Chapter 22 Shame (Part 4)
Dean paced back and forth in the library of the bunker, phone pressed to his ear. "Come on, Crowley. Pick up!" he grumbled into the phone. He turned to Sam who was sitting at the table, researching Cain and Abel. "Where the hell is he? It's not like he's got a social life."
"Uh, are you actually worried?" Sam asked, glancing up from his computer.
Dean's phone went to Crowley's voicemail. "Too busy inflicting pain to answer. Leave a message."
Hope came into the room then. She didn't meet Dean's eyes, and Dean didn't look at her. Sam frowned. "Hey. So...Cain said the First Blade was tossed in the deepest ocean, right? That's the Mariana Trench. Maybe Crowley found it, and it's a double-cross."
Dean shook his head. "That doesn't make sense. He wants me to power it up and kill the ginger. He set it up."
"Okay. A-assuming he does show up with it, Crowley is only useful to us until we have the Blade."
"Yeah. So?" Dean asked.
Sam took a deep breath. "So...There's nothing stopping us from using it on him, right?"
"Nothing at all." Dean's phone started ringing. He looked down at it; the caller ID read 666. "Speak of the devil." He picked it up. "Did you find the First Blade?"
"Not exactly."
*************************
They met up with Crowley and brought him back to the bunker.
Together they followed a seemingly endless string of leads until finally they found themselves in a large empty field. Crowley claimed that his demons had been able to track Albert Magnus--the last known owner of the Blade and an ex- member of the Men of Letters--this far before the trail vanished.
"So this is where your demons tracked him to?" Hope asked. She had insisted on coming despite the Winchesters' protests.
"Exact spot." Crowley confirmed. "My boys never could find him. I'm sensing nothing, so if he's here, he's warded up to the gills."
Sam nodded. "Well, he was a genius at it, right? Sure as hell ain't gonna be found by a bunch of demons."
"Oh, like he's gonna open his heart to you lot, because you're such prizes?" Crowley sneered.
"Better--we're legacies." Dean said, nodding at Sam. "All right, if he's so bent on hiding, maybe he's watching. Give it a shot."
Sam lifted the box that had contained the key to the bunker, branded with the Men of Letters symbol. "Magnus? We're Sam and Dean Winchester, Henry Winchester's grandsons."
"And Men of Letters, ourselves." Dean added.
Sam nodded. "We know what happened back in the day. We don't necessarily agree with it. We figured...maybe you want to tell your side of the story."
Nothing happened for a moment. Suddenly, a smoky door materialized in front of them. Sam and Dean exchanged a look and then walked through it. They immediately found themselves in the hallway of a beautiful mansion.
"Which way?" Sam asked. Dean motioned to the right and they walked down the hall.
As they rounded a corner, two vampires jumped on them. They fought them off, beheading them. When the vamps were dead, a voice came over the intercom. "Bravo! Well done."
**************************
"Sorry about all the theatricality. I just wanted to see what you two were made of." Magnus told Sam and Dean, who were seated uneasily on a couch in front of him. The man poured himself a drink.
"So, what, are we underground?" Dean asked.
"No. No, my fortress is right where you were standing." Magnus smirked. "But it's invisible."
"Then you must be Cuthbert Sinclair." Sam spoke up, using Magnus' real name, which they had found in his file in the bunker.
"Ugh. I haven't gone by that moniker in, oh...fifty-seven years now."
Dean scoffed. "Well, you're looking good for a guy pushing...ninety?"
Magnus smiled. "Well, thanks, sport. There's a spell for damn near everything. I am impressed, though. You did exactly what you should have done. Though I am gonna miss those two from my zoo."
"Your zoo?" Sam asked.
"Oh, gentlemen, you are in the midst of the greatest collection of supernatural rarities and antiquities on the planet." Magnus bragged. "I'm sorry. Did you say that you were Men of Letters? I thought that whole thing died out after '58."
"Well, we are--we are legacies. But actually, uh...we're hunters." Sam admitted.
Magnus looked surprised. "Hunters? Wow! Hunters. With the key to the kingdom! The boys must be spinning in their graves. Damn snobs. Bunch of librarians, if you ask me." He complained. "Although I was always fond of Henry. I was his mentor, you know? Yeah, 'til the squares gave me the boot. Yeah. 'Course, he came here to visit me, in secret. Called out to me, same as you did. Oh, yes. Quite the wild hair, your grandfather was."
"Listen, Magnus, uh..." Dean hedged. "We got ourselves a little situation. Abaddon, the last Knight of Hell, is looking to up her pay grade and take over the place."
Magnus sighed, shaking his head sadly. "Things never change, do they? I kept telling the boys over and over again--I would say, 'We could stop all this. We could rid the world of monsters once and for all if we just put our minds to it,' but, 'Oh, no,' they said, "No, no, no. It's not our place. We're here to study. We're here to catalog."
"Yeah, yeah, no, we get it." Dean nodded. "They're, uh...geeks." Magnus made a sound of approval, and Dean took that as his cue to continue. "But she can be stopped. But we need something that we hear you have--the First Blade."
Magnus narrowed his eyes. "Hmm. I see. Interesting. But if you'd really done your homework, you would know that it's absolutely useless, unless, of course, you're possessing the Mark--"
"The Mark of Cain." Dean interrupted, rolling up his sleeve to reveal the red symbol on his forearm.
"Oh, my. How did you come by that?" Magnus asked, surprised.
"Listen," Sam broke in, "if Abbadon takes over, the one thing she wants more than anything is to make Hell on earth. Not even you can escape that."
"And they say all hunters are morons. It's right there behind you, gentlemen."
Sam and Dean turned around. An old bone rested on a display stand on the table behind them. "Listen, if you're serious about taking action, this--this is taking action." Dean said, standing up. Beside him, Sam did the same. "You loan us that Blade, and we will stop the bitch."
Magnus frowned. "Hmm. Let me think about it........All right, I've thought about it." He blew a handful of green powder at Sam. "Abi, ab oculis meis!" Sam vanished in a puff of smoke.
*************************
Sam found himself in the woods outside Magnus' mansion. He pushed through the trees back to the Impala, where Crowley and Hope waited.
"Magnus has Dean." He told them.
*************************
"What did you do with my brother?" Dean's voice was fierce and his eyes were full of fire.
"Don't worry. He's fine. But I did what any good collector would do--I separated the ordinary from the extraordinary. I had the First Blade. And now I have the Mark of Cain to complete the set."
"Yeah, well, problem is, it's attached." Dean snapped. "So how about you loan me the Blade and I take care of business?"
"Dean, I'm offering you the moon here." Magnus insisted. "To be part of the greatest collection of all time, to be young forever. Let me teach you my secrets. Hmm? Be my companion. I have to be honest with you, it has gotten lonely here over the years."
Dean raised his eyebrows. "When you were saying any of that, did it feel at all creepy?" he asked. "Yeah. I'm just gonna grab the Blade and go."
"One little design flaw to the place--no windows, no doors." Magnus smirked.
Dean drew his machete. "Well, in that case...I'll just make my own."
"Shen ti rán shao!" Magnus yelled. Dean's machete burned white hot in his hand. He cried out and dropped it to the ground. "Eh? Tricky little spell, that first one, right? Chinese." Dean reached for his gun, but it was gone. He looked to find Magnus holding it up. "Ah. Cheap magicians trick on that one--picked your pocket. Nice gun." He smirked. "Welcome to the collection, Dean."
***********************
Sam and Hope dug through the trunk of the Impala, looking for anything that would help them get Dean out. Crowley peeked over Sam's shoulder and Sam drew the demon knife on him. "You mind?"
Crowley backed of. "Who would have thunk it, eh, Moose--you and me and Feathers over there, same team, in the trenches. When this is over we can get matching tattoos."
Sam took Magnus' file box out of the trunk and moved around to sit in the passenger seat and go through it. Hope followed, sliding into the driver's seat. "Just to be clear, Crowley, we are not on the same anything." Sam snapped. "By the way, since the place is warded, your powers are useless, which means you are useless, even more so than usual."
"You're gonna need another set of hands when you get in there," Crowley protested, "unless you have other counters in mind."
Hope opened her mouth to speak but Sam cut her off. "No." He told her. "And no." He added to Crowley.
"If memory serves me, I'm the one who helped your brother find Cain so that we could find the Blade, so that Dean could receive the Mark." Crowley snapped. "I'm the one who flushed that lout Gadreel out of your noggin. So, lately, big boy, I've seen more playing time than you."
"Crowley, will you please shut the hell up?" Sam sighed, exasperated.
"Sam, I can--" Hope began.
"No." Sam interrupted her. "Look, Hope; you're injured. Even if I think you should come, Dean would kill me if I let you."
She shook her head. "I'm coming."
Sam was about to protest, but something in her eyes stopped him. Instead, he just sighed and went back to going through Magnus' file.
**********************
Magnus had Dean chained securely to a post in his mansion, with chains around his upper arms and ankles. "Oh, you're really a piece of work. You know that?" Dean spat. "Locked up in here, doing nothing. You bitch about the Men of Letters; You're way worse."
Magnus ignored him, holding up the First Blade. "Should we fire it up? What do you say?"
"Go to hell."
Magnus frowned. "Oh, come on, Dean. This is the object of your quest. Tell me Henry Winchester's grandson isn't curious to see if it works? Give me your hand." Dean didn't move, so Magnus grabbed his right hand and shoved the First Blade's handle into it. "Give me...your hand."
The Mark glowed red and Dean went rigid, the hand that clutched the Blade starting to shake. He fought off the pleasure coursing through him as he felt the Blade's power. He didn't want this weapon of Hell to feel good. He didn't want to like it. The veins on his arm surrounding the Mark glowed red as well. His hand trembled more and more until he dropped the Blade. He stood there, breathing heavily, his right hand still shaking.
Magnus bent to pick up the Blade. "That's it. Good. Next time, it'll be easier. You'll get used to the feelings, even welcome them." Dean continued to breathe heavily and the tension in his hand faded.
**********************
"Here's something." Sam said hopefully, holding a page from the file box in his lap. "Apparently, he wanted to make the Men of Letters bunker invisible. All physical points of entry were to be eliminated, 'and entrance would only be gained by spell.'" he continued to scan the page. "Oh. We're gonna need some things. You actually might turn out to be useful, Crowley."
**********************
"You'll come to understand, Dean--nothing can stop us." Magnus crooned. "Anything, anyone we want to own or destroy is ours."
"Well, how about this, Magnus? How about I take a knee? Then what are you gonna do? Huh? You gonna kill me?" Dean scoffed. "'Cause without this thing on my arm, that Blade's nothing but a hunk of bone with teeth."
Magnus pursed his lips. "Hmm. Well, I'm not asking for your cooperation. I'm just taking it." He placed his hand on Dean's head as he recited a spell. "Mentem tuam ac voluntatem adsumo." Dean's eyes drained of emotion. "Interesting effect, huh? All right, all will just...drained out of you. I do this enough, you'll be ready for whatever I have in mind."
***********************
Sam mixed the spell ingredients Crowley had fetched for him in a bowl. "I did good, eh, Moose?" Crowley asked. "Everything on the list. You're welcome."
Sam ignored him, standing up and holding the bowl out. He glanced at Hope and she nodded. "Remember--stay close, do what I say, and, Crowley, shut the hell up."
The demon smirked. "I'm growing on you, aren't I?"
Sam sighed. "Ingressum domi dona mihi."
A smoky door, identical to the one Sam and Dean had good through earlier, rose from the ground. The trio stepped through it and into the hallway.
"Love what he's done with the place." Hope commented sarcastically.
They heard footsteps coming down the hallway and ducked around a corner. Magnus appeared and opened a drawer to place something inside it. When he turned around, Sam leapt at him, putting a knife to his throat. "Take me to my brother."
********************
Sam entered the room where Dean was tired up, Hope filling closer behind. Dean saw them and called out in panic. "Sam! Hope! No!" 'Magnus' shifted, becoming someone else, and grabbed the knife from Sam, but before he could attack, Sam stabbed him.
The real Magnus spoke up from beside Dean, drawing his gun on Hope and Sam. "Shape-shifter. You see? There are benefits to keeping a zoo."
*********************
Magnus tied Hope and Sam the same way he had tied Dean. "You know, I discarded you far too quickly, Sam." He said, drawing a blade from a display case and stalking over to them. "And you,...Hope, is it? An angel with a broken halo. You're way more valuable than I thought you were." He turned toward Dean. "Why would I knock myself out trying to stop your will? I think these two will get you to see things my way."
"Magnus, I swear to God..." Dean growled.
"What? What are you gonna do?" he asked, turning toward Hope. He put a hand under her chin and pulled her face up, forcing her to look at him. "What is he gonna do, Angel?"
"Keep your hands off of her!" Dean snarled.
Magnus shrugged, dropping Hope's chin. "As you wish. Adoleret gratia."
Hope cried out in pain. "What did you do to her?!" Dean yelled.
"A damaged grace is a very fragile thing, Dean. It doesn't take much of a spell to inflict pain on someone whose very being is torn and frayed." Magnus turned to Sam. "With you I think I'll stick with the knife." He gashed Sam's cheek and the younger Winchester cried out. Dean thrashed in his bonds. Magnus just smirked. "Yeah, look, look. I'm not gonna kill you, Sam. Or you, Angel. Of course not." Magnus snapped his fingers and Hope screamed again. He smiled as he sliced his knife across Sam's neck. Dean, in his horror, suddenly noticed Crowley peering in through a doorway. "But I am gonna make you suffer unimaginably, all right?"
The sound of chains hitting the floor rang through the room. Magnus turned to look for Dean, but he was gone. Before he could move, Dean rushed at him with the First Blade in hand, the Mark of Cain glowing red and hot. Magnus was beheaded before he even knew what hit him.
Dean clutched the Blade, his right hand shaking. His eyes were barely human as he watched Crowley unchain Sam, who in turn unchained Hope.
"Dean?" Sam said gently. "Hey, it's over. He's dead." Dean looked down at the Blade and the Mark on his arm, still glowing fiercely. His lip curled up into an animal-like snarl.
"Drop the Blade, Dean." Hope said. Dean didn't move.
"Dean!!" Sam yelled. Suddenly, a spark of humanity flashed in Dean's eyes and he looked over to his family. "Drop the Blade."
Dean dropped the Blade and took in a shaky breath. Drawing his trembling right arm to his chest.
*********************
"Brilliant, I must say." Crowley bragged as they walked back to the Impala. Hope and Dean walked close together, their hands clasped between them. "I'm speaking of myself, of course. All you three managed to do was get trussed up. Combine a little daring-do on my part, a little dumb muscle from Squirrel, a little bleeding from Moose and Feathers..." Sam, Dean, and Hope broke out of the woods and shock filled their eyes at the sight before them. Crowley continued to talk. "Happy ending. Roll credits."
"No, no! Come on. What the hell?" Dean cried, rushing forward. The Impala's doors were open and it looked like it had been tossed through a demonic hurricane. Dean ran to her, distraught.
"That's sulfur. Demons." Sam remarked.
Dean nodded. "Abaddon's. Well, she's just one jump behind us. Guess she couldn't find Magnus' joint, either. What about the trunk?"
"Safe." Hope said from the back of the car. "Warding kept them out."
"Demon mitts all over my baby." Dean grumbled. He closed the back door to reveal a message keyed into the side of the car. "Oh, come on!! Oh, now they're keying cars?!"
"What language is that?" Sam asked.
"It's Enochian." Hope answered.
Crowley broke in. "The message isn't for you. It's for me. 'Be afraid. Your Queen.'" he frowned. "Abbadon's getting more brazen. She thinks I'm losing my grip."
"Dean." Sam hissed. "Dean." Dean rose from his kneeling position to listen to Sam. Hope continued to run her fingers across the Enochian carving. "Listen, you said Crowley was only useful till we got the Blade. We got the Blade."
Dean's eyes flickered to Crowley, but before he could move Crowley flicked his wrist, flinging the Winchesters and Hope to the side of the car and holding them there. The First Blade fell from Sam's hand to the ground.
"You know, boys, I'm in debt to you." Crowley said. "You forced sobriety on me, and now I can see the situation for what it is. Dean, you are quite the killing machine. And it occurs to me that Abbadon is not the only name on your list. My name must be up there as well."
"It's no good to you without me." Dean protested.
Crowley nodded. "Yes, but as long as I have it, it's no good to you." He drew the Blade toward him and picked it up. "Now, this is the way it's going to go--I'll hang on to old donkey teeth here until such time as you locate Abbadon. Then you'll destroy her." He frowned. "You're right, Moose. You can't trust me. But, sadly, I can't trust you, either."
He vanished and they were released from the side of the car.