Chapter 6

She was poised over him with a finger running gently up the side of his face. He had such delicate features for a man of the sword. She's love to see how he responded to her persuasion. She'd loved the baby brother even more, but knew there were other ways to get what she wanted. Ways, much more fun than simply applying violence.

She let her nail trace a slim line in his skin. It left a red strip which quickly faded. With a wide smile, she left the room, and returned to the three hunters and the other victims.

"Where's the suspect?" a crass voice asked.

Dean looked up as Bobby entered the small bedroom. "Who's she?" He wasn't all that pleased with a newcomer getting involved.

"Dean, this is Stella," Bobby held out a hand to the fifty-something woman.

Stella nodded and smiled, before looking at Sam. "So this is the handsome devil that caught the attention of a witch?"

Dean ground his jaw to keep from slugging her. "Can you fix him?"

She scoffed at him, and shooed him out of his seat. He obeyed begrudgingly. "Please. This stuff is small fry compared to my usual gigs, but Singer said he'd owe me one," She winked at the grizzly demonologist, and opened a travel bag. It seemed there wasn't a wiccan out there that Bobby wasn't owed a favor from.

"So what?" Dean glanced from Bobby to Stella. "You light some incense and chant a few magic words and the poison's out?"

She turned back to him with an alarmingly serious look. "Do you know anything about witchcraft?"

Dean made a pass for her, but Bobby held a hand out. "Just let her do her thing, Dean."

"I know enough," he growled.

Stella huffed and pulled out a slender blade. She opened Sam's hand gently and drew blood from his thumb. "The incense comes later."

Dean was shifting his feet uneasily and trying to skirt past Bobby every other second.

"This isn't just a toxin. No toxin can do this without a little magical aid," She mumbled while pulling things from her bag.

"It's a curse?" Bobby asked.

"A very old one," Stella hissed and drew back the knife. "A very angry one."

"The witch that made it was supposedly burned on the stake."

"Hephzibah, yeah. Bobby told me. Guess, getting your ass shish-kebab'ed would be enough to piss anyone off," She dripped the blood into a bowl with a feather.

"What's that for?" a new voice asked from the doorway.

Dean and Bobby both swirled to find Derek, peering into the room. "Get him out! This isn't a circus!" Stella shouted in outrage. The temperature seemed to chill several degrees from her voice alone.

Bobby reacted instantly, and herded the man outside with low words of comfort. Dean quickly forgot about them and turned his attention back to Sam. "Is this even going to work?"

"It should," Stella looked up with compassion for the first time since arriving. "If he doesn't stroke out in the process," She turned back to the task at hand and waved a hand at him in dismissal. "This will take a while and I don't do well with crowds," She turned to look at him when she didn't hear him leave. "Shoo."

Dean was a hairbreadth away from growling at her, but managed to keep it in. He turned for the door and met Rufus on the way.

"Hey, kid. Just took a walk outside. No sign of anyone."

"Doesn't mean she's not there," Rufus nodded, but Dean sensed there was something else. "What?"

"Or she's hiding in plain sight."

Dean cast a glance towards the living room. "You think she's already inside?"

Rufus shrugged.

"How? We sealed the doors and windows."

"Maybe she's been here the whole time," His eyes looked like a looming storm.

Dean nodded, realizing what the older man was getting to. "Back at the church. She went into one of the others right before you shot her. That's why Stacy suddenly turned."

"Precisely what I thought."

"So what? How do we weed her out? There's five innocent civilians in there, and if what you're sayin's true, she's in one of them."

"I say we ship 'em all out," He practically felt Dean's temper rising. "It's better than killing her and it gets her out. Better than risk going at her with your brother lyin' in the next room, wouldn't you say?" His dark eyes speared Dean and made the young mad slouch.

He should've reacted faster. Should've been me instead of Sam. "Yeah."

Rufus nodded. "I'll set it up. You stay with Sam. Don't let anybody into that room until Bobby and I return, alright?"

Dean nodded. "Alright."

Rufus clapped him on the shoulder. "Good, kid. See ya' soon."

"Yeah, see ya," Dean watched from the hall as Bobby and Rufus rounded up the last civilians. He hated lying to them and shipping them off when they could still be in danger. Bobby argued a minute or so with Rufus before he realized he couldn't keep Sam safe from the strangers while keeping them in the house. He reluctantly agreed and helped Rufus check everyone out one last time before driving them to the nearest hospital, town or bus station. Freddy seemed to hover, perfectly pleased to follow his elders' lead.

Dean returned to his brother's room when he saw Rufus and Freddy's trucks pull away from the house. He entered the room and almost choked. The heat was stifling. "What the hell…"

Stella glanced up at him. "It's Sam. His body's heating faster than I thought it would."

"What does that mean?" He was by his brother's side in seconds.

"It means: this shouldn't be happening so quickly. His body is trying to fight the curse on its own as you saw. My job is just to give him a little push in the right direction, but now I think that ship may have come and gone."

"What the hell does that mean?" Dean demanded again when his brother started convulsing.

"It means I need Bobby and Rufus in here to help us. Now, Dean!"

He flinched before he remembered they weren't there. "They're dropping the victims off. I'll have to do," He'd seen Bobby being lifted into Rufus' truck.

"You don't understand. This is gonna get violent and difficult real soon."

"I can do it," Sam arched off the bed with a guttural moan. "Sam."

"Shit," Stella leaned forward and dripped something syrupy onto Sam's tongue. "Hold his arms."

Dean did as told and the next second Sam's back arched even further and a horrible scream ripped from his throat. "Sammy?"

"Dean, hold him!" Stella reached down and pulled out more strange potions. She continued to pour them onto Sam's tongue, and each time a retched scream would rip from his throat.

Until, suddenly, he went deathly quiet.