Author's Note: So, The Dying Of The Light was published yesterday, I didn't think I could but I managed to get my hands on one of those beautiful black editions of the book, and today I met Derek Landy for the second time today in Ringwood! Yes, if you were there, I was among you, although I was the fourth person in the queue so you might have glimpsed me, you might not have. Who knows? Today at eight o'clock this evening I read the last words of the Skulduggery Pleasant series... I've only just managed to stop crying... Instead of confronting my feelings I decided to bury myself into writing this chapter, so if you manage to tear your eyes away from Valkyrie and Skulduggery's last adventure, please enjoy this chapter! (Started writing on 29/08/2014)
Winchester and Cain
Chapter 9 – Home
Valkyrie's P.O.V
Dean was busy tapping away at the laptop in the grubby hotel room, I was sat opposite him staring into the bland cup of coffee, waiting for myself to wake up. Sam was at a separate table at the far wall of the room, he was leaning on his hands and was absorbed in a notepad. "Alright, I've been cruising some websites. I think I found a few candidates for our next gig," Dean said, I looked up at him with tired eyes.
"Anything, just so long as it doesn't have any bugs or gross things in it." I shuddered, remembering our last job as if it was yesterday.
"Well, there's a fishing trawler that was found off the coast of Cali and the crew had vanished. And, uh, we got some cattle mutilations in West Texas," He looked up from the screen, rubbing his eyes, "Oh, I'm sorry – am I boring you with this hunting evil stuff?" He glared at Sam and I turned to see that the boy hadn't even looked up from what he was doing in the notepad.
"No. I'm listening, keep going." Sam muttered, but it was obvious he was distracted, I turned back to Dean and raised an eyebrow, he shook his head and looked back down at the screen.
"There's also one where a Sacramento man shot himself in the head. Three times." He looked up again and I nodded.
"That sounds like one we'd need to take a look at, I think-."
Dean cut me off my pointing to his brother, I turned to see he was completely oblivious to what we were saying. I used the air and it ruffled against Sam's dark shaggy hair, he jumped and looked at us. "Any of these things blowing up your skirt, pal?" Dean teased and I smirked.
"Nope, just his hair." I laughed, Sam looked up at us and opened his mouth to reply, but he suddenly looked down at his notepad.
"Hang on, I've seen this!" He exclaimed, jumping up from his seat and grabbing the notepad, a pencil fell to the floor and I frowned at it.
"This whole time you've been... drawing?" I asked him, giving him an odd look.
"Yeah, this has been in my head since last night..." Sam trailed off and grabbed his duffel bag.
"What has?" Dean frowned at his brother as Sam rifled frantically through his bag, "What are you doing?" He asked, Sam didn't reply when he found what he was looking for, he held up a photo and began comparing his drawing with it. I craned my neck and glimpsed Sam was comparing his sketch of a tree with a photo of a dark haired man stood with a blonde woman, at the man's right there was a small boy clutching at his leg, the blonde woman was holding a bundle wrapped up in white blankets, they all shared the same beaming expression.
"Guys, I know where we have to go next." Sam turned back to us.
"Where?" I asked him as Dean and I stood up from the table and crossed the room to him.
"Back home – back to Kansas." Sam answered my question, but his eyes were on Dean as he spoke, the older brother paused for a moment before he answered.
"Okay, random," Dean smirked at Sam, but I sensed that the expression was forced, "Where'd that come from?"
Sam gave his brother the photo and the notepad, "Alright, um, this photo was taken in front of our old house, right?" He said as Dean compared the pictures, now I had a closer view to the photo I could see the similarities between the boy and the man.
"Those are your parents?" I realised, looking up at the boys.
"Yeah, that's me, Sam is the little guy in Mum's arms, and that's Dad." Dean explained pointing to each person in turn, "This is our old house in Lawrence."
"Right, right." I murmured, pretending I knew where Lawrence was.
"Anyway, this is the house where Mum died, right?" Sam continued, Dean's breath hitched in his throat beside me and I looked at him, concerned.
"Yeah." Dean nodded, his voice quiet.
"And it didn't burn down, right? I mean, not completely, they rebuilt it, right?" Sam gabbled, speaking in fast, almost unintelligible tones.
"I guess so, yeah," Dean nodded, rubbing the back of his neck, "What the hell are you talking about?" His voice suddenly became dejected.
"Ok, look, this is gonna sound crazy, but... the people who live in our old house – I think they might be in danger." Sam explained, I looked up from the photo and frowned at him.
"Why would you think that?" I asked him.
"Uh... it's just, um... look, just trust me on this, ok?" Sam fumbled, nervously playing with his hands as he walked away from Dean and I, we exchanged a look and frowned.
"Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa." Dean and I walked over.
"Yeah, Sam. Hold up, what do you mean 'trust you'?" I asked him, putting a hand on his shoulder, Sam turned slowly and face us.
"I mean trust me, Steph." He answered shortly, shrugging my hand off.
"Come on, man, that's weak," Dean sighed, "You gotta give us a little more than that."
"I can't really explain it." Sam hedged and I crossed my arms.
"Sam, you have to tell us what's going on." I told him.
Beside me Dean nodded in agreement, "Steph's right, Sam, start spilling."
Sam heaved a long sigh, and Dean and I waited expectantly for him to start, "I have these nightmares." He started.
"We've noticed." Dean nodded with a slight eye roll.
"And sometimes..." Sam looked down at the floor, "They come true." He breathed and my eyes widened.
"What did you say?" I asked, stunned.
"Look, guys... I dreamt about Jessica's death – for days before it happened." Sam looked back up at us, his shaggy hair falling across his face, but noone cared.
"Sam, people have weird dreams, man. I'm sure it's just a coincidence." Dean sighed and sat down on his bed.
"No, I dreamt about the – the blood dripping, her on the ceiling, the fire, everything. And I didn't do anything about it 'cause I didn't believe it." Sam argued, shaking his head at us, "And now I'm dreaming about that tree, about our house, and about some woman inside screaming for hep. I mean, that's where it all started, guys, this has to mean something... right?"
I ran a hand through my long dark hair frustratedly, "I don't know." I told him truthfully, feeling overwhelmed by the sudden news Sam had revealed, "So what, you're saying you're psychic?"
"I don't know." Sam echoed my previous answer, he walked over to where Dean was sat and collapsed on the bead opposite his brother, "Dean, this woman might be in danger. I mean, this might be the thing that killed Mum and Jessica." He looked up at his brother, his dark eyes wide and searching.
"Alright, just slow down, would ya?" Dean stood up quickly and crossed the room, away from Sam. "I mean, first you tell us that you've got the Shining? And then you say we gotta go back home? Especially when..." Dean caught himself and trailed off, looking away out the window, where the early morning traffic was sounding loudly on the streets below.
"When what?" Sam asked, looking at his brother expectantly.
"When I swore to myself I would never go back there." Dean answered, his voice suddenly quiet.
Sam sighed and I looked away awkwardly, feeling like I was intruding on their personal family business, "Look, Dean, we have to check this out. Just to make sure." Sam reasoned.
Dean was quiet for a moment, I reached out and lightly touched his arm. He looked down at my hand for a long time before he looked back up at us, "I know we do."
The drive to Kansas was long and the quiet, the tension was thick in the air the whole drive over. Dean didn't even play any of his music to ease the silence, he just gripped the steering wheel tightly and stared straight ahead at the road. Sam was no better: he kept his focus on his family photo and the drawing he had done, his fingers traced lightly over the dark outlines of his sketch. I clicked my fingers and summoned a small flame, I stared into it and watched as it danced prettily around my palm, wondering what everyone was doing back home.
Ireland
"Skulduggery, it's been over two months, you have to move on." Ghastly spoke to the skeleton in a soft tone, his friend had been very, very quiet since Valkyrie Cain's disappearance. The whole faculty of Roarhaven Sanctuary had suffered the blow hard enough, but Skulduggery had taken it the worst. I the first few weeks he had tried anything, everything to retrieve Valkyrie, he had hunted down shunters and demanded answers, demanding to know how to save his partner. But they had all answered the same: Valkyrie was gone, and there was no way to get her back.
"I know how long it's been." The skeleton tilted his head and looked at Ghastly with hollow, dark sockets.
"Then why can't you accept it? We mourned and we moved on, like a friend falling in battle." Ghastly's eyes narrowed in concern at his friend.
"Because I can get her back, there must be something we missed, something we overlooked. All we -."
"Skulduggery, as your friend: I'm telling you please stop this... this obsession you've made. It's unhealthy." Ghastly cut him off, his voice no longer quiet and reserved.
"She's not gone. This is Valkyrie we're talking about, and she's not going down without a fight. She's stubborn like that." Skulduggery spoke slowly, and his voice was quiet. Ghastly stared at his friend before he slowly backed out the room and closed the door, sighing and shaking his head as he walked away.
Valkyrie's P.O.V
I looked up as the car slowed down outside a house, I recognised the tree outside that stood proudly in Sam's photo. It didn't look so proud anymore: it's branches looked withered and slightly grey, the bark had peeled off at the trunk and dead branches had broken away and lay defeated at the foot of the tree. "You gonna be alright, man?" Sam broke the silence, glancing at his brother worriedly.
"Let me get back to you on that." Dean sighed, looking up at the house. We quietly exited the car and slowly made our way up to the porch of the house. The boys exchanged a glance when we reached the door, neither moved to knock upon the surface, after another ten seconds I reached out and rapped my knuckles against the door four times. There was movement from inside the house and a blonde woman who looked to be about in her late twenties to early thirties, her blonde hair was tied back and her brown eyes were dull and tired.
"Yes?" The woman asked, looking at each of us in turn.
"Sorry to bother you, ma'am, but we're with the Federal-." Dean started to say.
"I'm Sam Winchester, this is my brother, Dean and this is Stephanie. Dean and I used to live here, you know. We were just driving by and we were wondering if we could some see the old place, maybe show Steph." Sam cut his brother off and gave the woman a wide smile.
"Winchester. Yeah, that's so funny. I think I found some of your photos the other night." The woman tilted her head and smiled faintly.
"You did?" Dean asked in surprise.
The woman nodded and stepped aside, "I'm Jenny, would you like to come in?" She asked, we nodded and stepped over the threshold of the house and walked through to find the kitchen. A girl with shoulder-length dark hair was sat at the table doing what looked to be homework, she didn't look up as we walked into the room. At the end of the room a toddler was bouncing up and down in his playpen, his hands wrapped tightly around the bars.
"Juice! Juice! Juice! Juice!" The toddler chanted, beaming at his Mother.
"That's Ritchie, he's kind of a juice junkie," Jenny explained, giving her son a loving smile as she walked over to the fridge and opened it, she bought out an orange sippy cup with a blue R printed on it, the toddler laughed cheerily when Jenny handed it to him. "But, hey, at least he won't get scurvy," Jenny ruffled Ritchie's hair affectionately and then turned and walked over to the girl sat at the table, "Sari, this is Sam, Dean and Stephanie. Sam and Dean used to live here." The girl finally looked up and tilted her head at us.
"Hi." Sari greeted, Dean waved and I gave her a smile.
"Hey, Sari." Sam replied.
"So, you just moved in?" I asked, turning to Jenny.
"Yeah, from Wichita." Jenny nodded.
"You got family here or...?" Dean queried.
"No. I just, uh... needed a fresh start, that's all," Jenny's smile faded a little and she looked over to her kids, "So, new town, new job – I mean, as soon as I find one. New house." She ended with a small sigh, looking at the painted white walls.
"So, how you liking it so far?" Sam asked, leaning against the table.
"Well, uh, all due respect to your childhood home – I mean, I'm sure you had lots of happy memories here," Jenny glanced at Sam with a faintly apologetic look in her eyes, I glanced at Dean and saw he was smiling weakly back at the girl, "But this place has issues." Jenny admitted.
"What do you mean?" I asked her, innocently widening my eyes.
"Well, it's just getting old. Like the wiring, you know? We've got flickering lights almost hourly." Jenny replied, glancing up at the lights.
"Oh, that's too bad. What else?" Dean asked.
"Um... sink's backed up, there's rats in the basement," Jenny paused and gave a small smile, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to complain." She apologised quickly.
"No, it's fine," Dean shrugged, unoffended, "Have you seen the rats or have you just heard scratching?"
"It's just the scratching, actually." Jenny answered.
"Mum?" Sari piped up, Jenny shot me a smile and walked over to her daughter, crouching beside her, "Ask them if it was here when they lived here."
"What, Sari?" Sam looked at the girl with a kind look in his eyes.
"The thing in my closet." Sari answered, Jenny edged a smile.
"Oh, no, baby, there was nothing in their closets," She laughed and looked up at the boys, "Right?"
"Right, No, no, of course not." Sam forced a chuckle, and shook his head.
"I wasn't dreaming. It came into my bedroom – and it was on fire." Sari shook her head, I looked up at the brother's and saw they shared the same shocked expressions.
We were walking back to Dean's car in silence until Sam whipped round, "You hear that? A figure on fire." He said, pointing back to the house.
"And that woman, Jenny, she was the woman from your, uh, your dream?" I asked, glancing back at the house a little dubiously.
"Yeah. And did you hear what she was talking about? The scratching, flickering lights – both signs of a malevolent spirit." He replied.
"Yeah, well, I'm just freaked out that your wierdo visions are comin' true." Dean sighed and rubbed his eyes, suddenly tired.
"Well, forget about that for a minute. The thing in in the house, do you think it'd the thing that killed Mum and Jessica?"Sam asked us, his tone suddenly became panicked.
"I don't know!" Dean snapped in response, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Guys, guys, calm down." I warned, glancing at the people staring at the three of us, Sam sighed and we got in the car quickly and quietly.
"Well, I mean, has it come back or has it been here the whole time?" Sam asked as soon as the car doors were closed, cutting off the gawking glares from the public.
"Don't forget, it could be something else entirely, Sam, we just don't know what yet." I reminded him gently.
"Whatever, those people are in danger all the same. We have to get them out of that house." Sam said, putting his seatbelt on and giving the house another fearful glance.
"And we will." Dean nodded, giving Sam a reassuring look.
"No, I mean now." Sam shook his head, unconvinced.
"Yeah, well do tell, how are you gonna do that Sam? Do you have a story she's likely to believe?" I asked him, rolling my eyes.
Sam stared at me for a few moments before he sighed in defeat, "Then what are we supposed to do?"
"First things first, we need gas." Dean said, turning the keys in the engine and pulling away sharply from the house.
At the gas station, we all got out and leant against the car whilst Dean filled up the tank. The sunshine shone brightly overhead, and I took off my jacket to appreciate the heat on my arms, "We just need to chill out, that's all. You know, if this was any other kind of job, what would we do?" Dean broke the silence, Sam heaved a sigh before answering.
"We'd try to figure out what we're dealing with – we'd dig into the history of the house." Sam answered.
"Exactly, except this time, we already know what happened." Dean replied, but I frowned.
"Yeah, but how much do you two actually know? I mean, you were both kids when it happened, right? There's only so much you'd be able to remember." I piped up.
"You mean about that night?" Dean asked and I nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
"Not much," He admitted, "I remember the fire... the heat," Dean paused for a moment, his eyes fixed on something in the distance, "And then I carried Sammy out the door."
"You did?" Sam asked, surprised.
"Yeah. What, you never knew that?" Dean looked up at Sam.
"No." He answered truthfully, shaking his head.
"And, well, you know Dad's story as well as I do. Mum was... was on the ceiling, and whatever put her there was long gone by the time Dad found her." Dean said, his voice cracking mournfully.
"And he never had a theory about what did it?" I asked.
Dean shrugged, "If he did, he kept it to himself. God knows we asked him enough times."
"Ok, so if we're gonna figure out what's going on now we have to figure out what happened back then... and see if if it's the same thing." Sam said, running a hand through his shaggy locks.
"Yeah. We'll talk to Dad's friends, neighbours, people who were there at the time." Dean nodded in agreement.
There was a pause.
"Does this feel like just another job to you?" Sam asked, breaking the silence, I glanced at the younger brother but didn't answer.
"I'll be right back. I gotta go to the bathroom." Dean cleared his throat and walked away, Sam sighed once his brother was out of earshot.
"Are there psychics in where you're from?" Sam asked.
I stared at him for a long moment, "What?"
"Psychics, you know: seers and stuff." He continued, I nodded slowly.
"Yeah, it's an adept ability. We call them Sensitives though." I answered quietly, thinking about the kind old Cassandra Pharos and the peculiar, skinny tattooist Finbar Wrong.
"And they have visions, yeah?" He asked again.
"Yep, although everything's... different in this place." I sighed.
"What do you mean?"
"It's hard to explain... this place is the same, but it's also completely different at the same time. There's no one else like me, but there's monsters and vengeful spirits? I just – I don't get it. And now you're psychic? It makes no sense." I answered, my words tumbling out of my mouth in a rush.
"Nothing ever does." Sam scoffed and looked down at the ground again, lost in his own thoughts. My own eyes wandered the landscape until they fell upon my black jacket, I clutched it to my chest and shut my eyes, remembering Ghastly presenting it to me and the amount of times it had saved me against countless gunshots and energy streams. I took in a deep breath and remembered how normal everything had been, and how abnormal everything had been, playing with Alice one minute and then arresting criminals the next. Everything had been just the way it should be. And now... now it was truly... awful. The sound of stones skittering over the concrete floor made me look up, it was Dean, he was putting his phone back into his pocket and he was rubbing his eyes.
"Let's go." He announced curtly, before he got in the car and started the engine, Sam and I exchanged a glance and quickly followed.
"Where are we going?" I asked as Dean pulled away abruptly, so quickly I clung onto the headrest of Sam's seat.
"Guenther's Auto Repair." He answered tersely.
"So you and John Winchester, you used to own this garage together?" Dean asked.
Yeah, we used to, a long time ago. Matter of fact, it must be, uh... twenty years since John disappeared... So why the cops interested all of a sudden?" The man looked to be in his mid-fifties, with thinning dark hair and a lined face with old, grey eyes.
"Oh, we're reopening some of our unsolved cases, and the Winchester disappearance is one of them." I lied quickly, smoothing down the sides of my formal outfit self-consciously. It was the same dress I had worn when we had to be Homeland Security with the plane crash, I hadn't liked it then and I didn't like it now.
"Oh, well, what do you wanna know about John?" The man shrugged.
"Well, whatever you remember, you know, whatever sticks out in your mind." Dean said with a small smile.
"Well," The man scratched absent-mindedly at the rough stubble around his jaw, "He was a stubborn bastard, I remember that," He chuckled slightly and I forced a smile, "And, uh, whatever the game, he hated to lose, you know? It's that whole marine thing." Sam and Dean nodded once, "But, oh, he sure loved Mary – and he doted on those kids." He breathed, shaking his head at the memory of it, I glanced at the boys and saw they were staring at the man intently.
"But that was before the fire?" Sam asked.
"That's right." The man nodded.
"He ever talk about that night?" Sam continued.
"No, not at first. I think he was in shock." The owner of the repair garage shook his head and I tilted my own.
"Right, but eventually? What did he say about it?" I asked him.
"Oh... he wasn't thinkin' straight," The man took off his battered blue cap and looked down at it sadly, "He said somethin' caused that fire and killed Mary."
"He ever say what did it?" Dean took over our inquiring.
"Nothin' did it. It was an accident – an electrical short in the ceiling or walls or somethin'. I begged him to get some help, but..."
"But what?" I pressed.
"Oh, he just got worse and worse." The owner shrugged, putting his cap back on.
"How?" Dean asked.
"Oh, he started readin' these strange ol' books. He started goin' to see this palm reader in town." The man answered, looking down at one of his own wrinkled palm.
"Palm reader," Sam repeated, "Uh, do you have a name?"
"No." The owner scoffed, his eyes wandered over my shoulder and focused something behind me, I turned and saw a man standing there, "If you can excuse me, officers, I have customers to get back to." He cleared his throat.
I nodded and gave him an understanding smile, "Uh, sure, sure. Thank you for time, sir."
We drove to the nearest payphone and waited outside whilst Sam flicked through the faded pages of a phonebook. "Alright, so there are a few psychics and palm readers in town. There's someone named El Divino. There's, uh-" Sam laughed suddenly, "- There's the Mysterious Mister Fortinsky. Uh, Missouri Moseley-."
"Wait, wait. Missouri Moseley?" Dean asked, interrupting his brother.
"What?" Sam asked, looking up from the book.
"That's a psychic?" He asked.
"Uh..." Sam looked back down at the book again, "Yeah. Yeah, I guess so." He nodded in confirmation. Dean stepped away and walked around the car, he opened the driver's door and leaned in.
He walked back over with his Dad's journal in his hands, "In Dad's journal..." Dean trailed off, opening it and paging through it, "Here, look at this," He tapped the page and held it out, I leaned over and read what he was pointing to, there was a list of names written in hastily scrawled handwriting, and just above Dean's fingernail there was the name Missouri Moseley. "First page, first sentence, read that."
I took the book from his hands and glanced over the text, "'I went to Missouri and learned the truth'..." I trailed off and looked up at him, "The truth, as in, monsters and ghosts?"
"I guess so, whenever I read that I thought he meant Missouri as in the state." Dean shrugged.
The three of us were sat on a prim leather couch in the office of Madame Missouri, we sat in silence listening to the ridiculously loud ticking of the clock. A door opened and an ageing woman with wild, frizzy hair and several bangles on her wrist emerged with a man. "Alright there, don't you worry 'bout a thing. Your wife is crazy about you," She assured him as she escorted him out, the man nodded his thanks and walked out, glancing at the three of us before he left, "Whew. Poor bastard. His woman is cold-bangin' the gardener." Missouri gave us a smile as she looked over the three of us.
"Why didn't you tell him?" Dean asked her in confusion.
"People don't come here for the truth. They come for good news," She shrugged, we stared at her in disbelief, "Well? Sam, Dean, Stephanie, come on already. I ain't got all day." She chuckled and walked back into the door she had just exited, I gave the boys a confused glance and they both shrugged in response, I sighed and followed the old woman slowly. Psychics always gave me the creeps, they had this uncanny ability to make me feel uncomfortable. "Well, lemme look at ya," She said as we entered the room, I looked away as she peered at Sam and Dean, "Oh, you boys grew up handsome," She laughed and gave us a dreamy smile, then she pointed at Dean, "And you were one goofy-lookin' kid." Dean's eyes narrowed whilst Sam and I smirked, "Sam." The woman grabbed the tall boy's hand, "Oh, honey... I'm sorry about your girlfriend." She gave him a sad, apologetic look whilst the three of us returned it with a perplexed one. She dropped Sam's shocked hand and grabbed onto my wrist, I tried to snatch it away but Missouri had a tight grip, I narrowed my eyes and moved my fingers to snap them and create a spark. "Stephanie, don't you go snappin' those little fingers of yours, now." The woman warned and I froze, staring up at her in surprise, "We don't want no fires in here on a day like this now, do we?" She smiled and dropped my wrist, I pulled it back to myself slowly, not taking my eyes off the seer's face. My eyes dropped down to my wrist and I rubbed it in wonder, and the woman gave a chuckle, "Awww, just look at her! Taken from her world and quick to fit in with you two... although I sense your loss, Valkyrie, you miss everyone dearly. And I'm sorry, that Shunter is passed, ain't no way for you to get back to your home." She explained, I stayed very, very still as I absorbed this: no way to get home?
"So that's it then?" I asked, my voice cracking.
"'Fraid so," She nodded, "But look at what you're doing now, honey. It's the same as before, just new people."
"Stop talking." I shook my head and stepped away from her, backing up to the wall and glaring at her.
She shrugged and looked at Sam and Dean, "Well, she took it better than most, I guess. But you're not here for Valkyrie, are you? Your father – he's missin'?" She asked, my eyes narrowed further when she mentioned my other name, and I fought the urge to hit her. "Now, now. If you hit me, Valkyrie Cain, I won't go helpin' your boys." She looked at me and my eyes widened, but I didn't reply.
"How'd you do all that?" Sam asked, looking at the woman in awe.
"Well, you were thinking about your dear ol' daddy, Dean here was thinking about... boy, you stop thinking about your girl in such lewd images," She slapped Dean over the head and my cheeks burned, Dean grinned and I fought a smile, "Stephanie herself is... clouded," She admitted, a frown creased her forehead and she looked over to me, my smile faded, "Girl, you got one dark self locked away in that pretty head of yours, you best be treading carefully." She warned and I rolled my eyes: I had no intention of letting Darquesse escape, besides, Dean and I had a promise.
"Anyway, where's our Dad? Is he ok?" Sam asked, pulling the conversation over to the problem at hand.
"I don't know." Missouri answered.
"Don't know?" Dean echoed and frowned, "You're supposed to be psychic, right?"
"Boy, you see me sawin' some bony tramp in half? You think I'm a magician? I may be able to read thoughts and sense energies in a room, but I can't just pull facts out of thin air. Sit, please." Her tone lightened and she indicated to three chairs that were positioned in the centre of the room, the boys sat down and I moved over, but stayed standing. "Boy, you put your foot on my coffee table, I'm 'a whack you with a spoon!" She suddenly snapped at Dean, her smile vanishing as quickly as it appeared.
"I didn't do anything." Dean protested and Missouri glared.
"But you were thinkin' about it." She answered, Dean glanced up at me for help but all I offered him was a smirk.
"Ok. So, our Dad – when did you first meet him?" Sam asked.
"He came for a reading. A few days after the fire. I just told him what was really out there in the dark. I guess you could say... I drew back the curtains for him." She answered, the three of us gave her another round of shocked looks but she didn't bat an eyelid.
"What about the fire? Do you know what killed our Mum?" Dean asked, leaning forward in his chair.
"A little. Your Daddy took me to your house. He was hopin' I could sense the echoes, the fingerprints of this thing." Missouri nodded slowly.
"And could you?" I asked, looking at the woman in sudden interest: she had such an... intriguing talent.
"I..." The woman trailed off with a shake of her head and I frowned.
"What was it?" Sam asked her.
"I don't know," Missouri answered in a soft tone, "Oh, but it sure was evil."
Sam glanced at Dean, his eyes wide and brimmed with fear. I glanced at the woman and stared at her for the longest of moments, trying to see if she was just over-.
"Stephanie, honey, I'm not over-exaggerating. So you can just stop with your thoughts right there." Missouri locked eyes with me and my mouth dropped open in surprise. She grinned wryly at me and then turned to the boys, "So... you think somethin' is back in that house?"
"Definitely." Sam nodded once in confirmation.
"I don't understand." The seer frowned, glancing down at the floor.
"What?" The younger Winchester leaned forward in his seat.
"I haven't been back inside, but I've been keepin' an eye on the place, and it's been quiet. No sudden deaths, no freak accidents. Why is it actin' up now?" She replied, glancing up at us.
"We don't know," Sam shrugged, but with Dad going missing and Jessica dying and now this house all happening at once... it just feels like something's starting."
"That's a comforting thought." Dean muttered sarcastically.
We drove back to the boys' old house with Missouri, she sat in the back next to me but I didn't strike a conversation up with her: she bought a weird awkwardness with her and it settled in the air like a thick, unwelcome fog. Sam knocked on the door to the house and we waited patiently for Jenny to open it, when she did finally open it we were greeted with an exhausted lady, with red rimmed eyes and flustered red cheeks, she had her son balanced on her hip. "Sam, Dean, Stephanie," She forced a smile, "What are you going here?"
"Hey, Jenny. This is our friend, Missouri." Sam returned the girl a smile and gestured to the seer.
If it's not too much trouble, we were hoping to show her the old house. You know, for old time's sake." Dean said.
Jenny pulled a face and shifted her weight under Richie, "You know, this isn't a good time. I'm kind of busy."
"Listen, Jenny, it's important." Dean pressed, edging forward towards the door, Missouri sighed and smacked her hand over Dean's head again, "Ow!" He protested, turning to her with a pained expression.
"Give the poor girl a break, can't you see she's upset?" She chastened, then turned to Jenny with a bright smile on her face, "Forgive this boy, he means well, he's just not the sharpest tool in the shed. But hear me out." She tried, Dean rubbed the back of his head, stunned, and shot me a look. I shrugged helplessly in return then looked back at Jenny.
"About what?" Jenny looked at the seer suspiciously.
"About this house." Missouri replied.
"What are you talking about?" Jenny attempted a scoff, but it sounded feeble and strained, she glanced at Sam and I uneasily as she tightened her grip on her son.
"I think you know what I'm talking about. You think there's something in this house, something that wants to hurt your family. Am I mistaken?" Missouri asked her, her eyes hardened a little as she tried to convince the single mother.
"Who are you?" Jenny asked, narrowing her eyes.
"We're people who can help, who can stop this thing. But you're gonna have to trust us, just a little." The seer replied, unaffected by the suspicious look Jenny was giving her.
Jenny glanced at us again, her face still unsure. I thought she was going to turn us away but she held the door open and stepped aside, clutching her child in her hands, "Come on in." She told us, I nodded in thanks as we passed through. Missouri went straight for the stairs and climbed them, urgency in her pace. Sam glanced at Dean and I and then followed, leaving Jenny downstairs. I followed the boys until we reached a room painted in pastel pink and had a singe bed with a pink and white duvet and pillows, a mirror with pink and purple butterflies surrounding it was on top of a white painted dresser, a wardrobe was on the wall opposite the bed.
"If there's a dark energy around here, this room should be the centre of it." Missouri announced as we surveyed the bedroom.
"Why?" I asked her, frowning at the normality of it all: it was just a little girl's bedroom, nothing unusual.
"This used to be Sam's nursery. This is where it all happened." The woman answered, as if on instinct Sam glanced up at the ceiling, his eyes sad. Beside me Dean pulled out his EMF meter and turned it on, "That an EMF?" She asked him.
Dean nodded as he moved the meter out at arm's length, "Yeah."
"Amateur," She muttered scornfully, Dean whipped around and glared at her, I couldn't help but smirk, the EMF started beeping and Dean nudged me, my smirk disappeared as I looked down at the beeping meter, "I don't know if you boys should be disappointed or relieved, but this ain't the thing that took your Mum." Missouri muttered, her eyes were closed as her head slowly tilted as she turned on the spot in the room.
"Wait, are you sure?" Sam asked, looking at the seer imploringly, Missouri nodded in response, "How do you know?"
"It isn't the same energy I felt the last time I was here. It's somethin' different." Missouri replied, opening her eyes as she finished her answer.
"What is it?" I asked her, knowing she would probably ignore Dean if he asked.
"Not it," The seer said, walking over to the wardrobe and flinging open the doors, "Them. There's more than one spirit in this place."
"What are they doing here?" Dean asked her.
"They're here because of what happened to your family. You see: all those years ago, real evil came to you. It walked this house. That kind of evil leaves wounds, and sometimes... wounds get infected."Missouri explained, I glanced at the boys and saw that Sam was frowning.
"I don't understand." He said confusedly.
"This place is a magnet for paranormal energy. It's attracted a poltergeist – a nasty one. And it won't rest until Jenny and her babies are dead." Missouri answered, giving him a glance.
"But... you said there was more than one spirit." I pointed out.
"There is, I just can't quite make out the second one." She murmured, closing the wardrobe doors.
"Well, one thing's for damn sure – nobody's dying in this house ever again," Dean said firmly, "So whatever is here, how do we stop it?" He asked.
Back at Missouri's, Sam, Dean and I were sat around one of the seer's tables as she layed out different herbs and roots. "So what is all this stuff, anyway?" I asked, eyeing the different plants doubtfully.
"Angelica Root, Van Van oil, Crossroad dirt, a few other odds and ends." The psychic replied, pointing to each of the herbs in turn.
"Well, what are we supposed to do with it?" I asked her.
"We're gonna put them inside the walls in the north, south, east and west corners on each floor of the house." She explained.
Dean scoffed, "We'll be punching holes in the dry wall. Jenny's gonna love that." He rolled his eyes sarcastically at Missouri.
"She'll live." The seer replied slyly, looking at the older Winchester out of the corner of her eyes.
"And this'll destroy the spirits?" Sam asked, propping his elbows up on the table.
"It should," Missouri confirmed, "It should purify the house completely. Sam will take the ground, Dean and his girl'll take the second and I'll take the top. But we work fast, once the spirits realise what we're up to: things are gonna get bad."
The three of us watched from the doorway as Missouri walked Jenny and her kids outside, "Look, I'm not comfortable leaving you guys here alone." Jenny said, glancing back at us with an uncomfortable frown.
"Just take your kids to the movies or somethin', and it'll be over by the time you get back." The seer gave her an assuring smile as she practically shoved her out the gate. Jenny looked back at us again and I gave her a bright smile and a cheery wave. Missouri walked over to us and Sam handed her the toolbox, she opened it and took out two hammers. "Here ya go." She said, handing Sam the hammer and hefting her own one in a two-hand grip.
"Wait a second – what about ours?" Dean asked, frowning at the psychic.
"Well, I'm sure you don't need one. Your girl here'll punch through those walls with a little bit of that magic she got." Missouri responded, I shuddered slightly as we split up, when we reached the landing and the woman carried on upstairs I turned to Dean.
"She gives me the creeps." I told him in a hushed whisper, Dean cracked a smile.
"Yeah, me too. I don't know why she hates me so much – I've never met her in my life." Dean agreed with a shake of his head.
"Yeah, but most people hate you. I don't know why she has to go out of her way to make me so uncomfortable – everyone loves me." I shrugged.
"Sure, uh-huh. Everyone loves you." Dean rolled his eyes and pulled me in for a quick kiss, when we pulled apart I couldn't help but smile.
"Well, it worked on you, didn't it?" I giggled. The older Winchester faked a huge sigh and I saw a grin tugging at the ends of his mouth.
"Whatever. Come on, let's start with the north part." He suggested, wrapping his arm around my waist as he led me over to the far part of the second floor. Below us and above us there was a faint banging noise as Sam and Missouri broke through the walls. We reached the furthest wall and stopped at a point, "Go ahead." Dean pointed to a spot on the wall below a mirror. I drew in the shadows and gathered them around my fist, they curled and formed around my hand and I punched through the wall, my fist smashed through and the plaster crumbled. I smiled up at Dean and held out my hand for the herbs, he smiled back and his hand reached into his pocket. He suddenly crashed into me and we sprawled to the floor, I cried out in surprise as we slid and crashed against the skirting board. Dean scrambled up and grabbed a nearby coffee table.
"What are you doing?" I asked as he pulled the table towards us and positioned it to cover us, the sound of several things pining against the wood made me duck in instinct, when the bombarding subsided we both looked up cautiously. On the other side of the table a large amount of sharp kitchen knives had stabbed and pinned themselves on the table, completely covering the topside of the wood. We heard a crashing from downstairs and I glanced at Dean with fright, "Sam." I realised, concern flashed across Dean's features and he got to his feet, pulling me up and then sprinting towards the stairs, I followed hot on his heels as we clambered down to the ground floor. We found him downstairs lying on the kitchen floor weakly, a plug cord from a lamp was wrapped tightly around his throat.
"Sam!" Dean exclaimed, rushing over to him and trying to pry the cord off, but I saw how useless it was.
"Give me the herbs!" I demanded, holding my hand out, Dean turned and chucked the herbs towards me, his aim was off but I used the air to grab it, I then turned and used shadows to smash the wall, I flung the herb sack inside, there was a blinding white light and I raised my arm to sheild my eyes, the air shifted as I felt something fling frantically around the room. Suddenly the air stopped shifting wildly and I opened my eyes to find the light had faded, I whirled around to see Dean unravelling the cord gently from around his brother's neck and pulled him into a fierce hug. I sighed in relief and looked around the room to see the contents of the fridge had been spilled out over the white tile floor, broken bits of crockery littered the ground by the sink and a chair lay broken in the corner, even the curtains were shredded and torn. "Oh, wow." I muttered, looking back at the boys on the floor, Dean didn't let go of his brother but he looked up at me, I could see he couldn't care less what the state the kitchen was in.
Missouri joined us ten minutes later and we stood looking down at the mess of the room. "You sure this is over?" A much stronger Sam asked.
"I'm sure. Why? Why do you ask?" Missouri turned to Sam, for the first time ever she was frowning at him.
"Never mind," He sighed, "It's nothing, I guess."
Outside the room, a door shut and there were loud footsteps in the hallway, "Hello? We're home." Jenny called, the footsteps neared and she appeared in the doorway, her eyes widened as she looked around at the scene, "What happened?"
Sam and I exchanged a glance, "Hi, sorry. Um, we'll pay for all this." Sam stuttered.
"Don't you worry. Dean's gonna clean up this mess." Missouri told the distraught young mother, Dean stood there without a word and Missouri rolled her eyes at him, "Well, what are you waiting for, boy? Get the mop." She told him, swatting her hand in his direction. Dean sighed and walked out of the room, "And don't cuss at me!" She ordered, Dean stopped and muttered angrily under his breath before he exited the room, I caught Sam's eye and we shared a small smile.
Dean lasted two minutes of his cleaning until he started complaining, I lasted five minutes until I picked up a dustpan and brush and helped him sweep up the mess. Sam said he was still feeling light-headed after being almost choked to death to help clean, Dean promised we would punish him later. Jenny happily sent us away when the sun was starting to set, I was relieved to find the nearest motel and crash out with Dean, but Sam wanted us to stay and check to make sure everything was ok.
I eventually fell asleep in the backseat of the car after half an hour of watching the house with the boys, and then woke up two hours later. "Alright," Dean was saying, "So, tell me again: what are we still doing here?" He asked.
"I don't know. I just... I still have a bad feeling." Sam admitted, staring out the window at the house.
"Why? Missouri did her whole Zelda Rubenstein thing, the house should be clean, it should be over." Dean frowned.
"Yeah, well, probably. But I just wanna make sure, that's all." Sam shrugged, unaffected by his brother's strong glare.
"Yeah, but, problem is I could be sleeping with Steph in a bed right now." Dean sighed and I rolled my eyes.
"Thanks for that mental image." Sam groaned and I couldn't help but grin, Dean looked out the window and Sam looked out of his. I closed my eyes and settled down for another bout of sleep.
"Dean. Look, Dean!" He cried, I looked and saw Jenny screaming at a window upstairs, the three of us rushed out of the car and we ran towards the house. I sprinted past them and forced open the door with the air, we heard Jenny screaming upstairs and I ran towards the stairs, but Dean grabbed my shoulders and hauled me back.
"You and Sam grab the kids, I'll get Jenny." He ordered, without waiting for a reply he bounded up the stairs. I glanced at Sam and he grabbed my hand, leading me into the kitchen and pointing to Richie, we was jumping up and down and trying to break open the bars of his pen with his little hands, only there wasn't a cheery smile on his face this time: anguish was scrunching up his face as he raged against the bars. I ran to the pen and picked up the screaming child, he wriggled in my arms so I gave him to Sam.
"I'll drop him otherwise, Alice never wriggled like that!" I told him, heading out the kitchen and leading the way up the stairs towards Sari's bedroom, it was when I was halfway up the stairs that I realised what I had said. I mentally shook myself and continued up towards Sari's room, telling myself to attend at the pressing matters at hand. We burst into Sari's room to find her screaming incoherently, I left Sam at the doorway and grabbed Sari from her bed, picking her up in my arms.
"Don't look! Don't look!" I told her, whispering into her ear comfortingly, once we were in the hallway I set Sari down, Sam set Richie down next to her.
"Alright, Sari, take your brother outside as fast as you can, and don't look back." Sam told her, crouching down and looking at the girl with hard eyes. The air shifted behind us and I turned, expecting to see Dean and Jenny, but it was nothing, my eyes widened as the air shifted angrier and sharper. It suddenly snatched Sam and I from the air and pulled us back down the hallway, Sari screamed and ran off with Ritchie, it slammed Sam into the wall and I was thrown into the wall. I cracked up against it and I slumped to the floor painfully. I closed my eyes against the pain and when I reopened them, Sam was pinned up against the wall, unable to move.
"Sam!" I called weakly, my voice sounded distant and there was a ringing in my ears. I raised my hand and tried to use the air to prise him from the wall, but before I could motion to use the air the force slammed me sideways and into the wall beside Sam, I groaned as I felt my shoulder crunch and tried to move, but it was all in vain. The flame figure suddenly appeared and began to walk towards us, Sam was frowning at it whilst I was still struggling against the force, Dean suddenly burst into the room and aimed his gun at the fiery silhouette.
"No, don't! Don't" Sam suddenly called out to his brother.
"What, why?!" Dean frowned at Sam.
"Yeah, Sam! If you hadn't noticed we're pinned up against a wall and about to die!" I shouted, but Sam shook his head.
"Because I know who it is. I can see her now." Sam replied, suddenly, the fire vanished and a blonde woman in a white nightdress was stood there, she had big blue eyes and soft features. I glanced at Dean just as he was lowering his gun, a look of shock haunted his features.
"Mum?" Dean asked, his tone hollow, the woman smile and stepped over to her oldest son.
"Dean," She said, her voice full of emotion and warmth, tears formed in his eyes as Mary walked away from him and over to where Sam and I were still pinned up against the wall. Dean watched her, his eyes not leaving her. "Sam." She said, her blue gaze falling upon her youngest, Sam smiled weakly and tears fell down his cheeks, she then turned to me, "And Stephanie. I'm so happy to meet you," She told me, I managed to nod once, her smile faded as she looked back at Dean. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Sam asked, mother Winchester glanced at Sam sadly but didn't respond, she walked close to me and leaned in to my ear.
"Please don't become her, and please protect my boys." She whispered, pulling away from me, I stared at the woman in shock but managed a weak smile.
"I will." I told her, she smiled back and walked back into the centre of the room and looked up at the ceiling.
"You get out of my house, and let go of my son and the girl." She said in a stern voice, then she was engulfed in flames and they roared and leapt up to the ceiling, the force suddenly disappeared and Sam and I slumped to the floor, there was a stabbing pain in my shoulder as I got up and tried to move it.
"Now it's over." Sam told us, I didn't say anything and leant against the wall tiredly.
"Steph, your shoulder." Dean looked at me and I nodded slowly.
"I know, I think it's dislocated." I groaned and pushed myself away from the wall, giving them a faint smile, "Anyone got any idea how to put it back?" I asked, Sam nodded and walked over to me, carefully peeling my jacket off, revealing my black skintight tunic underneath.
"Right on three, ok?" Sam asked, carefully putting his hands on my left shoulder.
"Ok, go." I told him, squeezing my eyes shut.
"Right, one-." Sam suddenly snapped it back into place and I cried out arching my back as I stepped away from him.
"Cheers." I groaned as I tested my left shoulder carefully, "Right, motel. Now." I told them, and walked out the room without another word.
Dean was stood with Jenny at his car whilst Sam and I were sat at the steps of the front porch in silence, my jacket was scrunched up in my lap as the sun rays warmed us. There were creaking footsteps and Missouri joined us, sitting down next to me. "Well, there are no spirits in there anymore, this time for sure." She said.
"Not even my Mum?" Sam asked.
"No." She shook her head, Sam sighed sadly.
"What happened?" I asked the psychic.
"Their Mum's spirit and the poltergeist's energy, they cancelled each other out. Their Mum destroyed herself goin' after the thing." She answered.
"But why? Why would she do something like that?" Sam asked, a frown on his features.
"Well, to protect her boys, of course... and Stephanie too." She shrugged, Mary Winchester's last words to me came up to my mind and I stiffened a little, Missouri's gaze switched to me and she narrowed her eyes at me, tilting her head slightly. I looked away and down at the ground, Missouri sighed and I felt her gaze move away from me, "Sam, I'm sorry." She said,
"For what?" Sam asked.
"You sensed it was here, didn't you? Even when I couldn't." Missouri observed.
"What's happening to me?" He replied, I could hear the slight waver of desperation in his tone.
"I know I should have all the answers, but I don't know." Missouri answered.
"Hey, you two ready?" Dean called, he way halfway down the path, Sam and I nodded and we got up from the porch. Sam walked away and I went to follow, but Missouri grabbed my hand.
"Now, Stephanie, I just heard in your head what Mary told you before she left. You followin'?" She asked.
"Uh-huh." I nodded, staring at a spot on the ground.
"Now, you best be heedin' those words." She said, I looked at her and forced a smile.
"I will." I told her again, I swear I saw her eyes narrow at me but she let go of my hand all the same, I quickly left her on the porch and met Sam and Dean at the car with Jenny. She pulled me into a tight hug.
"Thank you so much for helping to save Richie and Sari, Stephanie." She told me, I smiled at her and gave a shrug when I pulled away.
"Well, it was nothing really." I shrugged, but Jenny shook her head.
"Saving my babies isn't just nothing." Jenny rolled her eyes and I laughed.
"Well, they're great. You take good care of them, won't you." I looked at her and she nodded.
"I will." She smiled again and I stepped over to Dean, he grinned and pulled me into a hug and a light kiss.
"Hey." He said and I grinned.
"Hey." I replied, he laughed and kissed me again.
"Oh God, do I have to endure a whole car journey of this?" Sam moaned and I broke off the kiss and smirked.
"Yes." I laughed, Sam rolled his eyes in response.
"Don't you kids be strangers." Missouri called from the gate, Dean actually cracked a smile and waved.
"We won't." Dean replied.
"See you around." The seer answered, Jenny gave us a parting wave and we got in the car and drove off.
Missouri's house – General P.O.V
Missouri walked in and set her purse down onto one of her ornate tables, "That boy... he has such powerful abilities. But why he couldn't sense his own father, I have no idea." She sighed and looked at John Winchester, who was sat on the sofa.
"Mary's spirit – do you really think she saved the boys?" John asked the psychic.
"I do. And not just the boys – there's a girl with them, Stephanie." She told him.
John's head snapped up, "Who? Who is she?" He demanded.
"She's just a girl, she knows what she's doing, don't you worry. They're a good team, helping out eachother and whatnot," Missouri told him, John nodded, but he wasn't convinced, he nervously twisted the wedding band on his finger and Missouri sighed, "John Winchester, I could just slap you. Why won't you go to your children?" She asked.
"I want to," John answered tearfully, "You have no idea how much I wanna see 'em. But I can't, not yet. Not until I know the truth."
"That girl though – you better watch yourself when you go to your boys. Stephanie has an unimaginable extent of power, she's a ticking doom bomb, that's for sure." Missouri frowned.
"So... You're saying we should kill her?" John asked, looking up at the seer.
"You know what you need to do, John." Missouri gave him a look.
Valkyrie's P.O.V
I stared out the window as Dean drove away from Lawrence quickly, thinking about what Mary had said to me before she destroyed herself for us. "So, Steph... who's Alice?" Sam broke me out of my thoughts and I was bought back to the car.
"Huh?" I asked.
"When we were saving the kids from the house, and you grabbed Richie, he was wriggling like crazy and you handed him to me and said: 'I'll drop him otherwise, Alice never wriggled like that'. Who's Alice?" He asked, I stared at him for a few moments before I sighed.
"Alice is... was... my little sister, she's only about Richie's age. Whenever I had a chance to spend time with her she was so... so great. I was... good at what I did back home, a good partner, a good sister and daughter. I could juggle the normal, and then I could juggle the abnormal, you know?" I answered.
There was a pause.
"I didn't know you had a sister." Sam said quietly.
"Have. She still exists. I just don't exist in the same world with her anymore." I corrected sadly, going back to staring out at the window in a sombre silence.
Author's Note: I'm truly sorry about this late update! I started Year 11 and it's basically the most important year of my educational career. So... yeah I really love writing this story, I just need to learn how to juggle revision and homework and writing... oh, and that social life that I have. Right, anyway... You know the drill (I hope), let's say... 60 reviews till my next update? See ya then! Oh and before I forget: Tell me your thoughts on The Dying Of The Light too, I want to see if our opinions varied at all.