I headed over to the car parked outside Rufus' cabin. Castiel was sitting in the driver's seat and I leaned in the window to talk to him.
"Hey, there," I greeted him.
Instead of responding, Cass just raised a hand to say hello. I straightened up, letting out a long, slow breath, before leaning back in the window to continue.
"So, Cass, what's, uh, what's, uh, what's the word?"
"Well, Eleanor, I've been thinking. Monkeys are so... clever, and they're sensible in that they leave the skins on the bananas they eat. Is it really necessary to test cosmetics on them? I mean, how important is lipstick to you, Eleanor?"
"Well, I've never really been a lipstick kind of girl, so... not very. You want to come inside and, uh, tell us what's going on?"
I backed up so the angel could climb out of the car and follow me back into the cabin.
"Now, you understand I don't participate in aggressive activity," Cass said, picking up the bone from the crypt and sniffing it. "Mm. Sister Mary Constant. Good choice."
"Why'd you go to Meg, Cass?" Dean asked.
"When I left, I wanted to observe the flowers- and fruit. Flowers come first, obviously. But I heard nothing from them."
"You heard nothing from who?" I asked, trying to keep my impatience in check.
"The Garrison," Cass said matter-of-factly.
"What happened to the Garrison?" Sam queried.
"Well, finally, the silence was deafening, so I went to look... to the home of the Prophet. You know, Leviathan can kill angels. There's a reason why Father locked them in Purgatory. They're the Piranha that would eat the whole aquarium. They're gone. The entire Garrison- dead. If there's anyone left at all, they're in hiding."
"Um, I'm sorry. If the angels are dead, where's Kevin?" Dean spat, doing just a little bit worse than me at keeping his impatience contained.
Cass's behavior might have been funny if we weren't trying to get important information out of him.
"I could steal them from their cages, the monkeys," Cass got distracted again. "But where would I put them all?"
"Hey!" Dean clapped his hands. "Focus. Is Kevin alive?"
"I don't want to fight."
"No, I'm not-" Dean stopped himself, taking a deep breath before continuing more calmly. "We're worried."
"They took him," the angel said. "He's alive. I felt such responsibility, but it's in your hands now."
"Wait. Hold on a freakin' minute."
"I feel much better now."
"Guys, what's all that?" Meg gestured to the spell paraphernalia still out on the table.
"We called Crowley," I informed her.
"You what?"
"Don't worry," Sam assured her. "He never showed."
"What do you mean never-"
"Do you see him anywhere?" Dean cut her off. "He stood us up."
"Well, I'm sorry about that, but I'm outie," Meg started toward the door. "He could still sh-"
"Show up at any time," Crowley finished, appearing in the room. "Hello, boys. Eleanor. Sorry I'm late. This is an embarrassment of riches. Stay, won't you. There's really nowhere to run."
Ignoring him, Meg ran toward the door, but Crowley appeared in front of her, blocking her path.
"Don't even think of smoking out, pussycat. I've got eyes all over the place."
"Leave her be," Cass commanded Crowley.
"Castiel," Crowley's eyebrows shot up. "When we last spoke, you- well, enslaved me. I'm confused. Why aren't you dead?"
"I... don't know."
"Well, do you want to be? 'Cause I can help with that."
"Alright, enough," I broke up the fight.
"It's enough when I say," Crowley argued back. "I came here to help you. I find out you've been lying to me, harboring an angel, and not just any angel- the one angel I most want to crush between my teeth."
"Oh, so you can crush angels now, huh?" Meg bit out sarcastically.
"You bore me. You know what? You have no sense of poetry."
Crowley tore his gaze from the other demon to look at Cass once more.
"Now, what do you have to say for yourself?"
"Well, I'm still, uh, honing my communication strategy," Cass started rambling again. "I haven't even been back to Heaven. I- I keep thinking there are no insects up there, but here we have-"
Dean and Crowley exchanged a look.
"-trillions. You know, they're making honey and silk and... miracles really."
"What are you talking about?" Crowley asked.
"Um, preferring insects to angels, I guess," Cass shrugged. "Here. I can offer a token, if you like."
He produced a plastic bag containing a yellow substance.
"It's honey. I- I collected it myself."
Crowley exchanged a look with Dean again, then looked at me and back at Cass.
"You're off your rocker. He's off his rocker- is that it? Karma's a bitch, isn't it?"
The demon king helped himself to some whiskey from the table.
"Look, did you come here to, uh, donkey-punch your old grudges or help us end Dick?" Dean asked. "Pick a battle."
"Well, I'm vexed. I'd like to do both. But where's the fun of clobbering a ball of wet fur? Text me when Sparkles here retrieves his marbles, I suppose. Meanwhile," Crowley took a vial of blood out of his jacket pocket, "a prezzie."
"Really?" Sam asked. "Just boxed-up and ready to go?"
"I'm a model of efficiency."
"Is that right? Then why were you late?"
"Dick had me in a Devil Trap. He's not an idiot. He knows what you lot are after."
"So what did he offer you?" I quirked a brow.
"A fair deal. In exchange for giving you the wrong blood. It's demon, but is it mine?"
There was a pause.
"It's my blood. Real deal."
"And why should we trust you?" Dean challenged him.
"Good God, don't. Never trust anyone. A lesson I learned from my last business partner," Crowley cast a pointed look at Cass.
"Alright. Give us the blood."
"Certainly. Oh, bonus. Meg, I'm gonna scoop you up, take you home, and roast you till you're jerky."
Castiel started to move toward Crowley.
"But not... yet. Cass can have you for now. Hilariously, it seems he'd be upset at losing you. And the boys and their puppy need Cass to get to Dick. Don't they, Cass?"
"Oh, I- I don't fight anymore," Cass defended himself.
"Come on," Crowley scoffed. "Given the particulars of your enemy, sadly, you're vital."
He tossed the vial of blood to Sam and then vanished from the room.
YOU ARE READING
Saints or Sinners | {BOOK 3}
Fanfiction-BOOK 3 IN THE DAWSON'S DAUGHTER SERIES- ___ Sacrifices must be made. Castiel has declared himself God, Ellie has a new child to worry about, and there's a whole new set of monster problems she and the Winchesters must deal with. As they do, the lin...
