Demon's Trial
Chapter Six: The Trap
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Gordon parked at the opposite end of the block on the off chance that Sam and Dean showed up; they'd seen his car before, so clearly they'd recognize it and at least suspect he was here. With such thoughts in mind, he settled down to start observing the Carey residence.
Just as it was starting to get dark, Gordon saw the familiar black Impala pulling up to the house. He wasn't particularly bothered by this until he saw how hurried the Winchester boys movements were. And then a short girl climbed out of the backseat. This, more than anything else, surprised Gordon. The Winchester's weren't against working with other Hunters if they came across them, but considering the nature of their presence here, it did seem more than a little out-of-place from what he knew of their habits and behaviors.
"Seriously, though," the girl was saying, her voice echoing down the empty street, "demons? Ghosts? Ghouls? It sounds crazy." Ah, an outsider. Even stranger.
"Trust me, Ava," Sam said, turning to the girl, "we know, but it's what we've been doin' our whole life."
"Your entire life?" Ava sounded genuinely surprised. "This is your job? You get paid to take out monsters?"
Dean huffed a laugh as they approached the front door of the Carey residence. "It ain't a pro-ball career, Ava," he said. "We get money from… other means."
Sam knocked on the front door. A minute later, the door opened. A few seconds after that, Sam, Dean and Ava stepped inside, the door slamming shut behind them. Gordon sighed in annoyance, but settled into his seat. He could wait.
"Sorry about the sudden appearance," Sam apologized the moment Scott shut the front door. "We think you're in danger."
"That's him!" Ava suddenly spoke up. "It's Scott, the guy from my vision." She stared up at Scott, who appeared more than a little bewildered by her presence. "You electrocute people?" she asked.
"Uh, who is this?" asked Scott.
"Ava Wilson," Dean announced. "She's another psychic."
"Oh," Scott said.
"She has visions, too," Sam added.
Scott stared down at Ava, who didn't seem to be the least bit intimidated by the fact that she was surrounded by three guys with at least six inches over her. "Am I going to die?" he asked after a long moment.
"No," Sam said at once, "just because Ava saw you die doesn't mean it's gonna happen."
"But —"
"Trust me," Sam cut Scott off, "I've been through this, I've kept Dean from dying when my visions said that he would. You're not going to die."
Scott met Sam's eyes and he could see the worry and fear in them. More importantly than that, however, was the spark of trust Scott had in him. Sam only hoped he could keep living up to Scott's expectations.
"Okay," Scott finally said. "So, what do we do?"
"Well," Dean said, "until we can find and stop whoever it is that's wanting to gank you, you shouldn't go anywhere alone."
"So no shopping tonight," Ava put in and Scott blinked, mouth falling open a little.
"We're going to have to do a sweep of the neighborhood," Dean added to Sam. "If it is Gordon, then chances are we'll find his car parked somewhere not too far off."
"Who's Gordon?" asked Scott.
"Psychopath," Ava said. "They know 'im."
"You know a psychopath?" Scott said dubiously.
"Met him on a vampire hunt," Dean explained. "Shit went wrong, and now we're not friendly."
"Wait, real vampires?" Ava asked, and her excitement and interest were so strong that it began to worry Sam. Here was an average girl who had lived an average life, but she was quickly developing an interest in the supernatural that seemed very intense for someone who had been unaware of what lay in the shadows until now. Most people just didn't want to know about these things, even when they had no choice but to admit they existed.
"Yeah," Dean said, his emotions right on track with Sam's about Ava. "Anyway, the best thing to do is have Sam stay here with you while I drop Ava off at her car and do a sweep of the area. If it is Gordon, and he shows up while I'm gone, Sam can easily fend him off. Just… Nothing reckless, all right?"
Sam nodded. "I still wanna help," Ava said, sounding a little petulant.
"You've done all you can," Dean said firmly. "The best you can do is get outta here before Gordon realizes you're part of the psychic club and comes after you, too."
Ava, of course, kept up her protests as Dean led her out of the house. "I'll do a sweep for Gordon after I get Ava outta here. Stay safe, Sam," he added before shutting the door and muffling Ava's voice.
"How long have you known her?" Scott asked after a moment.
"Just met her today," Sam answered with a sigh, leaning against the nearest wall and closing his eyes. He knew the fatigue from his poor sleeping habits was really taking its toll on him, but he had to stay alert, had to stay focused.
"You look like shit, Sam," said Scott after another moment had passed.
Sam snorted and opened his eyes. "Thanks," he said. "So, where's your dad?"
"Upstairs," Scott answered. "He doesn't usually go to bed this early, but he just didn't have the energy to go do the shopping tonight. I was gonna go do it myself, but then you guys showed up. Did you even sleep last night?"
Sam shrugged. "A little," he replied.
"I'm just wondering how you expect to do any protecting when it looks like a slight breeze could take you out," Scott said, leading Sam into the front room and dropping heavily onto the couch.
"I've done it before," Sam said, taking off his jacket and sitting down next to Scott. "My uh, my first vision was of my girlfriend being killed by a demon in the exact same way my mom died, but I just thought I was having nightmares until it happened for real."
Scott sucked in a sharp breath, but didn't say anything.
"After that," Sam managed to continue after a few seconds, "I could barely sleep for the first few weeks because of the nightmares her death left behind."
"How'd you get over it?"
"I'm not," Sam said shortly. "But," he added after a moment, "I started sleeping better after I had more visions and told Dean about them. And now…"
"Back to square one, I take it?"
Sam looked up at Scott and nodded silently. Neither one said another word for a few minutes.
Scott opened his mouth, probably to ask something else when strange, moaning sounds started to filter down from the upstairs. "That's my dad," Scott said, sounding panicked, and Sam shot to his feet, taking the stairs two at a time and following the sounds with Scott right behind him.
They burst into Mr. Carey's room, and what they saw stopped Sam right in his tracks.
Ava was sulking silently in the passenger seat, but since she had stopped speaking, Dean found he didn't much care. There was absolutely no reason for her to be involved, so the sooner she got out of harm's way, the better for her and for Dean's sanity.
How did Gordon know we were here? The thought had crossed his mind before, but now he found he could give it proper attention. The man had obviously heard from some other Hunter, but who had overheard them? No one at the Roadhouse had been sitting that close to them when Ash had announced Andy and Scott's names to him and Sam, right? And then he wondered if Ellen, Jo or Ash had accidentally let something slip.
Well, there was only one way to find out, wasn't there? Dean pulled out his cell phone and dialed, waiting for either Jo or Ellen to pick up.
Ash answered, and Dean knew there was something wrong from his tone of voice. "Where's Ellen?" he asked.
"She's in Philadelphia," Ash answered, sounding exhausted.
"What's she doin' out there?" Dean asked, frowning. Ava was starting at him questioningly, but he just ignored her.
"Uh, savin' Jo, I think."
"Why's Jo need savin'?"
"She found a case out there," Ash explained, "a bunch of blonde girls goin' missin' from the same apartment complex. Got in a big ol' fight with Ellen about it. Ellen didn't want her goin', wanted her to give the case to someone else, and Jo got angry and just took off to do it on her own three days back."
"And Ellen's out there because…?"
Ash gave a sigh over the line. "Jo's been keepin' in touch with me, but I couldn't reach her this mornin'. Finally caved in to tell Ellen where the apartment was, and she took off, got the first flight out there."
"Oh." Dean cursed inwardly. Ellen noticed more about the Hunters that frequented her place than anyone else. "Well, uh, have you heard anything recently about Gordon Walker?"
"The psychotic vampire Hunter?" Ash asked.
"Yeah, him," Dean said. "We think he's following us or just goin' after any psychic kids he can find. Or both."
"Oh," Ash said. "That sucks, but I haven't heard about him for months, man."
"Okay," said Dean, "then is there anyone who could've overheard us talkin' when we came through last week?"
"No, man," Ash replied. "Weren't no one sittin' that close to —" He suddenly broke off and was silent long enough to rankle Dean's nerves.
"Ash?"
"Boris Redford," Ash said after a moment. "I think he was sittin' two tables away, and for a fifty-year-old, he's got wicked hearing. He's the only one who coulda heard anything, Dean."
Dean sighed. He'd heard of Boris before, and he wondered if Boris was the type who could get along with Gordon. Probably, he thought. "Okay, well I guess I'll just have to assume he overheard something, 'cause we're pretty damn certain Gordon's here in Lafayette, goin' after Scott Carey. D'you think you could call Andy Gallagher for me? Just to make sure he's still alive?"
"Sure thing," Ash said. "And Dean? Be careful, you know how dangerous Gordon is when he's certain he's in the right."
"I know," Dean said, "thanks, Ash." He snapped his phone shut just as they pulled up to the diner Ava's car was still at. "Okay, Ava," he said, turning to the short brunette. "End of the line."
"Are you sure there's nothing else I can do?" Ava asked.
"Yes, I am very sure," Dean said, trying not to let his exasperation show. "You live a perfectly normal life, with parents who are still alive and, I'm even guessing, a boyfriend who loves you. Go home, kiddo. You may got the psychic mojo, but that don't mean you're meant to live the life that goes with it."
Ava stared at him for a long moment before her shoulders slumped and she nodded. "Okay," she said, opening the passenger door. "Just… You and Sam be careful, all right?"
"We will be," Dean said with a smile. "Don't worry about us."
Ava smiled and shut the door. She turned away and was about halfway to her car when a tall girl with dark hair and startling blue eyes came out of nowhere, wrapped one arm around Ava's shoulders and held a knife to her neck.
Dean was out of the Impala instantly. "Who are you?" he demanded. "Let her go!"
"Oh, you don't remember me?" the girl said. "What a shame."
Dean frowned, and then he felt an intense pressure on his heart that he hadn't felt since that day at the warehouse in L.A., and he started to gasp and choke. "I'm the one who almost killed you before your daddy made that Deal," the girl said, and her eyes flashed black.
The pressure released and Dean gasped for breath, one hand clutching at his chest where his heart was still beating a little too fast. "Name's Tara," the demon said in an off-hand kind of way. "I got to know your little brother pretty well two months ago, you know. I fed him regularly, hurt him a few times, and I'm even the one who made that lovely recording you and Daddy watched."
"What're you doin' here?" Dean asked, his voice still a little breathless. He suddenly realized he had dropped to his knees and struggled to stand up again.
"Just following orders," Tara said, and if it weren't for the knife she still held to Ava's throat, she could have sounded like she was just sitting down for a chit-chat, like two old friends that were catching up. Except they weren't friends. "How's Sammy doin' these days?" she asked. "We heard he's trying to make like a zombie and never sleep again."
"Shut up, bitch," Dean sighed as he fully righted himself (which took clinging to the Impala's hood to achieve, but no one needed to know that, right?). "Let Ava go, would you?"
Tara tilted her head as she considered. "All right," she said, suddenly shoving Ava hard in the direction of her car. "We weren't expecting her to come anyway, Karena told us her boyfriend was supposed to be proposing to her tonight at the dinner she apparently cancelled."
"What?" Ava gasped, turning back and staring at Tara. "Karena? My best friend, Karena? She's a demon, too?"
"She wasn't until we sent one to possess her about a month ago," Tara answered calmly. "Honestly, after we let Sam go, Azazel decided to send out more demons, have them keep tabs on all the others in case you and baby brother showed up. Which you have been," she added.
"So, who was it in Guthrie?" asked Dean.
"Oh, you didn't meet him," said Tara. "He's just one of Andy's friends in town. And Scott? It's his next-door neighbor Hillary Weston, she's the only person Scott's daddy is willing to talk to these days."
"What about the succubus in town?" Dean asked after a moment's thought. "I'm guessing you knew it was here."
"Of course," Tara said. "I sent it myself as a way to attract Thomas' uncle and get little Tommy's attention."
"Why?"
Tara grinned. "It's a good way to get rid of witnesses, like that Marian girl from Oregon," she said, and Dean felt the bottom of his stomach drop out. The first girl Sam had saved from possession was dead and the succubus was a death trap? Gerald and Thomas were going to walk right into it, none the wiser until it was too late. Why the hell had Tara done all of this? "I wouldn't worry about any of that, though," Tara added after a moment, catching Dean's attention once more. "I'd be more worried about Sammy."
Sam. "You leave my brother alone!" Deans shouted, taking a step forward, only to have Tara shove him back against the front bumper of his car with a wave of her hand. The backs of his legs protested when they slammed into the unforgiving metal.
"It's kinda funny," Tara said, staring at Dean with a slight frown on her stolen face. "I mean, you boys have no idea what Azazel's end game is, and yet you keep trying to avert it."
"What's your point?" Dean snapped.
"I just wonder how you expect to see the means without the end," Tara answered with a shrug. "All this random, frantic action the two of you take."
"If it stops him, then anything we can do is worth it," Dean replied. Tara's frown deepened.
"My purpose here is to test Sam," she told Dean after a moment, slowly walking forward. He vaguely noticed Ava gawking from beside her own car, but since he'd already expected no help from the short girl, he refocused his attention on the demon in front of him. "We know he's completely detoxed of the blood we fed him, and we know he's unlocked the other psychic abilities, though in a way that causes them to be erratic until he can learn to control them one by one. Our little test here tonight is to see if he can sense a real-life demon nearby, to see if he's still attracted to demon blood. 'Cause I think," and she leaned right over Dean, forcing him to lay down completely on the Impala's hood, "deep down, your brother loved the strength that came with his go-juice. And with you outta the way, he might just go for it again." Tara smiled darkly and held up her knife.
"Let's have some fun, in the meantime," she said, "shall we?"
Gordon watched an older woman and a teenager who looked to be her son leave their house across the street from the Carey's a couple minutes after Dean had taken off with Ava. He wondered if she might be another psychic; after all, it wasn't in a Hunter's nature to involve anyone who didn't need to be in a Hunt without reason.
He debated heading straight inside the Carey residence and taking out Sam and Scott here and now, but then he remembered Sam throwing Gordon off of him without touching more than his wrists. It had seemed like it was nothing to the boy, and really, Gordon didn't doubt that Sam was only staying in that house to act as Scott's protector. No, he needed the two separated so he could take out Scott and then tail Sam until he knew everything the boy was capable of.
Suddenly, a red '66 Pontiac GTO pulled up in front of the vacated house across the street from Scott's and Gordon's attention shifted. He knew that car, and sure enough, Gerald Humphrey climbed out, followed a moment later by a young man that looked to be related. Gordon remembered Gerald searching for his missing nephew two months ago and presumed that this was the Thomas he had spoken of. He kept still as the two men opened Gerald's trunk, pulled out some supplies like spray paint, salt and a thick tome that looked like it might contain exorcism rites.
Was there a Hunt here in Lafayette? Gordon suddenly regretted not checking out the local news better before driving here. Gerald and his nephew broke into the house, the door swinging shut silently behind them.
Was it only coincidence that there was a Hunt in the same town that the Winchesters and Scott Carey were in? Gordon began to rethink his position here and wondered if he shouldn't call for some back-up. There were plenty of Hunter's who would be on his side without hesitation. Kubrick would easily be one of them. He considered for another minute before making a decision and pulling out his cell phone.
That was when a window on the top floor of the Carey residence exploded outward and Sam Winchester came tumbling out, battling the scaly form of what was clearly a succubus.
"That was nice of your mother," Gerald commented once he and Thomas were inside the Fulmer residence, "giving out a last minute dinner invitation to get Heidi and Ryan out of the house. But, won't they question your absence?"
"No," Thomas said with a shake of his head. "Mom already told them that I'm spending time with my uncle who's in town for the weekend. Which is pretty much true, anyway, so I figured it works."
Gerald nodded. "Okay," he said, "so where's Ryan's room?"
Thomas led him to the correct bedroom and opened the window so the smell of spray paint wouldn't permeate the small space and make Ryan suspicious. He glanced out the window at the house across the street and briefly thought of Sam and Dean. Had they caught the psychotic Hunter yet?
"Let's get to work," Gerald said, and Thomas turned away to help him move Ryan's bed so they could spray a Devil's Trap onto the carpet underneath.
"So this'll catch it up like any other demon, then?" he asked
"Not exactly," Gerald answered. "The problem with succubi and incubi is that there haven't been as many cases of them attacking people as there's been regular demonic possessions. Fact is that most of the time, they get away and feed off the sexual energy they collected for decades before needing more. That this one is going after so many teenage boys, well, it strikes me as more than a little odd. Three kids dead in less than a month and a fourth being targeted?" He shook his head. "Anyway, the Trap won't contain it perfectly, but it it'll slow it down enough that I should be able to recite the exorcism without too much trouble."
"Sounds like it's trying to get attention," Thomas said, shaking up a can of red paint.
"Exactly," Gerald said, face grim. "That's why we're gonna strike with the exorcism I found the moment Ryan starts havin' his erotic encounter with the bitch."
Thomas winced in disgust. "I hate that we're putting Ryan through any more of this torture," he said.
"I know, son," Gerald sighed, "but he's the current victim, and if he knows about us doin' this, then the succubus will know, too, just as soon as she latches onto him again." He held out a hand for the spray paint and directed Thomas to lay salt lines along the windowsills, but to leave empty spots in each line they could easily seal up later.
"So, are we just gonna hide in the closet or something?"
"Yep," Gerald said, bending down and popping off the lid of the spray paint. He started to lay down the first markings when the sound of breaking glass attracted their attention. Thomas bolted to the opened window and was shocked to see Sam Winchester come tumbling out the second-story window across the street from Ryan's house. Even more shocking was the scaly creature he was wrestling with as they headed for the lawn below.
"Sam!" he shouted as the creature landed on the grass, Sam rolling off it and struggling to stand again.
"Sam from the diner?" Gerald asked, coming up beside him, and then his breath caught. "It's the succubus," he said softly. "But why's it over there?"
That was when the succubus managed to get into a crouch and stared straight into Thomas' eyes. For a sex demon, it was fucking ugly. It had a distinct feminine shape, but it was completely hairless with long, claw-like fingers and toes, and glowing green eyes. It was also a nude color, and boy, did it look really strong.
"It already knows we're here," Thomas breathed.
At that moment, Sam managed to sit up and threw out a hand. With an ear-splitting screech, the succubus flew across the lawn, slamming into a tree like it was pinned there.
"What the hell?" Gerald said loudly, and Thomas was suddenly struck by the memory of a Sam hopped up on demon blood using telekinesis to fling his body across the room before pinning it down and mentally exorcising the demon from inside of him. Was Sam still drinking demon blood? Or was this ability a part of something else entirely?
The front door of the house across the street flew open and a boy who looked to be Sam's age ran out. "Sam!" he yelled, voice panicked, and Sam looked his way.
Apparently, that was enough for his concentration to slip, because the succubus burst free from its position against the tree, causing it to topple into the next-door neighbor's car and setting off the car's alarm. And then the succubus was coming right at Thomas and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
TBC...