Author's Note: A Bobby/Rachel-centric chapter. I have to tell their story somehow. Loki and Sam get facetime, because...they just do. Cas and Dean have taken a backseat to doing stuff and are back in the hotel, uhm, making out or something. Yeah. The villain actually gets some facetime here. She's interested me and got me writing about her. For those wondering, I DO NOT think this goddess is evil. For the purposes of the story, though, she is.

There Can Be No Peace

Ch. 9

Bobby drove Rachel's truck back to the hotel in silence. Rachel wasn't speaking, it seemed. She was mad about..something. He had no idea what he'd done to piss her off. Still, she had pissed him off when she was accusing them of doing nothing and that they were just letting people die. Sam and Loki had teleported back to the hotel, clinging to each other like they were each other's life line. Bobby sighed. So, Sam and Loki...that would explain that shouting match with Cas and Dean this morning. And why Sam had insisted Cas and Dean shut up.

There were odder couples. And Sam deserved someone to love. Even if it was some dickhead Trickster god. Loki was helpful. At least he was this time. He'd proven that Ella had no body, or had hid her body. They had to get Loki and Ella in the same room together, somehow. He let out a long, tired, sigh.

"Rachel...look, I'm sorry. For...whatever I did to make you not talk to me. I enjoy your company and your conversations. So please, forgive me. You're right. We're NOT making as fast a progress on this case as I'd like."

Rachel shifted slightly in her seat, looking down at the floorboards. "No, I should be sorry. I shouldn't've blamed you for something you have no control over. It isn't your fault the boys are...well, not really helping much. Let's just find this bitch, summon Loki to see her, then kill her, or get her to back down or whatever, if she's a goddess that knows Loki and can talk to him."

Bobby just nodded. His feelings for Rachel were starting to become a lot more than just friendship lately. He hated it. He didn't want it. He wanted the feelings to be for his wife, not for this woman. But...he couldn't help it. She was attractive, intelligent, and strong.

There was also something else about her...something he couldn't quite place. Something that reminded him of Castiel. Almost as if she were a former angel. She had the quiet strength and angel-killing knife, that reminded him so much of Castiel and Gabriel. Or Loki. Loki didn't seem to have his angel-killing knife anywhere on his person now.

Sam would likely have discovered it. He laughed silently at the thought. So both his "children" had found lovers in former angels. It was vaguely amusing. He wondered if HE had found...love...in a former angel. He examined Rachel's profile as best he could, keeping on the winding road with little difficulty. She was sitting straight and staring directly ahead of her, as if blocking out all other distractions.

If she were a former angel, he wondered who she once was. Was she one of the evil, dark ones that had tried to kill them? Or was she one of the ones who had simply given up her grace to become human, like Anna Milton had? He shook his head. It didn't matter. Not really. Whoever she was, now or then, didn't matter. All that mattered to him was who she was now. She was a strong, talented woman.

"What is it, Bobby? You almost hit that tree." Rachel pointed out that he was not paying attention to the road.

"Nothin. Just thinking. Its really nothing important. Lets just get back to the hotel." Bobby turned his attention back to the road and headed back to the hotel.

Elsewhere, in a darkened graveyard, a woman with sleek black hair, pallid skin, and blood red lips looked at her most recent kill. Well, sacrifice. Some here still remembered The Morrigan. Who she once was. Morrigan...a raven goddess of Death. She licked the blood off her lips as she walked silently through the graveyard.

She came to her old grave. The grave that her old body, her old name, had been buried under. Or rather, HADN'T been buried under. As soon as she was under, she instantly teleported out. Ella Wesson. Hmmph. Someone had scraped the mud off.

She knelt down. She caught a whiff of something, someONE familiar. She grinned, a bloody smile. Loki. The Trickster was here. He was as evil as she was, back in the day when they knew each other. She would look forward to a reunion with him.

If Loki could find a way to survive all these years, perhaps he would share it with Morrigan. His old flame...or perhaps not. Loki was a liar and a trickster in every way. Morrigan would do well to remember that. Anything Loki said was not to be trusted. He would certainly try to trick her, even if he did want them to be allies again.

There was another smell here...two men and a woman. Had Loki found other people to play with? Morrigan smiled. Either way, they would be her sacrifices. The Trickster never liked humans, not really. He would let her have them. They would hold her over for another...at least 50 years or so.

Very few people remembered and worshiped the ancient Celtic goddess, Morrigan. Especially here, in this old town. If anything, she was only paid lip service by those calling themselves Wiccan. It wasn't worship. True worship required sacrifice. Or at least devoting every fibre of their being to the god or goddess in question. Wiccans devoted themselves to "the Goddess" not to Morrigan in particular. That's why she was so weak.

She had tried staying in her old home, where the druids and those claiming to be such, still paid her lip service, but she was chased out by a vile archangel named Uriel. He claimed pagans were disgusting things and to be exterminated. Her kin hadn't survived. She had, under many different names throughout the years, and with Loki's help. The Trickster had spent time amongst the ancient Celts and had even managed to fight back Uriel enough to allow them both to escape.

After that, Morrigan and Loki had parted ways and she hadn't seen the Trickster since. He had saved her life. Perhaps he would do so again. Perhaps he had discovered a way to gain further power without having to have blood sacrifice. The echo of Loki she felt around her grave was powerful. He was as powerful as when she had left him, not a shadow of his former self, like she was.

Morrigan grinned wickedly, and set off, following the trail Loki had left behind him. He had teleported away, but that didn't stop her. She still had enough power to teleport. She closed her eyes and teleported to where ever Loki had.

Morrigan was a little stunned to find that the Trickster's new hide out was some lame hotel room, but she was even more stunned that he wasn't here. His shadows were all over the room. He and some other male had been here, been here for quite some time.

The goddess could even tell...oh, that tricky bastard! He was back to fucking men again. She knew of his preference for either sex, and apparently this time it was a man that was his toy. Oh well. It would all end the same. His boytoy would be their feast. There was a sound outside the room. Loki and his new mantoy, she recognized his voice instantly.

Morrigan assumed raven form and flew to the open window, perched on the outside, looking in but trying not to look suspicious. What she saw shocked her a bit.

Loki and Sam struggled to make it to the bed before falling. He was kissing Sam, everywhere, anytime...he stopped. Something. Something odd. There had been someone here.

"Sammy...wait. She was here. The...thing." Outside, Morrigan let out a squawk at being called a thing. "She might still be here." Loki got up and started searching.

"What do you mean, 'she was here'? In our room? How did she get here, WHY?"

Loki sniffed. "I don't know, Sammy. I'm trying to figure that out right now..." The Trickster trailed off as he caught sight of a raven in the window.

Morrigan locked eyes with her former friend. Loki's eyes narrowed in recognition. Still, he didn't approach her. He just went to the window and shut it. Leaving a telepathic message in her head. Get out of here. We were friends once, but my new friends won't hesitate to kill you since you've been killing people. I'm only warning you once, as a former friend. Leave, Morri. With that, Loki's presence withdrew from her mind.

Morrigan was furious. Loki wasn't here to help her. He was here to help KILL her. But he had warned her...no, even with Loki's warning, she wasn't backing down. Loki was far more powerful than she, but she wasn't about to run scared from some humans like Loki had told her. After all, he was a lying bastard. He could be lying about what he'd just said. In raven form, she flew off, back to the graveyard, where she felt at home, among death.

Back in the hotel room, Sam was confused. Loki had gotten a glazed look on his face for a moment, and then he looked pissed off. Sam knew he hadn't done anything to Loki. So what had pissed his love off?

"Loki? You okay?" He grasped the Trickster's shoulder, squeezing slightly.

Loki shook him off, standing up. "I know what we're dealing with. Its not a damned ghost. FUCK. Its an old...uhm...friend. I told her to get the fuck out of here or we were killing her ass. Don't think I'm trying to stick up for her after the murders she caused. I know her. She won't leave."

"Who is she? I know from what you just said that she's a goddess, but who?"

Loki sighed and sat down on the bed, rubbing his head. "Her name is Morrigan. She is an ancient Celtic goddess. She was the goddess of death. No wonder she's managed to fake her death and convince so many others to kill for her for so long. She was one smart cookie when I knew her. Before you ask, yes, we fucked. She was chilly in bed. Not hot shit like Kali. Of course, neither one of them compare to you, my love..."

Loki pulled Sam down on top of him, as if beckoning him to prove that he was better than Morrigan and Kali.

Sam begrudgingly pulled away from Loki and stood up. "Now that we know what we're dealing with, we have to stop it. Stop her. Before she kills even more people."

Loki sighed. Morrigan would likely take his warning as a challenge and up the ante. She would get even nastier.