Chapter 10
"That sucked." Lexi winced as she pulled her jacket up onto her shoulders and it dragged across the bandage covering the fresh tattoos on her back. "You guys suck."
"Sorry, darlin'," Dean said with a chuckle as he gave Lexi a light squeeze on her shoulder as they walked through the door of the tattoo parlor. "It's the best protection - can't fall off or wash off."
"Well, it damn well better work," Lexi said, rolling her eyes. "Because if I went through that for nothing…"
"We still need to find the right ritual to banish him," Sam said as he opened the Impala's passenger door. "Since he's already in our heads, we need to get him out. So it won't work right away. But it will keep him from getting back in."
"I know," Lexi said with a sigh, leaning gingerly against the back seat as the car's engine came to life. "And thanks for making me get two! Damn demons."
"Better safe than sorry," Dean laughed. "Are you gonna bitch about this all the way back to Kansas?"
"Yes!" Lexi leaned forward and swatted Dean upside the back of his head. "That hurt!"
Sam and Dean both started laughing as they rolled out of the parking lot onto the road. Lexi couldn't hold back the smile that crossed her face at the sound of their laughs, feeling comfortable and settled with the two men who were now a part of her life. She felt safe now, despite the threats she knew she'd be facing in the future, knowing she would always have their protection.
Five hours later Lexi woke with a sigh, the lines of trees speeding past on the highway having lulled her into sleep. She could feel the car slowing as she opened her eyes to see Dean pulling into a diner parking lot as the sun dropped down below the horizon.
After a quiet hour of dinner with Sam still pouring through the book searching for a ritual and Lexi teasing Dean for hitting on their waitress, they headed back to the car.
"Hey guys, give me ten minutes to walk around a bit? Still stiff from riding." Lexi said, then walked away toward the side parking lot bordered by the diner and a copse of trees, stretching her arms and shoulders as she took wide strides while Sam and Dean settled into a quiet conversation leaning against the car. Five minutes later a scream had them both tearing off across the lot at a run, both men drawing their guns from their backs, searching wildly for Lexi.
Dean rounded the back of the building while Sam slowed, pulling out a flashlight and shining it into the trees. Both called out for Lexi as they frantically searched for her, panic wracking them both.
"Lexi!" Sam shouted as he traced the light across and between the trees, his heart pounding harder with each passing second. His head darted to the left as he heard a muffled cry, the beam of light following the sound. He felt his stomach drop as he caught sight of her finally, her small form pinned against a tree, feet dangling four feet off the ground. "Dean! Over here!"
He raced up the small incline toward the tree, her muffled, struggling cries growing louder as he approached. He could see the tears streaming down her face as she desperately tried to pull her body away from the trunk of the tree, but she remained firmly pinned. He reached the base of the tree in time to see what was holding her there come into focus. Lucifer floated beside her with his hand pressed against her throat, his face turned down toward Sam in a vicious snarl.
"Whatever it is you've done, Sam, you're not going to get away with it," Lucifer spat. "You know I can snap her neck, right?"
Sam's eyes were wide, panic-stricken, as he watched. His mind raced, wanting to lash out and yell at him, plead with him, tell him he didn't know what was lessening his power. He knew that would only open the door, and the fear of his past experience with Lucifer kept him frozen.
"What the fuck?" Dean whispered as he came to a stop next to his brother and took in the sight of Lexi held fast to the tree. Before he could do anything, the copse of trees lit up with a shimmering, bright light around Lexi.
"Holy shit…" Sam uttered, watching as a translucent figure laid a hand to Lucifer's head. He could see the devil's eyes grow wide, his mouth open to cry out as the light grew brighter, burning hot for an instant before both he and the figure of light dissipated with a quiet whoosh. Darkness returned around them as Lexi fell from the tree to land on the ground with a thud. Sam darted to her side in an instant, kneeling down to pull her to him as Dean joined him at her other side.
Lexi latched on to Sam's shoulders, gasping for air and sobbing as her whole body trembled. The sensation of Lucifer's hand around her throat blocking her breath had yet to leave her, her head spinning, dizzy, her vision spotted from lack of air. She could feel Sam's arms tight around her, Dean's hand squeezing her shoulder. She focused on the warmth of them, the sense of safety emanating from them and began to calm herself. She slowed her breathing, slowed the tears and sobs, though the trembling remained steady.
"Lucifer?" Dean asked, raising his eyebrows as his brother opened his eyes to look at him.
"He was trying to kill her." Sam took in a shuddering breath and tightened his grip on Lexi. "Did you see the figure?"
"I saw a bright-ass white light, then she fell," Dean answered, wide-eyed.
"Whatever that was, it saved her."
"Well, let's not make it have to do it again," Dean said, standing and grasping his brother's elbow to steady him as he rose with Lexi still held firm in his arms. "We need to get back to the bunker."
He could feel the heat of anger finally waning as he watched his son, curled in the corner of the cage, unconscious. The level of interference he'd had to use to save the guardian left him feeling drained, and he was thankful it drained Lucifer completely as well. It would give him time to decide what to do and give the hunters and the guardian time to make their way back to the warded safety of their home. He allowed himself some time to mourn his son, still feeling the love for his child but certain now that locking him in the cage was his only choice. Lucifer had the power and the potential to ruin or kill so many souls, to negate the entire creation of man and earth. He wondered briefly if the loss of his own son was worth the continuation of man. Because, truly, what was the point of having created them in the first place?
He glanced down at the black car speeding across asphalt and let himself feel the waves coming up from the souls in the vehicle. Expanding his view he allowed the waves from each of the surrounding pockets of people waft up to him. The sensation enveloped him, filled him with warmth, as he remembered the point. All these millennia past, it was always the point, always the reason. The one thing more powerful than himself, the one thing more beautiful than anything he'd ever created. Love.
"I don't know how I know, Dean, I just know. It's the right one." Sam said glaring up at his brother from the table in the library. It had only been an hour since they returned home, and Sam had set to work searching the book again immediately. Lexi slept soundly in the overstuffed chair in the corner, curled into a tight ball with Sam's jacket draped over her. She'd refused to go to her bedroom, the fear from the earlier encounter with Lucifer still sending trembles through her body. Dean had been watching her periodically as he paced and puttered about the room, checking for any signs of distress while Sam researched furiously.
"So, what do we need to do this thing?" Dean asked, leaning over Sam's shoulder to peer at the open page of the book.
"Most of it we have, a couple things we'll need help getting," Sam replied, shifting and stretching in his chair. "You wanna call Cas, see if he can get them for us?"
Sam went to the kitchen for coffee as Dean called the angel and explained what they needed. Then they busied themselves gathering ingredients and preparing the ritual. They cleared one of the tables and drew a circle of enochian symbols in a neat circle on its top in white chalk, setting a bowl in its center.
They woke Lexi after Cas returned with the final two herbs required, then set about filling the bowl with sprinkles of herbs and oils, then several drops of both Sam and Lexi's blood from shallow cuts on their palms.
Cas and Dean watched as Sam and Lexi recited the incantation over the table, each then dropping a lit match into the bowl. A column of white smoke rose up, followed by a wave of warm air that seemed to envelop each of them, spiralling around them for a minute before releasing with a small pop.
"Well?" Dean asked, looking from Sam to Lexi.
"I felt...something," Lexi said with a shudder.
"It definitely did something," Sam agreed. "I guess we wait and see?"
"Let me," Cas said, walking up to Sam and placing a hand to the center of his chest, closing his eyes for a few moments as he seemed to search. "I can't feel any connections to anyone outside the room, Sam."
"Good," Sam said, pulling out a chair and dropping heavily into it. "Hey Cas, what do you think it was that helped us? I mean, finding the book like that, Lucifer losing power, and that figure we saw save Lexi?"
Cas stood watching Sam for a moment, then glanced over at Lexi and Dean in turn, considering his words. He wanted to say what he thought had happened, but years of having had no hope left made him hesitate. It was as if saying it aloud would reignite that hope, and for the sake of his friends, for the sake of himself, he thought it better to leave it to the recesses of his mind.
"I don't know, Sam," Cas said with a shrug. "I guess sometimes even the Winchesters can have some luck."
With a small smile, Cas disappeared from the room with his familiar flutter of wings, leaving the three glancing at each other, confused. A moment later Dean crossed the room to pour three glasses of whiskey. Sam, Dean and Lexi sat quietly at the table, sipping their drinks, each of them pondering the angel's words.
*** The End ***