13
HUNTER
Jo walked with Jeannie down the halls of Hell. They had ten different rooms to visit that day, and Jo was nervous. She'd only been out in the hall once since she was made Queen, and had limited interaction with the demons. Dean had said how he'd disposed of quite a few, but they were still demons. Their first room was a plain, wooden door with the number 647 written on it. Jo looked to Jeannie quick, who just shrugged her shoulders. Slowly taking the handle, Jo opened the creaky door. A scream was the first thing she heard causing her to flinch at her own memories of the rack. Before entering, she took a deep breath.
The room was freezing, much like a South Dakota winter at Bobby's. A woman was bound to a table, with blood oozing from at least eight different stab wounds. Another woman was present in the room, and Jo's eyebrow rose in recognition. Marlie stood over the bleeding woman with a knife in her hand. Hearing Jo's breathing, the demon turned around to face her.
"You're Majesty?" Marlie said with a little too much excitement.
"Hi Marlie," Jo said breathlessly.
"It's wonderful to see you, is everything alright?" she smiled at Jo. The woman on the table huffed in exhaustion looking confused at the demon and Jo.
"Everything's just fine. Just checking up on things for Dean," Jo explained, anxious to flee the room.
"Things are mighty fine. It's actually been a pretty good day," Marlie casually crossed her blood stained arms over her chest. She looked like she was having a conversation about the weather, and it slightly sickened Jo.
"I'm gonna go," Jo announced, jerking her thumb behind her for emphasis.
"If there's anything I can do for you, just say the word and it's done," Marlie's bright smile made Jo politely nod back.
"Thanks," she said before leaving the demon to her torture.
"At least you have fans," Jeannie whispered with the hint of a smile. Jo sighed and looked down at the list Dean had given her.
"I don't have words for that gir- I mean demon. Let's keep going," Jo said, happy to at least be doing something productive.
"Don't you think we should take action?" Harvey asked.
"He's my brother. I'll deal with it as I see fit. Sam and Kevin have a lot of work to do yet," Dean snapped. Harvey shut up and looked to Dean to continue. "I suppose we could throw them off their trail for a little while though, huh?"
"Excellent idea sir," Harvey answered.
"Arirca," Dean said, watching as the demon stepped forward. "Go upstairs and set up a fake trail for Sam and Kevin. Get a few lower demons to do it, and report to me when you're finished."
"Yes sir," Arirca obediently responded.
"I have a few things I need to take care of," Dean announced to Harvey. "See that my father is adjusting well, and tell him I'll be back later," Dean said before walking out of his office towards the private room he was keeping Roy in.
Jo and Jeannie continue their task, checking to make sure that each room listed was in use. Some demons acknowledged her, while others completely ignored her. One by one she made a check mark next to the room numbers as Jeannie guided her through the halls. After all ten rooms were checked off, they found their way back to Dean's office.
Entering the room, Jo saw that Dean was gone, and just Harvey and one other demon remained. Stepping forward, Jo held out the paper for Harvey to take. He smiled at her and accepted the parchment, setting it down on Dean's 'desk'. "I take it everything went well then?" Harvey asked.
"Yeah," Jo replied, not sure what she was supposed to do next."
"I'll make sure to inform the King that you've finished," he said. His gaze implied that she was no longer needed, so she turned to leave. Passing through the doors, she made eye contact with a familiar face. Mark, the demon who often tortured her on the rack, was standing just outside Dean's office. She quickly averted her gaze and continued back towards the great hall.
"I think I'm going to take a bath," Jo announced. She wanted some time to herself, and a little relaxation sounded great. Also, she was perfectly content avoiding John for a while longer.
For the rest of that day, Jo successfully avoided John. Most of her time was spent in her room, talking with Jeannie. It wasn't until what would be dinner time that Dean showed up again. His clothes were stained with blood, and Jo remained silent. Sitting on their bed, she was paging through some old books. They were similar to the lore books Bobby Singer's house had been filled with. Dean approached her and gave her a quick kiss before entering the closet. Seconds later, he emerged in a fresh black shirt and clean jeans. "No problems today then?" he inquired.
"Nope. Each room was just fine. One of them was Marlie's though. She was the only one who really had a conversation with me," she commented.
"I see," he murmured. "Come on, let's have a drink," he suggested and guided her towards the great hall where Jo knew John would most likely be.
Sure enough, Dean's father sat in front of the large fireplace nursing a glass of whiskey. He turned his attention to the couple once they entered, but didn't move to stand up. "There's some things we need to discuss," Dean announced.
"Okay," Jo said, urging him to continue. She stood next to Dean near the side of the fireplace near the bar. Without a word, Jeannie had put a full glass of wine in Jo's left hand. On Earth, wine wasn't her typical alcohol of choice, given that the bar's on tap beer was cheapest. However, something about the particular wine Dean provided made her want more and more. It was odd, and she swirled the contents of her glass in contemplation. Why am I always drinking this? What's so special about it? Is it a drug? Her racing thoughts were interrupted by Dean's strained voice.
"With you finally accepting a position, you'll have work to do," Dean said, looking to his father.
"What am I supposed to do?" John questioned.
"Well, I figure something you're good at. Hunting," Dean said with a sideways smirk creeping onto his face. Jo's eyes widened in surprise, as she was not expecting that to be the job assigned.
"Hunting?"
"You're rejecting the offer?" Dean taunted with a raised eyebrow.
"Never said that," John replied with hint of irritation. It was clear that he didn't like the way Dean was talking to him, but also didn't have much of a choice.
"Good. You'll be appointed to a first ranking demon." John's eyes bugged out in disgust.
"You can't do that to me," John hissed, sickened by the thought of becoming what he'd hunted for years.
"Relax," Dean snapped and held up a hand. "You'll keep your original meat suit. I'm able to 'bend the old rules' so to speak. I need you to be a demon so when you get killed I don't have to worry about putting you back together again. Being a demon, you'll regenerate and can climb right back upstairs to continue working," Dean stated with little amusement.
"I don't understand, what is it I'm supposed to hunt?" John asked.
"Everything. Werewolves, vampires, ghouls, spirits, Wendigos, you name it. Anything except for the demons I have up there," Dean answered. Jo nearly choked on her wine, and was having difficulty taking in the situation. Dean is going to send John up to hunt monsters?
"Why?" Jo interrupted. Dean turned to face his queen.
"Why is not important right now," he replied with a knowing look. She wasn't sure if it meant that he'd tell her in private, or if he was going to keep that information to himself.
"When do I start?" John asked with actual enthusiasm.
"Tomorrow."
