I am eternally grateful to all those that have read the last three chapters, and I hope you'll enjoy this one as well.

Adrift Star

Chapter 4

52 Questions

Castiel stood right beside Dean, a large red mark in the shape of a handprint imprinted on his cheek. His beige overcoat had a large hole in one side with singed edges, revealing a portion of his pale abdomen. His hair was more ruffled than usual, more ruffled meaning sticking in each and every direction. Dean caught a whiff of a particularly smoky scent emanating from his friend.

"Cas, are you alright?" Dean asked worriedly.

"I am fine," Castiel's voice was hoarse, making Dean's eyes narrow in disbelief. It was the kind of hoarse one got after screaming for hours. He'd never mistake that sound, considering he'd inflicted it upon many souls in his time in Hell. "Where is Tera? Is she safe?"

"She's inside reading about faeries," Bobby supplied.

Castiel nodded and disappeared into the house, leaving Bobby, Dean, and Sam to follow in his wake.

"You can't leave me here with these people!" Tera's angry voice floated in from the library. "Dean knocked me out and then woke me up with his sock!"

"Tera, you must understand that you are safest-"

"I don't care whether I'm safe or not. You just want to use me for your own means," Tera's angry form marched up to Castiel, jabbing an accusing finger into his chest. "I trusted you, Castiel! How could you do this to me? There's a difference between living and surviving. You need to understand that! Aren't you fighting for the same thing with these humans of yours? Fighting that damned apocalyptic prophecy? God, you of all people! How could you have betrayed me?"

"Tera, in order to do that, we require your help," Castiel lowered Tera's hand with his own in a gentle grip. "You have abilities you don't even know of. There are beings higher than you at work here. You cannot ignore what is going on, for your own sake and mankind's."

"What are these abilities, Castiel?" Tera demanded, eyes hardening as she wrenched her hand from his grasp. "What are you hiding from me?"

"I cannot tell you," Castiel murmered, glancing away.

"Why not?" Tera growled. "No one has forbidden you to telling me, right?"

"That is not the issue," Castiel replied. "Telling you now would have disastrous consequences."

"What sort of consequences?" Tera pushed. "Why can't you tell me?"

Castiel's almost mournful blue eyes met Tera's fiery green ones. After several moments of silence and sustained eye contact, Tera looked away, her body deflating as tension fled from her muscles.

"It would kill me, wouldn't it?" Tera whispered under her breath, her shoulders slumping. "That's why you wont tell me; because if you do, you'll be directly responsible for my death."

Castiel nodded slowly.

"What the hell happened to you anyway?" Tera abruptly switched subjects, now eyeing Castiel in concern. "Why're you all beat up like that?"

"I was... searching for something," Castiel answered. "I was met with some resistence."

"What were you searching for?" Dean chimed in, moving to stand next to Castiel. "Is your face gonna be alright?"

"It will take several hours to heal completely, but it will not interfere with my abilities," Castiel ignored the question. "I simply require time to rest. I shall be ready to begin again by dawn."

"Yeah, well, you know the drill," Dean clapped Castiel's shoulder before heading towards the kitchen, most probably to grab a cold beer from the fridge. Castiel stared at Dean's back, frowning slightly.

"Routine, Cas," Sam provided for the confused angel. Castiel nodded before quietly disappearing up the stairs. The room descended into silence as its three occupants stared either at each other or the floor. Sam swiftly made his escape into the kitchen when Tera flopped down onto the couch a minute later, ancient text in hand. Bobby rolled towards his desk, grabbing a bottle of whiskey from within a hidden compartment in one of the thick volumes piled on the wooden table and pouring a shot.

"I never really understood why humans found pain so... addicting," Bobby nearly choked on his drink when he glanced up and found Tera standing next to the desk.

"You talkin' bout my drink or in general?" Bobby asked, clearing his throat.

"Both, I suppose," Tera replied, tilting her head in a way oddly reminiscent of Castiel. "Why do you do it? Drink, I mean. Alcohol isn't that great. I mean, really. All it does is make you stupid, not to mention how your liver will kill you for drinking so much. What do you see in a bottle that you can't find anywhere else?"

"Something of a solitary comfort," Bobby huffed after a moment. "Turning stupid does have its upsides."

"Since when?" Tera crossed her arms.

"Turning stupid is a lot better than remembering everything," Bobby answered, taking out another glass and pouring a pinch of whiskey. He offered it to Tera, who immediately looked at it with narrowed eyes. "Want some?"

For just a moment, Bobby could see Tera thinking of turning away, rejecting the drink in front of her. Slowly, she reached out and gripped the glass delicately between her thumb and index finger, as if she were disgusted to even touch it.

"Don't tell the boys about this," Tera noticed how his voice softened at the mention of Sam, Dean, and Castiel as she brought the drink close to her face and took a cautious sniff. Her nose wrinkled at the strong smell. She knew it was probably safe, aside from its intended precursory effects, seeing as Bobby had drunk from the same bottle, but she could never be too safe. Taking a deep breath, she threw her head back as she drank the shot, imitating what she'd seen in bars everywhere.

Though the alcohol burned as it went down her throat, leaving behind a scorching sensation, it managed to settle into a ball of warmth in her stomach. The warmth felt strangely familiar, but more like an echo of what once was. Tera found herself licking her lips before she had finished analyzing the taste.

"Why is it warm?" Tera asked, curious. "The drink is cold, so why did it feel warm? Would it still feel cold if you put it in a fridge? What if you boiled-"

"Go read the damn book," Bobby grumbled, replacing the bottle in its hiding spot and tucking the tome deep into one of the drawers of his desk. "And remember, not a peep."

Tera spent the rest of the time before her eyelids slid shut on the couch, pretending to read as she tried to figure out what had made the echo that sat so snugly in her stomach.

"Cas, we need to talk."

Castiel turned from his spot by the window to glance at Dean, who closed the door behind him. The bedroom was Bobby's, but now that he was restricted to the wheel chair, the room was hardly used in favor for the couch downstairs.

"What would you like to talk about?" Castiel asked. Castiel already knew what Dean would ask about, of course, but it would be better if Dean initiated the conversation.

"It's about Tera and the rest of the shit that's going on with you," Dean took a deep breath and sat down on the bed, patting the spot next to him with one hand. "Sit next to me, Cas."

Castiel sat carefully where Dean had indicated, slightly uneasy at the unusually close proximity.

"You have to tell me what you're look for," Dean said, looking Castiel straight in the eye. "And who managed to beat you up so bad they left a mark. Not to mention telling me exactly who Tera is. We've got time, you can tell me. I have to know if you want us to protect Tera all we can."

Castiel looked away, unable to meet Dean's open gaze.

"Dean, things are not that simple," he replied, his two fingers rubbing the edge of the pocket on his trenchcoat, a nervous habit passed on by his original vessel. "I can't tell you all of it, but I can say some. I'm not looking for something, but someone. There's a woman that can help Tera, a psychic."

"Help Tera with what?" Dean asked. "Who is she? We might be able to help."

"I need you here with Tera," Castiel's voice wavered slightly as he met Dean's eyes with his own. "You're the only ones I can entrust with her. I'll handle finding the psychic."

Castiel could almost feel Dean bristle angrily underneath his still face, but made no comment.

"Then what about the thing that left you with a bitch slap mark?" Dean asked instead.

"...he is an underling of Lucifer." Castiel answered. "His right-hand man, if you will. He's an angel as well, one of those that Fell from heaven when Lucifer did."

"Oh great, another dick," Dean huffed.

"Semiazas is powerful, and has only grown more powerful under Lucifer's guidance," Castiel warned. "Tera is already hidden from his sight, but he is still searching for her, and I fear that he may have found a way already, which is why we need the psychic."

"What use would the psychic do?" Dean asked.

"There are things about Tera that are best left unsaid," Castiel replied. "Tera is considered a weapon by Lucifer and Semiazas. She could be the last straw on the camel's back. Possession of Tera could make or break the war between heaven and hell."

"So what the hell are we doing with Tera then?" Dean asked. "All that shit about you using Tera for your own means, is that true?"

"Tera is not an object to be used and thrown away, Dean," Castiel leaned in, eyes narrowing. "She has been my ally for a long time. At this point, I know her better than she knows herself, and I mean her no harm. I simply wish for her to be safe."

Dean examined Castiel's face, watched the way his chest puffed almost indignantly near the beginning of his speech before it and his head slumped down ever so slightly at the end.

"How do you know Tera?" Dean questioned.

"I can't tell you."

"How old is Tera?"

"I can't tell you."

"Does she have any family?"

"...no."

"So she does have family."

"I said she didn't."

"Cas, have you ever heard yourself lie?"

"No."

"And who taught you how to lie in the first place?"

"...you did."

"Yes I did, and that's how I know you're lying. Is her family alive?"

Castiel sighed, "Yes. How long are we going to play 52 questions?"

"20 questions," Dean corrected. "And just one more. Why is Tera so - I dunno, explosive? She's sleeping like a bear in the backseat and less than two minutes later she manages to pop Sam a nasty right hook to the nose. What gives?"

"It's in her nature," Castiel explained, glancing back towards the window. "She is prone to... extreme emotional outbursts, normally with very good reason."

"I bet she thought we poisoned her or something," Dean replied to Castiel's unspoken question. "She woke up sick and nearly threw up in the Impala."

Castiel's head snapped to attention, staring at Dean with shocked eyes, before he disappeared with the sound of wings flapping and the remnants of a soft breeze.

"Cas!" Dean called, immediately dashing out the room and practically falling down the stairs. His boots thudded loudly against the old wooden steps, the sound following him noisily as he practically stumbled into the study. Castiel was standing over Tera's sleeping figure on the couch. Bobby was yelling something - Jesus Christ, don't go scaring a man with a gun half to death!- and the pages that were disturbed by Castiel's abrupt arrival fluttered to the already cluttered ground. Sam bumped into him from behind, shotgun in hand and ready for anything. His hair and clothes were disheveled from sleep, but his face showed he was completely alert.

"Cas," Dean called again, moving to stand next to the angel. "What's wrong?"

Castiel stared at Tera, his stormy blue eyes betraying the calm expression on his face.

"Semiazas is visiting Tera in her dreams," he murmured. "That's how he will find her. I always assumed..."

"Cas!" Dean placed a hand on the angel's shoulder, who reluctantly dragged his eyes from Tera's form to Dean's emerald fields. "What the hell is going on?"

"Tera is not a being that simply gets sick," Castiel murmured. "Whatever her body is trying to expel is not a disease or poorly-cooked meal. She is at her most vulnerable while she's asleep."

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Dean asked. "I mean, if the Semi-guy can visit her dreams, can't you go in too?"

"Theoretically, yes," Castiel answered. "But doing so would be incredibly dangerous. If I had known Semiazas visited her in her dreams... one angel in her head is enough."

"What the hell is going on?" Sam cried angrily.

"But you have to do something," Dean grit out, ignoring Sam. "You can't let that douchebag find her. She'll die for sure if you don't do anything."

Castiel turned his gaze back to Tera, staring for several long moments before kneeling beside the couch.

"Whatever you do, do not interrupt me," Castiel ordered, hovering one hand above her forehead. "And do not touch either of us, unless you wish to be lost forever in the depths of our minds."

"Not a problem," Dean smirked.

"Dean," Castiel voice lowered slightly. "If I fail-"

"Like hell you will," Dean interrupted. "Just get your ass back here with the shrimp."

"I do not believe Tera will appreciate you calling her a crustacean," Castiel said softly as the palm of his hand met her forehead.

Castiel blinked once, and immediately stretched out his wings as the ground disappeared from beneath his feet. The warm cluttered study that smelled like old spice and whiskey had been replaced with a backdrop of a gold sunset, a sea of sand stretching out in every direction except for one tiny sliver of blue in the distance.

The Nile.

Castiel was shaken as memories that had been long dormant assaulted him at the familiar sight. The murder of every family's first-born son without the blood of lambs above their doorway had been a righteous act at the time. The arrogance of the Egyptian's leader when he believed he could keep the Chosen enslaved without punishment had led so many innocents to their premature deaths. Castiel could not take pleasure of fulfilling the will of God as he usually did when he saw the look on the childrens' peaceful faces as they slept and subsequently took their lives from them. Too many humans looked upon him in fear that night.

"Castiel!"

The angel whirled around to find the source of the voice, only to be met by a rushing crowd of people whose faces were blurred out. Tall buildings towered over the hustle and bustle of the street. Indistinct chatter of people on phones and incessant honking from cars filled his ears, growing uncomfortably loud. Castiel frowned at his surroundings, trying to find where the sense of wrong that tickled the back of his neck originated.

The sound of men arguing drew his attention, standing out from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the crowd. Castiel cautiously approached the bakery the conversation seemed to be coming from and opened the door before freezing in his tracks after taking only one step inside. All the outside sound had vanished, leaving the 18th Century tavern he'd just walked into dead silent in comparison.

18th Century tavern.

Castiel dared a step back, and as if he'd flipped a switch, the sounds of the city came rushing back. He glanced at the cakes showcased in the bakery's window and stepped through the doorway once more, only to be met by several men in baggy wool shirts toast their friend's mother good fortune at the wooden bar. The argument from just a few moments ago seemed to be nowhere in sight.

He sighed at the dream's infallible logic.

It was going to take a lot longer than he'd expected.

"Cas?" Dean called worriedly when his best friend's eyes went dull and his shoulders slumped low.

"Dean, what the hell just happened?" Bobby demanded.

Dean ran an aggravated hand through his hair, and then settled down on one of the chairs next to Bobby's desk.

As of posting this chapter, I am happy to announce Hurricane.'97 and nlr . lcsw as the first favorite/alert's for the story, respectively. I was super excited to see you two! I had to put a space between the period and the letters in nlr's name so it wouldn't auto-delete. Thank you so very much :)

Also, I might've gone a bit overboard on Chapter 5, but I don't think you'll mind all that much. It's 4k-ish words long. I mean, I had a blast writing it, as well as a workout to my imagery skills (which may or may not be absolutely horrific), but the longer I wrote, the more I wished it to be over. I have plans to do, things you write, but I needed to get that over with. Well, I say this, but mostly it was because I had a bunch of doubts. Should I introduce this now? Have I written this right? Should I have added more of the internal thought process? Should I switch between Cas, Dean, and Tera for the main part?

Guys, writing is hard! *insert pout here*

Until next time!