The predictable silence lasted for a shorter bout this time, with Maggie's furious snarl not even a fully-faded echo.
"You are going to die."
"I'm not, you ass. I have angels on my side."
"That sort of response is not going to help him!" A bated pause followed. "I can hear Sam Winchester's footsteps, but he's not going to find where I have hidden your beloved Dean." The malice in the words made Maggie's stomach curl.
"You sick bastard. I'm gonna find you myself."
The ghoul snickered, and the call went dead.
Cas's haunted eyes were fixed on Maggie's face. "I still can't feel them. Whatever has them, I'm afraid it's more than just a ghoul."
"Tell me about it." Maggie rubbed a hand across her forehead and was still staring at the Caller ID on her phone when Sam's name and number flashed across it. She scrambled to pick up. "Sam? Okay, don't freak out, but we've got another player in the mix. It's, um…it's Gabriel."
"Oh, great, now Gabriel is back? That's just—freaking awesome. Mags, you really attract this kinda stuff, huh?" Unbelievably, his distaste made Maggie want to laugh. "Listen, I'm sorry I was kinda short with you back there. I know you want to help, but right now is not the best time. Just—look, stay with Crowley and Gabriel, I'm sending him back your way. You three, keep an eye out for more ghouls. I'm gonna try and grab Dean. You hear me? Stay put."
"Sam, be careful. Gabriel's headed your way. I'm with Cas, it was Crowley all along, Sam. I shouldn't have invited him. I mean… I don't know for sure, but someone told me he'd gonna have to explain himself. Sam. I need to know Dean's okay."
Sam stayed quiet for a heartbeat too long, then said, quietly, "I'll be in touch."
Maggie hung up the phone, bumped it against her forehead and looked at Cas. "What now?"
She felt a brush on her shoulder. "I guess it's best if you follow its orders. I found you. I'm here; I've decided I am going to stay invisible, so to speak, so the enemy can't see me either."
"Oh. Castiel." Maggie flopped down on the armchair and buried her face in her hands. "That's comforting."
Maggie couldn't see Castiel's expression, but his silence spoke volumes.
"I will protect you Maggie. I know you might not have very much faith in me, but I would never let anything hurt you. Do as the ghouls tell you, I will protect you and help you to save Dean."
And it wasn't as though she had much of a choice. Maggie knew better than the tangle with monsters on her own, and with Sam and Dean…gone, or worse…
"Okay. I don't know who to trust anymore, so I'll trust you. Just…don't let the Winchesters die."
"Maggie." Cas rose from his perch on the stairs. "Do nothing unless I say so.
Dean is not going to die, I will not let that happen."
Maggie wondered if it was really possible for Castiel to hide from himself. "Cas, your other self just told me to follow the orders. So I will."
Cas pinched the bridge of his nose, then dropped his arm to his side. "This is rapidly falling out of control. Pray for me if you have any need; I'll be searching for a trace of Sam and Dean."
And just like that, he was gone again. Which meant she was some semblance of alone.
Maggie wandered into the kitchen; the pies were sitting on the counter, the air smelled like coffee and the roast beef casserole she'd heated up for the boys. It'd only been two hours since Sam had texted her, telling her to look out the window, and she'd seen them standing on the doorstep; it felt like days churning past.
"I need a cigarette." Maggie muttered. "And a drink."
She cracked open the fridge and crouched, grabbing a better.
A hand tapped her shoulder, bringing her spinning up onto her feet; in one smooth, painful motion, a hand wrapped tightly around her throat, smashing her back against the wall. She found herself staring at Dean—Dean, with pitiless eyes slanted down and a sharp smile twisting his lips. "I'm here! Get ready to die!"
He backhanded her, snapping her head aside, and Maggie's vision tunneled to black—then swallowed down.
Lights, sounds and color swirled back into Maggie's world. The first thing she was keenly aware of was the coppery taste of blood in her mouth; her tongue poked out, swiping gingerly on the raw edges of a split lip. A dull, roaring pain was ratcheting behind her right ear.
"Uhf." Maggie heaved herself up by her arms, blinking dizzily. The kitchen was empty; she was alone.
Or not. She could hear footsteps in the living room, and tensed, arms shaking weakly beneath her body.
"—going to answer me? Dammit, Magdalena, it's not me! But if you want to believe that, then, fine." The person—or not—was shuffling away. "I'll take my services, and go."
"C-Crowley!" Maggie croaked. "H-h-help m-me."
For a second she thought he'd already disappeared; then she heard running steps, felt hands grab her shoulders and sweep her up into a sitting position against the wall. "You're a bloody terror, girl."
"Tell me about it." Maggie gagged and spat blood onto the tiled floor.
"Don't move." Crowley ordered, grabbing a rag from the counter and cranking on the sink. Maggie let the steady sound of rushing water fill her ears and quiet her aching head, leaning her head back, eyes closed.
When her phone rang, Maggie's first instinct was to take it and smash it on the floor. She'd had enough of these weird, unexpected phone calls to last a lifetime.
Crowley returned, kneeling in front of her and glancing at the phone beside her. "Aren't you going to get that?"
"No." Maggie said mulishly.
"It's the Sasquatch." Crowley nudged the phone toward her.
"Wait, what?" Maggie grabbed the phone. "Sam!"
"'Problem." Sam's voice was choked. "'Bout fifteen ghouls. No Gabriel yet." He trailed off. "Lotta blood. I, uh—really shoulda watched my flanks better." A breathless laugh. "Stupid, stupid—weak-spot."
Maggie's eyes shot wide. "Sam, what's going on?"
She heard Sam pull in an unsteady breath. "Not sure if I'm gonna make it to Dean like this. Gonna try." He made a soft sound of pain. "Tell Gabriel and Castiel to get there. As fast as they can.
"S-sending them now." Maggie said, dropping the phone onto her leg and squeezing her eyes shut. The pain was screaming like wildfire in her head.
"Always the troublemaker." Crowley sighed, dabbing at the cut on Maggie's lip.
She grabbed his wrist. "Crowley. Gabriel and Castiel—both Castiels—they're looking for Dean, but they need to find Sam. I think he's hurt, he needs help. Go."
Crowley rolled his eyes. "You're quite the martyr, my dear."
Maggie was getting used to these beings flashing in and out of existence, but for whatever reason, today it felt like an emptier, wider silence than usual.
She leaned back against the wall, tossing the phone gently from hand to hand and waiting for the bout of unsteadiness to fade. When the world felt like it was aligning again, Maggie sucked in her lower lip and scrolled through her contacts until she located Dean's number.
It seemed to ring forever.
"Well, well. Maggie."
"Is. Dean. Alive." Maggie asked haltingly, her voice tinged with hate.
"As far as I know. But I have a number of ghouls working for me." Maggie could almost hear him shrugging. "I saw you with Gabriel and Crowley. If you think they are going to save you, then you are wrong. You don't even know who I work for!"
"They're not here anymore. Show me your ugly face, you monster, and I'll do what you say." Maggie said shakily.
"Oh, really?" Amused, now. "Look up."
The voice sounded strange, tinny and close.
Maggie picked up her head.
The ghoul knelt, catching hold of her chin and meeting her eyes with a smirk. "Oh, this will be good."
The tip of the knife sinking into her skin sent a razor-wire of pain coiling across Maggie's muscles. She ripped her arm back, but his hand curled around her wrist, holding her in place. The knife sank in deeper, splitting tissue and spitting blood.
Maggie screamed to vent off the pain, glaring pure venom at the creature before her. "Stop it! What do you want, you sick son of a bitch?"
The ghoul's mouth gaped wide, angling for her throat—
And burst, spraying blood across her face. Maggie recoiled, shaking off the detached, gory fingers still rigidly locked around her wrist and staring up through the fine mist of blood toward Cas, standing in the doorway.
He approached her swiftly and knelt, touching two fingers to her forehead. Warmth spread through her body, chasing out the chill of pain. "I told you I was staying."
"Yeah, but then you were leaving." Maggie mumbled, blinking, glad to be rid of the dizziness. "Did you find anything?"
"I caught sight of the ghoul as it was making its way inside toward you." Grabbing her wrist, Cas pulled her to her feet.
"Maggie!" The kitchen door slid all the way open, ushering in Castiel, a panic-stricken look on his face. He hesitated. "I see the situation is in…capable hands."
Maggie half-smiled. "You could say that."
"Your phone is ringing." Cas said helpfully. Maggie snatched it off the floor.
"Sam?"
"Son of a bitch! Mags?" Sam sounded frantic. "There are ghouls on their way to you! I'm coming back for you—just hang on!"
"Sam, stay where you are." Maggie said, struggling to keep her tone even. "Gabriel should be there any moment now. He'll help you. Cas is staying with me, I'm fine now! I swear." She met Castiel's eyes. "He needs you. Go."
Castiel vanished.
"I should assist them." Cas said, almost uneasily. Was it possible for someone in his position to feel uneasy about a pack of ghouls? Although, this was bigger than that. Had to be. After all, this thing was hiding Dean from Cas.
"Yes, you should." Maggie said; a cold flush of sweat broke out on the back of her neck, the way it always did right before she got nauseated. She rubbed it away. "They're going to need all the help they can—"
A raw blast of white fire erupted across Maggie's head. She wasn't sure if she screamed, or even if she was still on her feet when she heard a voice clamoring in her head: rocks in a milk pail, tree branches clattering together in the wind.
It scared the hell out of her.
Well, then. Now that you know the situation, I guess I'll let you know my name. The name is Adam...as in Adam and Eve. She was the mother of all, and I am the father of all. Understandably, not very happy that you killed her. So it's time for my revenge.
Maggie was only semi-conscious of reaching out blindly with her hand, of Cas grabbing her arm and lowering her to sit at the table.
She squinted her eyes shut. Sorry to break it to you, bro, but you're gonna die too.
"Maggie." Cas's voice, low and insistent, was so much easier to hear than that voice clamoring inside her skull. "What is it?"
"I don't know. Something's not—"
The phone vibrated across the floor. Maggie jerked toward it and a hot spring of tears swamped her eyes; it felt like she had a railroad spike jammed between her ears. "Cas?"
He responded without any other prompting, scooping up the phone and handing it to her. Maggie almost did sob, with relief, when she saw Sam's name.
"Sam? Sweetie? Hang in there, Castiel and Gabe are looking for you."
"Mags." Sam had that tone in his voice, the one he always got when he was a little exasperated and a little affectionate, too. It came out distorted, smacking wet through the speaker. "Don't think—they're gonna be able to find me." He snuffled in a breath. "Crap."
It was all Maggie could do to hold in the heat in her eyes. "Sam. Where are you?"
A weak cough. And then, nothing.
"Cas—" Maggie began, lowering the phone slowly to the tabletop. "Sam."
"I heard." Cas was sitting across from her, still gripping her arm. She was slowly becoming aware of that. "Maggie. What did you hear? What did you see?"
"Um, it was—he said he was Father. The Father of All. Adam."
Cas tilted his head. "Not Sam and Dean's Adam?"
"No, not Mulligen. Father." She shuddered, the word dripping acid from her tongue. "He says he wants revenge. For what happened to…to Eve."
"And so he forces his way into your mind." Cas's glare intensified. "This creature that is doing this is forgetting one thing. I am a god now." Slowly, his lids hooded, and a faint white glow emanated from beneath his skin, making him look like he was carved from porcelain, iridescent in the dim kitchen. When he picked up his head, the light had concentrated in his luminescent blue eyes. "They are gone now." He stood. "I am going to get Sam."
Maggie looked up at him, bleakly. "Cas, do you really think he's gone? It was Adam. The Father of All."
Cas pressed his lips together. "I will return soon."
No sooner had he disappeared than a dark shape appeared in the doorway—and didn't move any further.
"This Enochian spellwork is excellent." Castiel muttered.
"Sorry. I'm sorry." Maggie moved to grab a butter knife off the counter, to scrape out the sigils, but Castiel held up a hand.
"It is not of import at this moment. I only came to ensure you had recovered. I am going to help Sam. Stay where you are." He hesitated, mulling. "Or better, go somewhere safe. As long as this god-form or Gabriel is with you, you'll be safe."
Maggie looked at him, wryly. "You really are that god-form's other self, aren't you?" She sank heavily back into the chair. "Cas said that Adam's gone now. So are all the ghouls, I think…"
"Be that as it may. It's safer for you here, under protection." He swept a glance around the room, frowning. "I sent Gabriel back. Why has he not returned?"
Maggie pondered on that one. "Come to think of it, I haven't heard from him since he—" She broke off; Castiel was already gone.
Voice small in the deepening twilight that cloaked the room in shadows, Maggie whispered, "I hope he's all right."
Her eyes slid shut; she listened to the faraway, hollow click of the clock ticking on the wall. That stupid, rust-colored thing Sam had given her because it matched the walls in the kitchen. Sam always noticed stupid stuff like that.
God. And she could still smell Dean's cologne.
She hated waiting. Hated being shunted to the back of the situation while everyone else took control. So she wasn't a hunter; she wasn't contesting that. But at least she knew some things, enough to help keep her safe when the boys weren't around. Their absence wasn't a danger to her; it was the worry that was eating away at her insides. That was the part that could hurt the worst.
That, and the sudden, crippling noose of pain that wrapped itself around her head again. She jerked upright as the hissing voice made an unwelcome, unfortunate return:
I see your godly friend Cas is on the hunt for me, Adam snickered. Well. Unless you happen to have some phoenix ash left over from when you murdered Eve, and somehow manage to make me digest it…I won't be dying today.
Clearly. As Cas's attempt had failed.
"No, but I have a god, Adam. Now…beat that." Somehow, saying it aloud rather than thinking it made the words seem stronger. Truer.
Adam snorted. I'm going to beat you senseless.
You're not. Maggie replied, with equal belligerence, and then she added, loudly, "Castiel! He's alive!"
It was as if she'd snapped her fingers and summoned him. Cas stepped through the doorway, flicking blood off his fingertips. He looked like he'd gone a few rounds, scuffed and scraped with a dozen rips in his dust-colored trenchcoat. "The ghouls are gone. Adam, on the other hand, is going to be a lot harder to kill."
"You don't say." Maggie stood, grabbing the back of the chair for support; the absence of Adam's voice left a thick, heavy instability between her ears, like she was about to be violently sick. "Cas, where the hell is Sammy? I haven't heard from him for too long."
"It's unclear. He seems to be hidden from me, as well." Cas frowned. "My—other self, as it were, seems to have vanished. Along with Crowley."
"What about Gabriel?"
Cas ignored the question, which raked claws of unease up Maggie's spine. "The important thing now is to find Adam's location. Dean must be with him, and Dean can help us find Sam." His hands clapped down on Maggie's shoulders. "You seem to have forged some sort of psychic bond with him. Can you initiate it?"
"Um." Maggie hesitated on the threshold of that pain that made her feel like someone was mincing her lungs with a can-opener. And if it was Sam or Dean, you think they would give it a second thought? "I'll give it a shot."
"I must go search for Crowley and my other self. Something is amiss here." Cas said. "I will be back in a moment."
Maggie turned her back on him before he could go; braced her hands on the edge of the sink, dropped her head and reached out into that ice-cold void inside her mind.
Adam. You can hear me, you son of a bitch?
The response, when it came seconds later, was filled with a blunt fury. Damn you! You've killed all of my ghouls!
Troubles of the trade. Maggie pushed the thought out around the bubble of pain expanding behind her eyes.
She sensed more than heard Adam struggling for control. You may have a god on your side, but he still needs phoenix ashes to kill me. And you still haven't found Dean yet! Gloating. The bastard was gloating over this. So. What is your next move?
First off, I didn't do anything, assbutt. But I will. The fury building in Maggie's chest didn't know anything about caution or endangered respect. Let Dean go, Adam.
A soft tap on the small of her back; she wrenched around.
Adam hadn't looked like she'd expected. Younger. He didn't look like the Father of All Monsters, he looked like a kid from a college. Mop of messy reddish-brown hair, big green eyes. He looked like somebody's kid.
Well, duh, Maggie jabbed at herself. He was. This was just a vessel. The face underneath had to be ugly as sin.
"Funny how you're brave enough to come out once Cas is gone." She snapped, her back fetching up hard against the edge of the counter.
"And here I thought we could have civilized conversation, face-to-face." Adam snorted.
"Right. You kidnapped Dean, you bastard. You've been stabbing me in the brain for the last fifteen minutes. And you sent your little ghoul army to kill me. And my friends. We're not exactly on speaking terms."
Adam regarded her, in silence. Then he sniffed and twitched his head. "I have left Dean in the bushes beside your house. He will have a headache when he wakes but should be fine, to my dissatisfaction. But I'm not finished with you, Maggie."
When he looked back at her, the glow of a streetlight from slatted blinds behind caught something inhuman, feral and waxy in his eyes. Maggie stiffened.
"Oh. Are you running away now? I'll kill you for hurting my boyfriend. Keep your eyes open, motherfucker."
Adam's mouth cut back in a dangerous grimace. "You arrogant human swine. You never learn, do you?"
His hand snapped up, moving toward Maggie's throat—
And stopped, intercept by another hand shooting out of the darkness, a strong grip encircling his wrist.
"You," Cas said, in the voice he reserved for the people who had pissed him off the most, "Will. Not. Touch. Her."
He flexed his fingers down, and just like that, Adam was gone.
Cas straightened with a deep breath. "He is not dead, just gone. Adam will be back." He looked around. "Did he not return Sam and Dean to you? I need someone to go back in time and collect the Phoenix ashes. Unless the Winchesters have some."
Great. Because that always went well.
"Dean's in the bushes by my house, I'm on my way to him, Cas." Maggie was two steps for the doorway when she stopped, and glanced back. "Find Sam. He's somewhere…I don't know where. He only said nobody would be able to find him. I have a feeling he really needs our help. She gripped the door until her knuckles jutted out. "Bring him to me, we have to help him. Cas, please…please, find Sammy."
"That boy—" Cas began, and then he broke off. "Get to Dean."
Maggie nodded, slipping outside into a cool but not altogether unpleasant night. In fact, with her skin still flushed with adrenaline and sweat, it felt good. Maggie jogged for the back of the house—and stopped, hand slapping flat against the window, as she felt Adam's voice worming its way back into her mind.
I'm not running away, not yet. The contempt tasted sour on Maggie's tongue. Well, now you know how I felt when your boyfriend killed eve. All she was doing was protecting our children and he murdered her!
Adam. Maggie spat back. Cas kicked you out. Run. Away.
Because if he didn't, Cas would be back. Cas had the Father's scent now, and like a dog, Maggie knew he could follow it. Forever, if he had to. He had unswerving loyalty like that.
And maybe Adam could pick that up from her thoughts, because he went quiet again, and that fuzzy coldness returned. Maggie broke into a run, skirting the edge of the house and almost tripping over two bowlegs sprawling out from under the bush on the corner.
"Dean!" Maggie forced the entangled branches apart, grabbed him under the arms and hauled him out into the open. His greater weight shoved her back-on to a short, wiry tree in the middle of the yard, Dean cradled in her arms, his head on her shoulder.
Maggie's assessment was quick and put together from what little the Winchesters had drilled into her of first aid since they'd met months ago. Dean's face was abraded in some places and gashed in others, with a deep oozing wound on his side. When Maggie pulled up his t-shirt gingerly to investigate, she caught her breath.
That indent in his side could only be broken ribs.
Maggie tugged her fingers through his hair, trying to steady her breathing. "Dean? Can you hear me? Sweetie, come on."
It was the touch or her voice, she wasn't sure; Dean's eyes slid open, freckled with blood spots in the white, and met hers under a fringe of gummy lashes. "Hey. Maggie?" His head shifted slightly in her grip. "Where are we?"
"My house. They brought you back." Maggie knotted her fingers loosely in the hair above his left ear. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Cas couldn't find you. None of us could."
"S'okay, I'm good." Dean said, but his breath was coming in fast, forced whimpers. "Sammy?"
The one question Maggie had been hoping to avoid. "Cas is…he's looking, Dean. He's still looking."
A blank, horrified look filtered into Dean's eyes. "Find him."
"Dean—"
"Find him." Dean's voice broke, his head turning toward Maggie's stomach. She could feel the pain, hot, and flooding his skin.
"Cas! Cas, you have to find Adam, he has to know where Sam is!" Maggie didn't tear her gaze from Dean's face, not once, not even when she heard Cas approaching.
"Let me heal him." Cas knelt swiftly, but as he reached out Dean turned over, grabbing Cas by the wrist, eyes sparking, furious.
"Find. My brother, Cas." He said.
Cas looked down with distress at his friend. "I can't feel him, he's out of my reach." He hesitated, raising his head, a dog sniffing the wind. "Or maybe..."
And just like that, he was gone again.
"Cas, do something. Please." Maggie's words, just a strangled whisper, lost as she buried her face in Dean's hair. His hand came up to the side of her neck.
They stayed like that for a long time.