In the Light

Chapter Fifty-Seven: To Hell and Back

Ruby sat the guitar case just inside the door. She locked the door quietly, not wanting to wake anyone up. There was a light on behind her, so she went to turn it off. It wasn't until then that she noticed the body on the floor.

"Kevin?" she shouted frantically. She knelt on the ground next to him. "Kevin, wake up." There was blood trickling from his nose. There were dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep. Ruby closed her eyes. "Cas?" When she opened them, Castiel was kneeling on the other side of Kevin. "What's wrong with him?" She was stroking his hair, trying to comfort him even though he wasn't awake.

Cas was focused on Kevin. "Some of it is from lack of sleep and proper nutrition. Most of it is from reading the tablet. We just need to wait for him to wake up." Cas picked him up easily and put him on the couch. Ruby went over and covered him with a blanket.

Ruby saw Kevin's notebook on the table. It was open with a pen on top of a page. Kevin must have been writing when he passed out. In all caps, traced over again and again, were the words "SECOND TRIAL" with only a sentence underneath. It said "An innocent soul must be rescued from Hell and delivered unto Heaven."

"It's the second trial," Ruby said to Cas. She read the line to him. "How are we supposed to do that?"

" It should be very simple. I can teleport us to Hell. An innocent soul could be someone who made a deal. A lot of demon deals are made out of desire for money or power. Some are made out of love and self-sacrifice. Either way, the soul goes to Hell." He explained all this to her very patiently.

"Great. Let's go."

"I'm not an expert on human behavior," Cas said as Ruby wrote a note to Sam "but this seems like a rash decision. One that your family wouldn't approve of."

Ruby put the pen down and looked up at him. "You're my family too. You'll protect me. I just want to get these trials over with." She sighed. "I'll deal with Sam when we get back. Please?" She clasped her hands under her chin and rocked on her feet, grinning.

"You need to be prepared," he warned her. "It's going to be far from pleasant."

• • •

Screams echoed off the high walls covered in grime and blood. Cell doors clanged. People yelled at Ruby and Cas. Some hurled insults while others cried out for help. She couldn't even look at them. Ruby stayed behind Cas. Her hand gripped the back of his trench coat, like a child holding onto her mother for fear of losing her in a crowd.

"You need to understand," Castiel said. "You and I are in physical form, souls inside bodies. These people are just souls. We'll have to perform a spell so that the soul can be in your body with you. Once we get back to Earth, we'll release the soul. Once it reaches Heaven, you say the spell to finish the trial."

"I have no idea what you just said, but okay."

"Over here," Cas said. He walked up to a cell. At first, it seemed like no one was in there. Then, Ruby saw a girl curled up in the corner. Cas put his hand up to the door. There was a bright light, then the door flew open. "We don't have much time."

He walked forward and Ruby followed. She knelt in front of the girl. She was shaking and crying quietly. "Hey. You don't have to be scared. I know this is hard to believe, but everything is about to get better." Ruby stood back up. "The spell?" Cas handed her a knife. "A blood spell again? Great."

"No. Cut your arm, right here." He drew a horizontal line across the inside of her forearm. "You'll have to cut her arm in the same place. Touch your arms together so the blood mixes. Then say these words." He handed her a piece of paper.

"What's her name?" Ruby asked quietly.

"Sarah. Her mother was suffering from cancer when she made the deal."

"Hey, Sarah. Did you hear any of that? My name is Ruby and this is Castiel. He's an angel if you can believe that." Ruby cut her arm. "We're here to take you to Heaven. You never should have been here. You're a good person. All I ask from you is a little of your blood. That's not much, right?"

"Well, this is a new one," Sarah said into her arms. She still hadn't looked up. "Sure. Take my blood. You've taken everything else." She stuck out her arm. Ruby held her hand as she cut.

Ruby gripped Sarah's upper arm so their cuts touched. She said the spell. Sarah started to glow. Her form became blurry until she became an orange mass. She went into the cut on Ruby's arm. It hurt. She could see Sarah's soul bubbling beneath her skin.

"Let's get out of here," Ruby said through gritted teeth.

• • •

"Goodbye, Sarah." Ruby sliced into her arm, hopefully for the last time that day. Her soul looked like an icy blue cloud that peacefully floated into the Heavens.

She put the knife away and saw that Cas was extending a piece of paper towards her. "Right to it then, huh?" She took the paper. "Kah nuh ahm dahr." Pain shot through her like last time, but so much worse. She screamed and fell to the ground. She looked down at her hands and arms which were glowing like last time.

The pain couldn't have lasted thirty seconds, but it felt like so much longer. Cas had his hand on her shoulder. He'd been saying her name. After the pain went away, she said, "I'm fine. It's done. I'm okay." She stood up shakily. Castiel's hand was close to her back, ready to catch her if she fell. "We should probably go back," she paused to take a breath, "to the hotel."

"I think that would be wise."