Chapter One

our story begins in tragedy

    "Castiel, please, do not worry about me so much." My grandfather's voice came from the seat across from me. The large SUV, windows tinted so black that the inside fo the car was filled with murky darkness.
    "I don't know how you can remain so calm, grandfather." I turned from the scenery of the outter edges of New York City, to look at my grandfather.
    He was quickly leaving his sixties, but his age had only begun to show a few years ago. I still had pictures of him from when my father was alone. He had looked so young and happy back then. But, losing a son had taken a great toll on my grandfather, even if he would never let me see it.
    "Just because someone has threatened my life?" My grandfather asked, a slight chuckle in his tone.
    The sound of gunfire was loud, right next to the darkened glass. My grandfather, his hair already startlingly shocked with white, froze in his seat. The hint of laughter still lingered in his eyes. already, crimson liquid blossomed through his shirt.
    But, there was no hole.
    "Pull over!" I shouted to the drivers through the closed wall between us. I felt the suv swerve to the side of the road.
    Already, the world around me had begun to blur.
    I jumped to the seat beside my grandfather. His breathing had already become ragged. Holding my hands to the glass, it cleared away, my hands glowing brightly.
    That's when I saw them. They moved quickly... almost too fast for me to track them. They wore all black suits, old bowler hats tilted low over their faces, as a crowd already began to form. And slowly, like drops of water in a rushing stream, they disappeared from view.
    I clenched my teeth in anger, for just a moment, ready to tear out of the car after them.
    But, a strong hand on my forearm held me still, as the light died down from ym hands. Once again, he betrayed his age. My grandfather's grip on my arm was vicelike.
    I turned away from the window to look into his burning eyes. I knew he was using compullsion on me to keep my attention on him. Already, his breathing was slowing, and I could feel the strength quickly failing.
    "Grandfather, hold on. We'll get the healers." I said, clutching his hand in mind. He already felt so frail in my hands. I worried I might break him if I squeezed too hard."
    "Even if the old witches came, they would not be able to do anything. It is too late." He said. A cough racked his body for a moment, tiny specks of blood flecking his lips. He had only a few moments of life left in him.
    "I don't know what to do." the words repeated under my breath for a few moments. Even when my father had died when I was young... I had found that only my grandfather got me through everything.
    "I have taught you well, young Castiel. This is perhaps sooner than I would have liked." My grandfather removed something from his hand, but through my tears, I couldn't see it until he had slipped the warm metal around my finger.
    For a moment, the charm was too big around the middle finger of my right hand. Then, like the slithering motion of a snake, it tightened until it was a snug fit. Teh dull grey stone shone brightly in the middle of the ring, and with a flood of energy, I knew my father had just named me the heir to the family.
    Wiping the tears on teh back of my hand, I knew I couldn't handle the responsibility he had just given me.
    "Stand strong." He said, before his voice failed him.
    "And die with honor." It was his family's motto. Depressing and somber as it was, it had taken me sixteen years to understand its meaning. Now I knew. I wish I didn't.
    Between my fingers, I could feel my grandfather's pulse slow to a stop.
    I was glad, almost, that he was gone, and could not see the single tear that rolled a path down my cheek, and fell atop our clasped hands.