Chapter 25

Crowley stared into the field between the houses, waiting as patiently as he could for any sign of the Winchesters. The lightning flashed with Delilah's rage and knowing that the end was near for the sisters, he licked his lips and tried not to feel guilty.

"Bloody feelings," Crowley muttered to himself.

The two eldest girls were standing at the top of the stairwell, watching Crowley carefully. He glanced behind him, trying to avoid their steady gaze, but it was nearly impossible.

"Why are you here?" Liberty asked, tilting her head and looking too much like her father. "You don't actually want to help us. You just want to help yourself."

Turning slowly, his hands still in his pockets, Crowley took a deep breath and nodded slowly. "Give the girl a gold star," Crowley sneered. "It's still helping keep you alive."

"And what about Aunt Lucky?" Liberty asked, stepping forward.

Crowley couldn't help the smile that crept slowly across his face. "I guess Aunt Lucky won't be so lucky," he replied. "It's tragic, really. Serendipity is, well, she's a wonderful example of a perfect specimen. I did enjoy riding around in her while it lasted."

The lights in the kitchen flickered as Liberty held Crowley's gaze. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at him, only getting him to nervously glance around the kitchen as one of the overhead lights popped, sending glass shards down around him. Crowley lifted his gaze again to the children and tilted his head, eyeing Glory and sending her to hide behind her big sister.

"Be careful, little one," Crowley warned as he sidestepped the glass on the floor. "You have the power, just not the control. You wouldn't want to hurt your dear little sister."

Liberty said nothing, but continued to stare at Crowley. She took Glory's hand and the lights flickered again, causing Crowley to cower away from the overhead light bulbs. Two more popped, sending glass down onto the demon.

"You might want to watch yourself," Liberty whispered. "You wouldn't want to get glass in your eyes."

With that, Liberty and Glory turned and walked back down the steps to the panic room, sealing themselves inside and leaving Crowley above ground as the tornado touched down.

…

"We have to get inside!" Grace screamed above the wind. "It's right there! It's coming!"

Sammy pulled a still-unconscious Serra into a fireman's carry and turned towards Grace, nodding at the Small House. "We're not going to make it back to the Big House!" he shouted. "Go! I'm right behind you!"

Dean led the way, jogging towards the small house that Sam and Serra owned together, holding the back door open as soon as he climbed the steps. He glanced back at the Big House, an entire field away, and took a deep breath. "I can't leave the kids alone with him," he yelled, nodding towards the house at Grace. "I'm going back!"

Grace took a deep breath, nodding once at her husband. "Hurry," she whispered, touching his face. "Be careful. I'll stay to heal Serra."

With that, Dean jogged down the porch steps and sprinted across the field as Grace led the way through the small house, holding open doors and helping Sam navigate through the house, still holding a profusely bleeding Serra. "Here, here," she called, running down the basement steps as the tornado touched down. "Put her here and we'll stop the bleeding." Tears flowed freely down Grace's face and Sam took a deep breath, trying to remain calm for both of the sisters.

Sammy took a ragged breath and nodded towards Grace, "It's okay, right? She's going to be fine." He smiled at Grace encouragingly. "You've got this, right?"

Nodding, Grace agreed. "Yeah, yeah," she agreed. "Just remove a branch and stop the bleeding. Keep her breathing. No problem." Swallowing hard, Grace lifted her eyebrows as the lights in the basement flickered. "You'd better try and get emergency services out here anyway." Her blue gaze flicked to Sammy's hazel eyes. "You know," she continued, "just to be safe."

…

Castiel was breathing hard, something he didn't realize that he needed to do until now, as he ran through the forest at full speed. He had shed his trench coat along the way, having gotten caught on too many branches as he ran. It had just slowed him down.

Coming to a stop, he ducked down into a thicket of underbrush and waited, listening for movement. The witches that trailed him were quick as well, almost moving without running, forcing him to wonder if it was all an illusion. He tried again to reach out with his abilities, but he felt dulled while in Sabina's subconscious.

His thoughts returned again to Grace, hoping that she made it back to her body without incident. Castiel considered the possibility of simply pulling himself out of Sabina's mind and making his way back to his body, but he had not accomplished his mission. They still needed to find out who Sabina was.

Castiel had abandoned the spell book that Grace had dragged from the ancient building, now demolished by the small coven of witches that continued to pursue him. He took a deep breath, trying to put the pieces together.

Why would a spell book and an ancient building be in Sabina's memories? Castiel asked himself, furrowing his eyebrows as he continued to listen for the coven that followed him. The witches aren't here to protect the spell book. They're here to protect the memories and keep me out.

"She's a witch," Castiel breathed, the truth slamming into him like a truck.

There was movement in the trees and as Castiel prepared himself to launch back into a run, but relief flooded through him when he noticed her long blonde hair and flowing green dress. Lucia had found him.

"How?" Cas asked, standing to hug her. "I never considered the possibility that you would be able to find me here."

Lucia smiled gently, seeing Castiel again. She took a quiet breath and answered, "You are like a beacon, Castiel. We have been united as one. I know how you sound."

Redness flushed Cas' neck and cheeks before he could stop it and instantly, he was embarrassed about the very human reaction. Before he had a chance to answer her, Castiel pulled Lucia down into the bushes to hide from the approaching coven.

"Why do we hide, Castiel?" Lucia asked, perplexed.

Cas licked his lips and shook his head. "Our abilities as angels are muted here, Lucia. I want to fight them, trust me, but I have not been able to perform."

"I feel that Dean would make a joke about performance anxiety here," Lucia added, tilting her head. "He would be handy in a situation like this."

Cas rolled his eyes and pushed up his white shirtsleeves. "Yes, I agree about the joke," he answered, staring at the incoming witches. "But as for his helpfulness, I have doubts. He was shot in Holden, the last time we encountered witches. He was pretty useless for a time."

Lucia nodded gravely. "We need to push them back so that we can get back to our bodies," she explained. "I feel the pull of Grace's prayer. Do you not hear her?"

Castiel nodded without looking towards Lucia. "I am entwined in Grace's subconscious at any given moment, but we need to deal with this situation first so that we can keep the witches away from the Winchesters."

Suddenly, a large tree behind the angels splintered with the shock wave of a spell that Rhiannon launched towards them. A branch from high above loosened and gave way; forcing Castiel and Lucia to jump back, rolling in the dirt to stay away.

Castiel pushed his arms out, trying to force the witches back, but it seemed that his abilities were dulling more and more as time moved forward. "This is problematic," he muttered, shaking his head. "If I am unable to defend from the attack, what are the odds that we will be able to make it out of Sabina's subconscious?"

Furrowing her eyebrows and showing her confusion in a very human gesture, Lucia took a deep breath and closed her eyes, mimicking Castiel's defensive posture.

Nothing happened.

Staring at her fingers, Lucia took a deep breath and glanced questioningly towards her companion. "What have they done to us?"

Gritting his teeth and shaking his head in disappointment, Castiel took a deep breath. "They've accomplished their mission: separate us from the Winchesters and lock us in a place where we are unable to assist."

Unbelieving, Lucia closed her eyes and tried to force herself back into reality; back into her vessel left standing in the Winchester family's living room. Her mouth opened in shock as she took a deep breath. "I am unable to find my way to my vessel," she whispered. "What do we do?"

Cas licked his lips and flicked his blue gaze towards his companion. "We do what we need to in order to survive. If the witches want a war, that's what we will give them."