Apologies for the long delay on this one. My muse had to wrestle with it for a bit to get it to cooperate but it is finally completed and hopefully worth the wait. :)

Title: Shadow Play
Author: Cindy Ryan
Category: Xover SGA SG1, AU
Timeline: AU after AHBL pt.2
Notes: Many thanks to Kari for the beta

Dean blinked and found himself back where he started. Nothing to be seen for miles. Nothing but gray.
Dean checked his wounds and found they had stopped bleeding. He looked around and saw no sign of the demon.

"What?" Dean called out. "You get tired of me already?"

The ground below him turned into a churning, angry, dark ocean. Not able to prepare himself, Dean plummeted into the water.

*********

Several hours later, Cameron pulled the military jeep to a stop outside of the Maine lighthouse.

"One thing about military flights," Cameron commented as they climbed out of the vehicle just as the sun was setting. "They may not have any frills but they definitely get you where you want to go faster."

"Who needs peanuts anyway?" Sam replied with a grin.

They crossed the rest of the way in silence. They hooked up their rapelling gear and descended down to the cave.
After unhooking from the ropes, Sam and Cameron made their way into the cave, each holding flashlights.

"How'd they even find this place?" Sam asked as she sloshed through ankle deep water.

"Old legends….ghost stories, who knows," Cameron replied as he pointed his flash light at the wall. "That's where Daniel dug it out."

Sam pointed her light at the rough hole and moved closer to the wall. "There's something else here."

"What?" Cameron inquired as he joined her. As his own flashlight shined in he saw something sparkle.

"Might be the power source."

Cameron handed her his flashlight as he pulled a small shovel from his backpack. "Hold that steady. I don't want to hit something that'll blow up on us."

Sam nodded as she pointed both flashlights at the cave wall.

Cameron carefully began to dig. After ten shovel fulls, Sam halted him.

"Cam, that's good."

"Okay," Cameron acknowledged as he stepped away, taking the flashlights from her.

Sam knelt down into the water and began to pry away more of the dirt by hand. As she did, a familiar series of crystals emerged, encased in broken plastic.

Cameron crouched next to her, shining the light closer to the crystals. "Now those are familiar."

Sam shook her head. "I've never seen this configuration before."

Sam reached carefully in and began to remove one of the damaged crystals.
Almost instantly, a blue spark illuminated the cave and Sam was thrown back, slamming against the opposite wall.

"Sam!" Cameron shouted in alarm as he dropped the shovel and ran toward her.

********

After much discussion, Sam Winchester relented and allowed Daniel to be the one to read the spell. John had argued that Daniel's background as a linguist would work in their favor.

Sam looked over at Sheppard. "Do you guys have any rifles?"

Sheppard nodded. "A few, why?"

"What about rock salt?"

John blinked. "Rock salt?"

"Won't kill spirits but it'll slow them down," Sam explained as they moved toward the door of Weir's office.

"Find Radek, he'd know where it is. We brought some in case we'd have to melt something out of ice. It's not much," Elizabeth suggested.

Sam nodded. "It'll be enough and we're going to need salt."

"For?"

"Barrier."

John shook his head. "I'm just going to stop asking questions now."

"John, let me know if you need anything else," Weir called after them as they left.