Title: SWEET SACRIFICE

Author: Silverbella

Second part of the Raising Hell trilogy

Rating and warnings: strong T for all the spilled blood, violence, angst and mature language

Genre: adventure, humour and mystery

Spoilers: pretty much everything

Full summary: They were hunters, on a mission to hunt down their greatest enemy. They thought that would be enough, but one death and one sacrifice chained them to their mission. All Hell broke loose and Balance shifted in the wrong direction. Demons scattered around the world and began their little play. Will one year be enough time to undo what has been done and save one innocent soul? Is trusting a vampire Sentinel who keeps too much secrets from them, the only way of saving Dean from the eternal damnation?

Timeline: Starting after the events in All Hell breaks loose one and two. Slightly AU, but keeps up with the show.

Disclaimer: I still don't own the Winchester brothers or Supernatural or Warner Bros. for that matter. Would I be doing this if I owned them??

A/N: It is really necessary to read the story Blaze of glory since this is the sequel.

PROLOGUE

WE WILL RISE AGAIN

Holding on to you like broken glass
Every touch cuts deeper than the last
I know I should leave
But it feels so good to bleed
Poison kisses lock us in this cage
Our lives got twisted in this masquerade
I can't seem to shake this incurable need
This endless addiction I feed
Angels on fire
They fall from the sky
Heaven and Hell will be burning tonight
Covered in ashes I cry out your name
And out of the flames we will rise again
Run in to the shadows where we hide
Bodies tender as our worlds collide
Nothing is sacred and everything's wrong
But you and I keep holding on
No temptation is my sin
Not my darkest deepest whim
We will rise

HOPE SENT THEM AN UNEXPECTED ALLY...

"Gentlemen, this is Sariel Draconis." Carl pronounced and locked eyes with Sariel.
"Are you evil?" suddenly Sam asked her.
"No. I am just… wicked…" she replied with obvious snarky remark, but her face was straight.

"Dude, she is a vampire." Dean said after few minutes of silence and Sam grunted.
"Is that your only argument in this matter?" Sam asked.
"Well… I think it is enough for me." Dean was stubborn.

ANSWERS WERE ANSWERED…

"Yellow eyed?" Sariel asked Sam and suddenly draw Dean's attention.
"You are familiar with him?"
"Not personally, but it is strange. Half-breeds that usually dwell in our plane have crimson pupils. I have never heard of a demon that has yellow eyes." Sariel started thinking about all the types demons that existed.

"Because it wasn't evident. He isn't constantly in our realm. He returns back to his shit-hole. Oh, bloody hell. I haven't surfed the ether for years now. I don't know how we missed two attacks. Even worse, what if this ones weren't the only one?"
"Whoa, you are saying that you have a channel to them?" Dean asked perplexed.
"It is not a channel per se. It is a crossover where we, sentinels, sense their presence. We can manipulate the astral field that is around us and use it to sent their sorry arses back to Hell. We are the keepers of the balance in another word. We stand as guards on the bridge between Heaven, Hell and Earth, this plane." Sariel answered.

LIGANCIES WERE MADE...

"It is not your regular tattoo. This is ink mixed with holy water and tattoos are designed to work with the astral field that surrounds you so they can protect you from possession, curses or getting controlled by spirits. Since you are not a psychic like our fellow predator standing over there, you will not be able to weal the powers of the tattoo but it will protect you." Priest explained and stole a glance at the ebony haired woman with a dark glare on her face.
"Interesting… Alright. If you think it will help." Dean looked at Sariel.
"I don't think that. I know that." She spoke quietly and venomously.

Scarlet droplets fell into the bowl and the ink started sizzling. Sariel took the dagger and mixed the liquid until it became gradually ticker. When it was finished she looked at her wrist which already healed.
Sariel took the bowl and returned to the room where they were waiting for her thinking about the consequences of this actions. She knew what this meant and how Dean will be bound to her the same way she is bound to Midnite. After this is done, there is no coming back and as she turned her gaze to the priest, he knew it too.
They were one step closer to either doom or victory. She heard voices before she entered the room and sneered at the conversation those two were having.

SACRIFICES WERE MADE...

"NO!!!! You can save him. Bring him back… He can't be gone." Dean begged desperately, but she couldn't do anything anymore.

"Can't you do anything?" Bobby came to her and asked her quietly.
"I am not allowed… The Balance…" she stammered and bit the inside of her cheek.

"How long?"
Silence. He just looked at her and then at the wall above her head.
"How long do you have????" she hissed again.
"One year." He finally cracked and eyed her seriously. "I don't regret so don't lecture me."
Dean caught a glimpse through the window of Sam getting in the car and waiting for them. Sariel turned around and matched his glare.
"Sweet sacrifice." She just stated and passed him.

THEN ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE...

"Is this what..?" Bobby asked her mortified.
"Yeah, take cover." Sariel suggested trying to stop the vault from turning around. "I am not believing this… What a fucked up thing to do!!! How dare they??? Lunatics…"
She swore to whatever God is with them at the moment that when she meats that demon, she will rip him apart inch by inch.
"Oh, no!!" Bobby piped out and Ellen looked at him in worry.
"What is it?"
"It is Hell. Take cover." Both Bobby and Sariel shouted at the same time.

ONE FIGHT WAS OVER...

"Only one bullet, vampire. You are selfish enough to even take the joy of killing me out of Dean's hands?" demon smiled darkly at her.
"Of course not…" she smirked and pointed her gun at him.
Then demon noticed it. The gun in her hand wasn't Colt. It was one of hers. The right holster on her thigh was empty. Demon turned around to snatch the gun out of Dean's hand using his powers, but a shower of bullets in his arm, upper torso and legs cause him pain and scrambled with his concentration.
Dean shot him with the last bullet smiling with satisfaction at him. The demon fell to the floor and only Dean and Sariel left standing with their guns still pointed at it.

"I kinda can't believe it, Dean. I mean our whole lives, everything has been prepping for this and now I... I kinda don't know what to say. " Sam looked at the human lying in front of him.
"I do." Dean kneels in front of the dead body. "That was for our mom, you son of a bitch."

ANOTHER FIGHT HAS JUST BEGAN...

"I don't trust you." Sariel replied simply.
"Great. We are the worst team fighting against evil there is." Sam told her.
"And that is the sole reason why we will win…" she said to him and moved past him.
Sam knew where she was going even without turning around. Sam wasn't able to speak with Dean now, but maybe Sariel was. Sam looked at her as on some sort of an equilibrium between the two of them.
"You boys better be ready for this. The war has just began." Bobby told him.

"I hope you all ready for this." Sariel reached the cars and looked at Sam, Bobby and Ellen. "Cause it's gonna be one hell of a ride."
"Yeah, the war has just began." Bobby said and eyed her carefully.
"If war is what they want, then a war they shall get." Sariel replied calmly, her eyes blazing with fire.
"We got work to do." Dean says and closes the trunk of his car, putting the Colt in it, Sam standing next to him.

Antique furniture and genuine Persian carpets decorated the office of Lady Sulla. A nineteenth-century ebony armoire, of Hungarian secession style, held her personal collection of historic weapons.

A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, surrounded by swaths of billowing fabric. A life-size wooden carving of a Grecian Muse dominated the back of the suite, ascending from the hardwood floor to the ceiling like Aphrodite rising from the foam.

A black haired woman with smaragd green eyes sat behind the large mahogany desk. The carved figure-head loomed behind her like a guardian angel. Despite the ongoing crisis, the woman's desktop was clean and meticulously organized. An antique hourglass rested next to an empty in-box.

Fountain pens, stationery, and a leather-bound journal were meticulously arranged atop the imposing desk. A skylight in the ceiling allowed the moonlight to fall across the floor. A Tiffany lamp added a touch of extra illumination.

Lady Sulla, the head of the Order of Sentinels, was an elderly woman who appeared to be in her late forties. A coal coat, which had the look of something that might have been worn by the naval commander of a bygone era, graced her dignified frame. An engraved signet ring glittered upon her right hand.

Despite her apparent age, no trace of infirmity could be seen in her mien or manner. Her cold green eyes were fully alert. A quiet authority radiated from her presence, along with a certain weary melancholy.

Suddenly, the big wooden doors slammed open and a pale man dressed all in black walked in. Lady looked at him with plain expression. She wasn't surprised by his presence. His black eyes glared at her. Actually, she was expecting him. The pale man elegantly walked to her and glared at her with his icy blue eyes.

"I see you got yourself comfortable." His black eyes were angry and cruel.

"I will never be comfortable with this position." Lady spoke in cold and emotionless voice.

"Oh really?" he snorted angrily at her and seated himself in the armchair in front of her desk without waiting for her permission. "One of the eldest immortal women doesn't believe that this position belongs to her?"

"You are walking a thin line here, Marcus. You have no reason to spread your venom at me. Go and yell at her." She knew that he didn't stand a chance in a fight with his own mother, or his own sister for that fact. "If you dare."

His anger rose quickly. Perhaps, too quickly. She's not going to tolerate this kind of behaviour in her presence. That childish and abrupt behaviour which was the consequence of his sudden lost of leadership.

"What's that suppose to mean? I'm getting a feeling that you are on her side." His lips were glowing with vicious and cruel smile but Lady was far from allowing him to be like this.

"My beloved apprentice..." she said that with great sarcasm and irony in her voice. "She is your sister… The daughter of the Vampire Imperium. The toughest Sentinel ever to walk the Earth. It is normal that you're terrified by her. You should be."

The male vampire was staring at her with great antagonism. Her mind hit the idea that he might turn on her. Well, he could only try. All the member of the Draconis line are so stubborn and rebellious. If you don't play like they want you to play, they can easily destroy you. A bad trait they inherited from their ancestor.

"She doesn't obey anyone anymore. You're the only one who can talk to her without actually getting a bullet in your forehead. And the only one who can understand what she's going thru." He grimly glared at her.

Once Marcus knew his sister, but not anymore. Not since she changed. And the person that was now racking havoc wasn't his dear Bella anymore. It was a cold and vicious killer. She was a traitor to her kind.

"Is the Council still at the stage of high alarm? Do they know the real reason why all of this is happening?? That bloody human, mortal, is the cause of this and his stupid brother. We should kill them both." her apprentice looked at her and now she started to be annoyed by him.

Lady frowned and regretted her obvious wrong decision to show similar interest in the younger twin out of pure hope that he might share his sister's powers. But that wasn't the case. Sariel is a far better warrior than he is. Sariel was able to inspire great loyalty and commandeer great armies which her younger brother never couldn't. Lady wondered whether that would be the case if Marcus was born first. Would Sariel be the one left in the shadow?

"Humans are not your concern. They are under her protection and nobody will so much as pull a hair of their heads." Lady hollered as Marcus drew back.

"All right." Marcus realized that she has won and this was over.

He stood up and calmly walked out of the door without a single backward glance. She knew too well that he was now a boiling cauldron of anger and resentment. Well, he has all rights to be angry. Living in the shadows of his sister was a great burden to bear. But that doesn't concern me.

Lady lowered her gaze at the papers that lay before her. Sariel´s human companion Carl send her all the information on the problem at hand. Two men in their teenage years stared back at her from the papers. One had hazel eyes with a mischievous mirth glowing in them while the other had blue with an innocent glow to them.

Dean and Sam Winchester. Famous sibling hunters. Their father died a year ago because he sold his soul to save his oldest son. Now the oldest son did the same thing for his brother, but only he broke the rule and brought Sam from the dead. Incredible family.

Balance shifted and Lady could clearly feel the shadows coming at them. So many demons and evil souls came flowing out of that gate. And the only thing that stands between an outright chaos and bloodshed are Winchesters, Sariel and Midnite. What a team…

"You do realize that Marcus is right about one thing? That human is damned. By the blood that he carries. We need to do something about that." An eerie voice rose from the darkness.

Lady didn't even raise her head to acknowledge his presence. She knew why he is here. Why all the tides are suddenly changing. Why Marcus is pissed beyond recognition. It was all because of that bloody idiot Azazel. Oh, he just had to go and destroy everything they fought to keep in solid status quo between Heaven and Hell so Earth wouldn't be smashed in between like a little bug.

No wonder Sariel is so angry. She fought all those demons, spending all this time to send them back to Hell just to be released now again. And for what reason?? To create a Hellish army that will overthrown both Hell and Heaven. What a stupid plan.

Azazel shouldn't have even dared to go against the very principle of Hell. Lucifer rules there and that is the ending of that story. Azazel as one of the fallen angels couldn't have just kept his mouth shut?? But the thing that amazed and terrified the Lady was that Lucifer haven't found out what was going on in his little wasteland. And that could mean two things.

One, he doesn't care anymore. Fire is fire. Let everything burn. Including Earth and Heaven.

Two, he forsake the leader's place and went somewhere. Vacation, maybe??

The latter seems more logical to her, except that vacation part, because Lucifer would never even dream of going against God.

At this very moment she can't do anything. Yes, Sariel is bound by the laws, but as every other Draconis member, she is strong enough to break any rules whether they are put there by Heaven, Hell or Balance. The question is will she be strong enough to actually break them?

But in the meantime…

"Yes, the human is damned. But thankfully they have Sariel with them. She managed to kill Azazel. Which means she has the Colt back in her possession. Again…" Lady smirked and the black shadow came to stand in front of her table.

His black eyes had a golden pupil and he blinked at her couple of times before telling her the reason for his sudden arrival.

"You will have to raise Sentinels. If the escaped demons ever form into an army and actually get their leader, we will have to strike back and send them back to Hell. Sariel should have been more careful with what she does." He waved his dark head while his black locks bounced.

"Don't blame her. Don't you dare blame her!!!" Lady suddenly snapped and her usually peaceful eyes turned into amber fire and she raised from her chair. "She did what we ordered her to do. If we haven't told her that she shouldn't ever get in the way of destiny that boy wouldn't have died and his brother wouldn't have sold his soul to save him. If we haven't ordered the cardinal to keep her out of this until was too late, Azazel would have been dead long time ago. So don't you dare blame her. She was just following our orders."

The anger and raging flame that came out of her made the man step back.

"Sariel is unpredictable… Dangerous… She is a killer… We can't trust her or those humans." The man said with a quiver in his voice.

"She is exactly what we need. We can't play by the rules anymore because they have changed. Balance has shifted and now we are all vulnerable. I truly hope she will start breaking rules now." Lady said and waved her hand, dismissing the man.

Fire… It consumed everything. It was either a blessing or a greatest torment. But it was here and it was useful to humans. Especially during the Inquisition. They lost count of exactly how many people have been burned on the stake just because they were different.

Even though vampires were afraid of fire, Sariel never feared fire. Maybe because she got the chance to experience what true fire really is. Hell fire. Or perhaps it was her usual fearless nature working for her yet again?

Nevertheless, there she was. Standing in the middle of Holy Name Cathedral which replaced the Cathedral of Saint Mary and the Church of the Holy Name, both destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire in October 1871. Again, fire was the tool for the destruction of something.

Sariel just had to smile at the irony of her current situation. She was lighting a candle. The long stick in her hand that held a tiny spark at the end, helped her alight the candles. She was never a person to pray. She was always more practical, always more adapt in fighting than praying. Well, it was more practical at all time. But now she felt alone and she tried to seek some refuge, not being able to withstand her companions anymore.

At least with Carl she could talk. She missed Carl, but he was safer at Vatican.

Praying… Sariel didn't know how to pray. Actually, she didn't know how to pray like she meant it. God knows what lies in every single soul, right? Then what the hell are they all praying for?

Simple. Out of sense of security and consolation that out there might be someone who will actually listen to you. But Sariel was on her own now. Nobody to answer her prayers even if she directed them at the sky. She knew what is behind every single wall. How Heaven and Hell are squeezing Earth in between them. Damning humans to life of misery and sacrifice, blood and war, death and sadness. All because of the pent-up tension between the titans…

Sariel cringed. She could have already given up. She could have put her weapons down and let them handle this shit themselves. But she couldn't… Why, she didn't have the answers to that question.

One thing was sure. Demons opened the gate to Hell and hundreds of them ran out. Now it was up to her to bring them all back. It was up to her to save Dean and stop Sam from turning into their weapon. In that she was truly alone. Without anybody who will approach her and offer help. No, it was her mission to be the one to approach and offer help.

Suddenly she felt a slight movement behind her followed by slight breeze of air which only she felt. The little flames on the candles didn't even flinched. She heard distant sound of spreading wings and now the flames on candles moved. Sariel frowned because now she knew who came to see her.

"Time is fire, Sariel, for mortals. It consumes everything. It consumes them." the voice was silky, but to her it was more snobbish.

Oh, for the sake of… Why am I constantly surrounded with either stupid idiots or raging philosophers??? Sariel visibly frowned and turned around.

She was met with a man taller than her, handsome in that delicate way, with high cheekbones, and a narrow chin. His face was framed with golden locks and he had snapping green eyes. Prettily pale, body as feminine as masculine wrapped in a cream-colored Armani suit. An androgyny.

But the most amazing thing about him were his wings. His giant feathery wings that were taller than him and wide as much as two meters in every direction. But they weren't silvery white as it was written in the Bible. No, this were greyish and had black areas on them. Sariel knew that none of the angels, both on Earth and Heaven doesn't have white wings.

"What? Has there been a sale on fortune cookies?? You pay one and get five?" Sariel sneered at him.

The creature looked at her with his green eyes, his pupil suddenly becoming golden. His eyes looked at her, but she knew she was safe. Her mind was protected and she wasn't about to grant him entrance.

"I know you are angry…" the creature started as Sariel suddenly hissed at him, showing her true nature, her black eyes blazing with blue fury.

"That doesn't even begin to describe the state I am in. Do you know how have I spent getting all those demons back to Hell for them just to be released now? How many men have I lost in useless battles that have no meaning anymore? Huh? Do you know that?"

"I understand…" he started again, but her cold eyes stopped him.

"You don't understand anything, half breed. How could you? Neither one of you have ever been where I have been. Did what I had to do. I am the one who does the dirty job. Not you and your bloody celestial army. You have already dealt with them. Now is our time, right?" she sneered at him.

One week has passed since the incident in Wyoming. Time was running through her hands and she couldn't find a loophole in Dean's deal or a way to bring all those demons back to Hell. That started to make her angry which led to her intolerant state of mind.

"Some things are meant to happen. You can't stop the natural way of things…"

"The hell I can't." she growled.

"We need you to fix this. we never wanted for Sam to die or Dean to sacrifice himself. But that happened and now you can't do anything about that. You cannot go against the rules. Heaven demands your obedience." The creature told her firmly.

Something in Sariel snapped. Whether it was anger or just her nature, it snapped. Her face became emotionless and she sidestepped him.

"Then it is a good thing that I don't belong to your side." She smiled sardonically, her pale lips stretching into a thin line.

The creature stared astonished, shocked and terrified.

"You can't…"

"Oh, but I can…" she started walking away from him.

"You wont break the rules." he warned her.

"The rules are already broken. Now… New game, new rules. My game, my rules. They wanted this and I will be happy to give it to them. Because that is what this all is about. War and bloodshed."

"You wouldn't dare." But she would, he realized feeling suddenly that fear that kept hiding until now.

Sariel waved at him as she exited the great cathedral. The doors swiped behind her, creating a strong wind that blew out the candles.

The angel couldn't helped thinking that maybe she is right. That maybe there has to be some rule breaking to get through this. They have ran out of time and now they were forced to take desperate measures. And Sariel was willing to take them. Heaven's personal fallen angel will rise again from the fires of Hell just like back in the old days.

Oh, Father, please protect her and her companions and make this sacrifice count for something. They are all we have. The candles lit up again, but the cathedral was empty when the priest came walking in.