Marked (Supernatural) [Rogue Trilogy] {2}

41. Battle of the "Heroes"

Dean hits the weak points on me, my injuries. Even as a demon, there's only so much pain I can tolerate. I cry out, refusing to give up the blade.

"You know, I'll bet he's telling the truth," Dean grunts as we circle each other. I make sure to keep away from the bodies. "You did kill her."

I roll my neck. "Believe whatever the fuck you want, Dean. I don't care."

"Oh, you're gonna care when I gank you." He charges, knocking me onto my back by tackling me at my waist. Using the angel blade, I swipe to keep him away from me. When he knocks the blade out of my hand and out of my reach, that's when I start to get worried. The change in my brother...I'm looking at the Mark of Cain more than Dean Winchester.

Dean holds my blade above my head. I pant, blood gurgling in my mouth.

"Do it," I hiss, cackling. "The world knows you want to." Dean hesitates above me. I scream louder. "Go on, do it!" I look my brother dead in his soulless eyes. "End me, Dean. If you don't want the cure, and if you never get it, you won't care anyway. Sam and Cas, this might be the thing that breaks them away from you. The Mark will be your only friend."

"You always got in the way," he murmurs. "Always rebelled. No wonder Dad hated you."

"You think bringing up daddy issues is gonna hurt my feelings?" I mock pout. "I've lost a lot of emotion with the transition. Can't say it's a bad thing, it shields me from low blows like this. What would Mom and Dad think, huh, if they saw this? Their children fighting?"

"They wouldn't see you as their daughter. You'd be just another monster. To them, their daughter would be dead."

"I guess she has been since she escaped Hell." So weird to refer to myself in the third person.

"You said you could handle it. We were stupid to think you could. Stupid to think that we could go along with it. And you know what? Sam doesn't trust you either."

"How can you speak for him?"

"I can see it. He knows you killed her too. He was smart in holding his reserves about you when you came back. And Cas...well, Cas hasn't trusted you since you crawled out of Hell. Instead of doing good, you've driven us away."

"You don't know that!" My voice warbles. "And, really? You want to talk about driving people away?"

"We tried this, and it didn't work."

"I guess not." I grunt. "Not the first time a Winchester has done something stupid."

"Yours takes the cake. You're not Josette Winchester; you're a creature of the night that people like me hunt for a living."

"Then cut the monologue and gank me already, asshole!" I hiss. "It's not nice to play with your food!"

Dean snorts. "Give in to a demon's demand? Good news for you, sis, I'm in a merciful mood." He clambers off me. "Get up!" Wiping the blood off my mouth, I rise. "I'm giving you an once-in-a-lifetime get-out-of-jail-free pass. You walk out that door, you don't come back. The next time I see you, you're going back to Hell and staying in that hole you came out of."

I smirk, chuckling. "Okay, then. I guess the next time I see you, I'll make sure to end you."

"Sweetheart, you kill me, I come back with my own pair of black eyes."

"Then we'll really have a good title match." Feeling stiff and defeated, I slink around Dean, feeling my truck keys in my pocket.

I stumble up the stairs and out into the cool night. I climb into my truck, beating my palms against the steering wheel. I left my angel blade in Dean's hands! Oh well. Looks like you're disappearing, Jo.

A reluctant thought comes to mind, and it makes me grimace. I pull out my phone and dial a number.

"Well, well," croons the velvet tone, "so soon?"

"Shut up," I bark. "Where are you?"

"Decided to believe me, did you?"

"Where are you?"

"All right, all right, calm down. Where are you?"

"That's private."

"Like asking me for my address isn't violating my privacy?"

"I need a place to lie low and lick my wounds."

"I'm not a hospital."

"Just tell me where you are."

"I tell you what. I'll text you the address and we'll go from there."

I sniff. "Fair enough."

"See you when you get here."

I end the call, setting my phone momentarily down on my thigh. I look at the Impala, how it's a symbol of the enemy now. Dean Winchester, my older brother, doesn't trust me. Wants me dead.

Well, the feeling is mutual. It's just not the time to have the title fight.

If Dean's right about Sam and Cas—even though I don't want to believe it—then they're dead to me too.

My phone pings, and I put the address into the GPS. I rev my truck and tear down the road. I swear I might've seen Cas's car pass by me, but for all I know I'm seeing things.

I don't look back.

**I just love the title of this one, because really, while our Winchesters may be heroes, they sure as hell aren't right now. And the song that's in this chapter kind of helped that. I just pictured this epic battle with that music.

And this was a long time coming, you guys, for Jo to duke it out with Dean like this. From the moment I saw it in my head, I wanted it to happen. And it has, in all its horrible glory.

If y'all got scared for Jo's life, that Dean would've killed her, I'm not sorry for giving you heart attacks. 

Anyway, there's one chapter left, and then the author's note.**