Sorry, actually forgot about posting this story after Fanfic went down a week or so ago...Christmas has fired my brain completely!! thanks for reading!! bambers;)

Chapter Ten

Rowan had been following Dean for the better part of two days, and so far wasn't all that impressed with the hunter turned Guardian. From a distance he'd watched the man search for Joshua and him in all the usual places a vampire might make its nest, and had to laugh at his ineptitude. Maybe a lesser vampire would have made his home in some rundown barn or hold up in a shack somewhere, but Rowan was a creature of comfort, and as he came from very old money, that had never been a problem.

It also surprised Rowan a little that Dean, for all his years of hunting, didn't realize he was being followed. He surmised that the hunter might be at a total loss without his younger brother to help him as Lucifer had already told him that Sam was definitely the smarter of the two Winchesters. But even still, Rowan figured at some point sheer hunter instinct would kick in, and knew he would have to make his move soon while he held the upper hand.

With that in mind, he decided the best time to make his move was while Dean was a sleep, although he was quickly learning that the hunter could go on very little or no rest at all. But he knew eventually even Dean would tire, and when he did, Rowan would be there.

On the third night, Rowan was rewarded for his efforts when Dean checked into an out of the way motel for the night. From where he sat watching, Rowan could see how bone weary the man was, could hear him heave a tired yawn, could smell his blood as it pulsed through his veins.

Sharpened fangs pierced through his gums, the taste of his own blood in his mouth whetting his appetite for more, but Rowan had long ago learned to control his hunger. As his brethren had died away, pitiful in their needs, his restraint had kept him alive, had made him a more powerful adversary. It was one of the reasons Lucifer had trusted in him to watch over Joshua, and Rowan had to smile at how foolish the demon had been in underestimating him.

And it had been a mistake on Lucifer's part to kill Gwen, to take her from Rowan as if by that one brutal gesture, Lucifer could ensure Rowan's complete compliance out of fear that the same would happen to him. Fear was for those of weaker minds, for those who feared death, and Rowan didn't count himself among them.

Lucifer had unwittingly given Rowan one very important piece of insight, one Rowan couldn't help but revel in. The demon needed the amulet, and if Lucifer thought for one moment that Rowan would actually give it to him, the demon's brains were more fried from the fires of Hell than he'd first thought.

Rowan was pulled from his thoughts as he saw the light go out in Dean's motel room, and knew it wouldn't be long before he was asleep. He waited and listen, hearing the man's heartbeat slow, and knew the moment he'd been waiting for was now upon him. Taking one last look around, Rowan slipped soundlessly from the vehicle.

Stealthily he crept toward the door, and once there, he easily picked the lock, careful not to make a sound that would alert his prey. The door opened with the subtlest of creaks, and he paused momentarily to make sure Dean hadn't heard it. When he saw no movement coming from anywhere inside, he grinned and walked inside, assured of his imminent victory over his enemy.

Cautiously, as not to wake him, Rowan approached the man buried beneath a bundle of covers. He'd almost made it to the bed, when he heard a whizzing noise sliced through the silence of the room. He swung abruptly, and saw Dean standing there holding a crossbow, just before the sharpened arrow struck him in the shoulder.

"Dead man's blood." Dean smirked as he gestured toward the arrow.

Rowan glanced down at the arrow lodged deep in the flesh between his heart and shoulder, and the grin slid from his face as he felt poisoned blood surging through his veins. Vainly he struggled in a weak attempt to remove the offending arrow, to no avail.

Another arrow hissed through the air, striking Rowan in the other shoulder, soon followed by another to his stomach. Stumbling, he fell backward onto the bed, and before he could manage to right himself, Dean attacked, slamming his fists into Rowan's face repeatedly.

Dean gripped hold of the arrow protruding from Rowan's chest, and slowly pushed it downward, feeling the vampire squirm beneath him, as a muffled cry escaped his pale lips. "Tell me where Joshua is."

"Not as dumb as they said you were," Rowan groaned in response, "how long have you known I was following you?"

"Three days," at Rowan's look of surprise, Dean added, "learned from the best. Now where's Joshua?"

"An' if I don't tell you?" Rowan grimaced again as Dean plunged the arrow deeper into his flesh.

"Then you'll die."

Rowan laughed derisively. "Figure you'll kill me anyway, so really no point in telling you." He was silent for a moment as he glared up at Dean, and then further stated, "But, then again, if you do, Joshua dies as well. My family is just looking for a reason to finish him off. Give them that reason, Dean . . . would love to see you explain that one to Michael."

Dean backed slightly away, his grip still held firm on the bolt of the arrow. He knew Rowan was right, knew he couldn't kill him without first finding out where he was keeping Joshua. "Give me Joshua and I'll let you live."

Eying him for a moment, Rowan smoothly countered, "Give me your amulet, and I'll make sure the boy is delivered to you unharmed."

"What part of what I said sounded like I was up for negotiations?" Narrowing his gaze on the vampire, Dean unsheathed the knife holstered at his side, and slowly dragged the blade along Rowan's throat. "I don't negotiate." As he said this, he pressed down on the hilt, the blade slicing deeper into the vampire's neck.

"See, I'd rethink that if I were you," Rowan chuckled, even as Dean cut deeper into his flesh, "I know things . . . things you'd definitely want to know. Things your angel friend failed to tell you about your brother. Sam's his name, right?"

Dean's grip on his knife instantly slackened at the mention of his brother's name. "What about my brother?"

"Think Azazel and his pathetic army were the only ones interested in Sam? Aww . . . you did. You probably still believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny too." At Dean's look of confusion, Rowan let out a short barking laugh. "Think they'd just let you walk away from Hell without having some sort of plan to turn it to their favor?"

A chill of fear ran up the length of Dean's spine at the thought of Sam alone and unprotected if what Rowan had said was true. "What the hell are you talkin' about?"

"I'm talking about a war, Dean . . . one that has spanned all the generations. Angels and demons, using people as their pathetic little pawns. But every once in a while they deem one of those people special." Rowan drew in a shallow breath, wincing as he tried to move his shoulder, but found it too painful to do so. "However, never before have there been two of them at any one given time . . . that is until now."

"Sam and Joshua," Dean muttered more to himself then to Rowan.

"Exactly. Why else do you think they would make sure you had no contact with Sam for the entire time you were with Joshua? No one to protect Sam, no one to keep what's coming for him at bay."

Dean shook his head, refusing to believe that Michael would allow him to make a deal that put his brother's life in jeopardy. "No, that's not true. Michael would never — "

"Never allow it?" Rowan cut him off, finishing his sentence with a sardonic chuckle. "To get his Guardian back from Hell, he would. Joshua is their golden child . . . the boy who is supposed to bring hope to this forsaken world. Think they wouldn't throw you or your brother to the wolves to protect him?"

"I can protect my brother from whatever is after him," Dean staunchly replied, not liking the doubts Rowan was raising inside him.

"How, Dean?" Rowan quirked a bemused brow as he stared at Dean. "He sees you, and you go straight to Hell. Not gonna be much help to him from there, that I can assure you." He was quiet for a moment as if gaging Dean's reaction to what he'd just said, and then added, "The best you can do is to watch from a distance as your brother falls to their mercy, unless . . . ." his voice trailed off as he eyed Dean once more.

Dean hated to admit Rowan was right, but couldn't deny it. The deal he'd made with Michael meant he could do nothing more than stand on the sidelines as Sam tried to fend off whatever demons came after him. And what was more, Dean wondered how hard Sam would even try to protect himself against them because he thought Dean was dead. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized that what he'd believed to be a good deal was purely orchestrated to benefit whatever demon was after Sam.

"Unless what?"

"Unless I choose to help you. Watch over him, make sure the Big Bad doesn't get him."

"Not letting some blood sucker near my brother," Dean shook his head, his grip tightening on the hilt of the blade pressed against Rowan's neck.

"Got no interest in making a meal out of him, if that's what you're thinking." Rowan grinned as Dean dug the blade further into his neck, blood dripping down to mingle with the blue and purple wild flowers on the bed's comforter. "This is purely about revenge," he managed to choke out, "Lucifer took Gwen from me now I get to return the favor."

"Lucifer?" Dean said, his heart rapidly sinking into the pit of his stomach. The knife slipped from his grasp to land soundlessly on the bed. Two deals made, both leaving his brother alone and unprotected, and never once had he really given thought to what that had meant until now. All that he'd cared about was that Sam was alive, and he'd gladly traded his soul for that. But what good was it to be alive if Sam could never feel safe?

If Lucifer was truly after Sam, he knew his brother's fate was sealed. He would die or would succumb to the demon. And in the end, Dean sadly realized that he's saved Sam just so he could feel the pain of dying all over again. What was worse was that he'd made his little brother suffer for the past year, had forced Sam to accept the deal that he'd made, and it had made no difference at all.

"So how about it, Dean?" Rowan's taunting voice broke through Dean's tortured thoughts, "I watch over Sam, make sure Lucifer doesn't harm him in any way, and in return all I ask for is at the end of the six months you give me the amulet. You will have done your job as a Guardian, and no one ever has to know about it."

Dean was silence for the longest time as he tried to figure out another way to help Sam and still keep his deal with Michael, but couldn't find and answer. Yet, he was still reluctant to deal with Rowan who he knew couldn't be trusted to keep his word. "Bring me Joshua, and I'll think about it."

Rowan gave a curt nod. "Fair enough, but don't try and double cross me, Dean. Would really hate to think what would happen to Sam if you did."