Chapter 20 - Living in a lonely world
Journey – Don't stop believin'
Sam did not call Dean. He had dropped Ivy off at Rúla Búla with strict instructions to wait for the older Winchester at the Irish pub but to not contact him. The brunette was not happy with this arrangement, to say the least.
"What if this is some kind of a trap?" she asked, rightly so. She had picked up enough about hunting to have a pretty spot-on feel for when things smelled fishy.
"If this is who I think it is, then it's not and I'd rather not have Dean with me," Sam insisted. The last time they had met, Dean hit on the girl, failing miserably at wooing her. The younger hunter wasn't sure how Dean would act now that he had Ivy – and a couple of more years on him – but in either case, he wanted to get to the bottom of this mysterious invitation without the added distractions or possibilities of offending anyone.
"What if it's not who you think it is?" Ivy inquired with one brow sassily raised at the tall guy in front of her.
"Just give me an hour, okay? There must be a reason for the whole messenger thing. She could be in danger or is in hiding, and all three of us going there would be a hell of a lot more conspicuous than if just I went," the younger Winchester pleaded.
The girl eyed him warily, trying to weigh her options. Dean was not going to like this for sure.
"Fine," she sighed finally. "But if you don't at least call within the hour then I'm sending the commando after you. I'm not above calling Mary either," the girl added, the memory of the boys disappearing for six weeks – when the government had taken them after they had chased the devil out of the president – popping unbidden in her mind, almost making her cry. If it weren't for their mom and Cas…
Sam heartily laughed out loud at the threat of his mother. It actually felt pretty nice that someone could actually use telling on him to his mother as leverage to get him to behave. He had never had that when he was genuinely a child.
"You do that," he agreed, still smiling, opening the door for Ivy to enter the establishment.
"Welcome to Rúla Búla. Table for two?" the waitress came up to the door to greet them.
"No, just one. I'll be back shortly," Sam said, giving the brunette a little wave before turning around and going back to the old, beat-up 1995 Toyota Camry that they managed to find unlocked in the parking lot just a block from the library and the café.
The younger hunter drove off in a hurry, his brows furrowed in thought as he tried to predict what was going to come. He didn't even notice the little wave Ivy gave him.
The girl went inside, sat down in a booth, and ordered the biggest hamburger she had ever seen in her life.
All for it to go to waste.
Even though the place had a nice ambiance and the food looked simply delicious, she could not find it in herself to eat. She was way too anxious to have an appetite. Something was about to go down, the brunette could feel it.
It was just under an hour later that Dean showed up at the door, a little early. The three hours they had originally agreed on were far from over, but Ivy couldn't have been happier at this turn of events. The time Sam had asked for was just about up, and he still hadn't called.
"Where is Sam?" the older Winchester started right off the bat, and the way Ivy shifted in her place with her eyes cast down did not help with the foreboding feeling in his gut.
"He... uhm…" the brunette mumbled.
"Come on, spit it out already!" Dean urged in a snappier tone than he would have liked, unable to control his temper when his brother's safety was in concern.
"He went to meet with some mysterious girl," she said finally, crossing her arms in front of her chest to signal that she was not too thrilled either, with neither of the Winchesters at that moment to be frank. She hated it when Dean was this short with her.
"That sly dog!" the hunter smirked, imagining all sorts of kinky things his brother could be up to at this late afternoon hour with some unknown blonde.
All though he was fond of Allie and wished there was a way for her to come back to them, he also knew that "cosmic entities" like Cas, for example, had a very different idea of time and human nature. By the time the Aurora realized that there was someone waiting for her, Sam could have been long dead. It was best if the younger Winchester found a way to get past his infatuation with her.
"Highly doubt it's anything like that…" Ivy huffed under her breath, imagining stabby-stabby scenes that were more of the homicidal kidnapper than BDSM kind. Alla was still too fresh on Sam's mind for him to think of anyone else in that context in her opinion anyway.
"Where did he go off to?" Dean turned serious again in a split of a second.
"Bridgeview Condos… at least that's where that corporate monkey dude told him to go," the girl explained, only feeling half bad for the fact that she was revealing this information to Dean sooner than expected. She was seriously starting to get worried.
"What corporate monkey?" Dean was fuming now. This was not the plan!
"He never introduced himself, but Sam seemed to know him. They were talking about Atticus and the Third Eye Books and Herbs," Ivy expounded on the issue, her anxiety overriding Sam's plea for her confidence in her to handle this matter.
Dean took his phone out once he realized that his girlfriend wouldn't be able to give much more details on the matter.
"Only five minutes away," the older Winchester deduced after checking the navigation app on his phone. "Come on, let's go," he ushered her out of the booth, placing down a twenty for the barely touched meal. On second thought, he took a big bite out of the burger, moaning in appreciation. He had barely eaten that day, trying to chase down leads, only to come up empty-handed. A dead-end, both figuratively and literally.
As far as he could find out Atticus O'Sullivan, the last living druid, and his druid initiate, Granuaile MacTiernan were both dead. A shiver ran down his spine unbidden, as Castiel's words from eight years ago rang in his mind again about the importance of this particular kind of magic users not going extinct. He had the foreboding sense that heavy shit was going to go down in the world again, which would most likely land in their laps as per usual.
The figure that greeted Sam as he rounded the corner to the condo tower in question that he was directed to was not someone he was expecting.
For one, the experience was entirely reminiscent of the ghostly shadow of Jessica he had seen on a street corner of Toledo, Ohio after the Bloody Mary incident. Long blond hair billowing in the breeze, clad in a long Bohemian-style white dress that might as well have been a nightgown were it not for the long sleeves.
Secondly, for the life of him, he couldn't imagine a good enough reason for coincidentally running into Alla here of all places. And that could mean only one thing.
As the wind swept a lock of hair away from her face, the Midnight Star gazed upon the hunter with sad eyes.
"Hello, Sam," she said serenely, a clear, bell-like quality ringing in her voice that the hunter had never heard before.
Even her appearance seemed ethereal, which was a surefire guarantee for the younger Winchester to not forget that this was no longer the same Alla that he had come to know and love. That put him on edge. He didn't know what to expect from her.
"You know, you could have just called if you wanted to see me," Sam pocketed his hands in his utility jacket, his right palm folding over the angel blade hidden there, just in case. That was his best bet as to what could work against her, were she in the mood to attack him. Everything in her posture said that she was gearing up for a fight, though he wasn't quite sure if it was against him yet or not. "No need for weird lawyer-like middlemen."
"I wasn't the one who asked you here, Sam," Leila informed him, turning towards her left, where the entrance to the Bridgeview Condos was, as if sensing another presence.
"It was I who summoned you," an attractive woman with luxurious pale blonde hair who appeared to be in her early thirties stepped out from the shadows, dressed in a red leather dress, cashmere cardigan and high-heel boots, a slight foreign accent detectable in her speech.
"And who would you be?" the hunter turned his attention to the newcomer, even more on edge now, given the fact that she had managed to sneak upon them.
"Her name is Malina Sokolowski." It was the goddess who answered his question, and Sam could see from the seething anger in her eyes that this woman was the one his lover – former lover? – had beef with. "The current leader of the Sisters of the Three Auroras."
Suddenly everything clicked into place for the younger Winchester. This was the coven that had trapped Alla, drawing on her power by forcing her to live one life after another in different bodies, each time committing suicide. The trail of wiped-out covens that led the hunters right to this town was all because of the Zorya standing before him. What her intentions were with the methodical rampage – revenge? forewarning? intimidation tactics? – he did not know, but this whole situation just turned from a clear-cut case to a whole new level of mind-boggle for him. Who was the villain in this supernatural on supernatural warfare? Whose side was he supposed to take in this conflict? He had no evidence of whether any of those other witches did anything wrong. For all he knew, they could have been Wiccans or practicing white magic, not necessarily the demon-consorting type.
As he glanced from the goddess to the witch he was hit with a sense of infatuation, making him forget all the second-hand vexation he had with the woman for things her kin had done to the love of his life. And her hair just looked so pretty…
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't resort to such trickery," the Aurora snapped her fingers, cancelling the magic that had the hunter beguiled. "He can make up his own mind."
"My apologies, long years of habit," Malina stroked her hair self-consciously, feeling almost naked without the charm she had put on her long locks that she used as a distraction and protection when meeting potentially unfriendly elements, especially men. Well, sometimes for other purposes as well, like getting her way in business transactions.
Sam shook his head, relief flooding him that whatever had clouded his judgment was gone.
"What is going on here? Why did you think it was a good idea to bring me into this conflict of yours?" he demanded angrily. The possibilities were endless. Kidnap him and use him as leverage against Alla? This might have been a trap after all as Ivy had feared, and he had walked right into it.
"Our divination foretold that you, Samuel Winchester, are the only possible chance at coming to an understanding and a mutually beneficial outcome," the coven leader revealed dramatically.
"Mutually beneficial outcome? Are you kidding me?" the younger brother snorted in contempt. If her intentions were really benign then what was the need for bringing him to her side by nefarious means like putting a spell on him?
"She believes you can talk some sense into me, and convince me to not kill her and her pathetic little coven, or at least what's left of it," the Aurora explained with a quick glance to him before focusing her attention back to the offending witch.
"And why would that be?" he snapped, starting to lose his patience, and thanking his hunterly forethought and preparedness for having his gun in his other pocket, loaded with witch-killing bullets. They did come to town on the assumption that there would be witches involved after all.
"Because Atticus O'Sullivan, whom if I'm not mistaken, you are already familiar with, has unleashed a chain of events which will lead to Ragnarok," Malina decided to step in and take back the reins of the conversation before the fate of the world was decided over her head. "Our coven will play a significant role in ensuring that the war concludes with the human world still intact."
"And why should I believe anything you say is true? After everything you've done to Alla," the hunter reasoned. For all he knew, this was all a deception.
"For the record, it was Radomilla, one of the founding members of our coven who had chained Zorya Polunochnaya for her own and the coven's purposes, and incidentally, she is no longer with us. None of the living members had anything to do with the deed," Malina explained, hoping to appeal to the goddess' better judgment, even though according to lore she should have already been aware of this fact. Awareness or not, the entire reason why she had involved Sam Winchester was to have another witness to the truth, and in the hopes that maybe he could sway their once-patron towards the just decision.
"I do not recall any of you having objections to the continual usage of said power though, have you?" the Midnight Star spat, hands furling into a fist by her side. Every last little bone in her body wanted to end this already, feeling as if wiping out the remainder of the coven that did her wrong would erase the last remnants of hurt from the betrayal lingering in her heart as well.
"As embarrassing as it is to admit, neither of us even had knowledge of the source of the vast extent of the power that we had access to. Call it hubris, but we were in the belief that we were just that talented at magic. Until a couple of months ago that is, when we found that the majority of our skill set was no longer accessible to us or required much more time and effort to accomplish than before. That is when we investigated our former members' grimoires and found mentions of a particular binding that was done on your goddessly person over a millennium ago," the blond witch threw light upon the entirety of the circumstances involved in the imprisonment of the Zorya.
Sam glanced at Alla, trying to read from her expression whether there was any truth to the statements that had been just spoken. It was increasingly more difficult to decide what would be the right thing to do here. His loyalties lay with Alla, but if there was even a smidge of truth to all of this, then maybe her vengeance was not directed at the appropriate parties, the appropriate parties being dead already and all.
"If you'll accompany me to our apartment, I can show you proof of my allegations, both regarding the unfortunate incident involving the Zorya and the upcoming Ragnarok," the Polish woman pleaded, clearly getting desperate now.
"Do not go with her Sam. Their floor is enchanted, collecting hair and blood samples from anyone who enters. If they possess any of those two from you, they can do anything they want with you," the white-dressed blonde warned, not taking her eyes off the other blonde.
"I'm sure you can do something about that the same way you did with the enchantment she had on her hair?" Sam asked. He wasn't stupid, he could put two and two together.
"I would rather if you didn't go in Sam," Leila implored tersely. "I am not sure I can protect you from everything there."
This had been a risky enough venture without the hunter getting in the middle of it as it was, and she couldn't live with herself if anything happened to him. Even if appearances would have told otherwise, her feelings for Sam hadn't vanished with her restored power. She just had duties and personal business to take care of before she could return to him. Which she had intended on all along.
To be completely honest, the Aurora wasn't comfortable with confronting the coven on their home turf either. She had been tricked once, who was to say they couldn't do it again?
Leila started having second thoughts regarding her plan. Of course, with having access to all present and past knowledge she was able to confirm everything Malina had said. Well, everything except the statement pertaining to the future. Even though with the access to all possible information presently available she could make excellently educated guesses that someone unaware could construe as divination, but as a matter of fact, clairvoyance was not within the realms of power she possessed.
"I assure you of my benign intentions. I have just informed my coven upstairs to deactivate all enchantments that are not involved in the direct protective warding of the apartment and floor," Malina said in good faith, hoping that they could take this conversation indoors before the older Winchester arrived. According to their augury, their chances of a peaceful resolution diminished significantly once he arrived on the scene.
"I am willing to hear you out on the condition that Sam is not involved in your scheme of persuasion," the Zorya said finally, casting an apologetic glance at said hunter. She just couldn't risk him getting hurt in the process, no matter how anxious going in made her. Her initial plan had been to show up, lure them out, stop their hearts and leave.
"As inclined as I am to take you up on that offer dear revered Zorya," the witch answered without missing a beat. "This course of action will only lead to our coven's destruction. We have seen it. I must insist that Sam Winchester come in with us as well to ensure the amicable nature of our discussion."
"Over my dead body!" Dead arrived, gun raised as if right on cue, having heard the last bit of conversation loud and clear, making the situation and the standing of the parties involved unambiguous. In a witch coven, Zorya (Aurora) and Sam triangle, he knew exactly which side to take and there was no way in hell he would let Sam enter their "lair" no matter how friendly they seemed. He appreciated Allie's effort of keeping Sam out of harm's way as well, although he wasn't quite sure yet what her stake in this standoff was yet.
Malina sighed and raised her hand above her head where the more volatile hunter could see them. Her aim was not to start a war with the Winchester brothers.
"Dean Winchester, there is no need for witch-killing bullets," the witch pleaded, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible.
"I'll be the judge of that, and how the fuck do you know who I am?" the older hunter inquired, brows furrowed.
Tensions were running at an all-time high. Nobody dared to make a move, lest it trigger a chain of events that they would all regret. Then the sound of boots against the asphalt in fast succession could be heard from the distance, coming closer rapidly.
"ALLA!" Ivy appeared suddenly around the corner, noticing her friend, and making a beeline for her without hesitation.
"I told you to stay in the car, dammit!" Dean swore. Was really nobody able to follow simple instructions???
Ivy didn't listen though, still running straight for her blonde friend, slamming into her with a bone-crushing hug, and began sobbing.
"I can't believe you are really here," the brunette muttered into her shoulder between hiccups.
"It's Leila," the blonde corrected, though without any malice. She couldn't help but smile down at the human girl as she patted the top of her head, who still just saw the friend in her. No trepidation, no caution, no second guessing. Just plain Alla, even with celestial power and all. Even Sam hadn't regarded her like this just minutes prior. "Alla was my last vessel's name."
Ivy glanced up as if just now noticing the celestial glow around the Zorya and the hot mess of the situation she managed to get into the middle of. Fear began to seep into her expression as she glanced around, though not because of her friend, not for one second.
"Ivy, get back here, please. Now," the older Winchester brother beckoned her, looking fearfully at Allie.
"Come off it, Dean," the Midnight Star snapped. "Do you really think, I'd hurt her?"
"I don't know, Leila , will you?" he barked back, motioning Sam to get his head in the game already and take a weapon out. Any weapon out at this point. He put the picture together pretty quickly, realizing that essentially it was her they were hunting. She was the one responsible for the countless deaths trailing from the East Coast to here.
"Dean, that's enough," the younger hunter admonished.
Meanwhile, Malina's eyebrows disappeared under her bangs in astonishment. These people were so crude and cavalier with the Zorya. Had they not realized that this entity could erase them from the face of the Earth with a snap of her fingers? Though they did seem aware that she was dangerous, why else would Dean want the brunette to retreat from the celestial being? But the way they talked to her, it was as if there was a personal history there. It seemed there was much her coven's divination did not prepare them for.
"Ivy, please go back to Dean, before he pops a vein," Leila rubbed her friend's arms lovingly, gently motioning for her to go. "I'll deal with the situation here, then we can talk."
Ivy didn't move an inch though, firmly rooted in place as she tried to come to her own conclusions regarding the situation that everyone seemed to be in the know about already.
"They are the witches that trapped you, right?"
"It's not that simple, unfortunately, as it has been brought to my attention," the Midnight Star explained calmly. She did not want to frighten her friend with the real tenor of her emotions regarding the current predicament.
The leader of the Sisters of the Three Auroras realized just then, that it might not even be Sam Winchester who would be able to sway the Zorya, but this brunette. It just happened that the girl came in a package deal with the Winchesters.
"So it wasn't them?" Ivy asked for clarification confusedly.
"This coven of witches yes, not personally them, no," Leila clarified curtly.
"So they are innocent," the brunette stated with furrowed brows. What was the problem then?
"Of this? Technically. Of other things? Not so much," she said, realizing that she was grasping at straws, wanting to find a justification just to have an outlet for her feelings and frustrations. There was no one she could punish for the wrongdoings against her. Atticus O'Sullivan took care of it already. She knew that despite everyone's beliefs that he was dead, the druid was actually holed up in a Native American reserve a couple hundred miles north of here, training his apprentice. Not that visiting him would do her any good.
"I won't deny some of our past wrongdoings," the blonde in red felt that this was the time to plead her case. "But it is imperative for the fate of humanity that our coven survives until Ragnarok. And we do have a favor to ask of you for when the time comes as well."
"Do you really think you are in any position to ask favors from me, witch?" Leila spat, her fury causing her body to glow in a menacing bluish hue, only toning it down a bit when she felt Ivy stiffen beside her.
"No, of course not. And we are not asking for our personal benefit either," the blonde beseeched delicately, knowing full well that this was the pivot point. She must not screw this up here.
Leila closed her eyes and sighed. With her infinite wisdom, she saw that Malina Sokolowski was entirely correct in her divination and assumption regarding Ragnarok. If humanity were to survive, they must survive. For now. So much for revenge. At least for now.
"You may summon me once, and only once, when it is time to deal with Ragnarok," the Zorya declared, the ethereal quality returning to her demeanor. "We will settle your coven's debt towards me once that is dealt with."
"Thank you, oh mighty goddess," the leader of the Sisters of the Three Auroras got down on her knees in gratitude, bowing her head.
"Don't fucking grovel. Nobody likes a brown-noser," she whirred, not having any patience for this nonsense.
Malina truly didn't know what to make of the celestial being but didn't linger to contemplate the conflicting images of her expectations and reality as to the personality of the crone of the triple goddesses. With a wary glance thrown towards the Winchesters, she made her retreat to the condo building entrance, disappearing inside.
"I think you made the right decision," Ivy spoke once the danger of a three-way shoot-out seemed to have passed.
"Right decisions… the bane of my existence," the Aurora sighed heavily again. "Anybody hungry? I could go for a burger right about now."
Three pairs of bewildered eyes on her was her only answer.
"What? " she asked perplexedly.