Chronicles of Absolution: Memories of a Century
Chapter 1
Then
… What worried her was the fact that Austin could smell it. Austin was one of her firsts when it came to being a demon slayer. He was the best at it under her…
… "The why regarding a certain stench that seems to cling to you."
… "You can't lie to me about it since I smell it on you Sam. You've been drinking demon blood." He looked at Sam full on…
… "Most of us can smell things pretty good but it does take a certain talent to know a demon and an angel without them bleeding. Yes I learned that from her."
… He knew she was a reluctant soldier for the Centurion but she did the jobs she was given and without much complaint. He knew that she wouldn't take it well when he told her that the Council didn't want her for this job…
… He knew she had given her word and she firmly believed in keeping so much that it was like making a blood oath. She would be bound to it until the day she died. Yet he knew that she toed the line with it because of another promise she had made and reluctantly…
… Sigils to hide this place from just about anything that exists in the world. All members of the order stay here and it is their job to make sure the sigils are current...
… Some of you know her has the Blood Knight, others the Queen of Vengeance but mostly known as the Malachi…
… The order has many resources and they get interested in hunters outside the order. Wouldn't surprise me if one of your friends was one of the order's scouts…
… You are selfless in this regard, the one quality that is hard to find in a champion…
… She twirled it around in her hand and replied, "The order is ancient. Tradition dictates we learn all forms besides using salt rounds and silver bullets. Even you know that some things require a blade every now and then."
… "Why else would I ask the Seer to interfere on your behalf?" Isis gave a tolerant smile. "The Centurion has done its duty for centuries as the Seer said they would. However the more finer points of the Old Religion evade their grasp such as the nature of champions."
… A well trained operative could use the shadows like a cloak to sneak in and sneak out and never leave a trace behind. It was what they had been trained for and those skills were put to use hunting down the beasts that plagued the human race…
… The best thing that his kind could do was use that gift to seek out those that were a menace to humanity. That was their calling and they had been blessed. His clan though was truly blessed…
… A demon was a demon and it must be killed. Anything that had a taint in the blood should be killed including those blasted champions. Sooner or later they would turn on humanity. It happened before…
… She, the greatest of them all and the most feared. She handpicked him and his brothers and taught her craft to them. It made them better hunters than their kinsmen and members of the other clans. Then she betrayed them like all the others did…
… "We were to hunt the demons but a choice was always an option. You have corrupted our purpose."
"I have made it better. Now give up the brat and the others will be spared."
She put her right hand across her middle to reach for the handle. "That… I cannot allow you to do." She then pulled out her sword and swung it to strike…
… "I was a demon slayer yes," Angela replied, "I trained only a select few how to track demons through the scent of their blood. Demon blood has a particular scent that differs greatly from human blood."
… Legend has it that seven were chosen to defend the world from the monsters. They were given the gift to hunt and thus seven lineages were born. They are considered hunters…
… "I was and to some degree, still am, considered the best at being a slayer. I was asked by the Centurion to train others since they are one of the groups that defend humans. I refused for several years until I gave in under the stipulation that I would chose who got trained and who didn't. I selected them mostly from the vampires since they had exceptional sniffers already but then I got curious about others and selected some from the hunter clans."
… It was like a dance, a dance that she used to practice a long time ago…
… Sarah the slayers set us up that night. They made it like it was demons in order to drag us into a war. The goal was to get us to turn against each other…
… "…the Centurion thought a foolish human was taking out one lizard head when in reality he was walking into a trap. So I went." She poured the liquid onto the dead beast. "I ended up getting ambushed and the foolish human saved me."
… Sam and Dean watched as the body began to dissolve. Dean asked, "Clean up formula?"
Angela watched as the body dissolved. It had been a while since she used the stuff but then again she always had a cleanup crew at her disposal. After the last few incidents, she had to get creative and dug out her dusty alchemist recipes. This one dissolved practically anything and left virtually no trace of a fugly. "Yep. I used up all my minutes so I pulled out the reserves."
… The man replied, "Hai. Anything for Hoshiko and the Champion." He then caught sight of Dean who finally got out of the car. His eyes went as big as saucers. He then stuttered, "The Slayer of the Demon."
It took him by surprise when he heard a second reference. He turned to see the guy pointing at him and looking like he just saw the face of God. He was pointing at him and saying something but Dean couldn't make it out…
… it was only an indication that Dean cared and put her in the same category as Sam. She nodded and said, "You said it yourself, Alistair is the black belt master of torture… down there. When we met, I was the grandmaster of it topside. You can… imagine. That and the fact that those were slayer years…"
… Angela gave a nod. She glanced off in a direction and then back at Dean. "I did get bored. The physical is one thing. After a while, pain becomes meaningless and you learn to make it white noise. The mental and the emotional… it's another thing. The creative part was using the same things, the same images over and over again in a different manner."
… "It was never lost to begin with," Castiel replied, "She chose not to use it."
"And look at what a waste that was. This could have been over long before this."
… She grinned at being called the doctor. There was a benefit of being able to switch gears rapidly. It was also part of the fun cause then the victim had no idea which way was up or down. The demon was making noises like they were in France when the incident with the doctor was in England. Poor bastard just was out of it. Soon he'll be a sniveling worm and then dead. Another one for the books…
… It was just one other demon to get rid of and she aimed to have fun with it. By the time she actually got rid of the demon, the meat suit was pretty much done for and the human it belonged to was…
Angela blinked. That was the last one she did. She had crossed a line then even though she had crossed others during the course of that. Some things she picked up from her time with Alistair and Lenya and had fun with it…
… Dark times are coming and I need the pup of the Wilder folk for the hunt…
… At least Sam had a grip on her that said he wasn't going to let her go so easily. That was something he liked and he figured that Sam would want her company more to ease his mind…
… The blood that fuels pit beasts amplifies instincts. The alpha's alpha is human but he has the blood of a pit beast running through his veins… The young pup is touching his mate… The alpha's alpha is starting to acknowledge his feelings. I can smell them on him and they get stronger when he holds her…
… The alpha is her alpha's mate. Just not formally yet…
… Because the alpha is not a true pup. He protects her like a pup because she looks like a pup but deep down it's because she is his mate and he is hers.
He has never done that when children touch her. The daughter of Wosret that was returned remembers well his actions.
Because she was a true pup. The alpha is not…
… "You mess with her… you mess with me and my brother."
Now
It was a quiet night but it was one to be wary of. It was the night of the full moon and there were tons of things that were affect by it both the good and the bad. It was the source of all the mysteriousness that Hollywood like to employ in the movies but for Sarah, it was something very serious. It was said that the phases of the moon held as much potency now as they did in the beginning. Now it seemed that it had increased now that the Apocalypse was set in motion.
For the past three and a half years, she had been redeeming herself for the bad choices she had made because she thought she was doing the right thing. It still rankled that she had been deceived so easily and even more so that she willingly followed doing the things that she had disapproved of previously. She used that though to garner focus and to guide her actions and make better choices. She had that and she was given a second chance with the one person she cared about more than anything.
Looking from her position in the brush, she looked for her partner and savior, Jules. He was supposed to be scouting the other side. They were then to coordinate and approach the building and do gather recon. It was a simple scouting mission but with times like these, it was anything but simple.
There had been some pick-up in activity that at face value showed it to be demons. Sarah and Jules had been sent by the order to investigate. With Lucifer freed, it seemed that he was moving to put his plans in motion. That was something that the order wanted to get out ahead of and they weren't going to appeal to the angels if they could help it.
After making the choice to leave the rogue slayers/hunters behind, Sarah and Jules had been approached by a sort of member of one of the oldest known orders. It was suggested that they join and pool together the remaining slayers and start anew. The way it was put was that with the way things were going, they were going to need all the help they could get. The clans would be dragged in no matter what.
It had been made to sound like it was going to be the end of the world and technically it was on the road to that but from what Sarah had learned, this would be nothing like the wars that waged when the Ancients were in power. Still, as their 'agent' put it, it was still war and with it came a terrible cost in terms of bloodshed, pain, and destruction and the cost would be attributed to both sides. In the end it was up to those that chose to fight and not because it was destiny but because they had the power to make the choice. In the end she and Jules were sold and sought out former slayers.
They were small in number since many had died after being disbanded. The reason for disbanding was never made clear to her or Jules and it piqued her curiosity. So she spent her time researching but there was nothing on what it was and only that there was a major disagreement which led to a fight between the captain and a subordinate. No names were given and it ended up being a dead end. Jules told her that if it was meant to be it would and that they should focus on the here and now.
It was exactly what they were doing and it was so far proving to be something that put them one step behind. It felt that way. Whether or not it actually was, that was another story and one that seemed to be in the hands of the council as it stood. Their info said that there was some sort of gathering and there were rumors that Lucifer himself may be there. So it was a big catch.
Still wishing for backup?
Sarah grinned and replied on her radio, "You know I like a little excitement."
Good cause the party just arrived.
Sarah pulled up a pair of binoculars. She had to smirk a little. In the old days of the slayers they didn't have the high tech stuff. There was no such thing as night vision. She peered through and spotted what looked like a group of demons and… She frowned, "I don't think those are demons."
What do you mean? Our intel said that a group would be meeting here.
Sarah adjusted to zoom in and frowned a little, "Well it is a group but they aren't demons. Wait… Jules, you got eyes?"
Yeah.
"Zoom in on the tall one."
Zooming in. What the…
"They're Hunters."
What would Hunters want with demons? Did we miss something?
Sarah watched the group. She studied their movements. Even though she had been made a slayer, she was raised as a Hunter. She came from one of the seven original clans and one of the major things she had been taught was how to tell the clan crests apart. She remembered in school how she had been drilled on them and to know how to give the proper greetings. There was no doubt that at least one of them was a Hunter. "It's not a trick Jules. At least one is from the clans. The others might be as well."
Dammit.
At that moment, the door opened and a demon summoned them in. Sarah said, "They're being let in and by a demon."
That isn't good.
It wasn't good at all. The clans were struggling against the monsters. While it was easy to try and eradicate them all, they recognized that there were those that made a choice to live in peace. To deal with demons though was pretty much taboo. No good ever came from deals made from them and their motives were often to take grains of truth and twist them into truths that would make people believe them.
Making a decision, Sarah said, "I'm going in."
Sarah, wait. We don't know what is going on.
"Which is why I'm going in Jules," Sarah replied as she checked her gear. It was standard hunting gear and it came to be a cross between a mercenary and a priest, if you took into account the holy water. "We have to find out. If a clan or a splinter group is making deals with the devil literally, then we need to know. It'll be hard enough to know who to trust and who not to."
Sarah… please. Don't take any unnecessary risks.
"You know me."
That's what I'm afraid of. I'll reposition to take point.
"Knew I could count on you."
Blow it out your ass. Good luck.
Sarah grinned since she knew that Jules had her back no matter what. She took a breath and started making her way towards the building to sneak in. It was like a normal B&E except she had to check just in case there were any supernatural traps that would alert them to her presence. Making her way slowly, she stuck to the shadows while moving towards the voices that were exchanging more threats than anything. Typical.
She managed to get close enough while hiding behind some crates. She was lucky that there were none of the typical creatures with a good sense of smell. Demons though were another story. It was why she checked to make sure that she had her amulet that would mask her presence from any demons. How effective it was still was on a test run since the only demons she had used it against were the typical black eyed freaks. Anything higher… she had yet to tell.
There was at least one demon from which she could smell. Some things never went away even though she was off the stuff. There were two though; one was acting like a bodyguard. The one running the show was a woman. She was pretty in term of the meat suit but the only thing marring her features was a rather nasty scar on her face. Sarah wondered how the demon couldn't even heal that.
The group was definitely Hunters and from the general cacophony, Sarah was able to determine that they were from different parts of the world and more likely from different clans. Were they rogues/rogue slayers? The seventh clan still operated under the belief that anything that had blood in them that wasn't human was a monster; a contradiction since the story of the history of the clans revealed that Hunters were considered more than human though it may have been allegory.
"Now I know you must be wondering why you were called here and I do have to warn you. You try anything and you are dead," the woman was speaking.
"Right. You are only one demon with a lackey," one of the Hunters said. "Tell us why we shouldn't kill you already."
The female demon looked amused at the sudden shouts demanding an answer. Sarah found that she was getting a chill from the look that appeared on the demon's face. Something was telling her that this demon was not one to be trifled with. She was proven right when the demon marched right up to the one that decided to mouth her off and with a twist of her hand, the guy was looking the other way and dead on the floor. That got everyone's attention.
"Now are we going to have a problem?"
The Hunter who appeared to be the leader motioned for his group to stand down. He replied, "Enough. You have proven your point. Now will you tell us why you called us here?"
The demon smiled and gave a trilling laugh, "Now you have manners. I like that." She looked at the others before pacing in front of them. Finally she said, "I called you here because I think that we can make a deal. Now I know your… merry little band… think that anyone with demon blood or are one of the many monsters think should be exterminated. A reasoning that amuses me to no end."
"We are of the rogue clan. What's the point?"
"The point is that I know that you will stop at nothing to achieve your objective. Am I right?"
"It is. I should warn you. Our… objective could be that we agreed to come so we could kill you," the leader replied with a smirk on his face.
"I considered that but I think I have shown that your pathetic meat suits are of little match for me," the demon replied. She looked at them with a slight pout and continued, "So I think you would be agreeable to what I have to say."
The rogue considered for a moment. He then nodded, "Proceed."
"As you know we are on the road to the end of days. Such a terrible thing," she mocked, "Especially since it was caused by one of you."
"That traitor will get his," the leader said as another said, "The abomination will pay for his crimes."
The demon couldn't help but laugh a little at that. She was amused but the whole outburst. She continued, "Indeed he will. You are though one of many that are after him and I must say that there is a problem."
"It is no problem."
"It is if there is someone protecting him but that is hardly of importance."
"It is. Tell us where to find him and we will consider this a good faith for future arrangements." The leader stood firm looking at the demon. He wasn't afraid even if he had a dead comrade at his feet.
The demon smiled at that. The rogues did have a one track mindset. Her smile turned into a coy one as she studied the group. Finally she said, "As tempting as it sounds perhaps what I have in mind will be even better and you would only have to deal with us only once."
The leader was silent as he thought about it for a moment before saying, "Go on."
Sarah listened while a plan was laid out. Some of it confused her since it was about things that she wasn't sure about. What she did know was that it was more than what the council thought. She could only hope that what she was hearing would put them in position to act before they did and prevent disaster. The things they did to keep the world safe from the things that go bump in the night.
They were about to get to a crucial part when a door opened. The group looked towards the sound when all of a sudden Jules was shoved into the middle of the circle by a demon lackey claiming that they found him lurking around outside. A bit of rough treatment revealed Jules' affiliation with the order and that had the demon approach him with a dangerous look in her eye.
Sarah knew that the demon was going to do what demons loved and that was torture. They would torture Jules to try and get him to reveal what he was doing there and spill any secrets about the order that he might have. She trusted that he wouldn't since after all the man staged his death in order to continue to infiltrate the rogue slayers. Still she couldn't stand the thought of him being tortured and she wracked her brains to figure something out.
It was probably against protocol but she didn't care. They were going to have to make a run for it once she got him free but it would be worth it. She pulled out a few smoke grenades. It did nothing for demons since they could get back up after falling seven stories to the ground. Since there were humans, that would even the odds. It wasn't part of the standard gear but it paid to have a little bit of everything and occasionally you came across humans that were being the monsters instead of the monsters.
Taking a breath, she threw a couple of the canisters and waited for them to go off. Once she determined that she had the opening, she took it. Then it became a fight to get out. They managed to get out of the building and to where their ride was. Sarah took the wheel and high tailed it out of there while Jules was coughing and cursing. She said, "Relax Jules. We got something and it's big. We need to inform the council." She paused and repeated one line that seemed ominous and it had stuck when she heard it, "The staff, the heart and eye and the end of Michael is nigh."
A/N: Looks like trouble is nigh and with a couple of familiar characters. What is going on? Find out next time on Memories of a Century...