(1) The Devil's Hybrid (D. Winchester)

Chapter Twenty Five

Dean is lying on a bed, holding an ice pack to his head. Sam opens the door and comes in.

"How you doing?"

"I'm in pain, that's how I'm doing. I think I have a concussion" Dean answers.

"You want some aspirin?" Sam asks, Dean sits up.

"No thanks, House. So, demons, huh?"

"Yeah. So much for miracles"

"And what the hell happened with Alastair again?"

"I told you, he tried to fling me or whatever" Sam flicks his hand in demonstration, going over to the coffeemaker. "And it didn't work, so he bailed"

"Well, how come he couldn't fling you? He chucked you pretty good last time" Dean points out. Sam turns to face Dean and pauses before answering.

"Got no idea" Sam turns back to the coffeemaker, then back to Dean when Dean starts speaking.

"Sam, do me a favor. If you're gonna keep your little secrets, I can't really stop you, but just don't treat me like an idiot, okay?"

"What? Dean, I'm not keeping secrets"

"Mm-hm. Whatever. So, did you go back and q-and-a the dead kid?" Sam comes over to the other bed, holding up a thin notebook.

"Didn't have to. Erika called. She did some digging"

"And?"

"She thinks I'm right. Local reaper's gone. Not just gone—kidnapped"

"By demons? Why?" Dean asks.

"Listen to this" Sam reads from the notebook. "And he bloodied death under the newborn sky—sweet to taste, but bitter when once devoured"

"Swanky. What the hell's that mean?"

"Well, Erika says it's from a very obscure, very arcane version of Revelations" Sam answers.

"Which means what I think it means?"

"Basically, you kill a reaper under the solstice moon—tomorrow night, by the way—you got yourself a broken seal"

"How do you ice a reaper? You can't kill death"

"I don't know. Maybe demons can. Where the hell are the angels is what I want to know. We could use their help for once"

"It looks like we're gonna have to take care of this one ourselves"

"What are we gonna do, just swing in and save the friendly neighborhood reaper?" Sam asks.

"You got a better idea, I'm all ears"

"Dean, reapers are invisible. The only people that can see them are the dead and the dying"

"Well, if ghosts are the only ones that can see them..."

"Yeah?"

"Then we become ghosts" Dean puts the icepack back to his head, smirking.

"You do have a concussion"

"Sounds crazy, I know"

"It is crazy" Dean smirks more. "How?" Sam asks.

......................

Sam opens the door. On the other side is Pamela and Erika, they enter.

"I can't even begin to tell you how bloody crazy you two are," Erika tells them as Pamela feels the counter, then the chair.

"Well, Pamela, you're a sight for sore eyes," Sam tells her. Sam closes the door. Pamela turns around, lowering her sunglasses far enough to reveal white plastic eyes.