DLB11Through the Gates of Hell
The young hunter gasped at the unexpected assault. Releasing his tight grip on the sword he skittered backward away from the melee. Eyes tightly shut he could hear the struggle of Siren and Sword close beside him.
Yet thankfully the sword had fulfilled its promise leaving Sam with the vision of a beckoning light and its direction in his mind.
Sam spun right and opened his eyes. The sight that greeted him filled his heart with hope. Stumbling forward he broke into a frantic run up the path.
Behind him the raging battle continued.
It was a fight for possession. Empowered by the previous kills the Jennifer Blade drank deeply of the Siren's energy uniting the sisters in a furious battle for domination. Molten power flowed through the Siren and the sword. Instantly the dueling trio understood what drove the other. Love was the least of it, power, domination and destruction were the driving forces.
Jennifer had always portrayed the meek and mild miss – but the furies of hell at the injustice of their betrayal had been a festering wound. She was strong, stronger than Khandra could have imagined.
The essence inside the sword was the perfect outlet for her rage. Now she needed a body and Khandra was her target.
A fiery glow engulfed them. They would burn for nearly a century as they fought for control. In the end they would merge and meld. Khandra/Jennifer would break the curse laid upon the Three of them would become one. The sword would ignite the flames of destruction in the Sirens. As one their power would rival the most powerful of god. ( But that's another story.)
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Sam ran until he was exhausted. Even from this distance he could hear the raging battle.
Stumbling Sam went down hard. He slipped and slid and jammed his eyes shut again as his wayward body tumbled back down the path. He came to rest against a rocky outcropping. His lungs burned as he tried to breath.
He felt it then, the soft gentle brush of the wind against his cheek. "Dean," he breathed softly. It had to be Dean, he choked silently. The thought that his brother was still with him drove the hunter back to his feet. Even in his haste to climb out Sam had take stock of his surrounding. The rocky outcropping where he lay had been to his right. Placing his hands on the trail in front of him he slowly turned to his right and stood up.
A shuddering breath went through him. If he had failed to discover the right direction Dean would be lost to him forever. Peeling his right eyelid up Sam peeked out and hissed when he didn't immediately see the bright light.
He sucked in a breath and held it turning slightly left. The gate from hell popped into view. The young hunter sighed with relief.
Again he felt the gentle brush of the wind across his neck. "Almost home," he whispered to the wind. Slowly, methodically he placed one foot in front of the other. There would be no misstep this time. He was to close to his hearts desire to fail now.
The closer he drew to the light the more powerful the draw. He was tempted to run, but one misstep had nearly lost him everything, he would not entice disaster a second time.
Turning the last corner he slid to a halt as the ground in front of him fell away. A cry of failure was torn from his throat. A chasm, at least fifty feet wide cut across the path. "Dammit," he shouted as he dropped to his knees. No rope, no bridge spanned the wide gulf, it seemed so hopeless.
"I've done everything you wanted," he screamed. "Beat every obstacle you put in my path. What more do you want," he screamed hopelessly. "What more do you want," he pleaded as he dropped to his knees and gave in to the exhaustion and bleakness of his situation.
He lay in a heap his mind and body numb.
His eyes saw, but his mind did not comprehend when his trembling hands brushed dirt from the trail into the chasm.
Slumping down he lay his head on the path and stared at the darkness in front of him.
A breeze blew across his back ruffling his hair. "I failed Dean," the young hunter wailed.
The harsh wind kicked up pushing at the young hunter. It picked up speed, swirling around him blowing the dark dust from the trail into the chasm.
His heart in his throat, Sam stared in confusion at what was suddenly revealed in front of him. Slowly, carefully he leaned forward and brushed his hand across the dust that seemed to be floating in the air above the chasm. A spark of hope flared and the hunter pushed himself to his feet. Grabbing a handful of rocks and dirt he threw it into the chasm, shocked when the gravel slithered through the air revealing a set of steps.
Two, three, four more handfuls of dirt followed. Swearing beneath his breath Sam stared at what might be his only way out. The problem was the steps lead him down the chasm instead of up toward the beacon of light.
"Way to go, dirtbag," he chastised himself. He'd been so sure he'd stayed on the path Hades had indicated. Where had he gone wrong?
He didn't want to go down, he wanted to go up.
Stepping back he felt the wind at his back pushing him forward. What choice did he have? He couldn't go back, that meant loosing everything, but could he trust what was before him. Could he trust the whispering wind he prayed was his brother?
Mumbling something obscene beneath his breath he took a hesitant step forward leaving most of his weight on hard ground. When his foot touched the solid surface of the step hovering over the chasm, he took a deep breath and stepped out into space. The invisible step held and he sighed with relief. Tentatively he tested each step before making the commitment. Slowly he made his way down into the dark abyss, his back plastered against the chasm wall. Nearly three hundred steps later he reached out and felt nothing. Hissing he tried again, but no step greeted his foot, only the darkness of the chasm. The wall to his right was solid, no cave or hole meet his searching fingers.
He sat down heavily in defeat. It was all over now, he had no where to go. A crushing loss streaked through him. Drawing his knees up close to his chest he let the tears fall until he finally cried himself to sleep.
He woke with a start, the oppressive darkness of the canyon surrounding him. His broken heart told him to lie down and let the darkness take him forever, but the Winchester spirit was too strong for that. Sighing, he slowly rose to his feet. He had two choices: step into the oblivion of the canyon or take the steps back up.
Once again he stepped forward reaching out with a booted foot to search for the stairs. He stood one hand on the wall, his foot hovering over the depths of hell.
Reason took over. There had to be a way, Hades wouldn't have set him on this path and led him this far just to leave him stranded. Or would he?
Leaning back he drew his foot up still indecisive about his next move.
All around him a furious wind kicked up.
"Dammit Dean, I don't know what to do," he shouted.
He thought he heard a mocking laugh in his mind a nanosecond before the raging wind struck him from behind.
Scrambling for purchase Sam lost the fight. Fingers frantically scraped the rock as he pitched forward into oblivion. Flailing wildly he fell into the darkness. He turned sideways and hissed, slamming his eyes shut in fear, nearly forgetting Hades and Persephone's warning, "Don't Look Back."
Groaning he twisted and turned facing back into the black depths and waited. The wind whistled around him. Sam screamed his terror into the darkness. Death was coming to claim him and he could not stop it.
But nothing happened, he felt himself falling, falling forever. He felt the darkness creeping into his mind. Tiny spikes of agony pelted his entire body. He gasped as the pain intensified, but still he fell.
In the blink of an eye he saw the ground come up to meet him. Pain, like nothing he'd ever experienced tore through him. His body shattered into a million pieces. His last thought only of his failure to save his brother.
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So was the whispering wind really Dean after all? Will Sam survive his tumbling fall? The next couple of chapters will reveal all. Huggers, and please to leave me a little review and let me know how you feel. Sorry about the cliffie - but have to keep you coming back somehow - she laughs wickedly!!