A/N: Thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed so far! Glad you're into this story. ^_^ Also, I am so excited because that fanvid idea I had in my head is now a reality, thanks to Rae! I wish ff would let me include links, but just go to YouTube and search Supernatural Fanvid - Come Alive (Dry Bones) by Rae L.

Chapter 2

Dawn had tinged the overcast sky slate gray when Castiel pulled up in front of the cabin, his car's tires crunching over pebbles and twigs on the rarely used dirt road. The place looked old and abandoned from the outside, one exterior wall overgrown with shrubbery and the roof blanketed with dried pine needles. He put the vehicle in park and turned off the engine, eyeing the surrounding foliage intently for signs of encroaching threats. Everything seemed quiet.

He and Ryn exited the car and made their way toward the door. Castiel rapped his knuckles on the aged wood.

"Charlie?" he called. "My name is Castiel. I'm a friend of Sam and Dean."

At first nothing happened, and he wondered if the Winchesters' friend hadn't even made it to the cabin, but then he heard a faint scuffing from within, someone with feather-light footsteps that only one with celestial hearing would detect. Castiel waited as the nervous steps drew closer to the door, and then it finally grated open a crack.

"Y-you're Castiel?" the young woman with vibrant red hair asked warily. Her eyes were swimming with guarded fear, exhaustion, and tremulous hope.

"Yes. Sam and Dean sent me," he replied.

She pulled the door open further, expression shifting from tension to a flash of awe. "Whoa," she breathed, then frowned. "I thought you'd be shorter."

Castiel quirked a brow. Charlie wasn't tall, herself, half a foot shorter than Castiel's vessel.

She flicked her gaze at Ryn, standing just off to the side, and stiffened again. "Um, hi."

"This is Ryn," Castiel introduced. "She's a friend as well."

"Oh, okay. Are you an angel too?"

"She's a phoenix," Castiel corrected. "Actually, the Alpha phoenix."

Charlie's eyes widened, and Castiel realized he probably shouldn't have said that. If this human was like other hunters, she'd immediately categorize Ryn as a monster. Castiel opened his mouth to try to walk back his blunder, but was stopped when Charlie let out a somewhat breathless squeak.

"Like, a real phoenix? You burst into flames and are reborn from the ashes?"

"Something like that," Ryn replied carefully.

Charlie let out another 'eep.' "But, I thought phoenixes were firebirds. No wings?"

Ryn exchanged a look with Castiel, perhaps in amusement, perhaps in perplexity. Not that he knew what to make of this. "I can take that form if I want, but I prefer this one."

Charlie's eyes were still as wide as saucers. "That is so cool," she gushed. "And ohmygosh, you carry a sword too?" she exclaimed, gaze going to the sheathed katana slung across Ryn's back.

Castiel blinked at her in confusion. This young woman was certainly not what he had been expecting.

Ryn cast a wary look over her shoulder before lowering her voice. "We should talk inside."

Charlie gave herself a small shake, some of her earlier trepidation returning as her gaze darted wildly around the surrounding woods. "Oh, right. Yeah." She stepped back to let them in, and a strangled sound garbled in her throat as her face screwed up.

Castiel remembered Dean saying Charlie was injured in some way. "You're hurt?" he asked, stepping forward into her 'personal space.'

She started slightly as she blinked up at him. "Um, I got shot." Charlie reached for the hem of her shirt, but Castiel went ahead and placed two fingers to her forehead, instantly healing the wound. She was lucky the bullet hadn't hit any vital organs.

Charlie's eyes crossed upon him touching her, and after he pulled back, she yanked her shirt up to reveal the patch of gauze taped across her stomach. She ripped it off and gaped at the smooth, unblemished skin. "Is that it?" she asked in surprise.

Castiel nodded. "Your bullet wound is now healed. So is your carpal tunnel. You may want to continue wearing your wrist brace at night, though."

Charlie gazed up at him, and a smile broke out on her face. "Did we just become best friends?"

Castiel blinked. "Um…"

"Dean said you have the Book of the Damned," Ryn interjected.

"Oh, yeah." Charlie pivoted and bent down to pick up a knapsack off the floor. Reaching inside, she pulled out a tome that instantly sent a sinister shiver down Castiel's spine.

"Here's what I've learned so far," Charlie continued. "About seven hundred years ago, a nun locked herself away after having visions of darkness. After a few decades squirrelled away by herself, she emerged with this." Charlie held up the heinous book. "Each page is made out of slices of her own skin written in her blood. Totally eekish. According to the notes I found, it's been owned and used by cults, covens, and the Vatican had it for a while. There's a spell inside that thing for everything. Talking some black mass, dark magic, end-of-times nastiness. As far as what language it's written in, I'm thinking it's some kind of—"

"That book is pure evil," Castiel interrupted.

Charlie grimaced. "Um, yeah. I'm kinda wishing I never dug it up. But I just kept thinking what if someone else got to it first, you know?"

Castiel supposed that could have been a possibility, and understood Charlie's well-intended motives. "But someone is after you now?" he asked.

She nodded. "I don't know how they found me so fast, or knew I'd found it. And they are scary." Charlie set the Book down on a rickety coffee table behind her and snatched up a piece of notepaper from it instead. "They all have this tattoo."

Castiel took the paper she held out to him and examined the hand-drawn sketch of a crest with a two-headed bird of prey, wings and talons splayed around a shield with an ornate cross in the middle.

Ryn let out a curse in Russian.

Castiel shot her a bewildered look. "You recognize it?"

A muscle in her jaw ticked. "They go by Styne now."

"Now?"

"They are a very old European family," she replied.

Charlie snorted. "They had pretty thick southern accents when I tangled with them."

"They're spread out across the world," Ryn explained. "They're magic practitioners, and in the worst way. They used spells to create disease, destabilize markets. They even helped the Nazis before they came into power, and they profited from all of it."

"So, they're like the supernatural Du Ponts?" Charlie asked.

Castiel frowned, unclear who that was.

Ryn cocked a brow. "Um, sure. All the spells they used came from a book of 'unspeakable evil' which they lost nearly a hundred years ago." Her gaze landed on the Book of the Damned, lips thinning. "A lot of supernatural parties were relieved when that happened."

"And now these guys want it back," Charlie said in a small voice.

"They won't stop, either," Ryn added. "Even without the Book, they're powerful. But with it?" She shook her head and flashed Castiel a worried glance.

"Then we need to destroy it," he said, and reached past Charlie to grab the Book. The instant he touched its cover, it was like dozens of glacial tacks piercing his palm. Malevolent susurrations slithered through his mind, and he gritted his teeth as he turned toward the door.

"There's a spell protecting it," he ground out. Castiel marched outside and dropped the accursed volume on the ground. His hand and arm continued to tingle uncomfortably from the brief contact, and he attempted to shake it off. "Ryn, perhaps if we combined our powers? Your purifying fire with divine smiting might be enough to break the protection and destroy it."

"Worth a try," she said, coming to stand beside him. She held a hand out over the Book, and Castiel did the same.

But before they could channel their respective energies, a twig snapped, and three figures suddenly emerged from the tree line.

"Oh no," Charlie squeaked.

Castiel instantly stepped forward, placing himself between the Book, Charlie, and the intruders. One of the men had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and Castiel narrowed his gaze on the Styne crest tattooed on the man's forearm.

"Well now, missy," the leader said, his accent indeed thick with a southern drawl. "You've made us chase you halfway around the damn world. And I'm about run out of patience."

"How did you find her?" Castiel demanded. Sequestered in this cabin, Charlie was 'off the grid,' as Sam would say, and should have been safe.

Styne cocked his head at Castiel, roving an appraising gaze up and down him. "Not her, exactly. See, the Book of the Damned…" His eyes flicked to the ground behind Castiel's feet and up again. "It wants to be found. It wants to come home."

"That's not going to happen," Castiel growled, and reached behind him, summoning his grace and the might of Heaven. His palm glowed gold, divine power crackling against the edges of the Book's protection spell.

Styne lifted his brows, apparently unperturbed. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," he warned. "All those visions of darkness contained within that Book, you think they'll just go poof if you destroy it?"

Castiel frowned, hesitating.

Styne's face cracked into a grin. "No. You'll be unleashing an evil greater than you can imagine. So why don't you just hand it over?"

Castiel narrowed his eyes on the man, piercing down to his aura. He was telling the truth. Or what he believed was true about the Book. Castiel couldn't be certain, which meant he couldn't risk it. He closed his fist, extinguishing the light.

Styne smirked. "Good call."

"Charlie," Castiel said, "go back inside." He slipped his angel blade down from his sleeve. A split second later, he heard the slight screech of metal as Ryn unsheathed her katana.

Charlie darted forward to scoop up the Book, and then retreated to the cabin's doorway.

The Styne leader roved a calculating gaze over them. "As I told the little girl, you can cut me down, but my family will never stop. And this ends with all of you dead."

Castiel drew his shoulders back. "I believe you have that the wrong way around." He surged forward, brandishing his blade against the unarmed man. Styne ducked under Castiel's swing, but the angel was quick to spin around and slice at the man's back. Styne didn't even let out a howl of pain, but pivoted and began to circle Castiel in return. Then he lunged.

Castiel wasn't expecting to be met with the force of a wrecking ball, and he staggered backwards until he hit the front of his car, pitching back over the hood. Styne cocked an arm back and punched Castiel in the face, which sent stars bursting across his vision. He lurched upward and rammed his blade into the man's shoulder. Styne cried out at that and recoiled. But then he reached for the hilt and yanked the blade out with a squelch. Leering at Castiel, he twirled the weapon playfully.

Castiel rolled off the hood of his car and tried to regain his feet as Styne circled him again. Behind him, Ryn was thrusting and swinging her sword, landing several strikes against the other two Stynes, but none of the blows seemed to be hindering them.

These were no mere mortals…

As Ryn lashed out at one, the other swept in and kicked out her legs, driving her to the ground. Her eyes flashed with fury and fire, and sparks ignited across her blade, whooshing into flames. The two lackeys pulled up short, and she leaped up to attack with more fervency.

Castiel waited for the leader to make the next move. When he surged forward and brought the blade down, Castiel caught his arm, barely stopping the blow's momentum. He then twisted in and around and smacked a palm on Styne's forehead, calling upon the smiting power of Heaven. Light blazed forth from within, and Styne's mouth blew wide in a scream as it exploded outward through his eyes. The air crackled with power, tickling Castiel's wings as they rustled in the celestial static.

The flames burned out Styne's eye sockets, and Castiel let the dead husk drop to the ground with a thud. When he looked over, he saw Ryn drive her flaming sword through the other thug's heart, and he, too, went up in a blaze. Castiel whirled, but the third man had disappeared.

Ryn yanked her blade out and inhaled sharply. The flames trickled down to slivers before winking out, and the halo of fire faded from her silhouette. She lifted her gaze to Castiel's, then glanced back at the cabin where Charlie was still standing, mouth agape.

"Did you see where the other one went?" Castiel asked.

Charlie blinked. "What? Oh." She grimaced. "Sorry. I was kinda caught up in that seriously wicked display of awesomeness there."

Castiel pressed his mouth into a thin line. If one escaped, he could report back to more of these family members and bring reinforcements. Though, it seemed the Stynes had a way of tracking the Book, regardless, which meant it didn't matter where they went, the Stynes would be able to find them.

Castiel moved his gaze to the Book in Charlie's arms, jaw tightening. With the rush of battle dissipating, the disquieting murmurs from the Book whispered all the more loudly to his senses.

Charlie shifted her weight. "Um, was what he said true? Will destroying the Book unleash some big evil?"

"I don't know," Castiel replied gravely. And until they did, destroying the Book wasn't an option. But they couldn't shore up against an army of supernaturally enhanced beings indefinitely, either. And they couldn't stay here.

"We should be ready to leave as soon as Sam and Dean get here," he said. The Winchesters should be arriving soon enough, and then they could all decide the next course of action.

Roscoe ducked back behind a tree as a black Chevy Impala pulled onto the lone dirt road that led back to that isolated cabin. He held his cell phone pressed to his ear, the ringing on the other end momentarily drowned out by the rumble of the engine. Great, the little bitch had even more reinforcements.

The line clicked. "Yes?"

"Jacob's dead," he said without preamble.

There was a pause on the other end, and then a sigh. "How hard is it to take the Book from one stupid little girl?"

"She met up with an angel," Roscoe bit out. He picked at a bloody tear in his sleeve, sneering at the laceration underneath. "And maybe a witch. I don't know."

"An angel?" Monroe replied dryly.

"He burned Jacob's eyes out," Roscoe spat. Adrenaline was still pumping through his veins from the encounter. It wasn't often he met someone or something stronger than himself. And he didn't like it. Jacob was too stubborn to know when to call it quits, but as soon as Roscoe had seen they were losing, he beat it the hell out of there. "And I- I saw these shadows…they looked like wings."

Silence again, and then a thoughtful hum. "An angel, hm? There's some useful spells in the Book if we could get our hands on both." Monroe's voice hardened like steel. "Where are they now?"

"Still in Iowa, but getting ready to head out, it looks like," Roscoe replied.

"Don't lose them," Monroe ordered sharply. "Eldon will join you soon."

The line disconnected.

Swallowing hard, Roscoe turned and jogged through the brush to where Jacob had stashed the car. Then he climbed in and started the engine, pulling forward enough to watch the road and wait for that Continental or Impala to make its way back out. Whoever these people were, they had no idea who they were messing with.