There wasn't a moment when Castiel realized his grace had finally grown enough to sustain him. It wasn't like the snapping of fingers or turning a light on. One day he realized he hadn't been hungry all day, even though he hadn't eaten since breakfast. He wasn't sleeping much, either. Some nights he stayed awake and read all night long, until it was time to get up for school.

His classes were gradually becoming smaller and smaller. One day he looked up and realized that six students were missing. During a break, Cas went up to Raphael and asked him about it.

"Well, you know," Raph said, smiling, "we've got a Convocation coming up."

"I know. Gabe said I could come this time."

"At this Convocation, we will have six candidates for Assignment. Can you guess who they are?"

Cas didn't have to guess. He knew that the names of the six—what had Raph called them, candidates?-would match up perfectly with the missing students. They would never come back to class again, being far too busy with their Assignments.

"I've never heard them called candidates before," Cas said. "Does that mean that some of them don't get Assigned?"

"It's rare, but it happens."

"Does anyone ever refuse an Assignment?"

At this, Raph frowned. "Who have you been talking to?"

"Nobody. I was just wondering if maybe . . . if you didn't like your Assignment, you could ask for another one."

"Castiel." Raph turned his chair so he was looking directly into the young angel's eyes. "Every angel, from the moment of their birth, is observed, assessed, tested. We look at their strengths and their weaknesses. We look at all the jobs that need filling, and look for the best person to fill them. This isn't a decision we make lightly. When you are given your Assignment, it will be the one that's determined to be best for you, and for all of Heaven. No matter what Lucifer says."

Cas stared in shock. "How did you know-"

"I know you've been spending time with him."

"Spying on him. For Michael. And I don't wanna do it anymore. It's not right! It's like . . . telling on him, when he hasn't done anything wrong."

"You're young," Raph said, "and trusting. I have known Lucifer since the beginning of the universe. He is very good at spinning his words into a tale designed to earn your sympathy. He manipulates people into doing what he wants, without regard for the consequences. He can make you do something you know is wrong by making it sound like the absolute right choice. You can't trust anything he says."

"I just think he's not as bad as everyone says he is. I mean, he raised Gabe. He helped raise me. He does nice things for us sometimes."

"Castiel," Raph said, "sooner or later you're going to have to choose sides. It will come down to civil war in Heaven . . . and you need to do the right thing."

"Why does there have to be war?"

"Lucifer has brought this on himself. He refuses to follow our rules and does whatever he wants. He hurts people intentionally. We cannot let this go on any longer. He must be stopped."

Cas felt a deep and aching sadness. He just wanted his whole family to be together again, not fighting each other. "Can't you talk to him? Or Mike? I bet Luci doesn't want a war either. Maybe if you can talk him into stopping what he's doing, there won't be a war."

"Oh, child," Raphael sighed. "We've tried talking. Luce doesn't want to listen. He doesn't want to change. And he's gathering followers, angels who think like he does—or have been manipulated into doing his bidding. This has to stop before it goes any further."

The class started to file back into the room. Once, they had filled the entire classroom. Now, Cas looked around and counted no more than a dozen others besides himself. And soon . . . he would be the only one left.

"Go take your seat," Raphael said. "We'll talk more about this after school. I think we should all have a meeting."

"Luci, too?"

"If he comes."


He didn't come.

The meeting ended up just being Mike, Gabe, Raph, and Cas, sitting around the table. It was the first time Cas had been allowed to sit in on an archangel meeting, and he felt very grown-up.

"Okay, first order of business," Gabe began. "The Convocation is in two days. I think Cassie should be allowed to be there."

Michael nodded thoughtfully. "He is nearly of age. Tell me, little brother: can you sit still and pay attention for more than an hour?"

"Yes, I can," Cas told him.

"He should have some idea what it's like," Raphael agreed, "before it's his turn."

"You'll need a formal robe," said Gabriel. "I think I have an old one that will fit you. We just need to take it up a bit."

"Never had a formal robe before," Cas mused. "Never needed one."

"Now, you know that I can't sit with you, right? I'll be up at the front, and I'll be watching you. If we get there early enough, you can sit in the second row, right behind the candidates, so you can see everything. Does that sound good to you?"

"Of course, if you sit in the front," Michael pointed out, "everyone will be watching you. So you need to be on your best behavior at all times. I know we keep telling you that, Castiel, and I imagine you're tired of hearing it, but we wouldn't be so emphatic about it if it weren't so important. If you cause any trouble, the whole Convocation will see you, and you won't come to the next one. Unless, of course, the next one is your own."

Suddenly Michael stood at attention. He seemed to be listening to something very far away. "Yes, Father," he said.

Father? Father was back? Castiel sat up and took notice.

"He wants to see us right away," Mike said.

When Cas started to follow his brothers out of the room, Gabe held him back. "Not you, squirt," he said. "This is archangel business."

"Oh, that again," Cas grumbled.

"I need you to stay here until I come back. I don't know how long it's gonna be. Maybe you can practice your sitting still."

"Okay."

Once Gabe had gone, shutting the door behind him, Cas sat down on the couch, trying to sit as still as he could. He stared straight ahead and pretended he was at the Convocation. He didn't know what to do with his hands, though. He tried resting them on his knees, and at first that was okay, but gradually he noticed warm, wet patches developing, and he moved them up onto his thighs. When the same thing started happening again, he folded them in his lap.

Folding seemed to work the best, but now his mind was wandering. Why was Father back now? Where had He been? Was He coming to the Convocation? Oh, grace, how was Castiel going to be able to sit still in front of Him?

Cas was already tired of sitting still. He got up and walked around a bit, trying to decide what to do. He couldn't leave the room till Gabe came back. His homework was all finished. Maybe he could just sit and read for a while.

He got his current library book from the table beside his bed, and he sat down and began to read where he had left off. After a while, though, he noticed that at the end of every page, he kept looking up at the door. Then it was every half-page. Then at the end of every paragraph.

When he found himself unable to finish a sentence without glancing at the door, he put the book aside and just sat again. He didn't know how long it had been, but Gabe had to be back soon, didn't he?

It was boring sitting up. Maybe if he lay down, just for a minute . . .

He shifted position and put his feet up on the end of the couch, his head resting against the padded arm. He was still watching the door when he fell asleep.


A loud bang woke him suddenly. Cas sat up, looking around, but it was only Gabe, coming in at last. Or had he been here and gone out again?

"Sorry, buddy," Gabe said. "Didn't mean to wake you. Sorry I was gone so long, but . . ." He shook his head sadly.

"What's wrong?" Cas asked him.

"It's Luci. You won't believe what he's done now."

"What?" Cas was at once excited and fearful. It couldn't be that bad, could it? The emergency alarms weren't going off.

"He's been in the Garden again."

"Without us?"

"He . . . transferred his essence into a snake, and talked to the humans. He told them to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the one thing that Dad told them not to do."

"Why would he do that?"

Gabe shook his head. "We talked about this with him. He said that it wasn't fair to give mankind free will if they didn't know what it was they were choosing. That Dad didn't really have a reason to forbid it other than 'I told you so'. And those . . . idiots went and listened to him! They ate the forbidden fruit, and Dad's furious! He's banned all travel to Earth, and grounded Luci till further notice. Not that that would stop him."

Cas frowned. "So, does that mean the Convocation's cancelled?"

"I don't know. He and Mike are still talking about that. Let's try that robe on anyway, how about it?"

Cas didn't know what to say. Part of him was sad that Luci was being punished. Another part of him was sort of glad that he wouldn't have to sit through the Convocation now. Sitting still was hard.

Gabe poked around in the closet until he found a long piece of dark blue fabric. He shook it out and held it up. "We might not even need to take it up," he said. "Here, try it on."

Cas held his arms up, and Gabe slipped the robe on over his head. It turned out to be the perfect size, except for the collar. When Gabe went to fasten it, Cas could hardly breathe.

"We can fix that," Gabe said, yanking the robe off and folding it up. "We'll put it in the drawer for now. Why don't you go to bed, and I'll find out what's going on in the morning?"

"Is Father back for good?" Cas asked.

"I don't know, Cassie. We'll see. I hope He is. I think this family needs a miracle."


When Cas woke up, he heard voices out in the kitchen. He tiptoed out and found Raph and Mike sitting with Gabe and talking.

"I just don't think it's fair," Raphael was saying, "to these young people who have worked so hard! They deserve to receive their Assignments in the proper time!"

"We can't have a Convocation with just the three of us," Mike said. "Everyone will know something's up."

"They already know," said Gabe. "Word travels fast on Angel Radio."

"What's Angel Radio?" Cas asked.

The three of them turned to him. "Morning, sunshine," Gabe said. "Have a seat."

"Really? You want me to stay?"

"You might as well. But you understand you're not to repeat anything we say."

Cas nodded. He could do it. He could be good.

"While you were sleeping," Gabe continued, "we were trying to decide whether or not Lucifer should be at the Convocation with us. Now, Mike says no, but Raph says we should go ahead with it anyway, even though we'd have to have Luci with us for that to happen. But he needs to be punished. What do you think?"

Raphael looked shocked. "You're letting a child make the decision for us?"

"Of course not! I mean, I value his input, but he doesn't have the final say. Only Dad makes the ultimate decision. We're just deciding what to tell Him."

Cas thought about it. "We can't call off the Convocation," he said. "Why can't you have it without him?"

"Well . . ." They looked at each other uneasily. Finally, Michael said, "It's just always been that way. I suppose we don't have to have him there-"

"There would be too many questions," said Raphael. "People would talk."

"People are already talking!" Gabriel pointed out. "They know what he did! If we let him show up like nothing happened, they'll think we're okay with it!"

"Does he actually do anything in the ceremony?" Castiel asked.

Again, the three archangels looked at each other. "No," Mike said. "Not really. He just has to be there."

"Well, what if he just stands there? He can't talk to anybody or do anything. And nobody can talk to him. And afterwards, he can go right back to his room and stay there forever, or at least until Father decides what to do with him."

A broad grin split Gabe's face. "It's perfect!" he exclaimed. "What's the one thing that Luci loves more than anything?"

"Chaos?" Raph guessed.

"Breaking rules?" said Mike.

"Attention! He lives for attention! If he's forced to be there but no one can talk to him, he'll be dying inside! And everyone will know that he's being punished, so that works out, too. And this way the candidates aren't punished, too. Cassie, you're brilliant! Have I ever told you that?" He lunged for his younger brother and pressed him close in a fierce hug.

"Gabe . . . can't . . . breathe . . ."

"Oh, sorry." He released the boy and stood up. "Let's go tell Dad right now! Race you!"

"Hold it!" Mike called out.

Gabe stopped halfway to the door. "Whaaaat?"

"Do we have a backup plan, in case Father says no?"

"Why would He say no? This way, everyone wins!"

"Always have a backup plan. What do we do if He decides to go a different way?"

Gabe sighed. "I guess . . . we'll have it without him. But we won't need to, cause He'll say yes! Come on, let's go!"

"Can I come?" Cas asked. "I've never seen Father's office."

"Castiel," said Michael, "what part of 'archangel business' are you still failing to understand?"

"I won't say anything! I'll just sit there and be quiet! Please, I just want to . . . be in His presence."

The archangels stepped away and conferred in whispers. Cas wanted to hear what they were saying, but knew better. He stood and waited for their decision.

Finally, Michael said, "You can come as far as the outer office. Then you can sit outside and wait for us."

"More sitting-still practice."

"You should be good at it by now," said Raphael.

"But it's hard!"

"Everything worth doing is hard, but we do it because we must. Come along, now."

Cas wanted to protest. He wanted to beg and plead to be allowed to see his Father in person, for the first time since he could remember. But he knew better than to push his luck. He jumped up off the chair and followed his brothers.


The next morning was the morning of the Convocation.

Cas didn't sleep at all that night. He lay in bed, trying to sleep, but not feeling sleepy at all. His mind was too full of everything that had happened and was still happening. He was fully awake when Gabe came and tapped on his door.

"Oh, you're awake," he said. "Well, c'mon, they'll be here any minute! Get up and get dressed! Do you want breakfast first?"

"No," Cas told him. He wasn't hungry, either.

"I'll get your robe. Here." Gabe tossed something to him, and when he caught it, he saw that it was a hairbrush. "You don't like the way I do it, so you can take care of it yourself."

Cas sighed but said nothing. He knew if he argued, he wouldn't get to go to the Convocation. Besides, it was only hair. How hard could it be?

When he was finished, he came out in his underclothes to find that Michael and Raphael were already there.

"Not dressed yet?" Raph observed.

"It's still early yet," Gabe said, slipping the dark blue robe over Cas' head. It went on just fine, but when he went to fasten the collar, Cas tried to stop him.

"It's too tight! Just leave it!"

"You can't enter the Convocation with your collar flapping! I'll try not to do it so tight." He pulled and tugged on it, but it wouldn't budge.

"You're hurting me!"

"Let me see that." Mike stepped in front of the boy and bent down a bit to see better. "Well, here's your problem: it's all twisted. I can fix it." He made a few adjustments, and suddenly the collar that had been strangling him lay perfectly flat.

"Wow. Thanks, Mike."

"We need to go," said Raph. "Before all the good seats are taken."

"First we have to go get Lucifer." Michael spat his brother's name like a curse.

"We can't just have him meet us there?" Gabe said half-jokingly.

Mike gave him a long, hard look.

"Okay, fine. We'll go pick him up."

The door to Luci's room was chained shut, and two angels stood guard just to be extra sure. Michael nodded to them, and they stepped aside. With a wave of his hand, the chains fell away. He knocked on the door politely. "Lucifer?"

"Nobody here by that name!" a voice called from within.

Cas didn't want to go in. Luci sounded mad. Really mad. And if he remembered that Cas and Gabe knew about the secret portal to Earth . . .

"Open this door now!"

"Don't wanna. What's the point?"

"The Convocation is in an hour! You will be there! Now open up!"

"Bite me."

Michael pressed his lips together in resignation, and clapped his hands twice. The door blew inwards in an explosion of wood and metal.

Lucifer, clad only in a sleeping robe, was lounging on the couch. "Oh, hey, Mike," he said nonchalantly.

"Get dressed," Michael ordered him.

"I'm not going."

"Yes you are!"

"I'm sick," Luci said, coughing unconvincingly.

"Stop acting like a child! You know what you did was wrong! Accept your punishment like an adult!"

"You know, there's one thing I've never understood about this," Lucifer said, glancing at his brothers before continuing. "No one else knew about the secret portal to Earth. So how did you know where to find me?"

He knew. He knew they had told. Well, if he knew, there was no point in keeping it a secret anymore. Cas opened his mouth to say so when Michael said, "I knew."

Cas stared at him.

"I wondered how you got back and forth without being seen, and then I remembered the old portal. The one that only the four of us knew about. I staked it out for a few days just to be sure . . . and it turned out I was right. You're not as clever as you think you are, little brother."

For once, Luci had nothing to say.

Mike looked over his shoulder at Cas and the others. "You'd better go. We'll meet you there."

"Thanks, Mike," Cas said. He didn't say for what, but somehow Michael understood.

As they made their way to the Convocation hall, Raphael said, "You are truly a child no longer, young one. I think it's finally time you made yourself a blade."

"Really?" Cas was excited.

"That's my boy," said Gabe proudly.


The Convocation was the best one ever, even though there were only six candidates this time around.

Castiel sat in the second row, on the aisle, so he could see everything. He sat still for a long time, and then he had to move a bit, but no one noticed. He could have gotten up and disco-danced in the aisles and no one would have noticed.

All eyes were on Lucifer, standing stiffly next to Michael, eyes darting around frantically as he begged silently for someone, anyone, to say something to him! Just one kind word! Or even one that wasn't so kind. It was torturing him, and everyone got to watch.

Cas almost felt sorry for him. Almost-until he reminded himself that the humans, who called themselves Adam and Eve now, had been forced out of the Garden because of what Luci had made them do. They had to live in the cold, harsh world, and that wasn't fair.

So maybe he didn't feel too bad.