Chapter Seven

Gabriel looked over the page in the book Creide turned towards him on the table and he swiftly looked over it. The first thing he noticed was the complexity of the spell and it made him stop. It was surprising on its own to find such an old and powerful witch like Creide at place like this, but the spell in front of him surely exceeded even the woman's considerable knowledge.

'Where did you get this spell?' he asked. Creide raised an eyebrow at him.

'Ye don't think I created it?' she asked.

'I know you didn't' the angel replied and the witch huffed out a laugh and rolled her eyes.

'It's from my late husband' she told him. 'Not like it matters, it'll work that's what ye want.' Gabriel narrowed his eyes on the words and the symbols in front of him.

'Where did he get it?' he asked then.

'Oh for the bloody stars why are ye questioning me?' Creide asked as she put her hands on her waist.

'Where Creide?' Gabriel asked. The witch sighed.

'From demons, all right?' she said. 'Other witches sold their souls or vowed eternal loyalty for knowledge like this, but not my man' she said and there was proud tone in her voice as she said the words. 'He captured those filthy bastards and forced their secrets out of 'em' she crossed her arms over her chest and her entire body screamed challenge. 'There ye have it, this was the spell he used when he wanted to keep them locked and hidden, should hide your presence in that body just fine.'

'Are you comparing me to a demon?' Gabriel asked her with a dark look on his face.

'Don't take insult where none was intended' Creide chided. 'You're inside a human body just like they are, that's a fact.'

'I have asked for permission and my vessel has given his consent' Gabriel told her sternly.

'That still means that you're inside a human body' Creide repeated with another eyeroll.

'We can't use this spell' Gabriel said as he went through the lines and symbols again. Now that he knew their origins he could understand the last parts that were vague for him at first.

'And why not?' Creide asked.

'It will force the soul out of the body' Gabriel said.

'So?' the witch asked. 'All the better.'

'You're telling me to kill the human that has offered up his body and mind for me in good faith, someone who's loyal and devoted to my Father. How could that be good in any way?' Creide walked closer and turned a page in the book.

'Gwydion always used this first' she said as she pointed at a symbol on a different page. 'This sigil locked the demon into the body, and then he performed the spell to hide the supernatural presence of the demon within. I changed his original spell as ye cannot be cloaked completely, but I left in that part about the soul to make it easier.'

'Getting rid of his soul like it's an obstacle? This is not how a vessel should be treated' Gabriel said with conviction.

'And what did ye plan then?' Creide asked. 'Ride it for a few centuries and then leave it behind in a world he doesn't know and he does not belong to? Ye are doing him a favour here' she said. 'My husband used to release the souls so that they do not suffer along with the demons.'

'But an angelic vessel…'

'Being possessed is being possessed Gabriel, ye like it or not' Creide interrupted.

'If I do this' Gabriel started slowly. 'It will corrupt the vessel.'

'One of the main reasons I left it in' Creide answered. 'I told ye before, you're power feels too pure to be seen as a god's, this will solve that problem.'

Gabriel shook his head staring at the spell again as he turned the page back.

'Dean doesn't feel… corrupted like that' Gabriel said quietly.

'He is only a demigod and he is also very young' the witch answered. 'There's probably even something like a human soul inside of him, that happens with demigods sometimes' Creide shrugged.

'Is this really necessary?' Gabriel asked. 'Isn't there another way you could think of?'

'I have no other way' Creide said. 'It is up to ye whether the price ye have to pay is too high or not.'

The archangel kept staring at the words and symbols in front of him. He felt torn which was an unusual feeling. He was God's Judgment and he was always certain of the path he was walking on, but his Father was not here to tell him what was the right thing to do and he was lost. He turned another page and his eyes widened when he caught sight of Enochian sigils drawn onto the next pages.

'Is this also from your husband?' he asked the witch. 'How could he possibly know about these?'

'Every spell, symbol and sigil are from demons in that book' Creide answered and Gabriel looked back at the pages in shock.

'That can't be!' he said. 'There is no way any demon would be in the possession of angelic sigils.'

'Well Gwydion was certainly not keeping angels in his cellar' Creide told him and the answer was so obvious that Gabriel wanted to scold himself for not realizing immediately.

'No… of course… Lucifer must've given them knowledge' but the very thought that his brother would give away magic that is capable of harming angels was still so unimaginable despite everything. He saw how Michael and Lucifer fought their last battle but even with that burning in his mind he couldn't believe that Lucifer would want to hurt any of them, his gentle and loving brother could not possibly be capable of that, Michael maybe, but not Lucifer. It didn't matter what he felt thought and how he remembered him, because he knew better than that.

'Makes sense' Creide agreed. 'The Morningstar is their creator after all.' Gabriel shook his head again and tried to chase away all thoughts about Lucifer and his demon creations.

'Will the spell work in my case at all?' Gabriel asked. 'My power is not remotely similar to that of a demon's.'

'It's a blood spell so it will get stronger from your blood than it was with that of a demon's' the witch explained. Gabriel nodded, while he stared down onto Enochian warding magic on one of the next pages.

'It's good that ye look over those' Creide said.

'Why?' he asked as he looked back up at the witch again.

'Because my dear dear husband forgot to leave me footnotes for his book, but I have an archangel now to tell me what all those spells and symbols are for.' Gabriel looked at her long and hard.

'You're asking me to help you so that you can use Enochian magic?' he asked. 'And you truly expect me to do that?'

'I'm not asking' Creide said. 'I'm telling you to help me as that will be the payment we agreed upon for my help.' Gabriel's frown deepened.

'Should've known that someone like you would ask for something truly valuable' he said.

'I'm only asking ye for knowledge that demons and all their blasted whores are already in the possession of' the witch told him in an agitated tone. 'Do not break your word Gabriel or I swear…'

'I won't break my word' the angel interrupted calmly, he closed the book and shut his eyes for a few moments just breathing slowly. 'I have to think about this' he said then.

'Think all ye want, I won't go anywhere' Creide answered with a shrug as she took her book back. 'You're the one in hurry to hide.'

x~x~x

As Gabriel stepped out Creide's hut he saw Dean leaning against a tree at the other side of the clearing so he walked closer.

'Hope you didn't try to sneak up on me, because if you did I have to tell you that you suck at it scamp' Dean said as he turned around when Gabriel was halfway across the clearing.

'No' Gabriel answered simply. 'I am… conflicted right now' he admitted a moment later.

'Why's that?' Dean asked.

'None of my reasons could possibly justify any of the things I need to do in order to stay on Earth undetected.'

'Are you still hung up on the "god" deal?' Dean asked with a raised eyebrow. 'It will be an act, you don't have to see them as equals to your Father, they may be called gods, but they are nothing but a bunch of bloody pig-eyed maggots who think way too highly of themselves.' Gabriel looked at the demigod with surprise as he never heard him talking of his own kind in this manner.

'I am talking about the spell' Gabriel clarified without commenting on the demigod's words. 'I am rather certain that I shouldn't go along with it. It's not right to… do all this for selfish reasons.'

'Sometimes it's right to be selfish' Dean said 'And sometimes you simply have to be selfish.' Gabriel looked at him for a moment.

'Not sure I have the right to do so' he said.

'Maybe not' Dean shrugged. 'Maybe you have bad reasons, maybe what you're doing is selfish, and maybe it is not good for anyone but you. I have no way of knowing to be honest. But there is nothing that cannot be turned to be better as it started out to be.'

Gabriel frowned at the demigod for a moment.

'You're telling me it can end well.'

'No, I'm telling you that you can make it end well even if there is nothing good about it for now.'

'Experience?' the angel asked. Dean tilted his head from one side to the other contemplating the question.

'That too, but not only. It's probably a good rule for this world, sometimes things just turn bad and you have to go along with it whether you want it or not. I've done my fair share of selfish things and many times I did them for the wrong reasons probably. But I'm not beating myself up over it. It is what it is. I did what I had to do and tried to make them better or less bad when I had a chance to do so.'

'Strange how I'm listening to an advice of someone as young as you' Gabriel remarked.

'Listen, don't listen. It's up to you.'

'That's exactly it' Gabriel said as he looked at Dean again. 'For the very first time in my existence I have to decide. I have the choice; I am in my own hands without my Father or brothers… never thought it would be so terrifying, I saw free will as a gift and not as a burden.'

'If that's the case… then it's time to grow up Gabriel' Dean said.

'I guess it is' the archangel nodded his eyes drifting away to the distance.

'But hey at least you landed on the right place' Dean grinned. 'We were just crazy enough to get involved with all this crap.' Gabriel felt as his lips curled up into a faint smile, it was still an unusual feeling after all these years, but he didn't mind one bit that he had a reason to smile at all.

'And I was probably just crazy enough to follow your lead' he told the god. 'Tell Puck that I want a new game tomorrow after Creide is done with her spell' he said after a few moments of silence.

'You got it' Dean smiled. 'Want me to join in too?' he asked.

'Not a question' Gabriel answered before he walked back into the witch's house.