So, I had such an awesome response to the last chapter, I was extremely motivated to get another chapter out! Yay me! It's not a long chapter, but I'm hoping you'll like it anyway :O) So, get reading!

Cindy

Dean and Daniel Winchester were many things…sons, brothers, hunters…but they were first and foremost big brothers to their baby brother, Sam. Nothing in the world mattered more to them, not even their father. Oh, he was definitely up there, but Sam held a special place atop the ladder of importance in their lives. It was an unspoken rule…if it came down to Sam or anything or anyone else, Sam always took priority. It had been that way since the day their mother was ripped from their lives and everyone who knew the Winchesters knew this to be the case. Anyone who had even one brain cell functioning in their heads knew that anybody who threatened the youngest Winchester was going to go down, no ifs, ands, nor buts about it. Now, the Winchesters were a protective bunch…they'd lay down their lives for each other in a heartbeat, but when it came to Sam, that protectiveness was over the top…you so much as look at the kid cross eyed, you were buzzard bait. So, at this moment, with their baby brother's screams echoing through the hallway, ripping their hearts from their chests, the two elder Winchester brothers were beyond murderous. If the magician were flesh and blood, by the time they were done with him, he'd be merely a pile of ripped flesh, muscle and bone.

The brothers tore down the hall, kicking in any door that stood in their way, Dean's concussion all but forgotten and not slowing down the middle brother in the least. He had a baby brother to find and a spirit to take down and no concussion was going to interfere with that. The screams led the young men to the last room at the end of the hall and without any hesitation on either of their parts, they kicked through the door and burst into a scene of horror that would forever be imprinted on their brains. Sam was trussed to a table, completely naked, writhing in agony as the dark form of the magician leaned over him, carving into his chest with a wicked looking knife like their brother was a Christmas turkey. If there had been any rationale left between the two, it was gone the second they saw the blood that covered Sam's torso and heard him suddenly begin to sob, begging the spirit to stop.

"Get away from my brother, you fucking son of a bitch!" Dean screamed as he pulled his shotgun up to his shoulder and aimed it at the spirit.

The spirit spun toward the brothers as if it hadn't heard them enter the room. A blast from the shotgun dispersed the black form with nary a sound from it and the brothers rushed to the table where Sam lay, whimpering and writhing, seemingly unaware of their presence. They reached Sam and both had tears in their eyes as they saw the damage done to their brother. Most of the cuts weren't all that deep, save for a few, but the amount of blood that covered Sam's chest had the brothers concerned. It was however the tears that rolled down Sam's temples and the way he looked at them with such relief that broke their hearts.

"Dean…Danny…you came," Sam whispered as if he didn't have the energy to speak any louder.

"Hey, kiddo…of course we came. We're gonna get you out of here, okay?" Dean said as pulled his pocketknife out and began to cut at the rope around Sam's wrist.

"k," Sam whispered.

Daniel watched for the spirit, his shotgun ready, while Dean continued to cut Sam free. The eldest brother shot worried glances toward his two younger siblings and cringed whenever Sam would whimper or cry out in pain. When the spirit finally did reappear, a snarl curled the lip of the young man and he smiled gleefully as he sent the spirit packing once again with a shot of rocksalt, a screech of sheer rage filling the air as the spirit exploded in a flash of red/yellow light.

"You need to hurry, Dean! We have to get him out of here!" Daniel shouted as he spared a glance over his shoulder.

"I am hurrying, Danny! Do you see his clothes anywhere?" Dean shouted back in reply.

"Um…no…I don't see them!" Daniel answered, a sick feeling twisting his stomach as he thought about what this would do to his brother's already fragile emotions.

Sam whimpered again as Dean sat him up and Daniel moved to the side of the table and placed his hand on Sam's back to steady him as Dean whipped off his outer shirt then pulled his tee shirt over his head. Dean pressed the tee shirt to Sam's chest then gently took Sam's unbroken arm and guided his hand to hold the cloth in place. He noted with further anger that Sam's other arm was cast free and deeply bruised, indicating it had been further injured. He quickly put his outer shirt back on then with Daniel's help, lifted Sam from the table. Sam looked down upon his body and made a sound that further broke the brother's hearts. Dean tilted his head down in order to see Sam's eyes and smiled.

"Hey, it's okay, Sammy. Nothing we haven't seen before, little brother. We'll get you all covered up and then we can go, okay?"

Sam looked up through sweaty bangs and nodded. "'kay…sorry, Dean," he said softly.

"No sorries, Sam. You have nothing to be sorry for," Dean said as he took the shirt that Daniel had removed from his own back and now held out for his younger brother. He wrapped the shirt around Sam's waist and tied it snuggly using the arms. Once Sam was covered, Dean eased him around the table, his arm wrapped protectively around his back. Daniel came to Sam's other side and together, he and Dean started leading their injured brother to the door.

"'m sorry for hurting you," Sam whispered.

"That wasn't you, kiddo so don't you even worry about that. I'm fine," Dean said, his eyes watchful for the spirit's return.

The three brothers made it into the hallway, Daniel after making sure Dean had a firm hold of Sam, letting go so he could be ready for any surprises. They were halfway down the hall when suddenly, Sam was ripped from Dean's grip and dragged back down the hallway before either brother knew what was happening. They couldn't see the spirit this time and their eyes widened as a terrified Sam was smashed into the wall beside the window at the end of the hall.

"No! You bastard! Leave our brother alone!" Daniel screamed, his shot gun ready, but his fear of hurting Sam and the fact that he couldn't see the spirit keeping him from firing a shot.

The spirit appeared then, its dark form taking shape beside Sam, one hand holding the struggling young man by the throat as it pressed him against the wall. The spirit turned it's faceless head toward the two elder brothers and hissed in rage.

"He is mine! You will not take him from me again! I will finish the ritual and I will be reborn! I will be the greatest magician ever to walk this earth!"

Dean scoffed as he glared heatedly at the spirit. "That's what this is all about? To be the greatest magician ever?" he asked incredulously as he and Daniel inched their way forward. "I have news for you, buddy, nobody cares about magicians anymore. They're all flashy and fake and nobody could give a rats ass about them!" he added.

The spirit snarled and hissed as the brothers moved forward. It pulled Sam from the wall and held his body in front of it as a shield. "They will care again once I am reborn. They will not believe their eyes! They will be amazed and they will shout for more!"

"They will laugh your ass right out of town, you pussy son of a bitch!" Dean hissed.

"Dean…take it down a notch," Daniel whispered from the side of his mouth. He then looked at the spirit and smirked. "You'll never finish your ritual. We won't let you. Your bones will be dust before you get the chance," he said with such venom his voice shook.

The spirit seemed suddenly fearful despite there not being a face to see. It moved toward the brothers hesitantly before coming to a stop a few feet from the window. It cocked its head as if tryng to listen or sense anything else in the house. Suddenly, it drew itself up taller and turned halfway away from them.

"If that is the case, then the boy dies."

"NOOOOOOOO!" both Dean and Daniel screamed as the spirit turned with lightning speed and thrust Sam away from it, the young man giving a startled yelp as his body crashed through the window and disappeared as he plummeted toward the ground.

Yeah, you got it...another cliffie! Ha! So, will post the next chapter as soon as I can. Thanks so much for reading and for your comments 3

Cindy