Circle of Life (Book Three / The Life Series / Supernatural)

Sex and Violence

Sam had called to tell me that he and Dean were hunting a monster that could literally put men under their control and make them kill their loved ones. They had all been at the same strip club. The girls that each men talked to could all have been the same girl, or rather, monster that could make themselves look like different girls.

A siren.

At home, Dad sat at his desk, surrounded by books.

I sat across from him, calling Dean on speaker.

"Hey, Ness."

"Dean, you're on speaker," I told him. "You find her yet?"

"Uh, no. And, uh, it doesn't seem like she's slowing down any. You got anything?"

"Well, some lore from a dusty Greek poem," Dad answered. "Shockingly, it's a little vague."

"Hold on a sec, I'll put you guys on speaker," Dean told us, doing as he said he would do.

"It says you need 'a bronze dagger, covered in the blood of a sailor, under the spell of a song'," Dad explained.

"What the hell does that mean?" Sam asked.

"You got me," I told them. "We're dealing with 3,000 years of the telephone game here."

"Best guess?" Sam asked.

"Well, the siren's spell ain't got nothing to do with any song," Dad told us. "It's most likely some kind of toxin or venom. Something she gets in the vic's blood."

"And makes them go all Manchurian Candidate," Sam told us. "Uh, what do you think, she infects the men during sex?"

"Maybe," I told them.

"Supernatural STD," Dean told us.

"Well, however it happens, once it's done, the siren's gotta watch her back," I told them. "She gets a dose of her own medicine..."

"It kills her," Sam finished.

"Like a snake getting iced by its own venom," I told them.

"So we just gotta find a way to juice one of the OJs in jail?" Dean asked.

"Not that easy," I told them. "None of those guys are under the spell anymore. Haven't got a clue where you're going to get the blood you need."

"I think I might have an idea," Sam told us.

"Be careful," Dad told them. "These things are tricky bitches. Wrap you up in knots before you know what hit you."

I hung up my phone, looking at Dad. "So..."

"So, you better help me research and find a way to help those boys," Dad told me.

"I was gonna go to TJz," I told him.

"I thought you had the day off," Dad told me.

"Oh, I do," I told him. "I just didn't feel like doing research." Dad gave me a look. I sighed, picking up a book. "Where do we start?"

~~~

About a few hours in, one of the phones on the wall for whenever a hunter was going undercover as a Fed Marshall, CIA, etc. and needed "confirmation" from a supervisor so their cover wasn't blown started to ring.

Dad stood, walking toward the phones, answering the one for the FBI. "DC Bureau. Well, that would be me. What can I do for you? Are you questioning my authority? You could've fooled me. Last time I checked son, DC has jurisdiction. Or am I wrong? Well, good. Well, the next time you wanna waste my time with stupid questions, don't." He hung up. "Oh, those idiots."

I chuckled, shaking my head.

~~~

Dad walked into the library, hanging up in exasperation. "Those idjits."

I looked up. "What?"

"They're not answering their phones, that's what," Dad answered. "The Agent that called earlier, Nick Monroe, he's not really a Fed. The players are getting played."

"So, you think this Nick guy's the siren?" I asked.

"Yeah," Dad answered.

"Well, that's good," I told him.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Dad asked.

I stood. "It means I know that Sam and Dean are under its spell, so all I need is their blood and a bronze dagger." I grabbed my jacket, pulling it on. "And now I know who to kill. See you when I get back."

I took my keys, walking out of the house.

~~~

I parked in the motel parking lot where Sam and Dean were staying, opening my trunk, pulling up the false bottom long enough to grab a bronze dagger from the arsenal, closing the trunk, walking inside, hearing a fight and something like wood and glass breaking, running to the hallway where it was coming from.

Sam was lying on the floor.

Dean stood over him with an ax. "Tell me again how weak I am, Sam, huh? How I hold you back?"

Dean swung the ax over his head.

Sam covered his face with his arm.

At the top of the swing, I caught the top of the ax, jabbing Dean in the shoulder with the bronze knife, making him cry out.

Nick/Siren started to run away.

I raised the knife.

"No," Sam told me.

"No!" Dean told me.

I threw the knife toward Nick/Siren, hitting him square in the heart through his back, killing him.

Nick/Siren caught himself against the wall, his reflection shown in a mirror, falling to the floor, dead.

Sam and Dean breathed heavily as the spell wore off, realizing what happened.

I sighed heavily.

~~~

The next day, Sam, Dean and I were parked at the side of the road.

I was leaning against my car.

Sam and Dean were leaning against theirs.

I handed them beers.

"Thanks," Sam told me.

"Yeah, thank you, Ness," Dean told me. "You know, if you hadn't shown up when you did..."

"Done the same for me, more than once," I told them. "'Course, you could've picked up the phone. Only took one call to figure out that Agent Nick Monroe wasn't real." There was an awkward silence. "You boys gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, fine," Sam answered.

Dean nodded. "Yeah, good."

I nodded, walking toward the driver's seat of my car. "See you." I stopped, turning to face them. "You know, those sirens are nasty things. That it got to you, that's no reason to feel bad."

Sam raised his beer to me.

Dean winked at me, smirking.

I smiled, getting into my car, driving away.