Hello everyone! I'm glad to all of you who enjoyed chapter 1 of my adventure in writing. Thank you to my first reviewer, you are very kind, and this is a little notice to let everyone know it is okay to review, in fact encouraged.
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Enjoy chapter 2
The Mark of Cain: Chapter 2
The only sound in the large library is the fluttering of paper pages in a huge, leather-bound book. Smooth fingers glide across the ink, searching for information that may not be there. When he gets to the end of the book, he's certain it's not there. Another book down, only more to go. Like before the man gets up, switches books, sits down, and opens the tome. The process resumes.
He misses the days when he could look up information with a simple tug at his grace. How he could recite entire civilization's history in the time it would take to microwave a burrito. Lost novels and paintings could resurface in his mind like sunken treasures from the deep ocean.
But, not anymore.
Sure, he might have grace, but it is not his grace. The grace he was created with. The grace his Father made for him alone, crafted with His love and His care. The grace that has protected and served him in every battle. The grace that has become connected with a certain hunter-
Back to the archives he must go. Drowning in past thoughts is not a healthy pastime. No matter how interesting the Winchesters make it seem.
Especially since he has no alcohol.
Not that it would affect him… given his return to heavenly status.
No more Castiel, the fallen angel. Now only Castiel, lost little angel.
He really should focus more on reading.
To help the Winchesters, and himself, he needs to find Metatron. And the only way to do that is to track Gadreel. The traitor, Gadreel. Defiler of mankind and the true serpent in the Garden. The angel their Father put His heavenly trust in to protect both Adam and Eve, and allow them to flourish. Instead, Eve became the creator of monsters and Adam… no one knows what became of Adam. Not even the Heavenly Host.
But that is not what he needs to think about. Gadreel is what should be on his mind.
Funny, since that was what he would think about all the time when he was younger. The fabled bad boy of Heaven. One of the first, created to serve mankind. Not even Lucifer could compare to the damage done by Gadreel. Lucifer may spread sin, but he did not create it.
…Now he's starting to sound like a fanboy.
'You're not like that anymore, Castiel. Get over this.'
He should have been able to recognize Gadreel from the beginning. Even without his grace, he should have been able to notice all the ticks Gadreel had. The things that only Gadreel could have done. How foolish of him to be swept away into humanity, to trust everything was alright.
When he first heard of another angel helping the Winchesters, he should have listened to his jealousy. No one is allowed to help Dean except him.
It's common knowledge throughout Heaven...
Now where did he leave off?
Flip.
Nowhere important, that's where. All these books, while stocked to handle anything of a demonic nature, holds nothing on angels.
The book is thrown off towards the door. A door which was in the process of opening.
"Ow!"
Castiel's blue eyes fly towards the ajar entryway, where he meets disgruntled green eyes.
"Dean!"
He jumps from his seat and towards the hunter, who's in the process of closing the door.
"Dean! When did you get back? Why did you not call? Are you ok?" Castiel flurries his question while his hands search Dean's person, checking for any harm. All this is fine, until he gets near his right forearm.
"I'm fine Cas! Jeez!" he hurriedly replies, wretching his arm from the angel's near-iron grip. "I just went on a little hunt, cleared my head. Nothing different."
Hurt flashes through Castiel's eyes for a second, before they look away. Back towards the other books on the table.
"Yes, it is not different. It is just regular Winchester behavior to worry others who happen to care about them. Why should I have expected anything different? It is not like you can grow up and realize this…"
Dean goes to follow.
"Look, Cas… I'm sorry I just left. I needed time to myself… to think. Things have just been getting crazy, and I haven't had much time to sort through everything. I've been going through stuff too… and, since Sam was free… I just needed to get some of it off my back."
Throughout his little speech, Dean kept his hand on Castiel's shoulder. Trying to get his head to turn towards him.
It had been working, as he can now see one of Castiel's baby blues peeking through his dark lashes, acceptance written clearly across the iris.
"But now I'm back… and I'm planning on staying. D'you think you can forgive me for my little mistake? It wouldn't be the first I made."
The hand that's not on his angel's shoulder is now scratching at the back of his head.
Castiel turns away for a moment, thinking the decision over in his head. Obviously he knows he's going to forgive Dean. From what he saw in the hunter's eyes he was sincere in his apology. However, he's not going to make it easy for his hunter. His eyes snap back to the hunter's face, a faux look of annoyance on his features.
"Of course it would not be the first mistake… Dean."
The angel turns towards the hunter, staring him down. He makes his way closer to the man until their noses are nearly touching.
"But are you sure you are done running away? That all the weight is gone from your shoulders? That you can accept help when someone clearly offers it?"
Dean may appear calm and collected on the outside, but the blush staining his cheeks lets any other person (that is not an angel) know the inner turmoil flowing through his head. His eyes quickly glance down at the angel's pink lips, then back to the hypnotic gaze.
"Y-y-yeah. I am."
He finally manages to stutter out a response, and waits for the angel to say something. The quick upturn of his lips clues him in on the answer playing in the other man's mind.
Castiel turns from Dean and back towards the books at the table. He sits, and pulls out another book from the pile before opening it up.
Dean just stands around, wondering what he should be doing.
Without even glancing up, Castiel gives him direction.
"Well? These books aren't going to read themselves, Dean."
Dean's grin grows as he joins the scruffy angel at the table, picking his own book, and opening it as well.
The room returns to the sound of flipping pages, but that is joined by the companionable silence radiating off the pair.
'You can't really be serious… What have I done?!'
'Do it… to make this work they must be dead!'
'I'm sorry… there is… no other choice…'
"Wha-"
Sam awakes with a start. His hand goes straight to his head, cradling the aching object delicately. He has no idea what just happened. One minute, he's asleep, and next, he's witnessing the murder of a woman.
No, not witnessing.
Commiting.
And she wasn't just some woman.
She was an… angel.
There's more to this, he knows this, but he can't put his finger on what… This dream means something. It has to. Why would he dream this?
He's never seen that woman-angel before?!
But… now that he thinks of it… he has seen one of the people in his dream before.
A little man… or should he say a little coward.
Metatron.
He leans up more on bed, brings his knees to his chest, arms draped on his legs, as he thinks about this.
'Why would Metatron show up in one of my dreams?'
He doesn't spend his waking moments thinking of that little imp, so why would his unconscious mind dream of him.
…Unless… it wasn't a dream…
He swings his legs over his bed now, new thoughts processing in his mind. Ideas that can, possibly, if used correctly, help them find the little imp and his snake.
Suddenly, like ice water being poured over him, he freezes as a chill washes over him.
Clarity shines down on him as he realizes what he was seeing.
Or who he was seeing it from.
It must have been overlaying effects from the total takeover of his body.
A… connection… must have been formed, allowing him to… to…
See what he sees… Feel what he feels.
This is good.
This is fantastic.
It's like his psychic powers, but with a heavenly source of power. Giving him the ability to get inside the enemy's head, find out what they are planning, track them to their current location…
Can his life be any more like Harry Potter's?
He's moving from his bed and down the stairs, flying across each step until he's in the threshold of the library where he left the angel in the trench coat, but what he finds makes him withhold his outburst.
Castiel is where he left him, reading away in the library.
What catches him is what is across from Castiel.
Or…who is across from Castiel.
Glancing from his book at the angel in question every few seconds or so, pages turning with no real effort to absorb the information in them.
This would be a question for another time if there weren't any pressing matters to attend to.
Like now, for instance.
"Dean!"
Both Dean and Castiel snap their heads up to the sound emanating from the doorway. However, where Castiel has a questioning smile on his face, Dean has an accusing frown on his face, already getting up from his seat. Away from his angel towards his brother.
"What are you doing up? Shouldn't you be recovering from Gadreel?"
"Dean, I'm fine. Cas here fixed me so I am up and running."
Dean turns towards his best friend.
"Is this true?"
"Yes, Dean. Sam is, as you would say, '100 percent ready to go'."
The use of air quotes was definitely not needed, but Sam chuckled as Dean's face showed how not amused he was at the angel's sudden desire for comedy.
Dean turns back towards Sam.
"So, Sammy, everything is better?"
"Yes, Dean. Everything is great! … Well, except maybe this one thing."
Now this causes Castiel to get up from his postion, and join Dean in his inquisiton.
"I thought we removed all traces of Gadreel's grace from your system?"
"Oh, you did, it's just that-"
"Just what, Sammy!"
Sam gives both men a look before he blurts out what he's been trying to get at from the beginning.
"I think I have a way we can track both Gadreel and Metatron."
Dean and Castiel both shoot Sam a look, before gesturing towards the table. They each take a seat, Sam across from both Dean and Castiel, and then Sam describes in detail the entirety of his realizations.
If Dean sits closer to Castiel than normal, no one really notices.
I hope you enjoyed the 2nd chapter! Enjoy your weekend and stay tuned for more to come.
Hint: The next chapter may seem a little more, devilish, than usual.