Dark Knight's Heir - Chapter sixteen

[mangacat201]

Dark Knight's Heir

Author: Mangacat

Pairing: Jared/Jensen, others

Rating: R - NC-17

Parts: 16/25+

Word Count: 3200/80k+

Disclaimer: I totally wanna own them... cough sadly that's not possible, nor is getting paid for this. I'll have fun and they're not going to get hurt … much. Promise.

Warnings: Erm, m/m sex, violence, language, gore (i.e. epic battle of the good against the bad), het sex (OMG), character death (minor).

Summary: Jared Padalecki lives a Joe Average life with his fiancee... until a handsome stranger with an unbelievable story and a mysterious tale of destiny breaks the peace to safe his life.

A/N: S***... seriously guys, I only just realize it's been two months since the last update, which just doesn't do... but with RL kicking my ass and Big Bang raving, I just didn't get around to it. Won't happen again, I promise, even though I'm looking at final exams now... Have fun with the new chapter.

Masterpost

Castlist

Previously on Dark Knight's Heir...

Foolishly, he took a swing at the other man, running more on instinct than reason. He heard a shout from behind that might have been Jensen, when Tom stepped out of the way to let him barrel past in a near miss before grabbing his arm like a vice, turning his own momentum against him, to wrench his arm up his back and pulling them both around in a full circle, so that Jared suddenly faced Jensen with Tom crowded into his back, and a fierce, cold blade that had come out of nowhere, biting into the soft skin of his throat with a razor-sharp edge...

A single drop of blood slowly trailed over the polished, gleaming metal and hung precariously on the edge of the blade for a moment. Then it fell off and splashed on the concrete in deadly silence, the way a needle might fall. Jared’s body stood frozen as did his mind, as if this very moment would be suspended forever, and time had ceased to exist. In the back of his mind, it registered that he could make out Tom's weapon from the corner of his eye – something like a battle axe –, could follow the red trail on the glinting blade ‘til it vanished from his line of sight. Most of his attention, however, was drawn to the devastated, wide-eyed look on Jensen’s face, his hand hovering in mid-air in an aborted motion that told Jared that the other man was helpless, facing a situation that left next to no options. When, after a few seconds, Jared got his rapid breathing under control, and the thundering in his ears had calmed down to a buzz, he noticed that they were surrounded by a ring of big bulky figures that crowded around them in a tight circle, leaving no opening for any move Jensen might drag out of the hat. Their features were mostly cast in shadow, but Jared would bet his sorry ass that they were only wearing masks too, and he guessed what was underneath would not be pleasant at all. Before he could think any more about it, however, he felt Tom’s lips against the flesh of his left ear, and his whispering breath ghost over the rim, uttering the words:

“Not so fast, darling, we’re not finished yet.”

Jared attempted to swallow, but thought better of it immediately when the movement jostled the blade and dragged a line of liquid fire over the skin of his neck. When he answered, it was with careful blankness and as little movement as possible.

“Tell me it’s not true.”

“Hmm, tell you what, it’s a real pity that you couldn’t just be a lot less talented. It would have been so easy to just dispose of you, before anyone ever caught on to where you were and where you belonged. But, as it turns out – quite unsurprisingly – that there was so. Much. Potential. Paired with a stunning amount of ignorance, as we were quick to find out. You made it easy to pick you like a ripe fruit, so desperate to be courted, wooed, made the centre of someone’s attention, you have no idea,” Jared’s chest began to ache with an unfathomable hurt while the words cut into him, all his insecurities and naivety dragged out and put on display with just a few callous phrases, “it was a good plan, you know? Taking their most precious weapon and turning it around on them in the end. And it would have worked quite well… too bad you had to go and get yourself involved with the likes of our very own Jensen Ross Ackles, isn’t it?”

Jared almost started at the rippling fear suddenly swelling in Jensen’s eyes and knew without a shred of a doubt that this was the man’s full name… that he had never even heard before, and that also confirmed more than anything that had happened up to now what Tom really was to him. A menace, a fake, betrayal, a demon.

Fine tremors started to race through his limbs with unstoppable force when the realization finally sank in, and, once again, he heard Tom’s smug voice in his ear from behind.

“And now, look at your precious hero, unable to lift a finger to save you this time. That’s because any violation of the treaty would result in his immediate death; he’s still standing on sacred ground.”

Jared blinked for a moment, and then his eyes followed their own accord and swept to the ground around Jensen’s feet. His Sight was gone again, but in its wake he could make out a faded glowing line running along the concrete just a couple of inches from the other man’s shoes. When he looked up again, it was to meet Jensen’s desperate, now pleading eyes, but still the other man managed not to move a muscle.

“I, however, am not, as you notice, which is why I’m still alive despite our… position. So, let me tell you how this is going to be. Instead of delivering his heroical speech of duty and fate,… he is going to watch you die. And it’ll drive him mad. Now, tell me, how are you going to get out of this one, hmmm?”

~*~

The heavy dark wooden doors opened half a pace in front of her, sliding out as if a mere whiff of air would have moved them just as easily. Stepping into the gloomy room beyond, she scoffed slightly at the sparse decoration of the dramatic setting. The black and white chequered tiles on the floor were bare and worn stretching into the shadows of the room in an infinite – rather fitting – pattern. Some high windows on the right looked out onto the dark and stormy night, illuminated by a faint glow of streetlights and the flickering hues of a roaring fireplace. The walls were completely covered in dark wood and added to the dark, stuffy atmosphere of the room. The crackling flames backlit the only piece of furniture there, making it impossible to recognize the features of the man occupying the big leather armchair. One could only make out his hands lying comfortable in a majestic posture on the armrests as he faced the door, apparently relaxed and completely unsurprised. She stepped through the doors, and they closed up instantly behind her without so much as a backward glance from her. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and inwardly sighed at the overly dramatic display. Nevertheless she’d come here to talk business and raise the stakes, and she wouldn’t let herself be distracted by this scene. Besides, she had dealt with him often enough throughout their long existence to be practiced in tuning out his penchant for the theatrics.

“You are a very difficult man to find.”

“I’m surprised that you did, actually, though I shouldn’t be I guess. I’ve been to great lengths to avoid being bothered with this kind of business for a long time.”

She shrugged lightly and trying out the beatific smile of her new outfit.

“You know me; I’m as resourceful as they come. Although I have to admit that arranging this meeting cost me, which is why I’ll have to insist that we cut pleasantries and get right down to business.”

The unmoving figure answered with a voice that sounded from everywhere except the black void where his face was supposed to be:

“I see you haven’t changed, except for your appearance, of course. Isn’t this one a bit old for your tastes, though?”

She waved her hand impatiently.

“Ah, you know a woman’s got to stay with the trends, new hair, new face, new flesh. All in the name of hard work, I assure you. Apropos, since I showed you mine, why not show me yours?”

Now he inclined his head a fraction so that only the hint of the gleaming whites in his eyes became visible and chuckled under his breath.

“And let all of my careful work go to waste just like that? I think not. What do you want, Lilith?”

She twirled one her thick red tresses between her fingers and then flicked it off against the lapels of her smart suit – bloody nuisance, that one – before she focused her attention on him again.

“We have a game open from the last time we met each other.”

“That has to be years ago.”

“Decades, even. I’d like to collect the last couple of moves since I think a conclusion is due.”

He steepled his fingers together and seemed to think for a moment.

“Are you sure?”

“It’s what I’ve come here for, visiting this beautiful rotten city. I have put a lot of work into this, too.”

He nodded slowly and all of the sudden, the floor wasn’t empty anymore. Instead, thick white fog crept in from under the door, wafting around her feet and rising up to vague shapes of what might have been chess pieces – if those were traditionally four foot high – while the flickering shadows of the firelight got more intense and coalesced into corresponding black forms. If anyone had been there to witness their encounter, they’d have noticed that the pieces had a rather distinct shape, but fog inside changed and swirled into faces from one moment to the other. Lilith looked around the room and at the layout of the already considerably depleted set. Before she could say anything, her opponent spoke up.

“Checkmate in five moves.”

She threw a cursory glance around once more to calculate his moves and lifted a finger to tap at the edge of her lips. She looked at him, even though the shadows only ever gave up the vague shape of his head and answered: “Are you sure? If you move like that to beat my King, I take your Queen first. Are you prepared to sacrifice so much?”

He inclined his head slightly.

“I have a crafty Knight that will be able to handle the situation.”

She looked around until her eyes found the piece in question.

“I see. Well, it remains to be seen if you’ll be able to pull off those moves all in time. Just so you know what’s at stake… I wager the city. Think about it, you really don’t want to lose this one.”

With a blink of her eye one of the big windows wrenched open and a gust of wind scattered the ghostly chess pieces in a few seconds, leaving no trace of the game. A moment later, she was gone from the room too.

The man purposefully let go of the tension in his clenched fingers, listening to the leather creak in obvious relief. He slowly turned his head and stared at the shadowed corner on the left side of the fireplace until the darkness in there became more tangible and moved slightly at last to reveal a silhouette of a man. The figure was dressed in a ratty trench coat matching the suit that would have made any accountant proud. There was only the left half of his face illuminated by the unsteady light from the fire and it showed chiselled features schooled into careful indifference.

“Did hear it, Cas?”

A nod reaffirmed his inquiry.

“Take up her trace. I want to know where she is, and what kind of big scheme she’s planning in the city, and I want to know it before it happens. Go on.”

He watched the man in the corner blink for a moment before he nodded and melted back into the darkness, vacating the space with a whisper of his presence and a flutter of imagined feathers. When he was sure that his messenger was gone, the man rose from the seat and took the two steps to the mantle to lean his elbow on the stone while he watched the flames flicker and dance for him. He pondered the encounter with one of the most dangerous creatures to roam the earth and thought warily about what she might have come up with to bring death and destruction to the unsuspecting citizens of this town. People just went on with their daily business without even the slightest clue of the war that was raging right under their feet. It was after all one of his rules that humanity should be kept in the dark about what was happening between light and darkness in the grey hours between night and day. His most recent worry, however, revolved around the boy that had gotten his blissful ignorance shattered for the greater good of mankind. He only hoped that it would be enough to save them all. The man concentrated on the menacing, devouring forms with an intense look until the fire roared up into the chimney with a crackling force. When the flames filled the whole mantelpiece to the brink, he thrust his hand into the lowest, hottest part of the fire, where the flames were blue like ice, but burning with their greatest force. His fingers grasped a handle and when he yanked his hand back out the liquid fire turned into gleaming steel until he had an elegant sword balanced in his grip. The man watched the blue flames dance for a moment around the edges of the blade until they finally died down, leaving only delicately etched patterns on the metal and a whiff of smoke. He observed the trusted and ageless weapon with a grim fondness, readying his mind for the upcoming battle.

~*~

“You don’t have to do this.”

Jared was not above desperate measures, now that his and Jensen’s face stood in balance like that. So he resorted to the only bargaining chip that was left, his own cooperation, for whatever good it would do.

“I… I can come with you, I’ll do whatever you want, just make sure that everyone walks away from here unharmed.”

He heard Tom chuckle maliciously next to his ear, before his fiancé-turned-nemesis hissed under his breath: “You’d really do that, right? Shows how far you’ve come, and how useless you are to me, bonded to him like you are, tainted with his essence. No believe me, it’ll be a lot more profitable for me if I dispose of you both right now; two birds one stone, you know? And believe me I’ve been after this one for a long time. For what it’s worth, it’s a right pity because you are an excellent fuck, but, c’est la vie, baby.”

Before Jared could formulate a response, words became obsolete. Tom drew his weapon back a couple of inches, probably to plunge it right into his carotid artery or something. He only had a second to get a look at the blood-stained blade before the world turned over. Jared felt a forceful impact on his left side that put a terrible strain on the arm behind his back, but it also kept his throat from being cut open, so he wasn’t going to complain. He heard a low growl and a saw a flash of white canine teeth, before Tom yelled and finally let go of his arm, so that he toppled forward into the first tendrils of dense white mist that was creeping in from all around. More snarls and hisses told him that the commotion going on behind his back was a serious fight, but he didn’t have time to ponder his next step as his fall had left him only inches away from the feet of one of the minor demons Tom had apparently brought as back-up. The thug looked down at him, and Jared felt a crack, and a near agonizing pain shot through his body as the creature reflexively delivered a kick to his chest that caused him to roll over a couple of times and really did not help with his injured shoulder. However, when he lay wheezing pained breaths into his lungs, trying to get his bearing to block the next blow, he had just enough time to watch the demon’s features go slack with a horrible epiphany. It had only a second to figure out that it had never crossed that line before a bolt of lightning shot down out of the sky and turned it into specks of icky goo and a black spot on the concrete that had smoke and a little ash drifting up slowly, mixing with the clean mist that moved all too specifically to be quite natural. Jared blinked and figured that instant death was to be taken quite literally as far as goddesses were concerned. He probably would have laughed hysterically if breathing didn’t hurt so much. He tried to get his bearings together long enough to figure out how stand up and get the hell out of here, when Tom stumbled out of the closing fogbank and upon spotting him raised the damned hatchet to finish what he’d started only seconds ago. His heart sprang to his throat instantly; he felt like a turtle on its back with the eagle in sight, but before the blade of the axe could slice through his skin and bones, there was a loud clang of metal on metal, and Jared recognized instantly the dragon sword intercepting the lethal blow. Jensen turned the blade in a half circle – away from Jared thankfully – and used Tom’s own momentum to throw his arm off balance and create an opening that he used to for a vicious stab that could have gutted his opponent easily. The demon avoided the blade gracefully, but the move forced him to jump back and gave Jensen the opportunity to leave the immediate perimeter of that crucial border that made manoeuvring in a fight that much more difficult. He and Tom began trading blows with apparent expertise, and it was impossible to tell who had the upper hand as the odds changed from one move to the next. Jared couldn’t watch for long though, because they faded in the mist, and, suddenly, a hand grabbed his coat by his shoulder, making him flinch terribly. Crouched next to him, however, he didn’t find another demon, but Chris urging him on immediately: “Come on, cub, get up, we don’t have all night.”

The werewolf dragged him up and shouted something over his shoulder, shoving him a couple of steps back, before Jared got his act together enough to resist.

“But, Jensen, we can’t leave him alone like this!”

“He can handle himself, alright? We got this one covered, trust me, it’s not the first time those two have butted heads, now would hurry up already!”

Jared didn’t have time to answer or cease his resistance before he felt a strong arm wrapping around his midriff and wrenching him back into a twirl of particularly thick fog. A cold tingle spread all through his body for a moment, much like the first time he’d come through that warded door leading to the headquarters of the group, and when he fell onto his back again it was onto a cushioning rug and the sight of the high stone ceiling of the Archway. The fall had taken all his shallow breath out of him again, so he could do nothing but lay there for a couple of minutes, unmoving and praying that the horrible ache would go away soon or he might have to stop breathing. Another whoosh disrupted the air in the room, and, with a thud that made him open his eyes again, Jensen and another man who looked vaguely familiar lay on the floor beside him. The green-eyed man was breathing harshly as he locked his gaze with Jared, but aside from a gash on his arm that was bleeding profusely, he seemed to be fine. Jared closed his eyes and turned his head slowly snorting in utter disbelief at the day he’d just had.

 Chapter seventeen