Chapter 7
Evie gazed into Castiel's eyes. She felt like she was swimming in steely blue bliss. His soft fingertips caressed her lips, his thumb tracing the lines of her chin, her jaw, her neckline, and her collarbone. As he moved in for a kiss, she realized she was naked. She hadn't noticed before.
Her whole body was aquiver, sensitive. His every touch gave her goose bumps.
His hand wrapped around her shoulder and stopped there. His lips stopped just before meeting hers. His grip tightened, no longer a caress. He shook her a little, and she could hear his voice calling her name, although his lips didn't move. His voice came from far away.
She moved back. Now she was wearing clothes – pajamas. Cas repeated her name. This time, his lips moved, but they didn't look like his. They looked more like … Dean's.
Evie awoke with a start.
"Evie," Dean said. His hand was on her shoulder. She lay in bed at the bunker.
Evie took a breath and a second to adjust to her surroundings.
"You OK?" Dean asked, concerned. "It took a bit to wake you up."
"Yeah," Evie said. "Yeah. What's up?"
"We caught a case," he answered.
"Crowley?" she asked eagerly.
"No," he said. "But I can't just sit around spinning my wheels. It's been a week and no sign of Crowley."
She knew that Dean purposely didn't mention Cas' absence. She wasn't sure if she should mention her dreams. This was the third dream like this she had had in the week since they lost Crowley in Las Vegas and Cas had disappeared. Cas was starting to appear in her dreams every night now. At this point she wasn't certain if it was anything more than her imagination. She would keep it to herself. For now.
"OK," Evie agreed. "I'm getting up."
Dean didn't leave.
"Dean."
"Hmmm?"
"You're not gonna see me in my underwear. Get out," Evie said.
"Oh," Dean said, grinning cutely. "Right." He left the room, closing the door slowly.
Evie got dressed and joined the boys.
"Alright, what's this case?" Evie asked, rubbing her face sleepily.
"Not quite sure," Sam said. "Five people have been murdered in the last two weeks in Santa Fe, New Mexico." Sam hesitated. He was obviously embarrassed about what he was about to say. "Five really fat people."
"Fat people?" Evie asked.
"Yeah, like, obese. No one under 300 pounds," Sam said. "And, local police reports have several witnesses on record saying they saw the victims with a strange, handsome man or beautiful woman before they died."
"A monster with a thing for fat chicks?" Dean said cheerily. "Fun times."
Sam, Dean, and Evie poured over police and coroner reports, newspaper articles, witness statements, and the internet, looking for anything relevant to their case.
"Check this out," Sam said, addressing his friends. "The coroner's reports show that every single victim died of starvation."
"Starvation?" Dean asked in disbelief. "I thought you said they were all obese."
"They were," Sam said. "All five had BMI's over 35 and weight at least 300 pounds."
"Then, how'd they starve?" Evie asked.
"Maybe they were starving for love," Dean laughed.
Evie and Dean traded bemused glances.
"We've seen a few monsters that could do this, right?" Sam asked Dean. "I mean, monsters that suck on fat."
"Yeah, but the corpses are still fat. How does something suck the fat out when the fat's still in there?" Dean asked.
"Enemies?" Evie asked.
"Well, they were all well-off—" Sam started.
"And, well-fed," Dean quipped.
"They all had nice homes, nice cars, good jobs, and uh," Sam continued. "Huh. There is a police report in Mr. Randall's file from six months ago. He called the cops on an 8-year-old Chinese boy for stealing his happy meal. Turns out the boy and his mother were fresh off the boat from China. Mom was unemployed, and they were both homeless and literally starving."
"What a douche," Evie and Dean said simultaneously.
"He might be more than that," Sam said. "He might be a murderer. Yeah, the boy apparently had a habit of stealing food from Mr. Randall's garbage cans on trash pick-up days. He died four days after Mr. Randall caught him stealing the burger. On trash pick-up day."
"What's the boy's name?" Evie asked.
"Dong Shen Wu," Sam pronounced carefully.
"And where is Little Boy Wu buried?" Dean asked.
"Uh, I don't know," Sam stumbled, swiping through papers.
Evie pulled up Dong Shen's obituary online. "The obit didn't mention funeral arrangements, just one survivor: his mom, Wei Yin Ma. She's where we start."
"This is it," Sam said, peering over the scrap of paper in his hand at the dark 'Happy You' sign above the Chinese restaurant. "Looks like they're closed."
"Has that ever stopped us from poking around?" Dean asked.
The hunters circled around to the alley in back of all the restaurants on this street, where they saw a Chinese woman leaving the restaurant with her hands full of paper grocery bags. She looked nervous as she locked the door, peeking over her shoulder every few seconds. She hurried down the alley away from the hunters, her quick, tiny footsteps barely making a sound.
"Where's she going in such a hurry?" Dean whispered.
"Let's find out," Sam said.
Evie's scowled, her face motionless and cold like stone. A dark, foreboding feeling was overtaking her, but she followed. They stalked Wei Yin for miles. The mother's pace never slowed, despite the heavy load she carried.
"Where the hell is she going? We've been following her for like two miles," Sam whispered.
"I don't know, but it's weird, right?" Dean asked.
They were approaching the edge of a forest, part of Carlson National Forest. Wei Yin headed toward a specific tree just inside the tree line. It was difficult to discern much in the dark, but Evie had an idea what she was looking for. She could just make out a small altar with remnants of food on it. Wei Yin dropped to her knees before the altar and started to pull food from her bags.
"We came to watch her feed the birds?" Dean asked sarcastically.
"She didn't walk two miles to feed birds," Evie said. "She's making an offering."
"An offering to what?" Sam asked.
"Her son's ghost," Evie answered.
"Wait, he's an ugly?" Dean asked.
"An egui [uh-gway]," Evie answered in perfect Chinese. "A Chinese hungry ghost."
Dean paused, brow furrowed. His lips began to form words, then he paused again and inhaled sharply. His brow furrowed again. He paused again, in deep thought.
"How do you know so much about Chinese ghosts?" he finally managed.
Evie sighed. "After you left … I kinda freaked out."
Dean's eyes avoided Evie's and accidently found Sam's. They were pejorative. Dean looked away quickly.
"So, I moved to China for a year," Evie continued.
"You went to China?" Dean asked in disbelief.
"Yeah," Evie said.
"And hunted?" Sam asked.
"Not at first. Well, I didn't plan to at all," Evie said. "I went to meditate and study kung fu."
Dean laughed. "Was everybody kung fu fighting?"
Evie shot Dean one of her withering glares.
Dean closed his mouth, clumsily, then cleared his throat. "So, you did the whole Shaolin Jet Li thing or …?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Evie answered. "I lived with the monks at the temple. Up at five, kung fu and Mandarin lessons all day, meditate with a beautiful mountain view, lights out at nine. Oh, and lots of rice. It was peaceful … for like ten months. Then, my life came back to haunt me."
"What do you mean?" Sam asked.
"One night our sifu didn't come back from his nightly walk in the forest," she said. "The monks were very superstitious. No one would go looking for him at night, so I snuck out. And, damn my curiosity." Evie shook her head. "First thing I saw was Sifu Bohai lying under a tree; then, the ghost leaning over him; then, the food. Which seemed extra weird."
"So what'd you do?" Sam asked.
"Well, Sifu was unconscious, but breathing, so like any sane person, I followed the ghost," Evie said sarcastically. "It went around for hours feeding, or trying to."
"Feeding on what?" Dean asked.
"Everything," Evie answered. "Garbage, animal carcasses, and shrines like the one Wei Yin left."
"Huh. So according to Buddhist and Chinese folk traditions, hungry ghosts can arise from violent deaths or evil deeds," Sam read from the internet. "They often have long, needle thin necks with tiny mouths that are too small to ingest much food. They wander the outskirts of civilization, feeding on garbage and remains."
"Exactly," Evie agreed.
"So, I'm guessing you solved the case of the hungry ugly ghost and the missing monk?" Dean asked.
"Yep. Turns out the egui was the younger brother of Sifu Bohai," Evie said, emphasizing the correct pronunciation of egui, "who had been caught stealing when the two were kids – over fifty years ago, at the time. The shop owner cut off his hand, and he died of infection. Sifu Bohai stole, too, but he didn't get caught, and he didn't fess up."
"Let me guess … instead he lived a quiet, pious life, hoping it would save his soul," Sam interjected.
Evie nodded in agreement.
"Alright, let's go back tomorrow and talk to tiger mom, find out where our local ugly is buried and torch his bones," Dean said with confidence.
"It's not that simple," Evie said.
"Why not? A ghost is a ghost, right?" Dean exclaimed.
"It's the shrines," Sam stated, slowly realizing.
"The people put out sacrificial offerings to hungry ghosts, burn incense and paper for hell money, build altars … There's even a ghost festival during the seventh month," Evie said. "Ghosts are a big part of Chinese tradition."
"So you think all the rituals and festivals give these ghosts their mojo?" Dean asked seriously.
"I burned the boy's bones," Evie said. "When that didn't work, I burned the bracelet Sifu Bohai wore as a momento." Evie paused for a second. "He wasn't too happy about that."
"Oh, don't tell me you stole from a padre," Dean said.
"Like you haven't!" Evie challenged.
"Touché," Dean said.
"Sifu kicked me out of the temple for burning his brother's bracelet, but I kept following him at night, just to be sure."
"Totally not stalkerish," Dean quipped.
"He brought food every night, and on the third night, the egui appeared," Evie said. "And, again the next night, and the next, and the next. And, every night the ghost got more violent."
"Violent? And, you didn't help?" Dean accused.
"I didn't know how to kill it!" Evie exclaimed. "I had torched everything! I didn't know what else to do. I packed up and was trying to scrape some cash together to leave the country when Sifu found me. He said it had gotten out of hand, and he asked for help."
"So what'd you tell him? Just stop sacrificing and the ghost would go away?" Dean asked.
"It worked," Evie said.
"So, you're saying we've got to convince a grieving mother to stop honoring her dead son?" Sam asked.
"You make me sound like a dick," Evie said.
"Join the club," Dean said.
"You are crazy! Get out!" Wei Yin yelled. She pushed Sam forcefully and quickly rushed into the kitchen of the Chinese restaurant. Customers looked up from their lunches. Waiters started to gather threateningly.
Sam, Dean, and Evie left quietly, without another word.
"Well, that went smoothly," Dean said, sarcastically.
"Dean, we strolled up to her job and told her that her dead son is killing people," Sam said.
"So, what do we do now?" Dean asked.
"Come back tonight? Try again when she's alone?" Evie suggested.
Sam and Dean both stopped and looked sideways at Evie. Dean's face was bemused, Sam's disapproving.
Evie threw up her hands. "I'm a dick. I know!"
"Hey, dicks eat tacos, right?" Dean asked excitedly.
Sam couldn't help but lighten up as Dean and Evie started down the street toward Taco Town.
"Oh, come on! Soft is weak!" Dean exclaimed.
"You mean, it's clearly superior," Evie corrected.
"You can't tell me you eat anything but crunchy tacos!" Dean said. "Sam! Back me up here!"
"I think they both have their merits," Sam said with purposeful neutrality.
"I'll take it," Evie accepted, taking another bite of her soft taco. Sam also took a bite of his taco salad. Dean, however, continued to scowl in disbelief.
"Dude!"
"Don't be a dick about it," Evie said. "We can live in taco harmony."
Dean shook his head. "I could use a margarita." He motioned to the waitress. Sam rolled his eyes.
"Keep your skirt on. We've got like, what, an hour?" Dean said. The waitress approached the table. "Hi," Dean said in his most charmingly boyish voice, but he stopped short of ordering. His eyes grew alert, darting across the street. "Hey! Let's go."
Sam turned to see Wei Yin leaving in a hurry. He dropped his fork and reached into his wallet, producing a $20.
"Aw!" Evie cried through a mouthful of taco. She threw the remaining bits of tortilla, meat, and shredded cheese onto her plate and left quickly, just behind the brothers, chewing as she ran.
"Follow her! We'll head her off!" Dean barked an order to Evie as Wei Yin took off down an alley between buildings, headed for the back alley that ran behind the restaurants and shops. Evie followed Wei Yin. Sam and Dean took a sharp left and rounded the block.
Evie burst into the back alley, running at full speed, rounding a blind corner. Wei Yin's foot hit her square in the nose, knocking her flat on her back. Her vision blurred temporarily and her nose swelled, then immediately healed. Evie blinked, her vision clearing in time to see Wei Yin execute a perfect axe kick. She watched in slow motion as a tiny heel in a tiny, black Mary Jane plummeted toward her face. She rolled away just in time to avoid having her face smashed in again.
Evie expertly flipped herself upright. She and Wei Yin faced off in crouched, guarded stances, hands poised like they were shooting invisible fireballs. Sam and Dean came around the far corner in time to see the women silently studying each other.
"Evie!" Dean called. He started toward the martial arts showdown. Neither broke eye contact or moved a muscle, despite the boys' rapid advance. When the boys were five feet away, Sam held Dean back. All four stood taut, silent, waiting for someone to make a move. It was Dean whose impatience got the best of him. He stepped forward, hoping to charm the ladies down from a cat fight … although Evie and a hot Asian woman rolling around on the ground ….
Wei Yin grabbed Dean's wrists, twisting them together like a pretzel and using the torque to toss the confused man-child – still with images of Evie and Wei Yin pulling and yanking at each other's wet, clingy, white T-shirts in his dirty mind – to the ground. The impact knocked the breath from Dean's lungs.
Evie took advantage of the opportunity and struck. So did Sam. Wei Yin and Evie exchanged even blows. Wei Yin simply hit Sam with a powerful side kick and sent him flying into a nearby dumpster. The perilous choreography continued – punch, block, kick, block. The women's steps were perfectly matched: yin and yang.
Dean crawled to safety near Sam and the dumpster. "Evie's doing pretty good, huh?" he grinned, breathing heavily.
Just then a potent punch knocked Evie's head back on her shoulders. She recovered quickly, blocking another fist and spinning to avoid Wei Yin's next move. The middle-aged woman seemed to never tire. Evie came out of her spin facing Wei Yin's back; it was a vital mistake. Evie firmly planted her foot in the small of the older woman's back and pushed, sending Wei Yin stumbling toward the brick wall near the dumpster where Sam and Dean crouched in awe.
She rotated on tiny, deft feet to face her opponent; the look in her eyes definitively authoritative. "I tire of you," she said coldly. She got a running start at Evie, leaping into the air, her legs bicycling. Evie sidestepped, narrowly avoiding being pummeled by Wei Yin's furious feet. She grasped Wei Yin's arm and attempted to use the woman's momentum to throw her, but Wei Yin also grabbed Evie. The momentum carried them in a tumbling heap until the far wall abruptly stopped them.
Wei Yin landed on top of Evie, and she quickly gained the upper hand. Keeping hold of Evie's wrist, she bent it sharply, breaking it in one motion. Evie yelped.
Sam and Dean leapt from their crouched positions as observers to come to Evie's aid. Wei Yin suddenly produced small throwing knives from a hidden spot and flung them at the boys. Dean lost his footing trying to avoid the blade and fell comically on his butt. Sam tripped over Dean, which caused him to duck; the blade missed his head by no more than a foot.
Wei Yin turned back to Evie, who popped her wrist loudly back into place and lunged at Wei Yin, catching her off guard. Evie head butted her and Wei Yin fell back. She pulled another blade from her belt and came at Evie, slashing. She sliced Evie's cheek. Blood poured from the wound, then within seconds it was closed, completely healed. Evie wiped her face, leaving a smudge of blood.
Wei Yin's eyes widened to the size of saucers. She turned to run, but Sam and Dean closed her in, forming a triangle with Evie at the top. She turned back to Evie in fear. "What are you?"
"She's not the one you need to be afraid of," Dean said.
"Please, just let us explain," Sam said, earnestly, hands held out in front of him.
"Yeah, without the knives and the ass kicking. Please," Dean said.
"Why would he kill those people?" Wei Yin asked, tears in her eyes.
"I know it's hard to believe," Sam said sympathetically.
Wei Yin sat with her hands around a cup of tea, eyes staring blankly.
"We know he was murdered," Dean said quietly.
Wei Yin's eyes snapped to Dean's as a single tear spilled down her cheek. She wiped at it absently and looked at her watch. "I need to go," she said, standing urgently.
Evie, still sitting, reached out, grasped Wei Yin's hand, and slowly shook her head "no." Wei Yin started to cry harder. "He is my son!" Wei Yin cried.
"I know," Evie sighed. "He was."
"He is," Wei Yin insisted.
"No, Wei Yin," Evie said. "He's not your son anymore. He's an egui."
Wei Yin bowed her head and sat heavily. Her tears flowed freely now. It clearly took effort to pull herself together before she spoke. "Then you know why I feed him."
"You can't feed him, Wei Yin. You know that," Evie said. "He'll never be satisfied. He'll keep killing."
"I can't stop him!" Wei Yin exclaimed.
"You can," Evie encouraged. "You just have to stop leaving sacrifices. No more food, no more altars, no more offerings."
"You can't ask me that!" Wei Yin said. "It's tradition! It's honor!"
"Look, it's the only way to stop the killing," Dean said.
Evie shot a sideways glance at Dean, hushing him.
"The offerings tie his spirit to this world," Evie said. "The only way to put him to rest is to stop and let him go."
Wei Yin's lip quivered, and she continued to shed tears. "How do I just stop?"
"You just … stop. And, you honor his memory by remembering the good times you had together," Evie soothed.
Wei Yin shook her head "yes" without speaking. She was still trying to keep herself together.
"Can we walk you home?" Sam offered.
"No. I have no home," she said.
Remembering that she was homeless, Sam felt like an asshole.
Evie spoke up, saving Sam from his embarrassment. "Hey. Why don't you take my room for the night?" She pulled the key from her pocket and handed it to the distraught mother, who took it gratefully.
Evie tossed her bag on the queen bed furthest from the door, then she took a nosedive onto the bed and lay with her eyes closed, arms and legs spread-eagled across the mattress.
"Hey, that's my bed," Sam said under his breath. But, Evie still heard him.
"Nope," she said succinctly. "That's all you guys," she said pointing at the other bed.
Dean didn't even try to talk his way out of it; he just pouted. Then, he perked up. "Well, Sam, looks like you're sleeping on the floor."
"No. Ah ah. You're sleeping on the floor," Sam retorted.
"Would you guys grow up? You're brothers. Share a bed," Evie muttered sleepily, her voice muffled by the blankets.
"Not gonna happen," Sam and Dean said in unison.
"Fine!" Dean whined. "I'll sleep in the car."
"OK," Evie said, already drifting into sleep.
Evie snuggled in Cas' arms. They enveloped her, and she felt comfortable and safe. She looked up into his deep blue eyes. He gazed back, smiling. She felt so warm, so peaceful. She couldn't remember anything else but this.
She moved in for a kiss, but Cas spoke right before their lips met. "Wake up, Evie," he said in a commanding bass.
She pulled back, confused. The peaceful warmth faded just a bit. She felt cold.
"Wake up!" Cas shouted.
Evie woke with a start. Sam snored lightly in the bed next to hers, the overhead fan whirred, and the sounds of passing traffic wafted in trough the poorly insulated windows. But, there was another sound, too. Someone or something was rustling through the trash can.
Evie peered into the tiny kitchenette, careful to only move her eyes. A short apparition with a needle-like neck and an insignificant orifice where the mouth should have been dug through the garbage, sucking on everything it pulled out. The egui.
Evie slowly moved her hand underneath her pillow, reaching for the gun she always kept there. Just as she wrapped her fingers around it, Sam awoke. He sat upright, pulling a sawed-off shotgun from underneath his own pillow. The egui turned toward him, dropping an empty Styrofoam cup and a burger wrapper on the floor.
Sam fired a salt round, and the egui disappeared in a dusty mess, screaming.
"Get Wei Yin! She must have built another shrine," Sam exclaimed. Evie ran toward the door. The egui appeared just in front of her as she reached for the doorknob. As soon as she saw it she dropped to the floor. Sam fired another round and again the egui vanished.
Evie ran out the door, headed to the next room, where they had sent Wei Yin. Dean ran toward Evie, toting a shotgun and an iron crowbar. He tossed the crowbar to Evie and continued into the room where the gunshots continued.
Evie kicked the door in and found Wei Yin praying before an altar covered in food and incense. She turned a vicious glare toward the intruder. "You can't stop us!" she whispered.
Evie paused, horror washing over her. "You knew he was killing," she said.
"They all deserve it! My boy didn't deserve to die!" Wei Yin hissed.
Evie started toward the altar, planning to destroy it, but Wei Yin produced a throwing star from her belt. She flashed it threateningly at Evie.
Evie set her jaw and her will. "Bring it on!"
Wei Yin launched a throwing star, which lodged itself just above Evie's collarbone. Gritting her teeth through the pain, Evie didn't slow. She swung the crowbar like a baseball bat, grazing Wei Yin's ear. The woman squealed but grabbed another blade. She sliced Evie multiple times: across the face, across the neck, across the chest. Each wound healed, leaving only remnants of spilled blood.
Evie pulled the star from her collarbone. "Come on, Wei Yin!" she said. "This has to stop."
"I will never stop!" the mother screamed. She launched herself at Evie, in full attack mode. This time, Evie stood her ground. Wei Yin stabbed, sliced, and even bit her, but she never gave way. She push kicked Wei Yin back, and when the furious mother attacked again, Evie pulled another knife from her side and stabbed Wei Yin with two blades, both in the heart.
Wei Yin's eyes widened and her mouth formed a perfect "oh." Then, her eyes closed and her body went slack as her life drained away. Evie didn't even spare a moment to look at the dead woman at her feet. She stepped through the puddle of blood forming around Wei Yin and stomped the altar to pieces.
Dean ran into the doorway and eyed the mess on the floor, including the heap that was Wei Yin's bloody corpse. Evie turned at the sound, smashing a banana under her foot. "Ah! I like these boots!"
"What?!" she exclaimed in response to Dean's judgmental stare.
"I assumed you were gonna talk to her," Dean said.
"She didn't wanna talk," Evie replied plainly.
Sam appeared behind Dean, breathing heavily. He looked regretfully at the body on the floor. Evie was about to defend herself to the other brother when they all heard the sirens approaching. This time she did spare a glance at the grieving mother she had failed to save as the hunters skillfully fled the scene.
"Watch the leather," Dean warned Evie. "I better not find any blood back there."
Evie rolled her eyes. Dean still treated this car better than he'd ever treated a lady.
"It's a good thing you woke up when you did, Evie," Sam said. "Who knows what she could have made the egui do to us … if she was controlling him."
"Yeah," Evie sighed. She stared out the window, thinking of how Cas warned her. Was that just her subconscious or was that really Cas?
"Earth to Evie! Come in," Dean called from the front seat.
"Yeah!" Evie replied.
"Did you hear me? I asked if you've heard from Cas," Dean said.
Evie hesitated. "Uh, no."
Sam and Dean shared a curious glance. Evie observed this unspoken conversation that could take place in a millisecond between the brothers and knew she owed them further explanation.
"They're just dreams," she started. She paused before continuing. "I mean … I was pretty sure they were just dreams … until he warned me about the egui."
"Cas warned you about the egui?" Sam asked, brow furrowed.
"Well, he yelled at me to wake up," Evie said. "And, I woke up and … you know the rest."
"How long have you been having these dreams?" Dean asked.
"They started about a week after Vegas. He's come to me every night since," Evie said.
"And you didn't tell us?!" Dean raised his voice, clearly frustrated, and maybe a little jealous. "I pray to him every night and I get squat. And, you're getting private dances!"
"Dean," Sam uttered. "They are …" He shrugged suggestively.
Dean set his jaw and looked out the window. "So," he finally said. "He tell you anything? Any news on Crowley or the tablet?"
"No, we didn't exactly … talk," Evie said, a little embarrassed.
Dean tensed, while Sam nervously cleared his throat.
"Look, I'll ask," Evie offered. She saw how uncomfortable the boys were. You could cut the tension in the car with a butter knife if you wanted to. She quickly dropped the subject.
Evie had trouble falling asleep for the next four nights. Since she had been dreaming about Cas, it felt like sleep just took her, like she simply fell into Cas' arms every night and was gently rocked into a peaceful slumber … or a fiery orgasm. Either way, sleep had come quickly and easily. But, not now. Now, she lay awake, tossing and turning, trying to conjure images of Cas.
She rolled onto her back, restlessly, and stared at the dark ceiling. "Fall asleep!" she commanded her brain. How about counting sheep? She had never tried that before. OK, one, two … She saw a shadow move from the corner of her eye. She shot upright in the bed.
Flutter.
Cas appeared next to her, sitting in the bed. He leaned casually on one arm and smiled invitingly. Evie smiled back. "Three," she said.
"What?" he asked.
"Nevermind," she said, moving closer. She leaned in for a kiss, but Cas pulled away. He appeared to be concentrating. "What is it?" Evie asked, concerned.
Cas looked down at himself, then at his surroundings. "I'm not here," he said as if just realizing this. Before Evie could ask more questions, Cas kissed her hard, holding her face tightly. A barrage of images and feelings flooded Evie's mind: a tablet with ancient writing, a ring of holy fire, darkness, oppressive heat and fire, blood, sweat, demons, torture … and the final image, the most potent for Evie … Crowley's leering face.
Evie blinked and, suddenly, she was soaked in sweat and Cas was gone.
