Chapter 6

Castiel appeared out of the blue, startling them all. "Where is Parker?"

"She's talking to Nate, our crew leader. I suggest you don't interrupt them." Hardison glared at the angel before putting down the gun and slowly walking over to him. "I also suggest you don't take Parker away from us without saying anything again. I don't trust you and I certainly don't trust your intentions toward her."

The angel studied him for a moment before answering. "You care deeply for her."

"We…we…all do," Hardison stammered. "But yes, I do. And angel or not…"

"I told you. I am an angel of the Lord. If she asks me to take her somewhere again, I will do so. I do not need your permission, mortal." Brushing him aside, Cas walked over to Dean. "We need to talk. Alone."

Dean glanced at Sam before nodding slowly. Following the angel outside, he muttered, "Look, Cas, we're trying to convince them that we can be trusted. Taking the one everyone seems so protective of away without saying anything probably wasn't the best plan. As it is, I have to deal with Grumpy and Dopey."

"Which one is Grumpy?" Wide blue eyes looked at him curiously.

"Now they both are, although I haven't seen Eliot in a while. I guess he's up with Nate. They all seem to be scurrying about having secret meetings, except Hardison who appears clueless to the fact he's out of the loop. Unless he knows what's going on and hasn't let on. Once Parker came back, he focused solely on what he had to do to protect her. I assume from the demons, but if you keep it up, he might end up using the angel sword on you once he knows what it can do." Dean glanced over his shoulder quickly before lowering his voice again. "So, are we dealing with another Anna?"

"What do you mean? Anna was once an angel…"

"And we only found out about it because she could hear angels. Parker knows things about you that she shouldn't know. So, I ask again, is she…or was she an angel who is just missing her grace?"

Cas was quiet for a long time and Dean wondered, yet again, what was going on in his head. Finally, the angel spoke confidentially, "No, she was never an angel. She is unique and I cannot say what she is."

The thought that Cas was keeping something from him, or even worse didn't know something, unnerved Dean. "You can't? Or you won't?"

Quick head shake before a shadow passed over the angel's face. "I cannot. I do not know. But she is not to be hurt, under any circumstances."

"Okay Cas, you cannot say 'don't hurt someone' without knowing what she is. How do we know she won't hurt us? She might be a vessel, a prophet…the freaking spirit of the Easter bunny, but she could just as easily be possessed by a demon or something worse. Have you thought about that? She took that sword for a reason, let's not forget that." Dean realized he had raised his voice a bit and glanced back toward the door. Looking over his shoulder, he noticed Nate watching them from the window. Even though there was no 'normal' way he could hear them, Dean grew uneasy. Something was up and he didn't like it. He did not trust Nate at all.

"She is not evil. I know that. She is…innocent," Cas insisted, ignoring Dean's uneasy feeling. "I do not know…"

"Parker is a cat burglar. A thief. How can you use the word innocent to describe her?" Dean shook his head incredulously and watched as Nate stepped away from the window. Parker soon appeared and looked down on Cas before briefly letting her fingers touch the glass and lingering there. She didn't even glance at Dean and the haunted look on her face, along with her sad eyes, worried him. As soon as she disappeared from the window, he said to Cas, "Something is going on." When he turned back to the angel, he found that he was alone again.

This time he just shook his head. It didn't do any good to yell at Castiel before barging back into the house. Ignoring the others, he went to find Parker. If not her, then Sophie seemed to be the most reasonable.

xOxOx

"But Nate…I don't think that's…right. I mean, we don't know what it does or why she wants it. I'm sure she doesn't want it for good reasons. She's a demon and she tried to kill you. Let's not forget, we're the good guys now and even though we don't have a client, I know this is…wrong." Parker glanced around the room, looking at everything but Nate. He felt guilty for putting her on the spot, but he had to.

"Parker, if we don't do this, they'll kill us all. And besides, we can always help them steal it back if we need to. But if we don't give the demons the sword now… they will kill us. We don't know what it does so let's not assume it's going to harm anyone. Maybe the demons want it because it can kill them." Nate placed his hand on Parker's and smiled when the thief glanced up at him in surprise. "You trust me, don't you? More than you trust Castiel. Parker, it's me. You know I would never do anything to hurt you."

Parker watched him for a moment before slowly nodding. "But Nate…I just know. Can't you trust me? I'm telling you what I know. That sword isn't meant to be with the demons. It's meant to do something important. Something to help us, and if I give it to you for this Meg person, then I can't protect any of us. I know that this is what I am supposed to do with it. I know…in my heart."

Swallowing hard, Nate glanced away from her. He could see how much he was hurting her. She begged him to trust her and he did. He also knew that this was for Sam. Being selfish for Sam was alright, wasn't it? I mean, his son deserved his sacrifices more than anyone, even Parker and the rest of the team. They were grifters and thieves. They would sacrifice each other to help themselves if they had no other choice. No, he was doing the right thing, the right thing overall.

"I need this, Parker. I need you to do this for me to help me protect the others. They already have Eliot and…"

She jumped up quickly and took a step back from him. Nate realized that he could convince her with this information. "Why didn't you tell anyone? Where is Eliot?"

"They came while you were downstairs. Eliot tried to stop them but…well, they took him and promised he'd stay alive as long as we gave them the sword. If we don't, they'll come back for another one of us. They won't touch the hunters. They know how to hurt us and that's our bond to each other. I told them they had to let you go and get the sword but not hurt you. So, it will be Sophie or Hardison who they will take next, I suppose." Nate swallowed viciously against the bile that rose in his throat with this lie. He barely forced it from his lips and wished he could take it back. Shaking his head quickly, he urged her toward the bedroom door. "Go get the sword. Bring it back to me and I'll give it to them. But don't let anyone see you or they will try to stop you. I'll cover for you."

Parker stopped in the doorway after looking both ways and turned back to him. "I'm doing this for Eliot and to protect the others. I wish you had trusted me before they took Eliot, Nate. I know one of us will pay for this." Tears filled her eyes, and he barely heard her whispered last words. "I hope it's me instead of any of you."

Nate thought of stopping her, but before he made up his mind, she was gone. Withdrawing back into the bedroom, he walked over and pulled a flask from a bag, taking a long, deep swig from it. It took him a couple of swallows before his hands stopped shaking.

"Where's Parker?" Sophie asked from the doorway. When he turned back to face her, one of the hunters was there. Sophie studied him and he knew she would know if he lied.

"She left to go get the 'thing'," he signaled her with his eyes. "I tried to stop her but…"

"Damnit!" Dean yelled but Sophie put her hand on his arm.

"Did you send her after Eliot? Or did you just use the same lie to convince her?" Sophie's eyes were cold as she studied Nate. "You might be able to con them, but you cannot con me. Tell me the truth. God help you if anything happens to Parker or Eliot."

xOxOx

Eliot lay broken, crumpled at her feet, his last breaths struggling from his lungs. He never thought it would go down like this. He thought someday his past demons would come to haunt him, but never thought a real demon, this true vision of evil, would snuff the life out of him. The eyes that looked back at him, watching blood seeping from him, were human now. But the smile showed her true demonic self-encased within the beautiful woman she possessed.

"I got to be honest babe. You have provided quite a bit of entertainment with your earnest attempt to stop me. Don't think of this as a failure on your part, Cupcake. It wasn't a question of you not being man enough; you just aren't as evil as you think you are. You'd make an excellent demon though. I can make it happen if you prefer that." Meg wiped the blood from Eliot's mouth and placed a tender kiss on his lips.

"Fuck you," Eliot whispered closing his eyes. He didn't want her to be the last thing he saw.

"Knew you wouldn't disappoint," she laughed and put her hand on his throat. "Don't worry. This will hurt a lot…"

Before he had time to brace himself, even if he had the energy to do so, she was gone and a blinding white light burned against his eyelids. As soon as the light dimmed, he opened his eyes weakly. A tall, willowy, blonde-haired man stood watching him curiously before taking a step closer. Eliot remembered thinking something was beautiful about him before blackness claimed him. He awoke with a jerk feeling someone's hands on his ribs.

'Shh…hold still. Let me help you.' The words weren't spoken aloud but he heard them, and he struggled to open his eyes. 'Wait a little longer, valiant one.' Once again, blackness took Eliot, causing loss of all thoughts.

When Eliot woke the second time, he opened his eyes immediately and felt no pain when he moved. He lay on a bed in a small room, with a window overlooking the harbor. The sounds of the ships and the ocean were soothing, and he gave himself a moment before trying to find out where he was.

"You are safe. If I wanted you dead, Eliot, I would have left you in the alley." The soft-spoken voice belonged to the stranger from the alley.

Although he knew he should be more alert and concerned, Eliot found it almost impossible to be. "What did you do to me? I feel…different."

"You pierced the veil but not so far that I could not pull you back and heal you. Your spirit might seem disconnected for a while. Honestly, it will never be the same when you have crossed over. But in time, the confusion will end, and you will not feel as strange." The man handed him a glass of a dark liquid and helped him sit up to drink it.

"I pierced the veil? You mean I died?" Eliot asked and the man nodded. "So, if you pull me back you must be a…?"

The man smiled and lowered his blue eyes to meet Eliot's inquiring gaze. "I'm an angel, of course. But you knew that, didn't you? You have met one of my brothers."

"Castiel's your brother? Did he send you?"

"We are all brothers and sisters. But no, he didn't send me, nor does he know who I am. I heard her prayers for you, and I came to find you." The man rose swiftly and walked to the other side of the room, keeping his back to Eliot. "Lately, I cannot shut out her prayers. Of course, she did not pray much until the last few years or at least I never heard them. But now…they pull me to her, to all of you that she loves."

Eliot thought for a moment before finally asking, "She? Who is she?"

His next words silenced Eliot completely. There were no words, only a blank stare at the man. "My earthly daughter, the one you call Parker." A slight smile tugged at the man's lips. "I see you're surprised. Before you ask, no, she is not an angel, quite obviously. She is…there is no longer a name for what she is, as she is the only one remaining to my knowledge."

Eliot nodded and waited for the man to continue as he stared distractedly out the window. Finally, he continued, "We aren't supposed to fall in love. Angels love all our charges, you humans. Our father ruled that we must. But falling in love with a woman, a mortal woman… I would have been banished for... the things I have done. She never knew what I was, who I was. I never knew what would happen to her because of me, or I never would have…" A tear ran down his face and Eliot felt the pain radiating from across the room. "But it is too late for regret."

Eliot nodded and looked away, the man's words and his pain overwhelming him for a moment. When he turned back to ask him more, he was alone. He stood and glanced around the room before he felt another presence behind him and turned to find Castiel standing there.

"Eliot, I have been looking for you." He looked over Eliot. "What is wrong?"

Glancing down, Eliot realized he was covered in blood and did not know how to answer Castiel. He wasn't sure how much he should tell the angel. He owed it to Parker, to tell her first. Brushing off Cas' question, he asked, "Can you take me to Parker?"

"I do not know where she is. I was hoping she was with you." Cas put his hand on Eliot's shoulder and looked deep in his eyes, making Eliot very uneasy. He tried to turn away but before he could, Cas said, "You're different. You were pulled from the veil. Who has done this?"

Eliot stepped back quickly. A familiar feeling of annoyance took over before he replied, "He never gave me his name. You guys aren't big on intros before you do your little invasive mind tricks and beaming people up. Now look, I need to find Maggie before I return to the others. Can you help me or are you going to preach to me about what I should be doing instead?"