When everything else was going to Hell, Dean worked on his car. Sam found him in the garage, Baby's carburetor in pieces on the floor. He raised an eyebrow at his brother and Dean flashed him a quick grin.
"I'm giving her a tune-up," he said.
"How quickly can you put it back together?" Sam asked and Dean frowned.
"An hour?"
Sam told him about the email he'd received and Dean stopped tinkering and looked Sam directly in the eyes.
"You think this is the cauldron we're looking for?"
"It's gotta be, right? I mean, Gabriel's fingerprints are all over this."
Dean nodded thoughtfully. "Are you going to be OK?" he asked perceptively and Sam cursed him under his breath. Normally Dean was about as sensitive as a brick. Why did he have to have a sudden attack of intuition now?
"Yeah," Sam told him. "It's fine."
"OK. Let me finish up here and we'll hit the road." Dean turned his attention back to his carburetor.
"Since we're in a caring, sharing mood, how are you holding up?" Sam asked him. Dean grunted.
"I'm…" he broke off and looked up. "I'm going nuts, OK? Amara's got Cas and God knows what she's doing to him. Or maybe Lucifer will start playing for her team? What the Hell do we do then?"
"You're borrowing trouble," Sam observed. "If that happens, we'll figure it out then. For now, the best thing we can do is find a weapon that will work against her."
"Yeah, yeah. You're right," Dean admitted. "But I hate feeling like nothing we do matters. I mean, we spent a lot of time chasing down the Hands of God. And to what end? Lucifer hit Amara with all the juice in the Horn of Joshua and it barely blew back her hair!"
"I know," Sam agreed. "And there's no guarantee that the Treasures of the Tuatha De will be any more effective. So if you have a better plan, I'm all ears." Dean's shoulders slumped.
"No," he sighed. "That's kind of the problem. We're spinning our wheels and we're gonna keep doing it because the alternative is to give up. And dammit, I am not giving up." Sam smiled at him.
"Exactly!" he exclaimed. "We're not giving up. So we chase after this thing and we keep fighting." A slow smile spread across Dean's face.
"Damn right."
Odessa was very hot and very dry. And after three hours waiting in the museum parking lot for Ms Black to show up at their arranged meeting, Dean was becoming increasingly cranky.
"She's not gonna show," he blurted out. "She's probably ripping the head of some poor slob as we speak."
"OK, so let's go check out her apartment," Sam suggested. Dean looked around.
"And what if she shows up while we're gone?" Sam stared at him in surprise.
"OK, well why don't I stay here and you go? If she shows up here, I'll call."
Dean scratched at his stubble for a moment and then nodded. "OK. That's a good idea." He nodded towards the convenience store across the street. "You need a cold drink or anything before I go?" Sam shook his head.
"I'm fine. Call me when you get there." He watched his brother amble off and his mouth twisted. Dean was hot and uncomfortable but even taking that into account, he seemed off. Maybe he was seeing things that weren't there, but his brother's confession about how Amara affected him was never far from his mind these days.
Nobody answered when Dean knocked at the door and after a few minutes of listening for any sounds inside and trying the door, he decided he was going to have to break in. Unlocking Ms Black's apartment was child's play. Inside, the apartment was light and spacious but it was filled with heavy, antique furniture that didn't seem to match other more modern pieces. The EMP meter in his hand was silent.
"Hello?" he called out. "Ms. Black?" There was nothing. He made his way into the bedroom, which was neat and tidy and quiet. He kept searching, but the apartment was empty. He was about to leave when a note pinned to the fridge caught his attention. It was a folded piece of paper and on the front it said "A".
He lifted the magnet that held it to the fridge door and unfolded the note.
A,
If you're reading this, you've won. I tried, I tried so hard to resist doing what you wanted. I hate you for what you've done to me. The Winchesters are coming, just as you wanted. I hope one of them kills me, before I kill someone innocent. Then I hope they kill you.
MB
Dean tucked the note into his pocket. It wasn't very helpful. Who was A? Amara? Astrid? Someone else? He pulled his phone out of his pocket and called Sam. It went straight to voicemail, meaning Sam was either talking on the phone or had switched his cell off. He frowned and left a terse message.
He took one last look around the apartment and then left. He didn't notice the shadows that shifted around him as he went.
Sam was bored and hot and uncomfortable. The sun was getting higher and the Impala was rapidly turning into an oven. Martina Black wasn't coming. He should have gone with Dean to her apartment. A thump on the passenger side door startled him and he jumped. Gabriel leaned in the open window, a broad grin on his face.
"Hey, Sammy," Gabriel drawled. "Hot day to be hanging around here."
"I was supposed to be meeting Martina Black. You know, the journalist who used the Cauldron."
"Ah, yes. So she did contact you? Good. I wasn't sure that she would. She was pretty far gone already when I met her."
"Were you really a janitor at her school?" Sam asked curiously.
"What? No!" Gabriel scoffed. "I just put that memory in her mind, to make her less suspicious of me." Sam sighed.
"You have to stop doing stuff like that, Gabriel," he told the archangel. Gabriel's lip poked out mulishly and Sam had to turn his head away.
"Why?" Gabriel sulked.
"Because it's wrong, that's why," Sam ground out. "You can't just go around manipulating people like that."
"Why not?" Gabriel shot back. "I was trying to help."
"Because you just can't," Sam said, exasperated. "It's like… free will. You know, people have to make their own choices." Gabriel subsided and opened the car door. Sam raised an eyebrow at him.
"Wanna go make some bad decisions right now?" the archangel asked with a waggle of his eyebrows. Sam turned resolutely away.
"No, Gabriel," he said firmly. "Please, don't do this."
"You're no fun," Gabriel grumbled and threw himself into the passenger seat. "Come on."
"Where are we going?" Sam asked, relenting a little.
"To find the unfortunate Ms Black," Gabriel told him. "Before she makes an irredeemable mistake."
"What about Dean?" Sam objected. "He's at her apartment."
"Let's leave Dean-o out of this," Gabriel said seriously. Sam blinked at the sudden change in the archangel's mood.
"OK," Sam said carefully. "Any reason why?" Gabriel eyed him warily.
"Dean's a little too trigger-happy for my tastes in situations like these," he said finally. "Sorry, Sam, I'd really like to save Martina if I can."
"Fair enough," Sam said. Gabriel was right, although Dean had mellowed over the years, he was still very much a shoot first ask questions later kind of guy. "So where are we going?" Gabriel gave him a look that was a strange mix of grateful and sultry that made Sam shiver.
"Turn right out of the lot, and follow this road," he instructed. "We're looking for a library."
In the museum parking lot, there was no sign of the Impala. Dammit, Sammy. Where the Hell did you go? Dean looked vainly around but the lot was not large and there were only a few cars there. He spotted a man smoking a cigarette and leaning against a late model Ford pickup and strolled over to him.
"Hey," he said easily. "I was supposed to meet my brother here, tall kid, long hair, driving a black 1967 Chevy Impala."
The man, a short, heavy-set man with sun-weathered skin and a permanent squint, took his cigarette out of his mouth and spat on the ground.
"Yeah, I seen him," he said. "Sat in the lot for a while. Then some other guy came over, short cocky little fucker. They spoke for a spell, then short and cocky got in the car and they drove away." Dean felt relief flow over him.
"When was this?" he pressed.
"'Bout fifteen minutes ago, I reckon." The man tossed the butt of his cigarette on the ground and stepped on it.
"OK, thanks," Dean said and started to walk away.
"There was a chick here too," the man said. Dean swiveled around so fast his neck clicked.
"What?"
"Yeah, blonde chick. Watched yer brother and his friend. From over there." He pointed over to a tree in front of the museum. "Weird, if you ask me." Dean nodded at him and changed direction to go check out the tree.
He should have been more surprised to find Astrid there, he figured. She smiled warmly at him, but he gave her a stern look.
"What are you doing here?" he growled.
"Research," she said brightly. "I was on the trail of the Dagda's Cauldron."
"Research?" Dean asked her. "What does that mean exactly?"
"I needed to know if the Cauldron here was the one we were searching for. So I came to check it out."
"And?"
"And what?" she twinkled. "Is it real? Oh yes. It's the real deal."
"So why are you skulking back here," he challenged. Her face became rather pinched.
"Loki's here. With your brother," she said acidly.
Dean shrugged at her. "So what?" She peered at him.
"It doesn't bother you, that Loki's toying with Sam?"
Dean's mouth compressed into a thin line. "Of course it does. But there's not much I can do about it. Sam's an adult. If G- uh Loki is making Sam uncomfortable, I'll gank the son-of-a-bitch. But if Sam went off with him of his own free will, what am I supposed to do?" He rubbed a hand over his face. God damn, he was tired. "Where are you on freeing Lugh from the Hunt?"
Now it was Astrid's turn to look unhappy. "It is proving more difficult than I had hoped," she confessed in a low voice. "Loki was smart when he trapped my lord as the leader of the Hunt. I have to find a suitable replacement leader, and that's not easy. But the alternative is to try and destroy the Hunt altogether and that's almost impossible. I'd need something Hell-touched to do that."
"I might be able to help you with that," Dean told her. "I have a… let's call him a friend. A well-connected friend. He might be able to give you what you need, for the right price."
"This friend wouldn't happen to be a demon, would he?" Astrid asked shrewdly. Dean grinned at her and she sighed. "I don't have a soul to sell."
"He can be flexible," Dean said. "But I have my own deal to make with you first. Lugh has to stay away from Sam. I need a guarantee." Astrid pursed her lips.
"I can't make a deal on behalf of my lord," she objected. Dean gave a slight shrug.
"Then I can't help you." Astrid stamped her foot like an angry child and it surprised a laugh out of the hunter. "Them's the breaks, sweetheart."
"Fine," she snarled. "I swear, Lord Lugh will leave Sam Winchester alone."
"Not good enough," Dean replied. "I need something I can actually hold him too. A spell or something." Astrid narrowed her eyes at him.
"It's all an act, isn't it?"
"What is?"
"The big, dumb hunter schtick. You're smart, but you don't like people to know it."
Dean made a careless gesture. "I hustle pool for money. Running a good con means making the mark feel smarter than you are." Astrid bared her teeth at him.
"Are you calling me a mark?" she hissed. Dean shook his head.
"No. In this scenario, I'm the mark. You're the hustler." Astrid threw back her head and laughed joyously.
"Oh, I've missed you," she declared. "You got me. We'll sign a covenant, reinforce it with a geas. It's unbreakable."
"How can Lugh sign something if he's not here?" She winked at him.
"I have my ways. I'll be in touch." She sauntered off and Dean wondered if she'd still managed to con him.
The library was closed, much to Sam's surprise. The sign in the window indicated that it should have opened at 10am, but it was now after 11 and there was no sign of anyone inside. Sam tapped hesitantly on the glass. Gabriel rolled his eyes.
"So why do you think she came here," Sam asked him.
"She didn't, exactly," Gabriel said airily. "I brought her here. She's under a glamor." He folded his arms across his chest when Sam glared at him. "It was the only way to stop her from attacking someone in the street," he said defensively. "If she feeds it's all over."
"Like a rougarou?" Sam asked. Gabriel nodded, his face pensive.
"Similar," he said tersely. "Basically, the spell can be reversed as long as she doesn't eat living human flesh. Once she does, our only option is to kill her."
"How do we reverse the spell?" Sam asked him. Gabriel looked away, and shifted uncomfortably.
"We need to make a sacrifice," he said in a low voice. Sam gave him a hard look.
"What kind of sacrifice?"
"Well, that's not very clear," Gabriel hedged. "The lore says it should be a balance."
"A balance. Are you telling me we have to kill someone?" Sam gritted his teeth.
"I don't know about that," Gabriel said evasively. "I had hoped we might have a suitable candidate on hand."
"Dammit, Gabriel, what's going on?"
"Astrid's immortality," Gabriel confessed. "Centuries ago, Lugh used the Cauldron to artificially extend her life. If we take that back from her, we can use the power to break the Cauldron's hold over Martina."
"She's not going to give that up willingly," Sam pointed out. "I don't know, Gabriel. Astrid and Lugh screwed with me, no question. But this doesn't feel right."
"Ms Black is an innocent," the archangel said archly. "You can't say that about Astrid."
"You seem awfully invested in this," Sam observed. "Why is that?" Gabriel raked a hand through his hair.
"The Cauldron's dangerous, and this woman has been hurt by it, because of Astrid. She was the one who tricked her into eating from it, without telling her of the consequences. Dick move. And you know how I feel about that kind of thing."
"No." Sam shook his head. "That's a good excuse but there's something else here."
"Well, Astrid is trying to free Lugh from the Wild Hunt," Gabriel offered. "I went to the trouble of trapping him with them, I'd prefer he stay there."
"OK," Sam said. "I'd buy that. But why not say so in the first place?"
A pinkish hue touched Gabriel's cheeks to Sam's astonishment. "It's… petty revenge," the archangel admitted. "I didn't want you to see that side of me."
"I've seen it before," Sam said. Gabriel shook his head in denial.
"Yeah, when I was in full pagan mode. Not… after you knew who I really was. Not many people see the real me, Sam. I wanted to be… better." He shoved savagely at the library doors and stalked away. Sam scurried after him and clasped his shoulder.
"Wait," he said. "Wait up, Gabriel!" The archangel shrugged him off and kept walking. But since he could just snap himself away, Sam knew he was meant to follow. Gabriel slumped against the side of the Impala and Sam reached him again in a few strides. He reached for Gabriel's hand, and the archangel snatched it away.
"We're wasting time," Gabriel snarled at him. Sam reached for his hand again anyway.
"Look, I don't know what's going on here," Sam said uncertainly. "I don't know what's going on in your head. But you're giving me really mixed signals. I don't know where I stand with you." Gabriel wouldn't look at him. "OK, so maybe you don't know where you stand either. Just tell me what you want. Whatever it is, I can handle it."
"Can you?" Gabriel said skeptically. Sam nodded emphatically.
"I swear. Come on, Gabriel. If you don't want me, it's OK, but why keep hanging around? So I figure something else is going on."
"I'll make a deal with you," Gabriel said, sounding breathy and a little desperate. Desperate for what, Sam couldn't say. "Let's free Martina, get rid of Astrid and by extension Lugh, once and for all. I'll help you boys take out Amara. And then we'll talk. OK?"
"No dice, Gabriel," Sam said firmly. The archangel's hand was quivering in his. He stroked his thumb across the sensitive skin between Gabriel's fingers and the archangel closed his eyes for a moment and gave a pleasurable shiver. Then he tugged his hand free of Sam's.
"Then we'll talk once we've freed Martina. How's that for a compromise?" Gabriel said tightly and Sam gave in.
"All right. But no disappearing after the deed is done, OK?" Gabriel gave him an innocent look. Sam wasn't fooled for a second.
"So, how do we get Astrid here?" he asked. Gabriel indicated the door of the library with a nod of his head.
"Here she is," he said. "Right on cue."
"Shit," Sam swore. "Dean's with her." Gabriel pulled a face and then snapped his fingers and disappeared. Sam swore again and then headed over to talk to his brother.
"Dean!" he called out. Astrid beamed at him.
"Sam!" she declared. "It's so good to see you." Uncomfortable with the situation, he gave her a quick fake smile and then returned his attention to Dean.
"Sammy," Dean said, sounding irritated. "You split and you couldn't even text me to tell me where you were? Were you making out with your boyfriend?"
"Shut up," Sam said, flushing. Astrid laughed delightedly.
"I have missed you two," she said. "Is Martina Black in here?"
"Supposedly," Sam admitted. "I've not actually seen her. Uh… Loki's trapped her inside. For her own protection. And you know, everyone else's."
"Sure," Astrid said and flicked a hand lazily at the door. The lock clicked. "But she has the Cauldron. We're going to have to kill her you know." Sam glanced at Dean, who looked unconcerned.
"It's not really her fault," he said diffidently. "I mean, she was obviously tricked into eating food from the Cauldron. She didn't believe in the curse, why would she? So, shouldn't we try and save her first?"
"Sure, Sam," Dean said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "If you've got a cure for this thing, by all means, try it out." Sam knew he was on shaky ground here, but he'd take what he could get.
"OK, well, don't shoot her. Not until I try this cure first." Dean nodded and Sam eased the door open and crept inside.
Libraries were not usually creepy places, Sam thought. Well, maybe old libraries could be a little spooky, but bright modern structures like this one shouldn't be. But even though the sun was shining brightly outside and there were many large windows, somehow the entire building was shrouded in gloom. Shadows shifted out of the corner of Sam's eye and he was jittery as he turned the corner and was confronted with three doors. Two restrooms and a third door which was unlabeled. After a moment of intent listening, Sam heard a slight sound from the Ladies room and he silently indicated the fact to Dean and Astrid. Dean carefully opened the door and Sam entered first, his gun ready.
A young woman was kneeling on the floor, her head hanging down and she swayed slightly from side to side. Sam approached her carefully and tilted her head up. He recognized Martina Black from her Facebook profile. Her eyes were blank and her mouth was slack.
"What's up with her?" Dean asked. "I was expecting a snarling monster, not some stoner chick."
"Gabriel's got her glamored," Sam reminded him. "It should make this easier."
"Well, where's this Cauldron?" Dean asked.
"It's close," Astrid breathed. "I can feel it."
"Oh, it's close all right," Gabriel's voice came from behind. He grabbed Astrid by the hair and shoved her head toward the small iron pot he held in one hand. She screeched and fought, and Dean stepped back involuntarily as the archangel and Astrid tangled on the floor. Astrid produced a knife from somewhere and plunged it into Gabriel's leg and Gabriel let out a howl.
"What the fuck is that?" he screamed.
Astrid tugged the blade out of him and looked down, her lip curling in contempt. "It won't kill you. Well, not with a leg wound, anyway. But it was the final component I needed." Sam tried to turn but he found he couldn't move. He could hear Dean grunting behind him and suspected his brother was also immobilized.
"I don't understand," Dean said gruffly.
"Ah, poor, stupid Dean. A few words of flattery about how smart you are, and you're eating out of my hand. You're right, a mark has to feel smarter than the hustler." There was a snarling sound and Sam wished desperately that he could turn around and see what was going on. "I needed three things for my spell to free my lord Lugh. The Cauldron, a human enslaved to it's power and the blood of a pagan god."
"Why a pagan god, specifically?" Dean choked out. Sam tensed.
"Well, this spell is rather fine tuned. Human blood's no good. Not enough power and the spell fizzles. Too much power and it will backfire rather spectacularly." There were more strange sounds but Dean didn't say anything else. Sam tried to open his mouth to speak but his voice was gone. Astrid was chanting behind him and Martina began to convulse on the floor. The fluorescent light began to flicker and there was a strange buzzing sound. Sam's head began to swim.
Sam! Gabriel's voice was weak in his head. I can't get us out of here. Whatever that blade was made of has poisoned my Grace. You have to find a way to break Astrid's hold over you.
How? Sam asked. I'm completely paralyzed.
I don't know. But if you don't stop her, the backlash from this spell will kill you both.
And you?
I don't know. I'd probably survive. But that's not important right now!
Sam concentrated on his body. Was he really completely paralyzed? He started with his toes and moved up his body cataloging whether he could move anything. Nothing. He tried to open his mouth again and to his surprise he was able to croak out a few words.
"Astrid!" he coughed.
"A little busy right now," she sang out.
"Astrid, don't do this," Sam begged. "Please."
"I have to do this, Sam. I'm sure you understand. After all, isn't that why the Darkness is free at all?" Astrid asked.
"That's different," Sam defended.
Astrid made a rude noise. "How is it different?" she challenged. "You took the risk of dooming the entire world, just to save your brother. I'm risking far less, for someone far more worthy." Sam closed his mouth with a click. She was totally wrong. But damn it, he couldn't let her win this round.
"Astrid," Sam forced out as he struggled against her control. "You're right. I shouldn't have done it. I know I made a mistake. But I'm trying to make it right. I can't do that if you kill me." He felt her hold on him lessen and he was able to turn his head to look at her.
"Kill you?" she barked in surprise. "I'm not going to kill you. My lord Lugh would be most displeased."
"If you use this spell, you'll kill us both. Maybe yourself too," Sam told her.
"Nonsense," she declared. "I've calibrated the power levels perfectly. The only way this could backfire is if Loki is much more powerful... " she trailed off.
Awesome job, Sam. Gabriel's voice echoed sarcastically in his head. You've blown my cover.
"Is he right?" Astrid challenged.
"Yes," Gabriel admitted. "I'm not really a minor pagan deity. I'm an archangel." Astrid gasped and the knife tumbled to the floor with a heavy clang that seemed incongruous with its size.
"You're Michael, aren't you?" Sam could feel Gabriel's glee at being misidentified.
"Guilty," he said. "Got out of the Cage when Lucifer got sprung."
"You're not how I imagined," Astrid confessed. "I thought Michael would be… stiffer."
"It's been a hard few years," Gabriel said dismissively. Sam realized that he could move again. Astrid's astonishment had clearly broken her concentration.
Tell me what I have to do, Gabriel. I hate this, but I don't see another way. Gabriel flooded his mind with a series of images. Sam sprang to his feet and grabbed Astrid by the hair. She bucked and fought under his hands but he was quick and strong and before she could re-establish control over him, he shoved her head first into the Cauldron and spoke the words of activation that Gabriel had implanted into his head. Astrid screamed, a long heart-rending cry that tore at Sam's soul. But he gritted his teeth and held her head in the Cauldron until she was completely still. When he stepped back and let her body fall, she was impossibly aged, old and wizened.
Sam turned away and limped over to Martina Black. She was curled into a fetal position and sobbing.
"Hey," he said gently. "You're OK, it's OK." He helped her to her feet and began to guide her out of the restroom. Dean was scrambling to his feet but Gabriel was still lying prone on the floor. Sam handed Martina over to Dean and then fell to his knees next to Gabriel.
"Gabriel," he said, laying one hand on the archangel's shoulder. "Can you stand? It's over." He was shivering and making a pathetic mewling sound and Sam frowned in consternation.
"Sammy…" Gabriel muttered. Sam shifted position and picked the archangel up. Gabriel's arms draped over his shoulders and his face nuzzled into Sam's neck. Sam swallowed past the lump in his throat and strode off in the direction of the door.