Flames || Sequel to Feathers

Chapter 4 - Seven Years

Dean (POV)

It was the middle of the night when Castiel and I set off on our journey. We sneaked out of the house and into the cold night, wrapping up in our warmest clothes and being ready to sleep in my Impala if we got too tired. We didn’t have any money but at the end of the day, Bee could just use his powers to get us a motel room or some food from a vending machine. We pushed the car ourselves to the end of the street before even attempting to start the ignition because I knew that both my father and Michael would hear the ignition going off when I started it and would come out straight away to see what we were doing. That is the curse and gift of a hunter I suppose, you can never really sleep, especially when something dreadful is threatening them.

I drove for hours upon hours, all the way until sunrise while Cas was sleeping in an uncomfortable position in the front seat. I had tried insisting on him catching some shut eye in the back but he had said he wanted to sit up front with me. I had realised that he was 18 years old today but a bit too late and wanted to buy him something special but due to the circumstances I had not enough time to actually get him anything. Plus, with only about twenty bucks to my name I couldn’t exactly get him anything special anyway. I sighed as I pulled into a supermarket car park and rubbed my eyes tiredly when I finally stopped the car. Cas still hadn’t woken up so I quietly got out the car and locked the doors, walking into the big supermarket where I could hopefully find something. The store was empty so it was easy to move around in, quickly dodging down all the aisles trying to find something that my boy would like. I got to the art section and quickly noticed some paint pallets, drawing pencils and brushes. I grabbed these and a paint notebook before adding it all up in my head. $31.70… shit.

I counted my money and saw that I only had $20 in cash scrunched in my back pocket. I checked the rest of my pockets but couldn’t find any other change that I could pay for the whole set with. I looked back at all the objects in my basket before looking around the empty WAL*MART too see if anyone else had seen me. I gulped and crouched down on the floor before grabbing the notebook and stuffing it under my waistband of the back of my jeans. I stood back up and looked around again before picking back up the basket and walking over to the cashiers. But there was none. I frowned slightly and looked around again but there was no one in sight.

“Oh come on…” I muttered under my breath impatiently, craning my head to look over any aisles.

“Can I help sir?” I voice I recognised said I turned back to where the cashier is mean to sit to see Zandriel sat there, smirking. My mouth dropped open when I saw the two bloody horns sticking out of her head and I backed away slowly from her. “I see you’ve noticed my little deformity… they’re really that noticeable?”

“What are you?” I whispered more to myself and she snorted.

“I thought it would be clear by now my sweet. I’m a devil, NOT a demon. Don’t even bother calling me a demon.., a devil. Fallen angel blah blah blah.” She stuck out her tongue for extra affect and curled her finger around a fiery red sliver of a tail that was obviously coming from her back.

“You have a tail.” I say stupidly and she grimaces.

“Annoying little bastard to be honest. You wouldn’t actually expect devils to have horns and tails because it’s too cliché but unfortunately, the cliché is a hundred per cent correct.”

“You have a tail.” I say again and she raises her eyebrows at me and leans forward, resting her head on her hand.

“What you got in the basket?” She asked, changing the subject off her appearances which was strange because she used to love people commenting on how beautiful she looked and how magnificent her wings were. She was clearly ashamed by what she had or was turning into.