This is for those of you who put up a story alert. More of this in Looking for the Devil, sequel to Allies.

Thanks for sticking with me and motivating me to write more.

Dean slammed the large tome shut and pushed it aside. Wordlessly, Sam picked up another one from the pile on the table and placed it in front of his brother.

"We've been at this for two days Sam, not to mention going through Bobby's entire collection. So far, all I've got is we should look out for a guy with a scythe riding a pale horse. What makes you think we're going to find anything here?"

The two hunters were in Chicago for the second time in as many months. Their friend Bobby Singer had convinced one of his contacts to open his library of occult books to the Winchesters. With little reliable intel from the angels and a ticking Hell bomb somewhere out there, they were getting desperate for a way to destroy Lucifer. Having been tricked into letting the devil out of his cage, Sam refused to rest until he'd fixed his mistake, and while Dean was all for saving the world, the dust was starting to get to him.

"It's not like we have anything else to go on," Sam reminded his older brother.

Dean stared at the book for a second then ran a hand over his face. "Yeah, whatever. I'm going for coffee, you want anything?"

"I'm fine." His eyes never left the text in front of him.

The library's door opened in to the owner's bookstore, "Bock Ordered Books." A few patrons were browsing in the isles. Dean was halfway to the entrance when he spotted a Swedish Goth fashion model. She was carrying a stack of books and, every few seconds, would glance at the one on top and smile. Dean wandered over. She was tall and blonde and probably could be a model if she really wanted to. She was a little young for Dean's taste, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the view.

"Hey," he said, sneaking a peek at the book that interested her so much. It was a testament to the good impression a wizard had had on him that hunter didn't bristle at the title.