Child of Heaven (Supernatural)

Don't Fear the Reaper

Reapers-- Death's henchmen--control life and death...

"You really think it's the Grim Reaper? Like angel of death, collect your soul, the whole deal?" Sam looked over to the door when Lani walked in and held out a worn leather bound journal that looked like it had been through the apocalypse. 

"No, not THE reaper." Lani said. Sam reluctantly accepted the book and flipped through it till her came to a rather lengthy section about reapers, all handwritten and illustrated.
"A reaper. Even the horseman himself can't be everywhere at once, he only retrieves important ones himself and has reapers do the rest." Dean looked impressed. Sam on the other hand remained skeptical, his face contorting into confusion. 

"Like she said, Sam. There's reaper law in pretty much every culture on earth, it goes by 100 different names, it's possible that there's more than one of them."

"Where did you get this Lani? It's ancient and I can't even read some of the languages." Lani snatched it back and sighed. 

"Been in the family for years. Stay on target, Reapers." Sam shook his head and faced Dean once more. 

"Dean, you said you saw a dude in a suit? I thought the grim reaper-- reapers, would be, you know..." 

"What, you think he shoulda been working the whole black robe thing?...You said it yourself that the clock stopped right? Reapers stop time. And you can only see 'em when they're coming at you which is why I could see it and you couldn't." Lani nodded in agreement with what the eldest Winchester had said, confirming their theories so far.

"Years ago they might have been in black robes, but even they are bound with time, they have to adapt to the correct time period." Sam crossed his arms on the table and furrowed his brows in concentration. 

"Maybe." Dean looked back and forth between Lani and Sam, snatching Lani's journal and flipping through it as Sam had done, ignoring her protests. 

 "There's nothing else it could be Sam." He said while wondering at a highly detailed sketch of the supposed horseman, Death. 
"The question is how is Roy controlling the damn thing?" Lani once again snatched the book back and shoved it in her backpack so it wouldn't be stolen again. 

"From my own research it seems that reapers can be tied to objects used in black magic--"

"That cross." Sam muttered, half to himself, half to the other two hunters. 

"What?" Sam looked up from his thought and explained how while at Roy's he spotted an odd cross that had caught his attention. The younger Winchester knew he had seen it somewhere. He dug through his bags and papers until pulling out small card. 

"Here." Lani scraped her chair out and rose so she could peer over Dean's shoulder. He held the card out and raised an eyebrow after examining it carefully. 

"A Tarot?" Lani shrugged. 

"That might do the trick, and it makes sense."

"Exactly. tarot dates back to the early christian era right, when some priests were still using magic? And a few of them veered into the dark stuff? Necromancy and how to push death away, how to cause it?"

"Twas a dark time..." Lani mumbled, standing and heading to the beds where her bag lay half open, weapons and books sprawled everywhere. 

"So Roy's using black magic to bind the reaper?" Dean continued. He too rose and wandered to the kitchen. Lani glanced up and back down at her phone. It buzzed in the palm of her hand indicating a text. 

"Seems that way. If it's him in the first place. He might not even know whats happening." The brunette straightened and walked toward the door. 
"Excuse me for a moment." Dean flashed her a quick smile and Sam nodded, going back to his papers as soon as she was out the door.