Death in the Mountains

AUTHORS' NOTE: The vocabulary and speech patterns of the characters are reflected in this story, both in dialogue and point of view. The dialects included are Southern Appalachian, Black Vernacular English and Chiac (Acadian French in Canada). Also, the first half of this chapter is heavy on the Ballad novels characters & some OCs. Not to worry, the Winchester boys are going to be back on center stage in the later half of the chapter.


Chapter 19: Confrontations

Nora finally raised her face from her hands. They would all survive the night, but it was so close. She would ring the large dinner bell out front at first light, so the folks down the mountain aways would know to send someone. Nora had every intention of getting to the farm as soon as she could after sun up. Vera Kesterson must live. If she didn’t, Nora would have to stay years longer than she wanted, getting Sam, Jay and Kayla ready. Nora was tired; Vera could bridge the gap between generations so easily and so well.

She needed to set these new Hunters in the valley 'aright'. Nora also needed to take the farm and household in hand. These Hunters would have to stay a bit, making right what they had done. She would get Jane Arrowood to help, and have young Joe come along as well. These strangers would have to understand that this community knew far more than they realized. Folks in Wake County might not want to speak of it, but they knew who their Guardians were. The Winchesters and Kestersons were not as alone as they thought.


~*~

Ben looked on with dismay as the Priory arrived. Randy West, the investigator they requested, arrived with four other Priory members, all on motorcycles. For some ridiculous reason Randy insisted on being called Red Dog. Ben guessed it had something to do with being a natural titian redhead.

The Priory were certainly odd, but having a pack of them showing up looking like a biker gang was strange even for them. With five assorted motorcycles parked in the driveway along with various farm vehicles, the rental vans and Dean’s Impala the place was beginning to look like it was owned by a schizophrenic auto dealer.

The fact that the farm was in shambles and the house was falling apart did not add to Ben’s comfort level. Zip had blown out half the wiring in the house that morning as his new ability went haywire, so it was a hunt to find a working electrical outlet. Zip had been forbidden from using anything electrical. Cheryl had been butted by a goat headlong into a compost pile and LaShonda had several uncomfortable minutes when a local farmer brought back a pair of horses. LaShonda had no idea what to do with the two large animals. Mike actually rode, but he was in full prima donna mode and dramatically refused to leave his patient in case she was a Guardian to help out with the equine residents of the farm. Ben had sarcastically defined the word ‘hypocrisy’ for Mike, but the healer pretended he hadn’t issued an execution order on Vera less than 24 hours ago. That rather matted and bedraggled cat from last night seemed to be stalking Atin; it had attacked him several times. Atin had changed from shorts to jeans out of self defense; somehow it kept getting back into the house. His tattooed legs were marred by angry cat scratches.

In the upstairs hallway a large section of crumbling plaster had fallen from the ceiling and onto Lin Yao just after she had showered. She wasn’t hurt, but she wasn’t pleased to have to take another shower. Ben wasn’t happy to hear her self-centered complaints. It didn’t help that there were only two and a half baths with this many people staying here. There was occasionally a line for the outhouse. The two most structurally sound parts of the house were the ritual room and the screened in back porch. Just thinking of the ritual room made Ben shudder so he had been spending most of his time on the porch. Another mystery of the place: the roof was green; a nice, soft green. Ben worried that it had molded over and was about to fall in on them, but he didn’t see any water damage on the ceilings. After everything that had happened so far on this mission, it wouldn’t surprise Ben if the place did collapse on them.

Then another fiasco had struck just a half hour earlier. Billy Ray had arrived with Greg, Miriam, Fawn and Millie. Billy Ray had to rescue Greg and Miriam from a farm house 30 miles away. They had gotten washed off the road by a flooded creek. They couldn’t get a tow service and had to abandon the van. Three more Comacine security personnel had arrived a little earlier bringing much needed medical equipment. Ben was glad for the back up; many members of the team were exhausted. It was good to get the team back together again, but the timing couldn't have been worse. He was still trying to get rid of the team from the Order of Knights.

They had requested assistance from the Knights after Pascal’s vision of possible demonic activity in the area. The Comacines usually dealt with Hunter and Guardian Lines and rogue psychics, so were not prepared to deal with a demon. The Knights were a great help in dealing with certain types of supernatural creatures, but they were terrible about forced recruiting and would snatch up any powerful underage psychic they could lay their hands on. To make matters even worse, one of the Knights, Jennifer Greer, was distantly related to Vera Kesterson and was wondering what they were doing here. Ben was caught totally by surprise and told her he had no idea who she was talking about. If that hadn’t made them suspicious enough, as soon as the van with the other Com team members arrived Fawn had come running up to the house demanding to see Mike. Ben almost groaned out loud. The Knights now knew the head of their medical division was here for some reason and a twelve-year-old girl was looking for him. It didn’t help that Millie was asking Greg what a booster was at about the same time.

The Knights had to realize that something very strange was going on here, and there were probably some newly found, very powerful underage psychics here. Ben was sitting in a crumbling farm house with two underage boosters, a young healer, a powerful rogue psychic and his understandably enraged brother. Then there was Vera Kesterson – whatever she was.

Ben just hoped that ‘Red Dog’ could get some answers out of Jay. Atin had tried that morning; he was great at coaxing information out of frightened psychics, but Jay Kesterson had talked circles around him. After almost an hour of trying to get him to answer the most basic of questions Atin gave up. Ben was glad he had put in a call to the Priory last night asking for their assistance. The Priory practiced both magic and used psychic abilities, and since Jay did as well he hoped they could pry some answers out of the young man. Dean and Sam were both still sedated, and Ben was thankful to only have to deal with Jay right now.

“Ben!” Red Dog hailed him after the rumble of the cycles had faded. “Sounds like you've had quite a time here. Mind if the boys come in? Long ride from Gatlinburg.”

Ben took a deep breath and told himself to stay in control of his temper. You never knew exactly what the Priory’s agenda was. That they were willing to help was surprising; Ben wondered about their motivation. “Glad you could make it here so quickly. Uh, why did you bring the whole team Red Dog?”

Red Dog shrugged. “We were at a bike rally in Gatlinburg. The guys decided to come along; beautiful country up here. We’re getting ready for the Trail of Tears run out of Chattanooga.”

Ben was a bit more comfortable now that the entire security team was here and they had another three person security team join them. They outnumbered the Priory, not that he was expecting any trouble. Despite the high weirdness that seemed to follow them, the Priory members were usually a pretty sociable bunch. "We haven't had a chance to clean up yet.” Ben warned, “come in."

The front hall looked like a battle had been fought in it and then the soldiers patched up in the same place. Blood was smeared on the walls and had made small puddles on the floor. There were still bloody gurneys, discarded IV bags, gauze and surgical tape strewn around the room.

Red Dog paused in the doorway, the four other Priory members piling up behind him on the porch. “Damn, what the hell happened?”

Ben looked grim, the unaccustomed weight of command bearing down on him. "This is the result of an inter-dimensional attack. We patched everyone up the best we could. Pascal!"

Pascal darted into the front hall from the kitchen, looking on edge.

Ben gave him a cold glance; Pascal was out of favor for leaving Zip alone to restrain Jay when he left to get Vera from the field. The fact that he was having rogue visions and his psychic shields were fluxing badly didn’t help. “Show these men to the kitchen please.” With a slight nod Pascal lead the rest of the Priory team to the kitchen leaving Ben and Red Dog alone.

Red Dog’s narrow, freckled face was a mask of concern. “What's going on Ben?”

The new Comacine team leader rubbed his balding head nervously. “That's what we were hoping you could tell us. We have a young man upstairs, Jay Kesterson. He's somehow involved in what we think is a case of necromancy, blood magic and demon summoning. He was arrested in Chattanooga for stealing human remains but he won't say where the bones are. He says he gave them to some Native American activist for reburial, but he won’t say who.”

Red Dog gave Ben a piercing look, blue eyes snapping under red hair. “I need to know a little more about what's been going on around this kid if you want me to get any answers out of him.”

Ben shifted his weight from one foot to another. “We don't know much, Jay was arrested about a month ago for breaking into the archeology lab to steal remains. Here's his booking report.”

Red Dog looked over the paperwork. “Light Feather involved in this? He usually kills necros on sight.”

Ben twitched. “I know, that's what makes this all so suspicious.”

“Why have him arrested? If Light Feather knew where Jay was he could have killed him.”

“We know Jay had help, probably the Winchesters.” Ben said with a barely suppressed grunt of frustration at all the seeming paradoxes of the situation. “We are speculating but maybe Light Feather was hoping Jay would lead him back to whoever convinced him to steal the bones. We don’t think Jay Kesterson would have done this on his own.”

“Winchesters helping procure bones for a necromancer?” Red Dog frowned, not liking what he was hearing. “I thought they weren't into that.”

Ben threw his hands into the air. “They were there to kill an Uktena, we still aren't sure of their connection to Jay.”

“How long have you had Jay in your custody?”

“We arrived late last night.”

“Anyone tried talking to him yet?

“Atin tried,” Ben said morosely “kid must have had training, couldn't get anything out of him.”

Red Dog couldn’t help but smirk. “This should be a challenge. Atin's good. How is the kid acting? Anything I should know before I take a run at him?”

“He's young, he's scared and he's hiding something or protecting someone so he won't talk.”

“Huh, any chance family is involved? Jay's still pretty young.”

Ben had a strange, suspicious feeling. Red Dog seemed to be using Jay’s first name a little too freely, with a little too much familiarity. “Does the Priory have a special interest in the Kestersons?”

Red Dog gave him a chilling smile. “Kestersons. Plural. Yes, we do.” Ben could have cursed, letting slip that more then Jay was involved. “Vera Kesterson. Where is she, is she alive, and how is she wrapped up in all of this?”

“She's here and alive for the moment. What is your connection to her?”

“She and Will have history; she better stay alive.”

Ben raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Really? Old flame?”

Red Dog gave him a hard stare. “No, something more, but I'm not sure you'd understand. It's a magic thing.”

“Reassure Will we are doing what we can to keep her alive. Mike is here. Was there anything else?”

Red Dog’s jaw thrust out just a bit. “I'd like to see her before I leave.”

Ben could see a whole new layer of trouble developing. No way was he going to allow that until he had a better idea of what was going on. Mistress Tudor had negotiated some sort of payment to the Priory for their help. “That wasn't part of the agreement.”

“Agreements can be changed.” That same cold smile was back on his face.

Ben felt his own smile freeze into place. Damn, he wished Atin were handling this rather than babysitting Jay right now. “Yes, they can.”

***

Fifteen minutes later, Ben was facing an enraged Priory interrogator. Red Dog’s face had hardened, making the unattractive man look brutally ugly. “Don't make any mistakes here, Ben. It won't be pretty if you do. See you at the Conclave.”

Ben grimly thought that it was too late for that, but said nothing. He was still too stunned by the threat from the Priory. Rather than trying to find out about the bones, Red Dog had asked Jay about what happened last night and about his aunt. Ben had cut the session short and asked the Red Dog to leave. They were obviously using the situation to spy and to contact the Kestersons. He turned curtly to Atin. “Sedate Jay and put him back in with the Winchesters.”

Atin blinked. “What the hell was that?” He asked as Greg showed Red Dog and his team out.

Ben shook his head in angered amazement. “The Priory just threatened us. If anything happens to Vera...”

Atin gasped. “Oh...she does magic and is a psychic too...”

Ben nodded thoughtfully and continued, getting his own anger under control. “I think it is more than that, Will Woodfin has a particular interest in her that seems shared by the rest of the Order. Why she isn't a member of the Priory I don't know. I wish she was, then none of this would have happened.”

Atin thought a moment, his deep brown eyes thoughtful. “We are in over our heads here. Damn. I better get back to Jay. I think he's about to have hysterics again. I think he's basically a good kid, but something has him terrified.”

Ben looked guilty. “We aren't exactly reassuring him either. I wish we could get some answers, I wish Greg could have found Ms. Bonesteel last night.”

“If he was here do you think he would have stood down on the execution order? Did I hear Red Dog ask for Jay?”

Ben sighed. “That's right; he wanted to take Jay with him and to see Vera.”

“Damn,” Atin muttered softly. “Can you send someone...who can be gentle...to help me with Jay?” It was obvious he didn’t trust most of the security team to be restrained with a young psychic mage suspected of necromancy and blood magic.

Before Ben could respond Greg came stumping up the stairs to join them. “Can't stand the Priory. They make my teeth itch.”

Ben simply nodded. “All of them gone?”

“Yes” Greg grimaced, “but there was a lot of grumbling. I think they're going to be back. I have a feeling Red Dog will be on his cell the second he’s past the farm's gates. Ben, why the hell aren't we pulling out of here?”

Ben rubbed his face. Greg had been questioning him ever since he was put in charge. “I need Cheryl but can you send the rest of your team around outside to patrol. I'll be sending you, Lin Yao and Miriam with the younger kids back to Hawaii.”

He looked pleased. “Zip coming with us?”

Ben shook his head. “Mike needs both him and Jay to save Vera. I can't send away her only hope if she is a Guardian.”

“What the hell does it matter?” Greg scowled; not hiding the fact that he thought Ben was a near idiot. “The kid can take her place, she's expendable. We shouldn't be jeopardizing Zip and Mike over a mage.”

Ben glared, angry with Greg’s callousness. “Are you willing to risk an inter-Order war? The Priory just threatened us if she dies.”

The security lead snorted. “Probably just another one of their mind fuck jokes. Seriously Ben, let the kid say goodbye and have Mike load up her IV with morphine and let's get out of here. This place is not defensible.”

Ben decided he had enough. Atin had the experience; compassion and unbiased opinion that was needed to take care of the situation here. Atin was far better qualified than he was. He had the feeling that the lead position got fobbed off on him because Mistress Tudor knew that the situation would only get worse if Greg was in charge. Greg was more senior than Atin in the chain of command, but since he was leaving to transport their new members; Ben was going to ask her to put Atin in charge. “I need to call the Mistress,” he said curtly in response to Greg. “Send Cheryl to help Atin.”


~*~


Joe was surprised when Spencer radioed him early that morning. The sheriff’s mother had called him and requested that Joe stop by her place as quickly as possible. Nora Bonesteel wished to speak to him.

When Joe pulled the squad car into Mrs. Arrowood’s laneway, Nora was already waiting at the door and walked out to the car before he even stopped. Joe hopped out to open the passenger door for her.

“We need to get to Vera’s farm,” said Nora. There was a note of worry in the old psychic’s voice Joe had never heard before. “Jane will follow us while I explain what is happening along the way.”

Before yesterday Joe would have thought he was catering to a senile old woman but recent events had conspired to show him that the supernatural was all too real. He was completely willing to believe all the strange stories about the old woman’s abilities. Joe asked anxiously, “Did Sam - did he die last night?” The last time Joe had seen Sam he was sure he wouldn’t survive. In fact he had an argument with Vera in the cave telling her it would be a mercy to let him go. Vera had disagreed vehemently.

“Everyone made it through. Sam is fine. There were a group of Hunters at the farm last night. They have a healer and Sam is completely healed, in body at least.”

Joe looked at her skeptically, “A healer? I was sure he wouldn't pull through, why the hurry then?”

“It's Vera I fear for,” she replied.

Joe sucked in a breath, and concentrated on driving for a moment. “That demon got her, didn't it?”

“Yes, Joe, it did,” said Nora her voice tight with emotion, “she's in a bad way. That group of Hunters almost killed the Kestersons last night.”

Joe's hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Is that the same group that kidnapped Millie and Fawn? Spencer called in the FBI and the agent threatened him!”

“The same group, but Fawn and Millie weren't kidnapped, they went willingly.”

“That's what Spencer said. Are you sure? They didn't do some mind manipulation on them?” Joe couldn’t believe he was actually asking the question.

“No. It will be for the best for both of them.”

Joe pounded the steering wheel in frustration. “Then what do they want? They got Millie and Fawn. Why kill the Kestersons?”

“The Kestersons are still alive, Joe. They thought Vera was controlling the demons and that she was behind the killings.”

Joe was speechless and then felt guilty; after all he also had suspected Vera and Dean of being behind the murders. They reached the farm and he pulled in behind the assortment of vehicles. As he got out he noted a van stuck in the middle of a field, fences were broken, horses and goats were running loose. "What happened here?”

“Long story Joe. These Hunters were here looking for the Kestersons and Winchesters last night. Vera knew they might kill her so she drove through the fences to a sacred place out back of the farm to do a ritual to drive the unclean presence out of Sam.”

“Were they going to kill the Winchesters too?”

“No, they thought the Winchesters were victims of Vera as well.”

Joe shook his head. He waited for Jane to join them before they all walked up to the front door together.

Nora put a hand on Joe's arm restraining him gently. “Joe, this is a very powerful and a very large group of Hunters, an entire Order of them. They outnumber us and they are very confused and don't know nearly as much as they think they do. They can be allies, so don’t do anything that will rile them up. We need them. Without them, Vera will die.”

Joe felt a slow burn of anger, "They have the FBI in their pocket. There isn't much I can do."

“That's why we have to be careful. They can take Jay, Sam and Dean away and let Vera die. Understand?”

“Yes ma'am,” he replied and knocked loudly on the door.


~*~

Pascal looked over at Billy Ray who had asked him to help clean up the front entranceway. He along with the others that arrived earlier looked like the only ones who actually got some sleep last night. The back up security team, Ginger, Hiro and Alonzo had arrived earlier that morning. Most of the Comacines who were here last night had gratefully dispersed to the many bedrooms, couches and lawn chairs for a little sleep.

Pascal was supposed to be resting but he was still on edge, things were too uncertain. The Order was still in grave danger. He saw the threat of war with the Priory in his visions but Ben seemed to think he was under the influence of Ravenmocker. At least Ben recognized very quickly that he was out of his depth here, and requested that Atin take over the lead. Atin was a seasoned field veteran while Ben usually worked with Mike in the medical facilities back in Hawaii. They were jumping over Greg in the chain of command, but Greg’s hatred of magic would make him a poor choice in the situation and he was shipping out in a few hours anyways.

There was a loud knock at the door and Billy Ray looked to Pascal. Pascal hesitated then went to answer. He opened the door and was surprised to see the elderly woman from his vision, Nora Bonesteel, standing there in a gray, linen dress. She was accompanied by a frowning woman in her sixties and a deputy sheriff, the name badge read LeDonne.

Nora seemed to recognize him. “I'm glad that everyone made it through the night.” She took a closer look at Pascal and smiled, “If everyone would have paid you more mind it would have saved a whole load of pain and grief for everyone.” She held out her arms.

Even though they weren't related in this lifetime, Pascal felt drawn to the elderly woman. He stepped into her embrace and gave her the French greeting of a kiss on each cheek. "Ma tante Nora! What an honor, please come in."

Joe looked at the young man with curly dark brown hair and a black eye intensely; he openly wore a .9 mm at his waist. He also recognized the French-Canadian accent; he had just called Miss Bonesteel his “auntie.”

Jane Arrowood looked wide-eyed from Nora to the young man. She was used to odd things happening around Nora, she glared at Pascal. “Young man, I want to know who you are and what you're doing here. This farm's livestock is wandering all over this half of the county.”

"My name is Pascal Comeau, the man in charge is Atin Lono, please come in, we were just cleaning up." Pascal stepped aside to let them in. Billy Ray barely glanced at them before returning to picking up the discarded medical equipment, gauze and bandages. Joe cursed. It looked like a crime scene that had been hastily cleaned up. There were dark stains on the floor and smudges of what looked like blood on the walls.

Jane gasped at the sight and Nora told her, “Calm down Jane. No one died.”

Pascal led the way down the hall, "Please have a seat in the living room, sorry about the mess. I'll get the Commander. Can I get you anything from the kitchen?"

Nora replied, “Some water will be fine, I think we have a lot to speak about.”

A few minutes later Atin and Ben entered the living room to speak to the senior Guardian, Pascal went to get glasses of water for everyone.

Atin looked at the two women, guessing which one was Nora by her advanced age. “Good morning ladies,” He and Ben crossed to shake Nora’s hand. “You must be Ms. Bonesteel, I'm grateful you came, we’ve been looking forward to speaking with you.”

Nora nodded, “This is Mrs. Arrowood, the sheriff’s mother.” Jane didn’t hold out her hand, she glared at him. Atin bowed slightly. “Deputy Sheriff Joe LeDonne.” Joe nodded to the strangers. Ben and Atin introduced themselves.

“You have many questions,” Nora continued as Atin they all took seats.

Atin looked down for a moment, “Yes, we do. Our main concern is about Vera Kesterson.”

“Vera Kesterson is a Guardian. Her family has lived in these hills for a long time.”

Atin took a deep breath. “We weren’t sure; she wasn’t born in this area. We know most Guardian Lines are tied to one location.”

Nora was quite firm, “Her daddy moved away before she was born.” She pinned first Ben then Atin with a stern look. “A lot of trouble could have been avoided if you had listened to your Seer.”

Ben started to crumble under the guilt and the accusing looks from the two women and man, “Ah, we weren't sure about...if he was being manipulated.”

Pascal picked that moment to walk in with a tray of water glasses. He knew he had been the topic of conversation when everyone stopped talking. He placed the tray on the coffee table and beat a hasty retreat to continue helping Billy Ray clean up the front hall.

Nora took a sip of water then asked, “Did you have any other questions?”

“We seem to have made a lot of mistakes. Could you give us advice on what needs to be done to make up for it? Have you met Sam and Dean Winchester?” Atin was still trying to figure out what their connection to everything was.

“I met Dean, Sam and Vera last week,” Nora began, her bright eyes not missing a thing, “I revealed to Vera that she and her nephew Jay were Called to be Guardians and the beginning of a new Line. Dean decided to establish his Hunt base here. Vera was injured and I approved Dean taking on the lead.”

Atin was thoughtful for a moment. “So Dean is in control of this region? This is a surprise. We’ve never known the Winchesters to stay in one place before.”

Jane nodded; “Spencer deputized Dean the other day.”

Ben nodded, “We knew that...” He looked imploringly at Nora. “What do we need to do now?”

For the first time Nora looked rattled, “For starters stop badgering that poor boy Jay and heal his aunt.”

“Certainly, both of them are asleep right now and we will certainly care for them until they've recovered from last night.” Atin quickly agreed.

Nora pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her eyes, “It's time to act like an Order that protects Hunters and Guardians. We lost one Guardian yesterday and you almost killed another.”

Atin was stunned, “A Guardian died yesterday? Who?”

Jane replied for Nora and Joe who both looked grief stricken, “A wonderful man I've known for many years. His name was Rattler. He and Deputy Ayers were killed by one of those creatures.”

Realization crossed Atin’s face, he was horrified. “Pascal saw it.”

Nora got herself under control, “There have been many deaths caused by these creatures. Rattler gave his life so another Hunter would begin.” She glanced over at Joe who looked at her in shock. She hadn’t told him.

“Another Hunter? You mean other than Sam and Dean?” Atin was reeling from all these revelations.

“Yes, Joe here joined Dean yesterday and he killed the first creature. The one you saw last night was the second one. Vera banished that one back to where it came from.”

“What happened yesterday?” asked Atin weakly.

Joe answered, clearing his throat. “Dean, Jay, Vera, myself and the park ranger Clayt Stargill took part in a search and rescue operation yesterday in the storm trying to find Sam and the other girl that was taken, Kathy Wyler. Jay and Clayt brought back the girl and she’s still in the hospital.”

Ben shifted uncomfortably, he felt extremely guilty, “and then when we found Jay last night...and this morning...”

Nora got very stern, “See that you take care of the Guardians properly now.”

“Yes ma'am,” agreed Atin, “we will be sure to do that. We might need to move Vera to one of our facilities for more specialized care, but we will co-ordinate that with everyone else involved.”

Nora nodded, “Just be sure you ask and not demand. Dean is still Hunt leader and is still finding his way in that role.”

Atin blinked, trying to re-arrange his entire attitude, “Of course.”

“What about Dean?” asked Joe “Is he in any shape to continue his duties as deputy?”

“Dean has some cracked ribs and a sprained ankle,” replied Atin. “He'll be up and around soon enough. Our security staff would be glad to help the department until he is well enough to take over his duties again. I can send a few people down later today and the Sheriff can decide which ones would be best.” Joe’s face tightened and he nodded.

“I'd like to look in on the residents of this farm, and be there for when Dean and Sam wake up,” Nora said, “those two will be pretty feisty and I want to be sure there are no more misunderstandings.”

“I’ll go and set things right in the kitchen,” said Jane firmly, as if she didn’t believe they were capable of it.

“I’ll be back later to speak to Dean when he wakes up,” said Joe getting up, it was time to go back on patrol and let Spencer know their newest deputy was injured and they’d be sleeping with the enemy for awhile.

Pascal came running into the living room, wild-eyed. “Commander, I just had another vision, the Knights are after the Stargills; they plan to kidnap Kayla and Kelly.”

* * *

Nora wasn’t surprised by Vera’s condition, it was as bad as she foresaw. This Hunter group had brought in medical equipment from somewhere; Vera was on a hospital bed, an oxygen cannula in her nose, two IVs, one in each arm, tubes everywhere. Vera’s face was barely recognizable; it was so bruised and swollen.

Most of the Comacines's security team had gone to save Kelly and Kayla from these Knights. Little Kayla was strong in the Sight, and her brother that was 'a’coming' next month was strong as well. They reasoned a young child with the Sight would be like a twig bent in their direction if they had him from birth. Nora had a vision of the kidnapping, but knew young Pascal needed the vision to redeem himself. She knew they would be rescued in time.

Nora had extracted promises from both Ben and Mike that they intended to heal Vera fully. Then she instructed them to allow the black cat to come to Vera. She explained they were more than pets; they help and protect their humans. They will help them heal faster. She could see the disbelief in both the men's eyes. Mike scoffed but Ben looked fearful.

“Both Dean and Sam have cats too. Familiars she called them,” she said patiently.

“Well, that certainly explains a few things. We thought they were being controlled as well,” said Ben doubtfully.

Shade flowed past Ben's legs startling him, which was likely her intention, and leapt onto the hospital bed. She weaved her way through all the tubes to find a place to settle, her eyes on Vera's face, mewling softly.

Mike regarded Shade with disgust. “I'm worried about infection. Cat's claws are bad for that.”

Shade gave him a long and evil hiss. Ben edged away from the angry cat, he had never developed a fondness for the animals and he was highly allergic to them. “I don't think it’s Vera you need to worry about.”

“If you would have listened to your own Seer much of this could have been avoided,” admonished Nora.

Mike was irritable; this was his territory and he certainly didn't want to have to share the space with a strange bob-tailed cat that looked ready to claw his eyes out. “We were getting strange and conflicting information. The report on this incident will be exhaustive so we don't make the same mistakes again.” He replied defensively, but oddly respectful at the same time, acknowledging the truth of her statement.

"You should have known to wait. You almost destroyed a great deal," Nora's throat felt tight and dry, she swallowed painfully.

Mike thought back to the chaos of the previous evening, his sole concern had been Sam and Dean, "Sam was missing, deaths were happening, I did what I thought was best with the information I had at the time."

"But you should have known how important it was to be right about what you were doing." Nora admonished, "If you had killed two new Guardians would you still be saying the same thing?"

Mike felt shamed by her words, was she an empath as well? She really knew how to make you squirm. He thought Ben was a pro at making him feel guilty. "I didn't have much time to make decisions. Considering the same circumstances, I imagine I would do almost the same things, but I should have taken the visions into consideration."

"Yes, you should have. Folks are Sighted for a reason." Nora's keen eyes seemed to flay him. "Stay with your healing, you shouldn't try to do anything else. You don't need to do any more; your gifts are too strong for you to stand sometimes. Don't let them carry you away again."

The old woman was right; he never should have taken on the command role. He was never trained for that. "Yes ma'am, play to my strengths and right now I need to continue with healing my patient."

"I'll be by to check on both of you later. Take care of yourself or you'll be of no use to anyone." She could plainly see the exhaustion in his eyes, he may be healing Vera reluctantly up until now but he was not holding it back either, he was letting himself get too run down. "Get someone to feed you."

Mike nodded stiffly. He just wanted her to leave. He busied himself re-checking Vera's vitals while trying to avoid touching the hissing cat. He watched Ben and Nora from the corner of his eye.

"Would you like to look in on Jay and the Winchesters now?" asked Ben feeling the disapproval still radiating from Nora. He had to thicken his shields in self-defense.

Nora nodded, "I think that would be best." She gave Mike another stern look and left with Ben.

Ben led Nora back out to the hallway, "We put them all in one room upstairs. We thought that would help keep all three of them calm."

Nora followed Ben up the stairs. Griffin zoomed up the stairs and was waiting impatiently at the top. “That one chose Dean,” said Nora hiding her grin as Ben stiffened when the cat raced by him.

Griffin looked at Ben and gave a loud yowl.

Ben stared at the cat for a moment, “I can see that.” The moment Ben opened the bedroom door, Griffin shot in like a rocket. Before they could take a step in the room, he was on the bed sniffing Dean over carefully. Ben hovered in the doorway while Nora checked Jay first, then Sam and then sat in a chair next to Dean.

Ben’s face got pink with embarrassment, “We've been a little hard on Jay, but he'll be okay.”

“You certainly have,” agreed Nora, “Jay will need your mind healing. I'll wait on Dean to wake up.”

As Ben headed out, he heard Nora speak to the cat, “Here’s your brush, now you come here and I’ll check you for ticks.” He hesitated worried what the cat would do to her and was surprised to hear him purr loudly. Ben shut the door quietly, shaking his head.

~*~


Mike, Greg, Ben and Atin were all sitting on the back porch, enjoying the late morning sunshine. The team Greg had led to rescue the Stargills had arrived just in time. The Wake County dispatcher and her daughter Kayla were both resting comfortably in the house. They were just waiting for transportation arrangements to be completed before sending Kelly, Clayt and Kayla to their Hawaiian facility. Mike had suggested their Atlanta facility since it was closer. Clayt said if they were going to have to stay away from home they’d rather go to Hawaii as a kind of second honeymoon.

The fields were still muddy, but the day was beautiful and mild, with horses frolicking in the fields beyond the vegetable and herb gardens. A black-and-white nanny goat was enjoying tomatoes. Atin had the vague feeling they should probably do something about that, but the fences were broken and they had no place to keep those damned eating machines. A few of the farm’s cats, those not standing guard over the Kestersons and Winchesters were lazily sunning themselves around them.

The rest of the Comacine team was either sleeping or caring for the farms’ occupants. Such ease of mind wasn’t shared by the medical and security team leaders and their seconds.

“Y’know,” Atin said conversationally “we almost executed a Guardian last night.”

“Yup” Greg agreed amiably, “and almost sent a powerful psychic over the edge into going rogue.”

“Not to mention bullying and basically beating an underage junior Guardian.” Ben added.

“The very people we’ve sworn to protect.” Mike mentioned in an off hand way. “Vera Kesterson probably wouldn’t have been hurt if we hadn’t distracted her. We’ve deprived Sam and Dean of their teacher for months.”

“And we’ve totally blown the secrecy on two un-Founded Guardian lines. Jay, Kayla and the baby are now open season.” Greg paused a moment at that thought, head tilted thoughtfully to one side.

“Yeah,” Ben threw in, “this place could be invaded any time now. Some Orders wouldn’t blink at threatening Vera’s life to get Jay to cooperate.”

Mike groaned. “You realize that because of us Wake County is losing one deputy, their only dispatcher and the head of their emergency team. Vera should be taking over as senior Guardian but can’t for months now. Another Guardian and sheriff’s deputy died yesterday, Nora Bonesteel is over 90, Dean is injured and no way in hell can Sam take over here. We’ve managed to leave this region totally unprotected.”

As an after thought Atin added “Yes and we’re indirectly responsible for destroying this farm. The locals have been bringing back horses and goats all day. They’re not too happy. The amount of damages we’re going to have to pay for this place and the other local farms are going to be enormous.” He paused for a moment. “Damn we really screwed up. We’re going to have to be creative in making up for it all.”

Ben grunted. “The damned Priory of Nyx is sniffing around. They don’t forcibly recruit, but you can never tell what the hell they’re up to.”

Greg looked gloomily at the bicolored animal feasting on the vegetable garden. “Know anything about herding goats?”


~*~

Dean woke up slowly, he kept his eyes closed sensing someone was laying next to him asleep and another nearby, awake. He took a careful inventory of his injuries first; one ankle was wrapped in an elastic bandage, very sore but not an agonizing pain, a sprain. He was all too familiar with the pain of broken ribs. All he was wearing was a pair of boxer shorts. Dean was curled on his side as he slid one hand under the pillow but came up empty. Bastards took his knife. He heard a loud meow from nearby and his eyes flew open. Nora sitting in a chair next to the bed knitting and the next thing he saw was a large fuzzy face dodging in to lick his nose.

"Ugh, Griff, stop it." He sat up carefully to avoid having his face washed by a cat with bad breath. What the hell had he been eating?

Sam was sleeping soundly next to him. A whole, undamaged and healthy looking Sam. Dean stared in amazement, picking up Sam’s limp left hand. It looked like it had never been crushed to a pulpy mess. Star was sleeping on Sam's pillow on top of his head as usual, but she looked like she was breathing harshly.

Griffin started purring, butting his head against Dean's hand. Dean gave Griffin his morning ear scratches while he blinked groggily. Why was he so tired? Oh, right, they jabbed him with a needle. Now that he remembered, his hip throbbed.
Dean kept up his attentions on Griffin's ears while he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, finally he mumbled, "How did you get here? Did they kidnap you too?

"No, they know better than to try that. I've had to set them right about a few things," said Nora calmly.
Dean looked back over at the miracle of Sam's restoration again and then back to Nora. "Are they aliens Nora? They did a lot of weird assed stuff last night."

"No, no, just a very powerful, very old and large Hunter group. They call themselves the Comacine Order."
The events of last night finally tumbled through Dean's mind. "Vera!" he started getting up, "They killed Vera last night."
"No, praise the Good Lord, she's still alive."

Dean remembered his sprained ankle when he tried to put his full weight on it. He quickly sat down on the bed. His stomach gave a flip reminding him that he had been drugged last night. He fought back the urge to vomit. Nora was saying something but he missed it, something about more had joined them.

"So what does this Order want with us? Why do they want to kidnap me and Sam and murder Vera?"

Nora looked very discouraged, "Lord, son. It's a mess. These Hunters thought that Vera was the one who summoned the unclean presence. They thought she was manipulating you and Sam. They just came to contact you, get you out of jail. They were not even sure Sam was alive. They were going to take Sam away because they thought he was out of control. They didn't realize Vera and I were already teaching him."

Dean tried to process her rush of words, damn this drug , it was still slowing down his thinking. Dean focused again on Vera's condition; he'd puzzle out what Nora was trying to tell him later. "What shape is Vera in? Did she get completely healed like Sam?"

Nora shook her head. "No, their healer almost burnt himself out on your brother. Vera is barely alive. They were going to let her die except their young Seer kept trying to convince them she was a Guardian. Finally they decided to keep her barely alive until they could confirm it. If it wasn't for that young Seer, Jay, and another boy here, she'd be dead."

Dean got up slower this time, carefully limping over to his duffle bag that was sitting on a chair. He rummaged around for a shirt and his jeans. His eyes fell on Jay lying very still on a mattress on the floor. "So what are you saying? They aren't going to heal her?"

He fished out a button up shirt and a clean pair of jeans. He put the shirt on carefully every movement hurt his ribs.
Nora was speaking again, "No, they'll heal her, but it will take a long while, their healer is all but exhausted. If it wasn't for Jay's special abilities and the help of another young man, Zipactonal, she wouldn't be alive."

Dean limped over to Jay. He still had mud in his hair and he had bruises all over every part of skin he could see. His neck was bruised from a chokehold and Dean could tell they had him in handcuffs at one point since his wrists were bandaged. He gently pulled down Jay’s boxers to find not one, but two needle marks.

Dean gaze hardened seeing the evidence of this Order's brutality, “What did they do to Jay?”
Nora explained while Dean’s expression got stormier.

The sooner these idiots left the better for all of them, "So how long will it take this healer to heal Vera?"

Nora bowed her head. "Two to three months."

"What!" Dean erupted, his voice getting harsh and louder, "You mean we have to put up with them for three months!" Jay whimpered in his sleep.

Nora looked grim, "If we want her to walk again."

Dean's voice was low and angry. "How about I cripple a few of them and see if he can hurry things up." He grabbed his jeans, sat in a chair and tried to relearn how to put them on without bending over too much and straining his ribs.

"Dean, they outnumber us," Nora tried to be the voice of reason. "They'll have no trouble with drugging you again."

"I'll pick them off one by one." He buttoned his jeans. "They can't keep me sedated for ever."

Nora was almost in tears, "Dean, no! Son, Vera won't make it without them. She's hurt bad, Dean, real bad."

Dean looked at Nora exasperated, trying to keep his voice down to not disturb the others. "How can you even believe anything they tell you? They've done nothing but lie to me all last night. They told me they were taking care of Vera and they weren't, they said she wasn't dying and she was. I don't trust them!"

"Dean, just talk with them. Two of those boys down there, the two youngest, did everything they could to keep her alive. One of the women and one of the boys went against orders to help keep her alive. The man who was the leader, Mike, he tried to rescue you and Sammy when you were little. He's been guilty, thought he should have helped you. Then his son died a few weeks after he saw you. Mike’s son was just a baby at the time. He couldn’t save his son, so last night he was going to save you and Sam even if you didn't need saving!"

"Yes, I'd like a few words with them." Dean looked around quickly but didn't see his guns or knives anywhere.
Nora nodded sadly. "Remember Dean, what they've done for Sam. He's healed physically, and his mind somewhat, too. They're not evil, just misguided."

Dean narrowed his eyes, "What did that blond guy do to Sammy's mind? I saw him touching him."

"That was Ben. He's a mind healer. Sammy won't have nightmares or flashbacks, but he still remembers what happened. He's not quite the same. Not Ben's doing, though. Sam would be worse than dead if it wasn't for him."

Dean alarmed, "Why? What's wrong now? I just got through two months of hell with him."

"Dean!" Nora admonished, "You remember how he was last night. No healer can put all of that right. He's going to recover in the end, though he'll just be more easily stressed for a while, more," she glanced at Jay, "possessive."

Dean felt like all the air was just sucked out of his lungs. He felt so defeated, all the implications just now sinking in. He almost lost both his brother and Vera last night. Sam had been tortured for hours. His mind was still fragile from dealing with his psychic powers and the double losses of his girlfriend and their father. Dean realized he wouldn't have Sam at his back for a long while. He sighed deeply, making him moan in pain and frustration.

Nora seemed to know what he was thinking. Dean didn't think he'd ever get used to being around psychics. "Son, Sammy and Vera and Jay are all still alive. Everyone will have a chance to be whole again. Give it time. These folk here are very guilty and want to make up for things. But their ways are not ours. Be careful. They think they know what is best for everyone."

Dean nodded. He could feel tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. "Yeah, and we saw how badly that went last night."
"Jane, Joe and I had a long talk with them this morning. They're very worried about Jay for some reason, that and Zipactonal. Be careful of that."

Dean wiped his eyes, "Huh? What is a zipagonal?"

Nora gave a short laugh, "That's his name, Zip. Short little fellow. He helped keep Vera alive last night. Helped Jay with something."

"That little guy that tackled Jay last night and put him in a chokehold? Huh. Okay, don't worry, I don't trust any of them, consider them watched carefully."

"Good. They are like a doubled-edged knife. They can cut both ways. Manage 'em right and they can be a lot of help, but careful, always careful." Nora warned.

"Do you think they'll let me see Vera?" Dean inquired.

"Ask. But first, get some breakfast. Vera's not going anywhere. Jane is down in the kitchen, taking charge of things."
Dean sniffed and nodded. "Yes ma'am." He gave her a jaunty salute and went to the bathroom to wash his face and take care of business.

* * *

Dean hobbled down the stairs; he saw Clayt Stargill talking to Joe LeDonne. They both looked relieved to see him. "Dean, it's good to see you up and around," said Clayt. Dean looked around but they were alone for the moment.

"Clayt, Joe, it's good to see you too, but why are you here?"

Clayt gave a grim smile, "My family is in danger, another Order calling themselves the Knights tried to kidnap Kelly and Kayla this morning. Joe was able to give us some warning and he and half the Comacines came to rescue us."

Dean's mouth fell open, "There is another Order?" He got indignant, "What is with these people?"

Clayt nodded, "As we saw this morning, there are some pretty zealous Orders out there who would stop at nothing to get what they want."

Joe could tell from Dean's expression what he was thinking; he had thought the same thing earlier when he saw the mess the farm was in. "I know Dean, hard to believe there are worse Orders than the Comacines. According to them this isn't an example of how they usually operate."

Dean remained unconvinced. "I'll reserve judgment on that."

“They are shipping us out to their healing and training center in Hawaii in about 30 minutes. I guess Kelly and I will get a second honeymoon,” said Clayt with a wry grin.

Dean looked at him in concern; obviously Clayt was making the best of an impossible situation. “How long are you going to be there?”

Clayt tilted his head and gave Dean a lopsided grin, “until the end of December they say, depending on how things go at this annual convention these Orders have. It sounds very political, Atin explained a bit to me and told me he was going to speak to you later.”

Clayt said he needed to check on Kayla and Kelly and said his goodbyes.

Joe looked at Dean in concern. He had obviously been drugged and was in pain. “Head to the kitchen, you look like you need some coffee. Mrs. Arrowood is there. I need to go back on patrol.” The deputy looked haggard and exhausted.

Dean grimaced, “A beer would be better, but I guess that’ll have to do.”

He limped to the kitchen and smiled at Mrs. Arrowood, glad to see her. Spencer had introduced his mother to him after they released him from custody. Griffin stayed by his side like he was glued there. The short blond man with the receding hair line, who Nora said was Ben, was already in the kitchen, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

Dean eased himself onto one of the stools at the countertop, holding his aching ribs, ignoring Ben. There was another young man, average height with brown, curly hair at the stove cooking eggs, and he, like Ben, was openly armed. "Good morning Mrs. Arrowood, good to see you again."

"Glad to see you again too, Dean. Now you don't worry about a thing. Miss Bonesteel and I are going to set things right around here." She gave Ben a glare. "These flatlander folks have a lot to make up for."

The guy at the stove didn't seem to be bothered at all by Mrs. Arrowood's ordering him around. Pascal asked him what he took in his coffee and Dean replied straight from the pot. He set a steamy cup of black coffee in front of Dean and a plate of bacon, eggs and buttered toast. Griffin jumped onto the stool next to Dean trilling a greeting to Pascal. Dean looked at his familiar in surprise and then pushed his plate over to Griffin.

Mrs. Arrowood clucked disapprovingly, "You need to eat Dean."

Dean shook his head, "Just plain toast, my stomach hasn't settled yet after being drugged last night." He shot a look at Ben who looked a bit guilty. Griffin hopped onto the counter to devour the plate of bacon and eggs. Nora had given him a bath earlier and removed all the ticks. His coat was gleaming. The young cat looked at his human, and then had a glare of his own for Ben. The Comacine Empath-healer actually flinched.

Ben wasn’t sure of what to say; they had made unforgivable mistakes. This Hunt leader had so many reasons to be angry with them. “Do you need something for pain? We have codeine, it's not too strong.”

Dean snarled. “I've had enough of you people sedating me, I'll manage. How long are you planning to stay? Just how many are you here? Who's going to pay for all the groceries?”

Ben fidgeted nervously. “Ah, there are - will be 13, no 14, no 15 of us in the area right now. As for how long we stay, we need to talk about that, and we'll be glad to pay for the groceries.”

Dean and Jane both gave him a hard stare. “So talk,” Dean said shortly. “I'm listening.”

Ben was glad they took all of Dean’s weapons away. “Ah, well, I'll get to the point. Vera is badly injured, and it would probably kill her to even try moving her. We have a full medical team working on her, and to be honest, we're the only ones who can be sure she recovers.” He managed to look even guiltier for a moment. “Jay also needs the attention of our medical team.”

Dean continued glaring. “Yeah, Nora told me you were chasing him around last night and grilling him this morning.”
“He'll be okay; just a little skittish for a bit.” Ben looked away.

Dean groaned, but not from pain. “He won't be the only one. How long before Vera recovers? What exactly is wrong with her?”
The blond man looked nervous. “What do you remember from last night? About her injuries?”

Dean swallowed a huge lump in his throat; suddenly not sure he wanted to know. “She was dying. Told me she couldn't feel her legs and her chest hurt. She was afraid for Sam, Jay and me, afraid you were going to kill all of us.”

His voice was gentle, but now he was looking Dean in the eye for the first time. “She couldn't move her legs because she has several crushed vertebrae, a broken hip and pelvis. Vera also has a lacerated liver and it hurt to breathe because her lungs were bruised and pierced by broken ribs.

Griffin stopped devouring eggs and put a paw on Dean’s arm. Now it was Dean’s turn to look away, not wanting this stranger to see his reaction. “Will she ever walk again?”

“Dean, she's going to be fine, she's not going to die. And yes, given enough time, she'll recover fully. Did you see Sam when you woke?”

“Yeah, he looks good.” Dean was both almost giddy that Sam was healed and furious Vera was almost dead.

Ben’s voice became strained. “That's because we have a healer here. He can do the same thing for her, but it's going to take a lot longer. As bad as Sam looked, his injuries were – simpler - than Vera's. It takes much longer to heal spinal and nerve injuries. The one good thing is that she suffered no head trauma, so that isn't an issue. She still has all of her mental functions intact and will not suffer any memory loss.”

Dean rubbed a hand over his face. "So how long are we talking here?"

“With physical therapy included, about three months, maybe a little less.”

Dean took a deep breath and winced in pain. "Three months. You planning to stay here for all that time?"

Ben looked relieved that Dean was taking all of this well so far. “We want to talk to you about it, but I don't think now is a good time. We need a little more time to see how quickly she's going to come along, and you need a clear head before making any decisions. Dean, there are still some things we don't understand and Nora wasn't sure. Could you tell us where the bloody crystals came from and what they are used for?"

Dean looked at him in surprise, and then realized Ben wasn't swearing he meant the quartz crystals with his and Sam's blood. He took another sip of coffee. "Those are mine," he said finally. "The blood is from me and Sam and I got the crystals from Light Feather."

Pascal turned white when he heard the name, dropping the plate of toast he was holding with a crash. Everyone looked at him in surprise, Ben looked worried. "Sorry," he apologized running to get a broom and dustpan.

Dean continued sipping his coffee and explained the situation in Chattanooga and how they used the crystals.
Pascal returned, he still looked shaky and swept up the mess. Jane put another couple slices of bread in the toaster and refilled Dean's cup. Ben was rubbing his hand nervously over his balding head.

"What do you know about the bones that Jay took in Chattanooga?" Ben asked weakly, suspecting he already knew.
Dean shrugged, "Gave 'em to Light Feather, he said he'd bury them properly so they wouldn't have any more supernatural trouble. Although," Dean had some time to think last night. "Who knows for sure what he did with them. Jay got arrested and I'm suspecting Light Feather was the one who gave the anonymous tip. I don't know what is up with that."

There was an uncomfortable silence until another man came into the room. It was the Native American guy who’d been healing Sam last night. Dean couldn’t remember his name. He stopped and stared at Griffin, who was on the counter finishing off Dean’s eggs. He glared at Pascal “What’s that cat doing on the counter?”

Dean didn’t like this guy’s attitude and he was getting the feeling that Pascal was in the dog house for some reason. “Eating, what does it look like?”

He was taken aback. “Hello Dean; how are you feeling?” Dean noticed that Pascal got busy washing the dishes, obviously trying to avoid the two other men.

“I've been better,” Dean said, flat and almost deadly. “Who the hell are you?”

This guy was obviously confused by his reception. Dean didn’t like his condescending tone. “I'm Mike; I'm the one who healed Sam last night. I'm working on Vera right now.”

Dean gave him a hostile stare. Ben shifted uncomfortably. “Right, I remember you working on Sam and ignoring Vera.”

“We weren't sure about Vera,” Mike tried to explain, still clearly confused, “and I was worried about Sam's potential psychological trauma due to his injuries.”

“Uh huh.” Dean wasn’t convinced. He was glad Sammy was totally healed, but this guy could have let Sam heal some of his injuries on his own to be sure Vera didn’t die.

Ben was surprised that Mike actually looked guilty. It was probably as close as his brother would get to apologizing. “You need to eat at least a little. Vera is going to be just fine; it's just going to take a while.”

Dean felt so overwhelmed; his first home since Kansas being invaded, Sam and Vera almost dying, Jay’s injuries and obvious mental trauma, and he was in pain. He closed his eyes and let his face fall into his hands. Dean wished Vera was healed too, so he could throw all of their asses out.

Mike’s voice was concerned, despite Dean’s rudeness. “Are you okay? Do you need to lie down?”

“Just, leave me alone.” He could feel tears prickling. Damn these drugs, he felt like crying and killing them all at the same time. He wondered briefly if this was what PMS felt like.

Dean could hear stools being pushed out. “Alright, everyone out of the kitchen,” Ben called, and Dean could hear several people leaving the kitchen.

“Y’all can go, I'm staying.” Jane patted Dean’s shoulder. He appreciated the gesture and he could hear the steel in her voice. The sheriff’s mother was offering sympathy, not pity.

“Now Dean, honey, it's going to be all right.” Jane’s tone made it clear that she was going to be sure everything worked out. Dean lifted his head. The accent up here was almost musical. He thought he would never get tired of hearing it. Dean no longer associated it with back country hicks, but with kindness, acceptance and unspoken understanding. “Do you want me to get Nora? I can sit with Sam and Jay for a spell.” Griffin head butted Dean, mewling softly while rubbing against his shoulder.

Dean shook his head, "I almost lost my family last night, Sam and Vera. Vera's in no shape to train Sam. He's on the edge of loosing it, and now Jay, it sounds like he's in no better shape. I don't know what to do."

The older blond woman smiled. “I don't know either honey. I think you should work these flatlanders as hard as you can to make up for it. Have you had a look at Jay yourself?”

“Yeah, he was in our room. He looked pretty beat up. Physically I guess he'll be fine in a week or so, but they did a lot of messing with his mind.”

“Humph!” was Jane’s angry opinion. “Did they tell you what they did to him?”

“No but I imagine they were withholding healing Vera to get him to 'talk'.”

Jane’s eyes narrowed and mouth thinned. “If it wasn't for this healing, I'd have Spencer run them out of town!”

“Yeah, I'd arrest them myself.” Dean gave a bitter laugh. “I still can't believe I'm a deputy. Do you know how many laws I've broken?”

“I don't think anybody cares about that up here. Have you ever hurt anyone who didn't do anything wrong?”

Dean shrugged. “No, it wasn't me that was killing people in St Louis. That was a shapeshifter with my face.” Jane suddenly looked like she didn't want to know. Dean looked at her, "Anyway, I guess I don't deserve an easy life. Spencer is a lucky man to have you."

Jane smiled, an honest smile, and her face seemed to hold more understanding than Dean thought possible. “Oh, now, I don't know about you not deserving an easy life. Looks like things are going to be turning sunny side up for you after all this settles. We're all hoping you and Sam stay.”

Dean looked down while Griffin rubbed and purred against his chest and arms. “I told Vera I would, in a way I adopted Jay last night.”

“Well now, that will please a lot of folks. Most new folks that come up here look down on us. You and Sammy never did, you helped folks out. The Rice’s, in the library, being a deputy, saving poor little Kathy Wyler. You've done a lot of good up here already. Imagine a lot of folks outside these mountains don't understand. We don't mind outsiders that come here and respect our ways. Look at the folks who live here at this farm.”

Dean didn't know what to say, he wasn’t used to praise. “How is Kathy doing?” He asked, trying to shift her attention away from him.

“As well as can be expected. She's alive, she'll heal. Everybody up here will try to help her.”

Dean got up. "That's good; I'm going to see if Sam and Jay are awake yet and check on Vera."

Jane raised a hand to stop him. “Dean, before you go, you've come home to where you belong. Understand?

Dean searched her face, he'd never been attached to places before, "Well, the people make the place. Thanks for breakfast Mrs. Arrowood."
~*~


Hradani Tudor bowed her head for a moment after ringing off with Ben. The situation with the Winchester contact team in the Colonies continued to be volatile. The Knights were threatening to declare war on the Comacine Order unless Jay Kesterson was turned over to them, making a kinship claim to the boy. They steadfastly refused to believe that Vera Kesterson would survive her injuries, accusing them of just barely keeping her alive to hold onto possession of the young booster and Sam Winchester, who according to reports was her student.

Rad was frustrated; Jay and Sam were not Comacines. They would not recruit either of the young men. No one had recognized Sam or Jay as much as they all hoped they were Comacines. None of the other Orders, with the exception of the Priory, believed them when they said all of their members chose to be Comacines before they were ever born. That is why they passed up some strong psychics and took others that barely had any ability. Kayla Stargill was a tempting prize to other Orders, but the Comacines would not touch her. The Comacines recognized the Winchesters, Stargills and Kestersons as Lines, and treated them as such, even though they had not been approved by the Conclave. Hradani was going to consult the Order’s legal experts on this. She planned on throwing the whole situation into the lap of the Conclave, but until then she had to do damage control.

First thing was to contact Will Woodfin. The Comacines and the Priory of Nyx had a strange relationship. The Priory never forcibly recruited members either, and they always turned over underage Comacines to them. They were even known to stage independent raids to rescue kidnapped Comacines. The Priory always sent them a bill afterwards, but it was always modest and the Order paid it gladly. However, the Comacines were also the favorite subjects of some of their most outrageous pranks.

Taking a deep breath and counting to ten before she even dialed the number, Hradani made the call. The phone picked up halfway through the first ring.

“Hello, Will? It's Hradani Tutor calling.”

“Rad! Darling!” She winced, it sounded as if the head of the Priory was already having fun at her expense. “It's been too long. Hear some of your kids have invaded east Tennessee.”

She suppressed a sigh. She hated it when he played the fool. “You haven't just heard, your people were there, threatening my people. I have to wonder if this is another one of your jokes.

Will’s voice became cold. “No, no joke. The Kestersons have ties to the Priory that they are not even aware of.”

Hradani decided to try to play his game. “I see; this does complicate things then doesn't it?”

“I guess you could say so.” He responded pleasantly, as if there wasn’t a threat of a very expensive war looming between their Orders.

“The original mission was to contact the Winchesters and assist them in establishing a Hunt base and help Sam Winchester who may be going rogue. We had no idea the Kestersons were involved going in.” But once they did know, she thought, a request had been put in to all the Lines and Orders for information. The Priory disclaimed any knowledge of Vera Kesterson. Now they were threatening war over her. It was very suspicious.

She could almost hear him grin. “That's all fine and good, but this little mercy mission of yours seems to have turned into a bit of a cluster. If Sam is Vera's student, you really don't want to take him or his brother. It’s also interesting how some of your more anti-magic high ranking members were on that team”

“The high ranking members you were referring to are leaving today.” Hradani was going to have a long talk with Greg Timmons very soon about his attitude. “However that does leave us short some security members, and as you are well aware Jay is a booster.”

“I suspected he was; seems to take after Vera.”

Now the tricky part came along. The Order of the Comacines had a debt they needed to repay to the Kestersons and Winchesters. “We would like to bring him, Vera and the Winchesters to Hawaii for their healing and protection.”

“And the farm?”

She couldn’t believe with everything else happening he was worried about gardens and livestock. “We've claimed the territory, a reserve unit will remain.”

“What is wrong with Vera that she can't protect herself? I have a good idea of what she is capable of. Better than you do, I imagine.”

The situation here was potentially deadly and Will’s voice held a mocking lilt. “She needs healing; she was critically injured during the exorcism last night. It crushed part of her spine and she has extensive internal injuries.”

Hradani tried to keep from fidgeting at Will’s long silence. She wished she could see him, try to gauge his reaction to this. To silence the head of the Priory was almost unheard of. “Ben was accusing her of necromancy and said she may have been the one to summon it.” Dear God, what was the relationship between Will Woodfin and Vera Kesterson? His voice actually seemed tight, like he was having trouble controlling something; grief, anger, or fear? Or maybe it was all of them.

She decided to try for a comforting tone. “Mike did what he could for her Will, but he almost burnt himself out last night on Sam Winchester who was also dying.”

Will’s voice was soft, but cool. “I'm just wondering how she was injured during an exorcism.”

She didn’t even want to go into that part of the situation, so she chose to ignore his comment. “What I'm saying is that we are doing all we can to save her, but we can not be held responsible if she doesn't make it.”

“Let's see. Mike Jensen is there, and there is at least one booster there. I think you can keep her alive just fine.”

“If both healer and booster were at full strength, both are exhausted and nearly drained.”

Will’s voice held a touch of heat. “I'm sure it's not your fault that Jay has been beat to hell?”

She felt herself go stiff at his implications while she wondered at the familiarity with which he used when saying Jay’s name. Could the boy actually be Will Woodfin and Vera Kesterson’s son, who they fostered out with her brother to conceal him? “We are not in the habit of abusing children.”

“Then why has he been injured?” His voice was hard. Will never showed this much true emotion. “Red Dog saw bruises on his neck and wrists. Those are restraint marks. You take care of rogue psychics too often to hurt a kid like that unless it was intentional.”

“As I understand it, Jay has a strange trick of becoming psychically invisible. He evaded capture by the senior members of our team. An inexperienced and underage team member restrained him while Jay resisted.”

There was another chilling silence. “So you allowed an underage member to take care of him? Rad...”

“As I said he was invisible and resisted capture.”

“Why in the hell we're you trying to capture him in the first place? Is he one of yours?”

Hradani drummed her fingers on her desk, wishing again that Jay Kesterson was. “No, he is not one of ours. The team had concerns and wanted to question him.”

“’Concerns'” he snorted. “I heard Ben trotted out some load of crap about Vera being a necromancer and summoning demons. When he tried to give alternate - and innocent - explanations for some of your 'evidence' he was thrown out.”

Another subject she was not going to address directly, she had already been confirmed as a Guardian to her Order’s satisfaction. “I understand Vera is a particular friend of the Priory, you have my word that she will be kept alive to best of my team's abilities. That is all I can promise you.”

Another cold silence, as if he were trying to control some sort of deep emotions. “If she dies, I want Jay handed over to us immediately, and Vera's body to be turned over to us as well for proper burial rites. Sam and Dean Winchester must not be detained and we demand that we be allowed contact with them. That is the only way we won't declare war if she dies.”

Proper burial rites? She wondered at that. Why was he so concerned about disposal of her body? “The Knights have made a prior claim of kinship; Jennifer Greer is a third cousin.”

“I don't care. They will not have him.”

“If were up to me I wouldn't hand him over to them either. The Conclave will decide.”

Will’s voice became mocking again. “Sounds like Vera needs to live or you'll be fighting a war on two fronts. You really managed to step in it, didn't you? In the meantime, I want welfare visits.”

She didn’t want to allow the Priory of Nyx into a territory they had claimed. It would make the Comacines appear weak, but if it would put off a war with the Priory until the next Conclave in December, she would agree to it. “Granted; anything else?”

“Yes.” Another silence, she wondered what his erratic but brilliant mind was coming up with next.

“I want to personally kick Jensen's ass.” Amazing how the man could shift so much; he sounded positively gleeful. Mike and Will had detested each other from the moment they first met.

He knew she wouldn’t agree to let him thrash their medical head. Hradani decided to play along with him. “For what reason?”

“He was on lead until Vera was injured. Mike's name is written all over this cluster.”

“Well if you are looking to lay the blame, then you are welcome to come to England and as you say "kick my ass" since I put him in charge.”

The damned man sighed dramatically. “Very tempting, but I have a road trip to make. Rain check?”

Hradani smiled; at least she knew that the head of the Priory had a weak spot. “I'll see you at the Conclave, sweetheart.”

Will’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Rad we have to be careful; I am a married man, after all.”

She laughed outright; everyone knew how devoted Will was to his wife, even after more than twenty years and five children. “Say hello to Yolanda for me.”

“I'm sure we will be speaking soon. What's Atin's number?”

After she hung up, Hradani wondered about Will’s true motivation. After over two thousand years, no one had ever discovered the Priory of Nyx’s agenda. Some thought they had none, but Hradani didn’t think so. It was just a matter of looking at their patterns. Someone would reason it out eventually.

In the meantime, she wasn’t surprised to hear the next day that Jennifer Greer had died of a copperhead snake bite while ‘hiking’ along a stream close to the Kesterson property.

~*~

When Dean managed to limp up to the second floor he decided the grand staircase was going to be a bitch for the next few days. When he got to his and Sam’s bedroom he spoke quietly to Nora for a moment. Jay was showing signs of maybe waking up soon, but Sam was still out. With a flinch at the thought, he steeled himself and limp-hopped back down the stairs. There were various people of wildly different ethnic backgrounds all over the house. Most of them stopped to greet Dean and introduce themselves, but Dean remained fairly surly with all of them and didn’t bother to remember names. The only one who seemed to take offence was an Asian chick with tie-dyed hair. How she managed to look down her nose at him when she was about a foot shorter than him was a mystery. Dean just ignored the bitch. He had more important things to worry about.

Dean was glad to spot Ben in the front hall. “Hey, Ben,” he called to get his attention. “I want to see Vera.”

Ben worried his lower lip with his teeth. “All right, but it's going to be very upsetting, understand?”

Dean frowned, after all the shit he’d been through, this guy thought seeing somebody injured would upset him. “I know, but I need to see her.”

“Let’s go, she’s down the hall.”

They had put Vera in the bedroom across the hallway from the library. Mike was leaning over a hospital bed and was talking softly to a 12-year-old girl who was wearing designer clothing that was a bit too large for her. Mike was telling the little girl that she couldn’t heal unless she knew basic anatomy. Dean wondered why he was going over all this with a child. At least Mike’s face showed a great deal of concern for Vera’s condition now. The healer looked up as Dean and Ben entered.

Dean got a glance of Vera, and his stomach flipped. She did look bad. He looked at Mike with something approaching respect. They had turned the small bedroom into a state of the art ICU; they were sparing no expense now, no matter what the Comacines may or may not have done last night. “Can I have a minute alone with Vera?”

Mike frowned, his features crumpling slightly and Dean noticed the worry lines on his forehead; too many for a man his age. His expression was reflective though, not hostile. “I suppose so, but we'll be across the hall. Call if you think she needs us.”

As Ben, Mike and the little girl were leaving the snobby Asian chick showed up. Dean was surprised to see her pout at Mike like a spoiled five-year-old. He heard her bitching about the living conditions on the farm and Mike was promising her a trip to Paris in an indulgent voice, sounding like a doting father. Dean shook his head.

He sat in a folding chair next to the bed, looking at Vera’s unnaturally still and swollen body. Dean felt tears threatening for the third time today. He and Sam could communicate to each other a little through touch. Could he maybe talk to her that way? Vera said he was a little psychic. He tried to find a spot on her that didn't have a tube or a bruise or a bandage where he could touch undamaged skin. Dean finally found a clear spot on her upper arm.

"Hey sleeping beauty, I don't know if you can hear me but everything is going to be okay. Jay and Sam are fine thanks to you. Just, get better okay?" Shade chirped at him from beyond her hip, raising her head. Dean had seen her but thought the strange black cat was asleep. Vera’s familiar carefully wove around Vera’s body and the medical equipment to get to Dean. She rubbed against his hand, meowing softly at him. He felt a very slight response from Vera as the fingers on her right hand twitched as if she was trying to hold his hand.

Dean gently touched those fingers. “You did it Vera, the demons are gone. Everyone was saved. Just you get better now. I need you to keep Sam and Jay in line. So get some rest. That's an order.” Vera's fingers twitched again. Dean couldn’t help but smirk. "That's right; I'm still in charge until you get better. So you know what you gotta do." There was no response from her; Dean smiled "That's right, sleep and get better. Talk to you later."

They were all alive. That was enough for right now. Dean would wait for Sam and Jay to wake up and see what condition they were in. Then he’d consult the Art of War; Sun Tzu hadn’t let him down yet.