Chapter Seventeen:

Following the river with the wheelbarrow and its cargo was difficult, but Benny and Sam managed pretty well, occasionally taking detours over less rocky terrain as needed. Luckily, they had not run into anyone along the way and had thus avoided any prying questions about the body.

Night had finally fallen just as they arrived at what could only be described as a 'crappy shack.' The vampire and the giant stared at it. It was falling apart. The windows were shuttered and part of the roof seemed to be collapsing. There were spiderwebs on the eaves. It looked very much like no one had used it in some time, except for the fact that smoke was rising from the chimney.

"Well, here goes nothing," said Sam. With that, he stepped up to the door and knocked. Some of the rotting wood fell away against his knuckles.

A sliding peephole opened and a woman's eyes were clearly visible. They were sharp, intelligent, and sparkling. Sam's first thought was that this was not someone to be messed with.

"I'm not buying anything," said the woman through the door. "So you can go away."

"Not here to sell," replied Sam. "We need a witch, and we heard that the Remedy woman that lives here is the best."

"Heard wrong, my dear. Didn't you know that Remedy Rowena is out of business? The Queen's brother fired me."

"We don't care."

That seemed to spark interest in the witch. "Really? What if I'm terrible at magic? What if I killed whoever you wanted me to remedy?"

"He's already dead," added Benny helpfully. Her eyes flitted to the vampire and then back to Sam, lingering over his long legs, his broad chest, and his muscular arms.

"Well, I'll take a look," she said finally.

Rowena opened the door. The group made perfunctory introductions, and then Sam reached into the wheelbarrow and hoisted Castiel's prone form into his arms. When they entered the shack, both Sam and Benny were shocked to see the outer appearance was entirely misleading. The interior was practically regal and appeared much larger on the inside than out. There was a grand staircase to the left, a marble statue of what appeared to be the witch herself, and a magnificent chandelier hanging above their heads.

"Well, I'll be damned," said Benny, gazing around the sitting room in wonder.

"What, did you really expect me to slum it just because I'm out of work? I have needs," she said.

"Sure," said Sam quickly, "But also, can you tell me what do with him?" It wasn't so much that Castiel was heavy to someone like Sam, but he really wanted to get on with what they had come here for.

The red-headed witch rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine," she said. "Take him down the stairs. I have a work table down there."

Sam nodded and lead the way down the stairs to his left, Benny and Rowena following behind him. The new room was laden with cabinets and bookshelves, most of which were stocked with aged spellbooks. The décor down here looked a lot more practical than the fancy upstairs furniture.

Sam placed Castiel gently on the table in the center of the room.

Benny shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He could feel the energy of the place, and while nothing seemed sinister, magical resonance had always made him uneasy. This was clearly the room in which Remedy Rowena worked spells of all kinds.

The witch approached Castiel's body. She laid an ear against his chest. She lifted his eyelids and peered into the lifeless blue orbs. Then she looked from Benny to Sam. "So, what's so important that you need to bring him back for, anyway?" she asked.

"I need him to help me avenge the murder of my mother," said Sam.

Rowena narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You're a terrible liar," she said. "Did he lose a bet to you? He owes you money, doesn't he?"

"No," said Sam with annoyance. "I wasn't lying. I need his help to find and kill a man!"

Rowena clearly wasn't sold. "I'll just ask him, dear." She said.

"But, he's dead," replied Benny.

Rowena turned a glare on him. "Ugh, you vampires think you know everything. Like you alone know the dead and undead? Why come to a witch then if you've got it all figured out?"

Benny grimaced but held back a sour retort for Sam's sake. The witch seemed just a little too pleased with herself for shutting him up, but if she could help them, he'd deal with it.

"In any case," she continued, "he's only mostly dead. Which means he's partly alive."

Rowena shuffled around the room and pulled out a large bellows from one of the cabinets. She pressed the nozzle into Castiel's mouth and pushed down so that the accordion base compressed on itself. Castiel's chest rose as his lungs expanded with air.

She pulled the bellows away, then leaned in to speak directly into Castiel's ear. "What's so important, handsome? What about this rotten world is so worth sticking around for?"

She pressed lightly on his chest. Miraculously, the sound that escaped his mouth sounded like the words, "true love."

"True love!" Sam exclaimed. "Won't you help us for the noble cause of love?"

"Love? He wants to be alive for love, you want him alive for vengeance. Not exactly on the same page, are you?"

Sam was getting frustrated. "Will you help us or not?"

"Oh, certainly. For a price," she said. "Ten thousand and I'll have him rarin' to go."

"We…we don't have anything close to that."

There were footsteps on the stairs and they all turned to look. A second red-headed woman had appeared, but that was where the similarities seemed to end. Where Rowena was intimidating, this new person had an easy smile lighting up their face.

"Rowena, you didn't tell me we had company!" she said cheerfully.

"Charlie, can't you see I'm busy?"

Benny had sudden inspiration. "Hey, are you a witch too?" he asked. "We're trying to get our friend here back to life, but we can't afford the ten thousand. Any chance you'd do it for cheaper?"

"She's not a witch, she's my –" Rowena couldn't seem to finish the sentence.

There was suddenly awkward tension in the room. Charlie had narrowed her eyes.

"Your wife?" Sam suggested at the same time Benny said, "Your roommate?"

"Best not get into it, lads," said Rowena at the same time Charlie said, "It's complicated."

Sam and Benny shared a look. What domestic drama had they walked in on?

"Anywho!" said Rowena, quickly trying to change the subject. "Charlie is not a witch. Ten thousand it is."

"Rowena!" Charlie exclaimed. "Ten thousand? You could do that resurrection spell in your sleep!"

"Hush, woman! I am trying to keep us comfortable!"

Charlie scowled at the witch. "Rowena, we don't need to scam people. Couldn't you please do the decent thing for once?"

"Decent! I was decent to the Royal family for my whole life. I worshipped the ground the Queen stood upon, and look where that got me! Fired by her swine of a brother!"

"Wait," said Benny. "Rowena, would you say you have a score to settle with Prince Chuck?"

Rowena rolled her eyes. "Yes, but I'm not taking on a god. Are you mad?"

Benny nodded at Castiel's body. "This man we have here – he was killed by Chuck, and his true love is still arranged to marry him. If you bring him back…well, I wouldn't bet against him making Chuck pay."

Rowena raised an eyebrow. "I bring him back, Chuck suffers?"

Sam jumped into the conversation. "Humiliation, at the very least. Death, quite possibly."

Rowena grinned. "Now that is worthy of my time."

Charlie rolled her eyes at them, but they could tell she was pleased at the change of heart.

Rowena set immediately to work. She began to gather materials from around the room. She pulled some ingredients from the cabinets and brought them to a small cauldron in the corner. She mixed everything together and with a twitch of her hand, she lit a small flame beneath it. A haze of purple smoke rose from the newly simmering concoction.

Sam was a bit entranced at everything she was doing. He couldn't help but feel that he should have studied more about magic with his Uncle Bobby, in addition to mastering the sword. This kind of thing could certainly come in handy.

Rowena delicately opened Castiel's shirt, then scooped up a ladle full of her potion.

"Open his mouth, please," she told Sam, who quickly obeyed and pried Castiel's stiff jaw apart.

She dribbled some potion into his open mouth, then set the ladle aside. She placed a hand on his bare chest. "Stand back, boys," she said, so they did.

Rowena began to chant in a language even Sam didn't recognize, although it did seem to utilize a few Enochian words.

Suddenly, the witch's hand began to glow on Cas's chest, radiating heat and light and – hopefully – life.

Rowena's voice got raspy and deep, a shudder ran through her body, and her eyes rolled up into the back of her head. Sam was worried for a moment, but he glanced at Charlie, who didn't seem the least bit concerned. How often did they do this sort of thing?

And then it was done.

Rowena's hand stopped glowing and her eyes refocused as she finished the chant. Castiel's chest glowed with a handprint for a moment longer, but that too faded away to normal.

And then, miraculously, Sam saw Castiel's chest rise as he took a breath on his own.

Rowena gave him and Benny a satisfied smile. "It is done," she said. "However, his body needs rest. In about twelve hours, he will awaken, but will have next to no mobility. Within a few hours after that, he should be able to walk on his own."

"Twelve hours?" asked Sam with some dismay. "I was hoping this would be immediate. We need to make a plan of attack."

"Immediate!" glowered Rowena. "You rush a miracle, you get rotten miracles! I just brought a man back for you for free no less, you ungrateful –"

Sam threw his hands up defensively. "Okay, I'm sorry! It's just, there's a lot riding on this."

Rowena softened slightly. "I know, deary. I suggest you lot lay low for awhile, perhaps camp out somewh—"

"Or stay with us!" interjected Charlie. "It'll be nice to have some other company. You know, Rowena has been sulking since the Prince fired her, but you guys really liven the place up. Well, except him, I guess," she said, nodding awkwardly to Castiel's sleeping form.

Rowena scowled. "I do not sulk."

Charlie ignored her. "Come on," she said, waving them back up the stairs. "I'll make you boys some tea."

Benny and Sam shared a look. It had been a long time since they were treated with such hospitality. Vampires and giants were not common house guests. Neither of them could resist the invitation.

"Thank you."

Charlie and Benny made their way up the stairs, and just as Sam turned to follow, Rowena approached him with a seductive smile.

"It'll be a pleasure having you, Samuel," she said, and gave his right bicep a squeeze of her hand.

Then she turned and headed up the stairs.

Sam swallowed hard as he watched her ascend. He couldn't tell if he was more apprehensive or excited, but whatever the case, he followed her and the others back to the sitting room to wait out The Man in Black's slumber.