Disclaimer: I own nothing, sigh…
Summary: Lucifer's put a bounty on Dean's head and it's down to Sam and Castiel to keep the hunter safe… Set after Swap Meat so possibly a few spoilers. Warnings for bad language and violence. Dean/Castiel, but nothing graphic. Please read and review =)
A/N: My sincerest apologies for the incredibly long wait but RL's been a mother of a headache for the last month or so. I hope you'll find the wait worth it.
'Hell's Most Wanted'
Chapter Four
Castiel shifted uncomfortably in the back seat of the speeding Impala, the tension in the car palpable even above Dean's loud music and Sam's hurried keystrokes, but with neither brother seemingly willing to break the silence it was going to be an unbearably long drive.
Sam was back on the laptop, passing the time with whatever he'd found whilst surfing the net. Dean, however, had a death-grip on the steering wheel, his knuckles white, uncharacteristically quiet as Metallica blasted from the tape deck.
Knowing the journey to Bobby's was going to take a while, even with Dean breaking every speed limit known to man, Castiel seized the opportunity to leave, a flutter of wings the only evidence of his departure.
Lucifer bit back the growl of anger that threatened to erupt, forcing his vessel's face back to neutrality before he turned to the redhead, his hands clenching into fists as he imagined choking the life out of the woman before him.
'To what do I owe this pleasure, Celina?'
The female demon smirked, her strong features screwing up with the action. She tossed a strand of fiery hair over her shoulder before stalking towards him, heels clicking noisily on the wooden flooring.
'No need to be polite on my account, Lucy,' she drawled, standing directly before the fallen angel, arms crossed over her chest. 'I ran into your buddy, Dean Winchester, earlier today,' she admitted as she leaned into his personal space, dropping her voice as if sharing some conspiracy that no one else should hear.
Lucifer refused to react to the information, unwilling to let her see she was getting to him. 'Did you come here to bore me to death? I have a legion of followers that can do that for me any day of the week without your help, thank you very much. Now if you'll excuse me…'
He made as if to turn away but Celina grabbed his shoulder and forced him to halt. 'I'm not finished with you yet,' she smiled sweetly, digging her nails into his slowly decomposing skin, admiring the nail polish on her hand as she did so. 'And you're currently down one follower.'
The fallen angel grinned at the demon's impudence, shrugging off her grip as he stepped suddenly towards her and grabbed her around the throat. 'Don't mess with me, Celina,' he threatened, watching as her face turned an interesting shade of red. 'You remember what happened the last time you got in my way, don't you?' As he spoke he noticed her clothes were stained with the tell-tale sign of blood.
Celina snorted, catching her breath as Lucifer finally released his grip and pushed her away from him. 'But that's why I'm here, Lucy. I didn't kill your guy for no reason, you know. I want in on your little plan.' She pulled out the knife he'd given to his demon earlier in the day and twirled it casually in the air before catching it one-handed.
Lucifer paused mid-step as he let her words sink in, a sadistic smile creeping upon his face, his eyes twinkling as he beckoned her back towards him.
'Come with me,' he ordered, turning and leaving the room. Celina followed close behind.
Four excruciatingly long hours later, Dean parked the Impala with a groan and forced his stiff legs to work, climbing out of the car and stretching his cramped, aching body. The long drive had done nothing for his sour mood, his mind racing with unanswered questions, but luckily Sam had sensed his disposition and left him to stew. Heck, even Castiel hadn't felt like hanging around.
Bobby must have heard the car pull in, the door to the house opening to reveal the veteran hunter scowling in their general direction. Dean ignored his brother who was grabbing their bags from the trunk, darting past Bobby and his wheelchair with a quick hello and a murmured excuse of 'answering the call of nature' before racing upstairs to the restroom and locking the door behind him. Taking a deep breath to compose himself, Dean went over to the sink and let the tap run for a few seconds before splashing his face with some cool water to soothe his aching eyes, the long drive having finally pushed him over the edge into exhaustion. He spied his drawn features in the small mirror and forced himself to look away, disgust evident in his features.
Shrugging out of his leather jacket, the hunter once again found the tear in his shirt and checked the skin beneath.
Still whole.
No blood.
He sure as hell hadn't imagined getting stabbed, so what was going on? The skank demon in the alley had mention that Lucifer had a plan, so was this part of it? But if so, where exactly did this fit into everything? Wasn't the whole point that Lucifer wanted him dead?
Pulling the hunting knife from where it rested on his belt, Dean contemplated the weapon for a heartbeat. The dim light in the bathroom couldn't disguise the sharp edge of the blade, and Dean had used the knife against plenty of fuglies in the past to know just how effectively it cut through skin.
Taking one final deep breath to steady his nerves, the hunter held his wrist out in front of him, his mind made up, his fist clenched to hide his trembling hands as he put knife to skin.
'Dean!'
A strong hand grabbed him by the neck of his shirt, dragging him backwards and off-balance, the unexpectedness of the move startling him into dropping the knife with a heavy thud to the floor. Oh yeah, some great hunter he was… Dean slammed bodily into the bathroom wall, the breath knocked from his protesting lungs as Castiel's fierce glare and strong, lithe body pinned him in place.
'Hey, Cas,' he choked out, forcing himself not to struggle against the angel, sensing it would only make matters worse.
'What do you think you're doing, Dean?' Castiel hissed, his frustrations evident in the set of his face and press of his body. Dean had never seen him so incensed.
'It's not what you think…' he tried to protest but was cut off by the angel's biting words.
'And what exactly do I think, Dean? What am I supposed to think when I find you with a knife at your wrist? Do enlighten me.'
Crap.
'Well when you put it like that…'
The angel sighed, releasing his grip on the hunter as he seemed to come to his senses, backing away to grab the knife from where it lay on the floor and hiding it from Dean's line of sight on the sink behind him.
'I was just testing a theory, Cas. Something's not right,' Dean continued to explain, straightening his clothes as he pulled away from the wall now that he could move. He watched his angel's carefully composed face, his blue eyes sweeping over Dean from head to foot as if to see for himself that he was in one piece.
'What is not right?'
Dean debated on what to reveal, having so few answers to his own questions without Castiel adding his own to the mess.
'Do you trust me, Cas?'
'Yes.'
Dean was momentarily stunned into silence. There was no hesitation to the angel's reply and looking into the man's honest blue eyes he knew it to be the truth.
'Then give me the knife.'
Castiel seemed to mull over the request before finally conceding and handing the knife to the elder Winchester, watching as Dean once again held the blade to his wrist.
'I ran into someone while you and Sammy were out,' Dean explained. 'A demon. She showed me something.'
As he spoke, Dean ran the sharp edge of the knife over the delicate skin of his wrist, his body tensing as if reacting to the pain he knew he should be feeling. Castiel could only stare as the knife bit far too easily into skin, waiting for the expected swell of blood.
None came.
Dean ran the knife across his wrist again, digging the blade in a little harder this time as if to prove a point, but still with no effect.
'I don't understand,' Castiel admitted, a look of confusion written all over his face.
'Neither do I, Cas, but I know it has something to do with Lucifer. The demon told me as much.'
'And you trust this…demon?'
Dean snorted, running a hand through his hair in a gesture of frustration. 'Not as far as I can throw her, you know that. But what if the bull she's saying is true? What if Lucifer somehow uses me to make Sammy say yes? I can't live with that outcome, Cas, I can't.'
'You should tell Bobby,' the angel suggested after a pregnant pause, allowing Dean time to compose himself. 'He may be able to help. I will see what else I can find out.'
Without another word, Castiel disappeared in a flutter of wings just as suddenly as he'd appeared. Sighing, Dean returned his knife to his belt and took one last look at his unmarked wrist before unlocking the door and heading down to see Bobby and his brother.
Celina followed warily behind the fallen angel, uncertain as to whether he planned on springing a trap when she least expected it. She still had the knife but knew it would do very little damage against the Devil himself. Not that she was worried… She'd had dealings with Lucifer before and survived mostly intact, but a demon could never be too careful around him.
'I have someone here you should meet, Celina,' Lucifer chuckled, interrupting her thoughts as he looked toward the warehouse doors and waited. She stepped up beside him and followed his line of sight, eyebrows raised in question as the doors were kicked open and a familiar tall figure marched into the building, gun raised.
'Sammy Winchester,' she drawled. 'How nice to finally meet you face to face.'
'Bobby, where's Sam? We need to talk,' Dean called as he stepped into the room, looking around for his brother but not spying him nearby.
'What'd you do, Dean? Fall into the toilet?' Bobby grouched, swinging his chair around to face the eldest Winchester. 'Sam's gone.'
Dean frowned, not sure he'd heard the old man right. 'Gone where?'
'I don't know, you idjit. He got a phone call and left about five minutes ago.'
'And you didn't think to ask where he was going?' Dean yelled, irritation evident in his words.
'Watch your tongue, boy,' the hunter warned, whacking into Dean's legs with the wheel of his chair. 'What happened to your shirt?'
Dean was momentarily thrown by the change of subject and gave Bobby a blank stare. The veteran hunter rolled his eyes and gestured towards the tear in the sleeve of his black shirt.
'Oh, that. That's what I was coming down here to explain,' Dean grinned sheepishly. 'But I need to find Sammy; he needs to hear–'
Dean's words choked off amidst a gasp of pain as he stumbled backwards, clutching at his chest. Bobby froze, unsure of what was happening until he saw Dean pull his hand away covered in blood.
'No, no, no… This isn't supposed to happen…' Dean muttered as he fell against the wall, his feet giving way beneath him as he slid heavily to the floor.
Bobby's throat went dry at the fresh smear of blood that coated his wall behind the young hunter.
To be continued…
A/N: Eek, the action's coming, be warned! Read and review, let me know your thoughts. Any guesses yet? Next chapter coming soon.