Trouble With The Trickster || Gabriel - Supernatural

-27-

"Reapers?" I recalled reading something about them in one of the books at the cabin, "But don't they usually-"

"Only appear when someone's gonna die? Yeah, that's their job... I haven't seen this many since-" Gabe stopped, his face going pale as the sheets on the bed behind us.

"Since what? What is it?"

"Detroit." He didn't elaborate but I remembered seeing something on the news a few years back - mass killings in Detroit; husbands and sons killing their families and burying them in a mass grave before killing themselves too... No one ever knew what possessed them to do it and, by the look on Gabe's face, I guessed it was something - or someone - pretty terrifying. "How?" He began pacing, completely blanking me out. "How is he back? He can't be-"

"How is who back?" I demanded, forcing him to stop by putting my hands on his shoulders.

He looked up at me, guilt and worry drowning his face as he gulped, whispering, "Lucifer..."

I was shocked beyond belief as the sincerity of his answer, expecting him to burst out laughing, declare it was a joke or something... but he didn't. "Wait... the Lucifer? The devil? Prince of Darkness and all that jazz?" Gabe nodded and I swore loudly, "Why is he here?"

"If I knew, I'd tell you," he replied, pulling me close to him and squeezing me tight in his arms, "...I think it might be to do with you..."

My eyes went wide, "Me? Why does Lucifer want me?"

"I told you before, you're the perfect weapon... beyond perfect for Luci... He hates Hell almost as much as he despises Heaven - you have the power to destroy both... I don't understand why he needs the reapers, though..." He looked around, puzzled as he left me to take in the information he'd bombarded me with - Lucifer wanted to use me? He wanted me to destroy Heaven and Hell...?

"Maybe he needs the bodies?" I offered as Gabe racked his brains, trying to figure out the reason behind Lucifer's apparent madness, "Does he need a ritual? Why did all those people die last time?"

Gabe turned to me, "He was summoning Death, with a capital D that is," he clarified as my jaw dropped, "But this... this is just drawing attention to hims-" He stopped, realisation dawning on his face, "...That's it... he's drawing attention to himself because he knows Sam and Dean will come running and he thinks you might be with them..."

"And we've walked straight up to his front door..." I concluded, saying what we were both thinking, "We've handed ourselves over to him without even realising it..."

Gabe sighed, "Yeah, pretty much. Let's just hope he doesn't know we're here... that jewellery won't work against him, it won't hide you..."

"You mean-?"

"He's probably already on his way... even if he isn't, he'll be here before we have chance to get away..." he noticed my terrified face and guided me over to the bed, cuddling up with me against the headboard as I shook with fear and anxiety, "He'll have to go through me first. You know that, Beth?"

I nodded against his chest, "Don't do anything stupid..."

"Me? Stupid? What a preposterous idea..." he chuckled, kissing the top of my head, "Do you think we have time to make a plan?" He sounded hopeful but there was an underlying tone of defeat in his voice.

"We could call Sam and Dean?" I offered, "Maybe they could distract him while we escape?" I guessed anything was worth a shoot when Satan was hunting you down...

"We could..." Gabe mused, pursing his lips in thought, "Okay, call them. I can't sense Luci at the moment so he can't be too close."

I nodded, shuffling beneath him to get the slip of paper Sam had pressed into my palm out of my jeans. Finding it, I straightened it out and crawled over him to the phone on the bedside table, anxiously dialling the number and waiting as it rang, each tone making me more and more nervous.

"Hello?" Sam's voice reverberated through the receiver.

"Sam? It's Beth-"

"What?" He clearly didn't believe me due to my voice change, "This isn't Beth's voice, asshole... who are you? What have you done to her?" He was getting angrier by the second and I could hear Dad and Dean in the background as Gabe reached over and plucked the phone from my grasp.

"Hey, Sam? Yes, it's me - calm down you idiot... It was Beth, she switched bodies... Of course, she can do that! She's a Nephalem as you kindly pointed out before..." I tried my best to hear what Sam was saying at the other end but no matter how hard I strained my ears I could only make out confused mumbles until the phone seemed to be passed to someone else. "Oh, calm down, Balthy... your daughter is temporarily your son. That's not the main issue here!"

"Give it here," I motioned for him to give me the receiver back and he did, probably tired of Dad's inevitable ranting, "Dad?"

"Elizabeth? So, it's true?" he asked, seeming to calm down slightly, "I can sense her voice, it's definitely her." He directed the last bit at one of the guys at the other end.

"Dad, we don't have time," I stressed, hoping he'd hear how urgent this was, "We're in Red Cloud, Nebraska. Gabe thinks that Lucifer is here, he's tempting Sam and Dean to come because he thinks I'm with you lot-"

"Lucifer?!" It suddenly went silent in the background at his end. "Did you say Red Cloud?" His voice faded and I guessed he turned away from the receiver, "Wasn't that where those murders were?"

I heard someone's faded reply before Sam was back on the phone - what was this? Pass the phone? "There's been a lot of murders there, we were gonna head up..."

"We know Sam, we can see all the reapers from our window. Lucifer is here, he wants me and we've walked straight into the trap... We need help," I pleaded, desperation filling my voice as Gabe shushed me, trying to calm me down.

"Dean, get the car... Now!" I could hear Sam yell to his brother, "We're on our way... Hang in there..."

He hung up as there was a knock at the door. Placing the phone back in it's holder, I went to answer it but Gabe pushed me back, motioning for me to stay behind him. He went over and opened the door, wincing at the creak before we both let out a sigh of relief at the sight of the motel owner.

"Who are you people? Satanists?" he spat, wide eyed as I realised he'd probably been listening in on the entire conversation, "You disgust me... I refuse to have any homosexual rituals in my motel. I want you ou-"

He barely finished his sentence before he keeled over, blood spewing from his mouth and staining the already stained carpet. "Oops," a voice from the end of the hallway said and I turned to find a tallish man wearing an unbuttoned shirt over a t-shirt and jeans, "I slipped..."

"Hello, Luci..." Gabe said through gritted teeth as the guy waved.

"Gabey, I'm home!"