(Disclaimer: Don't own anything Supernatural related; the following story and the characters of Riley and Dee are all mine)


Holier Than Thou.

Chapter Eleven.

And so she wandered, angry and alone…betrayed by man and betrayed by her creator. The three Angels sent to retrieve her, to bring her back as a slave to man had cursed her when she had refused. She'd held her head high, her shoulders back, her long red locks flowing down her back as she'd stared defiantly at them; her emerald eyes blazing with determination as they departed. But they hadn't left without punishing her for her rebellion; her womb would only ever bring forth death, any child she bore would not draw breath.

She walked towards the waters that surrounded this desert; sitting on the shore as the small waves reached out to her, lapping at her ankles as her mind seethed with untold fury. She was not deserved of this! She had been created as an equal and she demanded that right; demanded what was promised her and she would not yield. That wasn't her way.

She watched as the waters of the Red Sea moved up her legs; a warm caress that teased her and she closed her eyes, letting her mind float away with it…the waters moving steadily upwards. Her eyes snapped open as she felt more than the water lapping at her and as the demon held her down; pinning her arms as he whispered his vows to her, making promises of power and dominion she allowed him his want on the condition she never lie beneath him…he had smiled and agreed, raising her up as he raised the demon in her; another pact made ….only he too, had gone back on that promise. And she was betrayed again as he'd slithered back into the sea; his grin masking the evil he'd planted inside her.

The Angels had been wrong…her child did draw breath…just one, before it lay still in her arms. Her mind didn't snap, she wasn't beaten down by grief; she was engulfed in rage filled revenge. She would have her vengeance on all who betrayed her; and when the Angels heard her solemn vow of retribution they rushed from the Heavens, binding her with a talisman and shackling her to the dank caves that lined the sea.

She had been fettered to that place, at the mercy of all those that happened to pass; each child she bore, seeming to last longer than the one before and she started to understand that only those that were strong of the body and powerful of the mind, sired the stronger of her children…but those that acknowledged the evil that lay in all men…they were the ones from which her spawn seemed to last longest. She devised a plan, one that would see her rule over all the realms. So she waited…waited for one that would set her free.

And he had come one evening, as the sun started to sink behind the sea; his days catch of fish hanging over his shoulder as he entered the cave; unable to ignore her desperate whimpers. His gentle green eyes had lit upon her; taking in the small bones that lay scattered around the cave and he had gone to her, sorrow in his heart as he re-assured her that she was now safe. He had worked hard to break the shackles that bound her wrist and ankle to the cave; the dagger passed down through his father finally snapping the metal cuffs. He had smiled at her, shaking his head as he had refused her offer of carnal payment; her freedom was payment enough, he had said as he had helped her to her feet; putting his coat around her and passing her his catch.

But she had laughed at him as she cast the coat and fish aside, standing brazenly as she stared at him with contempt. He recoiled as he saw the evil rise up in front of him; her flaming hair flying out behind her; her viridian eyes aglow with malicious intent and he raised his dagger, understanding crashing into him as he lunged, determined to right the wrong he'd just committed.

But she was alive; alivewith foul freedom…all the years of vengeful hatred coursed through her and she attacked her liberator. She tore into him; taking her years of torment out on the man…but he refused to give in to her and as his dagger pierced her belly, she howled and rose from him; but again he refused to give in and he grabbed at her, yanking the talisman from around her neck as she fled the cave. She cast once last glance at the man; vowing vengeance on his blood-line…cursing them through the ages; laughing derisively as he cursed her in return; swearing his blood-line would forever hunt her til the day she was cast into the bowels from whence she came. Her shriek of victorious emancipation ripping into his soul.

The man held tight to the talisman, the blood from both demon and man coating the silver, linking them and the generations to come. He closed his eyes as he felt death slowly creeping up on him; the shadows moving ever closer as they staked their claim. He started to pray, pray for forgiveness for what he had done, for what he had unleashed on the world...and he opened his eyes as he felt a gentle hand placed upon his heart. "Forgive me" he whispered to the Angels before him. They smiled benevolently at him, telling him his act of kindness was not something for which forgiveness should be asked.

They had taken the talisman from his hands and placed it around his neck; it shone brightly, illuminating the cave as it bounced off the walls and blinding him to the presence of the Angels; the words were all he needed to hear "Beware, hunter; this is the key that holds her dominion over the realms of God, man and Serpent. You have sworn a blood-oath that is binding for you and your descendants. Should you not effect your vow; your son must, then his son and his son; through the ages until it is done"

He had nodded "And if I bear no sons?" he asked.

"A woman holds the will of Lilith, never a daughter shall be borne to your line…for if one is, she will side with the demon and all will be lost. Your line has been cursed by one whose name must never be uttered, for if spoken in the vicinity of the talisman, she will be summoned; and once summoned, blood must be spilled or the talisman will be rightfully hers. Instruct your sons; pass the lessons down your line but remember this; should those that hold the talisman speak of its power before the next guardian is ready, the protection will be rendered worthless" the man nodded again as he felt the life return to him "Understanding must come from within the heir, only then will they truly be a worthy adversary of the night vixen"

The Angel placed his hand on the talisman one last time and looked deep into the eyes of the first of all demon hunters "It will protect you….but you must protect IT. Protect IT, Abraham"

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Sam rose from the chair; the chill that had snaked down his spine moments earlier still remained and he rubbed at his arms as goosebumps appeared. Something wasn't right with this whole thing; he went to the bed and picked up Jack's letter and re-read it; not looking up as he heard Dee tapping away at the laptop. He shook his head; there was something missing, he couldn't put his finger on it…but while Jack had given them enough information to find the name of the demon…it just didn't feel right; and he always trusted his instincts. He needed to speak with Riley. He looked out the window and tried not to laugh…well that was one way to ride a swing. He supposed he should go and get them …aaaand there they go again…this time he did laugh softly and Dee turned to him.

"Please tell me he's not pushing her on the swing" she said, letting out a small groan at his smile.

"Aaah, no. Well not the way you think" said Sam as he walked over and sat next to her "Something's not right with this" he said holding up the letter.

Dee nodded "Something's missing and I think it's a big something" she said as she lit another smoke, taking the letter from Sam and reading it again "Okay, so Jack wrote this because he thought he might not live through the hunt right?" and Sam nodded "He knew you and Dean were here and that worried him…why?"

Sam shrugged "Maybe like he said...he didn't want us involved with this" he shook his head "He must've known that Deumos was using the names from those demons in Vermont and he would've known he was one of her spawn, so why didn't he kill him?"

"Bargaining power?"

"You think maybe he was going to use him to find out where…" he stopped himself; he could feel her name rising in him and he didn't want to say it…something deep within him screamed at him not to utter her name again; so he fought it, swallowing hard and forcing the name back "aaah, to try and find out where she is?"

Dee frowned at Sam "You alright?"

He nodded "Yeah, fine. This is just seriously messing with my head" he sighed and leaned back in his chair, running his hands through his hair "Okay, so Jack didn't kill Deumos…and if what Riley said earlier is right, maybe Deumos couldn't kill him because of the talisman"

"Makes sense; if the bitch couldn't kill Jack then her spawn wouldn't be able to either"

"But we can kill them. She couldn't kill Jack, so she won't be able to kill Riley as long as she wears the amulet but that leaves the three of us vulnerable"

Dee grinned at Sam "Scared about getting some demon lovin' Sam?"

Sam laughed "Not really a big fan of having sex that will literally kill you, Dee"

They looked up as the door burst open; both of them had their pistols in their hands in an instant and trained on the two figures that were trying to push through the door…

"I bagsied it first!" yelled Riley as she tried to shoulder Dean out of the way.

"What are you? Four?" laughed Dean as he struggled between the doorframe and Riley.

Riley pushed through the motel door; Dean making a grab at her as she ran to the bathroom and slammed the door in his face "HA!" she laughed from the other side.

"HURRY UP! I'M DYING HERE!" he yelled as he banged on the door.

"USE A TREE!" she yelled back.

"Aah, dude?" said Sam with a laugh as he put his pistol on the table "There's a bathroom in our room"

"YOU HEAR THAT WATER RUNNING, DEAN?" yelled Riley with a laugh.

'FOR CHRIST'S SAKE! I GOTTA TAKE A PISS!"

Sam laughed at his brother's discomfort "All that alcohol finally get to you?"

"Shut up" muttered Dean as he shuffled from foot to foot "HURRY UP, RILEY!"

"Just washing my hands….and my face….might take a shower too…" said Riley through the door "Best not to break the seal, Dean"

"Don't make me kick the door in!"

"Dude! Go next door!" laughed Sam.

Riley opened the door slowly "Aaah, so much better…" she smiled at him "left the water running in case you needed…"

Dean yanked her from the bathroom "I'm gonna piss my pants!" he laughed as he slammed the door; Sam and Riley cracking up as they heard muffled groans of relief coming from the other side.

Sam shook his head at Riley "The way you two drink, I'm amazed you don't spend half your time in there" he said, pointing to the bathroom.

"Practice" said Riley as she kicked off her boots, sat on the bed and started going through the box again.

"Riley…" started Dee.

"I don't want to talk about it" said Riley, not looking up.

"I made Jack a promise"

"Yeah?" said Riley, finally raising her eyes to her friends "Worked out well did it?"

"No, it blew up in our faces" said Dee.

"No shit"

Sam stood "I'll go and…"

"Stay Sam" said Riley "No more secrets" she looked at Dee angrily "Right?"

Before Dee could answer, the door to the bathroom opened and Dean walked out, wiping his hands on his jeans; he looked at Riley "You better start sleeping with one eye open" she laughed as he grinned at her and she returned to her searching as Dean sat on the bed opposite her.

Sam grinned at his brother "Enjoy the park?"

Dean grinned back "I like the swings. Riley converted me" and he ducked as she threw a boot at him. "Missed" he grinned.

"Riley" started Sam and she looked up "We found her"

Dean and Riley both stood quickly and went to the laptop, looking at the photo on the screen "That's her" said Riley "She was the one I saw in my dream"

"Same chick from the painting in Deumos' house" said Dean. He leaned down and looked at the name printed underneath "So the bitches name is…"

"Don't say her name!" interrupted Riley loudly as she frowned, surprised; she hadn't expected the words to fly from her lips, it had been primal instinct that had forced them.

They all turned their eyes to her "Why not?" asked Dean.

She shook her head slowly "I don't know…just…don't" she said.

"Might have problem there, Riley" said Dee "Sam already said it"

"I think that's bad" said Riley, another frown creasing her brow.

"You think?" asked Sam "Could you be a little more specific maybe?" he asked as he felt a frigid flurry of fear settle in the pit of his stomach.

"Aaah, not really, no" she said.

Sam stood quickly "No" he said shaking his head as he started to pace the room "Not, really, no. Well that's freakin' awesome"

"Just calm down, Sam" said Dean, moving in front of his brother and putting his hands on his shoulders "We'll figure this out, I promise" he said as he slapped his brother gently on the cheek. He turned "Riley, the talisman…we need to figure out what the carvings and words mean"

Riley took Sam's seat and removed the talisman, hanging it over the top of the laptop as she started to tap at the keys. She started skimming through photos of ancient amulets, her gaze going between the talisman and the screen as Sam peered over her shoulder. She found nothing even remotely similar to hers and sat back as she thought on it; she reached over and read Jack's letter again.

"Something's missing, Riley" said Dee "Jack didn't tell us everything"

"Let me see it again" said Dean and Riley passed it over.

"Aramaic translations, try that" said Sam.

"Gotta love 'google'" said Riley as she entered the search.

"Regardless of what the texts say'" said Dean as he looked up from the letter "That's what Jack said...we need to figure out which texts he's talking about"

"Dee, get our laptop…this is gonna take forever" said Riley.

"Aaah, hate to bring this up…again…but we don't have forever" said Sam, not realising how true that statement was.

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The moon rose high in the night sky, her pristine light floating down over the landscape as she took her rightful position as the mother of the heavens, her billions of twinkling children, a shimmering blanket that shrouded the desert as they bore witness to the first step in the demons lethal journey.

She knew where she was going, and a depraved smile slithered across her ruby lips; she'd been summoned, her name whispered by one whose blood had once run with that of her kind. She had felt the remnants of that impiety, a hushed sigh of the corruption that lay within him and her body shuddered in anticipation of the spawn that would be sired.

She made her way across the desert plains and towards her prey…

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They worked well into the night; Dee and Sam reading through the texts while Dean and Riley scoured Aramaic sites trying to decipher the inscriptions and figures on the talisman. By 2am, they were tired, irritable and frustrated, Sam especially so; but after much arguing, much slapping of heads and the usual threats of violence, Dean finally herded Sam out of Riley and Dee's room and to their own.

Dean shut the door behind them "Alright, dude…you just gotta relax…"

Sam turned on Dean "YOU relax! I got…"

"Me, Sammy" interrupted Dean "You got me, dude and nothin's gonna happen to you while I'm around okay?" he grinned at his baby brother "We kicked demon ass in Vermont and they threw everything at us. This?" he piqued an eyebrow "Psshh! It's a walk in the park" and he grinned.

Sam shook his head and laughed softly "You're thinking of the swings aren't you?" he said as he kicked his boots off and flopped onto his bed.

"Dude…" started Dean as he stripped to his boxers, putting his knife and pistol under his pillow before sliding under the sheets "I'm taking her tomorrow…" he laughed softly "we never did make it to the teeter-totter"

Sam groaned "Say goodnight, Dean" and switched off the lamp.

Dean grinned "Goodnight Dean"

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Riley woke with a start; her senses in overdrive, her heart racing as she felt a deep chill settle in her bones. Her hand went instinctively to the talisman around her neck and she jumped out of her bed; grabbing her dagger as she went to Dee. She put a hand on her friends shoulder, Dee's eyes snapping open and nodding as she saw the look on her friends face.

Riley opened the motel door quietly, she and Dee slipping out and moving quickly towards Dean and Sam's room. She motioned that Dee was to stay behind her and as the muffled sounds of desire floated towards them, Riley shouldered the door open…stopping at the sight that greeted her.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HIM, BITCH!" she yelled at the succubi that straddled Sam. Sam turned his fearful eyes towards her and she finally saw the serpents that had him bound wrist and ankle to the bed.

The demon spun her face towards Riley; her eyes flashing; her mouth opening with a hiss as her forked tongue snaked out. Riley could see the deep gouges in Sam's chest and she chanced a quick glance past the demon to Dean and saw him struggling against two of Lilith's spawn that had him held down on the bed. Dean would be next.

"I SAID GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HIM!" yelled Riley again as she advanced on the demon; she saw Dee shift to her right, giving her a clear shot at the hellion that held Dean; giving her a subtle nod that she had a clear shot. Riley smiled and Dee acted quickly, the two shots echoing loudly round the room as they found their mark, both demons falling from Dean, their hate-filled howls cut short.

The room was filled with a savage keening that erupted from the demon at the loss of two more of her spawn; her carnal hunger now forgotten as she launched herself at Dee; her crimson locks like fire as it blazed behind her…her eyes shining with vengeful wrath as she bore down on her children's killer.

Time seemed to slow as all four hunters moved in unison…Dee raised her gun, emptying the automatic as the demon shrieked down on her; Sam snapped free of the serpentine binds that shackled him, grabbing the shotgun from the floor near his bed, turning and firing. Dean reached under his pillow and threw his dagger in one swift movement; and Riley stepped between Dee and Lilith and raised her hands…

All hell was about to break loose as predator and prey met for the first time.

To be continued…