Author's Note: I have waited for SO LONG for this chapter to come out! Well, that's not entirely true. This wasn't always going to happen, but I had a good idea and I went with it, and I'm actually kind of proud of how it turned out. Let me know what you think in reviews! The song Lucifer is singing is "Do You Want to Hide A Body", the Frozen parody. It sounds like something he would sing. You can look it up on Youtube. I don't own Supernatural.

***Ember POV***

October 23

Ember woke up in a jail cell in Hell. The floors were stone cement, and dirty, and there were bugs. She was hungry, and there was dried blood matted in her hair.

Castiel was there with her, and for that she couldn't have been more thankful. "Are you okay?" she whispered.

"Fine," he said, blue eyes piercing into her brown ones. "You? You have a mild concussion, but it'll heal in a few days."

"I'm fine," she said. "I need a shower, though. And food."

Castiel laughed, smiling only slightly. Then his eyes drifted upward. "Guess who our neighbor is in this cell?"

***Ember POV***

October 29

"I am so bored," Lucifer complained for what must've been the ten millionth time.

"You're bored?" Ember shot back at him. "Imagine having to hang out here in a cell next to you!" She was reclined across Castiel's lap, tapping her fingers incessantly against the cement floor.

To be honest, being imprisoned could've been worse. For the first day and a half, she had been denied food, showering amenities, and the ability to use a bathroom.

This hadn't lasted long. While the demons were able to imprison Castiel and Lucifer in a way that quelled their magic, Ember's half-demon magic was more difficult to ward. Asmodeus hadn't been prepared for this. His wards silenced the better part of her demon magic, but she still had enough left over to make objects zoom through the air. She'd almost escaped three separate times, and Asmodeus had been forced to double his guards and install keypads to their cells with combinations that only he and a few choice demons were privy to. At this point Asmodeus had separated Ember from Castiel, which had unfortunately only served to make her angrier and more determined.

In the end, after the first three days, Ember and her demon guards had come to a workable arrangement. Ember would be allowed to reside in the cell with Castiel, have regular bathroom breaks, and would be given two meals daily as well as one opportunity to shower, (or at least stand under a hose and rinse off). In return, Ember would be a "good prisoner" and stop attempting to escape, stop getting them in trouble with Asmodeus, and, most importantly, stop using pieces of her clothing to slingshot her bodily fluids at them.

Unfortunately, since this unspoken truce had been reached, jail life had gotten increasingly boring.

During the nights, (or what Ember's biological clock imagined to be nighttime, since there were no windows) Ember retreated with Castiel into a dream. As this magic was contained in his mind, it wasn't something that the wards restricted. If he touched her head, they could enter into a dreamworld and remain there until Ember's body no longer felt the need for sleep and insisted upon awakening.

"So what'd you dream about last night?" Lucifer asked curiously.

"It was a good dream," said Ember sarcastically. "We repeatedly stabbed you with an angel blade until you exploded."

"Did you know she was this violent, Castiel?" Lucifer said, turning to the younger angel. "I think you might want to watch out for that. It might hurt your relationship."

"The only thing hurting our relationship is the incessant chatter from next door," Ember said, rolling her eyes.

"Why do you continue to engage with him?" Castiel asked her in a low voice, his breath ghosting across her ear.

"Because I'm bored," she whispered back. "And there's nothing else to do."

"Hah! Told you!" said Lucifer, as though this were a triumph.

***Castiel POV***

October 31

They were on a beach, dancing. Ember wore a flowing red dress, and the sun could be seen peaking out over a large body of peaceful water. The sky was full of reds and yellows and pinks, and the twilight gave off an air of romance. A song played out of a small radio, and there was no one else in sight.

"C'mon, Castiel," Ember said. "Teach me how to dance."

"I don't know how to dance."

"Yes you do," Ember reminded him. "Metatron uploaded all of popular culture into your brain. You even told me once that you knew how to dance."

"Will you help me hide a booodddyyy?" sang Lucifer. "C'mon, we can't delayyyyy. No one can see him on the floor. Get him out the door, before he can decayyyyyy!"

Castiel wished he could tune out Lucifer entirely, but he was unfortunately unable to give himself over to sleep the way Ember was. He could join her in her mind and help shape the reality there, but he couldn't leave this reality entirely.

"Okay, I know how to dance," Castiel admitted. "But I've never done it before."

"You can start by taking off the trench coat. We're on a beach, after all. Didn't we have this discussion in Miami?"

"But you're wearing a dress," Castiel complained.

"Good point," Ember said with a grin. As Castiel watched, Ember's dress became shorter and more revealing. "There," she said. "Now, for you…" A second later, Castiel was barefoot, wearing pants and a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

"You're getting better at this," Castiel said, taking more than a moment to appreciate the revealing dress.

"One of the many perks about being imprisoned with an angel," said Ember smiling.

""Do you wanna hide a bodyyyyy?" Lucifer intoned. "This one's been knocked out since last falllll. I think his company is overdue-…"

"Shut up!" yelled one of the demon guards. "You've been singing that damn song all night!" He was a newer guard, and Castiel thought he had heard him called Blythe. He had a bottle of alcohol in his hand.

"It's my nightly routine, Fat Drunk Guard," said Lucifer. "Get used to it. By the way, where are all your pea-brained little friends? Wait, wait, let me guess. You all drew straws to see who would be left to guard Satan, and you drew the big straw, 'cause you're the biggest."

"Halloween," Blythe answered gruffly, swigging from his bottle of alcohol. "All hands on deck topside. Sleeping bitch hasn't caused trouble in awhile, 'Job was supposed to be easy, so you'd better not cause trouble."

"Oh, no, I won't cause any trouble," Lucifer said with a mischievous grin. "Do you want to hide a bodyyyyyy?"

Castiel held Ember close as they danced on the beach. The sun had set fully now, and moonlight was shining on the water. She smelled like demon and oranges and something ethereal. Castiel wondered briefly if her smell was correct because smell was transferred over to the dreamworld or because his mind had made it so. He was inclined to believe the latter, but in the end it didn't matter.

"I've killed mother and father. Now it's just you and me. What are you gonna doooooo?" Lucifer was singing. "Won't you help me hide their-…"

"'Last time I ever take an easy job!" Blythe spat. He looked at his now-empty bottle, then threw it on the ground where it shattered, coating the floor with glass. "Shut up!"

"Do you wanna hide Blythe's bodyyyyyy?" Lucifer sang, grinning. "He's too stupid to surviveeeeeee!"

Her hips swayed with the music, and her head fit perfectly underneath his chin. Dancing wasn't so bad, really, and he could feel the sand between his toes, his Father's creation. She disentangled herself from him suddenly, but only to then back up against him, winding his arms around her waist as she swayed to the music.

"Do you wanna hide a-…."

"Don't make me come in there," said Blythe dangerously.

Castiel looked at Blythe properly, his interest peaked for the first time in hours.

"You can't get into this cell," Lucifer taunted. "There's no way Asmodeus left you with the combination. I mean, Asmodeus is stupid, but you're like, bump-on-a-log dumb."

"Besides," he went on, his face suddenly amused. "What are you going to do to me? Torture me? You wouldn't dare, you're too scared."

"Scared of what?" Blythe said with a snarl. "You're powerless, Satan."

Lucifer sent Blythe a dangerous grin. "Wanna test that theory?"

"I'm serious," said Blythe threateningly, attempting to make himself look bigger than he was. "Keep it up and I swear to Lucifer I'll-…"

"I am Lucifer," Lucifer reminded him, grinning a wide grin. He took a long breath, then began to sing. "DO YOU WANT TO HIDE A BODYYYYYY? IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE IN ONE PIECEEEE!"

"Ember, wake up," Castiel whispered. "Something's going on."

Ember stirred in his arms, just as Blythe pressed a string of numbers into the keypad, mumbling furiously.

"D'ya know what I caught Asmodeus doing one night?" Blythe asked, charging into Lucifer's cell. Lucifer tried to move past him, but the demon was too strong. A second later, Blythe had him by the throat.

"I saw him takin grace from an angel," Blythe said.

Lucifer's eyes widened, and Castiel and Ember shot each other shocked looks.

Blythe hadn't noticed. "Wonder if we could do the same to- AAAAHHHHHH!" Lucifer had picked up a long, sharp shard from Blythe's broken liquor bottle and sliced Blythe's throat. Since he was a demon it didn't kill him, but he backed up far enough for Lucifer to escape from the cell.

Castiel tried to shout a warning, but Ember solved the problem first. With an almighty gust of her powers, she shut the cell door with a loud CLANG!, right in front of Lucifer. The latch clicked back into place, effectively once again trapping Lucifer in the cell next to theirs.

Lucifer turned toward Ember, fury in his eyes. He ran forward toward her in his own cell, causing her to reel backward so quickly that she bumped into Castiel. They both toppled over, landing on their butts in a very undignified position.

"RRRRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Lucifer shouted angrily, attempting to shake the bars. The warding flashed, and he hopped back as if burned.

Then Lucifer appeared to collect himself, though the anger hadn't left his eyes. "In… and… out," he said, taking deep breaths. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Ember, but he smiled as he said, "Sorry, I just… let my anger get away from me sometimes."

Lucifer circled around the cell again, and Castiel held onto Ember. She was glaring at Lucifer, but her hand was trembling, and Castiel knew she was thinking about the days she had spent as a demon in his company. Even safely imprisoned in a properly warded cell, his anger was terrible to behold.

Finally, Lucifer stopped pacing, facing them in his cell. He shook his head. "You know," he said to Ember. "I often wonder… what would your father say?"

***Ember POV***

October 31

Ember felt like she had been hit by a semi. Her heartbeat began to quicken, and she tightened her hold on Castiel's hand. It was best to play ignorant, perhaps. "Bobby would say the same thing he always said," she persisted as she glared at Lucifer. "That we've gotta do whatever we can to keep you in the cage."

"Not talkin' about Bobby," Lucifer said, resuming his pacing of the cell. "I'm talking about your real father."

"Lucifer, please," said Castiel suddenly.

Castiel's voice was pleading and panicked, and Ember whirled around to face him. She felt hurt, suddenly, and betrayed. "You know who my father is?" she asked accusingly.

"No!" Castiel said quickly, shaking his head.

"But he suspects," Lucifer intoned. "Don't you, Castiel? You must've guessed, especially after you saw how strong she was, and how much my power affects her."

Ember glared at Castiel, and he looked downward in shame. Ember felt as if the walls were closing in around her. What did this mean? Was Lucifer her father? She thought that this couldn't be right, but she couldn't seem to make her brain work well enough to string thoughts together correctly.

"I didn't really know until we were together," Lucifer intoned, his red eyes burning into hers. "No thanks to Castiel," he added, spitting out Castiel's name like a curse. "Though I suspected, as well. For my power level to directly affect yours, you'd need to be a direct descendant of one of the first demons converted." He smiled. "Like Meg, for example. Your sister."

The world was truly caving in. There was a black circle surrounding Ember, a circle of anger and grief. She was spiraling, and she couldn't see the end. She felt, rather than heard, herself choke out the word, "Azazel."

"No," Castiel said with a whisper. "No."

"That's right," Lucifer said on a grin. He shook his head. "What will your friends the Winchesters say now? What will Mary say?"

But Ember hadn't needed Lucifer's taunting to feel the despair, the agonizing, clawing blackness that was threatening its way up her throat.

She had felt despair before, of course, both times when she had awakened from the Demon Blood Bonds. But this was different. This time despair was mixed with horror as she felt everything she had ever known, ever hoped for, shatter into a million pieces. Azazel was responsible for everything – for the death of Dean and Sam's mother, the torment of their father, and the quest for vengeance that had caused the Winchesters to become hunters in the first place. He was also responsible for the plot that had ended in Lucifer's rising from the cage, and for Dean's fathers' death.

And Jack was gone – gone – and the brothers would certainly never speak to her again.

Castiel put a hand on Ember's shoulder, and she could feel him infiltrating her mind, sending calm thoughts and a picture of the dream on the beach. But she felt only the sting of betrayal, that he had suspected but never told her. How long had he known?

And she was stuck here in prison, and would never see Jack again…

And finally, after years of holding back the worst part of herself – finally, the dam broke.

***Castiel POV***

October 31

It was true, Castiel had suspected. His suspicions had been more recent, however – only since the previous year when they had faced Ramiel had Castiel suspected that Ember might be a direct descendant of one of the Princes of Hell. Until then he hadn't known that they even existed, aside from Azazel.

A month ago, in his search for Jack, Castiel had returned to the house where Dagon had taken Ember and kept her in captivity. There, in a safe, Castiel had found a large tome on demon parentage. Since then, he had known that Ember must be a descendant of one of the Princes of Hell… but he still hadn't known which one.

There had been no point in discussing this with Ember. It didn't change his love for her, and she had never shown the slightest interest in finding out about her demon parentage, not since she had discussed it with Bobby after they had met Jesse eight years before. Plus, he didn't dare add to her stress, and her grief about Jack.

But now there was no turning back – the secret was out. He could feel, in her mind, the dam breaking. This would be different, he knew, than the Demon Blood Bonds, or even the effects of Famine. During these instances, though her demon side had had control, it was still tempered by her human side. All of these instances were affected by other magic. In the case of Famine, Famine had brought out only that which she was hungry for, and the demonic powers necessary to feed the hunger. In the case of the Demon Blood Bonds, the Blood Bonds had drawn out and reflected powers equal to that of the Bond's subject at the time (Dean, and later Castiel). This was different – this was Ember's real power, which, he had guessed for some time, was much greater.

In desperation, Castiel groped for a tether in her mind, but he could feel her slipping away, and he could feel the moment when she broke completely.

Her eyes turned yellow.

In horror, Castiel backed up against the other side of the cell, but she paid him no mind. She flicked one finger toward the door to their cell, and it shot open so powerfully that it almost fell off the hinges. Then she exited the cage, slowly, a serene smile on her face. Castiel filed out after her.

"Wait!" Lucifer yelled. "What about me?"

She glared at him, and continued on down the hallway. She walked with a sort of poise and elegance that Castiel didn't recognize, as though she was possessed. The guard called Blythe ran away from her down the hallway, but she snapped her fingers.

POOF! Blood erupted across Castiel's trenchcoat, and he backed up in horror.

There were more. All the way down the hallway Ember walked. There were several prisoners, and a few guards scattered here and there. Snap! Snap! Snap! As Castiel watched with horror, Ember descended through the doorway into Hell at the end of the hall, which was warded against angels.

He couldn't follow her there. She was gone! He ran after her, shouting at the now closed door. "Ember!"

But only a few seconds later, she had appeared once again, covered almost completely in spattered blood. "Ember!" he said again, but she ignored him.

Ember continued down another hall, then another, passing the doorway out of the prison, and Castiel followed. Snap! Snap! Snap! More blood, and Castiel dove out of the way more than a few times. There was one prisoner that did not explode, but simply sagged back against the wall. Castiel could feel that this prisoner was an angel, but he was very weak, too weak even to identify properly while he was in a vessel.

"Ember!" Castiel yelled. "Ember!"

But Ember paid him no mind, and he couldn't open the door to ascertain the fate of his brother.

Finally, Ember stopped again outside of Lucifer's cage, her yellow eyes flashing. As Castiel watched in horror, Ember lifted Lucifer up into the air, apparently knowing instinctively that her usual technique wouldn't work.

"Put me down!" Lucifer screamed at her. "Cas, help!" But she paid him no mind.

CRACK! Ember twisted the neck of Lucifer's vessel, and he slammed down on the floor, apparently unconscious. It wouldn't be enough to kill him, Castiel knew that… but it was a start.

Then, without warning, Ember's face seemed to sag. Her feet went out from under her, then, and she fell like a marionette whose strings had been cut. Castiel ran forward to catch her, yanking her upward just before her head hit the floor.

"Cas!" she said into his mind, though her eyes were closed. "Help! I can't fight it! I can't-…"

"I don't know what to do," he said helplessly.

"Put me to sleep," she commanded. "Until you find another solution. Put me to sleep…"

"I can't!" Castiel said desperately. "Not permanently. My sleep will only work for a short while. You're mentally exhausted right now, but when you-…"

"Cas!" she yelled into his mind, though her eyes were still closed. "You'll figure it out, I trust you… I can't hold on!"

Castiel could feel that she was telling the truth. He could see, inside her mind, the demon side that had been finally, truly unlocked. The evil was unending – different from the boost to her superpowers let loose by a Demon Blood Bond, and different from the effects of Famine. This was the monster that was inside her that she had kept caged for so long, and the strength of it was truly terrifying. It was threatening to overwhelm everything in a haze of yellow wrath. Her human side cried out for help, a last plea overwhelmed by a haze of evil.

"I love you," he said, and he touched his fingers to her forehead and put her in as deep a sleep as he could manage without killing her. Then he picked her up in his arms, and ran with her, as far and as fast as he could.

-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-

"Hellooooo," said a very high-pitched Scottish voice over the phone.

"Rowena," Castiel said brusquely. "It's Castiel. I need a favor."

There was a pause. "Castiel," she said, sounding surprised. "Haven't seen you since we stuffed Lucifer back in the box! Heard you were dead."

"I heard the same about you," Castiel said, impatient. "But I suppose we're difficult to kill."

There was another pause, then Rowena said, "Well, it's good to hear from you, Castiel, but I'm a bit busy right n-…"

"I'll come to you," Castiel said. "I need a sleeping spell. One strong enough to put a demon to sleep for a very long time, but one that can be reversed if necessary."

A third long pause. "Castiel, that's… that's Book of the Damned magic…"

"Can you do it?"

"Well!" she said, as though insulted. "Of course I can, but I don't see why you'd want to put a demon - …"

"It's Ember," Castiel said, looking at his girlfriend in the seat next to him. He was holding her hand so that he could ensure that she was still asleep, however he wanted desperately to let go. He could see her dreams, and they were filled with evil, and torture, and death. A good portion of her wrath was aimed at Lucifer, however she also dreamed about killing all of the angels in Heaven.

"She went dark side," Castiel explained. "I put her to sleep, but it won't last."

There was a pause. Then Rowena said, "You'll have to get the Codex from-…"

"Not a problem," Castiel said.

"And you'll have to do something for me in return," Rowena added.

"Anything," said Castiel.

"Well!" Rowena said again. "I guess we're in business."

Next, Castiel called the Winchesters. "I need Nadia's Codex," he said, with no preamble.

"Hello to you too, Cas," snapped Dean.

Castiel explained what had happened with Lucifer, and what had happened with Asmodeus. He told them about Ember going dark side.

"So what, she just… snapped?" Dean said after he'd had a moment to process. "That doesn't make any sense. After all this time -…"

"It was the stress of losing Jack, I think," Castiel lied. "And Lucifer was taunting her… you know how he is, and what she's been through with him…"

There was a pause. "Okay," Dean said finally, though he sounded skeptical. "Cas, of course we'll help."

***Sam POV***

November 1, Early Morning

"Look, I'm really sorry," said Rowena, "but I don't think this is going to work."

"Why?" said Castiel brusquely.

It had taken over an hour to discuss Rowena's payment, and it had put all of them in an even worse mood than they already were. She had wanted a page from the Black Grimoire, a spellbook of dark magic currently in the Winchester's possession. Dean had at first refused outright, but even he had given in after Rowena had managed to convince them that she simply wanted to defend herself against Lucifer. Truthfully, they had never really had a choice. In the end, it was a small price to pay for getting Ember back – a much smaller price than any of them had anticipated.

They were in the garage, where Ember sat, asleep, in the passenger seat of Castiel's truck. Castiel refused to leave Ember's side. Currently he was pacing around the garage, where he seemed to have developed a pattern: he would walk to one side of the garage, then walk back, put two fingers on Ember to read her mind, grimace, and then repeat the pattern.

Dean was calm, but Sam guessed that that was only because he was well on his way to being buzzed. He had been drinking non-stop for the past hour, constantly refilling his glass of a strong brand of whiskey. Sam was holding Eileen's hand in the front seat of the Impala, which was parked next to the truck. Eileen kept giving him looks as though he might explode at any second, and squeezing his hand in reassurance. Rowena stood in the middle of the garage around a rickety table, where she continued to decode the Book of the Damned and add things to a bowl as she went.

"You'll need a – a bit of your grace, which I guess isn't so bad," said Rowena to Castiel. "But you'll also need the blood of a Prince of Hell, and I don't know where-…"

"Got it," Castiel said.

Sam turned to look at him in surprise.

"What?" Dean asked. "How?"

Castiel sighed. "Asmodeus was there with us," Castiel said, but there was an odd look on his face. "I don't think Ember killed him, but she definitely got some of his blood on her."

Sam doubted this, and he could see the same skepticism reflected on his brothers' face. Now wasn't the time, however. "Okay," he said finally.

Castiel walked over to Ember, and Sam could have sworn he saw a silver knife glint in his friend's hand. When he turned around, however, he was holding a piece of Ember's clothing. "Here," he said.

"Alright then," Rowena said, dropping the bit of clothing into the bowl. It sparked, and purple smoke erupted from it.

Rowena took the bowl and walked over to Ember in the passenger seat of the truck, and Sam and Eileen got out of the Impala to get a better view. "This will put her permanently to sleep, until a time when you choose to awaken her. The four of us are the only ones who know the incantation." She took the contents of the bowl, which looked like a blood-red paste, and smeared them on Ember's forehead. "Donec penitus excitavit somnum!"

Nothing happened. Castiel rushed over to Ember and put two fingers on her forehead. He seemed to sag in relief. "She's sleeping peacefully," he said. "Her mind is clear. Thank you, Rowena."

When Rowena was gone, Castiel made to climb into the drivers' seat of his truck. "I can't thank you two enough," he said. "I'll start to look for ways to cure her, get her back to normal. Obviously the usual way won't work, because she's half-demon, so we'll have to-…"

"Cas, wait," said Sam reluctantly.

Castiel turned around, and an arrested look colored his face.

"Castiel, what happened?" asked Sam. "There are too many holes in your story. You know we'd do anything for Ember, but you have to tell us the truth! Ember's been through… God, everything. And I know what Lucifer did, and I know she's upset about Jack, and I'm sure that added to whatever made her lose control…"

"But she's too strong for that," said Dean. "Otherwise she would've lost control ages ago."

Castiel visibly sagged. He looked uncomfortable. He seemed to be wrestling with some sort of monumental decision. "Cas, what's going on?" said Sam gently.

Castiel sighed. "Sam, it's…" He stopped, turned around, and walked to Ember's side of the truck. He stood in front of it, as though to block her from their view. He started again, this time more sure of himself. "I don't know if I ever told you this. Things got pretty crazy after the Darkness. But you should know… maybe it'll help. I'll need your help researching this, too."

Sam and Dean waited for Castiel to go on. Finally, he said, "This is different from the Demon Blood Bonds. The magic that we know as a Demon Blood Bond was actually something that Lucifer put in place a long time ago. It works for both demons and angels. The literal translation of the spell is, 'Duo amantes magicae magicam si quis invocavit erunt alterum, quam par est gradue vero amantes magicis invocatum sic coniunx.' Or, 'When two lovers have magic and one is invoked, so shall be the magic of its mate, to a level which matches.' For demons, this is automatic. In the case of angels, the angel needs to desire the Blood Bond, and the lover needs to give permission. Castiel paused. "The only reason it's called a 'Demon Blood Bond' is that angels would never use such a thing. The purpose was for Lucifer to have an extra method of conversion for demons, assuming that one demon is feeding their lover demon blood. Angels can use it too, though, if they desire, and if their lover is at all magical, and if they get permission from the lover. Demons can skip the permission part entirely, which is why it ended up being known as a Demon Blood Bond – no angel would do such a thing."

"Except Lucifer," Eileen said.

Castiel nodded.

"That makes sense with Ember's Blood Bond with Dean," Sam said, "but not the Blood Bond with you. She never would've given Lucifer permission for the Blood Bond, even if she thought he was you."

But Dean shook his head. "Remember when we summoned her? She told us she had been so mad about-…" Dean winced, visibly – "about Amara that she went straight to Castiel, and she kissed him. Could that be taken as permission?"

Castiel nodded. "Unfortunately, yes," he said. "I'm sorry, Dean."

Dean shrugged. "You still haven't told us why she finally lost it," he pointed out.

Castiel closed his eyes, looking as though he had a headache. "The Blood Bonds increased her demonic powers, for a time," Castiel said, "But they weren't truly her, simply an echo of your power level, and of mine. We've never known what she is truly capable of, once she let her defenses down."

He paused again. "Lucifer knew this," he said, and he stiffened, standing upright again in front of the truck as though to block Ember from their view. "And I told you the truth, that he was taunting her, and I think that losing Jack didn't help…"

"Cas…" Dean said warningly.

"Lucifer told her who her father is," Castiel said finally.

There was silence.

"Lucifer lies," said Dean. "Whatever he says, it was probably bullshit."

"It wasn't," said Castiel. "Dean… her eyes were yellow. It was-…"

"Don't!" Dean screamed suddenly, holding his hand up. "Just don't, Cas." He looked at Ember for a second, and anger covered his face. Dean looked for a second as though he would quite like to hit Ember, and Castiel drew himself up to his full height, blocking her. Sam's heart had taken a nose-dive at Castiel's words, and he, too, felt as though his world had been turned inside out.

Without warning, Dean picked up an empty whiskey bottle and hurled as hard as he could at the front of the truck, then stalked off.

Castiel looked at Sam warily, as if worried that he might do the same. Sam didn't know how to feel. Azazel… the reason for everything. Azazel had started everything, and he was her father. But it was Ember, his best friend, who had already been through so much…

"Cas, you're… you're sure she's okay?" Sam asked, attempting to keep his voice calm.

"She's sleeping," said Castiel curtly, "until such time as we choose to wake her up, if we can find a way to quell the demon side."

Sam nodded. "Cas, I'm sorry," he said, "Just… just give us a few days, to… to process," he said.

Castiel looked irritated, but nodded. "You know where I'll be," he said stiffly. He waited until Sam had backed up, then got into the driver's seat and drove away.