Unexpected Destinies Chapter 47
Title: Unexpected Destinies
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 3,148
Summary: In need of angelic transportation and loath to disturb one of Cas' lessons with Michael, Dean turns to Raphael instead.
PAST
Dean finally admitted defeat when the third hunt he thought he'd spotted that morning at breakfast turned out to be a bust upon further inspection with the use of his newly acquired laptop. He'd clearly been far too distracted as he was normally really good at sniffing out his sort of cases with minimal information. He just couldn't help it, though. They were already January and still no closer to finding a way of ending the Apocalypse. The worst thing was that they couldn't just kill the damn bastard- if that could even be called 'just'- as that would only serve to end the world as it was. Not to mention the millions that would die in the crossfire.
The memory of how easily Michael had talked about the deaths of so many just the other day still made Dean angry. The archangel had come so very far since he'd first shown up in his motel room two months ago, but there still was a long way to go. He forgot about that at times, which was his own fault, but it only served to make the times when Michael said or did something to prove he hadn't yet fully understood the lesson his Father wanted him to learn all the harder. Despite himself, he'd come to like the archangel and he knew that colored his reactions to a certain extent. He'd definitely not have blown up quite as fiercely with Raphael as he had Michael if Raphael had said it. It was just that in coming to like the oldest archangel, he'd come to expect more of him then of Raphael.
Dean tried to shake off the memory and focused instead on deciding what to do next. His search for new hunts was clearly a bust, he had no more books to read for Castiel and no idea for other avenues of investigation. He supposed that he could search the internet for information, but didn't really think it would be at all useful. His brother was far better at that sort of stuff and if Sam hadn't been able to find anything useful in two years of searching, then how could he? He'd just be wasting his time. The irony of the fact that he didn't even want to visit porn sites anymore now that he actually had his own laptop wasn't lost on him and made him smile. The fact of the matter was that he simply didn't find porn appealing anymore. Sure, he had no doubt that if he watched it he'd get aroused, he was still a guy after all, but the desire to go watch it was gone.
Yeah, he was so whipped and the worst thing was that Dean knew it and didn't even care. Not really anyway. All of his old thoughts and opinions on porn and long-term relationships were gone even if he still didn't think he'd be able to handle such a relationship fulltime without the distraction of the Apocalypse. The key difference now, though, was the fact that he wished that he could do it. These types of thoughts inevitably led to him thinking about Castiel and he wished that his lover were here right now. He was tempted to call him, but he knew that his angel was busy training with Michael right now. He'd heard the two of them talking about it yesterday, working it in alongside all of Castiel's commitments in Heaven. It had made him pause, knowing how much his lover had to do and he was more grateful then ever for all the time Cas managed to spend with him.
The ringing of his cell startled Dean out of his thoughts just as he was putting his laptop away. A quick glance at the screen showed a really long number he didn't recognize.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Winchester? Mr. Dean Winchester?" a heavily accented male voice inquired, mangling his name slightly.
"Yes," Dean frowned. "Who is this?"
"I am Father Giordano with Vatican Archives."
Dean's eyebrows shot up at that. He honestly hadn't given his impromptu little trip to Italy much thought since getting back other then the stray thought when he saw or handled the Jewel of Abel. He definitely couldn't remember giving anyone there his number, so Castiel must have done that at some point and forgotten to tell him. Well, either that or his angel had told him when he'd been far too occupied with something else for it to register. Both possibilities were likely enough.
"Did you find something?"
The words were out of his mouth before Dean realized that the guy might have been expecting something a bit more polite first. Oh well, it was the Apocalypse, he was sure they could understand his urgency and desire to get right down to business. And if part of that was because he still felt uncomfortable on some level in dealing with men of faith who had dedicated their entire lives to the service of a God he still loathed and whom he most definitely was still furious with, then that was just for him to know. The mere thought of being upheld and treated like a savior as the priest they'd met the last time had done also made his stomach turn. It just made him feel like such an imposter to keep his mouth shut and not correct their assumptions, not that Castiel would have allowed him to make this point clear to the guy, and what hope did he have of convincing the priest otherwise if an angel said he was one of God's chosen?
"Yes, we find several things. You come look?"
"Uh, in Italy?"
"No, no, in Vatican, main display room of Archives."
"Oh, okay," Dean replied. "Let me see if I can get there."
"Okay, you call back if no?"
Could he even do international numbers on his phone plan? He couldn't quite remember now. "Sure."
"Ciao."
"Uh, bye."
Dean was then left blinking at his cell as he tried to process all that had just happened. Then, however, the fact that those in charge of the Archives thought that they had found some stuff on Lucifer they deemed interesting enough to contact him about hit him and he felt some cautious excitement flare to life within him. Yes, he knew that it could well be nothing, but on the other hand, these were the Vatican Archives they were talking about. It was probably the single biggest depository of religious knowledge on the planet and it was one that they hadn't even been able to so much as peer into before. If there was anywhere on the face of the planet that might contain some useful information, this was it.
He already had his finger on the number one which would speed dial Castiel before he stopped. It was only a few minutes ago that Dean had decided to leave his lover alone for the moment as he didn't want to interrupt his training with Michael. If things continued on as they were now, then Castiel would need to know as much as possible about his new powers and he was not going to stand in the way of that. Not when he had other options available to him. Part of his mind was screaming at him for even considering Raphael, but the rest of him knew that it wasn't as stupid as it sounded. After all, Raphael'd had ample time and opportunity to betray him since joining Michael visibly and he hadn't. Besides, Michael was but a call away if anything were to go wrong.
The truth of the matter was that while Raphael was clearly still a pro-angel jerk of the highest order, Dean knew for a fact that he stood with Michael. Not only did he listen to and obey the older archangel, but he had been the one to pull his brother from the cage. That alone told Dean that Raphael was on their side to some extent as otherwise he could just as easily have left Michael where he was or pulled Lucifer out instead. While none of this implied that he was on Dean's side per se, Michael was and that put Raphael there as well for the time being. Not to mention the fact that Raphael had shown clear signs of being as devoted to his Father as his older brother was. It was just too bad that he'd interpreted His will so horribly in the past.
The knowledge that there were people waiting for him made Dean push another button and he gritted his teeth, determined not to let the archangel goad him into an argument, no matter how much he might want to instigate one himself. The phone rang long enough that he was beginning to wonder if Raphael was even going to answer it before he remembered how clumsily the archangel handled the damned thing in the past.
"Winchester."
Wow, Dean had to admit that Raphael really could pack a lot into just three syllables. It was impressive in a way. "Raphael, are you free at the moment?"
"Why?"
Don't react, don't let him provoke you. "Because something's come up that needs to be checked, something that may help us, but I can't get there on my own. I'm in North Carolina, just outside of Chapel Hill at the Fairview Inn, room seventeen."
With that, Dean hung up. He knew it was a bit childish, but it was better then letting the archangel take another swipe at him that he might not be able to resist returning. Maybe it was better to call Castiel? Or perhaps Michael, then maybe Raphael could take over teaching his lover whatever it was that he needed to learn now.
No, he wanted Castiel to be taught by the best that there was and that was Michael himself. Not only were they fast approaching the time when Lucifer would break out, but there was already an evil archangel on the loose doing God knows what. The fact that they had yet to find any trace of Simiel's presence or what she had been up to since getting out- and oh yeah, they didn't even know when exactly that had happened, though they suspected Lucifer himself had broken her free- didn't mean that she wasn't willing to do some serious damage herself. If anything, the fact that she seemed to be bidding her time made him even more nervous. It made him think that she was purposefully staying off the radar so that she could achieve some unknown goal and that terrified him.
How could they hope to fight something they didn't even know was being put into motion and coming?
Dean's train of thought was interrupted by the abrupt arrival of Raphael on the other side of the room. Funny how this particular angel never seemed to crowd his personal space. Telling, even.
"What is this about and where do you need to go?" Raphael demanded coldly.
"Lucifer and the Vatican."
Two could play at that game and Dean counted it a success when the archangel's eyes narrowed at him. Odd how Raphael and Michael never had any problems displaying their anger even as they appeared hopeless with all other emotions. Just what had God been thinking creating them like that?
"Winchester."
"Alright fine, don't get your panties into a twist," Dean replied before he explained what he knew.
"You think that these priests might have something of value?" Raphael demanded, his sneer audible in his tone.
"They had the Jewel of Abel."
"Fine. Where do we need to go precisely?"
"The main display room of Archives," Dean replied. "Now just remember to play nice."
"Why?"
"Because these are men who have devoted their lives to worshipping your Father and honoring you and your siblings. Do you really want to make them learn to regret that or come to think less of God?"
Dean knew he'd made his point when he caught sight of the flare of emotion in the archangel's eyes. He didn't even know why he'd felt it so important to make that point, but if he could get Raphael to act less superior around others, then it was worth it. Besides, part of him didn't want those guys to think any less of angels like Castiel just because of his brother's attitude.
It took all that Dean had not to step back or flinch as Raphael closed the distance between them and raised two fingers to jab at his forehead. God he hoped that he didn't come to regret this!
The transition from one place to another wasn't nearly as smooth as Dean had become used to and he just knew that Raphael, the bastard, hadn't taken the effort to accommodate his body the way that Castiel did. He was distracted from that, though, by the startled exclamations of those gathered in the large display room. As the name indicated, a lot of the Archives' material actually was on display here within large cases build expressly for that purpose. Unlike the ones he'd seen before, though, these were far smaller and had been built so that someone standing before them could get a good look at the artifacts they contained. The majority of the room, though, consisted of large tables upon whose surfaces a multitude of books and other artifacts now lay. Normally this was probably used to show visitors the material they had come to study, but now it looked like the only people present were a small army from the Catholic church itself. Everyone that he could spot wore either the black cassocks of a priest or a variety of more colorful robes that all screamed clergy to him.
"Uh, hello," Dean said, feeling uncomfortable with all of the eyes aimed at them.
"Mr. Winchester?" a man who had to be Father Giordano from his voice asked, stepping forwards.
"Please, just call me Dean."
"It is honor to meet you, Dean. And this? Is Castiel?"
"No, no, not Castiel. Castiel white."
That was another voice Dean recognized and he turned slightly to greet the first Vatican priest he'd met, suddenly realizing that he'd never gotten his name. "Hello again, Father...?"
"Mancini. And this not Castiel."
"No," Dean agreed, surprised the archangel was staying quiet but he figured reserved aloofness was better then outright condescension. Besides, it was probably exactly what they were expecting anyway. "This is Raphael."
The name caused a ripple of excitement and disbelief to wash through the room and Dean could almost feel the archangel beside him come to attention. It annoyed him a little, but if this show of reverence and obvious respect made Raphael rethink some of his opinions about humans, then who was he to complain? He should have figured that it would take a more ego stroking approach to get through to this particular angel.
"Let me introduce," Father Giordano said and started before Dean could protest.
Rossi, Moretti, da Pontedra, Prima, Ferrari, Aiello, Barale, Canavacciuolo, Lippucci, Toffoli... the names rushed over him, for the most part going in one ear and out the other except for a few- and seriously, Ferrari?- that stuck. And even then, Dean doubted that he'd be able to correctly put those he remembered with faces and hoped that he never had to. Raphael, he was sure, could keep them all straight without any effort if he chose to do so.
"Thank you," Dean said when the man had finally finished. "Now could you please show us what you've found?"
The next few hours were spent sorting through the material that the Vatican holy men had unearthed within their Archives. The breadth of the material was seriously impressive, but soon Dean found himself starting to hate it with a passion. If he didn't have the fucking Apocalypse hanging over his head, he'd say to hell with it and take a well deserved and long break, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it, not when the key to their success could be buried somewhere in this material. Their first order of business was to weed out all of the material that they had already gone over from that which was new. He took one of the tables and was surprised when Raphael took another without any prompting. Either the archangel was trying to impress his audience or he saw the use and potential of what they were doing. Despite the fact that they would need to check each other's work as he'd gone through books at Bobby's that Raphael hadn't and the archangel had seen material he hadn't, it definitely sped things up.
"This we know not," Father Mancini said, bringing another book to him. "Is language unknown to us all. No one can translate very well but some say Lucifer mentioned in here."
"Enochian," Dean breathed, needing but a glance at the text to recognize it for what it was.
He hadn't realized that he'd said it aloud until he heard the sharp intake of breath beside him. Looking up, Dean found that several of the men had turned to stare at him, their eyes wide. His attention was drawn to the archangel though as Raphael was looking at him in surprise as well.
"What is it called?" Raphael demanded.
"A Treatise on the Origin of Demons."
It wasn't until he heard the whispered comments from the holy men that Dean realized that he'd not translated the title but instead read it out as Enochian. He ignored the words 'savior' and 'chosen' that he heard in favor of the surprised expression on the archangel's face.
"You let Castiel into your mind."
"Yeah? So?" Dean asked, defensive and not entirely sure why.
"But you have resisted Michael for so very long."
"That's different. Now, have you read this book before?"
"No, I do not believe that we have a copy of it in Heaven," Raphael replied after a moment. "That may have been the one original kept there."
Okay, it was definitely going to the top of the pile then. Dean was more then a little interested in it even if most of him cringed at the memories of exactly how demons were created now. Besides, something on the original creation of demons just had to mention Lucifer in some detail at some point.
It was shortly thereafter that one of the men whose name Dean had already forgotten suggested that they stop for dinner. It took him a few moments to remember that Europe was ahead of the US time wise, and that was why he seemed to have missed lunch, but he was hungry enough to take the guy up on the offer even if it looked like Raphael planned to continue sorting through the material. It wasn't like he had anything to prove to the archangel, now was it?
Chapter 48
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 3,148
Summary: In need of angelic transportation and loath to disturb one of Cas' lessons with Michael, Dean turns to Raphael instead.
PAST
Dean finally admitted defeat when the third hunt he thought he'd spotted that morning at breakfast turned out to be a bust upon further inspection with the use of his newly acquired laptop. He'd clearly been far too distracted as he was normally really good at sniffing out his sort of cases with minimal information. He just couldn't help it, though. They were already January and still no closer to finding a way of ending the Apocalypse. The worst thing was that they couldn't just kill the damn bastard- if that could even be called 'just'- as that would only serve to end the world as it was. Not to mention the millions that would die in the crossfire.
The memory of how easily Michael had talked about the deaths of so many just the other day still made Dean angry. The archangel had come so very far since he'd first shown up in his motel room two months ago, but there still was a long way to go. He forgot about that at times, which was his own fault, but it only served to make the times when Michael said or did something to prove he hadn't yet fully understood the lesson his Father wanted him to learn all the harder. Despite himself, he'd come to like the archangel and he knew that colored his reactions to a certain extent. He'd definitely not have blown up quite as fiercely with Raphael as he had Michael if Raphael had said it. It was just that in coming to like the oldest archangel, he'd come to expect more of him then of Raphael.
Dean tried to shake off the memory and focused instead on deciding what to do next. His search for new hunts was clearly a bust, he had no more books to read for Castiel and no idea for other avenues of investigation. He supposed that he could search the internet for information, but didn't really think it would be at all useful. His brother was far better at that sort of stuff and if Sam hadn't been able to find anything useful in two years of searching, then how could he? He'd just be wasting his time. The irony of the fact that he didn't even want to visit porn sites anymore now that he actually had his own laptop wasn't lost on him and made him smile. The fact of the matter was that he simply didn't find porn appealing anymore. Sure, he had no doubt that if he watched it he'd get aroused, he was still a guy after all, but the desire to go watch it was gone.
Yeah, he was so whipped and the worst thing was that Dean knew it and didn't even care. Not really anyway. All of his old thoughts and opinions on porn and long-term relationships were gone even if he still didn't think he'd be able to handle such a relationship fulltime without the distraction of the Apocalypse. The key difference now, though, was the fact that he wished that he could do it. These types of thoughts inevitably led to him thinking about Castiel and he wished that his lover were here right now. He was tempted to call him, but he knew that his angel was busy training with Michael right now. He'd heard the two of them talking about it yesterday, working it in alongside all of Castiel's commitments in Heaven. It had made him pause, knowing how much his lover had to do and he was more grateful then ever for all the time Cas managed to spend with him.
The ringing of his cell startled Dean out of his thoughts just as he was putting his laptop away. A quick glance at the screen showed a really long number he didn't recognize.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Winchester? Mr. Dean Winchester?" a heavily accented male voice inquired, mangling his name slightly.
"Yes," Dean frowned. "Who is this?"
"I am Father Giordano with Vatican Archives."
Dean's eyebrows shot up at that. He honestly hadn't given his impromptu little trip to Italy much thought since getting back other then the stray thought when he saw or handled the Jewel of Abel. He definitely couldn't remember giving anyone there his number, so Castiel must have done that at some point and forgotten to tell him. Well, either that or his angel had told him when he'd been far too occupied with something else for it to register. Both possibilities were likely enough.
"Did you find something?"
The words were out of his mouth before Dean realized that the guy might have been expecting something a bit more polite first. Oh well, it was the Apocalypse, he was sure they could understand his urgency and desire to get right down to business. And if part of that was because he still felt uncomfortable on some level in dealing with men of faith who had dedicated their entire lives to the service of a God he still loathed and whom he most definitely was still furious with, then that was just for him to know. The mere thought of being upheld and treated like a savior as the priest they'd met the last time had done also made his stomach turn. It just made him feel like such an imposter to keep his mouth shut and not correct their assumptions, not that Castiel would have allowed him to make this point clear to the guy, and what hope did he have of convincing the priest otherwise if an angel said he was one of God's chosen?
"Yes, we find several things. You come look?"
"Uh, in Italy?"
"No, no, in Vatican, main display room of Archives."
"Oh, okay," Dean replied. "Let me see if I can get there."
"Okay, you call back if no?"
Could he even do international numbers on his phone plan? He couldn't quite remember now. "Sure."
"Ciao."
"Uh, bye."
Dean was then left blinking at his cell as he tried to process all that had just happened. Then, however, the fact that those in charge of the Archives thought that they had found some stuff on Lucifer they deemed interesting enough to contact him about hit him and he felt some cautious excitement flare to life within him. Yes, he knew that it could well be nothing, but on the other hand, these were the Vatican Archives they were talking about. It was probably the single biggest depository of religious knowledge on the planet and it was one that they hadn't even been able to so much as peer into before. If there was anywhere on the face of the planet that might contain some useful information, this was it.
He already had his finger on the number one which would speed dial Castiel before he stopped. It was only a few minutes ago that Dean had decided to leave his lover alone for the moment as he didn't want to interrupt his training with Michael. If things continued on as they were now, then Castiel would need to know as much as possible about his new powers and he was not going to stand in the way of that. Not when he had other options available to him. Part of his mind was screaming at him for even considering Raphael, but the rest of him knew that it wasn't as stupid as it sounded. After all, Raphael'd had ample time and opportunity to betray him since joining Michael visibly and he hadn't. Besides, Michael was but a call away if anything were to go wrong.
The truth of the matter was that while Raphael was clearly still a pro-angel jerk of the highest order, Dean knew for a fact that he stood with Michael. Not only did he listen to and obey the older archangel, but he had been the one to pull his brother from the cage. That alone told Dean that Raphael was on their side to some extent as otherwise he could just as easily have left Michael where he was or pulled Lucifer out instead. While none of this implied that he was on Dean's side per se, Michael was and that put Raphael there as well for the time being. Not to mention the fact that Raphael had shown clear signs of being as devoted to his Father as his older brother was. It was just too bad that he'd interpreted His will so horribly in the past.
The knowledge that there were people waiting for him made Dean push another button and he gritted his teeth, determined not to let the archangel goad him into an argument, no matter how much he might want to instigate one himself. The phone rang long enough that he was beginning to wonder if Raphael was even going to answer it before he remembered how clumsily the archangel handled the damned thing in the past.
"Winchester."
Wow, Dean had to admit that Raphael really could pack a lot into just three syllables. It was impressive in a way. "Raphael, are you free at the moment?"
"Why?"
Don't react, don't let him provoke you. "Because something's come up that needs to be checked, something that may help us, but I can't get there on my own. I'm in North Carolina, just outside of Chapel Hill at the Fairview Inn, room seventeen."
With that, Dean hung up. He knew it was a bit childish, but it was better then letting the archangel take another swipe at him that he might not be able to resist returning. Maybe it was better to call Castiel? Or perhaps Michael, then maybe Raphael could take over teaching his lover whatever it was that he needed to learn now.
No, he wanted Castiel to be taught by the best that there was and that was Michael himself. Not only were they fast approaching the time when Lucifer would break out, but there was already an evil archangel on the loose doing God knows what. The fact that they had yet to find any trace of Simiel's presence or what she had been up to since getting out- and oh yeah, they didn't even know when exactly that had happened, though they suspected Lucifer himself had broken her free- didn't mean that she wasn't willing to do some serious damage herself. If anything, the fact that she seemed to be bidding her time made him even more nervous. It made him think that she was purposefully staying off the radar so that she could achieve some unknown goal and that terrified him.
How could they hope to fight something they didn't even know was being put into motion and coming?
Dean's train of thought was interrupted by the abrupt arrival of Raphael on the other side of the room. Funny how this particular angel never seemed to crowd his personal space. Telling, even.
"What is this about and where do you need to go?" Raphael demanded coldly.
"Lucifer and the Vatican."
Two could play at that game and Dean counted it a success when the archangel's eyes narrowed at him. Odd how Raphael and Michael never had any problems displaying their anger even as they appeared hopeless with all other emotions. Just what had God been thinking creating them like that?
"Winchester."
"Alright fine, don't get your panties into a twist," Dean replied before he explained what he knew.
"You think that these priests might have something of value?" Raphael demanded, his sneer audible in his tone.
"They had the Jewel of Abel."
"Fine. Where do we need to go precisely?"
"The main display room of Archives," Dean replied. "Now just remember to play nice."
"Why?"
"Because these are men who have devoted their lives to worshipping your Father and honoring you and your siblings. Do you really want to make them learn to regret that or come to think less of God?"
Dean knew he'd made his point when he caught sight of the flare of emotion in the archangel's eyes. He didn't even know why he'd felt it so important to make that point, but if he could get Raphael to act less superior around others, then it was worth it. Besides, part of him didn't want those guys to think any less of angels like Castiel just because of his brother's attitude.
It took all that Dean had not to step back or flinch as Raphael closed the distance between them and raised two fingers to jab at his forehead. God he hoped that he didn't come to regret this!
The transition from one place to another wasn't nearly as smooth as Dean had become used to and he just knew that Raphael, the bastard, hadn't taken the effort to accommodate his body the way that Castiel did. He was distracted from that, though, by the startled exclamations of those gathered in the large display room. As the name indicated, a lot of the Archives' material actually was on display here within large cases build expressly for that purpose. Unlike the ones he'd seen before, though, these were far smaller and had been built so that someone standing before them could get a good look at the artifacts they contained. The majority of the room, though, consisted of large tables upon whose surfaces a multitude of books and other artifacts now lay. Normally this was probably used to show visitors the material they had come to study, but now it looked like the only people present were a small army from the Catholic church itself. Everyone that he could spot wore either the black cassocks of a priest or a variety of more colorful robes that all screamed clergy to him.
"Uh, hello," Dean said, feeling uncomfortable with all of the eyes aimed at them.
"Mr. Winchester?" a man who had to be Father Giordano from his voice asked, stepping forwards.
"Please, just call me Dean."
"It is honor to meet you, Dean. And this? Is Castiel?"
"No, no, not Castiel. Castiel white."
That was another voice Dean recognized and he turned slightly to greet the first Vatican priest he'd met, suddenly realizing that he'd never gotten his name. "Hello again, Father...?"
"Mancini. And this not Castiel."
"No," Dean agreed, surprised the archangel was staying quiet but he figured reserved aloofness was better then outright condescension. Besides, it was probably exactly what they were expecting anyway. "This is Raphael."
The name caused a ripple of excitement and disbelief to wash through the room and Dean could almost feel the archangel beside him come to attention. It annoyed him a little, but if this show of reverence and obvious respect made Raphael rethink some of his opinions about humans, then who was he to complain? He should have figured that it would take a more ego stroking approach to get through to this particular angel.
"Let me introduce," Father Giordano said and started before Dean could protest.
Rossi, Moretti, da Pontedra, Prima, Ferrari, Aiello, Barale, Canavacciuolo, Lippucci, Toffoli... the names rushed over him, for the most part going in one ear and out the other except for a few- and seriously, Ferrari?- that stuck. And even then, Dean doubted that he'd be able to correctly put those he remembered with faces and hoped that he never had to. Raphael, he was sure, could keep them all straight without any effort if he chose to do so.
"Thank you," Dean said when the man had finally finished. "Now could you please show us what you've found?"
The next few hours were spent sorting through the material that the Vatican holy men had unearthed within their Archives. The breadth of the material was seriously impressive, but soon Dean found himself starting to hate it with a passion. If he didn't have the fucking Apocalypse hanging over his head, he'd say to hell with it and take a well deserved and long break, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it, not when the key to their success could be buried somewhere in this material. Their first order of business was to weed out all of the material that they had already gone over from that which was new. He took one of the tables and was surprised when Raphael took another without any prompting. Either the archangel was trying to impress his audience or he saw the use and potential of what they were doing. Despite the fact that they would need to check each other's work as he'd gone through books at Bobby's that Raphael hadn't and the archangel had seen material he hadn't, it definitely sped things up.
"This we know not," Father Mancini said, bringing another book to him. "Is language unknown to us all. No one can translate very well but some say Lucifer mentioned in here."
"Enochian," Dean breathed, needing but a glance at the text to recognize it for what it was.
He hadn't realized that he'd said it aloud until he heard the sharp intake of breath beside him. Looking up, Dean found that several of the men had turned to stare at him, their eyes wide. His attention was drawn to the archangel though as Raphael was looking at him in surprise as well.
"What is it called?" Raphael demanded.
"A Treatise on the Origin of Demons."
It wasn't until he heard the whispered comments from the holy men that Dean realized that he'd not translated the title but instead read it out as Enochian. He ignored the words 'savior' and 'chosen' that he heard in favor of the surprised expression on the archangel's face.
"You let Castiel into your mind."
"Yeah? So?" Dean asked, defensive and not entirely sure why.
"But you have resisted Michael for so very long."
"That's different. Now, have you read this book before?"
"No, I do not believe that we have a copy of it in Heaven," Raphael replied after a moment. "That may have been the one original kept there."
Okay, it was definitely going to the top of the pile then. Dean was more then a little interested in it even if most of him cringed at the memories of exactly how demons were created now. Besides, something on the original creation of demons just had to mention Lucifer in some detail at some point.
It was shortly thereafter that one of the men whose name Dean had already forgotten suggested that they stop for dinner. It took him a few moments to remember that Europe was ahead of the US time wise, and that was why he seemed to have missed lunch, but he was hungry enough to take the guy up on the offer even if it looked like Raphael planned to continue sorting through the material. It wasn't like he had anything to prove to the archangel, now was it?
Chapter 48