Wow, thank you guys for all of the lovely reviews! I read them and couldn't resist typing up a new chapter :D You guys are seriously AWESOME!
IzzyGirl45- Haha I just got your review before posting this chapter, nice timing! Yup those Winchesters are always there to screw things up for evil. Thanks I love when Dean is all protective :) You mayyyyy be on to something ;)
AilovU- Why thank you! Haha don't worry, Dean won't let him snatch Cas up any time soon! Yeah I will be done for the summer in early may so it won't be long before I can spend more time on stories!
Mixed Media- I would definitely support that! The first book is The Green Rider and the author is Kristen Britain. Thanks!
The Mysterious Shadow- Hey! I'm glad to see you are reading this story too. Thanks for all the reviews you are awesome! Glad you like it!
OrangeRules Autumn- *Glomps OrangeRules Autumn* Haha I couldn't resist typing up another chapter, but how could I not with all of you splendid reviewers?
Dj25dca- Haha well here you go! Yes it was, I'm glad you caught that! I just love when Cas does anything awkward and cutsie.
"Old Souls"
Castiel awoke in the silent forest. The wretched old wound around his knee felt on fire and it was damp with hot blood. His head felt fuzzy but he still sensed something watching him. He found Adam's eyes on him and looked curiously back. Adam shifted and turned away awkwardly as the Enochian slowly sat up, blue eyes feverish.
"How are you feeling Castiel?"
Castiel raised a hand to his aching forehead and blinked quietly at him. "I am still tired." He rolled himself back into the blanket as Adam looked baffled at him.
"Erm…I know you aren't feeling well but we still need to keep moving."
"No, I am going back to sleep. Carry on if you wish."
"Castiel I order you to get up!"
Castiel narrowed his eyes at the young man. "Do you know what the blackveil forest once was? It once was a land where humans and Enochians lived together. And guess who was subservient?"
Adam scratched his head. "Humans?"
Castiel nodded solemnly. "This means that you do not get to boss me around all day. I am your superior and I am going back to sleep."
Adam sat there looking surprised. He bit the inside of his cheek in anger as he rolled the Enochian over. "We are leaving now."
"Where are we going?"
"Just get up already." Adam heaved Castiel by his armpits into a standing position. The instant he dropped his arms the Enochian toppled over. Adam cursed heavily and helped him to his feet once more. Castiel rested his burning forehead against the man's chest as he tried to keep his shaking legs under him.
"I can't. Please Adam…"
Adam nodded and rifled through his pack. He looked over various articles of clothing and other supplies. A shirt was discarded along with a few pans and a heavy pair of boots. He packed away one bedroll and left the other as Castiel watched him curiously. Adam lifted the startled Enochian up off of the ground and began to carry him piggy back across the forest. The Enochian was surprisingly light but Adam still needed to place his hands behind Castiel's knees. Castiel cried out and whipped back when he felt Adam grasp his injured knee. They tumbled over as glowing eyes watched them.
"Damn it Castiel!" Adam was about to strike the Enochian when he saw him shivering on the pale grass. Instead he went over and checked out the wounded knee. It looked like they would have to get to the ruins faster than he even deemed possible. The angry laceration dripped unhealthy shades of red and when Adam merely touched the skin around it Castiel let out a stream of curses in some language Adam had never heard of. Adam cleaned the wound as best as he could as he learned some of the lesser spoken Enochian vocabulary. Castiel began to sob for Dean and Adam was at a total loss as to what he was supposed to do. He pulled the Enochian into his arms as he forced more of a dark liquid down his throat. Castiel began to calm down and Adam lifted him up. He carried the barley conscious Enochian through the forest as he tried to ignore the watchful eyes of the forest and the sense of foreboding in his heart.
.
Adam finally decided to stop when he noticed the aching in his legs and arms from carrying the Enochian. He set up a bedroll and pulled Castiel into it as he sighed wearily. Adam traced a hand over the Enochian's cheek and looked surprised when he felt Castiel lean into him. He let his hand run over Castiel's messy hair a few times. Castiel dreamed of the soft golden hair of Dean and his deep green eyes. He relaxed against Adam. Castiel began to hum lightly and his eyes opened halfway.
"Adam?" Castiel pulled away with a frown. "I don't understand. Why are you acting like this?"
Adam looked just as surprised as he was as they sat there staring at each other. "I am sorry Castiel I-"
Castiel tilted his head to the side and began humming once more as Adam gave him a strange look. The Enochian stood up slowly and began to walk forward on unsteady feet with his eyes focused straight ahead.
"Castiel! Where are you going?"
Adam had to grab the pack and throw everything in before hurrying after Castiel. It was like Castiel had forgotten where they were. Adam tried everything he could to get the Enochian out of the trance but it seemed that he had lost him. He worried that he had bonked him on the head too hard or that something was messing with their minds. Adam did not know what was going on with his feelings but it seemed that the beautiful Enochian had entered his thoughts and refused to leave. Castiel softly spoke to himself in Enochian and Adam hurried behind him looking brooding.
"Castiel? What are you doing?" Adam tried to pull the Enochian towards him as something else called him away. He was worried that the plan was falling into place. Now that he was finally carrying it out, he found that he really didn't want to.
.
"I wonder how well your Adam is holding up in Blackveil?" Lucifer lazily took a sip out of his chalice as he relaxed on the green throne of Sacoridia. Adjacent from him was the rather toad-like Zachariah that sat looking puffed from the pride of his part of the plan carrying out or from eating too much at the coronation feast for Lucifer. Wary nobles continuously left gifts at his feet as Zachariah looked more and more proud.
"I am sure that the plan is being executed even as we speak. I have trained Adam to be the soulless bastards he is. The Winchesters will die in the forest. The very idea of them getting out of the forest is inconceivable!"
"Your soldiers are not likely to escape either, I hope you aren't too attached to them?"
Zachariah smiled and his muddy eyes lit up. "I don't care about the soldiers par say, just their results."
"Then I am glad that we are partners in this scheme. We seem to have the same ideas when it comes to lowly servitude and the value of their lives." Lucifer looked pointedly at Zachariah but he didn't notice. Lucifer looked amused.
"I trust that our Castiel can complete his task. He is of the royal blood after all."
Zachariah shook his head. "But all those souls…I am not sure that even an Enochian as powerful as him can handle all of them!"
"I am. He will unknowingly do my biding and bring me the power of those souls."
"Is this not enough? Excuse me for saying this but you own both the throne to Sacoridia AND not to mention the better throne in Enochia. Why not stop while you are ahead?"
Lucifer smiled but it was not nice to look at. Zachariah shivered as Lucifer looked coldly over the assembled human nobles as they milled about, eyes wide with fear and discomfort. "Look at them."
"I am. Tough crowd to please."
"No you imbecile. Our goal is not to please them. We are to kill them. Each and every human living on our land is a mockery to what we are and most importantly, to what we had. Do you not remember when our woods spanned this entire world? When we ruled the seas and named the land. Filthy humans. They are proof that the Creator must have some sort of a sense of humor. With those souls I will destroy every last kingdom of men and rebuild our world."
"Okay boss. Your wishes are my command. If you don't mind me asking, why don't you go and collect those souls for yourself? What if something goes wrong without you there?"
Lucifer looked bored at him out of the corner of his eye. "The souls do not trust me. I have made my pilgrimage into the forest and they would not even sing back to me. They will trust Castiel. They will let him awaken them."
.
"Sammy, look what I found!" Dean held up the moonstone that Castiel normally wore around his neck. It glowed lightly in his palm.
"At least we know that we are going in the right direction."
Dean nodded looking tired. "Let's go, I bet he's close by!"
"Look man, I now we need to find Cas, but you can't just kill yourself looking for him-no go to sleep."
Dean glared at Sam. "Yeah like that dick Adam is going to let Cas sleep anytime soon. How the hell are we going to find him in here?"
"Patience is a virtue Dean."
"Shute your pie hole Gabriel. Don't you want to find him too?"
Gabriel looked a bit miffed. "Of course I do. Helloooo it's not like he's my precious baby brother or anything. And even if my Grace is gone I can still sense him."
Sam looked concerned. "Can you tell if he is alright?"
Gabriel froze as he heard a soft humming resonating through the forest. He closed his eyes as he felt his heart speeding up to a new pace, the blood in his body resonating with the sound. "Londoh."
"…what the hell are you talking about you weird son of a bitch?"
Sam looked warningly at Dean. "Gabe, what is going on? Is something wrong?"
Gabriel muttered something before his eyes snapped back to Sam's face. He looked pale and shaken. "Kingdom."
"What?"
"Blackveil may just seem like an evil forest to you now, but it was once beautiful. Enochians ruled before humans came from the far seas straight out of the Creator's hands. A war was fought here and many died. My people mostly. Enochia is just a piece of what we once had…."
"So besides the very interesting history lesson, who gives a damn? I just want to know where Cas is.
Gabriel stuck out his tongue childishly at Dean. "I was getting to the point. If your tiny brain had more room for storage then-"
"Enough. Just stop it you two. Now, tell us what we need to know Gabe."
Gabriel looked triumphant at Dean. "Well the power source of our woods is a lake in the center of the kingdom. I'm sure everything is ruins in there now. Rumor says that the lake swallowed up the souls of the dead."
"Well that's a cheery picture. Why care about some dumb old souls?" Dean whacked back at a branch that had smacked him in the face.
"Souls are power. If you know how to rope them in and take them within yourself then I am sure you would be practically unstoppable."
"Haha sounds dirty." Dean grinned at Gabriel but the jokester looked unnaturally silent. "What is wrong with you man? I'm surprised you didn't think that first."
Gabriel listened quietly to the woods once more. "They are calling for…Castiel? No…nononono….this is bad…"
"Spit it out you dumb son of a bitch!"
"Castiel's going to absorb all of those souls! Damn it we need to get to him NOW!" Gabriel shifted his pack on his shoulders as he hurried deeper into the woods.
"Gabriel wait!" Sam caught up to him easily as Dean huffed behind them.
"What happens if Cas does…absorb all of those souls?" Dean shouted at Gabriel's back as he watched shapes slinking out of the deeper thickets of the forest. "Damn looks like we have company…"
Gabriel glanced back. "No time for that hurry! Cas will die if we don't save him, not even an Enochian can take up that much power!"
Monsters slipped out of the darkness as a humming sound disturbed their weak minds. Some snarled at nothing while others tore each other to shreds in their madness. Something was awakening in the forest and they were afraid.
.
"Castiel!" Please come back! I am going to take you out of the forest, now!"
Adam nearly slipped on wet leaves as he tried to tackle the Enochian. Blood soaked his entire lower leg and his feverish body trembled against the man as he fought his embrace. Castiel found his way to his feet once more humming lightly, the faraway look still in his eyes. He stumbled into the ruins of the once beautiful Enochian city. Pale light emitted from the broken stone and thorny trails of sickly green plants cut cracks into the once proud structures. Some engravings were still hauntingly beautiful. Lovely wings looked soft and almost real in the carefully engraved stone. Adams' eyes widened as he watched wings unfurl from the angel's back and they began to glow with a quiet light. His tattered tunic barely clung onto his body now that his wings had escaped once more. They grew brighter as Castiel hummed softly once more.
"Castiel…we must leave now!"
Adam gripped onto his wrist but whatever was calling the Enochian seemed to be stronger then the pain in his hurt body. Castiel dragged Adam to the center of the city. A large lake stretched it darkness between fallen pillars and rubble. Adam felt not for the first time a strange sense of foreboding. He had never felt so scared in his light but he didn't even think to run. Not as long as Castiel was moving forward. Castiel stopped at the edge of the lake and closed his eyes as whispers rushed past him. The edge of the lake was damp with sticky mud that clung to his boots as he stopped humming and opened his eyes.
"..neh. . .el:
. Kah ..deh:
..neh ..oh:
..meh .peh:
.ar ..Deh!"
Adam stepped back as Castiel finished chanting. Pale streaks of light shot through the inky black of the water. To Adam's horror Castiel stepped into the lake with his arms outstretched. The spots of light grew in number and began to swim towards Castiel. Castiel waded in deeper. Arms of water and light reached out to the Enochian, their faces dead and strange. One gripped onto his ankle and Castiel's eyes widened. He looked back at Adam with his normal confused eyes.
"A-adam? What?" Another cold hand gripped at him and Castiel fought to stay above the water.
"Castiel! I'm coming after you-" Adam stepped into the shallows and shuddered as cold light shot past his knee.
Castiel screamed as more hands gripped onto his body and he felt something slither and curl around his wounded knee. It prodded questioningly at torn skin and Castiel nearly lost his mind from the pain. He reeled as he felt it fight its way deep into his flesh. Red blood sent out a cloud that called in more creatures of light. He lost sight of Adam as he was pulled into the cold water. He was dragged down deeper and deeper as he felt his mind exploding with pain as his lungs filled with the glimmering water of the lake.
