Twenty Six

I had been staying at the Economy Inn in Minneapolis for a week when I got a call from Dean. During that week I had called Dylans phone upwards of two hundred times, I had also prayed to her almost constantly, in the vain hope she would hear me, but nothing. This had me completely panicked, I knew she was upset but she had never gone this long without checking in with me, especially when I had been calling her. This kind of radio silence was so unlike her. Even when we hadn't seen each other in months, every few days she would shoot me a text. I had even tried Bobby a few times to see if for some reason she had tried to contact him but he was yet to answer. Dean had texted me a few times in the first two days after I left but by the second night he had stopped responding as well. I knew he and Sam had a job somewhere in Colorado but that was all I had heard up until the phone call nearly five days after he stopped originally talking to me. I felt incredibly alone in those couple of days, I would leave the dingy cesspool I was staying at to have breakfast and sit there for a few hours just watching the world go by and pouring over my journal. Then I would make my way back to the inn and spend the next few hours making calls to other hunters I knew, hoping to get some information on either Dylan or the boys. Unfortunately for me with Dylan being an angel, she was incredibly good at not being found, she could be half way around the world and I wouldn't know about it. Also the fact that Sam had released Lucifer from his cage meant that the Winchester boys weren't exactly popular in the Hunter community. Most hunters informed me that they would also like to know the whereabouts of the boys so as to give them a piece of their mind, and when a hunter says that they really mean a piece of their gun. By the time a week had passed I had given up making calls and decided to look for a job to keep myself busy, I needed to find something to do because staring at the four walls of my filthy room was driving me crazy. As I was sitting in the diner after breakfast, the waitress approached me and asked how I could stay so long in a place as dangerous as the Inn with its drug dealers, prostitutes and vagrants, I had to laugh, those types of people were the last of my worries. I reassured her that I was fine and would be moving on soon, she looked relieved when I told her this and left me to my research. I had seen a possible werewolf case in Charles City Iowa, it was only just over two and a half hours away, an easy drive and a chance to clear my head. I was packing my things into the mustang when my phone went off, it was a blocked number so I answered quickly, hoping it was Dylan.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Rayne?" came Deans voice from the other end.

"Dean? What's up? You stopped texting me a few days back, you had me worried." I said still slightly hurt at his ignoring me.

"I'm really sorry about that, it's just Sam and I got pulled into this job and well, he's missing Rayne, he went out to check a lead two days ago and hasn't come back. I've been looking for him everywhere but it's like he disappeared without a trace." he sounded totally beside himself.

"Ok, well could he have followed a lead somewhere and be out of cellphone reception?" I asked trying to ease his mind slightly.

"He would let me know somehow Rayne, he wouldn't leave me hanging like this! I could really use your help, please." he pleaded with me.

"Sure Dean, I was just leaving Minneapolis when you called me, tell me where you are and I'll come help you find him."

"I'm in Rocky Ford Colorado, staying at the Melon Valley Inn, give me a call when you get here." he said, I could hear someone yelling something in the background but I couldn't quite make it out.

"Is everything ok?" I asked hearing a banging noise also in the background.

"Yeah just noisy people in the next room, I have to go, thank you Rayne."

"No worries, it's a long drive but I will be there as soon as I can."

"Rayne?" he said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"I miss you." he almost whispered and I smiled.

"I miss you too Dean, I'll talk to you soon."

"Bye Rayne." he said before hanging up. I sighed loudly, I would have to call another hunter and get them to check on the werewolf situation, I had a fourteen hour drive to make.

I was roughly an hour and a half away when I called Dean and it rang out, I was at a gas station in Limon filling up the mustang and having a much needed snack break. It surprised me that Dean hadn't answered, seeing as he was so keen for me to get to him and he had asked me to call when I got close but I shrugged it off, no need to worry, I had left a message, he would call me back when he could. It was a long stretch of nothing between me and Rocky Ford, more time to work out what to say to him when I got there, maybe he would help me track down Dylan. I had been driving for half an hour when I heard a rustle of wings in the back-seat. I looked in the rear view hoping Dylan had decided to pop in but instead I saw the stoic figure that was Castiel.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" I asked angrily, this angel was the reason Dylan was missing, if he hadn't spilled his guts to that fat bald angel about me Dylan wouldn't have had to expose herself.

"Hello Rayne, I can sense that you are upset with me." he said flatly.

"You're damn right, you've caused nothing but trouble for Dylan, I know she cares about you and everything but if you hadn't opened your big mouth, chances are she would be in the car with me now, instead of god knows where!" I fumed.

"Yes I am sorry that I hurt her, and you, you mean a great deal to Sofiel."

"It's Dylan!" I screamed knowing how much she hated being called that.

"Dylan, of course, you two have a bond that is usually reserved for other angels, you are Sorores."

"English please fly boy." I grumbled.

"It means sisters, normally angels only have family ties to other angels but Sof... I mean Dylan has ties to you, Dean, Sam and Bobby. It is very unusual, but then again, so is Dylan." he smiled. I glanced into the rear view mirror again, I could see that his wings were now almost completely violet, not the same bright shade as Dylans but a more muted tone, there were flecks of white and grey but he now had much more colour.

"Castiel?" I asked and he looked up, "what's with your wings? They used to be less, I dunno, colourful..."

"The more obedient the angel to their superiors, the less colourful the wings, since I met Dylan I have been straying from my orders more and more, hence the colour you can see," he answered solemnly and I cracked up, "what is so funny?" he asked.

"Oh just that would be right, Dylan has the brightest wings possible, rebellious little shit!" I laughed and Castiel smiled.

"It was Dylan I came to talk to you about Rayne. Have you seen her?" his face dropped. I shook my head no and he groaned slightly, "I was hoping she had been in contact with you, I have been searching for her and it seems she has hidden herself from me. I needed to tell her I was sorry. I have been searching for you for almost two days, you are not an easy woman to track."

"Castiel I have been in Minneapolis for the last week, I haven't left."

"It must be your demon side, some more powerful demons are able to shield themselves from angels."

"Well, maybe, but Dylan has never had a problem finding me." I replied completely baffled as to what was going on. Castiel looked lost in thought for a moment.

"Maybe someone is shielding you. If Dylan contacts you please pray to me, if you do I will come straight away, even if you have the smallest information, I need to make it right." he said intensely.

"Sure Castiel." I nodded.

"Oh one more thing Rayne, I want us to be friends, my friends call me Cas."

"Sure thing Cas." I smiled, I was still peeved at him but if he could help me find Dylan I was willing to let bygones be bygones. He smiled at me and then with a rustle of feathers was gone. I drove for another twenty minutes when Dean called me back. He sounded like he had been running, he was breathing heavily.

"Hey Dean, you ok?" I asked him.

"Yeah, yeah," he answered puffing slightly, "how far away are you?" he asked.

"About forty minutes if I hurry." I answered.

"Ok well meet me in room thirty, the door will be open so come straight in."

"Ok, sure" I said a little confused. There was a loud bang in the background and Dean made a hissing sound.

"You sure everything is ok Dean?" I asked and he made a noise in agreement.

"Just, you know, loud neighbours, see you soon." he said and hung up before I could say anything else. Something about the whole conversation felt off but I couldn't put my finger on why. I shook my head, the sooner I got there, the better.