Carpe Diem, Baby
Chapter 6
Morgan Creek Park, edge of town
Dean turned, his eyes immediately falling on the shadowy figure standing between them and the car. Even though the Hellequin stood directly in the line of the Impalas headlights, the demon threw no shadow. Rather, the intense light from the beams seemed to be swallowed up by the entity, adding to the unnatural darkness of the figure. The glowing ruby eyes shone out of the black face, intently studying the trio in the center of the clearing. It didn't move, but suddenly held an ebony bow in its hands, one red tipped arrow already notched into the weapon.
"Shit!"
Dean pushed Tommy toward Sam, simultaneously pulling his Desert Eagle from beneath his jacket. "Get the kid out of here, Sam! Go!"
Sam grabbed the boy and took off across the clearing in the opposite direction of the Impala, his long legs eating up the ground.
"The church!" Tommy screamed from his position under Sam's arm. "It didn't follow us to the church!"
Sam shifted direction slightly, remembering the small chapel located across the main road at the entrance of the park. He jumped as the sound of Dean's pistol fire reached his ears, but didn't slow down, knowing the best way to help in this situation was to get Tommy clear of the danger.
"Sam! Down!"
Without hesitation, Sam threw himself to the ground, curling his body around the small boy in an effort to protect him from the immediate threat. He felt as well as heard the arrow slice through the air above him, cracking ominously as it embedded itself into a tree a few yards from their position. He raised his head and chanced a look back as Dean's gun responded to the attack.
"Go, Sam! Go!"
Sam was up and running before Dean finished the command, grabbing Tommy and throwing him over his shoulder in an effort to pick up speed. As he hit the road at the edge of the park, he heard a grunt of pain behind him, immediately followed by a string of curses and the rapid fire of Dean's gun.
"Dean?" He slowed and turned to check on his brother. Dean was on his knees, his right arm raised toward the demon.
"I'm fine," the older man huffed without sparing his brother a glance. He lifted his left arm with a grimace and braced the pistol as he fired off two more rounds. "Just get the kid to holy ground!"
Sam nodded and quickly crossed the road, rushing across the asphalt parking lot and gently depositing Tommy on the steps of the small church. He turned in time to see his brother barrel across the lot, stopping as soon as he reached the cement walkway directly beneath entrance. Sam joined him at the base of the steps, two sets of eyes scanning the shadows, the only sounds their labored breathing loud in the still night air.
The Hellequin stepped from the shadows of the trees on the far side of the road and both brothers tensed, guns raised toward the threat.
"It can't come over here, right?"
Sam mirrored his brother's defensive position and shrugged in response, his eyes narrowed at the dark entity across the road. "Let's hope not.
The demon's eyes glowed bright in the dim moonlight, it's gaze fixed on the brothers as they stood defiantly in front of the little boy. Slowly the Hellequin lifted an arm and extended one long, gnarled finger in the direction of the Winchesters.
"Yeah, yeah," Dean taunted under his breath at the implied threat. "Get in line, bitch."
As suddenly as it appeared, the Hellequin was gone, leaving the two hunters once again scanning the darkness. After a few minutes, Sam relaxed his stance. He glanced at his brother, noticing for the first time the dark streak of blood across his bicep.
"You okay?"
"Yeah," Dean responded automatically. He was still standing, and in the Winchester book of injuries, if you were still on two feet, it was all good. He lowered his gun, wincing as he glanced down at his arm. He flexed his bicep a few times before returning his eyes to his brother. "Just a scratch," he answered Sam's unasked question. "You?"
"I'm good," Sam responded. He nodded his head toward Tommy who had crept up behind them, his small hand now attached the hem of Sam's jacket. "We're good."
Dean nodded and turned his attention to Tommy, who shifted a bit closer to him and gazed up at his rescuers.
"Is it gone?" Tommy's voice was barely a whisper, his fear evident in his large, dark eyes.
"Yeah," Dean sighed, giving Tommy what he hoped was a confident smile. "It's gone for now."
"But it'll come back."
It was more a statement than a question and neither brother could bring themselves to contradict the kid.
"It'll be back," Sam responded, his gaze locked with his brother's. "But next time, we'll be ready."
After waiting nearly an hour on the steps of the church, the trio cautiously made their way back across the road, stepping onto the park grounds as the first tendrils of light began to break over the horizon. Making it back to the Impala unscathed, the Winchesters first delivered Tommy back to his frantic parents who were extremely relieved and grateful to the two 'agents' for finding and returning their missing child.
Assuring the Sattlers that Tommy was okay, simply grieving for his brother and trying to find a way to feel closer to him, Dean and Sam headed back to the motel to try to come up with a plan to eliminate the Hellequin before it could carry out it's quest.
After hours of intense research, Sam sighed in frustration and shoved the laptop back against the wall as he rested his elbows on the desk and rubbed his weary eyes.
"Anything?"
"Nothing." Sam sat back in the chair, his shoulders slumped in defeat. "There's a ton of lore about the Wild Hunt, but I can't find any reference to the Hellequin ever having been stopped from taking a soul." He turned to face his brother who was stretched out on the bed, his back against the headboard, leafing through their father's journal. "I can't find anything, Dean." Sam's voice betrayed his disappointment. "And if we can't find a way to stop this thing…"
"Yeah, I know. Tommy's as good as dead." Dean tossed the journal down and rubbed a hand down his face. "So let's look at this from another perspective." He scooted up until he was perched on the foot of the bed and leaned forward, his arms resting on his thighs. "This thing is basically just a demon, right?"
Sam snorted at the description. "Just a demon?"
Dean rolled his eyes and huffed out a breath. "Just… you know what I mean."
Sam chuckled but nodded his head. "Yeah. Technically it's an emissary of the devil, but I guess that translates into 'just a demon', so yeah, I guess you could say that."
"Thank you, Webster." Dean stood and started pacing slowly. "So if it is just your garden variety demon, how do we go about killing it?"
Sam sat back and watched his brother pace. "We shoot it with the Colt, but since that's not an option…"
"We find some other way to dispose of it." Dean stopped and turned toward his brother. "You said something a few days ago about demons not liking fire? Something about the elements of nature?"
"Yeah, but I still haven't put it all together, Dean. I mean, fire didn't seem to bother the Yellow Eyed Demon. It seemed to thrive in fire."
Dean nodded, his lips pursed in thought. "But we know we can use the spell in Dad's journal to send it back to hell if we can contain it, right?"
"A devil's trap will contain it, and the exorcism won't kill it but it'll send it back, which should be enough to save Tommy unless someone else summons the damn thing. But how exactly are we going to hide a devil's trap in the middle of a clearing in a wide open park?"
Dean's eyes lit up in a way that had always made Sam's skin crawl. "I've got an idea,"
Morgan Creek Park, Edge of Town
"Do you really think this is gonna work?" Sam closed the journal, leaving a finger in the page to mark his spot.
Dean shrugged and shook the last drops from the red gas can before he tossed it off to his side. "Honestly? I have no idea, but…"
"Yeah, yeah," Sam held up his hand to stall his brother's comment. "I know. I'm not allowed to say no –"
"If you don't have a better idea." Dean finished for him, flashing his brother a smug grin. "See, Sammy. The rules aren't really so hard once you get the hang of them."
"Ha, ha." Sam shook his head, watching in amusement as his brother moved to the center of the clearing and began to spin slowly, his eyes searching the edge of the tree line for any movement. After a few minutes of silence, Sam cleared his throat and shrugged his shoulders. "So….. what now, genius? Doesn't look like your damned soul mojo is working." He made a show of leaning from one direction to the other holding up his free hand to indicate the lack of any demonic presence.
Dean looked momentarily surprised at his brother's flippant mention of his current soul status, but quickly covered by leaning forward and wrapping his hand around the ivory horn at his feet.
"Then it's a good thing we have our very own creepy clown whistle, huh?" He grinned at Sam's glare at the mention of clowns and brought the horn to his lips, pausing as he waited for his brother to indicate that he was ready.
Sam took a deep breath and slowly released it before nodding, indicating that he was as ready as he would ever be. With an answering nod, Dean took his own breath and puffed out his cheeks as he forced the air through the tip of the horn, eliciting a low, barely discernable squawk. The sound was –
"Impressive." Sam's voice dripped with sarcasm, his lips twisting in a grin as his brother frowned and pulled the horn from his mouth, gracing it with a look of disdain. Dean dropped the horn, nodding in agreement.
"Apparently what they say is true; it really isn't the size of the horn –"
"Dean."
"What? I was just saying –"
"Dean!"
"What?"
Ignoring the aggravated response, Sam nodded toward the open space behind Dean, his eyebrows raised in warning as his hands slowly raised the journal.
"Oh." Dean's eyes widened in understanding. He waited until Sam had found the banishment spell in the journal and nodded slightly to indicate all lights green. "Okay then…" He took a deep breath as he steeled his nerve, squared his shoulders and slowly turned to face the demon.
The Hellequin stood in the shadows of the trees, it's dark features all but obscured by the blackness of the night. It's blood red eyes glowed from the darkness and Dean could swear he saw the damn thing smile as it began to silently move toward him.
TBS