Disclaimer: Not mine.
Snares of the Devil
Jane's wrists hurt. They were worn red and raw and were turning faintly purple in some spots, the beginnings of bruises forming. She rubbed them again even though it didn't make them feel any better. She had come to the church and was alone there now, strangely comforted by dusty and forgotten building, anxious to be alone with her thoughts after everything that had happened. Castiel and Abdiel were God knew where—wait, that was probably sacrilegious. She roughly pulled her sleeve down to cover the bruises, done with everything, and turned around to come face to face with Castiel.
He looked down at her covered wrists, not saying anything.
Jane sighed, exasperated and dead tired. "Don't do that face at me, Castiel. It wasn't your fault." He gave her the same sad stare. "Okay, maybe it was a little. But I'm not dead yet and there's no point in angsting over getting me possessed by a demon. Okay?" she said a little testily. Angels seemed to have trouble with the concept of alone time.
She didn't wait for a response, but walked over to a stained glass window, brilliantly lit by the setting sun. It depicted St. Michael, clad in armor and with a great flaming sword in his hand, wings spread fiercely over the crushed figure of the devil. If only. She was more shaken up than she was going to admit. Most of it she didn't remember…for now. She pushed it aside, deciding to deal with it later, although she promised herself that when this was all over she was going to take a ten-hour long shower. She still felt dirty and used.
She turned from the window abruptly, arms hugging her chest. "I assume we're still going after them?"
Castiel nodded. "Unfortunate though this…event was, it did offer us an unexpected advantage. The demon told us where they have the Seal."
"The altar?"
"That's speculation. But we now have the best lead we've had concerning its location." He leaned against the back of a pew. "Of course, the demon may well be lying. They are…adept at that."
Jane allowed this information to sink in. The demons would be there. They had a chance at saving the Seal. Somehow, the thought of saving the world didn't quite match the anticipation she felt at coming face to face with the demon who had killed her family.
"But we're still going there," she said. It wasn't a question. They both knew the answer.
Castiel walked up to her now. "I think you should…sit this one out, Jane. Abdiel and I can handle this. This is not work for humans."
No way was Jane going to fall for that soul-searching angel-eyes thing. "Are you insane? I'm not staying here. I told you….I'm going to avenge my family. Besides, I saved your skin once before, angel-boy." Sort of.
Castiel looked dark, but Jane didn't back down. Finally, he shook his head and turned away, clearly not happy with it, but accepting it nonetheless. "All right," he said with his back turned. "You may be safer with us, at any rate." He paused, thinking for a moment. "There is, at least, something you should see first."
He led the way to a small door hidden in the recesses of the church, almost unnoticeable against the wood paneling. He turned the tarnished doorknob and it opened under his touch, silent on well-oiled hinges. Ducking his head, he disappeared into the dark patch beyond. Jane followed, almost having to crouch down to enter the low doorway.
Inside it was dark. Jane fumbled at the wall for a light switch and found an old-fashioned lever. She flipped it and the room was lit with yellowish fluorescent light, humming gently above her. It appeared to be a basement, and one that looked a lot like it had been built by hand, pieced together over the years and stocked equally painstakingly. A short flight of stairs descended downward. Castiel was already half-way down and he looked up, as if asking if she was coming.
Jane gripped the banister and walked down, looking around the basement. It seemed "basement" might not be the best term to describe it, however. Armory might be more accurate. The cinderblock walls were lined with mismatched shelves and cupboards, tables strewn about and several racks hanging from the ceiling. They were all lined with weapons, ancient and modern, mainly bladed instruments but more than a few lethal-looking firearms. The spaces in-between were taken up by all sorts of strange objects she couldn't begin to identify, but they all looked of sinister purpose.
"And he keeps it in the church basement," Jane said, eyeing a rusty scythe hanging from the ceiling.
Castiel gave her a look that might have been ironic, although Jane wasn't entirely sure angels could get irony. "This is mostly for your benefit. You will have little protection against the demons." He stood in the middle of the room as Jane walked around, examining the weapons. She picked up a blunt instrument, like a mace, blackened with age.
"What do you suggest?" she asked, turning towards him seriously.
Castiel looked grim as he moved to a corner and located a small dagger, comparatively innocent looking surrounded by its peers. He handed it to her wordlessly.
It was barely the length of her hand, handle included. The blade was clean and shiny, almost new looking, although the wooden handle was worn and darkened from years of use. Someone had gotten a lot of service out of it. Crude symbols had been scratched into the surface of the blade, some almost worn away, but present nonetheless.
"Anti-demonic inscriptions?" she asked.
"You've been studying," Castiel said. Jane decided to take that as a compliment. "The blade will cut into demon-flesh, but it won't kill. You may be able to do some harm, if it comes down to it."
"Better prepare for the worst," Jane said. She tucked the naked blade into her belt, secure against her hip. She turned her attention to a collection of firearms on a table near her, mostly modern looking. "What do these do?"
"Normal pistols, but the bullets are blessed."
Jane smiled to herself as she picked one up. It was cold and heavier than she expected. "I guess it pays to have a priest stocking your arsenal."
Castiel did not seem to appreciate her joke. "Do you know how to use that?" he asked, frowning slightly, although that was nothing new.
"Point it at the other guy and pull the trigger," she replied. She could almost feel Castiel repressing an eye roll.
"You shouldn't use that unless you have no other choice, Jane. There are innocent souls inside those bodies, held hostage by the demons possessing them. They don't deserve to die."
"You don't have to remind me, Castiel," Jane said with only a slight edge to her voice, but she put the pistol back on the table. "Guess I'm sticking with holy water for now." She turned to face him, looking wistful against her better judgment. "It wouldn't kill them anyway, right?"
"Not now. But when the demon left the body, the injury would remain."
Jane picked up a vial of holy water and stuffed it into her back pocket. She also took a pouch of rock salt, the properties of which Castiel had already explained to her, although she had no idea what she was going to do with it. If the Seal was there….Well, they would worry about protecting it then. She ran her thumb over the edge of the knife in her belt, feeling the cold metal and imagining actually stabbing someone with it, the sensation of steel slicing through flesh, blood dripping down like it had on her mother's throat….
Castiel was staring at her. He always seemed to know when she was having morbid thoughts.
Jane cleared her throat to break the silence. Castiel seemed to understand and motioned towards the stairs, their purpose here fulfilled. Jane followed with one last look at the demon-hunting sanctuary, but Castiel stopped at the foot of the stairs. He met her eyes gravely.
"Eliul will pay for what he did to your family. Whatever happens, I'll see to that."
It was strange to see Castiel, normally so cool and focused, look with compassionate eyes, keen to comfort and console. Underneath it there was a hard edge to his voice that reminded Jane of what he could do, what his kind was capable of, and what it meant for him to give his promise. Her eyes prickled again and she turned away from his sad gaze that said he felt her pain. She rubbed at her eyes, not letting the tears fall.
"I believe you, Castiel," she said, and she meant it.
The sun had already set outside the cathedral and the sky was fading, the shadowy shapes of the treetops and the vaulted roof of the cathedral silhouetted against a blue and yellow sky that was rapidly darkening. Swatches of shadow settled over the ground and obscured the side of the stone cathedral, imposing in the twilight in its grandeur and age. Castiel, Jane, and Abdiel stepped out of the shadows of the old building and walked into the light of the front steps.
Jane touched the knife at her belt. Her heart was thumping in her chest, but she felt very clear headed. She looked up at the cathedral, more than a hundred years old at least, and then at the solid wooden doors, feeling the anticipation and dread for what was inside.
Castiel observed the doors himself, then turned to the other two. "You know what to do," he said.
Jane nodded. Abdiel merely looked back seriously, as usual. Jane pulled the knife from her belt as Castiel mounted the stone steps and pulled open the doors.
The hinges whined softly, groaning with the weight of the heavy double doors. Castiel stepped inside, followed by Jane, with Abdiel taking up the rear. Every nerve in her body was tensed for attack, ears sharp for sounds of someone approaching and eyes alert for movement. The cathedral was almost dark, lit by only a few recessed lights along the side walls and a few votives placed near the front. As her eyes adjusted to the light she could see their surroundings more clearly. It looked bigger on the inside, towering ceiling somewhere above supported by great stone pillars. Rows of empty pews took up most of the floor space, looking bare against the polished stone floor. The cathedral appeared to be empty.
Castiel walked down the center aisle. Straight and steady, he moved with quiet, determined steps to the front of the cathedral, focused on one thing. The altar. It was shrouded in the shadows of the sacristy, illuminated by a single red candle. His concentration intensified as he approached.
Jane walked several paces behind, still looking out for any sign of demons. Castiel did not seem worried, but then again, he was devoting his attention to the altar. Jane checked each pew, expecting demons to be lurking behind each one, but there was nothing. The cathedral was still and silent, the only sound Castiel's footsteps on the stone floor.
He reached the end. The front of the church was raised on a low platform, the altar sitting on the middle of it. He climbed two steps of cut stone and he was before it. Jane stopped in her tracks, watching his turned back as he lifted his palms to the dull wood of the altar, slowly and deliberately.
Castiel stood for a moment, motionless, hands on the altar. The air seemed to grow cold. Jane was not thinking about demons anymore—every attention in the room was focused on the man standing before the altar in an ancient and magnificent cathedral. Castiel's eyes were closed, head slightly bowed, reaching into something greater than himself. He opened his eyes.
"This is not the Seal," he said without turned around. His tone was chilling. He turned suddenly and Jane started, but his eyes went directly to Abdiel, who was standing there behind her, face expressionless, eyes hard. "It's not here. It was never here," Castiel said, dawning realization manifesting in his expression as he locked eyes with Abdiel. The unvoiced question hung in the air.
"No, it wasn't. I'm truly sorry Castiel, but I have my own orders. It seems you are to finish this mission alone," Abdiel said. Castiel looked back at his comrade, the betrayal keen in his stare, and Abdiel shifted his gaze. There was a soft rush of wind and Abdiel was gone, evaporated before their eyes.
Castiel sat in the dark with his head bowed. The weight of this day seemed to come down and buckled his back, all the burden upon these frail mortal shoulders. He stared into the dark, lost somewhere else.
Jane paced up and down the thin patch of grass between the cement curbs, her shoes making squishing sounds in the muddy lawn, illuminated by the dull streetlight above the building across the street. She walked back and forth in front of Castiel, muttering to herself and occasionally speaking aloud.
"Okay, okay, the demons know where it is, or they have it, and we…don't have it, and that's bad….Gonna try to break it, breaking Seals is bad….But they can't break it yet. That's good. So if we can just find it….But Abdiel's gone….We're pretty much screwed," she concluded matter-of-factly. She stopped in mid-pace, arms folded over her chest, and turned to her companion for his thoughts.
"Castiel? Are you…okay?" she asked hesitantly. He did not respond, so she stepped up and put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at the touch, startled out of his reverie.
He certainly didn't look "okay". There was a terrible look in his eyes, sorrow so strong she took a step back. Never had she seen such pain so clearly manifested in a person. She sat down beside him and waited for him to speak.
H took a moment, seeming to struggle with the words. "I don't understand why my Father is doing this to me." He did not look at her and spoke so quietly Jane wondered if he was speaking to himself. "Am I being…tested? Haven't I proven myself a hundred times over?" He looked down at the soggy grass.
"I have never known this isolation. Separated from my fellows…without guidance or counsel….I feel like my Father has abandoned me." He scanned the darkened buildings, searching for something he wouldn't find here.
He looked so lonely sitting there. Jane couldn't believe she was really doing this, but she took a breath and spoke.
"Look, Castiel, I don't know how God works. And I don't know why we've been left to do this on our own. But I do know that we have a job to do. We're not gonna let this Seal be broken." Castiel turned to her, met her with piercing blue eyes that looked lost. "You told me before that nothing's hopeless. We can stop them. Maybe that's why God's doing this to you."
They were silent a long moment, sitting hunched over, knowing what was to come. The grim determination solidified behind Castiel's eyes and Jane gave him a solemn smile in return.
Castiel looked up suddenly. Jane turned to follow his gaze, a horrible sinking feeling in her gut. A half dozen figures, lurking silently, stepped out of the shadows.
A/N: This one took rather longer than usual. My apologies. The next couple chapters are shorter and should be up sooner.
