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Chapter 12- The Old World

The Woods near the Roadhouse-

"Do you sense anything?" Dean asked.

"He was hiding here, when a woman came calling his name. He was shaking, he was so scared." Angeline began.

Dean's heart was beating so hard in his chest, he was sure he didn't want to hear anymore, but knew he had to listen if they were going to find out what happened to Brody.

"It's okay Angeline, go on." Sam said comforting her.

"A Sorceress was here talking to Brody, and whatever she said to him it broke his heart. He argued with her about what she was saying, tears in his eyes, and then they just disappeared. He was right here, in this" she continued.

Dean freaked out, he dropped to the ground and started digging at the ground, as if he was going to find Brody somewhere in the ground. Sam tried to grab Dean, but Dean pushed him away. Sam grabbed him again, this time hugging him close to his chest.

"He's gone Dean, but we will find him, I promise." Sam said while holding Dean.

"Is there anything you can do, to find out where she took him?" Dean asked.

"It doesn't work like that Dean, I'm sorry. I'll try finding out she is, but for now you guy's need to keep focused on the task at hand." Angeline began.

Dean turned to her with a glare that made her want to crawl under a rock. Sam put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down, Dean shook it off.

"You didn't just say what I thought you did, right?" Dean asked.

"Dean, Angeline is not the enemy here; remember she came here to help us." Sam grabbed Dean and forced him to look him in the eyes.

Sam knew his brother better than anyone, and knew if he didn't calm Dean down, Dean would explode.

"Dean, I promise you my brother and I will find him, and as soon as we do, you guys will be the first to know." Angeline said, turning around and walked away.

"Where are you going?" Dean shouted.

"I need some books to do some research, if I'm going to be able to find Brody. Look, I'm sorry, truly I am. I almost died trying to help him, so you know how important I think he is, to both saving the world, and to all our hearts.

It's just the two of you are just as important, everything we do will be for nothing, if either one of you dies. It's the three of you as a whole that ultimately will save the world, none of you separately.

With all that in mind, just give me a little time, her powers with something from another world and I think I can trace it back to its origin. Just please, give me time do It." she said as she again turned and walked away.

Dean turned to Sam, confusion washing over his face.

"What the hell was that all about, I mean if she knows something then why didn't she say so to begin with?" Dean asked angrily.

"She played this well, she is trying to keep us busy while she figures out this clue." Sam said knowing he was grasping.

"No, I think she knew more, way more than she was saying. I mean come on Sammy think about it; we con people on a daily basis, pretending to be cops, Feds, whatever it takes to get the job done.

I asked her to come, I asked her to help us, so that means we trust her. Why would she mention the fact she almost died trying to help Brody, no one was questioning her.

But if she had something to hide, then of course she would try and throw salt in our game." Dean explained his thoughts to Sam.

"Or maybe she really meant what she said, and she really is just worried about us. The fate of the world once again rests on the shoulders of the Winchester boys, as if we haven't heard that a million times.

We're grasping at straws, because we're worried about Brody. Let's face it Dean, we're out of our element here. We don't have magical powers, she does. So at the end of the day, we need her and her brother, if we ever want to find Brody.

So let's not make our friends, our enemies. Let's get back to the Roadhouse, and talk to Bobby, and figure this all out." as Sam spoke, Dean couldn't help but think to himself, that he was losing it, losing his touch. His feelings, as confusing as they were, for Brody, where causing him to see enemies everywhere.

But he still couldn't shake off that feeling in the pit of his stomach that was telling him Angeline was hiding something.

The Old World-

It had been days since I disappeared from the woods near the Roadhouse, and arrived in the Old World, as Verne had called the place.

I mean we could be anywhere in the world, how would I know, I'd never been off the farm my whole life.

I didn't believe her, I mean who would! It sort of went something like this.

"Where are we?" I asked, knowing we weren't in the woods anymore.

"Brody, welcome to the Old World, this is Tamari." she said, waving her arm forward, as if she was inviting me into her home.

"The Old World? Tamari? So we're not in Kansas anymore!" I gave her the strangest look I could.

"Kansas? We weren't in Kansas, I know because I've been searching for you for over 18 year's now." she reminded me of my fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Bentley, the way she looked down her nose at me. Verne looked to be about 35 years old...Wait!

"That doesn't make any sense; you would have been what 16? 17? Why would you have been looking for me?" I demanded.

"Well...No, I was actually 156 years old at the time. We're going to the Palace of the Prophets, that's where the Sisters of the light, like me, live. There is a spell cast over the Palace, which allows us to age differently than the outside world.

You see it's the job of the Sisters to find boys such as yourself, with the true abilities you have, to find them, and bring them to the Palace where they can be taught." she started.

I knew she wasn't joking, as absurd as it all sounded.

"What do you mean 'true abilities', and boys like me? I'm hardly a boy, and I haven't been one for a long, long time." I stomped my foot as I spoke, she looked me up and down.

"Yes, you are hardly a boy, which is going to make this a little harder on you. See we usually find boys when their younger, but for some reason nothing I tried worked to find you. So most of the Wizards at the Palace are much younger than you are, but I think you `all be able to handle that." she waved a hand dismissively.

"Okay, back up sister! I thought I heard you say Wizard? Although I'm sure I must be mistaken, seen as how I'm not a Wizard! I don't have magical powers, no magic hat with bunnies hiding inside. So if you don't even know that much about me, tell me again why I'm supposed to come with you." I asked bitterly.

"Brody, how do I explain this...hmm...The Old World exists in a realm outside of your world, the New World. Over three thousand years ago there was a terrible war, between all the Wizards at the time. Each Wizard began fearing the others powers, they were afraid that some other Wizard would become more powerful, and began killing each other. Which started the war; they implemented many different ways of finding and killing each other, even newly born baby boys, born with the gift.

The few remaining Wizards created a barrier separating the New World, from the Old World. You have to understand that there are different dimensions, all bound within one another..." she explained, and I interrupted.

"Okay, whoa, in the department of how to make impossible things possible, you're trying to tell me Wizards, like Merlin would kill babies, just because they were afraid of being overpowered? This is crazy, and you want me to go to this place, when I don't even have magical powers?" what I really wanted to say was, hello I have demon blood coursing through my veins, that's what gives me certain powers.

"Brody, I don't know of a Wizard named Merlin, but I can tell you that you are born with the gift. I can feel it, the same way I can feel my own power.

Think of it like your equilibrium, it's your center, the focal point of your being." as she spoke, she waved her hand down the center of her body. Then waved her hand out, sending a lightening bolt out of her hand.

"Great, you can shoot lightening out of your hands. I still have no clue what you're talking about. I don't have magical powers, I'm not a Wizard, and I don't want to meet any of your Wizards! I don't want to hear anymore stories, of how messed up you guys are. I want to know how I can get this damned thing off my neck, and get back to the people I care about! Now!" I shouted.

"I'm sorry Brody, I know this isn't easy for you, but I can't take the collar off, you will die. I'm sorry, we should get going, and the sisters have been waiting a long time for a new Wiz...for one with the gift." she corrected herself, knowing I took a dislike to the word Wizard.

We walked for a long time in silence, much to my satisfaction. Thoughts running through my mind, picturing what it was like back then during the time of these crazy Wizards. What their war would have been like, but most of all, I couldn't stop wondering if Sam and Dean were okay.

I couldn't stop going back to the almost kiss I had with Dean, why, oh why did that bastard have to ruin everything.

We walked for hours, the sun beginning setting, and so she moved off the trail we were walking.

"We'll camp here for the night, do you know how to build a fire?" she asked.

Do I know how to build a fire? Hello, born and raised on a farm, I'm an outdoorsy type of guy...

I gave her a stern look, and started marching out to find wood, and rocks, to make my own version of a fire pit.

"Brody!" she shouted my name, causing me to turn around, and when I did she threw me a hunting knife still in its scabbard.

I caught it, and turned around and continued walking. So she must be trying to show me, that what, she trusts me? Please, she can trust me all she wants, until I'm set free, she is the enemy.

I collected everything, and built a hot roaring fire. Thankful that she stopped for this, as the temps dropped so much, I swear my fingers are ready to fall off.

She pulled some things to cook, out of her traveling pack. Nothing fancy, just dried ingredients for vegetable soup, and some bread. I was so hungry, I didn't care, and I would have eaten dirt at that point.

I felt a wavy of anxiety wash over me after we ate, wondering what Sam and Dean must be thinking. Did they know I was gone, they must.

Did they think I abandon them, which I did? I totally took off running, when Dean told me too. I should never have run, I should never have abandoned them, when they needed me most.

"Brody?" she said my name, breaking my thoughts, as much as I didn't want to talk to her, I was grateful for the distraction.

I turned and glared at her.

"Brody, I know this is hard, but in time you will come to understand, and even enjoy what the Sisters have to teach you." she began.

"I wouldn't hold your breath, if I were you." I spoke with the most menacing voice, I could muster.

"The first time I laid eyes on you, I knew you were going to be trouble. I'm glad you've chosen to prove me right. Now, before we sleep, I want to try calling upon your gift. I want you to sit here, put your hands in mine, and I will help you find your center." she explained.

I did what she said, only because the sooner I learned how to do this, the sooner I can be set free.

"Close your eyes, and let the calm wash over you."

"Calm? Calm has nothing to do with my power, anger, rage, now those, those have something to do with my powers." I said, bitterly.

"That's only because that's what triggered your powers, that's not what controls them. You do, and you must find your center, if you're ever to gain control, and be free to live without the collar. I know that's what you want, so help me to help you." she took my thunder away, with those words. She was right, I needed to do what I can to get this collar off, and if this is it, then so be it.

I sat there trying to find the calm, when I remembered my parents, and what they said to me the last time I saw them. How calming the feeling is, when I think of them. Why it is so important for me to do this, so I can save Sam and Dean.

I relaxed, clearing my mind of everything. Trying to find the center, she was talking about.

But I felt nothing.

"I'm not feeling anything, this isn't working." I said.

"You didn't feel anything, nothing at all? You've been in a trance for over an hour!" her voice was completely shocked.

Hell, I was completely shocked.

"An hour? That's not possible; it's only been a few minutes." I said, confused.

"No Brody, it's been over an hour. I could feel your power, I could feel..." she started, but then looked away from me, as if in deep thought.

"You could feel what? What did you feel; please you have to tell me." I begged.

"I don't know what I felt; the point is I know I felt your power. Why couldn't you feel it, that's what is bothering me. Why don't we get some sleep, we'll try again tomorrow." she tried to reassure me.

That wasn't going to happen.

I tossed and turned on the hard ground, for the longest time. Till I heard her softly snoring, if that's possible. I then broke down, and began crying. If only Dean had kissed me, just that one time. I held the image in my head, the almost kiss, till I fell asleep.

The Roadhouse-

After hours of begging, Sam finally got Dean to lie down. Dean lay on his bed, thinking about Brody. Hoping Brody was okay, hoping he wasn't scared, hoping he was safe.

Dean couldn't help but thinking about how he almost kissed Brody, wondering what it all meant.

Was he gay?

He didn't think so, but he knew Brody's pull on him, and he knew he liked it.

"Dean! Dean, wake up!" a mans voice said.

Dean woke up with a start, knowing he knew that voice, but to afraid to look and see if he was right.

"Dean, I haven't much time, you must wake up." the man begged.

"This is just a dream, it isn't real. This is just a dream, he isn't real." Dean repeated to himself.

"Please Dean, Brody is in trouble, and he needs your help." the man begged.

"Why you, why would you come to tell me?" Dean asked, still not opening his eyes.

"I asked to come, I wanted to see my son, is that wrong?" John asked.

"Do you even have to ask; of course it's wrong, this is wrong. You're dead, as in D. E. A. D, dead. Shouldn't you be floating on a cloud somewhere, or burning in hell?" Dean snapped, still not looking at his father.

"Dean, I'm sorry, I know you're mad at me. One day when you have a son of your own, you'll know why I had to do, what I did. I never meant to hurt you, or Sam, it's just a part of the job." John explained.

"Go to hell!" Dean said, still not willing to look.

"Dean, I'm sorry, for everything. I'm sorry I forced you to become a man, when you should have been allowed to be a boy. I'm sorry you had to take care of your brother, when that was my job. I'm sorry for bringing you boys into this life, when I should have been protecting you from it.

Right now though Brody needs your help, you must find him." John begged.

As much as Dean wanted nothing to do with his father, he wasn't about to lose Brody over it.

"Do you know where he is?" Dean finally asked.

"No I don't, but we know he is in danger, and if he dies, than Sam and you will not be able to face what lies ahead. I can't have that; I will not lose my sons." John said adamantly.

"Then what are you doing here, because I already know Brody is in danger. I already know he needs us, I don't need you to remind me." Dean snapped.

"There are things that you must know, things that are going to be hard to hear, but you need too. Brody is in danger, not from the Sisters of the light, but of himself. He is suffering from a madness that will kill him." John started.

"What are you talking about, Brody is one of the most well put together people I know. He is sane, smack dab in the middle of all this insanity." Dean finally looked into John's face, stared into his eyes.

"Dean, Brody is dying, if he doesn't accept his powers, who he really is, he will die. That is what the Sisters want to help him with, but they can not." John began.

"Then tell me how I find these Sisters!" Dean shouted.

"I can't, I don't know where they are, but I know that one among you does. There are more things you must hear, more things you must know. Only, I'm not the one who can tell you, you must hear this from the source itself." John said, and with a flash of lightening a demon appeared.

"Who are you?" Dean asked.

"You already know the answer to that question, don't you Dean?" the demon said.

"How do you know my name?" Dean asked.

"Why that's simple, to know Brody, is to know Dean and Sam Winchester." the demon answered with a smile.

"He told you about me...I mean us?" Dean asked, holding back his anger to kill this Demon.

"In a way. I heard your name countless times. When I would hurt him until he was delirious, he cried your name. Sometimes Sam, but never another. Not his mother's, nor his father's. Only yours and Sam. I hurt him until he didn't know his own name, but he always knew yours. I knew he would find a way to be with you despite your not being gay. I think Brody could make the sun rise at midnight." a smile came to his face.

"Why are you telling me this?" Dean asked, holding himself back from ripping this demon apart. He knew he needed to hear this, if he was to save Brody.

"Because I am going to ask you to help him, and I want you to understand exactly how much you will be hurting him before you agree to it. You must understand what it is you will have to do in order to save him. I won't trick you into doing it; it must be with your full knowledge. Only in that way will you know how to save him. If you don't understand, you could fail. The madness he is sick with, I put there. It will kill him as surely as will Lilith, and Lucifer." there was no smile this time.

"What did you put in him, what did you do to him?" Dean demanded.

"Brody has been marked in more ways, than just by Lucifer, he has the gift. I knew from the moment he decided to kill me, I can see it in him now, the aura of it. I know it is killing him, and I know his time is very short. I don't know how long, only that there is not much time left. We can't save him from Lucifer, just to have him die anyway from the gift." the demon explained.

"So, these Sisters are going to kill him?" Dean asked, confused.

"No, they want to help him, but they don't have the means too. He will never accept what he is, and that has to do with Me." the demon answered.

"The torture you put him through, he told us about it!" Dean said angrily.

"What he told you does not scratch the surface of it. You cannot imagine what he has not told you. I know his madness. He will not tell you the rest of it, I must." Master Remy said..

"I don't think it would be wise for you to tell me. If he doesn't want to tell me, then I don't think I should know it." Dean said, his blood boiling.

"You must. You must understand him if you are to help him. In some ways, I understand him better than you. I have taken him to the edge of madness, and beyond. I have seen him in a wasteland of insanity. I have stood over him and held him there." Master Remy said. Dean glared. He recognized the look in the demons eyes when he talked about Brody.

"You love Brody." Dean accused.

"He loves you. I used that love to hurt him. I took him to the brink of death and held him there, on the cusp. Others would bring a potential mate to the edge faster, but they couldn't hold him there. They always went one step too far, too quickly, and killed them, ending it before they could extract the most exquisite pain; inflict the cruelest of the insanity. I had a talent for keeping them alive and giving them that pain, and then more, and then even more. I had to sit for hours, sometimes, and wait, knowing that if I touched him just once more with my Baton, it would be one touch too many;

It would kill him. As I sat, waiting for him to recover enough so that I might hurt him more, he would whisper your name, over and over, for hours. He wasn't even aware he was doing it.

You were the thread that kept him alive. It was the one thread that allowed me to give him that extra pain. Allowed me to take him further toward death, deeper into madness. I used his love for you to punish him beyond anything otherwise possible.

As I would sit there, listening to him whisper your name, I wished it would once, just once, have been my name he called out. It never was, I hurt him more for that than for anything else." Master Remy went on.

Tears run down Dean's cheeks, falling from his face.

"Please, I don't want to hear any more. I can't bear to hear any more, to know I made it possible for you to do what you did." Dean said.

"You must. I have not yet even begun to tell you what you must hear if you want to help him. You must understand how I used magic against him, why he hates the magic within himself. I understand, because what I did to him was also done to me, by my father." Master Remy continued.

Dean sat shaking, staring blankly at nothing, almost in a trance, as Master Remy began telling him what he had done to Brody. How he used his Baton.

Dean flinched at the description of every kind of touch, at everything it could do. Dean cried as Master Remy told him how Brody had hung in shackles as he pulled his head back by his hair and made him stay perfectly still while he pushed the Baton into his ear, or risk damage to the inside of his head. And how he had been able to do it because of his love for Dean.

Dean shook, when he heard the horrifying description of what IT did to Brody.

What the magic did to him, what his own magic did to him. Dean couldn't look at Master Remy as he spoke. Couldn't meet his eyes, and that was only the beginning.

Dean clutched his stomach and held a trembling hand to his mouth to keep from vomiting, as Master Remy described one unspeakable act after another. Dean couldn't make himself stop crying. He gagged as he closed his eyes tight.

As he listened, he prayed to God that Master Remy wouldn't tell him the one thing he knew he couldn't bear to hear.

But then Master Remy told him. Told him what a Windlow Demon did to his mate, why their mates didn't live long. Every intimate detail. And what he had done to Brody that he had done to no other mate.

With a wail, Dean turned away, crawled a short distance, and started throwing up. With one hand holding himself up, and the other across his abdomen, he cried and heaved and gagged. Master Remy's hands were there, holding Dean's shoulders, as Dean emptied the contents of his stomach onto the floor. He vomited until his insides were heaved dry.

Dean felt Master Remy's warm tingling touch on his back. He wanted to call forth fire and brimstone, to rain down on the Demon. Between gagging, and panting, and crying, Dean managed to get the words out.

"Take...your hands...off me." Dean, as Master Remy took his hands from him. Dean's stomach heaved again in a dry convulsion.

"How many times did you do that to him?" Dean demanded.

"Enough. It does not matter." Master Remy answered.

Dean turned in a rage, clenching his fists as he screamed.

"How many times!"

Master Remy's voice was soft and calm.

"I'm sorry, Dean, I don't know. I didn't keep a tally. But he was with me a long time. Longer than any other mate. I did it almost every night. The things I did, I did to no other, because none had the strength Brody did, the strength of his love for you. The others would have died the first time. He fought me, for a long time. I did it enough, that's all. Enough." Master Remy answered somberly.

"Enough! Enough for what?" Dean demanded.

"Enough to drive a part of him mad." Master Remy answered.

"He's not mad! He's not! He's not!" Dean said more to himself, than anyone.

Master Remy watched as Dean shook with pain, and rage.

"Dean, listen to me. Anyone else would have been broken by what I did. Brody saved himself by partitioning his mind. He locked the core of himself away where I couldn't get to it, where the magic couldn't get to it. He used the gift to do that. It saved the core of himself from the insanity. But in the darkest corners of his mind lurks madness. I used his magic against him, to drive him insane. He couldn't protect all of himself from the things I did.

I told you what I did so you could see the truth of his madness. He had to sacrifice that part to save the rest. To save the rest for you. I wish I could have done the same when it was done to me." Master Remy explained.

"How could you do those things? Brody, poor Brody, he's just a kid. How could you? How could you do that to anyone?" Dean demanded.

"We all have our own little bits of insanity. Some more than others. My life was a darkness of it." Master Remy answered.

"Then how could you? How could you, knowing what it was like!" Dean asked angrily.

Master Remy watched him from under his eyebrows.

"You have done terrible things too. You have used your abilities as a Hunter, to hurt people. Innocent people that never asked to be taken by a Demon."

"But they were Demons, doing horrible crimes against all of Mankind." Dean answered.

"All of them? Everyone?" Master Remy asked, knowing what the real answer was, but wanting to hear Dean say it.

"No, but I didn't do it because I wanted to. I had to. It is my job. Who I am. What I am." Dean whispered.

"We all do what we must, whatever the reasons. I do not tell you these things to hurt you, Dean. The telling of them wounds me more than you can know. I tell you because I want to save Brody, so that he doesn't die before his rightful time, and so that Lucifer does not escape." Master Remy explained.

"I'm sorry Remy, but I don't have it in me to forgive you. I know Brody did, but I do not. I hate you." Dean said staring into his eyes.

"I would not expect you to forgive me. I only wish you to understand the truth of what I am telling you, the truth of Brody's madness.

So that you will understand what you must do. Wearing a collar is the core of that insanity. It symbolizes everything I did to him. In his mind, magic is madness, torture. A collar is madness, torture. Insanity.

The thought of having a collar around his neck brings that madness out of the darkest corners of his being, brings out his deepest fears. He is not exaggerating when he said he would rather die than put a collar around his neck. He will not do it to save himself. If he didn't put it back on, he would die. There was only one thing in the world that will make him put on the collar." Master Remy said.

Dean knew now that is was because of Brody's love for Sam, and himself, that Brody put the collar on. He did it only out of his love for them, to save them.

Dean wanted to vomit all over again, but there was nothing left.

"So how is knowing this, going to help me save Brody?" Dean asked.

Master Remy stared at him, knowing Dean knew the answer, but Dean didn't say anything.

"Dean, you are about to see Brody, only for a moment, and you need to..." Master Remy started.

"You want me to what...tell him he should keep the collar on, that he should let these Witches help him. If I told him that, he will think I have betrayed him. In his madness, he will think I want to hurt him. He will hate me. Remy I can't do that, not after what you have told me." Dean said turning away from Master Remy.

"I am sorry Dean. That could be the truth of it. We can't know for sure, but he may very well see it that way, I don't know how much the madness will take over when he knows he must keep the collar on. But he loves you more than life itself, and will keep it on for no other reason.

You must do this, or he will die. If you love him enough, you must do this. You must be strong enough in your love for him to force him to do it, knowing the pain it will bring him. You may have to act as I would have acted, to frighten him enough to do as you say. You may have to bring the madness to full flower, make him think the way he did when he was with me, when he would have done anything he was told.

You may lose his love. He may hate you forever. But if you really love him, you will see that you are the only one who can help him, the only one who can save him." Master Remy explained.

"I can't, I can't do that to him, not after everything...not after what you did to him." Dean moaned.

"Do you understand what will happen, Dean? Brody won't just die; Lucifer will have him, have everyone. The three of you together, are the only ones who can stop him.

I'm sorry, I'm sure you won't believe me, but I don't want Brody to ever have to wear a collar, to ever face that madness again. But it's the only way to save him, so I need your word that you will do what needs to be done, to save him." Master Remy begged.

"Why? Why are you doing this, why are you helping him?" Dean demanded.

"Because after all I had done to him, he cared about my pain. He is the only one who ever did anything to stop my pain. After all the things I told you I did to him, he forgave me. He understood what I had suffered. He will never forget what I did to him, but he doesn't hate me for what I did to him.

He saved me, now it's my turn to save him." Master Remy was barley able to speak.

"I still can't forgive you. I won't forgive you." Dean said.

"The only forgiveness I need has already been granted." Master Remy spoke, a tear rolling down his cheek.

"An oath then, to save the one we love." Dean said, clasping hands with Master Remy.

"Time is short, we must do this now. We won't have long, you must make him understand. This is the only way; you must hurt him, to save him." Master Remy said adamantly.

He waved his hand in a circle, again in again. A blue mist started coming out of the palm of his hand, in a swirl of lights Brody appeared.

Brody looked around, shocked that he was at the Roadhouse. He looked up into Dean's eyes, tears began to flow.

"Oh God, Dean, it's really you, it's really you!" Brody said, as he ran into Dean's open arms.

Dean held him tight, before checking him to see that he was not hurt. Dean held Brody's face in his hands. Wiped away tears with his fingers.

"Dean, I don't understand, how am I here?" Brody asked.

"It's a long story, but we don't have much time. Brody, you must listen to me, you must accept the offer, and keep the collar on. Please." Dean hated saying this, hated himself for having to do this.

"Dean, what are you saying...you don't understand? I'm here, I don't want to leave, and I don't want to keep this on, please Dean." Brody begged.

"Listen to me Brody, listen to me carefully. I want you to keep the collar on, and stay with the sisters." Dean said, holding himself back from, taking Brody in his arms.

"What? Dean, you don't mean that. There has to be another way, we can figure it out together." Brody cried.

"No. You have to do this Brody, it's the only way. If you care anything about me, you'll do this." Dean said.

"How can you say this to me, you know I'd do anything for you and Sam, anything." Brody stared at Dean, like he didn't even know him.

"Then you will stay with them, wearing the collar...if you love me...and Sam, really love us. You will keep that collar on. For me...for us..." Dean wanted to vomit, he wanted to scream, and he wanted to beg Brody to forgive him. He wanted to tell him he'd find another way, but he knew he would only lose Brody forever. That it was better that he wore the collar and was safe, then die and let Lucifer have him.

"For you...? Dean, don't do this...please." Brody begged.

"You will!" Dean was being too gentle, and knew it. It was only confusing Brody. He had to be stronger. He had to act more like Master Remy, if he was to save him.

"Dean, I know in your heart you know how much I love you guys, but we can talk about this later. Please let's find a different way; it doesn't have to be like this..." Brody started, as Dean clenched his hands into fists and screamed at him.

"If you love me, you will! Don't stand there and tell me you love me if you aren't willing to prove it! You disgust me!"

Brody blinked in surprise. The way Brody's voice sounded made Dean's heart ache.

"Dean..." Brody started.

"You aren't worthy of my love if you aren't willing to prove it! How dare you say you love me?" Dean shouted.

Brody began to cry, his eyes filled with tears.

With madness.

With the memory of what Master Remy had done to him.

He sank slowly to his knees.

"Dean...please." Brody begged, as Dean leaned over him, he held out a clenched fist.

"Don't you dare talk back to me!" Dean shouted. Brody's arms flinched up, covering his head. He thought he was going to strike him. He really thought he was going to strike him. Dean's heart felt as if it ripped. Tears streamed down his face as he let the rage loose.

"I told you to keep the collar! How dare you talk back to me! If you love me you will keep it!" Dean snapped.

"Please Dean, don't do this. You don't understand. Don't ask me to..." Brody cried.

"I understand perfectly well! I understand that you say you love me! But I don't believe you! I don't believe you! You're lying to me! Your love for me is a lie if you won't keep the collar! A lie! A filthy lie!" Dean shouted.

Brody couldn't look up at him, couldn't look into his beautiful eyes as he stood over him. He struggled to get the words out as he fixed his eyes on the floor.

"It's not...it's not a lie. Please, Dean, I love you. You mean more to me than anything in the world. Please believe me. I would do anything for you. But please..." Brody begged.

Dying inside, Dean grabbed a fistful of his hair and jerked his head up, making Brody look at him. Madness danced in Brody's eyes. He was gone.

But only for now, Dean prayed, only for now.

"Words! That's all you offer me! Not love! Not proof! Just words! Worthless words!" Dean screamed.

As he held Brody by his hair, he drew his other hand back to slap him. Brody's eyes winced shut, but Dean couldn't make himself do it, he couldn't hit him. It was all he could do just to stay on his feet, not to fall to his knees and throw his arms around him and tell him how much he loved him, that everything was all right.

But it wasn't all right. If he didn't do this, Brody would die. He was the only one who could save him. Even if it killed him to do it, he would save Brody.

"Don't hit me anymore, please Master Remy...Don't!" Brody whispered, eyes still shut.

Dean swallowed back the wail that tried to escape his throat and made himself speak.

"Look at me!" Dean shouted. Brody did as he was ordered.

"I'm not going to tell you again Brody. If you love me, you will keep the collar around your neck. If you don't, I will make you regret disobeying me more than anything you have ever regretted in your life. Do it now, or it's over. Everything is over. I'm not going to tell you again my pet, you will keep the collar on, and you will stay with the Sisters. Now!" Dean gritted his teeth.

Dean knew, knew that 'my pet' was what Master Remy had called him. Remy told him, himself when he told him the rest of it. He knew what those two words meant to him. He had hoped he wouldn't have to use them. Whatever link he had to sanity dissolved in that instant. Dean saw it in his eyes, the thing he feared more than death.

Betrayal.

Dean released his grip on Brody's hair as, on his knees, he turned towards a mirror and held his hands to his collar.

"All right, I will do it; I will keep the collar, and stay with the sisters. I would do anything for you." Brody whispered.

Dean wanted to die.

Brody's hands shook so much; Dean thought he might break the collar. He watched as Brody stared at the collar around his neck, his fingers tightly curled around it, his hands stopped shaking. He stood up, still staring in the mirror, and took a deep breath.

"They may find that holding the leash to this collar is worse than wearing it." Brody spoke through gritted teeth.

"Much worse." he continued his eyes wild with rage.

"What is the reason for the collar?" Dean asked, Brody turned to him with a glare that even his father could not have matched. For a moment Dean forgot to breath.

"The first reason is to control the headaches and open my mind so that I may be taught to use the gift. The second reason is to control me..." as he spoke he reached out and grabbed Dean by the throat. His eyes sliced through Dean's.

"The third reason is to GIVE ME PAIN." Brody answered, releasing Dean.

"No! Oh God, no!" Dean shouted.

Brody's expression went slack, lost.

"I hope I have proven my love for you, Dean, and for Sam. I hope you believe me now. I have given you everything. I hope it is enough; I have nothing else to offer. Nothing." Brody said.

"You have. More than you could ever realize. I love you; we love you more than anything in the world, Brody." Dean said reaching out his hand to touch Brody's cheek. Brody pushed his hand away. His eyes said it all, Dean had betrayed him.

"Do you? I would like to believe you." Brody said looking away.

"Brody...I know you don't understand right now, but I only did what I had to--to help you live. To keep you from being killed by the headaches, the gift. I hope that someday you will understand. I will always wait for you; both Sam and I will be waiting for you. We love you, I love you." Dean said passionately, while Brody nodded tearfully.

"If that's true, then go tell Bobby what you have done. Tell him. Now, send me back!" Brody demanded.

Dean wanted to call down lightening upon himself. He wanted Brody to have something of his, something to remind him of Dean.

He took his favorite ring, off his thumb.

"Wait, Brody, please." Dean begged, Brody turned around.

Dean grabbed his hand, and slid it on his finger.

"To remind you always that our heart is with you...that my heart is with you...that I do love you." Dean stammered.

Expressionless, Brody, looked at Dean for a long moment.

"Tell Bobby!" was all Brody said before turning, and fading away in a swirl of lights.

"That was probably the most courageous act I have ever witnessed. The people of this world are lucky to have you, as a Hunter to protect them." Master Remy said.

"He thinks I betrayed him." Dean said softly, as he stared in the last spot Brody had been.

"You have not, son. I promise you that in time, he will see the truth of what you have done this day." John said, appearing out of thin air.

"Please...they won't hurt him?" Dean begged.

"You have just hurt him to save his life. Would you have them do any less?" Master Remy answered.

A tear run down Dean's cheek.

"I guess not. And I doubt they could do anything as cruel as what I have just done." Dean said, still staring at the spot Brody had just been standing in.

"I fear you are right. But we will watch over him, and see to it that what is done is only what is necessary. I Promise you that we will not let it go one inch beyond that. Not one breath. On my word as his, as your father." John said.

Lucky for John, Dean was barley listening, and missed the mess up.

"The Sister...if Brody had said no, would they have killed him?" Dean asked.

"If he had said no, the pain and madness at the end would have been grotesque. They would have spared him that. But it doesn't matter now. You have saved his life. Thank you Dean Winchester." Master Remy said.

"One more thing, if I find out you are lying to me about any of it, if they kill him, I will hunt down every Sister of the Light. I will kill every last one. But not before each of them begs endlessly to die." The cold danger in Dean's voice surprised them.

"Dean I'm sorry it has to be this way son, I'm truly sorry." John said stepping closer to rest a hand on Dean's shoulder.

"Don't! Don't you touch me, don't even come by me. Just go! You've done your job, I did what was asked of me. Now go, both of you! Get out!" Dean screamed, until they finally disappeared.

Dean started tarring the room apart, screaming the whole time. Letting his anger flow through him. He flipped chairs over, the dresser, the bedding. The whole time, letting out a wail of tears, Sam came flying into the room to find Dean on his hands and knees Crying, with his head bowed down.

Sam bent down, and took Dean's head into his arms.

The Old World-

It had been days since I saw Dean. I thought it was a nightmare, it couldn't be real, he couldn't want me to wear a collar. Then I looked at my hand, and saw his ring on my finger.

He had betrayed me.

I would not think of him again.

We'd walked for what felt like millions of years. The more we tried to find my center, the more hours of time I lost, with nothing to show for it. I couldn't find my center, and a look in her eyes told me she was seeing something I wasn't. I could only imagine the horror she was seeing, maybe the devil, maybe Lilith, who knows. All I know is, I'm getting more and more frustrated, as the days went by.

"There it is, the Palace of the Prophets!" Verne shouted, as she pointed towards the grand Palace.

My mouth hung wide open, at the sight before me. The Palace sat on the top of a mountain bank. The closer we were, the more amazed I became. The tallest statues I've ever seen, okay so it's the first ones I've ever seen. A tall man, holding a bolt of lightening, and a woman next to him, her fists balled tight, her posture straight, hair flowing. The man was Heart, the woman Soul, the truest representation of the Spirit of man.

"Who are they?" I asked.

"That's the representation of life, Man's will to strive for Excellency. After the Great War, a War Wizard came here, and carved those statues. He wanted to give people hope, of a greater future. That life was truly in their hands, they need only live it." she explained, a huge smile on her face.

"To bad the Sisters of the light, didn't take lessons on how sacred life truly is. To bad they didn't understand the essence of what he was portraying, through the statues.

The Heart and Soul of man can never truly be kept a slave. He need only look in himself, to find salvation." I spoke in the harshest voice, and then strode away, walking in front of her.

She didn't say anything after that, and the smile quickly disappeared from her face.

When we were close to arriving, she stopped me.

"Brody, I know this is hard, I know what happened to you the other night. I understand the pain you feel, and in time I hope to help you through it all.

When we enter the Palace, the Sisters of the light will be waiting to meet..." She began.

"Don't give me that crap, all I understand is you treat me the way you do, and fight with me, and why we're at each others throats all the time. I understand why you resent me. Why you hate me." I shouted.

"What, I don't hate you Brody!" she looked like some waiting for the trapdoor to fall out from under her. So I nodded, and pulled the catch on that trapdoor.

"Yes, you do. You hate me and I don't blame you. I understand. You had to give up half your life, searching for me. Any chance at love, life, and children thrown out the window, because you've been searching for a boy, who instead is not a boy at all, but a full grown man..."

"Brody, you will not speak to me that way..." she flinched as if a noose had just tightened around her neck.

"You resent me for all the years of your life, wasted on finding one born with the gift, not a grown man with the gift as you call it. They sent you. You had no choice, you had to go. It's your duty, and it cost you half your life, love, and the children you might have had. That's what I've cost you, why you hate me.

But I want you to consider, Sister, that it's not by my choice. I didn't do this to you. You should either be angry with those that did, or if you're so devoted to your duty, to your Creator, as you claim, then you should have joy in His service. Either way, please stop blaming me." I said. She opened her mouth to speak, but then instead fumbled with the stopper on the waterskin, finally getting it off, and took a long drink. Drawing deep breaths when she finished, she dabbed her sleeve to her wet lips.

"It takes two to argue, Brody. You're always angry with me, with everything I tell you. You resent me. You hate me, because you think I made you put on that collar. But I didn't, and you know it. I gave you the choice, and you made that choice. Dean made you keep it on. It's because of him. If it weren't for him, you wouldn't be with me. That's what I've cost you, and why you hate me.

But I think you should consider, Brody, that it's not by my choice. I didn't do this to you. Dean did. You should either be angry with him, or if you're so devoted to him, as you claim, then have joy in carrying out his wishes. Perhaps he has valid reasons for them. Maybe he has your interests at heart. Either way, please stop blaming me.

I tried to swallow but I couldn't.

"Brody, it would be impossible for me to accurately recall all the lies you've told today. I've told you about lying, and cautioned you not to it again. I told you not to swing the axe today, and you did it anyway, despite my warning. I can scarcely tally all the commands you've managed to violate in this one day.

There are rules you must obey, rules that are in place to help the boys at the Palace, and the boys we have yet to bring..." she began.

"I've not lied; I've only said what I know to be the truth, as have you. Plus, I am hardly a boy!" I said.

"As a Sister of the Light, I have no power to change things, and under obligation to save more lives. I had to uphold what has been for three thousand years. But I admit I hate some parts of it, and in a way I'm glad you have taken it out of my hands. But that does not negate the trouble it will cause. When you came back from seeing Dean, and choose to keep the collar on, you told me that holding the leash to that collar would be worse than wearing it. Your words are proving true. You have made my greatest love, my calling, a misery.

I am past wanting to punish you for your disobedience. In a few moments we will be at the Palace, and I will at last be finished with you. They will have to deal with you.

We shall see how they handle you when you displease them. I believe you will find they are not prepared to be as tolerant as I have been. They will use that collar, and when they do, I also think they will come to regret holding your leash more than do I. I think they will come to regret trying to help you, as do I." she said adamantly.

I put my hands in my back pockets, as I stared off at the thick forest of oak and leather leaf.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Sister, and I guess I can understand it. Although I admit I have fought being your prisoner, this day was not about you.

This was about what was done to me, by someone else. As one who would wish to teach me, I would hope you shared that moral stance. I would hope the Sisters would not want to teach the use of the gift to one who could easily bend his convictions to the circumstance." I said, as I put my stuff down.

I opened my backpack, and took out a different shirt giving her a moment to think on my words. As I put my head through the shirt, I saw the Sister staring at my chest, at the scar I never let anyone see.

"Where did you get that?" she asked, as her face turned white as a spirit.

"My last Master gave it to me!" I said curtly. Her gaze slowly rose to meet mine. Her eyes were filled with something I had never seen in them before.

Unbridled fear.

"Brody, you must not show anyone at the Palace what you have upon you. Except the Prelate. She may know what to do. You must show her." she whispered.

"Why? What's a Prelate?" I asked.

"The Prelate is our spiritual leader. She is in charge of the Palace, and all the Sisters. You must not show anyone, other than her, because if you do, they will kill you. That is the mark of the Nameless One." she answered.

"They'll kill me? What's a Nameless One?" I asked, more confused than anything.

"The Keeper of the Underworld!" she answered.

She was right, and hit the nail on the head. I hadn't even shown Sam, or whatever his name is, what is on my chest. Since returning from being held by Lucifer himself, he left this mark on my chest. I didn't want to worry them needlessly, and we had so much going on.

I thought when I got out of the shower, and stood before them naked they would notice, but they were too caught up in, me being naked to notice anything else.

Seems like a life time ago.

"Then tell me Sister, are you going to let these Sister Kill me? Did you bring me here just so you can watch them? Was this your intent all along?" I demanded.

"Do you really think, Brody that I would spend half my life in my duty to find you and carry you safely to the Palace of the Prophets, only to watch you killed when we're on the doorstep of my home?

Do you actually believe that I wouldn't stop this if I could? Is your opinion of me that low?" she shook her head in frustration.

My impulse was to argue with her, but instead I considered her words. What she said made sense. I gave her an apologetic shake of my head.

"All right, Sister. I'll try not to let anyone see it. I'm just sorry I'm not the student you were hoping for. And if I'm killed, well, thank you for trying to help me." I finally said.

Despite being here against my will, I found myself fascinated by the city below, by all the people and all the sights it must hold. I had never seen such a place. I imagine a person could probably walk around for days and days, and not begin to see it all.

Beyond, shimmering with golden sparkles and reflections lay the sea, stretching to a knife's-edge line at the horizon.

Dominating the city, near the center, rising up on an island of its own, stood a vast Palace, its imposing, crenellated west wall bathed in the sun's golden rays.

Baileys and ramparts and towers and sections and roofs, all of grand design joined together into a complex structure that held labyrinthine courtyards with trees, or grass, or ponds. The Palace seemed to be stretching its stone arms, jealously trying to enclose the whole of the island atop which it sat.

Seen from this distance, with the thread-thin streets radiating out from the island at the core of the city, and strand like bridges spanning the river all around, the Palace reminded me of nothing as much as a fat spider sitting in the center of its Web.

"The Palace of the Prophets." she said, as she saw me looking around, reminding me where we were at.

"Prison." I said without looking at her.

"That's the river Kern, the Palace itself sits on Halsband Island." she said ignoring my comment.

"Halsband? Is that some kind of sardonic joke?" I snapped.

"What do you mean? Does Halsband have significance?" she asked.

"A halsband is a collar used to launch a hunting hawk on an attack." I answered, raising an eyebrow.

"You read too much into things, Brody." she shrugged dismissively.

"Do I, we shall see." I said.

"It's a great day, at the Palace, when a new one with the gift arrives. It's a rare and joyous event. They will be happy to see you, Brody, please remember that. To them, this is an event of note in their calling. Though you feel differently, their hearts will be warmed by the sight of you. They will want you to feel welcome." she said, changing the subject.

"Make your point." I said.

"I just did. They will be delighted." she answered.

"What you are saying, in other words, is you would like me not to horrify them right off." I said what I thought she really meant, to say.

"I didn't say that. I am simple asking you to realize that these women live for this very thing." She corrected.

"A wise person I love, told me once that we all can only be who we are, no more, and no less. I'm the bringer of death, and I have nothing to live for." My gaze swept the top of the wall ahead, noting the soldiers there, and what arms they carried.

"That's not true, Brody. You're a young man, and you have much to live for. You have long life ahead of you. And though you may have named yourself this, this bringer of death, I have seen you do nothing but strive to stop the killings, to save the ones he loves, and the innocent people around him. Sometimes you will not listen, and make matters worse, but it's through ignorance, not malice." she sighed.

"Since you abhor lies, Sister, I'm sure you wouldn't want me to pretend to feel other than I do." I said, turning away from her.

She sighed as we went through a huge gate in the thick, outer bailey wall. Windows in the buildings rising up all around were aglow with soft yellow light. Many of the buildings were connected by covered colonnades, or enclosed halls with arched openings covered over with latticework. Benches dotted the far side of the courtyard, against a wall with frieze carved with figures on horses.

She set her bags down on the ground, when we reached some boys dressed in neat livery, with black vests over tan shirts.

"No need for that Brody, someone will bring your things." she said.

"No one touches my things but me." I said adamantly.

She sighed again, and shook her head, and then told the boys to have her things brought in. They bowed to her, and then started to gather her stuff.

Inside a wood paneled hall with long yellow and blue carpets running under ornate side tables, three women waited. They became all atwitter at the sight of Sister Verne. Sister Verne was a head shorter than me, and none of these three were as tall as she. They smoothed their full, pastel skirts, and tugged at the white bodices.

"Sister Verne!" one cried out as the three rushed up.

"Oh, dear Sister Verne, it's so good to see you at last."

A tear or two ran down their rosy faces. Their smiles looked about to burst their cheeks. Each looked a good deal younger than Sister Verne. She surveyed the big wet eyes.

"Sister Phoebe, and Sister Amelia, and Sister Janet. It's so good to see you again. It has been a long time indeed." Verne said, hugging each of them. The three giggled with excitement, at last composing themselves. They looked around, not looking at me.

"Where is he? Why haven't you brought him in with you?" Phoebe asked.

"This is he, Brody, these are friends of mine." Verne introduced.

The smiles transformed into astonished looks. They blinked as they took in my size and age. They stared in open amazement before finally sputtering over each other's words about how glad they were to meet me. They tore their eyes from me at last and returned their attention to Sister Verne.

"Better than half the Palace is waiting to greet you both. Everyone has been so excited since we received word that you would arrive today. No other has been brought since you left for Brody. All those years, and no other. Everyone is so eager to meet him. I guess they are in for a `big' surprise. Some of the younger Sisters especially. A pleasant surprise indeed, I would say. My, but he is big." Phoebe went on, and on, and on...

I remembered a time, when I was little, when I had been imprisoned in my house by a pouring rain. My mother, adopted mother, had some women friends visiting to help in the making of a quilt, and to pass the time in conversation. As they sat and sewed while I played on the floor, they discussed me as if I weren't there, talking about how I was growing, and my mother had told how much I ate, and how good I was at reading. In similar discomfort, now, I shifted my pack up higher on my shoulder.

Sister Phoebe turned to me and just beamed. She reached out and touched my arm.

"Listen to us go on! We shouldn't talk about you like you weren't here. Welcome, Brody. Welcome to the Palace of the Prophets."

I just stood there staring at them, blinking at me.

"He doesn't talk much, does he?" Phoebe asked.

"He talks enough, thank the Creator he is quiet for now." Sister Verne said under her breath.

They led the way, and I followed behind, taking in every detail I could, but not for the reason one would think. I wanted to know the layout, I wanted to know every guard, every room, and keep it memorized in my head.

As far as I was concerned, I was in hostile territory. Threat always caused the rage inside me to ignite, and my powers to be at the ready. Sister Verne glanced sideways occasionally, as if measuring the growth of my glower.

At last we went through a pair of thick walnut doors, which opened into a vast chamber. Two levels of balconies with ornate stone railings ringed the circular room. Stained glass windows lit the top balcony from behind. The floor of the room was made up of small, light and dark wood squares laid out in a zigzag pattern. The hum of well over a hundred voices echoed around the chamber.

Woman stood in bunches around the floor and more lined the balconies. Scattered among the woman on the second level were some men and boys.

The buzz of talking died out as everyone began turning to the new arrivals. As the room fell to silence, applause started, swelling into a roar.

"Sisters...Sisters please welcome Sister Verne home." Phoebe said, applause roared again and, after a few moments, the hand brought it to silence once more.

"And may I present our newest student, our newest child of the Creator, our newest charge..." Phoebe began, and then turned, holding her hand out wiggling her fingers, indicating she wanted me to step forward. I took three strides to her, Sister Verne going with me. Sister Phoebe leaned close, and whispered to me.

"Brody...? Do you have any more to your name?" she asked, and I hesitated a moment.

"Winchester." I answered, not knowing why I did it.

"Please welcome Brody Winchester to the Palace of the Prophets." Phoebe turned back to the crowd.

The clapping started again. I glowered as every face watched me. Women near pressed closer, to get a better look at me. There were woman of all ages and descriptions in the crowd, ranging from some who looked old enough to be kindly grandmothers to some hardly old enough to be called woman, with those of every age in between.

I stood with my arms at my sides, as I studied the layout of the room, noting exits, passageways, and placement of guards. As the applause died out, a young woman in a dress the same shade of blue as he who must not be named, Winchester's favorite color shirt, worked her way through the crowd. She approached, coming to a halt in front of me. Perhaps the same age as me, but who knows in this place, she could be a hundred years old.

She was a head shorter than me; she had full soft brown hair that reached to her shoulders and big, brown eyes.

She gaped at me, with each slow breath, her bosom swelled at the lace. Her delicate fingers brushed my cheek, and stoked down my face. She seemed transfixed as she stared up at me.

"I'm Pasha Maes, novice, third rank. I am next in line to be named. I have been placed in charge of Brody. The Creator has indeed heard my prayers." Pasha beamed.

"I think I remember you, Pasha, I'm pleased to see you have studied hard and done well. Brody is passed out of my hands, now, and into yours. May the Creator gently hold you both in His hands." Sister Verne said.

"I'm pleased to meet you, young man. My name is Pasha. You are assigned to me. I'm to help teach you, help with whatever else you may need in your studies. I'm a guide of sorts. Any problems or questions you have are to be brought to me, and I will do my best to help you. You look like a bright boy, I'm sure we are going to get along just fine." Pasha smiled proudly. Her smile faltered under the heat of my glower. That was when she saw the hunting knife strapped to my belt.

"Well, first of all, Brody, we don't allow boys to carry weapons here at the Palace of the Prophets. I'll take your weapon!" Pasha said holding her palm up.

"You are welcome to my weapon, when I am no longer breathing." the rage inside me turned into a torrent. Pasha's gaze flicked to Sister Verne. The Sister gave a slow, slight shake of her head in stern warning. Pasha's gaze returned to me, and her frown transformed to a smile.

"Well, we'll talk about it later. But you need to learn some manners, young man." her brow bunched together.

"Which one of these women is the Prelate?" my voice came in a tone that took some of the color from Pasha's face.

"The Prelate is not here. She is much too busy..." Pasha giggled.

"Take me to her." I demanded.

"You do not see the Prelate when you wish. She sees you when she has reason to see you. I can hardly believe Sister Verne has not taught you that we do not allow our boys..." Pasha began, but I put the back of my hand against her shoulder and swept her aside as I took another stride into the room, redirecting my glare to the hundred of eyes watching me.

"I have something to say." I began; the vast room fell to hush. I tapped the collar at my neck.

"As long as you keep this collar on me, you are my captors, and I am your prisoner." murmurs hummed in the air. I let them trail off before I went on.

"Since I have committed no aggression against you, which makes us enemies. We are at war. Sister Verne has made a pledge to me that I will be taught to control the gift, and when I have learned what is required, I will be set free. For now, as long as you keep that pledge, we have a truce. But there are conditions.

I have been collared before. The person who put that collar on me brought me pain, to punish me, to teach me, to subdue me.

That is the sole purpose of a collar. You collar a beast. You collar your enemies.

I made him much the same offer I am making you. I begged him to release me. He would not. I was forced to kill him.

Not one of you could ever hope to be good enough to lick his boots. He did as he did because he was tortured and broken, made mad enough to use a collar to hurt people. He did it against his nature.

You (I pointed around the room) you do it because you think it is your right. You enslave in the name of your Creator. I don't know your Creator. The only one beyond this world I know who would do as you do is the Keeper." my voice was filled with command, and contempt. The crowd gasped.

"As far as I'm concerned, you may as well be the Keeper's disciples. If you do as he, and use this collar to bring me pain, the truce will be ended. You may think you hold the leash to this collar, but I promise you, if the truce ends, you will find that what you hold is a bolt of lightning." I continued. Dead silence rang in the room. I rolled up my left sleeve. I drew out my hunting Knife. The sound of steel filled the silence.

"Sister Verne captured me. I have fought her every step of this journey. She has done everything short of killing me and draping my body over a horse to get me here. Though she, too, is my captor and enemy, I owe her certain debts.

If anyone lays a finger to her because of me, I will kill that person, and the truce will be ended." I went on. I looked from the corner of my eye, and saw Sister Verne's eyes close. Her hand covered her white face. The crowed gasped as I drew my knife across the inside of my arm. I turned it, wiping both sides in the blood, until it dripped from the tip. My knuckles white around the hilt, I thrust the blade into the air.

"I give you a blood oath! Harm Sister Verne, or harm me, and the truce will be ended, and I promise you we will have war! If we have war, I will lay waste to the Palace of the Prophets!" I spoke in the harshest tone possible.

In the far balcony, where I couldn't see its source, a mocking voice drifted out over the crowd.

"All by yourself?" a man said. I tried to get a look, but he stay hidden.

"Doubt me at your peril. I am a prisoner; I have nothing to live for. I am the flesh of prophecy. I am the bringer of death." I said.

No answer came in the silence. I slammed my knife home into its scabbard. I held out my arms, and gave a gracious bow. I came up smiling.

"Now that we all understand each other, understand the truce, you ladies may go back to your celebration of my capture." I said, turning my back on the stunned crowd. Sister Verne's head was lowered, her hand covering her face. Pasha's lips were pressed so tightly together they were turning blue.

A stout, stern faced woman crossed in front of me, stopping before Sister Verne. The woman held her nose in the air until Sister Verne lifted her head and straightened her back.

"Sister Verne. It is obvious you have neither the talent nor skill to be a Sister of the Light. Your failure is quite beyond the pale. As of this moment, you are broken to novice, first rank. You will serve as novice until such time as, and if the Creator wills, you earn the title of Sister of the Light."

"Yes Sister Maren." Sister Verne answered.

"Novices do not speak to a Sister unless asked to! I did not ask you to speak! At dawn tomorrow, you will report to the kitchens. You will scrub pots until you are judged worthy to attempt something more demanding of your intelligence. Do you understand? And if you even look like you are going to give me any back talk, it will be the stables instead of the kitchen, cleaning stalls and hauling manure!" Maren asked.

"Yes Sister, I understand. In that case Sister, I will report directly to the stables, instead of the kitchens, and save your ears what it is I would say to you." Sister Verne said.

"Very well, novice. The stables it is. I trust that does not break your truce?" Maren asked.

The room was silent. I looked to Sister Verne, but the Sister stared straight ahead. Pasha, her face set in a scowl, saw me staring concerned at her.

"She is no longer your concern; I am your Teacher now. You need not worry about her." Pasha said heatedly.

I look down at her, grabbed her shoulders, picked her up and moved her out of the way. I followed Sister Verne out the door, hoping to talk to her.

By the time I got out, she was already gone. Pasha came running out after me, much to my disappointment.

"I told you she's not your concern now, so enough with the theatrics young man!" Pasha shouted.

"The name is Brody; it would do you good to remember. Now, take me to my dungeon." I snapped, staring her down.

I followed her through the grand hallways, committing everything to memory. I wanted to be sure I knew every nook and cranny of the Palace of the Prophets. If I was to ever leave, there was only one sure way I would get out of this labyrinth.

We arrived at a hall of doors, finally reaching the furthest one on the end. She opened the door and walked in, with me following behind.

"Where is the lock? This door doesn't have a lock, how will you keep me locked in my dungeon?" I asked.

"There is no lock, you are free to roam where you will." she answered.

"Anywhere? I'm free to go anywhere?" I asked.

"Yes, all of the boys are free to go wherever they want. Most of the boys like going into the city, they mostly go at night." she answered, with a sour face.

"How far, how far are we allowed to roam?" I asked, needing to know.

"The collar around you will prevent you, from going past the out reaches of the city." she answered.

Then that's what I'll be doing tonight, checking out the lay of the land. Now, all I needed to do is get rid of this pest.

"So no one will follow me, and I'm completely free to come and go?" I asked.

"We don't need to follow you; the collar around your neck allows the one that put it there to find you anywhere you are. That's why I need you to sit down, and allow me to feel the gift within you." she said smiling. She pushed me down on the bed, and stepped between my legs, her breast directly in front of my face.

"Pasha...I..." I stuttered.

The next thing I knew, this tingling sensation was rising from my toes, to my hair. It was a euphoric feeling, everything in me became calm. All my worries, all my troubles suddenly melted away.

Until she moved away, and the feeling abruptly stopped, leaving me empty. The rush of everything that's happened came flooding back, my anger, my rage, all came flooding back.

"There now I can find you, anywhere you are. If you want to go into the city, I'll gladly go with you. I'd like nothing more, than to be your friend." she said.

"You are my captor, and I will never be your friend." I said, rising to my feet.

"Well...I...I know your upset, but that's all in the past now. You're here now, and I'll be working side by side with you on a daily basis. I've been waiting for you to come into my life for years, and years. All I've ever wanted to be was a Sister of the Light, to have my own charge to teach, and help grow into a great Wizard..." she began.

"First of all, I am not a Wizard, and it will serve you well to remember that. Secondly, you are my enemy, all the Sisters here are my enemy, and anyone who will not take this collar off me is my enemy. The second the truce is broken, know that I will kill you, and anyone else who stands in my way." I shouted at her, she began crying and took off running out of the room. I hated to be mean, to anyone, mostly a woman, but they left me with no choice. I had to do what is necessary, to find a way to get out of here.

There was a knock on the door, which made me think Pasha was back.

I hope not.

I opened the door to find Sister Verne standing there, much to my surprise.

"Sister Verne, I'm glad you came. I wanted to tell you, I had no idea that what I said would have any bearing on you. I never meant to cause you trouble, by bringing you into mine. Although, you're at fault for working the stables, which was your doing." I said passionately.

"Yes it was, but what Sister Maren doesn't know is that she's doing my wishes. I've hated working the kitchens since I first became a novice, and hate scalding water a lot more." she said with an evil grin.

"Why Sister Verne, I had no idea just how devious you were. You bated her into sending you to the stables, I like the way you think." I said.

"We'll, I prefer horses, they don't talk back. Now Brody, I saw Pasha leave here crying, although I thought it would be sooner...sorry, my point is Brody you need a friend, maybe a young person can help you." she said.

"I'm sorry Sister Verne, but I can't think of anyone here as my friend. To do so, would make having to kill the Sister's harder. I'm at war here, no one here is my friend.

It will be hard enough, without becoming attached to anyone.

I know, because I had to kill someone before. The one I talked about earlier, the one who put the collar on me. I had to forgive him, in order to kill him. I think I will never be able to forgive myself, even though it was the right thing to do.

He was going to kill a boy, so that he could keep me forever, and I had to make a choice, allow him to kill the boy, or kill him myself. He had power over me, a power the likes of which I have never seen. The only way to break the power he had over me, was to forgive him.

I grew up on a farm, with my parents, or rather my adopted parents. They loved me, sheltered me, and taught me everything I thought I ever needed to know. They had no idea what lay in store for me, or maybe they did and that's why they sheltered me from the world, I don't know.

A few months ago, I watched them get murdered by a demon. That demon is still after me, along with a lot of others. I had to learn quickly, to stay alive I needed to be ready to kill the evil that walks the earth.

I have powers Sister Verne; they're just not the powers you think them to be. Maybe that's why Dean didn't want me anymore, maybe he finally realizes the monster within me is real, for I am the bringer of death." I cried.

"Brody, why didn't you tell me this before? Oh Brody, you are not a monster, and Dean did what he did to save you, out of love, not hate. He does want you, and he wants you safe, and alive. I found this out on the path, I think it belongs to you." she said handing me Dean's ring.

"You found it, where did you find it? I threw that away, I don't want to be reminded of him, of Sam, of the two people I thought cared about me." I said adamantly.

"You don't mean that, they do love you, why anyone who knows you can't help loving you. Brody, if you knew the only way to save Dean's or Sam's life was to send them away, wouldn't you have done the same thing?" she asked.

"In a heartbeat, but this is not the same. I'm not a Wizard, I don't have that kind of power, they know the powers I have, and they know where I got those powers from. This isn't right, I shouldn't be here." I answered.

"Brody, I lost my love, or rather the one I thought I loved. Love is a fickle thing, but the true intent behind Dean telling you to stay, is love. He wanted to keep you alive, what better way than to keep you here where he knows you will be helped. I want you to promise me, you'll keep the ring, and remember that your friends do love you." she begged.

"Fine Sister Verne, for you I'll keep the ring, but they don't want me anymore, and I know in my heart that it's true." I said, wiping away the tears in my eyes.

"We'll Brody, I'm not going to be able to see you anymore, and I'm actually not supposed to see you now. However, I will sneak back to see you as often as I can. Remember the sooner you learn to use your gift, the sooner you can go back home." she said.

"Sister Verne, you use to be all about the rules, and now you're breaking them left and right. I will try to learn to use my powers, but I'm sure they aren't what you think them to be. I have a question for you, if you have the ability to control me with the collar, then why did you never use the collar against me?

I know I pushed you to the point of wanting to hit me, so why did you never use your powers against me?" I asked.

"Oh yes I wanted to use my powers against you, but I was ordered by the Prelate herself to never use my powers against you. I do however not understand the reasons behind those orders, all though I'm glad I never did. I've grown quite found of you Brody, and I wouldn't like to have had to hurt you." she said smiling at me.

"I wonder why, what is the reason she would order you not to? More questions, not enough answers. I'm glad you didn't, but please Sister listen to me; when the time comes for me to leave, don't get in my way. I wouldn't want to have to hurt you; I've grown found of you as well." I said hugging her.

"Brody, there is something strange going on here in the Palace I don't know what it is, but I'm going to find out. Please be careful with whom you trust...I shouldn't be saying this, but for as long as there have been Sisters of the Light, there have also been Sisters of the Dark. I've been gone a long time, and I'm afraid other than the Prelate, I don't know who to trust. So please, just be careful." she explained.

"Sisters of the Dark, as if I didn't have enough problems. Thank you Sister Verne and you be careful as well. It seems to me that you can get yourself into just as much trouble, as I can. Maybe that's why the Prelate sent you to find me, because we're so much alike." I said.

"I think you may be right, and I'm going to talk to her and find out what I can. If I can get in to see her, now that I'm a novice again, it will be difficult." she said walking back toward the door.

"I'm sorry about that, although I can never think of you as anything less than Sister Verne." I said walking her to the door.

"Thank you Brody, remember be careful, and I will return as soon as I can. Brody, one more thing, please remember what I said about Dean and Sam, they do love you..." she said.

"Thank you Sister Verne, you have given me much to think about." I said watching her walk out the door.

I closed the door behind her, and made my way back to my backpack. I grabbed a hooded sweatshirt, and made my way over to the balcony.

It truly was a magnificent sight, but I wasn't here on vacation. I climbed down the banister, and made my way to the ground. I need to go sight seeing, and map out every part of the Palace, and city below.

I need to get out of here.

The Roadhouse-

"You what?" Bobby shouted at Dean. Bobby punched Dean, sending him flying over a table, and crashing below. He grabbed him and threw him up against a wall, punching him again.

"You stupid Son of a Bitch! He trusted you, and you told him to stay! To keep that damned collar on his neck! How could you be so stupid?" Bobby said hitting Dean again.

Dean let Bobby hit him, feeling that he deserved worse than what even Bobby could dish out. Dean never even tried to protect himself, he just did as Brody told him to do, and let Bobby rage on him.

Sam finally grabbed Bobby's hand, stopping him from hitting Dean.

"I said cut it out Bobby, hitting Dean isn't going to get Brody back." Sam said holding Bobby's fist back.

"No Sammy, I said it was alright. I told you to stay back, let Bobby do this, he's right." Dean said in a defeated voice.

"Dean, snap out of it. You can sit there feeling sorry for yourself, or we can figure out a way to save Brody. Either way if the two of you want to act like you're in high school again, then be my guests, I'll save Brody on my own!" Sam shouted.

"Sam, I'm sorry, I just lost it when this bubble head told me what he did to Brody." Bobby said helping Dean up off the floor.

"He didn't do anything to Brody, that's the point. He did what he was told, by Dad and Remy. If they told me the only way to save Brody, or Dean, or anyone of you, was to send you off, then I would have done the same thing, wouldn't you?" Sam asked.

"No, I wouldn't have done the same thing. The ghost of John Winchester and a Demon come to talk to me, I would start shooting and ask questions later. I wouldn't have trusted them, when they brought Brody to the room I would have taken him and run." Bobby answered.

"Great so now we're going to play what ifs all night! Why don't we focus on what we do know, like for starters Dad said one of us knows where Brody is." Sam said.

"I don't know, I've heard of the Sisters of the Light somewhere, but I can't put my finger on it." Bobby said.

"We'll somebody in this room knows, and no one is leaving till we find out." Sam said.

"I know who they are, I've always known." Angeline said walking into the room with her brother.

"Angeline, I don't understand, if you knew who they were, then why didn't you tell us?" Ellen asked.

"Because, I couldn't before, I had to be certain it was them. I am now, and it gets worse. The Sisters of the Light aren't the only ones at the Palace of the Prophets; there are Sisters of the Dark there." Angeline began.

"Sisters of the Dark, what are you talking about?" Ellen asked.

"The Sisters of the Dark sold there souls to the devil, for ever lasting life. They are his greatest weapons on earth, and part of the end of days as we know it. If they get Brody, there is no telling what they will do. That's if they know who he is, and if Lucifer finds out that they have him.

Brody will be a sitting duck there, I don't know if he can go up against them. Especially if doesn't learn to control his powers, and if he continues to not accept who he really is." Angeline went on.

Dean sat there staring at nothing, his whole being consumed with what he did to Brody.

"Dean, I said snap out of it! Did you hear what she just said? Brody is in trouble and he needs us, I need you to help me, I can't do this alone." Sam said grabbing Dean's face and making him look at him.

"Your right, save Brody, we're Sam and Dean Winchester, we save people that's what we do. Brody needs saving, so we need to save him. I told you she knew more than she was telling, but you didn't believe me. How do we get to this, Palace of the Prophets?" Dean asked.

"That's the hard part; they are in a dimension within our dimension. I have to create a spell, to open a window to that dimension." Angeline explained.

"Can you do it, can you open a window?" Dean asked.

"We're going to need some things, its not going to be easy. I've made each of you a list, and the sooner you get the items on your list, the sooner we can do the spell." Angeline explained.

"So give us the lists, the sooner we get started, the sooner we save Brody." Dean said.

Angeline began passing out the lists, each continued certain objects needed for the spell.

"Each one of you needs to seek the item on their list, I wrote the town they are located in, and the address. This isn't going to be easy, some of the items are locked away, sealed with booby-traps. Once one item has been retrieved, a warning beacon will go off. The demons will know what we're trying to do, and they will stop you. If the demons find out, I'm sure it won't take long for Lucifer to find out, and we'll if he finds out he'll know what we're trying to do and he will tell his Sisters of the Dark. We'll be putting Brody in more danger, than he already is." Angeline explained.

"Then we need to coordinate, once we're all at the places we're each going, then at the same time we all retrieve our item. Then we all get back here, so you can perform the spell." Dean commanded.

"That's where I come in; I can teleport each of you to the items on your list. Once you've retrieved them, I'll teleport you back." Angelo said.

"Then why can't you just teleport the items here, to us?" Sam asked.

"My power doesn't work that way, I need to be holding what I'm teleporting. I can't teleport to it, if I'm not holding it." Angelo answered.

"These are ancient booby-traps, this wont be as easy as it sounds. I'll keep in contact with you telepathically, that way Angelo will be able to teleport you back. Be careful everyone, we only have one chance at this, without the items I wont be able to do the spell. Brody will be lost to us forever, and worse if we lose Brody, the world is Lucifer's to take." Angeline explained.

"Dean I'm sorry I lost it, there is no excuse for the way I acted." Bobby said.

"I needed the ass whopping Bobby, I shouldn't have told Brody to stay." Dean said.

"No Dean, you did the right thing, the only thing to save his life. If John told you to do it, then he had his reasons." Bobby said.

"Wait, so you think it really was Dad?" Dean asked.

"Yes I do, I really believe it was him." Bobby said.

"Why would Dad come to talk to me about Brody, that's what I want to know? Why wasn't it Brody's dad, or mother?" Dean asked.

Dean stared at Bobby, watching him get uncomfortable with the question asked.

"The Lord works in mysterious ways?" Bobby answered, turning away from Dean's glare.

"I know you know more than your letting on, I will find out Bobby, I promise you that." Dean said.

"I know you will Dean, I'm counting on it." Bobby said under his breath.

Dean and Sam looked at each other, sharing a knowing look. Bobby wanted them to know the truth, wanted them to know they had a baby brother they never knew about. Bobby couldn't tell them, but that wouldn't stop him from hoping they found out.

Maybe even helping them, by leaving little bread crumbs for them to pick up, hoping they would figure it out.

END CHAPTER-