The Chaos Tree
Chapter 13
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Caleb sat slumped on the edge of his bed, his heart aching. Daniel Rios and Joel Neubridge were a fixture in the hunting world. They'd been partners for more than twenty years, and were as reliable as any people he'd ever seen. Loosing Joel was a blow.
"I'm sorry."
Caleb turned to Onida, who had woken and was now sitting up, watching him. He'd been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed. "Thanks. I can't believe Joel is gone."
"We met him when we did the poltergeist hunt, right?"
Caleb nodded. "He and Daniel crossed our path going on another hunt."
"I liked him."
"Yeah." Caleb smiled. "Daniel brought him to me over twenty years ago after his wife was killed. I trained him for over a year, made sure he wouldn't put Daniel in danger if they hunted together." Shaking his head, he continued, "They were such a good team."
Onida nodded, her heart going out to Caleb. Lying back, she murmured, "Come here."
Caleb turned and crawled back under the covers and welcomed Onida's arms around him. "Thanks, for being here," he whispered.
"I'll always be here."
Raylan Tanner walked along the wall of the Bravo Night Club. It had been a long night. This was the twenty-ninth club he and Kace had checked so far, and they had many more to go. Many of the clubs were situated over cement foundations. At first he'd been inclined to simply move on to the next name on the list, but Kace thought they should check them anyway. Maybe there was a hole in the foundation of the building or behind a dumpster that had been used. So far that hadn't been the case, but they continued to be vigilant; one on watch, one looking for the boxes.
Blush Club was another hot spot set on a cement foundation. This time Kace was on watch and he was searching the ground for breaks in the concrete or holes. Eyes down, he suddenly felt someone at his back and knew instantly it wasn't Kace. Spinning, he saw seven men standing some ten yards away, baseball bats in their hands. "Gentlemen," he said, eyes alert for any move. "Can I help you?"
"We're here to help you," said a man with black, slicked back hair and a bushy mustache.
"Yeah?" Raylan said, wondering where Kace was. "How?"
"Introducing you to keeping your nose outta other people's business."
Raylan cocked his head, wondering if this moron knew what evil he was working for.
"If you're wondering about your friend," the man continued, "he ain't gonna be much help."
Raylan's heart tripped quickly; he hoped Kace wasn't dead. Standing to his full height of six-foot-four-inches, he said, "I'm not going to make it easy."
Several of the men grinned, and the front man said, "Wasn't expectin' you to," and he moved in.
Raylan kept the wall at his back, narrowing any opening for his attackers to get behind him. Still, he had four taking swings at the same time. Snatching up a nearby garbage can lid, he fended off two of the blows while kicking another attacker back with his heavily booted foot. The fourth, however, delivered a stinging whack to the top of his right shoulder as he hunched slightly inward. He lashed out with his foot again, catching one attacker on the kneecap, sending the man quickly to the ground. He snatched the man's bat as he fell and used it to ward off other blows. He got another attacker on the side of the head, and the man fell away, unconscious. Five to go, thought Raylan.
Another bat struck his shoulder, then glanced off the side of his head, sending him stumbling to the side, slightly dazed. But he recovered quickly, brought the trash can lid up and rammed it into two attackers. Unfortunately, this maneuver took him a few feet from the wall, and two of his assailants circled around, cutting off his retreat. Another bat hit his back and he stumbled forward, using his own bat and the trashcan lid to clear a space and shove more thugs away. A third blow had him nearly falling to the ground as his own bat connected with the side of another head, knocking that attacker out. But he knew his time was running out. He'd taken out three men. Maybe he could get one more before he went down.
Suddenly there was a siren blare and flashing lights shone brightly against the dingy walls and ground between the buildings. Raylan dropped onto all fours as his startled attackers attempted to escape through the rear of the alley. However, there was a high chain linked fence cutting off their escape. They turned and rushed the cars, but were quickly subdued by the suited men swarming from the three vehicles.
Raylan pushed himself to his knees, hunching slightly to support his ribs. He heard footsteps and glanced up at a clean-cut, suited young man with spit-and-polished hair and a gun. The man smiled and held out his hand.
"Nice timing," Raylan remarked, climbing slowly to his feet. "Thank you." Wheezing slightly due to the blows to his back, ribs and shoulders, he gingerly wiped at the blood dripping from what was probably a gash on his forehead. "Who are you?"
"Jacob Whittell, FBI," Jacob said with a smile. "And thank the Guardian," he revealed softly. "Dean asked us to keep an eye on you two in case someone tried to stop you from getting the boxes."
Raylan's mouth dropped open. "Seriously?" His eyes drifted past the young man to the other five suited men handcuffing the hoodlums and leading them to patrol cars waiting on the street. "How many are Brotherhood?"
"I'm sorry, but that's confidential," Jacob said. "I wouldn't have interfered if it weren't necessary."
"How did you find us?"
"I was tracking your phones. When you both stayed in one place too long, I knew something was up and came to help."
Raylan nodded and said, "Thanks. How's Kace?"
"Concussion, broken collar bone, dislocated kneecap. He's on his way to the hospital, which is where you're going," Jacob stated, putting a supportive hand under Raylan's elbow.
Raylan stepped back and shook his head. "I've got a lot of ground to cover."
"You need to get those ribs bound and your head checked for a concussion. I go off duty in two hours. I'll help you with the other clubs after you've been cleared by the doctors."
Sighing, Raylan nodded. "Before we go, I need to check in with Caleb." Giving the spit-and-polished young man a narrowed-eyed look, he asked, "Should I mention you?"
"Better keep that to yourself. We work for the Guardian," Jacob said, and walked away.
"Ain't that a kick in the pants," Raylan murmured, pulling out his cell.
A cell rang. Instantly awake, Dean snatched his phone off the bedside table and touched the screen, silencing the ring. Taking the phone into the main room of the suite Caleb had booked for him and Sam, he answered, "Yeah?"
"We've got a problem."
Dean recognized the unlisted number and knew Jacob was on the other end of the line. "Go on."
"The boxes are irretrievable at this time."
"How?" Dean asked softly.
There were some sounds, possibly voices, then Jacob came back on, saying, "I've got to be quick. I need to report to the section chief about a couple of brawls I was involved in."
"Raylan?"
"Yes."
"Are you in trouble?" Dean asked anxiously.
"No," Jacob said quickly. "But I called in support and it needs to be explained. There's no cause for concern, and Raylan will call Caleb and give a full update."
"Good, I'm glad you're all right."
Jacob smiled. He loved that Dean's first concern was always for his and the others welfare. "Raylan and Kace retrieved one box at twenty-three hundred hours. Following a brawl, he needed medical treatment, and following said treatment I joined him in searching for additional boxes."
Dean refrained from asking about Kace, knowing he would hear the full details from Caleb.
"We found a second box at zero-two-thirty hours and were unable to retrieve it, since it was welded to the ground."
"Welded, how?"
"Unsure, but magically seems the best answer, as there were no bolts, wires or nails. And the box was warm."
Dean didn't like the sound of that. But he knew Jacob needed to make his report to his boss, so he said, "Thank you for backing Raylan and for watching out for the Brotherhood. Deus sit apud vos." (God be with you.)
"Et vobiscum," Jacob replied before hanging up.
Dean always felt silly saying the Latin with his personal guard, but it was a long standing tradition among Guardians, and he didn't feel he had the right to change it. Plus, the Harvard educated Jacob liked the tradition, and he valued that more than his own feelings.
Sitting on the arm of the couch, Dean thought over what Jacob had revealed; the boxes were now irretrievable. So their plan of gathering them to stop Piruz' spell was now scrapped. So not only had Piruz cloaked the boxes, he'd taken measures to protect them from being harvested by the Brotherhood. That made it more important than ever to find out what the box lids meant. Sam said there were minute differences in the glyphs and sigils on the second box. Brian, then Sam and Alison had done an admirable job in translating so much of the lid on the first box in such a short time. But if it was necessary to do the same to every box, it would take more time than they had. Alison speculated that the minute difference on the second lid were from age. He sincerely hoped that was true. The box in Daniel's possession would resolve that issue. If it had discrepancies from both the other boxes, they were screwed.
Glancing down at his cell, he noted it was four-thirty in the morning. That would make it two-thirty in Minnesota. Making the decision, he dialed Jody.
"Hey," Jody said. There was music, din and chatter in the background.
"Have you found a box?" Dean asked.
"I was just about to text you," Jody said. "Hang on; I'm heading to the car." A few seconds later a door opened and slammed and Jody was back on. "Mark and I found two boxes: one at The Height's Hall and Club, the other behind The Velveteen Speakeasy. We could get neither out of the ground. We tried prying them up, digging around them, digging under them; they just stayed right where they were."
Dean sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I figured.
"Should we continue on?"
"No, go get some sleep. We'll need to come up with a new plan."
"Do you want me to contact David in…" the unmistakable sound of a yawn interrupted Jody's words. "Sorry. Rockland?"
"I'll send out a text. Go to bed."
"Deal," Jody said. "Night."
Dean cut the connection, then sent a text to Maggie Cole in Ashland and David Weiss in Rockland, telling them to stop checking for the boxes. Within two minutes answering texts came back acknowledging the first and saying good night. After a second, he shrugged and texted Ethan Matthews the same news. Since it was almost five in the morning, Dean figured Caleb's team in Baltimore were already asleep, so he didn't text them. Next he sent Caleb a text, telling him he'd pulled the box retrieval teams from the field, all except the Baltimore team, since they were likely in bed. Immediately a text came back: I'm coming over. Dean quickly replied, No need. We'll go over in the morning. Get some sleep. At first he thought Caleb was going to come anyway, but finally his cell chimed with, Ten o'clock, my room. Dean sent back, done.
Yawning, Dean went back into the bedroom where Sam was still sleeping. Quietly he climbed back in bed and pulled the covers up over his shoulders. However, he didn't immediately go back to sleep. Piruz had cloaked the boxes, then he'd gone the extra mile to make them irretrievable. Why do that unless they were important and he knew they would be searching for them. Damn, he hated being predictable. But then, there was really no other course they could have taken.
"What happened?"
Dean turned his head to see Sam watching him. Shifting onto his side, he said, "The boxes are cemented to the ground somehow, so we can't retrieve them."
Despite being half asleep, Sam's eyes widened. "They're stuck to the ground?"
"Yeah."
"Got an idea of what to do now?"
"No, but we'll figure it out."
Sam nodded, then yawned.
Smiling, Dean said, "Get some sleep. We're going to need it."
"Yeah," Sam murmured. "Night Dean."
"Night Sammy."
Dean listened as Sam's breathing deepened. Slowly he maneuvered onto his back again and stared at the ceiling. Jim, he thought. I think we're going to need some help with this one. Sighing, he closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep. Sam wasn't the only one who was going to need the rest. He had a feeling this hunt was going to get real complicated, real fast.
It was just before nine in the morning, and Sam was sitting at the table in his and Dean's suite, reading through several police reports forwarded from Alison via email. It was curious that the boxes were no longer retrievable, but not unexpected. The witch was powerful, and he would take steps to ensure his spell plans went through. Dean had some good insight into this guy, and he wanted to discuss their next move. But his brother's breathing had been deep and even when he'd woken at eight. Climbing over duffels and shoes as quietly as possible, he'd left the room still in his sweats. He could take a shower and get dressed later. Dean's sleep had been choppy the last three nights and he needed the rest. In truth, they all needed some undisturbed sleep. But for the moment, he was reading through police reports, a hot cup of coffee for company.
Diana Ballard had written a concise report detailing what she'd found out from the Sheriff of Kennebunkport, and included what she'd gleaned from the various police reports from Baltimore. Her baseline was there were no reoccurrences of vehicles that she could see, and the crime scene photos didn't yield a repeated image of either man or woman.
Disappointed, Sam went on to Barrett Bishop, former Sheriff of Tomahawk Wisconsin, now retired. His summary of details learned from the Sheriff of Ashland Wisconsin was concise and bullet pointed: no suspicious vehicles, no suspicious persons of interest spotted in the crime reports from Ashland. Rockland was the same, and Donna Hanscum's report highlighted no persons of interest nor suspicious vehicles in Stillwater. While there was no report on the social media angle from Jody Mills and Mark Wright, he had a feeling they would have little to offer as well.
Leaning back in his chair, he supposed the lack of information was to be expected in such small towns, though he would have welcomed the corroboration on Piruz and any information on whether he had a partner.
Dean walked into the room, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Whatcha doin'?"
"Reading through the police reports from Diana, Donna and the others." He eyed his brother's pale face and knew he hadn't gotten enough sleep. "Why are you awake?"
"It's morning," Dean quipped, dropping into a chair at the table. "Anything?" he asked, nodding at the computer.
"No," Sam sighed, and relayed the information he'd gotten from the other points of violence. "Apparently Piruz is very discreet. I was hoping for something, but they're not large cities. With fewer people taking cell shots, it's harder to catch a glimpse of someone who wants to remain anonymous."
"Guess so."
"We meeting in Caleb's room for breakfast?"
Dean nodded. "At ten."
Sam waited a minute, and when it didn't look like Dean was going to continue, he broke the silence. "Tell me about the boxes."
"Oh. Well, Raylan and Kace retrieved one box before midnight, then there was some sort of fight and both of them needed medical attention."
"Are they all right?" Sam asked.
"Yeah. I'm not sure of everything that happened. We'll have to wait to hear that from Caleb, but when Raylan got back to checking for the boxes, they appeared to be magically welded to the ground. Nothing he did would dislodge it."
"Wow."
"Jody said the same thing. She and Mark found two boxes but couldn't get them up. So we move on to plan B."
Sam smiled. "Weren't we on plan B?"
Dean chuckled. "Maybe we were."
Sam grimaced slightly and closed his eyes. Reaching up he massaged his neck lightly.
Dean rose and headed into the bedroom, returning with a bottle of aspirin. Handing it to Sam, he said, "Headache?"
Sam opened his eyes and focused on the bottle. Smiling, he took it and shook out two pills. "Thanks."
"I think you need more sleep," Dean stated.
"It's not bad," Sam said. "I've just been squinting at the computer a lot over the last couple of days," he glanced up, "while riding in the car."
"You should get some readers."
Sam snorted. "I've got readers. I'm not the one in denial that he's over sixty."
"Yeah, yeah," Dean said, rising to get some coffee.
Standing as well, Sam said, "I'm going to take a shower, get ready. It's going to be a long day."
Dean nodded, watching his brother walk from the room. Yeah, they'd been saying that a lot lately.
Caleb yawned. Being wakened at three by Daniel, then again at four-thirty by Dean had resulted in an extremely choppy night's sleep. Despite not feeling remotely rested, he'd risen before eight to make room arrangements for Daniel. He wasn't sure when the hunter would arrive, but want a hot shower and a warm bed waiting. He knew Daniel, and would bet he'd drive the entire distance without stops, exceeding the speed limit where he could. As it happened, the hotel had a room available two doors down from Joshua. All it needed was a light cleaning, as it hadn't been booked the night before. Following his conversation with the front desk, he'd tried to relax on the sofa. But after twenty minutes he'd given that up as a lost cause and worked some on his computer reading emails and looking through a couple of reports from Allison on the media search through Kennebunkport and Ashland.
It was closing in on nine-thirty and he had just risen to clear the table for breakfast when a ping on his cell told him Daniel had arrived. Immediately he went downstairs. Daniel would need to check in, would need someone to just be there. After getting his room key, they sat in a corner of the breakfast room. Daniel forced down some eggs and coffee, Caleb toyed with a cinnamon roll as they spoke quietly about the hunt, Daniel giving him a rundown on the clubs as they studiously avoided talking about Joel. Now the grieving hunter was in his room getting some much needed sleep.
Caleb wiped the table with a bathroom hand towel and thought over Daniel and all the things he'd hadn't said; he thought about Joel. Despite all his years in the field, losing people was something he could never get used to; no one did. Another deep yawn caught him off guard. He knew if he was tired, there was no doubt Sam and Dean would be as well. If they all didn't get some serious, uninterrupted sleep soon, they were going to become a liability to his hunt.
A knock on the door told him breakfast had arrived. He glanced at his watch: ten o'clock. Precisely on time. Man, he did love Hilton Hotels.
Opening the door, he smiled at the young man standing there. "Morning."
"Good morning, Sir."
Caleb stepped aside, and the young man wheeled the laden cart into the room.
"Would you like me to set the table, Sir?"
"No, thank you," Caleb said. "I'll take care of that when my guests arrive."
"Very good," the young man said, moving toward the door. When Caleb held out a few bills as a tip, the young man shook his head. "We here at The Westin find the joy of serving our customers to be all the tip we need." Giving the hunter a smile, he stepped out into the hallway and closed the door.
It took Caleb a second to realize he was staring at the door with his hand outstretched and his mouth hanging open. "Now that's a first," he muttered. "I gotta make sure I don't get scalped on the final bill."
Onida walked in a second later. "Good morning," she said, leaning in to give him a thorough kiss. "How's Daniel?"
"He'll be okay, eventually. He's getting some sleep." Turning, he walked to the door and opened it before a knock sounded.
Joshua and Adam stood outside, Joshua's hand in the air. Stepping across the threshold, Joshua muttered, "With you, I shouldn't even bother with polite courtesies."
Caleb grinned. "Come on, I usually let you knock." The door opened and Dean and Sam walked in. "See, they didn't even bother with knocking."
"That's a crime?" Dean quipped, going to the cart and picking up a covered plate.
"Only in polite society," Caleb remarked.
"How did you get in without a key?" griped Joshua.
"Cloned key," Dean said absently as he took a seat at the table.
Soon everyone was eating a breakfast of thick spinach and cheese omelets, hash browns, layered biscuits and fruit. Caleb quickly filled them in about Joel, and how Daniel was here in another room getting some sleep.
"Damn," Dean said softly.
"He'll be all right," Caleb said. They'd all lost people and it was never easy.
Conversation shifted onto lighter paths as food was finished off and more coffee was poured. Dean had already drunk two cups and was going for his third when Sam said, "We need to get some rest today."
"We need to figure out a way to burn this witch," Dean said.
"Burn?" Adam echoed.
"Take out," Joshua translated.
Adam nodded and finished the remnants of his omelet.
"We will," Sam stated. "But we haven't had an uninterrupted night's sleep in three days. We'll plan, call out the witch, and get some sleep."
Dean smirked at Caleb before stacking his empty plate on the breakfast cart.
"I could help with revitalizing your cells," Onida volunteered, "but it's not a long term solution to lack of sleep."
"I could go for that," Caleb said with a smile.
"Keep it in your pants," Joshua quipped, then looked up, startled. "Uh, Onida, I apologize."
"It wasn't her pants you were talking about," Caleb complained. "Shouldn't you be apologizing to me?"
"No," Joshua snapped, looking completely out of sorts. It was very out of character for him to make crude comments.
Sam gave Dean a look and said, "See? Lack of sleep makes everyone cranky."
Before anyone else could either protest, put their foot in their mouth or snap at someone else, Dean asked Caleb for a run down on the other teams' box hunts.
Caleb nodded and gave everyone an accounting of what had happened with the searches. "So, we recovered two boxes before they were cemented to the ground. Jody said she found two, but couldn't get either of them up. I heard the same thing from the others. They tried digging around the box, under it, pulling dirt away from it until it was practically floating in mid air, and still the boxes wouldn't move. Raylan also said the cemented box was warmer than the other box he'd found. So something new is happening, and we need to figure out what that is."
"How's Kace?" Sam asked.
"He'll be out of commission for a few weeks," Caleb said. "Dislocated knee cap. A little physical therapy though, and he'll be fine." After a moment, he said, "The only casualty was Joel Neubridge." He relayed what Daniel had said about the dark light swallowing Joel and disappearing. "It sounds like some sort of spell."
Sam looked at his brother. "Didn't you say something about a light when you saw Piruz at the club?"
Dean thought back. "He was in front of me and I was firing at him, then he was suddenly behind me. After you guys came out the back door of the club, he spoke a few words then was gone again. That's when I thought I saw a light of some kind."
Caleb looked at Joshua. "Is there some sort of spell that makes a person disappear?"
"No," Joshua said, shaking his head. "But there are spells of misdirection." Looking to Dean, he continued, "Maybe that's what you saw."
Dean shrugged slightly. "Maybe. I didn't get a good look."
"But a spell of misdirection didn't make Joel disappear," Caleb stated.
"What do you want me to say?" Joshua asked, irritation laced through his voice. "I didn't see what either Dean or Daniel saw. I don't know of any spell that allows a person to disappear, and unless one is an angel or a demon, I don't know of any creature that can disappear from one spot and reappear in another."
Caleb nodded. "I know, and I'm sorry."
Joshua forced his shoulders to relax and he nodded. "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap."
"I think Sam's right; we all need some uninterrupted sleep," Caleb said ruefully. Clearing his throat, he continued, "Anyway, Raylan's flying out here with the box he found, and Daniel brought his with him. With the box David and Brian recovered and the one Dean found, we've got four boxes to examine. Maybe one of them will give us a clue as to what's going on."
"We know Piruz said something about a new world," Dean said. Looking to Joshua, he asked, "Is there some sort of renewal spell that could change our society?"
"There are renewal spells, yes," Joshua said. "But they're usually for individual renewal, not one that would work on an entire country." Exchanging a look with Adam, he said, "Unless it was modified in some way, and I still have no idea how one spell could affect the entire United States."
"Piruz is planting boxes in a counter clockwise circle around the United States," Dean said. "I don't know a lot about spells, but does the direction of laying the circle have importance?"
"It very well might," Joshua said. "We can…"
They were interrupted by the door to the room opening and a housekeeper entering with her cart. Caleb stood and said, "Ma'am? There's a Do Not Disturb sign on the door."
Smiling, the woman said, "I need to clean the room, Sir."
"No you don't," Caleb stated. "The sign on the door says you don't."
The woman ignored the fact that there were several people in the room right in the middle of eating breakfast, and said, "We here at the Westin believe in…"
"No, you don't," Caleb said again, gently but firmly taking the housekeeper by her elbow and escorting her from the room, pushing her cart out into the hallway. "Thank you, but no thank you," and he shut the door. Walking over to the room phone, he called the main desk and told them to inform the housekeeper on their floor that she wasn't to clean their rooms. Finally, he came back to the table and sat down.
"How much do you love Hilton properties now," Dean asked.
"There's always those who are new and very enthusiastic about their work," Caleb defended.
Dean gave a soft chuckle. "All right, I say everyone gets another five hours uninterrupted sleep, then we figure out how we're going to take on our witch."
Caleb touched the screen on the house phone, sending off their late lunch order. Five hours of sleep had done wonders for his energy levels, and he felt more focused. Soon the others would be arriving to tackle their current supernatural problem. While they were used to researching hunts as they worked, this one was unusual for the sheer volume of information they lacked. While they had gotten a little better focus on their quarry, the remainder of the hunt remained ambiguous. It certainly presented a challenge for them all.
A knock on the door heralded the arrival of Dean and Sam.
"Why didn't you just walk in?" Caleb asked as he stuck a door stopper between the door and the jam so he didn't have to keep getting up.
"Dean was so tired earlier, he left the cloned key," Sam said with a smirk at his brother, who returned the smirk with a significant finger.
"I ordered lunch," Caleb said, placing his laptop on the table and lifting the lid. Quickly he logged onto his email and checked through his emails. Several hunters had sent in reports on what they were experiencing in the field. It seemed much of the weirdness from the last couple of months had toned down. "Well, I suppose that's good," he mumbled.
"What's good?" Sam spread out his research and shifted his computer so he could better see the screen.
Dean merely yawned and dropped onto the couch.
"The weirdness in the field has tapered off," Caleb relayed. "Somehow I thought it would ramp up as the spell neared completion."
"Maybe weirdness goes with Piruz wherever he is," Sam suggested, frowning down at his notes.
"And it'll start up again when he gets to Raleigh," Dean added.
"Yeah, maybe," Caleb mused, frowning. Suddenly he shouted, "Come in!"
Sam jumped and looked at the door as Joshua and Adam walked in, their arms loaded with boxes and duffels.
"Do you have to do that?" Joshua snapped, putting his load down on the couch, forcing Dean to scowl and relocate to a chair at the table. Smirking, the Triad Advisor started opening his boxes.
Caleb grinned. "Yes."
Adam smiled slightly, making sure his back was to Joshua.
"You're acting like a three-year old."
"I didn't have my abilities at three," Caleb shot back.
"I heard from Odette," Adam said, forestalling an argument between the step-brothers.
Joshua stopped unpacking. "What did she say?"
"As far as she's been able to ferret out, there are no covens involved with a newcomer," Adam said. "However, she said she overheard," he stressed, "that there was a coven located somewhere in the Midwest that no one has heard from in almost four months. She's trying to see what she can find out."
"That's all?" Joshua said.
Adam nodded. "Oh, and she heard the term mayhem."
"She used that term with me as well," Joshua mused.
Caleb looked between Adam and Joshua. "When did Odette get involved in this?"
"I called her yesterday," Joshua said, returning his attention to his boxes. "I asked whether she'd heard of any upheaval in the covens, or someone new associating themselves with covens." Though he hadn't expected the terse crafter to find out something so soon, he was still a bit disappointed it was so little.
"She'll get what she can," Adam said. "You know how good she is at finding things out. People just don't bother to shut up when she's around."
"I know," Joshua said softly.
Dean leaned forward; his elbows on his knees, watching Joshua and Adam unpack. "For the fight?"
Joshua nodded. "I brought as many ingredients as I could. If we need more, we can purchase it here."
"Can I help?"
Joshua appreciated Dean's Guardian ability as an alchemist, and nodded. "Yes. I'll get things organized, then you, Adam and I can make the spell pouches."
There was another knock on the door and someone said, "Hello?"
Caleb rose and pulled open the door further to see a waiter standing there with a cart loaded down with food. Smiling, he tipped the guy and pulled in the cart. "Thank you."
"Thank you, Sir," the waiter said, disappearing down the hallway.
Caleb wheeled the cart over to the table and began putting the food out.
Hearing the door, Onida walked out of the bedroom into the main room and stopped abruptly. "What's up with the boxes?"
All eyes went to the table.
"It's lunch," Caleb said, stating the obvious.
"Not those boxes," Onida said, walking over to the elegant desk sitting in the corner of the main living room.
Sam rose and walked over, looking down at the three ancient boxes. "What do you see?"
Perplexed, Onida stared down. "They're … glowing."
Sam's eyes darted to the boxes. "They look the same to me." Reaching out, he touched one and his eyebrows shot up. "It's warm."
Everyone else crowded around the boxes, taking it in turns to touch the lids.
"What exactly are you seeing?" Dean asked Onida.
Onida frowned, her head tilted slightly. "When I first came into the room, I just noticed a glow around the boxes. Now that I've focused, I can see there's a cluster ring of light around them, and the glow is coming from the cocobolo wood. You know, it's really quite beautiful."
Caleb rose and pulled Onida away from the box. "I think you need to keep your distance."
Onida smiled and cupped Caleb's cheek with her hand. "It's not dangerous; at least, not right now. The wood is nowhere near splintering."
Caleb blinked. "You think the boxes are going to break?"
"Eventually, yes." The silent unease that followed her pronouncement had her eyes jerking up. Quickly, she rushed to offer reassurances. "We're not in any immediate danger; not for a long while. Cocobolo wood can contain a lot of energy. That's why it's used, especially for curses. But eventually, yes, the box will split and whatever is inside will get out."
"Then we need to figure out what it is now," Dean said.
"You're not opening the box," Sam stated.
"I am." Dean stated. "We need to find out what's inside. So when the time comes, Joshua, you're going to make a protection circle around me, one with you on the outside."
"You're not opening the box," Caleb bellowed.
"Then who's going to?" Dean demanded. "You and Sam were both affected by whatever happened to Lassiter, and that wasn't even a direct contact with the box. I betting on this," he tapped his head, "to protect me from whatever is inside."
Joshua came up beside Caleb. "You can't open the box. You're needed." He looked at each of the members of his Triad. "You're all needed."
"Now listen up," Dean said, abandoning all sentiment and speaking as the Guardian. "When the time comes," he stressed, "I'm going to open the box." He stared each member of his Triad and his Advisor in the eye. "I'm not saying we do it right now, but each one of you knows there will come a time when we simply need to know."
Just them someone knocked on the door. After a moment of profound silence with no one making a move toward the door, it was Onida who went to open it.
"Hey," Daniel said, coming inside. Stopping short in the face of the terse standoff near the table, he asked, "Uh, should I come back?"
The tension and protest in Caleb whooshed out in a long breath and he turned, saying, "No, Daniel. Come on in. We're just getting down to a late lunch."
Everyone took their seats around the large table, though the uneasiness lingered in the room. Finally Onida closed her eyes and focused on sending soothing energy around the table, and the tension began to dissipate.
Caleb reached under the table and squeezed her hand.
Dean took the plate handed to him but simply set it down on the table. His appetite was long gone. He hated being at odds with his Triad. Their stalwart resistance was out of fear for his safety, but he knew without a doubt that they needed to see inside the box. Deliberately casual talk began as the food was passed around. Suddenly he looked up to see Caleb staring at him.
I don't want you to open it.
I know, Dean thought. But you know it has to be done.
Caleb didn't look away. I'd rather I do it.
Dean's lips curved slightly, hearing the apology in Caleb's tone. I'd rather you do it too.
Caleb gave a soft, audible snort and looked down at his meal, a small smile on his face.
Sam witnessed the silent exchange, though he didn't listen in. He was cross that Dean seemed intent on this dangerous path, and he wasn't ready to make nice yet.
Dean knew Sam, and knew his brother was sulking. He was okay with that. Sam knew he was right. He would come around, eventually.
Joshua finished chewing his bite of turkey sandwich. Swallowing, he asked, "How far along are we on completely translating the box lids?"
Sam didn't want to answer. He wanted to shout at every one of them for endangering his brother; including his brother. But instead, he swallowed his anger and said, "We still don't have the line at the bottom of the box or the corners translated."
"Following lunch, I'd like to examine the boxes," Joshua said. "I've only been working from the rubbing, but I may have some ideas."
"Sounds good," Sam said neutrally.
Suddenly a bright, intense ball of sizzling energy shot through the ninth floor sliding glass doors and hovered near the table.
"Greetings," came a voice from out of the light. "Peto, ut dignum. Quantum est de habemus. Simul quis iste sit simul pro bonis omnibus hominibus." (I ask that we meet. We have much to discuss. Let us join together for the good of all mankind.) When the voice finished speaking, the light reformed into numbers: 35.7079º N, 79.8136º W The numbers hovered for several seconds, then dissipated away, leaving terse silence.
Finally, Adam said faintly, "Someone tell me they got those coordinates."
Every other person in the room except Onida answered in unison, "Yes."
"Pretty flashy way to announce a trap," Dean stated, picking back up his sandwich.
Sam stared at his brother. "You understood what he said?"
Dean's eyes flickered up to Sam then went back to his plate. "I think it's obvious he's calling us out."
Sam's eyes narrowed. "You understand Latin," he said, sounding accusing.
Dean sighed. Sam acted that way every time he intruded on his academic territory, as if Dean were stupid. He thought they'd gotten past that years ago, but he supposed their baggage would follow them to the grave. "Yes, I understood some of what he said. Dad drilled Latin into both of us until you went off to college." Smiling at the others around the table, he quipped, "Something was bound to stick."
There were a few chuckles.
Caleb eyed his friend, and knew that Dean had understood a lot more than he would ever let on. Like Dean, he'd been subject to John Winchester's Latin tutelage, though due to the high end schools Mac had enrolled him in, he'd had Latin lessons in middle and high school as well. It was the one class he'd gotten A's in without working at all. He also knew how the aftermath of Sam's leaving for Stanford, how John dropping the lessons as though Dean wasn't worth the effort on his own, had affected his friend.
"So, this guy is calling us out?" Daniel asked, his eyes going around the table.
Since neither Dean nor Caleb nor Joshua spoke, Sam said, "He wants us to meet for the good of mankind. Said he wants to talk."
Daniel snorted, picking up his sandwich again. "Like anyone believes that."
A burst of general laughter helped dispel the remaining ebbs of unease and the tension in the room lightened.
Dean gave himself an internal head slap. They were tired and the uncertainty of this hunt was bringing out short tempers and anxiety. It was his job to instill confidence rather to create drama. Looking to Joshua, he said, "Sounds like we have a meet to make. Let's find out where and get some of those spell bags made."
.
Headlights off, the two cars cruised up the dirt road near a field in the middle of farmland. Dean coasted to a stop about twenty yards from a long fence, the SUV Joshua rented just behind.
"You know he can see us," Caleb said, leaning forward, scanning the field.
"Hmm." Dean was also scrutinizing the wide expanse of grass. "Tall grass."
Caleb nodded. "Hasn't been used for farming in a long while."
"Do you sense him?" Dean asked.
"No." Caleb frowned. "But he may be masking himself." Opening the car door, he said, "I'm going to scout along the fence."
"Don't go too far," Dean called softly.
Caleb gave his friend a casual salute and trotted off along the fence, crouched low to the ground.
Dean and Sam sat in silence until Sam said, "I'm sorry."
Dean glanced over at his brother, back in his rightful passenger seat and decided not to pretend he didn't know what Sam was talking about. "Don't worry about it."
"I just get into my Scholar mode and forget you know all this stuff too." Sam looked over at Dean, his expressive eyes sorrowful. "Dad taught us Latin for years, made sure we could speak all the incantations and spells, whatever was needed. I shouldn't have been surprised you understood what this guy said, and I shouldn't have undermined you in front of everyone."
"Sam," Dean said earnestly. "You never undermine me. I've forgotten a lot of the Latin I used to…"
"No," Sam interrupted, "you might be rusty, but don't undermine yourself to bolster my ego. I'm sincerely saying I'm sorry."
Dean watched his brother's profile and knew Sam hadn't meant any harm earlier. Academics had always been his safe space, while Dean's had been Sam. "Sammy, I would forgive you anything," he murmured.
Sam grinned. "That's what big brothers are for."
A rap on the passenger window was followed by Caleb climbing back into the car. "You ladies finished with your tête-à-tête? Cause we got a damn powerful sonofabitch to take on."
Dean gave the Knight his full attention. "What's your plan?"
"You, me and Sammy go into the field. Joshua and Adam stay outside the field to the right, Daniel and Onida on the left."
"He's going to know they're there," Sam said.
"Yeah, he will," Caleb said, "but he doesn't know what we're capable of."
Dean stared out the front windshield into the field and mused, "He didn't set a time, but we got here pretty damn fast. Did we beat him to the punch?"
"I vote no," Sam murmured.
Still watching the field, Dean sad, "Damian, reach out. Use the turret in your blocks and see if you can find him."
Caleb looked at Sam, who nodded. The younger man would watch his back.
Caleb closed his eyes and formed his massive blocks into a heavy fortress. Walking to a small turret, he opened his mind and looked out into the surround area. He saw the witch right away, standing on the far side of the field, watching them. Quickly he pulled back and opened his eyes. "He's here, on the edges of the field directly across from us."
"Did he sense you looking?" Dean asked.
"We should be safe and assume yes," Caleb said, "but I think no."
Dean sighed. He would have liked to have made a Triad circle around the field. Next time, he thought, we pick the venue.
"You sure this is wise?" Sam asked quietly, knowing the answer but needing to hear it anyway.
"We need to see what he's got," Caleb stated. "This is as good a way to judge that as any."
"Then let's quit wasting time," Dean said, opening the door and climbing out of the Impala.
Onida and Daniel went left, moving quietly along the fence line and into the trees. Caleb watched them a moment, then turned and conferred briefly with Joshua. When he returned to Sam and Dean, they walked together into the field. Stopping about a third of the way in, they stood a few feet apart from one another, staring toward the opposite side.
Sam stuck his hands in his pockets with the dual purpose of keeping them warm and palming a potion bag.
Caleb looked over to where he knew Piruz was standing, even though he couldn't see him through the darkness. "Come on out and play," he murmured under his breath.
Dean waited a minute, then stepped out a couple feet in front of the others and called out, "I thought you wanted to talk!"
Piruz walked out of the shadows and into the field. "Thanks for come," he said in English.
"You call, we come," muttered Caleb.
Dean didn't say anything, just watched as the tall man walked further into the field. When he got about forty feet from where Dean, Caleb and Sam stood, he stopped.
Head tilted slightly, the man said again, "Piruz zadeh Vahid."
Sam glanced to the side as neither Dean nor Caleb said anything. Finally he nodded. "Qua libuit in occursum." (Pleased to meet you.)
Piruz smiled. "Tibi gratias ago pro urbanum salute." (Thank you for your polite greeting.)
Sam merely nodded.
Piruz seemed to be thinking about what to say next, and the members of Merlin's Triad just waited. Finally, he said very slowly in English, "This world turbulence, yes?"
Dean nodded. "It is, yes."
"I will make better."
Frowning slightly, Dean took another step forward. "Quam?" (How?)
Piruz looked flattered that Dean would attempt to speak Latin. Like Dean, he took a step forward. "Remake peoples, good stay."
"Quam?" Dean repeated.
"Violent people…" Piruz frowned. Looking to Sam, he said, "Violentiam cessandum est. Bonus Dominus, et crescemus. Non potest facere novum mundum. (The violence must stop, and good will flourish. We can make a new world.)
Sam frowned. "Et infestior apparebat?" (And the violent ones?)
Piruz looked surprised the question was even asked. "Periit."
Sam looked over at Dean, whose face was a stone mask. Caleb's was the same. Yup, they'd understood. Those people would die.
Piruz watched Merlin's Child, then looked at the other two at his back. They had the same taste as Merlin himself; stubborn, intractable. Sighing, he shook his head. "Non te audierit." (You will not hear.)
Dean looked back at Sam, and though Sam knew his brother had understood what Piruz said, he still stepped forward and answered. "Venite loqui. Invenies alium curcum." (Let us talk. Find another way.)
Piruz straightened his shoulders. Eyeing the three, he said quite clearly in English, "Merlin's Warriors."
And with those words, Dean knew the game was on. "You bet your ass," he said, and dove to his right, near where Sam stood just as a flaming ball of energy exploded right where he'd been standing. Rolling several times, he was on his feet on the last roll, gun in hand and firing.
Caleb ducked and scrambled toward the Guardian, using the grass to hide his movements as he pulled the Dragon's Talon and crept closer. Another streak of red hot power stretched toward Dean, and he instinctively dove forward, the Talon lifted into the air. The bolt of power hit the blade and rebounded toward the surprised witch. Piruz dodged to the side and the magic scorched the grass behind him. When he jerked back around, the blade and the man were gone.
Dean's eyebrows rose and he mouthed, Nice.
Caleb rolled his eyes and pointed to Dean, and back toward the cars.
Dean shook his head.
Sighing, Caleb pointed to his own chest, made a circling gesture and jabbed a finger toward Piruz. At Dean's nod, he immediately started crawling to the left. He would attempt to circle around Piruz and hit him from the side or the rear, depending how far he got undetected.
Sam scrambled through the grass, two Mylar spell pouches gripped in his hands. Cautiously he peeked over the top of the long grass and saw Piruz dodge the blot of red energy. Rising up, arm back, he launched one of the potion bags at the witch, then scrambled quickly to the side in order to hide his position.
The pouch hit Piruz' back and split. Arching in pain, Piruz's groan turned into an angry howl. At that instance a ball of kinetic energy flew across the field and he was just able to throw up a shield to prevent a connection. Eyes darting beyond Merlin's three, he saw a female standing at the edge of the field, another flaming ball of power in her hand, ready to throw. Smiling, he reached out with his magic and doused the flames. Then with a wave of his hand, she was tossed back past the tree line into the darkness.
Caleb jerked around in enough time to see Onida go flying backwards. Only his time in the field and his sense of duty kept him from yelling her name. He shimmied to the side, intent on getting behind the witch's position and stabbing him in the back with extreme prejudice.
With Caleb swinging left and Sam on the right, Dean knew that left the frontal assault to him. Stepping forward, he popped the cap on his water bottle, wet both hands and configured a sword in one hand and a shield in the other.
Piruz smiled.
Before Piruz could make a comment on the Musketeerness of his action, Dean darted forward. Zigzagging back and forth, he dodged the spells Piruz hurled in his direction. When he got within eleven feet of the man, he raised his sword - not to penetrate the witch's body - but to hurl it straight through his chest. Suddenly an energy block appeared between Piruz's hands, crackling and white hot, and exploded outward, slamming into Dean and throwing him back across the field like he was a piece of tissue.
"Dean," Daniel hissed. He wouldn't stand here and watch this sonofabitch kill another member of the Brotherhood. Starting forward, he suddenly stopped and looked back at Onida.
"Go," Onida whispered. She was leaning into a tree after having just climbed out of the thorny thicket Piruz had dumped her in. Opening her hand, a dark ball of molten red flame appeared. "I'll be fine."
Daniel grinned. Bending low, he jogged across the dark field to where he'd seen Dean land.
Sam had used Piruz's attention on Dean to move quietly closer until he was a mere eight yards away. Rising, he hurled potion bag after potion bag at the witch. It was only due to Piruz's extreme skill that he was able to extinguish the potions one by one. When the witch returned fire, Sam dodged to the right, using the tall grass to mask his movements.
Bent over at the waist, Caleb used the grass and cover of night to mask his movements. When he saw Sam duck low, he rose and hurled three spell bags at Piruz. One connected with Piruz's shoulder, though the other two were extinguished in midair.
"Damn it," Caleb growled. Dropping below the grass line, the waited a moment then continued advancing around behind the witch.
Daniel rummaged in the tall grass for a couple minutes before a faint rustling told him where Dean had landed. Crawling over, he murmured, "You good?"
"Yeah," Dean muttered, rolling onto his side and pushing himself onto his knees. "I hate getting thrown around." Meeting eyes with Daniel, he nodded and they both moved in opposite directions: Daniel to the left, Dean to the right.
Sam rose, a phantom in the grass, and threw three additional spell pouches at Piruz, then disappeared again. A moment later Caleb rose and fired four staccato rounds at the witch, then dropped down into the grass.
Knowing they were attempting to wound the witch, Daniel rose quickly and fired round after round at the witch until Piruz swiped out a hand and slammed the hunter in the chest, effectively dropping him to the ground.
"Daniel?" Dean hissed, unable to see the other man.
"Still … here," Daniel groaned. Lifting a hand, he patted at his chest lightly. Though he was assured of a massive bruise, there was no bloody skin or broken ribs. Flipping gingerly onto his side, he scuttled a few feet to his right.
Reaching into his pockets for more potions bags, Sam poked his head above the grass and saw that Piruz's attention appeared to be focused in Dean's direction. Rising quickly, he threw first one, then another and another pouch.
Stumbling to the side, Piruz turned slowly in Sam's direction. Smiling, he hissed, "quat al'ard , quat alsama' , taeala 'iily." (Power of earth, power of sky, come to me.) Suddenly power exploded from his hands, his fingers dancing with electrical currents, which he hurled at Sam. The Scholar flew backwards, head over heels to land at the furthest right edge of the field.
Back along the field edge nearest the cars, Joshua turned quickly to Adam and nodded. Adam immediately spun around and ran along the edge of the field just inside the tree line, trying to reach Sam. Standing, Joshua rubbed the potion he'd been mixing between his hands and started murmuring quickly under his breath.
Caleb inched along the western side of the field, trying to position himself behind Piruz, but the witch was a whirl of motion. Of course, he was dodging and retaliating against himself, Sam and Dean, and that meant that his position was in flux. Deciding that being on Piruz's right side would be enough, he rose and threw two spell packets at the witch, then dodged as three fiery orbs flew in his direction.
Dean saw Sam fly to the edge of the field and Caleb dive into the grass, and he took advantage of the witch's distraction to move forward. Bent low in the grass, he ran forward. When he got too close to continued being unnoticed, he rose, shield and sword raised, and charged.
As he ran, he felt a spell wiz past his cheek. Instead of holding the sword, he let that dissolve in favor of firing his weapon around the shield. Though ancient and long lived, he was sure Piruz had a very human body, and he was determined to put a hole in it. He heard another report along with his, and knew Daniel was on his feet and adding his Smith & Wesson to Dean's Colt. He was close enough to see the humorless smile on Piruz's face when another spell whipped past him. Then suddenly three spire-like bolts of energy flew in his direction. They veered abruptly around the edges of his shield, burying buried themselves in his body and throwing him back fifteen yards to land heavily on his back. "Ugh," he moaned. Who knew magic could make trajectory changes in mid-air. Pain radiating through his body, Dean nevertheless forced himself onto his feet.
"muhrij," Piruz murmured. (Impressive)
Keeping a wary eye on Piruz, Dean scanned depressions in the grass, searching for where Daniel had gone. Unfortunately, the height of the grass - sufficient to hide their movements - was also proving good camouflage. He had no idea where the other hunter lay. Refocusing on the witch, he started forward again only to have a flaming ball of red hot energy hit Piruz from his left, then another and another. Onida, he thought.
Suddenly, Caleb was standing in the light of Onida's energy orbs, charging Piruz. Piruz hurled magic at Caleb, forcing the Knight to skid to a stop. However, somehow the Dragon's Talon was moving quicker than the eye could see, countering every spell Piruz tossed in his direction. His arm moving faster than Dean thought humanly possible.
Dean continued firing his weapon, but the bullets were not making contact. "Damn it," Dean muttered, fishing in his pockets for the spell pouches.
Caleb's single focus was Piruz, his attention undivided as he took one step forward followed by another and another. Piruz increased the speed of the spells hurling at Caleb and, defying the laws of biology and physics, Caleb's arm moved faster.
Piruz frowned. What was this magic?
Caleb took another step, then unleashed his psychic ability, gripping Piruz's throat with his mind.
Stumbling back, Piruz's eyes widened in pain and he choked, desperate to get air in his lungs. Closing his eyes, he called on the power of heaven, earth and hell. Just before Caleb got to him, and just before his mind lost its grip on consciousness, Piruz gasped out, "hayhat hayihat!" (Begone with you!) Power as strong as an earthquake shot out from Piruz' body and slammed into Caleb. The Knight flew back so far, he disappeared into the tree line beyond the field.
Dean lifted his pouches and hurled them at Piruz just as he heard Joshua shout, "Down!" Dean hit the dirt as a massive wave of power rippled across the field, lifting Piruz completely off his feet and knocking him back more than fifty yards.
Silence, complete and deafening in its intensity, blanketed the field.
Daniel came up alongside Dean and together, they walk slowly forward looking for Piruz. Daniel had his gun out and was holding two spell pouches in his left hand.
Dean couldn't move his left arm, but his Colt was still clenched in his right hand. After a moment's hesitation, he stuffed the gun into his waistband. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the small bottle of water and said, "Daniel, you see nothing."
Daniel never stopped his scrutiny of the field as he murmured, "Como Schultz, no veo nada." (Like Schultz, I see nothing.)
Dean's mouth twitched in grim amusement. "Good man," he murmured as a large shield with metal spikes appeared in his hand. If Piruz could throw spikes, so could he.
Joshua watched the far end of the field, and knew it wasn't over. Grabbing up another potion, he closed his eyes and murmured rapidly under his breath, words tumbling over words in his rush to prepare a new spell.
Daniel frowned as he studied the dark field, straining to catch even a glimpse of their foe. "I don't see anything," he whispered.
"Doesn't mean he isn't there," Dean murmured.
Suddenly they saw Piruz standing at the edge of the field, his face was terrible to behold. Electricity snapped around his body, his hands outstretched with light and power dripping like sunlit gold from the tips. "altabieat tatie 'amria. alsama' tajni li'iiradati. alfudaa!" (Nature obeys my command, heaven yields to my will. Chaos!) Piruz hurled the power across the field, where it slammed into Daniel and Dean, sending them airborne.
Joshua stepped out to the edge of the field, held up his hands and said with such authority, his voice echoed in the darkened field, "Prohibere!"
Instantly the massive wave of energy slammed to a halt midfield, folded in on itself and snapped out of existence.
Piruz clenched his fists in anger. So, Merlin's Warriors had more in their arsenal than he'd anticipated. Turning, he stalked out the backend of the field and disappeared into the trees.
Joshua sank down onto the grass, his heart racing. Adam ran over, his eyes wide. "Joshua, are you all right?" He'd never seen anything like what his friend had just done.
Joshua gave his friend a tired smile and said in a breathless voice, "Yes, I'm fine. I just need some rest, as do we all." Looking out into the field, he said, "Find Dean, please."
Adam nodded and ran out into the field, looking around for the two men who'd been there when the magician had launched his power. It took six minutes of searching before he found Daniel lying on his side. Bending down, he touched the man's neck and was gratified to feel the pulse. "Daniel," he murmured, tapping the man's cheek. "Daniel."
"Ugh," Daniel moaned, rolling slowly onto his side and trying to open his eyes.
"Are you all right?"
"Define … alright," Daniel growled, pushing himself into a sitting position and holding his head.
"Come on," Adam said, "We need to find Dean."
"Yeah," Daniel groaned. Crawling to his knees, he took Adam's offered arm and used the assist to get to his feet. Staring around, he said, "We were together, so he should be nearby."
Together they searched the grass, knocking tall blades aside until Adam saw a boot. "He's here!"
Daniel knelt beside Dean while Adam turned him over. There was blood soaking Dean's shirt in three places. Adam quickly checked for a pulse and sagged in relief. "He's alive." He tried patting Dean's cheek, but the older man didn't move. Finally he said, "We'll have to carry him."
"I'll do it," Daniel said. Together he and Adam maneuvered Dean up and over Daniel's shoulder.
"Are you sure you're well enough?"
"I'll be okay. Where's Caleb?"
"I don't know." Adam looked around. "Take Dean back to Joshua. I'll go get Sam and then we can search for Caleb."
Daniel nodded and started slowly back toward the cars.
Adam jogged across the field to a large yellow poplar by which he'd laid Sam. Getting down on his knees, he fitted his shoulder to Sam's midsection and lifted, grunting as he slowly got to his feet. "O-kay," he mumbled. At a time like this he was grateful for his height; otherwise carrying Sam would have been impossible. Turning, he used the poplar tree to stabilize himself with the load and started walking around the field.
"Dean," Joshua cried as Daniel walked, panting, toward the cars. Slowly the hunter lowered the Guardian to the ground. Joshua checked Dean's pulse, then pulled away the shredded flannel and tee to reveal a deep, red gash in his side.
Daniel's eyes widened as Joshua pushed up the t-shirt to expose a hole in Dean's shoulder, and another gouge just above his pectoral muscle. "How was he walking around with those wounds?"
Joshua smiled. "He's the Guardian."
Daniel stared at Joshua a moment, then lowered his head, chuckling. "Ain't he just." Pushing himself up, he said, "I'm off to see if I can find Caleb."
.
Onida was nearly frantic searching the woods for Caleb. She didn't feel his energy or his power, and her heart was in her throat, which was raw from calling his name. Forcing herself to stop, she stood near a large tree and tried to calm her heart. She needed to quit acting like a hysterical girl and start acting like the Guardian of the Yakama People. Closing her eyes, she pooled energy into her center until it was a solid warmth, then thought about Caleb. Releasing energy into an ever-widening circle, she sought the unique energy that was Caleb. It took several minutes of painstaking search before she finally hit on his essence. Marking the spot, she opened her eyes and sighted on the energy marker and took off jogging in that direction.
She literally stumbled over his legs. Dropping to the ground, she touched the pulse at his neck. It was slow and erratic. "Damn it," she muttered. She glanced over her shoulder searching for the field and anyone that could help, but they were too deep in the trees. Turning back, she hoped she had enough energy left to heal him, because she wouldn't be able to carry him out of the forest.
Holding her hands out over Caleb's body, she again pooled energy into her core and pulled up the blue, healing light. Slowly it bled out through her hands and into Caleb's body, knitting together broken bones and stressed ligaments. Slowly she moved upward, knitting together the concussion to his head. Suddenly, she frowned. The cells in his brain were spiraling sluggishly like they had when he'd been exposed to David Lassiter. But why would they be doing that now? Instead of pondering the conundrum, she used the last bit of her strength to stabilize the cells, then she dropped her hands, exhausted.
"I've never witnessed you healing anyone before," Daniel said, coming up behind her. "It was pretty amazing."
Onida have him a tired smiled. "Thank you."
"No, thank you. It was the light from your hands that allowed me to find you both out here."
Onida frowned. She thought only Dean and JT could see the light of her energy. Maybe all the magic in the air had made it possible.
Daniel looked over his shoulder. "We're almost half a mile from where we parked the cars."
Onida touched Caleb's throat again, and his pulse was stable. She didn't understand why he hadn't woken yet. Sitting back on her heels, she said, "Where's the road from here?"
Daniel pointed to the south. "About two hundred yards that way."
"That's closer than taking him back to where the cars are parked." Looking up at the hunter, she said, "Can you bring the car here? I'll try and wake up Caleb and we'll meet you at the road."
Daniel nodded. "Sure. Hang tight."
It wasn't until Daniel had left that Onida realized she hadn't asked about anyone else. She hoped they were alright.
.
Joshua and Adam loaded Dean into the backseat of the Impala. Sam, who had regained consciousness a short time before, was sitting in the front.
"Is he all right?" Sam asked, trying to hold his head still, yet also attempting to peer over the seat in order to see his brother.
"He's stable," Joshua said.
Sam's eyes narrowed on Joshua. "Are you all right?"
"I think we'll all benefit from some of my restorative tea, a bit of Onida's healing and a solid ten hours sleep." Looking over to Adam, who was kneeling on the driver's seat checking Dean's pulse, he asked, "Anyone else yet?"
Adam shook his head. "I'm getting ready to search the other side of the meadow…" Footsteps crunching on the gravel of the road had him turning around.
"Caleb is down," Daniel said. "We can't get him to the cars, so we'll need to drive around the side. If Onida can't get him to the edge of the woods, we'll have to go in and get them."
"I'll drive the SUV," Adam said. "Joshua, you've got the Impala."
"Like … hell."
Sam jerked and then moaned as his head throbbed unpleasantly. Turning slowly, he saw his brother still lying on the back seat, his eyes open to very thin slits. "Dean?"
Dean shifted slightly then froze, a hand to his shoulder. "Oouuch," he groaned.
"Sam's got a concussion and you're in no shape to drive," Joshua said before adding, "Welcome back."
"You hate Baby," Dean muttered petulantly, "so you can't drive her."
Joshua rolled his eyes. He himself was feeling tired and shaky after expelling so much energy, they didn't know where Caleb was and he didn't have the patience to deal with a pouting Guardian. Turning around, he declared, "I'm driving this car, and you're going to lay back there and take it."
Dean ground his teeth, fire in his eyes. He opened his mouth to argue until he heard a tired voice say his name. Looking over at Sam's pale, pinched face, he sighed. "Fine."
"Good," Joshua stated, trying very hard to imbue his voice with total neutrality; neither triumphant nor reluctant.
Adam and Daniel were already waiting in the idling SUV. Joshua got behind the wheel of the Impala. It was the first time he'd ever driven Dean's car, and the power of the engine roaring to life took him by surprise. Smiling, he pushed the gas pedal and the car bounded forward.
Sam smiled. "Careful. There's a lot of power in that engine."
Joshua nodded. Slowly he turned the car around, then steered them back on the road circling the meadow. Within a few minutes Daniel flashed his lights and Joshua slowed down.
They climbed out their cars and Daniel hovered along the edge of the woods. "I don't see them," he told Adam.
Adam started for the woods, saying, "We need to go in and …"
"We're … here," Onida panted, moving around a tree with Caleb stumbling along beside her.
Sam and Joshua watched anxiously from the Impala as Daniel and Adam darted forward, taking Caleb from the exhausted Onida and half carrying, half dragging him to the SUV where they situated him in the back seat.
Joshua climbed from the driver's seat of the Impala and hurried over to the SUV. Leaning in, he asked, "How is he?"
"Don't know," Adam said. Turing to Onida, he asked, "Do we need to take him to the hospital?"
"No," Onida said, leaning against the vehicle. "Sleep, he needs sleep."
"Then let's get everyone back to the hotel," Joshua said, heading back to the Impala.
Adam called in his friend's wake, "How are we going to get them upstairs?"
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Joshua said. Starting the Impala again, he revved the engine. "Wow," he murmured. So much visceral power emanating from the engine; maybe Dean's love for the vintage muscle car wasn't so crazy after all. Turning around, he saw that Dean's eyes were closed.
"I think he's fallen asleep," Sam said.
"Most likely blood loss," Joshua said, his eyes on the still man in the back seat. "We'll give everyone a thorough check when we get back to the hotel."
Sam nodded, turning gingerly back around, a hand on his head. "Let's go, and be careful once you hit paved road. This car has a lot of kick."
Joshua put his foot down on the pedal and revved the engine. Smiling, he thought that maybe he liked driving Dean's car. Putting the car in drive, he roared down the rural road heading for Charlotte.
Sam glanced back at his sleeping brother and murmured, "I think we've created a monster."
.
TBC
Author's Note: Thank you to all who've taken the time to write a review. It is very much appreciated!