Season 3, Episode 10: "Crossroads"

Have you ever heard of a guy named Faust? According to German folklore, he made a deal with the devil for knowledge and power. Sounds cool, right? The price he had to pay, on the other hand, wasn't so cool: it was his soul. There are plenty of stories of people who tried to trade their souls for something, and most of the time, they're just blowing hot air. But what if it worked? What would you summon? And would you be able to give it what it wants in order to get what you want?

"Eleanor, the devil's near to my door
Soon he will be comin' through that door
And when he gone, I fear I'll be no more."

The slide distorted the notes Molly's fingers were picking out, and the scorching notes of the Last Night Blues rang throughout the bus. Jack and Carey were drumming along on the table, but Fi was engrossed in an online conversation.

Tristan: I don't know. I just have this bad feeling. Like something is going to happen.

Fi: I think you can take care of yourself. :)

Tristan: Thanks. Where are you off to now?

Fi: Some town in Tennessee. Mom mentioned the name but I don't remember it. Maybe I should ask her.

"Murdock." Molly cast a glance at her daughter as she strummed some chords.

Fi looked up from her laptop, eyes going wide for a moment.

Fi: I guess it's called Murdock.

Tristan: Cool. Hey, I have to go to class. Talk to you later?

Fi: Of course.

Tristan signed off

She sighed as she closed the lid of her laptop, and her eyes traveled to a window. In gazing out at the landscape, she didn't notice her ring glowing.

The bus hissed to a stop in front of a tall, skinny, red brick building that looked like it had seen its fair share of seasons. Molly smiled when she saw it, however; she closed her eyes for a moment as the memories of playing at the Meridian with Rick washed over her.

"Alright, let's go!" She led the others into the venue, and she smiled. Even though it didn't seem like it had the space, the building found room for two metal walkways, each big enough to hold quite a few tables and chairs. The stage was a tad shorter than most places she'd played, but she definitely had enough room. As she took it all in, a tap on her shoulder snapped her out of her reverie.

"Did you and Dad play here?" Fi stopped next to her mom.

Molly nodded. "Yep. How did you know?"

Fi chuckled. "You only get that look on your face when you're thinking about Dad."

Molly gave her a look. "What look?"

"The one where you actually look like you're happy." Jack shot the words over his shoulder as he carried his backpack to an empty table and set it down.

Molly scoffed. "Come on. Do I really look that miserable all the time?"

Fi nodded. "Who can blame you? I mean, Jack alone can—"

Her brother glared at her. "Hey. I'm not the one who goes running around looking for boogeymen, okay?"

Fi frowned. "Jack, I swear—"

"Hey!" Molly held up a hand. "Cut it out, please." She took a breath. "I have good memories here. Let's not ruin them with arguing, okay?" She sighed and crossed her arms. "I know it's nearly impossible. But for once, can you two try to get along?"

Their shoulders fell at the same time, and they nodded.

She smiled. "Thank you."

Fi turned around as soon as her mother walked past her and stopped when Jack cleared his throat.

"Don't you think you should tell Mom where you're going?" He raised an eyebrow.

She shrugged. "I'm going back to the bus to get my laptop. I'll be back in a minute. I didn't think she'd mind." She turned around and exited, leaving his mouth hanging open like a codfish.

She chuckled as she got into the bus. It was extremely easy to be civil, but with all they'd been through together…was it really nearly impossible? According to him, if she kept "running around looking for boogeymen", it might be.

Can't do much when it finds me instead.

She grabbed her laptop off of the table and turned around, only to halt when she saw something drawn on the window: something that looked like a poorly drawn number 7 and a Y with a dot next to it. It looked like it had been carved into the glass, but when she ran her fingers over it, all she felt was smooth glass. She let out a gasp as she realized that the pattern was on the inside of the glass. Swallowing a lump in her throat, she clutched her laptop tighter and made record time back inside the Meridian.

She worked on her history paper through two sound checks and a lighting test, and only stopped when her stomach rumbled.

Molly walked up to the table. "Hey, kiddo. It's a little past lunch time. Wanna go grab some pizza or something?"

Fi nodded. "Sounds good." She saved her work and closed her laptop, and her eyes stopped on a woman sitting at the bar. In a trucker hat and flannel jacket, she seemed to be inconspicuous, but the hair standing on end on the back of Fi's neck said otherwise. Fi picked up her jacket and walked out of the bar, making her way to her mom.

The smell of French fries filled the air when they walked in, and they took a seat at a table.

"I'm gonna go order. Cheeseburger and fries?" Molly raised an eyebrow.

Fi nodded and stared out the window next to her as her mom walked away. It wasn't long, though, before someone's voice drew her attention.

"We've had three cats go missing around here lately. I think we've got a rogue fox or something."

Those words stayed with her all the way back to the bar after they finished eating, and she made sure nobody saw her when she slipped her mom's cell phone out of her purse.

FI dialed the number on the worn business card she kept in her jacket and held her breath as the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mark. It's Fi."

"What's going on?"

"I'm not sure. I'm in Murdock, Tennessee, and I heard that cats have been going missing around town, and I saw a symbol on the window in the bus."

"Missing cats could be a lot of things. Have you seen anything else?"

"Not yet."

"Okay. I'm tied up in Biloxi right now, but keep me posted."

"Will do." She hung up the phone and let out a sigh. Maybe it was a good time to finish that history paper.

Jack turned over in his bunk when his sister walked by the bus; from what he'd just heard, it sounded like he knew what he'd be doing while they were in Tennessee. He rolled his eyes as they closed, and it didn't take him long to fall asleep.

The cold coming in through the shutters was enough of a reason to draw the blankets closer.

Liam…

His eyes fluttered open, and he started when he saw a woman's face, inches from his. Wisps of silver hair floated around her face, and his breath caught in his chest.

"Why are you here?" The words crept from his lips in a whisper.

You know why I'm here.

A single tear ran down the side of his face. He turned his head to see Cathleen, her eyes fluttering slightly in her sleep.

He touched his lips gently to her forehead before turning to look the banshee in the eyes. Her face came closer, and his eyes closed as a white light pierced the darkness and overtook him.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a man standing over him; kind eyes stared from behind a frown.

"You okay, buddy? Sounded like you were having a bad dream."

He nodded.

"Alright. Try to get some sleep." The man tousled his hair before crossing the room to the light switch. "Good night, Jack."

He smiled. "Good night, Dad."

When his eyes opened again, Jack saw the walls of his room on the bus, but they seemed to be more cramped than usual. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he felt a cold, wet spot under the side of his face. He sat up in his bed and propped his back against the wall as he stared out the window.

The sun crept over the horizon before anyone knew it, and Jack came out of his room to find Fi reading a book at the table.

She looked up from the pages. "Morning. Couldn't sleep."

He shook his head.

She looked down for a second. "Me neither. I was dreaming of Dad." She set the book down. "I think I'm gonna go for a walk. Wanna come with me?"

He opened his mouth to reply for a second before closing it and shaking his head.

"Okay. If you see Mom, tell her I'll be back in an hour or so. I've got the phone."

He sighed and sat down as she walked out of the bus.

Fi's hand kept fiddling with the card in her jacket pocket, and she forced herself to stop. She might wear it to pieces at this rate.

As soon as she turned the corner down the block from the club, she staggered back when something collided with her. Her eyes went wide when she saw two paper cups tumbling to the sidewalk; her ring glinted and the brown liquid stopped just short of her shoes.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" The person (young man, more specifically) threw up his hands before they fell to his sides. "Did any get on you? I wasn't watching where I was going."

Fi smiled when she looked down. "No, none." She squinted when she saw his face: it looked exactly like Jack's had this morning. "You okay?"

He chuckled nervously. "Yeah, just…couldn't sleep last night. I doubt you want to hear about my insomnia."

"I know the feeling."

He shrugged. "What are you gonna do? Well, I guess I need to get some more coffee."

"Mind if I come with you? I think I could use a little of that." She cringed on the inside. Mom would kill me if she knew I was drinking coffee.

It was his turn to shrug. "Sure."

She half-smiled and followed him to Callee's Coffee Corner, a quaint shop nestled between brock buildings. A bell signaled their entry, and the woman (Callee, by her name tag) behind the counter smiled when she saw them.

"Well, Brandon Markoff, it seems you can't get enough of my coffee."

Guilt flashed across his face. "Actually, I dropped mine running into my new friend here, so I need to buy two more."

Callee let out a pshaw. "Come now. New friends means that coffee's on the house." She winked at him.

"Thanks, Callee. The usual for me."

Fi snapped out of staring at the menu. "I'll have a regular coffee, lots of cream and sugar."

The older woman chuckled. "You must not drink coffee much. Not to worry!" She set to work making their drinks, and Brandon turned to Fi.

"So, you're not from around here, are you?"

Fi shook her head. "My mom's in town for a concert tonight."

"Oh, so Molly Phillips is your mother. Cool."

Callee set three cups of coffee on the counter. "Oh, and sorry to hear about Ranger. Your dad told me when he was in here yesterday."

Brandon blanched. "Uh, yeah. Thanks, Callee." He snatched his cups from the counter and walked out of the shop.

Fi picked her cup up. "What just happened?"

Callee sighed. "Ranger was his dog. Got hit by a truck last week; hasn't been the same since."

Fi stood there for a moment before walking out of the shop; she stopped in her tracks when she felt eyes on her. She didn't see anyone at first, but her eyes were drawn to something staring at her from under a car: a fox. The animal locked eyes with her and turned around, vanishing into the bushes behind the car.

When she looked down the block, she saw Brandon standing there, looking at her. Gripping her coffee tight, she took a swig and started walking toward him. To her surprise, he didn't move.

"I'm sorry to hear about your dog." She took another drink of coffee; Callee had sweetened it enough to cover the bitterness.

"I'm sorry about that. It's just…we had Ranger for a long time. Still hurts, ya know?"

She nodded. "I understand. It's just…when she said your dog's name, I didn't see sadness. I saw fear."

His eyes narrowed. "I saw him get hit by the truck. You expect me not to act like that when someone mentions Ra…my dog?"

She sighed. "I'm sorry if I offended you. It's just…it seemed more like you were really afraid instead of just panicking. I recognized it because…well, I've felt it a few times. Fear for my life. I saw that on your face."

He grit his teeth behind his lips. "I.." A lone tear ran down his cheek. "I have to go." He turned around and started walking as fast as he could, leaving her to exhale sharply through her nose.

It didn't take her long to get back to the club, and she almost nearly ran into Molly.

"Hey, kiddo! Jack said you went on a walk—" Her eyes widened. "Is that coffee?"

Fi glanced at the cup. "It's mostly cream and sugar. I didn't sleep well last night."

Molly's face fell. "I'm sorry, baby. Maybe you can get a nap in before the gig."

Fi did her best to smile. "I'll definitely try. I'll be in my room if you need me."

Molly wrapped her arms around her daughter for a moment. "Okay. I'm gonna go check the sound and the lights. I'll check on you after that."

FI nodded and walked past her into the bus; she set her coffee on the counter and flopped down on her bed as soon as she got into her room.

She closed her eyes for a moment, but they shot open when she heard scratching at the door. Breath caught in her chest, she got out of bed and crept over to the door, slowly swinging it open. Nobody was standing there, but when she looked down, she let out a scream; a decapitated cat lie on the floor in front of her room.

Trying to hold back the coffee and bile that was rising to the top of her throat, she stepped over the corpse and got a plastic bag from a cabinet. Careful to make sure the bag covered her hand, she used it to scoop up the animal; she wasted no time in opening her window and tossing it out.

Jaw set, she walked out of her room and went straight out the bus' front door. It didn't take her long to get back to the coffee shop, and the bell over the door rang again.

Callee beamed when she saw Fi and set down the rag she'd been wiping the counter with. "Hello again! Did you like your coffee?"

Fi smiled and nodded. "It was good, thank you. I was wondering…do you know where Brandon lives? I need to ask him something."

Callee looked to either side for a moment, then leaned over the counter. "Look, hon, I don't think you want to find that boy. He's a bit…troubled."

"Please. I think something weird is going on and I think he's involved."

Callee opened her mouth, but stopped when she heard a ringing from the back of the shop. She smiled. "Excuse me."

She disappeared, leaving Fi to look at a case of baked goods. She froze when she felt eyes on her again, and she looked to her left to see a photo of a fox on the wall. It seemed to be staring at her, and a voice made her jump.

"What's your name?" Callee reappeared behind the counter.

"Fi Phillips."

Callee stared at her for a second. "1624 Maple Lane."

"Huh?"

"That's where Brandon lives." She held out a piece of paper, and Fi took it.

"Thank you."

"You be careful now."

Fi turned around and left the shop; she smiled as she saw that Callee had written directions under the address.

It was only five blocks to get to the house, and she traversed them in no time. When she stopped on the sidewalk in front of 1624 Maple, she swallowed a lump in her throat. It felt like every hair on her body was standing on end; she could feel something akin to the things from the rooftop in New York. Her breath caught in her chest as she approached the door, but she raised her hand and knocked.

Brandon opened the door, but closed it when he saw her.

She knocked again. "Brandon, I need to find out what's going on here. Please."

A few seconds passed before the door opened a crack. "What do you mean?"

She thought a moment. "Are you in trouble?"

The door opened a little more. "What do you mean?"

"I think there's something weird going on. Cats have been going missing, there's this fox following me around, and then there's your dog…I think it's all connected."

"You should go home, Fi."

"No! Not until I find out what's going on!"

The door closed, then opened fully. Away from the coffee shop, he looked like he hadn't showered in a few days.

"You don't want to know."

She crossed her arms. "Try me."

He stepped back, allowing her to step inside. All in all, the house seemed like a normal house, but the feeling she got outside became more intense. He guided her into the living room, and she sat down on a couch.

He took a seat opposite her. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you here?"

"I told you why outside."

"I…I was stupid, okay? You'd think I'm crazy, I'm sure."

"Hey." She locked eyes with him. "I promise I won't, no matter what you tell me."

He chuckled. "Do you have any idea how many times I've heard that?"

She frowned. "Fine. If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. But I just want you to know that if I can help, I will. I promise."

"How could you possibly help? You don't even know what it is."

"You're right, I don't. How about you tell me?"

"I—Nobody can help me."

"Are you sure about that?"

He nodded.

"Okay then. I guess I'll head back to the bus." She got up and was almost to the door when she stopped.

"Wait."

She turned around.

"What do you know about demons?"

She shrugged.

"I—I sold my soul to one."

She only managed to get out one word: "Why?"

He looked at the floor. "Ranger."

Her heart stopped for a moment.

"But he—he didn't come back right. It was Ranger inside, but outside…it looked like when we buried him. I had—I had to put him down again." Tears started flowing down his cheeks.

She said nothing.

He looked up at her, tears still creeping from the corner of his eyes. "I don't know what to do."

She let out a sigh. "Let me make a phone call." Turning around, she opened the front door and stepped out into the porch, wasting no time dialing the now all-too-familiar number.

"Hello?"

"It's me. How do you stop a demon?"

"A demon? Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Wow. That's some pretty heavy stuff. You can send them back to Hell with an exorcism. Got a pen and paper?"

"Give me a sec." She went back inside. "Do you have anything to write with?"

Brandon nodded and had a pen and paper in her hand in less than a minute.

Mark started talking and the pen started flying across the paper.

"Thank you."

"Welcome. I won't be around later today; I've got a vampire nest to deal with. I'll let you know if I make it back."

"Bye." She hung up and looked up at Brandon. "Do you know how to get the demon here?"

He nodded again.

"Okay. We need chalk or something we can draw on the floor with."

It didn't take her long to draw the design the Hunter had described, and he helped her cover it with a rug.

"Okay. Are you ready?" She tried to calm the tremble in her chest.

"I guess so." He grabbed something from the mantle over the fireplace; upon closer inspection, she saw him wind up a music box.

A gentle melody tinkled around the room, and they both jumped when the trucker she'd seen at the burger place was standing in front of them.

"Hello, Brandon. Nice to see you again." She smiled.

"Fi…"

Fi held up the piece of paper. "Exorcizamus te, Omnis Immundus Spiritus, Omnis Satanica Potestas, Omnis Incursio Infernalis Adversarii, Omnis Congregatio et Secta Diabolica, Ergo Draco Maledicte, Ut Ecclesiam Tuam Secura, Tibi Facias Libertate Servire, Te Rogamus, Audi Nos!"

The demon raised an eyebrow. "Congratulations. You know Latin."

Fi dropped the paper. "That was—"

The woman's eyes glowed yellow and she vanished, leaving the other two open-mouthed.

Fi's heart was beating a mile a minute. "I don't think that was a demon."

"But—"

"She got out of the Devil's Trap, and the exorcism didn't work. A demon wouldn't be around after that."

"Then what is it?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out. Can I borrow the music box?"

He put it in her palm. "You can have it."

She slipped it into her pocket. "Thanks. I'll be back later."

She practically ran out of the house and was back at the bus in no time. The sun had just started touching the horizon, and the first thing she saw when she walked in the door was her mother, sitting at the table.

"Mom, I—"

"How was the park?"

"Huh?"

Molly shrugged. "Jack told me you went to the park after your nap."

"Oh, good. I just walked around a lot. I've been thinking about Dad a lot lately."

A pained expression crossed Molly's face for a moment. "Oh, baby. I wish I could say something that could make it better, but I'll be here in case you need to talk, okay?"

Fi half-smiled and nodded.

Molly smiled. "Okay, I've gotta get ready for the gig. Try to stay out of trouble, okay?"

Fi nodded again and Molly put a hand on her shoulder before leaving her alone in the bus. Fi went straight to her room and practically ripped her laptop open to get to *.*.

Fox + cats + music box

It took the computer a minute to return one result:

KUMA LISA

She clicked the link and read.

Kuma Lisa is a trickster in Bulgarian folklore.

Legend says that she can be summoned by singing Katerino Mome over the corpse of a cat. Once a connection is formed with her, she imparts a music box upon her victims that can call her at any time.

When not in human form, she prefers the form of a fox.

She felt the bottom of her stomach drop out, and she typed in a new search.

How to kill trickster deity

She clicked on the first link she saw.

According to ancient texts, minor deities can be killed by a stake dipped in the blood of a victim through the heart.

She frowned for a moment. Where in the world would she get that? Her eyes went wide as she realized that she knew exactly where she could get that.

When she entered the club, her mother and the band were at the bar exchanging stories about the old tours with Rick. Nobody noticed as she slipped behind the drum kit and snagged an extra drumstick, or even as she left the club.

Pausing in front of her room, she rolled the stick in the blood on the floor; it seemed her mother hadn't noticed and Jack hadn't been back in the bus.

Taking a deep breath, she produced the music box from her pocket and wound the key. It didn't take more than a few notes for the trucker woman to appear, and Fi put the drumstick behind her back.

"You know, you have a lot of nerve calling me."

"I know who you are, Kuma Lisa."

The woman chuckled. "Clever girl. You can call me Lisa."

"Fine, Lisa. I know you were pretending to be a demon. Does that mean that you actually own his soul?"

"Why does it matter to you?"

"Because if you don't have his soul, you're interested in something else. I don't want you to hurt him."

"Really? And what can you do to stop me?"

Without thinking, Fi rushed forward and rammed into the trickster, knocking her to the floor. In another second, Fi was straddling her torso had the "stake" against her chest.

"I think this will work."

Lisa narrowed her eyes. "You wouldn't dare."

Fi pressed down, making the trickster wince. "You think so?"

"I do."

Fi pressed harder, eliciting a yelp from Lisa.

"Okay, okay!"

Fi narrowed her eyes and stood up; Lisa decided to stay on the ground.

"I'll leave him alone, but don't think that this is the last time you'll be seeing me."

Fi dropped the drumstick as soon as the woman vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving her to wonder if she could trust the word of a trickster.

The sun was halfway set when she reached Brandon's house, and he opened the door right after she knocked.

"It's over."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it turns out that she wasn't a demon, and she doesn't have your soul. She won't be bothering you anymore."

His eyes went wide and he stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her.

"Thank you, Fi." He stepped back. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you when you said you'd do whatever you could to help me."

She smiled. "Don't worry about it. I'm glad I was able to help."

"So what now?"

"Well, we're leaving after the gig tonight."

He chuckled. "I guess this is goodbye, huh?"

She nodded. "It was nice to meet you, Brandon. Take care of yourself."

"You too."

She turned around and stepped off the porch as she headed back toward Meridian. Pulling the music box out of her pocket, she studied the intricate designs running over every side.

See you later, Lisa.