Previously: The group has to cross Luthor's territory to get to the door, despite Nia's terrified objections. They are a few days in when she and Benny are hunting and are attacked by twenty or so vampires. Benny tells Nia to hide and he gets captured. Nia prays to Cas to come help – Cas and Dean run to find her.

Chapter 8 – The Belly of the Beast

With Dean right behind him, Cas barely slowed down as he killed the three vampires they came across on their way to Nia. They found her near the top of a hill where she had crawled into a dug-out den made by a Gogmagog, or at least that is what the foul stench and the coughed-up hairball implied. Cas determined the lingering scent of the 'gorilla-wolf' had no doubt masked Nia's human smell from the roaming vampires and kept her safe, at least temporarily.

"Nia," he called as they reached her.

She immediately crawled out, her face as terrified and distraught as the tone of her prayers had been. "Cas!" she gasped, running to him and clutching the sleeve of his tattered trench coat. She started tugging him towards the steep slope ahead. "They got Benny. We have to get him back."

"Damn right," said Dean fiercely, gripping the weapon in his hand and moving in the direction she was indicating.

Cas stood his ground. "Wait," he said sharply. "The forest is teeming with vampires. I think it best you both retreat and I will follow the ones who took Benny."

Dean shook his head. "Too risky. If you lose the trail, he's dead. He can't pray to you, remember?"

It was true that Castiel was only able to hear human prayers, most likely a feature built-into angels by God upon the creation of man in an effort to better facilitate their 'shepherding'.

"Besides, there's too many for you, Cas," the hunter added. "You don't have the juice you had back home. You could maybe take on ten, fifteen tops."

"I can track," Cas explained.

"You don't need to," Nia interjected. "I know where they're going."

"What? How? Where?" demanded Dean.

She swallowed and her hands were shaking. "I saw Dagur. He's Luthor's top soldier. He's taking him to Luthor's nest."

Cas saw Dean's face blanch at the news. "Shit, Cas! Luthor wants Benny dead. We gotta go get him!"

The angel frowned. "Why did they not kill him as soon as they found him? Some monsters have attempted to capture you two alive but all of them, without exception, have tried to kill Benny. He holds no value to them alive. Luthor's bounty only requires Benny's head as proof for reward."

"They wanted to know where us three were and when Benny spit in his face, Dagur said that Luthor would enjoy getting the information out of him." Nia's voice was barely more than a whisper at this point.

Cas looked back and forth between his two humans. Going into Luthor's nest was akin to suicide but he could tell Dean was two seconds away from charging through the trees after his friend. It occurred to him that they didn't actually need Benny anymore for he had told the group everything he knew about the door's location less than a month after they had started traveling together, claiming that if he didn't survive the journey, he didn't want them to be stuck here. Cas felt guilty even thinking the thought and refrained from voicing it out loud. Benny was loyal and Benny was a friend. In fact, Cas even considered the Louisiana vampire 'family' in Dean's non-literal use of the word.

"They have too much of a head start," he said gravely. "You will not be able to catch up with them." Vampires were near tireless compared to the two humans who stood before him. "I will go alone." He turned to Dean, using the hunter's protective nature against him in an effort to get him to comply. "Get Nia out of this area. There are too many vampires here and word will spread quickly this is where Benny was captured. They will be looking for her and I think it goes without saying we cannot let her be captured."

"Wait, Cas..."

"Just go!" Cas said more sternly. Dean was usually the one to give the orders, such as where to camp and which route to take when a choice was available, but there were still times when Cas would not obey his friend and this was definitely one of those times. As Dean had on the few previous times Cas had lowered his voice and looked Dean in the eye with unwavering intensity, the normally defiant hunter backed down and obeyed.

Dean nodded and placed a hand on Nia's shoulder to guide her back in the direction they had come. "Be careful," he rasped.

Nia said nothing but her face was an even mixture of fear and sadness as she allowed Dean to steer her away. Her head turned with her movements and she held her amber eyes locked on Cas until he disappeared down the hill.

~X~X~X~X~

Cas knew a lone rescue had been a long shot but he attempted it anyway. With his celestially-enhanced speed, he caught up with the vampires dragging a bleeding and unconscious Benny swiftly through the woods and attacked from the rear, taking two down before they even noticed he was there. Stealth had given him a jumpstart but it wasn't enough and within two minutes, Cas was staggering on his feet and his vision was blurring. He had lost count after smiting his fifteenth vampire but either Nia had been mistaken in her count or more had joined the group since for there were still twenty or more coming at him through the trees. He stood his ground over Benny's still form for as long as he could but it soon became clear he was outmatched.

He was left with the choice to either die here with Benny and leave Dean and Nia alone to fend for themselves in Purgatory, or retreat and try again once his strength had replenished. A disturbing image of both Dean and Nia in Luthor's clutches made the choice for him.

He turned and ran.

~X~X~X~X~

It was over two hours before Cas found Dean and Nia. They had left the immediate area but had clearly been reluctant to go far because they were hunkered down on the opposite shore of a wide, shallow river, having hoped the water would erase the scent of their trail if any vampires had picked up on it.

The angel was weak and unsteady on his feet as he waded across the river towards them. Dean was at his side before he made it halfway across, wedging himself under Cas's shoulder and supporting him to the far bank. It wasn't until they reached the pebbled shore and Cas dropped heavily to his knees with exhaustion that the hunter posed the question.

"Benny?" he queried, his voice choked with trepidation.

Cas shook his head, trying in vain to stop swaying. "I couldn't… there were too many…"

"Is he…?" Dean didn't finish the question.

"He's alive," Cas assured him through broken breaths. "Nia was right. They are taking him to Luthor." He felt his cheek impact the pebbles when he hit the ground and barely heard Nia crying out his name before everything went black.

~X~X~X~X~

Cas woke up to find himself alone with Nia, his head cradled in her lap. He opened his eyes and looked around before sitting up sharply, feeling both weak and disoriented. "Where is Dean?" he demanded worriedly. Surely the hunter had not gone after Benny alone.

"Right here," came the hunter's deep voice as he came into view, striding down a narrow animal-trail through the trees. He crouched down a few feet away, weapon gripped tightly in his fist and new spatters of blood on his jacket. "I found a few strays and stragglers," he announced, his voice grim. "Seems Luthor's nest is rallying and everybody's been sent for, told to head on over there. Bastard's gonna make a show of killing Benny if he doesn't tell them where Luthor's prize toy is."

Dean's eyes flashed to Nia very briefly, his look both troubled and determined. He gave her a half-hearted smile. "Don't worry, Nee. Benny won't say anything."

"Then they'll kill him," she whispered, not sounding appeased.

Cas squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again, trying in vain to rid himself of the terrible headache he had. "They want you, too, Dean," he reminded his friend. "This is not just about Nia."

Dean nodded. "I know," he grumbled. "Hell, they can have me but they ain't getting Nia and they ain't killing Benny."

Cas knew Dean well enough to know the words were not empty bravado. Dean would give himself up without a second thought if it meant saving his friend and traveling companion. Fortunately, the hunter would not give up his fellow human. Cas was fairly certain Benny wouldn't either, which didn't bode well for the loyal vampire's chances of surviving the night.

"We shall rescue him," the angel said bluntly, having no idea yet how they were going to accomplish that feat. "Only…" he sighed. "There are perhaps a hundred vampires in the nest and we don't know where they will be holding Benny. A search will be dangerous."

"They'll have him tied up in the arena," Nia offered, her voice still barely a whisper.

"The arena?" Dean gave her a skeptical look, no doubt picturing the likes of the fictional Spartacus and the gladiators of the Roman era.

She nodded. "Luthor's nest is mostly caves," she explained. "A whole maze of them in the side of a big rocky hill. But there's a spot out front of the hill that he uses for entertainment. A big clearing in the trees. Everybody can see…" She closed her eyes and shuddered. "Everybody can see what happens there. Luthor likes… he'll want everyone to watch."

Dean rubbed a hand down over his chin. "Crap. If there's a hundred vamps all around this arena watching, then we got no chance." He looked at Cas. "You're not at full smiting power and after your little fairy princess fainting spell this afternoon…"

Cas knew Dean's teasing remark was not meant as a criticism but simply the hunter's way of coping with the gravity of the situation.

"We will need a distraction," Cas supplied. "Something to lure the majority of them away."

"That sounds like my cue." Dean managed a lopsided smirk. "I'm naturally distracting."

Cas shook his head. "No, I should do it."

"No, you get in there and free Benny," Dean countered. "I'll lead them away."

"And how will you evade a hundred vampires chasing you through the woods?" Cas challenged.

"Run," Dean shrugged. "Run fast."

Cas was about to refute the insanely stupid plan when Nia spoke up. "Both of you distract and I'll sneak in and get Benny."

The men fell silent, shocked that she would even suggest going in herself. After the brief moment of stunned silence, the two of them shook their heads emphatically.

"No, you stay here," Dean said firmly.

"He's my friend too," she argued.

"Yes but you…" Dean hesitated and his voice softened before he continued his thought. "You got a history with Luthor that I'm not about to let you repeat. Benny wouldn't want that."

"That won't happen," she told them. "I trust you and Cas. You distract them. I know the caves and the rocks and the paths. Luthor used to take me around when... when… to show off." She averted her eyes briefly. "I can sneak Benny out that way. I can help."

Cas didn't want either of the humans to go anywhere near Luthor's nest but he knew they would not leave Benny to die and he knew he could not rescue the vampire alone.

Dean must have come to a similar conclusion about needing Nia's help for he clenched his fists and rolled his shoulders before finally nodding. "Alright," he conceded grudgingly. "We're gonna need that back way out. But I'm coming with you."

As the three discussed the details their rescue plan, Cas realized with a frown that the nauseous feeling he had inside the pit of his stomach was actually worry for his friends. He had been in countless battles over the millennia and never once before had he felt this way. He looked in turn at Dean and Nia. Of course, never once before had the stakes been so high.

~X~X~X~X~

There were only a few hours of daylight left so the small group of rescuers had to work fast. The embodiments of vampire souls didn't necessarily sleep during the day as they had tended to do in life, but they were certainly reinvigorated and far more energetic at night. This was the reason the threesome believed Benny had some time to spare – Luthor would wait until dark for the big, decapitating finale. It was also the reason the vampires would be harder to tackle at night, especially with a mob frenzy lusting for a kill.

Cas took about an hour to replenish his strength after his 'fainting spell'. As soon as he was strong enough, he swam the deep eddies and sidepools of the river until he found a Makara and killed it. Makara were supernatural aquatic creatures that were only known topside to come ashore once a decade to feed. Nia had learned from her time with Gordon Walker that their rank, scaled hides would mask her human scent from other vampires quite effectively, even in close quarters. Being both large and extremely vicious, she hadn't had the ability to appropriate a hide during her time alone. For Cas, killing one was surely going to prove to be the easiest part of his day.

Dean skinned the hide for them quickly and with admirable skill, having watched Benny skin a few hundred Hakredin and fish for food over the past months. He cut it into three and Nia fashioned them into somewhat wearable shapes to drape over their clothes.

"We won't exactly blend with the crowd," Dean mumbled skeptically as he pulled his hide overtop his jacket.

"Not visually, no," Cas agreed. "But vampires rely heavily on scent and it is my belief that their attention will be focused on the happenings in the arena as we approach. Together with the Greenjin herb, we should avoid immediate detection as human and angel."

"We can kill vamps we find on the way," Nia said simply. "Put their coats over us. Their coats don't stink like human."

"Okay then amigos," Dean shrugged, giving his weapon one last scrape with the sharpening stone and tucking his smaller knife away in his jeans. "We still got a couple of hours' walk ahead of us so let's roll."

~X~X~X~X~

Benny was in bad shape. Cas hadn't realized just how fond of the vampire he had become until he peered through the crowd and felt his heart jolt at the sight of him tied to a heavy post near the middle of the clearing he presumed was 'the arena'. Surrounded by jeering vampires, Benny's head hung limply on his chest and his clothes were sporting far too many new bloodstains to be healthy, even for a vampire. At first thinking he was unconscious, Cas began to rethink their plan before he saw Benny lift his head enough to snarl at the vampire standing next to him. The vampire laughed at the unfriendly gesture and proceeded to jab Benny in the ribs with the sharp, thin blade he was holding.

"Just tell us where they are and where you are all headed in such a hurry," the vampire hissed at his prisoner, speaking loudly to be heard over Benny's sharp cry of pain. "Then this can all be over."

"Stop yer dilly-dallying and just do it, you coward," Benny spat defiantly.

Not needing to see any more, Cas slipped back to where Dean and Nia were waiting on the outer fringes of the crowd and nodded. "It is as we expected," he informed them. "He is near the middle of the clearing. He is hurt but alive." Cas tilted his head. "Well, alive being a relative term when used to describe him since he is vampire and therefore, technically dead… twice dead, actually since he is in Purg…."

"Fires now, philosophy later, Cas," Dean said, gripping his shoulder to indicate the urgency to get moving. The hunter looked down at Nia and his expression grew serious. "You sure you're up for this, sweetheart?" he asked. "I won't hold it against you if you're not."

She took the large machete Dean was handing her, one of the ones they had appropriated from Gordon Walker that Benny had started using. She swallowed but gave Dean a nod.

Cas watched while Dean leaned forward, tilting his head downward to plant a small kiss on her forehead. "Stay behind me, you hear? If anything goes wrong, just split. If they spot us, you just run as fast as you can and don't stop. We'll figure out another way to get Benny, 'kay?"

She nodded again and her eyes flitted to Cas as Dean stepped away. The angel could see the fear in them but she also bore a look of determination and bravery. Cas very much wanted to do as Dean had done, to kiss her softly as a demonstration of fondness in light of the dire situation, but the hunter seemed to make these small gestures of intimacy and friendship look far easier and more natural than they came to Cas. He hesitated and started to lean forward, then hesitated again, then pursed his lips and shuffled his feet, and finally just stuck his hand out for her to shake. He noticed Dean's eye roll in his peripheral as Nia took the angel's offered hand and used it to pull herself closer to him. She rose up onto her tiptoes and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Stay safe," she said softly in his ear before pulling back, turning, and beckoning to Dean to follow her into the trees.

"Uh, yeah," Dean smirked, giving Cas a slap on the shoulder. "What she said."

They turned and were gone.

Cas immediately set out to do his part. He was to create the distraction. Gaining the full attention of close to a hundred vampires would not be easy and he hoped he had the 'angel-juice' left in his depleted reserves to complete the task. He waited a few minutes to let Dean and Nia get into position then moved a little closer to the crowd, coming right up behind the few hanging near the back.

When he thought the time was just right, he burst into action. He threw his arm upwards, hurtling his angel powers out in that direction to ignite the air above him. A bright plume of flame lit the sky, setting fire to the tops of the trees before it quickly burned out.

"Dragon!" he deadpanned loudly as nearby vampires turned to see what was going on. "Dragon!" His purpose was to incite panic but a few gasps and wary looks was all he got.

He wasn't doing this right. He frowned and tried again. He darted out of sight from the previous vampires and shot another plume of smoke into the air, this one twice the size.

"Oh crap! A dragon!" he cried, more loudly and adding an edge of panic to his voice, his best attempt at mimicking a fearful human.

To his satisfaction, it seemed to work better this time. There was a flurry of activity from the vampires who had spun around to see what was going on. Gasps and fearful shouts rang out.

"Oh my God!" he yelled, feeling incredibly awkward at using his Father's name in vain, even if it was false vain, but doing it anyway. "They're coming! Dragons are coming!"

He moved around the edge of the crowd swiftly, igniting more trees and inciting more panic as the spectators started moving nervously and cries of confusion echoed among them. Cas hoped they would panic enough not to notice there were no large reptiles in the sky and the fire was actually shooting upward, not downward.

He was starting to get the hang of the shouting and running thing. "They're roasting all of us!" he screamed as he ran from a blast of fire that had ignited a full tree behind him, waving his arms in the air wildly. He kept moving in an effort to both incite panic but remain anonymous at the same time, a feat not easily accomplished. "They're roasting all of us! Run! Get out of here! Take cover!"

By the time the vampires started shouting and running every which way looking for cover from a fictitious enemy, Cas was almost having fun. "Run! Run! Holy fuck!" he yelled without thinking but the last words almost caught in his throat. That did not feel right. He had heard Dean use the phrase many times but… He apologized under his breath to God and continued on without the use of blasphemy.

Dragons may be extinct in Earth realm but here in Purgatory, they were feared more than any other creature with the exception of the Leviathan. Dragons fed indiscriminately upon any and all creatures and monsters, whether humanoid or beastly, terrestrial or aquatic. Dragons were the reason most of the monsters of Purgatory dwelled in the forests and used the trees for cover.

Finally he received a prayer from Dean letting him know that he and Nia had reached Benny and were untying him. Cas stole a glance towards the center of the clearing and caught a glimpse of his friends in the distance between the frantic scrambling of vampires running this way and that. Dean was standing in front of the pole with his blade drawn and a body at his feet. Behind him, Nia was cutting the ropes that were binding Benny.

If anyone thought to look, it was obvious what they were doing. Cas shot another flame upwards, determined to keep the thinning crowd's attention on the false threat of dragons and off his friends.

"Hey!" a voice yelled from the right. "What the Hell?"

Cas turned his eyes to the voice and saw a vampire staring at him angrily. It was clear this one had seen Cas's last fireball and had figured out there were no dragons. Cas stepped forward quickly and pressed a hand to his forehead, drawing on his power to quickly smite the unfortunate onlooker.

"What is that? What are you…?" another voice sounded from behind him. He spun again to see two more vampires staring at him.

"The angel!" one of them cried, eyes wide.

He was discovered.

The pair of vampires drew blades and immediately attacked. Cas managed to kill them each in turn but succeeded also in drawing the attention of other passing vampires. Within seconds, there were six or seven taking swings at him. Some of the strikes landed hard and Cas felt the pain of his skin being sliced but did not spare the energy to heal them right away. He started smiting, knowing he wouldn't last if they kept coming but thankful at least that the appearance of an angel in their midst would likely divert the vampire's attention from his friends even more than a dragon attack.

He smited a blonde female and staggered a few steps. He smited an older male in a ragged, worn suit and stumbled even more. He smited a young, dark-haired male and his knees buckled, dropping him down onto them hard. He looked up to see a large, burly vampire heading straight towards him with blade raised and knew he was done.

But the charging vampire's head suddenly went careening sideways and the body jerked and twitched as it toppled to the ground. Cas looked up to see Dean standing there, blood dripping off the steel of his weapon. Dean turned and hacked the heads off two more while Cas pushed himself to his feet and smited the last of them.

"Cas, buddy, can you walk?" Dean demanded urgently.

"Yes. What are you doing here? Where is Nia?"

"We saw you were in trouble so I came back to help. She's getting Benny out the back way. I told her to pray when they're clear but we gotta go before the rest of these vamps put two and two together and figure out their dragon's just a nerd in a trench coat. Come on."

Cas followed Dean with a nod, a little unsteady on his feet but able to keep up. The clearing was practically empty now as all the vampires had either run for cover or been killed by Benny's rescue team. They were running down a narrow path when Nia's prayer came in.

"Cas? We're almost clear of the camp, on the back side of the big hill. I hope you're safe. Benny's slow but he'll be…guh!"

"Nia?" Cas questioned out loud, wishing prayers went two ways. He saw Dean turn to face him, his face questioning and worried.

"Cas! Cas!" was her only reply. Cas could feel both physical pain and fear in the prayer and his heart lurched.

"That way," he pointed into the trees for Dean, who simply nodded and followed his lead, moving as fast as he could through the trees. As they ran, Cas found himself near panic with worry for the second time that day. It struck him with a great measure of clarity how much he cared for the tiny human in their group. He almost believed he would literally die from the internal pain he would suffer if she was killed here in this place, where her soul would be lost to oblivion and not sent to Heaven where he could at least see her from time to time. The thought of never seeing her again was almost crippling and for the first time since arriving in Purgatory, Cas contemplated leaving with his friends.

Of course, he would have to get them safely to that door first. He picked up the pace and pulled ahead of Dean, charging forward until they reached Nia and Benny.

The pair were fighting seven vampires and despite the fact that they had already beheaded three of their foe, they were not faring well. Nia was squirming and screaming on the ground beneath two of them, who had her pinned roughly with their hands and knees trying to subdue her. Benny was still on his feet but was bleeding badly and swaying as he fought off a vampire swinging a large battleaxe at him. The seventh stood to the side, simply watching.

Cas went straight for the two vamps on Nia and smited them both at once, not caring that he was already weak and this would further drain him. Dean stepped forward and rather gracefully beheaded the one attacking Benny.

Benny watched his attacker's head roll and grinned at Dean, his chest still heaving. "What took you so long, brother?" he jeered amiably before collapsing to the ground.

Cas moved towards the one standing off the side, who he recognized as the vampire that had been torturing Benny while he was tied to the pole in the clearing. The vampire snarled and swung a blade at Cas but the angel avoided it easily and stepped in to press his hand against the vampire's forehead. He was drawing on what little celestial power he had left when a cry from Nia stopped him.

"No!" she screamed. "No, don't!"

He hesitated, letting his power ebb to the point where he was just holding the vampire in place on his knees. He threw Nia a questioning look.

The expression on her face was one of pure fury and hatred and Cas was slightly taken aback by the ferocity of it. She was scrambling to her feet and she swung down to scoop up a bloody machete without ever taking her eyes off the vampire in Cas's grip.

Luthor.

Cas figured it out quickly. This vampire was Luthor. Nia's torturer and tormentor for a year. The monster that had owned her, controlled her, and stripped her of any morsel of self-worth and sanity she'd had left after her year as a demon's meatsuit and the months spent killing rampantly with Gordon Walker. The twisted, evil fiend who had taken her innocence and very nearly her humanity from her for the sake of his own sadistic pleasure.

"I wanna do it," she said fiercely, her gaze never wavering from Luthor's.

Cas simply nodded and stepped back, releasing his hold on the weakened vampire. Half expecting Nia to taunt and lash out verbally at her former abuser, to berate him for all he had done to her, he was surprised when she simply stepped forward and swung the blade hard, lobbing off Luthor's head without further ado.

There was a deafening silence for a few seconds, during which time Cas could feel Dean behind him, watching and worrying as he was at how Nia would fare through this on an emotional level.

Nia broke the silence by suddenly shrieking loudly, emitting her fierce battlecry and swinging the blade down again, chopping the head in two with a sickening crack. She didn't stop there, however and kept swinging, kept hacking at the head and the body until there wasn't much left but mush, entrails, and fragments of bone.

Nobody moved to stop her, though Cas heard Dean's soft whisper in his ear. "Overkill much?"

When she was finally done, she turned to Cas, breathing heavily from the exertion. She dropped the machete, smiled and ran the four steps towards him to throw her arms around him, hugging him tightly without saying a word. He returned the hug without a second thought – no awkwardness, no hesitation, no wondering if he was overstepping or doing something socially frowned upon. He simply wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, enjoying the feeling of intimacy he was experiencing beneath the immense relief.

She clung to him tightly in silence for a long time until a shuddering sob escaped her and she started to tremble and shake, keeping her head buried in the front of his coat as she wept. They remained that way for a few more minutes, until her body gradually stopped quivering and her breath evened out. Cas just held her gently through it, his heart heavy with emotions still unfamiliar to him.

"Benny? Hey Benny."

Dean's voice caught Cas's and Nia's attention and she finally pulled away from him with a nod to indicate she was alright. She immediately wiped her tear-streaked face with her sleeve and turned to look at Dean and Benny. Realizing he would have to shelf any questions he had about her emotional well-being at the moment until they were safe and out of Luthor's territory, Cas turned too. He saw Dean crouched over the motionless vampire, tapping his face gently in an effort to rouse him. Eventually the hunter gave up and rose, grabbing Benny by the wrist and hauling him up over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

"Let's keep moving," Dean said flatly, his voice strained with the effort of carrying his friend.

"That would be wise," Cas nodded. "The vampires will be figuring out what happened and will be scouring the woods for us. They will be able to track us easily."

The group moved as fast as they could with Cas weak from multiple smites and Dean loaded down with two hundred plus pounds of vampire. After an hour, Dean voiced his concern.

"Shouldn't Benny have woken up by now?" he ventured through broken breaths and pants. "He's a vamp. They pass out but blood loss doesn't keep 'em out."

Cas frowned. Dean was right. An hour was a long time. Benny's wounds were numerous but none severe enough to keep him unconscious this long. "Put him down," he told Dean, who complied by dropping Benny heavily onto a grassy patch on the forest floor.

Cas pulled up Benny's eyelids, not really knowing what he was looking for. He noticed a green tinge around the dilated pupils.

"He's a vamp right?" Dean asked nervously from where he was hovering behind Cas. "He can't die from a gut wound. Gotta take his head off right?"

Nia gasped and her hand flew over her mouth. Both men turned to face her.

"What?" Dean demanded.

"Fraelene! Maybe they gave him Fraelene!"

"What the Hell's Fraelene?" Dean's voice didn't disguise his worry.

"It'll kill him!" Nia simply answered.

Cas spoke up. "Fraelene is extinct on Earth but there could be some here. It has a similar effect on a vampire as dead man's blood, only more deadly and far more painful when ingested. It is extremely poisonous to vampires and will cause them much agony before killing them."

"He was hurt and kept falling when we were running but he didn't say anything," Nia said with a worried scowl. "It turns their eyes green," she said, kneeling by Benny to push up one of his eyelids and squinting to see in the dark of the night.

"His eyes are green," Cas offered, already having made the discovery.

Nia drew one of her smaller knives from her coat and held her arm out in front of her, preparing to slice across her inner elbow. Dean reached down and grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Whoa, what are you doing?"

"He needs human blood," she said bluntly. "Clean blood to replace his poisoned stuff."

Dean looked skeptical. "Like a transfusion?"

She nodded. "Walker was hurt bad a couple of times and when he fed from me, he got better fast. Maybe it'll work for Fraelene too."

Dean nodded in acknowledgement, for once not snarling at the name Walker as he usually did, but he didn't release her hand. Instead he pulled her up and ushered her aside, taking the knife from her.

"I'll do it, sweetheart," he said. "I'm bigger. I got more to spare."

Cas was not surprised at Dean's insistence of doing the honors. The man's nobility knew no bounds. If the vampires pursuing them caught up with them, Dean wanted Nia to be at full strength so she could run, even if that meant he couldn't.

Dean removed his Makara hide and his jacket and sliced a good-sized cut on his arm. He tipped the open wound over Benny's mouth. Benny remained unconscious and didn't move.

"Come on you blood junkie son of a bitch," he coaxed, his tone completely contradicting his insulting words. "You got the Dom Perignon of blood right here."

A few drops slid down Dean's arm and onto Benny's lips and the vampire's nose twitched. A few more and he began to stir. Finally, once Dean had a steady trickle falling directly into the vampire's mouth, Benny's lips parted and his tongue peeped out, searching for more.

"That's it you undead, fang-faced freak. Lap it up." Dean managed a smile through his expression of disgust.

Benny was swallowing now, properly ingesting the blood Dean was providing, though he remained quiet with his eyes closed. It went on for some time and he became more and more animated as he kept drinking. When his eyes finally snapped open, they were the harsh, narrow slits of a vampire, not his usual gentle blue ones.

Nia gasped and stepped back and Cas frowned and stepped forward but Dean stayed where he was.

"Easy," the hunter said warily as Benny grabbed his arm and tugged it closer to his face, sucking directly out of the wound. "Don't get too greedy, man," he laughed nervously. "I need you to leave me some."

Before they knew it, Benny was unrecognizable. The look in his eyes was suddenly one of pure lust and his lips curled when his extra fangs popped out. He was sitting up now and he roughly yanked Dean closer to him with a loud snarl, sinking his fangs deep into the wound on the hunter's arm and sucking out greedy gulps of blood.

Dean instantly went into fighting mode and tried to push his friend off but Benny leapt up and slammed the weakened hunter back onto the dirt, pinning him down without ever taking his mouth off Dean's arm. A ferocious growl escaped him and a strong hand wrapped itself around Dean's throat to hold the struggling hunter in place.

Cas lunged forward immediately, grabbing at Benny's coat to pull him off Dean but the angel was still weak from multiple smites and was easily thrown back off his feet.

"'B'ny!" Dean choked out past the hand on his throat.

"Benny!" Nia cried, lifting her scimitar as if to strike but then hesitating and looking at him with wild bewilderment. "Stop! Please!"

"Benny," Cas said more calmly as he righted himself. "You must stop or Dean will die."

Dean's thrashing was weakening as Benny kept drinking and Cas charged forward again, deciding to give the non-lethal approach one more try. He didn't want to smite or behead Benny but he would if it was the only way to save Dean.

This time he got a good punch in and Benny pulled away from Dean's arm with an angry snarl, blood streaming down his chin.

"I won't let you kill Dean," Cas said sternly.

"Benny," Dean croaked from where he lay, his voice drained and pleading. Benny looked as if he was about to launch himself at Cas but stopped abruptly at the sound of his name and turned to look down at Dean on the ground beneath him.

Cas had his hand drawn back to throw another punch but held off delivering it when Benny's hand came up between them in a gesture of peace. Cas watched as the feral look of the vampire's eyes disappeared and his fangs retracted. Benny was breathing heavily and appeared to be summoning all his will to regain control of his actions. He moved off Dean and sank back on the dirt with an anguished groan.

Keeping his eyes trained on Benny, Cas moved forward and clasped Dean's wrist, pulling the hunter up into a sitting position also. "Are you alright?" he demanded, sparing his friend a worried glance.

Dean was pale and swaying but he managed a nod.

Benny's face distorted into a look of horror and guilt that he aimed at Dean. "What did you go and do that for?" he demanded, his voice laden with shame.

"To save your sorry ass," Dean rasped.

Benny closed his eyes and his forehead dropped to his knees that were bent up before him. "Well you shouldn't have, brother. You… you forget what I am sometimes." He lifted his head but quickly averted his eyes as he shook his head. "Savin' me ain't worth that. Don't ever think it is. You don't deserve to be… food."

Dean managed a halfhearted cocky smile. "Well I was offering a taste; didn't expect you to try down the whole jug." He moved to rise to his feet but his legs were shaking too much to hold his weight and he sank back down onto the ground with a thud. Cas jumped to help his friend stand and gave him a shoulder for support.

"We should keep moving," the angel suggested flatly. Benny's head was still hung in shame, Dean's face was strained with false bravado, and Nia had yet to take her wide eyes off Benny. Cas wasn't oblivious to the emotional turmoil enveloping his three friends at the moment but he could hear vampires in the distance which meant an obliterated Luthor had likely been discovered, identifiable only by smell of course, and their trail had been picked up. They would have a hundred vampires in close pursuit very soon, if they didn't already.

The others remained silent but complied, Nia taking the lead and Benny hovering behind them with head hung low. Cas stayed with Dean, supporting most of his weight as they traveled. Despite Benny's strength having been almost completely replenished, he made no offer to take Dean's weight from the near-drained angel. He did, however, behead the few vampires who got too close with extra savagery as he brought up the rear.

~X~X~X~X~

They traveled in near silence for over two days non-stop and Cas observed the group dynamic with both concern and interest. His angel powers were getting slower and slower to replenish every time he overused them in this forsaken realm but he could at least smite again by the time the most persistent vampires started catching up with them in groups of two or three. Dean was able to walk on his own after the first hour and after devouring some fruit and gulping a whole pouch of water but it took a few hours before he could join a fight with any chance of surviving. He tried to ease the tension on occasion by making a few sarcastic remarks to his vampire friend but it wasn't until near dusk on the second day that he finally got a smile out of Benny. Nia was very quiet and kept to herself until that smile and the familiar "You're all kinds of crazy, brother." By the time they reached the plains, things were back to normal.

The plains came upon them suddenly just before dawn. One minute they were in thick forest and the next, they were standing at the edge of a barren wasteland stretching as far ahead as the eye could see. The four weary travelers came to an abrupt halt, standing in a row at the edge of the vegetation.

"The vampires will not follow us any farther," Cas announced gravely.

"You don't think?" Dean asked, not sounding convinced. "They've been pretty persistent so far."

Cas shook his head. "They will stop their pursuit here."

"But why give up now?" Dean pressed.

"Coz they ain't as suicidal as us," Benny elaborated with a humorless laugh. He pointed upwards at the quickly brightening sky. "Reason one, dragons," he said before gesturing to the landscape ahead. "Reason two, climate. What lies ahead, brother, is ten days of travel with no cover, no food, no water, and no shelter. Dry as a bone and hot as the July sun in Hades."

~X~X~X~X~

A/N: Hope you liked the chapter – I decided it was time Benny got more than 'third vampire from the right' billing :-) BTW, I am going a bit AU when they finally reach the door so anything's possible ;-)