A Trickster's Daughter

Chapter 34: I'd Tap That!

June-ish, 2008, Gloversville, New York, United States

Gabriel walked around the small suburban town's downtown center watching people go on about their business like the world wasn't on a damn timer for the end of the world.

With Dean in Hell it wasn't a matter of if he broke, but when. For when a Righteous Man goes to Hell and sheds blood the first seal will be broken. The first of 66 needed to pop big bro Luci out of the Cage and bring about the Apocalypse.

And Dean-o? He was that prophesized Righteous Man.

Gabriel sighed heavily as he snapped his fingers and a guy who was coming on a little too strongly to some poor uninterested girl suddenly found that his pants just wouldn't stay up. The guy's reaction should've gotten a little snort of amusement from him at the very least, but Gabriel just wasn't feeling it.

His mind kept drifting back to his daughter who had barely left the house since he brought her back. Finding out about Dean's death all but squashed the light in her eyes.

Now she just kind of moped around looking lost with Puck following at her heels with worried eyes. Still better than when she refused to do anything but lay in bed most of the day with intermittent episodes of crying for the first couple of weeks.

Don't get Gabriel wrong. He loved his daughter, more than anything. He just needed a minute from the depressive mood she was extruding. It was hard watching her go through this.

Besides, he needed to finalize some things around town.

Walking into the local park he zeroed in on a specific tree. It wasn't grand or anything, and no special feature to it that made it particularly stand out from all the other trees in the park. It was completely innocuous.

That's why it was perfect as one of the markers for a special warding spell he worked on after he knew Maya wasn't going to disappear on him right away and was squirrelled away safely in their heavily warded house. Her grief sucked out any and all energy she had at being rebellious, and any inclination of trying to pull a Houdini. Didn't even protest her punishment with the power suppression wristbands, which sent his worry up a notch.

She'd never been one to just roll over and accept something, and even when she did it was usually from extenuating circumstances. Even then, she'd let everyone and everything know that she didn't like it.

Now? Just a weary sigh and noncommittal shrug.

Walking around the tree out of view he moved some bush branches to look at some symbols neatly cut and burned into the bark near its base. Gabriel uttered an old spell, the symbols lighting up briefly before disappearing.

With a snap of his fingers Gabriel was at another marker on the outskirts of Gloversville. He easily used his powers to move the dumpster against the restaurant just enough to see the same symbols again, whisper the spell, cue glowing, then moving the dumpster back.

Gabriel would pop up at eight other points, either on the outskirts or closer to the middle. If it was all plotted on a map and the dots all connected you'd find a giant star. A marker for every point and intersecting line.

There's a reason the pentagram was a big thing in religions concerning demons around the world after all.

Gabriel sighed as the last marker lit up and dimmed again. He felt the warding covering the town, completely solidify. No more power-ups needed to keep it standing.

As long as no demon found its way past the warding, this was now a demon-free and demon-proofed town. The only way a demon was finding its way in, and any where near his daughter, was if some bored misguided spouse or rebellious teen decided to be stupid enough to summon one.