Cas slipped quietly back into the corridor, Ash's device tucked carefully into his trench coat. The hallway was empty but as soon as he closed Ellen's door, an alarm began to blare. Dismayed, he turned back to return to Ellen's Heaven, but the door was now shut tight and he couldn't reopen it. Heaven, or at least this corner of it, was in lockdown. Cas wasn't sure if it was because of him, but it seemed likely.
"Castiel," a new voice called to him and he spun around to see Remiel. Not good, he and Remiel had never liked each other. The older angel had chosen a small Asian woman as the form she presented, presumably this is how her true vessel currently appeared. Cas pasted on a respectful look and inclined his head.
"Remiel," he said evenly.
"You've got a lot of nerve sneaking back into Heaven like this, Castiel." Remiel told him. "I wonder what you're up to." Cas tried to look nonchalant.
"Nothing that would interest you, I'm sure," he replied. Remiel's gaze hardened.
"Indeed. In which case, perhaps you would come with me. There are some here who would like to speak with you." Remiel advanced forward and Cas stepped back nervously.
"Perhaps another time," he suggested. "I really must be getting back." A hand clamped down on his shoulder and he slumped in defeat. He should have expected this.
"Castiel," the owner of the hand said stiffly. "This way." He was turned around rather forcefully and marched down the hall by a red-haired angel he didn't recognize. There was little point in resisting right now, so he allowed himself to be taken away.
Many angels had come out to see Castiel captured, he noted with distress. He hoped Jegudiel was not going to get into trouble. Remiel and the nameless angel paraded him, rather unnecessarily, through a substantial portion of Heaven before they arrived in a small, sterile room that Cas thought was Naomi's old office. Remiel sat gracefully in the only chair and dismissed the other angel with a wave of her hand.
"Well, Castiel," she mused. "Whatever am I going to do with you?" Cas shrugged.
"You could just let me go. I'm not a threat to you, or Heaven. I'm uninterested in whatever internecine power struggles are going on up here." Remiel made a moue of distaste.
"You're responsible for much of the current situation up here and you know it. Did you really think you would get away unpunished with all the destruction you have wrought?" Her voice quivered with outrage. Cas sighed.
"I really do need to return to earth. If I promise to return and face whatever punishment you see fit to dole out, will you let me go?" he offered. She sneered at him.
"What guarantee do I have that you would return, traitor?" She shook her head. "No, no. It is quite impossible." The door opened and Red Hair was there again. "Take him down to one of the solitary cells," Remiel ordered. "He can stay there until I decide what to do."
The solitary cell was quite tiny and the only source of light was a small skylight above. The walls were scratched with the names of other angels who had been interred here. Cas recognized a few of the names, and realized some had been imprisoned here under his stewardship of Heaven. What goes around, comes around. Dean and Gabriel were sure to have realized that something had gone wrong by now, but without his Grace there was little Gabriel could do. He wondered if he could get a message to Jegudiel or to Ash. He lowered his head to try and reach out to his brother when the squeak of a shoe caught his attention. He looked up. There was an angel at the door to his cell, watching him. He squinted at her, she seemed familiar but he couldn't place her. The form she had chosen was a tall, African-American woman who was quite astonishingly beautiful. Cas frowned. He didn't normally notice things like that.
"Castiel," she greeted him. Her voice was strange, like being pricked with needles and broken glass. Cas never wanted anyone to use his full name ever again. He eyed her anxiously and then recognition dawned.
"Leliel," he said, nodding formally to her. "It's been a long time." She smiled at him and it was not comforting.
"You've been very busy since last we met," she observed. "We have been watching you for some time." Cas suppressed a shiver.
"We?" he asked mildly. She smiled at him again, all teeth and no humor. Cas was reminded of a shark.
"The Aemeth. A faction within Heaven that arose after Lucifer's fall," she explained. Cas looked puzzled.
"I've never heard of you," he told her. She shrugged.
"Few have. We've been very cautious in our recruitment." Cas gaped at her.
"Are you trying to recruit me? You're wasting your time. I have no intention of involving myself further in Heaven's internal politics," he growled. She laughed at him, an appalling sound that sent a cold feeling down his spine.
"No, Castiel. You are not a suitable candidate for recruitment into the Aemeth. But we could use your help, and in return we will help you escape." Cas didn't know whether to be insulted or relieved.
"What do you want?" he asked. She beckoned him closer.
"The lapsit exillis of course," she said sweetly. Of course.
"Why? What do you plan to do with it?" he demanded.
"I'd say you were in no position to be asking such questions," she told him with a grin. "Right now the stone has its claws into Sam Winchester, does it not? You are trying to save him. For the sake of his brother of course, because since when did Castiel do anything that was not in service to Dean Winchester?"
Cas thought furiously. Leliel was well informed and not kindly disposed towards humans as he remembered. She also had a notoriously short fuse.
"You are correct. I am not in a strong bargaining position, locked in this cell. But I do have something you want and you have no other way to find it," he pointed out. "So why not just tell me who your faction are? Unless you think that telling me that will make me less likely to co-operate because you think I will disapprove. But then, if you don't tell me anything, I shall have to assume that you are in pursuit of a goal that I would oppose." Her rage came off her in waves, strong enough to make Cas rock back for a moment. He watched her closely as she mastered herself.
"Very well, you have a point," she allowed. "The Aemeth believe we have been deceived about Lucifer's fall and the Apocalypse. We think that many lies have been told, about God's most favored angel and how he came to fall from Grace. We also are convinced that many of the rules and strictures that govern angelic behavior are too restrictive. I know you are at least sympathetic to that point of view." She smiled at him with that shark's smile again, and Cas began to feel rather uncomfortable. "In particular, we feel that the strictures against certain human practices such as emotional depth and the seeking of physical sensations, to be unnecessary. I'm sure you agree." Cas swallowed. Oh, this was really not good.
"Well, you know I felt that God wanted us to embrace free will," he said tentatively. "But in my experience many angels are not well suited to it." Leliel made a dismissive gesture.
"Of course. Most angels are sheep. But those of us who question, who believe that we can be so much more, we think we should be allowed to explore these things."
"So where does Lucifer fit into all of this?" Cas asked, with a sneaky suspicion that he knew.
"We think Lucifer has been wronged. That he has been punished out of all proportion to his offence and should be returned to Heaven to resume his rightful place. And with all the other archangels dead or otherwise unavailable, he would naturally assume the role of ruler of Heaven." Cas took a deep breath.
"And this is the part you thought I might not be happy to hear. You were correct about that. I will not help you restore Lucifer to Heaven. The very idea is anathema. You cannot be serious," he told her. She snarled at him.
"I told the others you would not be co-operative. But they were insistent. Nevertheless, we will help you Castiel. Perhaps you will be more willing to collaborate when you owe us a debt of gratitude." She touched her fingers to the cell door and it swung open. She sashayed inside and Cas stared at her in alarm. He backed away as she stalked towards him, but he had very little room to maneuver and was soon pressed against the wall. Leliel stroked one finger up his arm and then thrust her hand into his hair and tugged his head down until their lips were almost touching.
"I am so very curious about human sexuality," she purred. Cas shivered in revulsion. "Come, Castiel. I know you have tasted this forbidden fruit." She closed the gap between them and kissed him. Cas shoved her away and wiped at his mouth, fighting down a wave of nausea. She pouted at him.
"I see Dean Winchester is the only one who gets to taste those luscious lips now," she hissed. "Except of course he doesn't because neither of you have the guts. We Aemeth are not so timid. And you will help us, whether you want to or not." She turned and strode away, leaving the cell door open.
Cas leaned against the wall and tried to steady his wildly fluctuating emotions. He might not like Leliel or the faction she represented. But he was not going to ignore an opportunity to escape. He checked for guards but was unsurprised to see that there were none. The Aemeth clearly had significant influence. He hurried away from his cell and back to the Gate.
Waiting for Cas to return was beginning to eat into Dean's already limited supply of patience. He'd finally driven Gabriel to distraction with his pacing and biting comments, and the archangel had flounced off. Dean watched Sam, jumping at imagined hitches in his breathing or twitches of his body. Dilaudid was strong stuff, and Dean was not a doctor, but he knew there were risks. But Sam was peaceful, although he was going to have one Hell of a crick in his neck when they woke him up.
"I dunno, Sammy," Dean told him. "Gabriel wants to form this Nexus with you. And you said yes to that, once upon a time. I don't know if you would still say yes today. Angels have odd ideas about consent. My guess is Gabriel thinks the fact you agreed to this a few weeks ago means that he doesn't need your permission now. But it feels wrong. Mind you, if you said no now, I don't know what we would do."
"We will figure that out it if happens," Gabriel's voice came from behind him. Dean spun around, startled.
"And where the Hell is Cas anyway? He said a few days. He's been gone almost four." Gabriel gave him a distressed look.
"Time passes differently in Heaven. But you're right, he has been gone a very long time. I don't know what else to do but wait. I can't easily get back into Heaven and I can't contact any other angels without my Grace." A loud banging sound echoed through the bunker and Dean exchanged a shocked look with Gabriel before dashing off to find the source.
The sound was coming from the door. Dean wrenched it open, a stupid move in retrospect but he was so desperate to see Cas again it had robbed him of his good sense. He opened his mouth to berate the tardy angel and was taken aback to see the statuesque woman on the threshold. She was stunning, her skin the color of good, dark chocolate, her eyes large and luminous and her lips red and full. She was tall and willowy, like a supermodel and when she smiled Dean only then remembered how to breathe.
"Uh," he said intelligently. He felt Gabriel come up behind him and tense into a fighting stance.
"Leliel," Gabriel said viciously.. "How very… unwelcome." Dean flicked a look at him. The archangel looked like the woman on their doorstep was a monster.
"She is a monster," Gabriel said. Leliel gave him a look that spoke volumes. Bloody, violent volumes.
"Gabriel. You're alive," she said, her tone indicating that this was not a happy surprise. "My business is not with you." She dismissed him and returned her attention to Dean, flashing him a brilliant smile.
"Dean Winchester. It is so good to finally meet you. I have news for you about Castiel." Dean stepped back and gestured for her to enter. She sauntered in, with a deliberate twitch of her hips. Dean led her through to the kitchen. A curious choice, Gabriel thought.
"Coffee?" he offered as he filled the machine. She shook her head.
"No, thank you. My time is short. Castiel has been captured by Heaven. He is currently in solitary confinement." Dean whirled around to face her.
"Is he OK? Did they hurt him?" She made a quelling gesture.
"He's quite well. I have seen him. I made him an offer to help him, and you. But he seemed… reluctant." Dean gulped. "I thought perhaps you might be more amenable to making a deal."
"The Aemeth don't make deals," Gabriel said tautly. "What do you want?" Leliel ignored him.
"I have engineered matters in Heaven to facilitate Castiel's escape. He should be free soon. So you owe me," she said with a sultry look at Dean. She moved closer to him and pursed her lips when he deftly avoided her and put himself on the other side of the table.
"What do you want?" Dean asked. She smiled wolfishly at him.
"The lapsit exillis," Leliel admitted. "The stone is too powerful to be roaming the earth, in the hands of humans. It's dangerous."
"Oh, believe me," Dean commented caustically. "We know." Leliel spread her hands.
"Then let me take it to Heaven, where it can cause no more trouble." Dean shook his head.
"No way. Not until we know what effect that will have on Sam." Dean had shifted into a fighting stance, Gabriel noticed.
"Sam Winchester," Leliel said with distaste. "He has been in thrall to the stone, has he not?"
"You know he has," Gabriel snapped. "And we haven't been able to break the spell." Leliel turned to him.
"Why are you even here? I am here to deal with Dean Winchester. Your presence and your interference is not appreciated." She eyed him up and down.
"Sam is my business as well," Gabriel told her. Her lip curled.
"I see. You dare…" Leliel took a deep breath. "I am sure your audacity will be punished at the proper time."
"Look, lady," Dean said. "Do you know a way to break the influence of the stone on Sam?" She inclined her head.
"Yes. If you're willing to help us, we would certainly be able and willing to help your brother. We will be in touch." She stepped around the table and backed Dean up against the wall. Her eyes roamed his face as she reached out and touched his face. Leliel pressed her mouth against his and he turned his face away and pushed roughly at her shoulders.
"Get the Hell off of me," he growled.
"Interesting," she said.
"It's time for you to leave," Gabriel stated. She flicked one final contemptuous look at him and then strode out of the kitchen. Dean shepherded her back to the door and slammed it shut behind her, leaning weakly against it.
"Who the Hell was she?" he asked Gabriel when he returned to the kitchen.
"Leliel? Angel of Night. Ghastly angel, we've never gotten on." Gabriel said idly. "She's very dangerous, and quite ruthless. She's a member of a faction in Heaven called Aemeth." Dean frowned.
"A faction? What do they want?" he asked. Gabriel looked troubled.
"Nobody really knows. Except for them. Nobody even knows who all the angels are in the faction. Leliel is one of the few openly acknowledged members. They're trouble, I know that. Raphael and Michael used to keep them in check, but with Raphael dead and Michael in the Cage, I guess they've gotten bolder."
"Huh," Dean said thoughtfully. "Come on,we better go check on Sam."