Ch 26
Castiel and River touched down in an empty alley a moment later. River staggered to her knees as her equilibrium struggled to catch up; traveling with Cas was a far less finessed experience than Gabriel. "I'm sorry. I haven't flown with a human before. Are you ok?" Cas reached out one hand and effortlessly pulled River to her feet.
"Yeah I'm just glad I skipped the in-flight meal." She said closing her eyes and letting out a shaky breath. She wiped at the sheen of sweat that had broken out on her forehead. "Where are we?"
"Across the street from the hot dog stand you requested. Tell me though, is the hot dog made from actual canine?"
"Shit, in this part of town they might be. That's why we're gonna play it safe and get the vegan ones. Come on," she grabbed the Angel by the arm and led him to the street curb. Castiel continued towards the restaurant unheeding of oncoming traffic, River yanked him backwards at the last moment and they were rewarded with the angry blare of a horn as an expensive SUV sped by. "God damn it, Cas , you can't just walk through traffic!" she yelled at the angel. "You freaking labradoodle." Castiel bowed his head, staring at his shoes looking remarkably like a scolded puppy.
"I'm sorry. I have only inhabited this vessel for a short time and this corporeal form is difficult to get used to. I," he cleared his throat nervously, "I have not taken the time to learn from my vessel the correct human responses to certain situations."
River shook her head and smiled, "Rule one: look both ways before crossing the street." She modeled the behavior and looked expectantly at the trench coated angel. He followed her example and they continued to dinner.
Across the country Adam Milligan learned that every monster from every scary movie or nightmare was real and his father and half-brothers were some of the few that fought and died to protect the innocent.
"This is strange. There are so many flavors and molecules. I'm sorry I don't think I can finish this," Castiel grimaced and set the remainder of his chili dog down.
"Rule number 2: Quit apologizing so much. That's my job," River shrugged and ate the last bite of her own chili dog, washing it down with a sip of beer. "So Cas, did you get like a medal of valor or something for rescuing Dean from the pit?"
A smile tugged at the corners of the angels lips, "Not exactly. I have a tendency to interpret orders…differently than other Seraphs."
"How so, Cas?" River asked, her eyes flashed mischievously.
"The order came down through the ranks that Dean Winchester was to be rescued from Hell. My battalion was to lead the charge as soon as we were given the attack order. I however, interpreted the order to rescue Dean to be carried out immediately. So I took my four most trusted lieutenants and laid siege. By the time my commanders realized what I had started I was too far beyond enemy lines to be withdrawn."
"Well, look at you a little rebel angel. Did you get reprimanded?"
"Yes. And it will probably be a few thousand years before I am eligible for another promotion." Castiel smiled again causing the corners of his eyes to crinkle before his gaze shifted away from River. "We need to meet Haniel he will instruct you on breaking the warding." Castiel reached across the table and grabbed her wrist, before she had time to protest she felt a sudden rush of warmth and a tugging sensation on her brainstem. The rest of her body followed her nervous system a nanosecond later and she stumbled again when Castiel landed, he was ready this time and caught her before she fell.
"Castiel, this is not Dean Winchester." Haniel's vessel was a middle aged man, a hair over five feet tall and a body that suggested he spent most of his human days stagnant behind a desk.
"You must be Haniel. You're pretty quick on the draw." River quipped, glancing quickly at the mirage of short dark purple wings that Haniel had tucked close to his body.
"Haniel is an espionage specialist. He tracked Adhira, Lilith's third battalion commander from Cairo to the building across the street. She was sent here on Lilith's orders; we believe the seal she is trying to break is a Hellgate. There could be thousands of demons on the other side waiting to get out," Castiel informed her.
River smiled nervously, "Well, that sounds terrifying. How many demons are already in there?" She walked to the window and looked across at the seemingly abandoned, half finished "Golden Springs Retirement Resort Condos". She could see two people standing guard at the front entrance.
"At least twenty. The building is covered inside and out in Angel warding. We need you to break the warding so Castiel can enter. Here are the points of access and sigils that are required," Haniel pointed to a map of the building and handed River a slip of parchment with Enochian Sigils.
"I thought you said there was a battalion of angels here? " River asked turning towards Castiel.
"They were sent to Mexico City this morning." Haniel answered.
Castiel's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "I was told this mission was of the utmost importance."
"It was, until I gained intelligence of a plot in Mexico City. If the seal there is broken then Mictlantecuhtli will rise. Castiel, our forces are spread thin as it is. Choices must be made for the greater good."
"Awesome. What about the four million people that live in this fucking city? What's going to happen to them if thousands of demons are let loose?" River ran her hands through her hair, piling it quickly into a knot on top of her head. "So it's you, me and Danny DeVito here against 'at least' twenty demons?"
"No. My job is done. I've given you the sigils and the map. I have to meet the battalion in Mexico." With that Haniel disappeared leaving River and Cas alone. She shook her head in disgust, muttering "Fucking angels. You threaten to turn a town of ten thousand people into pillars of salt over a couple of witches but fuck the largest city on the West Coast."
"Is this a trap Castiel?" River asked turning to face the trench coated angel. "Look, I know about Uriel. He betrayed you. Dean was supposed to come with you, he isn't here, your backup isn't here. How do we know Adhira is even in there?"
He remained silent for a moment, considering the possibility of another betrayal. "The men guarding the doors are demons. I can see therir faces from here. The building is warded and I trust Haniel. What choice do we have? If we do nothing and Adhira opens the Hellgate…"
"How much time do we have?"
"A day or two at most according to Haniel's intel." Castiel said glancing at the notes the other angel had left behind. River let out along breath grabbing her phone out of her back pocket.
"Who are you calling?" Castiel asked.
"I'm calling to say goodbye to Dean in case I fucking die again," she told him holding the phone to her ear and waiting for him to answer. "Hey hot stuff, how goes it?"
"You know, same old: breaking in to cemeteries, trying not to get eaten by monsters," Dean drawled as he shone his flashlight around a crypt. Several stone markers lay broken on the ground at his feet. "How 'bout you? Ganked any demons yet?"
"No. We're heading in soon. Just wanted to check in," she looked back out the window as fat rain drops began pelting the glass. "It's raining here. I love the rain. Dean I-"
"Hey, princess I think I got something here. I'll call you back later ok?" He didn't wait for her answer before disconnecting the call.
"You ever been in love with anyone Cas?" River asked.
Castiel shook his head. The conversation was quickly making him nervous. He had been rightfully worried to take River on this mission, not because he felt she was incapable but she was far more stubborn and headstrong than Dean and she was a woman. And women made the millennia old seraphim nervous; ever since Eve had joined Adam in the Garden he had been both confused and intrigued by the fairer sex.
"It fucks you up. Makes it so you can't see straight, can't think straight…Maybe it's just this life. Our expiration date comes a lot sooner than normal people and a lot bloodier. You find something and you just want to hang on to it," she said quietly, watching lightening streak across the sky. "I love him so fucking much, I've never wanted anything as much as I want him…Dean cheated on me a couple months ago." She added suddenly.
"I know. He had sexual intercourse with Ana. Uriel told me," Castiel as he stood next to her and watched the rain.
"He said he was sorry. That He loves me. Even if he means it with his whole heart what kind of life could we ever have? I can't have kids. I can't go through that again, I can't put them at risk. Can't settle down, every monster with a grudge would come after us. If he somehow stops the apocalypse, one or both of us is still gonna die bleeding out or torn apart… Again."
"Well, lets make sure today is not the day you bleed out and die. I don't feel like explaining to Dean why I let his…girlfriend?" Cas raised an eyebrow, checking with her if that was the correct term. River nodded. "Why I let his girlfriend die on 'Mickey Blue Eye's' watch."
"Is that more sass, Castiel? I'm going to start calling you Sassy Cassy."
"Please don't," Castiel replied seriously.
"The rain makes me melancholy," River shook her head, trying to clear the dark thoughts, "Let's go kill some fucking demons." Castiel flew them to the alley behind the building. The rain soaking the angel and the hunter with in a few seconds. He watched as River climbed over a chain link fence, dropped to the opposite side and ran towards a covered doorway. She took out the demon knife, quickly sliced her palm and drew the first sigil on the doorway. Then she disappeared from Castiel's line of sight as she circled to the East and then back to the West sides of the building repeating the process once she found a spot protected from the rain. The angel was still unable to set foot on the property while the North sigil and the warding inside the building was in place. He saw a flash of red hair as River snuck around to the front of the building where the first two sentries were stationed.
The demons milled under the metal awning of the main entrance grumbling about being forced to stand guard outside in the rain. She crouched down and peered around the corner. She knew she could probably gank the first demon no problem but the second one might alert the others inside. River looked around quickly for a diversion and saw a large metal dumpster along the wall behind her. Smiling, she walked to the dumpster and slammed the lid open. The loud metallic bang echoed off the stone walls. "What the hell was that?" one of them muttered angrily.
"Who gives a shit? It's still rainin'. That bitch's gonna keep us out here all night," the other lamented. Castiel peered nervously through the chainlink fence, catching a glimpse of River as she kicked the dumpster creating another loud bang when the demons didn't take the bait.
"That's it. If that bum is back I'm gonna rip his throat out," the first demon growled. River heard the dull, wet slaps as one of the demons left the dry protection of the awning and turned the corner. She heaved herself up to the dumpsters opening and began rooting around in it. "Hey! I ain't gonna warn you again!"
River dropped back down to the ground and gave the demon her best 'caught in the act/ please don't kill me face'. "I'm so-sorry, just looking for some cans. Do you got any spare change?" She took a cautious step towards the demon; the meat suit it wore was a scrawny, acne covered young man.
"Sweetheart, you definitely picked the wrong night to go dumpster diving." The demon leered at her, letting his black eyes flash through as he pounced. River grabbed the demon knife from behind her back and shoved it under the mans jaw. Flashes of orange light crackled under his skin and behind his eyes before the demon and the man dropped dead at her feet. She pulled the body unceremoniously to a pile of discarded trash and wiped her hands on her jeans.
"Marco! If Adhira catches you fucking off again she's gonna send us both back to the pit!" the second demon yelled as he turned the corner. He let a startled gurgle as River plunged the knife into his heart, his face contorting into a snarl before he died. She drug his body next to his dead companion then ran to the front door. Squeezing her tender palm for fresh drops of blood she quickly scrawled the North Sigil on the door. Cas cautiously peeked around the chain link fence at her.
"Outside is done. I'm going in. You'll be able to tell when the warding is down?" River asked shivering in the cold rain.
"Yes. Be careful," the angel told her.
"If the city doesn't get burned to a crisp we should go to Disneyland. I think you'd get a kick out of the Dumbo ride," she said smiling. She gave him a sarcastic salute then disappeared into the building. The entrance hall was dark and abandoned, plastic tarps and discarded construction materials lay in haphazard piles. The building reeked of wet rot, rat droppings and sulfur. River pulled out a map of building out of her jacket pocket and checked her location, she needed to draw three more sigils inside the dank building. She quickly found the correct positions for the first two sigils and was headed down an long corridor to the spot marked on the map when a bone chilling growl echoed behind her.
"Are you sure we should do this?" Sam asked quietly. He watched as Dean built the funeral pyre, gathering the branches by the armload and carefully stacking them the way Bobby had showed him so many years prior. Dean ground his jaw, snapping the last few branches over his knee and throwing them on top of the pile before turning away from his younger brother. He marched stiffly to the back of his car and carefully removed the sheet covered body of their half brother Adam.
Adam had been murdered by ghouls. He was dead before Sam and Dean ever even learned of his existence. He and his mother viciously murdered by the offspring of a monster their father had killed twenty years before. The 'Adam' that had contacted them had obtained the real Adam's memories when it had eaten his flesh, it and its sibling quickly orchestrating a plan to get the Winchesters to come to them to extract their twisted vengeance . But they had fatally underestimated the brothers; Dean killed the monsters and finished the case their father had started two decades ago.
"The ghouls didn't fake those photos," Dean said gently laying Adam next to the body of his mother, "They didn't fake the pages in dad's journal. He was our brother. He died like a hunter he deserves to go out like one."
Sam nodded, "Maybe we can call in a favor. Cas? Maybe he can bring him back?"
"No," Dean shook his head quickly, squeezing a can of lighter fluid onto the pyre, "He's in a better place. He deserves peace." He struck a match and tossed it into the waiting kindling. The fire caught immediately, the brilliant oranges and yellows of the flame dazzling in the pitch black night. Dean pulled their trusty green cooler from the backseat and set it in front of the car, pulling out a beer for him and his brother. They sat in silence for several minutes, watching as the body of their younger brother was rendered to ash. "Shit, I told River I'd call her back." Dean said tiredly, rubbing his hand over his face. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and cursed again when he realized he had let the battery die.
Another snarl, low and deadly issued from a spot to her left or maybe her right. River held the demon knife in front of her, the stench of sulfur and offal was cloying, making her gag. She quickly backed up a few more paces, hearing a faint growl behind her. Tears stung her eyes, either from fear or the smell radiating off the hellhounds. River turned on her heel and bolted down another long hallway, hearing the invisible dogs give chase, the snapping of their invisible jaws as they closed in. She stumbled on a loose board, screaming as she lost her balance. She turned on her back and wildly swung the knife in front of her, scrambling backwards trying to find purchase on the slick floor. A set of razor sharp teeth sunk into her left calf and she let a throat tearing scream, kicking her right leg out and making contact with a solid mass. The devil dog let out a angry growl and adjusted its grip on her leg. A warm, putrid breath blew over her face as the second hellhound moved in for the kill. Before the hound mauled her a high pitched whistle echoed off the cement walls, she sensed the demon dog nearest her head lope away. The hellhound attached to her leg pulled her back out of the room dragging her like an oversized squeaky toy towards the source of the whistle . River grabbed at every corner, every piece of detritus that littered the hallways, each time she hampered the monster dog on it's return to it's master it sunk its teeth in a little further.
"Good girls! Good girls, what did you bring mommy?" a tittering voice cooed at the invisible hellhounds. River felt the hellhound release her ruined calf and she sat up unsteadily wrapping her hands around the gaping holes where her muscles used to be, trying to staunch the bleeding. She still gripped the demon knife in one hand and quickly surveyed the room she was no doubt going to die in. A dozen or more demons stood in a semicircle surrounding a short, pink haired girl no older than seventeen.
"You must be Adhira. I was expecting more Maleficent and less Regina George," River said through gritted teeth.
"You must be…you know what? I don't care what your name is. Tie her up we can use her for the sacrifice," Adhira said dismissively turning her back on River. Two demons stalked towards River their black eyes shining with malice. "I'd love to stay, really. Seems like a great thing you got going here but I got plans. Gonna take a buddy to Disneyland. I am pining for some Dole Whip. Any of you assholes ever had Dole Whip?," River stalled. "No. Well, fuck you anyways. Anytime'd be great, Cas!" she yelled, swiping her bloody hand in the last curving swirl of the Enochian sigil.
"I'm here, River." Castiel appeared before her brandishing his Angel blade.
"Kill them," Adhira waived a hand as if bored by the sudden development. The demons swarmed towards the trench coated Seraphim and River. Castiel was quickly lost beneath a pile of snarling demons.
"Cas!" River screamed struggling to her feet. She limped painfully towards the sea of fighting bodies and grabbed the nearest one, shoving the demon blade into the base of its neck. The ground under her feet began vibrating and River grabbed at the next nearest demon for balance. Her first thought was that it was an earthquake, one of those slow rolling earth shakers that come in waves, knocking down grocery shelves and setting off car alarms. She looked into the eyes of the demon she still clung to and saw thats its face was contorted into pure fear. Before she had time to consider why the demon would be so terrified a blinding white light erupted from the beneath the struggling pile of bodies. The demons and River were thrown in every direction by the force behind the light. River slammed into a concrete pillar and sat dazed at the bottom, shielding her eyes from the blazing light. The light dimmed enough and she was able to see Castiel standing in a circle of charred bodies. His huge obsidian wings outstretched to their full length, the tips brushing either end of the room. His eyes blazed with a fierce ice blue light as he turned on the remaining demons. She stared in awe as mild mannered Castiel was transformed into a heavenly warrior smiting demons with his bare hands. His great wings flaring out and snapping at any demon that tried to run, his grace entangling them and dragging them screaming back towards holy death.
He flapped his wings one last time and folded them tightly against his back. Castiel surveyed the dead demons and met Rivers wide, shocked eyes. She still feebly grasped the demon knife close to her body and trembled."Holy shit, Cas…that was fucking intense."
"Where is Adhira?" he asked pulling River to her feet. He quickly touched her forehead and the wounds in her calf disappeared.
"I-I don't know where she went." River said. A high pitched whistle echoed across the cement walls and the angel and hunter turned to face the pink haired demon lieutenant. Growls and snarls erupted around them. "She has hellhounds," she whispered, eyes darting around the room trying to see the invisible beasts.
"Yes, I can see them," Castiel said tightly.
"I can't." River told him.
"It's better that way," he said gravely.
Adhira and her hounds attacked. The cold, cement room echoed again with the sounds of fighting. The wet snapping of jaws as the hellhounds jumped at Cas's great wings, the sounds of flesh hitting flesh as the demon and angel struggled in the middle of the great room. River willed her thundering heart to be quiet so she could try and hear where the demon dogs were, willed her eyes to see even the slightest shift in light or dust that would indicate where the first one would pounce. She turned a half second to late and again felt the razor sharp teeth nip at the flesh of her exposed leg. She screamed and brought the demon blade down in a wide arch towards the pain. The hellhound let go of her leg with a high pitched 'yip' and she heard claws skitter away across the floor.
River had time to take in one shaky breath before she was slammed to the floor by huge invisible paws. She plunged the demon knife blindly upwards and tried rolling away from the oppressive growling weight on top of her. Jaws snapped at her kicking legs and the screams escaped her throat before her brain fully realized what was happening to her body. Castiel turned towards River's high pitched wail and saw her struggling to pull herself away from three hellhounds. His wavering attention gave Adhira the only advantage she needed and she rounded on Castiel plunging a dagger into the space beneath his left wing. He grunted in pain and fell heavily to his kneed as River screamed again, this time calling out for him. "Cas! Cas help me, please!"