Halos and Wings: Angels

Noel

I hunt down one of Mammon's henchmen. "Where is Noel?" I ask him, pushing him into a corner. "Where is the little girl?"

"I won't tell you." He says trying to fight against me. I put my angel blade against his throat. "I..I don't know"

I look at him and smile sweetly. "In that case you are useless to me." I say, putting a little bit more pressure on the blade. A thin line of blood appears on his neck. He gulps.

"Wait." He says. "If I tell you will you let me go?" I think it over.

"Sure." I say. "You might prove useful in the future." I look at him. His eyes are in between demon and normal. He is scared to die. "You have my word." I add.

He looks at me and his eyes become totally normal. "She is in the basement." He whispers.

I smile. "See I told you that you would be useful in the future. Where is the basement?" I yawn and add a tiny bit more pressure to the blade. A bead of sweat breaks on his head.

"In the back of the casino there is a photo booth that says out of order." I nod. "To go to the basement push the blue button." He says.

"How do I get out?" I ask. I raise an eyebrow as he takes a deep breath.

"You have to hit the red button. Blue for basement, red for return." He says. "But most people who go in never come back out." I look at him. "I know, I am the one who makes sure of it."

"Thank you." I say. "You have been very helpful." I drive my knife into his stomach.Kneeling down next to him I whisper in his ear, "Next time make me swear on my wings. That and God are the only ways to bind me to a promise." I stand up and take my knife.

It is easy to find the photo booth. I slide into the worn wooden bench and hit the blue button. "Blue for basement." I repeat to myself as the photo booth jerks to the side. I walk out and into a large dark room.

A small hunched figure is chained in the middle. "Hey princess." I say weakly, using the name I have called her since the day I met her. "How are things in the royal court today?" I try to keep my voice carefree, and give her something normal to cling to.

"Cassie?" It is Noel's voice, pure and sweet and clear. I can tell that she does not believe I am here. This is more than she had dared allow herself to hope for. "Cassie I am so confused and scared. The man who took me keeps talking about angels and demons and humans and experiments. It is all confusing and scary." I can hear that she is crying and her head bobs up and down. I want to run to her. I want to get down on my hands and knees and explain. I want to beg her to forgive all of the lies Chloe and I have told her. But I don't. I stay where I am, trying to figure out what is guarding her before I advance.

"It's true Princess." I say. "Chloe and I really are angels. And the people who kidnapped you really are demons." I know that her mind is whirling, that she will not believe me. "Princess we wanted to tell you." I say. I pray that the continued use of her nickname will remind her that I am still me. That I have not changed. "But that is against the code that all angels are supposed to live by."

"I always knew you were different." She says quietly. "You tried to hard to be normal to actually be normal." She looks up. "This makes so much sense now."

"We are going to get you out No-girl." I say, switching to Chloe's nickname for her."And then we can forget everything that has happened." I smile to myself. Noel really would forget. I could wipe her memory and to her this would have never happened. She will instead remember going on a road trip with me and Chloe. None of this mess.

"I do not think that is possible." There is a new edge in her voice, a cold steely quality. And it scares me. Noel is bound by 5 different chains. She lifts her head, the ears on the hood popping up a little bit. I walk towards her.

"Stay back Cassie." She says. "I am dangerous." She shifts in the chair she is sitting on, and lowers her head again.

"Noel?" I say slowly. She is in the center of a devil's trap. She lifts her head and lets the hood fall. And I cannot help it, I scream. This thing was not Noel. It looked like Noel and it talked like Noel, but it was not Noel.

The it smiled, it's fangs covered in blood it's dark eyes reflecting my own horrified face. It had several scratches on its cheeks. Then with a visible effort the it shifted back into Noel's hazel eyes and braces.

"I told you I am dangerous. I try to fight it but sometimes I lose." Another shift and I can't help it I flee.Back to the photo booth,back up the stairs and back into Sam's arms. He almost falls over because he was not expecting me to wrap my arms around him. He holds me and strokes my hair uncertainly. I am too busy crying into his tee shirt, and trying not to scream to remember that I am not supposed to have forgiven him.

"What happened?" he asks into my hair. He rocks me gently side to side.

"Noel" I gasp. "Oh Sam! They turned sweet innocent Noel into a monster." I am crying and my chest is heaving up and down. "She is there, in her body but so is a demon. She has to fight for every second of control. Oh my goodness I can't imagine what that poor child is going through." I am crying so hard now that I can't even speak.

"Hey." Sam says gently after my tears are starting to slow down. " We will get her out. We will fix her. We will find a way, no matter what it ho long takes or what it costs. I promise." I look up at him.

"Pinky promise?" I say. He kisses my forehead gently.

"Pinky promise." He agrees. I lay my head on his chest and allow hope to trickle into my fear. Sam had promised we could find a way. I listen to the steadiness of his heart. He is steady, I tell myself, and he does what he says he will.

"You shouldn't promise things that can't be done." I glance up at Dean. I had forgotten he is in the room. He shrugs. "Lying to a young girl is a terrible thing to do." He says ruining my hope. I look at him in disbelief. I shouldn't be, but I am hurt. "That is a real lame move. Don't lie." He was looking at Sam but now looks at me. I gulp. "Oh we may get her out." He stands up from the bed which he had been sitting on and stretches lazily. "But fix her?" He continues. "Nah, that little girl is gone." He smiles as I start crying again. "Bye bye Noel, Bye bye Chloe Bye bye Castiel."

"Dean shut up." Sam says. But I am already running away from the room. The man at the end of the hall tries to stop me, but my dagger through his heart lets him know that I do not want to be stopped. But I am stopped. By a girl on the stairs. She has a round face, thick wavy brown hair and thick rimmed glasses. I glared down the stairs at her. Dean Winchester might be number 1,2,3 o my "hit" list, but this girl was number 4.