Chapter 10:
A/N:
Disclaimer: I only own the ones that never appeared on TV.
(--)
"Don't do anything stupid," Celeste warned the brothers, moving to the left of the door and closing it behind her with her heel. The woman was pushing seventy and she'd gotten the drop on them, twice.
Dean cursed himself for ever letting his guard down. He knew better. He shot a glance over at Sam, who was grim faced. Sam knew better too. Hell, Sam had sensed something was off about Celeste the day they'd met her, but he'd ignored the instinct and now he and Dean were both paying for it. Stupid.
"Why'd you do it Celeste?" Dean asked. Do you have any idea what you let loose here?"
The woman paled, repositioning her grip on the shotgun. "I don't know what you're talking about," she answered stiffly.
"Sure you do. But what I'd like to know is why you summoned Akvan in the first place. Why are you trying to punish Parker and her family?" Dean gripped the picture frame and lifted it from the bookcase, dusting it off as he turned. He held the photograph out where the aging woman could see.
Sam turned as well. "Who was Susan Birchness?" Celeste's attention turned to Sam, and Dean risked a small step forward. Almost immediately the rifle was swiftly brought back to center on Dean's chest.
Her eyes, which had been wide, rimmed in white, suddenly narrowed and her expression darkened. "She was my sister," Celeste hissed through her teeth.
"You were married when you moved to Deerville," Dean said, starting to put the pieces together. "That's why no one else knew Susan Birchness was related to you. You were still going by your married name. And then Susan started an affair with Parker's father." It wasn't a question, just a statement of fact.
"Susan came to see me when my husband died. Joseph came by to offer his condolences. I introduced them. They were friendly; she left. She visited again, the next Christmas. That's when it started. Every three months, for the next six years. She'd come here, spend a day with me, and then go to his cabin. Joseph loved her."
"Not enough to leave his wife," Dean snapped, pressing.
"But he was!" Celeste raged, accentuating with a sharp jerk of her gun. "He came in to see me, showed me the ring, told me he loved her. He went to the cabin to meet her, and they never came back!"
Sam saw tears start to track down Celeste's face. He knew what his brother was doing, pushing her buttons, distracting her. He reached behind him, carefully feeling for anything on the shelves he might use as a weapon. "But how did you figure out what happened? Searchers never found the bodies. How could you be sure Mrs. Quinn even knew?"
Celeste laughed, a bitter, harsh sound. "We were friends. She came to see me when Joseph disappeared. She was drunk, alternately furious and then tortured. She kept saying it was her fault. That's when she told me Joseph had told her about his affair, and that he planned to leave her. Told her the only reason he'd stayed that long was because of Parker and Angie, but that they were old enough to finally understand. That's when she told me about what she'd done. I didn't want to believe her."
"But you did," Sam said accusingly, "and you've waited all these years for revenge."
"Took me that long to find out how to summon it. It's not easy you know, finding a way to call back an ancient, mostly forgotten demon. Couldn't go right up to her and ask, now could I?"
"That thing didn't go after Mrs. Quinn," Dean told her.
"I know." Celeste's voice quavered. "I don't want to kill her; I want her to suffer."
"How many people are you willing to let it kill? Two people are dead, Angie and Parker won't be far behind." Sam said.
"I don't care," she seethed. "Susan was all the family I had and she took her from me, my baby sister. Now I'm going to take what's left of her family and I'm going to watch it tear her apart."
"You're twisted lady," Dean remarked. "And we're going to stop you."
Celeste snickered. "You two ain't gonna do shit." She edged her way to her desk, the shotgun tucked snugly into her shoulder and steadied by her right hand. Her left reached for the phone on the desk. "I found you two snooping around my office, probably lookin' for my safe. I heard you, came to investigate. Shooting you was an act of self defense, at least, that's what the police report is going to read." She picked up the receiver and began to dial.
Sam watched Dean out of the corner of his eye and saw his brother give the slightest of nods. There was only a few feet between Dean and the desk. It was a calculated risk, but one Dean seemed willing to take. All he needed to do was to draw Celeste's attention for a few seconds. Sam just wished he had some better cover. Celeste cradled the phone against her ear and gripped the shotgun in two hands once again. "Hello? Yes, I need to report two intruders at my…" her gaze dropped. He wasn't gong to get a better chance.
"Hey!" Sam hurled the book he'd been holding toward the desk. It sailed just past Celeste's head, striking the wall. The phone dropped away from the shop owner's ear, and the nose of the gun swung in Sam's direction. Sam dove for the floor, shielding his head with his arms. The stitches in his shoulders strained and the sound of the shotgun blast made him cringe.
The moment Celeste rounded on Sam, Dean moved. He covered the space between himself and the desk in two steps, planted his left hand on the top of the desk and hurdled it. He collided with Celeste, wedging his shoulder beneath her hands to thrust the barrel of the shotgun up and away from Sam. Celeste still managed to pull the trigger, but thankfully the only thing in her line of fire was an unlucky ceiling tile. Celeste howled angrily, her eyes spitting sparks.
"I'll take that, thank you very much," Dean said as he unceremoniously jerked the shotgun from Celeste's hands. He stood imperiously in front of her, holding the gund across his chest, his gaze flicking over his shoulder to his brother. "You can get up now Sam. I've subdued her." His tone was mocking, but Sam couldn't quite tell if it directed at him, or the situation in general. Either way, he rolled over and stood, reflexively dusting himself off. Then he hurried over to the dropped phone, where a panicked sounding woman kept repeating 'hello'. He pressed the off button and cast it aside.
"We need to get out of here Dean, now." Sam bobbed on his toes. The cops were inevitably on their way, and there was no way in hell they'd be able to talk themselves out of it.
His brother didn't move. Dean's face was a rolling thundercloud. Celeste shrank back from him. "Where's Akvan's vessel?" he growled, pressing closer to her, forcing himself into her space. Celeste squirmed.
Genuine confusion crossed her face. "What are you talking about?"
Dean lifted his shoulder away from her. "You don't know." He didn't know whether to laugh or scream. "Well that's just perfect." This whole job had gone from bad to worse. Why, why did people insist on messing with the black things in life without knowing what they were getting into? He stepped back, shaking his head, keeping the gun trained on Celeste. Sam darted into the shop, and came back with a length of rope. He bound her hands and feet, leaving her trussed up on the floor.
Dean propped the photo of Susan Birchness on the desk and quickly typed a few words onto the computer monitor. The woman in the photo is Susan Birchness. She dissapeared 8 years ago. Aks me how I know... It wasn't much, but maybe the cops would start asking questions.
As they made their way towards the Impala Sam asked, "We're just going to leave her? Dean, she's gonna get away with murder."
"Maybe. But what else are we gonna do Sammy?" Dean retorted, sounding anything but happy about the situation. He stowed Celeste's shotgun in the backseat. They'd lost one of theirs when Sam had fallen into the lake, so it seemed like a fair trade. "She's a human being, a demented, psycho one, but human. What did you want to do, kill her? Explain to the cops?" A quirked eyebrow accompanied the last, and Sam sighed.
"True enough. We're going back." A nod of confirmation. "Any ideas where the vessel could be?"
"Nope," Dean said with a quick shake of his head, "and we don't have time to go looking for a needle in a haystack. Moon rises at seven tonight. We're out of time."
"Wish we knew where it was."
Dean started the car and pulled out onto the road. Far away below them sirens could be heard. He pressed his foot down hard on the accelerator. "You and me both."
(--)
Parker stirred in the dark. The night had passed and so had the morning. According to the digital readout on her still working watch, it was just past one and the Akvan had left nearly an half an hour ago. Even its putrid stink had begun to fade. Beside her Angie still slept. Parker had tried to do the same, and failed, unable to slumber beneath the watchful eye of the demon, though she had feigned it. It came over to them every so often, its hot breath turning her stomach, and sending chills down her spine. She'd forced herself to stay utterly still, locking her eyes shut each time till it moved on.
Where are they? Dean and Sam were taking too long. What if they weren't coming? What if the Akvan had gotten to them too? Parker shook her head, banishing the thought. The full moon was set to rise in just under seven hours. They couldn't wait any longer. She shifted Angie off her shoulder, gently resting her on the ground, and stood.
As she rose Angie awoke, suddenly missing the warmth of her sister beside her. "Parker," she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, "what are you doing?" Angie couldn't see anything, but she heard Parker moving agitatedly beside her.
"This ledge," Parker said, feeling along the stone blindly, "how far down do you think we are?" She reached up, curling her fingers around the first handhold she could find.
Angie shook her head. It was crazy. "Parker…"
"How far down?" Parker repeated harshly.
Angie ran a hand over her face. She knew that tone. It meant Parker had her mind set on something, and it would take a damned mule kick before the thought became dislodged. "I don't know, fifty feet? Maybe more, maybe less." I had my Mag light on me, but the batteries died a couple days ago. Beam didn't reach the top."
"Fifty feet," Parker murmured underneath her breath.
Angie drew her feet beneath her and stood, grabbing onto her sister's arm. "Parker you can't. It's too far, and you can't see your hand in front of your face. Look, I know you're a good climber but it's crazy. You said yourself those two guys…Seth and Dan.."
"Sam and Dean."
"Right, Sam and Dean would be coming back up here for this thing. Please, Parker if you fall you'll die."
"I got news for you kid, we don't find a way out of here we're dead anyway." She couldn't see Angie's reaction, but she heard the slight gasp. "We can do it."
"I can't."
"Angie…"
"Parker I can't make that climb, not in the dark, not without gear. I'll fall."
Parker rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. "I'll be back, with help or a rope. I'll come back." She bit down on her lip, not sure if she was trying to reassure Angie or herself. All the same, Parker felt gingerly along the wall with her toe till she found a small nook in the rock, reached up for her handhold and began the slow, arduous ascent up.
(--)
Sam and Dean crouched low behind some brush, watching the mouth entrance to the Deep. It was nearly 2:30 in the afternoon, and they'd been sitting there for over an hour and a half, waiting. The Akvan had made a brief appearance an hour or so earlier, but the bright sunlight had seemed to make it balk, and it receded back into the caves. Half an hour earlier dark storm clouds had rolled over the mountain. The wind had picked up, and the sky had turned a leaden gray. Sam drew the zipper up on his jacket till it stopped just beneath his chin.
Suddenly Dean cuffed him with the back of his hand. Sam swayed a little at the blow. Sometimes he wondered if Dean knew his own strength. Still, the hit drew his attention, as had been the intention and he looked up just in time to see the Akvan reemerge from the cave. It moved slowly as it walked, awkward and stooped over, obviously more comfortable in flight than on the ground. Its wings were drawn tight over its back.
Red eyes roamed the area, and Sam felt Dean pull on his sleeve. It was unnecessary; Sam was already pressed as low to the ground as he could manage. The Akvan lifted his chin, sniffing the breeze, but thankfully, with the storm, their scent was being blown away. Seeming satisfied, the Akvan gave a soft cry and unfolded its wings. It pushed off the ground, hovering for a brief moment before taking flight. It flew over the tree tops a few yards west of their hiding place.
The brothers waited another few minutes to be sure the Akvan was really gone before darting from their hiding place. They clambered quickly up the rock to the mouth of the cave, where Sam withdrew the can of rock salt from his pack. He poured a thick line of it across the cave entrance and then they ventured back into the Deep. "You know what Dean?"
"What Sam?" Dean pointed his flashlight on the walls, looking for the bright blue marks Parker's spray can had left there a few days earlier. Finally he found one and continued on, only half listening to his brother.
"I think I'm done with the Mountains for a while." Dean chuckled. "And caves," Sam went on. "And lakes, definitely done with water for a while. Trees I could do without…all your basic wildlife for that matter. I say when we're done here we look in dad's journal and find ourselves a nice haunted wheat field. How does that sound? Nice, flat, open, empty…"
"You're forgetting the coyotes."
"I can handle coyotes."
"Sam?"
"Yeah Dean?"
"You're weird." A few feet in front of him, the light from the flashlight dropped away. "And we're here." Sam came to stand beside him, peering out over the ledge that led down to Crystal lake. Sam couldn't help it, he shuddered. "Hold it together Sammy."
For Dean that passed as concern, and Sam knew it. Oddly, it made him feel better. He drew in a steadying breath, banishing images of red eyes and the sickening recollection of his free fall. "I'm fine. Let's get this done and get out of here. I don't much feel like fighting this thing on its turf again."
"No kidding, especially when hitting the damned thing head on with a twelve gauge does about as much as tickling it with a feather." The top line from a few days ago was still in its place on the wall. Dean tested the piton, then weaved the rope through his harness. Sam would have preferred to go first, but he wasn't fooling anyone into believing his shoulders would take the pressure of belaying Dean.
"Just get down quick."
"Nah, I was thinking of taking a pit stop halfway down. Relax, it'll be fine. Know what they say, lightening doesn't strike twice."
Sam grunted. "Yeah, they also say Big Foot doesn't exist."
"I'll go down quick."
"Thank you."
Dean made it down the wall without incident, just like the last time. Sam hooked himself in and started down, hoping his descent would be as uneventful. Unbeknownst to either Sam or Dean, outside the Akvan had returned. Two limp rabbits hung from one clawed hand. It balked a foot away from the salt line across the entrance. It growled, a low, grumbling sound emanating from deep in its throat. Bones crunched beneath its hand and it cast away the rabbits, dinner forgotten. Turning away from the entrance, it leapt again into the air.
Dean and Sam passed over the land bridge that cut across Crystal Lake, moving quick, staying quiet. The cavern went on beyond the lake, the ceiling, which was so high over the center of the lake, sloped downward as the cavern progressed. Dean and Sam followed the curve of the cavern, their hands on the wall for guidance, lights low, wary of more unexpected drop offs. Eventually the cavern narrowed into another tunnel, twisting ever lower into the bowels of the mountain.
A few hundred yards into the tunnel Sam reached forward and grabbed Dean's shirt. Dean turned. Sam brought a finger to his lips, then tapped his ear. "Listen," he mouthed. Ahead of them the tunnel made a sharp, hairpin left. Beyond the corner Dean heard it, a soft scraping of stone, and something breathing. Silently, Dean passed the heavy flashlight to Sam, and then brought his shotgun up, clicking off the safety. It was already primed.
Parker heard something moving ahead of her in the tunnel. She stooped, searching the ground with wide hands till her fingers found a large stone. She hefted it and righted herself, trying to ignore her hammering heart. The stone she'd found was all of five pounds, but after her climb up the wall it might as well have been forty. Her fingers ached from gripping at tiny handholds and her forearm bled anew through the now thoroughly disgusting bandage. Still, she would go down fighting. She shut her eyes and began to count.
Dean locked eyes with his brother. Sam nodded tightly. "Three, two," Dean's head bobbed with each silent count, "one." They moved as a singular unit Dean at the front, Sam behind, shining the light over his shoulder.
"Ahhh!" The light was blinding after nearly a day in the black. Parker shielded her eyes with her arm, wielding her weapon awkwardly in her other hand.
The moment the light caught hold of her Dean thrust the shotgun nose down. "Whoa! Whoa!" he called, removing his hand from the trigger. In front of him Parker froze, arm still raised for a strike. "Hey, easy there Ralph Maccio, it's us."
Parker let the stone slip from her hand, and relief washed over her. "Oh thank God," she said, "for a second there I thought the Akvan had started making bad 80's pop cultural references. Now if that don't scare ya…"
Sam grinned. "Good to see you too. Our friend Akvan around?"
"Haven't seen it in a couple hours." Good, then maybe the salt line was enough. "Wasn't sure you were coming back."
"We haven't dusted this evil bastard yet," Dean said by way of explanation. "Find your sister?"
"Yeah, she's not far from here, trapped on a ledge about fifty feet down." Parker blinked spots from her eyes as she turned, heading back the way she'd just come. "How are you planning to get rid of it? My mother said it couldn't be killed."
"True," Sam conceded, "to a point." He took Parker's silence as invitation to continue. "Reason we can't kill it is because its spirit resides in another host, a vessel. Kill the vessel and the spirit returns to the body. Then we can waste it."
"Vessel?"
Dean peered down the barrel of his shotgun, keeping wary eye all around him as he moved. "In this case a wild goat." More silence and the brother's watched Parker's stride hitch for a step.
"A goat?"
"Don't ask me, I don't make the rules."
"Are you serious? That's great!" Sam lifted an eyebrow. She was altogether way too excited to get that piece of news.
"How the hell would you define that as great?" Dean asked.
"When I was down on that ledge with Angie I…I heard a goat nearby. There must be another ledge." Ahead of them the tunnel mouth opened into another cavern. This one was not nearly as high as the cavern at Crystal Lake, but it was much longer, and through its middle wove a wide, deep crevice. Sam shuffled as close to the edge as he dared and shone the beam into it. Eerie blackness stretch out beneath his eyes, well beyond the scope of the flashlight. Beside him Dean tossed a pebble down. They never heard it hit bottom. "Welcome to the Deep."
Sam shot a hard look over his shoulder. "This is where your dad…"
"Yeah."
"Parker, I'm sor…"
"If it's all the same to you Sam I'd rather not do this. Now that I know the whole story I'm sure I've got years and years of therapy in front of me to talk this out, but right now I'm not in the mood." Sam was glad she couldn't see him roll his eyes. Evasive, like that was a new one for him. He let it slide.
"So where's the goat?" Dean asked, still peering out over the edge.
"Well I didn't see it. Couldn't be more than a few yards from where we were though. Lower me down to get Angie and I'll take a look."
That elicited a laugh from Dean, till he realized she was serious. He sighed. "Fine. So not worth the argument. Go, we'll cover you from up here."
It only took a few minutes for Parker to jury-rig Dean's harness small enough to fit her. While Parker did that, Sam tied one end of the rope off to an anchor. Having a secure top rope would allow Sam and Dean to both move freely, keeping cover with their weapons. Sam handed Parker his blade, which she took with a tight lipped nod, slipping it into her pocket.
Sam and Parker were in the process of gathering the line when a pebble clattered down the wall. Instantly Dean tensed, swinging around in the direction of the sound. The feeling in the air changed. It was charged. "It's here," Dean said lowly, his eyes flicking into every nook, every shadow. "Move your ass Parker."
She nodded, the hair on her arms standing on end. She slid the line through her brake, the loose end snaking down the crevice wall. Sam stood over her, gun loaded and ready. From above there came a hiss. She moved faster, willing her hands not to tremble. Another twenty-five feet of line and she'd be good to go.
Another hiss came out of the dark, this time behind Dean. It was crawling around on the ceiling, he realized. Jerking the gun upward, the small light attached to the barrel nailed the Akvan full in the face, just before it dropped. He fired.
Dean wasn't sure if he'd hit it or not as the Akvan sailed past him, bearing down on Sam and Parker. "Sam, down!" Dean barked. Sam obeyed, a reaction borne of years experience together. He dropped, pulling Parker with him. The Akvan swooped past and Sam was on his feet, standing side by side with Dean. Parker was close behind. "Find the vessel," Dean ordered, "now."
The Akvan dropped to the ground, red eyes burning. Parker still had fifteen feet of slack line at her feet. Fuck it. Deft hands locked down the brake as she bolted away from the brothers and toward the edge. She held one of the flashlights in her left hand. Then she leapt, far enough out to avoid any protrusions, twisting in the air as she began to free fall. This was gonna hurt. The line went taut, the harness jerked painfully and she swung back toward the wall. Parker drew her knees up as she hurtled forward. She grit her teeth and crashed back into the wall feet first, her knees absorbing most of the shock. The brake strained, slipping a little before completely stopping her. Then she started to repel.
Back above, Dean and Sam were doing what they could to stop the Akvan, or at the very least, not become its next victim. In the air the Akvan was fast, but in the close confines of this cavern, it was forced down to the ground, where it was awkward and slow. Sam and Dean both lifted their shotguns. Like hitting the broad side of a barn. Sam fired first, hitting the creature square in the center of its chest. The Akvan roared, dropping to one bony knee, as dark blood oozed from the wound.
Satisfaction swiftly turned to dismay. Before their eyes the wound began to close up, blood receding back into the Akvan's body. Sam's eyes bulged and he quickly fired again. The Akvan crashed to the ground, its knee in shreds, but even that lasted only a few moments. Soon it was on its feet again, its approach steady. "The vessel Parker!" Dean yelled in no direction in particular. "Faster is better!"
Dean shouldered his way in front of Sam as his brother reloaded. The Akvan was getting closer, and Dean was well aware of the fact that they had a wall to their backs and on their left, a truly pissed off demon in front of them, and nothing but empty air to their right. This time he shot it in the head. It went down again, but not for long. It stood once more. "You've got to be kidding me," Dean muttered.
"Goat, goat, goat…" Parker repeated over and over beneath her breath. Instinct told her she was getting close. She scanned the area with the flashlight. She saw Angie, but no goat. She could hear the gunshots being fired overhead. Her throat tightened.
"Parker, what the hell is going on?" Angie yelled from the ledge a few feet away. She had her hands up to shield her eyes from the light.
"You gotta give me a minute Angie!" Parker called back. She pushed off from the wall again, sliding down her line another five or six feet. There. She saw it. On a ledge just below the one she and Angie had been trapped on, a lone goat munched idly on a large pile of picked grass. A few beaten up strands of chicken wire kept it there. Parker swung over, clearing the makeshift fencing before setting down. She withdrew the knife from her belt sheath and grimaced. This was so going to make her reconsider being a vegetarian. The goat stopped eating, watching her warily. "Sorry buddy."
Dean dropped behind Sam to reload. The Akvan was relentless. The brothers were after its prize, its women, and for that they would die. Sam prepared to fire again. But the Akvan had closed the gap between them, and it reached up, grabbing the barrel of the gun. Sam fired. The Akvan jerked, but didn't let go. Sam's stomach dropped into his feet, just before the Akvan twisted, hurtling Sam and his gun away from him. Sam landed with a grunt a few feet away, gun still in hand.
Dean abandoned trying to shoot the demon, settling instead to use the gun like a club. The Akvan swung at him with a clawed hand that Dean narrowly managed to duck. He used it to his advantage, darting beneath the Akvan's arm to the open space behind it. Now at least he had a little room to maneuver, though he was closer to the edge than he'd have liked. The demon craned its head around. Then it paused, shuddering slightly, and the glow in its eyes dimmed just a little. Parker's voice floated up to his ears. "Now!"
Dean smirked. "See how it is to fly with no wings you son of a bitch." He fired, and the shot tore through one of the creatures wings. It screamed and spun as blood spurted from the wound. It launched itself at Dean. Two gunshots rang out at once. The Akvan stiffened and toppled forward. To Sam, the next few seconds seemed to happen in slow motion. The demon brushed past Dean as it fell over the ledge, and he took a step back to steady himself. Sam watched the ledge crumble beneath his brother's foot. His yell was muted in his own ears. Dean pitched backward, arms flying up as he fell with Akvan into the crevice.
Chapter 10
Haha, literally a cliffhanger I know. One more after this and it's done, wow. Hope you enjoyed and please feel free to leave a review.