Chapter 17
Sam got all of the hunters together in the camp as Eros had requested, and the young angel stood before them, back lit against the firelight. Dean and Castiel had not returned from their walk which Sam suspected was a good thing. Hopefully they were talking it out and wouldn't be foaming at the mouth when they got back. Sam had about as much as he could take of that crap.
Eros quietly moved up and down the length of hunters sitting in front of him on the ground. He seemed to be taking weight and stock of them, and Sam could only imagine what his intentions were. Sam studied the angel, a young boy with eyes centuries old, and it reminded him of Lilith. Lilith, the demon that drove him to the brink in his desperation to stop her from taking his brother from him. The last thing he wanted to do was trudge all that up again when he never really forgave himself for the mistakes he made through all of it.
"You!" Eros suddenly declared and pointed into the crowd. "Come out here where I can see you." Sam looked down the long row and saw Donna cautiously stepping into the clearing. Eros had his hands upon her before anyone could even think to intervene. He examined her arms; pinching at the muscles of her slender build, studied the contours of her hands and, placing fingers on her forehead, looked deep into her eyes. This looked a lot like angel mind tricks to Sam.
"Hey!" He shouted down at them, trying to stop the invasion.
"Quiet," Eros said flatly and Sam felt compelled to comply. He forgot what it was like being around an angel. Not that Castiel wasn't an angel, but Cas never manipulated them like other angels did. Sam trusted him as a friend. "Sit," Eros said to Donna as he released her from his touch, and Donna silently walked to where he pointed without question. She sat on a patch of the earth closer to the fire and away from the others. Eros, not giving her a second glance, turned and continued his searching.
After a few minutes, Eros pointed into the crowd again and Shane moved into the clearing. Sam had about enough of this. He got to his feet and approached Eros from behind.
"Hey!" Sam tried again, "what are you doing? Why are you selecting hunters?" Eros glanced over his shoulder but didn't bother to meet Sam's eye.
"I said quiet!" His voice was pointedly sharper, and Sam froze in his stride. His mouth was unwilling to open, and his legs, halfway through a step, refused to move. Sam watched helpless as Eros did the same examination with Shane and again with Kim. Three hunters sat away from the others, and unable to move, Sam's left calf was forming a cramp.
Back and forth Eros paced in front of the crowd but seemed to not be finding what he was looking for. Back and forth, back and forth.
"One more...just one more," Sam could hear him say.
"Eros!" Bellowed Castiel's voice and Sam's eyes sought out the angel standing beside his brother. "What is the meaning of this?"
"I'm doing what you told me to, brother. I'm doing this your way like you insisted." Eros's irritation bled into his words but Sam felt it was trivial. No matter what he said, the glint in the angel's eyes made it clear how much he was loving all of this.
"That is not what I meant," Castiel said sharply and walked over to where Sam still stood. "What is the meaning of this Eros? Release him!" Sam felt the will to be able to shift positions again, and stretched out his stiff legs. He glanced at Cas, a silent thanks, and then moved a hand to work at his jaw just as he turned to face Eros. Their eyes met, and Eros gasped.
"Yes!" He hissed, and glided towards Sam. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" He reached out for Sam, forcing him with his angel magic to not recoil, and when hands met with skin, Sam's life flashed before him like an old time film reel. All the struggles, the fights, his betrayal, his brother's betrayal. The blood, the pain, and the lives. The countless lives he took and the many more he saved, flashed in a never ending torrent in front of his eyes until Sam was screaming wordlessly from the assault. A vague part of him registered Castiel connecting his fist against Eros's jaw, and the film reel cut short when the boy stumbled then fell.
"Not him!" Castiel shouted furiously down at his brother. "Find someone else!" Warm hands covered Sam, and Dean was suddenly at his side helping him up. Sam hadn't even realized he had fallen.
"Sammy are you ok? Are you ok?" His voice was breathless and urgent. Sam just nodded. He didn't trust his voice to work properly at the moment. While only seconds transpired, what the angel did had rubbed Sam raw emotionally. His body shook from the effort of standing.
"Castiel please! I was only trying-" Eros defensively raised his hands against Castiel standing over him and the area seemed to hum with Castiel's fury.
"You will not influence him like that again," the older angel screamed at his brother. "You will Touch no one in this camp ever again. Am I clear?"
"Perfectly!" Eros squeaked and Sam couldn't blame him. Castiel was quite terrifying when he was angry.
"Isn't he amazing?" Dean whispered next to Sam, and apparently Sam felt well enough to roll his eyes. It sounded like those two were doing better. He was sincerely glad.
"Find a different hunter," Cas commanded, "you cannot have Sam."
"Castiel... you don't understand. You don't know what he is."
"Find another!" He shouted again.
"He's a Marksman, Castiel! We need him. You need him!" Eros's words seemed to echo among them and Castiel stepped back from the boy, shaking his head.
"No...no, not Sam..." feeling the advantage tipping in his favor, Eros sprung to his feet and jabbed a finger toward where Sam stood.
"That hunter is going to win this war Castiel, and if you insist in taking part in it, you will allow me to train him!" Castiel stood unmoving for a long time with his head down and his shoulders slumped. The silence stretched on as he turned to face the Winchester's and a chill went through Sam at the pure sorrow that painted the angels face. His eyes met with Deans and the two men seemed lost to the rest of the world.
"Cas?" Dean said weakly and Castiel closed his eyes.
"Eros…you will ask Sam. Do not Touch him, but you must ask him. Tell him the truth of it. And if he agrees…only if he agrees…he's yours." With that, Cas turned and strode into the night.
The hunters dispersed. The night was creeping far into early morning and most of the hunters desperately wanted their beds. Most of the excitement was over after all, all that remained was Eros and his four. Dean hovered in the distance drinking from a six-pack but Sam wasn't sure if it was because of wanting to know what Eros was about, or if he was waiting for Cas to return.
"Listen to me carefully, for I have been forbidden to invoke you, and I really wish to only say this once." Eros said flatly as he stared at Sam. They sat upon the earth in a circle near the dying fire and Eros stood over them, domineering. He peered down his nose at the lot of them, studying each one in turn, and enjoying the theatrics of it. Then suddenly a long wrap of leather cloth was resting in his hands. He smiled at the reactions from his audience at his parlor trick.
"This is older than any bloodline you have spawned from" Eros said slyly, "…at least with the exception of one," he added with a whisper. He pulled an object from the cloth, "and until this is done, you will never let it leave your side." Holding his object up for the fading fire light to catch it, Eros revealed to them a slim band of iron, worked intricately into a perfect arc.
"What is that?" Donna asked breathlessly.
"It looks like…a bow," ventured Kim, "like archers use."
"Yeah right, kid," scoffed Shane while he scratched at his beard, "if it's a bow then where are the arrows? Where is the string to knock the arrows in?"
"Ah but that is the true question, is it not?" Eros said with a smile. "And yes, little one, this is a bow. A very special bow called a Recurve. And you lucky humans, are the only ones here able to use them. You are the Chosen." Three more parcels appeared at Eros's feet and he placed one in front of each of the hunters. While the other hunters lifted and examined their bows, Sam kept his eyes on the angel.
"Wow, it's heavy," Kim said as she hefted the bow in front of her. Donna traced delicate fingers over the length of her bow and smiled fondly down at it. Shane merely took it into his hand and returned his attention to Eros without another thought. Sam glanced down at the parcel laid out on the ground before him.
"Little humans," Eros went on as he squatted on haunches to meet their eyes, "I have measured each of you and know you have the ability to channel my arrows. The bow is just a fulcrum, you see. You are the strongest among you to tap into the fulcrum void and make it sing." Eros rose once more, and strode over to where Sam sat. He unwrapped and picked up the bow he placed there for Sam, and examined it himself. This bow seemed a little different from the others. A little more intricate. "Of course I also added a little seasoning to keep things interesting. A little something special for you especially." Eros said in a low haunted voice. Anticipation and hunger glittered in his eyes.
"I don't know about the rest of you," Shane said, "but I don't know a thing about using a bow so I hope whatever you put in it is strong enough to make up for that." Eros turned and smiled at the other hunter.
"I am talking about Angel fire," Eros said and the hunger in his eyes intensified, "I have been working to strengthen it; perfecting it. Anointing the bows in the holy oil of Angel fire blesses them with the ability to wrought. And wrought they will. You don't need to know how to use a bow, just your mind." Eros turned to look at Sam. "If Father's will be good, the carnage will be immeasurable." Sam felt increasingly uneasy. He looked beyond the fire to where Dean stood by his car. Did he hear any of what was being said?
"The…the explosion at Roadhouse…" Donna said softly. Perhaps she too was feeling Sam's growing dread.
"That was a bit of an experiment," Eros said to her with a smile, "sometimes my magic is a bit too potent it seems. An anointed pebble; dropped from the sky." Sam gasped. A pebble left a crater that big in the earth? This was unsafe. Beyond unsafe. He looked down to see his hands shaking. "But things are different now," Eros continued waving his hands, trying to reassure them. "I have fine-tuned the oil so that the explosion is much smaller and has much more impact. Your arrows, with some practice, will destroy anything in its path. But only that one thing."
Eros kneeled in front of Kim then and brushed a slender finger down the length of her cheek. "It will be as though they never existed." She smiled up at him lovingly, and Sam's stomach clenched.
"If this is all true," Sam said at last and the angel turned to him with a smile, "Then why did Castiel not want you to choose me? What are you not telling us?" Eros's smile did not waiver on his face but his eyes grew a bit harder and his gaze looked more like a glare.
"A long time ago, I invented a thing called love. But when I decided to unleash it into the world, I didn't use humans as my soldiers. Beg your pardon but…I didn't think you humans had the intelligence to channel such a potent fulcrum. I still don't, but desperate times as they say... Castiel wants you to decide on your own without my influence Samuel, so I will tell you the truth of it. Last time these Recurves were used, it was angels using them. My little brothers and sisters were unleashed on the world and caused all sorts of mayhem. It was beautiful, and highly entertaining!" Eros said with a chuckle. He returned to Sam and instead of standing over him, he turned and sat down next to him.
"I had a little sister named Abigail," he continued softly. His face seemed almost somber at the recollection. "She was a Marksman like you. Such an amazing little girl and still just a toddler! She was…admirable." Eros cleared his throat that had grown husky in the recollection. Sam was surprised to see that this angel seemed to have a little heart after all. Lilith's smile flashed through his mind again.
"She went insane, Samuel," Eros said. "The act of dispelling an arrow that is channeled through you, you see. Through her grace, through your soul… and…well… there is only so much the mind can take. It took twenty years until Abigail was reduced to the mind of a baby. She never recovered. I can only guess how long it will take you." Sam studied the angel for a moment and then his eyes sought out Dean in the distance. Dean could not hear them, Sam was certain of that, which was just as well. Dean who would do anything to keep his brother and friends alive.
"Why am I different? You keep calling me this…Marksman. I have to tell you, I am a horrible marksman. Dean can tell you! I mean I'm great with a shot gun but you hardly have to aim to use one of those…"
"Enough with the chatter," Eros snapped as he clutched at his head. "Listen to me, Samuel. You are a Marksman. This makes you capable of so much more than the others. You are able to tap into more than the others ever could dream. You will learn much more quickly as well. You will see what all of this means when you accept my offer. You will accept my offer, won't you Samuel?" Sam stared at Eros for a moment and then his eyes wandered over to where the rest of the hunters sat. They all were looking at him with an eager anticipation.
"What about them…" he said motioning towards the other three, "Don't they have a choice to make too?" Eros let out a heavy sigh.
"Do I have to spell everything out for you? Their choice has already been made for them. I saw to that with my Grace. You are the only one that matters now. You are the only one with a choice to make. But chose wisely, Samuel, because without you, the casualties will be...significant." Sam swallowed hard against the lump in his throat. His eyes remained on Dean, standing off in the distance waiting for an angel of his own to return. The thought that all of them could be dead without him made Sam appreciate just a little bit the burden his brother puts on himself every day of his life.
"Alright," said Sam, reaching for the bow. Kim was right, the thing was heavy. "I'll do it."