PART SEVEN
The Eye
-1-
Taber, Alberta
"More will come," Cas said, his voice still full of gravel but now it was soft too, "we have to keep moving. We have to find the eye before more die."
Dean shrugged into the jacket Mary-anne had provided. Their luggage, of course, had been lost. They had nothing. Just Sam's pistols and the clothes on their backs. Mary-anne, thankfully decided to give them a handful of bullets. It wasn't a lot but it would do them some good if they ran into some Canadian sasquatches.
"What happened out there, Cas?" Dean asked.
"We were attacked."
"Yeah, I noticed. How'd we get away?"
"We fought," Cas said.
"Sure. I was there for that too."
"They lost."
"How?"
"I was the superior fighter."
"How?" Dean asked again, more firmly this time, "How were you the superior fighter? These Seraphim, aren't they the most powerful angels in heaven? Guardians of God's throne? Keepers of unspeakable power?"
Castiel took his time buttoning the jacket Mary-anne had provided him with. It was long, dropping to his knees. Long and form fitted so that it hugged his new feminine curves. Dean couldn't stop himself from tracing those curves with his eyes.
Castiel's hesitance to answer was an answer. Dean crossed the room, he stood before Castiel and grabbed him by the arms. Such slim, small arms. "Cas."
"I have not... been entirely forthcoming."
"No kidding."
"The throne is still abandoned."
"Yeah." Dean nodded, "I figured."
"We all need a leader. Someone to guide us."
"The angels you mean?"
Cas nodded, "They chose me."
"Cas."
"I accepted."
Dean let go of Cas' arms. He turned away, "Are you flipping insane!"
"I had no choice, Dean. They were lost. They needed me."
"No. Not you. You can't freaking handle it!"
"I have. I did," Cas replied calmly.
"How could they put you in that position? How could they trust you after what you did?"
Castiel shook his head from side to side, "They are far more forgiving and rational than you could ever fathom, Dean. My experiences made me powerful. My mistakes made me wise. Ultimately I was the leader they required."
"So you've been playing god all this time? That's why you disappeared?"
"It's not why I left. It's why I stayed gone," Castiel glanced at the window. Outside the sun was shining bright and clear, "We should go Dean."
"You haven't finished explaining."
"Dean... I am powerful than you realize. More powerful than they realize."
"How?" Dean demanded.
"Not through any method you would disapprove of," Castiel said calmly, "sitting on the Throne granted me certain powers. The longer I am away the more my power wanes. We should move."
"You sat on the throne of god?"
"For a very long time. For a very long time I sat on the throne and I ruled all," Castiel reached out, his fingers rested on Dean's upper arm, "we can discuss this later. We should go."
"Earlier, in the field," Sam waited until they were in Mary-anne's car and driving away before he brought it up, "do you remember what happened out there?"
Dean frowned, not at Sam but at the traffic ahead. He didn't dare turn his eyes away. Traffic was surprisingly heavy for a small town. "Yeah. I remember."
"You fired, Dean."
"What?"
"You fired at that angel. The one attached to my back. That shot could have gone wrong. It could have gone really wrong."
"It didn't."
"And before. When that guy, Kael? When he took me. You charged into the warehouse with nothing but a freaking gun. Knowing you had no chance of defeating an angel."
"Okay. What's the point Sam?"
"The point is... you're making a lot of really reckless choices."
"Yup," Dean agreed.
Sam glanced in the rearview mirror. His eyes met Castiel's.
"Er... Dean..."
"You're alive. I'm alive," Dean tapped his fingers against the parking brake, "so my reckless choices are working. Just leave it alone Sam."
Sam had no intention of leaving it alone but for now he slipped into an uneasy silence.
-2-
Somewhere in Rural Canada
The church had once been made of stone. Now each stone had turned to solid gold.
The five stood in a semi-circle. Each face equally composed and devoid of emotion. "He is more powerful than we expected," Balbit said softly.
"Far more powerful," Khalib agreed.
"How?" Kael wondered, "How could he hold so much power?"
"He is our god," Danae said quietly, " his power should be beyond measure."
"He is one of us," Kael corrected, "less than one of us. He was our god because we asked him to be. He should not be so powerful."
Above the ceiling cracked as it slowly turned golden. Soon the entire church would be a monument. Gems began to form in the pillars that supported the ceiling. If they remained long enough the ground near the church would also change from dirt to gold dust.
"What do we do?" Uriel asked.
"We have to complete our mission."
"He will kill us all."
"Not if we overpower him. There are five left. Five of us, one of him. He is nothing but an angel. A meaningless, powerless soldier. We will take him. We will defeat him. We will do exactly what we came here for." Kael spoke in a growl, "but first... we will find new, stronger vessels. Go. Hurry."
One by one they blinked out of sight until Kael stood alone. His vessel was nothing more than a skeletal husk of a man now. With a soft growl he shook himself free of it and in his true form he shot out of the golden church into the night sky.
-3-
Taber, Alberta
Mary-anne Jenkins didn't mind not having a car. It gave her a certain sense of accomplishment to know she'd helped two lost little hunters and their odd little redheaded friend. That was enough for her. Anywhere she needed to go she could get by foot.
She sipped her tea on her front porch, just as she'd done when the Sasquatch first arrived. The car he'd stolen to get here was still parked by her front curb. She didn't mind. Eventually the police might swing around and spot it but that wasn't likely to happen anytime soon.
She expected a quiet day. A day like any other. Her neighbor was out, pruning his hedges. The sun shone high in the sky. It was a warm, quiet afternoon. The kind of afternoon she normally would have fallen asleep to.
Of course all hell broke loose.
The screaming wasn't completely unfamiliar. The park just down the street was quite popular with the younger kids on her street and kids had a way of making fun sound like life or death.
It took her a few seconds to process that this scream was not a child's scream. This was something different.
She set her tea down and rose to her feet. Even her neighbor was now peering past his hedges.
Down the street five figures walked in the center of the road. Mary-anne grasped the support beam that held up the overhang for her deck. Ginger Grey was walking her dog. She walked towards the men, unaware of the screaming that had just cut off or perhaps unable to hear it because of the earbuds in her ears.
As she passed the five men she suddenly convulsed. She screamed and the sound made Mary-anne flinch in sympathy.
Ginger hit the sidewalk, blood spewed from her like water from a fountain. It was senseless. Completely and totally inexplicable.
Mary-anne knew without having to be told who these men were.
Angels.
She darted into her house, slamming the door behind her.
There was no time to waste.
-4-
"Dean?"
"No. Sam."
"Dean, we've got trouble. No. I've got trouble."
"Mary-anne?"
"Your angels just showed up. They've come looking for you kids. People are dropping dead."
"Oh shit," Sam looked at Dean, "the Seraphim are in Taber."
"Shit," Dean groaned.
"How do I stop these things?"
"They can't be stopped," Sam said grimly.
"People are dying."
"I'm sorry."
Mary-anne leaned against her back door. She closed her eyes and took a moment to just breathe. Breathe and think. "I can't stand by and watch this."
"If you try to stop them-"
"You survived meeting them."
Sam rubbed his fingers against his right temple, "I'm... not exactly all human, Mary-anne."
"Dean survived."
"Barely and..." Sam glanced at Dean, "he's not exactly average either."
"What's she doing?" Dean asked. He didn't know her well but she had helped them. He felt oddly responsible for her. Or perhaps appropriately responsible. Her life wouldn't be in danger if not for them.
"I'm not exactly average either," Mary-anne smirked, "giddy up boys. Wish me luck."
"Mary-anne. Mary-anne don't-!" But it was too late. She'd hung up.
Sam lowered the phone.
"She's going after them."
"Yeah."
"She's going to get herself killed!" Dean slammed on the brakes. They lurched forward from the force of the sudden stop.
"You know where the Eye is?" Cas asked from the back seat.
"What are you doing?" Sam asked.
"We're going back. We're not leaving her to die." The traffic was too thick to turn yet. Dean waited.
"Dean," Cas leaned forward. He pressed his hand against Dean's upper arm, "do you know where the Eye is?"
Dean glanced at him, irritation etched into every line of his face, "Yes."
"Find it."
"Cas..." Sam frowned.
"I'll help Mary-anne."
"No, Cas!"
"You two go on. I'll keep them distracted."
"No. We go together!"
"We can. We can go and we can leave Mary-anne Jenkins to die. If that's what you desire. Or, I can stand at her side and help her distract them. We are a days journey from the Eye. If you can find it, and call to me, I will come to you."
"Can you hold them off for that long?" Dean asked grimly.
"Yes. I can."
The silence was uncomfortable. Sam opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again but nothing came out. He didn't know what to say. They could find the Eye faster without those angels after them, and he didn't like the idea of leaving Mary-anne to die but he didn't like the idea of leaving Cas behind either. Was it really wise to split up?
It killed Dean. This wasn't how they did things. This wasn't how he did things. He couldn't see an alternative. "Stay alive," he said softly.
Cas nodded, "Call me the moment you have the Eye."
Just like that he was gone.
Dean gripped the steering wheel tight. He flipped the turn signal and pulled back out into traffic when it was safe to do so.
"We're really doing this?" Sam asked quietly.
"We've done it before," Dean said.
Not since the beginning. Not since the dark days. Sam sighed and glanced back. The road stretched out behind and before them.
Would Cas be okay?
-5-
Taber, Alberta
Mary-anne waited in the backyard. They searched the house. She could tell they were inside. She caught glimpses of them in the windows as they looked for the angel they knew had been there. She cocked the pistol and held it up. She was ready.
The back door opened, the tallest, largest, ugliest angel stepped onto her back porch.
She felt the burn, the pain. It started from her eyes and worked through her nervous system. Just looking at him hurt. A lot.
But by god she wasn't going to die without a fight.
Her finger squeezed the trigger. Two clear shots rang out. One ripped into his eye, she saw it. Saw the blood. Saw him flinch. And then the world started to fade.
A sharp hand on her arm. The pain disappeared. At her side stood the red head. The one the boys called Cas.
"Castiel," the brute of an angel growled, his eyes oozing blood.
"It's me you want, Kael, not these people."
"You are correct," Kael moved away from the door and the others came out. Four of them. Each in varying stages of decay. They looked like walking corpses, not angelic beings.
Mary-anne braced herself and raised her pistol once more.
"Here I am," Castiel shifted so he was standing in front of Mary-anne, she quickly lowered her weapon so it wasn't pointed at his back, "take me... if you can."
"Castiel," Kael stepped off the porch. Instinctively Mary-anne stepped back, "You must return. There is nothing for you here."
"Everything for me is here," Castiel responded, "I have played my part. I have done my time. I have made my choice."
"It's the wrong one."
"Then change my mind, if you can."
-6-
"Are we going to talk about it?"
"About what?"
"You're in love with Castiel."
"Are we really going to do this? We're going to sit here and talk about our feelings?"
"I think... it's worth talking about."
"You're in love with Katie."
"That's-"
"And you left her."
"I-"
"Because she's freaking the same as you!" Dean snapped.
For a few moments they were both silent. Both lost in their own personal regrets and unwilling to speak.
Sam broke the silence by saying, "You're right."
"What?"
"You're right. I shouldn't have left her. I was a coward. It was stupid. And when this is over, when the Seraphim are gone and the world is right, I'm going to find her and I'm going to apologize."
"You are?"
"Yeah, Dean. I am."
Another long stretch of quiet, "What are you going to do about Cas?"
"You heard him. Human love makes him sick," Dean said, "there isn't anything I can do."
"How long?"
"Probably from that first year. I don't know exactly when Sam, I just know how I feel."
"Maybe there's a way-"
"If there was a way he'd know. And if he was interested he'd propose it." Dean gripped the steering wheel tight, "I think it's pretty clear I'm not what he wants."
"I'm sor-"
"Don't say it."
There didn't seem to be anything left to say, so the Winchester brothers drove in silence.
-7-
The ground shook. Dirt flew in every direction. Some of it hit her in the face. Mary-anne ducked for cover behind the garbage bin. Her fingers shook as she pulled out her cellphone. It was crazy to be dialing in the middle of the most ridiculous battle she'd ever seen but she dialed. She held the phone to her ear and glanced around the bin in time to see Castiel send one of the angels flying into her neighbors house.
The angel impacted, tore through the siding and disappeared into the house. From the force of impact she suspected he would fly right through. If her neighbor was alive, and she wasn't convinced he was, he wasn't going to be too happy about the angel shaped hole through his home.
"Dean-no, Sam?"
"Mary-anne?"
"Your angel friend just arrived. What the hell is going on?"
"Is he okay?"
"He seems to be doing just fine. He's tossing them around like they're pesky bugs."
"He's going to hold them off. Can you get to safety?"
"I'm thinking this is probably the safest place for me."
"And where are you exactly?"
"Right beside the action."
"You might want to get to safer ground Mary-anne."
"Listen, Sasquatch, this thing.. this is freaking ridiculous. I am watching angels, in human vessels, tear each other apart and toss each other around like paper airplanes. No way I'm missing this. Where are you now?"
"Just passed a town called Wainwright."
"Keep going. You don't have far to go now. Ten hours, maybe eleven."
"Yeah, that's not far..."
"Listen!" Mary-anne snapped, "the Eye of Bethel is in the hands of a hunter."
"What?"
"Carson. His name is Carson. He lives just outside of Harmony. Last house on the right before the town."
"You knew this when you sent us off."
"I figured you had time to find out on your own but I see I was wrong in my assumption."
"No kidding."
"Just get that Eye! And get these freaking angels out of my town."
"We got it."
She flipped the phone shut. One of the angels, she couldn't see which, hit the ground. More dirt in her face and in her hair. She covered her head with a curse.
-8-
He was toying with them. He wasn't using his full strength. He wasn't even really trying. He was stalling. But stalling for what?
Kael stood back. He let the others fight. Castiel moved like nothing Kael had seen before. He had the strength of ten angels, or more.
Why was he stalling?
The woman. The huntress, cowered behind a wooden garbage bin. She looked out, watching the fight. Kael ignored her. She was of no importance and posed absolutely no threat to him or the others.
Why was Castiel stalling?
Why would an angel abandon the throne of god and travel to earth?
Why would an angel betray his brothers?
Why would an angel such as Castiel kill his brothers?
Oh.
Kael stepped back, his eyebrows rising.
Oh. Of course.
Why hadn't he realized it before?
He didn't alert the others. He made no attempt to warn them. It was best if they didn't know.
He left, disappearing in a flourish.
The Winchester's couldn't be far.
