Sacrifice 3/6
Once out of the war room where they’d been gathered, Dean marches them straight to the library.
“Sit,” he says curtly, and unsurprisingly Susan and Kerr drop onto the couch, looking somewhat nervous. Dean stalks over to the cabinet where he and Sam keep the whiskey, grabbing a bottle and four glasses that he slams on the table in front of them with a glower that would have turned most humans into puddles of terrified goo. Sam hides a smile. He’s the only one who knows how soft Dean really is.
“Alright,” Dean orders. “Start talking. The truth this time.”
Susan swallows nervously, picking up her glass with a shaky hand and downing half the amber liquid in one gulp.
“We didn’t want to lie to you,” she says reluctantly. “We didn’t know Ailani would react so strongly to being here--we’d hoped to have time to look around a little before she used the scale.”
“Yeah, what’s the deal with that? I think Sam and I would have noticed if there was a baby dragon running around.” Dean sounds slightly less angry now that he’s getting some answers, but Susan’s face pales and she downs the rest of her drink.
“It’s not quite that simple,” Kerr says quietly, taking over the story. “If what we think is true...it’s not a pretty story.”
“Tell us what you think is happening,” Sam says encouragingly before Dean can snap at him. “Then tell us what we’re going to do about it.”
Between them, Kerr and Susan give Sam and Dean a brief history of their home. “Each hub has a soul bound to it, right from the very start,” Susan explains, warming to her subject. “A member from the founding chapter volunteers--and yes, it’s always a volunteer. Someone older, at the end of their life, because our souls can live on long after our physical bodies wear out. This way there’s always a transfer of knowledge, someone who knows our secrets and ways. After it’s bound, the soul remains aware for some time--usually several decades. Something like a house spirit. They can communicate with special devices placed around the building, and they keep all the spells and wards powered. Electricity, too, once that became more common. However, that awareness fades with its power. And by that time there is usually someone else ready to take their place.”
“That’s kind of horrible,” Dean says with a shudder. “To be trapped like that while your life is slowly drained away.”
Kerr shakes his head. “It’s not for everyone,” he agrees. “But our volunteers see it as a chance to remain with their families long past the time they would have died otherwise. In earlier times, it wasn’t uncommon for a bound soul to see their great-grandchildren become Men of Letters, something ordinarily unheard of for men and women of those times. Their spirits were revered and respected--it was considered a great honor to be chosen.”
“And this is what our--mine and Dean’s--ancestors wanted to do to Ailani’s child?” Sam can’t keep the horror from his voice. “How long can a dragon’s soul live?”
Susan and Kerr exchange a worried look. “No one knows. But I have a feeling we’re going to find out.”
Cold dread makes its way up Sam’s spine. “You think the raid didn’t fail,” he says slowly. “You think our ancestors stole the child and brought it back here after all.”
“It makes a lot of sense,” Susan says. “It explains why the scale glows and why Kerr’s magic brought us here. It explains why Ailani went into the earth--she was grief-stricken, and our shamans lulled her to sleep before she destroyed the villages she was sworn to protect in her madness. And it may help explain why the members of this branch have always been a bit...feral. You are bound to the soul of a dragon--a half mad, frightened, lonely child dragon. Who knows what that might do to someone?”
Sam glances over at Dean, who looks as speechless and stunned as Sam feels.
“Wow,” Dean says eventually. “I gotta say, I was not expecting any of that.”
“So how do we find out for sure if all of this really happened? And how do we free Ailani’s daughter if she’s here?” Sam pushes down the horror he feels at his ancestor’s actions. He may not have committed this crime himself, but he promises himself that they will set it right.
“Better question,” Dean interrupts abruptly. “If we manage to get Leinani free, who’s going to take her place?”
Silence greets Dean’s question. Susan leans forward to refill her glass and Kerr’s before answering carefully.
“Normally, it would be one of you, as Legacies who are already connected to this chapter,” she says, not looking at either of them. “But your souls are already bound to each other, so the spell would take you both, which is not ideal. However--” she holds up a hand to forestall Dean’s objections. “You’re not just Legacies, you’re the last two remaining Legacies. And it was decided when you moved in and reactivated this chapter that neither of you are suitable mentors for this branch.”
“Hey, now,” Dean objects mildly. He doesn’t particularly want to be bound to a musty old building for the next fifty years, but that doesn’t mean he likes hearing that Sam isn’t good enough.
Kerr shrugs. “If we’re right, you’ve lived your entire lives under the influence of a dragon,” he says reasonably. “And we’re fairly certain that neither of you is entirely human at this point. We’ve had enough of that kind of influence.”
“But if not us, then who?” Sam asks, reaching for the bottle himself. He refills his glass and Dean’s, needing the extra warmth after Susan and Kerr’s chilling story. “And how are we going to verify that Leinani’s soul is bound here?”
“We aren’t entirely sure,” Susan admits. “Normally, we’d just...ask. But she hasn’t responded to you living here, or her mother’s presence. We aren’t sure if she’s too weak or if there’s something--a spell, perhaps--preventing her from communicating. It would make sense that the founders of this branch wouldn’t want anyone to know what they’d done.”
“We have some ideas, some tests we can run,” Kerr adds. “We just need some time to set up and cast the spells.”
“We can do that,” Sam says immediately. ”You’re welcome to anything here that you need, and Dean and I will do whatever we can to help.”
Dean watches Sam take charge smoothly and efficiently with a quiet sense of pride. Michael’s intrusion into their lives had been nothing but horror, but if anything good had come out of that situation it was this--Sam’s renewed self confidence and willingness to let others see his strength. Dean waits, sipping his whiskey, until Sam is ready for him, nodding occasionally in unconscious approval as Sam assigns Kerr and Susan a room to work in, makes a list of the ingredients they will need for their spells, and discusses which books they might need to consult.
“Dean, I’m going to grab some of these books then head into town for supplies. Will you check with Jameson and Ailani to see if there’s anything they want or need?” Sam’s voice is brisk, the question mark at the end of his request pure politeness. He turns inquiringly to Dean, then blushes when he sees the smile spreading over Dean’s face.
“Sure, Sammy,” he says gently, none of the mockery he might have injected had they been alone showing in his voice. “Whatever you need.” He pushes to his feet, squeezing Sam’s shoulder as he passes. “You three do your thing.”
“I’ve got another idea too,” Sam says hesitantly. “Meet me downstairs in a few?”
Dean pauses in the doorway, looking back over his shoulder. “See ya in ten,” he agrees, curious about what Sam wants to discuss alone.
Sam watches Dean go, slightly embarrassed by the way he'd taken over and ordered Dean around like a child. At least Dean hadn’t been offended. He stands up with a sigh, smiling at Susan and Kerr. "There's a room that should work for what you need on the next floor down," he says, moving toward the door. "Just follow me." They discuss the spells Kerr intends to try as they walk, and it's amazing to talk with people who understand the fascination of magic rather than fear it. Sam hopes he gets the chance to watch some of the casting and see first hand what benign human magic looks like.
Once they reach the dungeon, which Sam apologetically explains is the largest, quietest, emptiest room they've found so far, Sam leaves Susan and Kerr to set up and hurries back to his bedroom, eager to discuss his ideas.
Chapter 4
https://a-dean-girl.livejournal.com/5478.html