Author's Note
For Kaly.
Sorry for the delay in posting. Have had a bit of a domestic drama with my other half going into hospital, and then my laptop decided to lose half of Chapter 7 as I was posting it on Sunday on Fanfic. So I had to write it again…edited- then it refused to let me update at all...
Thanks as always to Geminigirl, for being such a wonderful Beta and to Catbeist and Sifi for reading and encouraging me to keep going, and making some much appreciated suggestions. Thank you so much to everyone who has read my story so far, especially all of you who have taken the time to review. The response to the last chapter was wonderful – hoping I don't fall down on this one now lol! Oh and Geminigirl has not beta's all of this chapter so any mistakes will most definitely be mine!
Special mention to Mariazinha, for her nagging, um I mean encouragement! Only kidding, it means a great deal that someone is wanting me to continue – thanks for your kind words, it means a great deal to me.
Summary
One brother makes a bargain that may ultimately cost the Winchesters more than they are willing to pay. This will be slightly AU as will eventually include John, Caleb and Pastor Jim.
Disclaimer
Peers behind the sofa – nope no 6 ft 4 hulking gorgeousness there…damn. So, nope, I own nothing supernatural, don't rub saly in the wound by suing…please?
Warnings
Sam's joining in now with the bad language – shakes head in disgust.
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Chapter 7
"There is only one thing that I know of with the power to do this." Caleb started.
"A Reaper," Dean muttered viciously – he hated the bastards – they had already caused him to be responsible for too much death.
"A Reaper." Caleb confirmed.
Dean strode from the kitchen and hurried to his and Sam's room. He faltered in the doorway when he caught sight of Sam's bag and scattered clothes – a not-so-gentle reminder of what was missing. Missing, not gone. He still refused to accept he had lost his brother.
He went to Sam's bag and rummaged through it. Sam would have kept it – he had no doubt. What- his geek boy kid brother leave a book behind? He snorted harshly. His fingers closed around the small black book the preacher's wife had used to call and bind the Reaper.
He quickly returned to the kitchen and silently handed the book to Caleb. His father looked at him oddly but understood that the spiritual aspect was more the psychic's area of expertise. Caleb flicked through and smiled a grim smile of satisfaction.
"We can use this," he tapped one of the pages, "– this one here."
"Won't we need an amulet for this?" John queried.
Caleb smirked. "In the right hands, any talisman will work. Give me your necklace Dean." He held his hand out expectantly.
"Sam gave me this when we were little." Dean stated, hesitating not because of what Caleb wanted it for, but because of how he wanted Caleb to treat it. The unspoken words of "don't damage it", clear.
"I know." The older man kept his gaze firmly on Dean. The elder brother loosened the pendant and handed it to the psychic.
Caleb reamed off a list of ingredients, "We'd best not do this here." He muttered.
"Why not?"
John answered. "Because we are about to build ourselves a dark altar and I doubt Jim would approve of us doing that here." If at all… Jim was a fearsome hunter in his own right, and loved Sam like a son, but he would never knowingly embroil himself in an act that went against God – even for the best of causes.
"Besides, it would be more powerful if the altar is sited at the scene of the," Caleb faltered, trying to choose words that would not hurt his family further – "transference." He winced at the cold term.
Dean flinched at the word and John's lips thinned but they remained silent. They quickly gathered the materials together and went to where Sam had fallen.
Even in the darkness, they could clearly see the blood in the snow. Ever the hunter, John's eyes flicked around the area, building a picture of what had happened, and his stomach twisted further. There was just so much blood here.
Dean determinedly refused to look at the ground and kept watch as Caleb drew the summoning symbols in Sam's blood.
Dean read the incantation from the book, this time John keeping guard while the two younger men worked – alert for any signs of danger.
After a moment a shimmering mist swirled above the snow and slowly formed into the woman that Caleb realised had been here earlier.
The very same woman from Caleb's earlier vision.
"You bitch." He snarled, starting forward. John thrust an arm over the psychic's chest, keeping the angry man from crossing the symbols.
"What?" Dean asked sharply.
"She is the woman I saw in my vision of the bear attack. It was a set up, wasn't it?"
"Not a set up, a cover story." The woman announced calmly.
"A what, now?"
"I'm guessing that in summoning me you have realised the arrangement made?"
"I died, didn't I?" Dean asked bluntly.
"Yes."
"And Sam made a deal."
"Yes." Christ, was this chick going to just give monosyllabic answers all night?
"My brother's life for mine." Dean growled out.
"Not exactly."
"Then what exactly!"
"His life to resurrect you."
Somehow Dean knew there was more. "And?"
"His soul to protect you."
"What?" Dean's voice lowered in horror. It was bad enough Sam had died for him, but he had sold his soul as well?
"Undo it." Dean commanded.
"That's not possible."
"Then do the same deal with me." Dean snarled.
"No, Dean." His father snapped. But his eldest ignored him.
"I can't." The Reaper spoke quietly.
"Why not?"
"Sam made it part of the bargain."
Huh, trust Sam to add clauses to his bargains. Dean could almost feel proud that his brother had thought so clearly, but dammit Sam, give me some wriggle room, something to work with… "Then break it."
"I can't – it's a binding agreement"
"So sue me!"
"It would kill you both Dean – I am so sorry."
For a moment, for one wild desperate moment, Dean wanted to tell her to do it. What did he care if he died, at least he would be with his brother.
John took advantage of his son's momentary silence. "Did my son summon you?" For some reason it was important he know.
"No, I approached him."
"Why?" John demanded.
"That is not important."
"Like hell, it's not important, lady. I asked you why?"
"Because I was instructed to."
"By whom?" Caleb joined the questioning. Dean tensed, the odd feeling in his stomach intensifying.
"Nicholas Howard."
Dean and Caleb both looked sucker punched, John asked confused, who?
"We'll tell you later, John." Caleb felt sick, he and Dean had drank with the bastard, had a laugh, had let their guards down and all that time the son of a bitch had been planning this?
"Why does he want Sam?"
"He has a brother of his own he is trying to save."
"And what's that got to do with us?"
Laurel looked Caleb with a strange expression, "He is half-demon."
"So what are we, Demon catnip?"
"His father, Deuce." Caleb choked out with realisation; this had suddenly become a hell of a lot worse.
"What?" Dean turned a bemused face to his friend, and then paled…no, it can't be…
"The Demon that killed your mother, and hounded your family, is Nick's father."
Oh god. Nausea assaulted the elder hunter.
"Get him back, now!"
Laurel hesitated looking at Dean. "Even if I wanted to Dean, I couldn't." Laurel hesitated, knowing the fiery response her confession would provoke.
"What do you mean?"
"His soul is no longer in Nick's keeping, nor is it in limbo." His mother's words echoed…He's not here with us…
"He's passed on?" Oh God, please don't say I'm too late…
"No, if he had I would still be able to retrieve his spirit."
"Then where is he?"
"I'm sorry Dean but…"
The hairs on the back of the elder hunter's neck rose. "Tell me…"
"Your demon has him."
No…
Your demon has him…The Reaper's words reverberated around John's mind causing his heart to clench in fear and sorrow and his stomach to feel as though hot lead had settled there. The fate they had fought against for so long had finally claimed his youngest son. I'm sorry, Mary
Dean's staggered back as if struck and would have fallen if not for the fast reflexes and strong grip of Caleb Reaves. The older brother's face had drained of all colour, his eyes going wide and defenceless then darkening, his features pinched and drawn. He felt as though his world had fallen away from him, yet somehow he could still feel the ground shaking beneath his feet.
There was a buzzing in the hunter's ears; the only thing he could hear was the sound of his own guilt tormenting him. The demon has Sam, oh god, the Demon has my baby brother.
The Reaper's form flickered slightly, drawing the other men's eyes to her.
"John – the summoning charm is fading- either we bind her or we let her go." Caleb murmured quietly, his eyes returning to the stricken younger man. The men knew that if they bound the Reaper they would be crossing a line from which there would be no returning – a step they were not quite willing to take- not yet.
John hesitated, the quietly growled, "Let her go."
The Reaper's eyes had not left Dean since she had made the devastating admission. The anguish and horror crashing in waves from the brother threatened to drown her and she took a faltering step forward.
"Dean" She spoke softly, carefully, pitching her voice so as not to startle the young man. His face was so still, however his body was poised and trembling, like a horse ready to bolt. "Sam loves you so very much, Dean." She offered, knowing it was scant consolation to the bereft brother in front of her. Damn Nick, damn him to hell for making me do this.
Dean's eyes had snapped up to her, focusing for the first time and his mouth tightened impossibly further. His eyes had now darkened from their normal bright, mossy green to the murky grey-green of a stormy sea, mirroring the tempest of emotion being tightly held within, threatening to overwhelm him.
"You must not lose hope. You must have faith in yourself and in your brother. You need to believe in the bond you share, Dean Winchester." The Reaper spoke urgently now, she needed the older brother to hold on, to not give in to the swirling darkness that was trying to capture his soul. She was forbidden to reveal certain things to the hunters; however she refused to lose another charge. She could feel Nick calling for her return. "This is not the end." She spoke as she faded.
"It is for me if I fail again," Dean whispered, too softly for the other hunters to hear. He spoke louder. "We need to find the demon, and fast." His voice becoming stronger in his determination and John looked a little shocked at his son taking control.
"First we retrieve Sam's soul, and then we are going to find a way to bring him back. Dad, you know what signs we're looking for, you see if you track down the whereabouts of the demon. Caleb, you and I are going to have a chat with Nicholas Howard." And if Nick decides not to share? - All the better. Dean was in the mood to beat the truth out of that rat-bastard son-of-a-demon, to pound into him into a bloody mess until he begged for his father- and then he would happily send him to him. Once he had his brother back.
His voice brooked no argument. "I don't care what we have to do, we're getting him back." Hold on Sammy, I'm coming, just hold on a little longer. He turned on his heels and stalked towards Father Jim's.
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Laurel was distraught when she re-appeared at the apartment, the sight of Dean, so broken, still haunting her.
"Nick, you know what you're doing is wrong." Laurel pleaded, "You're hurting him."
"I have no options left, Laurel! Did you tell them what I told you to say?"
"Yes, but do you know how much pain you have just inflicted on that family? You know you can't do this. Why else have you not handed the amulet to your father?"
"It's leverage."
"Sam is a person, not an 'it'."
"I don't care – I need him."
"He'll never give you your brother back; you do know that, don't you? Mark's your hostage. It's how your father works – look at the Winchesters if you don't believe me."
"What do you mean?"
"Your father killed their mother which tore the family apart. It turned their father into a vengeance-obsessed hunter and Dean ended up raising his brother. He made it so that Sam and Dean are totally dependant on each other; they are the only constant in each other's lives. He allowed them to become hunters so that not only would they become strong, they would become alienated from the normal world, reinforcing their need for each other."
Laurel paused – this was the longest Nick had ever heard her speak.
"They have had no opportunity to form any real bonds with anyone outside their small circle. And for the finishing touch, it meant that they were in frequent danger, which would not only bring out Sam's abilities, but enforce their protectiveness to each other. Dean is Sam's hostage, as Sam is Dean's, the same as Mark is yours. Your father uses the love you both have for your brothers' as a means to manipulate and control."
"No." Nick knew the truth of her words but wanted, needed to retain his hope. It was all he had left. He had sold everything else to the demon. "Then why did he allow Sam to go to college? He should have known that would fracture the relationship."
"Two reasons that I can see. The most obvious being that he almost destroyed Sam's self-worth and will to live when he killed Jessica Moore. The second – Sam had his taste of normalcy – he had life and hope in his life ahead of him. Only for it to be destroyed by the very demon that tore his family apart. It is far harder to lose paradise than to have never known it. Not to mention to add to Sam's guilt – he wants to turn him. Besides, Sam was always returning to Dean, your father knew he could only run for so long."
Laurel walked to where Nick sat, his head bowed.
"He will never keep his side of the bargain – the devil never does." She gently stroked his cheek. "I'm sorry."
Tears slipped down Nick's cheeks and Laurel felt the first stirrings of hope. Hope that was dashed a moment later.
"You're wrong." Nick stood and quickly walked to the cupboard on the other side of the room. He pulled out the silver bowl, grabbed a blood bag from the fridge and poured it inside.
"Father." He whispered. "I have him. I have Sam Winchester's soul."
"Don't worry - I'm on my way now. You'll have him in half an hour. Dean Winchester? Yes, I'll deal with him next."
Laurel looked at him in horror. "What have you done?"
The half–demon looked at her – then gasped as a pain shot through his chest. The amulet now glowed a fiery red and started to burn at his flesh. He could feel Sam's anger emanating from the talisman, a searing rage that had somehow cut through his own pain. Nick tugged the now scorching amulet from his neck and flung it to the floor. A silvery mist swirled from the pendant, coalescing into a familiar, tall shaggy-haired figure.
"You promised you wouldn't hurt him – that you would protect him." Sam spoke with a quiet fury.
"You shouldn't be able to do this- you can't!" Nick backed away, for the first time realising he may have underestimated the young man in front of him, feeling cold rivulets of sweat begin to trickle down his back. For the first time in a long time, he felt wary and a little fearful of a human.
Sam ignored him and turned to Laurel – "I kept my end of the bargain?"
Nick silently warned her to remain silent. "Yes." She replied defiantly. "Our pact is complete. Your life for your brother's. Your soul was a separate arrangement. And as Nick has broken the contract, you are now free of your obligations. You soul is now your own."
Sam smiled gratefully. She moved forward to whisper in Sam's ear. "I'll protect Dean as best I can."
"Thank you." Sam's form shimmered, losing cohesion
"It's time to move on Sam." She spoke softly. "I can help you."
"No!" Nick screamed. For once, Sam had to agree.
Nick moved forward when a sudden force slammed him against the wall. Sam's form began to fade, except his voice, which lowered and strengthened. "If you lay one finger on my brother, or hurt him, or cause him to be hurt in any way, I swear I'll spend the rest of your life making you pay. You'll spend an eternity screaming. Do you understand me?" Sam's gentle voice for once lethal and dangerous. "You've fucked with the wrong family."
Sam could give up on his dreams, give up on a normal life, give up his life and soul itself, but he would never give up on his brother. It was simply something he was not capable in doing - his belief in Dean came as naturally as breathing. He knew now what he had to do. And his presence suddenly vanished.
Nick pulled himself painfully away from the wall and glared at the Reaper in betrayal. "What did you do?"
"Something I should have done a long time ago." Laurel replied coldly. ""Goodbye, Nick." She too knew now what she had to do, and turning away, she vanished.
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Dean and Caleb had went to the apartment building where they had dropped Nick off after the bar the previous night. As agreed, John remained behind with Jim, researching the Demon, to see if there were any signs nearby that could indicate where he could be with Sam. They still didn't tell Jim all that they had planned, and John felt a pang of guilt. But to him, this was the higher purpose, worth whatever price it cost.
They watched Nick talking to Laurel through the window but could not hear their words. They could see the Reaper turning away angrily, before vanishing.
Nick opened the fridge, and the two men could see even from this distance that it contained blood bags. Nick placed an ornate silver bowl on the top of the fridge.
"Blood bags?" Caleb whispered.
"Demonic mobile phones." Dean muttered, "Always knew the phone company was in league with the devil."
Caleb smirked mirthlessly back to the younger man. They waited until the half-demon left the room and headed towards the back of the house before Dean effortlessly picked the lock on the front door and they crept inside.
They quickly moved through the apartment, efficiently scanning each room as they passed until they reached the study where given the light spilling from under the door, to where they suspected Nick would be.
"You son of a bitch. Where is he?" Nick turned to see Dean standing in the doorway of the study, gun trained and watching the half demon warily.
"Dean. Caleb." He did not seem surprised. "I'm sorry it had to go down like this."
"Where is he?" Dean repeated - his voice dangerously soft. He did not want to tip off that they had already spoken to the Reaper, not yet.
"Who, my father? He never tells me where he is."
"Sam" Dean hissed in fury, "Where is my brother?"
"Your brother is dead, Dean." Nick spoke calmly which only infuriated the older brother more.
"Don't play games with us," Caleb entered the fray, "And don't even think of lying, I have my very own lie detector right here…" The psychic tapped at his forehead. "And you would not like what Deuce here would do to you if we catch you lying."
"You took his soul, you bastard."
"I don't have it."
"Where is he?" Dean was near breaking point, and Nick began to realise that if he played this out much longer, Dean would probably try to kill him – frankly, he was surprised he hadn't tried already.
Nick closed his eyes in feigned regret, knowing that he could mask the other psychic from sensing his true intentions. "I'm sorry Dean, but I gave the amulet holding Sam's soul to the Fire Demon, my father. It's too late."
No, oh god, not Sammy…Dean shuddered. It had taken his father 23 years to track down the demon, what if it took that long to find him again? Would there be anything left of his brother to save?
"What does he want from Sam?" Caleb asked bluntly.
"His powers have always been the attraction. You know, he really is unique amongst his kind. Plus Father's hobby, of course."
Dean slammed Nick back against the wall, the younger mans head smacking back on the hard surface.
"Don't even think about joking around right now." Dean snarled.
"My father has a penchant for collecting souls; incorruptible, pure souls to be precise. Souls, who could, given time, work against and overcome him. Sam is one such soul, and even amongst these is a rarity. Almost an angel, you could say." Nick's face twisted sardonically.
Caleb looked across at the younger man. Dean's expression remained stoic and unreadable, and Caleb risked a quick scan of his friend and sensed a peculiar mixture of guilt and inexpressible relief.
Apprehensively, Caleb probed further. Dean had been terrified for his brother. He had been haunted by the fear that Sam's visions seemed to be inexplicably linked to the demon. The resultant anxiety that this could mean that Sam too was somehow linked, and could be in danger of being tainted or somehow controlled had almost broken his heart. His relief that his brother was the same pure soul he had always known him to be, threatened to undo him completely.
In addition there was now the shame that he had doubted the inherent goodness of his brother, however briefly. His father had taught him to look for patterns and possible threats, to look at defending against all scenarios, to assess for any weakness and danger that the supernatural could exploit. However the mere fact that he had considered it, even for a moment, tore into him.
Damn John Winchester for instilling such military logic in his sons, especially Dean.
"How do we find the demon?" Caleb asked.
"Well luckily, he has an interest in another incorruptible. As with Sam, he has tried every which way to break him. He was nearly lost to darkness a short while ago, but was stronger than my father realised – and he had his guardian angel to watch over him. My father thought that with the loss of his angel, the other would fall, the fate of their souls already entwined, but he somehow didn't. "
Caleb couldn't help the twitch on his lips as he looked at Deuce's bemused expression. The kid still didn't realise.
"You, Dean. You're the next target." Nick continued. "What, you thought that it was only Sam the demon was after?"
Dean's expression was one of shock and disbelief. He was not pure, and he sure as hell was not untainted. He had killed, several times, and although it had been in defence of his family, his still felt it was a permanent stain upon his soul. No, Sam was the good one, not him. He just did what he had to do to keep his family safe and whole.
Every good soul needs a little dirt in it to survive, Deuce. Caleb commented silently in Dean's mind. That is something you need to teach your brother. In order for us to fight what we do, sometimes we have to make difficult decisions – and to live with them. Even if doing so costs us a little piece of our soul. For if we do nothing, then the evil will win, and that would cost us far more than we can afford to lose.
Stay the hell out of my mind, Reaves.
Nick continued. "It was always the pair of you. The bond the two of you share is truly powerful and he fears it, he fears what you could accomplish because of it. Between you and Sam, you could destroy him, he knows this. He wants to harness what you have, but if he can't will settle for destroying it. He has been preparing the other psychics, but he has been concentrating on the Winchester family for 23 years."
Dean and Caleb exchanged glances at the confirmation. The small circle of hunters within the extended family had long ago realised that there was a special bond between the two brothers, something unique and indefinable. They were closer than twins in many respects, each always knowing when the other was in pain, or in danger; both able to read the other as well as if they had spoken out loud. It was what made them such an incredible hunting team. It now appeared that something they always known to be extraordinary, was now of interest to the supernatural community too.
"What is happening to Sam?" In the past, Dean would have given anything to find out a little of the demon's plans, but now, he only wanted his brother returned to him safe and whole. He could worry about the plans later.
"He continues to try to break your brother."
"How?"
"He's in hell, Dean."
A punch, with the full weight of an enraged Winchester behind it, slammed the half-demon against the wall, and Dean followed through with a second, equally vicious blow to Nick's stomach. His face a mask of fury, he hit the other man again and again, until Caleb finally pulled him away.
"Dean, stop. We might need him to get Sam back."
"You're out of your mind, Reaves. I have my own brother to save."
"Maybe we could join forces, save both of them?" Caleb tried desperately.
"Your plan is a 'maybe', mines a certainty – you're a gambling man, Dean, which would you choose?"
Nick had slid along the wall towards the door as he talked; now he looked up through hooded eyes. "I think the two of you have worn out your welcome." And the half-demon gently pushed Dean and Caleb to one side with his mind and held them pinned against the wall. "I'm sorry Dean, I truly am – I liked Sam, he was a good kid." And with that Nick quickly left the apartment. Once Nick had left, the pressure holding them released.
Dean's mind was spinning, Sammy in hell, Sammy in hell, the words swirling faster and faster in his mind, oh god and he fell to his knees retching violently. Tight bands of grief constricted Dean's chest making it difficult for him to breath. I don't want to go to hell, Dean, Sam's soft, fearful words came back to him. Shit, Sammy, you should have told me. We could've figured something out – anything but this.
Caleb crouched before the older brother – this could be the straw that literally broke the camel's back, and like fuck was he going to lose the other Winchester boy. He finally admitted just how much the two young men meant to him, they were his family, his brothers, and he refused to lose any more to the dark.
"Dean." There was no answer. He roughly grabbed Dean's chin and forced him to meet his eyes. "We'll get him out of there, Deuce. We'll not leave him there, I promise."
Dean turned haunted eyes on the older psychic and Caleb could see the guilt cutting ever deeper into the elder brother. "You didn't know, Deuce."
"That's the whole point though isn't it? He's the one person in the world I know better than anyone, and I didn't know. I think he almost told me. He said he didn't want to go to hell, and then he sold me some line about how he was missing Jess and worried about the demon and its plans. And I let him. I let him because I thought there was time. I knew that there was something wrong, something he was hiding, and I did nothing." Dean's voice was bitter, biting.
"C'mon kid, Sammy always was a stubborn son of a bitch. He would never tell you anything he didn't want to."
"I should have tried harder."
"Maybe," Caleb acknowledged. "But he still wouldn't have said a word." Not when he was protecting you, Dean. Nothing in the world would have changed his mind.
Dean sighed – he knew the psychic was right. His brow creased thoughtfully.
"So Nick obviously has telekinesis, right?"
"He had us pinned to the wall, Deuce."
"So why did he let me hit him, why let us corner him at all?"
Caleb hesitated- his brow frowned and then his face cleared with understanding. "He's feeding us false information."
"So maybe he's lying about the Demon having Sam." Somehow Dean knew that to be true. His brother was not in that evil son of a bitch's clutches. There was still hope.
"Both Nick and the Reaper did say he was trying to save his brother from the demon." Caleb mused out loud.
"It's a trade. But not me for Sam, its Sam for Nick's brother." Dean realised out loud. There might still be time.
"So why had he not carried out the trade already?"
"Sam." A smile crossed Dean's face for the first time that day. "Sammy never could do as he was told. I don't think our boy's playing nice with the other children." He smirked. "Do you think he could have escaped the pendant?"
"Possibly." Caleb grinned.
"How on earth do we find him now?"
"Who do we know that has control over a spirit?"
Dean grinned, "I think it's time for another call to our friendly Reaper, don't you?"
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Nick was frantic. If he didn't find Sam soon, and bind him back to the pendant, he would have nothing to trade for his brother. Not to mention that Daddy Dearest would give a whole new meaning to 'there'll be hell to pay'.
"Nick." A voice whispered softly.
"Mark?" He spun around, what was he doing here?
There were two figures ahead of him, his brother and Laurel.
"What are you doing with him?" He virtually shrieked at Laurel.
"He wants to talk to you." The Reaper said gently.
"I'm going to save you, Mark." Nick spoke soothingly, his voice far more gentle when talking to his brother.
"No, big brother. This time it's my turn."
"What? You always were delusional." Nick smiled fondly through unnoticed tears.
"It wasn't your fault, Nick." His brother said firmly.
"Yes, it was. I should have picked you up that night." The guilt swept over him once more.
"You had no way of knowing."
"You're my brother; I'm supposed to protect you."
"You would not have been able to." The younger brother's voice insisted sadly.
"Why not?"
"It wasn't an accident, Nick. Our doting mother and your father arranged it. I was in the way."
"What?!"
"Just as Sam's family have had their lives manipulated by the Demon, so was ours."
"No" Nick didn't want to believe it.
"It wasn't a car that killed me, it was a demon."
"Oh, God." He should have realised. How had he been so blind?
"But they never got my soul, Nick. You saw to that. You stayed with me as I died - you never left my side. You didn't give them the opportunity to take my soul at the end. Your love protected me. So you see, Nick, you did save me after all."
"But you're dead," Nick cried out in anguish.
"Yes, but I never left you, I'm still here."
"That's not good enough."
"It will have to be – my body is dead, there is no spark of life there anymore, keeping the way open. After this length of time, I would be worm food, bro." Mark tried to keep the tome light, but his face darkened. "Even if mom hadn't had me cremated."
"She did what?"
"She knew you might find a way. It's too late for me; let's not allow it to be too late for Sam."
"Why should they be allowed this, you could take over Sam's body." Nick said in desperation.
"And know that my life was at the cost of someone else's? You know I couldn't live with that."
Nick knew, not and still be his brother.
"You know what you need to do." Mark spoke gently.
Nick nodded in defeat. "What about you?"
"Oh, I won't be far," his brother said with a broad smile.
"But I lost him, I lost Sam's soul." The older brother spoke brokenly.
His brother cocked his head in a heart-warming, familiar gesture. "You know that the reason that you liked Sam so much was that he is a lot like me."
"Yeah." He knew.
"And I never went far from you?" Nick nodded. "What makes you think that Sam would be any different?"
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A/N- Well Kaly, hoping this is still to your liking! Hopefully it is not boring and is still holding your interest – but the only way I know for sure if you click on the button below and send me your comments please?
Thanks to everyone who is reading this.
So, nope, not sending Sam to hell…at least not in this Fic, but keep your eyes peeled if you're interested, as a new fic will be coming soon…obviously after I finish this one lol!
Dream.