Asmodeus
Chapter Eleven
They had all went back to their separate hotel rooms, seeing as they couldn’t get a suite as the hotel didn’t actually have any. They had just finished sending John off, after Sanguini had managed to get the body released to the family before a post-mortem could be carried out, with a liberal and healthy use of glamours. No one had commented when Asmodeus had followed Dean into his room.
“What’s your gift?” Dean asked quietly after a few moments of silence as they lay next to one another in Dean’s bed.
“I got more than one.” Asmodeus admitted, making Dean prop himself up on his arm to look down at Asmodeus in shock.
“What?”
“Each of The Sisters gave me one... And...” Asmodeus trailed off, looking away from Dean, who looked at him in concern.
“And? Who else gave you a gift? I thought only Miranda could give you one.”
“No. Any... ethereal I suppose, any ethereal being can give a gift, though normally a demon will only get one. My grandfather only got one. He could see peoples auras, their souls.” Asmodeus told him.
“Should you be telling me this?”
“Dunno. There’s no one left to tell me otherwise anymore.” Asmodeus said with a sad shrug and Dean pulled him to his side and rested his head on top of Asmodeus’, who snuggled closer to Dean, tucking his head into Dean’s neck.
“So, who else gave you a gift?”
“The reapers.” Asmodeus admitted quietly, closing his eyes when Dean stiffened.
“What?”
“The reapers gave me a gift. I don’t want it though. They forced me to take it. As gifts go, it’s pretty crappy.” Asmodeus said with a weak laugh and Dean tightened his grip on him.
“What is it?”
“I don’t want to admit to it.”
“Why?”
“You’ll look at me differently.”
“What if I promise I won’t?”
“You can’t promise that. You don’t know how you will react to it. On the plus side, I can now talk to all the Sisters whenever I choose, well except the daytime with Athena. They’ve given me control over their elements. Though within reason. And I can only use one at a time. Which is a bitch.” Asmodeus grumbled, getting a small laugh from Dean.
“Things are going to be different now, aren’t they?” Dean asked after Asmodeus had snuggled into Dean’s side and had put his leg over Dean’s waist.
“Probably.”
“Why did he die?”
“He chose to save you. He loved you more than anyone could ever imagine. He just wanted you to be safe.” Asmodeus whispered, placing a kiss on Dean’s chin, and Dean moved his head down to kiss Asmodeus’ lips.
“Stay with me?”
“I will.” Asmodeus stated firmly, before he tucked his head under Dean’s and closed his eyes. He stayed awake though, until he heard Dean’s breathing deepen and then he opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. “I hope you know what you’re doing, John.”
--
A week after the ‘funeral’ of John and Dean was working on his car non-stop, which caused Sam and Asmodeus to worry about him. Sanguini just rolled his eyes and let Dean get on with it. He didn’t know how to deal with humans and their strange attachments.
Sam walked over to where Dean was lying underneath the Impala, Asmodeus following close behind him, his ears dropped slightly as he neared to Dean.
“How’s the car comin’ along?” Sam asked Dean as he approached and Asmodeus stepped up next to him.
“Slow.”
“Yeah? Need any help?” Sam asked, whilst Asmodeus just stayed silent beside him.
“What, you under a hood? I’ll pass.”
“Need help from me?” Asmodeus asked quietly, tail wrapped around his leg.
“Nah.” Dean told them, still not moving form under the car. Asmodeus glanced at Sam, who just shrugged and then sighed.
“Need anything else then?” Sam finally asked and Dean slid out from under the car and looked at them both in exasperation.
“Stop it.”
“Stop what?” Sam asked, though Asmodeus’ ears lowered even more as he looked away from Dean.
“Stop askin’ if I need anything, stop askin’ if I’m okay. I’m okay. Really. I promise.” Dean told them with a glare. Asmodeus just shrugged his shoulders, still not looking at either Dean or Sam.
“All right. Dean, it’s just... we’ve been at Bobby’s for over a week now and you haven’t brought Dad up once.” Asmodeus winced slightly at that and risked a glance at Dean, who looked at him and shook his head slightly. Asmodeus nodded and sighed, looking away once more.
“You know what, you’re right. Come here. I’m gonna lay my head gently on your shoulder. Maybe we can cry, hug - maybe even slow dance.” Asmodeus’ lips twitched into a smile and he glanced at the brother’s out of the corner of his eyes.
“Don’t patronise me, Dean. Dad is dead! The Colt is gone, and it seems pretty damn likely that the demon is behind all of this, and you’re actin’ like nothin’ happened.” Sam exclaimed, making Asmodeus’ ears to finally become one with his head and he stepped away from the volatile hunter and moved closer to Dean, who had sat up and was leaning against the Impala.
“What do you want me to say?”
“Say something, all right? Hell, say anything! Aren’t you angry? Don’t you want revenge? But all you do is sit out here all day long, buried underneath this damn car!” Sam yelled, making Asmodeus flinch and gain his attention. “And you! You know something and you won’t tell us! You want us to trust you, but you’re not giving us a reason! Even Sanguini is suspicious of you! What are you hiding from us?”
“Sam. Leave him alone.” Dean told him firmly, looking at Asmodeus in concern. Asmodeus in the mean time was just staring at the ground in front of him in shock. Sanguini was suspicious of him. ‘Guini didn’t trust him. He’d always trusted him before, even when he didn’t tell him everything.
“No Dean! Just because you’re sleeping with him, doesn’t mean he can be trusted anymore! If he’s hiding something, then he needs to tell us! Is it about the demon? Is that it?” Sam asked, taking a step towards Asmodeus, causing Asmodeus to take a step away from him, wincing at the anger he could practically feel rolling off of his friend.
“No.” Asmodeus whispered softly.
“Than what? And what is your gift! Why won’t you tell us? I know your kind didn’t normally share what they received outside of your species, but you’re the last one left! Who else are you going to tell?” Sam asked loudly, his shouting, by this time had also gotten the attention of Bobby and Sanguini, who had forged a strange friendship.
“No one. I’m telling no one. No one needs to know. You just need to know that it’s not a gift, it’s damn curse.” Asmodeus spat, a tear running down his face, which made Sam falter and Dean look at him in concern. Asmodeus furiously wiped the tear away and then ran away from everyone, dodging between the piles of cars until he could no longer hear the others shouting after him.
He sat down in one of the cars and rested his head on the steering wheel, taking a deep breath to try and stop the near hysterical sobbing he could feel wanting to be released. He then turned his head to the side to look at the woman sitting next to him.
“You know I can’t say anything to him. He wouldn’t believe me. And if he did, he would worry that you hadn’t moved on. He wouldn’t understand.” Asmodeus said softly, making the woman smile at him sadly.
“No, you’re right. He wouldn’t understand. You will eventually get used to your gift you know.”
“Really? I feel like Hailey Joel Osmond! I see dead freaking people! And I don’t have the choice of passing on their message! I just have to pretend they’re not there! I can’t tell anyone because they will either think I’m insane or possessed! And Sanguini will just worry about me. I can’t tell anyone! Why did no one warn me that gifts were curses!”
“If you had been told, then you wouldn’t have accepted the change and it would have killed you trying to force it on you. As it is, you nearly died anyway. Miranda and Athena will be able to help you control it. Charna will help you to understand what it is you need to do and why you have this gift. Nina and Myra will both temper how many you see and who you see.”
“So I’m not going to be seeing murderers and rapists? I’m not going to see everyone that died in a hospital whenever I enter those places? What about ghosts? How will I be able to tell the difference? How will I know when to salt and burn the damned bones?”
“You will know. You have already shown that you will know. Isaiah is forever grateful to you for what you did. You may not have realised it, but it was your gift beginning to form.”
“Why did they have to give it to me? Reapers have never shown an interest in my kind before.”
“You survived death. That made them stand up and take notice. Then you gave them so many souls in your short life. Many more than most. And finally, you helped deliver to one who had been escaping them for near eighty years. Not to mention you own the Hallows.”
“They’re in a vault that no one bar me can enter. They’re hardly going to do me any good. Besides, I’m practically immortal anyway.”
“But you are not indestructible. The Hallows make sure you are Death’s favoured.”
“Well I don’t particularly want his favour. He can take the damned Hallows and this stupid gift and leave me alone.”
“You know that is not possible. You are not alone in this, and if you allowed your brothers and mate to know, then you would have even more support.”
“No. They will not know.”
“Very well. I cannot make the decision for you.”
“Bobby misses you, you know.” Asmodeus said softly, looking away from the woman and staring out of the window.
“I know. I miss him as well. I do not blame him for what he had to do. I watch over him whenever I can.”
“He knows. I know he knows.”
“Maybe you do. You always were more perceptive than most. Even if you do hide it most of the time.” Bobby’s wife said with a shrewd smile at him.
“Perhaps. I think it is better that way. I don’t want people to expect too much of me and it’s always fun to knock people off guard.”
“I suppose it is. I still think you should share with someone about your gift. If you don’t, I fear it may get the better of you.”
“You know I can’t.”
“Yes. Fear is a great thing. It hinders even the bravest of men at times. Perhaps you could consider telling your mate.”
“He’s not my mate.” Asmodeus said in a small, tired voice.
“Yet.”
“What do you know? How do you know if he will ever be my mate?”
“Call it woman’s intuition.” She said with a small smile.
“You’ve got to go.” Asmodeus said a few minutes later, tilting his head to the side and listening to the quiet voices only he could hear.
“Yes. I will always be here to listen to you though. You may find more like myself on your journey. Some you may even be able to help pass on a message. Just, promise me you won’t try to save any of them. They are all beyond your help now.”
“I know.”
“Good. It is not your responsibility to pass on their messages. You are just able to see them so that they can help you.”
“Is that what my gift is then? Help from the dead?”
“Yes. You know this. The reapers want you to live. They like you. Like Miranda and her sisters, they want you to carry on in this world, where they have influence over you.”
“Great. I’m just a puppet.”
“Perhaps. But are we not all just puppets? You need to accept your fate in this world. It is the only way you will be able to be happy.”
“Probably.” Asmodeus mumbled sadly, looking away from her.
“Your older brother will not be suspicious of you if you tell him. He just worries.”
“Yeah, worry, that’s what makes him such a fucking paranoid bastard.”
“Language.”
“Sorry.” Asmodeus muttered, not sounding sorry in the least.
“Hmm. Dean is heading this way. I will leave you now. You know how to call out for me if you need to talk. Though talking with the living is a lot more healthy. Even if they don’t have a pulse.” She added with a wide grin, then she vanished just as Dean spotted him and ran over.
“You okay? You just ran off. Ignore Sam, he’s just a little stressed right now, and I don’t think I’m helping.” Dean said, climbing into the car when Asmodeus shuffled along the seat to make room for him.
“I don’t blame Sammy for anything. He’s right. I should tell you all my gift. I just can’t.”
“I know. I trust you to tell one of us should things get too hard. You know we are all here for you, even Bobby.” Dean told him with a grin, getting a small one in return.
“I know. This is just something I will have to deal with on my own. If it leads me to learning of something that will help us, trust me to tell you.” Asmodeus told him quietly and Dean looked at him, then pulled him to his side.
“I do. Thank you for not telling Sam of our nightly talks.” Dean said, sensing a need to change the subject.
“It isn’t my place to tell. You will share with him eventually. It will help you more than talking to me will. Sam is going through the same thing as you. I’m not.”
“You have experienced loss though. You may not realise it, but you do know what I’m going through.”
“Perhaps.” Asmodeus conceded with a nod of his head. “Why is Sanguini suspicious of me?”
“I don’t know. Sam is closer to him than I am. Hell Bobby is closer to him than I am. If I had to guess though, I’d say he was more worried than suspicious. I think Sam just wanted to upset you.” Dean admitted eventually, after a pause.
“Is there a reason you came to find me?”
“Besides just wanting to be in your presence?” Dean asked with a wide grin, which got him a raised eyebrow and unimpressed expression from Asmodeus. “Fine, yes there is another reason I’m here.”
“And?”
“Sam found a message on Dad’s phone. It’s from someone called Ellen. She seemed to know him quite well and he kept her message for four months. She must be something important to him.” Dean explained.
“Right, so we’re going to go and meet with her?”
“Sort of.”
“Sort of? Let me guess, she doesn’t know we’re coming.” Asmodeus guessed dryly.
“Yeah.” Dean admitted, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
“Right, well I suppose we’ll be going in my car.” Asmodeus said with a roll of his eyes, resting his head on Dean’s shoulder.
“If you don’t mind. Its either that or go in a minivan Bobby offered us. I’d rather be James Bond than a soccer mom.” Dean admitted with a wry grin, getting a small chuckle from Asmodeus.
“I think most people would want to be James Bond anyway. I have the accent going for me, you just have... Er...”
“Think carefully.” Dean warned with an amused twinkle in his eyes as he looked at Asmodeus, who was clearly struggling to find something mysterious about Dean Winchester.
“Ooh! You have the many identities!” Asmodeus said, sitting up straight to look at Dean, who just gaped at him.
“Many identities?”
“Yeah. How many ID cards do you own? You have that in common with James Bond. I have the accent and the car and the overall suaveness.”
“Shame about the lack of height, huh?” Dean grumbled, dodging the swat Asmodeus aimed at him.
“Hey!”
“Oh accept it, Sanguini is more James Bond than either of us could ever hope to be.”
“Yeah. You’re right. Which is annoying considering he’s actually French.”
“What? Really?”
“Yeah, but he lived in Britain mainly for about three hundred years. Hence the accent.” Asmodeus told him, and Dean just looked enlightened.
“Yeah. He strikes me as being French.”
“Come on. Let’s get back to the others before they think I’ve killed you.” Asmodeus said dryly, getting a brief hug from Dean and a kiss on his head before they both climbed out of the car carefully, making sure not to make the other cars on top of it fall off and onto them.
“They trust you really.” Dean told him as they walked back to Bobby’s house.
“Really? I’m not feeling the trust right now.” Asmodeus told him grumpily.
“Maybe not. They will though. Eventually.”
“Sure sure. Enough of the sap. Let’s go find this Ellen woman.” Asmodeus grumbled, walking ahead of Dean and nibbling on his lip nervously as he approached the house and heard Sam and Sanguini talking to Bobby. As he turned around a car to come into view, Dean caught up with him and grabbed his hand to give it a squeeze, and led him back to the others.
“Hey guys. As has offered his car for the journey. Shall we head out?” Dean called over to them and getting a nod from the other two.
“Sure. Come on, let’s go.” Sam said, looking at Asmodeus for a moment before looking away. Asmodeus looked down at the floor and Dean squeezed his hand gently.
--
They pulled up outside of a building called Harvelle’s Roadhouse and Asmodeus glanced in his mirror to look at Sanguini, who shrugged then looked away. Asmodeus sighed and looked at Dean sitting next to him before he got out of the car and walked up to the door.
Dean quickly caught up with him and linked his fingers through Asmodeus’, getting a small smile from the smaller man. Sam looked at them with a small smile and then walked past them up to the door of the roadhouse.
“Hello? Anybody here?” Sam called out, getting no answer and looking behind him at Dean.
“Hey.” Dean said, when Sam turned back around to try and look through the window.
“Yeah?”
“Did you bring the, uh...” Dean floundered for the right word to use and Asmodeus looked at them in confusion.
“Of course.” Sam said, seemingly knowing what Dean meant and taking out his case with lock-picking tools inside and threw it to Dean, who let go of Asmodeus’ hand to catch it. Asmodeus looked at him and rolled his eyes, stopping Dean from walking forwards and taking a step towards the door.
“Ellen? Jo? It’s Asmodeus and Sanguini. Think you can put away to paranoia and come open the door? Ash? Wake up! I can bloody well see you through the window.” Asmodeus called out much to the shock and confusion of Sam and Dean.
“You know them?” Dean hissed, walking up to him.
“Of course I do. Quite frankly I’m shocked that you two don’t.” Asmodeus told him.
“Er...”
“They are base point for most hunters. That is probably how your father knew her.” Sanguini explained, coming to stand next to them.
The door to the roadhouse suddenly clicked unlocked and swung open and a young woman with blond hair stood in the doorway looking at them suspiciously, she then took in Sanguini and Asmodeus standing near to each other and smiled, then threw herself into Asmodeus, which made Dean narrow his eyes jealously.
“’Mody!”
“Not that bloody name! Sanguini, you have a lot to answer for!” Asmodeus grumbled, hugging Jo Harvelle and smiling at her, internally grumbling about how she was now taller than him.
“Who are your friends?” Jo asked, looking at Sam and Dean appraisingly.
“Down girl. They’re not interested. Well I can’t talk about Sam, but Dean had better damn well not be interested if he wants to see the end of the day.” Asmodeus growled, glaring at Dean, who put his hands up and widened his eyes innocently, getting s snigger from Sam.
“Hmm. So they’re called Sam and Dean? I’m assuming from their expressions that Sam is the taller one. Huh, you can keep Dean, Sam’s better looking.” Jo said with a smirk, getting a laugh from Sam, Sanguini and Asmodeus, whilst Dean just looked at her in shock. Jo stepped out of Asmodeus’ arms and moved over to Sanguini to give him a hug as well.
“Don’t know why you’re laughing, you said the exact same thing and ended up with me. You never know how things might go.” Dean grouched, which made Asmodeus stop laughing and glare at him.
“So, where’s your mother?” Asmodeus asked, walking over to stand next to Dean, whilst Sanguini walked closer to them with Jo standing next to him.
“She’s inside. She let me come and greet you.”
“Well isn’t she spiffy.” Asmodeus grumbled, grinning when Jo glared at him.
“You going to introduce us?” Jo asked, looking at him expectantly and getting a sigh from Asmodeus.
“Fine, guys, this is Jo Harvelle, daughter to Ellen. Jo, this is Sam and Dean Winchester. John Winchester’s sons.” Asmodeus told her, getting a raised eyebrow from the younger woman.
“Really? Well mom will be happy to see them. She’s been trying to contact John for a while now.”
“Yeah, that’s why we’re here. We heard a message your mom left on our dads phone.” Sam explained, looking at her with a small smile when she turned her gaze to him.
“Hmm. Well you had better get in then. Don’t mind Ash on the pool table.” Jo said, walking past them and into the bar. The others looked at each other and then followed, with Asmodeus and Dean in the lead.
They saw a woman who looked similar to Jo, with blond hair standing in front of the bar, with a rifle in her hand, though it wasn’t aimed at anyone, much to Asmodeus’ relief.
“So, you’re John’s boys? Huh. What are you doing with those two miscreants?” She asked, nodding her head towards Asmodeus and Sanguini.
“Ellen! I’m insulted! Don’t you love me?” Asmodeus asked, placing a hand over his heart and getting a grin from Dean, who stood close next to him, shoulders brushing.
“Shut it kid. What are you doin’ here?”
“You called our dad and said you could help - help with what?” Dean asked, looking at Ellen curiously.
“Well... the demon, of course. I heard he was closing in on it.” Ellen told them, getting shocked looks from Sam and Dean. Sanguini and Asmodeus looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
“Was there an article in The Demon Hunter’s Quarterly that I missed?”
“That magazine was ended when my family were killed. We were the only ones that read it anyway.” Asmodeus added with a shrug and grinning at the shocked looks everyone gave him. “What?”
“I was joking.” Dean deadpanned.
“Oh. Well. Um... Carry on.” Asmodeus said, blushing lightly and looking away to behind the bar.
“Who are you? How do you know about all this?”
“I think Asmodeus told you who we are, we just run this saloon. Hunters come and go, which included your dad a long time ago. John was like family once.”
“Oh yeah? How come he’s never mentioned you before?” Dean asked, looking distinctly unimpressed.
“You’d have to ask him that.” Ellen told them, and Dean paused, hurt. Asmodeus looked at him in concern and walked over to stand next to him. A move that no one in the room, bar an unconscious Ash, missed.
“So why exactly do we need your help?” Dean asked when Asmodeus entwined their fingers and squeezed.
“Hey, don’t do me any favours. Look, if you don’t want my help, fine. Don’t let the door smack your ass on the way out. But John wouldn’t have sent you if...” Ellen trailed off as she suddenly came to realise something, taking in the expressions on the fours faces. “He didn’t send you.” Sam and Dean looked down sadly and Sanguini and Asmodeus looked at them in concern. “He is alright, isn’t he?” Ellen asked quietly.
“No. No, he isn’t. It was the demon, we think. It, um... just got him before he got it, I guess.” Sam said, looking up at Asmodeus through his fringe and narrowing his eyes, making Asmodeus’ eyes widen and then look away from him.
“I’m so sorry.” Ellen told them sincerely.
“It’s okay. We’re alright.” Dean reassured her and squeezed Asmodeus’ hand.
“Really. I know how close you and your dad -“
“Ellen. Leave it.” Asmodeus said in a tight voice and Ellen nodded her head and sighed.
“Look, if you can help... we could use all the help we can get.” Sam told her, getting a small grin in return.
“Well, we can’t. But Ash will.” Ellen said, ignoring the groan this brought from Asmodeus and the chuckle from Sanguini.
“Who’s Ash?” Sam asked and Asmodeus grinned.
“He’s Ash.” Asmodeus said, pointing to the unconscious body on the pool table, much to the shock of the Winchester brother’s.
“Ash!” Ellen called out, startling Ash into waking up and looking around he room in a sleepy confusion. Asmodeus grinned and hid his face in Dean’s shoulder.
“What? Closin’ time?” Ash mumbled, rubbing at his eyes and yawning.
“That’s Ash?” Sam asked in a dull voice, looking at Sanguini, Jo, Ellen and Asmodeus as though they were insane.
“Mm-hmm. He’s a genius.” Jo said with a nod and a grin. Ash looked over at them and caught sight of Sanguini, grinning widely.
“Sanguini! My man! How you been doin’? Been a while since I last saw you! And little ‘Mody! Huh, lookin’ pretty close there with him, ain’t yah? Not cheatin’ on me are yah?” Ash asked with a grin, getting a groan from both men. Dean chuckled and looked down at Asmodeus.
“Cheatin’ on him, huh? Somethin’ you want to tell me?” Dean asked with a grin, which widened at Asmodeus’ blush. Sanguini and Jo chuckled and Ellen just rolled her eyes and moved over to Sam, who looked at her questioningly. She just shook her head and led him over to the bar.
“I’m not cheating on him. There is nothing going on between myself and Ash. He damn well knows that, or he should have seeing as I kicked his ass when he pinched mine.” Asmodeus growled, glaring past Dean at an unabashed Ash.
“Hey, I thought you were a pretty chick.” Ash said, grin growing. Dean choked on his laughter and Jo and Sanguini chuckled whilst Asmodeus just glared even more and blushed furiously.
“Let’s go join Ellen and Sam at the bar, huh?” Asmodeus asked, leading Dean over to the chairs beside Sam and sitting down in them, making sure Dean was seated next to Sam and not himself. He still hadn’t quite forgiven Sam for what he had said earlier and he knew Sam didn’t take it back.
Ash joined them at the bar and Sam threw a thick folder in front of him, which Ash blinked at, then looked at them. Dean just stared at him and then turned to look at Asmodeus and Ellen incredulously.
Behind them Sanguini and Jo were sitting at a table talking in hushed voices, occasionally throwing a glance over at Asmodeus and Dean before looking back at the table in front of them. This made Asmodeus’ ears and tail twitch in annoyance, but they were talking to quietly for him to actually hear what they were saying.
“You’ve gotta be kiddin’ me. This guy’s no genius. He’s a Lynyrd Skynyrd roadie.” Dean exclaimed, and Ash chuckled.
“I like you.” Ash said, which made Asmodeus smile lightly, facing down at the bar.
“Thanks.” Dean responded, dryly.
“Just give him a chance.” Asmodeus whispered to Dean, before turning and smiling at Ash.
Dean glanced at Asmodeus and then looked at Sam, who shrugged, before turning back to Ash and nodding to the file he had placed in front of the other man. “Alright. This stuff’s about a year’s worth of our dad’s work, so, uh... let’s see what you make of it.”
Ash nodded and then opened the folder to read the information inside of it. Asmodeus looked over his shoulder to read some of the things and snorted, knowing exactly what Ash would say about the information found.
“Come on. This crap ain’t real. Ain’t nobody can track a demon like this.” Sam and Dean exchanged a look whilst Asmodeus just snorted and took the drink Ellen pushed in front of him.
“Our dad could.”
“Seriously. You do not want to get me started on John Winchester.” Asmodeus muttered into his bottle, getting a grin from Ellen.
“These are nonparametric statistical overviews, cross-spectrum correlations. I mean... damn. They’re signs - omens. If you can track ‘em, you can track this demon - you know, like crop failures, electrical storms. You ever been struck by lightning? It ain’t fun.” Asmodeus snorted again, but this time Ash showed more than his placid side by glaring at the man next to him, making Asmodeus stopped giggling.
“Hey! Don’t look at me like that! It wasn’t my fault.” Asmodeus said, holding his hands up in the air. Dean and Sam looked at each other in confusion and then turned their attention back to Asmodeus and Ash. Ellen just watched on in amusement.
“Oh really? You weren’t the one shoutin’ ‘Just hold onto it a little longer Ash! Don’t let go! Don’t worry! It’s a lie that lightning hits kites!’ Sure didn’t feel like a lie to me.” Ash grumbled, glaring when Asmodeus’ lips twitched at the memory and Ellen snorted behind her hand. Sam and Dean just watched in amused shock.
“Oh come on. Your hair was amazing straight after!”
“It was pretty cool.” Ash conceded, with a grin and with that Dean lost it and started to laugh, leaning heavily on the bar to stay on his seat.
“Look, can you track it or not?” Sam asked, interrupting any more stories Ash and Asmodeus would share.
“Yeah, with this, I think so. But it’s gonna take time. Uh, give me...” Ash paused to think it through and then grinned, “...fifty-one hours.” He then gathered the research and walked away, leaving behind an amused Asmodeus and Ellen and a stunned Dean and Sam.
“Hey, man.” Dean called out, making Ash stop and look behind him at Dean.
“Yeah?”
“By the way, I uh... I dig the haircut.” Dean told him. Sanguini snickered at the table he was sharing with Jo as Ash grinned and tossed his hair over his shoulder.
“All business up front, party in the back.” Ash told them and then left them to enter his ‘office’. Asmodeus noticed Sam sit up a little straighter and look at something behind the bar, and looked to see what had caught Sam’s eye and rolled his eyes.
“Hey, Ellen, what is that?” Sam asked, pointing behind her.
“It’s a police scanner. We keep tabs on things -“ Ellen started before Sam cut her off with a shake of his head and pointed to the folder next to it.
“No, no, no, no. The folder.” Ellen looked behind her and it and then walked over to pick it up and took it back to Sam.
“Uh... I was gonna give this to a friend of mine, but take a look if you want.” She said, handing the folder to Sam. Dean watched and then stood up to join Sanguini and Jo at the table.
“Thanks.” Sam said, smiling at her and opening the folder. Ellen then turned to look at Asmodeus, who smiled at her.
“So, how have you been? We haven’t heard from you since before June.”
“Yeah, that was about when we met up with the Winchesters. Things kind of escalated from there, what with Azazel and everything.” Asmodeus said, with a shrug and a small smile.
“Ah, and you and Dean? This happened...” Ellen asked, trailing off and looking at him expectantly, grinning slightly when he blushed and ducked his head.
“Uh... It happened about um... two weeks ago, maybe three. I dunno, we had a brief falling out not long after it started and then we got back together. Sort of.” Asmodeus said, not noticing Sam’s flinch at the mention of the falling out.
“Right. And so, you and Sanguini been okay with John and the boys?”
“Er... The boys? Yeah. John? Not so much.” Asmodeus grumbled, ears flattening to his head.
“Ah. I never did think you and John would get on should you ever have met. You’re far to alike.” Ellen mused, making Asmodeus and Sam choke on their drinks and stare at her as if she was insane. Ellen just grinned at him.
“Pardon? I could’ve sworn you said me and John Winchester were alike.” Asmodeus stated in a calm voice.
“Well, let’s be honest you are both stubborn, pig-headed and scarily protective of those you consider family. You’re just more open-minded than he was.” Ellen told him, and Sam grinned before turning his attention back to the folder in front of him.
“Hmm. Whatever. So how have you and Jo been?”
“We’ve been good. Just keepin’ an eye on things. You know. Jo’s been hinting that she wants to follow her fathers footsteps.” Ellen said, looking at her daughter laughing with Sanguini and Dean with a frown, and Asmodeus winced.
“Ah. Not good. But you know, the more you object to it, the more she is going to want to do it. Perhaps you should send her on a hunt with a trusted hunter and let her see what it’s really like.”
“Maybe. But before I resort to sending her off with you, I’m gonna try and talk some sense in to her.”
“Huh, that might work.” Asmodeus admitted with a thoughtful nod, before something Ellen had said came to him and he looked up and pinned her with a narrowed stare. “What do you mean, send her off with me?”
“Well, you’re with Sanguini and the Winchesters. You like me and Jo. You would look out for her and protect her. And with those other three, then she would undoubtedly be safe from harm. Or at least more safe than say, if she were with someone else.”
“Huh. Well I think that’s a right crappy idea.” Asmodeus said bluntly, getting a glare from Ellen.
“Well it was your idea in the first place.” Ellen pointed out stiffly.
“It was not! I said send her off with a hunter! Not with four of the most unlucky bastards known to hunting! You want to get her killed?”
“No. Which is why I would send her with you.”
“You’re insane. You do know that, right?” Asmodeus muttered, resting his head on his arms.
“Yes, well I prefer brilliant. A genius perhaps.”
“That’s Ash.”
“What, there can’t be two of us?”
“No.”
“Dean, Sanguini, come here a minute.” Sam called out and not only Asmodeus noticed how he missed out the demons name. Jo and Ellen looked at him questioningly and Asmodeus shook his head and tilted his bottle to Ellen before taking a deep swig of it.
“Yeah?” Dean asked, taking his seat again and looking at his little brother, though he did place his hand on Asmodeus’ leg comfortingly.
“A few murders not far from here that Ellen caught wind of - looks to me like there might be a hunt.” Sam told him once Sanguini had sat down on the stool on his other side. Asmodeus looked at them sadly, then motioned Ellen for another drink. She frowned but handed one to him anyway.
“Yeah, so?” Dean asked, looking at Sam curiously.
“So, I think we should check it out.”
“Why?”
“Dunno. Something to do whilst Ash checks out those leads? Come on Dean, we can’t just stay here for fifty-one hours.” Sam told him and Dean sighed.
“He’s right Dean. Besides, it could be fun. I’m in the mood to kill something.” Sanguini said with a grin.
“Fine. Come on, let’s go.” Dean said, standing up and looking at Asmodeus, who looked at him, then past him at Sam and Sanguini. He shut his eyes when they both refused to look at him but then opened them again and gave Dean a shaky smile. He passed the car keys to Dean but followed them out of the bar, giving a wave to Jo and Ellen, who watched him leave, concerned.
--
“You’ve gotta be kiddin’ me. A killer clown?” Dean asked incredulously, looking at Sam in the rear-view mirror and then looking to Asmodeus beside him, who had shuddered.
“I hate clowns.” Asmodeus muttered, resting his head on the window of the door.
“Yeah, he left the daughter unharmed and killed the parents - ripped them to pieces, actually.” Sam said as if he didn’t hear Asmodeus, which made both Dean and Sanguini frown slightly, though Dean knew Sam was thinking the same thing.
“And this family was at some carnival that night?” Dean asked, ignoring the fact that his brother and boyfriend were at odds for the moment and concentrating on the hunt.
“Right, right. The Cooper carnival.”
“Oh God. I so don’t want to do this hunt.” Asmodeus groaned quietly, banging his head on the window and then wincing as the action made his head hurt even more than it had been.
“So how do you know we’re not dealin’ with some psycho carnie in a clown suit?” Dean asked, moving his hand to rest it on Asmodeus’ leg once more.
“Well, the cops have no viable leads, and all the employees were tearin’ down shop - alibis all round. Plus, the girl said she saw a clown vanish into thin air. Cops are sayin’ trauma, of course.” Sam said, noticing how both Asmodeus and Sanguini both stiffened when he told them the suspect had vanished into thin air.
“You okay As?” Dean asked in concern, glancing at Asmodeus before looking back at the road.
“What if it is someone dressed in a clown suit? What if it was a wizard?” Asmodeus asked in a quiet voice and Sam and Dean looked at the two in shock.
“Shit. Never thought of that. What do we do?” Dean asked, looking at Asmodeus and then looking in the rear-view mirror to look at Sanguini, who had paled somewhat.
“We need to get to the house to establish whether or not it was a wizard. If it was, then Asmodeus and myself need to get the hell out of dodge as soon as possible.” Sanguini told them.
“Right. Do we stay and kill them?”
“I have no idea. A big part of me is screaming that you get out with us, but the smaller but more logical side of me is saying that they need to be stopped.” Sanguini admitted, looking uncomfortable in his seat.
“If it is a wizard, won’t other wizards be dealing with it?” Sam asked, looking at Sanguini.
“They should eventually. Depends if they have heard about it. They don’t normally bother with Muggle problems. That’s why it took so long for them to find out about Voldemort the first time round.” Sanguini told them with a sigh, glancing at Asmodeus when he stiffened at the mention of Voldemort.
“So we should leave it if it is a wizard?” Dean asked, looking for confirmation.
“Yes. We should all leave if we find out it is a wizard. It just isn’t safe to stay. For any of us. We can tell Griphook to tip off the wizards about it, but that is the most we can do.” Asmodeus said firmly, looking out of the window.
“Heh. I know what you’re thinkin’, Sam. You’re thinkin’ the same as what As is thinkin’. ‘Why did it have to be clowns?’” Dean said with a smirk as he tried to lighten the mood. Asmodeus smiled softly in his seat, which made Dean feel a little better about the fact he was mocking his baby brother.
“Give me a break.” Sam grumbled, swatting at Sanguini when he chuckled.
“You didn’t think I’d remember, did you? I mean, come on, you still bust out cryin’ whenever you see Ronald McDonald on the television.”
“At least I’m not afraid of flying.” Sam said with a glare.
“Planes crash!” Dean exclaimed, smiling when he saw Asmodeus chuckling quietly at the argument between the two brothers.
“And apparently clowns kill.” Sam pointed out and Dean silently admitted defeat.
“So, these types of murders - they ever happen before?” Dean asked eventually.
“Uh, according to the file, 1981, the Bunker Brothers circus. Same M.O. - it happened three different times, three different locales.” Sam said as he read from the file on his lap.
“It does start to rule out a wizard though.” Asmodeus said, still in a quiet, barely heard, voice.
“It’s weird though. I mean, if it is a spirit and not a wizard, it’s usually bound to a specific locale - a house or a town.” Dean said with a frown.
“So how’s this one moving from city to city, carnival to carnival?”
“Could it be a cursed object? I mean, I don’t know much about this side of hunting, but if an object was cursed, then wouldn’t the spirit follow it around? The carnival could be carrying it around.” Asmodeus suggested, and Dean and Sam looked at each other through the mirror and shrugged.
“Great. A paranormal scavenger hunt.” Sam grumbled and Asmodeus lightened slightly at the acknowledgement he had received from Sam, however brief and small it was.
“This case was your idea. By the way, why is that? You were awfully quick to jump on this job.” Dean said with a suspicious frown.
“So?” Sam asked defensively.
“It’s just not like you, that’s all. I thought you were hell-bent for leather on the demon hunt.”
“I don’t know. I just think takin’ this job - it’s what Dad would have wanted us to do.”
“What Dad would have wanted?”
“Yeah. So?” Sam asked, still on the defensive side. Dean stayed silent for a while before responding with a shrug.
“Nothin’.”
--
Asmodeus stiffened next to where he was standing, waiting for Dean and Sanguini to come back with any information. Sam looked at him, confused, which only heightened when Asmodeus’ ears flattened to his head as he stared at something Sam couldn’t see. Asmodeus nodded and then noticed Sam’s attention and whimpered slightly, before he took a deep breath and looked at Sam steadily.
“Sam. Sammy. I know you don’t like me right now, but you’ve got to listen to me. Another family was killed last night, leaving the only survivor being a little boy. It was a clown, like before and it’s not a wizard. It’s targeting families with young children, maybe aged between six and eight. I don’t know why, they don’t know so they can’t tell me. Just... They want us to stop it before it strikes again. And it will.” Asmodeus stated in a slightly pleading voice, grabbing onto Sam’s hand.
Sam just stared at Asmodeus in confusion for a few minutes after the revelation then frowned at his friend and took his hand away from his grasp to fold his arms over his chest, looking at Asmodeus questioningly.
“And how do you know this? Who told you?” Sam asked, raising an eyebrow at Asmodeus and tapping his foot slightly. He looked around for any sign of the other two returning.
“The parents. It’s... it’s my gift. You can’t tell anyone! Please! Don’t! The reapers... They showed an interest in me for a while and so I avoided them, but they came to me during my majority and gave me a gift. I didn’t want it and I fought against it, but if I had succeeded then I would have died, so Miranda stopped me from fighting it. I didn’t want it Sammy! It’s horrible! I’m a freak!” Asmodeus said in a small voice, looking away from Sam, who sighed and stepped nearer to Asmodeus and placed a hand on his shoulder, biting his lip when Asmodeus flinched at the contact.
“What’s your gift As? What did they give you?” Sam asked gently, and Asmodeus turned to look at him, tears in his eyes, he then looked to the side at something once more before shutting his eyes and turning back to Sam.
“I see the dead. Doesn’t matter when they passed, they can show themselves to me. Even if they have... I dunno, moved on I guess you could say. They tell me things. They try to help me. So far. Dunno what would happen if I were to go into a hospital or prison. Things might be a bit different there.” Asmodeus mumbled, not looking at Sam.
“Why didn’t you tell us? Surely you didn’t think you could have lived with this with no help. You would have been driven insane, As!” Sam said, rubbing Asmodeus’ arm.
“I didn’t want you to look at me differently. I suppose I didn’t want to accept it. If I told someone, then it would be real.”
“So why tell me? Now?”
“I realised that I would have to tell you so that I could pass on their message. You wouldn’t have believed me if I had just told you that without explaining how I knew.”
“Fine, I understand that, but why me? I mean, I’ve hardly been the best of friends to you recently. In fact I’ve been down right horrible to you, which I am sorry for by the way.” Sam said looking down, ashamed. Asmodeus smiled at him and hugged him.
“I told you because you have visions and you can move things with your mind. I think, out of everyone, you would understand best. And I’ll always forgive you for whatever stupid thing you do.” Asmodeus added with a grin, looking up at Sam, who smiled down at him and hugged him back. This was the scene that greeted Dean and Sanguini when they returned moments later.
“Should I be worried?” Dean asked, amused when Sam and Asmodeus shot apart and looked at the two in shock. Asmodeus blushed bright red and Sam coughed in embarrassment. Dean and Sanguini just stared at them, taking joy in their embarrassment before Sam realised what they were doing, and glared at them.
“More murders?” Sam asked, not looking in the least impressed.
“Two more last night. Apparently, they were ripped to shreds, and they had a little boy with them.” Dean told them and Sam glanced at Asmodeus, who nodded slightly.
“And it was a clown?”
“Yes. A clown, who apparently vanished into thin air.” Sanguini told him, glancing at his little brother curiously, wondering what had gone on between the two whilst he and Dean were away.
“Dean, you know, looking for a cursed object - it’s like tryin’ to find a needle in a stack of needles. It could be anything.” Sam told him.
“Well, it’s bound to give off EMF, so we’ll just have to scan everything.” Dean said cheerfully, getting a strange look from the other three.
“Two problems with that. The first being the obvious one of how conspicuous that will be and the second being that EMF meters don’t work around these two.” Sam pointed out and Dean nibbled on his lip thoughtfully, whilst Asmodeus looked to the side once more and frowned, though only Sam noticed and took a step closer to him in comfort.
“Okay. As, think you can ask for some help?” Dean asked, looking at Asmodeus, who’s tail puffed out in shock and his ears flattened to his head.
“W-what do you mean? Who can I ask? I don’t know anyone. What can I do?” Asmodeus asked in panic, glancing at Sam in horror before looking back at a confused Dean.
“Er... I just wondered if you could ask Miranda or Athena if they knew anything. Or maybe one of the others.” Dean said, looking at Asmodeus in confusion.
“Oh. Oh! Right. Got ya. Erm... Athena would probably be best to ask, but well... I can’t talk to her in daylight for obvious reasons. Miranda might know something and um... I suppose Charna might as well. The other two won’t, not unless he set them on fire or drowned them. Did he?” Asmodeus asked, though he knew damn well that it hadn’t.
“No. Ripped them to shreds.” Dean said with a shake of his head. Sanguini looked at everyone in confusion, then sighed. Loudly.
“Can someone explain to me what the bloody hell is going on? Who the bloody hell is Charna?” Sanguini asked loudly, getting all their attention, as well as the attention of a passing carnie. Sanguini glared at the man, who meeped and hurried off as quick as he could.
“Er... Charna is um... well, she watches over those with air influence. You know, like air elementals and so on.”
“So why is she talking to you? You aren’t an air elemental or someone who can control air. Your element is earth and maybe fire at a push.”
“Um... Since my majority, they’ve all been talking to me. They let me use their elements as well, but within reason. Dunno what the limits are yet though. I haven’t really had much time to experiment and well... I’ve sort of refused to talk to them since I woke up.” Asmodeus admitted to him with a sheepish shrug.
“So, Dean seems to think they will tell you something? Well do you want to give it a try?”
“Yeah, but I’ll need to be somewhere away from here. It looks a bit odd if a young man is spacing out and talking to thin air. Stop laughing.” Asmodeus hissed, much to the others confusion, seeing as no one was laughing. Sam seemed to know who he was talking to though, and Asmodeus didn’t seem to realise what he had said.
“Right, well there is a wooded area not far from here, we can go there, and Sam and Dean can have a look around with the EMF thingies whilst we’re gone. They should work without us around. Unless we’ve permanently screwed them up.” Sanguini added with a careless shrug, smirking at the looks of horror on Sam and Dean’s faces.
“You better hope you haven’t. If you have, you can buy us new ones. We liked those EMF meters.” Dean mumbled, getting a soft smile from Asmodeus, who walked over to the drivers side of the car.
“We’ll come back for you later when we’ve got some information. How are you and Sammy going to walk around without attracting too much attention?” Asmodeus asked as he opened the door, Sanguini walked over to the passenger side and climbed in.
“I guess we’ll just have to blend in.” Dean said, looking to the side at a sign asking for help wanted for the carnival. Sam and Asmodeus looked at him incredulously, whilst Sanguini just chuckled.
“Right, well you two have fun with that, and we’ll give you a ring when we get back, okay?”
“Sure. See you later. Be safe.” Dean called out, and Asmodeus smiled brightly at him before he climbed in the car and drove off. “So what did you and As talk about whilst we were away?”
“Nothing.”
“Sure didn’t look like nothing. You two talking again? You gonna stop bein’ a dick towards him?” Dean asked with a disapproving look, which Sam looked away from.
“I apologised for how I had been treating him and we just talked some things out.” Sam told him with a shrug.
“Right, well shall we try and find Mr... Cooper?” Dean asked, checking the sign for the name of their, hopefully, future employer.
“Sure. And Dean?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for standing by As even when I was being a dick towards him.”
“I like him Sammy. I want to be with him.” Dean said with an embarrassed shrug and Sam let it drop. They both entered a tent in the hopes of finding someone who could help point them in the direction of Mr Cooper and came across a man wearing sunglasses, throwing knives against a wall.
“Excuse me.” The man stopped but didn’t look at them. “We’re lookin’ for a Mr Cooper. Have you seen him around?” Dean asked. The man turned to face them, frowning.
“What is that - some kind of joke?” He asked, taking off his glasses to show them both that he was blind, much to Dean’s horror.
“Oh God. I’m sorry, I-I didn’t -“
“You think I wouldn’t give my eyeteeth to see Mr Cooper or a sunset or anything at all?” The man asked angrily and Dean turned to Sam for help.
“Wanna give me a little help here?” Dean hissed and Sam grinned at him.
“Not really.”
“Hey, Barry, is there a problem?” They all turned and saw a little man enter the tent, dressed in a rather flamboyant outfit that even had a sequined cape.
“Yeah, this guy hates blind people.” The blind man said, pointing to Dean, who closed his eyes in horror and Sam just took a step back, grinning.
“No, I don’t.” Dean denied frantically, glancing between the two men.
“Hey, buddy, what’s your problem?”
“Nothing, it’s just a little misunderstanding.” Dean told them, trying to calm them.
“Little? You son of a bitch!” The man cried out and Dean looked at him in horror.
“No, no, no! Could somebody tell me where Mr Cooper is?” Dean asked in a panic. Sam just watched and finally gave in, cracking up and clutching his stomach. “Please?!”
Continue
They had all went back to their separate hotel rooms, seeing as they couldn’t get a suite as the hotel didn’t actually have any. They had just finished sending John off, after Sanguini had managed to get the body released to the family before a post-mortem could be carried out, with a liberal and healthy use of glamours. No one had commented when Asmodeus had followed Dean into his room.
“What’s your gift?” Dean asked quietly after a few moments of silence as they lay next to one another in Dean’s bed.
“I got more than one.” Asmodeus admitted, making Dean prop himself up on his arm to look down at Asmodeus in shock.
“What?”
“Each of The Sisters gave me one... And...” Asmodeus trailed off, looking away from Dean, who looked at him in concern.
“And? Who else gave you a gift? I thought only Miranda could give you one.”
“No. Any... ethereal I suppose, any ethereal being can give a gift, though normally a demon will only get one. My grandfather only got one. He could see peoples auras, their souls.” Asmodeus told him.
“Should you be telling me this?”
“Dunno. There’s no one left to tell me otherwise anymore.” Asmodeus said with a sad shrug and Dean pulled him to his side and rested his head on top of Asmodeus’, who snuggled closer to Dean, tucking his head into Dean’s neck.
“So, who else gave you a gift?”
“The reapers.” Asmodeus admitted quietly, closing his eyes when Dean stiffened.
“What?”
“The reapers gave me a gift. I don’t want it though. They forced me to take it. As gifts go, it’s pretty crappy.” Asmodeus said with a weak laugh and Dean tightened his grip on him.
“What is it?”
“I don’t want to admit to it.”
“Why?”
“You’ll look at me differently.”
“What if I promise I won’t?”
“You can’t promise that. You don’t know how you will react to it. On the plus side, I can now talk to all the Sisters whenever I choose, well except the daytime with Athena. They’ve given me control over their elements. Though within reason. And I can only use one at a time. Which is a bitch.” Asmodeus grumbled, getting a small laugh from Dean.
“Things are going to be different now, aren’t they?” Dean asked after Asmodeus had snuggled into Dean’s side and had put his leg over Dean’s waist.
“Probably.”
“Why did he die?”
“He chose to save you. He loved you more than anyone could ever imagine. He just wanted you to be safe.” Asmodeus whispered, placing a kiss on Dean’s chin, and Dean moved his head down to kiss Asmodeus’ lips.
“Stay with me?”
“I will.” Asmodeus stated firmly, before he tucked his head under Dean’s and closed his eyes. He stayed awake though, until he heard Dean’s breathing deepen and then he opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. “I hope you know what you’re doing, John.”
--
A week after the ‘funeral’ of John and Dean was working on his car non-stop, which caused Sam and Asmodeus to worry about him. Sanguini just rolled his eyes and let Dean get on with it. He didn’t know how to deal with humans and their strange attachments.
Sam walked over to where Dean was lying underneath the Impala, Asmodeus following close behind him, his ears dropped slightly as he neared to Dean.
“How’s the car comin’ along?” Sam asked Dean as he approached and Asmodeus stepped up next to him.
“Slow.”
“Yeah? Need any help?” Sam asked, whilst Asmodeus just stayed silent beside him.
“What, you under a hood? I’ll pass.”
“Need help from me?” Asmodeus asked quietly, tail wrapped around his leg.
“Nah.” Dean told them, still not moving form under the car. Asmodeus glanced at Sam, who just shrugged and then sighed.
“Need anything else then?” Sam finally asked and Dean slid out from under the car and looked at them both in exasperation.
“Stop it.”
“Stop what?” Sam asked, though Asmodeus’ ears lowered even more as he looked away from Dean.
“Stop askin’ if I need anything, stop askin’ if I’m okay. I’m okay. Really. I promise.” Dean told them with a glare. Asmodeus just shrugged his shoulders, still not looking at either Dean or Sam.
“All right. Dean, it’s just... we’ve been at Bobby’s for over a week now and you haven’t brought Dad up once.” Asmodeus winced slightly at that and risked a glance at Dean, who looked at him and shook his head slightly. Asmodeus nodded and sighed, looking away once more.
“You know what, you’re right. Come here. I’m gonna lay my head gently on your shoulder. Maybe we can cry, hug - maybe even slow dance.” Asmodeus’ lips twitched into a smile and he glanced at the brother’s out of the corner of his eyes.
“Don’t patronise me, Dean. Dad is dead! The Colt is gone, and it seems pretty damn likely that the demon is behind all of this, and you’re actin’ like nothin’ happened.” Sam exclaimed, making Asmodeus’ ears to finally become one with his head and he stepped away from the volatile hunter and moved closer to Dean, who had sat up and was leaning against the Impala.
“What do you want me to say?”
“Say something, all right? Hell, say anything! Aren’t you angry? Don’t you want revenge? But all you do is sit out here all day long, buried underneath this damn car!” Sam yelled, making Asmodeus flinch and gain his attention. “And you! You know something and you won’t tell us! You want us to trust you, but you’re not giving us a reason! Even Sanguini is suspicious of you! What are you hiding from us?”
“Sam. Leave him alone.” Dean told him firmly, looking at Asmodeus in concern. Asmodeus in the mean time was just staring at the ground in front of him in shock. Sanguini was suspicious of him. ‘Guini didn’t trust him. He’d always trusted him before, even when he didn’t tell him everything.
“No Dean! Just because you’re sleeping with him, doesn’t mean he can be trusted anymore! If he’s hiding something, then he needs to tell us! Is it about the demon? Is that it?” Sam asked, taking a step towards Asmodeus, causing Asmodeus to take a step away from him, wincing at the anger he could practically feel rolling off of his friend.
“No.” Asmodeus whispered softly.
“Than what? And what is your gift! Why won’t you tell us? I know your kind didn’t normally share what they received outside of your species, but you’re the last one left! Who else are you going to tell?” Sam asked loudly, his shouting, by this time had also gotten the attention of Bobby and Sanguini, who had forged a strange friendship.
“No one. I’m telling no one. No one needs to know. You just need to know that it’s not a gift, it’s damn curse.” Asmodeus spat, a tear running down his face, which made Sam falter and Dean look at him in concern. Asmodeus furiously wiped the tear away and then ran away from everyone, dodging between the piles of cars until he could no longer hear the others shouting after him.
He sat down in one of the cars and rested his head on the steering wheel, taking a deep breath to try and stop the near hysterical sobbing he could feel wanting to be released. He then turned his head to the side to look at the woman sitting next to him.
“You know I can’t say anything to him. He wouldn’t believe me. And if he did, he would worry that you hadn’t moved on. He wouldn’t understand.” Asmodeus said softly, making the woman smile at him sadly.
“No, you’re right. He wouldn’t understand. You will eventually get used to your gift you know.”
“Really? I feel like Hailey Joel Osmond! I see dead freaking people! And I don’t have the choice of passing on their message! I just have to pretend they’re not there! I can’t tell anyone because they will either think I’m insane or possessed! And Sanguini will just worry about me. I can’t tell anyone! Why did no one warn me that gifts were curses!”
“If you had been told, then you wouldn’t have accepted the change and it would have killed you trying to force it on you. As it is, you nearly died anyway. Miranda and Athena will be able to help you control it. Charna will help you to understand what it is you need to do and why you have this gift. Nina and Myra will both temper how many you see and who you see.”
“So I’m not going to be seeing murderers and rapists? I’m not going to see everyone that died in a hospital whenever I enter those places? What about ghosts? How will I be able to tell the difference? How will I know when to salt and burn the damned bones?”
“You will know. You have already shown that you will know. Isaiah is forever grateful to you for what you did. You may not have realised it, but it was your gift beginning to form.”
“Why did they have to give it to me? Reapers have never shown an interest in my kind before.”
“You survived death. That made them stand up and take notice. Then you gave them so many souls in your short life. Many more than most. And finally, you helped deliver to one who had been escaping them for near eighty years. Not to mention you own the Hallows.”
“They’re in a vault that no one bar me can enter. They’re hardly going to do me any good. Besides, I’m practically immortal anyway.”
“But you are not indestructible. The Hallows make sure you are Death’s favoured.”
“Well I don’t particularly want his favour. He can take the damned Hallows and this stupid gift and leave me alone.”
“You know that is not possible. You are not alone in this, and if you allowed your brothers and mate to know, then you would have even more support.”
“No. They will not know.”
“Very well. I cannot make the decision for you.”
“Bobby misses you, you know.” Asmodeus said softly, looking away from the woman and staring out of the window.
“I know. I miss him as well. I do not blame him for what he had to do. I watch over him whenever I can.”
“He knows. I know he knows.”
“Maybe you do. You always were more perceptive than most. Even if you do hide it most of the time.” Bobby’s wife said with a shrewd smile at him.
“Perhaps. I think it is better that way. I don’t want people to expect too much of me and it’s always fun to knock people off guard.”
“I suppose it is. I still think you should share with someone about your gift. If you don’t, I fear it may get the better of you.”
“You know I can’t.”
“Yes. Fear is a great thing. It hinders even the bravest of men at times. Perhaps you could consider telling your mate.”
“He’s not my mate.” Asmodeus said in a small, tired voice.
“Yet.”
“What do you know? How do you know if he will ever be my mate?”
“Call it woman’s intuition.” She said with a small smile.
“You’ve got to go.” Asmodeus said a few minutes later, tilting his head to the side and listening to the quiet voices only he could hear.
“Yes. I will always be here to listen to you though. You may find more like myself on your journey. Some you may even be able to help pass on a message. Just, promise me you won’t try to save any of them. They are all beyond your help now.”
“I know.”
“Good. It is not your responsibility to pass on their messages. You are just able to see them so that they can help you.”
“Is that what my gift is then? Help from the dead?”
“Yes. You know this. The reapers want you to live. They like you. Like Miranda and her sisters, they want you to carry on in this world, where they have influence over you.”
“Great. I’m just a puppet.”
“Perhaps. But are we not all just puppets? You need to accept your fate in this world. It is the only way you will be able to be happy.”
“Probably.” Asmodeus mumbled sadly, looking away from her.
“Your older brother will not be suspicious of you if you tell him. He just worries.”
“Yeah, worry, that’s what makes him such a fucking paranoid bastard.”
“Language.”
“Sorry.” Asmodeus muttered, not sounding sorry in the least.
“Hmm. Dean is heading this way. I will leave you now. You know how to call out for me if you need to talk. Though talking with the living is a lot more healthy. Even if they don’t have a pulse.” She added with a wide grin, then she vanished just as Dean spotted him and ran over.
“You okay? You just ran off. Ignore Sam, he’s just a little stressed right now, and I don’t think I’m helping.” Dean said, climbing into the car when Asmodeus shuffled along the seat to make room for him.
“I don’t blame Sammy for anything. He’s right. I should tell you all my gift. I just can’t.”
“I know. I trust you to tell one of us should things get too hard. You know we are all here for you, even Bobby.” Dean told him with a grin, getting a small one in return.
“I know. This is just something I will have to deal with on my own. If it leads me to learning of something that will help us, trust me to tell you.” Asmodeus told him quietly and Dean looked at him, then pulled him to his side.
“I do. Thank you for not telling Sam of our nightly talks.” Dean said, sensing a need to change the subject.
“It isn’t my place to tell. You will share with him eventually. It will help you more than talking to me will. Sam is going through the same thing as you. I’m not.”
“You have experienced loss though. You may not realise it, but you do know what I’m going through.”
“Perhaps.” Asmodeus conceded with a nod of his head. “Why is Sanguini suspicious of me?”
“I don’t know. Sam is closer to him than I am. Hell Bobby is closer to him than I am. If I had to guess though, I’d say he was more worried than suspicious. I think Sam just wanted to upset you.” Dean admitted eventually, after a pause.
“Is there a reason you came to find me?”
“Besides just wanting to be in your presence?” Dean asked with a wide grin, which got him a raised eyebrow and unimpressed expression from Asmodeus. “Fine, yes there is another reason I’m here.”
“And?”
“Sam found a message on Dad’s phone. It’s from someone called Ellen. She seemed to know him quite well and he kept her message for four months. She must be something important to him.” Dean explained.
“Right, so we’re going to go and meet with her?”
“Sort of.”
“Sort of? Let me guess, she doesn’t know we’re coming.” Asmodeus guessed dryly.
“Yeah.” Dean admitted, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
“Right, well I suppose we’ll be going in my car.” Asmodeus said with a roll of his eyes, resting his head on Dean’s shoulder.
“If you don’t mind. Its either that or go in a minivan Bobby offered us. I’d rather be James Bond than a soccer mom.” Dean admitted with a wry grin, getting a small chuckle from Asmodeus.
“I think most people would want to be James Bond anyway. I have the accent going for me, you just have... Er...”
“Think carefully.” Dean warned with an amused twinkle in his eyes as he looked at Asmodeus, who was clearly struggling to find something mysterious about Dean Winchester.
“Ooh! You have the many identities!” Asmodeus said, sitting up straight to look at Dean, who just gaped at him.
“Many identities?”
“Yeah. How many ID cards do you own? You have that in common with James Bond. I have the accent and the car and the overall suaveness.”
“Shame about the lack of height, huh?” Dean grumbled, dodging the swat Asmodeus aimed at him.
“Hey!”
“Oh accept it, Sanguini is more James Bond than either of us could ever hope to be.”
“Yeah. You’re right. Which is annoying considering he’s actually French.”
“What? Really?”
“Yeah, but he lived in Britain mainly for about three hundred years. Hence the accent.” Asmodeus told him, and Dean just looked enlightened.
“Yeah. He strikes me as being French.”
“Come on. Let’s get back to the others before they think I’ve killed you.” Asmodeus said dryly, getting a brief hug from Dean and a kiss on his head before they both climbed out of the car carefully, making sure not to make the other cars on top of it fall off and onto them.
“They trust you really.” Dean told him as they walked back to Bobby’s house.
“Really? I’m not feeling the trust right now.” Asmodeus told him grumpily.
“Maybe not. They will though. Eventually.”
“Sure sure. Enough of the sap. Let’s go find this Ellen woman.” Asmodeus grumbled, walking ahead of Dean and nibbling on his lip nervously as he approached the house and heard Sam and Sanguini talking to Bobby. As he turned around a car to come into view, Dean caught up with him and grabbed his hand to give it a squeeze, and led him back to the others.
“Hey guys. As has offered his car for the journey. Shall we head out?” Dean called over to them and getting a nod from the other two.
“Sure. Come on, let’s go.” Sam said, looking at Asmodeus for a moment before looking away. Asmodeus looked down at the floor and Dean squeezed his hand gently.
--
They pulled up outside of a building called Harvelle’s Roadhouse and Asmodeus glanced in his mirror to look at Sanguini, who shrugged then looked away. Asmodeus sighed and looked at Dean sitting next to him before he got out of the car and walked up to the door.
Dean quickly caught up with him and linked his fingers through Asmodeus’, getting a small smile from the smaller man. Sam looked at them with a small smile and then walked past them up to the door of the roadhouse.
“Hello? Anybody here?” Sam called out, getting no answer and looking behind him at Dean.
“Hey.” Dean said, when Sam turned back around to try and look through the window.
“Yeah?”
“Did you bring the, uh...” Dean floundered for the right word to use and Asmodeus looked at them in confusion.
“Of course.” Sam said, seemingly knowing what Dean meant and taking out his case with lock-picking tools inside and threw it to Dean, who let go of Asmodeus’ hand to catch it. Asmodeus looked at him and rolled his eyes, stopping Dean from walking forwards and taking a step towards the door.
“Ellen? Jo? It’s Asmodeus and Sanguini. Think you can put away to paranoia and come open the door? Ash? Wake up! I can bloody well see you through the window.” Asmodeus called out much to the shock and confusion of Sam and Dean.
“You know them?” Dean hissed, walking up to him.
“Of course I do. Quite frankly I’m shocked that you two don’t.” Asmodeus told him.
“Er...”
“They are base point for most hunters. That is probably how your father knew her.” Sanguini explained, coming to stand next to them.
The door to the roadhouse suddenly clicked unlocked and swung open and a young woman with blond hair stood in the doorway looking at them suspiciously, she then took in Sanguini and Asmodeus standing near to each other and smiled, then threw herself into Asmodeus, which made Dean narrow his eyes jealously.
“’Mody!”
“Not that bloody name! Sanguini, you have a lot to answer for!” Asmodeus grumbled, hugging Jo Harvelle and smiling at her, internally grumbling about how she was now taller than him.
“Who are your friends?” Jo asked, looking at Sam and Dean appraisingly.
“Down girl. They’re not interested. Well I can’t talk about Sam, but Dean had better damn well not be interested if he wants to see the end of the day.” Asmodeus growled, glaring at Dean, who put his hands up and widened his eyes innocently, getting s snigger from Sam.
“Hmm. So they’re called Sam and Dean? I’m assuming from their expressions that Sam is the taller one. Huh, you can keep Dean, Sam’s better looking.” Jo said with a smirk, getting a laugh from Sam, Sanguini and Asmodeus, whilst Dean just looked at her in shock. Jo stepped out of Asmodeus’ arms and moved over to Sanguini to give him a hug as well.
“Don’t know why you’re laughing, you said the exact same thing and ended up with me. You never know how things might go.” Dean grouched, which made Asmodeus stop laughing and glare at him.
“So, where’s your mother?” Asmodeus asked, walking over to stand next to Dean, whilst Sanguini walked closer to them with Jo standing next to him.
“She’s inside. She let me come and greet you.”
“Well isn’t she spiffy.” Asmodeus grumbled, grinning when Jo glared at him.
“You going to introduce us?” Jo asked, looking at him expectantly and getting a sigh from Asmodeus.
“Fine, guys, this is Jo Harvelle, daughter to Ellen. Jo, this is Sam and Dean Winchester. John Winchester’s sons.” Asmodeus told her, getting a raised eyebrow from the younger woman.
“Really? Well mom will be happy to see them. She’s been trying to contact John for a while now.”
“Yeah, that’s why we’re here. We heard a message your mom left on our dads phone.” Sam explained, looking at her with a small smile when she turned her gaze to him.
“Hmm. Well you had better get in then. Don’t mind Ash on the pool table.” Jo said, walking past them and into the bar. The others looked at each other and then followed, with Asmodeus and Dean in the lead.
They saw a woman who looked similar to Jo, with blond hair standing in front of the bar, with a rifle in her hand, though it wasn’t aimed at anyone, much to Asmodeus’ relief.
“So, you’re John’s boys? Huh. What are you doing with those two miscreants?” She asked, nodding her head towards Asmodeus and Sanguini.
“Ellen! I’m insulted! Don’t you love me?” Asmodeus asked, placing a hand over his heart and getting a grin from Dean, who stood close next to him, shoulders brushing.
“Shut it kid. What are you doin’ here?”
“You called our dad and said you could help - help with what?” Dean asked, looking at Ellen curiously.
“Well... the demon, of course. I heard he was closing in on it.” Ellen told them, getting shocked looks from Sam and Dean. Sanguini and Asmodeus looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
“Was there an article in The Demon Hunter’s Quarterly that I missed?”
“That magazine was ended when my family were killed. We were the only ones that read it anyway.” Asmodeus added with a shrug and grinning at the shocked looks everyone gave him. “What?”
“I was joking.” Dean deadpanned.
“Oh. Well. Um... Carry on.” Asmodeus said, blushing lightly and looking away to behind the bar.
“Who are you? How do you know about all this?”
“I think Asmodeus told you who we are, we just run this saloon. Hunters come and go, which included your dad a long time ago. John was like family once.”
“Oh yeah? How come he’s never mentioned you before?” Dean asked, looking distinctly unimpressed.
“You’d have to ask him that.” Ellen told them, and Dean paused, hurt. Asmodeus looked at him in concern and walked over to stand next to him. A move that no one in the room, bar an unconscious Ash, missed.
“So why exactly do we need your help?” Dean asked when Asmodeus entwined their fingers and squeezed.
“Hey, don’t do me any favours. Look, if you don’t want my help, fine. Don’t let the door smack your ass on the way out. But John wouldn’t have sent you if...” Ellen trailed off as she suddenly came to realise something, taking in the expressions on the fours faces. “He didn’t send you.” Sam and Dean looked down sadly and Sanguini and Asmodeus looked at them in concern. “He is alright, isn’t he?” Ellen asked quietly.
“No. No, he isn’t. It was the demon, we think. It, um... just got him before he got it, I guess.” Sam said, looking up at Asmodeus through his fringe and narrowing his eyes, making Asmodeus’ eyes widen and then look away from him.
“I’m so sorry.” Ellen told them sincerely.
“It’s okay. We’re alright.” Dean reassured her and squeezed Asmodeus’ hand.
“Really. I know how close you and your dad -“
“Ellen. Leave it.” Asmodeus said in a tight voice and Ellen nodded her head and sighed.
“Look, if you can help... we could use all the help we can get.” Sam told her, getting a small grin in return.
“Well, we can’t. But Ash will.” Ellen said, ignoring the groan this brought from Asmodeus and the chuckle from Sanguini.
“Who’s Ash?” Sam asked and Asmodeus grinned.
“He’s Ash.” Asmodeus said, pointing to the unconscious body on the pool table, much to the shock of the Winchester brother’s.
“Ash!” Ellen called out, startling Ash into waking up and looking around he room in a sleepy confusion. Asmodeus grinned and hid his face in Dean’s shoulder.
“What? Closin’ time?” Ash mumbled, rubbing at his eyes and yawning.
“That’s Ash?” Sam asked in a dull voice, looking at Sanguini, Jo, Ellen and Asmodeus as though they were insane.
“Mm-hmm. He’s a genius.” Jo said with a nod and a grin. Ash looked over at them and caught sight of Sanguini, grinning widely.
“Sanguini! My man! How you been doin’? Been a while since I last saw you! And little ‘Mody! Huh, lookin’ pretty close there with him, ain’t yah? Not cheatin’ on me are yah?” Ash asked with a grin, getting a groan from both men. Dean chuckled and looked down at Asmodeus.
“Cheatin’ on him, huh? Somethin’ you want to tell me?” Dean asked with a grin, which widened at Asmodeus’ blush. Sanguini and Jo chuckled and Ellen just rolled her eyes and moved over to Sam, who looked at her questioningly. She just shook her head and led him over to the bar.
“I’m not cheating on him. There is nothing going on between myself and Ash. He damn well knows that, or he should have seeing as I kicked his ass when he pinched mine.” Asmodeus growled, glaring past Dean at an unabashed Ash.
“Hey, I thought you were a pretty chick.” Ash said, grin growing. Dean choked on his laughter and Jo and Sanguini chuckled whilst Asmodeus just glared even more and blushed furiously.
“Let’s go join Ellen and Sam at the bar, huh?” Asmodeus asked, leading Dean over to the chairs beside Sam and sitting down in them, making sure Dean was seated next to Sam and not himself. He still hadn’t quite forgiven Sam for what he had said earlier and he knew Sam didn’t take it back.
Ash joined them at the bar and Sam threw a thick folder in front of him, which Ash blinked at, then looked at them. Dean just stared at him and then turned to look at Asmodeus and Ellen incredulously.
Behind them Sanguini and Jo were sitting at a table talking in hushed voices, occasionally throwing a glance over at Asmodeus and Dean before looking back at the table in front of them. This made Asmodeus’ ears and tail twitch in annoyance, but they were talking to quietly for him to actually hear what they were saying.
“You’ve gotta be kiddin’ me. This guy’s no genius. He’s a Lynyrd Skynyrd roadie.” Dean exclaimed, and Ash chuckled.
“I like you.” Ash said, which made Asmodeus smile lightly, facing down at the bar.
“Thanks.” Dean responded, dryly.
“Just give him a chance.” Asmodeus whispered to Dean, before turning and smiling at Ash.
Dean glanced at Asmodeus and then looked at Sam, who shrugged, before turning back to Ash and nodding to the file he had placed in front of the other man. “Alright. This stuff’s about a year’s worth of our dad’s work, so, uh... let’s see what you make of it.”
Ash nodded and then opened the folder to read the information inside of it. Asmodeus looked over his shoulder to read some of the things and snorted, knowing exactly what Ash would say about the information found.
“Come on. This crap ain’t real. Ain’t nobody can track a demon like this.” Sam and Dean exchanged a look whilst Asmodeus just snorted and took the drink Ellen pushed in front of him.
“Our dad could.”
“Seriously. You do not want to get me started on John Winchester.” Asmodeus muttered into his bottle, getting a grin from Ellen.
“These are nonparametric statistical overviews, cross-spectrum correlations. I mean... damn. They’re signs - omens. If you can track ‘em, you can track this demon - you know, like crop failures, electrical storms. You ever been struck by lightning? It ain’t fun.” Asmodeus snorted again, but this time Ash showed more than his placid side by glaring at the man next to him, making Asmodeus stopped giggling.
“Hey! Don’t look at me like that! It wasn’t my fault.” Asmodeus said, holding his hands up in the air. Dean and Sam looked at each other in confusion and then turned their attention back to Asmodeus and Ash. Ellen just watched on in amusement.
“Oh really? You weren’t the one shoutin’ ‘Just hold onto it a little longer Ash! Don’t let go! Don’t worry! It’s a lie that lightning hits kites!’ Sure didn’t feel like a lie to me.” Ash grumbled, glaring when Asmodeus’ lips twitched at the memory and Ellen snorted behind her hand. Sam and Dean just watched in amused shock.
“Oh come on. Your hair was amazing straight after!”
“It was pretty cool.” Ash conceded, with a grin and with that Dean lost it and started to laugh, leaning heavily on the bar to stay on his seat.
“Look, can you track it or not?” Sam asked, interrupting any more stories Ash and Asmodeus would share.
“Yeah, with this, I think so. But it’s gonna take time. Uh, give me...” Ash paused to think it through and then grinned, “...fifty-one hours.” He then gathered the research and walked away, leaving behind an amused Asmodeus and Ellen and a stunned Dean and Sam.
“Hey, man.” Dean called out, making Ash stop and look behind him at Dean.
“Yeah?”
“By the way, I uh... I dig the haircut.” Dean told him. Sanguini snickered at the table he was sharing with Jo as Ash grinned and tossed his hair over his shoulder.
“All business up front, party in the back.” Ash told them and then left them to enter his ‘office’. Asmodeus noticed Sam sit up a little straighter and look at something behind the bar, and looked to see what had caught Sam’s eye and rolled his eyes.
“Hey, Ellen, what is that?” Sam asked, pointing behind her.
“It’s a police scanner. We keep tabs on things -“ Ellen started before Sam cut her off with a shake of his head and pointed to the folder next to it.
“No, no, no, no. The folder.” Ellen looked behind her and it and then walked over to pick it up and took it back to Sam.
“Uh... I was gonna give this to a friend of mine, but take a look if you want.” She said, handing the folder to Sam. Dean watched and then stood up to join Sanguini and Jo at the table.
“Thanks.” Sam said, smiling at her and opening the folder. Ellen then turned to look at Asmodeus, who smiled at her.
“So, how have you been? We haven’t heard from you since before June.”
“Yeah, that was about when we met up with the Winchesters. Things kind of escalated from there, what with Azazel and everything.” Asmodeus said, with a shrug and a small smile.
“Ah, and you and Dean? This happened...” Ellen asked, trailing off and looking at him expectantly, grinning slightly when he blushed and ducked his head.
“Uh... It happened about um... two weeks ago, maybe three. I dunno, we had a brief falling out not long after it started and then we got back together. Sort of.” Asmodeus said, not noticing Sam’s flinch at the mention of the falling out.
“Right. And so, you and Sanguini been okay with John and the boys?”
“Er... The boys? Yeah. John? Not so much.” Asmodeus grumbled, ears flattening to his head.
“Ah. I never did think you and John would get on should you ever have met. You’re far to alike.” Ellen mused, making Asmodeus and Sam choke on their drinks and stare at her as if she was insane. Ellen just grinned at him.
“Pardon? I could’ve sworn you said me and John Winchester were alike.” Asmodeus stated in a calm voice.
“Well, let’s be honest you are both stubborn, pig-headed and scarily protective of those you consider family. You’re just more open-minded than he was.” Ellen told him, and Sam grinned before turning his attention back to the folder in front of him.
“Hmm. Whatever. So how have you and Jo been?”
“We’ve been good. Just keepin’ an eye on things. You know. Jo’s been hinting that she wants to follow her fathers footsteps.” Ellen said, looking at her daughter laughing with Sanguini and Dean with a frown, and Asmodeus winced.
“Ah. Not good. But you know, the more you object to it, the more she is going to want to do it. Perhaps you should send her on a hunt with a trusted hunter and let her see what it’s really like.”
“Maybe. But before I resort to sending her off with you, I’m gonna try and talk some sense in to her.”
“Huh, that might work.” Asmodeus admitted with a thoughtful nod, before something Ellen had said came to him and he looked up and pinned her with a narrowed stare. “What do you mean, send her off with me?”
“Well, you’re with Sanguini and the Winchesters. You like me and Jo. You would look out for her and protect her. And with those other three, then she would undoubtedly be safe from harm. Or at least more safe than say, if she were with someone else.”
“Huh. Well I think that’s a right crappy idea.” Asmodeus said bluntly, getting a glare from Ellen.
“Well it was your idea in the first place.” Ellen pointed out stiffly.
“It was not! I said send her off with a hunter! Not with four of the most unlucky bastards known to hunting! You want to get her killed?”
“No. Which is why I would send her with you.”
“You’re insane. You do know that, right?” Asmodeus muttered, resting his head on his arms.
“Yes, well I prefer brilliant. A genius perhaps.”
“That’s Ash.”
“What, there can’t be two of us?”
“No.”
“Dean, Sanguini, come here a minute.” Sam called out and not only Asmodeus noticed how he missed out the demons name. Jo and Ellen looked at him questioningly and Asmodeus shook his head and tilted his bottle to Ellen before taking a deep swig of it.
“Yeah?” Dean asked, taking his seat again and looking at his little brother, though he did place his hand on Asmodeus’ leg comfortingly.
“A few murders not far from here that Ellen caught wind of - looks to me like there might be a hunt.” Sam told him once Sanguini had sat down on the stool on his other side. Asmodeus looked at them sadly, then motioned Ellen for another drink. She frowned but handed one to him anyway.
“Yeah, so?” Dean asked, looking at Sam curiously.
“So, I think we should check it out.”
“Why?”
“Dunno. Something to do whilst Ash checks out those leads? Come on Dean, we can’t just stay here for fifty-one hours.” Sam told him and Dean sighed.
“He’s right Dean. Besides, it could be fun. I’m in the mood to kill something.” Sanguini said with a grin.
“Fine. Come on, let’s go.” Dean said, standing up and looking at Asmodeus, who looked at him, then past him at Sam and Sanguini. He shut his eyes when they both refused to look at him but then opened them again and gave Dean a shaky smile. He passed the car keys to Dean but followed them out of the bar, giving a wave to Jo and Ellen, who watched him leave, concerned.
--
“You’ve gotta be kiddin’ me. A killer clown?” Dean asked incredulously, looking at Sam in the rear-view mirror and then looking to Asmodeus beside him, who had shuddered.
“I hate clowns.” Asmodeus muttered, resting his head on the window of the door.
“Yeah, he left the daughter unharmed and killed the parents - ripped them to pieces, actually.” Sam said as if he didn’t hear Asmodeus, which made both Dean and Sanguini frown slightly, though Dean knew Sam was thinking the same thing.
“And this family was at some carnival that night?” Dean asked, ignoring the fact that his brother and boyfriend were at odds for the moment and concentrating on the hunt.
“Right, right. The Cooper carnival.”
“Oh God. I so don’t want to do this hunt.” Asmodeus groaned quietly, banging his head on the window and then wincing as the action made his head hurt even more than it had been.
“So how do you know we’re not dealin’ with some psycho carnie in a clown suit?” Dean asked, moving his hand to rest it on Asmodeus’ leg once more.
“Well, the cops have no viable leads, and all the employees were tearin’ down shop - alibis all round. Plus, the girl said she saw a clown vanish into thin air. Cops are sayin’ trauma, of course.” Sam said, noticing how both Asmodeus and Sanguini both stiffened when he told them the suspect had vanished into thin air.
“You okay As?” Dean asked in concern, glancing at Asmodeus before looking back at the road.
“What if it is someone dressed in a clown suit? What if it was a wizard?” Asmodeus asked in a quiet voice and Sam and Dean looked at the two in shock.
“Shit. Never thought of that. What do we do?” Dean asked, looking at Asmodeus and then looking in the rear-view mirror to look at Sanguini, who had paled somewhat.
“We need to get to the house to establish whether or not it was a wizard. If it was, then Asmodeus and myself need to get the hell out of dodge as soon as possible.” Sanguini told them.
“Right. Do we stay and kill them?”
“I have no idea. A big part of me is screaming that you get out with us, but the smaller but more logical side of me is saying that they need to be stopped.” Sanguini admitted, looking uncomfortable in his seat.
“If it is a wizard, won’t other wizards be dealing with it?” Sam asked, looking at Sanguini.
“They should eventually. Depends if they have heard about it. They don’t normally bother with Muggle problems. That’s why it took so long for them to find out about Voldemort the first time round.” Sanguini told them with a sigh, glancing at Asmodeus when he stiffened at the mention of Voldemort.
“So we should leave it if it is a wizard?” Dean asked, looking for confirmation.
“Yes. We should all leave if we find out it is a wizard. It just isn’t safe to stay. For any of us. We can tell Griphook to tip off the wizards about it, but that is the most we can do.” Asmodeus said firmly, looking out of the window.
“Heh. I know what you’re thinkin’, Sam. You’re thinkin’ the same as what As is thinkin’. ‘Why did it have to be clowns?’” Dean said with a smirk as he tried to lighten the mood. Asmodeus smiled softly in his seat, which made Dean feel a little better about the fact he was mocking his baby brother.
“Give me a break.” Sam grumbled, swatting at Sanguini when he chuckled.
“You didn’t think I’d remember, did you? I mean, come on, you still bust out cryin’ whenever you see Ronald McDonald on the television.”
“At least I’m not afraid of flying.” Sam said with a glare.
“Planes crash!” Dean exclaimed, smiling when he saw Asmodeus chuckling quietly at the argument between the two brothers.
“And apparently clowns kill.” Sam pointed out and Dean silently admitted defeat.
“So, these types of murders - they ever happen before?” Dean asked eventually.
“Uh, according to the file, 1981, the Bunker Brothers circus. Same M.O. - it happened three different times, three different locales.” Sam said as he read from the file on his lap.
“It does start to rule out a wizard though.” Asmodeus said, still in a quiet, barely heard, voice.
“It’s weird though. I mean, if it is a spirit and not a wizard, it’s usually bound to a specific locale - a house or a town.” Dean said with a frown.
“So how’s this one moving from city to city, carnival to carnival?”
“Could it be a cursed object? I mean, I don’t know much about this side of hunting, but if an object was cursed, then wouldn’t the spirit follow it around? The carnival could be carrying it around.” Asmodeus suggested, and Dean and Sam looked at each other through the mirror and shrugged.
“Great. A paranormal scavenger hunt.” Sam grumbled and Asmodeus lightened slightly at the acknowledgement he had received from Sam, however brief and small it was.
“This case was your idea. By the way, why is that? You were awfully quick to jump on this job.” Dean said with a suspicious frown.
“So?” Sam asked defensively.
“It’s just not like you, that’s all. I thought you were hell-bent for leather on the demon hunt.”
“I don’t know. I just think takin’ this job - it’s what Dad would have wanted us to do.”
“What Dad would have wanted?”
“Yeah. So?” Sam asked, still on the defensive side. Dean stayed silent for a while before responding with a shrug.
“Nothin’.”
--
Asmodeus stiffened next to where he was standing, waiting for Dean and Sanguini to come back with any information. Sam looked at him, confused, which only heightened when Asmodeus’ ears flattened to his head as he stared at something Sam couldn’t see. Asmodeus nodded and then noticed Sam’s attention and whimpered slightly, before he took a deep breath and looked at Sam steadily.
“Sam. Sammy. I know you don’t like me right now, but you’ve got to listen to me. Another family was killed last night, leaving the only survivor being a little boy. It was a clown, like before and it’s not a wizard. It’s targeting families with young children, maybe aged between six and eight. I don’t know why, they don’t know so they can’t tell me. Just... They want us to stop it before it strikes again. And it will.” Asmodeus stated in a slightly pleading voice, grabbing onto Sam’s hand.
Sam just stared at Asmodeus in confusion for a few minutes after the revelation then frowned at his friend and took his hand away from his grasp to fold his arms over his chest, looking at Asmodeus questioningly.
“And how do you know this? Who told you?” Sam asked, raising an eyebrow at Asmodeus and tapping his foot slightly. He looked around for any sign of the other two returning.
“The parents. It’s... it’s my gift. You can’t tell anyone! Please! Don’t! The reapers... They showed an interest in me for a while and so I avoided them, but they came to me during my majority and gave me a gift. I didn’t want it and I fought against it, but if I had succeeded then I would have died, so Miranda stopped me from fighting it. I didn’t want it Sammy! It’s horrible! I’m a freak!” Asmodeus said in a small voice, looking away from Sam, who sighed and stepped nearer to Asmodeus and placed a hand on his shoulder, biting his lip when Asmodeus flinched at the contact.
“What’s your gift As? What did they give you?” Sam asked gently, and Asmodeus turned to look at him, tears in his eyes, he then looked to the side at something once more before shutting his eyes and turning back to Sam.
“I see the dead. Doesn’t matter when they passed, they can show themselves to me. Even if they have... I dunno, moved on I guess you could say. They tell me things. They try to help me. So far. Dunno what would happen if I were to go into a hospital or prison. Things might be a bit different there.” Asmodeus mumbled, not looking at Sam.
“Why didn’t you tell us? Surely you didn’t think you could have lived with this with no help. You would have been driven insane, As!” Sam said, rubbing Asmodeus’ arm.
“I didn’t want you to look at me differently. I suppose I didn’t want to accept it. If I told someone, then it would be real.”
“So why tell me? Now?”
“I realised that I would have to tell you so that I could pass on their message. You wouldn’t have believed me if I had just told you that without explaining how I knew.”
“Fine, I understand that, but why me? I mean, I’ve hardly been the best of friends to you recently. In fact I’ve been down right horrible to you, which I am sorry for by the way.” Sam said looking down, ashamed. Asmodeus smiled at him and hugged him.
“I told you because you have visions and you can move things with your mind. I think, out of everyone, you would understand best. And I’ll always forgive you for whatever stupid thing you do.” Asmodeus added with a grin, looking up at Sam, who smiled down at him and hugged him back. This was the scene that greeted Dean and Sanguini when they returned moments later.
“Should I be worried?” Dean asked, amused when Sam and Asmodeus shot apart and looked at the two in shock. Asmodeus blushed bright red and Sam coughed in embarrassment. Dean and Sanguini just stared at them, taking joy in their embarrassment before Sam realised what they were doing, and glared at them.
“More murders?” Sam asked, not looking in the least impressed.
“Two more last night. Apparently, they were ripped to shreds, and they had a little boy with them.” Dean told them and Sam glanced at Asmodeus, who nodded slightly.
“And it was a clown?”
“Yes. A clown, who apparently vanished into thin air.” Sanguini told him, glancing at his little brother curiously, wondering what had gone on between the two whilst he and Dean were away.
“Dean, you know, looking for a cursed object - it’s like tryin’ to find a needle in a stack of needles. It could be anything.” Sam told him.
“Well, it’s bound to give off EMF, so we’ll just have to scan everything.” Dean said cheerfully, getting a strange look from the other three.
“Two problems with that. The first being the obvious one of how conspicuous that will be and the second being that EMF meters don’t work around these two.” Sam pointed out and Dean nibbled on his lip thoughtfully, whilst Asmodeus looked to the side once more and frowned, though only Sam noticed and took a step closer to him in comfort.
“Okay. As, think you can ask for some help?” Dean asked, looking at Asmodeus, who’s tail puffed out in shock and his ears flattened to his head.
“W-what do you mean? Who can I ask? I don’t know anyone. What can I do?” Asmodeus asked in panic, glancing at Sam in horror before looking back at a confused Dean.
“Er... I just wondered if you could ask Miranda or Athena if they knew anything. Or maybe one of the others.” Dean said, looking at Asmodeus in confusion.
“Oh. Oh! Right. Got ya. Erm... Athena would probably be best to ask, but well... I can’t talk to her in daylight for obvious reasons. Miranda might know something and um... I suppose Charna might as well. The other two won’t, not unless he set them on fire or drowned them. Did he?” Asmodeus asked, though he knew damn well that it hadn’t.
“No. Ripped them to shreds.” Dean said with a shake of his head. Sanguini looked at everyone in confusion, then sighed. Loudly.
“Can someone explain to me what the bloody hell is going on? Who the bloody hell is Charna?” Sanguini asked loudly, getting all their attention, as well as the attention of a passing carnie. Sanguini glared at the man, who meeped and hurried off as quick as he could.
“Er... Charna is um... well, she watches over those with air influence. You know, like air elementals and so on.”
“So why is she talking to you? You aren’t an air elemental or someone who can control air. Your element is earth and maybe fire at a push.”
“Um... Since my majority, they’ve all been talking to me. They let me use their elements as well, but within reason. Dunno what the limits are yet though. I haven’t really had much time to experiment and well... I’ve sort of refused to talk to them since I woke up.” Asmodeus admitted to him with a sheepish shrug.
“So, Dean seems to think they will tell you something? Well do you want to give it a try?”
“Yeah, but I’ll need to be somewhere away from here. It looks a bit odd if a young man is spacing out and talking to thin air. Stop laughing.” Asmodeus hissed, much to the others confusion, seeing as no one was laughing. Sam seemed to know who he was talking to though, and Asmodeus didn’t seem to realise what he had said.
“Right, well there is a wooded area not far from here, we can go there, and Sam and Dean can have a look around with the EMF thingies whilst we’re gone. They should work without us around. Unless we’ve permanently screwed them up.” Sanguini added with a careless shrug, smirking at the looks of horror on Sam and Dean’s faces.
“You better hope you haven’t. If you have, you can buy us new ones. We liked those EMF meters.” Dean mumbled, getting a soft smile from Asmodeus, who walked over to the drivers side of the car.
“We’ll come back for you later when we’ve got some information. How are you and Sammy going to walk around without attracting too much attention?” Asmodeus asked as he opened the door, Sanguini walked over to the passenger side and climbed in.
“I guess we’ll just have to blend in.” Dean said, looking to the side at a sign asking for help wanted for the carnival. Sam and Asmodeus looked at him incredulously, whilst Sanguini just chuckled.
“Right, well you two have fun with that, and we’ll give you a ring when we get back, okay?”
“Sure. See you later. Be safe.” Dean called out, and Asmodeus smiled brightly at him before he climbed in the car and drove off. “So what did you and As talk about whilst we were away?”
“Nothing.”
“Sure didn’t look like nothing. You two talking again? You gonna stop bein’ a dick towards him?” Dean asked with a disapproving look, which Sam looked away from.
“I apologised for how I had been treating him and we just talked some things out.” Sam told him with a shrug.
“Right, well shall we try and find Mr... Cooper?” Dean asked, checking the sign for the name of their, hopefully, future employer.
“Sure. And Dean?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for standing by As even when I was being a dick towards him.”
“I like him Sammy. I want to be with him.” Dean said with an embarrassed shrug and Sam let it drop. They both entered a tent in the hopes of finding someone who could help point them in the direction of Mr Cooper and came across a man wearing sunglasses, throwing knives against a wall.
“Excuse me.” The man stopped but didn’t look at them. “We’re lookin’ for a Mr Cooper. Have you seen him around?” Dean asked. The man turned to face them, frowning.
“What is that - some kind of joke?” He asked, taking off his glasses to show them both that he was blind, much to Dean’s horror.
“Oh God. I’m sorry, I-I didn’t -“
“You think I wouldn’t give my eyeteeth to see Mr Cooper or a sunset or anything at all?” The man asked angrily and Dean turned to Sam for help.
“Wanna give me a little help here?” Dean hissed and Sam grinned at him.
“Not really.”
“Hey, Barry, is there a problem?” They all turned and saw a little man enter the tent, dressed in a rather flamboyant outfit that even had a sequined cape.
“Yeah, this guy hates blind people.” The blind man said, pointing to Dean, who closed his eyes in horror and Sam just took a step back, grinning.
“No, I don’t.” Dean denied frantically, glancing between the two men.
“Hey, buddy, what’s your problem?”
“Nothing, it’s just a little misunderstanding.” Dean told them, trying to calm them.
“Little? You son of a bitch!” The man cried out and Dean looked at him in horror.
“No, no, no! Could somebody tell me where Mr Cooper is?” Dean asked in a panic. Sam just watched and finally gave in, cracking up and clutching his stomach. “Please?!”
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