Chapter Twenty-Seven

Unplanned

TW/CW: Talk about abandonment, grief, and planning murders/torture (non-descriptive)

Crowley's Property: July 18, 2010

One kiss later, though it was rather heated and took them both a moment to catch their breath, and Bobby's deal was sealed. Crowley pulled away and nuzzled the hunter's neck affectionately. Bobby was certainly one of a kind, and this deal just hammered that fact home.

"What now?" Bobby asked, not bothering to let him go.

"Now I work some magic. Is there anything you want to do before I begin?"

"Do you think whoever shows up will know Azrial? If they do, maybe we should tell her. Give her a chance to talk to them."

He hummed, titling his head in agreement. "If they know her it may be a good pick me up after all the shite we've been dealing with. It's possible though that it was purchased from a blacksmith she didn't know."

"True. Well, get going, your highness. Sooner or later, we're going to be missed."

Crowley rolled his eyes but stepped out of Bobby's arms when the hunter opened them. This wasn't a taxing or even flashy process. Hell, the only reason he needed a soul as colleterial was because he had to contact a reaper for the soul retrieval. It was basically a glorified carrot and stick method, which was why it was so easy to return Bobby's soul after the fact.

He was surprised at how thin the veil was when he reached out. There was a spark of panic despite Balthazar's earlier warning. Normally it would only be this thin during key holidays celebrating the dead. Even then, a person would have to wait for specific circumstances to make contact. There was no telling what would happen if it remained like this much longer. It wasn't like Heaven and Hell were the only dimensions touching this one, and the others were far less friendly if rumors were to be believed.

"Hello, Crowley."

He turned to see a woman standing across from him. Bobby was eyeing her curiously but remained silent.

"Hello, Tessa." She tilted her head in acknowledgment. "I assume you know why I summoned you?"

"Of course." She sounded amused, which surprised him. Normally reapers were rather emotionless creatures. "Though bringing people back is not common for you."

"It's the times we live in," he said dismissively. "Will my request be a problem?"

"No, not at all. The age of the soul means that part of Heaven is hardly visited by the Host. I will return in a moment."

She soundlessly vanished and he glanced at Bobby. "Now we wait."

"Didn't realize you'd know the reaper who came."

He snorted, smirking slightly. "Tessa is a high-ranking reaper and works closely with Death. I've met her several times and Azrial formally introduced us at one point. Since then, she has handled most of my requests."

Bobby laughed and rolled his eyes. "Sounds like Azrial put a baby monitor on you."

"And Death put one on all of you."

Bobby jumped at Tessa's voice, glaring at the reaper. "Warn a man, will ya?"

"Death is silent, Mr. Singer." She glanced at him. "I have the soul you requested. Am I to assume you'd like it in a golem?"

"Preferably," he said.

"Very well." She held out a small blue ball in her palms. "I suggest you close your eyes, Mr. Singer."

Light filled the room moments after her warning. It faded slowly, a testament to the power Tessa had used to create the golem. Her question had surprised him. He'd normally be forced to create a shell himself with the remaining power from the deal he'd made. It was strange that she'd offered without any prompting, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Crowley. Good luck."

He didn't get the chance to say anything before she vanished. The newly resurrected man had his back to them, and Crowley rolled his eyes. Leave it to a reaper to depart abruptly without explaining things. He sent a wave of magic at the man, allowing it to coil around him. Hopefully that would help with the worst of the language barrier even if it wasn't a perfect solution.

He cleared his throat. "Sorry for the abrupt drop off. My friend and I have need of your expertise."

The man turned around, looking between them. He appeared in his mid to late thirties, with a full head of wavy brown hair, a deep olive-skin tan, and the beginning of five 'o'clock shadow. His deep honey brown eyes seemed to be weighing them up.

"Death is always abrupt," the man said.

Crowley raised an eyebrow at his thick accent but didn't comment. It had the same rural twinge as Azrial's Italian, which meant they had someone from the same era the bracelet was made.

Crowley offered him the arm band."Tell me, did you create this?"

The man reached out, taking it gently. He frowned once he noticed the crack, rolling it over in his palm. "I did. Long ago."

The blunt admission was good enough for him. They had too much going on to be worried about formalities anyway.

"Lovely. Would you be able to fix it? It was damaged in a fight, and the owner is rather upset."

"If you have a kiln, ore, and the tools."

"We have all of that set up for you already," Crowley said.

"Crowley," Bobby muttered. "Doesn't he look familiar?"

He ignored the question, happy to move this along. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Is the owner injured?" the man asked, a quiet concern laced through his voice.

"Ah, so you knew Azrial personally?" The man nodded at his question, and Crowley sighed. "Her body is recovering, but she's on her feet. Mentally," he turned to Bobby. "Well, you spent more time with her the past few days."

Bobby frowned, still staring down the man. "She's exhausted and doing her damn best to keep it together. After all, a general can't falter ahead of a battle, can they?"

He raised an eyebrow at the terse question, but the man simply smirked.

"They cannot. If they do, they risk the lives of those they hold dear to their heart. As an immortal, she knows that pain keenly."

Crowley glanced at Bobby. "Have I missed something, pet?"

"I heard Romans were polite," Bobby said gruffly, ignoring his question. "Especially those of high station, and yet ya haven't introduced yourself."

The man's smirk morphed into a genuine smile and he chuckled. "So that ring on your hand is not merely for show."

Bobby's hand balled into a fist, hiding the Valerius ring from sight. "It's insulting ya think Azrial would allow just anyone to wear it."

"Am I to assume you are her amator?"

Crowley wasn't sure what he was missing, but he understood what the man was asking. "We are both her lovers."

"Interesting," the man glanced toward him. "You have power, keen awareness, and a silver tongue. And you," he turned back to Bobby. "Perception, intelligence, and a protective drive. All desirable traits in an amator."

Bobby huffed, but his gaze softened. "Thanks for the compliment, but ya ignored what I said."

"Ah, I did." The man lifted his hand, showing an identical black ring on his hand to the one Bobby now possessed. "My name is Marcus Valerius, and I would appreciate knowing exactly how the courting gift I made my wife was damaged."

"I'm going to kill Tessa," Crowley snarled softly.

"Not if Azrial kills us both first," Bobby sighed. "I should have known this wouldn't be straight forward."

Crowley tried his best to ignore the amusement rolling off Marcus. This is why he didn't do nice things for people.

Line Break

Bobby's House

Azrial stiffened as Castiel continued to straighten her feathers. Balthazar was on her other side, preening the massive wings at a sedate pace.

"Is something wrong?" Castiel asked, halting his task.

"I don't know," she muttered. "Something feels off."

"Has Crowley mentioned the veils to you yet?" Balthazar asked.

"No?" Azrial paused. "He probably didn't have a chance with everything going on."

"Probably not," Balthazar agreed. "I told him when you and your little human were already in Japan."

Azrial snorted. "Say that to Bobby's face."

Balthazar rolled his eyes, lips twitching. "I am not suicidal, sister."

"What news is there?" Castiel asked as he resumed fixing her feathers.

"The veils are thin," Balthazar muttered. "So thin I fear what will happen if there is a sudden influx of souls."

Azrial was silent, and Castiel bit back the first panicked thought that came to mind. The afterlife had such a delicate balance, and while he hated to admit it there were far worse creatures than Lucifer.

"All of them?"

Balthazar nodded at Azrial's clarifying question. "Yes."

"Well, fuck me," she sighed. "Looks like time really is running out."

"It's a dangerous situation," Castiel finally said. "No matter which of the four you look at."

"Heaven should be fine," Azrial mused. "Hell is probably a fucking mess, and I really don't envy Crowley if we survive this."

Balthazar laughed coldly. "They were never the real concern though."

Azrial hummed in agreement. "Purgatory and the Empty, two extremely volatile realms that really don't need an excuse to implode on themselves."

"The Empty at least doesn't pose a physical threat," Castiel said. Azrial remained silent as Balthazar rolled his eyes.

"Small miracles," his brother huffed.

"The Empty is only a non-threat as long as it sleeps," Azrial whispered. "Death once mentioned it to me," she clarified at their looks of disbelief. "The Empty is…sentient, but hates being so. It simply wishes to remain a vast void, never taking on a humanoid form."

"Well fuck me," Balthazar choked out. "Here I thought waking up those walking garbage disposals and Eve would be the worst outcome."

"I think it would be," Azrial quickly reassured. "Death didn't seem to think the Empty would ever be a problem."

"Still, if Lucifer were to find out about it…" Castiel trailed off, a horrible thought creeping forward. "He could weaponize it. Promise the Empty angels and demons if it aids him."

"Castiel," Azrial turned toward him. She grabbed his shaking hands, making him focus on her. "Little brother, I truly don't think that will happen. The only reason I have this knowledge is Death. I doubt Lucifer even knows the Empty is more than a void where we go in The End."

"She's right," Balthazar said after a moment. "It was news to us, and we've seen and heard more than most."

"We need to plan for the threats that may actually occur. Balthazar, I'm sorry for asking this of you, but will you return to Gabriel's side if he joins us?"

Their brother was silent at the question, and Azrial didn't push for a response. The three of them fell back into silence as he and Balthazar continued preening Azrial's wings. They had just finished when Balthazar broached the question.

"Will he even aid you?" Balthazar asked. "You are putting a lot of faith in him, and I'm not sure he deserves it."

"Maybe not," Azrial admitted. "But I meant what I said to the Winchester's when we first met; when the chips are down, Gabriel will side with humanity."

"Your optimism astounds me." Balthazar's sarcasm was thick, but Castiel could see the conflict in his eyes. "To answer your question, I don't know."

"That's fair," Azrial said. "Is there anything I could do to convince you?"

"Gabriel abandoned me," Balthazar growled. "You do know that, right?"

Azrial was silent and refused to look at either of them. He could feel her grace rising and falling under her skin as her nails dug into her palms.

"It seems to run in the family, doesn't it?" She stood up without warning, her wings vanishing. "I understand your stance, little brother, and will respect it. Just as I will if I ever find my own flock."

She left the room, and Castiel tried to ignore the unformattable tightness in his throat.

"It's hardly the same," Balthazar scoffed. "She was assassinated and ordered to stay away; Gabriel simply left. He didn't even tell Cassiel, and she ended up dying because of it!"

He winced and felt the blood drain from his face. Balthazar frowned, staring into his eyes. "Do you know something about what happened to Cassiel?"

"We are supposed to wait for Gabriel," Castiel tried to argue.

"Fuck Gabriel!" Balthazar snapped. "Cassiel took care of me. She was there when we were all left adrift in the wake of that bastard leaving. I've searched for years to find out what happened to her."

"She was killed by an angel," he emotionlessly answered. "That is all I will say on the matter until we tell Gabriel. We do have her remains and will allow him to decide what to do with them."

Balthazar looked mutinous. He spun around and left the room, slamming the door behind him for good measure. Castiel winced, seeing a crack appear in the doorframe. Bobby was going to be pissed about that.

Line Break

Hell

Lucifer frowned, staring at the ingredients in front of him thoughtfully. He was weighing the pros and cons of this ritual heavily. The princes were once more back at his side, but that was the largest addition to his army. Cain had laughed him out of his house, more than a few curses thrown in his direction. The first Knight of Hell wanted nothing to do with him. Sadly he couldn't kill the bastard for disobeying. He wanted to rule the world when this was over, not hand it over to the damn Darkness. Finding out Cain had killed all of the Knights but Abaddon, and that she was lost in time, added insult to injury.

The monsters, at least those with Alphas, had gone underground. He couldn't afford to piss off Eve right now, so he ignored the disrespect. Some still came though, promises of power and cattle overpowering the instinct to obey. Sadly they were more animal than intelligent fighter. A blunt weapon to be thrown against his enemies to weaken them before the remainder of his former flock landed a killing blow.

"How are our numbers?" Lucifer asked the room. "I need an honest assessment."

Ramiel hummed, scratching his beard. "The forces of Heaven are weakened. Azrial's flock, from what we know, is dead. That is a massive threat eliminated, and means we don't need to set aside forces to face them."

"The breeding of hell beasts goes well," Dagon added from her chair across the room. "The hellhounds are still scarce though."

"We need to figure that out," Lucifer ordered. "Without those dogs we can't collect souls."

"I'm already looking into it," she said.

"Good," Lucifer hummed. He glanced toward Asmodeus, frowning at his scarred face. He was wary of him, especially after his last power grab, but needs must. "And your thoughts?"

"Converting souls is taking too long," Asmodeus said without meeting his eyes. "If we wish to produce more forces, we need someone who can break humans faster."

"Which leads us back to the matter at hand; is sacrificing a dozen or so lesser demons worth it to revive one?"

"If it were anyone else, I'd say no." Ramiel paused, tilting his head. "But he would be a boon in this situation. We could increase our forces by at least half, if not more, by the date you requested."

"More meat shields to weaken Daddy's favorites," Dagon mocked. "I agree with Ramiel, sacrifice the vermin and bring him back. He would serve you well."

He glanced at Asmodeus and received a silent nod of agreement. "Very well. Gather those who have displeased you and have them thrown in cells. One of you will need to retrieve a virgin."

"I'll go," Dagon said. "Would be nice to get some fresh air, and I'll be trusted."

"Go," Lucifer dismissed. "We have to wait for the right moment to perform this ritual, but I want all the ingredients ready."

Dagon vanished without another word, and he looked toward Asmodeus. "Prepare the throne room for the ritual, we may as well make an example of those we are using."

Asmodeus winced, but vanished without a word. Ramiel snorted, moving closer to the table.

"He will betray us."

Lucifer chuckled and focused on his general. "Most likely, but until then he has his uses."

"This ritual will be felt on Earth," Ramiel warned. "Are we prepared for that?"

"There is no one on Earth who is a threat," he scoffed. "Let them feel it, and hopefully it will kill Crowley and the eldest Winchester in the process."

"I will defer to you on this, but it would be remiss not to mention." Ramiel was silent for a moment before he stepped closer. "Is there anything else you need?"

Lucifer hesitated a moment, but slowly reached a handout to touch his general's cheek. "Not now, but later you should join me."

"As you wish," Ramiel said. "I will tend to the sacrifices."

His general left, and Lucifer frowned at his hand. A flash of memory made him shake his head. This wasn't Heaven, and he and Ramiel were far from the angels they once were. Still, of everyone in his court, he trusted Ramiel to stand by him. Whether it was due to old love or new lust was irrelevant.

The next update is Saturday, August 27, 2022