I Am No Angel Chapter 8
Title: I Am No Angel
Author: Miss Meh
Pairing: Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel, Adam/Michael
Rating: R for swearing and implied sexual situations
Warnings: AU, copious amounts of fluff and sexual innuendo, fusion with Beauty and the Beast
Spoilers: None
Word Count: 4732
Status: WIP
Summary: His wings always seemed to be the problem, Castiel figured. But when he and his family move to Sioux Falls and he meets a Beast locked away in a castle, could his wings be the solution?
A/N: Not much to say about this one. The epic battle begins. Thank you to my beta, Delu.
Title: I Am No Angel
Chapter Eight: I held you tight to me
You slipped away
You promised to return to me
And I believed
--“The Promise” Within Temptation
On the day Lucifer was supposed to arrive, everyone gathered in the dining hall. Dean and Castiel were off to one side, completely lost in each other as usual, and so Sam figured that it fell to him to rally their troops and give instruction for the upcoming battle. He stepped to the front of the room and cleared his throat. “Right then…” He fidgeted for a moment as all eyes fell on him. Sam felt Gabriel pull his way up to his shoulder and relaxed slightly. His back straightened and he went on with renewed confidence. “As you all know the castle will most likely be under siege soon. We all need to come together and protect Castiel.”
One of the feather dusters scoffed. “And why exactly should we do that?”
Sam groaned as he recognized the voice. All of the feather dusters were annoying-even Anna occasionally, although for the most part she wasn’t that bad-but this particular one was ten times as irritating and arrogant as the rest of them. “Zachariah,” Sam ground out through gritted teeth. “Need I remind you that not only are you a servant of this household, but also that unless you wish to remain so indefinitely, someone has to break the curse? I, for one, do not wish to be forced to so much as breathe the same air as you for longer than necessary, so I’d prefer to save this angel. That way we don’t have to spend the next century and a half looking for another one.” Sam loomed over the feather duster and didn’t feel an ounce of pity when Zachariah cowered a bit before rushing out of the room, leaving a trail of molted feathers behind him. Good riddance to bad rubbish, Sam thought.
He turned back to the rest of his audience and said, “Now, if anyone else has any objections to make, feel free to follow Zachariah out. If not, I’ll finish telling you the rest of the plan.” Sam waited for a second to give those who wished to leave the chance to do so and then continued, “Good. So, after much discussion, we have decided that those of us that appear to be objects,” Pretty much all of them, Sam thought with a mental eye roll, “should wait in the front entrance. Our enemy has no knowledge of us and we should be able to take them by surprise.” He took a deep breath and Gabriel stroked the back of his head with one candlestick. “Castiel will be retrieving his father and his brother from Lucifer’s army and Dean… Well, Dean will be doing his own thing. Be sure to stay out of their way.”
Sam looked over at his brother and the angel and noticed with astonishment that Castiel had his wings up, completely surrounding Dean with them. It was a little known fact that Dean didn’t like dark, enclosed spaces-a side effect of the time that he had been buried alive on one of his cases. That his brother was allowing Castiel to enclose him in his wings was proof enough to Sam that the angel was good for Dean. It will all be worth it in the end.
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Today was the day. Castiel and the other castle residents-yes, even “those feathered fuckers”, as Dean had called them-were all gathered in the dining hall preparing for Lucifer’s arrival. Dean was helping him pack rocks into two small satchels-two were essential to maintain the balance that flying required-so that he wouldn’t have to land more frequently than necessary to collect more. Sam was giving a rousing speech, Gabriel perched on his shoulder, but neither Dean nor Castiel were paying him any attention. They shared a glance as their hands met and Castiel felt his own tremble with both anxiety and longing. Dean turned his paw over and caught the angel’s hand.
“Cas,” he said gently. “It’ll be all right. You’ll make it through this. We won’t let Lucifer take you.”
Castiel shook his head slightly. “I am not worried for myself,” he told Dean fervently. “I am worried about you. I am worried about Michael.” He looked off into the distance as though he could see through the stone and mortar to the forest around them, where the enemy waited. Then he seemed to come back to himself and turned to Dean. “He won’t want to kill me, not until I refuse to serve him anyway, but he will not hesitate to kill you.” His wings moved in agitation, but he somehow couldn’t seem to stop them. He finally gave up and his shoulders slumped forward dejectedly. “It terrifies me,” he admitted.
Dean’s claws moved to soothe his shuddering wings. Overtaken by his feelings for the man, Castiel abandoned his usual restraint and threw his wings up around Dean, cocooning them in the warmth of the angelic structures and shielding them from prying eyes. Dean seemed to freeze for a long moment before finally relaxing into Castiel’s feathers. “Dean.” He paused, unsure about what exactly he wanted to say. He reached out one hand, cupping the side of Dean’s face, and was instantly gratified when Dean turned his cheek into Castiel’s palm. Resolved, the fingers on his other hand moved purposefully among the feathers on one of his wings, and finding what they had been searching for, pulled a loose one free from the others. He moved his hand from Dean’s face and, after smoothing the barbs back into place around the shaft, grasped Dean’s paw and place the feather on his palm.
“Cas,” Dean choked. Their eyes met once more in the darkness and Dean searched Castiel’s gaze for something. Seeming to find it, his face softened into a smile as his claws closed around the feather. “Thank you Cas.”
Castiel was about to respond when he heard Adam yell, “They’re here!” followed by Sam’s “Everybody get into position by the front door!” There was a rush of activity as everybody hurried down to the entryway. Something occurred to Castiel as he strapped his weapons to his hips and he moved off toward his room as fast as he was able to.
“Cas!” Dean shouted, pushing against the flow of pseudo-warriors to follow the angel. “What’re you doing? We need to be going the other way.”
Castiel didn’t stop. “Dean, I need to retrieve something from my room. Go down with the others. It will be easier for me to take off from an elevated position in any case.” He did pause when Dean made a noise of protest and stretched out his right wing to brush the tip across Dean’s face. Castiel stared at him for a moment, memorizing everything, just in case… “Go, Dean. You are needed elsewhere.”
Dean hesitated but did as Castiel said. He looked back only once to murmur, “Be careful, Cas,” and then he was gone.
Castiel took a breath and turned to continue in the direction he had been going before Dean had stopped him. When he finally burst through the door of his room, he only had to look around briefly before he spotted Michael’s sword leaning up against the wardrobe where he had left it. He had never once contemplated using it as Michael had intended him to, but now he was glad that his brother had given it to him. Lucifer had most likely deprived the warrior of his weapons, and Castiel had no intention of getting his father back only to lose his brother instead. Grabbing the sword, he moved to the window, pushed it open, and jumped.
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Michael somehow managed to stumble to his feet as he watched the supernatural army charge toward the castle. He moved to put himself between his father and the chaos that surrounded them, knowing that despite his weaponless state, he would still be able to provide Bobby with some protection. His eyes locked on Lucifer, who was standing serenely as he watched the first of his men push their way into the castle. Michael wanted very badly to just walk over to him and punch the smug bastard, but now wasn’t really the time for it. With no weapon-and no foreseeable way to get one-Michael wouldn’t be able to get more than one swing in before Lucifer swung back, and Michael was sure the man wouldn’t be using his fists.
Lucifer’s head jerked up suddenly as a shadow swept over him and Michael turned just in time to see his little brother land beside their father, the sword his brother had given him clutched in his hand. Castiel passed the sword to Michael without a word and, gathering Bobby into his arms, launched himself back into the air before Lucifer had a chance to stop him. Michael was glad that his father was now safe, but he had to wonder what Castiel was thinking coming anywhere near Lucifer in the first place. That could be addressed later, however. At the moment, Michael had Lucifer to worry about and he wasn’t about to make the mistake of underestimating his old friend’s ruthlessness again. The man sauntered toward him as though he had all the time in the world and Michael tensed in preparation for what he knew was coming.
“Your brother is quite the specimen, Michael.” He sneered the word ‘brother’ as though he found Michael’s blood connection to an angel entirely distasteful. “Capable of flight and strong enough to carry a grown man with ease; yes, he will be wondrous once I have him trained.” Lucifer threw Michael a horrifying leer and chuckled darkly. “It is almost too bad that you will not be alive to see him after he knows how to please me both on and off of the battlefield.”
Michael saw red and only barely restrained the impulse to charge at Lucifer in reckless abandon. He realized at that moment that any remnants of the friendship that he had once had with Lucifer had finally been dispelled by that one comment. The man in front of Michael was not the friend he had once known. He took a step back, both physically and mentally, in an attempt to calm himself, but Lucifer followed, trying to provoke Michael into attacking.
“Your brother won’t be the only one I take, you know. Oh, sure, he will be the most satisfying-breaking him, mastering a being so powerful; it will be intoxicating.” Lucifer’s lips smacked together as he imagined it, his eyes distant as he watched whatever sick fantasy was playing out in his head. Then he focused back in on Michael, a horrifying grin stretching his lips. “I will have him on his knees before me, and that rush alone will feel so good, but I will have others too,” he taunted. “There must be others you care for, someone up at that castle of yours that it would hurt you to lose. A sweet maiden just ripe for the taking, perhaps.” He shot Michael a sly look. “Or is it the pretty young men that catch your fancy?”
Adam. Just the thought of what Lucifer was implying, the thought of something that depraved happening to the little teacup, the thought of him breaking and pleading and screaming… It made his blood boil with anger and his stomach churn in disgust. He was holding onto his sanity by a thread by this point and, God help him, if Lucifer said one more word he would lose it. Then, he heard a flutter of wings and, before he could protest, he was swept up and spirited away.
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Adam had been waiting anxiously on the tower balcony for something to happen-what, he didn’t know, but damn, being so useless was killing him-when he saw Castiel winging toward him. He moved out of the way just in time as the angel swept down to land. Castiel took a minute to free Bobby’s arms from their stiff position behind his back and then check the man over for injuries. Seeing that none of the wounds were fatal, he took flight once more and went back in the direction from which he had come. Adam hopped closer to Bobby, who was rubbing the feeling back into his shoulders, and nudged him to get his attention.
The man looked down and grunted, “Hey, kid, didn’t think I’d be seeing you again. Least, not so soon.”
“Where’s Michael?” Adam couldn’t help asking.
Bobby sighed. “He’s still with Lucifer.” Adam started to panic. How could the angel have left his brother down there with that monster? His reaction must have been plainly displayed on his face because Bobby was quick to reassure him, “Castiel couldn’t carry us both. I’m sure he left just now to bring him back.”
Adam allowed himself to calm down a bit, but he still didn’t relax completely until Castiel crash-landed on the balcony, Michael’s struggles pulling them down into a heap on the floor. The teacup rushed over, wanting to make sure that both the man and the angel-mostly the man, if Adam was being honest with himself-were okay, and found himself snatched up by the human before he had a chance to speak. Michael turned him this way and that, running his fingers over the teacup as though checking him for cracks. Adam couldn’t repress a shiver at the feeling of those hands touching him. God, I have it bad.
Michael’s compulsion to touch him seemingly ended as soon as it began. He set Adam back on the floor and stood. “Castiel,” he said, his voice sounding strangely haunted. “Take me back. I have a devil to kill.”
Castiel tilted his head and stared at Michael for a moment before he spoke. “No.” He turned away from his brother, completely ignoring him and speaking to Adam and Bobby instead. “Keep him here,” he told him. Then, he spread his wings and took off, quickly vanishing from sight.
Adam watched the angel until he disappeared and the teacup swung around, when he heard Michael curse. He stared at the man for a moment. Michael didn’t seem the type to allow his self-control slip with any frequency. What had Lucifer done to him to make him lose his composure like that? Michael had been so strong, so self-assured when he had been to the castle before. Now he just looked pissed. Adam counted it as a very good thing that Castiel had gotten to Michael before the man went into a rage and attacked Lucifer. In that state of mind, he would have most likely gotten himself killed.
Adam moved over to where Michael had slid down to sit against the wall, his hands clenched beside him on the ground. The teacup approached him hesitantly and slid his handle onto the man’s thumb. When Michael looked up at him, Adam found it in him to ask, “Michael, what’s wrong?”
The man stared at the place where skin met china, then opened his hand to cup Adam’s body, bringing the teacup closer to his face. He shook his head and said, “I won’t tell you. Suffice it to say that should he win, he is planning to do horrible things to Castiel.” He blew out a breath, pursing his lips. “And to you,” he whispered. “When he said… I’ve never wanted to kill someone so badly in my life.”
For all that the timing was horrible, Adam felt something surprisingly warm rise in his chest. He heard Bobby shift uncomfortably behind him and sighed. They probably wouldn’t be alone in this tower for much longer, so he nestled in and made the most of the time they did have.
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Lucifer watched Michael fly away, wrapped securely in the arms of the angel, and was unable to keep a scream of frustration from escaping his lips. God damn it, he thought savagely. What did the filthy half-breed think it was-human? Lucifer snorted. The mongrel had derailed his plans and these days, that was equivalent to suicide. No, it wasn’t going to live through this. Lucifer would make sure of it. Now all he had to do was find Michael and the winged bastard.
Lucifer hastened into the castle, determined to catch up to them before they had a chance to fortify their defenses. He paused only momentarily as he entered the castle and saw just what his army was up against. His troops were squared off against all manner of household items. He even noticed one of his men plucking feathers out of a squirming feather duster. He shook his head and allowed this revelation to roll off of him in favor of locating his second. When he finally found her, Ruby was backing a melting candlestick into a corner adjacent to the main stairwell.
“Ruby.” He moved over to her side quickly and demanded, “Report.”
Ruby didn’t turn to face him, opting instead to stay focused on the thing she had trapped, but she did respond. “They have us outnumbered, but they are not trained for combat. It shouldn’t be difficult to take care of them.” She smirked and thrust the flames closer to her prey, causing the wax on its forehead to bubble. As Lucifer started to move away from her, she called out once more, “Keep an eye out for the Beast. Some of the men are holding him back for now, but it probably won’t last much longer.”
The man didn’t bother to look in the direction she had gestured. The Beast was of no importance to him. “Michael has escaped to the tower with the angel,” he told her. “I fear that we might not be able to acquire this one. It appears to be hostile.” Lucifer began ascending the staircase. “I will attempt to subdue and capture, but if it proves to be impossible, I will be forced to dispose of it.” He made his way around the corner and out of her line of sight before she could respond.
His face set into grim lines as he walked cautiously through the deserted hallways of the castle. When he finally reached the area in which he had estimated the tower staircase to be, he stopped and listened intently, hoping for some sign that they were indeed at the top of the stairs in front of him. He heard voices filtering down from above and knew that he had the right place. He couldn’t suppress the brutal grin that wanted to spread across his face. This night would be significant for him. In the end, Michael and all those he loved would be dead and Lucifer would walk away with an angelic sex slave or another body for his men to dissect. Either way, he won.
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It was hot! Oh, fuck, it was really hot!
Gabriel’s wax dripped down his face as a demon riding the body of a pretty, dark-haired female backed him into a corner and stood over him brandishing a torch. The bitch is going to melt me, he thought as he leaned back. When she saw him flinch away from the flames, she smirked and thrust it toward him. He gasped and tried to think of a way to get around her and escape. Sure, he wouldn’t die if she melted him down-after all, his candles had been burning for this long and hadn’t melted completely yet-but it would probably hurt like hell. He’d rather avoid the experience, thank you very much.
The demon was distracted momentarily by a man stopping next to her. Gabriel listened as the man told her that he was going to “dispose of it”. Although he was in a tight spot at the moment, the implication of that statement didn’t escape him. This man was going to kill Castiel. Based on the way the demon deferred to him, Gabriel concluded that he must be Lucifer. A new sense of urgency filled him. He needed to get away now and warn Dean.
Gabriel tried to sidle past her as she turned to watch the man climb the staircase, but at the last moment she turned and thrust the flames back toward him. “Not so fast,” Ruby said, giving him a wicked grin. “I haven’t had any fun yet.”
Gabriel shrank back as he felt his wax start bubbling again with the intense heat. Oh, fuck, this is it, he panicked. Before the fire could touch him, Gabriel heard the sound of a throat clearing. The demon turned and Gabriel saw that Sam was looming over her with what the candlestick recognized as a demon-killing sword clutched in his hand. “Nobody gets to melt my boyfriend but me,” he declared, glaring at her with all he was worth before plunging the sword through Ruby’s stomach.
The demon made a choking noise and light flashed from her eyes and mouth as she fell to her knees. Gabriel hopped over her slumped form to pull himself up onto Sam’s shoulder. “That was so corny, Sam,” Gabriel whispered in his lover’s ear. Then he remembered the exchange he had overheard between Ruby and Lucifer. “We need to find Dean,” he said urgently. “That crazy asshole knows where Castiel is and he’s on his way up to kill him.”
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Dean tore through the supernatural beings surrounding him. Heh, did they really think they’d be able to hurt him? He’d been hunting the damn things pretty much since he’d been born and, sure, he was a bit rusty, but that didn’t mean that he’d forgotten a single thing his father had taught him. When he finally killed the last of the creatures in the immediate vicinity, Dean decided that his first priority should be to make sure his family was all right. Since they’d told Adam to stay up in the tower, and Cas was probably safer up in the air than the rest of them were on the ground, he focused on finding Sam.
Sam and Gabriel found him before Dean even had much of a chance to start looking for them. He grinned in relief when he saw them, but before he could speak something jumped on his back and started biting him. He reached over his shoulder and flung whatever it was on the ground in front of him. Damn that hurt, he thought. Then he noticed that the creature on the ground before him was a vampire. Shit, I thought those guys were extinct. Whatever, vampires were easily taken care of. “Good to see you guys are still alive,” Dean said as he ripped the head off of the vampire with his paws. He sent them a toothy smile. “Man, it’s a hell of a lot easier to decapitate someone when you have claws.”
“Dean!” Sam’s voice was urgent and it jerked Dean’s attention from wiping the blood off of his face with the deceased vamp’s shirt. His brother’s tone sent him from victorious to anxious in a single second.
Dean looked up and scanned his brother for injuries. He noticed the worried expression on Sam’s face, but didn’t see any visible wounds. “Yeah, Sammy, what is it?” He moved his gaze over to Gabriel but couldn’t see anything wrong with him either.
“Gabriel heard Lucifer talking. He’s going after Castiel,” Sam explained, his words rushed. “They’re in the tower.”
Dean froze and his brain took a minute to process this. When he finally comprehended what was being said, he moved without another word and started running. Not only was the bastard after his Cas, but Adam-and most likely Bobby and Michael-was up there too. Adam couldn’t fight and who knew what shape Bobby and Michael were in after spending so many days with Lucifer. Dean sprinted up the stairs, hoping that he could catch up to the man. When he got to the staircase leading to the tower and he still hadn’t seen him, Dean realized that Lucifer was probably already there. He hoped he wasn’t too late.
Not knowing what the situation would be in the tower room, he ascended the stairs slowly, trying to minimize the amount of noise he was making. He peaked around the corner and saw that Lucifer and Michael were squared off in the center of the room. Both men had swords drawn and they were circling, each attempting to find an opening to strike.
“Hey, Assbutt!”
Suddenly, a rock sailed in through the window and smashed into Lucifer’s shoulder. He did not drop his weapon, but staggered back before turning slightly to assess the threat. The sound of flapping wings registered and Dean noticed Cas flying toward them, his arm cocked back to launch another projectile. Lucifer moved out of the way and Cas’s shot passed by him harmlessly. Before the angel could throw another, the man pulled a long knife from his belt and hurled it at the angel. Dean watched in horror as the dagger hit home, sticking into Cas’s left wing. The angel screamed as he plummeted to the ground, but the sound was drowned out by Dean’s roar of grief and rage.
Cas was dead. His angel was dead. Dean repeated the words over and over in his head. There was no way anyone could have survived that fall and his mind had no problem conjuring up the image of Cas’s broken body lying in a heap at the base of the tower. He howled in pain, the sound more animal than human. Lucifer turned when he heard it, a malicious smirk fixed on his face.
Then he saw Dean.
His eyes widened infinitesimally and though he tried to keep his face neutral, Dean could see the panic and fear in his eyes before it was replaced by a manic look. “Well,” Lucifer said. “Somehow I don’t think I’m going to make it through this one.” The man grinned. Holy shit, this guy is fucking nuts, Dean thought. “If I’m going to die, I’m at least going to take someone with me.” Lucifer lunged at Michael, his sword primed to pierce the man’s chest.
Dean didn’t think, simply acted. He thrust Michael out of the way and the blow entered Dean’s stomach before exiting his back. Lucifer and his sword kept him suspended upright for a moment, but then Dean went down hard. Blood bubbled from his mouth and dribbled down his chin to land on his chest.
Dean could feel his vision going cloudy and he could hear a scuffle taking place but he couldn’t bring himself to care about any of it. He was dying and he knew it. None of it mattered anymore. Hell, without Cas, he wasn’t sure he would give a shit even if he did survive this.
Fuck, he thought as he drifted into oblivion. Wish I could see Cas one last time.
A/N: Sorry about the cliffhanger. I’ll try to post again as soon as possible.