Chapter 4

Castiel lowered his arm. His angel blade dropped neatly into his hand, and he advanced on the girl with deadly intent.

"Woah! Woah! Woah! Slow down Cass, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Dean lurched back to his feet and stumbled gracelessly between the angel and the girl with his arms raised.

Cass stopped, however he didn't so much as spare Dean a glance. His eyes remained focused on the girl. "She has to die, Dean."

Sam picked himself up off the floor and joined his brother. The two Winchesters stood shoulder to shoulder. "We ganked the creature Cass, she's just…"

Castiel spared a brief glance toward the huge mammoth laying dead on the floor. "That, is a demon Sam. No more, no less." His eyes lasered back to the huddled mass of female cowering in the corner, "THAT, is the abomination." He blinked out of sight and reappeared behind the brothers, once again advancing on his target.

Bobby lunged to intercept this time. "Now just hang on one damnable minute, let's think this through!"

Castiel halted once more, glaring at Bobby. "It has to die." He flicked his wrist, readjusting his grip on his blade.

"Cass! So help me I'll send your ass to China if I have to. Let's talk this through!" Dean held a bloody hand mere inches from the wall, where he had hastily drawn an angel banishing sigil. Sam and Bobby moved to post themselves directly in front of the girl.

Cass sighed and turned to face Dean, "What exactly seems to be the problem Dean?"

"Look at her Cass, does she look like she could hurt anything? She's not what we thought…if she even is the creature"

The angel didn't bother to look at her. Instead, he stared Dean down with a perplexed gaze that clearly implied he was questioning the hunter's sanity. " Rest assured, it is the creature. You know as well as I that appearances are deceiving. Power and intent is certainly not of any correlation. Tell me, would you hesitate if the creature looked differently?"

Sam answered, "Hell yes we'd hesitate. This isn't just some monster we're talking about who has killed and tortured. This is a girl chained to the damned floor like a dog! I seriously doubt she is here with Crowley willingly. Come on Cass, just look at her! Really look!"

Cass sighed and slowly turned back to the girl with the overstated patience of an adult under obligation to indulge the impractical whims of a child. Bobby moved a hint to the left so the angel could see. "She just healed Dean's Ribs Cass. Is that the act of something that deserves killing?"

The angel's eyes narrowed at that, and he truly studied the girl for the first time. His stern gaze intensified as it wandered over her form. A scowl graced his face as he noted the cross stitch job on her legs and the cuts on her arms. Letting out a breath, he glanced back at Dean for confirmation. "She healed you?"

Dean nodded. "I cracked my ribs good and she reached out and touched my face and BAM," Dean snapped his fingers, "I was right as rain…just like when you do it."

Sam, who was again kneeling next to the girl, spoke from behind Bobby. "Ah…not quite guys…I think she took the injury on herself."

That had Cass's attention, and Dean and Bobby's as well. Bobby turned and Cass started forward. Dean, after a moment's hesitation next to the sigil, seemed to decide the immediate danger to the girl was past and trotted after Castiel. Blood dripped, forgotten; from the hand he'd sliced to draw the sigil.

Though the girl had yet to speak a word, there was obviously nothing wrong with her hearing. She had been privy to every word spoken between the males; and had definitely heard Castiel ordering her death. She suddenly erupted in a flurry of movement. Taking Sam by surprised, she pushed him, toppling him onto his side. Reason had obviously taken a backseat to the bone-jarring desperation of survival because she lurched to her bare feet and miraculously managed several lurching steps despite her broken ankle. Unfortunately, she seemed to have forgotten she remained tethered to the floor. The chain attached to her collar brought her up short. She had gained enough speed that the sudden lack of give yanked her off her feet. She landed hard on her back, cracking her head against the unforgiving concrete with a sickening thud. All three hunters flinched in sympathy.

Castiel continued advancing. By some miracle, she remained conscious after the fall and rolled onto her belly. Every inch of her body trembled violently as she tried to crawl away from him on arms that could no longer muster the strength to support her. It was at that moment that the angel noticed her back. It was a latticework of raw, angry lash marks. After her fall, they had reopened, bleeding sluggishly and saturating the ripped material of her dress. The torn fabric did little to hide the delicate expanse of her mutilated back from his assessing gaze.

Sensing he'd reached her, she lurched sideways to stare into his face with wide frightened eyes. Castiel sucked in a breath, just as astounded at the brilliance of her eyes as the hunters had been. He cocked his head to the side, holding her gaze; and started to kneel, reaching out a hand and opening his mouth to speak. However, before he could say a word, the adrenaline that obviously kept her going until that point suddenly dissipated. Her eyes glazed over, then rolled back in her head. As she slumped, Cass shot out a hand to catch her head before it could again hit the floor. Sighing, he gazed down at the unconscious female with sad, confused eyes.

Turning to the three hunters who'd watched the scene play out before them is stunned silence, Castiel frowned, "You are correct. This female is not what I expected to find. This is an…alarming turn of events."

Dean shook himself from his surprised stupor, "Dammit Cass. You need to work on your people skills! You scared her so bad she nearly hung herself with that damned collar, she's reopened pretty much every wound on her body trying to get away from you, and now she's probably got herself one mother of a concussion to top it off!"

Sam righted himself, anger pouring from his shoulders in near palpable waves, "Jesus Cass, she was flirting with the shady side of death as it was, and now you've just made it worse!"

Castiel turned his troubled blue eyes back to the unconscious female, "I feel…" He searched for the correct emotion, "…regret. It was not my intent to cause her further injury. However I believe you can relax. I can sense the angel blood flowing through her veins. I do not believe she can die from injuries such as these. It would take no less than an angel blade…or perhaps a demon one to kill her. Castiel cocked his head, musing aloud…or perhaps beheading or complete and absolute blood loss…or…"

Bobby slapped his hat against his thigh, "Maybe so, but she sure ain't healin' like any of you angels either. If she could of she'd a done it by now. She's hurt bad."

Cass sighed, " I will heal her mysel…" He frowned, touching his hand to her forehead.
Sam knelt next to Cass, "Come on Cass, heal her already."

Castiel scowled and narrowed his eyes, "Her body, it is…resistant."

"You're telling me you can't heal her?! How is that possible? You're a freaking angel!" Dean whirled, pacing in anger.

Cass touched the hand that did not hold her head to the metal circling her throat. The collar dropped neatly into two pieces, freeing her. "I don't know Dean. She is an anomaly, utterly unique. One in a trillion. And contrary to your stubborn recurring belief…I am not omnipotent." Castiel gathered her carefully into his arms, and stood.

Bobby huffed, "Anomaly huh? Well at least we've moved beyond 'abomination.'" He rolled his eyes in exasperation.

The angel opened his mouth to reply, however a distant thud had him quarking his head to the side as if listening to a whisper. After a moment, he whirled to face the hunters. "More demons have arrived…We must leave immediately."

Three demons spilled into the room just as he finished speaking. The hunters whirled, forming a protective wall to block them from Castiel and the girl. Dean glanced at Cass, "It's too late…get her out of here Cass. We'll hold them off until you get back."

Castiel handed his angel blade to Bobby. "Agreed." And then he was gone.