Chapter 5
He watched the scene in the small apartment play out before him while idly scratching at his beard. The fear that ricocheted between the angel, the hunter and the guardian was tangible, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth as he took it all in. His own heart sank to the pit of his stomach as he realized the one thing he was hoping wouldn't happen was indeed happening.
He'd been carefully observing them ever since the angel decided to help the transition to full guardianship. His fear that the connection Castiel and Sam Winchester had shared would be transferred to Lexi was now confirmed. Lucifer had indeed caught wind of the circumstance and had jumped at the opportunity to weasel his way back into the life of Sam. This time through his guardian, a good woman who didn't deserve any of what was sure to now happen to her. Had it been any other angel, any other but Cas who had taken the burden of Lucifer from Sam, this never would have been possible. But Lucifer was smart and more than anything, he knew how to manipulate people, angels, and their connections.
The only question now was whether to intervene or let things play out. He sat back, pondering the possible outcomes of both courses of action, and decided that for now, he need do nothing more than continue to watch vigilantly.
"Dean, I said I don't know...that means I. Don't. Know." Sam huffed out a breath, irritated, as he paced the floor of the kitchen while Dean sat at the table glaring at him. "All I know is that Lexi saw Lucifer, and when I got to the room he was gone. None of us know if he was really there or if he was just in her head."
"And where the hell is Cas?" Dean spat, not at all happy with the new turn of events. Lexi dreaming about hell was one thing, it was even to be expected. But having hallucinations brought back too many memories of Sam struggling to keep a grip on what was real. It left him holding back shudders of fear.
"He went to Stull. To check the cage." Sam stopped mid-pace and brushed his fingers through his hair, stopping his hand at the crown of his skull as he twisted and stretched his neck against the tightness that wouldn't let go. "This is so not good."
"Sam, try to relax, man," Dean said, letting go of the tense anger that had him riled up since his brother, Cas and Lexi had popped back in from Maryland, Lexi immediately walking away from them with her bags and Cas disappearing again without a word, leaving Sam to relay the events of their seemingly simple clothing mission. "Cas will be able to tell if he's out of the cage, and if he's just in her head, well...it's not like we haven't dealt with it before."
"That's just it, Dean," Sam said quietly as he flopped down into the chair across from his brother. "I've dealt with this before. And no one should have to go through that. Especially not someone who had no choice in the matter. At least when it was me, it was my own damn fault for letting Lucifer out in the first place."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Dean said, sitting up straighter and reaching across the table to place a comforting hand on Sam's forearm. "None of this is your fault. Don't go starting the guilt game again."
"Why not? It's the truth." Sam looked up at his brother, his eyes growing wet, resisting the urge to pull his arm away from the comforting touch he didn't deserve. "It is all my fault, all of this is because of my stupid choices and if anything happens to Lexi because of it that's on me, too."
"It's no one's fault, Sam," Lexi said quietly from the door of the kitchen. Both Sam and Dean whipped their heads around to watch as she quietly made her way into the room, stopping beside Sam and resting a hand lightly on his shoulder. "The things you did, they weren't your choices to make. You never could have done anything to stop them from happening."
"What do you mean?" Dean looked up at her, slightly confused. "Destiny?"
"Yes. Destiny." Lexi slid her hand across Sam's shoulder to gently squeeze the back of his neck as she felt the soft shudder as his breath hitched at her words. "I don't know how I know, but all of it, your visions, the demon blood, opening Lucifer's cage and throwing him back in...there was nothing anyone or anything could have done about all of that happening. One way or another it all would have played out."
Sam dropped his head to his arms crossed in front of him on the table as a sob escaped his throat. There was no holding back the tears as the knot of guilt that had lived at his core for so many years suddenly unravelled and poured from his eyes in a steady stream of salty drops. In an instant Sam was embraced by both his brother and Lexi, both holding him tight, keeping him safe as he let the vulnerability of release pass through him.
Lexi woke with a start, flying up to a sitting position, her eyes wide seeing the now familiar red light enveloping the room. She glanced around to notice there were no chains this time, but the air in the room felt oppressive. Not hot, but thick like a summer day riddled with humidity. With a groan she flopped back on the bed and swooped the comforter up over her head to block out the eerie scene.
"Lexi, you know it's not that easy to hide from me," came the saccharine, sarcastic voice of Lucifer from inches away from her ear.
It had been a week since the first nightmare. She still called them nightmares, even though she wasn't quite sure if she was awake or asleep. But nearly every night she woke to the red light accompanied by chains or other equally gruesome-looking scenes, or to Lucifer himself talking to her in that snarky tone. She had only seen Lucifer one other time after her apartment in Maryland, when she and Sam had ventured out to the grocery store and she turned a corner to find him laying across a bin of potatoes in the produce section. After much discussion between Cas, Sam and Dean, they decided it was the protections built into the bunker that kept him from manifesting inside it. But seeing him or not, he was wreaking havoc with Lexi nonetheless. She barely slept and had the black swatches under her eyes to prove it.
"Go back to hell, you smarmy dick." Lexi spoke from under the blanket, her voice dripping with irritation. Lack of sleep shortened her fuse.
"Aww, is that any way to talk to your new best friend?" Lucifer cooed at her. "I'm offended."
Outside of the blanket Lexi heard banging and clunking, heavy objects sliding across the floor. She slowly sat up and tugged the blanket down from her head to see that the room had been transformed into what looked like a dungeon. The plaster walls were now stone, wet and dripping with condensation. Chains hung from the ceiling and walls, some with sharp hooks, some with manacles. Braziers stood in each of the corners with knives and iron rods heating in them. And a putrid scent of rotted meat, maybe flesh, permeated the entire scene.
"What the fu…" Lexi whispered.
"You see, Lexi, you and I both know I am really in hell. But it will never really, truly keep me contained." Lucifer spat the words into Lexi's ear. "I'm far too strong for that."
A cold panic was rising from her stomach as Lexi noticed her heart begin to quicken, a chill run through her body and a deep trembling erupting through her limbs. Her eyes welled up as her breath caught in her throat. She tore the covers off herself and bolted for the door, only to find it once again locked and immoveable.
"You can't get away from me Lexi," Lucifer taunted, his voice still across the room. "You can't hide, you can't send me away. And sooner or later, your buddy Sam is going to figure out how to let me back into his head. Poor sap is out there right now researching it, just so he can save you. And you know that's what I really want."
Lexi's panic reached its crescendo and she started pounding desperately on the door to either get it to move or alert Sam or Dean to her distress. She tried to scream out for them but her voice just stuck in the back of her throat.
"Go ahead, get Sam in here. Tell him I want him back. You know he'll do it for you. Then this will all go away. Go on. Give me what I want, Lexi." He laughed as Lexi continued to pound on the door, his voice rising until it became a cackle, then fading into the distance as the light faded around her, the room shimmered back to it's normal visage and the door let loose.
Lexi ripped the door open and stumbled out into the hall, pushing her panicked limbs forward until she ran full-on into Sam, his arms catching her around the shoulders and steadying her from losing her balance from the impact.
"Hey, hey...Lexi you're okay," Sam soothed when he saw the tears flowing from her eyes and felt the full-bodied trembling under his hands. "You're safe, Lexi, you're safe."