Jo jumped to her feet. "Stay away from me, you psycho."
Sariel moved into the room with the measured grace of a hunter that had cornered his prey. "For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again." He growled.
"Who are you?" She whispered.
"And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." He continued. "Babylon has fallen. The last Seal is breaking and Samael and Lucifer will bathe the earth in blood and fire."
Jo slowly began to inch around the room, looking for an opening in the man's stance. He was insane! Absolutely insane! Babbling on about angels and Babylon and seals and devils. She slowly pulled her little iron knife from her belt and concealed it in her hand. There! A gap. If only he would move a little more to the side…
"Why do you want to kill me?" She asked, her voice not quaking once.
"Because you would warn the one we have come to remove." Sariel replied. "The one Samael would use as a conduit into this world."
"Surely there are lots of people who'd warn this guy." Jo whispered. "I can't be the only - oh, my God." Sam. She was the only one who knew where the Winchesters were at this very moment. The only one…
Sariel was stoic. "I must have that information." He said. "And then it must not fall into the hands of any of our enemies."
Jo lunged then, diving for a gap between his body and the door. She brandished her knife and tried to push past him. Her knife chinked against something hard and refused to move. Sariel swung out his leg and Jo hit the floor hard, winded.
She stared up at the man fearfully. Her knife was imbedded in his hand and with a vague look of distaste, Sariel tugged it free and tossed it to her. As she watched, the hole scabbed over and was gone. What the hell is he? Oh God, what the hell is he?! Sariel knelt forward then, and roughly seized her chin. "You will give it to me." He hissed.
Jo screamed.
It was like someone was squeezing her brain and cutting out the pieces he wanted. She saw fragments of her memories floating away from her, and into this unnatural being. He rifled through her treasured moments like someone flicking through a TV guide until he found what he wanted.
Smiling Sam, desperate Sam, pissed Sam. Through Jo's memories, Sariel watched the man grow and change over the years, experienced Sam's power grow, watched his potential increase, all through Jo's eyes.
So this is the Boy King, Sariel remarked in her head. He did not bother to try and hide his disdain.
He was getting closed to finding what he truly wanted. The location. Jo fought against his probing mind, and pushed back.
Sariel seemed surprised when she struck back against him, and his reaction wasn't quick enough. As he had done with her, suddenly Jo was inundated with his memories. She knew without a doubt what he was. Why he was here. Who he was working for.
And it scared her to death.
Regardless of the human woman's efforts to fight back against the inevitable, Sariel ploughed on relentlessly. Sam Winchester, the antichrist. He who had been prepared most of his life to become the sacrifice that would end the world. Images of this man flicked through his mind as he got closer and closer to the location of the gateway.
And then he saw Sam Winchester's brother.
He stopped.
That's not right, he pondered idly.
He'll kill you, the child of Adam said fiercely. If you hurt Sam, he'll find a way to destroy you no matter what it takes.
We shall see.
And then Sariel released her chin. Jo fell back, staring up at him. Slowly she dragged herself away from him, not taking her eyes from his the whole time. "You bastard." She said. "You freaking bastard. You don't have any idea what you're doing. Who you're dealing with."
Sariel crouched down in front of her. "It is you who doesn't know who you are dealing with. I am well aware of who my enemy is, and I will not underestimate him again."
She slowly shook her head. "Please, don't do this. You're an angel; you can't do this. You're an angel."
"We are warriors." He said firmly.
"But I'm innocent."
"Innocent of what?" The angel asked scornfully. "Murder? Lying? Cruelty? The innocent die in war as well as the guilty."
Jo screwed her eyes shut. "Oh, God." She whispered. Only now the words took on an entirely different aspect. He was real. He was out there. He existed. Maybe, maybe this time he would help.
"Humans." Sariel scoffed at her. "You're all alike. Only turning to God when everything else has failed you. Demanding that he save you, as you have so much more to give, you suddenly have found your purpose. We have tried to turn you from this dark path. We tried. But you will walk into the jaws of the beast if the path is paved with gold."
"You prick." Jo hissed. "You abandoned us."
"We abandoned you?" Sariel's expression twisted into that of fury. "We attempted to speak to you, time and time again, but all our messengers ever got was a room in an asylum or a bullet. You were the ones that abandoned us."
"What's going on here, then?"
He had a dark suit and dark hair streaked with grey. The demon from the crash.
Sariel slowly stood up, Jo swiftly forgotten. His face was impassive. "What are you doing here?" He snarled.
"I see you managed to talk your way back into the man's good graces." Belial said with a derisive edge, a smug grin playing around the corners of his mouth. "The rules haven't changed. I can still go anywhere you can. Our fates are still entwined."
"What are you doing here?" Sariel demanded once more.
"I don't come to ask you for a fight." The demon replied. "If that's what you're spoiling for, picking on humans because you dare not face your own kind. I have a question for you."
"What question?"
"You saw the brother." Belial said. "And it confused you, even if you would not like to admit it. You saw him go through the gates of Hell yourself, after all. How did he come to be back, alive and well? And so my question is, good angel, do you know what Castiel did when he dined with Lilith?"
"You lie." The angel said softly. "I do not like Castiel, but he would not betray his brothers and sisters by approaching the whore that has already decimated our numbers."
"You're sure? I mean, Castiel seems to be a bit of a loose cannon to me. Doesn't like following orders that much, does he?" Belial grinned. "Ask him. Ask him why he has been leading your search party in circles. Why has he hidden the boy from you?"
Sariel did not speak, uncomprehending. "And once you have your answers, come and find me. First to the finish."
And then the demon was gone. Simply gone, leaving Sariel staring emptily into nothingness. Run, a little voice in Jo's ear commanded her. She recognised the voice of Belial, the demon lord. Run. And remember that this is the second time I have saved your life.
Jo wasn't particularly looking forward to pondering that statement, so she didn't waste a moment longer. She ran. Lately she'd been doing a lot of that.
First to the finish.
'It's Jo Harvelle. Sam, if you get this message, run. Get the hell out of wherever you are and go to Bobby's. I can't explain it all on the phone, just that there's a demon called Samael who is going to use you as a host so he can come back to this dimension. Dude, give me a call, let me know you're okay.'
"Bobby, it's Jo again. Yeah, I'm fine. I need a spell. No. I need to hide. I need to hide from an angel. Yes, I'm serious."
Castiel was unprepared for the intrusion into his solitude by a vengeful Sariel. He titled his head to one side, acknowledging his companion, but gave no further gesture that he even possessed idle curiosity about why his fellow was in such an enraged state. Something in Castiel's peaceful expression told Sariel that he already knew what this was about.
And it infuriated Sariel even more.
I have just had an unusual conversation.
So I heard. Through the ears of Joanna, the child of Adam, whom you only recently attempted to destroy.
And you would have let me kill her?
I doubt you could have even if you wanted to. Unless you have the anger and the purpose to sharpen your blade, you would rather leave your sword dangle in the dust.
Sariel swore at Castiel in a language that had been extinct on the earth for many a century.
Why does your heart ache so, friend?
You betrayed us. You betrayed us all. Therefore you are no friend of mine. You aided the Demon Queen. You shook her hand and made merry with her while your comrades were dying at the hands of her wraiths. You are a traitor. A traitor and a fool.
This may be the only way to stop Samael once and for all. Shall we banish him once more and be doomed forever to repeat this frantic race against time?
How calm Castiel was infuriated Sariel even more.
You broke a condemned and corrupted man out of a prison that was meant to hold him until the end of eternity.
I received a higher order. He replied. We all deserve the chance at redemption.
You have had your chance.
That interrupted Castiel's calm revere. What are you saying? He demanded coldly.
Sariel did not speak anything further. His eyes sparked with power. Castiel may have been guardian of this day, but he did not posses the want, the anger, the bloodlust. You are not worthy.
Before Castiel could even think, Sariel had seized a handful of bone and feathers. His fingers dug into muscles and tendons, and Castiel shouted out. What are you doing?!
You have betrayed us all. Sariel said. This is vengeance.
And he pulled the wing out of Castiel's back. Ripping his Grace from him.
This is for our people.
Castiel made a wild swipe at Sariel, but his fingers passed through that of the urethral being. He was already falling, falling so far. No. NO!
Tell me, when you and Uriel conspired against my sister, did you ever imagine that one day the same fate would come for you? Sariel was standing there, triumphant. In his hand he held a bright sphere of light. It was painful to look at.
Everything was red, and he hunched over in pain. The world was light and noise, and it was overwhelming. He couldn't open his eyes with Sariel there, for fear of being blinded. Castiel pressed his face to the cold ground.
He could hear the whispers. It was almost like they were taunting him, torturing him. Listen to them, Sariel said. It is as close as you will ever get to us ever again.
And then he laughed.
After he had finished gloating, Sariel finally left, taking the Grace with him. Castiel stayed, curled up on the floor. Blood was slick on the floorboards and splinters bit into his bare skin. He did not trust himself to move.
At first he did not want to imagine the punishment that Sariel had inflicted on him, but he realised he had to acknowledge his situation if he was going to survive.
And he wasn't damn well going to take it lying down.
Castiel forced himself to his knees, and from there to his feet. There were great twin swipes of white scar tissue down his back, making his whole body stiff and difficult to move. He looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror and recoiled in horror.
Human. He was human.
