Chapter 9- The End Is Nigh

Dean and Sam returned to the apartment with sacks of fast food. Kat was sitting on the edge of her bed petting the cat. She had reverted to her former form, Dean noticed. He looked around him and noticed two things. Castiel was gone and the table that had been piled high with research materials was empty except for Sam's laptop and the cartouche Kat had given him. Kat watched the men as they put the food on the counter. She looked much better. Dean looked closely at her. She didn't just look better, she looked completely healed. There were no marks on her, her skin was soft and smooth, her color was nearly glowing, her beryl-colored eyes were bright, and she showed no evidence of the fatigue she had just twenty minutes before. Even the burn scars on her wrists under the bracelets were gone. A small smile even played at the edges of her mouth.

"Huh," Dean said, "Well, you got Castiel to change his mind." He lifted a burger from one of the sacks even as he sucked through the straw from a cup. He went to sit down at the table. "And throw in an angelic do-over." He managed with a mouth full of food.

"Your friend was very generous." She nodded. She stood up, deposited the cat on the bed. The cat looked annoyed at being deprived of his warm lap but then set himself down to clean his paws and face. Kat walked over to the table and picked up the cartouche. She unclasped it and approached Dean. He looked up at her, leaning back away from her. Her smile broadened. She approached him again and showed him the amulet. Lacing it around his neck, she stepped back from the boys to the counter. Grabbing a cup of whatever soda it contained, she leaned against the Formica countertop.

"I once heard a story about a mama cat that found a litter of two tiny pups after their mother was hit by a car. She took the pups to her own litter of three kittens and suckled them, dogs and cats together, until they were strong enough to eat solid food." She took a drink from the straw and watched the brothers.

"That was random." Dean said with a shake of his head. "Is there a point?"

"Cats confer honor where they wish. You can't convince them to be your friend. They have to decide to adopt you. They can be nurturing, loving, protective… and very loyal. But, it's their choice." She looked at the sleeping feline on her bed. "Humans can put a collar on a cat and treat her as if she were baggage belonging to them." She shook her head slowly. "In truth, the cat puts a mark on the soul of her chosen family." She glanced sideways at Dean. She gestured to the bed where the cat was curling up in the spot of sunlight streaming through the window. "Karen is gone now, and only the cat remains…" she nodded sadly at the now sleeping feline.

"That was Karen?" Dean asked with eyes wide. Kat nodded.

Both brothers remained silent for a few moments.

Kat pushed off from the counter and went to the bed. She rummaged underneath for a moment and pulled out a navy surplus duffel bag. She began pulling weapons out and laying them on the floor. She then began pulling out mason jars filled with liquids and powders or herbs. "I have one last chance to take out the serpent." She said to them softly. "He was a powerful sorcerer in life. He is a powerful demon now. He can use magics that most demons can't."

"How are you going to take him out?" Dean asked, "The last time you two crazy kids tangled, he nearly killed you and he took out your priestess."

Kat stopped moving. She looked up at Sam and Dean. "There is no opportunity without a little risk, son!" She grinned. "I have a plan!"

It took two days until Kat had everything she needed to begin. Then, Sam and Dean were in the Impala heading north on the highway with Kat in the back seat. They had been driving all day and were approaching their destination. Occasionally Dean would look in the rearview to see Kat dozing her head leaning against the window. Once or twice he made eye contact with her as she studied him through the mirror, only to turn away when their eyes met. There was something he didn't quite trust about her. He didn't know why, but he felt like she had a secret and it concerned him. He hated that feeling…. Mostly, his distrust came from the fact that when he had had that feeling in the past, events turned bad for the Winchesters.

Dean was concerned about driving the Impala past the road closures and gates to keep people off the back roads. There was snow and ice covering patches of mud and paved roads into the back areas of forested terrain. He commented more than once that he refused to take his precious car into the unknown regions off the map because he didn't want it to be damaged. Kat encouraged him, telling him the protections were still in place on the car. He reluctantly continued up the slushy roads until he came to an abandoned cabin.

The three got out of the car and entered the dark, cold, dank cabin and lit a fire in the iron stove that remained intact. The roof was more or less whole, though there were water stains and leaking corners on the ceiling. No one spoke as they bustled about making the place habitable. Kat began piling debris from inside the cabin to just outside the door. She seemed much more introspective than she had in days. Dean thought it was as though she was still unconscious though her body moved around.

Kat began pulling herbs and various components from her bag and began assembling them, on the floor. She took out a stick of chalk and began drawing intricate patterns and hieroglyphs on the floor. She looked weary and drawn compared to how she appeared to Dean only that morning after she had spoken with Castiel. Dean caught her frozen in the middle of putting together the spell components looking off into the distance a few times as if she was listening.

"So, what exactly are we doing during this confrontation?" Dean finally asked.

She took a deep breath and looked up at him. "You two will be outside. When I compel him to come, I will give you the signal and you will light the cabin on fire. Then, you will drive that big black car back down the mountain and have a nice life." She rose from the kneeling position she was in and dusted off her knees.

"Wait. What?" Sam exclaimed. "What happens to you?"

She smiled at him a little sadly. "Hopefully, if all goes according to plan, I burn him up in a very hot fire." She walked to her bag and pulled out a sack. "I don't have access to the kind of power that would allow me to defeat him and survive. I can use it all up in a final strike." She walked to Dean and touched his shirt, under which she could feel the slender metal cartouche. "This will keep you safe from the fire," she explained, "But, Sam will need to stay a ways away from the cabin, maybe take the car a bit down the road."

She poured the dark powder from the sack along the perimeter of the small cabin. The glyph and circle was in the middle of the room with a bowl of components and the alter similar to the one Karen had in her home. The Winchesters watched as she made preparations to compel her ancient nemesis into the trap. Dean left the room to go outside. Sam called after him but remained with Kat as she made her preparations. When she turned toward him to pour the powder on the wall adjacent to him, he could see a tear fall down her face. He went to step toward her. The look she leveled at him told him she would accept no comfort from him.

Dean returned from outside and pulled a can of spray paint out of a satchel he brought with him. He looked around the room for a chair or table. Kat stopped what she was doing to look up at him. He stepped up onto the table and began painting on the ceiling. Sam saw what he was doing and rummaged in the satchel Dean had brought in. He found salt, jugs of water, and another can of paint. He pulled the can out and walked to the door to draw a similar design on the porch front outside the door. Kat watched the men as they continued to draw Devil's traps. They said nothing to each other or to her. She couldn't think of anything to say to them. She knew the actions of the two men spoke to her louder than words could have.

It was quickly approaching midnight. Kat began pacing the interior of the cold room. She knew what was coming. She knew she should say good-bye. She knew she should thank the men for their help in this endeavor. She knew she should send them away. She began muttering under her breath. She loved this world. She loved the humans she had befriended over the centuries. She loved the fun, the music, the flavors and scents that humans brought into being. She didn't want to go. She wanted to make it safe for them, though. She didn't want the serpent to taint the world the Creator had made for them. Hopefully, He would allow her to return home after her sacrifice.

Dean watched her from where he sat loading the shotgun and Sam was blessing flasks of water. When Kat finally stopped pacing she stood facing them. She looked so concerned and nervous. He interrupted the words he knew she would speak. "What exactly will the signal be?" he asked.

"Oh, you'll know it when it comes…" she laughed.

Dean considered her response for a moment. "How powerful is this fire protection thing?"

Kat considered for a moment. "You would have to walk into the sun to get burned." She replied. "You could probably handle an atom bomb. Of course, you might suffocate… but, you wouldn't feel the heat!" Her eyes narrowed. "What are you thinking, Dean Winchester?"

"I was thinking that this whole plan could go sideways. You want me to start the fire on your signal. Then, you want us to leg it the hell out of here. How do we know the fire will gank this demon?"

She laughed. "It may not 'gank' this demon…." She looked down at her feet. "It may just slow him down until he can figure a way outta hell again."

"Well," Dean said, "We have a nifty little knife that will send him express mail and you won't have to go nuclear. You get him in the trap, we gank him and we all go for pizza in Frisco by noon tomorrow."

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Dean" She said soberly. "Haremheuf is very powerful. It would take a deity to kill him. Even limited as I am, I may have just enough to send him back. Killing him may be a bit more than your weapon can do." She contemplated the idea tickling at the back of her brain a moment. " It couldn't hurt to add to his damage, though." She thought about it for a moment more. "If you give me the knife, I can use it and you can come back after the fireworks to get it back…" She eyed him speculatively as he shook his head.

Dean was about to respond with another question when they heard a rumble like the coming of an earthquake. "Shit!" Kat exclaimed. They all made for the middle of the room. Sam grabbed a hold of Dean's shoulder. Kat stood with arm reaching back behind her and body taut with tension. The walls and the roof began to rattle. "Shit, shit, shit!" Kat repeated. "You were saying about this thing going sideways, Dean? We gotta get you two outta here!" She screamed.

Dean held the shotgun ready and Sam held Ruby's knife. They were barely able to remain on their feet for the shaking and wind. Kat began muttering an incantation. The rumbling got louder. The shaking inside the cabin became more and more intense. Pieces of the rickety roof began caving in. Kat made a face. "You know, I am beginning to hate roofs."

A giant scrap of the ceiling peeled back. The part of the ceiling on which Dean had carefully constructed the Devil's trap ripped apart. The dark powder that Kat had laid around the cabin perimeter blew as dust in an oncoming storm. Yep. The plan had definitely gone sideways. Kat cursed to herself for being so stupid as to name the demon aloud. He had to have been alerted by her slip. She just had to keep the two men alive long enough to flee. She could still salvage this disaster if she could just manage to get them out.

Demons usually ghosted in or out of a place in a cloud of black smoke. Haremheuf glided in humanoid form with giant leathery bat wings. He looked for the entire world like a fantasy artist rendition of what humans imagined demons should look like. He used this ideal to harness the worst fear of the on-looker. Kat was not impressed. She knew it had to be now or never, but she could not and would not risk the lives of the two men she had put in danger by bringing them here.

"Ah…" said the demon in a tinny metallic voice. "Hello, little kitten. It has been quite a while since you and I have seen each other." He grinned a large, toothy smile. His sharp pointed teeth like a shark's and his dead, cold eyes stared down at her as he dropped down through the whole in the roof.

Kat hissed and waited. She dared not use or call forth any of the reserved power she had managed to store since the healing Castiel had bestowed upon her. She needed all that she had for the final strike on her nemesis. She had a metallic taste in the back of her mouth and her mind was racing. Her body shivered with anxiety and anticipation. She could feel the body heat of the two Winchesters behind her. She growled deep in her chest. Her eyes intently watched the demon land in front of her.

"I have to know, little kitten. How did you escape the urn into which I imprisoned you, hm? Humans no longer have the skill or the information to release you. I made sure of that long ago… I wonder where you have hidden it. I will find it, you know, and I will stuff you back inside. This time, I won't let a silly human hold it. I will carry you around with me. I will keep you like the household pet you are." He laughed loudly and with gusto. His gaze upon Kat turned speculative. His red eyes narrowed and his grin grew larger. "Then again… perhaps I will keep you in this form. Imagine the… fun… we could have, Goddess of Sensual Pleasure. Perhaps you could amuse me in this form. I can show you how those acts of pleasure can be terrifying. Oh, I can show you such things!" He took a step toward her.

Dean shot the approaching demon with the shotgun as Sam lunged at him with Ruby's blade. The golden light flashed under the demon's skin where Ruby's blade hit and the demon was pushed back a couple steps by the force of the rock salt fired at such close range. In Sam's other hand, he held a flask of holy water. He threw the contents onto the demon making his skin steam. But, it didn't sizzle as they expected it should. Sam and Dean both stood aghast at the lack of impact their weapons seemed to have on the creature.

Kat grasped both men by their wrists and pulled them out the door to the darkness outside the cabin. She ripped open the door to the Impala and shoved one of the brothers into the passenger seat. She pushed the other to indicate he should also get in the car. Her eyes were wide as saucers. She felt her heart thumping rapidly in her chest. Dean turned to face her. "GO!" she shouted in an anguished voice. "You have to GO!"

Dean stood in indecision for a moment, but turned toward the sound of crashing and splintering wood. He pointed the gun at the creature emerging from the destruction. "Light it!" he shouted at her.

She turned to see Sam sitting now in the driver's seat. He had turned the ignition. "Sam has to go." She said, "He needs to get farther away or he…" She gulped hard and unshed tears stood in her eyes. The Impala began to back up, but the wheels began to spin.

"You weren't leaving so soon?" The demon purred.

Kat attempted to overbear the demon by the simple expedient of rushing him. She bowled him over and the two flailed together in fists, claws and biting teeth. Dean could see blood spurting from the caramel skin of the cat-goddess and black ichor oozing from the demon. He heard the shrill scream from the woman and she was thrown far from the demon. He turned to face the flying form of Bast as she landed in the side of a tree trunk and crumpled to the ground. Her eyes looked dazed and glassy, and Dean caught the smell of ozone; he saw the golden flames leap from Bast's wrists. Dean watched her rise to a kneeling position. He began to leg it toward the now retreating Impala. He waved his brother to go faster.

Bast pulled in the life energy from all around her. She pulled everything she could from herself. She tried to harness the rapidly cooling heat the trees had absorbed from the long sunny day. As she pulled in the power all around her, she began to rise. She felt pain like she had never known. She needed to destroy the evil creature in front of her. She knew Dean had some protection against the power she planned to unleash, but she regretted she may end up destroying Sam Winchester in the process. Perhaps the Impala would afford Sam enough protection. She didn't know. She couldn't think about that now. She had to focus entirely on the power she would direct toward her foe.

A shotgun blast echoed in the forest and rock salt flew at the demon. Another blast followed that one. She spared a moment of attention to find Dean so close. He stayed behind a large fallen tree as he reloaded his weapon. She could hear the click of shells falling to the pine needle strewn floor. She could smell the gunpowder, pine resin and crushed needles. She heard the rapid beat of Dean's heart and his labored breath. She felt the tempo of forest life all around her as the power of the goddess filled her. Not enough, she mused silently. It's not enough. She couldn't despair. She had to finish this.

She ground her teeth. She clenched her jaw. She could no longer contain all she was pulling into her. She released the stored and focused power in a wave of golden fire at her enemy. She emptied herself as Dean was now emptying his weapon at the demon. She could feel every bit of herself leaving in the painfully burning inferno. Trees near her began to sizzle and steam. The needles at her feet curled into ash. The ground at her feet became obsidian glass as the heat liquefied and cooled the gravel and sand under her. She had difficulty continuing to breathe. Silver flashes appeared in her vision and she was weakened. She slid down to the forest floor. She had given all she had. She lifted her eyes to see what devastation she had wrought. She blinked.

From the smoke and flying ash, a shadow loomed. The shadow of a creature unfurled bat-like wings. One beat of those wings swirled the acrid smoke in eddies and Bast did despair. She sobbed and gasped. She found her arm being pulled toward the warm and musky form of Dean Winchester. A green nimbus enveloped him. She let loose the tears she knew fell uselessly. It was all for nothing. She made a deal with angels, she gave up immortality, she spent all that she was and would ever be and it was all for nothing.

She leaned into Dean's warm chest. He pulled her behind the fallen tree. He leveled the shotgun at the demon and Bast could hear the evil chortle as the rock salt hit the demon harmlessly. We're dead, she thought. I killed us all. She looked up through bleary eyes at the hunter. She wouldn't be able to save him now. All she ever wanted was a family, and she had hoped he would accept her as a member of his. A cat confers honor where it will, she thought. He doesn't even know; he will never know. She dropped her head and sobbed weakly.

"Come on," Dean demanded. His voice, probably subconsciously, taking on the timbre and tone of a drill sergeant. "Get up!" He commanded.

She struggled. The tone was enough. She had to think. She had to risk it all. She tried to rise to one knee and begin focusing the power she could sense at the edges of her consciousness. Sparks flew from the bracelets on her wrists and she cried out. Dean saw her effort. He knelt beside her and cast occasional glances at the approaching form of the demon. The demon continued to cackle wildly as it approached slowly, menacingly. Dean's mouth moved silently as he tried to formulate a plan. He tried to convince Kat with his eyes that she couldn't give up. Kat breathed hoarsely, but looked at Dean with regret. "You have to leave," she whispered.

"Yeah, not gonna happen." He said through clenched teeth. He shot the demon again.

Kat looked around her. He was running out of shotgun shells and she knew the demon would tear him apart. "You have to leave" she repeated. He voice was small and ended in a coughing fit. She closed her eyes and leaned heavily against the tree trunk. "Leave." She repeated.

He looked at her, weighing his options. She opened her eyes to watch the waves of indecision war in him. She saw it in his eyes when he decided he should go. He was reluctant, but she was glad he made the decision. She smiled at him and closed her eyes. His hand lighted on her arm briefly.

"There's a mark … a… line. It binds…" she whispered and she pointed softly to his heart. His face went white and he felt a sinking cold feeling. He narrowed his eyes and looked ready to explode at her. "You put graffiti on my soul? What is it with you supernatural S.O.B.'s? You see a soul and can't help yourself. I should just…"

"No…" she coughed. "The line doesn't… it doesn't bind you to me…" She looked up into his angry green eyes. "It binds me to you."

Dean blanked. What was she telling him? There was no time for this…

"We can talk about this later." He said and began to lift her. She struggled enough that he had to put her down. He could hear the heavy footsteps of the demon approaching closer now. He called out to them, taunting them as he approached. "Go!" she told him yet again. He rose to a crouch and looked over the tree. The demon was within striking distance. Dean could see all the details of his face. He could see the cruel curve of his mouth filled with saber-like teeth and the red glow of his demon eyes. Dean took a deep breath and began to turn around. He nearly ran right into Castiel.

Cas was looking up at the demon with a look that could be interpreted as hate. He glanced down at the spent form of Bast in her human form. Cas raised his hand, splayed fingers and a soft pale glow came from him. The bracelets fell from Bast's wrists. Dean looked down at Bast. Instead of pupils, her eyes now burst into a green flame. "Dean, you should… run." Dean needn't be told twice. When he looked back, he saw a silhouette of red and golden flame where the goddess of pleasure had once been. She grew brighter and brighter. Dean turned his gaze away from her. He ran harder down the mountainous terrain. He kept running even when he heard an inhuman scream reverberate across the mountainside that seemed to explode. He kept running even when a pillar of golden fire lit the midnight sky and the popping and exploding of pine tree shook the ground.