Chapter Twenty-Three

Dean motioned at Isaac with the knife. "I'll need your arm."

"God, no!" Candi screamed. She felt nauseous. "Please, Dean, we'll do whatever you want. Don't hurt him—"

"I'm trying to find some answers, okay?" Dean snapped. "Calm down. I'm not chopping his arm off. The spell needs some blood. Mine's contaminated, so…"

"Man, this is crazy. You know this is crazy." Isaac's voice was shaking and cracking, reminding Candi of when he was going through puberty. She used to tease him when his voice cracked. Now, it scared her.

"Wusses," Dean grumbled, bringing the bowl over to Isaac. He screamed when Dean slashed the knife across his forearm, drawing a thick stream of blood. Candi was sure she was going to throw up. She could hear the blood dripping into the metal bowl.

When Dean was satisfied, he tied a rag around Isaac's arm to staunch the bleeding, and brought the bowl back to his station of satanic ingredients.

He began mixing and crushing, hacking and slashing. Then he started saying an incantation that only added to the insanity of it all. Candi looked over at Isaac.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine. It stings." Isaac leaned his head back so he was staring at the ceiling. "Psycho," he muttered under his breath.

"Ready to meet that angel?" Dean called from the front of the garage. He dropped something into the bowl, and it began to smoke.

And suddenly, a man stood in the garage. He was heavy set and looked surprised to be there. He looked around, taking in the scene, and his little eyes widened. "D-Dean," he stuttered, resting his eyes on Sam's brother.

Dean gestured to Candi and Isaac. "Cupid, Candi and beach boy. Candi and beach boy, Cupid."

"My name's Isaac," Isaac said, but it was soft. He couldn't take his eyes off the man Dean called Cupid.

"A cherub," Dean said, walking in a circle around the man. "Not necessarily a full-fledged angel, but close enough."

The man had turned to Candi, his eyes locking on her. "Candice Lockwood," he said quietly. Then, to Candi's surprise, he smiled. The grin made his eyes crinkle closed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my dear." Then he looked concerned, and glanced at Dean. "I don't understand. Why… why is Candi tied up?"

"Sammy's been spending some time at her heels," Dean answered. "I want to know why."

"Oh." Cupid laughed, but it was nervous. Candi could see the sweat beading at his forehead. "I'm really not supposed to tell you, Dean…"

"So you do know," Dean said. "Well, I'm all ears."

Cupid looked at Candi as if asking for help, then back at Dean. He cleared his throat.

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Well? I'm waiting, lover boy. Spill."

Cupid gave a small whine. "It's not supposed to work this way. It's supposed to happen naturally."

"What?" Candi asked. She realized she'd said it at the same time as Dean. Despite her fear of the situation, she was dying to know what this was all about. She wanted answers, too.

To her surprise, Cupid did a little excited dance. It made her think of a giddy schoolgirl. "Dean, do you find Candi attractive? Interesting? Worth dying for?"

The silence seemed to last forever. It was almost comical. "The hell are you talking about?" Dean demanded.

Cupid resumed looking nervous. He was scared of Dean, Candi realized. If this guy was an angel, he made a lousy one.

"Here, I can help speed things up a bit," Cupid said quickly. He reached into his inside pocket of his jacket.

"Hold it right there," Dean warned.

"No, really. It'll just take a fraction of a sec—"

"I swear, if you shoot me with one of your arrows…"

Cupid suddenly looked unsure. The uncertainty turned into panic. "Dean, please don't hurt me. You know how everyone has their soulmate? Well… it's a pity you have yours trussed to a chair, but…"

"Woah, woah, woah. What?" Dean glanced at Candi. Candi scowled at back at him.

"She's your Colette!" Cupid sputtered. Clumsily, he whipped out a tiny bow and aimed it at Dean's heart.

There was a small twang, a rush of air. The arrow clattered against the wall of the garage. Dean wasn't there.

"I warned you not to shoot that thing," a dark voice said behind them.

Cupid locked eyes with Candi. She thought she saw him mouth, "I'm sorry."

Before Dean could tackle him, he had vanished.

Seriously? Sam scrolled through his phone, seeing message after message and five different voice mails, all from Dean over the past week.

After Gabriel had left and he and Castiel had put their heads together to come up with a half-baked plan, Sam returned to the Impala and found his phone in the glove box. Apparently, while he was singing "Part of Your World" under the sea, Dean was trying to find him. Why, Sam couldn't say.

Sam's thumb hovered over Dean's number, then he pressed the call button.

Dean picked up on the third ring.

"Sam," Dean's voice drawled. "Long time. Wondered when I'd hear your voice."

"Dean. Where are you? What's going on?"

"I just had a semi-enlightening chat with Heaven's favorite matchmaker," Dean said.

It took Sam a moment to realize what Dean meant. "Cupid? You didn't… kill him, did you?"

"Nah, he got away. He said some interesting things, though."

"Yeah?" Sam ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Like what?"

"Like that you've tracked down my very own, brand new, barely used Colette? Sam. I'm not against robbing the cradle, but… is she even legal?"

Sam swallowed. "So now you know," he said. "What are you going to do with her?"

"I haven't decided yet," Dean said. "Maybe we'll play around, have some fun." Sam clenched his teeth. "Maybe I'll just disappear right now and never talk to you again. What kind of crap were you trying to pull?"

"We were desperate."

Sam heard Dean laugh. "Oh, yeah. Understatement, Sam."

"Where is she? Candi?"

"Some mansion. I found an old flame of hers and thought he'd be good leverage. I knew you thought she was going to help you out somehow, I just didn't know the details."

"So when she couldn't tell you anything you resorted to Cupid. How did you know—"

"How do I know anything?" Dean asked. "I harassed Crowley. Didn't take as much effort as I thought."

"Dean, we are going to fix you."

"No, you're not," Dean said. "Besides, I thought that was Candi's job."

Before Sam could respond, Dean hung up.

Candi was at Isaac's house. With Dean.

He knew he was cowardly. He knew that if it was anyone else, he would run away and bring back up. But this was Candi.

And he knew Sam and Castiel were eager to get his ass to fix Heaven before anything else. They probably already had a trap laid out for him when he returned.

It would be simple. Zap in, grab Candi, zap out. Isaac could stay behind. Gabriel wasn't about to risk his life for an ex-boyfriend.

Gabriel knew Dean was a strong demon. He knew enough about the Mark to know that Dean was no ordinary demon. He was going to have to mask his grace until the last moment to avoid being detected.

He waited until Dean picked up his phone and walked outside, head bent as he listened to whoever was on the other end. Gabriel took a deep breath and flew into the garage.

The moment he appeared in front of Candi, her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. Gabriel quickly put a finger to his lips, and surged forward to take her away.

"Isaac's here, too," Candi whispered.

"Yeah, I know."

"Get him first."

Women were so infuriating. Knowing he didn't have much time, Gabriel quickly touched Isaac, whose eyes were large blue saucers, and the nuisance disappeared. Candi stared at the chair Isaac had been tied to for half a second, then whirled on Gabriel.

"Where is he?" she hissed.

"He'll survive," Gabriel answered, reaching for her. "Maybe." Her eyes flickered behind him and fear returned to them.

"Oh, hell no," Dean said behind him. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised. The Trickster back from the dead. Again."

Gabriel slowly turned to face Dean. He smirked. "Hey there, Dean. I would say you're looking well, but…" He twirled a finger in front of his own eyes. "You've got a weird thing going on there."

"Ha." Dean looked tense, like he was about to pounce. The first blade was clutched in his hand.

"Who was that on the phone?" Gabriel asked, as if they were old friends catching up. "I'm guessing Sam. Well? Am I right?"

"What are you doing here, Gabriel?" Dean asked.

Gabriel winked. In a flash, he grabbed Candi's arm, and flew her the hell out of there.

Candi clutched Gabriel's shirt, her head spinning. She was sure she was going to pass out. One moment she was tied to that chair in Isaac's garage, and the next they were at the top of Gabriel's lighthouse.

"What… the hell was that?" she yelled.

"Candi, I can explain…."

"Oh, my God. Oh. My. God. What happened back there?"

Gabriel put his hands on either side of her face. They were cold. "Candi. Candi, take a breath. You've got a lot to process. I'm going to give you more."

She tried to do as she was told. She sucked in a breath, and let it out. It only made her more anxious. "What the hell…" she moaned. "What's going on?"

"First of all, looks like you've met Dean."

"Way to not mention he was a freaking psychopath," Candi said. "Don't know how that got lost in translation…"

"You weren't supposed to know," Gabriel said.

That made Candi angry. "Not supposed to know?" she snapped. "I was nearly killed back there, Gabriel! And you kept things from me. About Sam, Dean, about… about…" She gestured wildly at him. "About you! What the hell are you?"

She was thinking a thousand miles a minute. So many questions popped up sporadically in her head. She felt like she had crash landed on an alien planet. But that last question… that was the one she had to know now.

Gabriel's mouth quirked in a smile. "I've told you before. I'm an angel."

"I thought that was a figure of speech! How could I have known you were… that you were… serious, you know? You are never serious."

"Well." Gabriel spread his arms out, as if to say it is what it is, I am what I am.

Candi looked him up and down, seeing him in a new light. She still wasn't sure she could believe it. "Where are you wings?" she asked.

"They're there."

"I can't see them."

"That's cause your human senses are too dull to see them."

Candi felt herself pout, but quickly retracted her lip, realizing how childish it was. She felt overwhelmed. "And Dean… what the hell was he?"

"Well. He was human. But he was put under a curse, of sorts. And now he's a demon. A powerful one, too."

"And… what did he want with me? What the hell could a demon want with me?"

Gabriel pressed his lips together. Candi could tell he wasn't eager to answer her question.

"Gabe," she said. "Tell me. Please. I have the right to know."

He sighed. "So, uh. There's this cherub…"

"Cupid. Yeah. Met him."

Gabriel looked surprised. "You have?"

"Dean like… called him… summoned him… or something."

Gabriel's eyebrows drew together in concern.

"He's alright," she said quickly. "He escaped."

Gabriel nodded, relief evident in his face. "Good. I mean, it would have been unfortunate if something had happened to the guy…" He leaned against the railing. The wind ruffled his hair. "So Cupid was trying to be helpful, as always. Sticking his nose where it doesn't belong. The last guy who had the curse Dean's under was ruthless and brutal. You might know of him. His name was Cain."

"Cain," Candi repeated. "Care to elaborate?"

"He's in the Bible."

Candi took a second for this to process. When it did, she felt her eyes widen. "No way."

"Yes way. You know the story. He killed his own brother, becoming the Father of Murder. After thousands of years of causing death and chaos, he met someone."

Candi waited for him to continue. "Okay…"

"Her name was Colette."

"Colette. Cupid mentioned that name. What was she?"

"Some random chick," Gabriel said. "But, somehow, Cain fell in love with her. And I guess she looked past his mistakes and flaws and loved him back. Seems far-fetched, but Cain actually dropped his murderous joy ride. Just because she asked him to, and he loved her enough to change."

Candi blew out a breath. "Wow."

"I guess. Cupid said it was pre-destined, a match made in Heaven. He came up with the idea that… that Dean would have someone out there who could influence him to change the same way Colette influenced Cain."

"And… Cupid thinks that someone is me?"

"He did a spell. I was there. He saw a girl, in Camden, with dark hair. He couldn't quite get your name, but it started with a 'C' followed by an 'A.' With the size of this town, it was pretty easy to pick you out from the crowd."

Candi was shaking her head. "No way," she said. "There's got to be another. There's no way it's me."

"That's what he saw," Gabriel said with a small shrug. "So, Sam hunted you down. He's good at that kind of thing. And discovered that your life could be in danger from something supernatural. He was going to keep an eye on you, but things came up with Dean, and he took off."

He paused, suddenly looking sheepish. He looked down at his feet, then raised his gold eyes to lock on Candi's. "I've been watching over you since he left."

Candi felt her cheeks grow warm. "I have a literal guardian angel," she managed to say softly.

"I was curious to see what Dean's Colette was like. I didn't realize…" He cut himself off, then looked away with a chuckle.

"What?" Candi pressed.

"Nothing. I just came into this with little to no commitment, and now…" His eyes left hers again.

Candi thought she understood. She still had a million questions, but in this moment, the whole ordeal with Dean seemed distant, surreal. The idea that there were angels and demons in the world seemed silly again. She reached for Gabriel's hand. He flinched when she touched it. It was still cold. She pressed his hand to her cheek. "I'm glad you stayed," she said.

His eyes found hers again. There was a breathless moment, then Gabriel spoke. "I should take you home," he said softly.

Candi thought of her bed, in her small room, in the small house. She thought of her aunt's fears that there had been someone in the house the other night. She bit her lip. "As long as you stay with me," she said. "I don't want Dean waltzing into my room in the middle of the night."

"That's true," Gabriel said. He thought for a moment. "It might be wise if you stay somewhere else for the night." A mischievous glint appeared in his eye. "Close your eyes, Candi."

She looked at him suspiciously. "Why?"

"Just do it."

She shook her head, but did as he asked. She felt him step closer to her. She could feel his heat. "Imagine where you would like to stay tonight."

"What do you mean?"

"If you could sleep in the most beautiful room, in the most comfy bed, what would it look like?"

Candi thought. She and her father had stayed the night in a cabin once on vacation. That was one of the best night's sleep she had ever had. The cabin was cozy, with a wood burning fireplace against one wall and two queen-sized beds against the opposite wall. The bedspreads had moose and birds on it. There were burgundy curtains in front of the large windows and beautiful paintings of landscapes on the walls.

"You picturing it? Is it clear in your mind?"

Candi nodded. Gabriel placed his hands on either sides of her face again. There were two seconds of silence, then the light on the other side of her lids changed. The cold wind disappeared, replaced by warmth. "Open your eyes," Gabriel said softly.

She did.