Lionheart

Chapter Sixteen

'Hannah, scout ahead,' Dean murmured, stopping the group in their tracks. The road was eerily deserted, but they could hear shouts in the distance, and a sickly, smoky odour met their noses on the breeze.

'I can go,' said Sam.

'You move, I kill you,' Dean said sharply. 'Hannah, go.'

Hannah loosened her sword in its sheath and spurred her horse forward in as fast a trot as she dared, while the rest of them shrunk away from the road.

They waited, barely daring to breathe until Hannah returned.

'There's a village up ahead,' she muttered to them. 'They're burning it down.'

'Gabriel's?' Dean asked.

'Raphael's.'

'Damn.'

Dean dismounted and crept forward, watching the smoke curling up the horizon. 'Here's the plan: we circle around the perimeter and stay under smoke cover. It won't be pleasant, but if we all tie our scarves around our faces, we can stay hidden and pass them.'

While the others covered themselves up, Dean surveyed the landscape, watching for the direction the wind was blowing. By his estimate, they would have to veer west and, depending on the wind, could delay their journey by up to half a day. Even the thought of being away from Castiel for longer than expected twisted his stomach. He angrily tied his scarf around his face, and led the way into the smoke clouds.

Immediately, their eyes stung, and the acrid smell burned their noses and throats, even through their scarves, but no one complained. They just pushed on, following Dean as closely as they could through the darkness. Dean felt his chest constricting as the smoke choked him, and he could hear the others behind him beginning to cough. He took as deep a breath as possible and called back to the rest, 'We're almost there, keep it up!'

Thankfully, it didn't take as long as Dean thought, and they emerged a few hours later, spluttering and covered in soot.

'There's a stream just up ahead,' Dean spluttered, wiping his face with his scarf before stuffing it back into the bag it came from.

He led them all to the stream, where the horses quaffed the water greedily. They washed their faces and refilled their skins as quickly as possible, sensing Dean's impatience.

'We should be at the castle by tomorrow night,' Dean said gruffly as he remounted his horse. 'Come on.'

Several times, Dean found himself too far ahead of the others and had to force himself to slow down. They never pointed out his foul mood, they only followed his lead, stopping when he told them to stop, and mounting up at a moment's notice without a single muttered word.

It was dark by the time they arrived at Gabriel's half-finished castle. Dean made them tie the horses out of sight, and cover themselves in red dust so they would blend in as they crept into town.

They peered around the corner of a nearby building and up at the castle. There were torches lit in some of the windows but not all of them, and Dean squinted up at them.

'I don't know where exactly to find Gabriel, so we'll have to split up. Ash, you take the west side, Hannah the east. I'll stay around the center. Alfie, stay out here with Sam and keep watch. Gabriel should be sleeping, so if you find where he is, come find the rest of us first. Don't try and grab him alone, all right?'

'And what if he isn't asleep?' Ash said.

Dean shrugged. 'If you can't avoid it, knock him out and bring him here. The King says he's not much of a fighter, but let's try not to alert the guards.'