(Disclaimer: Don't own anything Supernatural related. Following story is mine)
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The Crone.
Chapter Twelve.
Baba Yaga sat on the bunk, swaying in rhythm with the boat as the veil of smoke slowly faded. A month. That's all she had. A month to get to the Host. A month. She hoped it was enough time. It had to be. She would not leave this life without her vengeance being complete. She thought about the lights, about what the smoke had revealed. This was her one chance …but something didn't feel right. She couldn't quite place it. The lights had said it was helping her, giving her a greater chance of fulfilling her destiny. She thought back to what the smoke had shown her…
She stood over the two Ancients. Their bloodied faces staring up at her defiantly, their broken bodies no longer allowing them to fight back. They had survived the torture longer than she had thought possible but these two were strong… as was their magic.
They had used their magic to protect them and to strike at her. Blood dripped from her fingertips from the long gash on her forearm, she wiped the blood from her eyes, her head wound still bleeding freely. They had paid for hurting her and now they would pay for creating her.
The older one, she laughed hollowly, older one. He had stared up at her, a small, sad smile slowly forming on his bloodied lips. She had backhanded him and he had smiled sadly at her again. "We are sorry for our part in this. But redemption can still be found" he had said. She had hit him again and again and told him she wasn't after redemption, it was revenge that drove her. That until his race was vanquished she would not rest. He had shaken his head slowly "No. Her plans would not see fruition. Time would always work against her" She had killed him and turned to the other.
He too, had smiled sadly at her. He too, had said time would work against her. Had said there would be one's born to stop her…to help her. She had killed him and hung both bodies from the nearest tree for all to see. She vowed to find a Host when the time came. For now, she would take pleasure in her work.
Redemption. She no longer knew what that word meant. The only things important to her were the cleansing of the other races. She understood it would mean the rising of the demons from their place in the underground realm, she didn't care. Let others suffer as she had.
She wondered though, what those two Ancients had meant…could they have been referring to the Infidels? The two men that kept appearing to her? Or did they mean the woman, the Ancient. She thought back to the two men…the dark-haired one was the one her mind kept returning to, there was something about that one. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on…she would need to figure this out. She raised her Staff again but was interrupted by a knock at the door. The pack leader was there, smiling at her. She smiled back, following him onto the deck. He pointed and she smiled again. Land. In two hours she would be in New York.
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Sam's eyes came into focus as the fog lifted again. He was no longer in the boat-shed. He looked around…he was in a basement somewhere. He turned when he heard a groan from behind him, it was Mickey. He was bound to a chair and he'd been beaten badly and his left leg was missing from the knee down. Sam looked at his hands, they were bruised and bloody. He had done this.
"Sam…" he looked back to Mickey "Sam…you need to fight this…"
Sam went to Mickey and started to untie him "Jesus, Mickey…I'm so sorry…I don't know what's happening…"
"Something's come through, Sam. Something that's using you. I don't know what it is..but you have to fight it. If you keep ...going...then you'll slip into it completely and it will never let you go"
Sam crouched in front of the Mickey "I'll get you out of here…away from me" he lowered his eyes and whispered "Let me tourniquet your leg…"
Mickey laughed, really laughed and Sam looked up at him "No, need Sam" and he pointed.
Sam turned and saw the prosthetic leg in the corner "Oh thank Christ for that…" he looked back at Mickey and gave him a short smile "Sorry, I didn't mean…"
Mickey smiled through broken lips "S'Alright, boy. Happened a long time ago, now go get it for me"
Sam turned and walked quickly to the corner, he crouched and fished the leg out from underneath a pile of pallets. He rose slowly and turned to face Mickey, a nasty smile on his face "No-one calls me 'boy'!" and he strode purposefully towards the man.
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Dean stared at Finn "Larten Vola?"
She shook her head at him and turned back to the horseman "Quick trip only, Noah. Best kept to yourself" she took a note from her pocket and passed it to the man "Can you take this to…" her eyes flicked quickly to Dean "You know who I mean…use the back entrance and be careful"
He nodded "Yes, ma'am" put the note in his vest, turned and galloped off.
Finn re-sheathed her sword and Dean did the same as they dismounted, the horses moving off to graze in the fields. Finn sat on the ground and leaned against one of the old trees, Dean sitting opposite her.
"This is your home?" asked Dean.
"Part of it, yeah. I was born a bit further inland than this, but we're not going there" she said.
"What…is this place? And don't give me a smart-ass answer like 'this is Larten Vola, Dean' either. I've never seen anything like this" he looked at her "it's beautiful"
She nodded "Yeah, some of it is. But like your realm…there are places that …aren't" she looked at him and sighed "Larten Vola is a …parallel realm, I guess you could call it. We used to live amongst you…but…mortals aren't all that tolerant of people that are different from them, so we were forced to hide our home, to protect it and ourselves"
"So …are there other…realms?" he asked
She didn't answer for a long time, then a small smile touched her lips "There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio" she laughed at his groan.
They'd been sitting for about an hour, Finn's head resting back against the tree, her eyes closed as Dean looked around Larten Vola. Everywhere he looked he saw something else that defied explanation. This was like a fairy-tale. He wished Sammy was here, it would seriously blow his mind.
"I need to find my brother"
Finn didn't open her eyes "We will, Dean"
He sighed "So who are we waiting for….ma'am?" he grinned.
She opened her eyes this time "Someone who can help…and stop it with the ma'am shit"
Dean shook his head "That dude did all but salute you. What's the deal?" she didn't answer "Come on, Finn. Enough with the enigmatic bullshit. I'm in another freakin' world, my brother is missing and doing…well he's missing and whether you like it or not, I'm not going anywhere. So spill"
She was about to answer when they heard the sound of horses galloping their way. Finn was on her feet in an instant, her sword drawn. Dean rose and drew his sword and she pulled him behind the tree "Not a sound. Not until I know who it is"
Dean nodded and chanced a peek around the tree, three horsemen were galloping towards them, the horses flanks and necks white with sweat. When the men were about thirty feet from them, Finn stepped out from behind the tree and re-sheathed her sword "Re-sheathe your sword, Dean" he did so and stepped next to Finn.
The riders drew up in front of them and the one in the middle smiled warmly at her as he dismounted, passing the reigns to one of the other men. He was tall, maybe 6ft8, shoulder length dark hair and the same green eyes as Finn. He walked over and hugged her "Finn"
She hugged him back "You get lost, Gideon?"
He laughed "Yeah, took a wrong turn at the Great Lakes and ended up my own ass" he looked over at Dean "Is this him?"
Finn sighed "Yeah. His brother is the one having the dreams"
"Brother? They sent you brothers? Fucking hell…" he went to his horse and removed a bag "Everything you asked for is in there"
"Thanks, Gideon" she looked into the bag and then back at him "Not everything, Gideon. Where are my swords?"
"Jesus, Finn. You put a protection over them before you left. You want them, you're gonna have to come back and get them yourself"
"Fuck"
"Aaah, hate to interrupt…" started Dean.
"No you don't" said Finn.
"Yeah, whatever. But what the fuck is going on?"
Gideon looked at Finn "You haven't told him?"
"Not all of it…no. Kinda easing him into it"
Dean laughed "Yeah, right. She's not telling me shit. Just dragging my ass all over the place when I should be looking for brother!"
"Calm down, Dean"
"Finn, he needs to understand fully what is expected of him. He has the choice, they all do…"
"Yeah? And what happened last time one of them had the choice?"
Gideon looked at Dean "Get your horse" he turned to Finn "I've sent the Elders into conference, we'll be able to get you in without them knowing you're here"
"I'm not going"
"You are. You need your swords and you're the only one that can get them and you need to explain to…"
"Dean"
"To Dean what his role is in this"
"Hey, I got an idea, Finn. How about we listen to Gideon and you get off your high-horse and onto your other one and we go…" he looked at Gideon "Where are we going?"
Gideon smiled "The Citadel"
Dean grinned "Sounds like fun. BULL!"
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They rode in silence. Finn and Gideon riding ahead of him, the two horsemen riding either side of him and making sure he was far enough away so he couldn't hear what they were talking about. He'd given up trying to hear…and there was so much weird shit around that his mind was now focussed on his surroundings.
When they started to hit the urban area, they moved off the dirt track and headed into the mountains. Dean caught glimpses of what could only be a city in the distance. It wasn't like anything he'd ever seen before…well maybe…it kind of resembled something from the middle-ages. Old stone buildings, surrounded by a high stone wall, parapets and turrets strategically placed around it. There was a huge stone building at one side and it looked like that was where they were headed.
The two men either side of Dean rode forward, spoke with Gideon briefly before heading towards the city.
Dean rode up next to Finn "That's the Citadel, I take it" she nodded "Is this where you were born?" she nodded again and he could sense the tension in her "You alright?"
"Fine" she said, her eyes never leaving the city below them.
They waited until one of the men came back and then followed him quickly to the back of the Citadel and through a concealed gate. When they got inside, four men in what could only be military uniform, stepped forward and took their horses, saluting Gideon.
He returned their salute and Dean watched as they did the same with Finn. He grinned when he saw her roll her eyes and return the salute. Dean slid off Bull and patted the horse before he was led away. He looked up at the building in front of him. It was huge. More like a castle than anything else. He followed Gideon and Finn through a door to the left of a main entrance and into the building.
He expected it to be dark and foreboding…but it was light and airy. The stone walls and floors were polished and gleaming and there were flags of all different colours adorning the walls and in-between the flags were crossed swords and shields.
Dean followed them down a passageway and up some stone steps, noticing how anyone they passed either saluted or bowed to the pair before staring at him curiously. They got to a large door that had two guards either side of it.
They saluted Gideon and opened the door for him "Supreme Royal"
Gideon nodded and went into the room, Finn following him. Dean stepped into a large room filled with all types of military paraphenalia as Gideon sat himself behind a desk.
"Supreme Royal?" asked Dean "Are you royalty, dude?"
Gideon laughed "Of sorts. Take a seat Dean…."
Dean sat "Winchester"
Gideon nodded and stuck out his hand "Gideon Jacobs"
"Jacobs?" he looked at Finn.
"My brother" she said.
Dean laughed "Are you a freakin' princess?"
"No"
Gideon laughed "She is"
"For fuck's sake, Gideon! I'm no freakin' princess! Fucking hell…"
He laughed "Especially with that mouth" she gave him the finger and he laughed harder.
Dean looked around and frowned. He rose from his seat and went to a glass cabinet that was on the far side of the room. He looked at picture in it for a long time then turned slowly to Finn and Gideon.
"Alright, someone tell me what the fuck is going on! Tell me why there is a painting of me here!"
To be continued….
