A Moment of Weakness (Chapter 11)
Over the next few days, Crowley stopped by to give them any news they could. It wasn’t anything useful in regards to Belial, but knowing what the Leviathans were up to was always good information. It made it easier to stay out of their way until after they dealt with Belial.
Everyone noticed that whenever Crowley would appear, Castiel made himself scarce. But he would never disappear without sending Dean a look that he was all right.
Most days, everyone had a book in their hands trying to find ways to locate Belial. So far, they had found nothing helpful. Dean reached for his cup and found that he had finished his water.
Castiel saw that Dean’s glass was empty and stood up to get them both a refill.
Dean had turned the page on the book he was reading when he felt something heavy in the living room.
“There is an unbelievable amount of feathers in this house.”
As soon as Dean heart the voice, he stood, grabbed his gun from the coffee table, took the safety off, and pointed it at the source. “Meg, what are you doing here?”
“So angry, Dean.”
Dean looked around and saw that Sam, Bobby, and Jody also had guns pointed at the newcomer. The angels had also dropped the books they were reading. “There are half a dozen people in this room that can kill you in the blink of an eye. So, before you say your goodbyes why are you here?”
“Dean, I felt…” Castiel’s voice trailed off when he saw the extra person in the room. He swallowed hard. “What are you doing here?”
Dean walked over to Castiel and blocked him from Meg. He looked at Castiel’s face and saw he looked like he was ready to throw up. “Cas?”
“Clarence, I’ve missed you.”
“The sentiment is not mutual.”
“We need to talk,” she said, keeping eye contact with Castiel even though she knew he wanted nothing more than to look away.
“What could we possibly talk about?”
“You aren’t talking to him alone,” Michael and Dean said.
“They won’t allow me out of their sight.” Castiel was grateful for that. He would not be able to stay in a room alone with a demon for very long.
“At least tell them to lower their weapons,” Meg said, crossing her arms over her chest. If they were going to talk, she didn’t want someone to get an itchy trigger finger and accidentally shoot her.
“Half of them don’t have weapons to lower,” Castiel said. He looked at everyone and saw that they would readily get rid of the demon if Castiel felt threatened. He put a hand up. “It’s all right,” he said. He felt that if Meg was foolish enough to stay in the cabin knowing that everyone had the ability to kill her, he would give the demon a moment of his time. No matter how sick it made him feel.
Reluctantly the humans put down their weapons. The angels relaxed, showing that they wouldn’t kill her just yet.
“State your business,” Michael replied.
“Do we not get to catch up, Clarence?” Meg asked with a smile. She knew how uncomfortable her presence made the angel. “It’s been awhile.” She brought hand up to mouth and rubbed her fingers along her lips.
“Why are you here?” Castiel asked. He stepped around Dean to stand next to him. He knew he couldn’t carry a conversation with the demon from behind Dean.
“It should have been me to touch your grace, Clarence.”
Dean pulled the demon knife out of his waistband and was more than ready and willing to kill Meg. He looked at Castiel and did not understand why he wasn’t angrier about what she said. “Meg, you better shut your mouth before this knife ends up in your chest.”
Meg smirked and looked to the Ruler of Hell. “Would you let them, Lucifer?” She felt protected knowing that Lucifer was in the same room as her.
“Yes.”
“What?” Meg said, shocked.
“Demons have no right to attempt to touch an angel’s grace. Especially Castiel’s.”
Dean was surprised and confused at how deep Lucifer’s loyalties ran in regards to Castiel. He put the knife down knowing that if Meg tried something, she’d be dead before Dean could even think about stabbing her.
He did enjoy the look Lucifer’s response put on Meg’s face. “So, Meg, before someone in this room kills you, tell us something useful.”
“Just know that Belial is on to your little mission. He knows you’re looking for him. You won’t find him unless he wants you to find him.”
“We have our ways,” Gabriel said.
“He knows that,” Meg replied. She shrugged. What Gabriel said didn’t affect her. “He’s stayed hidden from you this long.”
Lucifer sauntered up to the demon. “Since you have such a connection to him, Meg, you give him this message.” He traced a finger along the side of her face.
“What message?” she said as her body shivered.
Lucifer pulled his hand away when he saw how the demon reacted. “Tell him we’ll find him. And soon. Because that is what our Father wants.” He smiled his sadistic smile.
“God wants you to get some revenge for little Clarence, here?” She looked around Lucifer to make eye contact with Castiel again.
Since her attention was on Castiel, she didn’t see Lucifer’s hand shoot up and clench her throat. She gasped for a breath as Lucifer’s hand tightened.
“Lucifer!” Michael shouted. He didn’t want his brother to kill one of the only sources they had to Belial.
Lucifer slowly released his hold on Meg. He stepped back, giving the demon the chance to leave. When she stayed put, he spoke. “Pass along the message, and you live.”
Meg nodded, with a hand massaging her throat. She swallowed hard and winced at how much her throat hurt. “By the way, he wants you to know to keep that one close.”
“That one?” Michael asked.
“Clarence,” she replied.
“They’re coming after him again?” Dean asked.
She looked at Dean and glared. “You knew they would,” she spat. “Like they’d let him out of their grasp so easily.”
“Do you know why they want him so badly?” Gabriel asked.
“No, I don’t,” Meg said. “And I’m not lying. There are things that aren’t privileged information to lowly demons like me. That being said, I did my part. I’ll pass along the message if I happen to come across Belial.” She smirked at Castiel. “See you around, Clarence.” She disappeared from the room with a snap of her fingers.
As soon as Meg was gone, Dean looked at Castiel. “Cas?” he whispered when he saw the panic in his eyes.
Castiel shook his head, pulling him out of the daze he had put himself in when Meg first showed up. “I hate the smell of sulfur. And the smell of their blood makes my skin itch.” He stared at the spot that Meg had disappeared from and rubbed his forearm.
Dean put a hand on Castiel’s shoulder and squeezed it. He felt the tension in it, but he didn’t let go. “Yeah. Sorry you had to get caught off guard like that.”
“You should not apologize for something you had no control over.” He put his hand on Dean’s and squeezed.
Jody walked over to Castiel and took his hands in her own. “Hey, Castiel. Why don’t you and I go outside and breathe some fresh air?”
“I would like that, Jody.” He let Jody pull him toward the front door.
Everyone watched the two of them step out of the cabin. As soon as the front door shut, Bobby glared at everyone. “No more demons are allowed in this house, whether we’re getting help from them or not,” Bobby said.
“Bobby,” Michael said.
“The next demon I see in this house gets trapped then either exorcised or stabbed in the chest. If you need to talk to them, it happens outside.”
Dean smirked. He agreed with Bobby. He didn’t want demons in the house, especially if they made Castiel react the way he did. He stood up and made his way to the front door. He needed some fresh air too.
[ Chapter 10] [ Masterpost] [ Chapter 12]