(A/N) Welcome back to the story. As always, so sorry these updates take so long. I definitely don't say it enough, but many thanks to all of you who read, favorite, and comment. It keeps me going. Hope you enjoy.
The Rose of Sharon
Chapter 14: I'll Keep a Part of You With Me
"Meredith Ann Serra, I promise you if you don't open this door this instant, you won't see the outside of this house until you're thirty!" Rae Serra shouted as she pounded on their bedroom door.
"Y'know, Mom, that's what you might call an empty threat!" Merry fired back through the locked door.
Elaine, for her part, had been trying not to listen to her sister argue with their parents. She'd been in an almost catatonic state ever since Merry had saved her from the mirror. Following orders from Sam over the phone, Merry had retrieved salt from the kitchen, using it to create a circle in their bedroom for Elaine to stand in. Merry had also brought a carving knife with her, but Elaine wasn't sure what exactly she planned to do with that. After setting up the circle, she'd locked their door and window, ready to stand guard until Sam and Dean arrived.
After a time, they'd heard a commotion from downstairs, and when their parents had barred the two brothers from entering, they'd come around to their window, actually climbing up and in that way. While their parents continued to shout outside the door, Dean poured some sort of dust in a circle around Merry's salt circle and she and Sam talked.
"Do you know what it is?" Merry demanded as she watched the two men canvas the room.
"We think so, but we're going to have to talk to your mom in order to fill in the blanks," Sam said, unlocking the door before Merry could protest. Rae and Tony Serra immediately came charging into the room.
"You two had better get out of my house right this minute or I'm calling the cops!" their dad shouted.
"Oh, my babies, they didn't hurt you, did they?" their mom asked as she moved toward Elaine, but before she could cross the circle, Merry jumped in front of Elaine, actually brandishing the carving knife at their mother.
"Merry, what are you doing?" their mother demanded quietly while Elaine looked on in shock.
"Twice something's tried to kill my sister and you act like nothing's wrong. You know what it is and you're gonna tell us the truth right now!"
For several moments, their mom just stared at them in shocked amazement, as if she couldn't believe any of this was happening. Sam was the one to finally break the tension, stepping between them and resting a hand on Merry's.
"Put it down, Merry. We can sort this out like sane people."
"Sane? Dunno about sane," Dean said angrily, crossing his arms as he surveyed their parents. "What kinda sane person sells their kid to a demon?"
Please, Elaine. Please wake up! You won't last much longer. You've got to fight it.
"What?" Elaine asked, voice trembling as she looked to the man who'd saved her life.
"You're crazy!" their father snapped at him.
"And you, Rae?" Sam asked their mother, the only one who hadn't reacted to Dean's statement. "You know what we're talking about, don't you."
"N-no," Rae Serra said, though the fear in her eyes clearly answered in the opposite. "I have no idea what you mean."
"You're gonna do that?" Dean asked, voice thick with accusation. "You're gonna look your daughter in the eye and lie to her? Tell her you love her and there's no way you'd ever just trade her life away like that?"
"No," Rae whispered, shaking her head as tears began to gather in her eyes. "It isn't…it's not like that."
"Then what exactly is it like?" Dean snarled, glaring at her through narrowed eyes. "She's your kid! What excuse could you possibly have?!"
Rae looked away from Dean as she began to cry. "I didn't…I didn't know."
"At first, we thought it might be some sort of curse," Sam started before Dean could continue with his angry tirade. "Maybe even a vengeful spirit, but then we got into your medical history. A little over fourteen years ago, you were undergoing treatments for infertility, in spite of your doctor telling you it wouldn't do any good, and then suddenly there you were, pregnant with twins. It was a medical impossibility. None of the doctors could figure it out. There was no possible way for you to get pregnant with Merry and Elaine, yet here they are, fourteen years later."
"They were our miracle," Tony said quietly, looking past the brothers to his daughters. "We…started going to church again after they were born…our angels."
Dean actually snorted at this. "Angels had nothin' to do with it. Guess your wife forgot to mention that part."
"Mom?" Elaine whispered, moving to the very edge of the circle and peeking around her sister's shoulder. "What are they saying?"
Her mother couldn't look her in the eye. All she could seem to do was stare at the carpet as she wept, whispering, "I'm sorry…Elaine, my baby…I'm so sorry."
"Rae?" her father said softly, moving toward his wife and laying a hand on her shoulder. "What did you do?"
"There's only one way to make the impossible possible," Sam said quietly. "Your wife made a deal with a demon."
"That…that's impossible," her father murmured, though Elaine could see his grip on her mother's shoulder tighten. "You people are insane."
"You think?" Dean challenged. "Ask her yourself. Would've been almost fifteen years ago now. She went to a crossroads and summoned a demon, asked it to give her a baby. It gave her what she wanted, but a demon deal comes with a pretty hefty price tag."
"Normally the human's cost is paid with their soul. They have their heart's desire for ten years, then a hell hound comes to collect. An eternity in Hell," Sam explained. "Only something different happened this time. That's the only part we couldn't figure out. Why would the demon want the soul of one of the children it had caused to be born?"
"It was the only deal he would make," her mother finally admitted, turning away from all of them. "I would have children, twins, and he would even give me longer than the standard ten years…only…when the time was up…I would have to give the firstborn up…to be sent to Hell."
"Oh, God," Elaine whispered, stumbling back several steps. Dean quickly stepped into the circle to keep her from falling out of it, gently holding her up. Her own mother… "Oh, God."
"I didn't want to. I tried to argue…said I was willing to go to Hell just to be able to have a baby, but he wouldn't deal. It was his way or nothing…and I was so desperate, I agreed. I made the bargain."
"Mom, how could you do this?!" Merry was the one to demand in anger.
"If I hadn't done it…neither of you would've been born," their mother offered up lamely.
"I would've rather not been born! I would rather not exist than be a part of what you've done! How did you expect me to live knowing my life was bought with Elaine's?!"
"There were times I'd convinced myself it wasn't real…that the two of you really were just my miracle and nothing else. But I've been worried all this year, then you nearly drowned…and I knew the price was going to be paid no matter what I did."
"Fourteen years. That was the amount of time it gave you?" Sam asked.
"Yes…not a moment longer. He'll come tonight. You…you said you could help her. Will you save her? Can you?" Rae asked, finally looking up at the two brothers.
"We can and we will, but not because you asked," Dean said fiercely while Elaine clung to him. "We'll help her because she's fourteen years old and she doesn't deserve the shit the woman who should have protected her saddled her with."
Why won't you wake up, Elaine? You know what's going to happen. Why do you want to watch them die all over again? You've got to wake up! The others need you. You can't just sit here and let them die! Wake up!
XxX
Hannah had to admit that when she saw Merry approaching her alone, she was more than a little suspicious.
The young angel had set up operations in an abandoned mine outside of Harlan, Kentucky. Even if her current base was discovered, the network of underground tunnels went on for miles. She could stay hidden for as long as it took her to complete her task.
She'd told the hunter and the witch to meet her in a clearing not far from the main entrance to the old mine. She had no intention of releasing Elaine until Merry gave her what she needed, and as she'd explained to Rachael during their exchange, if they decided to go back on their deal and kill her, they would have no hope of finding Elaine before she died of blood loss. Now that Meredith Serra came to her alone through the dark woods, she couldn't help but wonder what sort of trickery they might have afoot.
"Where is the witch?" Hannah asked.
"Back in town waiting for you to double cross us. I came, just like you wanted. What do I have to do?" Merry demanded quietly, glaring at Hannah through narrowed eyes.
Slowly, deliberately, Hannah drew out a chain she wore around her neck. Attached were three small phials – one filled with the silver and scarlet remnants of Gilda's wings, one filled with Elaine's blood, and an empty one. This she unhooked from the chain and tossed across the small distance between herself and the human. "Fill it up. Only when that phial is filled and back around my neck will I take you to your sister."
"Fine," Merry hissed, taking out a dagger and slicing it across her forearm, waiting for a good trickle of blood to get flowing before holding the phial to it. As the small glass vessel filled with her blood, she kept her eyes on the angel the whole time. When the phial was full, she resealed it and tossed it back to Hannah. "There. You have what you want. Now take me to my sister."
"As you wish," Hannah said quietly as she linked the phial back onto the chain. "Follow me."
XxX
Merry followed the small ball of werelight through the underground tunnel with no small amount of trepidation. The darkness she moved through was thick and oppressive, with the tiny glow casting its light only a few feet in each direction and moving steadily onward, leaving little room for tripping over rocks. If Rachael had done her job right, the spell was leading her to Elaine. When the search area had been the entire continental United States, neither she nor Sekhmet had had the skill to track Elaine, but once Hannah had given them a more specific location, Rachael had been able to cook up this tracking spell for her.
She and Rachael hadn't been able to get a proper map of the old tunnels around Harlan, but they'd been able to discover at least three entrances to the network. Operating under the assumption that Hannah was using the one nearest the meeting coordinates, they'd started from the entrance closest to that, with Rachael casting her spells before doubling back to meet up with Hannah. Merry knew their little ruse wouldn't last long, so she hoped desperately that she was on the right trail.
I'm coming, Laney. I'm coming. Just hold on, she repeated as she followed Rachael's spell on through the dark. She didn't know if Elaine was aware of her in the same way she was of her twin, but she kept repeating the words regardless, taking comfort from them just as much as she hoped to give it.
She knew it couldn't have been all that long since she left the light of the moon behind her for the eternal gloom of the mining network, but the further she traveled into the earth, the more it seemed to her she'd been lost down here for days…and the more she had time to think about what she'd done to get this far.
You betrayed them. Cas, Hunter, Lailah…but more than that, you betrayed Sam's trust. He didn't have to help you eight years ago. How is it any better than what Dean did to you?
It's different, she argued with herself. Sam doesn't have to listen to his brother scream when he lies awake at night. If he'd had to hear the demon in his head, he never would've made me wait.
I hope you don't expect them to welcome you back with open arms after what you did. How can they trust you?
It doesn't matter. Nothing matters so long as Elaine is safe. They'll still have to keep me hidden from Hannah. They can keep me in the dungeon for all I care. I don't care what they do to me. I just need my sister to be okay.
And what happens if Elaine ends up hating you for what you've done?
Shut up! she snapped at herself, but before she could further contemplate the horror of that idea, she noticed a dim light up ahead, just beyond the reach of Rachael's spell.
"Elaine," she whispered, just barely managing to resist the urge to rush headlong into danger. Rather than race ahead of the werelight, she allowed it to lead her forward, into the new chamber.
An old lantern burned feebly on a table in the small side chamber, and chained to a chair at the far end was her twin.
"Elaine!" she cried out fearfully as she raced to her, dropping to her knees in front of her. Her skin was shockingly pale and her eyes were closed, her head lying hopelessly to one side as she struggled for every breath she took. Merry felt fear grip her heart as she seized Elaine's wrists in her hands, shaking her. "Elaine, can you hear me? It's me. It's Merry. Come on, Laney. You've got to wake up."
Only when her gaze drifted down Elaine's right side did she see the cause of her frailty. There was a tube jammed into her arm, feeding her blood drop by drop into a pack beside the chair. There was no way to know just how much blood Hannah had drained from her, but it was painfully obvious Elaine didn't have much time left, and there was no way Merry could just disconnect her from the drip and take her out of here. She would have to find a way to stop the bleeding first. With how much blood Elaine had clearly lost already, she couldn't risk her losing any more.
"Laney, please. There's no time. Wake up. Please. Open your eyes!"
XxX
There was little conversation as the minutes ticked down to midnight. Elaine and Merry were left sitting in the circle of salt and goofer dust while their parents paced the room. Dad had armed himself with Merry's carving knife. Sam had lined every possible entrance to the room with salt and Dean had drawn some sort of symbol on the ceiling above the circle – something he called a devil trap.
"We can't kill this thing, not really," Sam explained calmly. "All we can really do is try to offer up a different deal."
"Then what do we-" Dad started to ask, but was suddenly interrupted by the old ballerina clock mounted above Elaine's bed chiming out the hours. Every one of them held their breath when the twelfth chime sounded – and not a minute after the clock had fallen silent, the bedroom window blew open and a strong gale began to blow the salt and dust away. Almost immediately, a strange red smoke shot in through the open window and quickly entered her father.
"Dad!" she cried out, making to move toward him.
"Get back!" Dean ordered sharply, but before he could interfere, Merry had stepped in front of her, shoving her back as their father made a grab for her. Instead of Elaine, it was Merry who received the carving knife through her shoulder, leaving her screaming in pain as the blade passed through skin and muscle.
"MERRY!" Elaine cried out in horror as she watched her own father shove her sister aside. Looking up at her father from where she'd fallen, Elaine found that she'd never really noticed just what a menacing figure he could be. In her father's shadow, she'd always felt safe and loved. But now, as he looked down at her with those horrible red eyes, she knew he was going to kill her. He was going to wrap his hands around her neck and stop her breath forever.
"Dad?" she whispered in fear. "Please."
Sam and Dean rushed at the man who had been her father, but all he had to do was raise a hand and the two were immediately thrown back against the wall. Her mother was frozen with fear, too shocked to move.
"Alone at last," the demon said in a voice that both was and was not her father's. "I really had hoped to make this quick and painless for you, my lovely Elaine. Hellhound really is a messy way to go, but everyone else keeps getting in the way. It seems this is the best I can do."
"No!" Merry shouted, reaching out to grab the demon's ankle just as he was moving to step forward again. Tony fell to his knees, but he still managed to reach out and grab Elaine's ankle, making sure she couldn't get away. She screamed in pain when she felt the demon's skin burn against hers, searing down to the bone. Before Merry could interfere any further, she was thrown up against the wall with the Winchesters.
"Elaine!" she cried out, struggling fiercely against the demon's hold on her, but to no avail.
"Let her go!" Dean snarled defiantly.
"Or you'll do what exactly?" the demon mocked. He might've continued to taunt them had he not chosen that moment to crawl on top of Elaine, entering the devil's trap Dean had drawn. Immediately, his power was broken and Merry and the Winchesters were dropped to the floor. The demon groaned in exasperation as he glanced up at the ceiling to see the lines of the symbol overhead. "Well…aren't we a clever pair of morons. I hope you realize, though, that I don't need my power to kill her. That I can do easily right here and now," the demon pointed out as he wrapped a hand around her throat, threatening to cut off the flow of air.
"And then what?" Sam asked as he got to his feet. "One collected soul's not gonna do you much good if you're stuck in a trap until the end of time."
"Maybe not. So what is it you want in exchange for my freedom?"
"We want you to give up your claim on Elaine Serra," Dean demanded. "Let her live out her life, no strings attached."
"Mm…no. I don't think so," the demon said, tightening his grip and starting to choke her. Elaine struggled against his hold, fighting to breathe, but she was no match.
"All right. Have it your way," Sam started. "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus-"
"You can exorcise me if you want. It won't matter," the demon said, though Elaine could feel him wincing in pain at the words as she continued to fight for another breath. "I'm not your average scum, boys. I'll have zero trouble getting back out. I won't stop. I'll just keep coming and coming until I get what's owed me. This girl is mine!" he snarled, grip tightening just that little bit more. Already, Elaine's vision was beginning to go dark around the edges.
"No! Please!" Elaine suddenly heard her mother's voice piercing the gathering darkness. "You can't take her! I'll do anything!"
"You'll do anything? You've already done 'anything', you who made this contract in the first place."
"I didn't know. I- I didn't know!"
"What? How much you would love her? Did you honestly believe it of yourself back then? That you could give the life of one child to be able to keep another? If that's what you think, you definitely belong in Hell."
"Then take me instead. Take my life for hers."
"M-Mom…no," Elaine tried to call out, flinging an arm in the direction of her mother's voice, reaching for her.
The demon laughed at this. "Yours? One soul is not equal to another, Rae. I have a lot vested in this deal. It will take more than just your soul to break it."
At this, the demon suddenly loosened his grip on her throat. Elaine gasped and coughed, struggling to pull as much air into her lungs as possible. Then he was whispering in her ear. "Oh, but I like that idea. How would that make you feel, lovely Elaine? If your parents were to die in your place? Let's see what daddy dearest thinks."
She tried to argue, to cry out, something, but she was barely managing to breathe. Speaking was well beyond her capacity at this point.
"And would you look at that. He agrees," the demon said, immediately standing from where he had Elaine pinned to the floor. Merry immediately moved in to pull her from the trap. "That's the bargain, Rae. The pair of you for your daughter."
"Yes," her mother agreed immediately, beginning to move forward.
"I don't want you to think it changes anything, though," he warned her, holding up a finger. "I am still owed Elaine Serra's soul, to be had upon occasion of her death. All this means is that I won't actively pursue her."
"Fine," her mother agreed after a moment's hesitation, nodding as she stepped into the trap, sealing the demon's bargain with a kiss.
"Mom!" Elaine finally managed to cry out, but it was already done. The demon sneered as he stepped away from her.
"So does someone want to let me out of this trap? I'd just hate it if Tony didn't get to say goodbye to his children."
Glaring, Dean stepped forward and flung a knife at the ceiling, breaking the trap. Instantly, the same red smoke poured violently out of her father's mouth and fled back out the window. Her dad immediately collapsed to his knees.
"Tony!" her mom shouted, dropping to the floor with him. "Are you all right?"
"For now," he whispered, briefly holding her in his arms. "But I guess that won't matter too much longer. Merry," he started, looking over at the two of them. "I'm so sorry. I didn't-"
"It's not bad," her sister tried to insist, though she was clearly in pain.
"Dad," Elaine sobbed as he crawled to them, folding them both in a tight hug.
"It's all right," he soothed as he kissed their foreheads, even though they all knew it wasn't. "It's all right. The two of you will be okay. You have to take care of each other now."
"Dad, please! It's me. It should be me…only me. You don't have to do this!"
"But I do, Elaine. You're my daughter. I have to protect you. And you two," he said, looking up at the Winchesters. "You'll protect them? You won't let anything happen to them?"
"We won't," Dean said firmly.
"Good. I'll give you hell if you do," her dad said, trying feebly to make a joke.
"Mom," Elaine tried to argue as her mother moved toward them. "Why are you doing this? It's supposed to be me. You can't-"
"This is my fault, sweetheart. Of course I'm going to do it. I don't want you to-"
Whatever she'd been about to say was interrupted by the sudden baying of dogs. Elaine clung to her mother in fear as her eyes darted around the room, unable to locate the source of the sound.
"What's that?"
"I don't hear anything," Merry said.
"It's the hellhounds. They're coming," Sam said.
"You should get out of here. I don't think you'll want to see this," their dad said as he got to his feet, immediately pushing Merry toward Sam.
"Mom, please…don't do this," Elaine begged, clinging to her mother even tighter.
"I love you, Elaine. Please live," Mom said softly, placing a kiss on her forehead before Dean suddenly pulled her away from her.
"No! Mom, NO!" she screamed, fighting desperately against Dean's hold on her, but his grip was iron. He held her securely against his chest, not letting her look back at her parents. The last she heard from them before their door was bashed in was Dad whispering, 'We love you.'
The howling and snarling of the hounds was horrible, but worse still was the sound of her parents screaming as they were torn apart in her name. Despite Dean's hold on her, she did manage to turn her head to the side at least once, just in time to see her mother's chest ripped open. She couldn't look after that.
When the sounds finally stopped, Dean slowly began to lead her out of the room, keeping her face pressed against his chest.
"Don't look," he told her. "Just don't look. They wouldn't want you to see it."
Elaine didn't want to see it either, but she knew that it mattered little. There was a part of her that would never truly leave this room…a part that would carry the sounds of her parents' dying screams with her to the grave.
XxX
Having had no luck waking her sister, Merry finally opted to rip a strip off of her own shirt, pulling the needle from Elaine's arm and using the strip of fabric to bind the small puncture wound. Before she'd had a chance to search for the key to her twin's chains, though, she was interrupted. She turned just in time to see Hannah entering the chamber with a woman who could have easily been the Serra twins' triplet.
For a moment, the angel just looked confused, but as her gaze darted back and forth between the woman she was with and the woman attempting to free her prisoner, her eyes flared with rage as she began to understand. Summoning her angel blade, she immediately began to advance on the twins.
"Protege dei omne caeli et terrae!"
Before Hannah could reach the twins, a protective energy field shimmered into existence, cutting her off from them. Merry recognized the energy immediately, eyes widening in amazement as she reached forward to brush her fingers against it. When she felt the tingling warmth of magic traveling up her fingertips, she realized that the barrier was perfectly solid. This was Rachael's spirit form. Glancing over Hannah's shoulder at the woman who still looked like her, she could see her holding her hands up, muttering the same incantation over and over again, maintaining the barrier.
Hannah glared briefly at the other woman before attacking the field with her angel blade. She couldn't seem to penetrate the barrier, but the more she chipped away at it, the more the witch's first spell began to melt away, until it was Rachael standing at the mouth of the chamber instead of another Merry.
The real Merry kept her gaze locked on the angel, watching her face twist in anger as she stabbed at the spirit form over and over again. Being careful not to draw attention to the movement, she slowly drew her gun, knowing she'd have only one chance to use the gospel loaded in the chamber. Rachael couldn't hold the spirit form up forever.
Then, at the moment Hannah managed to pierce the barrier, several things happened at once.
Rachael cried out in pain as her spirit form was run through. A small arc of blood shot through the air as a stab wound appeared in her shoulder, causing her to drop to her knees. Rachael's cry distracted Merry just enough for her aim to be off, hitting Hannah in the arm rather than the chest. Last of all, Hannah's blade shattered the spirit form and passed straight through Merry's shoulder and into the rock behind her, pinning her to the cave wall.
Merry could feel the burn of Hannah's skin against hers as she collapsed against her, crying out in agony. When she looked at her, she could see threads of holy fire burning just below the surface, flaring through each vein. She knew a shot through the arm wouldn't be enough to kill the angel, but it was clearly causing extreme pain. In spite of this, though, Hannah still sneered when she looked at her, eyes blazing with fire.
"Did you really think you could fool me?" she demanded as she withdrew her angel blade from Merry's shoulder, leaving the new wound to bleed the precious liquid she needed. Quickly pulling out the third phial, she purged it of the false blood and held it to Merry's bleeding shoulder. "Even with all this, you have not saved your sister. She isn't trapped anymore. She just can't wake up. She has only minutes left to live."
"H-heal…her," Merry demanded as best she could. "We had…a deal."
"Yes, a deal you attempted to break. Why should I keep faith with you, Meredith Serra?" she asked as she reattached the refilled phial to the chain around her neck.
"Because if you don't, I'm going to redecorate this cave with the ashes of those stubs you call wings."
At the sound of the new voice, Hannah resummoned her angel blade, seizing Merry and spinning around with her, pressing the blade to her neck. She found herself facing Crowley, who sneered as he aimed his gun at her.
"So what happens if you do kill me? You'll have no way of healing them. The witch and the last Serra might live long enough to receive some help, but your Elaine has only moments remaining. The more time we waste talking, the more her life ticks away."
"Heal them or this bullet goes right between your eyes," he warned again.
"No. I've got a better idea, demon. You give me that gun of yours. Then I'll heal them," she said, running her angel blade threateningly along Merry's exposed throat.
"And give up the one piece of insurance I have against you? Yeah, I don't bloody think so," he growled, making his own threat by cocking the trigger.
"She'll die."
"You won't let her."
"Yes, I will. Elaine Serra will die, and she'll be lost to you forever. It's your choice. That gun…or Elaine."
Crowley stood for several moments, torn. Why did it matter? Why did he care? Why this debilitating need to feel? Why had he taken Cas to Dean that night and started all this in the first place? Why had Moose shot him up with his high and mighty hemoglobin? Why had he been so insistent on making that deal with Rae Serra? Why had he let himself hate Gavin so much? The child Nessa had given her last breath for…why hadn't he been able to save Nessa? Why couldn't he have died for her? Why had he made his deal at all? All his power…all the strength he'd gained over the centuries…what was it good for if it couldn't save one small life? Why wasn't he strong enough to stop this from happening…and why did he feel like something in him would break if he let it happen? Too many questions, not enough answers, and no time left. Snarling in frustration, the former King of Hell set the gun on the floor and slid it across to the angel. Hannah quickly shoved Merry aside and picked up the weapon.
"You feathery buggers were supposed to protect humanity, weren't you? What happened? Why aren't you doing your bloody job?" Crowley growled angrily as he watched Hannah bend down to heal Merry of the stab wound and any lingering damage the angel blade had done to her soul.
"I am doing it. It's hardly my fault the rest of you won't see that," she said as she moved past him toward Rachael, quickly healing her matching set of injuries. "If Castiel's child is born, it could be the end of everything."
"For once, I might have to agree with you," Crowley said with a sigh, careful not to make any sudden moves as Hannah got back to her feet.
"And yet you still don't want me to have this," Hannah said, holding up the gun for a moment. "Honestly, demon, whose side are you on?"
"Well…you never can tell who to trust, now can you."
"No…you can't," she said as she slowly began to back out of the chamber.
"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Crowley demanded quietly as he glared at the angel.
"Sorry. I've no more grace to spare. If I heal her, it will be at the cost of my own life," she said, never once faltering in her retreat.
"Hannah, I swear, if you don't put her right, I'm going to-"
"Going to what? You've nothing to threaten me with anymore."
"I'm not-"
"You were the one who made the decision to use Olivia against my vessel," Hannah interrupted sharply. "I'll be damned if I let that go unpunished."
"Of the two of us, I'm the one who's not injured. How far do you expect to get before I catch up to you?" he growled, slowly following her retreat.
"Your bill of health can change very easily," she warned, aiming his own gun at him. "Besides, what would you rather do? Come after me…or comfort your little devil child in her final moments?"
With that, the angel disappeared, vanished into the darkness of the mining tunnels. Much as he wanted to pursue her, there was no denying that she was right. Maybe…maybe there was still something he could do.
"Crowley!" Merry called out to him. When he turned back, he saw her and Rachael gathered around Elaine. Even from across the chamber, he could see just how close to gone she was. She didn't have more than a few heartbeats left.
"What- what do we do?" Rachael stuttered out in fear as he approached them.
"Dammit, Elaine," Crowley muttered to himself, briefly reaching out a hand to touch the girl's pale cheek, fingers curling into a fist when he withdrew. "There is still one thing we can try."
"What?" Merry demanded.
"I'm limited in what I can do without Hell backing me up. We can't cheat on this one, girls. I can't help her unless a deal is made," he explained.
"You mean…for a soul?" Rachael asked.
"No. Wouldn't do me much good at the moment to be dealing in souls for Hell. All we need is a transaction."
"Like what, Crowley? We're out of time," Merry reminded him.
"I don't know! Make me a bloody sandwich! I like sandwiches!" he snapped at them, throwing his hands in the air in exasperation.
"Will that work?" Merry tried to ask, but before Crowley could respond, Rachael had pulled him in by the tie for an intense kiss on the lips. The former king's eyes widened in surprise and Merry blinked in amazement as she watched.
"Done," Rachael breathed when they finally separated. "Now make her open her eyes."
"I'll take it," the demon said, turning and taking a hold of Elaine's wrist, anchoring her soul to her body while his power moved through her, repairing instead of destroying.
All in an instant, the chains fell away from Elaine's body and the color returned to her skin. She blinked rapidly as she inhaled sharply, sitting up in the chair. Immediately, Merry and Rachael were both on her, barely giving Crowley time to step back before hugging her tightly between them.
"What…what happened?" she asked, slowly returning the crushing hugs with confusion in her eyes.
"Well…if I understand it correctly…Rachael just bought your life with a sandwich," Merry explained, glancing back over her shoulder at the former King of Hell.
"Crowley?" Elaine murmured with no less confusion as she looked toward him. The demon just shrugged.
"Hannah was going to let you die. That didn't work for any of us. So Rachael made a deal. She's going to make me a sandwich."
"And that…that works?"
"Well, you're here aren't you? Gift horse and all."
"What…what about…the blood? What happened there?" Elaine asked, looking between Rachael and her sister.
"She got it," Merry answered, looking away from her twin in shame.
"Along with my gun, so the score currently stands at Hannah: four, Cas: two, and one unknown," Crowley said, slowly starting to pace the length of the small chamber.
"But…why would you give her the gun?" Elaine asked him.
"That…is something we will not be speaking of," Crowley snapped, not looking at them. "In the meantime, I suggest we all get back to Kansas, as I assume you left an angel there trussed up in holy fire in order to come here."
XxX
Tek and Kiah had warned Sam beforehand that they would have to take different routes to reach their destination. They would need to lead Kevin to New Mexico on foot – or whatever the spirit equivalent of on foot was – and he, Hunter, and Linda would have to travel by car. Neither spirit could properly explain it, but the two groups somehow arrived at their destination at the same time – an area known as the Bisti Badlands.
Sam had, understandably, been hesitant about walking into what was essentially a desert just as the sun was setting, but Tek and Kiah had said everything would be fine, and they hadn't given him reason to distrust them yet. So the two spirits led the way, both in jackal form, with Kevin following close behind, and the three living humans bringing up the rear of the group.
Just as Sam had feared, the darker the sky became, the more the temperature dropped. He and Linda were both fine in their coats, but as usual, Hunter had on nothing but a pair of jean shorts and a short-sleeved top made of green silk. He could see that she was trying to tough it out and say nothing of how cold it was getting, but the further they walked and the more vigorously she rubbed her arms to generate heat, the more he just couldn't take it anymore. Finally, he came to a halt, pulling his coat off. Linda stopped with him, but Hunter moved a few more steps before coming to a stop, not looking back at them.
"Hunt…please," he said after several moments of silence, not having to explain what it was he wanted.
"Sam…I can't. Don't ask me-"
"It's not just you," he reminded her, hating having to play the guilt trip card, but knowing it was the only way to convince her of what she needed to do. Slowly, she turned to face them.
"Maybe…if we do it slowly…if you help me…" she mumbled, unable to get a complete thought out.
"Whatever you need," Sam reassured her as he moved forward. When he reached her, he slowly draped the coat around her shoulders. "How're we doing?"
For several minutes, Hunter said nothing. She was shaking badly and it had nothing to do with the cold. She was gripping his arms tight enough to leave bruises, but he didn't care. He just kept his focus on her, looking into her eyes, wide with fear at the feel of rough fabric against her skin.
"Can't…get out," she whispered, voice choked with fear. "Sam…they…they're going to kill me."
"It's all right. You're all right," Sam soothed, his grip on her shoulders firm but gentle. "I'm right here. We can stop anytime you want."
Slowly, she shook her head. "No. It's not…not real. I'm all right. Keep going."
Just as slowly, he helped her slip her right arm into the right sleeve. Then he repeated the motion with her left arm before pulling her into a tight embrace. She hugged him back just as fiercely, clinging to him for dear life. He could feel tears pouring down her cheeks as she buried her face in his chest.
"It's stupid," she sobbed quietly. "It's so stupid. Why won't it just go away?"
"It's not. It's not stupid. It's not your fault," he continued to soothe, running his fingers gently through her hair. "Just breathe. You're going to be fine."
He said that, but he was no longer certain how much he believed it. As he held her in his arms, he could feel the mark of union wending its treacherous influence through both of them. With the feel of her pressed so close to his body, the scent of her so heavy in his nose, it took everything he had not to just lean down and press his lips sweetly against hers. He'd had just a small taste of her before and he wanted more. His body was already starting to burn with his need for her. He held her with more than just a desire to comfort her, but to be as close to her as he could be…as close to being one as their separate bodies would allow. There was a dangerously large part of his heart that didn't even want to fight the cupid's influence…that just wanted to give in and plunge as deeply into Hunter Silver as he possibly could…to know and love every atom of her existence. His lips trembled just above her head, aching beyond all reason to press a kiss to her hair…
…but then he remembered what Crowley had told them had happened between Dean and Cas…how what should have been a mark of their love had been twisted into a tool of their destruction…and how the same thing could so easily happen to him and Hunter. He knew she must have been feeling the same things he was in that moment, and that couldn't possibly be helping with the fear and anxiety she was dealing with. He couldn't let himself hurt her any worse than she already had been.
"N- no," he finally groaned, wrenching himself away from her, feeling the sudden absence as keenly as if a part of his own body had been torn away. When he looked into her eyes, he could see the same hurt – the same longing – but he could also see that she understood.
"I…I'm sorry," she stuttered out, reaching a hand out to him, but stopping halfway.
"Not your fault," he returned, crossing that small uncrossed space between them so that his fingertips lightly brushed against hers.
"Thank you for the coat," she whispered.
"You're welcome. I'm sorry I had to…will you be all right?" he ended up asking her.
"Yeah."
"And you're okay to keep an eye on her?" he asked Linda, who nodded, knowing better than to ask.
Nodding, Sam began to walk again, catching up with Kevin and the two spirits, who had stopped a fair distance ahead to wait for them. He hated to leave Hunter like this, but he knew they just couldn't be around each other right now. As they moved further into the badlands, they began to see spires of rock rising up from the earth. In some places, they seemed to cluster so thick they almost seemed to form a maze, and it was through this that Tek and Kiah led them.
"So…what was that about?" Kevin finally asked some time later.
"That one's about a hundred times more complicated than anybody's got time for," Sam said with a long sigh, running a hand through his hair in frustration.
"Lots happening in the family business?"
"Something like that."
"Well…there're about a hundred different pieces of advice I could give, but the only thing I can really say is I hope you don't let her go."
"You and me both, Kevin."
"You deserve some happiness."
Sam might have had more to say to that one, except that was the moment Tek and Kiah came to a halt, both raising their heads to sniff the air before shifting back into human form.
"What is it?" Sam asked.
"This is it. We're here," Kiah answered as she and Tek moved to stand back to back, waiting for Hunter and Linda to catch up to them. Tek was the one to begin speaking after that. It was all said in an ancient language Sam didn't recognize, but at the same time it seemed to him that he was understanding it in his head.
"O, you who are the door keeper of the West, may I eat and live by air. May he who is safe and great guide me, that I may speak to the evening. May I come and go; may I see who is there. I will raise him up, I will speak my words to him when my throat is constricted. May I live. May I be saved after sleeping," the jackal spirit said, slowly raising his left hand in the air.
"To me belongs everything, and the whole of it has been given to me. I have gone in as a falcon, I have come out as a phoenix; the Morning Star has made a path for me, and I enter in peace into the beautiful West," Kiah continued, her own left hand slowly rising to join Tek's. Then they began to speak together, right hands rising into the air as one.
"O, you who are at peace, give me your arms, for I know the spells for guidance. Guide me!"
At this, a deep, soothing voice that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere all at once answered them, booming throughout the desert.
"I go forth hale, one whose name is unknown. I am yesterday, one who views a million years. My name is one who passes on the paths of those who are in charge of destinies. I am the Lord of Eternity. I am he who protects you for eons. My shape is before me. My body is everlasting, my shape is eternity, Lord of Years, Ruler of Everlasting, and such is my name, for my name will not perish."
As the voice spoke, the world around them began to swirl and reforge itself, as if reality itself were being reimagined all about them. Through it all, that haunting voice continued to speak to them, talking them through the intense shift.
"I am the keeper of the gate, who ushers in those who are to be ushered in. I am one who guards the portals and who sets the gods in their places. To me belong the limits of the Netherworld. I am one who is at peace in the Silent Land. I am the Embalmer. I am a possessor of being, and to me belongs the shape of every soul."
When the voice ceased its chanting and the world ceased its spinning, they found themselves in a sort of clearing that could have been the center of the rock spire labyrinth. A small fire was burning near one of the rock walls and beside it sat a man dressed in worn blue jeans and a black leather vest. His skin was midnight black and his eyes were amber-colored. He was bald and he had several helix piercings along both ears, each adorned with a tiny golden hoop. Like Tek and Kiah, he wore an ankh pendant, but unlike theirs, his was solid silver, marked down the center with a set of hieroglyphics. The only other piece of jewelry he wore was a gold ring on his left ring finger, set with a lapis lazuli scarab. His upper arms were marked with a set of tattooed hieroglyphics and in those arms, he held a tiny baby. At first, he didn't seem to notice any of them. He just kept his focus on the crying child, singing quietly as he rocked her.
Hush now, my baby,
Be still, love, don't cry.
Sleep like you're rocked by the stream.
Sleep and remember my last lullaby,
So I'll be with you when you dream.
After a few moments of this, the little girl finally began to calm down, and when she'd stopped crying, the man raised his arms and she disappeared like mist under the morning sun. Then he clasped his hands together and sang one final verse.
River, o river,
Flow gently for me.
Such precious cargo you bear.
Do you know somewhere
She can live free?
River, deliver her there.
After the song had ended, the man just sat quietly with his eyes closed, inhaling and exhaling several times. When he finally opened his eyes and looked up at them, there was a tired smile on his face.
"Welcome," he said in that same rich baritone voice, spreading his arms wide. "Kiah, Tekhenu, I see you've brought me a new one."
"Yes, Kevin Tran," Tek introduced, stepping aside to allow Kevin to come forward.
"Ah, yes. The harbinger of our almighty God. I don't suppose that loyalty has paid off overly much."
"I wouldn't call it loyalty," Kevin said bitterly. "More like slavery."
"Mm, yes, that too," he said with a quiet chuckle. "His sons may claim otherwise, but they have a nasty habit of…forgoing consent."
"You have beef with the archangels?" Sam asked.
"Most of them, though I don't necessarily blame them for the mess they were left with. What I really don't care for is parents who abandon their children," he said as he got to his feet.
"Well, you'd know about that one, wouldn't you…Anubis," he said quietly, and again the old god laughed.
"Yes, I would. Be glad I have a more even temperament than most of the other ancients, else a jibe like that might not have gone well for you. You don't care for the ancients, I take it?"
"Not so much, no. All the ones I've tangled with would just as soon eat a human as look at him. I even had the, ah…pleasure…of putting your father down for a nap."
"Oh, that was you? I should thank you for that, then. Osiris has become…quite vindictive in his old age."
"That's a nice way of putting it."
"I don't doubt it. The state of the ancients is yet another thing that can be tacked up to the archangels' rule. When Michael insisted that worship go only to their father, the ancients became bitter over the power they lost from the loss of human worship. Granted, I don't approve of how my brothers have dealt with that bitterness, but it's not entirely their fault."
"So…what? You're saying monotheism wasn't God's idea?" Hunter asked, drawing yet another chuckle from Anubis.
"Most probably not. Nothing's been his idea since the war for Heaven and that was a long time before the Hebrews were carting their ark around the desert. The only good thing to come out of that mess was Gabriel."
"You know Gabriel?" Sam asked, eyebrows raising slightly.
"Yes, one of the few who knew Loki as Gabriel from the first, and maybe the only one who knew that Lucifer didn't kill him. In fact, he was the one who informed me of the situation in Heaven. For a time, all I knew was that souls were piling up on Earth and my help was needed again."
"Why would you help?" Sam found himself asking. "You're a pagan god, too. Why should we believe you don't have it in for us?"
"Sam-" Kiah started to protest.
"It's all right, Kiah," Anubis said gently as he raised a hand. "He's spent his life hunting creatures who hunt humans. He has every right to be suspicious. But I submit to you, Sam Winchester, is the fate of the ancients any different from what has become of the angels? We were all given power to protect your kind. What is it we can do for ourselves when you decide you do not want our help anymore? Some take well to having the freedom to decide. Others do not. Not all angels have it in for humans and neither do all ancients. In my heyday, it was my job to guide the souls of the dead to their rest. That is still my job today. I never stopped doing my job just because the world stopped looking. I helped where I could, and now that the Reaper hierarchy is in disarray, these souls have nowhere else to go. For as long as they need me, I will be here."
"So you don't have any plans for these souls once the gates reopen?" Sam continued to press. He couldn't hand Kevin over to this guy until he was sure.
"None but to see them where they belong. I ask for nothing in return. I just want to do what I can to help. It's what I'm here for," the old god reiterated.
"Why?" Sam repeated. "I'm just trying to understand why you don't hate humans."
"I gather you've not dealt with many death ancients before," Anubis said as he moved around the fire toward them.
"Osiris was-"
"No, he wasn't," the god interrupted before he could finish. "Not really. They called him Ruler of the Dead, but he had no direct contact with them. That was my job. You don't know what it entails to be a death deity, do you."
"So? Why should that make any difference?" Sam asked, forcing himself not to step back as Anubis moved closer to him.
"It makes a difference. Do you know what your friend experiences every moment? What Tekhenu and Kiah live through every day? Let me show you," he said just before pressing a hand against Sam's head.
Instantly, his ears were filled with the sound of screaming – old and young, men and women, everything in between, every conceivable sound of pain a human voice could make. It was all streaming through his head, lost and confused, alone and in pain, every soul that had died since Metatron had sealed off Heaven.
Mommy, where are you?
I don't know what happened. I just saw the truck coming at me and-
I died. I died. The cancer won. Why does it still hurt? Why am I not dead?
Please don't kill me!
So you hand me that blade, and you let me do what I gotta do, or so help me—
I just want to die.
Make it stop!
NOOO!
You need to run. Now!
I'll kill you. I'll kill you. I'll kill you!
Why-
I can't-
Don't-
Please…
Someone help me!
"NO!" Sam shouted, pulling himself back from Anubis. Then he was falling backwards.
"SAM!" he heard Hunter shouting. She moved in to try and catch him, but his bulk ended up carrying them both to the ground. When his eyes finally managed to refocus, he found himself looking up at her.
"Are you all right? Are you all right?" she demanded several times.
"I'm okay," he responded with a faint nod, reaching for her hand and gripping it tightly. If it pained her at all, she didn't say anything and he was grateful. For a moment, that had almost been like…being back in the Cage, and that was not something he needed to be thinking about just now.
"I'm sorry to do that to you, but I needed to have you understand," Anubis apologized. "That is what I hear, what I feel…every moment of every day. I can hear them all. I can see their suffering. If you know who I am, then you know I suffered in my turn just for existing. It is not in me to turn away from suffering. So long as I have power to offer succor to lost souls, I will do it. Now…will you let me do my job?" he asked.
"Kevin?" Sam started as Hunter helped him sit up. "We got you here. It's your call."
For several moments, Kevin's gaze shifted between his mom, Anubis, and Sam. When he finally turned his full focus on the old god, he asked, "Assuming the gate ever is opened, would I be able to see my mom again before I go?"
"That seems a fitting enough reward for one who has given all you have given. I don't see why not," Anubis said with an easy smile.
Slowly, Kevin nodded. "Yeah. All right. Okay. Mom?" he said to her, wishing he could hug her properly.
"Go, sweetheart. Go. You deserve to rest. I'll see you again," she said with a tearful smile.
"Yeah…okay," he said, slowly turning back to Anubis, who continued to smile as he held out a hand to him.
"Come, Kevin Tran. Come be at peace."
Finally stepping forward, Kevin reached out for the hand that was offered to him. The moment he took it, everything else faded away for him and he disappeared from sight.
"Don't worry. He's all right," Anubis reassured them. "He's with me now."
"Thank you," Linda said. "Thank you so much for helping him. I…I had been afraid…that…"
"There's no need to be afraid anymore. I will keep him safe," the god promised as he moved to help Sam and Hunter to their feet.
"Yeah, thank you," Sam said. "I'm sorry I had to play devil's advocate. I just…I didn't want to let him down again."
"I understand. I have had brothers in my time, Sam Winchester."
"There was one other thing I wanted to ask you before we head back, though."
"Yes?"
"Tek and Kiah…when we first met, they said we were the same…like they were the same as me and Hunter."
"I know."
"So what does that mean?" Hunter asked.
"Unfortunately, I can offer no more than they could. My memory of certain past events is also imperfect. I can only tell you that I gave Tekhenu and Kiah my powers so that they might somehow prevent history from repeating itself. I don't know why I did this. Even I sometimes forget that I did."
"You don't think this could have anything to do with…Israfil, do you?" Sam asked.
At the mention of the mystery archangel's name, something almost seemed to break in the jackal god's face. He blinked several times as his amber eyes filled with tears. When one actually managed to escape, he touched a hand to his face in confusion.
"I have no idea why…but my heart breaks for this lost archangel. I feel a great well of sorrow and anger that was not there before."
"Sounds about right," Sam said quietly.
"It has everything to do with this Israfil, I fear. I know I have no right to ask you to allow Metatron's ritual to go forward, but I'm also afraid it might be the only way for us to learn the truth about all this, short of getting the information from Metatron."
"That son of a bitch won't be talking anytime soon, not to us, anyway," Sam said with a slight growl.
"Tell me, have Gabriel and Castiel returned from Purgatory yet?" he asked them.
"No, not yet," Hunter answered.
"That is troublesome. When they do, do you think you all might be able to return here? There are things I wish to discuss with Castiel."
"Sure. Just hope he doesn't take too much longer to get back," Sam said with a frustrated sigh.
"Sometimes all we can do is hope," Anubis said. Then, with a tiny grin and a snap of his fingers, he transported the group out of the desert and directly back to the spot where Sam had left their car parked.
"Well…that was a lot easier than I expected," Sam said, blinking several times as he glanced around.
"Sure was. Guess we'd best get to looking for a motel," Hunter said, slipping his coat off before she'd even finished speaking and handing it back to him. He wasn't quite sure how to feel about it as he watched her climb into the passenger seat.
Kevin is safe, he reminded himself as he joined Hunter and Linda in the car. That's the important thing right now. Next to worry about will be getting Cas home safe and rescuing Elaine from Hannah.
XxX
Castiel had no way of knowing how long he'd been walking through Purgatory. He only stopped very occasionally to rest and whenever Rose needed rest, he could easily continue moving while she slept in his arms. The cannibalization seemed to be less prevalent as he journeyed, but he could also feel it spreading at their backs, consuming the regions they'd already traveled through.
Dean hadn't been lying about no one bothering them. They'd passed several gangs of monsters, even one group of leviathans, and each and every creature had taken one look and bowed low in deference before backing away.
No one would dare to harm the new king's consort, after all.
No, Cas reminded himself sharply as he continued on. Don't think of it like that.
"Papa, wait!" Rose called out suddenly, struggling to get free of his arms. "I think someone's out there."
"There are many someones out there, Rose. What makes this one any different?" he asked as he let her down, maybe having grown a little too used to the deference of Purgatory's inhabitants.
"No. Somebody's there. I know it," she insisted as she wandered a little further into the trees, calling out, "Hello? Who is it? I know you're there! Please come out!"
After several minutes of this, Cas was almost surprised to see someone actually emerge from a nearby cluster of trees – and it wasn't just any someone, either.
"Benny?" Cas called out in amazement as he began to recognize the vampire's familiar form.
"Well, if it ain't Dean Winchester's precious angel. The hell are you doin' back down here, Castiel?" he asked as he moved cautiously closer.
"Dean brought us here. A lot of things have changed since you rescued Sam and Bobby," the angel said as he came up behind his daughter, resting his hands on her shoulders.
"That part I know. Kinda hard to miss all the 'under new management' construction goin' on around this place. Never thought I'd see the day when Dean Winchester was leadin' a band of demons," Benny said, gaze shifting from the angel down to the little girl.
"Has Dean…approached you?" Cas asked.
"Sure been tryin'. I been keepin' one step ahead of 'em, but I don't know how much longer I can keep that up. Either you play by Dean's new rules or you get put through the incinerator. Personally, I don't want anythin' to do with Dean becomin' the king of Hell, so I just been tryin' to lay low. Not sure how many pockets of pure Purgatory are still left, though, with things goin' the way they are. Guess there ain't much to say on the day we got sweet li'l junebugs like this 'un bein' sent down here. What the hell's goin' on up there anyway?"
"She's going on," Cas answered succinctly, nodding down at Rose, who was still gazing curiously up at Benny.
"You're a friend of Daddy's?"
"Daddy?" Benny asked, raising an eyebrow as he glanced up at Cas.
"Dean Winchester is my dad," Rose answered proudly.
Dropping to one knee as he looked into Rose's eyes, Benny nodded slowly. "I surely do believe that, petite. You got those same lily pad greens. One thing's sure, though, baby girl. You ain't all human," he said, gaze shifting back up to Cas. "Dean finally get himself figured out, then?"
"If you want to call it that," Cas said, shutting his eyes briefly as he looked away from the vampire. "It's…a very long story."
"You angel boys can do that sorta thing, though? Just turnin' out kids without mind to what kinda body you got?"
"Yes. I haven't 'turned her out' yet, as you say. Rose is still unborn. This is just how she manifests in this realm."
"Rose," Benny said quietly as he looked at Dean's daughter. "Sure do got yourself a pretty name, petite."
"Thank you," she said, smiling shyly, and when Castiel saw the way Benny smiled back at her, he knew he would have another ally in the fight to protect her, and he could use as many of those as he could find.
"You should come with us," he said as he picked Rose up again.
"What do you mean?" Benny asked as he got to his feet.
"It isn't safe to remain here. Dean will catch up with you eventually, and you know what will happen when he does. We're making for the portal back to Earth. You should come back with us."
"Oh…I don't know about that," Benny said, taking a step back, though he certainly looked tempted when he looked down at Rose again. "There's a reason I didn't go back before."
"I know that, but staying here isn't quite the same thing as it was when you remained behind before. At the rate things are going, there won't be a Purgatory much longer. I'd hate for Dean to know that he killed you when this is all over. We could use your help in this fight."
"I can help you," Rose suddenly declared.
Benny blinked in confusion several times before murmuring, "What?"
"If you want to be human again…and go to Heaven when you die…I think I can do that. Is that all right? That wouldn't be a bad thing to do?" she asked, twisting in Cas' arms to look up at him. Smiling at her, the angel nodded.
"Yes, that would be all right. I think it would be a very good thing to do."
Benny's eyes shone briefly as he looked at Rose, but then he nodded and the scant signs of tears vanished immediately. "I surely do believe you are Dean Winchester's daughter, petite. You can count me in," he said as he looked up at Cas. "And maybe you can explain a bit of what's goin' on to me as we go."
"Well, we've certainly got time," Cas said with a shrug as he began to walk again. Benny easily fell into step beside him. "There's a lot to explain."
XxX
(A/N) Well, I imagine you all know where Anubis' little lullaby is from, but for anyone unfamiliar, the song is 'Yocheved's Lullaby' from 'The Prince of Egypt.' Also, Tek, Kiah, and Anubis' little bit of dialogue is from 'The Book of the Dead.' It isn't just one specific spell, though. It's an amalgamation of a few different ones. One other note for those interested, Rachael's incantation translates to 'All spirits of heaven and earth, protect.' Hope everybody's still enjoying my little story and I look forward to seeing you all again soon.