CHAPTER 9
Dean moved away from Sam, trying to give him room and waved his arms at the Dobhar-Chu. "Hey ugly!" He yelled and smiled when her head turned to find him.
"Dean, what the hell?" Sam watched his brother drawing the creature toward him and felt fear dance in his gut.
"Get to the damn eggs, Sam!" Dean yelled and dove to the side as the head charged down at him. "Holy crap." He gasped, rolling back to his feet.
Sam stumbled toward the nest, left arm hanging near useless at his side. He glanced back to see Dean throw himself away from the serpent's head again. He grunted in surprise, having forgotten to watch for the tail as it slapped into his knees and spilled him across the floor. He spent a few moments just staring at the rock ceiling and catching his breath against the flash of pain from his broken rib and abused shoulder.
"Sam?" Dean shouted, seeing his brother tossed and lying still but he raised a wavering arm and gave him a thumbs up before rolling slowly to his knees.
"Good..I'm good." Sam struggled to take a deep breath and got back to his feet. The Dobhar-Chu was focused on Dean now and Sam lurched ahead, reaching the nest. He crawled up the low rise of rock to the eggs and ran his hand over them. They were warm to the touch and leathery and about the size of basketballs, all seven of them. He looked out and saw Dean take a coil of the snake's body in the gut. It threw him backward to slide along the stone. "Hey!" Sam shouted and picked up one of the eggs.
The Serpent's head whipped around and she hissed in obvious anger, sliding over the stone to hang above him. Her tongue licked out and rocked Sam's shoulder. He ground his teeth against the pain and pulled the egg in against him protectively. The Dobhar-Chu reared back, understanding her eggs were now in danger.
"Dean?" Sam called and heaved a tight sigh when he saw him crawling to his feet. "You okay?"
"Feel like…a pinball." Dean shook his head to clear the cobwebs and started easing closer to the nest.
"Now what?" Sam asked, watching the red eyes above him as they glared death at him but she didn't move to attack him. "This stand-off won't last forever man."
"I'm workin' on it." Dean held a hand against his stomach and groaned. "Feel like I got kicked by a linebacker. Keep her busy!"
Sam knelt down so he was in the circle of eggs and kept his eyes on the Dobhar-Chu. She seemed completely focused on him, ignoring Dean now her eggs were in danger. He shifted the egg against his chest to get a better grip and she hissed again, darting closer to him and shifting away again.
"Whatever you're gonna do, hurry up." Sam told him. "She's pissed."
Dean nodded and searched the cave, keeping a wary distance from the thrashing tail as it whipped back and forth in agitation. Seeing his brother so close beneath the hissing jaws was trashing his nerves and he jumped at the sound of the door opening behind him. "What the hell?" Dean spun and saw the woman, Lana, standing poised in the open door.
"Hurry. You have to hurry." She whispered, eyes never leaving the snake.
"You're letting us out?" Dean asked, incredulous and she nodded. Dean shrugged and turned. "Sam! Get your ass over here!"
"How?" Sam leaned backward as she darted her head in at him again and held tightly to his egg, his only defense.
"Take the egg with you." Dean threw his arms up to say, it was all he could think of and watched as Sam navigated his way slowly out of the nest. The Dobhar-Chu followed him, her giant head never more than a few feet away from him as she hissed and tried to find a way to reach the egg he still held.
Sam staggered, tripping on the edge of the nest and went down to a knee, almost losing his grip. The serpent darted her head at him and he felt the wind on his face as she nearly took his head. He got painfully back to his feet and began backing away toward his brother and the door. Her scales scraped across the floor as she followed, tail whipping behind her. He felt Dean's hand on his back then and let it guide him to the door.
"Almost there, Sammy." Dean whispered and tugged at Sam's jacket, pulling him backwards. They reached the door and Sam bent.
He knelt slowly and set the egg on the stone in front of him and pushed it so it rolled out into the cave. He felt Dean take hold of his good shoulder and was pulled backward as the door slammed shut. "Let's never do that again." Sam said, sitting on the floor against Dean's legs and sobbed in a breath.
"You ok?" Dean leaned down and tilted Sam's head up to him. He was pale, damp hair stuck to his forehead but he smiled and nodded. "Thanks." Dean said, turning to the woman who'd saved them. "Lana was it?"
She nodded nervously. "Yes. You need to get out of here."
"What about you?" Sam asked, voice hoarse and reached his right arm up to Dean in a silent plea for help. Dean took his arm and pulled him to his feet, steadying him.
"I can't leave." Lana said and shook her head. "I…he owns me." She rubbed a hand over her face. "You know what he is. He…has my soul."
"Your soul?" Dean gaped and shook his head. "Why the hell would you sell your soul to that psycho?" He went to the table and started gathering up their weapons.
"My mother." Lana said softly. "She had cancer. He promised he could cure her."
"Did he?" Sam asked gently and she nodded.
"Didn't matter. A month later she was hit by a drunk driver." Lana laughed humorlessly. "He said it didn't negate the deal. He did his part."
"I'm sorry." Sam put a hand on her arm in sympathy. "Won't you be in trouble for helping us?"
She shrugged. "He's tiring of me anyway." Lana smiled up at him. "May as well go out doing something right for a change."
"What's he planning?" Dean asked, handing Sam's gun to him. "He said he was doing something in those ruins. We need to know what it is."
"I don't know. I swear." She said when Dean tilted his head at her. "He doesn't tell me those sorts of things. I just know he needed more souls. The…the serpents, they'd kill people but the souls would stay there. They're trapped I think."
Dean raised his brows at his brother. "Any ideas?"
"No clue." Sam took the knife Dean gave him and slipped it under his jacket against his back.
"Well let's just go ask as him, shall we?" Dean grinned dangerously.
"He's not here." Lana touched his arm lightly. "He's gone to the ruins. I don't know why but I know that's where he went. It's how…how I was able to get away to let you out."
Sam looked back through the window into the cave and saw the Dobhar-Chu had taken her egg back to her nest and was coiled around them, staring out through the glass at him. "What about that?" Sam waved at the window and Dean frowned.
"We'll come back and deal with her and the eggs. She's not going anywhere." Dean nodded and looked back to Lana. "How many guards out there? Our buddy Jasper maybe?" He wanted a few minutes alone with him.
"Not many and Jasper's gone with Mr. Fielding to the ruins." Lana sighed. "Go now, please." She took Sam's arm and gave him a turn toward the door. "Before someone comes."
"We're coming back for you." Sam said suddenly and gave her a confident look. "We're not just going to leave you to him. Okay?" Lana smiled sadly up at him but nodded.
"Let's go." Dean went to the door and eased it open, sticking his head out. "Hall's clear." He waited for Sam and took the lead with a last glance at Lana before closing the door. They only found one guard on their way out and Dean made quick work of him with a steely punch to the jaw that rolled his eyes back.
"Guess they're not used to people escaping." Sam muttered as they stepped outside and saw the Impala waiting for them.
Dean chuckled. "They don't know us." He dashed to the car and had the engine running by the time Sam got it in. "You good?" He asked as he pulled out and gave his brother a hard look.
Sam nodded. "I can handle it. We have to get to those ruins." He sat up straighter, relieving some of the pressure in his chest. They couldn't afford for him to be out of the fight.
Dean studied him for a moment and then nodded. "Ok but you let me take the lead." He said it firmly, a definite order. He knew Sam wasn't a hundred percent; nowhere near it and he knew he'd never sit quietly back while Dean went in on his own. Sam gave him a tight nod, annoyed but didn't argue. Dean smiled; kid was learning.
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Dean and Sam went silently down into the Bluff Point ruins again, each one thinking they'd had enough of the place to last a lifetime. They had arrived, unsure where to even begin looking for the Warlock but as they'd parked, they'd seen the light of a fire off toward the old stoneworkings in the pre-dawn darkness. Whatever Fielding was up to, he was doing it outside. There was only an hour left until sunrise. Any time now the sky would start to lighten and they'd lose the cover of darkness. Dean sped up the pace, trusting Sam to stay at his back as they neared and could hear the murmur of voices. They each carried shotguns loaded with rocksalt, unsure what they would face in the ruins aside from ghosts.
They rounded a fallen down wall, crouching behind it to stay in the shadows and looked out on the open area below. Mr. Fielding had exchanged his snazzy three piece suit for a flowing black robe and stood before a huge bonfire, arms wide, head back chanting something that sounded like Latin to Sam's ears.
"Gotta get closer." Sam whispered and Dean nodded, trying to spot any guards lurking in the open pit.
"Think I can help with that." Jaspers' voice startled both men. They whirled to find Jasper behind them, gun in hand. Dean froze with his shotgun half raised. "Let it go, mate." Jasper motioned to Dean to drop the gun. He set it down as did Sam beside him. "Up you go boys. Boss thought you might find a way to get out and I lost a tenner." He smirked. "I bet she'd eat ya both." He waved the gun and waited for them to stand and start walking before he latched on to Sam's shoulder, making him hiss in pain. "Ah now this seems familiar."
"You son of a bitch." Dean growled but let it go when he saw the muzzle of the gun pressed to Sam's neck.
They walked down into the open pit. Jasper gave a sharp whistle and Fielding turned away from the blazing fire with a smile. "I told you, Jasper. You counted them out too easily." He smiled more widely at them. "Just in time too."
"In time for what?" Sam asked, groaning as Jasper tightened his grip.
"Why the end of the world." The Warlock threw his arms wide, laughing. "I shall destroy it and remake it for my own." He leaned forward. "With a little help. I must say, it wasn't easy finding a location that met all the criteria."
"I know I'm gonna regret this." Dean rolled his eyes. "What criteria? What the hell are you doing here?"
Fielding gave him a dangerous grin. "This site, ancient as it is, is the resting place of hundreds of souls. Ancient souls. Oh you wouldn't believe the variety of the dead beneath our feet! The stone itself is infused with them." He breathed deeply as if smelling something they could not.
"Dude, you wanna huff spirits that's fine with us." Dean grinned and stepped back closer to Sam and Jasper.
Fielding frowned at him and nodded at Jasper. Dean barely had time to turn before Sam shouted in surprised pain as Jasper aimed a punch at his ribs, dropping him to his knees. The gun never left his temple. Dean spun back to Fielding with a growl.
"Next person who hurts my brother isn't walkin' out of here." Dean warned.
"Continue to play with your brother's life if you wish." Fielding glared at him and waited. He nodded when Dean said nothing. "Good. How long until dawn, Jasper?"
"About twenty minutes." Jasper said with a quick look at his watch. "Better get on with it, sir."
Fielding nodded. "You may want to kneel, Mr. Winchester. He might not slay you outright if he finds you penitent."
"Who?" Sam demanded, looking up and jerking in Jasper's grip. "Who are you calling?"
Fielding sighed and then smiled. "Abatton. I shall call him up and he will do my bidding. As the first rays of Dawn touch the ruin he shall come."
"You're insane." Sam breathed as Fielding turned back to the bonfire and started up his chant again.
"Ok, Sammy. Share with the class. What the hell is Abatton?" Dean stepped back again, now within arm's reach of them.
"He's a…well the lore's confused." Sam shook his head and would have shrugged if he could have. "The Coptic church has him as the left hand of god." He looked up to watch Fielding chanting. "He's supposed to have thrown Lucifer into the pit of hell when he fell and uh, collects souls. Dean everyone's supposed to fear him, even the Demons."
"So, end of the world kinda guy. Awesome." Dean looked up to meet Jasper's eyes. "You down with this? Huh? Your boss summoning up the bad ass that iced the friggin Devil?" The ground beneath them began to shake and Jasper's face looked anything but sure.
Jasper shook his head. "I do what he pays me for."
"He pay you enough to end the damn world? You think you get to live through this?" Dean pushed, eyes focused on Jaspers gun hand that was now trembling and had lowered from Sam's temple a fraction. The ground shook again and the bonfire blazed hotter. Around them a wailing started. "You're just a flunkie, you know that. Soon as Captain Kick Ass shows up you're toast pal, right along with us."
Jasper looked up to Fielding then, eyes narrowing. At the same time a host of spirits appeared in a wide ring at the edge of the pit. They began to swirl, the circle tightening and pulling them in toward the fire. As Jasper's eyes were on his boss and the ghosts, his hand lowered again and Dean sprang, tackling him back from his brother as the gun went off and pierced the eerie howling of the ghosts as they funneled into the bonfire.
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