The "L" Word

Happiness Escapes You Dean Winchester

          The door was on the South side as Crowley had said and Dean approached it slowly, listening.  The alley in which it faced was dead quiet.  “You, stay watch here.”  He told Charlie.  He reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a large blade.  “Take this.”  He pressed it into her hand, forcing her to wrap her hand around it.  “Stay here.”  His words were fierce and she nodded.  “Of course.”  Cas went to the door and opened it slowly.  He stepped back so Dean and Sam could enter before following them inside.  The hall was narrow and dark with one flight leading up to the main floor and one leading down to the basement.  “I’ll check the basement.”  Cas whispered.  Dean nodded and started up the stairs with Sam and rounded the corner at the top.  They were on a small landing with another staircase leading to a second floor and a door with a small window leading out onto the main floor.  Dean had to stand on his toes just to see out the window so he motioned for Sam to look.  “It looks like a church meeting.  There are chairs and people are facing the back.  Has to be close to a hundred people.  I see the girls from the pictures, they’re speaking to the crowd.  I can’t hear what they’re saying from here though.”  A hand on Dean’s shoulder made him jump and he spun around to find himself facing Cas.  “Dude, I almost stabbed you!”  Dean hissed.  “I’m sorry.  I couldn’t tell you I was coming up.  The basement appears to be empty.”  Cas whispered.  Sam grabbed his brother’s shoulder.  “Someone’s coming!”  Dean grabbed Cas and flattened him against the wall on one side of the door as Sam did the same on the other side.  The door opened and to Dean’s surprise one of The Furies came onto the landing.  Dean raised the dagger the moment he saw her and swung but she saw him at the last second and spun out of the way.  As Sam swung his own blade, useless as it was, she lifted a hand and without even touching him sent him flying.  “Ah, the mighty Winchesters.  I heard about you.”  She spat at Dean as he regained his footing and came at her a second time.  She hit him hard across the face and he felt the crack as his jaw broke.  He slammed into his brother just as Sam was getting to his feet.  She spun on Cas who had picked up the dagger Dean had dropped.  “I know who they are, but who are you?”  Her eyes narrowed as she took a defensive stance, facing off against him.  “Cas, no.”  Dean’s words were garbled as he strained to speak through his damaged mouth.  He was clutching the side of his face and when Cas looked at him he could see the fear in Dean’s eyes.  He brought his attention back to The Fury standing before him.  “I am an angel of the Lord.  I am Castiel.”  Cas said calmly.  “Pity your father abandoned you and your pathetic humans.”  She sneered.  Cas knew better than to take his eyes off her.  She took a quick step to the right, aiming to rush at him from the side without the dagger but he anticipated that and switched the dagger to his free hand, thrusting it as she slammed into him.  As the blade pierced her sternum she let out a gasp0.  Dean and Sam both had to cover their eyes as she burst into flames, collapsing into nothing more than a pile of ashes at Cas’ feet.  Cas stood with the dagger looking down at the ashes until he heard Dean groaning at the other end of the landing.  “Dean!”  He hurried the hunter’s side seeing the damage the Goddess had done when she’d struck him.  “No.”  Dean tried to push Cas’ hand away as he placed a hand against the side of his face.  “Let me heal you.”  Cas spoke forcefully and before Dean could tell him no a second time he felt the energy begin to flow through him, and the pain was almost immediately gone.  Dean grabbed his hand and for a moment Cas thought he was angry but there were tears in Dean’s eyes.  “Don’t do that!  Don’t waste your grace on me, do you understand?”  Cas stared back and for the first time Dean saw defiance in his eyes.  “It’s not wasting if it’s for you.”  “Damn you.”  Dean whispered but there was no anger in his words.  Cas looked at Sam.  “Are you alright?”  He asked.  Sam nodded.  “It’s just bruises.  Not like I haven’t had a million of those before.”  Cas lowered his hand from Dean’s face and offered him back the dagger.”  “Can they still perform the ritual to free Eris if there are only two of them left?”  Sam asked.  Cas shrugged.  “I don’t know for sure.  There is power in the number three, so it might take more effort to finish it.”  He theorized.  Dean walked over to the pile of ashes on the floor.  Something in it caught his attention.  He crouched and with one finger moved some of the ash aside until he found what had caught his attention.  “What is it?”  Sam asked, leaning over him to get a look.  “It’s that purity ring all those girls were wearing.”  Dean replied as he picked the ring up.  He turned it around in his fingers trying to read the inscription on it but it wasn’t in English.  “Cas, can you read this?”  He asked, holding the ring out.  Cas took it and studied it for a moment.  The expression on his face told both Sam and Dean that he knew exactly what it said.  “It’s an entrapment spell.  It binds the Goddesses to the person that made this ring.  The spell is written in Latin.”  “Does that mean something?  That it wasn’t written in Greek?”  Dean asked.  Cas’ brow was furrowed as he considered what the meaning behind the change in writing meant.  “My guess is that whoever cast the spell in the first place is not fluent in ancient Greek, but they knew Latin.”  Sam said, voicing what Cas had been thinking.  “And why is that important?”  Dean pressed.  “Because I don’t think just an ordinary human called The Furies.  I think it was someone else.”  Cas said.  Both Sam and Dean turned to look at him with an unnerving intensity.  “Please don’t say more Gods.”  Dean pleaded.  “I don’t sense any other Gods nearby.”  Again with Cas’ literal answers.  It was normal now though and they ignored it.  “Is it demons?”  Sam asked.  Cas didn’t know how to answer that.  He’d been loath to admit that many of his senses had started to grow dull as the grace inside him began to dim.  He didn’t sense any demons, though that didn’t mean there weren’t any around.  Dean stood up, dusting his hands off and waiting for an answer from him.  Cas looked down at the ring again and realized that there was a second engraving on the inside of the ring.  “I know exactly who made this.”  He announced suddenly.  When his eyes met Dean’s again there was excitement in them.  “Come on then, the suspense is killing me!”  Dean said.  Instead of answering him Cas went to the window in the door and stood up on the tips of his toes to peek out.  Why the doors had been designed with such high windows was beyond him but as he scanned the crowd he caught sight of the person he’d been looking for.  “Come on Cas, who is it man?”  Sam pressed.  Cas pointed across the room to a man in a black suit.  “He’s a warlock.  He did it.”  Sam felt his stomach do a flip.  “Uh, Dean, you’re never going to believe who’s sitting out there right now.”  Dean walked over and they moved aside so he could look out of the window.  “Son of a bitch, is that Don Stark?”  “Where Don is you can bet Maggie is too.”  Sam said peering over his brother’s head, looking for signs of the she-bitch.  “I don’t see her.”  Dean said.  He turned to look at Cas.  “Is that what you meant earlier when you said you felt like it was someone different?  Not Crowley?”  He asked.  Cas nodded.  “I hate witches.”  Dean muttered.  “You’re not the only one.”  Sam agreed.  “So that’s how they knew we were here.  Crowley didn’t rat us out after all.”  Sam suddenly realized.  “I still don’t trust the little rat.”  Dean growled.  All pretenses of whispering had been tossed out the window several minutes ago.  The blonde from the pictures was glancing toward the door.  Dean ducked down before she saw him, or at least he hoped she hadn’t seen him.  “Dude, another one is coming.”  Sam whispered and again they found themselves flattening against the walls, trying to not be obvious.  The door started to open and Dean tensed with the dagger raised, ready to stab whoever came through.  “Megaera?  What’s taking you so long?”  A woman’s voice called out.  She wasn’t completely opening the door so as yet she had not noticed Dean.  She pushed the door open a little more, stepping onto the landing and then she did see him.  She raised her hands defensively and for a moment Dean hesitated.  He had expected an immediate attack, not for a Goddess to show fear.  “No!  Please!  She cried.  She saw the ashes on the floor and made a mewling noise as she fell to the floor beside them.  “Megaera!”  She sobbed.  She looked up at Dean with a mixture of anger and pain.  “This is not our doing Winchester!  We are not in control here!  Why did you kill her?”  “She attacked me, broke my jaw, tried to kill my brother and me.”  He replied, confused by this one’s reaction upon seeing her sister dead.  She stood up again.  “You speak quite well for someone with a broken jaw.”  She spat at him.  Dean looked to Cas and then she noticed him as well.  “An angel, I should have known.”  She scoffed.  “Alecto I presume.”  Cas said.  Her head raised ever so slightly at the sound of her name.  She was beautiful in a dark way.  Blonde hair piled up on her head in big bouncy curls, bronze skin, dark brown eyes.  She looked more like an angel than Cas did, but there was a darkness in her that even Sam and Dean could see.  “How on earth did Zeus produce such bitches for daughters?”  Dean asked.  Cas shot him a warning look but it was too late.  Alecto turned on him shooting one hand out and catching Dean hard in the ribs.  He felt them snap as he flew backwards for the second time.  He hit the floor and slammed into the far wall.  Alecto was already heading straight at Cas, and he was backing up into the corner trying to get away from her.  He turned toward the stairs meaning to race down them and out the door but she caught him by the front of his jacket and lifted him in the air as though he weighed nothing.  “You cannot stop us, he will not let it happen!”  She hissed in his face before lifted him over her head and throwing him down the stairs.  “Cas!”  Dean wheezed, unable to scream through the pressure from his broken ribs.  Sam had the dagger (Dean did not remember dropping it yet again) and he rushed at the Goddess before she had recovered from having thrown Cas, striking her in the side and slamming her into the far wall.  He pressed up with the dagger, tearing through the fabric of her dress and slicing into the flesh between her ribs, driving it home, straight into her heart.  She gasped in surprise before following the way of her sister before her and turning into a pile of ash on the floor.  Sam lost his footing and fell face first.  “Cas!”  Dean was struggling to get to his feet, one hand clutching the railing while the other pressed against his broken ribs.  “Dean, stay there, I’ll check on him.”  Sam told him before hurrying down the stairs.  Charlie had heard the commotion and opened the door to find Cas lying crumpled on his back at the foot of the stairs, one leg bent at an unnatural angle beneath him.  “Oh my God Cas!”  She gasped, kneeling beside him.  Sam was there a moment later kneeling on the other side.  “You ok man?”  He asked worriedly.  Cas looked up at him and in that moment Sam knew he was not alright.  “Is Dean…hurt?”  He managed to ask and coughed, dark red blood darkening his lips.  “Dean will live.  Come on Cas, heal yourself.”  Sam pleaded.  Cas closed his eyes and willed his grace to heal him.  It wasn’t working.  “I can’t Sam.”  His voice was barely above a whisper.  “Cas?  Cas?”  Dean was staggering down the stairs toward them.  “No, no!”  Dean collapsed to his knees next to Charlie, nearly falling over onto Cas before she caught him.  Dean was using his free hand to grasp at the front of Cas’ jacket.  “Heal yourself damn it!”  He was begging.  A tear slipped down Cas’ cheek as he shook his head.  “I can’t Dean, my grace…”  “Don’t you say that!  Don’t you dare give up!”  Dean’s vision began to blur as his own tears rose up and spilled down his cheeks.  Cas brought a hand up, placing it over Dean’s, even dying his touch was calming to Dean.  He collapsed against Charlie, the pain becoming too much, but it wasn’t from his ribs, it was from his heart breaking.  Cas’ hand grew slack as the energy it took to hold it there began to drain away.  “Dean…I love you.  I’ve always loved you.”  His voice was barely above a whisper now and Dean had to lean down to hear him.  “No Cas, please, I can’t lose you, not again, not forever.”  On the landing above there was the sound of voices as the door to the main floor landing opened and people came through.  All that commotion Sam was surprised they hadn’t come earlier.  “There!”  A woman yelled.  Sam and Dean both looked up to see Don Stark standing at the top of the stairs looking down at them with a smug and satisfied look on his face.  There were people they recognized from the photographs standing behind him along with the last Fury.  Dean could not fathom what they had ever done to Don or Maggie that would make him want to bring an evil Goddess out of her prison and give her reign on earth, and then something began to dawn on him.  “Sam, he wasn’t raising Eris so she could take over hell, he’s raising her so he could take over!”  He hissed at his brother.  Don was walking down the stairs casually, that self-righteous smile never leaving his lips.  “Sam and Dean Winchester, so nice to see you boys again!”  He said when he reached where they stood.  The last remaining Goddess stood at the stop of the stairs glaring down at them.  “Why would you do this?”  Sam asked, not wanting Don to know that they were on to him.”  Don looked genuinely surprised by the question.  “Why not?”  He asked back.  Dean made like he was going to lunge at the Warlock but Charlie caught him by the arm and pulled him back.  “Dean, no.”  She said softly.  “I’m going to kill you.”  There was murder in Dean’s voice, so raw and full of rage that Don was momentarily taken aback.  “It’s nothing personal boys, I just needed a decoy and you did exactly as I expected you would.”  He looked down at Cas who was barely hanging on to life, looking up at him with those pale blue eyes and felt no remorse whatsoever.  He turned as though to head back up the stairs when Cas, with the last bit of strength he had grabbed Don’s ankle.  “What are you doing?”  Don asked, alarmed as his entire body began to tingle.  He managed to jerk backwards, forcing the dying angel to release him.  He started back up the stairs only to find himself standing face to face with the last remaining Fury Goddess.  There was murder in her eyes as well, though it was solely directed toward Don Stark.  “What are you doing Tisiphone?”  He asked nervously.  “My sisters died because of you.  No one else is going to die here.”  She snarled and he backed up a few steps.  “You are under my bidding!  Stand down!”  He shouted, though there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice.  She was advancing on him and he was stuck backing up down the stairs again toward where Dean and Sam were now standing.  He spun around, a hand shooting out and Dean suddenly felt as though his lungs were being clamped in a vice and he doubled over.  “Dean!”  Sam caught him before he fell and just as suddenly, the grip on his lungs was gone.  He tried to gasp but his ribs wouldn’t let him.  Sam looked up to see Don staring down at him, noting the look of surprise on the man’s face, and the hand that seemed to be protruding through his chest.  As they watched, Tisiphone tore Don Stark’s heart from his chest.  His body slid to the floor, landing face down near Cas’ feet. Dean was vaguely aware of the sound of people running and screaming and of his brother pushing him out of the way.  The last remaining Goddess was coming down the steps and Sam put himself between her and Dean who was once more on his knees at Cas’ side.  Charlie had backed up but was still kneeling next to Dean with one hand on Cas’ shoulder.  Tisiphone stopped when she reached the bottom of the stairs though, the murderous look on her face fading away to be replaced by one of pain and misery.  “You killed my sisters.”  There was so much raw emotion in her voice that Sam was taken aback.  “We didn’t know.”  He said, lamely.  She nodded.  “Humans never do.”  She looked down at the angel on the floor.  “He’s dying.”  She said matter-of-factly.  “Yes, he is.”  Sam confirmed.  “Angels can die?”  She asked, turning her dark eyes on Sam again.  He didn’t want to admit what could or could not kill an angel so he simply replied softly “This one can.”  She appeared to consider his words for a moment before nodding.  “Death is inevitable.”  Sam was unsure how to respond to that.  She was holding her hand out to him and he saw that she had the dagger.  He realized that he must have dropped it on the landing above.  It lay across the palm of her hand and when he didn’t immediately take it she reached out, lifting his hand and pressing the handle of the blade into it, urging him to take hold of it.  Her fingers were cool to the touch, sending little shocks of energy through him.  “I wish to join my sisters but I cannot do it myself.”  She said.  He realized what she was asking of him.  “Take the urn and hide it away.  We were not the only ones that could open it.”  She warned him.  “Where are the other girls?”  He asked.  She nodded toward the basement.  “There’s a subbasement.  That’s why this place was chosen.  It’s behind the shelves at the back.”  She replied.  “Where’s Maggie Stark?”  Dean managed to ask.  “Don killed her.  She tried to overthrow him, to thwart his plans, and so he murdered her.”  She smiled sadly.  “We got a bad name long ago for things that were not done by our own volition.  It was demanded of us to spread pain and misery.  Our father has a twisted sense of superiority over humans.  I never wanted to bring chaos, misery, death to anyone.”  She nodded at Sam.  She was ready.  He didn’t hesitate.  He thrust the blade into her chest looking away as he did so.  There was one last gasp and she was no more, just a pile of ashes falling to the floor.  “Sam.”  Charlie said, her voice barely above a whisper.  He turned to see his brother bent completely over as sobs racked his body.  “Cas, no, please don’t go, please don’t die.”  Dean was chanting the words, trying by sheer force of will to make Cas live,  It was futile though as Cas now lay limp, his blue eyes now staring off into the distance, seeing nothing anymore.  “Dean.”  Sam said softly.  He touched his brother’s shoulder, intending to try to get him to his feet but Dean pushed him away.  “Don’t touch me.”  Dean gasped.  Sam looked to Charlie seeing her face blur through his own tears.  Cas had been his friend too, and he felt the crushing weight of knowing that they had lost yet another friend, another member of their ever shrinking family.  “Oh God…”  His voice came out ragged and he wiped furiously at his eyes.  “I’ll go see if the urn is still up there.”  Charlie said, getting to her feet and hurrying up the stairs.  Sam moved around Cas’ body to kneel opposite Dean.  “We have to take him home.”  Dean managed to say.  “Of course man.”  Sam told him.  Charlie appeared at the top of the steps a moment later, her arm wrapped around the shoulder of the girl that had been tied to the sacrificial table.  “It’s gone.”  She said.  That was the least of their problems right now.  What was important was helping his brother survive this, and that was all Sam wanted, all he needed at this moment.