Castiel didn't need to feel his Grace stir to know Amitiel had awoken. He didn't need to see the aura flicker into existence around the body of the girl. It was in her eyes the moment the transition occurred, changing from innocent and naïve human child to ancient and vast angel. Castiel allowed his hands to remain on her shoulders as he studied her face.
She stared up at him for a long moment as if searching for something. "You have recovered," she observed.
"As have you," Castiel replied.
Amitiel offered him a tiny smile. "Almost." They stood silently for a moment, and then Amitiel took a deep breath. "It was a bad idea not to kill Marax when we first had the chance."
"I agree," he replied solemnly.
She glanced back in the direction of the house. "Have the Winchesters come up with a plan?"
"I've convinced them to wait until we were fully recovered," Castiel assured her. She nodded.
"Good. We should be able to return to Detroit by tomorrow. We'll need to catch Marax off-guard. Eliminate her before she is able to formulate a defense."
"We could use a few more allies," Castiel observed. Amitiel looked at him sharply.
"Who else is there?" she demanded.
"Dean and Sam have a few friends," Castiel told her with some amusement. "Namely a woman named Ellen Harvelle and her daughter. They are also hunters. Perhaps they will come to aid us."
"It's worth trying," Amitiel agreed as they turned back towards the house.
"Amitiel," Castiel said softly. "The ones who fell with you, who were destroyed. Who were they?"
Amitiel's expression softened and grew sorrowful. "Mihr, Ramiel, and Nathaniel from the Twelfth Garrison, Barquiel and Jeduthan from the Thirty-second Garrison, Elyon, Hagith, and Hasmon from the Seventy-eighth Garrison, Yehudia from your garrison, and Sachiel and Mendrion from mine."
Castiel lowered his head and sent a prayer before the Throne for mercy on his fallen brothers and sisters. This war had already cost so many. How many more could heaven afford to lose? Amitiel placed her hand on his arm and for a moment they mourned together.
When they returned to the house, Sam, Dean, and Bobby were cleaning guns on the kitchen table. The smell of gun oil was familiar and strangely comforting. All three men looked up when the angels entered.
Castiel placed his hand on Amitiel's shoulder and gestured to the older man in the trucker cap. "This is Bobby Singer," he introduced. "He has been kind enough to give us shelter." Castiel turned to the retired hunter. "Bobby, this is my sister, Amitiel."
Amitiel inclined her head slightly. "Hello, Bobby. Thank you for your hospitality."
Bobby grunted. "Don't mention it."
Sam grinned at Amitiel. "Hey, Ami. It's good to see you up. We were getting worried about you."
She offered him a smile. "Mallory was caring for me. But your concern is appreciated." She gestured toward herself. "As are the clothes. Mallory was not comfortable in the hospital attire." The angels exchanged a quick glance, sapphire against granite. "Both of us should be fully recovered by tomorrow," Amitiel continued without looking away from Castiel. "We should begin formulating a plan to take out Marax. Castiel suggests we call for aid."
"From who?" Dean asked, setting aside the slide of his Colt 1911. He picked up a wire brush and threaded it through the gun's barrel.
"You have often mentioned Ellen and Jo Harvelle," Castiel replied. "I have also heard of them from my siblings. Zachariah in particular had nothing good to say about them, which I suppose counts in their favor."
Bobby snorted impolitely and Dean smirked. But Sam only looked worried. "I don't know," he said hesitantly. "I don't want to drag them into this. It could get ugly."
"Cas is right, Sam," Dean pointed out. "We really could use the back-up. We should give them a call." When Sam didn't look convinced, Dean pressed on. "Look, they can always say no, right? They don't have to get involved in anything they don't want to. Let's just ask, okay?"
Sam huffed. "Fine," he agreed reluctantly. Dean nodded and got up from the table, retrieving his cellphone from his pocket. Castiel moved slightly closer so he would be able to hear both sides of the conversation.
"Hey, Ellen, it's me," Dean began once the phone stopped ringing.
"Hey, honey. What's going on?"
"Uh, look, we kinda got a situation here and...uh, we could use your help," Dean said, scratching his cheek as he spoke.
"Yeah? What kind of situation?"
"There's this demon in Detroit by the name of Marax. She's trying to free a fallen angel, Belial. I've got it from reliable sources that he's bad news. Problem is, she's already kicked our ass the first time we tried to take her out. But we can't leave her alone, either. We're heading back after her and we could really use the back-up."
There was a quiet laugh from the other end. "A Winchester asking for back-up. Well, that's not something you see every day. Yeah, we'll be there. Where are you now?"
"We're at Bobby's," Dean replied. "We had some patching up to do." He rubbed the back of his neck. "And a sort of brush with the law..."
Ellen laughed again. "Remember that you're dead, Dean, and we want it to stay that way. Jo and I can be there by tomorrow afternoon. We'll see you then."
"All right. Thanks, Ellen." Dean turned back to Sam and Bobby. "They'll be here by tomorrow."
"Great," Bobby grumbled. "So I have to put up with you yahoos for a whole 'nother day?"
Dean clapped the older man on the shoulder. "Aw, admit it Bobby, you love having us here."
"Idjits," Bobby muttered.
XxxXxxX
Amitiel was in the scrapyard when she heard the truck arrive. She had escaped the house in search of somewhere quiet to steal a few minutes alone. The humans were arguing over...something...and Castiel had remained behind to observe. Amitiel had to admit she was fascinated by humans, but at the moment she only found them...irritating.
"Not you," she assured Mallory. "Never you, child."
To be honest, they were getting on my nerves, too, Mallory admitted. They shared a quiet chuckle. Then Amitiel caught the sound of a vehicle engine. She walked between the damaged cars toward the house just in time to see a red pick-up truck pull into the gravel drive. She stood there, arms crossed over her stomach, and watched the two women emerge from the car. Both were blonde, one only a few years older than Amitiel's vessel and the other perhaps a handful of years younger than Bobby.
The elder caught sight of Amitiel almost right away. "Hello, there," she called with a small wave. "Is Bobby home?"
"You are Ellen Harvelle," Amitiel said, tilting her head slightly to the right.
Ellen's smile faltered slightly. "That's right. And you are?"
"My name is Amitiel. I'm a friend of Dean and Sam's." Amitiel inclined her head toward the house. "They are inside, but you may have to interrupt their...discussion."
"God, what are they on about this time?" Jo asked, rolling her eyes. Amitiel lifted her shoulder and let it drop.
"To be perfectly truthful, I haven't the faintest idea," she admitted. "I made my escape over an hour ago." She smiled faintly. "Hopefully your arrival will convince them to stop. After you, please." She gestured toward the door and followed as the women stepped onto the porch. Ellen opened the front door without knocking and strode in.
"...I don't care what you think, Sam, that's not the way we're doing things!" came the sound of Dean's raised voice.
"You always get like this!" Sam replied hotly. "You act like you're the only one who has any say in this."
"Yeah, well that's because I'm always right."
"Oh, right, because you never make mistakes!"
"Everyone makes mistakes," Dean shot back, ignoring the fact he was contradicting himself.
"That's my point!" Sam exclaimed.
"Boys!" Ellen interrupted, coming to stand in the kitchen doorway. "Don't you think that's enough?"
They both turned to stare at her for a moment. Castiel's expression was somewhat relieved; even he—who had a nearly-endless patience when it came to Dean Winchester—was reaching his limit.
"Hi, Ellen," Sam said sheepishly. The woman folded her arms across her chest and glared at the both of them. When neither of them seemed inclined to continue the argument, she nodded in satisfaction.
"That's better. Now c'mere!"
Hugs were exchanged between the Winchesters and the Harvelles, and Bobby was called in from where he had retreated into his study. After the old friends had greeted each other, Jo suddenly turned to Castiel and thrust her hand towards him.
"Hi. I'm Jo. Who're you?"
Castiel closed his hand around hers without hesitation. "I am Castiel. I have heard much about you, Jo Harvelle."
She blinked and looked suspiciously at Dean and Sam. "All good, I hope."
"Good and bad," Castiel replied. "From several different sources."
Jo looked like she didn't know quite what to say about that, but Ellen decided it was time to get down to business. "All right. Tell us about this job in Detroit," she ordered, accepting the beer Bobby had offered her. Dean claimed the seat opposite her and Sam leaned against the counter.
"All right. Well, so this Marax bitch is trying to open the prison of a fallen angel, Belial," Dena began, but Ellen waved him off.
"You already said. Get down to the nitty gritty, boys."
"Marax needs to sacrifice two angels in order to open the prison doors," Sam put in. "And not just any angels. Two in particular. The two who imprisoned Belial in the first place."
Jo looked up with a quizzical frown. "Okay, if it's angels, how is it our problem?"
Dean jerked his head over to where Castiel and Amitiel where standing, close enough for their arms to touch. "It's those two angels."
Ellen and Jo both turned to stare at the two. The angels gazed mildly back. "They're...angels?" Ellen echoed slowly. "Didn't you say we don't like the angels?"
"They're on our side," Sam assured her.
"And I'd take it as a personal insult if a demon killed them," Dean put in. Castiel raised an eyebrow.
"Your concern is heartwarming," he said in deadpan. Amitiel smirked and said something in Enochian. Castiel cracked a smile of his own. Dean glowered at both of them.
"That's not fair," he growled. Both of them instantly looked innocent.
Ellen shook her head. "Okay, so Marax needs to sacrifice them to free Belial. We got that. It's just...angels?" she said again, eying Castiel and Amitiel. "They don't look much like angels."
"These are vessels," Amitiel replied, gesturing to herself. "In our true form, you would be blinded if you tried to look at us. These are for your benefit."
"Vessels," Ellen repeated, her expression growing dark. "You mean to say you're possessing some little girl?"
Amitiel looked about to reply when something stopped her. Her eyes became distant for a few seconds, and then her face changed. Dean and Sam recognized it by now and knew what was coming. But when the girl spoke again, Ellen and Jo both jumped.
"Mrs. Harvelle," the girl said, her voice soft and suddenly child-like. "It's okay. I agreed to this. I want Amitiel here." She half-turned and gestured at Castiel. "And Jimmy, he agreed to host Castiel. It's not always fun, but they needed us. And they take care of us, too."
Ellen stared at the girl. "You...you're the host?" she asked quietly.
The girl nodded. "My name is Mallory, and Amitiel saved my life. The least I could do is help save hers. She needed me. And angels aren't like demons. You have to say yes before they can come inside."
Ellen still looked uncomfortable. "So you have no problem with an angel riding around inside your skin?"
Mallory laughed a little erratically. "Believe me, I am so much better off now than I was before Ami came to me. I'd be dead now if it weren't for her." She rubbed her palms against her thighs. "I have to agree with Dean, though. I'd kinda take it personally if some demon tried to sacrifice Amitiel." She pulled a wry face. "So if you could help us out, I'd appreciate it."
Ellen gave her an assessing look. "All right. What's the plan?"
xxxxxx
A/N: I realize that the last two chapters have been conspicuously lacking in action. I promise things will pick up next chapter! Please hang in there and thanks for reading!