Rogue (Supernatural) [Rogue Trilogy] {1}

4. The Adventure in Babysitting

4. The Adventure in Babysitting

I automatically take a step back and get a bad vibe coming from the stranger in the doorway. I hold the baby tighter to me.

"Hello, Castiel," says the stranger.

I blink in confusion. Castiel? Who the hell is Castiel? He can't mean Steve, can he?

Steve half-turns to my confused gaze. "Get Tanya back to her room," he tells me.

"But—"

"Sierra, please."

I'm still left with a lot of questions, but I head back to Tanya's room. The look in the stranger's eyes tells me he wants to do some harm. Whether it's to me, or to Steve—or Castiel, or whoever the hell Steve really is—or to even little Tanya in my arms.

I feel slightly better that Steve follows me, but I'm not happy that the stranger just walks into Nora's house like he's a welcome guest. I hover near Tanya's crib.

"You better tell me what the fuck is going on here," I snap to Steve.

"Language, Sierra," he scolds me gently. "I'm sorry you're here for this."

"Here for what? What's going on?"

"Something that you might not be able to understand."

I swallow, looking down at Tanya. I realize she's stopped crying. Strange.

"Squalid little dump," comes the stranger's voice from another part of the house. "No wonder she cries."

"It's a fever, Ephraim," Steve tells the stranger. "It will pass."

The stranger—Ephraim—steps into Tanya's room. "You remember my name? I was just a nobody when we met, but you—you were a legend. You've been here before. This is my first time, and it's...intense."

"You know, there's a lot you don't understand about humanity at first. If you would just stop—"

"Stop? I won't stop...until I wash the planet clean of all suffering."

On cue, Tanya starts crying again. I have no idea what to do. The way these two are speaking suggests that they aren't human. Well, I believe Ephraim isn't human, but Steve—or whatever the hell his name actually is? He's as human as I am.

Ephraim steps towards Tanya. "Allow me."

I form a blockade with "Steve" in front of Tanya's crib. "Get near her—"

"Or you'll do what?" Ephraim tells me. "Scream? Fight? You don't understand what you're up against, girl."

My hands go into fists. I hate it when someone who looks about my age calls me "girl."

"Don't. Touch. Her," says "Steve."

"You think I came for her?" asks Ephraim. "No, Castiel. I came for you."

Ephraim works his way around us to Tanya's crib. I look at "Steve," totally befuddled now. Should I be calling him Castiel now, since Ephraim keeps calling him that? I feel like I should call someone. But this doesn't seem like the type of situation for the police to handle. Something tells me Ephraim isn't from this world.

"So much pain and despair, so many voices begging out for relief," Ephraim murmurs.

"How'd you find me?" asks "Steve."