Castiel drew a sharp breath. White light? No, it was totally dark. His arms were hurting. Why were they hurting? Feeling returned to every inch of his body and he realized what had happened. He was tied up by his wrists to the ceiling in a dark cell with white tiles stained with various blood splatter. Back in his clothes. No armor…His clothes felt wet like he had been drenched in water. Dry in certain places to where it scratched. Blood.
But that didn't disturb him. His central focus was on Dean right below him. Though he was tied a foot off the ground, they were level. The demon was closer than he was before, and his face was just inches away, his hands on Casitel's cheeks.
"What…What happened? Where am I? Where is this?" Castiel breathed, struggling to move, but the shackles were too tight. Iron and cold cutting into his skin.
"This is the Temple of Light," said Dean. "Calm down or you'll overstrain yourself. You've lost quite a lot of energy."
"No…No…You killed Uriel. We left the Temple of Light. We were in a cave…You…You were there, you killed Uriel," Castiel struggled further and faintly kept repeating the same thing.
"Is that what you saw me do?" Dean's voice was low and quiet.
"What do you mean 'Is that what I saw you do?' You were there. You did it."
"You were captured, Castiel. The Anema have been holding you in this room for a few hours. I've been looking for you for ages," said Dean. His voice was so calming, it was strange….
"No…No I spoke to the Anema,"
"Yes and I heard that. As soon as I did, I doubled back for you. And I've found you here. We're in an underground cellar in the Temple of Light. Take a look around you."
But he didn't want to. How many people had died in here?
"This is a trick isn't it?" Castiel asked, not convinced. "Let me down. Let me down right now, Demon, so I can deliver your just reward for killing my comrade."
"I didn't kill your damned comrade. Uriel, was it? With a name like that, I should have. But I didn't, all right? They put you down here to drain your Will power to fuel the barrier."
"What…Why?"
"Because Anema are disgusting demons. And if a demon says that about another demon, you know he's telling you the truth," Dean grimaced. "Now I'm going to try to get you down. Try not to make any sudden movements and do not attack me. I've been feeling ill since I got in this room and the smell isn't exactly appetizing."
Castiel stayed still. As best as he could. But it hurt as Dean drew close and with a quick wrench, broke his chains. The cuffs were still wrapped around his wrists but he was free. He felt his legs give way and he fell into the demon. Just like in the dream…Just like when he was killed.
"Where are Merrick and Sam?" Castiel murmured into his shoulder.
"I don't know," said Dean. "I honestly don't know."
"You don't know…," said Castiel. It hurt to chuckle, but he made an attempt anyway, even though his throat felt like it had been plied open. "You swore a life debt to him and you lose him within a few days? How interesting your methods are, demon."
"And you are just nothing without your charm, aren't you, angel?" Dean replied, hoisting Castiel away from the wall and pulling him closer so that he was holding him in a hard embrace. There was a moment where the two of them just stared at eachother.
Castiel's hands rested on Dean's shoulders. Dean's face began to swim in and out of focus.
"Are you okay to walk or do I need to come back for you?" Dean asked, rubbing his back in a comforting way.
"No…Why would you leave me behind? Isn't that what started this whole thing?"
"Then you want to come with me?"
"Are you finding the way out?" So sleepy. He could feel the thrum of Dean's heart when he answered even though his hands weren't close to his chest, he could feel the vibration from it. His heart must have been beating ten times as fast as a human's. If he was human, Castiel might have been concerned for his health.
"I'm finding my henchman and my boy, that's what I'm doing. I can come back for you after I've killed Anema,"
The way he said Anema didn't sound like he was talking about a race of demons. It sounded like he was talking about one single person.
"You're not leaving me behind," and with vehemence, Castiel squeezed Dean's shoulders in response. "I don't care….I….I don't care how weak I feel right now. You're not leaving me-"
"Okay, angel. Take it easy," said Dean, starting to lower him but again Castiel squeezed his shoulders as hard as he could. "And now you're about to break my bones with that grip."
"I'm sorry," Castiel relinquished his hold just a bit. He didn't really care how irrational he was being, how "clingy". He had to hold onto him because touching him, feeling his heat through layers of clothing was all that he could hold on to when his eyes were betraying him. It was the only proof that he was real.
"We'll take you along, okay? We're going to kill an Anema," He pulled Castiel with him so that the angel was hanging awkwardly off Dean's front, one arm wrapped around his neck in a tight grip and his other hand loose while Dean gripped around his waist and hoisted him a little off the ground so he didn't have to walk.
Castiel couldn't even find the energy to draw out his sword. If he wanted to protest, the will to do it didn't even come. His eyes kept drooping, but despite all that, he fought for consciousness. He was not about to fall asleep. Who's to say he wouldn't succumb to another fake vision the Anema put on him? He couldn't hear the wisps, but that didn't mean anything.
From what he can see, Dean was leading him to the door. But not before Castiel got a better look at the bloodied corpses. Rotting flesh with skeleton showing...but behind them...Wings.
He wasn't the first angel trapped in this room. Chains similar to the ones binding him to the ceiling were hanging everywhere.
Castiel could have vomited. But he found he didn't have the energy for even that.
"He drained me dry…," Castiel muttered to himself.
"Almost," corrected Dean. "Any more and you would have been dead and we would have had to resort to emergency protocols."
"Emergency protocols," Perhaps Castiel intended for it to sound like a question but it sounded more like a statement.
"Grace infusion*," said Dean simply.
There was a pause. "You're not serious?"
"Grace infusion, angel. You have a better alternative? We can do it right now. I have much more power than you right now," said Dean, coming to a stop to lean Castiel against the doorway so that they were facing eachother without Dean supporting him. "Or do you just not like the idea at all?"
"You want us to fuse our power together? I refuse. I refuse to taint my power with an infusion through you."
"Please say it more adamantly. I'm not catching your intended emphasis," said Dean sardonically. "Fine."
He almost seemed hurt by the notion, in the way he grabbed Castiel much more aggressively then before to manhandle him back to be on Dean's support. Castiel tried to focus instead on other things through the weakness. The hallway itself. Was this real? Was this another dream? What if he was still in that room?
"How do I know this isn't another dream?" Castiel sighed.
In reply, Dean reached around with a free hand to pinch the skin of Castiel's arm. The angel winced in response.
"What did you do that for?"
"It's a human trick. A good way of knowing whether you're still dreaming or not, you know what I mean?"
"It's foolish," Castiel murmured, starting to rest his cheek against Dean's shoulder. It was mostly Dean's support that helped him maneuver. His feet could have been dragging for all the good they were doing. But the demon didn't seem to have any qualms about carrying him. Dean felt so warm and nice here.
"Am I slowing you…down…?" Castiel asked into Dean's jacket.
"Please," was all Dean said.
It was a long walk. And for most of it, was going down. He wondered where the Anema had initially placed him. If it was downstairs or underground. If it was basement level. How many levels was this castle exactly? Who knew? Or who cared? Dean was going down…He walked slower.
Despite wanting nothing more than to sleep, Castiel raised his head with some effort.
"Do you think we'll find them…Sam and Merrick, I mean?"
"I don't know," said Dean.
"Do you think they were killed?" As if that question wasn't already on their minds. At this range, he could read every emotion that passed Dean's face.
"I would feel if either of them were killed," Dean replied, adjusting Castiel with a grunt so that he was a bit elevated.
"You would feel it," Castiel repeated.
"I'm bound to Sam through the Life Debt. And Merrick is bound to me through the oath of fealty he swore when I took the throne. He must obey my command at every given moment. But in the event that I am not there, he's able to reserve judgment for whatever situation suits it."
"You think he would leave us behind, then?" Funny how Castiel had thought Dean doing the same thing earlier in the dream. But he hadn't…He had come back for him.
"I think he would make the best call in a situation where we're separated," Dean started going down some steps. He could tell by being lowered with each step, but his eyes were still focused on Dean's face.
"If he's bound to you by an oath of loyalty, it seems fragile at best if he's without you, he can make up his own mind,"
Dean stopped midstep. "He's not bound against his will, angel. He willingly made his oath to me. His oath was to stay by my side at the cost of his own life. He chose this path and I commend him for it. If he made the decision to abandon me while I was not there to save Sam, then I'm all for it."
"But you have a life debt to Sam. You're obligated to stay with him forever."
"Yes. But if Sam dies…Well, that's complicated," said Dean, beginning to walk down the steps again. Before he could say anymore, Dean silenced him with a look. "No more questions. Do you want to sleep, angel? You're tired. You're weak. And in no shape to fight."
"I can fight. I can…help you. I'm not helpless," Castiel insisted feebly.
"No one said you were, but I don't know what's at the end of these stairs. I don't know what to expect…and I don't know if the other two are even there."
"Dean, please," Castiel pleaded. "I just want to get out of here, same as you. I'm tired of this place."
"I think you're tired in general, angel," Dean answered. "But if you insist on fighting, then I'm not going to stop you. I believe in you making your own decisions. You have a mission. I know. You have to see it through."
"Try to understand," said Castiel. "If it were up to me, I'd return to heaven and leave you to it. But I must stay with you until we can figure everything out."
Dean stopped again. "Then you understand that I'll do everything in my power to keep Sam safe. And I will never let myself believe that Heaven wants what's best for him. I know what they'll do to him."
"Why do have such a jaded opinion of Heaven?" And Dean deadlocked him with a look that said 'Really?' Castiel shook his head. "No, I'm serious. I understand we've been at war with your…Father for centuries before he gave the throne to you. But since you took it, we haven't been at war."
"I killed a third of your legion. If you were still at war with me, we wouldn't be having this conversation," Dean stated matter-of-factly.
"Valid point. I only saw a glimpse of that memory to understand," Castiel conceded.
"I have a jaded view of angels because they tried to kill me. It's as simple as that, angel. They tried to kill me so I try to kill them on principle,"
"You didn't kill me…You…," Castiel struggled for words as he began to grasp what he was saying. "You have had so many opportunities but you never did."
"I like you, angel. You should know that by now. And maybe, just maybe, I'm growing on you too. You had plenty of opportunity to attempt to kill me too. You didn't take the chance. My bed is always unguarded when I sleep,"
"It would always be an attempt, hmm?" Castiel mirrored his tone.
"An attempt because you wouldn't succeed. And I don't relish the prospect of killing you, Castiel. You're different from your brethren. You try to take an understanding of the situation. You have more personality than the entire celestial legion combined. You just don't know it yet."
"And you concluded all this from seeing me the first time?" asked Castiel skeptically.
"I did. I have a great intuition," The staircase had spiraled and Dean had finally come to the bottom. To a set of double wooden doors issuing out that acrid smoke.
Castiel heard a wisp of air and squeezed a handful of Dean's jacket. "They're here. They know we're here."
"Let's not keep them waiting," Dean grinned. "Can you stand by yourself?"
"I can try," Castiel muttered as Dean began to release his hold and Castiel put all the weight in his body on his feet again. It hurt like hell. Everything was aching and throbbing and the notion of ever using Will again seemed ludicrous. But he stood strong, slowly releasing Dean around the neck to let loose.
"You all right?" Dean asked, slowly leaning back so he could take a minute to observe.
"I'm fine," said Castiel.
" Okay then. You said it," Dean reached behind him underneath the collar and drew out a black-jeweled sword. It was the first time Castiel had seen it so close since he had the tip pressed to his neck. Now he was helping this demon that had his life in his hands in a similar situation.
"Ready for this?"
"I'm ready,"
Dean used his free hand to push open the doors. Immediately swarms of wisps began to overcrowd them, blocking their view of the room. They issued out even as though they had been trapped inside for an eternity. Castiel almost bumped into Dean on accident because of how little he could see.
It seemed to be the welcoming committee. They left moments later to envelope inside the room where they crowded around a single entity shrouded in darkness. The room itself wasn't grand or spacious. It was certainly a master bedroom or what looked like what might have been the Temple Acolyte's master room. No bed. Just gray walls with paint fading off the walls.
A single lamp remained by the door. Their only source of light, and in the center, there was no source of illumination, just a desk with a figure sitting at the front. From his shadowy silhouette, Castiel could tell this was no man. No angel. Horns protruded from the end of his head. And though he was sitting, he was enormous. His shadow seemed to emit steady black fumes. The wisps seemed to calm around their master. Not quite ready to attack yet.
Two glowing red eyes blinked through the darkness, narrowed right upon them.
"Bold, your majesty, even for you." It was that same voice that spoke to Castiel before. Everywhere all at once. Deep and foreboding.
"Let's make this quick, Anema. I have no time for this," said Dean. Funny coming from him of all people. "Where is my Guardian? Where is the boy? Are they still within these walls? And spare me the cryptic statements."
"It's pointless to challenge me, boy. I know your every secret while you shoot blindly in darkness that you cannot know nor comprehend,"
"Your blood will be all over my hands when I'm finished with you. I've eradicated your kind from my realm before. Don't think it's a big step for me to purge you off this plane of existence as well," said Dean, raising his sword to point at the demon's face through the dark.
"A foolish game to play, as you well know, your Majesty. If you had played your game fairly, you may not be in this situation. You may not be in any situation where you require another alive. But now you stumble blindly, searching for something you will never attain again."
"You have one more chance to tell me where they are or I'll blow this entire place to hell,"
The Anema ignored him, came forward so that his hands were interlocked. The red eyes locked onto Castiel. "You travel with a fascinating companion. He quickly fell into my embrace. Quick to distrust you and turn on you. An angel traveling with our King. What an interesting turn of events. The Overlords are running rampant searching for their king, and here he is. Tell me, your Majesty. What do you expect when you return to the underrealm? A welcoming committee greater than this? Embrace death and die here rather than die a traitor to your own people."
"Enough!" It wasn't the first time Castiel witnessed the demon lose his temper, but the fury blazed on his face like wildfire just like before. "I will not be spoken to like that! I am your King. Whether you choose to accept this or not. As your King, I command you to tell me where Sam and Merrick are."
"Interesting notion about commands," said the Anema slowly. "You have to be loyal in order for a command given by the King to take it's desired effect. And you have foregone any loyalty given by me, your majesty. I recognize your title. And I recognize your place in our kingdom. But I will never bow to the freak Lucifer decided to crown as his prince."
Dean erupted in a storm of fury, leaning forward, the demon looked as menacing as ever with words dripping venom. "You violated the treaty when you brought your people to Earth. Killing. Infesting places such as these with your presence. We tempt. We lure. We do not kill directly. We punish those who must be punished. We punish them for all eternity. We bend them. We yield them to our ways until they are broken because that is their reward for destroying the gift that Heaven bestows upon them through life. And you would have destroyed all of that had you continued to run rampant as my Father allowed. He may not have cared if Hell went onto a full war with Heaven and Earth. But I do. I still do."
"Your presence is what creates wars, my liege," The Anema stood up and Castiel was astounded by the full girth and stance of the demon. Towering seven feet, he had to crane his head to take him in fully. Horns that seemed smaller while he was sitting curved on his head until the tips touched his temples, like the modern depictions of the devil himself. A beast. And yet still he couldn't see all of him in the darkness, only the red of his eyes.
"There is no King in my country. There are no guardians, no knights. Even the army isn't in the Hell realm. You worry for wars that I could have started when you start one just by being here. Once this one...," He nodded off to Castiel. "informs his generals of your presence. You will be killed. But before I kill you, your majesty…and take that crown you so lovingly shelter, I must ask: What is this boy to you that you risk your life in my territory to claim him?"
Dean stepped forward, closer. He held his weapon firm with both hands in clear threat. "He is mine."
Well, you couldn't get more direct than that, thought Castiel.
Struck by a sudden impulse, Castiel closed the distance between Dean and himself. "Perhaps it's better for the moment if we do not goad him into action and go about this more tactically."
"Screw tactics," Dean hissed in response, inclining his head just slightly in Castiel's direction without looking at him.
Without warning, Dean's second of distraction was his bane. Hands much too large to exist on this plane struck out through the veil of darkness and Castiel could see with his own eyes the discoloring of flesh into an ugly purple-gray, the veins that ran rampant across his arms. He must have looked something out of a painting. A modern day depiction of a beast. But Castiel could only wonder what could make a man succumb to this form.
They curled around the openings of Dean's jacket and pulled him forward until he was hovering off the ground, suspended by the giant's hold. Dean's arms felt limp by his sides.
"Dean!" Castiel called, urging himself forward. It took a second to realize he wasn't moving. Not at all. His feet were trying to move, muscles straining from the effort. But he couldn't. One glance down told him why. Wisps were circling around his kneecaps, burning through flesh. They had nearly drained him of Will and now they were targeting his physical form.
"Down, angel….Yes…shall I put you to sleep? Would that be less painful? I can fill your dreams with these flesh eating wisps. I can fill your soul with the taint of darkness that you've yearned to taste since you first met this demon."
"Damn you," Castiel snarled through his teeth.
Smiling beatifically at Castiel, the demon turned his attention back to Dean.
"Interesting...Yes...I see your mind now...," Those red eyes blinked and they were left looking at an ominous silhouette by dim lighting that could have passed as a statue. "...Yes..A life debt...Interesting and tragic...He will die and you will follow through this bond you have created...Beautiful, if I do not kill you first...Hmm...And this angel...Hahahaha...Very good, Dean. It is no wonder my wisps were unable to affect you. Only a human mind could succumb to something as insipid as love."
Dean looked over his shoulder in Castiel's direction, but said nothing.
'Embrace eternal death, my liege," The demon's eyes were inches away from Dean's, absorbing him, draining his Will much more directly than he had done Castiel. Even though Castiel was all but immobile, he could still see. And he watched in near horror as the demon was being slowly killed. It was an unfitting end to something so great.
Dean, for his part, stood still, allowed the great demon to drain him. Perhaps he was in a trance. Perhaps he simply did not care any longer.
"Find the Will," said Castiel slowly. Above the sound of Will being infused into the Anema, Castiel spoke louder. "Dean. You can do this."
It must have done something because suddenly the Anema went into shock, shaking Dean as though he was a ragdoll. Swift as a striking snake, Dean raised his sword underneath the Anema's grip on him and slashed upward. The demon's arms were cut from the elbow down. With an ear-piercing scream, he released Dean and let him fall.
Dean landed neatly on his feet, sword still held in an attack stance, horizontal so it covered his mouth from the Anema's view. And all he could see was the whites of his eyes.
The Anema stuttered, cursed something out in a language Castiel could not hope to comprehend. But whatever he said made Dean smile.
"One more time. Where's Merrick and Sam?" Dean's voice was laced with a deadly calm.
The Anema groaned as he lay on his knees. It was truly a pathetic sight. Castiel remained immobile. He would have said something but Dean seemed to preoccupied with holding the Anema at his mercy.
Despite all his pain, the Anema managed a low chuckle. " You'll never….You will never find them. They're not here…demon. Your friends have much greater value than yourself…Than your angel…You are nothing."
Dean remained unfazed. "Then you have ceased to be useful to me."
He prepared for the killing stroke, but not before Castiel shouted out. "No, wait! Dean! Stop! He may be lying. He's lying to you. If anything, you can leave him alive and pry it out of him if you must."
"No one lies without arms," Dean pointed out. He raised his sword again and struck, plunging the blade deep into the Anema's chest cavity.
It was a poor sight. Blood began to gush out of him. But in addition to that, glowing, multicolored orbs began to emit from his body. Will Energy returning to its sources. Castiel slowly regained the ability to move again. He felt his fatigue begin to ebb away as Will began to return him.
Dean, who had not lost nearly as much as him merely held up his hand flat to Anema's face and collected the excess Will power that the demon had been collecting for years.
"What are you doing?" Castiel found he could walk again and approached Dean's side. "The Will is not yours. Wait for yours to return as mine did. This is what he collected from every traveler since you exiled him."
"That makes it mine," said Dean as though stating the obvious.
"No," Castiel grabbed his wrist. "It doesn't."
Dean smiled. "Okay."
That sounded too easy. "Okay?"
"You're going to be my traveling companion until we find my Sam and Merrick. I may as well appease," said Dean.
"I…," He wanted to talk about what the Anema said. The last thing he mentioned while reading Dean's mind. It was at the tip of his tongue but different words decided to tumble out before he could stop them. "I wonder if Sam and Merrick are far. Do you think they went off by themselves?" He finished in one quick breath, ashamed of not being able to ask what he truly meant.
"If there's one thing you can be sure of….Anema generally do not lie.," said Dean, facing away. And it was almost like he was thinking the same thing. What the Anema said about…
"Let's go," Dean interrupted his thought process, turning away to place his sword back into its sheath. "If they went up ahead, we can still catch up them to. Especially with everything back in order."
Castiel sheathed his sword as well, following as Dean began to exit through the double doors. The Anema wisps were gone now. And now that the magic barrier seemed to have been dispersed, it was hard to believe they bested him earlier. He could feel his full power returning, his injuries beginning to heal themselves, cuts beginning to reknit where shackles had once held him.
"How do you know they went where you intended. To Rose Manor, was it?" Castiel asked as they hit the spiraling staircase.
"I told you I would feel if something happened. Even pain. They're not in pain. My guess is they're putting as much distance between them and this place as possible. Honestly, though? Who can blame them?"
It just seemed so unlikely that Merrick would leave Dean. It seemed unlikely that Sam would be okay with that. The boy had an obvious attachment to the King. Neither of them liked Castiel nearly as much. Merrick, not at all. He felt a pang of guilt for nearly knocking him out earlier.
"I just feel like they wouldn't leave you," Castiel voiced out loud.
"You'd be surprised, angel," said Dean. And he stopped dead, hands on his hips, taking a deep breath. " I forgot the way we came in…"
Castiel stopped on a stair step. "You're joking."
"I'm not,"
"Great," said Castiel. "Wonderful. Now we're stuck in the dark."
"Just as the Anema warned," said Dean. "Have faith in me, angel. I'll find us a way out." Just as Dean took another step, the floor seemed to quake.
"What was that?"
"Maybe I put on weight during that whole ordeal," Dean suggested.
"That is the worst explanation for a quake in the ground that I have ever heard," said Castiel with a disapproving look at Dean. "No, I felt the ground shake just now."
"So did I. Ignore it. This place was just recently infested by Anema,"
"Dean, I-" But whatever Castiel was about to say was cut off by another quake, this time no one had taken a step.
"Oh, maybe it's haunted!" said Dean excitedly.
"No, it-" Again, another quake.
They were both nearly shook off the stairs when the doors behind him where a dying Anema once laid, opened. There towered the Anema, looking as gruesome as ever, this time with profuse amounts of black blood gushing from his chest.
His arms had grown back, though not normally. He had drawn a Will element that must have been through nature itself. From the elbow down, there seemed to be two long tree branches with twigs where veins once ran rampant.
"Anema," said Dean as though he was greeting an old friend he invited over tea. "What a practically unpleasant surprise. I must say. This isn't good timing."
"You think…," He could barely speak. The power he used to reinstate his arms was nearly all that was left of him. "You think…you can leave this place? You think you can simply walk away from this castle unscathed, O King of Kings?"
"Not really. I can't even find the exit. Shows how much of a King I am, right?"
"Not a good time to play jokes, Dean," said Castiel, edging up one step so he was closer to the demon and they were only a step apart.
"It's always a good time to-"
The Anema opened wide and let out a bellow. The windows. He wasn't even aware there were windows, shattered upon impact from the sound. Light filtered in in the form of a morning sun. The scream did more than that. Castiel watched as the Anema wisps took off from the castle like flies drawn to light. The walls began to shake as though an earthquake hit, as though the fault line seemed to collapse beneath them.
The Anema drew out two enormous swords the size of his own arms, gave another groundbreaking scream and began to charge towards them.
"RUN!" Dean shouted.
That one word put Castiel into action. He turned and began to run, Dean hot in front of him. The stairs seemed to crumble with every step he took, with every piece of flooring that he was off fell underneath him. Behind him, the entire castle shook with the coming of the Anema. Curling his fist, Castiel drew all the power inside him to form a ball of blue lightning that he threw blindly over his shoulder.
He didn't have to look behind him to know it was parried away as though it was a softball. He could hear it in the Anema's laughter as he drew closer, faster than a beast should have been, more frightening then what a low class demon should have been.
And without warning, flaming hot fingers closed around Castiel's ankle, sharp from the branch like texture. Castiel prepared to fall, Dean's name on his lips as he cried out in the only way he knew how for help.
But he never hit the next step. Dean caught his elbow with surprising grace, he had turned for him again instead of continuing on.
"Dean!" Castiel yelled as the Anema's grip tightened and he felt piercing pokes in his skin and blood being drawn. The grip was so tight…His Will…for the third time today. "Just g-"
"Like Hell," Dean interrupted with a great wrench, the Anema released Castiel and Dean pulled him up the first floor.
As soon as Castiel was free, Dean shoved the angel behind him. He cast a fire spell through his fingertips and the Anema's face was suddenly ablaze. The Anema grabbed a hold of Dean's waist with both hands, force that looked like it was shattering bones and stabbed one of the swords deep into Dean's stomach.
"DEAN!" Castiel shouted, too late. But the demon cried out in anguish. His pain went through Castiel like it was his own.
Dean recovered just enough to punch the Anema in the face, watch his face snap to one side. He could hear the break in Dean's knuckle bones. Not delaying a moment, Dean's fingertips alight with a raw show of fire element; he blasted the Anema right off his feet, sent him flying to the bottom of the crumbling stair steps.
Castiel went into action, beginning to drag Dean towards him. "Dean. Listen, it's going to be fine…"
All the while the castle continued to crumble all around them. Castiel's eyes drifted to the Anema at the bottom of the steps. Not dead. Surely, not dead. Just his luck. He'd be getting up for more. Whatever Will he had drained was just enough to keep him going. He had been wrong in assuming that it was only enough to regrow those grotesque shapes he called arms.
He could already see him stirring…
"Dean…," The tremor in his voice was nearly palpable.
But Dean was starting to change. His complexion seemed to pale. His eyes were open but unfocused, slowly swiveling to focus on Castiel.
"Come on, we have to go. NOW!" The last word was loud enough, he slung Dean's arm around his shoulder and supported his weight. Just the pass of their chests was enough for Castiel's entire suit to become wet with blood.
Dean was hardly lightweight. And he could barely support himself. But Castiel turned tail and began to run, following the same path that Dean took when he led them down here. Blood dripped, leaving a trail for the Anema to follow. He felt feeble resistance in Dean's hold on him as the demon squeezed his neck once and let go.
"Leave me here…," Dean whispered, beginning to pull away, pulling them both so that they hit the hallway wall and Dean released Castiel to slump against it with Castiel awkwardly holding onto Dean's elbow.
"Come on, Dean," Castiel insisted, gripping him tight.
"Go…More are coming. Tell them…," Dean pleaded. He sliced his eyes into Castiel's, speaking with earnest. "Angel... Save them. Get him somewhere…safe…For me…Please."
And as Castiel looked into his eyes, blood began to form in Dean's eyes rather than tears. The blood spilled over and rolled down his cheeks. Whatever the blade was made out of was something special. Castiel wondered vaguely if the blade was laced with poison or if it caused another drainage of Will Power. Truly, this place taught one to guard their own power in whatever way possible.
"I'm not leaving without you," said Castiel firmly. "Do you understand me? I'm not leaving without you, Dean."
"You have to," Just as Dean said it, the hall behind him exploded in a shower of debris. The Anema snarled once and began to charge.
"You owe me," said Castiel, thinking fast, wrenching Dean close to him in a tight embrace. He closed his eyes and focused all the Will he had. While he did, his injury in his ankle began to heal, slowly knitting skin back and overlapping damaged nerves. Castiel's wings broke from his back and curled around them.
With one look back at the Anema, Castiel threw a lightning spell at a damaged light above the Anema's hand, timing it carefully so the spilled glass hit the Anema atop his head. Castiel's eyes alit with a blue glow as he faced Dean. To him, it was just the two of them. Not some rampaging demon chasing them.
And Gravity didn't exist in that moment.
Castiel spun them around, taking flight and pulling Dean along with him. The hallway was his path, his flightpath. He jumped with the speed of light and pulled Dean along with him, looking at nothing but the path straight ahead. The exit. The way out. The only way they were ever going to get out of here.
Behind him, the demon roared with such ferocity, but Castiel ignored all of it. He wrapped his wings around Dean, preventing any hindrance in case he was going too fast and nature itself wanted to interfere just for his momentum. The castle continued to crumble around them. Castiel ducked and dodged falling debris, and managed to find a window.
"Hold on to me, Dean," But the demon wasn't even looking at him. Just before making contact with the window, he felt a stinging pain in his chest before the two of them blew through the window.
The landing wasn't so graceful. Just like in his dream, Castiel found jagged rocks as groundwork. The two of them rolled into the rocks where Castiel lost his grip of Dean and only caught a single glimpse of him rolling further away from the castle as Castiel himself nearly lost consciousness from the impact.
He was out for about a minute, waking to sounds returning to him and the continued sounds of the Temple of Light caving in on itself.
Castiel slowly pulled himself to his feet. He'd tend to Dean after the danger was done. Raising his arm as high as he could, the angel called to the heavens and let the storm clouds that swirled around the temple to contract, split apart and tendrils of lightning began to pour out of the sky towards the temple below.
"Let this land be cleansed of this taint," Castiel whispered, only for himself, closing his eyes as the lightning struck the tall towers, collapsing the remaining walls until all that remained of the former Temple of Light was a pile of rubble with steady smoking rising from the ashes.
Grace Infusion: Grace Infusion involves the draining of Angelic Grace(dubbed Immortal Flame by demon-kind) to infuse or power up Will. Grace Infusion is not used often or at all because the draining of Grace usually entails the death of the individual being drained to attain full power usage. Angels do not use eachother's power as it is forbidden, and no demon has ever spared an angel.