Chapter Seven

It was two more days before they found an answer in Bobby's house.

"The book's called Dark Magic, which is just a ray of sunshine," Bobby grunted. "If they cypher's right, the spell tells you how to put a soul back, but gives instructions on how to take it out after."

Castiel's shoulders drooped as he took the book. Bobby was being surprisingly calm about this, eyeing Dean with a strange expression every so often. Castiel might talk to him about Dean later.

"What if I can't do it?" Dean murmured in Castiel's ear, reading over Bobby's translation. "I mean, you know what went wrong with my magic use before."

Something tickled in the back of Castiel's mind, but he couldn't quite remember it. Something that would help, strengthen a human's ability to do magic. "Bobby?" the angel called. "In one of the first books I translated for you, what was the spell about humans using angel magic?"

Bobby's head stuck out from the doorway to the kitchen. "The Tether? Over there," he pointed to a book wedged under a jar of old coins on the fireplace. Castiel left the other book with Dean and grabbed that one, flipping through it quickly.

There it was, the Tether. It looked fairly simple. He glanced at Dean inconspicuously. The man was frowning at the book. Castiel knew that on his right shoulder lay his Mark. He was already bound to Dean one way, would Dean mind another?

"So," Castiel sat down awkwardly next to Dean. "I think, if you're going to do this, you should use my magic."

"The Tether thing?" he asked.

Castiel nodded. "It's pretty straightforward. It involves binding your soul to my Grace, which we kind of already did a little bit…" Dean's hand immediately touched his shoulder, and he nodded.

"Yeah." He glanced down at the book. "You think it'll make magic work for me?"

"I think you should give it a try," Sam said, crouching behind the two. "It can't do much harm, can it?"

"What do you need?" Gabe said, pushing himself off the ground. "I know where Bobby keeps his stuff."

"Just don't screw up my indexing again, ya idjit," the old man called from the kitchen.

Castiel rattled off a few items, but the spell was mostly about connection and words. He scratched out the Enochian phonetics for Dean to read when it was his part, and the two knelt, facing each other, with a single lit candle between them. Sam and Gabe stood awkwardly in the background, too fascinated to leave.

Castiel glanced at the book. "So we each have to pick a point of connection." Dean was staring at him, completely trusting an vulnerable. Castiel felt a little surge of love and covered the Mark on Dean's shoulder with his hand. Dean's breath hitched a little, but he stayed calm. After a second, his hand landed on Castiel's own shoulder, making a little loop with their arms.

"Okay," Castiel breathed deeply. "I go first." He read from the book, chanting the clipped syllables of Enochian easily. It translated sort of like a vow. "I give you my Grace, willfully and wholly, to protect you and be protected by you," he recited in Enochian. "I tether myself to you."

He could feel his Grace surge within him, a bit of it flowing through Castiel's hand and into Dean. He could feel it swirling inside Dean; he could see it behind his eyes, just a faint blue glow.

Dean's eyes were wide and he swallowed thickly. His Enochian wasn't as good as Castiel's, of course, but he didn't miss a syllable. "I give you my soul, willfully and wholly, to protect you and be protected by you. I tether myself to you."

At once, Castiel felt a part of Dean's soul pour into him through Dean's hand. It was hot and bright and heady. He could feel every molecule of Dean's being just as well as he could feel his own. Soul and Grace swirled around that circle their arms made until Castiel wasn't sure what part of him was his own and what part was Dean.

After a few seconds, the candle flickered and went out, and the paralyzing connection broke. Castiel felt his Grace return to his body, and Dean blinked at him with hazy eyes. Both men could feel it- that little connection they had since Castiel Marked him had strengthened. For the first time, Castiel felt a bit of Dean's soul in him, like light at the back of his consciousness.

"Is there…?" Dean asked, breaking the silence. He gestured to Castiel's shoulder, where he'd been holding it.

Castiel pushed his sleeve up as far as it would go, but there was no handprint there. No mark. Dean looked almost disappointed. "It still worked though," the angel assured him. "You can feel it."

"Yeah," Dean nodded.

There was another moment of tense silence before Gabe interjected. "So the soul spell?"

Dean pulled back and Castiel grabbed the book with the spell they were looking for. He skipped through the first bit about putting a soul back into the vessel. Sadly, they wouldn't need that part.

"It says we need the blood of the caster," he glanced up at Dean. "That would be you."

"Great," Dean muttered. "What else?"

"The blood of the mother."

Sam sighed. "That's going to be a lot harder to get."

Dean ignored him. "What else?"

Castiel squinted. "The… essence of the cursed. That doesn't sound right."

"That would be dirt," Gabe deadpanned. "The land is cursed and the land is dirt, therefore, the curse is dirt."

"And the last thing," Castiel read, "is an act of God. Seriously?"

Dean groaned, his head hitting the wall. "So how the hell does one get an act of God? We can't just write the guy."

"Well," Bobby said from right over them, startling the group enough to make Gabe fall over. "You could do something that touched lightening."

"Lightening?" Sam asked.

Bobby shrugged. "Closest thing I can think of."

Castiel's eyes widened. "Michael's throne."

Dean's eyebrow rose. "Come again?"

"The throne that Michael, the commander, sits on is made of a tree struck by lightening," Castiel remembered. "Do you think that would count?"

"If we're right about the lightening, then absolutely," Bobby stretched and retreated to his couch.

Castiel ran a hand through his hair. "How the hell am I going to get that?" he muttered to himself.

"Do any of your angel friends owe you a favor or something?" Sam asked. "I mean, you probably shouldn't be caught stealing from the commander."

Castiel perked up. Inias. He possibly felt bad about accidentally groping Castiel the other day. Did he feel bad enough to go into Michael's camp and grab a piece of scorched bark? "Maybe," Castiel said tentatively. "I need to talk to him first."

"I'll go with you," Dean said immediately. "It's high time I meet your friends."

Castiel smiled. That's exactly what he'd been thinking of just yesterday. Maybe if Dean was comfortable in Castiel's environment, he'd feel a little better. It would mean that he'd accepted him as an angel, too. Maybe.

"You should go now," Gabe said. "The faster we get an act of God, the faster this first trial is over."

Sam turned his puppy dog eyes on Gabe. "Why can't we go see the angels too?"

With a glint in his eye, Gabe whispered something in Sam's ear. The younger Winchester immediately relaxed. "Have fun, you two."

"I don't want to know," Dean muttered, pulling Castiel up. They told Bobby where they were going and strode out the door. It would be a good fifteen minute's walk from the cabin to Crowley's little neighborhood.

"Do you mind if we fly?" Castiel asked after a minute. "It'll shorten the trip to maybe thirty seconds."

Dean looked a little apprehensive. "That fast, huh?" He took a breath. "That's fine. Just don't drop me."

Castiel smiled and wrapped his arms around Dean's hips. Dean clung to his shoulders, and it felt really nice to be so close to him. The tension in their relationship had taken a backseat to the tension of the trials, and Dean nuzzled into Castiel's neck before he took off.

It was under thirty seconds before they were on the ground again, just a few feet from where the clearing near the river was. Castiel smiled. He was getting faster.

After Dean's vertigo subsided, they walked into the clearing to find Ava and Inias with their feet in the river and Gadreel on his stomach in the grass.

"Cassie!" Ava called, waving at him.

Castiel smiled and threw out a wing in casual greeting. Dean followed behind him, and Ava's eyes darted back and forth between the two. She nodded at him and raised her eyebrow, giving Castiel an, Is this your man?

"Hello, everyone," Castiel said. "Dean, this is Ava, Gadreel, and Inias. Everyone, this is Dean Winchester."

Ava beat her wings and shot straight out of the water, landing a few feet from the two. She gave him an angel's greeting, and his eyes skirted around her tawny wings. "It's so nice to meet you!" she said.

Gadreel and Inias took a little more time to come over. "You are the king, then?" Gadreel asked.

"Uh, yes," he said, purposefully standing tall. Gadreel was maybe an inch shorter than Sam, which made him bigger than Dean. Gadreel smiled and bowed, fist over his heart. He'd been itching to greet the right human leader. Dean saw the fist, but probably didn't understand the difference.

Ava started talking animatedly, and Castiel used that to slip passed Gadreel to find Inias. The angel was looking at Dean, but when Castiel approached, his eyes snapped back immediately.

"Hey, Castiel," he said, almost resigned. "Listen, I'm still really sor-"

"I forgive you," Castiel cut him off, smiling. He brushed the tip of his wing against Inias' speckled slate one, and Inias sagged with relief.

"Thank you." Both angels smiled at each other.

"I actually wanted to ask you something," Castiel began. Inias leaned forward, listening intently. The raven-winged angel took a breath. "How well do you know Michael and his… party?"

Inias' brows furrowed. "Well, I used to be one of his supporters. I guess I was fairly anonymous around there. Why do you ask?"

Castiel swallowed. "I don't even know if this is possible, but I need a tiny piece of bark from his throne where it was struck by lightening," he said quickly.

Inias' eyes widened. "How are you going to get that?"

Castiel sighed dramatically. "I have no idea. I can't get it myself because I can't go into his camp if I'm not there for business." He glanced up at the speckled-winged angel. "I need it soon. It's really important. Do you know anyone who'd know how to get it?"

With determination, Inias straightened his back and ruffled his feathers. "I can get it," he nodded. Castiel felt kind of bad at his enthusiasm. "I can give it to you tomorrow morning, I think."

Castiel smiled brightly at him. "That would be wonderful," he put a hand on Inias' arm. "Thank you so much." Castiel could feel Dean's eyes on the back of his head, but he ignored it.

With that out of the way, conversation went by quickly. Castiel was about to excuse himself when Ava called the two over. "You two should stay over tonight!" she said excitedly. "We're planning on breaking out the booze again. It's easier the second time, Cassie." Dean glanced at him suspiciously.

Castiel smiled. "Thank you, Ava, but we actually have some important things to do." Ava raised an eyebrow.

"He's telling the truth," Dean came to the rescue. "There's business at the castle that we need to attend to." He glanced at Castiel. "And a visit to the villages."

Yes, the spell. They'd have to do that. Castiel refrained from shivering with anxiety. "It was wonderful to see you, as always." Ava hugged him tightly. Castiel and Dean waved to the others and were soon passed the tree line and stepping through the brush-laden paths.

"So," Dean said after a moment, voice tight. "Flirting to get stuff, huh?"

Castiel sighed. "It was the quickest way." He glanced over at the king. "You know it meant nothing, right?"

Dean glanced around, avoiding Castiel's eyes. "Yeah," he grunted. "It's fine."

There was another moment of silence. "Want to fly?"

Dean hesitated, but nodded and threaded his arms around Castiel's neck. It took twenty seconds, but Castiel relished the feeling of cool air through his feathers. They touched down, and Dean stumbled back a little. "Disorienting," he mumbled, righting himself.

"We should stay at Bobby's tonight," Castiel suggested as they approached the house. "So Inias can get us the bark quickly. I assume we're going to want to do the spell as soon as possible."

"Yeah," Dean nodded. "I have to talk to Sam about some stuff anyway."

Castiel nodded along with him. Bobby's house was quiet when they went in, and Castiel knew immediately that Gabe was with Sam somewhere. Dean must have known too, because he strode right up to the stairs and took them two at a time. Castiel heard two sharp wraps and a muffled. "Okay, okay, we'll be out in a minute!"

When Gabe and Sam were dressed and downstairs, Castiel explained the situation to them. "We'll have the bark by tomorrow morning," he said. That was, if Inias really could get it. He was banking on that. "I suggest we stay here for the night, retrieve it in the morning, and work to complete the spell tomorrow. We don't know exactly how many days are left before…" he let the sentence hang. Everyone knew what it meant. Before the hundred years were up and the land burned like dry brush.

The evening was quiet. Dean and Sam went out to Bobby's field to walk around and converse or whatever Dean wanted to do. Gabe sat by him as they read. However fascinating the book about ancient Roman angelic legends was, Castiel couldn't really focus on it.

Why was this so difficult? Castiel's relationship with Dean had been amazing, and now there was silence and tension and strain, even when they slept in the same bed. Benny showed up and sowed the seeds of doubt in the angel's mind.

Benny was obviously the better partner for Dean. It was politically smart, because an alliance with the Southern Kingdom would be much easier to maintain than one with another species that was only recently recognized as real. And even more importantly, Dean belonged in Benny's world. He would never have to worry about what customs Benny used, or what culture his species conformed to. He wouldn't have to worry about weird magic being used on him, because Castiel was too ignorant to understand.

Deep in his mind, Castiel knew he was just jealous. He was jealous that Dean had experience with this admittedly good man, where Castiel had no past. Not one interaction aside from a kiss from a neighboring girl when he was twelve. Benny knew Dean, probably better than Castiel. He surely knew what Dean liked, and he was obviously still interested.

Dean said that he loved Castiel, and Castiel trusted Dean, but feelings changed. Relationships ended all the time. Was it just a matter of time before Dean realized how stressful being with Castiel was? Before running back to Benny's open arms?

Something clenched painfully in Castiel's chest. On the way to the library, he sounded so happy, laughing with the duke. Castiel had been with him through all the horrible things that had happened in the past few months, but he hadn't been with Dean through anything good. There were few fun memories to reminisce about, just doom and gloom and prophecies and shit.

He discarded the book and rubbed his eyes until little lights danced behind his eyelids. His thoughts ran in circles. Was Dean pulling away or just stressed out? Should Castiel let him go or cling on even more tightly?

"I'm going to sleep," he said suddenly.

Gabe looked up from his book. "Okay." And after a moment, "Do you want the guest bedroom?"

"No, you and Sam take that." Castiel stood and grabbed a nearby blanket. "I'll find somewhere. Good night."

"Night, Cassie," Castiel heard as he shuffled out of the room. He wandered through the house a bit, stopping in a neglected sitting room. That would have to do.

He grabbed some of the pillows from the dusty couches and made himself a little nest on the floor with another blanket he found shoved under him. With his head pillowed on his wing, it was actually quite comfortable.

Castiel recited bedtime stories in his head, pushing all his dark thoughts away. He fell asleep not long after.

A/N: Please Review!