Chapter 8

Parker felt the demons watching her, following her through the darkness. When she turned to see where they were, they faded into the inky black night. She tried to lose them, but they were always there, making her heart race because she knew if they caught her, they'd kill her. She wished she had waited for Castiel to come back or Eliot. But Nate needed this. Even if she knew something was off, she'd do this for Nate, ignoring her doubt about what he told her and the worry about the real reason. Nowadays if someone on her team needed her to do something, she'd do it.

Slowing, she tried to fade into her surroundings, a downtown alley, but frustratingly the demons kept pace with her. Parker realized there was no way she could escape them.

"I know you're out there. Just…show yourself already," she called out angrily, not thinking it completely through.

"You're fast, little one," a homeless man said, as he walked from behind the dumpster. "We're not going to hurt you…just keeping an eye on you, for your own good."

"For my own good? I'm not an idiot," Parker said walking backward and keeping her eye on him. "I have holy water with me and other…weapons, so just back off."

"That might sting a bit. But do you have enough for all of us?" An older couple appeared suddenly at the other end of the alley and Parker jerked around. "We're not as old and feeble as we look, I assure you but feel free to come closer and test it."

Parker ran and launched herself off a stack of wooden pallets, grabbing hold of the bottom rung of the metal fire escape ladder. She hung from it for a moment, and it slid down a few feet, then she climbed up. She reached the bottom landing and pulled the stairs back up. The alley appeared empty now. She cautiously climbed all the way to the top, feeling more comfortable the higher she rose. With cat-like grace, she ran across the roof, walked out to the very edge, and jumped up to the metal bar between this roof and the roof of the building next to it. She crossed over, one hand over another, feeling the familiar thrill of the danger, dangling between two buildings twenty stories up.

All her hideouts were different, and this one had been set up so that no one could access it without knowing exactly where and how to do it. This building was boarded up and had strong metal locks on the doors, abandoned and almost completely blocked from the world. Someone would need to know how to break into the building, which was unlikely since the door was well-lit from the all-night diner's neon signs across the street. No one would break into an empty building in full sight of a place frequented by police officers every night. There was nothing left to steal here anyway. Someone had even ripped out the copper pipes before Parker found this building. It was a beautiful fortress to her but to others, it was a reminder of the urban decay of Boston's oldest neighborhoods.

Parker peered into the night looking for anything out of the ordinary or signs of pursuit. There were none. She heard a swishing sound beside her and turned, expecting Castiel but instead found another man standing there.

"You must be more careful, Parker. You could have…" the man began then held up his hands as if he sensed he invaded her boundaries. "I'm here to help you, to protect you. Come with me." The man didn't move toward her but held out his hand patiently.

"Who are you then and why are you following me? What are you doing here?" Parker walked backward, glancing over her shoulder a few times to make sure no one came up behind her.

"I'm just watching over you. It's not safe for you now."

Parker stopped, cocking her head to the side slightly. "But how do you know that? And I asked who you were. You seem very familiar."

"My name is Lucas. We've met before, but I doubt you'd remember. I'm just a…friend. Sometimes I watch over you," the man seemed uncomfortable and avoided her eyes. He was close to Nate's age, but something seemed older than that. His eyes, when they finally met hers, were wise and older than his years, like he had seen too many things, and suffered too much. Parker understood that. She hated that she had to be so uneasy about someone who looked like he needed help. Sometimes she forgot how it was to not feel sympathy for people in trouble, forgot what it was like to not be one of the 'good guys'. This was not one of those times. This time she knew she was going against what she had grown to appreciate: feeling like a good person for helping people. And it hurt.

"Lucas, I don't know what you want but I can't help you…"

The man chuckled softly. "Thank you, dear, but I'm here to help you, not the other way around."

"Who said I needed help? Go away." The man didn't leave so finally Parker added in a frustrated voice, "Please."

"Parker, I can't leave you now. They're coming for you. If you call for Castiel, I will go," Lucas insisted. "Or just do what you must, and I will keep you safe."

"Are you his friend?"

"He's my brother. But friend? No, not exactly. We've never met."

"You've never met your brother?" Parker scrutinized the man closely, unable to resist her curiosity. She knew, couldn't explain how but she knew, he was an angel so he should be safe, right?

"Parker, this isn't the time or place to talk about this. We need to go. Please, either call for Castiel or let me help you," the man urged. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he heard the demons arriving at the other building. "Come! Before they see you." Grabbing her hand, he pulled her behind him as he ran into the building.

As soon as the door closed softly, Parker prevented him from going forward. "Wait. Don't move." Disappearing into the blackness again, she walked two steps to the wall and crouched down. The lock was at the bottom of the wall, upside-down, and flush against the wall, so it would be difficult for others to find, especially in the dark. She inserted the key, turned the knob and the lock clicked open. Parker hesitated for a moment then said, "Come on," before walking through the door.

After the second door closed behind them and locked, she punched the code into a keypad which turned off the alarm and turned on the lights in the building. This room was still very dim. All her power was 'borrowed' from another building so the lights weren't much. "We have to walk downstairs to the fifth floor. While we do that, you can tell me who you are."

She opened the door to the stairways with her key and looked at him expectantly.

"You might want to wait until you can sit down for this," the man said evasively and then began walking down the stairs, leaving her standing there. Parker sighed, not liking the sound of that, and followed him.

xOxOx

The demon flung Dean across the room and then straddled him before he could catch his breath. "You have something we want. For now, I might just play with you Dean, since we haven't been close in a long time. This might hurt a bit. But I always suspected you were into pain."

"Meg?" Dean uttered, noting her familiarity with him, and trying to push her off him.

"Wrong. I'm hurt you don't remember me. I was debating going for one of the ones who wasn't a hunter, but you left the others and walked right in here all by your lonesome, so I came to keep you company," the demon laughed. Dean grabbed her fist as she attempted to hit him again and shoved her hard. She might have demon strength, but in Sophie's body, she was light enough that she flew onto her back. Jumping up, he looked around the kitchen for something to hit her with.

But it's Sophie. And if he hurt her, he'd not only have a hard time forgiving himself, but he'd also probably have an even harder time avoiding getting murdered by Eliot or at least a severe beat down.

"Trapped, aren't you? You can't damage the package even if you don't like the gift." The demon chuckled, as she rose slowly. "She's a stylish bitch at least. Love these shoes." Next thing he knew, Dean had a nice stiletto jammed into his torso. He stumbled back and she said, "Think they're Jimmy Choo's? Be a doll and don't get any blood on them."

"Are we seriously going to talk about her shoes?" Dean shook his head and gave her a 'wtf?' look. She lunged for him again and he punched her in the eye as her nails ripped down his face.

"Damn! I broke a nail," she replied and stepped back. "You know I thought you found this one sexy." She came close enough to back him into a wall. "You could have her now without any strings, you know?"

"Yeah, Sophie is hot," Dean replied sliding sideways, but she put her arm up with her other hand she dragged her hand through his hair. She leaned closely and ran her hand down his chest. "Sadly, with you inside her, I definitely don't want to be there too."

She raised her gaze to his and was quiet for a minute. Then she shrugged. "If you're okay with wrecking this bitch, let's go." Grabbing his shirt collar with one hand and his belt with the other, Sophie-demon threw him to the floor. He coughed and tried to catch his breath as he rolled to the side, narrowly missing the kick aimed at his head. He attempted to grab her leg, but she ended up kicking him in the ribs. He stood up, but she shoved him back down with a blow to the back of his neck, knocking the breath out of him completely. Before he could recover, she straddled him again. Leaning forward, she pinned his hands to the floor over his head.

"Catch your breath, lover. Then maybe we can negotiate," she purred softly, before kissing him. "I'm totally open to beating you to death but if I can get what I want instead, I'm open to that too." Suddenly, she was pulled backward off him.

"Sophie, what the hell?" Eliot said before she turned on him, slamming him against the wall.

"Not Sophie!" Dean yelled.

The hitter reacted quickly and grabbed her once again, restraining her as best he could. "Get up dammit," he yelled at Dean.

"Oh, you're new. Damn, look at you! And you want to play. I bet you'll give me more entertainment than him. Been there, done that," she laughed, jerking Eliot toward her and raising her knee. Eliot quickly moved sideways.

Dean jumped to his feet and called for Sam, then he helped Eliot wrestle Sophie-demon. She was spitting and cursing at them, in between the hits. She bit Eliot hard and almost got away before Dean got her in a chokehold. As soon as Sam entered the room though, she stopped fighting as hard. Eventually, she threw back her head and the familiar black smoke poured out of her knocking Dean and Eliot both back. Dean caught Sophie as she collapsed into his arms, out cold.

"What did you do to her?" Hardison stood in the doorway. He seemed lost and unsure like he didn't know who to direct his anger at anymore.

"Sam, get protection charms on them now," Dean yelled and let Sophie go as Eliot picked her up, and carried her into the other room. Nursing his jaw, Dean grabbed the bottle of scotch and followed the others out of the room. After his brother gave everyone charms, Dean slumped into the chair across from the couch where Eliot had laid her. "I didn't want to hurt her…I mean, Sophie…but I had to, or she would have killed me."

Eliot brushed back the hair from Sophie's face and studied her eye. "She'll recover from that. You didn't have a choice. But…"

"Will she die?" Hardison glanced at Sam, sorrow etched on his face. "You said if demons possess humans they will die."

"That's if they possess them for a long time or if they damage the host's body, but she'll probably be fine," Sam comforted him. "She couldn't have been possessed for more than fifteen, twenty minutes based on how long she was out of our sight."

"Host? A host is someone who invites you to chill at their crib. No dude, she was hijacked." Hardison glared at Sam before returning his gaze to Sophie.

"I'm not going to lie. Her body might be fine but her brain…let's just say she won't forget it so easily. Sophie would have been awake in there."

Maggie stared at him, then at Sam. Eliot sat back on his heels. "We don't have time to worry about that now. I need to get control of this situation because obviously, Castiel isn't going to be around to heal everyone each time or protect us. Nate's gone, Parker's gone, Maggie was attacked, I died, and now Sophie has just been taken for a test drive by a demon. If we don't find a solution to the problem soon then Hardison is probably going to sprout horns and murder us all."

"That's not funny, man. I'm freaking out a little bit already."

Dean sat up straight, then leaned forward. "I'm going to say something that is going to piss you off, but we need to operate as if none of them are coming back. That wasn't Meg in Sophie. But it was a powerful demon that we've encountered before since she said that I should have known her. There is a full-scale assault on us here. We must find Meg and kill her. We won't be able to catch that one since we have no idea what her vessel is now. How the hell did she find us? Only Meg had contact with Nate, I think. Sam, you and Bobby are staying here with them. Eliot and I will find Meg because she must be behind this. And I need to Cas to get his ass back here and help us."

"I know an Angel Sword is valuable to both sides, but doesn't it seem like it's a bit overkill on their part?" Sam said, a confused expression on his face. "What if they're looking for something else?"

"Or someone," Eliot muttered, thinking about what the other angel had told him. Was Parker the reason they were here? He didn't understand why or what her father being an angel meant to the current situation. He hadn't told Parker about her father, and it seemed like a betrayal to tell anyone else before her. He glanced over at Dean who was studying him. Apparently, he heard his comment.

Praying that Parker would forgive him, he looked at Sam, then at Dean, and said, "They might be after Parker. I don't think she knows this. I had intended to tell her before telling anyone else, but if I don't tell you and it's important, then I'd put her in more danger, possibly everyone in more danger. I don't even know if it's important, but you might be."

"If it's the same reason you were killed, you might want to tell us," Dean said calmly. He knew his typical sarcasm would just flare up Eliot's anger, not encourage him to trust him.

Turning so he could sit on the floor with his back against the couch, Eliot sighed. He hated telling Parker's story to someone other than Parker. "Meg wasn't surprised by my appearance in that alley. She mentioned hoping it was me and not you. This bothers me because how do they know everything about Nate's connections? And the angel who saved me didn't tell me his name, but he claimed Parker was his 'earthly daughter'. Said she wasn't an angel but there is no longer a name for her, as she's the only one remaining. He only found me, because he heard Parker's prayers for me after she left here and went to get the sword. He said he always hears her prayers now."

Dean shook his head, then looked away for a minute. He wasn't sure how much to tell Eliot because he didn't want to freak anyone out more than they already were. He looked at Sam, hoping he would tell him since he was the more diplomatic one. His brother nodded.

After a hesitant sigh, Sam explained, "There is a name for it. I don't know why he thinks there are none left or maybe that's just what he told you. Perhaps he has been cut off from heaven for so long that he doesn't know. She's a Nephilim. It's a hybrid between an angel and a human. Humans have souls and Angels have grace as their source of power. The combination of the two makes them more powerful than the Angel that sired them. So, they are strictly forbidden by Heaven's laws. They are considered unholy and an abomination. Their grace can be removed, and they will become normal humans. But grace is what keeps their human and angel halves in balance. Without it, they could die. If Parker doesn't know she has grace, he must have done something to suppress it or at least hide it, but I don't know what," Sam explained. Eliot just sat there looking at him blankly, but Dean could tell he was forcing himself not to react.

Dean knew he needed to hear the rest so he said, "Eliot, if Parker were possessed by a demon, they would have the power of a demon and Nephilim in one body. They could have more power than any angel likely. I know that Nephilim have destroyed worlds in their history. And the angels… well, some of the angels will want to kill her as she is an abomination to God."

"She is not an abomination," Hardison said with a glare at Dean. "Parker grew up in foster care and she came out a survivor even if she is a little unique. I like that she's unique so do not ever call her an abomination again."

"Hardison, I don't think they think of Parker that way. He's just explaining why the demons want her and why the angels are just as dangerous. Parker is the same person she was two days ago to us. But they don't know her," Eliot said quietly. He felt exhausted and weighed down. Perhaps his spirit was still off balance as the angel said. Either way, he was wiped out.

"Dude, we're going to do everything we can to protect Parker. We've had some serious run-ins with the angels about our differences in opinions, so we don't care what they think of her, and the angels aren't too fond of us. Honestly, the fact that Castiel is protective of her just made me firmly resolve to help her," Dean replied, looking at the hacker. He had finally gotten over his desire to kill him for who he looked like. "Cas is one angel I can trust. Perhaps the only one. He can probably quickly tell which angel we can trust if they show up."

Eliot turned to him and asked, "So, I don't have to worry about you two betraying us now that you know what she is?" Dean shook his head.