Sweet Child of Mine

The sun rose, hitting Cadence’s face, causing it to have a glow about it. Castiel watched as the sun continued to rise, remembering how Constance’s face suffered the same beautiful effect. Cadence’s face scrunched in anger as she gave a sigh and rolled over. She huffed and puffed a couple more times, then she propped herself up with her arm. Castiel’s jacket fell from her shoulder, bunching up around her waist. Using her other hand, she wiped the sleep from her eyes then turned to look for Castiel.

Finding him, she used both hands to prop herself, then said, “Good morning star shine, the earth says hello.”

“Good morning to you too,” said Castiel moving away from the window to kneel beside her.

“Any luck?”

“No. You were right, demons were the cause of the healing.”

“Um well there are other stories around the area,” Cadence moved to get her computer then noticed her cover, “Is this your jacket?”

“Yes.”

“Oh… th-thank you.” Continuing for her computer, she pulled it onto her lap, “I don’t know if this will help you or not, but the stories are pretty promising.”

“What’s happening?”

“Lightning storms, random exorcisms, it’s all a jumble.”

“No.” Castiel stood, “No, that’s not God.”

Cadence frowned, “Then who is it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is it a demon?”

“No… no the storms aren’t demon created.”

“How do you know?”

“They’re being disguised.”

“Like… someone’s trying to make it look like a demon?”

“Yes.”

Cadence looked down at her computer screen at the weather chart that had just popped up. It documented the storms that occurred in the past two weeks, “Well, whatever it is, it’s moving.”

Castiel looked down at the screen, his eyes finding the same pattern that Cadence saw, “You’re right… it’s spiraling out.”

“It’s huge, whatever it is.”

Castiel nodded, “It’s an angel.”

“Like you?”

“Maybe… or stronger.”

Cadence nodded, “Can you tell how much stronger?”

Castiel shook his head, “No. Not with out seeing the damage.”

“Alright then.” Shutting her computer she handed Castiel his jacket, “We should go to the sight of the last storm. It’s in Egypt, just on the other side of the sea.”

“Leave your stuff here,” said Castiel, “You might want to change.”

“Thanks, Einstein.” Going over to her bag, she dug and pulled out the lightest clothing she had, which consisted of gym shorts and a tank top. She had packed them for lounging, but given the circumstances, they would have to do. She changed quickly, feeling awkward changing in front of an angel.

Finished, she went to Castiel who placed his hand on her shoulder and she soon found herself several feet in the air. A wind tugged at her being as dark clouds formed over the landscape. A gust blew at her and she gripped onto Castiel for support. Looking around her she became confused, “Where are we?”

“We’re where the next storm is,” answered Castiel, “I followed the pattern.”

Cadence continued to look around her, grateful that the sand below hadn’t picked up yet, then she finally recognized the area, “Are… are we standing on the Step Pyramid?”

“We are on the Pyramid of Djoser, yes.”

“Castiel! We can’t be on the God damned Step Pyramid!”

“There are no officials; they are too preoccupied with the storm.”

“How did you know the storm was going to be here again?”

“I followed the pattern.”

Her grip on the angel tightened as the wind blew harder. His arm wrapped around her waist, holding her close to him. She buried her face against him, not being able to see because her eyes watered and blurred her vision.

“Castiel,” she yelled, “We need to move.”

“The sand will be worse on the ground.”

Turning her face to look she said, “Sand?” A gust sent thousands of grains of sand into her eyes and mouth, stinging as they slashed at her skin. She yelled out in pain, but then it became incredibly dark.

Opening her eyes she couldn’t see anything, “Holy shit! The sand fucking blinded me!”

“We’re inside the pyramid.”

She stopped moving, “What?”

“We’re inside the pyramid.”

“Give me a light.”

Castiel produced a flashlight and a lamp from somewhere and Cadence looked around in amazement as she found herself in the burial chamber of the Pharaoh Djoser. Under other circumstances the idea of being in this room would have made her cry, but now it left her in shock and awe. Castiel stood in the middle of the room, watching Cadence ask she examined the walls with the flashlight. After a good ten minutes however, she did finally start to cry.

“What’s wrong,” asked Castiel.

“I-It’s nothing.” Cadence shook her head as she continued to look at the ruined walls.

“Then why are you crying?”

“When I was little… like five… my grandma just died, and all I could do was obsessed over ancient Egypt. My mom bought me books, necklaces with my name written in royal glyphs…. When I was seven I asked if we could come and visit the pyramids, and she promise me that one way of another I would see them.”

“Why do you study the Bible?”

“Growing up… your interests shift. Egypt went out the window and was replaced by art. Then art left for Biblical studies.” Wiping her eyes she turned away from the walls, “I never took the pyramids off of my list of places I wanted to go…. They will always be number one.”

Castiel didn’t say anything.

“So um… do you know what kind of storm it is?”

“It’s an Archangel,” he replied, “He’s looking for his vessel.”

“An Archangel? Who is it? Michael?”

“Dean is Michael’s vessel.”

“Oh.”

“It’s Raphael.”

Cadence stood in silence, waiting for him to elaborate but said, “Is that a good thing?”

“He might know where God is, yes…. Talking to him will be the challenge.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s an Archangel, and I’m being hunted.”

“Oh… right. But doesn’t he know that you’re here? Like, angel-dar or something?”

“Yes, he knows I’m here.”

“So what now?”

“We find his vessel before he does.”

“Wait, I thought you knew who they were.”

“Sometimes it’s not so easy.”

Cadence nodded, “Alright… so um… since you’re being hunted, and since he’s an Archangel, and since he knows we’re here, shouldn’t we like…. Leave?”

Castiel nodded, “Yes.”

Walking over to the angel, Cadence took one last look around the burial chamber before they were whisked away. Arriving back in the shack, Cadence sat down and leaned against a crumbling wall. Castiel left for a moment, then came back with food. Setting down the local cuisine, he sat next to Cadence and watched as she looked at the food.

“What is it?” she asked.

“It’s a local specialty.”

“Okay, so don’t tell me what’s in it until after, okay.”

Castiel frowned, “What do you mean?”

“Never mind.” Taking up the plate which was a pile of vine leaves stuffed with what smelled like rice and meat, she took a bite and found it to be incredibly delicious. She finished most of the plate and said, “What kind of meat is this?”

“Various kinds.”

“They’re delicious.”

Castiel nodded.

“Would you like some?”

“I do not need to eat.”

Swallowing the bite she asked, “So like… you don’t ever eat?”

“No.”

“Can you?”

“Yes.”

“Can you taste food?”

“My vessel can, so therefore I can.”

“So um… what did you mean yesterday when you said that Dean and Sam were hidden from angels?”

“I etched nokien sidgils into their bones to hide them from the other angels.”

Cadence nodded, “Better than a hex bag, I guess.”

Castiel didn’t respond.

The two fell into an awkward silence, Cadence knowing it was her fault. Castiel’s eyes were on her face and slowly the silence grew from awkward to creepy. Then he asked, “Why did you like Egypt?”

Her eyes snapped to his, “Um… my grandmother loved Egypt…. When I was little she used to tell me the stories about the gods and goddesses, then as I grew I wanted to know more.”

“What art do you like?”

“Like what kind?”

“No, era.”

“Renaissance… the Italian one.”

“Do you like Da Vinci?”

“My favorite.” Cadence smiled.

“You’re just like Constance.”

“How do you know my grandmother, by the way?” Cadence tucked a part of her hair behind her ear, “You talk as if you’ve known her for years.”

“I don’t know if I should tell you yet. I’m still trying to figure you out.”

Cadence frowned, “Why does that matter?”

“I don’t know how you’ll react.”

“Is it bad?”

Castiel didn’t respond. Cadence sighed and crawled over to her computer where she started to mess around on the Internet to get her mind off of things. Opening emails, she found several from Bobby.

I don’t know where you are, Cay, but here are a couple of locations you two can check out.

The list included several places known for religious activities like Israel, or in Romania. She looked up to tell Cas, but he was gone. Sighing, she logged off and pulled out a picture from her bag and held it in her hands.

It was an aged picture of two women with red hair standing side by side, one significantly older than the other. The younger woman held a small child in her arms in a seated position. The child’s hair spiraled in perfect ringlets and she smiled, ruining the seriousness of the photo. A tear formed in Cadence’s eyes as she looked at the only image of her mother and grandmother that anyone ever had.

Castiel; came back, causing Cadence to jump, “Jesus Leonard Christ!”

“I brought you a sleeping bag and pillows.”

Cadence nodded, “Thank you.” Putting the picture away, she took the items. “Um, Bobby sent me a list of places we could try for God.”

Castiel nodded, “We will start in the morning.”

Cadence nodded, “Okay.”

“Are you going to bed now?”

“Yeah… wake me up when you’re ready to leave.”

Castiel nodded and watched as Cadence made her bed in the corner.