Daughter of the Legend: Soul on Fire (#Wattys2018)

Chapter Twenty-Six: She Talks to Angels

We had just crossed the Montana state line when the familiar sound of wings filled the back seat. Castiel appeared between Cassidy and I, an urgent expression on his face. He turned towards me, eyes wide with panic, he grabbed my shoulder and only got one word out: "Rachel-" before everything went white and a deafening ringing filled my ears.

Castiel had his arms covering my head protectively when my eyes adjusted to the brightness of the room.

"Cas," I whispered, extremely freaked out, "What the hell was that?" His eyebrows were furrowed and there was a certain coldness in his eyes as he looked around the room.

"Angels." His one word reply sent shivers down my spine.

"What?" I looked around us again, the panic only getting worse, "How! You said-"

"You're powers burned through the warding. I heard the order to find you and had to try to get there before they did." He looked at me with fear in his eyes, "I am sorry I couldn't save you."

"Save me? Cas, where the hell are we?"

"A holding cell," He replied walking over to the pristine white wall, he ran a hand over the smooth surface, "We are in Heaven."

"You're messing with me right?" I forced a smile, but the look Castiel shot me not only squished my attempt to find light in the situation, it made me feel a fear I hadn't felt in months. "What do they want?"

"I am unsure," He said, his intense gaze searching the room over and over again, "But I am sure we will know soon enough." As if on cue, a panel in the wall rolled back, leading into another white hallway. Castiel looked back at me. "Stay close." He ordered.

I saluted and followed him from the holding cell. The hallways was comprised of the same white walls and floors as the cell, and everything seemed to emit its own type of light source. My hand drifted to the blank surface, it was cool to the touch like steel, and smooth as polished glass. "So this is where our souls go when we die." The whisper was more for my own thoughts than to Castiel, but the angel had a habit of crushing my dreams unintentionally.

"No," His voice was kind of harsh, like I was a child asking a repetitive question, "This is Heaven as angels experience it. It is formal, and nothing like what a human soul experiences." I looked at him confused, which was no surprise. "You don't remember anything from when you died?" My gaze fell back to our pale surroundings, and I shook my head.

"I would remember a place like this," I locked eyes back with him, "Even if this wasn't the Heaven I was supposed to see. When I died, I was in the dark. There was nothing but the void." He furrowed his eyebrows at me.

"That is highly unusual."

I laughed genuinely, "Castiel, I am highly unusual. Get used to it." He frowned and continued walking. Shaking my head softly, I couldn't help but smile. For an angel who has been around since the dawn of mankind, he was so dense sometimes. We rounded another corner, and Castiel stopped abruptly, making me walk into him. He kept giving me this look, like I was clumsy intern who kept spilling the morning coffee. Shit, was I the clumsy intern?

Before us, a slim woman with shoulder length blue-black hair stood with her arms over her chest. Her slender eyes studied us methodically.

"Castiel." She spoke with a calm but powerful demeanor.

"Charmeine," Cas replied staring her down. Charmeine, she was the angel of harmony. I glanced at Cas then back at Charmeine. She smiled at me, a false and official kind of smile that sent flash images of Evangeline through my mind. I took a small step back. Given my track record, I had no trust in angels. Well, except for Cas, but that was a given.