╭-°—✞——✞—°-╮

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗘𝗡

𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨

╰-°—✞——✞—°-╯

Delaney sat in the Impala outside of the psychiatric ward Sam had gone into to act as doctor in the place to get information on the hunt that Delaney thought they should check out. A woman had killed a man and the article had mentioned the woman, Gloria, had killed the man because God willed her to do it. It was rather odd, but Delaney felt they should check it out in case since they weren't doing anything else.

Dean had been forced to stay back at the motel since there was a warrant out for his arrest now, especially after the debacle in the bank a few days ago. They couldn't risk Dean being arrested, especially with the FBI agent, Victor Hendrickson, being on the Winchester's case now. It was too dangerous and Delaney wasn't exactly sure her or Sam would be able to save Dean from that mess.

"Carl Gully," Sam said as he sat in the driver's seat of the Impala. 

"Come again?" Delaney asked, trying to hide the fact that her brother had just scared her with his sudden appearance.

Sam handed Delaney his already opened laptop and gestured for her to start typing and searching as he started the Impala up. "Find out whatever you can about Carl Gully. He was the victim."

"Did Gloria tell you what happened?" Delaney questioned, beginning to type away at Sam's laptop and hacking into whatever she could find what she can on Carl Gully.

"She said she had an angel come to her to deliver a message from God. That she had to kill this guy because he was guilty of something. Said that a bright, white light appeared to her and that she was chosen for redemption."

Delaney's eyebrow rose as her gaze flickered to her brother. "An angel?"

Sam shrugged and finally parked the Impala in front of their motel room. "Bright white light, ecstasy feeling and it's like she doesn't even care she's in a ward. She's not even mad this happened to her."

Considering Sam had no other argument or details, Delaney merely got out of the Impala and entered the motel room with Sam behind her. Dean was on the bed closest to the bathroom with his earbuds in his ears while music played from his phone and he had put a coin into the machine by the bed that made it vibrate, making it feel like you were being massaged. It was quite odd if Delaney was being honest.

"Dean!" Delaney yelled, hitting Dean's boot covered foot and caused the older man to quickly remove his earbuds. 

"Guys, you gotta try this. I mean, there is magic in the magic fingers."

Sam grimaced as he stared down at his brother, clearly as uncomfortable as Delaney. "You are enjoying that thing way too much and it's honestly making me uncomfortable."

Dean pouted and held his hands out to the side as if asking the two what they expected. "I'm bored out of my skull here! You both got me on lockdown like I've been grounded or something."

Delaney snorted and placed her jacket on the bed along with Sam's laptop. "Hey, Sammy and I weren't the bank robbers on the eleven o'clock news, Dee. You were. We can't risk you just walking into a government facility. I didn't even go in there."

Dean hummed in response and the two younger siblings gave up, Sam taking a seat at the table in the corner of the room while Delaney made her way to the bathroom to wash her face.

The machine connected to the bed made a sound, alerting Dean that his fun with it was over and he groaned. He complained about that being his quarter before the bed squeaked, signaling that he got up and he leant against the doorframe to the bathroom where Delaney washed her face. "Hey, so did you guys get in to see the crazy hooker?"

"Gloria Sitnick," Sam corrected Dean from where he sat at the table that was in view of the bathroom so Dean and Delaney could still see him. "Not so sure she's crazy."

"She seriously believes she was... touched by an angel?"

Delaney nodded as she dried her face with the hand towel hung on the wall of the bathroom. "Sammy said that there was a blinding light, feelings of spiritual ecstasy, the works. I mean, the woman is in a psychiatric ward and she is at total peace as if it were her own home."

"Oh, yeah, you're right - sounds completely sane," Dean remarked. "What about the dude she stabbed?"

"Uh, Carl Gully," Sam informed, his laptop now in front of him as he looked through the information Delaney got on him. "She said she killed him because he was evil."

"Was he?"

Delaney shook her head with a small shrug. "I don't know. I couldn't find any dirt on him on the way here. He didn't have a criminal record, he worked at the campus library, had lots of friends, was a churchgoer."

"Hmm, so Gloria's just your standard-issue wacko," Dean said as Delaney exited the bathroom and took a seat next to Sam at the table while he took the seat on Sam's other side. "I mean, she wouldn't be the first nut job in history to kill in the name of religion, know what I mean?"

"No, but she's the second in town to murder because an angel told her to. Little bit odd, don't you think?"

"Well, little odd yes, supernatural maybe. Angels? I don't think so," Dean denied. "There's no such thing, Della."

Delaney crossed her arms as she sat back in her chair. She glanced to Sam to see if he agreed and he seemed like he was torn between believing in angels and not believing in them. "What, neither one of you? Guys, there are ten times more lore on angels than anything else that we have ever hunted."

"There's just as much lore on unicorns. I hear that they ride on silver moonbeams and they shoot rainbows out of their ass," Dean countered.

Delaney gave Dean a deadpan expression, feigning shock. "Wait, unicorns aren't real? Next thing you're going to tell me is Santa isn't real."

Dean and Sam exchanged a look, both trying to hide their amusement so they wouldn't encourage their sister. "That's cute. I'm just saying, baby girl, there's some legends that you just file under bull crap."

"And you got angels filed under bull crap? Why?"

"I never seen one and neither has Sam," Dean replied.

Sam scratched the back of his neck. "I wouldn't necessarily say it's bull crap or that I don't believe in them, it's just... why haven't we ever seen one before?"

"Your point is... what exactly?"

"That I believe in what I can see," Dean answered.

Delaney scoffed and stared at her brothers incredulously. Were they really trying to deny the existence of angels? Sure none of them had seen one before, but that didn't mean they didn't exist. There was probably a good reason they hadn't seen an angel before. "Wha - boys, you and I have seen things that people wouldn't even dream about."

"Exactly. With our own eyes - that's hard proof, okay? But in all this time, I have never seen anything that looks like an angel. Don't you think if they existed, we would have crossed paths with them or at least know someone that crossed paths with them? No. This is a demon or a spirit. They find people a few fries short of a happy meal, and they trick them into killing these randoms."

Delaney's eyes glanced to Sam who kept quiet, clearly agreeing with his brother that maybe this wasn't an angel's doing. She wanted to argue with them, but it would just fall onto deaf ears, especially with Dean. "Maybe..."

Dean rolled his eyes, knowing fully well his sister didn't agree with him or Sam on the matter. "Can we just - I'm going stir-crazy, guys. Hey, let's go by Gloria's apartment, huh?"

"There's nothing there. No EMF or sulfur. We checked it out before we went to the asylum," Sam informed his brother. "It's clean, Dean."

"Oh, and did you see any white, fluffy wings?"

"No," Sam quickly responded before Delaney could shoot a remark at her brother. "She did say the angel gave her a sign right beside Carl Gully's doorway."

"Could be something at his house worth checking."

-°—✞——✞—°-

The three siblings stepped out of the Impala and stared up at Carl Gully's home. It was a moderate single-family home with steps leading up to the front door, both the house and steps being a dark shade of brown making it look almost black.

"Oh hey, Della. I think I found it," Dean said as he mounted the porch steps, gesturing over his shoulder at a plastic angel that leant against the wall next to the door. "A sign from up above."

"Dean..." Sam sighed, wishing the guy would just leave the poor girl alone about angels.

Dean peered inside the front window of the home, ignoring the deadpan looks from both of his siblings. "I think I learned a valuable lesson. Always take down your Christmas decorations after New Year's, or you might get filleted by a hooker from God."

"I'm laughing on the inside," Delaney remarked and circled Dean so she could walk around the side of the house. She paused at the sight of a wooden door that would lead down to a storm cellar.

"You know, Gloria mentioned something about the guy being guilty to his deepest foundations," Sam noted, glancing to his siblings. "You think she meant his literal foundations?"

Delaney shrugged and opened up the cellar doors, flicking her flashlight on before she descended the cement stairs to the muggy cellar below. It was filled with cobwebs, dust and miscellaneous items strewn about on random shelves. Jars holding unnameable liquids inside of them.

On the wall across from where Delaney stood, was three long scratches along the bottom of the wall near the floor as if someone had clawed at it. She made her way over to it and crouched in front of it, tilting her head as she inspected it. The boys noticed her concentration on it and made their way over while Delaney retrieved a fingernail from the scratch in the wall.

"Great," Dean whispered, noticing the item in his sister's hand. He grabbed two shovels and handed one to Sam. The two boys got to work on digging in the floor which was actually dirt and not cement or wood paneling. That only spiked Delaney's suspicion about this Carl guy.

After a few minutes of digging, Dean and Sam had dug a big enough pit in the floor to reveal a pile of skeletons. It was a pretty unnerving sight because Lord knew how long those skeletons had been there. Talk about having skeletons in your closet - or, in this case, basement floor.

"So much for the innocent churchgoing librarian," Sam commented, leaning against his shovel with a slight scoff.

"Yeah, well, whatever spoke to Gloria about this knew what it was talking about - I'll give you that."

-°—✞——✞—°-

While Dean went back to the motel room to listen to the police radio for anything that sounded like the same situation as Gloria, Delaney and Sam went to the library Carl worked at to get some more information on him. As they were leaving the library, Dean had sent Delaney about three texts begging the two to get the three sandwiches since they hadn't eaten that morning and the he was starving. Dean moaned about his stomach being so full that it might itself soon if he didn't get food. So, of course, the two younger Winchesters had to go out and get food.

Delaney entered the motel room with Sam trailing behind her. Dean was sat on the bed with a police radio in his hand, but it sounded like that the dispatcher was only describing a car crash, so it wasn't their kind of case just yet. 

"Did you guys bring quarters?"

Delaney's eyes trailed over to the magic fingers machine that Dean had glanced at and grimaced at the thought of that damned machine. She threw Dean's sandwich at him with a disgusted noise. "I am not enabling your sick habit, Dee."

"You're like one of those lab rats that pushes the pleasure button instead of the food button until it dies," Sam added, a grimace of his own on his face as he took a seat at the circular table across from the beds.

"What are you talking about? I eat and I got news."

Delaney took a seat next to Sam at the table and unwrapped her sandwich from the foil. "Yeah, so do Sammy and I."

"Alright, you go first then."

"Three students disappeared off the campus this year. All of them were last seen at the library," Delaney informed, taking a bite out of her sandwich.

"The place where Carl Gully worked," Dean recalled and Delaney nodded. "Sick bastard."

"So Gloria's angel - "

Dean snorted, cutting off Delaney's sentence. "Angel?"

Delaney rolled her eyes, fighting the urge to strangle Dean. "Okay, whatever thing is - "

"Whatever it is, it struck again," Dean cut Delaney off again, earning the same confused and interested look from his younger siblings. "I was listening to the police radio before you both got here. There was this guy, Zach Smith, some local drunk. He went up to a stranger's front door last night, stabbed him in the heart."

"Then I'm guessing he went to the police and confessed?" Sam asked.

Dean nodded, looking down at the notepad in his hand that had all the info written down on it. "Yep. Roma Downey made him do it. I do have the victim's address..."

-°—✞——✞—°-

"Find anything?" Sam asked, typing away at the computer in the victim's house.

Delaney and Dean entered the computer room while Dean flipped through the catalog in his hand. "Frank liked his catalog shopping, but that's all Dean and I got. What about you?"

"Not much here," Sam replied, not taking his eyes off the computer screen. "Except he's got this one locked file on his computer that... hold on." He clicked a few more keys on the keyboard before a ding sounded from the computer and his face brightened. "Not anymore!"

Delaney rounded the desk to stand behind Sam along with Dean when he made a sound of surprise. "He's got a bunch of emails to this woman named Jennifer." He clicked on the file and dozens of emails opened up on the computer screen in front of them. "This lady who is thirteen-years-old."

Dean made a face and shook his head. "I don't want to hear this."

Sam skimmed through a few of the emails, a look of disgust crossing his features. "Looks like they met in a chatroom. These emails are pretty personal and they even met up a time and place to meet up."

"Great," Delaney sighed, her head falling onto Sam's shoulder as she groaned. This was some fucked up situation. She wanted to find this Jennifer girl and shake her silly because what she was doing not only dangerous, but also illegal and wrong.

"They were supposed to meet today."

Dean hummed and walked around the desk, running a hand over his mouth as he thought for a moment. "Well, I guess if you're gonna stab someone, good timing. I don't know, guys. This is weird. I mean, sure, some spirits are out for vengeance, but this one's almost like a do-gooder, like a - "

"Avenging angel?" Delaney questioned, cutting Dean off who turned away from her at the suggestion. Sam just rolled his lips into his mouth as his eyes remained on the screen in front of him. "Well, how else do either one of you explain it then? Three guys not connected to each other and all stabbed through the heart? At least two were world class pervs, and I bet you dug deep enough on the other guy - "

"Hey."

Delaney huffed when Dean cut her off once again. She wondered if she'd even be able to finish a thought today. "What, Dean?"

"You said Carl Gully was a churchgoer, right? What was the name of the church?"

Sam furrowed his eyebrows, his eyes finally tearing from the emails to look up at his brother. "Uh... Our Lady of the Angels?"

"Of course that would be the name," Dean replied and flipped around the church flier in his hand that had OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS written across the top. "Looks like Frank went to the same church."

-°—✞——✞—°-

An hour later, the three siblings followed Father Reynolds through the Our Lady of the Angels church. It was a beautiful church that had high ceilings and multiple painted glass windows showing various scenes from Jesus' life and some showing the apostles. 

"So, you three were looking to join the parish?" Father Reynolds, a friendly looking priest, asked the trio.

"We just don't feel right unless we hit church every Sunday," Dean swiftly lied with his typical charming smile.

"Where did you say you lived before?"

"Fremont, Texas," Delaney replied.

Father Reynolds seemed impressed with the lie and smiled softly. "Really? That's a nice town. St. Teresa's parish. You must know the priest there."

Dean fumbled for a second, not expecting this random priest to know of a priest in a completely different state. "Sure... yeah... no, uh, it's Father O'Malley."

If Father Reynolds anything odd or that Dean just lied, he never mentioned it or seemed like he thought that way. "Hmm. I know a Father Shaughnessy."

"Shaughnessy, exactly," Dean chuckled nervously. "What did I say?"

"You know, we're just happy to be here now, Father," Sam quickly cut in before Dean could make the situation worse."

"We are so happy to have you. We could use some young blood around here," Father Reynolds replied.

"Hey, listen, I got to ask - no offense, but the neighborhood..."

Father Reynolds bowed his head, understanding where Dean had been going when he trailed off. "It's gone to seed a little. There's no denying that, but that's why what the church does here is so important. Like I always say, you expect a miracle, but in the meantime, you work your butt off."

"Yeah, we heard about the murders," Delaney stated, rocking back on her heels. "The killers mentioned something about angels making them do it?"

Father Reynolds exhaled heavily, stuffing his hands into his pant pockets. "Yes, misguided souls. To think that God's messenger would appear and incite people to murder - it's tragic."

Dean smirked and shot his sister a look. "So, you don't believe in those angel yarns, huh?"

"Oh, no, I absolutely believe," Father Reynolds corrected and Delaney sent Dean a look of her own back. "It kind of goes with the job description."

Delaney noticed a painting on the wall behind Dean. It being a picture of an angel striking down a man, the angel's hair and drapes floating in the wind behind him. A long spear held tightly in his hand. "Father, that's the archangel Michael isn't it?"

"That's right. The archangel Michael, with the flaming sword - the fighter of demons, holy force against evil."

"So... they're not really the Hallmark card version that everybody thinks?" Delaney inquired, ignoring the odd looks the boys were giving her. "They're fierce, right? Vigilant."

"I like to think of them as more loving than wrathful, but, yes, a lot of scripture paints angels as God's warriors. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, the Glory of the Lord shone down upon them, and they were terrified. Luke 2:9."

Not having much more to ask Father Reynolds, Dean excused the siblings and Father offered to walk them out of the church.

"Well, thank you for speaking to us," Sam thanked the priest politely.

"It's my pleasure. Hope to see you again," Father answered as they stopped in the middle of the stairs leading up to the church.

Dean stopped when he noticed a small collection of tribute items at the bottom of the steps. "Father, what is all that for?"

Father Reynolds followed Dean's line of sight and frowned slightly when he realized what Dean referred to. "Oh, that's for Father Gregory. He was a priest here and passed away right here on these steps. Father Gregory was shot for his car keys. He's interred in the church crypt."

"When did this happen?" Sam asked.

"About two months ago. He was a good friend. I didn't even have time to administer his last rites, but like I said, it's a tough neighborhood. Ever since he died, I've been praying my heart out."

"For what?"

"For deliverance... from the violence and the bloodshed around here. We could use a little divine intervention, I suppose."

Delaney exchanged a look with her brothers, the three seeming to find that bit of information interesting.

"Well, padre, thanks. We'll see you again."

Father Reynolds bid the siblings goodbye and they waited for him to be inside before they went to inspect the tribute which was filled with flower petals and candles.

"Well, it's starting to make sense," Dean commented, looking at the picture of Father Gregory that was leant against one of the candles. "Devoted priest dies a violent death - that's vengeful-spirit material right there. He knew all the stiffs cause they went to church here. Heck, I'm willing to bet because he was their priest, he knew things about them that nobody else knew."

Delaney crossed her arms, rubbing her lips together as she processed all this new information. "I mean, on the other hand, Father Reynolds started praying for God's help about two months ago, right? Right about the time all this started?"

"Oh come on, Della. What's your deal?"

Delaney raised an eyebrow at Dean. "What do you mean?"

"Look, I'll admit, I'm a bit of a skeptic, but since when are you all Ms. 700 Club? Seriously, from the get-go you've been willing to buy this angel crap. What's next? Are you gonna start praying every day?"

"I do."

Sam seemed both shocked and impressed by Delaney's response. "You do?"

"Every day," Delaney explained, lifting a shoulder in a half shrug. "Have for a long time, honestly, especially after Will, finding out about Mom, Dad's death and this whole demon crap."

Dean, on the other hand, was startled by Delaney's admitting to praying every day and Delaney couldn't tell if that was good or bad. "The things you learn about your baby sister. Anyways, let's go check out Father Gregory's grave."

-°—✞——✞—°-

The crypt was a maze of stone hallways with numerous stone angel figurines lining the walls. The three Winchesters wandered through slowly, Dean and Sam a little ahead of Delaney. As Dean and Sam go into another room, Delaney stopped, looking back at one of the angels. She frowned at it when the statue and the entire room began to shake. A brilliant light appeared behind her and she turned, confusion washing away to a look of awe just before she blacked out.

Delaney was suddenly jerked awake when both of her brothers screamed her name, her eyes snapped open to find the both of them hovered over her with equal worried expressions on both of their faces. 

"Delly, you okay?" Sam asked as he helped her sit up.

Delaney's eyes flickered up to the angel statue and furrowed her eyebrows. "Uh... yeah. I'm fine."

"Come on," Dean grunted as he helped Delaney to her feet and lead her into the sanctuary, shutting the door behind him and Sam. "You saw it, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Delaney laughed softly, still not believing she even saw it. "I saw an angel."

"You..." Dean shook his head, feeling her head for any bumps or injuries.

Delaney slapped his hand away as Sam lowered her to the bench behind her as the two boys stood in front of her. "I didn't hit my head, Dean."

"Okay, what makes you think you saw an angel?" Sam asked softly, knowing if the two just jumped down her throat and immediately shot her down, they would get nowhere.

"Just..." Delaney whispered, running a hand through her hair as she tried to find the words to explain what happened. "It appeared before me, and I just - this feeling washed over me, you know? Like - like peace and grace."

Dean seemed to consider her words, but he also had an amused expression on his face. As if he thought Delaney was full of shit. "Okay, Ecstasy Girl, maybe we'll get you some glow sticks and a nice Dr. Seuss hat, huh?"

Delaney leant back on the bench and crossed her arms, glaring up at her eldest brother. "I'm serious, Dean. It spoke to me and it even knew who I was."

Sam frowned because he knew that his sister felt so strongly about this angel thing and part of him wanted to believe his sister. However, the thought of angels being real more scared him than anything else. They could be quite scary even though they were portrayed as these beautiful and peaceful creatures. "It's just a spirit, Delly. It's not the first one to be able to read people's minds."

"Okay, let me guess - you were personally chosen to smite some sinner?" Dean remarked. "You just got to wait for some divine bat signal. Is that it?"

"Yes, actually."

"Great. I don't suppose you asked what this alleged bad guy did."

Delaney smirked up at her brother, challenging him to mock her again. "Actually, I did, Dean, and the angel told me. He hasn't done anything... yet. He will."

Dean chuckled humorlessly as he ran his hands down his face in disbelief. "Oh this is - I don't believe this."

"Dean, the angel hasn't been wrong yet! Someone's gonna do something awful and I can stop it."

"You know, you're supposed to be bad, too, Della. Maybe I should just stop you right now!"

Sam stared at his brother wide eyed, as if he couldn't believe Dean would even begin to say something like that. Especially to Delaney who Sam always claimed was Dean's favorite and most cherished person after their dad. Sure, he loved and cared for Sam, too, but there was always a special bond between the youngest and eldest Winchester. It was a rare sibling bond that Sam and Dean didn't even have. Maybe it was because Delaney was the only girl and was the youngest, but Dean always treated Delaney different than everyone else.

"Dean..."

"You know what, Dean? I don't understand! Why can't you even consider the possibility?" Delaney snapped, face burning red with anger and frustration.

"What, that this is an angel?"

"Yes. Maybe we're hunting an angel here and we should stop," Delaney suggested, no sign of her ever letting this topic down. "Maybe this is God's will."

"Okay, alright," Dean said, pacing back and forth as he tugged his hands through his hair. "You know what? I get it. You've got faith. That's - hey, that's good for you, Della, seriously. I'm sure it makes it easier."

Delaney gave her brother an odd look. What was he going on about this time?

"I'll tell you who else had faith like that - Mom. She used to tell me when she tucked me in at night that angels were watching over us. In fact, that was the last thing she ever said to me."

"You never told me that," Delaney whispered, her eye softening at Dean's tense shoulders and pain filled eyes.

"Me neither..."

Dean shrugged and crossed his arms. "What's to tell? She was wrong. There was nothing protecting her. There's no higher power. There's no God. There's just chaos and violence, and random, unpredictable evil that comes out of nowhere and rips you to shreds. You want me to believe in this stuff, Della? I'm going to need hard proof. You got any?"

The room was silent for a long, tense moment. Obviously, Delaney had no proof God or angels existed. Sure, she had plenty of proof that demons and supernatural creatures did, but none that could pin point to God's or the angels' existences. Lord only knew if she'd ever get that proof.

"Well, I do," Dean said when it was clear Delaney didn't have a rebuttal. "Proof that we're dealing with a spirit."

-°—✞——✞—°-

Dean, Delaney and Sam were crouched before Father Gregory's grave in the crypt. The grave was covered in creeping vines all along the front, most of it covering the engraving on the tombstone.

"That looks like - "

"Wormwood," Dean finished for Sam, eyes trailing all along the tombstone in front of him. "A plant associated with the dead, specifically the ones that are not at rest. I don't see it growing anywhere else, except over the murdered priest's marker. It's him, Della."

"Maybe."

Dean made a noise of annoyance and Sam nudged him to chill out, not wanting his siblings to fight over this. "Maybe? What else could it be?"

"Dean, I don't know what to think!"

Dean scoffed and pushed himself to his feet. "Fine, want some more proof? I'll give you more proof. We'll summon Gregory's spirit."

Delaney balked and quickly stood to her feet, regretting it as her head spun from the speed at which she stood. "Here? In the church?"

"Yeah, we just need a few odds and ends and that seance ritual from Dad's journal," Dean explained.

Delaney blinked and stared at Dean as if he had suddenly sprouted fifty-heads. "A seance, great. I sure hope Whoopi's available."

"That's funny, actually. Seriously," Dean deadpanned. "If Father Gregory's spirit is around, the seance will bring him right to us. If it's him, then we'll put him to rest."

"But if it's an angel, it won't show. Nothing will happen," Delaney argued.

"Exactly. It's one of the perks of the job, Della. We don't have to operate on faith. We can know for sure. Don't you want to know for sure?"

-°—✞——✞—°-

Dean, Delaney and Sam left the small grocery store they stepped into to pick up items for the seance. Delaney held a brown paper bag in her hands as she tried not to laugh at the items Dean had to choose since some of the items had to be swapped out for something.

"Okay, I know we've gone ghetto for some of these seances before, but did we really need to choose the Spongebob cloth to make up for the lack of altar cloth?" Delaney giggled, holding up the Spongebob cloth that was inside the paper bag.

"We will just put it Spongebob side down," Dean defended, waving his hand dismissively.

Delaney laughed, but froze a moment later when she noticed a man stood across the street with a bright white glow behind him. "That's him!" She whisper-yelled to her brothers, grabbing onto Sam's sleeve to stop him from walking. "That's the sign."

"Where, Delly?" Sam asked, trying to see whatever Delaney was because the young girl seemed pretty adamant about whatever she noticed.

"Right behind that guy," Delaney responded, gesturing to the guy frantically. How did the boys not see the bright white light? It was pretty much blinding her with how bright it was. The light being almost as bright as the sun. "That's him, guys! We have to stop him."

The man crossed the street a moment later as the street light changed and it was his turn to cross the street while the cars waited for the light to switch from red to green. 

Delaney stepped forward to go after the man, but was pulled back by both of her brothers. "What are you guys doing? Let me go."

"You're gonna kill somebody because a ghost told you to," Dean said, not loosening his grip on his sister's leather jacket sleeve. "Are you insane?"

"Dean, I'm not insane. I'm not gonna kill him. I'm gonna stop him."

"Define stop, huh? I mean, what exactly are you gonna do?" Dean countered, raising an eyebrow as he waited for an answer.

Delaney stared up at Dean with big, green eyes and looked like the four year old girl that could get Dean to leap off a bridge if she asked. "Dee, please, come on. He's gonna hurt someone. I just know it. You know it. Please, please, please."

Dean and Sam had a silent conversation over Delaney's head before they both reluctantly nodded and let go of Delaney's jacket and got into the Impala just as the man had gotten into a car and drove off. However, when Delaney went to get in the Impala, the doors had been locked.

"Guys, what the hell! Unlock my door."

"You're not gonna kill anyone, Delly. Do the seance while we take care of the guy," Sam instructed and Dean pulled away before Delaney could argue further. 

-°—✞——✞—°-

Kneeling before Gregory's grave, Delaney placed the spell materials down and spread them out: a circle of small white candles, a large black candle in the middle, the placemat - Spongebob side down, of course - and Johns' journal. She lit the candles, picked up John's journal, and began to read the words in Latin written inside. Delaney sprinkled some herbs on the black candle in the middle and it flared once, brightly.

"What are you doing? What is this?"

Delaney jumped at the sudden voice and jumped to her feet, turning around to see Father Reynolds stood in the crypt. "Uh, Father, please I can explain. Uh... actually, maybe I can't. Um..." She walked over to the priest and decided to just come out with it. "This is a... a seance."

"A seance?" Father Reynolds asked, sounding anything but happy. "Young lady, you are in a house of God."

"It's based on early Christian rites, if that helps any," Delaney lamely replied.

Father Reynolds grabbed onto Delaney's jacket and tugged her towards the exit. "Enough. You're coming with me."

"Father, please, just wait a second."

A bright, white light stopped the two in their steps and they turned, Delaney looked disappointed because Dean had been right and Father Reynolds looked in awe at the light, thinking it was an angel.

"It's not an angel. It's just Father Gregory," Delaney sighed, not sure if she was more disappointed it wasn't an angel or that she'd have to hear Dean tell her that he was right over and over for the next six months.

The bright, white light shimmered away to reveal a young and handsome priest.

"Thomas?!" Father Reynolds gasped, staring at his late friend in awe.

"I've come in answer to your prayers," Thomas informed, smiling at the two in front of him.

Delaney and Father Reynolds took small, timid steps towards Thomas. Neither one knowing how to react the sight in front of them.

"Delaney... I thought I sent you on your path. You should hurry."

"Father, I'm sorry, but you're not an angel," Delaney whispered. "You're just a man - a spirit -  and you need to rest now."

"Of course I am," Thomas countered. "I was a man, but now I'm an angel. I was on the steps of the church and I felt that bullet pierce right through me. However, there was no pain and suddenly I could see... everything. Father Reynolds, I saw you... praying and crying here. I came to help you."

"Help me how?"

Father Reynolds stepped closer to his late friend, a look of shock on his face. "Those murders - they were because of you?"

"I received the word of God. He spoke to me, told me to smite the wicked. I'm carrying out his will."

"You're driving innocent people to kill."

Thomas shook his head, not believing for a moment that he was doing anything but what God wanted. "Those innocent people are being offered redemption. Some people need redemption. Don't they, Delaney?"

Delaney winced at the mention of her situation with the yellow-eyed demon. She hated that these spirits and demons seemed to know what was going on with her when she barely even knew herself. Just that she was some supposed warrior in this demon war, something she didn't even want to be apart of, mind you.

"How can you call this redemption?" Father Reynolds demanded.

Thomas glanced back to Father Reynolds and a smile reappeared on his face. "You can't understand it now, but the rules of Man and the rules of God are two very different things."

"Those people - they're locked up," Delaney reminded Thomas. That wasn't redemption. No, that was punishment.

"No, they're happy," Thomas argued quietly, his voice staying no louder than a whisper the entire time they've spoken. "They've found peace, beaten their demons. I've given them the keys to Heaven."

"No, no. This is vengeance," Father Reynolds corrected. "It's wrong. Thomas, this goes against everything you believed. You're lost, misguided."

"Father... no, I'm not misguided."

"You are not an angel, Thomas," Father Reynolds stressed. "Men cannot be angels."

"But... I - I don't understand. You prayed for me to come."

Delaney felt her heart ache for Thomas. This man, who truly thought he was an angel and fulfilling God's word by having innocent people kill another just because they were horrible. Father Reynolds was right, God - whether he were actually real or not - would never ask someone to kill another. Men were not allowed to do that and Thomas was not an angel. He was just a spirit.

"I prayed for God's help. Not this. What you're doing is not God's will. Thou shalt not kill. That's the word of God." 

Thomas' eyes bounced between the two in front of him and glanced behind him to the headstone that had his name and death written across it. He slowly turned back to face Delaney and Father Reynolds with a look of pure sadness and pain. 

"Please, let us help you," Delaney begged, stepping forward so she stood next to Father Reynolds. 

"No!"

"It's time to rest, Thomas, to be at peace," Father Reynolds ordered. "Please, let me give you last rites."

Thomas nodded in resignation and Father Reynolds lifted his hands in prayer. "O Holy Hosts above, I call upon thee as a servant of Christ to sanctify our actions this day, in fulfillment of the will of God."

Thomas flickered like a distorted image and looked frantically to Father Reynolds. "Father Reynolds?"

Father Reynolds raised a shaky hand, tears pooling in his eyes. "Rest." He walked over to Thomas who was now knelt on the ground and placed a hand on his forehead. "I call upon the archangel Raphael, master of the air, to make open the way. Let the fire of the Holy Spirit now descend, that this being might be awakened to the world beyond."

Thomas glowed brightly, then vanished from sight, leaving behind an awed priest and a saddened Delaney.

-°—✞——✞—°-

Delaney sat on her and Dean's bed while she packed up her duffle, knowing that her and the boys would probably leave that night now that everything was said and done. The boys still hadn't come back to the motel room yet, but that was fine with her because it allowed her to mope in silence for a bit longer.

The door opened and Sam and Dean walked in, both looking just as bad as she did. 

"How was your  day?" Dean asked, shutting the door behind him.

Delaney pouted, fiddling with the red flannel in her hand as Dean sat on the other side of the bed and Sam sat on the bed next to theirs. "You were right, Dean, okay? It wasn't an angel. It was Father Gregory. I don't know, guys, I just... I wanted to believe... so badly. It's so damn hard to do this - what we do - all alone, you know? There's so much evil out in the world, boys, I feel like I could drown in it. Then when I think about my destiny, when I think about how I could end up..."

Dean scooted over on the bed and wrapped an arm around his sister, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. "Don't worry about that, alright? Sammy and I are gonna look out for you. No matter what."

"We'll never let something horrible happen to you, Delly," Sam added, walking around to Delaney's other side and sitting down next to her. "We're your big brothers. They'll have to come through us first."

Delaney smiled softly as a small laugh escaped. "Yeah, I know, but you're just two people. I needed to think that there was something else watching, too, you know? Some... higher power, some greater good. That maybe..."

"Maybe what?" Dean prodded when Delaney trailed off.

"Maybe I could be saved," Delaney finished and laughed, shaking her head as if what she said was stupid. "But, uh, that just clouded my judgement and you were right. I mean, we got to go with what we know, with what's right there in front of our own two eyes."

"Well, it's funny you say that," Dean rasped, his hold on Delaney tightening slightly. 

Delaney sat up straight and furrowed her eyebrows, glancing between her two brothers. "What?"

"Gregory's spirit gave you some pretty good information," Sam informed, smiling sadly. "That guy in the car was bad news. We barely got there in time."

"What happened?"

"He's dead," Dean replied shortly.

Delaney was stunned into silence for a moment. "Um.. did you guys..."

"No, it wasn't us, but I'll tell you one thing," Dean answered, chewing on the inside of his lower lip. "The way he died, if I hadn't have seen it with my own two eyes, I never would have believed it myself. I mean... I don't know what to call it."

"What? What did you guys see?"

"Maybe... God's will."

AUTHORS NOTE

Hi hey hello

We are officially up to the boiling point of the story with just NINE CHAPTERS LEFT OF BOOK 2! I cannot believe we have already began to the climb to the rollercoaster drop of the book. Delaney's world is just gonna get wilder and more complicated because why would Delaney ever catch a break am i right?