The rest of that night had gone by without any further incidents happening at the hospital. They knew better than to think the Sandman had moved on or let, so they were still on edge. Castiel had surprised both Dean and Sam by showing up at the door to the motel in the morning holding bags of steaming hot food and coffee for breakfast. Sam kept shooting Dean questioning looks but his brother would just shrug or look away.
Today Castiel had shown up wearing a pair of tan khakis and a white button up shirt, still sporting the red converse sneakers, and the same cross he'd wore the day before. He smiled when he saw Dean checking him out again, happy that the hunter approved. He was starting to get used to the more casual clothes and had even undone the top few buttons on his shirt and later rolled up his sleeves. It was warm out so he could always use that as an excuse if he was asked about it. Even if he didn't feel the heat or cold much, it was nice pretending to be more human. It had been scary when he was human, but he actually missed the feelings and other things he never noticed while being an angel.
Dean was currently sitting in the chair at the small table with his feet up on the table while he munched on the donuts Castiel had brought him. Sam had gone out for a jog leaving the hunter and angel alone in the motel room. The silence was comfortable and neither felt the need to talk. Dean was busy eating anyway and Castiel was reading through the books they had to pass the time, his eyes darting over to watch the hunter while he ate every now and again. He was trying hard not to stare so much but was finding it difficult to stop when he kept catching the hunter watching him.
Neither men had brought up the intense kiss that had happened the night before. Castiel knew better than to question Dean when it came to emotions, and Dean himself didn't even know what he was feeling about the whole thing. He still loved women but he couldn't deny what was going on with him and the angel. He decided he would not push it but he would not push Castiel away should the angel put the moves on him again.
Deans phone vibrated in his pocket so he pulled it out so see who had sent him a message. He frowned when he saw that it was from Charlie.
C: 'Hey Romeo, I heard you finally made a move. About damn time!' A kissy face emote followed the text causing him to roll his eyes.
He had no idea what she was talking about, especially when they had not talked in awhile. He tried to remember who he had been messing around with the last time he had talked with the redhead, but came up blank. Then his eyes were looking over to Castiel and he frowned. How would she know about what happened between them? And then there was the fact that Castiel had initiated the kiss last night and the day before.
D: 'What the hell are you talking about?' he messaged back and received a reply almost instantly.
C: 'Cas came over last night wanting me to help him with something. Research.' a winking emote followed.
Dean stared at his phone screen then looked over to where Castiel now lounged on his bed reading a book. The angel then looked over at him as if he knew he were being talked about. Even though he was laying down, Dean could still see him tilt his head in question.
D: 'Nothing is going on, Charlie.'
C: 'Nothing...yet! But when it does, I want to hear all the juicy details!'
"Is something wrong? You are making faces at your phone." Castiel asked as he set the book aside and sat up on the bed. "Is it Sam?"
Dean quickly shoved his phone back into his pocket and stuffed his mouth with the rest of his donut so he wouldn't have to answer right away. He wasn't sure if he could trust his voice just yet. His mind had started to wander to what kind of research Castiel had gone to her for, then realized there was only one thing it could be with how she had been talking.
"No, not Sam." he said after swallowing. "Uh, just Bobby saying that he is still researching."
Castiel got up from the bed and walked over to stand right in front of Dean before leaning down towards him. His hand came up and his thumb brushed across the hunters lower lip to the corner of his mouth, then stuck his thumb into his own mouth to suck of the powder. Dean stared up at him with wide eyes and was sputtering, not sure about what do. His eyes were locked onto Castiels mouth as he continued to suck the powder off his thumb.
Dean wasn't sure whether he was happy or pissed that his brother returned at that moment.
"Hey, did I miss anything?" Sam asked as he came in, a towel around his neck as sweat dripped down his face and neck. He raised a brow at the odd look on his brothers face and looked between him and Castiel. The angel was at the bed holding one of the books they had, smirking. "Alright, I'm going to take a shower." he said after his brother shook his head about not having missed anything.
When Dean was finally able to close his mouth, he shot the angel an annoyed look, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
"Did what, Dean?" Castiel replied as he dropped the book on the bed and again moved over to stand beside Dean. "I was just trying to help." his eyes moved over the hunters face, his eyes full of heat, and he leaned down and captured his lips in a quick kiss. "You missed some." his voice was husky against Deans lips. When Dean leaned up to reconnect their lips, the angel moved away. "I'll wait for you in the car."
Once again Dean was sitting in the chair wondering just what the hell had happened. He brought a hand up to his mouth and made a sound in his throat, still able to taste Castiel there.
The bathroom door opened and Sam came out half dressed and rubbing a towel in his hair to finish drying off. He saw his brother looking flushed and out of sorts and he decided he did not want to know what had happened while he was in the shower. Once he was fully dressed, he and Dean got into the car where Castiel was waiting in the back seat. When Dean looked at him in the rearview mirror, the angel gave him a wink, and he quickly turned his attention back to the road.
When they pulled up to the hospital it was to find more police cars out front with their lights flashing. They were no longer letting anyone but staff into the building and groups of people were yelling to be let in. Most likely the parents and other family members to the children in the hospital.
"I am sorry, but for your own safety we cannot let you inside." One of the officers was saying, trying to calm down the crowd. "I know you all want to go inside and be with your children, but please understand. As soon as we get things sorted out and under control, you will be allowed back inside."
When the officer saw Dean and Sam, he waved them over and let them around the barrier.
"It's a good thing you two showed up. It's a mess in there." he spoke quietly so the civilians would not hear him. "There was another attack, but it was not a child this time...and it was a lot worse. The officers inside can explain everything to you. Good luck."
"Alright. He's with us." Dean said and signaled Castiel so he could get around the barrier. The officer let the angel through and the trio went inside. "I have a bad feeling about this."
When they got inside, the cops were crawling everywhere, searching the place for the attacker. The nurses and other staff were trying to continue to do their jobs, but it was obvious that everyone was on edge and afraid. All of the doors to the patient rooms were shut to keep the kids inside and to prevent them from seeing or hearing about what was going on. The police had even put up gates at the ends of the halls to prevent the kids from getting out in case they snuck out of their rooms. It was extreme but necessary until they caught the killer.
"This is going to make our job a lot harder." Sam said with a sigh. "It must be pretty bad if there are this many cops in here." The sound of a dog barking somewhere had him shaking his head. "And dogs too. Great."
Nurse Betty saw them enter and she hurried over to them, a desperate look on her face. "Thank God you two are here. I was just about to call you." She gave Castiel a nod to acknowledge him. "If you will follow me, I'll take you to where it happened."
"What exactly did happen?" Sam asked as they followed her down the hall to the elevators.
The nurse was silent and looked like she was fighting back tears. "I don't know."
Betty lead them past the patient rooms and to a room behind the nurses desk that was the break room. A police officer stood outside of the taped off room and gave them a look over when they showed up. After Dean and Sam showed him their badges, he moved past to allow them in. Betty stayed out in the hall.
"Brace yourselves, boys. It ain't pretty in there."
The room was coated from floor to ceiling in blood and chunks of flesh. There were smudged handprints on the floor followed by streaks from the victim trying to get away. There were also a few other handprints from a very skinny, clawed hand. In the center of the room on the floor was a body covered with a blood soaked sheet.
Castiel looked between the two boys before moving over to the body and gently lifting the sheet. The body was female and torn to shreds. Her throat and chest were torn right open and her insides were falling out, some covered with obvious bit marks, and some were missing. One of her legs was gone right up to her hip and the other looked like it had been in the middle of being chewed on. Both arms were gone along with half of her face and her eyes and most of her brain.
Dean actually turned away to gag and Sam looked no better. Castiel quickly dropped the sheet back down and stepped away. He had been in many battles and had seen many victims of monsters, but this body even had his stomach twisting. It was made worse knowing that the poor woman was eaten alive.
"Dr. Gillis mentioned that there were a few stories where the Sandman eats his victims. I think it is safe to say we are definitely dealing with the Sandman."
Dean finally turned back around and stared down at the bloody sheet, his stomach still threatening to revolt. "I didn't think it would be like this. This is worse than ghouls!"
"It is also breaking pattern. This is a woman, not a child." Sam added and started moving around the room, examining the handprints. "Looking at the mess, there was no way she was sleeping when he attacked her."
"Which means he could attack anyone now. Awesome." Dean said angrily and looked to Castiel. "We can't kill it and don't know how to trap it. Do you have any angel mojo that could work on it, Cas?"
Castiel squatted down next to the body, gently putting his hand on the womans forehead that was still there, and shut his eyes. A soft glow came from his hand for a moment before he opened his eyes, brows furrowing in his usual frown.
"She did not see her attacker. She was eating her lunch with a man when she heard a voice, then she started screaming." he slowly stood up and continued to look down at her, feeling sorrow at the pain she must have suffered while she was eaten alive. Castiels eyes shut again as if he felt the pain, and when they opened, his blue eyes were filled with sadness. "I don't know if I can do anything, but I won't know until I try."
"We can't do anything until we find the damn thing. I think we're going to be sleeping here tonight. It's the only way to try and lure the bastard out." Dean nearly growled with the anger he was feeling, leaving the room so he would not have to look at the dead woman anymore.
"I don't think that's a good idea." Sam said to Castiel who nodded in agreement, both men following Dean out of the room.
"But it is our only option at this point. I do not require sleep so I will be watching over both of you. I will keep you safe."
Betty was waiting for them at the nurses station a few feet away, slowly rising to her feet when she saw them coming out, her eyes still puffy and red from crying. Castiel put a gentle hand on her shoulder and used a tiny bit of his mojo to help calm her down some.
"I suppose you are going to want to speak to him next." Betty said, nodding her head towards the windows to where a man sat huddled under a blanket. "He was in the room when Karen was attacked. He is still pretty shaken up about it, so I don't know how much you will be able to get out of him."
"Understood. We won't push him into talking yet if he's not ready." Sam said and gave Betty a small smile.
When the three of them approached the man, Dean stopped and cursed inwardly when he realized who it was that was sitting there. It was Richard. When the man raised his head to look at him, his face was splattered with blood and his eyes were hollow. When he realized it was Dean standing in front of him, he gave a bit of a smile.
"So now you want to talk to me? If I knew that getting covered in blood would get your attention, I'd have done it sooner." Richards words held no warmth, like he was speaking them out of habit only. "You going to buy me a drink now?"
Sam moved past his brother and looked him over. "Richard, right?" the other nodded. "Can you tell us what happened in there? What did you see?"
Richard laughed. "I didn't see anything." his hands came out from under the blanket and they were stained red with blood. "I couldn't even feel anything." his hands trembled as he pulled them back under the blanket. "We were in there on our lunch break gossiping and talking about our hook ups," his eyes slid to Dean. "and then she said she heard something. A voice? I couldn't hear anything though. Next thing I knew, she was sliding out of her chair and onto the floor, passed out asleep. Then she started screaming."
Dean and Sam exchanged looks and Castiel nodded, confirming that it matched with what he'd seen so far.
"I tried to wake her up but she wouldn't. Her screams only got louder, and then her skin started ripping open like something was tearing her apart. I tried to stop the bleeding, but it was too much, too fast. Chunks of her started vanishing and blood was flying everywhere." a sob cut off his words and he had to stop for a moment. "That's when I ran."
Castiel put a hand on Deans arm and pulled him away from Richard a bit so they could talk privately. "Dean, that man is telling the truth, but he's hiding something." His blue eyes locked onto the now crying man by the window. "I am getting strong feelings of guilt from him and I keep seeing flashes of some kind of altar in his mind." his voice dropped even lower, causing Dean to have to lean closer to hear him. "I think that man is a witch."
Dean cursed. "Great, my favorite." he waved Sam over and repeated what Castiel said to him.
"A witch? What would a witch get out of this?" Sam asked and cast a glance over his shoulder to peek at Richard. The man was still balled up in his blanket crying.
"Who the hell knows or cares? If that man is a witch, then we need to stop him!" Dean growled out. "He probably has that other umbrella at his house!"
"How are we going to get it from him? If we ask him directly about it, he could attack us." Sam whispered harshly and grabbed Deans arm before his brother could do something stupid. "And we don't want that happening here where civilians could get hurt or killed."
"Yeah, well I have my angel and I'm pretty sure that Cas could kick his ass!"
Castiels brows rose for a moment in amusement. "While I have no doubt that I could stop him, I am not sure how I feel about you wanting to use me as a guard dog." his body filled with warmth at Dean referring to him as his angel. Dean didn't even seem to realize that he'd said it.
"Dean, calm down." Sam held up a hand as Dean pulled out of his grip. "I have an idea on how to find out what he knows and if he has that umbrella." his lips twitched a bit as he fought off the urge to smile. "He still wants to have a drink with you right? Take him up on that offer and let him bring you back to his place."
Deans eyes flew wide and he started shaking his head. "Absofuckinglutely not! Even if he wasn't a witch the answer would still be no!"
Castiel moved closer to Dean and put a hand on his shoulder, right on top of his mark. "Don't worry, Sam and I will follow and be right there should he try someting. It really is the best option." Dean calmed slightly under Castiels touch causing the shorter man to smile a bit.
"If he is controlling the Sandman somehow, if we take him out then it will give us an easier time with the Sandman. It may even stop on its own." Sam added, unable to hide his smile this time.
Dean unconsciously leaned into the touch. "Fine, but you guys owe me for this." he grumbled and pulled away to go talk to Richard. "Uh, hey Richard. I was wondering...are you still interested in having that drink?"
Richard practically jumped to his feet at the words, a real smile spreading onto his lips. "Of course I am!" he then paused and looked down at his bloody scrubs and sighed. "Uh, I should probably change first before we go. I'll meet you out front in fifteen?" Richard patted Deans shoulder, right where Castiel had just been holding, before he took off to go change.
"I hate you both for this." Dean muttered as he went back over to his brother and the angel.
Once Richard was all cleaned up and changed, he and Dean left to go to the nearby bar for a few drinks. Sam and Castiel waited outside until they finished, then followed behind them at a distance when the pair left to go to Richards apartment. It was harder following them inside, but after Castiel did a little scouting, they found that Richards apartment had a fire escape outside the living room window. The two men sat there, watching through the curtains as Dean talked with him inside. The sky above them was starting to darken from a gathering storm, fitting the mood pretty well.
Nothing in Richards apartment gave away that he was witch. It was neat and clean and there were no occult items anywhere in view. There was even a picture of the Virgin Mary on one of the walls and a rosary hanging next to it. Underneath that was a small table that held a lamp and beside that was a worn looking Bible. Dean was not sure what to think as he looked around the apartment.
"I don't care if you are here out of pity." Richard said as he stood in front of Dean, much closer than the hunter felt comfortable with, "I am just glad that you finally took my offer, Dean." the blond moved even closer to Dean and slid his hands up the hunters chest to rest on his shoulders. "Now tell me, am I as creepy as you were thinking I am?"
Deans hands clenched into fists, fighting the urge to shove the man away. He was seriously going to kill his brother for this. It wasn't just because he had no interest in the man, but it was cruel to string him along like this. He'd never done such a thing before and he hated that he had to do it now.
"Uh, no, not really. Unless you secretly worship the devil and have an alter hiding in your closet." Dean said it with a bit of a laugh and a smile. He held the fake smile when he saw the other flinch a bit at his words. Richard quickly smiled and pressed himself up against Dean.
"Is that a new way to ask someone to show you their underwear? You don't have to play that game with me, Dean." Richard started pushing Dean backwards towards his bedroom. "If you want to see me naked, just say so." another push. "If you want to fuck, then just say so." his voice had dropped and he looked at Dean like he wanted to devour him.
Dean quickly backed away from Richard, only ending up going farther into the bedroom instead of out of it. He started to go around him to try and get away, but the smaller man shoved him up against the wardrobe with impressive strength. He grinned up at the hunter before leaning up and whispering in his ear.
"Go on, open it Dean. See if I'm hiding any dirty, little secrets." Richard took a step back to give Dean room to move.
Dean stared at the blond for a moment before turning around and yanking the wooden doors open. What he saw inside made him want to be sick. There was a small alter set up with a big, red candle in the center. There were some charms there along with a couple of old looking scrolls and some incense. That is what Dean was expecting to see. What he had not expected were the pictures of himself. There were at least a dozen of them inside taken at various places; the hospital, out to eat, walking with his brother, and a couple of him in his hotel room.
"Th-the hell is all of this?" Dean slowly turned around to stare at Richard in disgust. "Are you stalking me?"
Richard looked a bit hurt. "I'm not a stalker. I'm just determined to get you to like me. What is the harm in that?" the man was actually pouting a bit now. "I tried asking you out but you kept blowing me off multiple times without even giving me a chance!"
Outside there was a loud roll of thunder, startling both men inside and the two outside still on the fire escape. The sky opened up and rain started falling in buckets, soaking Sam right through to his skin in minutes. The hunter shot the angel a glare since he was still dry as a bone thanks to his angel mojo.
"Look Richard, I'm...flattered that you like me, but I'm already...seeing someone." At this point Dean was feeling extremely uncomfortable. He also knew that Sam and Cas were just outside and he really didn't want either of them hearing this conversation. He could imagine the look on Sams face and he didn't want to know the expression Castiel would make.
Richard surprised Dean again by grabbing him and spinning him around to throw him onto the bed. "Yes, that blue eyed devil, right? I see the way you two look at each other." he growled out and walked towards the bed, now glaring at Dean as he scrambled up off of the bed. "You belong with me, Dean!" he yelled out.
At the same time a bolt of lightning hit nearby causing the room to light up, and the candle in the wardrobe burst to life. Deans eyes shot over to the candle and stared between that and Richard who was still making his way towards him. His heart was pounding in his chest, fear starting to grow inside, wondering what this man was capable of.
"Richard, calm down and back off. I don't want to hurt you, but if you don't knock this shit off, you're not going to leave me any choice." his hand started sliding towards the gun in the back of his pants.
"I'm tired of playing nice too. See, we do make a good couple." Richard brought a hand up and and suddenly Dean found himself pinned to the wall, hands up by his head. "I was hoping to do this naturally, but it doesn't look like I can."
He walked over to his wardrobe and got out a bowl and a knife from one of the drawers, then approached Dean. He gave the hunter a bit of a sad smile, then his eyes became focused as he started concentrating. Latin words spilled from his lips as he shoved Deans shirtsleeve up, then dragged the blade across Deans arm making a cut deep enough for blood to flow. He collected the blood into the bowl he was holding. Dean let out a groan of pain but for some reason could not find his voice to yell for help. Once Richard had enough blood, he moved towards his wardrobe and started drizzling the blood over the red candle, whispering more words under his breath as he worked the spell.
The windows in the livingroom shattered as Castiel and then Sam jumped through them and into the apartment. Before Sam had even regained his feet, Castiel was in the bedroom and holding Richard up off the floor by his neck. Richard struggled against the angels grip, hands clawing at him and feet kicking,none of which had any effect.
"You release him now, or I will kill you!" Castiel growled out. His eyes started to glow a bit with his anger, his power just below the surface waiting to surge out. He was shaking with the strain it took to keep himself under control.
Richard waved a hand, more like flailed it, and Dean was dropped to the floor, cursing. Castiel did not let up his grip on the man, wanting very much to crush his throat, but he managed to hold back. Instead, his eyes flashed again with his power and just scared the human more.
"C-Cas, don't." Dean said, his voice rough. "We still need to ask him about the Sandman." he coughed and cleared his throat to get his voice back to normal, then slowly rose to his feet. He was feeling a bit dizzy and the cut on his arm stung, but he was otherwise fine.
Castiel slowly relaxed and let go of the blond, uncaring about letting him down gently. Richard scrambled backwards until his back hit the wall and he pressed against it and the wardrobe, trying to get as far from the angel as possible. The man had good instincts.
Castiel looked over at Dean to assess his health and saw that he was fine aside from the slice on his arm, then turned his glare back on the human at his feet.
"Why are you attacking the kids in the hospital? Why did you kill Karen?" Sam asked from where he stood in the bedroom doorway, preventing Richard from trying to escape.
Richards eyes went wide. "What are you talking about? I had nothing to do with that!" his hands quickly came up in front of him as Castiel stepped towards him. "I swear, it wasn't me! I have nothing to do with the attacks!" he was crying now and he shrank up further until he was almost in a ball. "I would never hurt children, or anyone else for that matter."
"You could have fooled me." Dean said as he held a hand over the still bleeding cut on his arm.
"That was necessary." Richard said quietly. "I needed a bit of your blood to finish…"
"You were casting a love spell." Castiel said after looking at the altar. It was the same one he'd seen in the blonds mind. He also felt no true malice coming from him, just a strong need to be loved. "I don't think he is going to be able to help us with what is happening."
"So this was all just a waste of time. Awesome." Dean moved past Castiel and Richard, then Sam, to head to the bathroom to look for something to patch his arm up with.
The room fell silent for a few minutes as the hunter and angel looked at each other trying to figure out what to do with the human. There was no proof that he was connected with the killings, but with him as the only suspect, they did not just want to simply let him go.
Richard slowly got up from the floor but did not move away from where he was. "I swear, I've never hurt anyone in my life."
"You are still a witch." Sam said, keeping a close eye on him, "Still too dangerous for us to just let you go."
"You say that with such anger. I guess that means you have not run into any friendly witches?" He got no response to that. "Um, you said something about a Sandman? Is that what is attacking the kids?" at the nod from Castiel, Richard sighed. "Then that would explain why the protection spells I tried didn't work."
Castiel looked back at Sam and saw that he was just as surprised to hear that as he was. It was rare for a witch to provide protection for someone other than themselves. If they did, it was minor charms that still came at a high cost to the buyer. With the way that Richard was looking and with the lack of any occult items around, Sam decided to believe what he was saying.
"We believe that it is the Sandman attacking. Part of the mythology is that he steals the eyes from children to feed to his own. Then there is another where he eats people in their sleep."
Richards eyes went wide as he looked at Sam. "Are you saying that is what happened to Karen? She was...eaten alive? Oh god." his legs wobbled and his tears started again. "I should have stayed with her instead of running away. Maybe I could have saved her." His hand came up and clutched at the pendant he wore underneath his shirt, a pentacle, and said a silent quick prayer.
Castiel reached out and put a hand on the blonde's shoulder, startling him. "It was not your fault, Richard. There is nothing that you could have done to stop it. This is a very powerful being that we are dealing with. You probably would have only gotten yourself killed."
Loud crash followed by cursing coming from the other room caught Castiels attention and he went to the bathroom to see what the elder hunter was doing. Sam stayed to continue to talk with Richard. Dean was sitting on the toilet with a first aid kit spilled across the bathroom floor, the roll of gauze he had been trying to use was partially wrapped around his arm while the rest was in a pile on the floor. He had dropped the roll and when he'd tried to catch it, had knocked over the rest of the kit sending it crashing to the floor.
"Having problems, Dean?"
Dean rolled his eyes at the angel who stood in the bathroom doorway watching him. "No, I just thought I would redecorate the bathroom while I was in here."
Castiel stared at him for a moment, his head tilted to the side a bit as he looked over the hunter. He knew the wound was minor and did not need bandages. He also would have healed the hunter had he asked, but instead he had run off. "Did you come in here to hide from the witch?"
"What? No!" Dean said a bit too quickly and looked away, then sighed. "He was just creeping me out. I mean, a love spell? I don't want to be anywhere near that." he shuddered.
"Your distance to it would not have changed anything, Dean." Castiel moved into the bathroom and grabbed the gauze and started rolling it up. "He did not finish the spell so you are safe. I will make sure he makes no attempts to do it again." When he reached Deans arm, he cut the gauze and set it on the counter, then removed the bloody part around the hunters arm. With a touch of his fingers, the wound healed and vanished without a trace.
"Thanks, Cas." Dean said softly and looked at Castiels fingers where they were still caressing his skin.
When he looked up at the angel, he could see desire burning in his blue eyes. He could feel his skin tingling from Castiels power and touch and trembled slightly. His eyes fell closed as Castiel put a gentle hand on his cheek and he leaned into the touch. His lips parted when Castiel ran his thumb over his lower lip and a slight sound escaped his throat. Then as soon as it began, Castiel was moving away.
"You need to be more careful, Dean. If Richard had been a regular witch, you could have been killed by now."
Deans eyes shot open and he found himself alone in the bathroom. With a curse, he got up and went back out into the livingroom where he found Sam and Richard sitting on the couch talking while Castiel stood by the windows, just watching. His eyes lingered on the hunter when he came in, giving him a long look and a twitch of his lips, before his attention went back to the other two men.
"I understand what you are saying, but please, let me do this." Richard looked up at Dean when he entered before he quickly looked away. "It will be my way of apologizing for what I've done to your brother."
Dean looked at his brother with a raised brow in question and Sam gave a slight smile in answer.
"Richard is going to be the bait for us to draw out the Sandman." Sam said and Richard nodded.
"I think it is your best bet and it is safer than either of you doing it. If he attacks me, I have a chance of driving him off, or at least not dying. If he were to be the bait," this said with a thumb pointing behind him towards Castiel, "the Sandman would know he was not human right away and would run."
"Makes sense." Dean leaned on the chair beside the couch, keeping it between himself and Richard. He wasn't going to take any chances with a witch, even if he was playing nice for the moment. "We should do it tonight before any more attacks happen."
Sam shook his head with a frown. "We can't. We still don't know how we are going to stop it, or where its other umbrella is."
"I don't think we should bother finding the umbrella right now. If the Sandman is already to the point where he is eating people, then I think he is past the point of returning to his normal self." Castiel had moved away from the windows and was now standing beside the chair Dean was leaning against. "Once we deal with him, we will need to find it. It could be dangerous in the wrong hands."
"I think I have an idea." Richard got up from the couch and headed into the room across the hall from his bedroom. After digging around in the closet for a few minutes, he pulled out a large box and from that, a leather bound book. "This was my mothers." he said as he set the Book of Shadows down on the coffee table before opening and flipping through it. "There are spells in there for binding spirits to objects. If you can't kill it, maybe you can trap it?"
At the sight of the book, Dean moved behind the chair, bumping into Castiel as he did so. He really, really hated witches. "So, how many spells have you used from that, Richard? You bind spirits often?"
Richard looked hurt and his head dropped. "I have not bound any spirits and the only spells I have worked are for protection."
"And the love spell." Castiels voice was hard and it made Richard flinch.
"I'm sorry," his eyes sought out Dean but the angel was blocking his view. "I should not have done that. I would have paid for it even if you had not stopped me." he picked up the book and began reading through some of the spells more in depth. "Here. This one is the most powerful of the binding spells."
Sam took the book and read through the page of the spell, frowning and then nodded as he finished. "Sounds easy enough and it doesn't require any special ingredients or blood, just an incantation and the object you want to bind the spirit to."
"Then let's get this show on the road." Dean moved towards the door to leave. "Time to put the Sandman to sleep."