High Noon – chpt 12.
by: sifi.
OOooOO
"Dean... please..." Sam cried softly, wrapping his arms around his big brother, "Please..." he begged again as the body gave a shake and drew in a breath.
"Son..." he said in a voice both belonging to Dean as well as to something, well someone distinctly NOT Dean Winchester.
Bobby and Shep looked at each other, both men pawing their own tears off their confused expressions.
"Dean?" Sam held the man away from him and met his eyes, the firey coppery glow at their heart a dead giveaway, "Enki." he breathed shakily.
"Sam?" Bobby asked moving closer and crouching beside the eldest Winchester.
Ammit and Imdugud stepped forward and lowered themselves to their knees.
"My Lord."
"My king." They said together bowing reverently.
"Sam what's goin' on?" Shep asked kneeling beside the youngest Winchester and grasping Dean by the chin looking into his eyes, "What'd you do? Where is Dean?" he asked.
The copper tinted eyes flicked to Imdugud and Ammit, both of whom were visibly holding themselves back from pulling Shep away, "It's fine," he assured them then looked at the older hunter, "Help me up, this body has been exhausted."
"Are you Dean? Or are you Enki?" Bobby asked.
"We're both..." he explained.
"Yeah we know that... but where's the 'Dean' part of you? What did you do to him? Where did he go?" Bobby asked.
"And more importantly will he be coming back?" Shep added.
"Shep," the ancient part of the man smiled, "he'll be back... he has a duty to attend to first. The sword must after all have all three blades." He patted the older man's cheek with his good hand, then grasped Sam's head and held it so their foreheads touched, "if we're going to finish this my son, you too must come forth. The third edge will be here soon."
"Sam?" Shep's expression mirrored Bobby's questioning one.
As the youngest Winchester turned his head to look at their dearest friends, his eyes too suddenly blazed copper as the man relinquished control to the God inside.
OOooOO
"Alright," Gader'el nodded shaking Tommy's hand firmly, "Marax, Pine'me and I'll go round up every nearly trustworthy demon we can find...man is THAT an oxymoron."
"Imagine being on my end and hearing it out of your mouth..." Tom grinned, "We'll round up anyone who refused to be evacuated and get 'em as outfitted as possible... Gader'el? Do you really think these demon bombs of yours are gonna work?"
The weapons smith shook his head, "I don't know. What I do know is that the igigi are pigs. They CAN'T stop feeding once they start, and if there is going to be any kind of concentration of demons in the area, they'll sense it... we have to have something to keep them diverted while we stand behind Enki and Marduk. There are some of us that still remember how to be proper Gallas."
Tommy nodded, "So we detonate the demon-dust bombs, lure as many of them as possible here so they can't take out any of you guys while you take after Ne...the marauder. They'll be able to feed on a lot of us."
"Don't worry Anunnaki will stand with you. Once everyone is together he'll ensure that everyone can see them, and he does still have his own loyal igigi, and they are hungry!" he smiled.
"Right the gold, and silver and copper ones right? Cannibalism...eesh..." Tom shook his head, "Then again... WE have no way to kill them that we know of."
"Exactly," the smith smiled and took the young mans' hand, "In case we are not able to meet again... it has been a pleasure working with you Mr. Daykin."
"You too Gader'el," Tom nodded toward the clearing in which he'd left Anunnaki and Cernunnos with his sculpture and the remains they hoped still held the soul of the woman, "I couldn't have done it without your advice... thank you for that, and when they're all done, I know Dean's gonna want to thank you personally for that beautiful sword."
"I'll be honored to accept his praise. They did both turn out quite lovely didn't they?" he smiled.
"They did."
A sidhe warrior opened a slip in the veil, "See you soon Mr. Daykin."
Tommy raised his hand before following his own sidhe back to Bobby's yard where the hunters had gathered those who would not be evacuated.
OOooOO
"Oh my god..." Dean stood between Anunnaki and Cernunnos, his eyes fixed on the charred remains on the grass beside the dormant vessel, "How can... how...oh man," he sank to his knees and reached forward, his fingertips halted less than an inch from the victim of Ereshkegal's wrath.
"Wait until the hunter is done," the Babylonian advised drawing Dean's attention to himself, "If her soul is still there, she will sense you and try to leave..." he pointed to the molten circle of gold around and attached to the blackened exposed bones of her neck and chest, "the torque also keeps her rooted... it will only cause her more pain if she tries to leave and it's still there... it may damage her soul even more."
"Wha...? More? What? What are you saying?" Dean gasped as the horror of what had happened came clearly to him. "You mean to tell me she was TRAPPED inside there while her body was..." he choked as his throat closed, unable to finish the sentence. In all his years of salting and burning corpses it had never occurred to him that a spirit could become trapped within the flesh. "Oh my god..." he pressed his hand to his mouth and squeezed the tears out of his eyes imagining the unimaginable, the anguish of a soul unable to escape as all around it, its prison was consumed.
"The torque also keeps her rooted," his eyes popped open and fixed on the man with the wild and wooly hair as he peeled the molten gold from the bones and began to reshape it into a new torque as if he were molding clay.
"That kept her spirit trapped?"
"It did," Cernunnos nodded moving around to the new vessel and crouching low to reach behind her neck.
Dean grasped the deity by the arm and hauled him away, "Never again Cernunnos," he shook his head, his jaw clenched furiously, "NEVER again... her servitude is FINISHED."
The woods god's expression was unreadable as he faced the far taller man, "Her servitude is to me..." he started.
"IT IS TO ME!" Dean commanded, "I am the first! I am the husband of the huntress," he grasped the ring of gold from the deity's hand and tossed it toward the crafting stump, "Never again will she answer to any other than me! AND if there is ANY branding or tagging to be done it shall be done by none other than myself! SHE IS MINE!" he reiterated before releasing Cernunnos' arm from his grip.
"Well it's about time."
"Indeed," Anunnaki grinned.
Dean looked back and forth between the two deities a look of mild surprise on his features, "So... you're okay with that?" he asked the god of fertility and rebirth.
Cernunnos reached up, clasping the young man at the neck and shoulder while smiling, "Everything to its own time my lord... now you have simply to direct her to her new vessel," he pointed down.
"Tommy really sculpted that for her huh?" he asked, ducking and looking at the form that called upon his earliest carnal lusts from the full thighs to the tempting breasts. His eyes slid to the base of faint protrusion of the belly and he suddenly wanted to place his lips there, My god... my goddess... she looks almost exactly... he closed his eyes and took a breath, indulging in the memory of the bronze goddess who gave his first existence their first son. He could almost feel her body hard and warm and still pliant against him, her heat against his manhood as he held her to him with one arm, and their son to her breast with the other hand, watching the little one's belly grow full and round on his mothers' milk. Come back to me... he returned to his knees between them, one hand on the husk, the other at the throat of the new vessel.
"Oh God..." he breathed as his body quaked with the force of life. Is it possible to have a whole body orgasm?... Cause I think I just did... warmth moved through him, life and strength and the love of a thousand lifetimes filled him until he understood everything it meant to be the woman of his heart and though his own heart ceased for the span of several beats; caught in the throes of its own ecstasy and overwhelmed by the force of life that used him as a conduit to its new vessel, he didn't mind.
The conclusion of her souls' passage through him left the man feeling raw and empty, raped of half of himself as he sat back on his heels breathing hard, C'mon breathe, wake up...live... live... who am I freakin' Frankenstein? C'mon baby... please... he watched the butterscotch color of the clay grow richer and seem to penetrate deeper. It radiated with the speed of a brushfire. This is incredible... his lips trembled as the butterscotch became a golden cream and the clay beneath his fingers turned to flesh, the texture of it something he could never in any lifetime NOT know.
"Ina my love," he whispered into her metamorphosing ear, a silver-ruby gleam in the grass caught his eye and led it along its length, my god that's beautiful... her lips pursed though air could not as yet, pass through them. A scant second later her lids came open and her eyes, now the same color green as his rapidly moved, taking in her surroundings.
'elp...' she mouthed.
"Shhh, easy... you're coming back now Ina..." he explained as a sidhe female came close to them and seemed to measure the woman's body with her gaze and her arms before disappearing again.
'elp...M..duk... son...' she mouthed, 'N..gal..' her eyes flicked toward the ground at her side where that stunning piece of reddish silver lay.
"Sam?" he asked.
"...esss...savvv..." her breath hissed.
"I love you." Dean breathed pressing his mouth to hers and wrapping his hand around the hilt of his new sword, "My god..." he sighed swinging it in a few experimental arcs. It was light as a feather, and as easy to wield as any dagger or short sword and it sang as it sliced the air, "this is magnificent." he met eyes with Cernunnos and Anunnaki then glanced at the sidhe who had recently awoken from his sleep, "open the veil." He instructed then looked back at the other two, "Bring her as soon as she is able... the sword must have all three blades."
OOooOO
That I should have to cling to shadows! he thought with quiet fury as he watched the ancient ones bow before mere mortals. They would flay themselves alive to serve one such as I! And I shall see to it that they do... a shadow rose to all fours against the backdrop of light and a low growl rumbled toward him, Ahhh perfect, the beast shall do my bidding as soon as my troops return. He smiled dark and sinister then fell back to the shadows to take advantage of the moment as the father and son were reunited.
"Ajax? What is it boy?" Bobby asked petting the dog's head.
The animal whimpered and looked at him, then ahead into the tunnel.
"He's here," Marduk whispered.
"Neither of us is ready yet," Enki returned pushing Sam behind him as ready or not the first moment had come.
Black deeper than any they'd seen before moved against the tunnels' shadows as the intruder from exile sailed into the cavern, for the moment gliding over the descendants it wanted even as the older one pressed his son to the wall behind him.
He ignored the other two humans that in turn launched themselves at Enki willing to form a living barrier if need be, and continued directly at the Gallas, both of whom unfurled from their hosts.
Ammit, being the shorter of the two and a quadruped in his true form rolled with claws bared and his whip-like tongue, normally used to ensnare the souls of the damned, wrapped around the marauders' ankle as he glided over head crashing in a stony cacophony into Imdugud.
Clawed hands grasped and slashed, blood and stony flesh flew, jaws gnashed as the duo tumbled down another passage dragging the Egyptian eater of the damned along for the ride.
"Shot gun! Holy Water! Anything!" Enki demanded sliding out from behind Bobby and Shep and racing toward the melee.
"Hold it!" ordered a familiar voice as Dean stepped through a break in the veil taking everyone by surprise, "Hey Marduk," he grinned at Sam and tossed the gleaming sword to him, "Watch this..." he smiled before racing toward his body disappearing as he collided with his corporeal self.
"Wow that is seriously..." he shook his head, grasped the sword from Sam and led the charge, "Nergal! C'mon you coward! I'm the one you came for!" he challenged while speeding ahead of the others in spite of his body's condition.
"Father!" Marduk called as he pulled ahead of Bobby and Shep, both of whom looked at each other, long past the point of trying to keep it all straight.
"Don't even bother trying to figure it out," Shep advised.
Ajax tore ahead of the men, passing Marduk and finally Enki before he reached and passed Ammit whose claws were working hard tearing at those huge obsidian multi-layered wings while beneath the beast, Imdugud's very own canine face slavered and slashed at the body.
The marauder had both of the demi-god's hands clasped tightly shut, leaving the Assyrian unable to unleash his plague of locusts. The effort however also deeply hampered his own ability to make much headway in his offensive.
Dean slid to a stop, the sword gleamed over head, "Ammit! Ajax! Down!" he cried as a sinuous silver line whipped forth wrapping around the bony base of Nergal's wings, binding them together.
Dean planted his feet leaning back against the pull as the marauder half turned, his grip on Imdugud lessened by one hand as he reached around, swinging the roll of bronze behind him straight through the line of silver from the sword. Sparks and fire flew, momentarily blinding everyone as the two metals collided in the darkness.
To his horror Dean watched while tumbling backwards, as the silver strand twanged and like a spring unwound from the base of the wings setting the creature free. The roll of bronze sliced cleanly against the new blade, the top portion flying off into the darkness. All this noted in the span of time it took for him to crash to the ground instinctively reaching out with his free arm and felt the bones shatter on impact. He didn't miss the glee on Nergal's right face as he cried out in agony.
The distraction was enough however and in seconds the cavern swarmed with locusts circling the marauders' head, gouging and clinging to its eyes and seeking out whatever vulnerable places he might have on his body.
That thick and vomitous sounding fatty gurgle bounced around the enclosed space as his hands released the Assyrian and swatted at the overwhelming creatures plaguing it. He rose up, shook his wings free of the voracious insects and disappeared from the darkness into the earth.
"Father?... Dean?" Sam knelt at his brother's side. Dean set the sword down between Sam's feet to ensure he could grasp it quickly should the marauder return in an attempt to surprise them. He gasped, barely able to breathe against the stabbing agonies that felt as if they were on fire.
"What is it? What happened?" Bobby and Shep asked closing in on the painfully mortal deities as did Imdugud, Ammit and Ajax.
"It's his arm..."
"It shattered," he breathed clasping Sam's right arm with his and allowing himself to be hauled up.
A shimmer of silver sliced the darkness, drawing all eyes toward the movement, every heart stopping for a brief second wondering if the marauder had returned.
Bobby and Shep backed clumsily into each other, their mouths hanging open, their eyes impossibly wide in disbelief.
"Hooooleeeeshit..." Sam breathed holding his brother tightly for a split second until Dean pulled from his side and holding his shattered arm to his body shambled in obvious pain, forward.
"I've missed you..." he sniffed stopping inches from his woman.
To the side, again Ammit and Imdugud bowed in deference as Ajax yipped and jumped up, bouncing off her with his tongue lolling happily out his mouth.
She looked around the darkness, the memory of each of them surprisingly fresh despite the distance created by events then turned her gaze back to Dean's glistening eyes. Her mouth pursed and her hand balled into a fist.
When his senses returned he was being held up by Sam and the woman's mouth was millimeter's away from his, her eyes pouring into his, "That was for abandoning me."
She grasped his chin gently then took his lips captive, tenderly drinking him in as nourishment for her very soul, "That was for bringing me back," she smiled.
Still leaning deeply against his little brother he sighed and touched the corner of his mouth where her fist had struck, "I think you missed a spot," he smiled as she leaned forward indulgently, "I love you," he sighed.
OOooOO
tbc.
please review?
Thanks.
sifi
A/N I know... not my usual chapter ending...