Here's chapter 12. Not much Sam and Dean in this one (it's hard working with an ensemble cast and focusing on all of them, probably that's why I'm so much of a fan of the earlier seasons), but I promise the next chapters will focus heavily on them (after all, Supernatural is about Sam and Dean first and foremost, which, again, is why the earlier seasons will always be the best for me, not that there aren't some awesome secondary characters). Either way, enjoy. More notes at the end.
Chapter 12
Piru scowled at the hiisi in front of him. One of the few survivors of the incursion against the Winchesters. Apparently, one of the British Men of Letters had made mincemeat out of the rest. Together with Elias and Helmi. Piru scowled. Had he known the two would turn out to be so much trouble down the line, he would have killed them when he had the chance. He had seen no reason to, back then. Maybe he had even been a little fond of them – before they allied themselves with the Winchesters, of course. Now they were just a damn nuisance, just like the brothers.
"They have special daggers," the hiisi added. "Daggers that can kill us quick."
The Saami shamans were rather protective of their weapons. They did not give them to just anybody. The British Men of Letters either had something on one of them or they had stolen the things. Resourceful buggers, Piru thought. Like cockroaches. You thought you crushed them, and they still came after you.
Piru dismissed the hiidet and headed to Luohi's room. She was sitting at a table, surrounded by burning candles. The cloying smell made Piru gag. He scowled. It must have been a reaction left behind by his vessel's former occupant. He had forgotten how long it took to get used to another body.
"How's it going?" he asked. "I've just received a report from the hiidet we sent to the Bunker. They had their asses handed to them, but the Winchesters weren't there. No sign of the angel, either. That must mean you've got a good hold on Sam and Dean, right?"
Luohi's head snapped up to look at him. Piru noticed her face was haggard.
"Sam and Dean are trying to find their way back," she said tightly. "I had a little trap set for them and they've managed to elude it. They're avoiding the swan – and they're this close to getting back. That blasted angel is helping them."
Piru was sympathetic, really. But Luohi always had a tendency of biting more than she could chew. Maybe that would teach her a lesson about her own self-importance. In Piru's opinion, she needed one. He was very much afraid her plans aligned with his only partially. She was also following plans of her own. Piru would have been content with ruling the world with his two allies equally – hell, he was even content to allow Crowley his own part. But Luohi…she had always needed to be on top.
"Bad luck," he commented flatly. "We should think of a back-up plan then."
Luohi's eyes narrowed.
"I have my own back-up plans, thank you very much. You forget who controls the black swan. Sam and Dean will be driven deeper into the realm of the dead. I'll see to it."
Piru shook his head.
"You know you don't actually control that place. You're not angling for a family feud, are you?"
Luohi shrugged.
"We all have family issues that need addressing. My father should have allowed me to rule at least part of the underworld. Instead he kept me away from it. Seemed to think I needed kept in check. Frankly, my father is too much on the side of the humans and too little on mine"
Piru shook his head.
"Luohi…" he began.
"Trust me, Piru," Luohi interrupted him. "The god of death is the last person you'd want to take charge of the Winchesters' souls."
She left the room. Piru shook his head. If he was honest with himself, he would have to admit he was not sure Luohi should have Sam and Dean's souls, either.
xxxXXXXXxxxx
Castiel had managed to stay with Sam and Dean for a while, leading them away from the realm of the dead and towards the escape route. He could not communicate with them, he could not really see much of what was happening to them, not in the true sense, but he could sense that they were following him.
It was all going so well, but then he sensed a change in the air. It got darker, and a strange mist settled between him and his charges. He could not sense Sam and Dean anymore.
Suddenly, Castiel found himself in a dark room. There was a skeletal figure before him. As he watched, the creature seemed to change, until it became a woman.
"Let me guess," he said. "Luohi."
She smirked. There was something magnetic and repelling at the same time, something Castiel had felt once before, in the presence of Amara. This was different, though. Amara had been, more or less, a familiar entity for him, part of the same world as he was. Luohi had something darkly foreign about her.
"You must be Castiel," she said. "I've heard of your exploits. I've always thought you were interesting, for an angel. But now you're in the way. I really think you should get out of this, Castiel. You're in way over your head."
Castiel took a step forward.
"You want to hurt my friends," he pointed out. "I cannot back off."
Luohi snorted, amused by his words.
"Castiel," she said gently, as if she was chiding an unruly child. "You and I have this one thing in common. We cannot have human friends. They're not like us. They're amusing, true and they can be extremely useful at times. But they're not worth dying for."
Castile held his ground.
"You are so very wrong."
Luohi's face turned to ice.
"I respect you, Castiel," she said. "You are not like your brothers, you have your own mind. Which is why I will give you a chance. Drop this. Let me have Sam and Dean and I promise I'll forget you exist."
"I cannot," Castiel insisted.
Luohi nodded, not really surprised by the outcome of her conversation. She shrugged, resigned.
"Have it your way. Fair warning, though. It might be different if this was a physical fight between you and me. But this is my turf. And, frankly, I don't want you here."
She lifted her arms. Castiel felt himself suddenly engulfed in ice. He had little time to register what was going on or to try to counteract it, when he was suddenly brought back into his own body in the bunker. He came back with such force that the momentum threw him into the wall.
"Castiel!" Mary exclaimed rushing towards him.
He met her wide eyes.
"Luohi has Sam and Dean trapped. I cannot get to them."
Castiel saw the look of denial on Mary's face. He grabbed her arm, the sense of urgency frantic.
"I can't get to them, Mary," he repeated. "But we can get to her. If we find her, if we keep her busy, Sam and Dean might still have a fighting chance."
xxxXXXXxxxxx
Sam had been following the light, becoming more and more confident that he could do this. With Cas' help, he could get Dean out of that place and back to the Bunker. It was the only thing he could think of, the only think that helped him ignore the biting cold and the terrible exhaustion that was creeping in on him. He shouldn't have been so tired. Even carrying Dean like that through rough terrain, he still shouldn't have been so tired. No one could survive the life Sam lead if they did not have plenty of stamina. The weariness was a bad sign. Perhaps it was Luohi's curse playing havoc with him.
He did not think much of it at first when he found himself surrounded by mist. He just gritted his teeth and pushed on, trying to keep his eyes on the light. But then the mist was everywhere, and he could hardly see what was right in front of him, let alone any light from Cas. Suddenly, he tripped over something and went to his knees. He was lucky his reflexes were quick and he did not let go of the stretcher.
Sam bent over Dean and checked his pulse. He thought it was stronger, but his brother still had not responded to all that jostling. He was also way too cold, and Sam's jacket was not helping much. they needed to be out of that place fast.
He turned towards where the light had been and realized that he had lost it. He sprang up, spinning on his heels, trying to see something beyond the mist.
"Cas?" he called. "Cas, where the hell are you?"
There was no answer. Sam could not here anything except for the wind. He knelt next to Dean.
"I think we're on our own," he said.
He was trying very hard not to allow himself to panic. At the same time, he could not help wondering if this was it. Their luck had finally run out and they had found themselves in a situation they could not escape for. Sam hated himself and called himself selfish – but if that was to be it, he was actually glad Dean was beside him. He was glad neither of them was alone.
Moments passed in the mist. Sam could hear nothing but the wind and the beating of gigantic wings. The black swan coming closer. He tried to get a hold of himself. They might have lost Cas, but Sam wasn't entirely out of options. There were still things he could do. He placed his hand on Dean's shoulder.
"I'm not giving up on this yet, Dean," he said, trying to pour all the confidence he did not feel in his words, even though he did not think Dean could hear him. "I'll get you out of this, I promise I will. So don't give up just yet."
He felt Dean stir slightly beneath his hand.
"Dean?" he asked uncertainly. "Dean, can you hear me?"
Dean moaned and turned his head away from Sam, not opening his eyes. Sam felt his forehead. It was burning. He shook his head, regretting that he had not gone back to the lodge. At least Dean would have been somewhere comfortable, then.
Sam looked around him. The mist was clearing. He was standing in a clearing close to a river. He could not see very well from the distance, but he thought the water was black. And suddenly, he knew. The river bordering the Finnish underworld. They were, indeed, in the land of the dead, and Cas probably could not get to them anymore. But Sam could only focus on the good news.
Several days after the Gatlinburg case Sam had browsed several online bookstores and purchased an English translation of the Kalevala. Mythologies got stuff wrong a lot of times, but there were other stuff they got right. Sam remembered the story of Lemminkainen and how his mother had searched for him in the land of the dead and had managed to put him back together and bring him back to life. He had actually done more research on that in the Bunker library, and had uncovered some vague information. The legends said Lemminkainen's mother had brought him back to life with a drop of honey. In fact, some old accounts of shamans claiming they had been to the land of the dead said there was a plant there that had healing properties. It grew right next to the river. Getting it would not be easy, and it would mean leaving Dean for a bit. But this was probably Dean's only chance.
Sam patted Dean's shoulder, tucking his jacket more closely around him.
"I'll be right back," he promised. "You won't even know I'm gone."
He smiled bitterly at his joke and got up. The place where he was provided enough shelter from the elements or from any critters that might be on the prowl. Dean would be safe on his own for a little while. The black swan would follow Sam, since he was the one Luohi had cursed.
Despite his reasoning, Sam found that walking away from Dean in such a manner was one of the hardest things he had ever done.
xxxXXXXxxxxx
Crowley was waiting outside the lavish restaurant when Rowena walked out. She had not noticed him at first, and was about to walk right past him when he made his move.
"Hello, Mother," he greeted.
Rowena tensed and stopped in her tracks. When she turned to Crowley, her face was blank.
"Fergus," she said neutrally. "I wasn't expecting to see you for a long time. Especially after the last time we saw each other. You know, after Gavin."
"I still haven't forgiven you for your part in that," Crowley admitted. "And I never will. But I am willing to let bygones be bygones for the sake of the current state of affairs."
Rowena smirked.
"What do you need this time?" she asked, getting straight to the point.
Crowley indicated that they should walk together.
"It seems we've got a little foreign affair problem, so to speak."
Rowena stopped in her tracks.
"Oh no," she said. "If you're here about Piru and Luohi, forget it. The Winchesters have already called and I told them the same thing. You don't mess with Luohi. You simply ride the storm and hope you don't get stomped on."
"Funny," Crowley commented. "didn't you say something similar about the Darkness? Or about Lucifer, too, come to think of it?"
Rowena winced, although she tried to cover it up before Crowley could remark on it.
"Lucifer, Amara, they're different. True, they were dangerous but they were known quantities more or less. Luohi is different. She's not one of your lot. She does not think like we do, Fergus."
"I take it you know better than anyone else how she thinks," Crowley remarked. "What with that time you spent in Rovaniemi with that shaman. He taught you a few spells, didn't he? Including how to steal Luohi's powers?"
He noticed something in Rowena's face and knew exactly what she was thinking.
"Of course," he added quickly. "You're not thinking of using the spell yourself, are you? I mean, despite the fact that you doing it would make you one of the top ten most powerful beings in the universe, it comes with tremendous risks, doesn't it?"
"No one has ever tried that spell," Rowena pointed out.
Crowley nodded.
"My point exactly. Far too risky. Especially if you do it after Luohi gets her hands on the Winchesters' souls."
"She would be unbeatable, then," Rowena agreed.
Crowley wondered if Rowena was toying with him, or if she had not figured out he was on to her.
"And, if someone, hypothetically, of course, was to manage to steal Luohi's power then, that person would be unbeatable too. Am I right?"
"Any power Luohi has gathered would pass on to that person, yes," Rowena agreed cheerfully. "Including that from the Winchesters' souls."
Crowley glanced sideways at Rowena.
"And you have no designs whatsoever on such power, do you?"
Rowena smirked.
"Now, Fergus," she said calmly. "I thought we were talking hypothetically here. I wouldn't do that to the Winchesters. I'm fond of them."
Crowley snorted.
"You're incapable of being fond mother," he pointed out.
"I would have thought you aren't, either," Rowena quipped. "And yet you're here indirectly pleading that I don't allow Samuel and Dean Winchesters to be harmed by Luohi. I admit it's a wee bit touching."
Crowley rolled his eyes.
"I know the Winchesters have this annoying tendency of causing apocalyptic messes. But they also have a knack of fixing them. Besides, Luohi – or anyone else – owning their souls like that would be the equivalent of having the greatest weapon of mass destruction ever created. The one you threaten your enemies with, but can't use, because you're too afraid of what will happen to everyone if you use it."
Rowena turned to face Crowley. Her eyes narrowed.
"What do you want in the end? Are you actually asking for my help?"
Crowley scowled.
"I'm asking for your cooperation. We need to do something about those pesky Northerners before they take over everything. You're probably thinking you could worm yourself on Luohi's side, just like you did with Lucifer – or with Amara."
"What about you and Piru?" Rowena challenged. "You two were pretty cozy once upon a time."
"That was when he was reasonable. Besides, even with whatever plans he has, I doubt he'd be calling the shots much longer. Allying himself with Luohi was a mistake. She's a backstabber."
"You should know all about those," Rowena commented. "So, what exactly do you want me to do? The Winchesters have asked for my help, too, you know. I told them the same thing I am going to tell you. If Luohi is after you, then I don't want to be in the same universe as you, let alone on your side."
She turned her back on Crowley and strode away.
"Well, sleep on it," Crowley called after her. "Think long and hard if the world Luohi and Piru are planning is the world you want to live in. then come find me. I'll be helping the Winchesters."
Rowena did not look back. Still, Crowley was sure she had hesitated, a little. Maybe she would think about what he had said. Maybe he had managed to convince her, after all.
-Lemminkainen is a Finnish hero in the epic saga The Kalevala. He apparently did a lot of brave stuff, including traveling to the underworld where he was killed. His mother was equally badass and traveled also to the underworld to put him back together. Now we'll just see if Sam will take the same route or if he finds a different way to rescue Dean. Since this is me, you can expect some twists ;)
-Rovaniemi is a town in Northern Finland (the capital city of Lapland, actually). It was actually pretty much levelled down during World War 2 and was consequently re-built almost from scratch. Today, it's mostly known as the home of Santa Claus.