Glass Angels

Chapter 3: Remember

New Haven. Friday, January 27, 2006.

It was lunchtime by the time Sam pulled to a stop in front of Maia's house. The small white cottage was now also Chloe's home.

"How much do you plan to tell them?" Sam asked Dean uneasily.

Dean frowned. "I haven't decided. It could be instructive for them to get the uncensored version."

"And also scary."

"Hey, this is the real world, Sam. Chloe and Maia can't live in their private sitcom fantasyland."

Sam couldn't argue with his reasoning. What he and Dean had confronted had been a revelation to him too. The women already knew about Astrena and her witch sisters. Perhaps they wouldn't be too upset at the news. Conceivably, they could react better than he had.

Dean unlocked the front door. Maia had given them keys to the cottage. She insisted they consider it their home too. Their new digs came with a dog who at the moment was demanding attention. Maia's wolfhound Tatyana was now half-grown. As a guard dog, she was hopeless. But if you wanted someone to curl up with and watch a movie, she and her mistress couldn't be beat.

"Miss us, girl?" Sam asked, stroking her head.

"Of course she did, and we did too," Maia answered. "We're in the middle of transplanting herbs. Come join us in the kitchen."

The name was a misnomer. The tiny kitchen had been transformed into a combination greenhouse and stillroom with plants and jars of herbs taking up almost all the available counter space. Maia made no pretense of liking to cook. It was another trait she shared with Chloe. Whenever Sam and Dean were there, they mainly lived off takeouts. But the fridge was always stocked with beer. Snacks were stored next to the containers of herbal tea, and at least one pie was on the counter.

The pies came from Wisteria Brigham's inn near the university. Dean was well acquainted with Wisteria and her famous pies. Chloe used to stay at her inn until she moved in with Maia. Like her sister Peony, Wisteria was the head of her local Wicca coven.

"We brought lunch with us," Dean said, dropping the bag of jumbo burgers onto the kitchen table next to the potting soil before wrapping his arms around Chloe.

Maia tilted her head up to Sam to kiss him. "You should have called. We would have cleaned up the kitchen and ourselves too." They had aprons on. Maia smelled of rosemary, sage, and other herbs Sam wasn't familiar with but thought of as Maia's distinctive scent.

After ample time for thorough kisses, they made quick work of removing the plants from the table and sitting down for lunch.

"The beer is from a new microbrewery in town," Chloe said. "They came out with a new Pilsner—Dark Magic. It sounded perfect for us."

Chloe's enthusiasm made Sam feel even more like a louse. He could tell by Dean's forced smile, he felt the same way.

Not wanting to ruin lunch, they managed to keep the conversation focused on Maia and Chloe's latest potion. When applied to a silver sword, it would hopefully banish Astrena back to the stars.

Chloe stood up and retrieved a small glass vial. "This is the oil. You should spread it on the sword of Saint Mercurius before confronting Astrena, but it will only maintain its potency for about an hour."

"The formula isn't specific to Astrena," Maia added. "It should banish any non-human entity to their homeworld and make it impossible for them to leave."

Dean grunted. Sam knew what his unspoken message was. They'd seen too many supposedly impossible things happen. Given the right set of circumstances, the impossible could once more come back to bite them.