Chapter 12
There were only two things Sam knew for sure. One he was never getting Dean pie again. No matter how much his brother begged, he was going to make Dean drive on by. Two, Gabriel may have purged all trace of demon from his system, but apparently, someone didn't get the memo. Looking around the small group of people who had been taken to the abandoned town, at first Sam had thought they would be able to escape, that he would be able to get everyone out, or at least wait until Dean came. Up until Lily died.
The second they found her body Sam understood how much trouble they were in. Andy may have passed on the knowledge of where they were to Dean, but he was still a long way from where his brother. They needed more time. Huddling in the house with the others, Sam couldn't help but feel a bit of fear wiggle its way in; it would be next to impossible to save everyone. Not unless he had help, and while Jake was willing to play ball, the hunter had a feeling Azazel had given the man the same ultimatum he had Sam.
It wouldn't be long before they started turning on each other.
Running a hand through his hair, Sam looked at those around him. Andy was scared; he was keeping close to the taller man who was trying to keep it together. Ava while she appeared terrified; felt a bit off, something was nagging at the back of his mind about her. Jake was looking at the doors and windows, most likely thinking of the easiest escape route. Sam couldn't let these people die, not because of something they couldn't control.
"What is that anyway?"
Glancing at Jake who was looking at Sam's chest, the hunter looked down for a second. Under his shirt was a faint glow. If it weren't in the dead of night, Jake probably would never have noticed it, however with the dark surrounding them Sam could see the soft light trying to shine through the fabric of his shirt. Slipping his hand under the collar of his shirt, the hunter absently noticed both Ava and Andy came closer to look.
"It's our ticket out of here…" While he spoke, Sam clasped the feather in his hand which was now outside of his shirt. Closing his eyes, the hunter spoke out loud, not knowing if Gabriel would be able to hear his thoughts with probably heavy warding surrounding them.
"I pray to the Archangel Gabriel. I know it's been a while, but I'm kind of in a bind here… if you could help? The Yellow-Eyed demon has taken a few of us, and we're being told to fight to the death in some competition if you could get us out…"
Sam didn't have to finish the request as a cool breeze rushed over him. Even before opening his eyes, the hazel-eyed man knew Gabriel was standing before him. Looking at the archangel, Sam couldn't help but see the slight slump to the other's posture, the way the archangel was clenching his fist before shoving it into his jacket pocket. Something was wrong with the blond and Sam had a feeling it had everything to do with him.
"Heya Sammy gotta say kid you managed to get yourself in a doozy this time." The tone was off. While Sam hadn't spent a whole lot of time with the man, it was apparent Gabriel was trying to appear laid back and healthy. Flashing back to the morning he had found his archangel beside his bed; Sam couldn't help but realize there might have been more to this intended-mate thing than was explained.
"Gabriel," whispered Sam, his voice hushed. Reaching up, Sam let the feather drop onto his chest which caught Gabriel's attention for a second. The second was all the hunter needed to lean up from where he had been sitting and pull the archangel against him with a sharp tug on the other's jacket. While Sam knew Gabriel was far stronger than him, the taller man was pleasantly surprised as the archangel dropped to his knees, straddling Sam who buried his face in Gabriel's neck.
It only took a moment before Gabriel wrapped his arms around him, holding Sam close while running a hand through the hunter's hair. "Shhh… it's okay Kiddo; I'll have you and your friends back at home in no time."
"I'm sorry but did you call him Gabriel? Like the archangel?" asked Andy, his eyes taking in the scene of Gabriel holding Sam against him. Instead of answering Andy, the hunter lifted his head from where it had been taking in the scent of his archangel and looked up at the kneeling figure. Without saying a word, Sam placed his hand on the back of Gabriel's head and pulled him into a kiss.
It had been too long since the last time he had tasted Gabriel's lips. His memory didn't hold a candle to the taste of the archangel, the soft flavor of sugar on the other's tongue and the hint of chocolate. Gabriel responded at once, pressing his body against Sam's while they kissed, not letting the hunter go for even a moment despite the snort from Ava and the whistle from Andy.
When he pulled away from the archangel, Sam rested his forehead against Gabriel's, a soft smile on his face. "Once we're done with this demon shit, I'm going to take you back home, and we're going to talk this out. Yeah?" Gabriel pecked Sam's lips for a moment before smiling at the hunter, his hands wrapped around Sam's neck.
"You bet, Sammy. Now you said something about needing a ride out of this place?" Gabriel leaned back to look at the others in the room, his eyes narrowing as he spotted Ava. She only had a moment to flinch back from the look before Gabriel snapped his fingers and she was bound in thick ropes holding her against the wall. The taller man looked from the girl to Gabriel before raising an eyebrow while Jake cursed, and Andy stepped back away from the archangel.
"You must be the reigning champion of Azazel's deathmatch, right?" Gabriel didn't wait for Ava to answer although from the look of defiance in her eyes Sam could see the truth. She had been acting oddly since they arrived, and while he didn't want to think the worst of her, he lacked Gabriel's ability to see souls. "Sorry, but I'll have to deal with you later, you understand I'm sure."
"Wait what do you mean? Ava?" asked Andy. Instead of denying the claim, Ava raised her head to glare at Gabriel, her eyes flashing black for a second. Sam didn't know what to think. On the one hand, he had trusted Ava, had thought they were friends at the very least. One the other, Gabriel hadn't steered him wrong yet. After his explanation Sam had investigated the professor, and once he was dead an alarming number of women had come forward claiming to have been pressured into sex by the man. If Gabriel was right then, Sam had every faith that the archangel knew what he was talking about now.
Ava must have seen how Sam wasn't rushing to defend her as she glared at him as well, struggling against the ropes which held her. "Well, what else was I supposed to do? I've been here for months! When Azazel explained the terms, I decided it was everyone for themselves. If there was going to be a showdown I sure as hell wasn't going to be anything but on top. And I have to tell you, once you let yourself embrace it? I can't believe I used to only to have visions; now I can do so much more."
Once again her eyes flashed black as she smirked. Sam didn't know what Ava was expecting to happen, but when whatever it was didn't, her expression changed, and her struggles increased. Gabriel stood from where he had been straddling Sam's lap, his hands running down the hunter's arms to prolong their contact.
"Sorry sweetheart but that's not going to work while I'm around. Sammy here wasn't talking out of his ass, and you better believe archangel trumps the demons you're trying to summon. Should save your energy, Dad only knows what I'm going to do once this is all sorted." Without missing a beat, Gabriel turned to Jake and Andy who were watching him. Sam stood, placing his hand on the back of Gabriel's arm. Now that he had the archangel back, he couldn't for the life of him understand why he sent Gabriel away.
"So where am I sending you two? Unless of course, you want to stay here and see how forgiving a Prince of Hell is…"
"No," started Andy, reaching out his hand as if it would keep Gabriel in place. "No, we want to go back home." While he didn't say anything, Jake nodded. Sam looked at the other two men and realized how far out of their depths they were. While Jake had seen war, it wasn't anything like this, and Andy may have known about the supernatural, but he hadn't considered being targeted by a demon let alone a Prince of Hell.
With a snap of his fingers, Gabriel made both Jake and Andy vanish, leaving only Sam and a bound Ava behind. "What to do with you…" Gabriel spoke while stepping forward toward Ava. "With the amount of blood on your hands, I should kill you and be done with it… but where's the fun in that?" Ava for her part started to look worried, her gaze no longer filled with rage but fear. "No, I think I'll do something a bit more up to my standards." With a snap of his fingers, Gabriel must have done something as there was a bright light filling Ava as she screamed.
Once the light was gone, Sam looked at the woman only to see nothing had changed. For her part Ava was pulling and tugging on the ropes tying her hands back, tears streaming down her face. "What did you do to me?" she demanded while Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest.
"Nothing much just took away your powers. You see the way I figure, those demons you have been controlling probably don't like being told what to do. I made it so they can get their revenge. Far be it from me to deny them. Soon as I'm out of the area, they're going to come for you and do to you as you made them do to others."
"Gabriel…" Sam began to say but was cut off as Gabriel shook his head. Sighing, Sam looked at Ava once again, while he didn't want to see her die he had to admit the way the shorter man brought about her death was poetic. Reaching for Gabriel's arm, Sam took the angel's hand in his own before turning for the door.
"You wanna snap us out of here?" Sam asked while he didn't think Gabriel was lying about the demons not wanting to be around him, the hunter would prefer leaving this place far behind.
"I don't think you two are going anywhere."
Sam turned to face the sound of another's voice. He knew that sound, the mocking tone he had heard more than once and always from the same creature. A flash of yellow eyes met his own, and Sam was thankful Gabriel was there with him. Surely even a Prince of Hell would be no match for an archangel. Squeezing the hand in his own the taller man wasn't prepared for the first blow from Azazel to cause a harsh scream from Ava before she was silenced, her head slumping forward in death.
"Now that the trash is taken out, how about you and I tell Sammy-boy what this is really about?" Feeling Gabriel tense beside him, Sam was surprised when the archangel let go of his hand, and Azazel spoke again, this time directly at Sam. "You didn't think an angel could love the boy with demon blood, did you?"
While Sam tried to ignore what Azazel was saying, he couldn't help but notice Gabriel didn't protest the statement. Had it all been a lie?
