Chapter Twenty-Five
After checking that everyone was okay in the basement and making sure that I had what I needed, I made my way onto the front porch where Sam and Dean where leaning against the railing. Dean saw me first and walked over, putting his hand on my shoulder, "Good luck, Scar. You can do this."
I gave him a grateful smile, "Thanks, Dean." He nodded and made his way back into the house. I turned my attention to Sam, who was staring out at the dark trees. With a sigh, I stood next to him, putting my hands on the railing next to his. He didn't look at me, he only put his hand over mine. We stood in silence for a few minutes, just cherishing each other's presence.
As I was about to pull my hand away, Sam looked down at me, "If anyone can do this, it's you." I gripped his warm hand in mine tightly before wrapping my arms around him and pressing my ear to his chest. I heard the steady beat of his heart and I smiled. I pulled away and with one final smile, I was off. I passed through the protective barrier surrounding the house, without so much as a single glance back. Once I was alone in the dark wood, I took in a large breath, trying to catch an odd scent. The air around me was clean, so I decided to walk slowly until I could either pick up a scent or think of a place where Erebus would want to meet me. He had to know that I was coming for him. He had been taunting me by staying on the outskirts of the house, never attacking or trying to take anyone. He wanted to finish what I started all those years ago, he wanted to kill me as much as I wanted to kill him. I'm becoming too powerful and he knows that soon he won't be able to beat me. The only problem was that this was my turf. He would never want to start a fight with me in a place that he didn't know. He couldn't have gone far though. He knows I won't go too far looking for him. He must have been scoping out a place for the last few days, maybe even weeks. He wanted the upper hand. The place that he had kept Maggie and the other girls was not the same place that he had kept me after he killed me, so he must have cellars all over the place. It was unlikely that he wanted to lure me to one of his cellars, though. He couldn't risk losing everything he had and I doubt that he wanted to have this fight underground, so where was he? Maybe I should head towards the cellar where I found Maggie. I turned around and started in that direction, hoping that was the right choice.
I had moved slowly to the cellar, making sure to listen to every sound and check the air for his scent every so often. So far nothing of interest had happened and I wondered if I had made the wrong decision. A breeze blew past and I thought I heard a whisper. Squinting, I looked around me, not being able to see anything except for the trees and the occasional animal. I went to continue on my way when another breeze blew, only this time I could clearly hear the whisper. Scarlett. I recognized the voice and whipped my head in the direction that the breeze had come from. I heard my name again and that was all it took for me to take off in that direction. I ran for a few minutes before I caught on to his scent. My heart filled with rage and I pushed myself faster. His chuckling was bouncing off the trees and that's when I stopped dead. This is exactly what he wanted. He wanted me to run in there with my emotions all over the place, it would make me sloppy. I had to calm myself down before I faced him. I had to find my center otherwise he would kill me. I stood completely still and closed my eyes, ignoring the laughing and the whispers. I could not let him get to me. Once I had drowned out the sounds, I opened my eyes and squared my shoulders. Standing up straight, I slowly walked towards a large clearing that I could see between the trees. As I stepped into the clearing, I saw Erebus. He was smirking as he watched me.
"Scarlett." I stared at him as we began to circle each other. "I knew you couldn't resist me."
My lips curled, "Yeah, when it comes to ripping your heart out, I just can't help myself."
Erebus clicked tongue, "So hostile. I only want to take you home, so you can stand by my side where you belong."
"Don't you mean kneel?"
He shrugged his shoulders, "Does it really matter? I want you by my side, that's the important part."
Shaking my head, I stopped moving, "It matters and you know why." I faced him completely, squaring my shoulders and setting my jaw. I was done talking with him. The only thing I wanted right now was to see his lifeless body on the ground. I pulled a wooden stake from an inside pocket of my jacket.
Erebus laughed, "Is that all you brought with you, Scarlett?" He sighed, "I'm disappointed."
I gripped the stake tightly in my hand, "It's all I need." I moved forward swiftly, raising the stake up and slashing it at Erebus once I was close enough to him. He dodged my attack easily and started one of his own. He threw a punch that I narrowly avoided and while I was distracted, he kicked my legs out from under me.
He leaned over me, holding my wrist tightly, "Is that all you have?"
I smirked, "What do you take me for?" I pulled a long silver knife from my boot and shoved it into Erebus's stomach. He fell back, pulling the knife out and frowned at me.
"You ruined my shirt." He slashed the knife against my cheek, "I do not appreciate that." He went to slash my face again, but I grabbed his wrist before he could. He tried to break free, but I was able to wrestle the knife from him before he could. We stood a few feet apart, sizing each other up. I noticed that his stomach was still dripping blood and I smirked, knowing that I had cut him deep enough to delay the healing process. I needed to land a few more blows like that to slow him down enough to the point that it will be easy to plunge the stake into his dead heart. Erebus watched me and I knew he would never make the first move, so I had to make sure that mine was a good one. With the knife in my right hand and the stake in my left, I lunged forward with the stake, poised to stab his chest. He moved to the side and I took the opportunity to drive the knife into his side. He winced and jumped back, holding tightly to the knife's handle. He pulled it out and a steady stream of blood followed it. Erebus stared down at his side before looking back at me. I lunged for him again, but he was still quick and was able to dodge my attack and instead he stabbed my side with the knife and pulled down, creating a large gash. I clutched my side as he retracted the knife and went to slash my arm. I moved out of the way just in time and the knife sliced through the air. I regained my footing and kicked Erebus in the chest. He fell back, the knife falling from his hand. I scrambled to grab it, but I was too late and it was in his grip again. He slashed the knife up, cutting deeply into my arm. I pulled back, leaving a trail of blood on the ground. Erebus slashed my face again, causing me to turn and retreat a few feet. Erebus stood to his full height and watched me. I stared back, trying to figure out how much fight he had left in him. I moved forward and kicked the knife from his hand. It flew halfway across the clearing and when he turned to go after it, I plunged the stake into his back. He hissed as I pulled the stake out and he turned to face me again. He was able to get his hand around my throat. His grip was tight as he lifted me off the ground, spitting into my face. I clawed at the hand, trying to get him to let me go. He only held me tighter, "You'll die here tonight and then I'll go to your precious home and slaughter them all." I felt my rage spike and I threw my hand out, my claws growing long and sharp. I swiped his face and he let me go, stumbling back. I tightened my grip on the stake, but before I could get to my feet, Erebus was on me. I tried to throw the stake up, but he caught my wrist. He turned my hand down so the point of the stake was hovering above my chest, right where my heart was. He pushed my hand down and the stake was pressed lightly to my chest. I felt a tear fall from my eye as I tried to turn the stake around. It was no use as Erebus pressed his knee into the huge gash in my side and I felt more blood leak from my body. He pushed the stake down more, it was starting to pierce my skin. Another tear leaked out. Erebus was right. I was going to die here tonight. My mother's tear stained face flashed in my mind. I let out a strangled cry as I pictured her hunched and shaking form as she cried over me. Erebus smirked above me, but her image pushed itself forward. I pictured her saying my name and I could hear it in my head. I shut my eyes and with her in my head, I pushed up on Erebus's hands. I felt the pressure of the stake leave my chest and I kept pushing. Erebus let out a frustrated yell as I threw him off my body. I heard him scramble towards me, but before he could get the upper hand, I sat up and plunged the stake into his chest. His final look of fear was etched onto his face. I pushed his limp body to the side and fell back to the grass. I pushed my hand against my side, feeling the blood still pouring out. I laid for a minute, a surreal feeling in my heart. I looked over at Erebus's body. I couldn't believe it. He was dead. I actually killed him. With a pained groan, I pushed myself to my feet and dragged Erebus to a bare spot of the clearing. I pulled a container of salt from my pocket and poured it over him. Then I pulled out my matches and struck one. I stared at the flame for a minute before throwing it onto his body. He was immediately engulfed in flames. I stood and watched his body burn down to almost nothing before I slowly turned and made my way home.
I could feel the magick flowing from the protective barriers around the house and I felt a smile form on my face. I passed through and limped my way up to the front porch. I looked up to see a tall figure standing on the porch, looking out over the woods. Then they saw me and they were immediately running from the porch, towards my battered form. Sam stopped a foot from me, staring over my injuries and my bloodstained clothes. I looked up at him, "Hey, Sammy." He smiled and engulfed me in his arms. My feet left the ground and I felt tears falling down my face. I wiped them away before he saw, but I'm sure he knew. He put me down and stared at me for a second before I was pushed roughly to the ground, a body falling on top of me.
I groaned as I heard Amelia's voice in my ear, "Scarlett! You're okay."
"Okay is a relative term. I'm bleeding pretty bad." Amelia scrambled off of me.
"I'm so sorry." I shook my head at her and grabbed her hand, allowing her to pull me to my feet.
Dean was there to pat my shoulder, "Knew you could do it." I smiled at him and he moved to the side as everyone else poured from the house to throw their arms around me. Kate grinned at me as she handed me a bottle. I gave her a grateful smile before greedily gulping the contents down. I could feel my side stitching itself up. Amelia came up next to me and began to lead me inside. She brought me up to my room and helped me into my bed. She pushed my hair from my forehead before turning to go.
I held her hand before she could leave, "Thanks, Am."
She smiled back, "Get some rest." I closed my eyes and let myself rest.
Sam and I walked down the sidewalk of the small town of Roxbury. We stood close together and every so often, he brushed his hand against mine. I shook my head as he did it for the fourth time. I smirked, "Just hold my hand, Winchester." I heard him chuckle before I felt his warm hand grab mine. We continued down the sidewalk, towards Dean and the Impala. The older Winchester smirked at us as we approached. I only rolled my eyes, "So what's next?" I looked between the two brothers, but Sam only shrugged.
Dean pushed away from the car, "I found something that might be worth checking out in Delaware." I turned to Sam and he nodded. I released his hand and moved to the car.
"Let's go then." Dean nodded and went over to the driver's side door, pulling it open and sliding into his seat. The engine roared to life as I pulled open the back door. Sam was still on the sidewalk. Shutting the door, I looked back at him. He was staring at me.
"What's wrong, Sam?"
Shaking his head, he took a couple of steps toward me, "Nothing. I just..." He sighed, "Are you okay?" I sucked air through my teeth, narrowing my eyes in thought. Sam watched me the entire time.
A soft smile formed on my lips, "Yeah, I am." Sam grinned and quickly closed the gap between us, placing his lips over mine. I put my hand on his cheek, deepening the kiss. We pulled apart as a loud horn sounded. Dean's voice followed.
"Let's go, lovebirds!" I smiled at Sam, kissing him one more time before sliding into the backseat of the car. Sam got in the front seat and looked over at his brother. Dean only smirked at his brother and pulled away from the curb, picking up speed as he drove down the street.
I put my arms on the back of their seat, leaning my head between them, "So, Delaware?"
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Wow. I kind of can't believe that this is the end. It honestly feels so surreal to mark this as complete. I want to say thank you to every single person who read, voted, and commented on this story. It honestly meant so much to me. I hope that you guys liked the end. I can't think of anything else to say except thank you again and if y'all want, you can check out my other stories, I've just started a new one with a pretty cool main character who I am excited to write about. Thanks so much again! Every single one of you is amazing and I appreciate you so much!