Title: The Curse of Bittersweet Kisses
Chapter 30

~~~~~~~~~~

At the gate, Dean grasped the bars and studied the approaching demon. Meg’s expression was highly pleased, a smug light in her eyes. “Where’s Crowley,” he asked.

Her answer was amused in tone. “He won’t be coming back.”

“You killed him?”

“I settled an old score.”

It was an answer, though not a specific yes or no. He’d prefer something a bit more definite, except if he got one he didn’t think he’d be ever be sure it was the truth. Meg would lie to him just because she could. Still, she and Crowley were old enemies and rivals. Maybe she had killed him off somehow. “So, you’ve got all the property, then. Hell, earth, and Purgatory. Everything except heaven.”

“I do. Don’t count heaven out, though. Just because I don’t have it now doesn’t mean I won’t get it. Angels sure aren’t out an about these days. They’re still cowering somewhere hoping big bad Cas won’t get them.”

“Sure you can keep control of hell? I mean, demons are petty and power grabbing. Not to mention fickle and…oh yeah, evil.”

“We are, aren’t we?” She grinned, not taking offense at his words. “Don’t you worry about me. I have a few tricks up my sleeve for both my kinds demons. Now, Dean-o….” Meg moved forward again, stopping at the gate. “I want Castiel and I know you have him here.”

“You can’t have him.”

“Oh come on. What use do you have for him? After everything he did to you and to Sam? Not to mention Jo and Ellen Harvelle. Don’t you want revenge on him? Why didn’t you kill him? I’ll admit I’m puzzled by why he’s still alive. I don’t see you showing him mercy after what he did.”

“He just is and you can’t have him.”

Crossing her arms, Meg nodded twice. “I see. Well then, I guess we have to ramp up negotiations here. Here’s my offer. You give me him or I take your child instead. See, the way I see it, that child means far more to you than a deceiving, betraying, broken down former angel. Pick one.”

“Or what?” He released the bars and put his hands in his pockets as if he this was simply a casual conversation he had little interest in.

“Or I send my new and improved demons in to rip apart your little camp and take them both. Maybe I’ll take Jo, too. Ride her for awhile. I’ve been thinking about going blond again.”

PD’s appeared, lurking in the ditch, riding in human bodies that were grotesque from genetic changes. Their mist form seeped back, moving low through the trees across the road. He watched them, wondering a little how many of Crowley’s demons had been destroyed by them or if they were on the run. “You want Castiel so badly, you collect him. Just you. They stay outside.”

She glanced at them and paced a moment before the gate. “I hardly believe you’d give me safe passage through your camp. You’re not as stupid as you look and I’m not stupid.”

“That’s my counteroffer. They stay outside. You want Cas so bad, you make the effort and collect him yourself.”

“I’m here, aren’t I? I mean to collect him. Why don’t you make this a lot easier on yourself and hand him over. Have him come to the gate and shove him out it.”

“You know I don’t do easy.”

She smiled and laughed. Her head turned and she glanced around the clearing behind him. “I know that look. You’re up to something.”

He spread his arms. “What could that possibly be? Looks like you have all the cards -- as you told Crowley.”

“I do have them.”

“Then what are you afraid of, Meg?”

Her cocky grin faded. “Not you, hot stuff.”

“Your decision here. What’s it going to be? Refuse and you might lose some control over your new and improved back-up dancers.”

“Dean, Dean.” She shook her head. “You still think you’re funny, don’t you?”

“I’m an acquired taste.”

“You’re a pain in my ass is what you are.”

“Ditto.”

She appeared to weigh his words, then glanced over her shoulder at the PD’s. “Wait here for me. If you don’t, you’ll be disciplined.” Meg stepped closer to the gate, nearly against it. “Well? I’ll play by your rule this time. Open the gate.”

He opened it, let it swing wide. “Come on in.”

“Said the spider to the fly.”

“How could I possibly hurt you, Meg? You’ve got an army outside my gates.”

“And you have a deadly knife somewhere inside them. I haven’t forgotten that.” She studied him, then the seemingly deserted road leading into the camp proper. “Where are your people?”

“Out of the way. Safe. Not them you want. Leave them out of this.”

There were devil’s traps painted on porches in front of doors, all but one. The outside of Jimmy’s cabin had been intentionally left free of any symbols, though Jimmy was prepared inside.

“Where’s your brother?”

“Keeping people safe.”

“Where’s Castiel?”

“Find him,” he invited.

“Hide and seek, is it? Well, then. Ready or not here I come. I won’t bother counting to ten.” She sauntered through the open gate, carefully studying the ground before moving forward.

Dean closed the gate behind her, locking out the PD’s. When Meg disappeared around the curve, he let out a sharp whistle. The guards who’d been hidden stepped from their hiding places. “Watch them. Remember what we talked about. Silver and iron. I need to follow her.”

He let Sam know she was coming and followed Meg at a discreet distance, relieved when she only paused for a moment at the infirmary before moving on, heading towards Jimmy’s cabin. Hopefully, Jimmy’s acting skills were decent enough to fool her long enough to trap her and once she was trapped, she could be killed.

She would be killed…if it took all three of them to do it.

~~~~~~~~~~

Dean’s plan was stupid and risky and Castiel was regretting every bit of it. He waited alone in his cabin, connected to the outside only by the walkie-talkie Sam had left. After his brief conversation with Sam, he waited. It likely wouldn’t take Meg long to find him.

He was showing the classic signs of fear and anxiety, his shirt soaking through with a sweat that smelled a little sour to him and his limbs felt weak and shaky. His mind kept running through all the ways this could go and fixating on him ending up her prisoner. It was the last thing he wanted.

While he waited, he checked the salt line and added a bit more to it. Couldn’t have too much, he decided.

“Hello, Castiel.”

Castiel gasped and swiveled on the balls of his feet to face the door. He hadn’t heard it open. Her voice brought the memories of a thousand nightmares rushing back to him. He shuddered and stood, making sure he was behind the line of salt that bisected the room. “Meg.”

She was in Constance’s body, as Dean had mentioned, but Castiel hadn’t really been prepared to see Meg looking out of Constance’s eyes. Constance hadn’t been a bad woman. A little obsessive about him, sure, but she’d loved having a second chance at life. She’d been happy after he’d healed her. He tried not to feel responsible for her current condition by reasoning that Meg could have taken anyone as a new host.

He failed. It was because of him that Constance had been in a position for Meg to take notice of her and decide to use her to gain power.

Meg did like having power.

Reaching out, she flipped the light switch, plunging the cabin into darkness for a moment. When she’d turned the light back on, she stepped inside the cabin.

Looking for a trap on the ceiling, he thought, remembering that Bobby had once used glow in the dark paint of some kind to make a trap. He couldn’t decide if it was a detriment or not that she knew them all and the tricks they used. Dean had told him they should use her expectations against her. He’d designed this trap, with Castiel and Sam’s help, to do just that.

“I see you don’t rate any guards. Who’s shacked up in the heavily protected cabin? Let me guess. Jo and child. Pretty good system Dean set up over there. Impressive even for him.”

“They’re very important to him.”

“Apparently you aren’t since you have no guards. I must say, the human coil suits you.” She put her hands on her hips. “Anything you’d care to grab before we head back to Sioux Falls?”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“Of course you are. Dean handed you over.” Her brows rose. “Didn’t you know? He opened the gate and let me in. Said if I could find you, I could have you.” She gestured at him. “Lookie here. I found you. That means you’re mine.”

He swallowed hard, forcing a meager amount of saliva down a throat that was too dry. “I don’t choose to go.”

“Of course you do. You really don’t have a choice here.”

“There are always some sort of choices, Meg.”

“Fine.” An annoyed expression crossed her face. Had she really thought he’d go with her without a single protest? “Then here’s your choice. You come with me willingly or I’ll let my demons…all of them…loose in this camp. Picture it, Castiel. Thousands of demons from hell and Purgatory sweeping through camp.”

“People here are protected.”

“Do you really want to see how good those protections are? Purgatory demons are different than hell demons. Different animal altogether.”

He crossed his arms, pretending to think about her offer.

She took a single step forward. “These months have been good to you.”

“I suppose they have.” His palms were slick with sweat and he uncrossed his arms, wiping his hands on his jeans.

“Well? What’s your decision? Stay or go, big boy?”

He paced a moment, wondering if Dean and Sam, or at least Sam, were in place outside. Sam should be. “I suppose my only option, as you said, is to go with you.”

“Willing to cooperate now?”

“I suppose.”

“Good. Strip,” she ordered.

The request threw him for a moment, though he wasn’t sure why. He shouldn’t be surprised that Meg wished him to remove his clothes. She’d indicated her lust for his body on several occasions. Jimmy’s body, rather. He didn’t have to pretend confusion. “Why?”

“Because, lover boy, I don’t want any surprises like a knife under your shirt. Strip.”

Gritting his teeth, he pulled his t-shirt over his head, set it on the end of the bed and spread his arms. He turned in a circle. “There. No knife.”

Her grin widened. “If that’s as far as you take that word to mean, we’ve got some work to do to educate you. The jeans, too. Move it and hurry. I’d rather get out of here before Dean tries to spring whatever foolish trap he’s set up.” She took a step towards the rug and stopped, like she had some sort of sense that told her there was a trap beneath it. It was a good thing then that the trap beneath the rug wasn’t the only devil’s trap in place and ready.

With a disgusted snort, he removed his jeans and stood in his underwear. “Satisfied?” He’d hoped she’d step on the rug and that would be that, but it appeared they could end up needing plan ‘B’.

“Not yet, but I guess I can wait a little longer to see the whole package.” She gestured at the jeans. “Turn the pockets out now.”

“There’s nothing in them.” He did as she wanted. She was relishing his discomfort. “May I dress again?”

“If you have to. I’d prefer you didn’t, but again, I suppose I can wait for later.”

Dressed, he felt better, though still somewhat naked. She was beginning to get cocky. Cocky was good. It meant she could slip up.

“Step across that salt line and turn up the corner of the rug here,” she ordered next.

“What for?”

“What do you think what for? I know how Dean thinks. He’s fond of hidden traps. Turn it up. I’ll wait right here.”

The salt on the wood floor was gritty beneath his bare feet and he felt his heartbeat increase when he stepped across that line. If so inclined, Meg could simply grab him now and take him, removing them both from the cabin. He twitched it back and practically jumped back behind the line, then reached for his shoes and slipped them on.

She approached the trap, removed a pocket knife from her jacket and opened it. Crouching, she scraped away enough paint that that particular trap wouldn’t hold her. “Nice try, stud.” She stood and put the knife away. “Now, about that silly salt line….”

Castiel shook his head.

Pleasure sparked in Meg’s eyes. “Are you wanting me to chase you, Castiel? I do like a good chase, but you agreed to come with me. Don’t back out now. I can still have my demons come in here.” Sauntering to the chair by the wall, she snatched up the towel draped on it. “You’re such a tease. I expect a good time later.”

“I think your idea of a good time and mine differ somewhat.” As she swiped the towel across the line, making an opening, he climbed onto his bed, moving away from her.

She stepped towards it. “I always knew we’d end up in bed one way or another.” Meg jumped up on the bed. He let himself slide back off of it. It was a clumsy move, but the painful landing was worth it when Meg realized she couldn’t advance any further. She made a panicked expression and looked around with wild eyes. “What have you done,” she demanded.

Slowly, Castiel got up from the floor. He was going to have bruises later from his fall, but it was a small price to pay for surprising Meg with a trap. “Painted a devil’s trap on the piece of wood between the box springs and the mattress.” The piece of wood was normally there because the mattress wasn’t comfortable otherwise. Sam had helped him put it in place. “Wasn’t entirely sure it would work.”

“Dean’s idea?”

“Sam’s.”

“Sam did always have some smarts in him.”

“Thank you.” Sam’s voice came from the doorway. “Hi, Meg. Long time.”

“Sam. For a guy who’s bat-shit crazy, you don’t look it.”

“Thanks.” His head cocked. “Tell me something. If you were to leave her body would Constance live?”

She settled down on the bed like it was her idea to be there. “Why? Are you going to give me a chance to escape?”

His hand lashed out in a quick movement, fingers tightening into a fist. She coughed and choked, a puff of black pulling from her mouth before Sam opened his fist. “Answer me.”

The action startled Castiel and he stared at Sam. He’d thought Sam could no longer exorcise demons that way. He’d thought the ability had been fried out of him when he’d killed Lilith and freed Lucifer. He’d thought…. Well, he’d thought that ability had been largely from drinking the demon blood to begin with. Sam had no access to the blood here, so how was he able to do that?

“You want the truth?”

“Truth from a demon is always a novelty.” The slow way he spoke now seemed to enrage Meg.

Her lips curled in a snarl and when she spoke, her voice was hard and taunting. “She’ll die in agony if I leave her body.” Her eyes went black. Meg got to her knees and grasped the edges of the jacket she wore, spreading it open. “See the slits on this shirt? Crowley did some damage to her before I got the upper hand. Remember Meg Masters, Sam? Those last minutes of hers? How much pain she was in? Constance will be in every bit as much pain as she was and more so because her precious Castiel won’t save her. She’ll die thinking he abandoned her and refused to save her. She’ll die believing herself damned, cut off from her god.”

The slits in the shirt were large and Castiel took the demon killing knife from where it had been hidden.

“If I leave, she dies.”

Constance would die no matter what. There was no way out of death for her.

A flicker of sadness played on Sam’s features, then disappeared. “That’s what I thought.” His fist closed again and it seemed that his power immobilized Meg.

She glared at them both. “I’ll be back. You know I will. You can’t --”

He didn’t want to hear anymore from her. Stepping forward, Castiel stabbed her, releasing the knife and stumbling back. He felt no satisfaction in stabbing Meg with the knife, merely a relief that she would be gone when it was done working it’s magic. He sank weakly against the wall. His legs were shaking, as were his hands. To be free of her, for all of them to be free of her, felt like a weight was gone. There’d be other demons, sure. Maybe she hadn’t killed Crowley even and he’d return.

But none were Meg.

He turned his gaze from the body to look at Sam. He had his hands raised and was staring at them as if he couldn’t comprehend what he’d just done.

“Sam?” He wanted to ask if Sam had been aware that his powers were intact or if it had caught him by surprise. “Sam, are you --”

The door banged open, Dean taking in the scene in seconds. “Damn, you two are fast. I thought you’d still be fighting her.”

Castiel slid down the wall to sit. “You weren’t outside?”

He shook his head. “No. I just got here. Stopped for a second at the infirmary to do a circle around it and then came here and you’ve got her taken care of already.”

“It was a joint effort,” he replied. “Sam….”

“Let’s get her body out of here,” Sam interrupted, lowering his hands.

Dean nodded. “Sounds good to me.” He set a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “You okay, Sammy? You look a little weird.”

“There was no way Constance would have survived. If Meg hadn’t fought Crowley, I could have….” He shook his head. “I’m…I’m okay.”

“Are you,” Castiel asked. Sam’s skin was pale and it looked like there was sweat on his forehead.

Sam shrugged off Dean’s hand. “As okay as I’ll ever be.” He moved to the bed and grasped Constance’s shoulders. “Take her feet Dean.”

“Man, Sam, you help kill Meg and suddenly you’re bossy.”

“Just get her feet, will you?”

“Ding dong the witch is dead. Hallelujah.” He grinned a little, striding to the bed and reaching for her feet. “We’ll be back in a few minutes, Jimmy. Then we need to talk PD’s. Meg left her army outside the gates waiting for her. If it’s not one thing it’s another….”

They left the cabin.

Castiel took a few long deep breaths. He still felt shaky and thought he probably would for awhile. Killing Meg was a big thing. When he thought he could stand without his legs giving out, he got to his feet and went to the end of the bed. He was going to have to burn the sheets and bedspread and get new ones and he wasn’t sure he wanted to sleep in that bed again.

He rested his hands on the footboard and half bent over it.

Meg was gone. It didn’t seem real to him yet. Maybe it never would. Maybe he’d spend the rest of his mortal life dreaming of her coming for him.

“I know you,” a voice said and Castiel turned. The creature standing there was only partially a monster and in Meg’s former host. Her skin was very white, veins blue beneath her skin, but not prominent like others he’d seen. “I’ve been looking for you. We’ve been looking for you.”

“Why? What do you want with me?” He wasn’t sure he wanted to know why the PD’s were looking for him.

“I want to kill you, Castiel. After all, you killed me. I should get some justice.”

He tried to back up and couldn’t, firmly pressed against the footboard of his bed. “I’m sorry. I don’t….” Who was she?

She took a step closer. “You bled me. Ring a bell?”

He remembered then. The Purgatory native he’d taken blood from for the spell. The one who’d been a friend of Bobby Singer. Were all his sins going to confront him in a rush?

~~~~~~~~~~

It had felt like a trance state.

One moment Sam had been asking if Constance would live and the next he’d slipped into that calm state and taken action.

Instinct. He’d told Dean before that was how it had felt when he’d yanked a PD from the body it had been attempting to dive into.

It had been that way now. No sense of power or enjoyment in the ability, not like when he’d drunk the demon blood. This was different and he wasn’t sure if he should be frightened in it or not.

Was this ability a gift from God or a curse he’d fight for as long as he lived?

He and Dean laid Constance’s body by the line of trees in a shadowed area out of the way. They’d bury her later that day.

Now, however, there was the army Meg had brought with her to contend with and Jimmy should be in on the tactics for that.

They headed back towards Jimmy’s cabin.