28. An Unholy Hell of a Mess
Our location has moved from an abandoned warehouse to a church. Dean's finished up spray-painting warding onto the floor. Sam's got a wooden cross held in his hands. And Rowena...she just lurks in the background. Crowley in the meantime, he's gone off to fetch the Horn.
"I hate this," I grumble.
"You and me both," Sam says to me.
I look around to find our King of Hell still missing. "Okay, where the hell is Crowley? I mean, we're essentially all set up."
"Yeah," says Dean, "I mean, he's the one that boxed us into doing this. You'd think he'd have the decency to..."
"Show up?" says our demonic king in question. "He does. Because without the bait, well...a trap really isn't a trap, is it?"
I scoff, seeing the so-called Horn in Crowley's grasp. "That's it? Doesn't look like much, does it?"
"First impressions can be deceiving, Josie. For instance, I once thought of you as a naïve girl who was going to die within a month of reuniting with your brothers. You proved me wrong, took you longer to bite the dust." I just glare at him. "Oh, never mind. Bad analogy."
"Good thing you're not the King of Analogies."
"For the record, we still think this is a bad idea," Dean cuts in. "We should be using Lucifer, not icing him."
"I'm aware," says Crowley. "So I'll be standing right here should you hesitate. The hand that giveth can so quickly taketh away."
"Yes, we getteth it."
"So, Mummy, you were telling us your fascinating tale of resurrection," Crowley addresses Rowena. "But you never did say exactly where you'd been this whole time."
"Same as you, Fergus," Rowena says in the familiar Scottish lilt of hers. "Hiding. Once the Dark Prince knew I was alive, I wouldn't be."
"No mucking about like last time. The warding and the holy fire won't keep an archangel but for a moment. If he shows up at all."
"Oh, he'll show," Dean insists. "He's too hungry to take Amara out, and we've got the blaster to do it." He lights up a match before tossing it into the potion for the spell. "In nomine magni dei nostril Satanas, introibo ad altare Domini Inferi. I summon you to make an offer. The weapon by which its bearer can crush the Darkness forever."
Thunder crashes overhead. At first, I don't see him when I initially look around. But the second I see the familiar trench coat, I have to remind myself that this may be Cas's vessel, but it's not the angel that I love.
"Sam, now!" I yell.
Sam lights up a match, dropping it onto the ring of holy oil we'd laid out earlier. The flames shoot up, encasing Lucifer. He greets us with a smirk, and I feel my heart contract painfully inside of me. How the Devil has warped the vessel's expressions and turned them into something unholy and sinister.
"I'm sorry," says Lucifer. "Your prayer implied that I'd be...joining the team, but I'm just not feeling the warm and fuzzy here." His eyes fall onto the Horn. "Wow. There it is. Powered up by Dad himself. Well, that bad boy plus me...That ought to take her out all right." He claps his hands together, rubbing them. "Let's get to it. Douse the flames." As if he's thinks we're his slaves, he snaps his fingers impatiently. None of us move. "Or don't?"
Nearby, Dean slits his hand, pressing it against a spell etched onto the wall closest to him. Lucifer starts to shake. Cas. Sam grabs my arm, he's noticed that I twitched to run towards the holy fire circle.
"Cas!" Dean calls. "Castiel, show yourself!"
The shaking stops for the angel inside of the holy fire. His eyes look different...tired, dazed, confused. He's breathing heavily. "Dean?"
"Cas."
"Cassie," I cry out. His head turns to me, and I feel the tears down my face. "Oh, Cassie." He looks at me in confusion, almost like he's not sure where he is.
"What are you doing?" he asks. "What's...What's going on?"
"Cas, listen to me," Dean says. "We don't have a lot of time, okay? You have got to..."
"Cas!" I shout as his body shakes again. It seems like Lucifer wants to fight for control. Cas, come back to us. Come back to me. Please. Fight him off. You told me to fight, now I'm telling you to. I know you can beat him.
"Castiel, show yourself!" Dean demands.
But the gleeful laughter coming out of Cas's body certainly doesn't belong to him.
"Oh-hoo-hoo-hoo!" Lucifer drawls. "Whoo! Uh, he's got to what? You guys...ooh, you almost had me there for a minute, but these mail-order spells...they're just not what they're cracked up to be, are they?"
"Cas, expel him!" I shout desperately. "You got to kick Lucifer out! Do you hear me?!"
"Honestly, I think he's happy with the arrangement. I mean, he did invite me in and all, Jo-Jo."
"Get out of him, you son of a bitch!"
"Jo, hey!" Sam says. He has to physically hold me back now.
"Shouldn't you be on the bench, anyway? In your condition?"
"Believe me, there's nothing wrong with me!"
"If that were the case, then little brother Sammy wouldn't have to hold you back. Then again, you must think he's holding you back so you don't do something foolish, which you're really close to doing."
"Cas!" Dean calls desperately.
"Cas!" Lucifer mocks him, which only ignites the anger in me further. "Hand over the weapon. What do you say? Or we can just wait for this warding to fail and I'll take it."
"No..." I whisper in horror. Our time's running out. The warding is beginning to stop.
"Bloody hell," I hear Crowley mutter.
I jump back into Sam as I see red smoke fly into the air, over the holy fire, and into Lucifer's mouth. My heart skips a beat. I look to see Crowley's body on the floor. Did he just? I look at Cas in worry, who's body is standing, but not moving. His eyes are closed. It's like his body is being held up by invisible strings.
It's a very disturbing image.
"Is there anything we can do?" I ask hysterically.
"Wait," Dean says quietly.
"So now Cas has Lucifer and Crowley in there with him." I rub my forehead. Come on, Cassie. Come home. Please. Crowley's coming to the rescue. Those are words I most definitely never thought I would be thinking, ever.
The time passes. The holy fire continues to burn. No movement comes from Cas. Crowley's body lays slumped. Sam, Dean, Rowena, and I are forced to wait in silence.
"What's taking so long?" I say.
"You know, he's been gone a long time," Sam agrees, rubbing my arms. "I mean, what do you think is going on?"
"I don't know," Dean admits. "Maybe Cas isn't willing to play ball. I mean, you said it yourself...he wanted this."
"Can't you people do anything right?!" Rowena snaps at the three of us. "Whilst all this dithering goes on, we're losing time! Look...the warding's beginning to fail."
"Come on, Cas," I whisper under my breath. My ears pick up a sizzling noise. I turn my head, and my eyes become big.
Crowley's body is being written on. The writing on his forehead: Help me.
"Time for another plan," Sam mutters. He raises the cross at Lucifer. "Exorcixzamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii. Omnis legio! Omnis con potestas, omnis incurisio infernalis adversarii. Omnis legio! Omnis congregation et secta diabolica! Ergo, Draco maledicte et omnis, legio diabloica, adirumaus te!"
As Sam continues the chant, Dean tosses holy water onto Lucifer. Suddenly, red smoke exits from the vessel and shoots back into Crowley's body. He gasps awake.
"Crowley," I murmur.
"Useless. Lucifer's hold on him is too strong."
"The fire!" Rowena shrieks.
But Lucifer has come back to play.
"Ah. Trick me? You lied to me. You know, I could have been your warrior." He smirks. "Ah. Who needs ya? Well. It's just like Crowley to leave right when the party's getting started. Have a seat." My brothers and I find ourselves being sat without our consent. "As much as I get a giggle out of you three, and I do, there comes a time when every relationship has...run its course. So..."
Cas. Cas, please. Don't let what Crowley said be true. Lucifer can't win. You got to beat him. My thoughts are all about Cas as Lucifer has me and my brothers in an invisible chokehold.
A hole is suddenly blasted into the church. Bricks and debris go flying, which distracts Lucifer. My brothers and I sputter for breath, but we're still stuck in our seats. When she enters through the hole in the church, I know exactly who she is.
Amara. The Darkness.
She looks too beautiful to have such a terrible name. Her dress is black, with a plunging neckline. Her eyes are the color of molten chocolate, and her hair looks way too perfect to be real.
"Oh, Lucifer," she says. Even her voice is soft and gentle, probably the opposite of her personality. "Dear nephew, my, how you've changed. I was tracking her," Amara looks to Rowena, "when she left my side."
Figures. Rowena would suck up to an all-powerful being like Amara.
"You were safely sealed away," says Lucifer. "You're gonna wish you'd stayed there." He holds the Horn of Joshua, and I watch as it glows red. He aims the Horn at Amara, and a white light blasts at her. I shy away from the brightness as it envelops her.
But when the light dies, Amara still remains standing. Unscathed. Not a scratch on her body. Not even a tear on her dress.
With a hand, she pulls Lucifer towards her. In the process, he drops the Horn. Amara cups Lucifer's face with one hand. All I can do is watch the scene tensely.
"I think you and I need to have a nice, long chat," she says.
"Cas!" Dean yells.
Amara turns to look at my brother. There's something in her eyes that I can't quite make out. It's not anger, but still a strong emotion.
When I feel control come back to me, the first thing I do is stand up. Another bright light envelops the room, and when it dies down, Lucifer and Amara are nowhere to be found. The force of the sight forces me to sit down. I put my hand in front of my mouth. This can't be happening. Now Amara has Lucifer.
The tears that fall are tears of defeat. Of loss. We were so close. Now, Cas is gone, in enemy hands.
**Under normal circumstances, I love Lucifer to pieces. But stop. Hurting. My. Precious. Babies. Emotionally. Especially Jo.
Every time she wishes for Cas back, it breaks what's left of my heart.**