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Rocks fall, everyone dies.
That’s normally how these things worked, right? Sam and Dean were lucky – for now. Sure, they were trapped under a giant pile of rocks, but they were still alive. Still breathing. Mostly. Sort of. Sam tugged his T-shirt up over his mouth and nose to try to filter the dust.
Dean was unconscious, bleeding from a nasty-looking head wound. There wasn’t much Sam could do, not from here, not with his leg trapped under a rock and too far away to reach Dean. With his own wounds, he wasn’t sure he could get the rock off his leg.
Sam did the only thing he could think of. He prayed. “Castiel, um, this is for Dean. He’s dying, I think. There was an avalanche, and…”
The prayer ended abruptly as suddenly, Dean was gone. Sam laid back, accepting that. Dean was the one the angels needed for the Apocalypse, Dean was the one Castiel was allowed to save. Sam was not going to complain about his brother being saved. He wasn’t even going to feel sorry for himself. When Dean was healed, he would insist on coming back to dig Sam out. He just had to keep himself alive until then. He started a prayer of thanks to Castiel.
The sudden absence of weight on his left leg confused him. The sudden absence of pain was even more confusing. The most confusing thing, though, was the hand running through his hair and the voice whispering his name. “Sam. You’re safe. I’ve got you.”
“Castiel?” Sam tried to sit up, but Cas held him down. “What’s going on?”
“Your brother is safe, as is your vehicle.” Good to know. Still didn’t explain what was going on, really. “I’ve pulled you out from under the rocks as well. You and I are long overdue for a talk.”
Sam swallowed and tugged his shirt back down away from his face. He couldn’t imagine a good reason why Castiel would want to talk to him, so either this was about the demon blood or the powers. The quicker they got this over with, the better, then. Probably. “All right. What is it?”
“The demon Ruby. She’s leading you along a very dangerous path. If you continue, you will be strong enough to destroy Lilith, but at the cost of your own corruption.”
“I’m already corrupted. Already so…”
“No, Sam Winchester. You are a far better man than you have any right to be, given what was done to you when you were an infant. You saw what happened to Ava Wilson, to Jake Talley, as they gave into the darkness within them. You’ve faced that darkness for much longer, and you’re not yet lost. I don’t think you understand just how strong you are.”
“Okay, but… if I can do it, become strong enough to take down Lilith, isn’t sacrificing myself worth it? No Lilith, no Apocalypse, the world is saved, you and Dean can take down whatever it is I become and this is all over.”
“Would you truly ask that of your brother, to allow you to destroy yourself so thoroughly?”
“When the alternative is the destruction of the entire damn world as Lucifer rises and lays waste? Yeah. I know you guys think Dean’s the one who can beat Lilith, but I haven’t heard anything resembling a plan out of you. Just that Dean’s the one and we’ll know more when the time is right. Maybe it’s a bad plan, sacrificing my soul or whatever to save the world, but at least I’m doing something!”
“Sam, we don’t know what will happen to you. It’s possible you just become a demon. Perhaps you’ll become a Knight of Hell, the first not directly created by Cain himself. You could become the next Lilith. They call you the Boy King, in Hell, and you have the blood of a Prince in you. Dean and I may not be able to take you down.”
“Yeah, I know they call me the Boy King. What do you mean, Knight and Prince of Hell?”
“Lucifer is, of course, the true ruler of hell. Right now, Lilith rules as queen. She’ll surrender the throne to Lucifer himself, but to no one else. There are four Princes of Hell who rank under her. Azazel was one of them. The others have disappeared and are not interested in politics. They’re living quiet lives and we monitor but do not interfere with that. I trust you know the story of Cain and Abel?”
“Yeah… Cain killed his brother out of jealousy that God liked his sacrifices better, and was cursed and marked.”
“Cain killed his brother because Lucifer was twisting and corrupting Abel into something dark, much as Ruby is doing to you. Lucifer bore the Mark of Cain first. It’s what corrupted him, drove him to rebel and fall. When Cain took it on, he became a Knight of Hell, and he created others that fought at his side. They’ve all been destroyed, but Cain is still out there. There are very few things out there that could kill a Prince or a Knight. Even fewer that could destroy Hell’s new king.”
“And once I’m corrupted… I could become a threat to the world myself. If you and Dean can’t take me down…”
“Exactly. My superiors don’t want me to tell you any of this, but I couldn’t watch you do that to yourself.”
“To Dean.”
“No, Sam, to you. I’ve come to admire you. I will not stand by and watch you destroy the very thing that makes you unique. You’ve overcome the blood of a Prince of Hell. Do not allow yourself to fall to the blood of a simple demon.”
“And this really means something to you?”
“Of course. When this is over, it’s possible that I might choose to remain on Earth. It will depend how it happens, of course. If you’re lost, I won’t stay. But if you come through, remaining the good man that you are… if you would allow me, I would choose to stay with you.”
“If I would allow you? What about Dean?”
“Dean is a good friend, but that’s… different.”
“How is that… different?”
“I don’t know the words to explain it. It’s just different. Waiting for Dean to find his way to Heaven doesn’t make me uncomfortable. You, even with your lifestyle meaning it might only be a few years, it’s too long to wait.” Castiel helped Sam to his feet. “And on that note, I have to get you back to your brother. I’m being called to Heaven. We can discuss this more later. Perhaps by then I’ll have figured out the words to explain myself properly.”