I'll Tell You My Sins so You Can Sharpen Your Knife
Whatever is done for love always occurs beyond good and evil
Sarah Murphy retrieved the whistling kettle from the stove while behind her thick black smoke condensed into a small portly man in an expensive suit. She turned off the stove and poured the water into a white kettle with a pattern of pink roses.
“Hello, Crowley.” Sarah sighed, sounding exhausted. She was always tired, these days. “Tea?”
“Please.” Crowley replied, studying the Devil’s Trap under his chair with mild disdain. “You know, I always have liked it when you call on me. Not like those two golden boys, tying me down and threatening me. You have manners.”
“Well, can you blame them?” She poured the tea. “Sorry about the Devil’s Trap. Dean…insists.”
“Dean isn’t necessarily Dean right now. I doubt he’d care. I was actually on my way to lend a hand when you called. I can ask his position, if you’d like.”
Sarah sighed and leaned back in her chair, clutching her cup. It matched the teapot and the set was one of the few family heirlooms which had survived several stints in storage. It even had a few utensils, all engraved with roses.
“So. I really am busy today, Sarah. As much as I love our little chats, I don’t have time for a social visit.”
“I need information.” She sighed. “And I figured it was time to go to my last resort.”
“Last resort? Remember who you’re speaking to.”
Sarah put her tea down with a slight frown. “Want to know a secret?”
“Sure.”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
The short man scowled at her. “Really?”
“I’m the king! I’m the king!” she mocked. “Sad little man, king of all that rotting flesh. So you kill me. So you torture me. So you flay me for centuries Earth time. But I’ll still have what you don’t.”
“And what’s that?”
“A soul.” She said simply. “The thing that allows me free will. Potential for both good and evil. What makes me human.”
“You could always sell it to me. Perhaps, for information.”
“But I won’t. Learned that lesion from my mother, selling out for her gifts. How is she doing these days?”
“Pretty well. Enjoying her time with the souls on the rack. She should have been out of there years ago but we just can’t convince her to do anything else.”
“Hm. Wonder if she’ll visit if I call.” Sarah sighed. “Even if I sold you my soul, Crowley, it wouldn’t be yours the same way it’s mine. For you it’s more like a play things.”
“I really made a mistake making that deal with your mother. Who knew you’d end up so powerful?” He poured himself more tea and added something from a flash from his jacket. “Why am I here?”
“I need to know how to fix Dean.”
Crowley sighed. “Stupid girl. This is what has everyone running around like headless chickens. Nobody knows how to bring Dean back!”
“Really? Crowley, if there’s one thing I know about you, it’s that you like to play both sides. Help everyone just enough to make sure you come out on top, either in power or on the shoulder of it. You mind if I smoke?”
“Please.”
She took a long drag. “So. You being the greedy little despot you are, probably had a plan B for if you couldn’t control Dean. And I want to know what it is.”
“What do I get in return?”
“Squat.”
“Try again, love.”
She sighed and spread her arms wide. “What do you want? It’s a tidbit of information that you’ll probably lie about anyway. Most of what I have is far too valuable.”
“I’ve never lied to you, Sarah.”
“How do I know you aren’t going to start? Isn’t one of the ‘King of Hell’ titles ‘Prince of Lies’?”
He sighed. “We’ll do an even trade. Information for information.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Where is Castiel?”
“You know that he isn’t in any shape to come to me right now. Can’t answer my prayers.”
“And you know that pendant that you hold so dear works in two directions, and you could find him if you really wanted to.”
Sarah sighed and drank more tea. “What do you want with Cass?” she asked wearily.
“I’m only telling you because it concerns what you want to know. I am going to fix Castiel so that he can help Sam fix Dean. But I can’t find Castiel because he has hidden himself from me. And I can’t just go to Sam and Dean because I am barred from the bunker as well.”
Sarah pinched the bridge of her nose. “Get me a map.”
Crowley snapped his fingers and one appeared infront of her. Sarah dumped the ashtray on the map, spread the ashes over the area of the bunker, and took her necklace off. The small angel pendant swung from her fist. Focusing on a trenchcoat, she muttered a few words in Latin and let the pendant swing. As if attracted by a magnet, the pendant slammed down into the ashes.
“Thank you, Sarah.” Crowley said, finishing his tea and standing. “You’re the best white witch I’ve ever met.”
She nodded mindlessly. He looked at her with something that resembled pity.
“Get yourself a sin eater, love.” Crowley advised. “Even if it doesn’t work and he dies with that mark, he’s going to need someone to take that load off to get upstairs.”
Crowley disappeared and Sarah leaned back, absentmindedly rubbing her flat stomach. It was such a long road to here.
“Hello, Crowley.” Sarah sighed, sounding exhausted. She was always tired, these days. “Tea?”
“Please.” Crowley replied, studying the Devil’s Trap under his chair with mild disdain. “You know, I always have liked it when you call on me. Not like those two golden boys, tying me down and threatening me. You have manners.”
“Well, can you blame them?” She poured the tea. “Sorry about the Devil’s Trap. Dean…insists.”
“Dean isn’t necessarily Dean right now. I doubt he’d care. I was actually on my way to lend a hand when you called. I can ask his position, if you’d like.”
Sarah sighed and leaned back in her chair, clutching her cup. It matched the teapot and the set was one of the few family heirlooms which had survived several stints in storage. It even had a few utensils, all engraved with roses.
“So. I really am busy today, Sarah. As much as I love our little chats, I don’t have time for a social visit.”
“I need information.” She sighed. “And I figured it was time to go to my last resort.”
“Last resort? Remember who you’re speaking to.”
Sarah put her tea down with a slight frown. “Want to know a secret?”
“Sure.”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
The short man scowled at her. “Really?”
“I’m the king! I’m the king!” she mocked. “Sad little man, king of all that rotting flesh. So you kill me. So you torture me. So you flay me for centuries Earth time. But I’ll still have what you don’t.”
“And what’s that?”
“A soul.” She said simply. “The thing that allows me free will. Potential for both good and evil. What makes me human.”
“You could always sell it to me. Perhaps, for information.”
“But I won’t. Learned that lesion from my mother, selling out for her gifts. How is she doing these days?”
“Pretty well. Enjoying her time with the souls on the rack. She should have been out of there years ago but we just can’t convince her to do anything else.”
“Hm. Wonder if she’ll visit if I call.” Sarah sighed. “Even if I sold you my soul, Crowley, it wouldn’t be yours the same way it’s mine. For you it’s more like a play things.”
“I really made a mistake making that deal with your mother. Who knew you’d end up so powerful?” He poured himself more tea and added something from a flash from his jacket. “Why am I here?”
“I need to know how to fix Dean.”
Crowley sighed. “Stupid girl. This is what has everyone running around like headless chickens. Nobody knows how to bring Dean back!”
“Really? Crowley, if there’s one thing I know about you, it’s that you like to play both sides. Help everyone just enough to make sure you come out on top, either in power or on the shoulder of it. You mind if I smoke?”
“Please.”
She took a long drag. “So. You being the greedy little despot you are, probably had a plan B for if you couldn’t control Dean. And I want to know what it is.”
“What do I get in return?”
“Squat.”
“Try again, love.”
She sighed and spread her arms wide. “What do you want? It’s a tidbit of information that you’ll probably lie about anyway. Most of what I have is far too valuable.”
“I’ve never lied to you, Sarah.”
“How do I know you aren’t going to start? Isn’t one of the ‘King of Hell’ titles ‘Prince of Lies’?”
He sighed. “We’ll do an even trade. Information for information.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Where is Castiel?”
“You know that he isn’t in any shape to come to me right now. Can’t answer my prayers.”
“And you know that pendant that you hold so dear works in two directions, and you could find him if you really wanted to.”
Sarah sighed and drank more tea. “What do you want with Cass?” she asked wearily.
“I’m only telling you because it concerns what you want to know. I am going to fix Castiel so that he can help Sam fix Dean. But I can’t find Castiel because he has hidden himself from me. And I can’t just go to Sam and Dean because I am barred from the bunker as well.”
Sarah pinched the bridge of her nose. “Get me a map.”
Crowley snapped his fingers and one appeared infront of her. Sarah dumped the ashtray on the map, spread the ashes over the area of the bunker, and took her necklace off. The small angel pendant swung from her fist. Focusing on a trenchcoat, she muttered a few words in Latin and let the pendant swing. As if attracted by a magnet, the pendant slammed down into the ashes.
“Thank you, Sarah.” Crowley said, finishing his tea and standing. “You’re the best white witch I’ve ever met.”
She nodded mindlessly. He looked at her with something that resembled pity.
“Get yourself a sin eater, love.” Crowley advised. “Even if it doesn’t work and he dies with that mark, he’s going to need someone to take that load off to get upstairs.”
Crowley disappeared and Sarah leaned back, absentmindedly rubbing her flat stomach. It was such a long road to here.