Seven Devils

Chapter 18 / Maiden, Mother, Crone

"Pour everything out for the blood you have shed, you're wasting your time in appeasing the dead."

— Aeschylus "The Orestia"

The part of town they were travelling through was completely deserted. No humans, no Croats, nothing — it almost seemed too quiet, Dean thought. Nothing but the sound of angry steps and an occasional can being tossed away. It was just him, his psychotic alter ego, Marlene, Cas, Risa, and a couple of guys from the camp.

Marlene was trudging behind, away from the rest of the group. But Dean knew that there was one person in particular she was avoiding. He slowed his step and waited for everyone else to walk ahead, "So, Mary-Kate over there isn't wild about you being here."

Marley's mouth twitched, "I think he's more of an Ashley. And I don't give a crap," she gripped her rifle tighter, eyes scanning the upper levels of the abandoned buildings.

"Cas said you rarely go on missions," Dean pointed out.

"I'm surprised he could tell seeing as he was stoned for all of them."

"Still, it's — "

Marley aimed her rifle and pulled the trigger without a moment's hesitation. A dead Croat fell from a window. Dean gaped at her, "Where'd you learn to shoot like that?"

"Bobby taught me," Marlene said quietly after a beat of silence, "He was the only one who had the patience," she gave him a side-eye and kept walking.

"Hey — what happened to him? I've been to the house, found the wheelchair..."

"He, uh...he died. Pretty early on, about three years ago."

"What happened?"

"What always happens: Croats, a horde of them," Marley replied darkly, "I was there. Robby and I both," Dean glanced over at her, "Bobby held them back so we could get away."

That was an honorable death. A way to go worthy of a man like Bobby Singer — giving his life to protect a girl and her little son. Sacrificing himself. You old grump, Dean shook his head with a rueful smirk. He'd be sure to give the old man a hug when he returned.

"You came because of Sam, didn't you?"

Marley's step became angrier, "Sam's dead."

"You don't think so."

She cut Dean a stern look, "That's because I'm an idiot. If I weren't, I would be with my son right now."

"Believing in something doesn't make you an idiot, " he told Marley and then added upon further consideration, "Unless it's something really stupid. But this? This — actually, this might be kind of stupid."

"Gee, thanks — "

"— But it's also baddas," Dean turned to her. She seemed a little taken aback, "Look, that's the way I see it. Everyone's given up on Sam. Hell, even his own brother thinks he's a lost cause," he said grimly, "But you — you still believe he can be saved."

Marley stayed silent for a moment, failing to find the right words, "Wow, chill, Winchester," she finally said, mouth curved into a small smile, "Or I might think you actually like me."

The group stopped in front of a wire fence gate surrounding a tall brick building. "Jackson County Sanitarium" said the rusty plate. "Get down," future Dean commanded and took out a pair of binoculars, "There. Second-floor window. We go in there."

"You sure about this?" Risa asked.

There was a slight pause before he replied, "They'll never see us coming." No one seemed overly reassured by it. "Trust me." Dean narrowed his eyes at his future self. Something wasn't right, "Now, weapons check. We're on the move in five."

"Hey, uh, me," Dean called, "Can I talk to you for a sec?" His asshole twin from the future stood up and very reluctantly followed Dean to the side, "Tell me what's going on."

Future Dean frowned, "What?"

"I know you. You're lying to these people and to me."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah," Dean told him, "See, I know your lying expressions. I've seen them in the mirror. Now, there's something you're not telling us."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Dean 2.0 insisted innocently.

"Oh, really? Well, I don't seem to be the only member of your posse with some questions. So, uh, maybe I'll just take my doubts over to them," Dean moved back to the group and that was when the other cracked.

"Okay, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait," he blocked his path.

Dean stopped, annoyed, "What?

"Take a look around you, man," his future self whispered, "This place should be white-hot with Croats. Where are they?"

Dean knew something was off about that. The city should've been swarming with those bastards, but the streets were empty, almost as though... "They cleared a path for us," he realised, "Which means that this is —"

"— a trap," the ghost of 2014 said plainly, "Exactly."

Dean frowned, "Well, then we can't go through the front."

"Oh, we're not. They are," his future self glanced at the group, "They're the decoys. You and me, we're going in through the back."

That son of a bitch...

"You mean you're gonna feed your friends into a meat grinder?" Dean looked at him in disbelief, "Cas, too? Marlene? You want to use their deaths as a diversion?"

"I told her not to come," future Dean looked away, "She didn't listen."

Dean narrowed his eyes at him, "Oh, man, something is broken in you," he shook his head, disappointed. How could he have become...that? Soulless, selfish piece of shit who didn't give a rat's ass about anything but the mission. Even his own family, "You're making decisions that I would never make. I wouldn't sacrifice my friends."

"You're right," his future self said cooly, face unwavering, "You wouldn't. It's one of the main reasons we're in this mess, actually."

Dean glared at him, "These people count on you. They trust you."

"They trust me to kill the devil and to save the world. And that's exactly what I'm gonna do."

"No," Dean challenged, "Not like this, you're not. I'm not gonna let you."

The other one quirked a brow, "Oh, really?"

"Yeah — "

The last thing Dean saw was a fist going straight for his face.

𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐

Another body was discovered by a highschool student that morning, floating face down in the community pool. Kayleigh Tinkers, seventeen years old, bites on the neck, blood drained, traces of snake venom in her system — everything was exactly the same. Only when the police came over to her house to deliver the sad news to the parents, they found Mr and Mrs Tinkers murdered in their bed. The officials decided it was a triple homicide committed by the same person who'd killed Charlie. But Marlene and Sam knew that they would find no venom in the blood of Kayleigh's parents.

Because she was the one who'd murdered them, just like Charlie had tried to kill his mother that night. The only question was why those teenagers had been driven to attack their parents? It obviously had something to do with the venom, but there was no clear pattern. If the creature was targeting teenagers with a sick vendetta against their families, then why bite Marlene and Sam? It didn't make any sense.

Marley's brows were furrowed into a deep frown while she was going through yet another useless website. She'd stayed behind and do some research while Sam and Sheriff Dickson were in Caney to see Kayleigh's body. And since Marley still hadn't completely recovered from the last excursion, she'd decided to pass and be of use in Tyro, instead.

But so far her research had been nothing but useless. Apparently, there were no monsters who made you want to kill your parents — shocker. Marlene made a mental note to clear the browser history after she's done.

"Yes?" she answered when her phone rang.

"How's the research going?" Sam asked.

"Uh, it's...going. What about you? Found anything interesting?"

"Actually, that's why I'm calling. Any chance you studied Ancient Greek?"

Marley sat up straighter, "Yeah."

"There was something on Kayleigh's palm," Sam said, "A carving."

"Jesus..."

"I'm sending you the photo right now."

Marlene's phone buzzed. With trembling hands, she clicked on the attached file. The skin of the palm was pale and wrinkled from being in water for too long, which only made the red outline of the Greek letters more prominent.

"Did you get it?" Sam's voice came from the speaker.

"Y-yes, I..."

"Hello, Emily."

Marley almost dropped the phone, startled. Tiffany was standing in the door, looking at her with those big green eyes, "I'm so sorry to barge in —"

"It's okay," Marlene assured her, "Sam, we'll talk when you get back," she hung up the phone without waiting for the reply.

"I hope I didn't interrupt anything?" Tiffany said with a grimace.

"No, no, it's...nothing. Is everything okay? Did something happen?"

"Oh, no," the blonde smiled, "Meghan and I were just wondering if you'd like to join us for some tea? I made cookies."

Marley looked at her laptop — there was a lot of research was to be done... "Uh..."

"Come on, you've been at it for hours. You need a break," Tiffany insisted, "Some sugar to boost your energy?"

That wasn't such a bad idea, Marlene figured. She was already going crazy from staring at the computer screen, and how could anyone in their right mind say no to freshly baked cookies? Definitely not her. Besides, if Marley wouldn't leave that room at least for a couple of minutes, she'd burst into flames like a witch in a church.

"Hey, Emily," Meghan beamed at her from the dining table.

Marley returned the smile, "Hey. Thanks for letting me join."

"Thanks for joining. Tiffany is such a bore, I'd snooze if you weren't here." The older sister rolled her eyes and poured Marlene a cup of steaming hot tea. "So, how's the investigation going?" Meghan asked.

Tiffany shot her a pointed look, "She's not allowed to tell us, Meghan. Right, Emily?"

Marlene was looking at them dumbly, a chocolate chip cookie in hand, "Yeah, sorry," she answered at last, "I'm afraid it's...confidential." Marley took the sip of the tea. It was camomile — how appropriate. She desperately needed to be soothed.

"I'm just saying, it's so cool what you're doing," Meghan said excitedly, "All the agent stuff. You're like one of those badass women on TV."

"Meghan."

"Uh, thank you?..."

"And Agent Broderick is so dreamy," the girl sighed, nibbling on her cookie, "Tiffany totally has a crush on him."

Her older sister blushed, "I do not!" she said indignantly.

"Do too! Say, Emily," Meghan flashed her shrewd green eyes to Marley, "Are you two together?"

She almost choked on the tea, "W-what?"

"You know," the girl raised a suggestive brow, "Are you partners partners?"

"N-no. No, we're not partners partners," Marlene spluttered, "We're just partners. The regular ones. Without any, uh, weird stresses."

Tiffany shot her younger sister a "told you" look, "See?"

"Well, that doesn't prove anything. I think Agent Broderick likes you," Meghan said matter-of-factly.

Marley let out a disbelieving snort, her cheeks growing slightly pink, "That's ridiculous."

"Is it?" Meghan challenged, "Momma used to say that boys are only mean to you cause they like you."

Marlene's smile fell, "What do you mean?"

"Meghan," Tiffany said sternly, "Enough with it."

The younger girl lowered her eyes, "Sorry, Emily."

"No, tell me," Marley insisted, "What did you mean?"

"It's nothing. Meg's just imagining things," Tiffany assured her.

"No, I'm not," the other sister muttered, "I heard him say it. On the phone."

Marlene frowned. Was Sam talking to Bobby again? Were they talking about her?

"Meghan, what did he say?" she asked, voice trembling with desperation.

The teenager looked at her older sister. Tiffany gave her a reluctant nod, "I think he was talking to your boss or something," Meghan mumbled, "He was saying that he couldn't work with you anymore, that it wasn't right. He also mentioned something about lying?" The words washed over Marlene like a bucket of ice-cold water, "I'm so sorry, Emily, it's none of my business — "

The front door opened and Sheriff Dickson walked in with Sam in tow. Their grim faces didn't bode well at all. "Sheriff, what a nice surprise," Tiffany stood up, "Please, join us for tea. I — "

"Girls," Dickson interrupted her, "is your sister here?"

Marlene sent Sam a questioning look, but he just looked away.

"Did something happen, sheriff?" Tiffany asked.

The man sighed, "It's about your father."

𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐

Pastor Wilkinson's body had been discovered by one of the parishioners. He had been nailed to the back of the church building in a flipped crucifix encircled by a ring of blood. There was a message painted in crimson above it — "OATHBREAKER".

The news had spread quickly around the small town and by the time Sam and Marlene arrived at the scene, a crowd had gathered around it. Some cried, some stared in horror — the police had to take the pastor's body down and lay it on the ground to hide it from the prying eyes. Good thing Alex, Tiffany and Meghan stayed home and didn't have to see it.

Sheriff Dickson approached Sam and Marlene, "So, it appears Wilkinson's been stealing donation money," he told them.

Sam raised his brows in surprise. Marley wasn't that shocked, though — in her experience, people who went out of their way to seem pious always compensated for something. It's like they knew they were sinners and desperately wanted to repent. A twisted cycle of denial.

"Apparently, we got ourselves a vigilante," Dickson drawled, "What's that thing, anyway?" He jerked his head at the blood circle.

"You've seen something like this before? Here, in Tyro?" Sam asked.

"Never," the sheriff shook his head, "We ain't got no Satanists in these parts."

Marlene wasn't paying much attention to their conversation, too busy staring at the blood. She walked a little closer to it — there appeared to be some pattern, a shape...Was that a head?

"Hey, Agent Broderick?" Marley called. Sam said something to the sheriff and came over to her, "What do you see?"

"A circle," he replied with a frown.

"I know it's a circle. But does it remind you of something?" Sam studied it more carefully, but there was little to be seen in the dark. Marlene sighed, "There's a head, right at the top, see?" she pointed to it, "It looks like a snake, Sam."

He squinted at the ring and finally saw it — it was a snake curled into a hoop, its mouth open, biting onto own tale. Sam had seen the sign before..."Ouroboros," he turned to Marlene, "It's Ouroboros. The snake eating its own tail, destruction and creation?"

"Oh my God. You're right," she whispered. And then her eyes went completely wide, "The photo you sent me," Marley pulled out her phone and opened it, "It didn't make sense, but now...holy shit."

"What was it?"

"It says Eumenides," she said in Greek, "Which roughly translates into "The Kindly Ones."" Sam quirked a confused brow, "You really need to brush up on your Greek philosophy, Sam. It's Euripides, "Orestes"?"

"Is that a play where a guy kills his mother?"

"That's the one. God, it makes so much more sense now." The children killing their parents, priests being punished for breaking their oath to God..."Sam, it's the Furies. It's got to be the Furies. I mean, the snakes? The streak of vengeance? Only they work in reverse. They make children kill their parents and then punish them for it. It's like...supply and demand."

"Supply and demand?" Sam asked sceptically.

"Hey, I'm not an economist, okay? But I'm telling you, Sam — it can't be anything else."

He nodded slowly, considering the theory, "Alright. Yeah...we, uh, we should get back and do more research. Find a way to kill them before it gets too late. That girl from the diner, she could be the next victim."

"Wouldn't it be weird to go back?" Marley asked, "I mean, with their father gone..."

"No, it's better if we're there. In case they're onto the pastor's entire family."

"Okay."

Sam started walking towards the car that pastor Wilkinson had let them borrow. It was only then that Marlene suddenly realised that she hadn't once flinched when she saw his body. Was that how it happened? You got used to death so much, you stopped being afraid to see its face?

"Hey, Sam?" he turned to her, "Have you talked to Bobby today?"

"No...Why?"

He was saying that he couldn't work with you anymore, that it wasn't right.

Marley shrugged, "I was just thinking about what's gonna happen when we get there. You know, like, with me?"

"What do you mean?" Sam frowned.

"You know what I mean. Dean and Bobby won't be happy when they find out...what I am."

"And whose fault is that?"

Marlene lurched to a stop, "Excuse me?"

Sam sighed, annoyed that he had to stop too, "You lied to them, Marlene. Do you really expect them to just deal with it and trust you?"

"No," Marley replied, although yes, she was secretly hoping that they wouldn't make a big deal out of this, "But you trust me, right?" When Sam didn't say anything, she repeated, more forcefully now, "Right?"

He also mentioned something about lying?

"Honestly? No, Marlene, I don't trust you." She flinched at the words, "I don't even know who you are. What you are. I mean, if Lucifer's interested in you, who's to say you're not going to cave in?"

Marley's jaw slacked from disbelief, "I would never do that — "

"Your father did," Sam said, his eyes ruthless.

Her eyes flashed in the dark. Oh, no he didn't. "You know what, Sam?" Marlene hissed, "I think between the two of us, you'd be the one to take the "most likely to roll in the sheets with the Devil" award. I mean, with your impressive track record..." she trailed off sarcastically.

Sam went stone-faced, jaw set tightly — Marley had gone too far. Good, some sick part of her whispered, taking joy from the pain she'd caused. After a moment of silence, Sam turned his back to her and went to the car.

He had said so himself, he didn't trust her. None of them would — they'd rather kill her than take a chance. Marlene was a monster, and that's exactly what they did — they hunted things like her, things that didn't belong in this world. They were the hunters and she was the hunted.

Or was she?

Marley's hand strayed to the gun in her belt. She wrapped her fingers around the cold steel and pulled it out. Sam was walking ahead, his back to her — they were far away from the crime scene, no one would hear the shot. If they did, Marlene would already be far away by the time they'd arrived.

She took aim and let out a measured breath to stop the trembling in her hands. All she needed was to pull that trigger and...

Wait —

What the hell was she doing? She couldn't kill Sam. Why would she even want to?

Marlene instantly dropped her hand and shoved the gun back into the belt. She felt an itch in her neck.

The time was running out.

𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐

Dean woke up to the racket of guns, his head resting against a pile of wet leaves. It took him a moment to realize where he was and that none of it had been a dream. The shit had hit the fan, and he'd spent God knows how much time knocked out on the ground.

Dean sprung up to his feat and followed the sound of gunshots. It was coming from the top levels of the Sanitarium — who was in there? Cass, Marlene? Were they still alive? He needed to get inside, quickly.

The sky erupted in thunder. Dean turned a corner and ran out into a garden that led to the main entrance. He halted when he saw a tall figure standing in the middle of it. The man was clad in a white suit that came in contrast with the grim surroundings of the abandoned medical facility. Dean's eyes dropped to the ground and he stilled when he saw his own eyes looking back before they went completely blank. The man in white had snapped his neck. Beside Dean was lying someone else he recognised — Marlene's lifeless body was sprawled on the wet grass, unmoving.

"Don't worry, she's alive." The voice sent a shiver down Dean's spine. He didn't know why it had surprised him — Dean knew who it was the second he stepped into that garden. The man in white turned back, a small smile playing on his lips. "Hello, Dean."

Thunder wrecked the skies, and a flash of lightening set it ablaze. Dean shielded his eyes and the second he opened them, Lucifer had disappeared.

"You've come a long way to see this, haven't you?"

Dean whipped around — the Devil was standing right behind him. He really wanted to think it was his brother — it sure looked like him and talked like him too. But the cold, soulless look in Sam's eyes suggested the opposite.

"Well, go ahead," Dean greeted out, "Kill me."

"Kill you?" Lucifer looked at his lifeless body from 2014, "Don't you think that would be a little...redundant?" Dean cut him a glare. Lucifer sighed, "I'm sorry. It must be painful, speaking to me in this — shape," he walked closer to Dean, "But it had to be your brother. It had to be." The Devil reached for his shoulder. Dean stumbled back. "You don't have to be afraid of me, Dean. What do you think I'm going to do?" Lucifer walked past him.

"I don't know. Maybe deep-fry the planet?"

The Devil gazed at a single blossomed rose, caressing its silky petals, "Why?" He turned back to Dean, "Why would I want to destroy this stunning thing? Beautiful in a trillion different ways. The last perfect handiwork of God." Dean watched him, mouth curled in disgust. "You ever hear the story of how I fell from grace?"

"Oh, good God, you're not gonna tell me a bedtime story, are you? My stomach's almost out of bile."

"You know why God cast me down?" Lucifer asked anyway. Dean had a feeling he was about to tell him, "Because I loved him. More than anything. And then God created..." his lips stretched into a deranged smirk, "...you. The little...hairless apes. And then he asked all of us to bow down before you — to love you, more than him. And I said, "Father, I can't." I said, "These human beings are flawed, murderous,"" Lucifer snarled, nostrils flaring, "And for that, God had Michael cast me into hell. Now, tell me," he almost begged, "Does the punishment fit the crime? Especially, when I was right? Look at what six billion of you have done to this thing, and how many of you blame me for it."

For a moment, Dean thought Sam was still there. The glimpse of vulnerability in Lucifer's eyes was painfully reminiscent of his brother. But there was nothing even remotely humane about the monster in front of him. If Sam had still been there, he would've done whatever he could to stop Lucifer. His brother was gone.

"You're not fooling me, you know that?" Dean seethed, eyes flashing with hatred and unshed tears, "With this sympathy-for-the-devil crap. I know what you are."

"What am I?" Lucifer wondered, genuinely curious.

"You're the same thing, only bigger. The same brand of cockroach I've been squashing my whole life," Dean told him, "An ugly, evil, belly-to-the-ground, supernatural piece of crap. The only difference between them and you...is the size of your ego."

Lucifer's face broke into a mirthless smile, "Tell me, Dean, how's my son?" Dean stilled, "See, I usually come to wish him good night, but yesterday...I was otherwise preoccupied. I hope he wasn't saddened by it."

"He's not your son, you bastard," Dean growled.

"I beg to differ. Some might say he's my spitting image," Lucifer said, "Besides, a child needs his father. Wouldn't you agree?"

Dean glared at him, "You stay away from him."

The threat seemed to have only amused the Devil. He had a strangely endeared expression on his face, "I like you, Dean. I get what the other angels see in you," Lucifer gave him an unsettling, kind smile, "Goodbye. We'll meet again soon," he began to walk away.

"You better kill me now!" Dean yelled.

The Devil turned back, "Pardon?

"You better kill me now," Dean told him, "Or I swear, I will find a way to kill you. And I won't stop."

"I know you won't," Lucifer said plainly, advancing on him, "I know you won't say yes to Michael, either. And I know you won't kill Sam," Dean felt his eyes prickle with tears, "Whatever you do, you will always end up here. Whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter, we will always end up...here," the Devil gestured to their surroundings, "I win," he considered it, "So...I win."

"You're wrong," Dean shook his head wanly.

Lucifer graced him with an ominous smile, "See you in five years, Dean." And he disappeared with a blinding flash of lightening.

𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐

Furies were deities of vengeance, ancient creatures older than Olympian Gods themselves. Borne from the blood of the great Uranus, they remained in the shadows of the underworld, only ascending to earth to pursue the wicked. In the "Iliad", Homer described them as the Erinyes, "that under earth take vengeance on men, whosoever hath sworn a false oath."

Marley obsessively scrolled through the website on Greek mythology and stopped her attention on one paragraph that completely sealed her suspicions: "The wrath of the Erinyes manifested itself in a number of ways. The most severe of these was the tormenting madness inflicted upon a patricide or matricide."

The Furies carried brass-studded scourges as their primary weapon for punishment. "Many believed that therein lied the secret to their doom — a knife made of golden brass and soaked in the nectar of pain." They were said to hunt the murderers and oath-breakers to the ends of the earth and feast on their poisoned blood until their screams were swallowed by Hades. Homer described them as a raging battalion of many, but Virgil recognised only three: Alecto, Megaera and Tisiphone.

Marlene's fingers froze above the keyboard. Alecto, Megaera and Tisiphone...no, it's not possible —

A knock at the door snapped her out of her thoughts. It opened with a creak, revealing Alex on the other side. Marley felt a pang of unease at her presence, "Hello, Emily. I hope I'm not intruding?..."

"Of course not," Marlene closed the laptop and put it away, "How are you doing?"

Alex walked into the room and sat down on the corner of the bed, "I'm...I'm fine. Tiffany is with Maggie, I think she cried herself to sleep," she said quietly. It looked like Alex herself had been crying — her eyes were rimmed with red.

"I'm so sorry, Alex. Is there something I can do to help? I'm not much of a cook, but I could put together some dinner..."

Alex smiled wanly, "That's very nice of you, but there's no need. You're already doing so much for our town, trying to find that...that killer. In fact, do you need any help?"

"Uh — no. No, but...thanks for offering."

"I was going to ask...is everything alright with you and Agent Broderick?" Noticing Marley's apprehension, Alex added, "He seemed kind of off."

Marley's chest tightened with guilt. She hadn't had the guts to face Sam since they returned — not after what she'd said. Marlene would be surprised if he'd consider forgiving her."Yeah. Agent Broderick is just... worried about the case. He's, uh, extremely committed to his work."

"I see," Alex lifted her hand to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. That's when Marley caught another glimpse of her bracelet — a shiny piece of curling yellow. "That's...brass, right?" she asked, pointing to it.

"Yes. You'd think it was gold," Alex chuckled. Marley managed a weak laugh, though her heart was beating so violently, she worried Alex would hear it.

"You know what? Now that you've mentioned Agent Broderick, I'd better check up on him," Marlene rose from the bed and slowly moved to the door, "See how he's doing."

"Sure," Alex nodded in understanding, her emerald eyes flashing, "Better get to him before he gets to you."

Marley's hand stilled on the door handle. She turned back, "What do you mean?"

"Oh, Marlene..." Alex let out a patronising sigh, "Surely you understand that he's not going to let you walk free?"

𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐

The house was eerily quiet. Sam tried to make as little noise as possible while he came down the stairs to the kitchen — everyone needed some rest after the day they'd had. The police had left only a few hours ago after turning the entire house upside down and interviewing the grieving Wilkinson sisters. Sam was actually surprised by how well they'd taken it, although the youngest one, Meghan, had quickly retreated into her room and hadn't left it since.

Sam came over to the sink to pour himself some water. But when he brought the glass to his mouth, he started at the reflection in the window. "Tiffany," Sam breathed, turning to her, "Sorry, did I wake you up?"

"Sorry, I startled you," she said with a sweet smile. Come to think of it, Sam had never seen her not smiling.

"Don't worry about it. How are you doing?"

Tiffany said nothing. She kept her keen eyes on Sam and began walking towards him. He frowned when she stopped, a touch away, and gazed up at him, "How are you feeling, Agent Broderick?" Tiffany asked coyly.

"I...I, uh, I'm good," he tried to sound as polite as possible — the girl had been through a lot today, and the last thing Sam wanted was to be rude to her.

A crease appeared between Tiffany's brows, "You seem troubled."

Sam breathed a nervous little laugh, "I'm — I'm not. Troubled." She got closer. He stumbled back and hit the sink.

"Oh, but you are," Tiffany whispered, her lips stretching into a sultry grin, "Sam." He stilled, eyes widening, "You don't have to lie to me — I know all there is to know about you, Sam Winchester. Even that which you yourself do not."

"It's you," Sam suddenly realised, "You're a Fury." The girl winked at him. How could they've been so blind? Alex, Meghan, Tiffany — it's been under their noses the entire time...

"I prefer to be called a 'Kindly One'," Tiffany told him, "See, we're no monsters, Sam — all we do is punish those who deserve it. We've kept the people safe, served them well, and they've made us into a nightmare," she spat, "You can understand the feeling, can't you? You needn't answer, I know you do." Sam reached for the knife stand by the sink, but his hand suddenly went slack — Tiffany's eyes glowed bright emerald, "You're not a monster, Sam, you're a hero. That wretched girl, on the other hand...Marlene," she hissed out, nose wrinkling in disgust, "She's the true abomination."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Sam seethed, feeling his mind gradually slip away.

"Don't I? Her very existence is a mockery to the Gods. And trust me, Sam, Gods do not take lightly to being ridiculed," Tiffany said, the threat lingering in her words, "Yet despite all of it, she had the life you always wanted, the life you deserved. While you were branded a monster, a killer. Where's the fairness in that?"

Sam frowned and squeezed his eyes shut — what were those whispers in his head? Marlene had been lying to him. To everyone. Sam couldn't trust her...You can't trust her.

"Her father's brought upon the Apocalypse and she stood by him," Tiffany continued, noticing a growing flicker of hatred in his eyes, "Think about it: if it hadn't been for him and Marlene, Lilith wouldn't have gone free and you wouldn't have become...this," she laid a hand on his chest, "If you kill her now, maybe Gods will grant you forgiveness. Don't you want to repent for your sins, Sam? Because this is your chance. A chance to prove to everyone that all you've ever wanted was to keep this world safe from creature like her," Tiffany's eyes flashed bright green again, pupils thinning into slits, "She has to die."

Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed the chapter :)

Soooo, yeah

It's Furies

There's gonna be more stuff about them in the next chapter. It's also going to be the end of Sam and Marley's little plot detour hehe

I wonder how it'll end...

Anyways, thank you for all your follows, favorites and comments, guys!

xxx, marie