Nikki POV
Sam was still snoring away on the other bed when I woke up. I grabbed my sweatshirt, and as I was pulling it on again I heard voices in the hallway. Bored, I got up to see what I was missing.
"…Happier days." I heard Sherwin say. I bounced down the stairs lazily.
"What's goin' on?" I asked, stepping around Sherman to stand by Dean.
"Learnin' about the place." Dean muttered, gesturing to Sherman to keep talking.
"This is Rose's home." Sherwin said. "This land's been in the family over a century."
"Bought it from the Hart's after the Civil war." I mumbled, looking at some of the older pictures.
"Yes, that's right." Sherwin nodded. "Became the family estate after that…Now Rose gets to live in some senior-living graveyard and they tear this place down."
"That's too bad." I said, truly sad. Living history like this shouldn't be torn down.
"I heard Rose isn't feeling well." Dean stated as he walked back down to the lobby.
"No, she isn't." Sherwin said simply.
"What's wrong with her?" I asked.
"It's not my business to say." Sherman told us.
I shrugged, looking at a picture of the house on a table across from the check-in desk. "Who's this?" I asked, pointing to a set of baby pictures from what looked like the early 30s.
"That's Rose when she was a little girl." Sherman said, walking closer. He reached behind and pulled a picture forward. A young girl with dark hair was sitting in the lap of a black woman, who had a Five-Spot on her apron. I glanced at Dean, making sure he saw it to.
"Who's that with her?" Dean asked.
"That's her nanny, Marie. She looked after Rose more than her own mother." Sherwin took the picture and put it front and center on the mantel piece.
I tilted my head to one side as I stared at the amber eyes in front of me.
"I feel like I should be upset about this." I said offhandedly.
"Why?" Dean asked, walking back into the room.
I looked away from the stuffed snowy owl across from me.
I pointed to the owl. "Snowy owl." Dean's eyebrows furrowed. "Hedwig." Still nothing. "Harry Potter?" I tried. Still nothing. "Never mind." I sighed, turning back to the book in my lap.
Sam groaned from the bathroom.
"How 'ya feeling, Sammy? I guess mixing whisky and Jager wasn't such a gangbuster idea, was it?" Dean asked, chuckling.
"I'll bet you don't remember a thing from last night, do you?" Dean kept talking. I rolled my eyes and made my way to the table where I had my herbs spread out.
"No." Sam said hoarsely. "I can still taste tequila."
"You know, there's a really good hangover remedy. A greasy pork sandwich served up on a dirty ashtray." Dean teased. I rolled my eyes and sprinkled some dried mint into the cup before stirring it.
"Oh I hate you." Sam moaned as he rested his forehead on his forearms that were folded over the toilet seat.
"I know you do." Dean laughed. He started to tell Sam about what Sherwin had told us last night.
"So, you think she taught Rose Hoodoo?" Sam managed to ask.
"Yes I do." Dean said simply.
"Alright." Sam said, pushing himself up. "I think it's time we talked to Rose, then."
"Not hungover." I said, sniffing the glass I was stirring. "Older generations already think we're drunken delinquents. Don't need some tequila-smelling 6'4" proof walking around. Drink this." I said, holding the glass out to him.
Sam eyed the glass wearily, looking at the chunky, mucky green liquid floating in it.
"That looks like swamp water." He said plainly, leaning on the door frame.
I looked at it again, frowning, then looked in the book. "Oh, forgot the braken." I said quickly grabbing the bottle of powder and taping a little in. I stirred it again and watched it turn from mucky green to a grimy, grayish purple.
Both Sam and Dean were looking in disgust. I held it out to Sam. "Here."
He hesitated and took the glass. "How bad is this gonna taste?" He asked.
"Why do you think it's gonna taste bad?" I asked, putting my herbs back in my bag.
He sent me a 'Really?' sort of look and I pouted. "Well I don't control how this stuff tastes! You can either drink it and be fine in twenty minutes, or eat a greasy sandwich off an ashtray." I told him, cocking a hip.
Sam grimaced and pinched his nose as he tossed back the glass. He gagged after he shoved the glass at Dean. "That's the worst one yet." He said through the coughing that had started.
Dean was laughing at his brother's reaction. I gave him a shove and shut the bathroom door to let Sam get dressed.
"Feel better?" I asked Sam as we walked to the door in the back of the hotel with a 'PRIVET' sign on it.
"Yeah," Sam said with a nod. "Thanks." He added, smiling down at me in a way that made my stomach flip.
Dean knocked the door. "Hello?" He called.
"Susan?" Sam tried.
"Clear?" Dean asked, taking his lock picks out of his jacket. I pushed him away from the door and placed my hand on the locked door. I took a deep breath and as I let it out, I turned the knob. The door swung open.
"Show off." Dean muttered, shoving the lock picks into his pocket again.
I rolled my eyes and walked through the door. "Holy crap…You two weren't kidding about the doll thing." I said, looking at the disturbing array and amount of china dolls. I made my way to the next room and paused at a door. This one was unlocked and led to a stair case. Without waiting for Sam or Dean I started up the stairs.
I had a strange déjà vu as I walked up the stairs. I brushed it off and kept walking. Once I made it to the top of the stairs, I stopped as I actually felt the muscles in my neck tighten. I raised one hand to rub the right side of my neck and shoulder. When my fingers brushed the raised edge of the brand on my shoulder a Zing! went through my body, making my hand jerk back.
A hand grabbed my upper arm. I let out a squeak as I jumped around. Dean was standing behind me, an irritated look on his face. Sam was a step behind him, a similar look on his face. I rolled my eyes. "Yeah yeah yeah, I should have waited." I muttered.
The three of us walked through the whitewashed hall to the door. Sam and Dean slowed as they got closer, I didn't. I slowly pushed the door open, revealing a musty, poorly decorated room. In the middle of the room, facing the window, was an old woman in a wheelchair.
"Mrs. Thompson?" I asked hesitantly, walking into the room. "Mrs. Thompson?" I asked again. I felt Sam put a hand on my arm, trying to keep me from going farther into the room.
I shook his arm off and walked around to the side of her wheel chair. "Rose?" I asked.
Her watery brown eyes flickered around, unfocused and blank. "Rose?" I asked again. This time, she turned and looked at me. "Hi…" I said slowly. "Uh, I'm-I'm Nikki." I started slowly.
Rose said nothing, just kept staring at me with her watery eyes. "We're not here to hurt you, ok?" Rose's eye twitched and her eyes seemed to focus a little.
I heard Sam pull Dean aside to talk about Rose's mental state.
"Do you like the rain?" I asked, gesturing to the window. Rose still didn't do anything.
"There's a picture of you downstairs, with your nanny, Marie." I told her. Rose's face twitched again. "She had a symbol on her apron, a Five-Spot? Do you know what that is?" I asked her. Nothing.
I glanced at Sam and Dean. "You know, I'm a little like her, Marie." I told Rose. "I know what a Five-Spot does, it wards off enemies. Did Marie teach you about them?"
"Dude, you're not gonna poke her with a stick!" I heard Sam hiss at Dean.
"What the hell? What are you doing in here?" I heard Susan say loudly.
"Uh, we just wanted to talk to Rose." Sam lied.
I started to get up, but one of Rose's weak, bony hands grabbed my wrist at a surprising speed.
"Look at her, she's scare out of her wits! Get away from her!" Susan said, walking towards me. I nodded quickly, and tried to gently pull my wrist from Rose's grasp. Susan saw my predicament, she looked at me oddly.
"Look, if she wants me to stay, I'll stay up here. Leave when she falls asleep or something." I said calmly. Susan frowned at me. I shook my head and stood, trying to gently break my wrist away from Rose's grip. She made a quiet sound, her face twitched again.
Susan frowned at me. "Get out of here as soon as she falls asleep. And you two," she turned to look at Sam and Dean. "I want you out of my hotel, or I'm calling the cops."
Sam looked at me with concerned eyes. I nodded, telling him that I was ok. I can handle being alone with an old woman. The boys left, leaving Susan, Rose and I alone in the room.
"Look, I have to go and fill out some paper work for the sale. I'll be up here in 20 minutes." Susan snapped, walking away.
After she left, I sat back on my heels, Rose still holding my wrist.
"So…" I trailed off. "Is there a reason you wanted me to stay up here?"
Rose's eyes flickered around, finally coming to rest back at the window. "You must really like the rain." I said awkwardly. Rose made a quiet sound again, not looking at me.
She slowly turned her eyes towards me and her mouth quivered and twitched.
"Are you trying to speak?" I asked softly. Her eyes flickered around quickly.
I carefully put my hands over hers and took a deep breath. "Corpore sano, sana animam meam. Do tibi vis, fac me in toto. Magia servo meo male, sicut Deus vult. Ad onera, ad imperium tuum precor supernae dilectionis tuae deum laver." I said slowly. "Corpore sano, sana animam meam. Do tibi vis, fac me in toto. Magia servo meo male, sicut Deus vult. Ad onera, ad imperium tuum precor supernae dilectionis tuae deum laver."
My body started to feel numb, like I hadn't moved in hours.
"M-M-Maggie." Rose managed to croak. I looked up at her in shock. I guess this spell really could heal anything.
"I-I'll stop this, ok? I promise." I told her, patting the back of her hand softly.
"Th-Tha-Th…" Rose croaked out, struggling more and more.
"You're welcome." I said, politely cutting her off. I jumped and turned around as lightning flashed outside.
I turned back to Rose, but saw her eyes were closed.
"Rose?" I asked softly.
Rose made a small sound, it wasn't distressed like her previous ones had been, this one sounded mildly annoyed. I took my hands back and left the room.
I managed to get to the lobby without seeing Susan. I was about to leave when something fell from the landing above the door. I caught it, and frowned as I looked at it; a pink bouncy ball.
"Hey, are you gonna toss that to us?" A young, feminine voice asked.
I stepped back and looked up, seeing two girls in matching outfits on the landing above the door. They must have been Susan's daughters. "Look out." I said playfully, lightly tossing the ball back up. The brunette girl giggled and caught the ball.
"What are you doing?" The blonde girl asked me, with no small amount of attitude.
"Leaving." I said simply. "What about you two?"
"We're playing jacks." The brunette said, holding up a pink bouncy ball. The blonde was glaring at me. "Right?" the brunette asked her sister, a hopeful look in her face.
"Are those two boys who were bothering Rosie your boyfriends?" The blonde, asked with a teenage-level attitude, ignoring the brunette completely.
"No." I said, holding in a laugh.
"Oh." Maggie said. "Do you wanna play with us?" She asked, smiling a little at me.
"Sorry, your mom kinda wants me to leave." I said, shrugging a little.
Maggie frowned. "I hate her." She hissed to the brunette, who just shrugged. I rolled my eyes and left.
I gasped as I sat up in the back of the car. It'd been months since I'd had an episode, or, dream I guess they could be called, like that.
"Dean, go back to the hotel." I said sternly.
"What? Why?" Dean asked.
"Back to the hotel! Now!" I said loudly.
I walked behind Dean as Sam led a very shaken Susan into the hotel bar.
"Whisky." Susan stated simply.
"Sure. I know the feeling." Sam said, heading to the bar. I led Susan to a table and sat her down, I sat across from her.
"What the hell happened out there?" Susan asked, looking at me.
"Do you want the truth?" I asked.
"Of course." Susan said, looking at me almost pleading.
"At first, we thought it was a hoodoo curse." I started.
"But what just happened outside—definitely a spirit." Dean further explain.
Susan took a drink from the whisky Sam had handed her. "You're insane." She said simply.
"It's been said." Dean shrugged. I nodded in agreement.
"Look, I'm sorry, Susan. We don't exactly have time to ease you into this, but we need to know when your mother had the stroke." Sam said as gently as he could.
"What does that have to do-" Susan started.
"Just answer the question." I said from the bar, getting a shot of whisky for myself. I knocked it back quickly before going back to the table.
"About a month ago." Susan said.
"Right before the killings began, you see?" I asked. "So what if Rose was working Hoodoo, to protect people, not hurt them, it would have stopped a month ago."
Dean looked and me doubtfully.
"What?" I asked challengingly. "Not all magic is bad." I said defensively. "Using the urns to ward off the spirit, same with the vase, until she had a stroke and couldn't anymore." I further explained.
"I don't believe this." Susan said.
"Listen, that car didn't try to run you down by itself, ok? I mean, I guess it did technically, but with a spirit—forget it." Dean trailed off as he saw the look Sam was giving him.
"Believe what you want, but you and your family are in danger. You need to get everybody out of here—your employees, your mother, your daughters, everyone." I told Susan.
"Um…" Susan said, looking at me oddly. "I only have one daughter."
"One?" Sam repeated.
"Doesn't Tyler have a sister named Maggie?" Dean asked. My interest peaked at the name 'Maggie.'
"Maggie's imaginary." Susan told us.
"Where's Tyler?" Sam asked.
"She's supposed to be packing…" Susan trailed off.
We all took off for the second floor.
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~Christianne