Dorian returned, accompanied by another guy. Dorian motioned at Claudia.

"That's the one." He said, "She said she's done it before. She says the sacrifice was all right, and that something went wrong with the ceremony." He said. The other guy looked disbelievingly at him.

"Nothing went wrong with the ceremony! I translated it myself!" he said.

"Well maybe you shouldn't have." Sam said, playing along, "I mean, sometimes, especially with ancient texts, certain words have double meanings that translate differently. It's always best to use the original language." He added authoritatively.

"And you know many people who are fluent in Latin?" the guy asked him.

"I am." Claudia said. The guy looked doubtfully at her. "I do, I was a history major. It was a requirement for one of the seminars I took." She said. The guy glanced at Dorian for a moment, and then took out a folded piece of paper from an inner pocket. He unfolded it, showing it to her, a doubtful look still on his face.

"Read this." He ordered. And she did. The guy gave Dorian a surprised look, getting to his feet. "If you think you can do a better job than we did, if you can summon this demon, we'll let you live." He told Claudia. "Of course, if you lie, all three of you will die." He added, his look crossing from Claudia to Sam and Dean. Claudia glanced at Sam.

"You bet I can do a better job." She told him. He gave a slight nod.

"Okay." He said, nodding lightly. "Tell everyone the party's on." He told Dorian. "We'll take this one." He said, pointing at Sam.

"Touch him and I'll kill you!" Dean cried.

"Don't worry, there's always a next time." The guy smiled, "You'll have your turn." He added. Dean glowered angrily at him.

"I wouldn't do it if I were you." Claudia said quickly. He looked at her, a little amused. "I bet that's why it didn't work the last time, too. Man, you people are such morons." She rolled her eyes, trying to look as casual as she could. Dorian and the other guy seemed irritated at that. She sighed. "You drugged him, there are still traces in his system. His blood is probably all murky." Claudia explained. "What demon would want that? Take the other one if you want this to work." Claudia said, hoping they would buy into her lies. She liked Sam. A lot. But from what she had seen so far, Dean was the more skilled fighter. The two men exchanged another glance. The guy considered her words for a moment, and then gave a slight nod.

"Get everyone ready." He said, "I'll go get the book. And take him." He added, cocking his head at Dean. Dorian gave him a slight nod, and then he left.

"You guys are lucky." Dorian said, grinning, "You get to be a part of something other people can't even imagine!" he said, and then quickly left, locking the door behind him.

"Now what?" Sam asked, looking at Claudia, and then at Dean. Claudia motioned him to be quiet. She quickly got up, walking over to Dean, slipping him her carved knife. He looked at her, shocked.

"You had that knife on you all along?" he asked, amazed, "I thought they took it."

"Well, you thought wrong." She said quietly.

"You can't be serious. You're not going to help them summon a demon, are you?" Sam demanded. Claudia looked at him.

"Just play along, would you?" she urged him, "I know what I'm doing." She added, turning back to Dean. "And by the way, if anything happens to that knife, I'm totally keying your car!"

TBC

A/N: It's a little longer, I know, but the party is just starting… Review please, I love to know what you think!