[h2]Esme Stirling[/h2]

Esme remained curled in on herself as Cason came to her aide. She didn’t have the strength to even try to push him away when he pulled her to him. She could hardly breathe, her chest was on fire, and she was shaking badly from all the emotions that surrounded her in the room. She clutched her chest and tried to take in slow deep breaths and let them out as she listened to everyone talk. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. Esme struggled to lift her head to look at Annabeth as she continued to explain what she had to do. Annabeth felt she had to make the deal to keep Sam alive, and even feared this demon would kill them. 

If she had the air, she would have sighed at the thoughts swimming in her mind. When Dean cleared his throat, she looked at him. His words surprised her. She couldn’t help but wonder how he’d known of such a demon. Her attention went back to Annabeth as she spoke to Sam. She closed her eyes tight when she said he could go after and they wouldn’t have to worry about her. Those words hit her hard. She didn’t like just letting her go off to fend for herself against a demon, even if it was to keep them alive. At Bobby’s voice, Esme opened her eyes and listened to his plan. She had to admit; it sounded better than Annabeth going off with this Alastair. 

When she saw Dean agree with Bobby, she fought to pull herself away from Cason and sat with her legs under her. She didn’t attempt to stand, even though she wanted to. She knew she would just collapse back to the floor. So, she stayed sitting and silently nodded in agreement to use Bobby’s vault to protect Sam and Annabeth. She ran a shaky hand through her hair to get it out of her face, then looked around the room to see who else agreed with the plan.