19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: Supernatural belongs to Erik Kripke, Warner Brothers and quite possibly others who are not mentioned here. No money will be made from this fan fiction.

Author's note: Do not panic. Original characters are only passing through.

Summary: When Dean goes to sell his soul at the crossroads to bring Sam back, someone else steps in to negotiate the deal. Cas did get a sign and it sent him off into the past to change things. AU from The Man Who Would be King and All Hell Breaks Loose.

It's All in the Details

By Colleen

Chapter 19

"Rakel!" Ravenlight's voice snapped out, stopping the young woman in mid shriek. The older woman turned to the being in front of her. To be honest, she wanted to curl up and do a little screaming herself, but she had the feeling that further insulting this god could very well get the two of them dead, if they weren't already.

"We… we didn't summon you."

The dark head tiled and she could feel its gaze burn into her.

"No, but the previous summons was interrupted and the ritual was not closed properly. There was still enough of an invitation open for me to follow it to you."

Oh, crap.

Ravenlight looked at him, and then away. It was surprisingly difficult to gaze at something that was so dark you thought you were going to fall into it.

"You…you appeared differently that time."

Kaseva actually looked down at himself, as if to check his appearance. "Yes. Would that form be more comfortable for you?"

"I think so, yes."

One moment he was shadow, the next he was the man in the trench coat. She heard Rakel shift behind her and almost cringed when the girl asked a question.

"Is that your real form?"

Kaseva looked at himself once again. "No."

"Oh… Why not?"

Ravenlight winced, what had gotten into the girl? A glance showed her that Rakel was one teetering step away from going into shock.

The trickster tilted his head, appearing to look Rakel over for something. Ravenlight stiffened when he did the same for her and then shook his head. "Because, you would very likely not survive the experience."

Rakel's mouth opened in an 'o' shape, but no sound came out. Ravenlight decided to take over before the girl freaked out and got them both killed.

"We apologize for not having the proper offerings for you. If you are willing to wait, I will prepare something for you."

Kaseva raised an eyebrow at the offer and for a moment, she worried that she may have made things worse with the suggestion.

"It is of no matter. There were appropriate offerings present at the original summoning." He looked at Rakel. "As they were acceptable, I came to hear your petition."

That was the last shock. Rakel's mouth snapped shut and her eyes rolled up into her head as she passed out.

Ravenlight clamped down on the desire to follow the girl into unconsciousness. Instead, she focused on the problem in front of her. She took a slightly startled breath as she realized that Kaseva had actually been taken aback by Rakel fainting.

"I had heard that the problem may have been dealt with." He frowned as he looked at the young woman. "I am not angry that other help was sought, not after the petition went unheard."

Ravenlight spoke carefully. "Pardon, my Lord."

Cas winced. "Do not call me that!" He said sharply.

Startled, she took a step back.

He sighed. "I apologise, please, simply use my name."

She nodded.

"What did you wish to tell me?"

"Rakel told me she bartered her soul to stop the stalker. Do you know of anyway to…?"

Cas shook his head. "Crossroad deals are almost impossible to get out of."

Ravenlight closed her eyes for a moment in sadness. She opened them again, frowning as a thought struck her.

"Actually, she didn't say what kind of a deal it was, only that it involved her soul." She glanced at the girl. "I'm not even sure she'd know how to make a crossroads deal."

Kaseva frowned and then waved his hand above Rakel's body. He stared intently at girl, apparently expecting something to happen. "She doesn't appear to have a contract. " He thought that over for a moment. "I believe I need to consult with someone about this." He pulled out his cell phone and hit Bobby's number. He glanced up to see the surprise on Delores Douglas' faces.

Cas sighed. "Yes, I own a cell phone. My chosen warrior is human and active in the world. It is simply easier to contact him and his associates this way."

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Bobby was just collecting Henricksen from the hospital were the agent had been waiting for word on his partner. The man was stable for now, but he wouldn't be going anywhere for a very long time. Victor was sliding into Bobby's car when the hunter's phone rang.

"Singer."

Victor threw him a questioning look as the older man frowned.

"Yeah, I guess. Still sounds more witchy than demony though." Bobby said to whomever he was talking with.

The agent's eyes widened at the conversation.

"Uh huh. Bees, right?" Bobby's expression got thoughtful as he listened.

Henricksen shook his head and did up his seat belt. The man beside him was talking on a cell phone to a pagan god who was trying to hunt down a…

"Sounds like you may have a demon powered witch on your hands, or maybe a demon passing herself off as a witch to train new witches. They boys have run into that before. It's possible she just did a little soul buying on the side. "

Bobby listened for a bit more and then shrugged, even though the person on the other side couldn't see him.

"I'd really need more information. You should try to get a look at the body and check the place the guy bought it. See if there's any hex work being done. Huh? Oh, okay." Bobby ended the call and looked at Henricksen. "Guess he decided to check the problem out himself."

"Good. I think I may have all I can handle at the moment with the killer money. Don't really want to add killer bees to the equation." He shifted a little in his seat. "So, where are we headed?"

"To interview your dead counterfeiter's mother, despite the late hour. She's the most likely person to have sent out those packages. Hell, she probably also passed out enough of the money on her own to catch your guys' attention." He glanced over at the agent. "I'm surprised that you hadn't talked to her already."

"We would have, but she cited health problems along with doctor's appointments that she had to attend. We checked it out. It was legit. We were supposed to talk to her tomorrow."

Bobby nodded and both men jerked slightly as the hunter's phone went off. Frowning, Bobby pulled it out and answered it.

"Cas? What? You've already checked the body and the house?" He shook his head. "Okay. What did you find?"

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"There are bees at the house, but the man did not die by their sting." Cas told him. "The completed autopsy shows that he had a severe allergic reaction to an unknown substance, not bee venom, which covered him with boils that were initially mistaken for massive stinging. It turned out they were everywhere, inside and outside of his body. The ones in his throat choked him to death. Also, I found no evidence of hex work." He looked at the young woman on the couch who had come out of her faint while he'd been checking on the body.

"I suspect that I may actually know who is behind this, but I would have to do something invasive and painful to the woman who made the deal to know for certain."

The girl curled up on herself and Ravenlight stood in front of her with a very pissed off expression on her face. Cas suspected it was a good thing that she was getting over her fear of him, even if the timing for it was bad.

Cas tilted his head as he listened to Bobby's advice. "Yes, of course, that would be the most practical thing to attempt first. Thank you." He ended his call and turned to the two women.

"What are you planning to do?" Delores asked.

"The suggestion was made that before I try anything too extreme, that I should see if asking a few questions would get me similar results."

Rakel took a deep breath. "Okay, if it will help."

Cas nodded. "Did you actually see the person or being that you made the deal with?"

"Yes."

"Describe him."

"Um, well. I think he had an English accent."

Cas' eyes narrowed, because Crowley quickly came to mind with that description.

"He was tall…ish. Blond."

Not Crowley and sounding much more like…

"He wore this shirt with a really deep v-neck to it." She laughed a little self-consciously. "I guess that's not the type of detail you need."

"On the contrary, it helps a lot."

Balthazar. Really, it had to be.

In the original time line, Cas had heard about his friends supposed death during the siege of Hell. Given what Gabriel had told him about this time line's storming of Hell, he'd thought the angel might not get the chance to fake his own death when the demons kept running away. However, with this new event, it appeared that not only had he managed it, but he'd also gotten hold of at least one of Heaven's weapons sooner than he had the first time around.

"Um, sir?"

Cas blinked and refocused on the two women in front of him.

"I believe I may be able to free you from your deal." He told the younger one.

Rakel looked hopeful, Ravenlight less so.

"And what would be the cost?" She asked.

"I will need a non-life threatening amount of blood from one of you to cast a tracking spell." He thought for a moment. He actually did derive power from the offerings made to Kaseva. Compared to his current power levels, it was a drop in the bucket. However, Gabriel was right, every little bit helped. "And if I am successful, then a small offering made each night for the next month would be ample payment."

"More blood?" Rakel asked, cringing slightly.

Cas shook his head. "No. Beer and honey are traditional. However, I am also fond of cherries and chocolate." He shrugged. "In any case, as long as the offering is heartfelt, that is truly all that matters."

Rakel glanced at Ravenlight and then nodded. "I can do that."

"Very well, I need a piece of chalk, a bowl, Holy water, myrrh and the blood." Both he and Rakel looked at Ravenlight.

"I'll go check the kitchen."

In the end, the Holy water was the only thing Cas had to fetch to complete the spell.

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Bobby and Victor pulled up to Vera Spars' house around 9:30pm. Since it was summer, there was still an edge of light in the sky, but it would be gone in just a few more minutes. The area was quiet, there didn't even seem to be any nosy neighbours about. They were up the walk and knocking on the door in seconds.

Standing there, Victor's nose wrinkled as he caught a whiff of something. Bobby must have caught it at the same time.

"Gas!"

"Shit." Victor banged on the door, hard. "Mrs. Spars?" He knocked again and when no one answered, he backed up and kicked the door in .

Gas fumes hit them like a wall and both men covered their mouths and noses with one of their arms. They separated at the door. Victor headed for the kitchen and the most likely place the gas was coming from. As he had suspected, the gas oven door was open and the burners were at the on position, but the pilot light was blown out.

Henricksen shut the oven down and opened the kitchen window, briefly noticing an open bottle of vodka and one glass that was sitting on the kitchen table. Then he went looking for Bobby. He found him in the main bedroom, leaning over the prone figure of a woman who was laid out on the bed. Singer looked up at him as he came in and shook his head. Using a handkerchief, he pulled a piece of paper out of her hands and then motioned for Victor to back up. Bobby joined him in the hall and pointed towards the front entrance. They were just heading towards it when the door slammed shut.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." Henricksen said, his eyes wide.

Standing in front of the door was a shape that might have passed for a man, if it wasn't for the fact that it was composed completely of money. Bobby grabbed the agent and the two of them hauled ass into the kitchen. He shoved Henricksen towards the back door, even as he cranked the oven back on and grabbed the bottle of vodka and a napkin off the table. The agent had managed to unlock the back door and pull it open, when they heard the rustle of paper at the entrance to the kitchen.

"Go."

Victor scrambled out the door with Bobby behind him. The older man slammed it shut and moved to the middle of the back yard. He wet the napkin down with a bit of the vodka and then stuffed it into the bottle as he did. He was lighting the napkin with a lighter he'd fished out of his pocket as the money golem opened the door. In one smooth move, Bobby tossed the burning bottle into the kitchen, through the window Victor had opened earlier.

The newest gas released to the air caught first, before the bottle even had a chance to break and spread the flames further. Then the rest of the gas still trapped in the house went up. Victor and Bobby found themselves on the ground, covering their heads as they were pelted with little bits of burning counterfeit money. They rolled further away from the fire, brushing themselves off once they were far enough from it to feel safe enough to stand.

"Well, I've got some good news and some bad news." Bobby said as they watched the house burn, the sound of fire engines coming closer as they did.

"So what's the good news?"

"I'm pretty sure I know what she did." He looked at the letter the woman had been holding. "Using the counterfeit money she sent you, I should be able to cancel the spell that connected her son's spirit to it. So it and all of the other bills out there will go inert."

"Great." Henricksen decided to get out of the yard and headed out the back gate and through the yard next door, so they could get back to the car.

"So, what's the bad news?"

"You're the one who gets to come up with a plausible explanation for this in your report."

Victor groaned and rubbed at his forehead. "Just, great."

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Dean stuffed a pillow over the gun he'd been cleaning when a knock came on their motel room door. Sam threw him a quick look and then went to answer it.

Adam stood on the other side of the door. The young man was obviously nervous, but he still had that edge of anger they'd seen before.

"Hey."

Adam nodded at him. "Hey. You're Sam, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah, and that's Dean." He said, indicating his brother with a wave of his hand. Sam glanced past Adam and out into the parking lot. "Is your Mom with you?"

"No. I, uh, I wanted to talk with the two of you…" He shrugged. "You know, alone."

"Okay." Sam stepped back to let him in. Dean gave his brother a discrete glare and glanced down at the pillow covering his gun. Sam shrugged. Dean grimaced and shifted slightly so he was now sitting partially on the pillow and gun, something he was only willing to do because he'd unloaded the weapon before starting to clean it.

Meanwhile, Sam pulled out one of the crappy chairs that came with the room for Adam and then sat down on the other bed himself. Sam and Dean both looked the young man over as he shifted nervously.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Dad. I mean, I didn't even know who he was until I was twelve and I only saw him once or twice a year even then. Birthdays and things. You guys actually grew up with the man."

Dean gave a snort of laughter.

"What?"

Dean shook his head. "We grew up with him, but to be honest, he wasn't around much, especially on birthdays, Christmas or any holiday that involved family values.

"Dean."

"Come on Sam, normally you'd have been the first to point that out."

Sam gave him a low-level bitch face and glanced at Adam.

Dean sighed. "Okay, okay. I know he didn't mean to do that to us." He sighed again and he focused on Adam. "I loved the man, still do in fact, but after our mom died, he kind of lost it. Just threw himself into his work so much that there really wasn't much room left in his life for… well, life."

Adam let loose a breath of air with a 'ha'. "Sounds like each of us is envious of the other for only getting a part of dad."

Dean nodded. "Yeah, but really, that was no ones fault, but Dads. I, for one, would like to get to know all of my littlest baby brother."

Adam groaned. "You're not going to call me that all the time, are you?"

Sam laughed before Dean could answer. "Personally, I kind of like having someone else get stuck with the baby brother stuff for a change.

Both Dean and Adam glared at him.

Sam smiled. Oh yeah, this could be lots of fun.

"So, how about you? What's your Mom like?"

Adam smiled. "She's great. It's mostly only ever been the two of us. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I got to know Dad, but…"

"But she's the one you'd sell your soul to save if you had to." Dean said.

Sam did not look happy with Dean as Adam nodded. "Yeah, that's exactly it." He looked from one of his brothers to the other. "Given what you said about Dad, I'm going to guess that if you feel the same way, then it's about each other."

"Let's just say that on occasion, we've done some pretty stupid things to protect each other."

Sam snorted at Dean's statement and cut Adam off before he could ask.

"No, we're not going to tell you what they were. Trust me, you're better off not knowing."

And that brought up the elephant in the room that Adam didn't even know about. What could they tell Adam that would keep him safe through all the crap that was coming, without having him think they were insane or letting him know about hunting and the supernatural?

"You know what, I'm still bored."

Adam jerked back in his chair as a short man with sandy hair and a giant grin on his face appeared in the middle of the room. Sam and Dean acted instinctively, pulling weapons out from hiding places before they could stop themselves.

"Loki, what?"

"I told you, I'm bored." He raised his hand.

"Guys?" Adam asked, getting to his feet and backing away.

"No! Loki, whatever you're planning to do…" Sam started to say, knowing it was a lost cause as the angel's smile got even bigger.

And then, he snapped his fingers.