(Just so you guys know, I'm not completely happy with this chapter, compared to previous ones, but I don't think it sucks. I think it's just because of the particular episode it was a little harder to insert Dani into, but I had such a clear vision for how she and another character would meet in this that nothing else would work so, here we are.
[Music & Song Recommendations – You can follow the playlist for 'Along for the Ride' on Spotify. Type in Danielle's full name "Danielle Awanasa Callaghan" along with the title to make sure you get the right playlist.]
~ "Ballroom Blitz" by Sweet (think of this as the musical montage as Dani tries to read her Harry Potter book and her attempts are constantly interrupted.)
~ "Dream of Tomorrow" by Light Orchestral Moments Symphony (The Winchesters, Bela, and Dani meet at the Museum)
~ "Hearts A Mess" by Gotye (Dani meets the "mysterious stranger")
Chapter Twenty-One
"Red Sky at Morning"
July 2007 – Early November 2007
A few weeks after returning from Minnesota, on July 21st, Dani woke up early that Saturday morning, hurriedly showered, dressed, and sprinted down the stairs. Bobby, always an early riser, was just pouring himself a cup of coffee when she burst into the kitchen. He eyed her as she raced about grabbing milk from the fridge, cereal from the pantry, a bowl and spoon from the dish cabinet and cutlery drawer and dropped into her customary chair at the kitchenette table.
"Well, good morning to you too," he said in an amused and confused fashion. Dani shoveled cereal into her mouth and mumbled a delayed greeting. "What's the hurry?" he asked.
"Final Harry Potter book hits the shelves today," she replied in between bites. "I want to get to the bookstore before they open so I can be sure to get a copy before they sell out."
She'd heard about the long lines and crowds waiting outside the bookstores in New York for the midnight release and the same happening in London. Some people had waited for two days outside the bookstores for their copies. While Dani loved reading and treasured her books, she wasn't about to go that far. No, she'd wait outside the store two hours before they opened and that would be the extent of it.
Finishing her breakfast, she gave Bobby a quick peck on the cheek as he read his newspaper and dashed for the door, only pausing long enough to throw her messenger bag over her shoulder and check that her wallet was inside.
"Bye, Yonu!" she called out.
The first warning she had that she may have underestimated the Potter Fever in Sioux Falls was when she had difficulties finding a place to park at the bookstore's parking lot. On any given day, the lot had several empty spots to choose from, but not on this day.
The second warning was the giant Harry Potter banner that was hanging up at the entrance.
The third and most glaring warning of all was the long line that led from the store's double glass doors and stretched across the sidewalk in front of several other store fronts.
"Oh yoooo," Dani groaned as she parked the car. She could only hope that the bookstore owners had also not underestimated Potter Fever in their city.
She kept herself occupied in line by rereading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to refresh her memory of the events that had taken place. She'd been reading it over the past couple of days and was nearing the final pages.
"Well, that's one way to make sure you don't forget anything," a familiar woman's voice said at Dani's left.
Looking up from her book, Dani smiled back at Sheriff Jody Mills. "Siyo, didaniyisgi."
"Siyo, Dani. I figured you'd be one of the first people in line."
Dani grimaced ruefully. "Yeaaaah, I made the wrong call."
Jody chuckled and shielded her eyes from the morning sun as she surveyed the line. "How's that old drunk?" she asked without looking at her.
A slight frown briefly marred Dani's features before she smoothed it out and sighed. "He's fine. And I wish you'd stop calling him that."
Sherif Jody had made it very clear from the beginning that she didn't think Bobby Singer was a suitable guardian for Dani and her little brother Joey when they first came to live with him. Heck, half the town shared the same opinion. And if Dani had been on the outside looking in, she'd have had to concede with Jody.
Bobby Singer was a grumpy old man who'd fallen to drinking after the death of his wife Karen. He'd gotten better at limiting his drinking habits when he became a hunter, but the town didn't know that.
When Dani and Joey moved in, Bobby barely touched the stuff for a couple of months, worried that the sheriff would make a claim that he wasn't fit to be their guardian and would take them away. But every now and then, usually on the anniversary of Karen's death, he'd have one drink too many. He was never a violent drunk, just more ornery and stubborn than usual.
Dani and Joey had taken that part of him in stride and looked after him on those days. It was the least they could do since he'd taken them in at Reshen's request.
As the years went by, Bobby became a bit more relaxed with how much he drank, but he still managed to stay sober enough that Jody never paid them a visit with social services at her heels.
The sheriff gave a semi-apologetic look and changed the subject. "This is the last book in the series, isn't it?"
Dani gladly took up the conversation and spent the rest of the remaining thirty minutes until the store opened talking with the sheriff. A cheer rang out from the front of the line when the doors were unlocked, and the line began to move.
"Good luck, kid," Jody called out as Dani moved along with the crowd. "Don't elbow anyone too hard, okay?"
"No promises!"
After waiting in line at the register for what felt like hours, Dani held the final copy of the Potter series in her hand and hugged it to her chest as she hurried to her car. She planned on doing nothing but spending the day reading when she got back home.
Except that didn't happen.
The boys were back for a brief visit, needing some advice about a hunt from Bobby which turned into needing Dani's assistance.
"Just a quick salt and burn," Dean said.
It was anything but quick.
Dani returned to the house covered in mud and smelling of swamp water. Sam had fared no better, but Dean remained pristine.
"See, not so bad, right?" he asked, as the Impala pulled up to Bobby's after the ordeal.
Dani's eyelid twitched. "Sam, hold me back."
"Yep."
Dean didn't look so pristine when they finally made it into the house.
The next day, the boys left town again, and Dani spent the morning cleaning up the muddy tracks they'd made on the floor. When she was done, she hightailed it back to her room to pick up Deathly Hollows, only for her phone to ring. It was one of her contacts informing her they had a lead on Crowley, the King of the Crossroads.
Book once again forgotten, Dani spent the next couple of days pursuing the lead, only for it to turn into a dead end. Literally. She was left facing a brick wall down an alley.
Dani looked down at the piece of paper in her hand with the hand written address, then at the still very much a dead-end wall and growled. The man her contact had sent her to had proven dishonest.
"Swindler!" she hollered, crumpling up the paper and shoving it into her pocket.
August 2007
It was a terrible storm at night, with wind shaking the trees and causing the lights to sometimes flicker. Sitting on her bed, immersed in her book, Dani barely paid the ruckus outside any mind. Which is why the storm probably felt the need to prove it meant business and plunge the household into darkness. And since flashlights were for emergencies, Dani had to resist using one to continue her reading to conserve the batteries.
The power remained out all night. She had to wait until morning to read, but most of the day was spent clearing up felled tree branches and other debris that the winds had knocked over or brought in.
Mid-September 2007
She'd gotten to chapter ten by mid-September. She'd never made such slow progress before with a book in her life! But it was like everything and it's mother wanted to keep her from having a full hour to read Deathly Hollows! By now, most people who'd bought the book had managed to read it and she was having to avoid spoilers.
Dani peered into the living room before she cautiously entered. Bobby had been asking for her help with various house chores all day and normally she'd be fine with helping but she also wanted to at least make it to chapter fifteen today! If she could sneak her way to the kitchen door, she'd be outside and on her way to the hammock in a snap.
Dani extended one foot into the room.
"Dani girl!" Bobby called from somewhere in the house.
She held her breath, fighting against the instinct to answer. Get to the hammock! Get to the hammock!
"Dani girl! Where you at?"
Instinct won out. "In the living room!"
She mentally cursed herself but smiled when Bobby entered.
"There you are. I need some help cleaning out the garage. It's getting a bit too cluttered in there."
This man didn't clean out anything! But today of all days, he wanted to clean out the garage?! When she wanted to read this book she'd been dying to get her hands on for nearly half a year! Seriously?
Dani forced the smile to stay on her face. "Sure."
"You're a treasure," he said, turning to leave.
The smile fell from her face and she planted her face hard against the cover of her book to muffled the frustrated moan that escaped her.
The cleaning turned up four items that Bobby had thought he'd lost within a four-year period. Dani congratulated him and hurried off with Deathly Hallows in hand to the hammock tied up between two shady trees, away from prying eyes.
Flopping into the hammock, Dani adjusted until she was comfortable, opened the book to the page she'd left off and –
"Hey, sugar baby."
Dani groaned.
Loki, peering at her from upside down, immediately erased the big grin from his face. "Uuuum… not exactly the reaction I was hoping for. Course, the one I'm always hoping for is," here he pitched his voice a bit higher and stuck a dramatic pose, "'Oh Loki, you stud, I can't resist your sexiness any longer! You must take me now!'"
Dani snorted and sat up as she closed the book. "You watch too many soap operas."
Loki smirked as he glanced at her from the side. "Soap operas… yeeees. That's what we'll call them."
Dani gave him a suspicious look. "What do you call them?"
"Uuuuum…"
His golden eyes flicked to the book she held close to her chest. "Whatcha got there?" he asked, grinning, and totally not trying to distract her. Dani uncurled herself from around it and showed off the title.
"Oooh. That's the latest one, isn't it?" He leaned further into the hammock, his weight causing it to tilt in his direction which made Dani's body slide closer to him, which was just how he wanted it.
"Yeah, it's the last one. And I haven't had a moment to read it!" she pouted.
Loki wanted so badly to nip that bottom lip of hers. How dare she look so stinkin' cute pouting like that. Instead, he crawled into the hammock with her, pulling Dani atop him and rubbing soothing circles against her back.
"Aaaw. Is my sugar baby having a tough time?" he baby talked. Dani glared at him and reached over to pinch his nose. He grabbed her hand just in time to save his poor schnoz from attack. "Ah, ah, ah, ah," he tutted.
He snuggled her closer, pinning both hands between her body and his chest so that she couldn't try to pinch him again. "Take a nap with me."
"Is that what you came for?" she laughingly scoffed.
"Not really. I just wanted to see you, but a nap with you in this hammock sounds like paradise to me right now."
"But my booooook," Dani whined.
"It'll still be there when you wake up, sugar."
She sighed, knowing that she wasn't going to win. "A quick one. Then you can snuggle with me while I read my book."
"So, you're gonna ignore me?"
Dani huffed as she angled her head to look him in the eye. "Loki, I lo – like you a lot. But if I keep getting sidetracked from reading the last Potter book, I might actually go insane."
Loki quirked an eyebrow at her as his grin turned wolfish. "Were you about to say that you love me?"
Dani's face flushed pink. "Take your nap, Loki." She ducked her head down, laying her cheek against his chest and hoped that despite the closeness of their bodies, he wouldn't be able to feel how fast her heart was pounding.
She felt Loki shift, then his breath at her ear as he whispered, "I always figured I'd be the first one to say it anyway. I love you, Dani. And you take as long as you need to say it back if you want." He pressed his lips to her temple, squeezed her tight, then relaxed back into the hammock for a nap.
Dani, her ear against his chest, could hear the slight uptick of his heart after that. She wrapped her arms around his torso and embraced him as firmly as she could before drifting off.
Maybe someday soon she'd find the courage to say it back…
Late October 2007
Dani pinched the bridge of her nose as she listened to the boys over the phone. "You're dealing with… fairytales?" she asked dubiously.
"I'm not convinced but Sam here thinks so," Dean said, the doubt evident in his voice.
Sam proceeded to fill her in on all that they'd faced on their current case and Dani had to agree. That was straight up fairytale stuff.
"Anyway, you read that kinda stuff all the time," Dean interjected, getting to the point of why they called her.
"Not as much as I'd like to lately," Dani grumbled under her breath, eyeing Deathly Hollows sitting on her nightstand.
She'd only managed to get to chapter twenty out of thirty-seven (counting the epilogue). She had just gotten through five pages when her phone rang, and the caller ID revealed it to be Dean's number.
"We could use some of your fairytale knowledge on this one, Dan."
Dani sighed and focused on the details they'd given her. "Alright. Let's do this."
Early November 2007
Sea Pines, Massachusetts
Dani was back on the road with the boys by the time November rolled around. Her assistance with the fairytale case had led to another invite and she'd accepted, but she felt like there was a bit more to it. There was some tension between the brothers.
"So, I've been waiting since Maple Springs," Dean spoke up one night as they sped along in the Impala. "You got something to tell me?"
Dani could tell he was directing his words towards Sam from the side glances he gave and just like those small indications, she could also surmise from his tone that he wasn't happy.
"It's not your birthday," Sam said haltingly, confused.
"No," Dean responded.
Dani, having been curled up in the back seat with Deathly Hallows and attempting to read in the weak light, found her concentration shifting completely away from the book and to the two young men. She slowly closed its pages and warily listened.
"Happy Purim?" Sam tried. Dean gave him a testy look. Sam shrugged. "Dude, I don't know. I've no idea what you're talking –,"
"There's a bullet missing from the Colt."
Dani sat up; her attention firmly focused on Sam. He looked away from his brother.
"You wanna tell me how that happened?" Dean asked.
Sam shook his head as if he was stumped, but obviously knew and not even trying that hard to hide it. "Mm-hmm."
"I know it wasn't me," Dean went on. He jerked his head towards the back seat. "It wasn't Dani. So, unless you were shooting at some incredibly evil cans –,"
"Dean," Sam groaned.
"You went after her, didn't you? The crossroads demon. After I told you not to."
"Yeah, well," Sam uncaringly.
Oh, Sam. Dani closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Why?
They didn't need to seek out the demon that Dean had made his deal with. Not after Dani had managed to get the name of the King of the Crossroads from the Grim Reaper. So, what was Sam doing!
"You could've gotten killed!"
"I didn't," Sam pointed out.
"And you shot her."
"She was a smartass," Sam defended himself.
"Sam, they're demons. They're all like that," Dani reminded him.
"So, what? Does that mean I'm out of my deal?" Dean asked.
"No, she didn't have your contract," Dani replied without thinking. She sensed Sam go rigid. Oh yo…
"How do you know that?" Dean asked, his voice low.
Dani bit her lip.
"Dani, how do you know that?" he repeated with a harsher edge.
"You might want to pull over," she suggested.
"How could you two go behind my back like this!" Dean shouted into the night air. "Bobby? Reshen?"
Dani nodded meekly.
"Fan-friggin-tastic! Let's include everyone!" He kicked at the ground and leaned against the Impala, facing away from her and Sam.
"Dean, if you could just get over your anger and focus on the fact that Dani managed to get the Grim Reaper to hear her out and give us some valuable information in connection to your contract. We know who to look for now!"
"Then explain to me why you still went after the demon who I made my deal with," Dean snapped.
Sam looked sheepishly at Dani. "Because Dani's been having a tough time finding Crowley. I thought I could try to get a solid lead from the crossroads demon on how to locate him. But…"
"Kinda hard to do so when you go and kill her, Sam!" Dean 'tsk'ed in frustration. "I sold my soul to keep you alive and you keep risking it doing stupid stuff like that…"
"Dean," Dani began, only to be interrupted by him rounding on her.
"And you! Helping him with this crazy scheme! Summoning the Grim Reaper?! How did you even – you know what? No. I don't wanna know. My blood pressure probably couldn't handle any more at this point."
Dani silently thanked God for that, because revealing that the being the Winchesters knew as The Trickster was not only alive but also the one who'd given her that information and who she was in a secret relationship with, would definitely have exploded the situation.
"You both have taken stupid friggin risks, you shouldn't have done it," Dean said brusquely, returning his back to them.
Dani gave Sam a pointed look. Talk to him. Clear this up between you two.
Sam grunted but stepped around the Impala and moved in front of his brother. "I shouldn't have done it, huh? Is that what you think? That neither of us should have lifted a finger to help you? You're my brother, Dean, and no matter what you do, I'm gonna try to save you."
At Dean's careless toss of the head, Sam raised his voice. "And I sure as hell not gonna apologize for it, alright!"
The two of them stood in a stare off for several long seconds. After a moment, Dean shook his head then gestured at the two of them. "Let's get back in the car. We've still got about an hour to go before we arrive and then we gotta find a place to crash."
Sea Pines, Massachusetts was a ritzy area and the hotels in town tended to be higher class and more expensive than the average motels that the Winchesters usually frequented. Unfortunately, there was a distinct lack of motels in the nearby area. Not wanting to spend what remained of the money they'd won from the scratch tickets on a fancy hotel, it was more than likely that they'd end up squatting in an abandoned building if they could find one.
Dani hadn't ever squatted in an abandoned building before but apparently it wasn't the brothers first time doing so.
It was fairly late in the night when they entered town and Dani was having difficulty keeping her eyes open by the time the boys located a building that would fit their needs.
By morning, Dani ate a breakfast consisting of the leftovers of a day old sandwich while she read over what had brought them to Sea Pines in the first place. Sheila Case was discovered by her elderly aunt in the upstairs shower, drowned.
"'Drowned in the shower'?" Dani read in disbelief.
There'd been some sightings from others of a "ghost ship" appearing in the harbor every thirty-seven years followed by a series of unexplained dry-land drownings. The anniversary of this ghost ship's thirty-seven year return just so happened to coincide with the same night that Sheila had "drowned" on dry land.
"Alright, boys, how do you want to do this? You want me to tag along or drop me off at the local library to do some research into 'ghost ships' and any shipwrecks in the area?"
"Book stuff," Dean said, washing the remains of his food down with some water.
"Figured."
"We'll pick you back up once we're done with questioning Sheila's aunt."
"Heard." Dani gathered up her messenger bag and pulled out a notebook to start jotting down questions she had and things she specifically wanted to research so she wouldn't forget.
"Don't forget to text me any important details that could identify the ship," she told the boys once they dropped her off at the library. She watched them drive away before turning and entering the pristine, white with brick, colonial building.
Sam had sent her the description, "three-mast clipper ship" about half an hour after she'd arrived. About two hours later, Dani was reading the physical description of her thirtieth ship out of the over one hundred and fifty three-mast clipper shipwrecks that had happened in the coastal area throughout history. But with so little to go on, there really was no other way to narrow down her search.
Maybe if I tried looking back at all the land-drowning reports and try to see how far back they go, I might be able to limit it –
A great big yawn interrupted her train of thought.
I. Need. Caffeine, she texted Sam.
We got a problem, Sam texted back.
Dani's brows furrowed. What's the problem?
Bela's here.
Dani's mouth parted ever so slightly. "Oh yo."
And she had Dean's car towed, came his next text.
Dani's eyebrows shot upward. Oh crap!
"So, Miss Case knows Bela as Alex. Alex is … what, some kind of paranormal dabbler that can help the old rich ladies of Sea Pines perform seances?" Dani sounded out as the boys filled her in on what had happened after they got the Impala back.
"Something like that. She's basically conning them," Dean grumbled from the driver's seat. "And she was perfectly fine with allowing Gert – Miss Case – believe that the case was solved so long as Bela got her money."
"Suli," Dani hissed.
"What's that?" Dean asked.
Sam smirked. "She called Bela a 'buzzard'."
Dean made a face that clearly said, "Accurate."
The next land-drowning claimed Mr. Warren as its next victim. Dani waited in the car as the boys questioned the dead man's grieving brother Peter outside of the departed's home which was surrounded by crime scene tape and police officers. Bela was there too, posing as a reporter and questioning Peter.
"Sic 'er, boys," Dani growled as the Winchesters exit the car. She watched with unrestrained glee as they interrupted Bela's probing. "Yeeeeaaah, take that, suli."
Of course, Bela being Bela just had to get a final dig in. Dani noticed that while the boys were distracted questioning the living Warren brother, Bela had taken herself over to the real authorities and was saying something to them and pointing in the Winchesters' direction. The cops began to eye the boys with suspicion.
Dani, not liking the look of things, sent a quick text to Sam's phone.
Suli talking to cops.
Sam, having taken out his phone to look at the message, whipped his head up and looked in the last place he'd seen Bela, and sure enough, there she was, still gesturing at him and Dean. He brought it to Dean's attention, and they excused themselves from Mr. Warren.
Once back inside the Impala, Dean looked back at Dani. "What's the word for 'buzzard' again?"
"Suli."
Dean nodded and put the car in drive. As they passed by a very smug looking Bela standing alone, Dean flipped her off and hollered. "Suli!"
Dani couldn't help but crack up.
"By the way, Dani, we got more of a physical description of the ship. He mentioned a," Sam closed his eyes as he searched his memory, "a rakish topsail, a barkentine rigging, and an angel figurehead on the bow."
"An angel figurehead? Hopefully that should narrow it down."
"Yeah, and he mentioned one other thing," Dean interrupted. "Peter and his brother were night diving when they both saw the ghost ship."
Dani blinked as it registered what he was saying. "He's marked too."
"Yeah." Dean began to pull the car over into a secluded park. "Sam, let's make sure we got the salt guns loaded and ready for tonight."
"Right."
Dani got out with them to stretch her legs and sit at a picnic table to go over the folder of ship descriptions she'd printed out from the library to see if she could find any mention of one with an angel figurehead.
"I see you got your car back," Bela's clipped British accent said over the noise of the Winchesters loading their weapons.
"You really wanna come near me when I've got a loaded gun in my hands?" Dean asked testily.
"Now, now," Bela chided. "Mind your blood pressure."
Her eyes flicked towards the arsenal in the back of their trunk for the briefest of moments before focusing on the brothers again. "Why are you even still here? You have enough to ID the boat?"
"Looking through the descriptions now," Dani informed her from the table. The woman barely spared her a glance.
"That guy back there saw the ship," Sam said.
"Yeah? And?" Bela asked.
"And he's going to die," Sam spelled it out plainly. "So we have to save him."
"How sweet," Bela said, an amused smile crossing her features.
"You think this is funny?" Dean asked.
"He's cannon fodder," Bela informed him. "He can't be saved in time, and you know it."
Dean gave Sam an incredulous look at Bela's heartlessness. Sam shook his head and 'tsked'.
"Yeah, well, see, we have souls, so we're gonna try," Dean went on, walking around to the driver's side of his car. He signaled to Dani that it was time to go. She gathered her stuff, tucked it into her bag and trotted over, passing Bela in the process.
"Yeah, well, I'm actually going to find the ship and put an end to this." She tossed Dani a challenging glance which Dani refused to take the bait. "But you have fun."
Dean stepped away from the Impala towards the British woman. "Hey, Bela, how did you get like this, huh? What did daddy not give you enough hugs of something?"
"I don't know," Bela answered with a stone face, "Your daddy give you enough?"
Dean sneered.
Bela shook her head. "Don't you dare look down your nose at me. You're no better than I am."
Dani scoffed at her. "I beg to differ, con woman suli. We don't pray on the emotions of old ladies for their money."
"We help people," Dean added.
"Come on. You do this out of vengeance and obsession." A glint of satisfaction appeared in her pale green eyes. "You're a stone's throw from being a serial killer. Whereas I, on the other hand, get paid to do a job and I do it. So you tell me, which is healthier?"
"Oh, I don't know," Dani sighed loudly. She held up her heads like she was weighing the options. "Helping people and saving what lives we can or living selfishly and harming people all for the sake of money?" She sucked air through her teeth. "Oof, that's a tough call."
Bela glared sharply at her. Dani scrunched her nose up in a cutesy, sarcastic smile. Now that she had those cold eyes focused on her, Dani could have sworn she remembered them being more of a turquoise color the first time they'd met, not green. Had she been wearing colored contacts? Was anything real about this woman?
"Bela, why don't you just leave?" Sam asked, trying to be the mediator before things escalated. "We've got work to do."
"Yeah, you're O for two. Bang-up job so far." She gave Dean a lingering stare of disapproval before she strutted away.
They didn't save Peter Warren that night. He drowned while trying to drive away in his car. He didn't even make it out of his driveway. The ghost ship had claimed its third victim.
Sam did see a ghostly figure in the car with him. A man who was soaking wet with no right hand.
"You wanna say it, or should I?" Dean asked, turning off the radio as they sped through the night away from the Warren home.
"What?" Sam asked. Dani, sitting in the back seat, waited for Dean's answer.
"You can't save everybody, Sam."
"Yeah, right. So – so, what? You feel better now or what?"
"No, not really."
"Me neither."
"You gotta under –,"
"It's just lately I feel like I can't save anybody," Sam interrupted.
Dani knew instantly what Sam was truly referring to.
Dean. He feels like he's failing Dean.
Don't give up, Sam.
The next morning, at the abandoned two-story house they were squatting in, their day of researching shipwrecks was interrupted by a knock at the door.
"You boys expecting company?" Dani joked, trying to dissipate the suddenly tense air.
Sam shut his book of shipwrecks while Dean closed his phone and tucked it away. Dean got up from his chair and cautiously approached the door with his gun held off to the side. He opened the speakeasy covering and peered out the hole. What he saw had him slam it shut and lock it before glancing back at his brother and Dani with a long-suffering look.
"Who is it?" Dani asked.
Sam put away his gun as Dean unlocked the door and opened it.
Bela walked in then stopped in her tracks once she got a good look at her surroundings. "Dear…God."
Sam sighed and ran a hand over his face.
"Are you actually squatting?" she asked in disbelief.
"Nah, Bela, this is our vacation home," Dani couldn't help but bite back. "What, not a fan of the décor?"
Bela served up a sarcastic smile of her own. "Charming." She moved further into the living room and fixed her gaze on Sam. "So, how did things go last night with Peter?"
The silence that met her question was an angry one, but still tinged with sadness over the loss of a life. But Bela didn't seem to care.
"That well, huh?"
"If you say, 'I told you so,' I swear to God, I'll start swingin'," Dean promised.
"And I'll hold you down for 'im," Dani added with a smile.
"Look, I think the three of us should have a heart-to-heart."
"You actually need one in order to do that, Bela," Dani informed her.
"Dani, please," Bela chastised. She glanced at the boys. "I'm sorry about what I said before, okay? I come bearing gifts."
"Such as?" Sam asked.
"I've ID'ed the ship." She held up a black, zip-up portfolio and dragged the zipper down.
Dean exchanged glances with his brother and Dani. Sam never looked away from Bela, staring her down hard. Dani tentatively reached out and laid a hand on his forearm. "Sam," she whispered. It broke the spell and he finally nodded.
Bela laid out her portfolio and began to pull out photos, handing them to the trio. "It's the Espirito Santo, a merchant sailing vessel. Quite a colorful history. In 1859, a sailor was accused of treason. He was tried aboard ship in a kangaroo court and hanged. He was thirty-seven."
"Which would explain the thirty-seven-year cycle," Sam remarked.
"Aren't you a sharp tack?" Bela began digging through the papers. "There's a photo of him somewhere. … Here." She pulled out a sepia-toned photo and handed it to Dean.
The trio crowded around it. "Isn't that the customer we saw last night?" Dean asked Sam, the one who'd gotten the closest look at the ghost.
"You saw him?" Bela asked as well, suddenly interested.
"Yeah, that's him," Dean confirmed after a nod from his brother, "except he was missing a hand."
"His right hand," Bela said.
"How did you know?" Sam asked, curiously.
"The sailor's body was cremated but not before they cut off his hand to make a hand of glory."
"A hand of glory?" Dean repeated. "I think I got one of those at the end of my Thai massage last week." He chuckled and looked to Sam and Dani to join in. Neither of them did. Nor did Bela.
"Dean, the right hand of a hanged man is a serious occult object," Sam informed his brother. "It's very powerful."
"So they say," Bela added.
"And officially counts as remains," Dean said, connecting the dots.
"But still, none of this explains why the ghost is choosing these victims," Sam pondered aloud.
"I'll tell you why," Bela interjected. They all looked to her. "Who cares?"
Dani rolled her eyes. Figures.
"Find the hand, burn it, and stop the bloody thing."
"I don't get it. Why are you telling us all this?" Dean wondered.
"Because I know exactly where the hand is."
"Where?"
"At the Sea Pines Museum. It's a macabre bit of maritime history. But I need help."
"What kind of help?" Sam asked, suspicion in his eyes.
Bela gave a slow smile. "Miss Case and I need dates." She glanced over at Dani. "And I suppose you can tag along. Find a corner and stay there. Be a wallflower." Her pale green eyes looked over Dani's form. "I might have a spare dress I could lend you. We seem to be about the same size, though you might be a bit bustier than me."
Dani couldn't help but give her breast a quick glance in confusion before looking back at Bela. "Dates? Dresses? What are you talking about?"
That night saw Dani riding in the back seat of Miss Gert Case's car with Sam at the wheel. Miss Case was an older, silver-haired, wealthy woman whom Bela had "befriended" as Alex. And during the questioning of Miss Case about her niece's death, she'd taken quite an interest in Sam.
Dani fingered the seams of the slit at her leg and marveled at the makeup concealer that Bela had also leant her to cover up her scars.
"Can't be attracting any unwanted attention," she'd said with a smirk.
Dani bent closer to her leg to peer at her skin. She did the same to her arms and dug out the compact mirror in her bag to take a look at her face. Not her messenger bag, Bela almost had an aneurism when Dani shouldered it along with her gown. She'd shoved a plain black purse, not tiny, but certainly not as big as her regular bag, at her. But it was definitely big enough to fit Deathly Hallows inside.
Her scars, under Bela's tutelage, had seemed to vanish under the makeup. Paired up with an emerald green evening gown with gauzy sleeves and neckline, silver jewelry, red lipstick, and her hair pulled up into a decent looking updo that she could manage, Dani didn't feel half so bad.
"I just love seeing a man behind the wheel," Miss Case said, interrupting Dani's thoughts. She watched in half amusement, half shock as Miss Case squeezed Sam's bicep. Sam caught Dani's stare in the rear-view mirror. This boy had faced down werewolves, a wendigo, vampires, demons, and other things from nightmares and he'd done it all without nearly any hesitation. And yet, here he was looking all kinds of terrified over a grandma wanting to feel him up.
She nearly howled with laughter.
As the car was parked and Sam escorted Miss Case and Dani up the steps to the Sea Pines Maritime Museum, Miss Case made small talk with Dani, explaining what kind of charity event the museum was hosting and the other sort of society events she often frequented.
"Well, my goodness, Miss Case –,"
"Oh please, you can call me 'Gert'. Afterall, an old school chum of Alex's is a friend of mine."
Dani smiled. "Gert, with all the society events and clubs you attend, do you ever have free time?"
"Oh, don't you worry about me. I like keeping busy." She paused to show the doorman her invitation and explaining that she'd brought a plus two instead of one due to having "guests" over and not wanting to be a bad host.
Once they were past the entry, Gert resumed her conversation. "Besides, you meet the most interesting people at these sorts of things. Wouldn't you say, Sam?" She leaned against his side and batted her eyes at him. "This will get their tongues wagging, eh, my Adonis?"
Sam sighed. "Just remember, we're here on business."
"Oooh, but sometimes business can be pleasure, hmm?" She reached up and fiddled with the lapels of Sam's tux and Dani had to turn away to keep from letting out a bark of laughter. She bit down of her finger and counted to five. Her eyes spied Dean and Bela over by the bar.
She turned back to Sam and Gert. "Sam, I see them."
Sam, fidgeting from Miss Case's wondering hand down his back, nodded and excused himself from her to leave with Dani. As they walked, Dani asked, "So, would you rather take on Gert or a vamp right now?"
"Just sic Miss Case on the vamp."
Dani giggled.
Once they were within speaking distance of Dean and Bela, Sam said, "Exactly how long do you expect me to entertain my date?"
"As long as it takes," Bela answered.
"Look, there's security all over this place, alright?" Dean began. "This is an uncrashable party without Gert's invitation, so…"
"We can crash anything, Dean," Sam insisted.
"Yeah, I know, but this is easier and it's a lot more entertaining." Dean grinned back at his brother and raised his brows. Dani drew in her lips to reign in her laughter.
"You know there are limits to what I'll do, right?" Sam asked, his tone dead.
Dean faced Bela and Dani. "Oh, he's playing hard-to-get. That's cute." He tapped Sam's chest. "Come on." He turned to the bar, picked up two flute glasses of golden liquid and leaned in towards Sam to whisper. "I want all the details in the morning."
Dani made a grossed-out face as Dean handed his second glass to Bela and the two of them left Sam fidgeting in his suit next to Dani.
"Weeell, since I've basically been brought here to be a wallflower," Dani began, digging into her purse, "that's just what I'm gonna do."
"Abandoning me already?" Sam grumbled.
"Don't think of it that way. I'm merely giving you the opportunity to fulfill your side of the bargain."
Dani grinned as she produced Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows from her bag and showed it off to Sam. "I'm off to find the perfect corner to sit in and get some reading done. I've had this sucker for almost four months now and I've only gotten to chapter twenty-four! I'm taking advantage of any chance I get to read this thing cause it's getting downright hard to avoid the spoilers the more time goes by."
Looking over Sam's shoulder, she grinned. "You're on, Romeo," Dani muttered, patting his arm as she walked by.
Gert arrived with two glasses and held one out to Sam. He took it as she held hers up to his in a toast. "To us," she cooed and clinked her glass against his. Sam downed his in one go.
It didn't take long for Dani to find a suitable corner. It was just beneath the stairs, a small hidey hole that had a little cushioned highbacked chair, a small table and lamp. It was perfect. Like it was set up specifically for a bookworm.
Stacking her claim, Dani settled into the chair, flipped to the last page she'd marked and began to lose herself in the story.
Several minutes of uninterrupted reading went by. She managed to read most of Dobby's funeral when a throat cleared then a deep male voice spoke up.
"Well, what do we have here?"
The shiver that came over Dani's body had nothing to do with a chill or fear. It was as if the back of a hand's fingers had sensually caressed itself down her spine.
Oh yo…
"Usually when people are at a party, they socialize with others."
The gravel-filled British accented voice could only be described as sex wrapped up in smoke and black velvet. Never mind that Dani had no sexual experience to compare it to, she just instinctually knew.
Looking up from her book, she locked eyes with the man who'd spoken and felt her breath hitch. He appeared to be in his mid-to-late forties, fairly handsome, was average height, bordering on stocky, with dark hair and a forest-green gaze that was the very definition of 'bedroom eyes'.
He grinned, revealing a dazzling white smile that could no doubt charm anyone. "Any good?" he asked, his voice sending another pleasurable shiver down her spine.
"Um… Sorry, what?" Dani asked dumbly.
The man tilted his head at the book in her hands while the corner of his mouth quirked up in amusement. "That any good? Although, I suppose it must be since you've got your nose stuck in it instead of participating in the party."
Dani, unable to get her tongue to properly work, lifted the book so that the cover could be seen.
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows," he read aloud. He arched his dark brows at her as she gave him an embarrassed smile. His green eyes – holy moly those eyes – looked her over again. "Are you even old enough to be at this party?"
Lowering her voice into a conspirator whisper, Dani said, "Don't tell my nanny I'm reading past my bedtime again."
The man chuckled and glanced around him until he found what he was looking for. A chair. He carried it over and set it next to hers, sitting down with a 'tsk' on his lips. "Reading a children's book at an adult party," he chided.
"Hey, now," Dani interrupted, acting affronted, even going so far as to put a hand to her chest, "Harry Potter isn't just a children's book. Besides, I've been dying to read this and everything under the sun has been keeping me from accomplishing that. Sooo," she propped the book back up into reading position, "I'm taking whatever chances I can get, wherever I get them."
He gave another raspy chuckle and Dani had to silently admit she liked the sound of it. "I take it you were dragged along to this?" he asked.
Dani chuffed. "How could you tell?" she joked, tucking her bookmark into place and closing the book.
"I've a sixth sense for these kind of things." His illicit eyes swept the room. "So, who was it?"
"My grandmother," she supplied easily. "She seems to believe that if she takes me to enough of these functions, I'll catch a rich husband." She smirked playfully at him and quirked an eyebrow. "You single?"
That earned a bark of laughter from him. "As a matter of fact, yes. But I think even your grandmother would have some misgivings about the age gap, darling." He lifted a challenging brow at her.
Dani gave a convincing snort of amused disbelief. "You haven't met my grandma. I suggest you run before she catches sight of you talking to me."
"And deprive myself of this stimulating conversation?" His voice dipped an octave. "'Fraid not, my dear bookworm." He gave her a sly wink before his eyes roamed the crowd again. "Which old broad should I avoid?"
"You don't avoid Grandma. Grandma Gert happens and there's nothing you can do about it." She happened to spot Gert standing alone talking with another woman. Who knew where Sam had vanished off to? She tilted her head at the old woman. "There she is," she indicated.
"Noted." His eyes slid away and rested on her, giving her a curious once over again. He stood and offered her his hand. "Can I tempt you with a dance?"
Dani's smile became uncertain. Loki's face hovered in her mind's eye. She was playing a role, yes, but she always tried to infuse as much genuineness as she could into her interactions with people because she didn't want everything she did to feel like a lie. She hadn't intentionally been flirting with the man, but the witty bantering had come naturally as she talked with him.
"Um…"
You should be honest with him. Tell him you have a boyfriend.
But what if he's not even flirting with me like that? That would just make things really awkward.
"C'mon, darling," he purred. "It's just a dance. Nothing more."
See. 'Nothing more'.
Dani smoothed away any anxiety from her face as she smiled and drummed her fingers atop the book's cover. "I don't knooow," she sing-songed. "It's a really good book."
"Yes, I'm sure. But can you dance with it?"
Dani couldn't help but grin. "Probably could, but I'd be subjecting myself to lots of stares."
His hand remained outstretched, that smirk turning wolfish.
Dani sighed. "You better make this interruption worth my time, sir."
"Braving your grandmother's attention isn't worth giving me a few minutes of your time, darling?" he asked, acting hurt.
"Weeell… When you put it that way."
Dani set aside Deathly Hollows and placed her hand in his. A thrum of energy pulsed through her at his touch. She stifled a gasp and wondered if she'd been the only one to feel it. But he must have too because he gave their joined hands a peculiar glance before tucking her arm into his and leading her back into the main lobby to the dance floor.
"By the way, I never caught your name," Dani said.
"The name's Cr –," he was interrupted by a cellphone ringing from his suit's inner pocket. A frown marred his features as he dug it out with his free hand and pressed it to his ear.
"You better have a good reason for calling." He listened for a moment. "You have it?"
Another few seconds of silence as he listened to the voice on the other line. Glancing back at Dani, he held up an apologetic finger as he stepped away to finish his call. She could still hear bits of the conversation.
"Good… The docks. Be there in half an hour."
After about a minute more he came back, slipping his phone into his pocket. "I'm afraid you'll have to return to the company of your book. Business calls me away."
Dani felt a slight stab of disappointment. "Shame. I was looking forward to our dance."
A quick quirk of his lips. "Perhaps if your matchmaker of a grandmother continues to drag you along to more soirees and we happen to meet again, we can pick up where we left off. Bookmark it, as it were."
"Is that a promise?" Dani asked, extending her hand for him to shake.
The man gave a low chuckle, and the sound made Dani's insides flutter. He took hold of her hand and brought it to his lips. "Make it a deal." He pressed a lingering kiss to her hand while his forest-colored gaze locked with hers. Dani felt her face flush. The man tossed her a wicked grin then turned and walked towards the exit.
"Oh yo," Dani murmured, slightly dazed. Maybe it was a good thing she hadn't gotten to dance with him.
Dani pulled out her compact mirror and checked her face to see how the concealer was holding up. She'd have to ask Bela where she could get her hands on it. Even standing as close as they were, the man hadn't appeared to notice any hint of her scars under the makeup.
Would he have asked me to dance if I hadn't had my scars hidden?
Dani shook her head to dispel the thought. Loki wouldn't appreciate knowing his girlfriend was wondering if another man would have found her attractive if her scars had been bared for all to see. An older man to boot.
A snort escaped her. Loki still had the man beat in that department, despite not looking his age. Besides, the Trickster looked at her as if he didn't even see her scars, with or without makeup. She was lucky to have a guy like him.
What the heck is wrong with you?
A touch at her elbow made her flinch in surprise. Sam and Dean stood together. "It's time to get outta here," Dean told her, his eyes flicking here and there at the security guards about the room.
Dani had the boys follow her back to her hidey hole to retrieve her book and bag. "Where's Miss Case and Bela?" she asked, noticing their lack of presence.
Sam made a face. "Miss Case was rather, um, drunk so Bela took her home. She's gonna meet us at the cemetery."
They were outside of the museum when Sam spoke up again. "By the way, Miss Case brought up something about the Warren brothers and her niece."
"A connection?" Dani asked.
"Maybe, but not a connection that links them together. Apparently, there's a rumor going around that the Warren brother's killed their own father. And as for Sheila, she was in a car accident when she was a teenager. Her car flipped over. She survived, but her cousin Brian didn't."
Dani and Dean took a moment to digest this information. "So, both had family that died," Dani said to herself as they walked out the door. "Not just died…Was Sheila driving?"
"That's the impression I got."
"So whether it was an accident or not, you could say that Brian died by her hand, just as the Warren brothers killed their father."
"But why would that matter to the ghost?" Dean asked.
"We're missing something," Dani muttered. We need to look through the ship's records again."
Slipping into the Impala, Sam heaved a sigh of relief as he undid his bowtie. "You got it, right?" he asked his brother. Tell me I didn't get groped all night by Mrs. Havisham for nothing."
"I got it," Dean assured him before his brow furrowed in confusion. "Mrs. Who?"
Dani snickered at Sam's Great Expectations reference.
"Never mind. Just let me see it."
Dean dug out a wrapped object from his suit's jacket.
"Did you wrap the hand of glory in a table napkin?" Dani asked.
"Work with what ya got, Dan."
He proceeded to unwrap it but in the middle of doing so, his fingers froze.
"What?" Sam asked.
Even from where she sat in the back seat, Dani could tell that the shape didn't look right. Dean resumed unwrapping the bundle more hastily until the napkin was pulled away and revealed a ship in a bottle.
"I'm gonna kill her," Dean rasped.
Bela dropped her purse into the passenger side of her car and unzipped it to peer at the money her very rich and powerful client had just paid her with.
"Not as much as you would have gotten for the rabbit's foot, but I trust it'll keep you happy, yes?" his accented voice had said just before vanishing into the night.
God, it had absolutely shaken her to her core to see him at the museum.
"Don't want any more screw ups like last time, darling. You remember what sort of punishment I gave you for that, right?"
Oh, she remembered alright. The burning of her own flesh. The utter detachment in those eyes of his as she'd screamed.
Bela thumbed through the fat stack of hundred-dollar bills and smiled. Yes, this would keep her happy. For now.
She set it back in her purse and stared out across the docks. Thunder rumbled across the sky.
"Oh, no…"
The ghost ship flickered in and out of view as it slowly sailed into the harbor. As if this night couldn't get any better.
Dean glared at the ship in a bottle as he angled it next to the lit candles they had on the fireplace mantle. "You know what? You're right."
"I am?" Dani said.
"I'm not gonna kill her."
"Oh good."
"I think slow torture's the way to go."
"Okay, no. We've taken several steps back. Let's start over," Dani advised.
"Dean, look, you've got to relax," Sam said, attempting to calm his brother down.
"Relax? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'll relax. I can't believe she got another one over on us!" Dean yelled.
Sam looked up from his folder on information of the shipwreck. "You."
Dani and Dean slowly turned to look at him in disbelief. Dean took a step forward. "What?"
"I mean, I mean, she got one over on you, not us."
Dean looked back at Dani as if to ask if she were hearing this too. Dani blinked back at him; her mouth partially open in surprise.
Dean returned his gaze at Sam. "Thank you, Sam. It's very helpful."
"Duuuude…" Dani shook her head in disapproval. Of all the petty, little brother crap to pull…
Sam shuffled his feet awkwardly.
There was a sudden knock at the door.
"Hello? Could you open up!" Bela's voice rang out.
Dani's eyes flew open. "Suli?"
Dean and Sam looked just as surprised as they joined Dani in hurrying to the door and opening it. Dean didn't even bother with the speakeasy this time, just pulled open the door and there she stood looking distressed.
"Just let me explain."
Dani nodded, a sarcastic grin on her face as she folded her arms over her chest. "Oh please do."
"I sold it. I had a buyer lined up as soon as I knew it existed."
Dani scoffed and shook her head. "Suli, I swear, you are something else," she muttered.
Dean walked around her and once he was out of her eyesight, pretended to shoot her in the back of the head.
"So the reason for going to the charity ball was…," Sam prompted.
"I needed a cover," she admitted.
Sam nodded, his suspicions confirmed.
"You were convenient," Bela went on.
"Look, you sold it to a buyer, just go buy it back," Sam suggested.
Bela scoffed. "There's no buying it back from that particular client. It's impossible. It might as well be halfway across the ocean by now. He'd never give it up."
"Is this the same client who wanted to rabbit's foot?" Dani asked. "The powerful one?"
Bela nodded. "I can't get it back in time."
"In time for what?" Dean demanded.
Bela looked down and took in a deep breath. Sam narrowed his eyes as he observed her. "What's going on with you, Bela? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"I saw the ship."
"You what?" Dean asked.
Dean, Sam, and Dani all exchanged glances. Dean sneered. "Wow, you know, I… I knew you were an immoral, thieving, con-artist bitch but just when I thought my opinion of you couldn't get any lower –,"
"What are you talking about?" Bela interrupted.
"Remember how you didn't care why the ghost ship was going after it's victims, Bela?" Dani reminded her. "Maybe you should have cared a little bit more."
"Dani figured out the spirit's motive," Sam said.
He pulled out a picture from the folder and handed it to Dani who held it up up for Bela to see. "This is the captain of our ship. The one who hung our ghost."
"So?"
"So, they were brothers." Dani let the picture drop down on the table. "Very Cain and Abel. So now our spirit, he's going after a very specific kind of target. People who've spilled their own family's blood."
There was a very pregnant silence in the room as she sat in the seat directly across from Bela and waited until the woman looked at her.
"You can't prove that this is the connection –,"
"Sheila killed her cousin in a car accident," Dani interrupted her. "The Warren brothers murdered their father for their inheritance. And now there's you… Got something you wanna confess?"
Bela's face turned pale. "Oh, my god."
"So, who was it, Bela?" Dean asked, bending down beside her. "Hm? Who'd ya kill? Was it daddy? Your little sis, maybe?"
"It's none of your business."
"Well, you came to us for help, so it's kinda become our business," Dani jabbed.
"No, Dani," Dean said. "She's right. She can keep her filthy secrets. Well, have a nice life, you know, whatever's left of it." He gave her a slap on the back and straightened up, walking away to grab his jacket. "Let's go, guys."
"You can't just leave me here," Bela insisted.
"Watch us." Dean went about packing their stuff.
"Please."
Dean continued packing. Sam avoided looking at Bela. Dani remained sitting in her chair, looking at the floor, debating. Bela, noticing Dani's lack of movement, determined that she was her best shot.
"Danielle, please." She reached out and grasped her hand. "I need your help."
Dani tugged her hand away but didn't move away, undecided.
Dean, glancing over and seeing Bela's ploy, tossed his bag aside. "Our help? Well now, how could a couple of serial killers possibly help you?"
Bela's face twisted up in regret. "Okay, that was a bit harsh, I admit it. But it doesn't warrant a death sentence."
"That's not why you're gonna die," Sam said. "What did you do, Bela?"
"You wouldn't understand. No one did."
"Try us," Dani offered.
Silence reigned as Bela looked at the trio of hunters.
"Never mind. I'll just do what I've always done. I'll deal with it myself." She turned on her heel and began to march toward the door.
"You do realize you sold the only thing that could save your life," Dean called out to her.
Bela turned to face him. "I'm aware."
"Well…" Sam spoke up. He sighed. "Maybe not the only thing." Dean and Dani both looked at him in surprise.
Dani watched from aside with Dean and Bela as Sam poured red liquid into a metal bowl. They were in a cemetery under a full moon on a cloudy night. The tomb that Sam was using as a makeshift table had a pentagram drawn in charcoal and candles set at each of its points.
Dani fidgeted uncomfortably.
"You good, Dan?"
"Meh," was her response.
"What about me, Dean? Aren't you going to ask how I am?" Bela inquired testily as she shivered next to Dani.
"Nah. Don't really care."
Bela scoffed and huddled further into her jacket.
"Do you really think this is going to work?" she asked a few seconds later.
"Almost definitely not," Dean said.
Thunder rumbled overhead. Dani and Dean, salt guns resting against their shoulders, looked up at the sky. Rain almost instantly began to pour down upon them.
"And so it begins," Dani muttered.
Sam zipped up his sweater.
"Sammy, you better start readin'," Dean encouraged.
Sam opened up their father's journal and flipped to the page he'd brought up to them before and began to read the Latin passages. It didn't take long before the candles were put out by the rain.
The clouds above them shifted and fluctuated eerily in a way that made Dani's skin crawl. Apparently, it effected Bela too, because as she stared up at them, she began to take a few steps away from her and Dean.
His hand shot out and latched onto her arm. "Stay close!" he shouted in order to be heard above the cacophony of the storm. Bela nodded and kept still, but the uneasy look on her face remained. It was such a shift to see the usually confidant woman looking so nervous. It actually made Dani feel a bit for her.
Suddenly, a figure materialized over Dean's shoulder. "Behind you!" Bela hollered.
Dean whirled around, but too late. The ghostly apparition grabbed hold of him and hauled Dean up and over. His feet left the ground as he sailed through the air and crashed against a monument. The gun in his hand went off and he sunk to the ground.
Sam, despite the scene unfolding, kept reading, knowing that if he stopped to help Dean it wouldn't be any use at all. Besides, there was still Dani…
Dani lined up her shot and pulled the trigger. It hit the ghost in the shoulder just as it reached out for Bela. It flickered in and out of sight then vanished.
"Is it gone?" Bela asked loudly, as she ran over and clung to Dani's side.
"No! It's a temporary –,"
"Ah!"
"Bela!"
Bela was flying through the air, just as Dean was. Dani took aim once again, her vision obscured by the weak light and the rain, but managed to locate the ghost, and fired. He exploded and dropped Bela to the ground. Dani hurried over and helped her to her feet just as Dean joined them. The two hunters sandwiched her between their backs as they returned to Sam.
"Why do these Latin passages always gotta be so dang long!" Dani complained as Sam was still reading aloud.
Suddenly, both Dean and Dani were both swept off their feet and Bela was left vulnerable. The ghost appeared before her and touched her face with his left hand. Within seconds, Bela was coughing up water. She collapsed to her knees.
"No, no, no, no!" Dani yelled, struggling to her feet. "Read faster, Sam!"
Dean hurried over and dropped to his knees beside Bela. He put arms around her as her body quaked.
Sam shouted out the last words and the rain began to abate, and the clouds dissipated, allowing the moonlight to come through and reveal that one other figure was standing in their midst, directly behind the ghost. His brother.
"You…hanged me," he spat.
"I'm sorry."
"Your own brother," the ghost growled, his eyes full of hate.
"I'm so sorry," his brother said, his voice full of sorrow.
The hanged man lunged forward, and Dani could only describe what happened next as two figures of water colliding. There was a painful cry and the watery figures of the brothers merged then vanished to the ground like rain.
The water issuing forth from Bela's mouth stopped and she gasped lungs full of air.
"Is it over?" she choked. "Is it?"
"I think so," Dani sighed.
The next morning, as the hunters were packing, Bela let herself in without even bothering to knock.
"Well just make yourself at home, Bela," Dani said, stuffing her neglected book into her messenger bag.
"You should learn to lock you doors. Anyone could just barge in."
"Anyone just did," Sam said. "Did you come to say goodbye or thank you?"
Dani let out a bark of laughter at the thought of Bela actually coming by to say 'thanks'.
"I've come to settle affairs." She dug into her purse and pulled out three stacks of hundred-dollar bills. "Giving the spirit what he really wanted. His own brother. Very clever, Sam." She tossed each of them a stack. "So here. It's $10,000. That should cover it."
The hunters looked at her, stunned.
"Gado usdi?" Dani said breathlessly as she flipped through the wad of cash in her hands.
"I don't like being in anyone's debt," Bela said in lieu of explanation.
"So ponying up ten grand is easier for you than a simple thank you?" Dean asked.
Bela silently stared at him.
He shook his head then looked down at his money with a smile. "You're so damaged."
Bela gave a sharp smile back. "Takes one to know one."
Dean lifted his eyes to look back at her, not appreciating her jab back at him. She just couldn't let anyone have the final word.
"Goodbye, lads." She gave a wink at Dani. "Lass."
She turned and left without further ado.
Sam scoffed in amusement. "She got style. You got to give her that."
Dean smiled down at his stack of bills. "I suppose."
"You know, Dean, we don't know where this money's been," Sam implied, holding it up.
"No," he snatched Sam's stack. "But I know where it's going. Ha ha!"
"Where?"
"Not gonna say til we get in the car!"
"Dean!"
"Sammy!"
"Dean!"
"Sammy!"
"Dean, just tell me!"
"Nope! Pack your bags!"
Dani ignored their arguing while she did the math in her head. With the addition of Bela's ten grand, and a few odd jobs here and there that she'd managed to put into her savings, that should put her at $21,733 in her savings account for her shop.
Dani hurried outside of the house and saw Bela just beginning to drive past. Their eyes happened to meet. Dani held up the cash for her to see and hoped that Bela knew the ASL for 'thank you' as she performed it to her. Bela car gave a pert little 'beep' and then was gone. Dani grinned then returned inside the house.
"Seriously?" Sam asked, partly in disappointment, the other in disbelief. "Atlantic City?"
"Hell yeah," Dean insisted.
Sam twisted in his seat to share a suffering glance with Dani.
"Play some roulette," Dean went on. "Always bet on black." He went quiet for a moment and rubbed his mouth. "Hey, listen, I've been doing some thinking, um… I want you to know I understand why you did it. I understand why you went after the crossroads demon." His eyes flicked to Dani in the rearview mirror. "Why you summoned the Grim Reaper."
His gaze returned to the road. "You know, the situation was reversed I guess I'd have done the same thing. I mean, I'm not blind. I see what you're going through with this whole deal. Me going away and all that. But you're gonna be okay."
Dani winced as she heard Sam let out a small scoff through his nose.
"You think so?" he asked.
"Yeah, you'll keep hunting. You know, you'll live your life. You're stronger than me. You are. You are. You'll get over it."
Sam cleared his throat and looked down. Dani cringed further into herself with every word that Dean continued to say. Was Dean really that blind or was he trying to convince himself?
"But I want you to know I'm sorry, I'm sorry for … for putting you through all this. And –,"
"You know what, Dean?" Sam broke in, his voice coming out harshly. "Go screw yourself."
"Aaand here we go," Dani whispered under her breath, sitting up in her seat.
"…What?"
"I don't want an apology from you. And by the way, I'm a big boy now. I can take care of myself."
"Oh, well, excuse me," Dean replied back sarcastically.
"So would you please quit worrying about me? I mean, that's the whole problem in the first place, I don't want you to worry about me, Dean. I want you to worry about you. I want you to give a crap that you're dying."
We both do, Dani wanted to say but held her tongue. It wasn't her place to insert herself into this conversation right now.
Dean said nothing but had a sardonic smile on his face as he continued to stare out the front window.
"So, that's it? Nothing else to say for you?"
"… I think maybe I'll play craps."
Sam's mouth dropped open in disbelief. Dani closed her eyes in silent astonishment at Dean's detachment. Reaching forward, she grasped Sam's elbow and gave it a squeeze, so he'd know he wasn't alone. They'd still fight together to save Dean even if he was battling them every step of the way.
(Well, Dear Readers, I hope that was worth the wait! What did you think of our Mr. Crowley's first official appearance in the story?
I hope the beginning part of this chapter was humorous with the running gag of her not being able to read her book. You ever had moments like that when the world just seems dead set against you getting a moment alone to read? Anyway…
Until next time, Dear Readers.)
Cherokee Words and Phrases
*asterisks mean I am making a guess as to the pronunciations, basing it off what I know of the Cherokee language.]
Didaniyisgi (dee-dah-nee-yees-geeh) – Sheriff
Gado Usdi (gah-dōh-oo-sdee) – What?
Hawa (hah-wah) or (hoe-wah) – Alright / Okay
Suli (sue-lee) – Buzzard
Yo – [This word can be used in a variety of ways, but it is an equivalent to saying, "Oh gosh, oh man, oh geez," etc.]
Yonu (yō-năh) – Bear