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The Supernatural characters belong to Kripke Enterprises and the CW, not me. No money is being made from this story. It is for entertainment only.
The Dark Fae
Chapter 26
Saving Bobby from the Queen
From Chapter 25
It was the work of only a few minutes to shift the vehicles and the two Fae were backing away from the river. They drove with the lights off, comfortable in the dark. Far off they could see the lights of a lone farm house reflecting against the night sky. There were no other signs of people anywhere. Sam had chosen the site of their killing ground well.
They left the lights off until they were back on the black top road again, hoping that no one had noticed the roar of the Impala's engine in the night.
It was now just a bare hour after sunset and they expected to be back at Bobby's house well before midnight. Den grinned. "You know Sam," he said. "We are most likely pacing Roberts' body down this side of the state. It's a race, dead man against the Impala. Which one do you think will pass Bobby's house first?"
Chapter 26
Midnight at Bobby's house was quiet and still. Night insects trilled, crickets measured the temperature and over the canopies of the nearby oaks lining the north side of the property hunting owls added their haunting hooting cries to the dark. The moon rode low on the Eastern horizon throwing the long distorted shadows of trees over the rolling hills
The two Fae pulled up in front of the house and Dean shut off the Impala's engine. He also turned off the radio. With the roar of the engine stilled and the music gone the two men sat and listened to the silence of the night. There was nothing that suggested the movement of a large creature but someone had painted that Fae symbol on Bobby's door. Someone was out there most likely watching Bobby's house trying to pick up small bits of information about the man to feed the Queen's curiosity about the Lore Master.
Dean slid over the bench seat to sit closer to Sam. Sam wrapped his arm around his lover and they whispered to each other. If was cozy but it was also wise. Some Fae Huntsmen were famous for being able to hear as well as bats. In the Fae community this particular trait was not all that rare but the Huntsmen were regarded as extreme. It had been rumored among the Fae that the Huntsmen had rituals which new recruits were forced to endure and which gifted those recruits with a number of the traits of animals. The speed of a deer, the eyes of a hawk the ears of a bat; all these gifts were whispered about among the Fae outside of the Huntsmen's brotherhood.
Dean had been inducted into the brotherhood of Huntsmen in the normal manner. He looked back on the days of his trials with fondness. He had joined a brotherhood. The rituals, occasionally bloody, had only sealed him into that brotherhood. Even now his soul yearned to go back. He missed his dragon and he missed the brotherhood of the Huntsmen riding over the hills, free and feared under the moon. The sweet sound of a hunting horn winding over the hills could make him weep.
Sam had ridden with the Huntsmen but as an Elf of the Tuatha Dé Danann he was regarded as something of a guest and was not invited to join the Brotherhood of Huntsmen officially. His allegiance to his own people was acknowledged and respected. He had ridden with them under the moon and he had answered the Queen's summons as any other Huntsman would but he was essentially different. That difference what was had saved Dean from the Queen when Sam decided to take his Fae lover and run.
Now the Elf and his lover sat in an alien machine, in the dark, listening for the hesitant footfall of a hidden watcher. Their Huntsmen's gifts were now being used to protect them from their own brothers.
"I think we should get out and prowl." Sam whispered into Dean's ear. "It wouldn't hurt to look around a bit."
The Impala's doors creaked open and slammed. They were trying to act as if there was nothing unusual about them. They were just a couple of young Hunters that Bobby Singer had invited into his home.
They chattered in normal voices and made no effort to muffle their footsteps on the stairs. When they reached the front door they stopped and stared at the Fae symbol picked out by moonlight embedded as it was into the wood of the door. Anyone would stop and stare at such an obviously magical symbol. It glittered and flared in the moon light, a greeting, a warning, a decoration or some combination of all three.
With only a pause to admire the sigil's beauty they entered Bobby's house and closed the door.
Once inside and in the dark they shed their human clothing and the glamour they were using as a disguise. They became pure Fae once more.
Lightly they moved through the darkened house, twisting slowly in curled spirals around obstacles as they drifted along just off the floor. In this form Sam once again became Volundr and Dean was Ólafr.
Volundr looked back at Ólafr as they approached the kitchen window. The big Elf had noticed a soft glow and, as he suspected, it was Ólafr's natural light. "Turn it down, Fae boy. No fairy glow needed. We are being sneaky, not sexy."
"Sorry," Ólafr mumbled. "It's natural, as you well know."
"Yes I know. I use it to find you under the covers but right this minute it's a bit of a problem so tamp it down."
They stood together at the window and watched the yard and the sky. There was movement in the trees but it was too far away for even Fae eyes to see. It could be a Huntsman or it could just as well have been a deer.
It was an hour or so later that they definitely identified a Huntsman outlined against the sky as he rode his dragon over a ridge then let the beast cut loose. The next glimpse of the rider was on a ridge much further away. There was one quick glimpse and then he and his dragon were gone.
"We're going to have to do something about him," Volundr said. He glanced at Ólafr. "Will you stand with me?"
Ólafr drew back. "You mean to kill him? I don't know if I can."
"What if it's either him or us, Ólafr?" Volundr murmured. "We don't have any more worlds to run to. This is our last possible home."
"I know." The Fae Huntsman replied and sighed. "Can we talk to Bobby about it in the morning? Give me the night to think it over."
"Fine," Volundr responded. "I understand how hard it will be for you. I do have a fragment of a plan though. I'll think about it some more but right now I don't see any way to make it work except with his death."
The two Fae went back and picked up their human clothes. They then drifted up the stairs. They were surprised to run into Bobby Singer in the hallway at the top of those stairs. The Hunter was in his long johns and had a rifle pointed at them. "Well, lookie here. I got supernaturals floating around my house in the middle of the night." Bobby lowered the gun. "What do you two idiots think you're doing?"
The Fae bobbed delicately in front of the man and Bobby rolled his eyes. "Stop that, you're making me dizzy."
"Sorry Bobby," Volundr said. "We were just on our way to our room. We were looking for a Fae outside and unfortunately we found one. We didn't even have to go outside to see him. We were going to talk it over with you in the morning."
"Well, if you think we're good for the night, go on back to your room." Bobby laid the gun over his shoulder and turned to leave. "Just be careful if you guys are going to make a habit of wandering around in the dark looking like that. Someone's liable to take a shot at you."
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Gathered together for breakfast everyone looked human enough. Bobby made coffee and his usual eggs, toast and bacon. Sam still stuck to his oatmeal and fruit but Dean was coming around. He definitely had a thing for bacon. Eggs still repulsed him but he made do with bacon and toast with butter most days.
"So you guys caught sight of our watcher last night, did you?" Bobby asked.
"Yes, "Sam nodded. "It's definitely a Huntsman, not a common Fae. The Queen is taking quite the interest in you Bobby. It's something of a compliment. She normally doesn't think too much of humans. We'll have to watch you very carefully. I promise you, you do not want to be hauled off to the Queen's court. I have never heard of a human surviving that trip. If the Queen doesn't kill you she'll set her Huntsmen and their hounds on you. No one has ever made back from the court to the safety of a bridge; no one I have ever heard of."
Bobby leaned back and resettled his ball cap. "I've heard tell of one or two Hunters that got it over what you call a bridge and made it back home again. I never heard of anyone meeting the Queen though. Touch customer, is she?"
Dean laughed and took over. "The Unseelie Queen lives for sensation. She is the source of the dark in the Unseelie Court. She takes what she wants and after she's done with a creature or a man, she's more likely to find killing them more amusing than letting anyone go. She wanted me. That's why we ran and why we're still running. She does not like to be told no. Sam here definitely told her no and in front of her court to boot. It's hard to say just exactly what kind of death she has planned for him but it will horrible, public and prolonged"
"Lovely Lady." Bobby muttered. "What can we do about this?"
"I have a plan." Sam announced. He turned and looked at Bobby with a smile. "How good are you at long distance courting, Bobby?"
"What are you babbling about, boy?" Bobby asked.
"First of all, we need some gems: diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, tourmaline, whatever; the more colorful the better." Sam glanced at Bobby. "Got any?"
Bobby laughed. "Sure, let me just go open up my treasure chest. Are you nuts? Where are we going to get gemstones?"
Sam shrugged. "There are such things as jewel stores in the city over the hill, right?"
"You mean Sioux Falls?" Bobby asked. "Sure there are jewelry stores in Sioux Falls. All you need is money and you can get all the pretty colored stones you want."
"You leave that part up to Dean and me." Sam said. "Next we are going to need flowers; a bouquet of flowers, maybe two. They have to be flowers that grow in the sun with bright colors and stung smells. No evening flowers, no night blooming orchids. But we need those last. Those can wait. We need them after we kill the Huntsman."
"You two are going to kill the Huntsman." Bobby asked. "Isn't there some kind of rule about killing your own kind? Humans call it murder."
Sam spared a look for Dean. "I know Bobby but it is necessary. We are going to need his dragon to send it back to the Queen.
"You going to pull that trick again, boy?" Bobby was concerned. "Aren't you afraid she's going to figure it out sometime?"
"This time the Huntsman will really be dead." Sam replied. "It's going to hurt his dragon terribly. It may even die of grief but if we don't do something truly spectacular there will be no peace in this part of the world. Sooner or later she will come for you. You are much too dangerous to leave out here in the human world. I'm pretty sure she has forgotten more or less about me and Dean. You are her target now. Being a target of the Unseelie Queen is a dangerous thing. We are going to trade the Huntsman's life for yours. Make your peace with whatever spirits or Gods you believe in, Bobby. This is the only way forward that I can see."
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That afternoon a classic '67 Impala parked in the back lot of a mall in Sioux Falls. Two very tall, graceful men emerged and headed for the Mall entrance. Once inside they appeared to be arguing but finally seemed to resolve their dispute,stood in front of a Mall map and figured their problem out.
Heading off down nearby hallway they came to the glittering windows of a jewelry store. The windows twinkled and gleamed with flowing ropes of gold and hanging pendants. Scattered on a dark back cloth rings, earrings and brooches were strewn about in careless display, suggesting the wealth of a kingdom lay within.
The two men entered the store and headed straight for a pedestal display in the center. The same hand that had designed the window here cast a waterfall of chains, charms and pendants mixed with loose gems in a swoop of riches. The stones glowed against thick black folds of satin laid over a fallen treasure chest. The display was extravagant and glorious.
The two visitors stood entranced. Finally a saleswoman approached. "Can I help you gentlemen?" she asked.
The taller man pointed at the display. "We would like that." He said.
She laughed, "Who wouldn't? Sometimes I stand here and stared at it also. I would love to run my fingers through those gems and watch them fall back on the cloth." She stood with them and admired the play of light.
"But then, we all have our dreams, right?" She smiled up at the taller man. "What are you looking for?"
The two exchanged glances and then the taller one smiled. "I'm looking for a ring for my friend here."
The saleswoman smiled back. "Would that be a wedding ring?"
The conversation went on for a while and she showed them men's rings on velvet display cards. After a while they thanked her for her time and then left the store.
Late in the evening the two men were still sitting in their car in the parking lot. They were watching as the lights in the stores went out one after another and people who worked in the mall began to leave. The lot was beginning to empty and soon the Impala was left alone, parked under one of the few trees still allowed to stand in the concrete expanse. They were parked in the shadows and their car was just as dark as the night but they still seemed to feel somewhat exposed.
When the Mall guards began to arrive Sam and Dean shed their human clothing and glamour and became Fae wraiths, barely visible in the moon light. Exiting the Impala as quietly as possible they drifted through the lot, coming close enough to the guards to follow the men into the mall before the slowly closing automatic doors slid shut.
Once inside they hid carefully in corners, behind columns and in front of dark windows, unearthly twists of barely there smoke. Hidden they drifted through the mall and back to the jewelry store. There they met their first problem, a heavy metal curtain, blocking the entrance.
Sam drifted down to the floor, looking for the largest possible opening. He found a corner where the metal mesh was poorly fastened and had been working its way loose for a while. Calling Dean over the larger twist of smoke forced his way inside the barrier. Dean followed close behind. Now they were faced with a locked automatic door. That took very little effort to open. After all, these two Fae did live off energy.
Sam extended a graceful long index finger humming with rich pulsing life and the door yielded, poor thing. They were in. Drawn back to the display they circled the stand. Sam noticed first that there were beams of light crossing over the pretties. As he touched the case a buzz began high overhead. It was a very annoying sound to the Fae although Sam doubted very much that humans could even hear it. Dean shorted out the lock in a shower of lovely sparks.
He darted out his tongue and captured a spark on the tip. It evidently tingled and Dean jumped. Sam laughed at his lover.
While Dean was playing with the sparks Sam had knocked the case cover to the floor and was attempting to stuff gems and jewelry into his hands.
"Stop playing around, Dean," he growled. "Grab as much as you can. I think we need to get out of here."
Sam could hear men's voices calling out, bouncing around the echo chamber that was the empty mall. He could also hear pounding footsteps growing closer and closer.
Some of the loose stones managed to stick to Sam's hands and body. An equal amount stuck to Dean as he plunged his hands into the pile of pretties. They were not capable of holding on to great quantities. A lot of the gems fell straight through the wispy Fae bodies and landed on the floor.
Leaving a track of glittering gems behind, Dean and Sam looked for a way to avoid the humans. Neither Fae wanted to hurt the guards. Sam looked up and Dean's eyes followed. They both floated up to the ceiling and moved to the front of the store.
A moment later the security gate that had stopped them initially rose up into the ceiling. Guards with guns drawn ducked under as the gate rose and moved to the sliding glass entrance doors. Someone had a key or a code, Sam really didn't care. What he saw after the guards rushed into the store was a clear path out of trouble.
While the humans poked and investigated the store, looking for exits and hidden robbers, the two Fae simply floated away.
There was a lot more excitement near the Mall entrance. Outside police cars were parked haphazardly, lights still flashing red and blue. The Mall doors were thrown wide and locked open.
Dean was fascinated by the pretty lights but Sam grabbed his childish lover and hustled him along to their car. The Impala was still under the tree, looking sleek and demure. The two of them settled on her hood and watched the show.
When the police began to come out of the building and gave signs that they were going to start a search outside, Sam and Dean gave up their comfortable seats and rose, first to the top of the tree and then to the top of the Mall. They finally ended up perched on the flashing Mall sign facing the busy street.
They watched as the police inspected the Impala and other cars left here and there around the parking lot. Sam snorted and whispered. "What do they think? Robbers are going to hide in their car and wait to be discovered? Odd?"
"Hush," Dean whispered back, leaning against Sam's chest. "They will have to get bored and leave some time."
The two Fae soon learned that there is nothing more stubborn than cops deprived of their lawful prey. There was activity in the parking lot and in the Mall until sunrise. Finally all the cars pulled away. The entrance doors were reactivated and the first of the Mall employees began to arrive to start a new shopping day.
The two Fae took a chance and drifted over to the Impala before the lot got too busy. After all they certainly didn't look human but they could not assume their human glamour until they had their clothes again. Naked men in the parking lot would certainly attract attention.
Finally there were in the car and fired her up. Traffic had sufficiently increased and they quiety drove away without any fanfare heading back to Bobby's house.