They had been fighting for a long time- both were beginning to tire; Dean's movements became less precise and Castiel's were less fluid. Almost twelve vampires lay at their feet, (only ten heads were still near them, however,), but fifteen more were rushing in on all sides. The boys stood back to back, panting, their knives flashing in the moonlight as more and more vampires poured out of the trees all around them. Cas's coat was tangling in Dean's legs, and Dean's elbow kept thudding into the fallen angel's back.
Dean cursed, half angry and half happy that Sam wasn't there. They could use the extra help; but if things kept going they way they were….
"Cas," Dean managed to gasp out, "We gotta run-"
"I know, Dean." Castiel's reply was curt. Both knew they wouldn't make it. But it was the only thing that could be said, now.
Dean whipped his knife to the left and quickly to the right, bringing down two more. He heard a thud as Cas took down another.
"At least they're easier to fight than usual," Dean said, slicing through yet another neck. He saw Cas nod out of the corner of his eye.
Then, out of nowhere, the vampires stopped moving towards them. It was as though there was a circle surrounding the two that the vampires couldn't cross. They paced the outside, snarling and grinning as their number built up more and more.
"Where are they all coming from?" Cas muttered, tilting his head slightly towards Dean.
"Beats me. I'd be more worried about their growing numbers, though, Cas. Is there any angel left in you at all? Just something to blow these jokers away?"
A single vampire rushed forward, his mouth open. Castiel lifted his knife, and a head fell to the floor. He nudged it away with his foot, watching it roll.
"No."
"No need to get testy. I was just wondering."
Cas was silent for a second. "Why are they so easy to kill?" He asked, suddenly. "It's like they're sacrificing themselves."
Dean paused for a minute, his eyebrows furrowing. "That's a good question."
They stood there, breathing heavily, sweat dripping down their faces. "So. Got a plan?" Dean asked, eyeing the vampires. They had stopped emerging from the woods; that didn't really matter, though- there were about fifty total. Too many to win against. Cas shook his head, frowning. "No. I was hoping you would."
Dean snorted.
Suddenly, with a roar, the vampires ran forward. They rushed the two so quickly that neither had the time or the space to take out more than one. With a cry, Cas was grabbed and thrown to the ground, his arms and legs pinned beneath five vampires, his mouth filled with dirt and blood and vampire foot. He could just make out Dean's yells, his cries of "Cas!" cut off and replaced with the sound of fists on flesh. Cas squirmed and tried to twist, but he was pinned to tightly to gain any leverage.
"Dean!" he shouted, barely managing to avoid getting a mouthful of mud, but one of the vampires slammed the heel of his hand into the back of Cas's head and he was shoved more deeply into the dirt, his ears ringing and his head exploding with sharp bursts of pain. He blinked, dazed, as the world around him spun.
"D-damn," he mumbled, squeezing his eyes shut, trying to ignore the stabbing pain and attempting to buck the vampires off once again.
He opened his eyes just in time to see Dean thrown to the ground next to him. He saw Dean's face- bloody and swollen- and his eyes- wide with panic, one of the few times he had ever seen pure panic in Dean's eyes- before he was yanked back upwards, a grunt of pain escaping his lips. Cas shifted his head and stared upwards out of the corner of his eye, desperate to get the things off of him, to go help Dean, to stop those things from what they were doing. But he couldn't. There was another gasp as one of the vampires shoved Dean's head onto his knee, and one more as he was lifted up by the hair. Two vampires rushed in and grabbed both Dean's arms and pulled, both vampires bloody and broken, but they had finally managed to grab him and so they bit back their pain as he lashed out and kicked at them. Two more quickly rushed in and grabbed his feet, yanking out, trying to stop his kicks. Still, he twisted wildly, and it was as much as a struggle to hold on to him as it was to keep him pinned. After a moment, they managed to slam him into the ground, one smirking as the wind rushed out of him and his head slammed into the grass.
"Here," one of the vampires grunted- Cas couldn't see which one- and one of the monsters holding Dean down reached up and plucked a knife out of the air.
"Only twenty five lives lost," said the one holding down Dean's right arm. "Not a bad trade." He pressed the knife against Dean's neck. "Can't wait to see what's gonna happen with you," he hissed, and yanked the knife downwards. Dean yelled as the knife cut him from the bottom of his neck to the base of his ribs, ripping his shirt. The vampire tore open the two sides of the shirt, using his foot now instead of his hands to hold down Dean's arm.
Dean swallowed and spit, blood flying from his mouth to the ground beside him. "You know," he said, "I'm usually offered dinner before this step."
The vampire growled and punched Dean, the hollow sound of his fist hitting the side of Dean's face causing Cas to cringe. "Shut up, Winchester," the vampire snarled. He took a breath. "Now..." he murmured. "Where... ah. Here." He traced his knife along Dean's ribs until he reached the tattoo that the brothers had gotten- the anti-possession symbol.
"Should only have to make a small cut..." he mumbled, and, placing the tip of the knife against the blue ink, shoved down. The knife drove itself into Dean's chest, bouncing off one of his ribs. Dean let out a yell and twisted; the vampires kept a tight grip on him, though, and soon he was back under their control.
"Dean!" Cas yelled, but the vampire holding him down drove his hand into Cas's head, and again he saw stars. He blinked and squeezed his eyes shut, his head pounding.
"That should be enough to break the circle, right?" The vampire purred, grabbing Dean's chin and forcing him to look up at him. Both swam before Cas, and he had trouble focusing. "Boss'll be pleased!" he sang.
Then something snapped. And Cas realized what was about to happen. "NO!" he shouted, but he could do nothing as he saw the fear don on Dean, saw his face pale as his eyes focused on something behind the vampire's head. "No!" Dean shouted, "Ho-" but was cut off.
As a black cloud of smoke rushed down and into Dean's mouth, the demon twisting and wiggling as it disappeared down his throat.
"Dean!" Cas bellowed, but there was silence other than the mutters and groans of the vampires trying to hold him down. The vampires that had been on top of Dean stood up slowly and backed away, watching his movements. At first, there was nothing. But then Dean's head rolled over and he looked at Cas. A grin spread across his face. "Well, I like this," he said, and blinked. Cas's heart stopped when Dean's eyes- usually a dark green- blink quickly, and opened completely black. The vampires holding him all let go at the same time.
"No!"
"Yup!" Dean shouted- but it was not Dean, it was not Dean, it was a demon.
He grinned and stood up, brushing off his torn clothing. "Huh. You guys put up a good fight," he drawled, tilting his head to the side. "Almost thought we'd loose you just because of blood loss." He turned to the vampire that had cut Dean's tattoo. "Good work. You can go now."
The vampire took a step forward. "And we'll be safe?"
Dean- the demon- smiled. "As long as you get out of my sight in the next ten seconds."
The vampires ran. The ones holding Cas down jumped up, shoving his face further into the ground in the process. He heard their footsteps as they fled, disappearing into the woods.
"Filth, really," the demon remarked, watching them run. "But they did help me get you two." He smiled. "To bad Sammy wasn't here, huh, Cas?"
Cas blinked and struggled to his knees, swaying back and fourth. "Don't... call... me... Cas..." He gasped, and his hand dove for the ground so he could keep his balance.
"Oh, sorry." The demon laughed. "Touchy on the names, aren't we?" He sauntered over towards the fallen angel, who was struggling to his feet. "So. Tell me, Cas," he said, drawing out the name, "Where is Sammy?"
Cas remained silent and straightened up, looking the demon in it's eyes. There was something bubbling in his chest, something that was the closest thing to hatred that he had ever felt. Sam was in danger. Dean was in danger. He was in danger. All because of this demon. He couldn't kill it without killing Dean. But that's what Dean would want. Protect Sammy, protect Cas.
Too bad his knife was gone.
This pathetic excuse of a soul was going to destroy Sam and Dean.
"Not gonna talk? Oh, well. I'll just call him. 'Soon as I'm done with you," he said. "Shame you didn't bring a gun. This'd've been so much easier." He bent down and grabbed the knife Dean had been using, rising up slowly. Cas paled and began to shake- both from exhaustion and fear and the panic at seeing Dean like this.
The demon began to walk towards Castiel again, his gait almost as confidant as Dean's had been.
"Dean," Cas said.
"Nope. Nenith." The demon pursed Dean's lips. "Nice name, isn't it?"
"Dean, please," Castiel said, raising shakily to his feet. "Dean!" The demon continued to walk towards him.
"Dean, we're family!" Cas shouted, as the demon took the last step towards him and he looked up into the demon's eyes, and then the demon blinked and they were Dean's eyes again but that didn't mean anything. "Dean," Cas said, desperate, recalling the words that Dean had said that snapped through Cas that day. "I need you-"
Before he could finish, the demon shoved the knife into Cas's throat. His eyes went wide and he couldn't breathe; blood began to drip out of his mouth and down his throat and he was scared because he knew that he was going to die and he didn't want to go back to heaven, he wanted to stay with the brothers down here.
"Sorry," the demon said, and placed a hand on Cas's chest, "Dean isn't here right now." He shoved back, yanking the knife out. Cas fell backwards, hitting the ground with a hollow thump, one last flash of horrible pain shooting through him before he was staring blankly at the stars above.
The demon looked down on him and smiled. "One to go," he said, and wiped his blade on Dean's ripped jacket. "Time to visit Sammy."
He began to saunter over to the Impala, parked only a half mile away.