The Family Business

"So is this a thing you guys do regularly? Drive across the country at a moment's notice? Gas is getting pretty pricey. Are you guys like super rich or something?" I asked as I laid down in the back seat of the impala fidgeting with my nails. "This is going on your thirteen today alone in the car. How do you not go stir crazy?"

"I take back what I said about you being my favorite." I could hear the eye roll in Dean's tone.

"But--"

"Can it."

"Rude." I huffed and sat up.

"So what happened to Lilith?" The question was directed at Sam, so I sat back and tried to keep up. "The night I bit it, or got bit," Dean chuckled at some joke he seemed to have made. "how'd you make it out? I thought she was going to kill you."

Sam shrugged. "She tried but she couldn't. She tried to fire this like... burning light at me, and nothing. It didn't leave a scratch. Almost like I was immune or something."

"Immune?" I piped up and Dean glared at me over his shoulder. "Sorry," I muttered and went back to messing with my nails.

"Uh, yeah. I don't know who was more surprises. Her or me. Anyway, she left pretty quick after that."

"And Ruby?"

"Dead. Or in Hell."

"Okay, can someone explain what's going on? Are these codenames for something or someone or do you mean literal Hell?" I didn't know who or what these guys were, but I needed to find out and I was determined to get at least one answer. Dean let out an irritated groan and turned the radio up. Sam gave me an apologetic look before facing forward for the rest of the silent car ride.

Somewhere during the drive, I must have fallen asleep because I woke up to Sam shaking me awake. “Serenity… we’re here.” I nodded and sat up, stretching before I stepped out of the car. Sam and I trailed behind the others as they walked up to the front door. “So uh… you saw my brother come out of the ground?” I nodded and wrapped my arms around my torso.

“It was kinda terrifying. I thought he was a zombie or something. Well, I guess now that I’ve kinda been filled in on your lives, that’s not too far from possible.” Sam let out a small chuckle and nodded his head.

“That’s true.” I smiled at his response and walked up the front porch steps of the small house we arrived at. When we reached the door, a woman no more than 30 answered the door wearing a huge smile on her face.

“Bobby!” Bobby and the psychic embraced for a moment before she turned to the four of us. “So… these are the ones you were telling me about?”

“Sam, Dean, Serenity, and Felicity. This is Pamela Barnes. Best damn psychic in the state.” She looked us all up and down and invited us into her home. “So, did you hear anything?”

“Well, I oujia-ed my way through about a dozen spirits… but no one seems to know who broke your boy out.” She closed the door behind us. “Or why. So the next step is a séance.”

“You’re not gonna bring it here, are you?” I asked, nearly scared. This thing was already talking to me. I didn’t want it to actually come here.

“Nah. I just want a sneak peek, darling. Like a crystal ball without the crystal.” She smiled and lead us into a dark room with a round table.

“This is… stereotypical.” Felicity crossed her arms as Bobby closed the curtain to the room. “Oh, and she’s getting candles to light. Wonderful.” I suppressed a giggle at her comment when Dean elbowed Sam to point out her lower back tattoo.

“Who’s Jesse?”

“Well, it wasn’t forever.” Pamela laughed as she stood up.

“His loss.” I rolled my eyes.

“Might be your gain.” Dean’s eyes grew wide as he turned to his brother.

“Dude I am so in.”

“Yeah, she’ll eat you alive.” Sam laughed and glanced in my direction.

“Hey, I just got out of jail. Bring it.”

“Disgusting.” Felicity sighed and sat down at the table.

“You’re invited too, grumpy.” Pam winked at Sam.

“You are not invited.” Dean shoved him as we all took our seats.

“Okay, everyone. Join hands.” I took Felicity and Sam’s hands and looked around at everyone. “And I need to touch something our mystery monster touched.” Pamela’s hand reached under the table and Dean jumped.

“Whoa! Now, he didn’t touch me there.” He laughed nervously.

“My mistake.” Pamela laughed. Dean sighed and lifted up his sleeve to reveal the raised handprint on his arm.

My name is Castiel…

I looked to my right at Felicity, where the voice was coming from. It sounded closer this time. Pamela took a deep breath after placing her hand on Dean’s shoulder. “I invoke, conjure and command you, appear unto me before this circle. I invoke, conjure, and command you…” Her voice faded as I looked around the circle at everyone else. Dean opened his eyes and looked at me. We exchanged a glance as the television turned on, just as the one at the gas station had. “Castiel?” My head snapped in the direction of Pamela as she said the name. “No, sorry, Castiel. I don’t scare easy.” Why couldn’t I hear him? Of all the times he’s talked to me, why is now not one of them?

“Castiel?” Dean and I asked at the same time.

“Its name. It’s whispering to me; warning me to turn back.” My heart was racing. “I conjure and command you, show me your face!” No you don’t want to do that. I thought to myself. The static on the television grew louder as the table began to shake underneath everyone’s joined hands.

“Maybe we should stop.” Bobby suggested, trying to put all of this to an end.

“I almost got it! I conjure and command you, show me your face. Show me your face now!” The flames on the candles grew and Pamela started to scream. Her eyes! Her eyes were on fire!

“Oh my God!” I jumped back and caught a glimpse of what she saw in the fire. A man… a gorgeous man in the flames. Pamela went silent as she fell to the ground, blood dripped down her face from her eye sockets.

“Call 9-1-1!” We all jumped from the table and went to Pam’s side while Sam called an ambulance.

“What’s going on?” Felicity asked and took Pam’s hand, checking her pulse. Bobby reached to stop her. “I’m practicing medicine.” Pam opened her eyelids to reveal what I already suspected. Nothing. Empty, black eye sockets.

“I can’t see! I can’t see!” She sobbed as we all looked at one another. What just happened?

~*~

A couple hours later we were at a small diner downtown, still shaken up about what happened. Bobby decided to stay back with Pam. “Pam’s stable and out of ICU.” Sam said and took his seat next to me.

“And now blind because of us.” Dean’s voice was laced with guilt.

“And we still have no clue what we’re dealing with.” I hung my head as Sam spoke.

“That’s not entirely true.” I interrupted.

“No?”

“I mean… we have a name. Castiel. And I… I think I saw him. I saw a man in the fire from the candles. He was beautiful. I don’t… I don’t know why my eyes didn’t… I mean if I saw him, too—“

“See? With the right mumbo jumbo, we could summon him. Bring him right to us.” Dean interrupted me before I could finish my sentence.

“Absolutely not. You’re crazy.”

“What? Come on, if Serenity here could look at him and she’s fine… maybe he can’t, do whatever he did to Pam to more than one person.”

“And you’re willing to put everyone else at risk? Dean no. Look, I followed some demons into town. We catch them and interrogate them. Someone’s gotta know something about something.” The waitress brought us all our pies and sat down at the end of the table.

“I’m sorry, you angling for a tip?” Dean scoffed.

“What? Weren’t you looking for us?” Her eyes went pitch black and Felicity and I jumped back.

“What the hell?” Felicity asked shakily as the rest of the staff and customers turned to us with black eyes.

“Dean… to Hell and back. Aren’t you a lucky duck?” She smirked. “So you get to just stroll out of the pit, huh? What makes you so special?”

“I like to think it’s because of my perky nipples.” I let out a laugh and the waitress shot a glare in my direction. “Look, I don’t know. It wasn’t my doing. I don’t know who pulled me out.”

“Right. You don’t.” Her voice was condescending.

“No. I don’t.” Dean shot back.

“Lying’s a sin, you know.”

“I’m not lying. But I would like to find out… so if you wouldn’t mind enlightening me… Flo.”

“Mind your tone with me, boy. I’ll drag you back to hell myself.” Sam started to stand up, but I placed my hand on his arm and shook my head.

“No you won’t.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “I know you won’t. Because if you were, you would have done it already. The fact is, you don’t know who cut me loose. And you’re just as spooked as we are, and you’re looking for answers.” I hoped he was right, because this was a pretty ballsy move. “Well maybe it was some turbocharged spirit. Hmm? Or, uh… Godzilla. Or some big bad boss demon. But I’m guessing with your paygrade, they don’t tell you squat. Because whoever it was, they want me out… and they’re a lot stronger than you.” Flo glared at him as he spoke, trying to show no fear. “So go ahead. Send me back. But don’t come crawling to me when they show up on your front doorstep with some Vaseline and a firehose.”

“I’m gonna reach down your throat and rip out your lungs.” The demon said calmly.

“Oh Jesus.” My heart was racing and I wasn’t even the one being threatened, but Dean showed no sign of fear. He slowly leaned forward with a smirk on his face before he reached back and slapped her. Twice. She did nothing.

“Yeah. That’s what I thought. Let’s go, guys.” We gathered our stuff and walked out of the diner after Dean left a ten-dollar bill on the table ‘for the pie’. “Holy crap that was close.” Dean sighed in relief.

“Wait, we’re just gonna leave them in there?” Felicity asked as we tried to keep up with their pace.

“Well, yeah. There’s three in there, probably more around town. We only got one knife between us.”

“I have a taser.” Felicity offered up and Dean waved her off.

“Not sure how effective that would be.”

“Dean come on. They’re dangerous.” Sam sighed.

“No they’re scared. They’re scared of whatever had the juice to yank me out of there. We’re dealing with a bad mofo here. One job at a time, Sammy.”