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The Supernatural characters belong to Kripke Enterprises and the CW, not me. No money is being made from this story. It is for entertainment only.
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A Wandering Boy
Chapter 28
The Devil's Dream
From Chapter 27
Dean started his dance again. "Cool. I'm going to get a tattoo? That's almost as good as getting to be the Boy King. Kerman and Jerry will be so jealous."
Sm grabbed his little brother and held Dean against his legs. "Calm down, kid. We're developing a plan here."
Sam caught his lover's eyes. "Ok, Cas. After we get all prettied up to your specifications and after Bobby figures out a place to do the summoning then tell me; just who are we going to summon and why would a Demon want to give an Angel any information at all?"
Cas smiled back. "We are going to summon the one Demon who has the information I want and who, above all the Demons in Hell fears the arrival of The Boy King the most. We are going to summon The King of Hell. The King would lose his throne if the Boy King showed up with all the Knights of Hell to support his claim The King is a demon called Crowley."
Chapter 28
Castiel lined up the inhabitants and started his own special tattoo production line. His preferred location for the anti-possession symbols was directly over the heart. He placed his hand on each person's chest one after the other. Each one first felt an intense sensation of heat, almost a burning, and then a hundred needles punctured their skin simultaneously.
Cas murmured to each recipient. "The heat will not burn, the punctures will not scar. Yes, it is painful but you can take it. You will be fine."
San and Bobby received their Angelic imprints without a murmur but Dean, being a child, yelped and danced. Sam reached down and held the boy still. "Come on, Dean. It's not that bad. Think of the fun you'll have showing off your brand new tattoo."
When the Angel finished his work he went to Sam and stood with his hand resting on the small of Sam's back. While Bobby and Dean compared marks and were distracted, Cas leaned in and whispered in Sam's ear. "I have a special one for you only."
Sam felt the same burning and punctures on the small of his back. He smiled to himself wondering if the Angel had any idea that a tattoo in that particular location was known as a 'tramp stamp'. Sam decided he'd let Castiel know what he had done privately. The Hunter couldn't expect his Angel to know all the nuances of human signs and symbols.
Bobby was peering into the neckline of his shirt and patting the new mark. "I got to admit that mark is a lot more convenient and safer than wearing a charm. Thanks Cas." He then lifted off his silver charm pentagram that he had always worn on a leather string.
"Now that you are all protected," Cas spoke up "We should determine a location for our summoning. Do you have any suggestions Bobby?"
"I don't understand why we can't use the panic room down stairs but if you say it won't work I have to think you know what you're talking about."
Cas replied to the older Hunter "I spent a full day down there, Bobby and it is excellently insulated against the Supernatural. If I only wanted to hold a Demon there would be no better venue. Summoning a Demon though is difficult enough even for me. It is possible that you have worked such strong magic as to make the summoning ineffective. I believe we should go somewhere else."
"I almost hate to suggest it," Bobby responded slowly. "Does the Oak Tree at the bottom of the driveway have some kind of innate power? Why did you appear there?"
"You may have a piece of an interesting idea there, Mr. Singer. There are many living entities in the world that have a natural power and older trees, such as the Rowan, the Oak, the Redwood and the Baobab do contain their own sacred energies. That might be a very good idea."
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"Why are we out here at the crack of Dawn?" Bobby asked the next morning as the family stood under the drip line of the old Oak Tree beside the road. They huddled together against the morning chill as the Angel drew a Devil's trap with, of all things, Holy Oil in the cleared soft dirt under the tree.
Castiel smiled at the shivering humans. "We are here because my power is strongest at Dawn just as Demonic power is the weakest when the sun rises. When you are trying to summon the King of Hell it is best to try and grasp any advantage, no matter how small."
Castiel set a prepared brass bowl in the center of the trap and a blessed candle on each point for protection. He stepped back out of the circle and ignited the mixture in the bowl with a small burst of Grace. Smoke rose up and was lost in the thin morning haze. Castiel was chanting very quietly while Bobby Singer stood close by providing a counterpoint.
With a burst of flame and a sizzle a man appeared. Perhaps it was only the appearance of a man but for the sake of the humans Castiel left the Demon's illusion intact.
A rather dapper character stood in the center of the circle just behind the summoning bowl. He had large luminous eyes, a scruffy beard and was dressed in an elegant black classic suit. In one raised hand he held a cut crystal glass half filled with a golden liquid.
"Bugger" was the first thing out of his mouth with a tinge of an accent. "Who the hell are you lot? Do you have any idea what you have done? Who you have summoned, by accident, I assume?"
Cas chose to answer. "I know exactly who you are, Crowley. You are the current King of Hell but once you were simply the King of the Crossroads. A bit of a power vacuum enabled you to claim your current position in Hell. The loss of Heaven's Righteous Man means that Lucifer is still locked in his cage. The Knights of Hell are still not found and there was only you. It was not a case of cream rising to the top but more like scum floating on the pond and there you are."
"Just who the Hell do you think you are?" Crowley sputtered. "You seem to be getting Hell's Weekly Newsletter so you make me curious." Crowley calmly sipped at his glass. "What's your name and title and who are your rather ragged friends?"
Bobby Singer now stepped into the fray. "Watch your mouth Demon, King of Hell or not. You are well and truly trapped in that circle on the Earth."
Crowley responded:
I must confess, my stepping o'er
Thy threshold a slight hindrance doth impede;
The wizard-foot doth me retain.
Bobby snorted and then responded with;
The pentagram thy peace doth mar?
To me, thou son of hell, explain,
How camest thou in, if this thine exit bar?
Could such a spirit aught ensnare?
Now it was Crowley's turn to laugh. "Who would have thought that the one in a greasy thermal vest and a trucker's hat would turn out to be the educated one?" The Demon continued to quote 'Faust':
Observe it well; it is not drawn with care,
One of the angles, that which points without,
Is, as thou seest, not quite closed.
Cas interrupted the poetry exchange. "Enough, Demon. There is nothing wrong with this Devil's trap. You are well and truly trapped. I'll answer one question for you; I am Castiel, An Angel of the Lord."
Crowley's eyebrows rose. "Well, that's a kick in the pants. If you are truly an Angel then why, pray tell, am I still alive? I understood that you Angels smite first and ask questions later."
"You are lucky, Demon," Cas ground out. "I have need of you and, I believe, you will agree that you have need of me also."
"How so? What possible advantage would your acquaintance be to me? I should simply be trying to get out of your way." Crowley sipped at his glass again, in a show of bravado.
"If I were to be able to warn you about the arrival of the Boy King would you find that of interest? Further, if I told you I could prevent the Boy King from attempting to seize your kingdom, would that be of value to you?" Castiel drew his Angel blade and casually inspected it. Glancing back at the Demon the Angel saw that Crowley's eyes were entranced by the silver sword. The Demon was well aware that the sword meant shining, sure death to his kind.
"Well, you certainly have me there." Crowley responded. "Just exactly what would this information cost me? I assume you have a deal in mind. After all, that's what I do you know; make deals."
"Oh yes," Castiel responded. "I am definitely aware of your deals with their twisted clauses and 'I've got you' tactics. But there will be no souls here for you. This is a straight information exchange. I will control the Boy King and keep him away from your realm. In exchange you will give me the Runes of Asmodal. I have need of them and, as you are aware, they have never been exposed to any Earthly or Heavenly being."
"They certainly haven't been passed out to either humans or Angels. Those Runes are among Hell's most closely guarded secrets." Crowley assumed an outraged expression. "I can't disclose them. I would be violating one of my most unholy duties."
"Come now, Crowley," Castiel let the point of his blade drop. "Not even to protect your throne from the Boy King? You know he has the power to summon the old Knights of Hell to his side. You could not stand against him and what he would do to you most likely for the rest of eternity could cause even me to pity you."
"How do I know I can trust you?" Crowley asked.
At that point Castiel knew he had won. When Crowley started to negotiate terms negotiations were at an end. Now there were only minor details to complete.
Crowley made an attempt to get Castiel to sign a standard Hell contract. Castiel responded with a simple one page document drafted by Bobby Singer on the spot. Castiel had simply materialized the needed supplies and Bobby sat down in the dirt and went to work. It was so simple and so clear there was no wiggled room for the King of Hell to poke holes through.
At another point Crowley attempted to intimidate Bobby Singer. "I'll remember your face, old man."
Bobby answered by tossing Holy Water on the King of Hell. Crowley was completely outraged at being treated like a common demon. He promised torments and a dry cleaning bill.
Crowley also speculated on who Sam and Dean might be but neither Castiel nor Bobby flinched at anything the King asked. At the end of the meeting Crowley speculated out loud that Dean might be the Boy King. He completely ignored Sam.
His only reply was a loud giggle out of a delighted Dean.
Finally Castiel had a piece of parchment materialized by the King with markings burned on to the substance. The King of Hell took the Angel's word and Castiel's signature in the Angel's blood on his copy of their agreement. Castiel fully realized that he might have handed Crowley a gift there but it only seemed fair and the Angel made very sure that the blood was the blood of his vessel only. There was a complete lack of Grace in the substance. Crowley still seemed delighted to get it and Castiel resolved to think very carefully about that. If he had made an error in judgment he felt that he would know soon enough.
Finally Castiel cut through the Holy Oil drawn Devil's Trap with the tip of his blade and the King of Hell disappeared clutching his document without even a flutter of a breeze. He was there one moment and gone the next.
Castiel lit the oil and it burned with a lovely flame, almost touching the lower branches of the old Oak until Castiel quenched the fire with a lowered palm.
From that day onward the Oak Tree at the bottom of Bobby's drive way was a silent sentinel, blessed by Angel fire and made aware by a Devils' curse. In time resting under the Oak triggered a type of Oracle and people often came to sit under the tree and work out their problems. Long after all the current actors were gone Bobby's Tree remained.