Chapter Twenty-Five

When Castiel regained consciousness, he instantly knew something was wrong. He was bound tightly to a chair. His head throbbed and he felt like pins were sticking themselves all over his body. Metatron's grace was fading fast.

"You're awake." Dean's voice echoed in the shadows. He stepped into the dim light, his arms folded across his chest.

"Dean," Castiel rasped. "What are you doing?"

"You're pretty good leverage, Cas." Dean pulled up a chair and straddled it, facing Castiel. He tilted his head. "How are you feeling?"

Castiel groaned. "Like I was hit by a train."

Dean laughed darkly. "So the grace is fading. Good. Sam won't allow you to sputter out."

"Dean," Castiel said, trying not to feel hurt that Dean didn't care that he was dying. "This isn't you. I wish you could see that."

"I wish you could see how free I am now. I do what I want, when I want. It's awesome."

"That's the demon side of you talking," Castiel said. "The Dean I know would die before letting someone get hurt."

"Old Dean was boring," Dean said, lazily running a hand over the first blade. "He was so full of self-loathing he probably would have offed himself before too long."

Castiel didn't say anything. The throbbing pain in his head became searing. He coughed, feeling his chest heave.

"What will you do with Candi?" Castiel finally asked.

"I don't know. See what all the hullabaloo is about. She didn't seem smoking hot to me." Dean shrugged, but a sly smile slid across his face.

Castiel thought about Dean's words for a few seconds before realizing something. "You want to see if it's true," Castiel said. "You want to see if she can actually change you. You actually want to be changed."

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Do you even hear yourself, Cas? If I would have wanted to change, I would have listened to Sam. Or you. Not some random chick."

"A challenge, then." It was making more sense to Castiel. "You want to prove us wrong."

Dean's sly smile grew, but he didn't reply.

"What's the point?" Castiel pressed.

Dean sighed, putting the first blade away. "It'll be gratifying as hell," he said. "Just one more punch to the face. Kill your last hope. Follow my lead?"

Castiel felt chilled. He shivered. "Will you hurt her?"

"Maybe. I've found I enjoy hurting people."

Castiel shook his head. "Dean, I know you're in there. Listen to yourself. You are exactly the monster you've been hunting your whole life."

Dean's mouth twitched. "I was misguided," he said in a low voice.

Again, the dark room they were in grew silent. Castiel could hear ocean waves not too far away.

"Cas, Metatron should be dead."

Castiel was thrown by the sudden change of subject. "Perhaps," he said slowly, "But that's not for me or you to decide."

"Why not? You were up there with him. You've been feeding off his grace. Do you ever just have the urge to kill him after all he's done?"

"No, Dean. I'm not a killer."

"I bet if you didn't need him to stay alive he would be dead by now." Dean sniffed, then stood. "So if Sammy fails to bring me Candi, maybe your loss won't be so bad after all. There's no reason for Metatron to stick around after you're dead."

He turned to walk away. Castiel felt shot of pain run through him. "Dean," he breathed. Dean stopped, but didn't turn around. Castiel took a deep breath. "I miss being your friend. I miss being family."

Dean chuckled darkly, then left the room, leaving Castiel alone with his fading grace.

Sam was silent during the drive. Candi could hardly swallow. She felt sick. The sky reflected her feelings; dark grey clouds merged into a thick mass. A heavy storm was on its way.

They stopped to get gas. Candi debated on staying in the car, but realized she hadn't eaten since lunch the day before. She opened the door. Sam looked up from the gas pump.

"Grabbing something to eat," she said, and went into the gas station.

As she was browsing the muffins and breakfast sandwiches, she felt someone stand next to her. "Haven't seen you in a while, Candice."

Candi startled a bit, but relaxed when she saw Mr. Jenkins. He smiled warmly at her. "How've you been? Haven't seen you at Mrs. Humphries in a while."

"I haven't really had the time to help out," Candi said, turning back to the food.

"How's your aunt?"

As much as Candi enjoyed talking with Mr. Jenkins, she knew how keen he was on emotion. She knew he would quickly detect something was wrong. She grabbed the blueberry muffins and gave Mr. Jenkins the biggest grin she could muster. "She's doing fine. Still managing the bar." And, because she always asked, "How's Willy?"

Mr. Jenkins kept his smile, but broke eye contact, stuffing his hands in his coat pockets. "Oh, I think Willy will be much better soon." He glanced at Candi. "Are you okay, Candi? I heard about that scare at the beach a few months ago. I'm sorry to hear that."

"I'm fine," she said, shuddering at the memory. She still thought it was odd that that was the last time she had seen Mr. Jenkins. He and his family had left while she was out in the water. They must have had an emergency.

Mr. Jenkins put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "Well. Take care of yourself."

He gave her a last smile, and walked away.

But Candi suddenly felt her heartrate increase, her breathing uneven. The memory was coming back, and it was so crystal clear. She saw the face in the water – the large, black eyes. She heard her dad's voice in her head. Yelling. Splashing. Her own screams. Then nothing.

Her dad was taken by a monster.

She went back outside, shaking. Sam was waiting in the car. He did a double take when she sat in the seat and shut the door.

"Are you okay, Candi? You look a little spooked."

Candi cleared her throat. Took a deep breath. Tore her mind from the disturbing memory. "Yeah," she whispered. "Yeah. I'm fine. Let's go."

Sam drove back onto the road, but turned in the opposite direction from Isaac's house. "Where are we going?" she croaked. She cleared her throat. "Isaac's house is back that way."

"Dean moved. He's at an abandoned farmhouse."

It made sense. Isaac would have called the police after Gabriel sent him away. Candi glanced at Sam, who was consulting Google maps to see where he was going.

"How much danger am I in?" she asked him.

"Can't say," Sam replied. "Dean's not himself. Hopefully you'll change that."

He took another turn onto a gravel road, and in another five minutes they were in front of a small, crumbling house that may have been cute fifty years ago, but now looked like something out of a horror movie. It was perched at the very edge of a small cliff.

"We're here," Sam said softly, cutting the ignition.

Candi pulled in a long breath and let it out.

"Candi… I would give anything to not have to make you do this."

"You're not making me do anything," Candi said. She grasped the Impala's door handle and let herself out, slamming the door behind her. She could hear the waves fifteen feet below the edge of the cliff crashing and surging. A chill wind blew her bangs into her face. She pushed them back. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

She couldn't back out now.

She marched toward the dilapidated house, Sam following close behind.

The door wasn't even attached to the frame. It was set against a wall, only partially blocking the gaping doorway. Candi slid past it, blinking to adjust to the low light. She heard Sam push his way in.

"Look what the cat dragged in," Dean's voice said from the shadows. He punched in a boarded up window, making Candi jump. Light spilled into the old house. Candi straightened, forcing herself to keep eye contact with Dean. Thank goodness his eyes weren't black.

"She's here, Dean. Now where's Cas?"

Dean gestured with a large jaw bone that looked like it could do a lot of damage with enough force. In the corner, a man was tied to a chair. His head fell limply onto his chest.

"Cas!" Sam rushed towards the man, checking for a pulse.

"He's still alive," Dean said gruffly. "For now." He turned his attention to Candi. There was something extremely alpha about him, as if he were the fierce leader of a bloodthirsty pack. "Hey, Candi. Long time no see."

She swallowed, trying to calm her breathing. He took a slow step closer. "I thought we could go on a second date."

Every instinct screamed at her to run. What was she thinking? That she could magically tame this beast? The very air that rolled off him whispered danger. "Dinner or a movie?" she managed to choke out.

Dean laughed. "I was thinking road trip."

He was going to take her away from Camden. From her home. From Gabriel.

Sam had untied Castiel. Castiel regained consciousness and squinted around the room. His eyes landed on Candi. His blue eyes held hers for a moment, and Candi thought she detected an apology in them.

"Sam, can I have Baby back?" Dean asked.

Sam looked surprised at Dean's request. "I'm not going to argue over a car with a demon, Dean." He heaved Castiel to his feet. The supposed angel swayed. Sam used his body to support Castiel. "Take it."

"Sweet." Dean's faced cracked into a wide grin. "Thanks, Sammy. Now, uh… Have a good life." Before Candi could react, Dean grabbed her arm and dragged her out the door. She stumbled behind him, feeling the wind pick up.

Dean pulled her towards the Impala, but to Candi's horror he passed right by it. They were heading toward the cliff.

"Dean!" she shouted above the wind. "What are we doing?" They were now five feet from the edge.

"You're going to convince me to save your life!" Dean shouted back. Grabbing her shoulders, he held her so that her back was facing the ocean. Her feet were on the last few inches of land. One small push and she would fall backwards into a churning abyss.

Dean blinked. His eyes turned black. "Candice Lockwood," he shouted over the wind, "Give me one good reason not to toss you overboard."

Gabriel had screamed. He'd cursed. And when he'd become hoarse, he sat on the ground and curled into a ball, hugging his knees to his chest.

Candi had left him. She didn't know what she was doing. She was going to get killed. The thought made Gabriel squirm. He rocked back and forth on the floor, trying to banish the though from his head. He was overreacting. A world without Candi was hardly a world worth living in.

And she was in danger.

Gabriel hoped up onto his feet and paced around the angel trap. He willed the flames to die down, disappear. They stubbornly flickered on all sides.

The Trickster was out of moves.

"Gabriel?"

Gabriel spun, surprised.

Cupid stood outside the circle, his small eyes wide. "What's going on?" Cupid asked.

"No time to explain, you big dope," Gabriel snapped. "Get me out of here!"

"But Gabriel—"

"Cupid. Candi's in danger."

"But that's the thing. Candi—"

Gabriel nearly stomped his foot with impatience. "Will you quit your babbling? I need to go after her!"

"Gabriel, listen—"

"What?" Gabriel's voice echoed against the walls.

Cupid sucked in a breath. "Gabriel, I've come to tell you – I messed up."

"You do that often," Gabriel sneered. "Now please would you –"

"No, Gabriel, I messed up bad. Like, really bad. The spell went wrong."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Gabriel asked.

Cupid was wringing his hands together. "I saw Dean and Candi together. The chemistry… it just wasn't there."

"No shit. Dean's a demonic maniac."

"No – it was entirely wrong. So I did the spell again."

Gabriel's attention was peaked. "Go on."

"It's not Candi."

Gabriel took a moment for that to sink in. He huffed out a laugh. "You mean we've been chasing our tails for nothing?"

"Hear me out. The first spell… fragments were correct. But they were muddled by someone else's destiny."

"That can happen?"

"If another is in close enough proximity, the destinies can get mixed up. Dean's soulmate still has a name that starts with CA, and that person is currently in Camden, but…" Cupid started laughing. "Gabriel, you'll never guess…"

But at this point, Gabriel wasn't fully listening. He was thinking back to when Cupid first cast the spell. No one knew Gabriel was there, hovering to get a peek…

"She's mine," he whispered.

Cupid blinked a few times. "What?"

Gabriel stood as close to the holy fire as he could, his eyes fixed on Cupid. "I was there, Cupid," he said quietly. "I was the one whose destiny got muddled into the mix. Candi is my soulmate."

Cupid's eyes had widened again. "But… archangels don't have soulmates."

"Apparently this one does." Gabriel spread his arms wide, feeling triumphant. "Care to lend a helping hand?"

"Congratulations, Gabriel," Cupid said, making a show of blowing out the fire. "But wait til you hear about Dean's –"

But Gabriel was gone the instant the flames were extinguished.

"Dean!"

Sam's shout carried on the wind. Dean ignored it. He stared hard at Candi.

All the trouble Sam had gone through… And Gabriel being involved… it was all for nothing. This girl was nothing special. And Dean was going to prove it.

She was clutching at Dean's shirt, her grey eyes wide. "Please, Dean!" she cried. "You're sick. We'll find a way to fix you!"

"Sweetheart," Dean tightened his grip on her shoulders. "You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into. If there was a cure, do you really think they'd bring you into this? Do you see how pointless this false hope is?"

"Dean, don't do this." Sam was behind him now, only ten feet away. Dean turned to face him.

"I'm trying to prove a point, Sammy," he said.

Castiel was only a few steps behind Sam. He looked like crap. Dean could see the grace fading from him with every second. He looked tired, ready to die.

"Dean, please." Castiel took several steps forward, stepping in front of Sam. "You don't kill. Dean doesn't kill innocent girls."

Something twisted in Dean's gut. It made him angry. "You've forced my hand, guys. After I push Candi over this ledge, you'll finally see how much I hate the old Dean." He shrugged. "Sure, you'll hate me for it. Maybe even try to kill me. Except I know you can't do it." Dean looked from Sam to Castiel. "Neither of you."

Sam drew himself up. "You underestimate us, Dean."

"Clearly, you underestimate me."

Dean took in Sam's face, hardened and attempting to look brave. His eyes turned to Castiel. His bright blue eyes were pleading with Dean. He looked like he was going to collapse. Dean remembered a number of times Castiel looked this helpless – when he had the leviathans inside him, when he was left behind in Purgatory.

The thought crossed Dean's mind to pull Candi to safety and just leave. He wouldn't have to face Sam and Cas's disappointed faces.

But they would never stop coming after him.

Dean smiled at them, and turned back to Candi. "I'm sure you're a swell chick," he said. "Too bad you got mixed up with the wrong kids."

With a push, he let her go. The wind swallowed her high-pitched scream.