Part IV
Dean squirmed as he tried to work free of his bindings, but to no avail. Though tenebrous in shape, the smoky ropes were still constricting, and the harder Dean struggled, the tighter they squeezed. He eventually stopped so he could suck in a ragged breath.
The demon, Crowley, was currently carrying a small ceramic jug and pouring a treacly clear liquid into a large circle on the sand. Dean detected the tang of holy oil.
Once the ring was complete, Crowley set the jug down and went over to grab Meg by her hair, and dragged her over to one side of the circle, careful to remain outside it. He yanked her head back, exposing her throat, and drew out a serrated knife.
"Now, scream for me, darling. Nice and loud so your dragon hears you."
Meg glared at him defiantly, and gritted her teeth against a strangled cry as Crowley began to carve the tip of the blade down her neck to her collar bone, drawing forth a thin trickle of blood.
"Go to Hell," she spat.
"Would love to," the demon replied blithely. "But not without my prize. Now, call for the dragon." He dug the knife's tip into her shoulder and torqued it, finally eliciting a scream.
Dean didn't see how torturing Meg was supposed to get the dragon's attention. If anything, hearing her scream would alert him to danger on his island, and the winged beast just might burst free in order to defend it. Was Crowley stupid?
Meg was obviously struggling not to cry out, but the knife Crowley was using had some kind of rune work on the blade, and it was glowing red as it made each slice. A gut-wrenching scream rent the air.
Dean glanced down the beach. Their ship was just around the bend in the shoals. He wondered what it would take for the crew to come investigate…or if they'd weigh anchor and flee at the sounds echoing down the shoreline. Dean expected a dragon's roar to shake the island any second, and was shocked when Castiel the man appeared running down the path toward the beach.
"No, don't!" Sam tried to shout in warning, but it was too late. Castiel had run straight into the circle of holy oil, and with a flash of the demon's red eyes, Crowley lit the ring on fire.
Flames whooshed up around Castiel, trapping him. Their divine heat would sear the flesh off anything accursed, including dragons. Castiel whipped his gaze around at the flames in bewilderment, then a trace of fear. But all of that was overridden with worry when his eyes settled on Meg, bound and on her knees in the sand with Crowley holding a fistful of her hair.
"Meg," Castiel breathed.
Crowley's face cracked into a grin. "As I suspected. So you're the dragon." He roved his gaze up and down the man in the ring of fire. "Interesting visage."
Castiel drew his shoulders back. "What do you want?"
The demon's eyes glinted, and he let go of Meg in order to reach into his coat. He drew out a metal collar and chain. "You."
Castiel gazed at him in confusion.
Crowley huffed. "Submit to me, or I will continue to cut Meg here to pieces." He twirled his dagger, laying the tip against her cheek.
Castiel went rigid. "Don't!"
Crowley paused. "Will you surrender?" he asked, holding up the collar.
Dean watched with bated breath as Castiel's throat bobbed.
"If I submit," he said slowly. "Will you let Meg go? Will you let all of them go?"
Dean blinked at Sam and him being included. They'd been little more than bound spectators this whole time, not that Dean didn't expect the demon to kill them when he was finished. And why should Castiel care what happened to them?
"Don't do it, Castiel!" Meg shouted.
Crowley planted his boot against her back and shoved her face first into the sand. He held the collar out. "Their freedom for yours."
Castiel's eyes wavered, but he nodded. Crowley opened his hand, and the collar floated through the air, over the flames and into the circle, stopping just in front of Castiel and hovering. Castiel gazed at it with loathing and fear.
"Or I could make Meg scream again," Crowley prompted.
A muscle in Castiel's jaw ticked, and he staunchly reached out to grab the collar. Closing his eyes in abject defeat, he snapped it around his neck. Runes etched into the metal immediately began to glow, and Castiel's eyes shot open as he threw his head back with a scream. He clawed at his neck, inhuman sounds tearing from his throat.
Dean watched in horror as fulvous lines spread down through Castiel's veins like molten fire from within. His chest began to glow, skin cracking into fiery fissures. And then with an explosion of sparks, the dragon ripped itself out from the man's flesh. The concussive force extinguished the holy fire and buffeted Dean's face with a gust of hot air. How could he ever have thought this wasn't a hideous monster?
The dragon thrashed and screeched, but Crowley gave the chain he was holding a sharp yank, jerking the dragon's head to the ground. The collar flared again, and the beast settled into smaller twitches and writhing. Dean caught a glimpse of blue eyes filled with anguish.
"Marvelous," Crowley breathed as he approached the beast. The dragon tried to flinch away, but another tug of the chain kept its head bowed low. A deep keen rumbled in its chest, and its gaze flicked to Meg, who was kneeling in the sand, eyes wide.
Crowley turned back to the three of them. "A deal is a deal." He snapped his fingers, and in the next instant, the smoky bonds were gone, and Dean found himself on the shore where the ship was anchored, Sam and Meg with him.
Meg immediately jumped to her feet. "We have to go back!"
Dean pushed himself up and brushed his pants off. "Excuse me?"
"We have to save Castiel. Crowley has to create a portal in order to transport them back to Hell, so there's still time to stop him."
Dean just gave her a dubious look. "It's a dragon. Maybe Hell is where it should be."
"Dean," Sam said, sounding affronted.
Meg's cheeks puffed red, and she took a step forward to shove him hard. "Then give me a sword and I'll save him myself."
"Why do you even care?" Dean snapped. When had his world turned upside down where his brother wanted to spare a dragon and help a demon?
Meg hesitated, but then lifted her chin. "Because I do. Look, I know I'm just a lowly demon in your eyes, but Castiel has never hurt anyone. Even when his dragon was triggered to kidnap me—because of your song, remember—he did everything in his power to keep the dragon from actually hurting me. I am not going to leave him to be taken to Hell and reduced to one of Crowley's pets. Now are you going to help me or not?"
Dean had half a mind to say she could have at it, and then they could leave this island without her. But her heartfelt declaration oddly moved him, if only because it was very un-demon like. Not to mention that even though what Dean had witnessed on that beach was horrific, he couldn't completely forget the image of that awkward guy named Castiel who'd beseeched them to take Meg away, despite him apparently having feelings for her. And when she was in trouble, he came running, and sacrificed himself to save her. To save all of them.
"I'll help you," Sam spoke up.
Dean shot his brother a disbelieving scowl. Seriously?
Sam just gave him a pointed look, and okay, maybe Dean was already leaning toward helping her. What was he coming to?
"Fine," Dean said gruffly. He undid one of his sword belts and passed Meg the twenty-inch blade.
She took it soberly.
Then the three of them turned and headed back up the beach to hopefully stop a very powerful demon and rescue a dragon.
—\_/—
Meg's blood was boiling with fierce determination as she marched across the sand. A part of her couldn't believe she was working side by side with hunters, of all people, but she'd do anything to save Castiel. He had been nothing but kind to her and didn't deserve to be taken to Hell and imprisoned. Especially by Crowley.
It didn't take long for the trio to round the bend toward where they'd been ambushed by the current King of Hell. Sure enough, Crowley was still there, waving his hand back and forth slowly as he drew an intricate sigil in the sand. Several feet behind was the dragon, now pinned down by multiple chains lashed over his back and wings, the metal glowing red and looking like they were causing him pain.
Furious, Meg started forward, but Dean grabbed her arm.
"We need a plan."
She raised her short sword. "Plan is I kill Crowley."
He just gave her and the blade a dry look. "With that?"
Meg bit back a response. She knew the blade wouldn't inflict any real damage on a powerful demon, and with her wounds still healing, she wasn't up to a full-on fight yet.
"You have a better idea?" she snapped impatiently.
Sam wordlessly drew out a knife, this one with a jagged blade and rune work that made Meg's eyes widen in disbelief.
"Where did you get that?"
"Not important," Dean said. "We'll take care of Crowley; you get to Castiel."
Meg would have loved nothing more than to stab that traitorous usurper in the throat, but she also wanted to get those wretched chains off Castiel, so she agreed. "Let's go save my dragon."
They split up. Meg crept along the water's edge, slinking around rocks to come up behind Castiel, while the Winchester brothers branched off to attack Crowley head on. Of course, there wasn't exactly cover for them.
Crowley paused in his task and angled a mildly surprised look at the two hunters. "Something I can do for you boys?"
Dean briefly raised his eyes toward the heavens as though he couldn't believe what he was doing. "Yeah," he said. "You can let the dragon go."
Crowley arched a disbelieving brow. "Don't tell me you also developed a bleeding heart for the beast." He barked out a laugh. "Who would have ever believed, the infamous Winchesters growing soft."
"We're not gonna let you take him," Sam spoke up boldly.
Crowley scoffed. "You're way out of your league, boys. I'm the King of Hell."
Dean shrugged nonchalantly. "I've never killed a demon king before."
He arched his arm back and threw one of his knives, the tip flying end over end through the air before striking Crowley in the chest. Of course, it did little but enrage the demon, and with a flick of his wrist, Crowley sent the Winchesters flying.
Meg took the moment of chaos to dart in to Castiel, trying to catch his eye and praying for recognition. The dragon was thrashing violently against the unyielding chains, but when she came around his head, there was a glimmer in the blue irises that cried out with anguish.
Meg raised her short sword and brought it down on one of the chains with a metallic clang. The link broke, and one of the massive wings snapped free. The dragon stretched and strained harder with that inch of freedom, keening as the rest of the chains continued to bite into him.
"Hold on, hold on," she urged. "I'm getting it."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dean attack Crowley with his sword and stab the demon, then get knocked down. Sam lunged, but was tossed aside easily. She should help them, but after she freed Castiel.
She swung her sword down on the next chain, sparks flying at the collision. The link only dented, so she raised her blade to strike it again.
A pressure closed around her throat, and the sword dropped from her hands as she shot them up to clutch at her neck. Gasping, she half turned to find Crowley bearing down on her, hand outstretched and fingers crooked in a claw-like fashion. His eyes were blazing red.
"You had your chance, whore," he spat venomously. "Now you'll get a rack like you deserve."
The dragon tried to rear its head back, letting out a raging bellow. Crowley snapped his attention to it, the chains flaring brighter. The dragon shrieked and thrashed, kicking up sprays of sand as it writhed in place.
Tears sprang to Meg's eyes, partly from choking, partly from the sight of Castiel in agony. This was all her fault. If she hadn't sent that message to Tom, hadn't trusted him with what she should have known would be valuable information, none of this would be happening.
Despair like she had never known seized her heart. And then like a hero of the old tales, Sam Winchester came leaping toward them, and plunged the spelled knife into Crowley's back.
The King of Hell jerked as his body went rigid, eyes blowing wide. Orange light flashed throughout him like hellfire ignited from within.
Meg gasped as her air flow was suddenly restored, and she watched in amazement as Crowley shook in a series of spastic death throes until he finally crumpled to the ground in a boneless, smoking heap.
Meg rubbed her throat. "Long live the king," she said, spitting on the corpse. That was for her father. And for Castiel.
Remembering him, Meg snatched up her sword and swung with all her might, breaking the center link of the remaining chains. With a resounding crack, they broke apart, iron sliding off the great dragon's back. Then Meg stepped in and grabbed the heinous collar, pulling it apart and freeing him completely.
The dragon reared up with an ear-shattering roar that almost knocked her down. Before Meg could process what was happening, the dragon leaped into the air, talons wrapping around her torso and plucking her off the ground. She heard Sam and Dean shouting after her as the dragon gave a massive flap of its wings and ascended into the air. It carried her up and up, back to the cave, where it swooped in and dropped her onto the flat rock against the side wall.
The sacrificial altar.
The dragon loomed over her, hovering, its belly beginning to glow with fulvous fire that spread up its neck and into its eyes.
Meg knew what the dragon intended, and yet she did not scream or try to scramble away. Instead, she surged upright and grabbed the dragon's angular face, pressing her lips to its snout.
The dragon choked on its fire and jerked back, flailing in obvious shock as it scrabbled away from her.
Meg slid off the altar. "All you've known is people's hatred and fear," she said, moving closer. "But I'm not afraid of you."
The dragon twisted and backed up until it was pressed against the opposite wall as though pinned by her tiny presence. She closed the distance.
"I love you."
The dragon was heaving, but ever so slowly, the hellish illumination in his eyes faded, replaced with the dazzling blue. He lowered his head down to the floor, and Meg reached out to place her hand on his crown.
"Perhaps you should stay in this form for a little while," she suggested. "I showed you how to be human. Now I'll show you how to be just you."
She moved around to the side a little and sat, drawing the dragon's head down to rest in her lap. And gradually his breathing evened out and he closed his eyes as he turned his head into her chest. She stroked her hand down the length of his neck.
"Are you hurt?" she asked. "Those chains looked painful."
He opened one eye, gaze filled with haunted memory, but then gave the tiniest shake of his head.
Meg continued to caress his saurian form, marveling at how beautiful he was, how sleek his muscles were, how his obsidian scales carried scintillating streaks of iridescent colors. She'd never gotten the chance to appreciate it before.
A short while later, the Winchesters came bursting into the cave, swords raised. They pulled up short at the sight of them, however.
Meg felt Castiel tense at their arrival, but she laid a gentle hand on his head. "Shh. They're friends, remember?"
The dragon blinked, and then settled.
"Uh," Sam said, breaths heavy from what must have been a harried run all the way up the mountain. He cast them both a dubious look. "You two okay?"
"We're fine," she replied. She looked down to meet Castiel's eyes. "Everything's going to be fine."
—\_/—
Castiel, back in his human form, stood on the beach with Meg at his side as they bid farewell to the Winchesters.
"You sure about this?" Sam asked her.
She had her arm around Castiel's waist, her touch no longer a trigger for his dragon, but an anchor. She tilted her head back to look up at him. "I'm sure."
Castiel's heart swelled with boundless joy that she had chosen to stay. With him.
"Thank you, for everything," he said to the Winchesters.
Sam gave him a warm smile. "We'll make sure no one sings the Ritual Song again," he promised.
Castiel nodded his thanks, though a part of him felt, deep down, that it wouldn't be a problem anymore.
Dean shuffled his foot in the sand. "Well, take care," he said awkwardly.
Meg smirked. "You too, slayer."
With a final wave of goodbye, the brothers turned and headed back to their ship. Castiel hugged Meg closer as they watched it veer back out toward open sea, disappearing into tendrils of mist. Then they made their way back up the mountain that would now be their home, together.
On the ledge of the cave's wide mouth, Meg stood in front of Castiel and slowly arched up on her tiptoes to kiss him. Fire burst in his belly, but not the kind that signaled an eruption of his beast. No, this was warm and invigorating. So much passion and love wrapped in such a thorny beauty. Castiel kissed back ardently.
When they broke apart, Meg tilted her head up and whispered, "Show me the wind."
And Castiel closed his eyes, letting the dragon rise to the surface like a phoenix from the ashes. Fire tingled along his skin, embers flickering away as brawn and scales replaced muscle and flesh.
He lifted his saurian head as Meg stepped in to wrap her arms around his neck in a gentle embrace his kind had forgotten how to receive. And then she mounted his back, nestled between his wings as he spread them out, joy and freedom singing in his veins. And with a great flap, he stepped off the edge and into the wind, following their currents into the setting sun.
A/N: And they lived happily ever after. ^_^ My queue has run low again. I've got some one shots for next week, and hopefully I'll get more writing done in the meantime. Thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed!
