"Awesome," Dean said into the silence, getting out of his chair. He began to pace along the window, running his fingers through his hair. Amitiel watched him unblinkingly. The human appeared to have aged several years. For a moment Amitiel wished Castiel was here. Her brother was much better at dealing with Dean than she was.

Dean rubbed his chin and finally turned to face the others. "So. What next?"

"I propose," Kadmiel began. Dean glared at her and she held up a hand. "Please, Dean. I understand that you hold no love for me..."

"I wasn't gonna put it that nicely," Dean snarked back. "You kidnapped my brother."

"It was not my decision," Kadmiel said coolly.

"You kidnapped my brother," Dean said again. "You tried to kill my friends. You have no points with me."

"Dean," Sam interrupted softly. Dean shot him the "shut up, Sam" look but Sam kept going. "For what it's worth, Kadmiel actually kept Haamiah from hurting me."

Dan glanced quickly between the angel and his brother. Amitiel chose to remain silent, knowing that Dean would come to a decision on his own, and there was little she could do to influence it. He finally spun to face her and she met his gaze. "You trust her?" he demanded. "Even though she tried to gank you?"

Amitiel and Castiel had agreed not to tell the Winchesters that Kadmiel had, in fact, killed Haamiah to save their lives. "Yes," was all she said out loud. Dean didn't look happy, but he seemed to accept that.

"Fine," he grumbled. "What were you going to 'propose?'"

Kadmiel waited a moment, and then with a glance at her sister, continued. "There are several more vessels in this city. From what you said, it appears as if Astaroth visits the vessels before she kills them."

"If we can figure out which one's seen her we know which one is next to go," Dean jumped in, nodding. "Right. What are the names?"

Kadmiel reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, walking over to place it on the table. Sam reached over to pluck it up, smoothing it out with gentle fingers. He frowned thoughtfully and his lips moved slightly as he read. Amitiel tilted her head, watching him closely. She blinked when she caught herself staring at his mouth and looked away. Unfortunately her avoidant gaze caught Kadmiel's and her sister raised a knowing eyebrow. Amitiel stared resolutely out the window.

Sam looked up, sliding the list toward his brother. "We'd get through the list faster if we split up," he suggested.

"Fine," Dean agreed. "You and me will take the top half," here he ripped the list into two pieces and handed one to Amitiel. "And the angels will take the bottom half. If we find anything, we'll call. Oh, and you might want to let Mal back out for this one," Dean added.

Amitiel managed to keep her face neutral but Sam winced behind Dean's back. "I'll take that under consideration," Amitiel replied flatly. She glanced down at the list in her hands, scanning through the list. Then she looked over at Kadmiel. "We should go."

They both shifted themselves directly outside the home of the first vessel on the list, shuffling their wings back into place. Kadmiel's wings were gleaming chestnut, perfect and unmarred. Thin scars spread out like spiderwebs through the tawny-gold pinions of Amitiel's wings, and here and there a feather was still missing, revealing the delicate skin beneath. She tried not feel ashamed of her condition, pointedly refusing to stare at Kadmiel's wings.

"Who is Mal?" Kadmiel asked, turning to look down at the shorter angel.

"My vessel," Amitiel replied shortly. Kadmiel gave her a startled look.

"You allow your vessel to take control?"

"On the occasion," Amitiel told her stiffly. "When it is necessary to interact with humans without revealing my true nature." Then, ignoring her sister, Amitiel closed her eyes and reached deep within herself. She had to reach farther than she had before.

"Mallory? Mallory, child, I need you to wake up."

Mallory's presence stirred sluggishly but did not rouse. Amitiel prodded her gently, allowing a small portion of Grace to flow over the girl. Mallory jerked as if electrocuted and came gasping awake. What? Ami? What's going on?

"We are going to question the vessels if they have seen Astaroth," Amitiel explained. "Dean suggested that you be the one to speak with the humans...seeing as you have more experience."

Oh. Right. Yeah.

The transition was not as smooth as it had been in the past. It felt as if Mallory was squeezing herself into a space far too small for her. She swayed as her body once more fell under her control and almost stumbled, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her from falling. She opened her eyes.

The woman standing beside her was at least six inches taller than her, with dark, smooth skin and curly hair tumbling over her shoulders. Her almond-shaped eyes studied Mallory without expression. "Mallory, I presume," she said in a rich voice.

"Yeah," Mallory replied. She narrowed her eyes at the woman. "Please don't touch me."

Kadmiel instantly released Mallory's shoulder and Mallory took a step backwards. "Look, I know Ami trusts you and everything," Mallory said warily. "But I don't. So... I don't know. Just please stay away from me."

The angel tilted her head and Mallory instantly hated it because it reminded her of Cas or Ami. "As you wish," was all Kadmiel said. Mallory took a deep breath and turned on her heel, walking toward the front door of the house in front of her. She knocked sharply and looked over her shoulder to see that Kadmiel had remained on the sidewalk.

When the door swung open, Mallory turned to face the man peering quizzically at her. "Hi, Mr. Robinson? My name is Mallory, I live down the street. I was wondering if you'd possibly seen anyone strange hanging around here at night? Possibly a woman? There's been reports of a prowler."

XxxXxxX

"Hi, my name is Sam and this is my brother, Dean. We're with the neighborhood watch," Sam said for what felt like the millionth time. "We've heard some reports of a prowler and we were wondering if you'd seen anything."

The woman standing in the doorway behind the screen door was in her early forties, a stately woman more handsome than beautiful. According to the list, her name was Anastasia Lucas, and she had three teenage daughters, all also on the list of vessels. She frowned at the two brothers on her front porch.

"Yes, actually," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "My girl, Ashley, saw a woman standing outside her bedroom window last night."

"Was she able to get a good look at her?" Dean asked, coming to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Sam.

Anastasia jerked her head down in a sharp nod and pushed the screen door open. "She did. We called the police, but they said they couldn't do anything about it. You'll get the description out to the rest of the neighborhood?"

"That's our job, ma'am," Sam told her respectfully, stepping into the entryway. Anastasia led them down the hall into a spacious living room, waving toward the couch in invitation.

"Ash!" she called toward the stairs. "Ashley!"

Footsteps thundered down the stairs and a girl no older than fifteen flung herself into the room, skidding to a halt in front of her mother. She was wearing a blue track suit with a flaming soccer ball emblazoned on the back. "What?" she demanded irritably. "Mrs. Jackson is gonna pick me up any minute."

Anastasia gestured toward the Winchesters. "This is Sam and Dean with the neighborhood watch. Tell them about the woman you saw last night."

Ashley shrugged. "She was standing right outside the window like she was looking in. It was creepy. By the time I went and got Mom, she was gone."

"Can you tell us what she looked like?" Sam asked.

The girl shrugged again. "Tall, I guess. Dark hair. I think she had dark eyes, too, but it was hard to tell. She was wearing a black leather jacket and boots."

"Did you notice anything else about her?" Sam pressed. He gave Ashley the full force of his earnest, innocent expression, and she melted predictably.

"Well, there was this...sound," she said slowly, glancing at her mother.

"What kind of sound?" Sam encouraged.

"Growling," Ashley replied softly. A car honked outside and she jumped. "Gotta go!" She darted out the room, snatching up a duffel bag on her way out. Anastasia spread her hands in apology.

"You know kids these days," she said.

Sam nodded and offered his hand. "Thank you, Mrs. Lucas. You've been very helpful. We'll do our best to take care of this."

Once they were back on the sidewalk and out of sight of the house, Sam and Dean slowed to a halt. "Think it's her?" Sam asked his brother.

"I don't believe in coincidences," Dean replied. He cleared his throat, looked up at the sky, and then began awkwardly, "Uh...Ami, I think we found who Astaroth is going after next, so if you could—"

He was cut off by the sound of disturbed feathers and the two angels appeared beside them. Amitiel had materialized bare inches from Sam, causing him to jump and flinch away. She glanced up at him in silent apology.

"Who?" she asked without preamble.

"Anastasia Lucas and her three daughters," Dean replied, hooking his thumb over his shoulder toward the house down the street. "They saw her last night."

"The attack will come soon, then," Kadmiel said, narrowing her eyes as she gazed toward the house. "We should wait until Astaroth returns for the kill and ambush her then."

Dean looked over at Amitiel. "You down with that plan?"

"It seems to be the most feasible," she replied.

"One more thing," Sam spoke up. "She might have Hellhounds with her."

Dean pulled a face and Amitiel wrinkled her nose, hunching her shoulders. Sam felt a soft breeze ruffle his air as the faint sound of shuffling feathers reached his ears. It hadn't been so long ago that a pair of Hellhounds had savaged the angel's wings, and the memories still appeared to be painful for her.

"We can handle Hellhounds," Kadmiel said confidently. "This ends tonight."

XxxXxxX

Neither Dean nor Sam reacted when Amitiel appeared in the backseat of the Impala. They were parked down the street from the Lucas house but still had an unobstructed view. Amitiel leaned forward and handed first Sam, and then Dean cardboard cups of coffee, followed by a box of pastries.

"Have you seen anything?" she asked, allowing herself to choose one of the pastries when Sam offered it to her. Thanks to Mallory and the Winchester brothers, she had begun to appreciate what enjoyment could be garnered from food.

"Nope," Dean said, taking a long, grateful drink of his coffee. He turned to look over his shoulder at the angel. She nibbled on an apple danish: Mal's favorite. "How about you?"

She shook her head. "It has been quiet." She finished the last bite of the danish and licked icing from her fingers. "There is the possibility that Astaroth won't attack tonight."

"She waited almost a week before going after Erin Black," Sam pointed out.

"Great," Dean muttered. "So what, we just sit out here waiting for something to happen?"

"Astaroth has concealed her presence too well," Amitiel said with a shrug. "We can't track her. This appears to be our best choice."

Dean grumbled incoherently and took another drink of his coffee. The radio suddenly squealed on and a gust of wind blew down the street as the streetlamps flickered wildly. Dean slowly put his coffee cup down. "Hey Sam," he said quietly. "Remind you of anything?"

"Yeah," Sam replied tightly. He opened the car door and unfolded out of the passenger seat. Dean met him at the trunk and they pulled their shotguns and the demon-killing knife out of the hidden compartment. Amitiel waited a couple paces down the sidewalk, her sword in one hand.

Together, the three of them paced cautiously down the street, alert for any sign of danger. They heard the first scream just as they approached the Lucas house. They broke out into a run at the same time, Amitiel pulling ahead despite her shorter legs. She bounded up onto the porch and flung out her hand, blasting the front door open with a bang. Dean cocked his shotgun as he followed her into the house, going back-to-back with Sam to cover all of the doorways.

Amitiel plunged straight up the stairs, Sam and Dean racing to stay behind her. The angel burst into master bedroom and, without hesitating, lunged toward the shadowy figure standing by the window. Anastasia was pinned against the opposite wall, her feet off the ground. Her eyes were wide and frightened, her mouth working but no sound emerged.

Amitiel's sword reflected the moonlight as she swung it towards the demon. An invisible force struck her broadside, slamming her to the ground. She struggled to get up but couldn't rise. "Ami!" Sam yelled, snapping his shotgun up. Just before he pulled the trigger, the demon extended one hand and gestured sharply. Sam flew one direction and his shotgun flew in another.

"Dammit," Dean spat, dodging to the side. He glanced over at Amitiel but she was still on the floor, her hands braced as if to raise herself up. Dean's shotgun was suddenly ripped from his hands and a massive blow struck his chest, flinging him backwards. He thudded against the wall and tried to stand. An invisible grip tightened around his throat and dragged him, choking to his feet. Through his blurring vision, he saw the demon step out of the shadows.

A horribly familiar voice purred, "Hello, Dean. Fancy meeting you here."