Beyond the town line
Morning
Castiel woke with a start, the morning sun prying his eyelids wide open. He fought for breath as he sat upright and sought to make sense of his surroundings. The car was empty. Cedars that reached for the heavens and pierced through the rocky terrain were everywhere, as the ferns thrived among them.
The weakened angel then opened the passenger door and staggered several steps from the car as he looked around.
"Sam?" he asked, weakly. Silence.
The younger of the Winchester brothers was nowhere in sight. Something had happened to him, for this manner of disappearance was not like Sam.
He shuffled along the bare pavement as the trill of birds broke the ominous silence.
The air around him shimmered as he took his next step over a painted orange line. Castiel turned around, squinting as he shielded his eyes from the sun and looked back to the abandoned town car. When he stepped forward to double back to it, he collided with an unseen wall and toppled backward onto the asphalt.
"Some kind of," Castiel panted as he rose back onto his feet, running his hands along the space he could no longer pass through, "warding?"
It felt like glass beneath his fingertips.
The way back was impassable. It would be best to follow the road from here. Somewhere in this place contained by a warding he'd never seen before, Sam was missing. As his weary steps carried him along the highway, his vessel protested against his exertion. His borrowed grace, it was waning.
"Sam," he murmured, wincing, "Dean-"
The bright sky and the tall trees blurred around him, and then flipped over as he no longer possessed the strength to stand. The fading angel lay there, fighting with all he had to move limbs that would not budge.
"N-not...here…"
Polished black shoes then resounded with each step as they moved toward him in slow, calculated strides. Castiel strained to see who was there and lifted himself and his gaze to the man with a cane. His body succumbed to gravity and he fell limp against the hard ground. He had failed to catch a glimpse at this preternatural newcomer and the aura of refinement he brought with him.
Castiel plunged into darkness, his eyes closing in the cloud of weariness he could no longer fight. His eyes opened again, after what felt like seconds. Yet, he was no longer on the road he collapsed on. The chaise adorned in crimson upholstery cradled his exhausted frame as he still possessed little ability to move. The angel swallowed and cast a heavy-lidded gaze over the room, dimly lit and riddled with strange trinkets that sat on the shelves while some hung from the ceiling.
Motes of dust lingered in the filtered sunlight and the same man from before stepped out from the shadows, passing through the light.
"It seems you're still with us," said the man, his voice modulated and eloquent, who then paused and lingered on the next word, "angel."
"Y-you're not a demon," Castiel coughed, attempting in vain to sit up, "but I sense-"
"Exert yourself any further, and I am afraid you won't be long for this world, dearie."
The dying angel acquiesced to the advice of this aged man in a black suit.
"Death? Is that you?" questioned the dying angel.
The man in the suit leaned on his cane and let out a low chuckle as he afforded him a charming, crooked smile.
"To some, I suppose," he answered in earnest, "though I do not hold that honor."
Castiel watched him from where he lay, lavished in this man's hospitality while a captive all the same. This inhuman creature, neither demon nor reaper, was a dangerous entity to not take lightly.
"Who are you?" Castiel inquired in labored breaths, regarding the man with due suspicion. "Why did you save me?"
"I am simply Mr. Gold, who merely happened upon an angel collapsed at the town line and brought him back to my shop," Gold replied, smiling without mirth. "Now, I should know the name of the angel I've introduced myself to. There's far too much value in a name to not use it."
They lingered there for a moment until the silence was broken. "Castiel."
"Castiel," Gold repeated, shifting his weight on his cane. "Are you aware that you are about to expire, Castiel?"
Castiel fell silent, both out of not wanting to answer Gold and because he was losing the energy to speak at all.
"I can't imagine that you coming here is a coincidence," he resumed as he paid no heed, "especially when a pair of demons arrived before you, and a man not far behind him."
"They're here?" Castiel winced, his vessel weakening steadily. "What is this place?"
"They are," Gold acknowledged with a single nod. "This place is called Storybrooke. It's a town in your world that is not a part of your world."
"Then," Castiel gasped, "that's why-"
"That is why," Gold cut in, his fingers moving along the handle of his cane as his dark eyes stayed on the angel, "you are dying sooner than you expected to. The magic of this world is too much for your broken wings."
"I can't leave-"
"The town line cannot be crossed. You may enter, but you may not leave," he informed Castiel, his crooked smile still plastered over his weathered face.
"-why?"
"Well," Gold began, his voice a low rasp, "because I simply won't allow it."
Castiel closed his eyes, powerless against this formidable force before him. Someone who could cast that powerful of a ward on a mere whim, he could do little even with the stolen grace at full force. Gold then drew nearer, casting his shadow upon him.
This wasn't how he wanted it all to end, not when Dean was still a demon running loose. Sam needed him, Dean needed him. At least, he supposed, Sam could finally close in on Dean if he had nowhere to run anymore.
Even if he couldn't-
A needle pricked his finger and his senses became enveloped in a deep fog.
-save...Dean...himself….
End Chapter
Authors note: Hey all. The holidays happened, and then life happened. Not getting around to this has been bugging me, so I made sure I had time tonight to write this. I apologize for the wait and wanted to let you know that I'll be starting on the next chapter as soon as tomorrow. I really appreciate the love this fic is getting and definitely don't want to disappoint as I continue this. I appreciate the encouragement I've been getting. You all rock!
