Chapter Text
Sam knew he wasn’t behaving the way a knight should. If you ride all the way to the tower the vile necromancer is living in, honor demands you knock at the front door and shout a challenge. You don’t hide your horse near by, wait for night, and sneak around the old gnarled building to find a window that looks like you can climb up to it. You certainly don’t wedge two short daggers between the stones of the tower to use as stepping stones. (Proper knights most likely don’t even know how to do that.) You don’t hang on the windowsill to cut through the skin that keeps the wind from blowing through the window and climb in.
Good thing his uncle Bobby hadn’t bothered much with training him and Dean to be proper knights. “If you get into a fight,“ he had always said, “You better win it. Honor doesn’t do you any good if you’re dead.“
Sam said a silent prayer of thanks to Bobby’s soul while he crouched on the other side of the window in a dark room, waiting for his eyes to adjust. He’d left his chainmail behind for stealth reasons, only wearing light leather armor now. He wasn’t even here to pick a fight. He just wanted to find his brother and get out again.
Slowly, the dark shapes around him became bookcases. Sam breathed a sigh of relief. There were way worse places you could end up in, if you broke into a necromancer’s tower, than his library.
Sam moved silently, looking for a door. There was probably a dungeon downstairs, and that sounded like a good place to start his search.
Not long until he found a door that lead to a spiraling staircase. At the end of it, there was a more sturdy door that yielded to Sam’s lock picking skills (bless his friend Brady, whom neither Sam’s father John nor Bobby approved of), and there it was. The dungeon.
There was a torch in a metal ring next to the door. Sam dug for flint in the pocket on his belt and lit it. In the light of the flames he looked around.
The cells were separated by rusty metal bars, most of the doors standing open. Sam stepped in further. One of them had to be occupied. At least one of them. Dean couldn’t be dead, he was not allowed to be dead.
“Looking for something?“
Sam whirled around at the sound of the voice. There was a blond man leaning against the doorframe, all clad in black, a slightly amused look in his piercing blue eyes. “Maybe I can help you.“
Instead of an answer Sam reached for his sword.
“I see. The usual then.“ The necromancer sounded almost bored. He waved a hand, and Sam heard chains rattling behind him. He ducked on instinct, rusty iron flying over his head. The next moment Sam lunged.
The necromancer blocked Sam’s first blow with a dagger, danced around the second. The third sent his weapon flying and the tip of Sam’s sword at his throat made him back into the bars of the nearest cell. He lifted his hands in a gesture of defeat, smiling again. “You’re good. What’s your name?“
“Sam Winchester. You kidnapped my brother and three people from the village by my father’s castle. What have you done to them?“
That made the necromancer’s eyebrows shoot up. “I’m pretty sure the last person I kidnapped was let go alive a few days later. And if your brother is only half as attractive as you are, I sure would remember him.“
Sam blinked at the casual mix of compliments and admittance that the necromancer actually did kidnap people occasionally.
“You’re lying!“ he said. “Where is my brother?“ He pressed the tip of the sword against the man’s throat, not enough to break the skin.
The necromancer tsked. “I do like your attitude, Sam, but this has to stop.“ With that he leaned into the sword.
Before Sam could draw the blade back, there was a small trickle of blood running down the other’s pale neck. Slowly, the necromancer lifted a hand to the wound, touching it as if he didn’t believe it was actually there. His fingertips came back red, and he looked at them, smile growing wider.
“Meg,“ he said. “Come.“ There was something not right with those words, something dark waiting beneath the simple syllable. Power suddenly crackled in the dusty air around them.
Then the blood turned into smoke.
At first it was just a faint red wisp. Sam gripped his sword tighter. “What have you done?“ The way things looked though, it was probably wise not to wait for an answer. The necromancer had to die, before he could finish whatever magic he had started with his own blood.
Sam drew back his sword to swing it again.
The red smoke curled around his wrist, stopping his movement. The next moment it was not just smoke anymore, it was a hand, outlines slightly blurred. A matching arm manifested, then the rest of a small brunette woman. She gripped Sam’s wrist even tighter, twisting his arm back with inhuman strength until he was forced to let go of the blade. It clattered to the ground.
She looked at the necromancer. “You called, Master.“
The necromancer nodded. “Good girl. Help me secure him.“
Sam was shoved to his knees, and a lazy flick of the necromancer’s hand called chains up again. This time Sam saw them. They were old and rusty like everything in here, connected to the ground with iron rings. They wrapped themselves around Sam’s arms, holding him down, while the creature apparently called Meg took his weapon’s belt away and threw it into a corner. Then she walked around Sam, eyeing him up and down. “The knights are getting more shabby, don’t you think? Or are they sending foot soldiers against you now, Master?“
Sam glowered at her, pulling at the chains experimentally, trying to wriggle out of them. They reacted as if they had a will of their own by wrapping around his arms even tighter.
The necromancer chuckled. “He’s getting bonus points for intelligence, though. Remember the last one that just banged on the front door?”
That made Meg grin. “Oh yes. I love it when they’re so righteous that they’re involuntarily funny.” Then she turned to her master. “Do you need me to do anything else?”
“No. Off you go.“ He snapped his fingers and Meg exploded into red smoke. The cloud collected in the necromancer’s hand until it was nothing more than a drop of blood again.
As soon as the necromancer’s piercing blue gaze settled solely on Sam, the knight swallowed. It looked like John Winchester would be missing two sons soon. Defiantly Sam lifted his chin, though, staring right back at the necromancer. “If you want to kill me, just do it. You won’t gain anything else from me.“
“I think you’re mistaken there, Sammy,“ the necromancer said. “For example, I could do a lot with your blood, and I don’t think I need your permission to take it.“
Sam shivered, fighting to cling to his bravado. “It’s Sam, not Sammy.“
“As long as you’re chained up in my dungeon, I call you whatever I want. I’m Lucifer by the way.“
“I’d say it’s nice to meet you, but I’d have to lie.“
A wide grin split Lucifer’s face. “I do like you. But I think we should take it slow, you know. Have a nice little chat first, before you try to kill me again.“ He leaned back against the bars of a cell. “Four people vanished from your village, did I get that right?“
“You should know, you took them.“
“What makes you think that?“
“They vanished without a trace. It has to be magic.“
Another unhappy tsk. “Villagers ... Something can’t be explained right away, of course it has to be magic!“
Sam scoffed, but didn’t say anything. Of course it hadn’t been that easy. They had checked every other possibility. He wasn’t going to argue with his captor about it though.
“Tell me,“ Lucifer said slowly. “If I kill you, how many more knights will come here to look for your lost villagers?“
“More than you can handle.“ The truth was, apart from him and Dean, there weren’t many knights. Adam was too young to be a proper knight yet, and that left only Ellen and Jo and of course Charlie. John Winchester’s lands weren’t big. Most of its army consisted of farmers. Sam would rather die than tell Lucifer that, though.
The necromancer sighed. “Lying won’t get you anywhere and I don’t have time for this.“ Another gesture made the dagger fly from where it had landed into Lucifer’s hand. He stepped towards Sam, and the sharp tip pressed against the skin of Sam’s neck. He swallowed again. He hoped he was lucky and Lucifer would just lose his patience and kill him fast. And if that wasn’t the case, Sam hoped he wouldn’t reveal anything important under torture. He pulled at his bonds again, but of course it was useless.
“Relax,“ Lucifer said. “I just want a drop of your blood.“
Sharp pain, then Sam felt blood trickle down the side of his neck.
“There we go.“
Cold dread creeped into Sam. He didn’t know exactly what the necromancer could do with his magic, but he knew he had no defenses against it, no matter what it was. He shivered as Lucifer swept a finger through the trickle of blood and it came away red. He watched Lucifer mix his blood with his own. There was a murmur that made the air heavy with energy again. Then Lucifer extended the bloody finger towards Sam.
Sam reeled back on instinct, but Lucifer put away the dagger, grabbed a fistful of Sam’s hair and held him steady. “It won’t hurt you and it won’t turn you into anything horrible. It’ll just make you tell the truth.“ The bloody finger touched Sam’s lips, smearing red over them. “You know, we wouldn’t have this problem if all of you villagers would just stop being so afraid of me.“
As soon as the necromancer let go of his hair again, Sam turned his head away. “If you want us to like you better, stop kidnapping people,“ he spat. “And stop raising our dead.“ He tasted a hint of copper. Damn, did he get any of the blood in his mouth?
The necromancer shook his head. “But you’re not doing anything with them. Letting them rot in the ground is such a waste. And the last time I kidnapped anyone was years ago. I try to avoid it. Too much hassle with vengeful relatives, as you’re demonstrating right now.“ He took a step back and wiped his fingers on the sleeve of his shirt.
“Now,“ he said. “How many more knights that’ll come looking for your villagers?“
Sam gritted his teeth and said nothing. Apart from the faint taste of copper on the tip of his tongue he didn’t feel any different. Maybe the spell didn’t work?
Lucifer sighed. “Of course you’re a stubborn one.“ He stepped closer again and squatted down to Sam’s current level. This time he cupped Sam’s face with both of his hands, almost lovingly. From this close Sam saw shards of almost white in icy blue eyes, like the seas high up in the north he’d visited once as a child. Like with the sea, Sam felt like he could drown in them, get completely lost, if he wasn’t careful. For a moment he forgot to struggle.
Lucifer was close enough they could’ve kissed now. Sam felt the other man’s breath on his lips, and with it came whispered words of power. The taste of copper got stronger on his tongue.
After a moment, Lucifer stood up again. “How many knights?“
“Three“, Sam said. It was completely impossible not to. He hated himself for it, hated Lucifer even more, but he couldn’t fight it.
“Will they sneak in like you did?“
“Charlie probably will.“ Sam fixed Lucifer with a hateful glare.
“Explain to me exactly how you got in.“
Sam did. He fought against it with everything he got, but the words just spilled from his bloodstained lips. He wanted to scream from frustration. There had to be some way to stop this! He didn’t find one though. When he was done, he slumped in his bonds, feeling like he’d just run a mile.
“Sam ...“ Lucifer looked at him from where he was leaning against the iron bars with something that was almost pity. “I know you feel like a traitor right now and my heart breaks for you, but we can avoid the worst case, if you work with me.“
“Sure,“ Sam said. “That’s why you’re asking me what kinds of attacks to expect from my friends.“
“I like being prepared. Now tell me everything about your lost people. Every detail you remember.“
At least that was a topic Sam didn’t mind so much talking about. “There isn’t much,“ he said. “They all went into the marshlands and didn’t come back. We tracked them. The tracks stopped at some point, like they just vanished.“
“And then you assumed it was magic?“
“Well, people don’t just vanish into thin air without magic, do they? We looked for other possibilities, though, believe it or not. Maybe they drowned, maybe something ate them. But there were no bodies, no parts of bodies. Dean’s horse came back after a few days. There were no injuries and no other signs of a fight. His sword was still in its sheath, strapped to the saddle. There aren’t many things that can take Dean without a struggle.“
Lucifer tapped his lips with his index finger in thought. “I have to admit, that sounds unusual. But has it ever crossed your mind that I’m not the only magic user in the world?“
First doubts creeped into Sam’s mind. There was no point for Lucifer to act like he was innocent, was there? Why would he ask about the attacks in such detail, if he was behind them? To see, if they could prove that he was the one who did it? Prove to whom? John Winchester was the law in this area. If he decided the necromancer was guilty, then he was, proof or no proof.
“As far as I know, you magic users have territories, don’t you?“ Sam said, the coppery taste in his mouth receding a bit as if the spell sensed that he was willing to talk out of his own free will now. “Like mountain lions. You defend them. That’s the only reason father doesn’t try and get rid of you for good. You scare off people that may be worse.“
Now that he thought of it, Lucifer really did mostly take the dead. And it may be upsetting to find a grave broken open from the inside and see grandma walk away in the direction of the tower, but it actually doesn’t hurt anyone. And there had been people vanishing before, but it really had been a while since that last happened, if you didn’t count the recent attacks.
Lucifer gave a short laugh. “You could say that. Yes, this is my territory and I defend it against other magic users, but sometimes one slips through without me noticing.“ Another thoughtful tap with his index finger. “Though those are mostly the less powerful ones that don’t have much of an aura to detect.“
Sam took a deep breath, his doubts growing. “Let’s say for a moment you really didn’t do it, did you notice someone who might?“
“No, and that worries me.“ Lucifer pushed away from the bars of the cell and started pacing up and down. Sam watched him and felt himself relax a bit, as far as this was possible, when you’re on your knees in the middle of a necromancer’s dungeon chained to the floor and under a truth spell.
After a moment Lucifer stopped his pacing. “Can I trust that you won’t attack me and won’t try to flee, when I unchain you?“
Sam opened his mouth to answer yes, but no sound came out. Lucifer grinned at him. “Trying to lie again?“
Sam settled for glaring again instead.
Lucifer laughed. “Has anyone ever told you that you look good, when you’re angry like that?“
“Most people I’m that angry with are too busy dodging my sword.“
That got him another laugh. “That makes it hard to admire the way sparks dance in your eyes, I guess.“ Lucifer leaned closer. “What color are they anyway? Your eyes, I mean.“
What kind of question was that? The spell nudged him to answer though. “No one knows for sure,“ Sam said. “They change depending on the light and my mood.“ After a moment he added: “Can we not talk about my eyes and focus on the matter of hand?“
“Of course we can, Sammy. As soon as you don’t try to fight my spell and answer truthfully. Will you attack me or try to flee as soon as I unchain you?“
Sam sighed. There was no way around the truth. “I’m not sure,“ he said. “Maybe, if there was a good opportunity.“
“Well, then let’s be safe.“ Lucifer drew the dagger again, which made Sam tense and grip the chains. The necromancer rolled up his own sleeve though, and Sam saw old scars crisscrossing his arm. Lucifer made a shallow cut between them, then put the dagger away and put his free hand over the wound. With the bloody palm he touched the chains, and Sam could feel them hum with sudden power. They snapped from the rings that held them to the ground. Before Sam could do anything, though, his arms were pulled back and chains wrapped tighter around his wrists to secure them behind his back.
“Need help getting up?“ Lucifer asked.
Sam shook his head and got to his feet on his own. His knees hurt a bit, but not too bad. He looked at his sword that was still lying at the ground.
“Don’t even think about it,“ Lucifer said.
Sam huffed. “What now?“
“We’ll go somewhere more comfortable and see what we can find out about the disappearances.“ Lucifer turned and walked towards the stairs. At the base of them he stopped and looked back at Sam, who hadn’t moved. “Are you coming? I mean, you do make a good figure chained up down here, but normally people don’t want to stay in my dungeon.“
Sam shook himself and started to follow Lucifer. Getting out of the dungeon was a good start, even if he had to leave his weapons behind. “Why would you want to help me?“ he asked on their way up the stairs.
“Because apparently I’ll only get peace if I can prove to you that I’m not the one who took your people.“ Lucifer led Sam further up than he had been before and opened a door at the next landing of the revolving staircase. Sam expected some kind of laboratory full of magic equipment and unspeakable things locked away in jars, but instead they stepped into a cozy room with a fireplace and two upholstered chairs next to it. In the middle of the room was a big table. Carved out of the wood of the tabletop was a big map. Sam recognised the village, the castle and there even was a small representation of Lucifer’s tower. The necromancer stepped towards the map and motioned for Sam to follow. “Show me where exactly the people vanished.“
Demonstratively Sam pulled at his bounds and made the chainlinks klink.
Lucifer rolled his eyes and waved his hand. The chains unwrapped from Sam’s left wrist and allowed him to bring his arms in front of him. As soon as he had them there, the chain snaked from Sam’s right wrist around his left, securing him again, but leaving him just enough freedom of movement so he could point out places on the map. Sam threw Lucifer a bitchface, but did as he was asked.
“Two of them went to this area to cut peat.“ The area he pointed at started to glow in a faint light. “One of them went after a lost sheep. The last traces we found of him were here.“ An area very near the first one started to glow.
“Did you find the sheep later?“ Lucifer asked.
Sam shook his head. “I ...“ He hadn’t even thought about the sheep until now. “I think no one looked that hard, because we were busy looking for the man. But now that you mention it, I think, the sheep’s traces stopped at roughly the same place his traces did.“ That was an interesting new thought. What kind of magic user stole sheep?
Lucifer smirked. “Are you finally starting to believe me? Or do you think there are many dark magic rituals that call for sheep?“
Sam shrugged, even though he was mostly convinced that Lucifer was innocent by now. Well, not innocent in general, but innocent in this case. “I don’t know much about dark magic.“
“Believe me, if I need blood or a life to sacrifice, it has to be human.“
Sam looked at the necromancer with narrowed eyes. “Is this supposed to be reassuring?“
Lucifer mimicked Sam’s earlier shrug. “It proves my point.“
Yes, it probably did. And now that there was no immediate danger anymore and they were kind of working together, Sam started to notice how attractive the guy was. Of course he was dangerous and most likely evil, but if Sam was honest, that just added to the appeal. There was a reason he was friends – well, sometimes more than friends – with Brady the thief.
“Sam?“ There was a slight smile on Lucifer’s lips. “Where are your thoughts going?“
Oh, fuck no! The coppery taste on Sam’s tongue flared up as he fought against the spell. “Nothing to do with the mystery.“ Maybe that’ll be enough?
The smile on Lucifer’s face grew to a wolfish grin. “Oh, please do tell.“
Bastard. Sam gritted his teeth, but it didn’t help much to keep the words from spilling over his lips. “I have the unfortunate luck that I tend to be drawn towards dangerous people.“
Well, that could have come out worse. It wasn’t fair, though, that the way Lucifer smiled now made him look even better.
Sam averted his eyes rubbed his face with his bound hands. “Can we please concentrate on the mystery disappearances?“
“Whatever you want, Sammy.“ Lucifer’s voice dropped a bit lower though and took an unmistakeable seductive tone, smooth like silk. Sam hated him for it.
“So what about your brother?“ the necromancer asked in a normal voice a moment later and Sam heaved a relieved sigh because of the change of topic.
It took him a moment to get his thoughts back on track, though. He cleared his throat. “He went looking for the last victim.“ He pointed at the second lit up spot and it glowed even brighter.
Lucifer leaned forward and stared at the map. “That’s all relatively close to the mountains. Are you sure there were no traces of anything on your brother’s horse? Small scratches, a strange smell, something like that?“
Sam tried to think, happy to have something else to occupy his thoughts with than the way Lucifer worried his lower lip in concentration.
“There was a small scratch on the saddle,“ he said after a while. “I heard the stable master complain about it. But it was most likely caused by branches.“
“Hm ...“ Again, the necromancer tapped his lips in thought. “I want to test a theory. Are you only into men, or women, too?“
Sam’s eyes snapped up from Lucifer’s lips to his eyes. “What?“
“The spell I want to try calls for the blood of a virgin,“ Lucifer explained grinning. “Half a virgin should be enough, though.“
“Sorry to disappoint, I’ve been with men and women before,“ Sam snapped, before the truth spell could force him to.
“Top or bottom?“ Lucifer’s eyes twinkled in amusement.
Sam glowered at the necromancer, letting the coppery taste build in his mouth this time, until he had no other choice than to answer. “Top.“
“I’ll take what I can get. Let’s try it. Care to donate some blood?“
“Not very eager to, no,“ Sam answered trying hard not to think about what the fact that Lucifer’s blood was worthless for this spell said about him. “What are you trying to achieve?“
“Looking for a dragon.“
Sam opened his mouth to call bullshit, but then closed it again. The sheep fit. The disappearing into thin air fit, because that’d be what it looked like, if you were lifted off by a dragon. The scratches fit. Big claws could’ve left them in the leather of the saddle. But that’d mean that Dean had probably been eaten by now, and that couldn’t be. His brother had to be alive. “Someone would’ve noticed a dragon living in the area,“ he protested.
“They’ve gotten more careful since killing their kind has become a sport for people like you. And there is a chance your brother is still alive,“ Lucifer added as if he’d been reading Sam’s thoughts. “Some dragons stash live food. Some even take humans for other reasons. His chances get slimmer the more time we waste, though.“
That did it. If Lucifer wanted his blood, he could take it without asking anyway. Sam extended his bound hands towards the necromancer. “Fine.“
“Now that’s the kind of practical thinking I like to see.“ Lucifer snapped his fingers and the chain slinked away, slithering over the map table and down to the floor like a snake. Apparently being willing to give blood made Sam finally trustworthy enough. Lucifer took a copper bowl from a shelf next to the fireplace and placed it at the edge of the table. Then he took Sam’s left hand in his own, callused thumb cool against Sam’s pulse, and pushed the sleeve up.
Sam couldn’t help but tense a bit as Lucifer drew the dagger. He took a sharp breath through gritted teeth as Lucifer made a shallow cut, and watched his blood drip into the bowl with slight nausea. “How much do you need?“
“Not much.“ Lucifer went to the shelf again and took strips of clean white cloth from it. “Keep your arm over the bowl until I tell you otherwise.“
As soon as the bottom of the bowl wasn’t visible anymore, Lucifer pressed a thumb at the vein above the small cut to stop the blood flow and wrapped a bandage around Sam’s arm with practiced movements.
“I think virgin blood is overrated,“ he said, while he was working. “I’ve experimented a bit, and what it means with most spells is that you need the blood of someone innocent and pure. Which applies to a lot of young and inexperienced people to some degree. That also means for everything except the most nasty spells it’s more potent, if given freely, because that way it isn’t tainted by fear or hate or both.“
That sounded like an interesting theory and Sam had to remind himself that he should by all means not be fascinated by anything concerning dark magic. “So you just asked about my sexual experience for fun,“ he said instead.
Lucifer grinned. “Well, it does help.“
Sam graced that response with another bitchface, then he looked at the bowl. “I hope this works.“
Lucifer nodded. He took some kind of powder from a pouch at his belt and mixed it with the blood, then he dipped his index finger in the mix. Carefully, he held it over the map and let red drops fall on the carved landscape. Words of power made the air heavy with energy again. Just to be safe, Sam took a step back.
Nothing happened at first. The blood driblets formed a trail from the still glowing parts of the map towards the mountains. Of course, you’d most likely find a dragon in a cave.
Finally, a small flame erupted from one of the drops. It was a bit disconcerting to see his own blood do something like that.
“There.“ Lucifer let more drops fall next to the now charred spot in the wood. The ones near to the mountains caught fire as well. So there really was a dragon? Torn between excitement and worry for Dean, Sam watched the necromancer repeat the action a few more times. Every time, the flames grew higher.
“The higher the flames the closer the dragon?“ he asked after a while.
Lucifer nodded. “Perceptive. Ever thought about studying magic? You might make a good student.“
That wasn’t a serious offer, was it? Probably not. “No thanks. Human sacrifices don’t sound very appealing.“
Lucifer huffs. “No one would force you to do the really nasty spells. For the rest you could most likely find suitable sacrifices in your father’s prisons. Still hanging them for begging and stealing? I’d say a sharp blade is quicker.“
That was a good point. Sam had objected to hanging people for begging numerous times. You can’t punish someone for being hungry, can you? But his father was of the opinion people that were hungry were just too lazy to work. If Sam caught wandering beggars, though, he always sent them away with a warning and some coin, and he had seen Dean do the same, though his brother was a bit less nice about it. And even for the ones with real crimes, hanging always had seemed cruel.
While he watched flame after flame on the wooden map, Sam felt his curiousity growing. “Do you do the really nasty spells?“
Lucifer didn’t look up from what he was doing. “Any children gone missing in recent years?“
Sam shook his head. The last time children had gone missing (and turned up dead) had been when Azazel and his band had raided the lands. Sam had only been a boy himself back then, but he remembered them. Jake and Lily and... Sam stopped. “Fifteen years ago, there was a little girl called Meg.“
Lucifer went completely still. “Ah... yes...“
Just when Sam had started to forget who he was dealing with... He wet suddenly dry lips and tasted blood. Damn, he’d almost forgotten about that, too. He wiped it away with his sleeve and tried to remember. There had always been something off about Meg’s disappearance. With the others the bodies had been found. Meg’s never turned up. “You did that?“
Lucifer still didn’t look up, the flames illuminating his face from below, giving him an ominous look. “I was young and full of hate and needed something strong to fend off my father’s legions hunting me. So I bound her soul to my blood. Not going to apologize.“ His voice sounded clipped and cold all of a sudden. “She grew up great, though. Really like her.“
What did you say to something like that? “Did you ever do something like this again?“ Sam asked after a while.
Lucifer looked up with a smirk that didn’t look quite genuine. “Oh, is that important to you? Do you hope I regretted it and changed my ways?“
Sam pressed his lips together, but the coppery taste on his tongue grew stronger again. So wiping off the blood hadn’t killed the spell. “Yes.“
Lucifer’s smirk grew wider, a bit more sincere. “You actually started to like me? That’s cute. I never did anything like it again. I didn’t regret it, though.“ Maybe it only sounded like a lie because Sam wanted it to.
“Not interested in me anymore now, I guess?“ Lucifer said it casually, as if he wasn’t actually interested in the answer.
“Still am,“ Sam admitted through gritted teeth. “I told you I tend to make poor choices in that regard,“ he added as a small revenge for being forced to tell the truth.
Lucifer didn’t even seem to notice, he just grinned, looking almost happy. After a moment, though, he concentrated on the map again.
It took some time, but finally Lucifer narrowed the location of the dragon down to a spot at the foot of the mountains. He put the copper bowl away and looked at the spot through narrowed eyes. “That doesn’t make sense.“
“What doesn’t?“ Sam leaned over the map, too.
The necromancer stabbed his finger at the spot as if it had offended him personally. “That’s a river. Dragons don’t live in rivers.“ He looked at Sam. “Say, Sam, do you have ancestors that aren’t quite human? Sometimes you get strange results with faekin blood. Would explain your beauty, too.“
Again with the casual compliments, and this one lit small sparks in his belly. Sam tried to concentrate on the task at hand and shook his head. “Not that I know of.“ Then he took a closer look at the spot. “But I know that place! It’s not just a river there, it’s a waterfall!“
“Dragons don’t live in waterfalls either.“
“There’s a cave behind that waterfall.“
That made Lucifer pause. “Oh.“
Sam laughed. “Some things you don’t learn from being holed up in a mage’s tower.“
The necromancer gave a good natured shrug. “You get your weapons back, if you promise not to turn them against me.“
Sam nodded. “I promise to not turn my weapons against you as long as you keep from harming the people I’ve sworn to protect.“
Lucifer smiled, and it made his eyes light up with icy blue. “You kill a dragon by –“
“By finding that soft spot underneath its chin.“ Bobby had made sure the Winchester boys knew how to slay various monsters.
That got Sam an approving nod. “It also helps to be pure at heart,“ Lucifer added. “So not much I can do about that beast in my territory, but in case you want company and a bit of support ...“
Sam looked at the necromancer through narrow eyes, trying to read his face, trying not to get lost in those eyes. There was no way Lucifer would offer to face a dragon with him out of the goodness of his heart, he was pretty sure of that. “I can imagine there are a lot of spells you need dragon scales for.“
The corners of Lucifer’s mouth twitched as if he was pleased that Sam had caught on. “Some.“
“And they’re hard to get?“ Sam asked, finding himself amused, too, despite himself.
“Occasionally.“
“I don’t think I should help a necromancer to get ingredients for powerful spells.“ Why was he thinking about doing exactly that then?
“It’s blood mage,“ Lucifer corrected. “I only raise the dead when I need someone to do hard manual labor for me. I’m not digging out a new garden plot myself, you know.“
Sam couldn’t help it, he laughed. “Very sinister. What do you grow?“
“Herbs. Some poisonous plants. Roses.“ Lucifer listed them as if the combination made complete sense.
“Roses?“
“I like beauty combined with thorns.“ Finally Lucifer’s eyes got hold of Sam’s and it was impossible to look away.
Sam had to clear his throat, before he could speak again. “How about you lift that truth spell from me? And after the dragon is dead we should sit and talk. Work something out that’ll prevent incidents like the one today.” And incidents like the one with Meg. If Lucifer had never done it again, there was a chance he would officially agree to stay away from the nasty spells forever, was there? Or was that just the butterflies in Sam’s belly talking? “What do you think?“
A faint smile tugged at the corners of Lucifer’s lips. “You think your father will approve?“
No, he wouldn’t. “I think it’s enough, if the next generation does.“
“Ah, there’s that practical thinking again. You know, you’re not the typical knight?“ At least coming from Lucifer it sounded like a compliment.
“I know. So, what do you say?“
“Sounds good.“
“The truth spell then.“
“It’s a pity, I really like it, but if you insist.“ Lucifer stepped closer, reaching out to cup Sam’s cheek. He tiptoed slightly since he was a bit smaller than Sam, and then Sam could feel the necromancer’s breath on his skin again. His heart sped up, the treacherous thing.
“Are you doing that with everyone you place under a truth spell?“ Sam asked.
Lucifer stayed like that, face only inches from Sam’s. “I had to use the enhanced version of the spell thanks to your stubbornness. Sharing of breath is required for placing and revoking it. I wouldn’t mind sharing a bit more, though. Objections?“
Maybe Sam would have raised some, just out of principle, had he not still been forced to say nothing but the truth. “No.“
So Lucifer closed the distance and kissed him.
It was a kiss charged with magic energies, spilling over Lucifer’s lips into Sam’s mouth and washing away the taste of copper. They prickled on Sam’s tongue and made him gasp, poured down Sam’s throat like a refreshing wave. It didn’t even last long, but it left him breathless nonetheless.
Lucifer grinned. “Now let’s go slay a dragon.“