Chapter 52
I walked down the steps and frowned, as the voice was quite close. I stretched my senses and perceived the person calling my name. It was Anna. I walked in the direction of the call and stopped in front of her.
"At least I won't hurt you," she chuckled.
"How is the life of the renegade?" I asked.
"Not bad," she shrugged. "I've been keeping a step ahead of them."
"But?"
I pressed.
"You owe me a favor," she looked at me.
"What do you need?" I asked.
"I need a body," she said simply.
"What were you thinking?" I asked.
"Just like that?" she frowned.
I
laughed at her. "Yes," I nodded. "Just like that."
She
pursed her mouth for a moment and thought about it.
"I liked the way I looked before," she said.
"Because Dean liked the way that you looked before?" I suggested.
She was silent, and I shook my head. "Don't worry about it," I told her. I grabbed her arm and manifested her body.
Anna stood perfectly still and then touched her face. She turned to look at her reflection in the glass of the car next to her.
"I look the same," she sighed.
"It's what you wanted," I shrugged. "Now, a word of advice."
"What?" she looked at me.
"Keep your interactions with Castiel to a minimum," I warned.
"Castiel," she smiled at me.
"Yes," I sighed. "You may decide that you want to speak with him. Remember that he is not exiled from Heaven as you are at the moment."
"They'll kill me if they catch me," she nodded. "I know this."
"More
than that," I whispered. "They will do much more than
that."
"They can banish me to Hell," she said as her
shoulders sagged.
"Actually," I shook my head. "They will bind you. Just as they have bound Lucifer."
"He was exiled to Hell," she argued.
"Yes,"
I nodded. "And then he still caused trouble, so they decided to
bind him with the 66 locks."
"Something isn't right in
Heaven," she told me.
"I know," I agreed. "However, there is nothing for me to do at the moment. I still have to follow my orders. You have to keep yourself safe."
"I will, and thank you," she smiled.
"Don't thank me," I shook my head. "It's dangerous for you to look the same as you did when you were human. However, it's what you want and therefore I've given it to you. You would be well advised to steer as clear as you can of the others, and the Winchesters."
"Dean may need my help," she scowled.
"Dean can not use your help," I countered. "You must remember that they are keeping an ever closer watch on him since the last little escapade involving you."
"What are you worried about?" Anna asked.
"Dean
is the key to stopping the final lock from opening," I answered.
"Don't forget that he is the best weapon that we have. The others
will be watching him closely because of it."
"Which means that
if I show up near him, they'll be alerted," she mused.
"Exactly," I nodded.
She left quickly at that and I wondered if she would listen to me. She appeared to be in the habit of doing things her own way and while I disagreed with her returning the body that she had inhabited as a human, I guess it must have been familiar to her. I glanced down at the body that I was in and shrugged. I wasn't overly attached to it, but I felt that it was familiar to the others so I kept it instead of changing my form. I shook my head and returned to the porch to find Bobby staring at me curiously.
"Who was that woman?" he asked.
I grinned. "Anna," I answered promptly.
"She looked like that when she was human?" he asked.
"Yes," I nodded.
"Is that a good idea?" Bobby questioned.
"Probably not," I shrugged.
"Can you heal?" Bobby asked pointedly.
I considered this for a moment. I was capable in many instances of healing but my ability to heal was regulated.
"Under extreme conditions I suppose," I evaded.
"Have you ever done it?" Bobby pressed.
"Only when it was determined that the person wasn't supposed to die yet," I frowned. "Why are you asking?"
"Pamela," Bobby fixed me with a hard stare.
"No," I shook my head. "I couldn't heal her. I'm not a healing angel."
"Could Castiel?" Bobby rubbed his jaw.
"He's not likely to give Pamela back her sight," I replied glumly.
"Why?" he pressed.
"Pamela's eyes were melted along with the connections for her sight," I exhaled heavily. "An injury like that is beyond the power of an angel to heal."
"But an angel caused it," Bobby argued.
"Yes," I agreed. "However, it wasn't deliberate. And that means that there is no way that he'd have been allowed to fix it."
"The rules suck," Bobby huffed.
"Yes,"
I agreed. "They certainly do."
"Now what?" he sighed.
"Well, I would guess that you've been in contact with hunters, like Rufus," I smiled.
"Oh, they're all happy about the fact that the freaking demons are breaking seals to unleash the Apocalypse," Bobby grumbled.
"We're fighting too," I said.
"Why is it this fight so hard?" Bobby demanded.
"Well,
there are 666 possible seals," I shrugged. "They only have to
break 66."
"That's what makes this whole thing so damn
hard," Bobby muttered. "Okay, let's get moving. The boys are
going to be hunting. You remember to stay in calling range."
I glared at him for a moment and watched him as he walked back inside. I shook my head and became light and left Bobby's.
I traveled to the nearest city and walked along the streets. I observed the people as they milled around going about their daily lives and stared at the headlines of the newspapers. People certainly liked their wars and their entertainment. I sensed Lothos before I turned the corner and found him waiting.
"Well?" I asked.
"Nothing,"
he shook his head. "I've been tracking the others and they don't
know any more than you do."
"Lilith is keeping her plans to
herself," I mused. "Azazel left an able commander."
"I would have thought that he would have wanted one of his children to take over," Lothos frowned.
"Of course," I smiled. "But remember the debacle of Meg? It proved that he couldn't trust them to carry out his plans."
"Why
was he so determined to carry out this plan for Lucifer's freedom?"
Lothos shook his head. "Lucifer is still an angel."
"It's
far too complicated to explain," I answered.
"Do you even know?" Lothos asked me. There was a shrewd light in his eyes.
"Well," I shrugged. "If I were to put the pieces together, probably."
"You don't want to know," he guessed.
I frowned as I felt the air begin to shift. "Leave quickly," I instructed. Lothos vanished as I turned to face the angels who appeared the moment he had left.
