We slaughtered what was left of Malachi's faction. So much wasted, celestial light. Popping out of existence like bubbles.
A victory hardly worth celebrating.
Necessary evil to keep fighting.
It took some time to find our way. It was the middle of nowhere and the Queen had been abandoned back at the motel. Along the way, fate guided us to find the long lost trench coat. It just...showed up, hanging outside on someone's clothesline. We were complete again.
A phone was most important. Dean needed to know everything we learned. Our mobiles were taken and destroyed, so yet again we had to find a pay phone. Something harder and harder to find in the modern world.
I huddled inside the booth with him, tired from all the walking, and sat on the tiny chair while he dialed the number.
"Yeah?"
"Dean, I don't have a lot of time, so listen. The leader of the opposition is an angel named Malachi."
"How do you know that?"
"He had us...We were..tortured but...we got away."
"How?"
He looked at me. Mixed feelings of regret and resolve.
"I...I did what I had to. I became what they've become. A barbarian.."
I reached out a comforting touch. We both hated the death.
"What are you- Cas where are you?"
"Its better we stay away. They're gonna want us even more now. But we're gonna be alright. I, uh..I got my grace back. Well not mine, per se, but it'll do."
"Wait you're-you're back? You got your mojo?"
"Im not sure...but I am an angel."
"And..you're ok with that?"
I felt his conflict. Despite the hardship, he enjoyed humanity. The food. The sleep. The sense of hard won accomplishment. But the helplessness ate at him. He was at least pleased that now had the power to protect his family again.
"If we're going to war...I need to be ready."
Even just listening in, I sensed Dean mourning what he hoped for us.
"Cas..."
"Dean, there's more..."
"What?"
"Didn't you say Sam was healed by an angel named Ezekiel?"
"Uh... Yeah, why? "
"Ezekiel is dead."
"What!?"
"He died when the angels fell. Whoever healed Sam is an imposter. I thought you should know."
There was a pause. Only Dean and I fully understood the gravity of it. Up until now, I didn't trust Cas not to blow the whistle and spook the mystery angel. So I didn't tell him.
"Ok...I'll um..I'll check into it. You do what you gotta do. Look after Haze."
"Of course."
They hang up. Castiel looked to me with uncertainty heavy on his heart.
Strange to be blocked by his walls again. Only feeling the rhythms but not hearing the words. Can't push in any further. Trapped in the skull. I thought maybe he just liked to tell me things himself.
At least I could see the pretty lights again. The center of it didn't fit. It was all wrong. But the truth of him was alive again. Poor Pretty Bird...Now I could see the dead wings.
"Are you with me, or do you want to go home?" he asked me. Both were the wrong and right answers. He just needed to know.
I stood up and straightened his coat over his chest where the missing tie was supposed to be.
"Don't ask stupid questions."
