TINTED ▷ Sam Winchester [1]

25 | THE HIGH CARDS

"Okay," Sam says as the three of us follow Crowley back into the abandoned warehouse. "So now we all just saw what happens when she's in a bad mood, which, apparently, she's been in since the dawn of time."

"I think she just rattled Heaven with a flick of her pinkie finger," Dean says, looking at Crowley. "That's not a big enough dose of reality for you?"

"Why are we arguing? We all know that he has to go back to the Cage," Crowley points out.

"Yes, when it makes sense," Dean says. "Amara's the big picture here now, okay? Look, in order to take her out, Lucifer has got to have the Horn of Joshua. He does her, we do him. Check, please."

Crowley is quiet after that, for too long. "Crowley, tick-tock. You with us?" Dean asks after a while of silence.

"The crux of your dispute is your contention that Lucifer, and only Lucifer, can use the Horn to beat Amara, right?" Crowley asks.

"You got it," Dean confirms.

"Well, that scenario only works if you actually possess said Horn, which you do not," Crowley says, which causes me to become irritated. We are going in circles.

"No, we don't," Sam says, and I can tell that he is becoming frustrated as well. "But you do, so..."

"Exactly! I do!" Crowley says, and he's suddenly yelling again. "This isn't a negotiation. I have the high cards and you have... hold on. Give me a second. Let me have a look... no cards! My offer stands." I roll my eyes. Why do demons tend to be over dramatic?

"When we sprung Lucifer from the Cage, we had Rowena and the Book of the Damned," Dean points out. "Both of which we will need to put him back in the Cage, both of which are gone."

I furrow my eyebrows as my eyes go across the room to a very large, very old safe. It's not the safe that got my attention, though. There seem to be words appearing into the safe.

"Hey," I say, trying to get the boys' attention. But they are too busy arguing.

"Guys, look at this," Sam says loudly, from next to me. I guess he noticed it, too. Finally, Dean and Crowley come over to see what we are looking at. By now, the words are clear and visible in the safe.

BACK FROM THE DEAD FERGUS!

I raise my eyebrows. "Your family has some serious issues," I say to Crowley.

•••

I shake the spray can before spraying the paint onto the floor, creating warding. In this church, we will get Lucifer here, where we will proceed with the plan. To say I am nervous is an understatement. However, I believe I have been hiding it well.

"Hey," Sam crouches down on the floor next to me. Dean and Rowena are also in the room. For some reason, Rowena is helping us now, after announcing her presence back in the warehouse. I was surprised that she agreed to the plan. I'm also wondering where she's been all this time, if she's really been alive.

"Crowley isn't here still," I observe as I continue to spray, drawing a circle in the wooden floor.

"No," Sam says. "Are you okay?" I meet his gaze and stop spraying a moment.

"Me?" I scoff a little, keeping my voice quiet as I continue to spray. "Of all the things to worry about..."

"I know, it's just..." Sam begins, trying to find his words. I don't rush him. "I don't know. I can't help it." I furrow my eyebrows but don't look at him. I'm afraid he'll see the blush on my cheeks if I look right at him. "Just, if things start to go sideways..."