Woop. Turns out, I was able to get another chapter done before everything gets busy for the holiday! So, that means we're moving right along into Shadow! I've got no major note to add this time around, so I'll let you get to it and, as always, hope you enjoy! Xoxo-NickyLynn
May 30, 2006 – Chicago, Illinois
Ariella moved through the busy bar, eyes set on Sam and Dean's back as she weaved her way through the crowd. She caught sight of the thick journal laid out in front of Sam, clearly focused on their case. Dean, however, seemed to be more concerned with sipping on his beer while his eyes slid none-too-slyly over to the pretty brunette serving drinks every so often.
Ariella stepped up to the table without announcing herself, quickly snatching the nearly full bottle of beer from in front of Dean as she dropped herself down in the empty chair. "How'd the apartment go?" she asked in leu of greeting, pulling the bottle of beer up to her lips as the men's eyes snapped over to her.
"Hey!" Dean complained upon seeing his drink in her hold. "That was mine!"
"Key word there being was." She snarked back, pointing the rim of the bottle at him with a smirk. "Why don't you go ask the pretty bartender for another." She supplied then, arching her brow at him as she brought the bottle back to her lips. "You get her number yet?"
"No." he responded far too quickly, eyes moving from her to the table between there where a napkin sat, phone number clearly scribbled across it. Ariella arched her brow higher as her eyes dropped to it as well. "I-it was for the case!" he sputtered in defense. "Research on our last victim."
"Mmhm." Ariella hummed with a tip of her head as she swallowed the last of the beer. "Should probably call her." She offered as she set the empty bottle back onto the table. "Bet she'd let you do all kinds of research on her."
The corner of Sam's mouth pulled up as he watched Dean fumble for excuses before Ariella turned her focus solely on him. "Apartment?" she asked again.
"Pretty consistent with the reports." He answered with a shrug, he and Dean having been investigating the scene of death while she checked out the body. "No sign of a break-in or struggle. The alarm was still active, too. Landlord had to cut through the deadbolt just to get in."
"You know, I still don't get why we had play the alarm company part while you got to go play agent." Dean huffed at her then, clearly upset with the uniform he had been stuck with.
Ariella smirked at him. "Because Imake this suit look good." She tossed back at him, reaching up to brush imaginary dirt off the shoulder of her blazer. She had picked herself out a black, form-fitting suit for the occasion, able to blend right in as a federal officer. "And you look so cute in those overalls." She added with a wink.
"We found this, too." Sam interjected then, pushing the journal closer to her. Ariella let her eyes drop to the book then, finding a paper sitting on top which had been folded up between the pages. Her eyebrows pinched together as she studied the sigil scribbled within. "The blood splatter made that same symbol." He informed her as she picked it up, studying it closer. "Ever see anything like it?"
The truth was, it did look familiar, Ariella just couldn't place it off the top of her head. "I'm not sure." She answered with a shake of her head before letting the paper fall back on top of the journal. "But whatever's going on here, it is definitely our type of gig." She told him then, reaching up to slip the elastic band out of her hair before running her fingers through it with a sigh. "There was a pretty significant factor that the newspapers left out about the body."
"What?" Sam asked, his own eyebrows creasing together as he pulled John's journal back over to him.
"Our girl was missing her heart." She told them. "Torn out completely."
"Werewolf?" Dean supplied, pulling her eyes back over to him.
"I thought so too." She acknowledged. "But the lunar cycle doesn't add up."
"Huh." Sam huffed, adding that detail along with everything else they had gathered so far.
"Did you figure out any sort of connection between her and the first vic?" she asked him, this latest attack being the second in the span of a month.
"Right, yeah. Ben Swardstrom." Sam said, flipping through the pages tucked into the journal before finding the article he had been looking for. "He was found mutilated in his town house last month." He said, holding up the paper once he found it. "Same deal." He said as Dean pulled it from his hold to study it closer. "The door was locked. The alarm was on. But other than that, I can't seem to find anything linking the two of them. Ben was a banker. Meredith was a waitress." He said, motioning towards the bar, it being her last place of employment. "Never met or knew anyone in common. They were practically from two separate worlds."
"Well, I've got someone in the precinct running a full report on them, so hopefully something will turn up from that." She added in thought before her focus fell back on Dean. "What about Meredith?" she questioned. "Did you happen to score any successful intel other than the bartender's number?"
"There's nothing to find out." Dean told her with a roll of his eyes. "Meredith waited tables here. Everyone here is her friend. Everyone says she was normal. She didn't do or say anything weird before she died."
"So, we're looking for something that can slip past locked doors and alarm systems, has an affinity towards human hearts, and is somehow connected to some mystery symbol?" Ariella recapped with a sigh, it not being much to go on after an entire day of research.
"Yeah, looks like we've got a little bit more digging to do." Sam agreed with his own sigh. "I think we should—" he was saying before cutting himself off as his eyes swept around the busy room, something clearly having caught his attention. His eyebrows dipped together in confusion for a moment before he was shooting onto his feet, chair scraping noisily along the floor as he stood.
Ariella's own eyebrows pulled together at his rapid departure, eyes sweeping around in an effort to find what had caught his attention. When she caught sight of the blonde-headed woman he was heading for, her face instantly fell. "You've got to be shitting me." She said under her breath, recognizing the woman instantly.
"What?" Dean asked, clearly having no idea what had Sam all up in a huff.
"Apparently it's a very small world." She said, eyes flicking over to him just as Sam reached the woman, that familiar face of hers turning as he dropped a hand on her shoulder.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Dean asked, confused eyes sweeping between her and the woman Sam was talking to. Ariella didn't bother answering before she, too, stood and followed after Sam. Dean was hot on her heels soon after, the both of them making their way towards the pair as they pulled away from a hug.
"What are you doing here, Meg?" Sam was asking, surprise still coloring his voice. "I thought you were heading to California."
"Oh, I did." She told him with a wave of her hand. "I came. I saw. I conquered. Anyway, the whole scene got old, so I'm living here for a while. Funny seeing you two here." She said, eyes moving onto Ariella as she stepped up next to Sam.
Ariella instantly drew her arms up against her chest as that familiar knot of uneasiness returned, same as the first time Ariella had met the woman. There was something off about her…something that left Ariella watching her whole demeanor skeptically. "Yeah, what are the odds." she hummed under her breath.
"Wait, you're from Chicago?" Sam asked just as Dean cleared his throat, clearly not happy to be the only one in the dark on who this woman was.
"No." Meg answered. "Massachusetts—Andover."
"Well, gosh. I never thought I'd see you again." Sam said with a chuckle, clearly eating up every little smile Meg was throwing his way.
"Well, I'm glad you were wrong." She responded with a growing smirk. Dean chose that moment to let out another loud cough in an effort to interject himself into the conversation. Meg's smile dropped in the corner as her eyes slid over to him unhappily. "Dude, cover your mouth." She snapped.
"This is Dean." Ariella said in introduction as she watched Meg toss him a near-glare.
"Oh, this is Dean?" she asked, surprised eyes moving from him back onto Sam.
"So you've heard of me." Dean said, doing his best to flash her a charming smile.
"Oh, yeah. I've heard of you." Meg confirmed, face dropping into a glare again as she turned her attention back onto him. "Nice—the way you treat your brother like luggage."
"Sorry?" Dean said, his smile faltering as he took in her sharp words. Ariella, herself, instantly felt her defenses rise, the knot in her gut only twisting tighter as her anger flared to life.
"Why don't you let him do what he wants to do?" Meg pressed, lip practically pulling up over her teeth as she regarded him. "Stop dragging him over God's green earth."
"Why don't you pull your fucking nose out things you've got no business talking about." Ariella threw at her in response, taking a step closer to her as hands dropped to the side in tight fists. Ariella had a few good inches on the other woman, and in her heels, she nearly towered over her.
"Excuse me?" Meg challenged, glaring up at Ariella as she moved to place herself in her line of sight of Dean.
"Woah, Meg." Sam said, instantly putting his hands up between them in an effort to defuse the situation. "It's okay."
Ariella continued to shoot daggers at the woman, the both of them staring each other down until Dean let out a low whistle. "Okay….awkward." he commented with an uncomfortable laugh. "Why don't we go get a drink now?" he said, reaching out to grab hold of Ariella's wrist.
Ariella let her eyes sweep over Meg for another moment as Dean pulled her backwards with him before she relented with a frustrated huff and turned away. She let him pull her up to the bar with him before he cast his thumb over his shoulder to where Sam was left talking to the other woman. "Okay, who the hell is the chic?" he asked once they were at the counter and out of hearing distance.
"Some random girl Sam ran into when you two had that huge falling out in Indiana." She explained, finding it highly odd she had popped back into their life so unexpectedly. "They met at a bus stop."
"What's your beef with her?" he asked then, studying the anger still rolling off of her with a questioning look.
"She just rubs me the wrong way." Ariella answered easily, giving a shrug of her shoulder. She hadn't liked her beforehand. Now, however, after what she had said to Dean, she had even more reason not to like her.
"Clearly." Dean commented as he waved down the bartender for another beer. "Think it's because she rubs Sam the right way?" he countered.
"What?" Ariella asked, face scrunching in with the thought of it. "Ew. Sam would never go after someone like that."
"You sure about that?" Dean asked, accusatory eyes moving from her, back to where Sam was getting close and personal with the blonde.
Ariella followed his line of sight, mouth pulling down into a frown as she watched Meg lean in close and say something into Sam's ear. She couldn't hear what was said, but by the way his cheeks flushed red, she had a good idea of what it entailed.
"Careful, Ari. Your jealousy is showing." Dean teased after seeing the look of displeasure that marred her face in response.
"I'm not jealous!" she snapped, pulling her irritated eyes back onto Dean. "I just don't think he should be trusting a complete stranger like that. Especially when she just pops into his life again despite the drastic unlikeliness of that ever happening by coincidence." She defended as she watched the bartender walk over to where they were standing, setting a fresh bottle of beer down in front of Dean before giving him a wink as she walked back towards the other end of the counter.
"Right." Dean said, unconvinced. "Just like you're not jealous of her." he pressed, tipping his head in the brunette's direction.
Ariella, realizing she had been watching the server with a look of displeasure, rolled her eyes. "I'm not jealous." She reiterated as she turned her back to the bar, directing her focus onto Sam again as she leaned against it with crossed arms. "Sam just has a history of putting his trust in the wrong people. And you—" she said, eyes flicking back over to him briefly. "Are allowed to conduct research with whoever the hell you want. I don't own you and I'm just trying to protect him." She said, eyes moving back on Sam.
Dean let out a thoughtful hum at that, clearly not buying it. "What was with all that luggage crap she was saying anyways?" he asked, wisely moving past the topic.
"My guess is Sam was in a real talkative mood when they met last and had all sorts of things to complain about." She shrugged, it honestly pissing her off that a complete stranger had said such nasty things about Dean. Granted, she herself had said worse when it came to Dean's history with Sam, but they were her family, so by all rights she had a reason to interject her opinion on that matter. Meg, however…the way Ariella saw it, she didn't even have the right to have an opinion on the matter.
"Great." Dean huffed as he swiped up his beer. "Sammy's got the hots for someone for the first time in ages and she already hates my guts."
Sam and Meg didn't spend much more time chatting before they went their separate ways. Sam, Dean, and Ariella left the bar after that, Ariella's gut still rolling uneasily no matter how much distance she put between herself and Meg.
"She ask you back to her place?" Dean was asking as they made their way back towards the cars, shooting Sam a knowing look.
"Maybe." Sam admitted, the ghost of a smirk pulling up the corner of his mouth.
"Please tell me you're not seriously thinking of going, are you?" Ariella asked, feeling the beginnings of a headache brew under her temples.
"Why not?" Dean countered. "Man's got to let out some steam." He said, bringing a heavy hand down onto Sam's shoulder with an amused grin.
"Because the chances of Meg showing up here are practically nonexistent." Ariella scoffed, pulling to a stop in front of them as she turned around. "Something doesn't feel right about this."
"It is weird." Sam acknowledged with a slight frown.
"You know what's weird, is you bitching about me to some chic." Dean said then, steering the conversation back onto what Meg had said about him.
"Look, I'm sorry, Dean." Sam told him with a heavy sigh. "I was pissed off at the time and needed to vent."
"So, there any truth to what she said?" Dean pressed bitterly. "Am I keeping you against your will or something, Sam?"
"Of course not." Sam huffed in frustration.
"I think you're focused on the wrong thing right now, Dean." Ariella said, finding the entire situation grating on her nerves. "You both are failing to see the big picture here." She then added sharply, eyes flicking between the two of them. "What if Meg being here isn't a coincidence?" she supplied.
"What do you mean?" Sam asked, eyebrows pulling together in confusion.
"We're in the middle of a case, Sam." she reasoned, casting her hand back towards the bar behind them. "You think her just showing up at the same bar the girl we're looking into worked at is by sheer chance? It's strange. And if you would stop thinking with your downstairs brain for two seconds you would see that too."
"You think she's a lead?" Dean asked skeptically.
"Look, I know you're not great at math, but even you have to acknowledge how unlikely it is she just happened to show up here." She told him in response, hands pulling up to her hips as she stared both of the Winchesters down expectantly.
"Maybe you're right." Sam eventually sighed, giving a shake of his head as he contemplated things. "There is something about this girl I can't seem to put my finger on."
"I bet there's something about her you'd like to put your finger in." Dean threw at him with a smirk, unable to help himself. Ariella leveled him with a look of exasperation. "Look, maybe she's not a suspect and you're just upset that Sam's got a thing for someone you don't like." He reasoned for himself then.
"He's right. It's not like you've been too keen on hiding your feelings about her since we met in Ohio." Sam offered with a shrug, clearly not sure what to think about it all.
"Yeah, and maybe there's a reason I haven't liked her this whole time!" Ariella defended with yet another frustrated huff. "Just—" she said then, letting out a heavy sigh. "Give me her last name." she told him, unable to brush off the uneasiness filling her. "I'll do some digging on her to make sure she's even real."
"Masters." Sam answered.
"Okay, why don't we go get a room for the night and look into that sigil and Sam's new girlfriend." Dean offered then, slipping his arm around Ariella's shoulders as he began steering them towards the cars again. "And Sammy here can go conduct some of his own research." He added with a wink.
Unfortunately, Dean's idea of 'looking into things' consisted of Ariella scouring the web while he did his best to persuade her into other, more enjoyable things. She was currently laid out on her stomach, chin propped up on her hand while she pulled up a background report on Meg Masters. To Ariella's quickly growing frustration, however, Meg Masters from Andover, Massachusetts was a real person. She even confirmed it through some high school photos.
"See?" Dean said as his eyes sweep over the screen from over her shoulder before leaning down to trail his lips along her neck. "I told you you were just being jealous." He said, words muffled into her skin.
"Whatever." She huffed in response as she closed the window displaying the graduation picture. "I still don't trust her." She mused before pulling up a new search tab as she switched her focus onto the mystery symbol.
"Oh, come on." Dean complained as she began typing in a series of search words. "We've got the room to ourselves for once and you actually want to do research?" he asked, pressing another trail of wet kisses along her bare shoulder for emphasis.
"Maybe you should give your bartender friend a call." She threw at him with an arched brow as she began browsing through various occult literatures. "I'm sure she'd be more than happy to—"
Dean flipped Ariella so quickly she was left almost dizzy from the sudden movement. "You gonna keep playing that card all night?" he breathed down on her, pressing her into the bed under his weight.
"Depends." Ariella shot back as she stared up at him, body involuntarily reacting to the feeling of his body pressed against hers. "You gonna be calling her?"
"Now why would I do that?" he challenged, bringing her arms up above her head and trapping them under one of his hands as the other began toying with the bottom edge of her shirt, fingers brushing along her hip bone.
"I wouldn't stop you." She told him with a shrug. "It's not like we're married or anything. Hell, I don't even know what we are."
"You—" he said, leaning down to brush his lips along the shell of her ear. "Are all I want."
A moan slipped out of Ariella's throat before she could stop it as his lips pressed against the tender spot under her mandible just as his hand ran up the length of her ribs. He had always known her most sensitive spots, and targeted them with expert precision. She sucked in a sharp breath as her body bucked up in response, eliciting a moan from Dean in return, the sound of it vibrating through his chest.
"Dean…" she breathed out, eyes fluttering shut as her senses were bombarded by the feeling of him. "De—" she said before her eyes snapped open again, a sudden thought occurring to her. "Daēva!" She exclaimed then, practically shoving Dean off of her as she shot upright, mind spinning as she realized why that symbol had seemed so familiar.
"Well, that ain't my name." Dean stated flatly, confusion filling him as he watched her scramble for the laptop.
"What?" she asked, briefly letting her eyes flick over to him before she gave a huff of annoyance. "No! It's a Daēva, Dean!" she told him as she began clicking away on the keyboard. "I thought that symbol looked familiar. It's because I've seen it before." She explained as she clicked on the page she was looking for, swiveling the screen around as the website loaded.
"Demon of Darkness?" Dean said, reading from the screen she had pulled up, words nestled under a photograph of the same symbol they had found at Meredith's apartment.
"It's old school." Ariella told him in a rush, jumping off of the bed before practically tearing through her duffle bag in search of something. "Like old old school. It's Zoroastrian."
"Zo-what-ian?" Dean asked as he watched her toss around varies pieces of clothing and blades, realizing his chances of getting laid that night had just drastically decreased.
"Zoroastrian." Ariella repeated, pausing in her movements to look up at him. "Like the Iranian religion?" she offered. When his look of confusion didn't falter, she let out a huff before continuing in her searching. "It doesn't matter." She said quickly before finding the small book she had been looking for. She moved back towards Dean as she leafed through the book she had taken from the Le Grange's, finally finding the page she had been looking for before turning it around to show him. "If you thought the Reaper was a Great White on a leash, this thing is straight up from a nightmare. Has a habit of ripping its victims to shreds, and since it's born of the shadows—"
"It can slip right past locked doors and security systems." Dean finished for her, letting his eyes trail over the book.
"Exactly." Ariella nodded before dropping herself back onto the bed next to him. "This demon doesn't just show up though, Dean…it's summoned."
"You mean someone's controlling this thing like Sue Ann was?" he asked, bringing worried eyes up to her.
"No." she said instantly, giving a shake of her head. "The magic Sue Ann was messing with was child's play compared to this. I mean, it dates back thousands of years before Christ. This is nasty stuff we're talking about here. Like real nasty. Whoever's pulling the strings on this one isn't some random person who happened to pick up an occult book and mess around with a few rituals. We're talking mass human sacrifices to even summon this thing, let alone control it."
"So, you think we've got a big player on the board?" Dean surmised. "What the hell do Meredith and Ben have anything to do with it then? As far as I can tell, it's just been a couple of random murders."
"I don't know." Ariella admitted, biting her bottom lip in thought for a moment. "But whatever is going on, I've got a really bad feeling about it."