Chapter Six

"Hiya, Sammy-boy," a voice from behind him said.

Sam spun around on his heel, indenting the soft earth beneath his feet. Yellow eyes, sickening and amused, glowed in the dying light of the evening. Sam immediately strengthened his mental barriers and prepared himself before speaking.

"Azazel," He intoned flatly, "Didn't think I'd see you again. So, no one's managed to burn your ass yet,"

"Oh, cut me to the quick," Azazel scowled mockingly, "Sammy, I thought you cared."

"Believe me, I do. It means I'll be the one to kill you," Sam smiled sharply.

"You will get the chance to soon," Azazel said casually, "Assuming you will be strong enough…"

"What are you saying?" Sam said, tensing all the more.

"That I'm coming to see you, my boy! So roll out the welcome wagon and hit me with your best shot!" Azazel challenged, smiling happily. "I'm sure your friends' lives depend on it…"

"You bastard, no way! I won't let you touch them! No way in hell!" Sam yelled, his voice echoing through the forest. "I will rip you apart!"

"We'll see," Azazel chortled, "I'll be there soon, Samuel, soon…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"NO!" Sam shot upwards from his pillow. His eyes wildly flew from one dark shadowy shape to another. All innocuous items in his bedroom seemed to work together sinisterly to make him feel crowded and claustrophobic as he forced his breathing to slow.

"Soon, Samuel, soon…"

The words echoed threateningly in his mind. He was glad Dean had been on call the night before, with the way he had probably been thrashing and yelling in his sleep. Not really something he wanted to explain to his boyfriend, not when their relationship was as precarious as it was. Especially when the dream had been as close to his old, festering wounds from his past…

He couldn't have…No… Sam tried to will away the possibility that Azazel had found him after all this time, that it was impossible that anyone could have penetrated the protective spells and sigils, but the demon's presence was unmistakable; un-reproducible even in his own mind.

He never should have used his real name, he knew, but it was the only way to access his old records without rousing too much suspicion. Even that excuse fell flat, though… it was his own selfish desires that got him in this situation. Sam didn't allow himself to believe for a second that what he had just experienced had been just a paranoid nightmare. Azazel was planning something, and he wanted Sam scared and anticipating danger everywhere he looked… kind of like what he was doing at the moment.

He took a deep breath.

Sam's cell phone rang. He blinked at the bedside table, wondering at the timing of the call, before glancing briefly at the green LED clock. 6:15, only one half hour before the alarm was supposed to go off.

He grabbed the phone after un-setting the alarm and saw from the screen that it was Bobby.

"Hey Bobby," he said tiredly.

"I'm sorry for wakin' you up, son. But, I was checkin' on things in your area and the city closest to you, Seattle, has a lot of missin' persons reported." Bobby said in lieu of greeting. At least he got straight to the point, Sam thought to himself, pulling back the covers and padding barefoot into the kitchen. He was definitely going to need more coffee to get through the day.

"Any patterns?" Sam asked, wondering what kind of monster was in the neighborhood this week.

"No, and that's the thing. There are somewhere around forty or more male and female vics, ages fifteen to twenty-seven at the oldest. All started disappearing in the last forty days or so, all accounts point to them happenin' at night is the only thing I can find in common," Bobby said, shuffling through some paperwork on his desk.

"Rules out werewolf and ghosts, hell, anything I can think of. Most monsters are pretty low scale, what makes you think this is supernatural at all?" Sam looked out his window, seeing the frost cling to the leaves of the tree standing near his home. Autumn was just beginning to end.

"Police have interviewed and investigated every crime syndicate, drug ring, and friggin' pickpocket in the tri-state area, they're even willingly working with the feds on this, and no one has any idea what's goin' on." Bobby sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I'll go see what I can do, if there's anything weird going on in Seattle." Sam frowned, feeling a foreboding sense of peril on the horizon in the wake of his dream-warning and Bobby's call. He bid the older hunter good day and was drinking his coffee minutes later, wondering what was to happen next. He felt a call to Dean was in order, considering the resources the vampire had at his disposal.

"Forks Police Department, what is the nature of your call?" Dean answered.

"Pleasure, I think, and it's a real emergency," Sam said, in as serious a voice as he could manage.

"Really now?" Dean purred back, "Sir, I believe that calling the police for such an emergency is highly disrespectful and a great misuse of our protective services."

The vampire's low, gravelly voice sent shivers down Sam's spine, and for a moment, Sam reveled in the feeling it gave him.

"Is that so? Maybe you should come and punish me for such a heinous crime," Sam smiled, but knew he had to get back to the real reason he called sometime.

"Sounds like you're asking for a lot there, sir. You sure you can take it?" Dean smirked, certainly enjoying this new way to start the morning.

"I'd say come over and find out, but I have something else I need you to check out first." Sam sighed, "Look, Bobby called again, said that there's something weird going on in Seattle. Could you look at the reports from the city for me?"

"Yeah, I've been looking into that too… Did he have any idea why all these people were suddenly missing?" Dean asked.

"No, but it has to be something supernaturally related, none of the crime in the area or internationally is responsible. Believe me; Bobby has a way of finding these things out,"

"Yeah… it looks like he missed something, though. There have been a lot of deaths lately, and most of them the same MO. Throats slashed wide open. They're trying to keep it out of the media, but there's a big red flag warning sent out to all departments and stations to keep a look out for the same crime." Dean shook his head and looked sternly at the pictures and matching reports. "I can't believe I didn't make the connection before."

"I can't see how Bobby missed it either." Sam frowned, "It's obviously a vampire attack, right? And it's happening practically in your own back yard. Something you're not telling me?"

"Nothing I can think of- Oh, shit." Dean rubbed a hand over his face, "Victoria…"

"The crazy girlfriend who swore revenge? No wonder this is so over the top," Sam groaned, remembering the conversation he had had with Bella on the whole James debacle.

"Well, since we're pretty sure it's her, you can bet she's coming here next," Dean said, closing the windows on his computer and bringing all his paperwork back to their files. "I'm off duty in ten. I'll go home and tell everyone about what we've found. You should tell Bella if you see her before Edward, I think her dad said something about taking her to school today."

"Yeah, got it. See you after work. I'll call Bobby back and tell him that I've got a handle on it so he doesn't send any other hunters an invite." Sam said, and then hung up after their mutual goodbyes.

Yep. Definitely a day for extra coffee, he thought as he poured another cup before preparing for his day.

Jane Austen, Fitzgerald, and vampires, oh my, He shook his head and walked back to his bedroom. That's what I get for being a hunter and an English teacher, I guess…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I can't believe they're making me stay here…" Bella sighed.

Sam wanted to sigh with her. It had been a trying day.

After telling the rest of the Cullen's and Bella, Edward had been beside himself with rage and panic. It was a while before the rest of them could convince him that no, he couldn't just take Bella to Alaska or some deserted remote location, because Victoria would obviously stop at nothing to find and kill Bella no matter where they ran. Everyone agreed that staying in Forks, on their own ground; they would have the advantage and be able to keep the vampires out of major human populated areas. The forests and mountains would be their battle ground. Still, nothing they said could keep Edward from panicking like a man possessed, so they had come up with the idea with Bella staying at Sam's home until the night came were they would face the vampire army.

That conversation had gone splendidly.

"Why can't she just stay here? I will protect her." Edward had argued.

"Yes, we all know that you can protect her, Edward, but Sam's a hunter. He can obviously keep her guarded and we can prepare easier without having to worry about her in the house by herself." Alice said.

"But he's human. And I don't have to sleep," Edward pointed out.

"Yeah, but what happens when Miss Clumsy over here accidently cuts herself again?" Rosalie raised her brow. "Her birthday party went badly surprisingly fast after that, if you don't remember."

If Jasper could have blushed, he would have been redder than a tomato. It was a hard truth to face; he couldn't really control himself yet around even the smallest of open wounds. Alice rubbed his lower back, smiling softly as he looked sheepishly to the side.

"Yes, but-" Edward tried to argue further.

"Let me ask you this, Edward," Sam finally interrupted, "Do you not trust me because I'm a hunter, or because you can't read my thoughts?"

The sudden silence while Sam stared piercingly at Edward was tense and hard to endure. "I know how unsettling it must be not to have your powers to rely on, and the fact you haven't known me that long doesn't help, but I'm a hunter. For almost fifteen years, I have been killing monsters a heck of a lot more powerful and dangerous than new-born vampires and protecting people while I'm doing it. If you can't trust me personally, then know that I have never failed my job before," Sam promised, never faltering in his gaze.

"Edward…" Dean said sternly when it looked like his 'nephew' was going to protest more.

"Of course, I could stay with Jacob and his family," Bella suggested causally, trying not to smile, "They said I was always welcome at their reservation. They would protect me."

"No way in hell," was Edward's knee-jerk response, face looking paler than usual.

"Then I guess I'll be staying with Sam," She retorted straight back, shrugging.

Everyone else had to stifle giggles and chuckles at the way Bella had handled that. Edward simply scowled more.

And that was how Bella came to stay at Sam's house for the last three nights. Tomorrow, Edward would lead her away to the mountains while the werewolves and Cullen's protected the town from the invading vampires. Jasper was teaching them all how to fight the new-borns, having experience in dealing with their increase in strength and hostility.

"I wish I wasn't so much trouble for them…" Bella muttered, almost like an afterthought.

"It's not your fault, Bella," Sam reassured her, grasping her shoulder briefly, "Never think that. Edward and the rest of the Cullen's protect you because they love you, and Victoria's just a bitch. If anyone's to blame, it's her."

Bella smiled at that comment, nodding firmly in acknowledgement. "Thank you,"

"Thank you for being my friend." Sam said honestly, "I don't have many of those,"

That made her smile wider, and she embraced Sam in a humungous bear hug that nearly knocked the wind out of Sam. "Neither do I," she confessed softly.

"What about all the werewolves and vampires?" Sam teased lightly, pulling back.

"Well, you're uncomplicated. Thank you for not hating everyone, oh, and not killing my boyfriend," She teased back, laughing.

"No trouble at all," Sam half-smiled, thinking, You have no idea how complicated I really am… And an unshakeable image of Azazel laughing coldly in the front of his mind.