I trained with them as long as they would teach me, keeping Ketch updated as I did. "They have an old grimoire." I explained to him. "Once I get a solid shot at it, I'll start sending you digital copies."
"What about getting the physical book?"
"It'll be difficult. They're still training me, and I can't do too much to make them suspicious yet. They're still uncertain about me."
"But you're certain this phone call is secure?"
"Oh yeah." I muttered. "This is secure." I checked my clothes every day to make sure I didn't have anything on me that could be used to track my location or listen in on my conversations, as well as my phone and anything else I owned.
"Excellent, then." Ketch said. "Make sure to keep me updated on the situation."
"How is Mary doing?"
"She is excelling within our group." He sounded proud. "Definitely a well-suggested asset, Dillinger. Keep up the good work."
"Thanks." I smiled a little. "And T.J.? How is he doing on his assignments?"
"He acquired the necromancer's grimoire two days ago, and is currently undergoing debriefing while our people work to decipher, transcribe, and copy the book."
"Need any help on that?" I offered.
"No thank you." Ketch said. "You're doing well in your own assignment. Stay focused on that, and keep me informed as to any possible updates."
"Will do." I agreed. "Tell Mary and T.J. hello for me."
"I will send them your regards." Ketch promised. That was it. I didn't have a lot of big information I could tell him that he would understand. The magic was old, incredibly old, and incredibly specific and singular. There was no easy way to learn any of this without Kat or Gideon or Boyd.
To keep tabs on me and help keep a steady income going towards the house, Gideon set me up as an intern where he worked. Accounting business, surprisingly. Incredibly non-shady, for hella old and extremely powerful witches. It was strange how normal the work seemed.
An accountant with ties to old Druid magic. What a strange world.
They started off teaching me without the book. I'd seen it, once, but it was under more fortifications and enchantments than I had ever seen. I wasn't even certain I could break through all of them without help. So I left the book be, and concentrated on what they could teach me.
There's no way to describe properly as to what they knew. The power, the spells, the magic… It was old. Extremely old. Old enough that I couldn't tamper with it or modify it in any way, not easily. It would take actual focus, and probably a few days' worth of experimentation, to even begin to start to meddle around with this.
Their focus, though, was memory. They knew tons of other work, too. I honestly could've re-enacted the apple-throwing trees from Wizard of Oz with what they knew, but they liked memory spells the most.
"If you can destroy a person's mind," Kat had explained. "Then the rest is easy. The mind controls everything. It's best to burn the stump fast before two heads can grow back, and how can a person re-group if they don't remember what to do?"
When we got in to the more complex memory spells, that was when they started using the book to show me directly. I caught glimpses from time to time as to the contents of its pages, but nothing concrete. Just a few titles here and there. Destruction. Memory. Earth. Elements. Pain. Life. Nothing that ever gave me a lead as to exactly everything I could learn from that book. It was a closely guarded family secret, and I wasn't family.
So when Gideon came home in a flying rage, I wasn't certain as to why. It was my day off. I was training in a different set of the book with Boyd, resurrection spells. We were practicing on dead rats.
"Who killed Barry?!" Gideon screamed, random bits of small furniture flying about the room. "WHO KILLED HIM?!"
"Barry Gilman?" I asked. "Our boss?"
"WAS IT YOU, LITTLE WITCH?!" He screamed. I didn't have a second to prepare myself before he struck, and my arm was suddenly burning without a flame. I cried out, clutching it as the burn marks slowly turned from 1st to 2nd degree. I cried out in pain, and heard Karma howl outside. "DID YOU DO IT?! DID YOU KILL HIM?!"
"Settle down, Gideon!" Kat shouted, waving a hand. My arm stopped burning immediately, but it wouldn't be easy to heal. "I killed the bastard."
"Why?!"
"Kat!" Boyd shouted up at her. Nobody was really paying much attention to me with the burning arm. I took a moment to heal myself, careful to use only a spell they'd taught me instead of anything I may have been able to do myself.
"He was stealing from us." Kat explained calmly, looking over at Boyd. "Gideon showed me the numbers." I remembered that. I'd seen some strange things going on in a few accounts yesterday and asked Gideon about it. He'd looked at the pages for maybe three minutes before storming away and telling me to take the rest of the day off. When Gideon had come home, he had gone straight to talking with his brother and sister. "So I showed him how much of an error that was on his part."
"You suffocated him with money!" Gideon shouted.
"What if Hunters come for us?!" Boyd asked.
"Then we will deal with them, as we always have." Kat answered, looking over at me. "Even better, now. It's time for our little huntress Diana to pay us back for her training." She looked from me to outside, where Karma stayed. "I think a hellhound should provide well enough protection, don't you think?"
That was the price. If I was going to be trained by them, I had to be willing to have Karma protect them.
Boyd and Gideon turned to look at me, waiting for my answer.
"If they come," I said. "Then I'll stop them, easy enough."
I got moved to a different department after that, but still working under Gideon. He was putting as much distance between himself and his dead boss as possible. Three days later, though, Gideon didn't come home. When we went out looking, we found his body.
And the spell he'd cast.
Whichever Hunters were after him, were going to forget themselves. It was like dementia, but much faster and crueler. I was punished for that, thanks to Boyd. Hunters came, and I didn't protect Gideon. He wanted to go hunt them down, he was seething and determined to, but Kat said to wait.
So Boyd took his anger out on the Hunters on me. He wasn't a patient person. I didn't quite heal so well from those burns, nor could I get a hold of Ketch. It was too dangerous. Kat and Boyd were on edge, determined to get their brother back.
They brought his body back to the house, and kept the book open to a reanimating spell. "You've got power." Kat said, looking at me determined. "You're going to help bring him back, since you failed to keep him safe."
"Yes ma'am." I said, keeping my head bent. Karma was outside, monitoring the perimeter. She wasn't going to kill, I wouldn't let her kill Hunters, but she was going to howl if they came.
The only reason we were still here was for the book.
So I worked with Boyd on trying to resurrect Gideon, the book right in front of me to reference the entire time. The only problem was that Boyd was there too, the entire time, keeping a close eye on me as I worked.
That night I heard Karma give out a single, sharp bark before stopping. I stopped my work then, as did Boyd. "Karma!" I shouted, starting to run towards the door. She wasn't dead, I knew she wasn't. Her job was to make that noise and then disappear directly afterwards. But I had to pretend I thought she was hurt.
Boyd stopped me before I could get to the door, though, physically restraining me with his arms.
"Hunters are here." He said, his voice menacing and angry. "If you run now, I'll kill you before they do. Bring him back," he pointed at Gideon. "And we'll forgive you not being able to keep our brother alive like you promised."
"Fine." I agreed. "Just let me go save my dog."
"Forget the dog. Resurrect Gideon." He grasped my wrist tightly, burning runes in to my skin as he did. "Stay in this room." He ordered before running out the door. I took a look at the new engravings on my wrist. It was effectively the equivalent of a witchbag, one that would activate if I left the room.
"This is gonna hurt like a bitch." I muttered, making a decision on the spot. I ran back to the book and pulled out my phone. I had to work fast, photographing every single page that I could. I didn't know how much time I had before Boyd or Kat came in. I hoped the Hunters would manage.
I finished as soon as I could, thanking whoever would listen that I had been able to make digital copies of every page in the book. I was about to upload them to Ketch when I stopped, hearing a man scream in the house.
It was a voice I recognized, though, and one that made me want to curse whoever the fuck was in charge of fate.
It was Sam.
No. Why them? Why in the hell does it always have to be them? Was Cas with them? Which one of them had had the memory spell put on them?
"Fuck." I muttered. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck."
I could leave. I could bail out, if I wanted to. It would hurt like a son of a bitch, but if they killed Boyd then I'd be fine afterwards. Or I could always just try to break it on my own. With magic this complex, though, it wouldn't be easy, much less safe.
Or I could stay, and risk being seen. I hadn't worn a disguise around Kat and Boyd and Gideon, and they'd find it strange if I did now. But if they had Sam, then Dean wouldn't be far behind.
If they had Sam, then Sam had enough mental power to get here on his own, which meant he didn't forget.
If they had Sam, then Dean wouldn't coming to rescue him, because Dean wouldn't remember and Sam wouldn't want to put him in danger.
Sam had come in here, either alone or just with Castiel. They would be in danger. They would have no idea exactly how dangerous these people were.
Goddammit, why couldn't I just leave?! I had to do something, though. Anything.
Rowena had taught me how to cast my consciousness out, and view people from afar. Sam and Dean needed help. Who better to fight witches than another witch?
I stashed my phone, shutting my eyes as I worked fast. I couldn't get a clear image, but I could feel her. Rowena was close already. She could help. I tried to push a sense of urgency, and the location, but Boyd and Kat's laughter cut me off before I could see if it worked.
I opened the book back to the resurrection page it had been on, and resumed work as though nothing had happened. Boyd and Kat came in, laughing, with a bound Sam Winchester dragged behind them. No Castiel, though. Maybe he wasn't here. If he hadn't come in he was somewhere else. Good. One less person to worry about.
Boyd propped him up in a nearby chair, whereas Kat came to check on my work.
"You've come a long ways very quickly, little witch!" She commented, examining my work. "Very good!" She clapped her hands together, excited. "And with this new Hunter, we'll be able to use his soul instead of yours to bring our brother back! Excellent!"
"Thank you." I said, keeping my voice quiet in case Sam woke up.
"Keep working with Boyd." She instructed. "I'm going to go keep watch for other Hunters."
"My dog, Karma," I said, feigning worry in hopes that they would let me leave. "Is she OK? Can I go check on her?"
"She's dead." Kat said. "Or she's gone off somewhere to die from whatever the Hunter did to her. Either way, no concern of ours anymore." I looked down at my wrist, taking a glance at the bonds that were still on me. Kat looked down as well, following my gaze. "Boyd, what did you do to her?" She asked, turning to him. He was looking at Sam just a little too gleefully.
"I didn't want her to get scared and scamper off." He said, not taking his eyes off the younger Winchester. Kat shrugged.
"We'll take those off when Gideon is back." Kat decided. "Call it final reparations for us not using your soul to bring back the person you couldn't protect." She turned back to her brother, who had advanced on Sam. I could see ideas forming in his head, as could Kat. "Boyd, you promised." She said softly, picking up a nearby wooden box. She brought it back to me, and had me hold it for her. "Without Gideon, we are not a family."
Boyd looked over from Sam to Kat, and I bowed my head immediately. I could see Sam wasn't knocked out, not quite. He was waiting, listening, biding his time. "Well, you should've thought of that before you went behind his back and pinata'd the accountant." Boyd pointed out. Kat just scoffed at him. "Gideon told you to let it go." He added. Kat turned back to me, obscuring me from Sam's view. I opened the box for her, and watched as she withdrew a blade. I put the box back on the table, keeping my back to Sam as I focused on working.
"Thank you, Diana." She said to me before turning back to her brother. "And let us be cheated by some sniveling, weak human nothing?"
"You got our brother killed." Boyd reminded her, coming to the table to watch as I kept working. I took a glance at Kat. She looked… unchanged. She was the one pushing the hardest to bring her brother back, but she looked as though she couldn't care less.
"Hmmm. Well, we," she looked from Boyd to me, smiling as she showed us her knife. It was black, and… It screamed, if that makes any sense. The knife screamed as though it was enduring a thousand different tortures. That was the blade they'd used before, for everything. That was one they'd created with a spell from this book. "Can bring him back." She finished, smiling at the weapon, now.
She stopped when we heard the front door open. Kat looked annoyed, glancing from the door to me and Boyd. She handed me the knife. "Finish it." She ordered. "Bring back our brother, and you'll be a part of our family. You'll be one of us." I stared at the blade in my hands. "Do it," she crooned. "Please. For me?"
I nodded. I had to. They had to believe I would. She smiled. "I'm so happy to have a new sister!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Now, if you two will excuse me, I'm going to go see who our new guest is."
Once she was out of the room, Sam spoke up. "You don't wanna do this." He said. "Neither of you do."
I glanced up at Boyd, and he nodded, motioning for me to keep going as he turned to Sam.
"Well, well, well. Look who's awake." Boyd muttered. I could almost hear the cruel smile on his face. I took a look at the spell in place. We were already over halfway through with it being done. If I was going to change something, I had to do it now.
"Okay, so whatever your sister has planned, you don't have to do it." Sam repeated. "You're not one of them. You can change." I could feel his words pointed at me for just a moment. "I don't know what they have over you, but you can stop. You don't have to keep going." I made myself get back to work. I could feel an idea, a way to change the spell so that Gideon would never be resurrected. Sam changed his target from me to Boyd. "And you don't have to follow whatever orders your sister gives you."
"You mean, swapping your soul for his?" Boyd asked. Sam didn't speak, and I didn't risk looking back to check on him. I had a plan, now, a way to stop this. I had to alter a few symbols and I could do it. I just couldn't blow it yet. "I'm afraid I do."
I finished my work, smiling. I only had a few moments, and this was going to hurt like a bitch, but I had to do something. I looked over at the window. That would have to be my exit.
"Death chumas sibh." I said, gaining Boyd's attention. I looked up in to his eyes and smiled. "DEATH CHUMAS SIBH!"
Translation: Death keeps you.
Gideon would never get up again. What's dead should stay dead, and I was making sure that that was happening. I couldn't help but think that Gideon would be proud.
"NO!" Boyd screamed, lunging to stop me. I stabbed the blade in to Gideon, and watched as the force of what I'd done pushed Boyd back in to the wall next to Sam. I stopped, making eye contact with the Hunter for a moment.
"You?" He asked. I didn't reply, Boyd was advancing.
"TRAITOR!" He screamed, making another lunge at me. "WE TAUGHT YOU EVERYTHING!" I acted fast, yanking the blade out of Gideon's body before chucking it at Boyd. I could still throw knives, after all. It hit him in the shoulder (I was a little rusty at it), but it stopped his advancement. That was all I needed. I turned, running towards the window.
"Kylie, DON'T!" Sam cried out. I jumped, curling in to a small ball as the glass shattered around me and I hurtled towards the ground. I screamed, the pain becoming instantaneous as my body exited the room. I did my best to focus, hoping I could hurt myself as little as possible as I fell to the ground.
I felt my ankle break as I managed to roll, scratching the rest of me up as I worked to get away. I heard Boyd scream above me as I kept rolling, not stopping until I rolled straight in to something solid and metal that I was CERTAIN wasn't there last time I checked.
I shook my head, fighting off the headache from banging headfirst in to a….
A Chevy '67 Impala.
"Jackpot." I muttered, grasping the door handle to pull myself up. Once I was mostly standing I slumped against the car frame, taking deep breaths to steady myself as I fought off the pain. I needed to heal my ankle, definitely. But I also needed to keep going and get away.
In all honesty, I needed to call Ketch.
I reached in to my pocket, pulling out my phone until I looked in to the window. Dean was staring out in surprise, absolutely shocked at my presence. He pointed at me, as if trying to say words, but none came out.
"Shit, it was you, wasn't it?" I asked. "You're the one that can't remember." He just kept pointing at me, confused and uncertain. "Great. Your brother is in there, trapped. Hopefully Rowena is in there saving him, but nobody is coming outside, so…" I shook my head, but all that did was make it hurt more. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK."
I opened the driver's side door, pulling myself in to sit next to him. There were two sticky notes, both written in Rowena's handwriting. "Thank God." I muttered, reading them. One explained his situation. The other one told him to stay in the car. I turned back to look at Dean, who was just staring uncertain. "OK, we're going to check out what's going on here." I said, putting my hand on his forehead.
The damage to his memory was severe. He would need a spell from their Grimoire to fix it. Nothing I could do now without that book and time would be able to fix him, and if I tried to change it myself with whatever I could make up off the top of my head, I would risk killing him.
I removed my hand, staring at him in surprise. "How are you still vertical?" I asked. He shrugged. "Wait, you understand what I'm saying?" I asked. Nod. "Do you know who I am?" He paused, nodded, then shook his head. "Kind of?" A nod. "And you can read?" Another nod.
"Great. I've got a plan." I decided, leaning over him to root around in the glove box. Dean scooted back as far as he could in his seat, genuinely confused as to my motives. I ignored him, and kept looking until I found what I was looking for. "Jackpot." I finally said, pulling out sticky notes and a pen. "Ok, here's what's going to happen." I said, moving back to look at him. "I'm going to write you a note so that you don't forget what you need to do," I started scribbling on a sticky note, looking back up at him to make sure he was following. That was when I saw he was asleep.
"Shit." It was getting extremely worse. I had to change the plan. I thought for a moment before hauling myself out of the car. Rowena and Sam should've been out by now. They should've been out by now!
I moved to the trunk, opening it quickly as I took inventory. They had witch-killing bullets, good. I scribbled a label on the sticky note and put it on the bullets, and added another for a gun. I stared at their inventory a little longer, my eyes falling on an extremely large gun.
"Dean would try this." I muttered, scribbling the largest "NO" that I could on the sticky note and attaching it firmly to the weapon. Finally I slammed the trunk closed, writing an "OPEN ME" on one more sticky note to go on it before I hobbled over to the passenger's side. This was going to be tricky.
I slammed my hand on Dean's forehead, focusing hard on the little bits of his brain functions that were left. "Ignore the STAY." I whispered quickly, imagining Rowena's note as I did. "Open the trunk." I thought about the back of the car, and the weapons in it. "Save everyone." I imagined Rowena and Sam. "Hurry." I removed my hand and slammed the door closed, doing my best to move away. I couldn't save them myself, not now. If I wasn't careful I wouldn't even be able to save myself anymore.
I dragged myself away to a few nearby trees, watching as Dean got out of the car and moved to the car's trunk. A few minutes later, he had the gun, loaded with bullets, and was advancing on the house.
I smiled in relief. "Please live." I begged, watching the house as I finally pulled out my phone. I hit the first number I could on speed dial, hoping that I could stay conscious just long enough to get help. Ketch would come. Someone would come.
"Hello?" Male. Not who I thought I would call, but it was someone. I focused on the phone, trying to get my sight to stop blurring so much. "Hello?"
"Help." I finally croaked out, dropping the phone. I curled in to a small ball, fighting off the pain as I tried to do anything to alleviate some of the pain. Maybe if I could heal my ankle?
I wrapped my hands around it, grasping my ankle lightly as I tried to focus some sort of power to save me. "Kylie?" I was still on a phone call. "Kylie! Answer me!"
I pushed every bit of power I could towards my ankle, hoping it would work to heal me.
"KYLIE?!"
I looked back up at the house. They weren't walking out. Nobody was walking out. I just had to hope and pray that something had worked. There was a gunshot, one, and I smiled.
Dean was going to save them.
They were going to make it out. I just knew it.
"They're going to make it." I muttered, smiling a little bit. There was a second shot, and the pain disappeared from the rest of me, save for the ankle. "Thank God." I sighed. I was so weary, though, and my ankle and head still hurt like a bitch. I probably had some sort of concussion. It was making it really hard to keep my head up and answer.
"KYLIE!"
"I…" It hurt so much to try and focus, now. I leaned over to the side and puked on the ground next to me. A second later there were hands on my shoulders, lifting me up.
"You have a concussion." Crowley muttered, looking over at the phone. "You call me with a concussion. Great." He looked over at the house, hearing a door open. "Come on. We're leaving."
The second he transported me, I was out cold.
