Saints or Sinners | {BOOK 3}

85| Hunting with Crowley

I eyed the bartender on the other side of the bar as he filled the orders of the other patrons nearby. He looked over, catching my eye and I smirked.

"So... is that boudoir smile for me?"

Turning on my stool, I looked over at Crowley.

"I said next time I see you-"

"Dead. Yes, rings a bell, but let's not dwell on the past, shall we? This bar is a bust. That bartender is trouble with a capital VD, and your prey, Gadreel, has left the building. So, it's time to move on to more pressing matters, like destroying Abaddon."

"Yeah, good luck with that," I rolled my eyes. "The Knights of Hell aren't exactly the dying kind."

"But there is something that can kill a Knight," the demon smirked. "The weapon that the archangels used to execute them- the First Blade."

"Never heard of it. Can I kill you now?"

"I've been chasing the blade for decades," Crowley continued, ignoring me. "The closest I got to it was when one of my droogs- Smitty- got wind of a protégé demon of Abaddon's who claimed knowledge of the Blade. Sadly, before Smitty could nab the guy, a hunter by the name of John Winchester nabbed the protégé."

"What does this have to do with me, Crowley?"

"Well, I was hoping to find Dean here so I could see if there was anything in the John Winchester memorial library that might lead us to the First Blade- to killing Abaddon. But then I remembered the bitch was riding around in Granny Dawson's meat suit, so maybe, just maybe, you know more than you say you do."

I raised an eyebrow, glaring at the demon.

"You want to hunt? With me?"

"I do love a good buddy comedy."

I was quiet, turning away from Crowley to take a swig of my drink.

"My dad may have mentioned something to me."

"Which is?"

"None of your business."

"You're gonna play hard to get? We have time for a montage?"

"I might know a spell, but we'd have to find a place that sells the right ingredients."

"Alrighty then, shall we get going?"

Crowley stood from his bar stool, taking a step toward the door and I spun around to face him.

"And how do I know this isn't a trap?"

"You... don't. That's what makes it fun."

He shot me a wild grin and headed out the door. Sighing, I followed him out slowly.

⁘

After stopping at a hunter's shop, we managed to get all the ingredients I needed for the locator spell except one.

"So, what's the problem?" Crowley asked me, annoyed.

"We're missing one ingredient- Kraken."

"One minute."

"What?"

I looked over, but Crowley had disappeared. Sighing, I began mixing the rest of the rest of the ingredients in a bowl to pour over a map.

"Here," Crowley said, reappearing next to me.

I looked over just in time for him to toss a small jar at me, which I caught easily. Once it was added to the mix, I poured the liquid over the map and then lit it on fire. Flames spread to the outside corners of the map and then quickly burned away all of the map except the state of Missouri, a spark landing in the middle of the state just northeast of Springfield.

"Splendid. Shall we?"

Rolling my eyes, I climbed back behind the wheel while Crowley walked around to the passenger seat. Several hours later, we were pulling up outside a farmhouse.

"Wait," Crowley stopped me as we got out.

"What?" I looked over at him.

"I'm feeling something."

"What, cramps?"

"I feel something dark."

"What, darker than you?"

Crowley opened his mouth, about to retort once more when he noticed a beekeeper tending a hive by the house. I furrowed my brow curiously as he suddenly looked very worried.

"Oh, no. We need to get out of here now."

"What, are you allergic to bees?" I asked him.

"That's not a beekeeper. That's the father of murder."

"Sorry. Who?"

"It's Cain," Crowley hissed.

"As in Cain and Abel?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Eleanor. We need to be a world away from here- from him."

Crowley turned to head back to the pimp mobile, and almost ran into Cain, who had appeared behind him.

"You're not going anywhere. Crowley," Cain said.

⁘

Crowley and I sat inside Cain's house on the couch in the living room. I glanced around the room, assessing our options, while Crowley just stared at the floor panicked.

"Why don't you just zap out of here?" I asked.

"I'd never leave my domestic partner in crime."

"Yeah, like your heart grew three sizes," I snorted. "You can't zap out of here, can you?"

"Cain's doing something to me," the demon confirmed.

"Well, ain't that peachy? Alright, tell me about this Cain."

"Well, after Cain killed Abel, he became a demon."

"What do you mean, 'became a demon'?"

"I mean, he became the deadliest demon to walk the face of the earth. Killed thousands. The best at being the worst. And then he just... disappeared. Everyone thought he was dead or, at least, hoped he was."

Cain entered the room then, carrying a tea tray and Crowley cowered.

"Do either of you keep bees? It's very relaxing," Cain began. "They're such noble creatures. And the honey? Well, I keep it right on the comb."

He set down the tray, handing Crowley a cup of tea. As the demon king took it, it rattled loudly due to the amount his hands were shaking.

"There you are," Cain handed me a cup as well. "They're dying, you know. Without bees, mankind will cease to exist. So, what are the King of Hell and a Dawson-turned-Winchester doing at my house?"

"You know who we are?" I asked in surprise.

"I'm retired. I'm not dead. What I don't know is why you're looking for me- more importantly, how you found me."

"Ah, that's, uh, a funny story, really. Bit of a misunderstanding. We really should-"

"Shh," Cain put a finger to his lips and Crowley was rendered speechless.

"Oh, you gotta teach me how to do that," I smirked.

"Why are you here, Eleanor?"

"We're looking for the weapon the archangels used to kill the Knights of Hell. The First Blade. We need it to kill a Knight of Hell- Abaddon," I noticed as Cain absentmindedly moved a ring on his left ring finger. "Look, I get it. You're retired. We're not here to get between you and the demonic AARP, but it's bad out there, and I'm just looking to even the odds."

"One last time- how did you find me?"

"We didn't. The location spell was for the blade- one time deal."

"Anyone else know you're here?"

"No."