SEVENTEEN
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
January 21st, 2009
The bar was eerily silent, the patrons watching the man rage at the counter. "They were more prepared than we thought," Malphas growled, throwing an unopened bottle of scotch into the mirrored wall behind the bar.
The bartender, a tall, buxom blonde dressed in snug jean shorts and a tight fitting pink tank top, shook her head and rolled her gray eyes. "We didn't count on them being with another hunter. If we had known, we could have planned better." Malphas glared at her and she took a hesitant step back. "They had their angel, Castiel, there as well. How could you expect a victory when they had divine help?"
"I don't need your pity, Deumos! I was there, remember? I saw what happened. They knew we were coming. They'd had time to plan. Much more than they should have." Malphas slammed his fists onto the bar and it cracked. Glasses rattled and a few more bottles shattered on the hardwood floor as they fell from shelves.
"I told Lilith not to wait! I told her not to allow them the time to figure out our plans. That following Ruby would lead us to the Winchesters and if we acted quickly, we could annihilate them all and be done with this foolishness," Malphas continued to rage. "When she told me of her plan, that she was going to use the Fool's Ritual again, I became worried. She has told me time and time again that the Winchesters are not stupid, yet she expected them to walk into such a poorly lain trap? How could she expect things to turn out any differently?"
"Perhaps I should have sent someone else to lead the charge?" a tiny voice hissed behind him. Malphas closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I should have held my tongue. I should have known she would appear today, he thought dejectedly.
"I'm sorry for my insolence, Lilith. I only meant that without knowing what you've anticipated, it would appear that the sacrifices made yesterday were unnecessary." He turned to look at the little girl with blonde curls glaring up at him.
"I hadn't realized I needed to explain myself to you, Malphas. I apologize and humbly ask for your forgiveness." The little girl bowed dramatically, pulling up the sides of her frilly yellow dress in a curtsy. Lilith was mocking him which only made Malphas more concerned. The bar had gone completely still. The other patrons, all demons as well, were waiting to see what would happen next. The little girl blinked up at him, waiting for him to respond.
"I did not mean to question your authority, Lilith."
"Of course you did. Why else would you be spouting such idiocy?" A murmur went through the room and Malphas felt his host's body react to the unease; his palms began to sweat and beads of perspiration formed on the back of his neck. Malphas tried to relax against the restricted feeling in his lungs.
"You have tried my patience too much in the last few weeks, Malphas. I've let you get away with too much, so I can only blame myself for the fallacy in which you speak now. What a disappointment you have become." Lilith climbed up onto the bar stool next to him and folded her hands neatly on the counter.
"I'm not questioning your authority, merely saying that it would be more prudent to know the outcome you expect. I have overstepped my boundaries and for that I am truly sorry."
"You aren't yet, but you will be," she purred, the pale blue eyes going opaque in an instant. The body Malphas possessed begin to twitch and he felt an immense pressure similar to a human heart attack in his chest. A tearing began from within and Malphas was unable to contain the shriek of pain that ripped from him. Lilith's smile was ironically sympathetic as she forced his soul back into hell.
The whole ordeal took only seconds, but his screams continued to echo through the silent bar. No one moved, fear freezing them in their places. But Lilith's bad mood seemed to have cleared as she began swinging her legs and humming. "Deumos?" she called, gaining the attention of the bartender. "Be a good girl and make me a strawberry milkshake." The bartender immediately obeyed and soon the bar returned to a light buzz of activity.
Deumos stole glances at Lilith as she worked, disturbed by how calm her leader was after the debacle that had happened the afternoon before. The Winchester boys were a major thorn in Lilith's side and the rise of Lucifer seemed to be incumbent on their demise. Yesterday's mistake would cost them all dearly, as evidence of what happened to Malphas moments ago.
"Don't fret, Deumos," Lilith stated, as if reading the demon's mind. "You have done nothing to irritate me. Well, nothing yet, anyway." She took the milkshake from Deumos as soon as the bartender set it down, and, bouncing on the stool, began to suck merrily on the straw. "This is very good!"
"If I may ask? What are you going to do about the Winchesters now?" a dark skinned, heavy-set man dressed in a dark blue suit asked from a booth in the farthest corner. He flinched as Lilith abruptly stopped bouncing. She smacked her lips loudly, before slipping off the stool to skip over to where he sat.
"Well, Verin, I think that is a very good question. You see, what Malphas failed to grasp is that I want Sam and Dean dead, true, but I also need to remain hidden. What happened yesterday will surely draw them back to Pennsylvania and that is bad, very bad. How am I supposed to complete my task here with them snooping around?"
Lilith sighed and glanced around the room. "What I need is someone to preoccupy them while I am finishing up here and I think you have just volunteered." She giggled, the sound sending shivers through every demon in the bar, and skipped back to the counter where her milkshake sat. The little girl scooted onto the stool, finished the milkshake, and then asked for another one. She beamed at Deumos as the woman placed the refilled glass in front of her.
"You should do me a favor," she quipped to the bartender.
"What?" Deumos stuttered.
"There's this pesky girl with the Winchesters, a female hunter, that I want dealt with."
"Not that I have a problem with killing hunters, but can I ask why her specifically?" Deumos cringed, waiting for Lilith's reply.
"Well, you see, she's the reason they knew about the Fool's Ritual, about my trap for them. If she had kept her meddling nose out of things, Sam and Dean may still be chasing their tails." Lilith took a sip of her milkshake and smiled up at Deumos. "It's a shame, actually, because she's a pretty girl. It seems such a waste, really. But there's a bonus to her elimination. It seems Sam and Dean have grown fond of this hunter. Especially Dean." Lilith finished the second milkshake, her straw sucking loudly the last bit from the bottom of the glass. "That was very good, Deumos."
"Thank you," the woman muttered. The little girl hopped off the stool and turned back to the demon in the dark suit again.
"Be sure to do a good job, Verin. I don't like to be disappointed." With a bright flash of white light, Lilith disappeared. A sigh of relief went through the bar and Verin stood up.
"What are you going to do?" a short, balding man with wire rimmed glasses and a nasally sort of voice asked from a table by the large front window.
Verin sighed and shrugged. "I don't know, but I have to think of something. It's not like Lilith gave me a choice, did she?" A murmur of sympathy went through the bar and he sighed again. "I'm open to any ideas."
It was an odd feeling, watching the pyre burn Frank Connors' body. It reminded Sam too much of when they had done the same to their father. He leaned against the Impala, his hands stuffed deep into the pockets of his jeans, staring at the flames as they flared brightly. Dean had insisted on helping Reggie with the preparations even though she had told them to go on to Philadelphia ahead of her.
It's better this way, Sam thought. No one should have to do this alone.
His brother stood next to Reggie now, the two of them only a few feet from the fire. It had taken most of the day to clean up Reggie's house before driving out to a secluded area to perform the ceremony they now stood watching. Ruby sighed heavily beside him and Sam turned to look at her.
"What's on your mind?"
"Nothing I want to talk about right now," she said, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. Sam continued to stare at her, trying to read her face. "Fine," she snapped, glaring at him. "I was just thinking that we really should get out of Dodge. Lilith is going to be expecting us to return to the city and, after what happened yesterday, she's going to be in one hell of a mood. Her next plan of attack is going to make yesterday look like a vacation day in Disneyland."
"We can handle it."
"You know, that's Dean's response to everything and now, it's seems to be rubbing off on you," Ruby snapped. "I'm worried, Sam. Can you honestly say that stopping Lilith from opening this one seal is worth risking anymore lives?" She glanced at Reggie before returning her gaze to Sam's. "Can you live with that on your conscience? Do you think Dean can?" She sighed again. "Do you think he can live with anymore pain on his soul?"
Sam couldn't answer her. He looked over at his brother, remembering what Dean had told Sam the night they had helped Anna. They had been working practically non-stop since that night, moving from place to place, job to job. Sam could see that his brother was trying to compensate, to make up for the pain he caused in hell by saving as many people as he could. Sam didn't agree with Dean's obsession, but he could understand it.
"I know what Dean went through down there. I know what it's like in the pit, suffering day in and day out. I know what happens to a person, to a soul, when they can't take it anymore. No one can stand the pain forever, Sam."
"He's told me," Sam said in a hushed voice. The flames had begun to die down and the sun was setting, casting a warm, orange glow over everything. Sam watched it intently for a few minutes, thinking about Dean.
"I know what happened down there, that he was torturing souls in his place. He agonizes over it every day, Ruby. He has nightmares about it almost every night. The pain he feels about what he did, it's eating him alive inside. Saving lives is what's keeping Dean going. We can't walk away from this and I won't ask him to."
Sam looked at Reggie and Dean again. "If there is any way we can stop Lilith from opening this seal then we have to try." He returned his gaze to Ruby. "Reggie's a hunter. She knows what she's gotten herself into. And, after what happened to Frank, how can we tell her to stay out of this?"
"I see your point, Sam. I'm just worried about what could go wrong. The fact that you're not using your powers as much anymore is only going to hurt you."
Sam noticed that Reggie and Dean were heading towards them and raced to finish the conversation before either could overhear it. "I don't want to have this argument with you, Ruby. Not now. I shouldn't use them. I can't."
"Because Dean doesn't want you to. You were getting really good at controlling them," Ruby whined. She began to pout. "All that work for nothing!"
"Let it go," he hissed at her.
Ruby pushed away from the Impala and huffed in anger. "I just think it's a really big mistake."
"Noted." He offered Reggie a small smile as she approached with Dean. "Are you ready to go?" he asked them. Dean nodded and threw Sam his car keys. Sam gaped at him in shock.
"Reggie's gonna let me drive the Fury," he beamed, eyeing the dark blue Plymouth parked a few feet from the Impala.
"Wipe the drool off your face or you'll ruin the interior," Reggie teased as she climbed in on the passenger side. Sam noticed the smile didn't quite meet her eyes, which looked sad and distant.
This has to be really rough for her, pretending like she is. She seems to be compartmentalizing everything that's happened. She's more like Dean than I thought. Sam climbed in behind the wheel of the Impala, a strange out of place feeling settling on him for a moment as he remembered all the time he'd spent driving the car while Dean was gone. As he slammed the door closed, Sam noticed Dean still standing in front of the car. He rolled down the window about to ask what was wrong when he heard Dean's voice.
"...not cheating on you, girl. It's just a onetime thing. I promise."
He's talking to the Impala? Sam thought incredulously. He groaned and rolled his eyes at Dean.
Revving the car's engine, Sam received an angry look from his brother which only made him laugh. Sam watched his brother pat the hood before jogging over to Reggie's Plymouth and climb into the driver's seat. The car started with a roar that almost rivaled the Impala's. Sam noticed Reggie take one last look at the extinguishing pyre before he backed up and drove off, the Plymouth following closely behind them.
"Where are we going, exactly?" Reggie asked, breaking Dean out of his reverie.
"Sam found a place to squat in, an old apartment building that's under renovations. Apparently, the city has the builders hung up on permit problems. It's supposed to be better than the last place we were squatting in, before we came to your house. Sam says the electricity and heat are turned on, so that's a plus."
"Do you guys have to squat often?" Dean snorted loudly and Reggie groaned as she realized the double entendre. "You know what I meant."
Dean continued to laugh. "Yeah, but it's still funny." He shook his head, trying to get control of himself. "We still have warrants on our heads, I don't know if Bobby told you about any of that, and we're also supposed to be dead, so we try to keep a low profile. If we're in a city where we may get tripped up by using a fake credit card, or that can be a little too expensive for cash, we look for other places to crash."
"Bobby did mention something about warrants. Something about you being wanted for murder?" Reggie cocked an eyebrow at Dean, an amused expression on her face.
"It's a long story and a huge misunderstanding involving a shape shifter we hunted in St. Louis. And, of course, we can't really explain what we do in our line of work to the authorities without sounding like we're completely bonkers, so things began to pile up. By the time we 'died', we were wanted on everything from grave desecration to armed robbery."
"That's...interesting, to say the least. I haven't really had that much trouble with the authorities. A few close calls for breaking and entering, but nothing to have me wanted by the FBI." Reggie glanced out the window and Dean saw her face reflected off the glass. The look on it reminded him of the period after his dad had died. It was the same look Dean had kept hidden from Sam in the following months; it was a lost, angry, resentful look.
"I've been where you are now, you know," he stated, staring straight ahead as he felt Reggie's gaze find his face.
"What do you mean?" she asked. He could feel her watching him in the darkness.
"Bottling it up like that - the pain, the anger - it's going to eat you up inside. One day you'll explode and it won't be pretty." He looked over at Reggie and saw that she was looking out the window again.
"I'm not," she replied shortly.
"Really? 'Cause you sure fooled me," Dean snapped in frustration. Instantly, he regretted being so harsh.
"In our line of work people die, Dean. It's something that we, as hunters, become accustomed to." Reggie sighed heavily and turned to look at him again, meeting his sympathetic gaze. "I'm okay, really. I can compartmentalize better than anyone. Besides, if I can't keep my head in this I could get myself, or you and Sam, hurt or killed. And dwelling on Frank's death won't change anything."
"I won't bring it up anymore, then. Just know, that if you need anyone to talk to..."
"I can talk to you."
"Actually, I was going to say talk to Sam. He's better for the chick stuff," Dean joked. Reggie began to laugh, her face softening for the first time in hours.
She punched Dean lightly on the shoulder and shook her head at him. "That is just so wrong," she said. Reggie smiled at him and he smiled back, glad to see the grey cloud temporarily gone from her eyes.
The Impala slowed ahead of them, Sam using his turn signals so that they could follow him more easily. They turned into the large parking lot surrounding the unfinished apartment buildings, avoiding the piles of snow where the plows had pushed it as they cleared the streets. Dean pulled up next to the Impala and killed the engine. Sam was already pulling stuff from the trunk by the time Dean and Reggie finally got out of the car.
"The third building from the right," Sam stated, pointing to the closest building to where they were parked, "is the only one that is supposed to have running water and working heat and electricity. According to the county records I pulled up, all work has been postponed until March."
"Nice of them to leave everything on for us," Dean said, pulling his duffle bag from the Plymouth's trunk.
"They can't turn the utilities off or they'd have to start from scratch with the pipes they've already installed. The cold weather would cause the water to freeze and make the pipes rupture. Which means that they would also have to replace any damaged installation and drywall they've already got up as well," Reggie explained. Dean, Ruby, and Sam all gawked at her.
"Yeah, basically, but how'd you know all that?" Sam asked in awe.
"I've been known to catch one or two of those Do-It-Yourself shows," Reggie replied, shrugging. "Plus, it's handy to know this stuff, in case you might have to squat somewhere." She glanced at Dean, a smile tugging at her lips.
"Okay, well that's great to know. Now, can we get inside before we freeze to death?" Ruby whined. She stomped off towards the building without waiting for them to respond.
"Rein in your girlfriend, Sam," Dean hissed, swinging his duffle bag over his shoulder and following after her. Sam slammed the trunk, hard, and watched as Dean froze in mid-step before turning slowly to glare at Sam Dean raised an eyebrow at Sam.
"Sorry," Sam grumbled. Dean glared for a few more seconds, then nodded and started walking again.
"Isn't it weird that she's…you know…a demon?" Reggie asked as she limped along with Sam, several feet behind Dean.
"To be honest, I don't really see her as one anymore. She's too human to me. Not really like the other demons we've come across."
"But she is a demon, Sam. You can't trust them." Reggie sighed. "I'm sure Dean's said the same thing, so I'll shut up. It's not really any of my business anyway."
"Yeah, he's said the same thing, but it's okay. Your entitled to your own opinions, too. You have to trust her just as much as we do right now."
Reggie shook her head. "I can't say that I trust her, but I can't ignore how much she helped last night. For that, I think I can overlook the demon thing. For a little while at least." Sam chuckled and held the door open as they entered the abandoned building.