Chronicles of Absolution: Solstice Beginnings

Chapter 1

It was a usual walk towards the ice bins since the bucket was low. Angela held the bucket under her arm and walked like nothing was wrong in the world. There wasn't too much to be worried about since Hibah was sleeping safe and sound with Cerebus guarding her. There were also the wards and the pendant that Sherlock had modified. There really wasn't too much to worry about but it was a thing that was a constant with her. Tonight though, it wasn't.

Angela listened around her as she made it to the bins. It had been a while since she needed to get ice to suck on while she did her usual habits of reading at night before she went to bed. It was a comfort of sorts and one she knew she was clinging to like a comfort blanket. In fact she had buried herself into the care of Hibah and being a 'soccer mom', letting Sam and Dean do the jobs and occasionally bringing up the possibility of settling down in one place and devote full time to taking care of Hibah.

Angela opened up the bin and started shoveling ice into her bucket. Her thoughts were on the last couple of weeks and she didn't really pay attention to what she was doing. Shoveling ice was no brainer work anyway. She finally looked down when she realized that cold wetness of the ice didn't exactly feel right.

In the bin there was red, the distinct red of blood. She looked at her hand and noticed it was on her hand, both of them. For the first time in a long time, the sight of it made her speechless and she dropped the bucket and watched the bloody ice spill on the ground and she looked at the wetness on her hands.

"Funny how the past always leaves its marks… especially when it is paid in blood."

Angela looked up to see Ares looking smug. He was standing there in an expensive looking suit and with his arms crossed. She opened her mouth to say something when she saw someone. It was someone she was very familiar with. In fact she knew who it was well. She was looking at herself but it was different.

The double was giving a smile that was cold and not friendly at all. She was dressed in a fed suit, looking like she was a partner to Ares. She said, "Not even water can wash it away. The things we've done, the deals made… Makes you wonder where it begins and ends."

Angela felt her throat convulse. She recalled how Ares looked at her. She relived how they talked and eventually she agreed a favor for a favor in that Ares would protect Hibah's identity in exchange for a favor that could come at any time after Hibah's day of reckoning. To seal the deal was very much like a demon dealing a deal. It was a kiss and that was the most vivid of the images.

She saw herself kissing Ares. Her eyes were closed but the kiss was not one of reluctance. Ares took advantage of the situation and deepened it. She did nothing to stop it. Turning, she saw her double leaning on Ares and looking coyly at her…

Angela opened her eyes and took in the darkness of the room. She could see the first light of the morning start to reveal itself and she looked at her watch. It was roughly 6:30 in the morning. According to Sam, she slept in. Well there wasn't that much she could do about it since she was taking care of a child full time and while on the road. It didn't matter anymore anyway.

Looking down, she smiled as she spotted Hibah curled up with Boomer, her stuffed dog and snuggled under the blankets of the bed that they were sharing in the motel choice of the week. The last couple of weeks had been tiring since in addition to teaching Hibah the basics of reading and writing, Angela decided to teach her the basics of training in hand to hand combat or rather the art of self-defense.

The decision to teach Hibah how to defend herself was born out of the fact that she had made that agreement with Ares. While she knew Ares would keep his word since she had been diligent in the terms, she was aware that alliances and having the Guard at her disposal and Castiel had his ways; they weren't going to be enough. Ultimately she had to start teaching Hibah the basics and give her the means of getting away should it come to a point where she would have to put her life on the line to defend her habibitti.

Besides there was nothing else for her to do considering that things were tense enough. Angela knew that there was one thing that hurt worse than words. It was what wasn't said but shown through the expression. It hurt more this time around because she allowed it to hurt and she felt it was well deserved. Before she didn't care and she went through life not caring. Now that she did care, it was like that thing from proverbs about harsh words being like sword thrusts to the stomach but in this case it wasn't words but looks.

She didn't blame them really. She did subject them to a setup without bringing them in on the plan. She allowed herself to appear to be a prisoner and then agreed to being a Champion in a fight to the death and she actually delivered blows intended to kill. She got a few back in return but that didn't make anything better. In fact she was surprised that she found her stuff packed and being loaded into the Impala and Dean hollering for her to hurry up when they left Bobby's.

Taking a deep breath since sleep was going to elude her, she got up and made sure that Hibah was still warm. She knew the girl would continue to sleep for another hour minimum. She walked around to the foot where Cerebus was sleeping. He was instantly awake and she rubbed his head and said, "Good boy."

She was showered and dressed by the time Hibah woke up. For once Angela was glad that she insisted about the bath the night before. It saved the hassle in the morning in regards to getting ready for the day. She had witnessed enough of that coming from the boys.

Hibah sat up and rubbed her eyes as the sleep began to fade away. She spotted Angela in the chair at the table reading one of the books that held her fascination. She smiled and said, "Morning Ima."

Angela looked over at Hibah and smiled, "Good morning habibitti. Sleep well?"

"Uh huh," Hibah replied as she slid out of bed and padded on her feet towards Angela, holding Boomer. She rubbed her eyes a little with her free hand and asked, "What are we going to do today?"

Angela put a marker in her book and closed it. "Well I think Dean wants to move out today so we'll have to practice later when we stop. He wants to get on a case."

"Can I help?"

Angela smiled at that. Ever since Hibah became more articulate in her vocabulary, she had been particularly vocal in being involved more with the hunts. The girl loved to learn and she had especial interest in Angela's herb collection and how they could be used and she was a natural in learning self-defense. That was a given since she was the daughter of a warrior princess and she described it as a dance. "Well…"

"Please Ima," Hibah replied with a slight pleading tone.

Angela gave a slight chuckle. Hibah was also good with the puppy eyes and she was certain that she had picked that trait up from Sam. It was no wonder she was the bad guy since she was the one who gave out the discipline. "We'll see habibitti. You know how Dean is with the newspaper."

Hibah nodded in agreement, "Amitz doesn't like to be bothered. Abba uses the computer."

"Yes he does," Angela agreed softly. She stood up and stretched her limbs. "Well let's get dressed and see about getting breakfast. I don't know about you but I'm starving."

Hibah giggled. She found it funny that Angela would be starving. "Okay Ima." She put Boomer on the bed and with a quick rub on Cerebus' head, she grabbed the clothes that Angela had selected and went to the bathroom.

It wasn't too long since Hibah was quick and did everything the morning routine consisted of. She even had her teeth brushed. All that was left was her hair and she looked forward to that every morning since Angela would change her hairstyle daily to accommodate the thick locks that made up her shoulder length hair. She jumped on the bed and said, "Ready Ima."

Angela smiled as she brought the boar bristle brush that she used to brush Hibah's hair. She took her place behind Hibah and started brushing the long locks. "What do you feel like wearing today my little jewel?"

Hibah giggled at the pet name Angela used. She liked them a lot. She thought about it for a moment while Angela brushed her hair. "Mmm… how about like you?"

Angela raised her brow at that. Her own hair, since it was longer since it had grown over the past year, was swept up in a bun at the nape of her neck. In a fit of elegance, she let the shorter tendrils dangle in an artistic fashion. It was a typical style she employed when on hunts since having long hair did pose a danger to people yanking on it. Sometimes she made a braid.

In Hibah's case, a braid or a ponytail was typical. Even the little girl pigtails were something she tended to pick. It just seemed a little out of place to request that style. Angela couldn't help but ask, "Why habibitti?"

"I want to look like Ima."

The more Angela thought about it, she realized that she had picked out clothing that was similar to what she was wearing today. She must really be out of it to not notice that. Hibah made up for that since she was observant over most everything. She smiled and replied, "Alright sweetie," and continued to brush Hibah's hair.

With the ease of practice, Angela swept up the tail of the light brown hair and twisted it into a bun. It was a lot different doing it for someone else. She pinned the bun up and left a couple of the shorter hairs dangle. "How's that?"

It was met with approval and without further fuss, the pair set out of the room and headed towards the diner nearby. Hibah held onto Angela's hand and beamed at the world. It had Angela wonder about that since the girl had seen a few things over the past couple of weeks and yet it hadn't dampened her spirits or her innocence of the world. It had her worried a bit but she knew that she didn't need to make a big deal out of it. She figured that it had something to do with her mother's ability of seeing into the hearts and souls of man or some weird thing.

They passed by the Impala and the boys' room and Angela cast a slight glance in their direction. Normally she would have done a wakeup call or something but lately… it just didn't seem like a good idea; at least not at this time. Instead she continued towards the diner feeling rather sad at the decision she had come to.

"Ima, why are you sad?"

Angela looked at Hibah. "What do you mean?"

"You look sad."

Angela felt she had to deflect. Normally she strove to be honest with Hibah but there were some things that even she shouldn't be aware of. "I'm not sad. Just thoughtful."

"Don't lie, Ima," Hibah warned. She had stopped and looked at Angela. She gave a full on stare that would have constituted an angry look but it didn't quite look right. "You have been sad since we left Bobby's house. Why are you sad?"

Angela pursed her lips a moment. She couldn't burden a child with her problems but she knew that to deny anything would confirm she was a liar. She sighed and replied, "It's something between me and Sam and Dean. Nothing for you to worry about."

"Did Abba do something bad?"

"No habibitti," Angela replied. "He did nothing wrong. It's all right. Come on. It's time for breakfast."

It was a relief that Hibah was agreeable to that. Angela hadn't expected that line of questioning and she certainly didn't want to put anyone in an awkward position. She did the next best thing and changed subjects by mentioning the next lesson in self-defense. It worked as they finished the walk to the diner, unaware that someone was watching; someone with a concerned set of hazel green eyes.

The snowfall was picturesque. It was worthy of one of those Thomas Kincaid paintings since the cabin was tucked in the forest and the powdery snow was sprinkled on everything. Even the animals that decided to brave the elements were picturesque. It was all that Melanie Banks could help for and she couldn't believe that her fiancé Don Kirkwall went to all the expense of getting this place for their winter getaway. It was like a dream come true.

Melanie looked out as the snow fell, reminding her like the snow globes that her sister liked to collect. This really was a beautiful place and she was just happy to be there. She was glad that she decided to move to a place that had regular snowfall like the family home. Snow made her feel happy and it was on a ski run that she met Don. That was another thing that she liked about this cabin. It was close to the ski lift for people who didn't want to stay in the resort. It was romantic.

"Hey, babe. Like what you see?"

Melanie smiled as Don's arms wrapped around her. "I do. I can't believe you were able to get one of the cottage suites at this time of year."

Don smiled a bit as he kissed her cheek. "Oh I pulled a few strings."

"Meaning that you bribed Larry again," Melanie teased, knowing that was pretty much what Don did when it came to the resort.

Larry was in charge of the resort that he bought a few years back. He and Don had been buddies in college and they kept in touch over the years. Larry offered the resort for the wedding after proudly accepting to be the best man. Occasionally they appealed to each other for a favor with Don asking for cabin space for a vacation or two at a discounted rate and Larry asking legal advice since Don was an ex-Marine now hotshot attorney. It was always a source of jokes between the three of them to the extent those two would ask for favors from each other.

Don laughed at that. The latest 'bribe' was actually going out and teaching Larry the finer points of marksmanship for hunting. Recently his old college buddy expressed an interest in hunting and said it was a means of relaxation. Don found it to be rather strange but then again Larry had always been the one that was the strange one. It balanced out Don's cautious nature which was why they stuck with being friends long after they left college.

Don continued to chuckle and replied, "Well I did agree to teach him how to shoot."

Melanie frowned a bit at that. She had met Larry at the engagement party and he didn't strike her as the type to be hunting out in the woods for deer or whatever other creature was in season. IN fact he was more like a hippie type and didn't look like the guy that ran a big time ski resort that was very popular with recreational and professional skiers. "Why would he want to learn that?"

"Had me baffled too but he was insistent and asked if lesson number one would be tomorrow."

Melanie thought about it and while it sounded rude that Larry would interrupt on their getaway, she couldn't help but wonder if he had peeked at the schedule that she set up with the spa. She replied, "Well I guess he's lucky that I made an appointment at the spa for tomorrow. You both go and have fun." She gave a smile to show that she meant it.

"You sure? I can always tell Larry that I'll come on a weekend. He knows I don't welch on a trade," Don replied as he looked at fiancé's profile since he was standing behind her. He wanted this getaway as much as she did. Larry could wait.

"I'm sure. You'd be bored having to wait all day in the spa for me," Melanie replied. She turned to look at Don and gave him a kiss. "Besides I know that you are an honorable man. My Marine and I know he doesn't turn his back on his friends and Larry is an old friend." She really did understand and while she couldn't understand this latest request, she wouldn't begrudge Don that time with his friend. Since he had been working so much, he needed a break.

"You're the best Mel," Don replied as he returned the kiss with one of his own. "And you're right: I would have been bored. I don't think chatting to ladies about the color of nail polish for my toes is an interesting conversation." He smiled saucily at Melanie and he prepared for the eventual retaliation that would follow.

It came as Melanie swatted at Don's arm replying, "That's not what we do."

"Right. You gossip about who's seeing who," Don teased.

Melanie squealed in indignation as she grabbed a pillow from the nearby couch and threw it at Don. She then began chasing him through the cabin. The rest of the night was spent teasing and chasing throughout the cabin and ended well into the night.

The next morning Don was waiting for Larry while his old friend finished up his usual business with the resort. It appeared that there was a professional skier on site with a camera crew. Apparently it was a shootout for an advertisement of new ski gear or something. Don was a recreational skier and tended to stick with what worked. He was good with his money even though he was a well-paid attorney now. Besides his upbringing and experiences taught him to be frugal and he could never justify having the need for the latest gadgets. So he made do with what he had unless it was necessary.

He didn't have long to wait for Larry to come out. He was dressed for the weather since it was cold for the day even with the sun out and he had two hunting rifles. He asked his friend, "You're sure about this Larry? Do you even have a permit or something?"

Larry handed one of the rifles to Don. "I'm sure about this Don. I was thinking of expanding for a shooting range and I want to see if the area I have in mind is a good one."

Don supposed that was a good enough reason but even he was suspicious about this. He wasn't completely familiar with zoning laws as well as firearms and the like and he was a lawyer. He really couldn't find anything wrong with it since it was Larry's property and the direction they were taking was well away from the guests of the resort so there was little chance of running into a guest a possible accident occurring. "You want to make a shooting range?"

"Normally I would 86 the idea but a couple of past guests have been asking about something like it and it might keep up a steady business flow once the snow it gone besides the nature hikes," Larry replied with a shrug of his shoulder.

"Okay but you do realize that I was trained as a Marine to shoot at people right?" Don asked his friend as a partial joke but also to emphasize that he wasn't a hunter.

"Yeah I know," Larry replied as he took the lead up the trail that led them away from the main resort.

Don didn't say anything more but followed Larry through the trail. The walk was hard but nothing he hadn't done before as a Marine. Occasionally he still went on hikes but trudging on a trail covered with snow was a bit different. Still he made a promise and he would teach Larry the finer points of shooting a rifle but the whole business had him a bit uneasy.

There were a couple of good places to practice and Don pointed them out but Larry said that where he wanted it was further up. Don followed but he was getting wary. The sounds of the forest were not as they were supposed to be. In fact it was getting quiet… too quiet for his liking and his gut was telling him that he may be walking into something that was not necessarily a good thing. He ventured, "Larry?"

Larry looked around. He noticed that the forest was becoming quieter. So he did manage to find it. He just hoped that they would be able to get rid of the damn thing. It was probably the worst thing he could do to Don and to have him come along… but Don was always the better shot. While he may not look like it, Larry had taking some lessons and more out of a necessity due to the discovery he made when he took over the place and made some changes. "Almost there Don."

Don wasn't so sure. His gut was telling him that something was up and Larry knew something but wasn't talking. He stopped in his tracks and said, "Larry, is there something going on?"

Larry stopped and looked at Don. "No."

"Larry we're friends. As far as I know, you've never been into hunting and guns. What gives? Are you in trouble?"

Larry studied his friend. It was true that he nearly told everything that was going on in his life but the last few years, things have been… different. Yet he knew that he was taking Don into danger and he shouldn't have. He replied, "It's not trouble really. More of a cleanup job."

"Are you intending to shoot someone cause you know I can't let you do that," Don replied. His mind automatically went to the worst possible thing and even though Larry was his friend, he was going to follow the law.

"It's not a someone but a something."

Don frowned, "So you really are hunting?"

"Yes," Larry replied. This was going to be difficult. He wasn't even sure that Don was going to believe him. He had to try and explain though. "Donnie, there is something out here that has been after a few of my customers. I didn't notice since I thought they were welchers and skipped out on paying for the rooms and they were always the loners. Then I looked deeper. This place has always had a few missing guests a year or so."

"So you are hunting a serial killer."

"It's not that Donnie," Larry replied. He gave a slightly exasperated sigh. "You're not going to believe this but the thing that has been killing the guests is…"

He was interrupted by a roaring sound. Larry looked around. They were not within the area that he had cordoned off which meant that they were in big trouble. He said, "Donnie, run and head back."

"Larry…"

"Run!"

At that moment Don saw something bound out in a fast blur. It was hideous looking and he had never seen anything like it before. It was instinct to bring up his gun but Larry pushing him to run had him stop. He followed until something landed on his back and he fell. He collided with Larry and they rolled down the hill. The last thing Don remembered was hearing Larry say he was sorry before he passed out from the blow to the head.

A/N: Looks like things are starting off with a typical routine. Little Hibah is now six in her appearance and it looks like something is camping out in the mountains at a ski resort. Starting off with a mild bang I guess but stay tuned for more on Solstice Beginnings...