Summary: Adam and & Eve begin to move their plans into action, hungry for their revenge on Castiel and the Winchesters. Benny's secretive plans make Sam uncomfortable with the risk that he and Dean might be taking by trusting a monster
Edit: the rating on this is higher than 14A, for violence and themes
Part 7: Prey (When Angels Surrender)
Part 1
Nyx dreamed. Dreamed of waves crashing against white sand in frothy droves and of bright sunlight that was cold.
This place was so cold!
She started to shake, wanting to be safe in bed with a warm blanket snug around her. She was sure she heard someone shouting her name but when she turned to look there was no one behind her. There was only more white sand and waves sounding like thunder, frightening her.
Nyx dreamed of a beach. Or what she thought was a beach. She knew the word instinctively, the way she knew that the waves that crashed against the shore should have been welcoming her home. That the sun should have been warm.
But instead, she was cold and terrified. She was alone and scared because there was no one here to protect her.
To her right there was a glimmer of light and then a man in black was beside her, holding a black bag and a cane. The strangest sense that she knew him, that he'd help her, made Nyx only stare up into his dark eyes and hope he'd protect her. Clicking his tongue a few times, he drew a happy face in the sand with the end of his cane before he smiled down at her. A thin bony hand reached for hers.
Hesitantly, she held her hand out and grasped his. His skin was cold, as cold as her mother's, and he didn't hold her hand as tightly as she wanted. He still smiled though she was obviously afraid and she gripped his hand tighter.
The man in black saw her trembling lip and the tears in her eyes.
"Now, now. There is no need to be afraid. You were born to places like these, remember?" he asked her and she nodded even though she was still frightened and didn't know what he was talking about. He wasn't here to protect her and somehow she knew that. Nyx stepped back, tiny in the shadow of Death, and looked around to find a way back to her mother.
There was another flash of light and she found herself standing beside a small, beautiful woman with red hair streaked liberally with black and silver. Her smile was gentle though and she actually seemed happy to see her.
"So you were the reason." She knelt down and reached out to grasp the child's tiny hand. "Hello, Nyx. Do you know who I am?" Without waiting for her answer, she squeezed Nyx's hand in a warm, tight grip that brought her some comfort. "You've been taking good care of your mommy, right?"
She nodded and the woman smiled, her hand moving to stroke her smooth cheek.
"That's my girl. Be brave. It's almost time for you to be something more than just a child."
There was a third flash of light and they were gone, taking with them the warmth and protection she had felt for just a moment. Nyx realized how alone she was in this place that frightened her more than the bunker ever had, more than the place the angel had brought her to after leaving her mother.
This place was cold and empty without them. She wanted to wake up to find her mother, waiting to make her laugh, to touch her with that dark power she knew her mother had. Power that would protect her.
But all she saw when she looked around was miles of sand and water.
No matter how hard she cried and called for her mother, she wasn't there and she was frightened and alone. She wanted her family, all of them, and what they could protect her with.
She was so scared and she wanted to wake up.
—
"I still don't like that it is taking Meg this long to come back," Castiel muttered to himself, eyeing the clock. An hour past midnight and his attempts to call her cellphone had come up with out-of-service warnings and then voicemail. He almost had the feeling she was doing it deliberately.
As Dean had pointed out though, with Benny sleeping off his latest packet of blood in the basement, they had time to wait. The vampire's body was still recovering from its rebirth, the flesh still rebuilding to former strength and his hungers only now getting under his control. He hadn't actually needed more blood than what Dean had given him earlier. But he had such an odd way of looking at Nyx that had made Castiel uncomfortable enough to go and find blood for him so he would go and sleep off his latest feed rather than stare at the little girl.
With a paternal instinct he hadn't expected to have, Castiel had checked to be sure Nyx was safe in a spare bed with everything she wanted after he had locked Benny in the basement. No one had said much about their arrival anyway. The Winchesters were more obsessed with snapping at each other in a brotherly way than worrying about an angel and his child. Nyx had been too tired by the long trip to really throw a tantrum about being put to bed early with just a little bit of food. It left them all alone, the way it used to be.
Dean had noticed Castiel's agitation as the hours dragged by but he was more concerned with cleaning their weapons while Sam researched Eve once again. At Castiel's second comment in ten minutes about Meg, both of them looked up at the door as if expecting to see the demon breezing in. When nothing happened, Dean shrugged and looked down the barrel of the sawed-off shotgun he was cleaning for Sam.
"Trust me, she can handle herself," Dean said as he squinted down the barrel.
Sam glanced up from his books and reached out. With a rough yank, he grabbed the gun from Dean and unloaded it quickly, causing his brother to blink as Sam rolled a shell into his hand. Glaring at him, Sam handed him back the gun without a word and he rolled his eyes as he took it back. Dean glanced back at Castiel as he rubbed a rag over the short barrel, ignoring Sam's mutterings that Dean would get himself killed one day.
"You gave her a bit of real freedom, Cas. You don't think she'll take the time to enjoy it?"
Castiel stalked back over to the couch and sat down. "I didn't trap her."
"He didn't say you did. She's pretty devoted to Nyx. I mean, have to give her a little bit of credit. Give the demon a cause and she's pretty good at being loyal to it, but she needed time to herself. Even if it was to torture demons," Sam said as he jotted down some notes in his journal.
"You both are encouraging this?" Castiel demanded and the Winchesters shrugged.
"Not really. If you made me pick between Meg being pissed and monsters following us? Monsters can be scarier," Sam admitted.
"Yeah, let's pretend that's remotely true, Sam. Pretty sure Meg could make us suffer a lot more just by snarking our ears off." Dean set the gun down and started on his knife. "Look, if we can get some traps laid out soon and lay low, it'll be easier. Long as we keep Nyx safe, right?"
They all knew they had to keep their voices down because of the thin walls of the cabin. It was why they were trying so hard not to be loud for once. Nyx had been restless and not wanting to sleep without Meg being around. After filling her up with food and settling her down, Sam had managed to get her to bed finally. Castiel had sensed her distress but thought there was nothing he could do for her anyway.
Dean took a long drink from his coffee and then he caught sight of something moving in the kitchen. He set down the last of the weapons and tossed his rag on the table. Sam looked as well and, noticing their staring, Castiel turned a little on the couch. His eyes widened at the small shadow moving in the dark kitchen and he leaned forward a little to get a better look.
Nyx stood in the doorway with Sam's old comforter wrapped her like a massive soft shell. Under her mop of dark hair, her blue eyes were wide-open and, as bundled as she was, they all could see her clutching her stuffed unicorn. Castiel stared at her, and noticed the way the comforter was shaking around her. She was frightened but he hadn't heard her call out once.
"Nyx?" he whispered and her eyes darted to him. She padded out a bit further into the room and as she came closer they saw that her eyes were wet and shining. Tear tracks and a red nose let them all know she'd been crying for a while. Her eyes flicked between them all, looking scared, and Dean reached out to touch her head.
"Bad dream, kiddo? Scary monsters?"
She nodded, and they saw her bite her lower lip as she looked around the room as if searching for something.
"It's okay, Nyx. We'll keep you safe," Dean said, smiling at her.
Sam looked at Dean and then at her. "You know we'll protect you, right?"
Again a nod. Both Winchesters watched her eyes dart to Castiel but he was looking at the ceiling as if praying for answers. He didn't notice her moving and Dean glanced at Sam, holding a finger up to his lips to keep him quiet.
Castiel shut his eyes and sighed. He'd hoped Meg would be back by now and Nyx wouldn't be so scared by what was happening.
The weird feeling that someone was watching him made him open his eyes again. When he looked back down, his daughter was standing at his knees. She was still wrapped in the worn comforter, looking as if she was trying to stay hidden from the world. Her blue eyes blinked up at him and he stared back, not sure what she wanted from him.
Nyx didn't seem very sure herself as she patted his knees with her hands. Castiel's eyes flicked to Dean for help but Nyx gave an insistent tug on his pant-leg that drew his attention back to her.
Then she was crawling up into his arms as best as she could, using his legs and the couch as a ladder, and he leaned back to give her room, eyes widening as she gave a determined little grunt when she got stuck halfway. Reaching out, he helped her up so that she was no longer stuck and as he held her he felt how fragile her little body was under his strong hands. Her body twisted a bit and she gave a satisfied smile when he set her on his knees.
Moving forward, Nyx knelt on his lap as she stared at him and between them he felt the press of the stuffed toy on his stomach. The obvious fear and need in her eyes made him stare at her, wondering why now she was coming to him. Castiel couldn't see what she wanted from him when Sam or Dean were better at this than he was.
Until he felt it.
An unmistakable tug.
Suddenly between them there was that connection that had been so strong at her birth but had been threadbare when he'd come back into her life. Now it surged back and wound around them, and he realized she wanted to trust him. That this was an odd, childishly different way of letting him know she needed him to protect her.
Without thinking, Castiel let his arms widen a little and Nyx scooted forward at the invitation. She wrapped her arms tight around his neck and pressed her face into his shoulder. Bewildered, he merely held her and heard the breathy sob she gave as she cuddled into him. She began to cry and he felt her soft little body push into him as she tried to get him to comfort her by holding him tightly. As a human such moments of open affection had been awkward for Castiel, even though he had learned how to cope eventually, and as an angel he should have found it difficult again.
He ignored the memories of three years ago when he heard her crying. Resting his chin against the top of her head, Castiel wrapped his arms around her tiny body and held her as she cried. Nyx's arms stayed latched around his neck and she took in shuddering breaths, muttering about her dreams as her tears wet his shirt collar. Castiel listened to her as he held her tight and tried without words to let her know it was just a dream. That she was safe.
But through the sudden surge of connection he felt what she'd seen. Dreams of water and drowning, of being stolen away and left alone with no one to save her. Dreams no child that age should have.
Castiel rubbed at her back and let her cry, murmuring to her when he felt her shaking. He breathed in slowly, trying to steady her with his own strong heartbeat, and he felt her respond, her heartbeat matching his with stunning accuracy. The sensation comforted him as well and he realized he had done the right thing. Nyx's small fingers curled around his collar and then her palm flattened over his chest, as if searching for that steady heartbeat.
"It's okay. I'm here," Castiel whispered, not even aware of the Winchesters anymore as Sam pulled Dean away to give them time alone. He pressed his face into her shoulder. "I'll protect you."
He stroked her hair and rocked her a little. As her crying continued into a softer weeping, Castiel closed his eyes and let his Grace flow over her like a protective shield.
"I'll protect you, Nyx. You're safe with me."
—
This time the dream felt different. The sunshine was a little warmer, the breeze not as bitter cold, and the light no longer fuzzy at the edges. Even the water seemed calmer and she sat on the beach to let it soak her tiny toes happily.
Here she was safe. Here she could be happy. Something brushed over her in feathery wisps and drew her close against a warm body, letting her feel warm and comforted. She knew she was going to be protected now.
Out of the corner of her eye she could see that the wings enwrapping her were attached to a form too bright to see without having to shield her eyes.
He was here.
She was safe again.
Now she felt him there the way he had been before and knew he'd protect her. The same way she felt her mother close by every day until today.
Curling into the warmth holding her so tight, she closed her eyes and started to fall asleep even in this dream. But part of her still longed for that shadow that would keep her just as safe as the light. She just wanted to feel completely enveloped again by their protection.
She only wanted them both to be with her.
—
The cabin hadn't changed that much, in her opinion. Patched up maybe — she was sure the wall at the front was new— but still the same rustic dump it always had been to her. The backwoods in the middle–of-nowhere and still she managed to find it just from memory. Meg pulled her car alongside the Impala and then stood outside, staring at the building as she told herself for the millionth time to make up her mind. It took her a while to get the nerve to go in. Now that she was nearly back to normal, every instinct and memory told her to run. Nyx would be safe for now. She could leave because what threatened her was not the girl but the angel.
That damn angel muddled everything.
Meg shook her head and groaned, looking to the night sky for answers. Of course, there was nothing there but starlight. Nothing to give her a hint as to what to do.
Even if she ran, there would be nothing to give her a reason to still fight except for her own purposes. Then, of course, there was…
Damn, she really was stuck.
Taking in a deep breath, she found the spare key under the porch step and opened the door. The low hum of the old television and its glow made her roll her eyes as she set down her bag on the ground. It was easy to tell what the Winchesters thought was dinner, judging by the pizza boxes littering the table.
When she turned around, the sight of the two bodies wedged together on the couch made her stop and stare. Castiel was sprawled out on the couch, stretched out from end to end. Cuddled up on his chest was a lump of comforter and, knowing her daughter like she did, Meg knew it was Nyx beneath the covering. Both of them were sound asleep; even when she turned the television off neither of them moved.
Sam had told her that the one habit Castiel seemed to retain from being human was his sleeping habit. He liked to sleep. Not that she had been better years ago; Meg remembered nearly nine months where she had slept so much it had been surprising for a demon. Maybe it was Nyx's influence that made it so easy to sleep.
Moving as quietly as she could, she stood next to the couch and pulled the edge of the comforter back. Nyx had her stuffed toy cuddled close, with her cheek pressed against Castiel's chest and her mess of wavy hair hiding her face. Unable to stop herself, Meg reached out and pushed the hair away from Nyx's eyes, noticing the tear stains on her cheeks. Letting her power gently touch into Nyx's mind, she felt the staining remnants of a nightmare within.
But for the first time, there was something else there. Protecting her mind from the nightmares and letting her sleep.
Grace.
A Grace she knew so well.
"She was upset and wanted to stay with me," Castiel said suddenly. The low timbre of his voice was startling enough that Meg jerked her hand away from the hair she'd been mindlessly stroking, for some reason feeling guilty over it. When she looked up, he was watching her with his eyes half-open. "I didn't have the heart to move her when she fell asleep."
"She should be sleeping in a bed," she said and he looked down at the child on his chest.
"I didn't mind. She wanted me to stay with her." He sat up a little and Nyx murmured, still deeply asleep, and he moved his arms around her to keep her close. "You came back."
"Of course I did," Meg snapped, going to the armchair. "I have Nyx here. Remember?"
"She was safe." Castiel looked down at the sleeping face and smiled a little. "You know that."
"I know." The demon sighed and rubbed at her arms. "The demons are moving out. I nearly didn't escape from being followed."
"You could have called for me."
"There's a lot I'm supposed to do," she grumbled. "Where are the Winchesters and big broody vamp?"
"Sleeping and downstairs."
"All together? Kinky." Ignoring his exasperated sigh, she sat down and stared at Nyx. "What kind of nightmare did she have?"
"Of the Lethe, I think. She wasn't very clear but she was scared. I felt it." He adjusted the little girl so she was tucked between his side and the couch, and missed the way Meg's face closed up a little, as if to block the thought of the Lethe. "She was scared."
Meg eyed Nyx's tear-stained face. "She's been having more nightmares."
"She's dreamed before, I assume."
"Starting to happen more often though." Meg dropped her head, rotating her shoulders and rubbing at her neck to ease the tension. "Sure, that's a great sign right now. All I goddamn need," she muttered as she stripped off her battered leather jacket and tossed it on the coffee table.
Castiel watched her get up and stalk off to the front door, knowing that there was something else wrong just by the tense way she moved. Murmuring to Nyx that he'd be back, he tucked her down on the couch and settled the blanket around her, letting her curl into the side of the couch where the cushions were still warm. She made a sound and tucked around her toy, mumbling in her sleep. After a quick glance to the rear of the house where Dean and Sam were asleep into the spare beds, he followed Meg out onto the porch.
The sight of Meg sitting on the rickety wood step was somehow familiar. Another state, another house, maybe it would even have been the same moment. All that they needed was the threat of Lucifer or Crowley to make it similar to before. It made him pause to really look at her, to feel a nostalgic loneliness for that moment years ago. Tucking his coat around his body, he quickly sat beside her and rubbed his palms together against the chill in the air. The woods around them were quiet but he noticed how Meg seemed to look everywhere but at him.
With a sudden flick of her wrist, there was a flash of silver and she rolled the angel sword toward him. "Thanks. I needed it."
He inhaled deeply, smelling the demon blood on it. "Keep it." He saw her look and shrugged. "You have no other weapon on you. Or do you?"
"If I did?" she asked and he looked her up and down, as if trying to check for something.
"I'm not sure where you would be hiding it," he said and Meg snorted.
"Starting to think you picked up on how to be sarcastic over the past few years. Good for you."
"It was better than sinking too far into depression." He watched her palm the blade, spinning it across her hand before it disappeared to be tucked safely into her belt. "Though that happened as well."
"Where there any good moments?" Meg asked and he noticed she hadn't looked at him again. "When you were human?"
Castiel shrugged. "I made friends, tried to live as much as I could, experience what I could. I had to do something. Life couldn't end. But there were times when I closed my eyes and fell asleep, and…" He swallowed and looked at the ground before them. "I was with you."
Meg didn't say anything to that.
"It made everything temporary and I know it ruined what chance I had of finding that normal life I longed for when it became too much." He looked at his shoes as if searching for answers. "The hunting, the being on the run, the fear, I wanted it to end and I should have hated that I couldn't end it. But I still enjoyed those moments when I remembered those nine months."
"Castiel," she started uncomfortably, rubbing at her arms as if to warm herself.
"You never call me any other name now, did you know that?" He looked at her sidelong. "Not 'feathers' or 'tree topper'. I haven't heard 'cloud hopping pansy'. I even miss being called Clarence."
"Clarence meant something I'm not sure I believe anymore."
Castiel had seen the movie one Christmas, and neither of the Winchesters had realized what it meant to him. For him, Meg's confession struck a chord that stung worse than he expected. "I see."
Meg leaned back on her arms and stared up at the sky. "Not sure you do."
Despite the awkward silence, neither moved from the front step until the dawn started to creep over the treetops.
"Nothing like a vacation," Kevin muttered to himself as he slid his fingers over the neck of his whisky bottle. Garth had rebuilt part of Bobby's old place and the junkyard still sheltered the hunters' best hideout. It was familiar and homey so the Winchesters of course had loved it and in contrast there were times Kevin couldn't stand it. He hated the way they'd reminisce every time they came here, the way he was told about the 'good old days', and ultimately reminded that no matter their pretty words about being part of them, he had always come last into their extended family.
It was quiet now; even though hunters were in and out constantly, he was left in peace to laze around.
If the brothers thought he was going to work for them mindlessly still, they had another thing coming. A few years ago he would have been tricked into it. He could have been bought by words of family and love and sacrifice but he was older now, wiser. He'd seen a hell of a lot more than either of them knew.
As he often did when the day was dragging, he dozed on Garth's couch and pretended that he was somewhere else. The weeks of wandering all over the states had given him perspective, much more than he had ever had before. He learned how to enjoy a few moments to himself and how the struggle to survive would be his biggest worry. Demons, angels, monsters; none of that mattered as much as himself and what he could do.
He had value, after all, and once he found Chuck again he would prove it to God himself.
The knowledge that he had met God and still couldn't tell a soul had worn on him; it was a secret that had been burned into him and as surely as having his lips sewn shut he'd been threatened to never speak about it.
It had played on his mind, the idea that God had had a mission for him and he had been, for a time, special. He had fulfilled that role, and yet he was still stuck in this role of a prophet. There were no back ups to replace him, no retiring, and, in moments when he was truly hopeless, there was no chance that he could even off himself. He had tried and failed so many times; he'd once consumed so many pills that he had emptied out his mother's cabinet back in Arkansas. Frustrated, she'd taken him to the hospital and left him there, warning him to grow up and become the man he should be.
She'd wanted more for him than being some drunk prophet. She'd been so disappointed in him when he'd risked Nyx's life to try to let his visions come true.
God, just the thought of her still hurt so much.
"Mom," Kevin whispered and his mind suddenly became consumed by the idea of her overhead, pinned to the ceiling and dead. His last true memory of her. He could still see the flames licking over her dead flesh and consuming it hungrily.
Unbeknownst to him, Kevin's eyes began to glow with orange light as he saw it happening all over again. He could feel the heat and smell the stench of burning hair and crisping bone. Stuck in the vision, he watched as the flames suddenly birthed strange twisted beasts of grey shadow and scarred flesh, shrieking down at him as he stared. They crawled over his mother's body and screamed as the flames curled over their own flesh.
Paralyzed in his terror, he watched as they began to gnaw at her flesh and a larger monster sank its fangs deep into her neck as Linda Tran still stared down at him. Slowly her eyes went black and the smoking ruin of her flesh became as wilted and decayed as a mummified corpse. Her open mouth suddenly moved and he heard her voice screeched at him.
You can stop this, Kevin!
The words penetrated the vision more thoroughly than a slap across his face.
His head jerked off the arm of the sofa and he gasped for breath as he still stared at the ceiling. She was gone, the monsters and the fire gone, and the only thing remaining was the sound of Garth in the next room. Wiping at his sweaty forehead, Kevin let himself sag back down and he pushed the heel of his hand against his forehead to try to relieve the headache he could feel starting there.
At first, he thought Garth was still talking to himself until he heard the steady clomp of hiking boots and guns being set down. Which meant hunters if he knew the sounds as well as he did.
"Listen, guys, I told you. The Winchesters have this. Get back to Kentucky. Hunt some werewolves or something."
"We're expected to trust them? Look, I get it. They have an angel buddy and made some deals, killed some big bads. Big fucking deal. They nearly got us all killed last year when they decided to lead us into some stupid war of angels versus demons. Turned out it was just some big ruse Dean had to protect Sam anyway," a woman said. Her voice was high pitched with anger and Kevin tried to guess who she was.
"They said this kid isn't a threat."
"Rumour is that this is a demon's kid. That's a big fuckin' threat!" a man with a heavy Midwest drawl snapped. Lying on the couch, Kevin decided to stay as quiet as he could. He needed to know how much these hunters knew. Not for Dean or Sam but because he had to keep Nyx safe now. His mother would want that, he knew it.
"The demon is one even I know. I've met her. She's sort of on our side." He heard Garth's nervous laugh. "I think."
"No demon is on our side. Remember that Crowley demon? Said he was on our side till he got a better offer." The woman was moving closer to the living room and Kevin held himself as still as possible so he wasn't noticed. "We're going to trust a demon? Garth, what the hell are you thinking!"
"There's an angel involved. From what I heard, he's keeping her in line."
"I heard it was Castiel. The same angel who was a human for a while and managed to still fuck everything up!"
"Come on, Em, that's not fair!" Garth protested.
"There is a Cambion out there, a demon's child, and we're not hunting it?" the man shouted. "Who the hell's side are you on, Garth?!"
"I'm on our side!"
The power in the thin man's voice deafened their shouting and Kevin's eyebrows rose a little. He heard a creak and knew that Garth was sitting down.
"This demon came back from the dead, she's survived four regimes in Hell. You think getting to her will be easy? I'm keeping you alive by telling you to leave it alone. The Winchesters can handle this."
"Yeah? Well, we can handle ourselves. Come on, Dave. We'll leave Garth here to go soft all on his own." Em dropped something off that clunked loudly when it fell to the floor. Kevin could hear Garth's protests as he followed them out the door. But his own eyes were on the ceiling again as he breathed out very slowly. Instead of his mother's death, this time new visions flashed before his eyes.
A monster tearing into a man and tasting his blood as his flesh was pulled apart viciously…
A woman shrieking for mercy. Smoke flowing into her body as she was possessed by a demon and then leapt upon by something hideous that buried its teeth into her neck…
Kevin knew what he should do. He should run after them, warn them about the monsters and what was bound to happen if they didn't go back to Kentucky. He would have run after them three years ago to save their lives.
But all he did was curl back down and fall asleep instead, leaving them to their fate.
That he found the little child who was now part of the Winchesters' group fascinating was no secret and Benny didn't bother to hide it. Even when he was supposed to be watching the Winchesters lay out traps close to the perimeter of the cabin, he watched the girl.
With innocent interest, Nyx followed Sam around, asking him questions that mostly began with and ended in "Why?". Dean often goaded her into it just to watch Sam's have to struggle to answer the endless questions.
But for not often being around children, Sam handled it well.
Benny thought it was a little strange as he watched the way the brothers protected her from seeing the real purpose of the traps. They were just for "games", according to Dean. It didn't stop her from asking questions about why the knots had to be knotted just so or why Sam kept hanging iron bars around in the trees. The vampire suspected the child was far more aware of what was happening than they realized.
As he finished with the Impala, tossing in a bag with spare clothes he was borrowing and a few blood-packs, Benny noticed Meg standing on the porch. He knew that the demon noticed him as well but this time she didn't overreact. Merely nodded at him when their eyes met and then went back to pretending he didn't exist.
But Castiel was nowhere in sight and he just couldn't resist.
"Your little girl is a cute sprite," Benny commented loudly as he zipped up the duffel bag. Dean only knew part of his plans and the less anyone else knew the better. But that wouldn't stop him from trying to entertain himself before he left.
"She's a monster," Meg corrected and smirked as the child started a new round of "Why?" to Dean this time. The human's exasperated groan was worth it. "But it is pretty fun to watch the Winchesters cope."
"That likely makes the demon in you happy."
"You have no idea. Used to resort to torturing them myself but unfortunately that's on the break as long as the angel watches me." She watched Benny come up beside her, abandoning his packing in favour of her company.
"He's not around now though, is he?" he said flirtatiously. Meg looked up at him, tilted her head on the side, and gave him a wry half smile.
"Are you offering something, vampire? You and I both know demons and monsters don't mix any better than angels and demons."
Benny put an arm beside her head and leaned a little towards her, too close for it to be casual. "Seems like you 'mixed' a bit at one point."
"You know what I meant," she said and looked back at Nyx. "She's a one off."
"You're still here though."
"I'm here but I'm not dumb. Do you know how old I actually am, Benny? How much I've seen?" She shifted a little but didn't move away from his seductive nearness. "I'm not stupid. I'm having to run alongside the Winchesters for the sake of my neck. Even though nine times out of ten, I know that if I wasn't still a little useful they'd pop me off if they could."
"Well, that would be a right shame." His grin was just as wistful because he knew what she meant. Then his eyes crinkled as he leaned close to tease her. "Since I think this meatsuit suits you real fine."
His accent deepened, just a little, and Meg arched an eyebrow at him, not impressed by the attempt. "For a monster, you're not repelled by Nyx or me. Why? You up to something?"
He shrugged. "I'm used to being on the outside of the normals myself. This is a favour to help Dean but that little girl of yours? There is something unique in her. Can't figure it out though."
"Yeah?" Meg looked over his shoulder when she heard the door creak open. "Me either."
Her eye caught Castiel's as he appeared from the house. He glanced at them and then looked back out with a practiced carelessness. Meg could feel the heat in his quick glance and saw the confusing set of emotions fleetingly cross his expression. It just wasn't clear if it was disappointment or jealousy on his face and when Meg looked around Benny was smirking. The idea that the vampire was trying to goad the angel for kicks improved her mood just a little. It was already looking to be a boring day for her if she didn't find something to occupy her time.
Determined to keep Dean from doing too much physically, Sam was stacking the wood against the cabin when he felt it. A cold pins and needles sensation that travelled up his legs to his head and then back down to his fingertips, followed by a hot flush that had him panting instantly.
He dropped the stack he was carrying and staggered a little, shaking his head back and forth. It wasn't just nausea and it was something so much more than a dizzy spell. Walking from the rear of the cabin, suddenly everyone who had been so close before now seemed far. He could hear Nyx's voice the way he would hear something through a tunnel: echoing and distant.
Thinking that maybe he had just turned too fast, Sam stopped and stared at his brother to balance himself. Dean was narrowly avoiding Nyx as she stayed close to his feet, asking him questions and pestering him the way Meg had told her to before. Sam saw a flicker of light to the top of his peripheral vision and he looked up at it, just before crumbling down to his knees.
Dean felt the pressure in his head and the numbness on his hands, and before he turned all the way around he knew something was wrong.
"Sam?" Dean saw his brother falling as if in slow motion, like a boneless ragdoll sagging to the earth. Sam fell without even trying to stop himself, his head striking the wood stack hard when he landed on what he had been carrying. "Sammy!"
Dodging Nyx, he ran for him and at the same time Castiel made it to his brother. The angel had hold of the tall man as best as he could but, startled by the dead weight in his arms, he could only lay him on the ground. Dean shoved Castiel a little over and dropped to his knees beside Sam.
"Sam! Look at me, Sam! Sam!"
"He hit himself hard." Castiel stared over Sam's twitching body and gently touched the gash on his forehead. "He's not epileptic but…"
"Shut up and just try to keep him from hurting himself," Dean ordered and they rolled him over. He continued to murmur lowly to Sam, trying to penetrate the blurry haze that was going on in his brother's mind while his body convulsed. Sam's body heaved left and right and Dean knew his pain through a secondary sensation that had happened before. "It's okay, Sam, it's okay. We'll help you."
His eyes shot up to Castiel. "Can you do anything?"
"He's collapsing but not just physically." Castiel reached down and brushed his fingers over Sam's head. He splayed his palm flat and the heat radiating from Sam nearly caused his hand to sweat. "I'm sorry, it's his body fighting him but everything else is fighting for control. His mind is a mess and his body is slipping into shock. I can try though."
Dean felt a tiny body slip by him and he snatched at Nyx before she could reach Sam. "No, Nyx, we have to let him ride it out," he warned as he held onto her arm.
Spying the deep gash on Sam's forehead, her eyes were wide in fear. "He hurt?" Nyx asked.
"He'll be okay," Dean said but there was a hesitation in his voice because the pallor to Sam's skin was getting worse. Castiel reached out for his daughter but she shrugged his hands away.
"Sammy," she said and she shoved at Sam's arm. "Gotta wake up. Wake up!"
He was still heaving and shaking, dangerously close to striking her, and Dean tried to pull her back. "Nyx. It's not safe."
Still squirming, she ducked under his hands and avoided Castiel's as well. "Gotta wake up, Sammy," she whispered as she shook his arm again.
Coming up behind them, Meg watched something steal over Nyx's face that seemed strange. Her little jaw firmed up and her blue eyes actually seemed to darken a little, until the whites were indiscernible from the blue. No one else seemed to notice it but it fascinated Meg .
"Get her back," Dean ordered but Meg reached out and put her hand on Castiel's shoulder to stop him. He looked up from where he was keeping Sam from striking out as he seized, startled by her touch, but he noticed she was watching Nyx. When he looked at Nyx again, he pulled his hand back from her at what he saw.
The girl put her small hands on Sam's face and patted gently though he rolled under her hands. "Gotta wake up."
Watching her, both Castiel and Meg heard a tiny piercing sound, like someone striking a metallic key. Though they were the only ones that heard it, they knew what it was when it echoed in their ears. It was a familiar sound that neither had heard in three years.
Sam choked on a breath when his eyes opened, a startled look on his face as he gulped for air. The rapid jerking motion of his body stopped abruptly and he gasped, fingers clenching into fists as he stared up at Nyx. Licking her lips nervously, she patted his face again before she touched the gash on his head. He winced as something sharp flooded through him, until the heat that had flushed through him at her touch was replaced by something cooler. Nyx stared back, as startled as he was, and he blinked rapidly to clear his vision.
"Nyx?" Sam asked.
With a delighted giggle, she watched him sit up before she reached out and touched his face. "Okay?"
"Yeah… yeah, I'm okay," Sam whispered, absolutely entranced by the sparkle he could see in her eyes. He reached up and touched his bloody forehead but couldn't feel the open sides of the gash. It was just a small wound now.
Castiel glanced at Meg but her eyes were for Nyx alone. As they all watched Nyx tackled Sam for a hug, giggling even though he hesitated to squeeze her back. Nyx waited until he finally wrapped his long arms around her small body for a quick hug before she let him go.
Still standing on the porch, Benny watched the little girl go racing by him as the adults stared stupidly after her.
"Ok, what was that?" Dean demanded once they all sat in the living room a half hour later. He did another quick check of Sam's eyes before Sam batted him away impatiently, grumbling about him hovering around him.
It had taken Castiel and Dean to get Sam up, and then Sam had fought a little with his brother to stop acting like some overbearing nanny over him. Benny's departure had been delayed since there was no way that Dean was leaving his brother yet when he had been hurt. The way Dean insisted on checking his vitals and quizzing his eyesight had made the younger Winchester more than a little irritated. Considering how Dean had reacted to Sam trying to take care of him for a change, they were likelier to go for each other's throats than before.
"I fell, that's all." Sam sighed. "And I don't know what happened. I feel fine."
Standing against the door, Meg kept her arms folded over her chest and her eyes closed as she listened to the child nearby. In the other room, Nyx was devouring the mac n'cheese Dean had found and Meg could hear her scribbling away in her colouring book. Despite the way everyone had been gently trying to ask her questions, Nyx had just insisted she was hungry and wanted to colour for a while. Eventually, Meg had forced them all to leave her alone so she could eat in peace and the discussion had come out to the main room.
"You're better?" Castiel asked Sam from where he leaned against a table.
"Yeah, I'm- I'm actually okay. I don't feel as tired as before. Maybe it was my brain's way of saying I need to actually sleep."
"Wait, you haven't been sleeping?" Dean stared at him. "You never told me that."
"Have you been sleeping?" Sam countered. When Dean wiped at his mouth and grunted something non-committal, he nodded. "That's what I thought."
The brothers looked at each other awkwardly and eventually Sam rolled his eyes, picking up the wet washcloth and dabbing at his still bloody forehead. Just as annoyed, Dean shifted on the couch and he watched Nyx and her stuffed unicorn in the kitchen. She was trying to feed it with her fork and making more of a mess as she tried. He snorted softly at the ridiculous sight.
Castiel followed his look and shifted uncomfortably when he saw the way Dean was gazing at his daughter. Hoping to see if Meg could break Dean's stare, he looked at her next. The demon was staring at Nyx as well but with none of Dean's intensity.
"So there's the other thing." Dean turned accusing green eyes on the angel and demon. "What was that? With Nyx?"
"Got me," Meg said, one eyebrow cocked high. "She's never done that before."
"I mean, you guys couldn't tell she was about to do that?"
"Nope." She leaned back and rolled her head to the side to look at the wards and marks on the walls. "She never needed to do anything like that, I guess." Her eyes dragged back to Sam slowly. "Guess she must really like you, Sam."
"I thought she never actually showed any powers or anything. That's what Linda told us, anyway," he said. Sitting by the window, Benny sighed and finally stopped watching Nyx.
"Clearly she has something." He uncrossed his legs and stretched. "Because we all felt it there and Sam is lookin' a-right bit fine now."
"Cas?" Dean looked at the angel next. "Care to shed a little input on this? You've been quiet."
"Only because I don't know what to think." He shifted a little and looked at Meg. "Meg is the only one who has been with her for three years and if she says that she has never shown any signs of being more than a human, then we have to trust that."
The room was silent as Meg glanced up to see Castiel staring at her. She looked almost confused, a strange half-smile turning the corner of her lips, and he would have said more but Dean cleared his throat.
"Great. So the special abomination finally woke up and no one knew it could happen." Dean's snarky voice made both Castiel and Meg look at him sharply.
"You're welcome, by the way. Sam would have bit through his tongue likely smacked you all around unless she helped," Meg said, her tone as sharp as a knife edge but there was a hint of pride there was well.
"I'm not angry with her, okay?" Dean's voice turned surprisingly meek. "I'm just a bit freaked out."
Sam sighed, knowing the real reason why he was so upset. "I'm okay, Dean, really. It was just a fall. And I feel—" Aware that everyone was staring at him, he stammered a little in embarrassment. "Well, I feel good. Better than usual even."
Castiel tilted his head as he tried to see if Sam had change underneath his own skin. But there was only the glowing white line, invisible to the human eye, that ran on his one arm, and the faintest sign that something had happened to his soul. Sam looked almost the same as before, but there was a crackle of energy about him that had been missing. What it meant he wasn't sure.
Reluctantly, Castiel turned his attention to Meg. She stared back for a moment before she walked off to the kitchen, muttering about humans being weak and stupid.
"Well, this is all matter of domestic, and I'm sure it would be a thrill if I could stay. But I think Dean and I have a prior engagement," Benny said suddenly and the hunter blinked in confusion.
"We've got a what now?" At Benny's annoyed but pointed look, he went a little red and nodded. "Oh, right yeah. That thing. Won't take us long either."
"Where are you going?" Sam asked. He sat forward a bit, trying to see if they were both hiding something from him.
"Better you don't know, guys. This is one of those 'fewer people know, the safer it is,' situations. I'll be back." Dean noticed the way Sam got up to argue and then had to sit back down hard from how dizzy that made him. "You get some ice on your head and sleep. I don't care if the kid fixed you up, you still look like crap. I won't be gone that long."
Fixing his hat back on his head, Benny winked at Sam and Castiel. "Been a slice, boys. I'll catch up with you later, I'm sure."
"Take care, Benny," Sam said, still annoyed about being left behind.
Following Dean to the door, Benny paused by Castiel and leaned in close. "Make sure to say goodbye to the little demon for me, would ya? I got fond of her real quick."
The angel glared at him, and Benny held the look with a satisfied grin still on his face even as he slammed the door behind himself.
Flicking her tongue across her bloody lower lip, Eve watched the demon writhing beneath her. They'd trapped this one in the Midwest and he'd been easily seduced by a few pretty promises of sex and power. Now, she knew, he was regretting his decision to let her in. Not that she cared what he wanted. This was about her needs and her desires… none of which were remotely human. She was trying something new because if she didn't experiment, then it was likely all those grand plans would fall apart.
She felt Adam's heated gaze on her and that helped fuel her drive to finish this. To see if it worked. Like her other half, she could move fast when she chose to, and she had felt his need to be with her. Together they were stronger and apart they were weak, but she found it irritating to be so close to him for too long. The clash between them was powerful. It was why she put him in charge and let him run rampant as she coddled her offspring.
Adam also had this irritating habit of killing those she could find useful and she wasn't sure how to stop that.
She ground herself downwards as she felt the change begin. The demon's hips bucked beneath her and he started to scream. She grinned, watching as the poison in his body began to work its special venom, sped up by the fact that he had willingly given in to her. The trick was that while Adam needed her, for now what she needed was not solely him. The male demons could give her something new if only this experiment actually worked.
But it didn't.
She could feel everything become lifeless about him, nothing more than a corrupted soul and a torn apart human essence, and it meant that nothing was going to work.
It was making her think that she needed something stronger and less tainted.
The growl of the demon changing made her head loll back and she opened her mouth to screech. Fangs extending out, she lowered her head and buried her teeth in his neck as the hands that had been caressing his body created more black vines of poison to streak over his skin and force him to become the very thing he hated.
She felt no real satisfaction from it.
Frustrated, Eve shoved her hand into the demon's throat and burned him from the human husk.
Watching from the rear of the barn, where ten other bodies were strewn out and slowly changing, Adam wondered at his other half's decision to sully her body with a demon's seed. The demons, to him, were disgusting until they were changed. Parasitic freaks of nature.
Judging by the way her bloody mouth turned down, it didn't work anyway.
Eve pouted as she climbed off the dead demon. He'd not turned fully but had collapsed, dead beneath her. "That should have worked," she grumbled. Her mouth was still dotted with blood but her eyes no longer were white in ecstasy but a deceitfully innocent chocolate brown.
Coming up behind her, Adam ran his sharp teeth over her neck and he felt her push back into him. The meatsuit he wore now had patchy skin with bright red spots where their splintered power was struggling to break through. He was hideous to a human eye but he knew she saw something beautiful. For her, it hadn't mattered; not when they had found each other here. The attraction was inherent, the halves of a whole, and like any animal with its mate, he sensed her need. She was angry and disappointed and all he wanted to do was please her and have her happy, because it keep his own hungers and frustrations away.
"That is why you have me, even if you haven't told me everything." He teased her earlobe with his tongue and felt her shudder. "You have me. Why bother looking for that demon female?"
She shoved him away and ignored his cursing. "You are no good to me if we don't find a solution to our weakness. Maybe this demon has some secret within her that could prove useful; if we can taste her blood and whatever it is she is hiding."
"You find a demon fascinating? You'd do better focussing on an angel or a hunter," Adam snarled. Eve turned eyes quickly going black towards him.
"All of this will be for nothing if we cannot keep to plan." She tossed her hair over her shoulder. "That is my will. Obey it."
Rolling his eyes, the monster picked at his scabbing skin with fingernails that were starting to fall out. "I will need to find a demon shortly to replace this one. The meatsuit is decaying."
She nodded and waved her hand over a scab to heal it for him. Eve's suffering was the same but her power kept rebuilding the rips and gashes that marred her younger body. Brushing her hair out of her face, she walked by him and focussed on the demons their venom was turning.
"We need to have our children born . All we need is the right push to keep them. Right now, it doesn't matter how many of them we have. If the demons keep fighting the venom, the souls of my children, then the rebirth means nothing."
"How many do we have?" he asked.
"Forty." She winced in sympathy as she watched another monster lose its battle to win control. Its body twisted as black smoke began to pour out of its nose and ears. When the demon died, the monster died with it, so tightly bound around the soul as it was. "Not enough."
"Then we should make more." His hand went over the flat of her belly. "Don't you think? We can start using the humans as well. Maybe even try an angel or two. Our new friend did give us all matter of nice toys to use on them."
Even though he felt her anger, she didn't remove his hand when it travelled down her body in a slow caress. "We need to find what that creature said was in existence. See how it was done and why God would led such power to such a demon. There are clues to Creation there and we need that or this world isn't meant for us any longer."
Adam turned her in his arms and lowered himself to his knees before her. With his eyes on hers, he sank his teeth into the flesh below her breast, tasting black blood and smelling her odour of earth and algae. "We won't die," he pledged, blood-stained lips rubbing against her belly. "We will have your revenge. The skinwalkers have found the scent. I will bring them to you and then we can be one again."
Eve's fingers curled around his ears and then down his neck, holding him still as she bent towards him. Their eyes locked, held, and Adam actually felt her so deeply within himself that he nearly moaned at the contact. Eve murmured back to him, still stroking his shoulders, and when his head tilted back she lowered her head to kiss him deeply and taste herself on his tongue. The clutch of his hands became possessive and fierce, drawing her down as what they wanted from each other began to consume them.
The monsters who guarded the barn all wisely turned away as the pair collapsed to the ground in a rutting frenzy that made the entire building tremble .
The cabin was quiet without Dean and Benny, the morning hours slowly ticking into the afternoon. Sam had taken Dean's orders to heart and was sound asleep and snoring in his cot, while Nyx and Meg stayed in the open living room. With Castiel a constant presence around the cabin, Meg had figured they were safe for just a little longer and knew that he wouldn't come to any real decision unless the Winchesters were part of it. There was nothing else to do but focus on her daughter.
Having shoved the coffee table out of the way, Meg sat cross-legged across from Nyx. With Nyx's eyes shut, she rummaged in her duffel bag and then drew her hand back out, clenched in a fist.
"What's in this one, monster?" she asked, nodding at the hand she held out. Nyx frowned at it and shook her own head. "Just the first thing that comes to you."
"What are you doing?" Castiel asked as he walked into the small living room. Clearly not expecting to see Meg on the floor, he looked at them in confusion before he sat down on the sofa behind Nyx.
"Testing. Come on, Nyx." She watched the small determined chin thrust out as Nyx focussed on her hand.
"Four penny and dollar."
The angel sighed and rolled his eyes. "Meg, that's not a test. That's not even…"
Giving him a superior look, Meg opened her palm and revealed four copper pennies and a crumpled dollar bill. Castiel blinked at the sight and looked at Nyx. She squealed in delight when she realized she was right and just as quickly turned back to her drawing, which was a mess of yellow and orange scribbles.
"I did four tests on this. She knew each time what I hid and even guessed a few times before I picked something up." Meg tossed the money back into her bag and steepled her fingers under her chin.
"That doesn't mean…" Castiel began and Meg waved her hand at him to shut up.
"Nyx, invenias ludibrio."
Nyx looked around before she held up her stuffed unicorn at Meg. "Clarence?"
Meg nodded. "Good girl," she muttered and looked up at Castiel with her eyebrow arched as if to say 'your witness'. He swallowed loudly and his blue eyes darted between the two of them. Meg saw the question before he could open his mouth to ask it. "I never taught her that, Castiel. Latin isn't really a language I even use outside of spells and I don't think I ever said a word to her in it. So how did she know that all of a sudden? Go on, you try something in angel speak."
"Enochian isn't a simple language. It is not even one really meant for humans or demons," he said stuffily and she sighed.
"Sometime today, Castiel. Because if she gets bored then we won't get a single answer out of her," the demon threatened.
Castiel glanced around for inspiration before he decided to try something very basic. "Nyx? Azien mabza collal?"
They watched her draw in silence for a moment, then turned her head to roll her eyes up at him.
"Aai." The word rolled off her tongue, a bit garbled because of her more childish voice, but he knew what she meant. She pointed at him, scoffed as if he was stupid, and then looked back down.
Meg glanced up at him. "What did you ask her?"
"Who had coat sleeves. She said me." He shook his head. "What is going on?"
She frowned. "When I found you and her earlier, that wasn't the first time you touched her with Grace, was it?"
Looking sheepish, he shook his head. "But it was the first time she reached back so that I felt the tug we had before she was born. The one we both felt."
"I thought I felt it days ago but I didn't think…." Meg stopped herself and looked down at Nyx. "So she's waking up in a way."
Exhaling sharply, Castiel reached out and brushed his fingers over the top of Nyx's head. "Enochian is a difficult tongue, to speak and understand. Even I'm a little rusty." When she didn't pull away he tentatively touched her with his Grace next but she was closed off again though he thought he felt that tiny tug there again. "So how does she know it?"
"Got me." Meg brushed her hands off on her jeans as she stood up and stretched. "Guess all she needed was you to wake her up, huh?"
He would have smiled if he didn't hear a frustrated note in her tone. "You're upset with me."
"I just think this would be easier if she was human, Castiel. Fully human and with nothing special about her. People would leave her alone then."
"I'm special," Nyx said suddenly, grabbing her crayons and paper and tucking her unicorn under her arm. She glared at them as best as she could and then stomped away. Castiel and Meg watched her storm off a few spaces over, childishly turning her back on them as she crouched behind the television.
Meg shook her head at the sudden tantrum and grabbed her jacket. "I need to go out front for a bit. This staying in Winchester-ville is killing me again."
"It is safer for you here," Castiel answered as he stood up beside her.
"Won't be safe for everyone else if I don't get some fresh air. I'll be back." She breezed by him but he saw the way her mouth was tight and her fingers clenched into fists. Troubled by the sight, he debated on following her until he noticed Nyx drawing furiously in fast little scribbles.
"Nyx? What are you doing?" he asked as he knelt beside her, grimacing at the awkward way he had to wedge himself between the TV and the wall.
"Mad at me."
"No, we aren't. We're worried."
He noticed her worrying her lip with her teeth. "I was bad?
"You were very good. Just be careful." He sighed and tilted his head at her.
"Want mommy." She sighed and drew a thick black cloud beside the messy yellow circles. "She's mad."
"Not at you," he said, trying to pick his words carefully. Nyx glanced up at him. He smiled and reached out to touch her drawing of the black cloud, ignoring this time how she flinched a little in surprise when he tapped it. "It'll be okay."
Nyx sighed and kept drawing but Castiel noticed how her tiny shoulders unbent a little when she relaxed.
Only knowing that she needed to get free, even for just an hour or two, Meg stepped out onto the porch and leaned back on the closed door. Eyes shutting, she wondered why this was getting even more complicated than three years ago. But three years ago, she reminded herself, this was nothing but a distant nightmare to you. Reality was now somehow much stranger than those old dreams and fears.
As she walked down the porch steps, she felt a cold sensation run up her back like ice being slid over her spine. It was like it was in preparation for something worse. Or something she should be afraid of. Rubbing her arms, she squinted out at the trees and then froze as, slowly, someone stepped out of her peripheral vision to stand beside her.
"Hello, demon. Daughter of Azazel at one time, weren't you? Then a daughter of Lucifer. Then nothing."
Frozen, she looked over at the man in black standing beside her. Not much taller than her, thin and bony to the point of skeletal, there was something in the way he just stood beside her that made her swallow down the sudden lump in her throat.
"What was your name again? Your true name?" Quickly dismissing it as unimportant, he scoffed and waved his hand. "Demons. You all get illusions of grandeur when you start changing your names. It is hopelessly irritating to keep record of."
Meg stared at him and backed up a step, looking nervously at the house.
"Please, don't bother. He can't help you even if I was here to threaten you." His head turned towards her and she heard the crick of bone. "And I'm not. I know you know who I am. I collected you at one time or another. It is time we had a chat."
Staring at the almost black of his eyes, her stomach turned as he reached out and pushed his thumb directly between her eyes. In one scalding moment, she remembered everything about him and why she knew it. The bite of the hellhounds ripping her to pieces centuries before, the hot pressure of Crowley's angel sword into her body, and the sharp twist of it sending her to a more final death. All of those memories showed her a thin man bending over corpse and taking her soul to Hell. Or to the Lethe.
"Death," she whispered and tried to lean back so his hand was no longer on her forehead.
"Charmed, I'm sure. You are more puzzling than the Winchesters, Meg, which is nothing short of an accomplishment. And I have waited a long time to meet you again." As Death spoke, Meg was distantly aware that they were moving, that their surroundings were changing, though her feet never once left the ground. "Unfortunately you were what we call a pawn. Amazingly, you are a board piece that went beyond the normal function of a pawn. You rose, you grew. It is almost interesting to meet someone to get under the skin of so many."
"What do you want with me?" she whispered, not finding his interest flattering at all.
"To be sure you know your real cause and to give you some idea why I haven't returned to Reap you since the Lethe." He took a seat on an overturned tree log and stared up at her, patting the empty space beside him. "It won't take too long. Have a seat." When she hesitated, his smile hardened and Meg saw the threat suddenly gleaming in his eyes. "Now."
Castiel felt it in the way his skin crawled over his vessel's bones and his Grace actually coiled tight to him, his eyesight suddenly felt hazy. He knew this feeling. Death was close by and Castiel didn't like how clearly he knew that. The ominous sensation grew as seconds ticked by, until he could no longer ignore it.
"Nyx?" he asked, reaching out and touching the top of her head. When she looked up at him, he pointed at the back room. "Stay with Sam."
He was so absorbed in finding out why Death would be close by that he missed the rebellious set to her jaw as he apparated out of the cabin. When he reappeared, Meg wasn't out front where he expected, and her car was still pulled up and locked. Frowning, he walked out halfway to the dirt road and looked around for any sign of her. He couldn't get any sort of bead on her and there were no tracks, nothing to give him some sense of direction.
Clenching his hands into fists, he let his head fall back. "Damn it."
"Tut tut. Such language for an angel. What would Daddy Dearest say?"
At Crowley's voice, Castiel spun on his heel and grabbed for the demon's coat. But Crowley was faster than he was, spinning away to put a reasonable distance between them, even going so far as to stand on the other side of the car.
"Is that what Meg's been teaching you? Though as I recall your vocabulary has improved by leaps and bounds over the past three years so maybe this is just you."
With a twist of his hand, Castiel's spare angel sword fell to his grip and he raised his hand to level it at Crowley's face. "I warned you."
"Oh, get your knickers untwisted. I'm not here for her." Crowley eyed the cabin. "Is your kid in there? You really wouldn't be that foolish though, would you?"
"She's not here."
The demon eyed him, trying to see if he lied, and then nodded. "I believe you. You wouldn't be that dumb, I'm sure. Because I'm sure you've learned better by now than to fool with me." He waved at the front door. "Must be why you're all warded up, hmm?"
"Why are you here, Crowley?" Castiel demanded to keep him distracted from the cabin.
"I'm what you call a warning system. There was word of monsters moving out this way, and supposedly, just supposedly, someone else has been following you."
"We don't want your help or whatever it is you are offering," the angel snapped and he lifted a hand. Crowley held up his own palms as if surrendering.
"I think the whore," he spat out the slur as if to rattle Castiel, "has another idea about what she wants me for."
Castiel's hand dropped a little. "What?"
"I struck a deal with Meg," the demon said smugly and he saw Castiel stiffen a little. "Oh, she didn't tell you? That is delicious, Cassie."
"Why would Meg deal with you?" the angel whispered.
"Maybe it is because she doesn't trust you. Or maybe it is because she wants to keep Hell off her back. I'm not really up on the particulars. She does me a favour by keeping a certain possibility away from me, so I do one for her and keep Hell off her radar for a while." Crowley looked at Castiel. "Really, darling, do try to keep up. You should know the routine by now. We're demons. Deals that point towards betrayal are our raison d'être. "
He waved his hand at the cabin. "Or has domesticity rotted your brain?"
Castiel pointed his angel sword at him. "Stay away from them."
"Or you'll what? We've already established long ago that you won't kill me, Castiel. Not that you don't have the gonads or what have you, but out of necessity. I'm the only demon willing to deal to get what I want and sometimes what I want aligns with what you want." He scratched at his beard. "I just lost twenty good demons from the Midwest. The one that managed to get a warning out said that someone was tearing apart the demons. A monster."
Castiel looked out at the woods, an unusual panic suddenly rising.
"Now if you want a new deal then I can…"
Castiel didn't even turn his way but his voice stayed strong and threatening. "Get out of here. If you even hang around I'll know it and I will send you back to Hell myself."
Crowley smirked, clearly aware that his work had been done. Meg just hadn't defined who could know about their business transaction. "Pleasure doing business with you as ever. Say hi to the little demon and give her a kiss for me, if you will?"
He was still chuckling as he disappeared from sight and left a furious angel behind.