The "L" Word

Things Are Not Always As They Seem

Chapter Eight

          It was no surprise that when they arrived at the church the minister, one Kyle Pruitt, was not there.  A secretary by the name of Allison explained that every afternoon the minister went home for lunch and often didn’t return for several hours.  Dean checked his watch.  It was nearly four pm.  “He always eat lunch this late?”  He asked the woman.  She was a tiny thing, barely five feet tall and dressed in a long white dress and maroon sweater.  She had a friendly open face and he had glanced several times at both of her wrists to be sure she wasn’t part of the Eris worshipping club, but he couldn’t get a good look, not with that sweater.  “Once in a while he will just go home for the day.  He might have done that today.”  She replied.  He looked at Cas and motioned toward her hands which she used a lot as she talked.  Cas nodded, knowing what Dean wanted him to look for.  Dean held a hand out to her and Allison shook it.  “I want to thank you for your time and cooperation.”  Dean told her.  As she took his hand her sleeve slid up enough that they could both see that there were no tattoos on her right wrist.  The minister’s tattoo was on his left though, and so were the other ones that they had noticed.  “Allison, could you direct me to Lafayette?  I don’t know my way from here.”  Cas said suddenly and Dean looked at him, his brow furrowed trying to determine why he had asked the question.  “Oh sure.  You’re going to want to take this street here…”  She pointed toward the street with her left hand and her sleeve slid up.  No tattoo.  Dean smirked when he realized the reason behind the question.  Pretty sly thinking actually.  He wished he’d thought of it.  Cas smiled when she finished giving him the directions.  “Thank you very much.”  She smiled back.  “Well you are quite welcome.  Can I help you agents with anything else?”  She looked from Cas to Dean expectantly.  “No, you have been very helpful.  Have a nice evening.”  Dean said and Allison excused herself.  Dean and Cas turned to leave.  “That was smooth asking her the directions.”  He said.  “I noticed that she uses her hands a lot.  I assumed she would do that if she were asked directions as well.”  Cas explained.  “She’s clean.  So who else would be part of this?”  Dean asked as they stepped out into the still too hot afternoon sun.  “I think the other church leaders should be considered.”  Cas said.  “Some ninth level of hell shit if the church leaders in this town are all in a cult worshipping this Eris bitch.”  Dean muttered.  Cas frowned, his brow creasing trying to understand what Dean meant.  “Is that in reference to Dante’s Inferno?”  He asked.  Dean sighed.  “Yeah, sure.”  He clapped Cas on the back as they reached the Impala.  “Ready to check out that factory now?”  He asked.  “Shouldn’t we wait for Sam and Charlie?”  Cas asked in return.  Dean pulled his phone out and saw a text from Sam.  “Hey Cas, what would be the typical ritual for sacrificing a virgin in ancient times?”  He asked, lifting his eyes from the phone to look at Cas.  “In this case, if they’re trying to raise Eris I would think they would drain the victim of her blood while she is still alive and remove the body part necessary for the ritual.”  Cas replied.  Dean paled visibly.  “Like the heart?”  Cas realized what was in Sam’s text.  “Exactly like the heart.”  Dean rubbed at his jaw as he looked back toward the factory.  “They found the body drained completely of blood and the heart missing.”  He finally said.  Cas stood silent watching him.  Dean turned his attention back to his phone, punching out a quick text back to his brother.  He pressed send and shoved the phone back in his pocket.  “I think we’ll just wait for them to get here.” 

          It was another forty minutes before Sam and Charlie pulled up and parked across the street.  Cas noted that the sedan had been cleaned, the dust was all gone.  Dean stepped out of the Impala when Sam got out and walked over to him.  “So that’s it then?”  Sam asked, nodding toward the abandoned factory beyond the church.  Dean nodded.  “Yeah, and Cas has a theory that worries me.  He thinks the other church leaders could also be members of this cult.”  Sam frowned.  “That would be the craziest thing I’ve ever heard if it’s true.  Isn’t this area like crazy Christian?”  He asked.  “The sheer number of churches says yes, but I’m beginning to think that things are not always as they seem.”  Dean replied.  Cas and Charlie had joined them and were listening quietly.  Dean looked back at Cas and saw that he was staring back at the factory with a fierce intensity that it wasn’t until Dean touched his shoulder that he realized that his name had been said several times.  “What’s going on Cas?”  Dean asked.  “I’m not sure.  There’s something going on in there, I can feel it.”  He lifted his eyes to the sky.  “I feel something else too.”  The others all lifted their eyes too, scanning the sky.  “Is it angels?”  Sam asked.  “No, it’s something else.”  Cas replied, but didn’t elaborate further.  Dean had dropped his hand to his side again.  “Vague answers aren’t helping us Cas.”  He said, annoyed.  Cas turned his blue eyes on him.  “I don’t know what it is, I’m sorry.”  Dean gave a tight smile.  “It’s alright, I’m sure it will reveal itself eventually.  Things always have a way of doing that.”  He said.  Cas’ attention was back on the factory, his eyes narrowing.  “What do we arm ourselves with?”  Sam asked as they crossed the street to the Impala.  Dean scanned the streets looking for people that might be showing interest in four Federal agents hovering around the trunk of the car but the streets were empty.  He popped the trunk and lifted the hidden panel.  They stood looking at the weapons, not sure what would actually work.  Cas made the decision easy when he reached in and pulled out a dagger.  “Where did you get this?”  He asked, turning the blade over to read the words that were carved into the metal of the blade itself.  Dean took it from him and looked at it.  “I don’t think I’ve seen this before.  Sammy, is this yours?”  He handed it to his brother who ran his finger over the engraved handle and the words on the blade itself.  “I’ve never seen this before in my life guys.”  He handed the blade back to Cas.  “Knives don’t just randomly show up in the trunk of my car.”  Dean said, complaining.  “That’s because I put it there.”  A familiar and unwanted voice said casually from the front of the car.  Dean leaned around the trunk to see Crowley standing there, legs crossed, one arm leaning against the hood of the Impala.  He let out a sound similar to a growl and lunged but Sam and Cas both caught him and pulled him back.  “Not out on the street Dean.”  Sam said softly.  “Look, I did you a favor there by popping that little trinket in your boot.  You should be thanking me.”  Crowley said with a smug smile.  Dean just wanted to ram him through with a blade.  It didn’t have to be the First Blade.  Any blade would do.  “He’s right, this dagger has a spell engraved on it.  This is written by Zeus himself.”  Cas still had his arm on Dean, trying to redirect his attention back to the dagger in his hand.  The vein throbbing in Dean’s temple finally disappeared and he looked down at the small knife.  “So what am I supposed to do with this?”  Dean asked, still thoroughly annoyed.  Crowley pointed toward the warehouse.  “You have a congregation in there of about seventy people right this minute, and more are arriving shortly.  Tonight is special night.  The moon aligns with the star Zeus supposedly placed in the sky to honor Eris and this is the night when the second girl will die.  If you don’t stop this now another will die each night.  On the seventh night the seal on the urn will be broken and Eris will be set free.  I hear she’s a diva with a nasty temper and a terrible jealous streak.  You might want to take care of your triple sorority girls before they take care of you.  They may or may not have been tipped off that the great Winchester brothers are in town.”  “And I wonder who told them that.”  Dean snapped.  “Oh it wasn’t me sweetheart, what good would it serve me for them to get the best of you?  I think someone recognized you when you were sniffing around earlier.”  Crowley’s attention was drawn to Charlie.  “Well hello darling.  Who is this beauty?”  He said lasciviously.  Charlie looked at the short man with one eyebrow raised.  “You’re barking up the wrong tree there pal.  You’re not her type, if you get my drift.”  Dean said with a low chuckle.  Crowley looked disappointed.  “Is everyone associated with the Winchesters batting for their own team?”  Crowley complained.  “I’m not.”  Sam said, raising his hand.  Dean elbowed him and he lowered it.  Crowley sighed deeply.  “Just get in there, take out the witches, save the girls, it’s what you heathens do best.”  And then he was gone.  Charlie jumped when he disappeared.  “Who was that guy?”  She asked.  “Crowley.  He’s the King of Hell.”  Cas replied matter-of-factly.  “Coming from anyone else I might take that as a joke, but I get the feeling that you’re being dead serious.”  She said to the angel.  “Cas doesn’t exactly know how to joke around.”  Sam said.  “I can make jokes.  I think I’m pretty funny.”  Cas complained and looked to Dean for moral support.  “Don’t drag me into this.”  Dean said and reached up to close the trunk.  “So now what?  There are only 4 of us against three Goddesses, a hundred humans, and we only have one small dagger.”  Sam said.  Dean looked down at the knife in his hand.  “I haven’t thought that far ahead.”  He said.  He was still trying to formulate a plan.  Monsters were bad enough, but Gods and Goddesses?  Dean felt impotent standing there with the dagger, until a thought came to him.  “I have an idea.”  He announced.