Fallen

Chapter Five

     "Ca-Castiel?" I stutter. I'm almost starstruck. This is my father. The man I've loathed but never known my whole life.

     Castiel finishes untying my mother, and she springs to her feet and wraps her arms around his neck. He puts his hands on her back and returns the hug. I just stand there dumbfounded. They stop hugging and both turn to me. Mother looks excited, while Castiel wears a look of pity and guilt.

"It's really you?" I say.

     Castiel takes a step closer to me. "Celeste," he begins, "I am truly sorry for... everything."

     "So you really are an angel." I state.

     "Yes," he confirms. "And now, so are you. Well... sort of. That's why I'm here." He takes another step closer to me. "Celeste, it's no longer safe for you to stay here."

     I look at the two bodies on the floor. "They were here for me? Why?"

     Castiel looks at my mother, then back to me. "Let's just say that you're very powerful now that you have your grace," he explains. I am? "And if we don't hurry, more demons will come looking for you, so we need to go." His deep voice is filled with urgency.

"Where are we supposed to go?" I ask. I don't know how to feel. I want to be safe, but I can't just drop everything. I have plans for myself! Am I supposed to just let go of them?

"I can't say exactly. Someone may be listening," he says. "My friends can protect you. They never stay in one place for long, so it will be hard for the demons to find you if you stay with them. And they know how to fight. They're professionals in this kind of thing. They can keep you safe."

I look at Mother. I can't quite read her expression. It looks content but also a little sad. "What about Mom? I can't just leave her."

"You have to, dear," she says. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." She gives me a smile that I assume is supposed to be reassuring, but I don't find it so. Her smile worries me.

"You can't seriously be okay with this?" I say to her.

"I always knew this day would come," she quietly says.

I look back at Castiel. He's giving me an expecting look. I don't have much of a choice. Stay here and get my mother and possibly myself killed, if that's even possible, or go with my long-lost father to be protected by strangers.

     "We really must get going," Castiel says.

     "Okay!" I give in. I calm myself and lower my volume. "Okay. Can I at least get some of my stuff to take with me?"

     Castiel sighs and nods. I grab my bag and my angel blade, that I hadn't realize I dropped, from the floor and start toward my room. "But please hurry," he growls behind me.

     "Yeah, yeah, time is of the essence, I got it," I call back.

     I close my bedroom door behind me and dump out the contents of my large bag onto my bed. I quickly sort through everything, separating the things I think I'll really need from things that are just taking up space. I wipe the demon's blood from my angel blade onto a towel in my room and set it in the necessities pile. Then, I quickly pick out some of my favorite shirts and jeans and shove them into my bag, along with some underwear, my black converse, and everything in the small necessities pile.

After I sling the now heavy bag and my black leather jacket over my shoulder, I jog down the hallway and into the bathroom. I scoop up my toiletries and throw them into my bag. Finally finished packing, I go back into the living room. Mother gives me the look I imagine all parents give their children when they're moving out to live on their own. I set my bag down and hug her as tight as I can.

     "Don't forget to check in, okay?" She says.

     "I won't."

     When we pull away, Mother puts her hands under my ears. "I love you, Cel."

     I pick up my bag and say, "I love you too."

     Mother turns to Castiel. "Keep her safe."

     He nods. "I will."

     I retrieve my cars keys from my bag, and something occurs to me. "Wait, if you can't tell me where we're going, then how are we supposed to drive there? What if someone follows us?"

     Castiel pauses for a moment. "We won't be driving." He puts his hand on my shoulder, and suddenly we're in a cheap motel room where two men sit at a small table.

     "What the hell was that?!" I say to him. My voice startles the two men, and they rise to their feet. "Where are we?"

     The two men's faces are riddled with confusion. The taller of the two has long brown hair and wears a flannel. The shorter man has short, perfectly coiffed dirty blonde hair and wears an old, worn brown leather jacket. They're both very attractive and appear to be in their late 20s or early 30s.

     "Uhhh Cas?" The long-haired one starts "Who's this?"

     "This is," he hesitates. "My daughter." The confusion on the boys' faces turns into deeper, more worried confusion.

     "Your what?" Leather Jacket says. He turns to the other man. "Did I just hear that right?" His voice is deep and, if I'm being honest, kind of sexy.

     "I thought angels couldn't have kids?" Long Hair says.

     "That's not true," Cas says. "An angel can reproduce with a human if he is occupying a vessel."

     "So she's an angel?" Leather Jacket says.

     "No," Long Hair corrects him. "I remember reading about it now. She's a nephilim."

     "There's that word again!" I say, pointing to the man. "Nephilim. What is that?"

     "The offspring of an angel and a human," he answers. "Apparently you."

"Which is why she needs to say with you two," Cas says. "Because of her power... and her sheer existence for that matter, demons will be looking for her. I thought she'd be safest with the two of you."

"Great," Leather Jacket says, returning to his seat. "Babysitting."