Reading Between The Lines (Sabriel)

Chapter 23

Everything was going fine. They were back at the motel, winding down after an exhausting day. Dean felt compelled to take a very, very long shower the moment they got back, and Sam has to admit, he doesn't blame the guy. He just feels... wrong. Everything feels wrong. He felt like this in the Trickster game, too. It really threw him off. He wouldn't be surprised if a cold shower would be all it took to fix him up, pull him back into the real world.

He collapses on the bed and closes his eyes. God, he can't believe this is happening. He killed the Trickster. He literally murdered the guy he's been dating for months. They never even technically broke up. Murdering your boyfriend has to be a direct path to Hell, right?

He doesn't even know what to do. Usually he'd chat with the guy after a hunt or work on setting up a time to meet soon. He can't do that anymore. He wouldn't want to do that anymore, even if the Trickster was still alive.

He'd been prepared for many things when he decided to talk to the Trickster. Obviously, he'd hoped they'd agree to work together, and maybe even convince Dean that it's not such a bad partnership. He'd sort of expected that the Trickster might shoot him down, and he was willing to attribute most of that to Dean if it happened. Those two got along really well the first time they met, but it's been pretty rocky since then, especially given the fact that the Trickster killed him a hundred times.

He definitely hadn't been prepared to find out that the Trickster was in on this apocalypse thing. He had no idea his relationship was even in jeopardy, never mind the fact that his relationship had been based on lies. Hell, it could have been a whole setup from a higher power, someone that wanted to wear Sam down and had a grip on the Trickster. He'll never know. He probably doesn't want to know.

"Sam?"

He can tell by the way Dean says his name that he means business. He probably wants to talk about what comes next. This really throws a wrench in things. If every supernatural being has an interest in this apocalypse, things could get really bad, really quickly.

So Sam tries to open his eyes.

And he can't.

He physically cannot move a muscle.

"Sam, it's me," Dean says. "Where the hell are you?"

So Dean can't see him? But he's right there. Sam can hear him right there. So why can't Dean see him? And why can't Sam see anything? And why does it feel like there's something inside of him? It couldn't be an angel, and he's been possessed by demons before. This isn't what it feels like.

"Dean?" Sam says, and he's surprised he can even get the word out. He can't feel his mouth, but he can still speak.

"Sam?" Dean says, puzzled. There's a pause as if he's looking around, before he asks, "Where are you?"

"I don't know," Sam says. But his voice feels so robotic, almost like it's being played through a radio.

And what has no eyes, no mouth, a radio, and can hold a person inside?

A 1967 Chevy Impala.

"Oh, crap," Sam mutters. "I don't think we killed the Trickster."

How is he supposed to feel about that? He's pissed at the guy. He should be pissed at the guy. He's lied to Sam for years, and now he's trying to sell him out to Satan himself. Sam wishes he was dead.

But he's also been such a great friend and an even better partner.

God, why is life so hard?

~~

"Okay, stake didn't work," Dean says. "So what? This another trick?"

"I don't know," Sam says. It stands to reason that it would be. He's the Trickster. Tricking people is what he does. But if he's done nothing but lie since the moment they met, maybe that's not entirely true, either. "Maybe the stake didn't work because it's not a trickster?"

"What do you mean?" Dean asks.

"I mean, you heard Cas," Sam says. "He said this thing was too powerful to be a trickster." He hadn't been inclined to believe it at first, but now...

"Yeah, and did you notice the way he looked at Cas?" Dean adds. "Almost like he knew him."

Sam definitely noticed that one. It was the first lie he caught, and one of the last lies until the whole thing fell apart. He was far too emotionally invested in this apocalypse for it not to have been his primary goal this whole time, so he mentions that one, too. He doesn't think much of it. It's just another thing that pissed him off.

"Son of a bitch," Dean mutters.

"What?"

"I think I know what we're dealing with," Dean says.

"What is it?" Sam asks. What could he possibly be?

"An angel."

Sam scoffs. "You think our Trickster is an angel?"

"Look, think about it," Dean insists. "That would make Michael and Lucifer his family. It always pissed me off when you and Dad were at each other's throats. He'd probably feel the same way about them. And it would explain why he knew Cas, too. They probably went to... I don't know, angel school together or something stupid like that."

"Don't you think he would have been a bit less impartial if he was one of Michael's cronies?" Sam asks. He may lie about many things, but Sam is inclined to believe he hadn't chosen a side.

"Maybe he lied about that, too," Dean says. "Maybe he just didn't want to give away the punchline, you know?"

Sam hesitates, but he can't think of anything better, so he opts to just give it a go. "And you're sure about this?"

"Hell no," Dean says. "I've got no freakin' idea what's going on here. But this... it's the closest I've come to a logical explanation for anything all damn day, and you don't seem to be doing any better than I am, so..."

Sam sighs. Well, the guy lied about everything else. Maybe he lied about his species, too. It wouldn't be much of a stretch. "Fine. Then let's say he's an angel. What do we do about it?"

There's a brief pause. Neither of them really know how to handle an angel. They can't exactly call Cas up and ask him for help. He could be dead for all they know. They're not exactly equipped to deal with this type of thing on their own.

"Wait a second," Dean says. "The holy oil never made it into the motel, right?"

"I don't know," Sam says, confused. "Probably not. I think it's still in the — ooh, I get it."

"Yeah, you do," Dean says, and this time, he sounds very, very satisfied with how this turned out.