Chapter Fourteen
"No, you're not," Castiel said assuringly. "He is too weak to go by himself and perform the ritual. I know humans normally cannot cross into a Faerie ring without risking potential harm, immediate or pending, so I will go with you and offer my protection."
"Does your Angel mojo work inside a Faerie ráth?" Ivy asked.
"It should."
"We're coming too," Dean piped up. "Just in case."
"If my powers don't work on them, your sawed-off won't, either," Castiel argued.
"The least we can do is try to give them as much protection as we can, Cas," Dean explained. "I'm not going to let them go without us."
Nobody had to ask why Dean was so insistent about going along: his messianic complex coupled with what had transpired between him and Ivy the previous night was putting his inner wannabe superhero into overdrive.
Ivy looked up at him, her worry for his safety temporarily overriding her worry for Cúchulainn. "You've seen what she's capable of doing," she said, referring to the Faerie Queen. "She'll hurt you, Dean."
"If it means being able to distract her, then it doesn't matter."
"Can I ask you something?" Sam inquired as he and Charlie headed to the garage to prepare the necessary tools and weapons for their mission.
"Anytime. What's up?"
"You call your…house-púca 'Cúchulainn,'" Sam began. "In my research, I read about an ancient Irish hero of the same name." He paused.
"And you were wondering if ours is him?" Ivy guessed.
"Well, yeah. I mean, yours is a Fey-creature, right?"
"Cúchulainn wasn't one of the Fey," Ivy said. "He was just an ordinary mortal who happened to come into some really special powers during his youth. We call our púca by the same name because that's what Ivy wanted to call him."
"You said he's been with your family for generations," Sam said, "so wouldn't he already have a name?"
"Not really. Not all Fey are keen on sharing with us their real names. He's exactly the same. When Ivy first visited us here years ago, though, she insisted on calling him that instead of what my dad was calling him."
"Which was…?"
"In an effort to make him seem like a real pet, my dad was referring to him as 'Dodger,' after the Artful Dodger in Dickens. Because Cúchulainn has this habit of appropriating shiny objects for his little treasure pile."
Sam laughed. "They really do like their gold and silver, don't they?"
Charlie grinned. "He brings some stuff back every once in a while," she added, "but not often."
"Have you ever seen him in his true form?"
Charlie shook her head. "For the ritual he has to change back into his human-type form. Part of his…well, 'servitude' seems too strong a word, but he did willingly bind himself to the family…anyway, part of that deal requires him to stay in the form of a wolfhound. But he needs to be in a form capable of performing the ritual."
"I read too that they're most commonly found in the form of a horse," Sam remarked, "but he chose to be a dog?"
"Well, how many horses have you seen inside somebody's house?" Charlie laughed.
"But why disguise himself, if everyone in Pine Valley is aware of the Fey's presence here?"
Charlie pursed her lips. "Not everyone is as…accommodating of the truth," she said vaguely.
There was a knock on Ivy's bedroom door.
"Come in," she called out, rummaging through her dresser. She pulled out a black tank top and pulled it over her head as she turned around. It was Dean.
He smiled. "I wish there was enough time right now for me to take that right off you," he said mischievously, crossing the room and pulling her into his arms.
She laughed, tilting her head up for a kiss, which Dean happily gave. After a moment, she pulled away and leaned against him, her head on his chest and her arms tight around his waist.
"Are you afraid?" he asked her gently, stroking her hair.
Ivy nodded. "A little bit. Dealing with Titania is never a picnic."
"So you've met with her before now?"
"Yes. When I first arrived here about five years ago, she tried to go back on the terms of the deal. " Ivy paused. "She tried again three years later."
Dean thought long and hard for a moment. "Ivy," he said as an idea dawned on him, "how long ago did you say you started having your visions?"
"My visions? About…well, two years ago I think." She looked up at him. "Why?"
"And the last time Titania came to you was about a year before?"
"Yeah."
"What happened then?
Ivy frowned, pulling out of his arms. "Dean," she said, "does that really matter?"
Dean could tell that this particular memory was difficult for Ivy, but he pressed on. "Ivy, I wouldn't ask you unless it was important," he assured her. "Please. It could mean a lot to this case."
Ivy turned away from Dean and strode over to her closet. She opened it up and pulled out a light sweater. "When I came here," she began, her voice wavering slightly, "my parents had just died in Dublin. Charlie's mom and dad – Aunt Danielle and Uncle Jack – took me in, gave me a home, a job, and a new life. Titania paid us a visit. She wanted me as her payment for the deal."
She buttoned up her sweater and turned to face Dean, her eyes shining with tears she refused to let fall. "The first time, when I first arrived, she left us alone after they refused to give me up. The second time, two years later…well…when they still wouldn't give me up, Titania killed them."
Dean's jaw tightened. "And now your powers have been working for two years, and she's back again. That fucking bitch."
"Hold up," Dean said, striding into the garage. Castiel, Charlie, and Sam all looked up at him, quizzical. Ivy was hot on his heels, indignant.
"Dean!" she said sharply. "Dean, this is ridiculous."
"We've got to modify our plans a bit here," Dean explained, ignoring Ivy. "Titania's after Ivy. She's using Cúchulainn as bait to get Ivy into the Faerie ring so that she can take her."
"That won't be a problem," Castiel reminded him. "I'm going with you. Ivy will be protected, Dean."
"Not good enough," Dean argued. "What if Titania brings some more powerful Faeries with her, huh? What if they're able to get her?"
"What are you suggesting then, Dean?" Charlie demanded. "That we all go on to the Faerie ráth and leave Ivy here on her own, unprotected? Oh, that's smart."
"I'm not saying that," Dean shot back. "I'm just saying we need to put Ivy somewhere secure. Back here. While we go to the Faerie ring."
Charlie looked livid. "Do you realise," she said menacingly, "that there is no place here that Titania can't get to? Do you know what she did the last time she came for Ivy?" Her voice was tight with emotion.
Dean looked at her, the smallest detectable trace of compassion in his eyes almost overshadowed by the grimness of his face. "I do," he said gruffly.
"Then why are you insisting we leave her here?" Charlie hissed.
Castiel and Sam exchanged a look. "We might be able to do something for her," Sam said slowly. "We can put her in a protection circle."
"A protection circle?" Charlie repeated. "Do you know how long it takes to set one of those up? Cúchulainn is badly hurt, and he needs to get to that ráth as fast as possible."
"I could hide her behind an Enochian shield," Castiel mused. He thought a moment longer, then shook his head. "Nope. That only works on Angels. Good one, Castiel."
Charlie threw her hands up in the air. "Great," she sputtered.
"Excuse me." Ivy's voice cut in right before an argument exploded. "Excuse me, I don't think anyone here is taking into consideration what I want to happen."
They all looked at her.
"Cúchulainn needs us," Ivy said. "After everything he's done for our family, going with him – and all of you – to the Faerie ring is the least I can do to repay him for his services to our family." She looked at Dean. "I appreciate your concern for my safety, Dean, but you have to realise that I'm not helpless. I've dealt with Titania before – you haven't. If we all work together we can get Cúchulainn back into shape and protect each other without wasting time."
After a moment, Dean finally backed down. "All right," he agreed reluctantly. "But if Titania makes a single move for you, you run – got it?"
"Dean, we'll be fine."
He wished he could believe her.