Supernatural Blood, Part II, Chapter Six.
Bobby's house lay quiet, the wind itself showing respect to the two hunters who needed the silence. The only sound was the endless turning of pages all through the day, and into the night.
There weren't enough books in the world to find what they needed, and there wasn't time to read them all anyway. Dean was reading on autopilot by now, if that was possible. He would occasionally get his phone out and stare at the display, willing Sam to get a clue and call him.
'Are you gonna call him?' Bobby grumbled from behind his overflowing desk when Dean had done this about a hundred times, give or take. The young man glanced up and put the phone away, a little guiltily. He went back to his book, but then he heard Bobby sigh and the sound of a big tome closing. When he glanced up Bobby had leaned back in his chair with a look of defeat, but with that "let's be realistic" raise of his eyebrows he always did when Dean knew hope was running out.
'Don't say it, Bobby,' he dismissed the old hunter, focusing on the Latin in front of him, but the words were blurring and he wasn't the best at Latin, he knew. He could pick out the words he needed, but he was barely seeing straight in the dim light.
'Even if we find Lilith, and Sam and Eric, how the hell we're gonna stop a thousand year old vampire turned demon, and Sam hopped up on demon blood?' He made a gesture of impatience and frustration. 'I mean, do we even know what Sam can do when he's been drinking? I assume it's a bit more than having visions if he's gonna use them to gank Lilith?'
'I don't think I want to know,' Dean grumbled. He let his eyes wander over to the window and the dark night beyond. There was a dark hole in his stomach, and he knew at any moment he would collapse in on himself. Such thoughts were melodramatic and pointless, however, so he cleared his throat and refocused.
'Cas will find her,' he said, 'and we'll figure out the rest. Sam'll listen.' The last was said more to himself than to Bobby.
'Do you remember what Sam told us about the detoxing?' Bobby asked pointedly.
'Of course I remember,' Dean snapped, getting up abruptly and stalking towards the kitchen, only to turn and start pacing instead. 'He said he hallucinated for days. What's that got to do with anything?'
'The point is we don't know what he's like when he's on the stuff,' Bobby explained calmly. 'He could be violent, or completely in Eric- the demon's- power.' Dean sighed and rubbed at his face, coming to a stop in front of the window.
The flutter of wings made Dean spin around. Cas looked just about as tired as he usually did.
'You've found him?' Dean asked, unable to keep the hope from his voice.
'No,' Cas replied, 'but I think I've found out where Lilith is going to be.'
'Where?'
'Understand, Dean, if we do this, we will become the enemies of heaven.' Cas' eyes were deadly serious, and Dean shot an uneasy glance at Bobby.
'I'm not a big fan of your brothers, Cas, so I couldn't really care less.' Dean gave a half-shrug. Cas nodded knowingly. He looked a little lost.
'I do not want Sam to kill Lilith,' he admitted.
'I'm glad we're on the same side. Now, where's the demon bitch hiding out?'
'I only know where she plans for Sam to kill her.'
'Care to get to the bottom line, Cas?' The angel informed them of the location, at a nunnery no less.
'A week from now,' Cas told them.
'Okay, we'll be there to stop it.'
'We will try,' Cas agreed, and disappeared. Dean and Bobby looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. A week was a long time to wait for a battle to begin. A whole week for Sam to drink himself full of demon blood a hundred times over.
They put themselves in gear and started taking account of their ammo and supplies.
XXX
They had stopped at a small town because Eric was sure a middle-ranking demon was hiding out there. Not one in Lilith's employ, but strong enough for Sam to practice on.
They cornered the bastard in the house of the demon's meat-suit. Sam didn't register the nice decor they quickly demolished in the fight. The annoying thing about his situation was that he couldn't just start using his powers; he needed to get a hold on the demon so he could drink his fill. Eric's blood wasn't enough to sustain him. This demon was strong enough to last him a while, though he'd have to drink again before he went after Lilith.
The demon got in a sudden punch, sending Sam backwards, tumbling over the couch. He hit a cabinet filled with nice glassware, a vase falling and hitting his head. He looked up just as the demon took hold of the end of the couch and flipped it to the side. He, a big lug of a man, smirked as his eyes went black.
Sam held up his hand and the demon stopped abruptly, getting that constipated look on his face they always got as he tried to keep his demon soul in.
Eric came up behind, grabbing the demon's arms and holding him tight.
'Drink,' the vampire ordered. Sam scrambled to his feet, letting the demon go. It trashed in Eric's arms. Sam approached, a small smirk on his lips.
'You'll never get her,' the demon growled, 'you're stupid to even try.' Sam ignored him and took out a small pocket knife. The blood started flowing, a beautiful sight. The demon tried to open its mouth to escape, but Eric pressed his hand over the mouth as Sam gulped down the power. It tasted almost sweet to him these days.
When he felt his stomach filling, he pulled back and held his hand to the demon's chest. Eric let go of its mouth and the black smoke flowed easily, so quickly it felt better than ever before. Sam felt elated, like a weight had been taken off him. He really was ready.
When the black smoke was destroyed, Eric dropped the meat-suit thoughtlessly, smiling a proud smile at Sam, who returned it gratefully. A horrible gurgling sound interrupted them. Sam looked down; the man was alive.
'He- he-' the man tried to speak, gasping, but blood was coming out of his mouth as well. Sam's cut had been deeper than necessary. The hunter dropped to his knees, slipping a hand under the man's head.
'It's okay,' he whispered, his elation from earlier gone in a flash. The man's eyes were filled with fear. He reached up and gripped Sam's jacket. Sam pressed his other hand to the wound. 'Keep still, we'll get you help.'
Sam jumped as Eric suddenly stabbed the man violently in the stomach. The man gave a wordless cry, and then died. Sam watched as the life drained from the man. When it was gone, the hunter got to his feet unsteadily. Eric was wiping the knife clean in a meticulous way, eyes cold and professional. Sam felt like he was having trouble breathing. Eric caught a look of him and put the knife away, giving the hunter a condescending stare.
'He was dead, Sam.'
'No, he wasn't,' Sam heard himself say. He felt like he was watching the scene from the bottom of a deep hole.
'He was as good as, I just put him out of his misery. The demons ride them too hard, they always do.'
'No, not this one,' Sam shook his head, staring down at the dead man. 'I killed him, when I fed on him.' He put a hand to his mouth, certain he was going to throw up any second.
'Sam, come on,' Eric said, his voice sounding strange in Sam's ears. 'Be realistic. You can't save everybody.'
'I could have saved him,' Sam whispered. 'That was why I started using my powers in the first place, to save the vessels, to get the demon out without harming them.' Eric sighed and came round the dead body, putting a hand on Sam's shoulder.
'You should be proud,' he told the hunter. 'You just killed a powerful middle-ranking demon. You haven't done that in ages.' He leaned in to whisper seductively in Sam's ear, not noticing how Sam had gone stiff as a statue. 'Remember the last time you got a big baddie like this? We went back to the motel and had sex for two days straights. What do you say? Wanna celebrate?'
Sam swallowed several times, slowly turning his head towards the vampire. He gazed into the smirking face for a second before kissing him hard. Eric kissed back, gripping Sam's head and angling it the way he wanted. Sam pulled back abruptly.
'You know I love you, right?'
Eric smiled tightly. 'Of course.'
'I mean it,' Sam insisted. 'You've done so much for me. I love you. I. Love. You,' he enunciated very clearly. Eric stepped back, turning away. 'What's wrong?' Sam asked, voice full of concern.
'I'm thirsty,' Eric said. 'I think I'm going to find some True Blood. Why don't you head down to the diner you ate at last night? I'll meet you there once I'm feeling better.'
Eric didn't look back as he exited the house. Sam stood for a long moment, a dead man at his feet, the living room destroyed around him. Eventually, he left and drove down to the diner. Once inside, he noticed a pay phone in the hallway leading to the bathroom in the back. His feet seemed to carry him there of their own free will. He didn't know why he didn't just pull out his own phone, but there was something comforting about feeling the old shape of a phone against his ear as he pushed in some change and pressed the old sticky buttons.
He studied people's scratchings on the walls. Someone had written "Call me – guy you met at the bar last night," and their number.
Finally, he heard his brother's voice.
XXX
Dean's phone rang as he was packing away the books they wouldn't be needing on a high shelf. He pushed the last book in as he fished out his phone from his pocket. The caller ID was unknown.
'Hello?' He heard some odd heavy breathing and was about to tell the jerk he'd gotten the wrong number, when Sam's voice came across the line, small and afraid.
'Dean.' The older brother immediately sat down in the chair by the desk, all focus on Sam's voice.
'Sam?' He tried to keep his heart from jumping out of his chest. 'Listen to me, Sammy. Don't think about anything else right now, okay? Just tell me where you are, right now.' He silently prayed for Sam to listen to him. There was a long pause, as if Sam was looking around to find out where he was.
'I'm in Milford, Iowa,' he confessed, giving the exact address of the diner he was in. Dean wrote it down quick.
'Okay, Sammy,' Dean continued, speaking slowly. 'I want you to get in whatever car you have, or steal the first one you can find, and drive towards Bobby's. I'm gonna get in my car right this second and drive towards you. We'll meet halfway. Do you understand?'
'Dean- I... I think-'
'Sam, please,' Dean begged. 'Eric is not who you think he is.' He knew it was a big risk to say it, but he had to take it. The line was silent for a long time, and Dean had almost given up hope. Then he heard Sam, but he wasn't talking to him.
'I was trying to call Dean,' Sam was saying. 'I miss him... but he's not picking up-' The line went dead and Dean pushed against the desk so hard most of the books on it wobbled off.
'Fuck!' He didn't wait for Bobby to come back from town. He just got in the Impala and drove. He knew his chances of finding Sam were slim, but he didn't have anything else he should be doing.
He just hoped Sam had believed him, or was at least entertaining the possibility.
XXX
'And what would you have done if he had picked up?' Sam shrugged, leaning against the wall.
'Say goodbye, I guess, just in case we get our asses handed to us by Lilith.' Eric reached out and cupped the side of Sam's face, smiling indulgently.
'Don't worry, you're strong enough.' Sam smiled, nodding and then stealing a quick kiss from the vampire.
'Let's go celebrate,' he said, smiling.
'Aren't you hungry?' Eric asked.
'Yeah, for you,' Sam grinned, pulling at the black t-shirt Eric always wore. 'What was our record? Two days, right? Let's see if we can't beat that. I wanna fuck a year's worth before I have to gank the bitch.' The vampire returned the grin and they retired to their motel room.