Ok, here's the next chapter. I don't know why I'm leading you into it with the last part of the last chapter... but I am, so... I guess that's just how this cookie's crumbling... Anyway, like it, love it, hate it... let me know how I'm doing
"For years… I didn't know how they were able to evade him, didn't know how they were able to figure it out… but they did. Around the time I was born, they figured out I had abilities, they'd just found out that the whispered legend of a demon who stole gifted infants and killed their mothers was true. So they got pregnant again, immediately… and somehow It didn't catch on to us for a few years. But when It did… ooh was that bastard angry; instead of taking just my mother… he took them both." She'd never told that story to anyone before, never knew just how depressing it would be to reminisce over it.
Both Winchester's watched her with sad eyes, watched as she bit her lip so hard that blood slowly made it's way down her chin; Dean felt his hatred towards the demon swell to a dangerous level, more than ever he wanted to kill the son of a bitch. "How'd you and Emily get out?"
Flashback:
It had been an especially frigid night in the little neighborhood just south of downtown Chicago that November of '88. A dark haired man, Nicholas—no older than 36—tucked his youngest daughter into bed; a simple mattress on the opposite end of the room as her sister, who sat fully awake flipping through her mother's Key of Solomon book while her mother braided the eight year olds burgundy hair, explaining each page.
They had just finished discussing the Devil's Trap when her mother, Julianna, decided it was time for bed.
The parents bid their girls goodnight and left the room after turning off the lights, moments later, the younger girl popped her head of brown curls out of bed; nine millimeter gun in hand, looking around for a moment she returned the gun to it's place beneath her pillow and attempted to go back to sleep.
About an hour later, little Nadia awoke to find little Emily's green eyes, large in terror, inches from her face. "What's the matter, Emmy?"
"Nightmare…" Nadia smiled knowingly and lifted her blanket for the younger to scoot into bed with her.
"Next time, Emmy, you're going to have to brave staying in your own bed… we're getting too big for this." Though, somehow, Nadia knew that it wouldn't be the last time, and that there was something truly wrong that night. Something that would forever change them… if only she knew what, though… the answer wouldn't come 'til midnight, when the smell of smoke and the faint sound of dripping roused the older sister once more; nothing would ever be the same.
Sleepy eyes opened to the sight of Emily's slumbering form, but something was off; lightly brushing away the strands of hair that had fallen unto her sister's forehead, the little huntress was distressed to discover that it wasn't hair on her sister's forehead. Upon inspection she discovered it to be blood; slowly she eased her hand over her sister's eyes before her own wandered in the direction of their ceiling.
The gasp provoked by what she saw caused her lungs to feel the impending fire, "Emily…" she begged quietly, "Emily… wake up, Emmy! We have to go… we have to go now…"
"But I'm sleeping!" the younger whined, Nadia hated whatever evil entity had caused this; more than anything she wanted the girl to sleep peacefully. Leaping from the bed, she slipped on the shoes she'd left by her bed earlier and scooped up the sleeping child.
"Fine, then I'll carry you… but whatever happens, Emmy…don't look at the ceiling." She felt a slight comfort as Emily wrapped her arms tightly around her neck and nodded sluggishly into her sister's shoulder, smearing blood on the oversized Wrigley's Field t-shirt Nadia wore in place of regular pajama's. "I've got you, Emmy; you're safe with me…"
They had just gotten to their front door when the girls room erupted in flames, forever destroying the two things that ignited it; the young couple with kind faces, dark hair, a history of deceit and untold tales of heroism: Nick and Julianna Coltier.
Halfway down the street, illuminated by the sickening red flashing, the two last living Coltier descendants sat on the trunk of a neighbor's car. Emily was fully awake at this point and staring dumbstruck at the smoke and flame that was billowing from their home, "What happened, Dia?"
The girl with braided burgundy hair, which looked like the fire that killed her family in the flashing of the fire trucks light, turned to her sibling; realizing her destiny, seeing for the first time a grand majority of what she was meant for…not only was she the warrior she was raised to be, but she was a protector, her sisters guardian angel.
"Mommy and Daddy are gone… but we'll be ok, Emmy. You've got me, kid; you're going to be just fine." Wiping the last of their parent's blood from her sister's forehead, she felt a fading charge of energy leave her fingertips as she rubbed the blood off her fingers onto the car.
End of Flashback
"…She'll never know what she saved me from when the blood landed on her instead of me."
"What's the deal with the blood, anyway?" Sam murmured, somewhat lost in his own memories, "I never really understood that bit, and since there's not a lot known about Big Bad…"
"I'll admit… it's something I've always wondered myself." Nadia shifted nervously under the eager glances of the brothers
Flashback
Four years after that fateful night, Nadia sat thoughtfully in Missouri Moseley's backyard, under the willow tree out of immediate sight to anyone who might be looking for her. Tenderly cradling in her hands the piece of paper that had brought about her second vision; listlessly she traced the image, the Devil's trap. Traces of the vision were left lingering in her mind.
She was back in their old room in Chicago, Emily lay sleeping peacefully in Nadia's bed; while Nadia herself stood at the window, outside was nothing but stark blackness, nothingness. It wasn't until she turned around that she saw their looming threat. The shadow moved with a lethal grace, his garments swooped behind him and curled with a touch of wickedness, and his orange-yellow eyes made Nadia's stomach tie into knots. His grin, she couldn't see, but she could feel it as the malicious twitch of his lips made her insides burn; he was dangerous, he was murderous, without a word exchanged she could tell that he would be her greatest enemy. She knew the final battle her and Emily would fight in their legacy, would be against him.
"Nadia, my pet!" He exclaimed, as if she were a long lost relative that he'd spent centuries looking for, gesturing towards her with open, welcoming arms.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" she felt herself being backed into a corner by his pseudo-caring.
"I've been searching for you, darling…but your family just doesn't want to make it very easy for me. They keep getting in the WAY!" his rage quickly overpowered his fake loving attitude, but she didn't cower as easily as any normal 12 year old would have; so long as Emily was safe… she didn't care what happened to her.
"What do you want with my sister… what do you want with ME!" the conviction and fury that boomed from the girls throat seemed to have them both startled. But only one remained even slightly uneasy; as soon as she had quieted down again, the creature cloaked in shadows laughed sadistically.
"Baptized in blood, that which would be marked… as mine; though, my dear, I must admit… the last time my hand stretched forth to grasp it's new toy, my collection's most recent acquirement… it found my target's sibling in your stead." His hand extended slowly, fingers uncurled shakily as if he wanted so badly to grab her by the throat and fill her with a tiny fraction of his wickedness… an amount that would negate what light remained in the jaded youth. Nevertheless, she stood her ground, staring him down, glowering at the wicked being.
"So…you meant to kill me, but now it's Emily, or the both of us that are marked for death?" the thing laughed at her puzzled expression.
"Unfortunately…no, I've no power over you at all; I hold no sway over you or your abilities. But through dear, sweet, baby-sister, Emily… I have an indirect grip on your soul; not exactly what I wanted, but," he said as he swept his hand inches over Emily's sleeping face, "I suppose it'll have to do."
She felt her own rage eating away at whatever traces of patience she had left, snarling at this unearthly creature, she screamed before he left her and her sister alone, "YOU CANNOT HAVE US! I DON'T KNOW HOW, BUT ONE DAY I WILL FIND A WAY TO SEND YOU BACK TO THE HELL YOU CRAWLED FROM!"
Flinching laboriously as the last images faded, vowing from that day forth, she would search til then ends of the earth for a way to undo Its curse. Steely eyes gazed at the rising moon, the ascending darkness moved considerably slower on that night, as if sensing the girl's vehemence.
End of Flashback
"For the next 14 years… I studied every trace Big Bad ever left, I was able to learn that most of his victims either went mad and committed suicide or they neglected learning how to control their powers; in which case, the powers would kill them. If the marked children were able to avoid any of that… he could easily find them, attacking again whenever he wished; when he did, he'd have total control over them and their powers… he can tap into them, use them against their owners or their owners loved ones." She paused to run a hand through her long hair, sighed and began again. "But, a normal child marked by evil? He could keep tabs on her, and eventually…" She swallowed, hating the truth in what came next. "The curse on Emily and me: the last of our family, she dies at the hand of the Demon… the weight of our line's survival will be on me, and… So, a great deal of the vision Sam and I had... the screams were quite clearly Emily and I, the, um… gah…"
Pain seized her lungs, her throat constricted so much she would have cried had she not already been doing that, her hands shook frantically as she covered her face with them; hot tears burned her cheeks as uncontrollable sobs hiccupped their way out of her mouth. She knew it was inevitable, she knew it would happen in the not too distant future, and she knew that she had to be brave, had to be strong; but seeing it in a vision drove it home and multiplied the misery of it to a point where she was quite certain she could no longer take it. At some point she had failed to notice that they had moved closer to her; Sam sat at her feet, one hand placed consolingly on her left knee, while Dean was sitting to her right, one arm wrapped around her trembling shoulders, his jaw leaning lightly on the top of her head.
"The crying girl and the…" he couldn't bring himself to say it, knowing it would destroy the huntress… and Dean would kick his ass for mentioning it, "That was you and Emily… is there anything we can do to stop it? Help save Emily?"
"Yea, I mean, it's the least we could do since you're helping Sammy…" for a moment, she almost believed that there was a way… for a moment, she reveled in the solace of their offer; for a second, she almost believed it could work.
She sat quietly for a few minutes, seemingly collecting herself before her sister and Missouri came back from the store; when really, she was deciding whether or not she would allow the boys to help her find a way to save Emily, knowing full well it was useless. It would be a waste of time… but what if they found something…they have better things to do, Sam needs to gain control over his powers… and what of Dean?…He can continue undressing me with his eyes…WHAT? Her head shook spastically in disbelief of the words scrolling through her own head; when she noticed the confused look Sam was beginning to give her, she faked a sneeze to cover her tracks. "Maybe... I don't know..."
She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt Dean's hands gently brush away the renegade tear streaks marring her face; he'd swerved himself around a bit to look at her head on. His jaw set and his expression stone like… yet, there was a tenderness rolling off him in waves; soothing the harsh sorrow that had broken her previously relaxed demeanor. She wanted to cry all over again as she witnessed the elder brother's affection, sensing much of the same from Sam… however, she'd already become used to the younger brother's genial disposition, it was obvious that his personality thrived on being a caring young man, hunter or not. But his brother… she hadn't been sure about him until that moment.
Her breath shuddered and caught in her throat as she leaned her head into the crook of his neck, breathing in the musky scent of old leather and… well, Dean. The three hunters sat there for another twenty minutes or so before Sam began to stand up, clearly having had enough of sitting on the ground.
"Tile floor is completely unforgiving on the ass…" he joshed as he helped both his brother and Nadia back to their feet. "Feeling better?"
Nadia bit her bottom lip again, placing her fingertips over her mouth and nodded slowly; refusing to meet the hunter's concerned gaze. Truth be told, she felt dizzy, off-balance… in desperate need of a cigarette. Sighing she walked towards the counter and snatched the cigarettes and lighter from the corner of it, then turned to the boys again, plucking a single little white stick from the box, "Fucking smokers."
They both laughed at the girl's sarcasm, both relieved that she'd been able to calm down once more… but both were still heavily worried. After she disappeared into the back yard, the brothers looked at each other; an instant agreement was made in the simple glance: one of them needed to bring their stuff in from the car, the other would keep an eye on Nadia. Dean grinned smugly and tossed the car keys at his sibling.
"Have fun, Sammy." He called over his shoulder before reaching for the door; Sam couldn't help but find it humorous and ironic that his brother was walking out someone's back door.
"Hey, Dia… mind if I keep you company for a bit?" he requested energetically, flopping himself down next to the dazed smoker. He kept his eyes fixed on her vacant expression, even when she did turn and look at him, his gaze never faltered. "Dia… that's Spanish for something, isn't it?"
"Day," she whispered, "my dad used to tell me that when I was born they still hadn't picked out a name yet… didn't even know if I'd be a girl or a boy; he said that it was an exceptionally sunny day out, and when the doctors first placed me in his arms… he almost wished he'd been wearing sunglasses, that the light in my eyes was brighter than the sun beaming outside. He'd turned to my mother and exclaimed, 'Julianna… Dia, here has her mother's eyes. She'll never have any problems on hunts… she'll light up the dark wherever she goes.'... Nadia's Slavic for Hopeful." Sniffing quickly, she rubbed at her eyes before they could tear up again; ready to blame smoke getting to them if he questioned her.
"That's a cool story," he put on his most charming grin just for her when she turned to look at him, chuckling he ran a hand through his hair, "I'd tell how my parents decided on Dean… but I don't know that story…"
"It's English for Leader… kinda fitting, actually." She said, braving a smile when she noticed she'd startled him.
"Haha, cool… I can dig it." He smirked cockily whilst staring off into nothing.
"Emily's is Latin," she sighed, fixing her gaze on the grassy back yard, "means Admiring. I miss the days where she would drive me up the walls admiring her big sister, the days where she didn't question or fight every little thing I did."
Dean waved off the statement, "Ah don't worry about it; Sam was the exact same way before he went off to college to be 'normal'. Once he got back into the game, he was the same Sammy I remember teaching the ABC's to… except, of course, he's gotten a lot more intelligent since then, and that was only after two years… She'll come around."
"Her sabbatical from me has lasted about nine years now." She interjected before lighting another cigarette.
"Ho-ly fuck! Mind if I steal one? I haven't had a cigarette in years…" offering the open box to her companion, he snatched one and accepted the Zippo lighter from her other hand. "Thanks… man, nine years? I could never last that long without Sammy, he's as much a part of the hunt to me as some bastard apparition; and I thought two years was bad… shit." He digressed while lighting the cigarette, looking down at the lighter he read aloud what had been engraved in the small silver lighter. "Chicago Skyline… complete with a little sketch of the Chicago Skyline; very nice."
"Em and I lived there until our parents died." She explicated, dramatizing it with the smoke that came billowing from her mouth as she spoke.
"Oh, I see… beautiful city, best pizza ever!" he declared, causing Nadia to laugh a little more as he emphasized 'ever' with some rather animated hand motions, nearly burning himself with the cigarette he'd forgotten was resting between his right fore and middle fingers.
"Do you ever find yourself jealous of him?" She asked suddenly after a few minutes of oddly comfortable silence between the two older siblings.
"For what: leaving, going to college, living the normal life the little bitch was so determined to have?" he groused, pausing to think, he pursed his lips and shook his head. "Nah, I might be bitter about those things sometimes… but never jealous; I accepted this life a long time ago. Do you?"
"Yes and no… she always wanted more in life, and given our history, well, I knew it would be the only chance she would ever get at it. So, the day I woke up and realized she was gone… on some level I was happy for her." a sob rushed it's way out of her, but was quickly masked as a bitter laugh, "I didn't, however, expect her to stay gone for nine years… that was hard, I did resent her for that. Now with this whole supernatural war looming overhead; I know I'll never get my chance to try living a normal life. It doesn't bother me much, so long as she got a taste of what she'd always dreamt of, especially with the family curse getting ready to rear its ugly head… she got her moment in the sun; that's all that matters to me."
For the next few hours, Nadia and Dean sat on the back porch talking about everything and nothing and whatever happened to fall in between; laughing, venting, releasing bitterness… everything. In the end, Nadia was only vaguely aware that she was shivering violently until Dean pointed it out to her; both were less than vaguely aware of the evil that observed them from the shadows, waiting with a malicious patience for it's time to strike. Soon, my girl, you've evaded me for far too long…
"Nadia… are you okay?" Dean asked apprehensively, taking note of how she appeared to be having a seizure.
"I'm a little cold, but aside from that… I'm fine, why?" she lied; yes, she was a bit cold, oh and of course there was that disheartening feeling that they were being watched; all that aside… she was just fine.
"You're shaking like a friggin' leaf!" he cried, grasping onto her upper arms and rubbing them in hopes of warming her up. She seemed distracted by a shadow on the other side of the yard. "Are Missouri's shrubberies giving you the creeps?"
Instead of returning the humor, she turned to Dean with dreadful seriousness etched into every line on her face. "Dean, we have to go inside…now!"
What can I say? I enjoy ending chapters on a suspensful note. You know you love it. Til next time... Adios.