𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑

𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞.

/ 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 /
XXIII. the signs

—

                    THE NEXT CASE TOOK THE WINCHESTER siblings to Colorado, where a friend of their father was brutally murdered. There, John reunited with his children to assist them in their vampire case, mainly due to them stealing the weapon that could be used to assassinate the demon. Once the colt was finally in his possession, he agreed that the four of them together were stronger as a family. Now having the colt in their hands as well as Sybil's mist, they had a better chance at beating the demon that caused the misery and pain in their lives.

They remained in Colorado, going over everything that their father had learned while tracking the demon. He explained how last year was the first time he had picked up its trail, which was around the same time their father had gone missing. Dean walked up to the table his father sat at and examined the papers that were laid everywhere.

"All right, so what's this trail you found," Dean asked.

"It starts in New Jersey, Arizona, California, Washington," John listed as he looked at Sam and Dean, "houses burned to the ground. It's going after families, just like it went after us."

"Families with infants," Sam questioned, chiming into the discussion.

John nodded. "Yeah, the night of the kid's six month birthday."

Dean crossed his arms over his chest. "Didn't you find Sybil at Washington?"

"Yeah," John nodded, smiling at his daughter. "It was weird because in the middle of the house fires in Washington was Sybil's orphanage. If I didn't check it out, it probably would've gotten Sybil."

Sybil shivered at the thought of being taken by a demon. She could never imagine herself doing terrible things just for the benefit of an evil being. The little girl looked at her father, slightly tilting her head in a questioning manner. "You said last time that the way he wants to use my powers could kill me. What does he want to use?"

John looked like his daughter with a sad smile. "He's aware that you have control of most things supernatural. Like your mother, you have control over the dead. He wants to use that to his advantage."

"How would that kill her," Sam asked.

"Well, while summoning the dead, he's going to disguise them using the mist that Hecate is well known for. Sybil can summon all the dead monsters that were damned to purgatory. Doing that alone will cause her enough damage," John said, explaining the demon's intentions. "Using the mist on top of that could end her life."

Sybil shook her head in disbelief. "I can't summon the dead."

"But you can control them," Sam stated, finally connecting the dots. "When Dean had heart problems, and we went to this spiritual healer, we figured out that his wife was actually using a reaper to do the deed for them. The reaper waited for Sybil to give him an order, and she was speaking Greek fluently."

John's eyes widened. "You've let the Mist taken control?"

Sybil shrugged. "I dunno."

"What color was the mist around her," John asked, turning towards Sam and Dean.

Dean furrowed his brow as he recalled the memory. "I think it was black."

"We need to keep you as far away as possible," John stated, standing up. "The demon probably knows that you're one stage away from being able to do what it wants."

—

                    THE WINCHESTERS BEGAN THEIR JOURNEY TOWARDS Salvation, Iowa. After their father explained that there are signs before the demon hits a house, they found that Salvation already had those signs occurring. Sam and Dean followed John's truck down the road while Sybil practiced her spells. She had become nervous after learning the fact that the demon was also after her, so she was executing the spells incorrectly.

Sybil muttered a spell, trying to emit light from her fingertip like a flashlight. Still, she said it incorrectly, causing a small lighting bolt to strike against the radio. Sybil instantly hid behind the spellbook as her two brothers turned towards her.

"Billie, what the hell was that," Dean yelled.

Sybil flinched as Dean raised his voice. "Sorry! This whole thing is making me nervous."

Dean's facial expression softened as he looked at the seven-year-old through the rearview mirror. "Don't worry, shortcake. This son of a bitch isn't going to get you. I promise."

Sybil just nodded as she buried her face into the spellbook, attempting to escape reality. After crossing the county line into Salvation, John pulled onto the side of the road, getting out the truck. Sam and Dean followed suit as Sybil stuck her head out of the window, listening in to the conversation.

"Damn it."

"What is it," Dean asked, throwing his hands up slightly.

John hit the side of the truck with his palm. "Son of a bitch!"

"What is it?"

John exhaled sharply, attempting to calm down from his rage. "I just got a call from Caleb."

"Is he okay," Dean questioned.

"He's fine," John confirmed, sadness evident on his face. "Jim Murphy's dead."

Sam's faced dropped at the news. "Pastor Jim? How?"

John, then, explained the circumstances in which Pastor Jim died. He also announced that sulfur was found where he was found dead, instantly connecting it to the demon that had killed both Mary and Jessica. John instructed his kids to split up and go to one of the two hospitals in Salvation, retrieving records of every infant that was turning six-months within the next week.

"Dad, that could be dozen of kids," Sam pointed out. "How the hell are we gonna know which one's the right one?"

"We check them all," John answered. "That's how. We can't just wait for Sybil to have the ability to know which kid is next. Unless you got any better ideas?"

Sam looked at his brother slightly before back at his dad. "No, sir."

They all made their way back to their own cars, but they were suddenly interrupted by John's declaration, causing his kids to face him. "This ends now. I'm ending it. I don't care what it takes."

With that, they pulled back into the road and drove towards the hospital. During their drive, Sybil looked through her spellbook to see if there was a spell that could help make their baby picking process any quicker. Because her brothers were focused on the road, they didn't realize their sister's white, misty eyes and the blood slowly trickling out her nose. She was going to improve on her magic, and she was going to do whatever it takes to quicken its pace.

—

A/n: I just wanted to say a quick thank you for those who read this book. I really appreciate you all for taking the time to read this! I promise that shit's gonna go down soon. Still, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the story so far :) I also finished writing this at 2 AM and haven't read it over, so please bear with the misspellings.