03: Trusting Every Word Untrue.
Sam and Dean both wanted to wake Zarya, but they honestly weren't sure if it would be worse or not. When they all finally arrived together back at the bunker they sensed something a little off about the ravenette. They both chalked it up to the stress of what had happened recently, including losing the Mark of Cain. It hadn't been long before she retired to shower and her bed, but it also wasn't long after she did that the night terrors began.
Most of it at first was just furious tossing and turning, sweating, and shaking. Within an hour she began muttering, but it wasn't anything they could distinctly hear. Soon after it became nearly unbearable. They couldn't understand most of what she was saying as she was speaking in tongues and it didn't sound good. Cas had found them but wasn't in great condition either thanks to Rowena. Thinking some of it might have been Enochian, Sam recorded a bit on his phone and played it for the angel.
Castiel's face paled. "Some is Enochian, yes. Some is the language Lucifer once shared with Remiel. Some is… I think Greek? Some old Norse?" He shook his head as the video replayed. "There is death… a murder. A beast. Black blood? It's very difficult to distinguish."
"Why is this even happening to her?" Dean questioned with concern. "Is it from the Mark of Cain?"
"I don't believe so, no. This feels like something to do with the Vasiles."
Sam's face was hard. "What if it's Lucifer?"
The three of them fell silent.
Everything was coated in thick darkness. Humanity screamed as their veins turned black and they attacked one another. Ravenous beasts with massive claws and teeth pillaged and ate whatever humans they found, dead or alive. Across the way stood a withering Remiel. Runa's flesh had become ragged, wrinkled, and scabbed. Her pale, cracked lips pulled into a sick grin. Panning slightly to the side, still across the way from Remiel, was a fully grown Amara. Her black dress billowed in the wind similarly to the way Remiel's light purple one did as they stared one another down. Earthquakes rumbled beneath their feet though neither was shaken in the slightest. Blood splatters in black and red sprayed the land as humanity and the creatures savagely attacked one another.
"You can't keep this up for very long, Remiel," Amara warned.
"Of course I can, auntie." Even her hoarse voice was terrifying. "I learned a few tricks from the boys over the millennia."
Behind Amara appeared the real Remiel as the one across the way vanished into purple smoke. Amara's eyes widened but she didn't realize in time. Remiel thrust her hand straight through Amara's chest and spoke rapid Verbis Diablo. Amara began to seize and cough, blood spewing from her mouth as a massive glowing ball of energy erupted from her mouth. The light went straight to Remiel and enveloped the field. When it finally died down, Remiel stood above Amara's lifeless corpse looking perfectly healthy. Her head turned slowly, a malefic grin on her face.
"He can't protect you forever, baby dhampir."
In that instant Zarya was painfully thrust into her body, completely aware and present in the scene. Panic surged through her as the scent of death overwhelmed her nose. Remiel advanced slowly. Zarya let out an involuntary scream and the ground opened suddenly, causing her to fall helplessly. She reached out to nothingness while screaming the whole way down. She could still hear Remiel laughing until the hole she fell into was too far away to see anymore.
It felt like an eternity before she finally landed on sand. At first Zarya only heard the sound of waves crashing and relaxed into it. But then she heard the screams and pleas of frightened people. It took her a moment to pick out what language they were yelling in but she vaguely recognized Greek. She forced herself up to survey her new surroundings. It was a quaint island that was currently being ravaged by some monster. She could see smoke coming from the nearby village, meaning it was also burning.
"You know where you belong, Zarya Vasile."
She jumped when the woman's voice came from nowhere. Suddenly, someone was beside her watching the village burn. Her jet black hair barely grazed her shoulders and looked as if it had been forcibly cut with a knife recently. Her ivory dress was torn in various spots and splattered with blood. The train was tattered and drenched in blood. Blood dripped from her fingertips and lips. Zarya could see her eyes were a bright blue speckled with emerald. Slowly, her gaze turned onto Zarya.
"You need him as much as we all need you." Zarya wasn't positive how she understood the Greek so fluently. "Build our empire and reign over the dominion. Such is your kingdom."
Dark indigo smoke overtook the entire scene and swallowed Zarya up. She tried to run forward and reach for the mystery woman at least, but there was only nothingness. As she reached she began to fall forward into the nothingness. It was almost like slow motion as she fell until something grabbed hold of her ankle and yanked forcefully downward. In an instant she was face down on something solid and cold. Thunder loomed around her as well as desperate screams. She had to shake off the immediate disorientation as the indigo smoke loomed onward towards her. Zarya scrambled to her feet and ran in the opposite direction with fear in her blood. That was when she heard what she never thought would ever sound like hope to her.
"Rya!"
With the indigo smoke hot on her heels, Zarya took off at full speed towards Lucifer's calls. Was she really in Hell? Was it a vision? She didn't know in the slightest. The only thing she did know was the one entity who always vowed to protect her by any means necessary. She could finally see that icy, wrought iron cage in the distance and pushed herself harder. She could see one of his hands outstretched to her already and concern on his face. As the supernatural speed etched deeper into her blood cells Zarya finally began gaining speed on the smoke. With it being barely seconds behind her she finally reached the archangel and grabbed hold to his hand as tightly as she could. She could feel the coldness and realness of him.
"What the hell is happening?" She spoke quickly with panic in her eyes.
"I don't know, Rya. Where are you? I can't-" Even Lucifer's eyes widened when he saw how dangerously close the smoke was. "Hold onto me as hard as you can, alright? Whatever you do, do not fucking let go. Do you understand, Rya?"
She grabbed onto the bars and his hands with both of hers. "I don't wanna see any more of this shit, Lucifer." She admitted with deeply rooted fear. "I don't know if it's gonna spit me back out."
"Just hold onto me as best as you can, alright? Even if you can't hold on then you have to keep fighting it. Brace yourself, Rya."
The smoke hurled straight into them practically at Mach speed. Zarya let out a cry while holding onto the bars with all her might. She could feel Lucifer's grip on her hands and wrists. The force was knocking her around almost too roughly. A couple of times her head slammed into the bars. Slowly, she was beginning to lose her grip from the force. She couldn't even see anything anymore. Her hands were sliding out from beneath the archangel's as her feet were lifted off the ground.
"I can't hold on!" She cried into the darkness.
"I'll find you, Rya!" He called out to her. "I swear it!"
With a scream at the top of her lungs, Zarya was ripped away back into the nothingness.
"What's wrong with Zarya?" Katia asked hastily as she bounded down the bunker stairs. "Where is she?"
Don't tell me she got busted and she's chained up in the basement, she thought fearfully.
"She…" Sam started with uncertainty. "She seems to be having these really violent night terrors that cause her to speak in tongues…"
The dhampir's eyes widened with horror. "And have you bothered to try and wake her up?!"
"Well, no… we weren't sure if it would do more harm than good. Not even Cas is totally sure what she's saying or what's happening."
Katia sped down the halls until she reached Zarya's room. Zarya was still tossing and turning, sweating, and speaking in tongues. "Ohh no, no, no…" Katia muttered as she rushed to the young woman's bedside. Ripping her talisman off of her charm bracelet, she placed it beneath her palm on Zarya's forehead and the other hand on her chest. Even against the elder dhampir's strength Zarya still fought greatly. Sam and Dean made it to the doorway as Katia began muttering an incantation speedily.
She caught glimpses of the visions plaguing Zarya which caused her own fear to heavily weigh in. Zarya was trying so hard to keep her dhampir half at bay that it was screaming at her, pleading for help and release. It longed to consume her entirely. It warned her about what would happen should she keep herself weak. It linked her to the oldest family blood. It was prepared to swallow her whole kicking and screaming. Her dhampir blood was hellbent on destroying Remiel, that was its main priority. Suddenly, Katia could hear Lucifer. She heard the concern in his voice as he pleaded that Zarya just hold onto him for safety. Then she could see the imprint on Zarya's soul reaching into the abyss. She had to pull Zarya out before it was too late. Speaking her incantations loudly and firmly, a pastel pink light emitted from the dhampir's palms. Just as she quickly stepped back, Zarya shot up with widened and panicked eyes, panting heavily.
Zarya jumped away at first, the fright and anxiety still reigning supreme. Katia reached out to her gently and took her hands to assure her she was back on the plane of the living and current. "What the fuck just happened to me?" Zarya's voice shook and dropped to barely a whisper. "It feels like my head is screaming at me… It feels like my mind is breaking… I feel like I'm gonna explode…"
Katia looked back and forth between the brothers and Zarya a couple of times before sighing. "I think… I think you got hit with some residual Black Magic…"
"From what?" questioned Sam.
"Saskia. She… she's dead. Zina killed her, but in doing so it released a wave of Black Magic that she had been using. I still don't know for what exactly yet, but my mother did tell me that in Saskia's death a vicious and horrifying beast emerged."
Frigid fear unsettled Zarya deeply. "And then all light will end, and the world will live in darkness. The very air will be pestilence to mankind, and our brethren, the Night Creatures, will emerge and feed. Such as our power… such as our kingdom… such as my kiss…"
Katia's eyes widened. She actually had to sit down in Zarya's desk chair. Sam had a vague idea what the connection was, but Dean was totally lost. "It wasn't just Remiel undoing the entire world…" the dark eyed dhampir admitted with concern.
"It was just a prophecy," Zarya clarified in a small voice as she looked to the brothers. "Remiel only took it out of context. And it has begun."
"And then all light will end," Sam repeated with a dark understanding. "And the world will live in Darkness… Amara. The literal Darkness."
Dean's face paled. "It made the air too dark for people so they started turning on each other…"
Katia nodded. "The very air will be pestilence to mankind, and the Night Creatures will emerge. That's what Saskia's death and Black Magic made - the Night Creatures."
A shiver ran down Zarya's spine as the end of the prophecy repeated in her head alongside a chilling pair of devilish blue eyes.
With Sam and Dean off on a hunt or two while Zarya claimed to need some mental health time, the ravenette met Katia outside in jogging leggings and a sports bra. She had her shoulder blade length hair in a low ponytail. Katia was dressed similarly, only with pigtails in her long hair. "Dhampir 101: sunlight still sucks," Katia grinned and pointed upward at the blaring sun. "We won't combust so we don't need magic trinkets to protect us, but it'll hurt your eyes like a bitch and you'll get a sunburn much quicker and harsher. The only thing I recommend are sunglasses with a charm or two just because regular lenses don't usually cut it after too long."
"Alright… what about the blood thing?"
Katia laughed a little. Typical hunter question. "You won't need it as frequently as vampires do, but it still gives the same effects - enhancing your abilities, prevents lethargy and dessication, and keeps you from going bat shit crazy after too long."
"Great," Zarya muttered.
Katia sparred with her for maybe half an hour before Zarya could acknowledge what she really meant about 'the blood thing'. As she sat and chugged back a water bottle, a blood bag landed in her lap. "Drink that and see how you feel."
"But-"
"You know the vampires of Mystic Falls have their supply chains. Plenty of blood from blood banks goes unused and wasted. Humans love donating blood for cookies and shit. I've never totally understood but I guess I'm thankful." She held up a blood bag of her own before sucking it down. "Warm is usually preferred but I personally like it cold when I work out."
Hesitantly, Zarya opened the spout of the bag and sipped at it. Part of her was disgusting in herself, but she begrudgingly knew she had to at least once in a while. After a few sips it kind of tasted like cherry juice. With that thought she found it easier to drink until the bag was empty. "It oddly reminds me of, like, Kool-Aid."
Katia laughed lightly. "Fair comparison, actually. Most flavored juice is highly processed and syrupy which is kind of the same when donated blood has sat for a while and gone cold. It gets a little tacky and sweet."
That time Zarya was able to go an hour straight of fair sparring with the elder dhampir. They focused mainly on her strength. She had to acknowledge it in order to control it. Admittedly, Katia had fun the couple of times Zarya tossed her about because she didn't know her strength yet. Zarya felt horrendous watching her slam into trees several feet away yet Katia laughed. They came up with safe hiding places for Zarya to keep blood bags on hand but away from the Winchesters. Just before the sun set the girls stopped and parted ways. Zarya was beginning to feel a spark of confidence and hope. She took a lukewarm shower, then searched for something to eat, but nothing sounded like it hit the spot. With a hefty, defeated sigh, she cracked into another blood bag.
Zarya just laid in bed scrolling through the internet for about an hour before Sam texted her just to check in. She couldn't say she was terribly surprised that it was Sam to text her rather than Dean. Part of her questioned how she even returned to the bunker to begin with. Nonetheless she told the younger brother she was just fine and Sam assured her the same of them on their case. A couple of hours of YouTube videos went by and Zarya began to wonder if it was going to be her first sleepless night. Then, as her mind began to wander away from the video on her phone, her eyes fluttered shut. The iPhone slipped out of her hand and tumbled onto the floor.
She knew the second her consciousness began to stir that she was no longer in her bed at the bunker. Rather than a soft, weighted blanket on top of her was a light, satin quilt. Her oversized Led Zeppelin t-shirt had become much lighter and silky. She knew exactly where she was. Opening her eyes only confirmed the inevitable. She recognized every detail of the bedroom. Her head lolled to the opposite side to see the lights of Detroit out the window. She sat up slowly when she sensed she was no longer alone in the room.
"Why is it always Detroit with you?"
Lucifer smirked as he leaned in the doorway with his arms crossed. "This was all your choosing, Rya. Maybe you picked Detroit because it was where you felt the most free to be yourself."
"So are you saying this is all a dream? Or are you screwing with my head?"
"Why can't it be both?"
If it wasn't actually Lucifer poking around in her head again then her mind had spent far too much around the archangel to be coming up with a perfect copy. She didn't want to admit it, but of course she was a sucker for Nick's face with the archangel's mouth and wit. Without breaking eye contact Zarya stood up and approached him slowly. She realized then her t-shirt had become a silk nightgown that just barely covered her larger breasts and only went about halfway down her thighs. The real Zarya was in her bed at the bunker sound asleep in some blood bag induced dream, and the real Lucifer was in the Cage in Hell. A dream was only a dream, right?
With the concept of it all being no more than a dream in her mind, Zarya boldly walked up to him, stood on her toes, and kissed him. He swiftly reciprocated and put a hand on her lower back, pulling her flush against him. There was a surge of frozen fire through her veins suddenly which connected her to the vampire half of herself. It was just some whacked out, over tired, over stressed, new dhampir and blood induced sex dream. Save for the supernatural circumstances, and typically adding in liquor instead, she'd been used to those once and while since she was a teenager. She wasn't getting any in real life so who gave a damn if she did and with who in her own dreams?
Zarya pushed him roughly against the wall and nipped his bottom lip with her fangs. "Someone's being a naughty little dhampir this evening," he smirked as he grabbed the backs of her thighs and lifted her off the floor.
"You're right," she shrugged while dragging her nails down his chest and flicking off buttons. "I can do whatever I want here."
Zarya launched up in her bed, tangled in the sheets and practically pouring sweat. The tank top and shorts she had slept in were in complete disarray. She may have had sexual dreams before, but apparently never as graphic. With her cheeks still bright red and the images still vivid in her brain, Zarya threw the blankets off and leapt towards the bathroom for a shower.
"A cold shower is all you need," she muttered as she stripped. "Cold showers always calm you down."
The first touch of the cool water was glorious. She let out a soothed sigh and leaned against a wall with her eyes closed to just feel the water. Suddenly she flashed back to the Styne mansion, covered in blood, with Dean kissing her. She let out a noise of frustration as she literally shook off the thought. Zarya put her palms on the wall in front of her, leaning forward with her head under the water. All she could hear was the rushing droplets through her hair and over her ears. Slowly her head came up and hands slid from the wall to wipe the mess of hair back. In just the blink of an eye Lucifer had flashed before her and vanished. She stumbled back into the wall behind her. Her heart was beginning to race.
"Think of it similar to a haunting," the archangel's voice echoed in her ears.
She turned and pressed her forehead to the wall, letting the water hit her back. In through the nose, out the mouth she made herself breathe. It took a couple of minutes but she finally felt herself calming down. However, she exhaled once more, and felt something clawing deep within. Down, down, down she kicked it. The harder she fought, the easier it was for another memory to resurface.
"This never has to end, Zare." Demon Dean's words tried to seduce her again. "You and me every single day. All of this… every single day."
"You are mine, Rya."
"Just stay with me. And we can have whatever we want."
"The imprint forever on your soul, is because I love you, Rya."
Zarya shut off the shower abruptly and leaned against a wall with her hands in her wet hair. Her heart was racing and the room was beginning to spin.
"If you continue you will kill him, Zarya. The choice is yours."
Tears of red mixed with the water droplets running down her cheeks. She slid slowly until she was sitting on the tub floor. Her greener-than-blue eyes were bright, bloody crimson and filled with a panicked self-loathing. Where the actual fuck had she gone so wrong in her life? How did she go from being a waitress no one gave a damn about in some shit hole little town in a state no one gave a fuck about to a half vampire, pathetic excuse of a hunter with the absolute worst taste in men and not even knowing what to do about them. She missed the days of pure simplicity with Nick. Getting wasted and bitching about their trivial problems over greasy take out because they both sucked at cooking.
Part of her couldn't help but wonder: did dhampirs have that magic 'no emotion' switch too…?
Zina coughed a little as her iced coffee went down the wrong pipe. She blinked a couple of times at the younger Winchester brother. "You'll have to forgive me; I knew you two were pretty daft, but I was not under the impression that you were also on some serious drugs. Who the fuck just thinks God is sending them visions of Lucifer? Please put the acid, or shrooms, or whatever it is down, Sam."
Sam sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm being serious and sober, Zina. Please."
She took a long sip of the beverage while staring him in the eye. He hadn't bothered to question her side bangs taking up a whole side of her face; just straight to the point which was perfectly fine by her. "What makes you think I'd have any advice for you?"
"Because you have psychic abilities and a connection to Lucifer."
"Well… that's fair, I suppose." Finally, she sighed and set her cup down on the table before holding her hands out. "Alright, fine. Show me. Give me your hands."
Hesitantly, Sam took the vampire's hands. Once she was connected to his mind she was able to see the visions he had been seeing for herself. As soon as they finished playing she yanked her hands back and wrapped her arms around herself. "What the fuck would make you think that was coming from God?"
"Lucifer was there to lock the Darkness away the first time, right?"
"Yeah, sure, with his other four siblings. None of which are available to team up right now."
"You're actually spooked by this, aren't you? What did they tell you, Zina?"
She stood suddenly, swiping her drink as she did so. "They tell me to tell you not to go poking around, Sam. Not even on the consideration of putting the Darkness down. Not if you favor the way your life and the world work right now." With her free hand she quickly flipped up her large, black hood and briskly vanished out of the coffee shop.
Sam stared after the vampire even as the bell chimed to signal her exit. What the hell was she talking about?
Zina hastily walked through the various humans crowding the sidewalks. Once she finished off the coffee she swiftly dumped it in a trash bin as she passed by. She weaved through the people, not a single one paying her any mind. A chill ran down her spine that she ignored to continue onward. She was due for answers, but the way she was going to acquire them was something she really wasn't looking forward to doing.