Chapter Seven
"Gonna get you on your feet." Dean's heart was running a full-out marathon. Last time he'd been this close to a hound of Hell, their teeth were ripping through his chest cavity. Having their snouts this close to Sam, hot breath puffing across the kid's face, noses nudging at his side, had a cold sweat breaking out across the back of Dean's neck.
Dean pulled Sam to his feet and the dogs growled low in their throats, red eyes flashing. Both brothers froze.
"They're gonna let us through, right?"
Sam's eyes widened. "You think I know?"
Dean felt his sibling's heart pounding where his hand was fisted in the kid's shirt to help steady him. "Well, they're kind of acting on your orders."
Sam stiffened. His answer was quiet. "I didn't order them to pull me out of the Cage."
Dean wet his lips, having no answer for that. He hated knowing that if Sam had the choice he would have remained in the Cage to protect Adam. He got that. Got that Sam being Sam wouldn't have left the kid for anything, but it still made Dean sick to his stomach thinking about Sam sacrificing himself like that.
Together, they took a small step forward and the hounds shifted to let them through. So far so good.
"Kay, they're moving," Bobby said from the other side of the phalanx of shoulder-high dogs. "Just take it slow."
They made it to Bobby and began inching their way towards the truck. The mutts moved with them like guards on duty. The closest one stopped just before Sam swayed and would have gone down if Dean didn't have a hold on him. "Sam?" he asked, staring into the glowing eyes of the hound, noting the puckered skin of an old scar across the nose. He had the uncanny feeling that the mutt sensed Sam was about to take a tumble before it happened.
Dean tore his gaze away to assess Sam. Kid's jaw was clenched, eyes tightened to slits, face pale. Head must be throbbing. "You with me?"
Despite the pain lines etched into his features, Sam grinned. "I am."
"Am what?"
"With you." He nodded. "I'm with you."
The significance of those words reached Dean, spreading warmth through his chest. He swallowed. "Good. Let's keep it that way." Hell's not going to get you again.
Bobby yanked the truck door open and the hounds recoiled at the grinding squeak. The scarred mutt pushed itself between the brothers and the truck.
"This could be a problem." Bobby climbed inside and scooted across the bench seat to the driver's side.
Dean nudged his brother. "Tell them you need to get in the truck."
Sam lifted his head, his eyes barely focusing, yet he found the scarred dog's gaze. "Do whatever my brother says," Sam slurred and Dean felt him lean closer into him, his strength depleted.
Dean stared the dog down, which was no easy task with the hound being nearly at eye level and a couple hundred pounds larger than him. "You heard him, move out of the way."
The Hellhound stared back before he gave a short bark and shifted away, allowing Dean and Sam room to get into the truck. Oh yeah, scarface was definitely the leader.
Not wasting time, Dean pushed Sam into the truck, and climbed in beside him. He felt a lot more comfortable with Sam wedged in between Bobby and himself as though their flesh and bones made any kind of barrier if the dogs wanted to get at his brother.
Bobby's hand hovered over the horn as though a short blast would get the hounds to move like a herd of cattle. Rethinking, the old hunter dropped his hand to the ignition. "Hospital?" He eased the truck forward. The hounds moved out of the way, only to lope by the sides as the vehicle picked up speed.
"Your place."
"You sure? Kid took a bullet to the . . ." Bobby's hands tightened on the wheel, obviously as unsettled by the close call as Dean was.
"Not even bleeding," Sam piped in. He was slouched in the seat, long legs taking up all the room in Dean's side of the footwell, eyes closed and head resting against the seat.
Bobby glanced at Dean for confirmation.
"We were lucky." Damn lucky. Dean squeezed his hands into fists to stop the shaking. "Bullet barely grazed him. Looks more like road rash. Might need to shave off his hair just to make sure."
Sam phiffed out a breath and Dean smiled.
Bobby pulled the truck onto the main road that would take them to the turn-off and the little country road that led to the salvage yard. This late there were only a few other cars sharing the roadway and Bobby pressed on the gas pedal, doing as least seventy with the hounds of Hell easily keeping pace.
"That demon wanted me dead." Sam still hadn't opened his eyes. "She talked about a change in management. And then the Hellhounds . . ."
"They saved you, Sammy."
"But why . . .?"
Dean and Bobby looked across the boy to each other.
"Am I . . .?" Sam pressed a hand over the wound on his head.
Dean looked past Bobby out the window at the bunching muscles of the running pack. He'd seen a lot of things in his lifetime, yet it still unnerved him to witness Hellhounds flow straight into and out the other side of oncoming vehicles.
"They pulled you out of Hell, boy." Bobby tugged the rim of his old cap. "They're following your orders."
Worse and worse. Dean wanted to cover his ears and shout la-la-la I can't hear you. "You're saying that the Hellhounds dragged Sam out of the Cage because they recognize him as the King of Hell. So why didn't they just drag Satan out?"
"I don't know. Guess they like Sam better. Or maybe because Sam bested Lucifer when he took control and jumped into the pit. Dogs don't tend to get all messed up into political issues. They simply look to the Alpha, the strongest. It's instinctual.
"Or it's possible that since the Cage was built especially to hold in a fallen Archangel, they couldn't free Lucifer, so went with the next best thing. Haven't exactly run across a situation like this before."
Sam's eyelids slid open. "If this is true, if I'm the big Kahuna of—"
"You're not." Dean didn't want him to be, didn't like the ramifications.
"If I am," Sam continued. "Then I can go back and order the demons to let Adam out."
"That's a big if, Sam," Dean growled.
"Notwithstanding . . ." Bobby pulled onto the country road. "If that crossroads demon aiming the colt at your head is anything to go by, you don't exactly have the winning vote downstairs. Just because a pack of Hellhounds recognize you as Alpha dog, doesn't mean the entire population of demons are gonna let bygones be bygones. With Lucy locked up tight and you suddenly out, the top frontrunners for the position of Hell's ruler are going to be gunnin for you and I wager their smear campaigns will be more about smearing you all over the pavement."
The muscles of Dean's throat tightened. Sam went quiet.
Bobby stared out the windshield. "Son, I hate to be the one saying this, but you can't go anywhere near the Cage."
"Stop the car!" Sam jerked up. "Bobby, just pull over." Sam reached across Dean, grabbing for the door handle. Dean shoved his arms away.
"All right. Hold on." Bobby pulled the truck over and Sam shot out the door, nearly dragging Dean with him as he climbed over him.
The hounds immediately circled Sam, pressing in close and casting wary glances out toward the darkness. Sam ran his hands back through his hair, palms squeezing his temples. "None of that matters, me being King or not."
Dean edged closer, not wanting to spook the dogs—or Sam. "Of course it matters."
"No." Sam's forehead was lined in concentration. "That's not the point. Whether I am, whether I'm not, the Hellhounds—at least this pack—are doing what I ask them to do."
"Yeah." Dean stepped closer. He didn't know what Sam was getting at, but no way was he going to let Sam figure out how to get back into the Cage.
Sam's eyes lit up. "It's so simple." He searched the hounds until he found the scarred one and looked him straight in the eye. "Free my brother Adam from the Cage. Gently."
As though he understood completely, the Hellhound turned, muscles bunching.
"Wait," Sam called and the hounds all looked toward him. "Bring him here. Right here." It was apparent that Sam didn't want Adam to come out somewhere alone and confused like he had.
Scar nose barked and as one the hounds took off, running full out until they flashed into fiery streamers that zipped away into the curve of the nearest hill.
Dean stared after them, hope tangling with the ever-present worry residing within his chest. Could it be that easy?
TBC
