Chapter 4

"What the hell is going on Angie?"

Angela glanced at Dean as she finished tying up the hunter to the chair they had found in the abandoned house they hid in. Sam was busy taking care of the dead hunter, giving him a hunter's burial despite the fact that he had tried to kill him. She could see that there were a million questions going through his mind and he was trying hard not to rapid fire them on her.

"So the thing has a name," the prisoner sneered. "I didn't know blood suckers had names."

"Hey, you shut it," Dean warned.

"And you're a traitor."

Dean would have struck but Angela held him back. She held his wrist firmly but gently and shook her head, "Don't. He's not worth it."

"But you thought it was when you killed my partner."

"You attacked me." Angela looked at the hunter and leaned in close. She was within spitting range and it looked like she was baiting him. Rather she was getting a good whiff of him. She then stared at him.

The hunter snorted at her, "You wanna see how good I taste by the smell?"

At that moment Sam walked in saying, "Body has been taken care of and the two mutts are with Moira and Zep."

"You actually name your Wilders?" The hunter snorted in disgust at that idea. "Then again typical of someone who fucks demons in his spare time."

It was reaction and while Angela felt the urge to do the same that was going through Sam's mind, she knew that it wouldn't get them anywhere if they deliberately killed one of them. She put herself in between the boys and the hunter and held up her hands to stop them. "Don't," she warned.

"Angie," Dean growled while Sam gave her a plaintive look.

Angela knew they were not understanding considering she had been all over the board recently. She looked at them and continued to hold her hands up. And it ended up a fine time for her brain to get overactive. She just hoped and silently prayed that neither of them would catch onto it. She wasn't ready for that conversation and God only knew if this hunter found out.

"Aww… not going to let Sam and Dean join in on the fun," Lucifer taunted. He smirked as he stepped in between the boys, putting a hand on each of their shoulders. "Besides, you know as well as I that they don't like you no matter what you do and like Sammy here even less."

Angela ignored Lucifer and focused on Sam and Dean saying, "Don't… react. It's bad enough that one of them is dead from self-defense." She shot a look at the hunter who was glowering at her.

Dean was not in the mood for patience but he was astute to notice that something was off about Angela. It wasn't the fluctuating hormones or whatever it was that had been happening lately. It was something different. It was something to do with her occasionally spacing out or catching her looking at something that wasn't there. Watching her, even though he was upset, he could see she was struggling and he hoped he wasn't the only one.

Sam was pissed. It was like a shot through the heart bringing up the fact that he and Ruby used to… That was before he realized the depth of his feelings and even then he felt guilty about his activities then. It made it feel like there was still a barrier between him and the woman he loved. It didn't help that she was protesting against his actions. Irrationally it felt like betrayal. Rationally, she was trying to keep them from getting into hot water. And something was going on with her that she still hadn't been able to tell him and it hurt.

Angela panted a little since the whole thing was exhausting her and her arm ached. The defensive wound on her forearm was deep but not deep enough to require stitches. Still it hurt and it was going to take some time for it to heal. Satisfied that the Winchesters weren't going to pounce on their prisoner, she slowly lowered her hands.

"Now that is plain rude. I know you want Sam to take charge and jump your bones and get some of that teeth action going." Lucifer made a suggestive dance movement as he stood behind the Winchesters.

Dean, unaware that she was seeing Lucifer, calmed enough to ask, "Okay then, why do we have this asshole? Who is he? Better yet who are they?"

"Ah now that is tricky isn't it?" Lucifer had moved to taunt Angela. He was near her ear looking like he was whispering sweet nothings into it. "I mean, you could tell them but then that opens the fact that you have yet another secret. How in the world are they still around trusting you with all the secrets you've kept? Like that you belong to me my sweet."

Angela would have loved to react but that would only make them think she was crazy. She shifted her head slightly and replied while ignoring Lucifer, "We can't kill him because if we do it will make matters worse."

"You said that," Sam pointed out. "Why?"

"Because of the treaty. A treaty that is now broken no thanks to your stinking kind at Roslyn," the hunter sneered.

It was slowly dawning on the Winchesters as to why Bobby was saying no to continue onto the academy. It was starting to sound like they were caught in the middle of something. And that something Angela seemed to know what it was and was very reluctant to tell them or she was in a state of shock that she seemed as shocked as they were. Either way, they were stuck and could be on the road to being screwed with big time.

Angela turned to look at the hunter and replied, "They would not break it. Not with children around."

"Peh. You call them children like they were human."

"Most of them are."

"Traitors."

Angela narrowed her eyes at that. It was pointless to argue and hard not to. She sighed and ran a hand through her dark locks. She turned when Sam softly asked her what it all meant. The tone was gentle but also implied that she tell them everything.

"Oh isn't this rich. Instead of demons you're now banging a vamp…"

Angela had enough and tapped the hunter's forehead, forcing him into unconsciousness. Sighing she said, "That's enough." She turned towards the Winchesters and gave another sigh. They had to know otherwise they would walk into this blindly and might get themselves killed. "The treaty he is referring to is an old one that was established by the first headmaster of Roslyn and the Hunter clans."

"Hunter clans?" Dean raised a brow at that.

Angela gave a wry smile at the look. She explained, "You know that a lot of the things you two have learned come from a long history, before history as you study in school. The Hunter clans are part of that.

"Like everything including my own kind, numbers play a big part in things. Seven individuals were chosen and given special abilities. All had enhanced senses, hunter senses but each had specialized talents and their clan became known for it. These were the first Hunters. They fought with the Six led by One and the champions to suppress the Ancient demons."

"And when it was done, they lived and expanded," Sam pointed out rather than asked.

"Like anything yes. Like the vampires from the seven you have the three that remained true, being born that is and the three that turned rogue or made and one… almost wiped out. They were the fourth of the three that were born. From them is the Kuran line." Angela made a dismissive wave since it was hardly relevant but it gave a point. "The Hunter clans are similar. They are split though. As you can see half are more progressive meaning that not all of my kind should be hunted. Only those that truly hurt people."

"And the other half think that you all should burn in hell," Sam pointed out, realizing that he sounded a little callous about it.

Angela nodded, "Not quite. They don't like my kind period but they are not killers. They wouldn't hesitate to kill monsters if someone accused them. Think like how it was and in some cases still is in the Deep South with whites and blacks."

"Damn." Dean shook his head at that. He always thought he got the monsters and people were nuts. This though was… it skewed that a little.

"They are people too." Angela gave a shrug and a wry smile. "And there are a lot of things going on that mirror historic events."

"And this guy?" Sam gestured at their unconscious 'guest'.

"He's one of the clans. Probably from the Morgan family." Angela looked at the unconscious hunter. When she looked at the Winchesters she explained, "He had a bow. That family in particular is skilled in archery and making bows to hunt with. It is said that a Morgan arrow is good enough to kill a wendigo without the fire."

"You do get around," Dean commented more to hide his surprise.

Angela chuckled at that. "And that is just one family. A clan can branch off into multiple families where whole generations bred Hunters."

Sam had been listening and thinking about what had been said. A thought then came to him since he was able to replay the fight in his mind. "Okay so this guy said a treaty was broken. Can you explain that?"

"The treaty was between Roslyn and the Hunters." Angela cleared her throat as she recalled the story. "Story goes that Roslyn was a Hunter himself but he firmly believed that we all could live as our ancestors did meaning vamps, werewolves, humans, you name it. His dream was the academy to teach the young ones all about that. Unfortunately his family was from a clan that was against it. They hunted what hurt people but they were not about to get BFF with them. So he broke away and created the academy."

"But couldn't his family and the clans cause trouble?" Sam raised his brow since he wasn't quite getting it and from the looks of things Dean wasn't either.

"True but that is where the treaty comes in." Angela made a slight face since this brought up memories that were more recent and she recalled a few choice arguments. "Despite Roslyn being considered a traitor of a sorts, he was still family. And in this case blood is thicker than water. Back then magical contracts were common place. More than you think. In a way a more scrupulous person could use them to keep the canaries from singing. In this case though, it was to ensure that no one harmed a student no matter what and the nearby town wouldn't be caught in the crossfire. I don't know the details but mainly if a murder on either side was committed, the contract becomes null and void."

Both Sam and Dean took a minute to absorb the information. Dean then said, "So then this guy coming after you…"

Angela nodded, "We are caught in the crossfire and it is open season on hunter and supernatural creature alike."

It was serious business and enough to cause both Winchesters to swallow at the implications. It made a lot more sense now why Angela got so violent. And why she was insistent that they don't harm the bastard they had tied up. They were stuck in the middle of something that could bring more trouble right when they were having troubles of their own with this Mother of All thing and the personal stuff that also seemed to show up. They looked at Angela as she took a breath and looked at nothing in particular. Finally Sam asked, "So… what are we going to do?"


The landscape was peaceful, beautiful; it was the kind that had you think of a pretty painting. Mikhael peered through the binoculars searching out for anything that would disturb the tranquility of things while trying to dispel the tension that he was feeling along his shoulders. Everything was well and yet everything was not fine.

There was a slight rustle but Mikhael didn't take his eyes off what he was looking at. He wasn't in fear for his life. He merely looked through his binoculars and continued to stare at the landscape. So far there was relative peace and quiet. With everything that was going on though, he highly doubted that it would last. That expression cooler heads prevailing was more like a distant dream.

"The Morgans are still sending out their teams. They are convinced that they have something to do with it."

"Nothing new about that," Mikhael replied as his gaze lighted onto a familiar point. He focused on it to see what he knew would be there.

There were two at the watch point. There was always two. It was a standard procedure: you never went alone. Mikhael recognized them and his lip twitched in familiarity. He watched as they looked in his direction. They were watching too. And he didn't blame them. Not with everything going on.

Mikhael's companion glanced in the direction that he was looking at. Once he saw it, he snorted slightly before adding, "One didn't report in."

Mikhael watched the watch point and he felt the muscle in his jaw clench. This was not good. He looked at his companion, "Are we talking about a failure to communicate or are we looking at a serious matter, Damon?"

"We don't know."

Mikhael cast one last look at the watch point. It was going to be a quiet night with those two. He couldn't say the same for what he had to deal with. Sighing, he turned to walk back towards the camp that his family had staked out to monitor this sector. "Then we may have a problem."

"We already have a problem. The Morgans killed a guardian. Two of them."

"Don't remind me. I was there to keep the guardians from demanding satisfaction. We are lucky that the captain is level headed." Mikhael took brisk strides to the lead tent where his uncle was bent over a map and studying newspaper clippings.

"Watch point quiet?"

Mikhael came to a stop at the table and slipped his hands into his jeans' pockets. He shrugged his shoulders slightly and took in a breath. "Yes. It will be for sure."

"Well you can always count on the captain to have cooler heads." The made oved over the map and then muttered, "Not bad for a filthy blood sucker."

Mikhael opened his mouth and closed it without making a sound, looking like he was sighing. He had been hearing comments like those all his life. Most Hunters couldn't say anything nice about the creatures that fought on their side without attaching a nasty side comment. It was one of the reasons why things were so tense. It was like they purposely goaded them. It wasn't easy especially because of his wife and daughter.

No one knew about Augusta. He was surprised himself when he found out how old she was and the circumstances that led her to becoming that. First reaction was to react like everyone else and he did. He hurt her in the beginning because of that but he realized that not everything was as he had been taught. Actually he had that lesson before when he encountered another being that could have killed him but didn't. That was a tipping point and he spent years trying to change minds and being a general advocate for them.

Taking his three minutes to calm down and not react, he straightened up and replied, "Seems that he has a cooler head than a few Hunters I know."

Mikhael's uncle looked up at him with a narrowed look. "You started switching sides again?"

"I am a Hunter like everyone else," Mikhael replied, not reacting to what his uncle was trying to incite. "I just don't see the need to be insulting with every other breath considering that they don't want full out war the same as us." He gave a hard look at his uncle to show that he wasn't going to budge.

His uncle looked at him with a raised brow. He then said, "As long as you remember your duty to humanity."

"Of course." Mikhael knew it was pointless to argue. It was hard to make a case against centuries of beliefs and traditions. Tradition was all and good and preserved ways of life but it could be detrimental especially when it came to relationships with other groups.

"Good. So what do you have?"

"I just got a report that the Morgan family is still sending out patrols. They are thoroughly convinced that the guardians have killed one of their own." Mikhael made a slight swallow in his throat. He studied the map to appear like he was interested in positions. He was but he had other reasons. "They have taunted guardians that have ventured to the neighboring towns. Some rumors of outright attacking them."

"They did kill two of them."

Mikhael made a slight sound at that. Of course there were the two guardians that had been ambushed and chased down. He corrected, "It wasn't the Morgan family that killed them."

"Nevertheless they started what could constitute as a war with a member of our kind," his uncle pointed out. "And it is something I want to avoid. I know that the guardians have only wanted to provide a safe environment for the children."

Mikhael looked at his uncle. He was surprised to hear that. He thought he was one of the few that was close to being deemed a black sheep. "Yes," he offered.

"Did you think we all didn't care?"

"It is hard to tell."

Mikhael's uncle chuckled and replied, "Mikhael, for centuries the Hunters have done their job of hunting those things that have harmed humans and in recent centuries those that just wanted to live in peace. There are plenty of us that have nothing against the guardians. Most of what we say is…"

"I know," Mikhael replied as he nodded. "I used to be the same."

"No doubt you changed your mind after meeting her." His uncle chuckled and looked at him with a grin.

Mikhael wasn't sure who his uncle meant. He went with the safe bet since he was not going to put his wife or daughter on their radar. He replied, "How can anyone forget the one who is the deemed earthbound angel?" He shot a look at his uncle while deliberately quoting the texts that spoke of the one who was a defender of man but not human.

His uncle laughed, "You'd be surprised at how many Hunters met her."

Mikhael made a sound as he moved towards the table. "I am worried, Uncle. The Morgans are not the only ones that feel that all of them should be exterminated. They wouldn't hesitate to attack anyone ignoring rules of engagement."

"Can you blame them? They were almost wiped out by vampires."

"And it was one of the rogue groups that did it."

Mikhael watched as his uncle sighed at him. It was almost a pointless argument and yet it was one that they constantly got into. Arguments could be made on both sides and in the end nobody won and all there was were bad tempers. He took a breath and said, "Uncle, I don't think either side is responsible for this."

His uncle looked at him. He then started to exit the tent and motioned Mikhael to follow him. He led the way to a swell that viewed the no man's land that separated them from the territory of the academy. It was a neutral zone in case either side wanted to parlay. Mikhael said nothing but followed, sensing that his uncle had something important to say that he didn't want the other leaders or prying ears to hear.

"I am inclined to agree with you."

Mikhael looked at his uncle after viewing no man's land. "You mean…?"

"I mean that I agree that it is not one of us." His uncle turned and looked at Mikhael with a discerning eye. "I think it's time that you talk to your wife. See if she can get in touch with the one that raised her."

Mikhael raised his brow in alarm. He immediately began thinking about what he had done that could have revealed his biggest secret. He also asked himself if he needed to relocate his wife and daughter. He didn't doubt that Augusta could protect herself and their daughter since his wife had been trained by a very good hunter. He was just concerned that the pressure would not give her what she would need to stay clear. Families like the Morgans may not be baby killers but they would attack adults and sometimes have been known to stretch the truth.

"I know about your wife, son. Most of the family knows."

"But…"

"We haven't said anything because there are others that have done the same. Old habits, son." Mikhael's uncle smiled at him. "And we won't let anything happen to her or Suri."

Mikhael stared at his uncle. He then nodded slightly, "Thank you."

"Family."

Mikhael nodded before straightening up, "I don't want to involve her if I don't have to."

"We need her to get in touch with the one who raised her. If anything she would be able to keep the peace."

"Or cause a riot because of them."

"What choice do we have?"

Mikhael looked at his uncle. The man had a point. They needed a neutral party but he doubted that it would make a difference. Still, if they could stop this before it escalated. "Then we need to get in touch with Roslyn as well."


A/N: So Angie explains a little about the Hunter clans and Mikhael is back trying to help keep the peace though both sides seem to want blood. Keep watching for more of Orion's legacy...