SUPERNATURAL
THE PARCAEX RITUAL
Chapter 17
"Dad?" Sam whispered.
Dean couldn't get any words from his own mouth, which was a first. He just stood with his mouth agape, staring down the man before him.
"This didn't come out exactly the way I'd planned," John smirked, "But lets get a few things straight."
Sam and Dean said nothing.
"I am not your father," he announced, "My name is Iahamu, and though I may have once been known as John Winchester, things have changed."
Once again, the brothers stood silent.
"You should know," he croaked, "You should know that whatever comes out of hell is never the same as what went in."
Sam spoke, "That's not true. What about Ruby? She had not changed, because she was never a bad person to begin with."
Iahamu smirked, "There are many things your father never told you about himself."
"Hang on;" Dean piped up, "You've only been missing for two years, which – by what we've heard about demons – is hardly enough time spent in hell to leave."
"Well, you're right there," Iahamu replied, "But there are certain things that have helped… speed the process."
When Sam and Dean resumed their silence, he continued, "After John tried to escape, he was placed into captivity, doomed to spend the rest of his days in terrible pain, strung up in that horrible place. In there, a few years can go by in few days, and seeing as your father spent years of your time in that dreaded place, it would have been much, much more for him."
Dean's stomach dropped at these words. The thought of how long his father had suffered, just for those few moments with his sons. Hundreds of years. Thousands of years, it made him sick.
"But we saved him!" Sam exclaimed, "We set him free!"
"No," Iahamu answered, "You set him loose.
"He was already too badly defeated and I had taken his place. When I was set loose by you, I was already deemed as ready, and here I am, standing in front of you, inside what remains of your dear daddy."
Dean couldn't take it; he lifted his gun and cocked it. Iahamu stared down the barrel of the gun, that evil grin still etched upon his face.
"Dean, no!" Sam yelled, grabbing the gun and pulling it away, "As much as you don't want to believe it, that is dad there, and you're about to shoot him."
"That's not him. It can't be," Dean whispered.
"Dean, believe it," Iahamu piped up.
Dean then turned to him, "Prove it," he demanded with a tear in his eye, "Show us that you're not lying."
Smiling, Iahamu nodded and suddenly dropped to his knees, his face going red as if he was going to regurgitate something. Thick, black smoke then erupted from his mouth, moving into the air and forming a human shape, the fake body of Bobby falling to the ground.
In its place the body of John Winchester stood before them, and his eyes shone black once more to prove his power. Sam and Dean then realised how vulnerable they were at this moment.
Sam looked around, just realising the absence of Bobby. He was nowhere to be seen, but he didn't dwell on this, for Iahamu began to speak again.
"I've been on this earth for barely two weeks now, and my ultimate task was to find the two of you and watch you both die. I had an accomplice, but I believe he no longer lives, from what I saw in Idaho Springs when I arrived there this morning."
"You worked with him?"
"You bet I did," Iahamu answered, "I was looking for the Crusaders Weapons myself when we ran into each other, and he told me his history with the artefacts. He also happened to own one at that moment. We began the hunt for the others together, and before long learned where to find the remaining two. But there was something that stood in our way."
Dean laughed, knowing what it was, "Yeah, we tend to do that a lot."
"Yes, you do. So the two of us split paths and I embarked on the search for you boys, while he continued looking for the items. You must have some very good friends, or some very deceiving enemies somewhere, for I was stalled halfway across the country with a few beings I thought were the two of you. If it wasn't for that, Walker would not have died and those weapons would be in my possession."
"I think I know where this is heading," Dean moaned, "Is this another one of those quick fix solutions? Kill the enemy and take the prize? 'Cause I'm sorry to tell you that's not how things work around here. There are plenty more where we came from, and rest assured they will find you and hang your head in their living room as a trophy over your death."
"Is that so?" Iahamu asked, "Well, at least there'll be two less to look out for, won't there?"
Dean held his gun steady, as a protective shield, and Iahamu laughed at him, "What good could that thing possibly do against me?" he asked, "If you think something as pathetic as that could hurt me, then you are sadly mistaken."
Dean knew this was true, but he kept it upright. Somehow it made him feel safer than he actually was. They were utterly defenceless, and Iahamu knew it.
Sam thought of something, "If you were working with Walker this whole time, do you know where our friends are?"
"Why indeed I do," he smiled, "But I'm not going to tell you."
Bobby reappeared out of nowhere behind the brothers, and though Sam was expecting some kind of weapon to be in his hands, he held nothing.
"Nice of you to join us, Bobby," Iahamu said, "But too bad you didn't find what you were looking for," he pulled open his coat pocket and revealed the two weapons stashed neatly into his belt. He laughed, "I thought you'd be smarter than that. As if I would actually leave two of the most deadly weapons in the world for you to use.
He laughed, "Now I'm in control."
****
Dean's head ached, bruised from the impact of wooden cane against his temple. He was the only one clearly awake, and when he opened his eyes he saw Sam on one side of him and Bobby on the other. They were strung up by their hands from the rafters, and across the other side of the small room, also unconscious, hung Jo and Ellen. By the looks on their faces and the bruises on their wrists, they had been there a long time.
"Sam," Dean croaked, "Sam, can you hear me?"
No answer came, and Dean just sat cursing the pain that spread from his wrists down to his feet, dangling a few centimetres from the ground. His fingers were completely numb, and he was surprised that they hadn't completely parted from his body yet. But it was only a matter of time, he told himself.
Footsteps echoed from somewhere beyond the walls, and a figure appeared at the door behind him, though Dean could not see.
"Dean!" it exclaimed, "You're awake! Wow, is it play time already?"
Dean knew what was coming before it came, and if he had been on his feet his first reaction would have been to double up in pain, which being unable to do so made being slogged in the stomach by a wooden bat all the more painful.
"You son of a bitch."
Iahamu slogged him once more, "That's my mother you're talking about."
"Your mother has been dead for thirty years, Dad."
Another whack. "First, I'm not your father, and second," whack, "You have no idea what you're talking about."
Dean felt like his stomach would explode beneath the pain, but he held himself steady and glared at the figure of his father. "Go on, Dean. Say something else," he smiled, "Anything. Just remember that every word has a cost."
"Wow, if I had a nickel for every time I heard that."
Whack.
"Okay, okay," Dean whispered, "But why don't you just kill me already, why do you insist on keeping me here?"
"Because there are other things that would reward me highly for handing you in, you, your brother and your pathetic friends. I'll be famous among demons."
"Yeah, and then hunted down and killed by the rest of our kind."
"Probably true, but I have ways of disguising myself, I think that I'll manage."
"I think you underestimate our tracking skills. You see," he said, "This is why we always come out on top."
"On top, huh?" Iahamu laughed, "Well, we'll see about that now, won't we."
"Sure will."
"Well, I've sent somebody out into the bushes, I'll hand you over to Lucifer, and he will do as he wished with you."
Dean became edgy at this.
"Don't worry, Dean. It will all be over in a few hours. For you and your friends."
Above their heads, the small patter of feet on tin roof echoed through the room. Quietly, Iahamu gagged Dean to stop him from yelling out, and ordered one of his servants to go and check it out. "Kill anyone you find," he whispered.
"Is this your doing?" he laughed at Dean, "This is pathetic. An ill-fated rescue mission is under way. Exactly the pathetic kind of thing I'd expect you to do."
Iahamu left the room, but didn't stray far. Dean could see his shadow lingering beyond the doorway, waiting for something. The night became deathly quiet, and a harsh silence struck the room.
A high screech erupted from somewhere outside, and Dean knew instantly that someone was in pain. He sincerely hoped that it was the demon, but didn't trust himself to hope.
The silence resumed and Dean suddenly heard Sam splutter. He tried to call to him, but it was impossible. Sam opened his eyes and looked to his left at Dean, who nodded to him and immediately Sam fell quiet, understanding what his brother was saying. Something was going down, and the smallest sound could ruin it.
Iahamu walked into the room once more, smiling and convinced that the situation was under control. He approached Sam and also pushed a gag into his mouth. He did the same to the sleeping victims, just incase they woke up while he was unable to stop them.
"Stay still and this wont hurt."
Iahamu looked shocked as a weapon was held against his neck, a masked individual standing behind him. A second person entered the room and as Iahamu was pulled off to the side, he came to untie the brothers.
All of a sudden Iahamu began to laugh and everybody stopped to look at him. He burst out, "You pathetic humans, you should know that we demons hold power that will overcome the lot of you. I could shrug this bastard off my back in a matter of seconds."
"Is that so?" A woman's voice echoed through the room, and its owner walked into the room.
Dean couldn't believe his eyes, "Lenore?" he whispered, "What is this, some reunion of freaks? I feel like I'm at a Halloween party!" Though he had never been happier to see a vampire in his life.
"Always the same charm from you, isn't it Dean," answered, "Some people don't change. But it is nice to see you too."
"Aww come on, that was harsh. I didn't mean it that way."
She walked right past him and confronted Iahamu, "We're no hunters, jackass."
His mouth agape, Iahamu realised the danger that he was in, and in an instant his body dissolved into nothing more than a liquid, falling through the cracks in the floor.
Sam was speechless, "How did you find us?" he asked, a shocked expression etched onto his face.
"Well, you should know that once a vampire catches your scent, it's for life. That is the same for us, though we're not regular vampires."
"Why did you come for us?" Dean asked, wishing that they would untie him already.
"If it wasn't for you boys, we wouldn't still be alive, most likely we'd be extinct, wiped out. We owe you our lives, and we know now that something big is going down, so we thought we would pay you back."
"Well, you certainly came at the right time, and I must say…" Dean seemed to have a little trouble bringing the words from his mouth, and Lenore stared at him, waiting, "Thankyou."
"Much more than I expected from you, Dean, I must say," Lenore answered, smiling at him.
Dean was becoming impatient, and all the heartfelt words were making him uneasy, "Could somebody untie me already?" he asked, and one of the vampires approached him with a long, silver knife and cut him loose.
When Sam and Bobby were also free, Sam beckoned over to Jo and Ellen, and before long they were resting down in the corner of the room.
"How much do you know of what we're doing?" Sam asked Lenore when they had sat down.
"Well, the legends of the Crusaders go way back, and you would be interested to know that vampires played a large part in that war against Lucifer."
"On which side?" Dean asked, "They can't have been like you, I've never heard of something like that before you came along and screwed up that balance."
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, they weren't working for Lucifer either. They were on their own side, and they wanted a peace between the difference species. But of course that didn't go down well with Lucifer, who's sole purpose was to rule all who lived upon the earth, nor was it taken kindly by the humans, who believed the only way to settle a matter like this was to wipe out the opposing enemy. It was from that time onwards that vampires were seen as a threat and began to be widely targeted."
Sam just thought of something, "Was that you who sent those shape-shifters in our place?"
Lenore laughed, "Sure was, kiddo. That makes it twice that we've saved your life lately."
Sam smiled, and looked towards his brother.
"I wish they would wake up already," Dean moaned, looking over towards Ellen and Jo.
"Dean," Sam started, "If you remember, Jo still doesn't know that you're alive, so you'll have to be careful."
With everything that had been going on, Dean had completely forgotten about that, and wondered what she would say when she woke up and saw him standing above her.
Sam stood up and sat down next to Ellen and Jo with a bottle of water. He splashed a little on both of their faces, though it did nothing. Once or twice in the next few hours, a few small movements were made by the two of them, which were reassuring sounds, though neither woke up for a long time.
The first to open their eyes was Jo, and Dean rushed to her side as she stared up into his face. Her first look was of disbelief, and Sam assumed that she was too sore to say anything. She looked over at Sam, who nodded and she lay back down, breathing deeply. She whispered to Dean for some water, and he instantly fetched it. Her arms were bruised, and she could barely move them. Being strung up wasn't the most comfortable position to spend three days.
Lenore brought in a stack of food they had picked up from a local 'handimarket', and Jo scoffed down half the lot in only a few minutes. It seemed as if they weren't fed either.
Lenore confronted Sam; "We have to be out of here soon. With his knowledge, Lucifer will already know we're here."
"We must wait a little longer," Sam replied, "There is some information that we may need. Jo said it was important."
"Okay, but no more than an hour or two. The first light of day will appear in three hours, and we should be well away before then, especially if Iahamu called upon Lucifer. We're just not ready at this moment."
Sam nodded and she went for another walk outside. He stood up and walked across the room to where Dean and Jo were talking quietly to each other.
"Oh, 'm I interrupting something?"
"Of course you are," Dean replied, "You have a strange habit of doing that."
"Ha ha, very funny. Well, can I ask you something, Jo?"
"Sure, I guess. But I'm still curious about how you saved Dean from that dreadful place."
Sam laughed, "Yeah, okay. Well, anyway, when you called me that day in the car, you told me there was something important you had to tell me. Could you tell us now?"
She looked into Dean's face, "I'd completely forgotten about that, I'm sorry. Well, I contacted a few of my friends who are well connected within hunters. They scrounged up some information for me. I could go into details but the main thing is that I know where Lilith hides out."
This was bigger than Sam had expected, "Really? Where?"
"You know the underground caves in Waterloo? The ones that were shut down and enclosed because it was prone to flooding?"
"The ones in Wisconsin?" Dean asked, "Yeah, actually I do know them."
"You do?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, one of Dad's good friends had a brother who died in those caves, around the same time they were closed down."
"You never told me that."
"Its just something I heard, Sammy. Its not one of those things that I would bother to remember, its just the subject that drew my attention to it."
"Whatever. Jo, have you got somewhere you can stay?" Sam asked her, "You know, because we'll be taking off soon."
"Of course," she replied.
"Err, Sam?" Dean questioned, "I think the best place would be a hospital for now, you see those injuries she has? Not to mention her mother, who hasn't even woken yet."
"Okay, okay. But I was told that we have to leave soon, so help me start loading our things into the Impala."
"The Impala? Its here?" he asked.
Sam laughed, "How do you think we got here. Demons can't fly, Dean."
"Well, I..."
"Just help me, would you?"
By the time they were ready to leave, Bobby was awake too and (though they had to prove to him that they were the actual Winchesters) Sam and Dean asked him to take Ellen and Jo to the nearest hospital. He took off ten minutes before they left, taking one of the many cars the vampires had brought with them.
At last count, there were no less than twenty vampires waiting outside. Only the three had come in to help. Sam thanked them, and got into the Impala with Dean.
Lenore came to the window, "We're going to stick around for a little while more, keep an eye on things, you know. I'm sure you'll be able to take on Lilith no problem at all. We'll catch up afterwards."
Dean laughed, "Lilith isn't as easy target as you think. It just seems like it because a higher power has risen. Trust me, this will be no easy task."
"Well, good luck to you then," she wished him.
"Yeah," Dean whispered as she left, "You too."
They drove off towards the east, following the mountain range, a soft light rising above them to mark the beginning of what was sure to be a very eventful Wednesday.