Chapter 10: The Truth Shall Set You Free

December 12, 2009

He had come to know quite thoroughly the world in which he lived. His outlook was bleak and materialistic. The world as he saw it was a fierce and brutal world, a world without warmth, a world in which caresses and affection and the bright sweetness of spirit did not exist.

Danny paused at the words written on the page, the corners of his lips twitching upward slightly in amusement. Three decades ago, they had been words that he had wholeheartedly believed in - and even now, some small part of him believed them to be true.

It had been a dark time in his life - as it was for most vampires who had their humanity turned off. He didn't revel in the bloodlust like Damon, nor did he spiral out of control like Stefan. If anything, he was more cold and calculating without it on. He was well aware of every move he made - every ounce of booze he drank, every joint he had smoked, every life he had taken was done only after careful consideration on his part.

Then that jackass Gabriel came along and had to ruin my party of one. Danny recalled ruefully, though not without affection.

He did not resent Gabriel for this - quite the opposite in fact. Gabriel had appeared during his darkest time - and had drug him kicking and screeching into the light. He was the one who had given him purpose and meaning in his life - at a point when he had had none. He felt he owed more to Gabriel than anyone else in his entire existence- though he would never admit it to the archangel.

Danny shook his head, giving a small smile as he reached over the back of the couch to grab his glass of bourbon. He paused with the edge of the glass touching his lips, taking a moment to revel in the silence that pervaded the library in the empty Salvatore mansion. An odd feeling of foreboding settled over him for a moment before the vampire shook it off, chalking it up to the usual apprehension he had when his brothers were out of his sight for more than ten minutes.

He had just taken a sip of his drink when he heard a soft fluttering behind him, followed by the words, "Hello, Daniel."

Danny choked on his drink, coughing as it went down the wrong pipe. He beat his chest a few times before saying in a strangled tone, "Dammit, Cas! We talked about this!"

He looked over the back of the couch to see the angel put on a chastised expression.

"My apologies, Daniel. I did not mean to frighten you," the angel said sincerely.

"Startle," Danny corrected idly, waving the angel over to sit on the couch across from him. "Don't worry about it, Cassie. Besides, you just reminded me that I need to put some warding up on this place." He took a long sip of his drink. "Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of this impromptu visit?"

The angel's eyes narrowed slightly as he straightened up, saying, "You lied to me about Adam."

"Not true," Danny responded, pointing at him lazily. "You just never bothered to ask about what state he was in. I would've told you he was mauled to death by ghouls if you had asked."

Cas grunted in response before asking, "How did you even know about Adam?"

"Kate," Danny replied simply, giving a small shrug.

"You two seem...close," Cas said, unable to come up with another word.

"We are, she's like the sister I never had - nothing more," Danny took another sip of his bourbon.

"I see..." the angel paused, staring around awkwardly. "So, uh...how've you been?"

The vampire's lips quirked upward in a small smile at the angel's awkward question. He turned, leaning over the back of the couch to pour some bourbon in another glass. Turning back, he handed it over to Cas, who took it, seeming almost grateful.

"Nothing to complain about, really," Danny shrugged. "How about you? How goes your hunt for the big G-man?"

Castiel sighed, taking a large gulp of his drink before responding, "Poorly, I have found nothing since our discussion with Raphael." He paused, seeming hesitant as he continued, "I figured that, if Raphael doesn't know, perhaps one of the other archangels might...and since I clearly can't ask Michael or Lucifer..."

"You figured you'd seek out Gabriel," Danny finished for him, watching the angel nod. "How do you plan on finding him?"

"I've, uh, heard rumors that he was spotted on Earth a few decades ago...with someone who matches your description."

"So, you want me to facilitate a meeting between you and Gabriel?" Danny confirmed, not even bothering to ask where Cas had gotten his information from as the angel nodded. "Sorry, buddy, no dice."

"Why not?" Cas asked, beginning to show signs of frustration.

"A, he would never agree to it. B, tricking him into it would betray his trust and confidence- one of the few things in this world I can't stand to lose," he responded, taking a long drink and finishing off his bourbon.

He gave a small pause at the angel's despondent expression, his heart twisting in his chest uncomfortably. Dammit, Cassie. Do you really have to do the face? Danny groaned, leaning his head back against the back of the couch.

"Tell you what, Cassie, because I like you, I'll reach out to Gabriel soon and ask him about grandpa G-man. Does that sound fair enough to you?" Danny sighed.

"You would do that?" Castiel asked hopefully as the vampire nodded. "Then thank you, Daniel, I greatly appreciate your assistance in this matter."

Later that night, Danny was enjoying a peaceful, Elena-free evening in the living room of his house. Lounging on the couch, sipping bourbon out of a glass, and reading Harry Potter as the light from the fire flickered over his face. Now, he knew he should probably be helping his brothers with Elena-whom he still didn't care about- or looking for a way to stop Lucifer-who had been unnervingly quiet these past few months- but right now, he couldn't bring himself to care too much. After all the work he had been putting in lately, he deserved a bit of a break.

Taking another drink from his glass and giving a small sigh of contentment, he flipped to the next page, drinking in the chaos and drama that was unfolding on the book's pages. As he was halfway through paragraph two, he heard the door slam, eliciting a sigh from the vampire as he heard the angry yelling of Damon.

"Don't slam my door. I don't feel like having it replaced," Danny commented, flipping the page as Damon stalked into the room, fuming.

Danny raised his eyes from the book, taking in Damon's distraught face and angry posture. With another sigh, he bookmarked his page and closed it, handing his half-filled glass of bourbon to Damon. His brother took it with a small nod of appreciation, flopping down onto the couch across from him and taking a long sip from the glass.

After a moment, Damon said, "We opened the tomb."

Danny raised an eyebrow, briefly wondering why they hadn't called him to tell him, before saying, "I take it you found out Katherine wasn't in the tomb?"

Damon's eyes sharpened at his brother's choice in words, asking, "You knew? You knew Katherine wasn't in the tomb?"

"January 17, 1950. That was the last time I saw that bitch. So, of course I knew she wasn't in the tomb," Danny began.

The bourbon slipped from Damon's hand as he vamped over to Danny, grabbing him by his jacket and slamming him against the wall. Veins appeared under his eyes as he glared at his older brother, anger, hurt, and betrayal all flashing over his features as he did so. Danny felt a twinge of guilt in his gut, and a rather painful burning sensation coming from his heart. Yet, he tried to play it off, keeping a blank look on his face as he stared Damon in the eyes unflinchingly. I think he stained my bloody carpet.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Damon growled.

"Would you have opened the tomb if you knew?" Danny responded, cocking an eyebrow at him.

Damon slammed him up against the wall again, snapping back with, "Why the hell do you want the tomb open?"

"Full disclosure? So I could lure Katherine back to Mystic Falls, torture her for a few centuries, and then kill her."

Damon looked rather taken aback at his words, his grip slacking, allowing Danny to get out of his grasp and walk back toward the couch. He began to pick up the shards of glass from the floor while Damon continued to watch him, pondering whether or not he was serious with his threat toward Katherine.

"Any particular reason why you want her dead?"

"Oh, there's a multitude of reasons, brother. Some of which involve you and Stefan, most of which involve me. None of which are your business," Danny replied rather curtly, a smirk working its way onto his lips.

"Can't you just—"

"If you're about to ask me to let her live or show mercy or some shit, my answer is 'fuck no'. I have been planning my revenge against that bitch since she fucked me over sideways in 1950. There is no fucking way I'm letting her go now, Damon," Danny replied rather harshly, cutting his brother off abruptly.

Once more, Damon was taken aback at his brother's words, as well as his harsh tone. Not once, in the long years since they had known each other, had Danny ever spoken to him that way. In a voice so full of hatred and rage-not directed towards him, but towards Katherine, the woman who didn't care that he was still alive. The woman who had abandoned him, who had broken his heart, who had tried to play his brothers against him-that was the woman that she was, the one that his brother sought to kill.

"Fine, I won't ask you to spare her, I just want one favor from you, brother," Damon responded slowly.

Danny looked up from where he had just finished picking up all the pieces of glass, raising an eyebrow warily as he asked, "What?"

"Let me talk to her first. I want to know why she abandoned me without a second thought, why she—"

Danny cut him off, walking over to him and clapping him on the shoulder as he replied, "Your voice, dear brother, will be the last pleasant thing Katherine hears before I take her away. You can have your talk with her, afterwards, the bitch is all mine."