Twenty minutes later they were all watching as Sam drew complex symbols onto the walls and floor surrounding the main lobby of the station
Twenty minutes later they were all watching as Sam drew complex symbols onto the walls and floor surrounding the main lobby of the station. He was muttering under his breath in a language none of them could recognize. It hurt their ears to listen to him so they stayed by the windows and watched the demon horde relentlessly press against the invisible barrier keeping them out.
They seemed to sense that something was going on because they'd been increasing the number of attempts on the station. And through it all stood Lilith, a little behind the others and off to the side, her lips tilting slightly in a self-satisfied smirk.
Sam quickened his pace as he chanted under his breath and sketched the symbols onto the surface of the floor and walls. He knew that Lilith wasn't going to cool her heels outside for much longer and he had to finish before she decided to mount a counterattack.
He finished scrawling the last symbol onto the wall and slumped in exhaustion. They glowed with a bright white light; blinding them all. When the light faded the symbols had vanished, as if they had never been there.
"What the hell was that?" Amichi asked as he and the others closed their eyes; turning away from him.
Sam cursed under his breath when he realized they'd all seen him etching the symbols into the building. He'd been so focused on his plan that he'd totally forgotten about them. If Lilith got in, she'd know immediately what he was up to and it wouldn't work.
But Sam also knew that he couldn't betray Dean like that. Couldn't ruthlessly erase his memories. It would have been a total and utter betrayl of his trust and Sam knew how hard it was to earn Dean's trust; how few people really had it. He'd just have to think of another way. Sam shook his head in regret a few seconds later; it'd be dangerous and potentially fatal but it was the only alternative.
Dean saw Sam shake his head with what seemed like regret. He honestly didn't know what to make of Pictograph Sam and his weird weird symbols; or the fact that they magically disappeared. Whatever it was, Sam had changed. Nothing overtly noticeable about him was different but, suddenly, it was like he'd come into his own. He was more confident, more aware, and more vigilant. All the things that Dean prided himself on being, Sam was becoming. Dean wondered if Sam even needed him anymore.
He'd never said anything like this to Sam; he didn't know how to open up and just talk. Dean knew he could trust Sam with everything he kept close to his chest, Sam listened and didn't judge him, would never judge him.
But he couldn't, he just couldn't bring himself to and whine and go on about his feelings. But, he was starting to see that if he didn't at least make an attempt to open up a little Sam was going to move on to greener pastures; like back to school.
Right now, however, Sam had a look on his face that Dean had never seen before. His eyes were shuttered and his expression was blank. He turned his body to face them and slowly stood up.
Sam didn't want to do this, in fact, everything inside of him was screaming at him to just go with Dean's plan and hope for the best. But he didn't have the luxury for maybes and slim chances. He had to destroy Lilith and her horde once and for all, even if that meant the possibility of becoming her in the process.
"Look at me." Sam's voice had a slight echo that overlaid his regular commanding tone. Immediately Henrickson, Nancy, and Amichi turned to face him while Dean looked on in shock.
He had only heard that type of voice once before. Andy Gallagher had had the same echoing tone when he used his 'Jedi' mind trick. The question was, when had Sam developed that particular skill and why hadn't he told Dean about it? Even more frightening: had Sam ever used it to control him?
Sam could hear Dean's thoughts loud and clear. He winced at the path they were taking and Sam promised himself that he'd allay Dean's fears when it was all over. But right now, he had to get them out of there alive.
"You will forget what you just saw," Sam said, moving closer to them.
Dean backed away from Sam's approach unconsciously and put his back to the wall. He knew logically that distance wouldn't protect him from Sam's power but he did it anyway. For the first time in his life, he actually feared his brother.
Sam spared a look at Dean as he continued his memory wipe silently. He met each of their eyes in turn and erased any memory they had of the symbols, of his mutterings. He finally finished and went to bend back down, exactly how he was right before their memories altered.
Dean watched out of the corner of his eyes as Sam returned to his position and the others snapped out of Sam's hold. The looked at each blearily as if still half asleep and scrubbed their eyes in confusion.
Sam got up again and went to the window. He looked out into the night and a mocking, teasing smirk flashed across his face, while in the mirror his eyes seemed to glint unnaturally.
Dean gasped at the reflection in the window pane and Sam quickly whipped around to face him but Dean had already turned around to look at the wall behind him. Because Dean had seen something that chilled him to the bone; just for a moment, he had seen a glint of yellow in Sam's eyes as he stared out at the mass of demons. And only one demon he'd ever met had yellow eyes.
~**~**~**~
Lilith giggled behind her tiny hand as Ruby dropped from the sky and landed hard onto the asphalt for the seventh time. She had given up on forcing Ruby through the brick wall and started to explore other, more inventive tortures. And by the looks of her, Ruby wasn't fairing so well.
Her face was a mask of blood and gravel and her movements were slow and deliberate as she forced herself back onto her feet again. Lilith was killing her by inches, and Ruby knew that she wouldn't last much longer so she decided that she would go out in style.
"Wow," She drawled, wiping away the blood from her mouth. "That last little jaunt actually felt a little weaker than the last six. What's wrong Lilith, losing your touch?"
Ruby grinned at Lilith and her blood-stained smile annoyed Lilith to no end. Angrily, Lilith balled her hands into a fist and Ruby collapsed to her knees as she felt herself being forcefully ripped from the body she inhabited.
Pain wracked her as she tried to hold onto the body but she was being slowly torn out. She tried not to, but the pain got to be so much that she screamed in agony, bloody tears tracked down her eyes.
Lilith beamed at Ruby's crumpled and screaming form. Her assembled flock gathered around to see the fall of the once proud demoness. They stamped and growled like a pack of wild animals as Ruby forced herself to get up by sheer force of will.
Ruby raised her head slowly and spat out blood onto Lilith's white shoes and rested her hands against her thighs, in a calm matter, like nothing was affecting her.
"You better do something before the natives get rest-"
Ruby paused as an unusual pang went through her. It was a warning and quite a big one too. Lilith paused as well, seeming to sense it also. Ruby painfully got to her feet and tried to focus on the feeling and where it was coming from.
It spiked suddenly and a shiver went through Ruby's body. She knew where it was coming from; hell, she even knew what it was coming from although it should have been impossible.
Lilith jerked her head around to stare at Ruby as her followers frowned in puzzlement. Ruby however was shocked into silence.
"No," Ruby whispered to herself. "No, it can't be. He's dead."
Lilith stalked towards Ruby and poked her in the chest, causing her to wince. She shook her head at her, refusing to believe it.
"No, it's not possible. Azazel can not still be alive. The Winchester boy killed him. My agents made sure of it."
"Well, obviously they were wro-" Ruby paused as a sense of dread went through her. There was only one way that Azazel could have survived that night at the Gate.
She spun around and made a dash towards the building before anybody could stop her. She soon ran into the barrier of salt and frantically tried to force her way through it.
Lilith was quick behind her and ordered two of her followers to restrain Ruby but desperation gave her strength and she shrugged them off. Ruby looked up as Lilith reached her side, and gasped.
"I don't know what you're planning Ruby but-"
Lilith was cut off as Ruby gripped her arm tightly. She angrily gestured toward the police station window and let Lilith go. Lilith jerked away from Ruby and raised her hand to vaporize her when she looked up into the window as well and froze.
There, in the window, was little Sammy Winchester. But it wasn't the sight of Sam that gave them both pause. What had made them freeze was the fact that Sam now had yellow eyes and a self-satisfied smirk on his face. His hand lifted in a small half wave and then he was gone, having spun away from the window.
Ruby and Lilith were speechless; utterly lost for words. Both of them had been sure that Azazel was dead. Now they found out that he inhabited Sam Winchester, the main attraction for their little get-together.
Ruby was furious, absolutely fuming inside. She had spent weeks getting close to Sam, slowly earning his trust, carefully nudging him in the right direction. And now it seemed that Azazel had been inside him the entire time, laughing at her, making a fool out of her. Ruby was so pissed that she lashed out telekinetically against the barrier of salt. She struck out again and again, pitting her rage and disgust against the purity of it.
Although Ruby channeled her anger into her powers, they had little effect on the barrier until Lilith raised a pale hand and laid it against it. Immediately, tremors quaked through the ground and the barrier became a physical thing, ripples spreading out from the center of her palm, covering the barrier entirely.
The ground shook and Lilith strained against the barrier, pouring more and more power into its destruction. It was clear that the struggle weakened her, her already pale face lost all of its chilidsh glee and her eyes slowly bled back to their human color. Ruby knew she wouldn't be able to keep it up for much longer, and the barrier was nowhere near destroyed yet; she took a deep breath, dreading what she'd have to do next, and placed her hand on Lilith's shoulder.
At the same time she telekinetically tugged one of the minions into her grasp as well. The results were immediate; Ruby drained the demonic power of her captive and sent it through to Lilith. Lilith gasped as the infusion of demonic essence spun through her, lifting her up and returning some of her strength. She turned to look at Ruby with shock in her eyes as the young demoness grabbed another of her followers and sucked the energy out of him, passing it along to her.
The two had run through about twenty of the demons before the barrier finally broke with a faint popping sound. Lilith and Ruby slumped in exhaustion, both of them tired from expending so much energy and power. Lilith's followers hung back, scared of becoming fuel for the pair, and gossiped amongst themselves.
Ruby was a Thief. It was surprising news, and rare as well. Only human-born demons could become Thieves and only one in a million of them ever exhibited the ability. They mostly served the Ancient Ones, those of demonkind who were so old and powerful they had a place in millennia old legends and myths.
Lilith had finally begun to move and she quickly craned her head to stare up at Ruby.
"You're one of them," she stated, not posing it as a question. "You're a Thief."
Ruby shook her head to clear the cobwebs and smirked down at Lilith.
"Yeah, so what if I am."
"Well, it certainly makes you more interesting," Lilith circled behind Ruby, looking her up and down. "Much more interesting."
"I'm glad you think so," Ruby sneered as she turned to look at the now unprotect police station. "But right now we have more important things to deal with."
Her hand clenched and unclenched as she saw the shades go down and the lights in the station turn back on. Lilith didn't have enough power to spare on dampening the electricity and there weren't enough remaining demons to collectively pool their powers together for the same effect..
But that didn't matter right now because they had a demon to deal with and a Sam to save. Or kill.